NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: I introduced RQ a few weeks ago, but I didn't get a very big response, and have to admit that I was slack in dealing with the interest that I did get, and so now that limited interest has been allowed to go begging. I'm now taking a step back and trying a different approach: last time, I introduced the finished article, this time I want to present to you the crafting of said article, so that other players and nations might become involved and thus have a vested interest in RQ once it is complete. Verghastinsel and a couple of others, I remember, were fairly welcoming to the new Republic, but we didn't really get anywhere so I think that maybe nobody will mind if I back-up a step. So, please, provided that you have any half-decent role-playing to contribute, jump in!

IC: Hispaniola, home to one of the oldest independent nations in the Americas but also one of the poorest, divided with a more developed ex-colony. Haiti in the west, poorest nation in the western world, beset by abject poverty and all of the related crime, disease, and ignorance. The Dominican Republic in the east, home to no few rich men but notorious for governmental corruption, corporate crimes, and hugely disheartening rich-poor division.

Haiti had once been independently wealthy and highly productive but had fallen into chaos, the Dominican Republic still generated significant wealth but failed to keep its house in order. The former was frequently host to violent uprisings and unrest, and had birthed more small rebel armies than you can shake a sugarcane at, but these had been unable to affect real change, or else had been uninterested in doing so, acting sometimes out of purely selfish motives. The latter was beset by apathy or else disenfranchisement too deep for anybody to really fight for a better lot, it made as much sense to cheat and steal like the successful capitalist.

The C21st brought epic change.

In Haiti a radical named Victor Wiltord had risen to the fore of yet another small rebel army. But this one was different, for Wiltord was something of a classical hero. The man appeared to want change as much for his fellows as for himself; and his militia, nicknamed Wiltord's Wanderers for their ability to escape the authorities by walking into the dramatic highlands of the isle of Hispaniola, distinguished itself by operating only according to well-considered plans and by practicing violence controlled by the master administrator Wiltord where such forces in the past had been identified by random or self-serving brutality.

Concurrently in the traditionally more stable Dominican Republic a force identified by the government as nothing more than a terrorist network or a gang of bandits was making serious inroads against the status quo. Lead by a man of ten times Wiltord's infamy, the Quisqueyan Red Army -QER- was stunning the establishment with its wild ferocity. Vicente Batistuta lead his guerrillas through the higlands, raided towns and completely obliterated police stations and goverment offices, impressed upon common people the value of supporting the QER with food and information, and seemed -like Wiltord's Wanderers- immune to reprisal.

Santo Domingo was now openly accusing the Haitians of failing to prevent QER fighters crossing the border in the central highlands in order to escape justice. This, given the government's full knowledge of Haiti's incapacity, was a sure sign that the QER was doing at least as well as Wiltord's men and that the Dominican Republic was on the brink of defeat from within.

Wiltord lectured on freedom, Batistuta wrote fairly crude but dramatic and firey pamphlets on national liberation and Dominicans' part in the world revolution that previously had passed them by, and both men spoke with enthusiasm and warmth about other revolutions in the Americas. Both governments, meanwhile, became increasingly desperate in their search for help.

As fires burned in town and country, satellite imagery by now was turning-up clear indications that unrest was rife on both sides of the border that split Hispaniola between east and west.

OoC: So let me get this clear, two countries facing internal rebellion and we can jump in as we like? If not, just correct me and I'll delete this, maybe write up another if I'm feeling like it.

IC:A message was quickly typed up by the Diplomatic Corps to both goverments and quickly shipped out via fax.

Greetings from the Empire of Isles; Dumpsterdam.

Our current - and highly accurate - reports on your country predict a rather unstable future. This is something that we, as an secure Imperial Power cannot allow.

Therefor, you will be given exactly twenty-four hours to prepare for the arrival of 6th QRF from the Netherlands Antilles, who will evacuate our citizens currently present in your country. We suggest you get your country back under controll, lest you want us to come drive out the rebels after they are done with you.

Erik Solar,
Imperial Councillor,
Minister of Defence.

OOC: More or less, yes. I'm sure you're basically familiar with the island of Hispaniola and the fact that it is split between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In each one a leader has taken his own small partisan army to recent success against the respective governments, and now each government is, on one level or another, accusing the other of harbouring elements of the rebel army aligned against them. If you follow!
Wiltord's Wanderers in 3rd world Haiti, winning a lot of popular support and carrying-out relatively controlled actions to spread their stabilising influence; Batistuta's QER in the corrupt Dominican Republic, slaughtering state security left and right. IC post later.

The Solar communiqué reached a Haitian government that rather felt it had more important things to worry about rather than some foreign empire's worries about regional stability. And what was a QRF, anyway?

Well, it didn't matter, since there was nothing to prepare. The nation had only four paved runways, just one over a mile long; and one half-significant port. None of them could be relied upon to be in government control from one hour to the next. A couple tens of millions of dollars did not sustain a formidable security force against nationwide unrest and criminality, let alone an organised partisan army.

