[h1]England[/h1]
[hr]

[b]Winchester, District of Winchester, England[/b]

Reginald Craven, Prime Minister of England, sat in cabinet. The smooth, varnished surface of the conference table was cool to the touch, though Craven felt certain to pent-up tension in the room would shortly change that. To his left sat the Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Levis. On his right, the wide bulk of Isacc Forthright, Foreign Secretary, occupied a space significantly greater than his seat. 

The paper in front of him said; 'War Plans'.

"We have developed several contingency plans for war against various potential threats, Prime Minister." began the Minister of Defence, Clark Smith, across the table. "The situation in Europe is largely stable at present - there are the French, of course, but their defeat against the Catalans last month has put an end to their ambitions at present. Calais is therefore secure. Nevertheless, we are prepared."

With that, the Defence Secretary produced a chart of the northern French coastline from somewhere within his briefcase. It looked almost like a board game, especially when Smith began placing various representations of units across the map, before proceeding to shift them around as he explained strategy. The process was repeated for wars against the Scottish clans, the Dutch principalities, even naval skirmishes against Vornehem.

The Prime Minister brought attention to that example.
"I recently received word from our embassy in Rekjavik that the Iri-, excuse me, 'Vornehem' intend to incorporate the island into their Empire. One of their Empress' ladies' maids is an agent of Queen Catherine, and has confirmed the rumour as true. It seems that the Icelanders have been intimidated into peacefully acquiescing to a Vornehem annexation."

There was an audible intake of breath from the cabinet. They knew as well as the Prime Minister that such an action directly threatened English interests, though the annulment of the Acts of Union after the collapse of the UK rendered the North Atlantic of less interest to England than it had been before.

"We shall not risk war with Vornehem over this matter, unless provoked." stated the PM. "Nevertheless, I have instructed our ambassador to lodge a formal diplomatic complaint. I have also ordered the Irish Sea Squadron reinforced in case of need. The Manx garrison will be strengthened in the coming weeks."

Then the Foreign Secretary spoke up. 
"The Foreign Office has concluded that, in order to forestall any further increase in the power of Vornehem in and around the British Isles, it may become necessary to guarantee the independence of the various Scottish clans. A strengthening of our existing arrangement with the Bretons may also be of use."

"Quite." said the Home Secretary, Susan Amber. "We must be on our guard. The Vornehem are notorious for their interventionist nature, and may attempt to covertly destabilise the confederation of the English states. The competition between Yorkshire and Lancashire for influence in the Margraviate of Northumbria, for example, must be addressed before any foreign power chooses to take advantage of the controversy."

"I agree." replied the Prime Minister. "But it is time this meeting was adjourned. We shall reconvene at ten tomorrow morning. Ensure you are all ready to discuss these issues."

As he rose from the table, he patted the Foreign Secretary gently on the shoulder before smoothly exiting the room, pleased at the progress that had been made but concerned at the challenges to English interests.