NationStates Jolt Archive

Bay of Turath Staging Ground, nr. Turath Primary Shipyards

The gleaming of two-hundred-thirty warships was unmistable in the midafternoon sun; the rippling waves gently caressed the hulls of the Vanguard, Turath, Sirithil nos Feanor, and Glorious Battlegroups.

The largest force ever assembled steamed towards the edge of the Bay of Turath at a relatively sedate fifteen knots, but the wakes that the warships generated was unmistable; vast swathes of the water behind and, indeed, aside the ships churned and frothed as the MI-assisted jetstream propulsion systems on the submarines and surface assault ships forced their mass through the ocean.

Above, following in perfect synch with the ships below, is a massive formation of strike aircraft. Some two thousand aircraft in all are formed up above the warships; the majority are M#s, but G# strike bombers sit ominously amongst the centre of the airgroup.

At each horizontal edge of the formation sit two new gleaming air destroyers; both, of course, are the graceful and sleek Tyelca Tuo class - faintly reminiscent of the shape of an M#, they are sleek but menacing, and most definitely predatory in form. They are strange to behold; their rippling forms make it seem as though they are radiating heat - but that effect is merely the hull plating constantly reforming to maintain the propulsive effect of their MI fields.

The only sound audible as the rather massive force moves out of the Bay is the dull throbbing noise of the aircraft creating a false vacuum effect as they effortlessly follow the warships below-

EOTED Space, nr. Vilya Elenosto

The Stellar Battlegroup moved.

It did not move all at once, and it did not move in a hurry; but the shuffling of ships was quite, quite obvious.

Slowly, the eighty warships that compose the spaceborne war machine of the Empire of the Eternal Dawn begin forming into ranks; lining up, moving into formation-

On The Ground, Various

Militarily, the Empire became a hive of activity.

It wasn't a slow process; it didn't happen in stages; one minute, things are calm, and quite, quite normal.

And the next, every single military base in the Empire - and there are a considerable number of those, considering the sheer size of the IDF - is active. Soldiers dash back and forth, moving equipment outside in preperation for stowing in dropships; dropships flit from their normal positions in IDF LD bases throughout the Empire and descend at IDF GF bases, where tanks are waiting to be loaded onto them; and, perhaps most conspicuous of all, INN Solar does not carry any story on the rather obvious military buildup that is quite clearly in effect.

Something, it is quite clear, has begun.

Quite what, however, is open to interpretation.

OOC:Argh... posting on nationstates board...

IC: Chellis is very happy to see this. A powerful EOTED is a peaceful world, or so says advisors.

"Mhm... EOTED is mobilising?"
"Actually, no. That looks like they are preparing for an attack. And considering the latest... events regarding our relationship..."
"I see what you mean. Ok, we will prepare for it. No big movements, just be ready. Ah, and make sure the fleets at Jupiter are alerted, just in case we need them."

~ Conversation in the Associated Council of Incorperated and Private Enterprises, DA

OOC: from another thread... could be interpreted as related.
~Knootian minister for OOC information and disinformation.


-------------------------------------------
First moves / last moves
The Edge of the Sol system
-------------------------------------------

Any monitoring stations on the edge of the solar system would note blue streaks of light coming out of warp. Origin: unknown. The approach vector seemed to be totally random.

The path they had taken from the secret Vortex Corporation base had been long and elaborate, hopefully enough to elude even the most persistent spy.

Several small mercenary ships of different kinds appeared, but what was behind them was much more interesting. The ships were towing ships – large ships. Even the untrained eye could recognise them for what they were. Large, blocky and bulky gravships, bearing the colours of the Melkorian battlefleet.

The first gravship to enter the sol system was the frigate KGS Macht en orde. But the signature had changed now: the nameplate read “Hammer of Doom” in an ancient Arda tongue.

More ships followed, and when the huge flagship arrived space seemed to ripple for a moment. The Melkorian-built battleship had been redubbed the “Flame of Doom”. After a signal from the admiral, the group was set in motion. A total of fifty gravships – all that Knootoss possessed - began moving for earth in box formation.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Knootian intelligence (AIVD) headquarters, The Hague
----------------------------------------------------------------------

"What are they up to?", the head of the AIVD asked.

A young woman with brown haid looked up: "I don't know Sir, but of course we have theories. EOTED is erratic but at the same time to an extend predictable."

"Well, spit it out..."

MetaPratt One doesn't fail to notice the buildup.

Increase alert status
-
Plot contingencies
-
Notify CCCTG command
-
Notify DAMOCLES nets
-
Increase data volume


Shortly afterward, the ITDO network of sensor satellites begin tracking every bit of data. Many begin watching the EOTED MISATs, like silent penguins standing on an iceberg.

This occurs shortly before Toby Pratt, lounging as he is in his zero-g bed aboard the Impunitas orbital battlecruiser, cigar clenched in teeth, has a chance to glance at the MP1 data and say to himself, "Well, I'll be jiggered if they'll catch me with my pants down."

Accordingly, he decides to get dressed. Which belt today, the far-too-tight snakeskin, or the easily adjustable synthetic leather?

Hmm, last nights meal consisted of stew and about a gallon of gin.

He chooses the synthetic leather belt to restrain his massive belly and readies himself for duty.

Various Positions; LEO, HEO, Cislunar space

The MISAT grid is known to be large, of course. EOTED has, in the past, boasted of a high percentile coverage of the Earth; but rarely has the entire MISAT network been exposed to be seen by all and sundry.

Quite suddenly, it is.

Whereas previously the MISATs were largely running passively, and merely scanning for troop movements and the like, they now 'heat up'; EOTEDs hundred or so eyes in the sky scour the ground below, searching for... something.

Even in those places where the nations far below are known to be actively hostile to the Empire, EM radiation levels increase marginally as the satelites utilize their full scanning suites to carry out their search.

And every armed variety of satelite powers up; the EOTED Space Defense Grid is suddenly quite, quite active, and, although the MISATmk2s, mk3s, and mk4s (all three different variants of defense-capable satelites) do not shed their outer skin in order to bring their weapons to bear, they do become the centre of rather interesting energy spikes - suggesting that they are running 'weapons hot'.

Targeting systems also come online - although only the more sophisticated of sensor equipment would be able to detect the relatively tiny change in thermal wash.

In cislunar space, yet more observation satelites fire up; these are MISATmk1bs, with the new mercury-mirror visible-light observation telescopes.

EOTED watches, fully utilizing it's 9x% Earth-observation capacity...

...and waits.

A small HA sat watched as the EOTED forces began to form up.

And a data stream flashed straight to the Intelligence Division, M Section, A Subsection.

The pictures are quickly analyzed, and a recommendation is made.

The President approves the recomendation almost immediately.

Alert Condition Two: Heightened. Rules oF Engagement: Delta.

Ships and troops begin to move, shuttles lift and fly. A few fighters launch. Battle Fleet uncoils, running system readiness checks, as drive test signals blaze through the system.

Hmm... Keep an eye on the movements of the EOTED fleets. Where EOTED marches, the world trembles, literally.

--Excerpt of a Conversation between Quin Izumi (http://www.atpictures.com/display.php?g=gundam&img=gwing093.jpg) and his aide

Deep under Cyan (yes, Cyan, not Cheyenne) Mountain in the Dendarii Range, techs are going absolutely nuts. The bunker is literally swarming with activity. Runners pass messages from station to station, operations specialists fight for panel and 3D display, the world has suddenly lit up, and omni-net shows all of it.

In the middle of this storm lies an eye, Dr. Helena S. Meyer, Wazzu minister of Defense. Her calm spreads to those imediately around her, leaving assembled generals and admirals only twitching rather then shouting. And gradually, order works its way out, some sense of calm returns as all look for direction. Meyer gives it.

"Jim, call Walton secure, let him go what is going on. I'll talk to him in a moment." A runner ran off to make the call.

"Savanah, encrypt direct message via SolLink to Volkov, tell him everything. MIDAS needs to be informed."

"Marshall Green, we are not going to take any sudden or extreme actions. The empire is doing this for a very specific reason, and I don't think we are it." Actually, she thought, I think I know the reason too. She didn't say it aloud. "And other nations around the world are going to be scared witless, we may as well try and stay out of this." Nods of agreement from nearby staff.

"I'd like you to organize your department heads. We'll take only precautionary and low-key defensive measures. Make sure we are ready in case we are attacked by anyone. Second strike capibility, not first. I don't want to look aggressive."

"Yes Ma'am." Green replied, and lead a fair number of command staff into an ajoining room.

The first runner came back with an IR phone.

"Thank you Jim." Helena took the phone, "Mr. Walton, you were briefed? Good, heres what we are doing...."

"Who are they mobilizing against?"

