The Arrangement (ATTN Novan Coalition) Closed

[Brewdomia]

Pollution clouded the atmosphere, as planes screeched through the various clouds that covered the capitol. The Adjudicator stood on his balcony, playing his violin, enchanted by the musical notes. He inhaled the stained air, and put down the fine violin, which was adorned with numerous jewels and other precious items. Casually strolling back inside, he dusted off his suit and approached Julius, his personal adviser and close friend. "Julius my friend, we have much to do." said the Adjudicator while pouring himself a glass of whiskey. "Finely made, senor" muttered a servant who knew little english. "Indeed, Mr. Maza" replied the amused Adjudicator. Carefully placing himself in a chair, he read the packet, containing an abudance of scribbles and markings.

"So, there is a chance of discovery?" whispered The Adjudicator. Julius snorted and said "It appears so, sir. The Fergosian Union and their marxist allies have their ways." "Hmm...I feel we must do something to avoid-such a predicament, Julius." Cracking his neck he continued "We have invited them for a meeting, so this will grant us the perfect oppurtunity." The Adjudicator clasped his dirt filled hands together and peered his eyes across the room before saying "They will most likely accuse us of commiting such heinous crimes." "Should we admit to them, sir?" The Adjudicator spat in the direction of Julius. "Of course not, my friend. They and their friends will attempt a crusade of liberalism upon us soon as the word reaches their ears." The Adjudicator began raising his voice and pacing around the room.

He grit his teeth, and snarled at the ashen sky "We must make our decision with haste. The filth will attack once the snake is let out of the cage. While they will surely fail, there must not be damage to the country. Diplomacy must be used." Sighing he placed his hand on his temple, massaging the stress that ate at him with each passing minute. "It is wise, my good sir, that we are able to escape this quagmire with as little as possible damage with our repuation." "Julius, let me tell you something, these people-these pests, let them come at us." His hand shook slighty, but reverted back to calmness. "If they do disrupt us, they will be stomped on. Crushed underneath the boots of rightesneous." Julius folded his arms together said "It would not be wise for us to assume such arrogance. Their forces continue to push through Confederate defenses as we speak, sir.

They must not be underestimated." "I guess, Julius. But remember, we will have to play this diplomatic game with them so we maintain a perspective of decency to the others." Julius cracked a smile "Don't worry sir, I will be on that right away."

OOC: Feel free to be at the meeting already, to avoid this boring arrival and greeting and such. Go to demands right away. For description assume a marvelous palace with enourmous amount of decadence. For the outside, it's LA plus Beijing plus Mexico City plus Mumbai environment lol.

[The State of Monavia]

One week ago

Office of Frank Carter
Monavian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Chalcedon, Monavia

The recent withdrawal of the Corporate Nexus of Brewdomia from the war, or at the least, active operations which normally are carried out during a period of declared belligerency, had an invigorating impact on the Monavian propaganda machine. The mass media spewed out endless reports about the victory that had been achieved against the Brewdomians as they backed down when they realized that their attack against the Queen Theodora Islands had been thwarted in part and had left the resolve of those stationed there unscathed. They had underestimated Monavian resiliency, and more importantly, the martial prowess of a regional power. Such a mistake had proved to their Conglomerate allies that Monavia, or more accurately, the Nova Coalition as a whole, was capable of posing a grave threat to Brewdomian sovereignty if they continued to press forward in this war, and would inevitably result in the drawing in of their Conglomerate allies into this bloody conflict. Having honored requests by their fellow Conglomerate members to withdraw and ask for a truce, thereby effecting a cessation of hostilities, they had proven themselves, in the opinion of the Monavian government, to be trustworthy in the diplomatic sense.

These facts had been the focus of deliberations between Ministers Carter and Blake, General Director James Cheney, and the monarchy. It had been agreed that a formal state of truce should be declared in advance of a diplomatic conference, and that a guarantee of the security of the location and safety of the delegates would be preconditions for said conference to take place. The additional precondition that Brewdomian land and naval forces in the paths of diplomatic jets and ships either withdraw to a specified distance and lower their alert statuses was also being proposed in order to prevent any incidents from taking place.

