Jack of Harts

After showing everybody in the world that they were prepared to bomb anyone into the stone age, the new administration in Pineland spent the rest of their time seeking closer diplomatic relations with traditional foes and pulling their military back home once more. Many considered them erratic for this. They threatened North Cortina with utter destruction, and then talked to them. They retreated from Donovian threats entirely, while placing trade sanctions on Ariana and Acadia. They even negotiated a withdrawal from Attica that created a joint government between the Attican administration and the remaining Islamic Congress of Attica. The administration said some battles were worth fighting, others were not, and that they would do everything they could to bring the troops home while maintaining enough of a watch on bad actors to keep them down.

With neither Ellisia nor Kemalia working out entirely as intended, the Pineland administration decided it was time to take their wins in Attica and Kalaria and bring the troops home. They quickly announced their intentions, and withdrew most of the Pinelandian troops in a grand gesture to show their citizens that the world was safe again. They also pursued closer relations with the Islamic Republic of Ariana, a realm that had long been on Pineland’s black list. They offered informal acceptance of the Ariana government, and unlocked billions of Dons worth of frozen Ariana financial assets. Ariana accepted the funds with a smile, and used them to fund terrorist organizations. The Islamic Brotherhood of Jihad quickly arose to commit terrorist attacks all over the region and conquered vast swaths of Kalaria and Kemalia in a brutal campaign of ethnic and religious persecution.

Despite the loss of life in Ellisia, the new administration in Pineland soldiered on to make the world a better place by dealing with other autocrats. The dictator in Kemalia was killing his own people, much like the Kalarian dictator before him, and Pineland was ready to knock him off next. Having watched three nations fall in short order, he was not a fool and called for help from the Krasnovian Federation. The Krasnovians were happy to help him out against his rebels, and bellied up to the table to commence a staring contest with Pineland over whether or not they really wanted to back their words up with actions. The Pineland administration did not wish war with Krasnovia and blinked rather than pull the trigger. They quickly decided it was time to pursue other goals.