NationStates Jolt Archive

Harlack Mensa, aka Region 12; the plains
The helicopter landed on a plain not far away from the castle. Immediately 4 marines jumped out of the chopper, to secure the area. But there was no harm to be expected, as any injuries sustained by any of the crew would be retaliated severely by the flemish army.
When the helicopter had stopped rotating its rotors, the high diplomate John Verhaegen stepped out of the chopper. Under protection of the 4 marines he started walking towards the castle...

Harlack Mensa, aka Region 12; an old castle
When one of the marines, lieutenant Fransen, knocked on the big gate, no one opened it. The select group waited a moment, and Fransen tried again, but no result. So they decided to enter the building.
With a peeping noice, Fransen opened the gate...
When the five commonwealth citizens had entered the hall, they had to wait a little time to get used to the darkness inside. But after a little time lieutenant Fransen saw a light coming from an opening in one of the walls. In fact, when he went to take a look, he saw that it was an opened door to a big room, probably the knight room.
The dancing light came from an open fire. It was a cosy room, and there were some armchairs in front of the fire. One of the chairs had an old man sitting on it.
"Please, enter", the old man said.
Lieutenant Fransen called the others, and they all came into the room.
They found a bottle of brandy and 4 glasses on a little table in between the arm chairs, as if the old man had been expecting 4 guests.
"Yeah, it's for you," the man said as if he knew what the guests were thinking, "and it's not poisoned. I don't think your count would be very pleased."
Fransen passed the filled glasses to the others.
"Ok guys," mr. Verhaegen said, "You can stand on guard before the door. I need to talk to this man alone."
Everyone followed mr. Verhaegens order swiftly, and soon only the old man and John Verhaegen were left.
So, let's start bussiness then," John Verhaegen started, "the commonwealth of De Vlaamse Leeuw is prepared to withdraw their forces, but we want recompensations. The lost battle ship must be repayed, and so does the tank we lost and 10,000,000,000 Vlaamse Leeuws for the soldiers we lost. That's about 150,000,000,000 Vlaamse Leeuws (= $75,475,495,622.42). But about the money we can discuss later. Secondly we wish to start a coöperation program between flemish universities and yours."...

"My name is Professor Howard", said the old man. "I am the Provost of the Great University of Harlack. You may simply address me as 'Dr.' Howard, if that's easier. Should I call you 'Mr.' Verhaegen, or is there another title you prefer?"

Verhaegen replied, "Mr. Verhaegen is fine."

"Good", said the Provost. "Then let us get down to business."

He paused for a minute, folding his hands together in front of his chest. The he began. "You are really in no position to negotiate. I'm not sure that you see this, so part of my job - a very difficult part, to be sure - is to make the reality of your situation clear to you."

He paused, assessing Jon Verhaegen's surprise, and then continued.

"By invading the land around this University, you have declared war on the whole of Harlack. No nation in Greater Harlack will accept your presence here, even if I were to bless it. East, West, South, and Federated Harlack - just to start the list - will wage war upon you until you withdraw. Harlackers hate foreign invaders. They hate such invaders with a passion that is very, very hard to overcome."

"Now it is possible that they will allow you to withdraw unmolested, given that there has been so much bloodshed in recent days. But I can not grant you such a guarantee. It is up to the nations of Harlack who have already struck at you to permit your departure. Maybe they will do so ... and maybe they won't." He paused, and then continued.

"If you really want to be certain of safe departure, there is only one thing you can do. You can surrender your arms immediately. We will take you into custody, and following the ancient traditon of parole, we will send you home under an oath to never raise arms against Greater Harlack again. Should you break this oath," he said solemnly, "And be captured again, your lives would be immediately forfeit. But you are no doubt men of honor, so I have little expectation of such ... an unfortunate turn of events."

"As far as repairations go", he continued sadly shaking his head, "The Great University owes you nothing. We have no army and no police; thus none of your losses are attributable to us. You must seek such compensation as you think you deserve for your failed invasion from those who sought to repel you: from East, West, South, and Federated Harlack, for they are the ones that fired upon you. We," he paused before continued, "have not fired a shot, lobbed a shell, or dropped a bomb - and our losses in property, pasturage, and livestock have not been insignificant. Fortunately", he said, "We will not press a claim against the Count of De Vlaamse Leeuw for the damage he has done to our peaceful land, but neither will we pay anything at all to the Count to compensate him for damage done by others," he finished, "Especially when we think that the damage in question falls under the category of justifiable defense of Greater Harlack's sacred soil by its inhabitants."

"Finally", he finished, "I understand that your forces have elected to shelter in a nearby chateau - a place of tremendous historical and architectural interest. We urge you to make sure you do not damage it", he said, "Lest you provoke the wrath of the people of this district, who have not - as of yet, anyway - taken up arms en masse against your army."

"That is where you stand, Mr. Verhaegen. I would advise you to have great care for your position. The few thousand people you still possess here within our borders are far short of what you would need to pacify this district, even if our neighbors were not inclined to enter our territory and eject you by force of arms, which they will do in just a few days, whether I invite them in or urge them to stand clear."

OOC: It's actually not a "castle", it's a hall, architecturally more akin to a cathedral than a fortress. And this is an academics' refuge. The Great Hall was never home to any Knight, unless said Knight came here in the robes of a scholar...

Be back online later tonight to read your response.

the hall, Harlack Mensa
"Well doctor," mr. Verhaegen said, "It's perfectly clear now what Harlack Mensa desires. I hope what you said about the other Harlack countries was no threat. One thing you said was right. We are indeed men of honour, so withdrawing isn't really our thing. What would be more our thing, is sending more troops. And not only the commonwealth will send more troops, but also our allies in the republic of Gerhardt Kusterholz and perhaps others in the alliance of HomeOfTheBrave. Have you ever heared of the republic of Gerhardt Küsterholz, doctor?"
I have heared your people talking about them," the doctor replied, They're quite some war minded men aren't they?"
"Indeed they are. At this very moment many ships are being loaded, and i think they got some nuclear subs in the region right now. So we aren't too frightened of the other Harlack countries. But I'm not here to threaten you, I'm here for peace. What can you offer us in return for us withdrawing? I hope you understand a few hundred thousand men will be coming here if this war continues, which by all means should be averted if you ask me."

John Verhaegen looked rather tired. The old doctor was a clever man, and had a sincere look, so Verhaegen felt it was difficult to threaten this man with war talk.

OOC: John Verhaegen is an atheist, and as he was raised in an atheist part of the country, he doesn't know what a cathedral is. That's why he compares it to a castle. The 4 soldiers come from the country, so they haven't seen a cathedral either...

the hall, Harlack Mensa
"Well doctor," mr. Verhaegen said, "It's perfectly clear now what Harlack Mensa desires. I hope what you said about the other Harlack countries was no threat. One thing you said was right. We are indeed men of honour, so withdrawing isn't really our thing. What would be more our thing, is sending more troops. And not only the commonwealth will send more troops, but also our allies in the republic of Gerhardt Kusterholz and perhaps others in the alliance of HomeOfTheBrave. Have you ever heared of the republic of Gerhardt Küsterholz, doctor?"
I have heared your people talking about them," the doctor replied, They're quite some war minded men aren't they?"
"Indeed they are. At this very moment many ships are being loaded, and i think they got some nuclear subs in the region right now. So we aren't too frightened of the other Harlack countries. But I'm not here to threaten you, I'm here for peace. What can you offer us in return for us withdrawing? I hope you understand a few hundred thousand men will be coming here if this war continues, which by all means should be averted if you ask me."The Provost had encountered men of this sort in his travels abroad. Short on temper, long on pride.

Hopefully, not short on imagination, although at this point it was difficult to tell.

"What should be perfectly clear with respect to our desires", he said slowly, "Is that we desire to be left alone. Why did the Count of De Vlaamse Leeuw choose to send his soldiers here? What did we ever do to him?

"And now you seek to threaten us into paying compensation for the failure of your effort at taking that which is not yours. Or perhaps you would care to explain to us why you think you're entitled to our lands and to our wealth?"

The diplomat eyed him coolly. "Our allies in Gerhardt Küsterholz will support us, and soon you will find yourselves occupied by hundreds of thousands of men, theirs and ours."

"There will be millions to occupy. Scores of men and women for each of your soldiers to watch. How many people can you watch at once, Mr. Verhaegen? Ten? Twenty? One hundred? You would need 50,000 just to watch the current population - many times what you have here today - and that population is growing all the time. In a decade, you will need 200,000. Then it will be half a million, and then a million.

"How much is your pride worth to you?" he concluded calmly. "How far down will your Count drain his coffers to keep this land underneath his heel?"

"We are afraid of nothing", said Verhaegen, "And we will not surrender."

The Porvost smiled, and shook his head sadly. "We suggested surrender only because it would end this mess before the cost becomes too great for you to handle. You could simply lower your flag, take an oath, and go home. We'd even let you keep your weapons - that is what is traditionally done when a soldier is granted parole. You could just ... leave."

"And return empty handed?" asked the diplomat sharply.

"Better to cut your losses now", said the Provost, "Rather than continue pouring blood and treasure into a failed project. The people of Harlack will never accept your presence here. If you want to fight a war, then you will be given a great chance to do so. It is a fight you will lose, no matter how brave you may be. You simply can not send enough men and material to make this land your own. There is no amount of men and material on Earth than can suffice."

