NationStates Jolt Archive

THIS TOPIC IS CLOSED

The day came, the invitations sent, the people placed, and the time arrived. The Grand Duke, in absentia, had arranged the arrival of the Layarteb ambassador to be as discreet as possible, so as to prevent arousing public infringement. The people of Saint Lazare would have likely bombarded the ambassador's motorcade with countless hearts, bills [of francs], and other items, expressing their general ecstasy to meet a man from America. Of course, not everyone would share the same sentiments, but the Grand Duke knew that inhibitions were hard to please, and thus, to please everyone, he would please no one. Public rallies were restricted until after the discussions were over, so as to allow the greatest liberty and flexibility to the diplomats currently settled in the CEI [Centre des Etats Internationaux]. They would certainly need the space in which to operate - among many other things, the most crucial element to discuss was that of the possible state of Alliance between the Grand Duchy and Layarteb.

Indeed, there were many things to discuss and so little time to exploit the opportunities at hand.

The ambassador pulled up in his M2045A1 Diplomatic Transport Vehicle, DTV for short. It was based on the 2006 Chevrolet Suburban and had different aspects of the LS, LT, and LTZ models taken into account. With these features, the vehicle was equipped with an 8.1 liter, V8 engine, capable of 420 horsepower @ 5,000 rpm with 505 ft·lbf of torque at 4,000 rpm. The M2045A1, unrestricted, could move as fast as 124 miles per hour and even though it was, essentially, a large SUV, it handled corners, turns, and tight maneuvering like a car. It was dropped low to the ground, giving it a clearance of only 8.4 inches. With its powerful engine, the vehicle had a power to weight ratio of 97.67 horsepower per ton and a fuel economy rating of 24 miles per gallon. Powered by E85, the vehicle was dangerously deadly and at a cost of $55,000 each, they were fully loaded.

The Empire had 115,000 of these vehicles in service, each painted black with government lisence plates on both the rear and the front of the vehicle in a combination involving four letters and four numbers, giving a possibility of 4,569,760,000 combinations. They would never use that many and old numbers were recycled. The ambassador's plate read: "DSL-5822" and he proudly stepped out of the armor SUV. It could fit eight people comfortably with additional ones in the cargo area, if necessary. Inside the vehicle were only six individuals: the driver, the ambassador, two bodyguards, and two aides. They were in friendly territory and didn't need the full staff of six bodyguards but they weren't foolish enough to go unescorted. The five men stepped out, all of them in sharp business suits and watched as the vehicle drove away. The driver was a bodyguard himself but it was his responsibility to guard the vehicle and ensure that nobody planted any "devices" on it or did anything to it.

"Well, now it's a party." The ambassador remarked as he buttoned his suit jacket and walked towards the two men at the door.

"Greetings, Ambassador! Welcome to the Center for International States. Please, allow us to escort you to the conference area, as the Prime Minister is awaiting your arrival. We presume that your trip here was well and quiet?"

The ambassador nodded [I can make your ambassador, right? :confused:], and the company walked into the building. For a building as magnificent as it was, it seemed to have been underused, as man of the structures were still glistening in pure reflection. It was either that or the people maintained the building very well. In addition to that, it was a sparsely population with delegates and personnel, mostly from the Grand Duchy. Nonetheless, it seemed to be a fitting place to meet for the moment; it was well-tailored to the development of diplomatic dialogue.

They flew twenty floors up the elevator where the conference area was supposedly reserved. To greet was a small gathering men settled at the tables, with a string quartet providing some somber and enjoyable atmosphere. With the arrival of the Layartebian ambassador, the men stood up and greeted him. The Prime Minister stepped and introduced himself: "I am Jacques Lillois, Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Saint Lazare. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Grand Duchy. Please! Have a seat and enjoy from foie gras before we begin our discussions. We hope that the atmosphere is appealing."

