Home Away From Home [IC Closed to Austritaria]

[Mon Balvedos]

10:35 AM, Ulivien Union Secretariat Building, Downtown Menirich, Afrigidoloco

"Yes, I just got out of the first meeting with the Monpiterrean Delegation..I have not raised that issue yet, because I don't think it's appropriate to..well who are you to tell me? I'm just a Delegate! Whatever the arseholes at the top tell me what to say, I have to say it! If they tell me not to say something, then I don't say it..... alright, i'll be back in Mon Balvedos this evening.. got a meeting with the Defence Department officials.. yeah it's about the proposed Joint Naval Base in Monpiterre.. Alright, good bye."

Placing the phone back in her purse, Susanna she moves down the steps of the glittering building behind her, and onto the street, trying to flag down a taxi back to her Menirich Residence. Being the youngest of the Balvedosian Delegates, she's used to be delegated the 'less important' roles of a diplomat. Usually, most diplomats would be privileged with fancy dinners, black tie events and not short meet and greets with newcomers. Nonetheless, for a 32 year old, who only graduated 4 years ago, this career for her right now is still a very prestigious one. Finally hailing a cab, she would get inside one of the many typical green coloured cabs of Menirich. Breathing in and out heavily, she lowers the windows of the cab, as she wipes a sheen of sweat from her forehead. Having come from the Northern States of Mon Balvedos, the tropical climate of Afrigidoloco would take some getting used to. Menirich itself, is enjoyable for her, the nightlife is vibrant, the people are friendly... alright, somewhat friendly, and a majority like the Ulivien Union.

"Excuse me sir? can you turn on the air conditioning?" Moving forward slightly to ask the driver. The driver, a man in his late 30s turns his head slightly to respond to the woman. "Sure thing miss..if you'd mind putting the windows back up.." Susanna nods as she pulls the windows back up with a touch of a button. "You ain't from Afrigidoloco, I take it? Got a bit of an accent, so where ya from? Icrum? Proticata? Mon Balvedos..?" The driver would look at her briefly with the rear view mirror. Susanna, not really used to taxi chit-chat would smile pleasantly back at the driver, as the cool rush of the air conditioning hits her. "Mon Balvedos..." Susanna replies back, not really wanting to elaborate more on her being a delegate. "I take it you're some sort of big shot diplomat as well? That building you came out of used to be the Main City Hall, up until the Union arrived and set up shop. Oh, and dont worry, i love the Ulivien Union, first time our family managed to go on a vacation overseas because of their new whatsit called again? tourism plans or whatever. Took the wife and two kids to Proticata, strict country, but great holiday destination.." Susanna would smile and chuckle at times, throughout the cabbie's story, at times she would answer the odd question here and there regarding what she thought of Afrigidoloco. A while later, the taxi would stop infront of a gated complex, guarded by soldiers with red berets. "Embassy of the Federal Republic of Mon Balvedos" the sign at the front would read. Susanna would pay the driver, and hop out of the car, waving goodbye to the kindly cabbie.

The accommodation for the diplomats is not that fancy, but considering the prices of the inner-city hotels and lodging in Menirich, Susanna would gladly take living with her colleagues any day. Walking up to the gate, she would flash her I.D. to the gate guards, who would do a final check of her purse. Striding up the short path up to the Embassy proper, she would be greeted with a busier lobby than usual. The entrance hall would be filled with similarly attired suit and tie personnel, but the main difference is that there are several military officers present. Seeing the patches on their shoulders, Susanna would discern that some are from Proticata, some Mon Balvedos, and some bearing the same seal as the flag of the delegates she met today; Monpiterrean. Walking up to one of her colleagues, she'd gesture towards the crowd.

"So, what's up with the turn out? "

Her colleague would look at her curiously, as if trying to figure out if what she said was sarcastic. "Susanna, unless you're out of the loop, the Defense Secretary is here, and the delegation as well as the Ambassador and several other military officials are about to have a meeting." Susanna nods as if to understand, but at the same trying to look informed. "Right, of course.. what's it about again..?"

"Well, we'll find out soon, the meeting hall is opened.." Her colleague would reply before ushering her into the room. The two would take their seats in the large 50 person meeting hall of the embassy, usually reserved for press conferences. The Defense Secretary Ernesto Valen, would take a seat at the front with their head of delegation; Vittorio Almeida and several other military officers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've called this meeting together to announce a proposal spearheaded by our own Mon Balvedosian officers and in cooperation with the Proticatan Military. The recent induction of Monpiterre into the Ulivien Union has been nothing but beneficial to both sides of the equation. Monpiterre with its vibrant culture and eagerness to join us, is a welcome addition. However, we must also consider the security of our new member, as well as the overall security of the Ulivien Union. For now this project is between Monpiterrean Officials, Proticatan Officers and Mon Balvedosian Officers. Rest assured, the Ulivien Union will fully benefit from this, but for now only our three countries are directly involved. The proposal is this, to expand and construct a large-scale Naval Base in Monpiterre, for Ulivien Union interests, this will be a monumental task, both diplomatically, and logistically, but I believe that the outcome of this will be nothing but beneficial for our nations and for the Ulivien Union."

