A Matter of State (Attn Noordeinde)

[Van Luxemburg]

Luxembourg-Findel International Airport, The Grand Duchy of Van Luxemburg

‘PRESENTEIER GEWIER!’
The command resulted in the honour guard presenting their bolt-action rifles, before shouldering them. The leading officer then also presented his sabre, ready to turn around and walk with the foreign delegation in order to present his honour guard, all clothed in ceremonial uniform and with the antiquated rifles that were only used for ceremonial duties nowadays.

‘Gutt, gutt. Well done gentlemen. I hope you can do this once again when the delegation arrives.’ The leading officer shouted to his honour guard, before taking up his position once again. A high-ranking member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs waited at the end of the red carpet, together with the

The honour guard lined both sides of a red carpet, leading from a now-unused aircraft staircase to a place where the delegation could get into their cars. Several Monteluci Ducareales VIPs of the IVD already waited around the end of the red carpet, ready to escort the convoy to their destination, Chateau Bertrange. Behind and in front of the IVD cars, the Autobahnpolizei had taken up positions with their Monteluci Duca Pantera Sportwagons, while a full squadron of motorcyclists with BMW R1200RT bikes from the same law enforcement agency waited well in front of the first Autobahnpolizei cars.

Out on the road from the airport to Chateau Bertrange, more cars and bikes from the Autobahnpolizei waited, while others scouted the route for possible obstructions. The convoy was supposed to move at rather high speed, standard for a group of vehicles transporting high-ranking officials in Van Luxemburg. On the Autobahn A1, the outer right lane had been reserved for the convoy between the point where they entered at Luxembourg-Findel and the exit at Bertrange/Aix-des-Bains. The lane was once again guarded by Duca Panteras from the Autobahnpolizei, while Marechaussee officers had mixed between the normal traffic on unmarked Yamaha TDM900 motorbikes. The same had been done on the regular roads between the Autobahn and their final destination, where the Marechaussee and Autobahnpolizei had prepared to lock down intersections in order to allow the convoy to pass through. Eventually, it would pass through the town of Bertrange, close to Luxembourg, before heading onto the driveway at Chateau Bertrange, the residence of the Grand Duke and the place where the Van Luxemburger delegation had gathered. Consisting of the Grand Duke himself, Premier Nicolas Hirtz, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jens Blom, Minister of Economic Affairs Neville Guertin and Minister of Defence Philippe Dermont, together with two officers of the Van Luxemburger Armed Forces and an executive from the VLT Group.

In Chateau Bertrange, the delegation would be welcomed into the country, and would be introduced to the Van Luxemburger delegation, where the first official talks would take place, regarding the current international situation and the cooperation between both countries on a global scale, while also going to dinner with eachother. This would all take place in the dining room of the Grand-Ducal Residence, a place the Grand Duke preferred over the official ballrooms in his previous Palace. After an informal evening, they will spend the night at Chateau Bertrange.

Then, the delegations would be driven to one of the VLT factories in Esch-sur-Alzette, roughly an hour of driving away from the residence, where they would be given a guided tour, and engage into talks about trade between the two Grand Duchies. Then, the delegations will be driven to the VLT-kasern in the same city, where the 71st regiment ‘Luxembourg’ is located. There, they will receive a demonstration of the capabilities of the Grand-Ducal Arméi, in cooperation with some supporting elements (such as ships from the Marine and aircraft from the ALD/MLD). The delegation will spend the night at the Hotel zur Post in Esch-sur-Alzette, which has been rented out for the occasion.

On day three, the delegations will return to Luxembourg once again, over the Autobahn A1, to visit the embassy of Noordeinde, and in order to meet with some émigrés from the nation. After this, the aircraft of the delegation are supposed to be standing by once again, as the group leaves Van Luxemburg and departs for their own Grand Duchy. During all these events, the Grand Duke and members of the Van Luxemburger delegation relevant to the activity would be present to guide the Noordeinde delegation.

