United Elias
11-10-2003, 15:13
Middle East Defence Journal
Edition-34, Week of October 12, Cover Story:
Today the MEDJ, officially based in Kahtan where publishing of this information is not illegal, is releasing several photographs of a new submarine that is under construction for the Elias Navy. An anynomous senior defence source unofficially released some sketchy details of the vessel, which is 'very close to completion'. It has not been a secret that the Elias Marine Corporation has been constructing a submarine at Adullah Naval shipyard but industry analysts have always been led to belive that this was in fact a slightly updated Akula class SSN. It now appears that this is actually a completely new type with "significant advances over previous types."
Although no exact specifications have been gleamed as yet, it can be estimated from the computed generated image leaked to us that the submarine is approximately 350 feet long, uses a pump jet propulsor and features vertical launch tubes forward of the sail.
More infomraion on this new type will be published as it becomes available but currently the Ministry of Defence, Information Department has refused ot confirm or deny any of the information published here.
http://www.c3mag.com/news/focus/images/defence1.jpg
Computer Generated Image of new type.
Black screen, pompous music plays as white letters appear:
Behind the scenes of an 'allied' nation
They shade away. Bigger letters suddenly flash on screen while the pompous music is stopped by a metal bang:
Elias' Alias
Computer generated map of Elias is shown, two green bars intersect at the northwestern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Green letters appear and green letters read: "Abdullah Naval Base/Naval shipyard".
Voice over:
"Most people know Elias as an ally, a major economical, military and political power in the Middle East, a stabilizing force in the turbulent region. But Elias has another face. In the past few years it has been secretly expanding its nuclear arsenal and more worryingly its armada of mobile launching platforms. We were able to sneak in with a uniform and keycard of an Elias navy commander and the help of a guard within. This is the unnerving story of Elias alias a nation with a hidden agenda."
Bleak coloured footage, deformed at the edges and rather shaky is showing an Elias soldier who's face has been blurred out. The man is filmed from beneath and appears partially out of focus. These images are clearly the result of a cleverly hidden camera. The soldier is standing before a gate and is barely audible. Subtitles make clear what he says.
"I'm sorry, sir. I'll need to go through those bags."
Another voice is harsher and can be heard perfectly. Yet subtitles are indiscriminately displaying his every word.
"You want to spend the rest of the week on latrines private?"
"No sir..."
The picture stumbles and a car door can be heard slamming shut. A car engine roars. Cut to a large metal door, a soldier is looking at some documents.
"Yes sir, all seems to be in order. I'll just have to check your bags."
"That won't be necessary, they've been checked at the entrance."
"I know, sir. But safety regulat..."
"Don't you think I know the safety regulations?"
"N...No sir! I'm just following orders sir!"
"Who's your commanding officer?"
"Sir! Lieutenant Mashaoud sir!"
"Good! I'll make dam'n sure you're with the next batch to go to Kaduiri."
"S...Sir? I'd prefer you didn't sir."
"I'm wasting my time here. I'm needed inside and you're obstructing me."
"Sorry sir, you may proceed."
The metal door gives way to a long vaulted hallway. TL lamps shed an eerie light on the grey textures of the concrete walls. Elias soldiers on patrol saluate someone high above the camera.
Voice over:
"The Abdullah Naval Base/Naval shipyard is a heavily guarded and the most difficult part is to get inside. Once in, the security is less tight. We were assured that at the second hurdle, our informant would be stationed to open the door to that what needs to be kept secret so freneticly."
Another edit further, a large metal double door is shown, apparently at the end of the hallway. Two soldiers are standing in front. A hand from behind the lens shakes the hand of one of them. The blurred out grunt looks the other way as his hand disappears in his pocket. The other one says something through the intercom and a small door inside the large double door creaks open. The view suddenly gets hazy then sharpens again as the focus is being adjusted.
Voice over:
"What you are about to see is an absolute scoop. It is one of the best kept secrets of the Elias navy. And there's a reason."
The camera now slowly pans around. The reporters have entered an immense concrete hangar with cranes, rails and lots of people scurrying about. In the middle is a giant basin filled with water in which the all too familiar shape of a black submarine is sticking out.
The view goes shaky again as the submarine's command tower jumps nearby. The camera focuses on the small Elias navy seal next to an Elias flag of equal dimensions.
Voice over:
"Ordinarily one would applaud such achievements by an ally. But clearly Elias doesn't consider itself that much of an ally as one would expect them to."
A navy officer's face is standing close and again is filmed from a frog's perspective. He's smoking a sigarette and talking to the reporters in disguise, all the while turning his unrecognizable face, nervously looking around.
"Yeah, nice ships aren't they? I'm glad we 'ave 'em. Now we can strike anywhere anytime and the target will never know what hit 'em... Well they will but by that time we'll be all over 'em (laughs)."
"But the navy is large enough as it is, the Red Sea is filled with our ships and Patrua can close off the Bab el-Mandeb easily. We've got nothing to fear."
"These ships are just what the Elias navy needed, let me tell you that. I mean it's all nice to 'ave allies and stuff but in the end you're on your own and then you'd better be prepared."
"You don't trust our allies?"
"I trust nobody. Hell, these guys can turn on you anytime. And then we'll 'ave a sub waiting, retaliating 'em into oblivion."
Voice over while a computer generated animation of a larger sub that revolves one time, then launches a rather big missile:
"The words couldn't have been chosen more adequately. This are not just attack submarines or cruise missile platforms. These are submerged ICBM platforms ready to release the Horsemen of the Apocalypse onto a defenseless victim."
We're back in the hangar, the camera is filming from a different angle. Suddenly a sirene shrieks and flashlights go off. People are running around, getting into plastic impermeable suits with gasmasks. A large door can be seen gliding before the heavy double door entrance. A voice announces through the speakers what is happening:
"Code 4! Code 4! All non-authorized personnel clear the premises."
The camera shakes and turns black but the wailing sirene and the repetitive announcement can still be heard. Then the view shows most of the hangar, the basin with the subs nice in the centre. The footage is remarkably steady, two men, one in officer's dress uniform suddenly rush by. They were the men behind the camera.
Cut to a later stage. The siren still wails and the yellow lights still flash. A huge wheeled crane that spans the basin slowly moves over the rails its load is distinctively visible: it's a intercontinental ballistic missile.
The footage suddenly stops. A studio edit zooms in to the missile's flank. The apotheosis of the show: a triangular black and yellow sticker removes all doubt. The symbol of a nuclear device and written underneath: 'Caution - nuclear explosive'.
Voice over:
"So this is what any country can expect from Elias: distrust and sneakily politics to cover up the aspirations of regional hegemony."
The footage has resumed playing, the nuclear missile is loaded carefully into one of the subs.
Cut to the captain from earlier in the documentary:
"Yep, everyone will be a lot more respectful to us when they can expect these babies in their back yard."
He looks away and takes another puff from his sigarette.
Picture turns black and the pompous music begins to play again while credits scroll.
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