Inside Minister Carter’s office, a formal letter was being drafted for the purposes of informing Grand Adjudicator Floyd of Monavian participation in the conference. It would be faxed, E-mailed, and sent via radio or other means in order to reach Floyd as soon as possible, by any means necessary for him to be made aware of what was to happen. An hour after he began, the finished letter was sent out, ready to be put to effective use.

OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION

OFFICE OF THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
IMPERIAL FEDERATION OF THE MONAVIAN EMPIRE

To His Excellency James Floyd, Grand Adjudicator of the Corporate Nexus of Brewdomia,

Your Excellency:

It has come to the attention of my government that you have made a formal declaration of intent to cease hostilities against the Nova Coalition and open a forum for negotiating a possible truce or armistice. I personally commend your decision to do so and have made a recommendation to my government that a Monavian delegation be dispatched to the conference in addition to any attending delegation from other Coalition members to participate in these negotiations.

Certain circumstances have lately precluded me from attending these talks in person, however, given the gravity of the situation that was created by your unfortunate and dubious decision to carry out acts of war against the Empire and its allies, delegates from the Monavian Empire shall be permitted to enter this conference and speak in this forum openly, without any expectation of immediate diplomatic hostility or unsuitable actions by your hosting personnel. In addition, all military forces which lie in the path of arriving delegations must lower their alert levels to peacetime statuses and refrain from interfering with the orderly and peaceful arrival and departure of all visiting delegations. These conditions are non-negotiable.

The damages caused to a potential relationship between the nations of Nova and the Nexus may be undone, or at the very least, partially healed, should this conference proceed smoothly. By welcoming a diplomatic solution to this conflict, and being willing to facilitate the same, you have demonstrated your people’s viability as a future neighbour, partner, and ally, a most profitable relationship if there was one. Details of the incoming delegation are forthcoming.

Sincerely,

The Right Honorable Frank Carter
Minister of Foreign Affairs

---

Domestic Counterterrorism Division
MNIA National Headquarters
Chalcedon, Monavia

Seated around an oblong wooden table in a locked room, several senior personnel from the DCD had been engaged in a discussion of more or less casual topics while waiting for Senior Internal Security Director Chekov to open the meeting he had called. The combined attacks carried out by the Brewdomian operatives had resulted in a total of 1,065 deaths, 591 from the cyanogens chloride deployments and 474 from smallpox released in Chalcedon, spreading to other cities over a period of weeks. Chekov had become irritable over the frustrating dilemma of being unable to identify exactly who was responsible for perpetrating these diabolical acts, however, he had come far closer to locating them then he was when he began his investigation.

A few minutes later, Chekov entered with an aide and took his seat while the aide left to close and lock the doors. Procuring a hickory gavel from a briefcase he had carried into the room, he set it and a block on the table, along with several stacks of papers. Dossiers and folders were being passed around to the other people in attendance, who began reading through the reports therein as Chekov called the meeting to order.

The murmurs were drowned out by the rapping of the hard wooden gavel on the block which Chekov had set atop the table, signaling the opening of the meeting. “This emergency session of the Domestic Counterterrorism Division’s senior staff is hereby called to order.” He began reading off names of those present, each person replying with a simple call of “present” or “in attendance.” When he had finished calling through the roll, he noted that all were present and had the recording secretary enter the information into the official meeting record.

Having finished this process, Chekov proceeded immediately to business. “As all of you have been made aware, Minister Carter has held talks with Minister Blake, General Director Cheney, and others over the matter of considering the Brewdomian announcement of a de facto truce. Certain evidence may point to their involvement in the terrorist attacks which were committed recently, or may indicate to us that others may be behind these deplorable actions.”

