NationStates Jolt Archive

NAS Bermuda

Paradise it was not. A cleared, pitted concrete runway surrounded by quonset huts, hangars and a moderately sophisticated control tower was all that the Naval Air Station Bermuda really merited, and so the view was not inspiring. The Quinntonian Stars and Stripes fluttered in the light wind, startling a bird in flight but otherwise not making for much of a display. An older model P-3 Orion was wheeled away hastily by a harried looking ground crew in the green jumpsuits of a Quinntonian ground crew, and in its place latterly appeared a news van bearing the logo of the National Broadcasting Corporation.

This drew some looks from the assembled Quinntonian military personnel, since few events on tiny Bermuda merited so much as a fellow with a camera slung over his shoulder. Newsmen on this, one of the minor outposts of the Anglosphere, were a rare breed who mostly contented themselves with scribbling notes longhand into a small pad, or maybe with harassing some minor public official with an old film camera. So when the van, with an electronic wheeze, extruded a satellite uplink tower and a snake's-nest of cabling, there was more than a little whispering amongst the ground crews. A rather winsome young lady with a microphone stepped out of the passenger's seat, followed by several cameramen who came tumbling out of the back, equipment clutched in hand. As good Christians, the mostly male ground team politely did not stare, but like all young military men they could perhaps be forgiven for the occasional glance in the reporter's direction. Their consternation increased exponentially as military policemen–those deeply hated members of the service tasked with making everything less fun–appeared to shepherd them away. One of the ground crewmen, the youngest of the lot, looked a little ashen.

"I was just looking, I promise! I–I'll confess afterward, of course I will. I mean, the spirit is willing, right?" He glanced at his buddies and the stone-faced MPs, growing more afraid by the moment. "Guys? This is the US, right? I mean, I might have been sinful, but you don't, uh, punish for that, do you?" The MPs did not speak, and the young man grew paler. "Guh–guys?" He gulped. There were rumors about these men, a special branch of the military, that saw to the "spiritual purity" of Quinntonian units. Was this some kind of bizarre sting operation? Was the woman a reporter at all, or some sort of honey-trap tasked with "testing" the men? He heard an odd noise, a sort of strangled grunt coming from his right. It was Benson, who appeared to be choking. "Ben? Benson? Dude, you okay?" The older groundsman's composure broke, and he started laughing uproariously.

"There's a state visit, Piechowski," he said when he could speak again. "Some Brits are coming or something, 's what I heard. Oh, Lord. You fell for that one good." And then he dissolved into laughter again, joined by the MPs and the other ground crewmen.

Back at the runway, the MPs had established a neat cordon around one of the painted arrival zones, and were studiously but politely roping off large sections of the airbase. The reporter, irritated to have been intercepted by the MPs but not particularly surprised, had restricted herself to getting some establishing shots and testing the light. Beside the NBC van, a Quinntonian Broadcasting Corp. counterpart was performing similar evolutions to the NBC satellite uplink tower, providing in ten minutes more news footage of Bermuda than had been shot since the end of the Second World War. A newsman appeared, trailing his own coterie of cameramen and makeup flunkies. He sipped meditatively on a coke and greeted his colleague with a wave, setting up the camera so that it wouldn't catch the other reporter's crew or van, but still had a good shot at the painted and roped arrival zone.

Presently, the roar of turboprops broke the quiet of a Bermuda morning. A Hercules C.4 painted with the Royal Air Force's distinctive roundel droned in low, landing gear deployed for touchdown on the relatively short airstrip. Though not directly visible from shore, an observer in a zodiac would see the aircraft's point of origin, HMS Queen Elizabeth I, riding at anchor some miles off the coast. Surrounded by her battlegroup, the fleet carrier had been detailed to transport a number of British dignitaries to the conference. Having done so, she would maintain a presence off the coast for the next week or so, a mute reminder of British seapower even in the traditionally Quinntonian West Atlantic. With much hustling and confusion the news cameras were prepared, and the presenters began recording their copy as the rather large transport aircraft touched down behind them. It appeared to be a bit of a near-run thing, the airstrip being slightly too short for an aircraft of the C.4's size. By more design than luck, the aircraft optimized for unprepared runways lowered its outsized flaps and slammed on the brakes, coming to a rest more or less where expected. A bit of taxiing allowed the transport to pull up at the prepared site, where ground crews produced a gangway and then evacuated so as not to spoil the scene.

The aircraft's main door broke its seal and was hauled out of the way by a well-turned-out Royal Marine guard bearing an equally polished Lee Enfield. While one would be justified in questioning its usefulness in a modern firefight, one look at the gleaming, ten inch bayonet was enough to ward off the usual protester or halfhearted assassin. The Marine took his station to the edge of the gangway, and his place was taken by a tall, spare man in a black overcoat. He raised his right arm in greeting to the assembled news cameras and took a step to the side, now joined by a small young woman in a fashionable jacket and skirt who, unlike most women in ministerial photographs, did not greet the crowd nor show affection to the man to her left. The couple–if that was what they were–made their way down the gangway followed by a retinue of diplomats, military officers and general hangers-on, waving calmly as the flashbulbs went off around them.

Several black towncars bearing the flag of the British Empire appeared on cue, the first and largest of which took station at the end of a red carpet that had, in the drama of arrival, not been noticed. The tall man and the pretty woman, followed by a few of the more expensively dressed diplomats, merited the first car. Admirals, generals and air marshals competed with Savile Row's less distinguished products for space in the remaining towncars, with a loose order beginning to emerge that evenly split things between middle-tier diplomats and heads of service. The motorcade departed with relatively little fanfare, and the C.4 Hercules trundled awkwardly towards Bermuda's largest hangar, where it barely managed to fit alongside a pair of P.3 Orions.

Sir Andrew Strathairn had come to Bermuda.

Fairmont Princess Resort

Preparations for the conference were well along, and the Fairmont Princess was more than adequate to the task of hosting the day to day meetings. To that end, the largest ballroom had been converted by the addition of a massive wooden table to seat some twenty or so principals, with smaller but equally elegant tables set up behind them for the staff. The British and Quinntonians were afforded equal pride-of-place, with positions equidistant to each other on either side of the table. Germans, Cassanotians, Balts, Giordanoans and others were grouped with an eye to fairness around the remaining space, with the hope that nobody would feel terribly slighted. Each seat carried a placard with the name of the officials in attendance, and relevant flags were present around the room.

Down the hall, the dining room had been converted as well. By paying the resort a hefty price, the British and Quinntonian governments had managed to clear the Fairmont Princess of regular guests, so the excellent seafood would not have to be shared with the general public. Professional chefs of some note had been flown in from London and New York, as well as culled from across the Caribbean and the Quinntonian seaboard to feed the assembled politicians. Seating was, as could be expected at such events, assigned. Principals from the various nations would eat together, with their staffers and chief diplomats relegated to other tables further from the center of things. There had been some confusion as to what to do with Christina Lloyd, who by position should be at a table off to the left with the other foreign ministers. However, social conventions and her ongoing relationship would stick her on Sir Andrew's left, across from the First Gentleman of the United States. If this was done, however, the fear was that it would seem to give preference to the British Empire by allowing the Prime Minister to be advised by his chief of foreign affairs. Much brainpower at high levels of government was put to the task of determining where the Foreign Secretary should sit, but things were eventually decided when Ms. Lloyd, at two in the morning, irritatedly said that she'd happily sit with the other foreign ministers. From there, things went more smoothly.

Delegates from the assembled political and military services began to arrive two days before the conference proper, where they were greeted on the one hand by Royal Marines in dress blacks and on the other by the United States Marine Corps in dress blues. The two services took the opportunity to take the measure of each other, to the extent that with each arrival the presentation of arms became swifter, sharper and louder until someone told the responsible drill sergeants to take out their frustrations on someone or something else, lest the feet of their color guards damage the tarmac. Thus greeted–or hazed, depending on the attitudes of the delegates–the officials of each country were shepherded to limousines, SUVs or towncars in much the same vein as were the British delegates several days before. Those arriving by low flying aircraft might have noted the British carrier still present offshore, doing its not-too-inspiring best to be unobtrusive and nonthreatening while still being impressive and stately. It made for an odd image, a full battlegroup flying ceremonial signal flags and with guns and missiles secured, but still quite potent. Officially the transport for the Queen's First Minister, the Elizabeth I wasn't going anywhere for the duration of the conference, and though friendly might provoke the occasional curious glance by Bermudans out for a fishing jaunt. The more daring of them, upon coming close to the frigates that formed the outer ring of the battlegroup, would be greeted by enthusiastic British sailors who had improvised fishing poles or lines themselves, apparently for amusement when not ashore. So disposed, the British military assets at the conference settled in for a week of merrymaking, shore leave and a break from the naval life that was too often boring.

Though half-a-world away, Sithin would be keeping a close eye on Bermuda and the discussions taking place there. When Party officials had first gotten wind of the planned negotiations, there had been some hope it was a sign that 'free' Europe intended to strengthen its position and take a firmer stand against the feudal powers... a positive sign for those who had repeatedly advocated a unified and agressive front against Kiev over the preceding decades. But recent events seemed to point to less-positive possibilities... certainly the Quinntonians launching into unilateral action on the eve of the Bermuda conference was a sign of something, and while no one in Sithin was yet certain just what it meant, it certainly didn't point towards an impending multilateral security agreement.

Bermuda

Aboard the Jesus-1, the primary air transport of the Prime Minister, Lois King was doing what she most loved to do, sitting in front of her copy of the Treasury of Daily Prayer, sipping some expensive warm brew from South America somewhere, and kicking her painful shoes off. This time with the Lord was often the best part of the day, and as her husband finished the Writings section, a passage from the Eastern Church Fathers, she was just thankful for the opportunity to engage in these spiritual luxuries. Then, as they finished their normal family devotions, her husband began to chant through Matins as her and her children responded appropriately. He was a good man, her husband, always working hard, taking on more responsibility for the parenting as she suddenly was thrust into the national scene by that strange election.

“You will need to buckle up, Madame Prime Minister, we are on approach,” came the voice from the smiling stewardess, as her husband, Dwight, started to gather he children and get them secured. She smiled over her reading glasses at him and just whispered, “SHMILY.” He stopped, looked up, and smiled at their “secret code.” It was a game they played, to fit it into a conversation once a day; “See How Much I Love You - SHMILY.”

