NationStates Jolt Archive

With tensions building rappidly between West and East Harlack the government of East Harlack has made a call for international peacekeepers to step into the spiraling situation. The President of East Harlack has cited the now open battle on the border between the two nations, and although forces on either side have yet to leave their defensive positions and there has been no declaration of war, he has stated that was is perhaps only hours away.

"We have no desire to go to war with West Harlack at this time, but there is little we can do, our troops are trained to return fire when they are fired upon and that is exactly what they are doing. If the world thinks they can stand by and allow this to happen, they are gravely mistaken, our intelligence agency has proof of Uranium shipments arriving in West Harlack ports just days ago." The President told a press conference.

OOC: Last time, I spent peacekeepers anywhere, they occupied the nation. *Evil Grin*

I will send peacekeepers if you want but they will cause more mayhem than anything else.

Aust shall send peacekeeping troops to your aid, a full legion will be sent (10,000 men see my NS wiki for more details) to aid you and we shall take up persitions on the boarder of the country.

Once we arrive we wish for you to withdraw troops from the fronteer and we shall take the places. Any shot upon Austian troops from eather side will be seen as an act of war and retrebution will be taken against eather side that kills an Austian trooper. If eather side trys to take another terratory Austian troops will step in and drive them back.

sephrioth will send a samall unit of 120 gundams

OOC: Last time, I spent peacekeepers anywhere, they occupied the nation. *Evil Grin*

I will send peacekeepers if you want but they will cause more mayhem than anything else.

OOC: Not really peacekeepers if they cause mayhem, are they...?

OOC: Not really peacekeepers if they cause mayhem, are they...?

OOC: Well they install peace in the longer term, just under meh rule :P

Old Juneau will send peacekeepers

The People's Republic of West Harlack does not see the need for international peacekeepers to be brought in. Although it is apparent that the capitalist overlords of East Harlack are frightened by the superiority of our military force, we have no intention of initiating a war at this time. As for the claims involving Uranium shipments to our ports, East Harlack has yet to provide anyone with this so called "evidence".

-Priemer Stalin.

the Confederacy of Independent Lions will send 20,000 peacekeeper troops. Trust me, with East Harlack shall be save.

Aust, you cant really claim that any shot sent against you is an open decleration of war. I mean, if you send in a force as large as yours to a place as volitile as East/West Harlack, accidents will happen.

OOC: Well they install peace in the longer term, just under meh rule :P

OOC: *Shrugs* Well, when you put it like that... they always say the best way to achieve world peace is to kill everyone :D

Perhaps the best option would be a peace keeping force under a single command, lest the multi-national force fall to international bickering.

Perhaps the best option would be a peace keeping force under a single command, lest the multi-national force fall to international bickering.

Indeed that would seem to be the best thing to do. I nominate myself, lol.

Allemande will send a brigade (4,500 men) if and only if negotiations are initiated and both sides agree to the presence of peacekeepers. Since West Harlack does not currently agree, this means we will send troops only if Premier Stalin's government changes its position.

To facilitate this, Allemande is willing to assist both sides in talks by acting as a moderator and/or providing neutral ground for such conversations.

President Michael Blum,
The United States of Allemande

East Harlack will gladly accept these conditions.

West Harlack will consider these conditions but only because negotiations may bring about peace with the war mongering capitalists to our east.

-Primer Stalin

In the interest of preventing any needless bloodshed, the Republic of Skinny87 will deploy one Peace-Keeping Division of 10,000 Peace-Keepers to your region to patrol, prevent escalations and aid the peace process. The division would consist of:

10,000 Peace-Keepers (Essentially normal soldiers but with those little blue berets)
150 M1-Abram Battle-Tanks
100 Bradley AFV's
100 Fighter, Fighter-Bomber and Reconnaissance Aircraft

The normal Rules of Engagement would apply for these forces. Republican forces will not engage unless fired upon, but if fired upon will retaliate in order to protect themselves. A Checkpoint base for the PK's will be set up along a DMZ, and will act as the central location for the PK's.

If these terms are accepted, the division will be dispatched at once to the Theatre of Operations.

OOC: Please TG me with a brief outline of the area, countries and reasons for trying to attack each other

Gorkonian High Command has instructed me to deliver this message:


After conviening a meeting of the Ten Generals, I have agreed to authorise 5,000 Colonial Infantrymen for use in peacekeeping operations initially; with the possibility of releasing air and mechanised ground support should the situation deteriorate further.
This is subject to some conditions, however:

1. Any non-classified and, if vital to the safety of our Infantrymen, classified information relevant to the current situation is to be released to us and any participating nations which specifically request it;
2. Upon arrival in Harlack, Infantrymen may be permitted to establish a base of operations on the border of East/West Harlack, or as close as current diplomacy allows. This base will later become a joint embassy/military base feature for our mutual benefit;
3. A geographical map of your nation (OOC: Or brief written description of its major features (i.e. coasts, mountain ranges, rivers, major cities etc) if you don't have a map) to assist in efficient deployment;
4. Assuming your nation has a shoreline, a Gorkonian vessel will need to be stationed in a harbour for the duration of this incident to provide logistical and emergency support to our ground forces, as well as a possible source of instant reinforcements. This ship will likely be little more than a frigate or cruiser.

The specifics of these terms are flexible but the basic principles will need to remain the same -- our troops will need all information that will help ensure their own survival, all information that will help them achieve the goal of maintaining peace, and they will need the support of a base of operations.

If you accept, I have already taken the liberty of ordering the mobilisation of the necessary personnel, and our forces can be deployed within the week.

Commander-in-Chief Benjamin Greeson
Gorkonian High Command

Further communications can be achieved through me, as I will forward them directly to the Commander-in-Chief.

Corporal Hanson
Foreign Relations Division

East Harlack will gladly accept these conditions.West Harlack will consider these conditions but only because negotiations may bring about peace with the war mongering capitalists to our east.

-Primer StalinThank you both. I am dispatching a small flotilla (1 destroyer and 2 frigates) to an offshore location, where Secretary of State Edith Mayenne will preside over negotiations. These vessels will arrive at 11:00PM GMT tonight, after which you may RP your arrival either by motor launch from a nearby vessel or by helicopter (the destroyer has a helicopter pad). Secretary Mayenne will be present when you arrive.

-President Blum

OOC: For RP purposes, these are fairly modern European-style warships, equipped with guided missiles, ultra-rapidfire anti-aircraft cannon, and a light gun or two. The helicopters are designed primarily for ASW, S&R, and Special Ops.

If anyone wants to do anything nasty, alert status will be high. Expect that Special Forces and anti-terrorist personnel are onboard, insinuated among the crew (so that you won't know who they are without careful work). Assume that other naval assets are in the area lurking unannounced (TG me if you need to know what they are).

All communications will be heavily encrypted, with transmission in and out via satellite. Assume that we're very good sailors, have quality Special Ops personnel (especially for underwater or counter-terrorist work), and our programmers are very 1ee7 ;) (consult me first if you think you can get a mole in among our coders; maybe you can, maybe you can't, but you need to know things about our cyberculture first). Beyond what I've stated, assume first-tier NATO quality equipment and personnel.

Our technology is Contemporary (my term for "MT").

Any other questions, TG me.

Negotiations can begin as soon as you're aboard. We will take a firm but non-confrontational stance, pushing you to talk and work this out.

East Harlack wants nothing more than to prevent another stalemated war between our nation and West Harlack, the terms above are perfectly acceptable and the port of Horadus will be readied to recieve ships and supplies from the nations offering peace keepers. The only current problem we have is the need for a coalition command to prevent the abuse of peace keeper forces, or the outbreak of war because of miscommunication.



*OC* To make things simple:

The disputed terrain is composed of rolling hills and warm plains that have been turned into a virtual carbon copy of world war one terrain by old battles, trench networks, barbed wire, radar systems, anti-fighter battires and dug in bunkers. Technology level of both nations is essentially that of India and Pakistan, although with much smaller armies because of population size.

The Republic's Peace-Keeping Division has left Republican waters accompanied by a Destroyer Flotilla, and is heading towards the designated port of Horadus, where it will offload and take up positions along the border between West and East Harlack.

The Republic offers to take overall command of all Peace-Keeping forces within the country and help co-ordinate Peace-Keeping activities.

Peacekeepers? Well, no, you can't have any, but I'll make you a deal. I'll loan you $14 and a hand grenade, and you can see how much peace you can keep with those. You might be surprised.

Peacekeepers? Well, no, you can't have any, but I'll make you a deal. I'll loan you $14 and a hand grenade, and you can see how much peace you can keep with those. You might be surprised.

OOC haha, hilarious. oh, and Allemande, there is no way that a nation as new as you could posses a signifigant number of ships to do anything important, let alone super-uber spec ops guys.

East Harlack wants nothing more than to prevent another stalemated war between our nation and West Harlack, the terms above are perfectly acceptable and the port of Horadus will be readied to recieve ships and supplies from the nations offering peace keepers. The only current problem we have is the need for a coalition command to prevent the abuse of peace keeper forces, or the outbreak of war because of miscommunication.



*OC* To make things simple:

The disputed terrain is composed of rolling hills and warm plains that have been turned into a virtual carbon copy of world war one terrain by old battles, trench networks, barbed wire, radar systems, anti-fighter battires and dug in bunkers. Technology level of both nations is essentially that of India and Pakistan, although with much smaller armies because of population size.

Thank you for your cooperation. In which case, I shall order the relevant personnel and the 'GMS Marvel', a Marquis-class cruiser, to proceed at best speed towards your nation; they should arrive within the next two or three NS days. They will set up a temporary base of operations as soon as they arrive, somewhere near the border between your two nations.

Commander-in-Chief Benjamin Greeson
Gorkonian High Command

Be wary those nations sending peacekeepers, the capitalists in East Harlack can never be trusted. Our forces will give ground to the peacekeepers as required, but we hold the right to kick peacekeepers off our soil at any time. Be weary of the capitalists...

Sounds like a wonderful place, some of me Pirate Crews and their captains are on the way. Peacekeepers indeed. We will sail your waters and ensure peace. Many a buccaneer look forward to enjoying your fine ports. This battle field area sounds to be splendid place!

-Captain Grey Beard

PS: How be the Rum and Brandy in Harlack?

:A small number of Pirate Ships set sail for the waters around the Harlack. They will, undoubtedly, after arriving begin to "interact" with inferior and poorly defended ships. Mainly, if not exclusively, ships from the private sector. Twill be a grand occasion!

OOC: Say, do either one of you have any abandoned oil platforms offshore near the area where the negotiations are taking place? Or platforms we could use temporarily (with your permission, of course)? It's an Allemander thing...

You can TG me if you want to be discreet.

Sounds like a wonderful place, some of me Pirate Crews and their captains are on the way. Peacekeepers indeed. We will sail your waters and ensure peace. Many a buccaneer look forward to enjoying your fine ports. This battle field area sounds to be splendid place!

-Captain Grey Beard

PS: How be the Rum and Brandy in Harlack?

:A small number of Pirate Ships set sail for the waters around the Harlack. They will, undoubtedly, after arriving begin to "interact" with inferior and poorly defended ships. Mainly, if not exclusively, ships from the private sector. Twill be a grand occasion!

Way to be a pirate! You win, my good fellow. Forward the buffs! Yarharr!

*OC* Oil is imported for both nations, although there is an old platform off the coast of South Harlack in international waters, but the platform is over one hundred years old and its purpose quite long forgotten.

Oil is imported for both nations, although there is an old platform off the coast of South Harlack in international waters, but the platform is over one hundred years old and its purpose quite long forgotten.How far, in nautical miles, would that platform be from the waters off East and West Harlack?

ooc my 120 gundams fall under sephriotionan comand and are ft
ic gundam wing one move to west arlack border wing 2 east harlck

*OC* Gundams?

*IC*

News Alert: As peacekeepers begin to arrive in East Harlack tensions have begun to settle down abit. Firing has ceased on both sides of the border, but both nations maintain large portions of their militaries near the DMZ.

IC: The Pirate ships are overwhelmed with joy at the lack of a significant military presence anywhere but the border. Poorly defended ships are frequently raided. Fortunately for East and West Harlack a great deal of money is spent right back into the port cities. The presence of the pirates is more beneficial to the economies than regular shipping (a greater amount of the raided ships' cargo value goes back into the economy).

"Me and my mates are happy to be here in Harlack acting as peacekeepers. I am pleasantly suppressed to see quite how enjoyable peacekeeping can be. Please, pass me another bottle of rum....."

-Captain Bart Roberts
Representative of the Pirate Captains peacekeeping force in Harlack's ports and surrounding waters.

OOC huge maned mobile suits that are super weapons ic gundam wing one set up a defencive abush

*OC* I know what they are, I'm questioning how you got them.

*IC*

The pirates and capitalist navies in the region soon saw the arrival of a very large cargo vessel escorted by two of West Harlack's Destroyers as it made full speed (10 knots) towads the ports of West Harlack. The Destroyers kept a tight formation with the cargo vessel and Special Ops soldiers could be seen standing on the deck of the cargo vessel.

the Confederacy of Independent Lions already said we should send peacekeeprs. In total that would be:
2000 infantry
20 Leopard Tanks
30 Light tanks
25 Apache Helis

And a special team of 40 Elite Commandos,
for the things-are-going-wrong-situations

Your help is much appreciated by East Harlack and this message goes to all nations sending peace keepers.

The Colony of Ollieland is also willing to send peacekeepers. We will send 2 battallions of mechanized infantry and support troops from the Army of Ollieland (2,500 men). They will arrive in the DMZ by airship transports and will co-operate with any international command structure that has been set up.

Governor Kathy Chung

Secret - Hidden amongst these troops is 100 men of Team 7 from the Colonial Marine Commadoes.

OOC haha, hilarious. oh, and Allemande, there is no way that a nation as new as you could posses a signifigant number of ships to do anything important, let alone super-uber spec ops guys.OOC: Let's see ... you're asserting that a nation with a population of 55-60 million people, a GDP (per Commerce Heights) of over $1 trillion, and a defense budget of over $50 billion could not possess a modern destroyer and two modern frigates, a handful of modern ASW helicopters, and at least a company of special forces personnel?

<pause>

Are you out of your mind?

<pause>

Yes, I thought so.

Take a look at these links:

2001 Defense Spending - France (http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/allied_contrib2002/02-Annex_B/02-Annex_B_cs-fra.html)
2001 Defense Spending - United Kingdom (http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/allied_contrib2002/02-Annex_B/02-Annex_B_cs-uk.html)
2001 Defense Spending - Italy (http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/allied_contrib2002/02-Annex_B/02-Annex_B_cs-ita.html)
2001 Defense Spending - Netherlands (http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/allied_contrib2002/02-Annex_B/02-Annex_B_cs-nlnds.html)
2001 Defense Spending - Belgium (http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/allied_contrib2002/02-Annex_B/02-Annex_B_cs-bel.html)

My defense spending is greater than any of these countries. My GDP is comparable to that of Italy (as is my population); my GDP per capita compares favorably to the lot (c.$21K vs. $18K+), and has since I had a population of just 10 million people.

I've been spending over $10 billion on defense for at least 10 years (since 3/1/2005, in game terms, when I hit 20 million population), which is more than enough time to design and build a few light warships (frigates and destroyers). Do you see aircraft carriers? Battleships? Even small nations like Belgium and the Netherlands have frigates and destroyers, for crying out loud. What do you think these people have in their navies, Kris Craft?

$1.7 billion and half a dozen years will buy you a nuclear powered attack sub these days; $1 billion and three or four will buy you a brace of destroyers. Look this stuff up on the web if you don't believe me. I've had time to assemble a small fleet, and if I want to use it, who are you to say I can't?

3 small ships, and you get all bent out of shape. Listen, if I send a few dozen vessels, you can scream. If you want to ignore me, that's fine too. But you're not a participant, so I couldn't care less.

As for special ops units, how long do you think it takes to train folks like that? Again, I've had at least a decade to run up to doing anything, and at best we're talking hundreds, of whom less than 100 would be used in this thread, so if you think that's "godmoding", that's your problem.

In conclusion, go play in the street.

:gundge:

The forgoing was harsh, I'll admit. And I certainly understand the need to keep people from "godmoding". But at the same time it's ridiculous to assert that people can't do anything until they're been around for 2-3 months and have a nation of 300-500 million.

What they can't do is throw around million-man armies, thousand-plane air fleets, and scores of well-furnished warships. But if folks want to go play with small flotillas and equally small expeditionary forces, what's the problem?

The general staff of DeVlaamseLeeuw has decided to not get involved in this issue after secret service has uncovered a wicked plan of West Harlack to steal the oil on the platform after invading East Harlack.
The Boss of Secret Service:
West Harlack is a pirate country in which the authority lives of its people. With the oil, they intend to get their industry going, to exploit their citizens even more. West Harlack will get the citizens of East Harlack into slavery, and our agents report great militairy readyness in the bases of West Harlack. By all means stay out of this conflict, because this can only cause dead under the soldiers of DeVlaamseLeeuw

*OC* WHere did you get this information? The platform isn't even an oil platform...




The general staff of DeVlaamseLeeuw has decided to not get involved in this issue after secret service has uncovered a wicked plan of West Harlack to steal the oil on the platform after invading East Harlack.
The Boss of Secret Service:
West Harlack is a pirate country in which the authority lives of its people. With the oil, they intend to get their industry going, to exploit their citizens even more. West Harlack will get the citizens of East Harlack into slavery, and our agents report great militairy readyness in the bases of West Harlack. By all means stay out of this conflict, because this can only cause dead under the soldiers of DeVlaamseLeeuw

DeVlaamseLeeuw's secret service of course.
and in this i trust my agents completely, who says you aren't pumping oil up in secret?
but if you decide to call me a liar...

