NationStates Jolt Archive

Since the Three Day War -known to some in the west as Kurosian's Rage- dragged Dra-pol on to the world stage, Wonsan, Najin, Kimch’aek, and Kangung had stood unashamedly as the quarters of the Choson People's Republic's East Sea Fleet, a force of almost five hundred small vessles tasked with defending Korea against repeat performances. Only now, with the rise of Neo-Suloist thought, were they turning to neglect as the Republic's body again rejected the attention to outside matters that these bases represented: Sulo himself had regarded such great industrial expenditure on military affairs to represent Drapoel sweat shed for foreigners in a policy contrary to his people's self sufficiency.

Regardless of this, Ch'ongjin had never in modern times been host to a primary military facility, which long had left foreign observers puzzling over its recent Kurosite-era developments, which now to turned gradually to rust and waste under the Neo-Suloists. Thousands of workers had just a few years ago migrated to the area to dwel in camps before the work was done and the hundreds surviving it dispersed again into the countryside. They had erected a structure of epic dimensions close to the shore, and then continued for months more to labour below it, joined then by foreign-schooled engineers and visited by the likes of once in a generation genius comrade Oamarii-Il. Then, yes, they went away, and the great warehouse-like structure remained in place, blocking the gaze of prying eyes from above while the East Sea Fleet and the PAAF kept terrestrial observers at a distance. The roof had worn poorly and been patched up several times by the Kurosites after they appeared to have otherwise lost interest in the works within.

Finally, the structure began to go without repair as the Kurosites lost control. The roof was begining to be blown apart or to threaten collapse.

On a day that began in unremarkable fashion, satellites scanning the Republic's territory would probably not have thought Ch'ongjin a priority, analysts likely prefering to deal with data forthcoming from military districts before realising that the coastline beside this region had begun to change. The sea was let in, and on it rode Drapoel vessels along with newly arrived foreign vehicles, familiar perhaps to experts more used to observing the Bay of Bengal. As the day went on, a gigantic shape gradually revealed itself, gingerly extracted from the failing shelter previously described.

As the body was towed out on to Dra-pol's East Sea less than three hundred kilometres north of the Quinntonian defence lines around Hamhung and Hungnam, it became possible to make out what could only be described as a flight deck of almost three hundred metres length and up to seventy width.

Project Oryonggeo began to move south, surrounded by little ships and tugs.

(tag)

The Hudecian military almost missed it, despite its massive size and the enormity of the base established there previously. But the Hudecians were less and less interested in the entire Drapol affair and so had cut back on their intelligence operations observing Drapol.

Had it not been for the boredom of the Secret Intelligence Agency of Hudecia, nobody would have bothered checking as their spy satellite made yet another round over Drapol. One of the junior officers on staff, still green from the agencies academy, and without any other assignments for the next two weeks, gave the satellite pictures a rigorous search.

When he pointed it out to his superiors it was almost shrugged off, but again, because the agency had few other affairs going on, they decided to give it a closer look. The sheer size of the hulk led to many questions, not the least of which was, why now.

As the aircraft carrier -which the great vessel could now be confidently called- moved slowly south, surrounded by little friends, Da'Khiem began suddenly to buy oil. Its agents meeting Lyongian transports began to inquire after the possibility of a temporary increase in trade, adding thousands of extra barrels of Yamani oil in exchange for both military equipment and hard cash that had suddenly appeared, while literally tens of millions of dollars headed for Libyan coffers. This was distinctly un-Suloist behaviour in everything except the abject lack of cordiality in the applied diplomatic language.

Thus far it was clear that the Kurosites had built -or begun to build- a fleet aircraft carrier, that it had been neglected, and that since the apparent Neo-Suloist coup it had been forgotten for months before suddenly being towed out to sea concurrent to a sudden and uncharacteristic spike in spending on fossil fuels.

Uncharacteristically, the Russians refuse to sell their oil. Normally, Russia's desperate need for foreign dollars has forced it to sell oil even to nations it was (unofficially) at war with. But now with spiking Quinntonian needs and resumed trade with China, demand for Russian oil was large enough that they could ignore a valuable potential client. Dra-Pol's increased demands for oil are met with suspicion, and a flat out embargo of all Russian, Baltic, Kazakhstani, and Nigerian oil is issued. (Meaning that oil will be tracked from seller to seller in order to ensure that middlemen aren't used.)

Russia has little observational capability in the Korean Penninsula, and so far fails to notice any naval movements.
___________________________________________________

Operation: FOWTHIGOID

A small band of KGB agents attempts to walk across the Dra-Pol border...

__________________________________________________

Flying through Russian airspace, Gadhafi slowly sipped his vodka. Normally, he chugged the stuff, but seeing as how the battle with Mubarrak had broken both his arms, he had to bear the humiliation of drinking it through a straw. Oddly enough, he was smiling. Nigeria was lost forever, but Dra-Pol, sweet Dra-Pol, represented a paradise to Gadhafi. Oh sure, to others it may seem a Stalinist nationalistic 1984 hellhole, but to the exiled Nigerian dictator it was the culmination of the "glorious revolution", the unification of the people's will into one mighty fist, the state.

"Radioing Dra-Pol, radioing Dra-Pol. This is President Gadhafi of Nigeria, requesting asylum for myself."

When it was realized by SIAH what the Drapoel were doing, it was met by a bemused interest. Drapoel was using cold hard cash and military weapons to get fuel? Just so it could float an oversized aircraft carrier around?

Naturally, the SIAH expected something more devious and underhanded out of Drapoel, but for the moment they couldn't figure out what it was. Then again, Drapoel always seemed to have an inate ability to totally bemuse and befuddle their opponents and so, they didn't expect to be able to figure this one out quite yet.