As the plane taxied onto the tarmac, her aides suddenly burst forth in a frenzy of activity, touching up her make-up, prepping her one last time before she met the other leaders, and so on. She put down her ever-present coffee and went about the strange business of making sure she looked both TV ready and still presentable up close. Then, after the plane had been stopped for about twenty minutes, the appropriate security checks had been done, and the press had been allowed to move in for their shots, she emerged into the hot sun, waving with one hand and smiling that famous smile that got her elected. Her husband joined her briefly on the top stair, and put his arm around her, smiling and waving as well, then disappearing back into the plane to retrieve their children as she walked down the stairs and across to the waiting podium. As she greeted the press corps, her children were hustled to the limo to bask in the air conditioning. She began;

“My fellow Quinntonians and people around the world. May the Lord who has previously spoken to us by the testimony of the prophets and now speaks to us in the present time by His Son, bless you all! I will be brief, recent events around the world have forced the Quinntonians to look to their friends not just for our security, but so that we, as wise stewards of the resources, military and otherwise, that God has entrusted to us, may stand ready to defend our friends and allies against those who would do them harm. Thus, in consultation with the Pentagon and my Chiefs of Staff, and under the direction of the Minister of Defence Pastor Tim Schneider, we have begun, with our friends the Cassanotian people, to formalise the various international understandings that we already have with these nations, in order to make us more effective, and to provide a united front against oppression and tyranny, in whatever form that it should take. This proposed North Atlantic Treaty Organisation shall be a bulwark against the principalities that strive against us in this present darkness. I want to end by thanking the great British Empire for hosting this conference, and allowing us to work towards greater peace and unity in the world. God Bless You, Good-bye!”
This was followed by the cacophony of shouted questions from the international press as she simply smiled, waved, and walked to join her family in the limo, where steaming cup of joe would be waiting for her.

WWJD
Amen.

Qasarian, the Democratic Federation of Baltic States

A lectern stood waiting, proud before the glass fronted presidential offices in the capital, as was the normal procedure when the president made a speech. The press eagerly pushing forward for a better view; only to be held back by the line of security guards. Behind the small crowd a line of fountains gleamed in the beaming sunlight. Volterov turned the corner coming into view, the cameras flashing rapidly as he waved, he was quite used to this process, although he never understood why so many pictures were needed. He turned to the crowd, the reflections from the water catching his eyes, causing him to blink before dipping his head. 'This will make me look bad' he thought to himself before immediately re-raising his head and squinting in the bright light.

“My fellow citizens” he opened “today, I and others from this country will head to Bermuda, today our nation enters a new age. We have been invited by the great countries of Britain and Quinntonia to join them in an alliance.” He paused briefly to compose himself “And this is not just any alliance, this alliance will be stronger than any other, we will be secured from all dangers of the international world with this treaty, as we will help to secure others. My friends, this treaty will protect us for the Tsarists once and for all, this alliance will save us from these feudalists. The Road to Kiev starts in Bermuda!”. This last part of the speech gained widespread applause from the small crowd. The president then answered the questions of the audience of reporters, analysts and other politicians.

The speech although short seemed unnecessary, everyone knew about being invited to NATO and just about everyone supported it, however, because it was so important the president felt he had to say something, it would probably help raise his popularity.

1 Hour later
Tomas Mistrikova seemed to be a normal sort of suited guy in in his early forties, with a with short brown receding hair and a growing stomach. As a former diplomat he knew the procedure for these sort of events, but nothing on this scale. The new foreign minister had become quite excited as he boarded the plane with the other diplomats and officials at Qasarian Central Airport. The country had never had an opportunity so great on the world stage and now he, merely a matter of months in the new job was going to be part of it. He thought of the glory, then shook his head, “we need to get this done RIGHT” he thought before slumping into the seat the stewardess indicated. The small luxury jet was to carry the several diplomats along with himself to Bermuda for the conference. The President, his immediate aides and his family would travel in another similar plane. As the plane taxied to the runway, you could tense the excitement of the people on board as they compared ideas, suggestions and speeches.

The two aircraft set off without incident and on arrival in Bermuda they were greeted by much smaller groups than had earlier greeted the Quinntonians and British before being shown to their rooms. The conference would start the next day and there was much preparation to be done, despite weeks of work already.

Leading up to the conference in Bermuda, the Baltic Federation had been in close talks with Cassanos and Germany over an allied defence solution to the Baltic region. This had resulted in a charitable deal made to ensure a high quality of the Baltic forces. This meant that the Baltic Federation gained a large number of tanks, APCs and other equipment which boosted their defensive (and offensive) capabilities almost threefold.

However, the air force of the Baltic Federation was small and outdated, using various different aircraft, whilst the fleet was only capable of shoreline defence with no ability to transport troops to battle zones elsewhere in the world, this was something the leaders wished to resolve.

In the night before the conference proper started a meeting had been arranged between the 1st General Polak Kashninski of the Baltic Federation and a Quinntonian counterpart. Kashninski had led the successful Lazvorian forces in the post-independence war and as such was highly practical and well experienced not only in military affairs but also in political ones.

Kashninski was there early, eager to build the forces that would protect the lands he had fought for from the Tsarist forces. As the US general entered he hastily stood up to shake his hand. “Thank you ever so much for coming” he said in a strong Eastern European accent. “We have outlined the details of that we wish to acquire, but as you may well understand, our funds are limited, this is a hopeful estimate of what we can afford”.

He handed the papers to the Quinntonian general, trying to make himself look as professional as he could. “We don't mind ifs its not brand new, we understand that that would be very costly” Kashninski clarified as the Quinntonian general read the proposal.



http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t38/unreal229/foreignofficelogo.jpg?t=1236075091

Official Communique of the Democratic Federation of Baltic States

The Baltic Federation wishes to acquire the following military equipment for the general security of not only our nation, but the entire Baltic and northern European region, for the benefit of the free world.

50 F-16 Aeroplanes
40 M-2 IFVs
3 Destroyers
2-3 Frigates

The Democratic Federation of Baltic States is currently looking to replace the Dragunov SVD sniper rifles in use in its armed forces and is officially open to bids to replace them.

We sincerely hope we can reach an agreement on the items listed above and are glad to have Quinntonia as an ally.

Signed

Polak Kashninski (1st General of the Armed Forces)
Varno Öpik (Chief Military Requisitions Officer)
Tomas Mistrikova (Foreign Affairs Secretary)

Picture of Kashninski ---> http://img.breitbart.com/images/2008/8/15/ap-p/bfeb83d6-c71d-4ce1-ac12-cb92114d396f.jpg

The UTA was going through something of a media blackout on the gathering in the western Atlantic, Al'Išbūnah not keen to be blamed by its consciously isolated and menaced population for the nation's exclusion, nor to answer questions about the Sultan's presence in Versailles while this seemingly all together more agreeable congregation of statesmen was going on in Bermuda.

Instead, the major networks were running stories about a joint parade by the military forces of the Taifas of Baja and Balata, in the resort town of Al'Ma'din on the mouth of the Tagus, culminating in a march over Europe's longest bridge, the Abu Wafi al'Sabur ibn Yusuf al'Andalusi bridge, from Al'Ma'din to Al'Išbūnah. Better that people should be given a little disruption to complain about, rather than the daily worries of a small Muslim state trapped between hostile Christian empires.

Following was a choice between the business news and an early Saburid epic about the 1755 Muslim revolt that drove King Joseph from the throne.

General Darryl Becker, “Old Peacemaker,” as his troops liked to call him was a tall, slender man, with an easy smile and a bushy, dark moustache. He looked at the paper in his hand and grinned, leaning back and laughing that laugh that served to make everyone around him slightly more comfortable, and said, “Well, we are certainly ready to agree to this in principle, but I do have to know whether or not you have the logistical capabilities that would be required to field a force of this size? Enough trained pilots? Seamen? Officers? Technicians? Engineers? Can you support a blue-water Navy of this size? Would we have to provide for training, ongoing technical and logistical support etc?”

He leaned back and straightened his uniform as he awaited the answers to his barrage of questions. His government was definitely willing to help their newfound allies, and would love to prop up the military of a nation right in the Tsarist craw, but we needed to know exactly what we were talking about here. Also, he understood international politics, and this might be the buying price for the NATO-bound friendship of the tiny Baltic nation.

WWJD
Amen.

Kashninski stopped to gather his thoughts, a lot of questions had been asked. "We are currently training large number of pilot in a program linked to this, so that is not a problem, we have a squadron of training Migs to help with that. With the navy, our current force has been very successful, this is an expansion project, we know it will take time. But we will certainly be needing your technical expertise to help train recruits in the short run as well as other support". He felt confident that his answers would please the general. He thought through the list of things they had asked for. The ships were a big ask, but if the Baltic wanted a proper independent navy it needed them he thought "We are about to start a naval recruitment drive, and many of the reservists showed an interest in transferring to full time naval work" Kashninski added, in an attempt to reassure the Quinntonian.

"We think we are fully capable of operating this force, so long as we can count on your aid in training recruits for the navy. If you cannot train force of this size, we could just have say 1 destroyer and 2 frigate now, and sort others at another time. We are aware this is large logistical job, but we are always ready to work hard, to defend our country". Kashninski felt he had done all he could to clinch a deal, it was just the datails that needed sorting.

The government had been building up the infrastructure in the country for several years, now that that project had come to an end, there was money available to keep such a force going, but not the money to create a project like this themselves.

OOC: Am sick, post will suck. Apologies.

Bermuda

With most of the principles gathered, preparations took on a different air. The Quinntonian prime minister, having been shuttled to the resort, was now in a position to take an active role in organizing what had so far been an almost entirely British affair, and logistical headaches multiplied in direct proportion to the number of new staffers that had to be included in every major decision. Ms. King would now find herself buried under a mountain of proposals, paperwork and declarations of principles that would have to predate any significant meeting regarding the goals and policies of the alliance.