Are you threatening a nation of Greater Harlack? South Harlack has no interest in the conflict between East and West, but we will not tolerate foreign threats or invasion of any nation in Greater Harlack.

ooh go home south harlack, my region is no match for you

a little comparison:
DeVlaamseLeeuw: Defence: $36,435,655,297.80
South Harlack: Defence: $3,793,724,444.16
that's 12 times more... and then i don't count the other countries of my region in...

I *am* home, this is my region, you do not interfere in our affairs unless invited, as is the case with the peacekeeping forces. Are you willing to go to war? An invasion would require fighting South, East and West Harlack, as well as peace keeping forces from other nations all over the world...is this something you truly want to do?

look at my edit
so perhaps it would be better to lower your tone a bit...

I don't think so. The world is not going to tollerate the outright aggression on the part of your nation, or your region that you are displaying thus far.

The Republican Peace-Keeping force has now landed and has set up a base of operations in the borderline between East and West Harlack. Any hostilities between East or West Harlack and any other countries antagonising said countries will be dealt with swiftly by the Republican forces in order to keep the peace. As such, the Republic urges DeVlaamseLeeuw to cease any and all antagonising actions before unneccessary actions are taken in order to keep the peace.

ok let's look at all facts:
East Harlack: $3,793,724,444.16
West Harlack: $15,381,765.50
South Harlack: $3,793,724,444.16
---
7,602,830,653.82

they would fight:
DeVlaamseLeeuw: $36,435,655,297.80
Gerhardt Kusterholz: $18,996,127,616.00
Platknuv: $14,485,076,645.76
---
69,916,859,559.56

i think this speaks for itself
the peacekeepers have enough trouble keeping east and west from killing each other, without having to fight HomeOfTheBrave-armies

FROM: 's Gravenwezel Castle, DeVlaamseLeeuw
TO: Harlack countries

I don't think so. The world is not going to tollerate the outright aggression on the part of your nation, or your region that you are displaying thus far.

the count of DeVlaamseLeeuw demands formal apologies, otherwise there will be a militairy undertaking...

News Alert:

The Greater Harlack News Network has recieved information from both East and West Harlack that indicates the DMZ is now set to condition green, meaning the two nations have backed off and allowed Peacekeerp control of the area. The two nations have indicated intentions to negotiate through some of the peacekeeping nations and the President of East Harlack has expressed hopes that these negotiations will allow for a new era of peace between East and West.

The Republican Peace-Keeping Division was brought into this region with the one aim of keeping peace in the region. As such, the antagonising actions of both DeVlaamseLeeuw and South Harlack are averting this from happening. The Republic urges both countries to withdraw all statements made so far and sue for peace, before the Republican Peace Keepers are needed.

South Harlack seeks only to defend itself and its neighbors. We will remove our previous statements from the record, but we wish it to be known that our beliefs are not compromised, we will never allow uninvited foreign intervention on this continent.

The Republican Peace-Keeping Division was brought into this region with the one aim of keeping peace in the region. As such, the antagonising actions of both DeVlaamseLeeuw and South Harlack are averting this from happening. The Republic urges both countries to withdraw all statements made so far and sue for peace, before the Republican Peace Keepers are needed.

i hope you can understand we will not tolerate any weak country to treat my region as were they midgetstates...
we only ask formal apologies...
more explications will be given by our ambassador

Official Republican Peace-Keeping Force Statement

In the interests of peace in this region, the Republican Peace-Keepers greatfully accept the withdrawal of all statements made by South Harlack, and hopes that DeVlaamseLeeuw will also accept this and withdraw all statements and allow the peace-process to continue without any further need for public statements such as apologies.

FROM: 's Gravenwezel Castle, DeVlaamseLeeuw
TO: Skinny87

the count has decided no apologies should be send, but at any rate militairy action will be without hesitation undertaken if we feel it has to be taken.
and it is only because one of our allies, Skinny87, has asked us too

Official Republican Peace-Keeping Taskforce Response

It is always gratifying to see two nations back down from the immense abyss of war. Let peace reign once again between DeVlaamseLeeuw and South Harlack, and let these rivalries finish.

Gorkon commends Skinny87 for diffusing a potentially explosive situation in such an efficient manner. It would have been a shame if we had to cancel our mission of protection and instead embark on a mission of destruction.
If nothing else, you have saved us a lot of expense. Well done.

Lt. Colonel Omerta Parson
Gorkonian Peacekeeper Field Commander,
East Harlack/West Harlack Temporary Border Station

ok let's look at all facts:
East Harlack: $3,793,724,444.16
West Harlack: $15,381,765.50
South Harlack: $3,793,724,444.16
---
7,602,830,653.82

they would fight:
DeVlaamseLeeuw: $36,435,655,297.80
Gerhardt Kusterholz: $18,996,127,616.00
Platknuv: $14,485,076,645.76
---
69,916,859,559.56

i think this speaks for itself
the peacekeepers have enough trouble keeping east and west from killing each other, without having to fight HomeOfTheBrave-armiesYour calculation is not quite right, sir:

East Harlack: $2,555,978,372.50 (updated)
West Harlack: $15,381,765.50 (updated)
South Harlack: $3,793,724,444.16 (updated)
Allemande: $56,002,598,937.60
---
TOTAL $62,367,683,519.76

DeVlaamseLeeuw: $36,435,655,297.80 (updated)
Gerhardt Kusterholz: $18,996,127,616.00 (updated)
Platknuv: $22,072,497,745.92 (updated)
---
TOTAL $77,504,280,659.72

Now, before you say "This still leaves us with the advantage", consider:


Your puppets don't count. We would have every right to insist that you hand control of 2 of your 3 nations over to a couple of friends before the attack - that, or leave them home. Sending in troops from other states you control as "perfect allies" is called "puppet wanking", and would be grounds for us to arbitrarily ignore such allies utterly.

The Harlacks would be defending their soil, and would therefore be free to commit 100% of their resources to the fray. The rest of us, as foreign powers, would be limited to sending 10% of our forces. That changes the calculus a bit:


East Harlack: $2,555,978,372.50 (updated)
West Harlack: $15,381,765.50 (updated)
South Harlack: $3,793,724,444.16 (updated)
Allemande (10%): $5,600,259,893,76
---
TOTAL $11,965,344,475.92

DeVlaamseLeeuw (10%): $3,643,565,529.78 (updated)
Gerhardt Kusterholz (10%): $1,899,612,761.600 (updated)
Platknuv (10%): $2,207,249,774.59 (updated)
---
TOTAL $7,750,428,065,97

Doesn't look so good any more, does it?

It's great to have national pride. It's a bad thing when that national pride gets out of hand, and you start demanding that people apologize for taking offense at your insults (after all, it was your accusations towards East Harlack that started this).

So why don't we all just take a deep breath and get back to the business of resolving this peacefully, O.K.? C'mon, I'll buy you a virtual beer.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation ;)

Far out to sea, one by one, two large salvage ships and three freighters, including a small container ship and a medium tanker, all bearing the Allemander flag, began to converge on Harlack. Over the next 72 hours, they would arrive at or near the massive island's coastal waters.

From: Republican Naval Command, Republic of Skinny87
To: Allemande Convoy approaching Harlack Coast

The Republican Destroyer Flotilla offshore of Harlack are watching this convoy with extreme interest. We wish to know what these vessels contain and what their purpose are in this region.

As the situation began to calm down at the arrival of peacekeeping forces the President of East Harlack began to make open plans to attend the offshore negotiations but complained that West Harlack had yet to respond to any forms of diplomacy. Infact, all West Harlack had done thus far was cease fire and pull back to their secondary defense lines, taking all of their sensative equipment from their primary lines with them.

The cargo vessel heading for West Harlack continued on its journy and was joined by a third Destroyer.

A pair of Disel Submarines approached Allemande flotilla but made their approach known by approaching on the surface with...interestingly enough, no visable markings.

The Republican Destroyer Flotilla recieved no reply from the cargo vessel or its destroyer escort.

Peace-keeping forces from the Army of Ollieland have arrived and taken up positions adjacent to Republican peace-keeping forces, Colonel Peter Smith in command.

Your calculation is not quite right, sir:

East Harlack: $2,555,978,372.50 (updated)
West Harlack: $15,381,765.50 (updated)
South Harlack: $3,793,724,444.16 (updated)
Allemande: $56,002,598,937.60
---
TOTAL $62,367,683,519.76

DeVlaamseLeeuw: $36,435,655,297.80 (updated)
Gerhardt Kusterholz: $18,996,127,616.00 (updated)
Platknuv: $22,072,497,745.92 (updated)
---
TOTAL $77,504,280,659.72

Now, before you say "This still leaves us with the advantage", consider:


Your puppets don't count. We would have every right to insist that you hand control of 2 of your 3 nations over to a couple of friends before the attack - that, or leave them home. Sending in troops from other states you control as "perfect allies" is called "puppet wanking", and would be grounds for us to arbitrarily ignore such allies utterly.

The Harlacks would be defending their soil, and would therefore be free to commit 100% of their resources to the fray. The rest of us, as foreign powers, would be limited to sending 10% of our forces. That changes the calculus a bit:


East Harlack: $2,555,978,372.50 (updated)
West Harlack: $15,381,765.50 (updated)
South Harlack: $3,793,724,444.16 (updated)
Allemande (10%): $5,600,259,893,76
---
TOTAL $11,965,344,475.92

DeVlaamseLeeuw (10%): $3,643,565,529.78 (updated)
Gerhardt Kusterholz (10%): $1,899,612,761.600 (updated)
Platknuv (10%): $2,207,249,774.59 (updated)
---
TOTAL $7,750,428,065,97

Doesn't look so good any more, does it?

It's great to have national pride. It's a bad thing when that national pride gets out of hand, and you start demanding that people apologize for taking offense at your insults (after all, it was your accusations towards East Harlack that started this).

So why don't we all just take a deep breath and get back to the business of resolving this peacefully, O.K.? C'mon, I'll buy you a virtual beer.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation ;)

OOC: The point is moot, largely because they've already settled it. But also because Gorkon would stick to what they promised to do -- keep the peace in Harlack, including against foreign attack. And as Gorkon's defence budget alone is several trillion, comparing numbers wouldn't be enough.
Everyone with an ounce of sense knows that numbers don't equal victory, though. By that logic, the United States should never have been independent, and China should have taken over the world a long time ago.
But the point is settled; both nations apologised and withdrew their hostile comments, so it's all over before it began, thankfully.

IC: Several Prominent East and West Harlack news services have reported a surge in tourism in the Nation's port cities as well as an elevated crime rate (though it is almost entirely bar fights). Additionally several shipping companies have lodge complaints of piracy on the high seas.


The pirate fleet sent out a transmission informing the Peace Keeping force of there efforts:

You can see the good Captain dressed in a coat, waistcoat and breeches made of fine red silk wit a woven pattern. He wears a red feather in his pirate hat and a gold necklace around his neck with a diamond cross on the end of it. His pistols hang from a silk sling worn over his shoulder. (Picture the Red silk as something a pirate would wear, not a modern suit). He is sitting behind his desk in his personal cabin on board his ship, with a bottle of rum in his hand.

Captain Bart Roberts:
Me and my mates are pleased to report there has been no ::drunken hiccup:: aggression between East and West Harlack in the port cities we are patrolling. However, ::drops his bottle of rum:: damn it. ::picks it up and drinks some more:: However, there were some ships heading toward Harlack with some questionable cargo. For the safety of its citizens, this cargo was ::finishes bottle and throws it over his shoulder:: confiscated.
A good evening to all of you, Captain Roberts out. Someone, send in your captain's women to him.

::Transmission ends::

OOC: Let me know if anyone minds a bit of pirate fun in the midst of all this.

OOC: The point is moot, largely because they've already settled it. But also because Gorkon would stick to what they promised to do -- keep the peace in Harlack, including against foreign attack. And as Gorkon's defence budget alone is several trillion, comparing numbers wouldn't be enough.
Everyone with an ounce of sense knows that numbers don't equal victory, though. By that logic, the United States should never have been independent, and China should have taken over the world a long time ago.
But the point is settled; both nations apologised and withdrew their hostile comments, so it's all over before it began, thankfully.

ofc numbers don't equal victory, but if you invest a lot of money in finding strategical masterminds, in researching militairy equipment and purchasing it (i must admit the last two aren't as good as yours must be, the budget is still rather low).
And at Allemande: my region has about 17 countries, i'm delegate and i know all of the country leaders personal in real life. If you really think that with sending 100% out of those 3 countries i summoned, i wouldn't have any defence, you couldn't be more wrong...
and if you want names from all country leaders...
they aren't all mine, 2 are: DeVlaamseLeeuw & Gerhardt Kusterholz

Off the coast of South Harlack, a large salvage vessel approached the abandoned gun platform (OOC: At least, that's what I think it is). Dropping anchor less than a kilometer away, it lowered a launch containing several men - some armed - to investigate the facility.

The search took about 45 minutes, confirming that in fact the structure was no longer used by anyone. During this inspection, engineers confirmed that the structure would require a significant amount of work to restore its integrity. The party then withdrew to their vessel to await the delivery of the materials needed to begin repairs.

OOC: Over the next several days, this vessel will work on restoring the platform to a condition where it can safely be used. At least two more cargo vessels will arrive in the area with the metal, concrete, and supplies required for the work. If this thread is still going, I will announce its completion.

Oh, and BTW:

The general staff of DeVlaamseLeeuw has decided to not get involved in this issue after secret service has uncovered a wicked plan of West Harlack to steal the oil on the platform after invading East Harlack.
The Boss of Secret Service:
West Harlack is a pirate country in which the authority lives of its people. With the oil, they intend to get their industry going, to exploit their citizens even more. West Harlack will get the citizens of East Harlack into slavery, and our agents report great militairy readyness in the bases of West Harlack. By all means stay out of this conflict, because this can only cause dead under the soldiers of DeVlaamseLeeuw
*OC* WHere did you get this information? The platform isn't even an oil platform..
DeVlaamseLeeuw's secret service of course.
and in this i trust my agents completely, who says you aren't pumping oil up in secret?
but if you decide to call me a liar...
There's no oil. As West Harlack reported, the platform is not, nor has it every been, an oil drilling platform. It's an old gun platform, part of the coastal defense system established by the former government of Greater Harlack. It was abandoned over a century ago, after the civil war began.

Just so that everyone's clear on the facts.

From: Republican Naval Command, Republic of Skinny87
To: Allemande Convoy approaching Harlack Coast

The Republican Destroyer Flotilla offshore of Harlack are watching this convoy with extreme interest. We wish to know what these vessels contain and what their purpose are in this region.
The vessels, which are actually sailing independently from different locations (not in convoy) contain supplies and equipment required for Allemander operations in the area.

If you'll recall, we committed to sending a brigade of peacekeeping forces once the two rival nations agreed to the presence of peacekeepers. As far as the Government of the United States of Allemande is aware, only East Harlack has agreed to peacekeepers on the soil of Greater Harlack; West Harlack has agreed to negotiations but not (as of yet) the presence of a peacekeeping contingent.

Once the two parties agree to the need for a peacekeeping force, we will begin landing the supplies, equipment, and personnel required to honor our commitment.

Official Republican Peace-Keeping Taskforce Message

From: Republican Taskforce
To: Allemanden Salvage Team

The Republican Peace-Keeping Division is worried by the existence of the afore-mentioned gun-platform and the fact that by repairing said gun-platform it may be used to disrupt the peace-process in Harlack.

As such, we wish to know exactly what your intentions are for this gun platform. It is our wish that the gun platform be rigged for demolition and destroyed so that it cannot be used by any hostile forces. We await your response, and the Republican Destroyer Makepeace is proceeding to watch the proceedings, and will monitor the process closely.

Official Republican Peace-Keeping Taskforce Message

From: Republican Taskforce
To: Allemanden Salvage Team

The Republican Peace-Keeping Division is worried by the existence of the afore-mentioned gun-platform and the fact that by repairing said gun-platform it may be used to disrupt the peace-process in Harlack.

As such, we wish to know exactly what your intentions are for this gun platform. It is our wish that the gun platform be rigged for demolition and destroyed so that it cannot be used by any hostile forces. We await your response, and the Republican Destroyer Makepeace is proceeding to watch the proceedings, and will monitor the process closely.

I'll respond by TG. Watch for it...

Official Republican Peace-Keeping Taskforce Message

After extensive conversing with the Allemandean authorities, it has been agred that the gun-platform will remain to combat pirates in the Harlack region. As an additional measure, the Republican Destroyer Flotilla will now engage in anti-piratical measures, sweeping the surrounding areas for suspect vessels, boarding them and confiscating their cargoes and crews if they are suspected of pirating or smuggling.

South Harlack's naval forces had begun to emerge from their naval bases along the coast line and establish simple patrols along South Harlack waters. A small team of technical experts and a few Special Ops and even a historian were sent to help re-establish the gun platform, the historian sent for his knowledge on old construction techniques used to build the platform in the first place.

The heavily guarded cargo vessel made it to West Harlack unharmed and the Destroyers promptly found birthings in the port as well. Quite a bit of activity could be seen around the large cargo ship but as to what the activity was about, that would require more indepth research...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

West Harlack agrees to the presence of the peace keeping forces to give us time to rebuild our unjustly damaged defense system.

FROM: 's Gravenwezel Castle, DeVlaamseLeeuw

Today one of our trade ship-group has been brought to sink in international waters around South Harlack. The government of De Vlaamse Leeuw has sent a small flotilla with rescue ships (protected by 2 of our 5 submarines and 3 small battle ships). From now on our trade vessels will be heavely protected, and an investigationteam will be send to the waters around South Harlack. It is not excluded that the South Harlack's platform is behind this assault on free trade.

