Wintercrest Regional Role-Play (Wintercrest Only).

[Grelleion]

18 01 2020
Stephanie Miller-paragon of Grelleion addressing the nation
My comrades due to recent events in Velyka Ukrayina we want to distance ourselves from their fascist regime. However there was a problem- most of our steel supply which is crucial to our economy came from that country. I say it was a problem, we have found a new supplier and an ally. We have reached an agreement with the IUSR, The Treaty of Mutual Cooperation secures our supply of raw materials while also providing security. The cooperation will deepen the solidarity between our nations. It will boost our economy into a new era of prosperity that we will share with our comrades from the mainland. As I am speaking to you our transport planes are already preparing to transport supplies and specialists needed by the IUSR. Glory to Grelleion! Glory to IUSR!
She pauses as the crowd cheers
Tommorow the parliament will vote whethere we should implant a full embargo on VU as we shouldn’t help their fascist regime! Death to greyshirts!
crowd cheers again as she leaves

[The Confederated Socialist States]

18/01/2020

Top Secret:
As the N.K.V.D. was working in new encryption and decryption strategies, one of the agents, who was Anastasia Baranova has been analysing messages on the past and communication and decided to use old codes to make more usefulness of the agency's current stagnant position, to make it come back as an outstanding tool for the people and the government. Hours went by, and Anastasia has reached a conclusion that could make a difference. The new combination resulted in a single message, that was unfortunately sent to the nation of Grelleion. The Soviet Government sent an apologize for "wasting other people's work", but nothing more, as it was deduced that the Soviet officials were either too embarrassed to make any kind of comment or decided to forget it and continue with their normal lives. The dispatched message contained the following:
----. .---- -....- .---- ----- -....- ..--- .---- -....- .---- ..--- -....- ----- ..--- -....- .---- ----- -....- ----- ..--- -....- ----. ----- -....- ..... .---- -....- ....- .---- -....- ----. .---- / ----- ..--- -....- ..... .---- / ----- ..--- -....- ---.. ----- -....- ..... ----- / ....- .---- -....- .---- ----- -....- ----- ..--- -....- ----. ----- -....- ..... .---- -....- ....- .---- / ..... .---- -....- -.... ----- / --... ----- -....- ---.. .---- -....- ..... ----- -....- ..--- .---- -....- ..--- .---- -....- ..... ----- -....- ----. ----- -....- ..... .---- -....- ....- .---- / ----- ..--- -....- ---.. ----- -....- ----. ----- -....- ----. .---- / ----- ..--- -....- ----. ----- -....- ...-- .---- -....- ..... ----- / ----- ..--- -....- ---.. ----- -....- ..... ----- / ....- .---- / .---- .---- / ..--- ..--- / ....- ----- / ---.. ----- -....- .---- ----- -....- ----. .---- / -.... ----- -....- ..... .---- -....- .---- ..--- -....- ....- .---- -....- ....- ----- / .---- ----- / ...-- ..--- -....- .---- ----- -....- ..... ..--- / ----- ..--- -....- ..... .---- / ----. .---- -....- ..... ----- -....- ....- .---- -....- ....- ----- / .---- ----- / ----. .---- -....- ..... ----- -....- ...-- ----- -....- .---- ..--- -....- ---.. .---- -....- ..... ----- / ...-- ----- -....- ---.. ----- -....- .---- ----- -....- ....- .---- -....- ....- .---- -....- ..... ----- -....- ..--- .---- / ----. ----- -....- ....- .---- / ...-- ..--- -....- ---.. ----- -....- ----. ----- -....- ...-- ----- -....- ---.. ----- / ..--- ----- -....- ..... .---- -....- ----- ..--- -....- ---.. ----- / --... ----- -....- ..... .---- -....- ..--- ..--- -....- ..... ----- -....- ---.. .---- -....- ....- .---- -....- ...-- .---- -....- ..... ----- -....- ....- .---- -....- ----- ..--- -....- ----. .---- / ...-- ..--- -....- ----. ----- -....- ..--- .---- -....- ..--- .---- / ...-- ----- -....- ..... .---- -....- ...-- .---- -....- ...-- .---- -....- .---- ..--- -....- ....- .---- -....- ----. ----- -....- ...-- ----- -....- .---- ----- -....- ----- ..--- -....- ..... ----- / ...-- ..--- -....- ----. ----- -....- ----- ..--- -....- ---.. ----- / ..... ----- -....- .---- ----- -....- ...-- ----- -....- ---.. ----- / ..... .---- -....- ----- ..--- -....- ---.. ----- -....- ..... ----- -....- ---.. .---- / ----. ----- -....- ----- ..--- / ...-- ..--- -....- ----. ----- -....- ..--- .---- -....- ..--- .---- / ----. .---- -....- ----- ..--- -....- .---- ----- -....- ---.. .---- -....- ----- ..--- / .---- ----- -....- ----. .---- / .---- ----- -....- ....- .---- / .---- ----- -....- -.... .---- -....- ..... .---- -....- ..--- .---- -....- ..... .---- -....- --... ----- -....- ..... ..--- / ..... ----- -....- ..--- ..--- -....- ..... ----- -....- ....- .---- / ----- ..--- -....- ---.. ----- -....- ..... .---- -....- .---- ..--- -....- --... ----- -....- ---.. ----- / ----. ----- -....- ----- ..--- / ----. .---- / ....- .---- -....- ..... .---- -....- ----- ..--- / ----- ..--- -....- ---.. ----- -....- ..... ----- / ...-- ----- -....- .---- ----- -....- ----. .---- -....- ..... ----- / ----- ..--- -....- ---.. ----- -....- ----. ----- -....- ----. .---- / ...-- ..--- -....- ----. ----- -....- ..--- .---- -....- ..--- .---- / ..--- ----- -....- ..... ----- / -.... .---- -....- ---.. .---- -....- ..... ----- -....- ----- ..--- -....- ----- ..--- -....- ..... ..--- / ..--- ----- -....- ..... ----- -....- ....- .---- -....- ..... ----- -....- -.... ----- -....- ----. ----- -....- ...-- ----- -....- ----. ----- -....- .---- ----- -....- ..--- .---- / -.... ----- -....- ..... .---- -....- ---.. .---- / .---- ..--- -....- ----

Saturday, January 18th, 2020
Sofía was looking over the intercepted encoded message from Brezhnev Gorod with her brother Dmitri. An ΟΚΠ agent who worked as a clerk in the NKVD had intercepted a message to Grelleion, and Sofía had requested to see it first as with all encoded messages. She first did the obvious thing and decoded it from Morse code, revealing a series of numbers, which she soon attributed to letters. The letter made sense, all except the last word, which was uĤ. Sofía looked quizzically at her brother, who said,
"Hold on," before adding a dot to the end of the last letter, making it ----., and then writing .----. This was 91, or S. The last word was us. Sofía sighed. Why even write an encrypted message if you were going to have a typo? Reading the message over, she smiled. So the IUSR and Grelleion were forming a new friendship, hm? She thought of a possible future. In this possible future, Osea, Usea, the IUSR, Grelleion, a new Ukraine free from a fascist yoke, and, of course, the Union, formed the backbone of a new order, one emphasizing the rights of the people and nonviolence. Of course, this required a lot of things, including forming a friendship with Usea and her plan in Velyka-Ukrayina working, as well as a slight investigation into the condition of the proles in the IUSR. But this was easy. The winds, though, were changing. She felt like both Eurydice and Orpheus in the Anaïs Milford retelling of the ancient myth of her people. Like Eurydice, she knew that the times were changing for the worse, and she had been through this before, but like Orpheus, she was ignorant. Ignorant of what was happening, and ignorant of how it would happen. She decided that she would once more pick up the practise of her magicks. Soon enough, she would go on a retreat amongst the people as a stranik. She had started her daydreaming, and Dmitri had long left her to it. She loved these 'retreats' of hers, because she got to look however and be whomever, instead of being President Alexandros Halilović, the man's man. God, how she hated her body that she was forced to keep because of petty politics. As she retired to her chambers to notify Zoe that she would be running the nation for a few weeks or so, she held onto that dream of a united, globalized world, with rights for the commonfolk and acceptance for all. That would be the dream she remembered later in the arctic wastes during her temporary exile, but she didn't know that yet. She just held onto it for now, knowing it would be important someday.

