NationStates Jolt Archive

Official Burnsian Statement
Burnsian International Trade Administration

Dear Lord Dreadfire,

It has come to my attention during recent weeks that the Burnsian economy has been falling into disrepair. Tax rates are rising into the 80th percentile, weapons sales have decreased, and our overall economic situation is taking a turn for the worse. Recent projections have stated that in two and a half years, the Burnsian economy will slip majorly to a level not witnessed since the first days of our country, under the oppressive rule of one Miguel Hernandez, the first dictator. In case you didn't know, our economy was an imploded basketcase, sucking on its thumb in our little corner of the planet.

You're obviously wondering why the hell I took the time to write this letter, and why the hell you need to know all this crap. The fact is, your nation is throwing our economy into convulsions. Every sector is dominated by Freek imports. We find that the only way to keep our economy thriving and put it back on track is to sever all trading routes and commercial ties to AMF. In other words, your country has been put on embargo. Any Freek shipping encountered will be turned away, or dealt with more drastically. We value our economy. Thank you for being so understanding.

http://www.uwrf.edu/campusfaces/faculty/phil-george.jpg
Ryaam Almut
Burnsian International Trade Commission
Director of Foreign Imports

~From the desk of Lord Damien the Destroyer, Supreme Warlord of the Excessively Armed Empire of Automagfreek~

Frankly, I do not see why the inevitable downfall of the Burnsian economy has anything to do with us. Obviously the Burnsian people value Automagfreeks high quality products over cheap and poorly made domestic products, and now you cut off trade ties with us?

So be it, that is of no concern to me. However, there is another matter that does concern me. This...embargo you speak of.

In the newly outlined defense objective set forth by Mr. Bonesplitter, it has been stated that Automagfreek will not tolerate sanctions or embargos placed upon it. Therefore, our ships will continue to operate as scheduled, and if they are stopped or boarded appropriate action will be taken. If Burnsian officials decided to move into Automagfreek territorial waters...well...we all know what will happen next.

Automagfreek urges The Burnsian Desert to cease this mindless embargo of theirs before they find big trouble knocking at their door.

http://img193.exs.cx/img193/9893/dreadfireflames4fw.jpg
---Damien the Destroyer---
-Supreme Warlord of AMF-

From the Private Desk of the President-General
(Secret IC)

Listen, Damien, this is nothing personal. The economy bureaucrats are all pointing fingers at your country, and that's good enough for me. As to that statement about 'appropriate action' being taken if we board your ships? We're boarding your ships as I write this. The cargo is either being destroyed or thrown overboard; the Coast Guard is ready to deal with smugglers. And frankly, Damien, you don't have the balls to go after us. You've obviously got cold feet in Feline Catfish. What's going on now will continue.

President-General Mitchell C. Craig
President of The Burnsian Desert

"I for one wonder how severing economic ties with Automagfreek will solve the problems inherent in the Burnsian economy. That would seem to be the international equivalent of cutting off your nose to spite your face in my book.

"We would be willing to pick up some of the slack caused by the elimination of the Burnsian export market and would be interested in opening a trade agreement with Automagfreek of our own. If you are so interested, we are here to listen."

Josh Williams
Speaker of the House of Delegates
Incorporated States of Sarzonia

OOC: Tag

OOC: Boarding my ships already? Mmkay...

+++++++++++++++++

Dozens of heavy cargo ships had been stopped by the Burnsian Navy, and as the foreign soldiers began to board the vessels the crew received orders to not fight back. They were told over the radio by Freek authority to turn back into international waters if they had not been boarded, and if they had they were told to stay put.

Meanwhile back at ULE City, Lord Damien was quite displeased with the arrogance of Burnsian leadership. At the midnight hour he summoned forth Marv Bonesplitter and his most vile Warchief Zander, to come up with their game plan for the impudent wretches of The Burnsian Desert. Dreadfire sat at the head of his long oak table and ran a hand across his beard stubble, eyeing the two men for several minutes. It had been days since he shaved last, and now it would be a few more before he could get around to it.

Alright gentlemen, what do we have here? Zander and Marv looked at eachother to see who would speak first, and the Warchief gave a nod to Bonesplitter and allowed him to speak first. M'Lord, having been mere days since we have released our new defense initiative, I fear that if we don't make good on our policy that the world may not take us as seriously anymore. I made it very clear that Automagfreek will NOT tolerate actions like this, and I believe that an example needs to be set.

Zander nodded his head again with a tight lip. As Marv glanced over to turn the table over to Zander, the Warchief took a long pull of whiskey from his ivory tankard. After slamming it onto the oak surface and letting loose a slight belch, Zander rose from his seat and moved toward the fire that burned in the room. The flames cast eerie shadows that danced wickedly across his face, and as thunder clapped outside the window he cleared his throat and addressed Dreadfire.

Damien, I think Marv is 100% right. With all the bullshit piling up right now, I think the last thing we need is to look weak...especially because of the actions of these....Burnsian heathens. Zander began to walk around the room, fingering the sword that hung at his waist. Fuck 'em, kill 'em all I say, and show everybody in this God forsaken world that Gholgoth, and more importantly Automagfreek will NOT budge an inch from what it has promised to do. You know as well as I do Damien that there is only one thing you can do. He smiled an evil smile as he thought about being back in the glory of battle, because for far too long Zander's dogs of war had been chained and starving for a fresh kill. Dreadfire nodded.

~From the desk of Lord Damien the Destroyer, Supreme Warlord of the Excessively Armed Empire of Automagfreek~

There comes a time when the lessons of old must be relearned, for as the years come and go more and more seem to forget. Such is the situation we have here, another nation has overstepped its bounds and thinks that it can match both wits and blades with one such as myself.

The boarding and pillaging of AMF vessels is an open act of war, and by our newly outlined defense agenda I see no other way to deal with this....

Let it be known that the government of The Burnsian Desert has 24 hours to repeal their embargo and compensate Automagfreek for the goods it has destroyed, or we will be sending our fleets into their territory. Let it be known that should Burnsian ships enter AMF waters they will be immediatly dispatched without warning.

To our allies across the globe and in Gholgoth, worry not, we will handle these craven dogs ourselves. An example will be made on this day, believe that. The Burnsian Desert is meddling with powers it cannot possibly comprehend.

Sleep Now In The Fire.

http://67.18.37.14/40/9/upload/p984672.jpg
---Damien the Destroyer---
-Supreme Warlord of AMF-

http://67.18.37.14/40/9/upload/p972409.jpg
Zander
-Warchief of AMF Forces-

From the Private Latrine of President-General Craig

Admit it, Damien, you're losing your authority voice. "...another nation has overstepped its bounds..." You sound like you own the planet. News flash, Dreadfire (is that even your real name?), there are people who are bigger, stronger, and smarter than you. I don't care what kind of animal testosterone you have surging through your veins; death is the great equilizer, and it comes to everyone. Even you and your bullshit empire.

Let it be known that I'll be calmly preparing for the second you arrive. If you think you can throw your weight around and fuck with nations like us over trivial things like an embargo, you're seriously mistaken. It's time you learned the taste of dirt.

The embargo stands; I'm waiting for you.

President-General Craig

This is stArting to look Good.

(Definately not a tag)

Farmina suggests the Burnsian Desert get new economic advisors. The current ones are obviously incompetent. Everyone knows that a floating exchange rate absorbs external factors.

Andre Cirtus
Chancellor for Trade

The only response from Crimmond, since Dreadfire stated this was to be a lone wolf operation, was news that betting polls had opened up on how long it would take to smash the smartass nation to bits.

And one about how many strokes it takes for Damien to shave his head. Damn drunk bookies...

Official Response from President Kaimoni A. Sutton, United States of Credonia

"I and the Credonian government will continue to watch this conflict with great interest, however, no actions or statements will be made at this time and are not planned to be made anytime in the immediate future."

Farmina suggests the Burnsian Desert get new economic advisors. The current ones are obviously incompetent. Everyone knows that a floating exchange rate absorbs external factors.

Andre Cirtus
Chancellor for Trade

And everyone knows what a floating exchange rate is.