Hudecian Pacific Fleet, or rather, what was left of it, was put on alert while in dock in Vancouver. Although, this meant that they might actually get out of harbour, naval officers highly doubted it.

Unless the Russians were attempting to cross the narrow CPRD/Lyong frontier (that is to say, if they were coming from China, the ROK, or Quinntonian territory) they would face million to one odds of advancing more than a few dozen steps before somebody lost his toes... if he was fortunate enough to tred upon one of several million 'toe-popper' mines before encountering something larger... or more likely to leap to waist height before exploding. Of course it was not possible to constantly watch every inch of border, but it was safe to say that all access points besides some ports and the Lyong rail link were closed by natural barriers such as the Yalu with its destroyed bridges, by millions of mines. Old checkpoints were closed since the Neo Suloist rise to power. Finding out what the hell is going on in Dra-pol was a good way to get out of seeing annoying family members at your next birthday...

Meanwhile, the Nigerian president was met with silence or static. Perhaps the Kurosite administration would have welcomed a distinguished guest such as Gadhafi, but if he thought the timing good then he betrayed a not unusual ignorance of Suloist thought. If he got through foreign airspace that split the CPRD from Russia, countermeasures would be a plus.

Japanese intelligence agencies were understandably alarmed when news of the aircraft carrier trickled into their headquarters; not knowing quite what Drapoel intentions were, both the Japanese government and the Maritime Self-Defence Force were alerted to the movement. It was decided that no action would be taken as of yet, although the MSDF would be placed on a heightened state of readiness in case the carrier was used in hostile action.

Japanese officials began contacting their counterparts in neighbouring nations and Quinntonia to discuss the situation further.

(OOC: Hmm...Sorry for my ignorance, but how are the Lyong-Russian-Dra-Pol borders arranged? Let me guess, I made some stupid error and Russia doesn't even share a border with Dra-Pol...Oh, and yes, I know Suloism is very,very, very isolationist, but seeing as how Gadhafi shares identical views, and would contribute 2,000 elite troops as well as substantial financial assets to Dra-Pol... )

IC: Much to the the displeasure of Agent Korobei, it appeared that the entire Dra-Pol border was a gigantic land mine field. Displeasure was putting it lightly, seeing as how he was currently missing both legs and being hauled by the two remaining agents who still lived.

"Commander? Tell Putin the only way to get into Dra-Pol would require full scale war. F*ckin' leg...."

___________________________

Gadhafi snarled at the silence, and realizing that Dra-Pol was a psychotic totalitarian state similiar to what he had running in Nigeria, which implied that they treated intruders just as kindly, his jet turned back, seeking asylum elsewhere.
____________________________

As the movements of the Dra-Polean carrier becomes more obvious, Russian air forces and naval assets nearby increase their ready status. A call for an international oil embargo is readied, but not issued.

The Quinntonian South Pacific Fleet is put on alert, something they have become quite accustomed to, and have continued to moniter the hulk closely, trying from spy sattelites and spy planes to assess the situation, for instance the questions being asked by General Lee Gemby, Commander in Chief of Quinntonina Dra-pol defenses and the Pentagon are things like, how many planes are on board, is that eyesore battle-ready, if not how long will it take?

The Japanese are met with cooperation, and the Quinntonians now present the newly built and readied Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier that they had been building in San Franbsisco. As soon as the skeleton crew is on board, it will be on its way under escort by Quinntonian light cruisers and destoyers to Japanese waters.

It is high time our respective governments talk about more cooperation in regards to our militaries.

WWJD
Amen.

-Ottawa-

Hudecian Prime Minister Bouchard requested the Spyran ambassador for an afternoon tea. If or when he arrives he would be joining the Hudecian Defence Minister Howard, and Hudecian Foreign Minister Widjaja.

Although they may stray into economic and social topics they would principally be asking about Drapol. Sometimes Widjaja and Howard lacked the tack and subtlety of Bouchard, but they would not try to appear overly curious about the entire affair.

-Edmonton-

The Secret Intelligence Agency of Hudecia (SIAH) and the Hudecian Mounted Police (HMP) meanwhile were contacting their Quinntonian counterparts to see what they could glean from them regarding the situation.

-Russia-

Hudecian President Christine Lau was in the process of planning a trip to Moscow as one of her first overseas tours since she became president. She had contacted the Russian President Putin and requested the opportunity to speak with him.

Although she had initially planned on speaking to him solely about the Baltics, this issue would also be brought up.

Amongst a lot of short, dark people aboard ship, one was distinguished by facial hair, and fairly epic facial hair at that as his thick moustache hung down several inches from either side of his face. Perhaps the red synthetic-karakul cap also marked him out as a little different, but even this went almost unnoticed when his comrades -one a woman in a saree of questionable maritime practicality and one a white man ten inches taller than anyone else aboard- came on deck. It would be difficult to imagine how either of these two made do aboard a submarine, even a fairly spaceous Anunkai Class nuclear vessel, let alone the miniature boat that brought them to the surface and saw them transfer aboard the ex Choson People's Ship Oryonggeo.

The woman -a nuclear technician usually found lecturing before a class of seven million at CalTech... the Calcutta Technical Institute- confirmed to her comrades earlier fears about the state of the reactors while the tall fellow had something hardly more favourable to say about the aircraft lifts. The moustached man, though, was still looking up at the battle bridge -the carrier had two towers- and uttering praise for the familiar shape of the Citadel-S2 search and tracking array, developed from anti-ballistic-missile technology even now defending Raipur.