But for now, the honour guard was supposed to wait for the aircraft from Noordeinde.

(OOC: Voor andere informatie: m'n factbook staat in mn signature.. Trouwens, als je nog wat anders wil doen in VL, geen probleem wat mij betreft, ik was ook niet van plan gruwelijk lang bij ieder punt stil te blijven staan, anders zijn we volgend jaar nog bezig..)

[Noordeinde]

Before the official plane of the President would touch-down on van Luxemburg soil, 2 Noordeinde Airforce Boeing C17 Globemaster III cargo planes touched down, onboard the Presidents own State car and multiple vehicles of the Noordeinde's Secret Service.

The 2 planes immediatley taxied into a hangar and dissapeared out of sight of the public. Several minutes later the official State car, a black Presidential Cadillac limousine with the Noordeinde and van Luxemburg flags, drove out of the hangar accompanied by several Noordeinde Secret Service vehicles to the other official vehicles.

Minutes later the Official plane of President Jonathan Roosevelt touched down, and taxied to the aircraftsteps on the tarmac, where the official welcomming ceremony would take place.

The pilots shut down the engines and the aircraftdoor opened. President Jonathan Roosevelt and his wife Jenny appeared in the door opening and waved to the people for a minute, afther that they walked down the stairs, where they were being welcommed by a high-ranking member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the red carpet.

[Van Luxemburg]

The first two aircraft were quickly guided into a hangar that was normally used for several governmental aircraft, but these had been relocated to a nearby airport for this event. As the required vehicles were quickly unloaded with the aid of Marechaussee officers responsible for the security of this section of the airport, and indeed for the security of the Van Luxemburger outside borders.

Outside, on the tarmac, the leading officer began barking his orders as the third aircraft arrived, the troops presenting their rifles once again, creating a line of troops on either side of the red carpet. As the Marechaussee ceremonial band began playing the Noordeinde national anthem, the leading officer walked down the red carpet behind the Prime Minister and his wife, until they had reached the end of the path, and could greet the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jens Blom. The man, in his early forties, perhaps lacked a bit of charisma, but compensated for this with his excellent service record. His own vehicle, a VLT L7, waited at the back of the convoy.

‘It is an honour to meet you, Sir. Your vehicle is waiting for you: we will be driving to the Chateau immediately.’ He said, as he walked the Prime Minister to his car, allowing him to get in.

The convoy then began to move, waiting for the minister himself to enter his own vehicle before continuing. Several motorcyclists on fast motorbikes formed the front vehicles of the convoy, blocking off crossing roads in order to allow the convoy to pass by, if they had not been blocked by other police units already. It was only a short drive from the private sections of the airport to the motorway entrance, where several Autobahnpolizei cars locked down the rightmost lane in order to allow the convoy to pass over the motorway at high speeds. The group of cars rapidly accelerated to speeds exceeding 200 km/h, entering the Luxembourg Ringroad – still the A1- with little slowdowns, before exiting at Bertrange/Aix-des-Bains, moving past several blocked intersections, secured with the help of the various law enforcement agencies that were used to police the capital city. The vehicles subsequently entered a somewhat rural setting outside of Luxembourg, and entered the town of Bertrange, which was illuminated in blue by the amount of strobe and LED lights used by the escorting vehicles. As it took a left turn on an intersection in the center of town, several civilians observed the convoy from the terrace of a local café. It however did not attract too much attention, considering this was the usual route to the Chateau, the official residence of the Grand Duke.

It then took another right turn in order to reach the imposing entrance building of the residence, which was guarded by two Marechaussees in ceremonial uniform, who had already opened the iron gate for the convoy. The cars calmly rolled onto the Chateau grounds, moving on at a gentle pace, before halting at the actual residence. In front of the door, the rest of the Van Luxemburger delegation stepped forward, walking towards the bridge in front of the house. There, they waited until the Noordeinder delegation had gotten out of their vehicles, before the Grand Duke approached the Prime Minister and his wife.

