A Matter of Law [IC | COMPLETE]

[The Macabees]

DEEPHEDGE, GREEN ZONE, THE ICE STATES

Lara Surr had flown into Deephedge from Matagalpa the previous night. She was looking forward to some rest before her meeting with Hiram Jelelope scheduled for the following day. As it usually was for a kríerlord, and despite her intentions, Lara managed to get very little sleep at all. Things had calmed down since the end of the fighting in the northern Ice States but, still, she was used to so little sleep that even when the opportunity came her body was unable to take it.

It was "trenta"-sized coffee in hand that she met with the jogornos at the empire's temporary administrative headquarters in the city. For the location, the Imperial Bureaucracy had aptly chosen the old Duke of Deephedge's castle, now that he wouldn't be needing it given the new world order. During the preceding weeks, it had been thoroughly sacked by agents of the imperial administration, who had stripped from it walls valuable paintings, from its rooms antique furniture, and just about any other sort of thing that made a good war trophy back home. In their place were put bleaker, minimalist, and cheaper replacements to furnish rooms occupied by the temporary administrative government of the Green Zone. Thus, in the conference room to which Lara was taken to, the central table was a rather mundane one that looked as if it had come from one of those build-it-yourself furniture stores for the masses.

The castle at Deephedge was not the only victim of a sacking. In the knowledge that the Green Zone would soon be returned to the full administration of the Icean communist government, the occupation area as a whole was thoroughly combed over for assets of value. It wasn't an entirely involuntary activity by part of the Iceans. Private businesses that had thrived prior to the civil war knew that the government would soon seize their property in the name of the people. From the very beginning, it was made a clear policy to offer government help, in the form of subsidies, securitized loans, and other forms of financial help, to any Icean business across the frontier in Nicaro. Even social help was extended in the form of new communities designed to ease migrating Iceans into a new society, along with places of worship and the like. It wasn't just businesspeople invited into the Golden Throne, but anybody and anyone seeking to escape the known quantity of communist oppression and poverty. A widespread propaganda campaign was launched to ensure willing Iceans had plenty of reasons to flee north.

Lara had helped to create much of the policy surrounding the relocation of as much Icean wealth and people as possible to Nicaro. They were not the only programs she oversaw while the Fuermak prepared its withdrawal. After a bit of small talk, Hiram questioned her on the other piece of imperial policy with regard to the new order in their neighbor to the south. He asked after they had spoken for a short while, "I should ask, how is our mutual friend?"

He was referring to a high-ranking general officer in the old imperial army of the Ice States who had been smuggled across the border into Nicaro before the communists would grab him. Lara answered, "He's fine. He seems excited about his new role. The Icean Terch is coming along quite nicely as well, at least as rapidly as it can, given the circumstances. It shan't be too long before it's ready for redeployment to Arras."

She was referring to the unit of almost 17,000 Iceans being put together in southern Nicaro, composed mostly of prisoners of war given the opportunity to temporarily serve in the Ejermacht as régulies — foreign soldiers in Macabéan service. Only a fraction of the prisoners taken had volunteered, but it would be enough to assemble a crack division of troops. They were meant as soldiers in Macabéan service in name only. Their true purpose was to aid in the overthrow of the communist government of the Ice States. Thus their ranks were filled with imperial sympathizers and, more importantly, staunch anticommunists. And it wasn't just prisoners of war who were recruited, but also Iceans who hadn't participated in the last war but were willing to join military service now that their homeland was being handed to the communists. For the time being, the terch was being organized in southern Nicaro, but it would transfer to the barracks island of Arras for training, maneuvering, and arming. It would be in Arras where it would turn into an elite unit.

The unit commander's identity was kept hidden for the time being to avoid the complication of having to respond to an extradition request. Best to keep the division's composition unknown until the last possible moment, that way any additional complications to relations between the two states could be avoided while the new treaty was being put fully in place. There would be other possible hiccups, no need to multiply them.

"Anyway," Lara said, "I wanted to give you your instructions in person. You are to vacate your offices here and relocate back to our embassy grounds in Magecastle, with the mission of leading our diplomatic efforts in this country. I need you to pay special attention to changes in the mood. Warn us of any possible instabilities and future power transitions. One thing that is clear is that the Ice States is not as stable as we may have at first assumed. I have no doubt in my mind that the communist regime will collapse just like the last one and we must be in a good position to continue our relationship with the future government, especially as it concerns our trade interests. In the short term, manage their expectations with regard to our military withdrawal. Ninety percent of our forces will be fully withdrawn within three weeks. The remainder will withdraw by the end of the fourth week. At that point, we will transfer the full administration of the Green Zone to the Icean government. But not before that point. They must be made to understand that point. Until our withdrawal is complete we will continue to temporarily administer the people of the Green Zone. It's vital that that be the case for us to complete as much of our transfer of people and property into Nicaro before we are no longer able to do so."

"Understood, kríerlord," replied Hiram. "You can trust in me to do my duty."

"Good," she said.

They spoke of these matters and others for another hour. Then Lara went to an early dinner in Deephedge, a city she doubted that she'd be back to. By night's curtain had fallen upon the land the kríerlord was back in the air and headed to Quitiruzú.

For his part, Hiram sent the new Icean government an information packet of the withdrawal schedule and requested that the details and specifics of the trade deal be formalized so that it would be ready to execute as soon as the withdrawal was complete.

[The Ice States]

Meanwhile, in the courtroom...
(Ooc: Parts of this post contributed by The Macabees.)

The trial continued, defendant after defendant. The defendants after McShane ranged from other war criminals, to those involved in Operation Diamond Dog, but now was an important moment: it would be the first prosecution in these trials for the BLACKSEAT virus. It would be prosecuted as a malicious and/or reckless attack on a Macabean civilian population, and the defendant would be Wilber Callister, a Senior Staffer of the Duchy of Wintercourt believed to have directed the creation of the virus, in terms of designing the main technical aspects and programming the virus, and leading the group of technicians who directly programmed the virus as well. The stakes on this case were also different, as it had been predetermined that Callister would be extradited to the Golden Throne to be punished there if found guilty.

As the trial of Callister commenced, Houghwout readied to lead the prosecution; as the justices finished speaking. "The prosecution may now present its case". Hougwout was therefore first to speak now.

"We believe the defendant here, Wilber Callister, to be guilty for complicity in a wilful or reckless attack on Nicaroan civilian populations. Here, our primary evidence is an email sent by Wilber Callister to various officials in the Ice imperial government. This was discovered during inspection of Sotolo's communications, and we will later be presenting a witness to confirm that this email is indeed genuine." With a few clicks on the laptop in front of him, the screen at the front of the room promptly showed an email sent by Callister to Sotolo, with about five copies sent to others.

"The first relevant section of this email to focus on is stating that 'I present attached the final revision of BLACKSEAT, which was developed primarily by myself with assistance from the team I led throughout this process'. This alone demonstrates that Callister both 'aided, abetted, or performed said act as part of a discretionary function', and 'sanctioned, authorised, organised, or otherwise directed said act in a position of leadership'; the position of leadership being their leadership over the team in question. Therefore, the next fact we need to demonstrate to prove guilt is that BLACKSEAT fits under the Section 1c criterion defining guilt as to BLACKSEAT,"

c. The wilful or reckless hacking of civilian computers or digital infrastructure through a launched computer virus infecting said computers or infrastructure.

"This, we believe to be shown by another excerpt from the email, stating that 'this virus has, in accordance with your decision last week, now included code for also targeting civilian networks in Nicaro which are infected as well, for the sake of making it harder for Macabeans to discover the script's goal.'. This indicates that the infection was wilful, thus proving guilt under this provision, should we confirm that the virus was indeed sent, for which we will be presenting a witness. However, first we would like to present our other witness, who shall be Alejin Svjaska, a Marshite spy on the imperial regime of the Ice States who, as shown on the screen, received a copy of the email."

