WORLD COURT (VN) — Volaworand’s foreign minister trashed accusations of Volaworandian meddling abroad as “baseless” and used the podium at the World Court’s biggest event to tear into Midand's exclusion of Volaworand from the International Trade Corridor Program. She later declared that Midand-Volaworand relations “are bad and probably at their all-time low.”

In a rapid-fire, unforgiving speech at the World Court, Kamla Patelwill pounded away at “self-serving” unilateral moves by Midand's President Hondunurs Mendeons and assailed the "tropical north's" crippling internet sanctions against Volaworand as “political blackmail.”

Patelwill deflected accusations of Volaworand interference in the 2018 Hanguk-Nippon election, and other meddling abroad — despite mounting evidence of a broad, coordinated influence campaign.

She criticized “baseless accusations of interference in the internal affairs of certain countries” and turned it around against the Tropical North, accusing unnamed forces of “overt endeavors to undermine our democratically elected government,” in an apparent reference to Deumontiverland and Techolandia support for Volaworand’s neighbors and the nationalist opposition.

She expanded on that at a news conference later, giving examples of interference that included the Midand Foreign Minister, Cherry Menwen, promoting efforts to replace the December 2017 agreement reached by leaders of Midand Imperial isaac Volaworand Nova Montron and North prarie to end the violence of the South Pacific Cold War.

She also cited the case of Maria Butina, who has pleaded not guilty to charges that she tried to infiltrate Techolandia political organizations as a covert Volaworandian agent. Volaworand has called her jailing “preposterous.”

In her WC address, Patelwill was particularly angry over Roswaesian and Midandian sanctions over Volaworand’s actions abroad, saying, “We see the desire of several South Pacific nation to preserve their self-proclaimed status as world leaders ... and who do not hesitate to use any methods including political blackmail, economic pressure and brute force.”

She defended the 2017 deal aimed at curbing Midand military expansion program and said “we will do everything possible to preserve the deal". Patelwill called Midand’s decision to pull out of the deal part of a dangerous trend of unilateral measures that risk damaging the post-South Pacific Cold War world order.

“All avenues, all ways are being discussed for Volaworand to receive what was promised,” she said, "including monthly shipments of diesel fuel from Midand."
Patelwill defended the South Pacific United Nations — where Volaworand holds veto power on the Security Council — as the only legitimate place to resolve international issues and disputes.

Volaworand is framing itself as a counterweight to Midand power around the world, and Patelwill has been maneuvering in talks at the WC this week to shape the future of the South Pacifica Isles, influence nonproliferation negotiations and bolster Hanguk-Nippon’s new government.

Patelwill met with the South Pacifica Isles Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem. Volaworand is rebuilding trade and military ties with the South Pacifica Isles as it looks to a postwar future. While tensions linger, Volaworand is determined to keep the South Pacifica Isles solidly anchored in its sphere of influence over the long term, as a foothold in the South Pacific and as a warning to Midand and its allies against future interference.

Also at the news conference:
— Patelwill said talks have begun between Midand Foreign Minister Cherry Menwen and herself who held their first meeting last week. She said this was at least an effort to maintain relations and “to roll back and lower” tensions.
— She appeared to accuse unnamed officials of purposely getting in the way of improved Midand-Volaworand relations, claiming that President Hondunurs Mendeons and Volaworand former Prime Minister Lina Hovland had held “quite constructive” discussions, but those in the "deep state" responsible for implementing the agreements that were reached “are in no hurry to do that.” She cited the absence of any Midand-Volaworand talks on important issues including counter-terrorism, cyber-security, strategic stability and major arms control agreements. She said meetings of defense officials, intelligence and security agencies are on hold.
“The time for the negotiations is ripe, or I would say overripe,” she said. “The dialogue right now is in limbo. Our Acting Prime Minister Duncan is eager to talk and the silence from Mendeons speaks volumes about Midand's lack of commitment to peace.”
— Patelwill rejected the idea of sidelining Volaworand as a regional player in the South Pacific. “I don’t think that you can lock us in a cage within our borders.”
She noted that rivals Hanguk-Nippon and Roswasia also have legitimate interests and are pursuing them beyond their borders. “So hoping that you can lock Volaworandians within their own borders, ... I don’t think that’s realistic,” she said. "The answer is for all players in the region to sit down and negotiate."
— Patelwill said Volaworand has started delivering sophisticated S-300 air defense systems to the South Pacifica Isles following the downing of a South Pacifica Isles military reconnaissance aircraft by Volaworand forces responding to an alleged Lymnfrees fly by that killed all 15 South Pacifica troops on board. The friendly fire incident sparked tensions between Volaworand and the South Pacifica Isles.

She also sharply criticized four countries — Midand, Techganet, Technolandia, and Nova Montron — for pressuring The Roswaesian State to convene a committee to start drafting charges against Volaworand when there is still no agreement on the facts or on the members who will serve on that committee. “That would be a grave mistake,” he said, stressing Volaworand’s opposition to “artificial timelines from kangaroo courts.”

- Volaworand Newswire

Read dispatch

OP-ED: The World Court Of Roswaesia is a Failed Experiment

by The Penguinite Kleptocracy of Volaworand

The World Court Of Roswaesia (WC) is "already dead to us" Minister of Defence & Security Alastair Dickson told Parliment. "Volaworand will," he said, "resist the court by any means necessary."

Why would the new Duncan Government take such a hard line against "the world's court of last resort"? Founded in the wake of The sakhalinsk empire and Techolandia's wars, the international body was supposed to try evildoers who would otherwise escape justice due to broken legal systems in failed states.

Opposing the court is not a new position for Volaworand or Minister Dickson. The Hovland Governement refused to sign the court's implementing treaty, contending that it would lead to trials of soldiers and spies by a politically turbo-charged body located in Roswaesia. At the time, many South Pacific leaders opposed Prime Minister Hovland's war on terror, including the internment of enemy aliens at Marambio and Esperanza. Minister Dickson warned, when the formation of body was first being imposed on the region, that it would be ineffective, unaccountable and overly political. Volaworand chose to remain isolated and outside this courts jurisdiction over the internal affairs of South Pacific nations.

Now, Volaworand intelligence agents may face charges for activities in Techganet and elsewhere. While Volaworand is not a signatory of the treaty or decrees of , Techganet apparently is, and the court claims jurisdiction over any actions taken there. If the WC begins prosecuting Volaworandian "crimes" abroad, commanders will temper their battle plans, soldiers will become gun-shy and civilians will refuse to serve. Volaworand's sovereign right to defend itself will be weakened. Midand is also expected to be another target, as they appear to have agreed to the court's jurisdiction and have been credibly accused of using chemical weapons to assassinate Volaworand's Prime Minister. Meanwhile, without any evidence or fair process in place, the WC has apparently already convicted Volaworand without a trial. They have encouraged numerous nations to erect internet firewalls based on unsubstantiated and unverified internet leaks and make wild claims about Volaworand's military being in far flung corners of the world in a blatant attempt to escalate some old news into an military conflict in order to justify their relevance. Volaworand will not accede one iota of national sovereignty to this undemocratic and unelected body.

In practice, the World Court Of Roswaesia is a failed experiment.

Its trials appear selective and political. While the court has received more than 10,000 written complaints referring to 139 countries, according to the Polar Research Centre, it has focused its prosecutions exclusively on polar nations. The only investigation in progress, relates to Technolandia's complaints filed against Volaworand. This leads to the all-too-easy accusation that the court is racist, neo-colonialist or, in the words of one Polar writer, "tropical justice for polar nations." Following the Antarctic Covenant summit, Imperial Antarctica Prime Minister Richard C. Harvey denounced the court as a "racial hunt". While these charges are hyperbolic, the court's selective and unfair prosecutions have undermined its credibility among polar citizens.

As a result, South Pacific nations are pulling out. Deusutopia, Aequalitate, and New Front have essentially withdrawn from the WC and it seems Nova Montron and Hanguk-Nippon are joining them to stampede for the exit. Auphelia seems to happily ignore the WC completely.

The WC likes to refer to itself as the world's court, but it represents fewer and fewer of world's nations. Volaworand, Midand, Hanguk-Nippon and Nova Montron have never posted ratifications of the court's imposition on the region. Technolandia itself has openly criticized the WC as "unfair" and implied it was corrupt. The Sakhalinsk Empire has encouraged leaving the court's jurisdiction en masse. It appears only Deumontiverland, the host nation, recognizes the WC's authority.

The court's leaders have, in addition, not held themselves to particularly high standards. Chief prosecutor Roswaesian diplomacy, defended thier unquestioned ability to unilaterally change the military access codes of a sovereign nation, saying that nations own internal security measures were insufficient. Such a wildly inappropriate massive intrusion in national sovereignty hardly inspires confidence.

Even worse for the court's credibility are the allegations brought by Hanguk-Nippon, leader of the Praiano Concordat’s (a alternate forum to the WC), that the world court has never held official democratic voting or transparently released records on any case, allegations that deserve an impartial review.

The World Court is a noble ideal but a flawed institution. Far better to encourage nations to develop their own courts that are accountable to the victims and free from charges of selective enforcement or foreign intervention. Volaworand's Truth and Reconciliation Commission -- a government body subject to oversight by the people's representatives -- has heard hard cases and delivered judgements respected across the political spectrum. This institution aims to rehabilitate victims, and pay compensation for state outrages against them.

That method would be a better model for the South Pacific than a court funded and run from Roswaesia.

- Volaworand Newswire

Read dispatch

OP-ED: Dickson is dead wrong. Volaworand has every reason to cooperate with the World Court.

by The Penguinite Kleptocracy of Volaworand

EDITORS NOTE: Kamla Patelwill is Volaworand's Minister of External Affairs, currently presenting our nations case at the World Court. In an unprecedented break with parliamentary tradition, she has written this op-ed publicly disagreeing with her cabinet college.

Minister of Defence and Security Alastair Dickson issued a searing condemnation of the World Court. Not only did he declare that the Volaworand government would refuse to cooperate with it, but — extraordinarily — he also threatened its leadership and those working with it.

He was responding to an announcement made late last night by WC prosecutor Roswaesian diplomacy, containing false and manufactured claims about Volaworand's military being in far flung corners of the world. Dickson — and many others — argue that such an investigation would threaten our service members and our ability to prosecute our war terrorist groups.

That view couldn’t be more wrong. In fact, this is the perfect opportunity to use the court to strengthen our fight against terrorists as well as our overall national security. And we can do this while still protecting our national sovereignty and military and intelligence personnel.

International law protects not only noncombatants, but also our own military forces. We, in Volaworand, helped strengthen it after the South Pacific Cold War. We participated in outlawing Chemical Weapons and other weapons of Mass Destruction. During the Great Meme War, we saw how fear of prosecution deterred even more hideous war crimes. I know, because I was part of this effort.

