The Lion and the Eagle

[Pelasgia]

Propontis, Propontis District, Pelasgia
May 7th, 1983

Andronikos Notaras gripped his hat tightly and gulped. Nervously, he adjusted the braided cord decorating his uniform and fixed some imperceptible error in the ribbons and medals on the left side of his chest. The young Carian prince of twenty-seven years had fixed his uniform so many times by that point that he had lost count, but he still did not feel ready. Outside, the hot Propontine sun was already scorching the grounds of the Great Palace's internal courtyard; Andronikos pulled his collar forward to breathe, as he felt it choking him. It was really far too hot down here--back in Caria, by contrast, the late spring weather was still just warm enough to be comfortable without being unbearably hot.

"Your Majesty," said General Dionysios Vasilikos. The tall, blue-eyed man with the silver beard was the striking image of a Carian nobleman from Navarone, most likely having some crusader ancestry. The general had been the last Carian colonial governor of Pelasgia, and he was arguably the perfect man for the job. "They are waiting for you."

Andronikos took a deep breath and nodded. "I am ready." Ready he was not--only two days ago, he had only been the second prince of Caria, destined to a comfortable existence on the edge of public life, most probably as a military officer. Now, he was the Monarch, the Basileus, of Propontis, and the inheritor of the former crown jewel of his father's empire: the vast, resource-rich land of Pelasgia. For good measure, the Throne of Nauplia had granted him the island of Hagios Georgios off the coast of his new country as a coronation gift, hoping to thus grant him a bit sympathy with the Pelasgian people. The island's belonging to Pelasgia or Caria had long been the subject of dispute, and the Carian Government had thus seen an easy way to resolve one possible issue with the newly independent nation. Alas, this was probably the only "easy" this about the whole matter. Certainly, life had not prepared him Andronikos this; not that it could prepare anyone.

General Vasilikos, himself hardly accustomed to addressing Andronikos Notaras as anything but a puisne prince of the blood, saluted and led the way out of the marble hall and into the large internal courtyard at the centre of the Great Palace of Propontis. The complex, which had been rebuilt a dozen times since its early medieval foundation, had been the home of every regime and ruler in Propontines since the days of the Southern Tiburan Emperors and the Levantine Crusader Kings. Today, it would become the home of a new, independent Pelasgian ruler for the first time in centuries.

"Attention!" cried a Sergeant, dressed in the olive green uniform of the Royal Pelasgian Gendarmerie. The twin lions of the Crown of Propontis, a heritage of the country's crusader and colonial rule, decorated the man's uniform and cap, as they did those of his colleagues.

A hundred gendarmes, all dressed likewise, obeyed the command. Across from them, the professional soldiers of the Royal Carian Army's forces in Pelasgia, who had been transferred to the new state to form the core of an army loyal to the new king, mimicked them. Their uniforms, otherwise identical to those of the Carian troops whom they were relieving of the Palace's guard, only shared one attribute with the Pelasgian gendarmes': the insignia of the twin red lions of Propontis.

As Andronikos took his first step onto the courtyard's tiles, a military band started playing the

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, previously the March of the Governor General. With a serious face, the young monarch scanned the faces of his men: the men whom, with the help of ministers he had never met and officers who were sworn to him only in name, he would have to transform into the basis of an army. And quickly, at that, for the new independent Pelasgian regime was very much in need of consolidation.

Once the Royal March stopped Andronikos felt the eyes of the whole Guard of the Honour and all those in attendance for the first changing of the guard--some two hundred noblemen and notables forming Pelasgia's elite--falling upon him. Mimicking his father as best as he could, he raised his peaked cap and cried out to his men. "Soldiers: from today you are no longer Carian Gendarmes or Carian colonial troops; you are Pelasgian soldiers! From your bodies, the core of the force that will defend our nation's rebirth will be formed. Soldiers: Do you swear to defend the twin-lion banner till the last drop of your blood?"

"We swear!" the soldiers answered in unison. That last line mimicked the oath they had all taken years prior to defend the banners of the King of Caria; in this way, they had just switched their allegiance to their new sovereign.

Andronikos put on his cap again and salute. "Soldiers: I then call you my brothers. Long live the Union of Pelasgia!"

"Long live!" cried the men. "Long live! Long live!"

On General Vasilikos' signal, the band starting playing anew, to much fanfare and celebration by those in attendance. Yet, beneath all this show of unity, Andronikos knew that his job was only just beginning. His eyes scanned the crowd and fell upon the three men who would truly determine the future of his new kingdom: Vasileios Komnenopoulos, of the conservative National Rally; Ioannes Laskarides of the centrist National Liberal Union; and Tiverios Argyros-Doukas of the left-wing Socialist Workers' Party. It was with one or more of these men that he would have to work from now on. Judging by the confidence with which they stared back at him, he would clearly not be the senior partner in such a relationship.​

 

[Pelasgia]

You must be registered for see images OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE UNION Part III(A) | No. 5 | Thursday, May 12, 1983 | 3​

Royal Decree № 7/2022

Establishment of the Armed Forces and the Reorganisation of the Security Forces

ANDRONIKOS, BY THE GRACE OF GOD, KING OF THE PELASGIANS

Considering that:

1. The Union of Pelasgia, like any sovereign state, has a fundamental need to enforce its sovereignty and laws across its whole territory, and to defend the said territory and those inhabiting it from external aggression or internal insurrection.
2. The Royal Pelasgian Gendarmerie and the Royal Pelasgian Coast Guard have formed the core of Pelasgia's law enforcement bodies for the duration of its modern existence, and they continue to exist in an organised and highly modern fashion that makes them ideally suited to continue to undertake their tasks.
3. The former forces of the Carian Colonial Troops in Pelasgia which now form the Carian Auxiliary Corps in Pelasgia have been fully transferred to the control of the Union of Pelasgia to form the core of a modern, professional, and well-ordered military.

We decree:

Article 1 - Law Enforcement Agencies
RD/2022-7, art. 1 / III(A).5.12.05.2022.3.1
1. The Royal Pelasgian Gendarmerie and the Royal Pelasgian Coast Guard shall persist in their duties as Pelasgia's sole law enforcement, border protection, and internal security agencies. The Royal Pelasgian Coast Guard shall have jurisdiction over the sea and ports, while the Royal Pelasgian Gendarmerie shall have jurisdiction over the remainder of Pelasgia's territory, including the Exarchate of Tephanon and all ports of entry except seaports, as well as all terrestrial borders.
2. The Royal Pelasgian Gendarmerie shall be renamed to the Royal Pelasgian Constabulary*, to better reflect its new role as Pelasgia's national police service. Nonetheless, it shall retain its paramilitary structure. The Royal Pelasgian Constabulary will only consist of all forces previously consistuting the Royal Pelasgian Gendarmerie, except for forces of the Militarised Gendarmerie; these last units shall be transferred to the newly constituted Pelasgian Armed Forces.
3. Both the Royal Pelasgian Constabulary and the Royal Pelasgian Coast Guard shall be subject to the exclusive and direct jurisdiction of our Minister of Justice and Public Order. Moreover, Municipal Police units shall be constituted for individual municipalities, under the ultimate authority of the Minister of Justice and Public Order, with a view to assisting the Royal Pelasgian Constabulary in its duties.
*Πελασγικὴ Βασιλικὴ Πολιταρχία (Pelasgikì Vasilikì Politarchía)

Article 2 - Armed Forces
RD/2022-7, art. 2 / III(A).5.12.05.2022.3.2
1. The Pelasgian Armed Forces shall be created to act as Pelasia's combined arms military, under the sole jurisdiction of the Minister of National Defence and the Command-in-Chief of the Crown of Pelasgia. Ordinary command of the Armed Forces shall fall to the civilian government, specifically the Minister of National Defence and the Prime Minister, with the latter holding seniority between the two.
2. The Pelasgian Armed Forces shall consist of the Royal Pelasgian Army, the Royal Pelasgian Navy, and the Royal Pelasgian Air Force. The Royal Pelasgian Army shall consist of the Militarised Gendarmerie units of the Royal Pelasgian Gendarmerie, as mentioned in Paragraph 2 of Article 1 of this Decree, in addition to all terrestrial units of the Carian Auxiliary Corps in Pelasgia. The Royal Pelasgian Navy and the Royal Pelasgian Air Force shall consist of naval and aerial units of the Carian Auxiliary Corps in Pelasgia, as well as any units of the Royal Pelasgian Gendarmerie and the Royal Pelasgian Coast Guard transferred to them by Us through subsequent or precedent Decree.
3. New units shall be raised to ensure the appropriate peacetime size and readiness of all three branches of the Pelasgian Armed Forces. For these purposes, distinct service academies shall be established for each arm of the Pelasgian Armed Forces, based on the model of the existing Carian military higher education institutions in the country. Moreover, a National Guard shall be established under the auspices of the Royal Pelasgian Army, to allow citizens of sensitive areas of the country to complement the nation's defence as may be required.

Article 3 - Command Designations
RD/2022-7, art. 3 / III(A).5.12.05.2022.3.3
1. The current most senior officers of the Royal Pelasgian Constabulary and the Royal Pelasgian Coast Guard shall continue in their commissions and assignments ordinarily and without interruption.
2. The most senior officers of the terrestrial, naval, and aerial components of the Carian Auxiliary Corps in Pelasgia shall be the provisional chiefs of staff of the Royal Pelasgian Army, the Royal Pelasgian Navy, and the Royal Pelasgian Air Force, until such a time as the appropriate academies produce new officers of suitable skill level and experience to take over the command each branch.
3. By reason of seniority, the seniormost commanding officer of the Royal Pelasgian Army, General Dionysios Vasilikos, shall be the first Chief of the General Staff, with the associated title of Marshal of Pelasgia.
4. The Chiefs of Staff of the Pelasgian Armed Forces are authorised and required to hire any such advisors, both domestic and foreign, as they may deem necessary for the proper training of the Pelasgian Armed Forces.

Article 4 - Intelligence Agencies
RD/2022-7, art. 4 / III(A).5.12.05.2022.3.4
1. The Directorate General for State Security and the Special Directorate for State Security shall be separated from the Royal Pelasgian Gendarmerie, and they shall be merged and reorganised into the General Intelligence and Security Service. The General Intelligence and Security Service shall be tasked with internal security, counter-espionage, and counter-intelligence, as well as foreign intelligence and espionage. This Service shall report to the Minister of Justice and Public Order.
2. The units and personnel of the former Main Support Directorate of the Royal Carian Armed Forces in Pelasgia shall be reorganised into the Military Counterintelligence Directorate of the Pelasgian General Staff.
3. The agency executive of the General Intelligence and Security Service shall be appointed by the Minister responsible with the approval of the Prime Minister. The Military Counterintelligence Directorate shall operate normally as a branch of the General Staff of National Defence, under the supervision of the Minister responsible therefor.

Article 5 - Entry into Force
RD/2022-7, art. 5 / III(A).5.12.05.2022.3.5
This decree enters into force immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette of the Union.​

Propontis, May 11, 2022

ANDRONIKOS R.

THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
THE PRIME MINISTER
VASILEIOS KOMNENOPOULOS

THE MINISTERS
THE MINISTER OF NATIONAL DEFENCE
DEMETRIOS ARTOPOIOPOULOS

THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND PUBLIC ORDER
ADAMANTIOS ZERVAS

THE MINISTER OF STATE
THEMISTOKLES PHOUSKARNAKES


(L.S.)

