NationStates Jolt Archive

[OOC: This entire discussion goes unreported in Sarzonia until years after the fact.

Also, this RP is open to Sarzonian allies and selected non-allies only (Nellisland, that means you or another country you roleplay can support the rebels with supplies, weapons, logistics, etc.) I don't want this to become some epic international battleground. In addition, no nuclear weapons will be permitted in this role play. They will be expressly ignored.

I'm making this civil war follow the model of the American Civil War with limited foreign involvement.]

Navy Chief George Russert rudely barged into President Mike Sarzo's office one day, just a matter of moments after Sarzo got off the phone.

"You should have knocked Mr. Russert," Sarzo said sharply.

"Mr. President, what in Hell are you doing ordering Iowa-class battleships? As the Chief of the Navy, I should be the one doing the ordering!"

"First of all Mr. Russert, if you wish to discuss any issues that pertain to your branch of the military, you need to make an appointment with Becky to come and see me." Sarzo held his hand up forcefully and glared to make sure that Russert kept his mouth shut and didn't interrupt.

"There is a standard protocol that you must follow around here," Sarzo continued. "Once you have made that appointment with Becky, then you can come to see me, but outline your arguments calmly and rationally if at all possible.

"Thirdly, if you do come to my office, you need to see Becky first and then if I say you can come in, she'll show you in. What you've done right now is inexcusable.

"However, since you're already here, you may as well say your peace."

Russert sighed. It was all he could do to keep from launching a profanity-laced tirade against Sarzo. That was the surest way he would get fired.

"Mr. President, the battleship is a relic. It's obsolete in a modern navy and its upkeep is expensive. I don't think you of all people should be forcing me to take battleships if I don't want them."

Sarzo rolled his eyes theatrically, fully aware that Russert considered that an act of disrespect.

"Let me break it down to you this way George," Sarzo said. "As the President, I am the commander-in-chief of all armed forces in Sarzonia. I'm a six-star general, I'm the chief admiral in charge, I'm everything. That means one thing: I'm your boss and what I say goes.

"If you haven't paid attention to most modern conflicts, when there have been battleships involved in the modern militaries, they have been all but unsinkable against the 'modern' weapons like the anti-ship missiles that are designed to penetrate the light armor of most of today's escort ships. Also, I'm more familiar with the budget projections than you are. They really are much less expensive to run than the super aircraft carriers are. They can get more ordnance to their targets than an aircraft carrier can with all of its figher and bomber planes."

"But Mr. President," Russert said, his face turning beet red. "You are not a military person. You have no clue how to put a military together."

"It doesn't matter if I am or not George. Being commander in chief gives me the right to do this if I want. And you are once again seriously out of line.

"I'm giving you until the count of three to be out of my office or you will be dismissed."

Russert's eyes widened.

"One."

"Mr. President!"

"Two."

"Three."

Russert still stood there fixing a scowl toward Sarzo. Sarzo picked up the phone and called security.

"We have a trespassor in my office."

"Who," the security chief asked, alarmed that someone could possibly have gotten past the security checkpoints.

"The now-former Navy Chief."

The security chief hesitated for a moment, then stammered "we--we're on our way sir."

"When security escorts you out of here, you have until the end of the day to clear your desk. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir."

Security escored Russert out of the office and an exasperated Sarzo called Deputy Navy Chief John Newman, who had been the staunchest advocate for the battleship in Sarzonia's navy. He was about to get a sudden promotion.

ooc: tag. i assume this is gonna continue as a story?

ooc: tag. i assume this is gonna continue as a story?

[OOC: I'm not sure... it was something I put up as a character development post. This is set in the earliest days of Sarzonia. In just about every other RP in which I've mentioned a navy chief, it's been John Newman. This shows you how he got the job.

I might have Russert try to run for President or start a civil war or something, but I don't know yet.]

ooc: very nice, is this a comment on any of today's real world countries' situations?

ooc: very nice, is this a comment on any of today's real world countries' situations?

[OOC: Absolutely. It's also an attempt at character development, so to speak.]

Russert had been biding his time. It had been several years since he was unceremoniously fired as Navy Chief by President Mike Sarzo. He had been secretly plotting his revenge since the day security forces escorted him out of the Navy's command center in Nicksia.

Admiral Charles Taylor also had reason for wanting revenge. He had his commission stripped, along with the pension that he was due to receive as an admiral and he thought Sarzo had no business meddling with naval affairs.

The only problem was, the two men who had the most to gain by banding together to cause problems for Sarzonia's president didn't get along. Both men wanted the same goals, and both men wanted whatever glory would come from ousting the President, but they didn't see eye to eye on how to go about their plan.

Finally, one of the former intelligence chiefs [OOC: He's the one who wanted to attack Doujin] approached each man individually and told them he could get access to a Leningrad-class guided missile battleship. He had a skeleton crew of men who would follow him to the ends of the earth, even if some of them were loyal to Sarzonia and a couple of the men were ardent Sarzo supporters.

"Good," Taylor said. "We can cause some damage to Nicksia and even hit Woodstock with the ship and we can start our plan from there.

Even better news was to come. The governor of Bausch, the southernmost state in Sarzonia, was sympathetic to their plans. He devised a plan for the state to secede from Sarzonia, and that would mean a fleet of ships could then be made available.

"Splendid," Russert said. "Sarzo won't know what hit him."

Unfortunately for the men and their plans, there was a mole in their midst.

OOC: A Sarzonian civil war... can I jump I when I see the opportunity?

OOC: A Sarzonian civil war... can I jump I when I see the opportunity?

[OOC: Since you're an ally, if it develops as a civil war, yeah. The situation with the two countries that carpet bombed Feazanthia is such that Russert and Taylor may find themselves in for a surprise.]

(OOC: Hey Sarzonia can have a part in this! I don't care what but I thought if it did turn into a civil war then maybe we culd have a nation support the rebels and that could be me or not! I am just looking for some fun!)

OOC: Wait, wat?

*big tag*

(OOC: Hey Sarzonia can have a part in this! I don't care what but I thought if it did turn into a civil war then maybe we culd have a nation support the rebels and that could be me or not! I am just looking for some fun!)

[OOC: If it turns into a full civil war, I'll consider it. I still haven't decided which issue will cause Bausch to want to secede, though I'm leaning toward Article XIII of the Sarzonian Constitution as the excuse they're giving (it's a non-discrimination article... and South Carolina is apparently considering trying to secede for the third time for the same reason I'm thinking about having Bausch try to secede.

I don't want this to turn into an enormous battleground where countries from all over the world are laying waste to Sarzonia, so any support for the rebel forces might be limited to providing supplies, logistics, etc.

I was going to go into detail in this message about exactly what I was looking for, but I was practically writing a novel. Telegram me if you want what I'm looking for.]

OOC: A Sarzonian civil war will be a big thing. I think this is really devolping nicely and you should definitely continue. This sounds like a great idea and I hope to be involved. Thanks.

OOC: Wait, wat?

[OOC: In your commie revolution thread, the intelligence chief is talking about using your pursuit of the renegade fleet as an opportunity to gain standing. If I had RP'd his argument more logically, he would have outlined a strategy to attack you while your navy was busy shooting at itself.

I thought you might have seen it OOC, but you definitely wouldn't have known anything about it IC.]

OOC: Huh?

OOC: Huh?

[OOC: It's the most recent intelligence chief who got canned. I think I'm on my fourth in 2 RL months.

Intelligence chiefs in Sarzonia have about as much luck as drummers for Spinal Tap.]

Russert sat with a satisfied smirk on his face. Plans were progressing nicely, and Bausch's governor was known for getting his legislature to do whatever he wanted them to do. All they needed was a reason to secede.

Taylor paced the halls of his house in a suburb of Townshend. He ached to put it to Sarzo and Commodore Marcus Patinkin [OOC: I know he's a Rear Admiral now, but Taylor doesn't]. In his delusional mind, he saw Patinkin as a ruthless conman who aimed for his job. He desperately wanted to command the new Bausch navy and cause some damage to the Sarzonian fleet that was small but developing when he was an admiral.

Meanwhile, Brian Manley was listening in on the conversation. He was the first intelligence chief in Sarzonia, fired when his faulty intelligence led to Sarzonia severing diplomatic relations with Doujin. He had plenty of motivation if he wanted to join the rebels. However, he was determined to get back into Sarzo's good graces because, deep down, he liked the guy. He decided he would be a double agent and he was setting down the details to send to the most recent intelligence chief, who was not only his protege, but was also his younger brother.

Manley was carefully writing down the details and setting them up in a laptop that only he knew the passwords to access. He was going to send the details of the plan to his brother and alert him about the planned secession.

A couple of hours later, Taylor strolled into Russert's office after his operatives secured access to a squadron of ships and enough sailors to sail them. Two Province-class cruisers, one Walmsley-class carrier, eight Province-class destroyers, and two Barracuda-class corvettes were going to make up the navy. The Vincennes, a Leningrad-class battleship, was harder to get corralled since the captain was loyal to Taylor, but the first officer was naturally suspicious.

"We've got the fleet mostly assembled," Taylor noted with a smug grin. "I can sail circles around Patinkin with it."

Russert looked at the figures and frowned. "Where's the Vincennes?"

"We're working on that."

"Working? That's not good enough. We need that ship."

"I'm aware of that. But I think we can get some help from abroad. There are enough countries that don't like Sarzo out there that will want to stick it to him."

Russert raised his eyebrow. Sarzonia was hardly a player in international affairs, at least to the extent Taylor was trying to make it seem. He decided for the sake of the cause to humor Taylor.

"All right. Let's call the governor."

Russert picked up the phone and called the Bauschian governor. The legislature was drafting legislation to announce the secession. They had decided that Article XIII of the Sarzonian constitution was their reason. Even though Russert was personally not anti-gay, he didn't agree with prohibiting discrimination in the national constitution. Taylor, meanwhile was very much anti-gay, another contrast he had with Patinkin. They also were planning to run a platform of a weaker central government and one which adhered to strict Biblical principles.

Governor Tom Markham walked to the podium in the state's legislature building in Townshend with his speech in hand and a maniacal grin that hid the intense throbbing of his heart. He was about to do something that could cost thousands of lives and send many of Bausch's sons and daughters to certain death.

He reached the podium and cleared his throat.

"The federal government of the Incorporated States of Sarzonia have trampled on the rights of the individual states by passing a Constiutional amendment that prohibits our places of business, our homes, and our people from the freedom to associate with or not to associate with whomever we choose," Markham said.

"They consistently interfere in the affairs of the states and we believe that states are better equipped to handle their own issues than Woodstock is. We can not abide by constitutional amendments that make mockeries of the states. It is for that reason that I have asked the Bauschian legislature to formally secede from Sarzonia."

The president of the state's Senate walked to the podium and handed Markham a piece of paper. The paper contained the vote of the state's legislature about whether or not to secede. Markham read the note and turned to the microphone.

"By a vote of 22-18 in the Senate and 79-61 in the House of Burgesses, Bausch has voted to secede from Sarzonia," he said. "Today is a great day as we announce our independence from Sarzonia.

"We have established a constitutional convention and will undertake the mission to craft a constitution that takes a uniquely Bauschian view toward how we choose to govern our country. We will be a country that is firmly in the favor of God. May Bausch long reflect the greater glory of the Almighty!"

George Markham, the governor's younger brother and closest advisor, was just installed as the secretary of state and started making calls to countries to gain support to force Sarzonia to accept their independence.

*bump* Sarzonian response to follow.

"Unbelieveable."

President Mike Sarzo slammed a piece of paper that contained part of a speech he was going to give to commemorate the Woodstock Wild's winning the Sarzonian Football Confederation cup final in disgust. He just saw the report that Governor Tom Markham of Bausch announced it was seceding from Sarzonia.

Sarzo picked up the phone in an attempt to call Markham to try to talk sense into him, but he found the Bat Phone was blocked. So was his cell phone.

He stormed out of his office in the Gray House and took off on a dead run to the Parliament building. En route, he pulled out a cell phone and called the newly-elected Speaker of the House, Josh Wililams.

"Josh, this is Mike. I'm calling a joint session of Parliament. Get everybody who's still there together."

"What's going on Mike?"

"Bausch is trying to secede from Sarzonia."

"Say what?"

"Unfortunately, this is no joke. We need to do something and fast."

"I'm on it Mike."

By the time Sarzo arrived, the Parliament members from the remaining 21 states gathered in the House chamber.

"By now, I'm sure you all have seen the news," Sarzo said. Murmurs of incredulity rippled throughout the room until Sarzo spoke again.

"Of course, what we do here will dictate the outcome of this and other similar actions. What is your pleasure?"

A Delegate rose and said, "I move that we negotiate with Bausch and get them to rejoin Sarzonia without bloodshed."

"We can't do that," another Delegate replied. "I know them, they won't listen to reason. I move that we use force to get them back."

"I second the motion to use force," a Senator replied.

"It's been moved and seconded. Any discussion?" Williams asked. The debate continued for nearly four hours before Williams finally had enough and called for a vote. By one vote, Parliament approved the motion to use force. Soon, one of the ugliest wars in Sarzonian history was about to begin.

"I call upon the international community to realize what is transpiring here," Sarzo said. "This is more than a battle for states' rights. This is more than an ideological disagreement between one region of a country and its central government. This is a situation that's much, much worse."

(OOC: I have a couple of questions for you:

1. Do have any plans to actually lost this and change your government system or are just going to win!

2. You said that the seceded nation thought that there were enough allies that hated Sarzonia to join them. Since we have had trouble in the past i.e. the naval blockade, Killjew thing, I was thinking that I could back!

(OOC: I have a couple of questions for you:

1. Do have any plans to actually lost this and change your government system or are just going to win!

2. You said that the seceded nation thought that there were enough allies that hated Sarzonia to join them. Since we have had trouble in the past i.e. the naval blockade, Killjew thing, I was thinking that I could back!

