Pelhaforan Emergency

Reynard Anaukshai declared martial law following the attack on the parliament hall. He suspended parliament and using his executive powers he called up the military. He was already blaming the attacks on communist sympathizers with ties to the rebels in Pelhafor and the government of Cogoria.

As numbers for the amount of soldiers who were willing to following Reynard came in it became apparent that a far majority had refused. Most the senior command and many officers either walked away from their posts, or locked down their bases. In just twelve hours after the attack Reynard learned that Rul Patiste had survived, miraculously. His location remained unknown, but it was obvious he was pulling strings in the military, calling in favors to block the presidents bid for control of the military.

Sixteen hours after the attack Rul Patiste went on TV and announced that the president had been behind the attacks in a bid to eliminate the Constitutionalist Party. He prevented a solid case with evidence of money transfers and secret orders.

'I call upon the fighting men of Tajis to rise up against the corruption of Reynard Anaukshai and end his reign of violence,' Patiste said. His speech was broadcast on international television.

---

From what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Esplandia could ascertain all of Patiste's evidence was made up or purposely misleading. Alphius Skywing presented his findings to King Sherwin and the Royal Council.

'Is it possible Reynard was behind the attacks,' asked Chancellor Phillip Montgomerey.

'Not only possible, but very likely,' Alphius replied. 'But he's also very good at covering his tracks so I've found nothing yet.'

'Then do we support the Tajin President? Should we mobilize what troops we have available?'

All the men present looked to the king, wondering what his reaction would be. The king took a couple minutes to mull it over. No matter what course he followed it would spell trouble in Esplandia. Military action would only exasperate the situation, and the violence would escalate.

'This is an internal matter for Tajis,' the king said. 'We are not their police force. We will offer to mediate in hopes of deescalating the situation. In the meantime we should recall all Esplandian personnel from Tajis and warn any of our citizens in the country to return home.'

Administrator Natalia was with Administrator Flynn, head of the General Security Service, and Administrator Alec, head of the Guards of the Rose in a small conference room in the headquarters of the League Intelligence Service. Together, the three of them comprised the heads of the League's Intelligence Agency. They were on a video conference with Marshal Johan who was sitting in his office somewhere in Callaici. Johan nodded to each of the Administrator's, "it is good to see you all well though it concerns me greatly to see all three Administrators of Intelligence in this video call. Has the situation worsened since I put the team of ten Crimson Berets on standby to help mediate the situation between Pelhafor and Cogoria?" Administrator Alec spoke up, "as of this morning we have received confirmation from the Safir-3 satellites that the unrest in Pelhafor has spread to Tajis. Administrator Natalia and I are authorizing the call up of an additional division of Peacekeepers from Kalti to be put under the command of Marshal Frederick. I pray we don't need the extra manpower but it is better to be safe than sorry with the sort of unrest that we are seeing spread from that region." Nodding in understanding Johan turned to speak to Flynn, "Administrator Flynn, sir, what do you make of this whole mess?" Alec thought for a minute, "from what I can see by the intelligence gathered thus far, the Cogorians are only in it for themselves and to promote their own interests. As such, I do not believe the intentions of the Cogorians to be true. You and your negotiators should be careful when dealing with them. I expect that they will ask for much and expect even more in return." Johan absorbed this info before speaking, "Administrator Natalia, ma'am, is there anything you wish to add?" Natalia sighed and wished the whole mess would go away before responding, "I just want to wish you and your negotiators the best of luck in working out a peace between the many involved nations. Goddess knows we don't need another war between everyone over such petty issues." With that, the video conference was wrapped up and everyone headed their separate ways.

The Cogorian military had mustered 2,640,000 personnel across the three services. But they were essentially sitting idle. The initial impetus that had seized the government at the beginning of the crisis had dwindled. Now the military minds were looking at the long game. Cogoria had little influence on the world stage, and what little standing it had once had was reduced by the catastrophic raid. While the other nations talked about peace, Cogoria could see little in their future but inevitable sanctions, restrictions and threats. It was this final item that concerned them the most. It was for this reason that close to half a million soldiers were about to participate in the largest military exercise in Cogorian military history.

