Inaugural Ball with SLU Leaders

[Austerain]

INAUGURAL BALL FOR SLU LEADERS
INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT JAMES THORNE

The Joint Assembly Room has been transformed into a great hall with tables and a large area for dancing. The chandeliers bathe the room in golden light. At the head of the room where the dais with the podium and Speaker's chair used to be is the head table where the newly inaugurated President Thorne, the First Lady, and Vice President Healey will be seated. President Thorne and the First Lady are greeting guests at the doors of the great hall.

ALL SLU LEADERS ARE INVITED TO ATTEND

Enter the room with the code below:

Photo of leader: [img src="http://" alt=" "]

The Sergeant-at-Arms stamps his staff onto the marble floor and shouts loudly, "[His/Her] Excellency, [leader name], the [title] of [nation name].

[Deleted]

Photo of leader:
 

The Sergeant-at-Arms stamps his staff onto the marble floor and shouts loudly, "Ajay Gavankar, the King of Kyratistani!".

[Lawattsia]

 

The Sergeant-at-Arms stamps his staff onto the marble floor and shouts loudly, "His Excellency, The Honorable Sir Roger Owen, the Prime Minister of Lawattsia."

[Austerain]

President Thorne shakes hands with King Ajay, "Your Highness, it's wonderful to have you here. Will Queen Amita be joining us?"

The President greets Prime Minister Owen, "Welcome to Austerain, Sir Roger, it's great to finally meet you. I've heard good things about you from my colleagues in the diplomatic academia."

[New Ireland and Wales]

Photo of leader:

The Sergeant-at-Arms stamps his staff onto the marble floor and shouts loudly, "His Excellency, The Hon. Jonathan Wright, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Ireland and Wales

[Austerain]

President Thorne greets the NIW Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade with a handshake, "Mr. Wright, welcome to Austerain. I'm happy to host you on happier circumstances. Please give my congratulations to President Floyd. I was surprised about his victory."

[Hirematia]

The Sergeant-at-Arms stamps his staff onto the marble floor and shouts loudly, "His Excellency, Vijaranam Mechhai, the Premier Minister of Hirematia!

[New Ireland and Wales]

Jonathan sees the President walking towards him and smiles "Ah. Good to see you, Mr. President. Congratulations on your inauguration I look forward to working with you and your administration. Oh, trust me, I was surprised too. Never even heard of President Floyd beforehand."

[Austerain]

"Mr. Premier Minister," Thorne shakes Mechhai's hand, "Welcome to Austerain, good to have you. I'm very happy with the results of your talks with former President Versace, my party will be supporting all of the agreements made, although the Nationalist Islanders are skeptical of the environmental deal. It has wide support among the Liberal Party, so if the NIP doesn't deliver, there is no reason to worry. I'm looking forward to our trade negotiations."

Thorne responds to Wright, "Thank you, I look forward to working with yourself and the Taoiseach. Your diplomatic counterpart is here somewhere. Ms. Lacroix is my pick for Secretary of State, and is yet to be confirmed. But yes, I have never heard of Floyd before. Other than his speech, I have little clue where he stands on many political issues. I imagine the Taoiseach was less than pleased. His tweets went too far, even by my standards."

[Hirematia]

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Mechhai replies. "And congratulations on your election. Our legislature is mostly on board with the legislation as well, but the SJS, KSA, and some members of the SSS. It should pass through the Kaunihera idh Janarath, but in the Kaunihera idh Vipath, the environmental agreement hangs on just 2 SSS votes. They seem to be leaning towards support, but they have made their positions unclear."

[Courelli]

The Sergeant-at-Arms stamps his staff onto the marble floor and shouts loudly, "His Excellency, Joshua B. Thomas, the Governor of the Republic of Courelli.

[Austerain]

"Thank you, thank you," Thorne nods, "Hopefully we can get the agreements passed on both sides. It should pass through our largest house, the House of Delegates smoothly, and it should pass through the Grand Senate by 19-11 in the scenario that the Nationalist Islanders aren't on board with the environmental agreement. The House of Governors, although ruled by the Liberal Party, is also likely to ratify the legislation once it reaches them. Although there is some skepticism about the agreements, many here in Austraton understand how important this deal is for our foreign policy with such a close neighbor. Sarah herself emphasized to me last night that she wanted our two countries to begin a "special relationship" between our peoples, as I referenced at the inauguration."

