The Phoenix Union

Sapphire was enjoying a steak when an urgent knocking came. She opened the door to see a military officer standing before her.

"Madam, the Phoenix Union requires your immediate attendance. It is a matter of national security."

In less than an hour, Sapphire was aboard a Royal Air Force jet destined for the airport nearest to the PU Headquarters.

As soon as the plane was on the ground, Sapphire was rushed via car to Headquarters.

Once inside, she walked to the conference room, where Ivannaka and the GPO were discussing the matter at hand. They exchanged pleasantries. Sapphire opened her briefing folder.

It was surely something different, like a plot out of a movie. Scallendovia was making arrangements with Cimmerien, which was infamous for its attacks on Cogoria. Due to the reputation of Cimmerien, as well as Scallendovia being a PU member, this was surely a matter of national security for all nations in the PU, and perhaps all nations in The North Pacific.

Sapphire joined the pre-conference discussion, waiting for the others to arrive.

Despite only being an observer state, Andrenne was still obligated to send it's MP and it's Prime Minister. They had just recently exited the conflict, and because of Scallendovia were being forced back into it. The entire nation of Andrenne was quite upset with Scallendovia. The new Prime Minister, Olivia Wehrn, was being sent along with Andrenne's newly appointed Phoenix Union MP, Joel Vellsson.

Olivia and Joel had both been on the same private jet, and had landed at the same airport as Sapphire, though a bit later. They then were both in a car, and rushed to the HQ, where everyone else seemed to be. Joel and Olivia walked to the conference room, both looking quite annoyed that they had to wake up in Andrenne at such a late time in the night and get on a jet because some nation decided to join Cimmeria. Joel went to sit down, but Olivia joined the discussion, and like the others, waited for everyone else to arrive.

Alice Dorsett, the Princess's sister, read the note from Princess Puja and felt vindicated, feeling that she proved her point about the benefits of the Principality's isolation in the past. She did not hesitate to voice her opinion to her sister.

"See this? This is why we don't deal with alliances. We're going to get dragged into a mess that doesn't concern us. You should have listened to the Peerage," Alice said, voicing her disapproval.

But Claidie, the Princess, had other ideas. "No Allie. Now we show the world how Dorsettian diplomacy works. We have an opportunity here to stop this incident dead, and we're going to take it.

"I want you to board a plane for Syrixia and go to the Phoenix Union Parliament Hall with Miss Ellison. You both will stay there until the crisis is over. Miss Allen and I will handle the rest."

---

In the Prime Minister's Cabinet conference room, not too far from the Western State Room, Princess Claidie addressed Malorie Allen and the other nine Phoenix Union MPs, laying out her plan.

"We have an opportunity to resolve an international conflict peacefully. The Federation of Scallendovia, a fellow Phoenix Union member, has allied with the Kingdom of Cimmeria in the conflict between them and Cogoria, in violation of the Phoenix Union Constitution, Article 4.

"The Scallendovians are also on their way here to present a proposal for a military installation within Sil Dorsett with an agreement to bolster our defenses. Miss Allen, you will attend that meeting[note]OOC: Relevant thread here: http://forum.thenorthpacific.org/topic/9040222/1/#top[/note] and use it to make the Scallendovians aware of the potential consequences of their mistake. My hope is that you'll get them to stand down and walk away from the Cimmeriens."

---

With the plan presented, Claidie called into the Phoenix Union's video conference line, while Malorie excused herself to prepare for the meeting with the Scallendovians. The conference line then opened.

"Your Grace," addressing Princess Puja, "Pleasure to meet you and the rest of the Phoenix Union Parliament. I'm Claidie Dorsett, and I'll be filling in for Miss Allen today. She's presently occupied with another meeting, which I will address and assure you that it is of equal importance to this. I'm here with the rest of our parliamentary delegation. Also, the Prime Minister, Miss Madeline Ellison, and my sister, Lady Alice, are on their way to the Parliament Hall. They'll be there in a few hours.

