NationStates Jolt Archive

(OOC: The ‘guests’ mentioned in the title are from a specific nation, with whose player this thread has been arranged. Nations that have embassies in the city of Council Groves may join in once the presence of these visitors there has become obvious, and other nations once they could plausibly have learnt of this fact…)


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Beorra o Berrum, the Chairbear of the ‘Committee for The Strangers’ (i.e. ‘Foreign Ministry’) for the High Council of Clans, looked at the ‘WA portal’ apparatus warily.
“So the Gnomes have said that they’ll be leaving this thing fully operational, have they” she asked one of her staff.
“Yes,” he replied. “They say that that’s so that it will already be available ‘when’ we choose to rejoin the Assembly…”
“Thin chance of that!” retorted Beorra. “Firstly they’d have to repeal the ‘Sexual Privacy Act’, so that member nations wouldn’t have to scrap their laws against incest, and then they’d have to guarantee a LOT more protection for national sovereignty — and for national ideologies — in all ‘internal’ matters from now on. Still, this does means that we’ll be able to leave an observation mission at the WA’s heartquarters to keep a nose on what’s happening there… and maybe to influence the wording of a few of its resolutions so that those would still help us in various ways despite our no longer being members… more easily than would otherwise be the case.” There was a brief pause, while she thought more deeply for a moment. “Hrr’mm,” she continued, “but security around this chamber had better be stepped up a bit, just in case any of the more ‘dedicated’ internationalists in any of the nations that are still members decide to try and ‘punish’ us for leaving by sending raiders — or even invasion forces — through the system. Parram, you go around both the Committee for Tiger and the Solar Guards after we leave here, and let them know how important I think that this is.”
At this point a Smithfolk (i.e. Dwarven) technician who’d been scanning the portal with various pieces of appratus interrupted the conversation _
“Somebody’s coming through.”
“One or more of our own people, coming home? WA Gnomes, perhaps to tell us that they’ve changed their minds?” Beorra enquired…
“Can’t tell yet, and there wasn’t any message sent in advance to notify us” replied the technician, but here they come…”

A number of figures became visible in the portal’s delivery area: Four humans, all of whom seemed to be a bit confused as they gazed at the ‘welcoming party’, and a decidedly smug-looking kitten…

It was a curious quintet - an old man of vaguely Oriental appearence, richly robed in ornamental cloth that immediately marked him as an Elder of the Diaspora Church of the Eternal Kawaii. Beside him were a younger couple, obviously man and wife. Both were also Kawaiians from their improbably brightly colored hair and part-Oriental, part-Caucasian features. The young woman bore a certain resemblance to the older man; probably a father and daughter. Beside them was a large, heavy-set man dressed head-to-toe in black, the only decoriation a stylized picture of a red horse on the breast of his shirt. He stared calmly around the room, the look of a fighter assessing the potential dangers while entering a strange place. The kitten was perched on his shoulder and also looking about, though its expression was far more inscrutable.

The old Kawaiian man stared at Beorra in shock. "Kuma?" was all he said.

The younger one looked nervously up at the kitten on the large man's shoulder, then at his wife. She just shook her head, obviously confused. Finally the young man bowed deeply to Beorra, and said haltingly, "My...apologies, Kuma-sama. This is the realm of St. Edmund, is it not?"

Beorra stared at the group with an expression equal to the old Kawaiian Elder's. An almost quiet growl escaped her lips, and she said, "No. No, it is not, sir. And might I ask, who are you?"

The older Kawaiian coughed slightly, and stepped forward. Bowing as well, he said, "Forgive our manners, Kuma-sama. I am the Patriarch of the Fire Horse Clan of the Eternal Kawaii. Our people are being evacuated from their homeland to St. Edmund. We were unaware that it was a land occupied by Sacred Beasts..."

Beorra started to say, "...sacred...beas--" when her train of thought took a sudden switch. Turning to the technician, she barked, "Is that thing still running? If it is, switch it off! NOW!!!"

