Empires across the sea

[Serenierre]

Teymur IV International Airport
SHAHDARA
​

With flags hoisted up all across the scenic boulevards of the ancient imperial citadel, the official motorcades started arriving at the airport to receive the delegation of Consul Marinus. In what was the first such visit to Sikandara in many years, the importance of enhancing bilateral ties between the two countries was not lost on anyone. Chancellor Suleymani, in person, was present to welcome his counterpart. Many senior ministers were also present. Some time before they arrived, the aide had informed the Chancellor that the jetliner of the Consul had entered Sikandari territory.

As the senior leadership of the Sikandari government waited for their guests to arrive, they sat in the VIP Lounge of the new terminal, catching up on the events from the Parliament in the past week.

"Who does he think he is?" Suleymani spoke to the Grand Councillor for Finance, "No opposition leader can ever challenge the government like that."

"Its distasteful."

"Quite right," Suleymani puffed on his cigar, "Can you imagine how ashamed I was in front of the Emperor... his disappointment was the hardest thing to bear."

"What did His Majesty say?"

"Nothing much, but a man like that doesn't need to say anything to get his view across. He wasn't pleased with the PL's strategy but wasn't antagonistic to the idea of looking into constitutional reform."

An aide walked up beside the Chancellor, "Sir, the plane is about to land."

Looking up at the young man, the Chancellor nodded and put out the cigar before standing up.

***
​

As the Consul walked towards Chancellor Suleymani, the Sikandari man extended his hand to his guest, "What a pleasure it is to have you finally be my guest," he said smiling. The two leaders took their position on the podium and the military band played the national anthems of the two countries. After that, the Consul was given an official guard of honour. The entire ceremony, despite being entirely a pointless endeavor, was excellent for the press and was wrapped up in half an hour. Shaking his guests hand again, the two men were escorted into seperate cars and then the motorcades proceeded towards the Feiruzi Palace.
[MENTION=1774]Edessine Empire[/MENTION]

 

[Pelasgia]

Edessine Air Force VIP Flight from Magnus Iustinianus Int. Airport, Edessa to Teymur IV Int. Airport, Shahdara
AIRSPACE ABOVE SHAHDARA
​

The Edessine delegation's jetliner was a state of the art, luxurious plane used only by state officials for important state business abroad. It could not be mistaken for any other plane in the world, not only because it was the only plane of its class produced by the Mercury Aerospace Industry, but because its surface was painted in the colours of the Edessine Empire with the iconic Winged Lion of Saint Mark on a crimson field. Inside the Edessines, led by none other than Consul Georgius Petrus Marinus of the Marina Gens' Patrician branch, patiently waited for the plane to reach its destination while gazing down at the exotic landscape the bore little resumblance to their homeland.

"Impressive is it not? A city like this matches the might of Edessa, nay Tibur. One might even say it surpasses it." said Consul Marinus. He was a typical Tiburan, with light olive skin, black eyes and black, straight hair. He was a tall, well built man, having two tours in the Imperial military, like all 'true' Tiburans.

"If I had not known you so closely, I might have thought you a Sikandari, Marinus." Domitia Flavia Pescenia, the Minister of External Affairs, said. She was a long time friend of Marinus and had in fact been his superior during their service in the Imperial Marines. Her skin was a bit lighter than his though her hair was light brown and her eyes were hazel. Not exactly a typical Tiburan, some rumored she might have had Germanic or Celtic origins. She cared little for these rumors; to her race mattered little, it was one's heart that made them Tiburan. The Empire had, after all, lost Tibur centuries ago but its subjects claimed it was their hearts that stayed Tiburan. A funny notion to her, but one she had to accept as part of her daily life none the less.

"I cannot imagine that being so bad. I might have had to cut down on the ancohol and pork though." Marinus replied.

"You would die without pig and wine, I guarantee it. I am surprised you have not become a piglet yourself yet." Andreas Andronicus Petrou, the Minister of Econimics joked, standing behind the two. Unlike his two friends, Andreas was an Ellopian and not a Patrician but an Equestrian, a middle class person if one might apply foreign terms to the Empire's society. While he had come from a mountainous region where people were mostly blond and blue eyed, he had inherited his mother's coastal Ellopian characteristics; he had olive skin, black eyes and black, curly hair. His face was distinctly Ellopian and one could hardly mistake him for anything else. His accent was another sign, as he pronounced "sc" and "cc" as "ts", among other errors Ellopians typically made in Latin and Tiburtinan. Unlike his friends, Andreas had served in the Air Force and only for one tour, the required minimum to hold political office in the Empire. He had not yet considered his life would lead him to such a career, he had merely served because flying a plane had been his childhood dream. A flight attendant interrupted the conversation of the three men, notifying them that the plane was coming close to the Sikandari airport.

