NationStates Jolt Archive

(Some background, for the curious, may be found at this thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=381830) )
Tileesa hamlet, Dovia

Miroslava Goranov, beloved sister of President Bojan Javoric, had been gone from the Dovian Socialist Republic for less than a year. Her hill-side villa in Tileesa remained empty, decaying since her evacuation by Zelenoslav forces answering her brother's command, and never taken-back by the local population that had attempted to storm the complex in the moments before the arrival of helicopter and armoured vehicle. Their houses had not been used since, either, save that one slightly off the generously-called main road. A few score yards off the grit-covered track a little house once belonged to an old trapper who, in his youth, had worked for the Dovian Royal family before the Zelenoslav-backed revolution slaughtered or scattered his employers, was now on a par with another little red house in Europe. The whole population of Dovia somewhat mysteriously left town on the same day as the President's sister and brother-in-law, and she -Miroslava- had watched the smoke of their souls ascending over the Dovian hills from near-by Zelenoslavia.

Tileesa wouldn't be the scene of today's troubles, though it was in no small part the cause.

Zamakograde, Dovia

Just northeast of Tileesa, the capital of the Dovian Socialist Republic sat in the foothills of the great mountain range that slashed the Zapadslavian coast from Bravania to southern Zelenoslavia. The city was nothing special on the face of it. A few hundred thousand residents at most: Dovia wasn't one of the bigger amongst the Zapadslav Federation's ten republics; it was old and low-rise in construction like all of the ten lands' cities. It was also crawling with soldiers in the same quite ordinary fashion, and had over twelve thousand of Javoric's little one-man pre-fabricated bunkers flung out around its extent. The President said that if anyone wished to invade The Socialist Unity-Republic of Zapadslavia they would need ten thousand nuclear bombs, a million tanks, or ten million soldiers at least, and what precious few visitors the nation had were prone to agreement. There were tens of millions of pillboxes across the land, and they forced a defensive siege mentality upon the people at large.

Unfortunately for Javoric and his Zelenoslavian cohorts, the outward threats he imagined never materialised in the way that internal demons were now rising. Dovians relative or friend to those in Tileesa -or any other recently vansished hamlet or township, or those coming back from the death-works of Javoric's nation-wide canal building scheme- were more opposed to the Zapadslav union than any outsider had cared to be.

Dovia ranked in the lower five of Zapadslavia's ten republics in terms of size and economic might. Zelenoslavia, Bravania, Planinask-Toranjina, Benivaria-Otsana alone each utterly dwarfed the little nation, which could really call only the neighbouring coastal republic of Ravnicana its junior, and Ravnicana at least had flourishing agricultural and light industrial sectors to its name.

Never the less, Dovians took at least an equal share of the Union's hardship. This was partly owing to its proximity to Zelenoslavia -seen by opponents as the instigator of forced unity across Zapadslavia- and to the fact of Mrs.Miroslava Javoric Goranov's near life-time residence in the land. Since she'd left, she'd well seen to it that her doting brother punished Dovia for rejecting her so violently. One might have thought that she'd expect it after flaunting her status so disdainfully before the down-trodden of the Republic and treating them so scornfully.

The Dovian Unity Militia -mandated by Javoric to constitue two percent of the republic's population under arms and at part-time training- had quite unexpectedly turned itself against the Zapadslav Unity Army. Thousands of militiamen with M66A1 (SKS-alike) battle rifles with muzzle grenades, RPG-2s, hand grenades, mines, and a smattering of other arms fetched from the armouries of the stunned Army Trained Reserve were taking to the streets of Zamakograde, setting up barricades and manning pillboxes left and right. Pillboxes built on Federal mandate and cash-grant and by communal labour from around the Unity-Republic were now turned into defences against the very same entity as Unity Militia officers called for greater autonomy within the Unity-Republic.

Velikograde (the Zapadslavian capital in Zelenoslavia) was shocked, and yet to react.

The Turetelian Government organized itself quickly and quietly like usual. It speed to and fro and called upon reserves and armed forces to react instantly. Now was that time. With the stunning news that a revolt had occured Turetel seized the time and was ready to help the minority rebels fight the empire. The 74th Infantry, 1,011th Armoured, and 2nd Marine Detachment were en-route via the 2nd Fleet and the Special Operations Teams already were over the airspace and paratrooping down onto the city, only about 150 of them, but they were ordered to help the rebels at all cost.

