Kalistan

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Their Imperial Majesties, Minor Princelings feared dead
Plane returning from Historic Kundrati Visit disappears over Mad Dog Ocean
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
December 29, 5685


Chancellor of the Empire, Lady Ericka Donahue makes a grim statement to Nation

Their Imperial Majesties, Emperor Fredrick IV Ananto and Empress Jennifer I Ananto are feared to be dead tonight. It is believed that the plane they were flying, an AeroKal 9100 Max jet leased to the Royal Family for visits of this nature, went down in a winter storm over the Mad Dog Ocean sometime around 7:15 Kaliburg time this evening. Search and Rescue elements from the First Regular Navy have been dispatched to the area, but so far there is no signal from the plane's transponder.

At 1:30 am, Chancellor Donahue took to all airwaves to announce the disaster.

"The Kaliburg Navy, which was tracking the progress of the returning Royal Family from their recent visit to Kundrati, reported that at about 7:15 Kaliburg time, they lost contact with the jet. There was a storm in the area, and the pilot had signaled that he intended to try to climb above the clouds to get out of the weather at about 6:29 pm this evening. The storm, which has been churning in the area all day was in the direct path of the flight, but only recently grew more severe, and caught the flight more than 1500 nautical miles from land. Once the monitoring vessel lost contact with the Plane, they began moving toward the spot where contact was lost and began search and rescue operations. About 12 minutes ago, I was telephoned and was informed that a section of the tail from the plane was recovered from the ocean, and it is believed that the plane crash landed at that spot. The ship will continue looking throughout the night for survivors, but the squall is not expected to let up for another 18 hours, and is severely restricting search efforts."

The Chancellor called an Emergency Session of the National Assembly, on her own authority, and briefed Institutional Party leaders, before contacting the Kalistani Ducal Council and Grand Duke of Kalistan, Craig Alvarez. During the emergency session it was agreed that the line of succession was not to be broken by the disaster.

"In the Event that Their Imperial Majesties, the Emperor and Empress have already perished, the House Law dictates that the title of Grand Duke of Ananto and therefore Emperor of Ananto and Kalistan shall fall to His Highness the Minor Crown Prince William-David Martin Ananto-Connor, and then after that, to Her Highness, the Minor Princess Carolina-Katherine Michelle Ananto-Connor. We fear that the Crown Prince has met the same fate as his parents whatever that happens to be, and the Ducal Council has advised me to begin making preparations to establish a regency. I will consult with House Ananto and the Kalistani Dukes as we move forward to identify suitable candidates for a Regency for the Minor Princess. The primary candidate will be Her Highness, the Princess Michelle Ananto-Connor, Countess of Luxon and aunt of the Minor Princess, but her regency will depend upon whether she accepts the task."

Her Highness, the Minor Princess is 12 years old, and is incapable of accepting the Crown for the time being. If Princess Michelle accepts the regency, it is expected to be a long regency, and the Princess will have an opportunity to shape Kalistan in a major way. Long seen as a free spirit, the former professional surfer has, since marrying, become content to reserve her surfing for her classes in the summer, and otherwise, enjoys her peaceful life in Luxon. It is unclear whether she will be willing to give that up to take up a position as Regent. If she opts to not accept, it is likely that another member of House Ananto will be required to take up the helm of state.

While there is much talk about the succession, understandably, it is still not clear whether or not any members of the Royal Family survived the crash. On the flight, besides the Emperor and Empress and their two sons, were Foreign Minister Henry Greene, Lady Amber Dawson, spokeswoman for the Royal couple and personal secretary to Her Imperial Majesty, several major investors from Sulari and Kaliburg who were in Kundrati to get a better understanding of what Kundrati needed, a whole pool of reporters covering the trip, three flight crew members and 15 service staff members, and a half a dozen of the Imperial Family's personal staff.

At press time, no additional wreckage has been recovered, while one body has been recovered at the surface. Search teams from the Regular Navy are expected to enter the zone by midday, and then the search for survivors, if any can survive the high waves and near freezing water temperatures of the Mad Dog, will begin in earnest.

Given the time of the announcement of the disaster, it is likely that most people in Kalistan will awake to this news. Lady Donahue has suspended trading in the KalSiE for the next two weeks, to ensure that markets have a chance to even out and the succession can be ironed out before reopening.

More news to follow

@TheRepublic