The Provost then sighed. "But you will do what you will do. I have asked my people not to fight you - I even sent them home when they began to assemble against you. If you stay, though, they will not listen to my pleas to refrain from resistance. They will organize and fight you, and their cousins will come from all across Greater Harlack to join them. You will then do what invaders always do: you will burn farms and arrest dissidents and shoot people in reprisal, and blood will beget blood, until the fever of revolution burns your occupying army - with or without the mighty Gerhardt Küsterholz at your side - away like a bad dream. How many times in history has this happened, Mr. Verhaegen? Must every generation make the same mistakes? Can we never learn from the blunders of those who passed this way before us?

"The moment of truth is upon you, sir. Leave or stay, this is your choice. But there will never be an easier moment to change the road you are travelling than this one. Choose carefully, and wisely."

And with that, the Provost sat back, and slowly drew a sip of his brandy.

The fishing boats go out across the evening water
Smuggling guns and arms across the Spanish border
The wind whips up the waves so loud
The ghost moon sails among the clouds
Turns the rifles into silver on the border"I hope what you said about the other Harlack countries was no threat..."Along the quite country lanes that ran between Harlack Mensa and its neighbors, small bodies of men began to pass. Many of these men had rifles or automatic weapons pilfered from the bulging arsenals of West Harlack - weapons looted and then sold by starving people who had no desire to take them up, but rather simply sought to alleviate the years of hunger and privation by selling them for the small amount of cash or goods that one would bring.

After all, there are few things in life that keep their value when trade and government collapse better than do cigarettes, liquor, chocloate ... or firearms.

Because West Harlack was awash in guns - even ancient, barely functional guns - soon the whole of Harlack was awash in them. And as men began to gravitate northward, in response to stirrings of patriotism that some had not felt - not really felt - in over a century, those guns began to find owners and go with them.
On my wall the colours of the maps are running
From Africa the winds they talk of changes coming
The torches flare up in the night
The hand that sets the farms alight
Has spread the word to those who're waiting on the border

In the village where I grew up
Nothing seems the same
Still you never see the change from day to day
And no-one notices the customs slip away
The Border Watch were supposed to do exactly that: watch the border. But defending it, against their cousins from East, West, South, and Federated Harlack, from Kelleghan, Deruder, Hilan, and elsewhere, this was not what they were supposed to do. They would stop the small bands of men and ask them where they were bound, but again and again they would let them pass.

Thus, the deep, dark forests of the East and South of the district began to grow full of men, meeting each other around campfires, arguing over tactics and strategy and leadership, but united in purpose. Among them, former students and professors of the Great University would take their place, providing knowledge of the land and its people, and inspiration with their stories of the tramp of a foreign heel upon the sacred soil of Greater Harlack.
Late last night the rain was knocking at my window
I moved across the darkened room and in the lampglow
I thought I saw down in the street
The spirit of the century
Telling us that we're all standing on the border

In the islands where I grew up
Nothing seems the same
It's just the patterns that remain
An empty shell
But there's a strangeness in the air you feel too well

The fishing boats go out across the evening water
Smuggling guns and arms across the Spanish border
The wind whips up the waves so loud
The ghost moon sails among the clouds
Turns the rifles into silver on the border

On the border
On the border
On the border
- Al Stewart, "On the Border", 1977

*OC* My Federated Harlack account won't access the forums..so:

*IC*

*It was like watching a scene from one of those World War Two films in which Hitler was giving a speach, the only thing missing were swastica covered flags, in their place were the flags of Federated Harlack. The animated Chancellor of Federated Harlack addressed a massive crowd on international television.*

"The Xenos has invaded Greater Harlack for the first time in centuries, even as our brothers to the south fight against themselves. Mensa has been targeted by the aggressive and barbaric from outside our sacred lands and already nations all over Greater Harlack are moving to throw them back into the sea! We must join in the great crusade to rid our land of foreign filth and in the process re-unify our continent under Federated Government! Now is the time to talk with our brothers, to establish a unified command of all military forces on the mainland! Tomorrow, our forces will sweep southward and into Mensa, our airforce and navy will begin preparations to support the counter offensive and together, with our brothers and sisters from all over this continent we shall slaughter enemy, bring them to their knees and then seek negotiations to re-unify our lands over their broken bodies! UNITY!"

*The last word was an infamous chant of Federated Harlack and the crowd soon picked up on it, raising rifles high into the air and repeating the word over and over again with all the enthusiasm of a massively patriotic group.*

"UNITY! UNITY! UNITY!"

's Gravenwezel Castle, DeVlaamseLeeuw
The count sensed his loyal diplomate was in deep mental problems. His "opponent", the provost, was a very strong character, and no way John Verhaegen would resist to surrendering.
That was why one of the counts best friends, and a man of great intellectual abilities, had been send to the area...

The plains, Harlack Mensa
A second helicopter arrived. Immediately a man with a black hat and a black suit jumped out of the helicopter. He ran with dignity towards the Cathedral. He entered and greeted the provost.

The Cathedral, Harlack Mensa
Mr. Verhaegen jumped up. He saluted Lord Gonzales, one of the most important persons in the regime of Count Kristof I.
No need for that John", Lord Gonzales said.
"Sorry mylord", John Verhaegen apologised.
"I was sent here by the count himself," Lord Luigi Gonzales explained, "and i have been granted the permission to negociate to unknow hights. You want us out of here, we want something in return."
"The doctor said we needed hundreds of thousands of men to control the area", Verhaegen said.
"That would be correct," Lord Gonzales said rather hautain, "if we played the game by the rules. But i don't think there would be much opposition if we killed ALL children in an opposing city? We don't really need the native people, so we could do it."
Gonzales saw the provost look rather pale. He knew he hit a sensitive spot, the love of the provost for his people.
"You know we could do this right now if we wanted," Gonzales continued, "so you might want to let your allies know not to engage in any form of combat with our soldiers, or your people will pay for it with blood. I hope i make myself crystal clear? So now to the real discussion, what can Harlack offer us in order to leave this region unharmed?"

"That would be correct," Lord Gonzales said rather hautain, "if we played the game by the rules. But i don't think there would be much opposition if we killed ALL children in an opposing city? We don't really need the native people, so we could do it."
Gonzales saw the provost look rather pale. He knew he hit a sensitive spot, the love of the provost for his people.For a long moment, Provost Howard sat with his eyes cast down towards the table. When at last he raised them, there was a depth to his vision that shocked both Verhaegen and Gonzales.

"And so at last the truth is revealed," he said quietly.

After a long moment, he continued. "I had wondered what kind of regime would simply walk into a defenseless land and claim mastery, as though it were their right. Indeed, now that I know what kind on men you are, I see that you do think it your right, to take what you please from anyone you can."

He leaned forward, now animated with an energy whose source they could not fathom, could never hope to fathom. They are soulless beasts, he thought, undeserving of the Gift of Life. God take them all...

He said, in a clear, calm voice that, in spite of its low volume seemed to fill the room, "You have consistently refused to listen to what I say. You think I have the power to give up these people to you. But that power I do not have. No one has it, for they - the Free People of Harlack Mensa - they are their own masters, and I do not have the right to dispose of them, of their lands, of their property, of anything that belongs to them, and especially not to satisfy a thief."

"Yes, you can kill these people - or worse, slaughter their children. It may even seem to be the thing to do, in the minds of your kind. Intimidate your victim into surrender by threatening that which is most precious to them, yes, that is what a scoundrel would do. But understand that if you do this, then there will be no turning back."

"If you do this thing, if you commit such an atroctity, then you will have declared undying war on all of Greater Harlack. You could send a million men here, and it would not matter. You will be driven from these shores by any means necessary."

"Of course", and now he was starting to shake with a barely contained righteous fury, "That will happen anyway, if you stay." He paused a moment, and then continued: "The difference is, if you do this thing, if you murder a whole cityful of innocents, then once you are driven from these shores, the people of Greater Harlack will sail to De Vlaamse Leeuw and slaughter every last one of your wretched kind, and if the people of Gerhardt Küsterholz are stupid enough to join you, then the people of Greater Harlack will slaughter every last one of them as well. Let the whole of your wretched region join you, and it will only bring destruction on them all."

"Genocide," he said, letting the word roll around the room, "Is an act for which there can be no forgiveness. Toleration for the kind of monster who would commit genocide is not a luxury that sane men can afford."

"And I am sure that we can find many, many countries on this planet who agree."

He rose. "These negotiations are over. Show yourselves out. And, if you know what's good for you, show yourselves out of our country, too. You'll get not a dime for your troubles from us. What you will get from us is repayment - so to speak - for everything you break and for everyone you kill. So do take care to refrain from doing anything on your way back home that will come back to haunt you."

He began to head for his chambers, and then turned. "Oh," he added as an afterthought, "Our generous offer to protect you from harmin by accepting your surrender and granting you parole is withdrawn. You'll have to figure out how to get your filthy skins home on your own."