"They won't tell us"

"What? Well, we'll just have to wait then"

...

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm gonna take my dog for a walk and let it poop on the pavement in front of the EOTED embassy"

In the Hermes Conglomerate facility, Earth orbit, Mark O'Mire was hastilly pushing cargo onto the HSS Quagmire. He knew nothing of huge fleets, of marching troops, or of sudden energy spikes in defense satelites. All he knew is that one moment he was relaxing in a port bar, and the next he was pushing a sudden load half drunk.

But even half drunk, he knew some things. Hermes Spacelines was a trading company, and in-system trade was profitable. You didn't just send all your ships suddenly and hastilly out of port. The only time Hermes did anything like that, something dangerous was going to happen. The corp didn't want to risk their ships, and apparantly, neither did Captain Jane. She was right next to him, getting her hands dirty, and argueing hotly with poor station keepers so she could get her ship out faster.

And even half drunk, Mark noticed what they were carrying. Items that could be bought quickly, and items that would sell well if limited trade suddenly grasped the huge Earth trade market.

Mark worked faster.

******
******

Atop Mt. Maguire, the Dendarii range, Astronomer and Astrophysical Communications Specialist Henry Packard noticed a sudden increase in base security. Nothing substantial, not many people wasted time and money driving to the top of a bitter cold mountain on a dark winter's night, but there was something. The guards were more alert, patrols were staying out longer, and bunker supplies were being refreshed early.

Something was going on....

******
******

Elsewhere in Wazzu,

-The third fleet, in port for standard maintenance, had a sudden influx of non-necessary personell.
-The second fleet, somewhere out in the Atlantic ocean, stopped open manuvers and dissappeared into the ocean depths.
-Full and part time soldiers were given gag orders, but took their equipment home with them.
-Satelites in orbit turned on and tested long unused circuits. No big (or even small) powerspikes, no unusual movement, nothing to be noticed, just "ready mode."
-Powerplants began emergency drills.
-Aerospace ports began moving their craft underground and secretly readying munitions.
-Key personel were being called in.

Everyone knew something was going on, everyone was tense. But only those few off work and awake, those few that watched forign news feeds knew what was going on.

Rumors spread....

Better inform the GDODAD

The wonderful and peaceful nation of Vegana think it is great that EOTED finds better things to do with their resources than polluting space with dangerous debris and harming innocent travellers. With a lot of effort your military will become well trained and equiped, and if you train REAL hard maybe even measure up to Reich standards.

GOD IS GREAT!

A few hours later, a National Intelligence and Security Agency of Konania (NISAK) satellite saw something curious on the ground and snapped itself to a geostationary orbit. The camera zooms in, takes both regular and infrared images, and beams them off in a package to NISAKHQ in Solaris.

***

Davin Nevi's brow furrowed. He didn't like this much, and reading the NISAK report left a bad taste in his mouth. Of course, he had advised the Cheif Executive to do nothing, for the moment, for two reasons: First, everone else on the whole darn planet was acting like they were about to be attacked, and Nevi thought it best to let the Konanian public feel safe. They were as safe as they would be for now, anyway, CINC G. N. Dresdel was off duty. Second, he hoped this would not have anything to do with the Federal Republic, and scrambling now could waste a lot of cash.

Best to wait for more info.

***

The famed Canterras Defense Line in the mountain range it was named for was hidden well. Camoflague was a French word, but might as well have come from the Konanians: they were experts at this particular art of war. Invisible to the surface was a large military base, stocked well with aircraft and ammunition. This made the nearby border city of Akhen was perhaps one of the safest in the country, second only to the capital, Avalon. Here, too, they were informed of the movements, but no action was taken.

Ok I had a real long post about my deployment with a nice RP and everything but my damn pop up blocker went cray and closed the page.So just realize were ready.

"Just like dominoes."

"You almost sound worried, Al." Sakura leaned back against the wall.

The diplomat shrugged. "No. Just an observation."

"It's almost amusing, really."

"Only if you've got a particularly demented sense of humor."

"Guilty." Sakura chuckled. "But as they say, the dogs will bark... suppose we should join in the fun?"

The human smiled wryly. "I think that might be taking the joke a bit too far. Maintain our current readiness. Feel free to swing a few extra sats over their way, though. And see that Aristotle's gotten the message. He does tend to daydream."

[tag]

*ditto*

Cedric, the Emperor of Houde merely sat in his chair going over paperwork, not minding the day's events. In fact, he had no clue of the dya's events.

Ross and Vincent meanwhile had other plans, and montiored the situation as it happened.

In Thelas on the other hand, the laid back attitude that charicterized Ravenspire activities was gone, Thelasian armed forces units went on full alert, the new Grav-Ship forces came on-line, unlike the other groups, Thelas took a first step.

Tactical and Strategic Nuclear weapons came online, massive missile stores of Chemical Weapons were readied, Biological weapons went active, if it came to war, Thelas would be ready.

EOTED Space, nr. Vilya Elenosto

Having taken nearly four hours to move into formation, the Stellar Battlegroup sidles away from the spherical form of Vilya Elenosto...

...and flashes brightly, the sudden glare appearing in the night sky of Tareldanore and Sisgardia far below; a new star - a star that is so bright it forms a vague disc. It isn't visible in that bright for long; just a few seconds, and then every moment that passes finds it decreasing in magnitude...

...and the Battlegroup leaps away from Vilya Elenosto, dimming slightly but still bright for it, making for cislunar space...

* * *

Nr. the Bay of Turath, International Waters, edge of EOTED EEZ (Ecomomic Exclusion Zone)

The combined taskforce, the largest ever assembled in EOTED history, slinks into international waters - but still technically remains inside EOTED-controlled waters. The EEZ extends from the coast some 250miles, of course, whereas territorial waters extend far, far less distance from the coast.

Quietly, the submarinal components of the Taskforce slink beneath the waves...

...and in a matter of seconds, only 28 warships remain on the surface; despite this, they carry an air of power, of majesty - there are, after all, no less than four Vanguard class warships and some twenty-four Devastator class cruisers.

Eyes in the sky are no doubt wondering a single question, no matter who they belong to...

Just what in the hell would require so much firepower in one place?

* * *

On The Ground, EOTED

Slowly, the activity of the IDF on the ground in the Empire ceases. That isn't to say that the buildup is over; far from it. No, on the contrary; all fifty thousand troops that can be dropped anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes in the first wave of a potential assault are on standby - and their dropships are brimming with the equipment that they would need to mount an invasion. Yet even so, the activity level is now low; full mobilization has only taken sixteen hours - and along, no doubt, with countless soldiers in a number of countries, the entirety of the IDF... all one-hundred-fifty million personnel of varying disciplines... hold their breath...

...and wait...

* * *

In Thelas on the other hand, the laid back attitude that charicterized Ravenspire activities was gone, Thelasian armed forces units went on full alert, the new Grav-Ship forces came on-line, unlike the other groups, Thelas took a first step.

Tactical and Strategic Nuclear weapons came online, massive missile stores of Chemical Weapons were readied, Biological weapons went active, if it came to war, Thelas would be ready.

IDF High Command, somewhere beneath Nenya

"Sir," the satop stated needlessly as he handed over the flexisheet to the Commissioner of IDFI.

A brisk nod is the only acknowledgment; smartly, the satop bobs his head, and swivels on his heel, returning to his station.

Dull footsteps unheard amongst the tumult of the nerve centre of the IDF, the Commissioner marched out of the IDFI-designated area and out into the Command Chamber proper; his route weaved through partitioned areas, and the dull hum of activity itself was enough to make him uneasy. The place was usually quiet; people tended to speak in low whispers, but not today, of all days.

He climbed the stairs that lead to the Operational Command Room, and rapped quietly on the iris-door that lead into the true nerve centre of the IDF - a command room within a command room, as it were.

The door irised open-

"Sixteen hours," a voice was stating fairly quietly, "is far too long. We need to be able to mobilize far faster. If we-"

A wave of a hand from Rialla ux-Rihad, present via a trimensional 'visor fitted into the wall, cut off the speech. "Glad you could join us," the crisp three-dimensional projection of the Supreme Commander noted quietly, "but I do not believe you were summoned, Commissioner."

"No, Your Majesty, I was not," the IDFI Commissioner noted quietly, "but I believed that this would warrant the War Council's attention. Immediate attention. - I have several matters to report, and I feel it important to move forwards on them as quickly as possible, so you will forgive my lack of niceties, I am sure."

Nods from around the thick oak table.

"Firstly, Your Majesty," there is no group honourific applied to the High Lord Commodores and high-ranking officers around the table, "it should be noted that," he clears his throat slightly, "our maneuvers have caused something of a stir, on a planetary scale. The MISAT network is reporting widespread mobilization - everyone and their dog appears to believe they might be the target of an attack."