Official Republican Peace-Keeping Taskforce Message

Thye Republican Taskforce is concerned about the sinking of this vessel, and wishes to aid in the recovery of the vessel to determine what action must be taken.

However, it must be stressed that no action will be taken against any parties without the Republic's permission in order to ensure the safety of the peace-process.

I would suggest the gun platform be completely destroyed immediately. This will prevent either faction of Harlack gaining an advantage over the other, and will also totally eliminate the very possibility of it being used to sink any ships in the future, friendly or not. If defence is the primary reason for this platform's existence, the Third Fleet can be redeployed until such a time as the Harlack factions are at peace and capable of adequately defending their sea territories again.

Either this or the gun platform be placed under joint command of all factions currently operating in the area, both native and foreign. This will prevent anyone using it for nefarious reasons, nor will anyone have any reason to make accusations.

General George Logan
Gorkonian High Command

Official Republican Peace-Keeping Taskforce Message

Having re-considered the options available to dealing with the gun-platform, the Republican Peace-Keeping Taskforce agrees with the Gorkon taskforce with the idea that the platform must be immediately either destroyed or controlled entirely by Republican and Gorkonian Peace-Keepers to ensure that it does no harm to the fragile peace-process.

To ensure the peace-process, elements of the 1st Republican Carrier Taskforce are being deployed to the Harlack Theatre of Operations immediately to deal with 'pirates' and anyone attempting to disrupt the peace-process.

With the agreement of the Republican and Gorkonian commands, Ollieland is willing to land a detachment of Colonial Marines by air to occupy the Guntower and prevent it's use by any hostile elements. Please send your agreement and we will begin this operation immediately.

To: Ollieland Taskforce
From: Republican Taskforce CINC

Though the Republic wishes to see the gun-platform eliminated as a potential trouble-making device, we believe it to be presently occupied by Allemanden troops. A landing, whilst with the best of intentions, would cause unwanted problems and disrupt the peace-process.

However, should a reply not be made within 24 hours by the Allemanden Taskforce suggesting either the joint occupation or destruction of the gun-platform, then the Republican Taskforce is ready to take the gun-platform and destroy it, by force if neccessary. Should this happen, Ollieland troops are welcome to join the seizing of the platform.

With the agreement of the Republican and Gorkonian commands, Ollieland is willing to land a detachment of Colonial Marines by air to occupy the Guntower and prevent it's use by any hostile elements. Please send your agreement and we will begin this operation immediately.

If mere occupation of the gun tower was our primary concern we could easily have proceeded to do the same ourselves. Frankly whoever is in control of that gun platform could potentially misuse it in the eyes of others. Operation of the platform will either need to be a joint coalition effort, or it will have to be operated by no-one at all. I see no other way of preventing future incidents, actual or suspected.
I would advise Skinny87 forces not to take action on this issue though, or anyone else for that matter. Gorkonian forces have pledged to preserve the peace in that region, and they will enforce that peace regardless of who is breaking it. We shall wait to see what any investigation of this incident turns up, and if it is found there is foul play involved, then we can all agree to take action.

General George Logan
Gorkonian High Command

FROM: 's Gravenwezel Castle, DeVlaamseLeeuw
TO: Republican Peace-Keeping Taskforce
TO: Gorkon
TO: Ollieland

Official experts from De Vlaamse Leeuw have found the ship wrecks, and from the first looks on the remainders, it seems they have been under serious fire, but they have not yet determined whether they were taken under fire by the tower, or by ships (possible pirate ships).
Our experts invite any of your experts to coöperate in this investigation, so no one can question our honesty on this matter.

If mere occupation of the gun tower was our primary concern we could easily have proceeded to do the same ourselves. Frankly whoever is in control of that gun platform could potentially misuse it in the eyes of others. Operation of the platform will either need to be a joint coalition effort, or it will have to be operated by no-one at all. I see no other way of preventing future incidents, actual or suspected.
I would advise Skinny87 forces not to take action on this issue though, or anyone else for that matter. Gorkonian forces have pledged to preserve the peace in that region, and they will enforce that peace regardless of who is breaking it. We shall wait to see what any investigation of this incident turns up, and if it is found there is foul play involved, then we can all agree to take action.

General George Logan
Gorkonian High Command

The Republic agrees to this action, believing our earlier statement to have been rash and not thought-out properly. A joint-operation on the platform would be more than acceptable to the Republic, as would an investigation into the sinking of the vessels.

FROM: 's Gravenwezel Castle, DeVlaamseLeeuw
TO: Republican Peace-Keeping Taskforce
TO: Gorkon
TO: Ollieland

Official experts from De Vlaamse Leeuw have found the ship wrecks, and from the first looks on the remainders, it seems they have been under serious fire, but they have not yet determined whether they were taken under fire by the tower, or by ships (possible pirate ships).
Our experts invite any of your experts to coöperate in this investigation, so no one can question our honesty on this matter.

We will send the Science Research vessel the CS Boyle from the Colonial Navy, under Commander Oliver Pressman. He has been ordered to co-operate fully with your investigation staff and offer any assisstance needed.

FROM: 's Gravenwezel Castle, De Vlaamse Leeuw
TO: Ollieland

We appreciate your kind offer, and we hope we build up a good relationship between our nations. Would you be interested in an embassy on our territory?

South Harlack would like to remind everyone that the gun platform is ultimately the property of the nations of Greater Harlack and is only being loaned for anti-pirate operations. Before the coalition decides what to do with property that is not their own, perhaps they should first ask the owners.

East Harlack offers the following proposal both to the peacekeeping coalition and to the leaders of West Harlack:

1. The defenses along the East/West Harlack border shall be pushed back exactly 50 miles. The area between the two defensive lines will then be set up as a free and independent nation, supplied with defense systems by willing coalition partners. This nation will act as a deterent to invasion of either East or West Harlack.

2. West and East Harlack will pay for damages inflicted on each other's defensive systems before the arrival of the peace keepers.

3. West Harlack will demobalise all chemical and biological weapons forces and will destroy any nuclear weapons production plants.

4. The Gun Platform off the coast of Greater Harlack will be stripped of all valuable resources and the guns sent to museums in the northern region of Greater Harlack, where nations are less likely to use them for war.

5. East and West Harlack will sign a peace treaty ending the state of war that has existed between the two nations for the past fifty years.

News Update:

There are reports emerging from West Harlack indicating sudden civil unrest in the capitol of Darat and several other major cities. Rumors leaking out of the country suggest a military mobilzation on the part of West Harlack to crush the protests. There are no deffinate reasons for the protests available to news agencies at this hour but some rumors include tax protests, which would not be surprising in a nation which has had a 71% income tax for the last four years.

OOC: The ship in question was not sunk by the Pirates. Additionally the Pirate Ships tend to be unmarked.

IC: Mateys, we are very upset at the poor treatment we are recieving from our fellow peacekeepers. Are we not too here to keep the peace? Also, we would like to let it be known we had no involvement in the sinking of said ship and would be more than happy to assist in the recovery.
We also applaud the disarming of the "anti-pirate" gun platform.
Why are we suddenly the target of such anger?

-Captain Bart Roberts

West Harlack agrees to the presence of the peace keeping forces to give us time to rebuild our unjustly damaged defense system.With this statement, all conditions are now met for Allemande to introduce peacekeepers into Greater Harlack (to reiterate, both sides agree to their presence, and both sides agree to negotiations).

To that end...

The container vessel arrives in East Harlack and begins offloading supplies for the 7th Mechanized Brigade. Over the next several days, more container ships arrive bearing the equipment needed to deploy the 7th Mechanized Brigade (4,500 men w/60 MBT, organized into three battalions [of 3 mech inf and 1 armored company each], supported by an SP arty battalion [of 3 batterys of 155mm and 1 MRLS battery]); once in place, this brigade will position itself in accordance with the wishes of the peacekeeping force force commander (let me know where that might be).

Our flotilla reamins offshore awaiting the negotiation teams.

FROM: 's Gravenwezel Castle, DeVlaamseLeeuw

Today one of our trade ship-group has been brought to sink in international waters around South Harlack. The government of De Vlaamse Leeuw has sent a small flotilla with rescue ships (protected by 2 of our 5 submarines and 3 small battle ships). From now on our trade vessels will be heavely protected, and an investigationteam will be send to the waters around South Harlack. It is not excluded that the South Harlack's platform is behind this assault on free trade."It is not excluded?" Excuse me, bucko, but I'm excluding it right now.

The platform is currently under my control. South Harlack personnel are present on the platform providing assistance to my personnel in reconditioning the platform for use in securing the waters around Greater Harlack against pirates. Period. Any claim that anything else is going on here is hot air.

You can't tell me what my people are doing. If you want to sink one of your ships, go sink it yourself. In fact, I suspect that's exactly what you've done, because you're spoiling to pick a fight.

With the agreement of the Republican and Gorkonian commands, Ollieland is willing to land a detachment of Colonial Marines by air to occupy the Guntower and prevent it's use by any hostile elements. Please send your agreement and we will begin this operation immediately.That will not be necessary, considering that I'm already on it.

BTW, lest all of you forget, I'm part of the peacekeaping coalition, too...

Not to mention the fact that the guntower resides just outside of South Harlack's territorial waters and has South Harlack forces on it...the peace keepers seem more eager for war than West Harlack.

The Federal Republic of Canada is sorry to hear about your external situations with Western Harlack. We'd like to propose to lead the international peacekeeping forces stationed right now in Eastern Halack with of course the respectable acceptance of the nations already stationed in your nation. The Federal Republic of Canada right now can send anywhere between 15,000 to 75,000 military personnel. We'd like further information on your geopolitical and geographic details on both your aggressive neighbour and yourself.

Secretary Darren Temple, State Secretary
State Department, Federal Republic of Canada

&

Lieutenant General [Rtd.] Bill Harding, Defense Secretary
Defense Department, Federal Republic of Canada

To: Ollieland Taskforce
From: Republican Taskforce CINC

Though the Republic wishes to see the gun-platform eliminated as a potential trouble-making device, we believe it to be presently occupied by Allemanden troops. A landing, whilst with the best of intentions, would cause unwanted problems and disrupt the peace-process.

However, should a reply not be made within 24 hours by the Allemanden Taskforce suggesting either the joint occupation or destruction of the gun-platform, then the Republican Taskforce is ready to take the gun-platform and destroy it, by force if neccessary. Should this happen, Ollieland troops are welcome to join the seizing of the platform.You may inspect the platform if you wish. Since it is not our platform to dispose of, you'll have to clear its destruction with the government of South Harlack - a nation that is not, BTW, currently a party to this crisis.

We question why this is even necessary. As indicated above, this platform has not been involved in any aggressive activity (it is in fact currently non-functional, requiring structural renovation before it can be safely occupied). The only claims to the contrary have come from the Government of DeVlaamseLeeuw, and their earlier assertion that this was an "oil platform" that was part of some nefarious plot involving West Harlack has already done much to undermine their credibility.

We would suggest that you ask yourselves ask why DeVlaamseLeeuw is sinking their own ships and then screaming that they have somehow come under attack from a facility that can not possibly support such an action. The only explanation we can think of is that they seek some kind of provocation to serve as causus belli in support of an invasion of Greater Harlack.

Not to mention the fact that the guntower resides just outside of South Harlack's territorial waters and has South Harlack forces on it...the peace keepers seem more eager for war than West Harlack.Ya think?!?

Message from South Harlack's President to those threatening action against the Gun Platform:

Perhaps before you take actions that threaten war, you should complete some basic examinations of the platform in question. The weapons themselves are rusted, smooth bore artillery pieces not capable of firing a shot without years of careful renovation by museum piece experts. The weapons fire solid iron balls or shrapnell shots best suited for crushing the hulls and masts of wooden vessels, not for penetrating the defenses of a modern cargo vessel.

OOC: The ship in question was not sunk by the Pirates. Additionally the Pirate Ships tend to be unmarked.

IC: Mateys, we are very upset at the poor treatment we are recieving from our fellow peacekeepers. Are we not too here to keep the peace? Also, we would like to let it be known we had no involvement in the sinking of said ship and would be more than happy to assist in the recovery.
We also applaud the disarming of the "anti-pirate" gun platform.
Why are we suddenly the target of such anger?

-Captain Bart RobertsYou don't suppose it has anything to do with your profession, matey?

Rest assured, we feel the same about bandits, vandals, and other criminals. It's nothing personal.

Seriously, though, we do believe Cap'n Roberts - just this once - when he claims that his "crew" didn't sink the vessel from DeVlaamseLeeuw. We still believe they sank it themselves.

Message from South Harlack's President to those threatening action against the Gun Platform:

Perhaps before you take actions that threaten war, you should for complete some basic examinations of the platform in question. The weapons themselves are rusted, smooth bore artillery pieces not capable of firing a shot without years of careful renovation by museum piece experts. The weapons fire solid iron balls or shrapnell shots best suited for crushing the hulls and masts of wooden vessels, not for penetrating the defenses of a modern cargo vessel.Yeah, you've got some great museum pieces here, surprising well preserved in spite of exposure to the sea. Not that we'd want to be within 100m when someone attempted to fire one, but then they were probably even unsafe when they were fresh from the foundry.

They've been removed from their mounts and stowed in plastic under the direction of an archaelogical team from South Harlack. We take the our history very seriously in Allemande...

Of course, this means that - as of this moment - the platform has no weponry at all...

South Harlack's submarine force is currently patroling its own waters and would not think to attack a cargo vessel, after all, we are a free trade loving Confederacy, not a communist dictatorship or a theological society experimenting with capitalism. Our forces have not fired a shot, and will not fire a shot unless first fired upon.

OOC: No response to mine yet...

Perhaps supplies for the coalition would be better than troops, at this point there are quite a few peacekeepers and even my citizens are getting tired of seeing more and more foreign troops on their soil.

OC: Ok I finnaly got around to getting this all setteled so I can fill everyone in on the glorious past of Greater Harlack, the styles and goals of each nation within and other random facts.


Greater Harlack: The continent of Greater Harlack is roughly the sized of the sub-continent of India and sits somewhere between India and Australia in the Pacific Ocean. The continent is fairly resource rich in many areas, but lacks a signifigant supply of oil. There are rumors of large Uranium mines, but these rumors may well be unfounded. There is a great deal of iron on the continent as well and the sea around the landmass has abundant wildlife for fisheries to harvest.

Federated Harlack: Federated Harlack was a powerful nation in its own time and could trace its founding all the way back to the 4th century BC when it was built up from a small kingdom. The people of Federated Harlack enjoyed a great deal of political freedom, although their civil rights were sometimes lacking. In general Federated Harlack went through the ups and downs of any nation and was more than once divided by civil war, although the Federal government always came out ontop. Unfortunately for the citizens of Greater Harlack, the dream of an ever lasting Federated Harlack came crashing down just years before World War One in 1905, when world attention was drawn to the Russo-Japanese conflict. Thirty years of economic depression and corrupt government came to a head in that year, when the President of Federated Harlack was thrown out of office not by an act of Congress, but by the people themselves, who stormed the Federal House (President's Office) with the aide of factions in the military. From that point forward the civil war was on, starting around 10:00 AM on April 5th. The civil war did not intend for another fifteen years when the waring factions managed to declare a cease fire and establish seperate states. The result was dozens of small and large nations all over the continent and well over twenty million lives lost in the bloodiest war in Harlack history.


Federated Harlack: A small nation, a tiny fraction of the power it once was the nation of Federated Harlack sits in the very northern tip of the continent, isolated and without allies of any kind. The nation has spent the one hundred years since its forced retreat to this area of the continent training and rebuilding its military. Once destroyed cities have risen again and a once fragmented government has consolidated its hold on what litter territory it owns. Although small, Federated Harlack is not to be trifeled with, many a nation has tried since the civil war to invade the territory but the border is defended by line upon line of trench work, anti-aircraft weapons, radar systems, bunkers, artillery positions, tank battalions and barbed wire. There are two ports in Federated Harlack, both of which are protected by huge coastal defense systems, some of which are housed on ancient gun platforms out at sea, others in large bunkers and bomb proof caves. The surface fleet of Federated Harlack is utterly non-existent, but the nation is not without a fleet, it just so happens that it is a fleet of submarines. Little is known of the technology level of these submarines, but they are assumed to be disel like the rest of the fleets fielded by Greater Harlack nations. Federated Harlack has been quiet for more than a decade and rumors abound of planned invasions of its socially unstable neighbors to the immediate south.

East Harlack: East Harlack was established by a large portion of the former military of Federated Harlack and has access to much of the naval reserve of the former nation. Unfortunately, these ships are ancient and long overdue for refit, or the scrap yard. What few modern ships they have are submarines crewed by inexperienced sailors. The ground and air forces of East Harlack are much better prepared for military conflict, especially after years of fighting with West Harlack. The citizens of East Harlack are largely happy and live fairly descent lives, always preaching the Word of God and ranting about the immoral communists to the west.

West Harlack: West Harlack is an immoral cess pool goverened by an even more immoral and massively corrupt "communist" dictator. The citizens of this nation have always been unhappy, but with the rescent tax hikes to 70%+ they have become even more unhappy, driven to the point of protests and riots. The military is still currently stable and under control, but there are fears within the government it may defect to the east or the south, or simply turn on the dictator entirely. The future of West Harlack is unstable, but unless the government changes course, the nation is likely doomed to utter collapse. This could be very unfortunate should it happen, for there are rumors of Nuclear stockpiles being built along the coast and there are confirmed reports of Chemical and Biological weapons tests.