One of the forests of Harlack Mensa, on the suthern border
One of the few hundred rangers that were sent out, was walking through the forest. It was getting dark, so he decided to climb into a tree to sleep. But when he was in the tree, he saw a strange dancing light. He immediately knew what it was, a camp fire.
"Strange," he thought, "there is no activity reported by the intel. I'd better check it out"
He strived his way towards the camp fire, and after a few meters he realised it wasn't one camp fire. It were dozens. A small army was there. Almost frozen by fear, the ranger strived back. He immediately messaged the headquarter, and right after his messaged the last word, a bullet hit his back and he fell on his head. They noticed him, but they were just a minute too late. General Sjaakie Volendam had heared of the incoming defence from the south, so he knew what was going on.
He immediately ordered a Blackbird from the base of 's Gravenwezel. The Blackbird had a really massive radius, and got fuelled above the HMS-Thunderbird. The Blackbird made loads of pictures of the borders of Harlack Mensa, and many similar camps were discovered. Chief of Staffs Admiral Janssen was troubled with the situation.

Blue Room, 's Gravenwezel Castle, deVlaamseLeeuw
"Sir," the admiral said, "an army a few ten times larger than the troops we have in the area is heading for us in Harlack Mensa. We need to do something about it."
"They would be insane to attack us," the count replied silently, " we are negociating at the moment, and disturbing a negotiation would be retaliated like hell. If they hit us during the negociations, you are allowed to attack them from the air, and bomb the university of Harlack Mensa. But first let's try to make the most of the negociations. By the way how is our troop deployment down there?"
"New cargo's are heading for the region as we speak, guarded by the HMS-'s Gravenwezel, the HMS-Antwerp, the HMS-Gonzales, and 2 subs: the HMS-Underground and the HMS-Revolution. Their route is being monitored by 3 P3 Orions and guarded from air attacks by a squadron F22's. There is no way they can take it down. The new army consists of 15.000 soldiers, food, weapons and 5 tanks."
"You'll have to do with that Janssen," the count said, "I can't allow you to use more material in this quest for land and deposits."

Harlack Mensa has made public the nature of the genocidical threats facing them (see HCPC thread) and Ollieland cannot stand by and watch such disgusting behaviour. We are a large nation (pop. approx 700 million) with a large military (army combat strength approx 1.5 million) and are willing to send a huge taskforce to Harlack Mensa to counter this threat. Forces are assembling at Zeppelin Fields all over Ollieland as we speak. With the permission of the Provost, and our assurance that we will leave as soon as conflict is over, this force will depart immediately.

The Hall, Harlack Mensa
Both of the diplomates were shocked. Verhaegen was double shocked, he knew the count would never agree to such a genocide.
"Looks like our kind doctor has taken my words a bit too serious", Lord Gonzales smiled.
"Why would you even say such thing, it's disgusting, you know the count would never agree to such thing", Verhaegen yelled angrily, and he ran after the doctor.
"Doctor i need to talk to you," Verhaegen called, "This Gonzales type doesn't represent our people at all. By running away now, you'll sign your own dead. I have heared of what kind of a person our count is, he's not inhuman, but what he'll hear from Gonzales, would make him decide, high hearted as he is, that acting like Gonzales said is unavoidable to save the thousands of flemish lifes. Don't run away, please!"

I wasn't negociating, my diplomates were, and until i hear what the hell was going on there, i'll stand firmly behind them
The threat of ollieland to attack DeVlaamseLeeuw and Gerhardt Kusterholz is a low one, seeing as Ollieland wasn't in the negotiations either. It seems some people got a wish of war, seeing as they want to disturb a climate of negotiating.

I just heared from high diplomate lord Gonzales that in a hostile climate, Harlack Mensa left the negotiations, calling our nation wretched, and a nation of scoundrels. Perhaps this will change the opinion of ollieland?
Perhaps harlack mensa can enlighten me with some kind of an explanation?

This does not change our view in the slightest. The Provost walked out after your representative threatened to kill the child population of an entire town. Ollieland certainly has no "wish for war" as demonstrated by our past dealings in Harlack. We have repeatedly refused to intervene in war situations to aid any one side, but we must draw a line here. If your diplomats publicly withdraw their thraet and guarentee to do their utmost to avoid unecassary bloodshed then ollieland will change it's position.

hmm i just heared from this threat. My sincerest apologies towards Harlack Mensa, and i hereby withdraw all threats made by mr Gonzales, who was in fact an imposter. These things tend to happen in DeVlaamseLeeuw, some insane guy who resembled my friend Luigi Gonzales like 2 drops of water, made these threats.
As a sign of my embarrassemnt i have given the order to the general staff to withdraw the army, but this might take a few days. I hope all Harlack countries will show respect to this sign by leaving my soldiers withdraw in peace.
edit: I heared from mr. Verhaegen, who was in fact the real mr. Verhaegen. He told me he tried to save the situation, but the provost had no ears towards it, which i regret. If he had just listened to mr. Verhaegen, this big situation wouldn't been necessairy in the first place. Still my sincerest apologies to the people of Harlack Mensa

So we have your word that these threats are withdrawn and that all your military forces will be withdrawn from Greater Harlack?

If we can get them out of there unharmed, they'll leave, and so will the naval presence...
But you will understand any attack on flemish army would be unappropriate and retaliated...
and i must say i find it quite impolite to not see any reply on my message from the Provost himself

By running away now, you'll sign your own dead. I have heared of what kind of a person our count is, he's not inhuman, but what he'll hear from Gonzales, would make him decide, high hearted as he is, that acting like Gonzales said is unavoidable to save the thousands of flemish lifes. Don't run away, please!"The Provost turned and surveyed Verhaegen.

"It is," he said, "And always been within your capacity to save the lives of your people. All you have to do is leave. No one and nothing is stopping you," he finished, "Except for your pride."

Then, after a moment, he added: "Your problem is that you force yourselves on others, and then expect to be paid for the trouble in which you find yourselves. Oh, and also," he continued, almost as a afterthought, "You expect an apology from those you have harmed, so as to satisfy your absurd sense of honor."

"Go home and save us all a great deal of trouble."

The Great Hall, Harlack Mensa
"I will pass the message on", Verhaegen said and he bowed out of respect for the great doctor.
He left the building and ran to the helicopter.
Verhaegen left the country, thinking he would never see the great doctor again...

OOC: At this hour:

A small force of De Vlaamse Leeuw marines (~2,000) remain on the soil of Harlack Mensa. More troops (~15,000) are on the way.
A small naval force (~6-10 ships) remains offshore, shadowed or harried by naval forces from East, South, West, and Federated Harlack.
In the forests of South and East Harlack, an unorganized popular militia of unknown size is assembling to offer resistance. Many Harlackers for other lands have crossed the border to join this force. If has not yet moved against the forces of De Vlaamse Leeuw, but may at any time.
Federated Harlack has mobilized forces and is preparing to march south towards Harlack Mensa. There is yet no word on whether the intervening countries will permit this.
Harlack Mensa has refused to pay the demanded $75 billion in "compensation" for losses incurred by De Vlaamse Leeuw during its invasion of their territory. Other than talking, there has been no official response to the invasion (such as a call to arms, for instance).

Once more, the ball is in De Vlaamse Leeuw's court: make good on its threats, or withdraw.

From Federated Harlack
To: Greater Harlack at large

We propose creating a Greater Harlack Defense Force, the command of which will be unified and the arms and forces of which will come from all nations in Greater Harlack. The purpose of this force will be to prevent further incursions such as the one in Harlack Mensa...it is now very clear xenos cannot be allowed to set foot (without invitation) on our soil again.

From Federated Harlack
To: Greater Harlack at large

We propose creating a Greater Harlack Defense Force, the command of which will be unified and the arms and forces of which will come from all nations in Greater Harlack. The purpose of this force will be to prevent further incursions such as the one in Harlack Mensa...it is now very clear xenos cannot be allowed to set foot (without invitation) on our soil again.It would clearly be inappropriate for the Government of the United States of Allemande to participate in such a force. Nonetheless we stand ready to provide arms, money, and supplies to such a Defense Force, as we agree completely that the sovereignty of Greater Harlack must be upheld.

It is in this vein that we also pledge that the United States of Allemande will always deal fairly and on a sovereign basis with all nations within the region. We may have alliances with some, but those alliances will never be for any purpose other than upoholding the independence and security of all.

OOC: Accompanying this call is an invitation for all Harlacker nations to establish embassies, trade, and cultural exchange programs with the United States of Allemande.

The government of Ollieland wholeheartedly agrees with the government of Allemande and is also keen to uphold harlack sovereignty. We also offer financial support and offer our military to help train and structure any new Greater Harlack defence force.

East and South Harlack will also provide forces for the Defense Force.

West Harlack cannot afford to provide forces or funding at this time...but as soon as we have rebuilt we will join in the defense force as well.

If Ollieland sends forces to liberate Harlack Mensa, so will we.

The United States of Allemande expresses its disapproval of DeVlaamseLeeuw's invasion of Harlack Mensa. We stand prepared to provide material support to the nations of Harlack in repelling this invasion.

Note to South Harlack: We've directed the 7th Mechanized Brigade back to the DMZ. We are drawing up plans to dispatch III Corps (75,000 men, including 650 MBT, 500 helicopters, 600 SP artillery and 50 mobile AAA systems, and 200 combat aircraft [mixed fighter, fighter-bomber and ground attack]) to South Harlack to provide offensive support against any common enemy. This deployment will take several weeks, but will only occur at your say-so. If you don't see the need for such a force, let us know.

OOC: III Corps basically consists of 1 armored division, 1 mechanized infantry division, 1 air assault/airmobile division, and 1 tactical air wing, reinforced by significant artillery and anti-air assets. It will also provide the logistical base to expand our special forces presence in the region to a full battalion.OOC: Continuing the mobilization of III Corps...