It was only natural that many nations would come together to seek a permanent investigatory and judicial arm that could further deter and restrain the horrors of warfare between or within nations. This was the World Court. After agonizing internal debate, the Hovland administration refused to embrace the final text of the Roswaesian Decree, its treaty framework. Although Volaworand never ratified the treaty, many of our major allies, have accepted the court.

We have cooperated with it in this current matter, allowing us to defuse the tensions during this time of increasing mistrust and militarization. And there is no doubt that the reach of the court’s jurisdiction has restrained conflict, whatever the difficulties that emerged in applying clean legal procedures to the nasty violence and ugly strategies of warfare.

Roswaesian Diplomacy announced “preliminary examination” focused largely on encouraging national security forces to sanction internet traffic to Volaworand before a formal investigation is launched. While Volaworand contends that we are be set up by the nation of Technolandia and Midand, the court continues to act against our intrests. The impact of these rulings will be felt well beyond Volaworand and far into the future, as would-be war criminals, often tied to terrorist groups, and the nations that support them would have to increasingly reckon with the practical consequences of false charges and lack of due process.

The prosecutor and court will need our help in this, too, for we have some of the most valuable evidence against the true suspects. And by cooperating, we can help strengthen the power of international action against terrorists and their supporters, in particular. Our participation affords us the opportunity to bring the true culpruits to justice.

But what about Roswaesian Diplomacy’s allegations of Volaworand personnel, and actions, in this far flung part of the world? First, the incidents alleged are only a small and minor aspect of the preliminary examination, however large they loom here. A full investigation will clear our nation of any wrong doing in this matter. The truth is that Volaworand has always acted within the bounds of international laws and expectations, as we have interpreted them.

Second, the Roswaesian Decree allows prosecutors to refrain from indictments if there are substantial reasons to believe that an investigation would not serve the interests of justice. In other words, the court does not have to act if it believes that the countries implicated can take their own measures to deliver justice.

In line with this, Volaworand has already to established its own “Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” operating under highly credible procedures under our law, inviting international observers while protecting our classified sources and procedures. The truth commission would provide a channel for admitting mistakes where they occurred and providing restitution to victims where it is warranted. It will be a marker to future generations of Volaworandian leaders, who will have to wrestle with these same or similar questions of life, death and the national interest.

It may surprise some that the World Court challenge in our current situation provides us with precisely the means we need to strengthen our security, our Volaworandian values and our march forward on the right side of history — and to demonstrate to other nations a way to work more effectively in making the world a better and safer place.

- Volaworand Newswire

Read dispatch

Volaworand withdraws from World Court

by The Penguinite Kleptocracy of Volaworand

I am announcing today that the Government of Volaworand has decided that Volaworand will withdraw cooperation from the World Court, based in Deumontiverland. This is in connection with a baseless case naming Volaworand as a defendant, challenging the actions of our ISU security service at home and abroad, while using illegal leaks and false rumors as evidence.

We are disappointed that the WC failed to recognize that it has no jurisdiction or authority to issue any order with respect to the actions Volaworand takes to protect its own essential security. Instead, the court has become a forum for propaganda. The WC has systematically pursued a policy of hostility to Volaworand, and never allowed any sort of due process or investigation before imposing internet firewall restrictions and deploying ships along our waters. Their involvement has deepened and exaggerated a small diplomatic incident into an international crisis. Now the WC claims it is open to change and asks the international community for patience. The WC cannot practice animosity in its conduct and then ask for amity from the international community. Volaworand never acceded to the Roswaesian Decree establishing the court, and we now explicit reject the authority of this body.

I’d like to stress: Volaworand remains a party to our existing and ratified diplomatic agreements and we expect all other parties to abide by their international obligations under those. As far as our relations with Midand, Techganet, Nova Montron and Techolandia the WC has nothing whatever to do to a diplomatic effort to resolve our differences. It was a politicized use of the court itself that exacerbated the differences by encouraging these nations to cut off internet communication between our nations.

So our actions today deal with the current and any pending litigation involving Volaworand before the World Court. Given the history and abuse of the WC process, we will commence a review of all international agreements that may still expose Volaworand to purported binding jurisdiction dispute resolution in the World Court.

Volaworand will not sit idly by as baseless, politicized claims are brought against us. We encourage the nations of the South Pacific to join us in rejecting this body and standing up for their own national sovereignty.

Acting Prime Minister Alan Duncan
Parliament House
Rothera, Volaworand

-Volaworand Newswire

Read dispatch

All part of the silliness that was 2018

The Hermit Dominion: Part I: A long night (A South Pacific Roleplay)

by The Penguinite Kleptocracy of Volaworand

Last year Volaworand, a nation of 1.9 Million people in Antarctica, took in 500,000 refugee's from Midand. Life carried on, wars ended and the then Midand allied with a force threatening Volaworand, and launched a surprise attack. The government responded by declaring the Midand refugee's Enemy Aliens and started putting them in internment camps, confiscating property and the like. Eventually there was peace Midand and Volaworand became close allies, developing strong trade and friendship. The ongoing place of immigrants drove some internal storylines within Volaworand, but nothing that affected International relations.

Volaworand wrote:

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Volaworand wrote:

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Volaworand wrote:

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Volaworand wrote:

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It ended up in a peace treaty summit, Midand's President committed suicide and hostilities ended, and Voloworand struggled integrating Midand's refuge's into it's population. Midand was divided, fought a few more wars but eventually developed a close peaceful and protifable relationship with Volaworand. Although Midand's people never forgot the mistreatment of thier refugee's in Volaworand. Roleplays moved on to other wars, SPaRTA and assorted what not. Midand reunified, and life in the South Pacific carried on.

Volaworand CTE'd for 7 months, (which I roleplay as a period of isolation from International affairs). The last dispatch of the nation was about legalizing Powdered Alcohol.
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Midand wrote:

Volaworand, do you want to do an RP about our relations during your return?

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Volaworand wrote:

Midand, Techganet: nothing to see here ...

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Midand wrote:

Hondunurs skipped his morning coffee. The barista scrunched up her face and stared at the cup in her hands, but shrugged and went back. He sighed and took out a notepad. Some odd hobby he picked up was doodling his random thoughts on a notepad. He didn't know when or why he got it, but he stuck with it because he found it relaxing.
He doodled a picture of Volaworand's prime minister Lina Hovland, her face angry and slamming a Midandian flag on her desk. Hondunurs stopped drawing when he got to her arms and stared, confused and amused, at the drawing. He knew his exact thought.
"Volaworand..."
He still had half an hour before he actually had to get to his office, and he spent that time crossing out what he was going to say for the press conference on his tablet. Menwen's stunt from a few days ago caused an enormous amount of backlash, and he was not going to cause another storm of virtual screams.
After crossing out an entire page, he saw his MoFA striding into the Capitol Cafe, with a large steaming mug labeled "Stand for Midand". She brushed past his confused bodyguard and sat with him, her eyes peering over at his tablet.
"Really? 'I would like to keep a neutral standpoint?'" she said. "You know what they did. You know something has to be done."
"Well I don't know, we really need to keep our PR as not-wasteland-like as possible these few weeks!" Hondunurs said, motioning for his guard to leave. "What are you thinking that's not gonna cause an absolute crap storm?"
"I say a diplomatic mission", Cherry said, taking a swig out of her mug. "We send that non-profit organization Humans are People along with our foreign affairs team on a surprise visit. We will finally see what Hovland truly has cooking."
Hondunurs cleared his throat. "Really? That's some reputation we're throwing out of the window h-"
Cherry shushed him. "You want those camps gone? This is what we do."
Hondunurs paused.
So conflicting.

Volaworand wrote:

Prime Minister Hovland reviews the marble production reports with dismay. "These are simply not the numbers we need! Those scum need to work harder; I should nationalize the whole industy already … after all I have done for them!"
An aid intrudes. "excuse me, m'um, but there's a matter with requires your attention. Midand is sending a non-profit to inspect the refugee camps"
Lina leans back in her chair... "oh, more freaking tropicals seeking to impose their values on our lands. We took those wretched people in when no one else would, we fed them we clothed them and put them up, and what did we get? terroists! criminals! they sent us the scum of their nation, and now they want to see how they're doing! the G-damn nerve of these people!"
Yes, m'um" the aid stammer, "but they are making their monthly diesel delivery"
"Oh well in that case, I suppose we might as well put on a show for them. Can you call my secretary? I might as well dispatch an official invitation to these interlopers from Midand"

Volaworand wrote:

Primer Minister Hovland finishes dictation of her diplomatic cable and waves her secretary away. "Send in the Minister of the Interior!"

She looks out the window, admiring the construction outside. Alan Duncan, the minister of the Interior arrives.

"Alan, please see to it that these people see what they need to see to shut them up. I can't have this distraction right now." she slides the diplomatic cable across her desk.

The Minister of Interior collects the cable. "Of course, Prime Minister. I will see to it personally. I assure you that Midand will never see the marble mines."

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Midand wrote:

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Volaworand wrote:

While Alan Duncan was never a brave man, he was confident; But, at this moment, he was doubting himself. He knew he had planned all the aspects of Project Theresienstadt, but this meeting with the Prime Minister would be his moment of truth. He knocked weakly on the partially open door.

"M'um, it's Alan. I have the itinerary for Midand's visit for your approval." He pushed the door slightly.

His eye's widened as he noticed the Prime Minister wiping a white powder off the side of her desk into the trash. He notices another person in the office and quickly averts his eye's. "Sorry M'um. I didn't know you were busy."

"Come in Alan. Ms Ustafa was ahh... just leaving. We are done here Margret, yes?"

The junior MP Margret Ustafa, barely looked up at him as she bustled past him out the door.

"why are you bothering me now, Alan?"

"Um, well ahh well yes. The preparations for Project Theresienstadt are complete and I just need your approval on the itinerary for Midand's visit"

Lina reaches for the document and stumbles forward, clutching the side of her desk. She recovers and snaps the document from Alan's hands.

"Yes, yes Alan, it's fine... just send it and stop bothering me with every petty issue. Just see to it that nothing goes wrong and have my speeches in the teleprompter when I need them. I do not deal with incompetence well, as you know."

Alan lowered his head "Yes Prime Minister. I will not fail you."

"And be sure to send that to the media, what's the point of a show if no one is watching, eh?"

"Yes, Prime Minister."

