NationStates Jolt Archive

"In the name of the people and government of Vetalia, you are hereby sentenced to death. May the Treasurer grant you mercy."

A shot was fired. A body slumped forward in to the hole dug before it. Shell casings fell almost silently to the ground, landing underneath a pair of flowering bushes in what had once been the Praetorial Palace. Although the body difficult to identify in its present state, it was none other than the Emperor of Vetalia himself. It had been a brief struggle, in fact not a struggle at all; the Emperor willingly surrendered himself, narrowly avoiding the calls of the Vetalian people for his blood. The man who had risen to the peak of power, beloved by his people and commandeering a strong nation was dead. Not only that, but now he was an unperson, a memory to be blackened and despised by future generations, his Imperial body nothing more than another corpse. Dirt was rapidly piled on to the corpse by two Praetorial Guards, who then stood guard by the freshly buried Emperor until a long black limousine approached. From it stepped Praetor Merinov, who paused briefly to survey their work and said simply "I will contact the Crimm. Make sure the Emperor's personal effects are dealt with before I occupy the palace."

Shortly thereafter, the Praetor issued his request to the Crimm. In it, he offered the surrender of the Vetalian nation as well as substantial compensation, in exchange for lasting peace between the two countries. For emphasis, he provided documentation from the Ministry of Finance showing the untold trillions in gold, silver, and other precious commodities held in the country's vaults, a mere sliver of the wealth that the country could spare for an end to its destructive conflict. The Vetalian nation was so wealthy, so lavish, so laden down with its own wealth accumulated through untold generations of slavish devotion to profit and commerce, that it could fulfill the desires of the Crimm beyond their wildest imagination...it was the ages old weapon of their people, the one that was the surest and most likely to succeed: appeal to their foes' greed, their lust for gold and the power it offered, and use that to buy the outcome they desired.

The Emperor was dead, his collaborators either arrested or similarly killed, and the country in the hands of people innocent of their past crimes. Except, of course, the crime of regicide. "We are...if necessary...willing to submit ourselves to occupation by your forces should it be needed to bring an end to the colossal devastation we have suffered due to the mistakes of our past. I urge you to consider our offer before any more killing occurs." Behind him, the glittering lights of Vetalia City, which had once been the backdrop to many of the Emperor's addresses, seemed to beckon to the Crimm, a bejeweled tribute designed to inflame whatever greed hopefully lay inside them.

The Praetor stared silently in to the cameras in front of him, not knowing where the future would take him or his people.

Bump.

[ooc: Man, TG the other person when you make a new thread. I've been waiting a month for you to respond in the first one. Had to be told this was here by another Gholgothan nation.]

Omar Pace stepped in front of the camera, smirking. "Gold. More than I can imagine, laid out before me like a great feast for my nation to gorge itself on, becoming wealthy beyond any of our dreams..."

The smirk faded to a scowl. "Keep your bribes, Praetor. I am not interested in your material goods... and I am insulted that you would think a leader of Gholgoth could be bought off with trinkets of rare metal. You have no idea what I want, do you?" He laughs bitterly. "I am interested in what gives my nation a distinct tactical advantage in the world. Land. Specifically, the entirety of North Africa, from Imperial lands to the Western tip. Give up any and all claims on these lands and allow them to fall into Imperial hands and I shall cease the destruction of your population centers. Your crimes are not washed away, Vetalian. They are merely going to be ignored for the time being. If you ever dare to interfere with Gholgoth or Crimmond again, though... I will destroy every one of your cities and let the jackals of the world invade and fight over what is left. I leave the fate of your nation in your hands. Surrender the land I now claim, or have even more cities leveled. I have ordered all aircraft back to Crimmond. All ships will cease fire. All land advances will halt. Any violation of this cease-fire and I will order your nation wiped off the map."

The entire Crimm offensive ground to a halt. The bombers turned back toward the Sahara. The ships ceased firing. Apparently, Pace was willing to give the Vetalians another chance. Hopefully, they wouldn't squander it.

OOC: I'm really sorry about that. I've been pretty inactive on NS, relatively speaking, over the past few weeks due to finals and all that, so a lot of things were left in disarray.

"T-that...that would require the abandonment of our two northernmost provinces. We will need time to withdraw all of our citizens, some 359 million, but this land will be yours. We will pull all of our forces out of the region, dismantle any and all of our strategic facilities and it will be as if it was never under our possession. All infrastructure will remain in place for your use, as a token of our submission to Gholgoth."

"My staff will prepare the formal transfer of power and it will be in your hands within the hour."

