NationStates Jolt Archive

The ISS Star of Iesus was the flagship of the new "Power Through Destruction” ballistic missile submarine program. The Iesus media had followed her closely during her development and a live video feed allowed the nation to watch her as she entered a standard patrol. The Star of Iesus came in at 255 metres in length and her hull was made of high-nickel high-chrome content steel 25.5mm thick. Her crew facilities were Spartan but no more than any other Iesus navy vessel. With a Complement of 44 officers and 156 enlisted she wasn’t the biggest ship in the fleet but the new warheads on her Missiles and experimental reactor made her something special.


She glided deep beneath the waves in international waters far from Iesus Christi….

“As you can see, the crew are ready for any situation. Ready to defend national socialism from the forces of darkness!” The 2ic gestured around the command room, his words earning the smiles and waves of the men and women at their stations. He turned back to the camera “As you can see Comrades, the spirits of the men and women of the Iesus armed forces is high!”
“How long are you generally at sea for at a time?” The small framed brunette reporter who was handling the camera asked somewhat nervously….she knew that this was a live feed back to Iesus Christi..she didn’t want to cock up and earn a one way trip to a workcamp.
“Usually about 3 months. But that’s nothing! I Once did a 13 month tour sitting under the ice.” The 2ic puffed out his chest and smiled more at the reporter than the camera. “And this man entering now is of course our Captain! Heil Iesus!” The 2ic gave the fascist salute and reported to his captain “All stations reporting normal Captain. No contacts.” Again the 2ic turned and grinned at the camera.
“Thank you Commander Jervis.” The Captain took his seat and flicked through the reports, deliberately not making eye contact with the camera he hated being aboard. In his late 40’s Captain Wolfe was part of the old school navy institution and didn’t hold with Ministry films crews being aboard. Still he had to accept it, or be reported by the ships political officer or one of the many agents aboard.

“Captain?”
Wolfe looked up from his reports to see a worried junior officer from engineering in front of him.
“Captain. I must report the Reactor chamber is at 98% critical heat and rising…I haven’t reported it before now because the political officer said not to worry but I think…”
The thoughts of the junior officer were drowned out by a deep booming thud, followed by alarm sirens screaming throughout the ship. The lights flickered as the ship rolled sideways, then plunged bow first towards the bottom of the ocean….
“Prepare to release emergency beacon . Full back! Full back. Kill that camera! God dammit….”
The live feed cut out

The emergency beacon shot to the surface of the sea. And immediately started to send out an SOS.
With it came Captain Wolfes garbled message
“This is the ISS Star of Iesus. Emergency declared. Explosion in our…… Going down fast. Repeat …..declared…requiring emergency assistance…please send…. God help us all….”

Alexander Kazansky’s office, Liberty-City

“So, what are the news for today?”

“Well, casualties in Yazmarea are down to one point three per day.”

“Our casualties, you mean, Yarrick?”

“Yup. We are achieving a one hundred fifty to one kill ratio on combatants in our AOR.”

“Woah. That’s pretty cool, I must admit. I guess I’ll use it in my next address to ask for more military funding.”

“So, if the military fails, you say they fail because they didn’t get enough money…”

“…and if they succeed, I say this is proof the money is used well and that we need more of it. Besides, as our friend Kevin would say, a sixty-two percent military budget is not good enough for freedom.”

“You don’t actually believe that, do you, Mr. President?”

“Sure I do. It’s not an issue of dollars. It’s an issue of percentage, for me. The more percent of its time our government is spending on it’s prime responsibilities, the less money it is spending on stuff like government schooling and so forth. We will have seventy six percent of our population in state schools… this should be dealt with.”

“But why, Sir? If the right people are in charge…”

“Do you remember the One Day War? The Civil War? The wrong people could get in charge anytime. It is necessary that we destroy the state’s monopoly on education, so that it is not abused. I should really address this in my speech before the State Governors’ Convention tomorrow. Make a note of it, Yarrick.”

“Yes, Mr. President. There are also interesting news from the navy.”

“How so?”

“The Star of Iesus submarine has sent out a distress signal. The navy wanted to notify you that they sent out a rescue vessel, the USS Thomas Szasz, towards the submarine’s location. It is escorted by the cruisers USS John Taylor Gatto and USS Roy Moore.”

