NationStates Jolt Archive

The morning mist was clearing off the shores of the small island of Jan Mayen. The small island some 950 kilometers west of the coast of Norway and 600 kilometers north of Iceland was a former Norwegian posession, but like so many other things it had fallen away when the Kriegos took control of Norway more than fifty years ago. Now, Norway was free once more and under the protection of Cotland, although more and more of the centralized government were being relocated there, and about to reclaim its old posessions. Jan Mayen was one of them, and a Cottish Virginia class submarine had been in the area for a month, protecting the territory from any invaders. No-one had stepped onto the island though.

Suddenly, the sound of a turboprop engine could be heard, but no-one could be sure where it came from. The mist displaced the sounds. But then, the wind picked up a bit and blew the mist away and showed the source of the sound. It was a C-130J Hercules transport aircraft marked in the colors of the Imperial Cottish Air Force.

ICAF C-130J Hercules about to land (http://www.jan-mayen.no/start/c-130.jpg)

Aboard the C-130J were fifty people and five tonnes of supplies. They were the first people to set foot upon the island for more than fourty years, and their task was to return Jan Mayens Loran-C station to operational status, as well as preparing the area for development and construction.

After the C-130J landed on the old, but still operational runway, the men stepped out and checked the area. As expected, the island was devoid of intelligent life, with the exception of the Cots. The loading ramp of the C-130 was opened and the equipment was dragged out and hauled to the remnants of the houses there. After a quick check, it was established that the houses wasn't suited for living in. The men had expected that, so they started setting up their tents, which were suited for temperatures down to Artic conditions. Before that though, they all gathered together and went to attention while one of the men raised the flag of the Empire. Another one of the men filmed the scene, which would be sent on national television later that evening. Jan Mayen was once again under the influence of Norway.

OOC: Almost everything here, with the exception of the fleet leaving port, is Secret IC.

IC: Ministry of Defense

"The base has been established, and everything is going according to plan. We're ready for phase two."

"Remind me again. What was phase two?"

The two men, one a General and the other a civilian were sitting inside one of the many conference rooms in the Ministry of Defense in Cotlandstad, discussing the plans for Jan Mayen.

"Phase two is the construction of the base. A small garrison, a small port and improvements on the airstrip above ground, and the underground base. Large enough to accomodate twelve of our submarines, as well as research labs and silos for the 'Thomas' missiles. The world won't even know that it's there, although we're building it right under their noses." the General said, grinning at the thought of fooling the entire world, including the Layartebians, who were close allies and friends, but still a foreign nation.

"Yes, I remember. But I'm still concerned about placing missiles so close to our allies. What will we do if they find out what the true meaning of the base is?" the civilian objected. "They'll keelhaul us. It'll be a diplomatic incident!"

"No there won't. For that to happen, the Layartebians will have to admit that they are spying on us from submarines, inside our own territorial waters. We are going to maintain the 24 nautical mile border, and the Layartebians won't be able to get in there undetected. We're establishing a SOSUS grid there too, remember?"

The civilian still didn't like it, but the Navy had yet to disappoint him or the rest of the nation. It would go as the General said. Without a hitch.


Port of Bergen, Norway

The thirty transport ships cast off from Bergen port, laden with equipment and supplies. Included in the fleet of transport ships were bulldozers, excavators, jeeps, electronic equipment and anti aircraft missiles, just to mention a few of the things there. There were also some 600 soldiers being deployed to Jan Mayen, all of them from the Marine Corps. They were being transported aboard the large naval escort, which included an aircraft carrier, two battleships, seven cruisers, nineteen destroyers and eleven frigates, not to mention the many Hades and Virginia class submarines or the mine warfare ships. One of the transport vessels even carried eight Devil class FPBs and their crews for the four day crossing.