There are a few chuckles around the table at this, but Rialla cuts them off with a wave of her hand. "Do go on, Commissioner," she prompts.

"The most extreme of these, Your Majesty, is that of Thelas. It appears that our previous assesment was correct: they are eminently ready to put their finger on the red button, it would appear. They have readied nuclear weapons, at the very least. Movement around confirmed silos is too... active... for it to be anything less. Satelite feeds suggest that they are enacting a large-scale mobilization. - Virtually everyone else who is making any reaction to this of note is doing so quietly, if at all. Menelmacar does not appear to have reacted at all; Der Angst apparently does not feel that it is a target, judging by the lack of response; Walten has stepped up their alert level, although the accuracy of that report is not rock-steady; zero-response from Ravenspire that we can see. All in all, we believe that we have largely caused confusion. I sincerely doubt anyone quite knows the Plan, Your Majesty. - And I have confirmation that FSP has, uh, reacted accordingly."

High Lord Commodore Ax-randiri Rihad raises an eyebrow slightly, glancing at the Empress for confirmation that he may speak. She nods, almost imperceptibly.

"I would suggest, Your Majesty, that this action has quite succintly proven your point. - However, it has not quite... caused the response that we had hoped for. There does not appear to be any overt action from any of the... suspects... that we were aiming to... flush out. However, if I may say so, it might be wise to take advantage of the situation a little longer."

The Empress nods. "Indeed. Have someone contact the Diplomatic Corps; I wish a rather irritated message sent to-"

* * *

"The Empire is most displeased by the reaction of Thelas, and, is furthermore displeased by the nature of the reaction, and the apparent quantity of Ws-of-MD at the disposal of that state."

~ Ambassador Dejure, speaking via the usual diplomatic channels, without encryption

[OOC: I note this: the above message is something of a bluff. EOTED does not know the quantity of Ws-of-MD at the disposal of Thelas; it is merely assuming that there are a large quantity. However, I feel the need to also point out that it isn't likely that Thelas would know that EOTED was bluffing; of course, Thelas might well bluff in return, but bear in mind that this note is OOC. Thanks.]

Various Positions; LEO, HEO, Cislunar space

The MISAT grid is known to be large, of course. EOTED has, in the past, boasted of a high percentile coverage of the Earth; but rarely has the entire MISAT network been exposed to be seen by all and sundry.

Quite suddenly, it is.

Whereas previously the MISATs were largely running passively, and merely scanning for troop movements and the like, they now 'heat up'; EOTEDs hundred or so eyes in the sky scour the ground below, searching for... something.

Even in those places where the nations far below are known to be actively hostile to the Empire, EM radiation levels increase marginally as the satelites utilize their full scanning suites to carry out their search.

And every armed variety of satelite powers up; the EOTED Space Defense Grid is suddenly quite, quite active, and, although the MISATmk2s, mk3s, and mk4s (all three different variants of defense-capable satelites) do not shed their outer skin in order to bring their weapons to bear, they do become the centre of rather interesting energy spikes - suggesting that they are running 'weapons hot'.

Targeting systems also come online - although only the more sophisticated of sensor equipment would be able to detect the relatively tiny change in thermal wash.

In cislunar space, yet more observation satelites fire up; these are MISATmk1bs, with the new mercury-mirror visible-light observation telescopes.

EOTED watches, fully utilizing it's 9x% Earth-observation capacity...

...and waits.

-------------------------------------------------------------
] ’Flame of Doom’ Higher Earth orbit
-------------------------------------------------------------
Tension on the bridge rose as the tactical officer made his report:

“Sir? Orbital weapons platforms from at least 23 nations appear to have powered up somehow. And I bet they are targeting us.”

The captain was quick to respond: “communications, send out a transmission that our weapons are powered down and that we mean them no harm. In Arda tongue of course.”

“Belay that order”, the admiral stepped down to a lower platform on the bridge. “Does that sound like a message from the battleship of a Melkorian fleet? That’s a Knootian asking if we can please take the empty parking spot. Send out this general transmission instead.”

He punched in a message on the communications officers console:

[code:1:baa77e7452]This is the Melkorian 23rd gravship fleet. We are entering earth orbit. All ships will move aside or be destroyed. Opening fire is considered an act of war and will result in total annihilation. This is your first and final warning. Flame of Doom out.[/code:1:baa77e7452]

The fleet began to descend downwards into the atmosphere, heading on a trajectory to the North Pole.

Anglothel read the message, snatched from space as it roared past at 299,792,458 meters per second, just moments after she came online.

It was a joke. It had to be. Readings didn't match anything on record.

Observations and all data, including the transmission itself, bounced off a satellite and around the world, arrive less than a second later in M Section, M Subsection, of the Intelligence Division.

Computers began running over the data, massive blocks of subsentient computers broke the data down, reorganizing it, comparing it to known data about Melkorian vessels.

The data flew through the system, then encountering the Sentient Analysis computers of that made up the heart of the Intelligence Division.

The results were as follows.

[code:1:92f92fa0d5]
Inconsistancies:

23rd Gravfleet. Melkor is not known to possess this many fleets.

They came from space. All previous Melkorian Gravfleet construction has been on the ground.

Consistancies:

Grav fields match Melkorian designs.

Visual reading seem to match as well.

Numbers match known Melkorian Gravship deployments.

Not enough evidence:

EM emissions. Communications do not seem to match previous Melkorian code and frequency base. Inconclusive, due to possible changes in procedure.

Lack of Hull Maps due to lack of active scan assets in approach pattern.

Vector projection indicates higher possibility of Arda ownership.

Conclusion:

70% chance Gravships do not belong to Melkor's Imperium. Ownership unknown in this case.

Recommendations:

Prepare for gravship usage in non Menelmacari/Melkorian conflicts.

[/code:1:92f92fa0d5]

The M Section Officer On Duty read the report. "Shit." He passed the report higher up the chain of command.

Within minutes it had found its way onto the desk of the President.

D'ron scowled at the conclusion. 30% chance they were Melkorian. EOTED mobilizing. This was not a good thing at all.

Damn.

He sent the orders over the comm net, through fiber optic cables and directional laser comms. Rules of Engagement Charlie were now in effect for all FSP military assets, though for the moment they would remain at Alert Condition Two.

Private communique between the Farseer Council and the EOTED leadership.

Sirs,

we feel at this time that recent manouvers by your people have us worried, as such we feel the need to enquire as to their purpose. If you actually go beyond this mobilisation then our alliance through CENNA may draw us into the conflict. Therefore we request to be informed, we feel that this is a simple request between friends after all.

Farseer Council, Gaurdians of the Eldar, Defenders of the Craftworld, Heirs to the Old Ones. Defenders of the ways that have gone.

Telgorthrind, High Farseer of the Council
Heir to Melien last Farseer of the old Council,

Darvins, Second of the Council
Farseer of Mars
Heir-apperant to Telgorthrind First of the New Council

Galdern, Third of the Council, Ambassador to Earth
Mage of all the arts of the Xenos

Mel-Nais. Defender of the Home amongest the stars.
Member of the Council

Ketran, Member of the Council. she who leads what cannot be named.

-------------------------------------------------------------
] ’Flame of Doom’ Higher Earth orbit
-------------------------------------------------------------
Tension on the bridge rose as the tactical officer made his report:

“Sir? Orbital weapons platforms from at least 23 nations appear to have powered up somehow. And I bet they are targeting us.”

The captain was quick to respond: “communications, send out a transmission that our weapons are powered down and that we mean them no harm. In Arda tongue of course.”

“Belay that order”, the admiral stepped down to a lower platform on the bridge. “Does that sound like a message from the battleship of a Melkorian fleet? That’s a Knootian asking if we can please take the empty parking spot. Send out this general transmission instead.”

He punched in a message on the communications officers console:

[code:1:bb02ea2985]This is the Melkorian 23rd gravship fleet. We are entering earth orbit. All ships will move aside or be destroyed. Opening fire is considered an act of war and will result in total annihilation. This is your first and final warning. Flame of Doom out.[/code:1:bb02ea2985]

The fleet began to descend downwards into the atmosphere, heading on a trajectory to the North Pole.

Operational Command Room, IDF High Command, somewhere beneath Nenya

Semir-randil stared at the report in his hands again, and again, and again.

Finally, he shook his head. "Those almost certainly aren't Imperium ships."

Ax-randiri Rihad raised an eyebrow; Rialla blinked rapidly. Quietly, she asked, "We're aware that they might not be, of course - there are inconsistencies that don't really make sense, but, of course, that could easily be an attempt to mislead - but why do you say that so confidently, Semir?"

"They called the Earth 'Earth'."

Confusion sweeps around the table; every officer blinks quickly, apparently not getting the point.