“Very nice. Very nice indeed. Tell them to hurry. Now, about the Convention tomorrow…”

Task Force 58 was the Danaan Naval Task Force assigned to patrol this area of the ocean, defending shipping lanes through the Indian and Pacific Oceans used for trade between Dana and the various nations of Ambara and Vasconia. It consisted of the nuclear aircraft carrier Courage, the frigates Thorlund, Amory, and Carasia, the nuclear attack submarine Panther, and the corvette Jeweled Blade. The entire formation was under the command of Commodore Fadðl Cagman and it was the nearest by far to the Star of Iesus.

There was, in fact, very little hesitation on the part of the Danaans, even though the Iesian vessel was considered hostile. It was not war time and there was a distress signal coming from people in need. And the Danaans intended to prove that they were a compassionate people, no matter what the United Nations said about it. The Commodore thought for only a moment before sending Task Force 58 towards the SOS.

Lieutenant Nadzieja Nastula, no relation to the Cabinet Minister, was the Communications Officer aboard the Courage and had the duty of responding to the Iesian cry for aid. “Star of Iesus, come in. Star of Iesus. This is the HMS Courage responding to your SOS. We are bearing towards your coordinates. Please prepare for rescue. Are you near enough to the surface to abandon ship? Rescue from the sinking vessel itself will be more difficult and might have a higher casualty rate. Please respond. Over.”

The Task Force closed quickly on the Iesian position. The Jeweled Blade, best equipped to deal with submarines, moved slightly ahead of the other vessels, just in case it was a trap. The Courage, coming immediately behind, rapidly deployed small boats which began searching the sea for survivors even as two small rescue submersibles were prepared to go after the submarine itself and any who still might be aboard.

The news of the accident reached Starian navy intelligence quickly. So a reply was quickly sent to those it would concern in iesus Christi.


Honorable friends.
The message from one of your vessels in distress has come to our attention. Starian rescue and navy elements are on standby to assist if required.
Peace be upon you

~Admiral Vikram

Amongst the Tiburonese armed forces, the Aerospace Force was by far the most prominent. The establishment of space colonies and space navies capable of system and interstellar defense had made them the major area of defense- but this didn't mean that the Navy was deficient by any means. By all accounts, the Tiburonese Navy maintained the forward deployment presence and relative might (when compared with most other major powers) that its predecessors in United North America, the United British Republic, India, and Japan had amassed.

A part of this are the fleets in charge of Atlantic operations, and a fraction of this are the South Atlantic fleets. EARCOM receives the message nearly instantaneously and relays the message to the South Atlantic naval HQ, and elements of the Fifth Fleet are sent to deal with the issue. Sending an entire fleet would be unwieldy, after all. Specifically sent are a cruiser, two submarines, and a corvette. The cruiser alone can handle the rescue operation, but Iesans can hardly be trusted. The submarines and the corvette are quietly out of sight, but on hand in case the rescue is not so much of one. It's not clear how much debate is made in the halls of the military on whether or not to help, but ultimately help is agreed upon. Preserves Tiburon's moral highground. Plus, there could be some intel out of it.

A message is sent.

[Sent Via O-Net]
[To: ISS Star of Iesus, Iesus Christi Navy, the Holy Empire of Iesus Christi]
[From: TNS Victory, United Solaris Federation Navy, the United Solaris Federation of Tiburon]
[Subject: Assistance]
[Classification: Declassified]

To the captain and crew of the ISS Star of Iesus,

This is Naval Captain Obejo Pohamba of the TNS Victory, calling all survivors of the Star of Iesus. We have received your request and are here to provide assistance. Please respond.

As the live feed cut out, panic and confusion swept through Navy command. The protocol on this matter weren’t clear and Admiral Mary Albert’s instinct to immediately send rescue craft were restricted by the realities of the Iesus command structure…if she deployed craft without approval heads could roll….quite literally.. Instead she quickly sent a video comm message to the Ministry of Social Order…

Bridgette stood out on the balcony in her simple flowing black dress, laughing with several high ranking uniformed personal. Inside the palace grand hall the music played loudly as people drank copious amounts of alcohol and talked in loud righteous voices. The parties thrown by Bridgette were events not to be missed, they were always entertaining and unusual….already tonight the scantily clad young dancers had proved most entertaining.

