Siberian Sun [IC/Closed]

[Gonswanza]

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The time has come. Deep in Siberia, far to the east, and nestled in the vast forests of Siberia, northeast of Krasnoyarsk, a large settlement was built up complete with a "skyscraper" and various other amenities including a functioning LNG plant, refinery, water treatment plant, water towers, and other structures. The whole town of "Atomville" was populated with nobody in particular, even having empty bunkers manned by what are effectively ghosts, as the warhead was already planted and primed for detonation. Of course, the nearby temporary airport and observation stations were also set for their time in the limelight, as the international community was summoned to this very spot to bear witness to the future.

The small dirt airstrip made from Marston matting was reinforced lightly with additional sand and netting, in order to keep it from buckling under the weight of incoming aircraft, though the 1.8km strip was... Rather large for something meant to be temporary. Yet, the nearby taxiway was of similar length, with a vast area cleared for holding aircraft while a low-lying control tower was also set nearby. Meanwhile, the TSR would offer it's bounty to those who instead insisted on traveling by train, with a waiting coach prepared to take them to the observation site.

Ortiz of course made her own entrance, using an airdrop instead, with an Mi-26 due to pick her up later once the event came to pass, as preparations were made for the guests. Food was cooked and rolled out, drinks chilled rapidly on dry ice, as an absolute banquet was held in the observation area for the incoming reps. All in time for the incoming foreigners, though it was expected that they would at least be courteous while Faust roams around in known "safe" zones, prepared to engage any wayward bandits, along with a presence within the observation area should trouble arise.

ISIC:
Of course, the "town" wasn't completely devoid of life. There were prisoners, instructed to live there given their freedom, with food, water, even sewage, and other luxuries seldom afforded to marooned traitors. Yet, they were left unaware of the purpose of the town or the test, though they were trapped within regardless. A high fence around the area, combined with patrols from Faust, ensured that escape was near impossible. Not that they'd live for long beyond the confines of the town. All in the name of science.

[The Yorkish]

Olonets, Veps, Ingira, Don, Crimea, Caucasus |Unknown Time

---

"This is.. no.. get ahold of yourself." A sudden pain on his right cheek would arise.. from his hand. Slapping himself awake, drooping eyes struggling to open. Ronald would place his head on his arms, essentially laying on the table. He could feel how cold it was, the wood was freezing - just like him. The warmth the AC was giving was not helping, you could even see small flakes of snow dropping down into the ground. The trees weren't recognizable, pitch white - not one sight of green anywhere. This weather was harsher then back in New York. That couldn't matter, looking out the window - he saw what could be described as the Yenisei River. Above it - the skyscraper mentioned in the note given to him quite some time promptly.

"A cup of coffee, would you care to have this?" An unfamiliar voice crossed his ears, behind him - Ronald would turn around to see a man dressed in cold occasion. He must've been a butler of sorts.. no? Looking down, spotting a small silver platter with a white cup of coffee - steam rising up from the beverage.

"Ah.. sure. I'd appreciate this, thank you kindly." He'd slowly reach out to grab the plate, placing it down onto the table - his hands.. shaking slightly. Grabbing onto the small handle, Ronald would rise the cup up to his lips, touching it slightly. Steadily, the man would pour the coffee down his throat - taking small sips. It tasted.. and even felt.. good.

The butler would just stare, before leaving Ronald to be. Looking over to the window again, he would notice the skyscraper was closer than before. The comms of the train suddenly flicker - before the conductor spoke out. "We'll be arriving any minute now, please make your way to the exit doors to leave." A small smile formed, creasing his lips - he was happy to arrive at his destination. Until realization had hit him, he would have to leave out into the frigid cold weather. Though.. he was hoping someone would be there to pick him up.

The TSR would abruptly stop, throwing Ronald onto the table - spilling his coffee and breaking the glass. A groan could be heard, he felt dizzy - but before anyone could reach him he would reorganize himself and sprint out of the train. Not wanting to be caught, and not having to pay.. any fees. Though - Ronald saw a strange man just standing there, it looked almost as if.. they were staring at him.

"Er.. hello? Are you.. waiting for me?" Ronald would point at himself, waving at the man aswell. Slowly.. he would approach him.

[Surana]

Unknown Time, somewhere around the skies of tomsk

---

Tanithel Qurt looked down at the serene landscape of Tomsk, a vast landscape of nothing but trees and forests, something like this couldn't even be dreamt of in the Levant region where she lived. Tanithel looked at the clear skies and played down in the cushions of the modified Suranan Falcon 8x, having the official National Suranan emblem on the sides of Jet, a pretty comfortable jet she determined. Tanithel, although being very sensitive to the cold, decided not to really bring anything other than a black scarf and an old Ushanka, one which she found in rural Kazakhstan when she was far younger, born in a Phoenician immigrant family in Kazakhstan she determined that since she did live in the cold when she was younger she could stay there for at least a few days in the cold again. She had brought with her a handgun, just in case if something goes wrong, a pair of glasses due to her eye conditions, and a cellular device for communication. '

It was a pretty exciting prospect, being one of the first people to witness this new powerful, destructive technology first-hand, it was also an opportunity to establish connections with Global Powers like Gonswanza and other nations, and possibly acquiring certain objectives for the National Republic of Surana.

She was getting a little hungry, although she did have food in the Jet she decided to be a respectful guest and just eat at the site, "Atomville" (what a funny name), assuming there was food there. Hopefully they had some Wine there, she really liked the taste of it, just in case if they didn't she brought some in the Jet.

(Hopefully this is enough, couldn't really think much more to add)

[The Scandoslavic Empire]

Skies of Siberia | Type-145 Designation T-145-380

---

Yuriy Aleksandrov sat idly in one of the more luxurious chairs on his Type-145. The view below was nothing unusual to him, and was actually kind of comforting. Siberia reminded him of his homeland, with the rolling hills of snow and the everlasting lines of trees that disappeared into the horizon. In a lot of ways, it was almost as if he never left Scandoslavia. He was used to extreme climates, and the temperatures in Siberia were undoubtedly cold. He wore a formal BTA uniform, which resembled that of the Army Commander uniform. The only fireaerm he had on him was a VT-M18 with a box magazine and the stock folded over the top of the gun itself. Other than that, he had a simple 10-inch combat knife hidden in his trenchcoat.

