NationStates Jolt Archive

The air was thick with smoke from the industrial plants in the distance, and the sights of the bleak city rose all around the plants, which spewed their thick black smoke into the sky as millions of lower-class labourers did their jobs. However, the most prevalent assault on the senses was the smell. It smelled like millions of sweating people toiling day in and day out for meagre pay. It smelled like the rivers of mud, animal urine, and improperly disposed waste that ran underneath the streets. One thing could be said for Haraki. Its colonies were shit.

The government of the colony seemed not to notice. By some fluke of fate, a corrupt party had secured a majority in the colonial parliament, and so ensured that their system of governing – oppressing the people and taxing them to within an inch of their lives, especially with no governmentally-run healthcare, welfare or social security programs – remained in power. In fact, life there in general was terrible. The factory owners simply ignored minimum wage laws, gave no benefits to workers, and laid them off if they chose to protest, and the colonial government simply looked the other way because, after all, their so-called ‘campaigns’ were financed by these rich business owners. Without them, the colonial leaders may not have lived in such squalour, may not have had five different cars and a dozen manservants.

This was the city of Espa, in the colony of New Haraki. It had been established so many years before, down where the sun was warm and the land was tropical, primarily as a vacation resort for Harakians back in the days of the monarchy. After claiming the vast tracts of land, the Harakian colonists had discovered rich mineral deposits and other resources in the colony, as well as a large population of natives. Like a true politician, the King stated that he had always known the resources were there thanks to praying to God, and that the natives were an inferior race that deserved to be subjugated and used for manual labour. That had been a long time ago. In the time between, Haraki proper had moved on. They no longer favoured slavery of any kind, most didn’t believe in gods of any sort, and there was no longer a king.

But still the colony toiled on. Like any true colonists, the settlers had done exactly as their king had ordered. After claiming the land for Haraki, they used superior technology and a long history of killing each other to subjugate the natives and turn them into a lower class fit only for manual labour. And so New Haraki grew. It grew beyond a mere vacation destination, and into a huge, industrial madhouse, filled with strip mining, clear cutting and factories burning coal to run the industry that was so desperately needed to produce dollar store plastic toys and petrolium for the Harakians.

Of course, they kept a nice little section on the coast for the resorts. Hidden, tucked away in a corner of the jungle not clearcut or strip mined, where the water was warm not from pollution but from natural effects, and where there were nice, long, sandy beaches. That was where the tourism industry boomed, where those with wealth could take a plane to a nice beach, maybe go on a sightseeing tour in the jungle, and maybe take a scuba diving trip to look at some manta rays. Only fifty kilometres to the north, not one of the tourists would be able to recognize it as the same land. Massive, sprawling urban landscapes filled with tiny, unremarkable apartment buildings filled with tiny, unremarkable people who went about their daily lives breathing in more smoke, ash and soot than the average smoker would in a week, and factories filling the sky with smoke.

The standards of living were set so low in New Haraki that many living there wondered how anyone lived past twenty. Their answer was simple: Because you don’t start working until sixteen. The government made the education system terrible, to force children to drop out and begin their lives as blue-collar workers. Education frightened the leaders, as those who became educated wanted to travel, wanted to see what life was like elsewhere. Some had travelled to Haraki itself, and seen how much nicer it was there. When they came back, they stirred up trouble, saying how they should push for social reforms in New Haraki, to make the colony’s life as good as the mother country’s life. That was the end of education, and also of a certain group of the educated.

Because the party in power liked it the way it was. They were as rich as could be, living like kings. They rigged every election to make it so they won and repressed political dissent with the colonial military and police forces. Even a small but devoted colonial navy, filled with outdated ships, fired on dissenting neighbourhoods. Strict regulations were imposed on who got in or out of the country, and the city of Antus was kept nice and clean and filled with the rich, so visitors to the colony could be shown it and think all was going well. It had been this way since the parliamentary system was imposed in Haraki so long ago, and for fifty years the same party had run the colony. Based out of the city of Espa, they engineered the self-imposed destruction of an entire plot of land.

Not just economic, but political, too. Most other parties simply had to be paid off not to run. Those that didn’t wound up with their leaders disappearing. Of course it never reached the newspapers, because the newspapers were run by the government as well. And so no-one even tried to vote anymore, because it was so obvious that it could not change anything. No one in the rest of the world noticed, no one even cared. The colony just kept on functioning the way it had for so many years, and they thought nothing would ever change. While technically a part of Haraki, they were autonomous enough to remain apart, and the millions upon millions of people there made the things that kept Haraki going. They were still part of Haraki, and so the tags could still read ‘Made in Haraki’ on products so those against free trade – most Harakians – could buy them and feel proud.

But there had been a change, just recently, and one that Governor Max Cassella could not ignore. A group of the natives had been stirring up trouble. Having been outside the colony and having gone back in, they had seen what their lives could be, like their educated predecessors. But they were not stupid enough to instantly begin to incite panic. No, they were smart enough to organize it first. Midnight meeting, deals with arms runners, and contacts from outside their borders, all combined over a period of several months, and they somehow managed to keep it from Cassella’s informers. Then, on a predetermined day, with a predetermined goal, they struck. It was only fifty thousand people the first day, but as those fifty thousand spread the word, over the next month it expanded. It blossomed. By the end of February, nearly twenty million people were either rioting or striking.

Of course, Cassella’s government tried to restore order. There were riot police with submachine guns in the beginning, trying to stop the protests. By the beginning of March, there were colonial army men engaged in active duties trying to stop the riots. But when twenty million people decided to riot or strike, nothing the colonies could throw at them could stop them. The mines shut down. The factories closed. Even the resort staff stopped working. And many of them decided to take to the streets of their city, destroying anything they could find that somehow linked to the oppressive government that was responsible for their bad fortune.

All the while they had chants they shouted. They spoke of equality, of fair votes, of social changes. Economic freedoms, good education, less taxes, government-run healthcare, welfare, unemployment insurance, and many other things were on their list of demands. Of course, Cassella had no plans to give them any of it. If it was up to him, he’d cut the head off the snake and get the body working again. He couldn’t simply kill all the protestors, because then he would be out millions of workers. But the building pressure against him from the rich factory owners who were his lifeline and his income at the same time put enough pressure on him that despite the fact he had mobilized every policeman and every military person in the colony that was not one of the protestors, still he could not quell the uprising.

So he turned to other sources, and they could not provide enough help for him to stop the rioting. His business contacts could not pay enough money, provide enough men. Every day the numbers of those unwilling to go along with his plans grew and grew, and support for him shrank. He did not have enough men to occupy all the riot control machines he could afford to buy. So, after great consultation with his advisors, Governor Cassella turned to the one place he never thought he would have to turn: The Harakian government.

Every dealing he had had with them had been in the propaganda city of Antus, where skyscrapers seemed to reach the clouds and the upper-class people who lived there were happy and rich enough to afford whatever they wanted. Now he would have to show the people coming to help what the colony was really like. He had requested troops to stop the rioting, which had turned violent. Since the vast majority of the protestors were simply striking from their jobs, he felt a large number of troops would not be needed to keep the situation under control. Or at least, that was what he told the Harakians. He had also sugarcoated the situation. He hadn’t told them why they were rioting or anything of the sort. He had simply requested help from people he hardly knew to control rioting in his colony. They had readily agreed, and offered two brigades from the 1st Marine Division, which would be brought in by a naval task force, which would then stay in the colonial waters to aid in the mission. However, he dreaded the reaction when the officers saw the conditions there and reported back. It seemed unlikely he would keep his job, but better to keep his job and retire as a rich man than die at the hands of an angry mob. Better safe than sorry.

Still, he made backup plans. If the Harakians attempted to stop the way he ran the colony, after the protesting was quelled he would declare New Haraki an independent nation under the name of Espa, with the rechristened Espa City as its capitol, and he would protest in every international council that would listen that his colony’s desires for autonomy were being squashed by the Harakian military. Hopefully, there would be at least one nation, or group of nations, that would listen.

