Miteravia had sent in their place a single carrack ship, MSS Chryzantema. With 3 full sized masts the Chryzantema was a large ship for its class yet diminutive compared to those from Neu Uburzis and the other nations ahead of it. Most of the year round the Chryzantema was kept in port on Tamrov Island where it was maintained as the last remaining exploratory carrack from the days of the Merchant Republic, most famously as the ship that first saw a glimpse of land that turned out to be Tamrov Island, now one of six integral states of the nation.

Rear-Admiral Zawadzk had personally sailed the ship across the Karifan Ocean, with an escort of course, for this event; the journey had left him weary yet excited. Seeing the glitter cannons of the Neu Uburzis ships explode in a flourish of colour he was again in two minds; he found the display almost dazzling but he winced at the thought of the ecological impact since the bio-degradable nature of the glitter unbeknownst to him.

The Chryzantema's regular Captain marched up the deck to where the Admiral stood on the quaterdeck, he gave the traditional naval salute then spoke:
'Admiral, Permission to go ahead and dock?'
The Admiral looked at the Captain blankly for a moment, still deeply in thought about the diplomatic mission ahead.
'Yes...yes, right away, permission granted.' He stuttered, clearing his throat.
The Captain nodded and jetted off, barking orders at every man and woman in his way.

The Admiral sighed and adjusted both his hat and his epaulets. From his inside pocket he produced a small hip-flask of vodka and a single adderall pill, the pill was swiftly thrown into his mouth and the vodka used to wash it down. He coughed softly as he returned the flask to his inside pocket. Once again he straightened up his uniform and stepped down from the quaterdeck to the main deck and joined in with the captain's chorus of shouts.
The wood of the hull groaned as the ship turned to dock among the other vessels, the ship approached the dockside and the lashings were thrown over, fastening the Chryzantema to the dockside.

'First diplomat since the civil war to be in East Moreland huh.' He thought to himself. One last adjustment of the ceremonial uniform before he stepped off the ship for the first time in days.

---

Miteravia thanks her neighbours in Vevinia for extending such an invitation to our Republic. After some deliberation in the upper echelons of the Ministry of the Economy and the Foreign Ministry we have decided that such an offer will be greatly beneficial. Plans to establish our own space agency have existed, in their infancy, for quite some time however with the inception of the JORT this may now change. We are further thankful of the offer you have extended regarding further discourse on this matter, the Foreign Ministry will be in contact with you shortly to arrange such a visit.

I look forward to meeting you personally and discussing this matter in greater detail on behalf of the people of Miteravia;
Your sincerely,

Miteravia votes to reject the application by the so-called "Kingdom of Borland", this application holds little merit more than your garden variety terrorist attempting to claim nationhood. No culturally minded intellectual would ever use an act of terror to attempt to strong-arm their way into an organisation and is thus unsuitable for admittance to such an erudite institution.

To the Signatories of this Convention,
It is with the utmost pleasure with which I am tasked with informing you that The Grand Union Parliament has ratified this Convention. The protection of the rights of the individual, especially the most basic of human rights, are at the core of modern Miteravian beliefs and as such was already a de facto signatory since the inception of republican Miteravia. However, recent events on the international stage have forced our hand and thus we felt that our commitment to the upholding of the Mundus Convention of Human Rights could only be strengthened by fully ratifying the treaty.

Most faithfully,

Seiler stood quickly, "Of course, Ma'am, we wouldn't want anything in the vein of a scandal. I assure you we can get the king home discreetly." He reached for his glass and quickly polished off his drink. He let out a sigh of satisfaction, the alcohol had rendered him tipsy yet he was still astute as ever. He spun on his heel and spoke to Niklaus in German.
"Mr Strauss, it is imperative you clear the pub, I believe the King has already sufficiently paid you for any lost profits. The rest of our tab is to be paid in full by Mr Zejda on behalf of the Foreign Ministry. Oh and while you're at it would you be so kind as to bring the King a bottle of water for the journey. Could you point me to the back door?" Seiler instructed the publican.
Niklaus nodded and barked some orders at the bar staff.
"Everyone's drinks are settled if they leave in the next two minutes!" Niklaus yelled to the patrons sitting in the main part of the pub, prompting all to begin packing their things, hastily.
As the Publican shooed people out the door one of the barwomen came up to the President, handing him a bottle of water.
"For the King, sir. " She mumbled sheepishly.
"Thank you, miss." He smiled.

