Expanding the Horizons

[Lestari]

... diplomatically speaking, anyways.

 

When the Republic of Para had become the Federal Hierarchy of Amazonia, the name and the system of governance were not the only things that changed-- hell, it wasn't even just that the Hierarchy began to take a more aggressive stance in South America itself, what with its intervention in Peru. Diplomatically, the horizons were widening. Where previously the Republic had been concerned solely with South America, Premier Vieira now felt it was more prudent to look elsewhere-- not too far elsewhere, they weren't about to start rubbing elbows with the Tianxians. Instead, she cast her judgment northwards-- to where lay Tikal.

 

A notoriously advanced nation, its well known technological capacities surpassing the boundaries of the greatest nations of the planet, Tikal made a prime first venture in the Hierarchy's tentative outreaches to the world beyond South America. Furthermore, it would make a good first diplomatic move for the newly instated Executor Alex Valverde, who, having built a career on the military much as her aunt had, could have used the... er, 'practice', so to speak. Therefore, the Executor prepared a quick, to the point and respectful communique, expressing interest in opening diplomatic relations with Tikal, and sent it through the appropriate avenues to Tikal's leadership.

[Lynneth]

The message was received by Tikal's currently somewhat understaffed foreign ministry - though with what little traffic came through, quality didn't suffer for it. After some deliberation, the request was sent to higher echelons of the government, eventually gaining approval by the Princess, who agreed to meet with the Hierarchy's diplomat in Guatemala city.

 

An appropriate, polite reply was sent to Amazonia's foreign ministry, approving of the opening of diplomatic relations and a meeting with the Princess herself at a date of the diplomat's choosing.

[Lestari]

Well, this should be interesting.

 

Alex Valverde-- or 'Executor Valverde', though that was sure as hell something that'd take some gettin' used to-- could not claim to be entirely without apprehension. But then, this was her first diplomatic venture-- she supposed it was as natural to feel a vague sense of anxiety at such a point as it had been during her first battle, her initial foray into the military lifestyle that she had believed at the time would become the rest of her life. That kid she'd been would never have foreseen the turn of events that led her to this time and place, with this title and this authority, but she suspected the same could have been said for her aunt-- for Premier Vieira.

 

Shit, it seemed like just a day ago she had been a mere colonel, the commander of what had then been the Paraense marines, generally expected by the public and by her colleagues to replace the aging General Francisco Vara as the director of defence. If anybody could have predicted that instead the Paraense civil government would have been completely overhauled, its senate replaced with a small, centralised Tribunal and Colonel Valverde placed at the helm of that body as the Executor of the Premier's will, the second figure on the newly formed power chain, then Alex wanted to meet that modern Tiresias. Maybe they could help her find her old Minor Threat tape-- she'd been looking for that shit for a good year now.

 

That being said, it was certainly not an overwhelming sense of anxiety that Alex felt at that point-- merely a vague hint dogging at an otherwise naturally confident demeanour. The former marine was not one to be undone by apprehension at being hurled into an unfamiliar setting: though by no means the most exploratory of sorts (it'd taken years for her aunt to convince her to open her heart to the joys of some good death metal), she wasn't too thoroughly unsettled by new horizons. Who knows, she mused idly as the plane bearing her unto Guatemala City gradually sank from the clouds down toward the runway where she was destined to begin her first diplomatic venture. Could be good.

[Lynneth]

As the plane slowly dropped beneath the clouds, the lights and skyscrapers of Tikal's capital came into view, many reaching hundreds of meters into the sky as if trying to reach up to and beyond its boundaries. Housing beyond half of the subregion's population of 27 million people, it was a true metropolis, its splendour said to rival even that of the old Imperial Capital of the long fallen Holy American Empire.

 

The airport itself was situated some distance away from the city in order to keep the skyscrapers from interfering with air traffic. Upon arrival, the plane moved to a secondary terminal, reserved for foreign dignitaries. There, Alex was allowed to exit the plane into the building, with a small delegation waiting for him already - Tikal guards as well as a lady that appeared to have undergone considerable augmentation procedures.

 

 

"Welcome to the Principality of Tikal, Diplomat Alex Valverde. My name is Xochitl Necalli. If you like, you can call me ust 'Xo'. I have been assigned as your guard for today. Please follow me - I will escort you to your personal vehicle for the duration of your visit. As you will be visiting her Highness personally, Royal Guard may deem it necessary to escort you to her."

