The Norwegian Crisis

[Odinson]

Nowhere in the world was a crisis less expected than the Kingdom of Norway. It was an ancient nation that had its roots in Viking warriors who were responsible for the invasion of the British Isles and undoubtedly shaping world-history as a result of it. During World War Two, many less powerful nations in Europe sheepishly accepted Nazi rule. However, when the German Navy attempted to sail battleships into the fjord connecting Oslo to the rest of the world, the Norwegian Navy opened fire and sunk these ships which were “peacekeeping” forces from the Germans.

This bid just enough time for King Haakon VII to escape Norway’s capital, Oslo, by train. Parliament and the Prime Minister were desperate. They had to abandon their own capital as the most powerful military in the world sailed into Oslo’s harbor. Capitulation and unconditional surrender were among the popular topics of Norway’s parliament, the Storting. King Haakon made it clear to the Prime Minister and the Parliament that if the Norwegian government peacefully surrendered sovereign control of Norway to the Nazis, he would abdicate as King. The Parliament ultimately decided to grant emergency powers to the King and adjourned until they could once again safely assemble. In an amazing feet by the British Royal Navy, and a daring escape by King Haakon which was only possible due to the selfless sacrifice of the outmanned and outgunned Norwegian Army, a government-in-exile was established in London.

After the second World War, Norway slowly rebuilt and reorganized itself. Its valient efforts in World War Two included the King’s refusal to surrender, and the Norwegian military carrying on the fight in the mountains of the north. This northern campaign including the destruction of a heavy-water factory which, had it not been destroyed, would have contributed to the Nazi atomic program.

Norway remained a nation on the back-burner of European politics for quite some time. It wasn’t until oil was discovered in the North Sea, and Norway began to develop platforms over it, that the Norwegian government had its coughers filled. This led to a massive shift in the already improving kingdom. While large sums of oil-money were used to improve Norway, a national savings-account was also created because the government had the foresight to know that one day, oil would not be the world’s primary energy source. And, rightfully so.

Since World War Two, the significant event we will concern ourselves with is that an abrupt national tragedy, which was quickly contained, unfortunately resulted in the loss of life of many members of the royal family. This tragedy was so severe that a distant relative of the King had to step up to reign. Today, one of his dissidents, King Enoch is the reigning King of Norway. He’s only 23 years-old and was rushed into being the sovereign of Norway after the recent death of his father. He’s been left with little official guidance, but luckily has the backing of his new wife, Queen Sophia, and his uncle Ingvar who is a well-honored general in the Norwegian Army.

Despite Norway’s recent international success for a nation its size, the last year has been stressful. International and inter-European aggression has sparked some waves of nationalism and economic radicals in the otherwise harmonious kingdom. Everything came to a head in the year 2012. The Prime Minister made the mistake of calling a snap election to consolidate his power. His government was not the most powerful, and the people backlashed by voting for a number of third parties. However, no one expected that such drastic outcomes would emerge from the election. Indeed, fraud was not only expected, but known. A carefully coordinated cyber attack on the Norwegian political system resulted in a decisive victory of the Red Party and Labor Party of Norway, when in reality the Conservatives had been elected to a majority. Several lawsuits were filed by the Conservative Party of Norway, one directly from the Prime Minister himself, which quickly made its way to the Supreme Court.

This is where we begin our story of King Enoch and Queen Sophia. Enoch’s father had taken the throne after a devastating tragedy involving the Norwegian royal family. Enoch himself was mostly unknown, and had yet to prove himself to the people of Norway. His highest public accomplishment, however, was becoming an officer in the Marinejegerkommandoen (English: Marine Hunter Command) which was the original special forces unit of Norway. At the absolute least, King Ench commanded the respect of Norway’s military. Trondeim, the third largest city in Norway, is the ancestral home of Enoch. This is where we find him now.

