NationStates Jolt Archive

The Hellespont

The rain was pouring heavily over the Hellespont, as Appius and his friend Eumaeus carried two crates of ammunition to the cart waiting near the TRNS Priam II. Both boys were of a rather young age – 18 or 19 years of age. Both boys were wearing blue raincoats and rain boots.

“Comin’ down rather heavy, ain’t it?” said Appius loudly over the roaring noise emitting from the Priam II.

“Aye! Do you think we’ll be ready by next week?”

“Yeah man, don’t worry. High Command knows what it’s a-doing. We just gots to do our part and do it on time. We’ll be prepared in time. Now, go fetch another crate! I’ll bring this into the ship and get another cart.”

Eumaeus grumbled. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he muttered as he walked off to the warehouse in the distance.

Eumaeus and Appius weren’t the only persons loading ammunition and supplies onto the ships docked at the port. Thousands of men were loading ammunition, food, and various other supplies aboard some two hundred ships resting at the Hellespont. Something was brewing. The officers seemed tense and stressed. Something had to be done on time and if that something weren’t done, it would be their ass on the line.

“Hurry up, ladies! We don’t got all day, ya scalawags!” clamored one of the officers signaling to some of the slackers.

The work continued.

---

All over the nation, men were preparing for something big. Something of great magnitude was to happen in Troy within the next week. Why else would the military be stocking naval ships with supplies and ammunition?

Though no one except Priam and the Trojan High Command knew of what was to go down, the men had a sense of what was happening. They were preparing for war. Bellum. Again. But if they were to be ready by next week, how would they be able to prepare for the actual war? Their minds were perplexed and everything throughout Troy was one grand mystery.

Only time would tell.

---

Imperial Palace, Troy

Priam had summoned the Council of Elders to inform them of his plan.

“Gentlemen, I’m glad you’ve decided to make it to tonight’s conference; otherwise, you’d be dead!” he chuckled a bit.

The Council chuckled back

“Now, you are all aware of the current mobilizations?” he asked.

A synonymous ‘Yes.’

“That’s very nice to hear, gentlemen. Very nice indeed. Heh. Anyways, the target has been acquired. Our spy network has only been able to provide a very vague report of what is ‘going down’ in their state. Very little to help our invasion at all. So, we’re going to have to rely on our guts and common sense to carry this out. We have plenty of satellite shots of Greece and we all know very well where the strategic points are to be found. We must make a quick incursion into mainland Greece on the Alexandropoulis and Euboea fronts. However, seizing the Greek islands between Troy and mainland Greece is imperative. Absolutely imperative. Now, our first wave will not include a land invasion of Crete. No, we don’t have enough forces available to carry out such an operation there. However, strategic bombers will pepper the island and destroy an airbases we can sniff out.

“The Black Sea Fleet is within range of striking the Automagfreek Greece mainland. Our objective is not to slaughter civilians. We cannot waste ballistic missiles on those worthless Achaean scums. Our objective will be to disable the Freek aerial capabilities. We need to take control of the skies, gentlemen. If we can disable the Freek Air Force in the area, we can successfully lead an incursion into Greece. We can then position ourselves for a counterattack and thus reinforce ourselves with more soldiers from Troy.

“Our men have a rudimentary idea of what will be happening. They have been told that they have a week to ‘complete the supplying of the Trojan Royal Navy’s within the next week in preparation for an upcoming military exercise.’ We have very little time to train them for this invasion. How do you suggest we do so? How much time do we give them between the supplying and actual invasion of Greece?”

“If I may speak, your Majesty,” said one of the Elders, “perhaps we should carry out an air-war against Automagfreek Greece while preparing our troops for the invasion? The naval forces in the area can support the air force. Marines and Special Forces will carry out the land invasions of the Aegean islands. They can easily overwhelm the natives.”

“We cannot keep an air-war going long enough to successfully train and launch a land invasion of Greece without the Freeks reinforcing themselves,” Priam responded. “You twat. And the Elders are supposed to be graced with the gift of wisdom,” Priam commented sarcastically.

“And you, kind sir, are ‘gifted’ with the sin of hubris,” snapped the Elder.

“Have fun in hell,” said Priam, motioning to the guards.

