The telegram operator yawned. She really needed that afternoon coffee to get through the second part of her shift, but they used the last of it yesterday. Thankfully for her, the offices were normally quiet, not many diplomatic messages going to-and-fro. The operator didn't even perk up when the beeps of the telegram started to come through, until she made out the word 'Urgent.' Then, the woman was wide awake, but she could scarcely believe her ears as the message went on. The operator continued to transcribe the message, her hands shaking as more of the beeps came through. Once the message came through, she set the pencil she'd used to transcribe the telegram down, listening to the beeps loop again, to make sure she'd heard it right. The message looped. No changes. The message looped again. No changes. Finally, the beeps stopped, but the woman's shaking did not. Calmly, the woman stood up, paper in hand, and walked to the phone marked 'Urgent,' a direct line to the royal palace.
Dante sat at the head of the dinner table, lazily swirling a glass of wine in one hand, the blood red liquid seeming to soak in all the light of the room. He took a deep breath in, savoring it all. Here, in the dining hall of the Royal Palace, he wasn't King, his wife Queen, or their son a Prince. Here, they were a father, mother, and son. It was good to have times to rest like this, as rare as they were. Running a state is no easy task, and-
Dante's train of thought was interrupted by the loud opening of one of the dining hall's door, as one of his aids came running through. "Your Majesty," he said, nearly breathless, running past Dante's son, Daniel, "It's urgent!"
"What could it possibly be?" Dante asked, taking a sip from his wine glass.
The aid swallowed. "It would be best if you read it yourself, Your Highness." He slipped the man a small piece of paper. The whole world seemed to come to a stop as he read the page. 'Kumosenkan troops.' 'All shipments turned back.' Dante was snapped back to reality with the sound of breaking glass. The glass now lay shattered on the floor, the wine pooling at Dante's feet. "M-My Liege?" The aid asked.
Wordlessly, the man stood up. The father would have to wait for now. The King didn't say anything as he walked out of the dining room, only stopping to give his son a quick kiss on the forehead.
Eight men sat around a table, a two large maps dominating the table, the rest of the room swarming with aids running in and out, the buzz of constant deliberation and the smell of several cigars filling the air. One map was of the Franch-Elenrian border, the other of Touli as a whole, with Kumosenkan being the only non-Touli nation featured.
"Greatfern presence?" Director Volke of the Franch Royal Gendarmerie said, "A complete and utter fabrication. We would have knowledge of any Greatfern presence before Kumosenkan did, especially so close to our border."
"Completely closing the border? Are they insane?" asked Lucian Innes, head of the Ministry of Commerce and Prosperity, "The majority of Franerre's trade goes across the border, not to mention the majority of Franerre's produce and fishing exports. Unemployment will skyrocket, and the MLF is strained as is."
"Jacques," King Dante said, catching the Foreign Minister's attention, "Send word to Rombardia immediately. The COG can't just take this sitting down." The aging man grabbed an aid, but before the aid left, the King spoke again, "Don't send a telegram. Time is of the essence, but we cannot afford to have Kumosenkan know of our plans. Send a plane instead, and get me your best man and flight to Kumosenkan prepared immediately, make sure he knows the ciphers." The aide nodded, then took off.
Just as soon as that aid left, another came rushing in, bearing a message for General Zelgius. "You're not gonna like this, Dante. Reports from the border say that there's 50,000 troops there. Not territorials, full troops from Kumosenkan proper. We've got 5,000 light infantry, 6,000 if we count police units." The King sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"Are there any more ships leaving the Kumosenkan mainland?" King Dante asked.
"As far as we are aware, no, My Lord," Admiral Rolf said, "We have submarines and radar scanning the ocean, but we can only do so much."
"Reports from our spies in Kumosenkan tell the same story," Director Legault of the Franch Royal Gendarmerie Abroad said, "Unfortunately, we do not know how much of this is accurate. Spies are hard to send into Kumosenkan, and we've had little luck thus far."
Prime Minister Marpellier merely sat, leaning back in his chair. The PPL had been declining in popularity, and this whole disaster could be the death of the coalition's majority in parliament.
"50,000 men and a closed border..." General Zelgius muttered, "This could be considered a prelude to war, Your Highness." The remaining seven men paused to look at the General.
The King's heart sank. He'd feared those words since reading the telegram in the first place, but he told himself that he wasn't a military expert. Right now, an expert said war could be on the horizon. King Dante slammed his fist into the table, causing whatever was on the table to shake slightly. "I will not allow Franerre to be caught unaware. Zelgius," The King turned to look at the man, "I want at least 50,000 men on that border. Ace," The head of the Airforce, Ace Haar, looked up from his aid's report, "I want a preparations to be made for potential air combat. Rolf, what's the status of the navy?"
The middle aged man didn't reply for a few seconds, before he said, "To be honest, My Lord, Franerre has no chance against the Kumosenkan navy alone. While modern, our navy is mostly cruisers. We have the capacity to defend the entrance of the Bays at best, and even that point is debatable."
"The navy will sink before a single enemy ship gets inside the Bays," The King said, his gaze firm and his voice unwavering. Wordlessly, the Admiral nodded. The weight of his situation weighted on the King. He gazed his eyes to the clock hanging up at the opposite end of the room. 12:30 A.M. The King yawned as all the hours came back to him, the coffee only able to do so much. "Jacques, I'll leave the response to you." Without another word, the King left the planning room, heading for his bedroom, for the sleep he hoped would come. The Foreign Minister sighed, already thinking of his response.
Urgent message for Kumosenkan Leadership. Stop.
Last telegram received. Stop.
We would like to discuss the opening of the Franerre-Elenria border. Stop.
As such we request an ambassador and official embassy in Fuyonouso. Stop.
Franch troops are being deployed to border to prevent terrorists from crossing. Stop.
Franch troops are able to assist in any anti-terror operations. Stop.