So, as a task force headed by the aircraft carrier HNS Fortune and the battleship HNS Ferria, with the amphibious assault ships HNS Loyalty and Centaur carrying the troops closed towards New Harakian colonial waters, and the rioting continued outside the gates of Cassella’s palace-like residence on the coastal outskirts of Espa, he prepared to greet Major-General Darren Swaner and Rear-Admiral Randall Blair, he he also prepared what he would say to them as they saw how well he lived and how badly the rest of the city lived by comparison. It was not the way things were done in Haraki. But he could put on a good face for them and lie about the conditions and history of the colony. It was amazing how clueless people could be about their own nation’s land.

Two dozen helicopters tore in towards the docks of Espa, loaded with one company from each dispatched brigade. In one was Major-General Darren Swaner, in the other was Brigadier-General Thomas LeClerc. These were the two men in charge of the ground part of the mission, and they were preparing to secure a landing area. Of course, the area had already been secured by nearly two hundred men from the colonial militia, but the marines had not been informed, setting an early precedent for the amount of un-cooperation they would receive from Governor Max Cassella. He just wanted them there to stop the rioting and leave again. The more unpleasant he made their stay in New Haraki, the more he figured they would want to leave. As four of the helicopters landed, sweeping up dust from the ground and the docks, and the four squads of men in them jumped out, rushing out to grab cover nearby, their rifles up, they were suddenly greeted by a tall, gangly white man waving an old assault rifle at them. “Marines?” he shouted.

“Drop your weapon!” came a shouted response from one of the marines nearby. Six gun barrels were levelled at the man, who shrugged and dropped his weapon.

“Colonial army!” he shouted back, as in front of him the four helicopters took off and another four swept in quickly and stopped to let their passengers hop out. The others, meanwhile, were hovering out over the water.

The captain in charge of one of the companies stood up. “Where’s your CO?” he shouted. The man just pointed back over his shoulder, at a man in khaki fatigues jogging down towards them. For the first time the captain noticed a row of men with rifles and sub-machineguns standing at the top of the dock guarding it. He turned to look for a superior officer and found LeClerc right behind him.

“What’s going on, captain?”

“It looks like the colonial army’s already swept the area, sir.”

“God damn it, why didn’t they tell us?” LeClerc muttered under his breath, as the man jogging down the dock towards them reached him and gave a sloppy salute, which LeClerc returned unenthusiastically. The insignia on the man’s shoulder identified him as a 2nd lieutenant.

“Mornin’, sir!” the lieutenant said, giving him a cheeky smile. “We already cleared the area so you can bring your ships in and unload all the troops easier.”

“You could’ve told us earlier,” growled Darren Swaner, walking up to them. “We thought we had to clear it on our own.”

“Nossir. We even cleared out a section of buildings over here for your men to use as barracks.”

Swaner turned to the captain. “You heard him, captain. Send a message back to the ships. Get the Loyalty and the Centaur to unload the troops into the barracks buildings, get the men set up. We’re probably going to start operations tomorrow, maybe even tonight.” He turned back to the colonial lieutenant. “I want to see Cassella.”

The lieutenant nodded. “We got a jeep up here, sir. Can get you there fast.” Having finished his short dialogue with the marines, he turned and walked back towards the line of colonial guards.

“Come on, Tom,” Swaner said to LeClerc, walking away following the lieutenant. LeClerc breathed a sigh and walked after him. The captain turned back and started explaining what was happening, going over to use one of the helicopters’ radios.

[ooc: Tag.]

“Ah, generals! Good to see you!”

Cassella was in his happiest environment. He was wearing a thick purple bathrobe and drinking a martini, at one in the afternoon. He had evidently had a shower just recently, as his hair was still shining with the water left over on it. The two men facing him in combat-efficient uniforms were not amused by his lacklustre attitude when there was a mob of thousands of people outside the gates of his house trying to beat them down with their bare hands. They had come in the back way, and still had barely outrun the angry mobs. There were more bullet holes in the jeep than there had been before the trip. “Mr Cassella, I presume?” Swaner asked.

“Yes. Please, sit down.” He gestured to two armchairs. They were in a sitting room in the front of the house, several stories up. Drapes were across the windows, which overlooked down towards the gates, where the angry mob awaited. They did as he bade them, then he continued. “Would you like a drink? Some food?”

“No, thank you,” Swaner replied, somewhat angrily. “Governor, I don’t think you’re taking this matter very seriously.”

“Oh, no, I assure you I am taking this very seriously,” Cassella replied, sitting down in a chair opposite theirs. “The well-being of my citizens is the most important thing on my mind. Trust me, if their demands were reasonable, I would be tempted to give in. But the demands they make are for unreasonable things. They, as with the citizens in regular Haraki, pay large amounts of taxes in exchange for massive governmental social programs in education, welfare, healthcare, and all else. The protestors and rioters are demanding both a drop in taxes and an increase in the funding to these programs at the same time. It’s impossible to accommodate both their requests, and neither is feasible given the economic system Haraki and its colonies run on.”

“I see your point,” Swaner replied, setting his jaw. He didn’t like the man on principle, but both had to obey his orders and could see his point.

“Mr Cassella, I have to ask you something,” LeClerc shot in.

“Go ahead. Anything to help the marines.”

“I’ve done extensive work rebuilding smaller nations and working as construction and engineering forces for the Marines, and I have to say, this is one of the largest houses I’ve ever seen, and the people outside seem incredibly impoverished. Their houses are small, several of the buildings set aside for our marines don’t have running water or even electricity ... And yet your house is a veritable palace. What is going on with the massive rich/poor divide here?”

“The entire colony is impoverished, general,” Cassella replied, lying smoothly. “This house is left over from the days of the monarchy. I live here because it’s where the governor lives and does business, and I’m the governor. It’s been this way for over a hundred years. The entire colony is in a declining state of poverty.” And I get rich from it.

“Well, thank you. We’ll begin missions tonight, Governor,” Swaner said, standing up. “We called for a helicopter to pick us up so we don’t have to go back through those crowds. Hopefully we can clear up the rioting within a week or two.”

“Thank you, General Swaner,” Cassella replied, taking a sip from his martini and standing up, moving forward to shake Swaner’s hand.

LeClerc rose a moment after the other two, having calculated exactly what he was going to say. “Thanks for your time, Mr Cassella. After the mission’s over, I’ll see what I can do to get some reconstruction efforts made to help out the economy and living conditions here.”

Cassella stood still for a moment, still clasping Swaner’s hand absentmindedly, as he contemplated what LeClerc had said. “Thank you, but I don’t think that will be necessary. We have it under control, and our economy will be on the rise again as soon as twenty million workers start working again.”

LeClerc shrugged. “Well, good luck. See you later.”

“Oh, by the way, General, General … I felt I should warn you. The protestors are armed and out for blood. Military blood, specifically. Don’t expect them to stop their actions easily. My soldiers and policemen have discovered this at the cost of lives.”

“Thank you,” Swaner answered.

With that they walked out of the room. Swaner turned and opened his mouth to say something to LeClerc, who loudly started talking about the first mission they would conduct. Swaner half-heartedly joined in, and it was not until they were sitting on the helicopter on their way back to the dockside base of operations that they talked for real. “Cassella’s lying,” LeClerc began.

“What?”

“He’s lying. The protestors are waving AK-47s and signs shouting for everything from democracy, lower taxes to healthcare, welfare, unemployment security, period. Not an increase in them, they just want them. If what Cassella’s saying is true, their taxes go towards paying for these programs. But the protestors are shouting about getting these programs in place and deposing what they call the ‘corrupt’ Cassella. Not to mention the fact that first he told us that the entire colony was in a declining state of poverty and then declined any help, saying that the only reason for the downtime was the protesting. The entire culture here is poor, and he’s walking around in a plush bathrobe drinking a martini? I don’t think so.”

