[b]Robertson Barracks, Northern Territory; Australia [/b]

“Which o’ you boys fancies yourself a man, eh?” Captain Anthony Martin Lee yelled out, his New Zealand easily noticeable.

They had been running for nearly an hour. The captain had dragged second company out of the base and decided they would go for a run, with full gear, in the desert. Half the men were leaning over and wheezing, with the other half barely breathing through gulps of lukewarm water. They had just gotten back to the base, and were now lined up in formation in front of the captain, who was pacing back and forth impatiently. He began to wave a fresh bottle of cold water in the air, his head turning to look at the crowd of exhausted soldiers.

“Anybody? Anybody at all?” The captain repeated.

Lee stands 175cm tall (5’9) and weighs 82kg (180lb). The man may not have been very tall, but he was stout, broad shouldered man. His dark black, straight hair is always cut down to regulation length. The captain’s tanned forehead was glistening with sweat as he glared at the gathered mob. Anthony had run with the men as well, carrying his own gear. Yet he was the only one who didn’t look as if they were about to fall over and die. Of course, Anthony was the only one ranked over first lieutenant. He also had the longest military track record. He had a couple of years on all of them, though.

One of the men, a round headed and round bellied young man, raised his head as he approached the captain. He saluted the captain.”Corporal Antis? Well, mate. I can’t say I’m surprised you’d be first.” The captain smiled. The corporal gave the captain his own toothy smile, and stood at attention. The small Mohawk that adorned the corporal’s head was uncovered when Antis removed his helmet. This was the third run in three days, and each one ended in the captain taunting the men with cold water. Lee even offered to give it to the man who could take it from him. No one had, yet. This was Antis’ third time trying, as well. Antis leaped towards the captain, aiming to tackle him. Lee avoided with ease, shoving Antis to the ground and stepping on his back.

”Your mighty strong, corporal, but you’re as dumb as a brick.” The captain teased his trooper.

“Now!” Three men shouted out in unison.

Suddenly, the captain found his legs being dragged out from under him, and his face hitting the grass. The bottle had been snatched from his hands, and he could hear the combined cheering of four men.”Harris! Thompson! Antis! Wilson! Fall in!” The captain shouted, standing up. The four men scrambled forward, getting into a line. The captain stood there for a moment, just glaring at them. The Anthony smiled, and nodded to the men.”Good work.” The captain turned around, and the soldiers were beginning to cheer again.”Oh.” Anthony interrupted.”And you all have kitchen duty tonight.” The men groaned, and the captain returned to the front of the formation.

“Captain Lee! Captain Lee!” A man dressed in combat fatigues came running out of a building towards the captain.”What is it?” The captain asked.”Brigadier O’Connell requests all commissioned officers in the command center immediately!” The captain nodded, and began to jog over towards the command center. Whatever this was, it seemed serious.

As the captain entered the command center, he noticed that everyone was gathered around a large television set. Lee moved over towards them, between two Lieutenants.”What’s goin’ on?” Lee asked, taking a seat.”The Prime Minister of Britain is giving a speech, mate!” One of them whispered excitedly.

[b] Canberra, Australia – Twenty minutes after the Prime Minster’s speech [/b]

Currently, the Australian Senate was having the most heated debate since its founding. The senate has always been considered the more docile of the two houses of parliament, however today both of them were equally as loud. The Governor-General sat in his throne behind the president’s chair, watching the senate verbally attack its’ self. The President of the Senate was attempting to gain control, yelling and furiously banging his gavel. Chapman ran a hand through his short, wavy blonde hair, ruining the styling his intern had attempted to give him for the occasion. As soon as he heard the announcement of an emergency meeting, he knew there wouldn’t be time for pictures.

“Enough!” Governor-General Chapman screamed at the top of his lungs. His loud, commanding voice usually accustomed to a battlefield was easily heard and recognized by all, and the fighting died down instantly.”You are the men and women who run this country.” Chapman began, standing up and starting to move down to the floor.”Yet you sit here and bicker and scream like children! You’ve done this every time the subject is brought up!” Mark spoke loud and clear, his piercing blue eyes patrolling the senators. Being six feet and two inches tall, Chapman could see everyone as he walked.

“There’s a reason the Kingdom of Australia was overthrown. The people demanded it. They’ve been rebelling since Australia became sovereign!” The Governor-General stopped in front of the president’s seat, turning to face the senate.”Quiet yourselves, and cast your votes like civilized people. Will you?” With that, the Governor-General returned to his seat and the casting began.

After about forty minutes, the casting was finished. The senate had voted to request to rejoin the British Empire officially, having overcome them by a small margin. The House of Representatives took far longer to settle down and vote, however they eventually voted, coming to the same conclusion as the senate. So the Governor-General drafted a letter to be sent to the Prime Minster of the former British Empire, and had the Australian representatives present in England write the letter and have it sent to the British.

The letter reads:

[i] Dear Prime Minister Owen Pyke,

I would like to formally thank you, as representative for the Commonwealth of Australia, for your tremendous efforts in re-establishing the mighty British Empire. We, the people of Australia, have long stridden to rebuild the once mighty nation that has survived so many years. War has been fought over the right for the British to rule us, even though your once great nation was in shambles. But you have rebuilt that nation’s homeland. So now, we the people, wish to be the first to willingly join the British Empire as a commonwealth. 
 -Sincerely,
 
 Governor-General Mark Chapman [/i]