[CONGO] Diplomatic Outreach to Poland

[ManBear]

"Thank you sir for your refreshing and quite frank reply. Again, I did not mean to cause any offense by the line of questioning."

The ambassador would stand from his seat and offer his hand to the man opposite of him.

"I will be in contact with you shortly regarding that and Poland cannot wait to hear of this new rail network."

 

[Kelly the Mad]

The Chief of the Army would shake the man's hand firmly and wish him well, before going back to the many matters of war and subversion that awaited him on his desk.

ManBear

 

[ManBear]

The Polish Ambassador would leave the Chief of Army and exit the building, where he would return to the Polish Embassy via Taxi, being sure to keep his identity secret from the driver.

 

[ManBear]

To: Muhammed Onwudiwe, Chief of the Army, Designated Regent Kelly the Mad

Subject: Trains and Railcars

CC: N/A

Security: Top Secret; Protected by POSP

Chief Onwudiew, I have reached out to my contacts within the part of the Polish Government that deals with the sales to foreign nations and they have provided me a list of engines that could suit the needs of the Congolese Empire. All of the engines utilize the standard gauge rails. PKP class ET22: Six-axle Electric freight train engine. Capable of speeds not exceeding 125km/h PKP class ED72: Four-car Electric Passenger engine. Capable of speeds not exceeding 110km/h PKP class EP08: Four axle, Electric engine designed for passenger trains; Capable of speeds not exceeding 125km/h PKP ckass EP09: Four axle, Electric engine designed for passenger trains; capable of speeds not exceeding 160km/h

Sincerely, Ambassador Pietr Zielenski Polish Foreign Ministry - Africa and the Middle East Division

 

[Kelly the Mad]

THE FOLLOWING IS SECURE
​

To: Ambassador Pietr Zielenski, Polish Foreign Ministry ( ManBear )

Subject: Re: Trains and Railcars

CC:

The Congo is interested in purchasing 200 units of the PKP class ET22 and 200 units of the PKP class EP08, as well as their accompanying passenger and flat bed cars. Whatever the price required, it will be paid in full.

Best Regards, Muhammed Onwudiwe, Chief of the Army, Designated Regent\

 

[ManBear]

To: Muhammed Onwudiwe, Chief of the Army, Designated Regent (Kelly the Mad)

Subject: Re: Trains and Railcars

CC: N/A

Security: Top Secret; Protected by POSP

Poland would willing to sell the ET22 at $2,100,000 apiece(Total 200x: $420,000,000) and the EP08 at $2,400,000 apiece(Total 200x: 480,000,000). This brings your grand total to $900,000,000. I have been advised that once the payment has been made, we will begin construction of the desired equipment.

Sincerely, Ambassador Pietr Zielenski Polish Foreign Ministry - Africa and the Middle East Division

 

[ManBear]

To: Muhammed Onwudiwe, Chief of the Army, Designated Regent (Kelly the Mad)

Subject: Trains and Railcars

CC: N/A

Security: Top Secret; Protected by POSP

To Muhammed Onwudiwe First let me congratulate the Imperial Congolese Army on the victory over the Turks and the Saudis. Your men showed true grit and courage in the face of adversity and came out in the winning position. Secondly, we would like to inquire as to how the infrastructure upgrades and the trains you purchased from us are doing. Are they meeting the standards for your burgeoning rail network? As the Congo's friend in Europe and Poland's only friend in Africa, we feel it is necessary to keep in touch with one another to insure our friends and allies are blossoming.

Sincerely, Ambassador Pietr Zielenski Polish Foreign Ministry - Africa and the Middle East Division

 

[Kelly the Mad]

THE FOLLOWING IS SECURE
​

To: Ambassador Pietr Zielenski ( ManBear )

Subject: Trains and Railcars

CC:

I apologize, but the Chief of the Army is currently highly occupied with many bureaucratic hurdles that are consuming much of his time. I will say that he is very thankful for your praise of our men's victory and that it was only with the help of our supporting nations, Poland among them, that we managed such a feat. While the Trains have been received, cataloged, and prepped, our attempts at constructing railroads have been somewhat... derailed, you could say, since we appointed our Rail Minister to the GA recently without taking the necessary steps of abolishing his previous titles, and we have yet to reach out to him about it. But we do have promising offers from several neighboring nations for railroad contracts, and so we have confidence we will be coming back for more locomotives soon.