The nation of Cogoria had a long coast for it's size, most of the coast was dotted with fishing villages, towns and industrial hubs. But not the stretch marked on Cogorian maps as the Volkhov Front. This region encompassed a diverse number of terrains, and was the main designated proving ground by the government. The war games were to last the full week, and were to simulate a full naval landing/defence. The force was split evenly between the two generals, Pavlov commanding the defenders and Rodimtsev commanding the attackers. The state didn't care how other powers might perceive the exercise, they had mobilised so many troops they might as well use them, train them. But more importantly make sure their forces were ready in case they needed to launch a real attack, of defend from a real enemy, as such was a possibility in the coming weeks.

The night sky was lit up as explosion after explosion lit up the sky, the streaks of the missiles flying across the water visible for but an instant before detonating in a blinding flash, the fuel air warheads causing much more damage then a conventional warhead of similar size. The defenders watched the conflagration a mile away, mourning the loss of the trenches they had spent the day digging. Once the bombardment finished, the men and guns and tanks were split up into those determined to have died in the bombardment and those that survived. The survivors then left their simulated dead and took up positions along the coast, from now on the fighting would be completely simulated.
An hour before the sun rose, the fleet started to radio in their simulated bombardment, Pavlov had little with which to counter it, so ordered his men to hold as the officers wandering the beach with their headsets, informed units of their annihilation and ordered them to the rear. Under this simulated barrage, the fleet of landing craft began to make their run to the beach. Pavlov's gunners immediately began their work. Puffs of smoke spouted along the coastline as artillery began to send their imaginary rounds screaming towards their targets. Red flares arced out from the landing fleet as craft acknowledged their destruction.

When the landing fleet was less than a mile off, Rodimtsev ordered in his aircraft, the planes screeched in towards the beach, their gun cams broadcasting images to the controllers in charge of deciding who was dead and who was alive. The first attack run gathered an impressive tally, but the ground based AA took out a few, the remaining planes were chased off by Pavlov's own air wing when thy tried for a second run. However by this time the units of the attackers had reached the beach.

Rodimtsev had thrown his entire Naval Infantry contingent into the first wave. Riding in amphibious AFVs these troops stormed up the beach, expertly taking cover as squads bailed out to assault and pin down the defenders. They rapidly took a number of key points on the beach, their AFVs providing cover as the black clad NI started creating breaches for the following waves to exploit. Large shallow draft ships beached themselves before disgorging their cargo of tanks, the large machines powering up the sand supported by the waves of regular troops now pouring from the smaller craft arriving at the beach. While Pavlov's air wing tried to harry the attacking force, the AA systems on the landing ships and the few AA guns landed took their toll.

In the end the battle on the beach lasted six hours as Pavlov tried to bottle up the tide of soldiers washing up on his beach, but eventually he ordered his troops to retreat after the attacking NI penetrated far enough behind the beach head so as to attack the command post of one of his regiments. The rest of the day consisted of the battle consisted of a running fight as the defenders tried to disrupt the landing of more troops and attempts at containing the attacking force. Pavlov had some surprises in store for the following day of the exercise but needed time to set it up, so his troops trickled in their reserves just enough to keep the attackers at bay, but never enough to mount a serious counter attack.

The Nebulan government had been placed into a difficult position by Cogoria's unmasking. Antlerio made the decision to announce to the people the situation:
"People of Nebula, I stand before you today to announce that, after watching the failed communist insurrection in Pelhafor and the resulting fascist coup, we can no longer sit by and idly watch as civil liberties are destroyed. We had originally planned to send in a team of elite SpecForce troops to gather intelligence and aid Cogoria, a fellow leftist nation seeking to liberate Pelhafor; however, Cogoria rejected this plan and we have now opted to promise them military aid should war break out."
He paused for a moment. "In the event that Pelhafor, Kannex, or Esplandia should open hostilities against Cogoria, we shall commit half a fleet to the conflict to aid Cogoria and the Pelhaforian antifascists. In addition, should such an event occur, I urge Parliament to declare war on the aggressor.
"Thank you, and good day."