‘Prime Minister Roosevelt, Miss Roosevelt, may I welcome you to the Grand Duchy of Van Luxemburg and to Chateau Bertrange? I hope you had a pleasurable flight?’

[Noordeinde]

"Yes we had a great flight, I really enjoyed the last part of the flight when we were flying above van Luxemburg soil, I and my wife Jenny watched out of one of the windows of the plane and well... just wow, what a beautifull country!"

"And althoug we drove really fast from the airport to this beautifull castle if I may say, we really enjoyed the ride, again due the beautifull nature of the country. I really want to thank you for having us here so far it's already a great visit"

[Van Luxemburg]

‘Well, thank you. I am often surprised myself by the surprisingly different faces of this country. As you can see, I have taken the liberty of inviting some of my best men and women. I will quickly introduce you to the members of my delegation.’ The Grand Duke spoke, turning around to face both the delegation and the Noordeinde Prime Minister and his wife.

‘Premier Nicolas Hirtz. You can say he’s pulling the strings in this nation. I have no actual executive position, you see. Then, there is my Minister of Foreign Affairs, whom you have already met on the airfield.’ The Grand Duke spoke, pointing at the first man in line, then to another man who walked towards the bridge from the direction of the convoy, before continuing.

‘Minister of Economic Affairs, Neville Guertin, and Minister of Defence, Philippe Dermont. Then, we have two officers from the Armed Forces, who will guide you during the trip to the 71st Regiment, being Marschall Florian Wexler, commander of the entire Arméi, and Brigadier Christophe Seyler, commander of the 71st Regiment. Then, last but certainly not least, Miss Kristin Becker, head of the board of directors at the VLT Automotive Group and Hans Schmidt, director of sales at the same company.’ The two military officers stood out from the rest, being the only two men to actually wear a military uniform, even though it was a uniform meant for daily use, instead of field use. Next to this, Kristin Becker was the only female in the delegation.

‘I propose we head inside in order to have dinner? I suppose you must be hungry after such a flight. Besides, it would be possible for us to discuss the current state of international affairs.’

[Noordeinde]

President Jonathan Roosevelt and his wife Jenny shaked hands with the High dignitaries of van Luxemburg.

Afther this formal introduction President Roosevelt and his wife joined the Grand Duke inside to have dinner. President Jonathan Roosevelt and his wife Jenny were indeed hungry, the last meal they had was an improvised breakfast onboard of the Presidents Official Plane

The President was also interested in what the van Luxemburg delegation would liked to discuss while having dinner.

[Van Luxemburg]

The Grand Duke, closely followed by his delegation, walked inside, towards the dining room in the surprisingly spacious residence. He gestured towards the seats for the Noordeinde delegation, allowing to sit down before getting seated himself, followed by part of the delegation.

‘My kitchen staff is already preparing the first course, we have tried to incorporate a bit of the native food in this dinner. I believe our first course consisted of the well-known carpaccio from Weininger Alpine beef cattle, slices from an Arvaglian water melon and a green salad from Sint-Annabeek. With this, we will be serving a 1978 Perretoise sparkling red wine. An excellent example of this rare type of wine, I must say.’

Just as the Grand Duke finished describing the first course, several members of the Royal household entered the dining room, carrying the plates with the dish, as described. Leaving a moment of silence in order to allow the religious people at the table to pray, the Van Luxemburger delegation then waited until the guests ate first, a sign of good habits.

‘As the Minister of Economic Affairs, it is of course my task to take care of the situation in my own nation, but also stimulate trade between nations like us. My ministry has concluded that the Grand Duchy of Noordeinde might be a good trading partner, and it could be interesting for us to remove tariffs and open our borders to eachother. I am sure my colleagues at Foreign Affairs and Defence will agree.’ Neville Guertin began to speak, looking at his colleagues next to him, who all nodded. Then, Philippe Dermont began to speak.