It had been a long day, and the Provost was tired. There will be time to rest when my people are safe, he thought, or when I am dead. Which could be very, very soon.

The technician counted down the moments to the broadcast, and then pointed to the Provost.

"My fellow Harlackers", he said, "The fate of our fair land hangs in the balance at this hour."

"The Government of De Vlaamse Leeuw has demanded that we compensate them for the losses they have taken in invading our soil, to the tune of $75,475,495,622.42, an amount equal to five times our district's GDP. This would come to $15,095.10 for every man, woman, and child in Harlack Mensa. They have not told us precisely what would happen if we refused, but 'suggestions' have ranged from our occupation by an army of 'hundreds of thousands' of soldiers to the murder of all the children in one of our cities."

Audible gasps could be heard from the technicians in the room at this last statement.

The Provost continued. "We can not give in to such demands, if only because people who make them and then deny having done so in the space of a few hours can not be trusted. Not that our humble nation could ever hope to pay such a huge amount of 'compensation' - or shall we call it what it is: ransom. Attempting to do so would leave us forever indebted to these foreign thieves, and that is unacceptable."

He took a sip of tea to soothe his throat, and then continued. "Fortunately I have just recieved an offer from Ollieland to eject these bandits from our territory. I am inclined to accept this offer, but first, I will give the troops of De Vlaamse Leeuw one last chance to avoid their destruction."

He then straightened up, adjusted his glasses, looked into the cameras, and said: "Men of De Vlaamse Leeuw, you are ordered to withdraw from the sacred soil of Harlack and never return. If you do not leave within 24 hours, or do not surrender those troops still on our soil to our control at the end of that time interval, we will open our borders to all those who have offered their aid and let them do as they please with you. This you do not have the strength to endure."

"To the people of Harlack Mensa, I say: continue to remain in hiding or in shelter, keep your arms and your children close at hand, defend your families - but only your families, for property can be replaced while family can not - and wait for help. Take no action against the invaders until our liberators come, but when they come assist them to the best of your ability, in whatever way you can."

His voice fell, but not quite to a whisper. "By this hour tomorrow, the danger will have passed or the storm will have broken. I do not know which. But either way, we will be free. And we will remain free, forever."

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

Outside, along a prominent way, four students worked quickly with spray paint. The message was simple:

FREE FREE HARLACK

OOC: I've based the GDP of Harlack Mensa on NSEconomy for the first day of its existence, the year it was invaded. Given that these events have unfolded in just a day or two, this is appropriate.

If Ollieland sends forces to liberate Harlack Mensa, so will we.


We will only send forces if;
1 - DeVlaamseLeeuw forces remain in Harlack Mensa - they have 18 RT hours.
2 - We are invited in by Harlack Mensa (our constitution forbids us from sending troops overseas unless invited to do so).

However, Ollieland thanks Allemande for its show of support, both on this matter and in the DMZ. In this aura of friendship, we would like to offer Allemande the opportunity to swap embassies.

*The operation was being performed at night, for the sake of protecting a state secret. The waters just beyond the bay entrance of South Harlack's capitol were suddenly forced aside as the conning tower of a sleak, all black submarine forced its way above the surface of the sea. Following the conning tower was the top half of the large war vessel, water cascading down its hull. The vessel moved forward at relatively quick speeds to enter the bay while dozens of men craweled over the submarine's dedicated birthing dock to prepare the dock for the sub's arrival. Tarps were brought down to the dock as well, huge, heat absorbing tarps designed to fool spy planes, cameras and satelights. Once the submarine pulled up to the dock and halted new operations begun to reload the submarine of equipment and ammo used. The tarps were draped over as much of the submarine as possible to make classifying the submarine almost impossible. Once the work was done it would go out to sea once more and descend beneath the waves.*

East Harlack Election Results:

The Nazi Party has won control of the Lower House of East Harlack's Congress and their candidate, Aleric Johnston, has been elected by 70% popular vote to the Presidential Palace.

The Empire urges DeVlaamseLeeuw to withdraw all its military assets from Harlack Mensa as soon as possible. The Empire has also extended an offer to Harlack Mensa, however the details of the offer will remain unknown for the time being.

Should DeVlaamseLeeuw not be willing to withdraw its forces from Harlack Mensa the Empire will see the need to deploy its naval, ground and air forces to forcefully remove them from the sovereign soil Harlack Mensa. The Empire does not want to harm its Belgian brothers, however in the current situation their count is stearing onto a disaster course; war with the Empire of Dumpsterdam, its protectorates and allies.

The Empire once more, urges DeVlaamseLeeuw to withdraw its forces within the set time before the Empire reacts like it always does, full scale warfare against all assets of the enemy.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/Dumpsterdam/ultramarineslogo.gif
Alfarius Damocales,
Imperial Councillor,
Minister of Defence.

News Alert:

Rocket tested by South Harlack succesfully launched a primative satelight into earth orbit. The satelight was designed to broadcast a simple message back to South Harlack Aerospace Command. With the successful test the South Harlack space program, funded by the government and run by a government established corperation, the program can move on to larger projects.

The Union Aerospace Corperation has refused to comment on such further projects, only saying the company is "very excited about the future prospects of this program."

To the provost from Harlack: I have offered my sincerest apologies about the kill the children threat, but i see you feel like you have to go on abou tit, which i regret.
Secondly i have given my word my army would retreat to our country if, and only if they will be unharmed. They will not fire befored fired upon. However you know an army can't be recalled and back in 24 hours. This deathline is unrealistic and because of that, it's rejected by de Vlaamse Leew

To Ollieland: The deathline is unrealistic and as such rejected
Secondly we were supposed to be allies from another thread. In my opinion that would mean you wouldn't take on arms against us. But as I see now you give us deathlines and threats, perhaps we should reconsider the alliance?

To the provost from Harlack: I have offered my sincerest apologies about the kill the children threat, but i see you feel like you have to go on abou tit, which i regret.
Secondly i have given my word my army would retreat to our country if, and only if they will be unharmed. They will not fire befored fired upon. However you know an army can't be recalled and back in 24 hours. This deathline is unrealistic and because of that, it's rejected by de Vlaamse Leew

To Ollieland: The deathline is unrealistic and as such rejected
Secondly we were supposed to be allies from another thread. In my opinion that would mean you wouldn't take on arms against us. But as I see now you give us deathlines and threats, perhaps we should reconsider the alliance?

what alliance?

Secondly i have given my word my army would retreat to our country if, and only if they will be unharmed. They will not fire befored fired upon. However you know an army can't be recalled and back in 24 hours. This deathline is unrealistic and because of that, it's rejected by de Vlaamse LeewThere is a simple solution to that problem.

Surrender. If you do, your army will be sent home without further loss. Isn't that what the Provost promised you when he offered you parole? He even said that, as his people see it, you would be allowed to take your weapons back home with you.

Or does your pride demand that your men all die?

The surrender option is the simplist answer. The deadline has passed, and I have 22 regiments waiting to leave as soon as the provost gives the ok. And its not just me. Allemande and Skinny 87 will follow. And don't forget Dupsterdam - I do believe he has a HUGE military. Get out or surrender. Do it now.

The surrender option is the simplist answer. The deadline has passed, and I have 22 regiments waiting to leave as soon as the provost gives the ok. And its not just me. Allemande and Skinny 87 will follow. And don't forget Dupsterdam - I do believe he has a HUGE military. Get out or surrender. Do it now.

OoC: Not realy no, just around nine million or so as a full-time standing groundforce. But note the fact that the DDF trains and equips to the highest standards, quality over quantity.

I do however, employ one of the best trained and funded navies of the world, surpassing that of Praetonia and rivaling that of Sarzonia. ;)

That and its Dumpsterdam and my citizens are called Dumpsterdanians.

Greetings fellow nations,

Neztrok is a peaceful nation whose only wish is to trade and make peace with all of it's neighbors. We look forward to doing buisness with what will hopefully be long term allies.

OOC : I'm not ready for any wars at this time. Please be gentle for a couple of weeks. I need to do some research.

*OC* Incase you didn't know, he's from Greater Harlack.

An envoy from the Dictatorship of Imperiam is sent to each participant in the ongoing feud, an attache case held at his side containing a formal response from Imperiam...

"All Commonwealth citizens, soldiers and civilians alike, are to be immediately withdrawn from Harlack soil. This withdrawal will take place no later than forty-eight hours from 12:01 am on the morning of the twenty fifth of March. Grave consequences will befall the Commonwealth if this demand is not met. Tyrone Deruder, High Commander of Imperiam sends his best regards."

Message to whoever is listening :

"Our nation is in desperate need of foreign taquitos. We apparently worked our tortilla bending slaves to death. We are willing to provide slaves to exchange for twelve cases of high grade prepackaged taquitos. Please hurry, I will be beaten if I do not have his dinner ready soon!!"

OOC : Yes I know it sounds silly. Let me explain. The dictator in charge of Neztrok is completely insane... and he loves taquitoos. He is fed a constant supply in order too, hopefully, keep his mouth shut so he can't create more idiotic laws to make peoples lives more difficult. These laws usually include his personal advisors. Sometimes they are even made just to punish one person. This of course leads to the law affecting everyone else. Mass killing thus occure. Lather, rinse, and repeat as desired.

