Harsh Realities: Lesson 1
2021-07-28, circa 03:01 Miyana Standard Time
Dozens of Toonelans in civilian clothes stand in rows within the cargo hold of the transport IDN Malchus, their attention drawn (for the most part) to two people, also in civilian clothes, standing on a slightly raised platform nearer the bow of the vessel in the midst of an address to their peers. They speak with just enough volume for all listening to hear, sounding off to one another as they proceed.
Hiempsal: . . . our points of contact are not leaders of movements, propagandists, or freedom fighters. Most are not particularly vocal dissidents and those that are require even more caution. The peoples of this land have been suffering under misinformation and oppression for much longer than any of us can personally even begin to imagine. Their perspectives will be, in part, foreign to us, but this is not to be emphasized when it stands between our common humanity, even if we must always keep it in mind. Whatever stirrings have brought them forward enough to invite us into their domiciles are not guaranteed to last. Some may get cold feet. Others might become too enthusiastic and expose themselves to foolish impulses or idealistic fancies that we will need to be on guard against.
Danel: We must keep our goals in mind at all times. It is imperative that we remain humble. We listen to our hosts, not lead them. We offer advice both when it is sought willingly and when the stakes are too high not to profess our specialties. That is our role here, just as it was back home, even if we have left our Ascensions behind. No matter what our specific expertise might be, our people have selected us for this mission service in order to provide consul in times of particular volatility, with the hope we will learn something worthwhile in return. Personally, I think we are bound to.
Hiemspal: We all know the risks. Detection by the Rossian government, opposition by fanatical nationalists, mistrust by would-be allies wary of our immigrant status, and if things go particularly badly: hostility from Republican forces. If it does not threaten our lives, we should be honest with those we speak with. We are immigrants here to make homes and improve livelihoods.
Danel: The most downtrodden of these people of Rossia, our siblings, cannot be abandoned to be rendered voiceless or lured into uncritical acceptance of any new institutions that claim to govern on their behalf. These missions we embark on will likely take the rest of our lives, even if the Rossian government falls and the Republican-installed regime is short-lived. If our lives are long and merry, then we will have rendered a service to the Onaron in having brought about greater harmony between those striving to understand it. If our lives our short, then we can rest easy knowing our friends will celebrate what contributions we have made.
Hiemspal: The fishing boats will soon be prepared. It shall be risky for us to gather like this again. As the people speak, so they must be heard.
Danel: Good luck, my friends.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Two uniformed figures stand side-by-side, gazing out of the angled lower bridge windows of the 1st Imperial Defense Fleet’s aircraft carrier flagship IDN Baal with their hands neatly folded behind their respective backs. Their expressions are marked by an almost forlorn calm.
Captain Kanmi: You’re making history, Bodo.
Admiral Bodo: By being the first admiral to take a wartime fleet of our people into the eastern Goncaran Ocean or for agreeing to the Servitors’s madness, Kanmi?
Kanmi: They know what they’re signing up for.
Bodo: I am not sure that will help me sleep when the first reported deaths come back. Most of these Ascended have never seen a firearm aimed outside of the mandatory maintenance drills. It’ll be different than the airship groups.
Kanmi: I know. Did you see the most recent status report?
Bodo: Yes. We’ve got some good people working GEOINT up in those skies. Without some particularly sharp eyes we wouldn’t have caught that armed Rossian group attempting to pass themselves off as civilians. Only two escort frigates were damaged in their sabotage attempt. It’s a miracle of rapid communications it wasn’t worse.
Kanmi: And I take it you expect trouble from the Republicans once they detect us, if they haven’t already?
Bodo: Not directly. Their leadership may be unwise enough to mistake a worm for a snake, but even they can’t risk the diplomatic debacle a unilateral action against this fleet would entail. They’ll hate us for interfering, and they’ll try to watch our every move, but our wars against Rossia are separate affairs now, and we are not here to invade anyone. Orders are to merely monitor the situation, offer ourselves as a buttress for the defenseless, rescue imperiled innocents, accept the Rossian surrender when it comes, and withdraw after delivering what useful surpluses for rebuilding civilian infrastructure we did bring, however limited.