The Great Seal of the Union was witnessed and affixed.
Propontis, May 11, 2022
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND PUBLIC ORDER
ADAMANTIOS ZERVAS​

 

[Pelasgia]

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THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNION
APPELLATE JURISDICTION
DIVISION I - CIVIL CASSATION​

Judgment № 23/1983​

May 20, 1983

[THEODORAKOPOULOS, KOZYRIS, ANASTASIADES JJ.]

Pelasgian Aeronautical Company S.A.,​

Appellant,​

v.

Royal Pelasgian Airlines S.A.,​

Respondent.​

_ _ _ _ _​

S. Athmoneus of Athmoneus Law Offices LLP, for the appellant.
Ad. Nomikos of Nomikos & Associates LLP, for the respondent.

_ _ _ _ _
The unanimous judgment of the Court was delivered by
Theodorakopoulos J.
_ _ _ _ _


J U D G M E N T
​

THEODORAKOPOULOS J.: The case at bar lies from an appeal of Judgment № 159/1982 of the Court of Appeal for Pieria, where MITROPOULOS C.J. upheld Judgment № 227/1982 of PATRIKIOS J. of the Thermi District Court regarding the action brought in first instance by the respondent Royal Pelasgian Airlines S.A. (hereinafter "PVA") against the appellant Pelasgian Aeronautical Company S.A. (hereinafter "PelAir"). In its originating application, PVA claimed PelAir's petition to the Director for Corporations to register for itself the trade name "Pelasgian Airlines" violated PVA's trademark due to an indistinguishable resemblance to PVA's own trade name "PVA Royal Pelasgian Airlines".

The trial judge granted PVA's application, finding that the name sought by PelAir would be virtually indistinguishable by consumers for all practical purposes, primarily due to constituting part of PVA's trade name and full legal name, a resemblance which could be interepreted by consumers as implying the identity or the formal association (e.g., a subsidiary relationship) of the two companies. For this reason, the trial judge concluded that the name sought by PelAir would infringe PVA's trademark and appropriate its goodwill within the meaning of arts.

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,

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and

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of

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of the Code of Fundamental Legislation.

The appeals judge upheld the trial court's decision by rejecting PelAir's arguments that "consumer" in

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should (i) not be read to include foreign consumers, or, in the alternative, (ii) be read to refer to a "reasonably informed consumer with regard to corporate and business realities". The appeals judge clarified that, even if he had ruled otherwise with respect to point (ii), such a finding would have been of no assistance to PelAir, given that its requested name's purported difference with PVA's ordinary trade name is so minor as confuse all consumers but those highly informed on the specific legal realities of the parties.

I would uphold the decision appealed against for substantially the same reasons as those given by MITROPOULOS J., save for one clarification: the "reasonably informed consumer" is already a standard recognised by the Pelasgian law of intellectual property and obligations, including with particular regard to

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of the Basic Law Code. Nevertheless, this standard is distinct from that sought to be imposed by the appellant (namely, the "reasonably informed consumer with regard to corporate and business realities" standard), in that the Pelasgian and foreign consumer, in so far as the law is concerned, is only required to be reasonably informed to a general degree about the market and its evolving realities in so far as they concern him, without necessarily having to conduct in-depth searches into the legal status and business practices of each market participant to ensure whether its reasonable first impressions are true.

In the instant dispute, this means that a consumer cannot be expected to carry out a search into the corporate documents and/or organisational structure of PelAir to verify whether the appellant is indeed associated with or identical to PAV, when the name selected by the appellant creates a strong impression of such affiliation. Moreover, any band-aid solutions proposed by the appellant could not possibly be applied in every context to a satisfactory degree (for instance, a consumer booking a ticker with PelAir online through mutliple third-party websites, as is common, might not have the option to read long disclaimers regarding the lack of any connection between PelAir and PAV).

In light of this reasoning, as well as of the reasons given by the appeals judge, it becomes patently clear that the name sought by the appellant cannot be granted it without irrepairrable and unjustifiable harm to the respondent's lawful interests in its intellectual property.

Appeal denied. Costs of I14000 plus VAT and interest, if any, are assessed against the appellant.

​

K. THEODORAKOPOULOS J.
N. KOZYRIS J.
D. ANASTASIADES J.

(L.S.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

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PROPONTIS DISTRICT COURT
CRIMINAL DIVISION​

Judgment № 153/1983​

May 20, 1983

[VLASTARIS J.]

Attorney General of the Union,​

Plaintiff,​

v.

G.A.,​

Defendant.​

_ _ _ _ _​

A. Prototokis of the Crown Prosecution Service, for the appellant.
K. Alexiadou of Theodorides, Demetriou & Associates LLP, for the respondent.

_ _ _ _ _
The judgment of the Court was delivered by
Vlastaris J.
_ _ _ _ _


J U D G M E N T
​

VLASTARIS J.: The case at bar arises from the indictment of the defendant, G.A., by the Attorney General of the Union for violations of arts. [...] of the Penal Code (

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), arts. [...] of the Quarantine and Customs Law (

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), and arts [...] of the Law respecting Aliens and Immigration (

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) (indictment № [...]/1983).

Briefly, G.A. is a foreign citizen from the Most Serene Republic of @Radilo, who was detained by officers of the Royal Pelasgian Constabulary at Propontis International Airport on May 10, 2022, following a search of his person and the aircraft that his was on for illegal substances. According to the indictment, the defendant was found with considerable quantities of prohibited and controlled substances included under Schedule D of the Addictive Substances Law (№ 139/2022); such substances were also found concealed in his baggage and aboard the plane that he was on. The prosecution alleges that the defendant was connected to the unattended substances found on the plane, as noted in the heading of indictment.

After his initial detention, the defendant was placed under arrest along with three other passengers (including another Radillan national) that he was travelling with. The entirety of the 14-person crew and 6 members of the ground team were all also arrested. The Attorney General of the Union ultimately brought charges against 9 individuals: G.A. and his fellow passengers N.S. (also a Radillan national) and K.M. (a Pelasgian national); 3 crew members, including the pilot (all of them Pelasgian nationals); and 3 members of the ground team (all of them Pelasgian nationals).

After being charged, G.A. was put in touch with the Radillan diplomatic mission in Propontis, which had been informed of his and N.S.'s arrest, in order to be provided with consular assistance. G.A. was also provided with a lawyer from the Public Defence Division of the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, though he later retained his own attorney, who is presently representing him. G.A. was informed that at least two of the offences he was charged with carried the possibility of capital punishment, while all of them carried long prison sentences without the possibility of parole. He was also informed, following the Union's accession to the Meridian Union, that, in the event of his conviction, he would likely be barred from travelling to other Meridian Union countries.

In light of this information, G.A. instructed his lawyer to contact the Crown Prosecutor assigned to the case to negotiate a plea bargain. Following successful negotiations, G.A. agreed to turn Crown evidence and cooperate with the authorities fully. In exchange for this arrangment, G.A. was granted a signed assurance from the Crown Prosecutor (which was submitted to and verified by the Court) that the Crown would not seek capital punishment or life imprisonment in his case, and that the Union of Pelasgia would not transmit his criminal antecedents to the Meridian Union's joint crime prevention bodies. He was also granted assurances of the same kind (and likewise verified by the Court) that he would not be imprisoned for more than five years, and that he would be allowed to return to his home country unhindered and unimpeded following the end of his term in prison. Finally, the Crown undertook assurances regarding the safety and anonimity of G.A.

Pursuant to this arrangment, which has been submitted to me in full, G.A. has agreed to plead guilty to all charges against him, as he did in fact do before the Court on May 20, 2022. In light of this plea, which was entered by the defendant knowingly, willingly, and while he was of sound mind, the Crown has petitioned the Court for a sentence reflecting the agreement concluded between it and the defendant. The plea accords with all prerequisites set out in the Penal Code (

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) and the relevant jurisprudence; I thus see no reason to reject it. I order accordingly.

Defendant G.A. condemned to five years' imprisonment without possibility of parole. Sentence subject to revision in case of defendant's non-compliance with terms of plea agreement as submitted to the Court.

​

CHR. VLASTARIS J.

(L.S.)

 

[Pelasgia]

Propontis, Propontis M.D., Pelasgia
May 22nd, 1990

"And the King?" asked Adamantios Zervas, the tall, dark-haired and rather corpulent man who was serving as Minister of Justice and Public Order.

Prime Minister Vasileios Komnenopoulos paused before one of the windows of his office, which looked out into the National Gardens. In the distance, the tall dome of the Parliament House could be made out above the light pink sea of the blossoming almond trees that lined the front of the gardens. "His Majesty," Komnenopoulos answered, "is presently attending the christening ceremony of the new amphibious assault ship. He is set to announce the Queen's pregnancy with their second child—a boy."

"I see," Zervas answered, leaning forward from his seat at the large conference table of the cabinet room. "I will inform him afterward."

Komnenopoulos turned around. "No need: I will take care of it myself." He walked back to the table and sat down opposite Zervas. "You should focus on getting in touch with the Radillans, to see how much they know—or, rather, how much they're willing to let us know that they know, on top of what this 'Guido' of yours has told us. I want to see if we can iron things out with them before we take matters into our own hands."

"Understood, Vasilis," Zervas responded with a nod. Being the Pelasgian premier's right-hand man and a longtime person friend of his since their days together at Propontis University Law School, he was familiar enough with Komnenopoulos to call him by his first name—at least when they were by themselves, as they were now. "But what if the Radillans don't want to work with us? What, indeed, if they try to help the camorra oppose us?"

Komenopoulos smiled, his pale, slender face glowing as he did so. "Oppose us? Let them! With the intel we've gathered thanks to your little mole and all the other moles he's led us to, we have everything we need to expose them as a mafia state on the global stage. Not to mention their little business dealings with Tarusa. The camorra might be dear to them, but their reputation is dearer. They're a nation of merchants, after all, and merchants value their reputation above everything else."

"We're merchants too," Zervas pointed out, turning his gaze to the old painting of a sailboat that decorated the cabinet room—an authentic Psaltis from 1896.

Komnenopoulos removed his spectacles to clean the lenses and nodded affirmatively. "That we are, which is why I plan to offer a compromise to the Radillans. We don't want to comorra extinct, far from it; we just want them to stop flooding our country with drugs and crime; and, on occasion, we might have some errands for them. After all, isn't that how you got your tip in the first place? Our very own compatriots of the Archipelago Criminal Syndicates started to get pissed at the Italians' flooding the Himyari market with cheap dope and coke and stealing their costumers... and here we are."

"And what about @Tarusa?" Zervas asked. "They'll still have millions if not billions to launder to bypass the sanctions of @Skånskelag and the like."

"Of course," Komnenopoulos conceded. "Now, tell me, why did you think I made you table

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? I never said we have to cut out that little business. Only that we might want a cut—and that, from now on, it will have to go through our channels, since it's in our country. Why launder money through Radillan mafiosi when there's a perfectly good numbered account with investment options at a Pelasgian bank?"

