NationStates Jolt Archive

Without warning, warships under command of General Brinks broke formation and began heading out of the 80nm boundary and into international waters. Outward they sailed until they reached the 250nm mark, at which time they all suddenly stopped at once. A transmission was then sent to any ship within 100nm of the new 'no sail-no fly' zone that they were to steer clear, and under no circumstance were they to violate this order. Since no international shipping lines came anywhere near the Automagfreek mainland (as any sensible merchant would do), there was no immediate opposition to this order, nor were there any foreign ships in sight.

At various military installations across Automagfreek, activity was hard to disguise. Over a million Sentinels had been activated and put on the highest alert, and warships moved in and out of various ports picking up troops and supplies. Never once in the history of AMF had this many Sentinels been put on high alert, leading many to believe that something big lay on the horizon....something the world had yet to see.

No official word had been given as to the nature of this territorial expansion and mobilization, and with Damien Dreadfire out of the country, suspicion only grew. More and more warships flocked to the outer reaches of the new 250nm no sail-no fly boundary, including the 2 Sentinel class superdreadnoughts. Something big was brewing indeed.

Tribal garrisons were also activated across the mainland as well as Sentinel reserves. Local weapons caches were opened to the public as well as any ammuniton they might require, and in some areas martial law was put into place. It was in this instant that the Freeks knew something very big was happening...because up until this point tribal garrisons had only been activated when an invasion loomed on the horizon...but this time there was no enemy on their doorstep. This lead people to believe that perhaps so many Sentinels would be sent overseas that it would be a near detriment to homeland defenses. But with several million tribal soldiers now on high alert, things were well under control.

Word had been sent to all nations of Gholgoth as to the nature of the build up, but nobody else was informed. The One Who Shall Remain Unnamed, Lord Damien's personal aide, told the press that Dreadfire would give a speech in 2 days time as to what was going on, and what lie ahead.

But until that time, all the world could do is watch, and wait.

President Anderson is watching the developing situation closely, and will be making a statement to the press as soon as all of the available information has been gathered and can be presented properly.

(Thats a tag)

The newly knighted Sir Tiberius Polax, MP, sat in his lavish wood panelled office reviewing the latest Foreign Office Telegrams. It was late, but he was accustomed to staying at the Ministry as late as midnight, as he had no family to go home to and a massive workload that would only grow through inactivity. He pushed his spectacles back up his nose and poured himself another glass of brandy.

Pushing aside a pile of papers, he came upon a thick leather-bound folder entitled '"Automagfreek Aggressively Expands Territory"'. He picked up the folder and opened it. A ream of satellite photographs of ships, troop deployments and naval bases exploded onto his solid oak desk, each one paperclipped to a risk assessment report and an implications report.

He frowned, and picked up the heading paper, which explained the details of what had recently occurred. The paper explained the massive naval deployments into previously international waters, and came with an attached transcript of the Freekian statement explaining their expansion. Polax chuckled as he recalled the previous Freekian expansion, when various nations were on the verge of taking up arms in defence of the water's sovereignty.

He began to wonder why this concerned him. A picture of a Sentinel Class vessel caught his eye. A grand vessel, of course! A beautiful and menacing behemoth. But then he glanced up at the 1:700 scale model of the Imperial Class vessel on which his brother served as Captain. A mighty vessel also, and his own navy had 7 such ships.

'Automagfreek gets a lot of bad press,' he thought to himself, contemplatively. He doubted that in recent years they had annexed more than his own country, and yet when they so much as claim water, there is an international uproar. The water isnt even close to anyone. Then he glanced at the photographs of troop movements and mobilisations, 'They must be planning something,' he thought to himself, 'but I doubt it concerns me, and the Imperial Navy should not ceade if brought to battle in any case.'

He considered making a statement, but decided against. If he gave a statement of support, it would make Praetonia appear an "Automagfreek crony" and besides Automagfreek was a state of... dubious repute. Then again, he could make a statement of disapproval and disgust, but there would be no reason to do so, for it is not true.

'Probably something to do with ViZion,' his thought process concluded, 'of no concern of ours. We at least had the sense to keep out of that mess.' He moved to drop the bundle of papers back into its leather bound folder, and then stopped and pocketted some of the better naval pictures. He could have them pinned up on his wall. It was already adorned with warships - Praetonian, Sarzonian, Isselmerian, British, German... countless nationalities. He finished his drink, switched off his desk lamp and started off home.

The Bonstocknian Embassy in ULE City, Automagfreek, lodged a complaint about AMF territorial expansion. The expansion encroaches on waters that are used by Bonstocknian fisherman, who have over the years fished Bonstocknian seas clean.

However, there was no official comment by the Bonstocknian Department of Foreign Affairs. Several politicians, trying to win reelections by appealing to popular mistrust of AMF among average Bonstocknians, gave hardline speeches about AMF 'imperialism.' "First they expand their sea, then they'll want Bonstock!" said Senator Billy McCormick in a speech before several Bonstocknian farmers. "I say we stop those imperialist, capitalist dogs!" Senator McCormick won the election in a landslide, but later helped vote down an official condemnation of the AMF territorial expansion in the Bonstocknian Senate.

Senatus Populusque Verghastus
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/Verghastinsel/VerghastEagle.jpg


Good luck with that.

Please don't hurt us...?

Emil Kaufman
Foreign Minister

So far things were moving as planned, and hundreds of Freek ships choked the waters at the 250nm mark. Underneath the waves, more submarines had been massed than ever before...more than when Automagfreek was in World War 4 and World War 5...combined.

Still no oficial word came from the AMF governement regarding the mammoth mobilization and vast incursion into formerly international waters. Imperial officials noted some of the responses coming from across the globe, and the general consensus was that Earth knew Automagfreek was not messing around this time.

And the Empire was not. Within hours, activity exploded at AMF military bases around the world. Entire armies were put on high alert, and soon they too would be loading supplies and themselves into transport ships. Every single Warchief had been activated in some manner, something that had never once been done in the entire history of Automagfeek.

An atmosphere of secrecy surrounded the Great Hall as military advisors and government officials moved about hurriedly. Security was tighter than normal, and dozens of checkpoints were set up in a several mile radius from the Hall itself. Inside the large building the greatest collection of Freek military minds assembled, and behind closed doors they plotted every single move they were going to make, down to the smallest detail.

Rumor began to circulate that Damien had flown to Pantera as the mobilizations began, leading some to believe that perhaps something bigger than expected was about to unfold. Only time would tell, but time was something that was about to run out.

Grey House, Dowland City

President Martin sat at his desk, mug of ever-present coffe in his right hand, which he raised to his mouth and sipped at at irregular intervals in a distracted sort of way. It might have been early in the morning, but he had been at the desk for over six hours, writing several important speeches, going through various memos and seeing several foreign dignitaries. He yawned and rubbed his weary and bloodshot eyes, and picked up one last folder, promising himself that this would be the last.

He pushed his glasses onto the bridge of his nose, blinked and looked at the front of the thick red folder. It was stamped with the usual security stamps, which shouted out their own self-importance - NOFORN, read one, TOPSECRET, another. He opened it, and read the top page, entitled AutoMagFreek Expansion. His eyes widened a little more, and wondered why this had not been at the top of his pile, but then relaxed. It didn't seem to be anything majorly serious. Just another routine expansion by AMF; arrogant and presumptious, and bound to cause more than a little foreign friction, but nothing to bother the Grand Republic.

Xavier thought briefly of releasing something, but eventually thought against it. The Grand Republican Military was undergoing some new training and supplying, and a major conflict was not what was needed right now; in a few months, the Military would be ready for a conflict, if one was needed, but not just now, and not with AMF. Let them fight it out amongst themselves for a change; no need to get involved in it. With that, Xavier yawned heavily, sat back, and closed his eyes, welcoming sleep...

The Leafanistani Coast Guard and Navy, brought a few ships out of reserves and placed a good many on "Imminent Reactivation". Satellites sat in Geosync using their limited fuel to do so. All around the country, stocks of the "People's Militia" weaponry were restocked and inspected. Reserve soldiers began aggresively training and the populace above 10, the age of certification with all hand-held weaponry took an extra 2 hours of their day to exercise and take subliminal lessons.

Leafanistani Public Relations Ministry to AMF

We hope this action isn't aggressive to any of our allies. Other than that we wish you the best of luck in this endevour.

-Minister of Public Relations

Frozopia will keep an eye on any troop movement towards Frozopian waters (OOC:God save us if there is any) or its allies (OOC: who we will then subsequently abandon).

Frozopia will keep an eye on any troop movement towards Frozopian waters (OOC:God save us if there is any) or its allies (OOC: who we will then subsequently abandon).

OOC: Sounds like my policy. Wish to join me in pissing our mutual pants?

OOC:
Im there!

Vice President for Naval Operations Kathy Bunhall was tanned and rested after her month long holiday in Pacitalia, although she rued the additional 10 pounds the exquisite cuisine seemed to put on her already stocky frame. I'm a mozzarella stick short of Jenny Craig, she thought as she strode into her office in the Schultarian-designed Military Command Centre in Saugerties.

She opened her e-mail and flipped through the usual bulletins that had no effect on her until she found one that caught her eye. The e-mail was from Chief of Naval Design Integration Josiah Humphreys, the man she entrusted to run the Naval Department whilst she was away from the office. It was marked Important, which caught her attention since Humphreys normally didn't overreact to things. That was why she trusted him to run the Navy.

"Automagfreek is beginning to mobilise, it seems," she said out loud. She raised her eyebrow. Automagfreek's movements were world events. Whether your country was allied with them or opposed to them, you knew what was going on with them at all times. Even some of the larger world powers got nervous when they heard of Freek movements and the Sentinels were some of the most feared army units on the planet.

She picked up her phone and called Humphreys.

"Hey Joey," she said as he answered. "How's the refit going?"

"She should be almost finished," Humphreys said. The refit, really a new build, was for a Vigilant-class super dreadnought that was now going to house far more VLS tubes and a much larger aircraft complement than its predecessor classes. It also would make use of the Mark 71 naval cannons the Portland Iron Works obtained from Soviet Bloc, which would be faster firing and add kinetic energy devastation that even surpassed the naval railguns that rained terror on coastal cities.

"Have you decided on a name Kath?"

"I believe it's time to honour one of our allies, in fact they're the last major ally of ours whom we haven't honoured with a ship named after them."

"Oh?"

"DontPissUsOff," Bunhall said. "I believe our intentions will be made plain to the world if we send the ISS DontPissUsOff after any country who happens to draw our ire."

"But how is that going to affect the Automagfreek buildup?"

"It shouldn't yet," Bunhall said. "However, we will be monitoring the situation. I don't think we should be shitting our pants over a country that is loosely aligned with ours unless they start getting too big for their britches."

Unseen by Bunhall, Humphreys raised his eyebrow.

Hataropoils, Hataria

Empress Serena had heard about the AMF Military Build up. If Nadia, who had just come back from Very Small Island, was right, AMF might had it's sights on Hataria and it's territories.

"I will Not let Damien try to make Hataria part of his Would-be Empire." Serena Said. "If he tries to land on Hataria or any of it's Territories, He will get Shot." Nadia looked at her long time friend, knowing that She was Right. " If Damien The 'Dumb' (That is what Hatarians call him) plans to Invade Hataria, I think we show Mobilizie all Our Troops in our Territories, just in case, we have half of our Forces Mobilizied since The Other War (aka: Nation States War I) started." Nadia Said.

Serena looked at the Female General, "You are in Command of the Home Forces, and I am giveing the order to Mobilizie all Military Forces in all the Territories of the Empire." she said. Nadia Bowed and left.

Damien will never Land in Hataria...ever... Serena Thought.

Frederick Forbes was a low grade lieutenant serving in the navy, and he had done for nine years already, at the age of 26 he was due for a promotion to captain but several political setbacks had left him the lowly rank of Station Lieutenant at Cariya Islands, the two three kilometer square islands somewhere in the middle of nowhere. That was, until AMF seemingly expanded it's waters. It's fleet was now only eight nautical kilometres off Cariya Islands, although Frederick Forbes didn't know it when he was lying in his bunk at 2 o clock in the morning dreaming of sharing said bunk with some very good looking women. His dreams however faded from mind as the red klaxon for battle stations rang. He jumped out of bed, made a halfhearted effort to comb his hair, quickly fitted on his station lieutenants cap and uniform and headed down to the briefing and battle room.
As he arrived things were already hectic.
"What have you got for me?" he said, as a young ensign handed him a report. He skipread it at best, however he was able to pick out the highlighted text - Freekian complete mobilisation, la de da...
"So what's the problem, Ensign?" Forbes seemed to laugh it off.
"Uh- They're right on our doorstep." the Ensign handed Forbes the satellite photograph folder. He flicked through it, increasing pictures of ships from battleships to aircraft carriers to tiny frigates swamping the bluewater -all wit h Freekian markings, and all eight kilometres away.
"Oh shit..mobilise the Marine Company, the naval guns, the missiles, everything! get me a UAV up in the air now over there, get some real video recordings, proper identification, get me a firing solution for our tac's on those dread's, and for GODS sake someone tell scapa about this!" the Lieutenant wailed - this move would break or make his career, and he was determined it to be the latter, as he followed naval and political regulation to the full. The regulations stated that in case of a supreme mobilisation of any kind in any powerful country, that Hogsweat did the same.

On the island, the two marine companies prepared for battle, fixing up weapons and defensive locations on the island as the tree triple eighten inch turrets swung to face the Freekian fleet, behind them the six 150 strong VLS boxes slotting the main plank open and preparing their deadly missiles.

The call to Scapa wasn't left unanswered as two Carrier Task Forces set sail from their home base not long afterwards, soon to be joined by a submarine task force and a Battleship task force to make their way to Cariya, as a show of force more than anything else.
The admiralty, and union street, expected nothing to happen.

Zander scoffed as he watched in realtime the images of Hogsweatian forces mobilizing in response to their movements. Someone tell these morons to get the fuck outta here. If we wanted to attack them we would have done it by now. By doing what they're doing they only put themselves at greater risk. Zander had paid little attention to the forces of Hogsweat, who appeared pretty much out of nowhere (OOC: Ahem...).

An open message was sent across the airwaves for all to hear, as the Hogsweat military braced for an attack that would not happen on it's own.

This message is in response to Hogsweat forces in vicinity to AMF Imperial Fleets and to all fleets in the area.

I, Warchief Zander, am ordering your forces to move away from AMF territorial waters. While you are outside the boundaries, you put yourself at great risk when we begin to move out. Unless your country wants several thousand caskets to fill, I suggest you comply quickly and quietly.

How and when our fleets move is classified, so you are being told to move out immediately. Your forces are not in danger, and if they were a target they would have been attacked already. Failure to comply will severely strain any and all political ties and possibly force us to respond in manners that will leave many dead.

If you note our fleet's position and heading over the past 48 hours, you will know that our current heading will take us away from your location, and are not stationed facing your islands.

To all others, it is advised at this time that you stay as far away from our location as humanly possible. No trade or civilian routes pass through this area, so there should be no unwanted clashes.

Zander sighed as the message went out over the airwaves. I'm sick of dealing with these people....hellbent on making a name for themselves by flaunting their invisible manhood... He then sent a secure message to General Brinks, making him aware of the situation and warning him to stay on his guard. Brinks then scolded Zander, reminding him that he was not an idiot.

*****
OOC: Didn't know you all of a sudden had islands near my nation.....

OOC: why not? makes it more fun. Although I never really said Frozopia is near.....It is now! hah.

In the cold darkness of space the eyes of Wirraway in the form of two WI-76 Recon Sats shifted thier orbit slightly as they whizzed passed Imported Vizion on yet another picture taking mission.

This time they had a different target one that normally did not come up on the Sat's mission protocol orders. A mere 5 minutes later AMF showed up on the bulge of the earth, 3 minutes later the Sats blasted across the open ocean and coast surrounding AMF's continent, snapping pictures all the way.

The images were beamed back to Command and Control to be studied and filed away in case action has be taken against further aggresive moves.

