Confederate Freedom and Gallipoli-China

[Zimmerwald]

*bump*

[Herald_Collier]

The Herald continued smiling, even as he slightly leaned his head towards Viktor, in order to hear the diplomat's whispered query. His eyes had apparently become more used to the barrage of camera flashes, as his eyes flickered slightly less than most individuals' would have. Upon hearing Viktor's question, he simply stood straight once more, speaking quietly with a smile that followed a light chuckle.

"You needn't worry about that; press questions are for press conferences, and speeches for scheduled public addresses. I already have all the necessary arrangements made for those particular events, and with your involvement being of the chief concerns in mind, Mister Debs."

Matthias finished the handshake, smiling still, "May I introduce you to three of our most loyal and devout Party members, Doctor Micheal West," he gestured to the lanky individual beside him, who happened to be the most "civilian" in dress of the Herald and his coterie, "Minister of Public Communications; Confederate Field Marshal, General Bruno Ziegler," he nodded to the older man in uniform, "Minister of Defense, Armaments and my Military Adviser; and of course, Major Tyler Buccholz," he gestured his left hand to the stout, robust man, "Minister of Public Security and Defense, and Commander of the Party's People's Defense Corps.; as well as my part-time bodyguard, when the necessity arises. They, and several of our other heads of state, are taking a great deal of interest in the results of our meeting. Now, perhaps we should head to the car; our international, working comrades are all waiting to see us take this historic occurence further than a simple handshake and introduction."

The Herald smiled, Johannes and the other three Ministers following close behind while Collier positioned hismelf walking side-by-side with Viktor, the crowds cheering and waving to the both of them as they emerged from the train station.

The Herald smiled, quietly speaking to Vitkor while not removing his gaze from the people for more than a second, "Go on and wave, if you like. They're here to see you as much as to see me; besides, I'm sure they see me plenty enough here in the capital, so a new face should be most welcome." He chuckled upon finishing that statement, raising an arm to give the crowding throng of people the Confederate salute--hand held flat, with plam tilted outwards while the arm bent to place the fore and middle fingertips against the side of his cap's brim--before raising his arm higher to wave to them, a toothy smile emerging on his face as the camera flashes intensified in unison with the cheers and jubliant cries from the crowd.

[Zimmerwald]

Viktor nodded cordially to each of the Ministers in turn, as none of them seemed to relish the prospect of further hand-shaking.  Apparently, they took their cues from the Herald.  Providing further evidence was the fact that they continually glanced in his direction, even when noting momentous was happening.  Deciding he would do the same, Viktor copied his solute, segueing into the traditional solute of his Party; the right palm brought to the heart, then raised in the air in a clenched fist.  He understood Collier's smile; there was a certain rush in martial pomp.  What am I thinking? he remonstrated, as he lowered his arm and fell into step next to the Herald.

The crowd continued to roar appreciatively as the group proceeded through the throng to the Herald's car.  "Your people honor me, Herald."

[Herald_Collier]

The Herald nodded, smiling as he spoke, "Of course they do, and they should; any revolutionary willing to fight for the freedom and power of the common man is truly worthy of respect. The people already know full well of your own nation's struggle in revolution, and feel the pain of your comrades all too well."



The silver car's door had already been opened by Major Buccholz, who gave the Herald the Confederate salute as Viktor was gestured to take a seat in the back--the rear half of this particular car, while far from being a stretch limo, was slightly larger than the conventional model, probably designed with diplomatic conversation in mind; there was a row of seating opposite the traditional couch-like row of seats that kept Viktor's back to the front half, where the valet was already sitting at the wheel. Johannes was next, taking a seat in the rear passenger compartment, sitting next to Viktor. Matthias, responding to Buccholz in kind before giving a last wave to the cheering masses, entered the vehicle and taking his seat in the rear row, so that he was facing Viktor and Johannes. Buccholz closed the car door before getting into the front passenger seat himself. Dr. West and General Ziegler taking their own seats in a black car in front of the Herald's transportation. The crowd was then allowed to conglomerate about the motorcade once again as the uniformed Public Security escort returned to the other seven cars that followed the Herald's, as the motorcade slowly drove back into the wide city street, many people in the crowd following closely on the sidewalk as they continued to cheer and wave.