After a civilized interval in which Ms. King, her family and her staff were to be permitted a few hours to unpack and prepare, a Royal Marine unarmed except for a ceremonial sword appeared at the suite of rooms reserved for the Quinntonians bearing a somewhat anachronistic but probably charming little card bearing the following message:

Prime Minister the Honourable Lois King,
It is my sincere pleasure to welcome you to this conference, which I regard as the next logical step in the relations between our two great nations. As co-hosts, it would greatly benefit us to discuss formally our intentions and itinerary for this conference, and finalise our intentions here so as to avoid confusion at a later date. In addition, it has been some time since last we met, and as always I look forward to the company of you and your husband. Accordingly, it is my sincere hope that you will be able to join Christina and me for dinner this evening at seven in the dining area reserved for British delegates and guests.
Your humble and obedient servant,
Sir Andrew Strathairn,
Prime Minister
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Empire
Victoria II Reginæ

Lois King was speaking with her Finance Minister, the slightly pudgy and effeminate Darby Tchir, and was just exclaiming, “It’s going to cost what? No, I don’t care how much it will be, we will be investing in Quinntonia’s place in the world and making sure that our children have one!”

Her aide moved up to tell her about the letter, and she crossly pulled it out of his hand and read it herself. Spying who it was from, she slowed herself, reached out, grabbed her cup of coffee, and while sipping it thoughtfully, she slowly said, “Tell him we are quite busy leading up to the conference, but would be happy to take a rain cheque.” At this she smiled, no doubt that would infuriate the adulterer, who obviously had an incredibly high opinion of himself, but like her Old Testament Professor from college used to say, “Sometimes you know you are doing well when the appropriate people get angry.”

With that, she went back to her feverish work on her budget proposal and dodged yet another phone call from some nation wanting another explanation.

WWJD
Amen.

Airport Berlin-Tegel, Berlin

A gaggle of men and women in formal clothing was standing around on the tarmac while an airstair was being rolled towards the large, white Flugbereitschaft passenger jet whose crew waited patiently until the VIPs were ready to board.
"Oh, and make sure that Uta keeps me informed about the healthcare issues, will you? And should any of those BDA-people come whining again..." "... I will tell him to go and get stuffed and tell Rainer about his complaints, I know.", Frank Diercke finished the chancellor's sentence. "Don't worry, we have issues well in hand here. Albert's people have already made sure that a permanent satellite uplink will be established and ready when you arrive. Have a nice trip." With that, the chancellor's chief of staff shook Johannes Ahler's hand and stepped back from the gangway, making way for his superior's staffers and bodyguards.
Chancellor Ahler and minister of foreign affairs Albert Fischer were travelling on the same plane to Bermuda, while minister of defence Peter Hambacher and most of the military part of the delegation would follow half a day later. Even the journey to the international summit in the Carribean was highly symbolized. Ahler and Fischer would travel in the "Konrad Adenauer", named after the first West-German chancellor who had firmly established a policy of Westbindung, or western integration. Besides, the arrival of the German and the Cassanotian head of government, Katarina Edelman, had been carefully scheduled so that the two delegations would arrive at the same time and could give a joint statement to the press before moving to their lodgings.

The Germans especially were taking care to avoid too much pomp any military fuss, leaving this field to its true masters, the British.
Even though Ahler was travelling to a conference from which probably a military alliance would emerge, he made clear that the world had had its taste of German militaristism and false grandeur. Thus, their delegation would arrive only with inconspicuous bodyguards and security personnel instead of flamboyant guards in full dress. Besides, the cohort of generals, admirals and staff officers from all the branches of the Bundeswehr would provide sufficient glamour as it was.

Bermuda

It was not altogether unusual for British prime ministers to be snubbed by their Quinntonian counterparts, although doing so at a conference designed to formalize the special relationship between the two powers seemed a bit excessive. Irritated, Strathairn was forced to wonder exactly what game Ms. King was playing. Did she honestly think that riding roughshod over Britain at a conference was good for securing British support at what appeared to be a crucial time for Quinntonia abroad? Thrusting these questions aside, he busied himself with the last details of the conference. The Germans and Cassanotians were received and welcomed in a typically understated fashion, with respect being granted to the former party's anxiety at a military display. A few words were spoken about how nice it was to see the German and Cassanotian ministers, how much the British Empire looked forward to working with them, and how democracy in all its forms was being brought together by this alliance. With both parties shuttled to the hotel, preparations for the conference could really begin.

Dinner that night, time originally budgeted for making nice with the Quinntonians, was used instead to put the final touches on the conference's organizational plan. The agenda, printed on fine but not gaudy paper, was included in a leatherbound folder before each seat. Christina spent her evening stalking the conference room, checking up on minor details that had escaped someone previously or having a flag moved a few feet to the right. Smudges on the table were polished away. Should anyone care to partake, there were several bottles of wine on a nearby side table. The Quinntonians might find it incongruous, but having alcohol available was a time-honored tradition of high-level diplomacy between European states. As recently as the Second World War, some histories place Churchill as drunk at the Argentia Bay conference, but Strathairn had no intention of emulating his role model. If any of the dignitaries present did, that would only be to his advantage.

The Prime Minister woke at eight, and spent about an hour in his room preparing. He showered and dressed slowly, interrupting himself from time to time to look over agendas, budget reports and intelligence information. It would not do to be unprepared for the first day of the conference. Strathairn made himself some rather strong coffee and re-tied his tie–he hated doing ties, he could never get them right on the first go–kissed Christina on the forehead before the two of them had to put on their professional faces, and then made his way to the conference room.

Once there, he took his seat flanked by Christina on his right and Field Marshal Davies on his left. He glanced at his watch–five past ten–as the other delegates began to trickle in. Strathairn stood up again, making rounds and greeting each head of state as he or she entered. Now, he thought, it was time to actually get something done here. If only the Quinntonians would stop behaving like moody teenagers and start acting like the representatives plenipotentiary of their nation, progress could finally be made. Strathairn returned to his seat as the last national representatives settled into their places at the table.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said as the room quieted down. "Thank you all for coming. As you are aware, Ms. King and I have organized this conference to discuss the formation of an alliance of democratic states. In a world polarized between liberal democracy, communism and fascism, we believe that it is imperative to send a strong message to all those who might threaten our way of life that we, the democracies and republics of this world, are not easy targets.

"It is sometimes said that a democracy fights with one hand tied behind her back. We all know what this means. As the leaders of free states, we are subject to public criticism for our decisions. We cannot prosecute wars that our people do not support, and we have to justify our military spending. But this ignores the essential advantage that we share: our societies depend upon and enjoy the consent of our people, and we are their servants. When our nations are attacked, it is not against us that the war is waged, but against the people that we represent. We democracies display a unity of purpose in wartime that no totalitarian regime can ever hope to match, because our people bend their will and their whole being to the defense of the nation. United, I believe, we will be safe from any combination of threats. Twice before, democracies have marshaled their great power to the defense of freedom. We have allied twice before to defeat enemies that threatened human decency. Let us then ally once more, this time in the light of day and in a time of peace, so as to make ourselves still safer from the specter of war.

"Ms. King, I believe, would like to say a few words."

If the Cassanotian delegation’s entrance was muted, the Canadian delegation’s was downright invisible. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, usually doing a lot better internationally than he did domestically anyways, was quite happy to get down to Bermuda to represent his country, though he knew that much of the decision making would happen with him off-stage. Nevertheless, he would go down and serve his nations’ interests, and hell, if he could score some points at home and get some photo ops with other world leaders, he maybe could keep Ignatieff at bay for a little while longer. Also, he perhaps had some surprises up his sleeve for everyone involved.

He did a little press conference, most of the press that came were just killing time in the interim, between “real” world leaders, and attended dinner, surprised as anyone that Prime Minister King was not there.

At the end of that meal, he approached Prime Minister Strathairn and asked to talk with him briefly, if he had time. Privately.

* * *

In other news, Ignatieff and Jack Layton arrived later, holding smaller press conferences attended almost exclusively by Canadian press, where Ignatieff proceeded to speak in glowing terms about the conference and its goals, but explained that he was there “to keep the Prime Minister accountable” and also threatening, “He is on notice, if he doesn’t serve Canada’s interests, then we will not support the government any longer.” Jack Layton denounced the whole proceeding as “globally schismatic” and asked why we were turning our backs on our allies against the “oppressive feudalistic states,” namely Spyr and Beth Gellert. He called for an inclusive World Council that’s purpose would be to stand against and ultimately defeat these tyrannical states while promoting global social justice.

+++

Rev. Nikolai Gibbons, Leader of the GLP and thus, the Leader of Our Lord’s Official Opposition arrived as well, under a cloud of controversy following the scandal wherein he was accused of impropriety with his Hispanic housekeeper in Colorado, was placing the GLP’s entire resources to work in getting a private audience with Strathairn and also Katarina Edelman, “concerning the USQ’s recent actions.”

WWJD
Amen.


OOC-We could briefly RP this out as I get together some things for PM King to say in her opening remarks.

As the Baltic delegation entered the hall Mistrikova headed immediately for the vine table, he was getting nervous. Volterov, on noticing it intervened.

“Not yet” he said to the Foreign Secretary in a hushed tone. “Lets get some business done first, shall we?”.

“Right... yes right” replied the anxious Mistrikova; “where are we sitting?”

“Over there, and there is plenty of water to quench your thirst.”

Despite being in a familiar environment, Mistrikova had never been to anything quite as important for the country that he loved, I need to concentrate, NOTHING can go wrong he repeated this thought to himself several times, took a deep breath and moved on. The delegates then preceded to their seats, greeting the other delegates with typical media smiles, Mistrikova was just about blending in. As they sat down, General Kashninski immediately poured out a glass of water for the worried foreign secretary before pouring a glass for himself.

OOC: I find line-by-line dialogue RP to be a bit tedious. I hope you don't mind?

Dinner

The food had been as excellent as could be hoped, and Strathairn was feeling distinctly sleepy by the time that the last course was carried off by the army of waiters. He'd been careful with the wine, drinking just over a glass and a half so as not to be indisposed should anyone come calling. Because of King's absence, the seating chart had been reformatted so as to be a little less restrictive, and Christina had somehow managed to find herself at the same table as her prime minister. In typical fashion, she was dressed so as to distract but not offend, and Strathairn found his mind wandering rather far from the conference's business. He was just getting up to leave when Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada, appeared at his side.