Jan Mayen

The surveys were well underway, and a suitable location had been detected, roughly twelve kilometers northeast of the meterological station, on the east side of the island. There were a large cave, apparently constructed by the geological activity on Jan Mayen, that lead to the sea there, but it was barely visible from the sea and air. There were also access to the cavern from a cave on the side of Mt. Beerenberg, large enough for a Humvee to drive into.


OOC:
Structures to be built on Jan Mayen
Loran-C radar station
Anti-stealth uplink*
SOSUS control station*
Small airbase with underground hangar for two fighter squadrons
Concealed medium naval facility with space for twelve submarines (SSBN)*
Small port for surface warships
Meterological station
10 silos for MGM-200B 'Thomas' ICBMs*
Garrison for 600 Marines*


Note: Structures marked with * are classified.

The supply vessel Lollister was heading to The Brydog African Commonwealth when it entered the waters of Jan Mayen without known. The captain saw the mistake and left the waters but without warning the supply ship's engines failed. The ships were stuck in Jan Mayen's waters. The ship radioed the following message.
This is the RNS Lollister, a supply ship bound for the BAC. We have lost our engines and in need of help.
The Republic Navy send a destroyer to aid the ship. The crew hoped that safely would come quick.

The submarine that was protecting Jan Mayen detected the supply vessel and immediately plotted a firing sollution for the Mk48 Mod 8 ADCAPs that she had loaded in the torpedo tubes. She was the only vessel in the vicinity of Jan Mayen right now, but that didn't mean that she wasn't a threat. In fact, she was a massive threat for any unwelcome shipping, which this ship was.

The Captain of the sub ordered the periscope to be raised at a range of three nautical miles, and stared straight into a supply vessel from the Brydogian navy. The ELINT antenna also sent the mayday that they were transmitting. The Captain decided to stay submerged, but he did radio the vessel, knowing that they had probably sent out a distress call already. But the Captain relaxed, knowing that he had six ADCAPs in the torpedo tubes, ready to be fired. And he would fire if the vessel didn't haul ass out of the territorial waters.

"RNS Lollister, this is Cottish submarine SSN-774. You are violating Cottish territorial waters and threatening the security of Jan Mayen. Leave our territorial waters immediately, or we will open fire. You have five minutes. Out!"

They send the message to the sub
Our engines are beyond repair and we are waiting for a ship to tow us.
The engineers weren't kidding, The Lollister was a 60 year old vessel and engines were screwed. They wait for the vessel.

OOC: Let me know if I mess up here.

The satellite was set to pass over Iceland and Svalbard. It was part of the Atlantic Defense Plan that the Empire of Layarteb and North Germania set up. The satellite would make its pass at 800 miles altitude and beam the pictures to another satellite and the signal would eventually bounce back down to the military command center.

The orbit would take it right over Jan Mayen island. Rumors from submarines and SOSUS told of a surge in naval activity and a Seawolf Flight III would be entering the area at 5 knots, 800 feet, and stay about 27 nautical miles away. Once there, it would go shallow at less than 2 knots to trail masts and observe SIGINT.

The island was some 373 miles north of Iceland, well within range of Layartebian aircraft. If something major was going on up there it would only be a matter of time before Iceland was a target. The Layartebian military had many SOPs for an attack on Iceland but none included a forward move onto anything northward, except Svalbard. Twice a day a satellite passed over the area, just to make sure.

Nothing came across the public or private band about any Cottish movement to the island either. The Layartebians watched everyone as close as possible, Cotland being no exception. Covert ops were well within the Cottish society, paying attention to the what, when, where, how, or why of what was going on. This would not be jeopardized so the satellite would act as a story of truth if necessary...

When the pass was over and the information sent to the command center there was something noticed, a single C-130 Hercules on the ground, a fleet heading northward, and possible activity at an old, abandoned meteorlogical station. Something was going on, especially since the C-130 had Cottish markings.