[OOC: If I "lose" this civil war, Bausch becomes an independent country. They might take out targets in Nicksia and Woodstock and other parts of the country, but they would not actually overthrow my government. My plan is to have the war play out where I win, but it will be a hard-fought battle. Much more than I'd expect.

I'm looking to model this civil war after the U.S. civil war, so I would see you playing a role like Great Britain did by sending supplies, arms, etc. to the Confederacy until the Emancipation Proclamation essentially turned the war from being about states' rights to being about slavery in the minds of the British. Once that happened, they stopped supporting the Confederates and it was only a matter of time. I see Bausch making some kind of fatal flaw that causes you to withdraw support at some point.

As for the comment about enough countries that hate Sarzonia, I'm playing Russert and Taylor out to be delusional. I'm also planning to play them out to have seriously underestimated Sarzonia's military.]

Aboard the Vincennes, Captain Marc Abelli sat in the ship's situation room with his first officer, Commander Alvin Reynolds and the two men had an animated conversation.

"I just got the report that Bausch is seceding from Sarzonia," Abelli said. "We're going to aim our long-range missiles at Nicksia's naval command center and demand concessions from Woodstock."

"Sir, with all due respect, you will never get the entire crew behind you on this," Reynolds said. "You will never get ME behind this."

"I'm the captain of this ship, I give the orders around here."

"You're going to have a mutiny on your hands faster than you can say 'that's an order,'" Reynolds said. "I doubt you could even get a skeleton crew to run this ship."

"We'll see."

Abelli turned on the ship wide intercom.

"All hands, this is the captain. The state of Bausch has seceded from Sarzonia. We are on the side of the Bauschians and we will act as their battleship. If you have a problem with that, too bad."

Before he knew it, Abelli was facing the very thing Reynolds warned him about: A full mutiny. And, much like Reynolds said, barely a skeleton crew remained aboard the Vincennes. But it belonged to the Bauschians. Abelli radioed Taylor.

"Splendid. Now let's radio Sarzo and order him to surrender or else."

Before they could open the channel, a gigantic ship appeared on the Vincennes' radar. The ship was named the Sarzo and it was the only Trimarian hulled ship in Sarzonia's navy, but it had been monitoring the communications of the ship and it had the defecting crew of the Vincennes aboard. It also had Navy Chief John Newman in command. He knew everything about the Vincennes, in particular, how to disable the ship. Two other battleships and the Carthage, an Alliance-class heavy cruiser, surrounded the Vincennes.

President of the Federation Colin Wixted was slowly rocking in his desk chair. It was a slow day. The only major issue of the day was deer overpopulation in Federales province. All of a sudden his Chief of Staff, Marc Waters, barges into the room.

"What the hell's happened Marc? This must be pretty damn important it looks like you just ran all the way from the Secretary of War's office."

"Colin, War just recieved a message from Sarzonia."

"What's Sarzo want now?"

"One of their states..." (lookes down at paper) "Bausch, ya thats right, just seceded from the Incorporated States of Sarzonia. Their looking for military aid to help them go after these bastards but nothing to large."

"Is their anything else?"

"Yes, according to Inteligence inside Sarzonia the rebels have taken a whole fleet of ships. Two Province-class cruisers, one Walmsley-class carrier, eight Province-class destroyers, and two Barracuda-class corvettes and the battleship Vincenss."

"Holy Shit!! Mary, get me on the phone with Sarzo right now. Marc bring all the Ministers in here right now."

"Yes Sir"

"Hey Mike. What the hell's going on. I just heared you had a state succede from Sarzonia. Do you have any more info? What they've captured what their strengths are anything you have. Oh and Mike are any more states going join Bausch?

Sarzo was pacing around his desk impatiently. He had too much on his plate and was desperate for a vacation, but his vacation quarters were in the renegade state that was seceding from Sarzonia.

He just received a text message on his phone that the tungsten rod launch and subsequent test worked well, then the Bat Phone rang.

"Sarzo."

He listened as Morathanian President Colin Wixted asked for information about the civil war.

"I just got word that another state rejected a vote to secede from Sarzonia, so it's just Bausch at the moment. They have a heavy coastline and there are two military bases, including a small naval yard in Townshend.

"All the ships except the Vincennes are designed by Isselmere-Nieland, so we know they're not going to be easy to tie down unless we overpower them with sheer numbers. The Vincennes is a guided missile battleship with a range of 600 nautical miles, so they can threaten Nicksia easily if they're not captured soon.

"Perhaps you could provide us with intelligence support against the rebels or provide us with supplies."

Sarzo was relieved that a country called to offer help, but he was about to contact Navy Chief John Newman aboard the Sarzo and have him impose a blockade against Bausch. He just hoped Bausch didn't have access to the artillery that could reach a naval blockade or destroyers that could sneak past a blockade.

Sir George Fredericks, Isselmere-Nieland's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, was enjoying a pleasant cup of tea on a blustery North Atlantic morning. "Wonderful tea today, Jenkins," Sir George averred with supreme satisfaction. "You ought to have some, what."

"Thank you, Sir George," answered the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, "but I think there are far more pressing matters than a cup of darjeeling."

"It's Scottish breakfast today, Jenkins."

"Sir George, the Sarzonians are in trouble," the Minister of State declared. "It seems that the state of Bausch is attempting to secede; you know, one south to the one with the Nicksia shipyards."

At that, Sir George lost his composure and much of his mouthful of tea. "Oh Hell," he exclaimed, his gaze switching between his elegant woollen pinstripe trousers and the ministry's fetching Persian rug, "that will be a right b*st**d to shift." Despite the pleasantries, however, Sir George's mind was up to the task. "Has either President Sarzo or the ambassador called for assistance, David?"

"No, Sir George," replied Jenkins, "but most of the rebel forces seem to be using ships from the Royal Shipyards."

"B*st**d and double-b*st**d!" Sir George leapt from his comfortable high-backed Hortensian chair and began pacing. "Get that daft prat Bullfinch on the line, see what he has to say for himself, David." The Minister marched stridently to his telephone and contacted his secretary. "Connie, get me the Prime Minister. We'll have to figure out something to say to the Sarzonian ambassador."

An devilish grin passed quickly over Jenkins's face. "What is it, David? You look as if you come up with some sort of scheme."

"Oh, no, Sir George," the junior minister replied. "I just stabbed myself with my pen."

-----

Your Excellency, President Sarzo,

On behalf of His Isselmerian and Nielander Majesty's Government, let me offer whatever assistance we might provide your glorious nation in this time of turmoil. We are greatly aggrieved to see our dear friends in such difficulty and are very concerned about protecting our mutual interests in the troubled region.

Sincerely yours,

The Rt. Hon. Oliver Yardmouth, MP, CS, RC
Prime Minister
UKIN


-----

After his short conversation with the Royal Shipyards' director-general, David Jenkins scuttled from the Ministry to his own offices on Tanner's Row. "Oswald," Jenkins said, motioning to his security advisor, "I have a big favour to ask of you."

"What is it, sir?"

"How would you like to help a coup?"

A look of weasel-like avarice spread across Oswald Cutter's visage. "Bausch?"

"Yes." It was pleasant when they were of like mind.

"Nicksia would be a lovely little jewel for the Crown."

"The King won't like it."

"Oh," sighed Cutter. "I think it just matters how gently it's placed."

[OOC: I didn't establish Nicksia as being part of Bausch; in fact, it's not part of Bausch at all. It's in the next state to the north of Bausch.]

Sarzo had been in the situation room for what seemed like an eternity when he emerged and sat down at his desk in his office. He was in discussions with Morathania about what role they could play in helping to handle the insurrection in Bausch when the Bat Phone rang.

"Wonder what this is?" Sarzo said, dreading what new round of news could be coming. Turns out the dread was unfounded.

The message from Yardmouth was relayed to Sarzo and he smiled slightly, in spite of the grave situation that presented itself.

"Bausch's drive for independence is not drawing much international support," Sarzo said to Senior Vice President for External Affairs Mark Lorber as he walked gingerly into the office.

"Sir, I think they were counting on more countries supporting them and forcing us to cede independence to them."

"You can bet that's what they were doing, Mark," Sarzo said. "I think they counted on a country like Doujin joining them and having a bunch of those Doujin-class ships imposing a blockade on Sarzonia. They seem to forget our membership in the Organization of Maritime Powers and the Coalition Forces Alliance means that several nations are probably going to be backing us."

"This situation has the chance to get ugly real fast," Lorber said. "If the international community gets in on this war, we could be seeing another World War."

"You're right Mark. Let's hope it doesn't come down to that."

Sarzo walked back to the situation room, where he got on the phone with the naval command in Nicksia.

"Where's John?"

"He's aboard the Sarzo Mr. President."

"What?!"

"He took command of the ship himself since the Vincennes fell into rebel hands."

Sarzo punched the back of the seat where he sat and conducted most of the military situation meetings. Newman was specifically ordered not to assume command of any ships unless Sarzo or Senior Vice President for Internal Affairs Nicole Lewis authorized it.

"Sir, he was under orders by Lewis."

Sarzo's angry countenance took on a more puzzled look. "Why would he want to assume command of a ship, even if it is the most powerful one in the entire navy?" Sarzo puzzled to himself. He had the communications officer patch him through to the Sarzo's bridge.

"Newman."

"John, this is Mike. What the Hell are you doing on that bridge?"

"Sir, the Vincennes has trained its missiles on the shipyard in Nicksia. Patinkin is delayed by the deployment of the satellites so I assumed command after Senior Vice President Lewis authorized me to do so."

Sarzo sighed. "When you get the Vincennes under our control, I want you to head straight back to the naval command center."

"I plan to leave right now, sir. Admiral Patinkin is already here."

Sarzo sighed with relief. Patinkin was bringing three aircraft carrier battlegroups with him, including the new Royal Holly-class supercarrier from the Royal Shipyards and more ships were on the way to impose the naval blockade on Bausch.

"Coordinate with General Taylor Wallace on the plans for an invasion of Bausch," Sarzo said.

"Sir, won't that take too long and cost too many lives?"

"We don't want to completely destroy Townshend or any part of Bausch if we don't have to. Remember, they're still part of Sarzonia, or we expect them to be.

"Look, I know this is an ugly situation. It will probably be brother against brother. Civil wars are the ugliest to fight, but we're going to have to make sure that our country can endure the trials and tribulations of this and any other kind of war."

"I suppose you're right Mr. President." Newman could easily have called Sarzo by his first name, but under the circumstances, protocol was the right way to go.

Sarzo slumped down into his chair and buried his face in his hands. This was the first time he really had to process everything that was happening with the civil war and he was fearing how many lives would be lost of Sarzonia's sons and daughters.

[OOC: I feel like a damn fool... :oops: I'll shut up now.]

[OOC: I feel like a damn fool... :oops: I'll shut up now.]

[OOC: Don't worry about it... a map by Holy Panooly would have helped as I'm not clever enough to create such a map.

As I like to say when stuff like that takes place, "sh*t happens." :D]

The Province-class cruiser Yorktown, which was the pride of Bausch's small fleet until the Vincennes fell into rebel hands, launched a barrage of missiles at the Carthage, but the anti-missile battery on the Carthage was more than up to the task, and the Iowa-class battleships shrugged off the missiles, as they didn't even penetrate the thick hulls of the ships.

The Carthage trained its 11-inch guns on the Yorktown and opened fire, the accurately-fired shells crashing into the hull of the overmatched ship. However, that action by the Yorktown gave the Vincennes an opening to make a break for it, but Captain Ayelli reacted too late. When the Yorktown's engines fell silent, the Iowa-class battleship Fleetwood took off in pursuit of the Vincennes.

"We're closing on the Vincennes, Captain."

"Good work lieutenant," Captain Ben Newman said. He was no relation to the Navy Chief, but the two could have been brothers or very close cousins. They both had similar mindsets about running a naval battle and Newman wanted to prove he and his crew were up to the task. He would soon have his opportunity.

The Vincennes fired more missiles at the Fleetwood, causing minor damage to the conn tower. Newman still decided he would bide his time until he got in point blank range. He wanted to capture the Vincennes and turn it into a bargaining chip that would help enforce the soon-to-come blockade. Suddenly, an explosion sounded off the starboard bow.

"Damage report?"

"We just lost two of our anti-aircraft turrets. Radar targeting is off line."

"We'll just have to aim manually."

"We can't keep running after them, sir. We've got to do something."

"We're almost there. Scanner, let us know when we're within the range I've specified."

"Thirty seconds, Captain."

Newman knew Ayelli's strong suit was the long-range bombardment and close-in engagements weren't his cup of tea. He also knew that his ship could cause severe damage to the Vincennes with those 16-inch turrets if he could only get them in range.

"Five seconds, sir."

"Aim for their engine and weapons systems ONLY," Newman said. "I don't want to destroy the ship. I want it back in Sarzonia's hands."

"Aye sir. Target acquired."

"We're in range, sir."

"Fire!"

The Fleetwood's guns roared to life and the massive 16 inch shells crashed into their target. The Vincennes could take a pounding from missiles and from guns fired by most ships, but even with the Fleetwood's targeting mechanism off line, the well-aimed shots hit the Vincennes at its Achilles heel.

The Vincennes began to wobble under the bombardment from the Fleetwood and the Sarzo quickly joined in with its 28 inch shells. The Vincennes wasn't built to withstand the massive fire from the Trimarian hulled ship and the shells crashed into the ship's engine room. The ship was soon rocked by two explosions, one in the engine room and one in the weapons storage room, leaving the ship dead in the water.

"Damage rep--!" Ayelli yelled. He couldn't finish his sentence as a bulkhead collapsed and knocked him down, crushing him. Lt. (jg.) Kenny Marchment was the lone senior officer left alive on the ship after the second explosion. He gave the order Ayelli told his crew never to give. He ordered the Bausch flag struck and the ship surrendered to the two Sarzonian battleships.

Patinkin looked out at Captain Newman with a smile as the two men went aboard the Vincennes to take the captain's sword from Lt. Marchment.