----

Hagios Simeon, Propontis M.D., Pelasgia
May 23rd, 1990

A cool breeze swept through the quay as the soft waves of the Propontine Straits crashed into its concrete base. The distant singing of the seagulls was drowned out by the honking of ships' horns and the endless shouting of sailors, passengers and locals of all stripes. Dockworkers barked order at one another to tie this ship or cut loose the other; their colleagues offloaded cargo ships and then loaded them back up again; sailors struggled in and out of port at various stages of intoxication, while merchants and advertisers cried at them from all sides, offering them food, accommodation, local and imported goods, and... pleasure. In the midst of this all, those passengers who were not fortunate or wise enough to have bought a more expensive ticket for Pyrgos, Propontis' historic port and current business centre and maritime passenger hub, exited large passenger ships and ferries like fish being emptied out of a trawlers' crates. Added to this frenzy of noise were the stringed instruments and singing of Propontis' traditional street musicians, whose contrasting melodies combined into a veritable cacophony. Truly, if one wanted to get lost in the Propontine metropolis, with its 11.4 million residents, the port of Hagios Simeon was the place to do so.

"I am sure you will understand why I asked to meet you here," said Ioanna to her contact from @Radilo, Julia. "Hagios Simeon is noisy but it has a certain... charm."

Julia was not particularly excited by the looks of it, but she was not, at any rate, visiting for pleasure. "Clearly," she snarked, as one of the street musician groups passed by her and Ioanna and started playing music loudly beside each table, hoping for a few extra obols to be thrown their way.

"You foreigners don't know how to have fun," Ioanna commented, eliciting a sarcastic (or was it disdainful?) smile from Julia. The Pannonian, Tarusan or perhaps Thrakian woman who had established herself in Propontis' poorest, most working-class port district first as a woman of the night, then as a police stool-pigeon, and finally as an informant for the General Intelligence and Security Service (G.Y.P.AS.) certainly had quite the gull to refer to others as "you foreigners", as if she were a native. At the very least, her haughty attitude meant that she was integrating well into Propontine society—and had the Propontine Emperors not made an Empress out of at least one foreign prostitute back in their day?

"We both know why I called you," Ioanna continued. "Your all-too honest businessmen friends started to annoy too many people here, and they got themselves caught."

"Caught or betrayed by the local competition?" Julia struck back. "Maybe the Archipelago Syndicates are too focused on having fun to compete."

"I don't answer for those pieces of filth, and you know it," Ioanna replied. "In any case, the Vulture* wants its due and it wants it soon. Will your boss cooperate, or are the MAK** going to have to raid every other 'honest business' outpost this side of the Meridian? I'm sure we'll find a few of your own colleagues there, alongside the camorra... and maybe a few Tarusans too."
*A common nickname for G.Y.P.AS., whose initials form the Pelasgian word for "vulture".
**The initials of the Amphibious Raider Squadrons, a blanket name for various special forces units of the Royal Pelasgian Navy and Coast Guard.

Julia sighed. In the figure of the whore opposite her, she could see herself from ten years prior—and she knew Ioanna would not stop until she got a good answer. "I will contact M and let him know. He can twist our 'business partners'' arms if he decides to do so; however, I can offer you no guarantees that he will. We'll have to reflect on it."

"Reflect away," Ioanna said, throwing a 50 obol note at the band who came beside their table, before motioning them away. "Only, tell Mr. M not to take too long: last I heard, the corpulent gentleman the Vulture answers to was asking the Central Himyaris for authorisation to conduct an extraterritorial operation. The bird's claws are really getting itchy..."​

 

[Pelasgia]

You must be registered for see images	GENERAL INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY SERVICE STATE SECURITY DEPARTMENT INTERNAL POLITICAL CONTROL DIVISION
[BARCODE]​	Propontis, 25/05/1990 Doc. No. [...] Re: Operation ZEUS Classification: TOP SECRET

TOP SECRET - EYES ONLY
The following is a transcript of a conversation between the Minister of Justice and Public Order, Adamantios Zervas (AD), and his chief of staff, Pavlos Manou (PM). The conversation took place on 23/05/2022 at approximately 19:37 (GMT+2) and lasted approximately fifteen (15) minutes.

[***TRANSCRIPT START***]
AD: Hello?
PM: Good evening, Minister. I'm calling about the report on the situation with @Radilo. Is this a good time?
[...]
PM: A few rather bountiful accounts have started popping up at the Bank of Propontis and the Imperial Himyari Bank of Commerce. It seems the Radillans are complying… for now.
AD: They’re rearranging everyone and their cousin, I imagine?
PM: Rearranging, liquidating… they’ll have to start their whole network from scratch. A considerable part of their networks in Caria and the rest of Himyar, too. "G.A." really damaged them.
AD: They’re professionals. I bet a few years down the line, they’ll be back to being a nuisance—though perhaps never as pervasive as they were before. Not for a long time. (laughter)
PM: What of G.A.? They’ll try to get him, surely.
AD: Oh? They’ll get him at a GYPAS black site in Tephanon?
PM: GYPAS? I thought you were sending him to a maximum security jail in Pelagonia.
AD: (scoffs) Oh, please! Correctional service is full of pigs who’d gladly take a bribe. GYPAS, on the other hand, is incorruptible, downright fanatical. We’re keeping G.A. with them for now. Now, once he’s outlived his usefulness — and I feel that time may be coming soon — why, I’m sure we could send him the Italians' way. Call it a "serve time back home" deal. Maybe we’ll do it as a favour, to sweeten the deal for all that warm Tarusan cash they sent our way.
PM: Think he’ll take it?
AD: Who said we he gets a say? Anyway, I’ve got to go now. The Bank of Propontis has organised a large banquet and the National Rally leadership are all guests. I think they’ll be making a very generous donation to our party ahead of the municipal elections — courtesy of Kremlyov!
PM: Understood, Minister. Please give my regards to the Prime Minister.
AD: Of course, Petros. I'm sure he'll appreciate all the work you've put into this plan.
[***TRANSCRIPT END***]

File Notes:
- 24/05/2022 (BBA303): Document has been evaluated as highly compromising for the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice and Public Order, and several high-ranking political officials affiliated with the governing National Rally and the administration of Vasileios Komnenopoulos. Per mission instructions, this information has been filed in the archive for Operation ZEUS, with direct access being limited to the personal discretion of the Director. Classification is TOP SECRET.
- 25/05/2022 (AAA001): Per Director's instruction document has been disclosed to Head of Internal Operations Division in preparation for Phase Two of Operation ZEUS. Classification remains unchanged. Disclosure to any party implicated in conversation is strictly prohibited.​

 

[Pelasgia]

Pyrgos, Propontis M.D., Pelasgia
May 26th, 1990

The light of a myriad windows reflected on the dark blue waters of the Propontine Straits as night fell upon the city of nearly twelve million souls that was the capital of Pelasgia. At this time, Pyrgos, the old cargo port and current passenger hub and business heart of Propontis was booming with life—particularly the area linking it with Hagios Simeon, the new cargo port and working-class waterfront district of the city. There, Propontis’ finest restaurants and entertainment centres lined up in the blocks in front of the sea, catering to both its wealthiest and poorest, local and foreign alike.

This area was perhaps the busiest point on the Propontis coastal highway, the massive six-lane thoroughfare that surrounded the Propontine metropolis on three sides. Officially designated National Road B-1, a branch of Highway A-1 (the Propontis-Hierosolyma national highway), the coastal highway was packed to the brim with cars of all sizes, filled with those looking for a good night out on the last Friday before the summer.

It was in the back of one of those cars,

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, that an unlikely duo found themselves, discussing as their driver took them to their destination.

“The recording you provided me with, if it is fully authentic, is truly concerning,” said Ioannes Laskarides, the leader of National Liberal Union—Pelasgia’s official opposition.

“Its authenticity is beyond reproach,” answered Georgios Anagnostopoulos, the Director of General Intelligence and Security Service (GYPAS). “And I can assure you that it is completely unaltered. I will not delve further into how it was collected… but, suffice it to say, our Service shares your concern; which is why I contacted you, after all.”

“A sitting Prime Minister using something this serious merely to fund his party’s election campaigns…” the other pondered out loud, only slightly exaggerating his shock. “How could the Union tolerate this?”

“We cannot,” answered Director Anagnostopoulos, the light of the streetlights lining the highway alternating over his figure through the window. “And we shall not. What I can tell you with confidence is that our Service and the entirety of the permanent state are not content with Mr. Komnenopoulos’ attitude on this matter—or, indeed, on whole host of matters. But the ease with which he has allowed foreign and domestic gangsters to continue with minimal disruption when we could eradicate them across half of Himyar is… disheartening.”

“Of course, I understand,” Laskarides said, taking on his lawyerly tone. “But what do you propose? Surely you asked to meet for a reason…”

Anagnostopoulos frowned. “Mr. Laskarides, I am certain that you are both smart and apt enough to know why I asked you here. The Union has fallen out of love with Mr. Komnenopoulos, and it needs a reliable, competent replacement: someone who is able and willing to take Pelasgia into the modern era—someone such as yourself.”

Laskarides shrugged, acting as if the offer did not entice him. “I could take Pelasgia into the modern era alright, and perhaps get a considerable part of the National Rally to defect and join my National Liberals—indeed, I must confide in you that a merger of sorts has been discussed. But what of Komnenopoulos himself? He has quite some backing by the aristocrats, the landlords, the clergy and the Crown, and he cannot be removed absent a forced election, which would prove quite destabilizing for our nascent Union.”

“Leave the Prime Minister to us, Mr. Laskarides,” the GYPAS Director declared. “I assure you that he will move out of the way without the need for an election. You concern yourself with getting your coalition in check. As for his supporters, I’m sure that with your majority, you could sweep both them and even the monarchy aside, if need be. Pelasgia is ripe for change, and the second son of a foreign king is hardly a symbol most of our countrymen are attached to.” He paused and checked his watch. “Needless to say that the media can be provided with such leaks as might be needed to shape the narrative in favour of your reforms.”

“Very well then,” Laskarides admitted, after a few moments’ serious ponderance. He was equally astounded at the abruptness of the proposition as he was at the viciousness of the Union’s securocrats—a trait he would do well to remember. “We have an understanding.”

And, just as the Union’s new Manchurian candidate uttered his last words and shook hands with the GYPAS Director, the car stopped in front of To Miso Pithari, one of the finest taverns in Propontis and all of Pelasgia. Laskarides stepped out, but Anagnostopoulos did not follow him—he had much work to do, and he wanted to get on it straight away; and he could also not afford to be seen with the leader of the opposition.

---

Zarakas, Exarchate of Tephanon, Pelasgia
May 27th, 2022

“So this is the product of Project D-553,” said Loukas Kyriakopoulos, carefully examining the small vial which was hermetically sealed inside one of GYPAS’ secret labs in the Exarchate of Tephanon.

His colleague, Petros Daskalakis verified the label on the vial and the one on the file before him before agreeing. “Yes, this is it.” He looked down at the document again. “Says here a few milligrams of this substance can produce a fatal heart attack in even the healthiest of specimens.”

“I pity the poor Radilan mafiosi and Zionist terrorists who had to serve as lab rats for this exact number to be deduced,” Kyriakopoulos bemoaned out loud, before placing the vial back in its safe transport container. “Anyway, what dosage did the boss ask for?”

“Double,” responded Daskalakis. “They really want whoever ‘Subject: Cronus’ is dead.”

“Double?” a wide-eyed Kyriakopoulos asked back. “Won’t that be detected?”

Daskalakis shook his head. “Object D-553 is entirely traceless. They could use a whole vial on the poor sod, and nobody would notice.”

