NationStates Jolt Archive

With one final thumbs up, the last of ground personnel cleared the wide runway, seeking shelter from the huge gusts of wind created as the C-5 Galaxy crept with growing speed down the long strip, until at last it's wheels left the tarmac as the aircraft rose into the air. Angling upward, the slate-gray air transport followed in the wake of a series of C-5 Galaxies who had launched before; and even as the stub-nosed mammoth climbed higher into the pale morning sky, another nearly-identical aircraft moved down the runway. It was a scene that had been repeated since 2AM that morning, one that would continue well into the afternoon.

"Cargo-One-Zero-Nine is in the air," the air control tower announced. "Airspace is clear for One-One-Zero."

Slightly more than two seconds behind schedule, the cavernous plane reached an altitude of 10,000 feet before turning 75 degrees to the south, aligning itself to a pre-assigned flight path that would continue unwavering across the breadth of the blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

And if this event had failed to attract attention, the one taking place below it was certain to.

Running almost directly parallel to the airborne supply line, hundreds of tankers and cargo ships cut a diagonal swath across the Atlantic, their bows cutting through the frost-white tipped swells of the angry ocean waters. Occasionally a large wave wash over the decks of the smaller ships, enveloping them in a shimmering gleam that reflected the overbearing light of the sun like a thousand diamonds.

Farther out, forming the cornerstones of a tight protective escort were four carriers; with their majestic bearing, the aircraft carriers directed the defensive net that encircled the four hundred mile-wide cluster of cargo ships, coordinating the F-22E Firehawks that buzzed menacingly in the air; the silent stalking of the hidden submarine fleet; the swift, jagged patrols of the destroyers and frigates. From above, it resembled an intricate dance, only one involving hundreds of dancers, some over a thousand feet in length.

The fleet followed in the steps of it's government, and communicated only silence over the air waves as it moved southeaserly from Eredron under full steam.

The cigarette glowed brightly for a moment as he inhaled deeply, a bright pinprick against the bleak sky. He reached up, took the cigaratte between two fingers, and lowered it to his side. He looked down the side of the ship at the waves lapping harmlessly at it's side, and let small wisps of curling smoke escape from his lips and nostrils. He paused long enough to tap his cigarette against the railing before raising it to his lips again.

At 55, he had lost all signs of the handsome, lean figure he'd maintained decades before. His hair had grayed substantially in the past few years, and he'd allowed himself to gain thirty pounds. Now, leaning against the rail in his black plastic raincoat, his outline was anything but commanding, belying his sharp mind and abilities.

He absentmindedly let the cigarette fall, let it plunge towards the ocean below.

The mist that had been coating everything in a layer of dampness had increased to a more-irritating drizzle, prompting him to pull the hood up. As the sky darkened, he could just barely make out the outlines of three nearby destroyers of the ship's port side, each tipped with a blinking red light that helped increase their visibility. He cast a look down at the ocean again, beneath which he knew prowled silent, menacing submarines.

He straightened at last, and with a final look outward disappeared into the safety of the bridge.

"How the hell are you, Jim?"

The voice was jubilant, energetic, full of the personable charisma that had allowed Jorj Fariz to reach Eredron's highest position of power, an energy that had been absent from the Consul for over a year.

The two men met in the center of the room, shook hands, then assumed positions opposite each other in two of the office's comfortable chairs.

As the Consul's chief of staff, Jim Harrison was officially tasked with coordinating the members of the administration in carrying out policy, although he had extensive influence in numerous areas of the government. He'd been a longtime ally of Fariz, providing the Consul with key votes on Senate bills, gaining support for the head of state with the regional governors, keeping him abreast of developments with the media, foreign and at home.

He'd been the first to be made aware of Operation Grand Slam, as the humorous Consul had dubbed it; been told about it even before the military commanders, when it was still forming in Fariz' mind. They were, in fact, seated in the exact place as before, when Jorj Fariz had decided it was time to realize the long-sought-for vision that had haunted him for a decade.

That had been four months ago; since then, Fariz had slowly started the cogs of his huge contraption turning, first discreetly, and now with no regard for secrecy. The first major step had been taken yesterday and was still in full swing: the necessary, and cumbersome, logistics that in this case, was nothing short of a hideous nightmare for those tasked with overseeing the transport of entire armies across an ocean. It would take weeks, during which time an almost literal "closed corridor" would exist, a diagonal path from Eredron to Africa. This grandiose movement of troops, equipment and ships had quickly been picked up by the news agencies; it was because of this that Jim Harrison had come.

"Last week, a small newspaper in the east ran story about an increase in traffic around two of our military bases there; two days ago, someone wrote an article about the military calling up reserves, and yesterday the front page of the top three papers said you were about to call up a draft for war."

He managed to keep his voice civil, calm, but his eyes flashed with irritation and anger. In just over a year, Fariz would be up for reelection: this was just the sort of thing that would sink them, and Harrison wasn't eager about it.

"What's been our response?"

"We've ignored most of it, although we conceded that a military readjustment was underway, part of a pre-planned program. With that little armada you've got moving troops across the Atlantic, I doubt anyone's going to buy that story."

Fariz looked down, examining his pinstriped trousers, feeling Harrison's eyes boring into him. He knew, of course, Harrison was only concerned about the political side of this, and every issue. His vision was not shared with Jim, although several of his generals had eagerly joined his side when he'd laid out his plans. He knew the public and the world would see what he was doing, but he'd brushed that aside; what did he care?

"Hold a press conference. Tell them the military is transitioning theaters to better handle UWP issues and is preparing for military training exercises. In the meantime, distract them with that Education bill."

Bump :)

Tag

Although night had fallen on the capital, it's inhabitants showed no signs of noticing; against the deep purple sky blazed brightly hundreds of skyscrapers, surrounding the capital in a yellow aura that kept the darkness at bay.

The center of power for the Republic enjoyed a vibrant night life, and for good cause. Never before had the Republic's future looked so bright: three billion proper citizens were united under the banner of Eredron. A booming economy, a peaceful life in which one could realize dreams of a nice home and family.

It was a very different outlook than that which had faced the Republic six years ago: unemployment, depression, rioting.

He reflected on his term: his accomplishments, his achievements, on what was, and what could be.

His hands shook as he reached for the glass of water he'd placed on the balcony wall. He glanced down at it irritably, willing it to stop. It was progressively growing worse, more noticeable and less controllable. Slowly, his hand stilled, and he raised the glass to his lips, and drank slowly.

He could hear the distant but ever present sound of the city: taxis criss-crossing the streets; jetliners coming to and leaving from the International Airport. He imagined a young, fresh-out-of-college businessman leaving his office and making his way to the subway; a family out on the Boulevard to experience the cuisine from one of the city's many elegant restaurants; the so-called "intellectually elite" taking in the latest theatre performance.

He retreated back into the comfort of his suite as the wind began to pick up; escaping the biting frost, he stood by the small fireplace, watching it's dancing flames, letting it warm his chilled cheeks and hands.

Staring into the fire, his thoughts came to rest on the supply of troops and material, some tens of thousands of feet above the Atlantic, others now enduring the sandy wind and heat of Africa, and still others preparing to part from their mother country. How many would face the cup of death and escape it's bitter dregs, and how many more would not? His curiosity was driven out of concern of unpopular body count estimates and statistics than any sense of moral concern, but even he was not without affection. He'd met hundreds of soldiers, sailors and pilots over the years, remembered even now some of their faces, some boyish, some sad, some solemn.

That kid he'd used as part of his campaign earlier in the year - would he die?

Suddenly the glass slipped from Fariz' hand as they began to shake without warning; it shattered on the tile, breaking into a thousand glittering fragments that sprayed in every direction. He swore, looking around for one of the intercom buttons scattered around his suite. He looked down at the mess he'd made, and swore again.

Bump

Plumes of gritty sand spewed into the air as the line of M-1A3E Abrams Battle Tanks rolled out of the resting C-5 Galaxies and out towards a large expanse of flat terrain; the pre-existing structures of the military base had quickly been overwhelmed by the influx of personnel, vehicles and equipment.