President Thorne greets Thomas, "Governor Thomas, welcome to Austerain! It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

[Courelli]

Governor Thomas shakes President Thorne's hand, and greets him with a warm smile. "Mr. President, it's an honor to be here with you. Austerain is truly beautiful, from what I've seen of it, and Austraton is magnificent as well." He takes a look around the Joint Assembly Room, in awe. "I must say, your Capitol has some of the finest architecture I've ever seen! When was this building constructed?"

Thomas takes another look around the room, this time eyeing the other SLU Leaders. He recognizes one of them from the SLU Cabinet Meeting - Premier Minister Vijaranam Mechhai of Hirematia - but does not recognize any others. "It's time for international diplomacy," he thinks, and shivers slightly. "That's.... terrifying."

[Harndon]

(OOC: seems like my old photo of the Spokesperson has been removed from the internet. Oops. I shall save this one on my online photo bank)

The Sergeant-at-Arms stamps his staff onto the marble floor and shouts loudly, "Kariva Ulav, The Spokesperson of Harndon!"

[Austerain]

Thorne chuckles as they shake hands, "Thank you, Governor, I'll have to give you the tour after this event. The Palace was first constructed in 1740 but has been expanded over the years, as you can see. This very room actually used to be the throne room of the first King of Austerain and the King of North Austerain before the monarchy was abolished. Now it stands here as a sacred hall of prosperity and the country's democratic values, where we hold state dinners, balls, and joint meetings of National Congress. So, how was your journey from Leoncavallo? That is such a beautiful city from the pictures I've seen, it was terrible what happened at your Parliament building."

President Thorne greets the Harndonian Spokesperson, "Spokesperson Ulav, welcome to Austerain, it is an honor to have you here. You are the youngest leader I have ever encountered, how have you fared with your position so far?"

[Lawattsia]

Aug 15, 2017 23:15:32 GMT Austerain said:

President Thorne shakes hands with King Ajay, "Your Highness, it's wonderful to have you here. Will Queen Amita be joining us?"

The President greets Prime Minister Owen, "Welcome to Austerain, Sir Roger, it's great to finally meet you. I've heard good things about you from my colleagues in the diplomatic academia."

Sir Roger warmly shakes President Thorne's hand, "Thank you for the warm welcome, Mr. President. We have the highest esteem for Austerain in Lawattsia and it is a pleasure to meet you and for me to be here, actually for the first time."

[New Ireland and Wales]

Wright laughs. "Yes, I was surprised by the tweets as well. I'm guessing he had a bit too much to drink that night and one of his aides gave him access to a cell phone. I don't blame him for drinking though."

Wright sees Governor Thomas and shakes his hand "How do you do, Governor?"

[Harndon]

Aug 16, 2017 17:43:19 GMT Austerain said:

President Thorne greets the Harndonian Spokesperson, "Spokesperson Ulav, welcome to Austerain, it is an honor to have you here. You are the youngest leader I have ever encountered, how have you fared with your position so far?"

"Yes, it's true you don't get many 17 year old heads of state. And well enough, thank you. I have no real power in the traditional sense of the word, instead just representing my country abroad, work with the Hall of Representatives, and give a lot of speeches, really." Kariva shrugs: "I had a tough start with the bombing of the church in Voviana. Thankfully it's been better since then." Kariva smiles, as if realising something she had just forgotten something. "Oh, and congratulations on your election. Your campaign was full of promise for a better Austerain, and many Harndonians would agree that that is something we can all get behind. You very much have our support in this."

[Austerain]

Thorne replies to Sir Roger, "Well, Prime Minister, it's certainly an honor to finally have you here with us in Austerain, I'll have to arrange for someone to take you on a tour around Austraton if you're up to it. It's a beautiful city with diverse cuisine and exciting entertainment that I think you will enjoy."

Thorne gives a small laugh with Wright and says, "I mean, I like Taoiseach Collins very much, but for future reference, I hope they keep Twitter away from that man when he has had too much to drink."