“I think you’re right, Tom. But what do we do about it?” Swaner asked him.

“For now? Nothing. We’ll obey his orders and at least try to stop the rioting. After all, if any action is to be taken against him, we’ll probably want to stop the rioting before we do try anything. Of course, we can try and talk to protestors about it and see what life is actually like here, because I don’t trust anything he just told us.”

“The man’s a weasel, but what about his warning? The rioters are obviously armed, and if they’re killing his colonial troops and police officers, how would we make them distinguish us from them?”

“We wouldn’t. Capture the rioters and ask them then. Or ask some of the peaceful protestors, the people that are just on strike,” LeClerc said.

“They should have put you in command of this mission, Tom. You’re better at this shit than me.”

“I just got lucky. Got enough years in reconstruction overseas to recognize poverty when I see it.”


*


Cassella sighed and peered out the drapes at the crowd below. He could see some armed people, but they stayed at the back and fired no shots, not prompting his soldiers to fire and ‘disperse’ the crowd just yet. He didn’t like LeClerc one bit. The man seemed too dangerous to his rule in the colony. His comment about bringing Harakian forces to rebuild the colony’s economy would prove disastrous if it were carried out. He had panicked when he first heard him say it, but thought he had recovered quite well. However, LeClerc still didn’t seem completely convinced. Cassella would be willing to bet that he would try and get reconstruction forces sent to New Haraki anyway. That would mean the end of Cassella’s role over the colony, one way or the other.

Which left him only one choice. If all went according to plan, the marines would break up the riots and leave. If not, it would help to have a good falsified background for when New Haraki became Espa and broke away from its motherland. So he went to his office, closed the door, and typed up a message on his private laptop, secured from all external threats.

Secret Transmission, hidden from Haraki networks
From: Max Cassella, Governor of the Colony of New Haraki
To: All Supportive Governments

We here in the colony of New Haraki have been oppressed by the Harakian overlords for far too long. They force us into states of poverty and refuse to treat us well, despite their best promises that we, too, could enjoy a lifestyle like those of the native Harakian if we try. Now, while we riot and protest for autonomy and independence from the Harakian yoke, their response is to send naval ships and marines to silence our collective voices and force us to submit once more to the Harakian yoke. I as governor am forced to maintain an air of cooperation with the troops to prevent my own removal, but the time will come when the colonial troops and citizens rise up against our evil oppressors. When this time comes, we hope to have support from the world and the international community morally, diplomatically and militarily, as we on our own could never stand up to the Harakian war machine when they choose to conquer us back against our will. For the sake of the people here, I hope that when the time comes you will send us support in our fight.

I could never thank you enough for this service.
Max Cassella

"What do you think of this, General?"

Sir William Quentin, freedom fighter and gentleman, passed the newspaper to the man sitting next to him.

"Hrmph. Colony, overlords, marines, evil oppressors, revolt. Not all that unusual, actually."
"I was thinking it might be a good one to do next. What with the nice tropical weather and all, if you know what I mean. It would be a slight better than this urban hellhole, anyway."

Archibald Bailey, ex-general and master tactician, leaned back in his rickety wooden chair.

"Well, y'know, that does sound tempting. At least it would get me away from the smell o' carrots. I swear, I ain't gonna eat another carrot as long as I live after living in this place. I feel like bloody Peter Rabbit in here."

The two were, in fact, seated in a rotting, disused carrot warehouse on the lowest level of Cyberutopia- Cyberutopia being both the country and the city, as there was practically no distinction between the two. The smell of ancient carrots permeated the place despite all efforts to eradicate it.

Quentin leaned back as well, puffing on his pipe.

"Shall I call the port and arrange some transportation?"

"Nah, we'll wait till the boys get back. We need t' make sure tha-"

The General's aged, rotten chair crumpled sadly and toppled him backwards into a pile of crates, which promptly fell on him with the crunch of damp, rotten wood breaking and a strong smell of moldy carrots.

"On second thoughts," the General said, muffled, "blow the damn waiting. Let's get out of this hellhole before it falls down on us. Call the port and hire us a boat, then call the boys and tell them to meet us there."

William stood up, grinning, and reached for the telephone.

"I knew you wanted a tropical vacation, didn't you, General?"

"Just get me out of this damn mess. It's like a bloody mold farm in here."

Smiling, Wolfgang couldnt help but ponder at the amount of opportunity which had lay before him. A file on the colony had been created long ago, especially noting the amount of ignorance the central government of Haraki seemed to hold toward its own colony's internal affairs. And it was odd that; a nation so well geared toward sentient rights and a democracy, that it would allow a colonial government to operate its jurisdiction into something paramount to in itself, a dictatorship, lacking the basic rights to food, water, and electricity. This screamed hypocrisy. And / or, the Harakians werent so hypocritical afterall, and they were so incapable at doing their jobs as senior governors, that they really didnt have the intelligence (or due dilligence) to make sure that the appropriate checks and balances had been put into place. Either way it was explained, the Harakians made for poor governors. " Let liberation be upon them ".

A diplomatic, yet securely encrypted message was sent in response.

< Transmission Type: Heavily Encrypted Communique >
- < Source: Kanzer Wolfgang Milano, the Nationalist Union of Austar Union >
-- < Destination: Governor Max Cassella, the Colony of New Haraki >
--- < Subject: Re: >

Do not bore me with your propeganda. You underestimate the powers and reaches of our own respective intelligence directorate, and believe you can misguide us into believing that you are the innocent within this matter. We know that the people of New Haraki suffer because you are corrupt, and because their taxes are mostly paid toward your own bank accounts, funding your own lifestyle with dirty money. But moreso, we understand something further. Either the Harakian central government has known about this and has turned a blind eye; or they are so incapable to make sure the appropriate checks and balances are made, to prevent such a tyrant as yourself from abusing your powers of semi-autonomy. Both of them, a level of either ignorance or hypocrisy, and neither of them proving to me that they have the right to claim " control " over these suffering peoples.

If only for my disgust at the central government, I will support your little quest for overture in the Colony of New Haraki. But do not expect this support to remain strong forever; I deal with the devil in order to further my own goals... and means. But you know just as well as I do, that you will need the help and support of this Union. And do not expect this help to come free.

With Respect,

Wolfgang Milano
Kanzer of the Nationalist Union
< End Transmission >

"Disperse immediately and return to your homes. Lay down your weapons and return to your homes. Disperse immediately ..."

The man with the megaphone stood behind the gates of Cassella's near-palace, shouting at the crowd in front of him to disperse. The colonial militia standing around him looked nervos. The angry mob hadn't yet started firing shots from the weapons they waved in the air or started trying to tear down the gates. If they did, the meagre colonial militiamen would be no match for the mob's raw fury and overwhelming majority. The crowd grew more and more violent every passing second, some trying to climb the wall and the gate, and some trying to bash the gate down. The militia's captain made a mental note to get some barbed wire for the top of the wall.

The helicopters came unexpectedly out from the sea, swooping in low and fast over the shabby rooftops of the city, blowing massive clouds of yellowing dust out from under the rotor blades and making a deafening noise that could not be ignored. They seemed only to be coming closer to making the natives violent, and several shots were even fired into the air from the rifles that were held aloft by the crowd's more affluent members. As the helicopters circled overhead, the marines inside shouted at each other about what to do. Carrying a full platoon of troops, they were somewhat at a loss for riot control. Trained for quick in and out combat in all environments, they were unused to clearing out unfriendly but not hostile targets from an area. Their first thought was to use tear gas, but upon reflection the platoon leader realized it was a bad idea, and would most likely incite a firefight. This still left them at a loss for words.

"Sir, the marines are stuck. They don't know how to clear out the crowd," one of the helicopter pilots relayed back down to LeClerc, on the ground at the forward operations base by the docks.