A pair of helicopters shot by overhead, flying low towards the Namibian National Guard base twenty miles west in Opuwo; each bore several red crosses indicating their status as a noncombatant medical aircraft.

The mood of the camp had been relaxed ever since the base commander, General Daniel Marlowe, had left to tour the NNG base and visit the nearby Bastion missile silos before moving to the coast to oversee the movement of men and supplies across the newly constructed under- and aboveground military rail system.

A sense of camaraderie had developed between the Eredronian-born soldiers and the Namibian soldiers of the Guard, relieving concern that a sense of segregation might form. It was merely one piece of good luck in a string of fortunate events: the logistics operation was well underway, with 100,000 soldiers already on Namibia and no problems encountered or expected aside from a minor computer malfunction in one of the C-5 Galaxies which had left it grounded for three hours.

The sense of optimism and supreme confidence of the Consul had spread to even the lowest-ranking members of the military, who knew little about the planned operation but nevertheless viewed themselves as serving at the tip of a great sword.

Bump

The roar of diesel engines blasted through the desert night, breaking the stillness jarringly. A line of black and silver-stripped 18 wheelers rolled down the half-paved desert road, their tires kicking up rocks and sand in their wake. Against a backdrop of jagged, rocky hills and barren plains, the convoy steered north towards Militarized Zone #5, an area encompassing much of Angola's border with the Caprivi Strip and one crawling with activity; troops, gear and vehicles were arriving hourly via the rail network connecting the naval ports of the west to nearly a dozen military bases across Namibia and Botswana, with the supply chain aided by the construction of four new air strips.

Passing a small checkpoint after a short delay, the trucks continued onward, hoping to bring their mysterious cargo to it's destination before sunrise.

"I'd say things have gone better than scheduled...probably have it all wrapped up in the next three days, depending on the weather."

"Best piece of news I've heard all day, General."

"Glad to be the bearer of it, then, Consul," the man responded with a short chuckle. "There was some concern about getting some of the larger equipment, like the air defenses, on the rails, but it handled itself nicely."

The sunny, airy room seemed to add buoyancy to the two mens' optimism as they basked in the afternoon sun of central Eredron, enjoying a brief let-up from the previously relentless winter.

The general hoped the mood would remain as he continued with his report. "The only interruption is a recent...incident the Five Civilized Nations had with some naval blokes from The Macabees, which may require our involvement; shifting the focus of our first strike, adjusting our overall strategy.." He could tell this was not going over well.

"Of course, our end game would be the same; we'd just have to take a different route.."

And so it was he put forth a plan for the carving up of Africa.

The final go-ahead arrived shortly after 4PM local time in Namibia, manifesting itself in a rhythmic-sounding alarm that emanated from the central station in the communications hub of Vodka Prime, the codename for the center of Eredron military operations in Africa.

Drawing the attention of the duty officer, the message was downloaded to a separate server, which after being made secure and contained decrypted the message; a hard copy was sent by courier to it's intended recipient.

The thin-paper arrived on the desk of General Don F. Harrison in a sealed neon-yellow envelope; inspecting the bold red strips to ensure no tampering had taken place, the head of Africa Command discarded the envelope after pulling out it's contents.


SECURITY FOUR
TOP SECRET INFORMATION TO FOLLOW
For Level-Four Clearance Level Personnel Only.
Improper disclosure of the following information
is punishable by up to 60 years' imprisonment


Operation Grand Slam will commence, per planning of previous Directives, 0.9.011, 0.9.010 and 0.9.009. Launch code sequence as follows:

Alpha-Franco-Richard-Indigo-Cobalt-Alpha-Zero-Zero-Seven. Await receipt of code sequence and confirmation by Red Rover.

Success cannot be compromised.

OOC: is this open or what?

Private Communique, Safehaven2

Pursuant to an Executive Directive of the Consul, the Republic of Eredron has formally denounced the Safehaven2's goverening bureaucracy in Angola as an illegal, occupying force, and has formally declared the Republic does not maintain diplomatic recognition of said government as a sovereign administrative body over Angola.

Effective 12:00 midnight tomorrow, all citizens of Safehaven2 remaining within Eredronian territories will be expelled, as will all diplomatic and ambassadorial personnel; a full withdrawal from Angola by Safehaven2 is expected to begin within 48 hours of receipt of this notice, so that the right to self-government can once again be held by the Angolan people.

To stay any attempt at a preemptive strike against Eredron, military forces in Namibia and Botswana will remain at full alert indefinitely, as will all naval forces stationed off the African coast, positioned to act as monitors of the Safehaven withdrawal from Angola and ensure the stability and security of the provincial government to be formed in the wake of said withdrawal.

Cordially,
Minister Harrison,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Eredron Republic

(OOC: Hey SH2, I realize that this takes priority but where does that leave our plans for the RP we were going to do in Africa?)

Running into the room his shirt remained un-tucked and haggard with only half the buttons buttoned. He wasn’t the only one; everyone had been dragged out of bed to the emergency meeting when the message had come. Emergency sessions were hardly ever called but this situation deserved the immediate attention. Breaking out of protocol Massie, head of the colonial navy, spoke up instead of waiting for Morrel to start the meeting.

“What I wanna know is how in the hell they were able to move so many forces into position without us even issuing a basic warning, you fucked up this time, you fucked up royally!” His face stared across the table straight at the head of intelligence.

“I fucked up? You have your own ranch of intelligence, were where your naval analysts when the Eredronian fleets started moving? What about..”

Morrel rose up, his face livid with anger and he slammed the table, “ Enough, we have a big problem here and we need to fix it. Now from what I can see were going to be at war in 48hours no matter what we’ve done or what we do unless you people propose we give them Angola. That gives us 48 hours to get our shit together and were going to use it, so were are we now and were can we be in 48 hours?”

“The Indian fleets are fine, the way things are set up we don’t have to worry about the Tanzanian coastline, hell in time we could probably use those fleets to start a counter-offensive when this war starts up. The Atlantic is a different story, the 2nd is out at sea they were performing exercises in the S Atlantic but the 7th is holed up in harbor. It will take at least a week to load up some of those ships and the HNS Casfli is up for repairs after that accident last month, the 7th can sail without her but she will be missed sorely. That’s the best I can do there, they caught us with our pants down on this one. The minefields are one of the only things ready, they can be activated within an hour if needed. What I need is for someone to get a sat over the Atlantic so I can find were these Eredronian naval forces are that they spoke about in their note.”

“ Wait, who said were even going to war? No were in the note did it say they were going to invade if a pullout wasn’t initiated, perhaps we can negotiate, send them a reply, why is it you must jump at the chance to start a war at the smallest hint?” War was the last thing EdSec Rita had on her mind. She hated war, hated fighting, in her mind it was below the level civilized modern nations were at and getting involved in one would in her mind make Safehaven2 no better than the brutal barbarian hordes that had burned, pillaged and raped their way thru Europe so many times before.

“Unclear? What part of that note was unclear to you? Maybe you’ve forgotten the last time we had dealings with Eredronian? Maybe you have forgotten the fact that they have tried twice to invade Angola, last time with the help of eight different nations, but of course they wouldn’t come back for a third shot, no who would think that? Their going to come right at us and if we don’t pull out of Angola their going to make us and they will not accept anything short.” Pausing General Thomas Fenning looked around the room to gauge the reaction to what he just said before continuing,” I say we give them a thouro ass kicking, hell why stop their? We should just annex their colonies and end this Angola nonsense once and for all. I can start mobilizing our army immediately, while we are not yet ready to strike at them since they’ve obviously been preparing for some time we can get ourselves ready to bloody whatever they send at us before we make our own moves.”

“Are you insane! What you are proposing will do nothing but escalate this into a massive alliance war, the second a Havenite soldier, or missiles, or plane crosses that border every nation in the UWP will be jumping to join the war! Relations are already at the breaking point between the IADF and the UWP, why push them?”

“Rita, I have to agree with Tom here on this one, that note wasn’t exactly a friendly message that left much room to negotiate and their history doesn’t give me a good impression of em. Now Fenning, what’s going on the ground?” Still tired Morell had trouble keeping his eyes open but he needed to pay attention.

