Lt-Col Freddie McCaul had been out for dinner with his wife and 12 year old daughter in Troyes itself. His phone had begun ringing and seeing his 2IC phone number her picked up, "Steven.......I see......I'll be there in ten minutes....." He stood and motioned for the waiter to come over at which point her handed over several bank notes and thanked the man. "We need to go" Freddie told his family, who sensing that something urgent was happening stood and followed. The car drive back towards the base was at first uneventful but then as he got closer to the base they began seeing crowds. "I'm guessing another silly protest." he said telling his daughter not to worry. Soon though the traffic was so backed up after hearing on the radio that this was slightly more serious he switched to a plan that the Blackwatch Special Forces had come into for various scenarios. He turned and headed to the nearby Troyes Celtic Rugby club and moments later he'd parked the car up in the clubs car park while a helicopter touched down on the training pitches. He helped his wife and daughter onboard and then the helicopter took them into the base. "Jim what's happening?" He asked his 2IC as he meet him away from the wash of the engines while his wife took their daughter away to their home.

"Sir, we've that Cantona chap declaring Troyes a Republic, gate guard have said they've blocked the loop road with several trucks that they've disabled, effectively turning them into road-blocks, which explains your struggle getting back. They've estimated about 100 people in total helping man the barricades and we've evidence of guns. Been several non-armed groups joining them too. In a simple sense we're beseiged but it seems more serious than previously." The base had quiet often been the focus of protests and had even found itself cut off for 48 hours before but this was something different. Within the next 30 minutes the various statements, first from Real Marseille then Aosta came out, and this gave the commanding officer the sense that this was something bigger and as such he contacted HQ back in Seaforth.

---

Over in Seaforth news had begun trickling through to King Andrew. The monarch was not too pleased. The two Albion Empires seemed like they could be a thorn in his side but at least the Rokkenjimans had his back. He was annoyed at the Achkaerin stance, they'd been there in Marseille and knew just how hard the Seaforthians had worked to first secure the city and then rebuild it. If the blood of Seaforthians soaked into the soil there and the billions spent reconstructing the place didn't make it part of Seaforth then what else would? For now though he had to work on what to do. He had several meetings with Ministers, the intelligence community and various others before coming to a conclusion. Once he'd made his mind up her phoned McCaul over in Troyes. "I'm authorising you to do whatever is needed to maintain control of that base short of carrying out action outside the wire. You will be authorised to only open fire once fired upon otherwise you may use non-lethal aggression to hold the perimeter. Should local law enforcement or councils request your support then it can be given with the same rules of engagement. I'm going to dispatch the Red Crown aircraft carrier and a support fleet with it. If you need anything let me know."

"We see no issue with the proposal put forward," Kayumi Asami said. "Kōshaku Rhodes, former Archoness of Seaforth and Lord Protector of Somerset, is set to touch down in Seaforth in the coming hours. We're confident, alongside Empress Serenity, that their efforts will find some success in effecting the path for Troyes to determine its future. I would wish to echo the words of the Kōshaku in regards to naval forces in the region: unless the explicit permission of Marseilles is granted foreign vessels should not be operating within the territorial waters of Marseilles."

"Oh for..." Isabella Watson said from where she sat, there were days she really missed being the Achkaerinese ambassador to the CIS and this was one of them, "First let's not start speculating as to the actions of another nation around this table, second let's not make threats against each other it's not going to help the situation, it's not going to advance things, it's not going to help deliver Troyes back to Marseilles where it belongs." she took a moment to let out a breath and compose herself

"Now whether we like it or not this has happened, and whether we like it or not there is a significant amount of truth to what all three of you have said." she looked at each of the three representatives who had spoken "What matters is what we do now. As our Rokkenjiman friend has pointed out we now face the very real possibility that King Andrew will look at this situation, note exactly as we have the sovereignty issue and treat this as what it legally could be construed as from his perspective which is terrorism and therefore a criminal act, equally while we're on that point this is arguably terrorism, separatism or insurrection, take your pick on appearance against Marseilles, however given the man is a national hero in Marseilles I doubt that'll ever be how he's viewed. Ms Gianna quoted Mr McKenna saying "a decision the Imperial Government does not recognize as holding any legal basis" in respect of the protectorate status, Mr McKenna is correct because the Marseilles Government never signed off on such an agreement, it is therefore a land grab. That point also holds in respect of the current situation, we have a self proclaimed republic that has not been granted sovereignty over that land by the Marseilles Government who we, as a collective body, have asserted to be the legal owner, the Seaforth protectorate has no legal basis, the Republic of Troyes has no legal basis.

Mr Ferraro is correct in terms of wanting to take further steps however I say politely let's just hold our horses and line this up. There's no value putting measures in place that actually make it harder to get through Seaforth's front door. I will inform you that Empress Serenity is presently enroute to Seaforth to talk to King Andrew about this matter, as Ms Gianna observes previous efforts haven't gone anywhere so the hope is that pressure may be applied with current circumstances. However I will caution you that no one should expect the Cantona roadmap to get any traction in that room, but the Empress is one of the most experienced negotiators on Mundus so there is reason to be optimistic. At the same time Achkaerin has another diplomat traveling to talk to President Sauzee and Prime Minister Deschamps, our hope is to get a referendum lined up that's acceptable to all parties - not the one that Cantona has proposed because we don't think that'll go anywhere with Seaforth and any peaceful resolution to this situation needs Seaforth to play ball. So with that in mind let's look at what we can do." she put a piece of paper with a fair bit of hasty writing on the table.