"Very well. Alejin Svjaska, please repeat after me, 'I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I swear that I will do so in complete good faith. Further, I understand that failure to do so may be prosecuted as perjury, and works against the ideals of justice which form the basis for this trial.'." spoke the justice. Once the witness was sworn in, the justice spoke again. "Thank you, questioning may now commence."

Houghwout was, naturally, the first to speak now. "The first question of the prosecution is as follows: can you confirm that an email, as shown in Exhibit A, was sent by Wilber Callister at the same date and with the same content?"

"I can indeed confirm that an email was sent by the defendant Wilber Callister with the content and date as Exhibit A."

"That concludes the prosecution's questioning of the witness."

"Very well," replied the justice. "Does the defense wish to cross-examine?" The response was an ominous silence, and the screen turned blank. "Would the prosecution like to present any other witness?"

"Yes, we would like to present Macalar Lago, a Satellite Communications Team Lead for Infinite Horizons, a major mobile communications provider in the Golden Throne, and an expert who studied the virus." Once the witness was sworn in, questioning began.

“Firstly, are you aware of any particular civilian computers which were shut down by the BLACKSEAT virus in Nicaro during the occupation of the Green Zone by Macabean forces?”, questioned the prosecutor.

Mr. Lago nodded, and replied, “BLACKSEAT predominately affected civilian and civilian technology networks, especially among some of the…let’s call them non-premium civilian communication technology companies. At Infinite Horizons we invest a lot of money on cybersecurity and were less impacted, but I know of damage committed to some communication satellites that did not block the connection request. Aside from damage at that level, BLACKSEAT infected thousands of personal computers and devices, not just in Nicaro but in the provinces and elsewhere, as well.”

The prosecutor listened, and the answer was certainly satisfactory. Once the witness finished, he spoke again. “Our next question is as follows: are you aware how the initial infection via BLACKSEAT occured?”

“Yes,” answered Mr. Lago. “We are aware that the initial infection happened through a link click on a private email client. The email was opened by a Macabéan soldier in Nicaro using his personal device. It’s possible that there were multiple initial infections, depending on how many Macabéan military personnel were targeted by that or other emails forming part of the overall Blackseat cyber-operation.”

“That concludes our questioning,” spoke the prosecutor. “Excellent. Would the defense like to cross-examine?” “We would,” replied the defense attorney. “Are you certain that said initial infection, or initial infections, originated from a public Ice network or device?”

Mr. Lago turned to the defense attorney. “You would have to ask the investigation arm of the armed forces of the Golden Throne. I’m sure they have access to witnesses and other information acquired from the Green Zone.”

“That concludes our cross-examination,” replied the attorney. “Would the prosecution like to conduct a re-examination?”, spoke one of the justices. The answer was not particularly helpful to either the prosecution or the defense, so there was little need to re-examine. “We would not,” replied the prosecutor.

"Thank you. Would the prosecution like to present any other witness?". The response was in the negative. "Thank you, the defense may now present its first argument."

The defense was, as with McShane, represented by the Devonian lawyer Ambrose Maccallum, who rose to speak first. "We believe that the defendant is not guilty under Section 3a. Specifically, these provisions respectively require that the act occured 'as part of a discretionary function'. We believe neither of these conditions to be true. The defendant, indeed, was specifically ordered to create the virus and lead the group which assisted therein. This means that not only was Callister's creation of the virus no longer 'a discretionary function', but also means that he was not 'in a position of leadership', eliminating any form of guilt for the defendant."

"As evidence of this, we have the following email, wherein the Duke of Wintercourt Nicholas Lucier directed Callister to create the virus. We also intend to present a witness, to confirm the existence of this email." Tapping a few keys on the laptop in front of him, the screen once again played to show an email. "As you can see here, the email was sent by Nicholas Lucier to here Callister, and shows the exact instructions for what functions the virus should carry out, and explicitly directs Callister to 'please begin programming the BLACKSEAT virus now'. This renders the defendant innocent under 3a, as they were not acting in a 'discretionary function', and they were not . Now, we would like to present our first witness, who would be Nicholas Lucier himself."

"Very well," replied the justice. Once Lucier was sworn in, questioning began.

"Can you confirm that you sent a message to Callister with the same content and time as shown in the Exhibit B, in the screen?" questioned the defense attorney.

"I can confirm as such," replied the witness.

"Our questioning is complete."

"Would the prosecution like to cross-examine?" replied the justice. The reply was, once again, an ominous silence. The screen flickered off. "The prosecution may now present its closing arguments."

"Thank you, your honour," replied Houghwout. "We find the defendant to be guilty under Sections 1c, 3a, and 3b, for complicitly in the Blackseat cyber-attack, which represented a wilful attack on Macabean civilian infrastructure. Notably, while the defense has attempted to disprove guilt under 3a, they have not managed to disprove guilt under 3b, as the defendant still maintained leadership over the group in question. The defendant is therefore still guilty, and should be convicted to that effect. That concludes our closing argument."

"The defense may now present its closing argument."

"We find that the defendant, by virtue of having been directed to create the virus, was not acting in a 'discretionary function', and is therefore not guilty of the stated charge under 3a. Further, by virtue of the same, the defendant was not acting from a 'position of leadership' in 1b, and is therefore not guilty under that charge either. The defendant should therefore be found entirely innocent by the court. We have finished our closing argument."

"Thank you. Would the prosecution like to present its rebuttal?"

"We would not," replied Houghwout. No continued discussion would be productive, so it would be best to leave the matter to the court now.

"That concludes the trial today."

[The Ice States]

In the same courtroom, three days later...

And after several more defendants were passed through, the trial of General Lionel Burkes would commence. Lionel Burkes, the highest-ranking leader of the imperial Ice military. Lionel Burkes, who ordered the attack on Ixana. And Lionel Burkes, who commanded the original bombing of Stonegrad. This trial would certainly be the second most prestigious; although not as much as the next one, of Emperor Sotolo II.

All of this was now irrelevant. It was now on the prosecution and defense to determine the fate of the great military leader. Houghwout therefore rose to speak, once one of the justices announced the beginning of the trial.

"In most previous trials, we have been arguing for guilt under one or two particular provisions in the Section 3 test. However, in this case, the matter in question is very grave. We are trying the highest-ranking military leader in the Empire of the Ice States, excluding the Emperor himself. Therefore, we will be arguing for the defendant's guilt under all subclauses of Section 3. The defendant did aid war crimes in discretionary functions authorise war crimes, and fail to prevent war crimes where he was able to. We shall argue for each offence in chronological order."

"The first offence we believe the defendant to be guilty for was their role in authorising Operation Diamond Dog. Our primary evidence for this is the public documents leaked by Alexander Nicholas Saverchenko-Colleti, which of course sparked the civil war. The primary document regarding Operation Diamond Dog -- titled "Removal of Czaslyudians -- Operation Diamond Dog" -- was explicitly signed by Burkes; and Saverchenko-Colleti indeed provided us the original paper copy, which we have submitted to the court already. We will later present a witness to confirm that this signature is authentic. However, this signature indicates that he 'authorised' and 'sanctioned' Operation Diamond Dog from his position of leadership as General of the Ice Military. This particular position of leadership can be inferred from the surrounding signatures, as the Emperor and Divine Scribe both signed; the latter as Klyprer."

"Our next argument for guilt shall be regarding the defendant's organisation of the bombing of Stonegrad, and his authorisation of the bombing of Cruxhampton. Both of these acts represent guilt under Section 3b, 'sanctioned, authorised, organised, or otherwise directed said act in a position of leadership'. For both of these, we present two more exhibits of evidence. The first is an email sent by General Lionel Burkes to the Emperor Sotolo requesting permission for the bombing."

Upon a few clicks on the prosecutor's laptop, the email appeared on the projector, reading as follows,

To: Emperor Sotolo II
From: General Lionel Burkes

To your majesty Emperor Sotolo II,

The situation in Stonegrad is severe, and worsening. The continued protests are not only likely to turn many against our regime, but also provide a great opportunity for our nation. By ruthlessly quashing the opposition, we can thereby deter such protests from continuing or resuming. Outside of Stonegrad, removal of these protests has been relatively simple; but the protests in Stonegrad are too large for ordinary action to be sufficient.