“Mr. Director, could you perhaps explain how you have concluded that the Brewdomians are likely to be responsible for these attacks?” asked one of the DCD staff.

“We can rule out the Kingdom of Blainesville, which has not taken any actions other than sending reinforcements to Blackhelm itself. They do not appear to be capable of launching successful attacks against Nova proper, and have not been known in our previous intelligence reports to be actively using terrorism. From what information we have been able to gather about their military procedures and cultural tendencies, they are an exceptionally rigid authority-oriented people who prefer to play by the book and resort only to “honorable” means for handling enemies. It is unlikely that they are involved.”

“What about new Azura? They don’t appear very trustworthy.”

“The Azurans have entered this conflict through the means of hard diplomacy and saber-rattling. Terrorism is inconsistent with all of their known actions in this war, as has their apparent inactivity. I believe that they may have quietly withdrawn.”

“The Ralkovians may have played a part, perhaps?”

“No. Intelligence on them is insufficient to declare them guilty of much of anything. Satellite surveillance has not reported any movement of people or assets belonging to any nation from Ralkovia to Nova or from Nova to Ralkovia. Reports indicate that they have formally declared a series of wars and probably realized that they lacked the material means to achieve anything in Nova when they are preoccupied with prosecuting additional conflicts. It may also be noted that There would be no point in them carrying out such a small and targeted strike against a civilian target, of all things. The Ralkovians have no reason to waste their time here.”

“Mr. Director,” began another, “I think that we can also rule out involvements of operatives from Orlkjestad, since they had sent only a small fleet to aid Blackhelm and formally declared war only recently. The reinforcements in Beiraq were traced to Shiistan, which has not been known to possess any motive for involvement until Beiraqi participation in this war began to escalate. Even though Shiistan is a minor player in this conflict, I think that we really need to consider that their current involvement will make operations in Beiraq more difficult,” the staffer concluded.

“Perhaps it is convenient to immediately rule out the Maldorians from this matter as well, given their lack of any reason to do more than saber-rattle their way through the door and complicate matters by providing the Blackhelm Confederacy with moral support or propaganda assistance,” interjected a third staffer.

“Gentlemen, there are only three possible governments that can bear responsibility for these atrocities. The purity of the cyanogen chloride gas and the quality of manufacture of the smallpox indicate that only a well funded military or intelligence organization would have the means, funding, and facilities to produce the substances used to kill over a thousand Monavians. All three have the means to deploy and use chemical and biological weapons. Brewdomian nuclear devices have been used in the past, although they know quite well that any attempt to do so within Nova will result in retaliation on a scale large enough to wipe out all of…what’s that part of the world where they are located called, exactly?” Chekov had begun to trail off as he pondered the name.

“Gholgoth.”

“That doesn’t strike me as a particularly welcoming name for a place to establish a political entity of any kind, nation-state, colony, viceroyalty, territory…honestly, it reminds me of Golgotha, ‘Place of the Skull.’” Chekov added.

“When those abominable terrorists are captured, there won’t be much more than skulls left of them,” joked one staffer. “I personally consider the Beiraqis to be prime suspects. They likely carried out the attacks in Mokastana.”

Chekov remembered the reports he had received from the director of another department, detailing how a lone terrorist in Mokastana shot up a convenience store and killed dozens of civilians, and also was believed to be behind the bombing of a school. Damn him. Vile Islamofascist swine. The fact that the man had targeted a school for girls and had shouted religious statements, according to the accounts of those few witnesses who survived, almost guaranteed that the MNIA and other Fegosian Union intelligence agencies would consider it an act of Islamic terrorism.

“Yes, I remember reading through reports about those incidents in Mokastana. The crimes there will not go unpunished. What I find disconcerting is the difference in the modus operandi of the terrorists. The man in Mokastana was clearly religiously motivated, not just politically. The people planting the gas and smallpox were not in the open, shouting things and waving around guns. They were sneaky, timid, and preferred subterfuge to brief, conventional violence. Bullets and bombs kill quickly, but claim few lives. The slow deaths of hundreds by disease or poisoning are not something which the former would desire.

