GnOoLoCoPeLep
09-08-2004, 05:38
The orders had come down from the motherland. They wanted more land on Earth II.
“Christ, we gave them half of Brazil, Peru and Bolivia, do they really need more?” Governor Henry Connell asked of no one in particular.
They wanted African nations, in particular, mostly for the resources. Henry was the Chief Governor of all Hibernian Earth II territories and while he was still under direct control of the Populus Duxor he had pretty much free reign to do as he pleased because of the great distance between Earth II and their planet of origin. He could not, however, ignore an order to go to war. The transmission listed the eight countries the government had their eyes on. He signaled a servant to turn on the holographic map projector on the wall. The Brazilian man flicked a switch and a beam of light shot into the center of the room, projecting a holographic globe. He sat down at his desk and grabbed a remote. He rotated the globe until the African continent faced him and he zoomed in on it. The nations of Kenya and Tanzania, specifically.
“If we’re going to attack that’ll be the place to do it.” He said, again to no one in particular. He had learned quite a bit about strategy during the South American campaign. Henry turned and looked out his window at the city of Brasilia, the capitol of Hibernian Brazil. He had left his beloved city of New Antioch, where he had governed the Lee Province of Deus Vult. After his term ended he was asked by Populus Duxor if he would be interested in traveling to Earth II and governing all Hibernian Territories. The money was nearly triple of what he had been paid before and Henry had jumped at the chance. He had left Avalon and come back to the planet that the people of Avalon had emigrated from. Earth II was indeed very similar to Avalon in terms of climate but he was used to the temperate climate of his homeland, not the sweltering tropics of Brazil and it seemed there was a constant sweat on his freckled brow. He had long since discarded his jacket and his sleeves were rolled up and his shirt was unbuttoned. He waved the Brazilian servant out of the room and started typing a reply to the transmission.
RE: Africa
I’ve received your transmission and would like to inform you that the Atlantic fleet is battle-ready, but the Pacific fleet is currently tied up in Russia. Chances are we won’t need the services of the Pacific Fleet in the African campaign, but I felt the need to inform you of this since the decision to go into Russia was mine and mine alone. More on the topic of Africa, I have reviewed the map and agree with your decision that it would be an excellent addition to Hibernian Territory. However, after the recent Communist Mississippi debacle in Angola I’m weary of sending our troops to take on eight countries at once. I know the odds are in our favor because of our superior technology but I’m hesitant because I know it will cost the lives of many of our troops. The Atlantic Fleet has just ended their campaign in Brazil and morale could certainly drop if they are sent to war so soon after their hard-fought victory. But, I am only your subordinate and the decision of the Congress and the Populus Duxor is one that I will follow.
Yours in Christ,
Henry Connell
He sent the transmission and leaned back in his chair. It would be a while before the message could travel through space to Avalon. In the meantime he would call the Commanders of the Hibernian Defense Staff in for a meeting. He leaned forward and opened his bottom drawer, pulling out a bottle of Lagavulin Whiskey, shipped in from Scotland. He didn’t bother with the glass.
Several hours later Governor Henry Connell was seated at the center of a large oak table. Around the table sat his subordinate governors and the commanders of the Hibernian Defense Staff. His suit was back on his uncomfort was obvious. Sweat poured off his brow and is naturally red face was nearly crimson. Henry prepared his voice and shuffled his papers before addressing the men at the table.
“I’ve received a transmission from Avalon. They want us to aquire territory in Africa. They’ve decided on eight nations.” Henry said.
He reached across the table and pressed a button on a ball in the center of the table. A beam of light shot out and displayed a holographic map of Africa. The eight nations of interes
t were outlines in red.
“These are the countries they have decided upon. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, The Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This is a lot of territory, more then the last war. Our boys have just finished up the war here in South America and I’m curious what you think about starting a new campaign so soon after finishing one. We won the last war fairly decisively with a minimum of losses, do you think we could do it again?” Henry asked.
The Admiral of the Air Navy replied, “The reason we came away so successfully last time was because we minimized ground fighting and did most of it from the sky or from the ships. When we did fight on the ground they couldn’t stand up to the armor cavalry.”
The Army representative spoke up, “I’ve been reading these files on these countries and it seems that the majority of them are very politically volatile. Most have just gotten out of wars or still have sporadic fighting. Why do we want to go into these places in the first place?”