It was time for the daily risk assessment meeting between the Minister of Defence, Sir Horace Laederbeck, the Minister of State for the Defence Forces, the secretaries of State, and the chiefs of Defence Staff. The CDS himself, Field Marshal Sir Alexander Carstairs, looked particularly dour this morning, and the other four service chiefs looked little better.

"What is it, Sir Alexander?" Sir Horace enquired.

"Another nation has decided to expand its maritime limits," the Field Marshal declared.

Oh hell, Sir Horace thought, his expression sliding into a grimace of sheer annoyance, just what we need, another tinpot dictator claiming all of the ocean blue. "What little rodent emerged from its hole this week?"

"Automagfreek," Sir Alexander declared. And with that, as well as a collective groan and shaking of heads later, the meeting-proper began.

AMF reminds me of Paris Hilton, if he takes a piss it's a scandal.

Peering through the photonic mast of his SSN-994, Captain O'Driscoll tapped gently on his armchair. He was pretty nervous... lot of firepower around here. In the background Oasis was playing softly..

...hey, lyla!

It was usually quite dangerous to play any form of Music inside a submarine, but not when you wanted the otherside to know you where there. It let the Freeks know they were watched. The song switched over, and O'Driscoll began to hum the tune. His boat could go silent in well under a second and be lost to searchers in two. However nervous he was, he was still quite confident in his crew and vessels abilities.

Now, if he wanted to, he could really do some damage to this Freekian fleet. He carried 8 AM-98B ASM's... of course the B-Variant had a considerably larger warhead for battleship killing. But who in their rightmind would use such a weapon when Artitsan and Automagfreek weren't even close to hostile.

But, This lone SSN-994 could bar access to the Freekian Navy towards the Hogsweatian Islands, and should the navy move, they would be forced to move elsewhere. For this submarine carried dozens of Hyland-Nikolaas mines. Such mines were of course, intelligent, and quite deadly. He had two dozen medium Mk 99I 'Jaws' mines, and a dozen heavier Mk 101K 'Orca' mines. Perhaps he should call in the other three SSN-994's that were approximatly 50km's to 75km's to his rear to bring in their mines.

Traditional mines would allow escorts and minesweepers to clear a path, but not when the mines can think and move. They were basically independant torpedoes.

But anyhow, O'Driscoll hoped to not have to use them, unless AMF became increasingly belligerant towards Hogsweat.

Legislators responding to the unfounded panic of the citizens activated the Civilian Defense Forces in full. Knowing it would be waste of a good defense budget, major generals and admirals grumbled. Soon CDF F-15s and MiG-25Gs soared into the air on 24/7 patrols of Leafanistani Airspace in Leafanistan, and all its territories. Private gunboats, and less than legal privateer raiding craft sailed in lesser patrolled or unpatrolled harbors in the northern territories.

In many areas a day off was declared for working peoples, as they went to their local CDF prepardedness center to retrain the skills they learned in military school.

"The darkness curse those engines! Can you not quieten their infernal racket even for a moment?" hissed the captain of the nuclear submarine P-201, his gritted, yellowing teeth set on edge by the noise of the ship's worn turbines; they'd been emitting an intermittent, dull screeching noise for the last thirteen hours, no matter how slowly he ran them, and he'd never needed that noise less than now. Sweat dripped from his brow, mingling with the water trickling in from the sub's leaking periscope.

"'Fraid not, sir," replied his chief engineer apologetically through the intercom, her voice soft and grating despite its tinniness. "It's the bearings, sir; they're worn as hell, and they weren't replaced during our last refit."

"Ach, very well. Charge on our batteries?"

"Sixty percent, but they need replacing too, sir."

The captain thumped the intercom unit gently. Why the hell can't those idiot liberals realise we need money to defend ourselves? "Very well. Charge to eight percent, then switch to the batteries. Maybe we can stay quiet for long enough to avoid getting blown to bits."

"Aye sir." The intercom clicked off, sounding like a small hammer on glass. The captain stroked his stubble thoughtfully. His sub was in no condition to be doing this. Admittedly, she was in better nick than many of the Navy's ships - she was actually capable of running, for a start - but it was still disheartening, so close to the Freek fleet. He sighed. In a few hours, he would send up a radio buoy and transmit to the MoD. Maybe they could make something of this. Meantime, I've got to keep this creaking rustbucket together.

"Steer one five oh."

P-201's helm swung gently to port, and the sub continued her lonely patrol, the sounds of her under-maintained machinery echoing through the ocean.

[OOC: This following is based on the assumption that the islands and their position are accepted by all involved. I hope they are, because it should make a fun RP.

And sorry for the crap-ish post. I had a much better one but Jolt deleted it, so there you go.]

Cabinet Defence Briefing - Praeton

"As you may or may not be aware," began Sir Tiberius Polax from his position at the end of the long mahogany table in the Cabinet room, "the self-styled 'Excessively Armed Empire' of Automagfreek has recently expanded her territory by some considerable amount into territorial waters. In usual circumstances, this would be no concern of ours. However this," the Foreign Secretary pressed a button on his laptop, "is a zoomed-in satellite photograph of the Hogsweatian controlled Cariya Islands." A slide had appeared on the large screen set into the wall behind Tiberius showing an island with considerable seaward defences.

He pressed another button on his computer, and another slide appeared. This time of a large number of escorts and, at the centre, a larger battleship-type vessel. "And this is the sea just five miles from the islands. Now this on its own is no cause for concern. The Hogsweatian islands are clearly outside of Automagfreek's new territorial boundaries. However, we recently intercepted a message from the Government of Automagfreek. They have demanded that Hogsweat vacant their islands, and have threatened to kill everyone on them should their demands not be met."

"What legal basis do they have to do this?" Asked the Minister of Defence, who had been listening carefully to everything which had been said.

"It doesnt seem that they have any. They claim that the islands will be 'at risk' when their forces leave their own waters, and so they say that to prevent save the Hogsweatians from this 'risk' they will kill all of them. Unless, of course, they move out," Tiberius sighed, "there is no logic to it at all. Needless to say, it is my opinion as Foreign Secretary that we should defend one of our closest allies from unprovoked aggression." Polax relinquished the floor, and retook his set near the head of the table.

The Prime Minister sighed. "This Government cannot and will not allow loyal allies of Praetonian to go unaided in their hour of need. What are we able to deploy to the Cariya Islands?" He looked at the Minister of Defence, who opened his own laptop and reviewed the information on locations of military assets.

"Well, we can fly in a Battalion of Paratroopers within a few hours. Our closest major naval asset is the 7th Detached Carrier Battlefleet, which is 3 days away I'm afraid. Our closest naval asset capable of offering any kind of realistic assistance is the Vanguard Class SSN, PWS Duke. She can be on station between the islands on the Automagfreek naval vessels within only a few hours. She is equipped with Lance anti-ship missiles and torpedoes, but the Vanguard Class isnt designed to be used alone in a head on assault against full battlefleets.

"If the Automagfreek military pushes the situation then the Duke will be forced to retreat once she has expended her arsenal. Our paratroopers again will be capable of holding off an infantry assault on the island, but if the Automagfreek navy attacks with any semblence of intelligence or planning our forces will not be able to hold them, even with the Hogsweatian shore defences. Hopefully, they will overestimate our forces. We are not known for timidity in naval matters, and hopefully a spirited effort on the part of the Duke will lead them to believe that the waters are infested with Praetonian submarines, and they will decide that the islands are not worth their effort and lives."

Official Statement of the Imperial Government of Praetonia

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v387/Praetonia/PraeFlagII.jpg

"It is with great displeasure that the Imperial Praetonian Government views the belligerent and unprovoked threats on the part of the Excessively Armed Empire of Automagfreek directed against sovereign posessions of the United Kingdom of Hogsweat. There is no legal or logical basis upon which the demands of the aforementioned Automagfreek are based, and we can see no acceptable reason for their actions. For that reason, the Admiralty in Praeton has announced that three Submarine Flotillas - a total of 36 heavily armed nuclear submarines - are currently on station several miles off of the coast of the island, and will military oppose any attempt by agents of the government of Automagfreek to remove Hogsweatian personel from their own sovereign territory. In addition, a further five submarine flotillas are to arrive on station within the next 4 days, and they will be joined by two full Battlefleet shortly after that. A full brigade of paratroopers have been offered to the Hogsweatian Government for the immediate defence of the island, with the first battalion airliftable within seven hours.

"It is not our intention, however, to cause war, pain or suffering. Should Automagfreek choose to respect the sovereign territory of Hogsweat and show them the same politeness as many nations, including our own, have shown them regarding their new maritime claims, Praetonian forces shall not fire upon Automagfreek naval assets. There is no reason or need for the islands to be seized for Automagfreek naval assets to pass by in safety, and so we will have not regrets should Automagfreek continue upon their current course of action and attempt to destroy an established Hogsweatian outpost outside of the juristiction of Automagfreek and her naval forces even noting the recent expansions.

Vox Populi, Vox Dei

Please take this moment to re-read what the good Warchief wrote before issuing any statements. The Praetonian government has once again, in an attempt to make the Empire look bad in the eyes of the international community, began spreading misinformation. We deplore this attempt to blacken our fair name, and we urge you to carefully read and interpret what Warchief Zander said. Here is the transmission:

This message is in response to Hogsweat forces in vicinity to AMF Imperial Fleets and to all fleets in the area.

Referring to any and all fleets or individual vessels in the area.

I, Warchief Zander, am ordering your forces to move away from AMF territorial waters. While you are outside the boundaries, you put yourself at great risk when we begin to move out. Unless your country wants several thousand caskets to fill, I suggest you comply quickly and quietly.

This is a warning that was issued in response to the Hogsweatian government issuing an order to mobilize its fleets against us. Satellite feed confirms that AMF forces were on a course that would put them well to the west of Cariya Islands. This was of course until a neutral fleet began to mobilize. Naturally, in order to assure that our flanks were secure and that we would not be caught off guard, we have since halted our movements.

There was never any aggressive movements towards the Cariya Islands, and realtime recordings can confirm that.

How and when our fleets move is classified, so you are being told to move out immediately. Your forces are not in danger, and if they were a target they would have been attacked already. Failure to comply will severely strain any and all political ties and possibly force us to respond in manners that will leave many dead.

Again, this order states that unless the Hogsweatian Navy stands down and moves back towards port they will be treated as a hostile target. It was never the intention of the AMF government to engage Hogsweat, and if it was we would have engaged their forces at maximum range (50+ miles). However, because of the absense of initial engagement, one can rest assured that it was never our intention to engage Hogsweat holdings. We are in fact moving our fleets into international waters because we are about to engage in war with another nation for reasons that you do not need to know.

AMF cannot and will not be held responsible for the hasty reactions of other nations.

If you note our fleet's position and heading over the past 48 hours, you will know that our current heading will take us away from your location, and are not stationed facing your islands.

Again, self explanatory. Never once was an order issued to vacate the Cariya Islands, and we openly denounce Praetonia for making such assumptions. Perhaps your government needs to hire people with better research abilities?

To all others, it is advised at this time that you stay as far away from our location as humanly possible. No trade or civilian routes pass through this area, so there should be no unwanted clashes.

AGAIN, Warchief Zander makes it clear that anyone who keeps their distance will be safe. I do not see how several repeated warnings to spare innocent casualties constitutes having nuclear submarines lie in wait outside our waters. And again, we denounce this unwise and ill researched warning by Praetonia.

If anything, you all should be lucky you even got so much as 1 warning from the AMF military, let alone several. It is not Automagfreek's intention to engage Hogsweat or any other neutral forces in the area. If we had wanted to take over the Cariya Islands, we would have done so already by engaging them at maximum distance.

OR, because we of Automagfreek are not stupid, if we wanted the Cariya Islands, we would have arranged to have them purchased. Please note that several months ago AMF issued a bid for land. Again, because we are not simple minded people, if we wanted this land we most likely would have paid cash. Because in the long run the resources and political strain of an invasion would cost more than a straight up purchase.

I do not see how any Praetonian accusations hold water.

http://www.sideshowtoy.com/images/gold/thumb/3401.gif
Minister Hartman
-Minister of Foreign Affairs-

All over The Hatarian Empire, All Military Forces were Mobilizieing for war, if AMF would try to attack Hataria or any of its Territories. General Nadia was in Command of all Forces in Hataria itself.

Serena sent a message to Damien himself.

Damien: If to Try to Invade Hataria or any of its Territories, Your Head will be in the Imperial Hall of my Palace.

This was a warning to AMF to keep their Hands off.

A burning question was going around the Bonstocknian Department of Foreign Affairs. Most saw the expansion of AMF territory, and the accompanying military build-up, but it was odd that all this belligerancy was done with no apparent target in sight. Of course Bonstock could not be the target, having not much to do with AMF and generally keeping to itself, but some would consider it nice to know who exactly AMF is out to destroy this time. If a target were found, perhaps there would at least be a chance for Bonstock to aid in mediations between that poor nation and AMF. Perhaps one nationality could be spared from Damien's noose, and AMF from the inconvenience of battle.

The that effect, a diplomatic message was sent to AMF. Its contents were short, but fitting for AMF.

Exhaulted Warlord Damien Dreadfire of the Excessively Armed Empire of Automagfreek:

The Federal Republic of Bonstock wonders exactly why your mighty country is choosing to expand its seas and build up its military. Clearly there does not seem to be a specific threat to your nation's interests, and if there is, then the Federal Republic would be more then willing to offer its assistance in mediating any conflict to a peaceful settlement.

With all due ragards and respect,

Harald, son of Gustav, lord of all Bonstocknians

Many populist senators continued spewing anti-AMF rhetoric, though most were quieted down as the message was sent. Hopefully the world would know what grievance Lord Dreadfire held that persuaded him to launch this build-up.

Frozopia will keep an eye on any troop movement towards Frozopian waters (OOC:God save us if there is any) or its allies (OOC: who we will then subsequently abandon).

Aww thanks alot.

You made an oath. If you were attacked, I'd help you, you should do the same!

-Message from Velkyan High Command-

If any AMF forces enter Velkyan waters...there will be many...many...many AMF caskets going home.

Just so you know.

-High Command Out-

First off, to the pathetic and insignificant cluster fuck of Hataria:

We do not care about your nation in the slightest, and we would not waste even 1 penny on destroying your nation. Hataria has been destroyed time and time again, and has been made the laughing stock of the entire planet. You are lucky that you are even getting a direct response from us, and you should frame this transmission and worship it for generations as the greatest thing to happen to Hataria in all of its existance.

And to Bonstock:

We appreciate the civil response. At this time Lord Dreadfire has ordered us not to disclose who or what the future target is...if any at all. The truth is that only The Destroyer and his senior military staff know for sure what is going to happen, and I have been charged with PR while they sort through their battle plans.

They are keeping a tight lip on things, and I expect it to stay that way for some time. I would not imagine our fleets will be moving for at least another few days, possibly a week. If it is anything of importance, you can expect me to be the first to comment on it.

http://www.sideshowtoy.com/images/gold/thumb/3401.gif
Minister Hartman
-Minister of Foreign Affairs-

OOC: NS or RL days?

-Message from Velkyan High Command-

If any AMF forces enter Velkyan waters...there will be many...many...many AMF caskets going home.

Just so you know.

-High Command Out-

I'm going to call bullshit on that right now. Automagfreek has been razing nations to the ground and grinding empires to dust well before your nation was even founded. While your people were still swinging from trees and flinging your own excrement, our people were fighting in World Wars.

Don't you dare for one second think you could ever match blades with us. You are not on our level and you never will be, and that is one of the sad facts of life that you will just have to deal with.

Now, kindly slink away into obscurity little one. Only the grown ups are allowed to use the big boy voice.

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

We are worried about the action of AMF. They have extend their home waters and have a large number of vessels in the sea. We wish to know the meaning of this.

Secretary of State Alexander Romanov

-Message from Velkyan High Command-

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v51/pogmo/pogmo2/flip.jpg

-High Command Out-

OOC: If you (or anyone else) don't have any constructive material to add to the RP, then please refrain from posting. I will also not be responding to any posts that are less than a paragraph in length, because any post that is not well thought out or constructed does not deserve a well thought out or constructed reply.