As the car drove on, Collier looked to Viktor, his smile once again gentle and pleasant. He clasped his hands together, leaning forward a little as he spoke, "Now then, Mister Debs, shall we while away the time this little roadtrip will take? I would suggest discussing our meeting, as well as the plans for the press conference and public rally addresses that are scheduled to follow."

[Zimmerwald]

"Well, I haven't prepared anything for the press conference or the rally that you mention, but that can be worked out.  Just answer me this; what questions do you suppose they will ask at the conference?  I'm not concerned with the rally.  That sort of rhetoric is old hat to me.  But I'm unaccustomed to press conferences.  Now, I'm sure you've had quite a bit of experience with this particular press corps."  At this he laughed.  "Tell me, what questions do you think they're most likely to ask?

"I feel I must warn you; our meeting won't accomplish much officially, unless my Comrades back home move faster than they told me they would.  Our revolution, you may know, is by no means complete.  The bourgeois in the Parliament have already re-admitted the Fascists to their old seats, and there must be further action taken.  I hope that our meeting will lay out our policy towards each other before that, even if it's unofficial, so that we may present a united front immediately after this action is taken.  The imperialists tolerate our current government because of the bourgeois elements still within it.  We don't know if they'll tolerate a workers' state in Gallipoli-China.  I predict propaganda that will highlight a "red menace" or some such that has spread through your nation, mine, Uichi Ryu, and may soon infect the imperialists.  We can only hope."  The Herald laughed at that, and the tension in the car, already low, decreased to the point that Viktor felt that he could trust Matthias as he never would trust another head of state.

"What I want this to accomplish is to, as I said, establish relations so that we can bypass cumbersome meetings and the like after the new government is proclaimed."

[Herald_Collier]

"I understand your concern regarding the press conference," Matthias said with a nod, "and you are indeed correct; I've become quite used to the environment and nature of being the focal point of attention at such conferences.  I suggest, as I always have believed, that you should tell the truth, and perhaps keep handy some notes of what you're not sure can be spoken from memory alone. All that the people know, at this point, is that you're a representative of the Democratic Socialists in Gallpoli-China, which has been struggling in its revolution for some time now, and that you're on a diplomatic mission on behalf of said Party to confer with me in relations between our State and your Party, which will hopefully complete its revolution--and we are willing to do all we can to help in whatever way possible, I should say--and that those relations and policies will be carried over into your nation's new government once your revolution is fully realized. So, most likely, there will be questions of the nature and intention of our meeting, the specific and/or general issues discussed and regarded therein, questions about your own Party in Gallipoli-China, the current state of affairs as well as the current nature and progress of your revolution, maybe a few question of your personal interests, politically and otherwise--though questions of that nature will probably be few, if any--as well as, most likely, a handful of questions about your personal opinions on our nation, how well our revolution has succeeded, your view of whether or not the U.S.S.C.F. appears prosperous...those are the sort of questions that will likely be asked of you."

Collier sat back, listening intently to Viktor's motives and reasons for their imminent meeting, taking off his cap and setting it at his side, while raising his right hand for a moment to smooth out his hair, which was parted on the right side of his head, the majority of his hair combed over to his left side (an uncommon place for a clearly right-handed man to part his hair, Viktor might notice). He smiled as he set his hand back down, returning his full attention to Viktor, speaking after his laughter at Viktor's prediction summarily finished his statement had died down.