Message to whoever is listening :

"Our nation is in desperate need of foreign taquitos. We apparently worked our tortilla bending slaves to death. We are willing to provide slaves to exchange for twelve cases of high grade prepackaged taquitos. Please hurry, I will be beaten if I do not have his dinner ready soon!!"

OOC : Yes I know it sounds silly. Let me explain. The dictator in charge of Neztrok is completely insane... and he loves taquitoos. He is fed a constant supply in order too, hopefully, keep his mouth shut so he can't create more idiotic laws to make peoples lives more difficult. These laws usually include his personal advisors. Sometimes they are even made just to punish one person. This of course leads to the law affecting everyone else. Mass killing thus occure. Lather, rinse, and repeat as desired."Taquitos?" said Michael Blum incredulously.

"Yes, Mr. President. Taquitos."

<silence>

"So how many taquitos do you think we need to gain basing rights, including the use of a 3500m runway?" asked the President.

"I would imagine a lifetime supply, but we could go up from there."

"Do you think he'd want sour cream and guacamole with them?"

"It couldn't hurt to ask."

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

The United States of Allemande gladly offers to supply Neztrok with as many taquitos as you wish, and a small squad of world-class chefs to prepare them. We will TG you with details of what we would like in return....

The new government of East Harlack will continue to allow the peacekeepers to remain in the DMZ but we are closing our borders to foreign Embassies, we have no need for diplomatic ties to alien nations.

OOC: What follows is based on Harlack Mensa's issue of the day..

*It was like watching a scene from one of those World War Two films in which Hitler was giving a speach, the only thing missing were swastica covered flags, in their place were the flags of Federated Harlack. The animated Chancellor of Federated Harlack addressed a massive crowd on international television.*

"The Xenos has invaded Greater Harlack for the first time in centuries, even as our brothers to the south fight against themselves. Mensa has been targeted by the aggressive and barbaric from outside our sacred lands and already nations all over Greater Harlack are moving to throw them back into the sea! We must join in the great crusade to rid our land of foreign filth and in the process re-unify our continent under Federated Government! Now is the time to talk with our brothers, to establish a unified command of all military forces on the mainland! Tomorrow, our forces will sweep southward and into Mensa, our airforce and navy will begin preparations to support the counter offensive and together, with our brothers and sisters from all over this continent we shall slaughter enemy, bring them to their knees and then seek negotiations to re-unify our lands over their broken bodies! UNITY!"

*The last word was an infamous chant of Federated Harlack and the crowd soon picked up on it, raising rifles high into the air and repeating the word over and over again with all the enthusiasm of a massively patriotic group.*

"UNITY! UNITY! UNITY!"For many years, some had argued that the Federationist movement should be banned. But again and again, the Regents had refused, citing the importance of intellectual freedom - academic, literary ... or political.

So the small but vocal party of radicals who wished to restore the old Federation still existed. How many people they could have mustered for a rally under ordinary circumstances, no one could say. These were not, after all, ordinary circumstances.

Thus it was that 5,000 people assembled near the Student Union, waving the crimson and white flag of the Great University, and holding aloft banners that shouted: "FREE FREE HARLACK!" and "UNITY NOW!". Many were students, but not all.

"What do we want?!?" yelled a man with a loudspeaker.

FREE-DOM! roared the crowd, with a singsong voice

"When do we want it?!?" he cried.

NOW!!! replied the crowd.

Then a few stalwarts, began moving the crowd towards Old Oak Hall, where the DeVlaamseLeeuw marine contingent had camped. It was an eight mile walk, and as they crowd moved it grew.

"What do we want?!?"

FREE-DOM!

"When do we want it?!?"

NOW!!!

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

"Those damned fools", said one greying professor to another, "Are going to get themselves killed..."

News Alert: Federated Harlack forces have crossed the border between Federated Harlack and Region 8 as a region wide rebellion erupted in the corrupt nation. There are rumors of Region 8's military joining the invasion force in a blitzkrieg drive to the capitol...

*OC* I updated the map to reflect the invasion.

*OC* I'm going to add some islands to the map, nations are free to explore these islans with the permission of the harlack governments. You can set up colonies there as well if you like.

"We gladly accept you offer of a lifetime supply of taquitos, guacamole, and sour cream in exchange for basing rights and the the right to build (1) 3500 meter airstrip. You must provide your own materials to construct your base, and your runway.

Do you accept our proposal?"

OOC : Oh yeah... Giggidy giggidy gigehdee!!

A manilla folder with red letters proclaiming the documents within to be 'Top Secret' found it's way onto the desk of Tyrone Deruder, Dictator For Life. Inside were the military plans for Imperiam's retalliation against the Commonwealth of DeVlaamseLeeuw.

"...military readiness at nominal. Federated Harlack destination to be reached via sojourn thru undeclared territory designated sector '11'..."

It continued for several pages, outlining the deployment of a Battalion of antiquated light tanks with mechanized infantry support.

"...to remain on Federation border until 2100 hours, 26 March, at which time First Battalion, Second Army will launch assault exactly one hour ahead of schedule, surprising Federation forces and surrounding..."

Deruder perused the document without much understanding of the details, his trust in his High Command to prepare an adequate military response to the invasion. Attacking their fellow Harlacks was not his idea of what should be done, but the Army knew what it was doing.

The last part caught his eye.

"...full nuclear deterent."

Half of the commonwealth army had withdrewn and were on their way home, when major threats from other interfering nations came in. The count smiled faintly. Half of the invading force would probably be killed because they were given the order to withdraw. "How ironic", he thought. And it really was ironic. Nations that had nothing to do with the entire process, were suddenly interfering now that the count had given his word that his men would withdraw.
"It's the faith of a nation that is willing to do the right thing", admiral Janssens remarked, as if he could read the counts thoughts, and he probably could read his thoughts.
"You're right, as usual," the count said, "but what would you have me do? We can't get them out of there straight away, because we have given the order to get away from that 'freedom mob'. How long can we keep this up?"
"I know Sir," Janssens spoke, "at one point we will HAVE to allow them to fire at the people. Because they'll probably become agressive too. If the provost won't exercise his power on his people, perhaps our soldiers should. They got the ammo and the material.
"Looks like what that imposter of our diplomate said, kill the people, is really going to happen," the count said again with an ironic faint smile, "and you'll see, we will get the blame. It's how the world goes. And you know what was the funniest thing of this whole mess? It's that we COULD surrender. As if any of our soldiers would do that. They'd rather die, and that's probably what they will, either they surrender or not. The crowd will probably lynch them when they throw away their arms."
"There is no easy solution," the admiral nodded, "the entire time pressure could really damage our try. You remember the promise you made?"
"Yeah, withdrawal only when we can do this unharmed, wasn't that what i said?" the count remembered.
"Yes indeed, now what order shall I give to the commander?" Janssens asked.
"In case of fear for the lives of our men, he is allowed to order opening of fire on mobs of citizens. If they want to kill our army, they'll lose too. The men have nothing to lose but their honour. If this is their end, it will be worth remembering!". The count almost shouted these last words. He withdrew to his office, leaving Admiral Janssens to do what he was ordered.

Message to all from the Governor of the Colony of Ollieland

It would seem that again war is imminent in the continent of Harlack. After the conflict of last time, where all out war was narrowly avoided, we feel that all out conflict can yet again be avoided.

We hereby extend an open invitation to all the nations of Harlack, the nation of DeVlaamseLeeuw, all the nations taking part in peacekeeping duties and all nations offering military intervention in Harlack Mensa, to attend a peace conference in Oliver City, our capital. On the agenda will be the withdrawal of ALL foriegn troops from Harlack, security arrangements between the nations of Harlack and any possible unity of the continent.

Please respond through this forum or by TG.

Deruder shredded the folder, the papers within being disected both horizontally and vertically.

Another folder, this one a proposal from his Chief of Staff, dominated his desk.

"Military High Command is full of warhawks hellbent on getting us into a fight, so this compromise should satisfy them and preserve our nation. We will fortify on our borders, with all reserve forces withdrawn from civilian duties and tasked with the defense of the capitol. If attacked, we will be defending our homeland, if not, we have diverted war and are seen as heroes in the eyes of a fearful public. Either way, we win."

"As the deadline set forth by the Most Esteemed Deruder has passed, and Commonwealth forces are still occupying Greater Harlack, we will be forced to subvert all efforts undertaken by allies or supporters of the invaders."

Tyrone stamped the folder with his seal and called his secretary in to relay his support of the plan to MHC. Naturally, they would complain and bicker, but he would ignore their complaints.

*OC* Because its easier to do it this way rather than logging on with several accounts.

*IC*

West Harlack: West Harlack gladly agrees to send an ambassador. We have minimal air transport ability, so he will need to be transported by ship.

East Harlack: We will send a diplomat as well...foreign troops, especially those univited, must leave our soil as soon as possible.

South Harlack: We will, of course, send a representative.

Federated Harlack: While we will send a representative, we wish to make it known that any "unification of the continent" can only legally be established under the *Federated* government which is the origional legal government for the continent.

"What do we want?!?"

FREE-DOM!

"When do we want it?!?"

NOW!!!By the time the crowd had walked the eight miles to Old Oak Hall, it had swelled to about 7,000. Half were students, half townsfolk; the faculty were notably absent.

A high hedge surrounded the estate. The troops of De Vlaamse Leeuw had set up their defenses along the hedge, with a contingent at the main gate. Here also flew the ensign of De Vlaamse Leeuw, a sable lion rampant on an orrey field.