"As soon as everyone's here, we're ready, and we have a plan."

Rain cascaded against the window of the taxi, pitter-pattering as it tumbled across the glass, as the knot in Elisif’s stomach grew tighter and tighter. She knew what was happening with this “Crown Conflict”, as people were calling it now. More and more nations were getting dragged into the conflict, with the inevitable loss of lives. The emergency meeting that she had just been called to could only bring worse news.

The taxi came to a stop outside the Phoenix Union headquarters. Dark clouds tumbled overhead, with the flash of lightning and roar of thunder happening in a seemingly haphazard fashion. Elisif, grabbing an umbrella, exited the vehicle, the sound of her high heels clicking quietly against the pavement as she strode towards the entrance of the building.

She made her way into the conference room with an unmistakable haste, and sat quietly. She looked around at the other diplomats and officials from all countries around the strait. These were the people who could decide the fate of the conflict.

While waiting for everyone else to arrive, Ivannaka received a text from her brother. She held her phone under the table, glancing only for a second to read it. She had learned to be able to speak read which she'd found to be a useful talent when people might wonder who she was talking to.

Valeran 2 Seconds Ago:

Traveling to Bravondy. Queen has called emergency meeting of the Waiczyn. Be cautious.

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Well that was ill timed. Arrandal would be unable to provide much help to the rest of the PU in any form. Their army was barely able to hold their own lands, and food and supplies had been scarce until recently but there still wasn't enough to go around at home.

The Queen wouldn't have called a meeting in Bravondy over this Scallendovia/Cimmeria/Cogoria nonsense. It was far enough from Arrandal's borders as there to be little worry of it spilling over into the homeland. Perhaps there wasn't any connection between the two and this was just the new Queen flexing her muscles of authority. But her brother had warned her to be cautious and so she would be.

It looked like the meeting was getting ready and pleasent talk was quieting down. There were still a few who hadn't arrived and called in yet.

Norm was reading his book on the screened balcony outside his office at the Ceretian embassy taking in the sights and sounds of Pataliputra, enjoying the smell of the rain. He often enjoyed sitting out there and even sometimes took meetings out there. They were right in the middle of one of the busiest areas of the city which in itself nearly charged the air with energy. Although it made life exciting which he truly enjoyed as an abroad duty station, he preferred when it rained. Rain created cool breezes, and almost seemed to silence the entire city but for a brief moment. It was as though the city finally got to take a break and exhale.

He could hear his secretary talking with someone with a Syrixian accent just outside his office. Looking at his watch he could see it was nearly the end of the business day. There hadn't been much going on that day and he hoped whomever it was didn't need to meet with him as he wished to get out of the office a little early. That hope was dashed at the sound of the intercom. "Mr Koz?owski, a courier from the Union just dropped off a message." Putting his book on the little desk next to him and with the flick of a finger on the intercom he reluctantly answered back. "Thank you Aruna, if you'd be so kind as to bring it over please."

He looked the envelope over before making short work of it with his silver opener. It had the Syrixian royal crest on it and was hand addressed to him. "Well, someone is thoughtful." Reading through the contents he knew his day was just beginning.

Getting up from his seat he made his way to the door of his office; shutting off the lights and grabbing his briefcase and his umbrella he gave instructions to his secretary. "I'll be out for the rest of today at the Union, forward any calls of interest, and have the motor pool ready my car."

By the time he grabbed a cup of coffee for the road and made it downstairs to the covered side exit his S-Guard was already waiting for him with his DSS agent holding the door open for him. They made it down to the Phoenix Union's building with plenty of time for the meeting.

Entering the building he could see a few of the representatives already had arrived and joined in the conversation with them as they all waited.

"That is quite fine, Ms. Dorsett." Puja said formally, yet also cheerfully with an air of friendship. "Thank you for coming."

