Lestari

"As a nascent nation ourselves, taking its initial strides as an independent entity, the Javanese Federation congratulates Aquitaine on the acquisition of sovereignty and wishes it well in carrying out the will of its people." Chief Executive Lestari Iskandar

As per [URL=http://forums.cybernations.net/index.php?/topic/119467-in-a-distant-land-and-a-distant-time/#entry3198913]this[/URL] thread, pending confirmation from iKrolm, I would be most gratified if you could mark Java and Sumatra as the Javanese Federation.

Violence. It seemed to have seized upon the very fabric of reality-- the only tangible certainty in a world that had otherwise grown hollow and pale. Even far from the front lines, within the relative security of the forward command base stationed at East Kalimantan, its vehement spectre lingered over the heads of those who, herein amidst this despondent shrine of desperate defensive warfare, scampered through its halls, bearing tides of misfortune upon misfortune. The dejected sense of futile tribulation hung heavy in the air, and it seeped into every pore of the soldiers and officers, suffocating the vaguest hint of hope or faith in the far-flung possibility of victory-- no, not even that, of simply survival, of the nation to whose name and spirit they had dedicated their blood, sweat, and tears persevering through the oncoming onslaught and emerging yet intact. With every update from the front line-- every incoming report, every byte of fresh data, every breathless soldier delivering yet further accounts of adversity-- that dream grew more and more hollow. With each revelation of yet more desertions, survival became an unavailing word-- a promise of something that was simply beyond reality. Colonel Lestari Iskandar knew it. She felt it in every fibre of her being. She had staved off the futility of it all with self-assurances of honour and integrity-- sought to repel those haunting prospects of inevitable downfall with pointless talk of dignity in the face of adversity. All those years ago, when she had first enlisted in the Indonesian Marine Corps, just a street rat fresh from the slums of Jakarta, filthy and disillusioned, it had.... well, it hadn't truly been about defending her country back then. It had been a simple matter of having nowhere else to go-- no options but a career of shedding and spilling blood in the name of her nation. But it had since become something more-- a genuine passion for this once-illustrious realm and its promise for its people and for the world-- it had truly become a matter of defending Indonesia's name, its dignity and people, from they who would have sought to see it downtrodden and broken. Was that not the way of a soldier-- to defend to the last ignominious breath, escaping raggedly from dry, scarred lips, their beloved country? And yet now those words of honour and obeisance fell sallow. This sense of despondency and gloom was not a sensation Lestari was accustomed to understanding and processing, and so she simply converted it to an emotion she was much more familiar with, an emotion she was much more comfortable dealing with, much the way a chemical reaction produces a distinct newcomer. And thus, vehemence overtook her. Virulent hatred for the invaders, for Malaysia and its people. Violent, concentrated rage-- that was most certainly a sensation that to this day she knew all too well, a familiarity instilled by the cruel duress of the slumlands. But it was pointless. Reality was what it was no matter how she hurled obscenities and vehement fury upon its callous ears, deaf to the sorrows of its denizens. And the reality was that Indonesia would fall. First Borneo, and then Sumatra, and then Java, and then... Indonesia would fall. There was only one option that would yet spare the nation total destruction. One lingering alternative which, if employed, would ensure the Malaysians would never be able to annex her nation, and guarantee the distant hope that Indonesia would someday rise again from this devastation. It would deliver a crippling blow to the Malaysians, sate that lust for vengeance and bloodshed that yet possessed the colonel, just as much as it would inflict staggering damage to the people of Indonesia itself. Her thin, cold lips curled downwards in doubt. She had sworn to defend Indonesia, just as she had sworn to defend its people... but was it not possible that in order to secure one, the other had to be sacrificed? To ensure the survival of as many Indonesians as possible, it would be necessary to forfeit this nation for which Lestari had surrended so much of herself. And to guarantee the mere potentiality of the continuation of that very nation... the lives of immeasurable individuals would be forfeit. It should have been a crippling decision-- if at all. And yet, with a twinge of self-loathing and anguish, Lestari recognised that there really was no question of which path she was to take. But that was a distant land, and a distant time. Years stretched between Colonel Lestari Iskandar and the individual that now reaped the agonising benefits of her actions, though they bore the same name and face. The same person, though... to broach that subject was to venture into murky waters. The years had taken more out of her than perhaps even she realised, and the memories of what had been necessary to guarantee what she was about to do yet hung heavy over her head. And yet here she was, today-- though she had done what she had to ensure someday the return of a proud and dignified Indonesia, not for a moment had the colonel even entertained the supposition that she would be at the helm of it. And yet here she was-- before vast throngs of jubilant citizens, cameras broadcasting her mien, forcibly moulded into a veneer of composure and inscrutability, across the islands, and the world. To declare irrevocably, once and for all, that what she had sacrificed so much, of herself and of others, to promise had indeed come to pass at last, years later-- that a sovereign Indonesia had indeed returned. [I]Now, if I'd known this gig woulda involved givin' speeches all over the place, I mighta reconsidered,[/I] she couldn't help but jibe silently-- partially in mordant half-honesty and partially to assuage her nerves with some vague sort of humour. Honoured though she was to be the guiding force of a freshly independent Indonesian nation, a skilled and perceptive orator she... well, sure as hell wasn't. [I]Let's just hope I don't end up puttin' people to sleep tryin' to announce the birth of a nation,[/I] she added cheekily, unable to conceal a hint of a smile that vanished as soon as she realised that was actually a legitimate concern if she didn't try and avoid going full on deadpan 'yeah we're a nation again' or whatever. Nevertheless, she made a point of being straightforward and down to earth with it-- the obligatory 'this is an auspicious day that shall go down in the annals of history as a turning point in global civilisation' or however that shit was supposed to go aside, she laid out the basic necessities. The Javanese Federation, with its capital at the city of Jakarta, comprised the islands of Sumatra and Java, both of which had previously operated under the auspices of Selenarctos. Foreign policy would, for the time being, be of little priority whilst the nation's administration worked to organise its domestic policy and its military, and indeed, the newly-christened Chief Executive Iskandar, for her part, expected to do little to engage the Federation in foreign activity. [I]Would it not, after all, be best to simply mind one's own business and go about the process of securing the highest standard of living for our own people?[/I] It was reasoning that made sense to her, at least.

