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Post by Austerain on Mar 11, 2017 7:49:56 GMT
Versace smiles, "Sounds like a plan. Have your people get in touch with Secretary Warner if any military or cyber assistance is needed, and communicate this plan to Baron and the rest of your government."
An aide gives Edwards a secure flip phone and a small folded sheet of paper with the Austeren Defense Secretary's direct number on it.
They enter the oak door and walk to the antechamber of the hall. A sweating Greg Earnest runs up to them and starts speaking talking quickly, "Oh thank God. Madam Chancellor, your speech is ready with the dual teleprompters. Again, I'm so sorry for how I spoke to you earlier!"
Versace sighs and rolls her eyes, "Never mind that. Thank you, Greg. Can you brief the President on his arrangement?"
He reads his tablet and looks at Edwards, "Mr. President, you'll be seated next to the podium where Chancellor Versace will be speaking. The flag-draped caskets of Chancellor Asher and Secretary Cox are in the front below the tiered platforms. Did you want to say a few words, Mr. President?"
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Post by New Ireland and Wales on Mar 12, 2017 5:47:41 GMT
"Thank you." Edwards says to the aide then temporarily pockets the phone. He looks as the spokesman "Yes, I would like to say a few words please." He says
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Post by Austerain on Mar 12, 2017 6:13:27 GMT
Earnest nods and rushes in, with the Vice Chancellor and Secretary of State following behind him to take their seats as the room applauds. After Versace gives the nod, the Sergeant-at-Arms opens the door and announces loudly, "Madam Speaker! The Grand Chancellor of Austerain and the President of New Ireland and Wales!"
As they walk in together, the members of Congress, attending Cabinet Secretaries, and members of the press stand and applause. In front of the tall windows and behind the tiered platfotm were black curtains. At the bottom in front of the podium, the Asher's casket covered with the Austeren flag laid side by side with Cox's casket covered with the NIW flag. Upon seeing this, Versace's eyes become misty. Before walking up to the podium, Chancellor Versace walks up and kisses the top of the caskets.
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Post by New Ireland and Wales on Mar 12, 2017 6:18:15 GMT
Edwards walks up to the caskets with tears in his eyes. He wipes them away when he kneels in front of both coffins to give a final good bye and a prayer. He then stands back up and walks over to his place and wipes his eyes again. He sits down thinking about the events over the past few days.
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Post by Austerain on Mar 12, 2017 18:43:01 GMT
With her eyes still misty, she steps up the tiered platforms. She shakes hands with the Speaker of Congress, Governor Clara England (L-Romana) and hugs First Lady Angelina Asher (who is dressed in a black dress and veil, sitting on one side of the podium) before proceeding to the podium. She waves to the audience giving a slight smile, a tear or two still falling from her jawline. After another minute of applause, the Speaker slams her gavel for silence. Versace begins speaking,
"Madam Speaker, Mr. President... and my fellow Austerens,
I wish I was addressing you all on happier circumstances. The recent times have been challenging for Austerain and New Ireland and Wales. The sons of our two nations were taken from us too quickly, for the benefit of the hatred that divides our people and to the enemies of liberal democracy.
Such has been the case not only for our two countries. I wish to pay tribute this morning not only to Chancellor Asher and Secretary Cox, but to the Oddish President Olivia Guatam and to the Paguio Empirean Emperor Kevinjonah IV and Empress Catherine. Violence and death has gripped our country and our friends abroad, and it falls to us to keep moving forward in these troubling times."
She straightens her back and grips the sides of the podium as she begins to deliver the eulogy for Chancellor Asher. With her palm up, she motions at his casket.
"Our enemies have taken our most dedicated servants. Giorgio Asher during his life was not only an academic and economic maestro, but he served the people of this nation for nearly 30 years as a Delegate, a Grand Senator, a Governor, and Federal Reserve Chairman. He worked tirelessly for the interests of the people of Austerain, despite the rigorous opposition from the establishment and the far right. He worked to defend the workers of this country in the name of people over profit, and somehow... somehow found a way to create more value from that. He fought to protect the freedoms and happiness of minorities and the LGBT community, to accept immigrants into our nation, and to defend the beauty of the world against the greed of unbridled industry. Now he leaves behind his wife Angelina Asher, who has also served you the people in her own right as an attorney championing the liberties of minorities and LGBT people.
The hall applauds as Angelina nods to Versace and the audience, her veil wet with tears.
And she will remain beside you, your champion and the Asher Legacy...
Now I will inform you on the facts of the case, facts that you all deserve to know. The individual that took our mastered statesmen was apprehended by ABI agents on site. The Austeren and NIW intelligence agencies have been working diligently together to understand more about the individual, and this is what they have found.