“Thanks, now they caught us off guard like Massie pointed out so any pre-emptive offensive into Eredron is out of the question but that 48 hour buffer zone will be a godsend for us, that’s should be enough time for us to get a good enough defense together. The Angolan army can be ready for the most part by then though any reserves will take some time to get together and organized. I can start bringing down Zairian units soon to, it will take some time for them to arrive in any significant strength but we can have at least a few divisions moving south in 72 hours. Our air defense system is ready to take whatever they throw at us though if they’ve done their homework which I’m betting they have they probably have targeted out a lot of our stationary positions so were going to have to depend on our mobile systems. If they invade right when that 48 hour deadline ends then I’m doubting we’ll stop them before Caiundu, we just didn’t have enough warning and frankly we’ve been getting lazy.”

The propaganda minister took the chance to jump in on the conversation and give his five cents, ”Well, since this seems to be heading to a third Angolan war I think we should start using my department’s talents. Everyone except the little children can remember the last Eredronian invasion just a few years ago and many of the older people can remember the first time they crossed the border, dislike for Eredron is pretty strong especially in the south but its time we stirred this up to full fledged hatred. Start distributing pictures of the destruction wrought across southern Angola last time, tell the people if they take Angola it will happen and again and it’ll be worse. All the usual stuff, but we can also put the blame for Brimstone behind them, the Eredronian invasion have only brought pain to Southern Angola but Brimstone affected everyone, cities in Tanzania and Zaire were devastated, if we can place the blame for this on Eredron we can unify the home front behind a war with them.”

The meeting went on for two more precious hours ending early in the morning before the sun rose up, still in time for the newspapers to write up new headlines. They had decided they wouldn’t respond to the Eredronian message instead their actions would show the Eredronians what Safehaven2 thought. The headlines that morning read in bright letters-Eredron Threatens War Again!-Eredron Comes Around for a Third Shot!-Eredronian Diplomats Threatens The Havenite Angolan Population with Extermination- and more. The message, with a few revisions, was printed in every major headline across Havenite Africa and while it didn’t have time to make the papers in Haven and the other possessions it was the talk of every major talk show and news show. New pictures and figures were released on civilian casualties and the destruction in southern Angola. A picture showing the shattered remains of an elementary school in Tombua, a city that had been flattened in the last invasion after months of sea bombardment by Eredrons allies, in the ruins a body could clearly be seen while spread around were everyday school supplies covered the front page of the Luanda Vindicator. Everything was being pulled out, except one thing that would come out later in the day.

HBC was the biggest news network in colonial Africa, and today they had been asked to do a favor for the government. At 5 o’clock a member of the foreign ministry was put on one of the daily news shows. He was to release the second part of the propaganda campaign, the part that would include every Havenite in the world and not just those in southern Angola. It took a few minutes of smaller talk on the Eredronian note and relations between the Macabees and FCN but he got to his main point soon enough.

“ Yes, that’s an interesting point you made, maybe they do think the third times a charm but we have reason to believe its bigger than that. Everyone knows about Brimstone about the multiple wars it spawned and everyone thinks they know why Safehaven2 was targeted. Of course we were on the list because of our support for The Macabees, along with two dozen others, didn’t it ever cross your mind why we were targeted by so many nations so quickly but yet so many other nations were passed over? It had puzzled everyone in the government; we’d just assumed it was our bad luck but we know were wrong now. Vastiva, one of the nations that joined in the invasion, apparently doesn’t really liked Eredron after Eredron cut their supply lines and as an act of kindness, and revenge, they have released certain documents (OOC: All forged and fake), which I’m sure my boss will release to the Public soon enough, accusing Eredron of some rather nasty things.”

“Yes, we all know of those nasty things, all you had to do was pick up a paper this morning to find out..”

“No no, this is different, from what the documents say Eredron had offered the Brimstone alliance money and certain tracts of land if they would turn their attention to us so that they could take Angola while we were busy elsewhere. It was all their fault! It was their fault that Haven itself was invaded and we have over one hundred pieces of paper that prove it. The entire thing was an Eredronian conspiracy.”



“Come on seven.” Rolling the dice Bruno didn’t get his seven, not even close.

“Ooo, how much is that now? You might as well not worry about our next paycheck cause its gonna be mine”
“What! That don’t count! It hit your leg, I get to go again, I’m not paying you nothing.” Standing up Bruno grabbed his money and made as if to start walking away. That was until the alarm went off. Whipping around he ran to the fence were he had layed his rifle up against and took cover under an M-88 Badger. He heard his captain break out laughing looking at him and the rest of the people who had been playing.

“Guys, were not in danger, not for now at least, were moving out. Apparently we didn’t hit those boys in Namibia hard enough last time and they want more. Come one were taking everything, if Eredron hit this place their not gonna get anything out of it but empty buildings. Same all along the border, you guys have 4 hours before we go.” The captain wasn’t exactly young, he was a veteran of the last war when he was still a Lieutenant, he had received a battlefield commission when his captain had been killed and his superiors had thought he did a good enough job to let him keep it. They were part of the 23rd, a division made up mostly of colonials that had been assigned to guard a stretch of the Angolan border along the Caprivi Strip. Being so close to danger they were always the first to receive new equipment and new recruits but now they had to move from the barracks they’d called home for so long. As hey moved out Bruno realized his captain hadn’t been lying, everyone along the whole border, almost every division was repositioning itself into secondary positions. It didn’t make any sense but to him nothing did, except the fact that food was good for him and running bad.




OOC: Hey Nova, whenever you want, contact me, don't remember what your MSN was though.

OOC: is this open or what?

OOC: Yes, to an extent. I retain the right to prevent players from participating if I feel they have a record of godmoding, annoyingly excessive numberwanking or other similar offenses.

During the time allocated to Safehaven to begin its withdrawal from Angola, the Eredronian military force made it's final preparations. To the border rolled columns of artillery, hundreds of towed and self-propelled howitzers brought into position near the border. A network of fortified and mobile AA defense systems crisscrossed the heavily militarized area, providing a buffer against Safehaven air strikes.

The four carrier groups moved north, cutting through the Atlantic waters so as to be parallel with southern Angola, while a fifth left port from Mauritius to monitor the Indian Ocean and East Africa.

No attempt was made to hide these maneuvers, or the movement of troops and armored columns closer to Angola; knowing full well that Safehaven, and probably a dozen other nations would be sending their satellites over Namibia, Eredronian tanks continued rolling northward, streaming towards the frontline.

Over a million troops had been shifted to Namibia, swelling the numbers of the Eredron Expeditionary Force to nearly 2 million; the Guard units maintained by the two African state-territories added an additional half-million bodies, nearly 3/4 of whom were reinforcing the Eredronian positions in northern Botswana and the Caprivi Strip; the bulk of the remaining divisions were monitoring the southern borders, although little threat was thought to be posed by Chellis, with whom Eredron enjoyed seemingly good and friendly relations.

The threat weighing more heavily on the military's minds was that of allies: uninvolved nations coming to the defense of Safehaven, armies opening up second and third fronts. Against this had been erected several defenses.

In the waters west of Namibia prowled a pack of fifty submarines, attack and ballistic; spread out over the 800 mile coastline, lurking silently, motionless. The submarines waited the arrival of any naval combatants: the Virginia attack subs with orders to fire on and sink them, the Ohio ballistics with orders to stand ready to initiate a nuclear strike against the enemy's military bases. Another twenty patrolled farther out in the Atlantic, acting as a forward patrol and guard.

The other defense was one made public by the Consul in an internationally released statement:

"On the African continent, the Republic of Eredron is engaged in a diplomatic exchange with the Safehaven2 government over matters of internal security and national defense: the Safehaven2-controlled regime in Angola directly threatens not only the democratic rights of the Angolan people, but the interests of Eredron and Africa as a whole; the intelligence reports gathered, bringing to light and confirming the warmongering plans of Safehaven2 have forced the Republic to engage Safehaven in this diplomatic dialogue.

While we hope and are confident Safehaven will agree to the diplomatic overture we have presented, we are also aware some nations may attempt to use this as a means to further their warmongering: to this let me issue a stern and unequivocable warning. Interfering in this internal African affair will be met with all necessary force.