[Velyka-Ukrayina]

January 19th, 2020

Vsevolod opened the exquisite wooden door in front of Dimitri, revealing a moderately-sized meeting room. Within the room sat a polished wooden table-desk, two chairs, a few filing cabinets, and a window that one could see a view of the grey Kyivan skyline through. "Please, sir," the Ukrainian said to the Union official, "have a seat. I'll fill you in on our planned operation once we get settled."

Dmitri did not respond, not immediately, anyways. Instead, he looked hard at Vsevolod. It seemed like Dmitri was analyzing the Ukrainian, and indeed he was. Afterwards, he looked Vsevolod directly in the eyes with his own pitch-black eyes, the color of which he shared with his sister.
"Indeed, Vsevolod. I suppose I will." Dmitri smiled. He was acting stately, but still, there was something... unsettling about his gaze, like if it lingered too long on a single thing then that thing would collapse into a puff of dark smoke. He walked over to the table and sat, perfectly prim and proper.

"I, uh, see. Well, give me a second here...", the Ukrainian said as he went to one of the file cabinets and began taking out a series of labeled manila folders before setting them on the table, "firstly, within these folders is a list of every notable anti-Ukrainian-government-dissident that we have selected to be moved to your country, all organized by their current oblast of residence, represented through the different folders. Each sheet contains information regarding the person-in-question's health status, biological sex, preferred gender affiliation if it is different to their biological sex, known political affiliation, things they've done against the government, and things the government's done against them. This is the list-of-sorts we are utilizing for this, erm, operation, and, as they're all in both Ukrainian and English, you are free to look through them here if you'd like, well, if you know either language, anyway."

The lights flickered for a second, and suddenly the files were in Dmitri's hand, where they hadn't been seconds prior. As he quickly flipped through the files, he began talking.
"So, your government did a fairly thorough search of me before I entered Kyiv. I expect I'll also be searched when I leave, in case I took anything of value?" He asked this easily, like it had been rehearsed.

"Indeed you will, sir. All political officials or otherwise strongly-politically-affiliated folks, Ukrainian and foreign ones alike, must go through a thorough security check upon both entering and leaving the country," Vsevolod responded.

Dmitri smiled, though it was unclear what for.
"Perfect," he stated, as if that was a common-known fact. "When do we begin the proceedings?"

"Oh, the, erm, forced movement operation? The government's been prepared to enact it for a bit now. I can tell my higher-ups to begin it as soon as you're ready," the Ukrainian replied. "Additionally, we can give you a clear view on how we plan to round up the, erm, dissidents, if you'd like. From what I understand, a nearby house has been selected where you will be able to see how the round-up process will be performed if you so wish to see such a thing."

At this, quite unexpectedly, Dmitri smiled a genuine smile.
"I would love to see it." But then, his face went back to normal. "But not until tomorrow. I always like to get acquainted with the government of the country I'm overseeing the removal of political dissidents from." It was difficult to tell if he was joking. "I've heard wonders of the various treasures housed within the palace vaults in Kyiv, but I never thought I'd be here to see them. It's such a shame that I came all this way, but because of my work, I won't be able to see these marvels." He stopped and looked expectantly at Vsevolod.

"Which palace would you like to see? Anzhela's Prime Ministerial one, or the royal one the King's, well, stuck in?"

Dmitri laughed to himself. “I have no need for the petty trinkets of worthless monarches. Anzhela has been a strong leader, even if our ideologies do not align. I suppose that is the palace I wish to see!”

"I see," Vsevolod replied before quickly stepping out of the room to make a quick call. When he returned, he continued, "the Prime Minster isn't home right now, as she's, from what I can guess, currently out in western Ukraine checking in on the construction of a new nuclear power station. Despite that, however, she would allow for me to give you a tour around the lower floor of the Prime Ministerial Palace if you still wish to visit the place."

“Of course,” Dmitri said. “I would never pass up an opportunity to see another nations grand treasures.”

"Ah, I suppose that makes sense, sir. Come with me, if you will?" the Ukrainian responded before leading the Union official out of the building the original meeting room had been in and down the street of the capital towards the government palace. The buildings all around them were lined with Ukrainian fascist propaganda and blue-and-gold flags, though the colours of the structures, posters, and flags were all muted somewhat due to the grey ash-coloured sky and dust that could be noticed throughout the air. When they finally arrived at their location, a grandiose marble-and-black stone building with gold-coloured trims, Vsevolod motioned for Dmitri to enter.

Dmitri did enter, and looked silently upon the large forum, waiting for Vsevolod to begin his ‘tour.’

The Ukrainian first guided Dmitri towards a room that contained a small plaque. "This room, here, is where the royal government was forced to give away much of its power to the Greyshirts in March of 1942. Since then, the royal family's mostly been confined to their palace and only allowed to go out to see the public when the Greyshirt administration wants them to, well, do something or another. An interesting locale, no?"

“Indeed it is,” Dmitri said, unimpressed. He was looking for something of immense value to the government, and this wasn’t quite it. He was sure they would miss it, but maybe not enough for the plan. He did not say any of this. “It’s certainly enjoyable to see.”

Vsevolod soon took Dimitri to another room, this time far more spacious in size. Within it sat a fairly large steel-and-brass statue of a woman piercing a monster with a Ukrainian-style trident. "This here is the statue of Mother Ukrayina slaying the country's foes, represented at her feet there by the draconic-looking figure. Though it originally sat outside the royal palace, it was moved here a month or two ago to protect it from the harsh winter weather. It's expected to once again move back out to its normal location soon, though."

Dmitri looked at the figure. It wasn’t quite small enough, but it would do in a pinch. “This is the kind of thing I like to see! Although, I’m not sure I like that that statue could probably beat me in a fight...” he trailed off, and indicated for the last item to be shown before he needed to retire for the night.

The final room that Vsevolod took the Union official to was a very clean library-styled room filled nearly top-to-bottom with books. "This room," the Ukrainian began, "houses the original copies of a variety of late-medieval and early-victorian-era Ukrainian-language texts that were written when the language was beginning to form into its modern-day version. Though copies of them are stored on the government's database and within a variety of libraries, the originals are held here to prevent undue damage coming to them."

Dmitri looked at the room in silence. They wouldn’t quite work as well, but language books were cool anyways. “These are very ineresting. I always love thorough records.” Dmitri looked away. “Well, I suppose that concludes my visit. Tomorrow, we shall start the collection. Good night.” And with that, and a flash of darkness, Dmitri was gone.