Within the foreboding immensity of a high rise corporate building that lay on the horizon of the Tikal capital of Guatemala City, the individual once known as Alejandra Valverde sighed. She cast her gaze out through the window of her office, beheld the vast purview offered by the wide expanse of the glass barrier, surveyed the endless skyline of the Tikal capital. She had, of course, come here once before, during a time she refused now to contemplate for fear of evoking wilfully the restless demons that kept her awake through the agonisingly endless nights despite her best efforts. And yet still, it was quite a sight to be witness to-- Para, and the nation it had later become in the form of Amazonia... had never achieved this level of glory, no matter its status as the eldest nation of South and Latin America. She could have pondered why-- what had gone wrong, what conditions had denied Amazonia this same magnitude, quality of life, the granduer and brilliance that Tikal had produced in a fraction of the longevity of Para itself. But... no. To consider that would indeed have been to welcome those very same demons she had only just refused to bait with such idle musings. Para and Amazonia were both dead and gone, left to the dust in the pages of the annals of history... and Alejandra Valverde too was dead and gone. She examined her face in the reflective glass of the window-- and it was not the face of Alejandra Valverde. The individual looking back to her was Alex Martinez-- an immigrant from the former SAO territories of Colombia who had worked in the employ of the South American Organisation as a military police officer until the fiasco with Bolivia led Tianxia to contest the SAO's oversight of the protectorate. At that point, Martinez, disillusioned with what had become of the organisation she had served in the interests of a united and peaceful South America, left, seeking new horizons and finding them northwards in the form of Tikal. There, however, she was targeted by a Tikal nationalist mafia-- many immigrants from South America and elsewhere were at risk of falling prey to xenophobic crime elements, and for that reason, many of them depended on the services of facial reconstruction specialists who used Tikal's incredible prowess with technologies of all sorts to reshape the face of an individual in such a manner as to make then unrecognisable to the criminal organisations that were pursuing them. Alex Martinez was one such immigrant who had employed those services, and, now safe from the nationalist mafia elements that had once sought to make an example of her, she had gone into the weapons and security business: now, an indeterminate amount of time since her arrival in Tikal, she sat at the helm of the modest corporation of Excoriari Security, the company which she had seen from its humble origins to its current... well, it could hardly be called prosperity. But for a new company, Excoriari Security was certainly enjoying a consistent, reliable business return, and for all intents and purposes, Alex Martinez was a testament to the ability of a lowly immigrant to come to a new nation, be reborn in whole, and prosper in their new home. All lies. Lies and silence. And so, in her lonesome little office at the peak of Excoriari Security's headquarters, Alex sighed, exhaling smoke before raising the cigarette in her hand back up to her thin, pale lips. Alex Martinez was who she was now... and yet, Alejandra Valverde wouldn't stay in her grave. She wouldn't permit Alex Martinez a moment of peace, refused to cease plaguing her as she sought to carve out her own little niche in her new home. No matter where she looked. Even now, as she gazed out onto the majestic horizon of the Tikal capital, she was looking far beyond that skyline, far beyond the high rise buildings that kissed the sky itself, far past the glory and prosperity of Tikal into an older, darker land-- an older, darker time. The sights and sounds that now coursed through her mind were not the sights and sounds of this moment. And the questions she asked herself now were not of this place and time-- the names she recalled no longer relevant to Alex Martinez.. And yet still, those names plagued her-- those questions she yet asked of herself. "Where are you now, Isabel?" The words left her lips softly, almost wistfully. Silence was her answer. Lies, and silence.