Experts poured over the information provided by the Cogorian government. They checked and rechecked the recordings of the massacre and the air raid for inconsistencies, cross checked the orders provided against their own records and those they could obtain of the incident. These were all vetted as well as they could be to determine the actions of the Cogorian forces, as well as those of the Pelhaforan junta government. As near as could be determined these all seemed undoctored and genuine.

Verified as well as it could be the information was turned into a presentation by the Office of Strategic Services and forwarded for consideration. High level members of the government met including those of the Ceretian Congressional Committee on Foreign Relations, members of the Office of the Secretary of State, the Executive Consuls, and representatives of the Crown.

Meeting in a special closed session somewhere deep inside the labyrinth below the capitol building they listening to the case made through their own foreign intelligence and that of the ambassador's information. Members of the OSS reconstructed events and gave graphic detailed examinations coupled with orders, recordings, and other intel.

There was strong interest in understanding the incident that sparked these recent events, especially those surrounding the protesters or rebels or whatever they were. Foreign state media on both sides stuck to their stories with some saying the protests were actually armed rebels, while others said it was nothing more than a mass execution. As the presentation started, truth came into focus.

The 'rebellion' as far as could be seen was little more than unarmed civilians, many of which were college aged, and almost completely unarmed. The graphic images and videos showed shouts being met with shots. Not a sound was heard in the room as they continued to watch the string of beatings and shootings being presented almost endlessly. Last, almost summing up the depths to which these events dredged, in the middle of a street piled with bodies flowing in blood, they watched the final moments of Father Barthélemy as he pleaded for his life; the answer to his pleas soon followed from the soldier's weapon. One of the senators, Monseigneur DePaul, with his hand covering his mouth in shock uttered the sentiment of the room... "mon Dieu..."

Opinions were confirmed by what they saw, and this calamity needed to end before it grew into something more. Their suspicions of situations turned evident in the flesh and fire of this seemingly endless 'train wreck' on screen from massacre to the air operation. In particular many felt the Cogorian operation was ill fated from the start, 'a clear case' in one attendee's opinion 'of heart-before-head altruism sadly cratering into reality.' Peace, a true peace among involved parties must be brought to bear, else they might be gathered again watching a rehash of this same situation in just a couple years. The presentation had helped them to clarify several issues, and assisted them in determining the route they would take to achieve their goal.

Unfortunately on the heels Pelhafor came then news from Tajis, the eruption of brutal attacks and fighting between parties uncertain. The presentation on these matters however were still left wanting for clarity. They knew however the situation needed to be quickly addressed by someone before it too spiraled further, but what was there to do, could they even help? It seemed the whole area was catching on fire.

---

Sunlight streaked across the landscape driving away the morning mist that had gathered. The Cogorian embassy was mostly quiet, with a couple workers eating breakfast at their desks, janitors touching up their work here and there, and a few others continuing to set up the new office equipment. Raymond sat looking out the large picture windows at the gardens as he waited to meet with the ambassador. The ambassador's secretary was very efficient and courteous, but not much of a conversationalist, at least not this morning. She was sorting hard copies of important documents into their secured cabinets with the grace of a bee bouncing from flower to flower.

Ambassador Wrong's voice echoed distantly down the hallway as he spoke with a few of his aides, their shoes clicking harmoniously on the floor as they approached. Raymond stood ready to greet him, watching as each of the aides disappeared into an office or down a hallway until only the ambassador was left. Standing there in his usual three piece suit with a half smile on his face he gave a nod. "Ambassador, I hope you're all settling in well and you and your people had a chance to enjoy the gifts we had left for you. I'm here regarding that matter we had begun to discuss, shall we talk in your office?"