"Morgoth does not call this planet 'Earth'. He refers to it as 'Arda'."

Understanding dawns in the eyes of those around the table-

NEO (O-North Pole Space), MISAT Node 22-A-4-7

The small MISATmk1 swivelled, altering from its previous position, and pointed itself squarely at the so-called Melkorian gravships.

It opens its sheathe - just enough to deploy its full sensor suite - and proceeds to blast EM radiation at the lead gravship. It isn't an assault; merely a high-end scan. And as quickly as the burst of EM radiation begins, it shuts off, and the MISAT resumes passive observation of the gravships.

[OOC: The object of the 'high-end' scan is to determine the materials the ship is made of, first and foremost, and to check for thermal emissions, and the level thereof. It would also provide other details, but those aren't important, so we can skip them; it's also somewhat provocative, which is intentional - if there are any sensitive electronics on board, then they would've acted a little strangely for the duration of the scan.]

Private communique between the Farseer Council and the EOTED leadership.

Sirs,

we feel at this time that recent manouvers by your people have us worried, as such we feel the need to enquire as to their purpose. If you actually go beyond this mobilisation then our alliance through CENNA may draw us into the conflict. Therefore we request to be informed, we feel that this is a simple request between friends after all.

Farseer Council, Gaurdians of the Eldar, Defenders of the Craftworld, Heirs to the Old Ones. Defenders of the ways that have gone.

Telgorthrind, High Farseer of the Council
Heir to Melien last Farseer of the old Council,

Darvins, Second of the Council
Farseer of Mars
Heir-apperant to Telgorthrind First of the New Council

Galdern, Third of the Council, Ambassador to Earth
Mage of all the arts of the Xenos

Mel-Nais. Defender of the Home amongest the stars.
Member of the Council

Ketran, Member of the Council. she who leads what cannot be named.

{Low-encryption Personal Communique}

We will endeavour to prevent risk to the Commonwealth, of course. We do not feel the need to provide more information at this time; however, this is merely due to circumstances forced upon us. A full explanation will be given once sensitivity issues are resolved. We thank-you for your patience at this difficult time.

~ High King Semir-randil I, Chancellor of CENNA

{Communique terminates}

At Western Might high command floor B3 room 77-S.
A intelligence officer was reading over the latest print outs. He didn't expect much to be on them, as it had been peaceful the last few months.
The the machine started sputering like crazy. "What the ..." He becames scanning over the nesest stuff. "Not good not good at all." He reached for a phone and called up the Division Director, asking him to come down there now.

Some minutes later the Division Director walked in. "All right Johnstone you have better have a good reason to have made me come down here."

Johnstone handed the Director the papers. Ha soon had a dark look and was shacking his head. "This is very odd, odd but dangerous we have had dealinging with Ma-tek before. and this could only mean trouble." he looked ay Johnstone. "You did good getting me here Lieutenant" The Director then left and walked to his office. He picked up the jet black phone. "Get me the President."

High in space, aboard the Sari Cuori, a heated discussion was taking place, with out General Theallas to keep all the military commanders in line, all hell had broken loose. Commander Netari had called all the leaders into one room,

Thelas Military Intelligence: Listen, we don’t have all the information yet, I say we return our WMDs to stand by, and do NOT activate the Titan’s Hammer weapon system.

Thelas Navy: I agree we do not have all the information, but that is exactly why we need to activate the fleets. go to Defcon Two, and ready Titan’s Hammer to blow the EOTED star fleets into pieces.

TMI: This could just be an exercise, Thelas/EOTED relations have improved ever since the Shadow War, this sends out a bad message. In our application for SATO we were criticized for being too ready to jump to military means, these actions only enhance that image.

Thelas Navy: What if this is not an exercise, but a prelude to war!

TMI: What information do we have of that?

Thelas Navy: None at the moment but…

Netari: Calm down you two, here is what will be done, I will keep the fleets at battle readiness, and Thelas will go to Defcon Three, but our WMDs will go offline, and Titan’s Hammer will go dormant again.

Thelas Navy: But sir, that will leave us defenseless to a First Strike attack.

Netari: I know that, this is why I am ordering that our computers be programmed for an anti-EOTED counter strike.

All: Yes Sir!

Message sent back to EOTED:

“I am sorry at this consternation that we have caused, it seems that some of our commanders still think in the old SATO/GDODAD frame of mind, and you must imagine that a powerful former SATO nation mobilizing would cause quite a reaction. Although our WMD systems have been brought back to retaliatory only measures, we must war EOTED that any action against Thelas or its’ allies will bring a swift and deadly response.

OOC: Discussion between the Thelas High Command officers was inspired by a scene in Tom Clancy’s book, “Hunt for the Red October”

Mark O'Mire awoke in his bunk to the sound of his captain's voice.

All hands report to duty stations, we leave in 10.

Damn, he thought, looking at the clock, only a couple hours of sleep. When the captain had told him to catch a nap, he had half hoped for more, but only half. Something was stirring below, and it might not be safe to stick around. Even the Hermes facility was protected mostly by low-end ships.

O'Mire unzipped his bed, pulled on his jumpsuit, and made a zero-g beeline for the bridge (beelines being as crooked as their hives). A minute later, he was strapping himself into Nav to the nod of Captain Sanow. A quick glance at the screens confirmed all he needed to know.

******

The mass of Wazzu ships was quite large for still being in Earth Orbit (and for being Wazzu ships). Convoys usually didn't get this big until they were in route. None-the-less, a full 3 superfreighters, 27 cargo ships, and 78 fast clippers (passenger ships) were assembled. Intermixed were 3 frigates, 2 corvettes, and numerous gunboats. Even two of the three remaining generation ships were present.

******

O'Mire read down the action plan and signaled his readyness to the captain.

"Comm," she said immediately, "signal our readyness to go."

"Yes ma'am." came the reply.

"Nav, detach us and hold stationy."

"Yes ma'am." O'Mire answered smartly.

Clangs, a soft hiss, and the Quagmire was free.

******

A few minutes later, the convoy headed out from the Hermes facility, towards the International Space Hub at the standard 1g.

What a shit storm.

With the Empire of the Eternal Dawn suddenly bringing it's might to bare, countries accross the board had lit up their own Arms.

With the few C-G sat's in orbit, Command had managed to count at least 15. That was 16 more then Ipkiss felt at ease with.

"What's our status?" he asked the Captain standing at attention in front of him.

"Well... we're on half mobalizeation, with all space based and areospace assets totally online and anti-ballistic and anti-ortillery defense systems at full readiness. Our ground, sea and air forces have been put on alert, but there isn't much they would be able to do against an outbreak of stupidity."

"Lets hope that the outbreak isn't from our end, eh?"

"Yes Prime Minister."

The Captain with dismissed with a nod.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Aboard the almost complete Space Station Gothika~

"Sir, we've got a EOTED satilite, a "MISAT" crossing into our path. The board says that it's fulling powered and seems to be scanning our territory for something."

"Leave it alone Bloggins. If it doesn't fire on us, I ain't about to go shoot down a EOTED sat and get ourselves fragged."

However, 2nd Lt Bloggins nervous fingers hovered over the "Weapons Hot" command until the satilite had passed beyond Gothika's offensive envelope.

The only public Angelic response is revealed as several of their tiny orbital probes turn their electronic eyes on the EOTED fleets.

"They are where?"
"Earth, north pole."

Griffith shook his head. The plan was gone. Broken.

"Well, can`t change it. Bastards. Still, i wonder how they made it that fast."
"Well, yes, we`re working on it. Orders for the expendable fleets at Jupiter?"
"Vacations."

Fifth fleet, above Sisgardia

"Wazzu convoy, this is the fifth Vortex Defence Fleet. We're picking you up on scanners and we've noticed you're running unprotected. If you need an escort, we can provide you with one. Please respond..."

Uthar, TVC Capitol

"Quite the confusion they've created there"

"But it is quite intelligent what they are doing"

"Indeed, everybody expects them to attack. Yet it will still be a surprise-attack, to whoever will be the victim"

"Are we safe?"

"Yes. We are CENNA members. And we have had...contacts...with EOTED"

"Good. Send EOTED a message that TVC supports their cause, as long as it is just"

~Council thoughtstream

Admiral Tom Grent had his fleet moving in closer to protect earth assets. "But one fleet and a battle station, how do they think that is going to stop al the crap that will be flying?" He himself, after getting a call from the president, knew why but he had to put on a show for the crew.

One of the nearby Captains anwsered him. "I don't know sir But we will give em hell all the same."

To true Captain, to true. Allright then bring us to Bravo alert..((ooc:Alfa is the highest)) Get two squadrons of fighters out there along with 3 AWAC ships. Arm half the anti fighter and secondary offecnive weapons systems, but leave the primary stuff offline. And once the get to Battle station Fury Put use in formation three-echo-nine."