"Sir Andrew," he said cheerfully. "I wonder if I might have a moment of your time?" Strathairn masked his surprise. Harper was a fine politician, but he wasn't known for being terribly fond of international summits.

"Of course, Mister Harper. Please," Strathairn gestured towards a set of doors, "I believe there is a drawing room through here." He flicked a smile Christina's way and then led the Canadian Prime Minister through the doors and into a small but well appointed room with several couches and chairs. Expansive French doors led out onto a deck, and the windows to either side were cracked to let the breeze flow in unimpeded. It was a warm night for early spring, and the temperatures hovered at around seventy. Strathairn gestured to one of several armchairs. "Please, have a seat. I'm glad to see you here; it's always a pleasure to see you representing Canada, especially here."

The Next Morning

Gibbons's requests were met with wholehearted approval by the British diplomatic team. His secretary was contacted, and a time for the meeting was found that would not conflict with the summit. In the end, the Reverend was presented with one of the cards that would quickly become well known amongst the Quinntonian leadership, bearing an invitation to dine with the Prime Minister and a few staff members in private, after the end of the conference's first day. Lest Prime Minister King become overly excited at the prospect of having the US/UK table to herself, a polite letter was sent informing her that Mr. Strathairn sent his apologies, but his place would of course be taken by the ambassador to the United States, the Viscount Somerset, and his wife the Lady Somerset.

Rev. Gibbons entered into his meeting with the British Prime Minister with much ado and aplomb. Anyone with an eye for these things would see quickly that the former Prime Minister of the USQ was having much trouble re-adjusting to life as Our Lord’s Official Opposition. He attempted in everything to give this the air of a state visit between heads of government, rather than the backroom feel that it was no doubt evocative of to anyone not enamoured with his ham-handed attempts.

Nikolai Gibbons was a fairly slight, if athletic looking, man of a dirty blonde persuasion that wore gold rimmed glasses and eschewed the traditional clerical collar even when he was serving at the Altar, signalling his preferences in regard to liturgical praxis to those with an eye for hose things. However, that did mean that he looked far more comfortable in a nice suit, as he was dressed right now. He had a tendency to drift off into space in the middle of conversations, belying his obvious academic brilliance that had placed him in advanced-type classes throughout his academic career. He was easygoing and light-hearted, but sincerely did not understand how that woman managed to wrest a majority government away from him. The only thing weighing more on his mind was the hope that the scandal between him and that Hispanic housekeeper would not come up.

After pleasantries were exchanged, along with gifts, with Nikolai presenting a gift to the Prime Minister of a gold embossed and personalised set of the collected works of Martin Chemnitz, the second Martin of Confessional Lutheran theology, Rev. Gibbons began, “I wanted to speak with you about the goings on that Mrs. King was inflicting upon our people and the world. Her aggressive tactics in regard to Africa are not occurring with the consent of the Quinntonian people. My Defence Critic has not been allowed any information regarding it through normal channels, and further it seems that she has kept both her Defence Minister and her Foreign Minister in the dark as to this situation, though I think that it would be difficult for them to admit to that publicly. You see, she is acting unilaterally not just on the world stage, but also within the government. However, though these matters bring grave concerns as to the stability of ongoing foreign policy in the USQ, I think that there is hope. Firstly, I am very supportive of Pastor Schneider’s matrix for going forward with NATO, and I want you to know that no one within the government, of any of the Parties, wants to sabotage these proceedings. So, one hand I am here to assure you that this treaty organisation may be entered into without trepidation in regards to its future, no matter what the electoral future holds, I have no reason to doubt that this will be honoured by all.”

“That being said, I am not sure what the purposes of these movements are. Without a treasonous breach of security, I can tell you that a ground action in West Africa seems likely, and that under Prime Minister King you can expect that she will be pushing for a muscular role for the USQ and NATO in regards to expeditions such as these. They serve no real purpose in regards to increasing our power or prestige globally, and thus she must believe that we have some form of moral duty towards this action. Believe you me, I don’t understand it. But I do know that she is a woman of faith and is acting in good faith, the open question is whether she is misguided in her actions. I know that may not be that comforting to you, but please understand that when Parliament reconvenes these things will be made quite public through Question Period.”

“But aside from calming what might otherwise make you over-cautious in regards to current deployments and posturing, I am here so that we might help each other. I would very much like you to question these deployments within the open sessions, which will touch off a media firestorm within the USQ, which could work in my favour. Of course, it could also embarrass PM King, which would be a hit against you, for as long as she is in power. But in return, I would agree to bring the questions in a large-scale press conference in a joint declaration by all of the sitting Opposition Parties, which would take the heat off of you and place it on us where it belongs. Further, I don’t have to tell you how tenuous her hold on power is, with a majority resting upon a single seat, and I have it on good authority that we could get a very high level defection to our Party should her poll numbers drop below 35%. Many within her party have been scandalised by her maverick attitude, and may want to orchestrate something like this with an eye to a Leadership Review. And in an election, should her numbers drop to 35%, and with this I am sure they will, at least temporarily, I am certain that I could gain a majority. And I don’t have to tell you that our party have always been friends to the English.”

With the end of his argument, he said his good-byes and parted, hoping to get a response when he had a chance to think it all through.


***

Prime Minister Harper knew that he was not important enough to these proceedings to warrant very much time, so without much ado, he launched into his pitch, “Let me be frank, and do you the honour of not insulting your intelligence with platitudes best played upon less worthy figures. The people of Canada have always had historic ties with Britain, and with the Empire. However, those ties of late have been broken. I, for one, see this as a major flaw. I would like to restore our relationship to something like what it once was, while affording us the freedom of action that a democracy such as Canada must retain. That is, we wish to rejoin the Empire. I am willing to put forward an act in Parliament that would embolden our Foreign Minister to petition both the House of Commons and the Privy Council with our re-entry to the Empire, but there must be conditions. First, we may not be considered a colonial holding. Second, we must be able to retain our relationship with the USQ. Third, we must not be referenced as a member of the Empire. The last one is sticky, and necessary. What I propose is the creation of a British Commonwealth, one in which the Empire can remain, with both semi-autonomous nations that practice a form of responsible government or even direct Parliamentary rule from London. But a third classification of nation would come into being, one of a voluntary association of nations, former members of the Empire, that would work together militarily, economically, and socially, pooling our resources in these matters, and allowing our shared histories to strengthen otherwise tenuous ties. What do you think?”


At the meeting

Prime Minister Lois King was vexed somewhat at the news that she would be dining with the ambassador instead of her counterpart, though she did enjoy his company. However, she quickly got over it.

The next morning, after preparing long into the night and adding perhaps a touch more make-up than she would otherwise be comfortable with to hide her weary eyes, she was gulping down some very, very strong coffee and waiting to be called forward. When she was asked to open with remarks, she stood;

“Collected interested parties, national leaders, and children of God. Thank you for coming to this historic meeting, with a special thanks to our hosts, the British Empire, allowing us to come to Bermuda and though we will not be enjoying the famous weather, be it God’s will we will do something here to make this worth it. This is an important step in political development among the free peoples, as it is natural that our people desire to live and work and worship in relative peace and harmony with one another. And while the eschatological framework of the Holy Prophet’s words, “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” is clearly not attainable by any state or grouping of states, and will only come with the New Zion during the parousia, it is my belief that working for good order in cooperation with like-minded people from across the Atlantic is both laudable and good. And let us remember the words of St. Paul to the Romans, who said, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” All of the governments that are represented here, and even all of the governments in the world are instituted by God, and their authority resides in Him, regardless of their confession to that fact. So, let us use that authority that we have been granted by the Almighty in order to privide a safer world for which to give our children.”

“An alliance of the nature which I propose would serve the purpose of keeping the peace. Firstly, with an alliance of a military nature, between the incredibly powerful states that are present here, would serve as a powerful deterent to Monarchist or Socialist incursions into freedom. If we stand together against their threat, there is no power aside from God Himself that can take the field and prevail. And thus, when faced with the prospect of military defeat, peaceful options will no doubt be explored, which will be for the greater good of all mankind, those within or without the alliance so proposed.”

“I envision this alliance as being binding enough to draw all of us from our comfortable slumbers should any of us be attacked unprovoked, but loose enough to allow us to pursue our own interests without fear of a waning of our domestic authorities and soveriegnties. I foresee a future of cooperation that will prvide the framwork for peacekeeping missions that can occur globally, showing the political will to take a stand for the right in situations where things are dire. I desire an alliance that allows voice to all, regardless of relative international influence, provided they seek and desire the freedom of their people, either from the tyranny of the one or the tyranny of the mob. It is my ardent desire to live ina future where the acronym NATO stands for peace, justice, humility, and strength! Thank you.”

With that sometimes pretentious, perhaps overly provocative, but fairly cogent beginning, the conference began.

The Baltic Federation was not a religious nation by any means and the religious speech by King was uncomfortable for the delegation. However the USQ was expected to use terms such as this, so long as they were not written into the treaty there would be no complaints. Besides; the USQ was helping to built the Baltic navy and air force and a complaint could potentially ruin this agreement so the Balts sat there uncomfortably, almost waiting for another nation to ensure that religion played no role in the treaty.

There was one other thing that the Balts were wary of, King had said that the alliance would be a “powerful deterent to Monarchist or Socialist incursions into freedom”. The inclusion of socialists in this may have included the Republic of Spyr in King's mind, which the Baltic Federation was keen on securing some form of alliance with. As far as the Balts were concerned it was only the European socialists at Akink that were really a threat, and they would be more useful in destabilising Kiev than fighting a war with. NATO, was in the Baltic view, a way to face off the monarchies who were also looking to form an alliance, something that the Balts were keen to disrupt; if only they had a way.

Prince Vadim Moerikavich sat in his guest quarters in Rome, his eyebrows pointed in and downward. He took a deep breath and then spoke into the telephone he had pressed to his ear "I'll call you right back". He flipped it shut and then sat there looking at it for a second. It took him a while to put his thoughts together. In his lifetime he had seen the baltic nations go from secular rebels fighting for sovereignty to squabbling divided micro-states to a stable united nation of their own who now wished to crawl into bed with Quinntonia and Britain. Kiev had not real interest in what was going on in the Baltic Federation so long as it didn't affect the empire. Prince Vadim began to flip his phone open and closed as he mulled over an idea. He stopped with it open and dialled up his lord the tsar. Hmm, no answer. He decided to leave a message.