"Monsieur le Premier Ministre du Grand Duche de Saint Lazare Jacques Lillois, it is a pleasure to meet you. May I be so kind as to thank you for this opportunity and these proceedings. Both of our great nations have much more to benefit from an alliance than by sitting around with nothing to push for, don't you agree?" He shook his hand and sat down. He opened up a briefcase to pull out his laptop, which would have more information on it than he would need for these proceedings. A notepad sat close by him and he had scribbled notes on it throughout the past few hours. He moved his laptop slightly to his side and looked over at his aides. They sat down as well and began their own preparations. "Well Monsieur. Where may we begin? If I may? The Empire feels that the Grand Duche de Saint Lazare is a nation that emblemizes certain ideals and norms that we, in the Empire, feel are proactive to our own beliefs. The Empire feels that the Grand Duche de Saint Lazare is a nation that respects the world and its ideals and is a nation that we have much commonality with, much so that we feel it would be more than beneficial to both of our nations to form an alliance. The Empire and the Grand Duche are, in many ways, very similar but, in many ways, very different and we wish to respect all similarities and differences. We wish not to infringe upon an already established free trade agreement nor do we wish to change anything from the past. We feel that, up until now, our two nations have been going in a direction that sees, as its next likely step, an alliance."

"Monsieur, you are certainly on our track. Let us begin the discussions." With that, the string quartet ended their playing and vacated to another room. The servers waited outside, and thus began the discussions:

"The Grand Duchy herebefore seen the status of alliance. Before its collapse, we were allied to the Empire of DP, although we now view that as something of lesser importance than our current alliance with the Cottish Realm. In fact, they also happen to allies of the Empire, and with our mutual objectives herein decided, an alliance with the Empire would be in our greatest interests. At the present moment, we are looking to stabilize the Indian subcontinent, and while we have been largely successful, our efforts are still vastly under-supported even by what the Grand Duchy itself can provide. The Eurasian Republics was courteous and friendly to our cause, and it is only right that we acknowledge their already present assistance in our quests. With an alliance with the Empire, although we have no sincere wish to push Layarteb into India, we feel that the peace established there will last a long time, as the influence of very powerful states will only help to police the condition there.

"It is often noted that the righteous with power are easily corrupted to do ills, but in the Grand Duchy, righteousness is not enough to govern a state in harmony. We need to have the calling of the Good, and as we have seen on numerous occasions, we have sided the calling of the Good, although it may not exemplify itself as the Good, because even the Good can make mistakes and err. But the quality of the Good is such that its every attempt is an attempt to make the world a better condition, and better place to inhabit. And we see this in the Empire. We have every reason to establish this alliance - our only point now is to draw up the points of it.

"S'il vous plait [If it pleases you], we can begin this discussion and cut out the sweet talk about the glorious nature of our endeavors."

"Well put. Well put. The Empire sees certain nations of the world as potentially hazardous to the current peace that we on Earth enjoy. Certain nations, which I shall leave nameless until later in our discussion have already acted to subvert the Empire and its allies. In addition, there are certain extraterritorial foes that are a major threat to both of our nations, primarily that of the drug cartels. As you are aware, the Esmeralda Cartel, the largest of the three cartels within the Empire was recently annihilated. That leaves only two and now they are warring wit heach other. However, we know that they have ties elsewhere, to other cartels, and are being supplied by them. We believe that a mutual alliance between our two great nations can help to vanquish these foes and protect both of our nations against enemies, foreign and domestic."

"We do acknowledge that there are subversive elements in the world, notably those in India at the moment. These are among the elements that has been plaguing the Grand Duchy ever since our Indian counterparts elected to join the Dukedom. As such, we have a vested interest to minimizing - and indeed perhaps better said, eradicating - these threats to our peace. As such, we need to decide on the terms of our alliance if we are to ascertain the roles of our respective states in maintaining this delicate balance of peace in the world."

With that, PM Lillois brought forward a document that possessed the following words:

We, the Grand Duchy of Saint Lazare and the Empire of Layarteb, hereafter refered to as "Saint Lazare" and "the Empire" respectively, to promote friendly relations between our two sovereign and independent nations, agree to the following contracts regarding a state of alliance between our two nations:

1.) The Empire and Saint Lazare shall resolve to maintain friendly and profitable relationships through any ciircumstance regarding the two states;

2.) When in a state of defense, the Empire and Saint Lazare resolves to aid the other as is needed to support the other, regardless of the threat presently facing them, except in the following conditions:
a.) when either the Empire or Saint Lazare commit to an attack that is not mutually defensive;
b.) when the Empire or Saint Lazare are bound to honor the alliance of other friendly nattions, in which case, both the Empire and Saint Lazare resolve not to engage in hostilities when or if conflict should erupt, or;
c.) when the Empire or Saint Lazare cannot honor the alliance due to circumstances involving the survival of that state, whereas if either the Empire or Saint Lazare would lose sovereignty over its respective nation in providing assistance to the other;