The Dominicans received their copy with a little more enthusiasm. Some elements of government suggested that the Republic should attempt to rebuff the attempt to withdraw Dumpsterdam citizens lest it increase panic and encourage other nations to pull-out! Foreign investment was already crashing!
However, the President declared it best to get the relatively powerful empire on-side, even to continue blaiming the disorderly Haitians and convey the impression that a Hispaniola that continued to recognise the Dominican Republic as senior partner was a relatively stable one.

It was while the government was just beginning to track-down citizens of Dumpsterdam, so as to appear to have things in order, that reports began to emerge detailing the derailing by sabotage of a freight train in the Republic, and the apparent demolition by QER guerrillas of narrow-gauge tracks operated by sugar companies. Not only were investors pulling-out, but now export industries were being forced into inactivity.

Pedernales, Dominican Republic

A 7.62x51mm rifle report wafted over the QER guerrillas as they came down through the mountains after crossing out of Independencia following a successful foray against the Dominican security forces. The fourteen men and women had just hit one of the many government-owned non-military facilities across the Republic that was guarded by military personnel. These actions meant that the Republic's military, almost fifty thousand strong in all, was increasingly failing to do its other jobs, notably its work in counter-narcotics and against illegal migration, both from Haiti to the Republic, and from there to still more developed nations in the region.

Just to the west, Aimon Le Guin called his comrades to a halt, indicating to them that the Dominican border was now visible.

"Here! We are prepared to take an historic step for our people!" He said, speaking French. Le Guin had taken-off his tatty beret, revealing that his hair, usually shaven, was starting to fight back, and he went on, speaking quite well for a largely uneducated or at least self-educated man. Le Guin was almost white next to his comrades, one of the big island's seven or so million mixed-race residents, and fairly handsome, somehow betraying by his looks less of the poor subsistence farmer than was true of those around him.

"Today we march not into battle but into legend! Friends, we have fought hard, we have fought well, and we have fought with valour of which all Hispaniola is proud, and today we are not Haitian... we are Quisqueyanos, and our brothers await!"

"Look!" Cried one of the partisans, breaking the wall of cheers that had followed Aimon's speech and indicating a point across the border. "On that hillside! QER?"

"Yes... I think so... Yes!" Replied Le Guin, peering through his field glasses and cracking a broad smile as he fumbled for his worn-out kit bag and began to move towards the Dominican frontier, followed and overtaken by all his comrades.

Opposite, the fourteen Quisqueyan Red Army members were reacting rather differently, waving and shouting for entirely separate reasons.

Soon, Le Guin's partisans saw it, too. A Dominican Army Bell OH-58A Kiowa helicopter burst up over the ridge behind the QER guerrillas, over-took them by a few hundred yards, possibly violating a few feet of Haitian airspace, and then charged back towards them as they scrambled down the exposed hillside. 7.62mm bullets poured from the side of the machine, the minigun inside sweeping its deadly gaze across the caught rebels.

One Red Army fighter capped off a couple of defiant rounds from his captured G3 rifle, and, as their captain fell dead, two women partisans, aunt and niece, took his RPG, readied it, and launched a grenade that missed the helicopter by hardly inches before they too were cut-down. One of the Haitians on the border contributed a shot from his archaic Mauser rifle, but Le Guin soon pulled back the Wanderers under his command and they headed back inland.

Things didn't always go against the two Hispaniolan governments.

Up!

In the interest in regional stability and the protection of innocent life, the Aequatian Republic is prepared to deploy forward elements of the 9th Marine Division and the 4th Fleet. The initial goals of the deployment will be to extract Aequatian citizens from the troubled countries and any who wish to flee the fighting. Once this is complete, if it is deemed necessary, Aequatian forces will act in a peacemaking role to return the area to its former stability.

President Elsa Berger of Aequatio.

What on earth are we tlking about?

I mean, talking about.

- Espandor, Aequatio

The soldiers of the 1st Brigade, 9th Marine Division weren't happy about the call for muster to simply deploy to a troubled island to rescue a few dozen Aequatian citizens that happen to be there until they heard where they were going, "The fucking Caribbean!" said a young lance corporal as they boarded the helicopters which were ferrying the troops out to the awaiting ships in Espandor's harbour.

"Think of all those nice young babes in bikinis!" said another of the group, "We're all going to get laid like kings!"

Sergeant-Major Damion Garry had been in the Marines for upwards of three decades and getting close to retirement, he ignored the young soldiers of his platoon and thought back to his discussion with his wife as he left the house for the muster.

"You're too old to go on another combat mission!" she said as he pakced his gear and put on his cap, "You don't have to go, you're going to retire in a few weeks."

"But I DO have to go, if I don't, one of those kids is going to shoot his own foot off," he replied as he slung his rifle and rucksack on his back, "I promise, honey, this will be the last... I'll put in for retirement and my pension when I get back."

She nodded, tears in her eyes, as he kissed her goodbye and left out the front door to the awaiting Humvee parked outside on the street. The noise of the large helicopter coming to rest on the flight deck of the RNS Richards brought him back to reality, "Last time... then you can rest, knowing you've done all you can with these kids."