With a polite bow and smile, she turned after motioning for Alex to follow, bringing her to a helipad on the roof of the building.

 

 

After being ushered into the VTOL, the diplomat's journey continued, this time through Guatemala City's skies. Soon enough, though, a structure towering above all other with three spires came into view, situated near an artificial river that connected to the Pacific Ocean.

 

 

The craft ascended near the beginning of the central spire's upper third, landing on a helipad there. Xochitl helped Alex out, still smiling happily, even as she looked to the entrance, from which a dozen red and gold-clad women came out.

 

 

"It appears that Her Highness' Guard have indeed decided to escort you to her. Thus, my duty is done for the moment - I will be waiting here for your return, Diplomat Valverde. Until then."

Alex barely got time to say her goodbyes before the Guard were already there, wordlessly ushering her along into the building and out of the rather strong wind. Now, in the calm interior, the diplomat had a few moments to think and compose herself before the meeting.

Edited October 25, 2013 by Lynneth

[Lestari]

Guatemala City was quite a spectacle-- and granted, that was coming from someone who'd grown up during the fall of the Holy American Empire, so Alex had anything but an impressive list of things to compare it to. But impressive nonetheless-- Tikal certainly seemed like it was going to more than validate its reputation for technological wonder, a conclusion the Executor had come to even before she was approached by what looked like a fucking robot of all things. [I]Am I on a diplomatic venture or did I just step into an Asimov novel?[/I] Alex mused as the robot--woman-- [I]that one[/I] approached.

"Welcome to the Principality of Tikal, Diplomat Alex Valverde," she said, provoking a raised eyebrow from Alex. "Er-- thank you, but I'm not exactly a 'diplomat', per se."

 

"My name is Xochitl Necalli," the woman continued, absolutely unfettered by Alex's words. "If you like, you can call me just 'Xo'. I have been assigned as your guard for today. Please follow me - I will escort you to your personal vehicle for the duration of your visit. As you will be visiting her Highness personally, Royal Guard may deem it necessary to escort you to her."

 

".. alright," Alex replied-- she woulda been lying if she said she wasn't a bit bemused by the woman and her... er, how d'you put it charitably? [I]Quirks?[/I] Alex frowned. [I]Actually, that sounds even more dickish. Maybe I should just leave it at 'a bit bemused'.[/I] Nevertheless, she followed Necalli, through the VTOL escort, down to a massive spire that Alex figured was probably the Tikal centre of government. [I]Fuckin' hell,[/I] the Executor mused with a mixture of awe and a hint of dubiety. [I]Even the Holy American Empire of yore wasn't this grandiose. Feel kinda like a fish outta water.[/I] A wry smile came to her lips-- Isabel woulda had a fuckin' seizure by now. But then, Alex figured she also probably woulda had a heart attack outta joy. If anybody was the sort to jump for joy at the prospect of livin' in a sci-fi novel... well, it was sure as hell gonna be the premier.

 

Upon arrival, Alex gave a grunt of thanks to Necalli as she helped her out (and suppressed the urge to recoil in horror at the constant smile that graced the bizarre woman's face). From the entrance of the spire, some twelve or so women in rather gaudy apparel emerged-- according to Necalli, they were the Guard. [I]They're all female and dressed like red-gold peacocks,[/I] Alex observed as astutely as ever, before Necalli took her leave. "I will be waiting here for your return, Diplomat Valverde. Until then."

"Not exactly a diplomat," Alex couldn't help but murmur under her breath, before raising her voice to thank Necalli once more and following the silent Guard into the interior of the spire. The Executor's stride was straightforward and confident, though she was a bit unnerved by the stark contrast between slightly disconcertingly friendly Necalli, and the clearly less than sociable Guard. But hey-- maybe they'd get her title right this time. Not that she was bitter about being called a diplomat-- shit, titles didn't mean jack shit to her, it was just...

... okay, maybe she was just a bit bitter about being called a diplomat.

[Lynneth]

Once inside, the first part of the trip was an elevator trip, luckily using one of the high-speed types in which one could barely feel the acceleration. Near the top, one of the guards suddenly spoke up, "Please excuse Necalli. She insists on calling any foreign dignitary 'diplomat'. She means no offence by it."
After that, the guard refused any other attempts at small talk, apparently just wishing to clear this up - probably something they'd had to say more than once.
 
