Nova Boozia
02-09-2007, 12:21
OOC: I've been having some continuity errors recently as Copen, who was invading me with extreme plot significance, had his account hacked. I'm saying I won, but I've decided to resolve Boozia's state of limbo through some good old IC violence. More later: for know just aknowledge you've heard of this and make plans.
IC: General Gerhardt Wittgenstein savoured the beef in his mouth, letting it roll over and over, squeezing more and more juice and only occasionally swallowing. It had been a long time since he had unproccessed red meat in his mouth, and any day could be the start of another long time.
Everyone was getting beef tonight. He had spent a week organising that, but it had been a week since fighting had stopped. Truth be told, things weren't so bad as they could have been. Civilian casualties were heavy, but given the kind of enemies they had been up against that was to be expected.
"Message for you, sir."
The ADC who had spoken handed him a folded slip of paper. In most circumstances he would have been called directly on the comm, but tonight was red-meat dinner. Anything less than prioirity one wasn't going to disturb the eating.
Gerhardt unfolded it and scanned it quickly. He sat for a second. He re-folded it, taking care not to make a second crease, and handed it back.
"Mr.Morlok is dead. The assembly has completed its emergency re-election. The folks who weren't vaporised have been allowed to keep their seats, but otherwise these are all new people. Everything's differant. And they haven't given the go-ahead to convening a new Excutive."
The ADC took the paper automatically and stared at it.
"Mr.Morlok, sir? They'll... the others..."
"What I want to know", said Captain Hendryk Overkirk, "is why I never voted."
The floodlands officer, unlike most of the officers around the table, was keeping his composure. Death was part of the daily grind, to be sure, but... Morlok... old man Morlok...
But Hendryk had just made a very important point. He was getting a lot of attention, so he continued.
"My view is, all sorts of mad-men and draft-dodgers have seen their big moment. They called the emergency parliament to "preserve democracy in a crisis", but what pecentage of people were drafted in the run-up to this war? It was one-in-thirty on the eve of fighting..."
"Lots of them are going home soon", an intelligence major noted.
"Does it matter? We have more right to a vote than the rest of them, we protected their precious damn parliament..."
At this, Gerhardt felt obliged to cut in.
"It was destroyed from orbit, lets remember."
"Fortunes of war! These people are stealing our votes!"
Someone cheered, and then some other people felt brave enough to cheer, or at least agree. It spread outwards in ripples from the captain in his red goatee, who was now standing and quite animated.
"I am not going to accept any decision, any, good or ill, until that lunatics assylum is dissolved and we've had a fair vote. And the first thing I'm voting for is, re-form the executive. We're a headless chicken without them! It's Admiral Felfner's position. He's legally nominated successor. How long is this farce of a parliament sitting for?"
The ADC struggled to be heard over the rising cheers.
"They've agreed to dissolve at the end of the emergency."
"And where have we have we heard that before! This is the heptarchy, all over again! We're the defenders and guardians of democracy in this country and they're interfering with it!"
Is he putting it on? Gerhardt couldn't decide, the man was gesturing almost to wildly to be true, but... he had always had a glint in his eye. Wittgentstein had had him down as an armchair politician but be no means an armchair staff captain and kept him for his talent. But this was getting slightly worrying.
"It's not as though the emergency ever will end! You all saw what those animals did to Justina Aalto. Them? Make peace? But the war is over anyway! We've won! And who do we have to thank for that?"
Everyone except Gerhardt was standing now. Even the timid ADC had joined in the mob, and now another ADC entered, shocked by the display.
"General! General! General!"
Hendryk held up his hand. That irked Gerhardt. It was as though the little captain was giving him permissiom to speak, although he knew he was calling for silence from the rest of the officers, who were now almost frezied.
"General broadcast by the armed services channel. It's entirely unscheduled."
Gerhardt was almost waiting for Hendryk to reply. To give an order. Then he could have shut him up for talking above his station, but he remained silent. He gave Gerhardt a friendly, expactant smile.
The bastard.
"Let's all hear it then, shall we?"
Click.
"Hello, everyone. This is admiral Felfner. I've recorded this little snippet and had it transmitted because there are a few things I think you should know.
"Yes, the emergency parliament was undemocratically assembled. Not only did those in the armed forces not vote, but they didn't bother to elect anyone from Boozia. Full stop. Everyone in that "parliament" was voted for on Furnace and Harvest. All Boozian seats are filled by proportional representation from elsewhere. This representation just doesn't seem to match up to the vote records. That's just ever so slightly undemocratic, don't you agree?
“I'm not encouraging anyone to violent action. I'm just saying that as legitimate head of state, appointed by the late Otto Morlok, I'm declaring this emergency over. We're going to assemble a new parliament, with an executive, and it will be democratically elected. Boozians will vote, and off-worlders as well, and the forces. If the "emergency" parliament dissolves, we can all be friends. If not, we'll arrest them.
"Well done, everyone. Morlok would have been proud of what you just achieved. And I'm sure he'd approve of what we're doing now. Be ready."
There was a moment's silence. Then Hendryk spoke again, quietly this time.