The assassin is a 32 year old named Ray McLean, from Pinth, Worcester. He has been working here in Austraton as a construction worker, but he was corresponding with local NIW nationalist groups and anti-trade far right groups such as Austerain First against our agenda during protests and riots. He will face murder and treason charges for his crimes, and sentences appropriately within the law. We have confirmation that he made several phone calls to his father John McLean, the Chief of Staff to the Governor of North Wales in New Ireland and Wales Christiana Polacco."
There are several audible gasps and murmurs in the audience as the cameras in the back of the room click faster.
"You all remember her well. She was a former Delegate in these hallowed halls, and was a hardline opponent to Giorgio in his political party." Versace angrily stares daggers into the Conservative Royalist Party section of the hall.
"It seems that Polacco has continued her awful opposition to liberal democracy as Governor. Just recently we have been hearing reports from New Ireland about her agenda against minorities and her treachery as she builds war to tear the country apart. She praised the deaths of Asher and Cox, and we now believe that she has had direct involvement in the plots.
She will be captured and she will be served Justice from her crimes. I have directed Secretary O'Brennan and the Justice Department to conduct investigations into all far right groups in Austerain, including the political party." She looks at the Conservative Royalists again, who widen their eyes and stand up.
"We will not allow anyone to undermine the hallmarks of democracy and the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And we will not turn our backs on our allies while we need each other the most.
What makes our countries great is not by placing our selfish desires before those in need and it is not demonizing groups of people for the sins of a few. What makes them great is uniting together under a common banner against the enemies of liberal democracy, and accepting one another.
We will never give up and we will not give in. The beacon of democracy, acceptance, and peace will triumph over the shadows of division, hatred, and violence. My fellow Austerens, we are being challenged by these shadows of divisiveness. We must rise above them.
Chancellor Asher and Secretary Cox need not die in vain if we fight against these forces."
She looks at the cameras fiercely, "Watch out, Polacco and FitzGerald. You made the wrong enemies."
The hall stands in thunderous applause as Versace waves misty-eyed. She hugs the First Lady again before sitting beside her, leaving the podium for Edwards to speak.
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Post by New Ireland and Wales on Mar 12, 2017 19:17:52 GMT
The President walks up to the podium with tears in his eyes and a sad smile on his face.
"Thank you Madame Chancellor, Madame Speaker, and assembled Members. "
The President stops for a moment and looks at the caskers below
"The last time I addressed this chamber it was under better terms. New Ireland and Wales was beginning its international diplomatic expansion. Chancellor Asher was the first foreign leader I've ever met. When I was flying over here I admit I was hesitant. I was thinking "What does a person who just entered office have that could help when meeting an experienced leader. But when I arrived those thoughts went away. Chancellor Asher was welcoming and quickly became a good friend of mine. He represented the best in humanity. A fruitful soul that always fought for the interests of the people he represented whether it was a farmer, a minority, or a gay man. That didn't matter to him. What matter to him was fighting for them. The loss of his life is not only a tragedy to Austerain. It is a tragedy to New Ireland and Wales and humanity. His death was a senseless act of terrorism.
I knew Secretary Cox for around 60 years. Me and him were neighbors when we were growing up. I was 6 and he was 1 when we met. Of course of being young we didn't really understand much. But as we grew up we grew closer and came to enjoy each other's company. He was my best friend and he was like a brother to me."
He stops again to wipe his tears
"Not only that he was dedicated to serving the people of New Ireland and Wales. At a time when not many cared for the people he was there. He was feeding them, teaching them, giving them medicine, fighting for them. I remember when the war broke out in 1975 and I signed up to fight he told me "Ted you can go fight. But be damn sure you're fighting for a true government of the people and not just a softer version of what we have now." He like Chancellor Asher sought only to fight for what was right. He sought to help humanity not hurt it. He loved his family and loved his country.
So to who took these men before us from this earth let me tell right here, right now. There is no place on this planet safe for you. There is no room for your hatred and fear mongering. I'm looking at you Chairman FitzGerald! I'm looking at you Governor Polacco! Your politics have no room in New Ireland and Wales. They have no place in Austerain. And they have no place on this planet.
We get nowhere by promoting hatred and fear. It tears apart our cities, our countries, and humanity itself. We must seek to love our neighbors with no regard to how they look, what language they speak, how much money they have, who or what they worship, or who they love. This is the 21st century. Leave the hatred at the door when you enter into this century.
These people that commit these hateful acts seek to divide us. They will not divide us. These acts will unite us in love and respect for each other. Our democracy will live on. Our humanity will live on. Hatred will not live on. Thank you for letting me speak."
Edwards returns to his seat waving at the crowd with tears still in his eyes.