It would be another two hours before the ships had been assembled into the task group and for the troops to come aboard before they began to set sail for the island of Hispaniola.

Approaching Hispaniola, the Aequatians, like any other element responding to unrest on the island, would of course have two choices: Haiti or the Dominican Republic.

Haiti lacked facilities, only Port-au-Prince stood any real chance of hosting an orderly operation, and that was within miles of increasingly strong rebel activity. On the other hand, Wiltord's Wanderers were building a reputation for professionalism, and had actually found the government less cordial in talks than could be said in reverse. Apart from that, it was also worth noting that there wasn't much cause for foreigners to be in the country anyway, since the economy offered few oportunities and the 3rd world wasn't usually conducive to relaxing holidaying.

The Dominican Republic had seen more foreign investment and had a small number of foreigners on its soil at any given time. It was marginally better developed, with a few facilities such as airstrips and ports worth having. The Cordillera Central region and the extreme south-west were becoming increasingly devoid of government activity save at Barahona thanks to its naval base. The authorities had been more effective in pressing military operations against the rebels elsewhere in their territory, but this actually just made the eastern two thirds of Hispaniola the more dangerous. Batistuta was not much like Wiltord, and his Red Army had little of the Wanderers' curtousy: the Dominican Republic, where most foreigners on the island were to be found, was unfortunately the part where they were in most danger.

Since a Dominican army helicopter left fourteen QER fighters killed or wounded -the rebels' worst loss in the conflict so far- Batistuta's campaign had stepped-up in retaliation, with several businesses firebombed and police shot at in the capital, indicating that -despite government claims that the bandits were confined to small areas of the countryside and mountains- the QER had at least some reach across the nation.

The Dominican government would continue to co-operate with foreign governments wishing to evacuate their citizens, though some ministers continued to object, viewing it as an admission of impending defeat and a likely way to break foreign interest once none-nationals were evacuated. Even if they hadn't been agreeable, the Republic had only one decades old Canadian frigate and a couple of inshore corvettes, and wasn't about to stop any self respecting nation getting its way.

-Three kilometres Southeast of Santo Domingo, The Dominican Republic

"Operation Swift Eagle, what a ridiculous name," said Vice Admiral Kern as he looked upon the southern coastline of the Dominican Republic, the harbour of Santo Domingo could be seen in the distance, "Nobody is going to take this mission seriously."

"Regardless, Admiral, we need to get this done," replied the Operations Intelligence Officer Wagnalls. "We have about two score people in a hotel in the central business district of Santo Domingo."

"Where is it located?" Asked Kern, "We need to get in there just as quickly as we can get in there."

"Don't worry, Kern, I have a plan for this evacuation," said Wagnells as he laid out an aerial photograph with pen marks, "We hit the beach with two platoons of Marines and they roll into the city to the hotel, they load the Viking LVTPs with the civies and they head north until they hit this main road here before turning east and move down to this stadium here where we can extract the civilians by helicopter. After which the Marines head south to the coastline and exfil on LCAC's."

"Sounds all right, but I want those SH-10 Ravens in the air with miniguns and 70mm rockets, if things get bad, those boys on the ground will need the support," replied the Admiral, "Let's get them ready to roll, shouldn't be too long."

"Aye, Sir."

The eight amphibious personnel carriers were loaded into the launch bay at the stern of the Richards, Sergeant-Major Garry was weighed down with his equipment, body armour and his customized G4k Carbine with aimpoint and foregrip. He helped the Marines of his platoon into the vehicles through their roof hatches and checked each of their kit as they moved past him. He climbed down inside alongside his platoon commander, a young lieutenant from San Allimos, as the vehicles were lowered into the water and began in their drive towards the beach, the young lieutenant turned to Garry and said, "Into the jaws of Hell, huh, Sergeant?"

"Yeah, something like that..."

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/6820/santodomingotargetzone7bj.jpg
(OOC: Just a little something for reference, thanks to Google Earth.)

OOC: Sorry about how long this took, blame the technical troubles!

Eastern end of the Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic

"...the helicopter attack last month is just the latest example that demonstrates this. The cells... this dispersal across the whole nation... it isn't ever going to win this war for us... in fact it hardly even constitutes a war, the government isn't far wrong to call us bandits and terrorists."

"He's right" said the general consensus. "If they want to see terror..." started an angry young fellow with half a yard of beard hanging off his bandaged face: he was one of the survivors of that government helicopter attack that killed most of a fourteen strong cell within the Quisqueyan Red Army. "We should be acting like an army." Said one of the older revolutionaries, interrupting his comrade with one of those slightly forlorn old-soldier tones put to his voice.

For months the QER had been scattered through the Republic, causing slight trouble just about everywhere, initially hoping to create the impression that the whole nation was rising against the government, which really was not at all true. This simply wasn't working, and as the government very slowly worked its way through the cells, picking off one at a time, Vicente Batistuta prepared his fighters for decisive battle.