I therefore propose a widespread, and much stronger response to these protests. Specifically, the chemical bombing of the city. Ordinarily, this would be a very extreme measure; but here it is sufficient. By dropping chemical bombs throughout the outdoors of the city, we can destroy the protests and protesters while leaving indoor spaces intact; as well as trained individuals such as our soldiers.

I ask for your approval for this measure. If you approve it, I will order the commencement of the bombing immediately.

Signed,
~Lionel Burkes,
General of the Ice Military,
The Empire of The Ice States.

The four-word reply, "You have my permission", was also displayed on the same screen. The prosecutor resumed his speech. "This email and the reply thereto alone show Burkes developing the plans for the bombing. This represents the defendant 'organis[ing]' the bombing, thus showing the defendant's guilt. Now we shall move onto the next case."

"Our evidence for the defendant's role in authorising the Cruxhampton bombing is a recording of a virtual meeting between Colonels of the imperial Ice military regarding the bombing. One of these was indeed already used as evidence against Colonel Paul Tibett for 'organising' the same bombing."

Upon a few clicks on the prosecutor's laptop, the recordings were played on the projector. The recordings indeed detailed the virtual meetings between Ice military colonels, as well as the Emperor and General. The discussions were largely led by Burkes, and then Tibett. Tibett was the one to propose the bombing, of course, but the General had replied "The idea has my approval". After the meeting ended, the prosecutor spoke again. "As shown here, the defendant personally sanctioned the Cruxhampton bombing, again showing guilt under Section 3b of the trial's charter."

"Our final argument for guilt is the defendant's ordering of 'Operation Sinboro Pony', an operation to attack civilian targets in the Marshite island of Ixana to the South of the Ice States. To that end, our evidence is the publicly stated directive to commence military operations which represented Operation Sinboro Pony. The order was explicitly signed by Lionel Burkes, and named himself in the text; "I, General Burkes, hereby announce..."." The screen flickered on to an image of the published order. "This alone demonstrates that Burkes authorised and was aware of the operation. This creates two forms of liability.

"Firstly, under Section 3b, Burkes 'directed' the act from his position of General. It is evidenced that he was acting in his capacity as General of the imperial Ice military as the order was explicitly signed by him as 'General of the Ice Military'. Secondly, under Section 3c, Burkes 'failed to make a bona fide effort to prevent or punish said act, despite (i) being aware of said act and (ii) holding a position of leadership allowing the defendant to control the conduct of those persons who directly engaged in said act sufficiently to prevent or punish the act in question'. By signing the order, Burkes indicated that he was aware of the act; and the only higher-ranking individual in the Ice military was the Emperor himself. However, the order specifically addressed particular Units, and the defendant's position as General allowed him to directly order them to refrain from the attack. Therefore, Burkes is liable under provisions Section 3b and 3c for his role in Operation Sinboro Pony."

"That concludes our initial argument," spoke the prosecutor, as the projector flickered off. "Very well," replied a justice. "The leaked document on Operation Diamond Dog; the email conversation between Burkes and Sotolo; the recorded virtual meeting; and the directive are entered into the body of evidence as Exhibits A, B, C, and D respectively. Would the prosecution like to present any witness?"

"Yes," replied the prosecutor. "We would now like to present our first witness, Alec Lierz, a forensic scientist who formerly worked at the Duchy of Deephedge to verify signatures during investigations." And the justice replied, "Very well. The witness should repeat after me, 'I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I swear that I will do so in complete good faith. Further, I understand that failure to do so may be prosecuted as perjury, and works against the ideals of justice which form the basis for this trial.'." Once the witness was sworn in, as usual, questioning began.

Pointing to the General's signature on the paper, Houghwout spoke to the witness. "Can you confirm that this signature is authentic and from the the defendant Lionel Burkes himself?"

The witness compared a known authentic copy of the General's signature, which he had received to facilitate the decision, to the signature on the document. Then, after about half a minute of comparison, he spoke. "Yes, I can confirm that the signature belongs to the defendant Burkes." He had already reviewed the signature before the initial discovery proceedings, and again during them. Yet, he still compared it once again solely to ensure that the statement seemed unbiased and completely truthful.

"Our initial questioning is complete", replied the prosecutor. "Very well," thus spoke the justice. "Would the defense like to cross-examine?". "We would," replied Maccallum. "Firstly, may the witness describe from where the authentic copy of the General's signature with which he compared the signature on the Operation Diamond Dog document was from?"

"The authentic signature for comparison purposes was from a publication from the Duchy of Deephedge confirming census results. The original copy was photocopied, with the photocopy used for comparison purposes."

"That concludes our examination," replied the attorney. "Would the prosecution like to re-examine the witness?" asked the justice. "We would not, your honour," replied the prosecutor. "Are there any more witnesses the prosecution would like to present?". "Yes, your honour. We would like to present Lakita Robeza, a military officer from Holy Marsh who commanded the 1st Ixanan WMD Response Group, which spearheaded the response to Operation Sinboro Pony." Once the officer was sworn in, questioning began.

"Our initial question is as follows: Has the Marshite military identified any particular locations which were definitely targeted by the attack?", asked Houghwout.

"Indeed. Per our calculations, at least two naval ports on the coast of Ixana were specifically targeted, as well as a large town near the shore," replied the officer.

"That concludes our questioning." The justice thus replied, "Thank you. Would the defense like to cross-examine?" Upon receiving a negative reply from the defense attorney, the justice spoke again. "The defense may present its initial argument."

The fact is, there were too many charges for a defense to completely prove the defendant innocent. Instead, the goal of the defense would be to reduce the amount of convictions to minimise the punishment imposed on the General. Maccallum rose to speak. "The prosecution has presented a number of arguments for the defendant's guilt, and our rebuttals will be in the same order. We begin, therefore, with the assertion of guilt for 'authorising' and 'sanctioning' Operation Diamond Dog. The prosecution has attempted to prove that the defendant is guilty under this charge solely through their signature of a document vis-a-vis Operation Diamond Dog. They have further made two claims to support guilt under this evidence."

"First, the prosecution has asserted that the defendant was acting as part of their 'position of leadership' of General of the imperial Ice military based on their signature of the document being in proximity to the signatures of two other high-ranking Ice leaders. This could be mere coincidence; so this assumption of guilt under 3b's second prong does not mean the 'beyond reasonable doubt' standard."

"Second, the prosecution has brought a witness in, a forensic scientist confirming that the signature is real by comparing it to an authentic copy. However, we do not believe that the witness's conclusion that the signature of the Diamond Dog is undoubtedly -- or beyond any reasonable doubt -- genuine. Firstly, by virtue of the document used for comparison being a photocopy, some elements were lost; making factors such as the direction and relative strength of strokes harder to tell. Secondly, even without these factors, the argument that the witness stating the signature to be true makes it true is mere ipse dixit. That the witness is a forensic scientist does not mean that their belief that the signature is genuine is necessarily true."

"We also note that the assertion of guilt under Section 3c of the trial charter is plainly false. The Section not only requires that the defendant failed to make an effort to prevent the act, but also that the defendant was 'holding a position of leadership allowing the defendant to control the conduct of those persons who directly engaged in said act sufficiently to prevent or punish the act in question'. This is automatically not the case if the defendant was compelled against doing so by a superior -- for example if the Emperor had decided to conduct the bombing of Ixana, in which case intervening against the operation would become an act of mutiny. As it is certainly reasonable that the Emperor had decided to conduct the operation, and merely directed the General to order it, the prosecution has failed to show guilt 'beyond reasonable doubt'. That concludes our opening argument."

The justice thus replied, "Thank you. Would the defense like to present any witnesses?". The attorney replied, "We would not." "Very well. The prosecution may now present its closing argument." Houghwout thus replied, "Thank you, your honour."

