Presidential Office, Arlette. United Federation of Elysia.
June 24th, 1427.
10:00 AM
“How is our operation going on in the Yarian Empire?” President Irwin asked his assistant, flipping and spinning a pencil on his right hand.
“We’re wrapping up the combat phase of the invasion already. The 5th Marines is now switching to counter-insurgency instead while the Department of State works on a plan to dissolve the Yarian Empire into a city state where they came from, returning the conquered lands to former slaves.” Loyd read from the report on his hand. “Most of the original Yarians were angry about losing their empire but they are but a minority without their beasts and goblins to conquer and subjugate others, I doubt they pose a real threat in the long run.”
“So their leader surrendered.” Irwin leaned back, folding his arms.
“That’s correct, Mister President. King Yaria offered his surrender last week to Colonel Stanford of the 5th Marine Mechanized Brigade.”
Good riddance, Irwin thinks to himself. Defeating the Yarian Empire is just about the easiest part of any military campaign if you have an overwhelmingly powerful military. The real headache is what usually comes after: occupation and reconciliation. As hard as it is to admit it, one of the unintended benefits of the Yarian’s brutality towards others is that most of the countries and kingdoms they overran were almost exclusively cleansed of the people living there.
The Federation is still reeling from the sudden Transference event, sending an entire brigade for a war on another continent didn’t help with the economic situation either and although the slightly censored footage given to the Federal News Corporation had boosted war support somewhat, it didn’t do as much as Irwin had hoped. The path is already laid bare for everyone in the country to see: there needs to be annexation and a large resettlement of the citizens.
Whoever’s left of the original population wouldn’t be happy that the Federation is taking over their old homeland, no doubt, but Irwin believes that he could work out a deal with them through making concessions. If they don’t want to self rule, even better, as the Federation could just give them refugee status, slowly integrate them into Elysian society and take over the land. The favor gained from liberating them is significant, so the chance of his idea succeeding is gonna be significant.
Convincing the Federal Parliament to accept his proposal would be a headache, as it was as imperialistic as it gets by all definitions. But that wouldn’t be a problem right? This is another world, afterall. The Yarians were threatening Azuria and Lior with death and enslavement, worse than starvation and poverty by the Socialists! So stepping in to defeat and dissolve them would be nothing short of an act of a saint for the Azurians by the Federation. He could entice the Azurians with half of the land previously belonging to the Yarian Empire, while the Federation could get the other half. Satisfied with his idea, he grabbed a pen and wrote down the proposal letter to the Federal Parliament.
His second assistant, Ellen, suddenly stepped into his office. “Mister President?”
“Hello, Ellen. Do you mind helping me with this?” He gestured at the printer.
“Of course sir. By the way, you have a meeting at the Meeting Room at 10:30.” She grabs the small stack of paper, still warm from the fresh ink of the printer.
Irwin checked the time on his watch: 10:15 AM. “It appears so.” He stood up, walking towards the Meeting Room as Ellen closely followed behind.
----------------------------------------
Meeting Room, Presidential Office.
10:30 AM
Irwin stepped inside the Meeting Room, his military staff and officers already present. “Good morning, everyone. I’m sure you all know why I gathered you here already?”
Several replies came up from the staff and officers which affirm Irwin’s question. Irwin also noticed an Azurian military attaché, his bright golden attires standing out among the suited men belonging to his staff. “You must be General Kalasta?”
“Indeed, President Irwin. Duke Kalush ad Azuri has sent me to observe and to learn from your military. Due to the strengthening ties between our two countries, the Duke wanted more than just joint operations using our own equipment. He wishes for modernization and training of the Azurian military.”
“And that shall be one of the topics we shall discuss today.” Irwin gives out a light hearted smile. Knowing how barbaric this world has been so far, especially regarding the Yarians, he was glad that civility and respect also existed.
Irwin gave the signal for everyone to sit down while Ellen distributed the copy of his proposal to everyone sitting in the room. Paper and documents shuffling about as the Secretary of Armament and Defense spoke first. “We recognized the need to modernize the Azurian military who is now our trusted ally despite having been in contact for just over a month. I believe that the Azurians deserved an effective military, not only to safeguard their sovereignty but to also help protect our assets on the ground in case of war breaking out as we cannot keep a large military presence forever.” He paused. “However, due to the less than ideal infrastructure present in the Kingdom of Azuria, I can only suggest modernization of lighter equipment like issuing rifles, body armor, camouflage uniforms, helmets and radios. More sophisticated hardware will have to be held off until the infrastructure in Azuria has matured sufficiently. Is that alright, General Kalasta?”