‘Next to this, my ministry is also studying on the possibility of closing a mutual defence pact, however, all of our ministries have concluded we lack a bit of information on the Grand Duchy of Noordeinde. Would you care to explain us something about Noordeinde’s policies regarding foreign affairs and defence, and the economic situation in the nation at this point?’

‘Yes. Besides, Our ministry is also exceptionally interested in the imports and exports of your nation.’ Neville Guertin added, as he cut a small piece off his carpaccio, put down his cutlery and took a small sip of his wine.

[Noordeinde]

Priesident Roosevelt was positively surprised by the carpaccio from Weininger Alpine beef cattle, slices from an Arvaglian water melon and a green salad from Sint-Annabeek.

"Mister Grand Duke, I would like to give my compliments to the cheff and all Kitchen Staff, this meal is really good." The Prime Minister took a small sip of his wine.

Then the Priesident turned to the van Luxemburg cabinet to answer their questions.

"Well first of all I like the idea of becomming trading partners, and remove the borders and have no tarrifs, I really believe that we can stimulate eachothers economy with the export of our nations best products."

"I think it's especially very interesting for van Luxemburg that one of our main products is the car manufacturing industry, we don't build our own brands, but on this moment mostly US brands as Cadillac build cars in our country, and I think Monteluci could be interested in expanding their brand."

"Further about defense operations, on this moment Noordeinde has several operations going on, we have 2 humanitarian Missions going on in the Ang Phillepines and Australiaza, further their are 4 ships near Kardekonian waters, in international waters, due an embargo against them because of an executed opposition journalist."

"But the Department of Defense in general, sir Collin Powel is the Secretary of Defense, you will meet him and several other Secretaries tommorow, I would do the official part and they will be here in the official talks. But in general about Noordeinde's Department of Defense, Noordeinde has the largest Navy Drydock and the largest Aircraftcarrier in the world, as you might have read in the ViZion records book, we can quite say that our Navy is very important to us. Therefor it's one of the most modernized navies, and it keeps on developping it's technologies."

"Our Airforce is very important as well. Or country has over 1000 planes, and we keep on developping planes with the United States of America, the f35 or Joint Strike Fighter is one of those planes. Actually all of our Airforce planes are American build planes or Brittish build planes like the Harriers which serve on multiple of Noordeinde's Navy Aircraft Carrier. And Noordeinde is very proud as well on the fact that is has a big "Intelligence Squadron" this exists out of SR-71 Blackbirds, Lockheed U2's and Global Hawks UAV's. All can gather intelligence from high alltitude to support our troops on the ground."

"Than to our Army, exact numbers of how many soldiers our Army has is classified, so I can't tell much about them. But I can say that our soldiers are very good, and should cooperate very good with the Romulan Republics soldiers while in the field. And our army has an International Intelligence Service that provides information as well to the government and soldiers on the ground to support them while maybe in battle."

"Is there further anything you would like to know?" President Roosevelt asked.

[Van Luxemburg]

‘I am sure the VLT Group would be interested in exporting motor vehicles to your nation. The VLT delegation will be present during our visit to one of their factories tomorrow. Next to this, I think we can conclude the official Open Borders and Free Trade Agreement on the last day, during the official press conference.’ Guertin answered.

‘This corresponds with my own reports on your current deployments, Prime Minister. It seems that both of our Armed Forces focus on both humanitarian missions and the defence of the nation. This is good, especially since we are considering a pact, after all.’ Dermont commented, tasting his wine before continuing.

‘Now, looking at the structure of your military and our military forces, I can see some problems. Currently, the Van Luxemburger Marine operates one supercarrier, the 455 metre long ZMS Weiningen, with a second one under construction, supported by three large amphibious assault ships of the same size. However, this is the majority of our fleet’s force projection capabilities, and the Marine focuses on a ‘Green Water’ strategy, meaning they are mostly used for the defence of our homeland, while being able to launch several overseas missions for two to three weeks at a time. We do not have the capability to have a fleet at sea at all times, a ‘Blue Water strategy’ like your navy seems to be able to do. Nevertheless, we tend to make use of the latest technological advancements, especially in regards to electronics, and radar- and missile systems.