President-General Mitchell Craig

To: Whom it May Concern
Automagfreek
From: Tiberius Polax, MP
Foreign Secretary
Subject: Burnsian Embargo

It is the position of my Government that the recent action undertaken by Automagfreek is not only destabilising but illegal under established convention. We see with some bewilderment that a nation is threatening war in an attempt to force the resumption of trade with a sovereign power which has legally declared that it no longer wishes to trade with your nation and has, until you attempted to force your maritime navy into their territorial waters against the wishes, taken no direct action against you.

We hope that the government of Automagfreek will see the error of its ways, and cease this frankly bizzare action which sets an increasingly dangerous precedent to another nations around the world which no longer, for one reason or another, wish to trade with a specific nation. The world saw how Automagfreek defended the sovereign rights of Feline Catfish to build nuclear weapons and defend herself, please do not destroy all the respect you have gained through that action in this completely opposite action of arrogant aggression.

Vox Populi, Vox Dei

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v159/Kacin_Carter/moml.jpg
Official Imperial Announcement
The so called massive power of Automagfreek once again begins to mobilize for war due to insults to its over bloated ego. You think anyone takes you seriously in the world still? Honestly, we only "tremble" to make sure you don't get a massive fall in self-confidence, because you worked so hard to achieve that confidence, I mean one who was picked on as a child due to his looks and brain power needs that no?

You are invading a nation and in this particular case violating the right of Sovereignty, and we totally agree with Praetonia. You are nothing more then a poor hypocrite. Do the world a favor and go back to the shit hole you came from.

Emperor Bane The XXXV
Dread Lord of the Dracun Imperium
Bringer of Discord and Chaos

http://www.sith.pl/bots/sith/slynni_lordowie/pliki/darthsion0.jpg

Odd... Automagfreek's economic assets have been seized by Burnsian forces in a highly provocative manner which will undoubtably cause them some amount of economic damage and result in a loss to the Excessively Armed Empire. Yet they are being pasted as the enemies for giving this nation an ultimatum... a not entirely unfair ultimatum at that.

We hardly see how this 'precedent' as only few may concider it as anything new... TBD hasn't just cut trade off with Automagfreek in the normal manner, the normal manner would be to inform them of their embargo and turn their ships back, perferably given them a early warning in order for both nations to re-organise their trade... but to aggressively seize another nations goods and destroy them without paying any compensation is clearly an act of provocation.

Personally we are disapointed in some of the international responces we have seen so far... here we have Burnsian forces destroying another nations economic assets with no compensation what so ever, their only diplomacy being that of insults and disregard for so called 'convention' which you would claim that Automagfreek is in breech of. Unless destroying another nations goods is concidered a conventional method of cutting trade peacefully.

While Iuthia doesn't entirely feel that the embargo needs to be lifted, we do feel that Automagfreek should be compensated for the lose of goods destroyed and further compensation for the growing lose of trade caused by this incident. Meanwhile Iuthia will be reassessing TBD's place on our blacklist and we'll concider this act of aggression against Automagfreek to be further evidence that we were right to have them blacklisted in the first place... they aren't a safe nation to trade with and it would be foolish to trust them with you're goods, unless they dislike one of you're nations actions and harm you're trade perposefully...

Again, we wish to display our dismay that the warped views been put across here... it's clear to us that loses have been suffered by Automagfreek who is only responding as Automagfreek does. They do not threaten nations which do not provoke them, only those who force their hand... while Iuthia doesn't entirely support the idea of military action (though we wouldn't be entirely against the destruction of TBD ports by AMF as a method of "compensation) we can understand why Automagfreek responds like this,

thanks for listening,

Foriegn Minister Mick Lakely, Iuthian Diplomatic Corps

To the...misinformed delegates from Praetonia and Dracun Imperium:

AMF cargo ships have been boarded, and the items being stored in the holds of these ships has been destroyed or taken. This is an act of piracy by Burnsian authorities, and it is plain as day. Dracun Imperium is so quick to resort to childish name calling, and aparently that they did not actually read the reports coming from The Burnsian Desert.

Our cargo has been destroyed and our sailors treated as smugglers. We are not doing anything here that you yourselves wouldn't do, so spare me the 3rd grade name calling antics. Millions of dollars worth of assets have been destroyed for no good reason, and we will be sending our warships to escort our vessles away from Burnsian territory.

While Damien's words are harsh, never once did he declare a state of war. He has graciously given The Burnsian Desert 24 hours to compensate us for the loss of products and to further compensate us for this mess, or else then there will be trouble. War has not been declared yet, so don't make assumptions. Anyone who has wits about them knows that assumptions can get you into a lot of trouble, and it is obvious that the Praetonian and Draconian delegates once again did not use their common sense and have been too quick to lash out at Automagfreek. We are the innocent party here.

http://img219.echo.cx/img219/5363/silvia22ws.jpg
Silvia Dreadfire

"Feline Catfish stands fully behind Automagfreek, as they have stood fully behind us. Like us, Automagfreek has done nothing but is the subject of aggression nonetheless. We place The Burnsian Desert under counter-embargo!"

King George III

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v159/Kacin_Carter/moml.jpg
Official Imperial Announcement
Innocent for the first time in your father's life indeed, however, when warnings were announced, TBD said that all AMF ships should turn back you refused; now you plan on making war with TBD for simply following through in its warnings. Let the nation have his economy back and for the childish name calling part, I only speak the truth.

To: Whom it May Concern
Automagfreek
From: Tiberius Polax, MP
Foreign Secretary
Subject: RE: Embargo

Whilst we do not condone the methods use by Burnsian authorities, such as destroying trade goods and impounding ships, they have the right to refuse entry to their national waters and, you having brashly declared that you will ignore them and continue anyway, they have the right to remove said ships from their waters. You can hardly receive news that you have been embargoed, attempt to force your merchant navy in anyway, and then expect to be welcomed with open arms.

This entire situation is, in the view of my Government, stupid and unneccessary. All it requires is for Automagfreek to accept they are embargoed as is The Burnsian Desert's sovereign right, stop attempting to force ships into their waters (a completely futile and provokative task) and then for The Burnsian Desert to pay a limited sum in compensation for their brash methods. We do not see why either side is preparing for war over something so trivial.

Vox Populi, Vox Dei

The Benevolent Dictatorship of Iuthia is prepared to offer Automagfreek lucrative trade contracts to replace the trade lost by from the actions of The Burnsian Desert on the condition that Automagfreek drops the matter of the Burnsian trade embargo... though we will not interfere with the extraction of compensation from this nation, as we will leave that matter between yourselves and The Burnsian Desert.

Conversely, Iuthia advises The Burnsian Desert to compensate Automagfreek for their loses as we seriously doubt that it's any cheeper to fend off the anger of the Excessively Armed Empire in any potential armed conflict which may occur... the fact of the matter is that you have destroyed their goods instead of simply turning the ships around, which can be acheived though the use of force.

We feel that The Burnsian Desert's conduct in this affair has been far from preferable, though we can't entirely condone Automagfreeks reaction... we hope that these recommendations are suitable for all involved.

Thanks,

Foriegn Minister Mick Lakely, Iuthian Diplomatic Corps

"I would also emphasise that we are willing to take part in increased trade to remedy whatever adverse effects eliminating trade with The Burnsian Desert may have, so long as Automagfreek chooses to rescind its war preparations, The Burnsian Desert agrees to compensate the government of Automagfreek for damaged goods and services and the families of the victims for the losses of their loved ones.

"It would be most unfortunate if this conflict resulted in war when both sides could have easily come to a peaceful settlement."

-- Josh Williams
Speaker, House of Delegates

To Iuthia and Sarzonia (SIC):

"Practicing appeasement, are we?"-The Great Leader Li.

SIC: "Think of this as more of a carrot-stick approach. If they don't take us up on our offer, it will be automatically withdrawn from consideration."

-- Josh Williams
Speaker, House of Delegates

"Practicing appeasement, are we?"

That would imply we do not already have reasonable relations with Automagfreek and that we would have to appease them to get their respect... however that would be far from the case.

Iuthia has had the opportunity to ally with Automagfreek in the past on equal terms, however such an alliance was deemed inappropriate at the time as we are content with the allies we have and feel that there is little to gain through such an alliance aside from the ire of nations who hate them. We are confident in our relations with Automagfreek and feel that they do not pose a threat to Iuthia due to their somewhat honable nature... their code of conduct has never been broken as far as we are aware and they have kept to their word, while their morality is somewhat suspect, they keep to themselves.

