NationStates Jolt Archive

It was the first time in Havenite history that such an act was ever attempted. Haven had never colonized another land, it had been Haven that years ago had become a colony for a handful of nations. But now Haven was the colonizer and not the colonized. This wasn’t Havens first colony, Haven had many colonies, but this was the first time Haven actually had to colonize its colonies. All the other colonies were gained thru conquest, by force of arms and that mindset was showing in the way Haven went about attempting to learn how to bring colonies up from scratch as it went along. The government was treating it more like a war than a peaceful conquest, even the word conquest showed the mindset of the people leading the movement. It had been held up as a bloodless way to gain land to become a valve to loosen the pressure on the overcrowded homeland. And a place to give the economy a booster shot.

An entire battle fleet was sent accompanied by an amphibious group carrying two divisions worth of troops. It really did look like an invasion fleet heading off to a hot war zone even the hundreds of supply ships fit even though no normal invasion fleet would need so many supplies. While many of those ships carried normal supplies that a fleet would need most didn’t. Hundreds of tons of building material, steel, concrete, wood along with other supplies and accompanied by a small army of workers all made the trip. All of this had been put together at a huge expense to the government, costs in the upper hundreds of millions of dollars before anyone actually set foot on the parcel of land designated to become a colony of Safehaven2. The whole thing was under the command of General Ekko G. Torres, a fairly young man who had climbed the ranks quickly.

The size and cost of the expedition had been the reason a whole battle fleet was assigned to protect it so that all that money would be safe and protected but that did more than protect it increased the cost of the expedition even more. The size of the expedition and lack of an established settlement to meet them poised its own problems, were would all the ships go? How would all those ships unload in a timely fashion? A good sized natural harbor that had been spotted weeks ago by satellites had been picked as the destination to help alleviate some of these problems but it didn’t wipe them out, merely lessened some of them. The government, in all its size and splendor, just didn’t understand or didn’t care about the problems they were causing by insisting on size and speed and it of course wouldn’t be there fault if it failed, no that burden was laid on General Torres’ shoulders.

The harbor that ha been picked was in site looming in the horizon, behind it a large mountain jutted out from the landscape dwarfing the rolling hills around it. The aircraft carriers were the first to actually act. Still miles out aircraft began shrieking off the decks leaving smoke behind in their attempts to break free from the long deck. On the decks of the carriers themselves people representing everyone major media outlet and many of the minor ones watched, pictured and filmed the event as it unfolded. The fighters ranged far and wide scouting and watching in preparation for the landings. Following close behind choppers full of troops crossed the distance to the shore faster than any ship could. Dozens of men, and women, hopped out of the choppers setting up a perimeter and marking landing areas for the incoming ships. Makeshift helicopter pads were set up to bring in more supplies and men about a mile from shore and they soon became filled with activity as choppers moved back and forth unloading supplies and troops.

The actual ships stopped before they reached the shore, just short of their destination. They could be seen for miles dotting the seascape. Dozens of landing ships and amphibious vehicles made the journey for them. The lead troops busied themselves marking off areas for construction, an airfields, command bunker, sleeping quarters, they had all been pre-mapped and marked thru satellite recon, in fact what the colony would look like for the next few months was already planned out almost exactly down to the building all that remained for them to do was actually mark off the locations and start building. In the beginning it would be a military base till things were locked down then the city building would start.

Moving thru all the ships a single object dwarfed them all, even the large carriers and Galleons. It was a pre fabricated harbor, or a piece of one. It had been built at great expense and effort to deal with the problem of not having port facilities. It was based off of the idea used by the allies in WW2 but while they were of the same idea they were completely different. The Explorer as it was called was much bigger and more modern, even equipped with limited defenses. It had to come in smaller pieces that would be put together upon arrival and even then some parts would have to be constructed and added on but when it was finished, it was projected to take a week and a half to put together fully, it would greatly speed the construction of the colony. This first piece was slowly moved into place, they couldn’t be too careful with it for a replacement wasn’t an option.