We do not have an airforce as most nations have. We rely on the Arméi Loft Divisioun and the Marine Loft Divisioun, the Air Arms of those parts of the military. We tend to operate domestically-designed and –produced equipment, as with all parts of the military, but we generally prefer European defence equipment over American weaponry. Both the ALD and the MLD operate the Eurofighter, all built locally by the Schmolz+Bickenbach Flugzeugwerke, or Monteluci Aeronautica for the Tifone-N, a navalised variant of the aircraft. Furthermore, the government-supported Aeronautica divisions of that particular manufacturer also produce smaller training and counter insurgency aircraft, large airliners modified for use as radar and communication platforms, etcetera. Intelligence is usually performed by either the reconnaissance versions of the Handley-Page Victor bombers in our fleet, but they will eventually be replaced by Monteluci Condor Air-to-Ground Surveillance aircraft. Besides, reconnaissance can be done by UAVs and a limited number of intelligence satellites we have.

I like to tell people that the Arméi is essentially the strongest of our forces. They may be small in numbers, but the use of excellent ground equipment has made them a very experienced self-defence force, capable of doing some peacekeeping missions overseas. We always have 4 regiments on a rapid deployment scheme, meaning they are ready to be deployed to anywhere in the world within 2 hours. Of course, they will still need to be transported there.
Usually, our military is a very open institution. If you have read through the factbook that we have made available to everyone, you will find most specifics of the Arméi.

However, you might have found that we do not exactly operate the same equipment in the field, in any of the three branches. That might be a problem when fighting together. With our forces using calibres like 6.8x43mm, 12.7mm and 15.5mm for infantry weapons, the latter two being heavy infantry weapons, calibres like 30mm and 50mm for IFV’s, and calibres such as 100mm, 125mm, and 140mm for tank guns, I think that our calibres do not match, which may cause some logistical problems.

Of course, this is my thinking. You are free to correct me. Regardless, you and your staff are free to review our military equipment when visiting the 71st regiment. Of course, to come to a complete comparison, it would be interesting to know about the equipment as used by your ground forces.’

[Noordeinde]

"Well our gound forces really don't have the most special weapons, but each and every soldiers carries at least a sidearm, a Glock 17, and as rifle an M16 or M4. Further we just bought multiple Abrams Tanks from the US, which support the "normal" soldiers on the ground. But I think you should ask the Secretary of Defense this question again, he is a former General in the Noordeinde Army, and knows more about it then I do."

[Van Luxemburg]

‘Yes, that sounds reasonable to me.’ Philippe Dermont answered.

Seeing the group had finished their starter, the main course was served, once again being a dished that mixed ingredients and recipes from various regions. Steak from Apenninen beef cattle, prepared by grilling it on a fire made with wood from the Van Luxemburger olive tree, with a sauce made from tomatoes, and olives coming from the same tree. Served with Piccolo Calzone Arvagliana, small folded pizzas and filled with all kinds of vegetables, prepared in a traditional stone oven. The dish was finished by a small amount of spiced rice. These plates were given to each member of the group seated around the dining table. As these were served, Nicolas Hirtz, premier of the Grand Duchy, came with his first question.

‘As you might have heard before, we have been following some movements of your government, but I feel that I have little information about the country itself. I’ve been down into the archives of the Parliamentary library, but I failed to find an example of a recent factbook. Could you tell me a little something about the nation, the people? It may sound a little strange, but we like to know some backgrounds of the nation we are dealing with, if you understand what I mean.’

‘Of course, you are always welcome to ask your own questions and make your own proposals. We are only too happy to answer them.’ Grand Duke Koen van Luxemburg added, while using a sharp knife to cut a piece off the steak.

[Noordeinde]

"I do understand mister Hirtz, and how great, pizza!" President Roosevelt laughed.