“My Lady, A message from Navy One.” A slim athletic Officer of the Ministry snapped to attention and handed over a comm unit to Bridgette.
She glowered at her briefly, but realized it must be important if she had risked her fury by interrupting her. She appreciated the courage as much as she did the young officers features.
“Thank you Captain.” Bridgette gave the Officer a warm smile “Let’s see what that fat cow Albert has to say for herself…”
Bridgette read and laughed “Useless. Painfully useless. Captain, inform General Robard’s to take command about the salvage; the crew clearly can’t be saved. Also ensure that the DB is active….just in case…”
Bridgette turned back to the Officers and finished her wine “As I was saying… She was screaming like a stuck pig…”


The Iesus submarine crashed heavily downwards, eventually resting on her side on the bottom of the sea. A little luck was with the Star of Iesus and she had not fallen into the nearby canyon and thus drifted down past her crush death and then into oblivion…

“Move! Move! For the love of God move!” The blooded faced chubby mechanic dragged another person through the hatch as water rushed in past him.
“Shut that Hatch or we’re all dead…” The Chief Engineer screamed desperately across the room as he watched the water flood in.
“There are more in there! They’re coming! They’re coming!”
“Shut it now! For the Love of Jesus shut it now!” The Chief threw his weight against the hatch, pushing it shut even as the sailors on the other side screamed in despair. The rising water soon silenced their terror.
“This is Chief Owens. Engineering Operations room sealed!”

“God has thrown a shovel of sand under us!” The Captain exclaimed to himself as much as anyone else. Reports were drowning him….compartments flooding…structural integrity failing…power failing….
He was screaming orders when the message from HMS Courage message came through. Without hesitation he picked up the communication “This is Star of Iesus we must have help or we’ll go down. Situation urgent. Almost total system failure. Power about to give out. Assistance required URGENTLY”

The small boats weren’t finding anyone, not a man. After about half an hour of searching, they began to return to the ship. Most of the men and women aboard were increasingly disheartened. It didn’t look like there would be any survivors. A few of the teams who had been on the small boats walked the deck in silence, looking out over the unforgiving sea.

The two submersibles were being hurriedly prepared. Normally operated by a crew of four, each was going down with only a pilot. All excess equipment had been hurriedly unpacked and lay strewn on the deck. Emptied out, each submersible had the capacity to hold perhaps a dozen men or women. The pilots then climbed in and the craft were hurriedly sealed. Every second might mean the difference between life and death for one of those below.

In another five minutes, the submersibles were below the waves. A combination of sonar and high powered lights allowed them to make their way to the bottom, locating the Iesian crash in another half an hour. The first of the two craft to find the submarine settled over the hatch. With a sharp sound, clamps went down all around and with a low hiss the area between the two vehicles was sealed, pumped, and pressurized. The hatch on the Danaan vessel was opened and the pilot activated his radio. “[i]Star of Iesus[/], this is a rescue boat, please open your hatch. We have docked and it is safe to do so. Over.”

To all forces seeking to assist the Iesus vessel Star of Iesus

While your offer of assistance is noble, Iesus Christi and the Vessel Star of Iesus do not need your help. The situation is well under control.
Any forces foolish enough to force themselves upon the vessel Star of Iesus will thus be considered hostile forces....and I can assure you we and the Star of Iesus will react accordingly.

General Robards. Ministry of Social Order.



Under the waves, Captain Wolfe tried to respond to the docked Danaan vessel, but the power was failing and the damaged hatch was proving near impossible to open.
His communication was now cutting in and out even more...."Hatch proving....we'll continue to......many compartments flooded. Do you hear us?"

honorable friends
The Islamic forces of North Star happily comply with the wishes of the government of iesus Christi.
General Robard clearly has matters in control, but should he need any assistance at all we are still willing to help. Including repelling hostile forces.
We hope the submarine rejoins us all shortly.

~ Admiral Vikram.


at one of the coastal airodromes orders to fuel, take on pilots and take on ammo were given. Orders were also given to replace tired pilots. All aircraft were made ready for flight and everyone knew something might come up.