The Smithfolk technician was throwing levers and pushing buttons on the portal's control panel, his face ashen. He looked up at Beorra in near-panic, and said, "I can't! It's locked somehow!"

"Locked? By whom? Don't you have full control over that thing?" Beorra snarled threateningly.

The technician continued manipulating the portal controls, though judging from the expression on his face whatever attempts he was making were futile. "Yes, unless it's been 'handshaked' with another portal back at the WA HQ," he said grimly. "The gnomes must've locked it in receive mode for some reason."

Beorra whirled back to face the Kawaiian Patriarch, and growled, "You said 'our people', sir. How many 'people' are we talking about here?"

The Patriarch looked calmly at the large she-bear, and replied, "The Fire Horse Clan, Kuma-sama. Some 8,000 souls." He paused, and his eyes widened as he read Beorra's expression. "You...really weren't expecting us? We've arrived in the wrong nation?"

Beorra's eyes shifted to the technician, who if anything managed to look paler than before. He pointed to one of the control panel displays and stammered, "Incoming people, ma'am. A lot. And we can't stop them."

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The Nuncia of the Eternal Kawaii sat crouched over her desk, rubbing her temples, trying her best to meditate. This had not been a good week. The resolution proposal she had introduced last week was still tied up in rework at the Council of Sages' deliberations, and looked stymied for the moment. The Sages were not particularly happy, either, at being asked to come up with new formulas to please non-Kawaiian sensibilities. She looked up at her First Secretary, who had rushed into the office. Not even knocking? the Nuncia thought to herself. This had better be important--I'm not in the mood for another lecture to my 'big sisters' about protocol...

"Nuncia-san," the First Secretary said, bowing hastily. "Something has gone wrong with...it."

The Nuncia stood, saying calmly, "Something has gone...wrong, onee-san?" A long pause ensued, while her expression indicated this next question was one she really, really did not want to ask. "What?"

"Um...we'd better go to the ED room, your Grace."

The Nuncia nodded, and together the two Kawaiian women headed through the makeshift network of hallways and disconnected rooms that remained of the Nunciate of the Diaspora Church of the Eternal Kawaii in the destroyed and partially rebuilt World Assembly Headquarters building. One of the rooms, labeled "Protector of the Faithful in the Lands of the Heathen," remained intact and stoutly locked. A moment to unlock it, and the two walked inside.

What greeted them was a pair of large apparati, not dissimilar in design to the WA portal Chairbear Beorra had been standing before. Such objects were not uncommon sights at the WA HQ, the gnomes having issued one to each embassy. Two in a single embassy, however, were highly unusual. And highly illegal, considering the jealous control the WA gnomes exercised over them.

"Okay," the Nuncia said tiredly as the door closed shut behind her. "Just what went wrong with the Exodus Device?"

The disheveled man wearing stained otaku robes stood up from where he was kneeling beside the control panel of one of the portals. "I...I'm not really sure, your Grace," he stammered. "Everthing was set according to the agreement with the St Edmundan ambassador. The portal override was working fine, the Fire Horse were sent through...but...they didn't arrive in St Edmund!"

"Didn't...arrive," the Nuncia said in shock. "We didn't...lose them...did we?" The thought of an entire Kawaiian tribe destroyed...she shook her head. No, it couldn't be.

The Kawaiian technician shook his head, saying, "no, no...they went through--all the indicator panels say that. They just ended up going through...a different portal. I don't know which one; its signature isn't on any of our lists."

The Nuncia felt weak, and stumbled to a nearby chair to collapse. "A different portal," she said finally. "In a different nation. One whose ambassador did NOT agree to accept an influx of thousands of Kawaiian nomads, you're telling me?"

The Kawaiian technician nodded. The First Secretary said softly, "We could've sent them anywhere, your Grace. They could even be walking into a firefight."

The Nuncia looked sternly at the Secretary, and said, "I'm afraid they're on their own for the moment. We can only pray that the Cute One protects them."

The technician looked over the device once more, and said grimly, "If I could figure out where they were sent, your Grace, I could probably reverse it and recall them...but that could take days."

