EDITORIAL
Two months ago, the primary problems facing the government of the Protectorate of Afrazure Altlandique had to do with the rebuilding of that country's civic life and physical infrastructure, both of which had languished badly during the waning days of the "Mercantile Empire of Africablue." The sudden collapse of the Yellow Free State's authority in "Yellow Melania" and the equally sudden emergence there of a "Provisional Government" apparently made up of well-organized indigenous revolutionaries, has forced Sir Genthar Jengling and his associates to push aside most of their previous concerns and to conectrate their attention on the possibility that they will be forced to defend the Altlandic position in west-central Melania. Indeed, the situation there has become so problematic that nothing less than the doubling of the kingdom's military presence by the introduction of a whole division of the Altlandic Army seemed to constitute an adequate response. Now, with the troops on the way, the King himself has taken ship for the Protectorate to conduct a month-long tour of inspection and to conduct consultations with the civilian and military officials into whose hands he has committed the governance and defense of Afrazure.
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FLOTENBURG (Hvnk.) -- With the Riksfildar Division already steaming toward the port of Medhinou aboard the ships of the Northern Fleet, His Altlandic Majesty, George II Victor, accompanied by the two commanders of the Afrazure Expeditionary Force, the Army's General Sir Herald Oksenstal and the Navy's youngest flag-rank officer, Vice-Admiral Sir Baldur Norling, sailed after them today from the King's Wharf in Flotenburgh. Traveling on the Royal Yacht Jergenstrost, smaller and swifter than any naval vessel, they are expected to arrive at Medhinou late Monday, several hours before the first of the troop transports. The Jergenpalas has remained silent on the exact length of the King's visit to his Protectorate and on his place of residence while Afrazure. A recent communication with his brother-monarch King Edward II of Christiania, released for publication yesterday, implies that he intends to return to Midlburgh by the beginning of December. Informed sources close to the palace insist, however, that in the event of an outbreak of hostilities on the tense border with the former Yellow Melania, His Majesty plans to lead his troops in person. "I don't wear these silly uniforms just to pose for pictures," the King is reported to have said. |
Meanwhile, the joint statement issued by the three Chancellors in His Majesty's name on Thursday remains unanswered. This could be a good sign, say experienced officials at the Chancellery for Diplomatic Relations, since it means that the Provisional Government which presently controls the territory formerly known as Yellow Melania is apparently considering carefully how to react to the statement, the most careful and explicit exposition of Afrazurean policy yet issued by the Altlandic government. International reaction has also been muted, and the announcement of the King's intention to spend a month reviewing the situation in the protectorate has likewise caused no sensation. The Governor General of the Protectorate, seasoned diplomatist and administrator Sir Genthar Jengling, has expressed his satisfaction at the joint declaration of the Chancellors as well as his eager anticipation of the King's arrival, which he emphasized would boost the already high moral of the Royal Guards Regiments which have been serving in the Protectorate for the past several months. His Majesty will conduct an inspection tour of all Altlandic military installations in the country and use the occasion to distribute the newly-minted "Afrazurean Service Medal" to those Guards who were the first to take up duty there. |
V-Adm. Sir Baldur Norling Altlanders may be relatively unfamiliar with the two commanding officers who will arrive in Medhinou with the King next week, but both are in their own rights remarkable men. Sir Herald Oksenstal was the officer made responsible for clandestinely disseminating His Majesty's prohibition of violent resistance at the start of the Neonesian usurpation. This mission accomplished, he slipped out of the country in a Niumarktshavn fishing boat and joined the King as aide-de-camp during his exile, returning to Altland only when sent for by Sir Alexander Alexicot shortly before the UNV-sponsored referendum which restored the monarchy. His colleague in charge of naval forces, Vice-Admiral Sir Baldur Norling, born in the Duchy of Norrik in December of 255, became ten years ago the youngest officer ever raised to flag rank in the history of the Royal Altlandic Navy. Having served heroically as an underground naval intelligence officer during the Usurpation, he has been in command of the Fleet of the North since the Restoration. His wife Julliette and his two sons, Koegmen and Jules, will soon join him in Afrazure and reside there during his period of duty. Afrazurean Crown Prince Youssef, who had at first planned to return to his native land in the King's company, has decided instead to remain in Komdn until the end of Term, after which he will go to the Protectorate to spend the holidays. |