.... if you say so.

Whoa whoa whoa, I never had any sexism going on in my nation's legal system. I protest this unfounded accusation.

I've had good experience with that firm, I turned to Melech, Melech & Melech back when the whole restraining order thing went down, and when last I heard the case was discarded after the lawyers for the persecution were grievously assaulted with turnips by unidentified assailants.

Are you telling me most people don't exist in a constant state of drunk to high hell on whiskey? I guess that explains the odd glances and the public indecency charges.

;_; y u do dis triyun

I don't see much good in either patriarchal or matriarchal society, but that's not really my point-- I'm just saying in this case it was made pretty clear that males were second-class citizens. s'all I'm pointing out-- when it's that clear-cut, I don't really see it going a whole lot better than Girltopia.

:facepalm: I'm just saying that realistically any nation that legally and blatantly strongly favours one sex in CNRP would not and should not be looked upon favourably by the international community. Remember Girltopia?

Yes, people tend to care a little bit about a system built on sexism. Replace all instances of 'women' with 'whites' and all instances of 'men' with 'blacks' and then try and see if maybe you can understand why people are not too chuffed about it. Or hell, just switch women and men around and maybe that'll help. Legal sexism ain't cool regardless of which sex is subjected to it.

Just a hint, you may want to ditch the whole 'females blatantly and wholly legally dominate society and males are socially beneath females but hey they can even vote!' bullshit if you want to be able to RP without being invaded for having a sexist government.

I've actually changed my mind, and am no longer in favour of a full reset. This has nothing to do with most of what's been said here and I still think change needs to come about, but a full wipe isn't the way to go about it. CNRP has too much rich history, too many interesting and vibrant historical figures, to just wipe it all out. If there's any action that needs to be done to fix the shit that's fucked in CNRP, then it should be IC-- as exponentially more difficult as that will be, given the state of things.

OOC: Good god it's Girltopia all over again.

It's funny, because that's pretty much Tianxia as it is now.

This has been my point all along. People treat it as a game now. In CNRP's heyday, it was recognised that it wasn't a game but a collaborative storyline. That's what made CNRP great back then. If I wanna play Risk, guess what? I can call up some fools and we'll bust out the board and play us a game of fuckin' Risk. But I don't want to play Risk, I want to create interesting storylines with compelling characters who interact and develop. I just don't see that really happening anymore.

