NationStates Jolt Archive

Dr. Elizibeth Forest looked through the papers again, and again, and again. The curse of being someone high up in the Triancian State Department, she supposed, was having to look busy, all the time, even when you had three hours of briefing material for a six hour flight over featurless water. She wished, at times, that some warship below would 'light them up', and the pilot would pop chaff and flares, and initiate gut-wrenching turns, becuase that would be better then going over this stuff again.

"Ma'am?"

Liz looked up, to see her pilot standing over her in that nice Air Force Service Dress. "Yes, William?"

"We're about ten minutes away from our desent. Just thought you'd like to know."

She nodded. "Yes, thank you, William." She grins. "Means I can stop going over this crap." She dashed the material she was holding onto the small, slightly vibrating table in front of her. "I don't know how they manage to say so little in so many words. German-English Island chain, six-inhabited islands, three islands as nature perserves, and a state-run defense industry. All this cultural drek I could do without."

The Group Captain smiled. "Of course, Ma'am. I'll tell Frank to push on the throttle, then."

Elizibeth laughed. "Please!" She continued to chuckle as the pilot walked back up to the cockpit. She was very glad to here muffled communications from the pilot, asking for permission for Triancian Air Force Flight Hawk 6 to enter Wingardian airspace.

It means she could finally get down to the fun stuff.

"Triancian Air Force Flight Hawk 6, this is the Stromburg Traffic Control. Permission granted to enter Wingardian airspace. You will be cleared to land on runway 4 of the Stromburg International Airport shortly. Send the delegate our warmest regards. Welcome to Wingarde." The air traffic controller reported over the radio from the control tower of the airport, before taking a sip of his mug of coffee. Afterwards, he resumed his work, coordinating other flights.

Meanwhile...

The telephone ringed on the desk of Wilhelm Vanholme, Minister for Foreign Affairs, who was working on some reports on his computer. He picked it up and talked for a few moments with the person on the other side.

"I see. Arrange two escorts to guide the Mrs. Forest to the airport." Wilhelm ordered and received a response. "Yes, I'll meet her personally, don't worry about that."

He hung up, stood up from his leather chair and switched the intercom on. "Emma, please schedule a meeting with the Triancian delegate at five o' clock. I'll go meet her at the airport now." Vanholme informed his secretary, grabbed his coat and left his office.


OOC: I assume she wasn't your Minister of State, since your website states otherwise. Also, the two fighter escorts are WF-27s, just in case you want to use that in your post. ;)

The Co-pilot of Hawk 6, a Flight Lieutenant, looked nervously out of the right side of the cockpit, at the WF-27 keeping pace with their small aircraft.

"Nervous, Kase?" The Group Captain inquired.

"Yeah. I, ahh, I really don't being this close to fighters I haven’t fuc-" She suddenly looked behind her, into the cabin. "Uhh, friggin' seen before."

The Group Captain laughed. "I read your jacket before. You flew fighters before this." He gestured out to the two close riding Wingarde fighters. "One thing you have to understand about this diplomatic ferrying duty is that fighters of all types get very close. Not to worry, though. Nation this small would have to be crazy to start a war with us like that."

"Yeah. Crazy..." The co-pilot, nevertheless, scanned the skies like she was on a CAP, all up until Hawk 6 began its approach.

The MEX-13, a homegrown Triancian executive transport, landed with minimal flare at Stromburg International. Dr. Forest stepped out onto the tarmac, surrounded by a man and women, both in suits and sunglassed, and both looking like snipers might be lurking in the commercial aircraft nearby. Dr. Forest herself looked about more casually.

"Anybody see a limousine driver around here?"

OOC: Would your intelligence arm, or Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have attempted to gather info on the delegation? If so, tell me how effective your services would have been, any specific information you where trying to gather, and who in the delegation you were trying to gather info on.

The Delegation consists of two pilots, three administrative assistants, two bodyguards, and Dr. Forest herself.