"At this rate, you'll be a Commodore before you know it Ben," Patinkin said.

In the Royal Nellisland Palace the current dictator of Nellisland, Nellis, was enjoying his usually breakfast of Cherrios and a banana when the his son, the secretary of defense, rushed into the room.

"Father!" he gasps! "We have recieved some very disturbing news! A state in Sarzonia has seceded!"

"Really!" said Nellis with a half smirk on his face a cherrio on the side of his cheek! "Which one?"

"Bausch..! What should we do?"

"Well, how is Sarzo planning on handling this?"

"Intelligence says he is planning on using force to take them out, but Bausch has taken many submarines."

"Hmmm. We may be able to capitilize on this! Here is what I want you to do! Send a telegram to Sarzo telling him that we wish the best of luck in this situation, but that we are staying nuetral! Then send Bausch a telegram telling them that we will supply them with anything that they need...for free!"

"Free! What are you planning...father?"

"Revenge, son, revenge! Now go and make them sound convincing!"

"Yes...father!"

"Oh! And tell the war board I will be gracing them with my presence later to discuss this situation!"

"Yes...father!"

He then ran out of the room and Nellis went back to eating his cherrios!

(OOC: Hey Sarzonia do you have a map!)

"Intelligence says he is planning on using force to take them out, but Bausch has taken many submarines."

[OOC: They actually haven't taken any subs... just surface ships. Though I'll give them a sub and an Appomattox-class destroyer that wreak serious havoc on the Sarzonian navy.

(OOC: Hey Sarzonia do you have a map!)

[OOC: No I don't. Unfortunately, I'm not clever enough to do a map; my creativity is limited to place names and somewhat limited to the names of people within my administration or in my military. Also, I gave the info to Holy Panooly, but he wasn't able to create a map for me since he was too busy with offline matters.

For the sake of this roleplay, Bausch is probably about the size of a combination of the Carolinas and Georgia. There's a river that almost splits the state in half.]

(OOC: Alright do can you give the names of the other states in your nation? I am going to have my leader try to start uprisings in other states. It will, of course be up to you if they do!

By the way this RP is coming along quite nicely and I am enjoying iy! Good Job! :D )

(OOC: Alright do can you give the names of the other states in your nation? I am going to have my leader try to start uprisings in other states. It will, of course be up to you if they do!

By the way this RP is coming along quite nicely and I am enjoying iy! Good Job! :D )

[OOC: I'll get that list to you later on, hopefully by tonight. Woodstock (my capital) is not part of any states (like D.C., but it has full voting rights UNLIKE D.C.)

Thanks for the comments about the RP! I realize I'd been spending more time on character development and dialog than I had been on action, so I wanted to add that element; plus, I wanted to give Sarzonia a "crisis" situation as more of a character-builder.

I've noticed that you have quite a bit of RP experience (or potential, if not experience), so I consider the comment a genuine compliment. :)]

(OOC: Alright do can you give the names of the other states in your nation? I am going to have my leader try to start uprisings in other states. It will, of course be up to you if they do!

[OOC: Here's the list, with mini-profiles for each:

States in Sarzonia:
Bausch: Attempting to secede. Capital and largest city is Townshend: Port city, very warm climate.
Syosset: Northernmost state. Capital is Saugerties. Largest city is Portsmouth. Cold winters; temperate summers.
Somerset: Smallest state, southeast of Syosset. Capital and largest city is Portland. Key port city.
Caroline: Southeast to south of Syosset. Mountainous state. Capital is Pensacola. Largest city is New Dover.
Chesapeake: Westernmost state. Heaviest concentration of forested land in the country. Capital is Randolph. Largest city is Ravenna.
Benatar: Manufacturing-heavy state immediately to the northeast of Bausch. Capital is Phoenix. Largest city (largest in Sarzonia) is Nicksia, which has the famed Nicksia Shipyards.
Newcastle: To the northwest of Bausch, this state contains the Wilmington Shipyards, which construct the Pasteur-class hospital ships and the Einstein-class scientific research vessels. The capital and largest city is Wilmington.
Fleetwood: This landlocked state borders Bausch to the north and is between Benatar and Newcastle. The state is known for being a mecca for the arts. The capital is Buckingham and the largest city is Greenville.
Evermore: This landlocked state is considered the heartland of
Sarzonia. Its land was ceded to form Woodstock in the Lorber Mountains.
Its capital is New Daurmont and the largest city is Plantsburg.
Cumberland: This state is to the immediate north of Evermore.
It contains some of the Lorber mountains and could be called "Sarzonia in Miniature." The capital is Wilson and the largest city is Lake McVie.
Henley: A western state that prides itself on being the intellectual center of Sarzonia, it contains the brand new location for the country's best university: Joe Gibbs University. The capital is Frye and the largest city is New Lincoln, which would become THE big tourist destination if Bausch secedes from Sarzonia.
Cooke: To the immediate northwest of Henley, this is where the well-to-do of Sarzonia frequently call home. It has the most lenient tax system in all of Sarzonia, though that's not saying much. Its capital and largest city is Rypien.
New Cuba: A sizable Spanish-speaking minority resides here in this eastern state. The official language of Sarzonia is English, and all official business is conducted in English, but Spanish speakers can ease their way into the language here. The capital and largest city is Havana.
Lorber: A significant Jewish minority resides in this western state. Jewish culture is revered here, even by non-Jews. The capital is Galilee and the largest city is New Jerusalem.
Salisbury: This tiny state split from Bausch three weeks before the secession vote. It contained much of the would-be country's arms manufacturing industry and now that it's a state, it's the third largest arms manufacturing state in the country. Its capital is Yasgur and its largest city is Wicomico.
Winona: A farm heavy state with the best climate in all of Sarzonia, this state produces many of Sarzonia's export products. Its capital is Stillwater and its largest city is Winona City.
Frederick: This state has the most inhospitable landscape in Sarzonia, but it contains a rich uranium deposit and much of Sarzonia's oil. The capital is Hagerstown and the largest city is Lexington.
Montgomery: This state has by far the most rain of any state in Sarzonia. It contains the largest jungle in Sarzonia and the rainforest is fiercely defended by its people. The capital is Monterrey, and its largest city is Largent.
Orleans: Another state that's known for its inhospitable landscape, this state doesn't have much going for it except for modern building construction. Its capital is Saratoga and its largest city is Helena.
Truxtun: This state is to the far northwest of Sarzonia and it has tiny seaports that are waiting for a "gold rush" moment to develop them. Its capital and largest city is Tacoma.
Endymion:: Contains the state's historical artifacts and is an intellectual haven that rivals Henley's. Museums are popular tourist destinations in Sarzonia. The capital is Phoebus and the largest city is Carthage.
New Isselmere: Before Salisbury, this state was the newest in Sarzonia that came on land that was settled most recently. The state was named in honor of Sarzonia's staunchest allies. The state's capital is Rexburg and its largest city is Galveston.
Woodstock: Not a state, but noted separately since it has full representation in Parliament. The capital has arguably the best venue for the performing arts in all of Sarzonia: The Max Yasgur Center. Besides politicos, scientists often flock to Sarzonia's capital. Embassy Cove is in the safest section in a remarkably safe country.]

Governor Markham was pacing in his mansion. The reports going out to the Bauschian media were misleading and he knew it.

The media was eating up stories from the military about the rest of Sarzonia not having the stomach for a civil war that would cost them the lives of some of their brethren. They were eating up stories of the Yorktown and the Vincennes wreaking havoc on Sarzonia's navy. However, only Markham and his two co-conspirators knew the real truth.

The war wasn't going well. Sarzonia's navy had yet to establish a formal blockade, but the Vincennes was back in Sarzonian hands and the Yorktown was undergoing massive repairs. The army had been having marginal success at best, but only because they were defending their homes against people from far reaches of Sarzonia, and the Bauschian militia was training for months specifically for a civil war.

Markham's phone rang and he picked it up. Lord General Isalis Guerra of Emasculata was on the phone. [OOC: Emasculata is my puppet country. They will be openly supporting Bausch's civil war.]

"I apologize for not getting back in touch with you sooner Governor Markham," Guerra said in heavily accented, though perfect, English. "Events in my country prevented me from contacting you sooner. We would like to help you."

"We would appreciate it," Markham said. "The war's not going very well, to be honest. Their navy is beating ours left and right. The only reason we're winning on the ground is we have better troops, but we'll be outnumbered before long. We only have Nellisland supporting us. They've been a big help, but we need a lot more."

"I see," Guerra said thoughtfully. "Tell you what, we'll declare war on Sarzonia and we'll force them to negotiate for you to be a free country. They can't handle a war on two fronts, now can they?"

Markham quickly said no, but he realized Emasculata's strength was on the ground. But they had to get there. Their navy was no match for Sarzonia's but having two, and possibly three navies going against Sarzonia's was their best chance.

The two leaders commisserated and worked out minute details, then hung up the phone. Guerra thought to himself and realized that if the war ended too soon, he would be overmatched against an angry Sarzonia. He had to hope his forces could get there and launch the invasion of Benatar. Otherwise, there wasn't much of a chance of winning, even if it were three countries against Sarzonia. He had his spies find out Sarzonia's full military and realized what Sarzonia's strengths were.

In the War Board Room:

(The war board is a bunch of high-up leaders in Nellisland's government who meet to discuss matters of importance. This group is completly known to almost no one)

In the War Board room the members are sitting around a round table that looks like it could seat five people. One spot is empty. They are all conversing with each other when the door slams open.

"Hello, everbody!" said Nellis as he bursts into the room with that cheerio still hanging on his cheek.

"Good day sir!" said all four members as they stood up and saluted there grand leader.

As Nellis begins to sits in the empty seat he says, "I bet that everyone in this room is wondering why I called you here today. Well there is a major crisis in Sarzonia!" he snickers. "... and I want to capitilize on it!"

"What has happened?!" said a tall, broad shouldered man by the name of Jeff Johnson. He is the leader of the Nellisland navy and highly decerated man.

"The state of Bausch has seceded from Sarzonia and Sarzo has decided to use force to get them back."

"Whats your plan for this?" said a tiny man wearing a standard Nellisland uniform. This was the leader of Nellisland army and he went by the name Flash Johnson.

"Well I have already sent a telegram to that fool Sarzo (OOC:offense) that we wish them the best of luck and that we plan to stay out of this entirly. Then I had telegram sent to Bausch telling them that we would supply them with any weapons that they required. Now I called you all here because I want to cause more havoc in Sarzonia so that we may capitilize on it!"

"Father are you use that you want to betray Sarzonia like this..." said the fourth member of the war board, Nellis's son.

Nellis slams his fist into the table and causes it to crack and knocks Flash out of his seat. "Your darn right I want to!" said Nellis. "...and I have the perfect plan. Explain it to them Connie.

A gorgesous woman arose out of her seat. Her name was Connie Nellis and she was the daughter of Nellis and secratary of attack. "We have been conducting research on the other states in Sarzonia and we are going to try and get them to secede too!:

"But how?" asked Jeff.

Nellis rose out of his seat and said, "Do remember those special forces we purchased from Muktar? We are going to use them to spread propaganda and some other shady stuff. They have all been given fake identification and there jobs. They are already there!"

"All hundred of them!" said Flash

"Yes! All of them" exclaimed Nellis.

"I have printed out sheets that detail where each of the special forces are going and what is the plan there." See hands out the sheets and the members begin reading them.

"Everyone I have other matters to deal with today and I am sure that you do to so I want all of you to come back tommorow and we will discuss this some more!."

Everyone gets up and leaves!

(Following information is secret)

This is the contents of the sheet that Connie handed out:

Bausch: Has already seceded from Sarzonia so no special forces has been sent

Syosset: Five of the special forces have been there to stir up the populace into seceding.

Somerset: Because this is a key port town. Ten of the special forces have been sent to Portland to attempt uprising by making false promises to the populace. These will include lower taxes, more support from government for fisherman, and better supplied equipment.

Caroline: Only two have been sent here to start uprisings. No a key state!

Chesapeake: Five special forced have been sent here to start rumors that the government is thinking about cutting the forest and putting millions out of work.

Benatar: Six SP's (got tried of typing special forces) have been sent here to promise better working conditions and lower taxes if they secede and join Bausch.

Newcastle: Ten SP's have been sent here to hijack some of the Eintein-class scientific research vessels.

Fleetwood: Five SP's have been sent to start rumors that the government is planning on closesing down some of the art programs so that they can have a stratigical place to attack Bausch. They are also promising that Bausch will protect them.

Evermore: This area is the heartland of Sarzonia and would hurt moral badly if seceded. Five SP's have been sent to start propaganda.

Cumberland: Only two have been sent here to start propaganda.

Henley: Five SP's have been sent to Joe Gibbs University to get the students enrolled there to begin protesting the government. They have been told to promise them anything.

Cooke: Ten SP's are in this region to tell the "well-to-do" people that Sarzo is planning on rising taxes for the wealthy and that if they secede that Bausch will make taxes very low.

New Cuba: Five SP's have been sent here to tell the people that Sarzo is taking away there culture by making them conduct business in English. Promise ethnic freedoms if they secede.

Lorber: Only two SP's have sent here to start propaganda. Not a very important location.

Salisbury: Five SP's are in the region to tell them that Bausch really needs there help. They were united once before and they can be again. Promise that they will be taken care of and respected if they secede. Also tell that that Sarzo is planning on taking the arms manufacturing companies, which employ many people, and making strictly governmeht run.

Winona: Five SP's have been sent to promise better pay from government, if they secede, to supply crops to other nations. They will also promise to lower taxes and support the farmers in the region.

Frederick: This one is tricky. Ten SP's have been sent here to do two jobs. 1) Try to get the state to secede/protest the government by telling them that Sarzo is going to raise taxes on oil and is going to cut down on production. Also tell the people whop work in the Uraniuam mines that they will be given better working conditions if they secede and join Bausch. 2) If the SP's don't think that they can get the state to secede then have been given orders to set the oil plants on fire and make there be evidence that Bausch did it.