Regardless, we know full well that if there is to be any peace here, our solution is the most suitable for the situation. The fact that Sazonia agrees with us is enough to fortify this view. This isn't about appeasement... it's about coming out with a peaceful solution which will suit all factions.

Foriegn Minister Mick Lakely, Iuthian Diplomatic Corps

Official Statement Release from the CCP of CL

We do support The Burnsian Desert's quest to seek economic independence from the controlling nation of Automagfreak. We currently see Automagfreak as a nation who instead of trying to keep the world somewhat safe, wants to control all aspects of nations who do not want anything to do with his nation. We have lost our respect for such nations a long time ago and we do not see anything good coming from the nation of Automagfreak. All we see is death and doom to those who try to stand against his ideas.

We currently are having economic problems and we are pumping billions of dollars into our own nations economy. We however cannot produce everything ourselves though. This is why we are possibly interested in importing goods from The Burnsian Desert. Not only will this help your nations economy situation, it may possibly make relations, which were once good, improve and help both of our economies.

We hope you will accept our plea to your nation for imports. We can almost guarantee that if you do so, we will be able to get many other of our allies to import Burnsian Desert made goods.

Premier Daniel C. Dufour
Premier of the CCP of CL
New Orleans, Louisiana, CL

OOC: I'm confused, did TBD place and embargo so that AMF couldn't trade with anyone, or just couldn't trade with TBD.

If TBD is placing an entire embargo on any outgoing ships of AMF, I agree with AMF.
But if TBD is just stopping trade between AMF and TBD, then I just don't see what the big deal is, and if this is the case then I would just leave TBD to rot to ashes.

[OOC: You can't place an embargo to stop other nations trading with someone.

Embargo = You wont allow them to trade with you, nor will you allow your companies to trade with them. This is not an act of war (despite what AMF thinks ICly).

Blockade = Sending ships to prevent other nations physically trading with another nation. This is an act of war.]

OOC: I'm confused, did TBD place and embargo so that AMF couldn't trade with anyone, or just couldn't trade with TBD.

If TBD is placing an entire embargo on any outgoing ships of AMF, I agree with AMF.
But if TBD is just stopping trade between AMF and TBD, then I just don't see what the big deal is, and if this is the case then I would just leave TBD to rot to ashes.


TBD didn't just place a severance of trade, they also boarded vessels before the recall-order could be given, pillaged holds, stole goods, destroyed goods, imprisoned AMF nationals... It's one thing to lay an economic sanction, it's something else entirely to engage in pillage, looting, and possible unlawful imprisonment. (Depending on where the boarding took place, and when.)
At minimum, TBD did not give adequate time for AMF to recall their merchies, nor a fair hearing to negotiate a more acceptable means of achieving their objective. Point of fact, there was no offer of a negotiated arrangement to limit AMF's exports in TBD, instead, they just announced it, and jumped-on-the-ships to take (Given posting times, it would have to have been within hours of the message to Lord Dreadfire.) Given that The Burnsian Desert has trade with Automagfreek at the levels they were alleging, it's is unlikely that TBD was unaware of AMF's new foreign-policy stance as regards to what constitutes provocation.
The action more or less resembles a direct challenge to see if AMF's leaders are serious-or possibly an attempt to rassle-out a 'marshall plan' rebuild-by-conquest of their failing internal system. Their inability to apply Tariffs at the customs-office (or, perhaps more pointedly, to apply those tariff-monies effectively in stimulating the domestic economy through Keynesian means) tells me that their President-General is listening to advisors who tell him what he wants to hear, not necessarily what is accurate or truthful.

That's actually a pretty common happening in the Real World, you know.

[OOC: Not strictly true. AMF ICly accepted the embargo and said that he'd keep his ships going anyway, and that stopping them would be an act of war. There was no confusion over not having enough time to recall anything.]

We are shocked to TBD and AMF going at it. FC should keep out because it doesn't have a military. We will watch this conflict carefully.

Sasha Romanov
Sercetary of State

[OOC: Not strictly true. AMF ICly accepted the embargo and said that he'd keep his ships going anyway, and that stopping them would be an act of war. There was no confusion over not having enough time to recall anything.]
[ooc- there was no attempt at negotiation by TBD. There was clearly a trade-agreement prior to the announcement- TBD was violating it by laying the embargo, rather than trying to renegotiate or modify the terms. There was no Offer of renegotiation, nor even a request-under those circumstances, AMF was entirely within their rights to continue, and are entirely within their rights to seek compensation for TBD's actions-which, given the timing, tone, and manner of their employment, were clearly engineered to be provocative, rather than cooperative or consensual. Given the demonstrated nature of the Freeks themselves, it's actually an incredibly stupid move, unless The Burnsian Desert actually believes they can benefit by provoking a war or military stand-off with a known-to-be-violent, large, and industrially powerful nation.]

>Insert OOC arguement here...<

OOC: Try and keep this In Character guys, you're OOC opinions on the correctness/incorrectness of these nations actions aren't needed here... all the nation wanted was information, not opinion. The idea is to RP you're nations views and arguements to change IC opinions, not OOC opinions... OOC is more for working out the mechanics of the situation (such clearing things up and organising the RP).

(OOC: Tagged for later response.)

OOC: Sorry to intrude.....AMF, I dont know if you got the telegram, but if you didnt, please take a look at this- http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=416619

OOC: Keep the OOC comments out of here people. If this keeps up the mods will be notified.

++++++++++++++++

To those expressing concern over Automagfreeks actions, I can say that the lot of you are quite literally making shit up. My fleets have taken to the seas to assure the safety of our ships that are turning back into international waters. We are also sending General Brinks and his warships to the outer reaches of AMF waters to ensure that hostile ships do not show up to cause trouble. If this is heading in the direction we think it is, there may indeed be trouble on the high seas.

When my ships arrive they will be given my explicit orders to engage any Burnsian ship that stops any Freek vessel from falling back into international waters. If they persist and continue to board and pirate our ships, they will be fired upon until they are no longer a threat. If this continues to happen, we will take further measures to ensure that our cargo vessles can return home safely.

Lord Dreadfire will not play any games with The Burnsian Desert, and neither will I.

http://67.18.37.14/40/9/upload/p972409.jpg
Zander
-Warchief of AMF Forces-

International Waters
50 NM off the Burnsian Coast
BDS Goearing

"Ha! Ha ha ha!" roared Captain Jesovi, clutching his bulbous stomach in mirth. He had just received orders from from High Military Command, stating that he would not attack until he had witnessed a recorded assault by Freek naval power. They had also gave a suggestion to him; one he had at first thought was a typo, or some sort of hijack. Maybe it had become scrambled with another transmission. Whatever had happened, he was intent on carrying out his commands.

"Sir," said an officer, turning from a radar screen, "we have a verified contact, heading 099, speed 4 knots."

"Acknowledged," replied the captain, heading for the intercom. He leaned over into the microphone, selected the 'All Points' option on the output panel, and cleared his throat. "Attention," he announced, "all hands are to report to the bow immediately. I want to see every sailor on this vessel assembled in front of the bridge."

There was a tremendous confusion as sailors scrambled out of various trapdoors and hatches, straightening their caps for what they thought was an inspection, pulling on dress whites and shoes. The captain walked down through the hastily assembled mess of seamen, some with collars askew and others with only one shoe on. He spoke briefly to each unit commander, who then snickered a bit and relayed the message to his men.

The captain, having completed his rounds, surveyed the men (who were now turned to face the bow) and picked up a bullhorn. "3, 2, 1, now!"

Each man, as loud as he could, hollered the cry across the ocean towards the Freek merchant ship.

"HOLY SHIT! THEY'RE COMING RIGHT FOR US!!"

Streams of sailors crashed down back into their battle stations, sliding into their chairs and leaning over their charges. A few were still giggling foolishly, others had their faces set hard as concrete. The captain, meanwhile, had returned to the bridge and was barking various commands to his officers.

"I want a full antiship salvo, 2-4-2, trained on your Romeo 4 contact. Hurry up!" he yelled, loosening his collar and smoothing his red hair.

"Harpoons, Shkvals and BGM-140 Katanas online and waiting for your orders, captain," stated a weapons officer. "That Freek ship is history as soon as you give the command."

Jesovi smiled. "Sink it."