"I am sorry to interrupt, but we are about to commence landing. It would be advisable to seat down and put on your seatbelts." she said. The three delegates noded and complied. As the airplane begun its descent the conversation resumed, with Andreas' initiative.

"Where will the ambassador meet us?" he asked. The three men were not the only members of the Edessine delegation to Sikandara, the Edessine Ambassador the the Empire was also among them.

"In the airport, it will be his car that will take us to the Feiruzi Palace." Marinus replied.

"My sister sent a postcard of the place once. Do you think they allow pictures?" Domitia asked.

"I am sure we will need one at least for the papers. Our focus should be on the mission right now. This is probably the most important diplomatic meeting our Empire has had in this decade. If it succeeds both of us will be strengthened immensely and we be the first among many monarchies working together against communism. Let's face it if the Aurarines or Carentanians decide to go crazy and 'spread the revolution' we will surely need to work together." Marinus said, just as the plane was touching down.

"They are not hostile to us, they are hostile to the Sikandaris." Andreas said, his moderate leftist views always making him a bit more sympathetic toward the 'reds' than the rest of the Edessine government.

"They are hostile to all that is not them; it just so happens they are extremely pissed at the Sikandaris right now. Even if they leave us unharmed, which they might do, letting Sikandara on its own, might encourage them to become more hostile toward the other 'bourgois' states in the Long Sea. Our state is the very creator of Western Imperialism as we know it; it would make a perfect, if only symbolic target." Marinus said just as the trio stood up and walked to the door that led them outside the airplane.

"Salam!" the Consul said as he walked out of the plane, using one of the few Sikandari words he knew while greeting the Sikandaris with his hand.

------

Road to the Feiruzi Palace
SHAHDARA
​

The delegates were quite happy to have been received in such a warm manner, especially from a country which had such vast cultural differences with theirs. They were quite optimistic about the prospects of the meeting, though the Consul chose to consult with the Ambassador about it beforehand.

"What do you think about the meeting, Paulus?" he asked.

"To be taken to the Imperial Palace is a great honour, few men ever enjoy in their lives and even fewer foreigners. That alone should be a sign the Sikandaris are quite willing to work closely with us. Though their government officials might be a bit... uneasy. Just the other day the Opposition somewhat humiliated the Government in front of the Sikandari Emperor. In such a challengingt time for Sikandara that is bound to have made the situation more tense." the Ambassador said. Paulus Ioseph Abourizk was a Levantine by birth, with olive skin, brown eyes and black hair. A middle aged and somewhat slightly overweight man, he was an experienced diplomat who had been chosen as ambassador to the Sikandari Empire fifteen years ago. Right now he probably was the man with the most experience on [MENTION=635]Sikandara[/MENTION] in the entire Edessine government.

"Let's hope the warming of relations with a foreign country will be enough to southe the climate. With fires already brewing near the Long Sea it would be best for both of us to have our homefronts calm." the Consul said.

The car came to a halt, having reached its destination.

 

[Serenierre]

Feiruzi Palace
Old Shahdara, SKD

Although the Edessine delegation had arrived earlier that morning, the official meetings had not been scheduled until after the official lunch which was to be hosted by the Chancellor at his official residence. For the duration of their visit, the senior members of the delegation would be personal guests of the Chancellor at the Feiruzi Palace, a massive complex dating back to the 1700s which had been modernized in the 1910s and only recently been renovated again. While the formal state apartments still retained their awesome and impressive character, the comforts and luxury associated with modern life had also found their place, much to the relief of successive Chancellors.

The protocol officers from the Grand Council for Culture & Heritage had realised that the journey for visiting delegation was a long one and so some relief had to be given to them. The morning had been reserved to allow the foreign guests a chance to catch up on their sleep and freshen themselves up. In the meantime, Chancellor Suleymani had withdrawn back to official matters of running a country as vast as Sikandara. He had scheduled several meetings with some trade representatives from the agricultural and oil industries, which kept him busy for much of the morning.