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Post by Austerain on Mar 12, 2017 20:47:32 GMT
Like Versace, Edwards too receives a standing ovation and thunderous applause as the cameras flash in the back. Many members of the audience are visibly moved and are crying, including the Speaker.
As the President takes his seat, the First Lady stands up and approaches the podium. People in the audience bow their heads (as it is customary in Austerain when a widow stands for 14 days).
"Madam Chancellor, Mr. President, thank you for your moving words. My husband was indeed a man who cared for his country and all of her children, no matter their socioeconomic status, whether gay or straight, whether a businessman, a factory worker, custodian, or farmer. All of you of course know the legacy he leaves behind from his political career, so allow me to get more personal.
Giorgio came from a tough military family. His father was a Five Star General for the Army Southern Command and his mother was a councilwoman in the Sundester City Council. When his father was away and his mother raised him and his two brothers on her own, she was a strong figure in his life who would later become his inspiration in his pro-feminist policies.
We first met each other in law school at Pinth when I was campus Student Vice President and he was the Student President. As we worked together, it was apparent to me (as it was with everyone else who encountered them) that he was special- that he would move on to do great things for the country. We fell in love and married after two years.
When he was a professor at the University of Pinth during his academia career, I immediately joined a law firm that specialized in LGBT rights. Back then, civil rights law in LGBT rights was an unusual field to go in as a taboo. While he was gaining national attention as a legal contributor in the national media, his academic opponents used my field to attack his credibility. When I offered to go into another field, he told me, "My love, if they need to resort to attacking me by your field that should be respected, they're not worth the time. Do what you love.""
A few 'awwws' scatter around the room.
"He was never one to back away from the challenges, and he always supported me and my own endeavours to make my own path as he was carving his own. The national attention to him became increasingly taxing as a respected academic expert.
Then there was one day when he told me that the Liberal Party had asked him to run for a congressional seat back down in Sundester. I was skeptical at the idea of it after the already difficult national scrutiny, and I was reluctant to have to move. By then, I had my own law firm employing over 160 attorneys in the Worcester province (one of the largest in the country) that had won many cases in the Provincial Supreme Court for LGBT civil rights. I knew however that he could do great things for the country in the political scene and decided to support him. We took residence in Sundester and I opened a second branch of the firm. He won that election in 1985 as a freshman Congressman.
He was a successful during his tenure as a Congressman, and championed all of the things he had advocated for in academia. We had tough times and he faced fierce competition from his political opponents, moneyed interests, and the far right groups."
She looks at the Conservative Royalists with sadness, who sit stone faced.
"Some of these far right groups would go as far to attack us for not having any children, a decision that did not come lightly that he left to me.
Despite the opposition, he fought through it all for you. There were some times when I urged him to stop pushing on certain issues, and he would tell me, 'If I don't do it, who will?'
He was strong in his convictions, and that strength carried him all the way through his election as Grand Chancellor and his two re-elections.
I hope that strength will guide this nation through these dark times and come out stronger than before. Under Sarah, this country will heal from these wounds and strengthen together. Under President Edwards, his own country New Ireland and Wales will overcome the division that Giorgio's murderers are cutting through her green pastures.
Ladies and gentlemen, the legacy of my husband does not rest here. I hope that I will be able to continue his legacy by helping Sarah and President Edwards heal our countries, and to do all I can to ensure that the work he did will not die with him.
God bless Austerain."
The audience stands again to clap as the First Lady hugs Versace, then hugs and kisses Edwards on the cheek.
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Post by New Ireland and Wales on Mar 16, 2017 1:17:37 GMT
Edwards stands up and claps along with the rest of the room and gives the First Lady a hug when she comes over "Great speech!" He says to her.
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Post by Austerain on Mar 16, 2017 1:38:17 GMT
"Thank you for being here and for your kind words, President Edwards," she says as she sits down.
Over the next hour and a half, several members of Congress, the Speaker, Cabinet Secretaries, and Asher's old academic colleagues and college friends speak eloquently about him and their personal experiences with him. Members of different faiths prayed over Asher and Cox, and for Angelina and the healing of the countries. After the conclusion of the service, Asher's casket is loaded onto a funeral carriage to travel through the capital. As the people lined the streets with flags of Austerain and NIW, the President, Chancellor Versace, and the First Lady walked beside each other behind the carriage as the band played the slow tones of "I Vow to Thee My Country" and "Amazing Grace" behind them. The procession ended in the St. James District at the Saint James' Cathedral for the more formal funeral service, where all Austeren heads of state were buried (including the only three Kings the country ever had).