I urge Safehaven to peacefully withdraw from Angola, allowing that oppressed populace their right to self-sovereignty."

Bump

The reconnaissance satellite hit its boosters for a bare two seconds but that small burst moved it into a position over southern Angola. Twitching its multiple instruments and cameras over it began snapping pictures and collecting data on the Eredronian movements. It wasn’t alone, almost a dozen other satellites were doing the same all feeding the information back to ground stations in Havenite Africa. Once they got there they were poured over by analysts and experts and the conclusions they came to were disturbing. Rough estimates were putting troop numbers at some were near 1.8 million and they had brought along thousands of toys. Eredron, it seemed, really meant business this time around.

While thousands of men and vehicles poured south the 23rd and all the other units that had been stationed near the border rode north getting away from the border, and the fixed positions that would soon be pounded by Eredron. Behind them a skeletal force waited for the 48 hours to pass and the Eredronians to cross. They weren’t to stop them, just slow them down, and give their comrades to the north more time. Along possible invasion routes across from were Eredronian concentrations were spotted minefields began sprouting up. Laying mines didn’t take as long as it used to, hundreds could be laid at a time via rocket systems and that’s what they did. The heavier mines were laid by hand along roads and transportation routes. In and among all of this the men began picking out positions; in small groups they dug in and got themselves ready. They had been given extra heavy weapons like ATGMs and MANPADs, and hidden in a few towns were some surprises for the unlucky Eredronians who would be the first to roll into them.

In Angola itself there was only a single regular corp, barely 250,000 combat troops plus an armored brigade. There was another corp worth of colonial troops and three reserve divisions but all in all they were behind the Eredronian EEF by a lot. Angola did have a lot of aircraft stationed in it so air power was not predicted to be a problem anytime soon but even so Angola could not and would not stand on its own. From the rest of Havenite Africa troops began heading to Angola, by every means they poured into Angola. But they wouldn’t arrive in big enough numbers before the Eredronians struck. Angola would have to hold out for a week or two. Becouse of that colonial troops began setting up in major cities and towns, especially those affected in the last war, they were armed with stacks of papers and pens. They were to sign up volunteers to make up a new Angolan defense force. Men and women were accepted over 18 and were immediately armed and sent to a crash training course. Anyone who signed up and had been in the military became automatic NCO’s and officers while some colonial troops were dispersed among the ranks to keep some cohesion and order. In southern and central Angola the recruiters had it easy as those were the areas that had been hard hit last time around but in the north it was rougher though the propaganda campaign was helping out. They wouldn’t be the best troops but they would have to do until reinforcements could come.

In Dar Es Saalm the 13th and 9th fleets began gearing up. Massive cranes topped off the fleets ships loading them up with all kinds of things a ship needed to run. The smaller destroyers and gun ships began leaving the harbor setting up a defensive ring outside of it to protect it from any Eredronian attack. Along side the fleets a marine expeditionary unit began gearing up. Transport began joining the fleet docking near the marines’ encampment.


Again, the Eredronians wouldn’t receive a reply to their statements, the actions conducted would be their answer.

The deadline came and went. As expected, Safehaven had used the time to prepare a defense, rejecting the offer.

No more statements were released, no press conferences held.

Red Rover. Red Rover.
Alpha-Franco-Richard-Indigo-Cobalt-Alpha-Zero-Zero-Seven.
Commence Grand Slam.


The still morning air was shattered as Eredron made it's first move.

First, the line of artillery formed along the border opened fire, sending 155mm shells 10 kilometers into Angola, raining down on any enemy positions still maintained along the border.

From farther back came the first wave of cruise missiles, plumes of white smoke trailing in the wake of two hundred Tomahawk missiles as they shot into the sky, their 1000 lb warheads being carried towards targeted airfields at subsonic speed. They would be followed by a second wave, and then another, and another, aimed at radar stations, airfields, the military sites scoped out by orbiting satellites.

The lessons of the last war had been taken into account, and the probability that minefields awaited them at sea as well as on the ground was almost certain; minesweepers were cautiously approaching the coast of Angola to ensure a clear path towards it's capital, while satellite imagery was reviewed to glean as much information about possible minefields as possible.

The past two days had been some of the tensest of Bruno’s life. His regiment had been one of the units left behind to slow down and bloody the Eredronian invasion and they had spent every waking hour preparing to do so. He now was sitting in a foxhole on the crest of a hill outside of the town of Dirico, a fairly major town which sat on the Cuito river near the border. In front of him, all around him actually, was a minefield which he was in the middle of. They had marked off certain routes thru the field so when the time came they would be able to get out of the area. He had been given a five minute break to grab some rest and some food but just as he was opening his meal the assault started. The Eredronian shells wrecked havoc working the bases and camps that so much money had been poured into making over the years. The shells wouldn’t kill the men and women they once housed, the bases were empty, abandoned. The shelling gave those men and women, hiding in the towns and the countryside, it had meant to kill a warning instead. They not sat, ready and waiting for the Eredronians to cross the border.


The airwaves were filled with reports coming back, Eredronian artillery was working up the border, it had started. Everyone in the control room sat trying to pay attention to every detail on the screens in front of them but at the same time trying to listen to the report coming back. Then one man started yelling his screen came alive with action. “Contacts, contact, I’m picking up something like 90-110 missiles heading our way.” Beads of sweat began forming on the radar operators face as he gave his report then he yelled again, “More contacts, they keep popping up, were nearing 160 now.” The man next to him began sending out the information they were receiving to the SAM batteries assigned to them. The SAMs had their own radar systems but they were kept off so that they couldn’t be targeted. The first SAM launched off, flames spurting out of its back and over the launcher it had come from, behind it more followed. They weren’t the only battery lighting up the sky, dozens of missiles rose up to meet the Eredronian tomahawks. The Eredronian missiles began dropping fast, nearly all of them were shot down before they were 10km into Angola. The second wave got chewed out much the same way as did the third.

The fourth was heading to be treated just like its three predecessors but that’s when things started going wrong. A lucky missile struck a major radar station in south eastern Angola wiping out radar coverage in that area for a few seconds, or it should have been just a few seconds but for some reason the independent batteries and radar stations didn’t active their own radars. What remained of the fourth wave continued on heading for their targets. Triaman airbase was one of the few airbases that didn’t have all of its aircraft in UPH’s, it was a political thing, the money projected to construct the needed UPH’s was diverted to a politicians pet project in his home town. Not that it really mattered, what damage could not having a few bunkers do? The colonial army was strongest to whip any invader before they could come close to the airbase, he continued his career safe with his conclusion. The airbase would pay for his folly. Eighteen missiles were coming for the airbase picking it out for special treatment. As they crested over a hill and came in site of the field Triaman showed it wasn’t defenseless as a Celtic at the end of a runway shot down a missile with a SAM. It then turned take out three more in quick succession with its laser and guns. It whizzed around to get its fifth kill of the day when a tomahawk exploded overhead incinerating the soft skinned vehicle and turning it into a heap of twisted metal. The next Tomahawk sheared into a control tower half way up, a ball of flame shooting thru the steel and concrete and popping out the other side. The top half slid of its perch and crashed to the ground crushing its already dead occupants under tons of steel and concrete debris. Sirens screeched thru the misty morning sky and dozens of bodies ran haphazardly around the airbase trying to find a way to defend it, trying to find something they could do. Two fighters began rolling down the runway when another missile came in and exploded in front of them, tearing one to shreds and sending the other cart wheeling thru the air like a doll till it crashed into a two ton truck. It five minutes Triaman airbase was wrecked, nearly 60 were dead with more wounded and some still missing. Twenty-four aircraft had been destroyed on the ground and the airbase was officially out of commission. It wasn’t the only one to be hit but it was in worse shape than anyone else.

Something like that wouldn’t happen again. A strong CAP was put in the air and everyone waited, daring the Eredronians to cross the border. Their missile strike would remain unanswered for now.

Sea War

“Tacoma, hows things down their, looks like we took a bit a hit from up here?”