Vsevolod muttered to himself after his eyes recovered from the flash of darkness. "Damned magicians. Can't they ever say goodbye without having some aetheric trick up their sleeve?"

[Grelleion]

19 01 2020
Vice Admiral Joel Sanford looked at his fleet preparing to depart Aril. It was cold and dark-as usual in the north. He hated this placem it was always cold and rainy, complete opposite of his home. The ships were still in protective docks, waves crashing against steel gates. Aril would be a beautiful city with its huge skyscrapers growing out of steep mountainsides if it wasn’t for the harsh northern weather. Most of the time it was concealed by thick mist or attacked by yet another storm. Every structure was built to withstand the harsh conditions. His fleet consisted of 2 Eden class missile cruisers including his flagship 3 destroyers and 5 support ships. According to weather data they could leave the harbour around midnight. A narrow window during which the harbour was calm enough to safely pass through. He made sure everything was ready by then.
20 01 2020
They left Aril at 11pm and were able to exit the fjord safely. Joel stood on the bridge of his cruiser-GDS Arcadia. His fleet had a very unusual task establishing outpost on the northern coast of strait between Vostochnykh Ocean and Vordlant Ocean giving Grelleion control over the valuable trade routes. This was going to be his last mission before retirement. Finally he would be able to rest in the sunny southwest with his grandchildren. First he had to leave the treacherous waters of northern sea. The day passed without many problems. One transport ship was nearly capsized when a 15 meter wave hit it. Some of the cargo including two tanks was damaged, but luckily noone was injured.
morning 21 01 2020
Sanford woke up. He looked outside his cabin. It was sunny. He was relieved. They left the dangerous waters of northern sea and were well on the way to their target. They would reach it in 3 days. 3 days and then his dreams of retirement would come true.

[International Union of Soviet Republics]

21/01/2020

The six Soviet leaders had been convoked by the different councils to show the following Five-Year plans and to promote closer relations with current goverment of Grelleion. Teresa Voronina, Matthew Aliyev, Ostap Gerasimov, Margaret Zaytseva, Basil Aksenov and Edgar Balashov althogether were concerned about how to improve the country in a quick manner and to not be left behind other powers. Quickly Margaret spoke in front of the group:
Margaret: Quick lady and gentlemen, we must have a speech to deliver tomorrow, any ideas on how to progress in an efficient way? I hope so, since if we don't get anything out of this we can get into serious troubles.
Ostap: Sure, however we can't be just expected to arm up something and deliver quick like some kind of special delivery service. We must have for sure that a quick development without proper maintenance will end in failure.
Matthew: I actually disagree with that. We can do some quick advances, obviously with a proper background of alternative plans if one fails, of course.
Edgar: It doesn't really matter if it's a quick or slow development, what's actually concerning is the fact that no speech is made for such proyect. Now I'm thinking that heavy industry should be one if not the most important priority, since we must create jobs, improve current heavy industry conditions for the workers, and it wouldn't harm some kind of surveillance aswell.
Teresa: But what about light industry? We shouldn't just go for the big picture like that. We must make sure that Soviet industry is upgraded from it's foundations, only after that we should focus on heavy industry.
Basil: everyone's thoughts are good but what's going to work if we don't make a good common ground so we can agree in at least the most basic things, like improvement of the common worker's living standards.
Edgar: careful Basil, remember the last Soviet leader who tried to "improve" citizen's conditions? We can't just promote civil rights like anything else. Citizens do their actions caring both about those said actions and the inmediate consequences. Also, it doesn't matter if we are representing a government agency, they won't have any trouble in ousting us out of power if they see some action as a "revisionist policy".
Matthew: Thank you for your constructive opinion Edgar, now with this issue, I think the best way both our economy and freedoms are going to progress is going through a steady but secure progress. It may take us a while but at least no sector will be left behind.
Margaret: Even if that's the case if we don't get some quick results we won't be getting a good response from the society.
Teresa: And that's why we must explain to the spectators why long run plans are going to be more beneficial for our society as a whole. We must be sure that patience will be something that will strenghten us.
Edgar: Well, I can agree with both Matthew and Teresa in this one. But what about our military? We must make sure that with a strong economy comes a strong armed republic aswell, even if you consider it a waste, don't forget the ISAFian war, this demonstrated that conflicts can arise where stability is an issue. We can hopefully promote stability with military expansion aswell.
Basil: Don't forget that the group of nations that make up ISAF have a greater population, and we lack that population. If that's going to be the case then we should promote tourism, but after this five-year plan. Also, what good will give a good military, if we don't have the resources necessary to sustain it, or even worse, not sustaining the industrial output of our nation, we will face a greater risk than just anger from the people.
Teresa: Well, I think we just made clear what our next Five-Year plan needs. Let's vote.

After some minutes:
Margaret: After some minutes arguing, we all agreed that we just established the key points for our spe...
Ostap (interrupting): Excuse me but what about Grelleion? We will have some limitations on our resource extration, but we can't just cut them off, we can have a key ally, but I must assure that we must have enough resources before taking any move that we consider risky.
Edgar: Don't worry about that nation, we won't cut any trade with them, they will give us a useful amount of trains and other stuff, modernized.
Ostap: It's not that I don't want to leave our ally, but rather on our position of Socialism in One Country.
Matthew: Well, if we must cut resource trade for necessary improvement, we have to. Fortunately not, but those outside nations won't come to help us like nothing if a crisis happens, they will be expecting some kind of payment for their help.
Teresa: Don't worry about that Ostap, also, don't be too theorethical about that Matt, we should help our ally, and we have the resource we define as necesssary.
Ostap: You shall proceed Margaret.
Margaret: Thank you. As I said, we all agreed that we just established the key points for our speech, hence the objectives of our strategies about the general development of our nation as a whole.

After the discussion, everyone started writing the speech on a paper. Later they supervised the productivity and took statistics about the country before going to their respective homes.

22/01/2020
Being a new day, the leaders gathered five minutes before the speech in the capital, all getting ready to present themselves with the speech. After said minutes passed, Teresa read the speech to the crowd:
"Hello Soviet peoples! We have gathered you here because we heard your voices loud enough and we had understood your current concerns in this economical and political situations, but don't worry, with this speech and our new project, we will manage to go forward as a whole, we won't get anything behind, and we'll make sure that stability, as always, will be key in these difficult times around the world. This time, thanks to your various voices and different problems, we had determined that our next Five-Year plan's main focus will be directed towards industry, with expansion in both light and heavy industrial output, aswell as a little more of funding directed towards our Armed Forces, the Navy and the Air Force. Not mentioning that we have plans to make new cities, so the Soviet worker can quietly move to other directions. This opportunity will get us more jobs while allowing the government to recieve more funds and with those develop more the common worker's life. As we are currently talking about the improvement of the people's lifes, we are getting sure that this will be more easily accomplished, as our new ally, the Federation of Grelleion, will gives us the means necessary to give us better transportation means, so people getting late into work or home will be reduced. This action is why, in another point, we also aim to help Grelleion, and improve more the relations. As for you, Soviet workers, for the emotionals, don't lose hope, and for the rationals, keep the good work, because that's the most remarcable thing you as citizens do in your life. We shall seek for further industrialization and peace for the near future. Patience, is our most prominent ally in these uncertain but hopeful times, hence, don't lose faith nor mind, that the Soviets will rise again as a relevant nation for the World stage! Thank you Grelleion and your people for the approachment, hope your regime will be prosperous. With this done, we shall do it and accomplish our promise. Long live the International Union of Soviet Republics, so our past heroes can be proud of the future generations!