Best Regards, Hamisi Falana, Chief of Defense

 

[ManBear]

To: Hamisi Falana, Chief of Defense (Kelly the Mad)

Subject: Trains and Railcars

CC: N/A

Security: Secured and Encrypted; Protected by POSP

It is quite alright. I understand that the burden of power is one that can be debilitating sometimes. As the head of the Africa and the Middle East division of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, I have been subjected to quite a lot of that myself. As for the derailment of your railway overhauls, that is quite unfortunate. We are also in the process of drawing up plans to bring the Polish Infrastructure into the 21st century and are quite looking forward to seeing how the Congo intends to do the same. As the war with Turkey and Saudi Arabia is over, I was wondering if I could set up a meeting to meet with someone regarding a trade agreement as well as a few other matters that will greatly benefit both Congolese Empire as well as the Polish Kingdom.

Sincerely, Ambassador Pietr Zielenski Polish Foreign Ministry - Africa and the Middle East Division

 

[Kelly the Mad]

THE FOLLOWING IS SECURE
​

To: Ambassador Pietr Zielenski ( ManBear )

Subject: Meeting

CC:

Thank you or having patience with me while I work on very important matters on the home front. We would be very much willing to meet in person and discuss trade and other matters. Preferably you could personally come and visit Kinshasa, perhaps before or after the discussions, we could take you on a tour of our accomplishments since coming into power? I believe you will be heartily impressed and will be able to bring back good words to your home country and superiors. We are prepared to accept you and any staff you bring along with you at any time.

Best Regards, Muhammed Onwudiwe, Chief of the Army, Designated Regent

 

[ManBear]

To: Muhammed Onwudiwe, Chief of the Army, Designated Regent (Kelly the Mad)

Subject: Meeting

CC: N/A

Security: Secured and Encrypted; Protected by POSP

It is quite alright, Regent Onwudiwe. We understand that home often comes first in importance to other matters. Coming to Kinshasa and viewing your splendid city would be most welcome. I will have my assistant email you the itinerary of our flight once everything has been setup and flight logs filed. During the visit, we can also see about getting the Polish Diplomatic mission to the Congo fully established and staffed to better our relations in the future. As of now, I can safely say the following will be attending: Myself, my personal assistant, representative of the Ministry of National Defense, representative from the Ministry of Economy, and a few security personnel.

Sincerely, Ambassador Pietr Zielenski Polish Foreign Ministry - Africa and the Middle East Division

 

[ManBear]

Secured, Private, and Encrypted

With travel plans filed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Foreign Minister would board the Tupolev Tu-154. Joining him would be his personal assistant, a representative from the Ministry of Economy, a representative of the Ministry of National Defense, a representative of the National Railway, two agents from the Polish Office for State Protection Departments I and III. This leads to a grand total of nine representatives for Poland boarding the flight to Kinshasa. After doing routine pre-flight checks, and going over the maintenance logs, the Air Force pilots would begin taxing onto the runway, following every direction given to them via the Air Traffic Control Tower before ascending to the designated altitude on takeoff. Once they reach their cruising altitude, the pilots would engage the autopilot system and begin going over their log books and instrument panels to insure there were no perceivable problems during the flight.

Once the plane neared Kinshasa Airspace, the pilots would engage manual control of the aircraft and begin contacting N'djili International Airport Air Traffic Control for permission to land and instructions. This was the first Polish visit to the Congo and the first time Royal Air Force Pilots would land there. They wanted to ensure they showed their professionalism and skill on the landing approach.

Kelly the Mad

 

[Kelly the Mad]

As the Polish plane entered Congolese airspace, an Imperial Congolese Air Force Mirage 2000-5 Mk2 fighter jet, launched from Charlie field, would pull up alongside the aircraft, flying slightly ahead of and to the left of the aircraft so that the pilots could make visual contact. Over the radio, spotty Polish speech came through, with a myriad of accents impossible to place.