“Were fine, boys out east got it bad, were still in this, you should be meeting up with Tago in less than five minutes”

“Got it, Ill be keeping my eyes peeled.”

Captain Bobby Stoffer commanded a squadron of F-133 fighters that was tasked along with another to escort a flight of Rain fighter-bombers to their targets. Sure enough they met up with Tago flight, the Rain, in a little more than five minutes in the mountain range that ran along the coast. They hid in the mountains heading to the coast to hide them from any ground or ship based radar the Eredronians had scanning the Angolan skies. They were a good twenty miles north of the border when they popped out over the coast. Just south of them were the Eredronian minesweepers and behind them were the Eredronian fleets that threatened Angolas coast. With Stoffer and the other F-133’s watching the Rain let opened up dropping 24 missiles. After free falling for a second the missiles engines shot alive kicking off at mach 5 as each FastHawk II targeted a minesweeper. They skimmed the ocean on their way trying to stay below the engagement area of any SAMs the sweepers might carry. Behind them the Rain that had launched them turned around and hit their afterburners on their way home and to safety.


Further out to sea the 2nd fleet sat in the Atlantic its ASW and AWAC’s perimeters out in full strength hunting for any enemies that might head their way. They were in the middle of the ocean away from any danger and away from the war but they now steamed south heading for both. They weren’t heading for Africa, they were going to sit on Eredronian Africa’s lifeline to the mainland which ran thru the Atlantic. Because such an action would no doubt bring retribution a sub fleet was heading out to reinforce the 2nd and help fend off any Eredronian attempts to stop them.


Almost across the world in Dar Es Saalam dozens of ships began heading out silhouetted against the harbor. The destroyers and gunships that had set up such a strong defense perimeter now fell in with the ships leaving forming a new perimeter around them. Overhead land based fighters in conjunction with carrier based fighters set up a CAP over the fleets and the ocean below. The two fleets headed out into the ocean till they were out of site and then began turning East. Beneath the waves another fleet was heading out, the 9th sub fleet. The 9th had a very different task from what the surface fleets had but it was no less important and if they didn’t succeed then their surface cousins would have a much harder time doing their job. The sub fleets headed straight south away from the coast in international waters, they would continue that way until they were just south of South Africa.

[tag; post to come...I assume this is Earth RB]

[No, Regular Earth]

President Sutton sat in his chair, smoking a sweet smelling cigar, softly inhailing the sweet scent flipping through the channels on the wall mounted television. It had been a long day as he had been tending to a conflict involving the Organization of Maritime Powers and he was exhausted and ready to sit back in the Presidential Office and relax. He considered ordering a couple pizza's and requesting a couple beers but he decided to wait until midnight, anything was bound to happen during the early evening hours.

When he least expected it, Christian Knight, the Credonian National Security Advisor knocked on the door and entered.

"Sir, sorry for inturrupting you. We have a situation between two of our allies, Eredon and Safehaven. It seems that Eredon has been mobilizing a massive number of forces to invade Angola which is controlled by Safehaven. A 48 hour grace period was given to SH in which they were to pull all forces out of Angola and surrender the nation over to Eredon, or at least relinquish control. Wel, the 48 hour period is over and armed hostilities have begin, the second the time limit expired."

"Jesus" Sutton says as he leans forward in his chair. This was the last thing he was expecting to have to deal with, but he had no choice but to get involved.

"Alert the press, im going to issue a statement"

"Yes sir, right away" obediently replied Knight as she rushed out of the room.

Sutton gathered his thoughts and composure. He was disappointed. It seemed as if the night has just begun and he was looking forward to spending it alone relaxing. Before heading towards the press room, he rebuttoned his shirt and put his tie back on.

Upon arrival to the press room, camera's began flashing as Sutton made his way to the podium. He waited a moment and peered out into the sea of reporters, cameramen, and journalists before speaking.

"Ladies and gentlemen, not too long ago, the Credonian government recieved word thta armed hostilities had broken out between Eredon and SafeHaven, two of our allies over the issue of control Angola, which is currently under the jurisdiction of SafeHaven whether it be legally or illegally. Because of this unique situation, Credonia calls upon both sides of this conflict to agree to a cease-fire agreement while representatives from your governments meet in Credonia or another agreed upon neutral nation to hold talks on this development. We are aware of the past between these two nations and we hope that peace can prevail and all differences can be resolved through talks and negotiations. We ask that for the sake of the Angolian people that an end to all hostilities take hold, at least until talks are underway and completed. The African continent has suffered from enough war and the people oppressed by the wars of other nations. There is no reason why this conflict cannot be solved in a civil and diplomatic manner so that innocent men, women, and children are not harmed. Thank you."

Sutton paused a moment and headed towards the door. As he approached, he let out a sie of relief and headed towards his office to await a response from both sides.

"We welcome the opportunity for a peaceful resolution; unfortunately, we fear that Safehaven will only use any cease-fire on our behalf as an attempt to simply fortify it's grip on the Angolan people. Eredron stands, as always, willing to open a forum in which a solution acceptable to all could be reached. However, until Safehaven agrees to a cease-fire, Eredron military operations will continue."

Atlantic Ocean, 30 miles west of the African coast

The entire might of the four gathered carrier groups was brought into full swing as soon as the enemy aircraft and missiles appeared.

The four Sea Sparrow launchers of each carrier shook as four, then eight, then sixteen missiles jumped into the air, targeting the incoming missiles, tracking them, rushing to meet them at 2700 mph. The forward guard of Kidd-E destroyers let loose a retaliatory barrage of RIM-66's, sending an additional fifteen missiles into the air.

Responding superbly, the defense was nevertheless punctured. Evading the counter-move, three enemy missiles reached their target, exploding into the hull of one of the minesweepers with devastating force. Shrapnel and bodies flew into the air as plumes of smoke rose out of the mangled corpse.

A last volley was fired, this time the missiles tracking the aircraft in hopes of at least drawing blood in return.

A rescue effort was ordered, although it was carried out only half-heartedly. The ruinous end was absolute, but managed to stir the men's resolve. As two squadrons of F-22E Firehawks were scrambled to provide a more secure shield, the two dozen Zumwalt destroyers in each carrier group formed a large diamond; with careful precision, they trained their guns on Angola, east beyond their sight.

The first to be fired was a salvo from the 96 destroyers' 155mm howitzers; the guided shells, with a range of 200 miles, had been set to rain down destruction on the radar stations and airfields within range, with all firepower being concentrated in an effort to create increasing gaps in the Angolan air defenses; after a second and third salvo, the Zumwalts would launch their own reserves of Tomahawk cruise missiles to take advantage of the chaos and hopefully decimate or render useless their targets. At the same time, Tu-180E Implacable bombers had been prepped for launch, ready to strike as soon as a weakening in the air defenses had been reported.

Meanwhile, in the depths of the Atlantic, withdrawn from the conflict and warfare erupting in Africa, the submarine pack lurked, until an opportunity presented itself, in the form of the Havenite 2nd fleet.

The ships had been detected moving south, and now the pack pursued them like sharks, silently, cautiously, following in their wake, determining their enemy's strength(hint hint :) ), and awaiting the opportune moment.

Likewise, the movement of ships on the other side of Africa had been noted; the fleet leaving port and moving south was being tracked by satellite; the carrier group stationed in the area was cutting a line from Mauritius to the southern tip of Madagascar in an attempt to cut off the incoming fleet.

Coastal War

“Vampire vampire, we’ve got missiles tracking us coming in fast”

“Shit, get low and into the mountains.” The aircraft were already on afterburner making their way to the mountains and safety when the SAMs rose up from the fleet. They had a good distance between them and the destroyers and with their afterburners on they had a good chance of making it to the mountains looming up ahead. Finally they reach the mountains beating the missiles in the race, the lead F-133 squadron made its way thru the mountains first while the rest followed. They didn’t get away free though and the last Rain to make it to the mountains got clipped by a SAM right before it reached safety.