[Grelleion]

23 01 2020
Grelleionian Navy has announced a competition for a new supercarrier design.
[FogTV]
Nova party has expanded its agenda:
-increasing science spending
-increasing budget of Federal Space Agency
-bringing Grelleion out of isolation and ensuring it’s significance on the world stage
-closer relations with comrades in IUSR and other socialist countries

Grelleionian Athletics Union has announced that Grelleionian athletes will take part in the coming olympics

24 01 2020
At 10:03 the land was spotted. Joel Sanford looked at it from bridge of Arcadia, it didn’t have many trees or bushes, it seemed barren and cold. The landing took place in a medium natural harbour that was selected as location of the naval base. Crews of all ships along with additional personnel quickly started construction, by the evening temporary airfield was ready along with power plant and desalination plant. Grelleionian Defense Army units deployed on the perimeter ensuring safety of the outpost. In the next few months it will be transformed into a major naval base, but it was someone else’s problem. Joel would soon return to his home after nearly 60 years of serving in navy he could finally retire and focus on what he loves, his family.

[The Confederated Socialist States]

Saturday, January 25th, 2020

The Palermo Times-Herald

Today, we at the Palermo Times-Herald are bringing you the latest in news, politics, and culture! Let's begin.

Government Opening the Gates of Hell
[Insert Journalist Name Here]

Nearly a month ago, the government in Elafonisos began a project to create new Islands using the technique of creating and detonating underseas volcanoes. When the government announced this project, they offered for other nations in the world to Pre-Order the service, but only Vincent Harling's Osea - you may remember Harling from our breaking story of him suspiciously standing in one place for a certain amount of time - accepted the offer. Since we are actually run by the government, we are obligated to inform you that this service is still available. The project is expected to be complete Wednesday the 29th. After that, the Islands belonging to the Union and El Grenitadia, who helped with the project, will be formed on February 1st. A week later, February 8th, Osea shall receive theirs. Of course, the pre-order service goes until January 29th, and the service will be released to buy on February 2nd, assuming the tests go well. While some skeptics claim this will definitely hurt the economy, Minister of Scientific Advancement Aileen Kalogeras and Minister of Environmental Policy Aesop Filo recently held a press conference to dispel these false beliefs. The press conference, which lasted less than 4 minutes, did not do this, but instead took a different approach.

Transcript:
Journalist: We know how you plan to reduce the impact from the explosion, but what about the potentially deadly earthquakes and ash clouds? Won't those damage Unionist infrastructure and agriculture?
A. Filo: *While leaning in way too close to the microphone* Well, we have noted this concern. The answer is, we have no way to actually contain these things.
A. Kalogeras: *While whispering into the journalist's ear* But we're making volcanoes out of nothing? Isn't that really cool? It honestly doesn't matter that we're probably destroying thousands of lives and destroying our economy!

Then, the press conference ended. More on the story, as it develops.

[The Independent States of Allied Forces]

January 26th, 2020

OSEAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

"Welcome back to OBC, I'm Tom Celleck. Earlier today, President Vincent Harling went on national TV and announced that the Osean Federation would now officially pursue the building of an international space elevator, available for all to use. We'll show you the clip right now."

"My fellow citizens, not just domestically, but internationally as well... I come today to make a great announcement for the future history of mankind. As you may have heard earlier this month, we proposed building an elevator leading up to space. Well, now I am here to say we are doing it! This dream will become a reality and is just the next step in the Osean dominance and pioneering of space. The ocean of stars in our galaxy is within our reach... The universe lies ahead of us, waiting to be discovered. And now, at last, we will have a gateway to ascend to it. Over and over again. Our primary plan is for the ISEV (International Space Elevator) to transmit solar energy collected in the atmosphere and distribute it to power plants on Earth, however we also hope to use it as a base of operations to launch explorations deep into space and perhaps also build colonies on habitable planets... Any and all countries are welcome to help in this endeavor, but there will be a price to pay..."

"Well there you heard it, folks. This is certainly interesting news, however that's all the time we have for tonight! Just a friendly reminder that this news minute was brought to you by...

[New yugoslavaia]

25/01/2020:

The month was nearing its climax...
...and President Pavlov felt like a fool.
He had greatly underestimated just how self-sufficient Ukraine actually was. Tariffs weren't even going to bruise them.
There was only one way to deal with these people once and for all, even if might land the nation in hot waters. Ukraine had been a blight on Wintercrest for countless generations, an age old stain on an otherwise perfect land.
At some point in the future, be it in 10 hours, 10 days or 10 years, they were going to pay for their acts against the region...


CLASSIFIED INFORMATION AHEAD! ALPHA LEVEL ENCRYPTION IN USE!

Sending message to recipient.
…
Message received by recipient.
Displaying contents:

“Dear president Eli Avario of Asmista.

I assume that you are aware of the existence of Velyka-Ukraniya. What am I saying? Of course you know of Velyka-Ukraniya! A nation steeped in such infamy that only the poorest are fortunate enough to not know of its existence. It has existed on this land for many aeons, yet in terms of social ideals it has refused to advance to a higher level. This must be remedied. We can not stand by and allow them to ignore our demands while we accept their diversions. Considering The Union, one of the most left wing countries on the globe has only agreed to take the refugees they offered and not campaigned for real change, the time has now come for us to follow our duty and take matters into our own hands. We need to know that at least 1 other nation is on our side. We only intend to warn them at first, but waging a 1:1 war against them would be devastating nonetheless. They are nearly technologically equal to us. Besides, we are in the middle of developing a rocket to help establish a lunar colony. I have considered not going through with this, but these people, these people in Ukraine has never known freedom. We can not allow this country to continue as it does!
So, will you help us, our new ally?

-William Pavlov, President of The Kriskan Confederacy.”

[Asmista]

25/01/2020:

The month was nearing its climax...
...and President Pavlov felt like a fool.
He had greatly underestimated just how self-sufficient Ukraine actually was. Tariffs weren't even going to bruise them.
There was only one way to deal with these people once and for all, even if might land the nation in hot waters. Ukraine had been a blight on Wintercrest for countless generations, an age old stain on an otherwise perfect land.
At some point in the future, be it in 10 hours, 10 days or 10 years, they were going to pay for their acts against the region...


CLASSIFIED INFORMATION AHEAD! ALPHA LEVEL ENCRYPTION IN USE!

Sending message to recipient.
…
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“Dear president Eli Avario of Asmista.

I assume that you are aware of the existence of Velyka-Ukraniya. What am I saying? Of course you know of Velyka-Ukraniya! A nation steeped in such infamy that only the poorest are fortunate enough to not know of its existence. It has existed on this land for many aeons, yet in terms of social ideals it has refused to advance to a higher level. This must be remedied. We can not stand by and allow them to ignore our demands while we accept their diversions. Considering The Union, one of the most left wing countries on the globe has only agreed to take the refugees they offered and not campaigned for real change, the time has now come for us to follow our duty and take matters into our own hands. We need to know that at least 1 other nation is on our side. We only intend to warn them at first, but waging a 1:1 war against them would be devastating nonetheless. They are technologically equal to us. Besides, we are in the middle of developing a rocket to help establish a lunar colony. I have considered not going through with this, but these people, these people in Ukraine has never known freedom. We can not allow this country to continue as it does!
So, will you help us, our new ally?