"Your majesty; this is your loyal seneschal, head of your boyar duma and spokesmen of your empire. I know you're not feeling good today and would rather not deal-er forgive me, are not able to effectively deal with minor foreign policy issues so I'd like to inform you that on your behalf I'm sending a statement from the throne to the Baltic Federation concerning potential actions of their's that do not sit will with us, call me if you wish to know the details."

He shut the phone then opened it again and called back the woman he had been talking with from the department foreign affairs, he had already forgotten her name.

"Yes, his majesty has decreed that we send the following statement to the President, Foreign Office Executive and the Prime Minister of the Baltic Federation:
The Holy Empire of Kievskaya Rus does not and will not permit either British or Quinntonian forces (land, sea or air) nor the forces of any allied nation or nations to be stationed, in transit or otherwise located within five hundred kilometres of our empires soil, airspace or waters.
We desire to maintain a peaceful relationship with the sovereign Democratic Federation of Baltic States. However, any treaty, partnership or alliance of the Baltic Federation that allows for British, Quinntonian or other allied nation or nations' to ever have a military presence of any kind within the five hundred Kilometre zone the Holy Empire of Kievskaya Rus will result in the immediate and indefinite closure of our boarder. The halt of all international trade between our two nations including the immediate shut down of all petroleum pipelines and power lines as well as the temporary seizure of all property (businesses, capital or real-estate) owned by Baltic Federation citizens living, working or travelling within the Holy Empire of Kievskaya Rus.
Further more, the Holy Empire of Kievskaya Rus will defend it's right to unrestricted access to the Baltic seaway as we see necessary.

Tsar Pyotr Sterovovich

The Prince paused. "You don't need to use that exact phrasing, let our lord's lawyers figure out the wording". "What? No! don't send a copy to Cassanos, that's a more delicate matter. Send them their president a fruit basket and a nice bottle of vodka or something. Actually, find out what Aleksander likes and send him some of that, with the tsar's greetings and an invitation to visit the summer palace sometime soon.

The Conference, Day One

Sir Andrew sat and listened attentively enough to Prime Minister King's short speech, liberally coated as expected with verses from the bible. He kept his face in a diplomat's cast of calm, mildly approving regard, and he thought. Reverend Gibbons had made him a fascinating, and somewhat tempting offer. It was true that King's government had so far been entirely unhelpful in international affairs, and seemed by turns hostile and scornful. The prime minister's attitude didn't leave much to be hoped for, and Strathairn could come up with little reason to refuse Gibbons's offer, apart from one very important thing. For the next week or so, he would have to deal directly with Lois King, and if this conference was to succeed it would have to do so not only by his efforts, but by those of King as well. Gibbons had been and could continue to be a friend to the British government, but his timing had been rather poor. Political intrigue was not really Strathairn's style, and he'd prefer to avoid it if possible. On the other hand, a GLP government was certainly heavily favored. He pursed his lips, his face for a moment showing the deliberations it normally hid. No, it would not do to call Ms. King on her deployment scheme on the first day. He'd said something to that effect as he was showing the Reverend out, together with a promise to bring it up if possible. Surely, Gibbons would have understood as a veteran politician.

Mr. Harper's offer, on the other hand, could meet with little opposition. Canada was and always would, in Strathairn's mind, be a part of Britain's cultural sphere, and it only made sense to bring the two nations back together. He had expressed his approval in no uncertain terms, though he'd been forced to demur on giving his assent to the formation of a commonwealth. That, of course, was something that would have to be brought up in Parliament, and it could keep until the end of the conference, at least.

Strathairn inclined his head solicitously in the direction of the Quinntonian minister. King didn't look terribly well, but he'd seen the results of sleep deprivation before and wasn't terribly concerned for her health. The coffee she drank like water couldn't be too good for her sleep patterns, but then few world leaders could count on the uninterrupted nights and late mornings that Strathairn, at least, favored. As King resumed her seat to a polite smattering of diffident applause, he flipped the leatherbound conference binder open to a marked page.

"Thank you, Ms. King, for your inspiring words. Now, if you will all permit me to drag things back to the mundane?" He paused for effect, lips quirked. "I'm sure you will all agree that no alliance like this can function without some sort of unifying charter, and I've taken the liberty of having a preliminary one drawn up. Please, don't hesitate to comment. It is only a draft."
The Parties to this Treaty affirm:

* to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
* to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and
* to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained,

AND FOR THESE ENDS

* to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another so long as we are permitted to do so, and
* to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security,

HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS

Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives plenipotentiary, assembled in the Territory of Bermuda, who have exhibited their full powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the following Treaty and do hereby establish an international organization to be known as the North Atlantic Treaty Association.
We are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilisation of our peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law. We seek to promote stability and well-being in the North Atlantic area.
We are resolved to unite their efforts for collective defence and for the preservation of peace and security. We therefore agree to this North Atlantic Treaty :

Article 1

The Parties undertake to settle any international dispute in which they may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice are not endangered, and to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of advancing human dignity.

Article 2

The Parties will contribute toward the further development of peaceful and friendly international relations by strengthening their free institutions, by bringing about a better understanding of the principles upon which these institutions are founded, and by promoting conditions of stability and well-being. They will seek to eliminate conflict in their international economic policies and will encourage economic collaboration between any or all of them.

Article 3

In order more effectively to achieve the objectives of this Treaty, the Parties, separately and jointly, by means of continuous and effective self-help and mutual aid, will maintain and develop their individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack.


Article 4

The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened.

Article 5

The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.

Article 6

Details the Territories, Protectorates and Departments which, being attacked, constitute an attack upon the Parties.

Article 7

The Parties hereby establish a Council, on which each of them shall be represented, to consider matters concerning the implementation of this Treaty. The Council shall be so organised as to be able to meet promptly at any time. The Council shall set up such subsidiary bodies as may be necessary; in particular it shall establish immediately a defence committee which shall recommend measures for the implementation of Articles 3 and 5.

Article 8

The Parties may, by unanimous agreement, invite any other European State in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area to accede to this Treaty. Any State so invited may become a Party to the Treaty by depositing its instrument of accession with the Council, the formation if which was detailed in Article 7.

Article 9

This Treaty shall be ratified and its provisions carried out by the Parties in accordance with their respective constitutional processes. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited as soon as possible with the Governments of the United States of Quinntonia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain, which will notify all the other signatories of each deposit. The Treaty shall enter into force between the States which have ratified it as soon as the ratifications of the majority of the signatories have been deposited and shall come into effect with respect to other States on the date of the deposit of their ratifications.

Article 10

After the Treaty has been in force for ten years, or at any time thereafter, the Parties shall, if any of them so requests, consult together for the purpose of reviewing the Treaty, having regard for the factors then affecting peace and security in the North Atlantic area, including the development of universal as well as regional arrangements for the maintenance of international peace and security.

Article 11

After the Treaty has been in force for twenty years, any Party may cease to be a Party one year after its notice of denunciation has been given to the Council which will inform the Governments of the other Parties of the deposit of each notice of denunciation.

Article 12

This Treaty, of which the English and French texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Duly certified copies will be transmitted by that Government to the Governments of other signatories.

The treaty drawn out by the British government was almost exactly what the Baltic expected and desired for the convention, it left out references to religion and socialism, keeping the diplomatic situation just as President Volterov desired, at least in this sphere.

When it was the turn of the Baltic delegation to speak, Volterov stood up in a cool and dignified manner.

“Today these nations have gathered to secure peace to a large part of the world; a truly noble quest. We; the Balts stand among them, not as large, not as important as others but just as proud. Yes we are a young nation, but the memories of war and suffering are still strong in the memory. This is why we wish to join with the other great nations here. We want to avoid the disasters of war from ever befalling our people again.

We may be a prosperous nation, especially considering our size, but the threat of war has always lingered in the background. We as a nation know that despite all our developments, we would struggle to protect ourselves. We do not seek war, nor no we seek revenge or to harm others in any way. We aim for democracy and peace, and we find that becoming a member of NATO to be the best way to achieve this.

I wish to personally thank the nations here that have already helped us and continue to help us to build our military to modern standards. We wish to make it clear that these developments are to be used for defence and security and are no threat to any nation. I believe that any hurdles in this area can easily be overcome diplomatically.

I believe in this union, its members are strong and so are the ties that bind us. We all support democracy, we all support peace, we all support individual values and it is these that we wish to preserve. I am immensely proud to be among the people here in this conference room on this momentous occasion. With the nation fully behind me I warmly accept the provisions outlined by a marvellous Sir Andrew Strathairn and have only one question. Where do I sign?”

That night

There was one pressing matter for Volterov after the delegates had emptied the conference hall. A message had arrived from Kievskaya Rus, and it was not of the desirable sort. This was a blatant breach of the Baltic's territorial rights as well as all previous international convention (although no treaty to any effect had ever been signed).

Since the formation of the Baltic Federation, the nation had worked to make itself independent of Kiev. This included the building of several nuclear fuel stations for power in recent years and has meant that the Baltic has relied on Kiev imports in no way whatsoever. Few Baltic peoples were left in the Holy Empire, and almost all of those had never been to the Baltic Federation. There were still exports sent to Russia, and the closure of the border could hurt businesses in the Baltic Federation, but only to the same degree as it would harm those in Kiev, who would no longer be able to get those goods as easily. This was however a delicate situation and Kiev was far too big to ignore a threat such as this from, crucially when if allowed to pass, it could cut the Baltic off from the rest of the world.

That night he carefully scripted a reply that would hopefully alleviate Russian concerns whilst leaving enough room for diplomatic manoeuvre later on.


The Democratic Federation of Baltic States understands your concerns in this matter, and so we wish to alleviate those concerns. We are currently modernising our military forces up to the standards of other global powers, none of this is intended as a threat towards any sovereign nation and we are as open about the troop movements as is reasonable for a democratic nation.

Currently there are no foreign troops stationed in Baltic Federation territory and no immediate plans for foreign troops to arrive. A training delegation from the United States of Quinntonia is expected in the future but this is to be of negligible military strength.