"I can understand that concern; the very same possibility regarding the imperialists has been on my mind as well, and has troubled me greatly. I've been particularly worried regarding the current intentions of the Theocratic Myrorian government; along with now having a government that is not only Democratic, but Socialist, which already degenerates our nation's worth and morality, in their eyes, our population is primarily Pagan in faith, which no doubt makes their view towards us even less-favorable; they offered  to send a considerable sum of their Kolonialreichsmarks if we allowed Christian missionaries from their nation to come here and spread their beliefs. All I said in response was that in the Confederacy, religion is a private matter that is not to have any relations to the State whatsoever, and that missionaries would have to be admitted as citizens if they wished to stay here for extended periods to teach religion like any other legal immigrant to our nation. Their response was not overly aggressive, but its words and tone were...well, let's just say that it gave me a rather bad feeling, and seemed much less than friendly." The Herald gave a soft chuckle, his hands clasping together once more as he gave a slight shrug as if to say, "Oh well; live and learn."

"Either way, I'm glad that you decided to have this meeting and ensure these international relationships now; it will make the resulting, hectic clutter of state affairs in response to the success of your revolution a little lighter in its load. Additionally, our nation was practically less-informed and uncertain of affairs in other nations, so our re-emergence from isolationism was a very tense point for me; I knew that many other nations were un-approving of Socialism, or at least their governments were, so I was unsure of how well the reception of our new government into the international stage would be. I've been very concerned about establishing proper, beneficial relations with other nations as of late, as our people require many things that could be gained in trade, and our nation alone can only naturally supply the necessities of comfortable, equal living. I kept telling Johannes and the others 'we must establish trade and alliances with other nations, if the State we've finally managed to bring to the people is going to survive for more than a decade or two"...I have to admit, it was starting to affect me adversely; I was starting to have trouble sleeping because of it, I care so much about the future and welfare of our people."

Collier nodded, smiling as he wrung his hands together slightly and briefly, Mr. Kroenher nodding as he followed his Herald's gaze to Viktor, wearing an expression of concern and slight shame. Upon noticing this, Collier's smile only grew wider, a short laugh escaping his throat, "Johannes probably didn't tell you that much, but I've been anxious to meet you ever since I received your correspondence; and now, here we are, securing a path to the future prosperity, welfare and safety of our international comrades. I have to say, this is one of the best occurences in my life, alongside the obvious, such as our successful Social Revolution..."

[Zimmerwald]

While Matthias had been expounding on the press conference, Viktor had been jotting notes, hoping to prepare himself, but he put his pad back in his pocket when the talk began to turn to the imperialists.

"Yes, the Myrorians puzzle me greatly.  Pro-secession of the Southern states of the DSA, anti-Eire, pro-Eluvatarian expansion, anti-Bustian expansion, and the list goes on.  I wouldn't take any threat of their's lightly, especially if it deals with religion.  They're fanatical as can be, though at least they allow Vrotrith to exist.  But the Myrorians don't concern me all that much at the moment.  There are troublesome signs in their allied kingdom of Ryazania, and they're pursuing three separate expansion projects at the same time, which are likely to drain their resources.  No, what worries me is the Bustian ascendancy.  At least they're intelligent enough to go ahead with one operation at a time.  We can only hope that their rival imperialisms clash before they unite against the socialist states.  You're lucky you weren't invaded; the Fenexians intervened on the side of the Fascists in our revolution before they learned the truth about Corfu and switched sides.

"I've been looking forward to this meeting since you announced your emergence from isolation, High Chancellor.  So rest assured, the feelings of importance are mutual.  By the way, there's nothing you can do about the lack of sleep.  Nothing works on that amount of stress.  I've been prescribed every thing under the sun, and only Zuavka has helped, though that has certain...unpleasant side effects in my case.  I'm allergic."

[Herald_Collier]

Matthias smiled and laughed softly, sitting back, appearing comforted more by Viktor's empathy for the Confederacy's situation. He nodded, bringing his right hand up to his chin, index finger lightly stroking the thin stripe-goatee that supplemented his mustache. He nodded in agreement with Viktor's assessment of the international situation, and the risks that it held both in the recent past and the near future.