Aleksandrov's Type-145 was a special model, without the usual armaments that were found on service Type-145s. The tail rudder of Aleksandrov's airship bore the Victory Star, the most recognizable Scandoslavic symbol. On the front, the air-ram "ax head" was painted a blue-white-blue horizontal tricolor, something that wasn't standard to any other Scanndoslavic airship.

Aleksandrov heard a knock on the door, and a Senior Lieutenant opened it a moment later. "Chairman, we've arrived. We're bringing the airship down now." he said, before closing the door. Aleksandrov stood up from his chair, grabbed his cap, and walked out of the airship. He had arrived.

[The Way Sun Cooperation]

Somewhere above Serbia, Q-545 Private Jet

---

The Q-545 luxury private jet was smaller than Commander Bennet was used to, having been commandeered from the Presidents fleet to specifically to land on the less than ideal terrain that faced them. It had been fitted with all the plush decorations an aircraft can have designed to move the president and his entourage place to place without the attention the Presidential jet larger cousins would bring. He had been accompanied by the standards entourage of security and his personal aide. There duty was set into two main goes with several dozen off shoots but the missions core was to Observe and make connections with the worlds nuclear powers.

He sat idly in a chair as he looked at his laptop, he was reading through news reports, one caught his eye about an attack in Bakovia but he quickly switched to the itinerary of the tests. As he dug into it, the pilot blared across the intercom for a few seconds. "Landing within the next thirty minutes". This triggered a flurry of activity as the three Central Intelligence Directorate agents tasked with escorting the commander prepped there weapons one last time to insure they would function. They where equipped unusably highly, with two AX-01 Submachine guns alongside the standard YTX Pistols and a single Sand stone Shotgun a hunting weapons designed to down polar bears... hopefully unessacry.

The prospect of the test had began to excite Mr. Johnson, it was his first time outside the cooperation yet alone to such a high profile test and event. But he was a military officer first with his duty to complete the Commanders bidding before socialising.

OOC: Hope this is good enough any suggestions would be welcomed TG me or give me a shout in the OOC.

[Gonswanza]

Olonets, Veps, Ingira, Don, Crimea, Caucasus |Unknown Time

---

"This is.. no.. get ahold of yourself." A sudden pain on his right cheek would arise.. from his hand. Slapping himself awake, drooping eyes struggling to open. Ronald would place his head on his arms, essentially laying on the table. He could feel how cold it was, the wood was freezing - just like him. The warmth the AC was giving was not helping, you could even see small flakes of snow dropping down into the ground. The trees weren't recognizable, pitch white - not one sight of green anywhere. This weather was harsher then back in New York. That couldn't matter, looking out the window - he saw what could be described as the Yenisei River. Above it - the skyscraper mentioned in the note given to him quite some time promptly.

"A cup of coffee, would you care to have this?" An unfamiliar voice crossed his ears, behind him - Ronald would turn around to see a man dressed in cold occasion. He must've been a butler of sorts.. no? Looking down, spotting a small silver platter with a white cup of coffee - steam rising up from the beverage.

"Ah.. sure. I'd appreciate this, thank you kindly." He'd slowly reach out to grab the plate, placing it down onto the table - his hands.. shaking slightly. Grabbing onto the small handle, Ronald would rise the cup up to his lips, touching it slightly. Steadily, the man would pour the coffee down his throat - taking small sips. It tasted.. and even felt.. good.

The butler would just stare, before leaving Ronald to be. Looking over to the window again, he would notice the skyscraper was closer than before. The comms of the train suddenly flicker - before the conductor spoke out. "We'll be arriving any minute now, please make your way to the exit doors to leave." A small smile formed, creasing his lips - he was happy to arrive at his destination. Until realization had hit him, he would have to leave out into the frigid cold weather. Though.. he was hoping someone would be there to pick him up.

The TSR would abruptly stop, throwing Ronald onto the table - spilling his coffee and breaking the glass. A groan could be heard, he felt dizzy - but before anyone could reach him he would reorganize himself and sprint out of the train. Not wanting to be caught, and not having to pay.. any fees. Though - Ronald saw a strange man just standing there, it looked almost as if.. they were staring at him.

"Er.. hello? Are you.. waiting for me?" Ronald would point at himself, waving at the man aswell. Slowly.. he would approach him.

The man, donning arctic warfare gear, though seemingly unarmed, would offer a simple nod, before gesturing to the idling coaach bus. The others had yet to depart, of course, but time was available to get one bearings in the frosty arctic air.

The others would arrive to the dirt-and-sand airstrip, a simple construct cut from the forest, though air traffic controllers and men on the ground helped direct taxiing aircraft and idle engines to their spaces, with the tall radio tower assisting in that.

On the ground they would be debriefed by Faust's own, security details being told aboit the test, with leaders and diplomats assured that no harm will come to them.

In the far distance, the mock-city turned target idled, with only those beyond it being aware of its predetermined fate.

[Isla Byron]

Judith sleeps, her mouth agape like a dead grandma who passed in an Applebees. It would be a while until she came to, or came to anything for that matter. For the past several days she and her 'partner,' Nadezhda Azimov, (whom she opted to call her 'Naddy' or 'Nads' to her dismay,) have been travelling across all of the great Russias or whatever they called it in the brochure. Moscow was the first stop in Russia from many other godforsaken places, and that was when she realized she packed too little clothes. After having fun with the Moscow girls for too short of a day, Jude left with Nads on the worst journey of her life so far.

This 'vacation' was the worst. It was too comfortable to be work, but too uncomfortable to be actual fun despite her first day in Russia. It was just trains and hotels and taxis and cold showers, and even worse, the outside cold. Every time she went outside after a shower she could almost feel the water freeze in her eardrums and the curls of her hair freeze in place. And god, why did she get a haircut before this!? The shaved parts of her skull were defenseless victims of the biting, inhuman weather.