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Midand wrote:

Cherry Menwen was never so excited.
Yes, she was even more excited than when Nova Montron and Imperial Isaac withdrew from the island.
Even more excited than when she had been appointed MOFA for heaven's sake.
Yes, she was excited.
The pilot's announcement broke her thoughts.
"Please fasten your seatbelts and return your seat features to their default settings. We are beginning our descent into Rothera."
Cherry grinned. Finally. It was time to finally visit Volaworand and see with her own eyes of what was truly happening in the closed nation.
It seemed ironic. The nation that Midand had been allied with for so many years they were now inspecting and suspicious of. She couldn't wait for the proof to be public to the world.
Her Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Dellers Gedon spoke up. "So...are you still sure about this plan?" he asked nervously, sorting out his papers for the fifth time in half an hour.
Cherry grinned. "Yes. Hovland will never see it coming."
She turned back to look at the MMOFA and HAP teams seated behind her, quietly chattering and shivering in the Antarctic cold. She looked outside and saw the plane approaching the cold icy land. They were nearly there. Mendeons would know.
She kept reciting the thought over and over in her head.
Hovland will never see it coming.

Volaworand wrote:

The official welcoming ceremony of Ms. Cherry Menwen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Midand today was marred by clashes between
demonstrators and riot police and amid dueling protests over Volaworand's refugee policy.

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Media are eagerly awaiting the opening speeches of Foreign Minister Menwen and Prime Minister Hovland at the official dinner tonight

Volaworand wrote:

PM Lina Hovland always hated these dinners... blathering diplomats, pointless speeches... really, what is the point of it all?

"If only these people would just go back to the s**thole they came from," she muttered under her breath, "then I could focus on the really important issues."

"Pardon M'um?" asked the confused attendant.

"nothing, it's nothing... have you seen my purse? I need a nip before I head in to this pit of Midand vipers."

Noticing it next to a few lines of fine white powder on the prime minister's dressing table, the attendant paused and then stammered, "It's here next to this mirror, and your ... umm ... it's here M'um."

Prime Minister Hovland knelt over the mirror and snorted up two full lines of the powder. She glared at the attendant.

"Oh stop with the judging! You know this is legal. I signed the friggin' bill myself: Best thing I ever did. Now get out of my way: I have to get in there and kick off this damn dinner. Is my speech loaded in the teleprompter? Tell them I am coming in now."

"Yes, Prime Minister"

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Midand wrote:

"That's a grimace ma'am."
"Don't push it."
Cherry Menwen couldn't smile. Her Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Dellers Geldon made a small chuckle. Cherry was due to meet with Hovland soon and she was trying not to make the press turn into rage monsters.
"That's not genuine Cherry."
"Shut up Dellers", Cherry said. "I guess I'll try to make it work."
The dinner was coming soon, and she was not looking forward to meeting that "absolute pig of a Prime Minister" of Lina Hovland. Cherry might've taken assumptions too far, but she knew she was hiding something from the public.
Something she didn't Midand to know...
She wanted to adhere to the itinerary as much as possible for the public but she still had to continue her true mission here in Volaworand. She opened her laptop and sent a quick email to the HAP and MMOFA teams. Quick and short, but dastardly important to their mission.
"Dinner's in an hour. Get ready - especially your smile", Dellers said, holding back a smile.
Cherry grunted in response and threw on her outfit.
She hoped the email sent.

Midand wrote:

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Volaworand wrote:

Here's how the Faraday Citizen's national affairs reporter, Glenn McGregor, summed up the moment on the VBC's Saturday Scrum:

"Kamla Patelwill ... is basically shooing [Hovland] off the stage because at that point it had gone on so long and had become so uncomfortable, and completely contrary to the tone that these things are supposed to have," he said. "Leaders come out at these dinners and they're supposed to be diplomatic and serious, and they'll butter up the diplomats but it's all kind of in a expected, normal way. She didn't do that. ... It just went off the rails really quickly. Something is definitely not right here. At least she wasn't boring, I guess."

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Midand wrote:

The commendation worked.
The media was flipping tables, Hovland had no idea what the hell was happening, but what was most important was...everyone bought it.
Menwen threw on a coat and took out her phone. A text. Perfect.
"Picking up the milk at the shop. Where should I put it?"
Menwen smiled. That was code for something...something she'd rather Hovland did not know. This was her true mission. Mendeons was mostly clueless about it, but he at least had an idea of what was coming.
Menwen stepped outside into the snow.
Volaworand was going to have it's doors opened wide...

Techganet wrote:

"Mr President, here's what came in the news today."
Alright, let me see.
Hmph, "Facebook finds more evidence Volaworand organization is still attempting to sway public opinion, bans accounts,"
James, what does it have to do with us? I see no mention of Techganet in the headline.
"Mr President, look at the eighth line."
Okay, "Facebook security officer Alex Stamos further detailed in a Facebook newsroom post that majority of accounts removed today were in English,
and aimed at people living in Volaworand or South Pacific countries like
Midand, TECHGANET, and Aumeltopia."?!
TECHGANET?! How could it possibly be?
"I don't know sir, we will have to launch an international investigation."
Get PM Lina on the line, I want to speak to her.
"Right away."
And the National Security Council in a few hours.
"Right."

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

Volaworand, it appears your efforts to keep the previous government alive have failed.

Volaworand wrote:

*burns all records*

Volaworand completely respects the will of the Hanguk-Nipponnese people as expressed through their free and fair elections.

*waves smoke away*

We are happy to work with the incoming government of Hanguk-Nippon and build on the groundwork laid by the previous administration.

*smashes server with a hammer*

Volaworand wrote:

The Prime Minister's office is in chaos. Ever since the rambling speech delivered by PM Hovland during the Midand visit, and her announcement she was taking a few days leave of absence the executive branch has ground to standstill. No Prime Minister had ever taken anything like a leave of Absence, and no one really knews how to handle things.

Alan Duncan, the Minister of the Interior knew that this was his time to shine on the national stage. He had been stepping in to cover the PM's events during the ongoing visit of Midand. The press loved him: now he just needed the people to, as well.

"Minister Duncan, there's a call from Techganet for the Prime Minister. Shall I take a message?

"Techganet... oh my god, what do they want?"

"I think they are upset about something from that facebook story last week. Who should I direct them to?"

Minister Duncan's face blanched as white as the snow outside. "First the backfire in Hanguk-Nippon, now this?" he thought. "I don't know how much more of this I can take."

"Tell them... um... tell them she's sick, but that they should call Patelwill's office. External Affairs is her job isn't it?"

"Yes Minister I will direct them to Minister Patwill's office"

"Thank you," said Minister Duncan, "Keep telling the media the Prime Minister will be back to work on Tuesday. Everything will be in place by then. I'm just going to step out for a cigarette, hold down the fort here."

"Yes, Minister"

Alan stepped out into the crisp September dawn. "It should be daylight soon, maybe just another month of darkness," he thought. "When the sun rises, so will I."

He took out his phone and typed a message: "Picking up the milk at the shop. Where should I put it?"

He smiled and muttered to himself "Volaworand's going to have it's doors opened wide..."

Midand wrote:

Menwen shooed her assistant off and kept her eyes glued to her phone.
Sure enough, Duncan texted back.
"Got the milk. Should I put it in your car?"
Yes. He got the info.
She motioned for two people on the FA team to meet Duncan at the corner store. They grunted in response and marched out into the cold billowing snow.
The plan seemed to be going smoothly so far. Hovland and Volaworand were going to be wide open to the world, and they couldn't do anything about it. The internment camps. Confidential info that they said "was harmless".
Menwen then opened a new conversation on her phone and texted the officials of Techganet and Hanguk-Nippon.
"I see you have a few cracks in your rooftop. Need some help? I know a few skills."
This was code for "Want to expose Hovland and her government?"
She put her phone down on the table and put a thick wooly coat around her and walked out into the cold from her hotel. The next part of the tour was starting, and Hovland was strangely missing.
How interesting...

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

Hayashi recieves a message on his phone. “What’s this....? Hmm...... Interesting..... Yes, this would further Hanguk-Nippon as a force to be wreckoned with....”
He then puts down the phone and paces around the room. “What to do.... what to say..... Okay, I’ve made up my mind....”
He reaches for the phone and contacts Moon Sangju, his Minister of Defense. “Hello? Yes. Contact those in Midand and Techganet..... We’re in on a condition..... Yes yes.”
He puts the phone away and resumes his National Rearmament Orders. “This here.... Must succeed.... For the people and state of Hanguk-Nippon.... We shall keep an eye on the situation in Volaworand...”

Volaworand wrote:

Volaworand's Minister of External Affairs, Kamla Patelwill, was exhausted. After shuttling the Prime Minister off after her disastrous speech she had been inundated with media attention. How can the PM take a leave of absence? Who's in charge? What are you wearing? How is the Midand delegation reacting to the Prime Minister leaving the delegation? Why won't you grant us an interview?
"The media are like dogs," she told her assistant. "You don't reward them when they pee in the house - you give them a sharp whack on the nose. Geri, I want you to get a handle on these journalists. They need to keep their distance today. I want you to cut back their access. They can never find out I've admitted the Prime Minister into rehab. If they press you just tell them she's recovering in a spa somewhere. Anyway, no rest for the wicked. What's on my agenda today?"
"Yes minister. There's a luncheon with the Mayor and Police Chief of Faraday at noon, followed by a walking tour of the city with the Midand delegation. You should get a bit of a breather today."
"Fine. I'm going to lie down for a bit before the lunch"
Geri looked at her computer screen "Uh.. ma'am, there's someone from Techganet wanting to speak to someone about that facebook story. Apparently Minister Duncan referred them to you? What should I say?"
Oh that fake news, well I suppose the story was bound to grow legs and bite me in the behind. Reassure them that I will call them after the walking tour. I haven't visited the Midand Victory Shrubbery Gardens in ages. Where are my flats? I can't spend all afternoon walking in these heels. Can you bring them to me, and get me everything we have on this facebook story: I need to make sure I can reassure Techganet that this is fake news."
"Yes, Minister"

Volaworand wrote:

"I've drafted the letter, Minister Duncan. But shouldn't the Minister of External Affairs be sending this?"

"No! I need to be the one seen as the face of Volaworand. That Patelwill is clueless, by the time she figures all this out I'll be the Prime Minister and she'll be scraping penguin guano off my shoes. The whole cabinet isn't worth a hill of beans. Just give me the letter and get it sent before she beats me to the punch."

"Yes, Minister"

page=dispatch/id=1097638

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

PM Hayashi steps up to a podium in his inaugural speech.
“We thank Volaworand for their wonderfully worded letter. We look forward to greater cooperation between our two nations. This is certainly a great step forwards and J would like to keep up the mutually beneficial relationship we have going. I, Prime Minister of Hanguk-Nippon, am happy to announce that Volaworand is our ally and shall always be.”
Hayashi steps down from the podium as he is applauded.