The Membership of the ASDN in reaffirming their stance in respect of and now being concerned about the developing situation in Troyes caused by the continued Seaforthian presence, proposes the following course of action with intent of helping resolve the Troyes matter:

1. The ultilisation of diplomatic ties to calm current tensions related to Troyes and to not inflame the current situation further.

2. A referendum be held on the 1st of July 2024, the question and arrangements to be worked out through negotiations between the Marseilles Government and Seaforth, with ASDN mediating such negotiations as required

3. ASDN to independently monitor the referendum. Governments of Marseilles and Government of Seaforth to agree to abide by the result.

4. In the event of Marseilles sovereignty prevailing, there shall be a transition of sovereignty and a withdrawal of Seaforth military personnel monitored and verified by the ASDN. This to be concluded no later that 30th September 2024.

5. Seaforthian written and signed agreement to points 2-4 is expected no later than midnight on the 1st of May 2024. (OOC note - Subject to Dave's availability etc)

"This I believe encompasses where we are right now - when the ASDN was formed we made that initial declaration, the deadline for that declarations terms is two weeks out" Isabella said "So in essence this course of action serves two purposes, it uses the time we have available and the current situation to apply diplomatic pressure and hopefully make progress with the Seaforthians. However while I'm sure that Empress Serenity and whoever Rokkenjima sends will do their best to get Seaforth's agreement, we can't have further escalations happening that might prejudice such negotiations, so for that I believe we will be relying on the Aostan's communication line to keep things calm. There is a finality to a referendum, Ms Gianna is correct it is likely a formality in this instance but having it is going to be the most likely way this ends peacefully. Going back to Mr Ferraro's point now, the question becomes what happens if we get to the first of May and Seaforth hasn't produced the requested document? This is where we should consider further steps, such as these." she now put another paper in the table.

In the event that the Kingdom of Seaforth has not produced the signed agreement requested of it by midnight on the 1st of May 2024 the ASDN agrees to the following steps in relation to the Kingdom of Seaforth.

1. The immediate suspension by Rokkenjima and Achkaerin of all treaty provisions with Seaforth.

2. The ASDN shall blockade the port of Troyes, the blockade to be effected in accordance with provisions laid out in maritime convention and law. This blockade shall not infringe requested Aostan patrols nor passage of humanitarian aid.

3. The freezing of all Seaforthian assets held within the jurisdiction of the ASDN, Rishiri and Achkaerinese territory.

4. (insert further proposals here)

"We're all familiar with the term carrot and stick. We're all committed to seeing the Troyes matter settled, we want it to be peacefully done, but failing that it needs to be clear that the line has been crossed and that there will be consequences if Seaforth tries to maintain, without consent of the people, control over Troyes." Isabel said "A blockade would be a step or two higher than what Mr Ferraro suggested with a boycott, however the intent is the same to make Troyes less profitable for Seaforth, it does carry a risk factor but also sends a powerful message."

Raffaello Ferraro stood next. "The Empire of Abertone and Aosta have treaty commitments to each other above and beyond that of the ASDN. Currently we will be relaying information to Aosta on naval movements that could potentially threaten the sovereign waters of Troyes. Should the situation escalate we would have no choice but to consider sending our own support to that region. As for accusations of not complying with the spirit of ASDN let me remind us all of the preamble to this organisations charter, most notably the part that says we affirm "that all foreign bases are temporary and remain only with the expressed concurrence of the countries concerned and are not intended to be used directly or indirectly to subvert the national independence and freedom of States in the area or prejudice the orderly processes of their national development;" This section describes perfectly what has happened over the last few years in Troyes. The city is no more than a glorified military base for Seaforth. While Marseille are not members of this body we agreed to  strengthen the economic and social stability of the region and ensure the peaceful and progressive national development of it. Seaforth have stood in the way of that, tax money from Trojans fills the coffers of Seaforth while taking away a key economic port for Marseille. We must as a body give our support, not just words, to ensure that Seaforth leave Troyes. I suppose we could say its put your money were your mouth is time, Achkaerin and Rokkenjima hold ties with Seaforth, now is time to utilise them to get them to leave. In addition to the steps put forward by Miss Gianna we also propose that ASDN agree that we shall not provide the Seaforthian base in Troyes with any supplies and that we we shall boycott the use of Troyes as a port for all but humanitarian reasons.

As many of you will no doubt now be aware the city of Troyes in Albion has been disputed for several years. Currently the city is occupied by Seaforthian military members while its status as part of Seaforth is disputed by many who live in the city who see their destiny with Marseille, their ancestoral homeland. In the past few hours we have seen the group known as "Real Marseille" declare the city an independent sovereign nation that will seek union with Marseille. Currently we have two brewing international factions, first Aosta and Abertone have supported Real Marseille, while Seaforth and Achkaerin have ties to Seaforth.

The Kingdom of Weissenwald believe that this "city state" should not be permitted to become a ping pong ball between major nations. The city has a population of around 3 million people by our estimate and therefore the Kingdom of Weissenwald puts forward the following proposal.

1. We issue support for self determination by the city proven by an independent referendum.
2. We offer the services of COSNAT to manage this referendum.
3. We offer temporary special membership of this body to Troyes. Should the referendum make Troyes part of Marseille this membership would be withdrawn. Should they remain independent then membership shall continue if accepted.


We now open the floor to suggestions.