3.) In times of peace, the Empire and Saint Lazare shall resolve to diplomatically resolve any conflicts that shall come in time;

4.) In times of peace, the Empire and Saint Lazaare shall resolve not to use agressive tactics with the intention of coercing the other nation into committments that are not in the interests of that sovereign nation;

5.) In times of war, where neither party can directly come to the assistance of the other, the Empire and Saint Lazare resolve to maintain open ports and facilities for the merchant fleet and other civilian vessels of strategic importance; where there exists a hostile state between nations allied to either party, the neutral party shall maintain free and peaceful acts of interchange between the one party and the hostile party;

6.) The Empire and Saint Lazare both resolve to maintain the precepts of this treaty - upon signature of the respective heads of state - to maintain positive interests that work for the mutual benefit of both parties in any circumstance;

7.) The Empire and Saint Lazare shall both resolve to maintain a free and open market for the trade goods and merchandise from the respective sovereign nations in each others nations;

8.) In conclusion, the Empire and Saint Lazare shall resolve to review this treaty after a period of 5 years or thereafter to decide whether this treaty should remain in place - at such a time, either party may decline and peacefully withdraw.

This day, le jour mois 2006, we afix our seals to the treaty, hereby binding our honor and our nations to cooperative and beneificial progress.

After giving the ambassador some time to read it, Lillois asked him, "Is this agreeable at all?"

The ambassador read it over, twice, to make sure that he didn't read through it too fast. Everything was agreeable and he took some time to click off some check boxes in his laptop. "Certainly this is agreeable. We have no reservations against any of these articles but we do have some to add." He pulled up a few boxes on his laptop and took a sip of water. "The Empire feels that a clause pertaining to the sharing of intelligence would be necessary in such that should either of our domestic intelligence agencies come across information pertaining to certain and definite harm to the other, that it shall be shared immediately. We must look out for one another. We feel that terms of extradition should be included as well, so as to ensure that criminals do not take advantage of our travel policies. We feel that should it come to the knowledge of law enforcement services that a known Layartebian criminal is hiding in the Grand Duche that the Empire be made aware immediately and that extradition be arranged. Naturally this would work both ways. Criminals are deplorable, I doubt you disagree." The ambassador passed those over while waiting for the response. If they were agreeable, he would continue.

OOC: Can't think of anything at the moment but give me time [awful day @ work].

The Prime Minister took care to listening to every word. There was certainly a long silence, as he painstakingly thought of what the Layartebian's amendment would mean. [ooc: humor to hide the long absence of a response...]

Without further ado, he gave his reply:

"The Grand Duchy can see a very good reason to include a clause discussing the sharing of intelligence. After all, in war, the most principal object is intelligence, and the side which knows more of what and where is best able to respond in due. And the enemy need not be criminal druglords - there is the most deplorable situation when an enemy rogue state is opposed to us, and thus sharing critical information will be necessary to combat this foe with the most efficient manner and method.

"On the matter of extradiction, we can agree, but we must add in a clause to grant a secondary protection of persons - if either party wishes to have the extradiction of a person living in the other party's territory, the one country must hold the person in question and try him for extradiction charges. A panel composed of three judges will review the case, as presented by the offended party against the defending person - and if after review the judges finds extradiction a worthy consequence, a formal extradiction must then occur - unless fitting justice can be applied in the host country. This provision is only one extra protection to prevent needless extradiction, and indeed perhaps a viable method to insure that criminals in either of our countries would have no true safe haven. And likewise, the innocent citizens would be safeguarded against malicious charges. Would this be suitable as a clause?"