Turning to the body of leaders and MPs, she began the conference by stating, "Attention! I'd like to thank you all for coming on such urgent notice. I welcome back the Phoenix MPs, and welcome any international leaders present to the city of Pataliputra. I would like to begin by submitting further context on this matter in the form of Cimmerien's statement, word-for-word."

Statement:

OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM THE CIMMERIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

To the leaders of Scallendovia,

Our government would be willing to sign a treaty with you.
As of now, our nation will not withdraw our declaration of war against the Cogorian State.
We will any resources and supplies contributing to the war effort and anything that will be of use in the reconstruction of Cimmeria should we be invaded.
In return, we will, if possible, pay your country in response to the treaty. As soon as you are ready to discuss the contents of the treaty, we will meet in your nation's capital to come to terms with the treaty.

Regards,

Mikael Tisopic
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Kingdom of Cimmeria

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"As you can all see, Scallendovia siding with Cimmerien has convinced Cimmerien to withdraw their plans for ending the war, and has also in fact made Cimmerien stronger due to the presence of an ally, which makes the likelihood of the war being greater and deadlier much larger. And, of course, it is also detrimental to the Union "

"Does anyone wish to bring up points of discussion, comments, motions, or questions on this matter?"

"Thank you, Your Grace. I'd like to present a few points and suggestions on a potential diplomatic resolution," Claidie spoke, ready to outline the Dorsettian Plan.

"Prior to Scallendovia's entry into the union, there was a verbal agreement between us to discuss and work on a treaty permitting Scallendovian forces to estabish a military base on our lands to protect us should we ever be directly attacked. We were interested in this since Scallendovia is our northwestern neighbor and could act as first responders.

"The Scallendovians are here, right now, talking to my foreign affairs minister and my acting defense minister just down the hall. The reason Ms. Allen is not here at this meeting is because she is in that meeting.

"We're not going to agree to any treaty with the Scallendovians if they're launching wars of aggression. That's my policy, and that's what Ms. Allen is going to enforce. We're also going to use the meeting to remind the Scallendovians about Article 4 and the consequences of being on the wrong side of it.

"We need time for this meeting to play out. Our hope is that we can talk the Scallendovians out of their agreement with Cimmeria, have their forces stand down, and hopefully we wouldn't have to remove them from the union."

Ivannaka stood up following the Dorsettian representative had finisheds speaking. 'We can all agree that a peaceful and beneficial outcome will be best, and let us hope that sense can be talked into Scallendovia. But I believe it is pertinent that we discuss what the PU will do in the event the Scallendovians continue their aggressive behavior.

'Arrandal is a new comer to, not only the PU, but to the current day politics of Eras. Perhaps we are not the most knowledgeable about current events but we do know that conflict will tear apart these nations and left unchecked will spread beyond their borders. We ask that the PU not take these matters lightly.'

After speaking she sat down.

Puja stood up again following Ivannaka's comments.

"I agree with Ms. Beckencroft in saying that this conflict will tear apart many nations if left unchecked, especially now that Scallendovia is involved. We must do something about it." Puja said. "I would kindly request of you, Ms. Dorsett, to please notify us promptly when the Scallendovians have responded to Ms. Allen's reminder. However, with Ms. Beckencroft's point in mind, we must act fast."

"Therefore, I wish to put on the table a proposal to eject Scallendovia from the Union. I will motion it to vote if Scallendovia refuses to back down, and I will table it should they do back down. If we do not act fast, things will perhaps spiral further out of control. I can tell via common sense that sooner or later, if Scallendovia is not ejected, the entire Union may perhaps be condemned by the other nations of the international community."

Sapphire stood up.

"I fully agree that we should seek a peaceful solution. However, I would like to propose a temporary international air and sea military training program between the nations attending this meeting. I wish no aggression on the nations involved in war, but we should be prepared for every possible outcome.

"I had plans to propose such a program anyway, but I feel now that it is necessary and urgent for our military forces to start co-operating with each other, lest somebody attacks one of our members in the near future.