-William Pavlov, President of The Kriskan Confederacy.”

27/01/2020

Eli Avario begrudgingly agrees to support Kriska. After all, it had not been long since Asmista had last been in a war, and it didn't end well. Asmista has of course developed massively, but starting a war will do nothing good for the country. Ultimately, he did agree that Velyka-Ukraniya needed to be dealt with, and military action was probably the most feasible method of doing that.

A message was transmitted to President Pavlov later that day, simply saying:
'We're in. Meet at earliest convenience. Much to discuss.'

[New yugoslavaia]

27/01/2020

Eli Avario begrudgingly agrees to support Kriska. After all, it had not been long since Asmista had last been in a war, and it didn't end well. Asmista has of course developed massively, but starting a war will do nothing good for the country. Ultimately, he did agree that Velyka-Ukraniya needed to be dealt with, and military action was probably the most feasible method of doing that.

A message was transmitted to President Pavlov later that day, simply saying:
'We're in. Meet at earliest convenience. Much to discuss.'

CLASSIFIED
28/01/2020:
After receiving the email back from Avario, Pavlov decided to arrange a meeting between various key government personnel in order to reach an agreement on if Kriska should threaten to go to war with Ukraine or not.
While there were some who disagreed with the plan, a majority of the group voted for. They cited that while this could lead to various negative impacts (including the delay/cancellation of the Moro colonisation program), they concluded that Ukraine had no notable allies due to a large amount of the nations in Wintercrest being left wing or anti-fascist in nature. In addition, it was their duty to bring liberty to those who lacked it, which included the people of Ukraine.
Now that this course of action has been deemed acceptable, President Pavlov will make his move against the last fascist state on the continent...

No longer classified
29/01/2020:
At 3:00 in the afternoon, President William Issac Pavlov issued a stern warning to the state of Velyka Ukrayina.
This was the message;

This is a warning to the fascist nation of Ukraine.
For too long have you flown in the face of what this great and equal land stands for. When others have granted their citizens superior rights, you have done the opposite. When others have looked towards the future, you have clung hard and fast to the past to a dangerous extent.
Your people will be gifted the liberty they have always deserved, either by your hands...or ours.
Your technology is inferior, your support is limited and your days are numbered. The world is moving ahead and you are being left behind. Sooner or later, your old far right institutions shall be brought down from either inside or out by peaceful or aggressive means.

If you refuse to grant your citizens better civil rights, thne we, the Kriskan Confederacy, aided by our allies (which as of recently includes the Republic of Asmista), will launch a full military offensive against you.
You have been warned.

[The Confederated Socialist States]

Wednesday, January 29th, 2020

The Palermo Times-Herald

Breaking News!

Today is the guaranteed completion date for the island creation project to be completed. We at the Times-Herald have been covering this story relentlessly over the past couple of days, and now it's time for the facts. The island is created using classified methods. Stop. asking. us. We don't know! It isn't our department. But we can talk about what will happen afterwards. Time for a Q&A with our viewers.
Q: Is the lava dangerous?
A: No. Now, obviously, lava is dangerous. Please, do not go around stepping in or licking lava. But the lava, in this case, is really far away!
Q: How will the ash cloud affect my daily life?
A: Well, we know about the general size of the cloud from our top scientists. The densest part will reach from the origin and spread about 800 miles (1300km). Luckily, on February 1st, the winds are blowing in a west-northwest direction, so it mostly should avoid us. The entirety of the cloud will go to about twice that. The density will cover Bari, Patras, and Reggio di Calabria here in the Union, but also the cities of Strago and Iviso in Asmista and Kriska. The lesser areas will cover Maxtopia (El Grenitadia), Corfu, Palermo, Kallithea, Taranto, Lakonia (The Union), Steornabhagh Ur (Scotland), and Juzambos (Kriska). These clouds will reduce trade, increase air pollution, and overall just be bad for people's health. We implore you, do not go outside from February 1st-February 4th, and if you must, use air purifying masks.
Q: What about the earthquakes? They seem dangerous.
A:Well, viewers, we should tell you that there is nothing to be afraid of. Well, unless you live in Bari. Then, you should probably start practicing earthquake drills.
Q: OH MY GOD WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP US!
A: To that, we say - relax! We [all] die eventually! If you do die, then at least you won't have to spend the rest of your life pretending you're happy with this meaningless existence.

That's it for this edition of the Palermo Times-Herald!

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Thursday, January 30th, 2020

Dmitri Halilović was standing in the foreign customs terminal of Kyiv. His journey had reached its end, and with Osea's help, the plan had been set into motion. Of course, the last of the "dissidents" were only scheduled to leave for Reggio di Calabria tomorrow, but things were heating up between Ukraine and Kriska and Dmitri didn't want to be here when war broke out. He wondered briefly about the lack of communication from Sofía, but quickly remembered that the stars were in the Juno alignment, which always had a negative impact on her dysphoria. She was probably going to ground for a while, learning her magicks. Dmitri had no need for his sister's hoodoo, but they had grown up in different environments. He was abruptly brought back from his wanderings by the x-ray search by Ukrainian border authority. This was the big moment. He stepped through the machine. A few moments later, after it loaded, he heard the inevitable.
"Sir? We're going to have to search your bag," said one of the SZPU (Служби захисту подорожей України) agents. Dmitri feigned surprise.
"What? Why!?"
"Well, sir," the Szipu agent said, patiently, "We've found an object of interest in the scan of your bag." Dmitri hesitated, intentionally, and then replied.
"Well, fine. After all," he quipped, "we wouldn't want a war to be started over a bag, would we?" As the Szipu agent opened his bag, Dmitri drew in a breath as he hoped his tactics would work. The Szipu agent slowly and dramatically took the pieces of a stone trident from the bag, which were remarkably similar, when put together, to the trident in the Statue of Mother Ukrayina. Dmitri, playing true to his role, raised a fuss.
"Wha... what? That's ridiculous! Somebody must've planted it. Get an expert in here! I would never," he said, stepping towards the Szipu agent, "steal anything! Especially not without the finalities of my business complete, which, by the way, is above your pay grade!" The Szipu agent remained calm in the face of this.
"Sir, I'm sure that this is just a plant by one of those wretched anarchists that hate both our countries. Still, we do need to test this." Fast forward 30 minutes, and Dmitri was sitting with Vsevolod, his Ukrainian contact through the stay, and a Ukrainian expert in forged sculptures. The expert was looking over the trident with a magnifying glass. Eventually, he stood up straight.
"Well, if this is a forgery, it's a pretty damned good one. It fits in the style and looks almost exactly like it was ripped directly from the statue. Plus, the actual trident was found missing." Vsevolod looked pointedly at the Unionist spymaster, who gulped. "But," the expert continued, "the best way to make sure is to see if it's made of Ukrainian granite, and I can definitely say for sure this isn't." Dmitri and Vsevolod both looked at him.
"It isn't?" They were both confused, Dmitri legitimately so, because the expert hadn't actually done any tests.
"Yeah. I can tell just by the feel. It seems as if parts of the head of the trident were made from granite, but the rest is made of cheap industrial plaster." Dmitri breathed out a sigh of relief, but Vsevolod still wasn't convinced.
"But how could the trident even be stolen? Dmitri and I were the only ones with the access. Unless he shared it with someone..."
"No!" Dmitri responded quickly. "Well... maybe with one person. They seemed nice, though." Vsevolod's silence was an indicator for Dmitri to continue. "Okay, well, remember when I was allowed to explore the city with limited range Sunday? I may or may not have gone on a date." At this, everybody was surprised. Dmitri scowled. "What? I go on dates!" Vsevolod, still getting over the shock, asked the obvious question.
"What does this have to do with anything?" Dmitri looked askance, bit his lip, and started tapping his foot.
"Well, the conversation eventually got around to the palace security systems, and when it comes to pointing out the flaws in security, I just can't stop talking. Sorry?" Vsevolod raised his voice.
"You nedotjopa! This clearly violates all of the trust we placed in you! You..." he cooled off a little. "What was her name?"
"Um, it's in my phone. Hold on." As Dmitri scrolled through his contacts, Vsevolod quipped,
"Oh, get a second date, did you?" Dmitri ignored it.
"Here we go. His name is Danya Shevchenko. Sorry about all this? Y'all are fascists though, so..." he trailed off. "What about this fake? What will happen to it?"
The forgery expert once again spoke up. "Eh, just throw it away. It's pretty much worthless." Vsevolod, agreeing, motioned the other Szipu agent - the one who had remained silent the whole time.
"Take this to the east garbage dump." The silent agent briefly tried to protest, since they were on the west side, but to no avail. "You should've been the one to call this out. You did a disservice to Velyka-Ukrayina, and now you shall see what your silence has gained you." Vsevolod then pointed to the east doors, and the silent agent exited. Dmitri stood up, and calmly said,
"Well, I hope I get to leave now? I'm late for an appointment in Vlore. And honestly, I hope I never have to return. I tell you, if my name gets implicated at all, and if you don't prove my innocence by finding that trident, I'm telling everybody about this. Understand?" In just a few seconds, Dmitri Halilović had gone from a stressed diplomat that had made an honest mistake to a steely-eyed intelligence officer, gently blackmailing everybody around him for some unknowable larger goal. With that, he disappeared.