Right as the Defense Secretary finishes, the room would explode into applause, and Susanna herself would be genuinely surprised. There was no chatter in the Delegation regarding this, only time will tell how the rest of the Union delegations would respond, and more importantly, how Vanet and other groups would respond. The applause subsides as the Head of Delegation for Mon Balvedos rises to speak.

"Friends, this proposal is in the early stages, but we will be in full cooperation with Monpiterrean, Proticatan and other Ulivien Union members in regards to this project. As such, we shall be forming a Special Committee of Oversight for this operation. I will be leading the Mon Balvedosian section of this committee, and we've also decided to appoint one of our delegates, Susanna Roxas to join us. Her dealings with the Monpiterreans and her knowledge of the area, will prove useful in the proceedings." If Susanna was surprised before, she is extremely surprised now, and a sense of, excitement, dread and fear would permeate her as she receives her own applause. Nonetheless, the task is on the table and boy what a task it is.

[Monpiterre]

10:57 AM, Solnikara Hotel, Menirich, Afrigidoloco

I forgot my badge! Suvit runs back up the stairs of the hotel, dashes into his room, and looks around frantically. Where could I have left it?! He grabs the badge, which is sitting on his desk, runs downstairs, and out into the light.

It's a bright and sunny day in Menirich, with the taxis going by on the streets passed old, grand buildings. Suvit wonders when those buildings were built. But he doesn't have time to dwell on such things now. He checks his watch.
Amaine! Suvit runs down the street and desperately hails a cab for the Mon Balvedosian Embassy. I'm going to be late! For only my second meeting!

As he gets into the cab, Suvit yawns. He arrived last night by way of Proticata, and was lodged in the Solnikara Hotel, an ancient, dilapidated place, for the night. At least it was cheap, he thinks. The Monpiterrean delegation is so new that they don't yet have an embassy.

The driver of the cab tries to converse, but Suvit doesn't know the language well enough. He's been studying Afrigidolocoan, but he's still not that good; maybe the driver is saying something about going to the beach? It's very frustrating for Suvit, and the driver seems put off a bit too by Suvit's foreign accent. Finally, the taxi arrives at the embassy, and Suvit gets out. But after he pays the cabbie, he realises that now he has no more Afrigidolocoan currency--only Monpiterrean livres.

Rushing up the front gate, Suvit shows his temporary ID badge to the guards, and then dashes through the door into the Mon Balvedosian embassy. The lobby is mostly empty, with a few officials conversing here and there. Suddenly, his colleague, Véronique Aruiatane, walks up to him.

"Amaine! Suvit, where were you? You totally missed the whole meeting-- the Mon Balvedosians want to build a naval base on Monpiterre! And Sesel appointed you on the Oversight Committee!"

Suvit doesn't know what to think. A naval base? I see why they would want it. Monpiterre is a very strategic location, but-- will our citizens be okay with it? And why am I on the committee? Sesel knows I don't have much experience, I was just a small-town mayor. "Okay, okay," he says. "Can you explain the whole thing?"

--------

2 Hours Later

After lunch and a long meeting with the head of Monpiterre's delegation, François Sesel, Suvit walks down the hall on the third floor of the Mon Balvedosian embassy, who have kindly allowed the Monpiterrean officials to stay there until another residence is found for them. Behind him, Suvit hears someone down the hall following him.

"Mr. Thévenet!" the person shouts. They have a recognisably Monpiterrean voice. "Mr. Thévenet! I'd like to talk with you!" The person strides up to his side. He is a man, with a long, bushy beard, and, from what Suvit can tell, is a Monpiterrean official. "Hello, my name is Frédéric Girardot," he says. "I don't think we've met before. I'm one of the Ulivien Union delegates, like you." He pulls Suvit into a room on the side of the hall; his office. "Come sit down."

He talks in a hushed whisper, leaning towards Suvit on the table. "Mr. Thévenet, I have a proposition to discuss with you. You see, I have a company, it builds ships. It's one of the biggest in Monpiterre. Now, I'll give you a bunch of shares in the company, we can split the profit, and a bunch of other things, if you'll do this: I want you to get that naval base built, no matter what, but you have to make sure it's a couple sizes too large for what the Union needs. That's what I want you to do. No questions. Deal?"

[Mon Balvedos]

The next day, Vermonios, Mon Balvedosian Executive Capitol, 14:30 (Mon Balvedos Standard Time)

"Commence link up in 3...2...1... sir, connection established, encrypted and secure. Ready to go."

The dimly lit meeting room is just one of the many meeting rooms in the Executive Complex of Mon Balvedos, a compound housing the Co-Chancellor's residences, different buildings for press conferences, and different departments. Within the Department of Foreign Affairs' section, the several foreign affairs officials, their aides and Co-Chancellor Salo, who was recently elected after the Aresalo Outbreak await the go-ahead from the other technicians that their colleagues in Menirich, Afrigidoloco are ready to begin the conference.