The official lunch was a very formal occasion. The Sikandari government had invited almost all the heavyweights from the political arena and even a number of ambassadors from friendly states such as Eiffelland, Bourgogne, and Telora. The seven course meal had been specially created to include elements of traditional Sikandari cuisine and to combine them with compatible elements from Edessa. Traditional Sikandari spirits such as pomegranate wine and Jaam-e-Angoor were on offer alongside popular Edessine drinks. After the lunch, which had been much appreciated by all, the two heads of government withdrew to an official drawing room to talk man to man.

The conversation was easy and light for a while, the Sikandari charm fully on display, in an effort to ease whatever uneasiness that could possibly arise in official discussions. The drawing room had large windows which opened up to a beautiful rose garden and the sofas were positioned perfectly to let the sitter keep eye-contact with the other person, while still being able to see the flowers and greenery outside. A butler had rolled in a trolley of tea, savory delights, and desserts. Only after the butler had served the two men and walked out of the room did the Sikandari man get to the serious matters at hand.

"So Consul Marinus," he said as he placed his teacup back in its saucer, "What do you think of your regional cowboys in Solis? We've been having our issues with them, as you must be fully aware." The sixty-seven year old man looked at his guest intently as he reached out for a biscuit.

 

[Pelasgia]

The Consul took a sip from his wine. He looked out at the beautiful gardens, taking a moment to think before he opened his mouth.

"When we first heard the news about a ship sinking we though that the Aurarines might have been honest considering the amount of fighting that was happening in Sikandara at the time. As soon as we got word of their claimed 'secret agreements' however we saw it for what it really was: a farse. There would be no logic nor point in your government to arrange a delicate and dangerous secret deal with the Aurarines and smuggle communists out of your country, when you could have simply crashed their quite honestly pathetic resistance and deported them legally and permanently."

Consul Marinus placed his glass on a nearby table, allowing him to move his hand freely while speaking, something his people where quite fond of doing.

"Even if by some miracle you were to make such an agreement, why betray it and risk going to war with a regime which is not exactly a virtuous paradigm of pacifism and understanding? And their claimed 'secret documents' were far from convincing. It was obviously a way for the Aurarines to form an excuse for themselves to strengthen their arsenal. Whether that was aimed at a war or just a way of enchancing their power projection in the region, we did not and still do not know, but that much is clear. We just hope the Long Sea is not going to turn into a battleground for the Aurarines' expansionism and ideological neo-imperialism to flex its muscle anytime soon. If they were to attempt a war it would be a suicidal move, considering the current geopolitcs of the Long Sea, but it would take hunderds of thousands if not millions of deaths and immense destruction on all sides before their eventual defeat."

Marinus took a biscuit and took a bite before he concluded.

"I really would be interested to know your take on the subject, Chancellor Suleymani. You are, after all, much closer to the developments than I am."

 

[Serenierre]

29th May 1955

Suleymani listened to his guest speak with rapt attention. When he finished, the Sikandari man shifted in his seat, and leaned ever so slightly closer towards Consul Marinus, "Closer to the developments you say," he smiled, "I just know that the ship was attacked. The coast guard, when they brought back the wreckage, analyzed the damage... quite clearly the work of a torpedo - so I've been told. My intelligence chiefs are still working on an official report but," he paused for a moment, "I have been led to believe that this was a veiled threat from Solis to show us that they can disrupt our oil supplies to the world." The implication of such a thing was profound for the global economy given Sikandara's immense oil exports.

He looked straight at the olive-skinned man, his animated features now resting in sombre contemplation as he heard Suleymani speak, "From what I remember, Auraria had tried to speak to our representatives to arrange a deal to secure safe passage for the senior membership of the Communist Party of Sikandara but I had been firm on the fact that I did not want to deal with Solis on this issue." Now starting to get animated himself, Suleymani burst out in a tirade, "Can you imagine cutting a deal to help secure safe passage for people who essentially were thugs who were wrecking havoc all across Osmaniye province in Northern Sikandara... everyday, I tell you, we were hearing stories of gunfights and extortion schemes from these 'devotees to the cause of labourers'... absolutely horrible people. Eventually we decided enough was enough."