"Damn, we're late!" Wilhelm swore under his breath after receiving a call from his secretary, telling him the plane had already landed. He pondered for a few seconds, fiddling his index finger around the top of his glass of whisky while his bodyguards looked vigilantly through the windows.

"We need to hurry. Floor it, Gunther." The minister ordered to his driver as the stretch limousine calmly rolled on the asphalt of an avenue.

"Yes, Herr Vanholme." Gunther stepped on the accelerator, considerably increasing the speed of the long, luxurious government car. Less than five minutes later, and after masterfully dodging other cars and ignoring red lights, Minister Vanholme's limousine arrived at the airport. The driver maneuvered the car onto the tarmac, gently approached to the Triancian diplomatic plane and applied the brakes several meters away from it.

The black limousine's door locks were released, and Wilhelm got out of it, followed by his four bodyguards, in square formation behind him. They walked up to Dr. Forest, and stopped some distance away from her. Vanholme stepped forward, gently took her hand and kissed it.

"Welcome to Wingarde, Frau Forest. Please forgive me for being late, I was delayed elsewhere. I have arranged transportation for the rest of the delegation, too." The minister politely apologized for the inconvenience and gestured towards his vehicle as two government pick-ups parked beside it.

"We have much to discuss. Shall we?"

Elizbeth nodded to her self, and her party, as she saw the limousine pull up. "Ahh, just a bit late." She turns behind her, and gives a nod to one of her male assistants, who, nods himself, and heads inside the aircraft.

Forest regarding the bodyguard detail with respect, and the hand-kissing with some surprise, an outward smile, and a bit of inward chagrin. People who did that, you never could tell if they would take her seriously. Perhaps her reputation had preceded her, she hoped.

"It's no problem, Minister Vanholme... may I call you Wilhelm?" She said, with a small grin on her face. She looks at both the pickup trucks, and gives a slight shake of her head. "Such transportation is appreciated, but unnecessary. I am only accompanied by my security and two assistants. The pilots and my remaining assistant will wait here, with our aircraft, in case I am needed on short notice."

She steps forward to the door of the limousine. "And yes, we do have much to discuss."

When the transports depart, any alert sentry will notice the female Flight Lieutenant stepping outside the door, scanning the area, her right hand fluttering near the small of her back. This was Triancian property, after all...

"Please take us to my office in the Congress, Gunther." Wilhelm ordered the driver once everyone was inside in black limousine. The doors' locks were activated.

"Oh, don't worry about that, it's just a safety measure" The minister pointed out as the vehicle left the airport, tailed by the two government pick-up trucks.

The journey to the Federal Congress was uneventful, but gave the Triancian diplomats an opportunity to behold the beauty of Stromburg, the capital of Wingarde. This time, Gunther drove at normal, gentle speed. Wilhelm shared some drinks and chatted a while in the passenger compartment of the limousine. Nevertheless, the formal negotiations would begin in his office.

A few minutes later...

The stretch vehicle parked by the main entrance of the Federal Congress of Wingarde, whose attractive Roman designs in white stood out from the office buildings in the downtown area of the city. The group of politicians went into the building, which was protected by many guards in ceremonial gear, up until the third floor, where the minister's office was.

"Here it is, Frau Forest." Vanholme commented and opened the door to the lobby of his office, decorated with fine paintings, luxurious furniture, the Wingardian coat of arms above the fireplace and the national flag on one corner.

"Please wait here for a moment, I'll be with you shortly." Wilhelm said as he went up to his secretary's desk. An employee came from one of the other doors, holding a silver plate with appetizers and drinks, which he left on the short table in the middle of the red couches.

"Emma, do you have the reports I asked you earlier?" The minister discretely whispered to his secretary, who handed documentation from the Secret Service to him. He skimmed it quickly, gave it back to Emma and returned to his guests.

"So, what brings you to our country, Frau Forest?" Wilhelm asked as he sat down on one of the luxurious couches in front of Dr. Forest's, taking a glass of whisky from the short table.