"Aye, and how's the other...?" questioned the Geletian with a nod aft to the flight bridge. "Ah, the Commonwealth-S1... my next stop. High hopes, high hopes." Replied his Indo-Aryan comrade with reference to the ship's command and control sensors. "Welding looks a bit shoddy on the tower, though." He added, checking himself and lowering his voice mid sentence. "But I'm sure we can refurbish most of what I've seen, at AShPo. Failing that, perhaps... Mumbai?"
"Yes, I think we can get ten operational months a year out of this one hull, with a little work!" Said the surprisingly optimistic nuclear technician.

Roycelandian Satellites have picked up the new developments, but really aren't paying that much attention as the area in question is just too damn complicated to try and fathom out anyway...

President Putin would be delighted to host President Lau, but notes he is currently heading to Baltic territory to conference with Tsar Wingert. He should be back within days. (OOC: Actually, he'll never come back, but that's another matter...)

All NATO troops deployed in Russia are given free movement allowances and roads heading towards Dra-Pol are cleared. Airbases near Dra-Pol have cleared up space for NATO fighters.

The five oone man short range submarines are launched from their specially outfitted Orca Class Attack Submarine. Each waits for several hours until a pod of dolphins that they had been tracking comes their way. The stealthy, super quiet engines of the submarines kick in, slowly following very close to the doplhins, who seem pretty amused by these men inside the slightly glowing bubbles.

Each of these subs had been outfitted with a single HEAT torpedoes, with laser guidance and all the goodies that should bring it home. They were following the dolphins, allowing their playful pod movements and sounds to mask their approach as they come ever so much closer to their intended target.

All those dolphins had to do was come within a few miles in any direction of that Carrier, and the rest would be taken care of. Failing that, perhaps other measures would have to be taken.



---------------------------------
In a transport plane on its way from Washington to South Korea, a Dra-poel man glared out his window. All around him, his "loyal Dra-poel advisors" planned the movements next move. "We will meet up with our guerrilla fighters south of Souel, and they have been waiting to let you lead us to glorious vistory. Perhaps you would like to make formal introductions to the Lyong Strainist powers?"
"I will, it has been long in coming, but I am back."

WWJD
Amen.

The Quinntonian South Pacific Fleet is put on alert, something they have become quite accustomed to, and have continued to moniter the hulk closely, trying from spy sattelites and spy planes to assess the situation, for instance the questions being asked by General Lee Gemby, Commander in Chief of Quinntonina Dra-pol defenses and the Pentagon are things like, how many planes are on board, is that eyesore battle-ready, if not how long will it take?

The Japanese are met with cooperation, and the Quinntonians now present the newly built and readied Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier that they had been building in San Franbsisco. As soon as the skeleton crew is on board, it will be on its way under escort by Quinntonian light cruisers and destoyers to Japanese waters.

It is high time our respective governments talk about more cooperation in regards to our militaries.

WWJD
Amen.

The MSDF are greatly relieved with the presentation of the Nimitz-class, and make preparations to berth it at Yokosuka Naval Base (OOC: if it's okay we'll say that Japan and Quinntonia share the facility like they do in RL).

The Japanese government expresses their profound thanks for continued Quinntonian support; in a move designed to increase cooperation between the two powers, the MSDF agrees that all Japanese naval facilities are open to Quinntonian vessels for resupply, recreation time and repairs. Japanese military officials also begin drawing plans for further forms of cooperation.

One of my nation's Dadealus-Class Cruisers the Titan III in orbit passing over the area has picked up the carrer, but unless situations become hostile we won't watch the situation that closely.

Joe Abendo
-Head of the Flightopian Space Corps

Russia offers Japan access to all of its Pacific island possessions temporarily for the purpose of aerial and naval basing. Quinntonians, as well as all NATO members, are given full access to Russian miliatary bases near Dra-Pol. Russian submarines increase their patrol routes, and Mig-35s strafe closer and closer to the Carrier, just barely staying out of Dra-Pol airspace.

"Sir!"

"Yes commander," replied Joe Abendo

"We have alot of actity with that carrier"

"Any of it hostile?"

"No sir, but it is still geting pertty hot over there. "

"Ok.... send the Titan and the Titan II to a geo-sync orbit over the area, use full active sensors, anything else devlopes notify me imidately, understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"Dismissed"

"Sir!"

"Yes commander," replied Joe Abendo

"We have alot of actity with that carrier"

"Any of it hostile?"

"No sir, but it is still geting pertty hot over there. "

"Ok.... send the Titan and the Titan II to a geo-sync orbit over the area, use full active sensors, anything else devlopes notify me imidately, understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"Dismissed"


Buddy, this is a closed Rping group, AMW members only.
WWJD
Amen.

When the first sattelite photos of the Drapoel coastline are processed by Foriegn Ministry officials in Gwadar, analysts are very surprised to see that, not only have the Drapoel apparently flooded part of their coastline, but they have also built what can only be an aircraft carrier, just about the last thing that the HDF expects to find coming out of a CPRD shipyard.

Once the photos are analyzed, labeled, and mailed to the nearest HDF facility for 'consumption,' the military almost goes pale with fright, before coming to the idea that the vessel at hand, being, well...Drapoel, it must have a very short service life.

But the existence of such a ship is enough for the HMDF to order a halt to the breaking-up of the Viraat and a complete refit package. Fortunately, being low on the stack of things to be cut apart, the carrier is deemed salvagable.

The HMDF's squadron of Harrier FRS.51s also starts practicing anti-surface operations with Sea Eagle missiles, a weapon that the type carries fairly rarely, and the Hindustani military attache in London investigates the possibility of buying a number of Harrier FA.2s.