The prosecutor then continued, as he commenced the prosecution's closing argument. "We note, first and foremost, that the defense has only attempted to rebut two of our five charges. Even if the defense's arguments were all to be accepted, they have provided no argument against three of our presented charges. Further, even the two rebuttals they have attempted to present are flimsy at best. Contrary to the defense's assertion, it is not merely a 'belief' on the part of the testifying forensic scientist that the signature of Operation Diamond Dog was genuine; it was a factual determination on their part. Further, a hypothetical scenario that the imperial Ice Emperor directed the defendant to release the order does not demonstrate innocence inasmuch as the defense has made no attempt to prove it the case. The defendant therefore ought to still be found guilty for all five charges."

"Thank you, " replied the justice. "The defense may now present its closing argument."

Maccallum therefore spoke again. "The prosecution's assertion that it is a 'factual determination' on the part of their first witness that the signature in question was genuine, is itself a logical fallacy. The only argument used for finding this is the witness being a forensic scientist; which once again amounts only to ipse dixit, rather than a compelling argument. Secondly, the prosecution's argument ought to be airtight for conviction. Inasmuch as there is a reasonable scenario that guilt is not met under Section 3b, the prosecution has failed to show 'guilt beyond reasonable doubt', so the defendant ought not to be convincted."

"Would the prosecution like to rebut?" asked the justice. "We would not, your honour." replied the prosecutor. As with most past trials, no continued conversation would be productive. The justice thus replied "Thank you. That concludes the trial of this defendant."

[The Ice States]

The next day...

And now came what was certainly the singular most important trial; for the man who led, oversaw, and oppressed the Empire throughout the crisis right into its downfall. Emperor Sotolo II was the next defendant; and of course, guilt was clear-cut. He was clearly vicariously liable for all offences, an argument which would certainly be used by the prosecution, although it would have to show that he himself knew about all acts for which they would seek to prove guilt. That, of course, would include the widest range of different offences: the attack on Ixana, the bombing of Stonegrad, Operation Diamond Dog, and the BLACKSEAT cyberattack.

In the eyes of justice, however, it was just another defendant being tried, from the countless different individuals responsible for the crimes of the Ice regime. The occasion commenced simply with one of the justices speaking. "The trial for the defendant Derek Sotolo^{(OOC: *)}, also known in the imperial Ice regime as Emperor Sotolo II, hereby commences. As with all previous trials, the prosecution may present its first argument."

Houghwout promptly rose to speak, presenting the relatively obvious argument for guilt. "Given the multitude of charges, as with our prosecution of Lionel Burkes, we will also be prosecuting each offence in chronological order. We therefore commence with Operation Diamond Dog, which we reiterate as a scheme to persecute Czaslyudians and descendants thereof living in the Ice States conducted by the Imperial regime. However, we would like to show the basis for our arguments for guilt."

"Section 3c of the trial charter states that 'a defendant shall be considered complicit in an act if it is proven that the defendant knowingly failed to make a bona fide effort to prevent or punish said act, despite (i) being aware of said act and (ii) holding a position of leadership allowing the defendant to control the conduct of those persons who directly engaged in said act sufficiently to prevent or punish the act in question.' All acts for which we will be trying this defendant were ones which the defendant was aware of -- which we will be proving in each instance; as well as that in some instances, per Section 3b of the same charter, they 'sanctioned, authorised, organised, or otherwise directed said act in a position of leadership'. We would note that Section 8 of the Imperial Charter -- the binding, effective constitution of the imperial Ice regime -- states as follows,"

The Emperor shall maintain full authority over the Empire. To that end, subject only to contradicting orders by Klyprer through his Divine Scribe, the Emperor shall maintain the right to veto or order any decision or action by any individual under the jurisdiction of the Empire.

"Therefore, we shall commence our argument regarding Operation Diamond Dog. The defendant was definitively aware of Operation Diamond Dog before its occurence, and in fact 'authorised' the act as Emperor of the Ice States, meeting both prongs of the test in Section 3b of the trial charter. Our primary evidence to this end is the papers leaked by Saverchenko-Colleti vis-a-vis Operation Diamond Dog. This document was explicitly signed by the defendant, thus demonstrating that the defendant was indeed 'aware of said act', satisfying the test in Section 3ci, and also representing the defendant's 'authorisation' or 'sanctioning' of Operation Diamond Dog. The relevant position of leadership for Section 3cii, is their being Emperor. The Emperor had the full ability to order Operation Diamond Dog not occur, as per Section 8 of the Imperial Charter."

In considering what he was going to say now, the prosecutor knew that the defense would attempt to argue that there could have been a 'contradicting order by Klyprer through his Divine Scribe', especially given their arguments during the trial of Lionel Burkes. The prosecution would have to rely on the argument that the burden of proof would be on the defense to show that such an order existed, pre-empting such an argument. He therefore continued speaking to that effect.

"We would note that there is a possibility that there was a 'contradicting order by Klyprer through his Divine Scribe'. However, we do not believe that this possibility in and of itself should preclude the defendant being found guilty. The burden of proof should lie on the defense to show that such an order occured; there is no reason that we should entertain the mere possibility of certain circumstances, rather than requiring them to actually be definitely proven. Absent such an order, the defendant would be fully guilty under 3c, as any 'bona fide effort to prevent or punish said act' on their part would have been to outright veto it, given their powers under Section 8 of the Imperial Charter."

"Next, we would like to argue for the defendant's guilt under the same provision for 'authorising' the bombing of Cruxhampton. The same evidence we had presented against Lionel Burkes, specifically the virtual meeting where the bombing was planned, will be used to show guilt for this." Upon a few clicks on the prosecutor's screen, the same recording of the same meeting appeared on the projector. Once again, Tibett was the one to propose the bombing, of course, but the Emperor, as the General, had replied "The idea has my approval". The prosecutor then continued once the video ended. "As shown in this video, the defendant did explicitly authorise the act of the bombing of Cruxhampton, demonstrating guilt under 3b. We also note that this results in guilt under 3c as well, as it shows that the defendant was aware of the act, per the same powers in Section 8 of the Imperial Charter had the authority to prevent it from happening, and failed to do so, instead directly authorising the act."

"Finally, is the bombing of Ixana, also known as Operation Sinboro Pony. We use the same testimony from the previous trial of Lionel Burkes, from Lakita Robeza. In that trial, the witness testified that the attack targeted 'a large town near the shore' of Ixana, thus being a wilful attack on civilian populations of the island. The defendant was definitely aware of this act, as the same order we used as evidence in that trial was specifically signed by the defendant." Upon a few clicks on the prosecutor's laptop, the same order appeared on the projector. "Once again, the burden of proof should lie on the defense to show that the Divine Scribe ordered the Emperor to allow said bombing; otherwise, the defendant would be fully guilty under 3c."

"That concludes our argument," spoke the prosecutor now. A justice thus replied, "Thank you. The Imperial Charter of the Ice States, the Saverchenko-Colleti leaked document on Operation Diamond Dog, the virtual meeting as to the Cruxhampton bombing, Lakita Robeza's testimony in the trial of Lionel Burkes, and the order for Operation Sinboro Pony are all entered into the prosecution's evidence as Exhibits A, B, C, D, and E respectively. Would the prosecution like to present any witnesses?" "We would not," replied the prosecutor. The justice thus replied, "Thank you. The defense may now present its first argument."

And so, Maccallum rose to speak. "Thank you, your honour. To begin our argument, the prosecution's assertion that the burden of proof should lie on ourselves that Klyprer through the Divine Scribe prevented the defendant from himself preventing the relevant acts, is nonsensical. The prosecution is required to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt; the prosecution has not done so, inasmuch as there is a likely possibility that the Divine Scribe vetoed such acts. The prosecution has therefore failed to meet the burden of proof, such that the defendant ought to be exonerated for all charges based on Section 3c of the trial charter.

"The prosecution then argues that the defendant is guilty under Section 3b of the trial charter for 'sanctioning' and 'authorising' Operation Diamond Dog. Yet, there is no way to show that this signature is geniune -- it could certainly have been falsified. Unlike the previous trial, the prosecution has made no effort to show the signature's authenticity. If the prosecution was provided with a false signature, guilt was not proven 'beyond reasonable doubt'. Further, the signature in and of itself does not demonstrate complicity. Even if the signature was geniune, the document could have been signed by the defendant in order to, for example, convey that the document was official or truthful; not to actually authorise the act. That the signature in and of itself represents approval is only one possible scenario of many other explanations for the signature. We make the same argument regarding Operation Sinboro Pony; that the defendant signed the order does not necessarily convey that they authorised it themselves."

