Matters Between Cousins

[Serbovia]

Residence of the Serbovian High Representative
Veliko Tarnovgrad
North Thrakia

"If anything", High Representative Vuksan Kostic said while pouring more rakija to his drink glass, and then to the second glass meant for his conversation partner, "The Pelasgian motion will ease things for us."

Major General Milan Draskovic got up from the Baroque couch to take the glass offered by High Representative Kostic. Kostic turned away from the bar cabinet bristling with Serbovian, Thrakian and foreign liquors, and sat down on the opposite couch with his own glass. The spacious living room of the High Representative's official residence reminded Draskovic of the great cycle of history whenever he spent time there. House Orelov had been a powerful dynasty of Thrakian nobility, with history spanning all the way to the 11th century. Its members had served the Thrakian monarchs in peace and war and accumulated a vast earthly fortune. The early 18th century manor, built to the highest standards of Baroque styles that were then in fashion in Gallogermania, had been meant to be a lasting monument of the influence and power of House Orelov.

Alas, Prince Maksim Orelov who headed the family at the onset of the Thrakian Civil War had been a staunch liberal who had publicly condemned the Thrakian militias and their atrocities when the city had been the center of fierce urban warfare between Serbovic and Thrakian troops. He had been killed for it, along with his extended family, shot in the manor's park and buried in a mass grave on those very same grounds. After the war, distant relatives had fought in courts over the right of ownership to the manor. Attempts to determine a line of succession had been inconclusive, and so the remaining properties of House Orelov had passed to the Provisional Authority. They, in turn, had leased the manor to the Serbovian government as an official residence of the High Representative.

Almost everywhere in the manor, portraits of House Orelov's past princes and barons kept staring at visitors in the walls. To Major General Draskovic those portraits, and the very story of House Orelov's demise, were reminders of an important maxim in life. No one was invulnerable.

"True", Draskovic said in response to the High Representative. "With the partition over, our only obstacle has been the European Forum. The end of the mandates will see to that. Did you see the news coming in from Remion?"

"Yes, a military coup of some kind, or an attempt at one."

"Whether or not it succeeds I suppose the Remionese will have better things to do now than to challenge our presence in Thrakia. And besides, that proposal will be irrelevant should the mandates be abolished altogether. What do you think about the Government Congress?"

Draskovic appreciated that he could be rather blunt when talking politics with Kostic. Both men were, in fact, members of the Serbovian intelligence community. Draskovic was the head of the Thrakia Section of CDI, the Serbovian military intelligence, and Kostic had served in CDI's civilian counterpart agency FDSB for fifteen years before transferring to Foreign Affairs as one of several ex-security service protegés of Aleksandar Plesic. Kostic was the visible face of Serbovia in Thrakia as the High Representative, Serbovia's chief diplomat. Draskovic, on the other hand, was in charge of all intelligence activities in the country and various activities of subterfuge which Serbovia carried out to play the various Thrakian factions to their advantage.

"I met with Todorov earlier today to talk on that. He's received Petrovgrad's recommendations on future governance in Thrakia. There will be a referendum as called for by the EF, and probably the majority of the non-Serboves will vote for Thrakian independence, but it will be on a province-by-province basis. We've given a proposal on a republican system with Baiunian and Muslim autonomy, a local referendum on the Krajina and for Thrakia to enter a treaty of friendship, assistance and cooperation with the Federal State."

"What if Todorov won't be in charge", Draskovic asked.

"He will.", Kostic said in a confident tone.

"True", Draskovic shrugged, "Probably he will just rig the elections. Well, if that works..."

Draskovic didn't have a particular high opinion of Matey Todorov, the Thrakian chairman of the Provisional Authority, as a person. The man was a corrupt opportunist solely interested in maintaining his power. However, he was useful to Serbovia in that role. Todorov and most of his compatriots were associated with the CDI in one way or the other. Serbovian influence in Thrakia would be guaranteed.

"The Krajina will not need much agitation. They are already marching on the streets demanding Petrovgrad to annex them. A referendum would be a mere formality. And if we'll keep Todorov in power, he will gladly sell those lands away for our continued backing", Kostic continued.

It wasn't a surprise. The Thrakian Civil War had been two long years with atrocities carried out by all sides. The trauma of the massacres and burning towns had never truly gone away in spite of the reconstruction and all the official talk of unity between various Thrakian peoples and creeds. The Krajina. That region had changed owners between Serbovia and Thrakia for hundreds of years, even to the point where its entire Serbovian name was derived from the Serbovian word for "frontier". It had last changed hands during the Great War, and the recovery of those lost territories had been a focal point of Serbovian nationalists ever since. Draskovic knew that the reintegration of the Serbovian Krajina into the Fatherland had been a goal of the military and the security services from the days of the Thrakian Civil War. The European Forum had always stood in the way, but no longer.

"Petrovgrad gave me orders to prepare the Orion Plan as a precaution. Hopefully it won't be needed. Thrakia will not need any more bloodshed".