"In the meantime, the Equestrian Commonwealth would be more than happy to assist in seeking a peaceful solution to this conflict."

Elisif stood, shuffling her notes as she rose.

"The Grand Federation would second the motion for Scallendovia to be ejected from the Union if they continue their aggression. We would also propose economic sanctions to be imposed on Scallendovia until they end their hostility."

After taking a sip of water, she continued. "We also second the Equestrian motion for joint training of the Union members' troops. A show of strength between members of the Union is critical now."

"Finally, it is vital that the conflict does not escalate more than it already has. We would like to propose measures, such as sanctions, onto the warring nations. Only by damaging them economically and politically can we deescalate the conflict with a minimal loss of life. The Grand Federation is already leading a coalition - PACA - to force Cimmerien to seek peace with Cogoria, by threatening a blockade, which has the potential to economically damage Cimmerien enough to make a war unsustainable. We would like to open a discussion within the Union for other potential ways to conclude the conflict with a minimal loss of life."

Her contribution finished - for now - Elisif took a seat.

After hearing the proposal for joint military exercises, Claidie realized an issue with the current joint Phoenix Union military situation. She took another round of talking, hoping to get the problem addressed.

"I just thought of something; forgive me if this is a little off topic. Do we have joint army base in the eastern part of the union? Ms. Allen informed me of the Joint Navy Base agreement that Arrandal proposed and was passed, but did that include boots on the ground? I think we should consider setting up a combined army base on the eastern side if there isn't one already. I'll even offer to host it here; just remember what I said earlier about not hosting nations engaging in unjustified wars of aggression."

"I don't believe the Arrandal naval base has been constructed yet, so I do agree that that should be a priority as well." Puja replied. "Should Scallendovia refuse to back down, we can put forces at that base as a last ditch deterrent. With that in mind, I propose we just make a makeshift base for now; tents and a chain fence. Once we have more time we can make something more enduring."

"In the meantime, Ms. Dorsett, do you have any more news from the Scallendovians?"

'To clarify we do already have a naval base there,' Ivannaka said, 'but it will require expansion and refitting to be able to be used for modern warships as what little navy we have is aging and outdated. As far as troops being deployed to this base in a possible peace keeping presence, that will have to be discussed with the Queen.'

"Ms. Beckencroft, the Equestrian Commonwealth would be happy to assist you in upgrading your equipment if needed." Sapphire then looked to the rest of the nations. "All of you are also welcome to use our bases for training purposes if necessary."

Claidie's phone buzzed and displayed a text message. She slammed her fist against the table in frustration upon seeing the text, and then took the phone up to the camera so everyone could see it.

Malorie Allen:

They blew me off. Said cog war wasn't up for discussion.

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"Your Grace, Members of Parliament," Claidie said, "On behalf of Miss Allen and the rest of the Dorsettian delegation, I motion to begin a vote on removing The Federation of Scallendovia from the Union."

"In the interest of the Phoenix Union, The Equestrian Commonwealth seconds the motion"

"The Grand Federation thirds the Dorsettian motion."

I would like to object to moving to a vote as I think further discussion is needed on the matter. Are we truly aware of the consequences of this ejection, especially for Arrandal and Sil Dorsett who share a border with Scallendovia?'

"The Dorsettian delegation recognizes Arrandal's objection. Perhaps I called for the vote too hastily," Claidie said.

She then addressed Princess Puja, "Your Grace, I'm not sure what your parliamentary procedure is, but can we hold off a moment on that vote and discuss Arrandal's concern?"

"Concerning your national security, according to the Constitution, should Scallendovia face ejection, Arrandal and Sil Dorsett will be protected by the remaining member nations who haven't opted out." Sapphire stated reassuringly.

'Arrandals concerns are many fold. While we are assured that the other members of the PU will come to our aid and protection, we still must try to have good relations with our neighbors. And yet here we are in a meeting to decide their fate, one in which they weren't invited or given a chance to explain their decisin before the rest of us.