"That concludes our argument," spoke the defense attorney. A justice then replied, "Thank you. Would the defense like to present any witnesses?" "We would not," Maccallum replied. "Thank you. The prosecution may now present its closing argument."

"Not only do the defense's argument fail to at all contest the defendant's guilt under Section 3b of the trial charter for the Cruxhampton bombing, but once again, the defense places on us a burden of proof which ought to lie on them. There may be a possibility that the Divine Scribe prevented the defendant from ordering against the act, but a mere possibility of a specific event is irrelevant; the specific event must have actually occured to be relevant, and the defense has made no effort to show that the Divine Scribe did order against the Emperor preventing any of the three acts. The argument that the signature could be falsified is also risible, due to no effort being made on the part of the defense to demonstrate that the signature is indeed falsified."

"The defense also argues that signature of orders does not show authorising the act. This is also nonsensical. That the defendant signed the documents necessarily places the acts in question under the defendant's authority, and is thus 'sanctioning' and 'authorising' the acts. That concludes our closing argument."

"Noted," replied the justice. "The defense may now present a closing argument."

Maccallum spoke once again. "It is not that particular events which would make the defendant innocent, by virtue of being possible, make the defendant innocent. Rather, that they could have occured shows that guilt was not proven 'beyond reasonable doubt'; so while the defendant may not be necessarily innocent, there would simply be insufficient arguments or evidence to convict them; and therefore they ought to be exonerated by this tribunal. We have concluded our closing argument."

The justice then replied, "Thank you. Would the prosecution like to rebut?". "We do not intend on presenting further arguments," replied the prosecutor. "Thank you. That concludes this trial." Now, after a few more defendants would be tried over the rest of this day and the day after, the trial sessions concluded. The fate of all defendants now rested entirely in the hands of the tribunal formed...

_{*OOC, NB: This marks the first time I have publicly revealed the Emperor's first name; if I have missed a previous time when I did so, this instance overrides any previous instances.}

[Agar-Na]

Five days later…

Judge Dobrodovsky took his place at the head of the lectern. He rapped the gavel three times. The courtroom fell silent. Speaking up in his rich baritone he called the court to order.

“The gravity of these charges weighs heavily on this tribunal. The cases presented here are not simple matters of murder, nor even questions of governmental misfeasance. We are here to judge the actions of a head of state acting in time of war, a most serious responsibility. We do not view this responsibility lightly. And inasmuch as the Icer people and indeed, all of Greater Dienstad await the question of ultimate guilt, we have decided to announce the verdict in the case of Derek Sotolo before those of the other defendants.

This tribunal finds defendant Derek Sotolo guilty of all charges presented.

Operation Diamond Dog , the persecution and murder of persons of Czaslyudian nationality under the authority of defendant Sotolo, the Emperor of The Ice States at the time constituted a willful and affirmative act of murder under the guise of wartime necessity. His authorization of crimes committed under Operation Diamond Dog constitute a condicio sine qua non, the indispensable and essential action, condition, or ingredient without which Diamond Dog could not proceed. At the time of the war, alternatives existed to genocide in reducing perceived harm to the imperial regime, however unsavory. The Czaslyudians could have been repatriated, or interned without further physical harm, or placed under restrictions. All of these were in defendant Sotolo’s capability, but he chose the path of murder. The court views his approval as clear and uncontradicted evidence leading to the finding of guilt under Section b3. The prosecution made clear defendant Sotolo’s authority over Diamond Dog in it’s restatement of Section 8 of the Imperial Charter, which states The Emperor shall maintain full authority over the Empire. The tribunal has admitted into evidence the Saverchenko-Colleti documents, and there have been no successful challenges as to the authenticity of those documents.

In charges related to the bombing of Cruxhampton, video provided in the case against defendant Burkes show defendant Sotolo’s authorization of the action, clearly showing guilt under section 3.b. Here too, defendant’s actions were performed inter vires to Section 8 of The Imperial Charter.

In charges related to Operation Sinboro Pony we find that the cogent points in our verdict fall under Section 3.c.ii.

The tribunal finds that the defense contention of a possible contravention of defendant Sotolo’s orders by the Divine Scribe falls to the category of speculation. Defense has provided neither evidence nor testimony to support their contention. Defense has not requested any other action, such as a continuance to allow for discovery of said evidence, or appointment of a panel to investigate the actions of the Divine Scribe during the war to lend credibility to their assertions. Such speculation, absent through investigation does not rise to the level of reasonable doubt of defendant Sotolo’s guilt. Defense contention that documents signed by defendant Sotolo merely convey that they are official as opposed to conveying approval is a distinction without a difference.

In sum, the tribunal agrees with prosecution that the defense did at no time show evidence that the Divine Scribe order against defendant Sotolo preventing any of the three acts.

So adjudicated by The Tribunal on War Crime Guilt in The Ice States in the case of Defendant Derek Sotolo.

[Agar-Na]

The judges adjourned following the pronouncement of the verdict. Nobody was surprised, not the prosecution, not the defense, and not the Icer public. The foreign press deemed the verdict just across the board. Relieved, the judges recessed and recuperated for two days. The docket was cleared so that the four judges could ponder the fate of Derek Sotolo.

Two days later, at 8 AM sharp, the judges assembled in the a large anteroom overlooking the lawn, on the second floor, above the judicial chambers. They made their way past the cubicles staffed with Icer translators, bailiffs, and the offices of several incumbent Icer judges that had pledged loyalty to the Communal Union assigned to assist the tribunal. There were also legal staff from Tangatarehua, AHSCA, Agar-Na and Czaslyudiya, chosen by the judges for their knowledge and wisdom. All rose as they passed by.

Judge Dobrodovsky, having delivered the verdict of guilt opened the proceedings. “Now comes the matter of the fate of Derek Sotolo. I want to give each of you time to fully present you opinions on this matter. There are many moving parts in this sentencing, above all the question of life or death for the defendant. This tribunal is composed of justices from diverse legal, cultural and religious backgrounds. The traditions of the Icer people, inasmuch as the legal doctrine is not tainted by the imperial legacy or current political trends must be considered. Chief Justice Kobayashi, as the senior most official among us, please present your reasoning.

Yuzumi Kobayashi presented the case for the death sentence. The magnitude of the crimes and the actions of Sotolo as emperor in upsetting the peace and tranquility of Greater Dienstad featured prominently in the presentation. This took up the morning, and then the judges broke for lunch. Following the meal, and a thirty minute break for them to attend to messages, Judge Pavel Ilyin contributed an argument also for the death penalty. pacifism and redemption were not major features in the Czaslyudiyan legal system. Judge Ilyin emphasized the role of Sotolo in the empire’s genocide, presenting a mighty argument for death. With two of the four judges opting for Sotolo’s execution, Tohunga Raiepe Ariki Taneti presented a vigorous dissent. Taking the high ground, he proclaimed that “death begets death, and that barbarism will be punished by more barbarism” if the tribunal chose capital punishment. So strong was the dissent, that Dobrodovsky feared that Taneti would withdraw from the trials unless Sotolo’s life was spared. After some discussion though, Taneti showed some willingness to compromise by remanding the sentencing to Communal Union courts. Jonas thought the idea had merit, but all judges were exhausted, and at 6:19 PM he adjourned the debate.

The next morning, Judge Dobrodovsky pleaded his case, saying “I concur with Chief Justice Kobayashi and Judge Ilyin. Even under the most liberal of legal systems, atrocities of this magnitude are traditionally punishable by death. There is now a majority of three to one finding for death. In Agar-Na, and I believe Czaslyudiya the means of execution is typically hanging.” Judge Ilyin responded that if death is an injustice, it is still preferable if it prevents greater injustice, citing the dangers of allowing Sotolo to live. He told his compatriots “Justice must not be seen as so weak as to be afraid to root out evil. The criminal Sotolo must be put to death, lest some bastard in the future get up and say that our squeamishness shows doube as to the just verdict”.

