The Athens Times

[Centurius]

Prince Alexander Dead!

 

Athens - Following a year of treatment by the best doctors around the world Prince Alexander, Crown Prince of Carthage and presumed future Megas Autokratos has died of complications resulting from his comatose state according to the Office of the Megale Autokrateira.

 

The Chief Magistrate was the first to respond stating his condolences for the Imperial family on behalf of his government and the Parliament of the Athenian Federation. Similar messages have arrived from all corners of the Federation as the tragedy appears to be one suffered by all sides on the various ongoing internal troubles.

 

The Imperial family has requested the press to give them some privacy in these trying times while they deal with the loss.

[TheShammySocialist]

Along with a general statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on behalf of Santaji, the monarch would also have a handwritten letter transmitted to the Athenian Federation by official government courier.

 

"The Marathi Royal Family and the High Council, on behalf of the Maratha Empire express their condolences to the fallen Athenian Crown Prince. May his spirit endure and give those who shall succeed him in his duties strength and endurance."

[Centurius]

It had been several weeks since the death of Prince Alexander and the informal truce that existed between all the different factions within the Athenian Federation had long since expired, the country was steadily falling apart and something needed to be done. With this in mind Frank walked into the private chambers of the Megale Autokrateira in the Imperial Palace. She had locked herself up for the entire time now and considering everything he could understand it but this wasn't the time. By now the High Guard had known not to stop him at any point in time and only at the final doors before Ariadne's library were the guards actually blocking his entry.

 

"The Megale Autokrateira does not want any visitors, Chief Magistrate" One of the guards said as she walked forward.

 

"Lieutenant, I am well aware of your orders however let me ask you a question. Do you ever wonder what happened to your predecessor after she didn't give me something I wanted?" After a moment of pause with no response he continued "You see I have the strongest weapon on my side, the needs of the people. The people for some reason need their Megale Autokrateira to show she hasn't given up on this godforsaken country like they have. Now you can choose whether to follow the orders of your boss or you hold off the masses when they come for her head in a few weeks."

 

Slightly startled the guard stepped aside and allowed Frank to walk inside where Ariadne was sitting in a corner reading one of the many books. "I was wondering how long it would take for them to let you in. I expected you here sooner Frank" Ariadne responded as she put down the book. "I can't go out there, not yet."

 

"Quite frankly, Your Imperial Majesty. That is unacceptable. You are a grieving mother and if you were just that you could take all the time you want but you are not just the mother of Prince Alexander or Princess Alethea. You are the mother of a country that likes to consider itself the best thing in the world, even exceeding the Greek and Roman empires that came before it. You have fought innumerable threats to your people and your people have died for you. Now they are faced with a disease from the inside and like any ill child they need their mother. The fascists are calling to split up the Federation, the military is wondering if you're even alive still and talking junta, on our borders we have a reincarnation of the Nords and to our south the Exarchate is rapidly distancing itself from Athens. There are two types of pain and you are succumbing to the useless one. I have no patience for the useless as you already know. Now are you going to do the job your children let you stay for in this building and pay you with what they have got or can I just as well announce we’re calling the Athenian experiment concluded?”

 

Ariadne had elevated him to his current position based on his reputation as the master of pragmatism but even she was surprised by just how he pragmatic he was but he was right. “What can I do that isn’t being done already?  There are so many parties in play I wouldn’t know where to begin to bring things back together again”

 

“First of all we secure our position, I trust you have been reading the security briefing. There are threats against your life and that of your family from the various factions as well as the military. The CSS cannot conclusively state that the High Guard or even their own organization are free of infiltrators. Having the Imperial family in a single building, especially now there is only one heir with a direct bloodline to Alexander the Great left. I have talked to trustworthy contacts in the Netherlands and we would be able to hide Princess Alethea there to keep her safe from any plots against your crown. After we have secured a successor you lift the state of emergency and order our soldiers off the streets once again letting civilian police do their job. Finally a summit will be called in a city that isn’t in Greece. On this summit representatives from all corners of society will get to talk about the future of the Athenian Federation where no subject is off the table. This is of course all after you clean up and go outside to address the country calling for unity in these times of need”

 

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Megale Autokrateira Addresses Nation, Calls for Return to Calm and Peace

 

Athens – In her first public appearance since the crash that would eventually kill Prince Alexander the Megale Autokrateira has called for all parties within the Athenian Federation to come together in the spirit of unity that had originally bound the Athenian Federation. She went on to state that while all major external threats had been defeated infighting and civil war would result in a divided collection of countries open to foreign attacks from all corners of the world.

