NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: All allies/enemies feel free to get involved in whatever way you wish. Here are the reference threads: History of Street Island, including initial terrorist attacks (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=56289) ; Street Island's unanswered plea to the International Community (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=62244) ; News Report About Street Island (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=63257) ; The Earlier Chimaean attempt at controlling the situation, including the most recent terrorist attacks (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=96572)

Semi-OOC: Recap for lazy people

Street Island (http://chimaea.crforums.net/domestic.htm) is an autonomous region of Chimaea. It is composed of a large island, about the size of Britain, that is off the coast of Chimaea.

During Chimaea's imperialistic days, Street Island used to be a colony of the Commonwealth. During the time of secession, a lot of Chimaea's former colonies were given independance--all except for Street Island, which the Chimaean government deemed too important an asset to give complete independance to, being as it is a fairly good place to launch an invasion against Chimaea.

There's continuing annoyance in Street Island over being a part of Chimaea. Amidst a lot of protests and violence, and an invasion by the former Clock Hill regime which proved Chimaea's views about the strategic importance of Street Island, the Commonwealth finally gave Street Island a compromise: their own government as an autonomous state of Chimaea. There were several economic and military conditions with their autonomy and the nominal head of state for Street Island was the Governor of Chimaea, but most of the population was satisfied.

Apart from the Street Island National Party, which was composed of insurgents and radicals demanding independance. The S.I.N. launched a coup, supported by elements within the Street Island National Guard, which was successfully overcome by Chimaea and its allies. A referendum was held by Chimaea on the independance issue and the Street Island citizens, sickened by S.I.N.'s actions, voted overwhelmingly for autonomy.

The S.I.N. immediately went underground and, supported by various hostile foriegn powers, armed and trained as geurilla fighters. Led by the enigmatic and charistmatic Magnus Arturo, they launched a terrorist campaign on Chimaea and its Baron allies. The Baron Counter Terrorist Organisation was deployed in Street Island and they were closing in on S.I.N. when simultaeneous terrorist attacks were launched against Chimaea, Clock Hill and Snuffopolis, claiming hundreds of lives. Sir Reginald Styles, the then Governor of Chimaea, launched a counter-offensive within Street Island, implementing martial law and using sledgehammer-tactics to oust S.I.N. and its supporters.

Sir Reginald was ousted by a military coup. Soon afterwards, the Chimaean Army Headquarters in Street Island was bombed, taking hundreds of lives of Chimaean personnel. And the shoulders of history can only take so much...

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The air and space between Chimaea and Street Island was alive with communication. The terrestrial landlines were clogged; the central Street Island Exchange had to take extreme measures to avoid being completely overwhelmed. Mobile and sattelite communications channels filled up more slowly, partly because of the price and partly because of the open-transmit nature of the communications systems.

Both governments ordered select channels to be blocked for the exclusive use of official communication. Spokesmen and Ministers for both governments appealed for calm on national radio and television. Parliament was recalled in both cases for emergency sessions; military helicopters and jets transported waiting parliamentarians to safety zones and then to meetings.

Citizens of both nations sat in their homes, feeling a sense of dread and helplessness as they watched events unfold on television. The images of sparks and debris scattered through the air, the gutted and stripped buildings, soldiers and emergency services desperately searching for survivors. Burnt bodies and body bags lying in rows on the ground.

There were poignant and downright odd moments amidst the chaos and destruction. Chefs and employees of nearby restaurants and cafes, some still in pijamas or uniforms, providing food and drink to survivors. Some soldiers, burnt and injured but working amidst the chaos to help the worse-off. The commanding officer of the HQ, Brigadier-General Harrison, in a state of shock and covered in blood and dirt, saluting General Garrison and formally excusing the state of her uniform. A lone member of the Army's present marching band, injured and on a stretcher, determinedly playing the Chimaean national anthem on a flute, the sound drowned out by sirens.

The best and worst of human nature on stark display in a world that had gone very, very mad.

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[code:1:d22816cb04]**Confidential**
This document is protected under the auspices of The Official Secrets Act, 1939. Any violations will be prosecuted.

To: General Carter, BCTO
From: General Garrison, Chimaean Armed Forces

Due to recent events our policy in Street Island has changed. We request that all BCTO personnel to pull out of Street Island ASAP. Will keep you informed.[/code:1:d22816cb04]

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

[code:1:d22816cb04]**Confidential**
To: Allied Nations
From: The Commonwealth of Chimaea

Fellow nations,

Following the recent events in Street Island, I have made an executive decision to reinstate the Street Island State Act. The autonomous government of Street Island will be dissolved and an interim Premier selected pending elections. Street Island will be considered a state of the Chimaean Commonwealth.

I thought it appropriate to give you early notification of these policy changes.

Warmest regards,
Tanya Bryce
Governor of Chimaea[/code:1:d22816cb04]

General Fiona Carter, the commanding officer of the Baron Counter Terrorist Organisation, stared at the message that had been delivered to her by a nervous aide. Surely, she thought, This is the moment to let the BCTO investigate... unless...

She frowned at the thought, and felt shocked as she realised the importance of the change of policy that General Garrison had referred to. Surely not...?

She opened her laptop and began typing.

[code:1:dd98b5be3b]To: General Garrison, Chimaean Armed Forces
From: General Carter, BCTO

The BCTO will remain on Street Island until I can personally ascertain how best to respond. Request a meeting with yourself and Governor Bryce ASAP.[/code:1:dd98b5be3b]

http://www.worldtempus.com/images/logos/tag.gif

God bless,

The Republic of Syskeyia

Fort Darwin, West Coast of Chimaea

The order to mobilise came without much surprise within the ranks of the 64th Marine Corp--after all, a fair number of the 64th were already in Street Island, and the division had sustained casualties.