"I've seen that crowd from the front, it's big and angry, and it doesn't seem to disband over time, which means as people leave to eat and sleep, they are replaced by more people. My advice, pilot, would be to land the troops and just force them out of the area."

"How, sir?"

"Make a line and push them out."

"Sir, it's forty people against a couple hundred, at least. I don't think it would work."

"It's show of force methodology, pilot. We've got about forty heavily armoured men with assault rifles. They have a couple hundred disorganized ones in shirts and sandals, some armed. Apprehend the leaders and insitigators for us to talk to later, and disperse the crowd. If they don't disperse on their own after we take out the leaders and show them our full force of armed men, then advance and shove them out. Fire some shots over their heads or into walls if you have to, but do not, and I say again, do not instigate a firefight. I don't want marines coming home in body bags."

"Roger that, sir."

The helicopters swerved away. The palace itself was at the head of two different streets, forming a rough triangle with the palace at the top tip of it, and the crowd gathered in the large plaza in front. The helicopters swerved away down the southernmost road leading away, lowering down and dropping ropes, which the marines quickly slid down, forming up on the ground. They were veterans of different wars, experienced men with years of service behind them. They hit the ground smoothly and efficiently, and within several minutes the entire platoon was formed up. The ropes dropped, and the helicopters rose up again to provide support for the show of force. For demoralizing effect, they made several low passes over the mob, inspiring more than one to rethink their reasons for being there.

The platoon formed up in a line, making their way slowly down the street towards the mob, preparing to hit it from the side and disperse it back down the other street. Two men speaking at the front of the crowd, shouting through a megaphone in a foreign language, were their targets as removal of leaders and instigators for questioning. A half-squad of five people took off at a jog around the front of the crowd, then stopping to wait until the rest of the platoon managed to start dispersing the crowd. As the crowd started turning its attention towards the marines rather than the palace, the five men stormed their way through the front of the crowd, two of them leaping up onto the back of the pickup truck that was the host to the two leaders, grabbing them, and forcefully taking them down, zip-tying their hands behind them and helping them down off the vehicle. Despite the two screaming at them non-stop in their native tongue and some spit on the marines' faces, they managed to pull it off and drag the two men away through the front of the crowd, with the majority of the other people's attention focused on the advancing marines.

No-one seemed to want to tangle with them. Although as a whole, the mob itself could probably have rushed the group of armed and armoured men, no-one individually wanted to be the one on the other end of a fistfight between them and a kevlar-coated marine. One by one, those at the front of the crowd became those at the back of the crowd, and those at the back of the crowd fled. The braver ones stayed and seemed ready to take on the marines, when the helicopters swooped in and made another close pass over the crowd. The ruffling of their hair was enough to disperse the rest, and the last of the crowd was gone. A solitary newspaper drifted across the dusty ground as one of the helicopters landed and picked up a squad of troops and the two prisoners. The rest of the platoon stayed to keep the area clear.


*


The helicopter landed back at the docks and the marines quickly took the prisoners out and into the headquarters building, where they were seated on one side of a wooden table and had their zip-ties cut off. Several marine guards stood by, even though the two men had been disarmed. Standing on the other side of the table were generals Swaner and LeClerc.

"We need to talk to you," Swaner told them. "Sorry about the rough treatment."

He got no response, prompting LeClerc to ask "Do you even speak English?"

One of them nodded his head glumly. He evidently wasn't happy about his capture. "Yes, a little bit. What do you pigs want?" He spoke in a broken, accented voice, with a very angry underlying tone.

"We don't want to hurt you. We're here to help you," LeClerc told him. Not strictly true, but true enough so as not to seem like an outright lie. "But we need to know exactly what's going on here. Why is the colony so divided?"

"The colony is divided becuse your man made it so," the man replied. "Cassella is a liar and a thief, and he ruins our land and kills our people."

"I need more detail if I'm going to act on this," Swaner replied.

"You want detail?" the man asked angrily. "Here is your fucking detail!" He thrust his hands onto the table, covered in small scars from some sort of machine. "I work in a sweatshop sixteen hours a day making children's toys for your country. The machine I use is faulty and stabs me in the hands. When I asked for a new one, I was told to keep my mouth shut if I wanted to keep my job. So I can make no money. Your fucking man, Cassella, is the one who allows this."

"That's terrible," Swaner replied. He meant it, too, but it came out cold and unfeeling. "I want to help you. But I can't right away. Cassella is lying to us and we want to take him down. But we need to spend more time here and get more information before we can. Could we come to some kind of truce?"

"You want to get rid of Cassella?" the man replied, with a cold glint in his eye. "Leave it to us. Give us a week, and the mobs will rise and overthrow the corrupt system of governing here. We can be a new land, free from the factories and mines that destroyed our country."

"We can't do that," LeClerc replied. "We will deal with Cassella. But we just want you to stop the mobs while we do. Can you do that?"

"The mobs are the only form of justice my people have known in half a century, and you ask us to stop? Please."

"Stay on strike, by all means, but stop trying to tear down the walls and destroy the government. We'll help you, but we can't if we're fighting three-way battle. We have to assume Cassella has contacts all through through the colony, and so he won't be an easy man to take down. We will do it, but if we can't convince our superiors that we were justified in taking out Cassella, then he goes free. And that's not what either of us want."

"Then let us kill him."

"Can't do that," Swaner interjected.

"This man oppresses us. His party has ruled here for years and years and years, and always they just take and take and take. They stuff their pockets with money stolen from the poor. They tax us within an inch of our lives and do not give the promised healthcare and welfare that are so abundant in Haraki, your rich country. He deserves to die for all the people he has starved to death and the money he has stolen from us."

"That may be, and we'll try him in courts for that, but we need to do this our way. We'll fix this place. Institute the reforms you want, fix the government. You just need to give us time. it won't happen overnight," Swaner told the man, "but we will do it. We can remove Cassella, disband all the political parties, and let you form your own parties to replace his. And with Haraki watching over the shoulder of the government here, there's no way this will happen again."

"You go ahead with that. We will continue with our mission. We can overthrow Cassella on our own."

Swaner ran his hands through his hair, exasperated. "Yes, that's true. The colonial military is no match for your sheer numbers. But you don't have the training, equipment or the resources to reinstate a proper country afterwards. If you overthrow Cassella, no-one will replace him, and the country will fall into an anarchistic state of being where a lot of people will die. I don't want that and you don't want that. We're just asking you to trust us. We're on your side."

"Then release us. We will consider what you have said."

Swaner nodded. The door opened, and the two men were shown out. As the HNS Loyalty unloaded a shipment of military jeeps(OOC: Think humvees. Only with bigger wheels and a wider variety of guns, as well as other neat bonuses like anti-barricade grilles on the front.) onto the docks, the two men walked through the Harakian lines and out into the city again.


*


Cassella paced back and forth. The marines' show of force had been good in front of his palace. A mere forty men had evacuated an entire crowd. He wondered what the full three thousand could do, then remembered he had already committed to fighting his fight for independence. He had begun secret training and outfitting of the colonial army, siphoning off supplies and funds from his own personal stores to keep them in stock and ready for the showdown, and every time they caught a rioter with a weapon they got more. His only problem was overall numbers. A lot of people had joined the military because it was guranteed beds and meals, but then they had deserted when the general strike began. Those that were left were the descendents of colonists, the middle class and upper class, leaving a much smaller military to do the governor's bidding. They still outnumbered the marines, but Haraki could pour near-endless troops into the colony and defeat the colonial army no matter how many troops they had. It was all about defeating the Harakian forces on hand and then letting international support win them the day.

He sat down at his desk to compose a long-thought over reply to Kanzer Milano's message. While he did not want to admit his true goals, it seemed he had already been found out by the Austarian intelligence agency. In any case, they would support him no matter what, according to how he read their letter, simply for lack of respect for Haraki itself. His message was brief and simple, and avoided discussing motives or reasonings.