Days later

Fighting in Haiti had reached a critical point as Wiltord's Wanderers came into conflict with another large rebel group, one of many traditionally operating in the impoverished nation, and had defeated them with great popular support. The government there was in a state, and Santo Domingo was now hanging with an awful air of concern, since the Dominican Republic had tended to link the two rebellions. It had been supposed that the lull in their territory was explained by the increase in fighting across the border. One local politician in the capital had spoken-out saying that the Republic's effective action against the terrorists had driven them to, "concentrate on capturing Haiti in order to win a safe base from which to launch attacks on our soil" which was part of the language causing foreign nations to move in while they could to extract people and assets.

Today the capital was preparing to see the arrival of -the police chief checked his documents- the Aequatians, and police units were being dispatched to secure the hotel at which Aequatian nationals were assembled as well as to clear out the sports stadium after the morning's events.

At the hotel, armed officers answered questions about the nearness of the Aequatian forces with vague assurances about the safety of the position. The day continued otherwise as normal, and one of the policemen was sat back in the lobby listening to a portable radio. He was grumbling that the afternoon match had been called-off because these foreigners were taking over the stadium and moving from station to station in search of alternate entertainment.

"...an Cristóbal! The gun fire... the gun fire I can hear is coming up the main street now... towards me... my position... drawing near! Looking down from this window, four stories high, I can see... yes! I can see... quite extraordinary! Swarming like fire-ants! Like termites eating out the foundations, pouring into each building along the street! There! I can see... a police... a couple of police officers... oh! Oh!" A string of salutations and horrified exclamations fell from the radio as listeners were lead to believe that the policemen mentioned had met some terrible fate.

Some of the police and staff gathered in and around the hotel lobby seemed utterly unphased, disinterested in the radio. Others sat or stood suddenly tense, exchanging quick glances with the radio's owner.

"What's this, Leo?"
"Shh!" Came the reply, followed by quiet listening in one corner of the lobby as people gathered around the radio.
"Trouble in San Cristóbal?"

Trouble indeed, the city was being over-run.

But that trouble was not confined to a single city. The QER was surging across the Rio Haina as the capital's police tuned-in to hear word from San Cristóbal, not even realising that Santo Domingo was being encircled by untold numbers of gunmen coming from the north and west. In the course of a morning, hundreds of Red Army fighters had fallen down from the heights of the Cordillera Central and into San Cristóbal and Distro Nacional, while further west the same was happening in Pedernales, while the rest of the Dominican Republic remained oddly quiet.

The People's Republic of Tiastan strongly condemns foreign intervention from Dumpsterdam in Hispaniola. While you possibly consider the uprising to be a negative thing, you could follow international cusom and lend advisory and financial support to the attacked governments instea.

Garry had been riding up front with the vehicle's commander when they had driven up on the shoreline and entered the city. The "paddle" in, as the Marines called the drive across the water from the ship to shore, was quiet and they didn't start to take fire until they had started into the city, although sporadic and easily dispatched. Staff Sergeant Perkins sat in his commander's chair in front of his monitors and wearing his large helmet with the built-in headset, he was hearing reports from the command ship by the observation helicopters that there were several groups of gunmen entering the city, they were given orders to hurry their movement along before the city became completely overrun. Perkins nodded to the radio command and tapped his driver on the shoulder, "We've got to pick up our asses and get to that hotel!"

Roger that, we're not too far away now!" replied the young lance corporal.

Garry went back into the passenger compartment to his platoon commander, "Sir, things could get really rough, we're going to need more support than those AH-10s up there, they need to get those AV-8s ready!"

"That's a little much for a lieutenant to call in, isn't it, Sergeant-Major?" said the lieutenant somewhat confused and nervous, "Will they give it to us?"

The grizzled sergeant sighed inward as he nodded, "Yes Sir, if we need the support, they will provide it since they have the same information as we do, command knows if they don't, we'll be overrun and bogged down in the city for hours fighting our way out."

The lieutenant switched channels on his radio to contact his company commander, "Eagle One, this is Eagle One One, Sergeant-Major Garry is asking me to call in Harriers for support, over."

Captain Hancock's reply came in over the radio, "Negative that request, Eagle One One, the streets are quiet for now... the Ravens will do for now, Eagle One out."

"Fucking officers," said Garry as he returned to the commander's position in the carrier and tapped him on the shoulder, "Perky, we're in trouble... the shit's going to hit the fan, they refused the AV-8s."

"Let me guess, Hancock-face refused it?" asked Perkins.

Garry just nodded with a disappointed expression on his face, they were only a few minutes from the hotel, but if the fighting was going to get bad... they might as well have been a thousand miles away.

Santo Domingo

Aequatian forces were landing in the city to the south just as QER elements filtered into the north and west. Even less expected was the rising within the city of several dozen Quisqueyan Red Army fighters, including one amongst the police guarding Aequatian citizens at the hotel. He shot one of his comrades as the lift doors closed, ascended to the first [second, to the Americans in the audience] floor, and hurled a grenade that nestled where his pepper spray ought to have been, killing and injuring untold numbers of the Aequatians and other foreign nationals, before his stunned comrades came to their senses and brought him down in a five-minute shoot-out on hotel grounds.