The judges continued to argue for a short while. The point was made that as all were guests in The Ice States, it would be appropriate to request the opinion of Icer jurists. Judge Ivan Rutherford, a senior judge among the Icer experts was summoned and the question put to him. Dobrodovsky thought that might placate Justice Taneti. After an hour long discussion with the other Icer legal experts, he told the group that a death sentence was preferred. Chief Justice Kobayashi indicated, while Rutherford was engaged offline, that AHSCA could possibly incarcerate defendants, including Sotolo that did not receive a death sentence.

The debate raged on three more days. Taneti seemed implacable. Dobrodovsky didn’t want him to walk out, and neither did the other two judges. Finally, after all arguments were exhausted, death was proclaimed. The means of execution still left a lot to be decided. The majority parlayed for another three days, reviewing Icer sentencing, and expounding on captial punishment in their respective countries.

At 9:26 PM the tribunal sent out a message summoning the defense and prosecution, and the press covering the trial to the courtroom the next day at 7:30 AM. Nobody slept well that night.

Sentencing

After gaveling the proceedings to order, addressed the assembly before him. Judge Rutherford sat in the front row of the gallery.

“Now comes the sentencing of defendant Derek Sotolo, found guilty of charges presented before this tribunal. All members of the tribunal have lent their wisdom and knowledge in this most solemn matter. The death penalty is common in some of our legal systems. Judge Ilyin and I share the same faith, one that instructs the lethal penalty for such transgressions as The Torah imposes a penalty of death for a range of misdeeds; sexual sins, including incest, adultery, anal sex between men and bestiality; and various criminal acts, including murder, kidnapping and giving false testimony in a capital case. We are not here to impose foreign religious or ethical beliefs on the Icer people, but each of us is guided by principle of justice and mercy which we have held true in our service on the bench. And in proclaiming sentence, we have consulted with judges and academics that represent Icer tradition and jurisprudence.

This day is awesome and terrible. Let justice be exalted upon it. Let justice for the victims of the defendant be established, for they have been shown no mercy under his rule. He has shown no remorse for his many murders. A higher power decides for all on earth;


Who shall live and who shall die,

Who shall reach the end of his days and who shall not,

Who shall perish by water and who by fire,

Who by sword and who by wild beast,

Who by famine and who by thirst,

Who by earthquake and who by plague,

Who by strangulation and who by stoning.

But it is for this body to proclaim sentence in this particular matter.


And this tribunal, having found defendant Derek Sotolo guilty of charges presented, condemns him to death by a majority of three to one.

As to the means of execution of sentence, and date thereof, it is the decision of this tribunal to remand him to the custody of The Communal Union of The Ice States, to effect this according to their system of justice.

So it is written, so let be done.”

[The Macabees]

FEDORAHUACÁN, THEOHUANACU, VICTORIAJ PREFECTURE

The clean ocean breeze blew into Fedorahuacán with a delicate gentleness, sweeping through the buildings of the imperial palatial complex that occupied a great portion of the beachfront. An architecture that matched the balance of imperial rule. Colonnades of decorated marble blended seamlessly with walls of concrete and glass, the palace was meant to manifest the imperial qualities of a claim to the past but also a vessel bound for the future. For the tens of thousands that daily frequented her beautifully golden shorelines, she towered above as a glistening symbol of security and justice. Its elegant splendor flowed between the calm serenity of the cliff-bound shoreline, with gently rising gardens marking a path to the lower palace grounds. It was as if in thirty years no one would remember that these palace grounds stood over the ashes of an almost uncountable number of people killed during the 'nuking' of Tiwanaku. Even now, only two years later, very few people even know the city by its old name. Now, with the dead replaced by demobilized veterans and their families, this was the city of His Imperial Majesty Fedor in Theohuanacu. His palace was a reminder of his everlasting pacification of these lands.

For all its significance, though, Fedor had never personally visited this palace. He hadn't been in Theohuanacu in quite a while, in fact. Until today.

His Imperial Majesty had called Lara Surr to him, suggesting that they meet in the southern island territory. He was on a tour of the territories and christening the foundings of the various namesake cities around the empire which bore his name or his grandfather's. Lara landed in Fedorahuacán the night before. She hadn't slept much before having to wake up early in the morning and prepare for her audience with Him. Despite her status, He was always intimidating to speak to. He was growing more distant from his advisors with every passing day, too. She wondered about that.

Lara had requested to fly in at night. She had been to Fedorahuacán before and had learned after the first trip that the drive between the airport and the new city was not one that you'd want to make during the day. The ruins of the old city had been pulverized, in some places better than others. After the tungsten rods, soldiers exchanged rifles for bulldozers and tractors to clear the rubble block by block. That work was mostly done by now, but there were large sections of the old city that had not yet been developed again — it made for an eerie sight when driving through it.

She made a mental note of the fact that the emperor was more and more choosing more remote, recently pacified — even in the process of — places for his one-on-ones. Kuncil-wide audiences were always held in Fedala, at His imperial palace in the capital.

Her hotel had been booked to be near the palace in Fedorahuacán, so her morning drive was far more pleasant this time.

Quickly waved through the outer gates, the interior guardposts must have been all forewarned because they were already open as they passed through. She was helped out of the vehicle at an inside courtyard and then led through the maze-like palace interior until reaching a small outside garden blocked off on all sides by walls and windows. He sat by a large fountain pond, behind him water roaring from marble sirens holding amphorae of plenty.

"Lara, it's good to see you," He said when she walked in

"Greetings, Your Imperial Majesty," she answered. "Thank you for making the time for an audience."

"You and your peers are an extension of my Will. There is always time for you. Sit, sit," He said, pointing to a place on the low fountain wall, by Him, "I asked you to come so that you could appraise me of where the Ice States situation sits." "And I wanted to offer you an opportunity to offer your thoughts on the recent policy changes regarding seized Icean deposits and other financial assets in imperial banks."

"That did take me by surprise," she replied. "That money could be budgetarily helpful."

He sighed. "Yes, well, it's hard to argue with the banks."

"How many signed the recommendation?" Lara asked.

"Seventy-six clearinghouses. Federation-wide." Fedor looked down at the pond as a tropically-colored fish darted by them in a zig-zag.

She waited for his attention to come back to her, patiently. Then said, "You are the emperor. Your judgment is final."

He said nothing for a moment, then, "Their case was persuasive. The money will continue to be frozen. The banks argue that it cannot be returned to its rightful owner because the current Icean government does not recognize private ownership of assets, and so cannot be trusted to uphold the distribution of seized assets in a way that aligns with justice." He paused. "It's a carrot. After this government is overthrown, we'll need to reorganize our interests and I would rather not invade again."

"A sensible choice," Lara said. "The new Icean foreign divisions will be ready soon. We await them with anticipation. It will be good to put them to the test in Firmador, for a little blooding."

"Indeed," replied Fedor. "They will be the best Icean military units in existence when it's time to release them to the anti-communists."

The kríerlord nodded. There was a worry festering at the back of her mind: how would all of this play into the investments made into Quitiruzú? All the events that had led to this moment revolved around building a stable cross-border market that Quitiruzú could sit at the center of. Although the communists were not conducive to a true market economy in the area, the agreement brokered with them by Lara promised at least a strong and stable stream of commercial revenue streaming through the new port city in Firmador. "If I may ask, Your Imperial Majesty, what are you hearing with regards to a post-communist transition?"

"You tell me," He replied, coldly. "You are my eyes and ears in the Ice States, after all."

She shrugged. "I haven't been involved in psyops in the Ice States."

"Because there are none," said the emperor.

"Then we're just waiting for when the moment arises?" Rare for the Imperial Bureaucracy to take on a passive foreign policy. "Then why withdraw from the Green Zone at all?"