Esplandian Intelligence had always known that Tajis was a powder keg waiting to explode, but the swiftness in which it did had shocked even the most pessimistic observer of Tajin affairs. Duke Skywing, Minister of Foreign Affairs was scrambling to gather as much intelligence on the situation as he could to sort out the chain of events that had lead to the current situation in the republic. What they did know was that protests had turned into an all-out insurrection in the north and that it threatened to spill over into Pelhafor which could be the spark that ignited that particular volatile situation.

In the meantime the entire regions of Galidon, Sirajai, Alebron, and Lower Shinai were up in arms, rallying behind Rul Patiste and his claims that President Reynard Anaukshai had instigated the attack on Parliament Hall. As of yet fighting between those two groups had not yet errupted, but they wer quickly consolidating their forces. President Anaukshai had requested military support from Esplandia, but King Sherwin was not willing to commit forces to the region. As long as their was no fighting, the King would continue to push for a settlement to end the conflict before it began. All Esplandian troops stationed throughout Tajis were withdrawn to Feyzho, as well as any civilian personnel who had not been able to leave the country before international flights were suspended.

Now was just a period of waiting to see what would happen next.

---

Rycho Anaukshai felt it prudent to double the number of guards patrolling the grounds of his house in Askyrre. He had received a summons from his brother to arrive in Serzulem, but he had less than politely, declined. At one time he had been very close to his brother, inseperable, but over the last four years the two men's political differences had created a divide. His brother was wrong about this whole mess. The summons was to keep Rycho from siding with Colonel Patiste, but Rycho didn't care much for the colonel's policies either. Which left him the dangerous position of not being on the side of one or another of Tajis' most dangerous men.

He stalked down the hallway off his manor, heading for solarium on the east side of the house. He found Sybilla Hakon sitting in the morning sun, reading a letter. She looked up as he entered and put the note away.

'Is that from Reynard?' He asked her, continuing on to the windows and looking out into the garden.

'He's summoning me to Serzulem. I assume you received one as well.' She answered.

'You need to return to Esplandia. Things are getting dangerous here again. The Skywing's will...'

'No!' Sybilla interrupted. 'Not this time. Not when there's anything I can do.'

He wouldn't be able to argue with her. Not right now, but perhaps later. Reynard would move to secure her, and Patiste would want to use her to legitimize his rebellion. Right now he stood as the only one wanting Sybilla to be safe and remain apart from the coming conflict. 'There has not been a monarch in Tajis for nearly forty years. You're the last of their bloodline. If you pick a side, you'll sway the course of this war before it begins. If you don't, they'll try to control you.' He turned and looked at her. It was hard to believe the woman before him had been the same little girl Rycho's father had taken into his home, and Rycho loved like the sister he never had. 'What will you do?'

'I will speak with the King.'

Ambassador Wrong was pleased to see Raymond, bowing slightly at the friendly greeting.Yes the staff enjoyed them very much. As to the matter at hand, we are ready to talk. I am sure you already know the way to my office, you probably had a hand in pucking it. Spectacular view." Leading the representative of the Ceretisian government into his office, he sat behind his desk, settling in to the large comfy leather chair. There were many in the diplomatic community outside of Cogoria who made fun of how his nation had picked the "wrong" man for the job, but in fact his name translated as Sword. Coming from a long line of military men he had lived up to it, being the man who had literally written the book on tactics that the Cogorian military followed like a gospel. He had faced enemy guns with his slight grandfatherly smile stretching his mouth, his men lovingly called him "Papa Wrong" and many mourned the moment an insurgent had shot him, forcing him into the life of a diplomat. And it was with that slight peaceful smile he regarded the man across from him.
"My government you will be pleased to hear has decided that peace is the best path, and further escalation would cause nothing but suffering for everyone. We assume your officials have reviewed the information I provided on our previous meeting. As such we are now willing to provide you with a list of... well we don't wish to call them demands, far too aggressive a term, but we shall call them concessions we require." Sliding across a simple sheet of paper with a series of points written on it. "We have kept it simple for now, we will leave the flowery language of politics for the negotiation table I think."