Kanzer Wolfgang Milano,

I am glad that you have decided to aid my colony and I in our struggle for independence. We will be eternally in your debt for this favour, and we will surely attempt to come to an agreement as to how we can repay you for this act of support in the future. When the time comes and we stand up against the Harakians, the fighting shall begin. With your support, it will end with the liberation of the nation of Espa.

Governor Max Cassella

In a Secure Office Below the National Statehouse, New Berlin, the Nationalist Union of Austar Union.

"So it seems that the game is on," speculated the Kanzer eagerly. "Destination, New Haraki."

One of the Generals spoke up. "Excuse my ignorance, but why might we be supporting this tyrant? A system of government is one thing, of course. But his means are... far from our own to say the least." He scoffed. "Have you seen the pictures, Kanzer?"

"Of course he has," snickered the man beside him, motioning for Wolfang to take the lead.

The Kanzer of course, nodded. "Yes, I know how Cassella treats his people." Pulling out a few documents he slid them to the centre of the large rectangular table. "I will circulate these so that you each have a copy. But, I will tell you that for now a partnership with the devil will enable us to move into the next phase."

"Which is?" asked the scoffer.

Wolfgang interjected, smirking. "His removal. If we can gain his trust and support in the so called liberation of New Haraki, he will be very easy to defeat once the Harakians become a non-factor." He continued, lighting a cigarette. "Unless of course, Cassella decides to change. Ultimately, either he becomes my bitch, he dies." He blew a large puff toward the center.

Chuckling ensured, and one of the others whom had remained silent till now, spoke up. "I am concerned, Kanzer." He continued. "What about the international community, sir? Are they too a non-factor? How do you think they will recieve us quite literally stealing the New Harakian colony from the central government of Haraki?"

"That General, is all sorted," Wolfgang remained confident at large. "You do your part, and I'll do mine. Leave the politics to those who know how." Some more chuckling. "But, if you must know I am sure we wont be facing any decent opposition. Once we make our case, Im sure it'll be a fair statement to make. If Haraki has left it this long, what incompetance do they have in the governance in this colony? Do they literally not have the abilities or capabilties to, or have they known for all this time. Either way, a peoples are suffering under both Cassella and the Harakian jurisdiction."

He smiled. "And I have made it our job, to ensure their future."

*~*~*

As Citizens of the Nationalist Union went about their normal lives, members of the Iron Core however prepared themselves for what had been told to them, " Live Training Exersises ". The Iron Core, as it were known, was now the more elite branch of the Nationalist Armed Forces; equivilant to what might have been known in the former United States of America as, the " Marines ". This Iron Core represented a more united military, and it represented the real strength of this nation. Ships, ranking and non-ranking soldiers, tanks, guns, and a vast array of other useful weapons made their leave from the more prominent ports of the Union. And their respective officers knew it would be a long trip, from the North Sea out to the seas and oceans near the Colony of New Haraki. They showed no hostile intent, but rather to make use of the respective locations nearby.

" Live Training Exersises ", however? Yeah right.

Night-Time; In Seas, Not Far From New-Haraki...

It was an operation that for now, carried only peaceful intentions. Training exersises, it had been justified that due to the very location and geographical interests of this particular area, that it was now a suitable time and place to undertake said military interests. In the meantime, the various Intelligence Directorates of the Nationalist Union worked overtime, positioning, re-positioning, focusing and defocusing; watchful eyes kept their own train of interest on the peoples of New-Haraki, and their subsequent rebellion against the Harakian/Cassella government. Of course, for the very matter that the Union would soon be involved was kept a matter, top secret. And the true positioning of this entire division of the Iron Core, would like said previously, be presented peacefully.

Ranking officers in the meantime, most of the executive was aware of what-was-to-come. They only waited on orders from above; from the Kanzer, and eventually the word " Go " from Governor Max Cassella.

The Iron Core, had been readied; certainly.

The marines had cleared out many of the riots. With three thousand of them deployed, currently all in one city, they had a lot of power in their efforts to drive out the rabble that were trying to tear down the walls and instate a new, just, government. But even with significant portions of the country clear, both LeClerc and Swaner knew that they had to do something about Cassella. They knew, to some point, the extent of Cassella's oppression on the colonies, and they had learned a lot more over the past few days. It had been over a week since they had begun major operations, and exactly a week since they had talked to the two leaders.

Since then they had questioned dozens more, all of whom confirmed what they had thought and feared. Cassella was oppressing the New Harakian people, and the Harakian government simply hadn't noticed. For whatever reason. They found out that the only city the leaders ever came to was Antus, which gleamed clean, free of poverty and crime, and full of towering skyscrapers. A facade. A farce, telling the Harakian government that what they wanted to be true, was. And so they went home, believing New Haraki was as affluent and well-to-do as Haraki proper, and being as mistaken as could be. The citizens were no help. They saw only the resorts, not the wasteland beyond the trees, beaches and jungle.

They had decided to see Cassella and attempt to expose him as the liar he was. But in the meantime, Cassella had grown bold. He knew that Austar's elite Iron Core was waiting off the coast for training excercises in international waters, and that in sheer numbers they could defeat the Harakian marines and quell the uprisings across the nation. When the two generals came to see him, accompanied by no less than five marines, he waved for the marines to be left outside. The generals tried not to comply, but were eventually overruled by the man in his own fortress. They sighed, knowing at least that only a door seperated them from their backup.

"Cassella!" LeClerc shouted, moving towards him.

"What is it?" Cassella asked, in his customary purple bathrobe.

"We think you lied to us," Swaner said. Might as well come out and be blunt with it.

"About what?"

LeClerc answered that one. "Everything. You lied to us about the state of the colony, your role - You lied to us about how much you care about your own people. And don't bother trying to lie to us now, because now we know the truth, and nothing you say can change that."

Cassella sighed. Evidently the time had come for action. He'd hoped it would be later, that the marines would have cleared out more of the rest of the country of rioters, but evidently not. "So what are conditions like?"

"You oppress your own people to fill your pockets, starve thm to death to maintain power - That sort of thing," Swaner replied.

Cassella sighed. "And what are you going to do about it?" he snarled, dropping his personal facade.

"Arrest you to stand trial for this. Tear down all the political processes in New Haraki and rebuild them properly. Free the people," LeClerc said. Swaner nodded his agreement.

Cassella sighed, as LeClerc moved in closer to him, reaching out to grab his arm. "Don't do that, general," he said loudly. A door behind him opened, and ten colonial army men rushed into the room, their rifles pointed at the generals. LeClerc stopped where he was. Cassella took a step back. "You see," he said, "you don't want to do that because I don't want you to die. Your days of oppressing New Haraki are over, Harakian overlords. As of this day, I proclaim the Colony of New Haraki to be the Independent Nation of Espa, and this city to be renamed Espa City as its capitol."

"You're mad," Swaner said quietly.

"Maybe, and not above killing enemy officers. But I don't want to get your blood on my carpet. As I am a civilized man, I will allow you to leave, regroup with your marines outside, and get out of my palace. But bear in mind that as soon as you leave, Espa's war of independence begins. And I have a large and powerful army at my disposal."

LeClerc shook his head as Swaner repeated his previous, prophetic message. The two of them turned and walked out of the room, the marines outside looking at them quizzically. With the door shut behind them, they hurriedly explained what happened.

"Then let's bust in there and get him!" one marine shouted.

"No good," LeClerc said, shaking his head again. "He'll have this whole place filled with colonial armymen. If we bust in, we'll get caught in a huge firefight and probably all die. It's better to leave and come back later."

They walked out of the building in silence, running as soon as they reached the outside, and quickly getting in the jeeps that were waiting for them, drivers at the ready. Colonial army and militia troops from the gate turned and started firing at them, and only as one of the marines stood up and grabbed the heavy machine gun in the turret and started firing suppressing fire at the badly trained soldiers in front of them, did they turn and run. The jeeps drove out through the gates, now opened to the cleared area of the city, and the two jeeps roared past towards the docks, and the marines' base of operations.