OOC: Those papers are the intelligence report on all the members of your Triancian delegation. Feel free to reveal any info the minister should know after skimming them. The Federal Secret Service is quite decent when intelligence gathering is concerned. Also, I might have over-extended my post; maybe you want to roleplay what your people did on the journey to the Congress and Vanholme's office, too.

The Federal Secret Service is efficient indeed, but, in a large, economically powerful nation such as Triancia, both its Royal Intelligence Service, and Triancian Federal Police Department work very hard to keep digging at the surface. Nevertheless, you are able to get some information, most available due to the large amounts of 'sunshine laws' passed in Parliament.

Pilots:
Group Captain Norman Treil, pilot. Diplomatic ferry pilot for the better part of ten years. Cool, confident, and prepared for any contingency.

Flight Lieutenant Kasey Renee, co-pilot. Just transferred in from flying Triancian Raptors. An excellent, quick-thinking pilot, but a bit on-edge and paranoid.

Bodyguards:
Sergeant Rick Arlen. Experienced diplomatic protection agent. Qualified as an expert with the MP7.

Inspector Charlene Fredricks. Assigned as a detective for the first half of her career. Inquisitive, and perceptive.

Assistants:
Frank Rawling, Chief of Staff. Has worked his way up from municipal work, to assitting a Deputy Secretary. Hard-working and efficient, but not very loyal to anything but his advancement.

Jennifer Hastings, Assistant. Little information. All public records about her difficult to substantiate.

Turk Armenen, Assistant. One of Dr. Forest's more trusted associates. Formerly TFPD Counterintelligence, in the State Department since 1990. In the MEX-13.

Head of Delegation
Dr. Elizabeth Forest, Deputy Secretary of State for Relations Establishment. Born to a middle-class family in 1950, in Cerzana, the type that was very politically active. Entered the Royal University at 18, graduating in 1972. with a Bachelor's in Political Science. Spent 4 years in the Royal Triancian Navy, two over the requirement for Triancian citizens. Served her time on an ELINT ship, exiting the Service as a Lieutenant. After leaving the Navy, spent another two years at the Royal University, gaining a Masters in Political Science. Entered the Royal Intelligence Service in 1980. Information classified until 1990, when she was selected as the Deputy Director of Field Operations. Left the RIS in 1995, when she was picked up by the State Department as a low level Ambassador. Some say her skill at negotiation got her a higher posting in the State Department in 2000. Received her Doctorate in Political Science in 2002. In 2004, she was sent to the International Allied Defense Federation, as Triancia's Representative, and Member of the Security Council for Internal and Intelligence Affairs. After the alliance's de facto dissolution, appointed to Deputy Secretary by request of Secretary Garner.
-------------------
As the doors on the limousine lock, both of the bodyguards reach into their coats at the same time. It seems the minister's quick words saved them all from an embarrassing display of force. Dr. Forest herself looks unconcerned, scanning the countryside out the window with a semi-amazed look on her face.

"Well, I'll be... I didn't expect a beautiful Metropolis like this out in the middle of the Pacific! Hopefully my people and I will get some sightseeing in after these negotiations are done."

The female assistant scans outside too, looking more business like. The male one simply looks bored.

Upon arriving at the office, the bodyguards again looked tense. In fact, they always looked tense. Paranoia must be a required course in the TFPD. The Deputy Secretary looks at the palace itself and its furnishings with an impressed air. Entering the office, she nods to herself, paying that slight homage to its refinement. The assistants wait outside, as does the male bodyguard.

When the Minister leaves them for a moment, however, she whispers to the female guard. "Bug check?" The guard nods, and, taking out a small device, slowly walks around the room, hugging the walls.

Dr. Forest sits down, and gives a smile to the Minister. "Forgive my caution. I suppose one gains a bit of overblown caution in this job." She grabs a glass of whiskey herself, taking a small sip.

