NationStates Jolt Archive

Today was an important day for the Halladi city of New Dublin. It made been many years since a conferance, other than a Party Conferance, had been held in the city. The conferance was being held in the Commissariat of Diplomacy building in New Dublin, a large, well guarded building in the Governmental District - also known as the Red District.

Aside from most of the New Dublin Police Department providing security, a battalion of Republican Guardsmen were protecting the building. There was also a platoon of Republican Guardsmen at the John Connolly International Airport, where the delegates would be arriving from.

People's Commissar of Diplomacy Talal Ghazi had been flown from the new Halladi homeworld for this conferance. He remininced about New Dublin, a city he had not visited in years. The older man soon snapped out of it. He was now representing the Halladi Workers Republic and Premier Hasan Muhammad, who was unable to attend. Any moment now the delegates would enter the small hall.

The hall was small, with comfortable chairs for all of the delegates, which circled a table. Away from the chairs, against the wall was another large table with a buffets of Halladi foods (think middle eastern). Ghazi already had a plate and was snacking. As foreign delegates were going to be here, cooks were prepared to make any addition meals they wanted.

Echo One

Through the brightening skies over Hallad came Echo One, the most heavily armoured and protected aeroplane in the entire of the Republican Military. A converted airliner, top of the range, it now included Radar and Ladar displays, defensive weaponry including chaff and Scorpion AMRAAM missiles, and several offensive missile launchers to the front, always fully loaded. Echo One was so heavily protected and guarded because of the person that flew onboard it; Xavier Martin, President of the Grand Republic of Skinny87.

A flight of F/A 18 Fighters had escorted the airliner to the very edge of Halladi airspace and then peeled off back to Republican territory, and Echo One flew on alone to its destination, New Dublin airport, for the most important conference Martin had ever attended, a conference that could change the very fabric of Haven itself. It was a heavy budren for one man to shoulder, but in his loyal team of experienced advisors Xavier had a willing and experienced team that would aid him at the conference.

With a screech of tires Echo One landed, taxied and eventually came to a stop. A dismebarkation ladder was bought over, and the President and his advisors, flanked by his Secret Service detachment, walked quickly down and into an armoured Humvee convoy that made its way out of the airport and into New Dublin, stopping at the conference centre.

Xavier walked into the lavish conference room and spotted his Halladi counterpart. He brushed at an imaginary speck of lint, and thus satisfied, strode over to the man. "Mr Ghazi, a pleasure to meet you. President Martin of the Grand Republic, but I prefer Xavier. Thank-you for inviting me to the conference."

Ghazi saw the President of the Grand Republic enter the room. He placed his plate on the able infront of him, and stood up. Walking over to the man, he extended his hand for a handshake.

"Comra- President Martin, it is a pleasure to meet you. My apologies, I'm used to calling even government officials 'comrade.' Please sit, or perhaps you are hungry? We have plenty of food." He motioned to the table of food.

Xavier looked at the sumptious spread laid out over the tables, and took a plate, helping himself to a small spread of the foodstuffs available. "Thank-you Mr Ghazi, very generous of you."

A large, black limousine strolled down the Halladian (?) roads, to the conference room. Inside, a man and a woman stared at the traffic, it was a busy city, and as both officials were used to living in a range on the sub-urban area, a pleasant and at the same time confusing sight for both. The man yawned, it had been a long journey, full of safety procedures and unnecessary cautions, but the recent actions to stop terrorism in Camewot and at the same time the rising of Nerotikan rebels made sure the Government took no risks in securing the safety of the maybe most important people of the country.

First, they landed in a very small airport at Kat Island, using Skinny's hospitality, then a very slow boat took them to the Hallad mainland, docking into a very unknown fishervillage, wich, they were sure, did not realise they were Camewottians instead of normal fishermen. A camouflaged Humvee took them to a field where they changed their clothes into something more classy and took place in the limousine.

And so, 5 hours later, the limousine made a sudden stop to the conference room. Alarmed by the sudden change of speed - from 100 to 0 -, the man took out a gun and slammed the door open in the face of the driver. Within minutes, he had been surrendered by a horde of security gaurds. He blushed, and said, Nono, it's Prince Illias! Just checking security! He grinned widely and helped his sister - Minister of Foreign Affairs Layla - out of the limo.