South Harlack: South Harlack is a quiet nation, protected by a large air force and navy in comparison to its neighbors. The nation practically worships free trade and although it is a democracy there are whispered rumors of corporations buying politicians. The citizens of South Harlack are happy and prosperous, almost insanely patriotic and always on the alert for threats to their national security.

OC: ALso, the region of Greater Harlack is open to anyone who wishes to move there, or create a nation there. The only requirement is that you follow the very basic history of Federated Harlack. None of the nations in Greater Harlack are UN members, but UN members are certainly welcome.

Edith Mayenne thanked the captain for showing her to the secure communications room, and then waited patiently for him to leave, securing the door behind him. She then placed the call on the encrypted line to the President.

"Michael, there have been things learned about our situation here in the last 24 hours that place the entire affair in a very different light", she began. For the next ten minutes she briefed President Blum on all that Intelligence had learned.

When she was done, he sighed softly. "Sweet Jesus. What a g_dd_mn_d mess."

The considered options for a few more minutes. It wasn't as if they had many. Finally, the President made his decision.

"I'll have the 7th Brigade hold up on the coast. We'll say that we're having 'logistical problems' that will keep us in port for the next few days. You see if South Harlack can scratch up the transport to move the 7th to one of their ports - if it comes to that."

"Find out what South Harlack needs to be stable and secure. Don't make it Christmas for them, but maybe a birthday they'll never forget will be in order. As you do this, watch carefully. We can't afford any more surprises, and we simply have to know if these people are content to live at peace with their neighbors or want to mix it up. We'll back them in defense, but not an attack on their rest of Greater Harlack.

"Get whatever info you can on the Federation. Use whatever means may be available to you. You have a free hand."

He paused, and then continued. "If you're right", he began, "These negotiations are essentially pointless. But we're committed to them, and so let's get the parties together, talk it out, and see if they settle. Don't push them, and don't commit us to anything either. If things fall apart, thank everybody and send them home.

"With any luck we'll get through this without losing our shirts", he finished.

"I wouldn't count on that, Mr. President," said Edith glumly.

"No", replied Michael Blum, with more than a trace of fatigue in his voice, "nor would I..."

The work was proceeding smoothly and efficiently. The ancient guns had all been removed and carefully stowed away, as the South Harlack historian has insisted. Additional steel girders were added temporarily to key points, while spot welds were made in other places. The structure wasn't going to be anywhere near as strong as it was when first built - that would take a couple of years of work - but it wasn't going to fall over, either.

As the reinforcement work began to near completion, the engineers started planning the additions. A helipad and a small collection of hangars would be added; radar and electronics masts, satellite dishes (large and small), active and passive underwater listening systems, and ultimately a set of winches for a OTH radar dirigible would give the platform an impressive array of eyes and ears. Some of the magazines were converted to personnel facilities; one became a command center. Electronic shielding and grounding against eavesdropping and EMP would be added to "harden" the platform for EW purposes.

Automatic cannon would be added to a number of points along the periphery, mainly to protect against small boats, missiles, and aircraft. Missile launchers would complete the anti-air and anti-missile defenses; these wouldn't be too extensive, but would give the platform a fighting chance in the event of attack.

Slips were added for a small number of speedboats, similar to the Swedish Boghammer. Hoists would be present to pull these craft out of the water for maintenance and to secure from storms. Once completed, the facility would be able to track the movement of ships and aircraft for quite some distance, as well as dispatch helicopters or speedboats for boarding operations or anti-submarine work.

But for now, these changes were yet to come. Before the additional personnel needed to safely perform all this work could be set on the platform, the renovation would need to be finished, and while that would happen soon, it probably would not happen before the negotiators met and talks began on the resolution of the crisis between East and West Harlack.

Which was very, very unfortunate...

The President of East Harlack and Premier of West Harlack began preperations for boarding the "negotiation vessel" as it was being called by the public media in the area. So far the rest of Harlack had been relatively quiet although there were a plethora of sumbarine forces in the area, adding a bit of confusion to the sonar scans going on. Interestingly enough, there was one very obvious Typhoon class submarine lingering in the waters of South Harlack, a submarine none of the harlacks were capable of building themselves.

To ; Government of Allemande
From ; Governor Connie Chung, Colony of Ollieland

We wish to reiterate our dedication to the peace process. Our troops in Harlack have been sent as peacekeepers and will remain exactly that - not a hostile force.
The governor also wishesto state that we were unaware of your presence on the guntower and certainly meant no threat to you or your forces.
We wish to co-operate with all the governments of Greater Harlack and with all the governments who currently have forces in the area to work on a programme for peace.

The President of East Harlack and Premier of West Harlack began preperations for boarding the "negotiation vessel" as it was being called by the public media in the area. So far the rest of Harlack had been relatively quiet although there were a plethora of sumbarine forces in the area, adding a bit of confusion to the sonar scans going on. Interestingly enough, there was one very obvious Typhoon class submarine lingering in the waters of South Harlack, a submarine none of the harlacks were capable of building themselves."Look sharp", snapped Captain Deschaine on the destroyer's bridge, setting the phone down at the end of the call, "The bigwigs are on the way."

The DDG John Martaine was circling slowly far off the coast of East Harlack. Its two escorts, both frigates, orbited around it at a distance of 2-3km, keeping a wary eye on the growing number of ships in the area. There were the two submarines from East Harlack nearby - not posing any threat at the moment, but still needing to be watched. And other contacts were beginning to appear at the edge of the sonar horizon.

Farther out, a single helicopter from the John Martaine circled the flotilla, looking for anything out of the ordinary. It represented the first line of defense, and as such it was spelled by the ships other two helicopters on a regular basis.

In the distance, Chief Daniel Guye, the helicopter's pilot, could see the much-disputed gun platform. Anchored nearby were two more vessels, a salvage ship and a freighter. Last night they'd had lights burning on the platform for the first time in over a century; it was well on its way towards becoming a militarily useful facility.

Guye had been briefed earlier about the Typhoon. Intelligence believed that it belonged to South Harlack, but the Harlackers had the annoying habit of not marking their subs. Then, too, even though the Typhoon was clearly a foreign purchase and the Southerners were dealing with foreign powers, there was certainly no guarantee that they were the only ones capable of getting their hands on something that big.

Bigger than anything we have, he thought, or anything we're likely to have for another half a dozen years. Allemande didn't even have a working water-cooled reactor suitable for shipboard use; the pilot models were only now being built...

And I wouldn't be surprised if they all didn't have an ace or two like that up their sleeves, he mused. Their new Southerner allies were cooperative, but getting them to tell their Allemander liaisons all their secrets was like getting an Ayadi girl to give you a kiss. IOW, it could take years...

"Navigation set cruising speed to 5kts." *Captain Randall Irkson said from his position in the center of the Phoenix's Con. The ship had been running on high alert for days and they were finnaly arriving in the targeted area. He watched what screens he could see from his position and waited for news from his men as his XO paced near sonar control.* "Contact ID as non-threatening single man submercible craft. Sonar confirms we are clear of support pylons." *His sonar officer was kind enough to inform him. Randall waited until the "platform cleared" signal was given and then issue new orders.* "Begin slow ascension to ten meters depth and continue forward at current speed. Load tube's one, two and three, but do *not* flood."

"Missile launch depth achieved Con." *A female officer told Captain Cleeland Maxwell of the South Harlack Typhoon Inferno.*

"Recieving orders from Naval Command." *His com officer informed him. He made his way to the com station and ripped the printed orders from their print slot, scanned them and then handed them over to his XO.* "Code confirmed?" *He asked his XO.*

*The man nodded slightly.* "Confirmed."

*Captain Randal considered his options carefully for a moment before giving his next order.* "Flood tube one, acquire firing solution."

Renee Arnaud checked the batteries on her minisub, 45 minutes, she thought. Just enough time to start on the south bastion.

The examination of the foundation and supporting pylons on the old gun platform was tedious work, but it had to be done. The Stork was running on a very tight schedule, trying to get the platform to a stage where cargo and personnel could be safely deployed. Right now, the engineers were "reasonably certain" that the structure's integrity was good enough for the real work to begin topside, but "reasonably certain" wasn't good enough, so Renee and her companions were working around the clock with the Stork's two mini-subs to finish the inspection. If all went well, they'd be done sometime late tonight.

Flipping on her high beams, Renee throttled up the electric motors are sailed around the southwestern edge of the platform. Deftly - she'd been doing this work for three years and was one of the best there was at it - she reversed one of her motors and swung the mini-sub around sharply to view the bastion wall in enfilade.

She sucked in her breath sharply at what she saw, not 400 meters away.

She could not identify the boat. It had no markings. It was of an unfamiliar class, but there were so many diesel electric boats out there, who could know all the classes?

Momentarily, she sat gripped in fear, the way a small fish must feel in the presence of a shark. Had the boat seen her? Of course it had, she thought. From its bearing it had come up behind her while she was examining the southwestern bastion. The d_mn_d thing would have had to have picked her up on its passive sensors, even though she was running on nothing but electric batteries. The C-Class minis were designed for engineering work, not for stealth; she would have been audible from a couple of miles away.

Her brain whirled. You idiot, she thought, and cut the twin electric fans back in to glide smoothly up to the wall. He knows you're here, she thought, don't let him know you see him!

She began to move along the bastion wall, in the same fashion as before, trying to look like her behavior had not changed as she saw the sub start to recede into the murky distance, rising ever so gently towards the surface. If only I could whistle and kick a rock, she thought, the cliche wouild be complete.

After a long slow count of ten, then twenty, then thirty, she keyed her mike. "Frank!" she whispered. "Frank!" she hissed, louder.

"Yes, darling?" said Frank, in his usual cocky way. He loved being a sm_rt_ss.

"Shutup and listen!", she hissed. "This is serious. There's a diesel electric bearing towards the flotilla. Just passed the platform close in. He's about half a click away to the west and moving off at maybe 5 knots. I think he's rising to periscope depth. Can you hear him?"

Silence for half a minute. She held her breath and continued to fake working at the bastion wall. Then Frank's voice came back, this time with no playfulness at all. He was cold, hard business.

"Got him. Yes, he's a big one. Not a coaster, either. A full diesel attack sub. I'm contacting John Martaine."

I hope to God he's just another voyeur, she thought. But no way in Heaven does he feel like one... :eek:

OOC: This is about as simultaneous as it gets...

The radio cracked. "Seagull One, we have a bogey. Submerged unidentified diesel electric boat, bearing 120, about 10½ nm from the flag. Just came past the old gun battery, slightly to the south. Running slow just under periscope depth. Check it out."

"Copy", said Chief Guye, as he swung his helicopter around. "ETA 7 minutes." He was on the opposite side of the flotilla, so he had about a dozen miles to cover.

*Captain Randal considered his options carefully for a moment before giving his next order.* "Flood tube one, acquire firing solution."On board the Stork, Frank shouted at the top of his lungs, "He's flooding!"

A moment later, the XO on the bridge on the John Martaine sounded General Quarters.

OOC: East and West Harlack, are your diplomats en board or en route? We need a fix on everyone.

OOC: I'll be offline until 12:00AM EST (5:00AM GMT). You can start the next phase of the encounter, but don't go too far.

Oh, and we really do need to know if the President of East Harlack and the Premier of West Harlack have arrived on board or are en route, and if en route where exactly they are...

"The Confederacy of Pirate Captains announces interest in being able to join in the Peace talks. We would like to send a delegate, and a few aides. Completly unarmed."
-Captain Bart Roberts

*Randal smiled a bit as the news came in.* "Solution acquired."

"Fire."

*There was a light thump as the torpedo shot from the tube. The weapon was a converted MK-48 and was moving at its top speed moments after leaving the tube. Because of the position of the submarine the torpedo moved near the surface of the water and would certainly be visable on sonar as it moved quickly toward the target vessel.*

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

*The tension between the President and Primer was thick enough to cut with a knife. The two were arguing almost constantly after they were on board the negotiation vessel and although the President of East Harlack had offered a proposal, the Primer had disagreed to every last part of the proposal and had yet to make one of his own. When the alarms went off the security teams of each man demanded information from the XO of the ship immediatly and started to warm up the engines of their respective helos..just incase.*

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Captain, torpedo in the water!"

*Captain Cleeland turned from his position at navigation and moved to Sonar immediatly.* "Target?"

"Uncertain...but its heading towards the negotiating vessels." *The sonar officer replied.*

"Flood missile tubes one through twelve, prepare conventional missiles for firing, program targets according to Defensive Strike Plan Alpha. Ascend to communications depth and extend com cables, I want to be able to talk to surface vessels."

*When a submarine floods its tubes it tends to make alot of noise, but a Typhoon raising quickly towards the surface and flooding *twelve* missile tubes was about as quiet as a thunder storm.*

A small delegation, coming by way of ship, arrives secretly in one of West Harlack's ports. (Please see TG)

Perhaps supplies for the coalition would be better than troops, at this point there are quite a few peacekeepers and even my citizens are getting tired of seeing more and more foreign troops on their soil.

OOC: The Federal Republic of Canada can always send Agents of the Canadian Intelligence Services into the aggressive Harlackian states? Such as train gurrillea troops and supply them. Commit acts of espionage and sabotage, just throw me something my way that is productive. I need a RP to play.

*OC* You can send a small fleet if you'd like, things are about to explode, as you can see. Just remember the situation is massively unstable, and about to get much more so.

OOC: I could always send Special Forces flag under the flag of Eastern Harlackian flag? That technique has been used in former engangements as well.

I require intelligence, preferably some kind of map, before I send troops into the fray. You will have four units of my 1st Airborne Division at your disposal.

Send confirmation by telegram. I will also have to send my fail/safe launch code by satellite. I will also have ICBM's at the ready.

*OC* As of now there is no war, but that is likely about to change. I suggest waiting to see what happens after this torpedo strike.

The Holy Dominion of Priman would gladly send 30,000 warriors to aid in the development of your nation's soul. :cool:

OOC: Any response to what I last posted?

*OC* That was meant as a response to all new arrivals, you may send ships (can't land forces without permission of the peacekeepers and nations involved) but be aware of the entire situation as it currently stands.

Transmission::

This is the flagship of the Pirate Captains peacekeeping force in Harlack. Captain Roberts would like to join the talks. Please transmit location of talks, the Captain and two aids will go, without any weapons. I repeat, please send location for the Captain to go to join in the talks. Either the location or a location where he could be picked up and brought to the talks.

::Transmission ends

OOC: Please respond to my post by sending me a telegram via through the nationstates website. I will be sending a small taskforce of eight ships including one Aircraft Carrier to do patrolling of Harlackian shorelines in international airspace.

Hello!

Our nation's special unique force are hypnotizers. They clear soldiers mind out, to say the least.
We shall contribute 3,000 troops.

Sincerely

My Majesty

"The Confederacy of Pirate Captains announces interest in being able to join in the Peace talks. We would like to send a delegate, and a few aides. Completly unarmed."
-Captain Bart RobertsYou might have to wait a bit...

*OC* Yeah..I think some of you need to read over everything a bit more carefully and perhaps just wait a bit.

*Randal smiled a bit as the news came in.* "Solution acquired."

"Fire."

*There was a light thump as the torpedo shot from the tube. The weapon was a converted MK-48 and was moving at its top speed moments after leaving the tube. Because of the position of the submarine the torpedo moved near the surface of the water and would certainly be visable on sonar as it moved quickly toward the target vessel.*"Incoming torpedo!' yelled the sonar tech aboard the John Martaine.

"Just one?" asked Captain Deschaine, puzzled. Then it dawned on him.

"Take her around to 280 and up to flank speed!" he barked. "Secure all bulkheads and get all personnel below decks."

"And get the VIP's as far below the waterline as possible!"

:eek:

OOC: Gotta look up the specs on the Mk-48. I'd originally thought I was dealing with a Mk-45, so I'm going to amend the earlier post with the helo to straighten out the scale. See you in an hour...

*The torpedo continued on course at maximum speed and sonar operators all over the area had their hands full with an abudence of noise from the Typhoon, as well as the rappidly accellerating Destroyer.*

OOC: Oh, I know the negotations are going to hell. However Captain Bart doesn't know that the crap has hit the fan and assumes the talks are going ahead.
I like to seperate character knowledge from mine as much as possible.

*OC* That's always good =).

A ship, bearing a flag of a red sun before a blue sky pulls secretly pulls into a port in the North West of west Harlack. The ship docks and a small number of men wait in the port for some sort of delivery.

*The ship was loaded with two rather large steel crates after payment was recieved.*

after a number of scientists on board verify the authenticity of the cargo, payment is released and the ship departs for the open ocean.

Captain Deschaine silently did the math in his head. It was not encouraging.

It had taken his ship three minutes to come about and accelerate up to full speed. In those three precious minutes the Mk-48 had closed by almost 5,000m. At that point, the gap between the two was just over 14,000m, and closing at a rate of about 900m per minute. At that rate, it would take 16 minutes to close the gap.

The good news was that a Mk-48 could only run for about 19 minutes at full throttle. It would be very close to running out of steam at the moment of impact; a few noisemakers in the water and a hard turn and it would probably miss.

The bad news was that Captain Deschaine was pretty sure that this Mk-48 had been modified to carry a Mk-45 ASTOR warhead.

If this were indeed true, this would be very bad news indeed.

A Mk-45 ASTOR warhead was an 11KT fission device. If it got within 1km of his vessel, he and his crew would probably not survive.

Deschaine had ordered his frigates to scatter, putting as much distance between themselves and the Mk-48 as possible. At this stage, they were out of danger. He was not.

So now it was up to him to figure out how to change the odds.