"What brings me to this wonderful city of yours, Minister Vanholme, is the Triancian government's interest in this country. Your strategic position in the Pacific, advanced arms industries, and attention to the tenets of democracy and liberty, all make relations between Wingarde and Triancia greatly desired."

Another sip. "And you certainly didn't lose any points with that VLS Koen incident, either. I know some of our SSO guys want to meet this Major Brentsen."

The minister takes a sip from his glass of whisky. "Ah, yes. Wingarde's a gem in the middle of the Pacific. Stromburg's not the only beautiful city; you should visit the rest of the country when you have time." Wilhelm took one of the appetizers. "At any rate, I am glad Triancia has put her interest in our humble nation."

Vanholme stands up and slowly walks towards the window of the room. He glances at the bustling city outside for a moment before turning his sight back to Elizabeth.

"An alliance between our two nations would be mutually beneficial. I even heard that Wingarde Aerospace is setting up an aircraft manufacturing facility in Mariscopa." The minister took a small sip and smiled at the deputy secretary.

"But of course, an alliance is based on trust by both parts, isn't it?" The man took another sip of his glass, nearly empty.

Liz takes short sips of her glass of whiskey every now and then. Enough to be sociable, but not enough to get her drunk. Not good for negotiations if you slur every other word. "Cerzana, you say?" She looks a bit confused. "I thought it was being built near Mariscopa. Hard to get the two mixed up."

The female bodyguard, Fredricks, finishes her sweep, and, after returning the Minister's glare with a roll of her eyes, nods to the Doctor. Forest, seemingly oblivious to both gestures, nods, back, which is apparently the signal for Fredricks to exit. She does so, and after the door closes, Dr. Forest continues.

“Trust, Minister? Oh, forgive me for any hint to the contrary, but I trust Wingarde." She regards her glass with a thoughtful air. "I trust you, even though my friends in the RIS have had intermittent contact in Triancia with members of your Federal Secret Service. Though, I don't blame you. I am rather impressed with their skill."

She looks up to the Minister. "No, it's the others I don't trust. Ever since the Federalist Party came to power in Triancia, we've been doing a lot of saber-rattling, military build-ups, and condemnation of the dictatorships. And, though I don't doubt your Secret Service in a foreign role, I have not yet observed their counterintelligence capabilities." She gestures to the room around her. "I am uncertain as to what enemies of Triancia might be in these islands, with plans to disrupt any alliance we form."

She gives a grin. "For you see, Minister, Triancia is prepared to offer the nation of Wingarde a Mutual Defense Treaty, coupled with a Free Trade Agreement. I am sure any of our potential enemies would hate to see that pass."

OOC: Hastings is outside. Her Female bodyguard was the one in the building. I also assume you messed up the place where the factory is being built. I can edit, if you don't want to roll with that mistake. :)

Wilhelm sits down again and leaves his empty glass of whisky on the short table. And his smile faded slightly as Dr. Forest mentioned the RIS stumbling upon the FSS in Triancia. Nevertheless, he quickly resumed his peaceful grin as the treaty proposal cropped up.

"Ah! We can certainly accept such treaties!" The minister smiles broadly at the proposal. However, he frowns after a few moments, hearing the comments of possible enemies within Wingarde. "Emma, could you leave us, please?" His secretary nodded, stood up from her chair behind her desk and left the room. Vanholme kept his serious look on his face.

"Elizabeth, I'm an honest person and our countries are future allies, so I cannot keep this from you." The minister sighed and continued after a moment. "I'm sure the RIS already knows this, but there is something that could be understood as a threat here, inside our very nation." Wilhelm took a deep breath, took another glass of whisky from the plate on the short table and continued.

"Even though the government will not normally admit, there's a group of insurgents called the Black Rose. They promote isolationism, an authoritarian form of government for Wingarde and assorted extreme right-wing ideals. They will probably disapprove of any treaties with foreign powers." The minister regretfully reported. "They are mostly under control by our defense forces and remain small in numbers, though. Nevertheless, they always seem to evade justice, as they are constantly on the move. Most troubling, however, is the fact they've been resorting to terrorist tactics lately, though in isolated minor incidents."