Elsewhere, the 'sleeper-cell' QER fighters blocked roadways with sniper-fire and improvised booby traps, set fires, and flagged signals to their advancing comrades in the outskirts.

The security forces were utterly unprepared for an internal rising and a large-scale assault, having previously contended with one-man shooting incidents and distant bands of partisans in the hills. The city seemed drunk on blood and fire, staggering and incoherent as foreign forces arrived on the shore.

[OOC: Sorry about all the delays and interruptions. Bad timing with these forum problems, hey? At the moment, the city is confused but not really infested by all that many fighters... it's just that nobody knows that, and some of the authorities are in a panic and likely believing that they're facing an all-out invasion, possibly by the Aequatians, in some cases!]

First Dominican City Falls to Quisqueyan Red Army

After days of quiet across the Dominican Republic, which had previously seen weeks of shootings and bombings as small QER (Quisqueyan Red Army) units tried without real success to stretch government forces across the whole nation, the uneasy calm has been shattered by an apparent change in tactics on the part of the rebels. Yesterday, hundreds of QER fighters came down from the Cordillera Central into San Cristobal and the Distrito Nacional towards the capital city of Santo Domingo, and from the Sierra de Bahoruco into Pedernales towards the border town of the same name.

Competely surprised by this change of pace and believing most of the rebels to have been discouraged by recent government success against minor cells leaving others to give up and cross to Haiti to join the more successful rebellion in that much poorer state, government forces reacted poorly to the assaults. The garrison at the near-border town of Pedernales was a key target on the first day of renewed QER operations and subject to attack by a Red Army battalion at the personal command of QER captain Vicente Batistuta himself. Some reports indicate that light mortar fire from the Haitian side of the border -to the west- preceeded the Red Army infantry assault from the north-east. This would be in-line with Santo Domingo's insistance that the QER is in cahoots with the Haitian rebel faction known as Wiltord's Wanderers, which has recently been in the ascendancy in struggles between itself and other militias as well as the national government there.

News that Pedernales is now in rebel hands comes as a blow to government supporters elsewhere in the Republic as Red Army units encircle the capital city, where foreign nationals awaiting evacuation are reported to have been killed and injured by 'sleeper' agents of the QER within even the national security forces themselves.

Up we go.

If the situation in the Dominican Republic had taken a turn for the worse, then Haiti's government was on the verge of giving up. Wiltord's Wanderers had just weeks ago crippled their main rival in the vast assortment of rebel groups, and the force was now sufficiently in control in the south east region -not far from the capital- that it could afford to support QER operations on the other side of the border.

Across poor Haiti, Victor Wiltord's supporters were initiating reforms, bringing subsistence farmers together to form large co-operatives, freeing many of them up to join the rebel army with the assurance that their family would be fed. The co-operatives also fed the army as it moved, and, unfortunately, often served to bring government forces into traps as they tried to disrupt these new initiatives.

Probably the most dangerous aspect of Wiltord's plans was in that the Wanderers, in order to gain money enough to improve these farms, engaged in drug smuggling operations that might provide interested outside forces with an excuse to interfere. For the most part, Victor tried to depend on contributions from the poor people supporting his movement to improve one co-operative at a time, each one turning from subsistence to profit as a result and paying back the contributors. This was working, but not quickly enough to achieve the victories that Wiltord needed, and thus smuggling operations were unavoidable in view of a lack of other economic options.

I think another bump before more progress.

Wiltord/QER declare official unity as Haitian government evacuated to Gonave Island!

The 750sq.km island known as the Ile de la Gonave was a rocky affair without year-round surface water, and yet still home to a hundred thousand people, now hosted the government oh Haiti, which had -finally- been driven from the Hispaniolan mainland by the angry attentions of Wiltord's Wanderers, an army whose political leader, Victor Wiltord, was making history in an epic way.

"I am Quisqueyan!" He said on arriving in the capital, Port au Prince, at the lead of a column of bedraggled but smiling infantry, men and women, "We are Quisqueyanos!"

Wiltord, champion of the Haitian people, was declaring officially alliegance to the Quisqueyan Red Army (QER), the Dominican equivalent to his own victorious Wanderers, and their leader Vicente Batistuta.

The QER had recently siezed the town of Pedernales on the frontier between Haiti and the Dominican Republic in a surprise attack swimming with rumour of supporting light mortar fire from the Haitian side of the border. Even now its fighters were surging into Santo Domingo, disrupting efforts to evacuate foreign nationals and threatening to over-run the island's second national capital. It appeared that Hispaniola was about to be painted red, one way or another...

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti

The unenviable orders given to the 25-strong contingent of marines aboard HMRS Wellington Al-Haji read thus:

"Keep open the harbour facilities of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, and enforce international law pertaining to smuggling, piracy, and associated maritime criminality, and provide protection and security for any possible shipments of vital humanitarian aid into the country."

Further teletype dispatches seemed to reinforce the idea that the squadron's worth of marines would not be left to their own devices, but with the nearest fleet assets weeks away and no airport facilities to speak of, their means are limited at best.

