31-03-2025, 09:22 PM
Working in the shadows
![[Image: qirHDYdm.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/qirHDYdm.jpg)
Quattroregni Palace, Romula, Istalia
Wednesday, 15 September 5630, 22.46.
The meeting, the fourth that week, had been called by the Emperor in view of the meeting the following morning of the Supreme Council for National Security, but the topic was always the same: Deltaria. The Services had gathered further information and the Emperor, as soon as he was informed, had immediately wanted to see the Head of Government, the Chief of Staff and the Director of Intelligence Enzo Giuliani.
The Chief of Staff, General Enrica De Mattei, and the Minister Secretary of State Saragat had already arrived about an hour earlier and had discussed with the Emperor various points relating to the situation in Deltaria, especially international reactions. Finally, the Director of the Services also arrived and, after distributing files to the other three already seated at the round table in that great baroque hall, he sat down in his place.
«Then Director» urged the Emperor «Update us on the situation. The coup has failed, but the news are still fragmentary. What is happening? Several days have passed now and the situation remains very confusing»
The Director shifted his back a little, making his chair creak a little «Your Majesty, the situation is extremely fluid at the moment. Uprisings are multiplying throughout the country, several military units have deserted and joined the rebels. The first elements indicate that behind the attempted coup were not the military leaders, but a coalition of ethnic groups from the provinces, with the suspected involvement of some aristocrats» he then took one of the maps from the file in front of him «in the first map of the file you will see the places affected by the uprising marked. The rebellion is spreading and a large-scale civil war is not excluded»
The others present all looked at their copies of the maps, then it was the Chief of Staff who spoke: «Well, if this confusion leads to the end of Slavko Thaller, I can only be happy about it. It would be a blessing for us, indeed, we should not miss the opportunity to favor it»
The Minister Secretary of State then raised his head and took off the small glasses with which she was looking at the map «We are not the only ones to be so interested in the situation in Deltaria, I talked again with both Hutori and Egelion before coming here and as I was saying, Your Majesty, the discussions within the CROWN could give a glimpse of a pro-Thaller front»
«Hutori and Egelion seem to have the same interest as us» commented the Emperor.
«Yes, Majesty» Saragat took the floor again to update the Director of Services «I told them that Istalia will carefully follow the evolution of the crisis. Hutori was very receptive and above all he proved open to a possible direct intervention or in any case form of direct support for the anti-Thallerist forces. I'm not too reassured by this but... it's clear that they also want to seize the opportunity to chase a Thaller from the heart of Majatra, it will be a central topic during the meeting I will have with Prime Minister Kensigton to sign our bilateral agreement, I will delve into their proposals»
«We shall not just follow the situation!" exclaimed the Chief of Staff «We must push the situation in the direction most favorable to our interests and we have the opportunity of doing so with our backs more than covered with Hutori with us, and if we could also have Egelion with us, even better!»
Minister Secretary Saragat immediately responded with a very skeptical expression to Di Mattei who had interrupted her «General, first of all, fomenting a civil conflict in Deltaria would mean triggering a bloodbath! Our recent history should make us more cautious about these scenarios, also because in Deltaria the destruction and destabilization could be much more serious! Ethnic tensions, religious tensions, power games between aristocrats and who knows what other factions could emerge... given such complexity in Deltaria, any conflict would leave the country not in ruins, but literally pulverized! Second, do not forget the CROWN»
It was the Director of the Intelligence Community who responded, cold and impassive:
«Madam Minister Secretary, the first duty of the Imperial Government is to guarantee the safety of the Istalian people! If this is our opportunity to get rid of the Thallers from Deltaria, we must seize it without hesitation. All other considerations are secondary. An unstable Deltaria is less of a threat today than a Thallerist Deltaria»
Chief of Staff Di Mattei echoed the Director of Services by nodding «I agree! A Thaller in Deltaria represents a constant threat to us. We cannot remain passive spectators. If we do not intervene now, we could lose the opportunity to get rid of a hostile regime, firmly in power and with a grudge against us»
«I am thinking precisely of the security of Istalia!» the Head of Government retorted «and the risk of triggering a conflict with the CROWN I do not believe is a secondary consideration, not to mention the political, ethical and moral implications of plunging that country into such a conflict»
With a cynical expression, General Di Mattei replied contemptuously «If a war breaks out, the deaths that will occur will be the price that the Deltarians will have to pay for having kept a fucking Thaller on their throne for too long!»