The four antiship missiles screamed out of their launchers, followed closely behind by the four supercavitating Shkval torpedoes, all eight intent on ripping the Freek vessel to shreads.

The captain on board the Moaning Lisa looked as pale as a ghost as he saw the Burnsian Navy moving in close to his ship. He had already ordered the ship to be turned around and to head into international waters, but the lumbering mammoth moved too slow. The vessel sat on a lengthwise axis from the Burnsian ships, and he watched in horror from his control tower as the missiles took to the air and headed right for his location.

The behemoth shook violently as the four missiles slammed into the port side of the ship, sending large fragments of hull and small fragments of sailors into the air. Sea water began to fill the lower compartments as the emergency bulk heads began to close. The men unfortunate enough not to escape were forced to sit and endure the slow agony as the salty fluids began to fill their lungs. Large plums of smoke filled the air as the crippled vessel teetered from side to side, and the captain ordered in desperation that the ship to be abandoned. But it was already too late.

The missiles had torn a large gash into the side of the Moaning Lisa, and as the men on board prepared to abandon ship, the other four torpedos made their way closer to the ship and into the giant hole. They were able to make it several yards inside the ship before slamming into the bulk heads, and the ship rocked violently as the first in a series of explosions took place. Men screamed and ran for their lives as the engine room then exploded, causing the rear 1/3 of the ship to literally crack from top to bottom. As the last two torpedos hit the ship split in two with a deafening howl, sending huge sections of the deck into the sky. Fragments came crashing down into the water and onto the oher parts of the deck, landing on several sailors and leaving nothing more then several long and bloody smears.

The ship rocked a few more times before taking in its final gulp of salt water, and within another two minutes it disappeared beneath the sea. Roughly 50 men dead, and hundreds of thousands worth of cargo forever lost.


Minutes later Zander's massive flagship, the War Nerve received satellite imagry of the Lisa's demise, and the entire convoy took off at maximum speed both above and below the waves. Several fists of fighters screamed off the decks of the Freek carriers and began to move only a mile or two ahead of the convoy, and all the meanwhile the Sentinels began preparing for their first naval engagement in ages. Missiles, torpedos, and cannons were locked and loaded, and the mighty Zander continued on towards Burnsian territory.

Lord Dreadfire.....I'm afraid I have some....bad news....

http://67.18.37.14/40/9/upload/p972409.jpg
Zander
-Warchief of AMF Forces-

"What the fuck?"

President Mike Sarzo's reverie came to an abrupt halt as Sarzonia One began its final descent into Timiocato, the Pacitalian capital. Sarzo, Senior Vice President for Internal Affairs Nicole Lewis, and former Admiral of the Navy Marcus Patinkin were preparing to land to take part in the Capostication ceremony performed by Prime Minister Timothy Ell.

Sarzo looked at his cell phone. He had the phone on vibrate and knew that the pilot would instruct him to turn it off at any minute to prevent turbulence. Clearly, now was not the time for interruptions.

"Sarzo," he said, in a harsh tone that was designed to tell a caller to wait unless someone did something like lob a nuclear weapon at Woodstock.

"Mike, it's Josh."

"Josh, what the hell is going on?"

"Automagfreek and The Burnsian Desert look like they're about to go to war."

"All right, fill me in, but make it quick."

After Sarzo and First Partner Jay Tyler made it to their guest room at the Prime Ministerial Residence in Timiocato, the Sarzonian leader pulled out his laptop and scanned the latest on the saga. Sarzo grimaced as he saw the report of the Moaning Lisa's sinking by Burnsian fire.

We are appalled and disappointed that the Burnsian Navy has fired upon and sunk a merchant vessel belonging to the Empire of Automagfreek. We condemn this callous act of destruction in the strongest possible terms.

We do not believe that The Burnsian Desert has made a good faith effort to allow Freek vessels to depart her soverign waters safely and we view The Burnsian Desert as the aggressors in this action. While we believe Automagfreek might have chosen a more peaceable conclusion to this impending crisis and their recent change in foreign policy may have contributed in some way to the deplorable state of affairs that currently exists, we find The Burnsian Desert to be at far greater fault in this instance.

We announce that from here on, any imports of Burnsian goods into the Incorporated States of Sarzonia or to any of her colonial territories shall be subject to a tariff approximately 75 percent above standard tariff rates for countries that currently do not enjoy a favourable trade agreement. In addition, all Sarzonian diplomatic, consular, or other personnel are instructed to vacate The Burnisan Desert within 96 hours of this announcement. We will not stand in the way of any Burnsian efforts to evacuate their own personnel from Sarzonia or her territories.Sarzo knew that throwing his lot in with the Excessively Armed Empire of Automagfreek was going to bring controversy to his country. He also knew that he might run afoul of Sarzonia's closest allies from the Democratic Imperium of Praetonia. However, Sarzo noted the tenor of Freek responses to Praetonia and knew that if things got too heated, he would issue a separate condemnation of Automagfreek. He stared out the window of his guest quarters and silently thought to himself, why? Peace was within their grasp, yet they chose to ignore it. Why?

Official Burnsian Statement

It has come to the attention of Burnsian Naval Intelligence that Freek fleets are moving toward the vicinity of Burnsian waters. It should be known that we have taken no aggressive action, and Automagfreek is lucky we have not due to the offensive actions committed by the Freek cargo ship Moaning Lisa. The vessel was moving clearly with an intent to ram the BDS Goearing. Our warship had no choice but to respond. We have attached a video of the incident. It clearly details the entire crew of the BDS Goearing identifying the Freek cargo ship on a crash course with their vessel.

980 sailors cannot be wrong, Damien.


ATTACHED: BDS_Goearing.avi


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v17/commando_burns/russian_soldier.jpg
Commander Nathan Rienhan
Burnsian Intelligence Initiative (BII)
Director of Propeganda

I have watched with some alarm at the escalation of the "embargo" situation. The Emperor has signalled that Xeraph will remain neutral at this time, despite being a long-time ally and friend of TBD.
However, it should be noted that Xeraph has naval, air, and ground forces based in TBD. The Empire of Xeraph will take no action, unilateral or otherwise, in this conflict until the Emperor directs us to do so. The exception to this would be his orders to return fire if fired upon.
Updates to follow.

Admiral Lord Killington, Commander EX Forces, TBD

The betting pools were getting rather large, with the sinking of a Freek ship. Some odds were cresting in the low millions, all in the midrange odds. Also, the Damien Head Shave betting pool reach 250,000 before it was shut down by the police.

In other news, the Crimmond government applaudded the Burnsian Desert for the twisting facts. "I know a few on my staff that wished they had your skills at it. But you chose the wrong nation to do it with. So we are hereby declaring full support of the Freeks and will assist in teh rebuilding of the Burnsian economy by dredging the hulks that once were their fleets and selling it back piece by piece." A pause. "Actually that would help our economy more that yours, but that's life."

http://home.earthlink.net/~alpha_zero_usm/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/assassin.jpg
Master Inquisitor Kamara
Head of Intelligence
Overseer of Imperial Inquisition

To: Lord Dreadfire, Automagfreek
From: Dr. Suse Randall, Director of External Contacts and Affairs, Cadillac-Gage

RE: Support.

Lord Dreadfire, we have become aware of piratical actions being taken against your Empire's legitimate trade by the nation known as 'The Burnsian Desert'.
Piracy is a disgusting and vile practice. I have been granted authority to offer the support (such as it is) of my Nation to yours in this matter.
Further, in the matter of the cowardly attack on your cargo vessel, it is the belief of my Analysis section here, that the Burnsians staged the incident specifically to provoke an armed conflict.

I understand that you issued a statement requesting that other nations not join into this conflict directly-we will honour your request until such time as you change your mind. In the meantime, the ice is just about broken out of our ports for this year, and the three-month shipping season is almost open.
For the duration of this conflict, all Tariffs at our point-of-entry port of Sjagnav are waived for your merchants, in order to help defer the costs of punishing these...brigands-this condition will persist for the duration of the emergency-and is, I think, the best support we can offer.

Cordially,
Suse Randall, PhD.
Director of External Contacts and Affairs
Cadillac Gage

Corsingard
ISA Headquarters
Conference Room 1138

“Holy shit! They’re coming right at us!”