The destroyer itself sits moored on the harbor, its twin 114mm dual-purpose guns facing towards shore, and its pier protected by sandbagged Bren nests. Marines dressed in khaki tropical fatigues hold an uneasy truce with the local police, who are outgunned but have the marines outnumbered by about a hundred to one.

In fact, the whole situation is thoroughly out of hand, and one destroyer is not going to fix it.

Over Canal De Saint-Marc

The distinctive buglike shape of the Westland Wasp trasverses the skies above the stretch of water separating Ile de la Gonaieve from the Haitian mainland, its side doors flung open.

"Eight more miles on this heading."

The pilot watches as the island's coastline grows and grows until it passes under the small helicopter. He drops altitude until the small helicopter is just barely above the treetops, a measure taken to avoid AAA no doubt, and once he spots a house with a RRN ensign flying from it, comes into a hover.

"Attention OP Green, prepare for extraction."
"What took you so bloody long, Stanley?"
"We'll set down on the roof, then?"

The Wasp finally settles down on a small makeshift helipad perched on a small, rickety-looking house, and lets aboard three marines, as well as a wireless set.

"How much time?" asks the pilot.
"Not bloody enough, mate! They're all over!"

The Wasp lifts off and heads back to the ship, leftenant Stanley of the FAA hoping that his overloaded helicopter, already smaller than most, won't have to contend with hostile bullets...

Word of a foreign warship at the island, all be it in the wrong country, was picked-up by the Santo Domingo government, which soon was trying to make contact as officials went into a panic, fearing that they had nowhere to run like the Haitian authorities had. The sudden idea of evacuation or of help in what would be a last-stand situation actually put the idea of defeat into many heads, though a few thought of naval gunfire driving off the attack and allowing a re-grouping of national forces for a counter-attack.

Port Au Prince still rattled with gunfire and crackled with flames, shouts ringing out across the city from time to time, even though the government was fled. Wiltord's Wanderers were clashing with somebody apart from the government. Depending on to whom you talked it might have been troublemakers from the Dominican Republic (but probably not), criminals and looters attempting to take advantage of the government's departure, perhaps gangs, perhaps the victors falling apart and turning on one another, or, many claimed, the unofficial remains of the Tonton Macoutes...

Up at a busier time of day, I hope!

Political Union Follows Military Union, Old Republics Abolished, Red Quisqueya Rises

Pedernales, on the old Haitian-Dominican border, is today the world's newest capital city. With the government of Haiti isolated on the Ile de la Gonave and Quisqueyan Red Army forces in control of Santo Domingo's streets, Republica Rojo Quisqueya is declared a nation in a joint statement apparently issued by the leaders of the two largest rebel armies.

While the QER's Vicente Batistuta ranted about the military victory and the need to pursue remaining elements of the old systems, speaking with clear enthusiasm but lacking flair and often wandering into his own world to which ordinary citizens could not directly relate, his associate, Victor Wiltord of the Haitian rebel force, spoke about future reform and the prospect of new elections once a structure was in place and the victorious revolutionaries had agreed a groundwork upon which to build a new democracy.

Fighting was, in truth, far from over.

OOC:Can you give me a brief overview of what is happening so far?

IC:The Red Tidean Goverment had watched the uprising on the island of Hispaniola with interest, and somewhat alarm, Tech-Com Corporation freighters ran close to their Haitis and the Domnicians trade routes. If the Dominican Republic OR Haiti went under, the Red Tide Goverment would decide to send in the troops.

It was decided that the 2nd Carrier Battlegroup, currently the only Red Tidean Battlegroup in the carribean, would stay there for another couple of months and be moved closer to Hispaniola. Also, transports carrying a single Amphibious Division(reinforced with a Close Combat brigade) were sent to the Carribean.

Now, intervention by Red Tide may be a good thing for the Hatian and Dominican Goverments, but it would NOT be a good thing for the people of Hispaniola. The Red Tidean Military was notorious for using anything short of NBC weaponry to get the job done(sometimes they even used the 'C' part of that acronym). Whether it ranged from percision airstriked all the way up to the use of a Plasma Reaction Warhead or FS-1 Suicide Sattelite.

OOC2: A single Red Tidean Division consists of 20,000 men, UNLESS reinforced with another Brigade, which hold 5,000 men. The following is a standard Red Tidean Carrier Battlegroup:

1 TSUNAMIS Class VTOL Supercarrier
5 M-Battleships
5 G-Battleships
12 TIDAL WAVE Class Destroyers
24 MOCKINGBIRD Class Frigates
12 TC-2C ASW Helicopters
1 Dark Star Reconassiance Drone and launcher
35 H/K-1 VTOL Close Air Support Aircraft
55 H/K-2 VTOL Fighter Aircraft

OOC:
1) Haiti stood as the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, full of disease and walked by violent rebel armies and the remains of the Tonton Macoutes. The Dominican Republic was marginally better off but deeply corrupt and infamously unequal.