"Yes, you are correct; invasion was an imminent and very real possibility. In fact, General Ziegler consistently brought up the possibility as one of his chief concerns when I revealed to the Board of Ministers my intention to announce a departure from isolationism. It's also, in fact, the chief reason that I agreed with and am still continuing the General's recommendation to continue the funding of the military budget, though I doubt that this increase of military funding makes our traditional, militaristic-uniform theme of our government heads' appearance seem anything less than a militaristic State, which is actually not the case. Not in my intentions, at least." The Herald's brow furrowed, his hand remaining on his chin as his finger continued to gently, slowly stroke his goatee-stripe, his head turning as he sat back, looking out the window of the car in thought, his expression contemplative with not just a little hint of troubled thoughts.

"I suppose," Matthias began softly and sincerely in his tone, "That I could have tried to avoid these issues...but my very principals and strength of character compel me to deny any and all such actions; neglecting the potential dangers to the people and State is no way for a High Chancellor, even a simple and nameless leader, to act. The people have continued to show such faith and devotion to the Herald--to me...I cannot let them down...I will never abandon my people. Never; Ich werde niemals kapitulien, niemals!" The last statement came from the Herald in a low volume, Viktor hearing the Herald revert to the use of the country's originally native German tongue, and probably stating this last sentence more to himself than to Viktor. Clearly something of an emotional, albeit intellectually driven individual, the Herald had clearly a number of troubling thoughts on his mind as of late, and Viktor could probably guess that there was more to this than either Johannes or even the Herald were ready to admit.

"But enough of these troubles," Matthias said, looking back to Viktor, the smile reappearing on his face, "We're almost to the State-provided estate where you'll be staying, along with myself and some of the other Ministers. Kohlersburg, they named it; it was a gift to my on my thirty-fifth birthday, provided entirely by funding from their own pockets. I told them not to worry about gifts that year, as the success of the Social Revolution was more than a sufficient birthday gift for any man in the country, but they did it anyway. Quite the surprise party, let me tell you; I wasn't sure, at first, whether to thank them or berate them. Of course, I decided to take the gift they had invested so much personal funds into; it's a sufficient place for the use of all heads of state, not just myself. I made sure of that." The Herald smiled, nodding to the rather traditional-looking, yet impressively sized manor, nestled at the top of a small mountain just beyond the city limits of Einheit. "We'll get you settled in and unpacked first, then proceed to the Chancellory for our discussions. If you don't mind, that is."

[Zimmerwald]

Viktor was becoming steadily more uncomfortable as Collier's speech became more and more introverted.  Eventually he seemed to have forgotten the rest of them entirely, and simply continued to himself, admonishments and instructions flowing from his mouth.  It had started off innocuously enough, with him detailing the traditional arguments in favor of maintaining a military.  Thankfully, Viktor was spared this particular tedium at home; that came from not being in government, and from the fact that the entire navy was somewhere in the bottom of the China Sea.  I hope it's just stress, thought Viktor, as the monologue finally drew to a close with a burst of German, and not something more serious.  I'm not a doctor, so I can't judge, but these mood swings--  The Herald was talking again.

"Why would I mind?  Your transportation is comfortable, but I long to be rid of my baggage, and Kholersburg--was that it? yes--looks absolutely splendid."

[Herald_Collier]

Collier smiled and nodded at Viktor's response, as their vehicle pulled into the rather large semi-circular driveway, pulling up in front of the large estate. Major Buccholz got out of the car first, opening the rear door to allow the Herald, Viktor and Johannes to exit the vehicle themselves. Ziegler and West were already out of their own vehicle, returning to the small group with the Herald. The rest of the motorcade drove off to another part of the villa-complex, no doubt being the Herald's personal security guard. Collier placed his cap back on his head, leading the group as he strode alongside Viktor up to the double-door entrance, his footfalls gently crunching the fresh snow beneath them.

"I'm sure you'll find the accommodations enjoyable, as a matter of fact," the Herald pulled out a pocketwatch, the lip flipping up to reveal the painted engraving of a wolf's head visible to Viktor as Collier checked the time on his relatively outdated chronometer, "I'd say that it's about time for lunch; how quickly the hours pass when spending time with pleasant company and friends, new and old. I'll show you to your room, then we can proceed to the dining hall for a much-needed meal."