The ambassador nodded. "You are correct sir. I believe these are in order. Moving along. There are a few other provisions that the Empire would wish to have, particularly concerning that of trade and free enterprise. Our free trade agreement shall stand and we wish to incorporate it into this pact and agreement, with which we were thinking of calling it the Lazarian-Layartebian Accord. In addition, concerning trade and such, the Empire wishes that certain provisions be included as to respect trade, regardless of situation or crisis in that the agreements made fourth in our free trade agreement be not infringed upon under any circumstance. Unofficially, the Empire would also wish to ask the Grand Duche their cooperation in fighting the drug lords throughout the world, not just at home but afar as well. The Layartebian drug problem stems just as much from foreign as much as domestic means and India is ripe with that sort of affliction. In addition, before I progress further, I wish to understand the Grand Duche's stance to the Japanese people in the Commonwealth of Asia?"

Lillois took the Layartebian comments and tried to reply to each in due.

"Well, free trade and free enterprise are strongly encouraged in the Grand Duchy, since there wouldn't be much for the government nationalize in the first place. Besides that, there wouldn't be much of a healthy private sector without enterprise. I can only anticipate a similar policy in our Indian territories. As such, the FTA provisions and guarantees are completely in line with our own policies.

"Unofficially, the Grand Duchy can offer its assistance in stopping the Drug Trade problem, since we have recently conducted surveys that unfortunately unveils a large entry in tthe Grand Duchy for the introduction of controlled substances into the population of Europe. And only God knows about the drug problem in India - it's been there since Romans first invaded it! Whereas the Grand Duchy's official policy declares that the free trade thereof of drugs is forbidden, we have no policy concerning the free possession of drugs - hence, the particular issue of drug trade is of concern to the Grand Duchy.

[ooc: I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I spent a whole weekend talking about drug trade and apples...]

"And about the Japanese..." Lillois paused, only slightly to think about the Layartebian ambassador exactly meant. "Ah, seeing as the Grand Duchy has no official relations with the Commonwealth of Asia, I cannot offer a valid opinion.

The Layartebian Ambassador nodded. "Our main concern with the drug lords and cartels in India isn't so much how they progress throughout Indian, it is their relations with the cartels within our own land. The Empire would like to ask, unofficially, if we could commit a small force of men, five in size, to Grand Duche territory to work against these cartels and lords. We need to stop this problem and stop it at the root. Since our apprehension of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, we've been able to wipe out the Esmeralda Cartel. We've got two others of large size that need to be annihilated as well.

"With concern to the Japanese. I am sharing this information because I believe the Grand Duche has as much of a reason to be worried as the Empire does. Our intelligence has confirmed that the Japanese are planning for something big in the Pacific, which could very well stretch over into southeastern Asia, including India. The Japanese were none too pleased with our invasion of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and we know that they are not too pleased with our presence so close to theirs. They could be preparing for a global war and it would be in the interest of the globe to put up as fierce a resistance to any Japanese aggression as possible. Our allies in the October Alliance feel the same way and we do not believe that any Japanese aggression can go on unchecked."

[ooc: you're trying to elicit my Korean sentiments?]

"The Grand Duchy can agree to allowing a task force in India to help control the trade of drugs, as it so conceivably connects with your own efforts to control the drug problem in your own country. As far as we are concerned with the issue of the increasing hegemony of Japan in the Pacific, we only have concerns if it means a war in India. Given the circumstances, we see a possible threat, but as we have no official relations with them - and in fact, quite conversely, we have established outstanding ties to the United Eastasian Republics, which might be viewed as the more sensible opposition to the Japanese hegemony - we have no reason to develop more friendly relations with them than we have already at present. Unless the Asian Commonwealth presents itself to the Grand Duchy, we cannot offer much more in our opinion, so we will leave it at that for the moment."

"That is satisfiable. Well. I have no other recommendations and if you have none yourself I shall present these to my government in hopes that they find them more than proper."

"I shall submit a working copy to the Parlement, for a moderate debate, to see if this pleases them."

With that, Lillois had his chief draftors leave to do as he said would be done. In the meantime, they would wait.

The ambassador returned to his office, just a few blocks away, and sent the transmission to the Emperor and the Cabinet. It would be weighed over and discussed before approval and it was up to the Cabinet to vote on it. They would have to vote, by majority, to approve of the pact before it could be put into force and the Emperor could override their decision, if he felt it was in the best interests of the Empire to do so. However, when it came down to it, the pact was approved and the Emperor sent back his congradulations to the ambassador for a job well done. He only hoped now that the Grand Duche Parliament would see to it the same way.

The Prime Minister dialed the Layarteb ambassador at the embassy with good news.