"Polish craft, I do believe you carry the Foreign Minister... Welcome to the Congo! We will be redirected to a military base, as the commercial airport is not secured. Do not worry, all will proceed according to plans once you land. Follow me please."

It was now visible that the Congolese aircraft was unarmed. It was a simple escort. Through radio communications, as well as simply leading the plane, it would be redirected to the military airfield, behind high walls and armed guards. As the Polish aircraft touched down, a staircase would be rolled out to allow the Polish delegation to exit their aircraft. Waiting at the bottom of the stairs, arms presented, would be 40 members (20 on each side) of the young Congolese Counter-Terrorism unit, the best-trained soldiers on the continent. At the end of their line would stand the commander of the unit, who would do a courteous shallow bow to the Foreign Minister before turning and leading him and his delegation aboard a Mil Mi-26M helicopter, the insides outfitted with a nice seating arrangement for the delegation and seating on the sides for the soldiers. One of the pilots would come back to the hold, shake the Minister's hand, and guarantee him a short and painless flight. He would also invite them to look out of the windows at the passing capital city.

With that, the Helicopter would take off, and within minutes of low-flying at top speeds above the low rooftops of Kinshasa, they arrived on the grounds of the Palace of the Nation, the personal residence of the Emperor, however meeting him outside was not the Emperor but the Chief of the Army, and the regent. With a broad grin on his face, he would enthusiastically shake the hand of the minister.

"Hello! Welcome to the Congo! I apologize for the delays and redirections... simply safety precautions. But now we are here, and we can discuss. If you'll follow me, I'll show you to the study where we can finally talk."

He would lead them through the massive halls of the building, bringing them into a large, warm room, wood paneling on the walls, and the smell of alcohol and cigar smoke thick in the air. A half dozen officials, the Chief's of Defence, The Air Force, The navy, the Ministers of Infrastructure and Trade, and another man in a clean pin-striped suit who wasn't identified waited behind a long and ornately carved wood table, prepared for discussions.

ManBear

 

[ManBear]

As the broken Polish came over the radio, the two pilots looked at each other and stifled a laugh. Through the encrypted channel, the captain of the flight would respond.

"This is Polish Flight 248-Niner, reading you loud and clear Congolese Aircraft. We will adjust our heading and follow your instructions. And thank you for the warm welcome." Their speech was in perfect Polish with a south Poland accent.

The Tupolev Tu-154 would adjust its heading to follow the Mirage 2000 jets towards the military airfield, where the Mirage's presumably launched from, careful to follow all instructions given to them via the Congolese Fighter craft. Armed or not armed, the Tu-154 crew knew that anything could be seen as a hostile action and they were instructed to do their best to prevent a diplomatic incident. As the delegation stepped off the aircraft, they would all note the forty armed soldiers standing on either side of the staircase. Quite the welcome for a Foreign Minister and his entourage but they weren't complaining. Each of the delegation, save for the two intelligence agents bringing up the rear, wore smiles as they passed by the soldiers.

To the freshly trained agents, it was a show of force to their allies. The Congo had the biggest military on the continent of Africa, and most of Europe. Their job was to identify threats to Poland and her allies and relay that information to those that mattered. And that was their job here. To identify hostiles, relay that information to The Office, and attempt to subvert the threats while they can.

The Foreign Minister would return the bow to the commander of the unit before following the man onto the helicopter. The entourage would begin taking their seats in the aircraft, next to each other, as the Pilot came into the cargo hold and shake the hand of the Foreign Minister. As the helicopter flew low and fast over the countryside, the group of Polish emissaries would look out of the windows at the countryside and the skyline of Kinshasa. As the helicopter landed on the grounds of the Palace of the Nation, the Polish Delegates would begin their preparations.

"Thank you, sir. It is my pleasure to visit your beautiful country and see the sights. No worries. I understand the precautions as do my compatriots. Lead the way, my good sir."