A Mk-45 was a wire-guided weapon, but more to the point, a Mk-45 warhead was not fused like an ordinary torpedo. It was detonated by an explicit signal sent from the launching vessel. You could save yourself against a sub driver firing a Mk-45 by attacking the attacker; if he tried to undertake evasive maneuvers, he'd probably cut the line and lose the ability to detonate his fish.

All this, of course, assumed that the attacker hadn't modified the detonation mechanism on the nuclear device.

He'd find out in 2 minutes. That was when Chief Guye would be in position to attack the bogey with a brace of torpedoes.

Which meant that he would have 12 more minutes to think about what he might have done - or might still do - if his guess about the wire-triggering mechanism proved to be wrong.

"We'll make one pass, very low", Daniel Guye said to his weapons officer. "I want a buoy in the water in front of the bogey and then again right after we've flown overhead. Put one torpedo down right after the first buoy and another one down right over the projected position. Has Stork sent you their latest data?"

William Merle, Guye's weapons officer, nodded, then added, "We're not taking a very good shot at this jerk."

"We don't need a good shot", replied the Chief. "We just need to spoil his aim. Ready..."

And with that, they began their attack run.

I hadn't done my research on ASW helo loads before posting. I'm using the UK's Merlin as a template for the ASW bird, which gives me four torpedoes in the full load

I can't tell if the crew complement is two or three, so I'm assuming two (pilot and SO). If I'm wrong, sue me...

"Four helo dropped fish incoming!" *Randall's sonar operator called out in warning.* "Damn.." *Randall said.* "Cut the wire and shut the tube door. Drop noise makers and turn hard right. Engage engines to full speed and begin emergency dive!"

Lets hope plan B works as well as they said it would.


*The submarine made a good deal of noise going to full speed and ejecting noise makers, but they had already been spotted anyway and survival was paramount on the captain's mind. The submarine was old and made the turn a good deal slower than it may have years ago, but still managed to avoid the incoming torpedos...though only by a handful of inches. The ASTOR torpedo the submarine had fired continued on coure, making adjustments to follow its target as programmed. Once the wire was cut a new detonation mechanism took over that would go off in one of two situations. In the first situation, the warhead would detonate on impact with a solid object and in the second, it would detonate as soon as the screw stopped turning.*

*Two more torpedo tubes could be heard flooding as the now enemy submarine tryed to dive deeper than the attacking helo could reach. The flooding noise came from a different direction entirely however, from the direction of South Harlack's national waters. The interesting thing about the tubes flooding was, there was no other noise coming from that direction, it was as if a phantom submarine had appeared in the sea.*

*The captain of the Typhoon was quick to ID his sub and nationality to all coalition surface vessels and sent out the following message.*

"Inform us of assisstance is needed. Because of our orders we cannot move from launch depth, but we would be happy to provide additional sonar data."

"Four helo dropped fish incoming!" *Randall's sonar operator called out in warning.* "Damn.." *Randall said.* "Cut the wire and shut the tube door. Drop noise makers and turn hard right. Engage engines to full speed and begin emergency dive!""They've swerved and cut the wire!" called out the SO about the bridge of the John Martiane.

"Tell Chief Guye to disengage," said Captain Deschaine, "and follow the track of that torpedo in."

Now came the key question: what kind of fuse had they rigged to the ASTOR? Proximity? Time delay? He had no way of knowing, and he didn't want to wait 11 more minutes to find out.

"Drop the decoy and cut speed by one quarter. Prepare a full ASROC barrage", said Deschaine tersely.

If we were a frigate, he thought, this would be a piece of cake. The two Allemander frigates had multi-barrelled depth-charge launchers capable of setting up a small barrage. Reverse screws, drop a salvo of charges astern, heel over hard one way or the other and they'd probably live. But the DDG was equipped to aggressively engage submarines at longer distances, and so it was limited to ASROC's, which were less than ideal in setting up such a salvo.

"Eight minutes to impact", called out the SO, adjusting for the fact that the Mk-48 was closing faster now that the John Martaine was moving at a slower speed.

He would cut speed to half, let the torpedo close to 3500m, fire his barrage, cut loose his decoy, reverse screws, and swing hard to starboard. Then he'd have helm give him full power and shoot off at a tangent from his main course. With a little luck, the Mk-48 would stay on the decoy the rest of the way in.

It would be close; he'd be almost exactly 1km from the decoy when the torpedo arrived (if it didn't go off before impact), which would mean that they'd be facing their own personal tsunami. Almost certainly they'd be crippled. With luck, however, they'd stay afloat.

That left Seagull One.

"Instruct Chief Guye to get out about 1500m in front on the Mk-48, drop his sonobuoys and then put as much distance between himself and that fish as he can", said the captain. He was hoping that the helicopter's sensor buoys would provide his weapons officers with just enough additional data to make the barrage that much more effective.

It took the helicopter four minutes to overtake the torpedo and streak out ahead of it by 1500m. By now, the distance between the Mk-48 and its prey was about 5000m; in less than one minute, John Martaine would launch its barrage.

"Buoys in the water!", cried the SO.

"Working on a solution ..." declared the weapons officer.

"Fire when you have it", snapped Deschaine.

The seconds seemed like years. The torpedo was 4000m away.

"Acquired ... Firing!"

"Cut the decoy!" barked the captain. "Reverse full power, swing to 20 degrees, then full power."

And pray, he thought.

The rocket-propelled torpedoes plunged into the sea, and then a huge wall of water rocketed upwards, less than 2 nautical miles away. The John Martaine reeled like a drunken sailor, and then found its bearings and shot forward at a surprising speed.

"Secure for blast," said the Captain Deschaine. It was all in God's hands, now...

OOC: Well, now I know why the Russians still have depth charge barrage systems on their vessels... Talk about improvisation!

*Maybe he was lucky, maybe there was divine intervention, who knows, either way the torpedo survived the salvo but shifted course to follow the decoy.*

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Incoming!" *Randall was getting tired of hearing that.* "What now?!" *He asked the sonar operator.*

"Two torpedos, directly ahead, four meters and closing!"

*Randall closed his eyes, too close to avoid.* "How the hell?" *He asked of no one inparticular. Someone had snuck up on them...*

*The explosion of the sub filled sonar operator ears moments later as the war machine was impacted by two MK-48 torpedos.*
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

*The trailing torpedos never so much missed as continued to follow just meters behind the ASTOR equipped MK-48. The John Martaine was exactly 1km away when the torpedo's screw stopped spinning and the warhead detonated a half second before the two trailing torpedos would have struck. The resulting explosion would have been quite the sight to see, if one was not trying to survive it first. A 1km wall of water shot into the sky and sonar operators in the area had to pull off their headsets from the noise. The tsunami the Martaine's captain had been afraid of shot outward at high speed.

Any vessel less than 1km from the blast would not survive the explosion, or the tidal wave that followed.*

Chief Guye knew that he was a dead man.

He had about three minutes. In three minutes, he could put about 9nm between himself and the likely detonation point. That probably wouldn't be enough.

He though about ditching, and realized that he'd rather risk the EMP from a 10KT submarine blast than a 10m breaking tsunami (and a radioactive one at that, he mused). But either way he wasn't going to make it.

"You married, David", he asked his SO.

"Yes", said the SO weakly. "My wife is expecting in May."

"Boy or girl?"

"Boy, sir."

"Daniel", he said absentmindedly. "For the moment, you can lose the 'sir'."

Then, after a moment, he added, "Boys are good. I like boys. I have two of them..."

Due to rising tentions in the specific area, the
Republic of Argonasa has decided to send equiptment, and
officers to aide the disputing nations, as peacekeepers.

The Republic of Aragonasa will send:

[2] Birgades of Infantry [9000 men total]
[1] Squadron of Medical Officers [6 men]
[1] Squadron of Engineerns [6 men]

Signed Respectfully,

His Royal Highness,
Keegan Marcus Loyst,
Royal Soverign of Rupublic of Aragonasa.

"Good god!" *Catpain Cleeland exclaimed.* "They actually did it...they actually bloody launched a nuke. Send a message...offer help to anyone that needs it..we have medical supplies on board."

*The message was sent on all channels.*

"I demand to be allowed to leave!" shouted the Premier of West Harlack. "Your nation will pay dearly for this ... this ... abduction!"

Edith Mayenne wanted to knock the man cold. You know, I could, she mused. She'd taken Aikido when her daughter had signed up for it in grade school, just to keep up. It would be so ... satisfying.

But with great power comes great responsibility. She sighed, a slightly sad sigh. He really does deserve it.

"Mr. Premier, you simply can not leave. This vessel is under attack, and we can not use the helipad right now."

"If your ship is under attack", said the President of East Harlack, "Then you should let us go, since you can no longer protect us."

She eyed him coolly. You, too, bucko, she thought involuntarily. Swallowing, she dismissed him: "This is the safest place you can be, and I have to insist that you stay here."

"Brace for hard manuevers!" came a voice over the intercom.

"I'd do that if I were you", said the Marine captain. "Sirs ... ma'am."

"Why, thank you, young man", Edith said with a smile.

And then the room almost turned upside down.

*The trailing torpedos never so much missed as continued to follow just meters behind the ASTOR equipped MK-48. The John Martaine was exactly 1km away when the torpedo's screw stopped spinning and the warhead detonated a half second before the two trailing torpedos would have struck. The resulting explosion would have been quite the sight to see, if one was not trying to survive it first. A 1km wall of water shot into the sky and sonar operators in the area had to pull off their headsets from the noise. The tsunami the Martaine's captain had been afraid of shot outward at high speed.

Any vessel less than 1km from the blast would not survive the explosion, or the tidal wave that followed.*Anyone who has ever been in an automobile accident can attest to the way time slows beyond all imagination. Glass shatters, metal bends, objects fly, all with a speed that seems unreal.

11KT of nuclear fury, set off underwater at 1km, has an even more impressive effect on time.

For a split second, the water lit up in a fashion resembling heat lightning on a summer's eve, only beneath the water rather than above the clouds.

Then the water began rising. It rose impossibly high and very, very fast, like a volcano blowing its top.

The water had an even stranger look. It turned black ... black and oily. Then a white ring shot out at near supersonic speeds.

The amazing thing about an underwater nuclear explosion is how little heat and atmospheric overpressure it produces - just 1 atmosphere at 1 km, barely enough to cause a funny feeling in the ears.

But the water ... the water gets compressed tremendously, so that at 1km the compressive force is 60 atmospheres. This is quite enough to crack a submarines hull.

Fortunately, John Martaine was not a submarine. It was a surface vessel. Its hull did not crumple like a piece of paper.

But with that overpressure came a 10m wave, rushing on at a speed that would have shamed a locomotive, already breaking.

A 10m wave is not a lot for a destroyer to take, unless it's breaking and it's abeam. Because the torpedo went off just before it hit the decoy, it was almost directly behind the vessel, but not quite behind.

Consequently the tidal wave broke across the ship with unimagined fury and at a slight quarter angle. John Martain rolled, almost far enough to turn over ... almost.

But it didn't. The wave surged across the superstructure, tearing off railings, anttenas and dishes, even an AA missile battery, but the destroyer didn't founder, didn't roll, didn't break, and ... most importantly of all ... didn't sink.

The engines were crushed into silence by the impact. Water streamed in through several seams, but not in quantities that the bilges couldn't handle. Auxiliary power was quickly restore, although most primary power systems were fired. The destroyer was crippled and dead in the water, but at least it was still afloat.

Chief Guye didn't see the blast behind him. He did know that the ASTOR had gone off. He knew that it had gone off because his electrical systems died.

Seagull One began to autorotate, but it did not do so for long. With awful violence the shock wave from the blast caught the fragile helicopter like a piece of litter by the side of the road and sent it tumbling into the waves.

Renee Arnaud heard Frank tell her that John Martaine thought the single Mk-48 was nuclear tipped. She didn't need to hear any more. Working quickly, she headed in the opposite direction from the flotilla, fans whirring at maximum speed, climbing at the fastest safe angle possible.

"Renee, what are you doing?!?" asked Frank.

"Staying alive", she replied. "You folks better take cover."

She made the surface - barely - just in time to feel the jolt of a seismic wave. She had at best a minute to secure her harness, get every loose item out of the small cabin and ... relax. Stay loose, stay loose, stay loose, stay...

WHAMMM!!!!

The wave flipped the mini-sub over like a hotcake. Still, she somehow managed to keep her wits about her and blow her tanks. Take the shock on the surface, ride the tsunami out underwater. The little craft tumbled for a minute or two, and then the motion stopped.

She inspected herself for injuries. Some bruises, a cramp or two, nothing more serious - but she was over 20km from the blast site. In a mniute, she was running back towards Stork.

Stork was a mess. It had been at anchor and unable to position itself to ride the wave; much equipment had been damaged, more swept overboard, and Stork herself had capsized, although not fatally. The freighter anchored neardby had enjoyed a better angle and seemed to have come through with only minor damage.

The platform had been battered, thought not beyond hope of repair. They had been set back a day or two - ignoring Stork's plight. But somehow, thought Renee, as she popped the hatch on the mini-sub, I don't think this is a job we'll be finishing...

1 DDG crippled
2 FFG's damaged (superficially)
1 Salvage vessel damages (significant)
1 Freighter damaged (superficially)
1 ASW helicopter lost

Causualties: 10 missing and presumed dead, 23 seriously wounded, 117 minor injuries. Minimal exposure to radiation and fallout thanks to preventative measures.

The second salvage vessel arrives within 6 hours to take the John Martaine in tow. A diesel electric attack submarine (further out to sea at the time of the attack) arrives within the hour to join the two frigates in protecting Stork and John Martaine.

The helicopter deck of John Martaine is unusable. The officials aboard the crippled destroyer may transfer to one of the frigates if they wish while awaiting pickup by their respective countries.

The talks are over.

Dialoge

"Mister President"

The President of the Republic of Aragonasa awoke, to the saddened
voice of his advisor, approaching his oak desk. He lifted his head, and
lowered his hands, slowly straightening his suit jacket.

"Yes, Colonel O'Neil?" The President inquired, sleepily

"We have just recived word sir, a nucular device has been launched"

The President stood quickly, and cleared his through. He walked out, from
behind his desk, and stood against the large oval window behind him.

"Send the Emergency Responce Team" The President Announced

"When sir?"

"ASAP Colonel, that means now."

Equiptment Sent

[2] Corps of Emergency Responce Officers
[5] Helicopters
[20] Transportation Craft
[100] Medical Officers

Anyone may use, at they're disposal.

East Harlack loses:

2 Diesel submarines destroyed, 84 crew dead.

1 Recon plane downed by EMP, 4 crew dead.

3 light cruisers heavily damged while in port.

unknown casualties in the port city from tidal wave impact and flying debris.

West Harlack loses:

None

South Harlack Loses:

None

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"All surface vessels in need of aide please reply."

*The message was a repeating message sent out by the South Harlack Typhoon submarine. Moments after the blast medical personel were scrambeled in South Harlack ports, but they would have no idea where to go untill the Typhoon's message was replied to. A launch was immediately sent to the Martaine after the blast by East Harlack to pickup it's President and a helicopter was on its way from West Harlack to hover over the ship and do a flying pickup of the Primier.*

*Amidst the turmoil and news alerts of the nuclear attack came another announcement...West Harlack had descended into violence and civil war. The military was divided between hardline government loyal communists and forces calling themselves Freedom Fighters. There was heavy fighting in the streets of every major city and every unit guarding the DMZ had actually engaged in a running battle against each other along the DMZ border, which was quickly threatening to spill over into the DMZ and peacekeeping forces.*

East Harlack loses:

...

3 light cruisers heavily damged while in port.

unknown casualties in the port city from tidal wave impact and flying debris.

OOC: Google underwater nuclear detonations for info. It's quite interesting. One of the weirder things is that the tsunami effect is extremely unpredictable, even w/re the same nuclear "event". Up and down the coastline it can range from nothing to twice the normal impact.

Another consideration is fallout. The high concentration of sea salts in the cloud means that there will be heavy rains in the vicinity. This is good and bad. It's good in that it means that the fallout won't carry far. It's bad in that the concentration of radioactive particles may be exceptionally high from place to place (or, more accurately, squall to squall).

East Harlack will definitely need some medical help. Casualties will be in the high hundreds or low thousands, but there definitely will be causualties.

*OC* Oh yeah I know, but those numbers won't come in for days. I'll get them posted, just not for a few "days".

Michael Blum sat quietly in his study within the East Annex. He didn't usually drink, but tonight he had a glass of brandy. He had hoped that the taste and aroma would help lift his spirits, but it did not.

And, in spite of the warmth of the fireplace, he felt very, very cold.

The Harlack affair had turned into a disaster. Oh, things could have been much, much worse. Luck had saved John Martaine as much as anything, and talented men and women make their own luck. He was convinced that his personnel had played a strong part in their own salvation. But that wouldn't be what they said in the papers.

What they would say - what they were already saying - was fiasco. And he couldn't blame them.

The ships would hobble home - or, in John Martaine's case, be towed to some friendly port and repaired before returning home. The 7th Brigade would follow them, even though for the moment it was staying to help provide relief for the people of the East Harlack coast. The alliance with South Harlack might survive once the dust settled - maybe. But it would be a while before Allemande got involved in something like this again.

Robert Donne had already risen to speak from the floor of the Senate, condemning him and his Adminstration for carelessly placing the lives of the nations brave men and women at risk. He had made a political mistake in demanding Edith Mayenne's resignation: as the story of Edith's coolness under fire got out, that would work against Donne - but even that one aspect of the situation was a mixed blessing.

After all, Allemande had almost lost her, too. And responsibility for that lay on one set of shoulders alone.

Those of President Michael Blum.