The Head of Government was about to reply but it was the Emperor who anticipated her, ruling dryly «A Thaller in Tsargrad is too great a danger, not only for Istalia but for the stability of Majatra itself, but Minister Secretary Saragat is right regarding the CROWN»
The Head of Government continued to reply «Imagine Hutori intervening in some way against forces supported by the CROWN! There is a risk the conflict turn from a civil one to a large, very large scale war»
It was the Director of the Services who responded «Madam Minister Secretary, despite everything, for the moment we do not know for sure if Deltaria will slide into a civil war, and we do not know how bloody and prolonged this could be. We cannot exclude that the groups involved could reach an agreement, even with pro-imperial elements who could dump Slavko, it is a further option that we could follow. Here, Madam Minister Secretary, we are saying that in any case we must be ready for every scenario, even the worst, and that we must do everything in our power to try to direct the situation towards an outcome favorable to us»
«our options remain limited» the Minister Secretary replied seriously and a little annoyed, then turned to the Emperor «Your Majesty, as clear as the issue is, we must also be realistic: Istalia does not have the capabilities for a direct intervention, we have only just begun to rebuild our armed forces! We don't have still modernized and refurbished our equipement, we don't have the projection capabilities… but most important, and I hope you'll agree with me, we certainly don't want to fight a new international war, to have again the bombs flying over our cities»
Silence fell, the images of the war were memories not at all distant in the memory of all those present, all veterans of the conflict, including the leader of the PSD who, within the Resistance, worked in the logistics departments, assigned to the units dedicated to the transport of supplies to the front lines.
«So we must work with what we have» the Emperor replied breaking the silence, then turned the head «Director?»
«We will have to identify the factions involved» the Director of the Services began to reel off a series of measures to be adopted «we will have to guarantee them support in terms of intelligence, logistics and tactics. Our men have an experience that few others can boast, we ourselves emerged from a civil war a few years ago and we will be able to provide incomparable strategic advice to the anti-Thallerist forces. We can send our men from both the DGIA and the DIS, the DGCC can extend the SIGINT surveillance over Deltaria much better now that their services are cracking too. Furthermore, we can guarantee financial resources and military supplies»
The Minister Secretary of State continued to have her deep doubts, also because many other issues multiplied in her head «Even if we can provide a certain level of support, we must move with extreme caution. Too obvious involvement could have repercussions for the country and, you will excuse me, political repercussions for me and my party. All the interested parties are already talking about military interventions but personally I was not elected to involve the country in an uncontrollable spiral that leads to another war that, as said, we cannot know if it will remain limited to Deltaria! We have the CROWN, we have the Burnist regimes in the west, a Jakania suspended between military dictatorship and new civil order, Jelbe who is a constant unknown even under the Burnists... we have Kalopia... with that ethnic melting pot in the heart of Majatra we cannot exclude an international escalation»
«If Hutori or Egelion or whoever wants to intervene, we cannot back down, CROWN or not» replied the Chief of Staff.
«If motivated and reassured enough» the Director of the Services took again the floor «we can guarantee just logistical support Madam Minister Secretary, while we focus on working in the shadows. The support will have to be discreet, but effective. We can establish good contacts with the rebel forces and we can operate through intermediaries. The key is to maintain flexibility: we must ensure that the faction that prevails is the one closest to our interests. If necessary, we can even play on multiple tables until it is clear who will prevail. And you, Mr. Minister Secretary, will have to do everything possible so that Egelion and Hutori also ultimately support our faction and above all the Government will have to work to deflate the danger of an intervention by the CROWN»
The Minister Secretary of State noted that on that topic the others present were firm in their positions. In the field of National Security, she knew that the Supreme Council of National Security had the final say and in front of her were the three most influential members alongside her: when the Council would officially meet the next morning, she already knew that that line of action would be adopted, so she spoke again.
«then, it will be essential to prevent first of all that radical elements or extremist factions gain the upper hand and therefore that the conflict spreads elsewhere. We must support stability, not create another problem for the future»
«However» the Emperor spoke again «The main objective must always be one and only one: the expulsion of Slavko Thaller, of all the Thallers, from Deltaria. It is imperative!»
«Yes, Your Majesty» replied the Minister Secretary respectfully.
«Director, what news do we have from Kafuristan? Can we confirm their pro-Thallerist position? They have stated that they are ready to support the Deltarian Government»
«They have also reiterated this within the CROWN, Dorvik follows but prefers to work to prevent the situation from degenerating, the same line as Kanjor»
The Minister Secretary then replied «I will take care of establishing the necessary contacts and coordinating our diplomatic action with Hutori and Egelion, also to contain any action of the CROWN, and about it, I'll contact tomorrow the Kanjorian Ambassade»
«Then I will immediately begin to prepare an operational plan» replied the Director of the Services.
«Perfect, the objective is clear. Now we must act methodically!» commented the Chief of Staff.