:cool: OOC: Just screwin with ya. :cool:

Didn't really like that whole "fade into obscurity, little one" line however.

We are just sayin, that if you try anything against us or our allies, we will fight back best our abilitiy.

Good Hunting.

"I don't care, I don't like it that we have no idea what's going on," President Blüme replied angerly as he looked over the reports and releases made since the Freek mobilization, "It seems so out of the ordinary that they would simply move like that without at least informing us."

"Sir, why would they, out of the rest of the Gholgoth nations, we are the least involved in regional politics and actions," explained Berger, "Frankly, I'm surprised we're even allowed to remain within the region with the likes of Automagfreek, Crimmond and Pantera. We're nothing but second echlon compared to everyone else."

Blüme didn't seemed at all happy with the last comment, but he knew it was true, the Republic had no place there, "Time to change that!" he thought as he turned to his advisors, "What are our options?"

General Saltzman leaned forward from his seat, "We could offer our own armed forces to reinforce the Freek military, even if we simply acted in a reserve or support role."

"Would they really accept that?" Asked the President as he turned to the young Miss Berger.

Pausing to think as she spoke, "I... I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask them."

To: Minister Hartman, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Automagfreek
From: Elsa Berger, Secretary of State for the Aequatian Republic
Subject: Recent Mobilizations

Minister Hartman of Automagfreek,

It has come to our attention as well as that of the world that the Empire of
Automagfreek has mobilized a greater part of its military for an unknown
deployment at this juncture in time, what we wish to do is request if the
Republic is in any position to provide aid to any future ambitions of the
Empire by mobilization of our own Armed Forces in either a reserve or
support role.

The Republic's Servant,
Elsa Berger of Aequatio.

"What's the latest on Automagfreek's expansion?" Sir Horace asked the Defence Council the following day.

"It appears that one of our allies, Hogsweat, is concerned that Automagfreek intends to annex the Cariya Islands and Praetonia has announced that it will move to assist Hogsweat should any aggressive movement be made in that direction," Sir Alexander replied. "Minister Hartman, however, has denied that Automagfreek made any recommendation to Hogsweat to vacate the aforementioned islands, noting that had he or the Automagfreek government done so, the assault would have begun already."

Sir Horace nodded, acknowledging the truth of what the field marshal had just said. "So, in other words, everyone is getting the collywobbles because the giant has twitched," the minister of Defence noted.

"That's correct, sir," Sir Alexander answered. "Perhaps Lord Dreadfire simply wishes to secure his fishing grounds, perhaps its to simply secure his waters against possible incursions by super-dreadnoughts. I recommend a simple wait-and-see policy, perhaps detaching an independent submarine division [6 subs] well outside Automagfreek's new maritime limits, nothing too threatening, just enough to perform some superficial reconnaissance, peeping over the fence as it were."

Sir Horace had an aversion to peeping over fences, particularly when said neighbour possessed a very large and menacing cudgel. Still, six submarines operating in international waters could scarcely cause Lord Dreadfire much worry, could they? "Are we all agreed on this course of action?" he requested. The service chiefs hands rose, followed nervously by those of the heads of department. "I must, of course, inform the Prime Minister and the King, but in the meantime Admiral Wycombe," Sir Horace indicated the Chief of Naval Staff, "have a submarine division prepare for sea."

OOC- Sorry for any confusion. I imagined that as your mark was at 80nm, and you just expanded to 250nm, 258nm wasn't exactly all that close to your shoreline. In fact just close enough so we can monitor our shipping (in the area, nothing to do with AMF>_>) because I RP having islands all over the place, even if they do popup out of anywhere. Again, sorry if I screwed up. I just thought we could spice an RP up a bit were ususally people would say "OMG ITS AMF RUN!" If you want the islands to "vanish" as fast as they appeared just say so. Also, I don't have any naval units nearby, unless you meant me to vacate the island.

Forbes was starting to calm down, a cup of coffee and a half later. That was, until the Freekians sent him a little message.
"Lieutenant, sir, we're picking up a message..got the signal. Do I patch it through?"
Forbes gulped. He dare not guess what a message from AMF contained.
"Yes, Ensign."
This message is in response to Hogsweat forces in vicinity to AMF Imperial Fleets and to all fleets in the area.
I, Warchief Zander, am ordering your forces to move away from AMF territorial waters. While you are outside the boundaries, you put yourself at great risk when we begin to move out. Unless your country wants several thousand caskets to fill, I suggest you comply quickly and quietly.
How and when our fleets move is classified, so you are being told to move out immediately. Your forces are not in danger, and if they were a target they would have been attacked already. Failure to comply will severely strain any and all political ties and possibly force us to respond in manners that will leave many dead.
A bead of sweat began to trickle it's way down Forbe's forehead, as his worst fears were confirmed. He was being demanded, by one of the worlds most recognised superpowers, to vacate the island. He knew he had the capabilities to do so, remembering the helicopter carrier and it's two escorts that was docked on the second Cariya Island, but he them remembered his orders, as he was made Lieutenant of the island. Thinking back two years ago...
Lieutenant Frederick Brian Forbes, Hogsweatian Royal Navy, do you swear, to your motherland, your king, your people, and your life, to defend the land you have been given precedence over, to your last breath, unless formally ordered?
Yes, I, Lieutenant Frederick Brian Forbes, do.
Do you, Lieutenant Frederick Brian Forbes, Hogsweatian Royal Navy, swear to defend the principles of our country against any foreigner, to protect our people and above all our motherland?
Yes, I, Lieutenant Frederick Brian Forbes, do.
Then, as High Star Admiral of the Red of our Supreme Fleet, promote you to the rank of Station Lieutenant and hand you command of the Cariya Islands Defence and Detection Station, and anything inside it, until you may be relieved of that order.
Forbes drifted back into memory. He was almost dazed as the Ensign asked him "Lieutenant, our orders?" Suddenly, a wave of patriotism passed over Forbes. He switched his microphone to stationwide setting. "Ensign, our orders are to defend this station to the last man. There will be no retreat, no vacation, this station will fly our glorious flag until there are no more Hogsweatian armed personnel here. Forbes out"
Forbes somehow felt incredibly proud of himself. Little did he know that Cariya Islands had become a national phenomena, watched by television satellites and constantly on the news. Now, nearly everyone knew the plight of the tiny island and it's brave commander.
"Ensign, patch me a line through to this Zander feller. I wanna talk to him."

Grey House Statement

Though the Grand Republic has no previous relations with the nationstate of AutoMagFreek, it is with grave concern that we see this country have seemingly hostile intentions towards the soverign territory of the United Kingdom of Hogsweat, an extremely close ally of the Grand Republic. Whilst the Grand Republic does not wish for an open conflict over these islands, especially as the Grand Republic did not previously know of their existance, we will not stand idly by and watch these agressive movements occur.

As such, the Third Carrier Battlegroup has been directed to sail to the Cariya Islands and aid the Hogsweatian troops there in any defence of the islands. The Fifth Rapid Reaction Taskforce comprimising of two Battalions of Paratroopers and one Infantry Brigade is als enroute and will arrive within the day.

The Grand Republic does not want a conflict, but should our allies become threatened, or ourselves, we will not hesitate in defending ourselves or our allies.

Good day,

President Xavier Martin

<snip>
To: Whom it May Concern,
Automagfreek
Subject: Automagfreek Fleet Action [OPEN]

It is eminently clear to any reading our statement, that we were only threatening Automagfreek with military action should her forces engage those of Hogsweat around the Cariya Islands. If, as you appear quick to say using some rather "loose" interpretations of your original statements, you will not begin any aggressive action toward Hogsweat or any of her assets, then I there is no reason you need fear Praetonian military action.

That does not, however, change the fact that your nation has strangely issued an order for Hogsweatian forces outside of your territorial waters to leave in order to 'prevent innocent casualties'. Firstly, we do not recognise your right to order the naval forces of sovereign nations to do anything outside of your own waters and secondly we find it bizarre that you see the need to attack Hogsweat's forces anyway. The only 'innocent casualties' would be those killed by your own forces.

Moving over this gaping hole in the fabric of logic, I restate Praetonia's commitment to aid any of her allies should they face aggression from a foreign power, and we advise you to simply go around the islands, which are no threat to your battlegroup. If you honestly believe that Hogsweat is both suicidal enough and hates your nation enough to launch an attack with a measly two carrier battlegroups (which are not even near the Cariya Islands yet, and will not be for some time) against an entire navy with superdreadnaught support then you are truely paranoid.

Vox Populi, Vox Dei

Yours Sincerely,

Tiberius Polax, MP
Foreign Secretary

{::Establishing Uplink::}
{::Encrypting::}
{::Secure Channel Procured::}

Type of Communiqué: Diplomatic
To: Damien “The Destroyer”, Automagfreek
From: The Oligarch of Kriegorgrad, Comrade Leader Nikolai Fedorenkov
Subject: Claiming the blue

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

”Kriegorgrad is most interested as to why the Excessively Armed Empire has felt it necessary to claim a large amount of ocean, is it to guarantee the safety of the Freek citizens or is it merely to extend your sphere of influence with your engines of war? Either way, Kriegorgrad isn’t overly concerned about that issue on its own, however, Kriegorgrad is concerned about the Hogsweatian-Freek situation – will this escalate from tension to full blown conflict? If so, Kriegorgrad’s place in the war shall be…undecided.

The Collective Oligarchy doesn’t abandon its allies lightly, unless you could persuade us otherwise.“

Yours Sincerely,


The Oligarch of Kriegorgrad, Comrade Leader Nikolai Fedorenkov



{::Closing Uplink::}

"They're at it again, Elisa." The Kitsune assistant looked more bored than anything as he tossed the file onto Speaker Day's desk.

"Who 'they'? AMF-they or everyone-else-they?"

"Well, both, actually. AMF expands territory, people bitch."

She sighed, "Correct me if I'm wrong, Shino, but didn't we just go through this a little while ago when they increased their territorial waters or some such?"

His ears twitched slightly as he thought back, "Yes, I believe we did. But, you know, some backwater despots collapsed and have been replaced with others, so here we go again."

Elisa just shook her head, "Why do they even care? It's just some crummy islands. Nobody's gonna miss them."

"Standard responce?"

"Yeah, sure. That'll work."


To: The World et. al.
Fr: The Semi-Autonomous Technocratic Oligarchy of the Most Glorious Hack
Re: AMF

Once again the world wrings its collective hands every time Automagfreek sneezes, coughs, or otherwise does something that every other nation on the planet does. The attempts of micro-nations to sway the will of Automagfreek are frankly laughable. Considering the fact that Automagfreek likely has a larger army than these nations have in population should be a hint to step back, and play with people their own size.

The ceaseless bitching, whining, and petulance has grown old. While there is indeed more to a nation than simply its population, there comes a point when the balance is so overwhealming tipped in one direction that all the bluster in the world is just that: hot air.

While we applaud these nations for taking the initiative to step onto the world stage, they should probably go about these things in the proper way, specifically dealing with nations that they are more equal too. There are powers in this world that are beyond the ken of small nations. They would do well to leave these powers alone. Or, at the very least, teach their diplomats how to be diplomatic.

~ Elisa Day, Speaker for the Oligarchy
The Semi-Autonomous Technocratic Oligarchy of the Most Glorious Hack

Official Statement from the "government" of The Territories of Holy Panooly
'Blah blah blah... We don't care, Automagfreek's not even near Holy Panooly, we don't have assets near them, nor do we have assets anywhere in the world. Let 'em have their part of the sea, it's only water and it's their job to maintain the naval borders. Let them feel smug about the extra square miles they got. Who cares if it's illegal? Like international politics is such a friendly game. Don't kid yourself, don't pay attention to them and everything will pass.'

- Baron Dominic Templeton, de facto leader of Holy Panooly.

<snip>

Once again, you are attempting to engage in a smear campaign against the Empire. Again you boldly state that we directly order the Cariya Islands to be evacuated, which we have not. We simply issued a warning to any and all naval forces from any nation that their presence near our fleets puts them at risk. Why can you not see this?

Your government is so misinformed that it is laughable. I never thought I would have to engage in semantics with another government.

Also, I would like you to point out one, just one specific piece evidence that backs your claim that we were about to attack Hogsweat. Go ahead, I dare you....because the facts will prove you 100% wrong.

Here are the facts:

1. Several warnings were issued to naval units in the area to vacate the area while AMF battlegroups were present.

2. Never once was the order 'vacate the islands' issued.

3. Never once did our ships even come close to the Cariya Islands. Their heading was taking them away from the islands! If they would have continued their course they would have sailed several miles to the west of Hogsweat holdings.

4. Never once did we fire on their holdings. Anyone who knows their ass from a hole in the ground knows that AMF Imperial forces engage their foes at the maximum range possible with heavy showers of different ordinances. We never land forces without an extensive bombardment from the air and sea.

Again, I do not understand why the Praetonian government insists on pressing an issue that they are clearly wrong about. Seems to me that you people over there share the same two collective brain cells, and I think one of them stopped working.

Your actions to escalate an innocent situation into an international mess are deploarable, and for this your nation has been 'black listed' by the Empire, under our 'do not interact with' clause. Your smear campaign against us holds no water, and anyone can clearly say that.

Now, kindly run along until you get some hard proof, because the facts have killed any argument you may have hoped to have.

http://www.sideshowtoy.com/images/gold/thumb/3401.gif
Minister Hartman
-Minister of Foreign Affairs

OOC: Thank god that I am a Future Tech Nation.

OOC- Just because your Hataria's puppet...
IC post coming later.

[OOC: Can we please keep the OOC crap to a minimum? There's always the TG or instant messengers.]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v419/msarzo/GreatSeal.jpg

Official Statement, Incorporated Sarzonian Government

We are appalled at the provocative statements being issued on all sides of this mysterious military buildup on the part of the Excessively Armed Empire of Automagfreek. We are incensed at the childish insults being levied by Minister Hartman against the Democratic Imperium of Praetonia. We strongly suggest Minister Hartman learn a few lessons in basic diplomacy before he makes such ridiculous statements in the future.

Of far greater concern for our government is the 250 nautical mile exclusionary zone, which the Excessively Armed Empire of Automagfreek has no right to impose. We currently do not have assets near Automagfreek or this exclusion zone. However, if any of our allies are threatened, rest assured we will not stand idly by.

Nicole Lewis
Lieutenant President
Incorporated States of Sarzonia

OFFICIAL CONCORDIAT COMMUNIQUE

The Iron Concordiat is completely in accord with the statement made by the Sarzonian government and we join them in condemming The Excessively Armed Emprie Of Automagfreek for its aggresive and irresponsible actions.

A nation cannot be allowed to trample roughshod over international accords and agreements whenever they please. These basic rules preserve a semblence of order in our world. By ignoring them AMF is setting a dire precedent for the future.

We call on AMF to return its aquatic boundries to their original state.

Secretary of State Niels Vuclerk

Blüme sat forward in his seat as the aide entered his office, "Anything?" he asked as the aide approached the desk with a memo from Secretary of State Berger, it read:

Nicklas,

It appears as though we've become invisible again in the world setting,
especially in that of Damien's eyes. My first suggestion is to no longer
bother with trying to do anything, if we're going to strengthen our
position, we need to do something for the Republic on our own!

Elsa.

"Well, it was worth a try I suppose," thought Blüme as he dismissed the aide and turned his chair around to look across the skyline of the capital, "It's such a nice day, why worry?"

Official Statement, the Artitsan Foreign Ministry

We are throughly embarrased for the nations of Holy Panooly and The Most Glorious Hack. You tell the world that the Freekians are merely sneezing or twitching? Last our Intelligence Ministry checked, their entire military was mobilized. Perhaps we could send a few operatives over to your fine nations to teach you how read Satellite photographs?

One would expect such expansion to prevent unwanted persons from viewing the full Freekian Navy. However, this idea is nullified when that paticular navy is within several miles of a Hogsweatian Island chain. Therefore, we can only assume this expansion into International Territory to be malicious.