-zzzzip-

“Holy shit! They’re coming right at us!”

-zzzzip-

“Holy shit! They’re coming right at us!”

-zzzzip-

Section Chief Ghast lowered the remote, and the video played one final time. “Holy shit! They’re coming right at us!” There was the image, as always, of the transport rumbling down on the naval ship. There was the panicked response, the scattering sailors, and then, the roar of antishipping weapons.

“Why?” Ghast asked, addressing his advisors. “Why would a transport ram a navy vessel? What would provoke this? Are we certain that this video is legit?”

“Sir, we can’t be definite, but our analysis is ninety-nine point nine percent positive that this wasn’t doctored. The quality of video isn’t good enough for detailed checking, like the names of the crew, but the environmental details are correct. There’re no glaring production errors, nor any non sequiturs in footage. We checked the hull, it matches, the sea conditions, the sun position, the number of crew, everything. The video looks legit.” The Analytical Commander tapped his desk.

Ghast shook his head. “Okay, what about SatRec?”

The Analytical Supervisor from Satellite Reconnaissance looked up, and tapped his PDA. A hologram sprung to life in the center of the table, showing a very wide view of the ocean surface. “Unfortunately, this is the best we could do. At the time, we did not have any satellites tasked over the region for in depth covering. The only data we have is from several wide-view and geomapping orbitals, as well as some less-than-professional work from the station Icarus. By less than professional, I mean an astronaut snapping pictures while on spacewalk.” He shrugged slightly.

“Couldn’t you enhance it some? And why wasn’t there a tasked satellite?” That was Villiers, from Operations.

“We did enhance it, but there’s only so much you can zoom on before you’ve begun creating content. And we didn’t have a sat tasked because there was no threat in that region. The cost of trying to cover the surface of the earth in Keyhole and DarkStars would be outrageous! We’d be paying trillions in maintenance, not to mention the manpower and de-”

“Gentlemen, gentlemen.” Ghast spoke quietly, but the room instantly fell silent. The well-groomed Section Chief leaned forward, stroking his trimmed beard. “This is not the time for squabbling. What we’re here to do is figure out what is going on, so that we can give the Director an accurate brief, and he can decide how to best gain from this information. Now, let’s get back to SatRec. What can you tell us, Jim?”

“Sir, we can place both ships in the region, and we can identify them. Once the BDS Goearing fired on the Moaning Lisa, our DarkStar system realigned automatically, and focused in. We can tell you exactly what they fired, where it hit, and where the shrapnel went, but I’m afraid we can’t give any clue on why.”

“What about Signals?”

“Sir, Argus monitored transmissions, and the Goering and Moaning Lisa were operating in normal stances. If something got transmitted, it was heavily encrypted and hidden, and it will take months to decifer.”

Ghast shook his head again. “We don’t have months. Does anyone have any information on why? This is not normal, not right, and by all means should be a fraud, but we can’t seem to get anything.”

There was a moment of pause, so Ghast tapped his remote again.

-zzzzip-

“Holy shit! They’re coming right at us!”

He turned back to the room, hoping to catch a glance from the men and women at the table, that one of these brilliant minds would find a wedge, a sliver. And he found it, as a Field Commander’s eyes narrowed. Ghast jumped onto this moment of potential insight. “Commander Danforth, did you spot something?”

“Sir, there’s a lot of sailors on deck.” Danforth glanced up, the operations man meeting his commander’s gaze solidly. Danforth was one of the ISA’s regional experts, a true “agent” in the classical sense of the term, a professor of HumInt over the modern forms of ElInt, SigInt, and SatInt. “I don’t remember there being that many sailors on that type of vessel. It seems… suspicious. Did anyone count the sailors on deck?”

“Yes.” The AC from digital processing answered. “That’s the cruiser Goering, with a complement of seven hundred eighty officers and enlisted. There were no more on deck…” he paused. “Jesus Christ.”

There was a sudden silence in the room, and Ghast looked at the Analytical Commander. “You have something now.”

“Sir, they had their entire crew on deck. We counted at least seven hundred and sixty sailors in that video. They had all hands on deck.”

A naval officer commented, “No one can run a ship like that. There’s not enough manpower left below decks, and if there was, the ship would be double staffed and almost unworkable.”

And Ghast smiled. “We’ve got them. I want Signals to work on cracking those transmissions, and also check the deployment orders, make sure there wasn’t a double-staff on that ship.” Again he played the video.

-zzzzip-

“Holy shit! They’re coming right at us!”

But this time, he let it play, and his lip curled up a little bit. “Keep working on this video. Now that we know it’s a stage production, look for any other evidence of setups…” he stopped short. “Like the fact that the sailors are in dress uniforms at sea. That’s beautiful.” Ghast tapped his desk. “Back to work, people, and lets finish this analysis before lunch.”

OOC: That's one hell of a way to say TAG, and to gain some potential blackmail/aide information... oh, and to wank off my ISA.

The Dread Lord watched with a very watchful eye, the video over and over again. Several things weren't right, but he had sworn loyalty to TBD, he would be in a diplomatic crisis if he swayed support now. What to do, what to do. He finally came up with a solution and decided it'd be best to side with TBD, true the video had been an obvious fake, anyone could tell. However, there was no one who would dare say its fake except the AMF and his little cronies and how much proof could be gathered from that?

Bane looked over his list of meetings, and hit the cancel button. All his meetings would be cancelled except for an emergency meeting, between him Imperator Shimara and Supreme Commander Adrian. He though already knew the outcome of the meeting, and instantly began the mobilization of a force large enough to help defend TBD even more so then it already could.

Throughout the Dracun Bases, carries stocked, troops hurried as rumors of war flew threw their chatting mouths. Weapons were gathered, as the planes were fueled, and Dracun prepared for a total war like no other, and the Dread Lord loved every second of it.

OOC: Sorry, folks, but I kinda want to keep this one-on-one, unless AMF wants differently? *looks pointedly at AMF* In any case, here's some more RP before I hit the sack.

Secret IC:

Administrative Building
Regal Naval Base
Peninsula Region
The Burnsian Desert

"The fourth fleet and the... oh, dear," yawned the President-General, who was putting the final touches on his troop deployment sheets. He'd been up all night since the Goearing hoax, and the jet lag from Highfather International hadn't helped. His glasses hung limp from his neck, only held there by a thin chain which disappeared into the folds of skin behind his neck. He looked weak, the old man he truly was. Of course, he would never reveal his age to the public; liposuction and various other plastic surgeries had convinced them that he was a lean 40 years old. But that didn't matter now; his mind had to keep focused on the task at hand.

Pressing the small button under his desk, he said into a small microphone, "Suzanne, please send Admiral Romanovov in; I need to speak with him concerning the submarine deployments."

"Yes, President-General," came the reply. Close to ten minutes later, the admiral knocked on the door and walked in. His grey overcoat was powdered with newly fallen snow.

"A bit snowy, eh, Mitch?" asked the man, a battle-scarred, middle-aged man, who had direct bloodlines to the first Queen of The Burnsian Desert, Her Late Highness Queen Rachel Romonovov.

"Yeap, I turned on the heating just for you. I know how you hate the cold. Listen, can you help me with this? That bastard Damien and his lackey Zander are sending a huge-ass fleet that we have to deal with-"

"I've got it covered. Here's the deployments I'm recommending; there's no question the pipeline from Sherra is going to be bombed. It's too juicy a target. I'm having oil trucked in from Goa'uld Ganeesh, but not enough to get the entire navy floating. We'll have to store it up here from the pipeline. I've also got supplies coming via train along the Coastal Railway, and they'll be here soon," He handed Craig a paper. "These are the deployment rosters."