The crowd drew up to a distance of about 50 meters - close enough for each side to see the others' faces, and then began chanting and shouting various slogans. No weapons were visible, but the marines could not be sure that no one in the crowd had concealed weapons.

A few protesters broke away to the crowd on either side and attempted to circle past the gate to places where tall trees might allow them to climb over the hedge and enter the estate grounds. Most kept their ranks and continued their chanting:

"U-N-I-T-Y!!! UNITY!!! U-N-I-T-Y!!! UNITY!!!" This was the chant of the Federationists, who, while clearly a minority in the crowd, as organizers owned most of the microphones.

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

"Sir!" snapped the marine, addressing the commander of the beleageured De Vlaamse Leeuw contingent.

The officer turned. "Report."

"Sir, the rabble have stopped at the gate. A few have broken off and are trying to climb into the compound. Thus far they haven't been successful, since we've covered most of the obvious approaches."

"Good," said the officer, starting to turn away.

"Uh, sir..." said the marine. The officer turned back with an imperious look.

"Yes, soldier?"

"There's only one gate through the hedge sir. And the protestors are blocking it."

Now the officer understood why the soldier had wanted so desperately to report the situation.

Effectively, they were trapped in the manor house.Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming
...

:eek:

"The deadline has come and gone," said the Provost sadly, "And the forces of De Vlaamse Leeuw have not left our soil, nor have they laid down their arms and agreed to repatriation under the ancient terms of parole.

"Therefore, we have no option but to open our borders to those nations who would assist in the defense of our soil, and grant them permission to help us in our hour of need."

He cleared his throat, and then continued: "It is not too late to avoid bloodshed, however. The forces of De Vlaamse Leeuw could simply surrender, and this fight would end.

"I pray that they do so."

News from the front:

Federated Harlack forces have pushed deep into the rebellion torn lands of Region 8 in a lightning blitz campaign. The push has cut the small nation in half and entire factions of Region 8's military have been seen surrendering, or worse, defecting to Federated Harlack forces.


Federated loses:

24 T-34 tanks

5 T-71 tanks

1 B-1B bomber

4 various aircraft

2,000 infantry.

Deployed to Neztrok (north of Harlack Mensa):11th Airmobile Brigade (~180 rotors)
2nd Special Forces Battalion
87th Helicopter Transport Battalion (~50 rotors)

3rd Tactical Air Wing (~150 aircraft)
17th Fighter Group (~50 aircraft)
6th Maritime Strike Squadron (~12 aircraft)
32nd ASW Squadron (~12 aircraft)
113th Aerial Tanker Squadron (~12 aircraft)

425th Cullinary Section (~5 chefs, plus ~25 assistants)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Chef, your country needs your help at this hour."

"Please, I don't have time for such sophomoric jokes."

"We're serious, sir. I have in my pocket a commission, appointing you to the rank of Colonel and placing you in charge of a special cullinary unit."

"A ... cullinary ... unit?"

"Yes, sir. Your country needs you - to make the best d_mn_d taquitos the world has ever known. What do you say?"

Some Ruin, Harlack Mensa; Marine encampement
"So we are trapped", the officer ended his report to the man in charge, a militairy with rank of colonel.
"It's clear that there is no other way out than throught that gate," the colonel spoke, more to himself, "so they have to get away from that gate. Lieutenant Jenkins, you take 10 men of the paratrooper regiment and order the manifestants to go away. If they don't let us through in 1 hour, our marines will open fire on them, whether they are unarmed or not. And this is no joke, my orders are clear. Secure our withdrawal, even if that means firing on possibly unarmed citizens. So they got 1 hour."
"Yes Sir", lieutenant Jenkins saluted, and he left for the paratrooper regiment.

Five minutes later, Jenkins and his paratroopers climbed on the gate.
"People of Harlack Mensa," Lieutenant Jenkins shouted, "The time has come for all of us to go home. About two days ago we got the order to withdraw to the coast line in order to board our ships and leave these lands. We had to wait these two days for our raiders, who have gone inland to look for incoming armies from other Harlack Countries, to return to our base. Now most of them have returned, and we think the others are dead. We don't want you or us to suffer the same faith. Go home, you got 1 hour to make way for us. Otherwise we will open fire to make sure the way is open. It's your choice, whether you wanna die without any purpose, or go home and live long and prosperly. I hope that was clear!"

's Gravenwezel Castle, De Vlaamse Leeuw, Blue Room
The count just received an invitation for a peace conference in Ollieland.
"Will we send anyone to the conference", the minister of foreign affaires, mister Jake McAffee asked.
"No," count Kirstof I replied, "We won't send anyone to the conference."
"But that would damage our reputation even more", the minister remarked almost with a shout.
"You should wait until I have said everything," the count said with a smile, "we will not send anyone. I'm going myself..."

"My Lord Küsterholz, how does our republic regard the situation in Harlack?"
"Well, You know we are the militairy nation in our Home of the Brave-region, so in this case, where the soldiers of our allies from DeVlaamseLeeuw are being threatened, we must interfere."
"And how will the Republic react?"
"With militairy presence in the region, so make sure our allies can do what they want, in this case withdraw. I have spoken to the count, and he says that is their intention."
"What I meant was, what is the republic going to do practically?"
"Our navy is ready to set sail towards the region, everyone knows our navy is one of the best funded of the nations involved in this conflict, and I think everyone should keep in mind that the Republic of Gerhardt Küsterholz doesn't hesitate to fire at other nations ships, to make sure that our navy stays unharmed. So everyone should think carefully before engaging in a fight with us, De Vlaamse Leeuw or any other Home Of the Brave nation."
"Thank you for this short reaction, my Lord, and back to the studio Gert."

Announcement

Due to internal difficulties within Ollieland the peace conference will be re-located to the DMZ, where it will be hosted by General Stewart.

Is Gerhardt Küsterholz invited?

's Gravenwezel Castle, De Vlaamse Leeuw, airfield
The jet of the count was almost ready to leave, when the message from Ollieland arrived.
"Now what shall I do", the pilot asked.
"It's rather dangerous for me to go to Harlack," the count replied, "but i shall take the risk. Ask Ollieland to secure the area for the arrival of count Kristof I and perhaps, if he is invited, Gerhardt Küsterholz."

- Attention, Code Red Top Secret Communication from the Department of Defence to all military comanders;

- Subject; Deployment to Harlack Mensa. Command to be taken by Field Marshall Stubbington himself.

- Forces to be Deployed in three waves. First wave airborne (Army and CAF), second wave seaborne (CMC and CN), third wave airborne and seaborne (Combined service taskforce).

- First Wave - Airborne Division - 1st, 2nd and 3rd Airborne Regiments (Army) and 1st Coy, Army High Command Batt - (1 x High Comm Coy, 30 x Air Cavalry Coys, 60 x Airborne Infantry Coys, 3 x AB Command Coys, 6 x AB Medical Coys, 3 x AB MP Coys, 6 x AB Air Defence Coys, 6 x AB Engineer Coys and 6 x Logistics Coys). Command to be taken by General Oliver Sikorsky of 1st Airborne Regiment. Total of 12,100 men. ETA RT Sunday 7pm GMT.

- Second Wave - Coastal Assault Section of Colonial Navy - CN's Coastal Assault Section (1 x McVie Aircraft Carrier carrying 10 x SZ1 Vulture Strike Aircraft and 15 x SZ-2 Albatross Fighters, 1 x Baltimore Heavy Cruiser, 2 x Evermore Destroyers, 5 x Piranha Missile Boats, 1 x Quay Landing Ship, 2 x Ossippee Special Ops Boats, 2 x Insurgent Special Ops Subs, 5 x Normandy Armoured Troop Carriers, 10 x Marine Airborne Infantry Coys, 35 x Marine Mechanized Infantry Coys, 10 x Marine Light Armoured Coys, 5 x Marine Artillery Coys, 1 x Special Forces Team (Team 1 CMC Commandoes - Marine Insertion)). In addition Colonial Navy units will also escort the Coastal Assault Section to form TASKFORCE 1 - 1 x Pasteur Hospital Ship from the Science and Medical Section, 3 x Smith Replen Vessels and 1 x Aylesburgh Sub Replen Vessel form the Auxillary Support Section and 8 x Skipjack Nuclear Powered Attack Subs from the Submarine Warfare Section. Command to be taken by Admiral Oliver Van Ruud. Total of 14,830. ETA RT Monday 7pm GMT.

- Third Wave - Army troops to be transported as emergency plan Delta, either by Air Force Airfreighter or by Navy ferry. The following forces are to muster at transport points for deployment to Harlack Mensa.
- 3rd, 4th, 6th, 27th, 28th and 29th Armoured Regiments and 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 51st, 62nd, 66th, 88th, 93rd, 95th and 101st Infantry Regiments. (294 x Mechanized Infantry Coys, 48 Heavy Armoured Coys, 132 Light Armoured Coys, 42 x Artillery Coys, 12 x Air Cavalry Coys, 12 x Mechanized Artillery Coys, 36 x Logistics Coys, 36 x Engineer Coys, 36 x Air Defence Coys, 18 x MP Coys, 18 x Recon Coys, 18 x Medical Coys and 18 x Command Coys).
- Support Units - 3rd and 4th Coys, JAG Investigations Battalion, 2nd Jag Coy, JAG BAttalion, 6th Coy, Stockade Battalion, all from JAG Regiment. 7th,8th and 9th Coys, CBW (Chemical and Biological Warfare) Containment Battalion.
- Command to be taken by Field Marshall Stubbington. Total of 72,700 men. ETA between RT Tuesday 7pm GMT and Thursday 7pm GMT.