Montgomery: Five have been sent here to start rumors that the government is going to cut down the forest for materials. Hopefully the people will rebel against this idea aand join Bausch.

Orleans: None have been sent here.

Truxtun: None have been sent here.

Endymion: Three SP's have been sent just to start proganda. It would be a hurt to Sarzonia if they seceded, moral wise.

New Isselmere: None have been sent here.

The Special Forces have been higly trained in many things. They are good at what they do and they will do there best to accomplish there given mission. They have been given false identification so no one will suspect them.

(OOC: Have fun with this one SArzonia :wink: )

Lord General Guerra called in his youngest son, Lt. General Emilio Guerra. This would be the lad's first major military assignment, but Guerra didn't want to risk his eldest son, Emasculata's best general against Sarzonia if he didn't have to. [OOC: This will be typed in English, though the conversation is conducted in Spanish.]

"Father, what brings me here?"

"Your assignment, my boy, is to invade Benatar and attempt to take it by force. Your cousin, Major General Enrique Gonzalez will attempt to re-take Salisbury and re-unite it with Bausch."

"But father!"

"You know better, my son!" the Lord General exclaimed haughtily. "When I give a command, you follow it, no questions asked. Comprendes?"

"Lo comprendo."

"Good. Now get to it!"

The assault ships departed Emasculata City's harbor three hours later in a direct course for Sarzonia. If they were able to get a foothold into the country, they could force Sarzo's hand and pry Bausch from the Sarzonians. Little did anyone, even Emilio Guerra himself, know that the Lord General was planning to take Bausch for himself and then use it as a springboard to conquer Sarzonia.

Lord General Guerra laughed maniacally. His visions of conquering territory and ruling it with his infamous iron fist were beginning to take shape.

[OOC: Before anyone cries n00b, this is Sarzonia using my puppet country to war against Sarzonia. If this isn't supposed to happen in the NS world, let me know if I need to edit it.]

"Well I have already sent a telegram to that fool Sarzo (OOC:offense)

[OOC: I assume you mean "no offense." I took it as referring to the character, not the person, so I didn't take it as such.

Also, I'll do a response to your attempted insurgency later. Probably some intense fighting in other parts of the country, but I don't think you'll have much luck. Anyway, it will play out when I write it up, so I don't even know yet how it's going to turn out.]

Benatar: Six SP's (got tried of typing special forces) have been sent here to promise better working conditions and lower taxes if they secede and join Bausch.

[OOC: Probably the most important "get" among the states.]

New Cuba: Five SP's have been sent here to tell the people that Sarzo is taking away there culture by making them conduct business in English. Promise ethnic freedoms if they secede.

[OOC: I don't think the New Cubans will buy that. But it will be fun to play it out no matter what direction I take it in.]

Lorber: Only two SP's have sent here to start propaganda. Not a very important location.

[OOC: I'd think you'd salivate at conquering that state personally, but then again...]

Salisbury: Five SP's are in the region to tell them that Bausch really needs there help. They were united once before and they can be again. Promise that they will be taken care of and respected if they secede. Also tell that that Sarzo is planning on taking the arms manufacturing companies, which employ many people, and making strictly governmeht run.

[OOC: I based Salisbury's break from Bausch on West Virginia's reasons for breaking away from Virginia during the Civil War. There's no love lost between the two states.]

Frederick: This one is tricky. Ten SP's have been sent here to do two jobs. 1) Try to get the state to secede/protest the government by telling them that Sarzo is going to raise taxes on oil and is going to cut down on production. Also tell the people whop work in the Uraniuam mines that they will be given better working conditions if they secede and join Bausch. 2) If the SP's don't think that they can get the state to secede then have been given orders to set the oil plants on fire and make there be evidence that Bausch did it.

[OOC: That may be the fatal flaw I need to turn the tide of international support completely against Bausch.]

The Special Forces have been higly trained in many things. They are good at what they do and they will do there best to accomplish there given mission. They have been given false identification so no one will suspect them.

(OOC: Have fun with this one SArzonia :wink: )[/quote]

[OOC: This should be fascinating.]

(OOC: I did mean no offense. Sorry! Also about Lorber I am trying not to use my religion in my RPing any more since it caused me to go to war with Killjew. Even though he was a jerk and it is kind of the reason I have a grudge against you. LOL.)

OOC: Sorry for not posting, I've been busy lately. I will probably post something tomorrow, if not today.

(OOC: I did mean no offense. Sorry! Also about Lorber I am trying not to use my religion in my RPing any more since it caused me to go to war with Killjew. Even though he was a jerk and it is kind of the reason I have a grudge against you. LOL.)

[OOC: If you had role-played the negotiations with KillJew and you weren't a dictatorship (well, if you were no worse than a Father Knows Best State or a Benevolent Dictatorship), I would never have imposed sanctions on you. P.S. I lifted those sanctions permanently after you provided intelligence against Holy Panooly. The thread just sunk out of view like a stone.

I figured you meant "no offense" and that it was intended to refer to the character, so no offense was taken. :)]

Sarzonian forces around Nicksia's famed shipyards suddenly heard alarms. There was an uprising in a suburb of Nicksia and people took to the streets in an effort to take over the government of Benatar. The fighting was intense and the civilians taking up arms against the government got the better hand early because the military forces around the shipyards weren't ready for an uprising. However, state milita quickly arrived on the scene thanks to Benatar's lieutenant governor, who quickly ordered the milita to the scene.

The battle took four hours, but finally, the area around the shipyards was secured in spite of heavy casualties. However, two of them included both sons of General Harry Bryson. The general's older son, William, was among the rebelling forces, while the younger child, Charlie, was among the national guard. The worst tragedy of the fight was that each brother shot the other.

Meanwhile, another fierce battle took place in Somerset as a batallion of civilian-clad forces marched on Portland. However, their armaments and style of marching suggested that they were anything but civilians. They began to fire their smerches and other artillery at the town. However, before the bombardment began, former intelligence chief Brian Manley called the state's milita and warned them of the impending attack. As a result, the state's milita approached.

Lt. Colonel John Patinkin (the eldest son of Rear Admiral Marcus Patinkin) ordered a small unit to break off from General Harold Tunney's forces to ambus the civilian-clad attackers. The ploy worked to perfection, as the enemy quickly fell into disorganized chaos. Then, General Tunney's well-armed forces set upon the scene and fired. After one bloody hour, the milita forced the surrender of the rebel forces.

On the idyllic campus of Joe Gibbs University, a crowd of students assembled outside the student union chanting in protest. The special forces units had convinced some of the students who probably shouldn't have been admitted to the school to stage an uprising. Area police responded slowly; by the time they arrived, a full scale riot erupted on the normally peaceful campus. After 40 minutes, order was restored, but not before six students and two police officers were killed.

In Newcastle, a combination of Nellisland's special forces and Emasculata's invasion forces ambushed the production plant that produced the Einstein-class science ships. The ambush resulted in five hours of fierce fighting, but again, Manley's phone call to the army unit stationed nearby prevented a disaster. The unit led by General Lane Charlton surrounded the invading forces and the insurgent civilians, forcing the civilians to surrender and Emasculata's forces to retreat to their ships.

In Salisbury, a civilian-clad Nellisland operative attempted to talk to a civilian named Jerre' Clayton to convince her to contact the government to get them to rejoin Bausch. However, she laughed and pulled out her cell phone and called the police. She fired a punch that caught the Nellisland operative by surprise.

"You're forgetting one thing Tom," she said, calling the operative by the fake name he'd given her. "We broke away from Bausch for a reason." She kneed him in the groin and hit him in the face with pepper spray. The authorities nabbed him and brought him in for questioning.

[OOC: Under Sarzonian law, torture is illegal during peacetime, but when there's a state of war, the Constitution is suspended, and that includes prohibition of torture. So your boy is getting the snot beat out of him if he doesn't talk.

I'll do Frederick's action later because I want that to be the turning point in the war when Bausch commits its fatal error.]

Opps double post!

The following telegram is secret:

Dear Bausch,

The nation of Nellisland has purchased the following items and they are en route:

1000: United Air Corporation's Sleeper (fighter plane)

11: CVN-29 Frisk (aircraft carriers)

10: Gold Fish Class SSN (submarines)

Production Rights: Tribal Tracked Infantry Vehicle (tank)

10,000: Almond Joys (machine guns)

Use these to destroy those damn Sarzonians!

Best Wished,

Nellis

Go to this site for the weapons that I purchased!
http://s7.invisionfree.com/Witzgallian_Armory/index.php?

(OOC: I have a couple of things I want to say:

1) My SP's won't talk! I have been promised by there creater!

2) About me blowing up the oil fields and blaming Bausch. I am trying to create havoc in your nation. I am not partial to either side!

Also I just letting you know that I am planning on changing my entire government system. (dictator to democracy) And I am going to have my leader do some really stupid and crazy stuff and then the people will get rid of him. One of those things is this situation.)

Also I just letting you know that I am planning on changing my entire government system. (dictator to democracy) And I am going to have my leader do some really stupid and crazy stuff and then the people will get rid of him. One of those things is this situation.)

[OOC: I'm not sure if NationStates will allow you to change it, or it may be very hard to do so. I think I only got one issue that might have allowed for such a change in all the times I had issues pertaining to Emasculata. The best I've been able to do is get it from Psychotic Dictatorship to Father Knows Best State. Then again, I'm still not entirely familiar with the machinations of NS.

I think the oilfields will be one situation that turns the tide against Bausch. The other, and this will galvanize Sarzonians against Bausch, is that Bausch's governor will make some off-hand remark against gays. Sarzo will jump all over that remark and make a speech to the world that Bausch is about discrimination.]

TOP SECRET!
CODE Z(The highest on the secrecy code in Red Tide)
To:The comrades in Bausch
From: The Peoples Republic of Red Tide
We have just started too rebuild from the nuclear catatrophe that had hit us several years ago... HOWEVER! Our arms industry has already produced large quantitys of weapons. Sure they are old Soviet weapons dating back too Vietnam... but we have large amounts of excess weapons. So in exchange for 500,000 Rubels, comrades, we will supply you with whatever of the following weapons you ask for: RPG-8Vs, T-62 MBTs, AK-47, PT-67 LBTs, MIG-17s, a few MIG-21s, RPD mahine guns, SA-7 Hand Held SAMs, BM-21 MLRSs, and M-91/30 Sniper Rifles.
END MESSAGE

TOP SECRET!
CODE Z(The highest on the secrecy code in Red Tide)
To:The comrades in Bausch
From: The Peoples Republic of Red Tide
We have just started too rebuild from the nuclear catatrophe that had hit us several years ago... HOWEVER! Our arms industry has already produced large quantitys of weapons. Sure they are old Soviet weapons dating back too Vietnam... but we have large amounts of excess weapons. So in exchange for 500,000 Rubels, comrades, we will supply you with whatever of the following weapons you ask for: RPG-8Vs, T-62 MBTs, AK-47, PT-67 LBTs, MIG-17s, a few MIG-21s, RPD mahine guns, SA-7 Hand Held SAMs, BM-21 MLRSs, and M-91/30 Sniper Rifles.
END MESSAGE

[OOC: This role play is by invite only. You weren't invited.]

President of the Federation Colin Wixted ran into his office. Exhausted from long hours of traveling, he had just come back from visiting the Republic of Eredron. The civil war in Sarzonia had been on his mind for the whole trip. He decided to let the issue sit until after the summit. He quickly called his secretary.
"Get Mike Sarzo on the phone immediatly. I need to speak to him."
"Right away sir."
The phone began to ring.
"Sarzo"
"This is Colin. Sorry I haven't been able to stay in contact I was on an imporatant summit trip to Eredron. Mike I need an update. What the hells going on I heard that your country has gone to hell in a handbasket. Also the Morathanian parliament just passed a resolution stating that I can use any means nessesary to help Sarzonia destroy these rebels. What do you want I can send men, ships planes, money you name it you got it."

"This is Colin. Sorry I haven't been able to stay in contact I was on an imporatant summit trip to Eredron. Mike I need an update. What the hells going on I heard that your country has gone to hell in a handbasket. Also the Morathanian parliament just passed a resolution stating that I can use any means nessesary to help Sarzonia destroy these rebels. What do you want I can send men, ships planes, money you name it you got it."

Sarzo stopped pacing his office in the Gray House long enough to field the call from President Wixted.

"Colin, you're absolutely right. The war isn't going well. Many of the ships in our navy have been in reserve so long that we really haven't been able to send much more than a small squadron for a blockade. I'm in the middle of sending an executive order to call up all the reserves so we can impose a proper blockade.

"We'll take whatever we can get to help put down this rebellion. We'll need troops, fighter jets and ships. We have to get a blockade going and we have to get some ground victories. Our army isn't exactly distinguishing itself in Bauschian territory."

Becky finally brought the executive order to Sarzo's desk while he was explaining the situation to Wixted. When it appeared in front of him, he scrawled his signature.

He looked at Becky and mouthed the words, "prepare a statement for me to give to Parliament about this." He then turned back to the phone and spoke, this time to Wixted.

"We greatly appreciate whatever assistance you can provide us. We will be eternally grateful for your help."

[OOC: CP- Conservative Party of Morathania (Current Majority Party), MLP- Morathanian Libertarian Party(Major Oppostition Party), SDP- Social Democratic Party of Morathania (Minor Oppostition party), CDP- Christian Democratic Party of Morathania (Very Small centrist party) All of Parliament consists of 525 members.]