“Additionally, there is a legal construction in the Blackhelm Confederacy called the Sacrament Law. This series of laws basically is a system for limiting the freedom of Muslims and persecuting them in the Confederacy. There is no reason I can fathom as to why any Muslim would help the Confederate government, when if anything, they are rebelling openly against it in the rural portions of the country. The terrorist attacks in Mokastana are likely committed by a Beiraqi.”

A fourth staffer commented on the similarity of the gas attacks on the Ansari Empire. “The Erainains have suffered the loss of twenty-seven civilian lives and over 200 were made ill by the gas attacks. This is hardly as effective as those carried out against us, and there was no use of biological agents in the process. Perhaps those responsible for that attack were copying the more successful one here in Monavia, thinking that it would be as effective.”

“Those are some sagacious observations which you have made, but do not explain who could be behind them. The Blackhelm Confederacy possesses chemical and biological weapons, according to our most recent intelligence. Even if they had none, they have the resources to produce them. They clearly are behind that attack, but if they carried out the ones here so successfully, why did they do such a poor job of executing additional ones? It can’t be the same people.”

“Director, that is precisely why I believe that Confederates have been behind it, because they are far closer to the Ansari Empire than they are to us. Why send operatives 20,000 kilometers across Nova to attack someone who is a less imminent threat than our allies in eastern Nova?”

“This leaves only the Brewdomians as a possible culprit for the deaths here. They initially attacked us and only us, they targeted Monavian aircraft, Monavian satellites, and now they attacked Monavian citizens! Have any of us found any evidence of Brewdomian attacks on a comparable scale against anyone else? We are their target of convenience, we are closest to them geographically, the guardians of the northwest corner of Nova! Where else will they attack?”

“You have finally indentified the reason why I have called this conference. The Brewdomians are requesting a peace summit, and we now have the means to accuse them of committing atrocities during the prosecution of a war. This single issue could potentially jeopardize any peace process and reopen the conflict.

“We need to keep our findings secret, within the MNIA and the Monavian government. We will use this information to our advantage when the opportunity presents itself, most likely as a bargaining chip during negotiations. As for news releases, inform the public that the MNIA has circumstantial evidence linking a specific organization to the attacks, but cannot disclose the information until the culprits are captured.”

“What organization would that be?”

“Only the BIA or Brewdomian military could have pulled this off. I doubt that anyone else in Brewdomia could have the ability to sneak biological or chemical agents into Monavia and use them this effectively,” Chekov concluded.

Additional discussion followed, and Chekov closed the meeting ten minutes later. He informed Minister Carter and others of the results of the MNIA’s investigation and requested Carter to maintain secrecy in order to expedite negotiations and wait for the Brewdomians to make a false move. He had no doubts that they would suspect discovery of their involvement, and would be waiting for a chance to deny any accusations that came their way. The Monavians would not be showing their hand early in this game.

---

Office of Robert D. Farrington
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Chalcedon, Monavia

Minister Carter walked towards Farrington’s office, rapping on the doors to the antechamber adjacent to it. His secretary quickly pulled it open to admit him, shutting it moments thereafter. “Minister, are you looking for Chairman Farrington?”

“I am. Is he here?”

“He is. Come this way,” she said, leading him to the other side of the room. Knocking on the door, she turned the knob and pushed it open. “Chairman, the Minister is here to speak with you.”

“Thank you. If you will allow us a few moments, please.”

“Chairman, I have some new duties for you to attend to,” he began, as the door was shut behind him. “I want you to attend the Brewdomian peace conference in my stead, and negotiate on behalf of the Monavian Empire. Depending on what our allies request, you may need to represent the Union as well, although if it comes to that, I may have to go in person.”