And thus, the Federal Hierarchy of Amazonia, the nation once known as the Republic of Pará, the country which had seen the rise and fall of entire nations and been witness to destitution and greatness-- the longest-lived nation in South America-- at last met its demise. Executor Valverde had arrested the premier and taken control of the nation with the support of the military, advocating with the armed forces' patronage intervention into the brewing conflict that had embroiled Bolivia. It was Alex Valverde's belief that permitting a foreign power-- especially one with such a track record as Tianxia-- to conduct military operations against a South American nation ran completely contrary to what the Hierarchy was meant to do. Had it not been the dream of her aunt, Premier Isabel Vieira, from the very first days of Pará as a sanctuary during the Holy American Civil War, to help create a unified South America free of foreign intervention and the insidious plague of war beyond the continent's borders? But the premier had failed in that regard. She had proven unwilling to oppose Tianxia's intervention into South America, and Alex, torn between her committment to her aunt-- to her premier-- and to the virtues upon which her nation was founded upon, was forced to overthrow the order of the goverment to see that the ideals of the former Republic of Pará were pursued. Unfortunately, though the military supported her advocacy of military action against foreign invaders, the people.... did not. Moreover, they were fiercely loyal to the premier, and, for reasons mysterious and obscure, did not seem to appreciate their beloved leader being removed from power, not even by another (somewhat less) beloved leader. Alex had estimated as much, but she had failed to gauge the full depth of the citizens' loyalty to the premier over the nation, and she had certainly failed to understand just how widespread, how vehement, and eventually, how violent the uproar would become. Civil conflict seized the nation suddenly and brutally. Unwilling to relent, incapable of compromising her virtues with the wishes of the populace, her psyche fracturing amidst a slow and agonising mental breakdown, the Executor waged war against her own people, the citizens she had once dedicated her very life to protecting, they for whom her only wish was to provide a strong, virtuous nation to call home. The military itself was no longer united under her auspices: action against Tianxian military intervention was no longer the issue at hand, and the armed forces shattered into sects-- some remaining loyal to the Executor, others deserting to fight for the people, and still others, branding themselves True Loyalists, declaring their allegiance to the premier alone. The conflict became a war in all its sanguine ingloriousness when a True Loyalist special operations team infiltrated the military prison in which Premier Isabel Vieira was being held, and freed her. At that point, the civil war became a struggle between two distinct forces: the Executor and her military loyalists, and the premier with the support not only of the True Loyalist forces but also of the civilian populace itself. Alex declared that the premier had lost sight of what the nation was meant to be, and that she was the only person who could alleviate that: Isabel avowed that Alex would go down in history as a traitor to the nation once the will of the people returned the rightful leader of the nation to her place. The casualties were staggering: tensions that preceded the nation of Pará, ideological differences that had been repressed and kept under the surface for years by the premier, fuelled the vehemence fo the conflict. The merest of towns became the site of overwhelming carnage-- the premier cities of the nation, once proud and resolute, withered under the merciless specter of siege warfare. Bombing campaigns decimated the land, engagements at sea filled the coastline with the carcasses of ships both Loyalist and True Loyalist, and the infrastructure of the nation suffered grievously. Just one gruelling year-- one year of carnage, destruction, pandemonium, despair and sorrow. It took that much pain and misery for both factions to step back from the devastation they had inflicted and grudgingly pursue avenues of peace. However, by that point, even as representatives of both factions began to contemplate the process of peace, it was discovered that Isabel Vieira and Alex Valverde had both disappeared without a trace. Leaderless and absent of the two primary figures of the conflict, the two factions hung their heads in shame and requested formal protection by the SAO. The civilian populace, weary of the year-long civil conflict and on the whole drained of their once-inexorable dedication to the premier, agreed. And with that, after years of stable, prosperous leadership followed by one year of brutal conflict, the nation once known as the Republic of Pará came to a close, its chapter in history drawing to an end-- its voice in the global chorus falling silent at last. OOC: No, this is not gonna be some '________ IS KILLING CNRP' shit. This is prompted by two things: one, I've realised due to my general inactivity that I no longer can really commit to CNRP as I should given the extent of my land. And two, CNRP is no longer the entity it was when I first joined it. CNRP was at its best when it was about the characters-- the Sarah Tintagyls, the Baron Ubersteins, the Generalissimos and Kaiser Martens. Dynamic, interesting characters that changed, felt, and thought in ways that felt real. Now, it's all about the nations. The heads of state are cardboard cut outs-- static, empty, flat, uninteresting and with no real character arc or development. Nobody really does character RP anymore, and that's what I feel is the bane fo the game rather than any one particular entity or RPer. I'm sure I'll probably get folks who'll say if I thought the system was broken I shoulda tried to fix it, but, like I said above, I lack the time and committment to really try and change the entirety of CNRP-- and anyway, at that, I'm sure there are plenty of people who prefer it as it is with nation RP taking precedence over character RP. I personally was always of the belief that CNRP should have been 'RPing characters against a backdrop of international intrigue' rather than 'international intrigue in which the characters take part', but I'm sure there are people who disagree with me. Anyway, I'll probably still hang around a bit in the chatroom and check around CNRP from time to time. I left the fate of the premier and the executor ambiguous so that, if I feel CNRP is sorta becoming what it used to be again, I can return with those two characters and be more active. 'til then, though, probably not.