We must remind you that the Baltic land belongs to us and we may invite whoever we wish into it; this is not in any way or means intended as a threat. We must remind you that although as a nation you have unrestricted access to the Baltic seaway, so must we and any nation that is trading or supporting us, your five hundred kilometre limit covers the entire Baltic territory including our and Cassanos' territorial waters; that is if we include Kaliningrad Oblast, part of your nations sovereign territory.

We wish to maintain peaceful relations with the Holy Empire of Kievskaya Rus and must reiterate that there is no threat posed to your nation. We also wish to invite Tsar Pyotr Sterovovich, or a seperate delegation if desired, to meet in Qasarian to gain an understanding of intentions, so to avoid any misunderstanding.

President Karl Volterov

Once the reply was sent, Volterov immediately contacted the Cassonotian, German and British delicacies to give them a heads up on the situation, whilst stressing that it was currently under control, and could be kept so until at least the end of the conference. As for the Quinntonian delegation, they were told that Kiev was worried about its waters, and had been told that these were safe. They didn't want Quinntonia to have an excuse to get into a fight.

Not long after the response from President Volterov came in:

Prince Vadim Moerikavich was drafting a response from the Tsar when the door to his guest quarters in Rome swung open. Vadim was ready to tear a strip off the room servant for not knocking but got out no more that than a quickly silenced "ep...". Strolling into his room, still wet from his morning swim and clad in a fluffy blue bath robe and slippers strolled Pyotr Sterovovich the Tsar of Kievskaya Rus.

"Huuuuuuuhhh" Pyotr sighed as he flopped down on an ornate antique couch and slapped his slipped covered feet on the tile floor. "Vad... I checked my messages this morning. Tell me Vad, what did I end up saying yesterday to those baltic people?"

The prince considered his words carefully. Vadim, who was a good twenty five years older than this Tsar had spent most of his career working towards the position he was currently in and though he was confident in good standings with Pyotr and knew that the tsar considered him his closest friend (or at least second closest, after that ditzy ballerina he was so taken with these days), Vadim knew that everything he had worked so hard for, that is virtually ruling the empire under the most hands off tsar Kiev had ever known, could be taken away a the snap of this mans figers. Questions like these made the prince uneasy and reminded him that he was still on a leash.

"Well your majesty, I've told the Baltic Federation that unless that if they sign a treaty with the United States of Quinntonia or with the British Empire that allow for foreign forces to be on their soil, or in their airspace or waters that we would respond by shutting down the border and doing what we can to screw with their importing and exporting."

The tsar sat twiddling his thumbs. The prince gritted his teach but tried to appear open to what ever Pyotr had to say. He knew exactly what the thumb twiddling meant. It meant that Pyotr wanted to feel in charge today and was thinking up some royal decree that would both show the duma and especially Vadim who was the boss and at the same time stroke his ego.

"How did they reply?" the tsar asked.

"Read it for your self" the prince said as he got up and handed his soggy lord the print out he had been reading over.

"
I suppose walking out of the royal conference yesterday didn't do the best for my image, I trust you salvaged the situation alright. That cute Iberian girl who was sitting three down from the Ceasar thought you did well. I had her over last night" Pyotr smiled and winked at the prince. "So those baltician peasants think they can invite our enemies for a sleep over and expect us to believe they will never move in?"
The young tsar stopped and reached over to the room service phone on the end table beside him and ordered some milk and pastries for breakfast. He thought for a while longer and then spoke to Vadim again.
"We need to let them know that we are very firm about this. Have the Air Forces send fighters armed with air to ground missiles to begin daily patrols along the entire border and send a few more about fifty kilometres or so over into their space above some less populated areas. Tell those ones to retreat only if escorted out of baltic airspace by baltic fighters. Next I want two or three Baltic citizens who just happen to be in the empire right now, business men, tourists, I don't care. Have them arrested on bogus charges and sentenced to death. Don't actually kill them, I'll pardon them later but make sure they are on death row as soon as possible. Then, hmmm. Capture a few boats in lake Paipus. Have their crews delivered safely back to the baltic authorities but let's refuse to give back their boats. Hmmm, is the boat thing a little to petty? yeah, forget that idea. See if we can crash a few of their computer systems, maybe some banks or an airport. Send a message that simply reads: 'The Tsar insists on the terms he set forth'"

The prince looked away out the large window overlooking the garden below. With just the right amount of false sincerity in his voice he said "Your majesty is wise, if you did this more often you wouldn't need me anymore."

Pyotr laughed don't be silly Vad, you're so good at looking after the nit picky details of things. I am glad to have you and you know me, I hate the nit picky details of ruling a nation as much as I hate the advice of King Lemuel's mother (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2031:4-5;&version=31;)."

Crack “Unidentified aircraft, state your business! You are currently locked on!” Crack

One of the Kievan aircraft crossing the border had been spotted by one of the Gepard AA Tanks recently acquired from Germany, the gunner nervously held his finger, quavering next to the trigger. The commander was desperately switching channels and sending messages on the radio. He turned slowly; face ashen with knowledge of the consequences of his next sentence. “F-f-fire” He stuttered. The gunner eased his finger onto the trigger and clenched. The two cannons roared loudly...

----------------------

All around the Baltic; aircraft were scrambled for air defence and the AA and AT border units put on red alert, frantic phone and radio calls were being made across, and outside the country, the foreign minister attempting to get answers out of Kiev, whilst trying to ignore the rumoured hostage situation in Russia. If if is true we can't negotiate with terrorists, even if we had the power to he tried to reassure himself They probably just made it up, who is stupid enough to go there anyway. In the meantime, the entire army began preparations for war, and the Baltic Federation closed their side of the border.

----------------------

Everything had been going perfectly two days ago, now the Baltic was on the brink of a war that they really didn't need. Volterov swilled a glass of vodka, as he sat in thought, he had almost no options left, his heroic presidency was about to end with a bang, but not the kind he had hoped for. He lifted the phone sat on the desk next to him and dialled “Contact the other heads of state and military leaders. We need to give them an emergency briefing. Get it sorted NOW!” he bellowed at his secretary for the first time, before slamming the phone down and cursing under his alcohol-stenched breath. He decided to leave the note writing until after the meeting... and once he had sobered up.

Volterov grinned cynically well this might at least scare Rome and the others from formalising their alliance with Kiev. He dialled the phone again; "Yes, get someone sent to the Royal conference to pledge a case or something; get them to win some sort of sympathy vote, If we are going to get torn apart we can at least use it to do the rest of the world a favour... and er sorry about shouting a minute ago. Its all getting to me a bit. Anyway, we both have stuff to do." He placed the phone down again and stood up, feeling slightly dizzy.

Bermuda

Defence Minister Tim Schneider, still fuming about the problems that had appeared between himself and his Prime Minister, was plotting his next move, with full knowledge that he couldn’t very well just resign in disgust over his treatment by PM King, not when his baby and his project, perhaps his legacy, was in the process of coming to reality. Further, with military operations occurring off the coast of Africa and the situation there necessarily requiring his attention, he would definitely be leaving the Petnagon in a lurch at a crucial juncture. That being said, he was imaging some very unsanctified ends for PM King when one of his aides came in as the Baltic delegation was making their opening statements and pulled him out of the room.

As he was shown the communiqués from Kiev and the subsequent aggressive actions by the Tsar, his heart began to pound and he immediately asked for the Cassanotian Defence Ministers so that they could decide how best to react in the interim, as waiting for NATO to act would have been far too slow. Then, he called the Pentagon and had them move the Sixth Fleet to full alert and since they were at sea already, had them form into battle formation and make for the Bosporus. “That damned Tsar, he knows we are distracted in Africa, and the 2nd Fleet is otherwise occupied! He is showing himself to be quite the tactician; after all, this seems quite planned out and intentional.” No, he couldn’t pull the one CBG that was still covering the Roman/Gaulish coast off and send it into the Baltic Straight, not without the full cooperation of the British Empire to take up the slack, that would be too much, and we don’t have any kind of process for doing that, much les coordinating an ongoing effort to move our collective assets around like that, so what?

Later, when he met with his Cassanotian counterparts, he simply explained the situation, which no doubt they were well aware of, and asked them if they would begin an aggressive defensive patrolling of the international waters near the Baltic coastline with their naval assets. But it was during that meeting that the next intel came in, which he immediately shared. Tsarist fighters of an unknown quantity had breached the Baltic border, and flak was fired, with unknown consequences, but it is obvious that the Baltic states are preparing for an immanent invasion. Cassanotia has current command of the joint air defences right now, they should take to air immediately, in the opinion of the USQ, in order to counter any incursion into sovereign Baltic territory.

In the meeting

As the German and Polish delegations prepared their statements, during the break after the Baltic speech, PM King was made aware of the situation. The Baltic delegation was in an obvious furor over the news, with aides running back and forth and furiously whispered phone call occurring along with e-mails being pounded out into Blackberries, but the Prime Minister seemed to have no conception of these things as she walked forward and simply stated, “You do not walk alone, let us know what we can do to help.” With that, she turned on her heel, and walked away, her coffee mug dangerously close to empty.

Kiev

The ambassador to Kiev, Father Piotre Rasmussen, a Ukrainian Catholic priest that had be stationed here for years, at least once diplomatic relations were normalised, immediately sent off a formal request for a Royal Audience with the Tsar. Of course, he was rather hoping to speak to the man who really ran the nation, both because he was more likely behind this, and because he was less unpredictable and more....sane? Interested? Awake during these things?

WWJD
Amen.

[OOC: Note: Am tired, post is not very polished. I suppose that nice speeches and the whole process of getting the treaty through the Bundestag will have to wait.]

Bermuda

Defence ministers Tomasz Jaruszelski and Dietrich Schmied had rushed to the meeting with the Baltic and Quinntonian representatives from a joint German-Cassanotian top-level meeting, accompanied by some aides and stern orders to keep their heads of government informed.
„Dietrick, vat do you make of ahl ssis?“, Jaruszelski askes his counterpart while walking quickly through the hallways of the beautiful Carribean resort, his usually negligible Slavic accent showing more and more due to stress and sleep deprivation. „Well, Tomasz, I am not quite sure, but it would surely be like ol' Pyotr to do something stupid while we're having a conference“, the German replied, panting. „We'll see, I guess...“
He was interrupted by a navy aid handing him a sheet of paper fresh from the telefax. Schmied stopped abruptly, causing a dignified lieutenant general to stumble into his back. He cursed loudly, forgetting his diplomatic schooling and his environment while the words spun before his eyes. He looked up and started „Tomasz, we...“. He stopped in mid-sentence, seeing the look on the Cassanotian's face. Jaruszelski held a similar sheet of paper, crumbled and forgotten, in his hand. Without a word, they started jogging towards the conference room.