--Classified--
Later, Dmitri met the silent Szipu agent, Pidlehli Kolysnik, by the east exit. Dmitri handed him a stack of cash, as well as an encrypted document for the Kyiv OKP Commune leader, Alyona Kravchuk. Unbeknownst to most, Kolysnik was an OKP agent and provided information on most diplomats and messages going in and out of Velyka-Ukrayina. In return for the money, Kolysnik gave Halilović a trash bag with the Trident pieces inside of it. Dmitri gently smiled. Just rinse in water, and the spray on plaster would dissolve. Soon, it would be shuffled throughout various Unionist shell corporations, all properly shielded. They would leave just enough of a trail for Anzhela Myronyuk to follow, and while she was on a wild goose chase, the Union would ferment a revolution. Presuming Anzhela thought she could easily hold Kriska, their war would only help the Union's plans. Truly, everything was going as intended.

[Velyka-Ukrayina]

Friday, January 31st, 2020

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

To Issac Pavlov

Though I believe your... threats to be un-necessary and un-needed, especially when Kyiv is already communicating with the Union's administration regarding certain matters, note that I will take your ultimatum into consideration when I am working with my officials to co-ordinate the upcoming month's government activities and policies.

One thing I can promise is that an election will be held by the 1st of April at the earliest. The date for such a thing cannot be set sooner as of the current moment, else my administration will begin to make a very tiring fuss over it.

Anzhela Myronyuk

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

Folding up the letter to prepare it to be sent to the Kriskan leadership, Anzhela let out a sigh. Her job was a tiring one, indeed. Though the removal of a significant number of anti-government dissidents from the country had largely been completed without too much trouble, with the ships now well on their way to their destination, the Union, a trident belonging to one of the nation's most valuable statues had also been stolen at some point during the operation.

Taking a moment to think to herself, she called up one of her aides on her phone.

"Regarding the stolen trident, I order that an elite investigation team be created to look into the area around the statue, along with those involved with the dissident transportation, to both look for and into any clues regarding the matter. For the time being, though it may be a risk to Ukraine's already-regrettable standing among the nations of the world, I wish for a low-profile statement to be issued to important foreign governments stating that, in some way or another, a trident belonging to one of Ukraine's most important statues has been stolen, and that we would appreciate any support regarding our investigation into the subject. Furthermore, for the time being, include a section within this week's government-issued news media explaining the trident theft, with a paragraph on the topic of how we currently believe that some sort of wretched, unpatriotic Ukrainian anarchist stole it."

Putting down the phone, she sighed once again. If there was one thing she disliked more than leftist activity, it was troubling international incidents.

[The Confederated Socialist States]

Saturday, February 1st, 2020

Zoe Ariti, Queen-Regent of the Union, stood on a floating platform in the ocean. It was nothing much, just the acrylic and plasma stabilizers typical of any floatation device, with the addition of a clear biodome, just in case. She was taking over government since her wife, Sofía Halilović, was away on her journey as a stranik to see what was happening with the country, assisted by her magick-induced disguise. At this, Zoe chuckled a bit. Even though there were certainly more useful forms of magic out there, such as Botany, Thaumatology, and Cartomancy, the magicks most practiced were hoodoo - a mixture of the monotheism of their homeland and the polytheistic rituals of the brave new world they had settled in. Hoodoo itself was one of the most subversive and confusing magic styles in Wintercrest, and equal power was given to heal and destroy. Which, Zoe supposed, made perfect sense for the region. Just another of those little oddities. Of course, there were those folk with the bloodstones, but they made up a minority in the tenths of percent. While deep in though, Zoe was abruptly startled by the lead scientist.
"We're ready to begin procedures." Zoe looked and nodded for a second.
"Do it."

Usually, the eruption of an underseas volcano is pretty boring. It just spurts some lava and makes some land. But this was heavily concentrated. Depending on where you stood, it had the eruptive force of either Krakatau or nothing at all. Here, it was near the top of the scale. All of a sudden, the sky seemed to take on an amber hue, and there was a low rumbling of the earth beneath their feet. Within a few seconds, a plume of smoke wafted into the sky, and about a minute later a pillar of orange lava (magma? Zoe didn't know or care) shot into the sky. A small tidal wave formed, but they were too close to be damaged and it was just going off into the middle of nowhere. As the lava fell, it hit the water and cooled. Or however volcanoes make land. The point is, only a few hours later, most of a mountainous, rocky island had been formed. There was still some left to be created, but it was expected to be created in the next two days. For now, they could start planning what to actually do with the island. Along with her on the float were Egeus Cirillo, Aileen Kalogeras, and Aesop Filo, who we've met, but also Chloe Ganas, Minister of Urban Development. They each had an idea for what to do with the new land, of course.
"Obviously, the only responsible thing to do is to turn this into a military base," Defense Minister Egeus Cirillo says while loading a shotgun. "How else are we supposed to protect the Union in times of crisis? Our military needs more space to expand and cover our new possessions!"
"Bah!" shouts Science Minister Aileen Kalogeras while pouring a green fluid into a purple solution. "The only reasonable way to expand beyond this is up! Miz Ariti, we need to make the island the center of our space exploration, like Carnival Cape in Osea! Then, we can beat those Deutscheuropans to the moon."
"Obviously, you're overlooking the biggest concern!" yells Environmental Minister Aesop Filo while fanning away the smoke from Kalogeras' experiment. "Our nation is a giant polluter, and the only way we can save our people and animals is by making the entire island into a nature park. Then, we can put two of each type of animal on the island, and save all of humanity when we need food! Er, I mean, entertainment and breathable air. That's it, yeah."
Silently, Urban Development Minister Chloe Ganas stands up and, eventually, starts talking to a nonexistent town hall. "The wonderful people of Tirana! I am gathered here today that your city now exists, and soon, you will too! Here, truly, is a place where the proletariat can achieve their dreams of social equality and a loving community!" Sitting down, she turned to Zoe. "This could be the reality if we build a new city. And we can even put some parks and military bases and launch sites here, too. The opportunities are endless!"