Kyriakopoulos glanced at the container and stepped back. “The things our noble science does in the service of the Union…” Almost instinctively, he touched the two red lions that were sewn into his all-white lab coat; and then, as if nothing had happened at all, he regained his composure and went about carrying out his orders. Such was the life of one who had thrown away scientific ethics in the service of power.​

 

[Pelasgia]

Propontis, Propontis M.D., Pelasgia
May 30th, 2022

“Sir, we need to retaliate,” said Director Anagnostopoulos. “They killed a witness under our protection inside a GYPAS facility!”

“The witness was useless to us at this point,” Prime Minister Komnenopoulos answered. “Anyway, the rest of the informant network that you built thanks to G.A. is fine, is it not?”

Anagnostopoulos held back an angry sigh. “Sir, with respect, this is not about the witness—it’s about upholding our image, our pride. How will anyone respect us if we let this go unpunished?”

“You did allow it to happen,” the Prime Minister snapped back, still barely containing his anger that security at the facility slipped. “Alright,” he said after a few moments’ ponderance. “You have my authorisation. But no Radillan intelligence operatives must be harmed—we have both killed each other’s gangsters, but no agents. I intend to keep it that way.”

Director Anagnostopoulos offered a small bow. “Understood, sir.” He stormed out of the room, phone in hand. The Vulture had some work to do with its Carian and Central Himyari colleagues; and the Director himself was determined to make @Radilo pay tenfold for its slight.

---

Propontis, Propontis M.D., Pelasgia
May 30th, 1990

A calm morrow broke on Propontis, the last of spring. With the almond trees in full blossom, the gardens of the Great Palace resembled a veritable paradise—or at least the closest thing to one Queen Claudia von Homburg-Gosta could find to one in Propontis. Pelasgia was a beautiful country, truly, and she would love it... were it not for the Pelasgians. To them, she would always be the foreign Queen of the foreign King that they had been saddled with as a final insult upon their independence. And though none said it openly to her face, she could even sense it in the attitude of those local noble ladies and gentlemen that she interacted with. None more than his husband's maternal relatives: the House of Vatatzes.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," said the tall, pale man passing her. It was none other than Alexios Tzamantouros, the scion of a cadet branch of the House of Laskaris, itself having merged with the Vatatzes Dynasty a few centuries prior. Apart from the senior branch of Vatatzes, whose sole surviving descendant, Eudocia Vatatze, had been King Andronicus' mother and the Queen of Caria, the Tzamantouroi were the only Laskarids left—and thus the only people entitled to claim the title of Grand Despot of Pelasgia apart from the reigning house. In the eyes of many Pelasgians, of course, they were the only people entitled to do so.

"Good morning, sir," the Queen answered, her pale blue eyes being nearly as cold as her tone—he had recently been promoted to that rank from Commodore after his appointment to his current posting. Speak of the Devil, she thought. Here is the man who is the reason of half my woes... Even the this small paradise of hers, which she had cultivated with such care, she could not find respite. "What brings you to court this morning?"

Almost by instinct, Alexios pointed to the Rear Admiral's insignia on his shoulders. "His Majesty, the Prime Minister, and the Director of GYPAS were in need of my advice," he explained—his phrasing would have been presumptuous, had he not been a great lord of the realm and the Director of the Military Intelligence Directorate (DAS).

"I see," the Queen answered, before remembering her manners. "I do not imagine I could ask you to stay with us for tea, cousin?"

The other offered an apologetic bow. "I am afraid not, Your Majesty. I have an urgent meeting with Director Anagnostopoulos to discuss certain grave matters of state."

The Queen nodded with understanding. In truth, it had been the answer she was hoping for. Though, had she known the object of her enemy's meeting with the Vulture of Propontis, she would have perhaps made a greater effort to keep him...

---

Basilica, Lycaonia District, Pelasgia
May 30th, 2022

Aristotelis adjusted the sights on his assault rifle, verifying that the close range holographics and laser sight were properly aligned. To his left, Dionysios had been painstakingly cleaning his rebreather for a good ten minutes.

"Taking a dip?" Aristotelis asked.

"Foreign shores," Dionysios answered. "How about you?"

Aristotelis smiled—that was about all they could reveal to one another. "Staying here, unfortunately. I've got some foreign visitors to welcome."

"Give them a warm Pelasgian 'ciao!'," Dionysios joked, and he smiled back. It was not often that the MAK*, Pelasgia's elite amphibious commandos, got to actually use their toys.
*The initials stand for "Amphibious Raider Squadrons".​

 

[Pelasgia]

Propontis, Propontis M.D., Pelasgia
June 1st, 1990

"I still can't believe that he's dead, you know," the King said.

Sat across from the monarch of Pelasgia, Ioannes Laskarides could not help but be taken aback by this show of weakness. Indeed, and in spite of King Andronicus' resemblance to his father, the majestic and handsome King Ioannes VII of Caria, it appeared to Laskarides that appearances were the only thing royal about the Carian prince elevated to the Pelasgian Throne as a means of expediting the country's independence by avoiding debates around the head of state. King Andronicus himself had not been prepared to be a monarch, neither by his education nor by his character. "A good man, but not a Sovereign," is how Laskarides had described King Andronicus to his wife, Aspasia. And with every time that the two met, this first impression only grew stronger.

"Mr. Komnenopoulos' passing was hard on all of us," Laskarides answered somberly. "He was the last of a whole generation of leaders who... returned Pelasgia to its status as an independent country."

"Indeed," King Andronicus commented. He shifted his gaze to the documents lying on the table before him and took them in hand. The first he signed without hesitation, noting that it was quite fitting that he should use a pen gifted to him by the late Prime Minister to validate the act renaming Propontis International Airport in his honour. As for the second...

"I see that Mr. Komnenopoulos' colleagues in the National Rally were quick to betray his memory," the King commented as he scanned the decree designating Laskarides as Prime Minister of Pelasgia.

"I would say that they chose to honour his legacy by supporting the politician best suited to continuing his great work," the other answered.

The King frowned. "Which is?"

"The independence and sovereignty of the Pelasgian Nation."

The King drew a deep breath. He knew Laskarides well, for he had been one of the leading activists for Pelasgian Independence, despite being two decades younger than Komnenopoulos. And as a younger man, he ascribed to much more liberal and radical ideas: civil law reform, secularisation, social modernisation, land reform, demotic language officialisation, and just about any idea that upset the established class of notables and aristocrats that formed the fragile basis for the House of Notaras' support as ceremonial monarchs of Pelasgia. However, he also knew that he could not easily oppose the new premier... lest he have to declare an election and face the full wrath of the public.

"I should note that you are being inaugurated without having been elected," King Andronicus said as he signed the decree. "Certainly, such a lack of democratic legitimisation should impair your ability to perform some of your more radical reforms."

Laskarides wished to smile but he did not, ironically acting more royally than the monarch. He knew well that the King was referring to his party's public opposition to the Notaras monarchy. "Perhaps, Your Majesty," he retorted, taking both decrees back. "Though, with all due respect, neither were you. And yet, sometimes it is better to preserve some things slightly altered rather than demolish them entirely—or to seek alternative forms of legitimacy, where that fails."

The King smiled. He thought that Laskarides was offering him the same compromise as Komnenopoulos had: "cooperate with me and you'll keep your crown in the name of 'stability'; fight me and I'll call a referendum to depose you". Certainly, such a plan was amenable to him. Laskarides finally smiled in turn—and he smiled more widely. If only that Carian fool knew, he thought. That there are more ways than one to modify a monarchy in Pelasgian tradition.​

---

Propontis, Propontis M.D., Pelasgia
June 1st, 1990

"He has not fought us," said Alexios Tzamantouros, momentarily moving his phone away from his face as he scratched his aquiline nose.

"Not yet," pointed out Director Anagnostopoulos. The faint humming of an airplane could be heard from his side of the conversation, as he was returning from his inspection of a certain black site in Tephanon. "But he will, trust me. Speaking of which, have you settled on a name? We'll need one when it's time."

"I have," answered Tzamantouros without hesitation. "Vatatzes or Laskaris, either works. But I prefer Vatatzes, if only to emphasize the link of blood with the dynasty that the King also claims, so as to satisfy the conservatives."

Anagnostopoulos could not help but laugh. "Everything to win votes—you're a politician in spirit."

Tzamantouros laughed with him, or roared, more accurately, given his massive height and robust body. "For that we'll have to rely on Mr. Laskarides—who, in spite of his name, is no relation."​

 

[Pelasgia]

Valls King Arnau V International Airport, Valls, @Ebria
June 2nd, 2022

He took a sip of the bright orange beverage filling the elegant glass. This 'aperol spritz' the Ebrians imported from up north is really good, he thought. He opened his phone to check the time and could not help but smile as his eyes fell upon a picture of his wife and his daughter, Paula. Maybe I'll bring them on a vacation here, once I'm back home and the dust has settled.

"Another one, señor?" the bartender asked. He was a really funny fellow—his physiognomy was more like a Pelasgian's than an Ebrian's, and with a similar accent. 'El Nuoreso' is what his colleague had called him, and were the Nuorese not the missing link between the two coasts of the Meridian?

"No, grazie," he answered. El Nuoreso smiled, no doubt happy to have happened into another Italian.

He checked his phone again: 13:05. Probably time to head to my gate. He started for gate B6, where his flight to Radila would commence boarding in around 30 minutes. On the way, his eye caught the bathroom sign, and he decided to head there, for he could feel an immense urge to relieve himself and he would probably not get another chance for at least an hour.

As he made his way there, he could not help but feel a bit dizzy. That aperol spritz is strong stuff—the sweetness masks the alcohol, but it's there in force. Once he sat himself on the toilet, he felt an immense tiredness overtake him, followed by thirst and then a great pain on the chest. And then—he gasped for air in horrible pain, and his heart stopped.

The door of the washroom opened and a pair of men stood before the lifeless body in the otherwise empty washroom close to gate B6.

"Think he's gone?" asked the one, dressed like an airport patrol officer and looking remarkably like El Nuoreso’s colleague at the bar.

"He's gone alright," answered El Nuoreso, "It’s twice the dose we used in Operation ZEUS—which was enough to kill three men."

The two men verified that the target was dead and then disappeared. In an hour or so, a flight would take them to Serbovia, where they would board a train to Caria, and then a boat to Pelasgia. The fake names on the two men’s forged passports would never be used again—those pseudonyms and fake personas were as dead as the hitmen's target. At any rate, they were no longer required, for the vulture had had its due: a couple of weeks later, Paula and her mother would bury the man who formed the pillar of their family. It was good that he had at least confessed before leaving @Radilo for Tephanon.

---

Petralona, Bucellaria District, Pelasgia
June 1st, 2022

"What will they do to us?" asked Mark van Owen, the slimy, pale Vrijporter colonist from the Dune Sea, who had been naturalised as a citizen of Central Himyar.

"Nothing worse than Central Himyari Security would do to us," answered Benjamin Ndialo, the sturdy Central Himyari native with the round face and darkest skin van Owen had ever seen. "Now, stop asking."

The door opened and in walked a man around 175cm, slightly pale for the Meridian, and with dark brown hair and eyes—a stereotypical Pelasgian. "Good morning," the man said. As he sat down, the room's light illuminated his shoulder insignia: a vulture. "I am Colonel Nikolaos Papadakis—and we both know who you are. Might I assume that you know why I'm here?"

"If you're gonna kill us, at least make it quick," van Owen quipped. "And if you're going to send us back, I'd rather you shoot us now. The Central Himyari police don't keep up the same pretenses of civility as you."

