((OOC: Of course not, Tytor!
))
Charles van de Mar-Ekembitoto; Foyer, Headquarters of the Free Merinan Association, Freedom Tower, Little Katamba, Belmont, the Republic of KaedwenThe early arrival of the Tytorians had not exactly been planned, per se, though Charles was quick to make the mental adjustment. The Tytorians could be included in his plans, he felt, without complicating matters overly. They were likely to be swayed by much the same arguments, he reckoned, and had the added benefit of potential susceptibility to the religion angle, hailing from a notably pious nation as they did. The apparent enthusiasm of their minister, too, Charles took for a good omen, although his more cynical side could only wonder weather Sir Gregory's sunny demeanor belied harder intentions.
"Well guessed" He smiled back as the Tytorian introduced himself and his companion "It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Gregory. And you, Mr Belby" Smiles all round, he shook each man's hand in turn "You both may call me Charles, my surname is rather a mouthful, I'm not sure even my own mother ever quite got the pronunciation of it, god rest her soul! And this" He indicated his own companion, a short, slight man sporting a priest's collar "Is the Reverend Michael Tensi, a special envoy from the Archbishop of Katamba"
"Greetings, Sir Gregory, Mr Belby" The priest smiled, with a subtle bow of his head "It is an honour to meet you both; the Archbishop sends his regards"
"You are most welcome, as honoured guests" Charles picked up, flashing another winning smile "Your timing is a little inconvenient, though that is a trivial matter. We've arranged a... confidential briefing with a delegation from Lodja, which you both are entirely welcome to attend, of course, though I must really swear the both of you to secrecy if you wish to do so. The contents of this briefing are rather sensitive in nature and, if widely known, would put a number of our members in a great degree of danger, I do hope you can be understanding with this"
At this point, the elevator doors parted with a ping, revealing the two Lodjans, as if summoned by magic. Charles turned to them as they approached.
"Welcome, Lord Ivanov" He smiled boradly, as both Merinans offered handshakes all round "I am Charles van de Mar-Ekembitoto, and my compatriot here is the Reverend Michael Tensi. Yes, of course, Her Majesty's assurances..." He turned back briefly to the two Tytorians "As I said, you are both more than welcome to join us, though before you do so you must swear to me that you will uphold the confidentiality of this information"
The briefing was to take place in the Association's Executive Meeting Room, an elegant glass-walled space overlooking the foyer on one side and the Belmont skyline on the other. The sun was beginning to dip in the sky as early evening approached, and the other guests - the great and the good of Little Katamba, plus a smattering of press and international friends - were beginning to arrive. Somewhere, a violin was being played. Three men were already seated there as Charles led his guests through the big glass doors: an older gentleman with thin, graying hair and a Merinan flag pin on his suit lapel; a middle-aged man in pressed military fatigues with a patch over his left eye and his left sleeve buttoned up at the elbow; and, finally, a lank and very sunburnt Kaedweni dressed in khaki. The reverend Michael joined them, the four facing their guests, while Charles remained standing aside, apparently enraptured by the cityscape beyond the glass. The priest now took the lead.
"May I introduce you to the Merinan ambassador to Kaedwen, Jean-Torre Bonno" The older man smiled and nodded, before Michael swept over the other two men in turn "Brigadier Yaya Musa, of the Merinan National Armed Forces" The brigadier raised his left stump in salute "And last, but my no means least, Mr Dirk Williamson, head of the Free State Intelligence Service. Each of us is committed to bringing peace and freedom to Merina, and each of us has a piece to present to you which we hope can convince you of the righteousness of our cause. Mr Williamson, I believe you are best place to inform our guests on the situation on the ground, please do lead away"
"Thank-you Reverend" Dirk gave the priest a deferential nod, pushing back his long curls of dark blonde fair away from his face "I'm Dirk, and as you've heard I'm with the Free State Intelligence Service. The FSIS, if not the entirety of the wider FSF leadership, is supportive of this project; we believe peace can only be brought about at the negotiating table, war simply begets more war. The current situation, in brief, is such" He took out a large map of Merina, heavily annotated, and placed it on the table, facing towards the guests "The Merinan government - that is to say, President Nguessa's Merinan National Armed Forces - control approximately half of the country: fully the Iloff, Anuk and Qast regions, along with the eastern and central portions of Urhano, and a strip across the centre of Biathala connecting the naval base at Kankato to the rest of the government's territory. The Free State forces control the balance of Urhano, between the Little Matadi and the sea, while the communist Peoples' Army of Merina controls the big cities of Biathala, Qarkhoi and Makeni. The National Liberation Army holds much of the south, Bataar and Mbuni regions, including the capital, Katamba, while Pindari guerrillas have risen up and hold much of the east - the Pindar and Xhol regions"
"This much is known, though few details are common knowledge outside of those directly effected by the fighting" Dirk took a pause for breath, producing five paper files and placing these on the table, in turn. Each bore the name of one of the combatants in Merina's war "The FSIS has been tracking all fronts in this war, many of us were doing so even before the inception of the Free State, and these dossiers contain selected crimes, and evidence thereof, of crimes committed on all fronts by all parties. Here, for example" He picked up the folder marked 'Merinan National Armed Forces' and flicked through apparently at random "The government holds the port of Qarkhoi under siege, and here we have pictures showing their warships bombarding the city, and below is an image of the aftermath of one of the strikes" The picture showed a small market square in chaos, blood and gore abundant, with a smoking crater in the road "Five people were killed in that attack, all civilians" He flicked to another page "This report details an action in the east, where the MNAF were attempting to drive up the Pindar valley towards Qandaris in the early days of the war" There were two photographs in the pack - one showing half a dozen young Pindari men shackled naked to meathooks, suspended above the ground while uniformed soldiers beat them savagely, while the other showed a trench of a barren hillside where a pair of militants lay in grotesque poses, a government trooper kneeling beside them in a gas mask "These images were taken by an MNAF intelligence officer whom we later captured near Qarkhoi, showing torture and possible use of chemical warfare agents against Pindari separatists"
"There are hundreds more like this" He placed the dossier down, picking up the one labelled 'Free State Forces' in its place "Even my own side, I am sad to say, have a far from spotless record. Look here" Another page at random, a picture of a village below the Drakkenbjorg. Bodies in the street, one with a rifle, more without "Badikaha, a village just behind government lines in Urhano. An FSF strike against an enemy communications centre killed sixty-three noncombatants. Some killed in the crossfire, some not. Charges were brought against the commander of the operation, though no one was ever convicted. I could go on, but I think I'd really just be labouring the point. It's a bad kind of war, there's some real savagery here, and innocent people are dying"
"The international community has already intervened once in the region over less" He continued "And the action in Marsailles was both righteous and decisive. The people of Merina are now in their hour of need, and deserve no less than their neighbours"