Together they climbed the stairs towards the building, giving the driver a 5 Beckers tip.

Xavier had just pried open a particularly difficult and resilient lobster when he saw the Camewottian delegate arrive through the doors. Minister of Foreign Affairs Layla looked smart as usual, and Xavier abandoned the Lobster, glaring at it and promising retribution at a later date.

"Minister Layla. How nice to see you again. I hope you are well?"

In his pocket, Prince Illias made a hand gesture toward the man who seemed to be coming on to his sister, but when his attention reached the lobsters the man also seemed to be coming on to, he set foot towards the table, noticing only 4 people were in the building.

Layla recognised President Martin almost immediately and walked towards him, kissing him on the cheek. Xavier! Long time no see!

Cormade General Melchett (http://www.british-sitcom.co.uk/blackadder/graphics/char_melchett2.gif) stepped from his black staff car, door held ajar by a stern faced Proletarian Guardsman, and adjusted his peaked cap meticulously as he moved up the steps, six Guardsmen in tow acting as an honour guard of sorts, Enfields slanted towards the sky held a lethal aura as the bayonets affixed gleamed gloriously. Fidgeting with his brown leather sash, Melchett stepped through the double doors, and began to note the rather luxurious architecture, nothing that topped the decadence of his manor house in the countryside but still, a rather amiable affair of architecture and decoration.

Leaving his guards at the door with an offhand gesture, Melchett entered the banquet hall and was greeted by the scent of exotic Halladi dishes, still steaming. However, despite the richness of the foods displayed, none tickled the general’s fancy so he hoped he wouldn’t be too far out of line – he shouldn’t be as this was a diplomatic meeting – by asking the Halladi diplomat, one Talal Ghazi, if he could have an alternate dish prepared, thus, calling out:

”Excuse me good man, Mr Ghazi, would it be alright should I ask for a roast chicken with all the trimmings? I must say, I’m rather ravenous after my flight here but once past my appetite, how do you expect this affair to proceed?”

Xavier noticed the fidgeting of this new man, Illias something, and frowned slightly at what he thought he saw. Still, this was a diplomatic conference, no time for trivialities. But still, he couldn't resist saying something...He turned to Illias, and pointed down the room. "I believe the toilets are in that direction, Prince Illias, if you are that desperate."

He turned again to the Princess. "My dear, you look as beautiful as the day that I met you. It is a comforting thought to have you by my side."

Illias put up a fight .... with the lobsters, and once he won the short but furious fight, he put a pile of lobsters on his plate and walked towards Melchett, furiously interested in the medals that were hanging on his costume. Camewot and Kriegorgrad were neighbours in the southern continent, sadly seperated by Camewots Purple Mountains. Because of the lack of a decent connection, relations had always stayed casual. This was his chance to strengthen those relationships.

Meanwhile, Layla chuckled. She had never found Xavier an attractive man, but he had a weird thing floating around him, wich made you feel confortable and safe around him. Maybe it were just the bodygaurds. Thank you Xavier, you look good as well. We thank you again for the Skinny wool! It's first class wool, I have several pieces of clothing made out of it. I hope you appreciate the silver and food we gave you in replace?

Moran sat firmly against the cushion of the limo as he tried to avoid the splinters of the piercing sun rays, looking outside the darkened window at the beautiful architecture of the Halladi city, each seemingly going by in a smooth motion. He drew a heavy breath as the limo eventually twisted and turned in its direction as the limo swept quite swiftly through the outside buildings of the Government District. The local name for the Government District - 'Red' District, didn't exactly fit his rather morally conservative values, but this meeting as he had felt, would still provide him with an outlook into his new career as Minister and provide him vital experience.