Ensign Wenceslaw Charnowski leaned up from the hatch and hurried back to his radio. “I can barely read you. I’m going to try to force the hatch. That means that the ship will not be able to be resealed after we leave. We have two submersibles down here. My partner will dock with me and we’ll load his boat through mine before we both take off to get you medical attention. This might take a minute. I need you to hang on down there. Do you copy? Over.”

The minutes ticked away as Charnowski communicated the plan to his comrade and Ensign Patryk Chichlowski docked his boat with the top hatch of Charnowski’s. It wasn’t an operation either vessel was designed for and both men were scared that it wouldn’t work and their vessels would fill with water, killing them swiftly and dooming the Iesians to a slower death. Fortunately, very careful maneuvering, well-built boats, the determination of both men to survive, and a good deal of plain dumb luck prevailed and the docking was completed. It took a few minutes more to blow the hatch. “Climb all the way up to the top boat until it’s full. Then fill mine.” Charnowski called down, offering his hand to the first Iesian.

Meanwhile, back on the surface, the Danaans were preparing to deal with the Iesians and the message from the Ministry, although they planned to deny hearing the latter if they had any direct encounter with Ministry forces. An emergency medical station had been set up on the deck of the Courage to deal with any medical emergencies among the Iesians. A number of expendable small lifeboats had also been stocked with food, water, and two-way radios. Unless any Iesians asked to defect, the Iesians would be given these boats, disarmed, and allowed to make contact with their people and go their own way after that. The Danaan ships would return to their previous mission and potentially messy direct confrontation with the Iesians would take place. That, at least, was Commodore Cagman’s plan. He didn’t want to get in a war with the people he was trying to help, after all, even if he didn’t care much for their Government. Of course, these were warships and preparations had also been made for other possible outcomes, just in case.

A short message was sent from South Atlantic Naval HQ to General Robards.

[Sent Via O-Net]
[To: General Robards, Ministry of Social Order, the Holy Empire of Iesus Christi]
[From: Rear Admiral Jacques Le Valedon, United Solaris Federation Navy, the United Solaris Federation of Tiburon]
[Subject: Re: Assistance]
[Classification: Declassified]

General Roberds,

We have received your message, and have called off the mission, recognizing Iesan sovereignty in such matters.

Sincerely,
Rear Admiral Le Valedon,
United Solaris Federation Navy,
The United Solaris Federation of Tiburon

And to the ships in the area.

[Sent Via D-Net]
[To: CPN Obejo Pohamba, CPN Dei-Fan Lieng, CPN Pa'alauke Niioka'e, CDR Carl Svenson]
[From: RAD Jacques Le Valedon, United Solaris Federation Navy, the United Solaris Federation of Tiburon]
[Subject: Re: Current Mission]
[Classification: Top Secret]

Commanding officers,

Given the recent message sent by GEN Robards of Iesus Christi... be discreet when helping. RAD Le Valedon out.

Which resulted in more messages.

[Sent Via D-Net]
[To: HMS Courage, Danaan Navy, the Danaan High Kingdom of the Resurgent Dream]
[From: TNS Victory, United Solaris Federation Navy, the United Solaris Federation of Tiburon]
[Subject: Rescue Efforts]
[Classification: Secret]

To the captain of the HMS Courage,

Given the rescue operations already underway between your navy and the crew of the Star of Iesus, our involvement- without direction- at this point would probably do nothing but hamper efforts.

We do, however, wish to assist, and therefore wish to know if and where you require assistance.

Sincerely,
Naval Captain Obejo Pohamba,
United Solaris Federation Navy,
The United Solaris Federation of Tiburon

[Sent Via D-Net]
[To: USS Thomas Stasz, Allanean Navy, the United States of Allanea]
[From: TNS Victory, United Solaris Federation Navy, the United Solaris Federation of Tiburon]
[Subject: Rescue Efforts]
[Classification: Secret]

To the captain of the Thomas Stasz,

Given the fact that rescue operations are already underway between the Danaan Navy and the Star of Iesus, we feel it would be best to coordinate our efforts with the Danaans. It may be best for your ship to do the same, so that no force trips over the other.

Sincerely,
Naval Captain Obejo Pohamba,
United Solaris Federation Navy,
The United Solaris Federation of Tiburon

From: Crew of the USS Thomas Szasz
To: Resurgentian and Tiburonese vessels in the area

Friends!