“Resources, my friend, these countries have great natural resources and their centrally located. We can easily access Europe, Asia and Australia from there. Our trade would significantly increase with the acquisition of these countries.” Henry said.
“I definitely think we could win a war but we should only take one or two countries at a time, starting with these two here, what are they called? Kenya and Tanzania, we take those and the others are completely boxed in. They’re surrounded by that hellhole Angola on the west and other major powers on the North and South. We could then split up the troops and fight a war on multiple fronts.” The Marine representative said.
“The rest of you agree?” Henry asked.
There were murmurs of acceptance and multiple head nods.
“Alright, it’s your job to prepare the troops. I’ll send a transmission to Avalon and make an announcement to the people.”
“What do the Brazilians care? They still hate us.” Asked the Air Force rep.
“There are Hibernians living here, it’s not all militiamen, you forget. I’m going to retire to bed, gentleman. I’m still not used to the damn heat.” Henry said.
He stood up, shook their hands and left.
An hour later he crawled into bed next to his wife. It was 11:30 and he thought she’d be asleep. As his head touched the pillow and his eyes closed she asked him, “What took you?” Henry grimaced, he’d been so close to beautiful sleep.
“I had a meeting with the Defense Staff. I got a transmission from Avalon today. They want more territory down here. We’re going to war in Africa.” He said.
She turned to look at him, “Another war? We’ve just finished fighting here and we’re already fighting another one in Russia. We may be powerful, but we’re not invincible.” His wife was no dummy; she was just as educated as he was, if not more.
“I know, but these armies in Africa are in such shambles that it shouldn’t be a problem taking them.” He said.
“Are we going to have to spend much time there?” She asked.
“Probably, once the fighting’s done. I’ll probably have to go over even while they are fighting.” He said.
Her head lowered, he’d been injured by mortar fire in Rio de Janeiro and required surgery on his thigh.
“Don’t worry, I won’t leave the armored vehicle at all this time.” He said.
Her worried expression did not alleviate. He half-smiled and kissed her on the forehead, “Go to sleep. I love you.”
She murmured the same before turning over and placing her head on the pillow. Soon they were both lost to their dreams.
Henry was awake early the next morning. He showered and dressed quickly before heading down to the staff room. His speech writers had left a brief explanation of the war on a pre-specified desk. He picked it up and gave it a once-over before he attacked it with a pen.
It was an hour before the staff started showing up. Henry was sitting at a desk with the revised speech when the ones who wrote it arrived it.
“It was good. I made some slight revisions though.” He said. The paper looked like it was bleeding.
“You didn’t like it?” One of them asked.
“No, not really, you made us seem too apologetic. We’ve got to go into war strong, we can’t give off any hint that we’re split on the issue, which we’re not, as far as I know.”
They nodded half-heartedly. They’d thought the speech was good.
Governor Henry Connell walked out to the podium in front of a room of reporters and television cameras. The Brazilian, Peruvian, Bolivian and Hibernian Theocracy flags stood behind the podium which was adorned by the seal of The Populus Duxor. He cleared his throat and spoke, “Ladies and Gentleman of the Hibernian Theocratic Empire. I come to you tonight to announce that we are again going to war. Our objective is to gain land in the continent of Africa. Our reason for doing this is two-fold. The first is that these new territories will provide the empire with new trading opportunities and resources and the second is to give the people of these volatile nations a stable government where they can live peaceably. Our control of these areas would mean that these people would have access to health care and we may be able to curtail the AIDS epidemic that has plagued these people for years. We have both the people of Africa and ourselves in mind. Hopefully, the African governments will see the sense in our argument and surrender sovereignty to us. It is regrettable that military action is required in the name of progress, but there is no alternative. Thank you.”
He walked off amid a hail of questions that he tuned out. The Speaker took the podium and explained which nations were being attacked, but he kept the list limited to Kenya and Tanzania, there was no reason creating massive objection to the new campaign when not necessary.
The First-Eighth Divisions of the Atlantic Fleet left port within the week. Nearly three million soldiers in total were shipped off in the massive Air Ships. They headed south across the Pacific and swung around the cape of Good Hope and up the coast to their destination and to war.
OOC: Of course, you all are only aware of our intentions for Tanzania and Kenya. I'm aware it's pretty long and I thank those who suffered through it.
