NationStates Jolt Archive

A tall, slender, and distinguished woman slowly approached a stone podium, as several dozen reporters from newspapers, internet news-sites, and television stations were assembled. Excitement surged throughout the crowd as each person present knew deep inside that something vital always occurs whenever the woman gives her speeches at the podium.

People began murmuring quietly amongst themselves, asking subdued questions and adding their own speculation on what the situation requiring such an announcement would be like. Each time these conference calls or national announcements, history is created or altered as the Sharina Technocracy makes its destiny in an universe of never-ending chaos.

The woman finally arrives at the podium, and then she took a hammer and began pounding on a small anvil in front of her, just to the right of the podium. The entire audience abruptly became quiet, as if a switch was thrown and all sound was simply turned off. The beautiful, yet determined woman began speaking in a gentle, yet firm voice.

"Greetings and saluations, all.

I'm President Mina Veristek, and I am here to announce several things.

First, the nation of Sharina is undertaking several major civilian projects to greatly increase our infrastructure, while maximizing effectiveness. We have begun construction on no less than six major dams on the Amazon and RIo Grande rivers, which would provide much needed irrigation water and hydroelectric power. We are also constructing multiple factory complexes to accelerate industrialization and increasing the Sharinan manufacturing capacity by several orders of magnitude.

Second, Sharina has established a new doctrine of reunification of South America, Latin America, and the western seaboard of North America into a new Inca Empire. Towards this end, there are only several obstacles left preventing this goal from being accomplished. The nations of Paraguay and the Falkland Islands.

Third, owing to the Re-Unification Doctrine, Sharina has declared that the nation of Paraguay and the Falkland Islands are to be incorporated into the Sharinan Technocracy. Our military units have crossed over into Paraguay earlier today, and two task forces of our navy has set sail for the Falkland Islands. We must restore order and law to Paraguay and the Falkland Islands, which are suffering terribly under anarchy, chaos, and feuding warlords. Once Sharina takes control, the people of Paraguay and the Falkland Islands shall be safe for the first time in many years, and then they shall begin to enjoy the immense benefits of the Sharina Technocracy with all the amenities that each and every Sharinan citizen enjoys.

Thank you, and may our people have a glorious future!"

President Mina Veristek walked off-stage, amid thunderous applause and cheers from the crowd.

The nation of Sharina has finally arrived on the international stage, changing the future of the world irrevocably.

10 kilometers north of Concepcion, Paraguay

Several insects milled around on a large green leaf, shredding pieces of the organic material for food and nest construction material. The leaf darkened slightly, then reverted to its previous color as the sun played hide and seek with the moderately sized puffy clouds lazily making their way across the sky.

A slight whistle could be heard yet the insects did not recongize the sound, nor did they care. Abruptly they did care in their insectoid way in the instant that everything changed. The leaf, insect congregation, the tree, and the canopy instantly disappeared, to be replaced by flames, ash, and chaos. The ground was pushed downwards into a crater shape by the release of immense energies upon impact.

If one could see through the shredded canopy, pillars of flame and smoke, and billowing clouds of ash, large shards of a metallic substance could be seen. The shards revealed themselves to originate from a ten ton shell, as another shell arced across the sky from kilometers away. Another boom and crash could be heard in the distance as the second shell made impact with the jungle canopy, ending several hundred more insect lives and a dozen other creature lives.

Several hours passed as the sun crept towards the horizon, as the smoke and flame pillars began dissipating throughout the wounded jungle. Several grunts, barks, and hisses could be heard approaching the vantage point of the long gone insect workforce and victimized leaf. Strangely, the noises had a order to them, set in organized patterns. Somehow the voices translated into a language that the jungle kingdom could not even begin to comphrehend.

"Our Colossus Ultra-Arillery tore up this stretch of jungle pretty good, didn't it?"

Another voice piped up.

"Yeah it certainly did. It's high time that we eliminated the Paraguayan government. Its people has suffered long enough under its yoke, and it's only befitting that Sharina will liberate these people."

Several gunshots could be heard, followed by the pitter-patter of machine gunnery. The voices abruptly ceased, to be replaced by a thudding noise as two large humanoid figures landed inside the crater. The remaining foliage was promptly ripped into shreds as hundreds of machine gun rounds tore through them. The voices started up again, but with a sense of extreme urgency, one voice more louder than the other.