Nads shook her awake. She was tweaking out about something on her computer. Judith was rather metaphorically pulled through the train by ear, carrying luggage both hers and not and thrust back into the cold as they were forced into a bus by masked men cloaked in baggy white clothing. Now she was sitting on another set piece of public transportation, this time smelling of diesel or something, nothing that Judith can identify by nose alone. Nads was still tweaking, scrolling past webpages quickly when they had internet. Now on the bus, she has no Wi-Fi, no real connection to the outside world. Now she's just leaning forward, bouncing her leg up and down. There's a lot that goes in her mind, Nads, not Judith. Judith can imagine what she could be thinking, maybe something along the lines of 'how can I make money off this' or 'why am I stuck with this nasty, brutish woman.'

She always thought this was ironic, she's the nasty one.

[British Arzelentaxmacone]

Mari’s was a reasonably nice compartment - at least, not uncomfortable. Whilst the quarters was still rather small, they appeared to have made the most of the space, her single bed sat in the corner, overlooked by a window, whilst an armchair and a bookcase was on the other side, situated beside her laptop, which she had been avidly using during her journey. When Mari wasn’t using her laptop, she was sat at the window upon her bed, head in her hand as she watched the world go by, the snowfall reminding her bittersweetly of her homeland in British Arzelentaxmacone. Of course she missed it - why wouldn’t she? She was born there, during the war, and grew up there - as hellish as things were, she of course found the place to be her home, whether a good or bad one.

But things were different now. Her friends, gone, separated by the upheaval in the wake of war and unrest.. the Leader in Daeva, the rest scattered across boardrooms. She didn’t think about them all the time, truthfully, but that wasn’t to say she didn’t miss them somewhat. Still, Mari was very happy living in Gonswanza with Laura Ortiz. She admired the dictator, a feeling that she rarely felt for anybody other than herself, and considered herself Ortiz’s biggest fan.

It was part of the reason she was looking forwards to the event so much. For the day, she had donned her rarely-worn black uniform, which she had specially sewn up around the edges with golden thread to create a more fashionable look. Proudly admiring her work, she polished the medal pinned to her lapel, reading ‘Minister of Defence’. It had been months since she was in the position, yet in her mind she was still deserving of the role. The way she saw it, Olaf had stolen it from her, something which only enraged her more in the wake of all the existing problems she faced back home. Mari felt betrayed. They had acted as her friends, she had trusted them and believed that they were on her side, but when it came to getting her out of hot water they were all hesitant and unwilling to aid her. But they’d be sorry. They’d all be sorry.

Having zoned out for a few minutes, Mari too late realised that she had bit down on her lip so hard it bled, and quickly wiped away the speck of crimson blood, straightening her military uniform and running a hand through her combed black hair. Grabbing a translucent tube from her bedside table, the woman quickly unscrewed its cap and removed a single crimson pill from it, swallowing hard and sighing in relief. Perhaps it wasn’t so bad.. or maybe that was just the medicine talking. Either way, Mari decided to push such thoughts aside for now - she might as well just enjoy the remainder of the train ride until she arrived at the event. Then, she’d be able to meet some other attendees and get to see Ortiz. With a long sigh and a stretch, Mari sat back, glancing out the window as her train continued to speed along the icy rails.

[Surana]

Atomville Airstrip, Unknown Time

---

Tanithel was woken up by the Pilot, although she did have most of the entire Jet to herself, there was still some people like the plot and copilot, and a few engineers, waitresses, and two loyal bodygaurds. Huh, she must've gotten knocked out while drinking all those wine bottles. She assessed her surrondings and it seemed like she wasn't in the air anymore, no, it seems like she landed perfectly! A few minutes earlier before the Pilot was forced to wake Tanithel up, the modified Suranan Falcon 8x was seen landing in the airstrip of Atomville, pridely showing the Suranan National Emblem, it was a pretty graceful landing since the Pilot was of course skilled.

After Tanithel fully regained conciousness, she got up and stretched herself before walking toward the exit, stepping down she immediately felt the Lovecraftian breeze of the glacial Siberian air, being in Surana and the Levantine most of her life she was baffled on how hyperborean the climate in Siberia was, even her younger years in Kazakhstan wasn't even comparable. She tried to ignore the feeling and looked around the temporary but well-built airport, particularly the large towers, which she assume to be observation stations for the main event. As she continue to walk around, the cold got more and more brutish to her Phoenician skin and she was forced to run back into the private jet after only a dozen minutes of outside, shivering inside the Jet, she felt very light-headed and tried to find any other clothing she had that wasn't on her body, a jacket? a coat? she had nothing.

"W-why i-is it SO FUCKING COLD? WHICH SANE HUMAN BEING WOULD WANT TO LIVE IN THIS ARCTIC HELLHOLE RATHER THAN A PEACEFUL FIELD OF GRASS?" Tanithel said bitterly, biting her lips and hyping herself to go outside again, maybe trying to ask for a jacket? no she is supposed to represent Surana, she cant just go around asking people for a Jacket like a beggar. After a couple minutes of shouting inside the Jet, Tanithel would eventually find a formal Suranan jacket that she accidentally brought with her, although having the choice to wear a pair of gloves she decided not to, it would make handling her handgun a little harder if she's in any danger

Finally, after a while of heating herself back up, Tanithel would walk out of the Jet once again into the bitter antagonistic otherworldly environment

[European Federal Union]

Throwing up a cloud of black dusted smoke, with contrasting white snokeflakes decorating the air before turning into a soft white cussion on the ground. The lead vehicle of the train with its powerful engine, creating strong force and pulling many many different individual components behind it. Some of which had people sleeping, in others groups enjoyed a good conversation with a hot tea while enjoying the bright and clean Siberian nightsky. However in one of which, strategically located in the center of the rail, with another set of each one specialized compartment infront and behind it its special cargo travelled alongside the normal civilian traffic.

Inside of the specialized convoy, specifically the center parts of both closed off to the general public the trains special guests which warrented such a special status housed, 3 highly influential people in UESR politics including the very president which lead the executive branch. A very powerful and hard person which rather then creating some sort of threatening Aura around herself used the time in transit, eepy laying on the coutch and snozing away as her drink ordered not long ago turned into an expiriment to proof the existance of entropy. The second of the VIPs Johan Faust, was not doing much either him looking out of the window or going out for a quick phone call with a cigarette before returning in hasty search for some gum.