The landings had been started in the morning for a reason, so by nightfall there would be some semblence of a colony. The work kept going thru the night, helicopters and landing craft bringing in more supplies mostly while men threw up new structures, most of them temporary for now. Most of the two divisions had been landed and when it came time for them to sleep most would spend the first few nights in tents or in their vehicles, if they could sleep thru all the noise, but things would get better. Things were just beginning.

Day Three

“Sir, KHA News wants to know when they can have an interview?”

“Tell them they can wait, I’m busy right now.” General Torres had gotten off his ship as soon as he could to go out and inspect the work, and hurry it along. In one hand he had a plan to the base and in the other a radio. “What the hell are you men doing?” Up ahead a group f men were building in the middle of what was supposed to be a road. “Goddamnit, what barrack is this one?” “9B sir.” “9B? 9B Is supposed to be all the way over there who the hell told you to build here?” “Sir, some civilian contractor, said the land just wasn’t right over there.” “Jesus Christ” The general walked away in disgust shaking his head, its seemed everything was going wrong but if you really looked around it was a miracle so much got done. Back home people were praising it as a success already with stocks shooting up. Dozens of companies were benefiting fro this, shipping companies, construction firms, the steel industry, timber industry, glass industry everybody had something to gain.

“General, umm I’m receiving reports that part of the Explorer was lost, E6.”

“What? How?”

“Freak storm sir, were not exactly sure but we’ve lost contact.”

“How far does that put us back?”

“We can still receive ships within the week but our compacity will be cut back by twenty percent.”

One month later

Most of the buildings were still temporary or wooden but newer, more permanent steel and concrete buildings were beginning to rise up. It still was just a military base, its only civilian population being the workers and reporters. Most of everything was still based on the harbor but smaller posts of men went out as far as a hundred miles with patrols ranging even further. With the Explorer finished minus the piece that had been lost at sea ships were lined up to dock and unload. Heavy equipment, vehicles, tools all unloaded to help build up the base. With most of the base actually completed and the Explorer in place the colony was now opened up to civilian immigration. The area around the base would be the first place people could settle, and would later become the capital, New Haven. People were granted land at amazingly cheap prices, prices you could never get back home. A second town was also founded almost a hundred a fifty miles north of New Haven by a businessman actually who bought up large tracts of land and started up the town selling the land to people and providing transport. The man ironically named it after himself, Johnston. More people started following that example and towns that only existed on maps for now sprung up waiting for people to move into them.

Even with all the obvious plus’ of immigrating it wasn’t enough to get the population needed to hold down such a large tract of land so other measures were taken. Anyone who immigrated was given a pardon to any crimes they had committed except the most severe crimes. Penal colonies were also opened up using Safehaven’s prison population as a labor force to provide anyone who wanted free labor.

Probably the biggest news was that contact had been made with the native population. They were actually surprisingly advanced for the most part, many of them colonists of old from Europe who lost there way but side by side with them were nomads and less advanced peoples. There were even modern items among some groups, probably obtained from nearby colonies thru trade. For now things remained peaceful, a small trade flourishing with some of the natives.

Year In
The first anniversary of the founding of New Haven was coming to a close. The colony had survived and done well during the year and all the stress that had built up was let out during the day. A parade marched thru the young city, the city being so small wasn’t big enough for the parade and so the tail end hung outside of the city until they could march thru. Tables were laid out with free food and drink for the people as they watched the celebrations. A few famous celebrities showed up from the mainland performing concerts for the day. The day culminated as the sun went down over the ocean with a massive fireworks display. While the official celebrations were over as the last fireworks exploded overhead the people weren’t done. The city stayed up all night with regulations and curfews waved for this one night.

The colony partied hard and long and they deserved it. Thru all the countless problems they faced the past year the colony had come thru as a success. Things were expanding faster than anyone thought they would. Things were still for the most part focused around the two main “cities” on the coast, New Haven and Johnston, but everyday settlers were pushing further inland. Very few settlements had been constructed inland with most outposts either being military or business related in the sense of being farms or mining operations. The civilian population was just reached one hundred thousand but they weren’t alone with a now third division being stationed in the colony along with thousands of convicts from Safehaven2’s prisons. The convicts were proving to be extremely important, doing work that many people would refuse to do. In exchange for a minimum of a year of work and an agreement to live at least five years in the colony once they were free their sentences were cut down and freedom granted in a case by case basis.