'Did Scallendovia violate Article 4? Yes. But I still believe that they should be given a chance to defend their position. Are we going to act like the NWU and kick a member one week and invite them back the next because we acted in haste without all the facts?

'We were hasty in our invitation of Scallendovia and did not know their political stance, so let us not be hasty in their ejection. I motion that the representative from Scallendovia be given the chance to present their side and their reasons for siding with Cimmeria against Cogoria.'

"A good point. The Arrandalian objection is acknowledged, as are the motions to vote. Therefore, following the discussion suggested by Arrandal, should they decide to lower their objection, we will go to vote. However, since Ms. Allen and the Dorsettians are already discussing with the Scallendovians in the next room, I believe it would be much better for the purposes of time if Ms. Allen were to ask the Scallendovians and relay their messages to us. If, Ms. Dorsett, that's alright with you, of course."

Claidie was quick to respond to Puja's prompt.
"Actually, I just texted Malorie to ask them, and I got something back about 'not tolerating chaos.' Isn't that the same excuse Cimmeria used to declare war? I mean, when are people going to understand that chaos doesn't resolve chaos? It only breeds more."

Puja had a look of both shock and annoyance on her face. "That is the exact same excuse."

Puja then put up a printed-out copy of the initial Cimmerian statement up on the board, and pointed to a certain spot in the statement. "We shall not tolerate the existence of chaos anywhere in the North Pacific region and we must show that this is where we stand." Puja said. "This is the Cimmerian rationale. As you said, the Cimmerians do not understand that chaos does not resolve chaos. Fire does not put out fire. It appears Scallendovia believes the same."

Gesturing to Ivannaka, Puja asked, "What do you think about this response, Ms. Beckencroft?"

'I think it's fair enough to say that their reasoning is flawed and that they are unlikely at this stage to change their mind.' Ivannaka answered. 'At this junction, is there anything else to discuss?' she sighed.

"We still need to discuss the concern you had about potential consequences for us," Claidie answered. "While I doubt Scallendovia would be willing to fight a war on multiple fronts, what if they did? Should we consider moving forces in defensive positions now, or wait to see if a crisis actually occurs? Or what about sanctions against all of us? Who are the rest of Scallendovia's allies and all of Cimmeria's allies who could punish us?

"I mean, hopefully, it won't come to that, though. What I got in that text was about stopping chaos. Hitting us would only cause more."

"Scallendovia and Cimmerien would have to be suicidal to full-on attack the entire Phoenix Union." Puja replied. "We all know Article 4- any attack against one of us is an attack against all of us. Then again, they have fought fire with fire already. I'm not against getting ready to protect Sil Dorsett and Arrandal if Scallendovia makes a bad move."

'I believe that we have covered my objections. I hearby remove my objection from the floor and motion for the vote to continue'

"That makes four motions. Let us begin." Puja replied. "All who are in favor of Scallendovia's ejection from the Union raise your hand."

Puja promptly raised her hand.

Elisif raised her hand.

-> Malorie Allen:

vote started. kick scall?

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Malorie Allen:

yes

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Claidie raised her hand in support of the motion.

Sapphire raised her hand in support.

"I also propose that we begin international training exercises."

Ivannaka raised her hand as well.

Mattheus, having not said anything at all during the meeting, raised his hand from the back of the room.

Adrien Chirac, the Esronian representative to the Union, who had sat next to Mattheus and had as well not said anything during the meeting, now raised his hand, his decision made.

"I believe our course is clear due to the sheer amount of hands raised." Puja stated. "Scallendovia shall be removed from the Union."

Pausing for a moment, Puja then said, "I will now entertain a motion for the entire PU to enact sanctions and possibly freeze Scallendovian economic assets. I will also entertain a motion to send this response to Scallendovia. What are your thoughts? Anything we should add or get rid of?"