“It will be done as you order, though as I can tell that your personal distrust of the Brewdomians leads you to want someone lower within the hierarchy than prime hostage material to go over there, I can only speculate as to what conditions they will agree to. They may demanf your presence there.”

“If that happens, inform them that a recess in the proceedings will need to be called so that you may consult with Ministry officials and discuss the matter in order to bring about my attendance there.”

“What if they refuse our terms?”

“Inform them that an initial rejection will result in more punitive terms being proposed at the next summit, and that it will be held in Novan territory if they expect to see us attending.”

“If you will excuse me then, Minister, I have some correspondence to compose.”

“Chairman,” Carter said, walking out, “good luck on this. Victory is in reach.”

Farrington began composing a letter to the Brewdomian leader, aware that the terms of the summit and its protocols may be open to negotiation. When he had completed it, he repeated the same procedure used by Minister Carter to send his correspondence and make possible a speedy and expeditious reception by its recipients.

OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION

OFFICE OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE MONAVIAN FOREIGN RELATIONS COUNCIL
IMPERIAL FEDERATION OF THE MONAVIAN EMPIRE

To His Excellency James Floyd, Grand Adjudicator of the Corporate Nexus of Brewdomia,

Your Excellency:

As the ranking Monavian representative attending the summit, it is my duty to inform you of the nature and composition of the delegation to be attending and the security measures to be put in place in order to ensure the security and orderliness of the proceedings.

In addition to myself, a legal aide, two valets, and a recording secretary, I will be bringing two personal bodyguards, who will be lightly armed. A contingent of officers from the Federal Secret Services will be protecting my personal plane, diplomatic limousine, and other valuable property. An FSS motorcade will accompany the diplomatic limousine to and from the conference location.

Because delegates from other Coalition nations may be in attendance, they will be negotiating their own security and delegation details independently.

Sincerely,

The Right Honorable Robert D. Farrington
Chairman of the Monavian Foreign Relations Council

Minutes later, Farrington sent the message.

---

Present day

International waters

Far from Brewdomia’s coast, submerged beneath hundreds of meters of water, the attack submarine Elista slipped through the dark seas, its crew watching for any contacts that may pop up and monitoring the area for Brewdomian patrols. It proceeded along, ensuring that the path was safe for another vessel which would be following in its wake. The second vessel, the ballistic missile submarine Intrepid Wanderer, was there for reasons that only Farrington and a few in others were aware of. Their presence would serve a purpose only if negotiations went awry. Should things continue on smoothly, they would leave the area, no one having been aware that Gothic waters had been entered by Monavians other than the diplomats.

[Alfegos]

Official Communiqué

To His Excellency James Floyd, Grand Adjudicator of the Corporate Nexus of Brewdomia,

In light of the attendance of a delegation from the Monavian Empire to peace talks in your nation, the People's Nation of Alfegos requests that it send a representing party, to represent both Fegosian interests and the Fegosian Union alongside the Monavian Empire. The delegation will consist of Fegosian ministers, representatives of the People's Nation, and representatives of the Fegosian Union Supreme Council, and will be inevitably bringing a level of security to this event.

We wish to inform the Brewdomian hosts to these peace talks that the Fegosian Union and the People's Nation will not accept any violence or wanton impedence to the diplomatic delegation, and will respond in kind.

The delegation will be arriving swiftly.
Yours sincerely,
Senator Se'rai Ge'ca, Minister for Foreign Affairs

-----

Delegates in Attendance
Senator Se'rai Ge'ca, Minister for Foreign Affairs
Ous Diplomat We'hij Des'tuae, Ambassador to the Fegosian Union
Brigadier Fe'li, Senior Advisor to the War Ministry
Special Chief Invigilator Wei'ki Eo'ji, Deputy Head of FUPF assets in Alfegos
Mister Q'o Ei'hi, Deputy Head of FUTC assets in Alfegos
Colonel As'tok, FURRF Commander Polinas Regiment
Four Support staff aides
Four FUPF Agents
Four Diplomatic Guardsmen

-----

[Brewdomia]

Transmission From The Nexus

The Nexus welcomes all parties to Brewdomia and has no issues with security and personnel arrangements of Alfegan and Monavian diplomatic corps.