"Kill you?" the Colonel asked. "Why, that is not at all the point; I have an offer to make to you."

Van Owen scoffed. "You might as well shoot us now-

"Mark," Benjamin Dialo interjected, grabbing his friend's arm. "Shut up. Speak, Colonel."

The Colonel nodded. "It is true that if you were to be sent home in handcuffs, you'd face a rather painful and short future. This arrest you couldn't bribe your way out of, and the local police would add the fake passports you used to board that flight to all your other troubles—if they were to even bother with formal charges. But what if I were to say that Pelasgia, in all her magnanimity, has negotiated a quiet settlement for you to not be harmed by the Central Himyaris—and, in fact, to be kept very, very safe?"

"What do you want?" Ndialo asked, staring the Colonel in the eye.

"Information," the Colonel explained. "Two weeks ago, you smuggled weapons into Tephanon for the camorra to kill a man. I want to know every detail about this deal, and about every other deal you've previously had or are going to have in the future with the same people who employed you on this one. You catch my meaning yet, Benjamin?"

Benjamin traded looks with van Owen and nodded. At this the Colonel seemed content: they were ready to talk business.

 

[Pelasgia]

Selymbria, Optimatoi District, Pelasgia
June 5th, 1990

“Long live Vatatzes! Long live Vatatzes! Long live Vatatzes!”

The cries of the soldiers, dressed in the ceremonial blue uniforms of the Pelasgian Royal Guard, reverberated through the grounds of the Palace of Selymbria, the quiet summer retreat of the royal family in the town of the same name, some thirty kilometers outside of Propontis. With public sentiment and the press getting more hostile by the day as the crisis caused by the confrontation between the Crown and the Boule of Representatives deepened, the Pelasgian royals had been moved to Selymbria for safety and tranquility, allegedly invoking the start of the summer season.

Queen Claudia had not deluded herself that this retreat from the capital was a victory of any kind; but here, at least, she could pretend that she was not assailed on all sides, if only for the sake of her own sanity. Until now, that was…

The door opened, and the handsome, tall figure of her husband entered.

“Andronicus!” she cried out; at once, the King’s deep blue eyes, which contrasted well with his pale skin and dark hair, fixed on her. “What are we to do?”

The King let out a deep sigh. “What are we to do, dear? All is lost.” He produced a document from his pocket and handed it to Queen Claudia.

The Queen started to read it out loud but her voice faltered. “Act of Deposition of King Andronicus I…” She turned her gaze to her husband. “Who’s to succeed? Our son, Theodore?”

Andronicus shook his head. “They wanted a Pelasgian…”

Almost immediately, the door opened and the tall, wide figure of Grand Despot Alexios Tzamantouros emerged into the room—the Queen’s insides twisted even more than before at the sight of him. “Please excuse the intrusion, my dear cousins,” he said, conspicuously ignoring the style of address formerly reserved to the erstwhile royal couple. “I am afraid that I must evict you from this palace in favour of its new occupant.”

The King fell onto an armchair and offered no retort, preferring to stare at the floor. It was Queen Claudia who took on the burden of rebuttal. “And who would that owner be, sir?”

“Why, myself, dear cousin!” the massive Pelasgian answered, and he handed another document to the woman who was his ‘cousin’ by reason of her marriage to the only other living descendant of the old Vatatzes Dynasty. “By the will of the Boule, as expressed in the Act of Election which you now hold, I am become the first President of the Republic of Pelasgia.”

The King finally looked up and voiced his anger at the proclamation. “You’re barely a Vatatzes, Tzamantouros. The heir of a cadet branch of an otherwise extinct dynasty—that’s who the Boule gave the Throne to?”

Tzamantouros smiled. “I’m as much of a Vatatzes as you, my dear cousin—and more directly so, for I am descended from the male line. And as for the Throne, Pelasgia has no need to bow before an empty chair.” He knocked loudly on the door with his bearlike arm and a squad of constables entered the room. “For this country finally belongs to its people—and you, despite your noble blood, are but foreigners.”

“You will regret this, cousin,” the ex-King noted bitterly as he left the room between a gauntlet of constables ironically wearing his own insignia. “This usurpation will forever alienate the Carians.”

Alexios let out a laugh. “My dear Prince, you value yourself far too highly: your kingdom is ruled by politicians, not monarchs. You’re no more than glorified celebrities. Prime Minister Kalamaras, on the other hand, is far too wise to alienate his country’s most important trade partner over such trivialities. Besides, did you forget that my son is married to the heiress to the Duchy of Thoricus, your country’s second most important city—or did you think that that was by accident?”

---

Pyrgos, Propontis M.D., Pelasgia
June 5th, 1990

A flash of pink exploded into a thousand small fragments, illuminating the sky over the Propontine Straits, its image perfectly reflected on the calm summer waters below. A blue flash and a red followed, and then a dozen more, each of a different colour and each bigger and brighter than the one before.

“Quite the sight,” remarked Director Anagnostopoulos. “It’s hard to believe that I lived to see Pelasgia finally rid itself of the House of Notaras.”

“Indeed,” answered Prime Minister Laskarides, before taking a sip of champagne. “Alas, it is only the beginning—if we wish to make a modern nation out of Pelasgia, we have much work to do.”

“That we do,” affirmed a nodding Anagnostopoulos. “And yet, we are still allowed to celebrate.”

The Prime Minister offered a toast. “To the President! Long live the Republic!”

The Director accepted it happily. “May the Lord preserve them both unto many years!”​

 

[Pelasgia]

Coastline south of Nauplia, Caria
June 10th, 2022

Apostolis adjusted his rifle's thermal sight and took a closer look. "Three contacts up top, just as expected. They're just relaxing near the pool."

"Not that I can blame them in this weather," said Xenophon, his spotter. "Are the Pelasgians in position?"

Aristotelis moved his scope further up, to the coastline. "Dionysios' team is coming out of the water just now—coastline's clear."

"This place is so undefended..." Xenophon pointed out. "It's like they never expected a hit."

Aristotelis moved his scope back to the three guards. "They didn't. Our guys had a deal with them for intel. They were the safest gangsters in the world—probably still think they are."

"Fuck me," Xenophon answered. "This guy's a businessman and, on top of everything, he had political backing. The Pelasgians must have really pulled some strings to get us to work with them."

"They threatened to cut off our oil and other resource shipments," Aristotelis explained. "That about took care of it."

"All dagger teams, prepare for entry," said the commander's voice over the radio.

Aristotelis aimed at the leftmost guard, while his colleagues aimed at the other two. In a split second all three died, felled by a single high-powered sniper shot.

"Move in," the radio commanded. With that, Dionysios' team entered the beachside mansion, clearing it room to room. "Clearing" was a generous term, because most rooms were empty and the occupants of the few that weren't were all asleep or barely awake. Finally, after three floors and ten times as many rooms, Dagger Team 6 of the Pelasgian Navy's elite Amphibious Raider Squadrons (MAK) reached the main bedroom. The door was pushed open and no less than six flashbang grenades were thrown in.

Once the confusion cleared, the couple who occupied the room found themselves handcuffed and surrounded on all sides by armed commandos.

"Vangelis Markakis?" the commander of the men in the black combat diver uniforms asked.

Markakis spotted the insignia on the man's shoulder—a Pelasgian eagle—and groaned angrily. "I'm not with the camorra, you imbeciles! I just work with them occasionally!"

The commander kicked him in the face. "Wrong answer. Are you Vangelis Markakis?"

Markakis groaned anew and spat on the floor. "Yes—and fucking with me is a big mistake."

The commander knelt beside Markakis and looked him the eye. "A mistake? No, Vangelis; helping the people who wanted to fuck with us was a mistake. You smuggled someone into Pelasgia to kill a witness whom we were protecting. Now that was a very big mistake."

"Aren't you people supposed to give a shit about the law?" Markakis shouted at him. "There's no way this is legal. And anyway, since when do you care about shit like this? You're not the mob."

The commander stood up and unholstered his pistol. "The mob are amateurs—we're professionals. The government, after all is a gang. A serious gang, that is, not child's play like you or the camorra. You seek to monopolize coke, we run a protection racket over an entire country's people. See how that works? And you know very well what happens to those who fuck with a stronger gang's turf."

"At least spare my sons!" Markakis shouted. "Or my wife!"

"Your sons are dead," the commander answered coldly. "Twenty-four and twenty-seven—what a waste of youth." He aimed his pistol at Markakis' wife and shot her in the head.

"You son of a bitch!" Those were the only words that Markakis could bring himself to say in between his crying and shouting.

The commander, entirely unshaken, aimed at Markakis. "Don't worry, Vangelis: she made a cuckold out of you. You’ll meet her very soon, in hell." A gunshot thundered through the room, as if to signal the end of the Markakis Criminal Syndicate, the primary partners of the camorra—and of M—in the criminal underworld of Caria and Pelasgia. In this way, the Pelasgians honoured their deal: they had had their reprisals without harming a single agent of @Radilo. And yet, the message was quite clear to everyone.

---

Kalamba City, Central Himyar
June 10th, 2022

The Pelasgian embassy in Kalamba City was a truly impressive piece of engineering. More a complex of buildings than a single edifice, the embassy’s grounds consisting of a series of white buildings built in the Propontine State’s favourite architectural style—“simplified neoclassical”—which had started life in 1910 as the Pelasgian Trade section of the neighbouring Carian embassy and had grown to dwarf the building they were supposedly attached to. By the time of independence, it was clear which building was most important, and that was to nobody’s surprise; for Pelasgia had long been one of the largest economies in Himyar and a major trade partner for the Central Himyaris.

It was right next to this impressive complex, outside is tall, well-guarded walls and its impeccable lawn and gardens, that stood a seven-storey building of almost perfectly rectangular shape, with reflective windows and built entirely of concrete. This structure, whose ownership and tenancy was unknown, had strangely been marked as extraterritorial on the Central Himyari government's internal maps—and it was no coincidence too. This satellite building served as the main operational centre out of which Pelasgian intelligence aided their local partners in combatting terrorism and narcotics trade—in addition to pursuing certain other, less selfless and mutually beneficial tasks. Ironically, the Central Himyari police and intelligence officers who visited the building would remark that it seemed better guarded than the main complex beside it. GYPAS, or the "Krypteia"* as it was now known, certainly cut no corners…
*The Pelasgian word for "Secret Service", a shortened form of the agency's new full name: Federal Secret Service (Ὁμοσπονδιακὴ Κρυπτεία).

Deep beneath this building, in the third basement level, which could theoretically even withstand missile strikes, a pair of Central Himyari nationals found themselves opposite a certain Pelasgian Colonel with whom they were all too familiar.

“I trust that you have contacted your network?” Colonel Papadakis asked.

“We have,” answered Benjamin Ndialo. “We’ve gathered all the information you wanted and given it to the people you told us to.”

“Good,” the Colonel commented, nodding. “Very good. For now, you will have to lay low and continue making occasional reports to me. I’ll contact you if there’s anything specific.”

Van Owen almost jumped with relief and excitement. “So, we’re free to go?”

The Colonel forced a smile. “You’re always free to go, Mark. What comes after, however, depends on how and when you do so.”

Mark van Owen sank back into his chair.

The Colonel rose from his and started for the door. “My subordinates will show you out—we have to switch the exits around, you see.”