China's Beiyang fleet has already formed a patrol down the Korean West Coasts during the "Three Day War" and has continued to patrol the waters.




Detailed satellite, and imaging from China has revealed quite a bit in the New Dra-Polian government. Detailed reports have been sent to the APRA.

The Carrier Airship IRAS Terrodactyl has been dispatched to the area to keep an eye on the proceedings, as well as provide a public display of the fact Roycelandia does have Carrier Airships, and yes, they do work surprisingly well....

China has sent an invitation to Dra-Pol on a possible Dra-Polian delegation to the Asia-Pacific Rim Alliance.
http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=431065




China has requested that Russia limit the number of military persons from NATO countries. Their presence near the Chinese border is not welcomed, especially when Russia shares no borders with Dra-Pol. China has pledged naval support in the East China sea.

As the forty thousand tonne hulk was shuffled through waters claimed by both the CPRD and USQ, 38 metre Tiburon patrol boats clustered around, primitive sensors searching above and below.

The Republic meanwhile was back to its busiest. That is to say, to a level of obvious activity not seen since the wars, and never in peacetime under a Kurosite Directorature. Earth was moving at a terrific rate as hundreds of thousands of people began to shift. Satellite pictures would probably notice the discolouration of earth as new tunnels and caves spat out debris disposed of with little of the care taken by the Kurosites, who had been keen to hide their works by tunneling at night and carrying earth away in sacks to be spread far and wide or dumped in rivers. As it happened, the Neo-Suloists were filling up more and more old tunnels with stockpiled fuel and other items, and sinking new ones for purposes yet not apparent.

Rare cases of gunfire and arson persisted in isolated locations around the Choson People's Republic.

-Ottawa-

"They are moving dirt and digging tunnels quite obviously now..." The emergency meeting had been going on for well over an hour now, with the President supposed to be calling in half an hour for a full report.

"Is any of the tunnel-digging going on near the border with the South?" The foreign minister asked nervously.

"We don't have complete information from our intel agency yet, and they seem quite unsure if this is important enough for them to divert resources to."

"Damn it all! Of course this is important!" Defence Minister Howard emphatically pounded the solid oak table while other ministers glared disapprovingly. "Tell them to divert whatever resources they need to."

"If this is a preparation for a full-scale invasion of the south, should we actually get involved? The political ramifications would be devastating..." Finance Minister O'Pattie was, as always, thinking about the Prime Minister.

"I understand from the President that she wants, for the time, to focus on the diplomatic solution to this issue," the foreign minister commented. "But to quietly place at least 10 000 combat troops on alert in preparation."

There was a moment of silence as the ministers pondered this. Defence Minister Howard was the first to break the silence.

"Silently place 10 000 troops on alert in preparation for combat?" He scoffed. "Does she want us stampede elephants through Toronto without anyone knowing it while we're at it?"

Strainist intelligence in Lyong reacts with less panic than its foreign counterparts... combat use of the CPRD's carrier hulk is seen as extremely unlikely, but queries remain as to its potential purpose. Attempts are made to consult with Lyong's Kurosite guests as to their opinions, as well as their views on the implications of increased tunnel work and oil demands. Hotan is invited to peruse Strainist intelligence as it comes in, in the hope that he might provide some insight as to possible implications.

Additional patrol boats are readied to head out into the Lyongian half of the 'Great Revolutionary Sea', joining the standard military and acoustic oceanography vessels already in place, but the order to launch is witheld.

Foreign aircraft seeking to approach the vessels are given far less leeway... given that Lyong's territorial waters claim extends to the median between the two peninsulas, a relatively narrow point at the mouth between Metaken island and Korea, there was little room for outside powers to approach the towed carrier until it reached waters under the control of the South Korean regime. SRA fighters take to the air, closely following craft passing through international airspace around Lyong and the entrance to the Sea.

Further investigation might eventually reveal a pattern of disorder, with no great bias in any direction with regards to exactly where works were underway. If more tunnels were being sunk in the south, the bias was slight enough to be easily explained by the fact that this territory was the most recently acquired and the least tunneled to begin with.

In the PR Spyr, Hotan was quietly keen to remain active in important official business. He had, unsurprisingly, taken a lively interest in what he called Project Oryonggeo, and spent some time insisting that he had access to all the data in the world, even blueprints and budget reports for the over-all 292 metre aircraft carrier, as evacuated before the Neo-Suloist take-over was complete. However, as time went on, one might wonder whether perhaps he was bluffing in order to seem important; whether he simply couldn't find the documents amongst stacks of items hurried out of Dra-pol in disorder; or whether he was biding his time as the carrier moved, either ignorant as everyone else on the issue of what the Neo-Suloists were doing with it, or unprepared to show his hand until it was done.

By now, moving at just a few knots, the carrier had passed waters claimed by the Quinntonians, and was moving through the Great Revolutionary Sea as it gave way to what might still be called the Sea of Japan, and to a parallel with ROK waters. Some of the smaller patrol boats around it were dropping off, either at the extent of their operational radius or else simply unsafe on the wide open seas.

In time, Hotan began to reveal bit by bit his information on the project as it had stood during his time as Party Secretary and later Republican Director. Oryonggeo had been conceived at the peak of the ancient Drapoel nation's longest sustained period of economic growth -happier times- when scientific and military aid for the Igovian Soviets and humanitarian aid from the rest of the world were taken for granted and used to sustain the life of the nation while it sank its own resources into such grand ventures that would never return significant capital. Granted, Hotan's Dragons -his superguns- had returned a few million dollars, now probably spent on Libyan oil, but that would have been better spent keeping them running in the long term... which, he insisted, had clearly not happened, and the Throat and Talons both were as likely to explode as to orbit another satellite if used without serious investment in relining them. Along with the fleet carrier, the UPA had intended to build two unique battleships armed with their own incredibly complicated superguns, for space-launches closer to the equator and for incredibly audacious espionage and destructive purposes.