After being lead through the halls to the large, warm room, each member of the Polish Delegation would greet the introduced officials and take their places behind their chairs at the wooden table.

"Now that we are all here, shall we begin?" The Foreign Minister spoke with an air of confidence.

Kelly the Mad

 

[Kelly the Mad]

"Yes, I think it is time now. Firstly, I will let you know that the finest drinks and smokes are at your disposal here, enjoy as you see fit, gentlemen."

He would gesture to a pair of cigar boxes and a number of bottles of various drinks and spirits on the table.

"I do believe the first matter you brought up was trade. Allow my minister of trade to speak."

He would gesture to a man across the table in a somewhat sloppily made suit... one could assume he didn't have the time desired to prepare for the meeting. But regardless he straightened his glasses and launched straight into his proposal.

"The Congo boasts a significantly sized freighter fleet, including 8 Combi-Freighter 19000s and 12 Combi-Freighter 3850s. These ships have impressive bulk carrying capacities, as well as limited shipment container carrying capacities. Looking over each of our Commercial Exports Registrar entries, I have decided that we will offer: One shipment of Congolese diamonds for One shipment of Polish amber. Vessel provided by the congo. Two shipments of Congolese cobalt for Two shipments of Polish sulfur. Vessels are both provided by the Congo. One shipment of Congolese coffee for One shipment of Polish car parts. Vessel to be provided by Poland."

"Does this sound reasonable? If Poland is unable to handle the shipping of the coffee and car parts we can pick it up for you however due to the lack of container freighters it will not be terribly efficient. Also, note that all of these ships will perform round trips with loads in both directions."

With the trade proposal set out, the Congolese men waited for the Poles to respond.

ManBear

 

[ManBear]

The delegates would all move to acquire their chosen vice. The National Defense and Economy representatives would each grab a glass of bourbon while the representative from the national Railway and the Foreign Minister himself would grab a cigar from one of the cigar boxes. The two intelligence agents would refrain from either one, as would the personal assistant to the Foreign Minister, citing religious reasons.

The first topic of the talks peaked the interest of the Foreign Minister as well as the Ministry of Economy representative.

"The Congo certainly boasts a sizable freighter fleet," piped up the Ministry of Economy representative. "I am Rafał Gorski and I'm a representative of the Ministry of Economy appointed to these talks." The man pulled a pad of paper down and began writing down figures. This certainly was something that Poland could benefit greatly from. "Just to make sure I got this correctly. One shipment of Congolese diamonds for one shipment of Polish amber. Two shipments of Congolese cobalt for two shipments of Polish sulfur. And finally one shipment of Congolese coffee for one shipment of Polish car parts. Vessels will be provided for the first two by the Congo while the shipment of coffee and car parts would be provided by Poland. Is that correct?" His eyes never leaving the pad of paper as he wrote down everything he was listing and listening to. "I do believe we can accommodate this supply. Now. Are we doing this trips weekly? Bi-weekly? Monthy? We can also offer our assistance with transporting one of the shipments of cobalt and sulfur. That way we are taking equal parts of labor in this agreement. We would each handle two, round-trip shipments each. Does this sound agreeable, Mister Onwudiwe?"

As Mister Gorski spoke, the two intelligence operatives would look about the room, keeping a special interest on the man who had not been introduced yet.

Kelly the Mad

 

[Kelly the Mad]

The regent would look to the Minister of Trade, allowing him to weigh in once more.

"Our shipping is best suited for bulk raw materials, and as such, I believe we ought to handle the shipments of cobalt and sulfur. As for the automobile parts and coffee, and the diamonds and amber, if you could pick up these items in likely smaller container freighters this would be in both nations' economic interests. However, if that is all agreeable I could begin drafting the orders immediately for our ships. I believe the bulk supplies can be shipped weekly, the car parts and coffee bi-weekly, and the diamonds and amber on a monthly basis. This would make sure that we do not drain our nation's natural resources before we are able to extract more." He would motion to one of the palace guards by the door, who would walk out, and then walk back in with a scrawny man in a poor suit and a laptop. Immediately he would begin typing up something while the Minister of Trade repeated the offer to him.