Beside him were Minister Jolan of the Ministry of Commerce, 54; and Fleet Admiral Logan Haranz, 46, one of the youngest Fleet Admirals to enter the Omzian Navy and now commandeering the position of representative for the Omzian Forces. As Moran felt, Minister Jolan is a rather quiet individual seasoned by decades of work with both local and foreign comrades, and although his mind is somewhat hard to penetrate through with mental predictions, all in the cabinet trusted him and got along with him very well. Haranz, a comparatively younger man, was another quiet but energetic individual, friendly, cheerful, but somewhat awkward to form a friend. He was reserved in terms of showing off his mini war trophies - and this is why he decided to get dressed in a rather spartan summer Navy uniform, with a whole square of medal ribbons, a Gold Star hanging from his left chest, four diamonds on each of his shoulder board and his collar, and an anchor along with a lightning bolt set against a pitch-black patch on the other side of his collar, signaling him as a seasoned soldier born from the Navy Commando.

As Moran and his comrades set off from the limo not too long after bidding farewell to the Omzian Sergeant who drove them there, they all walked quite cheerfully - but also perhaps somewhat apprehensively - on the red carpet that swept across the stairs into the room. Moran was too occupied with the matters ahead both in his own nation and those concerning the conference, while Jolan continued to hold onto the awkward handle of the odd metal briefcase that he carried along the trip. Haranz, more concerned about the military and defence aspect of the conference, did a last task of straightening his collar and repositioning his cap, a large red star with a clearly visible bald eagle above. The boots also proved to be quite uncomfortable for Haranz, but he managed to fight off the meager unpleasantness of the sweat that soaked through his feet.

Finally entering the room afterwards, each of the three Omzian delegates posed a triplet of rather genuine-looking smiles as they steadily walked towards the other delegates Mr. Ghazi. Fleet Admiral Haranz was the first to take initiative, stepping in front of Mr. Ghazi. "Comrade Ghazi," he greeted. "This is Fleet Admiral Haranz of the Omzian Republic, head of the military delegation, and here -" he motioned and gestured towards the two Ministers, "are Minister Jolan of the Ministry of Commerce, and Minister Moran of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. We are all glad to be here."

"Look at that roasted chicken," Jolan said towards Moran rather sheepishly. "I'm hungry!"

Melchett caught the scent of roast chicken only after he’d asked if the chefs could prepare the same meal moments before, he turned, plucking at his thick moustache and smiling gleefully at his mistake, and noticed the man of Camewot (OOC: what is the adjective?) striding towards him, seemingly entranced with the rows of medals attached to his Comrade General uniform, his epaulettes adorned with the Kriegos seal (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v227/Kriegorgrad/seal.jpg) of diplomacy, same symbol taking pride of place on his peaked cap. A smile moved beneath the bushy facial hair as Melchett opened his arms in a hearty greeting, his teeth had a very light stain of endless glasses of brandy. His thick rich voice carried through the air towards the approaching man of nobility.

”Why hello there, good friend! May I ask your name or title, my own would be Comrade General Edward Melchett of the Collective Oligarchy’s Proletarian Guard. I hope you’re here to discuss the possible mutual defence pact in Southern Haven – an alliance is needed to stop all these foreign devils landing on our shores!”

Quite pleased with himself, filtering out the caution most Kriegos felt towards its neighbours in Haven and proffering the flowery pretentious title that he so took pride in, he put on his most welcoming face and pulled a pipe from his pocket and put some tobacco in. “You don’t mind, do you?” He said out of courtesy rather than a real question, as he lit the pipe up, embers burning brightly within the pipe and smoke wafting out the end.

Perhaps it was just him, but to Xavier the room seemed to be getting almost unbearably hot with so many people crowding into it now that the conference had begun in earnest. It reminded him of some teenage party, where the 'cool' people turned up late, and the others turned up on time. That amuised him for a few moments before he decided to take off his jacket, revealing a dark blue waistcoat, complementing his dark grey trousers and salt-and-pepper hair.

He nodded to the the Omzian representatives who had entered the room, and glided quickly through the small knots of people until he reached the Kreigos representative, a large and seemingly jolly General that Xavier knew to be Melchett. The General had lit up a rather large pipe and had buttonholed the annoying Camewottian Prince. Whilst Xavier didn't particularly like the oily Prince, he wanted to talk with the General himself.