Insufficient material had been gathered to build even one of the two proposed sixty-thousand tonne plus battleships (Mago and Yongwang, the former's name especially mission-specific) despite thousands of expended man-hours, however, and Oryonggeo had run into difficulties with its nuclear reactors: an issue that was relying heavily on Soviet aid in pursuit of its resolution, as the Commonwealt had experience building several nuclear submarines. The decline of relations following Beth Gellert's swing to the left -towards anarchism, at odds with Drapoel Republicanism- put a virtual stop to the whole affair, or at least ought to have done. In fact work would continue while the Central Directorature considered its options, and even such things as catapults had been installed inspite of uncertainty over whether a compatible powerplant would ever be in operation and able to power them.

Hotan eventually told Strainist intelligence -in the strictest confidence and only in settings that made the typically paranoid Drapoel politician feel secure- of a great many design details in relation to the ship, from the fact that it had a designed ship's complement of 1,084 plus 624 air group and short-term accommodation for some 800 marines (it was meant to carry a battalion of extra-elite Red Bamboo with Soviet-supplied arms and doctrine of suicide warfare to smash whatever South Korean or Quinntonian defences resisted initial mass landings) to assertions that its aircraft lifts and information interfaces had been designed around the latest Igovian strike aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles... which the Republic never ended-up acquiring. The radar array was of largely Soviet origin, based in part on ABM systems supplied in small quantities to protect Da'Khiem, Pyongyang, and Seoul. On top of much detail on minor systems and imagined comradeship on board, he revealed that the design could operate up to sixty aircraft.

Beyond dry statistics and wistful laments about the possibilities, the exiled hero/toppled villain would with less enthusiasm touch upon latter-day low-key talks with the Soviet Commune over possible sale of the incomplete ship, since it became clear months ago that the grand Kurosite fleet would never come to life. Nothing had ever been agreed, as he wasn't really personally inspired by the idea of selling the carrier, and the left-swing in Igovian politics made negotiating to buy manufactures -especially from out-of-favour Dra-pol- difficult for the Commune.

The muttered, sometimes, that the Neo-Suloists had probably filled the hanger with the supergun shells and propellant they didn't appreciate, and would no doubt smash the whole affair into Pusan or Fukuoka just for revenge or to spite Kuroiste efforts to industrial progress.

True to the confidence shown them, the Spyrans keep quiet in the international sphere, stating to international media and foreign diplomats that what has been observed is 'likely a test excercise or movement for maintenance purposes'. Having a much less cynical view of the Neo-Suloists, it is assumed that something besides a giant suicide torpedo must be planned, though what is unclear. A renewed invasion of the South, if it hoped to succeed, would certainly see more border action than currently on display, though tunnelworks might hide substantial movements...

Amongst their Kurosite guests, Strainist representatives continue efforts to recruit the cream of the Drapoel intelligensia, as well as acquire as much evacuated technical/research data as possible. A few military officials even suggest offers for the handful of aircraft landed in Lyong after final Kurosite evacuation.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry issues a statement, announcing that the Maritime Self-Defence Force have no plans to intercept the Drapoel carrier unless it violates Japanese territorial waters.

The Japanese security services are less optimistic about the carrier's intentions, but decide to abide by Emperor Shinseiki's request not to agitate Dra-pol any further if it can be helped.

The Chinese government offers a stern warning that in case that Dra-Pol military ships, capable of inflicting damage is within the Bohai region, they will escort, or deal with the hostile ships immediatly. The Xi Zhong Patrol, stretching from to Kyushu have been order to extend their services for another month.

The Roycelandian Carrier Airship is still in the area monitoring the situation, although at the moment no-one's really sure what's going on...

AS the subs waited the carrier came closer and closer, and then crossed into Quinntonian waters. They slowly mirrored its movements, the dolphins cooperating for now, until it passed out the other side of the corridor of territory that Quinntonia had claimed as their lifeline, and then, the first torpedo fired. Without a moments hesitation, two others followed, right after, with the last two being held in reserve, in case the thing still floated after this.

The Quinntonian air force had been going nuts, flying circled around the hulk as it slowly went through the waters like super-sonic buzzards, waiting for orders that never came. Then, on the port side, about 12 feet below the water line, the first explosion erupted, rending steel and throwing water high into the air, followed by two more one directly into the propeller/rudder drive section and the other getting caught in that explosion and blasting prematurely, and though spectacular, causing negligible damage. The dolphins started darting in every direction, probably causing a sonar operators nightmare, and the first three subs began to turn and slowly make their way into Quinntonian waters.

The Quinntonian air force was caught completely off-guard, and when the reports of the explosions came in eth radio chatter started to fill the airways as the defence forces of Quinntonian Dra-pol tries to figure out what to do, they eventually were ordered to continue their current pattern and wait for further instructions, as the White House hot line started to ring.

Mean while, all over ROK and Quinntonian Dra-pol, new listening an anti-tunnelling equipment was being brought in, to supplement the already extremely paranoid anti-tunnelling grid that was in place. Hamhung doubled their already extensive efforts, but was not very concerned seeing as the Westgaard Line already contained the most cutting edge seismic detection and underground listening/detection devices known to man, but ROK was another matter, though Quinntonian dollars had bought the ROK military the best listening grid outside of Hamhung, there was simply too much area to cover, so many prayer teams at the huge Quinntonian complex in ROK began to go into action in order to call upon divine assistance.

