Austeren Secretary of State in NIW

[New Ireland and Wales]

"Well I think we could try him as one court so we don't have to worry about 2 trials and we can submit the evidence together. But basically, let's say we give him 20 years and you give him 11. He would serve 20 years in prison here and instead of worrying about another trial down the road he would be transferred to and Austeren prison for the 11 years." Minister Hall says

"Well he's a traitor so it could easily be 20 or 30 years but I would welcome such a move." Floyd says

[Austerain]

Secretary Lacroix thinks for a moment, then looks to Ambassador Asher and says, "You're one of Austerain's top lawyers, Angelina, is there any legal standing for a joint tribunal with a foreign nation?"

Asher responds, "Madam Secretary, we've never been in a situation in which we had someone who has outstanding charges on espionage in addition to crimes from their nation of origin, so no, there is no statute or precedent that would explicitly grant a joint tribunal legitimacy unless we're entering an international court system. If we did do this, we would need a judge to sign off on it. You can get Secretary Ashcraft to get the Justice Department to file a motion for a joint tribunal."

"I see," Lacroix sighs, "We'll call George after this and see if he'll be willing to file for the joint tribunal, and we'll work with Department to get it done. I can't promise that the judge will allow it, but we need to do this by the books. And I'm not even sure if President Thorne would want a joint tribunal, this option wasn't discussed in any of the meetings we had."

[New Ireland and Wales]

"We will support any decision the Austeren government makes on this matter, Madam Secretary. We just wanted to try and make it easier but we recognize that there is no precedent at all for this." Collins says "Anyways we've been meeting for a while I say we take a lunch break. Ministers and Defense and Security Council Members please be back here at 3 PM. That's about 2 hours. Madam Secretary, Ambassador Asher, and uh Major General would you like to join me for lunch? We can continue the discussion about the message we need to prepare if you want."

[Austerain]

"Yes sir," Secretary Lacroix responds, "While we're at it, I can bring up President Thorne on video call to update him on everything during the break and see how he and Ashcraft feel about a joint tribunal."

As the Ministers leave the room, Major General Hurley looks down at his phone and his face reddens again. He walks over to Lacroix and shoves his phone between Lacroix and Asher for them to see. Lacroix's mouth becomes agape and Asher places her hands on her face with a sigh. "Colorful character indeed," Lacroix mutters as she shoos Hurley off.

[New Ireland and Wales]

"Yes, that would be perfect," Collins says with a smile as he walks out the room his phone goes off and he looks down at it cussing under his breath before dialing a number "General Hayden I need you to come to my study and please bring Scarlett with you." He hangs up the phone and looks back at Secretary Lacroix "Duncan is such an idiot but I'm about to deal with him. I really hope you all know he doesn't represent us." After a short walk they walk into a large office with a desk and table with about 12 chairs around it. Standing in the room is a tall man in his military uniform and a short woman in a blue pantsuit. "Secretary Lacroix, Ambassador Asher, General Hurley this is Lt. General George Hayden he is the head of the Defense and Security Council and Dr. Scarlett Dicksinson she is head of security here." He looks at General Hayden "I need Malaki Duncan revoked of any security clearance he has right now. His recent comments are disgusting and I'm not going to allow it." He then looks at Dr. Dicksinson "I need you to make sure he never enters this building again. He is banned from sitting in on cabinet meetings as long as I am Taoiseach." He looks at both of them "Are we clear?" They both nod. He nods his head and dismisses them. "Alright so how does a Grilled chicken salad with spinach and fruit topped with a lite raspberry vinaigrette sound to you all? It's alright if you want something else the chef can make anything you want."

[Austerain]

After General Hayden and Dr. Dickinson leave, Lacroix nods in thanks to Collins, "Thank you, Mr. Taoiseach, his comments are very... disturbing. I'm getting emails from the President urging me to 'let Hurley handle him'. We don't consider him as a representation of NIW or its interests, but this isn't going to look good at home."

Asher and Lacroix nod in agreement to have the salad, but General Hurley shakes his head and grunts, "I'm not a rabbit, what do you have that will actually be filling?"

Lacroix and Asher give each other a look and roll their eyes, Lacroix looks at Collins as if to send him a mental message, 'I'm sorry for him'.

[New Ireland and Wales]

"Oh, I don't expect anything to look good as of right now. I would let Hurley handle him but I don't need to laugh that much." Collins says with a laugh.

"General we have steak if that's what you prefer. How would you like it cooked?" Collins asks then says "We also have donkey since you wanna act like one." under his breath then rolls his eyes.