Debates had been going on for hours in the joint session of Parliament. Although they had passed a resolution pledging their support to loyal Sarzonian forces the Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate were undecided on what sort of action to take.
"We can't leave our Sarzonian allies with no aid; We must send the military in to resolve the problem. It would be a desgrace for Morathania to do nothing for the Sarzonian people," said Rupert Daniels (CP-Ruthenia)
Senator Dougals Fairbanks (MLP- Hamilton) rises and calls out to the members of Parliament:
"We cannot stand behind this military adventurism. Sarzonia is our ally but this is an internal affair that doesn not demand the attention of the military. This administration has been throwing its military muscle around in situations where we are not needed."
President of the Senate (OOC: Leader of the majority party elected by the Senate) Sen. Paul Fairfield (CP- Reginia):
"Well, Mr. Fairbanks, what would you like to do?"
"Send aid, send money, send them a couple of destroyers they can use but don't get our fighting boys in this."
Rep. Chris Charles (SDP- Kingsland): "I agree with Sen. Fairbanks. We can help these people without sending our boys into harms way."
"I can't believe some of you would believe that," said Rep. Kristol (CDP- Ruthenia),"we must help an ally in need. The ally I might add that was the first to embargo Arbra and Artitsa after the Feazanthia incident and a close trading partner. I hope that we see the light and decided to help out a fellow nation and send the military into the civil war."
"I demand we go to vote," said an anonymous member of the house.
Calls of "I second that motion," were heard around the floor.
"We will begin a vote," declared President of the Senate Fairfield.
After 2 hours of voting and counting the vote was finally tallied.

Resolution 983: Should the government of Morathania allow the deploment of troops to give assistance to the loyal government of Sarzonia?
For: 302
Against: 218
Abstain: 5

84% of the CP voted for deploment 78% of the CDP voted for deploment, 12% of the SDP voted for deploment and 41% of the MLP voted for deploment.

<Message to Sarzonia Military Command>
Sarzonian Military Command this is the Morathanian High Command. We have recieved authorization to send as many military units as needed. Since your fleets have seemed to be the worst hit we are sending the 2nd Fleet into Sarzonian waters.
Units in Second Fleet:
1 Nimitz Class Carrier
2 Charles De Gaulle Class Escort Carriers
3 Kirov Class Cruisers
4 Ticonderoga II Class Cruisers
6 Arleigh Bruke Class Destroyers
10 Oliver Hazard Perry Frigates
Also we are sending in 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force (A Rapid Deploment Strike Force) and the 102nd Helocopter Strike Group.
Units in 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force (7500 men):
50 CH-47 Chinook
35 C-5 Galaxys
20 C-141 Starlifter
150 HMMWV-M707 Striker/Knight
25 M1A2 Abrams
25 Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank
30 Crusader Artillery
Units in 102nd Helocopter Stike Group(300 men and support personnel):
10 AH-64 Apaches
10 RAH-66 Comanches
14 H-53 Sikorskys
10 MH-60 Multi-Mission/ Special Operation Black Hawk
These units will arive within the week. We will notify you when they arrive.
<End Transmission>

To: President Mike Sarzo, I.S. of Sarzonia
From: Sir George Fredericks, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, UKIN
Subject: Offer to further secure the Nicksia Shipyards

Your Supreme Excellency,

Owing to concerns expressed within the Isselmere-Nielander Parliament regarding the security of our mutual interests in Benatar, in particular the Nicksia Shipyards, His Majesty's Government would like to send a reinforced motorised infantry battalion to the area (about 1,000 soldiers, with infantry arriving by air and vehicles to follow), with your permission. The Government would also like to send one carrier strike group to the region to assist with your blockade of the insurgent state(s).

I hope we can assist your Supreme Excellency in bringing this to a speedy and favourable conclusion.

Sincerely,

The Rt. Hon. Sir Thomas Bullfinch, KL, MP, CS, RC
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development
UKIN

[OOC: The following telegram went out in secret to both Colin Wixted, President of Morathania and Sir George Fredericks, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development of Isselmere-Nieland.]

Gentlemen: I am most grateful to be able to send this telegram to both of you. We sincerely appreciate the support that your fine nations are providing us in this most terrible civil war we are fighting.

We grant you permission to provide military support to stand alongside loyal Sarzonian forces, both to support Sarzonia and to protect your interests. We trust that your help will enable us to prevail in this bitter conflict.

Sincerely,

Mike Sarzo
President
Incorporated States of Sarzonia

(OOC: Since you guys are getting militarly involved may I rally some support from my allies and do the same thing? I am only asking because we decided that no outside nations were going to get militarly involved. Don't get me wrong! I have no problem with it. But I think that Bausch shouldn't have a three on one situation. The nations that I plan on rallying are in my region.

Also I think that this war should stay in Sarzonia and not have anyone attack anyone else. Basically because I don't want to have a full scale war before I can set up my new government and stuff.

One more thing. Sarzonia I know that I can't change my government system on the nation screen but I can RP that it is different and just wait for the oppurtunity to change it on the screen.)

OOC: I think getting third parties involved, no matter if their an ally or anything, is a sure path to confusion. As it says this is a closed RP you shouldn't just go and get your friends involved in this. Anyway Isselmere is only giving 1,000 soldiers to the fight so it is basically me and Sarzonia, although my force is only about 10,500 men. If a nation is invited into here by Sarzonia that wants to support Bausch it can. I, and I thnk Sarzonia, do not want third parties brought into here by certain nations.

(OOC: Since you guys are getting militarly involved may I rally some support from my allies and do the same thing? I am only asking because we decided that no outside nations were going to get militarly involved. Don't get me wrong! I have no problem with it. But I think that Bausch shouldn't have a three on one situation. The nations that I plan on rallying are in my region.

[OOC: I see where you're going with it, but it's not a three-on-one situation. Right now, it's Bausch (considering them an independent country for the sake of argument), you and Emasculata (my puppet, which I'm roleplaying as hostile toward Sarzonia) vs. Sarzonia, Morathania, and Isselmere-Nieland. Frankly, I don't want any more countries involved in it (besides Granzi, whom I already invited). Then it just gets unmanageable.

I put Invite Only on the thread so that other countries wouldn't take the opportunity to launch nukes *cough* Arba and Artista *cough* and other countries wouldn't try to barge in and force me to surrender Bausch when I'm doing what I think is a good roleplay (like if Automagfreek decided he wanted to intervene). Not saying he would have, but I'll use that as an example because I wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in the equator of beating AMF in a war, even if it were one-on-one.]

[OOC: I've only sent one reinforced battalion that will protect my and Sarzonia's joint interests at the Nicksia Shipyards and I am sending a carrier strike group to the area, which will take a while to get there, to support Sarzonia's blockade. Though my Parliament will want to send larger forces, economically it will be impossible. Unless I read, "X is going through the UKIN zone of patrol" and I have a reasonable IC chance of detecting it, my ships will just maintain station. As far as I'm aware IC, Sarzonia is in a state of insurrection and that no foreign aggressors are involved.]

~Secret Transmission to Sarzonia~

To President Sarzo:

The Commonwealth had planned to aid your nation in this thime of need. We do not wish Sarzonia to be split in any way and you have our fullest support. However, a full-blown situation has erupted in the north Indian Ocean that demads our full attantion. The Daylam Conflict has spread to the sea, and many new nations have become involved. We regret to you that Granzian forces will be unable to participate in this war, and offer our sincere apologies. We are, however, willing to donate $40 billion USD to your cause. We wish more could be done, but unfortunantly, is impossible.

Yours in the struggle,
Prime Minister Bolash

~End Transmission~

Governor Mark Thompson sat in his office in the Governor's Palace and shook his head in disbelief. The Speaker of the House of Representatives just approached him and announced that they would bring a motion to secede from Sarzonia.

"Are you kidding?" Thompson snapped. "Public opinion here is strongly against the war, but people in the polls I've seen are adamant about not seceding."

"I realize that," House Speaker Terry Bender said, but there's word that the government will cut oil production and raise taxes again. Bausch is also telling our factory workers that they'll have better working conditions if we join Bausch in the war effort."

"That's a bunch of hooey!" Thompson said. "There's no way you'll get me on board with this."

"We're going to vote on this today," Bender said. "If you want any say in it, you'd better come to the State Capitol.

Thompson snarled and realized he didn't have time to prepare a speech. He had to hurry down the gubernatorial tunnel toward the State House if he wanted to have even a slight chance of influencing the outcome. If he were going to speak, it would have to be completely impromptu.

Five minutes later, he arrived at the traditional seat for the governor to give the state of the state address. He realized that the debate was continuing to rage, and from the looks of it, secession was winning out in spite of the public opinion polls that were strongly against it. That, and the governor's own determination not to join the miscreant Bausch government. Thompson realized he had one card to play, and he decided now was the time to play it. He invoked a rarely-used rule that allowed the governor to silence debate and make a speech. It was only to be used in a dire emergency, particularly if the central government weren't immediately able to respond to a crisis in the state.

"By the powers vested in my in accordance with Article XVI, Section 4, Clause B, I am calling an end to the debate on the floor," Thompson said to gasps in the Legislature Hall.

"Many of you have heard various rumors about Woodstock's intentions with regard to our oil refineries. Much of what I have heard here thus far is, quite frankly, hideous from a bunch of people who were entrusted by the people to represent them here in Hagerstown. You all should be ashamed of yourselves.

"The rumors of a drop in oil production are patently untrue, as are the plans for increased taxes. I just spoke with President Sarzo and he denied those were even in discussion in Woodstock. He just told me that we have just received $40 billion from Granzi to support the war effort. I don't think we'll need to raise taxes anytime soon."

A collective sigh of relief nestled through the air in the Legislature Hall.

"We are sitting at a crossroads in our history," Thompson said. "If we side with the forces of discrimination, we risk painting ourselves with a dark brush that will permanently sully our legacies as lawmakers and as people. If we side with freedom and equality, we will be on the right side of history. Bausch can't do anything for us. Sarzonia can. Bear that in mind when you cast your votes."

The vote began, and after three hours of counting the ballots, a grim-faced Bender strode to the podium.

"By a vote of 74-58, the Legislature votes against secession. A vote to re-affirm our solidarity with Sarzonia passed by a vote of 69-63. Frederick remains a part of Sarzonia."

Ten minutes later, an explosion rocked a town just 10 minutes to the south of Lexington. The Hogg Refinery, the oldest in all of Sarzonia exploded, sending the Frederick milita and representatives from the Lexington police to investigate. Several days later, the investigations pointed to a set of explosives manufactured in Bausch.

The news spread through Sarzonia like wildfire, and within days, public opinion polls completely reversed. Whereas 52 percent of Sarzonians opposed the civil war, even if it meant letting Bausch become an independent country just two days before the vote in Frederick, the latest polls indicated that 63 percent of Sarzonians wanted to continue the war.

Governor Markham was preparing for a speech to the Bauschian people in an effort to encourage them to continue fighting in the face of the latest announcements of support from Isselmere and Morathania. One of his advisors handed him a note announcing that Frederick voted to remain part of Sarzonia. Markham didn't realize the camera was on and recording him.

"That fag Thompson strikes again," [OOC: This comment is an integral part of the storyline and is the belief of this character. I personally do not endorse the use of this language.] Markham sneered as he talked to his national security advisor. "We don't need those numbnuts anyway." Something caught Markham's eye as he made that last statement, and he realized the cameras were rolling. He tried to get the tape destroyed, but it was too late. Within minutes the footage was all over Sarzonia.

"He said WHAT?" Sarzo recoiled as Senior Vice President for Internal Affairs Nicole Lewis came from a meeting in Parliament. Lewis played the tape for him. Sarzo rolled his eyes.

"That son of a bitch..." Sarzo was stopped by Lewis putting her hand up.

"Mike, this could be what we need to turn this around," she said. "Go to Parliament and denounce the comments as being indicative of what Bausch is REALLY fighting for!"

Sarzo pondered for a moment, but then realized Lewis was right. She usually was.

"That's it!" He called House Speaker Josh Williams.

"Josh, I need you to call a joint session of Parliament again."

"What is it THIS time?"

"I've got a doozy. Markham just called Thompson a fag."

"You're kidding?" Sarzo played the tape. Even though it was just the audio, Williams snorted in disgust.

"I'll get right on it."

Sarzo strode confidently into the Parliament building. He knew exactly what he was going to do, and he had a sense that it would turn the tide in the war.

"My fellow Sarzonians, I have come before you to address comments made by Governor Tim Markham in a speech in Bausch.

"As you know, the Bauschians are claiming that they are fighting for greater ability to determine the affairs of themselves and of other states. They claim to be fighting to advance the ideals of a Christian nation. However, the comments by Governor Markham do not reflect true Christianity in any way, shape or form.

"In addition, Markham showed by his off handed remarks what Bausch is really fighting for. They are fighting to be able to discriminate against minorities in their country. They would rather create a caste system whereby only the select few benefit from their government. In addition, they have destroyed a venerable oil refinery in Frederick as part of their sinister desperation to scare you into allowing them to continue their campaign of hatred.

"We can not live in a world where such violence and such hostility toward one's own childen are allowed to stand unchecked. Today, I am asking you to recognize what this war is really about, and that is the freedom of all Sarzonians, not just the chosen few."

The assembled members of Parliament erupted in a prolonged standing ovation. Even Senators and Delegates who were staunchly against the war from the beginning rose and cheered. Parliament passed a resolution to release $200 billion for the war effort. For only the third time in the country's history, Parliament voted unanimously.

Eight aircraft carrier battlegroups and 15 of the 20 battleships not already surrounding Bausch steamed for Bausch's shores to tighten the naval blockade against Bausch. Attack submarines set sail to patrol the waters and fend off any attacking fleets. An invasion force of 500,000 troops prepared to launch a full-scale invasion of Bausch, while 50 Mark III gunboats, 20 River-class corvettes, and the Furtive-class frigate Wembley prepared to sail into the river to split Bausch into two parts.

It was on.

Lord General Isalis Guerra listened to the reports coming from the battlefront with a grimace. Emasculata's soldiers were not doing nearly as well as he'd expected. He thought to himself that maybe it would have been a good idea to send his eldest son Marco with the elite units he commanded. Perhaps they would have forced Sarzonia to retreat.