Roman Zejda had already made his way through the throng of people all pushing to exit the establishment.
"Strauss informed me of the situation, sir, doesn't seem like any of the civilians really saw the King in his....current state. The limo is pulling up round the back as we speak." He looked past the President towards the comatose King.
"Jesus..." he muttered under his breath.
"Mr Zejda," The President interjected, "You and I are to help the King into the car, Miss Sofia, If you'd be so kind as to bring both of your belongings. Then, Roman, I shall accompany our guests to the air strip whilst you are to pay Mr Strauss out of the Foreign Ministry's money and get yourself a cab home on their pay while you're at it."
The two Miteravians reached under the arms of King Lapu and hauled him to his feet, causing him to stir and slur the words: "I can walk on my own.", which they both ignored guiding him toward the rear exit.
The passed through the door that doubled as a fire exit and headed for the limo parked opposite. The driver rapidly exited the vehicle and opened the door allowing Eryk and Roman to lower him into the backseat with relative ease. Sofia joined the king at his side and Seiler took the seat opposite, passing the water bottle to Sofia.
Roman waved goodbye and headed back inside to continue with the instructions given to him by the King.

In recent weeks an internet meme called 'Miteraviaball' has grown rapidly in popularity it is a derivative of 'Countryball' memes. According to Knowyourmeme.com, These user-generated cartoons typically follow the lives of ball-shaped creatures representing different countries (also known as Countryballs) and "international drama" surrounding their diplomatic relations. Countryballs including Miteravia have no limbs, pupils, eyebrows or mouth. Countryballs cannot into proper English (which kind of resembles the lolcat-meme. The “X cannot into Y” became a Miteraviaball related meme itself). An example of a Miteraviaball is shown below, some find it's comics funny while others say the can be offensive or in the case of Miteraviaball, some say it's creepy.


However this seemingly harmless cartoon has recently featured in cartoons often portraying the government as weak and calling the civil war an act of terrorism. Needless to say the internet users who produced these specific iterations of the cartoons have been linked to the Neužil and other far-right groups. Members of the MCP have called for the 'meme' to be banned, prompting a response from SLP backbench MPs calling the MCPs statement 'needless censorship'. The government has refused to comment on the memes calling the controversy 'trivial'.


Minister of Education Klara Theiss has today issued a statement detailing the Ministry of Education's plans to 'take Miteravia to the global stage'. The statement warns that if Miteravia does not teach students in a more worldly fashion then we risk being resigned to the backseats for international events.
The Update to the national curriculum will include History being taught from a 'less biased and Miterav-centric standpoint' and mandate that all students learn 2 new languages on top of Miteravian German, although Miteravian German as a Second Language Students (MGSLs) will only have to learn 1 language on top of Miteravia German and their native language. This will also included a larger range of languages for students to choose from.
Currently only 45% of the population is fluent in a foreign language so the introduction of more linguistic development for a greater number of students is hoped to increase that number to 70% by the year 2030.
Introduction of new Secondary and Advanced level subjects are also to included International Relations, Leisure and Tourism, Classical Foreign History and more.

---

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Exemptions for foreign nationals are as follows:

• If the individual was the victim of a violent crime.
• If the individual was in a car accident with the vehicle they were in or hit by being operated by a Miteravian citizen or permanent resident.
• The condition was sudden onset and the individual had no prior history of the condition, e.g a heart attack with no history of heart disease.
• If the individual has travel insurance any excesses will be covered.
• The individual has refugee status/asylum seeker or other protected status.
• The home nation of the individual denies treatment on the grounds of their religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or other protected characteristic.