The Emperor agreed nodding «The objective is clear and the risks too, so let's proceed with caution, but without hesitation!»
Quattroregni Palace, Romula, Istalia
Wednesday, 15 September 5630, 22.46.
The meeting, the fourth that week, had been called by the Emperor in view of the meeting the following morning of the Supreme Council for National Security, but the topic was always the same: Deltaria. The Services had gathered further information and the Emperor, as soon as he was informed, had immediately wanted to see the Head of Government, the Chief of Staff and the Director of Intelligence Enzo Giuliani.
The Chief of Staff, General Enrica De Mattei, and the Minister Secretary of State Saragat had already arrived about an hour earlier and had discussed with the Emperor various points relating to the situation in Deltaria, especially international reactions. Finally, the Director of the Services also arrived and, after distributing files to the other three already seated at the round table in that great baroque hall, he sat down in his place.
«Then Director» urged the Emperor «Update us on the situation. The coup has failed, but the news are still fragmentary. What is happening? Several days have passed now and the situation remains very confusing»
The Director shifted his back a little, making his chair creak a little «Your Majesty, the situation is extremely fluid at the moment. Uprisings are multiplying throughout the country, several military units have deserted and joined the rebels. The first elements indicate that behind the attempted coup were not the military leaders, but a coalition of ethnic groups from the provinces, with the suspected involvement of some aristocrats» he then took one of the maps from the file in front of him «in the first map of the file you will see the places affected by the uprising marked. The rebellion is spreading and a large-scale civil war is not excluded»
The others present all looked at their copies of the maps, then it was the Chief of Staff who spoke: «Well, if this confusion leads to the end of Slavko Thaller, I can only be happy about it. It would be a blessing for us, indeed, we should not miss the opportunity to favor it»
The Minister Secretary of State then raised his head and took off the small glasses with which she was looking at the map «We are not the only ones to be so interested in the situation in Deltaria, I talked again with both Hutori and Egelion before coming here and as I was saying, Your Majesty, the discussions within the CROWN could give a glimpse of a pro-Thaller front»
«Hutori and Egelion seem to have the same interest as us» commented the Emperor.
«Yes, Majesty» Saragat took the floor again to update the Director of Services «I told them that Istalia will carefully follow the evolution of the crisis. Hutori was very receptive and above all he proved open to a possible direct intervention or in any case form of direct support for the anti-Thallerist forces. I'm not too reassured by this but... it's clear that they also want to seize the opportunity to chase a Thaller from the heart of Majatra, it will be a central topic during the meeting I will have with Prime Minister Kensigton to sign our bilateral agreement, I will delve into their proposals»
«We shall not just follow the situation!" exclaimed the Chief of Staff «We must push the situation in the direction most favorable to our interests and we have the opportunity of doing so with our backs more than covered with Hutori with us, and if we could also have Egelion with us, even better!»
Minister Secretary Saragat immediately responded with a very skeptical expression to Di Mattei who had interrupted her «General, first of all, fomenting a civil conflict in Deltaria would mean triggering a bloodbath! Our recent history should make us more cautious about these scenarios, also because in Deltaria the destruction and destabilization could be much more serious! Ethnic tensions, religious tensions, power games between aristocrats and who knows what other factions could emerge... given such complexity in Deltaria, any conflict would leave the country not in ruins, but literally pulverized! Second, do not forget the CROWN»
It was the Director of the Intelligence Community who responded, cold and impassive:
«Madam Minister Secretary, the first duty of the Imperial Government is to guarantee the safety of the Istalian people! If this is our opportunity to get rid of the Thallers from Deltaria, we must seize it without hesitation. All other considerations are secondary. An unstable Deltaria is less of a threat today than a Thallerist Deltaria»
Chief of Staff Di Mattei echoed the Director of Services by nodding «I agree! A Thaller in Deltaria represents a constant threat to us. We cannot remain passive spectators. If we do not intervene now, we could lose the opportunity to get rid of a hostile regime, firmly in power and with a grudge against us»
«I am thinking precisely of the security of Istalia!» the Head of Government retorted «and the risk of triggering a conflict with the CROWN I do not believe is a secondary consideration, not to mention the political, ethical and moral implications of plunging that country into such a conflict»
With a cynical expression, General Di Mattei replied contemptuously «If a war breaks out, the deaths that will occur will be the price that the Deltarians will have to pay for having kept a fucking Thaller on their throne for too long!»