Later...
Both ministers had immediadetly dispatched text messages to Ahler and Edelman upon arrival and quickly fell into their usual roles – the German trying to keep the belligerent Quinntonians and Balts from any hasty action, Jaruszelski supporting him, albeit in a harsher tone about the Russian actions. After all, Cassanos had a long border with Kiev.
It all ended when the latest intelligence reports came in. Shots had been fired, and it appeared that, well, it was on. While Jaruszelski was dispatching military officers, texting and bellowing into his cellphone all at once, Dietrich Schmied called his chancellor and explained the situation in thre sentences. He finished in an official tone: „As peacetime commander in chief of our armed forces, I am putting all of our forces on alert and will have the forces earmarked for allied defence in the Eastern sector prepare to move out. ... ... Yes, I'll send combat air patrols to Cassanos and the Baltic immediatly, of course, Jo.“. He switched into formal mode again. „As your primarydefence advisor, I request that you call a meeting of the Bundestag immediately and have have it declare the Spannungsfall [OOC: „case of tensions“, roughly equivalent to DEFCON 3]. ... Yes. Thank you. I'll try to get a British assessment of the situation as soon as possible. Good.“ He hang up and gave the necessary orders. When this was done, he produced a small tin box and put a large wat of chewing tobacco into his mouth. He then looked over to defence ministers Jaruszelski and Schneider. „You'll have it.“ There was nothing more to say.

Even later...
All over Germany and Cassanos, sirens rang in barracks, on air fields, at ports and out at sea.
In Germany, members of the parliament were summoned to Berlin for an emergency meeting of the parliament.
Meanwhile, all combat-ready ships prepared to leave port as soon as possible, while units out at sea were diverted to the Baltic coastal regions.
The German IV. corps in Potsdam was put on high alert and readied for deployment to its designated sector in northern Cassanos, while parts of the VI. corps in Lübeck and several rapid reaction units prepared to deploy to the Baltic area once the order was given.
In northern Germany, Cassanos and at Ramstein, QRA-units took off with blazing afterburners, and a small, improvised air task force made for the Baltic airspace, prepared to operate from Cassanos and protect the tiny but very important allied nation's integrity – by force, if necessary. They had strict orders not to violate Kieven airspace and to fire only in self-defence, but in a situation like this, everything was possible...

Cassanos and Germany were peaceful nations, resourceful, mediating, but more than willing to act in defence of what they thought was worth defending. If a war could be prevented, they would do everything to make it happen, but the Balts would not stand alone in this.

As things were almost reconvening, no doubt with the topic on everyone's mind being the news of some shots fired, and the subsequent mobilisation of Eastern joint Quinntonian and Cassanotian defences in support of the fevered preparations of their new Baltic allies, Prime Minister took a sip from her coffee, smiled at the warm brew entering her body like a hug and finished her whispering to her aides that ordered the Quintonian military to DEFCON 4 and with the equivelent of DEFCON 3 being implimented for their European assets. Of course, their substantial air assets within Cassanotia were under the direct command of the Cassanotians, and she was happy to have them act in such a manner until such time that more procedures were worked out. The only thing everyone was expectently waiting for was the British position. They had more than enough naval power to police the Northern Sea and rush into the Baltic Sea alongside Cassanotia. What would they do.

So, just as everything was ready to explode, Lois King stood up, and said quietly, but firmly, "Though we do have more pressing matters to attend to, the USQ must be registered as saying, with no further ado, that we do have a few points of consideration in regards to the draft that we have been presented...."

WWJD
Amen.

The continuation of the Kiev-Baltic crisis has ben moved to this thread.

Squeezing them by the Baltics (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=589470)

Feel free to continue to talk on NATO unhindered.

OOC-These are the suggestions that the Quinntonian delegation brings forward, the things within the brackets are recommendations for deletion, and the italisized sections are additions. Some are negotiable, some are deal breakers. Have fun!



PREAMBLE: This agreement is predicated upon the essential value of human life, the rule of law, and the sovereignty of God

The Parties to this Treaty affirm:

* to attempt to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
* to reaffirm (faith) trust in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal (rights) value of men and women and of nations large and small, and
* to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained,

AND FOR THESE ENDS

* to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another so long as we are permitted to do so, and
* to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security,

HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS

Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives plenipotentiary, assembled in the Territory of Bermuda, who have exhibited their full powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the following Treaty and do hereby establish an international organization to be known as the North Atlantic Treaty Association.(Why not Organisation? OOC, I don’t want to belong to something called NATA. To my ears, it sounds like the idiom for nothing. What did she have? Nothing, nata!)
We are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilisation of our peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law. We seek to promote stability and well-being in the North Atlantic area.
We are resolved to unite their efforts for collective defence and for the preservation of peace and security. We therefore agree to this North Atlantic Treaty :

Article 1

The Parties undertake to settle any international dispute in which they may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice are not endangered, and to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of advancing human dignity.

Article 2

The Parties will contribute toward the further development of peaceful and friendly international relations by strengthening their free institutions, by bringing about a better understanding of the principles upon which these institutions are founded, and by promoting conditions of stability and well-being. They will seek to eliminate substantial conflict in their international economic policies and will encourage economic collaboration between any or all of them.

Article 3

In order more effectively to achieve the objectives of this Treaty, the Parties, separately and jointly, by means of continuous and effective self-help and mutual aid, will maintain and develop their individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack.


Article 4

The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened.

Article 5

The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.

Article 6

Details the Territories, Protectorates and Departments which, being attacked, constitute an attack upon the Parties.

Article 7

The Parties hereby establish a Council, on which each of them shall be represented, to consider matters concerning the implementation of this Treaty. The Council shall be so organised as to be able to meet promptly at any time. The Council shall set up such subsidiary bodies as may be necessary; in particular it shall establish immediately a defence committee which shall recommend measures for the implementation of Articles 3 and 5. The Defence Committee shall be chaired by appointment by the United States of Quinntonia and the headquarters of same shall be located in New York.

Article 8

The Parties may, by unanimous agreement, invite any other European State in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area to accede to this Treaty. Any State so invited may become a Party to the Treaty by depositing its instrument of accession with the Council, the formation if which was detailed in Article 7.

Article 9

This Treaty shall be ratified and its provisions carried out by the Parties in accordance with their respective constitutional processes. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited as soon as possible with the Governments of the United States of Quinntonia, The Federal Republic of Cassanotia, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain, which will notify all the other signatories of each deposit. The Treaty shall enter into force between the States which have ratified it as soon as the ratifications of the majority of the signatories have been deposited and shall come into effect with respect to other States on the date of the deposit of their ratifications.

Article 10

After the Treaty has been in force for ten years, or at any time thereafter, the Parties shall, if any of them so requests, consult together for the purpose of reviewing the Treaty, having regard for the factors then affecting peace and security in the North Atlantic area, including the development of universal as well as regional arrangements for the maintenance of international peace and security.

Article 11

(After the Treaty has been in force for twenty years,) A(a)ny Party may cease to be a Party one year after its notice of denunciation has been given to the Council which will inform the Governments of the other Parties of the deposit of each notice of denunciation.

Article 12

This Treaty, of which the English and (French) German texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the Governments of the United States of America, Cassantotia, and the United Kingdom. Duly certified copies will be transmitted by (that) those (G)government to the Governments of other signatories.

Bermuda

The news of the Kievan ultimatum brought a certain amount of alarm to the proceedings, underscored rather by King's mysterious pronouncement and then rapid exit. Strathairn, irritated but outwardly cool, rapped his knuckles on the table to try and calm the sudden hubbub. The wood was heavy and cold, and the rapping of his hand drew some attention. He rose to speak with an audible scraping of chair, composing a speech in his head as he did. Whatever King's plans were, it was necessary to show that NATO, despite being as yet unformed, was a dangerous enemy for any nation.

"President Volterov," he said, addressing the Baltic delegation and its president as a whole. "I'd like to personally express my sympathies, and I think I speak for everyone here when I say that this conference will in no way be offended if the crisis threatening your nation were to draw you away." He took a sip of water, stalling for time and knowing that the eyes of the room were on him. "However, I would urge you to consider this: Kiev stands much to gain by disrupting this conference, and it is imperative that we not allow them to do so. If you must go, go in the knowledge that Britain will support you with all her might and all her resources. Moreover, it is my hope that this will prove to be nothing more than Kievan blustering, and so while the danger is severe I would ask that you leave a representative behind if you can spare one. Should this not become a war, we will profit immensely by finalizing this alliance before it is further disrupted.

"Even though we are not yet allied formally, my government pledges to support yours with the full measure of our capabilities. While I can not yet promise you specifics in terms of military aid, I assure you that my government will be in touch as soon as I have the ability to confer with the General Staff. However, in the event of war I promise you that your seaways will remain open and that Kiev's will not. There will be traffic over the seas for you so long as the Royal Navy can provide it. And should your nation be overrun, which I do not for a moment believe, I promise you that your government and as many of your people as can be evacuated will find a home in the British Isles until such time as your nation is again free."

Scapa Flow

In a burst of activity, the North Sea Fleet came alive. Leaves were canceled, leading to much grumbling amongst the crews and a noticeable revenue drop amongst some of the bars and clubs in nearby towns. Lighters cruised from dock to dock, loading out warships for extended deployment, and decks were meticulously scrubbed. Aboard HMS George III, aircraft fuel lines snaked from massive tanks on the shore and smoking was most stringently banned. In an action peculiar to the Royal Navy, large stocks of cheap rum were purchased and loaded into locked holds within the bowels of every ship. Work began at five in the morning and continued around the clock, not stopping to sleep. The fleet began to depart in dribs and drabs; first the HMS Ambush, one of the newest submarines, and then the twin boats Tyrant and Tonnant. Vice Admiral Sir Brendan Whyte watched them go from the bridge of his shining new flagship, which still smelled of industrial lubricants and leather. The lanky flag officer yawned hugely and turned to his Chief of Staff.