Two large men carrying spears walked up to and behind the dissenting Elder. They grabbed his arms and dragged him out of the room. The next few seconds after he had been taken out of the room passed with the sound of a shrilling human being and the sounds of brains spilling out onto the floor.

“Now, if we can continue,” Priam said, “any other suggestions? Either you give me some wisdom or we push our troops as hard as hell to prepare for this attack over the next six days and nights. No sleep. No rest. Only training. Huh?”

“Brilliant idea, your Majesty,” they all responded.

“Never mind the physical incapability of that,” muttered one of the Elders under his breath.

“What was that?” Priam steamed.

Silence.

“Thought so,” said Priam.

OOC:
Smite
Wont be long now...

<OOC: except for the fact that AMF is 10x better the rper than that. now shut up and go away... I have a serious rp to do. next post(s) will explain the title. also, I'll make an ooc thread>

OOC:
That was an abbreviation. You dont have to be rude.

[tag]

Post in progress.

ooc: King Priam sure turned nasty these last 2500 years. I doubt Apollo would support such treacherous actions. Ah well, artistic liberties I suppose. And good luck AMF.

Delta looked up as an agent walked into his office, set down a file and left. He picked it up and opened it. It was not what he expected, given the situation with the AI in the capital miles away. This showed photos of Southern Europe, including Greece and the Trojan Empire. He looked through the photos and then read the report. The trojans were preparing for some type of conflict.

The Administrator contacted a few advisors to confirm what it said below that. That Crimmond was allied with Troy. He sighed as he was told that Lord Tian and Overlord Varchak, the 'vanished' ruler of what was Baggera had both signed alliances with Troy. I know Troy and Greece(and therefore AMF), hate each other... Now what do I do? Break an alliance with AMF for one that is far older, but has never been acted upon, do nothing or move against the Trojans? Damn you Tian... make things difficult for me even after you're dead and buried. He sighs and shakes himself out of his thoughts. He looked over the file again.

http://home.earthlink.net/~alpha_zero_usm/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/delta.jpg
Administrator Delta
Leader of the Crimmond Combine
Lord of the Crimmond Province
Overseer of The Seaside Empire of Quarell
Overseer of The Jingoistic States of Survivalist Legions

"Do we help?" Jain Granger asked her senior staff, who were looking uncomfortable. "That was not a military question, that was a political one." She adjusted her sleeves of her military uniform. "The Elaran thing is going slow, so I'm not leaving yet. But do we or do we not help? Yes or no?"

Secretary of the Military, Nathan Black leaned forward in his seat. "We were never a big military power to begin with and we drew down heavily to support our space forces... The best we could do is support our good friends in AMF."

"At the risk of reprisals for throwing our lot in with them?" A senior aide asked Black directly. "Sir, they're well known and there are people that hate them. We could be signing our death warrants..."

"True," Black conceded, "but... We do have them on our side. My advice, Madam President, is to play our role. Support AMF. Two carrier battle groups are just about all we can cobble together. I'd increase the supply ships. If it gets to a pinch, we send the AMF forces fuel and weapons.

"If these Trojans bite us for that, well we'll bite them back since we've got two carriers and their escorts. And if any of our forces survive, we can hit the Trojan flanks and their rear units.

"And we can airlift a lot of ground equipment if there's a full scale invasion. That we can do really easily." Black concluded.

Granger sighed. "Approved. But remember to keep us well back for a while." Black nodded and headed out to send the orders.

<OOC: OOC thread (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3317907)>

“They have their eyes fixed upon our every movement, those bastards,” grunted Priam.

“There is no need to be troubled with that, milord,” said Peleus. “As far as we’re concerned, those ships are on their way to supply the Akaviir government with weapons. To combat the Catholic terrorists devastating the nation. This is a good deed by Troy; there’s nothing for them to fret about. They’ll take the bait. Everyone knows of our extreme anti-Catholic policies. It is quite believable that we’d be willing to help a nation deal with the insurgents in Akaviir.”

“Your words are soothing, dear Peleus,” said Priam, sighing a sigh of relief. “Now, we have six days to brief these men and ingrain the battle plan into their puny minds. They’ve been doin’ training for this sort of operation for quite some time now, ignorant to the impending invasion we were planning. But now we have to give them their objectives and how we plan on achieving those objectives. When to retreat, when to advance. So many different scenarios to deal with. It’s gonna be hell.”