"Shit, sir, what'd you say to him?" one of the marines driving asked LeClerc.

"It's not what we said to him, it's what he said to us," LeClerc replied. "He said they're now an independent nation and are fighting a war for independence from Haraki. He's insane."

"Think we can take him with the forces we got here?" the marine asked.

LeClerc shook his head once more. "No. At last count, the colonial army was in the tens of thousands. You can bet our naval task force will start shooting at his navy, and we'll win with an aircraft carrier and a battleship on our side, but we're outnumbered and outgunned. He's got tanks, APCs, and all sorts of other goodies that we just don't have. The minute we get back to base, General Swaner and I are calling the Prime Minister and General Kidd to report the situation and ask for reinforcements. And I just hope we get them. If not, we've got a lot of trouble on our hands."


*


Transmission:
[From: Max Cassella, President of Espa]
[To: Kanzer Wolfgang Milano]

The time has come! Today I announced to the Harakian generals that our colony is now an independent nation and that we will fight them for our autonomy. The time has come for your aid, and the time has come for our freedom.

President Max Cassella

It wasnt long before something had been prepared; a slight variation from " original " plans.

http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/austar_union.jpg

" Pride, Vision, and Succession "
The Nationalist Union of Austar Union

I always find it unfortunate when another state falls into anarchy, whether fighting against its " oppressors ", or whether it fights against itself. Such is the course that the Island-Colony of New Haraki has taken, beneath the jurisdiction of the Socialist Democracy of Haraki, and their appointed representative, Governor Max Cassella.

One cannot help but wonder how long the Colonial Armies of Cassella have inflicted such unfortunate oppression upon the peoples that exist on this island. Type of government, such as his non-democratic system is irrelevant in this matter, but to force the people into labour and suffering as he has done, had brought nothing but turmoil to that small island-colony. In the meantime, whilst the Harakian Central Government continues to claim innocence in such matters, one wonders how competant they actually are in the management and supervision of their own colonies and territories. To state that they had no idea, is simply rubbish, if you consider the simple facts. Via means of intelligence resources or at least the odd report coming from that colony should have been enough to realize that one plus one was not becoming two. And for them to explain how their diplomats havent travelled farther than just one city is in my opinion, a sheer state of ignorance (and lack of care) if anything, if it is indeed true. Ultimately, I come down to just a few conclusions.

One, the people of New Haraki meant so little to the Harakian Democracy that they cared not enough to instill the appropriate checks and balances on behalf of the peoples, and simply allowed that state to slip into decline; that two, they truly did not know, but did not have the capabilies to emplace the appropriate checks and balances required... (something I do not believe, at all); or three, that they knew about such poor conditions that existed beneath the reign of Governor Max Cassella, and sought to profit from the peoples that suffered there.

Thusly, it has come to the decision and assessment of this government that under any of the three scenarios presented, the Socialist Democracy of Haraki is no longer fit for the management and supervision of the New Harakian peoples, and that in order to prevent further suffering, I will make it the duty of this state to protect the peoples who live there; to establish a stable, and New Harakian led governance; and to remove the forces of evil, and inadiquicy from the New Harakian Island (Chain). This comes as a decree, and official statement on behalf of the Nationalist Union of Austar Union. We will not in the meantime, declare war against the Harakian Central Government, nor seek to directly attack Harakian units unless provoked or attacked by said forces. As such we advise the Socialist Democracy of Haraki to remove all units from that island, for a smooth transission into lesser suffering. We will however, fight against the Colonial and Militia units of New Haraki, and remove all obsticles that prevent the establishment of a new and prosperous state.

Let the fighting be quick, and let the New Harakians live long and prosper.

Signed,

Kanzer Wolfgang Milano
The Nationalist Union of Austar Union

The single squadron came quick and fast; and as close to the treetops as possible. During the dead of night, it had been expected that both the Harakian and Colonial Forces would be preoccupied with fighting each other, and that the darkness would hide much of what would have made for visual assistance for an enemy looking for trouble. Their orders, they delivered with precision and self-control; not to engage enemies not listed on the tasksheet prepared earlier. It was a simple mission in the meantime, and of course many more of them woukd follow in the night until morning the next day. Striking, striking, striking; hitting the enemy into "shock and awe" until they were stunned and taken aback by the strength of the Austarian war-machine. To lower moral, to create fear in the hearts of enemy soldiers, and to encourage an enemy surrender for when the Iron Core landed... but not today.

With missiles filling the sky like a hive of bees out of control, the rates of succession would have been gob-smacking. A blast here, followed by a blast and eruption of fire and debris over there; the fury of might would continue well into the night; uninterrupted. Naturally, for publicity reasons the armed forces would not target civillian, but military emplacements of the New Harakian Colonial Army instead. Defensive measures, and the means of which to defend themselves would all be assaulted; until the enemy force had been rendered near-useless against forces of the Union itself. This was the goal of course. Destruction was unimportant, but it was all about perception, and penetrating the hearts and minds of any given enemy. A successful campaign would not be built upon deaths, but it would be built upon achieving one's goals, and asserting your capabilities. Forcing your hand, and forcing the enemy to cower and/or surrender wherever possible.

Surely, this night meant hell for them. " Cassella would drown ".

Even as the two generals reached their base back at the docks, Cassella had already sent out his message to all those interested in fighting for one side or another, and had given the order to mobilize all reserves, as well as his limited armoured, naval and air force units. The small navy, spearheaded by multiple semi-modern heavy cruisers, took to the seas, heading out to try and attack the Harakian naval task force. With land-based fighter planes leaving the shore to attack the Harakian fleet's carrier, the HNS Fortune, and destroy its aircraft before they could take off to attack the closing New Harakian fleet, they hoped to force a close-in naval battle, in which the New Harakian cruisers could overpower the aging battleship HNS Ferria and force, if not destruction of the carriers and amphibious assault ships that supplied the Harakian forces, at least make them retreat.

At the same time, his small armoured forces, the most elite of his colonial army, would meet up with the most elite of his infantry in the city of Espa and descend on the Harakian Marines' base in the Espa docks, trying to crush them with their tanks and force them back into the sea, where they could not escape onto their ships but rather would be eliminated, the survivors surrounded and captured.

However, such a plan was not to be. The two generals made it back to their base in time to call the fleet and warn them of Cassella's treachery. Instantly, all three ships in the naval task force began to scramble planes, even as they discovered from satellites in orbit that Cassella was scrambling his fighters. There was no way the New Harakian fighters would take them by surprise, but there was no way they could launch enough planes before they arrived to force a quick defeat of the New Harakian fighters, no matter how few numbers they had. So, against Swaner's will, the task force began moving full speed away from New Haraki, trying to buy a few more precious moments to launch extra planes.

The same satellite that reported on the fighters speeding towards the Harakian naval forces also gave vital information to Swaner and LeClerc. New Haraki's small tank forces were moving as fast as they could towards Espa: One group along a coastal road, the other from inland, and infantry were moving with both of them, including a number of men in covered trucks. With under one hundred tanks total, sixty along the coast road and about thirty coming from inland, the marine generals knew they were going to be in trouble. With marine units already spreading out and sweeping the city, they could tell the fight ahead would be long and bitter.

Harakian helicopters from their cleared landing area at the docks took off with rocket pods, air to ground missiles, and miniguns outfitted under and on their wings, and left to help the marines sweep the city. A platoon that arrived at Cassella's palace found that he had been evacuated by helicopter but had left orders for the colonial army troops there to hold it to the last. They withdrew for an attack to come later.

