The Power of the Atom ATTN: Jose

[Caelia]

"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
-Napoleon Bonaparte

Kyiv, Kyiv Administrative Region,
Commandry of Kyiv and Novgorod

Today was a good day. When Oltremare had begun the expulsion of it's catholics most of Europe responded with uproar. But for the old generals in Kyiv it was an opportunity that could not be missed. The Commandry had been watching Oltremare for a long time, but it was a staunch ally of Cassiopeia and it had gone nowhere.

Today though, today things were different.

Officially Oltremare's delegation was coming to the Commandry to discuss the construction of it's first power station. That was true. But in reality the meeting was about far more. The Commandry had assembled an all-star delegation representing all concerned agencies.

Vice Marshal Isydore Hnizdovsky was the most senior, as a sitting member of the SHC he had full authority to make whatever decisions needed to be made. General-Polkovnik Stanislav Tymoshenko of the CCF Atomic Energy Corps was the second most senior member. The AEC had full authority over the Commandry's nuclear technology and would play a major part in the negotiations. General-Lieutenant Rustam Hlynka from the Military Armaments Directorate was on hand to negotiate arms transfers. Alongside the officers were Oleh Krein and Volodymyr Kac of RusExport and RusEnergy respectively. Well they lacked the authority of their military counterparts they would provide the public face of the deal. Finally the MID had provided two skilled Italian interpreters should they be required.

The meeting was to be held in the old Slavian Communist Party HQ building. Well no government agency had occupied it since the revolution it was spacious, luxurious and very secure. Consequently it had become a favored meeting place for high level government business.

 

[Congress Aresura]

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
~Arab Proverb

Kyiv, Kyiv Administrative Region,
Commandry of Kyiv and Novgorod

The call had been... unexpected, to say the least. If the cover story, and the cover story alone, had been told, it would have puzzled the Royal Chancellor to His Most Serene Majesty, Giuseppe Emmanuel. Why, at this time, would the Kyivans approach Oltremare with the prospects of its first nuclear powerplant, to be constructed, at the least supervised by the Kyivans?

As it turned out, things were more complicated, yet easier to understand, than that.

The Commandry saw opportunity and it wasted no time knocking. The Royal Chancellor knew it, even His Most Serene Majesty knew it. Subtly, the Commandry had been probing Oltremare diplomatically for some time, but had never gotten far because of the very deep alliance between the Cassiopeians and Oltremarens, perhaps helped by the previous King who had always been... slow to change. There was a new monarch now, and new reason for the Oltremaren to be approached.

Considering the circumstances, and considering what the Kyivans offered with promises of more, be it items or details, Giuseppe considered it no wonder that he urged the king to send him and his aides straight-away.

With only a handful of assistants including one representative of the Royal Steward, Ezio Pantorini, the latter only there to be the public face of the deal, but possessing the freedom to speak on the Royal Steward's behalf in terms of economic matters, he was nonetheless important.

Sitting at the seats offered in the old HQ of the Slavian Communist Party, Giuseppe began, "Gentlemen, thank you for hosting us, I pray this meeting shall be very, very productive." Waiting for the paperwork to be assembled and his Kyivan counterparts to be told his words and give their acknowledgements, he pressed on, "I will not bore you with any pretty words or speeches, instead I shall get this moving immediately."

Pausing for the interpreters once more, he said, "You want something from the Most Serene Kingdom of Oltremare, something that you would not like the rest of Europe to know about, most especially our closest allies to the north, now west. What you have offered in the communication, while vague, has piqued His Most Serene Majesty's curiosity. Now, I am here, on his behalf. I invite you, make your case, why we should do it, and what we will get if we agree."

Simple, direct, quick. Giuseppe's specialty in diplomacy, a specialty he hoped would work its magic on the military of Kyiv who, at least in the rest of the world, did not share nor envy the grace and ongoing dance of conventional diplomacy.

 

[Caelia]

Kyiv, Kyiv Administrative Region,
Commandry of Kyiv and Novgorod

"Straight to business then?" Isydore laughed, he had little taste for diplomatic pleasantries "Exactly what I like to hear!"