The Presidential campaign had already begun. It was going to be a bitter one.

OOC: Allemande's involvement in the peacekeeping mission will end. After relief has arrived in sufficient quantity, the 7th Mechanized Brigade will be withdrawn. The gun platform will not be repaired (again); it will be abandoned. Allemande will make a separate deal with South Harlack to keep the waters around Greater Harlack free of piracy.

*A Presidential speach in South Harlack was rarely a world broadcast, but after the events of today, it was and so it was likely President Blume was watching or listening to the speach.*

"And so, with the evidence presented and the chaos found in our neighbors in West Harlack I ask the Congress of South Harlack the following:

Give me the ability to intervene in West Harlack and put this civil war to an end before it gets out of hand. More importantly, I propose to Congress a treaty which will annex the lower half of West Harlack and help the Democratic forces in northern West Harlack overthrow their communist regieme. If we want peace on this continent it is clear that we must do it ourselves. The peacekeeping effort has failed but we stand with our allies in Allmande and by Presidential decree I offer to Allmande 50 million in their currency as well as repair facilities for their damaged warships. I ask you, the Congress, to allow the transfer of an anti-submarine helicopter to Allmande to replace that which they lost in the explosion and I also ask for two *billion* dollars in medical aide to be sent to East Harlack."

::Amid the looting and riots in west harlack Pirates can be seen carting away loot by the truckload. Said loot is taken to the Port cities and then loaded upon ships where it is shiped out to the open ocean.::

::open transmission to the forces in Harlack, from Captain Bart Roberts, see prior postings for physical description::

"We are sad to see what has happened in the waters around Harlack, and the recent nuclear tragedy, some ships are standing by to provide medical assistance"

::said ships have promised no acts of piracy while providing aid::

"Further, we have a peacekeeping force in West Harlack in order to try and tame the violence. We are alse ensuring that all valuable items are kept safe from the violence. Additionally, because the people in the port cities have been so generous to us, we are ensuring there protection"

::Many of the port cities are being guarded and turned into small, enclaved bubbles of Pirate friendly port cities"

"Anything else we can do, let us know"

-Captain Bart Roberts

((OOC: How well guarded are the Nuclear stockpiles of West Harlack?))

*OC* Extremly, even now.

It was one of those things, the Primier had just been standing in the wrong place and that was how the crew of the Martaine came to have the dead leader of West Harlack on their ship. The man had fallen when the tidal wave hit and his head hit the sharp edge of a metal table, cracking open his skull and causing fatal damage. The man was dead before his body hit the floor.

*Holy President Eric Damon made a crossing motion over his chest when he realised his rival was dead.* "Do you know what it was?" *He asked the woman who had been trying to help them negotiate all this time.* "Regular attacks don't do that."

*For the crew of the capsized salvage ship and the woman driving the minisub it must have been a shock, and then a relief when a massive submarine broke water and slowly rose to the surface not far from their capsized vessel. The ship was huge and had...of all things...what appeared to be a large aircraft hanger and a catapult array on the bow of the sub. The conning tower actually had a marking unlike most subs in this area, the flag of South Harlack.*

Off of Shoreline of Harlack

A small taskforce of ten ships from various sizes and classes headed toward with the three white maple leaf flag on the baby blue background came to full throttle. The taskforce was under the command of Rear Admiral Henrick Solzberg .

SHIPS OF THE TASKFORCE
CFNS Princeton - Aircraft Carrier
CFNS White Rock - Aircraft Carrier
CFNS Prince George - Destroyer
CFNS Wilfred Laurier - Destroyer
CFNS John MacDonald - Cruiser
CFNS Victoria - Cruiser
CFNS Highlander - Command Ship (AGF) [Flagship]
CFNS Westminister - Amphibious Assault Ship LHA(R)
CFNS Winnipeg - Amphibious Assault Ship LHA(R)
CFNS Resurgence - Amphibious Transport Dock - LPD

Department of War International Press Conference (Time: Event +15 min)

"There is alot of confusion going on right now in the region and in international press, we of the military in South Harlack would like to put a few rumors to rest." *The female Defense Minister told the press.* "There are South Harlack subs patrolling the waters, and there were before the event occured. Our submarines went to immediate defensive stations when a torpedo was launched. An Allmande ASW helicopter attempted to destroy the attacking sub, who's nation has yet to be identified, but failed. A South Harlack classified submarine in the area saw a chance and fired two torpedos at close range, destroying the attacking submarine before it could escape. Those were the only weapons fired by South Harlack. Our forces have been put on alert all over the nation and throughout Greater Harlack waters to hunt down any other would be attackers. We..."

*She paused as she someone came up from the side of the podium and whispered into her ear. After a moment she spoke again.*

"I'm sorry, we have to cut this short."

*Must have been frustrating for the sonar operators of the crippeled Destroyer that after all of this, they could pick up the sounds of three approaching objects in the distance. The Frigates would be able to catch up to them long before any shots were fired, this time, infact they were heading straight towards the Frigates from the north.*

The nation of Kelleghan formally anounces it will remain completely neutral in this incident.

It was only a few minutes after the announcement that a visitor arrived at the East Harlack embassy. A simple enough woman, dressed conservitively in a very proffesional coal buisness suit. She removed her glasses and staired down at the secretary at the front desk. "I need to speak to someone in charge," she said simply.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" *She asked.* "Things are a bit chaotic right now..." *The secretary added.*

CFNS Highlander, Canadian Taskforce, Flagship

Rear Admiral Solzberg picked up the telegram that he recieved fowarded by the Chief of the Navy in transcript form on the current situation in South Harlack Waters from the Female Defense Minister, "Dispatch all of our CP-140 Auroras to look for some submarines to protect our current coordinates from aggressors, immediately, Captain Michaels."

"Yes, Admiral. Right away," The Captain picked up the phone on the side in the middle of the bridge as he pushed the extension for the bridge of the White Rock and the Prince George. This is Captain Michaels of the CFNS Highlander, under the order of Rear Admiral Solzberg. The aircraft carriers must deploy their Auroras for a search for submarines. We'll be forwarding you a telegram to both of your bridges in a moment. Highlander, out."

"I believe he'll want to speak with me," she replied. "Trust me on this one."

"Well I..."

*The secretary was interupted by the presence of the Ambassador, who entered the lobby from stairs behind the counter.* "Why would I want to see you?" *He asked, apparently he had overheard part of the conversation.*

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

*Two submarines of South Harlack were immediatly obvious, there was the bizzare surfaced carrier submarine near the gun platform and a Typhoon hovering at missile launch depth.*

FROM: 's Gravenwezel Castle, The Commonwealth of De Vlaamse Leeuw
TO: Allemande

we are most offended by the mentioning of us sinking our own vessels to try to make war. Any normal person who'd look at our main budgets, would see commerce is far out the biggest one. We have not sunk our own ship and ask for formal apologies from you as u try to undermine our credibility.
-----------------------------
FROM: HMS-Svenssen
TO: Captain Bart

We would want to make a deal with you, because unlike other nations we are prepared to talk to pirates. We see you are decent pirates, and as such we offer you the permission to dock in our harbours any time you want. In return we want you to leave the ships sailing under the Flemish Lion flague unharmed
We await your answer

OOC: We're moving in and out of time sequence here, but that's not surprising for this thread...

*Holy President Eric Damon made a crossing motion over his chest when he realised his rival was dead.* "Do you know what it was?" *He asked the woman who had been trying to help them negotiate all this time.* "Regular attacks don't do that.""Right now I know no more than you do", responded Secretary Mayenne. "Once the situation has stabilized, I would expect that Captain Deschaine will brief us."

It was one of those things, the Primier had just been standing in the wrong place and that was how the crew of the Martaine came to have the dead leader of West Harlack on their ship. The man had fallen when the tidal wave hit and his head hit the sharp edge of a metal table, cracking open his skull and causing fatal damage. The man was dead before his body hit the floor.The words came out without emotion - her calm in situations like this had been the reason for her appointment as Secretary of State following James Masten's heart attack the previous year - but she could not help but look at the dead dictator.

Doesn't that just put the icing on the cake, she thought. There is no way civil war can be avoided now ... and no way it can be contained.

Then, like the rest, she realized that the ship had ceased running. It was still rolling strongly from side to side, but the engines had died.

"Captain, can you get us some information about what's going on?" she asked the Marine officer.

"Yes, Ma'am", he said with a snap, and made his way towards the bridge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Captain Deschaine was brief and to the point: an unknown submarine had launched a nuclear torpedo at John Martaine. They had managed to stay far enough (just barely, anyway) from the weapon to have survived, but the destroyer was crippled.

With the Premier dead, no purpose remained for their presence. Arrangements would be made for their removal to other vessels and then to their home countries.

It was then that one of the Premier's aides stepped away from the tight knot of West Harlackers. They had not been listening to his debriefing, but rather arguing amongst themselves. At last, they all nodded to one another.

"Captain", said the aide. "We do not wish to return to West Harlack."

Descahine raised an eyebrow. Edith Mayenne did not; she knew exactly what was coming.

"Instead", said the West Harlacker, "We request political asylum."

*Must have been frustrating for the sonar operators of the crippeled Destroyer that after all of this, they could pick up the sounds of three approaching objects in the distance. The Frigates would be able to catch up to them long before any shots were fired, this time, infact they were heading straight towards the Frigates from the north.*The Sturgeon had remained at some distance during the attack on the John Martaine; once it was realized that the Mk-48 was most likely nuclear-tipped, it was obvious that this was a fight that the sub had not business being in.

Detonation having occured, however, the boat had an obvious objective: get to John Martaine and secure the area. If any further danger developed, the frigates would likely be overmatched.

Thus, the 2400-ton diesel electric boat turned and began to approach the scene at periscope depth and modest speed. Unlike most diesel electric boats, Sturgeon was designed for deep-water operations. Allemande had been working on nuclear propulsion systems for a few years, but was still almost half a dozen years away from its first SSN. For now - and for the first few years after it became a nuclear navy - boats like Sturgeon would play a pivotal role in Allemande's defense.

So it was that Sturgeon came up on the three contacts, not from the same direction as the frigates, but from further out to sea, in a flanking manuever. Given the chaos, its commander chose to act with care. He did, however, clear for action and place his crew and vessel at full readiness, loading all six forward tubes without flooding in order to facilitate a hasty strike if one was needed.

FROM: 's Gravenwezel Castle, The Commonwealth of De Vlaamse Leeuw
TO: Allemande

we are most offended by the mentioning of us sinking our own vessels to try to make war. Any normal person who'd look at our main budgets, would see commerce is far out the biggest one. We have not sunk our own ship and ask for formal apologies from you as u try to undermine our credibility.OOC: <Laughter> Yeah, right. Just as it's "godmoding" to say what happens to the other guy's forces in a fight, it's "godmoding" to claim that someone else sank your ship. You were clearly trying to pin the loss of the vessel on either South Harlack or me, and since neither one of us launched any attacks on your assets, that can mean only one thing: you sank your own vessel.

If that's not true, I'd be happy to hear from the real culprit. That's right, "the real killer" can TG me and 'fess up, and I won't blow their cover or interfere with whatever they're trying to do in this thread, at least until someone else unmasks them. Moreover, if someone does comes forward and claims the kill, I'll apologize to you ("DeVlaamseLeeuw") personally (again via TG, to preserve the mystery behind the event) for having made the accusation.

But I'll wager no one's going to TG me, because you just "decided" that one of us sank your ship in order to give you cause to invade Harlack. And that's not going to work.

IC: "It seems", observed President Blum to his cabinet, met in response to the growing crisis in Harlack, "That our 'friends' in DeVlaamseLeeuw are still trying to get into this thing."

"Let them", snorted Defense Secretary Wynne. "Anyone who wants to get involve in what is going to be a flat-out civil war deserves what they have coming..."

FROM: HMS-Svenssen
TO: Captain Bart

We would want to make a deal with you, because unlike other nations we are prepared to talk to pirates. We see you are decent pirates, and as such we offer you the permission to dock in our harbours any time you want. In return we want you to leave the ships sailing under the Flemish Lion flague unharmed
We await your answer

ey, sounds likes a splended offer mate. What exactly is the Flemish Lion flague, and what types of ships be those sailing beneath it? Are we to also assume we are free to operate in yer waters?

-Captain Bart Roberts

(a pirates got to do, what a pirates got to do)

"Walk with me," the ambassidor was told by the woman, who he was begining to realize was quite shapely. "I believe we share a common interest and a common problem."

President Blum spoke calmly, evenly over the phone. "Mr. Ambassador, our nation appreciates your willingness to let our vessels undergo repair in South Harlack's ports. We also appreciate the generous offer of the helicopter..."

On a piece of paper, he scribbled "Investigate use of SH helicopter for Special Ops and possible purchase of others of same design for use in area."

"On that same note, Mr. Ambassador", he continued, "We would still like to redeploy the 7th Mechanized Brigade to your territory now that the peacekeeping mission has broken down. This will be after we've finished with the relief work along the East Harlack coast."

Then he paused, listening to comments from the South Harlack Ambassador, before continuing.

"There is another area where our two nations could cooperate", he said, drawing the words out softly. "We began a project aimed at the development of nuclear power for various purposes; one of those intended purposes was maritime locomotion."

"You have just procured two Ohio class submarines", he continued. "We'd like to send engineers and technicians to work aboard those vessels, gaining familiarity with their propulsion systems. In return for this", he said, "We will share our work on a nuclear powerplant, as well as the design plans for a nuclear-powered submarine that we will begin building soon after we have piloted our first test reactor-fired system."

"Now, we understand that you are not likely to want to acquire more nuclear-powered boats at the present time; the burden of maintaining the four you have is considerable, and of course you must train your naval personnel up to a level where this arm of your fleet can be expanded."

He continued: "But since these vessels were not purchased new, you will need to replace them sooner than might otherwise be the case. This coincides with our needs: our first generation boats will not have a long production life, and we'll be moving on to a second-generation design as soon as we can."

He spoke slowly and carefully now. "The potential for cooperation here is immense. You will likely need replacements for your current vessels at about the same time as we will be bringing our second-generation design online. Both of us can save money by cooperating here. I envision this successor design being built at yards in both our countries; in the interim, if you want one of our first-generation designs, we would be happy to construct at cost."

"We think that with each others help, we can gain a year or two on the overal design, construction, and deployment schedule," he finished.

"Let me know if your government finds this acceptable."

... by Presidential decree I offer to Allmande 50 million in their currency ...OOC: Per Commerce Heights, that's $46.7 million at the current exchange rate (1 South Harlacker dollar = 1.04957 Allemander libres).

ey, sounds likes a splended offer mate. What exactly is the Flemish Lion flague, and what types of ships be those sailing beneath it? Are we to also assume we are free to operate in yer waters?

-Captain Bart Roberts

(a pirates got to do, what a pirates got to do)
well it's the national flague :-D
so if you wanna see it, go to our NS-page
as we give you acces to our ports, we will ofcourse give you acces to our waters. But we are sorry to say that we cannot allow you to operate there, as it would completely mess up our trade routes.
perhaps we could extend this agreement to all HomeOfTheBrave ships?
The ships we are talking of are war ships, person carrier ships and trade vessels.
And no pirate from your company or whatever you wanna call yourself will be prosecuted or arrested on HomeOfTheBrave territory

edit: little language mistake :-)

OOC: well my apologies for my noobieness then mr allemande

Colonel Jackson was worried. As commander for the Ollish peacekeeping detahcment he was feeling particularly vulnerable. He had heard nothing from the Republican forces supposedly on their flank, and nothing from the Gorkonians. Thanks to there being no unified peacekeeping command, he didn't even know if they were there anymore. He did know that Allemande and Canada had troops in the DMZ, and that thanks to a nuclear detonation in the southern waters of Greater Harlack, the situation had changed rapidly. Reports out of West harlack were not encouraging - it seemed anarchy was taking over, and that South and East Harlack were ready to move in for the kill. He ordered his men to hold defensive positions in the DMZ and dig in, then sent the following messages;

To; Governor Chung - Situation unsure at present. Will hold as of now, but please prepare air force for emergency evac from Greater Harlack. In addition, to facilitate any evac, I hereby request authorisation to send Colonial Marine Commandoes on Operation Tomahawk.

To; Government of Allemande - As there does not seem to be a combined peacvekeeper command, we find ourselves turning to you for guidance. Do we repulse any advance into West Harlack? Do we advance ourselves to quell anarchic uprisings and restore order? We will follow any sensible suggestions you have to make.

To; All governments of Harlack. - I have been authorised by my Governor to invite representatives from all four governments in Greater Harlack for talks in the Ollish section of the DMZ. We will host and guarentee your safety, an conjunction with any other peacekeeping nations that wish to take part. Please respond by TG.

OOC - Can anyone please tell me if their troops are moving through Ollish occupied territory, as I'm having a little difficulty keeping up. I'm not moving anywhere for the moment, so any conflict will be other troops moving into my sector of the DMZ.

FROM: 's Gravenwezel Castle, De Vlaamse Leeuw
TO: Allemande & Harlack

As from now on, all de Vlaamse Leeuw statements are withdrewn, and so are all diplomates in your countries, and all trade connections.

*General Harman was in the process of lighting a Cigar on the South Harlack front lines when the area was illuminated alot more than one would expect a cigar lighter to do. He glanced up from his seated position on the front of his jeep and cigar fell from his mouth.* "Sweet Jesus...Get me a line to the President..." *He told the man standing next to him. The man hesitated a moment..*

"NOW!"

----------------------------------------------------------------------

*The scene was the same all across the borders of West Harlack, it could be seen for miles. A nuclear explosion on land, in the dead of night, was not something the naked eye could miss.*

----------------------------------------------------------------------

*Harman hung up the field phone.* "NBC suits ladies and gentlemen, its time to start moving."