Only Mark, the one with the lowest possition of the three actually used the time productively, making phone calls and reading through the security briefings provided to him by the ESIC, detailed papers outlying the pressence of agents where and in which branches, as well as a detailed description of the security messures in place. Time was to sacre to make any big changes as of now, but atleast looking into the topic would still give security and possibly allow some leaks to be secured by contributing more manpower and allocating additional force permissions. Russia wasnt particularly stable, however the natural terrain and distance to anything which could reliably host human life played infavor of security here.

And soon enough the train reached the goal of the VIPs, both Mark and Johan going out and moving on as the Knight infront of the door informed them, while Sofias deep sleep cycle required the Knight to quite literally physically take and transport her to the helicopter. 

The last sprint representing a short trip torwards the target destination which was the observatory spot nuclear test. The delegation exiting the helicopter with a still quite slow and disorganized Sofia at their head, with her Knight left to her and Mark right, both armd and ready to defen her while Johan used his chance of a human shield possition himself behind them. A all or nothing gambit in which it was either a sure dead headshot or nothing.

"So, its still quite empty here, however we should slowly get the party started before the nuclear test takes on all the attention people!

[Gonswanza]

Throwing up a cloud of black dusted smoke, with contrasting white snokeflakes decorating the air before turning into a soft white cussion on the ground. The lead vehicle of the train with its powerful engine, creating strong force and pulling many many different individual components behind it. Some of which had people sleeping, in others groups enjoyed a good conversation with a hot tea while enjoying the bright and clean Siberian nightsky. However in one of which, strategically located in the center of the rail, with another set of each one specialized compartment infront and behind it its special cargo travelled alongside the normal civilian traffic.

Inside of the specialized convoy, specifically the center parts of both closed off to the general public the trains special guests which warrented such a special status housed, 3 highly influential people in UESR politics including the very president which lead the executive branch. A very powerful and hard person which rather then creating some sort of threatening Aura around herself used the time in transit, eepy laying on the coutch and snozing away as her drink ordered not long ago turned into an expiriment to proof the existance of entropy. The second of the VIPs Johan Faust, was not doing much either him looking out of the window or going out for a quick phone call with a cigarette before returning in hasty search for some gum.

Only Mark, the one with the lowest possition of the three actually used the time productively, making phone calls and reading through the security briefings provided to him by the ESIC, detailed papers outlying the pressence of agents where and in which branches, as well as a detailed description of the security messures in place. Time was to sacre to make any big changes as of now, but atleast looking into the topic would still give security and possibly allow some leaks to be secured by contributing more manpower and allocating additional force permissions. Russia wasnt particularly stable, however the natural terrain and distance to anything which could reliably host human life played infavor of security here.

And soon enough the train reached the goal of the VIPs, both Mark and Johan going out and moving on as the Knight infront of the door informed them, while Sofias deep sleep cycle required the Knight to quite literally physically take and transport her to the helicopter.

The last sprint representing a short trip torwards the target destination which was the observatory spot nuclear test. The delegation exiting the helicopter with a still quite slow and disorganized Sofia at their head, with her Knight left to her and Mark right, both armd and ready to defen her while Johan used his chance of a human shield possition himself behind them. A all or nothing gambit in which it was either a sure dead headshot or nothing.

"So, its still quite empty here, however we should slowly get the party started before the nuclear test takes on all the attention people!

Judith sleeps, her mouth agape like a dead grandma who passed in an Applebees. It would be a while until she came to, or came to anything for that matter. For the past several days she and her 'partner,' Nadezhda Azimov, (whom she opted to call her 'Naddy' or 'Nads' to her dismay,) have been travelling across all of the great Russias or whatever they called it in the brochure. Moscow was the first stop in Russia from many other godforsaken places, and that was when she realized she packed too little clothes. After having fun with the Moscow girls for too short of a day, Jude left with Nads on the worst journey of her life so far.

This 'vacation' was the worst. It was too comfortable to be work, but too uncomfortable to be actual fun despite her first day in Russia. It was just trains and hotels and taxis and cold showers, and even worse, the outside cold. Every time she went outside after a shower she could almost feel the water freeze in her eardrums and the curls of her hair freeze in place. And god, why did she get a haircut before this!? The shaved parts of her skull were defenseless victims of the biting, inhuman weather.

Nads shook her awake. She was tweaking out about something on her computer. Judith was rather metaphorically pulled through the train by ear, carrying luggage both hers and not and thrust back into the cold as they were forced into a bus by masked men cloaked in baggy white clothing. Now she was sitting on another set piece of public transportation, this time smelling of diesel or something, nothing that Judith can identify by nose alone. Nads was still tweaking, scrolling past webpages quickly when they had internet. Now on the bus, she has no Wi-Fi, no real connection to the outside world. Now she's just leaning forward, bouncing her leg up and down. There's a lot that goes in her mind, Nads, not Judith. Judith can imagine what she could be thinking, maybe something along the lines of 'how can I make money off this' or 'why am I stuck with this nasty, brutish woman.'

She always thought this was ironic, she's the nasty one.

Of course, they too were escorted to the coach, though the man in winter camo did later mutter something in Spanish over the radio, as Faust's forces soon swung into the observation area to help deal with checking in as delegates, despite earlier warnings, still brought arms and security. Not that it was necessary, given the relative isolation of the location, but it was rapidly becoming apparent that some leaders and delegates didn't read the fine print on the invitation.

At least it didn't matter much, really. The coach was slowly being filled, before soon shuttling off the first wave of delegates, dropping them off shortly at the observation area, before racing back to gather more of the sluggish ones who decided to sleep in or rest their weary legs in the train, trying to hide from the frigid cold.