“It is reasonable. You have my utmost gratitude, Mister Raynard.” General Kalasta replied calmly, but internally he was overjoyed to hear the approval. His soldiers no doubt would’ve appreciated new weapons and equipment provided to them, even if it was only basic small arms. But there were only several problems.
“I still have questions regarding this, Mr.Raynard.” Kalasta straightened up, switching to a more professional tone but his worries can still be felt. “How are we going to afford these items? I have seen the pricing of these advanced equipment converted to our currency, procuring them would be a very expensive endeavor. It pains me to admit this, but our country has little to offer the world but food as we are a majority agricultural society, as such we aren’t wealthy by any measure.”
“Don’t worry about that, General Kalasta.” Irwin spoke up. “I already got Minister Johnson, who is in charge of the Department of Treasury, to get on board with the plan despite his isolationist stance. A large majority of our Federal Parliament have also commended your men’s action during the war on the Yarian Empire, thanks to the somewhat good press coverage. Our country will pass the Strategic Assistance Act soon which will allow us to send money to your country, the money can only be spent on the purchase of our weapons however. Your country may spend a small amount of 40 million Credits per year on the purchase and maintenance of equipment, this is to allow you freedom to choose the equipment most appropriate for your country’s needs.”
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
General Kalasta’s eyes lit up, finding the generosity of the Elysians hard to believe. “My, I can’t express my gratitude enough! I assure you that we will spend the amount wisely.” He bowed lightly.
Irwin cleared his throat. “That’s good to hear. Gentlemen, now for the topic of the post-war treaty with the Yarians.”
General Kalasta’s eyes frowned slightly at the topic. Afterall, the Yarians were as barbaric as they get, a peace treaty with them would often be broken as soon as they regained their strength. Although grateful for the Elysian’s help, he couldn’t sympathize with them in regard to how they treat defeated enemies, especially one as ruthless as the Yarians. Compassion is a double edge sword.
“Due to internal matters, King Yaria cannot be present at this meeting. However, he has sent us his demands. One of which is the preservation of his power on the throne and to continue ruling in peace.”
Kalasta stood up in protest, barely containing his distaste for King Yaria. “That’s not possible! What if he built another army to attack again like his forefathers?! Kingdoms have fallen just because they spared the Yarians of complete destruction!”
Seeing everyone’s surprised reaction in the room, he quietly sat down on the soft chair. “I apologize for my outburst, it’s just that I cannot see any other way but to put that man down for good.”
“We understand your concern, General. But the cycle of violence has to be stopped, no matter what. Putting King Yaria down will cause a power vacuum which could accelerate into a civil war! The risk of that happening is too great and our country is in no position to intervene should the situation spiral out of control. It is also why we decided to modernize your armed forces as well, to help share the burden of security on the Eastern Continent.” Raynard said.
“This is the post war treaty.” Irwin gestured at Ellen to distribute the copies in her hand. “I hope you’ll find this acceptable.”
He sat in silence, watching everybody read the copies in their hand slowly.
General Kalasta reads one of the terms out loud: “Article I - The Yarian Empire, acting in conformity with the wishes of the people and every department of its government, cedes to the United Federation of Elysia and the Kingdom of Azuria all its territories deemed not to be apart of its original sovereignty, to be held by both parties in full property and sovereignty. This cession includes all public lots and squares, vacant lands, mines, minerals, salt lakes and springs, public edifices, fortifications, barracks, ports and harbors, navy and shipyard, docks, magazines, arms, armaments and accouterments, archives and public documents, public funds debts, taxes and dues unpaid at the time of the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty.”
The rest of the treaty stated the reparations by the Yarians to former slaves as well as disarmament, completed with the disbanding of units and seizure of all Yarian military assets to be destroyed or disposed of. Trade agreements were also included, with any groups opting for self-rule will have to sign a trade agreement with the Federation, allowing for tariffs-free exchange of goods and services.
“We can work out the details on what territories to split up between our two countries at a different time. In the meanwhile, we can set up an occupational government to make sure those refugees get help first and to maintain some semblance of order.” President Irwin said, crossing his arms.
“This… this is fantastic, President Irwin! Duke Kalush will no doubt approve of this partitioning.” General Kalasta was overjoyed, wild imaginations running through his mind.