1.The return of all Cogorian dead from Operation Hammer
2. permission for a salvage fleet to enter Pelhaforan waters to recover the dead still onboard wrecked aircraft
3. Return of ALL P.O.Ws to Cogoria
4. Repatriation of any personnel trapped in Pelhafor
5. The elections in Pelhafor be declared illegal.
6. New elections to be held with participation of ALL parties
7. Cogoria shall be permitted to send a force of 100 (one hundred) observers to ensure elections are carried out legally
8. Kannex shall provide a force of 100 (one hundred) observers to ensure elections are carried out legally
9. A neutral power agreed upon by Cogoria and Kannex shall provide a force of 500 (five hundred) observers to ensure elections are carried out legally.
10. General Staubemyer shall be detained and face an international court to face the consequences for his crimes.
11. Cogoria shall be granted a plot of land on the coast to construct a naval base, in order to ensure further crimes against the workers of Pelhafor will not be carried out in the future.

"These are of course rough draft, we will be open to negotiating and compromising on some of the points, a rough draft similar to this was telegraphed to Kannex this morning. I know you will need to present this to your government, but what do you feel about it? Do we ask too much?"

Marshal Johan had flown from his hometown of Ahmar in Callaici to Caerleon, the capital of the Rose League and the home of the League Intelligence Service. He was meeting with Marshal Frederick who commanded the Crimson Berets of Kalti, to discuss the ongoing situation in Pelhafor. Neither man was looking forward to the discussion as they felt the majority of nations involved were dragging their feet on starting the peace process in the hopes that as time wore on, a war would break out. As Johan entered the L.I.S. headquarters, he was directed to a private conference room which was sparsely decorated and designed to only hold a max of five people. He sat down in one of the available chairs across from Frederick who was quietly reading over updated intelligence notes on the Pelhafor situation. Not wanting to appear rude, Johan sat patiently as Frederick read through the notes and to begin speaking. After a few moments, Frederick finally spoke... "welcome Johan, sorry to drag you all the way to Kalti. I hope your wife is doing well." Johan nodded his head, "she's doing well and wishes that this whole mess would be over so I could be home more often and alleviate her of doing house chores." This got a laugh out of both men before Frederick responded, "it sounds like the two of you are happy. And I believe I have some good news for you. It looks like the government in Pelhafor has finally given in and is willing to go through peace talks before all hell breaks loose." Sighing Johan replied, "well it is about damn time. Any special news or announcements out of the government there?" Frederick looked over his notes once more, "not that we can tell but the intelligence we do have suggests that General Staubmeyer, now the President of Pelhafor, will try to maintain his hold on power. I can already tell that if that is indeed the case, it will not go over well with the powers that be in Cogoria." Johan shook his head, "no... but there is not much we can do about it until the peace talks begin. Speaking of which, has the League formalized their position yet on what they want out of the peace talks?" "Not yet but we will try to maintain a civil and peaceful order in the Pelhafor government. I'm just praying to the Divine that the demands of the Cogorian government aren't so out there that we will be unable to find a middle ground", replied Frederick. "What happens, happens... I just pray that between yourself and I and the other officers of the Crimson Berets, we are able to negotiate a peace and not have to bring in our support staff teams to facilitate or mediate anything", responded Johan.

"Ambassador, I have to say the information your people provided us was both illuminating and rather unpleasant to watch. it's quite a situation over there, hopefully we can get this resolved amicably." Leaning forward in his seat, and with a bit of curiosity, Raymond plucked the sheet from the desk and began to examine the points. Quickly he began estimating reactions of the other parties involved and already could see a couple points that could prove difficult for League negotiators to iron out. Rounding out the list, the last two points were going to prove difficult, and a bit of a tell must have appeared on his face betraying his thoughts.

