NationStates Jolt Archive

Praetor Hernandez stood up and raised his voice over the clamoring of the Parliamentary Proceedings. "Ladies and Gentlemen, there's no need for such harsh words here. There's no need for bloodshed. This government was put in place by an act of bloody treachery I refuse to let it go out on the same note."

He was of course speaking of his own appointment as Praetor by default after Xavier had assassinated the Prime Minister. The Parliament was debating an issue that would utterly change their future. Their identity.

Freedom.

Ever since its inception as a nation just a few years ago it had been under the cold imperial rule of the Dersconi Empire. The people were treated rather well, though freedoms had to be abridged at times in order to conform to the imperial will. Dersconi people were amiable enough, both accepting Gerniards for tourism and work and offering themselves as tourists and workers. The people's interactions were not the problem. As is the common occurence, people without any power got along just fine. The governments were at odds.

The government of Gernish was strictly opposed to Imperial Rule. It had begun without their consent (an assassination is no measure of consent) and had continued without their consent. Up until this point they had had no way of voicing their grievances against the Imperial Throne; their Parliament was very censored, the Praetor called a puppet, and the military regulated by the Dersconi. However, a recent vein of salutary neglect had allowed the Parliament to become a field ripe for new ideas of freedom, the Praetor had been allowed to make important decisions without consulting the Emporer, and the military had developed both in number and in technological capabilities (though it was still not a match for the brutal power of the Empire).

"Senator Clay, you have the floor."

"With all do respect, Sir, where have you stored your courage? The people of Gernish used to be proud to brandish a sword in the defense of the crown! We must FIGHT the Dersconi scum!"

The oldest Senator in the room stood and delivered his two cents with more fervor than many thought the old bag of bones had within him. "Senator Clay, you know as well as the rest of us that the people have never brandished SWORDS in defense of the CROWN. We have no crown and swords are a bit outdated. I say we negotiate. If we fight we lose. That's as simply as it can be put. Our military might is no match for them and we don't have the resources to incur a long-term war. No, war is not the answer. The answer is to negotiate. And of course, to prepare for... a few... shall we say extracurricular activities in the meanwhile? Praetor, I call for a vote of the Senators."

"Very well, Senator Nease. All in favor of a peaceful split from the Empire say I? All opposed?"

153-47.

"Then it's settled. My associates will write up a formal declaration of request for a negotiation team. This session of the House of Lords is adjourned."


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Official Government Comminique
House of Lords; Parliament; Gernish
Praetor Albert Hernadez Presiding

Dear Friends of the Empire,
I almost hesitate to call you friends in this trying time, but friends we must remain. Allied, we must remain. Connected we must not. The Parliament of Gernish, Praetor Albert Hernandez Presiding, on behalf of all the people of Gernish, request a formal meeting with representatives of the Empire to discuss the future of our two nations. This is not a declaration of independence but please be advised that one will ultimately come from the negotiations. We wish for no bloodshed to occur during this tempest and understand that concessions must be made on both sides. Please advise as to the time of the meeting and the representatives to be sent. The meeting shall be held at the Palace of St. Andries in our capital city of Madlin.

Thank you for your reply,
The House of Lords; Parliament; Gernish
Praetor Albert Hernandez Presiding

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There is no security on this earth, there is only opportunity.
General Douglas MacArthur

It's not that the message was received harshly in Derscon. In fact, several plans had been in the works to actually let Gernish go through a phase-out system. However, the tone of the Praetor's letter upset those who were responsable for reading it. Namely, the demanding that the meeting be held in whatever palace they suggested.

To demonstrate the Tsar's displeasure with the tone -- but willingness to hear Gernish's message -- he sent a small team of officials not particularly high in rank. It was also mandatory that all security be provided by the Dersconi Schutzstaffel, rather than any Gernish state forces, until they entered the palace itself. Curiously, though, out of the three officials, one was from the Ministry of State Security, and the other two from the Ministry of Imperial Affairs, and not Foreign Affairs.