"Roger that Admiral"

All the same, I would like to mobilize the HRDs.

-As I understand it, that can be done at any time. Patience.

And what do we do in the meantime?

-We wait, Tobe. I believe I hear opportunity calling.

Freespace

Had there been air, the sound of snapping would have been recorded as many Konanian sats took pictures of the ground below, while others swiveled around to take photos of moving spacecraft. Konanian spacecraft, however, remain on standby.

****

CDL, South Konania

Mobilising a fighter squadron like this was supposed to be difficult.

Except when the pilots are bored, they practically mobilize themselves, Keran thought. It was true, drills had made the pilots ready, but almost too eager. So when the order came from the top for a Code Yellow situation--readiness, but not anything more than normal--more than a few were a little upset, with many profanities directed at Felix Avinn himself.

"The Empire of the Eternal Dawn wishes to make it known that we are now standing down from Project Sting, and the accompanying exercise in mobilization. The objectives of Project Sting will remain classified, but we thank all those nations whom mobilized in response for displaying to us your mobilization capabilities so clearly.

"Further details will be released shortly."

~ Ambassador Dejure

Felix Avinn, Cheif Executive Officer of the Federal Republic of Konania looks at the holoscreen and laughs.

D'ron read the message the first time and scowled. He read the message a second time and threw it down on his desk.

He picked up the message again, and read it a third time.

"Damn it. Damn them."

He punched the emergency override frequency up on his comm device. "Terminate all active military operations. Return to Alert Condition One, under Rules of Engagement Delta. By order of the Imperial President."

He hissed under his breath as he terminated the link.

Foriegn Minister Jay Reaven sat in an upper-class cafe. Across the table sat High Captain Konrad Althalon, the ex-Xaosis! armed forces overlord. The men sat amid a thick haze of cigar smoke, as other patrons--mostly state employees--milled around them.

Althalon folded the newspaper over and peered across the table at Reaven. "Interesting mess, isn't it?"

Reaven's gaze slipped from the barmaid for an instant as he leaned over the table to ash his cigarette. "Indeed. Word on the grapevine says that The Boss is up to something. He's got some plan I think, I dunno," Reaven mused.

Althalon chuckled and leaned back into his seat. "It certainly puts us in a unique position, doesn't it?

Reaven pushed his brows together as he quickly polished off the rest of his beer. "Yeah, it certainly does. We can do a lot with this, I think."

Konrad smiled. "All will be revealed in due time."

Foreign Minister Jay Reaven sat in an upper-class cafe. Across the table sat High Captain Konrad Althalon, the ex-Xaosis! armed forces overlord. The men sat amid a thick haze of cigar smoke, as other patrons--mostly state employees--milled around them.

Althalon folded the newspaper over and peered across the table at Reaven. "Interesting mess, isn't it?"

Reaven's gaze slipped from the barmaid for an instant as he leaned over the table to ash his cigarette. "Indeed. Word on the grapevine says that The Boss is up to something. He's got some plan I think, I dunno," Reaven mused.

Althalon chuckled and leaned back into his seat. "It certainly puts us in a unique position, doesn't it?

Reaven pushed his brows together as he quickly polished off the rest of his beer. "Yeah, it certainly does. We can do a lot with this, I think."

Konrad smiled. "All will be revealed in due time."

In Endless Crimes, snow fell from the heavens, covering the landscape in a beautiful white.

The convicted criminals were nailed on their crosses, slowly fading away, dying.

People went to work, working for the betterment of their nation, working to finally, finally achive perfection, the paradise.

In Cherubim command, people were rather... well, upset.

"This... are Melkorian Gravships?"
"Yes. Why do you ask?"

Of course, the young Cherubim knew the answer. They hated Melkor. An imposter he was, a false god. They ha dNo idea Why The Führer, Matthew Iesus, had decided to ally with the fools and monsters, with the atrocities of Arda. Well, they presumed they would take out SATO first, then Arda. Still... many didn´t like it. So it was somewhat of a rhetorical question.

"Well... Our sources, own sensors as well as what we catch from others tell us they come from outside Sol."
"And?"
"To our knowledge, the Dark Lord does not yet possess FTL capability."

The your Cherubim looked up, surprised.

"Someone... added something to the ships they bought. It is well known Melor sells his ships."
"But... who?"
"No idea. In any case, for the future, i would like to know what our capabilities against Melkorian ships are..."

For a moment, there was silence in the room. Both knew what this words meant.

"But... Melkor could see this as an attack upon him. And technically, we`re all..."
"No. We will simply claim we knew it isn`t a Melkorian fleet. I`m sure they´re somewhat... angered at people claiming to act on their behalf. Send a request to Melkor Unchained, for clarification. Meanwhile, we will mobilise the fleet."
"I... yes, yes."


"We had to realise that one of your Gravfleets entered the Sol system and is now stationed at the north pole.

That is, they claim to be of Imperial Origin.

However, we have reasons not to believe their claims, and would need... clarification. As they already claimed to be of Imperial origin, you wont loose anything when verifying the data.

However, if they aren´t, we would gladly take the chance to... elem,inate the problem for you. That is, if it is a problem. If it isn`t, it doesn`t matter, either, as we would simply assume we can go ahead.

Of course, this wasn`t the only thing they had to do. Another thing was to appease the NDA...

Well, they would do it, somehow...

Meanwhile, the entire spacefleet mobilised.

If they came from outside Sol, they had reasons to hide. They wont use whatever base they could have on earth. They will try to return...

Not a single message was sent to the unknown Gravfleet. It was unnecessary to warn them...

EOTED Space, nr. Vilya Elenosto, HEO

A blaze of electromagnetic signatures plumes into existance several dozen kilometres away from Vilya Elenosto; there are, in fact, eighty seperate EM fields springing into being - but they are so tightly packed that they appear as one single unit.

A fraction of a second passes-

-and the Stellar Battlegroup reappears, having Transitioned back from their course down and out of the line of the ellipse. They are orientated towards Luna, and they slow not one jot from the velocity required to make a Transition. Not yet, at any rate. They cruise beyond the Vilya Elenoston static MI field-

-and then they begin to decellerate. It isn't rapid; it takes several hours for the warships to slow enough to turn around, but within ten hours the 'group returns to Vilya Elenosto, and resumes normal operations. That is, around half of the fleet returns to maneuvers - the other half patrols the edge of EOTED Space.

Fighter patrols that had been in place in lieu of the missing Battlegroup return to EOTED.

* * *

"The Empire of the Eternal Dawn hopes that the recent display of force by ourselves will serve as a potent reminder to those who have, in recent times, taken a hostile position with regards to ourselves. We note that we have not overly exerted ourselves over the last few days, and did not take pains to mobilize with full efficiency. Had this been anything other than a drill, we would have moved much, much faster.

"Furthermore, we would like to point out that the events of the recent days have also proved to be a symbol of the delicacy of the so-called status quo that we find ourselves in today; we point out that this style of rapid escalation is exactly the reason why the Empire has taken such a pro-active stance on the matter of the promotion of global stability in the past few months.

"It is utterly inconcievable to us that our stance has been mistaken for overt aggression; and so, in order to show that we have not been aggressive of late - however ironic this may seem - we decided it would be wise to show the world, and, indeed, the Solar System, just how aggressive an aggressive Empire of the Eternal Dawn would truly be.

"We are quite sure that a number of you were waiting for EOTED strike craft to fall from the skies at any moment, and, with that in mind, we apologize for any malcontent or disturbance that this... tension... may have caused amongst your populaces.

"In order to prevent a real escalation of aggression by the Empire in the future, we strongly suggest that those nations whom have seen fit in recent times to act in a hostile and aggressive manner towards the Empire cease and desist in all such activities immediately... or face the consequences.

"Returning to the subject of the recent mobilization of the IDF: we did not, at any point, intend to initiate hostilities with any nation. We would like to make that clear. We are not a hostile state, and we are not in the business of making war without very good cause. This is not to say that we are not, on occasion, willing to flex our military might in order to bring about certain goals - but we do not, have not, and will not put our citizens or the citizens of other sovereign states at risk unduly.

"It has been claimed in the media of certain foreign states that this administration is in the business of killing civilians. We note that this is hypocritical in the extreme; we, and virtually we alone, utilize non-lethal military doctrine. The states in question do not have the moral high-ground on this issue, and we are somewhat surprised that the integrity of their media organisations is so flimsy as to allow their governments to influence them so strongly; is it not the province of the media to print or display the truth?