Noticing the expression on Raymond's face the ambassador interjected, "These are of course rough draft, we will be open to negotiating and compromising on some of the points, a rough draft similar to this was telegraphed to Kannex this morning. I know you will need to present this to your government, but what do you feel about it? Do we ask too much?"

Folding the page carefully, he began to tuck it in the inside pocket of his jacket. "Well it is a negotiation after all... there's always wiggle room here and there isn't there? Though I'd strongly caution flexibility regarding these matters as a few points may prove 'challenging' during the upcoming talks, especially near the end of the list. Overall though the items are not unexpected. I'll be presenting the information to my government, and I'm sure they'll pass it along to the Alliance to get the ball rolling."

As the pieces were falling into place, his mind turned toward practical matters. "It seems that if we're to have peace talks, we'll be needing a place to hold these discussions. We're certainly not going to have them down at the 'shack,' that place isn't very conducive. I do have a quaint little place in the mountains in mind if your people would be willing to indulge. It is located here in Ceretis, not too far actually from where I picked up that piece of artwork" as he gestured toward one of the housewarming gifts. "There is also word that the Rose League would be willing to provide a location." Giving a brief pause, "though, if none of these are acceptable we'd be open to suggestions."

"Oh, and last but not least; the Rose League has generously extended an offer to negotiate the whole ordeal if everyone is willing. They do like to maintain their neutrality in matters; so they seem a rather good choice for impartiality in these matters. We hear they have a good track record on negotiations and I know my government is willing to accept them as a neutral negotiator. I heard it through the grapevine that Kannex and Pelhafor are favorable toward that decision, and I am betting that Esplandia would be amiable." With a single gentile clap he lightly clasped his hands, "So what do you think?"

Wrong stared at the man seated across from him, he decided that Raymond moved his hands far too much for his liking, Wrong liked the man, as far as it was possible to like a foreigner, but those gestures and claps seemed to irritate him in a way he couldn't put his finger on. "Esplanida? Almost as bad as the Pelhaforans, they allow their colonies to massacre the worker and refuse to step in for fear of insulting their sovereignty. And while we are grateful for Ceretis for opening the channels, it would not look good back home if the talks were held in a nation allied to Kannex and that we are at risk of entering a war against. Rest assured we do not want a war and will do what we can to avert it, I am merely stating how it would look. The rose league is little better, being so closely tied to Kannex, though we can spin it in a positive light if we hold the talks there. After all we recently opened an embassy there also and have signed their declaration of neutrality. If they are offering we should hold the talks there." The old man pulled a folder out from a drawer in front of him, this one much more officious looking then the sheet with the demands, and handed it to Raymond.

"Huuh, it may seem a bit much, but due to these peace talks we have had to delay the deployment of a million soldiers to Pelhafor, that is a lot of plans to suddenly grind to a halt. This officially our current stance until the conclusion of the negotiations, you will be happy to know our army has declared a ceasfire" letting a little smirk tug at his lips, recalling the phone call between himself, Kuznetsov and the Chairman. The Marshall argued that he would take Pelhafor in a week, and Kannex in a month, that was until the Chairman asked in that quiet voice of his, where exactly the Marshal would find enough ships to transport a million men, and once he'd moved on to conquering Kannex who exactly was going to maintain the occupation of Pelhafor? The Marshal blustered a bit but had soon subsided, it was never wise to boast when talking to the Leader. "If the Rose League is willing then, I feel we should hold the talks next week. Our economists have informed us that it would be cheaper to just invade Pelhafor so we would like to bring an end to this mess sooner rather than later. We will be sending our foreign minister Ivan Barishnikov to negoiate."

With the peace talks getting ready to take place, Sherwin had hoped that tensions in Tajis would settle down. That was not the case. Patiste had already amassed a force of six thousand soldiers and veterans and he was marching towards Serzulem. In the meantime Reynard had half that, what with the Iron Guard in the north attempting to put down the insurrection there.

