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The Stahl Ball


Sarah Tintagyl

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"It is my pleasure to be here," Mikhail said, "the empress certainly has some... odd friends." He looked at the door Kei just left out of, fairly certain he was some form of garlic-tolerant vampire. Mikhail then took two small turnips out of his coat pocket. He gave one to Xuehua and popped the other one in his mouth. "Until we meet again, princess," he said. As he watched Xuehua leave, Mikhail remembered something. [i]Aw shoot[/i], he thought to himself, [i]now I'm without a dance partner again.[/i] Shrugging it off, and sure that there was at least one lady in the room without a waltz partner, Mikhail looked back at the Vizier. "Wei," he said, "we just mobilized the entire first army at your orders. Please tell me, and be honest, is everything all right in the UFE?"

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[quote name='TheShammySocialist' timestamp='1315010904' post='2793288']
Michelle laughed gently, thanking him as she took the champagne from him, and sipped deeply.

"We have done much, but there is much more to be done, it is still very much in the hands of the Holy American Empire, whose civil grasp over their Empire, as of late, may be waning," she nodded, with a rather forlorn look. She perked up a bit after stating this, and smiled, "I must say that Kurland has been a rising player in European affairs. How fares your new holdings in the former territories of Sweden?"
[/quote]

"I had noticed that the Empire had been rather silent in international affairs as of late," Alaric mused. "I suppose if they're losing their grip within their borders, that would explain it." He finished off his champagne and glanced around for a waiter, jumping when one of them appeared seemingly out of nowhere with a bottle.

"More champagne?" the waiter asked of the two of them.

"Please," Alaric replied, holding out his glass while the servant filled it. When the man had left, Alaric turned back to Michelle. "It is kind of you to say that, but Kurland is still but a minnow in European affairs; our influence hardly stretches out of the Baltic. And our lands in Sweden have integrated quite nicely into the rest of Kurland; I admit, I was expecting difficulties when I first gave the order to restore order to Gotland and Kalmar, what with the country's somewhat turbulent past. But there was almost no trouble whatsoever; we restored utilities and extended government services to the areas, and held elections for counts and legislators in the newly-inducted counties." He chuckled and took another sip of champagne. "I daresay the Swedes were relieved to learn that they were going to be voting for Swedish statesmen, rather than imported Kurlanders."

He paused to watch the UFE and Athenian representatives and the red-eyed man with mild interest. "Ah, the wonders of alcohol," he said, smiling wryly.


Meanwhile, across the room, Major Kästner was slamming back shot after shot of whiskey while Oberstleutnant Weiman kept an eye on Alaric and Sigismund, having given up on trying to convince his subordinate to moderate his drinking. Kästner finished his eighth shot, filled the glass for a ninth, and glanced over at the entrance in time to see Kei enter. His jaw dropped open as he watched what he could've sworn was an animated character from a Japanese cartoon walk across the room and have a brief argument with a Greek and a Chinese lady. As Kei walked out the door, he looked back at his whiskey shot glass, pushed it and the bottle away, and said, "I think I've found my limit, sir."

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Having noticed the unusually raucous exchange between the Athenians and Chinese, Arsene was reminded of some business he had to attend to. Taking another drink with him, he walked over to the Athenian delegation and greeted Velerio. "Ah it's a pleasure to see you again Valerio, I'm most sorry to hear about the unfortunate circumstances at home - terrible business that." Pausing to take another sip, he continued on. "You will note that I come alone tonight, without any aides or assistants, after that unfortunate mishap in Thailand... my apologies once again, but enough of that. I have been informed that we may be of some service to your nation"

Edited by Shan Revan
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[quote name='Rauchen' timestamp='1315094498' post='2794064']
"I had noticed that the Empire had been rather silent in international affairs as of late," Alaric mused. "I suppose if they're losing their grip within their borders, that would explain it." He finished off his champagne and glanced around for a waiter, jumping when one of them appeared seemingly out of nowhere with a bottle.

"More champagne?" the waiter asked of the two of them.

"Please," Alaric replied, holding out his glass while the servant filled it. When the man had left, Alaric turned back to Michelle. "It is kind of you to say that, but Kurland is still but a minnow in European affairs; our influence hardly stretches out of the Baltic. And our lands in Sweden have integrated quite nicely into the rest of Kurland; I admit, I was expecting difficulties when I first gave the order to restore order to Gotland and Kalmar, what with the country's somewhat turbulent past. But there was almost no trouble whatsoever; we restored utilities and extended government services to the areas, and held elections for counts and legislators in the newly-inducted counties." He chuckled and took another sip of champagne. "I daresay the Swedes were relieved to learn that they were going to be voting for Swedish statesmen, rather than imported Kurlanders."