Atomville Airstrip, Unknown Time

---

Tanithel was woken up by the Pilot, although she did have most of the entire Jet to herself, there was still some people like the plot and copilot, and a few engineers, waitresses, and two loyal bodygaurds. Huh, she must've gotten knocked out while drinking all those wine bottles. She assessed her surrondings and it seemed like she wasn't in the air anymore, no, it seems like she landed perfectly! A few minutes earlier before the Pilot was forced to wake Tanithel up, the modified Suranan Falcon 8x was seen landing in the airstrip of Atomville, pridely showing the Suranan National Emblem, it was a pretty graceful landing since the Pilot was of course skilled.

After Tanithel fully regained consciousness, she got up and stretched herself before walking toward the exit, stepping down she immediately felt the Lovecraftian breeze of the glacial Siberian air, being in Surana and the Levantine most of her life she was baffled on how hyperborean the climate in Siberia was, even her younger years in Kazakhstan wasn't even comparable. She tried to ignore the feeling and looked around the temporary but well-built airport, particularly the large towers, which she assume to be observation stations for the main event. As she continue to walk around, the cold got more and more brutish to her Phoenician skin and she was forced to run back into the private jet after only a dozen minutes of outside, shivering inside the Jet, she felt very light-headed and tried to find any other clothing she had that wasn't on her body, a jacket? a coat? she had nothing.

"W-why i-is it SO FUCKING COLD? WHICH SANE HUMAN BEING WOULD WANT TO LIVE IN THIS ARCTIC HELLHOLE RATHER THAN A PEACEFUL FIELD OF GRASS?" Tanithel said bitterly, biting her lips and hyping herself to go outside again, maybe trying to ask for a jacket? no she is supposed to represent Surana, she cant just go around asking people for a Jacket like a beggar. After a couple minutes of shouting inside the Jet, Tanithel would eventually find a formal Suranan jacket that she accidentally brought with her, although having the choice to wear a pair of gloves she decided not to, it would make handling her handgun a little harder if she's in any danger

Finally, after a while of heating herself back up, Tanithel would walk out of the Jet once again into the bitter antagonistic otherworldly environment

And the first sight to see? Not Ortiz, but rather, two armed guards from Faust in winter warfare kit. They were bundled up, though one of them was later dispatched to get a coat for the poor diplomat as the sole person left whistles for the group to follow them to the observation area. It was a rather flat and simple complex, raised off the ground by a concrete prefab base with a stairwell and lift inside, plus succinctly efficient heating to keep everyone inside cozy. Thick windows and an airtight seal on the doors combined with filtration systems would ensure safety, along with walls lined against radiation should the fallout (somehow) drift over to them, though this was very unlikely as the test had accounted for the weather conditions of today well into next week. And this was a one day affair, not a long extended overnight stay with the group watching and waiting for the dust to literally settle while nerds in coats scramble over the ruins.

Inside the complex, Laura Ortiz was discussing the test with a few members of Faust, proudly gloating about how this was the largest device ever tested in such a fashion by Gonswanza, and a first of it's kind, given every other underground test done in history up until this point was against the desert, mostly, or barren land in an attempt to contain the blast. There was the odd test where they wanted to see its effects against cows, but those tests were quite rare... While this test used a full mock city instead, keen on seeing it's impact against an urban area. Something that was far safer done in this fashion, rather than against an actual city, with actual people. Still, she cherished the presence of Faust, as they check in the incoming delegates and let them in, keeping a weary eye on everyone as Faust forces soon shuffle into the observation area and banquet hall just to ensure that nobody would get violent... Then again, nobody was actually crazy enough to start an international incident over some petty spat and risk getting shot in the arm over it.

[The Scandoslavic Empire]

Aleksandrov walked out of the Type-145 and took a deep breath of the frigid air. Just like home, he thought to himself with a smile.
He saw some sort of vehicle, presumably a bus, and sighed, watching the cloud of his breath dissipate into the air.
Aleksandrov motioned for his airship to move off the runway, and he began trudging across the snowy ground towards the vehicle.
Some welcome, he thought, buttoning up his trenchcoat a bit more and adjusting his cap. So much for a nice walk to the observation area.

[British Arzelentaxmacone]

As the train sped along, gradually approaching the station in doing so, Mari wandered about her compartment, occasionally pausing to use her computer or read through her diary, which she had added a passage to during the journey and planned to update later on when she had arrived at the location where the events of the day would commence. She was excited, truthfully, and lay in her bed, staring up at the oaken panelled ceiling and humming absentmindedly to herself.

The former Minister of Defence couldn’t wait to see Laura, who had become an idol of sorts to her in the past few months she had been living in Gonswanza, and was equally eager to meet some other attendees - although she did worry a little for her volatile and fragile mental health. Even Mair was cognisant of the fact that her mental state was hardly the best at the moment, and whilst medicine had succeeded in.. largely keeping it at bay, it obviously did nothing to ‘cure it’. Her schizophrenia was as bad as ever. She still saw things that weren’t real, she heard sounds that weren’t there, and for hours at a time would sit and just hallucinate. Often they were reminiscent of her political career in BA - shapes of distorted figures who would try and attack her, sounds of traitorous whispers, none of which were actually real, of course.

Still, it did little to dampen her enthusiasm. Grinning happily as the train screeched to a gradual halt, wheels grating along the rails, she climbed out of her room, hurrying along the corridor and pushing the doors to the vehicle open, looking around.

It didn’t take long for her to find the shuttle bus she needed.. although that was only after asking a number of nearby pedestrians. Mari felt the similar sense of excitement and eagerness as she stared out of the windows of the shuttle bus, pills and medication stowed safely away in her pockets to avoid any.. unpleasant outbursts. Brushing a little dust from her uniform, she rolled her shoulders, straightening up and being the first to leave the shuttle, looking up at the observation building.

Following another awkward moment of frantically searching for the right place, she managed to locate the correct spot, entering the building confidently. “Hello!” Mari smiled cheerfully, glancing around.

[Surana]

Chonky snip

Along the walk towards the Observation Tower, Tanithel was physically, and violently, shivering, while trying to keep up with the Armed Guards, after finally receiving the coat from the other guard, she found it still cold, but warm enough to keep up her pace towards the tower. Eventually when the group reached the inside of the Tower, she was able to stop shivering (mostly), due to the design of the building, made intricately to keep a cozy heat, probably for people like her that aren't used to the Siberian Winter.