- In addition the Strategic Attack Wing of the Colonial Air Force and 1st Battlegroup and 1st and 2nd Air Carrier Groups of the Colonial Navy are to prepare for action.

- Colonial Civil Guard is to move to high alert.

- All other military units are to prepare to support operations in Harlack.

- End of Message.

Is Gerhardt Küsterholz invited?

All nations involved in the crisis are invited. As a staunch ally of one of teh combatants, you are of course invited.

's Gravenwezel Castle, De Vlaamse Leeuw, airfield
The jet of the count was almost ready to leave, when the message from Ollieland arrived.
"Now what shall I do", the pilot asked.
"It's rather dangerous for me to go to Harlack," the count replied, "but i shall take the risk. Ask Ollieland to secure the area for the arrival of count Kristof I and perhaps, if he is invited, Gerhardt Küsterholz."

The conference will be held in a sports centre in the DMZ. The complex will be secured by troops from all the peacekeeping nations (Ollieland, Allemande, Pirate Captains and Skinny 87). Overhead will be the zeppelins of the Colonial Air Force to prevent any air or missile attack.

High Esteemed mr. Ollie
We have received word from our intel that you are planning an attack on commonwealth forces. We would want to ask you to not go through with these attacks, otherwise I will be forced to send troops and material to Harlack.
At this moment, 25(!) atomic submarines are heading for the region. They are guarding 2 (!) aircraft carriers loaded with 20 F22's and 20 F18's and each has 2 B2's. And as if that isn't enough, 10 battle ships are guarding the mission. They will coöperate with the HMS-Thunderbird and the HMS-Svenssen. So I would ask everyone to reconsider militairy actions towards my ally

The Empire will monitor the current situation, as well as send a representative to the conference and we trust that the location will be properly secured, loss of our representative could very well damage our relationship. Major Tantith of the Dumpsterdanian Diplomatic Corps will be dispatched via private jet with accompanying escort.

As for Gerhardt Kusterholz, we frown upon your deployments to Harlack Mensa and urge you to withdraw them at once since they serve no other purpose then to deliberately destabilise the already tense situation.
Should Gerhardt Kusterholz decide not to withdraw its ships the Empire will match their deployments as a counter-balance, and we warn Gerhardt Kusterholz that their naval forces will be no match for the Grand Armada should they decide to initiate hostilities against us.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/Dumpsterdam/ultramarineslogo.gif

Alfarius Damocales,
Imperial Councillor,
Minister of Defence.

High esteemed leader of Dumpsterdam
The only thing we wish to do here is make sure our allies can withdraw (an act of friendlyness, retaliated by an act of hostility) without losses. We got word that Ollieland is ready to attack commonwealth forces. I hope you can understand we need to do something about it, and we hope that either Dumpsterdam will let us continue our quest to free our allies, or make sure they can withdraw without our support.

Bringing in more troops will not bring your allies back, by sending them you have put unforeseen things into motion, plans into action and nations on the brink of war with each other will lunge at each others throats, is this what you want? If not so I urge you to halt any deployments to Harlack Mensa at once, any sort of military action so shortly or during a peace conference is usually grounds to end any sort of talks and initiate hostilities that the conference was designed to end.

For the last time, we urge Gerhardt Kusterholz to cease and desist any sort of deployments to Harlack Mensa and all other nations in this conflict to support us in this request to Gerhardt Kusterholz or Dumpsterdam will abort from the conference and resolve this conflict as it sees fit meaning that we will forcefully remove any hostile troops from Harlack Mensa soil and sink any hostile ships in her waters.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/Dumpsterdam/ultramarineslogo.gif

Alfarius Damocales,
Imperial Councillor,
Minister of Defence.

Somewhere above the sea in a jet
Count Kristof I, as delegate of his region, had to do something about this crisis. He decided to Make a call towards Dumpsterdam.
After introducing himself, the count asked the leader of Dumpsterdam to make sure no hostile acts on the flemish army would be undertaken before the conference, because otherwise the count would immediately return to de Vlaamse Leeuw and retaliate any losses.

my fleet has halted in Antwerp port in De Vlaamse Leeuw. We do not seek hostilities but only to help our allies. They can't get away because they are trapped by local people. We will wait for the conference before going any further with actions, and we hope all other nations will do this too, otherwise I don't want to be part of this conference, cuz it would be a fake thing to justify any actions on my allies.

High Esteemed mr. Ollie
We have received word from our intel that you are planning an attack on commonwealth forces. We would want to ask you to not go through with these attacks, otherwise I will be forced to send troops and material to Harlack.
At this moment, 25(!) atomic submarines are heading for the region. They are guarding 2 (!) aircraft carriers loaded with 20 F22's and 20 F18's and each has 2 B2's. And as if that isn't enough, 10 battle ships are guarding the mission. They will coöperate with the HMS-Thunderbird and the HMS-Svenssen. So I would ask everyone to reconsider militairy actions towards my ally

Message from Governor Kathy Chung

Dear Count Gerhardt

Our troops enroute to Harlack Mensa have no intention of attacking commenwealth troops there. They are there at the invite of the Provost of Harlack Mensa (unlike Commenwealth troops). These troops will ONLY be used in a defensive role to protect the people of Harlack Mensa and our own interests in the region. To send uninvited troops at this time will only escalate the crisis and would weaken, not strengthen your position at the negotiating table.
In addition, you will notice that we have not deployed any nuclear capable units to the regiom. For you to do so would be a major escalation, and we strongly urge you not to do so.

OOc Those military numbers seem a little high for a nation with a population of 100 million.

The Empire highly doubts that DeVlaamseLeeuw could pose any significant threat to the Empire's assets even with help from its allies, we suggest you do not make threats, since you are not in the position to make any.

We however, are in that position, and our threats of military intervention will become reality if either DeVlaamseLeeuw or Gerhardt Kusterholz forces initiate hostilities against Harlack Mensa.

As for attempting to bypass me and directly talk to Empress Tanya Rift, I have been appointed as the directing Councillor for this operation and all communications will go through me. The Empress has already stated her dissatisfaction with the count of DeVlaamseLeeuw and that she is not the appropriate person to handle such requests.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/Dumpsterdam/ultramarineslogo.gif

Alfarius Damocales,
Imperial Councillor,
Minister of Defence.

OOC The conference will take place in the DMZ, therefore rps should be carried out in the DMZ thread titled "Harlack Combined Peacekeeping Command - Fun in the DMZ!". It has been updated to take this into account.

As the paratroopers moved forward, they were met by catcalls and obscenities. Still, a couple of the student leaders looked at each other and began hastily conferring; they were quickly joined by a few Townies.

After a couple of minutes, four people - two students and two of the townsfolk - stepped forward to parlay with the officer in charge of the delegation from De Vlaamse Leeuw.

For several more minutes, the crowd stirred restlessly as the Harlackers and the soldiers argued vehemently. The soldiers pointed in the direction of the road and gestured menacingly; they were met by defiance on the part of the civilians, but there was some discussion among the latter suggesting that conciliation might be in order.

Finally, the meeting broke up. The Harlacker delegation returned to their lines, discussed matters a little further, and then one of the men took a bullhorn and jumped up on a nearby tree stump.

"O.K., everybody, listen!" crackled the youthful voice. "The xenos have agreed to leave..."

His voice was drowned out by roars of approval. People hugged each other jubilantly. The man on the stump waved for attention. He had more to say.

"To make sure they do," he continued, "We're going to see them off. So," he said, sweeping his hand as he spoke, "I want everyone to move off the road to the side. Give them lots of room. And stretch it out."

"I want a human chain leading all the way back to the coast. If they want to break their word, they're going to have to break the chain!"

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

Up the road aways, towards town, a number of farmers had gathered, pulling their wagons and tractors across the road that led towards town. It was a crude but effective roadblock. The road westward, towards the sea, was still open, but the fork that led north and east, towards town and the University, was not.

Here some weapons were visible, but not brandished openly: hunting rifles, shotguns, some bottles with rags containing a yellowish liquid. The farmers were patient, but firm. They would hold their ground if the invaders decided they were going to go anywhere but back to the strand.

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

An hour later, the crowd had thinned a bit - it was now 4,000 - but there were still a very large number of people strung out along the roadside when the forces of De Vlaamse Leeuw finally started to move.

But the road, at least, was clear.

Nuclear capable forces will be met with forward deployed nuclear capable forces. We have the range to hit your cities, if one single city in Greater Harlack is hit with one of your weapons, twenty four of your cities will take its place.

*OC* And yes, they do have the ability. Typhoon class subs have 24 missile tubes each.

Harlack Mensa, some ruin
Although this was kind of an emberassement, having to withdraw while being looked at by the locals, the commonwealth forces did walk the road made by the locals. They had their order that came from the count himself, so they had to. At least they were still alive, and any shot fired upon them would be retaliated soo heavely that Harlack Mensa would have hell to pay. Through radio they heared that the Republic of Gerhardt Küsterholz had a major invasion ready in the port of Antwerp.