CTV Evening News Broadcast

The opening screen ended and two persons, a man aged roughly fourty with black hair, navy suit and red tie sitting to the left and a woman aged roughly fourty with brown hair and wearing a red jacket, white blouse and a nice necklace sitting to the right, appear. The man started talking while on the right side of the television screen, a white field with a outline of Jan Mayen with a Cottish flag in the background appear, with a text underneath the picture saying "Jan Mayen returned to Cotland".

The man started talking.

[Translated from Cottish]

"Good evening. Our lead story this evening is the annexation of the island of Jan Mayen by the Empire. CTV has an exclusive story from Jan Mayen itself. Over to Erik Holte on Jan Mayen."

Shift to the story, and a journalist on Jan Mayen. The scene is that of a cold, barren place, with choppy seas and a large white mountain, as well as the C-130J Hercules in the background.

"Earlier today, a aircraft of the type Hercules landed on the island of Jan Mayen, carrying the first permanent inhabitants for more than fifty years. The men, most of them members of the Air Force, took posession of Jan Mayen in the name of the Emperor, entering it into the Empire. This had been a part in the previously announced plan to return all old Norwegian territories to the Empire that the Emperor announced three months ago. And we're here with Major Even Rassmussen, the leader of this expedition. Major, what are the plans for Jan Mayen?"

The Major, a man aged roughly thirty and wearing a heavy white parka over the Air Force BDUs, as well as a holster for a P17 pistol in the belt, looked over at the journalist and smiled.

"Well, we are to set up a lot of things here. Over there," he pointed to a place near the old settlement, "we're going to build a small port where we are to construct a refuelling facility for our ships. At the airstrip, we're going to excavate and build some hangars for the transport planes in the mountain and a small heliport for SAR duties, and the meterological station will be upgraded, along with the Loran-C station. And to guard all that, we're building a small garrison for a undecided number of Marines. That one will be built over at the port."

"So you're turning this place into a military base?"

"Not a military base per se, but there will be a military presence here, yes. But there are also plans to build a small town here and a storing area for fish. There are good fishing grounds just off the island here, and we are to among others claim soveregnty here and make sure that no foreign fishermen come and try to steal our fish." he said with a smile. The reporter turned back to the camera, and smiled.

"Than you Major. So the military will build a presence here to protect Cottish fishermens rights for fishing. Erik Holte, CTV from Jan Mayen. Back to studio."


Waters off Jan Mayen

"RNS Lollister, we will not repeat our warning. Leave our territorial waters or we will have no choise than to open fire." the Captain said over the radio, then turned to the weapons officer.

"Open the torpedo doors. If he hasn't started moving in two minutes, we're opening fire."

"Aye sir." the officer said and passed the order along. At a range of only five nautical miles, the ADCAPs wouldn't even take a minute to reach the hostile vessel. The clock was ticking...

30 nautical miles West of Jan Mayen
Hawdawg Coast Guard HMS Cortez

Aboard the Narwhal Ice Corvette HMS Cortez a faint SOS was heard. GPS data associated with the location put it almost on the beach of Jan Mayen Island. The COMM Officer gathered his information and ran to the bridge.

COMM Officer: Captain, we have a distress call from a vessel adrift. It appears to be the Lollister. She is urgently calling for help. One other thing sir, the Cotts have a sub off her bow and from the radio traffic I hear they plan to sink her for 'security reasons'.

Capt. Legion: Send them a message acknowledging there message, but not before we talk to the Cotts. I don't want to take an ADCAP in the ship trying to aide this vessel. I don't have clue what the Cotts have on Jan Mayen, the damn things barren. My guess is something very important is there because of the action they are taking. Keep me informed COMM.

COMM Officer: "Cottish Submarine, Cottish Submarine in the Jan Mayen area, this is the Hawdawg Coast Guard Narwhal Corvette HMS Cortez. We have heard the distress call from the Lollister and wish to aide them. We have the capacity to drag the dead water ship out of your waters, if you would allow this, over."

