Adler's Exchange

Congress Building,
Altenburg, Adler


The full congress had assembled for the speech that was to be delivered by Chancellor Wolf. With the war in favor of the Republic, the national morale high, it was a mere formality when the main opposition leaders protested the waste of time and money that would go into assembling the full government. Assemblies like this only took place at the State of the Union, Extraordinary sessions such as the Declaration of War just a few weeks prior and sessions to honor visiting Heads of State or Government.

With the war ongoing, security was higher than usual at this kind of gathering, which is to say quite a bit as the Republic’s security protocols for such an event was already quite high. Flags fluttering and the speech ongoing, the broadcast suddenly stopped. Security Klaxons began their errie wale across the capital as smoke billowed and rubble collapsed where the Capitol Building once stood. Emergency personnel and military vehicles rapidly made there way to the site. Smoke billowed out and the sky turned a fiery orange grey as a haze seemed to settle over the city. Martial law was quickly declared and the nation seemed to hold its breath.

It was near instantaneous that the military began to order a complete halt to their advance in Nolvik. No word had come out of the Foreign Department. It was a total blackout with the media in a frenzy and the nation wondering who, if anyone, had survived. Reports looks grim though as the rubble of the House Chamber was completely collapsed and the windows in a fifteen block radius shattered. All members of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches had been present save for the designated survivor, the Secretary of State who happened to be in Drakhma on a last minute visit ordered by Chancellor Wolf, and one of the five Joint Chiefs of the Defense Staff.

It would be three hours before the nation would have its answer. The acting chancellor was to be Alphonse Lehardt, designated survivor of the Executive Branch and now former Undersecretary of Defense. As Acting Chancellor Lehardt announced to the nation that the government had been destroyed and that the Governors of the States were to be assembled in the capital to pick new senators post haste, he also informed the nation that the war effort was to be halted until further notice but forces were not to withdraw.  Secretary of State Eindhoven was directed to fly to Nolvik under a flag of truce to discuss a ceasefire.

Martial law was declared across the nation and under a little known clause of the Constitution, Acting Chancellor Lehardt declared that rights to assemble, freedom of the press and freedom against unlawful detention suspended as the suspects of the attack were to be hunted. A national call to arms against the enemies of the republic has gone out. Surprisingly enough though the Acting Chancellor and what is left of the national government has made no attempt to blame any organization or state for the attack at this time. Adler is on high alert and their enemy would do well to take heed that a caged animal can be the most dangerous.

Altenburg, Adler

Alphonse Lehardt had been sworn in officially as Chancellor of the Adler Republic at 9:30am in the command bunker at an undisclosed location in the capital city. No public fanfare, no inauguration. No instead this was a solemn occasion officiated by the Chief Prelate of the Federal Capital District Court. The audience were staffers and military officers. The whole process had been video recorded so as to put it into the records for posterity. The flags were draped around the room and the little lights on the consoles continued to flash, much like the world kept spinning after the elimination of the majority of the senior government. Truthfully it was a good thing to remember, not matter what happens to you or your people, the world would continue to spin.

The deflection by the Government when they were criticized by Meridia for their curtailing of rights during the State of Emergency had appeared to be a success. The AU led by Parthenopias appeared to be more outwardly concerned by the ongoing inability of Meridia’s central government to prevent their own state of Carnato from carrying out torture. This had proved to be beneficial as attention shifted away the new government under Chancellor Lehardt was able to further clamp down by arresting the few people they had leads on while also detaining them in off the book places. Already though the Ambassadors for Matorre and Istria had been expelled and the Adleran ambassadors withdrawn. Embassies were being closed in those respective nations and throughout the rest of the members of the Iron Axis.

While the military remained in Nolvik, there were rumors that should a satisfactory deal be reached with their government, that the Adleran military would disengage and withdraw. More rumors suggested that a redeployment would take place and that Adler considered the IA to be responsible for the Capitol Bombing. Publicly however there was no statement of the latter let alone public evidence to back it up. State Governors were set to announce their appointments to the Senate in the next few days while the special House Elections would take place sometime late in the month of October.

The young Chancellor inherited a nation that was on the brink of chaos following an attack of unprecedented proportions. A national call to arms was needed but the wrong call to arms would drag the weary and frightened nation into a war that it shouldn’t have been in. Already the economy was in shock which prompted Chancellor Lehardt to close the banks and the stock market so as to prevent billions from being wiped out in a matter of hours.

President Kapir and Prime Minister Delachrios of Drakhma were both rumored to be enroute to Adler for a special meeting though the location and the subject matter were undisclosed. Roads, highways and even the parks throughout the nation were empty. Fear still gripping the public. Shops closed, events cancelled and the very heart of the Republic, the forums, were empty. A state such as this is not one that would be expected to survive, the fate of the nation had changed and her values were being tested.