"It is very simple Chancellor. The Commandry is cut off, trapped even. We are isolated in the farthest corner of Europe bordered by enemies and empty seas on all sides. This state of affairs does not suite us. We want to expand our influence into the wider world. But to do this we must first break free from our prison. That is why we brought you here."

"The Generalissimus has been watching your nations. He choose you because Oltremare and the Commandry have a common problem. Like us you share a border with the Empire, a great liability for a small state like your own. And this unpleasant business with the catholics.. I have no interest in passing judgment on your laws but it is plain to see it has not won you many friends in Europe. That is how we can help you."

"I'm sorry if I've been talking your ear off but some things need to be said. Oltremare has a problem. The Commandry has a problem. This is the solution. What we ask of you is this, agree to open your lands to us. Give us access to bases, airfields ports. We require no land from you, only your cooperation. Do this for us and we shall certainly make it worth your while."

 

[Congress Aresura]

Kyiv, Kyiv Administrative Region,
Commandry of Kyiv and Novgorod

So there it was, the price tag for the promises that the Kyivans hinted at: Full military access. Considering what Giuseppe assumed they'd be offering, it seemed like a good deal, but those were only assumptions, not even numbers on a piece of paper let alone tangible objects to be seen and touched.

There was also the touchy issue of Oltremare's closest allies to the north, the Cassiopeians. They were not on the best of terms with the Commandry, and up to now the same had officially held true for Oltremaren-Commandry relations. If they found out that Oltremare was giving access to the Kyivans... well the fallout was probably going to be toxic. And why not? What if the Commandry used Oltremare to flank, not the Oikawans, but the Cassiopeians?

The interpreters finished, and Giuseppe immediately responded, "Before I agree, I would like to propose conditions, and bear with me if these seem obvious, but I am first and foremost a diplomat, and I would rather there be no loopholes. First: Whenever you are preparing to transport military hardware and personnel to the Most Serene Kingdom of Oltremare, you are to give our government at least 24 hours notice beforehand, unless in a supreme emergency, in which case you will still contact us immediately beforehand and explain the situation before we confirm access. Second: This is more of a request than a demand, but I'd rather you treat it as the latter. When you use our territory for your hardware and/or personnel, try to keep it as silent as possible, and their presence however welcome as brief as possible. Third and most important: If access is linked in any way to the Most Serene Commonwealth of Cassiopeia, most especially if it is hostile, access will be denied without any questions or hesitation."

 

[Caelia]

Kyiv, Kyiv Administrative Region,
Commandry of Kyiv and Novgorod

The Slavians spent several minutes discussing the terms quietly amongst themselves. Though Isydore had final authority on all matters raised during the meeting only a truly foolish commander would ignore the views of his colleagues and subordinates.

Their discussion ended, he turned back to his guests. "Your terms are acceptable to us. We shall provide notice before any forces are sent, and we shall not operate against your allies from your lands. Of course as I said we will reciprocate your generosity. I believe General Tymoshenko can explain this better than I." He gestured towards the other man.

"Thank you Marshal. I am General-Polkovnik Stanislav Tymoshenko of the CCF Atomic Energy Corps. I came here to tell you what the Commandry can do for Oltremare. We know that you have a troubled history with the Oikawan Empire. We also know that should the empire choose to focus it's attention on you you, quite simply, would cease to be. We cannot provide you with the conventional arms to repel the Oikawans. What we can provide you with is an ultimate deterrent."

 

[Congress Aresura]

Kyiv, Kyiv Administrative Region,
Commandry of Kyiv and Novgorod

Giuseppe smiled an almost predatory smile at the words "ultimate deterrent". He and everybody else in the room knew exactly what that meant, though the Royal Chancellor was the only one to show his true feelings on that. There was, really, only one way to not only ensure survival with Oltremare's neighbor, but also with the Catholic west if they managed to acquire the balls to take the next step with their hate towards the Oltremaren people.