However, Artitsa will not prevent Automagfreek from assuming control of these waters, as Artitsa will note that the Freekians signed no International Treaty regarding nautical boundries. That being said, Artitsa will send the 2nd Fleet to Hogsweat itself. Should anything become active in or around the Island chain, Artitsa will move to protect its ally. This is in no way, shape, or form a threat. Merely a statement regarding Artitsa's stance.

William O'Hara
Minister of Foreign Relations
Republic of Artitsa

It was still early morning in the Republic. The dawn sun had only risen ten minutes before, and its watery disc, obscured by twisting skeins of dirty, dusty smoke, seemed to offer pitifully little illumination or warmth to the capital's dirty, dusty streets. Tashki temples were about the only thing alive at this hour; filled with the more ardent members of the Order engaged in their dawn worship, their echoing chants rebounded from the temples' golden domes and filtered out through the city, reaching even to the office of the new Foreign Minister (who had also been the old foreign minister), Anton Schützer. As he sat reading the early morning newspaper, his mind was really elsewhere. Mainly it was focussing on the triumvirate of the old leadership, who doubtless were concentrating all of their anger against him and his "betrayal". Schüzter snorted to himself as he leaned from the open window, for he knew that it was not he who was the traitor, but they. They had betrayed the people, betrayed their trust and hopes and dreams in countless foreign entanglements and titanic overspending on armed forces, and finally his conscience had bid him leave them for it. He leaned back in as three sharp knocks sounded on his door.

"Yes?" The door was thrown open almost as soon as he'd finished the "e", and in it stood a panting man whom he recognised as the new Minister of Defence. "Well?"

"Haven't you heard?" Defence panted some more. "The Freeks have gone into military overdrive."

Schützer stared at the newspaper, unfocussed, for some seconds. "All right," he said finally, "what does that concern us?"

"Just come to the briefing and you'll find out."

Anton obediently folded the newspaper and followed Defence to the Cabinet Office.

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

If we manage not to be killed here, I swear I'll attend the temple every morning and evening until the Sun itself dies! P-201's engines had not improved. In fact, they were now somewhat worse, since the turbines' periodic screech had instead become a dull, constant thrumming noise that cut into everyone's brains like a dentist's drill. Still, at least that would be over soon. The captain glaced at the battery charge repeater on the bridge engineering station, and let out a small sigh of inward relief as he read the dial at 91%. Perhaps now they could quieten down for a while. He picked up the intercom and pushed the switch marked "Eng", examining the fingerworn surface as he waited. After what seemed like far too long, the chief engineer's voice appeared on the other end.

"Engineering." She sounded exhausted, as though keeping the battered submarine operational had drained her of all her energy.

"Bridge. Switch to electric motors and take the reactor down to 5 percent."

"Aye sir." He heard her draw a hand over her face. "By the way, I thought I should warn you: the electrics have gone down temporarily in the forward accommodation spaces."

The captain paused, glaring hatefully at the faded plastic in front of him, knowing that every part of this poor ship was just as worn and weather-beaten and un-cared for as the intercom. "Very well. Try to restore power, but keep an eye for any more faults above all."

"Aye, sir." Again the sound of a toffee hammer on glass as the intercom unit clicked off. The captain replaced the handset slowly and stared without looking into the metal stanchion on which it hung. Behind him, one of the SONAR operators was running yet another diagnistic on his gyppy set. Did the people vote for this, this ruin? With a sad sigh, he went back to his station, feeling his depression hanging around him, permeating the submarine's hull. Is this what we worked and fought so hard for?

The Excessively Armed Empire requests that the Wirraway point to any international law or treaty that we have signed regarding territorial boundaries. We also request that you point to any international law or treaty that exists in the first place which mandates territorial claims. We would like this in writing immediately, but we are confident that no such laws exist. The Empire has never once signed any agreement or law, thus making your claims unfounded.

Secondly, to the impudent Nicole Lewis...

The One's eyes flared as he moved closer to the camera, his face still shrouded by his long brim hat. He hissed as the lights began to flicker and the signal from the cameras began to grow snowy, his own dark energies sapping the power from nearby electical devices. His voice remained ominous and low, and his body shifted as he exhaled deeply.

I would like to remind you that Minister Hartman offered no 'childish' remarks, but instead talked sense into a fool that knew nought what they were talking about. I do not blame the good Minister for his off the cuff attitude, he deals with simpletons like those from Praetonia on a daily basis.

The facts remain clear no matter who says them. We applaud The Most Glorious Hack for their sanity in this matter.

The truth is this: Automagfreek is about to engage in warfare once more, which any sovereign nation has the right to do. We have deployed our forces to the outermost reaches of our new territorial claims, which any sovereign nation has the right to do. We do not understand why Automagfreek must constantly be under the microscope.

The tone in The One's voice shifted, growing deeper but also echoed by a high pitched demonic ring and rasp. The picture on the screen went into near tunnel vision as he moved closer to the screen, his energies burning bright in his purple eyes.

But perhaps this only proves one thing...that even still the world trembles at the mere mention of the Empire. Hide behind your strong words and your false sense of security...because in the end that is all you truely have.

Do not meddle with powers you cannot possibly comprehend. For every chain of events that unfolds there is a reason behind it, and the reason will soon become clear. Just make sure that when the line is drawn in the sand that you are on the right side....


http://67.18.37.14/40/9/upload/p968858.jpg
The One Who Shall Remain Unnamed
-Lord of the Death Dealers-
Servant of the Dread Fires


By now the screen went totally black as the electical components inside the camera exploded, leaving only the fading laugh of The One in the background.

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/9464/ibcnews0xy.gif


In a scandal today, the Excessively Armed Empire of Automagfreek has proclaimed that they will be going to war. Because of this, nations around the world are mobilizing. The Grand Chancellor, Sergei Ilyanov of the Socialist Party, has called for a conference inside the Presidential Villa which is occuring... now.

On the background is the seal of the Imperial Union, which if you've seen my posts you would know how it looks like. Sergei, who looks like Boris Yeltsin, is wearing a suit for the occasion while cameramen (yes men, not person) take pictures.

"The Imperial Union's response to this is simple." He said. "Who fricken cares. The fact of the matter is that the Empire of Automagfreek always mobilizes their forces. I mean, it's expected of them. It's like a fat kid in a candy store, what do you think that fat kid'll do? He'll eat the friken' candy! And yet you people are surprised! Let Lord Damien Dreadfire wave his penis, because it doesn't concern us. Okay? Good. I like the statements made by the Oligarch of the Most Glorious Hack, and even Holy Panooly."

He took a sip of water. "Not only that, now even I have to waste my time to tell the International Community how stupid and childish they are, even though I'm being stupid and childish by telling you people how stupid and childish you are. But that's besides the point. Oh, and our position is neutral. By the way we're willing to host a peace conference for you people if it makes you feel better."

He shrugged. "Look at this..." He mumbled as he got off the pedastal. "I have to interrupt a IBC Broadcast for this, oy..."

In other news, the Imperial Union has counted fifty two days with peace, and bets are going around that the next war will be in two days...

To: Whom it May Concern,
Automagfreek
Subject: Automagfreek Fleet Action [OPEN]

I think you miss the point of our statement, and you seem to miss the point of our policy towards Automagfreek as a whole. We are not trying to argue any 'point', or smear the Automagfreek government, or meddle in your affairs. I hesitate to appear insulting, but His Imperial Majesty's Government cares precious little for the goings on of Automagfreek - certainly not enough to commit time and resources to running a 'smear campaign'. Needless to say, in Praetonia deplomacy is not treated in the same manner as the tabloid media.

In past we have viewed your nation to be honourable, and that is all we are doing in this instance - honouring our bonds of allegiance. Should Automagfreek vessels not fire upon the assets of Praetonia or her allies, then we shall not return that fire. If, as you insist, you bare no aggressive intent towards Hogsweat (despite your previous and rather puzzelling orders for his vessels to leave his own waters around his own islands) then there is no problem. If you are not intending to commit aggressive acts towards Hogsweat then you have nothing to fear from our vessels, or indeed his.

As for 'blacklisting' and indeed your 'do not interact with clause' - as far as I am aware, Praetonia has no economic or political links with Automagfreek currently, and as a general rule has no intention of creating such ties with dictatorships. Needless to say, your vessels are now banned from the Praetonian waters, or those of our three Crown Colonies. I find your attitude to Sarzonia (calling her Lieutenant President 'impudent' for daring citicise your policy) bemusing, especially as the aforementioned nation has, if I am not very much mistaken, offered you vessels in support of your objectives.

In conclusion, I hope you now understand that all we are stating is that we intend to defend our ally should that become necessary. I am sure that you would act in the same way should you be put in a similar situation. I do not see why you continue to insist on arguing 'points' and 'arguments' we have no made in some 'debate' that we have not started.

Vox Populi, Vox Dei

Yours,

Tiberius Polax, MP
Foreign Secretary

"Well, Prime Minister, the mud-slinging has begun," Sir Horace informed Geoffrey Middleton. "Hartman and Zander of Automagfreek against Polax of Praetonia and Lewis of Sarzonia. Artista is moving forces to defend Hogsweat whilst the Island of Rose and the Most Glorious Hack have condemned those condemning Automagfreek's expansionism." Middleton glared at his Defence Minister after that last sentence before turning his attention to the television to observe Automagfreek's last public address.

"Very showy, isn't he?" Middleton muttered.

"Yes."

"Well, I'll inform His Majesty about this," the Prime Minister said. "In the meantime, behave as if nothing unusual was about. In the unlikely event Lord Dreadfire seeks to invade us, we should have more than enough time to respond appropriately. In the meantime, broadcast to our submarines to be on a heightened state of alert."

Middleton shuffled some files into his red leather government satchel when he remembered about the independent division Sir Horace had mentioned earlier. "Has that division sailed yet?"

"No, Prime Minister."

"When it is ready, send it to Hogsweat instead," grumbled Middleton. "One never knows."

HMNB Cariya Islands
Forbes licked his dry lips. He knew that his government was directly ignoring anything Automagfreek said, or challenged them to do. In fact, he also knew, that a very large amount of warships was on it's way from his homeland. He tapped the Arms Ensign on the back.
"Arms, bring me up a tactical map of this area and bring me up tactica data on the battlegroup."
With a quick nod, the Ensign tapped in controls and up on the second screen came two maps, one showing a huge amount of warships, two of them spectacularly long and wide, and also tall. the other showed Cariya islands and it's defenses.
"Righto...Comrade, arm VLS cells A50 through A100. Get me a firing solution on...that superdreadnaught, and then arm VLS cells B1 to B100. Also get me a firing solution on that vessel. Bring our guns to bear on the thing, Arms. Remove safeties on the tac's (don't worry i'm not going think to to use them, it's just standard practice)."
From the Camera Views Forbes could see the three 18" triple guns swing around slightly to the left and elavate to 45 degrees. he smiled knowing that if it came to be he could inflict at least some damage before he was pounded into fine dust. He also knew below those metal hatches contained Yakhont-IIIS, old, outdated missiles, but nevertheless still powerful anti shipping cruise missiles.
This island may be small but it was well equipped and Forbes was going to make good use of it while he could.
He was thinking about whether he would ever live through this, if he did he'd become a national hero, ther'ed be medals, millions of pounds, all the women he wanted..if he lived. Forbes' dream was interrupted when the comm's ensign made a report.
"Comrade Lieutenant Sah, you have an incoming message from Battle HQ"
"Show it up" Forbes demanded.
On the screen flickered up the face of Star Fleet Admiral of the Red, George Brydges Rodney. A national hero if there ever was one, and someone that Forbes was incredible jealous of.
"Ah, Station Lieutenant" Rodney spoke into the transmitter. "The 1-3rd Carrier Task Forces and 9-11th Combined Task Forces are en route. We were mobilised not so long ago. The original task group that was sent to help you, the 1-2nd is moving to you now, they'll be there in about eighteen hours. The rest will be on station in thirty six. Hold your ground Station Lieutenant. You have expressed specific instructions from 1st Union Street itself to conduct Order 2A-B. You have your orders lieutenant, carry them out and make sure all information pertinent to the security of our state DOES NOT fall into the hands of the enemy. Good Luck Station Lieutenant, everyone is watching you. Rodney out"
Forbes blinked. once, twice, thrice. Did he just hear that right?
"Ensign, confirm that order for me." He asked, the Ensign replying
"Comrade Lieutenant Sah, confirmed, Order 2A-B."
Forbes nodded.
"Then you know what to do. Arm cells C1-100 and get me firing solutions for the dreadnaught we just locked in. Give these notes to the Marine Company, then tell the gun crews to start loading their guns. Arm cells G-1 through H-100."
"Sah!"
Forbes made a silent prayer. This was it. As red alarm klaxons flashed around him, and the crew of HMNB Cariya Island's Command Centre busied themselves with carrying out the orders, Forbes stood still, the sweat now pouring off his face. He rubbed his palm, the sweat there sticking onto his other hand like some form of insect. He gulped. Eighteen long hours defending this tiny island from an onslaught from a huge enemy fleet. Was it possible? Probably not. Did he have his orders? Most definetly yes.
"Comms, bring up a line to the civilian station. Tell them to board the LPH waiting and get them the hell out of here."
"Yes Sah!" The ensign barked the affirmative and went immediately to his task.
"Arms?"
"Here on station, Lieutenant!"
"remove safeties from cells A50 through A100." Forbes ordered, amazingly staying quite calm though he was about to commit an act that would most likely kill alot of people.
"Removing safeties..safeties are gone sir. We're hot and ready to engage the enemy."
Forbes bit his lip.
"Comms, how are we doing on those civvies?
"They're leaving their houses now sir. The first of them will be onboard the LPH in T minus 450." The ensign reported back quickly.
"Affirmative Ensign. Arms, remove safeties on missiles B-1 through to C100." Forbes ordered, his unpanicked demeanour staying with him.
"Sah, safeties removed, we're hot and ready to engage the enemy. All firing solutions locked in, our missiles will climb to achieve maximum height and then close in on the enemy dreadnaught, sah. Firing on your order."
"fire..now." Forbes closed his eyes, oblivious to the cameras showing the multiple missile launches.

Cariya Minor
Mila Capofold looked up into the sky as she grasped her dolly. Her daddy was a fisherman here, him and her mother had moved as colonists to help the Empire and it's commerce grow. Mila liked life in Cariya, even if she was home schooled and there were only three other children on the island.
"Look Daddy, look!" her arm outstretched to point, the cuddly bear in one hand and her tiny fingers pointing in the other.
Everyone stopped as they heard the great whooooooosh the missiles made as they popped their hatches and zoomed into the air, SCRAMJET engines engaging. In a canon they fired, one by one until all the hatches were off and the last missile screamed into the air.
"Oh..shit..Quick, Mila, run!" Her dad knew exactly what was going on as did the rest of the tiny colony, as they all made a dash for the shipyard and the moored vessel that would take them away.

---
OOC This is, of course, if you don't mind. If you don't want to get caught up in this at the moment just give me the word and i'll OMGDEAT my post.

Captain O'Driscoll had recieved his orders. The sweat formed a ring around his collar. Dear Jesus he thought. He stood no chance whatsoever. Then again, if he completed his order, he could be saving a lot of innocent lives.

The two other SSN-994's had joined up with him about an hour ago, their captains were just as nervous. O'Driscoll had been declared group commander, a huge responsibility.

"Arms, begin launching the mines."
"Aye Sir"

He turned to his communications console, picking up the reciever. He was in direct contact with the two other captains now; "Boys, begin launching your mines. Hotel Pattern." The line clicked off.

Three minutes of silent launches came after, mine after mine launched into the ocean. There was now 108 smart mines, now drifiting along. Their small propellers moved them along nicely at 3kts, an ample speed, for they gave off no sound. At 3kts they would be within range of the AMF fleet in about an hour and a half; Plenty of time.

In the meantime, Captain O'Driscoll had actived his entire inventory of AM-98B's, and began to maneuver behind the islands. The Artitsan fleets were still two days away. There was a submarine flotilla about 8hrs away that had been redirected, but 8hrs is a long time.