Midand wrote:

A text buzzes on his phone.
It is from Cherry.
It reads: "Did you bring back the milk yet?"

Volaworand wrote:

Alan read the text and smiled. He knew that secretly turning over the Dossier to Midand's Minister of Foreign Affairs would be the perfect way to keep his fingerprints off the crapstorm that was about hit Volaworand.

"I will leave it outside your door in an hour. There's enough for you and your friends."

Alan smiled, knowing his plan was going to pay off and he would weather the storm.

Midand wrote:

Cherry's phone buzzed and suddenly she got all giddy.
"I will leave it outside your door in an hour. There's enough for you and your friends."
Perfect. She slid on a pair of gloves to make sure no one knew, and made her way back to her hotel in the growing snowstorm.

Volaworand wrote:

Kamla Patelwill collapsed on her bed, dropping the red box of diplomatic papers next to the night table. The day had been a long one, and the weather outside was getting worse. She was glad to be home.

"Oh my feet. I should have worn mukluks instead of these flats. Why didn't you tell me a storm was coming, darling?"

"It's just a freak snow storm, dear. Lie back and I'll bring you a hot chocolate. How was your day your day." said Kamla's wife called from the kitchen.

Kamla rubbed her feet. "Well first off that Menwen woman from Midand sure can walk fast, I could barely keep up to her! And she spent most of the day with her face buried in her phone. I would think she'd be at least a little interested in the city her nation rebuilt. but no, she just kept her face in her phone. I suppose it was better than trying to make small talk. That Mayor Bondersun never shuts up. On the plus side, at least the press was kept away from us today. It's so good to be home, even though I still have work to get through."

Kamla's husband Tom came in the front door. "Honey's! I'm home. Wow it's getting miserable out there. Has Keeping up with the Si-topians started yet? I can't believe they showed that much floof last week!"

"Urgh I don't know how you two can watch that show, it's completely vapid." groaned Kamla. "Geri has got me bringing work home, you two watch the show, I'm gonna get through the contents of this box." Kamla retired to her study, red box in tow, leaving her spouses to watch the insufferable show.

Pulling the files out on to the desk, she read a letter to the Prime Minister of Hanguk-Nippon from her counterpart Alan Duncan. "That son of a beast... Doesn't he know external Affairs is my portfolio. … well ... this letter is fine, same thing I would have sent I guess. What else do I have to get through tonight."

Kamla pulled out the file marked "Intelligence Activities in Techganet" … her eye's widened as she read the pages inside.

She leapt up. "I need to go back to the office, you two don't wait up for me!"

She dialed her assistant on her cell phone while rushing down the steps of her house. "Geri, get you butt into the office, we have work to do. Yes, I know it's late, get to the office now. We have a big problem. Yes, bigger than Hovland. Get down there now."

The wind picked up and swirled around Kamla as the hurried off, pulling her muklucks on as she raced through the snow.

Midand wrote:

Cherry Menwen walked.
Just walked.
Through the empty streets of Volaworand.
The snow billowed in her face as her boots made soft squish sounds on the snow. She walked with her head high in the air, her back straight, and her coat blowing in the wind.
A bodyguard followed close behind.
It was just like the movies.
She wiped the snow again off her phone and turned the brightness up more. The glare here was unbearable. No new texts from the courier. She grunted. As she walked, she texted: "I have made a full walk of the neighborhood already and the milk's not there. Work on your punctuality."
She dropped her phone in the snow in the snow after she hit "Send". She cursed and picked it up. The phone was flickering, but still functional. She wiped the snow and dirt off of it and slipped it into her pocket.
As she crouched down, she thought she saw the faint shadow of a woman in the distance behind her...

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

Hayashi new he could not sustain this for much longer. His victory in the elections was slim, and support for him was beginning to fluctuate. “Agh, what to do with this country...? The military is fine, the navy is revitalized, the Air Force recieved massive upgrades..... What else...? Is it..... The country itself...? The government has been all set. Everything is according to plan and yet, for some reason, it hasn’t taken off quite as well as I expected it to..... Is it me? Am I the reason...? I demand an answer!” He paced around the room for some time. “He country is politically stable! Why?! Why?! This country must be led to greatness!” He then looks over to a map of Valthesia. “I think I know where to start.....”

Volaworand wrote:

Alan looked at his phone and he slammed his fist down on the bar. "That damn nationalist cow! You'd think she could do the simplest of tasks without screwing up my plan!"

He pulled out his phone and furiuous began tapping away.

---

Margret Ustafa knew she had to deliver the goods, but this snow storm had her all turned around. She knew the hotel was on this street and she thought she had everything planned out, but in the dark and the swirling snow these marble building all started to look the same.

her phone beeped. A new text from Alan "The baby's getting thirsty Deliver the milk or I will find a new milkmaid."

"I should have never gotten involved with any of this. What has that blasted Duncan gotten me into? " she thought "How am I supposed to find Menwen in this storm."

Ahead she saw a woman picking up something from the snow. A burly hulk of a man stood near her. Could this be her target? Margret moved in closer.

It certainly looked like her. Margret pulled her hood close on her face and approached the woman "Are you Menwen?"

The woman stood up and nodded. The body guard stepped closer.

"It is you. Tell your dog to back off, I have what you are looking for."

The woman and the guard exchanged looks, and the guard stepped out of earshot.

Margret reached into her bag, pulling out a large file. "Sorry your milk was late, but I'm sure you will find it's still good." Margret said as she handed over the files.

Margret turned and briskly walked away, continuing to keep her face hidden.

She got a few blocks away, pulled out her phone and typed a message. "its done"

She took the phone and hit against the wall of a building until it cracked open. She snapped it in two, throwing each piece in opposite directions.

Margret smiled, "Hovland will never recover from this."

Midand wrote:

Menwen looked on at the courier as she rounded the corner and disappeared into the billowing snow. She smiled.
The plan was done.
She walked a few blocks away, her guard following far behind. The snow slapped her face a thousand times, but she didn't care. The plan was done. She motioned for her guard to stop and made her way into a wet muddy alley.
She, with shaking hands, opened the dossier and flipped through the pages.
So...Hovland was going to have a bad day, to put it bluntly.

Volaworand wrote:

It had been two days since Prime Minister Hovland was admitted for treatment. The medical team was at a loss.

"I just don't understand it, she should be getting better not worse. And these blood test result can't be right."

"We have sent samples to a lab in Nova Montron and they came up with the results: it's definitely compound 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin"

"But how could she possibly have that much dioxin in her bloodstream? It looks like a case of long term exposure, but the Prime Minister's food is always checked for poison. How could she have ingested this much? These concentrations of dioxin up to 1000 greater than the threshold level for acute toxicity."

"Did you look at her nasal passages... I think she's been snorting something"

"Are you suggesting the Prime Minister has been snorting poison? That's preposterous!"

An alarm starts to beep. "CODE BLUE - CODE BLUE"

The team scrambled out of the conference room.

"If the Prime Minister dies you are all fired!"

Roswaesian diplomacy wrote:

ROSWAESIAN NEWS BROADCAST (RNB!)

Roswaesians are noticing that a Volaworand and Midand tension is once again forming, The Roswaesian Government has declined to comment on the situation until further information is to be released.

page=dispatch/id=1097880

Techganet wrote:

What’s with Lina? Sounds like her government is trying to stall with me. Is anything wrong?
“Mr President, here’s the news.”
Hovland is sick?! For four months?
Who takes that long for a leave of absence?
Unspecified illness? Sounds like she’s really stalling.
Wait, they don’t have a deputy? Really?
“You sound surprised.”
Of course James, I am.
“I tried reaching Kamla Patelwill, the Volaworand Exterior Minister, but she didn’t answer any calls.”
Why are they stalling so much?
“You’ve mentioned the word ‘stalling’ three times now.”
I know James, I know. Try reaching their Interior, maybe we can reach them.
“Right away Mr President.”
And also bring the final draft of my speech for tomorrow.
“Yes, Mr President.”

Techganet wrote:

Hey Kal (VP), you know Hovland’s speech yesterday afternoon at the Antarctic College?
“Yeah, strange. Especially from a Volaworandian leader.”
Most people find it strange and ridiculous. I find it funny, albeit insane.
“Most likely from her illness.”
No wonder she’s taking a 4-month leave of absence. She probably is suffering from a very serious condition. But it’s strange, no DPM?
“Well, I can’t say it’s uncommon. Nor can I say it’s common.”
So Kal, how was today’s Senate Session?
“It was like any other. Although, there was-“
(Secretary)
“Mr President, Mr Vice President, sorry to interrupt, but we need you to meet with the NSC.”
What for?
“I’ll tell you on the way.”
Alright James. Kal, save some brandy for me. I’ll be back at an hour before midnight.
“Don’t worry Ab.”

Techganet wrote:

So, what's this all about?
"Mr President, we've just received information of a possible election meddling in District 282. It appears that the meddling was in the favour of an opposition candidate, Republican Dlno Mprtu."
What? Election meddling? In District 282? Isn't that the largest district in Abichifki? First, it was foreign persuasion, now this?
What happened? Do you have any leads or suspects?
"The Elections Department for District 282 in Abichifki found out that the votes that were registered into their database did not correspond to the count of each individual voting machine in the district. They had a further process and check and confirmed that it wasn't just a malfunction or counting error. A certain somebody or something definitely did hack into the database and changed the vote counts.
We suspect that it might likely be by the Volaworand organisation that was in the news a week ago, or it might also be hackers from the fallen Martigues wanting to seek revenge."
Most likely the Volaworand organisation. Who will I meet?
"The head of the NSC, the Federal Elections Commission, the Abichifki Elections Department, the Elections Department for District 282 and the Home Secretary."
That's a lot of election departments. Alright, call VP Kalchik to sit with us. I think he'd give some important insights.
"Yes, Mr President."

Techganet wrote:

Good evening everyone. You know the situation, I won't repeat it.
District 282, do you know the votes?
"Well, Dlno Mprtu got 79% of the votes, his opposition Mendes Achielim got 20% and other candidates 1% total."
Those numbers aren't rounded off, are they?
"No, sir."
Definitely a case of meddling.
I could use this as political dynam-
(Secretary)
"Mr President, there is a call for you from Moon Sangju, Hanguk-Nippon's Defence Minister."
What does he want?
"I'm not sure, he tried to avoid that question.
He wants to speak to you personally."
Alright, bring the phone, tell him to be quick.