The Praetor's face was a mask of nervous fear, but behind it lurked a palpable relief, even joy that his country had achieved some form of safety. There was no way his nation could hold off the might of Crimmond, even with a hundred allies by its side, and he would rather suffer the loss of Sevastopol than the loss of the entire nation. Even after this concession, Vetalia still had its overseas colonies and most of its mainland territories...the Londinian fate had been averted, even if it came at the cost of humiliating appeasement. However, this was not an issue to the Praetor or the Vetalian people, who were far more interested in preserving themselves than they were preserving the Vetalian nation-state.

"All natural resources, including oil wells and gas pipelines, will remain active and we will turn over any incidents of sabotage to your government for prosecution. Within 24 hours, the territories of Northern Vetalia will be formally under the control of Crimmond, with our population relocating over the next year."

"We...thank you for your mercy, General Pace, and hope that our concession will mark the beginning of a new era in our relations. If you wish...you may verify the death of Emperor Kosyachenko to confirm that he has been dealt with appropriately." The last statement was delivered with an almost unctuous, sycophantic tone that a keen observer would have recognized as the sound of utter fearful submission.

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OOC2: Vetalia's northern territories cover the area you have described, with some "unclaimed" desert land also included. This will give you control over Gibraltar.

Omar nodded slowly. He looked totally relaxed and reasonable. Most likely, that was because things were going his way and there was no call for rudeness at the moment. "Good... very good. I will order my forces to hold for three days, before moving into the cities to garrison them. It is policy to have a garrison in every Imperial city. As for your people, I am willing to grant any who wish to stay Crimm citizenship after a span of five years, so long as they are law abiding. Do warn your people that any acts of organized rebellion will be crushed with appropriate force, as we have been and still are doing in lands East. I do not wish to have to deploy the military against those cities again. It would waste lives and resources better spent on improving the nation as a whole."

Amazing that he could speak of such things as if they were nothing. Though, given the track record of the Empire and of the Brotherhood, letting the military loose on a city to put down a rebellion was a small issue.

"And Praetor... I am pleased that you had the balls to take the necessary steps to preserve your nation. Though you are losing portions of your empire, you have left the path to annihilation. Be careful that you do not step back onto it."

"Of course, General. I have given orders to our forces to aid in the withdrawal of our citizens, and have made proclamations asking residents of these territories to fully comply with your orders. Should there be any incidents, the Vetalian government will fully defer to Crimmond and allow you to do what is necessary to subdue the insurrection."

Meanwhile, in Northern Vetalia, chaos reigned. The palatial coastal estates, luxury hotels, businesses and other signs of Vetalian settlement were swiftly abandoned, many sold to speculators for a fraction of their cost. The highways, airways, train and sea routes were clogged with millions of emigrants, and freight traffic was backed up for days with the sheer volume of goods being moved out of the area by the fleeing Vetalians. Within 24 hours of the decree, the entire Northern Vetalian government had resigned and the government buildings were literally deserted, emptied of their personnel and equipment by the Vetalian military.

By the time Crimm forces would move in to the territory, much of it would be a silent desert, the opulence and lavishness of Vetalian culture nothing more than a slowly eroding memory among the desert sands. In fact, the withdrawal from Northern Vetalia would stand as the largest mass emigration in the country's history, at least until the far greater Exodus two centuries later.

Crimm forces rolled into the cities and were indeed surprised by the silence of the cities. Radio chatter indicated that utter silence inside a city was unnerving the Marines. War couldn't do it and seeing men torn apart couldn't do it, but being in an empty metropolis could.

As the people continued to flee south, helicopters flew over their heads. They were not gunships, but small recon-helicopters. They would hover for several minutes and them move on to another area. They seemed to be filming the whole event for some reason.

Down in the new border crossings, several marines had arrived even as Vetalians streamed past across the border...

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Sonya Volsung stepped out of the transport helicopter with her personal squad. The mild panic caused by their appearance was expected, even after the helicopter was gone and word of who was in front of the masses spread.

Sonya removed her helmet and strode up to one of the Vetalian officers that was working the temporary checkpoint. "I am Lieutenant Colonel Volsung and I am here to observe, nothing more." For observers, her squad was armed to the teeth. They were even carrying a couple tank-killer rockets. Well, you could never tell with mobs. They could turn their frustration and fear to anger and be set upon the Marines in seconds. They had to be well armed to fight them back.

"I suppose I should inform you that all of these people are free to leave, but that window of opportunity will be open for quite some time. This... mass exodus is uncalled for, given the situation. We're soldiers, not Nazis or barbarians. Or Nazi barbarians. We do not attack civilians during a time of peace, unless they foment a rebellion." She looked over the sea of people and ran a gauntleted hand through her tightly pulled back hair. "There's no call for any of this. We aren't going to blow up any more cities... there's no need to, dammit."

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General Rayden Vorder stood in a government office and looked around. "Well, these people know how to clear out a building fast, I'll give them that." He said as he entered what had been a mayor's office. "Set up the cameras. It's time we made our reports on the peace."