“Undoubtedly. But back to the Akaviir point,” said Peleus, “our vessels will be aligning themselves along the Aegean. How can we explain this? It certainly doesn’t have the bearings to be a supply deployment to a far off nation. It looks more like a blockade.”

“Peleus, we share the Aegean Sea with Automagfreek Greece. Our entire coastline touches this sea. Our naval presence is a necessity,” replied Priam.

“But, our ships, they’re closer than usual.”

“Tell them to deal with it. Besides, we will be dispatching a small convoy to supply the Akaviir government. The blockading ships will tag along for a part of the trip out of the Aegean. Then, they’ll break off from the main fleet and line themselves miles off the Grecian coastline. During this time span, fighter jets will take off from our aircraft carriers to pepper Freek naval and aerial military bases. Then we can get our drop ships and naval troop carriers moving and our troops onto Greek territory,” Priam explained.

“You always know best, milord,” said Peleus, bowing. “May I depart to organize the explanation we’ve devised?”

“Certainly, go quickly!”

---

To: Aegean Neighbors
From: The Imperial Kingdom of Troy
Subject: Recent Naval Mobilizations

MESSAGE: URGENT

This message is only to reassure neighboring nations residing along the Aegean Sea that the recent naval mobilizations in Troy over the past week are only a response to a plea of help from the Armed Republic of Akaviir – a nation experiencing a Catholic terrorist problem. Troy has answered their call. Although the Troy’s democratic Congress voted down a resolution that would enable the usage of Trojan Marines in the area, a resolution was passed to allow the exchange of military and humanitarian supplies between Troy and Akaviir. In exchange for nothing, Troy will be sending boatloads of humanitarian and military goods – as stated. Please do not be alarmed.

END MESSAGE

"Legitimate?" Acting President Halvent asked.

"Well... Sort of. They're putting up a good smokescreen. However, we were, how to say... 'invited' by our good friends in Greece for a naval training exercise." Black said wearily, shuffling briefing folders in his lap.

Even Halvent laughed. "Anyone going to buy that B.S.?" She asked when the room quietened.

"No." Black replied. "It's fairly innocuous. Considering the state of the world, peoples at war would send entire Fleets, dozens of ships and hundreds of aircraft. We're only sending about twelve ships and about a hundred and twenty aircraft. AMF could probably beat them back by themselves, meaning we're observers. We're deploying for exercises, we only stick our hands in if we're politely asked."

TAG

(Expect an LRRA recon force to help AMF when the conflict erupts)

At an LRRAF base on the southwest coast of LRR, an element of light tanks, Wiesel 3 recon vehicles, XA-180 tank destroyer/recon vehicles, and assault infantry prepares to board aircraft. Word had circulated that something big was going to happen around Greece, and that AMF and Adejaani were involved. Wanting to show support for regional allies, the LRRA scrapes together a unit of recon, assault, and paratroops to go in and help out AMF if need be. It would be armor, but the LRRA reserves the mechanized forces for home defense, with the exception of light tanks, wheeled APCs, and the new MBT-6s.

"The fleet is for Armed Republic of Akaviir, so they say. They are being sent to assist with trouble there." came the report over the vid-link. The reporter was Lieutenant General Santiana, the newly instated warlord of the Czekloslovokian county. "Sir, the Destroyer has not made mention of suspicions of an attack to us or the rest of the APTO that we know of."

The reportee sat back in his chair. Administrator Delta sighed. "True, Santiana... very true. But we know that without this fleet, they are weakened and we can take advantage of this. Whether or not it is an attack on the Freeks is irrelevant." He smiles. "If it is, they can repel it on their own and we have just cause for annexation of captured territory. If it isn't... then we call for their assitance in annexing the Trojans. They lose an enemy and we gain a foothold in the Aegean..."

On the screen, Santiana bows his head. "Delta, you are quite the devisor of plans. But you need someone to lead your troops, if you decide that this is an action you wish to pursue." He couldn't make it more obvious unless he actually asked outright.

"You would be among the canidates, General. Do not worry. Prepare your Strike Marines. I'm going to speak with the Naval command... I want Troy and not even Apollo can stop the Black Staff." Delta cut the link and smiled. Not a whisp or hint of one... this was a full fledged smile verging on a grin.