Orion Plan was a contingency plan devised by the Serbovian Armed Forces for a situation where the European Forum would assume control of the Thrakian Mandate from Serbovia, or upheaval in Thrakia would result in forces hostile to Serbovia rising power. Local irregulars, quietly trained by Serbovian intelligence over the years, would incite a "rebellion of Thrakian Serboves" against Thrakia, prompting a Serbovian military intervention ostensibly aiming to restore stability. The true aim, obviously, was to seize control of the Serbovian Krajina as a prelude to annexation.

"I agree", Kostic said and raised his glass of rakija, "Let us toast."

"Krajina je Srbovija", Major General Milan Draskovic proclaimed as he raised his glass.

"Krajina je Srbovija!"

 

[Serbovia]

Territorial Assembly Building
Bulevard na Kral Boris III 4
Veliko Tarnovgrad
North Thrakia

The building that had once served as the seat of the Royal Thrakian legislature - the House of the Estates - had not seen an unified Thrakian assembly for the last twenty years. The 16th century Baroque building where decisions of peace and war had been made and the fates of the Thrakians had been discussed had been almost destroyed during the Battle of Veliko Tarnovgrad, when Serbovian forces and their local affiliates had ousted the Thrakian Nationalists from the city.

A thousand-strong contingent of Nationalists had fortified the building to make their last stand, refusing to surrender in spite of all attempts. Eventually the Serbovian III Corps had pummeled the House of the Estates using fuel-air weapons and conventional artillery, and all that remained in the end was the building's front facade and its newer west wing which had housed personal offices of the legislators. At the end of the war, Serbovian reconstruction money had been used to rebuild the building in a new, modern shape, though with its remaining old parts preserved to serve as a reminder of the past.

Few Thrakians failed to appreciate the symbolism. To some, it was the symbol of a nation tearing itself asunder and then being slowly rebuilt with the help of foreigners. To others, it was a symbol of Serbovian neo-imperialism and how the Serbovians and Tarusans had carved a broken country up like a cake and then rebuilt it to their own image.

Today was the first day of the All-Thrakian Constitutional Congress, the first time that representatives from North and South Thrakia would come together in over two decades. North Thrakia would be represented by its elected Territorial Assembly.

South Thrakia had not had an equivalent organ during the Tarusan occupation, and as such representatives had been invited out of local activists, ethnic and religious leaders, influential society figures, academics and community leaders. Their legitimacy had already been challenged by opponents of the Provisional Authority, which demanded elections for the Constitutional Congress.

Matey Todorov, the Provisional Authority Chairman, had maintained his stance that the Constitutional Congress was only there to determine options for a new Thrakian system of government, which would then be put to a referendum, after which an actual legislature would be elected. This, Todorov had reminded, was in line with the European Forum resolution and its roadmap to end the mandates.

And so, the 400 representatives of the Constitutional Congress and their various aides filled the halls of the Territorial Assembly Building amidst tight security measures. While most of the various militant groups that had sprung up in Thrakia in the aftermath of the Civil War had either been destroyed by the Serbovians and the Tarusans or laid down their arms and entered legitimate politics, splinter factions remained. While they mainly engaged in infighting or attacks against smaller PA and Serbovian forces in the rural areas, the chance that they might be emboldened to attack Veliko Tarnovgrad could not be discounted. As such, hundreds of Thrakian Security Corps paramilitaries and Serbovian regulars had been ordered to protect the Congress from any assault.

No one familiar with Thrakian politics would be surprised that the first day of the Congress had devolved into a full-blown shouting match.

The Serbovian National Movement had flat-out announced that they were thoroughly disinterested in the debates over the new Thrakian system of government. Their demand was that the Serbovian Krajina - Thrakia's traditional Serbovic region - and other majority-Serbovic municipalities were immediately annexed by the Federal State of Serbovia.

Todorov's own People's Party of Thrakia submitted a proposition where the Krajina would be allowed to vote on accession to Serbovia, and the rest of Thrakia would be reorganized into an unitary Republic with guaranteed autonomy for ethnic minorities.

The Thrakian Patriotic Front stated their opposition to the so-called Todorov Plan. Their alternative plan was essentially the same, just without minority autonomy and a demand that the European Forum, Serbovia and Tarusa were all immediately expelled from Thrakia. The Front's chairman Stepan Petrov accused Todorov of attempting a personal powergrab (which probably was true) and proclaimed that the entire People's Party had been corrupted by money from Serbovian spies and business oligarchs (which probably was true).

While this went on, Major General Draskovic watched a live-stream of the Congress in his office and remarked to an associate how a pot was probably calling a kettle black, seeing that how corrupt the average Thrakian politician was.