"Damnmit! These sons of bitches were lucky the Colossus round didn't come down on their heads."

The partner of the loud voiced soldier made shushing noises and made sharp gestures.

"Sergeant Pra'vec, be quiet! You'll get us killed by those bastards!"

Pra'vec shrugged.

"He already knows we're here. There's no point, sir."

Sergeant Pra'vec then took a grenade out of his belt and threw it out in the general direction of the machine gun fire. A loud explosion could be heard several dozen meters away, and a machine gun flew through the air. Something creaked then snapped in the same direction, and a moderately sized tree fell down into the crater two meters away from Pra'vec's partner.

Pra'vec spoke again with a slight smirk.

"Got him, sir."

His partner shook his head as he began admonishing the impetous soldier.

"Your cockiness will be the end of you one day."

Pra'vec simply laughed.

"Paraguay does not stand a chance anyways. Our forces are attacking from north, south, east, and west in a giant noose, seeing that Paraguay is surrounded by Sharina."

The other soldier snorted before raising a finger and leveling it straight at Pra'vec.

"Remember our objective. We need to meet up with the rest of our platoon in securing Concepcion ten kilometers away. This will enable our forces to launch an offensive into southern Paraguay with the goal of capturing Asuncion, the capital, thus forcing a quick Paraguayan surrender."

Pra'vec snapped a half-hearted salute.

"Yes, sir."

The two figures began scrambling out of the large sized crater, then disappeared into the torn Paraguayan jungle canopy.

A hard surface laid under the beating afternoon sun, with giant jungle trees rising towards the sky on both sides of the road. Suddenly, un-natural noises could be heard as powerfully built armored vehicles became visible on the road. Each armored vehicle had three axles, with three wheels each set in a triangular formation. Two turrets rested on the front and rear sides of the vehicle, and two long angled barrels rested opposite each other in the exact middle of the top side of the vehicle. Following the armored vehicles, the next vehicles were moving trucks resembling large flat boards on wheels with armored sidings rising up from the edges of the flat top, with even more un-natural objects resting on top of the platforms.

The objects on the truck beds resembled metallic golems, with their grey skins somehow absorbing the sunlight. Sitting at the foot of each golem stood a large shield with the Sharina symbol emblazoned across it. The shield easily stood one and half meters tall, while the golems stood approximately two meters tall.

Right after the tenth Golem Truck passed by, the second group of armored vehicles followed. Behind the armored front window of the front vehicle just behind the tenth Golem Truck, the vehicle's driver and gunner could be seen talking. During the conversation, the gunner took his eyes off the Motion Detector to size up the road. The driver sighed and shot the gunner an annoyed glance.

"You'll have your action soon enough. We're approximately 35 miles away from the capital city of Asuncion."

The gunner grunted as he polished his gunnery console.

"I want to test these new 30mm Gatling turrets. From what I hear, they can stand toe to toe with armored vehicles with 300 - 600 mm thick armor. Imagine a medium tank being pummeled by an APC!"

The gunner began grinning like a school boy at the prospect. However, several guffaws of laughter broke out deeper inside the APC. The gunner whirled around to face the rear of the APC through an open window, annoyance clearly evident on his face. His meaty face locked eyes with the soldier with the loudest laugh inside the room behind the door. The soldier spoke.

"You think an APC taking on tanks is exciting? Please. See these pretty toys on the trucks ahead of us? They are the prototype Valor Body Armor. This will be the first time these pieces of hardware will see actual combat.

This will allow us ground-pounders to withstand all small arms fire, shrapnel shards, bomb explosions, sniper rounds, and some assault rifle types. We can simply laugh at civilian militas, terrorist insurgents, desperate snipers, and suicide bombers. These suits will give us incredible survivability in urban warfare, as these suits were specifically designed for such an enviroment. In the field, these suits are not as effective, due to weight and mobility limitations, as well as the ability of the enemy to employ more heavy weapons in the field.

In addition, see these shiny shields? They were designed to withstand most modern assault weaponary and firearms, including heavy assault rifles and mortar rounds. Just plant the shield in front of you, walk up to machine gun nests, then wipe them out with our own weapons. Think of them as riot police shields on steroids.

After all, the Ancient Romans had the right idea with shields."

Another voice spoke out as well.