"How do we hide this from the gnomes, your Grace?, the First Secretary asked. "Whoever the Fire Horse's new hosts are, they're not going to keep it a secret. Folks are going to find out we can shift large numbers of people via the WA HQ."

"Yes, and it wouldn't take long for the gnomes to figure out that the portal we reported destroyed by Lord Gojira wasn't," the Nuncia shot back. "And that we managed to subvert the portal control network with it."

"They already know someone's diverting power from the portal net," the technician commented. "It wouldn't take long for them to trace that back to us."

"So what now, your Grace? Do we go public with it?"

"Absolutely not! Even if the gnomes didn't shut it down, if the other nations find out, they'll stop sending rescue fleets, and that'd doom the larger tribes."

The Nuncia stood up, turned to the First Secretary and said, "I'm putting you in charge of this, onee-san. Do whatever you can to keep the Exodus Device a secret--I don't care how many people you have to bribe. Empty the Nunciate coffers if you have to, but keep this out of sight from the gnomes! There are too many tribes waiting to depart for us to lose this escape route."

It was a curious quintet - an old man of vaguely Oriental appearence, richly robed in ornamental cloth that immediately marked him as an Elder of the Diaspora Church of the Eternal Kawaii. Beside him were a younger couple, obviously man and wife. Both were also Kawaiians from their improbably brightly colored hair and part-Oriental, part-Caucasian features. The young woman bore a certain resemblance to the older man; probably a father and daughter. Beside them was a large, heavy-set man dressed head-to-toe in black, the only decoriation a stylized picture of a red horse on the breast of his shirt. He stared calmly around the room, the look of a fighter assessing the potential dangers while entering a strange place. The kitten was perched on his shoulder and also looking about, though its expression was far more inscrutable.

The old Kawaiian man stared at Beorra in shock. "Kuma?" was all he said.

The younger one looked nervously up at the kitten on the large man's shoulder, then at his wife. She just shook her head, obviously confused. Finally the young man bowed deeply to Beorra, and said haltingly, "My...apologies, Kuma-sama. This is the realm of St. Edmund, is it not?"

Beorra stared at the group with an expression equal to the old Kawaiian Elder's. An almost quiet growl escaped her lips, and she said, "No. No, it is not, sir. And might I ask, who are you?"

The older Kawaiian coughed slightly, and stepped forward. Bowing as well, he said, "Forgive our manners, Kuma-sama. I am the Patriarch of the Fire Horse Clan of the Eternal Kawaii. Our people are being evacuated from their homeland to St. Edmund. We were unaware that it was a land occupied by Sacred Beasts..."

Beorra started to say, "...sacred...beas--" when her train of thought took a sudden switch. Turning to the technician, she barked, "Is that thing still running? If it is, switch it off! NOW!!!"

The Smithfolk technician was throwing levers and pushing buttons on the portal's control panel, his face ashen. He looked up at Beorra in near-panic, and said, "I can't! It's locked somehow!"

"Locked? By whom? Don't you have full control over that thing?" Beorra snarled threateningly.

The technician continued manipulating the portal controls, though judging from the expression on his face whatever attempts he was making were futile. "Yes, unless it's been 'handshaked' with another portal back at the WA HQ," he said grimly. "The gnomes must've locked it in receive mode for some reason."

Beorra whirled back to face the Kawaiian Patriarch, and growled, "You said 'our people', sir. How many 'people' are we talking about here?"

The Patriarch looked calmly at the large she-bear, and replied, "The Fire Horse Clan, Kuma-sama. Some 8,000 souls." He paused, and his eyes widened as he read Beorra's expression. "You...really weren't expecting us? We've arrived in the wrong nation?"

Beorra's eyes shifted to the technician, who if anything managed to look paler than before. He pointed to one of the control panel displays and stammered, "Incoming people, ma'am. A lot. And we can't stop them."

Beorra sighed, loudly, and then turned back to face those Kawaiians who had already arrived. She visibly calmed herself, and then replied to the Patriarch.