"It is true that, under the August Emperor Si Ling I, the Empire did carry out a full-scale orbital strike against the Russian Forces capital city, Moscow. However, it is to be noted that that strike was initially intended to be military-only - the levelling of the city in general was merely collateral damage... no matter how much that action is regretted, it is the truth of life that war brings death. We were not condemned for that strike at the time; indeed, we were applauded for carrying out the attack - something which, at the time, I found eminently disturbing.

"My father was not perfect, and, it is to his extreme credit that he recognized that fact - and stepped down appropriately. I do not, and will not, claim to be perfect. This would be folly. Neither do I claim to be correct in all matters; this would be equally ridiculous. Yet is it not outside the realms of possibility that this Empress, myself, will rule differently to my father? Of course not.

"And yet, despite the slow downscaling of the IDF, and the slow shift from militaristic diplomacy to economic-based diplomacy, and the recent efforts by the Empire to accede to foreign wishes on matters such as the high tariffs on internal corporate trading by foreign corporations, and the complete lack of unilateral military action by the Empire since my ascension to the Throne... I am considered to be no different to my father.

"This, I am afraid, is unacceptable. I am not demanding change; I am merely stating an opinion. I understand that my claims to be a more peacable and cool-headed ruler than my predecessor ought not be taken at face value; but when the evidence is clear for all to see, should there not be acknowledgement of that shift? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

"However... in the interest of displaying my peaceful intentions to the world as a whole, I hereby pledge Rlh4.6trillion from next years budget to the fight against the intolerable rampancy of perfectly curable diseases in the developing world.

"We are not warmongers. We fight, it is true, and perhaps we may be considered warlike; but we fight for peace, and only when it is necessary - such as in the Vassal State of Wolf Ville, where an oppressive regime has finally fallen, and the People are at last experiencing the freedom and oppurtunity that they so richly deserve. As there was no condemnation of our Peacekeeper liberation of Wolf Ville, I shall assume that no condemnation by the international community exists; I am a greatly sad, however, to report that some fifty civilian lives and thirteen thousand Wolf Ville Naval Guard lives were lost in the campaign. Unfortunately it is impossible to fight a non-lethal war on the waves; and as the self-styled Father of Wolf Ville ordered the Guard to 'fight until the last man falls', it was quite impossible to prevent bloodshed. We did all we could, however - no matter how unsatisfactory the eventual loss of life is to us, we will comfort ourselves with the knowledge that far more lives have been saved in Wolf Ville than were lost.

"As part of the International Stability Program, the Empire is willing to share the responsibility of bringing Wolf Ville back to a state wherein it can be considered capable of self-government. If this offer is not taken, we will nontheless take on the responsibility ourselves. We strongly hope that our actions in Wolf Ville will be interpreted in the manner that they ought to be: we have freed the people of that country from a greatly oppressive and disgusting regime that sent its own people to die - in the name of entertainment; this is not to mention the thousands that went missing every year after dissent against the 'government' of that state.

"We trust that our openness and honesty regarding the matters outlined in this speech will be considered symbolic of a new era of co-operation between the peoples of Earth and the Solar System - and the Empire of the Eternal Dawn.

"Forever at the service of Peace and Stability,

The Empress Rialla ux-Rihad II of the Empire of the Eternal Dawn."

~ The full content of the so-called 'Peace and Stability Speech', as given by the Empress Rialla ux-Rihad to the peoples of Earth and the Solar System via INN Solar


[EDIT: Reference to Der Angst removed due to inaccuracy of information supplied both ICly and OOCly by a certain unnamed party. Same goes for the references to Menelmacar.]

"We had to realise that one of your Gravfleets entered the Sol system and is now stationed at the north pole.

That is, they claim to be of Imperial Origin.

However, we have reasons not to believe their claims, and would need... clarification. As they already claimed to be of Imperial origin, you wont loose anything when verifying the data.

However, if they aren´t, we would gladly take the chance to... elem,inate the problem for you. That is, if it is a problem. If it isn`t, it doesn`t matter, either, as we would simply assume we can go ahead.

"What trickery is this?" Asked Sky Marshal Marcus Garrand, conferring with the upper elements of his officer's corps. Present were Roman Lieuchenko, Konrad Althalon, Lord Alkanphel, and the famous Radek Antares.

The men reveiwed the transmission again. Althalon stood. "I have no idea what these people are talking about. Looks to me like they want some target practice. But the question remains: 'Who the hell are they, if not us?'" He took a drag off his cigarette, plunging the butt into the ashtray, grinding the remaining tobacco away in a miniature shower of embers. Althalon strode to the fore of the room, his hands crossed behind his back.

"If we are to get to the bottom of this," interjected Antares "we've got to figure that out, clearly. These people..." Antares shook his head. "...they seem to have little understanding of how our ships work. They reportedly 'enetered the Sol system' according to the communique. I mean... come on, ours haven't even left the Solar system."

Lieuchenko nodded. Setting his glass down, he looked to Konrad. "What then shall we do? I'd suggest some sort of covert ops work. If our international intelligence sources don't turn anything up, we've got to board those ships."

Konrad's eyes flashed. "Or destroy them. Sensor drone data has indicated that the sender of this message has mobilized the whole of their spacefleets. Something is amiss. Why would you mobilize your entire spacefleet to destroy a fleet of ships claiming to belong to our Glorious Imperium? Not only does it defy conventional strategy, but it leads me to beleive that these people aren't to be trusted. "

"Of course our only bit of concern is that these people are reportedly posing as us. I know we've recently built some ships for export, but it remains an oddity to me as to why they would claim to be Imperials. We'll be attempting contact shortly," Lord Alkanphel concluded, standing slowly. "We must get to work."

The rest of the men nodded in agreement. After a few minutes of idle banter, the men exchanged farewells. They had work to do.

***
Official Imperial communique.
Point of Origin: the Imperial Stronghold of Utumno, Dor Daedoloth.
Destination: Endless Crimes

"This is a most puzzling situation. We're attempting to get to the bottom of this. If you could perhaps show us some intel on these ships, we can best discover their point of origin. They're not ours, but may in fact belong to a business partner. We'd appreciate it if you could refrain from destroying them until we know what's going on."
[end]


Melkor, Lord of Darkness
He who Arises in Might
Emperor Eternal of the Imperial Dominion of Melkor Unchained, Lord and Master of Arda
http://people.vanderbilt.edu/~darion.c.smith/melkor.jpg

"Called that one," Sakura reported, laying a datacard on Alaric's desk.

"Yes, yes. Let's hear it for intelligence."

"I especially liked the part where she took credit for being willing to rebuild the country after destroying it."

The diplomat shrugged. "That's a standard in some military doctrines. If she wishes to present it in a more noble light, more power to her. The CENNA issue, on the other hand..."

"Heh. I wonder whether they'll drop the 'eternal' from the name."

"Their reaction has been rather extreme. It was more destabilizing than Seocc's nuclear threat."

Sakura shrugged. "So condemn 'em. Won't do you any good. They don't know how to listen, and they haven't figured out the difference between politeness and respect. And when Siri thinks you're arrogant..."

"I seem to recall that Sirithil has described you as egotistical."

"I am." The foxgirl grinned. "I've earned it. Always did like her, personally."

"Really."

A quick nod. "Let's wait to see her response. A complete lack of response would be more... emphatic... but I doubt that's Siri's way. Bet she'll have a couple good lines."

"You know, you're the only intelligent person I know who consistently treats politics as a game."

"You mean it isn't?"

(OOC: Edit to add the word "politics" to Alaric's last line. Oops. -_-)

On the Bridge of Epirus I

"Well now, isn't this just interesting" as Admiral Stillwell reads the morning messages and briefings. "It was all just a test and bluff. (Eyes the Yeoman over his reading glasses) This teaches us 3 things here: A. Start no sh*t, get no sh*t, B. Our defenses need to be tested more often, even updated, and C. The need for a Battle Station over Io." (hands the logs back to the Yeoman after scribbling his "official read" signature)

"I think the House is way ahead of you Sir"

"Oh really (raising eyebrow) and elaborate on this"

"Well sir, it was in this mornings paper, it was the headliner 'House appropriates Bill for the construction of Epirus II at Io.' Looks like they are going to finally do it."

"Make a note of this, my paper is no longer to be placed in Wardroom, I want it in my stateroom. Ever since I started working out to lose some of this gut, I miss out on my paper and news from below. It is amazing what kind of actions have to take place on the international community for those lazy a** politicians to finally take action. The military has been pushing for that construction for 5 years now."

"Morning paper in stateroom (scribbling on report), aye sir."

"Dismissed, I am going to go get a bite to eat." (gets up out of the Captains Chair and heads to Wardroom)

ooc: OMG, NS needs to give that hampster a rest and plug the server back into the electrical outlet, that took 40 min.