"Kiss my ass."

The startled look on Executive Secretary to the President Becky Davis hung in the tense air of the presidential office in the Gray House like a ghost in a bad mood. She scanned President Mike Sarzo's face and saw a scowl that she knew meant one thing. Trouble.

"Mike, calm down. Please!" Davis slowly lowered herself onto her surgically repaired right knee in a begging position as Sarzo quietly turned around in his chair to his computer.

"Mike, the last thing we need is a war with..."

"Shhh," Sarzo said. "Leave this office please."

"But..."

"Leave. Now. Before I do something I'll regret."

You're about to do something you'll regret now, Davis thought as she slowly pulled herself from the spot where she tested her knee and she limped out of Sarzo's office to the sound of the keyboard clacking loudly.

Official Statement, Office of the PresidentThe Incorporated States of Sarzonia are not interested in the unsolicited advice of our former friends from The Island of Rose, nor do we care what those hypocritical bastards from The Most Glorious Hack have to say. As for Automagfreek, they have shown their immaturity once again, choosing to resort to insults and bluster instead of acting the way a real country should behave.

No matter. We have no interest in listening to their drivel. If they do not threaten our nautical interests, we will take no action unless they directly threaten us or our allies. However, we will operate on a heightened state of alert in the immediate future.Sarzo stood up from his desk and walked out, staring straight ahead with a stony look of determination as he pulled out his cell phone.

"Attention, all Cabinet officials to the situation room at once."

"Take your last breath of fresh air."

Captain Fred Royce took a sip of coffee after speaking, turning to the XO as he did the same. It was early in the morning, they'd set out by night from the docks at Cortina. The Skanas were brand new and didn't yet have hardened shelters for the most part, the SSGNs and the Nike would leave their pens submerged, nobody would know they'd ever left.

But they could afford this luxury, they were already nearing the rendezvous point. The XO was a Northerner, Hoeppie Stalwold, he was almost too tall for sub duty, but he was an excellent submariner and it was allowed to pass. The sun was beginning to rise, and the XO went down first as Royce double checked the hatch lock. They came down in the command room of the submarine, no periscope, instead, photonic masts. Viewscreens flickered, everything was still rigged for red to preserve night vision.

The sub sat silently as it waited. And then they detected the Nike. One of the world's largest subs, the Nike was a monster of acoustic dampening and heavy weapons. Designed as a response to the superdreadnought, the Nike was a capable combatant against almost any seaborne opponent. At this point, communications were established through drones, traling behind the subs, using FSO LIDAR signals to communicate when necessary.

Once again, New Empire felt the consequences of being politically isolated. Years ago in the APTO, they'd fought against Allanea. But now, they might be sailing to war against a former ally.

Composed of the new Skana SSNs, the older but reliable Leviathan SSGNs, and the enigmatic Nike herself, Strike Group 'Rabbit' was the largest UCSNE combat deployment overseas since that same war. When the vessels came within 300 miles of the operating area, they'd slow to tactical stealth speeds. In the meantime, they could hope they didn't get the mission they dreaded.

OOC: Hogsweat, TM
*****************

Within seconds the AI targeting on board the Sentinel, Reaver, Cemetery Gate, War Nerve, and Mouth for War screamed its warning across the entire ship, signaling the crew that automatic override was taking over. As this happened, the smaller 16" guns on board the two Super Dreadnoughts (Sentinel and Reaver) began unleashing thousands of flak rounds into the air, and they would be followed up by a barrage of ship launched counter-missiles.

The targeting systems used both radar and laser guidance to home in on each of the missiles, and several active countermeasures were deployed as a result. Firstly, electronic countermeasures were put into effect, followed by a salvo of interceptor missiles. CIWS were trained on the general area of the incoming projectiles and ready to go if the other defensive measures failed. Other missile frigates and destroyers joined in, filling the air with showers of explosive flak and several vollies of interceptor missiles.

With this many ships at sea, the AMF Navy could swat enemy missiles out of the air quicker than they could launch them, and the AI targeting took no chances. Everything that appeared on the radar screen that was hostile was shot at, to make sure that the bulk of the fire was not sent towards a decoy. No more than a minute passed before Zander was on the horn, sending a transmission towards the Cariya Islands.

I would not advise your course of action in the position you are in. It has already been explained that our fleets are not intended to strike at Hogsweat holdings, and to be quite honest, up until this point we weren't even concerned with you in the slightest.

But all that has changed now, and you have made the mistake of firing upon us first. I pray that Lord Dreadfire's decision is one that results in your people keeping their lives, because once I get the green light...your islands will be nothing more than a large sandbar.

*******************

Damien was interrupted at his meeting with Dayne with the news of the missile launch against his fleets. Dreadfire slammed his fist down upon the oak table at which he sat, so hard that he split the wood cleanly in two. Mother fucker....this is going to upset our plans Lord Reaver. It seems some renegade has decided to engage my fleets that were stationed at the outermost reaches of my waters.

He ran his hand across his face, thinking of what to do next.

If I return fire, then our entire operation will be put on indefinate hold because most of my resources will have to be diverted to fight Hogsweat and probably most of the OMP. However, if I do not return fire, I will be seen as a coward and my resolve will be questioned.

This is a hard position Dayne, I have many nations....former allies of the Empire who lust for war against me. We have done nothing wrong, we have provoked nobody, but still their dogs of war nip at my heels. And now this....my ships fired upon....

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

I have received news of the unfortunate attack upon AMF fleets sitting idly inside our own territorial waters. For days now our ships have sat peacefully, waiting for my orders to move out.

I am not at liberty to disclose why those ships are there and who they will be used against, but it is certainly was not the nation of Hogsweat.

I am most annoyed that our warnings and explantions have fallen on deaf ears. AMF Forces followed our new directive and issued a warning, informing all nearby of their presense. We made this directive years ago because, and contrary to popular belief, the Empire is just. To show that we do not slaughter those to whom we have no business with, we made a concerted effort to warn those in our path that we are coming, and to steer clear.

But I see that directive has resulted in something much more worse. Nations ridicule us and call us the aggressors for telling those in our path that they need to step aside.

I cannot express enough my disappointment in the actions of certain OMP nations, openly waging warfare against Automagfreek, to whom they had no business with. Could it be perhaps that the OMP is looking for fame by toppling the mighty AMF beast? Could it be that they wish to plunder our lands, rape our women, and erase us from history? Perhaps.

But many dragons have tried to lay siege to my kingdom, and all have suffered the same fate.

The warships still inside AMF waters were not meant for Hogsweat, or any OMP member for that matter. They have taken it upon themselves to turn hostile, and unless an apology is made and unless the aggressive forces lay down their arms (until such time that our fleets have dispersed), I see no other alternative.....and the world knows what that alternative is.

I can also say with confidence that this matter has severely spoiled delicate plans of mine that have been put into place. Because of this inconvenience, valuable time and money are being wasted on a matter that is not even deserving of my attention. So far both Minister Hartman and The One Who Shall Remain Unnamed have proven the aggressors wrong, citing major holes in their baseless arguments and proving them wrong at every turn. But still they persist.

At any rate, the Empire has been prepared for a long and bloody war for some time now, and if it must fall upon those that were never intended to be targets, then let the war drums sound loudly into the night. We do not fear any nation, and being, or any God. The Empire is eternal as the Dawn and as terrible as the Night, and those that come to the shores of Automagfreek will find nothing but blood and death.

The choice is up to those who seek to fight the Empire. I am willing to turn a blind eye to this incident, but only because there are more worthy and pressing matters at hand. I will however ask for just compensation for each bit of ordinance expelled to counter the unprovoked attack on AMF fleets. A small price to pay for your lives, I'm sure.

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

ooc: Now I can post what I’ve been waiting to post for a while.
http://mars.walagata.com/w/artitsa/Seal4.png
Official Public Telegram to Damien, Automagfreek

We have come to the fact that your nautical claim is within 8km's (Roughly 4nm) of an Island chain, controlled by the Sovereign nation of Hogsweat. Had you taken the time to investigate prior to your impulsive claims, you would note that you just claimed a large portion of Hogsweatian Waters, and have technically moved a fleet into said waters.

Ordinarily, Maritime claims are limited to roughly 24nm, or 50km's. Hogsweat claims (with every right, just like your nation did) 150kms, or about 75nm. Either way, you are within his nautical territory, and we formally ask you to remove yourselves, or it could be seen as an act of aggression. So no, you are not quite innocent in this circumstance, and no your two ministers did not prove AMF is innocent of any thing.

D. Milosvaji
Dmitri Milosvaji
Head of State;
Sovereign Technocratic Republic of Artitsa

ooc: Im aware, but we're RP starved. Perhaps AIM will suffice?

Without announcement or fanfare a dozen Panteran warships slid out of harbor and steamed south, toward Automagfreek. Though encrypted word of their approach was sent to Xander and Hartman, word of their deployment was kept from the international ciruits.

Behind them, the Panteran war ports continued to bustle. Sleek new ships rotated their guns, performed last minute checks, and made ready. Men kissed wives and sweethearts and reluctantly returned to ship. This was the mighty new Panteran fleet which had been, since the brief but bloody British incident, slowly snowballing into a gargantuan force and was now ready to set sail. To where was yet to be known, but with Dreadfire all but taunting the natons of the earth and fools not seeing what was happening, it was not hard to guess.

The half-brother of the Evenstar, Lord Captain Gaise Starshone, rode at the head of the advance force, refusing to remain with the bulk of his fleet. His sleek warship Vandal was a smaller, faster version of Pantera's Plunder Class warships, and he rode at her bow, staring out over the seas.

As his small force approached the Panteran/AMF straight, another, much larger detatchment of warships slid from their moors and, after breaking into three battle-groups of about twenty ships each, set sail as well. Though this was only a fraction of the new Panteran fleet, for the moment Gaise thought it would be enough.

OOC: You DO have to realize that Hogsweat's islands literally appeared out of nowhere. Had I previously known about these islands, I would have kept some distance.

I'm fine with moving on with this RP, but I shake my head at spur of the moment OOC decisions landing me in IC conflict. I'm very tempted to write this off and ignore it, but it would cheapen the story line. I hope we can all come to some OOC agreement here on what is acceptable. Perhaps I will start an OOC only thread.

To: Whom it May Concern,
Automagfreek
Subject: 'OMP Apology' [OPEN]

As unpleasant as it is to be forced to communicate with you again so soon, there are several matters which must be cleared up. Firstly, the Organisation of Maritime Powers has not at any point endorsed offensive action against any nation, nor has it made any pledge, in public or in private, to support any such actions as an alliance. The attacks carried out upon your vessels (which were, I might add, inside Hogsweatian waters at the time) were carried out by Hogsweat alone, and not the Organisation of Maritime Powers.

For that reason I would not expect to receive an apology from the Organisation of Maritime Powers and nor shall one be given with Praetonian backing behind it. I am firmly of the opinion that no one, individual, nation or alliance, should be coerced into apologising for actions which were not their doing and were not their fault, in whole or in part.

Secondly, I would like to point out that further war with Hogsweat or indeed any member of the Organisation of Maritime Powers based upon the recent events would most certainly not be in your best interests. I am sure, and shall be pointing this out to my Hogsweatian counterpart in the very near future, that should you apologise for tresspassing upon his waters and leave immediately, your fleets shall be allowed to go on their way and this incident need go no further. You have not lost a single vessel or a single man, and neither has Hogsweat. I feel confident that I can speek for the general opinion of the Organisation of Maritime Powers in saying that I sincerely hope that it will stay that way.

Vox Populi, Vox Dei

Yours,

Tiberius Polax, MP
Foreign Secretary

[OOC: Perhaps I will start an OOC only thread.
That would probably be a good idea. Thanks.]

Office of the Central Directorate: Schultaria Prime, Schultaria Prime

Central Director Schultz, his hair disheveled and reeling from a whiskey-induced stomach ulcer, stumbled into his office with a painfully slow gait. Dragging himself into his supple high back leather chair, the elder statesman pulled out a data pad from underneath the office's massive mahogany frame and feigned interest at the countless reports flashing across his eyes. Just as he prepared to take his first quiet meeting of the day, one of the directorate's numerous emergency lines rang out with a sharp trill.

"Goddamn it."

The last week had not been kind to the Schultarian head of state, and his drinking only helped to worsen his mood. As members of the National Assembly and the Schultarian Intelligence Directorate materialized in holographic miniatures on top of his desk, he burrowed his head deep into his cupped hands. "I'm sure that this is important and that I must have received some sort of prior notification, but just make it snappy," the head of state said in a terse and decidedly sour tone, "I'm too tired to hear any long speeches or spirited deliberations; just give me the facts and we can work from there."

Even though the two parties were slightly taken aback at the Central Director's request, they understood the need for being brief. If members of the legislature and the intelligence community had the luxury of ignorance to the impacts of the blockades by Guffingford and the numerous setbacks in establishing a working infrastructure for Designwerks Internationale, they could see the effects on their boss. After a few uneasy moments of silence, several members from the SID replied.

"Well, esteemed members of the federal government, we've been monitoring a situation concerning the international backlash between Automagfreek and members of the OMP over naval boundaries..."

-----

Message to the International Community from Central Director Elliot Schultz

"Seeing as our nation has a vested interest in a majority of the nations who are currently competing over this claim I, the Central Director of Schultaria Prime, invite all of the parties involved to try to settle their arguments in a nation physically and diplomatically disconnected from the region in question. As such, it would be an honor to hold such diplomacy with assorted representatives of the nations involved, but seeing the current escalation of conflict I hold little hope that my reply will be heeded by the hotter heads in this conflict. Nonetheless, as long as there is still hope for a more amicable settlement among the nations involved, it shall be the Schultarian prerogative to help all opposing nations find a mutual solution to this recent conflict.

If such a solution can not be found and war remains imminent, please transmit the physical dimensions of your political and military leaders to the National Archives of Schultaria Prime; should this war commence, it is highly doubtful that any nation directly involved will have enough individuals left to help bury and memorialize the dead. Although it will not be as fulfilling a work as a lasting peace treaty, you can at least take solace that your memories will be relegated to a dusty corner of a Schultarian library as the world carries onwards without your assistance."

"We're what now?"

"We're 'hypocritical bastards', aparently."

"How the hell does someone reach that conclusion? I mean, we've always supported individual sovereignty; that's why we joined the NDA..."

"Search me."

"Hey, Josef?"

"Yeah?"

"Who the hell is Sarzonia anyway?"

"No clue."

"Ah. Shall you respond or...?"

"I got it."

To: The People of Sarzonia
Fr: The Semi-Autonomous Technocratic Oligarchy of the Most Glorious Hack
Re: Official Statement

It saddens me that such a rash individual has been elected to lead you and represent you on the world stage. Why you elected such an individual is beyond me, but that's not exactly my concern.

I am curious as to what the Hack has possibly done that would justify calling us "hypocritical bastards". I have found that our views of the world have, in fact, been rather consistant. We have always believed in the concepts of national sovereignty, part of the reason we joined the Non-Democratic Alliance, a group that upholds that very ideal above all others.

While we are not an aggressive nation, we don't not feel that means that we need to condemn other nations who are aggressive. If Automagfreek wishes to waste capital on war, that is their prerogative. If other nations wish to actually do something about it, that is their prerogative. Our comments were simply directed at the multitude of micro-nations that feel the ability to address the world gives them carte blanche to spout off every time a nation does something.

To call us "hypocritical bastards" for advising micro-nations to avoid the affairs of major powers seems a little... silly. Furthermore, it seems to do little more than back up our assertation that there is a stunning lack of diplomatic skills in the diplomatic spheres of the world.

It's a pity that the president of Sarzonia couldn't take the time to actually back up his claims, but it seems that he was more interested in popping off to a nation that he has no dealings with. A mortal blow to our national self-esteem, I'm sure.

However, I do hope he feels better about himself now. Maybe he's earned himself a few more percentage points in the next election. I hope it was worth it, and I hope that the next nation he insults for no reason is as forgiving as we are.