The Head of Government was about to reply but it was the Emperor who anticipated her, ruling dryly «A Thaller in Tsargrad is too great a danger, not only for Istalia but for the stability of Majatra itself, but Minister Secretary Saragat is right regarding the CROWN»
The Head of Government continued to reply «Imagine Hutori intervening in some way against forces supported by the CROWN! There is a risk the conflict turn from a civil one to a large, very large scale war»
It was the Director of the Services who responded «Madam Minister Secretary, despite everything, for the moment we do not know for sure if Deltaria will slide into a civil war, and we do not know how bloody and prolonged this could be. We cannot exclude that the groups involved could reach an agreement, even with pro-imperial elements who could dump Slavko, it is a further option that we could follow. Here, Madam Minister Secretary, we are saying that in any case we must be ready for every scenario, even the worst, and that we must do everything in our power to try to direct the situation towards an outcome favorable to us»
«our options remain limited» the Minister Secretary replied seriously and a little annoyed, then turned to the Emperor «Your Majesty, as clear as the issue is, we must also be realistic: Istalia does not have the capabilities for a direct intervention, we have only just begun to rebuild our armed forces! We don't have still modernized and refurbished our equipement, we don't have the projection capabilities… but most important, and I hope you'll agree with me, we certainly don't want to fight a new international war, to have again the bombs flying over our cities»
Silence fell, the images of the war were memories not at all distant in the memory of all those present, all veterans of the conflict, including the leader of the PSD who, within the Resistance, worked in the logistics departments, assigned to the units dedicated to the transport of supplies to the front lines.
«So we must work with what we have» the Emperor replied breaking the silence, then turned the head «Director?»
«We will have to identify the factions involved» the Director of the Services began to reel off a series of measures to be adopted «we will have to guarantee them support in terms of intelligence, logistics and tactics. Our men have an experience that few others can boast, we ourselves emerged from a civil war a few years ago and we will be able to provide incomparable strategic advice to the anti-Thallerist forces. We can send our men from both the DGIA and the DIS, the DGCC can extend the SIGINT surveillance over Deltaria much better now that their services are cracking too. Furthermore, we can guarantee financial resources and military supplies»
The Minister Secretary of State continued to have her deep doubts, also because many other issues multiplied in her head «Even if we can provide a certain level of support, we must move with extreme caution. Too obvious involvement could have repercussions for the country and, you will excuse me, political repercussions for me and my party. All the interested parties are already talking about military interventions but personally I was not elected to involve the country in an uncontrollable spiral that leads to another war that, as said, we cannot know if it will remain limited to Deltaria! We have the CROWN, we have the Burnist regimes in the west, a Jakania suspended between military dictatorship and new civil order, Jelbe who is a constant unknown even under the Burnists... we have Kalopia... with that ethnic melting pot in the heart of Majatra we cannot exclude an international escalation»
«If Hutori or Egelion or whoever wants to intervene, we cannot back down, CROWN or not» replied the Chief of Staff.
«If motivated and reassured enough» the Director of the Services took again the floor «we can guarantee just logistical support Madam Minister Secretary, while we focus on working in the shadows. The support will have to be discreet, but effective. We can establish good contacts with the rebel forces and we can operate through intermediaries. The key is to maintain flexibility: we must ensure that the faction that prevails is the one closest to our interests. If necessary, we can even play on multiple tables until it is clear who will prevail. And you, Mr. Minister Secretary, will have to do everything possible so that Egelion and Hutori also ultimately support our faction and above all the Government will have to work to deflate the danger of an intervention by the CROWN»
The Minister Secretary of State noted that on that topic the others present were firm in their positions. In the field of National Security, she knew that the Supreme Council of National Security had the final say and in front of her were the three most influential members alongside her: when the Council would officially meet the next morning, she already knew that that line of action would be adopted, so she spoke again.
«then, it will be essential to prevent first of all that radical elements or extremist factions gain the upper hand and therefore that the conflict spreads elsewhere. We must support stability, not create another problem for the future»
«However» the Emperor spoke again «The main objective must always be one and only one: the expulsion of Slavko Thaller, of all the Thallers, from Deltaria. It is imperative!»
«Yes, Your Majesty» replied the Minister Secretary respectfully.
«Director, what news do we have from Kafuristan? Can we confirm their pro-Thallerist position? They have stated that they are ready to support the Deltarian Government»
«They have also reiterated this within the CROWN, Dorvik follows but prefers to work to prevent the situation from degenerating, the same line as Kanjor»
The Minister Secretary then replied «I will take care of establishing the necessary contacts and coordinating our diplomatic action with Hutori and Egelion, also to contain any action of the CROWN, and about it, I'll contact tomorrow the Kanjorian Ambassade»
«Then I will immediately begin to prepare an operational plan» replied the Director of the Services.
«Perfect, the objective is clear. Now we must act methodically!» commented the Chief of Staff.
The Emperor agreed nodding «The objective is clear and the risks too, so let's proceed with caution, but without hesitation!»