He just got a call from Supreme Admiral Nelly Jimenez. The battlecruiser Ciudad de Angeles was the only remaining ship from the Emasculatan fleet sent to attack Sarzonia. Their lack of submarines or sub countermeasures cost them mightily against the four Alfa II submarines the Sarzonian navy sent to intercept them when they were spotted on the way to pick up their soldiers. Without their rides, the soldiers quickly surrendered to the Morathanian general since Emilio couldn't bring himself to surrender to a Sarzonian.

"It appears that Sarzonia is tougher than we thought," the Lord General thought to himself. "This won't be so easy after all." Then, to keep his mind off the massive setbacks, he turned on the television. Anchorman Julian Javier played Markham's comments, translated into Spanish. The Lord General's jaw dropped.

"Comemierda," he said out loud. The one thing that Emasculata did that even remotely resembled a progressive country was have fairly liberal pro gay legislation on the books. A favorite uncle of the Lord General's wa gay and anything anti-gay was one thing that stuck in his craw.

"Call Markham and tell him we are withdrawing our support for his administration," he said to his assistant. "When you've done that, send a letter of apology to Sarzo."

He still hated Sarzo, but he realized his country could do nothing about it in its weakened military state. Not only that, but the forces he had left would have to battle a rebellion of their own in a matter of days as Emasculatans grew tired of being oppressed.

(OOC: Hey Sarzonia do you really expect your citizens to believe that Bausch is going to discrimate against people if they win just because he called a guy a fag. While I do not like that word, unless you are talking about a cigerette, I don't think that is a good excuse.

I agree that no outside parties should get involved with this. It could become very messy. However I still plan to get militarly involved and I was thinking of a plan to attack Sarzonia from behind. You know a surprise. I wanted to know how well protected it would be.)

TAG for interest. Sarzonia, is that ship I sold you going to be in this?

(OOC: Hey Sarzonia do you really expect your citizens to believe that Bausch is going to discrimate against people if they win just because he called a guy a fag. While I do not like that word, unless you are talking about a cigerette, I don't think that is a good excuse.

[OOC: In one of the earlier posts, I mentioned that Article XIII was the reason that Bausch picked to secede from Sarzonia. That article explicitly prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The comments and the speech followed the disclosure of classified documents that pointed to that clause as the reason for the war. And, my people would have seen Markham's comment as betraying his true self (like Bush's comment about a journalist being an a*hole).]

[OOC: This took place three days before the secession vote in Frederick.]

All appeared to be going better. The Sarzonian navy just purchased the Insidious from Prateonia and were planning to give it a shakedown cruise and commission it as part of the naval blockade of Bausch.

However, the alarm sounded at 0430 hours. A lot of gunfighting and shouting ensued, and then by 0645 hours, Bauschian operatives stole the Insidious from Sarzonian hands.

The lieutenant in charge of the Bauschian boarding party, Emmett Langham, quickly discovered its ability to wreak havoc on communications and ordered his crew to set course to rendevous with the Yorktown and the Miatonomah, the two Province-class cruisers that were in Bausch's navy. They would attempt to disrupt the squadron of ships that was blockading the small port town of Atlantia.

The Insidious met the two ships and joined four Furtive-class frigates and the Appotomatox, a heavy destroyer that looked very much like a Monitor-class ship from the Civil War, but had up-to-date systems. The small fleet set sail to attempt to rendevous with the fleet from Nellisland.

"Activate the communications sytems," Langham ordered.

"Aye sir," Lt. (jg) Edgar Collins responded. He was the first officer of this motley crew and he had studied the intelligence reports about the Insidious-class's ability to disrupt communications. He hoped that confusion would play to Bausch's benefit. The communications array activated, and the squadron that included the ISS Thunder, a gigantic battleship bought from Great Mateo, completely ignored the Bauschian fleet, assuming it was a squadron of Sarzonian ships that was due to arrive in the area at that time.

As soon as the Appotomatox was able to turn its 12-inch guns, Captain Rhonda Tillis ordered it to fire. The ship was so low in the water that it would provide a difficult target for any Sarzonian ships. The guns came to life and sliced through several of the frigates and destroyers that were part of the squadron. Within minutes, six of the ships sunk.

By that time, the guns on the Thunder finally came to life and roared in response, The Miatonomah quickly sunk at the hands of the battleship, as did the frigates. The Insidious and the Appotomatox quickly moved to retreat as the Yorktown suffered a hit to its engines and started taking on water. The Thunder inexplicably sailed to attempt to capture the Yorktown rather than attempt to intercept either of the destroyers, but their guns couldn't find the Appotomatox.

The ships sailed into the clear, ready to pronounce themselves victorious, as only the Thunder remained from the squadron of surface ships. However, an explosion rocked the Appotomatox. The Insidious's communications disruption worked perfectly. In fact, it worked too well. A Nellisland submarine fired on the Appotomatox thinking it was a Sarzonian ship. Another two explosions soon sunk the ship, and then a boarding party from two River-class corvettes that sneaked into the area boarded and took over the ship to return it to the Sarzonians.

It fired three torpedoes in the direction of the Nellisland sub, which fired decoys that caused the torpedoes to miss, but it turned around to go back to the fleet. The Insidious set off to return to the Sarzonian fleet, its renegade crew captured by two quick thinking captains from the Sarzonian navy.

With the last ships returning from reserve status to active duty, the Incorporated Sarzonian Navy now could throw its full weight into the fight against Bausch. Rear Admiral Marcus Patinkin assumed command of the ISS Valiant and it steamed toward the set up point. The blockade would begin now.

Within days, 600 Sarzonian ships established their blockade of Bausch, and supplies that had little trouble getting to Bausch suddenly slowed to a painful trickle. The Sarzonian Air Force launched a strafing run that wiped out some of the country's farmlands and soon, the Basuchian currency started to destabelize.

With military equipment being choked off and with food in short supply, Governor Markham realized that it would only be a matter of time before the legislature would start discussing calling an end to the war. He conferred with Admiral Taylor and his naval chief Russert.

"Gentlemen, I don't think I need to tell you the situation is bleak. We don't have much of a navy and our army is fast running out of supplies. We're going to have to do something desperate."

"Like what?" Taylor asked. He may be an arrogant cuss, but he realized the situation was all but hopeless. "Are you going to ask someone to launch an all-out nuclear attack on Sarzonia?"

"That would be out of the question," Russert interrupted. "It would destroy us as well as them."

"No it wouldn't," Taylor snapped. "Just knock Nicksia and Woodstock out of commission and you cause a Constitutional crisis. They'll have to allow us to secede after that."

Markham silenced the discussion.

"I have a better idea. Intelligence reports indicate that Sarzonia just launched four satellites with a tungsten rods that can devastate anything, including a Doujin-class battleship. If we can get a hold of even one of those and launch one at the Nicksia Shipyards..." Markham never finished the thought.

"We've already tried that," said his son, Intelligence Minister Gerry Markham. "They've encrypted that thing with firewalls that our best hackers couldn't solve. Once they'd get past one level, they'd find a second level and their interface would shut down. The technology they've used is way beyond anything we have."

"I have more bad news," Bausch's secretary of state said. "Emasculata has just pulled their support. Their general surrendered to Morathanian forces and their country sent an apology letter to Sarzonia."

"That damn coward," Russert said. He realized that Lord General Guerra was fond of feeding his people propaganda to make them think he had an enormous military that could put them down, but in reality, any country with even a small force could defeat Emasculata. He also realized that Guerra thought Sarzonia would be an easier target because he believed the officially released figures of Sarzonia's military. In fact, had he known the top-secret information that only the top brass of Sarzonia' military and Isselmere's government knew, he never would have dared attack.

"Contact our remaining naval forces. We're going to have to launch one last desperate attack and hope Nellisland can get there in time," Taylor said.

"We're trying. Our communications with our fleet are being jammed," a communications officer said.

"How the Hell?" Taylor looked miffed.

"Apparently, Sarzonians recaptured the Insidious and are using it to disrupt our naval communications."

All of a sudden, an explosion rocked the streets in the northern part of the capital.

"What's going on?" Markham yelled.

"We're being bombarded by battleship fire. Apparently, an amphibious assault team is also landing and is engaging our forces!"

The following telegrams have been sent out:

To: Sarzonia
From: Nellisland

Dear Sarzo,

I am very troubled by your recent actions in your own nation. You made no attempt to negogiate with Bausch and went immediatly into war. Now you have brought two of your closest allies into the war because you were losing. It is now a three on one war and that can not be allowed. I regrat to inform you that I am going to my council today and propose a possible war with your nation. It is nothing personal (OOC: HA! What a lie!), but I don't believe that your actions are right. You have left me with no choice. Howver I am a fair man. If you break the blockade and recongize Bausch as a nation then I will not go to war with you.

Nellis


To: Bausch
From: Nellisland

I am just letting you know this right now. I am not your friend or your ally. But they say the enemy of my enemy is my friend...for now. I am going to my council to propose war on Sarzonia. Howver I made them a offer. If they break the blockade and recongize you as a nation then I will not go to war with them. But if you start discriminating against anyone when you become your own nation then I will destroy you!

Nellis


To: Emasculata
From: Nellisland

I must ask you for a favor. I know how much you hate Sarzonia, so please do not pull out. I am going to war with them and I need all the help I can get. If you are afraid of losing, don't. I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve that may turn the tide of the war. Belive me, we have the same beliefs. Don't leave. I look forward to hearing from you.

Nellis

(OOC: I know that you guys don't want any outside parties involved but to even it up a bit can I bring in one of my allies? Like Gynica, Vaenv, or Muktar. They are very good at RPing and will not mess this already good Rp up!)

(OOC: I know that you guys don't want any outside parties involved but to even it up a bit can I bring in one of my allies? Like Gynica, Vaenv, or Muktar. They are very good at RPing and will not mess this already good Rp up!)

[OOC: Absolutely not. The war has almost run its course and any more countries involved with it would merely confuse matters.]

To: Nellisland
From: Sarzonia

We do not recognize any attempts by a state to break away from its soverign land and we will consider any attempts on your part to intervene in an internal matter as an act of war against Sarzonia. You falsely accused us of imposing a blockade on you earlier after your war against KillJew. Once our war has concluded, your hostile stance toward Sarzonia will be duly noted and we will take appropriate action.

You are ordered to stand down from this civil war within [one RL day] or we will consider your presence in our waters an act of war and we will respond accordingly. [OOC: Radar most likely would have spotted a large fleet coming from Nellisland by the time this telegram got sent; with Bausch on the brink of surrender, you'd suddenly have 600 ships ready to engage your forces. Keep that in mind.

As a further note to my earlier response to your effort to bring in allies, I understand that some of them may be be good roleplayers and may not deliberately ruin a good roleplay, but you know the old saying "too many cooks spoil the broth..." that's the same thing that could happen if I allow too many countries into a civil war that involves a really insignificant country (which Sarzonia is in comparison to most of the countries in the NS world).]

To: President Mike Sarzo, IS of Sarzonia
From: Prime Minister Oliver Yardmouth, UK of Isselmere-Nieland
Subject: Offer of further equipment

Your Supreme Excellency,

We of His Majesty's Government are saddened to learn of the losses your navy and people has suffered at the hands of the vile Bausch secessionists and hope that the loyal citizens of that state may once again be united with their brothers and sisters in the rest of Sarzonia.

On behalf of the people of the UKIN, I offer the Sarzonian Navy further upgrades on the secure datalinks for RSIN ships (to Link 17.2 standard) to prevent further potential disruption of communications by additional electronic warfare ships that may fall into the hands of your enemies. I would also like to send your glorious navy one hundred Pelican anti-ship missiles to re-equip any vessels armed with Yakhont-3 missiles, funds for which will be paid by His Majesty's Government. These new missiles have better electronic counter-countermeasure (ECCM) capabilities and greater range than the Yakhont-3.

Onward to reunification!

Sincerely,

The Rt. Hon. Oliver Yardmouth, MP, CS, RC
Prime Minister
UKIN

To: Prime Minister Oliver Yardmouth, UK of Isselmere-Nieland
From: President Mike Sarzo, Incorporated States of Sarzonia
Subject: Your offer of further equipment

Your Excellency, [OOC: I'm not sure how I would address PM Yardmouth, so if this is wrong, assume that I've addressed him correctly (and please let me know how to address him!)]

We in the Incorporated States of Sarzonia greatly appreciate your expression of sympathies and your offer of updated equipment and additional weaponry, and we accept your offers of both. It is our fervent hope that the war will end soon and that we will begin the process of reconstruction and returning the loyal Sarzonians within Bausch to a newly re-unified Sarzonia.[/quote]

Governor Markham pulled out his cell phone and saw that it indicated No Service. He realized that one of the battleship's shells knocked out the cellular tower closest to the Governor's Mansion. He then grabbed the landline phone. It was dead. Another shot knocked out the telephone lines in the city. He pulled out a walkie talkie.

"Activate the shoreline defenses!" Markham barked into the walkie talkie.

"Understood," came the reply from a gunnery mate. A barrage of Harpoon missiles streaked toward the battleships firing their 16, 18, and larger shells at the shoreline. Taylor and Russert looked up, expecting to see the battleships take damage, but there were so many of them that only a couple hit each battleship. Much to Russert's chagrin, the missiles seemed to have no effect.

Another explosion rocked the Governor's Mansion. The ceiling caved in and Russert and Taylor were hit by the collapsing ceiling before they had a chance to get out of the way. Furniture crashed on top of the two men.

"Everybody out!" Markham shouted. The remaining personnel quickly evacuated the mansion and rushed toward the Court of Appeals building nearby. The next shells from the Sarzo completely destroyed the Governor's Mansion, just seconds after Markham got out.

He looked around and assessed the flaming wreckage where his mansion used to be and choked back a tear. He knew right then the war couldn't go on. Even if Sarzonia unexpectly recognized Bausch, it wouldn't be able to defend itself in a war, plus its infastructure was decimated and its manufacturing would take years to recover from the losses.

When Markham walked into the Court of Appeals building, he gathered the members of the state's legislature. They moved to the same building because their building also was getting bombarded and would fall within minutes.