*Even as he spoke, bombers from South Harlack were rocketing overhead in small formations and the South Harlack War Department sent out the following message to all peacekeeping forces.*

"Due to a nuclear detonation in the capitol of West Harlack, our forces are moving across West Harlack's southern border to secure the situation, a civil war that turns nuclear cannot be allowed to continue."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
*The President of East Harlack shook his head slightly.* "This is a mess...be careful." *He told the foreign secretary.* "If this develops into anything like the first civil war..."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright, start talking." *THe ambassador said as he started to walk with the woman.*

*General Harman's next contact was the general commanding the peackeepers of Ollieland, the closest peacekeepers to South Harlack's border.*

"General, there are Freedom Fighter forces in the north of West Harlack, would you be capable of securing that area and helping to establish a democratic government there? Our forces are moving into the most hardline region of the country, it will take us quite some time to fight our way that far north."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

*The Ambassador speaking to the Allemande President was silent for a moment and then said...* "Mr. President, I have been authorised to confirm your requests..all of them. The President would have liked to speak with you directly, but a new situation has arisen in West Harlack and he has been moved into a secure bunker and is busy at the moment. He also informed me we have a submarine waiting to help your gun platform salvage personell and wants to know if there is anything else he can do for your people there."

*The three unknown contacts flooded tubes the moment the Sturgeon was detected and began to scatter away from the oncoming sub. Unfortunately for them, they were very old submarines, vintage World War Two infact and would not be able to outrun or hide from the Sturgeon for any period of time.*

They all heard and saw the explosions. The troops were already pulling on NBC suits well before the order to suit up filtered down from Colonel Jackson.

"Bloody hell ,sir what the fuck happens now?" Sergeant Makarov had run in to the command bunker, flapping his NBC breeches round his knees, trying to move and dress at same time.

Colonel Jackson ignored him and picked up the comm equipment. "Tell the Governor we need something special. From the air forces Home Defence Wing....Yes.....Yes, I know shes not going to bloody like it, but what choice have we got?!"

40 miles east of Oliver City, 4 Zeppelins took of. They had been hastily assembled form different branches of the air force and army, and started making their way to Greater Harlack....

FROM: 's Gravenwezel Castle, Commonwealth of de Vlaamse Leeuw
TO: everyone

can someone perhaps update information? We hear rumours about nuclear weapons?

To General Harman, South Harlack Military
From Colonel Jackson, CO Ollish Peacekeeping Detachment

Firstly, we are a small force (only 2500 men) and would find it tactically impossible to do as you ask.
Secondly, it is now apparent that you are a now combatant in this conflict, not a peacekeeper. It would be inapproprate for us to do as you ask in the circumstances.

We would suggest that you bypass our sector of the DMZ (we are occupying a relatively small sector). We have no argument with you, and are quite willing to let you pass unmolested.
We would also repeat our request for talks to take place.

*Harman nodded to what he was hearing as his force blazed across the border that had not been part of the DMZ, because SOuth Harlack had not been involved with the earlier situation.* "I understand Colonel. Our forces are crossing undefended border right now and I assure you, our President will agree to talks, but not untill these Nuclear stockpiles are secured, there will be no more nuclear detonations on this continent, or in its waters."

*The explosions of precision bombs falling on targets lit up the night sky as South Harlack's bombers flew over West Harlack. Harman's tanks began engaging targets as well, the thunderous sound of gunfire and artillery ripping through the once silent night.*


*In the waters off South Harlack twelve missiles shot from their underwater homes, erupting from the Typhoon and blazing on trails of flame and smoke towards their targets. These were conventional missiles however, not nuclear.*

From South Harlack
To: DeVlaamseLeeuw
Subject: Nuclear Weapons


The rumors are true, there was a nuclear torpedo explosion off the coast of East Harlack and someone in West Harlack just detonated a nuclear weapon in their own capitol.

FROM: Admiral Janssens, chief of staffs De Vlaamse Leeuw
TO: Harlack countries

We are most concerned about this. We will change our tone, seeing that the people of Harlack are in need of any help they can get. Is there anything we can do to help?

East Harlack is need of a great deal of medical supplies...West Harlack will likely need even more when their civil war ends.

The zeppelin detachment from Ollieland was under full power enroute to Greater Harlack, to take up position over the capital of West Harlack. It contained one each of the following;

1 x Ar4 ELINT Platform (Colonial Air Force)
1 x Ar7 Airmobile Field Hospital (Army Medical Corps)
1 x Ar8 Counter Insurgency Platform (Colonial Marine Corps - secretly
contains Team 3 of the CMC Commandos).
1 x Ar9 Air Supremacy Platform (Colonial Air Force)
1 x Ar10 COIL Anti-ICBM Laser Platform (Colonial Air Force Home Defence
Wing)

This unit has several orders;

- Render all possible medical and humanitarian aid to the civilian population.
- Shoot down any ICBMS (nuclear or non nuclear) heading for heavily
populated areas or obvious non-military targets.
- (secret) Use Team 3 CMC Commandos to infiltrate and recce area, to
search and neutralise any further weapons of mass destruction.

To; Government of Allemande - As there does not seem to be a combined peacvekeeper command, we find ourselves turning to you for guidance. Do we repulse any advance into West Harlack? Do we advance ourselves to quell anarchic uprisings and restore order? We will follow any sensible suggestions you have to make.TO: Col. Jackson (on behalf of Col. Smith)
FROM: Brig. Gen. Oliver LaCroix
RE: Situation in West Harlack

We advise you not to intervene at this time in any East Harlacker invasion of West Harlack, should such arise. With the death of the Premier, our opinion is that West Harlack may well collapse altogether. The outbreak of civil war within West Harack complicates this further, since it is unclear who - if anyone - represents the interests of the people of West Harlack. At this stage, a majority of West Harlackers might even welcome absorption into East or South Harlack; we simply can not know.

Our brigade is currently involved in the relief effort along the East Harlack coast, but we will dispatch one battalion reinforced by two batteries of SP artillery to support your position. We recommend you look at withdrawal towards the coast and possible extraction should fighting escalate. We will be assisted in our own extraction by South Harlacker naval units and it is likely that they would do the same for you if you require it.

OOC: The reinforcements consist of 3 mechanized infantry battalions, 1 company of 20 MBT's (similar to Chieftains), and 2 batteries of SP artillery (1 of 155mm tubes, the other an MRLS battery).

TO: Col. Jackson (on behalf of Col. Smith)
FROM: Brig. Gen. Oliver LaCroix
RE: Situation in West Harlack

We advise you not to intervene at this time in any East Harlacker invasion of West Harlack, should such arise. With the death of the Premier, our opinion is that West Harlack may well collapse altogether. The outbreak of civil war within West Harack complicates this further, since it is unclear who - if anyone - represents the interests of the people of West Harlack. At this stage, a majority of West Harlackers might even welcome absorption into East or South Harlack; we simply can not know.

Our brigade is currently involved in the relief effort along the East Harlack coast, but we will dispatch one battalion reinforced by two batteries of SP artillery to support your position. We recommend you look at withdrawal towards the coast and possible extraction should fighting escalate. We will be assisted in our own extraction by South Harlacker naval units and it is likely that they would do the same for you if you require it.

OOC: The reinforcements consist of 3 mechanized infantry battalions, 1 company of 20 MBT's (similar to Chieftains), and 2 batteries of SP artillery (1 of 155mm tubes, the other an MRLS battery).

Thanks for the advice, Brigadier General. We have several Zeppelin freighters on standby to airlift our entire force out of harms way if we have to, so we will stay put for now. We thank you for sending reinforcements to us, and have taken up relief efforts of our own in West Harlack.

*The three unknown contacts flooded tubes the moment the Sturgeon was detected and began to scatter away from the oncoming sub. Unfortunately for them, they were very old submarines, vintage World War Two infact and would not be able to outrun or hide from the Sturgeon for any period of time.*Captain Charles Ranier looked down at the SO's screen, puzzled by the behavior of the bogeys.

"I wonder", he said, half to himself. He thought about it and reached a conclusion.

"Follow those contacts", he said, "But at maximum range. I'll wager that our gear is more sensitive than theirs. I want to know where they go..."

16/03/2005, 19:58 local time, Blue Room of 's Gravenwezel Castle, Commonwealth of De Vlaamse Leeuw
After an urgent call from count Kristof I of De Vlaamse Leeuw himself, all high ministers, important diplomates and high places militairies walked into the Blue Room. When everyone had taken place, the count rose...

"Ofcourse it's about the Harlack situation, he commenced, the official statement of De Vlaamse Leeuw has been altered. It was my personal opinion that there is no room for national pride, when there are foreign citizens dying because of a revolution."

No one in the room, except for Admiral Janssens, who was the Chief of Staffs, and the count himself, knew the situation was that serious.

"I thought we were going to stay clear of that, after the vessel incident", the minister for economy remarked. He was furious when he heared about the vessel.

There is no proof whatsoever," the count replied, that Harlack nore Allemande are behind this. We don't know who did it. Anyway this is not the time to be discussing any compensations. There are people out there dying man. We're talking about nuclear danger. The rumours about the use of nuclear bombs have been confirmed by South Harlack authorities."


A silence surrounded the most important decisionmakers in De Vlaamse Leeuw. Nuclear events were major issues. The Commonwealth itself had no nukes, because no one in the Blue Room would ever use them, and having them was a danger as well.


"The count is right,"admiral Janssens suddenly spoke, "I received word from Harlack that they require medics. I urge everyone to incline the request."

The Admiral was a very important person in the Commonwealth, so everyone agreed with him.

The count made a call, and five minutes later people started loading a ship in the port of Antwerp.

Half an hour later again, the ship set sail for Harlack. On board there were a few ton medic packs and 5 doctors from de Vlaamse Leeuw's army.


"And what about sending militairies", defence minister Jamieson asked.
"We will talk to Ollieland and Skinny87," the count replied, but i'm not really eager to send militairies to a region where nukes are being used. And even more important is the fact that a revolution is at hand. It requires an important and well informed decision, before we can allow our soldiers to fire at citizens. So first a serious talk to Harlack, Skinny and Ollieland, then a decision on that."

(OOC: Mind if I join in?)

*OC* Sure, just be aware the situation is developing rappidly and there *will* be more losses on all sides by the time its over.


--------------------------------------------------------------------

*The battle for southern West Harlack lasted all of fifteen minutes as hardliner tanks and infantry fought bitterly against overwhelming numbers. Their communist loyal compatriots had abandoned their vehicles and positions after they head of the nuclear blast set off by Communist hardliners, apparently the average joe in the military had had enough of killing his fellow citizen. Losses were huge on West Harlack's side and relatively light for South Harlack, thanks to larger numbers, prior missile and bomb strikes and better training and funding. New announcements began to roll out of West Harlack as South Harlack's forces halted exactly where they had announced they would. Bomber and missile strikes continued further north with missiles launched from not one, but *two* Typhoon and two Ohio class submarines in South Harlack waters.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

South Harlack loses:

15 T-34 battle tanks.

5 T-80 battle tanks.

45 Bradley APCs.

15 Jeeps.

400 Infantry.

2 B-52 bombers.


West Harlack Loses:

Estimated 1 million civilians in the capitol alone.

1,000 Communist Infantry.

5 T-34 tanks.

Announcement from northern West Harlack:

"This is temporary Chancellor Mark Davis to the people of West Harlack and the world at large. The Communists are dead, the nuclear stockpiles are in our hands and South Harlack has stabelised the southern region of the country. The so called "People's Republic of West Harlack" is no more, we have dissolved the government and moved the capitol to the port city of Sudar. There will be elections when this is all over, but for now I am forming the First Congress of West Harlack to write a new constitution. Steps are being taken, and will be taken gradually, to remove the communist institutions from society and bring capitalism and political freedom to our region of Greater Harlack. From now on this is not The People's Republic of West Harlack, this is The Federation of West Harlack. The Federation is in dire need of medical aide and we call to the Peace Keeping forces on the DMZ to provide this aide. Thank you, and that is all for now."

*The scattering submarines moved at top speed towards the north of Greater Harlack and it was at this time that the pursuing Allemande submarine detected the sound of two torpedo tubes flooding, but it came from their southern flank.*

*The scattering submarines moved at top speed towards the north of Greater Harlack and it was at this time that the pursuing Allemande submarine detected the sound of two torpedo tubes flooding, but it came from their southern flank.*"Slow and begin moving off towards deeper water", ordered Captain Ranier. "Prepare evasive measures."

Then he turned to the SO. "Record those contacts for future reference."

*Two MK-48 torpedos entered the water from the south moving at full speed and shot right past the Allemande submarine and towards the old submarines they had been chasing after. Moments later one of the three sonar contacts exploded while the remaining two tryed frantically to dive deeper.*

OOC: Sudar, as it is a port city in the North West of Harlack, I am assuming was occupied by Pirates.

::The minute the nuclear explosion went off the Pirates on the main land stoped clowning around and became very serious. Some of the crews immediatly boarded there ships and headed back out to see. For the most part they began to dig in and fortify the cities they were already occuping. The abonding of posts by the communist forces in West Harlack allowed the Pirates to take control of there weapons, allowing the force to greatly improve there strength. Many of the citizens of these cities are joining the pirates. Feeling it is the only way they can protect themselves from, what they percieve to be a grave threat from the communist forces::

::Simultaneously, a number of ships and crews continue to attack West Harlackan fortifications along the coastline, possibly including nuclear stockpiles::

This abuse of the Citizens of West Harlack will no longer be allowed. Though it not be in our nature, we will defend our mates in the North West along the shorline.

-Captain Bart Roberts

*The coast was going to prove almost impossible to defend for very long. South Harlack missile strikes were still hitting key structures along the coast, especially as word leaked out that the pirates had seized several key cities. Bombing raids continued as well, striking ships in port with deadly accurate weapons or just large numbers of dumb bombs. The rebels were well equipped and easily outnumbered the pirates as well, and it wasn't long before rolling artillery barrages started to strike pirate shore positions and rebel Destroyers closed in on the entrances to ports.*

OOC: I would like some OOC reports on where the hostile submarines are located so my Aurora-Submarine Hunting Aircraft can hunt them down easier?

*OC* THe two remaining hostile subs are near the blast site of the underwater nuke.

BRIDGE, CFNS HIGHLANDER - COMMAND SHIP (AGF)
After the underwater nuclear explosion

Rear Admiral Henrick Solzberg looked over at his Chief of Staff as he ripped the new sonar readings of what looked to be an underwater nuclear explosion, "Tell two Auroras to break off for an investigation."

The Captain nodded as he walked over to the phone and picked it up to alert the two Aurora Flight Captains to alter their flight routes for a different mission and hanged up the phone, "They have recieved the mission, Admiral."

"Send word back to the Chief of a Navy that under speculation that there was a nuclear explosion underwater."

"Right away, Admiral."

OOC: Im assuming this thread has been going on for several "weeks" possibly "months" if not longer in game time (people time to mobilize forces and such)

::The residents of the coast had grown used to the Pirates. Many of them appreciated the Pirates free approach to life, it was, at least, better than the oppresiveness of communism. They fought alongside the Pirates, and were killed in equal, if not greater, numers as the others attacked. The Pirates had acted to protect these residents, and were now being killed as thanks.::

"Call off all attacks on me fellow Pirates and the poor residents of these cities or we will be forced to take drastic meaesures, We declare a desire for peaceful talks with the new government of West Harlack. If these talks do not occur, and the violence does not end immediatly we will be forced to use weapons we have in reserve, of tremendous power. We Pirates feel no need for such destruction, and as such are hesitant, but resolved, to use such weapons.

Prepare a time and a place to meet with Captain Roberts to begin talks."

-Captain Grey Beard
Head of the Confederacy of Pirate Captains

OOC: Forgot to post these

Pirate losses:
40 Pirates (from the inland Nuclear explosion)
380 Pirates (defending the cities on land)
1,080 West Harlackans (defending the port cities alongside Pirates)
8,000 West Harlackans in critical condition (from the bombings of Port cities)
12 Pirate Ships Lost with most of the crew dieing
An undisclosed number of damaged ships and killed crew

The forces attacking Harlack on land would have also taken a good deal of casualties. The pirates and there allies were well entrenched and had a number of anti-personel and anti-vehicle weapons. Additionaly various combat vehicles, including tanks, were seized from the former communist forces and used in defending the cities. As it stands, the cities are still entrenched and defending themselves and the Pirates are preparing to launch a WMD attack if the attacks do not end.

As for the ships, 7 of the destroyed ships were equiped with various anti-aircraft weaponry and would have shot down a number of the attacking aircraft. More than half of those damaged would have done the same. If necessary I can get more specific (sorry, about the lack of details and good RP Im just incredible busy right now, hence the typos)

The pirates have seized some conventional missile silos and are preparing a counter attack.

PS: were there any anti-aircraft or air defense weapons I could have seized in Harlack?

*OC* But I don't see how the pirates *can* still be entrenched. The weapons and equipment you took are *ancient*, we are talking 1950's level technology. West Harlack could barely afford its military, it had *no* economy to speak of and most of its military strength came from numbers, not technology. South Harlack on the other hand has a fairly advanced air force and the basic (and crappy) anti-aircraft weapons of West Harlack couldn't even shoot high enough to shoot down any bombers. Plus, the bombers attacking positions defended by anti-air would just fire ranged missiles instead of flying directly overhead.