---

---

Notably, minimum wage and maximum work hours varies with age as follows:

• Under 14 - 0 Hrs of paid labour
• 14-16 Year olds may work up to 15 hours a week with a minimum wage of $4.50
• 16-18 Year olds may work up to 28 hours a week with a minimum wage of $6.20
• 18-25 Year olds have no limit on the number of hours they work and have a minimum wage of $10.75, a 40-hour working week gives a weekly salary of $430 or $22360 annually.
• At the age of 25 minimum wage rises to $12.50 an hour, a 40-hour working week giving a weekly salary of $500 or an annual salary of $26000
• At the age of 65 weekly work hours are capped at 45

All employers must provide a minimum of half an hour of paid break per 4 hours of work undertaken by the individual and may allow unpaid breaks as frequently as they please. Practically all SOEs provided a 1 hour lunch break for an 8 hour shift, they are also obligated by law to give an annual pay rise of at least half of inflation. Overtime payment is a mandatory minimum 50% increase in hourly pay. Minimum annual paid leave is 5 working weeks a (a 5 day week would give 25 days holiday) year although commonly employers give between 5 and 6 weeks, employers have no obligation to those who don't work on public holidays although those that do work over a public holiday are entitled to overtime. Sick leave up to 1.5 working weeks is paid by the employer, after that Extended Illness Benefit (EIB) sets in.

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Any individual wounded as a direct result of the Civil War and subsequent Revolution is entitled to benefits from the state. The purpose of the WRB is to provided financial aid to those who have lost the ability to be as productive. All WRBs are independent of other benefits and thus do not effect disability benefits.

Currently the most widely claimed benefit of the WRBs is the Walking Wounded benefit, it applies to civilians who did not take part in active combat or aid the revolution but experienced a minor wound (Deemed to be non-debilitating and temporary injury, e.g flesh wound from a bullet or shrapnel). A claimant is entitled to receive $87 a week until the condition resolves itself. Walking Wounded may only be claimed for two years before the injury is considered long-term.

Another widely claimed WRB is the Heroic Wounded benefit which is for those who took part in active combat or aided the revolution (e.g medics or administratively) and were wounded for their troubles, receiving a minor wound (as defined above). A claimant is entitled to receive $103 a week until the condition resolves itself. Heroic Wounded may only be claimed for two years before the injury is considered long-term.

This WRB is designed for those who have either been afflicted by minor wounded for more than two years or will be afflicted by a major wound (loss of limb/paralysis/blindness etc.) for the rest of their lives. If the individual has claimed Walking Wounded or Heroic Wounded for two years then further assessment by a doctor is necessary before they can claim LTW. If they initially claimed either Minor Wound benefits then the individual is entitled to $103 a week until the condition is resolved, if the condition goes unresolved then they continue receiving the benefit. If the individual suffered a serious wound then they are entitled to $167 a week (on top of disability benefit if they are entitled), upon death the state also pays funeral costs.

If a combatant died during the conflict fighting for the revolution the individual is entitled to have their funeral costs covered by the state and their next of kin will receive $175 a week. If the individual has no living next of kin or the next of kin is deemed to be a significantly distant relative (such as family members that had never met the individual) then they benefit is not paid out. If they had a will with a clear beneficiary such as a non-married partner, charity or friend then they will receive half of the Heroic Sacrifice benefit.

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SPBs exist to help provide for those who have fallen on hard times or otherwise are struggling to make ends meet. This set of benefits is born from the governments goal to have no citizens below the poverty line before 2022, it is also designed to temporarily form the backbone of income for people and families who are financially struggling and to provide a sufficient supplement to those who are financially unstable.