"Even so, I've ensured your safety ever since you touched down by keeping this meeting secret and boosting security." Wilhelm reassured Dr. Forest and changes subject. "At any rate, I hope this does not affect your proposals, am I right?"


OOC: Yes, I messed up twice. I've corrected my previous post accordingly.

Dr. Forest allows herself a slight smile after finding the Minister slightly distruaght at the FSS's discovery. She had to have pride in her former brethren, didn't she?

That smile fades, however, when the minister starts telling her of the Black Rose. Her brow furrows as he tells her the deatails, forming a scowl that one would not want directed at themselves. Luckily, it doesn't seem the Wingardian government will take the brunt of this one.

"The Royal Intelligence Service does not yet have a significant precence in Wingarde. It's troublesome to estiblish one without a base of operations, like an embassy. Needless to say, I wish I knew about this threat sooner. I would have brought more Policemen with me. This might have warranted Marines, even."

The scowl fades a bit, replaced in recipocity by a slight smile. "I don't beleive this will effect our dealing with your government. Barring gross violations of human rights by this government, I can tell already that this group's allegations will be baseless." She sips down the rest of her whiskey, and looks dissapointedly at the empty glass. "Though, I probabaly should make a few phone calls..."

Vanholme frowns at the comment about extra Triancian protection for the delegation. "I was aware that letting you know in advance about this minor group would have invariably led to the reinforcing of your own escort, so I opted to reinforce my side of the security forces. You must understand that bringing more foreign soldiers would have endangered the secrecy of this meeting, and therefore increased the possibilities of the Black Rose finding out about it and taking action against the delegation." Wilhelm took a deep breath after explaining his plan to Dr. Forest, drank some more whisky from his glass and sighed.

"I hope you can forgive me for that, but I did what I thought best for the situation. At any rate, as I said, the Black Rose is hardly a critical threat, especially since the arrest of their leader a few months ago." The minister commented before changing subjects. "Anyway, as you suggested we can also establish embassies on both of our countries to enhance political presence on them. What do you think?"

Dr. Forest nods. "I can understand the need for secrecy, and appreciate you taking the safety of me and my delegation into account. However, you'll understand that I'm also wary of the bulk of security in a hostile situation being provided for by a host government. I feel I might be prevented from seeing everything there is to be seen."

She raises a hand, and looks around her for a few brief seconds. "On the subject of embassies..." She stands up, and walks to the door, opening it, and peeking outside. "Rawling!"

"Ma'am?" responded the career assistant.

"Where's Ms. Hastings? She had the documents with her about embassy placement."

"Ms. Hastings left a few minutes ago, to see the town sights. She left me those documents, but I don't think she left all of them. I tried to stop her, but she took the briefcase as well."

A bit of under the breath swearing by Dr. Forest. "All right. Damn it. Just give me what she left."

A quick exchange of paper, and the door is shut, and Liz heading back to her chair. "I swear, that girl takes too many liberties for a new hire. I'm going to have to reprimand her when she gets back."

She thumbs through the documents a bit, and then looks up. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I hope you don't mind my assistant collecting some information for me on the local people?"

"Oh, not at all." Minister Vanholme smiled at Dr. Forest while swiftly and stealthily pressing a key on his cell phone. He then drank a bit from his glass of whisky and finished it up, leaving it on the short table once it was empty. "I assume it won't take Ms. Hastings long to get back."

Meanwhile, several blocks away from the Congress...

The two black FSS pick-up trucks that escorted Vanholme and the delegation to the Congress were already discretely following Hastings when Gerhard Brandt's cell phone rang to life. His partner, Kiefer Scherer, chuckled. They had been following the suspicious woman for a couple of minutes now, the minister's subtle order wasn't at all necessary; merely a "just in case" alternative.

