In From the East

[Batavië]

The pleasant sounding chimes filled the terminal before the woman's soft voice began to make an announcement: 'Your attention, please. Diplomatic flight 112 from Nokanawa is now arriving at gate B7. Please be prepared for slight delays and documentation checks as the delegation is escorted through.' The message was repeated in German and French after the original Dutch.

With the Oikawan plane secured at its gate the Staatsveiligheid security team cleared a path for the visitors. Prime Minister De Jonghe himself was waiting in the terminal. The Oikawan chief diplomat appeared out of the jetway and shook hands with the PM.

'A pleasure, welcome to the Batavian Republic.' he said in German. A translator was, of course, on standby. 'If you just follow me we will be on our way to the cars.' He held out his arm pointing in the direction they would be walking in.

'I hope the flight was smooth. Such a long journey. I hope to make it myself one day soon. Luckily I don't mind plane travel.' They exited the terminal where a caravan of black armoured cars awaited them. The PM and his Oikawan guest entered into one. The doors shut and they were on their way into downtown Vlaanderen.

'I must say that events in the East are troubling, we are following them very carefully. Yet I was delighted to hear that Nokanawa would now be recognising our democratic government. It is important for us to be recognised by such a great country and power.'

Traffic was being cleared by a police escort. The blue flashing lights and two-tone siren cut through the morning rush hour and they carried on at a superbly fast speed. The skyline of Vlaanderen rushed by. A multitude of cranes could be seen building the city's future.

'We will be heading to Braamfontein, actually.' De Jonghe mentioned as the caravan changed from the airport motorway to the A2 autosnelweg. 'It is a township a half hour north of Vlaanderen proper, but is becoming a popular home for the upper class. It is newer, better city planning, but has all the amenities of the main city.' As they raced past the surrounding area they could see fresh rail track being laid down with countless construction crews along the side of the motorway.

'We are building a high speed train network in the country. This is a small test start. This train will connect Braamfontein, Vlaanderen, the airport and the surrounding suburbs and townships. Franken design.'

Finally they reached Braamfontein and exited the A2 only to find themselves in the thick of more construction. High rise flat blocks, condominiums, shopping malls, super markets and roads. A few turns and they stopped before a convention centre. They all exited and went inside. The glass building offered nice views of Vlaanderen from the second level, although today was a bit hazy, although sunny for a change. On the fourth and final level they entered a conference room, complete with a view of the capital, a long table and a catered lunch with typical Batavian and Oikawan dishes and refreshments. The luggage from the Oikawans was taken to the hotel just down the block.

'Now that we are finally settled, please tell me about the change of events in the Empire. I am most intrigued.'

 

[Touzen]

"I mus say, a most explicit location."

Ayumu Kawashima was a man in his 40s, with a stylish haircut, a round face and glasses that gave him the looks of a typical salary man commuting into downtown Nokanawa every day with the Yamanote Line. Despite his plain looks, he was representative of the cadres that formed the core of the Oikawan diplomatic corps these days: ideologically unimpressed, precise, competent. Kawashima himself had served in the Council of Nations, in the Ministry of War and Foreign Affair's Touyou Security Center and a dozens other places already and nowadays was Nokanawa's man for difficult negotiations. A workhorse.

"First of all I would like to apologize to you that His Excellency Yoshikawa could not come himself. He is very busy organizing the..pacification efforts."

The man paused for a moment, removed his glasses, which temporarily stripped him of his salary man status, polished them with a white handkerchief and put them on again.

"The situation in Jizhou is of course an unfortunate one. Unfortunate for the people of Jizhou, that is. The Yiyuan clique is seeking to undermine the stability of all of Touyou, which, as you are probably already aware, would obviously have drastic consequences for the entire East. And the world."

As he began his elaboration, his voice did not show any special emotions. He might as well just have had begun to read from a history book.

"With the fall of the AGE the Empire is entering a new phase. A phase where it will be even more important to ensure global stability, which of course also includes Eastern stability."

He threw De Johnge a cryptic smile.

"The new government that His Excellency has formed with the blessing of His Imperial Majesty therefore seeks to resolve outstanding disagreements, such as the one of Batavian governance. Our revised policy seeks to come to terms of understanding with all nations that are willing to, as His Excellency is well aware of the responsibility that Nokanawa now has as the world's sole remaining superpower."

"Of course there are those that do not want to accept the status quo of peace, such as the aforementioned Yiyuan clique or the regime in Kyiv, but it is our resolve that through the framework of the Council of Nations, but especially through strong bilateral ties, threats such as these will be contained and prosperity, stability and progress for people in the West and East will be attainable within the coming decades. That is why I am here today."

 

[Batavië]

De Jonghe listened intently to Kawashima. His structured speech demanded respect from everyone in the room. As the sun continued to rise over the skyline of the city to the south, the reflected light glinted off of Kawashima's glasses as he cleaned them off.

'Mr Kawashima, your government has an impossible task and I commend your country's leadership. These are trying times for us all with such a shift in the global balance of power. I am very glad that I am speaking to a representative of such a responsible, peace-loving government.'

A silver tray was brought over with coffee and traditional Oikawan tea. De Jonghe took the de facto national drink of Batavië, dark coffee with plenty of cream and a dash of sugar. He sipped from the china and set the saucer and cup down onto the glass table. His back settled into the white leather couch.

'I wish that there was more my country can do to help in the East. I do have a few offers that come to mind. This...event in Jizhou might disrupt food production in your country's breadbasket. Batavië has long been a surplus producer of grains and other crops. Now with new farming technology quickly permeating all farms large and small in the country, well I can offer food shipments to the archipelago, or wherever else needed. Poortstad is undergoing a harbour dredging and is being renovated to increase its loading capacity and ship size handling. We would offer fair, market prices and a quality product to ensure that your people and soldiers of all types do not go hungry during this time.'

A map of the world was brought to the table and spread out. De Jonghe pointed to a highlighted shipping lane.

'This is the route from Poortstad to Nokanawa.' he began, tracing the line west from the Great Sea, over the North American Peninsula and across the vast expanse of the Western Ocean. 'A much faster and safer journey from West to East than going through the more crowded shipping lanes of the Vostók. Likewise air cargo. KLM operates a large cargo fleet, ever growing now with some foreign private investments coming in, and other needed supplies. Yes a 20 hour flight going West, but safe, not over the skies of Sarmatia, just the empty high seas.'

He next pointed to Windhoek Island. 'Our mining centre. New deposits of everything you could ever need. Copper, iron, uranium, lithium. Probably more. The Franken companies haven't even begun to explore other parts of this sparse island. Your economy and military could surely use these resources and as a gesture of thanks for your government's recent recognition, I can arrange for friendly and very competitive prices.'

Moving away from his business talking points, he went for a more human approach, although he didn't think it would have much affect on Kawashima.

'You might be aware that Immigration Batavia has launched a new refugee programme. We have begun accepting Wazi and other Himyarite refugees. They can stay temporarily or start a new life in our country. Now, I don't like to make assumptions normally, but I must venture a guess and say that many, many people could be displaced by this conflict in the East...prospectively of course. Let me just say that our embassy and consulates in your Empire would be happy to accept refugee applications, to help these people in need.'

Kawashima remained calm, it appeared, but De Jonghe couldn't begin to read this man anyway. He hoped for some positive responses and then they could talk politics and other serious matters. De Jonghe particularly wanted to discuss the Empire's position on the Commonwealth and the uproar in Himyar. They probably had bigger concerns, however.