"Sergeant Pra'vec, cut the nerd talk. Keep it simple. We get in these armor when we go into urban areas, then no other standard infantry or militia can touch us unless they bring along RPG's, rocket launchers, artillery, tanks, or the like. We will be practically immune to most conventional infantry weapons that are employed in urban warfare."

Pra'vec sighed, clearly annoyed at being admonished by another soldier.

"Yes, sir. Captain Kroz'oc, you gotta admit, the Valor is the best thing that has happened to us since the invention of the armored vehicle."

Kroz'oc rolled his eyes.

"Sergeant, don't count your Diamonds yet. They haven't been tested in actual combat conditions."

Pra'vec barely suppressed a groan, as many brash and arrogant youngsters would do so towards their parents.

"Our elite training will also help a lot. We are the 23rd Dragon Legion, after all."

Kroz'oc sighed before countering Pra'vec.

"As I said a few days ago, your cockiness will be the end of you someday. One tenet of the Dragon Legion is to never underestimate your enemy. Always expect them to do more than they actually can, but you, Pra'vec, are doing in fact the opposite."

Another round of laughter could be heard amid Pra'vec's chargin and embarassment. Pra'vec was silent for the remainder of the journey.

===========================
OOC:

To give you a good idea of the Valor Body Armor, here's an image of it. Note that the body suits are actually grey, not the golden color in the picture.

http://img399.imageshack.us/img399/3605/valorsuit4small0qp.png

A twisted, yet defiant sign stood tall over a pile of rubble as explosions could be heard both close by and in the distance. The sign read "Asuncion, Pride of Para---" as the "--guay" had been blotted out by black soot and several gashes from shrapnel thrown around by one of Sharina's 10-ton Colossus artillery rounds. Suddenly, the sign toppled over as an explosion tore through the area, scattering the rubble piles and rending several additional gashes into the twisted sign as it fell.

Just as suddenly, the scene became quiet once again, before a grey metallic foot stomped down onto the ground in front of the twisted sign. A wall of metal seemed to drop down from the sky, as a giant shield with the Sharina emblem emblazoned on it made its entrance with an audible thump. Several pitt-patter sounds could be heard as projectiles faster than the eye could concieve splattered aganist the shield, creating dents and metallic bumps across the shield. A large projectile roared past the shield and the metallic golem behind it, and another loud explosion could be heard as a wall suddenly crumbled amid blood curdling screams. Pieces of metal, ammunition, human body parts, and shattered stone and lumber showered over the pockmarked street.

The metallic golem spoke.

"Another machine gun nest destroyed. Thanks for the save, Pra'vec."

Another golem walked up behind the first golem with the shield.

"You're welcome, sir."

Suddenly, loud pings could be heard as smalls arms fire erupted from an area several dozen meters to the west of the unfortunate ruined machine gun nest. Several metallic slugs struck a glancing blow off the chest of Pra'vec, as the golem armor absorbed or deflected the bullet rounds. An audible thump, leaving a larger mark than the previous small arms fire, erupted on Pra'vec's partner's chest. Pra'vec suddenly set down his own shield and hoisted a large cannon onto his shoulder. An roar erupted from an area several hundred meters to Pra'vec's right and a flash of light burst forth out of a building to the east of the destroyed wall. A silohuette of a heavily armored vehicle with an intimidating cannon seemingly oversized for its chassis could be seen amid the rising smoke in the general vicinity of the origin of the roaring sound.

Pra'vec aimed his cannon towards the small brick apartment-like building and squeezed the button at the rear half of the cannon. A whoosh erupted from the barrel's end as a large rocket round burst free of its dark prison. The rocket flew straight towards the brick building, and into a window. In the next moment, a large explosion shattered the facade of the building as the rocket charge detonated within the structure. Dozens upon dozens of bricks flew outwards, and the structure partially collapsed onto itself as the support provided by the bricks and interior walls had just vanished.

A large rifle landed three meters from Pra'vec and his partner. Pra'vec made his way towards the rifle and took it in his hand to inspect it.

"A sniper. Annoying little bre'wecs."

His partner sighed.

"If not for these Valor suits and shields, we would not be having this discussion. We would have been torn apart, made into human swiss cheese, or lost our heads literally."

Pra'vec groaned silently. He took the rifle and tied it to a strap across his shoulder where another similiar rifle was slung. He turned once again towards his partner.