"We don't have a chance now!" Senator Brian Conners, one of the staunchest anti-war voices in Bausch, yelled at Markham. "Please! For the sake of all of us, call this thing off!"

In another time, Markham might have ignored Conners or if he were riled up enough, he might have ordered him imprisoned and tried for treason. But this time, Markham nodded weakly.

"You're right Brian. It's over." Markham pulled out the walkie talkie and adjusted the frequency.

"To the nearest Sarzonian commander, we surrender. Repeat: We surrender."

The guns fell silent and Colonel Taylor Ash, who was the nearest senior officer to the Court of Appeals building walked to the governor and took him into custody. Word quickly spread throughout the Sarzonian forces and the quickly thinning number of seperatist Bauschians quickly realized their dream of independence was over. Loyalist Bauschians rejoiced in the streets, a brutal war now coming to a close.

Word reached President Mike Sarzo that the war was ending.

"What a relief!" Sarzo said. He pulled out the Bat Phone and contacted Colin Wixted, the President of Morathania, and then Oliver Yardmouth, the Prime Minister of Isselmere-Nieland.

"The war is over," Sarzo said to both leaders. "We have prevailed. We need to discuss terms for surrender. I'd rather not unilaterally impose something since you both have been on our side. What do you recommend?"

[OOC: I think "Prime Minister" or "The Rt. Hon. Mr. Yardmouth" is probably the most accurate in terms of etiquette (what little I know of it :D ), but I am certain no prime minister would balk at being addressed as "your Excellency"!]

To: President Mike Sarzo, IS of Sarzonia
From: Prime Minister Oliver Yardmouth, UKIN
Subject: Terms of Surrender

Your Supreme Excellency,

We of His Majesty's Government congratulate your Supreme Excellency on your success in this endeavour and the speedy reunification of Bausch with the illustrious nation of Sarzonia.

His Majesty's Government views any peace terms in keeping with the principles of reconciliation of the citizenry of Bausch with the rest of Sarzonia and the public prosecution of the guilty parties before your courts to be just. The people of Isselmere-Nieland would, of course, wish to assist in any efforts of reconstruction.

Congratulations and best wishes!

Sincerely,

The Rt. Hon. Oliver Yardmouth, MP, CS, RC
Prime Minister
UKIN

dp

<Encoded Transmission>
Sarzonian Military Command, this is Admiral Beauchamp, commander of the Second Fleet. The fleet is currently 150 nautical miles away from Bauschian territorial waters. Currently a small naval group is 35 nautical miles away from the naval blockade line. These ships were sent ahead to scout the area and to report back on naval activity in the area. This group consists of a Charles De- Gaulle Class Carrier 1 Kriov class, 2 Arleigh Brukes and 3 Oliver Hazard Perry Firgates. These will assist Sarzonian naval operation until the main fleet arrives. I will need the Sarzonian Military Command to co-ordinate with myself and General McCormick, head of the Expeditionary Force, so that we may best help Sarzonian forces. Beauchamp, out.
<End of transmission>

<Encoded Transmission>
Sarzonian military command this is General McCormick. The marines are ready to begin fighting the rebels if you can give me where I can land my men and where the heaviest fighting is I can begin making preparations.
<End of Transmission>

<Encoded Transmission>
Admiral Beauchamp, this is Rear Admiral Marcus Patinkin of the Incorporated Sarzonian Navy. Bausch has just surrendered and their military forces are standing down. We are currently monitoring the waters for any possible hostile vessels. Your help in that endeavor would be most appreciated. Patinkin out. <End Transmission>

<Encoded Transmission>
General McCormick, this is General Phillip Larson of the Incorporated Sarzonian Army. Colonel Ash has secured the surrender of the Bauschian government and the government is in the process of drafting surrender terms. We would appreciate the cooperation of the Morathanian and Isselmere-Nieland governments in ensuring the peaceful reconstruction of Bausch. Larson out. <End Transmission>

Townshend (ASP) -- Following the surrender of rebel forces, General Phillip Larson began to tally the extensive damage caused to the territory in the recaptured state.

Figures are still coming in and the full toll of the war will not be known for several years, Larson told the Associated Sarzonian Press. [OOC: I won't know for sure until I come up with a non-godmodding figure what the extent of the physical AND emotional damage will be to Sarzonia as a whole. If the figures I put up are realistic, they may stand as the battle damage]

However, Larson and Rear Admiral Marcus Patinkin announced that preliminary figures counted 16,000 dead and 37,000 wounded in Bausch's militia and 8,768 killed and 17,534 wounded among Sarzonia's armed forces. Including Sarzonian ships that were captured by the Bauschian rebels, the Navy lost 14 frigates, nine destroyers, eight cruisers, and the battleship Vincennes, which ultimately couldn't be salvaged after a battle with the Fleetwood.

"No matter how many deaths you have, a civil war is going to be ugly," Larson said. "All war is hell, but a civil war is the worst kind since it's brother against brother." Larson added that his older brother Terry commanded one of the Bauschian army units that engaged his unit in battle.

"The war has taught us a number of things," Patinkin said. "Number one, I hope it taught us the value of maintaining a powerful navy at all times and not putting the majority of it in mothballs. Number two, I believe the value of battleships in a modern navy was reaffirmed. Number three, people fight a lot harder when they're defending their homes. We seem to have forgotten all those lessons."

President Mike Sarzo surveyed the damage in Townshend from his private plane. Estimates of the damage to Bauschian territory reached into the tens of billions of dollars.

"This will take a long time to repair the damage to the phsyical structures in Bausch," he said. "But it may take even longer to repair the damage to our national psyche. Look at this," Sarzo said, pointing at a smoldering pile of wreckage. "That was my vacation home.

"Trust me, we're glad we won the war, but now another difficult chapter in Sarzonia's history has to be written."

Prime Minister Oliver Yardmouth of Isselmere-Nieland offered to help the reconstruction efforts and Sarzo said the country would "gratefully" accept the offer.

"We're going to need all the help we can get," Sarzo said. He added that he would look to coordinate the reconstruction efforts and the terms of reunification with Isselmere-Nieland and Morathania.

To: Mike Sarzo
From: Mike Nellis, son of Nellis/Secertary of Defense

I am writing this telegram to inform you that my father is no longer the leader of Nellisland. My sister, me, and many other high up leaders in our government decided that he was incapable of running our nation. We sincerely apologize for our nations actions and wish to make up for it by providing any necessary aid to rebuild your nation.

We have also decided that instead of appointing a new dictator we will be instituting a semi-democracy. We will look at you and our allies fro guidance during what will most definitely be rough times.

Once again I would like to apologize for my fathers actions. I want our nations to be strong allies in the future. Please do not our nations previous actions against us in the future.

Mike Nellis

(OOC: I am going to start a thread soon about how my leader lost power and then go into the reconstuction of my nations government. I will post it here and Sarzonia, you are free to enter it. It will be invite only.)

<snip to my lou>
We sincerely apologize for our nations actions and wish to make up for it by providing any necessary aid to rebuild your nation.</snip to my lou, my darlin'>

We have also decided that instead of appointing a new dictator we will be instituting a semi-democracy. We will look at you and our allies fro guidance during what will most definitely be rough times.

To: Mike Nellis, Secretary of Defense: Nellisland
From: Mike Sarzo, President: Incorporated States of Sarzonia

We appreciate and accept your apology for your nation's actions in light of our civil war and we appreciate the opportunity to stand down from our war footing. We also accept your offer to help us in the reconstruction efforts and in full reunification of Sarzonia.

We also appreciate the compliment that being looked upon for guidance entails and we will pursue our responsibilities as mentors with the utmost enthusiasm and seriousness.

Captain Young stood on the bridge facing Bausch. He could see the great towers of smoke rising from several areas. The first wave of Morathanian troops which had arrived by air a week ago had been crutial in getting Emasculata out of the war. Now with a surrender order going out to all the Bauschian rebels he felt a calm after the storm. His Kirov class cruiser the Invicible and his 2 Destroyers, Ark Royal and Johnstown, and 3 Oliver Hazard Perry Frigates, the Somerset, the St. George, and the Ruthenia had engaged several ships on their way to Bausch. They had been sent ahead by Admiral Beauchamp with Young in command.
"Sir, we have incoming ships. Looks like a cruiser and 2 destroyers. Definitly Sarzonian."
"Try to hail them. See if we get a response."
The radio officer hailed the incoming vessels.
"No response, sir."
"These may be Bauschian. Everyone to Battle Stations."
"This is Captain Young on the Invincible, this is to all ships in the squadron. We have three vessels, Sarzonian make heading toward us bearing 085. We believe them to be hostile. All men to battlestations repeat all men to your battle stations."
"Sir, the cruiser is firing."
"Evasive manuvers god damn it."
The missles locked on to the Ark Royal. Before long their was a ball of fire where the Ark Royal had stood.
"Jesus Christ, I though the Bauschians stood down."
"I geuss not Captain."
All three ships fired. Before long a wave of 15 Harpoon anti-ship missles rained down on the two remaining ships.
"Status Report!" blared Captain Young.
"Were severly hit sir. They got propulsion and we have major structural damage. The Somerset is sinking. The St. George and the Ruthenia are still on line."
"Fire at will. This is Captain Young to all squadron ships. Fire at will. Repeat fire at will."
The floudering Invincible fired all her anti-ship missles. The glided through the air toward the cruiser. Within a minute the cruiser was on fire. The frigates tried to engage the destroyers but they began moving the minute they had launched their missles at the Morathanian Kirov and the two Morathanian Arleigh Brukes.
"This is Captain Young to all friendly ships. We have just been attack by a squadron of one cruiser and 2 destroyers Sarzonian identification. We need assistance. We have a cruiser without propulsion and with major structural damages. We also need to look for survivors. This was a hit and run. Two destroyers left the scene before my forces could engage them one Bauchian Cruiser destroyed. We lost two destroyers and they crippled my Kirov class cruiser. Mayday Mayday."

"Admiral Beauchamp this just came over the secure frequency. Its from Young. You have to take a look at this."
"Ok."
<Encoded Message>
Admrial Beauchamp this is Captain Young, Cruiser Invincible, Forward Expeditionary Squadron. Today at 0925 my ships were attacked by what we believe were Bauschian rebels. The Ark Royal and Johnstown sunk. Invincible is heavily damaged and is not able to move. The three frigates have minor missle and gun damage.
<End Message>
"Holy shit! I thought the Bauschian rebels surrendered."
"Well I geuss some of 'em said to hell with the government," said his XO Captain Conners.
"Get me on the phone with Mike Sarzo and then the President. They need to hear this."
"Right away sir."
Beauchamp picked up the phone and had the operator dial Mike Sarzo.
"President Sarzo, this is Admiral Beauchamp."
"Hello Admiral nice to hear from you. What is the matter?"
"At 0925 this morning a forward expeditionary squadron of my force consisting of a cruiser, 2 destroyers and 3 frigates was attacked by a cruiser and 2 destroyers of Sarzonian make. We are assuming that these hostiles were Bauschian rebels. I don't know what the hells going on on the negotiating table but know whats going on out here. I just lost three ships to an enemy that is supposed to have surrendered. I need answers Sarzo and I need 'em fast."

[OOC: I intended for the war to be OVER as soon as Markham surrendered. About the only thing I can do is have Markham contact the renegade ships and order them to stand down. Either that or I'll have to send an Alliance-class heavy cruiser and other ships to destroy them. The war was proceeding into reconstruction mode to be perfectly honest.]

President Mike Sarzo was jolted awake from the first restful sleep he'd had since before the war.

"Admiral Beauchamp, are you serious? What the Hell?" Sarzo said. He shook his head and said, "I'll get right on it."

As soon as the phone hung up, Sarzo sprinted to his private jet. "We've got an emergency situation in Bausch."

"Mr. President, it's not safe..."

"I don't give a damn whether it's safe or not. We've got a major problem on our hands and I need to be there to make sure it's taken care of!"

The jet streaked into the sky and barreled toward Townshend at its top speed. The usual fighter escort wasn't notified, so the arms aboard the jet were going to have to be enough for this particular trip. Sarzo picked up the phone in the plane and contacted Rear Admiral Marcus Patinkin.

"Marcus, this is Mike. We've got a new problem on our hands."

"What?"

"One cruiser and two destroyers of our design and build engaged the Morathanian squadron and sunk two ships and heavily damaged a third. It seems they're ignoring orders to stand down."

"You're kidding!"

"I wish I were, Marcus. In the meantime, get a squadron after those ships and bring them back into our control."

"I'll do what I can, sir."

Captain Ben Newman of the Fleetwood volunteered to hunt down the three renegade vessels, and the Fleetwood and the Randolph, a light cruiser, took off in pursuit.

When Sarzo landed in Townshend, he walked to the makeshift prison housing Governor Markham.

"It seems some of your 'friends' have listening comprehension problems Tim," Sarzo snarled. "Three of your ships just attacked the Morathanian squadron."

Markham looked up at Sarzo in shock.

"I can't believe it... do you know which ones?"

"You mean you know no more about it than I do?"

"That's correct Mr. President." Sarzo scowled at Markham and the look on the former governor's face told him that he was really confused. Markham was not a good liar and Sarzo knew it. If there were even a hint of betrayal in Markham's mind, Sarzo would have picked up on it.

"Mr. President, let me see what I can do."

"You've already caused enough damage."

"I think I can convince the ships to stand down."

"May as well try it."

Markham took the phone and dialed the captain of the renegade cruiser.

"This is Governor Markham. Stand down immediately. We have surrendered. The war is over. Stand down."

The Carthage tailed off in hot pursuit of the two renegade destroyers, its captain giving his crew orders to secure the surrender of the ships. Before long, the Fleetwood also set course to intercept the Bauschian ships.

The two renegade captains received the call from Markham and one, James Tunney aboard the Diamondback turned off the frequency and laughed.

"We've still got some fight in us left, boys," Tunney said. "Damn that 'surrender.' I'd rather die than live in Sarzonia."