Zoe motioned for silence, although nobody was even talking.
"Silence! I have made my decision!" All of the ministers gathered around, listening carefully. "I've decided to go with Mrs. Ganas' proposal." At this, there were some audible gasps, some grumblings, and a silent victory dance. "Not only will we be able to expand our populace, but we will also be able to do, at least partly, all of the other things." Aileen Kalogeras mumbled something about the victory of bureaucracy, but Zoe decided to ignore it. "I suppose that concludes our time here. Thank you for coming." As the ministers shuffled out to their jet skis, Queen-Regent Zoe Ariti wondered if she'd made the right choice. The answer? She didn't really know. But it had seemed like the best at this point in time, so at least she had a reasonable alibi, eh?

[Deutscheuropa]

Monday, February 3rd, 2020

The News from the south had been met with great interest in Deutscheuropa. Tensions were growing, and it seemed that war may be on the horizon. Chancellor Zimmermann had spoken with his cabinet, the king, and the Reichstag, now all he needed to do was tell the leaders of the world, he started to write:

"To the Leaders of Wintercrest,

As artefacts are stolen and threats of war are being exchanged across letters, the temperature of this crisis is rising. I hope that bloodshed can still be avoided, so I am inviting you, and the leaders of all the other nations on this continent, to a conference in my nation's capital city of Karau. There, we may all discuss our differences face to face. I hope that we will leave that conference hall with our differences resolved, we may also leave it at war with one another. Either way, this crisis will be over.

Heinrich Zimmermann
Chancellor of Deustcheuropa"

[Grelleion]

04 02 2020

[FogTV]

Afternoon News

Ministry of Foreign Affairs has invited leaders of IUSR to discuss common foreign policy.

Owl Steelworks has won the contract to build a new class of carriers. The class will consist of 4 fusion powered 580 meter long ships. The ships will possess extensive point defence system and utilise advanced point defence AI, EMP protection and will be able to carry over 130 aircraft. The new ships will have advanced automation and food production allowing for a smaller crew complement and long range operations. "These carriers will be our first line of defence and allow us to protect our vital shipping lanes" Minister of Defence told our reporters.

This morning the first module of Aegis station has been launched successfully. Aegis station will be placed in a geostationary orbit above Grelleion and by the end of this year it will support 20 cosmonauts. It will be the basis for Grelleionian space exploration and serve as orbital research center.

[Uponda]

February 5th
As of recent events, the Upondian Army has invaded Coytra. The Upondian government has requested the map makers of Wintercrest to change the map of Uponda.

Now that the government has the map issue sorted, he takes a paper, a pen, and starts writing a letter.

[New yugoslavaia]

Monday, February 3rd, 2020

The News from the south had been met with great interest in Deutscheuropa. Tensions were growing, and it seemed that war may be on the horizon. Chancellor Zimmermann had spoken with his cabinet, the king, and the Reichstag, now all he needed to do was tell the leaders of the world, he started to write:

"To the Leaders of Wintercrest,

As artefacts are stolen and threats of war are being exchanged across letters, the temperature of this crisis is rising. I hope that bloodshed can still be avoided, so I am inviting you, and the leaders of all the other nations on this continent, to a conference in my nation's capital city of Karau. There, we may all discuss our differences face to face. I hope that we will leave that conference hall with our differences resolved, we may also leave it at war with one another. Either way, this crisis will be over.

Heinrich Zimmermann
Chancellor of Deustcheuropa"

4/2/2020:
After reading the message from Deutscheuropa again, the President decided that he would go to the meeting. While he saw the liberation of the Ukrainian people as necessary, war would be a last resort. There was too much at stake for it to be wanted by most, such as the rocket project and, more importantly, his own people. Now, the opportunity had risen for him to potentially get what he wanted with none of the negative consequences.
What also helped was that Ukraine had agreed to consider his ultimatum, rather than just dismissing it. Things were looking up for him, Kriska and the region. Maybe Ukraine too.
But now, he had to make a response to both countries…

Dear Heinrich Zimmermann.
I have taken your concerns into consideration and I have to agree with them. The last thing this continent needs is an all out war. However, I believe it is vital that the people of Ukraine are given the liberties the deserve. This will help us achieve that goal with little to no bloodshed. As a result, I will be joining the conference in order to negotiate solutions to current problems. See you there, comrade.

William Issac Pavlov.
President of the Kriskan Confederacy.

And now for Ukraine.

Dear Anzhela Myronuk.
I am more than pleased to hear that your government is taking the time and effort to consider our desires, or as you put, ultimatum. Hopefully, the upcoming elections will bring a positive regime change to your nation. May we find peaceful solutions to our problems, even in times like these.

William Issac Pavlov.
President of the Kriskan Confederacy.

[Velyka-Ukrayina]

6th of February, 2020

Anzhela once again looked at the report that the investigation team working on the trident case had sent her, closed her eyes, and thought to herself for a moment.

According to the report, three nearly identical men in dark hoods with duffel bags had been seen entering different masonry authentication buildings across the continent. One was found in Durres, a city within the Union, one was found in St. Hewlett, a city within the Osean Federation, and the final one was found within Seglivokok, a city within Zogta.

Opening her eyes, she called up the aide who she had previously tasked with overseeing the investigation team.

"I have read the report that your men had sent me. For the time being, I suggest for the man who had been seen within Durres to be investigated further, though I urge you to continue to keep any spies or informants the team has within international territories away from prying eyes to the best of your ability. Don't let me down with this."

Putting down the phone, she let out a sigh before opening up the response message she had received from the Kriskan administration. Once she was through reading it, a smile began to form on her face.

"Well, that was easy, " she muttered.