Brigadier General Evan Justice hit the ground hard, more like a roof, then a pole, then the ground; he had a hard landing and felt like a hard day was going to come when only 2 of his buddies landed besides him. They goal of the 150 were to take 8 pillboxes for the rebel cause and have 1 pillbox set up as an HQ of sorts. He heard gun-shots coming from the other roadways and quickly took out his UA-55 (Urban Class Assualt Rifle) and told Johnson and Pine (the two other landers) to get ready to fight their way through to their friends...

Zamakograde, Dovia

The arrival of foreign troops was -to say the least- unexpected. Those who came down directly over Zamakograde would be received with extreme caution, Unity Militia fighters holding them at gunpoint until translators could arrive to absolutely confirm that these were not Zelenoslavian soldiers come to re-take the city. It was quite possible that in isolated parts, some were initially fired upon by Dovian defenders who knew only that their side had no planes, and that the Unity-Republic did.

Luckily, as Dovia was a coastal republic, it was possible to fly straight from over sea to over the rebelling area without encountering serious Zapadslavian air defences, which were extremely thick over most of the vast Unity-Republic. Once confusion was cleared-up, the Turetelian troops would be received with good cheer, smiles, shots in the air, offers of locally-distilled alcoholic beverages, and a good deal of confusion. Why anyone from abroad would be interested in Dovian independence was beyond the locals!

It would also become evident that the uprising had occurred without clear leadership. Now that the city was siezed from within, nobody knew what to do. Anyone close to authority or celebrity had long since been whisked away by the Zapadslav Unity Army or the mysterious Sova-14. The rebelling Unity Militia were usually expected to answer to Unity Army commanders, who were almost exclusively of Zelenoslavian origin. They had only none-commissioned officers to call their own.

Unfortunately, well over two million Zapadslavians were quite seriously committed to the Zapadslav Unity Army. When Velikograde finally composed itself, the response to Dovian uprising would likely be massive. Meanwhile, some Dovians were attempting to pull down the forty-foot statue of Bojan Javoric, which stood in the middle of their city. Most civilians remained indoors, though several thousand had come out on to the streets to celebrate some sort of independence.

The reknowned Earl Watson and 74th Infantry landed first, inside the city and were glad to see the initial problem was over, but the initial problem was far from a problem. As Earl reconnected with Evan they talked out a plan in private at a local bar. They decided to have the 1,011th Armoured hiding outside of the city and have the 2nd Marine Detachement on the outskirts of the city with the 74th Infantry taking any ridges and hills around the city. This would have to be okayed by the Zapadslavia Rebels, but Earl thought this would be no problem.

The SOT quietly left the city, and started towards another Zapadslavia Army position, ready to get information and take it down. They grabbed the Rebel Breaker weapons (Mainly High Powered Rifles, Snipers, and Grenades), and took to the country side of a sort.

Zamakograde's streets were full now not only with Unity Militia fighters but with civilians encouraged by the arrival of foreign soldiers and the realisation that almost all of the Republic's Militia were on-side with the bid for greater autonomy. That -in theory- represented something in the order of sixty thousand men and women under arms with ranks swelling by the day as Javoric's own policy of internal self sufficiency saw factories turn out more and more "militia-grade" equipment. They were united -more or less- under Lieutenant-Colonel Dimitar Obradin who was to be found arguing with city officials over his desire to turn the Unity Party's Dovian headquarters in Zamakograde's southern districs into his forward command post. The relatively low-ranking officer had taken charge in an absence of alternatives as most Generals in the Zapadslav Unity Army -to whom the Unity Militia was supposed to be answerable- were Zelenoslavs.

Buildings were now being hung with the Dovian flag in place of the Unity-Republic's red and white, star-carrying banner, though it was perhaps telling that the old Dovian royal crest was not displayed, people still prefering the flag of the Dovian Socialist Republic that was only created with a helping hand from Zelenoslav intervention forces.

The Dovian flag flies-
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v148/Chivtv/NS1/Doviaflag.jpg

In the hours after the first chaotic uprising, in which Unity Militia, police, and Army Trained Reservists had exchanged fire in disorder to a resulting handful of casualties, a strange calm had fallen upon Zamakograde. Since it was realised that the majority in the city were agreeable to the movement, and that the Turetelians arriving were not part of a Unity-Republic counter-offensive, there was no fighting to be done. The Zapadslav Unity-Republic had been utterly wrong-footed by the rising and for hours had done nothing. Eventually, a few cars and trucks had tried to enter the Dovian capital to learn just exactly what was happening, but by this time road-blocks were up and they were simply denied access and told to come back when Velikograde (the Zapadslav capital, in the Zelenoslavian Republic) was prepared to talk about autonomy for the Dovian Socialist Republic.