"Much better" Her eyes wandered around the Tower and saw the lift, opting to use that instead of the winding and probably tedious staircase

During the time of waiting for the Helicopter, she would dust off her clothes, straightened her uniform, and finally took of her scarf to look for formal infront of Laura Ortiz, this was an international event afterall, meaning other world leaders, or possible high-level delegates were also coming in this occasion. Although she didn't care enough to look at the exact details of the event (as she wanted it to be a surprise for herself), she was pretty sure there was going to be food served up for her and the other delegates, just in case if there weren't, she kindly asked the guards if they knew beside her.

After a couple more minutes of waiting for the lift, the door finally opened, walking inside the room to meet Laura Ortiz

(Honestly I was unsure how the Observation Tower really looked like so I had to use my best guesses)

[Great Britain and Irelandia]

It was a cloudy afternoon, snow was falling through a dark sky. “So this is Gonzwanza, what in interesting place” murmured the Aide, as he sat peering out a tinted window in the otherwise deserted carriage. It has been just under an hour since the last vestiges of civilisation had all but wilted into the ground. The train was a streamlined locomotive of a past golden age. Still using the original steam engine, the claret and golden colouring on the body was still shining as if new.

The outside however was a different story. Dark, gloomy and in the midst of a blizzard; it looked like a wasteland. The train was starting to slow as the points shifted beneath the cast wheels. “Tea sir?” His personal butler, standing with a silver tray in hand, laden with scones and tea cakes. A porcelain teapot sat nestled in its cosy. “No I’d rather not, but I will take a delicious scone before luncheon.”

We were really starting to lose speed now, 50mph, 40mph, 30… then all a sudden the locomotive halted. Over the intercom, the driver announced we had arrived. And with the Pomp and circumstance of a monarch, his fur clad form descended from the carriage, and was greeted by a squad of 4 Royal Marines, bodyguards for this leg of the trip. As so he went off to join the other reps, off into a the Siberian Sun.

[Gonswanza]

Skies of Siberia | Type-145 Designation T-145-380

---

Yuriy Aleksandrov sat idly in one of the more luxurious chairs on his Type-145. The view below was nothing unusual to him, and was actually kind of comforting. Siberia reminded him of his homeland, with the rolling hills of snow and the everlasting lines of trees that disappeared into the horizon. In a lot of ways, it was almost as if he never left Scandoslavia. He was used to extreme climates, and the temperatures in Siberia were undoubtedly cold. He wore a formal BTA uniform, which resembled that of the Army Commander uniform. The only fireaerm he had on him was a VT-M18 with a box magazine and the stock folded over the top of the gun itself. Other than that, he had a simple 10-inch combat knife hidden in his trenchcoat.

Aleksandrov's Type-145 was a special model, without the usual armaments that were found on service Type-145s. The tail rudder of Aleksandrov's airship bore the Victory Star, the most recognizable Scandoslavic symbol. On the front, the air-ram "ax head" was painted a blue-white-blue horizontal tricolor, something that wasn't standard to any other Scanndoslavic airship.

Aleksandrov heard a knock on the door, and a Senior Lieutenant opened it a moment later. "Chairman, we've arrived. We're bringing the airship down now." he said, before closing the door. Aleksandrov stood up from his chair, grabbed his cap, and walked out of the airship. He had arrived.

And, like the others, he too would be escorted to the observation building, though the frost of the open air did prove annoying to deal with despite the winter warfare gear. Yet, it did little to dampen the mood of the scene, as the other delegates had aldo arrived in short order, far fewer than expected, with a distant bus crawling from the distance to drop off the rest, adding to the party. It was to be a monument to the atomic age, even if the peak of such insanity had died off long ago.

[Isla Byron]

The ugly moving brick finally stopped in front of the other hideous, immobile brick, nailed into the ground like a coffin. Judith wondered if she was in a tragic Eastern European movie about innocent people getting vaporized, and if the world had enough of a sense of humor and righteousness to vaporize the observation tower. A woman in a sharp uniform with a brown bob that's sharper bounces up from her seat like a weasel from a burrow. Her warm and happy demeanor betrays the gray, demi-nazi uniform, especially considering the occasion: a weapons test to reason how much closer we can get to the end of the world.

Nadezhda walks out of the bus, but only in the most regal, holier than thou fashion, as if her turtleneck was her bejeweled necklace that gave her the right to step on the less fortunate. Maybe Nadezhda's crown was her long, flowy hair, draping her head from the climate of Siberian piranhas with little success. Judith follows to 'scan the environment for any threats' just as Nads asked of her when she was assigned this shit. They tread a path through the snow and welcomed themselves into the building.

It didn’t take long for her to find the shuttle bus she needed.. although that was only after asking a number of nearby pedestrians. Mari felt the similar sense of excitement and eagerness as she stared out of the windows of the shuttle bus, pills and medication stowed safely away in her pockets to avoid any.. unpleasant outbursts. Brushing a little dust from her uniform, she rolled her shoulders, straightening up and being the first to leave the shuttle, looking up at the observation building.

Following another awkward moment of frantically searching for the right place, she managed to locate the correct spot, entering the building confidently. “Hello!” Mari smiled cheerfully, glancing around.

Judith caught the voice that quite vexed her, and so did Nads. She can only see her expression for a moment, but it was the classic corporate, shit-eating smile. Nadezhda reciprocates the grating hello, the thing of nightmares, and extended her hand for the handshake. Judith proceeds to do her job, to tower over Nads and her friends and perhaps enemies, cross her arms, and to be a quiet lady despite her bulk. "Hey," said Judith in the deepest, intimidating but not outwardly hostile tone.

[British Arzelentaxmacone]

It didn’t take long for her to find the shuttle bus she needed.. although that was only after asking a number of nearby pedestrians. Mari felt the similar sense of excitement and eagerness as she stared out of the windows of the shuttle bus, pills and medication stowed safely away in her pockets to avoid any.. unpleasant outbursts. Brushing a little dust from her uniform, she rolled her shoulders, straightening up and being the first to leave the shuttle, looking up at the observation building.