Everybody needed these superweapons nowadays. Not everyone had the means to acquire it however. Not even rich Oltremare. Despite past Royal Marshals to His Most Serene Majesty begging, pleading, one even threatening to resign if he wasn't listened to, for Oltremare to acquire the superweapons reputed to stop wars before they could even be thought up, the past king had refused. To do so openly would anger everybody in the region, especially the Oikawans, even Oltremare's own allies, and even the proposal of doing it secretly didn't work: too many what-ifs, too many chances for the whole thing to be uncovered prematurely...

Well, this King was different, he knew that Oltremare needed these weapons badly. And now the Commandry was practically offering them on a silver platter.

"To which Oltremare is and will be eternally grateful, General-Polkovnik Tymoshenko." Giuseppe began, "We need these ultimate deterrents in all shapes and sizes, a diversified armament if you will. For our navy, weapons suited for submarine launches. Cruise missiles and special artillery shells for the army. Missiles and perhaps also some long range bombers if you can spare them for the air force. Especially for the air force, we are geared primarily for defense, but our range must be both tactical, and strategic. The Oikawan Empire is not the only entity that may call for our blood, but the Catholic west as well..."

Leaning back and pausing to rearrange notes he had abandoned use of long ago, he concluded, "In short, whatever you can spare, we will take, and sincerely thank your generosity for each and every piece, albeit quietly outside of this room."

 

[Caelia]

Kyiv, Kyiv Administrative Region,
Commandry of Kyiv and Novgorod

"These things, we can do for you. I propose this: a total of 500 warheads for cruise and short range air-to-ground missiles and 500 nuclear artillery shells. Specific numbers can be hammered out later. All warheads will be provided with delivery systems. General Hlynka can brief you about this. General?" he turned to the other man.

"Thank you sir, my name is Rustam Hlynka, General-Lieutenant of the SHC Military Armaments Directorate. I have authority over conventional arms transfers. All the warheads will be provided with necessary delivery systems. Long range cruise missiles, short-range air-to-ground missiles and of course artillery shell bodies. As we wish to keep this agreement secret all the systems we will deliver to you are available as conventional weapons. This will be our cover. Additionally we are prepared to provide 24 T-56* long range bombers for you're airforce, though they will need to be manufactured."

"If I may interrupt for a moment?" Stanislav spoke up "There is one essential condition to this transfer. The warheads we will provide you are sealed units. We must insist you not attempt to open or examine them for any reason. If they require maintenance they are to be returned to us. You will be provided with all the necessary command codes to arm and detonate them. We will also reserve the right to conduct on-site inspections to ensure the warheads have not been tampered with. The Generalissimus is adamant that our nuclear secrets be protected."

*T-56=Tu-95

 

[Congress Aresura]

Kyiv, Kyiv Administrative Region,
Commandry of Kyiv and Novgorod

Giuseppe subtly grimaced for half a second at the condition proposed by General-Polkovnik Tymoshenko, a grimace too brief to be noticed by most. 'Damn him, he's smart...' the Royal Chancellor thought to himself as he looked upon the Kyivans with a little more respect. That was an essential condition, and had it not been proposed, he knew he and the Royal Marshal would've exploited its absence the instant they acquired the warheads. If they wanted to continue a under-budgeted and under-appreciated effort to develop Oltremare's own nuclear weapons program, they'd have to do it the hard way, otherwise the Kyivans would howl, and Europe would howl with them.

"Your proposals, and condition," he added with a polite nod to Stanislav, "Are quite acceptable, gentlemen. I can assume shipment of these weapons, specifically the nuclear warheads and shells, will be absolutely discreet and, as a consequence, be drawn out over a few months at the most minimum?" At their nods, he nodded himself. "I thought so. We'd rather be patient and have all the warheads, rather than hasty, and caught."

"Now then gentlemen, is there anything else that needs to be addressed, or shall I let my colleague, Ezio, take over for the deal the public is expecting? Regardless, I will remind you that, once this meeting is concluded, you will be dealing with the Royal Marshal to His Most Serene Majesty, who is more competent in these military matters than I, and I'm sure will be more than happy to cooperate with hammering out details."

'He better. If he's smart he won't dare do anything to screw up this deal...'