The submarines nore the aircrafts nor anything we have send, has nuclear missiles. I don't know where everyone got the idea from, we have sent nuclear submarines, yeah, but that means they got nuclear engines, that's all.

OOC 2 Ollieland: We have a budget of i think about 40% for defense, and our defense budget goes for the biggest part to the navy, so this force is imo realistic.

- Attention, Code Red Top Secret Communication from the Department of Defence to all military comanders;

- Subject; Deployment to Harlack Mensa. Command to be taken by Field Marshall Stubbington himself.

- Forces to be Deployed in three waves. First wave airborne (Army and CAF), second wave seaborne (CMC and CN), third wave airborne and seaborne (Combined service taskforce).

- First Wave - Airborne Division - 1st, 2nd and 3rd Airborne Regiments (Army) and 1st Coy, Army High Command Batt - (1 x High Comm Coy, 30 x Air Cavalry Coys, 60 x Airborne Infantry Coys, 3 x AB Command Coys, 6 x AB Medical Coys, 3 x AB MP Coys, 6 x AB Air Defence Coys, 6 x AB Engineer Coys and 6 x Logistics Coys). Command to be taken by General Oliver Sikorsky of 1st Airborne Regiment. Total of 12,100 men. ETA RT Sunday 7pm GMT.

- Second Wave - Coastal Assault Section of Colonial Navy - CN's Coastal Assault Section (1 x McVie Aircraft Carrier carrying 10 x SZ1 Vulture Strike Aircraft and 15 x SZ-2 Albatross Fighters, 1 x Baltimore Heavy Cruiser, 2 x Evermore Destroyers, 5 x Piranha Missile Boats, 1 x Quay Landing Ship, 2 x Ossippee Special Ops Boats, 2 x Insurgent Special Ops Subs, 5 x Normandy Armoured Troop Carriers, 10 x Marine Airborne Infantry Coys, 35 x Marine Mechanized Infantry Coys, 10 x Marine Light Armoured Coys, 5 x Marine Artillery Coys, 1 x Special Forces Team (Team 1 CMC Commandoes - Marine Insertion)). In addition Colonial Navy units will also escort the Coastal Assault Section to form TASKFORCE 1 - 1 x Pasteur Hospital Ship from the Science and Medical Section, 3 x Smith Replen Vessels and 1 x Aylesburgh Sub Replen Vessel form the Auxillary Support Section and 8 x Skipjack Nuclear Powered Attack Subs from the Submarine Warfare Section. Command to be taken by Admiral Oliver Van Ruud. Total of 14,830. ETA RT Monday 7pm GMT.

- Third Wave - Army troops to be transported as emergency plan Delta, either by Air Force Airfreighter or by Navy ferry. The following forces are to muster at transport points for deployment to Harlack Mensa.
- 3rd, 4th, 6th, 27th, 28th and 29th Armoured Regiments and 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 51st, 62nd, 66th, 88th, 93rd, 95th and 101st Infantry Regiments. (294 x Mechanized Infantry Coys, 48 Heavy Armoured Coys, 132 Light Armoured Coys, 42 x Artillery Coys, 12 x Air Cavalry Coys, 12 x Mechanized Artillery Coys, 36 x Logistics Coys, 36 x Engineer Coys, 36 x Air Defence Coys, 18 x MP Coys, 18 x Recon Coys, 18 x Medical Coys and 18 x Command Coys).
- Support Units - 3rd and 4th Coys, JAG Investigations Battalion, 2nd Jag Coy, JAG BAttalion, 6th Coy, Stockade Battalion, all from JAG Regiment. 7th,8th and 9th Coys, CBW (Chemical and Biological Warfare) Containment Battalion.
- Command to be taken by Field Marshall Stubbington. Total of 72,700 men. ETA between RT Tuesday 7pm GMT and Thursday 7pm GMT.

- In addition the Strategic Attack Wing of the Colonial Air Force and 1st Battlegroup and 1st and 2nd Air Carrier Groups of the Colonial Navy are to prepare for action.

- Colonial Civil Guard is to move to high alert.

- All other military units are to prepare to support operations in Harlack.

- End of Message.


Attention. Code Red Message;

- Pending negotiations in Harlack, military forces are hereby ordered to

- First Wave is redirected to the DMZ to remain on standby for entry to Harlack Mensa.

- Second Wave is to remain static at sea outside of the Harlack area.

- Third Wave is to continue mustering at transport points.

- End of message.

Harlack Mensa, some ruin
Although this was kind of an emberassement, having to withdraw while being looked at by the locals, the commonwealth forces did walk the road made by the locals. They had their order that came from the count himself, so they had to. At least they were still alive, and any shot fired upon them would be retaliated soo heavely that Harlack Mensa would have hell to pay. Through radio they heared that the Republic of Gerhardt Küsterholz had a major invasion ready in the port of Antwerp.As the soldiers made their way to the coast, the crowd rolled up behind them and followed, not chanting slogans now, just bearing silent testimonial.

As nightfall approached, a few townsfolk lit and passed torches among the ranks of the growing procession. Step by step, it followed the soldiers of De Vlaamse Leeuw back to the strand from whence the invaders had come.

Darkness had fallen along the strand. Below, under floodlights, men and vehicles poured onto assault vehicles that were beached along the waterline. The soldiers of De Vlaamse Leeuw were departing.

Above, on the bluffs, the crowd had grown again with the news of the departure. Over 8,000 people stood by torch, lantern, and even candlelight holding vigil. The silence of the crowd was eerie; below on the strand, the soldiers could only hear the faintest murmur from the watching civilians. Where they did hear words and phrases, recognition hit home: most of the people watching from the bluffs were praying.

In the course of the bombing, the shelling, and everything else there had been civilian casualities. Not many: perhaps 60 or 70 dead and three times that number wounded. Homes and field had been set ablaze, livestock losses were huge, but Harlack Mensa would recover.

What the land would not recover was its innocence. Ever since the Great Proclamation 417 years earlier, establishing the Great University and granting it the lands of the district as a source of support - and yes, even through the Revolution - the land had been spared the curse of war. The University was an institution all of Harlack respected, one that benefitted all of Harlack, and so Harlackers would never have violated its sanctity.

But what were such things as tradition and sanctuary to foreigners whose greatest motivation was greed for gold, masked by a haughty affectation of honor? No act of defilement could have brought home to the people of Harlack how very important it was that they stand together. And so, from this moment forward, it was destined that they would do exactly that.

What remained was for them to figure out how.

Attention. Code Red Message;

- Pending negotiations in Harlack, military forces are hereby ordered to

- First Wave is redirected to the DMZ to remain on standby for entry to Harlack Mensa.

- Second Wave is to remain static at sea outside of the Harlack area.

- Third Wave is to continue mustering at transport points.

- End of message.

Attention Code Red Message;

- Crisis averted, De Vlaamse Leeuw military have departed Harlack Mensa;

- First Wave - Airborne Division will return to Ollieland

- Second Wave - Coastal Assault Section will return to Ollieland

- Third Wave - All designated units to return to barracks and maintain peacetime duties

- CAF and CN - All forces to stand down to peacetime duties

OoC: Greater Harlack, you may want to use the word beach instead of strand, assuming that you are either Belgian or Dutch(as myself!).

Harlack Sea, before the Harlack Mensa Beach
The fleet left the Harlack waters with 3 salute fires from the board cannons of the flague ship HMS-Svenssen. No one knew whether they would have to come back or not. Insults had been outed towards the noble flemish leader, and none of the soldiers knew why they had to put of with it.
"It's clear that international pressure forced our count to abort this mission," captain Svenssen spoke, as he knew what his people were thinking, "but none of the other nations, except for Küsterholz ofcourse, know why we had to come here. As far as they know, it's a gold-thing. You would think a university-country would research before drawing conclusions, but no, it seems all of Harlack chooses the easy way, always. And at this very moment, the Harlack countries are starting a defence force, all together, and they think it could compete with the 's Gravenwezel pact. I despise them, for what they have done. From what i have heared, some of the Harlack nations were talking loudly from the moment our count agreed to withdraw, and the Harlackers knew they had the best cards, especially when Dumpsterdam started to threaten us with complete annihilation. From now one, the commonwealth has only one true alliance, and that is in our region. Perhaps Ollieland will come to a conference in the commonwealth to talk about a peace pact, but probably not."
The marines looked struck. So that was the status, De Vlaamse Leeuw had only its old allies left...

As the Flemish fleet left Harlack Mensa waters the attack submarine Devilfish moved in on its tail, trailing the fleet a good three hundred kilometres behind its last ship. The submarine was more then capable to taking out the entire fleet but its mission was simpler; to monitor and make sure the Flemish went back to their homeland.

OOC: 1 submarine that can take down an entire fleet monitored by a P3-Orion known for its ability to search and destroy submarines, and F18's equipped for the destruction of submarines, and also there are I think 3 submarines in this convoy (if that's the word, as you probably guessed I'm flemish, I already guessed you were dutch ;-)). Must be quite an impressive submarine

OoC: Expensive as hell too, but remember, this is NS and the P3 Orion is kind of outdated.

It could destroy or atleast cripple your ships, not by using its torpedoes but by using its Principe IV TCSLASM, Lance SSM and maybe even a Halberd SSM.

Principe being a torpedo carrying ship to ship missile.

Lance being a standard anti-ship missile.

And the halberd being an anti-battleship missile.