How to become a global power: 1. Take risks. 2. Get crushed by Tianxia and its allies.

"Tianxia has begun its bombing campaign of Bolivia, and has issued a statement declaring that any attempt to move our navy past its blockade will be tantamount to a declaration of war. Furthermore, they have begun attempting to jam our satellites and Global Hawks." Admiral Kaneda crossed her arms across her chest, meeting the Executor's weary gaze with a pitiless glare. "Shall we hurl ourselves into an unwinnable war now, or would you prefer to come to your senses?" Alex rubbed at the bridge of her nose, scowling as she sifted through the documents on her PDA elabourating on Kaneda's report. "It's the rest of South America that needs to come to its senses," she muttered bitterly, almost obsessively. "How can they just stand by and let this happen? How can they just throw a South American nation to the jaws of a foreign power that has already done this kind of shit before? They've... they've forgotten what we as a continent once intended to achieve-- a united South America free of foreign intervention. Once before we've failed to pursue that vision, I can't let it happen again..." "The people are in an uproar," Kaneda shot down Alex's nigh-maniacal musings coldly. "The armed forces yet follow your will, but the civilian populace demands the premier be placed back in power, and they furthermore are vehemently opposed to military action against the Empire. The military supports your plan of action, but I doubt their allegiance to you is quite so resolute as you may expect." "... and you?" Alex clenched her fists on her desk and at last turned a solemn, wary gaze up to the admiral. "Are you loyal to me, or to the premier?" Kaneda's expression softened somewhat. "I'm loyal to this nation that Vara, and Izzie, and I, and many other veterans of the Civil War toiled to create. Pará was never a place of war and violence-- in those days, indeed, it was a sanctuary, a place where the refugees of the Holy American Empire could flock to safety, and we fought only in defence of their right to that." Her mien and her tone of voice grew harsh once more, however, as she stepped toward Alex's desk, fists clenching angrily. "So, having said that, let me tell you right now-- not only will I not support any action that threatens this nation we worked so hard to create... I swear right now that I will actively oppose it!" "So what?" the Executor hissed, undaunted by Kaneda's venomous words and raised voice. "We should let Tianxia walk all over South America? Why even bother with the SAO in that case? Why not hand the damn continent over to the Empire and call it a day-- hell, why not just drop our arms and embrace the inevitable Tianxian conquest? I refuse... I refuse to let Tianxia enforce dominance over a sovereign continent!" "You've gone raving," Kaneda sighed, turning away to depart the Executor's office. At the door, however, she turned her head slightly back toward Alex. "I will not send the navy on a suicide mission against Tianxia. Bear that in mind." And with that, she left the Executor to her self-torturing internal ministrations.