"So, who do you think this mysterious girl really is?" Scherer asked his partner, who was at the wheel of the lead pick-up truck, constantly tracking Hastings with his eyes besides following her with the vehicle itself.

"What? Oh, I don't care. It's our job to take out this kind of people when they start messing with my country, no matter where are they from." Gerhard replied, still focused on Hastings, who was walking on the sidewalk.

"And what about this Trian--" Kiefer wanted to ask another question, he was a chatty guy, but was interrupted by his partner and couldn't finish his sentence.

"Alright, shut up! We're working now. Keep you eyes peeled on that suitcase, too. There's something funny about it..."

Dr. Forest nods. "Me neither. I'm sure whatever sight-seeing business she has to conduct, she'll do so in a timely fashion."

She flips through the pages she was handed. "Now, I do have plans for a Triancian embassy. I'm afraid we tend to staff ours with protective services quite heavily, at least a platoon of Royal Triancian Marines, and half that of Triancian Federal Police. We are, of course, flexible on this matter." She checks her watch, and curses.

"Damn it! I forgot to mention that the actual treaty drafts are coming in by diplomatic courier. An escorted Royal Postal Service aircraft," She smiles, "one of your WT-19's, is due to near your airspace in less than an hour. The escorts will peel off before breaching your airspace, but we would appreciate an escort the rest of the way."

A few blocks away from Congress:

If Ms. Hastings knows people are following her, she doesn't let on. She is, however, not taking all the precautions a discreet tourist would make, almost as if she doesn't care who follows her.

She walks slowly toward a district of warehouses, stopping in front of the door of one, and checking her watch.

The metal door in front of Hastings slowly opened. "Right on time. Come in, please." A tall man wearing a grey trench coat greeted the woman and let her in the warehouse. Once she was inside, the man looked to one side and the other and closed the door.

Meanwhile, merely a block away...

"Bastards. They're hiding there." Scherer cursed and lowered his binoculars to his waist as he saw Ms. Hastings entering the old warehouse. The FSS agents didn't expect anything less than this.

"Black Rose guys?" Gerhard asked, just to confirm the obvious. His partner nodded, so he reached for his cell phone. "Unit Two, this is One, target is meeting with Black Rose members. We're going in soon, get ready." Brandt reported to the second pick-up truck, parked some distance away from the lead one, and punched in minister Vanholme's number.

Back in the minister's office lobby...

"Are you sure you need so many men to protect the embassy? I think that bringing that amount of soldiers could cause some distress among the populace near the embassy." Wilhelm glanced at one of the last glasses full of whisky on the table, but refrained from taking it. He had already drank too much for a meeting. "At any rate, remember your reciprocity policy: we will place as many guards as you do in our embassy in Triancia." The minister was going to continue talking, but Emma, his secretary, interrupted him.

"Herr Vanholme, you have a call. It's urgent." Emma reported, frowning. The minister stood up and approached her desk, with a serious look on his face. The secretary whispered the reason of the call to Wilhelm. He nodded.

"You'll have to excuse me for a moment. I'll be right back." Vanholme entered his office and closed the door behind him. It took him less than two minutes to come back. With an ominous look, he gazed at the Triancian deputy secretary.

"Frau Forest, we have a problem."

Dr. Forest nods, concerning troops. "Actuallly, the Defense Department would tell you, or, I should say, any [i]other[i] country, that Triancia does not considered Embassies military bases. It our own little way of bypassing one of our own policies." She shakes her head a bit. "But we are more than willing to reciprocate on troops within the embassies. The more troops placed, the more we can insure our mutual protection, ehh?"

Upon hearing they have a problem, Dr. Forest gets a bit distant, and, again, examines a bit mournfully her empty whiskey glass. "I can guess." The Deputy Secretary puts down her glass, and reaches into her suit pocket, pulling out a small electronic device. "Would you like to listen in?"

OOC: For those following, this thread wil be in active until saturday, where Wingarde and Triancia will do faster pose RP via Messenger Client. Edited resualts will be posted.