He paused to watch the UFE and Athenian representatives and the red-eyed man with mild interest. "Ah, the wonders of alcohol," he said, smiling wryly.
[/quote]

Michelle thanked the waiter for her refill, smiling warmly, before turning back to Alaric.

"Indeed, it was my uncle who decided to integrate local Cuban political officials into the government structure, at least at local levels, to ensure a smooth annexation and transition while we were there," nodded Michelle, echoing on her country's own experiences in the stabilization of Cuba. "While we [i]did[/i] maintain a military government there for awhile, a large number of Cuban national political officials were formed into an advisory council that helped with civilian affairs, and answered to the military governor. Such a system worked well, and now we have transitioned to a full civilian government in Cuba, and it became our fourth state."

"I must say that, while controversial, I believe our country has exploded out of the backwater that it was. It did come at a cost, I believe though," she nodded, as she sipped her champagne. "We are still repairing relations with some countries in the Americas who took an unfavorable stance to our expedition to Cuba."

She grinned at the remark Alaric made about the nature of alcohol, "If there was an eighth wonder of the world, [i]monsieur[/i], it would probably be alcohol."

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[quote name='TheShammySocialist' timestamp='1315143154' post='2794570']
Michelle thanked the waiter for her refill, smiling warmly, before turning back to Alaric.

"Indeed, it was my uncle who decided to integrate local Cuban political officials into the government structure, at least at local levels, to ensure a smooth annexation and transition while we were there," nodded Michelle, echoing on her country's own experiences in the stabilization of Cuba. "While we [i]did[/i] maintain a military government there for awhile, a large number of Cuban national political officials were formed into an advisory council that helped with civilian affairs, and answered to the military governor. Such a system worked well, and now we have transitioned to a full civilian government in Cuba, and it became our fourth state."

"I must say that, while controversial, I believe our country has exploded out of the backwater that it was. It did come at a cost, I believe though," she nodded, as she sipped her champagne. "We are still repairing relations with some countries in the Americas who took an unfavorable stance to our expedition to Cuba."

She grinned at the remark Alaric made about the nature of alcohol, "If there was an eighth wonder of the world, [i]monsieur[/i], it would probably be alcohol."
[/quote]

"Well, it would seem your system worked well enough, considering Cuba hasn't tried to secede from your federation," Alaric said. He drained his champagne glass once more and handed it to a passing waiter, waving him away when he offered a refill.
"I fail to see why the other American states were so upset by your actions," he continued. "How could they honestly believe the Cuban people would have been better off joining a bloated empire that regularly strays to the brink of anarchy? I might understand their frustration if the Cajun Federation had been preventing an independent Cuban government from taking power, for then it would have been simply imperialism." He shrugged. "But perhaps that is just naivete speaking; I know relatively little about the current geopolitical climate in the Americas. I keep my eyes and ears on Europa, for the most part."

Alaric couldn't help but chuckle at Michelle's comment. "I can't say I disagree. I've seen the most hardnosed, uptight folks dance on a table because of it." He glanced pointedly at Sigismund, who had been silently sipping at a glass of beer during the conversation and now realized Alaric was looking at him.

"$%&@ you, I'm not uptight," the chancellor said crossly, and somewhat drunkenly, then hurriedly added to Michelle, "Pardon my language, Your Grace. Slip of the tongue." He looked back over at Alaric. "But seriously, $%&@ you."

Alaric shrugged apologetically to Michelle, but he was wearing an amused grin on his face. "Excuse Sigismund, he loses his eloquence at the bottom of the third mug."

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Noticing the "French" of the unoccupied Sigismund Schräder, Göbbels decided to approach the Kurland Chancellor. This ball might reap a good harvest if enough effort is put into it. "Hello, Chancellor Schräder. I'm Grecia Göbbels from Grand Papua. I'm wondering if you have a moment to speak with me concerning relations betwen our two countries."

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[quote name='Maelstrom Vortex' timestamp='1314756231' post='2791346']
Christine looked up and saw Justinian come in. She stood and walked over to him after opening the large purse she carried with her. "Emperor Justinian, I drew this in honor of your late wife. I thought you may appreciate it." She handed to him a very carefully and elegantly drawn image of the horse and rider from his heraldry with the rider lifting his arm to give a pristine and beautifully detailed, crowned white double headed eagle a lift into the heavens as if to set it free or to return it to its creator. Instead of Peter the Great sitting upon the horse, however, there was Emperor Justinian. The image was in only a light frame, but was on very high quality paper, the image itself was done mostly in oils.