Upon an individual becoming unemployed, after they have received their last paycheck from their previous job, they may register as a Job Seeker with their State Employment Center. A registered Job Seeker will then be entitled to claim the Job Seeker's Allowance for as many weeks as they have worked in the last 30 calendar months. Job Seeker's Allowance is paid at 70% of previous earning up to the MEC, therefore a maximum of $769.23 a week can be paid out under this scheme for individuals who earned more than $571428.57 annually before becoming unemployed.





OOC: Credits to The Young Pope for his inspiration.

The Colonel laughed deeply, he clapped his hands together and spoke: "Oh Marshal, ES never fails to impress does it? In fact I believe I saw a few of the older Carl Gustav variants during the civil war, they don't half pack a mean punch. They sound like a damned clap of thunder, I tell you." He excited took a seat next to King Lapu, who he addressed. "Looks like we're both going to have t' break out the cheque-book for the Umbrella Corp, ey, Your Majesty?"
Austerlitz shuffled in his seat to face the men from ES, "Although that said, the cost isn't too important for us, the budget is sitting in a nice surplus right about now so I definetly think we'll be putting in an order for a little bit of everything, save the NEGEVs as our Minimis are doing us nicely.

"As for Nuneski, I believe the presence of Landmines was mentioned earlier? There's a chance the Walruses missed a few, is there not?" He said direction his question toward President Cruchet. "These are training exercises afterall, I'd hate for someone to get...well... turned into a fine mist. Especially if they're Miteravian...god all that paperwork..."

"I...uh...wow...I mean thank you, Your Highness... I can't even..." Niklaus stammered, turning a very pale. He looked down the number, finding the decimal place after seven digits.
"Wait right here." He requested, regaining part of his composure. He darted off clearly in search of something.

The President pursed his lips, still savoring the sip of the drink. "That was very generous of you, Lapu." He mused, "And Miteravia hopes to be sending more representatives to international events. I will happily attend any international event graced by the presence of friends such as yourselves. I'm glad you're enjoing-"
The President was cut off by Niklaus' flustered return, Sawicki vodka in hand.
"My King, as a token of gratitude for your most generous gift, I insist you keep the rest of the bottle. Please take it as a small token of my appreciation." He insisted. Adjusting his shirt, Niklaus continued, "As you suggested earlier I will certainly open a traditional Miteravian pub in Quintellia and I will use this money to do so. Thank you so very much."
All the while the President smiled, elated for the new opportunities Niklaus had been afforded by the King's generosity.

The car journey from the airport to the palace wasn't a particularly long one but the colonel was a heavier smoker and had not been allowed to indulge his habit on the plane and he also thought it rude to do so in the car and the palace alongside everyone else, it would have to be an itch left unscratched.

The Marshal's comment about the new ES-supplied weaponry piqued Austerlitz's interest which entirely depleted his craving for nicotine.
"So Marshal Schönbaum, what is this...er...gear the Army of Christ is...donating to your allies?" The Colonel grinned, he looked over towards King Lapu, "It's almost like it's Christmas isn't it, Your Highness?"
He rolled his sleeve to check his watch, "Cardinal, it shouldn't be long until the Miteravian fleet arrives in Verezzo. I've never been but I hear it's one heck of a port, well it must be if it houses the ES Fleet."

Photo
Name	Mathias Freud
Titles/Roles	Minister of Health
Education	BSc Psychology and Public Amenities
Date of Birth	6th November 1963
Religion	Celestian Catholic
Biography	Freud is a controversial figure. Before the war, Freud was a teacher in a secondary school in Hramet; upon war breaking out he and his former students all joined the FLA. He saw active combat and served alongside Vice-President Hester, who invited him to join the SLP. Since the war he has been a very active opponent of the SLP joining force with the Worker's Party.

Colonel Austerlitz had finished his inspection of the drydocks and fleet housing at Port Miloscar, he was satisfied with the quality of what he had observed. Now the Naval High Command of the Navy (comprised of the Admiral Mario Koenig, Vice-Admiral Marco Reinhardt and Rear-Admiral Jacek Zawadzki) was gathered in the bridge of the Aircraft Carrier, the MSS Befreier; Austerlitz entered the room. The three admirals were stood in a small circle, RAdm Zawadzki turned towards the Colonel in a way to almost form a line with the other two Admirals.