In response to Kariva, Thorne nods and smiles, "Thank you, many Austerens understand the need for change in this country, so that is what we will try our best to do this term. But yes, it was terrible to hear about that bombing. It's perfectly alright to disagree with a group's belief, but there is no reason to resort to violence, especially in the ugly form that it took in this case. It was disappointing that my predecessor did not offer any form of aid to the victims or to your investigations and counter-terrorism efforts. How is the progress with those efforts?"

[New Ireland and Wales]

"I believe his Chief of Staff had a conversation with him. I personally think he's above all that. I haven't touched a phone all that much since I took up my portfolio under President Edwards. He's not the only that likes a drink from time to time but he has staff that can take his phone. Too much of that tweeting and we won't get another term." Wright says scratching his head

[Harndon]

"Ah, things are what they are, and it's a failure both on our part and theirs that they felt that only violence would solve their issues. But they're also terrible people, so we can't blame ourselves too much. Well, we all know Versace was no saint, but who is? We don't really blame her; she had a lot on he plate right then, with the political issues and the deal negotiation with Hirematia. Thank you for asking. We had the last funeral 2 weeks ago, but there are obviously still people in hospital from their injuries. On the bright side, though, the church, a simple wooden structure, has been rebuilt with help from the entire community. It's nice to know that even in a crisis, people still join together and help their neighbour in times of need. As to the counter-terrorism cause, we've been able to track down a small cell of the Guardians of Atheism, but no luck apart from that. It seems that they're not just a Harndonian organisation: we've had reports that they reside in other SLU nations too. Due to the geographic and political closeness of SLU nations, it would be easy enough for them to have bases in one country, and act in another."

[Austerain]

Thorne smiles, "Hopefully the drunk tweeting can get under control after that incident. Other than that, how is he settling into office? I'm expecting great things from him compared to Edwards last term."

"If any assistance is needed, please let me know," Thorne says to Kariva, "It's good to hear that your people have recovered since then, but Austerain is more than willing to assist with your investigations and counter-terrorism efforts. We do have two known cells of Guardians of Atheism in central Austerain. They've been closely monitored since their last attack three years ago on a cathedral in Strasguard. "

[Harndon]

"We will, thankyou. The People are currently unsure about whether we should cotinue this investigation overseas with outside help or not, it seems. Ah, yes, I remember hearing about that when a few years go. An utterly horrific act, it really was. Problem is, what's the right balance between security and people's right? That's the question we in Harndon are trying to puzzle out."

[Austerain]

"If it is the will of your people to investigate without outside help, then I would advise to do so," Thorne says, "If your government would still like outside help, it could be off the books if you like."

A young man walks up to President Thorne and says, "Mr. President, time for the welcome address."

"Alright, thank you, Henry," Thorne replies as he turns to Kariva, "Excuse me."

President Thorne walks up to the head table and taps his glass several times.

"I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our most esteemed dignitaries from around the Social Liberal Union, and to thank you all for attending. We will certainly be having more events like this so that we can take the time to speak to each other in person on the issues from around the region and build cordial relationships between our nations."

He clears his throat, "As President of Austerain, as the nation that has been honored to serve as the Delegacy of the region, I hope that we can uphold this blessed Union to be a Union that upholds its constitutional principles for equality and rule of law rather than allowing for autocratic and authoritarian regimes to be tolerated for political expediency. As leaders of this Union, it is our duty... our obligation to protect and defend the inviolable principles that this Union was founded upon: human dignity, freedom, equality, and solidarity, in the words of the Preamble of our Constitution. My predecessor was not so committed to defending these values to the fullest extent, a mistake that will not be repeated. Our peoples expect us to be willing to boldly defend these values, else the trust of the population in their government is lost. I am not prone to certainty, but the timid approach of my predecessor was one of those that damaged that trust... she did, among others, draw that measure in the people's unsure hearts. I hope you will all join me in committing to the duty to defend the values of our Union with resolute and unwavering willingness."

He raises his glass, "To the Union."

Everyone in the hall repeats and raises their glasses.

An announcer's voice resounds through the hall, "Please remain standing for the national anthem of Austerain."