“Where you have arrived is the nation of ‘Bears Armed’, and to be more precise the city of ‘Council Groves’ which is our confederation’s administrative centre. Ursines like me are the main ‘People’ here in this land, although we do have minority-groups of various other origins — already including Humans, from several different sources — present too and those are entitled to full equality with us.
Your tribe in particular, or such a large number of your people at all so soon, no, we weren’t expecting this. However we had approached your people’s delegation at the World Assembly about the possibility of one or another of your tribes finding a new home within our territories, and invited them to send a mission here to negotiate the details of such a relocation, so it seems that somebody has just speeded that process up rather drastically.” (She shrugged.) “Maybe the WA Gnomes thought that this would be a good joke to play on us, as a reprisal for our nation’s recent withdrawal from the World Assembly? Hr’rrm, I’d rather not consider the idea that maybe the Great Bear — or your own people’s deity, instead — has intervened personally to bring your tribe here, but I suppose that that can’t be completely discounted either…
Anyway, ‘Welcome!’. I’ll need to make some arrangements to house your fellow tribesmen temporarily near here, until we’ve sorted exactly whether you’re going to continue onwards to that ’St Edmund’[/] nation by one means or another or stay in this country instead, and I expect that you yourself will want to be on hand to explain things to them as they arrive, so I’ll leave you one of my staff as a liaison officer for now while I go to set things more neatly into motion.” (She pauses, and looks around the officials who had accompanied her into that chamber…)
“Yakorbh, that’s you: I’ll send some of the Committee’s ‘messengers’ down to guide the new arrivals around, you’d better send them to the Banqueting Hall and the Ballrooms for as long as there’s enough room in those although any who are still left over after those places have been filled will have to wait in the Bailey until I can get an alternative location for all of them cleared.” (She switches from English into the Ursines’ own language.) “Be polite, as these are guests among us after all, and let their own leaders organise them as much as is practical of course, but don’t let them take undue advantage of the situation or trespass into the ‘secured’ areas. I’ve given you this responsibility, despite your lack of seniority, because of your own people’s background and your proven ability to deal well with Humans. Do it well, and there might well be a promotion for you in the near future…”

She bowed politely to the Kawaiian patriarch, as equal to equal, and then led the rest of her team upstairs. As they moved away from the ‘Portal’ room she began to give them orders, speaking once again in English…

“Urrabarra, send a messenger out to our people out at Borrgan’s Farm and tell them to expect about eight thousand refugees very shortly; then send somebody to the Sun Clan’s office here and ask them to provide guides and an escorting party for our visitors, for the trip to that site and for the next few days too.”
Borrin, go to the Committee for Tiger: explain that because of this situation we need to requisition tents and other camping equipment for that many people from their stores, to be delivered by their own personnel to Borrgan’s Farm, as quickly as possible. Then go over to the Committee for Rabbit, and arrange the provision of adequate food supplies for our guests, too. These people have some religious laws about what they can eat, Marrthra o BerryGlades over there already has the details about that so you’d better sort this out through her.”
Carron, prepare a summary of what we already know about ‘St Edmund’, and get it to me as soon as possible.”
“and [i]‘Sacred Beasts’, was it? Urther, find out what that was about…”

Within the chamber that she’s just left, the aide named Yakorbh has been quickly asking the Smithfolk technicians how rapidly the portal seems likely to deliver the remainder of the Kawaiians to this site. Now, he turns to face the patriarch, bows, and says
“Greetings, sir. I am Yakorbh Redstone, from the ‘Exodus’ Sept. It appears that the rest of your people will start arriving here in just a few moments. There obviously wouldn’t be enough room for all of them in this chamber, so — presuming that you give your permission? — we’ll have to spread them around through this Hall a bit for now. Is there any other way in which I can be of assistance? Shall I send for refreshments? Are any of your people likely to require medical aid?”
(This official is fairly small for an Ursine, being just under six feet in height and only moderately built, and has fur in a light shade of brown. He is wearing a black [‘Human-style’] suit, a white shirt, black shoes, and a black skull-cap, rather than any more typically ‘Ursine’ style of clothing.)