Kanmi: I don’t envy their intelligence services. I’ve gone over the plans in case they attempt to drive us off directly –
Bodo: Aye. We’re too far from home waters to try running, and while the Stratospheric Fleet and Third Air Defense Fleet might help even the odds for the opening maneuvers, if they want us dead they’ll have it.
Kanmi: I appreciate the frankness.
Bodo: I didn’t take the most thankless role in the whole of Toonela to mince words, friend.
A quiet tremor of activity returns to the bridge as the two continue their quiet break before departing ways to attend to their duties.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the Social Liberal Union, an election for the office of Chancellor will be held for a period of one week within 48 hours after the close of nominations. Nominations open on Friday, 23rd July 2021 at 23:30 UTC and close on Friday, 30th July 2021 at 23:30 UTC.
I, Helvurium, am serving as Election Administrator, and I will dutifully and impartially execute the duties and powers of this position to the best of my ability.
ABOUT THE OFFICE:
The powers and duties of the Chancellor are detailed in Article 9 of the Constitution.
The term of office is five months, as specified in the certificate of election, which will be issued in due form once voting has concluded and the ballots are canvassed, tabulated, and certified according to law. The term for this office may only be renewed once consecutively.
QUALIFICATIONS AND NOMINATIONS:
Any Member State may, if eligible, nominate themselves for this office, or, subject to their acceptance, another eligible Member State. The requirements to hold the office are as follows:
1) Must be a current Member State in accordance with the Constitution; and 2) Must have been a Member State for at least two months; and 3) Must not have served two consecutive terms as Chancellor immediately preceding this election.
Outside the Workers' National Council are four Liberal Party delegates with furrowed brows. An unknown figure stands a distance away. D. Iversen: This is ridiculous. D. Sinagra: Lowry must just be putting on a show for power. D. Frank: He must be. Why else- D. Turner: No, it's something more sinister than that. You hear the way he talks about his constituents. 'Our people.' 'Our councils.' He is directly taking on Tamia and flipped several delegates to boot. My money's on foreign influe- The large body of a man saunters up to the group. It is Liberal Party leader Ricardo Allens. Turner immediately recognizes him. D. Turner: Ricardo! D. Allens: In a stern voice to the group | I could hear you from the steps. We can talk about this later. You never know who's around. (Allens looks at the nearby unknown figure) For now, head to headquarters. Our strategy session is in an hour.
Still outside the Workers' National Council an hour later, the unknown figure gets approached by Delegate David Lowry, leader of the Social Democratic Union. D. Lowry: What do you have for me, Egbert? D. Delmar: Not much. The Libs seem to be a bit concerned about our rise. Think you're organizing a party just for power or that we're getting some kind of help from outside the country. D. Lowry: That all? D. Delmar: No, saved the best for last. Allens and Tamia were talking. Seemed cordial. D. Lowry: Hmm...probably trying to see how easy it would be to squeeze a constitutional amendment out of him. With the War in Rossia and the new powers we would need to govern abroad, it only makes sense... We took that power away from her, you know. D. Delmar: Yes, sir. For the better, too. D. Lowry: We can probably get some good concessions, too, if we jab at her. D. Delmar: Indeed! D. Lowry: In a hushed voice, intended for himself. | Might even be able to...take care of her. D. Delmar: Slightly louder, with concern | What do you mean take care of her? D. Lowry: Quiet, but angrily | Shut up you idiot. I didn't say anything. Go home, read those books I gave you, and try to get me some better info for me tomorrow.
Open Thread
I am standing for reelection to the role of Speaker of the Union. I hope most of you know who I am, but if not; I'm Helvurium (or Daniel!) and have been Speaker for the past term. Before that, I was Delegate of our region and also served in a variety of roles both within this region and outside of it throughout my long stint on NationStates.