The Esplandian Warden General Nathaniel de Alayn was sent to take command of the forces stationed at Feyzo. His return marked the second time in a year that he was forced to take command of forces in Tajis.

Click to expand...

---

Sybilla boarded a ship that was heading westwards towards the Ascontin canals and then to Feyzo. Despite the threat of war, Askyrre continued to go about its day to day business. There was a calm about it though. I hushed quiet that had fallen over the city. War was coming and no one knew what to expect.

As the ship steamed away from port, Sybilla took a last glance at the receding skyline. Askyrre had been her home since she was a little girl and it was part of her. It had seemed to be the largest city in the world when she was younger, but now it seemed so small and fragile.

She didn't wait for the cut to be out of sight. Instead she went to the ships galley and had something to eat. They were serving steamed clams and a fish soup.

She noticed a number of men taking quick looks at her. She smiled. They were probably Rycho's men, sent to keep an eye on her. She didn't think it was necessary, but felt safer knowing they were there. She'd arrive at Feyzo soon, and from there she hoped to be on her way to Esplandia and an audience with the king. He couldn't deny her. She wondered if Irwin would be there.

After eating she took a walk on the deck. The sun had set and the sky was darkening, the first stars were out. Out ahead of the ship, off to the left she could see the lights of a city. It was either Romena or Tahyre.

She noticed another vessel approaching from the shore, heading out towards them fast. It was smaller then there's, but still bigger than a fishing craft. She soon noticed that the ships engines had stopped, letting the other boat catch up. As it came alongside she noticed, even in the dark, the green and red symbol of the Tajin Coast Guard.

The ship came alongside and a dozen or more men came aboard. They were armed. She decided it best to return to her cabin. She had just turned to go below when shouts rang out. Three of the men came rushing up to her.

'Sybilla Hakon,' one of them said, his voice firm and stern. 'I must ask you to come with me.'

'What is this?' She asked.

'I'm afraid your under arrest.' The other two men quickly grabbed her and dragged her back towards their boat.

"That situation in Tajis is quite a fire storm," he said with a disapproving shake of the head "someone needs to step forward and quell the violence, and let's hope it's not at the end of a gun barrel. I completely understand your people's view regarding the location of the pace talks. Though we did want to make an offer in case it would have, for whatever reason, been more appealing. I'm sure you would have enjoyed the place, perhaps you'll get a chance to see it one day, it's quite pleasant."

Taking the folder Wrong passed to him he looked it over. "Very good, there will be many people sleeping better at night with this cease fire."
"We do appreciate the willingness of your people to work toward a bright future for all. Putting the brakes on deploying a million soldiers takes a bit of work; and I'm sure they'll be much happier going back to their lives once this is through." He responded to the ambassador's words and smirk with a slight smile, pleasant but not too pleasant.

Though he was happy they wouldn't have to face a force of that size. He briefly pondered the cost in lives and treasure that would be associated with deploying 4 Ceretian army groups to deal with such a threat. As well he wondered how much of that million the royal navy would be able to trim down before they land. His thoughts pivoted slightly, Do the Cogorians have the capacity to deploy that many troops abroad? The thought made him uneasy, had they misjudged their neighbor's deployment capabilities? He made a mental note to have the OSS discretely check into that matter.

The meeting was drawing to a close as Wrong mentioned they'd be sending foreign minister Barishnikov to negotiate. Raymond wasn't sure it that was a good or a bad thing. Did Ivan have the same pull and experience as the ambassador, and how much leeway was Ivan's government going to give him in these upcoming talks?

"I'm sure the Callacians are already making up everyone's beds and setting up the confrence room as we speak. I'll pass the information along to everyone as soon as possible so this can get moving before those economists have a heart attack" he said with a bit of a laugh. With his hat and the files in hand, he shook the ambassador's hand. "Until next time."