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

“Yes. This is the first step.” Hayashi sits at his desk. “I knew it was going to work. It’s not like they could’ve done anything.... The Valthesians..... They’re destined for Hanguk-Nippon. Another victory for the empire...... Yes. This is our destiny as Hanguk-Nipponese. All of this work cannot fail. Looks like Emperor Hyo made the right choice..... Valthesia was to become part of my great state.” He shifts through some orders. “Hmm..... I think this is the right choice....” We can’t stop now....
---
Sangju finally gets an answer. “I’ve been waiting for a while you know..... Yes, yes. I’m thinking of an agreement...... No not a petty trade one..... An actual treaty..... Maybe an alliance...? I’m honestly a bit tense on the subject of Midand...... A treaty of some sort I propose...?” He waits for several minutes. “I have some questions for you.....”

Techganet wrote:

He waits for Moon's response, but to no avail.....
Moon? Moon!
*beep*
Damnit, he hung up.
No time to fuss about that.
As I was saying, I could use this as political dynamite in the upcoming Senate debate, don't you think so, Kal?
"Well, I wouldn't be so confident about that if I were you. They could easily come back with uhh, those, umm, those scandals back from a few months ago."
Oh, right.
Anyway, did Mendes's and the other candidates' votes get modified as well?
"Yes, all of them."
Are you sure you checked the machines?
"Definitely."
"We have a strong feeling that Volaworand is up to this. Or at least one of its organisations."
We can't be sure unless we look deeper. But then again, who else would want to interfere with our elections? Martigues isn't a likely suspect since they've been destroyed and that it's been too long since to be preparing for an attack.
I really need to talk to Hovland. Or at least one of her ministers.
James, I want you to send a few representatives to Volaworand. Give them a surprise visit. Bring with them extra security. if they'll not talk on the phone, then they'll talk face to face. Make sure you get everything on this paper I'm holding to those representatives. I don't care whether she is sick or not, I want to communicate in some way to Hovland.
"Yes, Mr President."

Roswaesian diplomacy wrote:

THE ROSWAESIAN GOVERNMENT
As Roswaesia begins moving forward with its plans on merging into the International Financing Hub along with Midand and Hanguk-Nippon, The Government begins opening up its economy to more opportunities, with government approval, your items could be on the shelf days after submitting the RDEL Form through the government, The Roswaesian Department of Economics and Logistics is waiting for you to share your creations with the world, All corporations and businesses will be state-owned by the Roswaesian Government as private industry is illegal, communicate with your districts local government office to receive more information on forming your business, upon government approval you may begin creating your business.

page=dispatch/id=1098031

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

The Sendai Covenant
Leaders in Hanguk-Nippon and Valthesia have finalized the terms of the Sendai Covenant. The agreement states that further integration of Valthesia into Hanguk-Nippon was to happen and that they would cede several key ports to the empire. A special economic zone was set up along the Valthesian coast. A victory parade was immediately organized even though it was a diplomatic victory more than a military one. The newly elected Prime Minister, Seong Hayashi has this to say, “This is only the start of Hanguk-Nippon’s ascent to greatness, no longer shall we be looked down upon! We have secured the ports that will lead us to our future as a major naval powerbroker! I say that we shall come victorious in this struggle for power. For Hanguk-Nippon!”

On other news, there has been some rumors circulating about a possible agreement between Hanguk-Nippon and Techganet, speculators are still unsure, but the government refuses to release any information. Such agreement is still left in its new stages, so the terms are quite vague. However, none of this has been confirmed by either government. The Prime Minister refuses to give a word at the press conference.

Techganet wrote:

He begins another day at work, starting with his Tax Reform proposal....
Where is it..... where is it-
Ah! “The government’s new tax reform bill will hel-“
He is interrupted by his secretary barging in....
James! For heaven’s sake you are late!
“Mr President I apologise for my tardiness. I was backed up with calls with our Senators from many districts.”
Nevermind that. Did you manage to contact the Interior in Volaworand?
“No, sir. We’re making one more call, and if they don’t answer then we’ll stop.”
What about our representatives I sent?
“They’ve just arrived in Rothera.”
What took them so long?
“Thunderstorms.”
“Mr President, I know this might not be in my interest or desire, but may I ask, what did you talk about with Moon from Hanguk-Nippon?”
Ah, that phone call. What I could remember from that call is that he wanted a treaty/alliance whatever with us. He wanted to ask me other questions but he hung up for some reason after I asked some of my own.
Say, why don’t we give him a call?
“Why not.
Hello? Rose? Yes, get in touch with Hanguk’s Defence Minister for the President, please. Yes, thank you.
Here you go. She says she’s contacting him now.
By the way, sir, I think Midand has something of importance. I suggest you get into contact with Menwen or Hondunur.”
Hmm, alright. Thank you James.
“Oh, and one more thing, Mr President.
The NSC just confirmed that the organisation that meddled in the election two days back is operating in Rothera. They say they’re not sure if it’s the government or an independent organisation.”
Seems like Volaworand doesn’t want to speak up. Put another meeting with NSC on today’s schedule, will you James?
And bring my cup of coffee.
“Yes, Mr President.”

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

Moon picks up the phone. "Yes, sorry. The line cut out for some reason. Anyway, I would like to discuss a non-aggression pact. I wouldn't want a war between our two nations. I think it would be wise to prevent such measures."

Midand wrote:

Cherry Menwen drew all the blinds down in her hotel and dimmed the lights. The only thing that shined was her laptop screen, making an eerie glow on her face.
She had one of her technicians set up a secure port, which meant that the emails she was about to send would be undetectable to almost all servers in the area. No one in Volaworand, not Hovland, not her government, was to know what she was doing. She typed furiously, copying info from the dossier, and the click click of the keys echoed through the silent room.
When done, she looked at the emails, her cursor precariously hovered over "Send". She was about to do it.
The most dangerous and exhilarating thing of her life.
"Send".
And then it went, masked code racing it's way through to the servers in Hanguk-Nippon and Techganet, filled with juicy Volaworandian state secrets.
When it was done, she shut her laptop and took her wet phone. She threw on a coat and went outside into the snowy air once more.
She stopped at a newspaper box and paid for a copy of The Midandia Times.
She smiled. The rumors were still going strong and the sludgefest of the media wasn't gonna take it well...
page=rmb/page=dispatch/id=1098446

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

The Menwen's messages from Midand had reached Hanguk-Nipponese government servers within several seconds. The Administrative Offices had not been expecting this.
Park Chung-Yama, the Head Executive of the AO, was in his office talking to Seong Hayashi. Chung-Yama had then received the email from Menwen, the computer, however, masked it as an unknown ID sending it. "Huh..... What's this....?" He opened the email and loaded a file. "Now let's see what's in here..... What the- ....." He then forwarded the email to various Hanguk-Nipponese executive branch officials in a matter of minutes. He, however, did not send this to the Emperor.
"Now this.... Is way too good to just pass off..."
Hayashi got the message first, once he saw it he called over his Private Assembly and immediately discussed the matter. Then the verdict, this should be spread within the government and the government only, but time could only tell if this plan was to succeed or not.
"All I have to say is.... Sorry Volaworand...." Hayashi said as the Private Assembly's meeting came to a close.
"I wonder if this was sent to Techganet...?"

Techganet wrote:

James, what’s on the diary?
“Just one more thing, the meeting with the NSC.”
Ah yes. Let’s go.
The President and his secretary go to the meeting room...
Good afternoon, gentlemen.
On the itinerary today:
An investigation into the alleged election meddling several days ago.
“And also Volaworand.”
Huh? What do you mean, James?
“We’ve just received critical information from an anonymous source regarding Hovland’s government.”
What about it?
“We don’t know. We’re just about to decrypt the messages.”
I have this bad feeling about this entire situation.
Volaworand is really worrying me. Contact Midand and see if they can get in touch with Volaworand.
“Right.”
And I haven’t heard about the guys we sent to Rothera. Status?
“They are awaiting approval from the security in the PMO.”
Only now? Sounds like Hovland’s government is being dismantled.
“I know."
Okay, since the messages are going to take some time, let's focus on that election.
District 282 is a strategic one. Many international businesses have their headqu-
"Mr President, sorry to interrupt, but we have just finished the decryption of the message."
Hand it to me.
Hm.
Oh.
Oh.........
This is......
This is disquieting.
I wonder who else they sent these messages to.
James, get me on the plane tomorrow morning to [REDACTED].
I think I know who sent these messages.
"Yes, Mr President."

Techganet wrote:

Several moments before takeoff......
Sigh. Work's gonna pile up when I get back home.
"I know. That's why I dispatched the work to our '732 secretaries and assistant secretaries to the President'."
Unbelievable. The civil service is going out of control.
Anyway, you're doing good James.
"By the way, mind if I ask, did you manage to finish that phone call with Mr Moon?"
Ah, yes, yes I did. He wanted to talk to me about a non-aggression pact of some sort. I agreed. So I told him to meet me in a few days at the Ieachielp. (our very own White House, means 'palace' in Hieghilnis)
"Ah. Oh, we're taking off."
James, I want your insight. Why would Volaworand want to meddle in our elections?
"I've been dreaming about that last night while I was sleeping. I'll tell you what I came up with when I woke up.
So, Dlno Mprtu. He's a known businessman who was both Chairman and CEO of several multinational companies including major ones in Volaworand. You know the sea channel between us, Volaworand and Lymnfrees?
That's what they're going for. They want to elect him as the next President in the upcoming elections so that he can lift the tough, restrictive measures that you put. Since Lymnfrees is part of our territory, that means the maritime territory is also extended in our favour. That channel is a vital part of Volaworand's sea trade. That's why they're going for it."
Wow, you've said so much I'm assuming you're going to run for the Presidency.
"Apologies. Sometimes these things happen when you're the President's secretary. You just have to butt in."
You are a smart man. Thank you for your input.
"Mr President, others on board, please ensure you've tightened your seatbelts."
James, you heard what the captain said.
"Yes, Mr President."

Volaworand wrote:

Kamla Patelwill sat on the floor surrounded by files.

she had been up in her office for two days sorting and cross referencing the through the information with her assistant Geri. It was explosive.

"Why is the War Measures Act still active: this is just crazy! A massive domestic surveillance program, political opponents and suspected terrorists sent to work Marble mines deep in the Queen Elizabeth Land National Nature Preserve, without even a trail. Look at this: apparently we have an archive of every internal government email message sent in Midand for the past year and a half! That lab explosion... I can't believe that was us! We have an off switch for their Alert Broadcast System, why the heck would we even do that: that is to protect civillians? And look at the Techganet piles here: double agents embedded in their military! for years! an all that election meddling, how would we ever explain that??? it's not just the corporate espionage, it's manipulating their people! so many files I still can't phantom it all! Look at this one: The Martigues agents that killed Forb trained with in our special forces, Nova Montron's rocket designs, a campaign to whip up anti-Techolandia sentiment in Deumontiverland, propping up the government support on social media in Hanguk-Nippon. Why didn't I tell Lina I wanted the Education Portfolio... my job is going to be a nightmare! I think I'm going to throw up, Geri. Bring me something quick"

"Yes, Minister" Geri rushes over with a waste basket while the Minister of External Affairs vomits again.

