A Battle Unseen

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Emergency Cabinet Meeting, Cliff House Offices, Kaliburg, February 12, 5654

"Alright, we have all the principles here, Your Imperial Majesty," said Chancellor of the Empire Lady Jennifer Alvarez-Miller.

"Thank you Madame Chancellor. We would like to keep a cool head about this Baltusia thing. This is the most important goal. We have made great progress with that nation, and our cousin sits on the throne there, so it is imperative that we treat the Kundrati matter as a road block rather than a setback," said the Empress.

"My thoughts exactly," said the Chancellor. "Mr. Hewlett, to start us off today, would you give us an update please?"

"Thank you Madame Chancellor," said Her Imperial Majesty's Minister for Foreign Affairs. "The FM has issued a travel advisory for those going into or coming out of Baltusia for any reason, even if they transited a third country in the process. They are subject to additional scrutiny at ports of entry, in Lucid City, Sulari, Yoshimi, Addisjah and Kaliburg. We have asked AeroKal to suspend direct flights between Kaliburg and San Luis which just began last year, and they have agreed to comply for up to two years, but really want to restore them after that, and sooner if possible. We've also ordered the barring and expulsion of any foreign alien who is of Kundrati origin from entering Kalistan, though we haven't made that public. As for diplomatic matters, the Embassy in Johnston remains open and operational, and still processes visas for travel, though the plans to open a consulate in San Luis have been shelved for now. And we have officially withdrawn from negotiations with Baltusia over the Northern Seleyan Economic Community treaty. The AESA being also dead, that ends our officially open trade stance with Baltusia. We've lodged a formal complaint with His Majesty's Government, and remain open to the possibility of talks on this issue specifically, while stressing that we remain friendly toward the Baltusian Government on general matters."

"Thank you Mr. Hewlett," said the Chancellor. "Next, I'll ask Ms. Boone for your report on how trade is affected."

Her Imperial Majesty's Trade Minister, Melanie Boone organized her papers in front of her. "Upon Her Imperial Majesty's orders, the TSR link at the border has been cut and cargo trains are being turned back in Lucid City. You have chosen to deny entry of cargo trains in from Baltusia, since ensuring that nation of origin stamping on the materials coming in from Baltusia is too difficult given their openness to trade with Kundrati. This will cost Kalistan billions in potential trade volumes over the next few years, so we are hoping that this disruption in trade is temporary. As far as we know, Gaduridos has not followed suit, so we may still end up with Baltusian origin materials via Gaduridos, but brokers in Gaduridos are working with us to begin segregating Baltusian goods from materiel sent to Kalistan. This is also reinforcing the travel advisories. It also, unfortunately cuts overland trade with Gaduridos, so we may want to ease this restriction sooner than later if we want to avoid any major economic fallout."

"Thank you Ms. Boone," said the Chancellor. "Next on the list is Defense Minister Martinez. If you please Sir."

"Thank you Madame Chancellor," said Her Imperial Majesty's Minister for Defense, Lt. JG George Martinez. "The Army South is conducting drills along the Lucid River Frontier above Lucid City. we have 3 Artillery regiments set up along the border and they are doing firing drills, and are ready to move forward within an hour's notice. Additionally, we have limited infantry access to the morass, given its the dry season, we are drilling our pathfinders to take advantage of known trails through the swamp which will remain accessible until May, after which, not again until November. We have also increased security around the passes in Suldanor and Nevaras. Army Central and North remain on alert but are still in their barracks for the time being. And the Second Navy is moved out of the Ocean and is now conducting patrols along the coast between Yoshimi and Gaduridos to monitor all civilian shipping in the area. Finally, we have put the 1st Navy on alert at the Karzon Strait and throughout the Northwest Anantonese to track and monitor all civilian traffic and any military traffic that may attempt to sneak through. It's not a full closure of the Ananto Strait, but we are keeping a tight screen in place."

"Thank you Lieutenant." said the Chancellor. "The last report we will hear today will be from her Highness, Princess Margaret Ananto-DeLaurentis, for IBSI."

"Thank you Madame Chancellor," said Princess Margaret. "I've held separate council with Her Imperial Majesty, and IBSI has been instructed to maintain high readiness for opportunities in Baltusia. We understand there may be some tension between the King and the Government there that may pan out in our favor. Without saying too much, lack of public appearances or statements by the King suggest that he has been largely sidelined by the First Minister. This may or may not present an opening. We've heard no stance on the decision one way or another from the King, and have advised Her Imperial Majesty to take caution in messing around in the workings of another government. However, should the opportunity present itself, Special Programs has developed a number of contingencies so we can take advantage of those plans. IBSI has stationed agents at the borders to ensure that everyone is properly screened coming into Kalistan and to assist Interior with collection and handling of any possible intel coming in. Two of our agents have made contact with members of the Monarchist factions in Santiago and let them know that Kalistan stands ready to assist, but will not move on anything unless there is a plan that is workable and also stands a reasonable probability of succeeding, but we are not attempting to sway them in one direction or another. And we are encouraged by the support of the Gaduri Government for our position, and we have made it known to them that Her Imperial Majesty will do all in her power to continue to support them with whatever they need. This is a touchy situation, as I am sure you all know. We're ready, but we definitely do not want to force events that are not ripe, or may be based on a mis- or incomplete understanding of the situation there."

"Thank you Your Highness for the report." said the Chancellor. "Does Her Imperial Majesty have any questions?"

"Yes," said the Empress. "How is the Legislature holding up?"

"Your Imperial Majesty," began the Chancellor. "There is some opposition from the Liberals, who are making statements about Baltusia's right to self determination and their right to conduct trade with whomever they like and so forth. Some of them come dangerously close to praising Kundrati, but our Government believes that is more along the lines of pushing a narrative that Kalistan should stop hating Kundrati than an effort to say Kundrati is good. A few of the Social Democrats have gone to their side, but surprisingly most of the Socialists and SocDems are voting with the Government in preventing any efforts to lift sanctions, mostly on nationalist grounds. We aren't in any danger of losing any votes, but the public statements of the Liberals to the Press are somewhat troubling. I have a meeting with their Leader this week. I don't hold out a lot of hope, but I'll keep the meeting."

"Very well," said the Empress. "Thank you Ministers for your reports. You may be excused." As the Ministers stood up of offer their dutiful bows to the Empress, she said "Lady Jennifer and Lady Margaret, please stay a few more minutes. We have some things to talk about."