"Herald, I forgot to tell you," Dr. West spoke up, "My adjutant, Sean Lucier, with his wife and children intend to come and visit you for lunch, and a pleasant afternoon. Should I have them cancel the visit; you do have a meeting to be held with Mister Debs, this afternoon."

"No no, West. It will be good enough for my brother-in-law, sister and their children to visit. Of course, I won't be able to stay too long after lunch; this meeting with Mister Debs is of the utmost priority." The Herald turned his gaze to Viktor, while Major Buccholz stepped ahead of them to open the door for the rest of the group, the Herald passing smoothly and without hesitation through the threshold and into a rather impressively-sized foyer, a circular grand dual-staircase leading to a second-floor balcony above, which held firm to the second-floor wall all around the room's width and length. Well-done oil paintings seemed to be placed wherever a door, window or other such obstacle was not. In the center, on the small wall that rested between the two curving staircases, was a rather large portrait of the Herald from the waist up, painted by hand; it displayed him standing, in the same uniform he wore now, one hand on his hip, a firm and determined expression on his face, his eyes in the picture gazing ahead and off to the side slightly, the cap not resting on his head as he held it in his other hand.

The real Herald's expression was, in contrast, undoubtedly apologetic, "I hope you don't mind having some extra company at lunch, Mister Debs; it has been months since I last spoke to my sister, the affairs of state have occupied me at such length." The conversation was suddenly cut off by a loud ringing sound.

Johannes suddenly reached into his pocket, taking out a ringing cell phone and flipping it open to place it against his ear as he listened to whomever was on the other end, "Yes? Is that so? Whom are they sending? When? Today?? When do they want to meet; the Herald is very busy--this afternoon?? No, no--no, don't worry about it. I'll leave it up to the Herald to decide, you know that he always prefers to make these decisions himself. Yes. Yes, yes, it will all be worked out. No, the Herald is not angry about this--how do I know? He's standing just a yard in front of me. Yes, we're at Kohlersburg, we'll be having lunch shortly. I'll give you a call regarding the Herald's decision afterwards. Good. Auf Wiedersehen." Johannes quickly flipped the phone closed, looking up to the Herald, who stood turned to face the diplomat, hands behind his back holding his cap, as he wore a rather bemused smile.

"And all that was about...?"

"Herald, the nation of Talstadt wants to send representatives to discuss diplomatic relations with you, and their representatives are arriving by train this afternoon; they want to meet you shortly thereafter. What should I tell them?"

The Herald hummed for a few moments, his gaze setting down slightly in a contemplative expression. He then looked back to Johannes, "Don't worry about it, Kroenher; we'll discuss it in my study while lunch is being prepared; meet me there, I'll be along in a few minutes."

Johannes nodded, quickly taking his leave from the group up the stairs and to a door on the left side of the second balcony. The Herald, meanwhile, turned to Viktor, the apologetic expression more apparent this time, "I'm afraid I won't be able to show you to your room myself. But don't worry; Major Buccholz will take you there. I trust I'll see you shortly, at lunch."

With that, the Herald nodded to the physically robust and imposing Major, who gave a single, brief nod as the Herald and his coterie departed in the same path as Johannes had only a minute before, leaving Viktor alone with Buccholz, who had already turned to Viktor, reaching his hands out, "I can carry your bag for you, if you like, Mister Debs." His voice was deep-throated, though its octave was in a range only slightly lower than the Herald's; it was not nearly as imposing as his stature would have led one to believe.

[Talmann]

     As Hans Beruff, Head of Talstadt Socialist Partei, reached this city over the border, he saw things that intrigued him. Horseless carraiges? He reminded himself to tell the King. He looked over at his companion, Klaus Waldmann, representing the more conservative views of the Royalist Partei. He looked suprised looking around, too. They were welcomed by a few men next to one of these carraiges.
     "Hello, Willkommen! Are you the representatives from Talstadt?"
           "Ja, sind wir. (yes, we are.) Wo fahren wir jetzt?", asked Hans.
     "We will be taking you to the train station, Herrn."
           "Train station? You mean we will be traveling in many wagons?"
     "Nein, Herrn. A train. Do you not have them?"
           Klaus spoke up, "Unfortunately, no. Our technology in transportation and weaponry is quite primitive."
     "Oh," the man said, then looked over at his partner. "Well then. Follow us. This is a car. I'm sure the Herald will explain more if you ask. For now, auf Wiedersehen!"
     "Auf Wiedersehen."