- Dr. Josef Specter, Nominal Head of the Oligarchy
The Semi-Autonomous Technocratic Oligarchy of the Most Glorious Hack

King Henry V scowled murderously when he read the latest report regarding the Cariya Islands. He noticed that his first minister looked little different than he felt. "Why, precisely, are we burdened by this?" His Majesty growled. "Hadn't we learned enough from our experience in Inkana?"

"Your Majesty, as yet we are not involved, just observing the situation," answered Prime Minister Middleton. "Our submarine force has only just left for Hogsweat when we received news."

"Splendid, six submarines against the entire naval might of Automagfreek and his allies," chuntered the King. "Mobilise the fleet and the air force, but as yet, keep them on stand-by."

---

Official Communiqué from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development

On behalf of HM the King:

Your Excellencies within the Automagfreek Government,

Though HM Government was in some small respects alarmed by your decision to extend your maritime boundaries so far into the world's oceans, HM the King would like to commend Lord Damien for his wisdom in requesting a diplomatic solution for the most recent unfortunate events occurring within the disputed region. HM Government is certain, or at the very least, hopeful that an accord can be reached between the nation of Hogsweat and that of Automagfreek regarding that area and wishes that a suitably neutral Third Party can be found to resolve this matter promptly.

That written, HM Government shall not brook the wholesale slaughter of Hogsweatian civilians by Automagfreek forces despite the provocation by Hogsweatian armed forces. Any such war crimes so committed shall be, if required, met with appropriate measures.

Still, seeing that your enlightened leadership is willing to enter into negotiations, I am sure no such exhibition of force will be required.

Sincerely yours,

The Hon. Sir George Fredericks KL, MP, CS, PC
Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development
UKIN

OFFICIAL CONCORDIAT STATEMENT

We admit that our wording may not have been correct but our objection still stands on other grounds. Although these agreements are not in writing we have come to believe that the 25 to 50 NM territorial water limit that most nation adhere to allows a degree of stability and orderliness on the high seas.
Your rash actions have completely destabilized this once very grounded system as evidenced by the numerous threats of war and even actual combat.

We urge you to pull back and restore order and balance in our world, if you do not we can only assume that you are delibretly looking to start a fight. But we are heartend by your deicision to consider diplomacy. We hope that cooler heads prevail in your nation.

Regards,

Secretary of State Niels Verclerk

trouble shooter
trou·ble·shoot·er n.
1. A worker whose job is to locate and eliminate sources of trouble, as in mechanical operations.

2. A mediator skilled in settling disputes especially of a diplomatic, political, or industrial nature.
Robert Sandersheim was a troubleshooter. He didn't go by that title- men of that nature very rarely did. Present in every profession, around since the dawn of time, thier skills were enormous and highly valued. Their names are famous- George C. Marshall, Woodrow Wilson, and a host of others. Some tried to make a job of the skill- they were known as diplomats.

But not all diplomats were troubleshooters and, as the years went on, fewer and fewer diplomats were of the true nature of troubleshooters. A mark of the measure of a troubleshooter is the ability to end a formal meeting, move on to something more sedate, and solve the problem he's been called to compromise in as little time as possible. There have been few excellent troubleshooters in all of history.

Robert Sandersheim is the best troubleshooter alive. Never mind the fact he's lower down in the totem pole of the Foreign Service than all political appointees. When there's a job to be done or a deal to be struck, Monsignor Sandersheim is there, either as the main representative or an underling. But his skills are always working, always effective. Robert Sandersheim is a man with a rare gift. A pity he doesn't actually realize this.

DPUO National Embassy, Embassy Row, Samtonia
Robert Sandersheim stood alone outside the door of the ambassador to Samtonia from the nation of DontPissUsOff. He had been offered aid- he had declined. He had been offered helpers- he declined. After all, as Bob Sandersheim knew, he wasn't good at anything of importance. That's why he was stuck in a mid-level job at the Samtonian Foreign Service instead of a cushy diplomatic job. And Bob Sandersheim knew that, since he was a failure, he'd probably fail at this m,ission as well. Best not to drag any employees down with him and cause intense office hatred.....

Of course, the lasty three diplomatic missions he'd been on were successes, a fact Bob was regularily reminded of by that small glint of pride lurking inside himself. But realism was quick to assert itself- the head diplomat had done the bargaining. All he'd done was go out to lunch with the aide to the other nation's diplomat and talk over coffee afterwards. He hadn't really done anything on that trip. Or the two before, come to think of it.

But this was different. He, Robert Ulysses Sandersheim, alone on a mission to gauge the level of DPUO support for either side in what was shaping up to be a nasty fight. A fight whioch was, of course, in both Samtonia's and DPUO's best interests to avoid. But Sandersheim wasn't expecting much. He would be surprised if the ambassador even met with him, let alone talked in depth.

So the invitation to come in and have tea with the DPUO ambassador was one of great surprise to M. Sandersheim. Had he been a judicious observer, the fact that he managed to compliment both the receptionist and chief of staff of the embassy, as well as wish the whole embassy a happy Feast Day for a holiday few outside of DPUO even knew general details about, let alone the date of and the customary greeting, wuld have probably explained the ease in which he secured a meeting. And the erase in which he secured tea.

OOC: I think that an OOC thread would be best so we can work out what's going on exactly. Thanks to AMF for letting me continue this.
His Majesty's Naval Base Cariya Islands
"So?" Forbes asked, quite jittery in his approach.
"All missiles shot down sir..zero percent hit rate."
The Ensign reported back, his hands shaking over the command keyboard.
"They got them all"
he added. Station Lieutenant Forbes was never really an angry man, and he had never really had any stress on him, but maybe now, he thought, it had all boiled up and was going to be released. He picked up a coffee mug and smashed it against the wall, shattered fragments of the cup resounding off the steel titanium walls of the command centre.
"Ready the guns with armour piercing shells, and for gods sake, turn that bloody klaxon off will you? Navs, how far away is our fleet?"
The klaxons calmed down and came to a stop, normalising the rooms in everything except tension.
"The first and second carrier groups are seventeen and sixteen/thirty hours away, respectively, sah."
"I see."
That was a long time. If he fired back Forbes doubted he could hold on for sixteen whole hours. "What about our civvies?" He asked again. Forbes wanted to make sure there was no civilian presence on the island when the real battle began.
"The LPH is ready to leave port sir in T minus sixty." the Ensign replied immediately.
"I see. Well, hold our fire until then. Are you absolutely sure there is noone on that island Navs?"
"Yes, sah." The ensign barked in reply.

But that was not entirely true. Journalist Mark Schidden had realised immediately why everyone was leaving, and expertly, as journalists can and do, slipped away to find a good hiding spot to watch "the fireworks" as it was known in the business. Setting up his camera and his notepad and his video recorder he lay in wait, pen to paper and his eye on the video. This was going to be the highlight of his career. Mark Schidden was fairly intelligent, but he didn't know AMF foreign policy. In fact, he knew little of AutoMagFreek at all. He had just figured it was another one of those countries that his country was at war with, like you do. He grinned when he saw the helicopter carrier filled with civilians leave port and the flag of the Red Cross pop up on the refitted unarmed helicopter. That ship would stay on station for the rest of the battle, flying in it's helicopters to take out wounded, and vital equipment, from His Majesty's Naval Base Cariya Islands.

IC:
President Zwimbala looked up. His top aids were all standing in his office, as was his good friend, the Secretary of Defense. There were also some other high military brass there that he did not recognise... he hadn't been to war in some time. They were all standing there, all with very solemn looks on their faces.
"Well, what's this about, then?"
"Well, Mr. President... Sir... it seems that AutoMagFreek has expanded its maritime territorial claims."
"Well, Mr. Steward, I'm sure you didn't all come in here for that..."
"No sir, we didn't... they have also mobilised all or most of their armed forces, and have sent their Navy out to the limits of their new claims."
"Surely this is worrisome, Mr. Steward... but seriously, what are we to do? They haven't attacked us, they have no provoked us? Surely, few people in AMF even know of our existence! I apologise if I am over-simplifying the matter or missing something, but, frankly, why does this matter?"
"Well, you see, Mr. President... the new boundaries are only 8 km away from a small island chain controlled by Hogsweat."
"Eight kilometers? Surely, there must be some mistake... a typographical error of some sort..."
"No, sir, it's all here... the full force of AutoMagFreek, on the doorstep of a Hogsweatian outpost. A small military base, really, and little more."
"Yes... this does cause considerable concern. Well, what happened?"
"Well, Sir, the Hogsweatians went to full alert, of course."
"Naturally"
"And then they fired at the AMF forces."
"They [i]what??"
"Fired, Sir. Missiles and guns."
"To what effect?"
"Little to none, Sir. Our satellites report seeing no damage to the AMF vessels, and, according to sources within Hogsweat, the strike was not even enough to incite a response."
"What are we going to do? How do we react to a one-way war?"
"Well, Sir, as you are well aware, we are bound to protect Hogsweat from any and all aggressors whose actions may result in the destruction of Hogsweat."
"The Hogsweatian commanders, then? From what I have seen, Hogsweat fired first, and they were under no immediate threat from the AMF forces. If they want to pick a fight with AMF... and I'm wondering why anyone would... they're free to do so, but they're not taking us with them."
"So we are just going to abandon them, Sir? Meaning no disrespect, but these are our allies... many OMP nations are pledging their support in case of an AMF attack."
"As will we. If Hogsweat itself is attacked or directly threatened, we will of course act."
"But what if we are too late? We must be in a position to defend our allies when and if the need arises."
"This is true. Send our 2nd Expeditionary Fleet to Hogsweat, following slightly different paths so as to lessen obvious suspicions. They will form up in Hogsweatian waters (or dock if given permission) and await a resolution to this crisis, in whatever form it may come. We might want some reinforcements in the area as well."
----------------------------------------------

To: Hogsweat Naval Command
From: President Zwimbala, Pacific Northwesteria
Re: AMF
Text:
We have activated and sent one of our Expeditionary Fleets towards your home waters around mainland Hogsweat, and another to the nearest OMP base in the area. With your permission we will dock in harbours on your coast (of your convenience, of course) and await events as they unfold. We will fight along side you as allies if Hogsweat is attacked, however, we will not protect your island outpost as it did in all fairness fire first, and we would have no time to regroup with allied fleets before any future counter-attack by the Freeks.
Yours,
President Zwimbala,
The Nomadic Peoples of Pacific Northwesteria

End Text
-------------------------------------------------

To: My Esteemed Associates in the Sovereign Empire of AutoMagFreek
From: President Zwimbala, Pacific Northwesteria
Re: Mobilisation
Text:
The people of Pacific Northwesteria are wary of your sudden and enigmatic mobilisation of forces. However, we do acknowledge your right to do so. We are likewise wary of your new territorial claims, however we do not feel that they are enough of a concern to respond with undue force. However, we believe that it would be beneficial for all involved if you would recognise Hogsweat's preexisting maritime claims, and, instead of claiming a constant distance from your shores, claiming only the international waters within that radius.
We in Pacific Northwesteria were greatly saddened by the Hogsweatian decision to attack your vessel. It is unclear at the moment whether it was a calculated decision, or an over-anxious action by a local officer. Because Hogsweatian forces fired the first shot, we can not in good faith defend them at this time. While we hope, for all concerned, that a peaceful resolution can be found, we do not deny your right to respond to such an attack. We instead ask your Magnificence to find inside yourself the magnanimity to dismiss the entire incident (as none of your vessels were damaged) and simply bypass the island after leaving its territorial waters.
Do not, however, misconstrue our understanding in this matter for our cooperation in the future should you decide to press this issue. We do not wish to start a war between our two nations, but we do have certain lines which, once crossed, demand a military response. Should you cross such a line, you will be informed in a most unpleasant manner.

Yours,
President Zwimbala,
The Nomadic Peoples of Pacific Northwesteria

End Text.

From: HMNB Scapa Flow
To: President Zwimbala
RE: PN Naval Detachment
We thank you for your support in these times and we will make preparations for your fleet to meet in Glasgow, North Hogsweat. We have sufficient harbour space there to dock whatever you need. Again, thank you for your support.
Rule Hogsweatia~
Fleet Star Admiral of the Blue, Charles Middleton Barham

-=POST CURRENTLY UNDER EDIT=-

It seems that we have some momentum going our way. Hogsweat's forces fired upon us first, and although nobody on either side was hurt, it weakens their position. I've also noted (as I'm sure you're aware) the presense of a carrier fleet and several other decent sized convoys heading your way. For the time being, remain in striking distance, but move back far enough to render their shore cannons ineffective. Go about the books on this one, and if any other incident happens in regards to these islands, I will have them razed into oblivion. Good luck Zander, good luck Brinks. I have full fiath in both of you and your abilities. Dreadfire out.

**********

The message was specific and to the point. The Freek vessels were to follow their standard protocol and move back to their maximum striking distance. The larger 25" guns on both SD's and the single 30" battery on the Reaver could still do major damage to the island if need be.

Within a half hour the ships were moving back, all the meanwhile sperading out their perimeter even further. Freek subs beneath the waves held their perimeter for the most part, not falling back more than a nautical mile or two. They would like in wait on the seabed and silently scan the seas, looking for potential intruders. Air patrols were random but coordinated, and several wings of fighters were on indefinate standby.

After several hours the fleets were now roughly 70-80 miles off the coast of the Cariya Islands. From this distance pretty much only the SD's could stilll be efective, but it was worth it considering the safe distance they were now at. By now they were spread out in a large semi-circle around the the island, stretching dozens of miles in length, but all the meanwhile remaining in AMF waters.

Nothing else would be done for the moment, and the AMF Navy would simply watch and wait. By the second new data poured into each command tower, and every inch of the island and surrounding waters was being watched from the heavens by Freek satellites.

The next move would be that of Hogsweat.

[AMF, you do know that as of a few posts ago, Hogsweat was going to fire AP shells at you in 60 seconds, right? That's hardly enough time to withdraw a fleet. You probably just missed the post, because I know you're no noob, so I'm just reminding you.]

[AMF, you do know that as of a few posts ago, Hogsweat was going to fire AP shells at you in 60 seconds, right? That's hardly enough time to withdraw a fleet. You probably just missed the post, because I know you're no noob, so I'm just reminding you.]

OOC: No, I didn't miss it. From what I gathered he was ready to fire, but the line 'Well, hold our fire until then' lead me to believe that he was not going to fire. If this isn't the case however, I will modify my post or type a new one.

If he was going to fire he should have done it, because he left it wide open.

The 2nd Fleet, nicknamed the Black Fleet, as all the ships had been painted black, had reached the area. Admiral Tarnovik had been twiddling his thumbs idly. It had been a long, boring, uneventful trip. And now, there before him lay most if not all of the Automagfreek Fleet.
"Admiral, satellite imaging shows Panteran Fleet heading to the area."
'Ah, so the Reaver wants to get in on this.' Tarnovik thought to himself; "Steady on course, move in front of the Islands. Begin resupplying the Hogsweatians."
"Admiral, should we give them AM-98's to replace their spent missiles?"
Tarnovik stroked his chin, a tough decision. No one had been killed yet, and it would be very nice if it stayed that way. He still had memories of the last time he had to write to mothers and fathers.
"No. But drop off the 857th Spartan Regiment. Have our Red-Stars (Super-Dreadnaughts) screen the operation, and screen them with the Cruisers."
"Aye Sir!"

Several minutes later, the three big Super Dreadnaughts had swivled along the length of the Island chain, as several huge RO-RO's headed towards the Island to drop off their cargo. Every gun on the SD's pointed towards the Freek Fleet, forty-five 28"er's. They were armed, firing solutions and all. Every other battleship (eighteen, just so ye know) had their 22" and in some cases, 24" guns also pointed at the AMF fleet. The only missiles that were ready to fire, where the SAM's and Anti-Missile Missiles on the TAMD's (Theatre Anti-Missile Defence ship) and the Super Dreads.

The 20 Aircraft Carriers had Alert 5's, but not much else. Only aircraft maintained in the Air, was the occasional CAP, and a constant AWACs coverage. The two Kuznetzov III's however, had an entirely UAV/UCAV airfleet, so they were busy with reccy UAV's.

