NationStates Jolt Archive

On the eve of war, London city square was filled with protestors from both sides, a sea of green and blue and red and all the colours clothing and banners come in. On one side, the anti war protestors, with their slogans - War is Murder, Stop the Killing, Think of the Babies, No Blood for Power etc. On the other, Support the Troops, Fuck Aequatio, God Bless Questers, God is OUR side, Liberty Is Just a Bomb's Throw Away, etc. Both sides where tensed up, but what would prove fatal on this day was the fact that the pro-war side was heavily armed. In fact, most saw that it was their patriotic duty to own a firearm. Almost all the dove lobby did not.

The two groups had assembled and had been shouting various insults at each other for several hours and nothing particular violent had occured. However, at one o clock, the was a stir in the pro-war group. Gossip had spread like wildfire and their leader, a certain Harry Gateshead stood up to address the pro war group. In the opposite side of the square everyone was hushed, waiting eagerly for the news.

"I have just heard" he said solemnly but with recognisable anger in his voice "that the war memorial in Park Lane has been vandalised by hooligans from the Dove Party."

There was a giant uproar. Gateshead somehow managed to quiet the crowd again and continued. "The scum responsible for this atrocity where captured and put to justice."

Everyone knew what that meant. In the murky underground of London, the two young dove supporters could have been handed over to any criminal organisation and dealt with - most likely they were 'summarily executed' by vigilante forces that the police were helpless to control, and their bodies handed over to the mafia for a sum. They would never be found again and it would be almost impossible for the authorities to track the men who did the killings.

There was cheering and clapping from the pro war side and immediately it was the doves turn to start an uproar. The police where moving in, but it was too late.

A young man in the dove lobby stood up and shouted "Fuck you! Fuck you and your murdering soldiers!"

To all present, it seemed to happen in slow motion. A pro war supporter stood up over the crowd, jumping on top of a car, TDX sidearm in hand and fired four shots into the chest of the man. He recoiled and fell over, barely caught by his comrades. All hell let loose. There was panic on both sides and anger on both sides, as the two groups clashed. The police where helpless to stop the massacre that occured on the streets of London. At least sixty anti war protestors where gunned down on the streets, blood spilling into the gutter, for the loss of only two anti war supporters. Throughout the country, especially inthe south, the pro war movement seized the opportunity and hundreds of prominent anti war protestors where murdered - their houses broken into and the "traitors" dragged out for vigilante justice, or simply taken from the streets, piled into vans, and shot in some field and left to rot.

The backlash against the goverment would be terrific.

((Hope you don't mind the direction I take this, Matt. And I think it's safe to assume we'd have shared embassies?))

Cravanian Embassy Compound
London, Questers

The Cravanian embassy staff had already been on edge, with news of the impending conflict between the Empire's closest ally and the United Kingdom having spread like wildfire. Officially Cravan had stated its neutrality, citing its close ties to both the Questarian Commonwealth and its even closer ties to the Social Democratic Republic. The staff at the embassy, however, were under orders to step up the pressure on the Questarian government to back down from the fight, and solve the situation diplomatically. Such efforts, however, had proven futile.

When the first shots in the streets of London rang out, though, noone seemed to really expect the bloodshed that was to come. The embassy went from a freely accessable compound for citizens of both Questers and Cravan to a fortified bunker within less than an hour. The local garrison of Marines, relatively lightly armed due to the embassy's diplomatic status, took up defensive positions along the compound walls and defense points, knowing full well that the Empire's allegiances to Aequatio could be seen by the Questarian public as enough reason to lash out at the embassy. The walls held, however, and the embassy remained untouched throughout the majority of the crisis. A blessing seen by some, but others knew demonstrations would be inevitable. It would be just a short time.

All this was circulating through Mark Fisher's head while he walked through the main lobby of the embassy, briefcase in hand. Fisher had just arrived via armored HMMWV convoy. Fisher was the ambassador assigned to the embassy in Questers, living with his family off of embassy grounds. A professional in foreign relations, Fisher was also on the Imperial Department of Intelligence's payroll.

Fisher ascended the main marble staircase in the mid-sized lobby, reaching the second floor balcony and heading into the central halls of the building. A fireteam of Imperial Marines were lined up on the top floor, CG80 heavy machine gun mounted on the bannister.

Fisher finally came to the room where he had been ordered to: the press room. As the ambassador to Questers, the Imperial government had seen fit to assign him with the job of delivering the Empire's public statement. A job he was not exactly thrilled about seeing as it would probably force him to bring his family into the safety of the compound seeing as hordes of angry, gun-toting Questarians were outside in the streets.

After going through the makeup and preparation routine, Fisher finally ascended the small staircase to the stage set up in the press room, taking his place at the podium. Looking out at those gathered, many journalists from both domestic and foreign news agencies were present, in particular the GTNN crew who was permanently attached to the embassy. Cameras flashed in Fisher's face, but he maintained his composure as his words were broadcast around the world. He hoped Questers was not included, seeing as he rather liked living.

"Hello, and good evening, afternoon, or morning depending on where you are in the world. I would like to begin by offering my deepest condolances to the families of those affected by these heinous crimes committed by a large part of the Questarian public. Our thoughts and prayers go out to you in this time of need, and we pray for your safety as well from the hordes of pro-war demonstrators in the streets.

It is at this point that the Libertarian Empire wholeheartedly denounces these events which unfolded in the Crown Imperium today, and feels that the Questarian government could have done much more to stop these atrocities. The blood of innocent men who merely voiced their thoughts is on the hands of all those who both participated and those who had the power to stop the bloodshed but did not.

The freedom and democracy which the Questarian government proclaims are being undermined by these barbaric acts. A man's right to free speech is something held dear in most nations which claim themselves as bastions of liberty, including the Libertarian Empire. Yet when men and women are killed for their beliefs and thoughts this belief of free speech is nullified.

Will the Questarian Empire sit idly by as her citizens murder each other over their beliefs? I for one pray this is not the case, and I know every free man and woman in the world feels the same.

Thank you."

He descended into the sea of reporters and flash bulbs, declining to comment on the situation and answer questions as he fought his way through. Fisher finally managed to retreat to the restricted hallway behind the press room, and leaned up against the wall with a sigh of relief.

OOC: I'll get a post up in this as soon as I can - this is the type of thing I really want to be a part of!