The fleet wouldn’t get away, not even close, the air force wanted blood. Eredron had expended nearly a thousand missiles on Angola so it was time to return the favor. Taking off from airfields in the safety off northern Angola hundreds of miles from were the fighting was an armada of aircraft formed up in the skies. EB-9’s and Arkbirds escorted by F-133’s with heavy AWAC support began heading south. They broke into two groups, one for the Arkbirds and one for the EB-9’. The Arkbirds headed south coming directly at the fleet with the mountains in between them. The EB-9 group headed out over the ocean coming from the northwest over the sea. Six AWAC’s and electronic warfare birds accompanied them and put up a massive wall of jamming in front of the EB-9’s that was supported by the EB-9’s own jammers. When the EB-9’s reached 300miles they launched their missiles, 120 missiles broke loose and headed for the fleet. The AWACs and support birds kept on following the missiles while the EB-9’s went home. The missiles didn’t carry any warheads or even have guidance, they were dumby missiles but they did have one thing, they let out a single looking like a Rain fighter-bomber and with all the heavy jamming the Eredronians, it was hoped, wouldn’t know the difference. The missiles were cheap and they did their job well. They were to distract the forward ASW ships and make them waste their SAMs on them while the real threat came from the coast. The Arkbird group hiding behind the mountains were they were safe was to pop up and fire in 700 FastHawk II missiles while the Eredronian fleet was bussing itself with the threat coming from the ocean. The Fasthawk II missiles cleared the mountains at mach 5 before diving down bare meters off the ground and heading to the destroyers the Eredronians had placed on the outside of the fleet. The missiles weren’t meant for the carriers or capital ships, they wanted to kill the destroyers on the outside, the shell of the fleet.


Atlantic Ocean

The 2nd fleet hid itself behind the strong ASW perimeter manned by its 40 Cunningham DDNs, the 15 Orca SSNs and the smaller gun ships and patrol boats. All this protection for the core of the fleet, the capital ships, five carriers ten heavy cruisers and some arsenal ships. It was a strong shell, one that would be tough to break. They were tasked with sitting on the lifeline to the Eredronian colonies and as such there were fighter patrols stretching out for miles hunting for Eredronian supply ships. Six RORSAT satellites were tasked to combing the ocean for Eredronian ships making their way to Africa. Any such ship was to be destroyed immediately.

Out on the ASW perimeter(100km out from the fleet) helos were making regular runs out at sea hunting for subs, any sub that got near the perimeter would be in a whole lot of hell. The sub fleet that was coming to reinforce the 2nd didn’t join up with them but instead went hunting on their own expanding the area covered.


Indian Ocean

The Eredronian fleet had positioned themselves in the worst possible spot, not hat it was any fault of theirs. With the twin fleets coming down the east side of Madagascar and the sub fleet down the west side the Eredronian fleet would literally be between the hammer and the anvil, although the hammer was still a secret. The two fleet would continue south till they their ASW perimeter was 250mls away then they would slow to a crawl. The sub fleet was to position itself on the other side of the Eredronian fleet and wait patiently and quietly for now. Overhead of the twin fleets a strike force was gathered. Three squadrons of F-133’s and three Rain fighter-bomber squadrons took off racing ahead of the fleet. Heading south to meet the Eredronian fleet they stopped 200miles away, the range on the Eredronian SAMs was unknown and it was decided it’d be bet not to find out the hard way. Creeping closer they were to taunt the Eredronian pilots, daring them to come out and fight.

Angola

The shelling from the destroyers could only hit a very tiny part of the country and much of it was mountainous. It wasn’t an area were their were airfields to shoot up but many radar stations went down. That was begging to become a problem, the air defense of Angola would have to depend on mobile SAM and radar sites and fighter coverage. Any airbases in southern Angola were emptied and their aircraft flown north to safety were they would fly sorties south from. In case the Eredronians did try something a strong CAP was kept over southern Angola.

In the Sierra De Chela mountains something different was going on. Bunkers that had been carved out of the mountains to fight the last invasion off and the Vastivan soldiers who had crawled their way up the coast were being put back into use. Railguns like the ones the Eredronians were using to fire into Angola were being dragged into position protected by tons of rock. Dozens of gun positions were being set up facing southwest. If the Eredronian fleet wanted to crawl its way up the coast they would receive a greeting.

Caprivi Strip, Zambian Border

Guns of a different kind had been brought here. Dozens of guns from the Zambian armies had been brought south to strike back at the Eredronians. 400,000 Eredronian troops packed the Caprivi strip and northern Botswana giving the Zambian army no shortage of targets. Gathered 40 to 50km from the border were 2,000 175mm guns and 1,000 250mm rocket artillery systems. They now all pointed south their barrels and tubes loaded and raised in the air. Eredronian artillery was given number 1 priority in the coming bombardment, as much Eredronian artillery as possible was to be destroyed. Everything else came second on the list but they would also be hit, troop concentration, airfields they would all get theirs. When the time came the guns fired, almost as one twenty thousand 250mm rockets and two thousand 175mm shells rose up and arced in the sky on their way south. Quickly the guns were reloaded, the gun fired again and again while the Rocket systems replaced their rockets, forty second later another rocket salvo was sent while the artillery barrage kept on firing continuously. They would go on like this for another few minutes before driving off to secondary pre-prepared positions before a retaliatory strike was called down on them.



OOC: Exact numbers on second fleet:
5 New Empire class carriers
15 Brimstone heavy cruisers/BB’s
10 Hellfire Arsenal ships
40 Cunningham DDN
10 Leviathen SSGN
15 Orca's SSN
1 Nike
1 Njord
multiple other auxilary/smaller ships

Casualties so far:
943 dead
28 Radar sites
43 aircraft
47 SAM sites

Official Communique to Safehaven
As an ally of both parties involved in this conflict, I have taken measures to ensure a peaceful end to this. Eredon has responded by saying they are open to talks to end the conflict, but only after you agree to a cease-fire. If your government truly cares about the people of Angola, then you will agree to a cease-fire and diplomatic talks to be held in a neutral nation for the purpose of finding a peaceful solution to this conflict that can and certainly will spiral out of control if an end isnt found immediately.

Kaimoni A. Sutton
Commander-in-Chief
President
United States of Credonia

Official Communique to all Parties Involved
Due to the nature of this conflict and the innocent peoples that it involves (the Angolians), Credonia is prepared to take unilateral actions in defense of the Angolan people. As President of the United States of Credonia, such powers have been vested in me via the Sutton Doctrine (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=396087), which I will not hesitate to activate if I deem it to be in the best interest of the African people, and more importantly, those being directly affected by this unnecessary and deadly war. Once again, we ask that both parties involved agree to a cease-fire agreement and meet in a neutral nation to talk about a peaceful end to this conflict as Credonia does not wish to get involved, but make no mistake, we will not hesistate to if push comes to shove.

Kaimoni A. Sutton
Commander-in-Chief
President
United States of Credonia

Response to Credonian message:

If Eredron announces to us their wish for a cease fire we will agree wholeheartedly without second thought. But we will not part with Angola under any circumstances and as long as Eredronian forces continue their attacks and encroachments on our territory we will fight back. This is the third time we have had to fight with Eredron over Angola, they do not wish to better the people, they wish to better their economies and be able to point at the map and say, “ Look at that big country over their that’s all ours”. We doubt that Eredron will just suddenly accept a cease fire without gaining anything but if they do and they announce their wish to do so we will agree but like we said Safehaven2 will fight them up till that point.

(OOC: Safehaven2, check TGs, please.)

OOC: Sent one back

Response to Credonian message:

If Eredron announces to us their wish for a cease fire we will agree wholeheartedly without second thought. But we will not part with Angola under any circumstances and as long as Eredronian forces continue their attacks and encroachments on our territory we will fight back. This is the third time we have had to fight with Eredron over Angola, they do not wish to better the people, they wish to better their economies and be able to point at the map and say, “ Look at that big country over their that’s all ours”. We doubt that Eredron will just suddenly accept a cease fire without gaining anything but if they do and they announce their wish to do so we will agree but like we said Safehaven2 will fight them up till that point.

OOC: They already have announced thier desire for one, read Eredon's post above in response to my offer

OOC: Missed that one....

IC:
"We will agree to a cease fire with Eredron but we make it known now that we will not part with Angola."