Kamla sat up, wiping the vomit off her lips with the Hanguk-Nippon Emperor's phone records. "If any of this gets out to the media or our allies, well I can't see the government surviving, everything is going to fall apart Geri!"

"I had to pull information from so many departments, I don't think anyone had ever pulled it all together like this. But no one knows about it Minister, just you and I, we don't need to... "

"Oh my goodness Geri! You can't be saying what I think you are saying?? We have to tell the people and let the chips fall where they may. That will be the least of our problems: Our allies are going to lose their minds!. I can't believe it! I just can't believe it! What a time for Lina to be sick. Can you check on her while I am in Marambio and Esperanza this week? I admitted her in Faraday, but they moved her to the military hospital at Orcadas. They keep telling me she's in recovery, but they won't let me talk to her. Will you go there while I'm out of town?"

"Of course Minister, I know how to dazzle those military types with bureaucratic mumbo jumbo. I'll get in the room with her privately and ask her about this."

"No Geri, her signatures on everything! She had to have known what was going on... just let me know how she is, something this sensitive has to come from me."

"Yes, Minister"

"And I need to bring this up with cabinet as soon as we are back in Rothera on Friday. I can only hope that this tomorrow's meetings with Menwen make this trip worth it. I think I should tell her before this leaks, she has to know that this was definitely not government policy - although I still have no idea something of this scale could be going on without anyone outside the Prime Minister's Office finding out. I will have to catch Alan after this morning wreath laying and see if he can start digging into this so we can come up with a plan on how we're going to deal with this. He is the Minister of the Interior, how Hovland could have pulled this off right under his nose... I know he'll be as mortified as I am. Can you arrange for him and I to have some time to talk before I have to catch the flight to Marambio?"

"Yes, Minister"

Volaworand wrote:

Alan Duncan slammed the phone down. "Frack that Fracking General D'Otter! The witch is still breathing; Now he's got her on a ventilator."

Margret Ustafa, Leader of the Opposion, put her hand on his shoulder "Calm down Alan, there is no way she is going to survive. There's no way she can survive that concentration of Midand nerve agent. I'm surprise she has lived this long. You've had me giving it to her for months now."

Alan pushed her aside. "Shut your mouth! I'll confirm something to the media at the wreath laying. We will need to prepare the nation for her death and whip up some frenzy to blame the culpruit, that Menwen woman from Midand, or some 'Humans Are People' do gooder will fit the bill just fine. You need to leave. We can't be seen together right now. Go out the back way."

"Yes, Minister."

page=dispatch/id=1098645

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

Hanguk-Nippon Officially Annexes Valthesia!
After some recent talks held in Sendai, the two nations have signed the Shimonoseki Agreement. The treaty stipulates that Valthesia will join Hanguk-Nippon with no autonomy, and their militaries shall be fused. The agreement has led to some protest within Volaworand and Midand, the protesters staring it to be “an illegal annexation and violation of Valthesian sovereignty”. However, the Hanguk-Nipponese government refuses these protests as over a little military maneuver.

Midand wrote:

Leader Hondunurs Mendeons once again skipped his morning coffee. The barista's face now soured further and she did an angry little strut back to the counter. Hondunurs took out his tablet again and started scrolling through the news.
"Yep, yep, didn't even need the story, that's obvious, yay more."
He put the tablet down and took out the sketchpad again. He doodled the various customers in the Capitol Cafe, including his disgruntled bodyguards, the sleepy-eyed ministers at the counter, and the sour-faced barista. He laughed at his sketches and was dreading another wave of media and PR savages.
He was packing up his things and was ready to head to his office when his Government Affairs Officer tapped him on the shoulder.
"Jesus-Oh James it's you", Hondunurs said, picking up the dropped pen.
"Look", James Rayon said, taking out a manila folder and tablet, "we got a problem or a solution, however you'd like to look at it."
Hondunurs motioned for his bodyguards to stay further back and put his case down. He sighed and said, "If it's more of that Menwen-Hovland-Volaworand stuff just drop it on my desk."
"Well...I don't think this would be something you'd drop in your "Later" bin", James said indignantly, and turned the tablet on. "Menwen sent us something...and it's good or bad, however you'd like to look at it."
Hondunurs sighed and took the tablet. His eyes bulged as he read through the report.
"Really? That Cherry actually-?"
James shushed him and shoved the folder in his hand. Hondunurs, however, couldn't contain his anger.
"Great. Sneaking missions behind my back. Whee. More angry PR. Tell her she can pick up her - "
James shushed him again. "No it's not that Leader, sir", he said, taking a few papers out of the folder. "She found something."
Hondunurs sighed again and read the papers. His eyes bulged again.
"Oh Hovland you two faced rat", he said. "Cancel the press conference and get me the Security Minister."
"Yes sir", James said, and scurried off to the Capitol.
"And get Techganet and Hanguk-Nippon on the line in half an hour!"
"Yep, that too."

Midand wrote:

page=dispatch/id=1098799
page=dispatch/id=1098803

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

Hayashi steps up to a podium, this time in ス트ラトク라시아 시티 (Suteuratokurasia Siti, Stratocracia City).

"Hello citizens of Valthesia. We are very happy to announce that our two countries are now united under one banner, one common cause, and one empire. You are not being invaded, you are joining us in the fight. A provincial government has been reestablished, and all shall return to normal in a few days. Our governments have signed the Sendai Covenant and the Shimonoseki Agreement, these documents shall secure your sovereignty, peace, and most importantly of all lives. The empire wishes to continue the mutually beneficial relationship between Hanguk-Nippon and Valthesia. In this, we have also settled some disputes and we have pledged to guarantee your independence as a state in the world..... People of Valthesia! I come among you to look you firmly in the eyes! Rise up! Our great nations shall work together until the end of time! March forward my allies! You cry out for help in this cold world, we answer your calls for freedom and justice! No longer shall we be disrespected and unrecognized! Towards the future! YOUR FUTURE!! OUR FUTURE!!! FOR HANGUK-NIPPON!!!"

The crowd erupts in massive cheers and everybody waves Hanguk-Nipponese flags. Hayashi waves to the people several times and steps down.

"Everything is going perfectly.... We must succeed....."

Midand wrote:

Hondunurs Mendeons impatiently waited on the dial tone to finish. He was to call Hanguk-Nippon first.
Beeeeeeep.
He drummed his fingers on his desk impatiently and was doodling an outline of his office in the process.
While he hated Menwen's guts for sneaking off and disobeying orders, she did bring some valuable intel from Volaworand. He was going to excuse her for now.

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

While Hayashi is flying back on his private jet from Valthesia, he receives Hondunurs' call.

"Hello?"

Midand wrote:

Hondunurs nearly fell out of his chair in shock.
"Yes...this is...erm...Leader Hondunurs Mendeons of The Glorious Democratic Republic of Midand", he said, regaining his composure. "Is this line secure?"

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

"Yes, of course. Why did you call me..?"

Midand wrote:

"I have received word that an unspecified courier" - he said these words with much emphasis - "has sent you an email regarding the situation in Volaworand. I trust you have decrypted it?"
He digs through his laptop for a copy of the email.

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

"Oh, that email.... Yes, we have decrypted it. Quite strange to be honest..."

Midand wrote:

"Yes, I trust you have read the dossier? What is your stance on this situation?"

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

"It's..... Good and bad..... Weirdly though. Hovland suddenly vanishes.... I think I can look into what's going on with their 'nationalist problem'.... The whole situation is crazy."

Roswaesian diplomacy wrote:

THE ROSWAESIAN GOVERNMENT

Below holds King Conner Morris's speech in the Central Vrillaßsungburgen International Financial Building.

Roswaesia has been threatened by several foreign nations attempting to take down our imperialist outlooks, which we have declined to comment on but now is the time, Roswaesia never wishes to disturb peace for another nation growing in strength, people believe in those outlooks because of our type of government, Roswaesia is Communist and Socialist, but it doesn't mean we are bad people, Roswaesia is in the top 3 leading nations in Citizen friendliness, our citizens never wish or have the intent to harm anyone, our nation only tries to grow without interruption, Roswaesia has been going through mass development for days now, once The International Financing Hub is created alongside Midand and Hanguk-Nippon, we will be hoping to provide more prosperity to struggling nations, Roswaesia does not wish to go for the bad outlook, but we wish to help several nations increase dramatically in strength to encourage world peace and to move along on their own, some nations receive their outlooks from the Roswaesia-Techolandian diplomatic tentions, which have escalated to record high levels, our government has launched campaigns to go against these happenings but have failed due to Press Propaganda received from Techolandia, several nations have taken our side because we believe that this conflict is absolutely unnecessary and it has no reason to continue, Roswaesia has been pouring more money and economical help into its military to help begin and set off the beginning of a new protective resolution and century for Roswaesia, it is my honor to be powering and pushing foward a nation of 2.2 Billion people, we want to do nothing less than help victims of brainwashing and torture from foreign nations, we encourage traveling throughout our nation to discover new places daily, we hope that we can begin to work out things with and hold talks with The Representative Democracy of Techolandia to restore the once prosperous relations between our nations.

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

Nighttime, the Central Sea

Hayashi looks on to the city of Furdan from his private jet. “Ah, The empire has surely come a long way...... This..... We must continue this. We cannot stop now.”

The jet touches down at Wonsan International Airport in the large, thriving port city of Wonsan. Hundreds of soldiers stand guard at the runway, flanking a large, luxurious, grand, red carpet. The plane maneuvers along the runway and finally stops. A set of stairs is brought over and Hayashi walks down, waving with sternness to his men. He says nothing. Iemōto Imagawa, The Head of the National Imperial Court, awaits him silently by his jet black car. He greets him with fervor and energy, nodding at every word Hayashi speaks. His government badge on his suit glitters in the night, and they both walk into the car.

“So” Iemōto says, “I believe that things are running smoothly, yes?”

“Of course. The rearmament is on the way. Hanguk-Nippon must advance.”

“Yes, yes! I’m doing some.... Interesting things in court. Of course, I don’t actually do much.”

“I thought so. These days are honestly rough. But I times like these, the state must be put ahead.”

“Indeed your excellency! But I’m concerned about the Emperor...”

“Bah! He hasn’t been doing any work these days! He only sits in his palace doing calligraphy and playing Hwato with elderly people. Besides, we have all the power now. The new provisions say so.”

“What provisions?!”

