Chimaea
04-02-2005, 07:57
OOC: Well the two week limit has well and truly passed and as far as I know these two states have not been claimed. Feel free to join this RP as either government (Nunavut or Manitoba).
Nunavut, near the Northwest Territories border, 4:00 AM
The night sky was fading with the approach of the dawn. The stars, which shone brightly so far out from the light haze of civilisation, were mingling with the cold grey-blue of the new dawn.
Tuma Saumik was used to the breathtaking sight of the dawn sky over the mountains. He was one of the three men in the communications outpost, in charge of maintaining the integrity of the communications lines which ran mainly underground because of the harsh climatic conditions in the Canadian tundra. The lines were vital to the survival of several population centers nearby and formed the backbone of communications to the whole of southern Nunavut.
He looked away from the window of the steel and concrete building which housed the monitoring devices which informed him of the running of the lines. Any fault would be picked up and--
There was a beeping from the main console. He stepped over to it and activated the large screen which ran across one wall. The screen lit up with a virtual map of the communications lines. As he watched. One of the lines went from a bright green to a bright red.
He frowned. Sometimes parts of the lines went faulty but a whole line just deactivating was completely unusual. He wondered if it was a fault in the monitoring systems. He decided he should check it out anyway and was reaching for the phone to call the other two men posted with him when another two lines went red. He stared open mouthed as one after the other, each line turned red until most of the lines registered dead.
He snatched up the phone and said in Inuktitut, "Nuqaq? What the hell's happening, about four fifths of the lines are registering dead and--"
Nuqaq's strained voice interrupted him. "Tuma... I think you'd better come see this out here."
He wasn't supposed to leave the building unmanned, but with most of the lines down he supposed it wasn't much of an issue. Besides, there was something in Nuqaq's tone that caught his attention. He shrugged on his heavy jacket, flicked a standby switch on the console and opened the door.
There was...
There was a tank.
It sat there in the snow, a haze of heat and gas escaping from its machinery and treads. The squat, menacing shape of it loomed over him, the huge barrel of the main canon pointed squarely into his face. He could smell the machine stink of the thing. Tuma gawped, astonished, then slowly took in the scene.
The other two men were at one side, hands on their heads, guarded by three soldiers holding assault rifles. There were soldiers approaching him guardedly. More vehicles were spread out behind the tank. There were two more tanks, too, facing different directions. As he watched, troops spilled out of an armoured vehicle of some sort.
A man with a peaked cap walked up to him and stretched out a hand. Tuma numbly took it and shook. The man smiled. "Hello there," he said, his voice surprisingly gentle for such a big man, "I'm Major Gillette, 223rd Infantry Regiment, Chimaean Army. This is a sort of awkward thing, but I'm afraid you're now under the command of the Chimaean Armed Forces. Which is me."
Tuma found his voice. "What? Why?"
Major Gillette blinked in surprise. "Oh, sorry, I thought it was obvious. Nunavut is now a state of Chimaea. As of 02:00 hours, actually. Now if I were you, I'd go and put the kettle on." he took out a cigar from a case in his pocket and clipped off the end before putting it in his mouth. "This could be a long day."
***
The Press Room of the New Sydney Parliament House was packed with journalists from Chimaea and around the world. The press meeting had been called in the early hours of the morning and some of the reporters were still looking slightly bleary at having been woken up by their editors and producers.
In front of the room, two lecterns had been set up with a nest of microphones on each. On the wall behind the lecterns was draped the Chimaean flag and a map of the Commonwealth.
The side door opened and three bodyguards walked into the room, followed by Governor Bryce and General Santuro, who each took up position at one of the lecterns. When the noise in the room had died down, Governor Bryce smiled brightly.
"Thank you for coming at such short notice. We're going to have to make this quick, I'm afraid, Parliament is sitting shortly."
She activated a button on her lectern. The map of the Commonwealth changed to a map of Canada; Manitoba and Nunavut were highlighted in a vivid red.
"Ladies and gentlemen, as of late, my concerns about the state of the peoples of Manitobe and Nunavut have increased. With the presense of two large and powerful neighbours, these independant states have suffered adversely from their neutral position. The Inuit way of life, in particular, has been effected by their government's policy of non-cooperation with the Commonwealth.
"So it is not lightly that I have made the decision to incorporate these two states into the Commonwealth."