“Christ, we gave them half of Brazil, Peru and Bolivia, do they really need more?” Governor Henry Connell asked of no one in particular.
They wanted African nations, in particular, mostly for the resources. Henry was the Chief Governor of all Hibernian Earth II territories and while he was still under direct control of the Populus Duxor he had pretty much free reign to do as he pleased because of the great distance between Earth II and their planet of origin. He could not, however, ignore an order to go to war. The transmission listed the eight countries the government had their eyes on. He signaled a servant to turn on the holographic map projector on the wall. The Brazilian man flicked a switch and a beam of light shot into the center of the room, projecting a holographic globe. He sat down at his desk and grabbed a remote. He rotated the globe until the African continent faced him and he zoomed in on it. The nations of Kenya and Tanzania, specifically.
“If we’re going to attack that’ll be the place to do it.” He said, again to no one in particular. He had learned quite a bit about strategy during the South American campaign. Henry turned and looked out his window at the city of Brasilia, the capitol of Hibernian Brazil. He had left his beloved city of New Antioch, where he had governed the Lee Province of Deus Vult. After his term ended he was asked by Populus Duxor if he would be interested in traveling to Earth II and governing all Hibernian Territories. The money was nearly triple of what he had been paid before and Henry had jumped at the chance. He had left Avalon and come back to the planet that the people of Avalon had emigrated from. Earth II was indeed very similar to Avalon in terms of climate but he was used to the temperate climate of his homeland, not the sweltering tropics of Brazil and it seemed there was a constant sweat on his freckled brow. He had long since discarded his jacket and his sleeves were rolled up and his shirt was unbuttoned. He waved the Brazilian servant out of the room and started typing a reply to the transmission.
RE: Africa
I’ve received your transmission and would like to inform you that the Atlantic fleet is battle-ready, but the Pacific fleet is currently tied up in Russia. Chances are we won’t need the services of the Pacific Fleet in the African campaign, but I felt the need to inform you of this since the decision to go into Russia was mine and mine alone. More on the topic of Africa, I have reviewed the map and agree with your decision that it would be an excellent addition to Hibernian Territory. However, after the recent Communist Mississippi debacle in Angola I’m weary of sending our troops to take on eight countries at once. I know the odds are in our favor because of our superior technology but I’m hesitant because I know it will cost the lives of many of our troops. The Atlantic Fleet has just ended their campaign in Brazil and morale could certainly drop if they are sent to war so soon after their hard-fought victory. But, I am only your subordinate and the decision of the Congress and the Populus Duxor is one that I will follow.
Yours in Christ,
Henry Connell
He sent the transmission and leaned back in his chair. It would be a while before the message could travel through space to Avalon. In the meantime he would call the Commanders of the Hibernian Defense Staff in for a meeting. He leaned forward and opened his bottom drawer, pulling out a bottle of Lagavulin Whiskey, shipped in from Scotland. He didn’t bother with the glass.
Several hours later Governor Henry Connell was seated at the center of a large oak table. Around the table sat his subordinate governors and the commanders of the Hibernian Defense Staff. His suit was back on his uncomfort was obvious. Sweat poured off his brow and is naturally red face was nearly crimson. Henry prepared his voice and shuffled his papers before addressing the men at the table.
“I’ve received a transmission from Avalon. They want us to aquire territory in Africa. They’ve decided on eight nations.” Henry said.
He reached across the table and pressed a button on a ball in the center of the table. A beam of light shot out and displayed a holographic map of Africa. The eight nations of interes
t were outlines in red.
“These are the countries they have decided upon. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, The Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This is a lot of territory, more then the last war. Our boys have just finished up the war here in South America and I’m curious what you think about starting a new campaign so soon after finishing one. We won the last war fairly decisively with a minimum of losses, do you think we could do it again?” Henry asked.
The Admiral of the Air Navy replied, “The reason we came away so successfully last time was because we minimized ground fighting and did most of it from the sky or from the ships. When we did fight on the ground they couldn’t stand up to the armor cavalry.”
The Army representative spoke up, “I’ve been reading these files on these countries and it seems that the majority of them are very politically volatile. Most have just gotten out of wars or still have sporadic fighting. Why do we want to go into these places in the first place?”