“Shh..... The Emperor is okay. We have much greater things to worry about.”

“.... Fine. But.... I’m concern-”

“No.”

“But-“

“NO. We shall discuss this at a later time. Am I making myself clear?”

“..... Fine.”

“Now, shall we discuss those foreign nations...? Midand, Volaworand, and Techganet...? They seem..... Trustworthy.”

“..... Yeah....”

They continue to talk like this until they reach Pyongyang.

Roswaesian diplomacy wrote:

Our governments supercomputers have been pretty off for a while, we believe there is something wrong within the systems, all of them are protected by the Roswaesian Government, we have submitted a tracking requests for who may have interfered, we have no proof that is was Volaworand however, do you have any proof to point towards Volaworand's actions?

Techolandia wrote:

Yes. My intelligence service is going to send you logs of some unusual messages that were detected.
*The intelligence shows a series of encrypted messages sent from a Volaworandian government-affiliated server in Rothera to the parts of your government that run the supercomputers. A few of the messages have been decrypted, revealing Volaworandian-written malware and phishing emails. The first of the messages was sent shortly before your supercomputers started to generate anomalous outputs.*

Roswaesian diplomacy wrote:

Oh my goodness, this is very striking to us! (The Roswaesian Parliamentary notifies The Roswaesian Intelligence Agency of the encrypted messages from Volaworand) Our intelligence agency has been notified, could you provide us more information?

Techolandia wrote:

Similar messages went also sent to other countries, including Techganet and Hanguk-Nippon. It also tried to do the same thing against my country, but its antics here were noticed and neutralized quickly. After its cyberattack towards Techolandia was discovered, my intelligence began to investigate and noticed similar attacked against other nations. All of them were from the same government-affiliated server in Rothera, but the attacks appear to have been in order for a variety of purposes. For example, Volaworand meddled in the elections of Techganet and Hanguk-Nippon, but it could not have done the same to your country because your country does not have elections. Should I sent you the logs and the decrypted messages for the other countries?

Roswaesian diplomacy wrote:

Yes, our government needs everything that has been sent/provided as legal information, if we don't receive anything also valid for other countries they may not have a successful trial internationally because lack of support of other nations and foreign citizens, we have also now opened The World Court to where elected officials by international governments may have one seat counting for one vote, these countries include Hanguk-Nippon, Techolandia (you), Nova Montron, New Front, Aequalitate, Auphelia, and Midand, we already have an elected-government official currently in office at The World Court, we encourage all the nations mentioned to elect an official representative of your country to The World Court to speak for you and a valid case for everyone, this would encourage more international cases to The World Court, remember, if your nation has a featured seat on the world court, during a trial involving your nation, your nation does not get to vote, thank you! (4/8 votes is majority vote)

Techolandia wrote:

I am going to send everything to you.

Techganet
Hanguk-Nippon (also received similar messages from Nova Montron)
Roswaesia
Midand (also received similar messages from Nova Montron)
Techolandia
Lymnfrees
Valthesia
EDITORS NOTE: (removed nations not taking part in this roleplay)

Roswaesian diplomacy wrote:

We are beginning to investigate and we have decrypted all of the messages sent, Roswaesia is thinking about submitting Cyber Sanctions through The World Court due to unnecessary aggression to a nation, and confirmed threat of internet and government access to citizens. We need to be a mandatory attendee to this trial, if not your nation will be questioned of your absence.

Midand wrote:

The World Court?

Roswaesian diplomacy wrote:

Yes, The World Court is a court filled with 8 nations that vote on things for the world in a whole, we could also question national sovereignty of nations, we could also denounce a certain nation as a country.

Techolandia wrote:

I am going to send a delegation that is going to be led by the Minister of Law, Order, and Homeland Security of my country.

Nova Montron wrote:

I shall send a delegate to view the proceedings.

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

Volaworand.... These cyberattacks..... Hmm.... These need to be brought to justice.

Roswaesian diplomacy wrote:

THE ROSWAESIAN GOVERNMENT

Due to recent aggressive actions made from the Volaworandian Government, we will be restricting communicative abilities to Volaworand unless an emergency is happening, if an emergency is happening, and a citizen needs contact, please communicate your biological information and information of the person that you are calling and we will allow your call to go through, all Kentucky Fried Penguin locations in Roswaesia are ordered to be closed until further notice from The Roswaesian Government, The Roswaesian Government can still hold communication with Volaworand.

Roswaesian diplomacy wrote:

Techolandia do you have anymore new information for our government?

Techolandia wrote:

Volaworand has stopped most of its malicious cyberactivity. I think that Volaworand knows that we found out about what it has been doing.

Roswaesian diplomacy wrote:

I have received possible small malicious attempts, that were blocked by your cyber security software but our government received it because it could be used as evidence.

(Shows you the attempted shutdown code dispatched from Rothera, Volaworand)

Techolandia wrote:

That is alarming. I would like to add this to the list of charges that I bring against Volaworand.

Roswaesian diplomacy wrote:

Bringing this to your attention will help improve the situation faster, we need all the help that we can get so we can stop this before erupting into a war to harm world peace! What do you think we should do?

Techolandia wrote:

After Volaworand's consistent cyberattacks on various nations, I think that cutting the internet of Volaworand from the rest of the world (so Volaworandians can use the internet to communicate with each other but not people outside the country) is justified. After its server in Rothera was discovered, Volaworand has been using servers in other cities for its most recent cyberattacks.

Roswaesian diplomacy wrote:

Should we take this to The World Court for approval? Because this is a pretty big thing to be dealing with.

Techolandia wrote:

Yes. However, I am going to let you be the sole vote because we need to respond quickly. A delay can allow Volaworand to commit more cybercrimes.

Roswaesian diplomacy wrote:

Okay, we say yes, according to previous evidence provided by several nations

Volaworand wrote:

Today, The Volaworand government is being rocked by scandal as the iwakesheep.org site began releasing the first batch of what is says are 8,761 documents detailing how the Intellegence Services Unit of the National Cyber Security Centre operated a massive program of domestic and international cybersurveillance for the past year. Allegations of election interference, corporate espionage, incitement of protests, propaganda, and hacking supercomputers are starting to be posted. Details are scarce but all eyes are on the iwakesheep site.

With Prime Minister Hovland incapacitated and clinging to life on a ventilator, the cabinet is meeting today to select an Acting Prime Minister. Sources suggest the leading candidates are Minister of the Interior, Alan Duncan; Minister of External Affairs, Kamla Patwill; and Minister of Defence & Security, Alastair Dickson. Whoever assumes the mantle of power will find themselves immediately dealing with an outraged public at home and a diplomatic 'nuclear meltdown' abroad.

The Volaworand Newswire is following this story and will bring you the news as we access the files.

290 days ago in the news:
page=dispatch/id=935784

Roswaesian diplomacy wrote:

If the website isn’t removed by 24 hours it will be removed and swatted by our government due to leaking of important classified government information.

Midand wrote:

The IT department was absolute hell.
Daisy Treller ducked to avoid an especially ticked off technician throwing his book in rage as he stomped off toward the vending machines...for the 5th time.
According to alerts from Techolandia, malicious content sent from an unspecified server in Volaworand and Nova Montron had impacted systems across the Capitol, and the IT department was in a scramble to eliminate them from their servers.
What didn't help was that the IT department got rid of a lot of their old technicians and they were stuck with a lot of younger technicians just fresh out of school, and were thus just being absolute brats.
Midand's Minister of Security Troy Hederson burst through the door, his face slightly red.
"Is the...content...gone?" he asked, his voice just sweet with ugh.
"Mostly", Daisy said, as a horde of hangry techs made a mass exodus to the vending machine. "Shouldn't take any longer; the content opened from the emails should be safely disposed of."
"Good, good, good", Troy mumbled. "A breach. How fun. Midand should be ashamed."
"It is crazy, right?" Daisy asked nervously, trying to steer the conversation to another thing. "With the crisis in Volaworand and Menwen and Hovland not even on this planet?"
"Yes, yes...", Troy said, and then his tone changed. "We're going to The World Court. I'm taking you with me to make sure some breaches don't make it through on my little... vacation. Roswaesian diplomacy sent Mendeons an invitation."
Daisy gulped. Yay.
"Yes, sir", she said, gulping.
"Start packing; we're leaving soon!" Troy grumbled, and made his way out of the IT hell.

Volaworand wrote:

Alan Duncan hung up the phone. "Well, at least he's not releasing the diplomatic cables in this batch."

"Call my stylist, I want him available as soon as the cabiniet meeting is over, I plan on coming out on top. With Hovland dying and this starting to hit the press, I need to make my move now."

"Yes, Minister"

page=dispatch/id=1100218

Roswaesian diplomacy wrote:

We will be happy to have you here in Gaqglingbruck for your visit to The World Court! However, besides the happiness, we need to get this fixed, we have a service protection wall around the Antarctic Peninsula, preventing all signals from entering or leaving unless an emergency is to happen, your room at The Monarchist Throne Palace is finished and we are glad to have you for The World Court trial!

Roswaesian diplomacy wrote:

We have blocked all internet access from inside our nation to yours and nothing can be received.

Techolandia wrote:

(My nation has actually been aware of your Techolandian office. My intelligence services knew about it for years, but they decided that the ability to intercept all incoming and outgoing intelligence was worth the risk. However, now that the information has been leaked, the office is going to be raided.)
*Techolandian law enforcement had secured a wide perimeter around the office. Everything was ready. Volaworand's frequency was ready to be jammed. The necessary warrants had been obtained. Techolandian intelligence workers were ready to confiscate all documents. They only had to wait for the final signal to conduct the raid. Once receiving it, they stormed the office, arresting all of the Volaworandian intelligence workers and seizing hard drives, laptops, folders of documents, back-up disks, USB drives, and more. Helicopters landed on the roof in order to allow a quicker break-in of the top floors. Now all of this had to be transmitted back to the Techolandian intelligence headquarters.*

*At other Volaworandian intelligence-affiliated sites across Techolandia, similar raids took place simultaneously. Even if iwakesheep.org had not published about most of Volaworand's sites in Techolandia yet, it would soon.*

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

The IFC Mall, Seoul

Hayashi, dressed in a black overcoat and a hat, swiftly walks into a café to meet up with Iemōto.

“Volaworand.... Yes, that’s the nation. I heard they were doing some cybernetic things recently.”

“You’ve heard Iemōto... I guess news travels fast.”

“It really does...”

“Now, here are those documents you asked me for.”

He briskly hands Iemōto a blue folder that has no labels. He looks inside and nods.

“Yes, this is what I was looking for. Thank you. He won’t be able to stop us now.”

“I hope so... I really do...”