Following another awkward moment of frantically searching for the right place, she managed to locate the correct spot, entering the building confidently. “Hello!” Mari smiled cheerfully, glancing around.

Judith caught the voice that quite vexed her, and so did Nads. She can only see her expression for a moment, but it was the classic corporate, shit-eating smile. Nadezhda reciprocates the grating hello, the thing of nightmares, and extended her hand for the handshake. Judith proceeds to do her job, to tower over Nads and her friends and perhaps enemies, cross her arms, and to be a quiet lady despite her bulk. "Hey," said Judith in the deepest, intimidating but not outwardly hostile tone.

Mari looked around, as if confused as to where the voice was coming from, before glancing up, staring up at the woman. The former minister of defence was rather average height back home, and even a little taller than some people, for example her longtime friend the Leader, who stood about a few centimetres shorter than her, much to his own dismay. However.. she was still rather short compared to other people, and had to crane her neck somewhat to even fully look at Judith. Gulping anxiously, she managed an awkward smile, waving hesitantly. “Uh, h-hey.. I’m Mari Makelä.. who are you?”

[Isla Byron]

Mari looked around, as if confused as to where the voice was coming from, before glancing up, staring up at the woman. The former minister of defence was rather average height back home, and even a little taller than some people, for example her longtime friend the Leader, who stood about a few centimetres shorter than her, much to his own dismay. However.. she was still rather short compared to other people, and had to crane her neck somewhat to even fully look at Judith. Gulping anxiously, she managed an awkward smile, waving hesitantly. “Uh, h-hey.. I’m Mari Makelä.. who are you?”

"My bodyguard." As they stood together, Nadezhda turned to punch Judith in the arm, ("ow,") "She doesn't bite, it's nice to meet you, I'm Nadezhda Azimov, here on the behalf of Isla Byron. I'm sure you must be representing a state entity, correct? Where from?"

Judith whispered to Nadezhda, her lips missing her ear exactly on the account of Nad's hair and Jude's poor memory of imagined anatomy, "you forgot to ask her for her name."

"And also, what is your name if you don't mind me asking?" A smile devoid of eye wrinkles, almost a grimace, morphs her face into a ghastly visage of someone that was a person, but is now a corpse. A corpse that was left in Siberia and allowed to mummify, to have her lips rotting away, and she would be left with that exact face. Judy stays quiet as she was forced into the 'big dog mode' that Nads wanted her to be, a silent human weapon on her leash, to bark when she says bark, to bite when she says bite, and to leave for the kennel when she's done with her.

[The Scandoslavic Empire]

Aleksandrov got off the bus slowly, looking around curiously at the other foreigners who had arrived. He saw mostly women, which was quite odd to him. He wasn't used to this sort of social environment.
He smiled at the looks of the observation building, though. It was cold, drab, and brutal - perfect. He adjusted the collar of his trenchcoat, and wandered his way over to the others that he could see. He approached the woman in the grey uniform first - she peaked his attention with her odd apparel. She was busy talking, but he didn't care and attempted to jam himself into the conversation anyway.

"Hello, fellow representatives. BTA Head Chairman Yuriy Aleksandrov, on behalf of the People's Republic of Scandoslavia. And you are?"

[Eusan Federation]

Juni and Vela’s trip on the TSR was rather unremarkable to them- long train rides were the M.O. in their homeland, after all. If anything, it was remarkably slow- after all, Eusan trains were mostly mag-levs, or, in other words, relatively quiet and fast as opposed to the more… vintage TSR. But it was what it was, and the two sisters seemed to be alright with the long trip. After all, their jobs rarely allowed them to spend time together- and so they relished the opportunity to do so. Eventually, though, all good things had to come to an end- and so Juni would take note of this.

“Vela, I think it’s finally time for us to get out of here…” Vela nodded, letting out a little sigh. “Yeah. I know. I just…” Juni interrupted her, seeming eager to display that she was on the same page as her sister. “…want some more time for us alone? Yeah, me too.” Vela nodded with a weak smile. Well, hey. At least she still had that bond with her sister. That was worth something. In fact, it was worth a lot to her. Their stop was coming up, and soon they would have to make their way to the shuttle- and after that, they would finally be there.

Elsewhere…

The newest addition to the Eusan diplomatic roster for the event sped on her way to her imminent arrival. Deimos. C-10 on the Panel of Chairpeople. Her presence would totally usurp any diplomatic leverage the other two Eusan delegates would have- basically relegating them to observer status with some input from their relative departments. And so, the approach began. The armor-clad war criminal’s small but luxurious tilt-rotor craft touched down, and she prepared to step out into the cold as it taxied off of the runway. Soon, the door opened, and she disembarked. As she did, her towering red-and-black frame made her stand out amongst the snowy landscape- completely unbeknownst to Juni or Vela- a member of the Panel had arrived.

[Isla Byron]

Aleksandrov got off the bus slowly, looking around curiously at the other foreigners who had arrived. He saw mostly women, which was quite odd to him. He wasn't used to this sort of social environment.
He smiled at the looks of the observation building, though. It was cold, drab, and brutal - perfect. He adjusted the collar of his trenchcoat, and wandered his way over to the others that he could see. He approached the woman in the grey uniform first - she peaked his attention with her odd apparel. She was busy talking, but he didn't care and attempted to jam himself into the conversation anyway.

"Hello, fellow representatives. BTA Head Chairman Yuriy Aleksandrov, on behalf of the People's Republic of Scandoslavia. And you are?"

"The VTA, huh." Nadezhda said with snark and a (harder than usual) Russian accent as if to correct him. Judith looked Yuriy up and down, mostly down, nothing particularly standing out among the blue shades of his uniform and his gray pips and buttons. She felt underdressed for the occasion, maybe underarmed. It's not that she knew the people around her were hiding iron, but she can feel it. The smell of gunpowder never left her nose ever since she killed her first person, and she can feel the same unbearable sensation standing around these people. It was these people who stand around and shake hands with guns in their pockets to use them as soon as anything went wrong. Nads continues: "I am Nadezhda Azimov, call me Nadya please, I represent Isla Byron and we've heard plenty of anecdotes regarding your wonderful agency." Naddy said this playfully, too playfully, which earned a quick glare from Judith. Her face still hasn't changed from earlier.