The hubbub started at once; almost with one breath the media representatives stood and began firing off questions at her. The Governor raised a hand and the cacophony died down slowly.
"As of 2 AM today, Chimaean military forces have entered Nunavat and Manitoba by air, land and water, through the Hudson Bay. This is the largest deployment of Chimaean forces since Somalia; we have inserted roughly 250, 000 personnel into Nunavut and a further 50, 000 into Manitoba. General?"
General Santuro nodded. "We will try our best not to disrupt the day-to-day life of the peoples of these states; however we must caution them against resisting the Chimaean forces. We request that they stay in their dwellings for anything but the most pressing needs until the military curfew has been lifted. The governments of both states have been dismissed for all but the most purely administrative tasks until such a time as fresh elections will be held for the local state governments of the Commonwealth. We also request that all neighbouring nations do not interfere with the integration process underway."
There was another eruption of questions, again quitened by a raised hand from the Governor. She picked out one reporter from the crowd.
"Governor, Michael Braxx, New Sydney Times. Do you think that its likely that neigbouring nations will protest this move?"
The Governor considered for a moment, then shrugged. "Possibly, yes. We are waiting for a reaction from the international community, but frankly this is an action that's been on the books since Somalia. These two independant states need more tha neutrality for a better future for their people."
"Governor, Leanne Georges, The Observer. Do you have any comments to make on the possibility of accessing the mineral deposits found in Nunavut recently, or will Chimaea be respecting the native title of the Inuit?"
The Governor frowned. "It's a bit early in the day for talking about the deposits. We will naturally be in consultation with the Inuit and with all people concerned with every aspect of the integration."
"Governor, Diana Disraeli, Channel 2. How do you answer critics who claim that the Commonwealth has launched on a campaign of imperialist expansionism?"
The Governor shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Don't be silly, this is out of honest concern for the welfare and security of the people of Manitoba and Nunavut. We can hardly be blamed for 'imperialist expansionism' if we're out there to help people..."
After a few more questions, the Governor and her General left the room. The media went back to their offices and attempted to dispatch journalists and reporters to the states in question, only to discover a complete travel ban in place in both locations. Whatever was happening in the states, it was happening away from the eyes of the international community.
Nunavut, near the Northwest Territories border, 4:00 AM
The night sky was fading with the approach of the dawn. The stars, which shone brightly so far out from the light haze of civilisation, were mingling with the cold grey-blue of the new dawn.
Tuma Saumik was used to the breathtaking sight of the dawn sky over the mountains. He was one of the three men in the communications outpost, in charge of maintaining the integrity of the communications lines which ran mainly underground because of the harsh climatic conditions in the Canadian tundra. The lines were vital to the survival of several population centers nearby and formed the backbone of communications to the whole of southern Nunavut.
He looked away from the window of the steel and concrete building which housed the monitoring devices which informed him of the running of the lines. Any fault would be picked up and--
There was a beeping from the main console. He stepped over to it and activated the large screen which ran across one wall. The screen lit up with a virtual map of the communications lines. As he watched. One of the lines went from a bright green to a bright red.
He frowned. Sometimes parts of the lines went faulty but a whole line just deactivating was completely unusual. He wondered if it was a fault in the monitoring systems. He decided he should check it out anyway and was reaching for the phone to call the other two men posted with him when another two lines went red. He stared open mouthed as one after the other, each line turned red until most of the lines registered dead.
He snatched up the phone and said in Inuktitut, "Nuqaq? What the hell's happening, about four fifths of the lines are registering dead and--"
Nuqaq's strained voice interrupted him. "Tuma... I think you'd better come see this out here."
He wasn't supposed to leave the building unmanned, but with most of the lines down he supposed it wasn't much of an issue. Besides, there was something in Nuqaq's tone that caught his attention. He shrugged on his heavy jacket, flicked a standby switch on the console and opened the door.
There was...
There was a tank.
It sat there in the snow, a haze of heat and gas escaping from its machinery and treads. The squat, menacing shape of it loomed over him, the huge barrel of the main canon pointed squarely into his face. He could smell the machine stink of the thing. Tuma gawped, astonished, then slowly took in the scene.