"Kroz'oc, sir, I don't understand why our entire military isn't outfitted with these marvels."

The armored golem, apparently Kroz'oc, behind Pra'vec hoisted its shield onto its right arm before walking right up next to Pra'vec, staring helmet to helmet.

"It's because these are prototypes, and we have had some trouble with our micro-hydraulics yesterday, remember? Two people in our unit are severely hospitalized after they foolishly believed that the Valor armor would make them immune to land mines. In addition, those suits are mighty expensive to produce. It will take several years before our Urban Combat Branch can be fully equipped with these suits. By then, most, if not all, bugs will be worked out."

Pra'vec was silent as he picked up his shield and slipped it onto his right arm and slung his rocket cannon across both of his shoulders. The two men then made their way carefully across the piles of rubble, and disappeared into the street behind the ruined brick building, home to the unfortunate sniper.

Sharina Barrack Complex two kilometers north of Asuncion, Paraguay.

Sergeant Pra'vec laid back in a hard cot, staring at a piece of paper.

Owing to your exemplary conduct in the Battle of Managua, with four confirmed sniper kills, seven confirmed machine gun nests destroyed, and one confirmed medium tank destroyed, you have been awarded the Jade Medal of Valor. For capturing the leadership of Paraguay as they fled Managua, you have been awarded the Dragon Orb, the highest honor bestowed upon a combatant in the Sharina Technocracy.

You have also been given a promotion to Captain, as you have demostrated your resilience, valor, and sound judgement under combat conditions.

You are to report to the Commandant's office by the end of the day to recieve your new assignment.

Pra'vec neatly folded up the piece of paper and inserted it into his left uniform pocket. He stood up and began fixing up his cot for the next soldier to sleep in. Several minutes later, Pra'vec picked up his duffel bag and walked out of the makeshift barracks lodging, and made his way towards a mostly intact library building nearby.

Pra'vec took in the building with a measuring glance, as he saw dozens of tables, chairs, and trays arrayed throughout the empty library building. Several aromas of fresh food assaulted his weary nostrils, as his tongue began generating additional saliva. His stomach began rumbling quietly, as Pra'vec began to realize how hungry he was after several days of hard fighting, and being stuck with combat rations.

Pra'vec grabbed a nearby tray and then took brisk steps towards the cafetria aisle to pile up on much desired conventional cooked foods. He advanced his tray several times, as plates and heaps of food dropped onto the tray during every interval. He took a glass of a clear yellow-orange liquid and added it to his tray at the end of the cafetria aisle.

Pra'vec turned his head and spotted his former superior officer and he smirked inwardly. He made his way across the cavernous room, and sat down across from Kroz'oc.

"Hey, Kroz'oc. Guess what?"

Kroz'oc looked up from his tray, with his mouth half full of food. He simply shrugged before resuming his chewing. Pra'vec grinned as a child who just got his most wished-for Christmas present.

"I got promoted to Captain. amd got awarded the Dragon's Orb."

Kroz'oc nearly choked on his food. He began sputtering as several pieces of food flew out of his mouth, landing across his tray.

"What the hell? YOU getting promoted?! The Dragon Cross?!"

Pra'vec laughed.

"Thats right."

Kroz'oc shook his head sadly.

"What the hell is wrong with High Command, promoting egoistical soldiers who don't follow the Old Code of the Dragon?"

Pra'vec shrugged smugly.

"Times change."

Kroz'oc grunted out of disdain before dabbling around his plate to spear the remaining portions of food. He looked up at Pra'vec once again.

"At any rate, I have heard rumors floating around that Sharina is planning something aganist Argentina, despite it being a colony of the RedTide nation, as well as the possibility of annexation of several Caribbean island chains. Not only that, but there has been talk of a major offensive aganist the Falklands now that considerable forces are now freed-up with the near-completion of the sweep of Paraguay."

Pra'vec arched an eyebrow and spoke while Kroz'oc began demolishing the last tidbit of a tan colored piece of meat.

"Sharina is expanding pretty quickly. We have reunified South America, Central America, and the western seaboard of North America. Why are we expanding so much in so little time?"

Kroz'oc swallowed his last bite before responding.

"I don't know. It could be that President Mina Veristek has taken stock of the current state of affairs in the world and undertook a plan of action, guanatreeing Sharina's destiny."

