The General, The King and the corpse

[Transbaltia]

TBTV NEWS

KANZLER VON OSTLAND REMAINS UNCONSCIOUS AFTER AN ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION

THE ROYAL ADMIRALTY BUILDING. NEAR KAURTSBURG.

A group of Army officials hurry down a corridor and into a makeshift control room in one of the buildings old map rooms. “Shit!”, said Admiral Joachim Von Goring, the temporary head of the navy after a poorly timed jet skiing accident. “The Army is practically ready for war and we still don’t know who’s in charge of the damn country!”. The doors open and the Army officers rush in. The room falls silent for a moment to solute Marshall-General Hans von Bertricht. Despite being a lifelong Army man, Von Bertricht was the leader of all three branches of the armed forces, which caused some discontent to say the least among the navy and Air Force. He saw the Transbaltian army as the most important institution in the wurld, and in times of crisis, it should be the one to take lead. “Marshall General, I’m glad to see you here, we have no information out of Tavliga and the TV news seems to know anything before us.” Said the Admiral. “This is a time of crisis Admiral” said Von Bertricht. “The Cabinet is in disarray, the Landtags are nowhere to be seen, and the police are taking control of Tavliga. I think Falkenburg’s making a play.”

Albrecht Falkenburg is the Commandant of the Internal Security Directorate, The Deputy Minister for Justice and Law, and the Chief Inspector of the Tavliga Police Service. Everyone but the military was afraid of him, a series of poorly made decisions made him one of the most powerful men in the country, it is said that he kept the secrets of every Kanzler for the past half century and now, he may be just taking that position as well.

”Shit! Falkenburg?” Said the Admiral worryingly. “The Tavliga Garrison has been blocked off to the main city, the only contacts I have inside are the Palace Guards and my son in the university. The police have control of the hospital so even if the Kanzler wakes up Falkenburg might hold on to that for as long as he needs.” Said Von Bertricht. “The Grand Dukes on a helicopter to Runesburg, at least he’s out of Falkenburg’s hands there”. Suddenly the doors again swing open, in walks in Air Marshall Karl Von Heswick, a remarkable man, he survived not one but three plane crashes, mostly caused by himself, beloved by the people of his native Ostland. “Oh good the Air Force is here” the admiral says almost sarcastically. “Marshall General, how nice to see you again! Would you care for some tea?” Von Heswick exclaims. “This is no time for tea, Air Marshall. The Kanzler is down, all the roads to Tavliga are closed, the Army Commeseriat in Tavilga is being locked down by the god damn police and the Grand Duke is in hiding!” Von Bertricht says. “The police?” Asks the Air Marshall. “Yes the god damn police, I swear Falkenburg’s making a move. I just don’t know what to do.” Replies Von Bertricht. 
 

The three men fall silent for a moment. The uncertainty was tangible. If they did nothing there was a good chance that Falkenburg would seize power whether the Kanzler woke or not, but what they could do was not known. “We do have plans to retake the city” Von Bertricht says. “What?” Asks the admiral. “In case of an insurance or foreign invasion we have a plan to take back Tavliga from enemy hands”. “You know if we do that they might think we’re staging a coup, we could be branded traitors.” Says the Admiral. “What if we did stage a coup?” Asks the Air Marshall, “For all we know Falkenburg’s taken control, he’s the de facto leader, but if we can perform a counter coup, and reinstate the rightful leadership we’ll not only be performing our duty as defenders of the realm but also hailed as heroes.” The Air Marshall says with an opportunistic grin. “I don’t fight for this country for myself, Air Marshall, but if it means the preservation of Transbaltia, consider me an accomplice.” Von Bertricht says. “I dont know. I will assist of course, but if things go sour know that I will not be branded a traitor.” The admiral says. The three men nod. Von Bertricht finishes by saying “I’ll talk to Major Hermannson, meet me at Runesburg by 6, there we will make a plan, but until then good luck”.