 

Moderates throughout the country have responded to the speech with support however many have responded negatively to it claiming it was too little too late. The Megale Autokrateira has stated she and her advisers have been working on a set of measures to facilitate such a return to unity however it has yet to be announced which measures those are exactly.

 

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Ariadne had already told Alethea that she would have to leave Court and the Athenian Federation for a while for her own safety and as expected the latter had resisted. That being said there was no other alternative and she would rather have her daughter hate her than another funeral. To aid in preventing that Orpheus and another guard who had earned her trust had been invited to her office before Alethea would be taken to Middelburg in secret where she would be able to continue her studies.

 

As Orpheus and Thirza entered her office they would immediately salute. “At ease, please leave us” Ariadne said before the guards within the office left the room. “Orpheus, Thirza. Throughout the years you have shown to be true friends and perhaps the only people at court I can trust in trying times like these. What I am going to ask for you is something only the two of you can do and it may be years before you get to see your homes again” She paused, still having difficulties dealing with it herself. “We have reason to believe there are plans for an assassination attempt to take down myself and Alethea. I can’t leave Athens like this and we don’t know how deep the plot has infiltrated the inner circles of the government. Because of this Alethea must leave the country and you must keep her safe. Chief Magistrate Underwood has arranged for discrete travel to the Netherlands and enough financial resources to last you there have been made available. However no one must know what is going on and where Alethea has gone. As far as the world is concerned the three of you must disappear from the face of the earth. I know I am asking a lot but there is no other way. Not if I am going to keep this country together.”

 

Thirza had no ties keeping her in the Federation so the decision would be easy for her however the matter was different for Orpheus who had his own family. Ariadne hated having to ask him this but he probably was the only one who has consistently stood by her side throughout the years.

 

“I gladly accept Your Imperial Majesty, I serve at your pleasure” Thirza said while Orpheus didn’t follow much later. “So do I, I will protect Alethea like I have always protected you.”

 

Later that night the plan would be executed and Alethea was taken to Middelburg safely and without anyone beyond the five people who organized knowing exactly who was being transported and where they were going. 

 

Now the second stage  could begin as at midnight exactly Ariadne assumed direct command of the Hellenic Forces and issued the order for all soldiers to withdraw to bases and restore the power of civilian police to maintain law and order. The path to the war to come was set.

[Mr Director]

Internal

 

The Sudan would keep a wary eye on the chaos unfolding in the north.

[Centurius]

General Spiros Assassinated!

 

 

Athens - On the first formal day of the court case against him General Iason Spiros, who stood accused of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder, was shot by an unidentified sniper. The assassination has caused renewed protests and threatens to undo the recent informal peace.

 

Following the arrest of General Spiros a year of motions and other delays followed before the case was finally ready to be handled in open court. As the general was escorted from the prison transport to the courthouse an unknown individual shot from the roof of a building at significant distance from the courthouse and managed to hit the General. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

 

Throughout the Athenian Federation civilian police have taken extra precautions and Imperial Command has ordered all military bases on lockdown. Strong voices have come from the Hellenic Forces accusing the Underwood administration of having intentionally killed the General to appease terrorists. The Office of the Chief Magistrate was quick to reject all such notions while the Ministry of Justice has announced an extensive investigation to find the person responsible and to bring him to justice.

[Centurius]

With the collapse of the United Kingdom a small military force was sent to the Isles to establish Athenian protection.

[Centurius]

Return of the Princess?

 

Paris - Anonymous sources inside the Council of Magistrates currently seated in Versailles have reported to the Athens Times that a special forces unit was deployed to secure a high value individual in hiding. While the sources could not confirm the identity of this individual it has been rumoured to be Her Imperial Highness Alethea of Heraclius, Both the significant resources dedicated to this mission as well as the urgency seem to support these rumours. 

 

If true the return of the Princess has the potential of shaking the balance of power in the civil war and forms a significant threat to all those factions that do not have her support. When asked directly the spokesman for the Chief Magistrate refused to answer.

 

The location of the Princess has long been a mystery, with her disappearance following shortly after the death of her brother, many believed she had either been taken to safety by the High Guard or become the first victim in the events that triggered the current civil war.

[Centurius]

As the situation in the former United Kingdom seemed more stabilized and the Franco-Iberian Union needed all the troops it could get a significant portion of the previously deployed soldiers wouold be redeployed from the Isles to the Iberian frontline. A smaller force would however remain.