"Commander HMS Cortez, this is Commander, Cottish submarine SSN-774. Permission granted, on the conditions that you turn off all long-range radar and all sonar and weapons systems, and leave the territorial waters the moment the Lollister has been attached to your ship. Out."

The weapons team would start tracking the HMS Cortez the moment it came within range and have a couple of ADCAPs and a Harpoon aimed at her.

Comm. Officer: Roger, SSN-774, Radar is being turned off as requested. Weapons systems have been deactivated. We should be able to tow them to international waters once connected in about 3 hours. We will remain with the Lollister until its escorts arrive to take over the rescue, HMS Cortez out.

Lollister, Lollister, this is the HMS Cortez. We have been granted permission to tow you to international waters from the Cottish Navy. Expect us to arrive on site within an hour over. We will tow your disabled vessel to international waters and await your escort to arrive to assist you further, out.

Captian Legion sprang into action, the Weapons Suite was disabled, and the crew began to ready the aft deck winch for towing. The massive turbo-assisted props were pushed to max power as the HMS Cortez sped forward on its mercy mission. All aboard the ship activity was high, as this activity fit the mission of this vessel.

As the foreign vessel came within 27 nautical miles, the sonar operator aboard the -774 picked up the sounds of the machinery of the corvette. Immediately, two ADCAPs were plotted, but the sub kept its course and depth. Another Virginia would enter the area in half an hour anyway, reinforcing the perimeter. After that, for every six hours that passed, the naval presence would grow, culminating in the arrival of the battleships and transports in three days.

At the Ministry of Intelligence, the broadcast by the Cottish government was being translated. At the same time, the satellite photos were being downloaded to the main computer. The photographs of Iceland and Svalbard revealed the presence of nothing. The photographs of the sea revealed that Cottish ships were northbound, definitely for Jan Mayen. The photographs of Jan Mayen, on the other hand, were much more detailed. The C-130 was identified.

Later that afternoon, when the Minister of Intelligence briefed the Emperor, he gave a strong warning. "The Cottish are our friends but it would be wise to know what they are doing. They are planning much more than they have led on. We ought to keep a close watch on this." Everyone was in agreement.

As the HMS Cortez approached the disabled Lollister, crew could be seen reading a deadman for attaching the towing cable. The Cortez slowly turned to her port idled to the aft of the Lollister and tossed a throwline to the Lollister crew attached to the winch line.

As the Lollister crew attached the line, the Petty Officer in charge of the winch activated the winding mechanism. As the gears slowly engaged the 1 inch cable was pulled taught. A signal via the Ships Comm system told the Captain to begin to throttle up. Both turbines engaged and the screws began to turn. With this large vessel the Cortez would only be able to make 4 knots, but this would be sufficient speed to tow Lollister to international waters.

Some time later, the Cortez throttled down as the reached the 35 nautical mile mark. The would hold the Lollister in this location until her escort destroyer arrived. The Captain of the Lollister was signaled of the intentions and the wait began.

The fleet that had been sent towards Jan Mayen was approaching its destination now, having made good speed across the Norwegian Sea. Submarines were entering the area in plenty and they were already entering patrol sectors, completely covering the perimeter. The naval escort took up watching positions, while helicopters were starting ferrying personell in to Jan Mayen. The personell were primarily Marines and engineers, but also some senior officers. Temporary pre-fabricated structures were already being erected, and they were to serve as temporary headquarters untill the command center had been made.

The transport ships started loading the construction equipment over on the LCACs and HLCACs that accompanied the fleet, who in turn transported the equipment to the smalll rock beach on Jan Mayen, not far from the airstrip. Diggers, tunnel machines, bulldozers, trucks, concrete blenders. All the things needed to make a propper base. Excavation would start in a few days. The making of the structures on the surface would begin immediately.