Still hours later, with the 74th Infantry from Turetel arriving in Zamakograde, there was no sign of Velikograde entertaining this silly demand on the part of the troublesome Dovians. They instead sent a JaSlo-6 Seva (Skylark) reconnaissance jet -an aircraft to a significant degree resembling the Soviet Su-15 Flagon though with two verticle tail fins instead of one- to over-fly the rebellious city at high speed, photographing rebel movements and blockades, and identifying for the first time the presence of foreign assets in Dovia.

Below, Unity Militia fighters invited the Turetelians to set-up command posts in public buildings -of which there were many- rather than trying to huddle into Zapadslav pillboxes. These were, after all, one-man glorified foxholes brought in on trucks and dropped into holes, giving one man just enough space to stand and to fire a rifle in relative safety from counter-fire. That went a long way to explaining why there was one for every fourth or fifth person across the Zapadslav Unity-Republic, meaning that Dovia alone contained several hundred thousand- more than it had soldiers and militiamen. Their purpose was to allow fighters to defend any location or direction by moving between pre-prepared firing positions designed to give good covering arcs of fire and reltively secure movement from one to another. They didn't lend themselves to long-term habitation or co-ordination of large operations or forces.

A map of the Socialist Unity-Republic of Zapadslavia-
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v148/Chivtv/NS1/zapadslaviamap.jpg

Off shore, the Zapadslav Unity Navy's Amphibious Reaction Flotillas and Submarine Warfare Divisions were moving to deploy more water mine fields than were already in place across the paranoid Unity-Republic's long western coastal waters, concentrating now off Dovia. Missile and torpedo boat stations were put on alert as helicopter squadrons began to operate increased patrols and corvettes and frigates put to sea in the Buranzapad. Coastal gun and missile battery commanders were also advised to increase drilling and prepare their men for possible action as President Javoric worked himself into a near fit over the possibility of invasion and division in his Unity-Republic. The ZUN wasn't much to look at on the world stage: no missile submarines, no aircraft carriers, no capital ships, but it did have a little regarded littoral strength of great local significance. Both Navy and Air Force were now alerted to the possibility of outside meddling in Unity affairs, and had Dovia's coast and skies under increased scrutiny.

Still Zamakograde waited for Velikograde's serious reaction, most aware that they could do little more themselves and that the central authorities would now probably dictate the pace, barring outside influences.

Roughly 105,000 Turetelian Armed forces were inside now, and that would be all that would come. The call was made to withdraw the naval forces when the mines were laid and the Turetelian Forces already on land were abandoned. They figured out that they could help turn the course of this rebellion, but knew that they would be running on borrowed time. Earl Watson called a meeting and told the men that it was crucial that no shot wasted, no grenade thrown, and no supplies dwindled unless needed.

In lieu of a developmental post, this is merely some informative elaboration on things existing. Progress shall be made soon enough.

An overview of the Zapadslav Unity Militia

In wartime, able bodied men and women from their mid teens to late middle age are supposed to be mobilised for national defence, while in peace time almost 2% of the population is involved in training and other activities. The ten republics each field UM units, all of which are responsible to the central Zapadslav Unity Army command, and ZUA or Army Trained Reserve officers are placed in command of UM units. ZUA authority over UM forces may be severed by UM operation behind enemy lines of occupation or by disruption to the chain of command all without the UM losing operational ability.

The UM is primarily a partisan force meant to deter invasion and hamper occupation. Its primary units are company-sized detachments meant to fight on their home ground with local knowledge of terrain while maintaining regional production of important war materials. Larger formations exist and are furnished with obsolescent heavier weaponry and afforded slight mechanisation with which they are supposed to alleviate pressure on smaller partisan operations and surviving ZUA forces.