Several aids averted their eyes. A smiling Delta was an unsettling sight...

http://home.earthlink.net/~alpha_zero_usm/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/warlordthumb.jpg
Lieutenant General Rammar Santiana
Warlord of Czekloslovokian Marine Garrison

http://home.earthlink.net/~alpha_zero_usm/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/delta.jpg
Administrator Delta
Leader of the Crimmond Combine
Lord of the Crimmond Province
Overseer of The Seaside Empire of Quarell
Overseer of The Jingoistic States of Survivalist Legions

Arthur Guilder looked over his reports, the veritable potpourri of colored papers creating a rainbow of boredom. It was nothing more than the usual: a diplomatic meeting here, a terrorist attack there, nothing more and nothing less than he saw every day. He scratched his head and sighed wearily. He was trapped in an endless cycle of tossing one paper aside and reading another. For ten minutes he read over the days reports, when something interesting struck him. A pink sheet headlined with AMF caught his attention. It’s been a while since news from AMF has made its way here. He looked over the report with slight interest. The further he got, the more intriguing the story became. He may have been orbiting mars, but Arthur cared greatly for the Earth.

“Diom,” he said, still reading over the last bits of information, “Contact the ES Fallius, I believe they’re orbiting Earth right now.” He set the report down and looked out the window of his office. Peering back at him was the giant eye of Mars, its redness seeming to hold fire and destruction.

Sir, the Fallius has been contacted.

Arthur nodded, then paused for a moment. “Who’s their captain again?”

Boont, sir.

Arthur’s eyes widened suddenly. He and Reamus Boont had attended Naval Academy together about 15 years ago. The impression he had left on the Imperial Governor was that of a straightforward, no nonsense soldier –the perfect captain. When Arthur spoke, he addressed Boont. “Captain Boont, how are you?”

Boont’s voice sounded raspy and abrasive, but not purposefully so. It seemed as though he tried to subdue the sound by talking softly. “I’m doing just fine Imperial Governor. Have the days after the Academy treated you well?”

“Very well, captain.”

“Indeed.” Boont responded. “What can I do for you Governor?”

Arthur sighed. “AMF is experiencing some trouble. We’d like you to enter standard orbit and find out what’s going on exactly. Try and keep a low profile.”

“Of course sir. We’re just about to pass Freek Greece now. We’ll investigate.”

“Good. I’ll send the information already gathered to you now.”

Aboard the Fallius, a smaller class of capital ship usually assigned to deep space recons, Boont read over the information in much the same way Arthur did. His eyes drooped lazily.


To: Uppermost AMF Authority

From: Captain Boont, Eurydian Royal Navy

Subject: Trouble in Achaean Sea

We’ve received word that you may require assistance in quelling this Trojan aggression. We are here.

[ooc: Not my best work, and I'm one of those future-tech bitches. But once I reach the surface of Earth, it's very possible for me to fight with modern tech weaponry. So don't write me off as a goofball just yet.]

<OOC: Map (http://img69.photobucket.com/albums/v211/alman9898/random/invasion-route.gif)>

Ephesus

Alexander looked over the map again. Sámos he thought, My men need to take Sámos. Oh, what a heavy burden they’ve done unto me! He groaned. Sámos was the closest Greek asset and it was right off the coastline of Troy, 1500 meters to be exact. Luckily, preparation for the invasion had been done in the more northerly regions of Troy; however, Alexander would now need to lead a drop ship convoy to seize the island.

“No doubt that the Achaeans have reinforced their positions there,” he mumbled to a subordinate officer.

“Do not worry, sir,” the subordinate answered.

“Easy enough for you to say, Iulius,” Alexander grunted, rolling the map and putting it back into his desk drawer.

“Why so, sir? You’re leading some of the fiercest men Troy can field.”