Benjamin shrugged: it was a tiresome exercise, but he understood the point. Last week, they had exited through an underground foot tunnel which led out into a clinic. Today, they would drive out separately from another tunnel which led out into an underground parking lot a couple of blocks away. It was all a matter of precaution.​

 

[Pelasgia]

Propontis, Propontis M.P., Pelasgia
June 14, 2022

A faint light shined through the semi-transparent glass that lined the space between the metal skeleton of the palatial building’s interior. The light descended from the glass ceiling onto the ground below, illuminating everything within the great station: the hundreds if not thousands of passengers, employees, and vendors; the clocks and information panels beside each platform and on the main causeways connected them; the endless sea of signs, printed in both Pelasgian and Engellsh; and, of course, the trains. Never in her life had Viktoria seen so many trains, ranging from the blue and yellow ordinary intercity rail engines to the sharp, arrow-shaped white and blue high-speed rail trains. Regardless of its kind and colours, every single train, without exception, bore the same golden double-headed eagle motif at its front, signifying its belonging to

You must be registered for see links

.

In truth, from her youngest days back in Pannonia, Viktoria had always dreamt of visiting Propontis Central Station—what child in Germania hadn’t?—and of taking a train to a thousand different exotic destinations in both Pelasgia and the rest of the Ebony Continent. Alas, now that she stood there, under that massive glass ceiling supported by those same monstrous Corinthian pillars that had once excited her imagination, she could hardly find any joy in the whole matter.

“This way, young lady,” said a man who, by his voice, must have been at least forty. Viktoria looked up and her eye caught sight of that same double-headed eagle motif from the trains on the man’s kepi. A soldier? she thought, noting that his uniform was green. And yet, as was a well-known fun fact among most Gallo-Germanians, the Pelasgian police, the Politarchy, wore green uniforms, just like their colleagues in a handful of Germanian jurisdictions.

“What is your name?” the man asked.

“Viktoria.” Her mother had told her not to tell her name to strangers, especially older men; but then, her mother had told her a lot of things, and where was she now?

“Nice to meet you Viktoria,” the man answered. “My name is Stamatis. I am a police officer, and I am here to help register you and your family with the Department of Asylum and Immigration. Do you understand what that means?”

Viktoria nodded. Registration. Now that was a word that she must have heard at least a hundred times over the last two days alone. First, on the bus from her refugee camp to the military airport in northern Caria; then, on the flight to Propontis; on the train ride from the airport to Propontis Central Station; and finally, every other moment from her arrival at the station to now, during the multi-hour wait at the que. So, it’s finally time for that.

“Thank you, Mr. Stamatis, but I shouldn’t take too much of your time,” Viktoria said coldly but politely. “You see, there’s only three of us left: me, my little brother, and my grandfather. Unless you still need to register the other six, that is.”

Stamatis’ smile disappeared and, under the shadow of his visor, his eyes grew dark. What a cruel place the world was that a girl, who, by the looks of it, was no older than twelve, should already speak about her family’s decimation as it were a matter of course or a natural part of life…

“Mr. Stamatis,” Viktoria continued. “May I ask you something?”

A stunned Stamatis was quick to respond. “Anything, my dear!”

“What happens after registration?” Viktoria inquired.

Stamatis blinked a couple of times. What a mature young one, he thought to himself. Already thinking of the next step. Adversity certainly breeds competence… “Well,” he said in a reassuring tone. “We’ll open a file for your family with the Department, so you can claim asylum and the associated benefits; and then, we’ll transfer you to some place in Pelasgia, where you can stay, adjust to your new home, and build a new life. It will all take some time of course, but you should have a place to call home in in a couple of weeks at most.”

Viktoria nodded. “Thank you.” She paused and glanced at her brother, Joszef. “Could I ask you for a favour then? Can we go some place warm?”

“Warm?” Stamatis demanded reflexively. “Surely all of Pelasgia is warm compared to Pannonia, wouldn’t you say, my dear?”

“Perhaps,” Viktoria answered timidly. “Only, you see, we thought the same thing about Caria and at our camp in the White Mountains, my little brother caught a cold and nearly died…”​

 

[Pelasgia]

Kalamba City, Central Himyar
June 15th, 2022

“By the life of me,” Mark van Owen exclaimed, “I can’t believe this thing went so smoothly!”

Banjamin Ndialo slammed down another shot of South West Himyari blue label scotch and nodded. His notoriously calm demeanour had given way to visible stock and a thousand-yard stare. “I was sure we were gonna get caught—the Pelasgians must have gotten us some help on the inside.”

“You bet your black ass they did,” van Owen exclaimed even more loudly, slamming his own shot glass down on the table as he did so.

“What I don’t understand,” Benjamin Ndialo wondered out loud, “is why the Colonel needed us to get those weapons to the Central Himyaris in the first place. We delivered them to government forces, not some guerilla band—what’s the point of hiding the government’s own weapon shipments from the government?”

Mark van Owen seemed not at all surprised—instead, he calmly poured him and his partner another shot. “Maybe that was the whole point.”

Benjamin’s eyes shot up to his partner’s pale face. “What do you mean?”

“Well maybe they wanted to get them to some government units without the rest of the government knowing,” Mark van Owen explained.

Instead of being reassured, Ndialo froze. “Fuck me.” He was far too shocked by this revelation to be amazed by the rare occurrence that was his partner’s outsmarting him. “If that’s the case I bet we’ll be hearing about this.”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure of it,” van Owen commented as he placed the two refilled glasses on the table. “Anyway, if our little adventure at Petralona Airport taught us anything, it’s that there’s no point in running. Try as we might, we can never truly escape Central Himyar. So, let’s drink while we still can—who knows what will happen to us if the Pelasgians fail?”

“Fuck that,” Benjamin Ndialo responded as he raised his glass to toast. “I’m more scared about what happens if they succeed.”​

 

[Pelasgia]

20km south of Tatavla, Pelagonia, Pelasgia
June 17th, 2022

The silhouette of Propontis, with its tall spires and massive domes, had by now disappeared well behind the mountains. These mountains, in turn, had grown smaller and smaller at the edge of the horizon, as the train descended down from the capital metropolis, through the polities of Optimatoi and Kleisoura, and into the vast heartland of Pelagonia, the breadbasket of Pelasgia.

For the first time in months—if not in years—Viktoria felt somewhat at home, what with these beautiful green meadows and the distant white peaks of the highlands in the background. The train, too, was a familiar medium, much more so than a ship or a plain, for any raised in the Old World. There was a certain… peace in seeing that endless sea of green go by so fast, with herds of cows and small barns disappearing as quickly as they came into view.

“Little girl,” someone whispered, so as to not wake Viktoria's brother, Joszef, and their grandfather up.

Viktoria turned around a saw a short, slightly chubby man in a kepi and dressed in blue from head to toe, and with a bright yellow reflective vest on top of it all—a railway employee, if she ever saw one. She knew to take out her ticket—and those of her two sleeping family members—and hand them to the employee without his even asking.

“Thank you,” the chubby OSPE employee offered.

“Why are we slowing down?” Viktoria asked in a hushed tone, noticing that the countryside outside the train seemed to be going by at a less rapid rate.

The man shrugged and explained as he handed Viktoria the three tickets back, now all pierced and with a date and time printed next to the small hole. “We’ll have to stop for a bit for a transport train to pass us. Normally, they keep passenger and freight rail well apart, but I’m told that this is an urgent transport. I’m guessing that somebody’s expecting trouble.”

Almost instinctively, Viktoria’s eyes opened wide. War! Here? How?!

The man must have noticed her reaction, because he was quick to clarify. “It’s some anti-riot equipment they’re transferring to Philistaea. They’re just expecting some protests is all.”

“Where’s Philistaea?” Viktoria inquired, still not entirely reassured.

The man opened his phone and showed her

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. “Far away from here, to the east of these big mountains—to the east of the entire country, really.” Noting that Viktoria gulped nervously, the man went on. “They have occasional riots there over some weird religious things, but nothing serious—they’ve been doing it for decades and the government always rotates some fire engines there when it has to. Otherwise, it prefers to keep them in more fire-prone areas.”

Finally, Viktoria let her concern go. Not much use in worrying about it if I can’t control it, she figured. So I might as well believe him.

A quick wave and a hushed “thank you” and “goodbye” later, Viktoria was back to looking out the window of the now-accelerating train, which the freight train had long since passed. Still, she could not help but wonder: what was going on in this “Philistaea” place?

---

Hierosolyma, Philistaea, Pelasgia
June 17, 2022

“For the millionth time, Lieutenant,” Rigas Kavallaris said, “we cannot ignore explicit orders from the regional director of the Politarchy for the entire East, much less Central Command in Propontis!”

“With all due respect, Commander,” Anna Geraka answered, her sharp, almond-shaped eyes shining against the room’s dim light; “you know as well as I do that arresting a Church Hierarch less than a week after Pentecost will outrage his followers—and our mandate is to preserve public order, not to upset it.”

“Our mandate,” the Commander shot back, finally raising his voice along with his body, “is whatever Propontis tells us it is! Do I make myself clear?” He paused and fell back into his chair to calm himself down. “Look, Geraka, I know you’d hoped things would change now, but our job does not change. It’s both the blessing and the curse of being a cop. King or President, Notaras or Vatatzes, Carian rule or home rule, this cannot change: if Central Command orders something, we have to follow through—and if we stopped short of arresting anybody who’s popular with some group of faithful or another, we’d scarcely ever make an arrest in this city. Now, do you understand me?”

Anna wished to shout, to curse even, but she instead calmly collected herself and did not even let out a sigh. “Yes, sir. I understand you—and I trust you. But I think that Propontis knows as well as we do that this is bound to cause uproar.”

“I know, Lieutenant, I know,” Rigas finally admitted. “I know that we’re not getting the whole truth here, and I know that you know it too. But blowing ourselves up won’t solve this—and I need people who also have a working brain and the right instincts here with me. Like it or not, we’re in Pelasgia’s worst province, in so far as public order is concerned. We can’t afford to lose good officers by pointlessly trying to frustrate the execution of inevitable orders.”

Finally, in turn, Anna stood in attention and saluted. “Understood, sir. Do you need anything else?”

“That will be all,” Rigas responded as he shook his head. “You may go.” But then, just as his subordinate was about to walk out the door, the Captain made one last comment. “You know, Lieutenant, I feel that, even if we were in another life in a completely different world, we’d still somehow be doing this.”

“So do I, Captain,” Lieutenant Geraka answered without a hint of hesitation. “Sometimes, people are just trapped in their roles, no matter how much the world around them might change—like the Hierarch whom we have to arrest.”​

 

[Pelasgia]

You must be registered for see images OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE UNION Part I(A) | No. 38 | Monday, June 20, 2022 | 23​

Act of the Federal Parliament № 44/2022 (c. 220 Fed. Cod.)

The Act respecting the Secularisation of the State and the Disposition of Church Property is enacted following its publication in the Official Gazette of the Union pursuant to Article 52 of the Constitution.
——​

No. 44/2022
ACT SECULARISING THE STATE AND DISPOSING OF CHURCH PROPERTY​

Be it enacted by His Excellency, the President of the Union, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and Boule of Representatives, in this present Federal Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

Article 1 - Short Title and Federal Codification
S/2022-44, art. 1 / c. 220 F.C., s. 1 / I(A).38.20.06.2022.23.1
1. This Act may be cited as the Secularisation and Church Property Act (2022).
2. This Act is entered into the Federal Code of Fundamental Legislation as Chapter 220, and it may be cited as such.