"I'm her partner. I'm Judith." Her arms were still crossed and her voice was still strangling itself with a deep husk. Nad's hand gripped under her soft underarm, and sharp nails dug into her. She did this because the scars and injuries from this were more difficult to see as opposed to bruises and other scratches. At this rate Nads might beat her previous abuse record.

"The VTA handling of the June Attempt was one of the case studies I wrote my thesis on. Brilliant work!" Judith could almost say, 'I am suffering,' in her eyes in response to her.

[British Arzelentaxmacone]

Mari looked around, as if confused as to where the voice was coming from, before glancing up, staring up at the woman. The former minister of defence was rather average height back home, and even a little taller than some people, for example her longtime friend the Leader, who stood about a few centimetres shorter than her, much to his own dismay. However.. she was still rather short compared to other people, and had to crane her neck somewhat to even fully look at Judith. Gulping anxiously, she managed an awkward smile, waving hesitantly. “Uh, h-hey.. I’m Mari Makelä.. who are you?”

"My bodyguard." As they stood together, Nadezhda turned to punch Judith in the arm, ("ow,") "She doesn't bite, it's nice to meet you, I'm Nadezhda Azimov, here on the behalf of Isla Byron. I'm sure you must be representing a state entity, correct? Where from?"

Judith whispered to Nadezhda, her lips missing her ear exactly on the account of Nad's hair and Jude's poor memory of imagined anatomy, "you forgot to ask her for her name."

"And also, what is your name if you don't mind me asking?" A smile devoid of eye wrinkles, almost a grimace, morphs her face into a ghastly visage of someone that was a person, but is now a corpse. A corpse that was left in Siberia and allowed to mummify, to have her lips rotting away, and she would be left with that exact face. Judy stays quiet as she was forced into the 'big dog mode' that Nads wanted her to be, a silent human weapon on her leash, to bark when she says bark, to bite when she says bite, and to leave for the kennel when she's done with her.

“Mari.” Her smile fell, realising she had already said her name and feeling a little uncomfortable being asked twice. She looked up at Judith, almost considering asking what had happened to her lips and why her face was contorted in the way it was but deciding against it, for politeness’ sake if nothing else. Mari had her own scars which she herself was pretty contentious about, and presumed that the other woman didn’t exactly wish to talk about her own appearance, so chose to keep quiet.

“Nice to meet you.. actually, I’m not representing a state, not today. I’m Arzelent, and was in the government for a while, but some..” Mari’s eye twitched, “.. traitors made it dangerous for me to stay. I moved to Gonswanza to escape them.. I used to be minister of defence, until those criminals took it from me.. they allowed me to get arrested, to go to an asylum, to be tortured.. after I left the EFU and discovered that it wasn’t safe for me in Arz, Gonswanza took me in. It was Laura Ortiz that saved me. She’s my only real friend, the only one I can trust.” She grinned, although her words were filled with passionate vitriol.

[Isla Byron]

“Mari.” Her smile fell, realising she had already said her name and feeling a little uncomfortable being asked twice. She looked up at Judith, almost considering asking what had happened to her lips and why her face was contorted in the way it was but deciding against it, for politeness’ sake if nothing else. Mari had her own scars which she herself was pretty contentious about, and presumed that the other woman didn’t exactly wish to talk about her own appearance, so chose to keep quiet.

“Nice to meet you.. actually, I’m not representing a state, not today. I’m Arzelent, and was in the government for a while, but some..” Mari’s eye twitched, “.. traitors made it dangerous for me to stay. I moved to Gonswanza to escape them.. I used to be minister of defence, until those criminals took it from me.. they allowed me to get arrested, to go to an asylum, to be tortured.. after I left the EFU and discovered that it wasn’t safe for me in Arz, Gonswanza took me in. It was Laura Ortiz that saved me. She’s my only real friend, the only one I can trust.” She grinned, although her words were filled with passionate vitriol.

"Nice to meet you, Mari. So, Laura Ortiz, our woman of the hour!" To Judith's ear, Nadezhda sounded like she was genuinely excited, like a little kid meeting god. "If I had a drink I would drink to her and you, for your perseverance and the perseverance of all like us."

"Perseverance would be a funny word to use around you people." Nadezhda punched Judith again, sotto voce screaming at her.

"Where is she anyway?" Nadezhda said, imitating calm. "She should be here by now but my brain might be uh- pouring out of my ears from all the writing and documenting I did on the way here, via TSR of course."

"Of course your brain is pouring out your ears, stupid bitch." Nads ground her teeth behind chapped lips at this quiet but audible remark. Her face returned to authentic emotions, she can't or maybe didn't hold back her emotions, and made the most adorable frustration-face. She smushed together her face and frowned, probably the cutest thing Jude has ever seen. She realized Nadezhda was kind of like a cat, she's small, cute, and probably deluded that she owns Judith.

"I- I can imagine you have quite the record then." If there truly was brains leaking out of her ear, there wasn't, it was steam as Judith can see quite clearly. Jude's only respite during the trip was making Nads fume, because it was so fucking funny. "Did you get here fine?" Judith couldn't help but chortle at her attempt at human small talk. Nadezhda didn't say anything, frowning.

[Gonswanza]

Speaking of... As the others trickle in, or settle in, Ortiz took the time to approach the trio with a whistle to call for them, a short call that was much unlike a catcall, but more akin to a command for a pet. Not that it was uncommon, given such a gesture was used typically to call attention in an almost commanding tone.

"Hey hey! Good to see you three... Here. Mari! My friend! And two other guests of honor, of course. Excuse my memory, of course, it is rather difficult to keep up with an excessive head count that has... Remarkably thinned out for some reason."

She almost sounded annoyed near the end, offering her arm to Mari as if to escort her along to the observation area, though the gesture was intended to almost favor Mari, while the voices scratched at Ortiz's mind, begging her to just drag the poor fan along. She at least had the mind to refuse this desire, of course, given it would only tank her image.