"Gentlemen," The Colonel nodded, "I'm sure you're aware of the upcoming exercises with ES and her allies? Well the Secretariat of Defence can afford no mistakes here, sirs."
VAdm Reinhardt was the first to reply. "Klaus, we've all known each other long enough to know that we all want the same thing, no? We all want to show the world Miteravia is no lame duck. As much as you and I have had our differences in the past, we work together now. Our goals are the inextricably the same."
Zawadzki nodded in agreement; while Adm Koenig just watched, expressionless.
"Yes, Marco, I'm aware. In fact I want you to lead the Miteravian fleet at the exercises." The Colonel retorted, while Reinhardt blinked in shock, Austerlitz turned to Koenig. "If you have no objections of course, Mario, these ships are your charge after all."
Koenig adjusted his cap. "Colonel, I trust Marco implicitly. After all as Defence Secretary you can overrule me anyway."
"I wouldn't dream of it." Austerlitz smiled slyly.

"What vessels..." Zawadzki piped up, "What vessels is Marco going to take?"
"Hmmm...specific vessel wise the choice is up to the three of you. Numerically: 2 Destroyers, 3 to 4 Frigates, Maybe two subs, one fleet and one missile, a handful support vessels if you need them. Oh and of course this beauty with 10 or so Marine aircraft, the air-force will be supplying the rest." The Colonel said, whilst indicating to the floor bellow him as 'the beauty'. "Oh and Vice-Admiral Reinhardt, I'll discuss the route with you via secure email."
The admirals sat in silence.
"Right then I must be off, got to catch a plane to Lonport." The Colonel said. "Good day, Gentlemen."
Austerlitz exited the room as swiftly as he had entered.
"What a dickhead." Reinhardt muttered.
The other two admirals nodded in agreement.

---

47 Minutes later

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As the Colonel was about to board the plane, his phone pinged alerting him to a secure email he had received. Reinhardt had sent him the fleet list.

• Flagship/Aircraft Carrier MSS Befreier
• Destroyer MSS Schlangenjäger
• Destroyer MSS Pružný
• Frigate MSS Zbawiciel
• Frigate MSS Síla
• Frigate MSS Janov
• Fleet Sub. MUS Skryté
• Missile Sub. MUS Kugl
• Small Support Vessels (SSVs)

"Good," He mumbled to himself, as he boarded the aircraft. The Colonel composed a reply that read:

Good work.

Assemble the fleet.
Wait for the aircraft and other combat forces.
Sail to Verezzo, ES.
Refuel and load up ES aircraft.
Proceed to Nuneski Island.
Await further orders.

Col. A

Seiler laughed along with the King's impression, "That was a rather good impersonation, Lapu, although personally I'm more of a Sean Connery man myself."
He scrawled his signature at the bottom and summoned an aide who emerged from the middle distance.
"Parliament, please, when they convene tomorrow schedule this for the first vote, thanks." The president handed the document over.
Niklaus promptly returned with the King and Sofia's drinks in hand.
The publican spoke, "Your Highness, I took the liberty of using some Sawicki Luxury Reserve vodka. Only the best for you, naturally."
Seiler looked down at his drink as Niklaus bowed and left, the president was slightly taken aback.
He leaned towards the Quintellians.
"He must really like you, he once told me he'd only open that bottle 'once Hell itself froze over'." Seiler returned to his normal sitting position. "If I remember correctly he won it at a poker table; in place of a $100,000 bet apparently. It's damn good trust me."
He took a large sip of his whisky. "Are you both enjoying yourselves so far?"

A recording of the anthem can be found here. This version is shortened, often used ceremonially. The official version is rarely used. The final stanza, stylised as a call-and-response, is often used during sporting events.