Article 2 - Disestablishment of the Orthodox Church
S/2022-44, art. 2 / c. 220 F.C., s. 2 / I(A).38.20.06.2022.23.2
1. The Great Church of Christ in Propontis is hereby disestablished from its position as the Official Church of the Union.
2. Notwithstanding its disestablishment, the Faith of the Great Church of Christ in Propontis shall continue to be recognised as the Preeminent National Faith of Pelasgia, as required by the Constitution of the Union. In accordance with this status, limited privileges shall be afforded to its authorities and its adherents as might be necessary, including as pertains to education on religious matters, observance of religious holidays, official ceremonies, and chaplain services in the military.
3. Nothing in this Act shall be taken to limit the rights, privileges, and obligations of the Great Church of Christ in Propontis, except as otherwise enacted.

Article 3 - Ecclesiastical Property
S/2022-44, art. 3 / c. 220 F.C., s. 3 / I(A).38.20.06.2022.23.3
1. Except as otherwise enacted hereinafter, all property belonging to the Great Church of Christ in Propontis shall be retained by it as its sole and undisputed property, which may dispose of the said property as it sees fit and without answering to any order, body, or brotherhood subordinate to its structures or to any other, external authority.
2. Excepted from the previous provision are all properties forming part or the whole of or attached to a convent, monastery, academic or charitable institution, residence hall, or any other property movable or immovable not explicitly connected to the carrying out of worshipful and liturgical functions in the ordinary course.
3. Excepted are also all movables or fixtures attached to property explicitly not connected to the carrying out of worshipful and liturgical functions in the ordinary course.
4. All property contemplated under paragraphs 3 and 4 of this article shall escheat to the Union, which may dispose of it as it sees fit and with a view to the general welfare and the preservation of the cultural and historical heritage of the Nation.
5. These same provisions apply mutatis mutandis to all other ecclesiastical bodies and religious groups of any faith in Pelasgia.

Article 4 - Ecclesiastical Governance and Taxation
S/2022-44, art. 4 / c. 220 F.C., s. 4 / I(A).38.20.06.2022.23.4
1. The relations between the State and the Established Church, which were previously under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs, shall henceforth fall within the mandate of the new, separate Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs. The Federal State shall retain oversight over the State Church through the Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs in order to safeguard public order and the national interest.
2. The governance of the Great Church of Christ in Propontis shall continue unaltered and unmolested, with full autonomy of the Church in its own internal matters being guaranteed. Nevertheless, no person may be ordained a bishop or a Patriarch of the Church without being a Pelasgian national with full political rights. In the case of the latter, the approval of all candidacies by the Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs shall also be required.
3. The clergy and other employees of the Great Church of Christ in Propontis shall no longer be considered spiritual ministers of the State and federal civil servants, nor shall they be paid out of the public treasury of the Union or of any Polity. However, the Tax Department of the federal Ministry of Finance shall continue to collect the tithe levied on the Church's members by the Church based on self-declaration as a member of the Church by each taxpaying member in annual tax returns and census reports. This tax shall be directly transferred by the Tax Department to the Chancellery of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the end of every fiscal year.
4. In spite of its disestablishment, the Orthodox Church shall continue to enjoy freedom from ordinary property tax at the federal, polity, and municipal level, as do all officially registered religious bodies in the Union. As with other religious bodies, this exemption shall only apply to the Church's religious activities and it shall not extend to taxes other than property tax.

Article 5 - Guarantee of Religious Freedom
S/2022-44, art. 5 / c. 220 F.C., s. 5 / I(A).38.20.06.2022.23.5
Nothing in this Act may be taken to limit or infringe the religious freedom of any other religious or irreligious group in the Union. All Pelasgians remain free to practice and to live by their own religious or other spiritual beliefs, in so far as these do not conflict with general penal law and with the overriding provisions of public order.

Article 6 - Entry into Force
S/2022-44, art. 6 / c. 220 F.C., s. 6 / I(A).38.20.06.2022.23.6
This Act enters into force immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette of the Union.​

Propontis, June 20, 2022

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNION
ALEXIOS VATATZES-TZAMANTOUROS

THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
THE PRIME MINISTER
IOANNES LASKARIDES

THE MINISTERS
THE MINISTER OF ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS
KONSTANTINOS ARMENOPOULOS

THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND PUBLIC ORDER
ADAMANTIOS ZERVAS

THE MINISTER OF STATE
PHOTIOS MAXIMOS


(L.S.)

The Great Seal of the Union was witnessed and affixed.
Propontis, June 20, 2022
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND PUBLIC ORDER
ADAMANTIOS ZERVAS​

 

[Pelasgia]

Kalamba City, Central Himyar
June 21st, 2022

The unending ticking of the clock echoed through the room—the only thing breaking its oppressive silence. Colonel Joseph Banza looked down at his own watch, which bore the insignia of the Central Himyari Commandos: Twenty minutes to midnight.

“Remember,” said his colleague, Francis Ilunga of the Central Himyari Secret Service (CHSS). “We only get one shot at this.”

“And we have less than a day,” added Banza, “so let’s make sure we get it right.” He turned to his subordinate, Major Albert Kasongo, who was adjusting his weapon—an assault rifle of the former Pannonian Army, which the Pelasgians had seized from the camorra somewhere in the Meridian a couple of months prior, and which had then found its way to Central Himyar in secrecy, thanks to the work of a certain pair of Central Himyari smugglers.

Upon meeting his superior’s gaze, Kasongo nodded. “My team will take control of the state broadcaster and telecoms centre. Brigadier Ngoy’s tanks will establish control over the capital and surround the parliament building.”

Banza returned the nod; he was absolutely confident in his subordinates’ abilities, for he considered them to be Himyar’s finest—and not entirely without reason. “My team will insert into the Presidential Palace and perform a surgical decapitation strike. If all goes well, we should be done with this shortly after the Major’s team gets a firm grip on the capital’s transportation infrastructure and communications.”

Francis Ilunga’s stone-cold face, which was dark even for a pure-blooded Nethian, betrayed a faint look of satisfaction. “So, everything is in order. Good.” He looked up at the Colonel. “My men will arrest or liquidate any major regime players who are not on our side in their beds—and we will conduct the replacement government to the Palace shortly after you are done. If all goes according to plan, then, in two days’ time, Central Himyar shall be under new management.”

“What about international recognition?” asked Banza—obviously this was a sticking point for him, for he had asked about it twice before. He had seen two other coups abroad, before his current commission, and he knew how quickly a militarily successful coup could fail politically.

“We can assure you of sufficient support and recognition,” said a voice speaking in a foreign accent. Colonel Papadakis of the Krypteia emerged from the shadows at the edge of room, his pale skin seeming to almost glow under the light of a lone, bright lamp that hanged from the ceiling. “Pelasgia has stood by you so far, and she will support you till the end—if you carry out your tasks flawlessly, that is. Remember: this is for the good of all Himyar.”​

 

[Pelasgia]

Aspropol, Pelagonia, Pelasgia

June 23, 2022

The soft, melodic singing of birds awoke Viktoria, just as a soft summery breeze blew through the wide plain. At the wind's blowing, the trees and crops lining the fertile Pelagonian heartland, with its green pastures and its rich soil, their leaves crackling like a bunch of small branches breaking under the weight of a boot. It was only a moment later that she heard that same sound, followed by a familiar voice.

"Sleeping again, Viktoria?" asked Stephanos Vogatsis, that towering officer of the Mountain Raider Companies (LOK), the Pelasgian Federal Army's elite commandos.

Normally, the sound of the man's deep voice, along with his massive shadow should have scared her; but they did not. Pelagonia, for all its faults, was as close to rural Pannonia as she could get, even after moving around four different countries on her trip away from her war-torn home. In this garden of a region, she could only feel safe and at home. Captain Vogatsis was imposing, even compared to her Pannonian compatriots back home, but he was a kind man, for he had helped her with moving around groceries, furniture, and just about anything during her move to a home not too far from his own, in the outskirts of Aspropol.

"I'm catching some rest in the shade is all," she said. "Don't people here rest at noon?"

Vogatsis could not help but see her point. "Yes, I suppose the sun is too strong right now to work the fields in." He studied the young girl before him for a moment and remarked at just how much she resembled his younger sister, now long gone off to Propontis for studies and then for marriage. "Your Pelasgian is getting quite good," he noted.

"Ms. Theano says I'm a fast learner," a blushing Viktoria answered with pride. She noticed that the Captain seemed somewhat somber, try as he might not to show it—it always worked on Stephanos' children, but never on Viktoria and her brother, for they had seen enough of human sorrow to tell it apart even under the best of facades. "You seem concerned, Captain. Is everything alright?"

Vogatsis sighed. "You're a sharp one, aren't you?" he said, causing the girl to blush again and to smile awkwardly. His gaze shifted to the large military base outside Aspropol, one of the largest in Pelasgia, whose barbed wire perimeter coincided with the borders of the farm where Viktoria was working to make an extra buck during the summer. "Some of my men are shipping away, to some base outside our borders. The announcement hasn't been made yet, but we're already preparing."

"And you're afraid for them?" the young Pannonian inquired.

The towering Captain nodded. "Yes. It's only a peacetime deployment, but, the way things are going in Europe, one never knows these days..."

Viktoria stiffened her brow and looked toward the rail line at the opposite end of the field. I wonder what's going on in Philistaea.

---

Hierosolyma, Philistaea, Pelasgia
June 23, 2022

“All I’m saying is that we’ve already checked this area,” said Philippos Ioannides, his bright blue eyes scanning the semi-deserted backends of Hierosolyma Central Train Station. “I mean, anyway, why does a President take the train to visit another part of the country, Lieutenant?”

Anna Geraka’s face was as stern and emotionless as the rest of her tall and slender figure. “If the Commander ordered us to check it, we’re going to check it, Sergeant. Make sure your men are looking through the rest of this area properly.” She paused and tried to shove open a door marked with OSPE’s logo. “The President of the Union takes the train because it’s a state company, and because it’s what most regular Pelasgians take around the country.”

Sergeant Ioannides motioned his superior aside and tried to force the door himself, before Corporal Skopelites, one of his men who had been accompanying them, pointed to the terminal beside the door. “It seems to be jammed—I’ll plug in and see if I can open it.”

The Sergeant was rather annoyed: certainly, the corporal could have told them that before they had made fools of themselves. Yet, before he could say a thing, the Lieutenant motioned them both to be silent—a conversation was taking place behind the door.

“Why won’t this damn thing work!” said one man, in a distinct local accent and dialect.

“I don’t know!” said another. “Just be careful—I don’t want it blowing up on us!”

“Yeah that would be-

The door slammed open and the two Philistaean radicals found the three Federal Politarchs outside with their guns at the ready and trained on those within.

“Inconvenient?” Lieutenant Geraka asked.

“Corporal!” barked Sergeant Ioannides. “Help me get these fools into cuffs. I’ll radio for backup.”

“We have a bomb!” warned the second of the two radicals.

“And?” the Sergeant asked snarkily. “You just said you didn't want it ‘blowing up on you’.”​

 

[Pelasgia]

Hierosolyma, Philistaea, Pelasgia

June 24, 2022

A few more drops of blood dripped on the floor, accompanied by faint, pained breathing.

"What now scum?" barked a muscular man with a scalp dried out from been shaven clean every day. His Federal Politarch's uniform, which he had cast aside, lied on some table behind him. It was remarkably clean and tidy, unlike the bloodied undershirt that the man still wore. "Answer me or I'll kill you: Where did you get those explosives?"