“Because there’s no doubt in my mind that we’re going to be outnumbered, outgunned, and slaughtered by their best. I’m sure they’ve set up AA stations all along the island. Our Priams can’t provide much air support and most the TRAF’s fighter jets will be peppering enemy positions in Crete and mainland Greece. That damn Priam. He put too much thought into capturing mainland Greece and too little into seizing this island. If we’re going to have any shot against these wicked sons of bitches, we have to hit them with mobility so we can establish a foothold somewhere. That means we can’t bring as many Warthogs as I would like. Keep those Priams light so we can land, unload, and move out as swiftly as possible. And those Warthogs are just going to bog us down. If we can encircle the island, too, we can suffocate them. They won’t have anywhere to run except into more Trojans. The problem is, however, that I only have 4500 men to carry this mission out, 2200 from Ephesus and 2300 from Clazomenae. And they’ll be landing in waves. Not all at once.

“We’re going to need divine help, I can tell it already. The odds are against the 52nd Poseidon. But we can still win if we are perfect in every aspect of the landing. And being Trojans, I believe that is a feasible goal. This battle will decide the fate of Troy. If we fail, Troy falls. Time is thinning. We cannot request more air support. We can’t request a larger force. The pieces are moving and we have to go with what we got. We’re going to be seeing some blood, guts, and brains. Call Phidias, and let’s do this thing.”

Iulius gave a firm nod and exited the Colonel’s office.

---

The Fleet

The ships began to peel away from their homeports; below the decks were Trojan soldiers waiting to attack Euboea, the farthest attack point from Troy. Above the deck of the VTOL aircraft carriers rested hundreds of Priam Class drop ships and Aegean Class drop ships that would transport the troops to their landing zone via an aerial landing. It was to be a massive fleet, although now it looked more like several large fleets sailing towards the wilderness of the Aegean.

Not too much long after, the smaller fleets began to adjoin with one another and the main fleet inflated to a much larger size. Destroyers, cruisers, and frigates protected the flanks of the fleet; missile boats, infamous Trojan Class battleships, and aircraft carriers traveled inside the formation. Swift, nuclear submarines were submerged below, patrolling the perimeters.

Admiral Memnon lit his cigar.

After taking a long puff, he spoke to the man next to him this, “Aye, the treasures of Achaia will be again restored to its rightful rulers of more than 1500 years. Aye, aye. And it will be our fleet, our men, that do it. My name will be recorded in the history books of the future and forever be revered by the generations to come. They will speak of our victory; how our courage and honor prevailed on the field of battle against the heinous Achaeans. These are same Achaeans who massacred an entire people to attain control of trade routes. These are the same Achaeans who, in a rage of jealousy, sent out a thousand ships to return a beautiful queen back to the life she most despised. These are the same Achaeans who will now be subject to an attack of one thousand ships. They’re going to get what they have deserved for 3200 years. An ass-whooping!” he finished, chuckling a bit, blowing out three rings of smoke. “It’s only a matter of time until we get into range for those drop ships. Then we can pull back a bit and blast the Greeks to bits from afar. Fighters are already being vigorously checked out to ensure that they’re functioning a-okay. Pretty soon the rear end of this super fleet will be breaking off and spreading themselves out along the coasts of Alexandropoulis. Then the ships in front of them will just pan out and refill the hole left in rear of our fleet.”

---

Black Sea

Admiral Eurymachus twiddled his fingers repeatedly. Everything that could be prepared was; everything was functioning and everything was loaded. He now waited by his phone for a certain call. A certain call that would allow him to send several hundred cruise missiles into the skies and into the city of Alexandropoulis. Though Priam had promised the Elders that there was to be no civilian slaughter, Eurymachus’s fleet’s objective was to destroy anyone and anything in Alexandropoulis by any means possible before the landing took place.

“Dear me, dear me, the suspense is going to be the death of me,” he moaned, wiping the dripping sweat from the brow of his head with a white towel. “I need something to drink. Gaius!” he hollered.

A pale young man entered the Admiral’s quarters. “Yes, sir? How may I help you?”

“Bring me some of that white wine, will you? I’m a bit parched.”

“Sir, I’d hate to defy orders, but we need you sober.”

“JUST DO IT!”

“But SIR, we need you to stay sober to carry out this attack. You’re the mastermind behind this operation and we can’t have your mind impaired by the poisons of alcohol. Couldn’t we wait until after the salvos are fired to have a toast?”

“You swine! How dareth you question my authority! I shall have your head!”

