<blockquote><div><cite>Kilo6 wrote:</cite>''Leader of Fortuna-Ainowan, are there any objections from you?"</div></blockquote><br/><br/>''Yes, there is, Admiral.''<br/><br/>The Dictator stood up from the small, now oddly uncomfrotable chair he was sitting on, having remained silent since he had last talked ot the Admiral. He had followed the Admiral in hopes of convincing him that there would be a possiblity ot change his mind, yet the manner in which he spoke confirmed the Dictator's fears. The man would not go without signing something beneficial to their nation. In the bridge, he had set his eyes upon the beach below; a crowd was forming to watch the strange battleship and a contingent of soldiers of both nations eyed each other cautiously. The Dictator did feel that the battleship was fairly superior to any he had on his fleets, yet it was comparable in power to the Illarya vessels that had attacked him cowardly from the shores. Yet he remained quiet. When the Dictator entered the briefing room, he merely remained stoic to the Admiral's words and when given the letter, he simply set his eyes on it while listening to the Admiral. The letter did not reflect any hostile intentions towards Fortuna-Ainowan, basically the same that the Admiral had expressed.<br/><br/>The shouts of the crowd outside suddenly spiked up in volume and the hum of an engine could be heard from the inside of the room; the admiral was still talking when the footsteps outside suddenly found a stop behind him. The few soldiers of the three nations present stood ready in the room, the Sultanate's were the only ones with a semblance of hostility, having drawn their guns. When the General offered a handshake, the Dictator quietly took it. The situation had spiraled out of control and his life was now on the line. His palm was full of cold sweat as he reached out for the General's hand. The remarks of the General had angered the Admiral and he, in a more or less justified manner, snapped towards the General. The remarks had also bitten on the Dictator's pride; a man had managed to land on his shores, yet again fooling the armed forces, a man had given him now very explicit orders to ignore a more tactful negotiator in front of him. But most importantly, that very man had referred to Fortuna-Anoiwan as a colony. A rightful Illaryan colony. A slap on the face could have hurt less, even in front of a foreign ambassador. But the Dictator remained silent, simply feeling temporarily satisfied with the fact the General was at least being shouted at.<br/><br/>He stood up. He took a handkerchief out of his coat's pocket and cleaned the sweat off his forehead. And he spoke to both of the commanders in front of him.<br/><br/>''Admiral. I understand your concern for the sake of your ship, crew and the respect your nation holds. I understand your anger. But you have made appeals to international law that you yourself have breached. I apologize if I may have offended you before but you have stationed a warship without warning in the most populated island of the Fortunan archipielago; believe what you want but I consider any offense I've made appropiate. Now to respond to your proposal... a fair proposal, I have to admit. It is just and I can see the benefits that it carries for both countries, the Fortunan people and the region. But the way of adressing it was not the best. One does not ask of mutual cooperation while holding a gun, even if not aimed at the other party. A diplomat would have been more than enough, Admiral. I do not know how you adress diplomacy in your nation but the fleet you have at my borders tells me that the peaceful mission you have led through my waters, with its beautiful decorations, many rooms and six 44cm cannons, does not fly a flag of peace. You preach that the days of a cannon diplomacy have passed; yet your cannons are a few kilometers away from the presidential palace.<br/><br/>I do not need to defend my actions, they speak for themselves as a reaction towards yours. That said, I will consider this treaty... and I have not seen snow, but I have heard of it. It's a delight to hear that you have such a thing in your nation, rumour tells that it coats and blesses the landscape it falls on, purifying it with its pure white, no matter how bleak things may seem.<br/><br/>General. I first, want to welcome you to Fortuna-Ainowan. You have barged in the middle of a meeting and I apologize for not being available to recieve you and your men. I hope the travel went well and that fortune awaits for both of us. Tell your men to lower their guns, as I have said to the Admiral, a weapon is a matter that awakens every persons' distrust for its holder. It calls for instinct to react. And instinct is one of the few things that cannot be allowed in a negotiation; trusting your gut and leading yourself through emotion doesn't benefit any party. And before leaving the ship, which I hope the Admiral doesn't mind, as he has expressed... I need to clarify something.<br/><br/>I do not know how fast news travel through the vast lands unexplored by the eyes of men in this island. I can not comprehend the distance you must have gone through to establish a relation that will clearly benefit us all, even the Empire of Karlsland. But you probably have heard of the genocide commited on this land. The water is tainted by blood and the bones buried in the sand are being eaten by the sea, still fresh. Shallow graves are everywhere you see, as long as they are out of the roads. We lost twelve million people, General. And we lost them because we wanted to decide what we wanted to do. Because we wanted to form families without fearing our sons would be working the fields until collapsing. Their hands bled for the crops the Illaryan wanted.<br/><br/>We are not a rightful Illaryan colony. The Kingdom of Illarya holds no right to look our way. Not to step on our islands. Not to travel on our airspace or waters. We will certainly not prostitute ourselves. But refer not to us as a colony, General.<br/><br/>Please.<br/><br/>Gentlemen, you are both respected in our land. I will explain to you both, who may not understand where I stand from. This archipielago stands at the crossroads of powerful empires who look down on us as a mere tool. As a staging base for invasions at worst. I understand you do not view us as such but the three neighbouring nations hold great interest on our nation. To them we are a threat and a weapon but we are not a state, no matter how much they express they respect us. At this very moment, a Voldritch fleet stands not too far, in fact, they responded to the incursion of the Karlslandic ships. This probably will give you a representation of how powerless we are. A treaty that involves troops stationed here, no matter how little of a regiment, is seen as siwtching sides to an enemy, if not military enemy, a threat to their respective economies. I would not be surprised if the damned Illaryans and the Dhelmar Republic are also having ships stationed not too far from our borders. They probably knew of your arrival here before I did, Admiral. Trade is not out of the question. But I can't risk my people.<br/><br/>Admiral, you wanted to unwind on our islands, did you not? I recommend we go quickly if we can. This ship is probably being aimed at, so take your soldiers with you. A life can't be lost.'' The Dictator took a long breath and walked to the bridge, in order to exit the ship. On his way down, ensuring that both men were behind him (I'll... kind of assume you guys followed me.) he started to speak again. ''I have had an idea for some time but I hadn't seen it as strictly necessary. I do now. I will discuss more about it when we get to the Presidential Palace but the gist of it is a multilateral treaty between every nation. Something like what you have proposed, Admiral but without the need for a military intervention.<br/><br/>A neutral base for commercial transport in Fortuna-Ainowan; the interests of everyone would be protected by ourselves.<br/><br/>A way to ensure peace.''