[Herald_Collier]

Meanwhile, in the Herald's private study, Matthias was standing with his back to Kroenher and the others, his hands clasped as they rested behind his back, his gaze staring out the large window that was behind his desk. There was a soft smile on his face.

"So, Hans Beruff of the Socialist Partei, and Klaus Waldmann of the Royalist Partei...both of them are already on their way here for diplomatic negotiations between Taldstat and our Confederacy?"

"Yes, Herald," Kroenher replied from his seat in front of the desk, next to Dr. West, "they arrived at the border only an hour ago, and they are most insistent on meeting you this afternoon. Wouldn't your meeting with Mister Debs also be taking place at the same time?"

The Herald just nodded, "Yes, yes...well, there should be nothing wrong with having Mister Debs present at their meeting, though I would have liked to greet them at the train station myself. Besides, I'm certain Herr Beruff and Mister Debs would be interested in speaking with each other."

"Might I advise that, as a gesture of good will and hospitality, that the two representatives be invited to join us for lunch?" Kroenher was leaning forward a little, "After all, not only will they get to see the splendor of Einheit on the way here; you could also offer them accommodations, just as you have to Mister Debs. It would also be helpful to have representatives from our neighboring state see just what kind of man the Herald is, when not publicly present. After all, your sister and her family will be here as well, so there's little chance that your image will only be bettered in their eyes. You know how much her children adore you."

Collier smiled at that, a soft chuckle could briefly be heard; 'Uncle Matti', they always called him. And so excited they all were whenever they got to spend time with him. Still smiling, the Herald turned to face the group assembled before him.

"So, they should be here, when?"

"Not much longer, Herald; we would probably have to postpone lunch for another half-hour or so, but it would be worth it."

Collier set his gaze down a little as he thought it over, then looked back up to his comrades, "Well, then, we might as well give it a try; Herr Beruff and Herr Waldmann would certainly appreciate the gesture, at the very least," as the Herald spoke, he turned his gaze over to a lithe, uniformed man that Viktor had not met: R.J. Weimann, the Herald's personal adjutant, "Weimann, would you be so kind as to get Viktor Debs; please tell him that I would like to speak with him in my study, as soon as possible."

Weimann nodded with a smile, giving the Herald the Confederate salute before departing from the study to retrieve Viktor, who by now had probably already been escorted to his room via Major Buccholz.

[Zimmerwald]

Viktor had been looking over a report that endeavored to explain the relations between Confederate Freedom and its neighbors, Moacia and Talstadt.  Of course, it was out of date, as the Ozians had reconquered Moacia after the report had been issued, but Viktor hoped it would still be useful.  As he turned over page after page, he could see his hope becoming less and less realistic, and eventually threw down the paper in disgust, placing the rest of his papers untidily into his briefcase.

He began pacing.  He knew he should be enjoying himself; he was in an exotic locale, with kind hosts, and every amenity.  But there was something hanging over this whole affair, or perhaps hidden behind its facade.  No, he was being paranoid; he had merely failed to budget his time well, and that report had aroused his persistent frustration with the Liberal government that had issued it.  Mid-pace, he was interrupted by the door opening.

"Mr. Debs?" said the thin, but muscular, uniformed man who stood in his doorway.

"Yes?"

"The Herald wishes you to see you as soon as possible."

Viktor was relieved.  He had been wondering how to pass the time, and here, as a gift from the gods, came this.

"I don't believe we have been introduced," he said, stepping out of the suite and locking the door behind him.