"I apologize for the long wait, but the Parlement has agreed to approve the treaty. If you will come by the Parlement building, we can discuss this here; I have a working copy that we can use."

[ooc: an excuse for me to write the amendments... I will post when I have the details...]

"Certainly Prime Minister. I shall be over immediately." The ambassador left immediately for the Parliament building, eager to see what the Prime Minister had to add.

We, the Grand Duchy of Saint Lazare and the Empire of Layarteb, hereafter refered to as "Saint Lazare" and "the Empire" respectively, to promote friendly relations between our two sovereign and independent nations, agree to the following contracts regarding a state of alliance between our two nations:

1.) The Empire and Saint Lazare shall resolve to maintain friendly and profitable relationships through any circumstance regarding the two states;

2.) When in a state of defense, the Empire and Saint Lazare resolves to aid the other as is needed to support the other, regardless of the threat presently facing them, except in the following conditions:
a.) when either the Empire or Saint Lazare commit to an attack that is not mutually defensive;
b.) when the Empire or Saint Lazare are bound to honor the alliance of other friendly nations, in which case, both the Empire and Saint Lazare resolve not to engage in hostilities when or if conflict should erupt, or;
c.) when the Empire or Saint Lazare cannot honor the alliance due to circumstances involving the survival of that state, whereas if either the Empire or Saint Lazare would lose sovereignty over its respective nation in providing assistance to the other;

3.) In times of peace, the Empire and Saint Lazare shall resolve to diplomatically resolve any conflicts that shall come in time;

4.) In times of peace, the Empire and Saint Lazare shall resolve not to use aggressive tactics with the intention of coercing the other nation into commitments that are not in the interests of that sovereign nation;

5.) In times of war, where neither party can directly come to the assistance of the other, the Empire and Saint Lazare resolve to maintain open ports and facilities for the merchant fleet and other civilian vessels of strategic importance; where there exists a hostile state between nations allied to either party, the neutral party shall maintain free and peaceful acts of interchange between the one party and the hostile party;

6.) The Empire and Saint Lazare both resolve to maintain the precepts of this treaty - upon signature of the respective heads of state - to maintain positive interests that work for the mutual benefit of both parties in any circumstance;

7.) The Empire and Saint Lazare shall both resolve to maintain a free and open market for the trade goods and merchandise from the respective sovereign nations in each others nations;

8.) The Empire and Saint Lazare shall both resolve to assist the other in matters of national defense, to review intelligence concerning the defense and security of both states, to render assistance critical to the preservation of each other's sovereignty, to cooperate in matters that involve the security of both states, and to support mutually the rights of each state;

9.) In conclusion, the Empire and Saint Lazare shall resolve to review this treaty after a period of 5 years or thereafter to decide whether this treaty should remain in place - at such a time, either party may decline and peacefully withdraw.

This day, le jour mois 2006, we affix our seals to the treaty, hereby binding our honor and our nations to cooperative and beneficial progress.

[ooc: Clause 8 includes a discussion of intelligence sharing as well as some other provisions that generally mean "we will support each other mutually" - is this alright?]


IC::: After a brief meeting at the footsteps of the Parlement, PM Lillois brought the ambassador the document - a clean white page with the fine typewriter print upon it, with the seal of the Grand Ducal Parlement - and a fine glass of Cottish akvavit, freshly brought from the Realm after a rather curious series of events. They settled in the study adjoining the Prime Minister's office, where the Layarteb ambassador read the treaty in peace.

OOC: That's fine.

The ambassador smiled and looked it over once more. "We shall agree to this completely. Let us agree here and now but it shall be official when the Emperor comes to visit in two days time. He shall make the signing of this treaty official as only his signature can mandate such a thing." The ambassador smiled and held out his hand, "To a new friendship."

"Bien sur!" the Prime Minister said, as the two sides exchanged brief expressed of extremely restrained euphoria. It was a stunning achievement, and it was certainly likely to please both the Grand Duke and the Emperor.


[ooc: separate thread or - as I would favor - a continuation?]

OOC: Same thread. What's the runway sizes in Saint Lazare?