The ZUM is armed as standard with the M66A1 7.62x39mm Battle Rifle: a modified SKS clone that can launch rifle-grenades, and which is fitted with the usual folding bayonet. It is also provided with the RPG-2, and with smaller quantities of Model 70AZ 9mm Automatic Pistols (a 9mm version of the Tokarev TT-33); Model 56Z 9mm Sub-Machineguns (Yugoslav weapons that outwardly resemble the famous German MP-40, despite being inwardly different and often provided with large drum magazines); and few M84 7.62x54R General Purpose Machineguns (which resemble the PK series). There are then none-standardised hand grenades, mines, and infantry mortars. Mechanisation is by none-standardised soft-skin trucks, and armour in the form primarily of T-34s and a few Su-type self-propelled guns (76mm, 85mm, and 100mm versions), though the ZUM also has some Sherman tanks and American half-tracks left-over from pre-Unity days in which western nations sometimes took a passive role in backing different monarchs across the ten lands. Supply and maintanence issues born of limited funding and resulting lack of uniformity usually prevent much mobility on the part of these assets.

The streets of Zamakograde are held by several local UM companies and elements of the Republic's mechanised militia strength, which is little better than token and is presently seeking to organise itself into a cohesive division or army group under Lieutenant-Colonel Dimitar Obradin's co-ordination. It may count as many as sixty thousand fighters trained part time at the Unity-Republic's expense, though most are tied-down to a geographic area by obligation to their careers, which range from subsistence farming to vital war industries.

Unfortunately for the Dovian dissenters, the ZUA fields ranks climbing towards two and a half million in all, most based in surrounding republics like Zelenoslavia and Bravania. If President Javoric deems it necessary, he may activate the Army Trained Reserve, which presently counts a further four and a half million persons with military training. However, inside Dovia, the stance of the ATR is unclear. Elements initially resisted the UM uprising, but most did not activate in the absence of orders from Velikograde. From the 4.5million total, perhaps one percent of Army Trained Reservists reside in Dovia, potentially meaning that better than a hundred thousand residents of the Republic have military training and access to at least some equipment- it remains to be seen whether the ATR will join the Militia rising or accept orders from Unity-Army commanders who may try to bring the revolt down from inside.

Note to anyone else reading: this is still more or less an open RP, though it is modern tech (I am not excluding interaction between Zapadslavia and other tech-levels, but don't want military intervention from spacemen, thanks!). Please do chip-in, IC or OOC! Next up: Velikograde's response.

"A rising?" Laughed Foreign and Information Secretary Aleksandar Milutinov in response to perhaps poorly chosen words put to him by a journalist. "All ten peoples of the ten lands of the Zapadslav Socialist Unity-Republic are held-up already on the shoulders of their revolutionary forebearers and the collective efforts of all in the Unity-Republic. To rise implies starting from a position of subordination! This is not the case!" Milutinov laughed again.

Meanwhile, Zapadslav Unity Army forces were converging on the tri-republic border between Zelenoslavia, Suncevo, and Dovia, and already Mountain Brigades were entering the troubled republic from Bravania and Ravnicana, initially unnoticed by the rebelling forces concentrated in and around the capital in the foothills.

Aircraft continued to over-fly Zamakograde, photographing the city and the vast Turetelian force on hand. They gave no fire and took none in response from rebel forces largely unsure that they even wanted to fight. As Lieutenant-Colonel Obradin would explain to the foreigners, Dovia wasn't looking to start a civil war, nor even to completely cut its association with the Unity-Republic, just to achieve greater autonomy, which most Dovians currently felt was surrendered to Velikograde. Though there were elections here, they were to appoint the equivalent of local councillors or leaders subservient to Zelenoslavia like... an Iraqi government to an American army. They wanted multiple parties from which to choose, though Velikograde was already hitting back, calling the creation of multiple parties a fracturing of a united society and the arbiter of perpetual conflict.
Conflict that would forever be ended by the ZUA's inevitible victory should the Dovians refuse to lay down their arms.
While broken debates continued and both Dovians and wider Zapadslavians tried to figure-out why Turetel and Turetel alone had stepped-in, the sound of gunfire echoed down from the hills north and west of Zamakograde.
"The Zapadslavians are trying to take the heights above us!" Cried an NCO dashing along the main street, sub-machinegun in hand, "They're going to shell us! I know it! I told you!"
The rattling of shots continued, growing slightly more frequent but still clearly representing little more than light skirmishing and the cityfolk wondered what was to come, Obradin still quite obviously desperate to avoid all out civil war and hesitant to order mobile militia forces into the hills. "They'll just come in and take the city if we leave" he said, "and if we send the foreigners up to stop them alone it'll mean international war and the Union will be fighting for its life, God only knows what Javoric would do then!"
He also feared activation of the Army Trained Reserve in Zamakograde might take the city from under him if forces were drawn out into the hills. So then it was decided that the ATR issue had to be resolved first.
"Get me their General Justice" the Lieutenant-Colonel ordered, "We must take some of the foreign troops with us to the Army's command on the eastern outskirts and assure the Reservists that the Turetelians are a neutral third party who will ensure their safety if they agree not to fight the Militia."