Thondeim was the ancient capital of the Norwegians during the Viking age up until the year 1217. It is also home to the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world, Nidaros Cathedral, which had its groundbreaking almost one-thousand years ago in the year 1070. Enoch was alone inside the ancient church. He was laying down in the first pew among the towering columns of stone and beautiful stained glass. The young king was battling to stay awake. It was only five in the afternoon, but travelling to Thondeim from Oslo was a bit of a journey, and only now was he beginning to feel relaxed on this “vacation” home. Elections were ongoing so he would soon have to return to Oslo. What he didn’t know was that the elections had ended a day ago.

Enoch’s eyes opened when he heard someone opening one of the massive, old doors to the cathedral. He had asked not to be disturbed, but that request was rarely respected. He remained motionless and hoped that it wasn’t someone who was looking for him.

“King Enoch!” shouted an older male voice.

There were only one person who would address him as “King Enoch” instead of “Your Majesty”. He sat up, and saw his uncle Ingvar approaching the front of the cathedral. Ingvar wasn’t as tall as his nephew, who was 6’6”, and was more portly for sure. The old man’s white hair was distinguishable from a mile away, as was his commanding voice.

“Uncle, what are you doing here?” Enoch asked. Ingvar was supposed to be in Oslo, preparing the Home Guard for some minor military exercises.

“You need to keep up-to-date with the news, nephew. There is a government-crisis ongoing in Oslo,” Ingvar sat next to Enoch, who now had all of his attention on his uncle.

“What do you mean? Who won the election? It was the Conservatives, right?” Enoch had no idea how this election could have been controversial.

“No… The NKP was announced to hold a controlling-majority,” Ingvar said this like he didn’t have much faith in the results. The NKP was the “Norwegian Communist Party”. It had never won any seats in the Storting, and the few times that one member of the Storting was a communist, they came from the more mainstream “Red Party”.

“The NKP!?” Enoch’s voice echoed throughout the cathedral. “Has anyone contested the election? Surely this must have been some kind of error.”

“I left Oslo” the old man said “because I think the non-violent paths for a resolution to this problem are becoming fewer and fewer. There are several groups trying to consolidate power in Oslo right now. You are the sovereign of Norway, you voicing your support for one of these groups could help to defuse the situation.”

“Norway is a democracy, uncle. I can’t dictate to the government what to do. What groups are consolidating power?” Enoch stood up and began to pace back and forth.

“Not dictate,” Ingvar corrected, “There is the old government which has filed a lawsuit to stop the communists from taking power, and keeping them in power, until it can be proven that there was no election fraud. The old government is still in session and has refused to leave the Storting building. The communists have filed a separate lawsuit and are holding their own session in another building in Oslo. The Supreme Court is reconvening today in an emergency session to hear these cases.”

Enoch put his hands behind his head and leaned his head back as he let out a worried sigh, “So we have two governments now.”

Ingvar stood up and put his hand on his nephew’s shoulder, “You have two governments now, King Enoch, and soon the Prime Minister will call for your recognition to maintain the government, and the communist PM will call for you to recognize has Storting as the legitimate one. It’s only a matter of time before one of them tries to issue orders to the Army or the police.”

Enoch’s stunning physique and chiseled features were not just a happenstance. He had been an officer in the Marinejegerkommandoen (literally translated as: Marine Hunter Command, but meant to mean: ) which is part of Norway’s special forces. His youth and recent service in the military earned him respect from the armed forces, though it wasn’t clear if such zeal could lead to Norwegian generals and officers taking the orders of the king over that of one of the two governments.

King Enoch and Ingvar left the cathedral and returned to their private cabin outside of the city. Queen Sophia was inside on the secure landline. It seemed that she had just answered the phone because there was still a book in her right hand.

“Who is that?” Enoch whispered as he walked over to her.

“I don’t know him, he says his name is Karl Bjork. He wanted to talk to you, but he said he could talk to me in the meantime.” Sophia could sense something was wrong, especially by the unexpected visit from Ingvar. Enoch took the phone from her.

“This is the King. To whom am I speaking?” Enoch said frustratingly.

On the other end of the phone there were a few moments of silence before a response was heard.