Other than that, things were pretty quiet. The Admiral sent a telegram to the Commander of the Freekian Navy;




http://mars.walagata.com/w/artitsa/Seal4.png


To the Esteemed Commander of the Glorious Freekian Navy,
I, Admiral Tarnovik, am formally inviting you to a rendezvouz between our two fleets. I personally believe that it would be quite important if we discussed this face to face. Perhaps we could resolve this quite simply. I hope that this little confrontation will not progress further. To peace, and to honour.

Admiral Tarnovik
Fleet Admiral, 2nd "Grand" Fleet of Artitsa
Sovereign Technocratic Republic of Artitsa

OOCI suggest if neccessary we post numbers on the OOC thread.

The behemoths had arrived. One nautical mile off Cariya lay in wait two Illustrious supercarriers, the HMS Illustrious and the HMS Invincible. In front and around them lay cruisers, replenishment ships, submarines, and destroyers. Breaking off from the fleet where two escort carriers, each guarded by their respective escorts. These monohulled escort carriers were small in comparison to the kilometre long Illustrious', but they still packed a punch. The pilots were tense- donned in full combat gear, ready to roll , sitting inside their cockpits. Already half of the aircraft available on each vessel were on deck and ready to take off. Unfortunately, no gun bearing capital ships were on station yet. This would mean that the Hogsweatian's would have to wait another day until their battleships and dreadnoughts could enter the fray. Until then, the fleet would have to be conservative and cautious in their attacks and movements. The Hogsweatian's wouldn't even try to engage the Freek fleet with their current surface power. As the main force, including two escort carriers and the two supercarriers, with assorted destroyers and frigates, slinked around the islands at a pacable ten knots.

HMS Furious, eleven miles ahead of the fleet
The HMS Furious, with it's sister ship, the Attacker, and just under a score of escorts had advanced at about thrice the pace of the supercarriers when they neared the island, and where now a good way out. They had slowed again to about a third of their speed and the waters were pretty calm. It wouldn't be hard to launch planes now, if the need arose. They couldn't see the Freek fleet on visuals yet but they had them on radar.
No doubt they were being watched too.
A single vehicle was towed out onto the deck, it was considerably smaller than the airplanes that were lined up. All grey, and without a cockpit, it did resemble a plane though. However, this thing was a UCAV- Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle. After tampering with it some, the deck crew ran for cover as the thing's jet engine blasted off and it flew into the horizon.

::UCAV134::HRN::RECEIVING...:::MISSIONDATALOCKEDIN:::
:::FIRINGSOLUTIONLOCKEDIN:::
The UCAV flew a mere ten thousand feet. It's swept back wings, tiny profile, stealth equipment, and last of all, extremely dark navy blue paintscheme with no insignia made it a hard thing to spot. It was vulnerable to radar, just that it would look like something maybe twice the size of an eagle. This was the very best the UKH had to offer and it was putting it on the frontlines. The UCAV was designed for intelligence gathering, about the exact or approximate strengths of an enemy force, but it was also armed in case it came under attack or saw a target it could take advantage of.
A lotta lotta money.
Maybe the Freeks knew it had taken off, or they weren't taking action against it, but either way soon it would come into their fleet range...

P-201 was quieter now than she had been for days. Her great turbines hung idle on their shafts, no more than the faintest wisps of residual steam drifting over their worn and scarred blades. The main propeller too was at rest, its only movement being a slight windmilling in the even slighter current generated by her forward movement. The sub's two small, quiet docking propellers, driven by a pair of near-silent, 300HP electric "creep" motors, drove the submarine along at a mere two point eight knots; barely even enough to keep depth control and steering way. Her delicate instruments reached out into the black water, drawing in whatever information came to them. In the nose of the sub, tiny sensors for magnetic anomalies, propeller wash and infra-red emissions peered in the direction of the Freek forces, whilst the sub's flimsy-looking towed array line trailed away behind and beneath her. For the first time in many an hour, her captain felt a little bit safe.

Two hundred and fifteen metres down, moving at three knots on electric motors, he repeated internally. All sensors operational - for once - and active. This had been his mantra for the past thirty-seven minutes of this agonisingly slow crawl, the only way that the submarine could diminish her emitted nose significantly. It struck him as harshly comical that he should have to creep along like one of the tiny diesel boats that his own submarine dwarfed, both in size and performance, in order to avoid even surface ships. The Sun alone know what would happen if there were Freek submarines in the area; P-201 was a Victor-IV, and her sonic signature was almost identical to that of the Victor-III, a submarine that remained relatively common around the world. If the Freeks decided they were hostile, then they would have time only to pray before the fatal impact, and the meeting many of them had contemplated for so long...

"Flaming sun!" shouted one of the SONAR operators loudly, to a chorus of hissed rebukes from the other bridge crew. The entire SONAR crew were wincing, their headphones pulled off, and from them a tinny noise, like that of an upturned seashell, poured quietly into the red-lit space before subsiding into an equally tinny but more subdued rumble. Gingerly re-attaching their headphones, the SONAR crew listened to the noise and stared, most of them frowning, at their computers. The captain stole over to them.

"What in eternal darkness was that?" he growled, fearful that the source of the explosion might hear him.

"Sounds like a random explosion. Not big enough to be a magazine or anything important though." The CSO paused in his musing. "Could be a cruise missile impacting on the surface or near it. They've certainly been running their ships at a fair old lick for the last few moments."

"Could try coming up and poking the ESM mast up," suggested the First Officer.

"Yes, and we might even get to see the Sun again before they killed us. That blast," said the captain, punctuating the remark with an upward jerk of his thumb, "came from almost above us. Something big's going on, and we don't have the speed to run away from it." He looked to the First Officer, who replied with a "shit happens" smile.

"The Light has been with us thus far, sir."

"Light does not penetrate to these depths, my friend. We will stay down here. For now, where the Sun cannot reach, nor can the enemy."

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

The Republic’s embassy in Samtonia was a curious place, if one was more accustomed to “ordinary” structures of such a function. For a start, the entrance hall was constructed as an exact, small-scale replica of a Tashki temple, complete with the characteristic golden globe and ring of light vents in the roofing. The resemblance was not coincidental, for the embassy served a secondary function as a centre for those members of the diplomatic staff who were also members of the Order. After all, few diplomatic meetings took place at the hours of sunrise and sunset, and the civil servants of this world are not ones to avoid a lunch break. Thus, prayer could be observed three times a day, even in the middle of important diplomatic discussions, a fact that had come in very useful.

This morning, the embassy, usually quiet save for a few unimportant dispatches, had been spit-shined to its finest finish, in preparation for the arrival of the Samtonian delegate who was to meet them. The polish was hastily-applied, and crude, but it worked, and the golden globe in the centre of the room reflected the sunlight with eye-watering intensity and clarity, some of it drifting down onto the Head of the embassy staff as she sauntered casually up the building’s long main corridor towards the expansive entrance hall.

It improves my hair a little, she thought, suppressing a chuckle – vanity and such things were not important at times such as these. Her name was Jenny Farringham, and she was (as well as being one of the best diplomatic personnel in the business and a half-decent spook) a Priestess of the Order. This morning, feeling it in keeping with the present dramatic events, she had traded her normal work attire of a smart (and if she said so herself fairly sexy) business suit for her full Order robes. While normally she would have been heard from afar as her heels clacked on the tiled floor, she now barely made a sound, save for the soft rasping of the blood-red cloak, at the centre of which was a blazing, golden sun, that enveloped her body from head to toe as she approached. Her eyes, which always seemed to swirl through a succession of indistinguishable and yet subtly different dark colours, scanned the room and spotted the Samtonian immediately, noticing with a crooked smile his total bemusement at his surroundings. Bemusement shortly to become astonishment, probably. She breathed in, shoved her shoulder-length white-blonde hair as far back into the cloak as it could go, and stepped boldly up to her Samtonian counterpart, entering a deep bow as she stopped in front of him.

“Light upon thee, Mr. Sandersheim.” She straightened up again, looking not unlike a 5'10" Grim Reaper. “I am Jenny Farringham, the head of the embassy staff,” she continued, shoving her hand in his direction and waiting for a response. Well, don’t just sit there…

Republican Incorporated Services

From: CEO, Republican Incorporated Services
To: All governments involved in the Hogsweat-AMF conflict


Greetings, friends,

My name is Dexter Handel, head of Republican Incorporated Services, a global, multinational corporation whose interests lie in, how shall I term it,... military profit. Although the idiotic President Martin of the Grand Republic has seen fit to declare his neutrality in this conflict and pass up on the huge...potential involved in the venture, I have no such morals.

Ladies, Gentlemen; Dictators, Autocrats; Presidents, Prime Ministers. I come to you all with a single idea; mercenaries. My corporation, who I must stress has no affiliation with the Grand Republic itself, has a small but extremely capable corp of highly-trained and skilled personnel, all with military training from the Republican military itself, who are extremely well-armed and equipped. My idea to you is simple; the RIS will hire out these personnel as paid mercenaries to whichever country will pay out for them. The RIS has no morals, no idealisms; these men and women will work for whoever pays their wages, and will fight to the last round for their new...employers.

Thus, as it is, is my proposition. Our prices are fairly substantial, but cover every neccesity for these personnel should you bid on them. I do hope that we can come to some...arrangement that will benefit all of us...

Dexter Handel

OOC: This is just my idea for getting into the RP through neutral means. My mercenaries will fight for whoever hires them, and multiple nations can hire them out, from a platoon to a brigade; there's plenty of them to go around...

The stench of industry filled the air at the cities of Kriegorgrad and the fires of war turned the cogs of progress. A mix of fear and anticipation could be smelt by a trained hound and at this the beast would bark and bay as the familiar stench of nearing war touched its nostrils. Soldiers marched in mighty rows down through the run down streets of Kriegorgrad, bayonets to the sky gleaming maliciously to the thunderous applause of the propaganda addled public. Even the most jaded of citizens couldn’t help but join the throngs lining the streets and scream their approval of Nikolai Fedorenkov and his glorious war! Marching through the cities to the docks, the hour was dreadfully nigh and the atmosphere was reaching fever pitch, all to the endless background roar of clapping and applause. Then a distant rumble disturbed loose stones and the avian tenants of the roofs of the cities and just as the riotous approval from the crowds began to flag, it doubled anew at the sight of the mighty battle tanks of the Collective Oligarchy, gleaming in the midday sun it was a truly glorious sight, whether the backdrop being the rundown prefabricated tower blocks coated in grime or the quaint and archaic terraces.

Walking up the gangplank to the mammoth transport vessel, his command staff in tow and the rest of the regiment after them. Breathing in the salty sea air as it filled Colonel Heatherwood’s nasal passageways, he sighed and reminisced as he allowed a wave of nostalgia to wash over him, the man had spent his youth working similar docks as a longshoreman, hauling heavy shipments of ammunition off for the glorious Proletarian Guard he was now proud to be a part of. Grey hair slicked back revealed a keen set of eyes and a hawkish nose that spoke of nobility, slipping out of his reverie, he started moving again, much to the relief of the cursing troopers down the line, who were being bawled at by sergeants and other officers for daring being so rude to their commanding officer.

Private Barker looked up the line to the day dreaming colonel on the gangplank, that man was a good one but he was holding up the entire regiment, the eight hundred man regiment slowly shuddered to a halt, a variety of curses erupted from annoyed soldiers who were promptly barked at by officers. Barker said nothing when bawled it, provoking your sergeant or otherwise resulted in punishment, the private had learnt that a long time ago. Finally, the mammoth snake of soldiers began moving again, the tromp of boots on wooden docks and the road filled the air along with the shuffle of equipment.

When the red sun peaked the horizon and announced twilight, it did so the bellow of foghorns and the uproar from the crowds lining the docks, screaming support for the campaign or crying as loved ones set off to their deaths. The massive though aged ships, be they laden with soldiers and tanks or laden down with guns and missiles, they each cut through the warm current of the Havenic waters as they steamed on towards Automagfreek, the place where fools go to die…



{::Establishing Uplink::}
{::Finding Open Frequency::}
{::Open Channel Procured::}

Type of Communiqué: Announcement - Open
To: Whom it may concern
From: The Oligarch of Kriegorgrad, Comrade Leader Nikolai Fedorenkov
Subject: Mobilisation

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

”We feel it is necessary to note that we are moving Proletarian Fleet vessels to the disputed zone, these warships will only be used for observation purposes and potential peacekeeping if the need arises. Any fire upon Kriegos shipping or military vessels will be considered as an act of war with the Collective Oligarchy, and we shall pledge whatever resources we deem necessary to the destruction of the aggressor nation.

You have been warned, don’t tread on our toes and we won’t tread on yours.“

Yours Sincerely,


The Oligarch of Kriegorgrad, Comrade Leader Nikolai Fedorenkov



{::Closing Uplink::}

"Hmm, Nicole did you see this response?"

"What response?"

"From... *ahem* The Most Glorious Hack?"

"Who?"

"Read this."

Sarzo hands Lewis the letter Dr. Specter sent him. She laughed.

"Where did he learn maths," Sarzo asked.

"The same place where he must have gone to primary school. Look at this!"

"He obviously has been living under a rock for a while. We haven't been a micro-nation since, when, 2004?"

"Is it worth responding to his tripe?"

"No, I wouldn't bother. You know the old saying. Never argue with an idiot. No one watching can tell you apart."

Lewis laughed. "Good one Mike." She kept laughing as Sarzo filed the letter into the circular file near Davis's desk.

The RNS Alexander Romanov, waits in international waters, send to monitor the situtation in AMF waters. The cruiser sits waiting and watch lights in the waters. A SH-5F waits on the helipad, the crew inside waiting for the ok, to lift off. The order comes and the copter takes off, exploring the waters near the ship. She was a scout for a much larger ship, known as the SDH-1.

---HNS Intransigent; Flagship, 14th Combined Fleet---

Vice Admiral Chuck Haftell sat in his quarters sipping his breakfast tea and reading the latest intelligence reports from Manium. He was interrupted by a firm knock on his door.

"New orders directly from the Federal State Ministry, Admiral." Lieutenant Alskog saluted before she extended her hand out with the orders.

The Admiral took the paper from his aide's hand. He slowly read the order and then read it again, just to make sure it was right.

"Relay the order to all commanders...have all warships run battle drills. We will be on station in less than thirty hours."

The young aide snapped to attention and ran off to the Communication Room. Admiral Haftell returned to his tea as thoughts of the crisis before him began to flash through his mind.

ExpressCafe Outlet, Osaria Government City

"I never knew that you were promoted, comrade," Lieutenant Commander Joran Hagras said quite surprised as he looked up to his counterpart just opposite of him, now-Commander Nolen Jonare, with a large print of Red Banner Daily expanded over the table, encompassing all of its surface area. For a sharp eye of a bystander on the street, he could easily pick out the headlines of this closed distribution newspaper easily, although there are still no obvious sign of any indication of the current impending conflict - news of exercises and praises of dignified military personnel are till the dominant items. The traffic of buses and the rapid movement of bystanders gave few indication that there is an impending conflict that would involve the so-called Omzian 'socialist brother', Hogsweat. "I heard that you are going to be on some assignments soon?", the Lieutenant Commander took a peek at his wrist watch.

"Indeed, and the promotion was a complete surprise for me," Commander Jonare said quite cheerfully as he adored the third diamond placed on his shoulder board and collar insignia, the three pieces of diamond-shaped decorations reflecting the sunlight that painlessly penetrated the thin cloud layers far above. A rather undersized red star hung on the left side of his chest with a small cluster of leaves above, indicating him as a combat veteran - indeed, he had been awarded the Red Star as a result of his actions as XO on an Omzian submarine in the Yasmarean campaign. Having all sense of security and other percautions overran by his feeling of joy, the 35-year-old pulled out a slim piece of paper from his small briefcase, which had sat near the flimsy metal chair.