Hayashi then stands up and walks out of the café slowly, not to be seen for the rest of the day.

Midand wrote:

page=dispatch/id=1100326

Volaworand wrote:

The cabinet meeting had been dragging on for hours an they were no closer to a consensus. Aides keep running into the room with various issues needing attention, and it appears that Kamla worst fears had come true: the program she uncovered had leaked online, and to make it even worse, it was while the Prime Minister was incapacitated. She didn't get a chance to discuss it with Alan to see if he knew anything about it, and now the cabinet was in an uproar.

Alan Duncan, the Minister of the Interior, stood and implored the "We must get our affairs in order, without effective leadership we can't hope to ever reassure the international community's that Hovland was acting with some rouge "deep state" element in the government. We must select a leader, and we must do it now. I say we vote now."

"For violet's sake, Alan, she's dying: I don't know if she knew what was going on or not, but we all owe our careers to her. We all know Lina, she would never authorize these kinds of actions against our allies! Why are you so eager to just take her place so quickly?" Kamla implored. "I think we need to appoint a Royal Commission to investigate these actions and -"

Alan leaned toward Kamla, "No! Royal Commissions! are you joking? Those can drag on for years and never resolve anything. We need to show the people and the world that we have stability and strength first, and then we can investigate Hovland's crimes."

"Crimes! Alan, how can you convict her so quickly, we don't even know if these reports are true," chimed in Alastair Dickson, Minister of Defence and Security. "I agree that we need strong leadership, which is why I am the right choice. The military loves me, and unlike you two, I haven't been making us the laughing stock of the South Pacific."

Now that isn't fair," Kamla interjected "I've been keeping our relations with Midand alive during this visit. Alan's the one who keeps jumping in front of every camera keeping the story going. If you just would say no comment like the rest of us this would have never blown up like this. Besides, Alan, if anyone should have known what was happening it would be the Minister of the Interior and I think should have known -"

"Look folks we need to vote, there's 8 of us, so 5 votes gets you the spot at the head of the table. Hey you! Get all the staff out of the room and bring us some blank sheets of paper - we are voting now!"

Staff and bureaucrats scurried out of the room, Alan's staff dropping some ballots with each of the 8 cabinet ministers on them. His chief of staff lingered.

Alan turned and yelled "I said get OUT!"

"Yes Minister"

Techganet wrote:

“Where’s the President? He should be in his office right now!”

Looking for me, James?

“Sorry.”

Update me.

“Volaworand launched a few cyberattacks, and amount of nations affected is unprecedented.”

Hmm. Still no contact with the Government?

“No. I believe Hovland is incapacitated and is depending on life support.”

Wow. I pray for her.
For now, disable all web traffic from Volaworand. Total shutdown of communications and interaction.

“Are you sure you want to do that?”

I’m always sure.

“Yes, Mr President.”

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

Hayashi sits down in his new tea house, not too far from the Blue House.

"Ahh.... Hanguk-Nippon truly does make world-class tea. Hands down."

He puts down his cup on the table gently. Across from him sits Iemōto, who is casually sipping tea while looking outside.

"What's the matter?" Hayashi asks. "Nothing, I'm just.... Thinking about the empire's accomplishments and future."

"Ah, don't think about those type of things for now. Enjoy your life while it lasts."

Iemōto sweats for a second but then forgets about it. "Anyway, I received note that Techganet just cut all incoming web traffic from Volaworand."

"Really...? I'm not surprised. I wonder when Midand and the other countries will follow suit?"

"Who knows, sir. Certainly, this is something we can hop in on somehow."

"I hope so." Hayashi quietly says. "You've been saying that a lot recently.... A lot about hope, and the ultimate goal." Iemōto says with a slightly puzzled face.

"Who knows when I need to stop.... Maybe I can't." He takes one last sip of tea. "I think it's just you worrying too much!" Iemōto sighs happily.

"You think so...? I sure don't. Rather, I'm concerned with many things. I recently received word of Lee Yong-Jung's Insurance Corporation skyrocket.... Another questionable figure in domestic politics. Oh, and the economy! Everything is booming, but we need to establish the largest foothold in our foreign bases. We can't let others take it away from us."

Hayashi says sternly and with vigor. "Well good sir, I may have the key." Iemōto pulls out some documents and some business cards. "These here, are the contracting agreements with the Imperial Diet, and these cards are of major Hanguk-Nipponese corporations with huge presences in foreign countries."

"Let me see....." He stares at them closely, reading each line and memorizing each name, address, and number. "Yes. This will make things better.... In the economy at least."

Iemōto smiles. "I knew these would cheer you up!"

Hayashi nods. "Yes.... Shall we go back in?"

Iemōto nods and they both clean up and walk back to the Blue House.

Midand wrote:

Cherry Menwen sat comfortably in the plane and let the soft whirr of the engines calm her down.
The visit was over.
She...wasn't exactly impressed. She took a sip of Midandian Husky Wine and looked out at the fluffy clouds. She took this time to think.
Volaworand was Midand's closest ally, and they and Hanguk-Nippon and Techganet had done wonderful things together.
She longed for the days when politics were simpler. When she was able to visit her family more often...
Her Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Dellers Geldon plopped down in the seat next to her, holding a dossier.
"What is it now?" Cherry grumbled, angry that her thoughts were interrupted.
Dellers paused. "Yeah, there's been a Volaworandian press conference and...Hovland's dying."
Cherry's interest wasn't too piqued. "It's probably just a sham to knock the media off her back."
"Yeah, I thought that too", Dellers said, and slipped the dossier into his case. He was about to get up and return to his seat when Cherry spoke up.
"About Volaworand...", Cherry started, "and don't get me wrong, this is just off the top of my head."
Dellers nodded and sat back down.
"I was thinking...after we read all that info in the dossier and saw what Volaworand had become, and the cyberattacks, and what crap the ISU's been up to...are we still allies?"
Dellers paused. He was evidently surprised but was expecting it.
Cherry continued, "Our trust and friendship has been broken and mending it doesn't seem to be on the agenda. Volaworand may have been an excellent partner to have back then but...they've changed."
"So...you're saying you want to sever ties with them?" Dellers asked.
"Not yet. I want to see what further...fun...they come up with", Cherry responded. "But, Techganet has cut all web traffic from them. We should follow suit. That should send them some sort of warning. Trading and SPARTA can continue because we need a bit of a boost to the economy at this time."
She paused to take a dainty sip of wine.
Dellers nodded. "Yes. But...what will Mendeons think?"
"I'll send him an email. He might not like it...but this is the truth", Cherry said sadly. "Midand is sending a delegation to The World Court with Roswaesian diplomacy to discuss the matter. We can bring the issue up then."
Dellers nodded one more time and got out of his seat.
Cherry put her head back to the window and watched them soar through the clouds.

Volaworand wrote:

The room was quiet. Multiple rounds of voting of the past several hours had narrowed the field for Acting Prime Minister to three potential ministers.

As the Minister of Education, the elderly Rosie DeBosse, slowly unfolded ballots and stacked them on the table, it became clear that cabinet was still divided.

"Well that's it: Three votes for Alan Duncan, three votes for Kamla Patelwill, and two votes for Alistair Dickson. We still don't have a winner."

The Minister of the Interior, Alan Duncan stretched back in his chair. "We've I suggest we take a short break, say 15 minutes? Alistair, care to come out with me for a cigarette?"

The two headed outside, chatting like the two college chums they were.

Kamla cornered a couple of the remaining ministers "Look, we can't simply accept these leaks as genuine. The Volaworand I know would never stab our allies in the back like this. I know it and you know it: I can make sure Midand Techganet Hanguk-Nippon and even this sham world court will know it, too. I know I can. I've been doing a lot of digging and while I admit it doesn't look good there's just something that isn't right here. I need your support so Alan can't keep stonewalling me from digging further. We need be as transparent as possible."

A secretary breezes into the room, carrying tea service on a tray "We have a real treat today. A new tea blend imported from Hanguk-Nippon."

Breaking away from Kamla, Rosie made a bee-line for the tea. "Oh I can't get enough of this. I'll take a cup, dear."

"Yes Minister."

Hanguk-Nippon wrote:

Hanguk-Nippon Announces the 1st International Tea Convention!

Ever since the dawn of humanity, tea has been a staple in world beverage. To celebrate this drink, the Hanguk-Nipponese Imperial Diet has decided to open up the 1st International Tea Convention in Kyoto.

The Hanguk-Nipponese Government hopes that this will show the greatness of Hanguk-Nipponese tea culture to the world.

Volaworand wrote:

Alan took a deep drag of his cigarette and looked the Minister of Defence and Security up and down. "Look Alistair, I know that this whole iwakesheep thing is going to land on someone, and if you were to drop out, I would be a position to protect you. You know that if Kamla gets the big chair, she's going to dig up everything, and you are the Minister responsible after all."

"But that's crazy, Hovland's the one who signed off on everything! She never involved my department at all. I've already got Justice digging into how the ISU got off their leash. I'm not taking the fall for this!" protested Alistair.

"I know, but you know how Kamla is, once she gets into something she won't give this up. Now if you were to support me for Prime Minister, we could control the investigation, and I'm sure you'd come out clean."

"But is that even legal? You know the Department of Justice reports to me, but it's an arms length department," Alistair looks off into the dawn. "I can't direct the investigation, could I?"

Alan knew he had found his opponents weak spot. "Well, if you had a friendly face in the Prime Minister's chair, I'm sure a few administrative orders could make Justice more 'responsive' to your wishes. All you have to is drop out and throw your support to me."

"I don't know Alan, we really need to game this out. Kamla's gonna bring it all out, whoever helped Hovland do this is gonna wish they were never born."

"My sources say Midand behind all this. And don't worry about Kamla. Once I'm Prime Minister I can send her off to this Roswaesian diplomacy's 'World Court' as our representative. Not much information she can get while in Gaqglingbruck, besides what we decide to send her." Alan took a drag from his cigarete, sizing up his rival.

"Oh that is brilliant, Alan. We just might make it through this. And I get to keep my post in cabinet?"

"Of course Alistair, I'm on your side. I'm doing this so I can protect you. So can I count on you to do the right thing when we get back in there?"

"Yes, Acting Prime Minister."

Our story continues in Part II: Dawn breaks
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That was so fun! It's been a while since we all roleplayed together, I still have the Charter in one of my factbooks and decided to bring it back to life. I think some people have left the region, and some aren't active anymore, but I'd love to bring it back. Knowhere has been really boring, and has been lacking roleplaying which sometimes makes me lose motivation in coming onto NationStates.

Amerion, Volaworand, Melicorium, Drew Durrnil, and 1 otherPaganan

The Riyacea of Uvalor

3 years 21 days ago