With the news of the attack upon the Dra-poel carrier becoming known, all Quinntonian military elements are put on alert, in entire South Pacific Fleet is getting primed and ready for anything as is the Quinntonian air force elements in the region. The Quinntonian Dra-poel Defence Force is called up and put on High Alert, as is all the units in ROK under Quinntonian command, including the Kenandruan Divisions. They are ready for anything.

Governor Bishop Gerald Westgaard immediately tries to call anyone inside Dra-pole and explain that they have no knowledge about any attacks against Dra-poel assets, and then goes on QNN and Quinntonian Dra-poel radio and TV speaking in English, Korean and Dra-poel, exploring that Quinntonia has no knowledge whatsoever of the attacks that have been perpetrated against the Dra-poel Navy. It is broadcasted from hundreds of radio repeating station that are placed in buoys surrounding the Korean Peninsula, which is meant to carry the message across the borders into Dra-pol itself. This is supplemented by satellite signals broadcasting similar messages into the interior of the nations, centring on the “major” cities and industrial centres.

At this point, someone identifying himself as Kurosian the second, begins to try and make contact with Lyong from the air, requesting political asylum.

WWJD
Amen.

On the historic waters of the enclosed sea a red synthetic-karakul cap struggled to keep the surface as it took on water. Its former wearer floated some way off, face down, having somehow gone overboard on the starboard side when the ship was struck: he had earlier been slipping and scrambling about on top of the battlebridge, investigating some of the systems jutting out above there.

His two national comrades -the Bengali woman and the big Celt- had been at the time of his fall walking with a number of Drapoel crewmen to arrange for the lowering of Drapoel colours and the hoisting of the field of revolutionary red which was all that Igovian ships ever wore, and now that smoke rose up around them, the Geletian was hollering bloody murder and brandishing his knife with a look that for all the world could have been an indication of a serious intention to jump overboard and do-in the unidentified attackers with his blade. The last Igovian, the saree-wearing scientist, bloodied and full of a dazed aura, was even now pulling on the ropes that would tug the red banner up the mast, the fabric invisibly stained by her blood.

CS Anhrugarog -her name translated as Unmerciful- was hardly more serene than the assaulted carrier once the sound of torpedoes rushing from tubes alerted her ten-dozen hands to the event of an attack by -presumably- Quinntonian or South Korean submarines and the eight-thousand tonne Anunkai Class SSGN transformed from crawling escort and mothership to the Beddgelens sent aboard the carrier. In an instant one hundred and two metres of Indian steel gave-up the electric-powered five-knot crawl that had slowed the surface flotilla, and the crew hurried to battlestations.

With the location of torpedo launches quickly available to the bridge it became clear that several vessels were involved, and the elected captain couldn't help but think of minisubs... which rather put him in mind of the Drapoel themselves. Others had apparently been struck by the same thought as glances were exchanged that somehow managed to say, "Are we turning around to join a civil war?"

Still, silos three and four had burst open as from them erupted a pair of 8.5 metre long missiles, which soon broke the surface of the Sea of Japan. The half-metre tubes raced upwards, sleek shapes made of advanced composites that afforded an inherent stealthiness at odds with their powerful rocket motors, which soon were abandoned with the popping-out of wings and commencment of a high-subsonic cruise towards the source of hostile torpedo launches several kilometres away. The approach of the missiles went visually unnoticed aboard the damaged aircraft carrier as they flew ten metres above the water's surface. By the time they arrived, the minisubs were still out in the open, having attacked from somewhere towards the ship's port side and miles from Korean shores. Here, the two big missiles seemed to fail, breaking open and seemingly splashing into the waves. Type-2B MKII Medium Torpedoes soon had their bearings just yards from where the minisubs had launched hardly seconds earlier, and as active sonar sounded, operators back aboard the Anhrugarog saw the bubbles disperse as their TV screens cleared-up and their eyes sought artificial shapes. 165kg warheads had 18km worth of engine power driving them in their search at speeds that could, when targets were found, far exceed forty knots (it would have been more were the Type 2-B MK II not based on a relatively old Principality-origin torpedo as used by Drapoel Hounds).
The weapons-systems-operators should be long before sighting the culprits and pursuing their politically-unconsidered orders for lethal retribution with a pair of high-explosive warheads.

The Ministry of Diplomacy finds itself requesting yet another consultation from Hotan and the other Drapoel guests in Lyong, this time relating to Kurosian II and his request for asylum.

----

The explosions in the Revolutionary Sea set a swarm of buzzing air and naval assets off into the area around the Lyong peninsula.

The mimisubs are completely destroyed in the resulting conflageration, with bits of wreckage floatuing to the top of the sea, and right after, two more torpedo hits, one on the listing port side, opening a much larger hole this time, and one very much lower than the waterline, helped by the slow lifting of the starboard side of the big ship. The firecrews that are responding to the areas around the pionts of impact make the horrible disovery that the warheads were loades with not only a much larger than normal high explosive, but have sprayed highly concentrated phospherous throughout the hole and the areas around, resulting in incredibly white hot burning whenever the stuff reacts with oxyf=gen, and not washing off or going out, no matter how much flame retardent is sprayed upon it.

WWJD
Amen.

The attack has prompted the Chinese navy to group up. The Chinese-Korean border has been alerted and several hundred soldiers have been ransfered to the Dongbei Region.

The preparedness to commit suicide below the waves that must have driven the minisub crews to forgo evasive action in order to loose their last torpedoes not withstanding, the Soviet submariners were impressed with the first combat-deployment of their cruisemissile/guided-torpedo combination weapon and operators were patted till their shoulders bruised as the vessel moved-in and messages were relayed to the Commonwealth and to much closer Lyongian authorities. The Commonwealth wasn't expecting much further communication with the new order in Dra-pol, and so the possibility of the assaulted ship having to make for Lyong was in the captain's mind as he apprised Siththin of his bare understanding of events thusfar.