There was no response from Menelmacar. Indeed, absolutely nothing the Empire of the Eternal Dawn had done over the last week or so had drawn even the slightest reaction of any kind from the ancient realm of the Noldor. There were no statements from the Palace. There was no emergency mobilization by the MIDF. Even the holonets gave the EOTED actions and Rialla's speech only the most cursory coverage, the way they might cover events in, say, Mozambique or Tonga or Bhutan. It was almost as if they simply didn't care. Had MISSION known about Operation Sting? Almost certainly. Did the Lady Sirithil care about the demands of Rialla? Almost certainly not. Was the Menelmacar-EOTED saga coming to an end? Well, no. Not even the beginning of the end. The end of the beginning... perhaps.

http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/projects/nationstates/sirithil/sirithilnosfeanor.gifLady Sirithil nos Fëanor
Elentári of the Eternal Noldorin Empire of Menelmacar
Regent of Lavenrunz, Chancellor of CENNA
"We have known freedom's price. We have shown freedom's power. We will see freedom's victory."
~US President George W. Bush
We Love the Iraqi Information Minister (http://www.welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com)
Clicky-clicky!

To:EOTED, however transmitted to all nations as well.
From: Office of President de los Santos, Federal Republic of New York and New Jersey

Let me be the first to say this to the Empire of the Eternal Dawn. Fack off.You left SATO and should therefor recieve NO explination as to anything that goes on behind now closed doors. Der Angst managed to stay inside of SATO, you however have chosen to leave. And you made your leaving rather public, trashing several nations who we consider friends. If I were incharge of SATO I'd tell you to shove it where the sun dont shine Empress. Of course I'm not...but my nation is a member of SATO. So let me tell you what you can do with your request. You can take your request and...well I'm not going to be repetative. I hope you have a perfectly good day. May one of your warships suffer a mysterious accident, hell may ALL of your warships suffer from mysterious accidents.

Emergency broadcast by the information minister and the ministry for Arrogence.

All screens recieving the signal go blank before being replaced by an image of the Iraqstani flag with the words. Enlightenment through justice. Purity through fire. Transcendance through sacrifice. scrolling along the bottom. A minute passes and the flag is replaced by a podium with two people standing on it.

Muhammed Saeed Al-Sahaf the Information minsiter for Iraqstan and his counter-part the minister for arrogence stand conversing with each other for a few moments before Muhamemd steps up to the podium and clears his throat.

"Peoples of the National Socialist Empire, the lands of Um Lizaa, pure and enlightened of the colonies and the international community. It is with great honour and pleasure that I the Information Minister of Iraqstan and my counter-part the Minister for Arrogence bring the following messages to you all."

Pausing Muhammed flicks pages through his notes and continues to speak. "First as you all know the tension in Iraqstan recently ceased with millions being exiled. Official numbers report over 190 million people classified as exiles and are being deported to the immortal shogunate. Iraqstani military power is returning to normal and military production is being tripled.

Iraqstan's power base is both stronger and more dedicated with the removal of the exiles whilst it's international relations might suffer for now it will continue to grow stronger and the world will tremble at it's power. I now turn the podium over to the minister of arrogence who has a few words to say about the recent penis display by The Empire of Eternal Dawn."

Stepping aside Muhammed grins sheepishly and sits down as the MoA steps up and clears his throat.

"The Führer of Iraqstan formaly delcares the peoples of The Empire of Eternal Dawn to be unenlightened filth that have no hope of attaining enlightenment or purity. Thus are henceforth removed from existance in the eyes of the righteous pure of Iraqstan. The Führer also urges all other natios of the international community to follow of right and just choice and remove The Empire of Eternal Dawn from the existance of your own lives.

As such all news and propeganda based details of The Empire of Eternal Dawn are to be burnt tonight at a huge bonfire ceremony in the square of enlightenment. All non-military intelligence actions are being canceled and anything from said Empire is being turned around and classified as 'False and completely unknown and invisible uselessness that never showed up' products.

The Empire of Eternal Dawn no longer will exist in our eyes and the international community is again urged to follow our righteous and just steps and remove such blatant foolishness, self masturbatory number statting and petty insulting behaviour from your existances to ensure further world peace and continued stability of the international scene. Thank you and Heil the Führer!"

Written and spoke by

http://www.angelfire.lycos.com/la3/lanay/muhammed.jpg
Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf
Iraqstani Information Minister

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Minister for Arrogance

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Hail the Führer, Long Live the National Socialist Empire!

<ooc> Loosly translated to EOTED your godmodding hypocrasy no longer is goign to be tolerated. 150 million people? Everyone moaned at resi corp for having 300 million people. Why should you be the special case? You foolishly displayed your godmoddey self by posting such ludicrous and patheticaly shallow attempts at self expanding egotism with this.

I truly hope everyone ignores you cuz simply that's poor game by you for trying to push 150 millionm people plus all your other MI-wank forces as legitimately usable. Good bye and let's hope you learn to not godmod in the future maybe then I might take you off ignore.

With love.
Carlos. </ooc>

"Sweet lord, do we still not know who the target is?"

"No, all we get is speeches, mobilizations, more speeches, official announcements, even more speeches, and a 500% increase in encoded data traffic from and to EOTED. Which we, of course, are not attempting to decode, because it would violate the trust put in us as mutual CENNA members"

"Great. So all we have the the insurance that we got last week?"

"Yup"

"Damnit! Find out WHO is the target. And when you know that, sell that information to the highest bidder."

"Ehm...would that be smart? If EOTED finds out, we're all going to hell. And not in an Automagfreek fashion. I mean permanently."

"Good point. Abstain from selling the information. But I still need to know who the target is! And what is that rumour about a gravship fleet? Can it be related to us?"

"No sir. We don't even know if it concerns this particular case. We will send a message to our associates and find out."

"Good"

~Conversation within the military command center

The Whispering Voices data reconnaissance satellites, one of which was currently geosynchronous and several more of which had just been sent to drift slowly off into space in random directions, finally noticed the huge EOTED mobilisation. It took them a while to relay the information back, suffering the sad sad restriction of optical communications, and then intelligence analysts began the true process of any war: arguing with each other over just what the nation in question was up to, why, and it it could be made profitable.

"Furthermore, we strongly suggest that Der Angst provide an explanation for certain actions made by them against a certain nation involving a certain nuclear device in a certain city. Failed or not, we find such actions utterly and wholly irresponsible, and expect - nay, we demand - an explanation from SATO as to why Der Angst is allowed to continue their membership when they are so clearly acting against the morals and goals of that organisation. We offer the actions of Der Angst as the driving reason behind our recent withdrawal.


Althena couldn`t believe it. This was simply... Impossible. "But... erm... did SeOCC find any evidence?"
"No. We never ordered nuking them. There cannot be any evidence. It`s simply impossible that there is evidence for something we didn`t do."
"Good... shall we answer them?"
"How?"

Althena looked up, genuinely surprised. "How? They contacted us, didn´t they? At the very least, they addressed us."
"Well... thats impossible. They severed ties with us, quite a while ago."
"Ah, i see... So, it`s simply impossible that they sent the message?"
"Well, no. But it`s impossible that we received it."
"Wow." Althena was impressed. Soldats was actually able to catch messages they weren`t able to reach them. "Well... i guess we should go back to work, shouldn`t we?"
"Yes. Lets leave The Empire of the coming dusk alone."

...
<ooc> Loosly translated to EOTED your godmodding hypocrasy no longer is goign to be tolerated. 150 million people? Everyone moaned at resi corp for having 300 million people. Why should you be the special case? You foolishly displayed your godmoddey self by posting such ludicrous and patheticaly shallow attempts at self expanding egotism with this.

I truly hope everyone ignores you cuz simply that's poor game by you for trying to push 150 millionm people plus all your other MI-wank forces as legitimately usable. Good bye and let's hope you learn to not godmod in the future maybe then I might take you off ignore.

With love.
Carlos. </ooc>

[OOC: Uhm. Perhaps you didn't read the post; perhaps you merely failed to understand the post. Who knows. The EOTED military is not composed of 150 million combatants; it is composed of a total of 150 million personnel. That's not combatants. That takes in...

...the IDF Logistical Corps; in the IDF GF: the IDF GF Research and Development Corps, the IDF GF Manufacturing and Advanced Technical Engineering Corps, the IDF GF Engineering Support Corps, the IDF GF Information Technology Corps, the IDF GF Catering Corps, and others.

In the IDF N; the IDF N Research and Development Corps, the IDF N Construction and Technical Development Corps, the IDF N Engineering Corps, the IDF N Information Technology Corps, the IDF N Catering Corps, and others.

In the IDF AF; the IDF AF Research and Engineering Support Corps, the IDF AF Artificial Intelligence Correction Corps, the IDF AF Logistical Support Squadron, the IDF AF Information Technology Corps, the IDF AF Catering Corps, and others.