2) A rebel army with relatively enlightened leadership rose to the fore in Haiti; this was called Wiltord's Wanderers, and lead by a Victor Wiltord. It became popular quickly and took control of large parts of the nation and started to institute social programmes and agricultural reform.

3) The Quisqueyan Red Army (QER) under Vicente Batistuta started to launch limited operations in the Dominican Republic, but struggled to make inroads against a large army while operating in isolated cells in the hills.

4) The two armies started to co-operate, while the two Republics accused one another of harbouring rebels or failing to protect the border against refugee, criminal, and rebel movements.

5) Pedernales, just inside DR, was captured by the QER with rumoured WW support from the Haitian side of the border. It was proclaimed capital of a new republic uniting all Hispaniola: Republica Rojo Quisqueya.

6) Port au Prince, the Haitian capital, was over-run by elements of Wiltord's Wanderers and the government evacuated to rocky Ile de la Gonave, where it exists amongst a few supporters and some thousands of civilians with basically no infrastructure or military.

7) QER forces entered Santo Domingo, Dominican officials and army elements believed to be on the run, though many are captured or basically trapped in unfriendly territory.

8) Now, Haiti and the Dominican Republic are united as Rojo Quisqueya, with a capital at Pedernales (though the infrastructure of government isn't yet really in place). Wiltord is wildly popular as a humanitarian and social hero dedicated to making life better, Batistuta is popular as a strong-handed commander dedicated to bringing justice against those who made life bad. Elections are being promised, and the two rebel leaders are expected to take top posts.

Bear in mind, the economy of both previous nations combined was worth about US$70bln, and probably as such amounts to less than the value of the Red Tide battle group and the cost of deploying it. That's before the civil wars and prospect of international conflict.

The population of the island is around seventeen million. The people have been desperate for years after dictatorship, violence, poverty, crime, corruption, and disease, and the unified QER and proposed republic are inspirationally popular.

Republica Rojo Quisqueya has so far been openly recognised by only one minor foreign nation (Pracowity).

OOC:
1) Haiti stood as the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, full of disease and walked by violent rebel armies and the remains of the Tonton Macoutes. The Dominican Republic was marginally better off but deeply corrupt and infamously unequal.

2) A rebel army with relatively enlightened leadership rose to the fore in Haiti; this was called Wiltord's Wanderers, and lead by a Victor Wiltord. It became popular quickly and took control of large parts of the nation and started to institute social programmes and agricultural reform.

3) The Quisqueyan Red Army (QER) under Vicente Batistuta started to launch limited operations in the Dominican Republic, but struggled to make inroads against a large army while operating in isolated cells in the hills.

4) The two armies started to co-operate, while the two Republics accused one another of harbouring rebels or failing to protect the border against refugee, criminal, and rebel movements.

5) Pedernales, just inside DR, was captured by the QER with rumoured WW support from the Haitian side of the border. It was proclaimed capital of a new republic uniting all Hispaniola: Republica Rojo Quisqueya.

6) Port au Prince, the Haitian capital, was over-run by elements of Wiltord's Wanderers and the government evacuated to rocky Ile de la Gonave, where it exists amongst a few supporters and some thousands of civilians with basically no infrastructure or military.

7) QER forces entered Santo Domingo, Dominican officials and army elements believed to be on the run, though many are captured or basically trapped in unfriendly territory.

8) Now, Haiti and the Dominican Republic are united as Rojo Quisqueya, with a capital at Pedernales (though the infrastructure of government isn't yet really in place). Wiltord is wildly popular as a humanitarian and social hero dedicated to making life better, Batistuta is popular as a strong-handed commander dedicated to bringing justice against those who made life bad. Elections are being promised, and the two rebel leaders are expected to take top posts.

Bear in mind, the economy of both previous nations combined was worth about US$70bln, and probably as such amounts to less than the value of the Red Tide battle group and the cost of deploying it. That's before the civil wars and prospect of international conflict.

The population of the island is around seventeen million. The people have been desperate for years after dictatorship, violence, poverty, crime, corruption, and disease, and the unified QER and proposed republic are inspirationally popular.

Republica Rojo Quisqueya has so far been openly recognised by only one minor foreign nation (Pracowity).

The USSN, (United Socialist States of Navassa) would be pleased to recognize the Republic of Red Quisqueya. May this relationship be marked with much mutual cooperation.

OOC:The Red Tidean Goverment... isnt exactly sane.

IC: It was confirmed, both goverments had toppled, the Red Tidean Goverment gave the go-ahead. Soon the Battlegroup crossed into Hispaniola Waters. First up were the cruise missiles, CM-2s were basicilly modified BGM-109 Tomahawks, modified as in their range was halved and their payload doubled from 1,000 to 2,000 pounds. The warheads were munition payload, each one meant to penetrate a runway then explode, cratering it. It would put out of them service.

Then came the LRASM-50s with 500 pound anti-structure warheads as the ships got closer, these were targetted at important structures, flying out at high altitudes were H/K-2s and H/K-1s.

The republic, through the QER and volunteer networks, was spreading word of Navassan recognition through the streets while the makeshift diplomatic corps returned the favour in support of Navassan independence.