The Emperor rested comfortably in the cabin of the C-21B Learjet as it streaked across the Atlantic Ocean. He had to dispense with the VC-26F Condor on his visit to the Saint Lazarian capital, due to its small runway, which would never support the massive airliner and its need for almost 4.25 kilometers worth of landing and take off space. The Saint Lazarians had a little over 3 kilometers. He was comfortable in the small jetliner, which seated twenty people comfortably. On this mission he took only a small security detachment and a few aides, enough to fill the twenty passenger cabin. Security personnel at the embassy would double in their task to protect the Emperor if he needed and Ireland and Iceland were around the corner for reinforcements. The fighter escorts with the C-21 were doubled because of its small size and its inability to defend itself, thereby leaving the jetliner with eight fighters instead of the usual four for low-security missions. Only four would land in Saint Lazare, with the rest returning to base on the Canary Islands. All of the escort fighters were F-39C Super Eagles, high-altitude, high-speed, and highly capable fighters that were menacing and excellent escorts.

The Emperor would land in the capital and be escorted right to the Parliament to sign the newly written accord between the Empire and Grand Duche, which would usher in five years of uninterrupted peace, cooperation, and defense between the two nations. He would; however, have to return later on that evening. There was much to accomplish inside of the Empire.

The Grand Duke looked over the Parlement building, just set below the Grand Palais. It was a convenient place for the building itself - set on top of the rock that was the defensive mark of the land. One could see the entire domain that was Saint Lazare from the Palais, and it was at times a beautiful sight, especially at dawn. Roumillet nodded as the final preparations went forward - for the first time, he would meet the Emperor of Layarteb. It was perhaps a stroke of misfortune that the Emperor would happen to meet him on his own territory, but someday, he could visit the Emperor in Layarteb, if it only proved worthwhile to do so.

An adjutant approached him: "Son majesté, il est arrivé."

The plane was just landing at the airport, although to be honest, all planes looked the same to Roumillet. But from the distance, the essence of Layarteb was about it, and he made ready the Parlement to receive him. He turned to the adjutant and gave him the final instructions: "Send the motorcade with about five scratch resistant [i.e. bullet-proof; he knows the difference, but it's a safe way to distinguish a normal car from secure cars] vehicles to accompany the Emperor. He will know which car to take. He will have his own guards, which are to accompany him in the car directly behind him. That said, the streets are to be kept as clean as possible, although crowds are permitted on the sidewalks."

"This is different."

"Well, we're not crafting a treaty, now are we?"

"Non, son majesté."

With that, the adjutant did as the Grand Duke had instructed. And it was all set to be done, as Roumillet set out for the Parlement building.

OOC: I'm just assuming here that your Monaco is like most of Europe with those really old towns and stuff.

The Emperor stepped into the motorcade and looked at the pristine streets of the Saint Lazarian capital, which was old, very old but still luxuriously beautiful. "This is that old type of beauty. We don't have that much in the Empire but, well, let's face it, we have the castle." The Emperor smiled to his aide who made the remark.

"You are correct. I think we should visit here more often." The Emperor replied but spent the rest of the car ride without saying anything. They arrived shortly thereafter, the Emperor ready to sign into legislation the pact between the Empire and the Grand Duche.

OOC: I'm just assuming here that your Monaco is like most of Europe with those really old towns and stuff.

Le Palais du Duc

http://www.chezmonami-bijou.com/voyages/Monaco/PALAIS_ROYAL2.JPG

http://www.westminster06.com/photo/monaco/palais.jpg

http://www.provenceweb.fr/grafiq/villes06/monaco/palais.jpg



Le Parlement

http://home.tiscalinet.ch/samuel.weibel/samuel.weibel.be/gallery/21_monaco/DSC03622.JPG


Monaco City

http://homepages.compuserve.de/glemon69/monaco/monhafenblickg.JPG

http://www.travelplaces.co.uk/images/renault_pages/monaco-casino1.jpg

http://www.derapate.it/img/monaco-montecarlo-gp.jpg


[ooc: just to give an idea about the atmosphere :D]

OOC: Well someone's assumption was wrong but I did see an old fort. That looks like Miami.

[ooc: where in Miami do you see mountains? :eek: ]

IC:


Roumillet heard the transmission patch through to his call box. "The Emperor is here."

He nodded and turned quickly to his entourage. They headed to the shuttle car, leading down to the Parlement building, in welcome anticipation to resolve diplomacy and friendships unbound.