I'm going to tell you right now, if you use WMD on South or West Harlack forces, you *will* be destroyed, it's not even a question. Remember, you can only allocate 10% of your forces, both of my nations can allocate 100% of their own (35% in the case of West Harlack, that's all that is left) *and* West Harlack's rebels still have control of the WMDs stored there anyway. If you want those, your going to have a huge fight on your hand. Plus, your dealing with a small handful of such weapons. South Harlack has more than 30.

*OC* Here is the URL to the basic map. The site is only minutes old and the map will be updated quite a bit. If anyone can suggest a better program than paint, or some improvements, let me know. The purpose of this right now is so people can finnaly get a visual of where they are.

http://greaterharlack.tripod.com/

West Harlack losses:

10 bombers of various designs.

Federated West Harlack loses:

1,500 infantry.

15 T-65 battle tanks.
20 T-34 battle tanks.

5 Bombers of various design.

60 APCs of various design.

30 Jeeps.

We be happy to see that the violence against our peaceful forces has come to an end. We are preparing for peace talks and negotiations and we will be represented by Captan Bart Roberts. Any nation, currently in Harlack that wishes to attend is invited to. If fer any reason, these here talks are interrupted in the way the past ones were, we shall use our weapons.

You may contact us over a secure line (TG) to find out the local of the talks. Responses must be recieved in the next (8 hours real time) or we will assume you are not interested in participating. Until then, let us hope the violence does not start up again.

Special invites have been sent out to the Rebels, West Harlack, East Harlack and South Harlack to come to the new negotiations.

-Captan Grey Beard

::The Pirates will use the passing time to continue fortifying there positions, as well as arming sympathetic civilians within the cities to prepare to defend them. :: (sorry again for a short post)

OOC: If you remember, from the very begining the Pirates have been using the port cities and had been growing a strong presence in West Harlack because of the chaos. So it was quite possible to fortify as well as find a mostly friendly local population.

OOC: WOW, THAT MAP CHANGES EVERYTHING LOL!!!

The way I pictured it was that the lower part was all there was and that federated Harlack sat on top of it. We could play this out.

((OOC: Quick Question, modern-tech, right? I have a small mech that is technologically possible. Think I could use it?))

OOC: Im assuming this thread has been going on for several "weeks" possibly "months" if not longer in game time (people time to mobilize forces and such)OOC: I'm not. In fact, I'm assuming only a couple of weeks between the emergence of the crisis and the nuclear incident. As I see it, Allemande sent:
1 DDG
2 FFG
1 SS
2 Salvage Ships
2-3 Freighters
1-2 Container Vessels
1 Reinforced Mech Infantry Brigade
For a nation with the military strength and technological level of Italy (when the crisis began), this is not a big response - and that is in part because of the speed of events. If I had months, I could deploy a good-sized flotilla and a couple of divisions instead of a measly brigade.

::The residents of the coast had grown used to the Pirates. Many of them appreciated the Pirates free approach to life, it was, at least, better than the oppresiveness of communism. They fought alongside the Pirates, and were killed in equal, if not greater, numers as the others attacked. The Pirates had acted to protect these residents, and were now being killed as thanks.::OOC: I appreciate what you're trying to do, I really do. And - because I've been hostile to you from the start, you probably think that I'm out to get you. Remember, though that IC, "the United States of Allemande" would be likely to be ambivalent towards piracy (after all, one of the first wars fought by the RL "U.S.A" was against the Barbary Pirates [the "Shores of Tripoli" and all that jazz]). Having said that...

I don't think you can say what the people of West Harlack would or would not do. Maybe they like the "free approach to life" of the Pirates, and maybe they miss the old certainties and structure of Communism, as a lot of older Russians appear to. You don't know, and only West Harlack (or whomever is playing West Harlack right now) can honestly say.

Here's what I recommend you do:

Create a new nation and put it in Greater Harlack. Call if the "Harlack Pirates" or such. You can then say that these are the people within West Harlack (or all of Harlack) who have been "recruited" to your ideology.

Now the player in charge of West Harlack can decide how many of his people support you, and the same for South Harlack w/re to the soon to be annexed territories.

This way no one is saying for West Harlack what the people of West Harlack want or are trying to do.

P.S. OOC: Now that I see the map, I think we could snuggle the "Harlack Pirates" in along the southwestern coasts of South Harlack, or maybe between South and (the new) West Harlack. The size of the area would be up to the West Harlack player, of course.

"Pirates threatening the use of nuclear weapons?" said Defense Secretary Wynne incredulously.

"Yes", replied President Blum. "That's why I want you to begin drafting plans - in conjunction with our allies in South Harlack - to deploy a short corps of assault troops, including a tactical air wing. And", he finished, "Just in case the Pirates' allies in DeVlaamseLeeuw ... or is that 'De Vlaamse Leeuw'? - I can never get that name right - decide to get invoved on their behalf, we'll need a significant naval presence to cover ourselves against that possibility."

"I'll get on it immediately", agreed the Defense Secretary.

OOC: Allemander assault troops consist of a mix of armor, mechanized infantry, airmobile and air assault forces (built around helicopter gunship battalions), all backed with a extra heavy dollop of SP artillery. Tactical air units (like all Allemander air units) are always placed under the command of the supported force and are optimized for that role (we have no independent air force).

*OC* A mech? Well...I doubt you'd have many, they would be small, exceptionally expensive, difficult to maintain and relatively untrained. I think you'd really have to justify how it would work with everyone to field such a thing.

*OC* If he's willing to pay West Harlack (good lord does it need money) for land he can get the people that go with it as well. I figure an area about the size of the DMZ along the West Harlack coast. Of course, this means problems later down the road (years down the road) when West Harlack is rebuilt and decides it needs more land =).

West Harlack sees no reason not to conduct these talks publically. We will agree to give you a portion of our coast line, but if you expect to get much of our coast, you will need to pay for it either in money, or in blood.

17/03/2005, 20:00 local time, Blue Room, 's Gravenwezel Castle, De Vlaamse Leeuw
Count Kristof I was looking furious. All though he still had some of his old flegmatic self to the outside world, his old mentor Admiral Janssen knew that something bothered the count.

"What's up sire", the logic question was.
"I can't believe it," the count replied angrily, just because we have made an agreement with the pirates, we suddenly are submitted to dirty looks from people from Allemande. It's outragious. Perhaps we should start helping the pirates, which we are thought to do anyway.

Admiral Janssen look puzzled. He knew Allemande was not too impressed by the way de Vlaamse Leeuw's diplomates handled the situation in the beginning, but this insult was a bridge too far. Conspiracies with pirates...

"Reschedule all trade routes passing the national waters of Harlack, the count ordered, "and recall all medical supplies that are under way towards Harlack. Then contact Captain Bart. And let Allemand know the HMS-Svenssen and the HMS-'s Gravenwezel will be entering Harlacks national waters to get everything out of there asap."

The count walked out of the Blue Room, to his office. He rang the national leader of Allemande...

Before the coast of regon 12, Greater Harlack, aboard the HMS-Svenssen (this ship was all ready in the region, that explains why they are there this fast)
After the authorities in 's Gravenwezel Castle got hold of a map of Greater Harlack, commander Svenssen got his ship as fast as possible towards region 12. The expanding nation of De Vlaamse Leeuw needed new lands, and the territory of region 12 were excellent for this. Commander Svenssen left his ship, together with a few marines and his crazy, but loyal and intelligent lieutenant Rogersen, for the shore.
He planted de Vlaamse Leeuw, which was the flague of the comonwealth.

In the mean time at Antwerp harbour, De Vlaamse Leeuw
The HMS-Thunderbolt, the HMS-Offshore (a submarine) and the HMS-Antverpia left the harbour for full sea. They were to protect the landing vessels for region 12 at all cost. But there were no problems to be expected, as there was a gentlemens agreement with the pirates, and no state of war existed with other nations...

OOC: the Commonwealth of De Vlaamse Leeuw claims region 12 as a colony...

*OC* A mech? Well...I doubt you'd have many, they would be small, exceptionally expensive, difficult to maintain and relatively untrained. I think you'd really have to justify how it would work with everyone to field such a thing.

OOC: Good point. I'll stick with my tried and true tanks. Soo... How do you want me to enter? As a mercenary? If so, you better claim me! :D

IC:

The Cheif of Intel, Norris Packard, entered the President's office.
"Mr. President, we have the latest on the Harlack conflict. Sir, it's escalated to..."
"Nuclear levels. I understand. Call and offer them our help. If they accept, inform Commandant Amada and send him over." The president answered, then dismissed Packard. He sat thoughtfully for a while, and then picked up the red phone. "General Carville, order the production of 250 more Type 72 Heavy Tanks. I have a bad feeling..."

*OC* Ok, you realise by landing in region 12 you just declared war on all of Greater Harlack right? Just because a region is listed as "unclaimed" doesn't make it random empty space. Those are actual nations, with actual armies and governments, they just don't have anyone playing them. If you want a country in the region, your free to spawn a totaly independent nation that has nothing to do with your current countries and have it be the nation ruling region 12. Landing in region 12 as you did however, makes you an invading foreigner and invading foreigners are not tolerated in Greater Harlack by any of the nations. People are free to create a country in Greater Harlack but it must:

1. Be totaly free and independent of any other nation you own, no puppet states.

2. It must be a nation that, historically speaking, has been there, as opposed to being a colony.

Also, the site has been updated, I suggest people read it frequently if your going to be involved with the region.

*Two MK-48 torpedos entered the water from the south moving at full speed and shot right past the Allemande submarine and towards the old submarines they had been chasing after. Moments later one of the three sonar contacts exploded while the remaining two tryed frantically to dive deeper.*"Rough neighborhood", quipped Captain Ranier. "Any idea who our friend is?"

The SO shook his head. "We haven't been in these waters long enough to have cataloged all the different types of submarines. Right now I can't say who's who."

"Well, obviously they have a way of telling the players without a scorecard." He considered the situation for a moment. "Pull back to extreme sonar range and continue to observe."

*The two remaining submarines were allowed to escape to the north. The apparent "friend" of the Allemande submarine was not even showing up on sonar...except for when it had flooded its tubes.*

*The two remaining submarines were allowed to escape to the north. The apparent "friend" of the Allemande submarine was not even showing up on sonar...except for when it had flooded its tubes.*"If that's anechoic coating", the SO observed, "It's the best d_mn_d anechoic coating I've ever seen."

"I'd give my right n_t to know who that is..." murmured the Captain

ooc Allemande, are your troops stationed in the DMZ? As far as I can tell, I'm the only one there. Anyone else with troops in the DMZ please let me know.

ooc Allemande, are your troops stationed in the DMZ? As far as I can tell, I'm the only one there. Anyone else with troops in the DMZ please let me know.The only forces I have in the DMZ are the battalion I sent to support you. BTW, once your reinforcements arrive, that battalion will be withdrawn, as the 7th Brigade is slated to be redeployed elsewhere.

Perhaps we should ask East, Federated West, and South Harlack to state their intentions towards each other. Now that the Communists have been overthrown in West Harlack, the only unresolved question at the moment seems to be the status of those areas in West Harlack allegedly under the control of the Pirates.

If that's the case, perhaps the peacekeeping mission can either change or be recast...

OOC: Players of Harlack, as per our TG I am assuming its ok to consider the terriotories held by the pirates to be the coastline of West Harlack as well as what you have labeled region 14. If this is not true let me know, its your show, I want to make sure I go within your RP.

Allemande, I hadn't really thought you were hard on me so far :p . If I were a regular nation, I wouldn't be too happy about Pirates either. I think West Harlack is ok with this so far.

HAPPY SAINT PATRICKS DAY!!

IC:
"We would be happy to Purchase the lands we currently possess from you, and we have found much greater, and easier to take lands to the North. Let us know of a price you desire for this chunk of the coastline we possess. and me and my mates will negotiate and pay a fee acceptable to all. We would ask South Harlack, consider, sending aid to fix what their missiles destroyed, and compensate the families of the civilians their missiles killed. Lets hope this moves foward

-Captain Bart Roberts

"How dare ye offer to pay them money!! Its coming out of you and yer lads pockets

-Captain Grey Beard

OOC: Can my Aurora's still find the Eastern Harlarck submarines?

West Harlack has no issue with any other nation on this continent, but we would like to see some of the DMZ land returned to us in a few years.

Pirates, if you wish to purchase the land it will cost you 65 million dollars.

*OC* I think we should stick to the rules for creating nations here though, its ok to have some land under your control, provided you buy it or succesfully invade it, but area 14 is going to have to remain unclaimed. You could always make a nation there and have it be somewhat pirate friendly, but not controlled by your pirates. I'll carve out a piece of 14 to give to you as the land you purchase.

*OC* You'd be able to find the South Harlack subs, and the two unknown subs fleeing North.

OOC: Hmm ok, Ill create a nation in 14. Lemme know if you already have any national storylines set up youd like me to take on, otherwise Ill create one. Ill make the Pirates have a small little outpost there thats a bit of 14 and a bit of West Harlack and maybe they will eventually move into 14, or maybe not, we can RP it out. As I said lemme know if you have a particular national story line for 14.

IC: This offer be acceptable, we will arrange for the 65 million to be paid out. We demand that south harlack make reperations. Not to me or me mates but to me new mateys, the people of the cities that they bombed and to the families of the dead that they killed. Also, we be lookin fer some aid for them peoples.

We will arrange to have the money delivered soon. Name the time and place for the deliverey. In an amount as large as that we will be dealing with gold, which we can transfer any way you need.

-Captain Bart Roberts
Governor of the Pirate Outpost

We recognize Captain Roberts as the head of our forces in the Pirate Outpost, and rightful governing body of the purchased lands.

-Captain Grey Beard

OOC: PS our Currency are Pieces of Eight, which as it was historically, are equal to one dollar. What is the exchange rate for West Harlack?

Region 12, Harlack
Overtaking the locals was not a major task for the Commonwealth's forces. 3 tanks and 3 batallions (that's 1 tank per batallion) overtook most of the resistance, after the coast defence was bombed heavily by the board cannons of the HMS-Thunderbolt and the HMS-Antverpia. In the mean time, the HMS-Offshore took care of the little amount of marine ships of regoin 12s militairy.
But after a hit, the HMS-Offshore returned to Antwerp port for repairs, leaving the HMS-Thunderbolt and HMS-Antverpia to submarine danger. To prevent this, the HMS-Thunderbird was sent to the region. The HMS-Thunderbird had 1 P3-Orion (famous for sonar use on submarines), 5 F16 and 5 F22 raptors on board.

*OC* Wow, there was so much god moding in that invasion of Region 12 it isn't even funny. You do not know what their military strength is, nor can you roleplay their military for them. The nation may not have a player, but that doesn't mean you are free to roll in with almost no casualties and just report victory. You want war? fine, you have it.

Piratres: Check the exchange rate on NS economy for future reference, but I just checked and I believe its 2.15 Scripts to 1 Dollar.

*IC*

*The Thunderbird had yet to arrive on site, which was about to turn into a huge problem. Missile strikes were already pouring in from more than five different air forces silmultaniously and with the advanced stealth technology of Federated Harlack itself, this was going to prove difficult to defend against at best. The counter attackers were using everything from guided weapons to large Fuel Air Bombs over the invaded portions of Region 12. Missile strikes came from somewhere out to sea and any sonar the attackers had would be picking up almost twenty submarines heading straight for them and, worse yet, five torpedos heading for their largest ship from a southern heading.

*OC* There is no possible way for that small of a force to defend against 5 different countries, if you godmode your way out of this one...

I told you invading the continent was a bad idea, but apparently you weren't listening, nor did you listen to my rules about setting up a nation in this region.

There is one thing Harlackers hate above all else: Foreign invasion.

oc: how can you be godmoding a country that doesn't exist? i would think it wouldn't be a big problem to take it down, looking at all other harlack countries? looking at south harlack fighting off pirates? looking at west harlack coming out of a civil war?

HMS-Thunderbolt
"Incoming torpedos at course 120", the sonar control guy yelled.
"Oh my god," captain Adrian Peters replied, "how many minutes until hit?"
"Fifteen minutes Sir."
"Countermeasures and full speed to the north!" the captain ordered. He had been in several militairy exercises, but this was the real thing. He heared the HMS-Svenssen had located one of the subs that was responsible for the torpedos, and had launched a torpedo of its own, but there was no one expecting something of this, as the HMS-Svenssen wasn't a torpedo hunter.

15 minutes later, 3 torpedos were averted, but two had hit the HMS-Thunderbolt. They tried to get away at half speed (couldn't go any faster)...

I fire 999999999 nukz at u!!!!!!!!!11111

LOL just kidding.

lol, i take no casualties and... :p
j/k too

*Torpedos started to come in from the north as well, where the twenty some odd submarines were located. This time there were ten torpedos and it wasn't long before five more were coming at the already injured vessel from the south.*

*OC* Because West, South and East Harlack do not in any way represent all of Harlack, those are just three nations. For all you know Region 12 spends almost all of its funding on the military. No matter the country simply stating that you roll over its defenses with no casualties and only a very small force, is godmoding.

OC: i said we overtook coast defences thanks to our battle ships and the landing troops. I would say 3 batallions are enough to take down that coast line, or is that godmoding in your eyes?
btw if 40 subs isn't godmoding, against 3 battleships? i wonder how much a real submarine costs :-)

OOC: anyway i'm gonna recall any force and probably gonna look passively at this thread, looks like there is nothing i can do without getting told that i'm godmoding :)

*OC* I never said 40 subs, I said twenty and its not godmoding because it isn't a *single* navy, its five. Not to mention the fact that these are cheap disel submarines (except for one). Godmoding did not come from overtaking the coastal defenses, it came from the fact that you controlled the *enemy* force yourself, decided what another nation did militarily and ontop of that, you took no loses, which is impossible in even the smallest military engagement.