However, there was a different sense of urgency about the new deployment, a new atmosphere to the proceedings that hadn't been there before. The soldiers started realising it as large transport planes touched down at the small airport outside of Fort Darwin and began loading up with heavy equipment such as tanks, long-range artillery and crates of large-calibre ammunition and weapons.

The soldiers of the 64th were placed in a convoy of trucks which set off for the short distance to the nearby docks, where barges transported them to the anchored troop transport ships waiting in deeper water. They noticed that several cruisers and destroyers had already taken up positions around the ships, while in the distance another set of assault craft had set off towards Street Island. It wasn't too much of a leap of imagination to guess that beneath the waves patrolled submarines.

Overhead, squadrons of fighters shrieked low over the ships and the cold grey sea, heading for the decks of carriers and to recon over Street Island.

The moment General Carter stepped into the room, she realised with a sinking feeling that it wasn't so much as a discussion but a briefing. Lady Bryce was sitting behind her desk, scowling, while General Garrison looked frigidly calm.

Noting this, General Carter smiled brightly and sat down in the second seat in front of the Governor's desk. "Congratulations on your... nomination... as Governor, my Lady."

The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees, but Carter maintained her bright smile. "I see you're looking well, General."

General Garrison studied her carefully. "You too, General. Tell me, how is that delightful aide of yours... Snake wasn't it?"

Carter's expression didn't change but her eyes lost their warmth as she wondered how much he knew, and how he knew it. "I'm sure he's fine, General. Now if we may proceed to the reason why I'm here...?"

The old General shrugged and rubbed his palms together. "Street Island," he rumbled, "Cannot proceed in it's day-to-day business while people are dying and the S.I.N. are still at large."

"Granted."

"So Chimaea must act; after all, it is an autonomous part of Chimaea."

"Yes. So you sent the BCTO in, and when we were almost closing the net on the S.I.N., the former administration decided to send in its clodhopping troopers along with a mandate for martial law."

There was a small silence, then Lady Bryce spread her hands on her desk. "I can't answer for the actions of my predecessor."

"But you can answer for your actions, my Lady. Why is Chimaea mobilising? Activity around Fort Darwin has increased a hundred-fold. It's not like you're trying to hide it, either. The Navy and the Air Force are on high alert and seem to be on the move too." General Carter leaned forwards in her chair, staring into the other woman's eyes. "Why do you want to invade Street Island?"

Lady Bryce's eyes darted towards General Garrison for a split second, which told General Carter all she wanted to know. She sat back again and turned to regard the Chimaean General.

General Garrison returned her look without flinching. "Not invade. Re-take."

General Carter snorted. "Oh please. There's not much of a difference."

"There's a lot of difference. Street Island is not a soveriegn nation, General Carter."

"Street Island voted for autonomy, General, or is your history as dim as your knowledge of democracy?"

The moment she uttered it, the stinging remark seemed to echo in the air and she realised she'd made a mistake. Both Lady Bryce and General Garrison were in a tenous position over what was occurring and they knew it.

General Carter sighed. "If you do this, S.I.N. will most probably just melt back into the crowds. Or worse, go overseas and attack Chimaean assets, allies and interests abroad."

Even as she said it, though, she realised that the decision had already been taken. This was indeed a briefing. Lady Bryce looked aympathetically at her while General Garrison looked away, towards the large arched windows of the room. "I'm sorry, General Carter," he said softly, "This is the way things have to be."

Street Island Parliament House

Joan Fraser stood and leaned forwards towards her microphone, her eyes anxiously scanning the ranks of nervous men and women gathered in the Parliamentary Chamber. There were looks of fear, anger and bewilderment.

She cleared her throat and tried to collect her thoughts. "It is with the greatest urgency that this emergency sitting of Parliament - already deemed illegal by the Street Island Constitution - has been called.

"Already Chimaean military forces have taken various outlying areas, some near Townsville itself. Chimaean forces have extracted from most major cities in preparation for reinforcements and the initial occupation."

She studied the expressions of the MPs gathered. Regardless of parties, they held a barely restrained agitation and fear. For once, the Opposition Leader wasn't traditionally lounging on his chair and smirking at her speech. He, like everyone else, was hanging on to her every word. United by a common foe.

"Street Island... is on the brink of losing our national identity. We are on the brink of outright invasion. We have two choices now. Two choices: to take this peacefully and appease the aggressor and maybe save lives... or to go to war.

"I'm not going to mince any words. If we go to war, people will die. Soldiers, civilians, the enemy... bodies will rot on our streets, blood will flow in our rivers, our cities will be devastated. Our enemy has superior firepower, superior forces and the backing of powerful allies. It is a war we will very likely lose... And we are completely alone. The international community has turned its back on us."

She felt like a monster as she watched the faces of her colleagues, but went on relentlessly. "There is no more time for recriminations and blame. There is no more time for procrastination. We will have one vote. Ignore your parties and your alliances... This is a conscience vote which crosses all boundaries. You have the choices. If there is a balance, then I will cast the deciding vote. I have already reinstated General Carrington to his position as commander of the National Guard in preparation for whichever role he must play."

She took a deep and ragged breath, and cast her eyes downwards at the top of the microphone stand. "I bid you cast your vote."

There was complete silence in the House. No-one seemed able to move and then--a sound, unheard of in the history of the Street Island Parliament.

Joan raised her head to look across the table at the shadow Foriegn Minister, sobbing into his hands. After a moment, the Opposition Leader stretched out an arm and awkwardly squeezed the man around his shoulders. He nodded to the Prime Minister and held her gaze as around them, the members of parliament voted for the last stand.