Eurymachus drew his sword and completely lacerated the pale young man’s neck to the point where blood was gushing out and a stream of blood flowed from Eurymachus’s quarters. Throwing the carcass over his shoulder, Eurymachus walked out of his quarters and outside.

“This,” he said to the crewmen signifying the body, “is what you will receive if any of you decides to defy a direct order from me!” He grunted as he hurled the body forward and off onto the deck.

Thump!

Brains dashed out and bones were mangled and the pale young man was hardly recognizable.

Wiping his brow once more, Eurymachus went into his room. “Now,” said he to darkish-looking man waiting outside of his door, “fetch me some white wine.”

---

Lesvos

Three much smaller, carrier-oriented fleets were leaving the island of Lesvos as well to assist in the invasions of Samothráki, Limnos, and Euboea. A much larger force was deploying than the Sámos force, there was just a lot less naval power in these fleets, as the fleets from the Black Sea, the fleet attacking Alexandropoulis, and the Euboea invasion fleet would support them.

About 6000 men were to invade Limnos another 3000 were devoted to capturing Samothráki, which was a much smaller island anyway, while some 5000 more men would strengthen the already large Euboean invasion force of 160,000.

The fleets had just finished supplying themselves for the next few days and the men were already aboard their drop ships. They would be within range of their target islands within a very short time frame. A small force of air support would pepper Limnos, but not Samothráki. The Euboean task force would be receiving the most air support, being that it was the largest attack force of the first-wave of the invasion now codenamed Operation: Aeneas.

“You ready for this, kid?” said an officer to a young soldier, giving him a pat on the back.

The young soldier appeared to be nauseous. “I’m kind of nervous,” the young soldier managed to blurt out before vomiting heavily onto the floor of the drop ship.

“Let it all out now so there won’t be any left when go-time comes,” said the sergeant with a soft smile on his face.

---

Troy

“Priam, my King, everything is set. Commanders have contacted me via… more obscure ways and it seems as everything is going according to plan. The one complexity, though, is those two Adejaani carrier groups sitting in the Aegean. They’ll open fire on us, no doubt. We have the numbers, but if we destroy them too soon, then the Achaeans will be alerted. We also need to deal with AMF naval forces that are in the area,” said Peleus.

“Yes, that’s why we devised a battle plan six months ago, you scoundrel. Cruise missiles from our mainland can hit the AMF vessels from afar. Remember, as far as anyone is concerned, this fleet is on its way to Akaviir. It is only beginning, gradually, to break off into battle formation. We have an excuse. If they attack neutral ships, they’re in deep shit. The Adejaani carrier groups will be left alone; if they bite, we’ll torpedo them and fire a salvo or two from our Trojans. They’ll never survive hundreds of missiles raining down upon their fleet accompanied with a several dozen torpedoes propelling themselves for an underwater attack. Everything will be FINE. Now stop being pessimistic or I may have to find a replacement for you.”

"What forces do we have near AutomagGreece?" Delta asked, using the nick-name that was used in the Combine for the Greek lands.

"We have two Supremacy class submarines and CSS Vladimir carrier group(OOC: The last remaining Crimmond carrier, in service since... Oh, April 03) in the South Ionian Sea. Sir, if I may?" Santiana asked. Delta nodded. "Administrator... We could set up a global conflict here in a few simple moves, which could give us the ability to take most of Troy's land, if not now but years from now, in addition to gains in this confict."

"What do you propose?"

"Contact an old friend in Africa..."

Again, Delta smilied. "Begin to mobilize. Santiana, you are hereby promoted to full General and are now commanding this operation in conjunction with me."

After a few days of waiting around, the LRRN med fleet begins stirring. It is a pitiful sight, all 12 Lafayette class frigates, 3 Moscva helicopter carriers, and 1 Kiev class V/STOL carrier combined.

However, some of the ultra-new, hot off the presses stealth missile/gun cruisers are on their way, along with, well, some destroyers. But its better than nothing, reasons the LRRN command. The LRRN had never built more than one or two carriers,concentrating on missile vessels for the most part.

The LRRN task force would probably be useful for raiding around the battle area, though.