Geoffrey was caught off guard by her sudden motion, but watched his angel cross the floor to Justinian.. unawares as to her intent.
[/quote]

Justinian studied the picture for several long seconds “Spasibo, it is very beautiful.” He said with a tear in his eye. “The symbolism is not lost on me, I assure you.”

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"I did not think it would be. It was a pleasure to create the piece. I hope it will help keep you with warm fond memories of your life with her. Would you care to join us for a drink? It is good to see you out. We were quite worried for you and seclusion won't help sooth your wounds." She would gently take his hand and offer to lead him back to their table. "I don't believe we've ever directly met. I'm Christine."

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[quote name='Shan Revan' timestamp='1315116945' post='2794468']
Having noticed the unusually raucous exchange between the Athenians and Chinese, Arsene was reminded of some business he had to attend to. Taking another drink with him, he walked over to the Athenian delegation and greeted Velerio. "Ah it's a pleasure to see you again Valerio, I'm most sorry to hear about the unfortunate circumstances at home - terrible business that." Pausing to take another sip, he continued on. "You will note that I come alone tonight, without any aides or assistants, after that unfortunate mishap in Thailand... my apologies once again, but enough of that. I have been informed that we may be of some service to your nation"
[/quote]

Valerio chuckled at the comment. "Well to be honest I would find it kind of disturbing if one of your male aides tried something on me." He said in response before proceeding to more serious matters. "Yes" He said walking away from the greater group of people to a place that had less people listening. "As it stands Athens has a fair defense system, at least it was until the rise of recent threats. Right now we have an excellent air force capable of intercepting even the most advanced enemies in the world, but we lack the means to effectively use it. Our radar network has nowhere near the capacity needed to deal with the recent threats."

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Dellion and his wife quietly make their way around the room. They smile, say a few quiet words here and there, and in general they mingle. Most people are known to Dellion through intelligence summaries, which tends to include some of the most absurd gossip. A few in the room, if gossip is to be believed, are guilty of sodomy. Which tends not to be much of a crime, unless coupled with a horse, one person for giving and startlingly another person for receiving. 'How could such a small person take that sort of punishment?' Dellion thinks to himself as he passes by the Papuan delegation.

"Dear, let's get another drink and then go have a quick word with the Empress before we depart for the night," Rebecca suggests in a sweet tone of voice that tells Dellion to comply immediately or suffer the direst of consequences later on.

"Sounds grand dear, I could use a bit of worm in the bottle," Dellion says as he steers a course towards the bar whilst refraining from giving some of the Germans a broadside or two with a comment regarding their lemming like performance in the Austrian war.

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[quote name='Maelstrom Vortex' timestamp='1315279083' post='2795683']
"I did not think it would be. It was a pleasure to create the piece. I hope it will help keep you with warm fond memories of your life with her. Would you care to join us for a drink? It is good to see you out. We were quite worried for you and seclusion won't help sooth your wounds." She would gently take his hand and offer to lead him back to their table. "I don't believe we've ever directly met. I'm Christine."
[/quote]

"It's a pleasure to meet you Christine, I'd love a drink." Justinian motions to the others in his party "This is Dmitry Medvedev, My Foreign Minister, his wife Svetlana and My German tutor Kilian."

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[quote name='Justinian the Mighty' timestamp='1315371423' post='2796172']
"It's a pleasure to meet you Christine, I'd love a drink." Justinian motions to the others in his party "This is Dmitry Medvedev, My Foreign Minister, his wife Svetlana and My German tutor Kilian."
[/quote]

She nodded to them all, but as was her norm, the more people she realized where near her the more shy she seemed to get. Her husband gently clasped her hand as she sat down to sooth her as they joined them at the table. He looked to Justinian, "She doesn't get to many inspirations.. so that piece you have is fairly rare and special. Was very kind of you my love."

Christine smiled back to Geoffrey, "I try my dear one." As the others were introduced she nodded politely to them and gestured to each to take a seat with them at the table. After all, if they were sitting down, perhaps she would not feel so surrounded.

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[quote name='Kankou' timestamp='1315201251' post='2795142']
Noticing the "French" of the unoccupied Sigismund Schräder, Göbbels decided to approach the Kurland Chancellor. This ball might reap a good harvest if enough effort is put into it. "Hello, Chancellor Schräder. I'm Grecia Göbbels from Grand Papua. I'm wondering if you have a moment to speak with me concerning relations betwen our two countries."
[/quote]

"[i]Guten Abend[/i]," Sigismund said with a nod. He took a second to remember where Papua was before adding, "I don't see why not. I'm unoccupied at the moment." With that, he gestured for Göbbels to follow him and walked over to the table where his two guards still sat; Major Kästner had straightened up and was doing his best to look alert, but he smelled strongly of alcohol, and Lt. Col. Weiman was watching Sigismund and Göbbels approach with one eyebrow slightly raised.