(Not much more than a bump)

Velikograde looks outwards

For the first time since the creation from ten nations of the modern Socialist Unity-Republic, the Zapadslavian government has begun of its own initiative to look abroad for allies. Through Foreign and Information Minister Aleksandar Milutinov, President Bojan Javoric and Chairman Plamen Stojakovic are seeking the support of like-minded governments around the globe, speaking of increased trade, widened regard of the field of unity, strength through that, and the development of proper new political theory.

Cynics may suppose that the Dovian uprising has something to do with Velikograde's suddenly co-operative attitude.

OOC: Tell me what you want my men to do (peacekeeping as neutrals or aggresive against the larger force).

IC: The new Turetelian Leader of these forces was General Charles Witt, one stripe away from a Clovian. He went to talk with the Rebels head leaders...

(Well, it's largely up to you. I rather hoped that more nations would be involved by now: seeing a potential humanitarian crisis in Dovia, or an oportunity to align with Zapadslavia and its leadership. At the moment your troops are in a very delicate situation, I think, and I wouldn't envy one government alone trying to figure out how to avoid making a mess of it. All sides could do with a bit of back-up or something to keep them from going over the edge.

As of now there's not any exceptionally heavy fighting or violence taking place, and one would expect some sort of international body to wish it kept that way. We're on the brink of the Zapadslav government deciding that it can most easily solve the crisis by crushing Dovia by force and taking the isolated Turetelian force down with it, and on the other hand of some of the rebels escalating the conflict because they're all inflated by their initial success.

The closest thing the rebels have to a leader is only a Lieutenant-Colonel himself, and so is struggling with the big strategic and political pictures.
Come on! Someone else jump in to support rebel Dovians, authoritarian socialist Zapadslavs, or to step in between! Turetel's a bit out in the cold, here!)

General Witt received a walm welcome from Lt.Col. Obradin who seemed a little too cheerful given the weight of his troubles. He offered a little Dovian liquor and spoke loudly and emotively. "We are going to meet with army commanders inside our city." He said, indicating a few staff and troops around him in the well appointed lounge in which he entertained the Turetelian General, "They are responsible on a local level for the Army Trained Reserve active here. Thousands of men and women with military training and access to arms lockers that we [the militia] have not yet tried to take from them. Some of their people have already joined us in the streets, but others -and the officers- are worried about responsibilities to Velikograde.
"I would like you to join us, friend, to assure them no harm will come if they join us instead of trying to fight. Their responsibility is here in Zamakograde, not off in Zelenoslavia's capital, and I hope that foreign soldiers such as yours can assure them that... there will be no unfortunate consequences for them having delayed in joining us, you know?"

Assuming that the Turetelians gave no objection to the plan, the Dovian Militia leaders and ATR representatives met under the growing thunder of gunfire from the surrounding mountains.

Even Obradin was surprised by the speed with which the Army Trained Reserve expressed its pro-autonomy stance. It seemed that almost all of Dovia was behind the cause!

Well, of course, nobody was sure what the people in the outlying villages thought. Up in the hills they were as remote to Zamakograde as to... Paris or Tokyo! And they had -unbeknownst to those in the Dovian capital- been over-run by the Zapadslav Unity Army's Mountain Brigades. Whole villages were wiped-out, a dozen Tileesas they became, ghost towns in a bare, militarised landscape with hardly more unmanned pillboxes than conspicuously absent gravestones.

Barely had the Tileesans been lavished with the news of the Dovian ATR's decision to join the cause when the mood changed. The now familiar roar of aircraft engines -previously announcing overflying reconnaissance planes- was suddenly met by shouts of alarm. A pair of Zap-22B Orao attack fighters was sweeping down on the barricades erected around the Militia's perimiter at the edge of the city, big Grom air-to-surface missiles evident under their wings, inciting a scattering of militiamen unprepared to face such threats. The two were quite obviously forming up for attacking runs against the hastily prepared defences, and shouts reported the sighting of Zapadslav armour approaching in the suburbs. Velikograde appeared to have run out of patience...

