My fellow citizens of ONIWARRI, Tonight, I come before you not with an announcement of war, but with a warning. The nation we once knew as the Pacific Standard has fractured. A country that stood beside us, worked alongside our scientists, shared intelligence with us, and helped us unlock some of the greatest scientific discoveries of our generation is now at war with itself. The Pacific Standard has become two nations: the United Cast of Polymer, and the Front for Green Superiority. And tonight, that conflict has reached the sea. Earlier today, the frigate PS Machete was seized by members of the Front for Green Superiority. The Machete was commissioned in 2002. She is one of only two frigates operated by the United Cast of Polymer. A mutiny aboard the vessel resulted in the deaths of loyal personnel, including Captain John Trus, and placed the ship under the control of the FFGS. This is not simply a disagreement between political parties. This is a civil war. And civil wars have a terrible habit of becoming something much larger than the people who begin them ever intended. I want to make our position absolutely clear. ONIWARRI is not entering this war. We will not send our soldiers into Pacific Standard territory simply because two governments have decided that their dispute should be settled with rifles and artillery. We will not choose a side because it is politically convenient. And we will not allow ONIWARRI to become another battlefield. But neutrality does not mean indifference. The people of the former Pacific Standard are not our enemies. They are our friends. Many of you have family members, colleagues, scientists, diplomats, or friends who are now trapped inside this conflict. We will help them. Tonight, I am ordering the ONIWARRI government to begin preparations for humanitarian evacuations from areas where civilians are endangered. Our diplomatic personnel will remain in contact with both the United Cast of Polymer and the Front for Green Superiority. We demand that both sides protect civilians. We demand that prisoners and wounded personnel be treated humanely. And we demand that foreign scientific facilities and personnel be protected from deliberate attacks. I also want to address something particularly important. Vossium. Pacific Standard scientists have played an enormous role in our research into this extraordinary material. Those scientists are not weapons. They are not political trophies. They are human beings. The laboratories where they work must not become targets. ONIWARRI will take every reasonable measure to protect our personnel and our scientific interests without turning this conflict into a wider war. To the governments of the United Cast of Polymer and the Front for Green Superiority, I say this: You have the right to determine your own future. You do not have the right to drag the entire region into your war. The capture of the Machete has demonstrated that this conflict has entered a dangerous new phase. A frigate is not merely a flag flying over the ocean. It carries enough firepower to change the course of a battle. If either side begins deliberately attacking civilian ships, foreign vessels, humanitarian operations, or ONIWARRI territory, our position will change. We will defend ourselves. We will defend our people. And we will defend our sovereignty. But until that day comes, we will pursue peace. I know some will call this weakness. They will say that ONIWARRI should immediately choose a side. They will demand that we send troops, aircraft, and ships across the ocean. But leadership is not measured by how quickly a nation can enter a war. Sometimes leadership means knowing when not to. We have already endured enough. The Great Proxy War tested us. The threat of SORA tested us. The Vossium crisis tested us. And now, one of our closest allies has collapsed into civil war. We cannot prevent every war in the world. But we can prevent ourselves from becoming part of every war in the world. Tonight, the ONIWARRI flag remains flying. Our military remains ready. Our borders remain secure. Our diplomats remain at work. And our people remain united. To the people of the former Pacific Standard: Whatever flag flies over your cities tomorrow, remember that there are people beyond your borders who still care about what happens to you. ONIWARRI will not abandon you. But neither will we allow your civil war to consume us. May peace return to the Pacific Standard. May its people find a way forward. And may the next time we meet our friends across the ocean be at a negotiating table, rather than across a battlefield. Thank you. May ONIWARRI endure.