"Madam Chancellor, the Embassy in Menirich is ready to begin as well." the gray-uniformed technician spins around to face Salo. Upon receiving her approval the technician would turn back to his console.

"On screen" Salo would say, quickly.

The Red Eagle Seal of Mon Balvedos would suddenly dissappear on the viewscreen, and is replaced by three separate individual images. On the right, Head of the Mon Balvedosian Delegation to the Ulivien Union, Vittorio Almeida, in the centre Fleet Admiral Maria Bienvista and in the left, a rather stoic looking Susanna Roxas. Behind her attempts at a serious stoic demeanour, it was obvious to the "veteran policy makers and politicians" in the room that she was trying hard to make herself look professional, especially for a low-level official like herself to be included in a meeting with the Admiral and Co-Chancellor.

"Your excellency, ladies and gentlemen, as you have already heard, the initial meeting with the Monpiterreans regarding the Proposed Joint Naval Base in their country was a positive start. Vittorio, would speak rather slowly, making sure to enunciate his words carefully.

"So far, we're set to have our second Oversight meeting with the Monpiterreans at the Ulivien Union Secretariat Building in later tonight, Afrigidoloco Time. It will be a public meeting, so that means members of the press will be in attendance. And as our proposal is dealing with military affairs, we've already had to deal with dissenters, mainly from Afrigidolocoan anti-military proliferation groups and anti-Ulivien Union protesters. Rest assured however, the location will be secure. The Monpiterreans are more than cooperative in this endeavour so far. I am now open to questions.

Vittorio leans back in his chair as he completes his portion of the presentation. The officials from the Foreign Affairs delegation would look around the room, waiting for someone to speak. All heads turn towards Co-Chancellor Salo, as she speaks.

"Vittorio, have we received any word from other Ulivien Union members regarding this? Or have we received any messages from other Governments?

Vittorio, would nod before talking once more "Good question, Madam Chancellor, and so far we've received no such correspondence. But we have some intelligence leading to the idea that we are going to be receiving some interferance from other nations, in the next few days or weeks. Other than that there is only unsubstantiated information."

As Vittorio finished, the room became silent for a while, as the Co-Chancellor and the Foreign Affairs representatives passed glances to each other. The meeting goes on for another hour and a half, Susanna, presented her findings, which mainly involved possible Monpiterrean reactions to the possibility of the Naval Base. After a while, the Co-Chancellor would close the meeting.

At the same time, Mon Balvedosian Embassy, Menirich, Afrigidoloco 18:30 (Afrigidoloco Standard Time)

As the meeting concludes, the Mon Balvedosian delegation exits the room. Susanna herself heads to her quarters, but not before an embassy guard runs towards Head Delegate Almeida. "Sir, ma'am, we have a situation outside the Embassy.. we've closed the gates as a precaution and ordered the guards to arm themselves. There's a large group of protesters outside the complex.."

Vittorio's eyes widen slightly before rushing to a window down the hall of the second floor to examine the situation unfolding outside. There he sees dozens of people, some Afrigidolocoan and some foreigners holding banners, signs and some wearing facial masks. Vittorio squints slightly to read the words on one of the biggest banners. 'NO TO THE NAVAL BASE' Other banners read things such as 'AFRIGIDOLOCO OUT OF THE UNION while some more read 'REMEMBER ARESALO'. Susanna follows Vittorio and takes a look outside the window as well. "Sir, this is not really surprising.. the proposal regarding the Naval Base was public..but the next meeting with the Monpiterreans is suppose to be tonight at the Secretariat Building, what do we do?"

Vittorio looks back at Susanna with a face much more serious than his usual demeanor. "Well, we could still go, but we'll just have a harder time getting to the vehicles.."

"No! No one is leaving the Embassy, the Monpiterreans will have to reschedule.. however we could still get some progress since the Monpiterrean Ulivien Union delegation does reside here.. but we'll have to make sure all of them are here." The Mon Balvedosian Ambassador interrupts the conversation, looking quite flustered as well. "I'm also placing the entire complex on lock-down.. we've just received a bomb threat.."

[Monpiterre]

Ulivien Union Secretariat Building, Menirich, Afrigidoloco, 20:47

"Okay. I think everyone's here. Let's connect." François Sesel, head of the Monpiterrean delegation, opens his computer and enters the addresses. After a moment, icons of the Foreign Ministry and Defence Ministry pop up. Small circles rotate on the screen as they wait for the ministers to log on. Finally, the Monpiterrean Foreign Minister, Saint-Germain, appears on the computer, followed by André Montreuil, the Defence Minister.

The Monpiterrean Delegation in Menirich is gathered around the meeting table in a dark conference room on the second floor of the Secretariat Building. As they wait to begin the NetConference, Suvit looks around the room at his colleagues— Sesel, one of the most revered senior politicians in Monpiterre; Ladin, he doesn't know too well, but a former coast guard man; Aruiatane, the one person Suvit knows really well here; and... Frédéric Girardot. Girardot smiles at him.

"Welcome," François Sesel begins. "We need to discuss what to say at the next meeting with the Mon Balvedosian and Proticatan representatives."

To be continued very soon…