DEPLOYMENT
Regal Naval Base
'The Moaning Lisa Conflict'

1st Fleet
[18] - S-1A Class Attack Supersubmarines
[4] - S-1B Class Aircraft Carrier Supersubmarines
_____[32] B-2N Stealth Fighters (each)
_____[2] A-1AN Transport Aircraft (each)
_____[16] B-2N2 Stealth ASW Aircraft (each)
[5] - S-2 Class Submarine Tender Submarines

3rd Fleet
[18] - S-1A Class Attack Supersubmarines
[4] - S-1B Class Aircraft Carrier Supersubmarines
_____[32] B-2N Stealth Fighters (each)
_____[2] A-1AN Transport Aircraft (each)
_____[16] B-2N2 Stealth ASW Aircraft (each)
[5] - S-2 Class Submarine Tender Submarines

13th Fleet
[18] - S-1A Class Attack Supersubmarines
[4] - S-1B Class Aircraft Carrier Supersubmarines
_____[32] B-2N Stealth Fighters (each)
_____[2] A-1AN Transport Aircraft (each)
_____[16] B-2N2 Stealth ASW Aircraft (each)
[5] - S-2 Class Submarine Tender Submarines

4th Fleet Flagship Fleet
[12] S-3A Warcruisers
_____[2] A-3A ASW Helicopters (each)
[5] S-4 Chief-Class Dreadnaughts
_____[6] B-2N Stealth Fighters (each)
[3] S-5 Standard Tankers
[4] S-3B Destroyers

9th Fleet
[12] S-3A Warcruisers
_____[2] A-3A ASW Helicopters (each)
[5] S-4 Chief-Class Dreadnaughts
_____[6] B-2N Stealth Fighters (each)
[3] S-5 Standard Tankers
[4] S-3B Destroyers

10th Fleet
[12] S-3A Warcruisers
_____[2] A-3A ASW Helicopters (each)
[5] S-4 Chief-Class Dreadnaughts
_____[6] B-2N Stealth Fighters (each)
[3] S-5 Standard Tankers
[4] S-3B Destroyers


After reviewing the paper, the President handed it back to Romonovov, saying, "Very well. Have this delivered. When can the vessels be ready?"

"Two weeks, at the least," replied the admiral.

Craig sighed. "Make it so."

Romonvov donned his coat, and, after a handshake, left the President's temporary office and delivered the deployment orders to Logistics. A day later, the commands were in motion.

Lord Dreadfire already knew the situation before Zander took to the radio. His fleets were still a day or two away from the outer reaches of The Burnsian Deserts waters, and the massive convoy of ships continued on forward at maximum speed. Zander's 3rd and 4th fleets consisted of several hundred vessles both large and small, and as their quest continued they began to disperse and break into few dozen smaller clusters of ships. The convoy as a whole was now several miles wide, with forward elements moving slightly ahead of the ships, both above and below the seas.

The ships of General Brinks had also taken to the seas, but in an entirely different direction. They began heading away from both the AMF mainland and away from the direction of TBD waters. Slowly his ships began to slink away from outer Gholgoth territory, and behind him at various AMF ports, smaller fleets under command of the lesser Warchiefs were being prepped.

Damien knew this was the moment he had been waiting for, a legitimate reason to lash out at The Burnsian Desert. He moved about the Great Hall with almost a joyful look on his face, and as rumor began to spread around ULE City about another possibly large scale war, the Freeks took to the streets. Thousands of them left their homes and made for the Great Hall, and they watched the famous balcony and awaited word from their fearless leader.

And he did not disappoint, and as the masses continued to swell he stepped out through the black and crimson curtains, amidst a sea of applause. The commotion did not last long, for every Freek there could not wait to hear if the rumors were true or not. Damien leaned forward on the railing and began addressing his brethren.

My people, despite my best efforts at a peaceful solution....the heathens of The Burnsian Desert have sunk a large cargo vessel of ours. Early reports indicate that the vessel was in the process of turning around to head back into international waters as they were attacked by the cowards. Everyone on board is feared dead, and the mighty fleets of Zander have been dispatched to drive these vile wretches back into the shit pit from wench they came.

Once again, brothers and sisters of Automagfreek, the lessons of old have been forgotten. The Burnsian Desert does not fear the wrath of the Sentinels any longer, and they fear not the burning inferno that is the Dread Fires. But on this day, this glorious day, the lessons of old will be retaught. These heathens will pay for their ignorance with the lives of their own...and each day we will spill their blood until it rains down from the skies. Rivers and seas will boil over, and lush vegetation will be reduced to ash.

On this day I say to you all that the armies of The Burnsian Desert have stepped into the serpent's lair, and none that take up arms against the Sentinels will be left alive. Under the banners of crimson and black we will rape The Burnsian Desert of its women and put its children to the sword....and we will take what we want until our thirst is quenched. Blood and Fire will reign supreme on this day my people, and through a wall of flames the heathens will see my face moments before their lives are forever extiguished.

The Burnsian Desert has made a grave mistake....and to the grave they will march. Children of the Empire, sons and daughters of the Invincible, now is the day that the initials A M F are seared into the hearts and minds of all that cross us. Let them....

Sleep Now In The Fire.

The crowd began dispersing quickly after another long explosion of applause, eager to watch the war developments on TV as they unfolded. Damien walked back inside the Great Hall after delivering yet another rousing speech and wasted no time in plotting his battle plans.

Several hours later, word began to circulate throughout various AMF military installations that The Destroyer himself may very well take a direct role in the coming war. Only time would tell, and time was certainly not on the side of the Burnsians.

Inter-Region Highway 91
Peninsula Region
The Burnsian Desert

"Peaceful solution my ass," said Craig, finishing up reading the transcript of Damien's speech. "If by peaceful solution he means deploying half his navy, yeah, that's a real peaceful solution." He turned to Romonovov, the only other occupant of the military transport truck he was riding in. "How much of our fleets are ready?"

The admiral thought for a moment before replying. "I'm sure that the First Fleet is ready to go, but the rest of them are still fueling and loading supplies. The only other option I can present to you is the 17th Miners."

Craig looked at his admiral. "A mining fleet?" he asked. "What kinds of weapons do they have loaded?"

"Oil mines," replied Romonovov.

"Remind me how those work."

"Once an enemy fleet is detected, they release a large cloud of highly concentrated combustable vapor, in which they detonate a small packet of explosives. The explosives light the cloud, causing a massive shock wave, and a great amount of fire from the oil that falls to the ocean."

"That would be an ecological disaster," said Craig.

"Sir, with all due respect," Romonovov glared at Craig, "it would be a disaster to have Automagfreek kill our entire population."

Craig took the hint. He sat for a moment, looking at his hands. This would be the first true, actual war he had ever fought as President-General. The fate of nearly three billion people rested in his hands. His wrinkled, old hands.

"Admiral," he said, "radio Regal. Have them mine the coastlines; no one gets in, no one goes out."

"It shall be done," said Romonovov, picking up the sattelite phone and dialing Regal Naval Base's deployments department. "This is Admiral Romonovov. I want the entirety of the distance between Regal and Han's to be mined. A straight linne, covering the Bay of Pigs from enemy penetration. Oil mines. Understood?" after an affirmative response, Romonovov closed the phone and looked at the President.

"Sir, the boats won't make it back in time. If the Freek ships are going into the Bay, that entire fleet is dead. They won't be able to make it back in time; they'll cross right in front of the line. I just sent them on a suicide mission, sir."

Craig looked at the admiral for a second, not knowing what to say. He was saved by the grinding of the transmission, and the back flap of the truck being pushed aside. The driver extended his arm, saying, "Welcome to the High Military Command Bunker, sirs."

OOC: I know, a bit rushed, but I wanted to get some posting in tonight...

Due to recent events regarding relations between The Burnsian Desert and The Nation of Automagfreek. The Mondothian mission at The Burnsian Desert has been recalled. Furthermore, a broadcast has been made to all Mondothian Citizens curently in The Burnsian Desert to consider leaving at the earliest possible moment.

(Definate;y not another tag because I switched browsers and can't find my old one)

Freek satellites had been watching the entire area for days.

Every movement made both in and out of port had been carefully recorded and studied, and Zander knew exactly what was waiting for him in TBD's waters. Zander had run through the scenarios with his closest staff, and after several hours they came up with a suitable plan.

Alright men, we know that the waters are heavily mined. Therefore I suggest we fire a series of very high explosives and or seismic like charges and attempt to take out the mines. I want to do this over the course of a few miles, as I do NOT want our forces to get bottlenecked. From there it's business as usual, and I trust you all already know what to do.

His staff nodded in agreement and were then dismissed from the private war room on board the War Nerve. The fleets would soon be entering the outskirts of TBD territorial waters, and from there the fight would be on. Only a few hours left and the master plan would be set into motion.....and from there there would no turning back.