"Captain, how long until the task group is ready to set out." Captain Rutherford, a saturnine man with an unfriendly cast to his face, seemed ready with his response.

"Should be another day to finish sorting out the flagship, sir." Whyte nodded before turning to look once again at the deck, watching one of the marshallers direct a Harrier to its assigned position in the alert fighter wing.

"Have Captain Morris report to my ready room," he said at length, turning to go. "I want to speak to him about his combat plans."

Kiev, Kiev

Ambassador Sir Stephen Griggs was one of those men who had earned his post in the Foreign Service the hard way. A career staffer and diplomat, Griggs had served in almost every post imaginable on every continent. As at home in Kiev as he had been in North Africa, Griggs managed to remain relatively calm as the entire diplomatic quarter of the Russian Empire's capital exploded with sound and fury. He drafted a brief, polite message requesting an audience with Prince Vadim, emphasizing that contrary to what might be thought, the British Empire had no designs on Kiev. Certainly, the NATO alliance was designed to unite a bloc of like-minded nations, but such a thing was hardly unknown to Kiev. In any case, Griggs's memo concluded, it seemed more prudent to work all of this out diplomatically, rather than at the point of a bayonet.

Volterov had decided to stay in Bermuda, mainly to spite Kiev but also to make sure that the treaty was within what he and most Balts wanted. Foreign secretary Tomas Mistrikova and First General Polak Kashninski had both been sent home to make sure that things went more smoothly there, and if things got worse, Kashninski would be able to act more easily.

In he conference, Volterov had some points to make on both issues that were demanding his time.

"In regards to the suggested alterations from Quinntonia, I must say that there are many improvements on the wording and other than the preamble, I would suggest that these should all be retained.

The preamble, I have a problem with, instead of the word God, we should use the term 'democratic nations'. The Baltic people are largely irreligious and the inclusion of the term God in such an important treaty would be treated with some skepticism. This may make it more difficult for ratification, as part of the ratification process will be in the form of a referendum. The treaty would easily pass with few, if any, objections if my suggestion is incorporated.

Now I must talk about a separate matter, the issue regarding the situation between my nation and Kiev. I must ask for careful and cool action here, something rash could upset the balance and escalate the conflict. This is not what I or the Baltic people want. I am confident the situation will soon be resolved as we move further into discussion with Kiev.

Thank you for your time."

[OOC @ Quinn: Germany and Cassanos are two separate nations, this should be reflected in the changes.]

OOC-Sorry Cass, my bad.

IC-During the short speach by the Baltic delegation audible gasps and a furor of barely whispered, angry, objections could be heard from the Quinntonians, as the Canadians just cringed at the wording of that statement, being far more used to dealing with the Quinntonians than anyone else was.

Lois King looked right and left at the obvious consternation on the faces of her delegation and then over to the cameras that were reporting everything and knew she had to salvage this situation, as every single politico in the USQ was going to be clamouring for the Quinntonians to walk out of the proceedings now. King sighed, her shoulders slumped a little, sipped her Brazilian Nut Blend and wondered if he was deliberately trying to provoke the USQ, or was simply that obtuse. She stood, calmed her delegation before it descended into catcalling and chaos, and began, "I know our friends from teh Baltic states must have misspoke, as the equated the term 'God' and the term 'democratic nations' as neccessarily interchangable. For this reason, we must lodge our protest in the clearest possible terms. Theologically, no covenant, between men or between groupings of men is worth spit without invoking the Divine, as the highest authority. Practically, this treaty must be ratified by the Upper House of our Parliament, the Council of Bishops." IN view of these things, and in view that this kind of wordingis common in constitutions, bills, and whatnot the world over, I am afraid that we must insit that the wording of the preamble be retained exactly as proposed."


Shortly thereafter, the Canadian, and quite a bit more secular, delegation was sending e-mails explaining that the preamble as proposed was already a compromise, as orginally it was going to be far more explicit, but instead the Canadians managed to convince them to include this formulation mirroring the wording of their own Canadian Bill of Rights. It was hoped that it could be seen that these things could be retained culturally by a secular government and society.

Volterov was frustrated by the Quinntonian's ignorance of other nations politics, although this didn't surprise him. He did know, that King had done him a favor by calming the situation. In any case, Quinntonia was an important ally and an apology of some sort needed to be sent.


I am extremely sorry if anything I said regarding the preamble came across offensively, I realise now that what I said was not worded quite as it could have been.

I did not intend to equate the term God with democratic nations, far from it. I was proposing that God be kept above the treaty and above politics, whilst the term democratic nations would be a good addition to help unite the potential NATO members.

Including God in the preamble may still make it difficult to get the treaty passed the referendum, if it is to be included, then the government of the Baltic Federation will do all it can to make sure the treaty passes.

I hope that my statement did not disrupt too much and I invite you to join me for dinner tonight as a symbol of our friendship.

Many thanks
Karl Volterov

OOC-Nicely done. I am pretty busy now, but will respond with more length. Just one note, though tha average Quinntonian's grasp of international politics is perhaps questionable (which, I think is a fairly universal problem no matter your nation) the USQ politicians/advisors and so on have an excellent grasp of it. They just don't care. Or, more to the point, some believe that it is the role of Christians in these situations to proclaim Christ in all things, through thought, word, and deed, and others want to be a prophetic voice to the globe. Again, pragmatist ideals are not nearly so favoured in Quinntonia as Chritian principles and integrity. That motivates everything.

So, I personally understand what you are trying to say with your reticence on the matter, t many in Quinntonia, the preamble would have been seen as desirous, but perhaps optional, at least until someone said it should be left out in favour of a more secular alternative. At that point, most Quintonians will see it as their duty to confess Christ, and what was once optional is suddenly where they will draw the line in the sand.

Please understand that I am not trying to torpedo these proceedings, but rather just attempting to allow this particular (peculiar) culture to come through.

Thanks for everyone's understanding!

OOC: "Association" was a typo. I don't know where that came from. Capitalizing "government" and "treaty", on the other hand, is convention for international treaties so far as I can tell. Not that it especially matters, but I figured it would look nice.

Strathairn watched with well hidden amusement as the Americans and Balts failed to communicate, all the while looking over the changes proposed by the Quinntonian delegation. Certainly, the changes to the preamble's wording were acceptable; it wouldn't do to alienate the Quinntonians simply by refusing to include references to God. Though the British, by and large, were unimpressed with Quinntonian zealotry, Parliament would almost certainly be able to ignore the sovereignty of God as a charming anachronism. A few of the Quinntonian word substitutions were clearly the results of a confusion, the definitions of "rights" and "value" not being equivalent words. It wasn't worth a discussion at this point, however, and so Strathairn contented himself with making a marginal note on the Quinntonian copy.

There was, however, one thing which was simply unacceptable. The Defence Committee simply could not be located in New York for logistical reasons, or so a variety of generals and security analysts had informed him. Moreover, it could not simply be chaired by a Quinntonian appointee. This North Atlantic Treaty Organization did not exist to further Quinntonian hegemony, and it was high time that King got that through her obstinate head. Strathairn coughed into his hand in an attempt to draw attention, failed, and spoke anyway.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, if I might?" He glanced around before continuing, too quickly to allow anyone else to speak. "Regarding the proposed changes by the Honorable Ms. King, I think I can say that the British government will be able to support a reference to God. If President Volterov is amenable, I think we can agree that this compromise is an acceptable one. After all, Quinntonia is a more religious nation than Britain, Germany, Cassanos or the Baltic Federation, and this must be respected. Of course, the opposite is true as well. With all respect, I remind Ms. King that we are of many different faiths, and some of us worship no God at all. I think she will agree, whatever her feelings, that this is our right as free people." Strathairn was careful to keep his tone polite. King was, for all her obnoxious tendencies, a highly intelligent woman and a capable politician. He hoped that she would remember that negotiations like these seldom produced a coup de grâce for any party, and compromise was necessary.

"While we are on the subject of difficulties," he continued in the same tone, "Field Marshal Davies has asked me to say that in the opinion of a number of his staff, the location of the Defence Committee really must be in Europe." There was a bit of unhappy muttering amongst the Quinntonian delegation, but Strathairn continued anyway. "I understand that this might seem to be a problem for some, but please bear with me. The fact is that a Defence Committee, for it to be effective in its role as a monitoring body to the military command, must be located within the same timezone as the principle theater. Moreover, since it will be required to liaise with generals, admirals and politicians, it should be located nearer to all of them. New York, while undeniably one of the greatest cities in all our states, fits none of these criteria. I think it is important that this alliance be responsive and contain as few levels of bureaucracy as possible. Lastly, all the political offices in this alliance rotate, and for a military and economic alliance of democratic, equal states I feel that this is imperative. While I am sure that the Quinntonian delegation's intention was nothing of the sort, it sets a dangerous precedent to have a major office the purview of a single government. What if I requested that the British be given supreme control of all logistical and economic affairs? Would that not allow my successors to abuse this system to promote British economic ideas and British shipping companies? Again, I am sure that this was not Ms. King's intention. However, we are making an alliance to last the ages, so we have to take into account the fact that subsequent governments might be less inclined to multilateralism. To that end, I'm afraid that I must lodge my disagreement with the proposed clause to locate the Defence Committee in New York, and to have it chaired by a single nation."

Strathain's idea was potential gold for the Baltic delegates. Logistically it made sense, but it would keep Quinntonia out of direct control of the organisation; the far more sensible Britain was taking charge. This would be seen as a good thing back home, where people were scared of the religious Quinntonia becoming ever more powerful.

The Baltic people would most likely accept the compromise. If God stayed in the preamble, but NATO was headed in Europe, the people would be reassured. They would vote for it on his assurances, or at least enough would to get it passed.

Volterov now had to communicate with King to express the idea, but he would have to be careful not to cause upset; as he already had done. He would discuss the idea over dinner; thats if King accepted his invitation.

OOC- Post sucks, but just trying to show where Volterov is heading with his ideas.

*prod*