"But moving onto more serious matters, I do believe that Auraria if left unchallenged will play games in the Long Sea and its geographic position allows it to be so devious. I haven't talked about this with anyone else but I have been thinking of creating a naval task force for the Long Sea to ensure a safe passageway for merchant vessels. Given the position of your country, in what I believe is the most dangerous part of the Long Sea (due to the proximity of Auraria), Edessa has an important role to play in such a task force..." It went without saying, Edessa sat on an empire which was in one of the most strategically important locations in the Long Sea. "I'm sure such a taskforce would be in the interests of global peace."

 

[Pelasgia]

Marinus nodded with his head to show his agreement to the Chancellor's words.

"I can not understand why the Solis regime would defend criminals who have done little more than any petty gung of port cut-throats has ever done. Just because they share or claim to share a certain political ideology. By that logic we should defend all monarchists across the world regardless of their crimes. If these same people that are being cracked down upon were say fascists would the self proclaimed 'defenders of the Workers' come to their rescue too?"

The Consul saw that his co-speaker was listening carefully, so he continued speaking.

"Alas, I think the Edessine Empire would be more than glad to partake in your joint taskforce to protect trade from the Communists' wims and reign of terror. In fact we were considering strenghtening our naval presence for that ourselves recently, though an international effort would be much more effective and likely to gather support. The Edessine Navy has been undergoing an expansion program with quite a lot of funding since the beginning of the decade. We have raised our military spending by 3% twice in the past five years just to expand the navy and especially its aviation wing. I am in fact eager to see our the new ships of the Combined Long Sea Fleet in operation. With out strategic position at the 'mouth' of the Long Sea it would be more than easy to patrol its waters and if necessary cut Auraria off. I was in fact thinking of temporarily allowing ships of the Task Force to dock in Edessine ports, one step away from Auraria and Carentania in case they decide to shoot themselves in the head."

Marinus took another sip from his drink and continued his monologue.

"Besides if the world's oil supply starts to be disrupted I am certain more than one major country outside the Long Sea will have its industry and economy disturbed. Rising oil prices will also be a problem. This will push them to intervene in our favour. I do have to ask you though, Chancellor. Have you considered extending an invitation to the task force to other nations, like say Eiffelland, Nichtstein and Bourgogne?"

 

[Serenierre]

Chancellor Suleymani smiled a smile so subtle, he barely moved his mouth, a skill most important for a man in politics. "The countries you mention are solid allies of Sikandara and would be among the first we would invite. However, the reason I raised this matter with you is because I do not want my government to publicly float this idea. A strong international response from Sikandara will not be seen in the way it should be..." He trailed off not explaining what he said further. "I want you to announce this matter and for your government to take the lead in this initiative. I know that in their own way, Bourgogne and Eiffelland have their patrol operations going on in the area but it would be better if we all pooled our efforts to focus on a regional effort to police the Long Sea from the scourge of Communism blocking shipping lines."

"With regards to your proposal, I would imagine it would be in the best interests of us all to have a policy of allowing ships within this proposed Task Force to dock in any naval port in any of the participating countries to allow a wider area of operation. But your idea does indeed sound promising. The Commies won't like it but it will definitely send a message."

"But enough of this. What would you like to talk about, Consul Marinus? How can Shahdara help Edessa?"

 

[Pelasgia]

The Consul returned a smile.
"While I understand your position completely, I am certain that you know very well, Chancellor, that my country is bordered by both of the Commies. Making such an announcement could be a very risky move for my government. I will however think it over, for the good of the Long Sea and our friendship. But alas, warships in the Long Sea are not the only subject two men like us could find a common interest in discussing. I was thinking that a talk on economic cooperation could be very interesting... both of our countries are major shipping powers, both produce oil and minerals. I am certain we could find more than one way to cooperate."

 

[Serenierre]

"Well, I haven't thought that we should talk about the details of matters best reserved for our respective finance ministers, but Sikandara would very much be interested in pursuing a close and dynamic economic relationship with Edessa. Speaking in broad terms, I imagine that a formal alliance might be possible if the finer details are worked out by our ministers. I think a close working relationship between the empires of the world is much needed. The communists are, sadly, much more coordinated than us and that works to their advantage tremendously."