Sigismund sat beside Weiman and motioned for the Papuan official to take a seat. "So, what can I do for Grand Papua today?"

"Papua?" Kästner interrupted, squinting at Göbbels as if trying to interpret a bit of abstract art. "I coulda sworn y'all were browner down there." Sigismund rubbed his chin, and grinned behind his hand, just stifling a chuckle.

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Göbbels gave a light laugh before getting down to work. "During the recent conflict in Germania, a lot of people had decided to move to New Guinea, in search of freedom from Haas and also to find new Lebensraum, so to speak. Even before the war, the Fatherland had a massive population problem, which the expansion to the north and the independence of Kurland only helped alleviate."

She paused a bit to help herself to her glass of Parfait d'Amour. "That being said, the Germanians in Grand Papua have been looking to reestablish links to the Fatherland. Out of the three Germanic countries, figured that starting with Kurland would be relevant to our interests. What we would like to offer you is a fusion power plant to take care of all your energy needs, and also military technology if you wish. In exchange, we would like some trade agreements which would allow us to break into the European market. Anything you wish to say about it?"

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[quote name='Kankou' timestamp='1315450935' post='2796633']
Göbbels gave a light laugh before getting down to work. "During the recent conflict in Germania, a lot of people had decided to move to New Guinea, in search of freedom from Haas and also to find new Lebensraum, so to speak. Even before the war, the Fatherland had a massive population problem, which the expansion to the north and the independence of Kurland only helped alleviate."

She paused a bit to help herself to her glass of Parfait d'Amour. "That being said, the Germanians in Grand Papua have been looking to reestablish links to the Fatherland. Out of the three Germanic countries, figured that starting with Kurland would be relevant to our interests. What we would like to offer you is a fusion power plant to take care of all your energy needs, and also military technology if you wish. In exchange, we would like some trade agreements which would allow us to break into the European market. Anything you wish to say about it?"
[/quote]

Kästner appeared to lose interest in the conversation after his question was answered, and instead went back to looking around at the other guests, while Weiman silently watched Göbbels, arms folded over his chest and a neutral expression on his face.

Sigismund raised his eyebrows as the Papuan spoke. "Relevant to your interests?" he asked, the corners of his mouth twitching. "Frau Göbbels, we are speaking of the same Kurland, yes? A small state situated in the Baltic, with minimal international shipping power, who, for the most part, attends to its own needs? As for the fusion plant, I cannot agree to any such exchange until I know the details."

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"A small state which is relatively free from outside influence. Let's look at Europe: Germania is somewhat isolated after the recent conflict, the British Isles are in constant problems, Austria-Hungary is a pet of an East Asian power, Athens is too focused on the Mediterranean and its allies, Slavorussia is looking east, Monaco-Valencia is doing who knows what, Angevin is self-important, Dalmatia is in delusion of its actual powers not to mention that they believe themselves as this super nation when its very existence depends on its "friends", and Norway, Bohemia, Strigia, Andorra, and Burgundy are [i]de facto[/i] vassals. In such a Europe, there is only one country that is the potential opening for us with the added bonus as a Germanic country: Kurland.

The fusion plant is more of a gift from our part. We currently have a 4 GW plant running, which by itself would be more than enough for all of Kurland. We would downsize it so that Kurland can have several plants in various locations for energy system. Besides just the plants, we'll be willing to provide the technicians to keep the plants running, as well as the know-hows for getting the fuel for the plants."

All this was said quietly so only Sigismund could hear it.

Edited by Kankou
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Sigismund listened quietly, exchanging looks with Weiman as Göbbels went on. Both of the guards, being part of royal security, had the highest level security clearance, and so he wasn't too concerned about them overhearing the conversation; Weiman's tight lips were almost legendary amongst the army brass, and Kästner never spoke of what he did to anyone, even when drunk. In fact, he would often punch out people who got too curious when he was intoxicated. The chancellor couldn't help but wonder if signing an agreement with a nation who had such low, even derisive opinions of so many countries.

"Fusion plants would not necessarily be a bad thing for Kurland," he conceded, speaking in a similarly low voice. "We are always looking for efficient, green energy sources, and the plants would be very helpful. However, I find myself unwilling to place the power supply of my nation in the hands of foreign nationals. It would be considerably more agreeable if your people could provide extensive instruction on the operation of those plants to Kurlandic engineers. If you have a written draft of your agreement, I can look over it on the flight back to Riga, make whatever changes may be necessary, and gain the approval of His Majesty." Sigismund nodded toward Alaric, who, by this time, was growing increasingly bored with the proceedings, and it was starting to show. "If not, you can send it to the King himself at a later date."

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