"Because our allies in the area did not align with our policy choices and we risk getting involved in a long war over a country that, at the moment, we have no pretension of incorporating into the federation," He said. "You should know this better than all. Our priority in Nicaro is to pacify it so that we can secure the northwestern sea lanes to the provinces. Expanding the guerrilla war southward will only postpone the pacification of Nicaro and perhaps even derail our efforts. Your own intelligence sources suggest that the Mokans are arming the communists. All of that being said, it's also true that a communist government on one of our borders is not ideal from both the perspectives of frontier security and of commercial expansion. It follows that although we will not actively damage our relations with the new communist government, neither will we idly sit by when there is an opportunity to transition the Ice States to a more amenable government type."

Lara nodded. "Sensible. I, and my people, will be ready when the time comes. In the meanwhile, allow me to update you on the current progress of the withdrawal."

"Please," said Fedor.

"We have stripped whatever we can from the Green Zone. IT infrastructure, cultural valuables, and all physical and digital files we've been able to access have been taken north of the frontier. Thousands of businesses, large and small, have been transplanted northward as well. So far, we have expended some two hundred million ríokmarks on subsidizing relocations. By the time we fully withdraw from the Green Zone in a few days, most everything of value in the occupied area will have been packaged up and seized."

"Good." Fedor stood up. "Make sure we take everything we can. There's no use in leaving anything behind for the communists. They'll just waste it. And keep the frontier open for any Icer seeking to emigrate to the imperial federation until the last possible moment. Send me regular encrypted updates via cable. Thank you for joining me here. Before you return to Matagalpa be sure to see the rest of the city. Fedorahuacán is the new jewel of the empire in Theohuanacu."

"It is quite beautiful," she lied. Maybe it would be one day. But there was still a lot of devastation to hide. "Thank you for granting me this audience, Your Imperial Majesty."

He smiled, turned, and disappeared through one of the garden-wall doors. Lara stood up as soon as he was gone, straightened her skirt, and left in another direction. She would take the rest of the day to visit the city. A short break from work in Nicaro was in order.



DEEPHEDGE, GREEN ZONE, THE ICE STATES

The withdrawal from the Green Zone happened exactly according to the timetable provided by the Golden Throne. And not a moment sooner.

After three weeks, ninety percent of imperial military forces in Icer territory had withdrawn back across the Nicaroan Frontier. The last tenth gradually withdrew over the course of the final week until the very last day, when only a skeleton crew remained in the Green Zone in order to facilitate a formal handing over of authorities to representatives of the Icer government.

What the Icer authorities would find were buildings that had been sacked. Anything of value was taken. This included cultural collectibles, like paintings, vases, furniture, and countless other treasures. More importantly, business assets were stripped: infrastructure, IT and otherwise, data, and personnel. Over the course of the last month, Icers were allowed to emigrate into the imperial federation through the Nicaroan border. Business owners had their transition subsidized as a means of creating jobs around Quituruzú and southern Firmador. Workers were attracted to the prospect of jobs, as well as the protection of their civil liberties. If the communists dampened the prospect of a free cross-border economy that could feed Quituruzú, then the Golden Throne would simply do what was needed to make sure that as much of the Icer market as possible was simply relocated northward.

In any case, while there surely were many more chapters to write in the history of Macabéan-Icer relations, the Green Zone chapter had now ended.

[The Ice States]

Great King Rat.

Southport City, The Ice States.

The fate of Sotolo II was decided. The execution would be conducted at a concealed field in Southport City in fact also utilised by the imperial regime for executions. The head of the former Emperor was suspended onto the frame by his executioner; as the force of justice fell upon the former Emperor.

And news reports of the Emperor being killed promptly began circulating around the Ice States. "Derek Sotolo, more commonly known as Emperor Sotolo II, has today been found dead at the Southport City Execution Centre. Killed by hanging on order of the international tribunal formed in Southport City vis-a-vis war crimes by the imperial regime of the Ice States, his execution was administered by Clarence Smith, a CFA Corporal," said one report.

This, of course, was not going to be the last of the executions or penalties administered. It was, however, the first and most high-profile. It was also certainly a deserved one; given how many lives he had been personally responsible for ending, it was only fair for his life to be ended in this manner. There was no other fair or possible outcome.

And while the fate of the Emperor was resolved, the issue with the Golden Throne was not, contrary to what the Macabeans would have liked to think. While the ending of the Green Zone occupation was necessary, the Golden Throne had still betrayed the Ice States by confiscating all items and resources they had found, a gross violation of Ice sovereignty. Were the Golden Throne in the World Assembly, the Golden Throne would have been in clear violation of General Assembly Resolution #317, engaging in wartime looting. Prima facie, that the Macabeans could not be trusted any longer; yet there was also the obvious reality that the Golden Throne was the most powerful nation in the region.

Hazelbush spoke as such in the private meeting held to discuss this matter. "I believe that there is only one solution to this matter. Cooperating with our allies in such nations as Holy Marsh, the People's Unified Federation and even Gortenia, we must apply international pressure on the Golden Throne to reverse the confiscation of these items, and possibly also compensate our government for these damages."

It was quick that a consensus was arrived at in the meeting. Such international pressure would be necessary to deal with the looters in the Golden Throne. And so a private communique was sent to the governments of Holy Marsh, the PUF and Gortenia regarding this matter.

To whom it may concern,

It was very recently that the Golden Throne elected to withdraw from the Green Zone in the Ice States. However, the Golden Throne appears to have significantly betrayed our trust in doing so. Their regime has confiscated business assets and culturally significant items, including paintings and vases, and taken them to its own jurisdiction, subjecting them to capitalistic greed rather than leaving them in our hands.

We ask to coordinate private diplomatic discussion with Holy Marsh, the People's Unified Federation and Gortenia regarding this matter; and specifically to multilaterally ensure that the Golden Throne undoes the wrong it did in confiscating culturally and economically significant items without our knowledge or consent. We seek to ensure that this matter can be peacefully resolved if possible.

~Courtney Hazelbush,
Temporary General-President,
The Communal Union of the Ice States.

~Antony Black,
Lead General of the Communist Freedom Army,
The Communal Union of the Ice States.

~Lyda Straub,
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
The Communal Union of the Ice States.

_{(Ooc, NB: Further posts regarding this chain of events should go in a to-be-created thread.)}

[The Ice States]

White Queen (As It Began).

Southport City, The Ice States.

Sotolo II was not the last to be executed. The court issued order after order, and life after life ended. Some were merely sent to prison; and some were even acquitted. But some of the most high-profile murderers of the Ice people died themselves. The life of Lionel Burkes, who ran the government organisation dedicated specifically to killing, ended.

One nation, Tangatarehua, had already resigned from the adjudicative panel in protest of the execution of Sotolo II. And the death penalty was certainly a controversial measure. However in this case, regardless of whether one opposes the application of the death penalty, one can hardly sympathise with the executed. And this marked the end of one of the worst periods of Ice history...

...But also the beginning of another period in Ice history. Certainly not as horrific as the one under the Empire, but still one of strife. The war with the Golden Throne was a primary reason why; but the Icers did not know that the Imperial figures had not been destroyed. Many of them, including the Prince of Stonegrad, had merely fled to Devonia. The subversion of that weakening nation, as well as the destruction of the relatively peaceful regime to come, would be a fact unknown to the Icers leaving in peaceful bliss. The bliss was, however, deserved, in that they had escaped oppression by such a vile regime to emerge victorious.

In any case, a civilian regime had to form. A constitution had been drafted by Courtney Hazelbush. Notably, this constitution formally codified communism as the economic system of the Ice States. It would mandate that all individuals, regardless of whether they are employed, receive a certain quota of items they can receive; said quota is spent in the same way as money, except that prices are determined by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and spent quota is not transferred to any other entity. Ministry-sanctioned charitable oragnisations, as well as the government itself, would be exempted from quota requirements. However, the former are subject to annual auditing, while the latter is required to permit itself to be subject to audits.