"My wife Jenny sometimes makes me homemade pizza's as well, and Mister Grand Duke again my compliments for your Cheff and the whole kitchen staff the food tastes delicious"

"But comming back to you Mister Hirtz, the Grand Duchy of Noordeinde is Constitutional Monarchy / Parliamentary Democracy. The Grand Duke of Noordeinde is our Head of State, but I as President am responsable for everything he says or does."

"Further we have a 2 chamber system, the House of Representatives, which has 435 members and the Senate, which has 100 members. And both chambers combined is Congress. On the moment Congress has 3 parties, the Democrats, which is also my party, the Republicans and the Independant"

"The Grand Duchy of Noordeinde has 50 states, just as the United States of America, and every state has 2 members in the Senate, and the 2 persons with the most votes become Senator for their State in the Senate. The Senate elections are every 3 years"

"Further The Grand Duchy of Noordeinde is splitted up in 435 small election districts, and to become a member of the House of Representatives you should win your district, and every 4 years we have elections for the House of Representatives."

"And the last election we have is the Presidential election, and again just as the United States of America we have a Electoral College. So their are always Red and Blue states. And well on the moment the Democrats won the last election with me, otherwise I wouldn't be here."

"other little political "things" the Democrats have the majority in the House of Representatives and Senate. But I have good relations with the Republican party so my Cabinet has multiple Republican members as well."

"Further I would like to quote something about my country"

'The Grand Duchy of Noordeinde is a very large, socially progressive nation, remarkable for its devotion to social welfare. It's compassionate, hard-working population of 169 million have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.'

"Is their anything else you would like to know?"

[Van Luxemburg]

‘Thank you, Mister Prime Minister. It took me a long time to find the best chefs in this country, and hire them for my kitchen staff.’ The Grand Duke answered.

‘It seems that I have run out of questions, Prime Minister. As Grand Duke Koen here just said, you are of course free to ask us anything you may want to know. We are the leaders of this nation, after all.’ Premier Hirtz said, looking over to his colleagues, who grinned at the last remark.

‘Oh, just one question, Mister Roosevelt.’ Neville Guertin began. ‘I suppose that your citizens speak Dutch, judging by the name of the nation and the capital? If so, then they should be able to communicate with people from Sint-Annabeek. You see, some older generations in the Grand Duchy here have some problems with English, and some of them speak better Dutch than English, in fact.’

‘So, if that is true, we are essentially looking at a Dutch-speaking Grand Duchy, with a judicial and political system based off the United States. Am I correct in saying that? I am just trying to get my facts straight here.’ Jens Blom added.

[Noordeinde]

"Wel yes you could say it that way, but the only thing is that we speak English as well as Dutch"

"And I would be delighted to meet with several people from Sint Annabeek and speek Dutch with them, if that's something they would like. And I was thinking, wouldn't it be fun for young children at Noordeinde Elementary schools to write with the Dutch speeking people in Sint Annabeek?. It's fun and they might learn something of how these people of Sint-Annabeek eventually came in The Grand Duchy of van Luxemburg."

[Van Luxemburg]

‘I’d have to relay that to the Ministry of Education, but I think that’d certainly be possible. Van Luxemburger children do not only learn the national language, Vun Lëtzebuerger, but also their regional language in elementary education.’ Premier Hirtz answered. He wanted to answer the second remark, but was interrupted by the kitchen staff coming in with the last course.

Once again, they carried enough plates for the group, this time filled with real San Giustran ‘Gelato’, traditional ice cream, combined with a Crême Brulée from Villacoublay, not only with a taste of vanilla, but also with traces of chocolate.

‘I am sure we can squeeze some Sint-Annabeekers in, especially considering we already have a moment for you to communicate with the embassy staff and some emigrants, we can turn that into a reception, I think.’ Hirtz turned around to one of his aides, who stood near a wall, already busy entering data into a PDA. As he gave a short ‘thumbs up’ signal, Hirtz turned around again.

‘Yes, it is possible. I am sure some of our citizens currently living in Sint-Annabeek will show up.’ Hirtz answered.