Under the cover of the night the lone Turetelian Flag Ship Charles made its way into a small, rock covered bay that radar and sonar could not detect its location and from an sat. view it was hard to distinguish from the rocks. Admiral Miral stood smiling and laughing with his officers under protection from sight of planes by being inside. They heard a few "planes" go overhead and wondered what they could be. When the Admiral asked the Radar Lt. he responded Zap-22B. The order was giving that all pilots (of the 75 planes and 110 choppers on board) where to get ready for some action. They wouldn't go after the first flight, but they had the missiles ready to shoot down more that came overhead and the choppers begin loading with the 101st Airbourne soldiers (an additional 13,000 men). They were to fly for the mountians to ensure security in the area (without knowing that they had already been capture and generally mutilated by the opponents). Another batch, the 72nd Airbourne (3,000 men) would jump into the city and land on a few buildings. It was critical that they not be seen. If the opponents knew of a lone flag ship in a cove, they would be blown to bits.

General Witt agreed completely with the Lt. Col. and ensured the security of the rebel forces in all cases. If they rebelled they would have no threat from repurcussions and be free to (if they ever got one) leave the country for Turetel is need be. His radio went off and he bid the Lt. Col. a good day and started to run towards his barracks to help organize his forces from an arieal assualt.

At Zamakograde the pair of Orao attack fighters made their first pass without event, but then came about for a second run when there was no sign of submission below. This time, as they followed the highstreet towards a major barricade, tracer fire jumped up from the roof of a building, fired from an Army Trained Reserve SU-23 towed 23mm anti-aircraft cannon. One of the aircraft was struck and both broke off their attack run, pilots yelling frantic reports of their attack.

Dovians looked at one another, trying to decide whether the Zapadslavians would now take their demands seriously and conceed... or take them seriously and attack.

(Are these 13,000 extra soldiers all aboard the flagship?? How big's the thing? I'm just trying to figure out whether the helicopters will come from the ship or from... far afield.)

At Zamakograde the pair of Orao attack fighters made their first pass without event, but then came about for a second run when there was no sign of submission below. This time, as they followed the highstreet towards a major barricade, tracer fire jumped up from the roof of a building, fired from an Army Trained Reserve SU-23 towed 23mm anti-aircraft cannon. One of the aircraft was struck and both broke off their attack run, pilots yelling frantic reports of their attack.

Dovians looked at one another, trying to decide whether the Zapadslavians would now take their demands seriously and conceed... or take them seriously and attack.

(Are these 13,000 extra soldiers all aboard the flagship?? How big's the thing? I'm just trying to figure out whether the helicopters will come from the ship or from... far afield.)

OOC: They would be coming from a furthur field, another Flag Ship, the Clovian which left from the danger. The current flagships primary purpose is that of holding high-amounts of fighters and choppers and support staff. I will post more later, but am busy right now.

Unfortunately for the Charles, their stay off the Zapadslav coast had not gone long without notice of the Unity-Republic's defence forces. Frankly, it was a miracle that their large vessel had approached so close to shore without being spotted by the Zapadslav Unity Navy, it's Coastal Defence Batteries, Helicopter ASW Squadrons, Patrol and Littoral Warfare Flotillas, and Submarine Warfare Divisions, not to mention the Air Force and Unity Militia posts in Bravania or Ravnicana.

Needless to say, the flagship's hulk gave quite the start to Captain Teodorin and his crew aboard their Model-20 submarine as the Turetelian shape appeared in a cove previously thought too shallow to accept such big ships. The Model-20 Arkula Class submarine was a Zapadslav diesel-electric design of around two thousand tons (full load, submerged) based on old Soviet Romeo technology and meant for coastal patrol and defence.

The Arkula was surfaced and cruising at hardly eight knots as she passed the mouth of the little cove and -standing atop the tower- the captain sighted the fearsome sight of a huge aircraft carrier of some description. There was hesitation as he and his officers tried to work out why it might be there, searching for some explanation that wouldn't require them to get into a fight with something several dozen times their vessel's displacement.

After seconds that may as well have been a lifetime, the boat came about and coasted into the cove at a cautious four knots, the radio rattling out warnings to command while hands gathered on deck. Some emerged with submachineguns and others dashed to set up rarely-used lamps with which to flash demands for complicity to the foreign ship... insisting that she was to be boarded.