As she approached, Anhrugarog's periscope cameras sought more information on the situation of the stricken carrier, which appeared already to be listing slightly, and burning below decks. The captain could see the red flag dusted with smoke as it flew above the ship that was now the official centrepiece of the Soviet fleet, and it was all he could do along with a few like-minded comrades to subdue calls for the Anunkai to empty its silos against Hamhung or Pusan and its tubes against the ships at anchor there: she was carrying enough warheads to sink the South Korean navy and potentially to cripple Hungnam's coastal defences at once.

While Commonwealth ports see the beginings of reaction in the crewing of salvage and rescue ships, along with several warships, the big Geletian was making his ways into the bowels of the burning hulk, yelling for bulkheads to be left sealed as they had been before the delicate process of towing the ship through several seas and two oceans began. With this, and the sub-sealevel position of fires, it was hoped that they'd burn themselves out of oxygen before much else happened. With many systems not even on-line, however, it was difficult to assess from one location the scale of damage and to be sure that holed compartments were all effectively sealed. Struggling even to communicate with the Drapoel about him, the Igovian only hoped that help was on the way.

The Japanese response to the attack on the carrier is one of shock; although they had been concerned about the vessel, they did not necessarily want it destroyed, especially not in their region.

A statement from the Public Relations Ministry expressed Japanese sorrow that the carrier had been attacked, and announced that the Maritime Self-Defence Force would be willing to assist with any rescue operations.

Meanwhile, a flurry of requests went out to any Quinntonian agency that may have known about the attack; the Japanese government wanted to know if Quinntonia had been behind the attack, and if so why Japan was not warned prior to it. After all, Japan was a Quinntonian ally, and therefore may be attacked as part of any backlash over perceived Quinntonian involvement.

[wow, tag. How come I miss these?]

-Ottawa-

"It appears that I spoke too soon," Widjaja had only just been told of the attack on the aircraft carrier, less than one hour previously he was told that nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

"We must issue and immediate statement condemning the attack and offering our assistance to find whomever is responsible," Prime Minister Bouchard was insistant. "Such aggressive and unprovoked attacks cannot be tolerated in the world today."

"Oh give me a break!" Howard yelled. "It had crossed into Quinntonian territorial waters..."

"Waters which Drapol claims for its own.." O'Pattie loudly interrupted Howard midsentence.

"Waters which are necessary for the defence of Hagnum, territory which is under the protection of Quinntonia!" Howard, his face beat red now, bellowed out, completing his previous sentence.

"Legally, the position of Quinntonia, if they actually did commit the attack is shakey," Attorney General Michelle Gaudin mused. "But Drapol is on even shakier ground as possession is nine tenths of the law."

"The fact of the matter is that Quinntonia is acting as a bully and we should take no part in this farce," Prime Minister Bouchard said firmly, reminding himself to replace Gaudin as soon as possible with a more compliant Attorney General.

Colonel Yamazaki, the aide to General McConkey, the commander in chief of all Hudecian armed forces was also in attendance at this conflageration and wondered silently if he shouldn't have brought Hudecian peacekeepers to this meeting.

Communcation from the Igovians adds a new component to Lyongian reaction: naval rescue and repair crews are lifted by helicopter, while a variety of military vessels and civilian tugs make preparations to assist in towing the carrier to port.

OOC-I just want to ask real quick how everyone seems to instinctlively know that it was Quinntonians? The attack was carried out without the knowledge of even the most senoir staff in Quinntonia and Quinntonian Dra-pol, and I was careful to use tactics fitting Dra-pol modus operundi.

Not to be picky or anything, but I'm just saying.

IC-Some Quinntonian Cruisers and Destroyers, line the Quinntonian corridor behind the now burning hulk and radio that should the ship get power again, seeing as its drive section was hit, they should not try to come back through Quinntonian waters, or they would be fired upon, however, hospital ships and rescue helicopters in order to help with relief.


WWJD
Amen.

The arrival of Spyrian rescue teams is a great relief for all with time to notice it, espeically the Soviet sumbarine captain, who is able to turn the attention of his comrades to looking-out and covering the operation against further attacks, distracting them from variously-aimed cries for continued retaliation.

As it turns out, the carrier is sufficiently damaged that it would be considered more or less a mission-kill were it operational, being as it would certainly be unable to safely continue to launch and recover aircraft, or to co-ordinate their operations. As this is not a concern for the incomplete vessel on its way to final fittings before the attack, the damage is less an emergency, though a number of the Drapoel skeleton crew were surely to be counted casualties.

Attempts at communication with the CPRD had, as expected, fallen on deaf ears: the crew were expelled in the most civil manner anyone could possibly expect of the Neo-Suloist order, their salvation from probable arrest or execution having been part of the ship's transfer agreement. Amongst them were several prominent Kurosite reformists and scientists reviled by the reactionary patriots who had taken power. Some of the unlikely sailors were happy to have been bound for India, while others hoped later to return to Lyong to rejoin their chosen leader, Hotan. Now it looked as if all of them that survived were bound for Lyong in pretty quick time, so long as they continued to follow their Geletian captain's booming orders.

This was all a shame so far as Igovian hardliners were concerned, for they'd hoped to convince one certain Drapoel genius at least to settle in Victoria and Salvador and to join the Soviet space programme. Now it looked as if he would be delivered to the Spyrian technocrats.