But the most critical part of the marines' preperation for the fight ahead came when Swaner made a vital call, to the Harakian Prime Minister, Jaime Wolfe. Wolfe had been in power once before, several years prior, and during his time out of office the nation had fallen apart, ending with an ultra-nationalist prime minister gaining power and eventually being voted out of office and having Wolfe brought in. Seen as the best Prime Minister Haraki had ever had, he had asked to be regularly reported on the situation in New Haraki by the marines as they were there. He was not a stupid man. He knew Cassella was lying to him about the status in the colony, but did not know why or what it was actually like. So, given the deployment of Harakian marines, he figured there was no need to send intelligence agents just yet. So far he had received one report, giving him a real slice of life in New Haraki, and he seemed genuinely horrified by what he had heard. His philosophy of governing was that all people are born equal, and so all deserve the opportunity to have the best life available. Hearing of what went on in the colony of his nation and how it violated his personal and political ideology, he was determined to bring down Cassella at all costs. But, at the same time, he knew nothing he could ever do would make up to the New Harakian people for what they had endured for so long.

"Sir," came Swaner's voice and face over his screen.

"General Swaner. What's going on?"

"Sir, Cassella's gone mad. He declared New Haraki an independent nation, Espa, and declared a war of independence against Haraki. He's mobilized all his armed forces and is attempting fast strikes against us and the naval task force to put us out of action so we don't have a foothold. There's about a hundred tanks closing on our position and fighters are bearing down on the fleet. We expect to be overrun by ground forces within a couple of days without support."

"What do you need to defeat the forces in front of you, and get Cassella? After that, how many for rebuilding?"

"More building than rebuilding. No bullshitting?"

"No bullshitting."

"I could use tens of thousands of men, a bunch of tanks, and an entire fleet. To be honest. Right now, I could use some land reinforcements and some long-range bombers to take out the tanks. Any missiles you can spare to take out any tanks are much appreciated, but you're going to be minus three thousand marines if you don't give us something to take out the tanks."

"Done and done. The 44th Infantry can be mobilized within twenty-four hours and en route, along with the rest of the First Marine. I can give you elements of the Second Cavalry right now and more within a week along with the First Armoured. I can launch a group of long-range bombers in half an hour to help with the tanks before they reach the city, and I'll assign you some more satellites. Also, for now I'm going to parachute and sub-drop in some CEF forces to defend the resort area and all our nationals and expatriate workers, until we can get transports in. If this is how Cassella's going to run his war, I'm afraid he wouldn't care a whit for our civilians, if they'd give him an advantage."

"All right, that's good."

"I ... also feel it's my duty to inform you that you're going to be facing a lot of angry Austarian troops within a couple of hours."

"What?"

"Austar has announced they're removing us from control in New Haraki. They sent us a long-winded message, I've sent you a copy, basically saying they now consider it part of their territory. For now they're not fighting us, but unless we talk them down and unless we get very lucky we're going to end up in a fight with Austar over this, in one way or another. I'm preparing something diplomatic to say, but it's not ready yet. I hope it will be fairly soon."

"Okay. Sir, this is a shitstorm waiting to happen. I think we may be in over our heads."

"I'm afraid we will be until we get more forces in there. Good luck and good hunting, general."

"Swaner out, sir."

The copy of the Milano's message reached him a few minutes later, while he was relaying to LeClerc what had happened. In the air above their heads, the helicopters circled, and throughout the city, their men moved through, clearing it house by house. The locals, having heard the news about Cassella's declaration of independence and war, had begun open fighting against the colonial armed forces, in a bid for their own independence from the corrupt government they had hated so long. Although the marines disarmed any armed civilians they came across, they did not look past the help they were given, and for the time being were viewed as liberators by the civilians they passed by while sweeping the city.

Over the seas, the Harakian task force made fast time back towards Haraki, scrambling fighters that circled overhead, waiting to engage the entire New Harakian air force. Some distance away, a fleet composed of a number of small ships and multiple aged heavy cruisers bore down on the Harakian naval forces, speeding as fast as they could. The Harakians, weighed down by the slow amphibious assault ships and the old battleship HNS Ferria, had no hope of outrunning the smaller, faster ships. Hundreds of kilometres away, Harakian long range bombers took off from their airfields, headed for New Haraki and their armoured columns.

From the port city of Arkia, a fleet was being assembled. Although it would take time and would only leave with the transports carrying the ground force reinforcemenets, supposedly to be ready within twenty-four hours, a group of ships including missile cruisers and aircraft carriers left the city on a direct and fast course for New Haraki, hoping to get their deadly cruise missiles within range of the colonial troops bearing down on the small force of marines ashore. Haraki's special forces, members of the Combined Expeditionary Force, an evolution of Haraki's earlier Marine Elite Expeditionary Force with groups from all other military branches included, were scrambled to be ready for a drop into the Harakian resorts, to protect Harakian civilians.

And, perhaps most pressing of all, Austarian troops, only hours from shore already, bore down on the New Harakian coastline. A rocket barrage, preceding them, bore down on military targets, including the tank column along the coast. Although none of the forces involved knew it, the Austarian missile barrage would aid the Harakian marines already on the ground.





OOC: Shorter post for now outlining plans and for-now actions. I will try and get a better post detailing the following action up later tonight, once I get back home.

The Harakian naval task force was moving as fast as they could away from New Haraki, buying time for the amphibious assault ships and the carrier to launch their precious fighters. The amphibious assault ships had only four each, with most of their storage space used for helicopters, as the Harakian forces had not been expecting to have to engage in air combat of any sort on the mission. However, they had enough time to get all four fighter-bombers into the air, while the HNS Fortune, the carrier, managed to get a larger number into the air, but still not ideal amounts.

In all, nearly two flights of planes were in the air when the enemy fighters arrived: Twenty-two planes, fighters all, against over fifty from the land-based airfields. However, Haraki's planes had but one advantage: The ships they were guarding. Outfitted with large numbers of anti-aircraft and missile armaments, the carriers and amphibious assault ships were at the core of the fleet, with the HNS Ferria battleship as far from the attacking planes as possible. The HNS Loyalty and Centaur fired Griffon anti-aircraft missiles from one hundred and fifty kilometres away, managing multiple shots before the fighters closed to too close for safe firing, and the various ships switched to CIWS systems. Seven New Harakian planes were downed by anti-aircraft fire before even getting within range of air-to-air missile fire.

Once they were, however, it was sheer chaos. All the planes from both sides wanted to be the first to fire their longer-range missiles, and a hail of the beasts travelled towards each pack of fighters, all of them breaking away to try and avoid the missiles coming towards them. The New Harakians had a clear advantage in this respect: With two to one odds in favour of them, they simply outgunned the Harakians, despite better training and equipment on the other side. The Harakians did their best to close to dogfight range, knowing that it was their best shot of not simply making the entire battle a long-range shooting gallery. Trying to stay far enough away from the ships as to protect them and yet close enough to be able to use their support was by no means easy.

The Hawker missiles on the capital ships were another clear advantage for the Harakians: CIWS systems with small missiles that could lock onto the enemy planes and take them out without harming the Harakian fighters. But all the advantages in the world couldn't stop the New Harakian onslaught. There were just too many of them. By five minutes from long-range missile range, the Harakians were outnumbered nearly thirty to twelve. As more planes launched from the HNS Fortune, the Harakians got reinforcements, but still the New Harakians got closer and closer. Whenever their planes broke off to attack the ships, they were attacked by a hail of 30mm CIWS shells, but the most skilled of the pilots could still get off shots. The CIWS systems managed to take down many of the missiles fired at the ships, but often were confused by the sheer number of available targets a short distance away and a small number of missiles got through their shield and hit the ships.

The HNS Ferria suffered the greatest damage of all. With no CIWS cannons to protect it, it had to rely on armour, which was not thick enough to stop all hits. Also given the downwards trajectory of most of the missiles, the Ferria was hit several times, causing it to list dangerously to starboard. By the time the Harakian planes and ships had finally fought off the New Harakian planes, they had lost a light cruiser and a destroyer was sinking, the Ferria was severely damaged in the water, and barely avoiding being sunk, and a number of airplanes and helicopters on the three carrier planes were destroyed by surface hits. The runway on the HNS Loyalty was cratered several times, and its planes had to land on the Fortune once the fight was over. The Harakians had lost over thirty planes to nearly fifty from the New Harakians, and several of their ships, including their status symbol, the Ferria, were damaged. With the limited New Harakian fleet bearing down on them quickly, they knew they would have to take it out with airplanes preemptively, or it actually would seriously threaten the entire task force.