OOC: Did you want to cancel your last post in lieu of the cease fire?

OOC: Already happened, can't stop shells once their in the air, Ill talk to you later on MSN though about things.

OOC: I will hold off on posting a response since I've got a few things to ask you on MSN as well.

"What's the latest report?" he asked, looking out at the clouds of smoke that had formed in the horizon.

"The Eagle and the Vulcan will be completely submerged within forty-five minutes; six other destroyers and frigates took heavy damage, although all but two are combat-ready."

The onslaught had been expected and courageously defended against, but the sheer number of missiles the Havenite air force had launched at the fleet had overwhelmed the defenses of the carrier groups; the penetration had wrecked havoc.

The incoming bomber/fighters had been detected by radar stations on the ground as well as the fleet's, allowing ample time to bolster the number of friendlies in the sky above the fleet by six squadrons, along with four squadrons in Namibia, who immediately advanced northward to confront a possible bombing excursion.

Three F-22E squadrons engaged the enemy over the Atlantic Ocean, hoping to drag them into a dogfight; over the African skies, a similar scene played out.

--

The artillery rolling in through Zambia, spotted by reconaissance satellites, was immediately targeted by the Eredronian howitzers as soon as they came into range; the Caprivi Strip, brimming with 155mm guns, was filled with pale smoke that rose like thin strands of cobweb from the exploding guns. Then, in an act that would be mimicked by the Havenite counterparts, the artillery was quickly moved; in the first Havenite reprisal, fewer than fifteen guns were seriously damaged; their crew fared worse, and by the end of the first attack several hundred bodies littered the ground.

As promised the Eredronian offensive had stopped, its troops holding position only a few miles into Angola, aircraft ready to begin the second stage should the order come.

The news of the cease fire was being downplayed in Eredron; the Consul's departure during the night was concealed, his press secretary maintaining that Jorj Fariz had gone to his mountain retreat.

Instead, he sat in one of the supple leather seats of the executive aircraft, crossing the dark waters of the Atlantic. Around him his gathered advisers exuded gloom, anger, irritation.

The offensive had not progressed as quickly as the military planners had first suggested: Safehaven military assets had been underestimated, and the warhead delivery system of the as-of-yet undeployed Stryker IV had experienced a series of malfunctions that was only now being overcome.

Fariz was on the verge of ordering a series of indiscriminate carpet bombings of Angola when Credonia, with whom Eredron had once shared an alliance, had stepped in, offering mediation in the conflict.

He'd accepted, and remained enigmatic when his advisers asked why. Now, as the plane approached Namibia, he had yet to fully answer their question; much of the trip he had stayed locked up in one of the conference rooms with Daniel Ferris, who the Consul had appointed as his right-hand man during the negotiations.

The sunlight reflected off the pavement airstrip seared his eyes as he left the plane, burning his retina like daggers. He raised an arm to shield against the brutal rays, cursing. What was this desolate piece of rock to him, to Eredron? He glared at the back of the Consul's head, hating him, hating the god forsaken land the man had brought him to.

He didn't care how many billions were being poured into the country to develop it; didn't care how many high rises had been constructed; it was a parched piece of grit far away from his comfortable home in Eredron.

With these foul, stormy thoughts filling his head, he walked with the rest of the entourage to the waiting motorcade.

Coastal Air War

The missile strike had gone well so far. The heavy Arkbirds turned around and started flying home on afterburner as soon as their cargoes were away and behind them following more slowly came the fighter escort. Something else was coming, the radar operators on the AWAC’s birds could see something but they couldn’t get a clear picture till the Eredronian fighters were barely a hundred miles away. The F-22 was bitch to lock onto with radar though Lidar was a totally different matter and once the Lidar pods detected them it made it that much easier for the radar operators to get a lock now that they knew were the F-22’s were. The bombers continued home going on afterburner but the two F-133 escort squadrons turned around and let the F-22’s have it. Every F-133 had a target for itself and another left over, 24 F-133’s vs. 36 F-22’s, the AWAC’s command bird began distributing targets and sending off the information to the fighters who fired seconds later they each let loose three of their long range AIM-123 Divinebolt NGLRAAM’s. The missiles dropped, free falling for a second before kicking their scramjet engines on and heading off at speeds nearing mach 6 a smoke trail exiting their tails and spreading out into the distance. Each F-22 had two missiles coming at it hard. Behind them the F-133’s turned around leaving missile guidance up to the AWAC’s birds and to the missiles own systems, if the F-22’s still wanted to fight after those missiles struck home then they would turn around and give them a fight.


Skies Over Angola

Here to the bombers turned around and headed home before any Eredronian fighters could engage them but things were different here, it would turn into a full scale air battle. The Eredronian naval fighters had to cross the mountain range first and when they started coming in the soldiers in the mountains thought they were coming to hit the new gun positions being set up to blast the fleets below and as such dozens of MANPADs began rising up targeting the Eredronian fighters as they weaved thru the mountains. Any fighter that got to close to an arty position was tracked and shot at by mobile AA guns trying to blot them from the sky. Any Eredronian fighter that broke thru the mountains would find themselves in the midst of a major air battle.

On the other side of the mountains the three F-133 squadrons assigned to escort the EB-9 bomber force was beginning to engage the fighters coming up from the landside. At similar ranges of about 90 miles the F-133 unshackled their own NGLRAAM’s launching 4 each giving each incoming F-22 3 incoming missiles. The F-133’s then turned around trying to keep the distance so that reinforcements from the Cap flown over Angola could arrive.

Atlantic Ocean

“Contact Contact! Evaluate as a possible sub, bearing zero-nine-three setting up buoy lines” Something was out their, it was possibly just a school of fish or a whale but it was something and their was no point in taking chances. Another helo was sent to join the one on patrol and they began setting up buoy lines around the area.

“Talco, we have a contact, weak but increasing on north line. Definite submarine designate Master two.” That something was a submarine and it was spying on the fleet. There was the possibility it wasn’t Eredronian but their was the possibility it was and it was to close for comfort. The first Helo over the area made a run and dropped two torpedoes right on top of the submarine they had just found. The torpedoes splashed into the waves and made turns to come right at the sub below.

Announcement:

“With the recent cease fire signing with Eredron all offensive action will cease and Safehaven2 will not make any aggressive moves against Eredron for the time being but we will engage any Eredronian forces encroaching upon our lands or forces in self defense. It is our hope that talks can proceed successfully and that this war ends.”

(Credonia...)

OOC: Sorry, busy spring break. Will post tonite..u got my word

Official Message To Eredon and Safehaven2

"On behalf of President Sutton, I would like to invite delegations from both of your nations to Credonia to discuss the peaceful resolution and find a peaceful solution to this conflict. We must take into consideration the lives of the African people and what is best for them. We encourage both sides to stay faithful to the cease-fire agreement currently in effect until a peaceful solution may be reached. We applaud the efforts of both governments for thus far staying true to their word and upholding the cease-fire agreement. We eagerly await your response. We wish to host you here in Credonia at the earliest possible convienence."


Lauren R. Smith
Secretary of State
Department of State
United States of Credonia

The Consul of the Republic will be representing Eredron, with full confidence of his continued safety and well-being while in attendance of these peace talks.

OOC: I assumed these would be in Africa (do you still control any African territories, or did you lose/get rid of them) let us just assume he's arrived there)

"To represent Havenite Africa we will be sending Julio Mendez, he will be arriving shortly."

OOC: Same here just assume hes there.

Bump..

OOC: Since Credonia has vanished from this RP, I will simply take over and host the cease fire talks in Namibia itself, assuming this is OK with you Safe?

Oh, and apologies for my lack of activity in the past few weeks, as I've been busy with RL.

OOC: Np, I was wondering what was gonna happen so thats fine with me.

OOC: My apologies guys. Got super busy with school and other NS endeavours (War on Terror & a newly founded alliance)

His hands rested rigidly on the icy-cold, circular table that dominated the center of the large conference room, making no movement as the Safehaven delegates entered through the large arching door.