[Austerain]

"What did you say, you moth-" Hurley begins before Lacroix cuts him off while chuckling, "He'll have the steak, won't you, General? Medium rare?"

Hurley nods still frowning, "Sure." Lacroix gives a half-smile to Collins as she takes her laptop out of her bag, "Now. Let's get the President online to update him, hm?"

[New Ireland and Wales]

Collins's chuckles before picking up the phone and ordering the food. "We can use the big screen if you want." The phone rings and he answers it. His face darkens before he hangs up the phone with his hand shaking "A pro-Austerain protestor was shot and killed at the rally. This is going too far." He sits down at the table and asks the Secretary to call up President Thorne.

[Austerain]

Lacroix and Asher look at Collins as a wave of sadness descends over the room. "This has gone far enough," Lacroix says as she links her laptop monitor to the big screen. After waiting a few seconds, President Thorne appears on the screen from behind his desk, flanked by two Austeren flags and a high curtained window behind him. He has a severe look on his face,

"Taoiseach Collins," he says with melancholy, "I wish these were better circumstances. I'm very sorry to hear about Mrs. Davis."

[New Ireland and Wales]

Collins nods "Yes, I wish it were under better circumstances as well. This who situation has just gone too far and I caused it. I will be addressing the nation later tonight. I was just planning on an apology but now it seems I'll have to make a call for unity." he looks down at the table "Secretary Lacroix, Ambassador Asher, and the Major General have all been excellent representatives of the Austeren government."

[Austerain]

Lacroix looks at Collins from his last remark, then looks back at the smug Hurley, and rolls her eyes. Lacroix says to President Thorne, "Mr. President, I agree this situation has evolved itself from demanding amends to a united message. These tensions have erupted into the death of a school teacher. Enough is enough."

Thorne nods, "Of course. Amends still have to be made, but we have to perform a united message between our governments to calm the people. Protests for and against NIW relations outside the Palace of Auster and NIW Embassy here are getting raucous, we have a thin line of police separating the groups. With the killing of Mrs. Davis, I think you have some issues to address with your Opposition Leader and the responsibility he has in this, Mr. Taoiseach. The three houses of National Congress are simultaneously voting on a resolution to bar him from Austerain now, and it will be on my desk for signing by the morning. I think this will help alleviate the movement to repeal the treaty altogether."

[New Ireland and Wales]

"Amends will be made Mr. President. We've made the offer to pay a fine and that is still on the table. We've shut down the road that the Austeren Embassy sits on. Police officers are trying to disperse both sides of the protest. I fully support freedom of speech but the very well-being of my people is at risk." Collins goes to continue but his phone goes off and he looks down at it "Well it seems we won't have to worry about Duncan as Opposition Leader anymore. Nearly 100 members of his party defected to another party and now Jared McDavid is Opposition Leader. Somehow Fine Gael is letting Duncan sit as Leader still. But, McDavid is a good man. Great character."

[Austerain]

"We are not going to ask you to pay a fine," President Thorne says, "That money can be better utilized in programs for your people, rather than forcing them to pay for your generals' mistake."

Lacroix nods, "That's what I told him, Mr. President. Taoiseach Collins is open to conducting a joint military review since our own forces are up for review this year anyway, and we may need to set up a satellite video conference with NIW investigators if Governor Forli is needed to testify."

Thorne responds, "We can do that, we'll set up a video call session from her prison cell once she is sentenced. In the meantime, I'll be ordering the Provincial Guard to start breaking up the protests away from the NIW Embassy, and I'll be headed to the front of the Palace gates to address the protesters myself. I'm glad to hear that Duncan has been replaced by someone that has better character, that should help simmer things down a little."

[New Ireland and Wales]

"What we plan to do in order to prevent this from happening again is to make it illegal for our military to conduct military operations outside of our political borders unless permission is given by the National Assembly and the national government of whatever nation it is in unless we are in a state of war. Though I'm not Edwards so I don't plan on dragging us into a war." Collins nods "Yes I certainly believe things will begin to calm now."

[Austerain]

"I look forward to seeing the necessary reforms, Taoiseach Collins," Thorne says as the telephone on his desk rings. He picks up the phone and listens for a minute before saying, "Alright, send her in in two minutes."

He hangs up the phone, "Well, I have another meeting with Leader Giulia. Anna, Angelina, General Hurley, well done. Mr. Taoiseach, please send my congratulations to Mr. McDavid. It's very nice to speak to you, and I hope we'll be seeing each other in person very soon. I'd be happy to host you and Mr. McDavid here in Austraton either together or separately. We'll be keeping on top of things over here. Take care."