Several hours passed and the lumbering naval fleets slowed significantly as they prepared to begin their quest. Fighters were recalled from their forward posts and their area of patrol was reduced greatly. Below the waves Freek subs held their large perimeter around the convoy, and cautiously a fist of Supremacy class subs crept into TBD waters.

Within about a half hour of in incursion, the rest of the warships began moving. They were still out of firing range and out of range from coastal defenses, but that would all change in the course of the next few hours.

Bump, for TBD.

OOC: Assuming that means I should post... :)

IC:

Dock 8
Regal Naval Base
Peninsula Region
The Burnsian Desert

The behemoth warship BDS Lourding crept out of her berth, slowly accelerating to match the rest of the deployed fleet. The Lourding was a large vessel, carrying enough firepower to level three city blocks in one volley from her great cannons. The flagship of her fleet, she stayed in the center of the battlegroup for about an hour, departing RNB's vicinity and heading in the direction of the Freek fleet, recently picked up on radar and sattelite imagery.

"Contacts, designated Romeo 12, Romeo 13, Romeo 14... holy shit... look at all of that..." stuttered the radar operator, gaping over his readout. "Sir!" he said, motioning to the officer in charge. "This isn't even our fleet..."

"Of course it's not our fleet; the contacts you have here are miles away," responded the officer curtly. "Notify the captain," he barked. "While you're on it, bring the fleet to battle stations; this is gunna be a bumpy ride."

OOC: A shitty post, but it's 11 PM... sigh... can you work with that or do you want me to expand?

Zander's ships had begun their initial push into TBD waters at around 0500 hours. Satellite feed had detected the presense of mine ships several hours before their initial incursion, and to this the Warchief answered with a volley of highly explosive, almost siesmic charges into TBD waters. They hoped that the massive shockwaves caused by such weapons would detonate any mines in the explosion, and a several mile area was chosen for immediate bombardment.

The patrols in the air were not doubled, but intead tripled as the fleets neared the shore. The numerous Supremacy class subs had ventured out as far as they were willing to go, but every few minutes they crept in closer, if only by a few feet at a time. Zander was pleased with the progress, and he then ordered his ships to break apart into several dozen smaller clusters of ships that would be spread out across a wide area, both near the front and rear of the action.

But the time had come for the 18" guns of the War Nerve to begin the symphony of destruction, and in unison they exploded with activity. Several initial vollies of 18" rocket assisted rounds were fired at the shoreline of The Burnsian Desert, nearly 40 miles away. Soon they themselves would be in firing range of the coastal units, so they temporarily slowed their movements to give the War Nerve adequate time to pound the shore. On board the numerous transport vessels, the Sentinels stirred and loaded up into their smaller landing craft. They performed one final equipment check and made sure the 60mm mortars on their landing craft were adequately supplied to support the landing infantry forces.

The time had come, and with The Burnsian shoreline soon to come into view, Zander made sure that every preperation had been made in order to minimize casualties on his end. His planes took the high atmosphere and awaited their orders to swoop down, but until a sufficient area had been cleared out on the beach, all they could do was watch and wait. However, a few of the high altitude fighter-bombers had sighted in several shore targets with the assistance of Freek satellites and fired off a series of cruise missiles. Only a handfull were shot at the ground below, and the rest would be used to support the landing forces.

Men, this is the moment we have been waiting for. You Lord has given you your orders, and you will now carry them out until your death. Go now, serve your Lord and your Empire, and make both proud! The Sentinels roared in approval as Zander briefly took to the PA system, and after the rallying cry they finished loading up their first wave.

BDS Lourding
90 Miles off the Burnsian Coast
Peninsula Region
The Burnsian Desert

"Multiple sonar contacts, massive radar contacts, designated Sierra one, two, three..." the sensor officer rattled off contact after contact, growing more panicked by the second as he watched his screen illuminate with the different blips. By now, the captain had returned to the bridge. Almost jogging over to the S.O.'s station, he noted the heading and speed of the enemy fleet. Satisfied, he picked up a transciever microphone and radioed the other ships in the fleet.

"4th fleet, this is the flagship Lourding. The Freek fleet has been confirmed at the following co-ordinates... make appropriate adjustments for course and speed. You have the authority to fire at will, using whatever means necessary to protect that beach. Not one of those vessels should have offensive capability by this time the day after tomorrow. Lourding out."

Regional Mililtary Command Bunker
AMF Landing Beach
East of the Highfather Swamps
Central Region
The Burnsian Desert

Several earth-shattering explosions shook the foundation of the command bunker, sending several men sprawling on the floor and damaging electronics. Again and again the ground shook, rocked by the concussions of inbound shells. Soon, the entire bunker was in chaos, and soldiers were scrambing about, trying to get their bearings. Frantically, the commander of the area reached for a radio and yelled the words, "THIS IS EASTERN CENTRAL COMMAND! THE FREEKS HAVE LANDED AT OUR POSITION. I SAY AGAIN, THE FREEKS HAVE LANDED AT OUR POSITION! REQUESTING REINFORCEMENTS IMMEDIATELY!" He wasn't sure if the rail lines had been knocked out by now, but he was hoping to God they weren't.

Down at the beach, several machine-gun emplacements and light artillery positions were being set up along the front, despite several being destroyed by Freek cruise missile strikes. The ones that had survived were trying to pull camoflauge nets over the foxholes and embankments, which became difficult as the rain on the beach worsened.

They were ready... but only for battle.

The volume of firepower begin unleashed on the chosen LZ intensified three fold, and this time large scale cluster munitions were being fired into the center and rear of the Burnsian defensive line. Zander was currently tracking a large fleet of Burnsian ships making their way to his position, and he adjusted his lines accordingly, sending several large fists of Supremacy class subs to scout ahead first.

Meanwhile, the fighters that had taken to the atmosphere suddenly broke formation, and the radar screen suddenly begame a swamp of blips as the fighters spread themselves out. Some were flying underneath eachother in order to disguise their numbers, and even Zander's eyes grew wide as he saw just how many planes he had in the air. Begin your attack run now. Serve the Empire! With the final order given, the fighters hit their boosters and thrust themselves into the chaos headfirst.

The fighter-bombers stayed back from the main jet fighter wings, and their role would be to sight in and fire upon any SAM or AA sites that sprung to life, in hopes that they could be knocked out with minimal casualties. Scores of 30mm depleted uranium fire and guided missiles screamed towards the ground, and the fighters once more split their formations after each volley. By the time the ground was visible past the clouds, they futher split their numbers and commenced in precautionary evasive maneuvers, in hopes of confusing enemy radar units.

On the sea, the bombardments continued, but the Freek navy began walking the fire inland, concentrating the bulk of its heaviest fire to the outer reaches of TBD lines. The landing craft took to the seas and moved at top speed towards the shores. Nearly a mile wide and no more than three ships deep, the menacing first wave was now within firing range from the shore, and the seas jumped dozens of feet into the air as enemy rounds landed all around them. Several were knocked out immediatly, sending flaming metal and body parts into the clear blue seas.

But the Sentinels were ever determined, and with the massive support from the sea and air, it would not be difficult to break the backbone of the enemy. As they came within arms reach of the shore, the 60mm mortars that were affixed to the craft opened up with a volley of its own, but this time they concentrated on the immediate landing area. The beach was pretty much nothing more than a giant smoke cloud, which further worked to the advantage of the Sentinels. With the battleship, missile, and mortar fire never ceasing, the first transports hit the beach and opened their gates.

With the gates dropping on their craft, the Sentinels spilled forth onto the smoking and brutally pommelled beach. The first few hundred yards were devoid of life or any material object for that matter, and large glass formations were everywhere from the flaming hot ordinance.

The Sentinels also used the smoke cloud to their advantage and began landing several light attack vehicles and main battle tanks. They spread themselves out and prepared for close in combat, but the Sentinels would be handling the bulk of that. Using satellite feed, the M1A2's on the beach were able to sight in any surviving structure on the beach and begin firing kinetic and high explosive rounds at whatever was still standing.

Zander sat back in his chair, a content grin on his face. Only Lord Dreadfire could execute a better amphibious assault, and this one was definatly one of his finer ones. Sipping a tall glass of scotch he called for status reports almost every minute, keeping a watchful eye on Burnsian naval assets, air assets, and whatever they had on the ground.