The construction started with the small port for the surface ships. It included constructing a large molo which stopped the powerful waves in the Norwegian Sea and North Atlantic from smashing the ships, something which would be done using the rock excavated from the caves and caverns. The world might wonder where the rock came from, but that wasn't the governments concern. The concern was to get it all done in the timeframe alloted. In six months, the facility would have to be fully operational.

One of the things that the government hadn't told the world community was that they were going to set up satellite jammers, keeping foreign prying eyes from looking down on the island. These powerful jammers were kept aboard the two battleships, who in turn were positioned on either side of the settlement. At 12 noon, they were turned on, and any satellite passing over would only pick up snow and clouds. The only way for anyone to see the island now, was to fly over in reconnisance planes, but that would prove to be very dangerous for anyone attempting it. The cruisers, destroyers and eleven anti-aircraft frigates were armed to the teeth with SM-2ERs linked to the anti-stealth system, and so were the 20 F-22N fighters on the Universe class aircraft carrier in the area. They had lethal AIM-54E Pheonixs and even more lethal AIM-120D AMRAAMs which were also hooked up to the anti-stealth system. Any incoming plane would be in serious trouble.

The next satellite pass revealed something drastically different. The photographs showed only clouds and distortion. Something was definitely problematic. Diagnostics confirmed the satellite was alright and a second pass revealed the same thing. The only conclusion was the presence of satellite jammers. This meant the Cottish were definitely up to something drastically secret. The next order of business would put an RQ-10A Pegasus over the island at an altitude of 65,000 feet and a speed of 860 mph. It would take photographs of the island and return to Iceland upon completion of its mission. Its fuel gave it a range of 1,000 nautical miles.

5 months later

It was five months after the annexation, and things were going well ahead of schedule. The submarine base was almost completed, with operative status expected to be reached in a week. It was a massive cavern, not detectable from the air, only from the sea, which was being patrolled by submarines, ASW destroyers, frigates and corvettes from the sea and P-7A Orion IIs from the air, which could fit a total of eight of the new Vengeance class SSBNs that were exclusive to the October Alliance.

The work on the ICBM silos had also been started, and were now close to completion. The plan was for the ICBMs to be lowered into the silos, which were on the south side of the island, the following morning. There had been reports from the Navy and now operational air defenses that some strange radar signatures had been deflected, but nothing conclusive. Still, the Navy had fired a RIM-162 ESSM towards the target, but it had missed. Still, now nothing would stand in the way of the readiness of the new missile site. Operational status was expected within the week.

In the new Command Center, a large complex deep within the vulcanic island, larger that the NORAD site in Colorado and a hell of a lot more advanced, the final hookups were being made. The SOSUS net around the island had been placed. So had the minefield, which consisted of a lot of Mk-60 Captor moored mines which were placed on the seabottom all around the island, at various depths. There were only two entrances, and both were closely guarded by both subs, ships and shore-based defenses. The Command Center also controlled the region's anti-stealth system, which was capable of intercepting aircraft with RCS' as far down as 0.002. The downside was that they had to be within 100 nautical miles of the radar station, of which Jan Mayen had five of.

The defenses consisted of ten Harpoon sites around the island and eight dual 8-inch stationary gunturrets for anti-ship defenses and two MIM-104 PAC-2 Patriot sites, eight MIM-120 SLAMRAAM sites and one MIM-196 ABM site, as well as eight Starstreak HVM sites and six M2025A2 Devestator AAA sites, all uplinked with the anti-stealth systems, for air defense. Ships assigned to protect Jan Mayen consisted of among others a Ynoga class light aircraft carrier, hauled out of mothballs and fitted with four AH-75B Stalkers and ten SH-60R Seahawks, a Kubler class cruiser, six Rothsky class ASW destroyers, four Bergen class frigates, six Special class corvettes and twelve submarines of the Virginia, Seawolf and Tennessee classes. On land, there were 600 Marines equipped with a few light tanks and APCs, and some more armored vehicles and M2008A1 Dingos. Jan Mayen was well defended, and operational within the week.