"I know who's behind this. I know who called for the emergency assembly in the first place, and wrecked the proportional representation. Traitors. The surrender party.
"And we are going to find them and bring them to justice!"
IC: General Gerhardt Wittgenstein savoured the beef in his mouth, letting it roll over and over, squeezing more and more juice and only occasionally swallowing. It had been a long time since he had unproccessed red meat in his mouth, and any day could be the start of another long time.
Everyone was getting beef tonight. He had spent a week organising that, but it had been a week since fighting had stopped. Truth be told, things weren't so bad as they could have been. Civilian casualties were heavy, but given the kind of enemies they had been up against that was to be expected.
"Message for you, sir."
The ADC who had spoken handed him a folded slip of paper. In most circumstances he would have been called directly on the comm, but tonight was red-meat dinner. Anything less than prioirity one wasn't going to disturb the eating.
Gerhardt unfolded it and scanned it quickly. He sat for a second. He re-folded it, taking care not to make a second crease, and handed it back.
"Mr.Morlok is dead. The assembly has completed its emergency re-election. The folks who weren't vaporised have been allowed to keep their seats, but otherwise these are all new people. Everything's differant. And they haven't given the go-ahead to convening a new Excutive."
The ADC took the paper automatically and stared at it.
"Mr.Morlok, sir? They'll... the others..."
"What I want to know", said Captain Hendryk Overkirk, "is why I never voted."
The floodlands officer, unlike most of the officers around the table, was keeping his composure. Death was part of the daily grind, to be sure, but... Morlok... old man Morlok...
But Hendryk had just made a very important point. He was getting a lot of attention, so he continued.
"My view is, all sorts of mad-men and draft-dodgers have seen their big moment. They called the emergency parliament to "preserve democracy in a crisis", but what pecentage of people were drafted in the run-up to this war? It was one-in-thirty on the eve of fighting..."
"Lots of them are going home soon", an intelligence major noted.
"Does it matter? We have more right to a vote than the rest of them, we protected their precious damn parliament..."
At this, Gerhardt felt obliged to cut in.
"It was destroyed from orbit, lets remember."
"Fortunes of war! These people are stealing our votes!"
Someone cheered, and then some other people felt brave enough to cheer, or at least agree. It spread outwards in ripples from the captain in his red goatee, who was now standing and quite animated.
"I am not going to accept any decision, any, good or ill, until that lunatics assylum is dissolved and we've had a fair vote. And the first thing I'm voting for is, re-form the executive. We're a headless chicken without them! It's Admiral Felfner's position. He's legally nominated successor. How long is this farce of a parliament sitting for?"
The ADC struggled to be heard over the rising cheers.
"They've agreed to dissolve at the end of the emergency."
"And where have we have we heard that before! This is the heptarchy, all over again! We're the defenders and guardians of democracy in this country and they're interfering with it!"
Is he putting it on? Gerhardt couldn't decide, the man was gesturing almost to wildly to be true, but... he had always had a glint in his eye. Wittgentstein had had him down as an armchair politician but be no means an armchair staff captain and kept him for his talent. But this was getting slightly worrying.
"It's not as though the emergency ever will end! You all saw what those animals did to Justina Aalto. Them? Make peace? But the war is over anyway! We've won! And who do we have to thank for that?"
Everyone except Gerhardt was standing now. Even the timid ADC had joined in the mob, and now another ADC entered, shocked by the display.
"General! General! General!"
Hendryk held up his hand. That irked Gerhardt. It was as though the little captain was giving him permissiom to speak, although he knew he was calling for silence from the rest of the officers, who were now almost frezied.
"General broadcast by the armed services channel. It's entirely unscheduled."
Gerhardt was almost waiting for Hendryk to reply. To give an order. Then he could have shut him up for talking above his station, but he remained silent. He gave Gerhardt a friendly, expactant smile.
The bastard.
"Let's all hear it then, shall we?"
Click.
"Hello, everyone. This is admiral Felfner. I've recorded this little snippet and had it transmitted because there are a few things I think you should know.
"Yes, the emergency parliament was undemocratically assembled. Not only did those in the armed forces not vote, but they didn't bother to elect anyone from Boozia. Full stop. Everyone in that "parliament" was voted for on Furnace and Harvest. All Boozian seats are filled by proportional representation from elsewhere. This representation just doesn't seem to match up to the vote records. That's just ever so slightly undemocratic, don't you agree?
“I'm not encouraging anyone to violent action. I'm just saying that as legitimate head of state, appointed by the late Otto Morlok, I'm declaring this emergency over. We're going to assemble a new parliament, with an executive, and it will be democratically elected. Boozians will vote, and off-worlders as well, and the forces. If the "emergency" parliament dissolves, we can all be friends. If not, we'll arrest them.
"Well done, everyone. Morlok would have been proud of what you just achieved. And I'm sure he'd approve of what we're doing now. Be ready."
There was a moment's silence. Then Hendryk spoke again, quietly this time.
"I know who's behind this. I know who called for the emergency assembly in the first place, and wrecked the proportional representation. Traitors. The surrender party.
"And we are going to find them and bring them to justice!"