We are the United States Ship Thomas Szasz, named after the famous physician. We offer our assistance regarding the Star of Iesus. Given that it appears you have already begun rescue operations of some form, we would like to know how we can help.

Yours in Liberty,
George Hopkins,
Captain, USS Thomas Szasz


From: Crew of the USS Thomas Szasz
To: Crew of the Star of Iesus
Friends!

We are the United States Ship Thomas Szasz, named after the famous physician. Despite our nations being currently at war, we – yet again – offer our hand in aid to you. Remember, Allanea’s fight is not with the people of Iesus, it with Bridgette and Mathew Iesus alone.

Yours in Liberty,
George Hopkins,
Captain, USS Thomas Szasz

With power all but totally gone, the Iesus submarine now became isolated from the outside world...

As the hatch came away, the first Iesus sailor took that offered hand and popped his head up…”My name is Commander Jervis. My Captain requests your head of rescue operations comes aboard…we have sailors trapped deeper inside the ship and we need your assistance to get to them…also I’d just like to say..God bless you!”


Deeper inside the ship, Chief Owens in the Engineering Operations room looked nervously at the flickering control panels. He placed his hand against the cooling tubes that ran over his head and yelped in pain…it was burning hot.
“Captain, this is Owens. Still no progress on opening our bulkheads, also….the cooling system is still heating up..”


The party was slowly breaking up. The mood had become somewhat sober, no because of the news of the Star of Iesus but because Bridgette in a fit of anger had thrown a serving girl from the balcony….
“Stupid Bitch…” Bridgette spat over the balcony, more concerned over the imagined slight to her honour than the lives of the sailors aboard the Star of Iesus

General Robards had made moves…not to rescue the sailors, he considered them lost already, but to ensure that the Star of Iesus wasn’t taken by hostile forces….

Long range Iesus aircraft had been scrambled to the area…and when they had eventually arrived they didn’t come close enough to the foreign navy vessels to be considered hostile. They simply circled the area high in the sky, watching the situation below.

The attack Submarine John of God was many miles away still, but she crept forward towards the wreck scene. She wouldn’t arrive anytime soon and at any rate she wasn’t assigned to assist the rescue…
“If foreign agents have boarded, Destroy the Star of Iesus” had been Robards simple order to the captain of the John of God, much to the horror of the sailors aboard. The navy looked after each other…they had a long history of maritime honour and service. Firing on a stricken ship wasn’t within their usual code of conduct.
Still the Captain of the John of God was obedient and had set course….

"We are currently in the process of disengaging from all operations with regard to the Star of Iesus in compliance with the request of the Iesian Government. Given the current status of rescue operations, it will take time to disengage without creating risk for the sailors aboard. If it meet with the approval of the Tiburonese command, we would wish to send a liason to the TNS Victory in person to coordinate response. Over." announced the surprisingly soft voice of Nadzieja Nastula to the other ships in the area and to the Iesian Ministry. Of course, the process of safely disengaging and the completion of the mission were more or less the same thing at this juncture.

"I hope He does." Charnowski grumbled as he scrambled down into the Iesian sub. "Because I'm starting to think we'll need a little help from upstairs to get out of this mess. So what exactly is the impediment keeping you from the other crew members?"

”The Captain will explain. Mind your step Sir!”
Commander Jervis shuttled down the ladder, leading Charnowski down into the dark submarine through knee deep water to the control room. The emergency lightening flickered on and off, illuminating wounded sailors as they were readied to be evacuated off ship.

Jervis waved the visiting Officer into the gloomy control room, pointing to handholds where Charnowski could steady himself and avoid doing himself a mischief on the sloping floors.
A sudden hush descended over the chaotic control room as Charnowski entered, the eyes every sailors locking onto him. The Officers were armed, but no hands suddenly dropped to their sidearm, sidearms being simply a natural part of their uniforms.
A man who looked to tall and podgy for submarine service saluted Charnowski as he entered – not the usual fascist salute but a more regular hand to forehead type.
“Captain Pat Wolfe, Commanding Officer of the Star Of Iesus..I’m sorry to have to drag you down here…we’ve got men trapped in several compartments… they’re stuck behind our new fangled emergency reactor doors, we need tools to cut them out.”
At the back of the control room, the young reporter quietly pulled out her camera and surreptitiously snapped off a few shots.