Some of the staff didn’t share General Kalasta’s excitement, especially minister Johnson who was in charge of the Department of Treasury.
“This is quite the serious proposal, Mister President. How will the budget even hold up? I have already diverted most of the older foreign aids budget to the military to help keep order! The bureaucratic mess that this would cause will be enormous even with the expanded budget.” He explained with some annoyance in his voice.
“That won’t be a problem, Johnson. Just do your job. I have already decided on how to go about achieving this endeavor. Everybody here already knows about the overcrowding situations in the less affluent districts, especially near the industrial areas due to lower rent. Freeing our people from that kind of life and giving them the chance to settle in the land in this new world would alleviate the many burdens in the long run. The people voted us in for a reason, let’s not give them a reason to push us out of office, especially when war support is still somewhat higher than usual.” Irwin replied.
Seeing the reasoning in the President’s explanation and unable to counter, Johnson concedes. “… I understand, Mister President. I’ll try my best to make it work.”
“Very well then. Now,” Irwin turned his chair to the projector, looking at the new satellite photos taken by the Federal Security Service. “What in the living hell am I looking at here, Mr. Raynard?”
The sharp photos depicted a fleet of warships, the larger ones are bristling with half a dozen large cannons of unknown caliber each on their port and starboard sides, adding up to 12 cannons total. Smaller vessels were seen in other photos, lacking such cannons but made up for in their numbers, Irwin presumed that these are escort ships judging by their defensive formations, surrounding the two large gunboats. If they were only regular warships, then he wouldn’t be so worried as modern missiles from the venerable Dasher class guided missile destroyers and Challenger class guided missile cruisers can outrange even the largest of guns able to be fitted on the old Bunker Class battleships, which were sitting dormant as empty husk acting as reserves in the Naval Museum in Arden City, stripped of their electronics and equipment.
What worried him are the next photos, showing the presumed naval vessels over a city landscape. “Are these warships flying?” He asked Raynard, the Secretary of Armament and Defense, who maintained a neutral expression on his face.
“I supposed they are, Mister President. The Minister of State has been informed of this discovery and is currently in a separate meeting with heads of the armed forces to figure out what these objects are.”
“Have him report back to me as soon as possible. I supposed these ships are from the…” he attempted to recall the brief and quick mentioning of this country located in the north west direction of the map by the Azurians and several others. “Holy Celestial Empire. Right?”
“Yes, Mister President. That is correct.”
Irwin sat down, flipping through the stack of suggestions sent to him by the Department of State. He let out a long sigh as he read the list. “There’s a lot of countries that we don’t know anything about...”
“At least the Azurians gave us valuable knowledge. Save us a good deal of time and resources on exploring this new world.” Raynard comments.
Irwin continued to flip through the papers. “Found it! The Holy Celestial Empire…” He read out loud.
_ _
United Federation of Elysia - Department of State
Classification: Protected
----------------------------------------
Subject: The Holy Celestial Empire
Date: June 21st, 1427 (Central Calendar Year)
----------------------------------------
To: President Irwin Patris
Presidential Office
Administration District, Arlette, United Federation of Elysia
----------------------------------------
From: Minister Marvin Archer, Department of State.
United Federation of Elysia.
----------------------------------------
Content:
Located on the aptly named Celestial Continent, the Holy Celestial Empire borders the Florence Republic to her South through a small land connection, the Al-Quamar Caliphate in the west, with the Dwarven Union located in the Great Mountain Range, acting as a buffer between the Holy Celestial Empire to the eastern part of the continent and the Al-Quamar Caliphate in the far western desert region.
Mister Ruprecht, now an Azurian representative stationed in our country as well as Miss Evatyr, his assistant, have expressed great admiration for this faraway land. The reasoning for their admiration is that, and I quote in Mister Ruprecht’s own words, “Most powerful country in the world in regard to magical knowledge”. Miss Evatry in particular, has claimed to have received her magical knowledge and skills through the Holy Celestial Empire’s educational institution.
In regards to our approach to this faraway nation in the West, it is my utmost regret to advise you against interacting with this faraway presumed superpower unless we were approached by the Holy Celestial Empire first, as we have yet to find enough reliable information about this country. Should we once again find ourselves at war with a country we have little to no knowledge about, whether through cultural misunderstandings or otherwise, I fear that we would be at their mercy instead of the opposite.