Once the elevator stopped, the two red-clad women guided Alex into a needlessly high corridor, likely built to look impressive or even intimidating - at this height in the building, it was certainly a feat of great engineering.
 

 
What couldn't be seen from down here were several hidden doors and alcoves within the walls as well as extendible cover in case of combat. Despite the size, the corridor was lit well, with no dark corners in which one might be able to hide. Neither were there entrances into man-sized air vents. This was a death trap for any of the 'stereotypical' secret agents and assassins of stories.
 
Going through the next door, the aesthetics shifted rapidly from the extravagant to a large room with what most likely was a massive monitor showing a live stream delivered by satellite. There was no other was for what looked like a window to show an image from space.
 

 
One of the guards knocked with their staff on the ground. Unwieldy things, though they perhaps weren't expected to fight seriously. After all, the moment a capital came under direct attack, the war likely already was lost.
Regardless, upon the sound filling the room, most of the visible figures briefly turned towards the entrance, then scurried away through side-doors, getting to their work in a less impressive environment. One of the figures had not moved, only turning now. For a brief moment, her left eye appeared to flash a gentle blue.
 



"Welcome, Executor Valverde. I am Princess Shana'Kin Yaxchel Ik'nal - or just Shana, if you would prefer something less unwieldy to say." With the wave of a hand, the ground between them opened, a rectangular table capable of seating 22 people rose into the room, complete with chairs. "Please, have a seat, then let us discuss the reason for your visit."

The Princess motioned for Alex to sit, only taking her seat once the Executor had done so.

 

The two guards has taken up positions on each side of the window, which still displayed some sort of operation in low to medium earth orbit, with the moon clearly visible.

[Lestari]

To describe each and every new awe-inspiring sight would have been an unnecessarily long-winded venture, and so Alex resolved simply to describe it all in one as... quite impressive. Definitely ain't in Kansas anymore... or, uh... What would the Federal equivalent of Kansas have been? Shit, probably Roraima-- at least the last time she'd gone there, there'd been nothing but vast stretches of grassland to the north, the Amazon devouring the southern borders of the territory, and maybe like four people, two of whom were just passing through on their way to a place with actual cities and life and hope and joy. We definitely ain't in Roraima anymore, Alex amended as she followed along.

 

On the other hand, turned out one of the figures in the room the Guard had brought Alex to was actually the princess-- who knew? She turned to Alex, who coulda sworn for a second there she saw the princess' eye glow a metallic sorta blue (which, all things considered, actually wouldn't've been all that bizarre). "Welcome, Executor Valverde. I am Princess Shana'Kin Yaxchel Ik'nal - or just Shana, if you would prefer something less unwieldy to say."

"Uh-- thank you," Alex replied as the princess pretty much hand-waved an entire goddamn table into existence. Is it standard procedure to be on first name basis with another head of state at first meeting? she mused, half in honest curiosity, half aimlessly, before deciding, fuck it, that was anything but a major concern to her at this point. She took the proffered seat, placing her six foot five, robustly-built bulk down, before watching the princess do the same. She also resisted the urge to blurt out 'so... am I in fuckin' space or what?' upon seeing the windows, portals to what totally looked like space.

 

Instead, she began, going over all the shit the premier'd told her was good courtesy at a diplomatic meeting, none too eager to make her first a fuck-up. "Thank you-- uh, Shana-- for allowing me to be witness to your beautiful capital city. As to the reason for my visit, with the recent transition in governance, the Federal Hierarchy of Amazonia has been expanding its horizons beyond continental South America-- searching for potential diplomatic relations with nations whose goals and interests may be synonymous with our own. Tikal has a reputation both for its stability and the advanced nature of the technology its citizens enjoy-- which I've... gotten quite a good demonstration of thus far-- and so the premier felt there was no better nation to reach out to at this juncture than Tikal."

Edited October 25, 2013 by dotCom

[Lynneth]

The Princess nodded with a happy smile, keying something on her end of the table. The result was a hologram of Central and South America, with the current nations outlines, Tikal and the Hierarchy filled in with blue and green, respectively.
"I'm glad that you decided to approach us, especially in this time when Tikal and its people are slowly beginning to open up to the world around them. Further, I'm happy that Tikal has such a positive reputation abroad. Now, what exactly were you and the premier thinking of proposing? What sort of treaty or agreement are you looking for?"