If re-elected, I have one main goal I hope we can achieve together; engagement. As Speaker, I want to make sure we encourage more candidates, more debate, and generally just more engagement with our elections. Over the past decade, those within our community have built a solid structure that has brought us together and meant we've stayed together as a community. It is our job to maintain that and ensure that it grows with the times and our community which is why engagement is so important.
Beyond that, I want to work with the wonderful contributors of the LoP to ensure that we keep all of our records updated and easily accessible so anyone is able to get involved, find out about any obscure law they like, and even contribute to changing those records!
Ultimately, this community is immensely important to me, and I'm privileged to have been able to serve it for so long. I hope I am able to continue to do so and in a way that lets us constantly improve and expand what we've already worked so hard to make. Now, with that said, remember to;
I have submitted a resolution that would order the closure of embassies with the International Democratic Union for knowingly harbouring fascist and nazi apologism.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the Social Liberal Union, an election for the office of Speaker of the Union will be held for a period of one week within 48 hours after the close of nominations. Nominations open on Thursday, 8 July 2021 at 17:00 UTC and close on Thursday, 15 July 2021 at 17:00 UTC.
The Speaker of the Union has authorized and directed that I serve as Election Administrator for this particular election and I will faithfully and impartially execute the duties of this role.
ABOUT THE OFFICE:
The powers and duties of the Speaker are primarily detailed in Article 3Constitution, but a summary and outline may be found here.
The term of office is five months, as specified in the certificate of election, which will be issued in due form once voting has concluded and the ballots are canvassed, tabulated, and certified according to law. The term for this office may only be renewed once consecutively.
QUALIFICATIONS AND NOMINATIONS:
Any Member State may, if eligible, nominate themselves for this office, or, subject to their acceptance, another eligible Member State. The requirements to hold the office are as follows:
1) Must be a current Member State in accordance with the Constitution; and 2) Must have been a Member State for at least two months; and 3) Must not have served two consecutive terms as Speaker immediately preceding this election.
Hello SLU!
It is election season once again and I come to you asking you for your vote. However, not only for myself but for my running mate, Anaaxes, who is to be deputy if all were to be according to plan.
I am sure many questions starting with How qualified are you two?
While I’ll let Anaaxes go more in detail about himself, I am the current Minister of Foreign Affairs and have been for awhile now. I’ve also had the honor of being the WA Delegate of the SLU between Fall 2018 and Summer 2019 which works hand in hand with the MoFA as diplomats on the international level. I have also served as MoFA in 2013 and 2014, one of which I believe was part of the delegacy of Anaaxes. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs doesn’t handle Foreign Affairs per se. It also handles Defense which merged into the ministry many years ago. I was the second Minister of Defense and for many delegacies since the merge, have acted as the CUSA/CUDA Director(our head Intel Agency).
What is it that put you two above others for the positions of MoFA and DMoFA?
Experience. Experience. Experience. Knowing how to handle a situation is the number one thing working in FA. There have been a fair share of times where I have had to go into a region and talk and represent the region regardless of whether they liked at that time or not. This particular term is important for the Cabinet to be relatively experienced because I think we would all like to support our new Delegate as best as possible and make sure everything runs smoothly.
What new things will be brought to FA Ministry should you be elected?
The first thing that would really be reintroduced from my delegacy is FA-voice chats. This may happen weekly or biweekly where people from other regions will be invited to come and hang out and talk. I’m also in talks with current and (hopefully!) future Domestic Affairs Minister North American Republics about international game nights among our embassies. In regards to our embassies, we are always looking around for new ones and there are few I’ll be pitching here shortly. Lastly, my main goal is to get a full team of ambassadors that don’t double up and also a full team of in CUSA/CUDA... ultimately being fully staffed would be my goal.
If you have read this, thank you for your time.... Have a cookie (:! It would be an absolute honor and continue serving the SLU community. If you have any questions that I or Anaaxes didn’t answer, feel free to leave them below and we will get back to you as soon as soon as we can!
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! It would be an absolute honor and continue serving the SLU community. If you have any questions that I or Anaaxes didn’t answer, feel free to leave them below and we will get back to you as soon as soon as we can!