Additionally, a democratic system of government would be established. The original proposal by Hazelbush was an eight year term for the Presidency. Although this ended up being shortened; the 80-man organisation made of politicians, military experts, judges, lawyers, and -- of course -- legislators voted by a simple majority to amend this term to five years, a motion supported by Hazelbush.

It came up to a vote, for all Icers eligible to vote (ie mentally competent registered adults). Ironically, the most controversial aspect of the new constitution was enshrining communism into the national constitution. The whole referendum was rife with bribery and fraud. Electoral offices refused to properly count votes, and some ballots were even destroyed. Within a matter of days, human counting of votes was halted and an automated ballot system was created to minimise fraud, with ballots counted and destroyed as they appeared. Although hacking remained an issue, and several attempts to hack the database to change the result were attempted. Of course, they failed. But it was still a controversial election, even after the constitution received a simple majority of 65%.

And the constitution read as follows,

Whereas the Ice States has recently concluded a period of oppression and hatred under the Empire regime, which has been overthrown by a military coup d'etat;

And whereas the Ice States is currently a state of occupation by the Communist Freedom Army, with no civilian regime still being in power;

The Communal Union of the Ice States hereby enacts the following Sections as its founding document and its highest national law,

1. Jurisdiction: The states of Ormont, Oldwitch, Isborgir and Southport, as well as the overseas states Surisjardinar and Hinnaland, are hereby declared to be members of the Communal Union of the Ice States (hereinafter referred to as the "Communal Union"). The legislature may elect to formally annex another territory to, or remove a territory from the jurisdiction of, the Communal Union by a two-thirds supermajority, subject to the assent of the elected President of the Communal Union. Alternatively, during a state of emergency the President may unilaterally annex a territory into the Communal Union, or remove a territory from the jurisdiction of the same.
   
   
2. Presidency: There shall be a President of the Ice States. The President shall appoint both a unicameral legislature of 80 individuals, as well as any quantity of Ministers, both within the first 14 days of his appointment. Both may be appointed or dismissed at the pleasure of the President. The Presidency shall be elected each five years starting from seven days since the passage of this document among all registered voters.
   
   
3. Legislature: The Ice Legislature shall elect amongst its membership a Speaker, responsible for any administrative tasks to ensure the operation of the Legislature. Such elections for Speaker shall take place immediately upon the Speaker position becoming vacant, or immediately upon the full appointment of the Ice Legislature.
   
   
   1. The Legislature may pass any law with a simple majority. However, should the Speaker deem that a decision is likely to be controversial among the Ice population, or should there be no 55% supermajority either for or against a decision by the Legislature, a binding referendum shall immediately be held with all registered voters. If the decision receives a simple majority in said referendum, only then shall it be enacted.
      
      
   2. No law shall be considered binding or enforced law of the Ice States should it not have been passed by the Legislature. The sole exception to this mandate shall be where the President has elected to invoke a state of emergency either in the whole of the Ice States or a section thereof, in which case the President may unilaterally enact, amend, or repeal legislation excluding this constitution where the state of emergency is in force. No election shall occur during a state of emergency, and where an election was scheduled to take place during the same it shall take place upon the cessation of said state of emergency. A state of emergency may be invoked only where necessary to mitigate a significant danger to national security, and must cease when such danger has ended.
   
   
4. Judiciary: National elections for seven Supreme Court positions shall commence among all registered voters exactly ninety days after the conclusion of the most resident election for the Presidency. The Supreme Court shall, by simple majority vote, appoint positions in any lower courts. No court may convict an individual retroactively, or create any new law except to establish reasonable, bona fide interpretations of existing statutes. All Ice courts shall follow stare decisis.
   
   
5. Military: The Communist Freedom Army shall be the sole military of the Ice States. It shall be run by a General, appointed by the President. The Communist Freedom Army must act according to any laws governing wartime conduct enacted or ratified by the Communal Union. In addition, the Communist Freedom Army may not occupy, invade or conquer territory from another nation without majority approval of such action from the Ice legislature, except where receiving or seeking such approval would significantly threaten national security of the Communal Union, in which case only the consent of the President must be received.
   
   
6. Communism: A foundation of the Ice nation is in a communist economic system, designed to prevent exploitation of the bourgeoisie. To that end, there shall be a Ministry of Economic Affairs, which shall determine prices for all products in the Ice States to be sold as part of "labour", and act as the only legal currency exchange in the Ice States. In addition, each mentally competent adult and worker cooperative under Ice jurisdiction shall receive an equal "quota" each year, with said quota determined by the Ministry annually based solely on the needs of that individual or cooperative, including being responsible for a dependent. Quota may be spent to purchase products, or exchanged into monies by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, but may not be transferred to any entity. Monies so gained may only be used to purchase products from other nations. Participating in labour shall be mandatory for all non-dependents with the ability to do so.
   
   
7. Interpretation: For the purposes of this document, "product" includes both goods and services. "Labour" means either acting as an employee for the Communal Union, or being a member of a worker cooperative. A "registered voter" is any mentally competent adult under Ice jurisdiction who has chosen to register himself as a voter.
   
   
8. Amendments: This document may only be amended or altered by a three-fifths supermajority from both registered voters and the Ice Legislature. No amendment to this document may remove or substantially alter its spirit, including the mandate for a communist economy.

Hazelbush took out a pen, and signed the constitution. And so it entered the law of the Ice States; although Hazelbush remained the acting General-President until a formal election for the Presidency commeced merely seven days later. The Presidency election was not even close; the main competitor of Hazelbush, the Economic Party representative, Benedict Stoffey, garnered only 23% of the vote. And to that end Hazelbush garnered a supermajority of 68%. Possibly, that was because of even more election rigging; but actually it was simply because anything representing the right wing had become heavily unpopular, and Hazelbush had already led the nation very well during this period of CFA occupation. That was how the CFA occupation period ended...

[The Ice States]

The Passenger.

Three years later, in The Ice States...

After many years, the Communal Union remained in power. The Ice States had become an economic utopia, although one run by an increasingly corrupt government funding war efforts of the Unified Authority of Kraven. The nation remained a de jure democracy, although de facto it had lost much of its democratic aspect, perhaps -- or perhaps not -- as a necessity during the war with the Golden Throne. In any case, one could hardly dispute the high standard of living Icers enjoyed -- there was a shortage of food items in 1420 as a result of the communist economic system, although one which would be promptly resolved within a year.

The constitution remained in an unamended state since its enactment. Although, the referendum mandate in Section 3 of the Ice constitution ended up being invoked twice in succession of less than a month. Merely 41 days after the constitution was enacted, the Ice legislature had a motion submitted to it banning the death penalty, which received a supermajority of 69% support. However, the matter was deemed sufficiently controversial to require a national referendum, one which was very narrow. A narrow majority of 52% supported the motion to outlaw the death penalty; yet, it seemed that the supporters were a minority politically. By far, the most vocal group was the opposition. The nation was filled with posters urging for opposition to the motion, television ads regularly urged voters to oppose, and there was even a significant amount of manipulation in the referendum, with bribery and ballot stuffing being frequent occurences.

And only 17 days later there would be a national referendum for World Assembly membership. This motion was, however, widely supported, both within the Ice legislature and the public, with 64% and 71% support being received for World Assembly membership respectively. This resulting in the dissolution of Magecastle Embassy Building A5 as a separate de jure nation; the building was promptly converted into a museum, while the Ice World Assembly offices relocated to Southport City.

The Devonian threat, however, was growing even more. A secret agreement between Devonia and the remnants of the imperial regime had now been signed, binding the imperial regime to supply vast a sum of monies to Devonia should the imperial regime be reestablished in the current jurisdiction of the Communal Union. Devonian spies had now infiltrated the highest echelons of the communist government, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike with an invasion of the communist regime. And despite the war with the Golden Throne, this was not now -- the Communal Union remained strong for now, and Devonia was a poor, capitalist nation which was falling apart day by day.

But in any case, this closed another chapter of Ice history. That of the escape of a diplomat-turned-whistleblower to Motokata. That of the chemical bombing of the capital city of the Ice States. That of a multinational invasion involving even former allies of the Ice States. That of a matter of law.