The video call goes black, and Lacroix exhales, "That went better than expected."

[New Ireland and Wales]

"I'm sure the new Opposition Leader and I can make it at some point. Of course now isn't the time for that but it will be one day." Collins says before the screen shuts off. He sighs and leans back into the seat. A few seconds later the food comes rolling in.

[Austerain]

As the food rolls in, Lacroix mutters, "Thank God, I'm famished."

Ambassador Asher's phone chirps. As she looks down to read it, she says to Collins, "Looks like the bill to repeal the agreement is dead, but by a thin margin. Good news for us nonetheless, so we can breathe easy for now."

[New Ireland and Wales]

The meals are passed out as well with a glass of water.

Collins sighs and looks at his phone "51-49. Good news indeed I guess. That's awfully close. Excuse me for a couple of minutes please." Collins gets up and walks into a room behind the study. A few minutes later he walks back in and sits down at the table groaning as he rubs his temples.

[Austerain]

"Dangerously close," Lacroix adds as she sips her water, "There was no clear partisan divide over it, as all the parties are divided on it."

When Collins returns and rubs his temples, Lacroix looks over concerned, "What's wrong?"

[New Ireland and Wales]

Collins sighs "When the bill was submitted to the Congress in your nation I signed an agreement with the Chairman of the party saying that if the bill passed a vote of no confidence would be held over my leadership of the party. It didn't fail which is good but due to how close it was I informed the Chairman to go ahead and call the vote anyways. I'm not resigning but my approval ratings are below the party's and they deserve a vote over whether they want me to continue."

[Austerain]

"You've only been in office a few months, and they're willing to call for another no confidence vote already?" Lacroix asks, "That's an awful deal to make, what were you thinking?"

Asher nods, "To be frank, that was a bad agreement to make, Taoiseach. Despite the recent transgressions, President Thorne sees you as an ally. If you're voted out, tensions will remain unstable between our countries if the President isn't as willing to work with your potential successor."

[New Ireland and Wales]

"Stupid deal maybe. But the party needs to be able to express their confidence. I'm sure my leadership is stable. Chancellor Greg Asher survived two votes of no confidence in 1890 and he served until 1914." Collins says

[Austerain]

"Of course," Ambassador Asher says, "Hmm Asher, I wonder if there's a relation there, a lot of Ashers I keep hearing about here."

Lacroix chuckles at Angelina's last comment, "I hope you survive this one, sincerely. Our country is still very upset about the actions you and your generals took, but the state of our diplomatic ties is depending on how well Thorne is willing to work with whomever the leader is, because the public mood is volatile right now. Right now, he's still open to working with you, because you two are so ideologically aligned."

[New Ireland and Wales]

"Well, they are a fairly big family here. Also fairly powerful and rich. Greg Asher was the grandson of a Duke when the monarchy was still around and some of that money and influence last today." Collins says "Yes, that is my worry as well and I'm sure I will survive the vote but if I don't Wright will most likely become Taoiseach and he's easy to work with but he can be a bit of a bulldog sometimes." he says laughing

[Austerain]

“Old money, eh,” Angelina says, “My late husband did actually have some ancestry here, so maybe there is a relation. I’ll have to check with your genealogy records here sometime. Anyway, if Wright does become Taoiseach, I’m sure Thorne will get along with him.”

Lacroix replies, “Wright met President Thorne at the inaugural ball, and I believe they hit it off well. Let’s just hope it doesn’t lead to you falling from power, eh?”

[New Ireland and Wales]

"You are more than welcome to check anytime. Tell me when and I'll make the process a lot easier for you. Less bureaucratic mess." Collins says

"Yes, Wright quite liked Thorne though he was worried about me and Thorne. Thought we were too hard headed at first. I don't think he's wrong on me being hard-headed." Collins says with a slight laugh. There's a knock at the door and Collins beckons the person in "Ah, Jamie what can I do for you?" Jamie looks down at his papers "I have some news for you. You survived the vote of no confidence 304-21, Malaki Duncan has resigned from the National Assembly, and the National Gun Crimes Prevention and Regulation Act passed the NA." Collins nods "Good, good. Thank you, Jamie." Collins looks at Lacroix and Asher "That's James Kenny. He's my political director."

[Austerain]

“Thank you, that would be generous,” Angelina says.

Lacroix laughs, “Honestly, Thorne actually is too hardheaded, that’s why he likes you. You’re just alike.”

After Jamie updates the Taoiseach and leaves, Lacroix sighs and says, “Thank goodness, well done.”