[TWI-ONLY] ACESTI Thread (IC)

[Corindia]

"Indeed, and your scientists can count on regular launch platform access for similar small loads on resupply missions."

[Nhoor]

Ms Canso Barjwzaqh-Onher put on a professional smile. She briefly - and hopefully - thought that her dashing entrance caused the silence in the room she just entered, but remembering the way she looked (or didn't) and that this had never caused anyone to fall silent before, she assumed that she must have interrupted a silence that was caused by something else and could have lasted for slightly more than three years already, for all she knew.

She looked on the card that the receptionist had given her that should show her to her seat. Seeing the many empty seats, she thought that it wouldn't really matter where she sat down, but she went to her designated spot anyway and sure enough, a hand-scribbled note saying "Nhoor" could be found there. She noticed a computer screen and a keyboard, as well as something that looked like a voting device that didn't seem to have been connected to electricity yet. "Good that I brought a note block!", Canso thought. Still younger than 45 years old, the former Nhoor ambassador to Veltora and Verdon preferred working the old-fashioned way and she was often praised for still having a beautiful handwriting, whereas others' had deteriorated so far that they could be mistaken for doctors.

She smiled again, looking around the room, and waited until someone spoke.

[San Jimenez]

31-year-old Oliver Lowe clasped his damp hands together as he stood at the front desk while waiting to receive his designation card. The young ambassador had previously served as an assistant to Ambassador Leo Harper in Hintuwan. He preferred the position as it was behind the scenes and away from the public eye. A few long weeks ago, he was delighted to learn that he would be reassigned from the regional bureaus. He had assumed he would be back to familiar sights and faces in Gran Teran. It wasn't until he was informed that he would be assigned to the Bureau of International Organizations that his anxiety set in, especially since it wasn't a subordinate position as he was used to. The bureau would assign Oliver to ACESTI in neighboring Townside. This would be Mr. Lowe's first position as an official representative of San Jimenez.

His thoughts continued rambling on until he realized there was an outstretched hand in front of him. "Your designation card, ambassador," the receptionist spoke up. "Uh, oh yes! Thank you," Oliver said in a nervous voice as he nodded. He reached for the side of his bag for his bottle of water as he began walking in an effort to replenish the moisture in his mouth that had become unnaturally dry. "Visit San Jimenez," read the side of the bottle he had purchased at the airport when leaving Gran Teran. It was a nice token of home that brought out a much-needed smile. As he walked, his eyes glanced at the surroundings he had previously overlooked. The building was finely decorated and the architecture was captivating. Along with all the nerves and anxiety that followed Oliver, he was somewhat delighted to have a new adventure in front of him (even if he didn't know that yet).

After what seemed like just a moment, he arrived at the entrance of the assembly. "Right this way sir," said a well-dressed usher as he opened one of the large doors. "Thank you," said Oliver with a quick smile. "If anything, the people are very hospitable," he thought to himself. He walked in and looked around the room, forgetting for a brief moment that he had a card as a helpful guide in his pocket. He made his way to his seat and sat down, relieving all the pressure from his feet that had accompanied his nerves.

Once he settled in and built up the courage to speak, he greeted the Nhoor ambassador sitting only a few seats away from him. "Good afternoon, I trust your trip here went well?"

[Nhoor]

Ms Canso Barjwzaqh-Onher, the Nhoor ambassador to ACESTI, turned her head and smile back at the young man who just greated her. "Oh yes", she said. "Although these official trips that are organised by our diplomatic bureau are kind of boring. I like to travel a lot, but the diplomatic bureau creates solutions for every possible problem so it takes away the excitement of travelling. I was taken straight from the airport to the hotel and now from the hotel to these premises. I would have liked the opportunity to end up on the seaside of the town instead of the townside of the sea, in a manner of speaking. By accident, you know? Taking the wrong bus or something like that. Those are the situations that allow you to discover extraordinary places. And the hotel is not bad, but I wouldn't have chosen it myself. Everything is too perfect; there is nothing to complain, no skeletons in closets or funny noises in the night... Of course the hotel is temporary until they have finished bringing the Nhoor residence in order."

She noticed that the young man looked a bit taken aback by her cascade of words.

"I'm sorry, how rude of me", she said laughing. "Listen to me rambling! I am Canso Barjwzaqh-Onher, the Nhoor representative to ACESTI. I was just stationed here after my previous assignment in Verdon ended. Have you been here long already?"

[Townside]

In the Regional Heritage Building, Lewis Doctor, the Townsider Representative to ACESTI and ACESTI's Permanent Registrar-General, stands up in front of the assembled members of the ACESTI General Conference: "A year has passed since the last election and a new Secretary-General needs to be elected. Any of you may choose to nominate yourselves for this position. This will be our main priority before going into any other matter for now. Thank you."

Doctor slips back into his seat, shaken from having to stand up before the 24 other assembled national representatives to give the announcement, but he tries to remain calm, and waits patiently for what comes next.

[Nhoor]

Ms Canso Barjwzaqh-Onher, the Nhoor ambassador to ACESTI, stood up and spoke. "On behalf of His Majesty the King, the Goverment, and the People of the Dominion of Nhoor, I nominate myself, Canso Barjwzaqh-Onher, for the position of Secretary-General of the Association of Culture, Education, and Sciences of the Isles."

She sat down again. She hoped that the foreign affairs office hadn't made a mistake nominating her. Although she had an impressive job record, having served as Nhoor's ambassador and diplomatic attachée to several nations in the Western Isles in the past, the fact that Nhoor hadn't been a member of ACESTI for that long yet - the country joined in June 2022 - could reduce the weight of this nomination.

Canso briefly contemplated her carreer. She had finished her studies international relations at the University of Sārruc summa cum laude; the training as a diplomat that followed didn't go that smoothly but she got there in the end, and had proved herself as an efficient, down to earth diplomat who generally doesn't waste time with pleasantries. Her inclination to start talking too much and too fast in situations that made her uncomfortable was annoying though, but she hadn't been able to help herself. She loved travelling, and had used her spare time to visit San Jimenez. Najimam, although closer to Townside, was still on her list too, but despite her curiosity, she hadn't gotten around to it yet to go there.

She also briefly panicked if the ACESTI colleagues she invited to her birthday party next week - she will turn 44 on 8 May - would now interpret her invitation as a bribe to elect her! No, surely they are all professional enough to see past that. This reminded her that she should ask her assistant if she had asked around if any of her guests had any allergies or special eating habits. The food would be mediocre anyway as far as she was concerned; after all, nobody was as good a cook as her late husband, well-known chef Ībad Barjwzaqh, who shockingly and suddenly died of a heart attack in 2003, less than one year into their marriage. She seemed to have lost her appetite for food since then.