They had been promised a full fleet would be dispatched to aid them, but it was a long way off, in the Harakian port of Arkia. It would take at least two days to arrive, even if it was already en route, and there was no way the Harakian task force could even move with the level of damage sustained by the Ferria. It was all-but dead in the water, a clear testament to the vulnerability of the aging Haraki-class battleships. The planes landed, refueled and rearmed, and prepared to go out again as soon as possible.


*


The Harakian marines had nearly finished clearing out the city, with several fierce but brief firefights with colonial troops. They were rushing as quickly as they could to bring more troops to the capitol city, but the small numbers they had already there were actually outnumbered, even by the small number of marines. Especially with the rioters picking up weapons and attacking the colonial army, the Harakian marines managed to clear it out. The toughest firefight had come at Cassella's palace, where members of the colonial army and militia held out for several hours, firing from the windows down at marines in the square. In the brief firefight with the sixty-odd colonial troops occupying the large building, five marines were killed with a further sixteen hit and/or injured, out of the three platoons taking part in the attack. Such low casualties were due in part to body armour and in part to Harakian helicopters and military jeeps.

Now that they had secured most of the city, they set to work making preparations for its defence. In an effort to keep civilian casualties to a minimum, they had occupied the buildings on the edge of town in the directions towards the two approaching columns, with groups of TOW- and grenade machine gun-equipped jeeps ready to ambush the tanks. They knew they had little of chance of beating a group of tanks in a straight-up fight, and so they planned to use speed and manoeuvrability to destroy as many tanks as possible. Hidden marines in buildings armed with anti-tank missile launchers and grenades also added to the effect.

They had to make do with what they had at hand, with Swaner personally overseeing the setup along the coast road, the most vital of the two places. A mostly paved four-lane road, it was the main road of New Haraki, and had a large column of tanks and motorized infantry approaching along it. Where it neared the city, it dropped down on the land side onto a long plain. Swaner wished he had tank traps, so he could restrict access to the city to the road, not the plain also, and thus force the tanks into a bottleneck and perfect ambush location. With armed helicopters, he could then have destroyed the lead tanks in the column, and caused a pileup that could take some time to work out.

As it was, the best ambush locations were within the city limits along the coast road, and so he had marines in the buildings along the road on both sides, waiting for the signal. His anti-tank jeeps waited for assaults on the sides of the column. His strategy was mainly to take out as much enemy armour as possible in the first attack, an ambush from all sides by large numbers of anti-tank armed infantry, and then once the rubble cleared, try and take out the remainder. The enemy infantry served only to complicate matters, but he was dedicated to focusing on taking out the tanks first.

His first assault would come with a purely helicopter assault on the tanks as they approached the city. Assuming a wide line approaching across the plains in coordination with a column approaching down the road, he could get a flight of helicopters armed with anti-tank missiles to sweep in and eliminate a respectable number of the armour before they even reached the city. Doing the same on the other column approaching, he could limit the amount of enemy tanks faced by quite a bit.

However, the one thing he was not expecting was the Austarian missile offensive. A main branch of it came against the tank column down the coast road, about sixty tanks accompanied by a great deal of infantry in covered trucks. The missiles slammed into them from the side and the top, hitting the tanks in vital areas and immobilizing them or destroying them outright. By the time the rain of missiles cleared, little more than twenty tanks remained in good condition, with another ten either useable but damaged or immobilized. Hundreds of infantry died, with hundreds if not thousands more wounded in one way or another. The powerful offensive along the coast road designed to crush the marines back into the sea had abruptly been belittled. After the smoke cleared and they assessed casualties and destroyed vehicles, with bruning debris and wreckage littering the coast road up and down, they reported back to their base, where they were given orders to press on despite casualties.

The coordinated assault by both tank columns at the same time would not happen. The as-yet untouched column approaching from the south, from inland, continued on their merry way, but it took the coast road group hours on end to disentangle themselves from the mess that had been made of them and continue. Twenty-five tanks carried on, with half a dozen of them damaged in some way or another, accompanied by much less infantry than had prior been expected.


*


Transmission:
[From: Prime Minister Jaime Wolfe of Haraki]
[To: Kanzer Wolfgang Milano of Austar Union]

I am afraid I cannot accede the requests you have made in your transmission to me. The colony of New Haraki is Harakian territory and has been for nearly two hundred years. However, I do admit that Haraki and my government has been negligent in our management of the colony. By the time the monarchist system ended, the government of New Haraki was set in their ways. Their lies to us about the state in the colonies were well-enforced, especially as the monarchy before us seemed especially negligent to watch over the colonies, merely content to be happy with them as long as they made money.

Governor Max Cassella has had a very well-crafted lie in his hands for quite some time, and has had nothing but time to make it better and mroe and more believable. He managed to confine diplomatic and investigative envoys that were sent by many subsequent governments in a city that appeared to be in good shape. Although I could tell he was concealing something, I knew that I and my diplomatic personnel could not get it from him as he has had so long to practice confining us to the pristine areas of the colony.

This is why I was prepared to send a group from the Haraki Intelligence Agency and possibly the Combined Expeditionary Force in conjunction with them to investigate the true state of the colony. However, I have only been back in power for several months, following a multiple year run in office by an apathetic right-wing Prime Minister, and a short period of time from an ultra-nationalist who no doubt favoured a return to the monarchist system of letting the colonies run free provided they make money for the central government, something Cassella is no doubt a master of.

I was prepared to send this group and the operation has been being planned for over a month now, following my long-distance conversation with Cassella upon taking office. However, when the call for military support came, I answered Cassella's call and put the operation on hold, as I viewed that sending three thousand marines to operate within the entire nation was infinitely superior to sending a small group of intelligence operatives. It was only once the marines arrived that I knew the extent of the state of the colony. Now, on to my proposal for how to settle this.

We can both agree that the governing system currently in place in New Haraki is inefficient and cannot be kept. In fact, the entire current system of running it as a colony of Haraki should be eliminated. Thus, my proposal is this: That all political parties currenlty existing in new Haraki be disbanded, all current members of parliament and political parties be investigated by Harakian and/or international investigators, and arrested and tried for their role in it if deemed to have contributed to the oppression of the New Harakian people. All political prisoners within New Harakian territory will be freed, and the people of New Haraki shall reform their own political parties. Harakian reconstruction crews will enter the nation and instate a political situation as similar to that of Haraki proper as possible. The same political system of a prime minister and parliament, with the same checks and balances as that of regular Haraki, will be instated, and New Haraki will be given the newly-created status of Overseas Province. The land will be considered part of Haraki proper rather than a colony, and thus we will have much more say in the goings-on of the territory. In this way by instating New Haraki as an overseas province rather than a colony, the benefits Cassella claimed to offer, such as unemployment insurance, healthcare, and minimum wage, will be instated in New Haraki the exact same as they are in Haraki itself.

At the same time, Harakian and/or international reconstruction groups will enter the territory and do as much as they can to build up the destroyed land in New Haraki. By rebuilding the nation, its cities and countryside, we can give the New Harakian civilians places to work, get food, water and shelter with proper conditions and a better environment. For as long as this continues, Haraki will subsidize absolutely everything in the territory for the New Harakian civilians.

I hope that we can come to an arrangement. I do not feel that it would be in the best interests for either of our nations for the chaos in New Haraki to continue any longer, and I certainly do not feel that simply handing the territory over to another nation would aid anyone, least of all the New Harakian citizens.


Prime Minister Jaime Wolfe