“Your Majesty, this is Karl Bjork. My party has received a majority in the Storting. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but the old government has refused to leave the Storting building. I was hoping that you could resolve this matter by declaring me Prime Minister.”

Enoch gripped the phone harder.

“Mister Bjork, a lawsuit has been issued by the Prime Minister alleging voter fraud. I have been informed that the Supreme Court is reconvening to hear the lawsuits presented. I ask that you wait for the courts to decide what happens next. Consider it your patriotic duty to our democracy.”

Again, there was silence on the other end of the line for several moments.

“Yes, Your Majesty. May I ask where you are at the moment? With the ongoing troubles I would like us to be able to ensure your safety.”

Enoch looked at the phone and then hung it up.

“He wanted me to recognize his government, and he asked where we are. How many people know that we are in Trondeim? This is supposed to be a private trip.”

“Everyone in the palace knows,” Ingvar said as he checked his watch. “Like I said before, we only have a matter of time before this problem resolves itself and we will not be able to influence the outcome. I’m afraid they may refuse to wait for the Supreme Court-”

Ingvar’s cell phone began to ring. He checked the caller-ID and answered it.

“Yes, what has happened?”

Ingvar listened for a few moments as Sophia made her way to the only television in the cabin and turned it on to a news channel. She didn’t want to interrupt the conversation. Enoch could see protestors in Oslo, pictures of who he assumed to be Karl Bjork, a still-picture of the Supreme Court building, and then a transition to a live-feed of the Prime Minister. Enoch couldn’t hear his voice because the television was on mute, but the news banner at the bottom read, PRIME MINISTER RESIGNS.

“They have the Prime Minister’s family,” Ingvar said after hanging up his phone. “And Karl Bjorn just issued a warrant for the arrest of you and Queen Sophia, to place in ‘protective custody’.”

Ingvar’s commanding, general-like voice erupted from his mouth as he grabbed his nephew by his shoulders, “You need to do something now!”

Enoch found himself out of breath for a moment.

“Can the MJK get us to where the Home Guard and the Armored Battalion are doing training exercises?” Enoch asked.

Ingvar let go of his nephew’s shoulders and unlocked his phone.

“Yes, I think we could get a helicopter to take the three of us.”

One hour and twenty minutes later, a helicopter was deployed from Ramsund Naval Station with several MJK special forces onboard. They landed outside of Trondeim and picked up King Enoch, Queen Sophia, and Ingvar. The helicopter brought them west of to Minnesund, which is just outside of Olso, and is where majority military exercises were taking place. The following takes place four hours after the trio landed outside in Minnesund.

Parts of downtown Oslo had been in chaos earlier in the day. Citizens had poured into the streets and were protesting the newly elected communist government. The news media made it clear that fraud was widely believed to be the reason for their victory. Supporters originally began to protest outside of the Supreme Court building as well, but this was quashed by riot police. Matters were made worse when it was reported that two of the Supreme Court justices were found killed in their homes. Several other justices reportedly fled Oslo or were detained by the communist government. In response, the old government which was held up in the Storting building passed a resolution declaring martial law. Because the Prime Minister resigned, the Foreign Minister was supposed to take command, but he was not in the Storting building and was believed to be in the custody of the communists.

After the police subdued the public, at least in downtown Oslo, the streets were mostly silent. The police, most of which weren’t sure which government to take orders from, were only prioritizing keeping the peace. They did not try to stop the following from happening, because they knew whomever it was, he was now in power.

An entire mechanized infantry unit of the Norwegian Army, plus ten Leopard-2 tanks, grinded down Highway 4 towards downtown. Police, citizens, and government officials alike were shocked to see over a thousand heavily-armed soldiers and multipurpose fighting vehicles marching into the capital of the nation. Such a large military presence hadn’t been seen in Oslo since the Nazi invasion, and subsequent liberation, in World War Two.