And so on, and so forth.

Not to mention the IDF Peacekeepers, which take in about 20 million of the total in non-combatant logistical infrastructure, combatant logistical supply, and combatant personnel (including Peacekeeper Special Forces).

Then you have the IDF SN, which has about four million personnel in total; most of those are in command and control.

Total combatant personnel in the IDF?

Around thirty million. However, to suggest that any large proportion of that total could ever be deployed in time to have a meaningful impact on the course of a war (except on home soil, of course) is ludicrous. The largest ground deployment in EOTED history was in Rukemia - and that entailed around fifty thousand soldiers alone. Second highest deployment was in Knootoss - thirty thousand soldiers.

Of the thirty million total combatants (including pilots, naval officers, space navy crew, and so on, and so forth), only twelve million of those are 'high-end' soldiers. That is, they get the best training, equipment, and pay. Twelve million is a completely insignificant proportion of two billion, in case you didn't notice; even thirty million is only slightly more than one one hundredth of the total population.

Why are there so many personnel in total? Military service is mandatory in the Empire. With five million people every single year taking up said military service, and military service lasting three years on average (longer terms can be served if the person in question wishes to 'go career'), having such a large total personnel figure is absolutely unavoidable.

Why was the entirety of the IDF involved in the operation? Simple answer to that one: necessity. A 'full mobilization' of the combatant forces requires full support to be on hand, in the event that someone got it into their head to make a 'first strike' against the Empire. It would have been foolish - nay, absurd - in the extreme to suggest that a military of the nature of the IDF (obsessed with rapidity and crisp efficiency over all other matters of importance) would do anything less than mobilize the entirety of the IDF in order to support the combatant portion of the IDF. As I said: anyone might have decided that they were the target of the mobilization, and reacted accordingly. To have the IDF fully mobilize both combatant and non-combatant divisions/corps is only realistic and in keeping with the styling, methodology, and doctrine that the IDF has already displayed that it conforms to/follows.

To put it simply: I am striving for realism; the more high-tech a military, the more support it requires, and, relatively, the more unwieldy it therefore becomes - thus wiping out a large proportion of the advantage gained by having the 'better' technology in the first place. It also serves to balance things a little - something which I strive endlessly to do. If you do not think that roleplay ought to be realistic, then feel free to ignore me.]

Official Imperial communique.
Point of Origin: the Imperial Stronghold of Utumno, Dor Daedoloth.
Destination: Endless Crimes

"This is a most puzzling situation. We're attempting to get to the bottom of this. If you could perhaps show us some intel on these ships, we can best discover their point of origin. They're not ours, but may in fact belong to a business partner. We'd appreciate it if you could refrain from destroying them until we know what's going on."


Metatron looked upon the message, slightly... worried. "So?"
"Well... i think we have to respect their wishes." It was Uriel, his wings wide open. "However, our intelligence is... well, we know they came from outside sol. Anything else is unknown."
"So... we have nothing to give them, right?" Metatron sat there, occasionally sipping from a glass of wine.
"Yes."
"Thants... frustrating. But it can`t be helped. Keep one fleet ready, the other four back to standby."
"I will inform Michael." Uriel bowed, and left the room. Metatron still sat there, though.
"Soon... soon i will get you, false god."

From: The National Zionist Empire of Endless Crimes
To: The Imperial Dominion of Melkor Unchained
Subject: The dubious fleet

"We will refrain from action until you found out what you need to find out.

Unfortunately, we don`t have the necessary information to help you with your cause. We will try our best to get this information, though."

Sincerely,

~ Uriel

NEO (O-North Pole Space), MISAT Node 22-A-4-7

The small MISATmk1 swivelled, altering from its previous position, and pointed itself squarely at the so-called Melkorian gravships.

It opens its sheathe - just enough to deploy its full sensor suite - and proceeds to blast EM radiation at the lead gravship. It isn't an assault; merely a high-end scan. And as quickly as the burst of EM radiation begins, it shuts off, and the MISAT resumes passive observation of the gravships.

[OOC: The object of the 'high-end' scan is to determine the materials the ship is made of, first and foremost, and to check for thermal emissions, and the level thereof. It would also provide other details, but those aren't important, so we can skip them; it's also somewhat provocative, which is intentional - if there are any sensitive electronics on board, then they would've acted a little strangely for the duration of the scan.]

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Destroyer ‘Battle Blade’ a.k.a. K.G.S. Vreugde bij Vrede*
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Tiny beeps came from the science console on the adapted bridge of the ‘Vreugde bij Vrede’. While most of the ships interior was still Melkorian the vial areas had been changed to suit the preferred human working environment. The bridge of this destroyer was not unlike that of the Miranda class science vessels, yet the ceiling appeared to be much lower and the bulkheads were a brownish and copper-coloured instead of the usual grey. The little background beeps and lights would have been all too familiar though for anyone who had operated a Knootian or Valinon vessel.

A secondary tactical display suddenly focussed on the MISATmk1 when it had altered it’s course. The computer system had deemed it’s course to be intercepting. The science officer glanced over the display and did not think anything of it – “probably just another satellite that is going to do passive scans.”

A high-pitched repeating double beep came from another console seconds later. Some of the more monitors depicting data from the more sensitive scanners were disturbed by a greyish white snow.

“Someone is firing at us!”, the tactical officer exclaimed. Tension rose immediately. The captain, a redheaded woman in her late forties, turned her head towards him: “Identify!”. “One of the EOTED satellites is blasting… EM radiation at us. It is disturbing several of our sensors. Could be a prelude to attack.”

“Or it could be just a scan.”, the science officer put in.

Meanwhile the MISATmk1 started gathering data from the gravship.
Armour composite not consistent: instead of Melkorian depleted uranium this ship was built using a Tungsten based alloy that was as dense as Depleted Uranium, but without some of the nastier side effects.... the remainder of the ship appeared to have been constructed using more conventional methods.

Background thermal emissions: normal, weapons powered down. Engine emissions were nominal for a ship about to enter a gentle downward trajectory into the atmosphere and the average body temperature of the crew was 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 37.0 degrees Celsius. Humans.

“Incapacitate it!”, the redheaded woman ordered. Even better, send a message to the Verhofstadt, tell them to disable it.

A secure encrypted transmission flashed to another ship in the gravfleet. 6,4 seconds later a missile designed to incapacitate electronic instruments was fired from the Verhofstadt - or, as the nametag appeared to indicate, from the: ‘Uruk Pride’. Deploying it’s targeting system against the machine, the missile sped in the direction of the EOTED satellite…

OOC:
I read all of your posts, and liked them, but so far I cannot act on them. I’ll be following Endless Crimes’ musings and probably await a message from Arda as well. So I won’t massquote everything, just Ma-Tek’s scanning.

A tech note: these gravships do not have FTL capability of their own, but Vortex’ base is in another system. The fleet was ferried back into sol using tractoring by mercenary vessels who do have FTL capability.

Another tech note regarding the scan: I bought the composite armour from Alcona and Hubris via the UTP and had it delivered to Melkor for production. So I did not just pull the whole Tungsten thing out of my nose.

* Dutch for ‘Joy in Peace’

OOC: Knoot, if you read this, please telegram me what your part in this is :(

If it were alive, the MISAT would have felt alarm at the blip that it registered moving towards it. As it was, it did not feel anything. It merely gathered data until the last moment, and, in a fraction of a second, the AI controlling the satelite network decided that it had enough data...

...and the MISAT turned to slag an instant before the missile would have disable it anyway.

* * *

IDFI Satops Office Partition, IDF High Command, Nenya

"Hmmm. The hull is composed of a tungsten-based alloy, rather than the dep. uranium we tend to see on Melkorian gravships; engine emissions appear nominal; the crew is entirely human. Average body temperature confirms that beyond doubt. - Sire, that's not a Melkorian ship. I'd stake my pension on it."

Semir-randil sighed. "Then who does it belong to?"

"Insufficient data, Sire," the satop stated flatly with a shrug, "although if you want me to guess, I could try and pull up some data from past encounters with foreign vessels. See if the hull composition is consistent with the design paradigm of anyone we know of. I doubt it'd be a very conclusive study, but-"

"Do it. Have a report on the matter on my desk by this time tomorrow. And... be thorough."

"Aye-aye, sir."

(OOC: As discussed on IRC, it cannot be traced back to Knootss for reasons explained there. Vortex has a telegram.)

The missile shaved past the piece of rubble at enourmous speeds before bending back and burning up into the earths atmosphere...

At some invisible sign, the fleet moved, the undersides shimmering red in a fierce bright light as they decended onto the planet. Downwards onto the top of the world...

[to be continued]

Amerigo is a land of contrast

ooc: telegram received, read & understood