The radical spat out a few drops of blood. "We both know you can't kill me. Go fuck yourself, cop."

"As you wish, then," the Politarch said, and readied himself for another punch.

"Enough!" The stern voice of an officer echoed through the hot, humid room at the basement of Hierosolyma Federal Politarchy HQ. The slender figures of Commander Rigas Kavallaris and his adjutant, Lieutenant Anna Geraka, emerged from the door at the far end of the interrogation room. "That's enough, Sergeant. He's no use to us dead."

The man's pained breathing rose a pitch, as if to signal a mixture of victory and relief: He had been right.

"You might as well kill me," the man said. "Otherwise, you'll never get me to talk. Never! Not that I am afraid of death... I await eternal life!"

"God!" Rigas moaned hushedly and without noticing the irony. "I hate these fundamentalist pricks."

"Maybe you should let me throw a few more punches his way," said the large, muscular man, with shoulders so broad as to resemble those of Atlas, and a head as hairless as the sky that the titan once supported. "His 'Holy League' has caused my men plenty of trouble."

"Commander," the Lieutenant intervened. "Might I give it a shot?"

Rigas nodded without hesitation. He had come to trust his adjutant over a few years now. The pale woman from Scutari, who still bore the slightly long nose and light brown hair that she had inherited from her Carian mother, started for the other side of the room.

"Aren't you a nice thing," the prisoner said. "Why, are they gonna try tempting me-

A slap echoed through the room. "You say you seek eternal life," Anna said. "We can give it to you. Or, we can give it to your loved ones: your wife, Chrysoula, aged 30. Your daughters, Despoina and Katerina, aged 7 and 8. Or your oldest son, Loukas, aged 10. How about your brother, Tiverios? He's got four children, no? They all live on 13 Pareklisiou Road, just outside Tyrus, if I recall..."

"You bastards!" the man shouted. "You'd never!"

"Oh, but we would," Anna answered. She removed a laptop from her bag and placed it on the table beside the prisoner, where the Sergeant's uniform still was. The laptop's screen was showing a live feed from the thermal camera of a predator drone. In the drone's crosshairs was an assuming rural dwelling. "You know whose home this is, don't you?"

"You- you-" the man's head dropped and he nodded.

"I'll ask you for the last time: where did you get the bomb?"

The man did not answer for a few instants. Then, he started laughing, hysterically, maniacally even. "Oh, I'll tell you alright. But it's pointless—because the man who gave it to me is waiting to meet your Usurper just now. And by the time you get to him, it won't make a difference!"

---
​

Andravis, Philistaea, Pelasgia

June 24, 2022

Andravis was a quaint, fair city. Populated by a few hundred thousand people and created largely as a settlement of Carian colonists and loyalists meant to work at the nearby shipyards and submarine repair works, the industrial city had long been one of the safest, cleanest, and best organised places to live in in all of Pelasgia—and all this in spite of its otherwise short history and unremarkable location. It was often joked that, in Andravis, nobody needed the police, because the entire population might as well have been on the force at all times. Such was the Andravians' respect for even the most minute of bylaws! And, certainly, after being surrounded by a small army of uniformed and plain-clothes officers and agents for his whole stay in Hierosolyma, President Alexios Vatatzes-Notaras felt quite free to move about in this safe harbour, where the green and blue uniforms of the Politarchy and the Astynomia* were as rare as street littering.
*The local and municipal police force of Pelasgia.

"I will be back in Hierosolyma by the end of the day," the President mused out loud. "But it was worth the hustle coming all the way out here, if only to see you before you set off. That and the... peace and tranquility."

"Funny place, really," his son, Theodoros, answered in much the same tone. "One would scarcely think to look for a submarine base here, let alone a naval intelligence facility."

Alexios nodded. "Yes, I suppose so. How is Maria settling in? With your child coming along, and your new posting as Exarch* of Tephanon, it must be a lot. And soon, the two of you'll have to attend your sister's wedding with my soon-to-be son in law from the @Rheinbund. The occasion is happy enough, but neither one of us can stand long ceremonies."
*A Pelasgian title roughly equivalent to a Governor General of an overseas territory or exclave.

"She's tougher than she looks, father," Theodoros answered, always smiling faintly when thinking of his wife, at least since she made him a father. Theirs was a match made purely for political purposes, as was the tradition with Pelasgo-Carian nobility—and, yet, it had worked out quite well. Mostly, according to Theodoros, because they were both mature enough to know what they were getting into and that they had to make it work. "She was raised much like us: 'romance and simplicity is for those lucky enough to be of low birth,' I believe was your phrasing. She understands that intuitively."

"Her father was a wise man," Alexios noted, bringing the late Duke of Thoricus to mind. "I'm glad to hear that she took after him. He was one of the few Carian aristocrats still worthy of the title." He paused before the quay, which was now before them, and turned to his son, looking him straight in the eye. "Son, I need you to understand why I asked you to become Exarch of Tephanon. I, too, was a young father once, and a young husband. I know that these moments are precious, but we were not brought on this world to please ourselves. We were born to serve. Nobility is a service, as is leadership, and the higher up you are on a hierarchy, the more people who are under you you are bound to. We, who are Basileis* of Pelasgia in all but name, have a whole nation behind us and only God to look to for help. There are only so few people I can rely upon—and in Tephanon, I need someone I can trust."
*The plural of Basileus, the Pelasgian word for "Sovereign" (also translated as "King" or "Emperor").

Theodoros returned his father's gaze. Their eyes, just like the rest of their appearance, were remarkably alike, so much so that the Pelasgian leader seemed like an older version of his son. "I understand father," Theodoros responded, after some consideration. "Your policy has been to consolidate and modernise Pelasgia. Two areas primarily stand in the way of such a plan: Philistaea, with its regressive, reactionary population, which boasts considerable minorities on top of its backwardness; and Tephanon, which is, for all intents and purposes, an overseas colony. The former you can take care of yourself—though, of course, you must take care to maintain the pretence of being a mere figurehead, so you must act through Prime Minister Laskarides. As for the latter, as you said, you need someone you can trust. Which, evidently, would be me."

"Indeed," Alexios said, choosing simplicity since even the erudite language failed to voice some emotions. His eye fell upon his son's navy uniform, which was much like his own had been at that age. "There is another thing, too. One day, you will have to succeed me. It will not be easy: many will stand in your way, many you formerly thought to be our allies; and others, who were once our enemies, will have to become allies and even friends. When that day comes, understand this: once I die, there is no 'we', in the sense of myself and you. There is not even your family. There is only you. The 'We' a ruler speaks, be he a President or a King, is for himself and all the people he is bound to, not any specific subset thereof, and certainly not the dead. Once that day comes, you will do what you must."

At that last 'must', Theodoros felt a shiver go through his spine. He could not help but ask: "Will I be ready?"

"You will have to," his father answered. "Romance and simplicity is for those lucky enough to be of low birth. Rulers simply do what they must, pleasantry and difficulty aside. Or else, they and all they serve are bound to suffer."​

 

[Pelasgia]

You must be registered for see images OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE EMPIRE Part I(A) | No. 40 | Sunday, June 26, 2022 | 24​

Act of the Parliament of Pelasgia № 47/2022

The Act amending the Act respecting the Secularisation of the State and the Disposition of Church Property is enacted following its publication in the Official Gazette of the Union pursuant to Article 52 of the Constitution.
——​

No. 47/2022
ACT AMENDING CHAPTER 220 OF THE CODE OF FUNDAMENTAL LEGISLATION​

Be it enacted by the Emperor's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and Boule of Representatives, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

Article 1 - Re-Establishment of the Orthodox Church
S/2022-47, art. 1 / I(A).40.26.06.2022.24.1
1. Article 2 of Chapter 220 of the Code of Fundamental Legislation is struck in its entirety.
2. In the place of the article struck by the preceding paragraph, the following text is entered: "The Great Church of Christ in Propontis is the Established Church of the Pelasgian Empire. The State shall recognise the established rights, privileges, and obligations of the State Church, except as otherwise enacted."

Article 2 - Ecclesiastical Governance and Taxation
S/2022-47, art. 2 / I(A).40.26.06.2022.24.2
1. Paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 of Article 4 of Chapter 220 of the Code of Fundamental Legislation is struck are struck in their entirety.
2. Paragraph 1 is replaced by the following text: "The relations between the State and the Established Church, which were previously under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs, shall henceforth fall within the mandate of the new, separate Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs."
3. Paragraph 3 is replaced by the following text: "The Tax Department of the Ministry of Finance shall collect the tithe levied on the Church's members by the Church based on self-declaration as a member of the Church by each taxpaying member in annual tax returns and census reports. This tax shall be directly transferred by the Tax Department to the Chancellery of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the end of every fiscal year. The Established Church shall continue to enjoy freedom from ordinary property tax at all levels of government. This exemption shall only apply to the Church's religious activities and it shall not extend to taxes other than property tax."
4. Paragraph 4 is replaced by the following text: "The provisions of this article apply mutatis mutandis to all other officially recognised religious bodies in the Empire."

Article 3 - Other Provisions and Entry into Force
S/2022-47, art. 3 / I(A).40.26.06.2022.24.3
1. Article 1 of Chapter 220 of the Code of Fundamental Legislation is struck in its entirety and replaced with the following text:
​

1. This Act may be cited as the Church Property Act (2022).
2. This Act is entered into the Code of Fundamental Legislation as Chapter 220, and it may be cited as such.​

2. In Article 5 of Chapter 220 of the Code of Fundamental Legislation, the word "Union" is replaced with "Empire". The word "religious" and the phrase "or other spiritual" are struck.
3. This Act enters into force immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette.​

 

[Pelasgia]

(All posts here are to be considered as valid. Posts concerning Pelasgia's political shift are to be moved back to the 1983-1990 period, per my updated history; posts concerning my camorra RP with @Radilo and the death of my previous Prime Minister at the death of @San Jose 's own El Presidente are to be considered as having taken place in 2022. I tried to update the dates, but it's a bit chaotic, so just use this post as a key.)

Hierosolyma, Philistaea, Pelasgia

"The Prime Minister is visiting Philistaea to make a big announcement, in the run-up to the Feast of the Dormition," said Rigas Kavallaris. As he did so he took one long look outside the window of his office—Hierosolyma was already a boiling cauldron since the Pope's latest announcement and the Empire's heavy-handed reaction, and whatever Sophokles Angelopoulos was planning, it would only make things worse.

"I take it this means we are in charge of ensuring the city's security?" Lieutenant Anna Geraka asked, already knowing the answer. "Train stations and the like?"

"Yes, we are," Kavallaris answered. "However, it's Hierosolyma International Airport we have to watch instead—the Prime Minister has decided to fly in, as a means of promoting Pelasgian Aiways' new partnership with the government to provide the people with cheap domestic tourism vouchers."

Anna sighed quietly. Of all times, she wondered, why did it have to be this one that the Empire's leaders finally decided to embrace the airplane over the train for domestic trips?

Kavallaris forwarded Anna an email from his phone before continuing. "It goes without saying that we'll have to triple security, even for the most minor things. To further complicate matters, a Papal Diplomat is flying in via @Radilo on the same day. Propontis has sent us the relevant file and an information package to verify the diplomat's identity, along with a note to be careful. I'm sure the Papists have something in store for us, after the little trick the government played on them..."​