After the funeral and after Asher is interred, the President, Grand Chancellor, and First Lady go into the first limousine of the motorcade, and Secretary Sinclair gets into the second limousine with State Department staff. They're departing to Austraton International Airport to travel to New Ireland and Wales for Cox's funeral. The motorcade is joined by the hearse containing Cox's casket with NIW flags on its hood.
With her eyes still red and puffy, she says to Edwards whole cupping his hands, "I didn't originally plan to attend, but I thought it best to go".
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Post by New Ireland and Wales on Mar 16, 2017 2:11:01 GMT
While everyone else gives their speeches Edwards listens closely and claps at the end of them. During the funeral he has tears in his eyes. After the funeral he heads back to the motorcade to head to the airport. After the First Lady speaks to him he smiles and says "I'm very glad to hear you are going. It's an honor to have you along. " He then looks at the Chancellor "Madame Chancellor" He says reaching into his briefcase "This is the schedule for your small visit to NIW. You can cross out anything you don't want to attend." He hands her the sheet of paper.
On it, it says
March 15th, 2017: Land at Dublin Airport and head to Presidential Palace, Áras an Uachtaráin for the night
March 16th, 2017 Morning: Head to Government Buildings to meet with Cabinet for President to officially reassume role as President, Meet with Cabinet Members and Congressional Leaders
March 16th, 2017 Afternoon: Head to Leinster House(Congress) for Joint Session for State Funeral of Secretary of Foreign Affairs Brandon Cox, Head to Private Funeral Service
March 16th, 2017 Evening: Head to Phoenix Park for dedication of a future memorial for Grand Chancellor Giorgio Asher and Secretary Cox and Memorial Concert
March 17th, 2017 Morning: Head to St. Patrick's National Cathedral for St. Patrick's Day Service then head to downtown Dublin for St. Patrick's Day Parade at noon
March 17th, 2017 Evening : Head to Trinity College for Town Hall on Importance of International Diplomacy then head back to Aras an Uachtarain for State Dinner, President will also officially appoint new Foreign Affairs and Trade Secretary and Education Secretary
March 18th, 2017 Morning: Head to Dublin Airport for departure of Austeren Delegation
"Now if you want you can certainly cancel all activities on the 17th and head back that morning." Edwards says "and Madame First Lady if you want we can make arrangements for you to head back to Austerain after the funeral."
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Post by Austerain on Mar 16, 2017 2:38:16 GMT
She smiles for the first time since the speeches and says, "The honor is mine."
Chancellor Versace reads over the itinerary and says, "I'd be happy to attend all of these events, though I'm not sure if I would be much use in your first Cabinet meeting back."
The First Lady after reading it says, "I think I may head back on the night for the 16th after the Memorial Concert or after the St. Patrick's Day Service in the morning. Whichever option might be most convenient for your logistical team. I'll need to head back to spend time with Giorgio's family members and organizing Youth Government."
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Post by New Ireland and Wales on Mar 16, 2017 2:45:52 GMT
"Well the first Cabinet meeting will mainly just be me signing the paper reinstating me and the departments giving me updates afterwards. No more than 15 or 20 minutes but you are welcome to stay behind at the palace then head to the Government Buildings for the luncheon if that's what you prefer. We will head to the state funeral after that." Edwards say "Madam First Lady you can head back whenever you wish. We have the ability for either time."
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Post by Austerain on Mar 16, 2017 2:59:17 GMT
Versace nods and says, "I may stay out of it if the press is there. I wouldn't want to give the right wingers an excuse to use it against you as if we were influencing anything. We both know how unreasonable they can be"
Angelina says, "In that case, I'll leave after the Memorial Concert."
The motorcade pulls into the gates to the government-leased runway at Austraton International. The area is under heavy security with snipers of the roofs and windows of nearby buildings and armed guards patrolling up and down the tarmac. Waiting on the runway is the Grand Chancellor's and President's planes, along with a C-17 military transport aircraft to transport Secretary Cox. Military honors are waiting.
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Post by New Ireland and Wales on Mar 16, 2017 3:11:02 GMT
Edwards nods "Very well. Indeed you are right. Especially now that FitzGerald is a Senator now."
Edwards smiles at the First Lady "We can have the arranged."
When the motorcade arrives at the airport Edwards looks around at the security at the runway and at the airport. When the motorcade stops he gets out and starts heading for his plane.
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Post by Austerain on Mar 16, 2017 3:20:28 GMT
Before they proceed to the planes, they stand at attention to the military honors for Cox as his casket is loaded into the C-17 while 'Taps' is played.
After that is done, Edwards proceeds to his plane accompanied by Secretary of State Sinclair and his staff while Asher and Versace go to the Chancellor's plane with Versace's staff. One by one, the planes lift off the runway.
Escorted by military jets, they head to New Ireland and Wales.
END OF THE THREAD
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