The colony was still far from being self sufficient, most of its needs having to be imported from the mainland or other nearby colonies. As the population expanded that meant more and more goods were being shipped over and the makeshift harbor, Explorer, couldn’t handle all of that by itself. Still plans to build a major New Haven harbor were still off as a project to be done later in the year unlike Jonston which began work on its immediately. The difference was that Jonston was a private venture while New Haven wasn’t, and Jonston didn’t have the luxury of Explorer.

Still the entire colony was one big construction project. New buildings, roads, housing, stores everything being built. New Haven had been drawn up on supercomputers months before anyone broke ground on the spot, the city was already planned out to look a certain way. It would be a modern city. Unlike most cities in modern countries that had been built hundreds of years before New Haven was to be built with modern technology and way of life in mind, it wouldn’t have to be upgraded, and also the fact that there was virtually an unlimited amount of space for the city. And as such it would be much more efficient, or in theory at least. The city would have wide avenues and streets to deal with the traffic that choked modern cities. Large sidewalks were to stretch out next to the streets. A subway system along with an aboveground Maglev version were planned to further take off some of the strain of modern traffic. A main airport was planned, it was to be the size of the one serving Haven even though the city wouldn’t need one that size for years. The airport would be another thing like the city, instead of being added on to over the years to deal with more traffic it was constructed from the beginning to handle a huge population. Everything was about space though. On the mainland there were so many people, everything was so crowded so New Haven was designed to get away from that. Houses were bigger but cheaper at the same time by government order. People were given large yards in front and in back of their houses. The city would be larger than a city of the same population would ever be back home and people liked that, they liked having the ability to spread their arms and stretch without running into somebody else. A military base was next to the city. It had originally been constructed as the opening outpost of the colony but would grow to be one of the main military installations.

While New Haven was the jewel of the colony it was the smaller towns and villages that were popping up further inland, especially around the river that went out from New Haven, that would truly claim the country for Safehaven. They were still small, many wouldn’t be considered neighborhoods, but they would grow and become the next cities and towns of the colony.

The locals were still the biggest find. Everyone expected them to be there but no one expected what they found. It was thought they’d find nomads, people like the Native Americans they all read about but that wasn’t the case. Instead they found an urban civilization, or actually civilizations. Nation and city states dotted the landscape. While they weren’t advanced they were getting there. They were at a level of technology much like the end of the Middle Ages, the first signs of gunpowder just coming about no doubt aided by the arrival of more advanced people to the colonies around the continent. In a territory so big there were countless nations and empires, innumerable cultures, such a place was rich not only in what the land held but the people, a whole different history was there. A lifetime could be, and many probably would be, spent studying these peoples and later studying the effect the sudden arrival of Havenite settlers had on them. Another thing that came along with all this was an endless supply of warfare, bad blood and tragedy.

It was because of that that Havenite authorities were slow to seem to be allied to one nation or another but it would be impossible to stay aloof and remain neutral especially if Haven wanted to take the land for itself. But still the officials were reluctant, not enough was known about the various nations and empires, the territory was so big nations on one side had little to no contact with nations on the other. Up to this point relations had been kept at the bartering level, Havenites trading for guides, souvenirs, sometimes even food and giving out what they thought were trivial items but were like magic for the natives. Toys and things that moved and made noise and light. Batteries soon became a hot commodity for the natives to power the items. But the trade was never big, there wasn’t much the natives had that any Havenite needed. The natives in turn were fascinated by the Havenites, some thought they were Gods, others demons but the rumors and stories of powerful peoples landing on the coast in far away nations seemed to come true.

But this neutrality ended when a nation on the coast close to New Haven was hit by famine. Many people couldn’t stand by and watch while famine and disease cut thru the nation and at the behest of many senators and congressmen a large shipment of food and medicine was sent. What happened next was easy to tell, the famine ended and disease was brought to a standstill but the damage to the culture was irreparable. The nation pledged itself to Haven and there was nothing Haven could do about it, the people wanted to become a part of what they called the nation of the gods. Thru this two things later occured, a new policy on natives and a war.