Once the regiment was downtown, most of the soldiers stepped out of their mechanized vehicles, affixed bayonets, and continued to march towards the Storting building. The physical marching of the soldiers in their combat uniforms was part of an attempt to intimidate. The military procession turned onto Karl Johans Gate, which was the road that ran directly from the royal palace to the Storting Building. The Leopard 2 tanks positioned themselves on either side of the Storting as the infantry and mechanized vehicles followed from behind.

Outside of the Storting building were soldiers and police who were barricaded behind sandbag walls in case the communists would try to take the building. The soldiers and police loyal to the old government had no idea who the regiment was loyal to. They had their weapons trained on the tanks and soldiers marching towards them, but they were certainly outgunned. Officers were trying to get orders from inside, but those in charge inside were in a chaotic state as they saw battle-tanks approaching the building. Then, to everyone’s astonishment, King Enoch walked out from among the tanks and started walking towards the steps of the Storting.

His raw height alone gave away who he was. Instead of a suit or formal uniform, Enoch was wearing a leather bomber’s jacket and military slacks that were tucked into combat boots. His hands were snuggly resting in the pockets of the leather jacket. The soldiers kept their weapons trained on him and the army behind him. Enoch passed several barriers and groups of soldiers, and finally stooped at the steps of the building which were entirely blocked by armed personnel.

“Make way for your King!” Enoch said in a demanding voice.

The soldiers seemed unsure of what to do, until finally one of the officers lowered his weapon, and stepped back. A hole in the barricade quickly formed. Enoch walked past them, and entered the Storting building. Everyone he passed was surprised to see him, but the ceremonial guards and soldiers did nothing to stop him. He walked up to the doors to the chamber, and opened one of them himself. He began making his way to the middle of the chamber, and soon enough MPs noticed his presence. Within seconds the entire chamber was standing and murmuring. The President had no idea what to do but also stand. Once in the middle of the chamber, Enoch made his declaration to the entire chamber.

“Mister President, I am sacking my remaining ministers and dissolving the Storting.”

Despite what the old government wanted, the King had the right to dissolve the parliament and sack his ministers. Not wanting to give them any more legitimacy, a message was sent to Karl Bjorn that the Storting had been dissolved, which implied that his shadow-government was now defunct. Everyone in the shadow government was detained by the Norwegian Police. That evening, King Enoch addressed Norway.

Enoch returned to the Palace with Sophia and his uncle, showered, got dressed, and prepared a televised address to Norway and quite possibly the world. From his private study, a Norwegian camera crew went live, and broadcast his speech.

The first few seconds of his speech were just him starting into the camera before he began.

“Over the past seventy-two hours, the government has faced a series of critical failures that have crippled its ability to function. Suspected major fraud in the recent election has led to a radical party being elected to a majority of the Storting. Lawsuits were filed to contest the election, but our Supreme Court was intimidated into not acting, and two of our justices were tragically killed. The old government continued to occupy the Storting building, while the new government tried to operate on its own. Then, the Prime Minister resigned because of threats made against his family.

“Both governments asked for my recognition, and I have denied both. This afternoon, after a warrant for my arrest was ordered by Karl Bjorn, I entered Oslo with a regiment of the Army. I entered the Storting building to inform parliament that I was sacking my remaining ministers, and dissolving the Storting until further notice.

“I understand that the measures I have taken will worry and scare many. As a proud Norwegian and supporter of our democratic system, I can guarantee you now that I am not here to permanently take control of our country’s entire government. However, at this moment, the crown is the supreme governing authority in Norway. After consideration with my closest advisors, I decided this was the best step to take to prevent either a radical government from taking power, or a civil war.

“For the next three days, I will keep Oslo in martial law. During this time, I will begin the process of inviting representatives from around the country for an emergency constitutional convention. Following this convention, which we will work to make as speedy as possible, new democratic elections will be held. In the meantime, I will order the National Police to begin an investigation into the mass voter-fraud that has brought these troubles onto our country.

“I will continue to issue updates on the progress of these goals… I ask for your faith and loyalty in this grave time. We will make it through this crisis, but the people need to do their part as the rest of us do ours. I have my utmost faith in all of you.

“Alt for Norge.”