Ikrisia scanned the room as silence nestled in comfortably. She looked over at a collection of her officers and ministers as they nervously seemed to either gaze at their hands or notes in front of them, or look back to her for guidance. There was Ehjy Yslevestri, the Minister of Foreign affairs, who removed his thick-rimmed glasses and ran a hand through his slicked-back hair. Next to him was Imanov Risilake. He was the Minister of Foreign Trade in Vekaiyu, and could hold his liquor at any party. She had to admit, he did a damn good job with both qualities. A few seats over sat Vanse Iliskalu, her Minister of the Interior, who flipped through his notes to try and bring forth more suggestions to the matter. He likely wouldn’t and would only intend for this to be a distraction.
To her left, moving down the table were mostly military officers of note. Kral Commodore Yamano Nevikalu - the only human of the bunch - well, she knew what his endgame was. Same with Salvatoro Iyayuspi, the Ikyoski Commodore who commanded the marines. He would likely already have a plan drawn up, should she choose to act on the matter.
“Well?” she asked again. “Anyone?”
It was disappointing to her that no one else seemed to share her zeal and her concern. “Did we not just condemn the terrorist actions in Vilines some two years prior? Our stance has not changed since that time, I trust. To assume any less is to fall back on our word. And as certain as I am sitting at this table with men and women who serve our nation, we do not fall back on our word.”
“But they haven’t taken any vulpines!” Ehjy Yslevestri reminded. “This is an internal matter within Atlantia!”
“You are more concerned about disrupting trade with the communist nations,” Vanse Iliskalu affirmed.
Imanov Risilake laughed as Ehjy rolled his eyes. “It’s more complicated than that. We choose a side, and we jeopardize trade throughout!”
Yamano Nevikalu grimaced as other ministers joined in the fray. “Isn’t anyone here gonna ask what we think? I mean,” he continued as he looked around, “I think we’re all fixing to take out some terrorists. And I don’t give a rat’s ass about who they take out,” he continued as he looked at Ehjy, “Vulpine… or not.”
“Enough,” Ikrisia ordered as a holographic map switched on in the center of the table. “Any action will need to be announced and cleared with South Hills prior to engagement. We do indeed take a hard stance on terrorism.” She looked sternly into the eyes of all her subordinates. “Any nation or entity who aids terrorists openly declares themselves in clear conscience to be an enemy of Vekaiyu,” she announced sternly. “That is known. I am appalled at the recent actions of nations on both sides of this spectrum. Ideology has no common ground when it comes to terrorism - this would be the same stance we would take if a vulpine group was identified by us as a terrorist faction. And I would hope that this body has enough integrity to agree with that statement. This is not Vekaiyu under Selvala, this is not Vekaiyu under Max. We’ve learned our lessons from the past and must ensure examples are made when necessary.”
She turned to Nevikalu. “Produce communication with South Hills to understand their current position and ask how we may best aid their actions. Begin drafting plans so I may mull them over and gain a clear understanding of our proposed involvement.”
“Yes ma’am,” he replied, leaning closer to her as he spoke.
“I will travel to Ye’leli to ensure the entire Union is behind this matter.”
Imanov Risilake looked over the map, then at her. “What if they aren’t, or won’t be?”
“When confronted with moral duty and justice, they will certainly not waver from our… unified stance. Correct?” She paused as no one seemed to protest. “Good. I shall depart in the coming days. In the meantime, keep the home fires burning.”