[The Confederated Socialist States]

Friday, February 7th, 2020

-----Classified-----
Dmitri looked through shaded binoculars at the Stone Owl Masonry Authentication building in Durres. He was sitting in the abandoned 28th floor of an office building, and at his side was a 338 Lapua Magnum, a high powered semi-automatic rifle. The intense evening wind whipped around him as he looked down at the ground, but he didn't mind. A group of three inconspicuous businessmen in suits were gathered near the front, with a mediocre attempt at forging a famous Dentrozois, from the collection of an unknown but skilled artist, in their hands. Through the bug he had planted on one of them when they went in about an hour earlier, which of course was a Grelleionian model to deflect suspicion, he was able to hear their conversation.
"Tryastsya! There was nothing here, and if I know a city like Durres, he's probably already onto us!" exclaimed one of the men, wearing a pin-stripe vest and a burgundy tie. The man opposite from him spoke up.
"Chill out, Maxim. We took every available precaution. Unless he knew who we were, followed us in, planted a bug on us without us, some of the best spies in the world, noticing, and then got out safely with the info-" Maxim quickly interrupted.
"Oh, really, Grigoriy? And how do we even know it was here to begin with?"
"Because Prime Minister Myronyuk seemed sure, that's how!" It looked like Maxim was about to raise his voice, but the man in the middle put his hands up, and Maxim fell silent.
"Clearly, the best way to make sure nobody has been bugged," he started in a deep, smooth voice, "is to check our pockets. Can we all do that?" The way he spoke made it clear that this was not a request, but an order. Both Maxim and Grigoriy briefly searched their pockets, until Maxim found the bug in his vest pocket. He pulled it out and held it in front of him. Dmitri, still in his perch, smiled and adjusted his rifle.
"What is this?" Maxim scowled at the bug.
"Well, it looks like it's a bug!" Grigoriy said helpfully, then frowned. Wait, he thought. That's not a good thing. The man in the middle grabbed them both.
"Get down, you idiots!" At that precise moment, Dmitri fired a single, perfectly aimed shot at the listening device, which blasted it into pieces, and hit Maxim in the shoulder. Good, Dmitri thought, that should prevent him from being seen for a while. He was too suspicious for his own good. Suddenly, some freak blackout hit the square, making it even harder to see in the already dim light. When the lights came back on, Dmitri was gone, along with his equipment. The man who had previously been in the center stood up slowly and looked around. The bug was irreparable, so there was no way they were getting any info off that. He would, unfortunately, have to report to Anzhela Myronyuk that they had suffered a casualty and had failed to get the info, so that was also a negative. None of this was a great situation. Suspiciously, everybody in the square had disappeared, but that was most likely due to the shots. The only good thing was that the Union, Durres in particular, was remarkably easy to exfiltrate from, due to the numerous suspicious shootings, helicopter landings, and submarine surfacings. He scoffed. Luckily, Maxim had gotten a good look at the Grelleionian device. He started walking away, motioning to Grigoriy to bring the injured Maxim with.

[Velyka-Ukrayina]

8th of February, 2020

Anzhela once again let out a stressed sigh as she read through the transcript of her call with the Union official.

She could simply have a copy of the statue's original trident forged, she thought to herself, as, after all, the Ukrainian government did have the item's exact measurements and weight recorded within one of the administration's many information files. On the other hand, it would be nice to have the original copy of the relic back where it properly belonged...

Picking up a pen and a blank piece of paper, she began to write.

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

To Grelleion's leadership

I am sure you may, by now, know of the trident that was stolen from one of the most historic statues within Ukraine. Regarding such a subject, my administration has recently received a report stating, in one way or another, that the trident's current location is likely to be in a certain warehouse located within your country's capital, Verki.

Would Ukrainian law enforcement officials be, by chance, permitted to search the warehouse for any evidence related to the stolen artifact? If not, could your nation's own law enforcement service be able to search the locale on Kyiv's behalf?

The warehouse in question is one reportedly owned by the firm "Dodola-Perun Incorporated".

Anzhela Myronyuk

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

[Grelleion]

09 02 2020
2020 elections are behind us.
All votes have been counted and the final results are:
Nova Party with 28%
Communist Party of Grelleion 18%
Grelleion Greens 16%
Grelleion First Party 15%
Liberty 9%
Union of Democrats 8%
Karkaz Independence Party 3%
Grelleion Socialist Party 3%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breaking News
Trident of Mother Ukraine a Ukrainian statue regarded as one of the most important cultural symbols of Ukraine has been stolen. The Ukrainian government has requested permission to search warehouse in Verki rented by Dodola-Perun Inc. for possible evidence.
Our reporters spoke to Vladislav Jorki chief of Verki Police Department:
Reporter: Is it true that Ukrainian government requested permission to investigate?
Chief: The Ukrainian government has asked us to investigate.
Reporter: Has the Verki Police found anything in the warehouse?
Chief: We haven’t found anything related to the case yet, but we’re still investigating.
Reporter: How long will the investigation last?
Chief: We’re investigating this case very thoroughly.
Chief Jorki has refused to answer further questions saying he had a lot of paperwork to do.
The stolen item is a Ukrainian trident belonging to steel and brass statue of Mother Ukraine. She is depicted piercing a monster – representing the country’s foes.

[Uponda]

"A full out rebellion has broken out in the City of Borohens, Uponda. The rebels have seized control over the city and are invading into our camps in the Borohen Forest. This has inspired some cities along the western border to join the revolution. The rebels are refusing to negotiate, therefore we don't know their demands. Yesterday when you declared the military to go to the rebellion borders, a few western cities joined the rebellion." Minister of National Affairs speaks.

"Yes, I know. If they don't want to negotiate, then I say we send in full military forces. The air force should start bombing their camps." Gonereth Zeimana says.

"Alright, sir. Contacting Minister of Defence." Minister of National Affairs takes out his phone and calls Minister of Defence.
The leader leaves to take a walk in the park at night time.

THE NEXT DAY - 11th of February

The leader has been found dead in the park. Bladim Zenin has seized control as the new Leader of Uponda until Gonereth Zeimana's son, Tarkos Zeimana has reached the age of 25. He is currently 14.

Bladim Zenin is the new leader of Uponda. Curfew has been set in the capital until every citizen is checked and questioned about what they were doing at the night of the murder.

[Uponda]

"The suspects have been arrested for the murder of Gonreth Zeimana, they will be standing trial next week. Curfew has not been lifted yet, anyone trying to leave or enter the city will be told to go back and if they do not listen, they will be shot on sight. Curfew begins at 5 pm, businesses will have to close before 7 pm and essential businesses stay open. Citizens that leave their houses after curfew will be fined up to 15000 r̴ (3000 USD). Do not leave your house after midnight or you'll be shot on sight." Bladim Zenin listens to the news on the tv.

Zenin gets out of his private office and heads to the elevator. After the elevator reaches Floor D2, Zenin gets out and heads to a vault door which is guarded by 2 guards. The guards salute him and then lets him in, opening the door and closing it after Zenin had gone in. The hallway lead to a bunker, where there was a meeting table with 2 people sitting beside it. Zenin takes a seat and starts talking.

"Ansan are you gonna take out Tarkos Zeimana or will I arrest you for murdering the president?" Zenin asks to the man on the right. "No worries Sir Zenin, I will take him out this evening. And then the whole nation will be under your control" Ansan said with an evil grin. "Very well Ansan. Defence Minister, you have heard enough. Tell me the situation in Borohens" Zenin says with a serious face. "We-well you see, we have currently taken the northern part of the island, but there are Gu-Guerillas everywhere, attacking our troops every hour or so." The Defence Minister says with fear on his face. "I be-better go, Si-Sir Zenin" The Defence Minister rushes for the door but is stopped by the guards there.

"Uh-uh Defence Minister, you have heard too much. We will say the defence minister got murdered during curfew in midnight, the guards didn't see the murderers face, as the murderer escaped and hid somewhere in the city. I can't let you stop me from taking over the city!" Zenin pulls out a hand pistol and shoots Defence Minister on the spot. The guards pull his body away and the clean up crew starts cleaning the mess of blood. Zenin leaves the bunker to his office and rests there for the day.

[New yugoslavaia]

OOC: Umm...this RP is kind of...dead.