The mysterious man would catch the gaze of the intelligence agent and hold eye contact for a second before breaking it to grab a cigar. He gazed out at the collection of all-black Congolese ministers and the all-white Polish delegation. With a short chuckle, he reclined back in his chair, leaning the front legs off the ground, and smoked, a hand always low by his hip.

ManBear

 

[ManBear]

Representative Gorski nodded as the Minister of Trade offered his own revision of the agreement on transportation. It was a good thing that neither nation was putting more work into the relationship than the other. As his mother had always told him, a relationship is a fifty-fifty split. Both parties must work in cooperation with one another to grow a strong base and further the relationship until it blossoms into something beautiful.

"That works for us, sir. Poland will provide the transportation on a monthly basis of amber from Poland and return with diamonds from the Congo. On a bi-weekly basis, we will transport car parts from Poland and return with coffee from the Congo. While the Congo will provide two weekly shipments of cobalt from the Congo and return with two shipments of sulfur from Poland. Yes this is most agreeable with us. We are also free to sign the trade deal here and now since the Foreign Minister and myself have signed off on it."

The intelligence agents would watch the mysterious man recline back in his seat and give a soft chuckle at what sat before him. The Polish agents could not find the joke in the setting before them and were curious as to what was funny. The smaller of the two men left his spot from behind the Polish delegation and grabbed a cigar from the same box as the mysterious man. He placed the cigar in his mouth to test the moisture of the wrap.

"Care for a light, sir?" The Polish agent asked the mysterious man in a hushed tone so as to not disturb the trade talks happening a few steps away. He offered a quick glance at where the man's hand sat next to his hip and a wry smile to indicate he suspected he knew about the fire and lead hidden underneath.

Kelly the Mad

 

[Kelly the Mad]

The Ministers aid finished typing and left the room for a short moment before returning with a thick sheet of paper and a pair of ornate fountain pens. Laying it out on the table, upon review it would exactly detail what was earlier agreed upon, and the Trade Minister would sign it with a scrawling signature. He would wait for the Poles to sign it as well, as he began inputting into his own laptop that he brought onto the table the orders for the freighters.

As the Polish intelligence agent spoke up, the African would pull out an ornate butane Zippo lighter, custom made, in shiny chrome with a black stone inset for the details, including skulls, crossed rifles, and a prominently displayed catholic crucifix in the center. Flipping it open, he would light the man's cigar for him, before leaning back once more and looking the man up and down. After a brief pause, he would sit back up straight, then stand, and offer his hand to the man.

"I'm Bintu. A pleasure to meet you. I think that you would benefit from a tour of our most secure location in the country, one that no foreigner has ever even neared. Well, that isn't quite true, but I can't tell you here. If you may, I would gladly take you there and show you one of the most expensive facilities of its class in the world."

ManBear

 

[ManBear]

The Polish delegation waited patiently for the trade agreement to be printed and for the Congolese representatives to return. Upon their return, and subsequent placement of the official agreement in front of them, the Minister of Economy and the Foreign Minister took their respective times to go over the document to insure that nothing had been changed by their esteemed compatriots sitting opposite of them. Once their review was finished, each took a turn signing the document on the lines marked for them.

The Polish Agent took the man's hand into his own and shook it firmly, but not enough to hurt. Just to show that he had respect for the man and the man should have respect for him as well.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Bintu. I am Igor. This," he motioned towards his compatriot with a nod of his head, "Is Ivan. I do not know about touring this facility you speak of, but we would like to talk with you while these bureaucrats finish their boring paperwork. A short walk, perhaps?"

The Polish men were highly trained. Trained in secret for six months before division III was trained by Polish Special Forces in secret in various forms of self defense, offensive tactics, driving, and shooting to name a few. The agents of the Polish Office for State Protection took their job seriously. Nor were they stupid enough to believe they would be simply receiving a tour of the most guarded facility within the Congo. But, if they could form alliances between Polish Intelligence and Congolese Intelligence they could count their mission as successful.

Kelly the Mad