Your Most Obedient Servant,

Foreign Policy Adjudicator, Carlos Garcia.

[The State of Monavia]

Personal quarters of Chairman Farrington
Novo Mesto Provincial Airport
Novo Mesto, Monavia

Farrington’s plane flew from Chalcedon to Novo Mesto, a city lying to the east of the Karavanke Mountains. A mere 160 kilometers from the coast, it proximity to the western edges of Nova made it an excellent choice for a flight to the north, into Lamoni, a Delian League ally in Greater Dienstad. Following this, the craft would continue on to the northwest, reaching southeastern Gholgoth after another day’s flight.

While in Novo Mesto, Farrington received a brief transmission from Foreign Policy Adjudicator Carlos Garcia. Now having someone other than Grand Adjudicator Floyd to bother with the petty details of arranging the conference accommodations, he quickly wrote a replying missive to assure Garcia that the conference would proceed as planned.

OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION

OFFICE OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE MONAVIAN FOREIGN RELATIONS COUNCIL
IMPERIAL FEDERATION OF THE MONAVIAN EMPIRE

To Carlos Garcia, Foreign Policy Adjudicator of the Corporate Nexus of Brewdomia,

Mr. Garcia:

I offer my sincere thanks for your ability to accommodate our needs on such short notice, and shall be most inclined to reciprocate as necessary.

My delegation shall be arriving in Chromus in two days.

Sincerely,

The Right Honorable Robert D. Farrington
Chairman of the Monavian Foreign Relations Council

Having transmitted the message, Farrington proceeded to rest for the night, given the fact that he received it at a late hour. Early the next morning he would depart for Lamoni on a ten hour flight, then make another one lasting about twenty hours to Brewdomia.

---

International waters

The submarines moved into position about 100 kilometers outside the southern boundary of Gholgoth, lying in wait for new orders to come. The officers prayed that they would never receive orders to launch their lethal cargo skyward.

---

Nephi, Lamoni

Farrington’s plane landed in the late afternoon, having traversed an interregional boundary and flown farther north than he had ever been. Only a few Monavians other than some tourists had been this far from Monavia, as most of them travelled around other parts of Nova or to Zaheran. Farrington sent a message to the embassy, requesting that he stay there as a guest for the night.

---

Monavian Embassy
Nephi, Lamoni

Eleanor Shanks welcomed Farrington and his valets to dinner that night at the embassy, conversing at length with him about her recent work with the Lamonians. She was in an amicable mood that day, which seemed unusual given her near nervous breakdown over the loss of some important files from an unknown hacker. It was believed that one of the many computer worms released by intelligence services in the war may have been to blame, but either way, it had taken four days to replace the majority of the files, and others appeared to be lost for good. Nonetheless, this unexpected arrival alleviated much of what remained of her frustration, as she had something else to do with her time.

“The Brewdomians want to agree to a peace arrangement, much like the newspapers have been claiming. It’s finally official.”

“Chairman, you still need to work out the terms. Have you any idea of what they may demand?”

“No. Perhaps they might ask us to compensate them for some loss or another, but they really are in no position to demand much. Besides, I have several bargaining chips that are not yet in play.”

“What could possibly make them want to acquiesce to any terms that would not be particularly favorable to them?”

“The MNIA has evidence connecting them to the terrorist attacks.”

“Won’t they deny such accusations?”

“Why not? It would do nothing good for them to admit to being responsible for all those deaths.”

“I can always find some way of obtaining some of what we want. It becomes a question of how and when.”

“Perhaps you can tell me about it when we get back.”

‘That I will do.”