The beach was a disaster zone. Remnants of machine guns and artillery littered the sands, and some of the metal had twisted into grotesque shapes. Only a handful of Burnsian defenders were left, desperately trying to spray the beach down with bullets. From what was left of the treeline, snipers took out the most dangerous targets, concentrating on heavier-armed infantry. Slowly, though, they were being flanked and pushed back by the Sentinels' superior numbers and support.

Thirty miles inland, thirty-six massive artillery pieces rose from their concrete hideways to salute the sky. The camoflauge nets that had been over them were removed, and they were loaded with incendiary, rocket assisted 110mm shells. After co-ordinates were recieved from a forward observer, the big guns began firing, 16 at a time. While one set of 16 reloaded, the other fired.

As the shells began to cascade over th beach, the Burnsian submersible carriers surfaced and began to launch their squadrons. The first targets were ships with aircraft-carrying ability. Bombers from the submarines flew low to the waves, pulling up only to release missiles. At the same time, the Burnsian surface ships unleashed volleys of long-range Katana missiles. Their primary objectives were to hit 'soft' targets such as hospital ships, tankers and submarine tenders.

This had been the moment Zander had been waiting for: for his enemy to expose itself.

As the artillery pieces showered high explosive death upon the Sentinel ranks, forward observers sent encrypted transmissions to the massive score of aircraft that flew over the beach. The fighter-bombers broke from their ranks and using satellite feed sighted in the artillery pieces, which were now proving to be quite the nusiance, preventing more armor from landing and pommeling the first wave.

A half mile sector was chosen for immediate destruction, and a volley of long range cruise missiles were fired. Their payloads ranged from NAPALM to supercharged high explosive, and it would only be a matter of minutes before the enemy guns came under fire. Each fighter-bomber launched 2 missiles each, and each volley was launched simultaniously, putting 25 missiles in the air immediatly, and another 25 not too far behind. They then made a sharp turn and headed back towards the beach, where the Sentinels were ordered to move their ranks in as close as they could to the enemy. Hoping that the Burnsians wouldn't fire upon their own men, the Sentinels loaded up and made a mad dash up the beach under support of heavy aircraft and naval cannon fire.

The situation at sea however, was much more volitile. The Supremacy class subs immediatly went into a passive state as soon as the enemy craft surfaced, and they allowed the Burnsian vessles to get in danger close before releasing a sickening barrage of torpedos. The underbellies of the enemy ships were the target, and round after round screamed out of the torpedo tubes and cut through the water towards their targets.

Several Freek vessels took massive hits, and one of them was a newly constructed carrier. The flight deck had been chewed to bits by explosions and enemy fire, rendering it basicaly useless except for launching choppers. The AMF planes in the air then split in half and formed an aerial semi-circle around the battlefield, and began corralling the Burnsian planes away from the main Freek ships. The three massive forward guns on the War Nerve swung about immediatly, firing KE and high explosive rounds at the surfaced enemy ships, and CIWS and other defensive systems were operating at full capacity. The two rear guns continued unending support for the Sentinels fighting and dying on the sandy beach that was now nothing more than a flaming, smoking crater of death.

The skies became even more chaotic as flak started to fill the air around the enemys aerial staging points. Large clouds of flak were fired above the aircraft launching bays, and at the terminals themselves. Guided missile frigates and destroyers spread themselves out in a wide formation as they unleashed staggering amounts of ordinance into the air. With sub and battleship support, they slowly began walking their fire towards the enemy in hopes to cut off any retreat and crush them with one swift stroke.

It was a costly fight so far, but Zander remained highly confident in the abilities of his men and his machines. He constantly barked orders over the massive roar of the War Nerve's cannons without fear or the need to second guess, and this drove the men around him to give it their all and unleash Hell.

CIWS chainguns opened up on the missiles, in synchronization with SAM sites located along the route from the beach to the artillery base. However, the last-ditch effort was no match for the sheer numerical superiority of the Freek missiles; all but five of the massive artillery cannons were decimated. Realizing the mistakes of their comrades, the SAM sites were deconstructed and rushed into hiding, either in caves or crudely constructed lean-tos. The five remaining artillery pieces were also taken down, and an attempt was made to camoflauge their positions again.

Meanwhile, in an undisclosed location, several Burnsian computer specialists were watching the scene unfold in the skies high above TBD. Several sattelites were sending encrypted transmissions from their lofty posts, giving the command on the War Nerve a definate tactical advantage. Using triangulation on the source of the data streams in conjunction with groundbased radar, target locks were achieved on three sattelites. Eight ASAT missiles were launched from Sherra, which then zeroed in on the delicate instruments in the upper atmosphere.

Back at sea, the Burnsian fleet was suffering heavy losses. At least eight of the submersible carriers had been downed, leaving few ships to resist. The final submarines and ships launched full wings of aircraft until the carriers and battleships were dry. Each of them were to select the ship that looked most dangerous, fire all their munitions, and crash into the bridge or deck, whichever came first. Most of these aircraft were blown to pieces by anti-aircraft fire, however, some managed to escape. Simotaniously (sp?), all the ships launched their SAM batteries, in a mad attempt to create a gap in the Freek whirlwind of jets. Finally, the ships went full speed ahead, on a collision course with the enemy fleet.

Shit, we've lost visuals. The crew on the War Nerve scrambled around the command tower trying to get their satellites back online, but all initial reports indicated that they had been shot down. Zander felt a knot in his stomach, and deided not to inform Lord Dreadfire that his satellites had been downed....because it was standard Freek policy to engage in full thermo-nuclear war if any space assets were harmed.

However, Zander's technicians quickly came up with a resolution to the problem. Tell me, now. Barked the infuriated Warchief. Sir, I've managed to ping the satellite and figure out what frequency they are transmitting on. What I can do is anonymously piggy-back the signal to our receptors without disruption of their systems. Basically, we're snatching the signal out of the air and decoding it using our own processors. We won't be able to control their satellites, but we can at least see what they're seeing. I can save all visuals to our hard drives, and we can analyze later.

The last remaining visuals were of the enemy artillery pieces. Moments before the Freek satellites were shot down from the heavens, one final set of coordinates were sent to the fighters still in the air. Their orders were to commence massive saturation bombing of the entire grid...nearly a half mile area was to be totally blown to bits. AtmosFighters and FA/66 NightReapers swept down from the clouds and fired everything they had at the given coordinates, hoping to destroy both the SAM sites and artillery cannons while they were still in transit.

The Sentinels on the ground began a massive push inland mere seconds after the roar of the Burnsian artilery ceased. With MBT and light vehicle support, they massed their numbers and began a simultanious blitzkrieg in three seperate directions from the beach head. Several heavy Freek howitzers were brought ashore and began firing long range projectiles in support of the charging wave of Sentinels. Things were going well, and more and more landing craft dotted the burnt and blood soaked beaches of The Burnsian Desert.

Out at sea, things were quite different. The Burnsians had put up a hell of a fight, sending some of Zander's mroe important ships to the bottom of the sea. The War Nerve was no longer firing towards the shore, but instead all 5 of its heavy main guns were firing on the approaching enemy vessels. With ordinance on both sides nearly spent, Zander saved his prized KE rounds for last after firing nearly all of his high explosive rounds. The smaller destroyers and submarines began to attack together as one unit, targeting the vessels that attemtped to ram into any Freek ship.

This is when Zander ordered his fleets to break apart yet again, spreading themselves out another mile and forming a large semi-circle, with the shore to their back. The fighters that were duking it out in the skies kept themselves busy, with several hundred enemy and friendy fighters in the air, there was little the surface fleet could do to support them. However the Freeks fought hard, with the War Nerve concentrating on one ship at a time, while his missle frigates and other craft targeted others, one at a time. The ships that came the closest or continued firing the most projectiles were the primary targets, and the secondary targets were vessles that were less threatening.

Large 18" depleted uranium rods were firing at the bow side of the charging Burnsian vessles both high and low, hoping to shred the water tight bulkheads both above and below the sealing point. Crazy bastards, they must know the end is near to attempt to ram our ships. Muttered Zander under his breath. Get Brinks on the horn, tell him to bring up our reinforcements from home. Tell him we need more naval and aircraft ammunition, and tell him to bring....another 50,000 Sentinels, any number of waves he chooses. Zander's staff complied and forwarded the request over to General Brinks, who was maybe a days hard sail away from the action.