The other two men were at one side, hands on their heads, guarded by three soldiers holding assault rifles. There were soldiers approaching him guardedly. More vehicles were spread out behind the tank. There were two more tanks, too, facing different directions. As he watched, troops spilled out of an armoured vehicle of some sort.
A man with a peaked cap walked up to him and stretched out a hand. Tuma numbly took it and shook. The man smiled. "Hello there," he said, his voice surprisingly gentle for such a big man, "I'm Major Gillette, 223rd Infantry Regiment, Chimaean Army. This is a sort of awkward thing, but I'm afraid you're now under the command of the Chimaean Armed Forces. Which is me."
Tuma found his voice. "What? Why?"
Major Gillette blinked in surprise. "Oh, sorry, I thought it was obvious. Nunavut is now a state of Chimaea. As of 02:00 hours, actually. Now if I were you, I'd go and put the kettle on." he took out a cigar from a case in his pocket and clipped off the end before putting it in his mouth. "This could be a long day."
***
The Press Room of the New Sydney Parliament House was packed with journalists from Chimaea and around the world. The press meeting had been called in the early hours of the morning and some of the reporters were still looking slightly bleary at having been woken up by their editors and producers.
In front of the room, two lecterns had been set up with a nest of microphones on each. On the wall behind the lecterns was draped the Chimaean flag and a map of the Commonwealth.
The side door opened and three bodyguards walked into the room, followed by Governor Bryce and General Santuro, who each took up position at one of the lecterns. When the noise in the room had died down, Governor Bryce smiled brightly.
"Thank you for coming at such short notice. We're going to have to make this quick, I'm afraid, Parliament is sitting shortly."
She activated a button on her lectern. The map of the Commonwealth changed to a map of Canada; Manitoba and Nunavut were highlighted in a vivid red.
"Ladies and gentlemen, as of late, my concerns about the state of the peoples of Manitobe and Nunavut have increased. With the presense of two large and powerful neighbours, these independant states have suffered adversely from their neutral position. The Inuit way of life, in particular, has been effected by their government's policy of non-cooperation with the Commonwealth.
"So it is not lightly that I have made the decision to incorporate these two states into the Commonwealth."
The hubbub started at once; almost with one breath the media representatives stood and began firing off questions at her. The Governor raised a hand and the cacophony died down slowly.
"As of 2 AM today, Chimaean military forces have entered Nunavat and Manitoba by air, land and water, through the Hudson Bay. This is the largest deployment of Chimaean forces since Somalia; we have inserted roughly 250, 000 personnel into Nunavut and a further 50, 000 into Manitoba. General?"
General Santuro nodded. "We will try our best not to disrupt the day-to-day life of the peoples of these states; however we must caution them against resisting the Chimaean forces. We request that they stay in their dwellings for anything but the most pressing needs until the military curfew has been lifted. The governments of both states have been dismissed for all but the most purely administrative tasks until such a time as fresh elections will be held for the local state governments of the Commonwealth. We also request that all neighbouring nations do not interfere with the integration process underway."
There was another eruption of questions, again quitened by a raised hand from the Governor. She picked out one reporter from the crowd.
"Governor, Michael Braxx, New Sydney Times. Do you think that its likely that neigbouring nations will protest this move?"
The Governor considered for a moment, then shrugged. "Possibly, yes. We are waiting for a reaction from the international community, but frankly this is an action that's been on the books since Somalia. These two independant states need more tha neutrality for a better future for their people."
"Governor, Leanne Georges, The Observer. Do you have any comments to make on the possibility of accessing the mineral deposits found in Nunavut recently, or will Chimaea be respecting the native title of the Inuit?"
The Governor frowned. "It's a bit early in the day for talking about the deposits. We will naturally be in consultation with the Inuit and with all people concerned with every aspect of the integration."
"Governor, Diana Disraeli, Channel 2. How do you answer critics who claim that the Commonwealth has launched on a campaign of imperialist expansionism?"
The Governor shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Don't be silly, this is out of honest concern for the welfare and security of the people of Manitoba and Nunavut. We can hardly be blamed for 'imperialist expansionism' if we're out there to help people..."
After a few more questions, the Governor and her General left the room. The media went back to their offices and attempted to dispatch journalists and reporters to the states in question, only to discover a complete travel ban in place in both locations. Whatever was happening in the states, it was happening away from the eyes of the international community.