OOC: Yay, this shit again. IC: "The 'UN Security Council' has no right to enforce its resolutions upon non-member states-- furthermore, it has no right to conduct an aggressive assault on the continent of South America, which polices itself and is not subject to Tianxia's evident belief that it is the 'world police force'. Should Tianxian soldiers directly invade Bolivia and cause further civilian casualties, the Federal Hierarchy of Amazonia will not be willing to simply stand by and watch. This is the second time Tianxia has unlawfully threatened the security of our continent under the pitifully transparent facade of 'peacekeeping'. We would not stand for there to be a third time." Classified "This is an outrage! The Executor acts without the express approval of the premier! The threat of aggressive action against Tianxia could not possibly have been spoken with the permission of Premier Vi--" "It wasn't." Alex's voice was cold and callous as she cut across Regional Governor Braga's words. The wide, circular table that seated the Tribunal of the Federal Hierarchy, with the Executor at the helm, fell silent immediately. Alex had the attention of the regional governors-- if not necessarily their full loyalty-- but that could be handled at a later time. For the time being, she had to work with what she had... and hope that what she was doing wasn't going to end with her execution, the demise of the nation, or.... well, both. "As of this morning, Premier Vieira has been arrested by military forces under my command," Alex continued. Pandemonium immediately threatened to seize upon the conference room, but she silenced it by speaking louder and harder than every other voice in the room. "My aunt... the premier has lost sight of what this nation was supposed to be. We were meant to oppose imperialism, to forge a cooperative, self-sovereign South America, but now a power that has once before overturned the stability and security of the continent again threatens our tenuous peace for its self-serving purposes. Premier Vieira intended to simply watch it unfold-- it was her intent to keep the Hierarchy out of the conflict, just as we did last time." The impassive, cold nature of her voice began to crumble as passion and rage overtook the Executor. "But I refuse to stand by and through inactivity violate the very principles of this nation! I will not let Tianxia enforce its tyranny upon South America unopposed, and if I stand alone... then I stand alone knowing I am the one person who yet recalls a time when the global community as one opposed hegemonies of the kind Tianxia now uses to bully other nations into submission. I stand alone, secure in the knowledge that I have taken a stand for what is right. If any of you will oppose me, then so be it-- know that through your passive stance, you enable a system that feeds the strength of the few as it does the suffering of the many." The Tribunal was silent-- a taut, pregnant silence in which much was said though no words were exchanged. And at last, Braga all but whispered, "... what do we do, then? Against Tianxia?" "Against Tianxia..." For a moment, Alex's resolve almost collapsed. Was it really worth it purely for pride? To wage a war that, if fought alone, was simply naught but suicide? I could go now... command the troops to free Isabel, resign my post in disgrace and leave the country, try to pretend this farce never unfolded... But then, how could she ever live with herself-- with being remembered as the Executor who lacked the will to even stand up for the very virtues she espoused? She had the support of the military and the tentative ear of the Tribunal. If she gave those things up... then Tianxia would continue uninhibited to crush other nations beneath its heel, whilst the rest of the world only looked on. I could never forgive myself for standing by and watching it happen. "Against Tianxia, we do what we can." There was no uncertainty in the hard rasp of the Executor's voice-- only as much hard resolve as was evident in her callous, determined expression. "What we can, to prove their actions will not go unopposed." What had her aunt said... years ago, when Tianxia had attacked the first time? It was never going to be easy being the leader of a nation, and it's never going to be easy to do the right thing. At the time, those words had only embittered her against Isabel. But now... now Alex realised how true they rang. The armed forces were put on high alert-- the air forces scrambled, with the various wings performing patrols over the country, a constant vigil against the possibility of Tianxian attack, compounded with Global Hawk UAVs casting their far-seeing eye across the land below. The armies were mobilised in preparation for potential military operations, the navy moving out to defend the Hierarchy at sea. Federal satellites picked out and zeroed in on areas of interest, and the Hierarchy's central military networks and databases were bolstered in the event of cybernetic attack. Anti-air defence and anti-missile units were deployed to key government, military, and civilian centres-- the Tianxians were not above inflicting civilian casualties, after all.

The Security Council is an illegitimate bloc, and therefore any attempt by Paraguay to 'represent' South America before it will be similarly disregarded by the Federal Hierarchy.

"This 'UN Security Council' is nothing more than a pathetically transparent attempt by Tianxia and its bloc to achieve some sort of 'legitimacy' before the international community. But the core tenets are still there-- the right to enforce Tianxia's power upon all other nations, nulling the right to self-determination guaranteed to all nations. The Hierarchy does not recognise the authority of this UN Security Council nor its right to enforce its resolutions upon non-member states." - Executor Alex Valverde

"No, actually, Bolivian armies will vacate all unlawfully held territories until such a time that, if the SAO is willing, a referendum will be held on the matter. You are not in a position to negotiate land gains at this point, especially given your clear lack of concern for the will of the populace. Whether or not a motion will be held for the people of South Peru to determine the fate of their territory is in the hands of the SAO, but for the part of the Federal Hierarchy, we are not willing to allow Bolivia to hold its unlawfully gained territories." - Executor Valverde OOC: It really doesn't help your position to start proclaiming that Bolivian armies will continue to occupy what most of South America regards as illegally held territory. Just vacate the territory and make it easier on yourself :v

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."