The Workers' Party and the Future of Thrakia, both moderate parties in the opposition, submitted their own alternative proposal in which all ethnic communities would be allowed to vote on either independence, annexation into Serbovia or membership in a new Thrakian Federation. Their proposed Federation would be divided into equal Thrakian, Serbovian, Baiunian and Muslim states, each autonomous in internal affairs and with a joint army and a rotating presidency.

Chairman Todorov and People's Party representatives went on a full attack against this so-called Tarasov Plan (named as such after professor Mikhail Tarasov from the University of Veliko Tarnovgrad, progenitor of the plan), accusing them of wanting to build a weak and divided Thrakia. Todorov even went on to accuse professor Tarasov of being an Eiffellandian spy, and decried the Tarasov Plan as a foreign plot.

Major General Draskovic once again said that a pot was calling a kettle black, though he appreciated the irony and the audacity of it. After all, Matey Todorov was a long-standing asset of Serbovian military intelligence.

The Pomorak National Union also called for independence for the Pomorak Muslims, again reminding how both Serbovic and Thrakian forces had persecuted their communities during the course of the Civil War. The accusation was swiftly denied by ethnic Serbovic and Thrakian representatives, and so the debate was side-tracked in a half-hour row of war history which finally ended when a recess was called.

The far-left May 19th Movement declared that they refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Congress and any solution that it would agree on.

The Baiunian Democratic Assembly, on the other hand, would be a wild card. They merely announced that they were evaluating all of the presented options.

High Representative Vuksan Kostic sat in an isolated section of the assembly hall's audience gallery, flanked by Serbovian aides and bodyguards. Being a father of four, the entire procession reminded him of how his children used to squabble at home all the time. The only difference being that twenty years ago, these "children" had been massacring each other. The prospect of history repeating itself was very real unless a satisfactory outcome would be reached.

The Constitutional Congress concluded its session at eight in the evening, four hours past the originally designated schedule.

 

[Serbovia]

Hotel Kontinental
35 Ulitsa Nikita Grozdev
Veliko Tarnovgrad
Thrakia

A week ago

"Fucking useless, each and every one of them", Assemblyman Stepan Petrov cursed immediately after his compatriot had closed the door of their hotel room behind the two Thrakian men.

He threw off his suit jacket, aiming for a chair in their suite's vestibule but landing on the floor, continuing, "Most of them are just corrupt assholes interested in their own pow..."

Nikita Romanov hissed and lifted a finger, motioning for Petrov to stay quiet. Having removed his shoes and his own jacket, Nikita walked up to the living room and placed a suitcase on its large glass table. He proceeded to open it and pull out a device which resembled an enlarged hand-held radio in shape. In his mind, Stepan chastized himself for having forgotten their security protocols. A former militant of the now-defunct Thrakian Republican Army, Nikita always insisted that anywhere they talked business in was swept for bugs.

Stepan watched Nikita move about in the hotel suite, waving the bug sweeper about. After several minutes of silence he announced: "It's clear."

Nikita twitched as if he had forgotten something, and walked up to close the curtains of the room's large windows. Laser microphones, you see.

"You were saying?", Nikita asked.

Finally Stepan could let off some steam. He picked up his suit jacket and hanged it to a coat stand and then sat down on the room's large, comfortable sofa. So inviting after another day spent in the Constitutional Congress.

"Todorov is just another opportunist more interested in filling his offshore accounts with money from Petrovgrad and Serbovian oligarchs. And those in his party? They're kissing his ass in the hopes of a share. And I'm the only one who has the guts to call him out for it!"

"You've been in Thrakian politics for a decade. I'd have expected you to learn by now", Nikita replied in a dry tone, "Self-interest has always been the ruling ideology of the Territory Assembly. And these new South Thrakians? Probably handpicked by Todorov and the Serbovians themselves. No wonder that they have been so meek so far."

"The Tarasov Plan is a joke too. All it would do is bring about another divided state and probably another civil war too.", Petrov continued, referring to the proposed confederation put forward by the Workers' Party and the Future of Thrakia Party.

"Well, you were chosen to lead the Front to bring a change. So lead."

It was easier said than done. 35 years of age, Stepan Petrov had been too young to fight in the Civil War and his family had kept him away from joining the subsequent nationalist insurgency. He was fully aware that he was the head of the Patriotic Front because a majority of party activists had wanted a younger, photogenic leader that would take the Front away from the stereotype of a bearded forest insurgent, he had studied abroad which also was contrary to the stereotypical leader of the Patriotic Front, and because of his family name.

His father Hristo had, after all, been a famous commander of Thrakian nationalist forces before a Serbovian airstrike had taken him out in August 2003. There were some hardliners in the party who kept insisting that he wasn't fit to lead and that he had only risen to the top of the party on his father's merits. Stepan was eager to prove them wrong. Thrakia for Thrakians had always been Stepan's goal. However, he wanted to achieve it by ballots and not bullets.

"If the old elite is either corrupt or just plain incompetent, then we'll bypass them. We must appeal directly to the people."

The two Thrakians kept making their plans until late into the night.