"General Melchett, I believe, isn't it? President Martin of the Grand Republic. Words of your heroic deeds have filtered through even to my humble ears; let me shake the hand of a genuine hero!" Xavier had sized the man up and decided that flattery was the best approach to dealing with Melchett. "I do hope we can come to some sort of cooperation against those blasted Prussians. What are your thoughts, General?"

“May!” Was the instant happy response of Melchett, his trademark sound of approval was most enthused for this newcomer as he took the hand of the good president Martin. “You’re one of those republican chaps, aren’t you? I hear things are smashing in space, with our two “space forces” working with one another, who would have thought it? Space warfare in our lifetime! Absolutely spiffing! The Prussians…well now, those dirty devils will pay for violating Haven soil, foreigners are getting rather cocky of late and one can only hope this conference will help sort out the problems the Greater Prussian Empire brings.”

The general liked the diplomatic president, flattery had paid off well with Melchett and he would return to Kriegorgrad bearing good the fruits of potentially iron solid relations between the Grand Republic and the Collective Oligarchy, this news would reach the ears of the oligarchs themselves and this would in turn result in amiable diplomacy between the two nations of Southern Haven. While things were already well between the Republic and Kriegorgrad thanks to their cooperation in space and the help Kriegorgrad received when constructing its own space programme, the idea of further benefits to one another was a tangible idea indeed.

The cooks brought out roasted chicken for the Kriegos delegate, a General no less. That was what he had come to expect from Kriegorgrad, given their "Collective Oligarchy" system. It was all very disturbing to him, but at this time it didn't quite matter. He needed to make these people feel good, comfortable, and safe.

The Omzian delegates entered and Ghazi moved to greet them. They introduced themselves.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, comrades. We hope the Omzian Democratic Republic will have a large role in this conferance. But, enough of that official diplomatic stuff for now, until the rest of our comrades arrive make yourself at home. We've plenty of food, and feel free to help yourself. If there's anything you require, just ask."

The Camewottian officials were talking to the Kriegorgrad(ian) representative and the Skinny one when the Hallad(ian) servant brought up roast chicken. Once supplied with delicious chicken, the prince and princess moved back to the group of people.

Why hello there, good friend! May I ask your name or title, my own would be Comrade General Edward Melchett of the Collective Oligarchy’s Proletarian Guard. I hope you’re here to discuss the possible mutual defence pact in Southern Haven – an alliance is needed to stop all these foreign devils landing on our shores!

The Prince answered, Hello General Melchett, my name is Prince Illias of the Democratic Empire of Camewot and this is my sister, Princess Layla and also the Minister of Foreign Relations, democraticly chosen by the people, he winked to his sister, We are indeed here to discuss Havens safety. For many years we have lived in peace and harmony with Communist and Democratic nations. The communists even saved our lifes in the RIA War. We are keen to make sure no fascist or evil nations move in to Haven! Other measures must be taken!

OOC: Sorry for being late.

-It appears that Hallad has decided to extend an invitation to us after all.
-Remember, we are acting implicitly on behalf of the FKC. I noticed that Midlonia did not get an invitation.
-Hmmm. Interesting. And this conference will most like discuss the Greater Prussian Empire’s influence in the region and how to prevent this from happening in the future.
-Indeed. They are outsiders like ourselves. It would be most beneficial to get an idea of how they view us and the FKC as a whole.


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To: Premier Hasan Muhammad, the Halladi Workers Republic
From: Vrak Diplomatic Corps
Subject: conference

We are pleased to accept your invitation as an observer. Chief Envoy Min-ho Kerak will arrive shortly.

====

Aboard the hypersonic transport, Kerak quietly looked over his brief regarding Haven. He shook his head and wondered thoughtfully why the FKC still bothered to have a colony there. It was, in truth, a more unstable region than the Klatch. He looked at his two massive bodyguards Qayak and Tuma. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about his personal safety. He also wondered why the highest ranking colonial official was not sent. Perhaps plans to further reduce FKC presence in Haven was already underway? He wasn't informed if that were the case.