General Santiago looked over his personal troops and spoke. It was also being sent to his other troops, busy mobilizing across Southern Crimmond. "Imperial Strike Marines... Your commanders have been given orders pretaining to invasion and annexation, marked Operation Warmonger. For security reasons, I cannot tell you who the target is. What I can tell you is that they will fight hard and many of you will not be returning to the Combine. I will be in charge of this operation and will be landing in the third wave of troops. I know that traditionally, Crimmond commanders have led their troops to battle, but in an operation of this scale, I need to be behind the front lines to coordinate the entire strike. We will not fail in taking our objectives."

The marines cheered and Santiana walked down off the stage, through the ranks and onto the ramp of a dropship. "Marines! We strike in one week!" He smiled at the cheers and stepped into the ship, which liftesd off and headed South.

In the next hour, the media went nuts. War news was the best kind of news for ratings. They started listing possible targets, ranging from the Russians to the Reich to the Trojans to even rumors of an Arda campaign.

http://home.earthlink.net/~alpha_zero_usm/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/warlordthumb.jpg
General Rammar Santiana
Commander of Operation Warmonger

OOC: This could easily be observed by Troy, AMF and just about anyone else. What they do not know is if it is an attack on Toy or another European nation. Also, my government doesn't know anything about the Trojan's plans. They're just acting on an oppertunity to be warmongers. Even their code name admits it.

Sigma Octavus Military Intelligence

Lines began to run across the screen in front of the young lieutenant. She looked at them briefly and called to the colonel on the other side of the room. He was busy going over the latest reports from the city of Perol, and didn't look to happy to be disturbed. "Yes, Lieutenant Ranel? How important is it?"

Ranel read the message again, and replied to the colonel. "Sir, this one's very important. It involves Automagfreek."

The colonel stood and walked to her station. He leaned over her shoulder and read the message. "So they're plotted course leads them at Greece? What s the report on what they say they're doing?"

She brought up another window on their screen. "Sir, looks like they say they are helping another nation against rebels or something along those lines."

"What ships do we have anywhere near there?"

A soldier farther down the row of consoles called out. "Sir, we have the SOMC Daedelus, the SOBC Overlord and the SOD Raptor near that area. A few hundred kilometers west of Crete."

"Well, send some orders out to them to relocate near the projected fleet position. They shouldn't engage unless engaged first."

Lieutenant Ranel typed up a quick report as per regulations and sent it up the chain of command.

All across Southern Crimmond, troops were loading into dropships and equipment was being checked and loaded into cargo planes.

Over 300,000 troops were readying to launch. They would be the first and largest wave.

By now, all of Europe would have probably noticed the activity by Crimmond news reports that sensationalized the preparations to sound like the largest the world had ever seen, when it was really a fraction of what Crimmond could deploy for a Blitz.

-----------------

General Santiana stood over a table showing a map of Trojan territory. "We will wait untill either the Trojan fleet is past in the Aegean or until they attack Greece. I don't particularly care what the Trojan fleet does at that point. Now.... Colonel, where would you suggest we land first?"

The Colonel in question, a short man who had a scar across his cheek, pointed at the northern edge of the nation. "Dardanelles is the most logical choice, followed by the second wave hitting Troy directly."

Santiana nodded. "What about their allies?"

"If they attack, we call in a few favors."

Santiana grinned. "Very well, Colonel. You have your assignment. Get to your ship."

------------------------

The cheers went up across not only the military bases, but the entire nation as cameras watched the dropships and planes lift off and head... East.

http://home.earthlink.net/~alpha_zero_usm/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/warlordthumb.jpg
General Rammar Santiana
Commander of Operation Warmonger

Captain Boont held his head in his hands. He thought long and hard about every decision before acting, even one so small as a minor change in course. Some may view his drawn out decision making as weak and indecisive, but in a country where reckless abandon is looked on with skeptical eyes, Boont was a gem among soldiers. The decision he mulled over now wasn’t so superfluous as a course change, and really there were few decisions a captain could consider superfluous when flirting with war. As massive nations postured and mobilized, an ill placed decision could trigger a terrible string of events. A course change during war could spell ultimate doom for thousands of people.

These threads moved through Boont’s mind with the same speed at which the Fallius traveled. His ship had to run c at a constant speed to keep in geo-synchronous orbit over Freek Greece.