Pra'vec listened to Kroz'oc patiently while finishing his own meal. Pra'vec nodded his head sagely several times during Kroz'oc's dialogue, then quickly responded.

"Kroz'oc, I believe with the imminent annexation of Paraguay, the Falkland Islands, and possibly several Caribbean islands, our powerful Technocracy is poised to become a major power. I also believe that these actions were taken to develop a powerful nation capable of standing toe to toe with several major nations, such as Chronosia, the Translyvania, Kordo, Red Tide, among others. Yet, the Sharinan people shall prevail aganist those nations, as we have a culture and people that date for thousands of years, predating even the earliest European civilizations. The Incan cities were flourishing when the Egyptians and Babylonians were building their pyramids."

Kroz'oc nodded.

"As difficult as it seems, for once, I agree with you. Sharina is here to stay. Unification and reformation of South America into a major industrial power has removed the final barrier to Sharinan dominance in South and Central America. With the annexation of Paraguay and Falkland Islands, and possibly several Caribbean islands, Sharina will be in a far better position to face the other major powers on equal footing."

Despite their differences, the two soldiers talked for a while, trading banter and opposing viewpoints on a variety of issues ranging from politics to entertainment to women, as their friendship had been forged through hardship. The war had created many new friendships that wouldn't have been possible otherwise, while claiming the lives of people that otherwise would have been enjoying normal lifestyles.

War destroys, yet it also creates. One of man's greatest paradoxes, creation from self-destruction.

Captain Tresniel Pra'vec grasped his warm fur parka around him tightly, as a chilly gale blew across the sea. Several waves erupted into foamy crests as the wind continued to churn the sea as if it was a giant cauldron. Far in the distance, large grey cliffsides loomed over the breaking waves, with several icy chunks floating near the coast. The cliffs gave way to snow covered rolling hillsides to Pra'vec's right. Dozens of wispy clouds made their way across the sky, obscuring the fiery yellow-white sun.

Captain Pra'vec turned towards his adjutant, Lieutant Cha'sa with a slightly relieved look.

"How is the base of operations proceeding?"

Cha'sa jumped, as his attention was completely focused on the seemingly peaceful yet chaotic icy landscape.

"Sorry, sir! As far as I know, a division has already secured a beach-head. They have prepared rudimentary defenses and docks to aid in speeding up deployment processes. Several Paragon tanks and Apex APC's have already arrived to secure the area.

It is expected that an additional 50,000 troops and hundreds of vehicles will be using this beach-head to launch expeditions towards the center of the islands. Most of these troops came from Uruguay, as they have already had considerable experience in tundra warfare. With the annexation and conclusion of war in Paraguay, the demand for a military presence has lessened considerably as there is a lower risk of terrorism or attacks from rogue states. Most of these troops are expected to arrive here within a week, as they are already in the process of being supplied and preparations are well underway.

The troops already deployed and stationed in Paraguay are slated to remain there for several more months to contribute manpower for reconstruction and act as a police force until Sharina is able to train proper police officers in Paraguay. In addition, the military will be constructing a fortification line along the entire border between Sharina and Red Tide. The Sharina leadership has hinted at a possible military action aganist Argentina, taking it away from Red Tide should it come to that.

Aerial UAV reports indicate this area is devoid of any populace, defenses, or dangerous hazards, which makes this area the ideal deployment point for an attack southwards. The closest population center is the town of Port Howard, estimated to be approximately 30 kilometers southeast. Another small population center is the village of Weddell, approximately 50 - 55 kilometers southwest of here.

The campaign here in the Falklands is estimated to take anywhere between 2 weeks to 1 month, depending on weather conditions, and if any heavy gurriella resistance is ecountered. The campaign possibly won't even take that long, considering the tiny area to be conquered and the miniscule military and populace of the Falklands.

This is as much information as is available right now, not counting details of deployments and such."

Pra'vec nodded at Cha'sa and granted him a smile.

"Thank you for the report. At least I will be off this boat soon enough, as I'm looking forward to getting back on solid land. I'm in need of a rest inside a nice warm barracks, having a pleasant lunch with a steamy cup of delicious honey tea, as well as some tender and juicy steaks."

Lieutant Cha'sa nodded vigorously.

"Agreed, sir."

The two officers turned their heads towards the approaching land with gratification evident in their eyes as the military transport neared the shore.