"R.J. Weimann," said the man, sticking out his hand to shake.  Viktor grasped it, and shook, though with a feeling of some apprehension.  "We should be going; the Herald doesn't like to wait."

"Of course."

[Herald_Collier]

When Weimann had brought Viktor into the Herald's study, there was still a smile on Matthias' face. And upon seeing Viktor enter, that smile grew wider. He looked to his other companions in the room.

"Please, leave me alone with Viktor for a while; we have much to discuss."

The group summarily and expediently began to leave the room, Buccholz, Ziegler and Weimann giving the salute before doing so, which Collier responded to in kind. Kroenher was the last to leave, and was stopped for a moment by the Herald.

"Johannes, if you don't mind, would you go and greet the Talstadt representatives at the station in Einheit?"

Kroenher nodded, "Yes, Herald." Then he took his leave, closing the door behind him.

Not wasting more than a few moments of brief silence, the Herald gestured Viktor to take a seat, "It seems our meeting will be expanded upon, Viktor. Two representatives from Talstadt are on their way; Hans Beruff of the Socialist Partei, and Klaus Waldmann of the Royalist Partei. They wished to meet with me this afternoon, which is when our official meeting will be taking place. I was wondering...what do you think we should do? Perhaps you and Herr Beruff would also like to discuss our Socialist matters at hand?" Collier took his seat behind his desk as he finished speaking, looking to Viktor with a soft smile, "After all, I'd hate to cause inconvenience for you, as our meeting was arranged at your request, but by my orders..."

The Herald smoothed a hand over his hair as he awaited a reply, his cap having been removed and placed on his desk.

[Talmann]

     Klaus Waldmann woke up with a jolt. Evidently he had become so used to this train-thing that he had fallen asleep. Which was not hard to believe. The Herald evidently saw that their ride was luxurious for their room looked like a palace. They even had a butler!
     "We're slowing down," Hans said. "I believe the men at the station said this was where we get off."
     "Yes," Klaus responded, "Yes, indeed." Klaus really didn't ever get to know Hans. He was so... introverted. Although, so was he, but Hans really kept to himself, not really wanting to talk much. Not what Klaus had expected of a "Socialist", but, then again, they were fairly new in Talstadt and no one knew too much about them.
     He heard the loud groaning of the train coming to a stop and then looked out the window. This station was far more crowded than the one they came in. "Well," said Hans, "Grab your bags, Klaus. Die Zeit ist vorbei..."
     No sooner had he said that that the doors opened with a swish. As the two men walked out, their ears were assaulted by a blast of deafening noise. Hans even had to cup his ears the noise was so painful. Klaus stopped and asked him if he was ok, to which he said, "Ja, glaub' ich so." A man approached them.
     "Guten Tag, Herrn. I can tell by the looks of you that you are from Talstadt, ja?"
     "Ja, sind wir. Wie heißen Sie? Sind Sie von dem Herald? (Yes, we are. Who are you? Are you from the Herald?)"
     "Yes. My name is Johannes Kroehner (OOC: Kröhner?), Ambassador of the Confederate Democratic Socialist Parliament."
     With the mention of Socialism, Hans came forward and spoke, "Ah, yes. Nice to meet you, Herr Kroehner. I am Hans Beruff, Head of Talstadt Socialist Partei, and this is my companion, Klaus Waldmann of the Royalist Partei. I am to assume that we have an appointment with the Herald, yes?"
     "Actually, I havn't been given the full okay on that yet. Yes, you will meet with the Herald. But it might be tomorrow. We are awaiting the Gallipoli-Chinese's response as to whether or not they would like to also meet with you. I can tell you that the Herald is hoping that you will be able to meet him today for lunch, and that you will be staying in the estate Kohlersburg. I really am sorry that I can not tell you about the meeting yet."
     "Quite alright, Herr. It sounds splendid. When do we leave for Kohlersburg?"
          "Right now, if you like, Herr Beruff."
     Klaus spoke up, "Yes, that sounds marvelös. Bitte sehr."
          "Alright. Let me get your bags.... Okay. I'll let the Herald know you've arrived and are on your way."