“Resources, my friend, these countries have great natural resources and their centrally located. We can easily access Europe, Asia and Australia from there. Our trade would significantly increase with the acquisition of these countries.” Henry said.
“I definitely think we could win a war but we should only take one or two countries at a time, starting with these two here, what are they called? Kenya and Tanzania, we take those and the others are completely boxed in. They’re surrounded by that hellhole Angola on the west and other major powers on the North and South. We could then split up the troops and fight a war on multiple fronts.” The Marine representative said.
“The rest of you agree?” Henry asked.
There were murmurs of acceptance and multiple head nods.
“Alright, it’s your job to prepare the troops. I’ll send a transmission to Avalon and make an announcement to the people.”
“What do the Brazilians care? They still hate us.” Asked the Air Force rep.
“There are Hibernians living here, it’s not all militiamen, you forget. I’m going to retire to bed, gentleman. I’m still not used to the damn heat.” Henry said.
He stood up, shook their hands and left.
An hour later he crawled into bed next to his wife. It was 11:30 and he thought she’d be asleep. As his head touched the pillow and his eyes closed she asked him, “What took you?” Henry grimaced, he’d been so close to beautiful sleep.
“I had a meeting with the Defense Staff. I got a transmission from Avalon today. They want more territory down here. We’re going to war in Africa.” He said.
She turned to look at him, “Another war? We’ve just finished fighting here and we’re already fighting another one in Russia. We may be powerful, but we’re not invincible.” His wife was no dummy; she was just as educated as he was, if not more.
“I know, but these armies in Africa are in such shambles that it shouldn’t be a problem taking them.” He said.
“Are we going to have to spend much time there?” She asked.
“Probably, once the fighting’s done. I’ll probably have to go over even while they are fighting.” He said.
Her head lowered, he’d been injured by mortar fire in Rio de Janeiro and required surgery on his thigh.
“Don’t worry, I won’t leave the armored vehicle at all this time.” He said.
Her worried expression did not alleviate. He half-smiled and kissed her on the forehead, “Go to sleep. I love you.”
She murmured the same before turning over and placing her head on the pillow. Soon they were both lost to their dreams.
Henry was awake early the next morning. He showered and dressed quickly before heading down to the staff room. His speech writers had left a brief explanation of the war on a pre-specified desk. He picked it up and gave it a once-over before he attacked it with a pen.
It was an hour before the staff started showing up. Henry was sitting at a desk with the revised speech when the ones who wrote it arrived it.
“It was good. I made some slight revisions though.” He said. The paper looked like it was bleeding.
“You didn’t like it?” One of them asked.
“No, not really, you made us seem too apologetic. We’ve got to go into war strong, we can’t give off any hint that we’re split on the issue, which we’re not, as far as I know.”
They nodded half-heartedly. They’d thought the speech was good.
Governor Henry Connell walked out to the podium in front of a room of reporters and television cameras. The Brazilian, Peruvian, Bolivian and Hibernian Theocracy flags stood behind the podium which was adorned by the seal of The Populus Duxor. He cleared his throat and spoke, “Ladies and Gentleman of the Hibernian Theocratic Empire. I come to you tonight to announce that we are again going to war. Our objective is to gain land in the continent of Africa. Our reason for doing this is two-fold. The first is that these new territories will provide the empire with new trading opportunities and resources and the second is to give the people of these volatile nations a stable government where they can live peaceably. Our control of these areas would mean that these people would have access to health care and we may be able to curtail the AIDS epidemic that has plagued these people for years. We have both the people of Africa and ourselves in mind. Hopefully, the African governments will see the sense in our argument and surrender sovereignty to us. It is regrettable that military action is required in the name of progress, but there is no alternative. Thank you.”
He walked off amid a hail of questions that he tuned out. The Speaker took the podium and explained which nations were being attacked, but he kept the list limited to Kenya and Tanzania, there was no reason creating massive objection to the new campaign when not necessary.
The First-Eighth Divisions of the Atlantic Fleet left port within the week. Nearly three million soldiers in total were shipped off in the massive Air Ships. They headed south across the Pacific and swung around the cape of Good Hope and up the coast to their destination and to war.
OOC: Of course, you all are only aware of our intentions for Tanzania and Kenya. I'm aware it's pretty long and I thank those who suffered through it.