---

Eastern Gothic regional waters

Farrington’s plane, accompanied by a fighter escort, proceeded over the border between Greater Dienstad and Gholgoth, continuing on to the northwest before passing between the Scandinavian Empire and Osthafen. There was no known instance of a Monavian travelling this far from Nova in all of recorded history, and it was unlikely that one would travel there for a long time.

---

Chromus, Brewdomia

Three days after he left Chalcedon, Farrington finally looked out the window of his plane, greeted by the sight of the industrial powerhouse that was Brewdomia. Beyond lay vast expanses of browned skies, clouded with smog and soot from the countless smokestacks of the factories below. The pilot requested authorization to land, and having been given it after complying with the controller’s directions, began making the final descent to the landing strip indicated by the tower.

[Alfegos]

Ol'vi Cosmodrome
Ol'vi
The People's Nation of Alfegos

The delegation walked out from the electric shuttlebus that had taken them from the single passenger terminal building, out to the waiting aircraft lined up outside. The cosmodrome was mainly a military establishment, built as a launch site for rockets and as a centre for research into space exploration. In the distance, behind the sleek figure of the waiting jet, huge concrete blast screens and metal constructions hid the launch pads, sitting inactive for today at least. Bunker-like fortifications contained the volatile fuel manufacturing and storage facilities, pipelines hidden deep under the concrete and buildings channelling supercold fuel across the site.

Along with the vertical launch facilities, the Ol'vi cosmodrome also was host to a single enourmous runway, five thousand metres long, stretching across the entire site. The largest in Alfegos, it had been built in anticipation of a reusable spacecraft that had never been realised. However, it had been useful in being used to receive, and launch, aircraft which required much longer stretches of runway than normal to takeoff safely - supersonic commerical aircraft, and experimental military jets that for now hid in underground hangers. The military supersonic transport that was now being prepared for takeoff was a typical design, built for long distance travel across the world at very high speeds. As a foreign flight came careening in, slowing down before touching down on the vast stretch of concrete and tarmac, the delegates boarded, not waiting for press photos as they would at any other airport - as a military base, access in that light was restricted.

Onboard, the foreign minister took a seat facing across to the FURRF representative, as the powerful engines began to speed up.
"What safeguards do we have in place?"
"Monavia has stated that they have an unspecified safeguard in place. We also have the go ahead from Alfegos Joint Command that all maximum-range systems are in place ready if needs be. We currently have no assets for rapid-strike capability, but I believe we can summon such capacity if needs be."
"Leave it. The Monavians know what they're doing, and likely have brought an armada along."
On the TV screen built into the bulkhead at the end of the passenger cabin, a map had appeared, following the safety briefing. The route was definately a long one, following the Great Northern airshipping lane out into the vast inter-regional waters, before relying on the occasional marker buoy to plot its route to Gholgoth. At supersonic speeds, it would still take them a long time to reach their destination - many hours. The craft shook as the pilots carried out their final flight tests, control surfaces extended, retracting and bending. It was early evening, the darkening sky providing just enough light to illuminate the runway surface. Along it, lights extended in a beautiful formation for mile after mile, parallel to the dimmed lights of the service roads and taxiway.

A minute later, after powerful G forces had finished pushing them into their seats, the aircraft was cutting through the highest of the clouds, leaving the shimmering lights of Alfegos behind. The foreign minister whistled, before turning back to the men seated in front of him.
"It gets me every time. Anyhow... remind me of our tactics."
"We want to try to formalise fully this surrender, along with the agreed-upon compensation for damages caused by Brewdomia to Union nations. However, since the Brewdomians will likely be trying to play that their withdrawal from this war is doing us a favour, it is best to try and press these terms. They know that they are in the wrong, and that further involvement will jepordise their nation."

------

Hours later, the aircraft was finishing its final leg of the journey. It had first had to stop in Lamoni, flying in to Skyhaven to refuel, before carrying on to Gholgoth. Even with drop tanks to increase its range, it was only just within a safe window to reach Brewdomia. As confirmation came the Monavians had landed, the Fegosian craft came in to land.