Not unexpectedly, Hindustan learns about the torpedoing of the only Drapoel-built aircraft carrier far too late for anything to be done about it. While those in the Ministry of Defense and the HMDF in particular do quite a bit of finger-pointing and speculating on who it actually was, with every major combat vessel either on home duty or off the coasts of Eritrea, Lusaka, the SADR, and Nigeria, there isn't much the HMDF can commit in order to help the Indian Progressives make a show of force in the Lyong Sea region.

After all, ever since the Daman was done in by renegade Russian warships, the HMDF has kept its distance. However, INS Ambikapur (a Chhattisgah class patrol vessel) does putter away from its temporary home in Pusan in order to lend a hand.

But offers are made to fly out a team of maritime engineers in order to help with the repairs necessary to get the ship all the way to India. Hindustan does, of course, have some of the world's best and most experienced shipbuilders and maritime engineers.

OOC: Comes with the territory I guess Quintonnia, some people want to assume that it is Quintonnia (especially in Hudecia).

Sure, people suspect that it is Quintonnia, but proving it would be very difficult.

Following the discovery of a Dra-poel aircraft carrier, Islandian naval forces are alerted and sent to sea.

It has been a while since Islandian vessels have left territorial waters, and it is time for the nation to rejoin its allies.

Days after the dramatic events surrounding the transfer into Soviet care of Korea's only aircraft carrier, the Great Revolutionary Sea was still becoming more and more Igovian. Indian vessels arrived day on day, joining the lurking submarine Anhrugarog which had protected the crimescene since destroying offending minisubs.

These were now the subject of a growing recovery operation as Beddgelens sought evidence that might identify the culprits. Most in the Commonwealth had already placed blame on the doorstep of the Quinntonians, and others, who suspected the South Koreans, were easily falling back into old beliefs originating during time of better relations with the Choson People's Republic, which held the southern regime to be little more than an extension of the same world order as was headed by the Quinntonian PM and his bishops. Recovery assets were en route and the Commonwealth asked Lyongian help in protecting the involved area while Soviet ships were in transit: nobody wanted the Qu... the culprits to have a chance to get in and remove, plant, or otherwise tamper with any evidence that may survive.

To the east, the big aircraft carrier slumped, injured, in sight of the Lyongian shore after being towed away from the middle of the sea. Fires had been contained, but smoke rose for days, dying slowly as the only other visible changes being that the listing vessel seemed each day to be flying more red banners, until she almost looked to have caught light all over again. Soviet ships were also steaming towards this location in order to deliver recovery crews and consultants through whom to deal with the Spyrians should it become necessary to under take serious long-term work on the damaged carrier before it could be towed home from Lyong.

(Sorry, bit jumbled, very tired, just had to say that this was still moving along and that we've not just forgotten about the carrier nor about the pretty serious incident of its attack!)

Strainist vessels and air cover continue to rotate over the area, while the stricken carrier was slowly pulled eastward. In Spyr, there was much concealed excitement, not just at the possibility of adding more pieces to their groming collection of Drapoel intellectuals... as the Igovians made field repairs to their vessel, many a bureaucrat in Lyong made a quiet toast or burned a prayer cloth in hope that something... anything... would keep the vessel from getting under way without extensive work.

This sentiment was not malicious... perhaps tainted by a desire to have the larger Bedgellans in their debt, perhaps by eagerness for to send techs crawling through the inner workings of the vessel, but more in the hope that they might at last make some use of the massive construction-dock facility lying empty off the harbour at Naisho.

The dock had spat out its share of smaller vessels, but only once had it been used to build something justifying its scale and expense... and that product had been built to fight a war in which it hadn't fired a shot, against an enemy which no longer existed. If they could haul the damaged carrier in, they could turn to the collective enterprises of Naisho and say 'See? We TOLD you it was a good idea!'

Of course, not willing to resort to planting limpet mines to assure sufficient damage, the Strainist were having to rely quite a bit on luck, and on diplomatic ability to make the Igovians agree...

Needless to say, the carrier was, after several torpedo strikes prior to the completion of its defensive preparations, in sufficiently poor condition that Portmeirion received advice against any attempt to move her all the way to India before undertaking serious repairs. While the purpose-built if now slightly degraded slip in Dra-pol might have been ideal, the Commonwealth was still having no luck in re-opening communication with the Neo-Suloists, and Naisho was the only obvious alternative.

Besides, the hulk was no longer in a fit state to transport passengers such as the oddly-named engineer Taka Oamarii-Il, the unlikely genius behind Hotan's superguns and no small part of the proposed battleships and the carrier itself. The carrier would have to under-go work in Lyong and send its passengers ashore. Hopefully they would desire to be picked-up from there by Marathon transport aircraft being put on notice back in India.

(May as well update this, now. Have to do it eventually.)

The East China Sea, the Pacific, the Luzon Strait, the South China Sea, the Strait of Malacca, the Bay of Bengal. The ship was moving, again, after work by Igovian, Hotanite, and Strainist crewmembers and contractors, and had a planned course for its new home.

It was now semi-operational and basing a pair of Ka-32-BG ASuW helicopters for defence purposes, and Portmeirion issued a vague statement about the Final Senate's serious hopes for an incident-free journey this time... while a number of missile submarines vanished from their moorings, obviously having put out to sea.

The brave new Commonwealth was quite determined to get itself a capital ship.

The HMDF dispatches a Leander-class frigate, INS Calcutta, to aid the Igovians in escorting their new carrier to their soveriegn shores.

Like anything deployed by the HMDF, the Calcutta isn't terribly much to look at, but it does sport a fairly capable sonar suite and a relatively quiet hull.

Currently docked in Sujava, the Hindustani frigate expects to meet the Igovian carrier off Singapore.