A young woman and a young man walk to the corner of the room, where the young man sits at a black grand piano. The young woman begins singing.




After the anthem, the music for the ball begins with an orchestra playing Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

[Courelli]

After the music begins, Gov. Thomas makes his way over to Mr. Wright of New Ireland and Wales . "That was quite a speech, don't you think?" He takes a sip from his drink, and continues. "President Thorne really is a great speaker, especially when compared to Versace. He seems to almost always know exactly what to say to make his people happy ... even if it upsets or angers other nations." Thomas leans in closer, and lowers his voice. "I think it'll be up to leaders like you and I to calm his ... um ... more extreme views."

He takes a step back to his original position, and begins to hum along to the music.

[Hirematia]

Mechhai approaches Thorne and says, "Hats off to your speech, James. English isn't my first language, but that was just beautiful. I look forward to our nations creating a stronger bond, and I wanted to invite you to Hiremath, to the Soudhi idh Kharnyaangh to continue talks. The subjects would be economic pacts, increasing ease of travel, and if it fits with your agenda, a possible policy of sharing access to our antimatter bombs in exchange for access to Austerain's OLDIE-P system. That last point was part of our talks with the Versace administration, but we decided to hold off on such a deal because she informed me that you're against OLDIE-P."

[Austerain]

"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Premier Minister, I meant every word," Thorne smiles warmly as he sips a glass of Veuve Clicquot, "And I'm honored by your invitation, I share my predecessor's wish to creating a stronger bond between Austerain and Hirematia. I'm not sure if I'll be able to make any foreign trips over the next two months with so much to do here, but I would send the Vice President or Secretary of State with our ambassador to Hirematia (whom of which I have yet to appoint) to carry out these negotiations. General Brockwell briefed me on your antimatter bombs. You must know, Premier Minister, that I am vehemently against weapons of mass destruction. I plan to issue an order to disable the laser beam component of the OLDIE-P system to make it purely defensive, and we would respectfully decline the offer to use your antimatter bombs given their astronomical range of destruction. In fact, one of my goals this term is to ask our delegation to the SLU to have a summit to discuss an arms control treaty to restrict the amount of WMDs in the region, including space. Here in Austerain, we have been in the process of eliminating all of our nuclear weapons, but the OLDIE-P system's laser component remains as a potentially destructive instrument of war that we should not possess. God forbid if such weapons were to fall in the hands of our enemies, whether physically or through cyber warfare."

[Harndon]

Kariva Ulav walks over to Jonathan Wright. "Good evening. I don't think we've met yet; you must be Jonathan Wright of New Ireland and Wales. A pleasure to meet you. Please pass on my regards to your new President, and give him my personal congratulations on his impressive achievement."

[Anaaxes]

While she waits to depart to the Palace of Auster, the President of Anaaxes calmly waits in a staging room on the ground floor of the Grand Capital Hilton Hotel, sipping on a small latte, flanked by a Secret Service agent and her military aide.

The head of her security detail enters and says, "Ma'am, the motorcade is ready."

"But not too ready?" the President asks.

"10 minutes?" the agent asks with a slight wink.

The President nods in assent, but her Chief of Staff walks over and tries to object, "Ma'am, we're going to miss President Thorne's welcoming remarks!"

"That's alright, I'll watch it in the car," she responds.

The 10 minutes pass by and the Anaaxese delegation begin to get in their vehicles. The President catches Thorne's speech on her tablet during the drive to the palace.

The motorcade pulls up outside the Palace of Auster. The President and her party are greeted by the Deputy Chief of Protocol and the Ambassador of Austerain to Anaaxes, and are led into the diplomatic reception room to sign the guestbook.

After that, the President makes her way to the Joint Assembly Room. They pause outside the doors to the room.

The Sergeant-at-Arms stamps his staff onto the marble floor and shouts loudly, "Her Excellency, Natalia Goldsmith, the President of Anaaxes!"

The doors open, and she's greeted by several of the party-goers, and stops every so often for selfies and for the photographers.

[Austerain]

President Thorne greets President Goldsmith with a smile and a handshake, "Madam President, welcome to Austerain! I am very pleased to finally meet you in person, I must thank you for your early support for my message against monarchies and autocrats in the region."