Meanwhile, the Carthage caught up to the two ships before they could separate or cause further damage. The captain of the Carthage Edward Aldus, ordered the two ships to surrender and directed the ship's 11 inch guns at both vessels. The other Bauschian ship, the Joe Gibbs fired its Harpoon missiles at the Carthage, causing little damage.

"How the hell?" Captain Blaine Connor asked when he saw his Harpoons not having their desired effect.

"That's the Carthage, sir," First Officer Johan Pasek said. "They're the new Sarzonian heavy cruisers. They're much more heavily armored than anything out there that calls itself a cruiser as far as I know."

"Sir! Another ship is approaching. It's believed to be the Fleetwood."

"The Fleetwood!" Connor knew Captain Newman was young. That little pipsqueak has a big ship, but I can still command circles around him, he thought. However, the Fleetwood opened fire. The 16-inch shells pierced the hull of both destroyers and both ships were riddled with heavy damage after one broadside.

"Damage report!" each captain yelled, almost simultaneously.

Each ship had its weapons systems targeted, so their ability to fire back at either the Fleetwood or the Carthage was taken away from them. The Carthage fired its own broadside into the destroyers, knocking out the ship's engines. Both captains knew they'd been beaten and struck their colors.

Connor was brought aboard the Carthage where Commodore Betty Palmer was scowling at his presence.

"Is there anyone else we should know about?" She snarled.

Connor knew he couldn't lie to Palmer, and he knew she could easily have him killed if that were her mindset that morning. He was being perfectly honest with her when he said, "No, sir."

When the crews for both ships were put in the brig of the Fleetwood Commodore Palmer and Captain Newman both received the damage assessment and realized the ships were not salvageable. They fired their broadsides into the ships and watched them sink to the depths, and watched as the last vestiges of the Bauschian resistance sunk with them.

[OOC: Sometimes war throws you a curveball, Mike. Just as in real life their are men who continue to fight even after the war has been lost and the men have surrendered.]

Beauchamp picked up the phone it was Admiral Patinkin.
"Hello Patinkin. Have you solved the rogue ship problem."
"Yes we have. Destroyed the two renegades this afternoon at 1342 hours."
"Very good, very good now we can continue with the reconstruction of Bausch and the bringing of noramlity to Sarzonia again."
"I hope we can count on support from the Morathanian forces."
"We won't turn our back on an ally in a time of war and we won't turn our backs on an ally in peace. You can count on us."
"Very well. Patinkin, out."
Beauchamp was finally relaxed they had destroyed the ships that had killed his good sailors. He was happy, a small snicker escaped from his lips and then died. He went back to the daily paperwork of a commanding officer.


President of the Federation Colin Wixted called Mike Sarzo on the phone.
"Hi Mike. Heard about everything thank you for your forces taking care of that renegade."
"No problem Colin that were a pest to both sides."
"Mike I wanted to first tell you that all the Morathanian troops and ships will help in the reconstruction efforts."
"Well thank you. We need the help."
'I also want to ask you if you would want the peace conference with the Bausch rebels to be held in Hamilton, Morathania. Their we could all agree on what we should do with rebel soldiers and what is going to happen to the leaders. We could also talk about how we are going to reconstruct the battered areas of Sarzonia. How does that sound Mike?"
He awaited Sarzo's reply.

[OOC: Sometimes war throws you a curveball, Mike. Just as in real life their are men who continue to fight even after the war has been lost and the men have surrendered.]

[OOC: Good point, and it forced me to a bit more roleplay to put an end to the rebellion.]

'I also want to ask you if you would want the peace conference with the Bausch rebels to be held in Hamilton, Morathania. Their we could all agree on what we should do with rebel soldiers and what is going to happen to the leaders. We could also talk about how we are going to reconstruct the battered areas of Sarzonia. How does that sound Mike?"
He awaited Sarzo's reply.

"We would be most grateful to have the peace conference with the rebels in Hamilton. We would also like to invite the government of Isselmere-Nieland to act as an observer and a representative from the government of Nellisland now that their dictator has been deposed."

Sarzo now awaited President Wixted's reply.

"That is very good President Sarzo. I will make preparations imediatly. The nations attending will be Morathania, Sarzonia, the rebels, Isselmere-Nieland, and Nellisland. I say we have this meeting as soon as possible so that reconstruction can get under way."
Colin awaited Sarzo's reply.

[OOC: This was written a couple of hours before the rogue ship problem was solved, so... The last bit's up-to-date, though.]

The RINN carrier strike group finally approached Sarzonian waters ready for a reconstruction effort when the Royal Holly's combat information centre (CIC) informed Rear Admiral William Ibley of an attack against the Moranthian flotilla.

"Send over the Rooks, Anderson, see what the hell's going on, tell the group to prep for the worst, and get me someone the Sarzonian force commander," Ibley answered. He turned to the officer of the watch and clapped a fatherly hand on her shoulder. "Looks like we might see a battle after all."

-----

On board the battleship Bastion, the last of the two-Merlin ASW patrol left the deck. Crews readied the ship's Tern UCAVs for a possible strike mission, hooking them up to the lightweight catapults.

"Don't get your hopes up too high, lads," Chief Petty Officer Victor Edwards shouted. "Sarzo'll prob'ly set those prats to rights before these birds get near."

"Wouldn't hurt to try, though, sir," answered Drone Technician First Class David Matthews. "We ought to give these buzzards a go, if we can, sir."

"That's a matter for admirals, son."

The two Terns were loaded down with three Pigeon anti-radar drones each, ready to pluck out the eyes of the rogue ships should the need arise.

-----

Meanwhile, on the HINMS Royal Holly, Rafale fighters and strike aircraft readied for a sortie. The Hawkeyes streamed data through the aircraft on deck providing accurate, up-to-date data for the possible assault.

-----

"Admiral," Anderson called from the CIC, "the Sarzonians seem to be trying a diplomatic solution. A call's being put out on general broadcast for the rogue ships to stand down."

"Well, hope for the best, but prepare for the worst," answered Ibley. "Tell Captain Dyer to send in the Terns but to keep operators on the stick at all times. I want no weapons launch without my explicit authorisation."

-----

The Rooks overhead, however, relayed that the end-game was well at hand. The Carthage and Fleetwood pierced the hulls of the two destroyers without difficulty, forcing the two renegade captains to admit defeat.

"It's all over, Admiral," Anderson stated. Ibley merely grunted and wandered back to his cabin.

"We always have such short wars," he muttered as he shut the door.

-----

To: President Mike Sarzo, IS of Sarzonia
From: Prime Minister Oliver Yardmouth, UKIN
Subject: Observer status

Your Supreme Excellency,

The UKIN would be honoured to act as an observer in the reconciliation negotiations between the people of Bausch and the rest of Sarzonia. His Majesty's Government (HMG) has designated His Majesty's ambassador to Sarzonia, Sir Edward Finchley, as plenipotentiary. We of HMG are certain that under your Supreme Excellency's sage leadership, the recovery and reunification of Bausch within Sarzonia will be completed as swiftly and successfully as the war.

Sincerely yours,

The Rt. Hon. Oliver Yardmouth, MP, CS, RC
Prime Minister
UKIN

"That is very good President Sarzo. I will make preparations imediatly. The nations attending will be Morathania, Sarzonia, the rebels, Isselmere-Nieland, and Nellisland. I say we have this meeting as soon as possible so that reconstruction can get under way."
Colin awaited Sarzo's reply.

[OOC: I wouldn't call Bausch a nation since they surrendered and are now back as part of Sarzonia. But I digress.]

"I agree with you Colin. I will have my Senior Vice President for External Affairs Mark Lorber serve as our official delegate to the conference."

TO: Mike Srazo
FROM: Mike Nellis

Mike I have been thinking about what I can do to help your nation get back on the right track and have come up with the following things.

1) Pay you the sum of 50 billion dollars to be paid over the next five years.

2) Pay some of Nellisland's best engineers to go to your nation and help with the rebuilding. Assuming you can secure there safety.

3) Supply materials that are neccasary.

On your request I will be sending a delegate to your summit. I would personally attend, but I have more important matters to attend to at the moment.

Thank you for your time.

Mike Nellis

"I was thinking that this could be a summit of leaders and foreign ministers. I think it would be beneficial to the peace process if we have all the leaders there as well as their foreign ministers/ambassadors."
Colin awaits Mikes reply.

(OOC: I think that is a good idea but I currently have no leader!)

"I was thinking that this could be a summit of leaders and foreign ministers. I think it would be beneficial to the peace process if we have all the leaders there as well as their foreign ministers/ambassadors."
Colin awaits Mikes reply.

I believe that whomever represents the various parties in the conference would be welcomed, whether it is the leaders themselves or the foreign ministers and ambassadors. I don't believe in tying up anyone who needs to tend to internal matters in their country.

TO: Mike Nellis, Secretary of Defense, Nellisland
FROM: Mike Sarzo, President; Sarzonia


1) Pay you the sum of 50 billion dollars to be paid over the next five years.

[OOC: I assume this is a loan? What are the terms for repayment?]


2) Pay some of Nellisland's best engineers to go to your nation and help with the rebuilding. Assuming you can secure there safety.
We can. Sarzonia is one of the safest countries in our region, and is among the top 15,000 safest countries in the world. (Man, that feels wierd typing that number!)

3) Supply materials that are neccasary.
We would much appreciate that.

On your request I will be sending a delegate to your summit. I would personally attend, but I have more important matters to attend to at the moment.
We understand your inability to attend personally, but we look forward to meeting your delegate at the summit.

We eagerly accept all proposals and look forward to this being the onset of positive relations between our two peoples.

To: Mike Sarzo
From: Mike Nellis

I will make this brief! (I have to go to work!) The only thing that I request for in return for the money is that you back my efforts to start a democarcy in Nellisland! Many group are trying to take control and my military has almost completly broken off! I await you response!

Mike Nellis

(OOC: Here is the thread:

http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3279665

Hope to hear from you! God I hate my job!)

TO: Mike Nellis
FROM: Mike Sarzo

We would definitely be willing to help your efforts to establish a democracy, and I will ask the President Pro Tempore of the Senate Karen Beltran to coordinate efforts with you. We will also send a team of military police to help you maintain order if you wish.

We would be most grateful to exchange our help in establishing your democracy for the money and the help you would be providing us for our reconstruction efforts. We hope this is the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship between our two peoples.

<Message>
Nellisland, if you need support for bringing down your dictatoship and opening up your country to democracy the Federation of Morathania can certainly help in that. We will send what ever you want to help in your quest toward freedom and democracy.
<End Message>

Senior Vice President Mark Lorber was on his private jet bound for Hamilton, Morathania to begin the summit. Isselmere-Nieland's ambassador to Sarzonia would be there along with Bausch's now-former Governor Markham and their military leader, Lt. General Chris Bannister.

He got the call about Sarzonia's "quasi war" against the Socialist Cockroaches and found out that Sarzonia's military helped secure an easy victory. On a more serious note, he got word that Holy Panooly was back in business and they burned one of Sarzonia's new flags.

"That's going to become a battleground for us, just you watch," Lorber told one of his aides. "The next time, our terms aren't going to be so generous." The terms for Socialist Cockroaches' surrender would likely be the template for surrender terms if Sarzonia wins another war against Holy Panooly. Right now, Lorber had more pressing issues in mind.

Reconstruction efforts were proceeding slowly while the separatist government and military forces were still serving prison sentences. He pored over his notes for surrender terms.

1. No Bauschian separatist government official or military service person may be eligible to serve in political office in Bausch. Lorber scrawled "non-negotible" next to this section.
2. Bauschian military personnel are ineligible to receive any military pensions they otherwise would have been entitled to for aiding insurrection against Sarzonia. Lorber grimaced when he saw this, realizing that his allies would likely balk at this one. He also didn't like it, but he figured that it would be reduced.
3. All debts incurred by Sarzonia would be paid, but debts incurred by the Bauschians would be declared null and void. Lorber figured any countries that supported Bausch wouldn't like that, but they bet on the wrong horse. He wrote "non-negotible" next to that section.
4. Voting rights for people who supported the insurrection either directly (by serving in the military or the government) or indirectly (by providing aid and comfort to the rebellion) would be ineligible to vote in any elections. People who opposed the rebellion by providing aid to Sarzonia would be able to vote. Anyone who wasn't of voting age at the time of the war would be eligible to vote in future elections. Lorber thought this one would be the term that required the most negotiation.
5. All government, miliatry, and civillian supporters of the rebellion would be tried for treason with the first two categories punishable by death. Lorber went over and over this one, thinking that was too harsh, but Parliament shoved that term down the delegation's throats. He figured it would be quick to go.
6. A new Article would be proposed to the Constitution that expressly prohibited any state from holding its own military force. Lorber realized that the people who put the Constitution together didn't take that matter into account and saw the state militaries as being able to provide the first engagement until the Sarzonian military arrived. However, a brutal war against an opponent that knew Sarzonia all too well could convince them to change their minds.

Lorber smiled faintly as he saw Hamilton come into view from his seat on the private jet. Soon, it would be showtime.

[OOC: Can we get the summit started? Any reaction to the surrender terms I proposed?

I'm trying to come up with an appropriate punishment without going as far as the Union did when the Confederacy surrendered in 1865.]

His Majesty's Government finds the proposed reconciliation treaty to be acceptable as it is entirely understandable, while unpalatable, to deny those who have engaged in an insurrection against the lawful national government to be denied, for the time being, certain political rights.

Sincerely,

Sir Edward Finchley, KGA
His Majesty's Ambassador to Sarzonia

His Majesty's Government finds the proposed reconciliation treaty to be acceptable as it is entirely understandable, while unpalatable, to deny those who have engaged in an insurrection against the lawful national government to be denied, for the time being, certain political rights.

OOC: I'm including a link to my constitution (which is partly a re-casting of the U.S. Constitution with words like House of Delegates for House of Representatives and Parliament for Congress): http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=148129