Boont lifted his head and traced his eyes around the edges of each landmass he could see. Freek Greece looked like nothing more than high-resolution snapshot. Small tufts of white clouds blotted some of the picture out. Boont saw the dark blue Mediterranean Sea. While from above it seemed to be nothing more than a singular sheet of color, Boont knew that on the Earth it undulated with power only an ocean could wield. I had always heard Earth was beautiful, Boont thought, But this orb tests even the limits of Eurydice’s grandeur. No wonder these people fight for it so. It’s amazing how beautiful the Earth looks from afar.

Boont’s Autonomous Cruiser (a name designating it had no affiliation with either the Royal Navy or the Imperial Guard. Few knew it existed, and even fewer knew its whereabouts. It answered to only the highest levels of Eurydian authority, and only it was tasked with the highest level emergencies. Being Autonomous meant you were a ghost, always seeing but never seen.) glided along in its low orbit position seemingly cut off from the rest of the conflict preparing to take place below. Its sleek, gray form matched the serenity of Earth, and most ships that passed didn’t realize its potential for destruction. Eurydian design had changed little over the last thousand years; ships were still startlingly beautiful. Ships were still startlingly deadly.

In Boont’s mind, the coming conflict might as well have been happening around him. It continued to race furiously around his mind –the war playing out a million times a second in his own head. He had his orders, but Boont knew better than to trust an Imperial Governor’s advice. Keep a low profile? I’d be as much help here as on Conconi if I were to keep a low profile. If we're to be any help in this thing, we need to call in the Imperial Legion. Not just yet though, High Command won’t spring for that kind of commitment until they see some bloodshed.

Boont tore his thoughts from the Earth and addressed ensign Balen. “I’d like for you to resend the transmission to AMF. Perhaps they don’t hold is in such high regard anymore.” He smiled. The ensign smiled in return. “And get me my finest wine. I have a feeling there’ll be some talking before this day is through.”

Old friend in Africa, Temple of Nod, Cairo, 2100 hours

"I do not like the sound of this. I want peace in the lands surrounding my Temple."

"Mylord Kane, we have the power to intervene. Allow me to lead our forces against the Trojans. I will crush them in your honor." Oxanna said from one of the monitors on the walls, from the Metus summit location.

"Very well. I cannot ignore Crimmond and Automagfreek, and those Trojans are becoming a nuisance this way. Oxanna, I want you to go to to Tunis and assume command over the fleet present there. Embark on the Hannibal, then near the Aegean Sea troop transports from Cairo will join you. Crush the Trojans and restore the peace."

"Yes mylord. It will be my pleasure."

SOMC Daedelus

The captain stood in the center of the bridge. This ship was a new command for him, and he was very proud of it. This ship was a Multi-Carrier, commonly refered to as an 'Invasion-in-a-box" by mariners in the SON. Carrying 3,000 troops, 100 tanks of varying size, and 3 SOF-9B Tigersharks. It was capable of a minor invasion, or at least securing a beachhead.

To the left was a battlecruiser, the Overlord. A powerful ship, the Overlord was a powerhouse on the water. A number of large deck guns and cruise missiles, it could take on a small fleet at long range.

To the right was a destroyer, the Raptor. The Raptor was mostly there for more of a defensive purpose. This wasn't a typical fleet, just one to provide a little response if anything came up.

"Captain, sir, there's a message from command. Putting it through to your terminal."

The captain opened the file when it appeared on his screen. He read it. He keyed the com to the other ships. "Okay people, we have new orders. We're to head west and watch Trojan movement. We believe they are going to start something. Most likely with Greece. In 5 hours, we will recieve reinforcements. A troop assault ship, three battleships, another destroyer, a missile cruiser and another carrier. Rally point is just northwest of Crete. Sending details now."

He copied the message recieved from command and sent it to the Overlord and the Raptor.

Sigma Octavus Military Intelligence

"Sir, somethings up in Crimmond. Reports are vague, but it looks like they're mobilizing troops to fight the Trojans. Lots of troops."

The colonel simply asked Ranel to simply send everything to his station. He read it, compiled it into a report, and sent it to command. "Looks like things are gonna get pretty hot down there."

OOC: Sorry to post OOC on the IC thread, but this is needed:

The Crimmond forces are headed across Belarus and are heading straight for Russia, not Troy.

I now return you to your IC thread.

tested for something.