"Read this, comrade," he said, as he presented the paper, with a giant red star and the Omzian naval ensign stamped on the top. "This is my combat order. They had reassigned me as the skipper of a nuclear attack boat of the fifty-four squadron, and is already swarming me with a series of additional order as well. Though the orders gives no clear indication of what is going to happen, I think you can guess it rather easily."

"Why...", the Lieutenant Commander wondered and thought deeply, reciting his memory. "I thought we are neutral in that affair."

"Yeah, we still are, but the headquarter's probably going to post me for a patrol in the area. I don't know why they would like to place me right in the middle of a site where a crisis is already taking place, and I got no word on the other issues either. I heard that half of the entire squadron is undergoing either maintenance and repairs or sovereignity enforcement missions, and they also have some problems with the whole inventory of torpedoes. Not that there's a need for armaments, but there's something weird about this..."

The Lieutenant Commander give a chuckle and made a wave-off gesture. "No need to worry. Only the poliks can find out what the old nuts in the headquarters are doing anyways. I wouldn't suspect that there would be a problem. As long as we are still strictly neutral, which we will be, it's all fine. Just don't get into a crossfire, if it really happens. Bad luck for the Hoggies I'd suppose."

SDH-1, The RNS Phoenix arrived to the Romanov's position. The two captians trade smiles and the two ships sit waiting for something to happen. The Phoenix, which was a 1,250ft long battleship, a "Super Dreadnought Hunter" she was called. She was the first vessel of the first class of SDHs. This was to see how she faired in the seas.

OOC: No, I didn't miss it. From what I gathered he was ready to fire, but the line 'Well, hold our fire until then' lead me to believe that he was not going to fire. If this isn't the case however, I will modify my post or type a new one.

If he was going to fire he should have done it, because he left it wide open.
[If I recall correctly, he said that he was holding his fire until the civvies left... which was going to be in 60 seconds. You're right, he didn't fire... but he should have a chance to before you can RP moving your fleet, I think.]

The Baron's Manor

“So you are absolutely sure about this my good Sir?”
“Of course I am!” the angered, but tempered voice replied. The voice came from an undisclosed face busy wading through piles of paperwork, signing, rectifying, correcting…
“But Mr Templeton…”
“That’s Baron Templeton for you, thank a lot.” The same weary voice interrupted.
“Baron then. But my good Sir, why on earth are we going to support a nation as foul as Automagfreek? It doesn’t add up.” The person was still standing tall and firm looking out the smudged glass-in-lead window, into the canopy. Monkey’s are screeching, almost chanting a rhythm to unite their group. The sound of shrieking came from other parts of the jungle, it even came from the attic.
“Mr Munroe. I know you are a pirate in body and soul, and I have no clue why you have morals all of a sudden. As I recall you were the one who pillaged that humanitarian aid ship from Stevid, murdering its innocent and unarmed crew.” Blair Munroe was silent and turned soft. He stood there, still looking out the window but now he seemed uneasy with the thing Templeton said.
“Eh… Well my Sir” He ushered the words with an uneasy undertone and an air of sudden regret came over his face. “well” Munroe went on “I think we should do it then. We have done many things… and…”
That was it. Templeton made him absolutely soft with only one remark about his past. With Munroe’s opposition out of the way, Bloomsburry and all the others will follow like the sheep they are. I guess it’s time to issue a statement. The population of Holy panooly’s too busy with things to bother with this military adventure. As long as the soldiers get paid, they look into it, fight it and if they get paid enough, do a few extra’s.

http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/holy_panooly.jpg
The Territories of Holy panooly
"Let the law of the jungle grace our territory proudly"

Government Communiqué

As of today, the Territories of Holy panooly declare our official support for Automagfreek’s expansion despite of earlier made comments directed at the Freekian government. This time we still stand behind our current statement of support, and if necessary and or requested, we shall deliver military aid as well. This has been decided by the Panoolian council of war, the leading body of the administration which has the ultimate authority about such occasions. Holy panooly has already begun small scale mobilizations around major oil fields, to prevent riots and other outbursts of compassion to socialist thinking, the main opponent of Automagfreek.

- Baron Dominic Templeton, de facto leader of Holy panooly

[If I recall correctly, he said that he was holding his fire until the civvies left... which was going to be in 60 seconds. You're right, he didn't fire... but he should have a chance to before you can RP moving your fleet, I think.]

OOC: I don't think you can evacuate civilians on 60 seconds my friend.....

At any rate, Hogsweat has confirmed that he was ready to fire but did not. Unless he says otherwise, I'm going to assume that the relocation is legal.

Here is the OOC thread, please use this for OOc comments/discussion.

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=435715

OOC: I don't think you can evacuate civilians on 60 seconds my friend.....

At any rate, Hogsweat has confirmed that he was ready to fire but did not. Unless he says otherwise, I'm going to assume that the relocation is legal.

Here is the OOC thread, please use this for OOc comments/discussion.

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=435715
[Sorry, never saw the OOC thread...]

IC:
------------------------
*Secure Communique*
To: Hogsweat Military Command
From: Admiral Michaels, aboard the PNS Vengeance
Re: Conflict?

Our satellites have reported missiles fired from your base towards the AMF fleet, but so far no response from AMF. As we have a vested interest in your nation, as an ally through the OMP, we request information on the current military and diplomatic situation.

Many Thanks,
Admiral Michaels, 2nd Expeditionary Fleet
--------------------------

Bump

Not sure of who's turn it is....

ooc: maybe you should have that meeting with my admiral ;)

The captain glanced at the clock, an eye on the outside world, mounted on the grey steel wall of his cabin, and pondered. How many hours had passed since they had first heard the faint, distant echoes of the Freek fleet's passage, perhaps 60 miles away? How long since he had last seen the Sun, or smelt the sea air? It seemed like another age altogether, and yet he knew it had only been a few short hours. He was meant to be relaxing now, but that was impossible; the knowledge that any second some part of this creaking machine might fail and end the lives of every man and woman aboard kept him thoroughly awake and alert. Try as he might to coax it, sleep would not come, and instead he lay awake, glancing from the clock to the paintings on his spartan cabin's equally spartan walls, and listening to the fuzzy noise of P-201's assorted components as they rattled through the ship. His submarine, oblivious to her captain's worries, cruised silently onward through the depths, ever-watchful for the next excitement.

And more than 2,000 miles away, Jenny Farringham waited to begin yet another round of diplomacy, the greatest game of all...

Dreadfire was annoyed.

These flies are nothing more than an unpleasant distraction. Pay them no attention and carry on as planned. If you are engaged, then send them to the 7th level of Hell, but if you are not engaged, leave them be.

The Warlord's orders were strict and to the point, and without notice the massive lumbering convoy began to steam out towards the open seas. Surely those who had flocked to the defense of the little island would be upset, but the heading of the convoy was clearly taking them away from the 'hot zone'. The guns on the warships faced forward and were not pointed towards the foreign fleets, another sign that the Freeks were simply going to pass them by.

I don't see why we don't just crush them all right here and now, and make an example of them. Huffed Zander across the secure airwaves. The sound of Dreadfire sighing rippled across the microphone, followed by a gruff retort. Indeed they would be slaughtered before the sun set, but they are not worth the ordinance that we would spend in the process of destroying them. There is no nation large enough of powerful enough to oppose us single handedly. Every one that has stood in our path and defiantly held their ground has died, and this trend will not change so long as the eternal Empire reigns.

But M'Lord, there are those out there who outnumber us, who...

Zander was then cut off by Damien as he cleared his throat loudly and in an annoyed fashion.

This I know, I am no fool. While there are nations larger and more 'militant' than us, we have two essential ingredients that they lack: experience, and fear. As we sit here now there are none that could stand against us. We are 15-0-1, and we came to our only 'draw' when facing the former 'Imperium' of Melkor Unchained! One of the only two megapowers at the time. But today the newly crowned 'Five Kingdoms' is weak...decadent...ravaged by civil war and purged of some of their most useful weapons. In fact, I could raze them to the ground if I wanted...

Dreadfire almost sounded as if he was in a trance, but Zander cut him off with concern in his voice.

M'Lord, are you suggestion we engage in operations against Melkor Unchained?

A laugh caused the airwaves to crackle.

No, fine Warchief. They are no longer worthy of our attentions, and within years they will be totally forgotten to all. I...I have much bigger plans, plans that have already been set into motion. That is why I need you to move our fleets out of there peacefully. Any disturbance could set our efforts back weeks, even months. This we cannot afford, and I have faith in your talents.

Make it happen.

With that, the fleets continued their hard sail until they had reached the outskirts of AMF territory. There they made it clear that they were neutral to the international task force and went about their business.

To: Automagfreek
From: Sigma Octavus Foreign Relations
Re: A Little Donation

We would like to offer a small donation to the upcoming campaign against whoever has an imminently short future. We know how much the forces of Automagfreek work fear into their tactics, and we would like to help increase this fear a bit. Our greatest anti-infantry weapon, the SOVAIA-1A or "Death Adder", would make a perfect addition to the arsenal of terror wielded by your nation.

We are putting up an offer of 300 fully equipped and ready to go Death Adders as well as the production rights and design plans.

SOVAIA-1A "Death Adder"

Primary function: Anti-infantry/light vehicle
Manufacturer: Sigma Octavus General Productions; Operation Viper
Power plant: AGT-1500 turbine engine
Power train: Hydrokinetic, fully automatic with four forward and two reverse gear ratios.
Propulsion: 1500 horsepower gas (multi-fuel) turbine engine
Weight fully armed: 54.7 tons
Cruising Range: 550 miles

Speed
Maximum: 55 miles per hour (Governed)
Cross Country: 48 miles per hour

Crew: A three-man crew composed of a driver, gunner, and gunner/commander. (Minimum needed = Driver, gunner/commander)

Armament:
Main: 20mm Vulcan Cannon
Secondary: (2) .70 caliber Automated/Manual Minigun

Sensor package:
Milimeter-wave Radar
Thermal Imaging
Low-light Amplification

The Death Adder (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/Snow_Fall/Project%20Viper/DeathAdder.jpg)
The Death Adder's main weapon (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/Snow_Fall/Project%20Viper/DeathAdder_1.jpg)
The secondary weapons (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/Snow_Fall/Project%20Viper/DeathAdder_2.jpg)
A front view of the Death Adder (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/Snow_Fall/Project%20Viper/DeathAdder_3.jpg)

The Death Adder is a marvel of modern Sigman engineering. Capable of supressing hundreds of targets within minutes, a single death adder can wipe out thousands of enemy infantry before needing to be resupplied.

The two secondary miniguns can be fully automated to provide cover in uncertain territory, such as urban areas or canyons. Each turret has milimeter-wave radar and thermal imaging, making it capable of (for example) pacifying an RPG-toting enemy or a fired rocket.

Milimeter-wave Radar is used to locate metal objects, and is accurate enough to calculate how much ammo and of what type is in a weapon, how much loose change a person is carrying, etc. This radar is exceptionally handy in locating weapons in a "peaceful" group of people, as well as locating enemy vehicles around corners or enemy soldiers through walls.



We believe that if you wish to accept our gift and employ these weapons in future battle, that you will be pleasantly surprised at just how effective they are in combat. If used correctly, they could make any enemy infantry (even more) mortified by the idea of standing against the advancing Sentinels.

(OOC: Sorry if the writing is sub-par...I've got really bad writers block, but have been going over the idea of this donation for about a week now.)

To: Sigma Octavus Foreign Relations
From: Automagfreek Defense Department
Subject: Fw:Re: A Little Donation

We would be fools to not accept such a generous offer from our esteemed allies in Sigma Octavus. We will send several transport ships out from our docks and move to the specified pickup zone. We will have our ships set sail immediately.

Believe me when I say that these vehicles will certainly be put through their paces, and if we like the results we will place an order for at least another 1,000 units. If they do not suit our needs, we will issue them to our recon teams and use them for light infantry support.

We thank you for your generous offer, and your kind gesture will not be forgotten. If there is anything the Excessively Armed Empire can do in return, do not hesitate to ask.

Thank you and have a fine day.

OOC: Sorry for the short post, at work currently.

I take it this tank has Dorchester armor (or some other advanced armor)?

ooc: Thats a fine vehicle Sigma... maybe you should contact me, I have a few suggestions for it.

To: Automagfreek Defense Department
From: Sigma Octavus Foreign Relations
Subject: The Death Adders

We thank you for accepting our donation, and hope that these vehicles will come as a great help to your current quest for land.


(OOC: Yeah, you know how my nation has prided itself on defense. There's some pretty decent armor on there, one of the reasons it doesn't go faster than that.)

DPUO National Embassy, Embassy Row, Samtonia
Sandersheim looked a bit terrified at first, sure that he was about to be knocked off as the opening salvo in a DPUO-Samtonia war. ”They always send the minor functionaries to die first,” he thought to himself. But when the only thing that emerged from the robe was a hand outstretched in a greeting, his thoughts of death vanished. Of course the Offians wouldn’t kill him! They were allies after all.

Momentarily confused as to procedure in greeting a foreign diplomat in these circumstances, Sandersheim bowed as well while desperately trying to remember the appropriate reply to the greeting. He hoped he had chosen the right one as he stood back up and accepted the hand in a brisk shake. “May darkness never fall upon you. I’m Bob Sandersheim and I’ve been sent as the one to discuss the problem that appears to be developing at this point in time. You know, the issue between AMF and the OMP.”

He wished he had something as ornate as a dress robe. All that Samtonian Diplomatic Staff ever got was a nice suit and tie combination. He especially liked his tie that he now wore- it was the Samtonia/NATO tie and featured the Samtonian flag interweaving with the flag of every member nation of NATO, with the NATO flag superimposed over them all. It paid to wear appropriate attire to diplomatic meetings such as these and Sandersheim’s superiors had wanted him to pound in the reminder that Samtonia and DPUO were allies.

At the very least ostensibly.

Slightly too formal,, Jenny thought, her face betraying nothing of the surprise she felt at Sandersheim's knowing the response. But impressive. She cracked a grin. "You've done your homework, I see. Come." She bid Sandersheim rise, and indicated the space around her. "My office is down the corridor. I suppose you're wondering about the design of this place. It's traditional, really, to have a small temple in our official buildings - but here we decided to go for a slightly larger approach, as you can see." She bowed to the enormous globe peering down on the room from its perch and waited for Sandersheim to follow.

President Jeffry Friedman immediately called for an emergency meeting of the senior staff; these included the Minister of Defence, National security advisors, the Joint Chiefs, Director of intelligence and the Home Secretary. They sat around a long grey table in the boardroom the lights were currently dimmed and a projection was shown on a large screen at one end of the room, detailing the movements of ships and troops and other assets.

"As you can see Mr President, this is an unprecedented act of aggression" Nathaniel Bucknal the national security adviser spoke calmly; "they've set up an exclusion zone and mobilised over a million troops from what our spy satellites tell us", he added.

"I see," said the president.

"We Must act now before its too late, I can mobilise 70 B-52 Stratafortress bombers and 30 Fighter Wings in under 5 hours, make a pre-emptive strike against a clear and present threat to Animarnia security" said General Granger of the Animarnia Airforce

"And if you fail General, it is my Soldiers that will have to pay the price when they invade" spoke the raspy and yet firm voice of General Towns, chief of the Army.

"I will not foolishly plunge this nation into war, However I must air on the side of caution" said the President "Activate the defence force and put our military on high alert. Mr Bucknal, Mr Fisher I expect hourly reports on this situation from your respective departments, if they move towards Animarnia I want to know about it immediately" he finished.

"Mr Benton, send an official message to the leader of Automagfreek, Notify them of our stance and enquire their intentions" Said the President

To Automagfreek State Department
From: Home Secretary Edward Benton.
Subject: Increased Military Activity.

It has come to our attention that you have recently mobilised a large Military force, in Response Animarnia has put its defence military on highest alert, should any of your forces cross into our borders we will have no choice but to respond with lethal force. However Animarnia will not intervene militarily unless you attack our nation or any of our protectorates. The Nation of Animarnia Enquires to the nature of your large military build up, in international waters?

Regards
Home Secretary Benton

OOC: please don't hurt us