OOC: Well minus the mountains but it looks like a glorious beachside city.

The Emperor stepped out of the vehicle with his aides and security detail. "Beautiful looking building," he commented as he buttoned up his suit jacket and stepped forward, the door shutting behind him. Now he just waited for the Grand Duchy.

The Grand Duke just a minute after the Emperor arrived, and they settled in for a joint sessions of Parlement. Roumillet entered the Prime Minister's office and the two met face-to-face for the first time. There was a glimmer of silence in the break, as the Emperor appeared somewhat younger than he had anticipated - no doubt, Roumillet appeared much older than what the Emperor would have expected, but appearances are always fleeting. At one moment, anyone can appear young or old, but deep inside, youth is always at heart.

"It is a gracious honor to receive your Eminence in the Grand Duchy, Emperor," Roumillet said.

"Thank you very much sir. I am pleased to be here, in your luxurious and beautiful capital. I hope that I will have the pleasure of returning here in the near future." He looked around at the beautifully classif building and smiled as he entered. His staff followed shortly behind him. "So I hear we have an accord to agree to, do we not?"

"Indeed. I believe that it was planned to have the official recognition of the accords in the Parlement Chambers. The entire Parlement has convened to witness the event, with a limited media presence, so as not to convolute the atmosphere. I hope that you do not mind the ceremony. Afterwards, I would like to invite you to mon Chateau Royal and Palais du Grand Duc; there is a small but amiable atmosphere there, and I should hope that you will come before you depart."

With that, the Emperor went forward, led by an attendant, who went forward into the Parlement chamber. He announced the Grand Duke's arrival, and Roumillet followed upon it with a dignified stride to his seat, accompanied by the Prime Minister. The same speaker, still standing, then announced the arrival of the Layarteb Emperor, who arrived into the chamber to a warm accolade. Of course, the chamber was not big and it was not well populated. As the Emperor stepped to the seat beside Roumillet, he remarked lightly: "Well, I did mention that the atmosphere wouldn't be spoiled."

Finally, at the appointed moment, the entire chamber sat and listened to remarked by the Prime Minister announcing the occassion, followed by a short speech by the Grand Duke himself: "I don't speak to mess this occassion with too many words, so I shall spill only the details we ought to recognize. The achievement of the past weeks has given us a blessing, as delegates from the Empire and the Grand Duchy toiled long to give us a conclusive agreement, in the manner with which our respective governments would accord to us the rights of our people and our relations. I am proud to welcome the Emperor to our ancient capital, refreshed in recent times, and to welcome furthermore an alliance that shall stand solid in the test of times as our ancient has stood and as the Empire has likewise stood. With the adoption ratification of this treaty, we acknowledge the friendship of two rocks in the ages, something that I cherish deeply and I hope brings much great fortune to the Grand Duchy."

Having given his comments, the Grand Duke introduced the Emperor to speak, before they went out to sign the treaty in formal audience.

The Emperor made certain to take the podium respectfully and smiled for the cameras. "Today is indeed an auspicious day for both the Empire and the Grand Duchy. I could not think of a better place to be than here, in Monte Carlo to celebrate this accord. This brings the Empire and the Grand Duchy that much closer together and ushers in a new era of relations between our two great nation-states. We can look forward to cooperation, prosperity, peace, and a future, a definitive future between our two nation-states. The Empire is more than pleased to be here, today, on this occassion and we certainly believe that the Grand Duke has done far more than we would have ever imagined for us. Let this pen and this signature that I am about to lay upon this paper be the moment that our grandchildren's grandchildren read about in history books as the day that both the Grand Duchy and the Empire formally declared their wills towards each other." With that, he lifted the pen from the table and signed the document, handing the pen next to the Grand Duke to do the same. Ceremonies like this were necessary and the Emperor, in his sharp suit, soaked in every moment of it. Back in the Empire, the signing was being aired live and commentators were giving their spin and their opinions on it but, regardless of what they thought, the agreement was beneficial to the Empire, particularly the parts of it that were kept, "secret."

[ooc: signed just in time to celebrate the New Year :D

BTW, do you still want to do the after-signing formal? or should we leave it to history and get on with our lives?]

OOC: Shall we conclude a beautiful thread and move on?

sure