No guards were taken -- that would be a display of pomp and circumstance for when such a slight had not been made, and it was unlikely they'd be needed -- and the three touched down at the appropriate airport. They weren't too worried -- after all, Gernish was still technically Dersconi territory -- and no one was dumb enough to actually rebel.

The three officials waited around in front of the palace, waiting to be taken to where they needed to be.

The Praetor's Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Alberto Herr, saw the three men arrive in front of the palace of St. Andries and motioned for the palace security to let lead him to them. He strode out of the front gate confidently surrounded by Palace Security (which held much the same purpose of the Swiss Guard - look good and act regal) and approached the three Dersconi men standing just outside.

"Welcome, friends, to our capital city of Madlin and our Palace of St. Andries. My name is Alberto Herr, Secretary of Foreign Affairs. You will meet the other delegates within the palace. I know you are probably curious as to why we had the utter audacity to demand the meeting place. That answer is two-fold. First, the Palace is the most fortified place in the city. If anything should happen outside I assure you that we will be most safe within. Secondly, we determined after the last meeting that we would need to meet on our own soil so as to avoid any more "civic disputes". I.E. we don't want any more of our leaders assassinated."

The Dersconi men seemed to acknowledge what he was saying, though their demeanor had not changed at all.

The Cheif of Security spoke up, "Sir, the Conference Room is prepared. Shall we frisk these gentlemen and lead them in?"

"No, Hans, that won't be necessary. I trust these men not to carry arms into a peaceful negotiation," he said giving just the slightest hint of malice looking into the eyes of the nearest Dersconi. "Please, lead us to the Conference Room."

The Palace Guards took up flanking positions on the delegation and moved regally, yet quickly, back into the palace to begin the negotiation.

The massive conference room doors opened to reveal an elegant, gilded room with two more delegates from the Gernish DHA (Department of Homeland Affairs) and DEA (Department of Economic Affairs). The Praetor was not present.

"Gentlemen," spoke Herr, "welcome to the Gernish Independence Talks."

To say that they were unarmed would be a slight misnomer. All three carried a Fal'karri, a short sword found mostly in Northern Derscon (just before entering Tundaria), which effectively was a scimitar, but also possessing a seraded reverse edge. they were, of course, concealed, their outer garments hiding them. There is an important distinction between concealed and hiding, though -- Dersconi culture almost mandated the possession of some sort of sword in formal gatherings -- it is as important as a proper tie is for most "western" attire. After all, since the 'creation' of the dersconi people (well before the nation of "Derscon" was even formed -- even before they came to earth), Swordsmanship and Craftmanship were defining pillars of Dersconi culture. Besides, it's not like they would use them anyway -- if anything happened, they'd be dead in a few seconds thanks to overwhelming palace security.

Only one of the Dersconi delegation actually wore a hood up -- actually, only one even had a hood. The other two -- one Internal Affairs officer and the MSS officer -- wore a black cloak over a black, crimson, and gold alb, and flanked the Internal Affairs officer in the middle. The one in the middle wore a hooded black ferraiolo over a cassock in the same color patterns as the albs of the lesser delegates.

When Alberto Herr addressed them, welcoming them to the talks, the two lesser delegates sat in their appropriate seats. The chief delegate, though, moved his gloved hands and let down his hood, and the sight undoubtedly rose a few eyebrows from the Gernish delegation.

The chief delegate was a Zshvajri'ti, as indicated by his albino skin tone, black hair, and royal purple eye color. They were descendents of the ancient tribes of the same name, who intermingled with the assimilated human primitives of the area. Of the tribes, they were the most renowned for their aggresive combat styles, so that when the tribes finally united in the First Empire (it was now the fifth), most of the lower officers in the army were Zshvajri'ti.

"Ah, yes, thank you." Karjiir Radzhoxjov gave a polite nod to Herr before sitting.

"Before we open, the Tsar would like to express his disapproval of your rather impolite and disrespectful tone in the letter you sent to the Kremlin earlier. However, he is not a tyrant, and has been planning on moving Gernish towards independence in a graduated manner, so is willing to hear your concerns and plans. As it is you who called this meeting, Mr. Herr, you may speak first."