His eyes flickered briefly over each, studying them behind a stony face.
His Foreign Minister was speaking cordially with them; his exuberance disgusted Fariz. To him, this meeting represented the deathknell to his vision, the first nail into the coffin of his dreams. Or did it?

No, he could not entertain that thought anymore; his plans of staging a second, brutal, indiscriminate strike against Angola had to be given up. The operation, conceived during the trip over, had been heartily accepted by his military staff, and heavily discouraged by his ministers, who feared the repercussions of the proposal: the use of tactical nuclear strikes; conventional carpet bombing; deployment of the Stryker IV missile only just recently deployed as part of the Bastion Shield; amphibious landings on the Angolan coast coordinated with a push by nearly 250,000 troops and armor into Zambia supported by artillery, air strikes and paratrooper drops. It was scrapped almost immediately as fear of an inter-continental conflict arose.

Nevertheless, the war would not be entirely fruitless; that much was certain.

"I am Consul Fariz," he said finally, rising slowly. "I am ready and empowered to sign on behalf of Eredron any and all political treatises agreed upon by our respective governments. As host, let me offer you the floor."

Mendez was more than a little nervous about what was about to happen. He had good reason to be. Mendez had been born in Zambia, growing up under Havenite rule to a Zarbian mother and a Havenite father. Unlike most people in the area he wasn’t a veteran instead he had been in government service hundreds of miles behind the lines when the last war had touched off. It was because of his shame that he had pushed his own son into joining the navy and it would be his actions that would decide whether his son would see combat or not.

He shook the Eredronian Foreign ministers hand and thanked him for greeting him and his delegation before sitting down and listening to the opening speech given by Fariz. Mendez had orders to do his best to end this war before it could fully develop but to take a fairly hard line at the same time. It didn’t make any sense, if negotiations were going to succeed both sides had to give something up but his superiors couldn’t see that. He was playing the game with a handicap but their wasn’t much he could do about it. Nodding to Fariz before getting up himself he started to speak,

“Before I begin let me personally thank you and your people for making us feel at home. Since we have arrived we have not found one thing not done by your staff to comfort us. Now that said let me move to what my government wishes to see get done here. Haven wants this war to end, our African territories have been the seen of too many battles for them to be part of another. While we are against the continuation of this war Haven does not wish to see her land stripped away and will not give up any territory to Eredron. We are open to any offers that do not include the ceding of land over to Eredron.”

Sitting back down he looked at Fariz and waited to see his reaction. If Eredron was out to get land then the negotiations probably wouldn’t go very far but if they were willing to accept something else than things would be looking up.

Fariz bristled beneath his calm demeanor. Little prick, he thought.

"Let me remind you that Eredron does not recognize the Haven government as a legitimate administrative body in Angola. Your presence is a result of military occupation carried out by yourself and your oppressive allies, and maintained only through force."

He stopped, and allowed his wrath to dissipate.

"Official recognition of a Havenite Angola is something we are prepared to negotiate for, in addition to a cessation of hostilities and an end to the state of war that exists. However, both parties must first agree to certain provisions, namely:

Safehaven will accept and recognize the autonomy of a Free Angola, whose political boundaries will extend eastward from the Angolan coast; it's southern border will be comprised of the current Angola-Namibia borders, its northern by the 16th parallel, and its western by the city of Caiundo, which will be incorporated into the Free Angola. This state will exist as an independent state, with official recognition by Eredron as such; both parties may maintain a peacekeeping force not to exceed 750 personnel. Safehaven will agree not to attempt to thwart Free Angola's independence by accepting a No-Fly Zone over that state.

Furthermore, Safehaven and Eredron will both agree to a Demilitarized Zone, which will run parallel along the current border, from the proposed Free Angola border to Zambia: for ground forces, the DMZ will extend five miles south and fifteen north; DMZ airspace will extend an additional twenty miles in both directions, with restrictions placed on all military air operations save for those of a medical or humanitarian nature, in which both parties have agreed to allow the temporary passage of those aircraft involved in the operation.

In addition, to guarantee peace today, and for tomorrow, both parties will agree to a pact of non-aggression, binding in Africa alone.

Did he listen to a word I said? He was tempted to flat out say no when he heard the begginging statements but he made him self listen to the rest and keep quiet. He looked down and shook his head slightly before starting up.

"First of all Haven does not care whether Eredron does or does not recognize something. Haven and her people recognize it and that is all that matters. Furthermore Haven will continue to not care whether Eredron recognizes our control of Angola untill Eredron can forcibly make us which if that was a likley possibilty we wouldn't be here right now."

Things were going sour quickly. Only a few minutes in and both sides were visibly angry but there still was a very large chance that the negotiations would end on a good note.

"Now moving on I must remind you of my opening statment the major point of which was tht Haven will not",He made sure to emphasize that part before moving on," part with any of her land. Now from the sounds of things you are acting as if we lost the war. Now I am willing to bend a bit on that point an Im sure I can convince my government to see things my way if you agree. We will create this "Free Angola" state if a state of similar size and restrictions is created in Eredronian Africa with its border to be decided by Haven.

On the points of the DMZ and NAP I'm sure we can agree on that with a bit of tweaking."

"The creation of another independent country within the current boundaries of the Republic is out of the question; within a matter of months, Eredron will officially recognize the sovereign Republics of Namibia and Botswana, operating outside of the sphere of Eredronian influence.

Due to the military limitations by which Eredron will abide, I must endeavor to ensure these fledgling countries have as much protection as possible.

Haven must agree to a demilitarized zone, and allow the creation of a free, independent Angola to exist outside of Havenite dominion."

"If a "Free Angola" is to be created then it must happen simeltaniusly(sp?) as the createn of a free Botswana and a free namibia. Furthermoe Botswana and Namibia are to be free of Eredronian forces of any kind or number. IN this case then we may be able to accept then esteblishment of a "Free" Angolan nation."

The presence of the Eredronian military in Namibia and Botswana has been agreed upon by the provisional government which will officially take power following the successful conclusion of these talks. Although the Havenite government has succeeded in overthrowing the rightful government in Angola and through militaristic aggression gained dominance in that country, this influence does not and will not extend into Namibia or Botswana.

We urge you to communicate to your superiors the urgency with which they must attend to this matter.

I offer the following for Havenite consideration:

Insomuch as peace and stability in the African continent is desirable and necessary,

In hopes of creating a lasting end to war and conflict,

The Republic of Eredron and the Republic of Safehaven hereby agree upon the establishment of the African Demilitarized Zone, whose boundaries and limitations are set forth in full as:

Encompassing the geographic boundaries from the 16th parallel to the 18th parallel longitudinal, extending insomuch as Havenite territory borders with the current Eredronian states of Namibia and Botswana;

Existing so as to create a more secure future for the proposed independent states of Namibia and Botswana, as well as the opportunity for the creation of an independent Free Angola, whose political boundaries would mimic the proposed Demilitarized Zone, with the Havenite government obliged to carry out a democratic, public referendum overseen by a third party mediator, for the purpsoses of establishing the desires of the Angolan people with regards to the creation of said state, and abide by the results.

As soon as these above conditions are agreed upon to our satisfaction, the Republic of Eredron will move to recognize Namibia and Botswana as sovereign territories and equal allies.

EDIT: Removed as I feel this would be better in its own RP, so the peace talks can finish.

Bump

"I will forward that message on to my superiors but I if Eredron maintains a presence in Namibia and Botswana then Haven will mantian a presence in "Free Angola". We only see it fair that Haven be aloud to match what Eredron does."


OOC: Im real sorry about the wait, I'm getting swamped with things lately and its killed my rping time, won't make you wait so long again.

"I am willing to compromise on that issue."

"In that case I will forward all of this to my superiors though it will most likely just be a formality. We will begin giving "Free Angola" its soveriegnty when Eredron begins with Namibia and Botswana but it will happen."

"In that case I will forward all of this to my superiors though it will most likely just be a formality. We will begin giving "Free Angola" its soveriegnty when Eredron begins with Namibia and Botswana but it will happen."

We will, in good faith, begin a public transfer of power from the Republic to the independent government of Namibia and Botswana, as we feel, and are supported by public referendum, that a single, unified African state would defend itself more readily against foreign threats