The sudden explosions at airports around the nation would not initially be registered across the nation, simply being a series of isolated surprises. There were only seventeen airports with paved runways on the whole island, and at least seven of them were with strips less than a mile long. Several civilians and QER fighters and workers were killed and wounded in the initial detonations and as a result of the slow and uncoordinated response that was inevitible given the surprise, the poverty inherited by the republic, and the sheer youth of revolutionary control.

But had they known a powerful foreign state was about to attack, disabling airstrips would have been just about the first thing the Quisqueyans did themselves, since it denied them to the enemy and they didn't have one combat aircraft of their own: the Dominican government had a handful of training aircraft, transports, and questionably armed helicopters, all run-down out of service, lost in fighting, or destroyed by the fleeing government forces. Of course, the Quisqueyans couldn't have co-ordinated and carried out the action themselves, and if anyone had even known about the on-coming attack they would have shrugged at the mysterious enemy's desire to create work for itself.

The following strikes on, "important" structures caused similarly little damage to the Quisqueyans, who drew their power from the countryside, the shanties and slums, the hills, and placed some of it newly in an unremakable little seaside town. The major structures were abandoned old government facilities, by and large, where QER units hung around outside, attempting to discourage looters but not doing a very good job of it since most thought, well, why shouldn't the people take a bit of copper wire and fancy curtain material from the people who grew fat off them for so long?

Casualties again were mostly civilian, with some rebel fighters also involved, and relatively little of the political cadre or primitive command structure afflicted.

However, that could be called relatively unimportant, because the Red authorities were still unable to appreciate what was actually happening, who was attacking them, from where, and exactly why. So far as anybody could tell, things were just blowing up, and nobody in Port au Prince really appreciated that the same might be happening in Santo Domingo, for example.

Still, the international community would surely be in a position to appreciate that the island was under heavy attack by a foreign carrier force.

At 80 kilometers to the coast, the G-Battleships big, 18 inch, ETC guns opened up. Lobbing massive shells filled with high explosives towards land. The carriers Dark Star Drones launched and went up to 50,000 feet, loitering virtually invisible over the soon-to-be-battlefield. As soon as land came in sight, the battlegroup stopped steaming forward.

The H/K-1s doved down to very close to the ground, while the H/K-2s remained at 25,000 to provide cover. Any military looking, unarmored vehicle was strafed by single, three-barrelled, 32mm gattling guns and rocket pods, while armored vehicles would recieve a ATGM-4 up the tail pipe.

Thus far, the confused Quisqueyans had failed to return any fire. Realising that they were under attack, however, one QER officer commented that they should wait it out for another half hour and the still unidentified enemy would implode if this was the way they carried on, picking low-value enemies and then within them attacking low-value targets like they were invading Saudi Arabia and blowing-up battle tanks and fighter jets. Such an economically and politically incompetent foe would collapse to rebellion bigger than Quisqueyas, he confidently asserted, before being blown to about seven hundred bits.

A handful of trucks, some on military duties others involved in limited infrastructure work, and one French armoured car captured by the rebels also fell to enemy fire. The fighting strength of the QER remained almost entirely untouched by the latest millions of dollars expended against it.

What communications systems were in operation after the revolution by now were buzzing with news of explosions and the appearance of foreign warships ships, all reports being based on confused information as rumbles shook the land.

IC:The communication buildings messages were picked up by Red Tidean Intellegince Officers, it wasnt long before the communications were traced, H/K-1s armed with dumb bombs(with rather accurate targetting sights mind you) then went after them.

The first wave of hovercrafts disembarked from the transports and began to make their way towards shore, they carried one of the Amphibious Battalions. Also, the battalions AAPC-45s began to 'swim' their way towards the beach, each one carrying a squad of Amphibious Warfare Soldiers.

OOC:An AAPC-45 is the amphibious version of the APC-45. It still carries the twin, 30mm auto-cannons with both manual and radar targetting and the ATGM-4s.

Surviving television stations and radio masts went down in large numbers, taking with them numerous soldiers and political staff amongst dozens of civilians.

By now phonelines and personal radios along with motorcycle and jeep born messages and word of mouth were spreading word of the invasion, though it still seemed that nobody knew exactly who was responsible. In the towns some rebels on their own initiative took revenge on government agents in captivity or even known supporters previously left alone, assuming that the Dominican authorities were responsible for calling in help against the will of the people.

The QER was reacting, but without knowing what it was up against. Some officers imagined airborne assault owing to their lack of serious anti-aircraft missile weapons, some wanted to get down to the beaches to set up machineguns and mortars, others thought it best to disperse and run to the hills. Those in the cities were hurrying about, enlisting mostly keen civilians to set-up barricades, set booby traps where possible, and handing out fire-arms recently taken from the vanquished security forces.

OOC: Where abouts are the amphibious assaults landing?
There's lots of maps available on line, but I'll provide a few links:
Hispaniola (http://digilander.libero.it/tortugamotoclub/pirati&co/hispaniola-modern.jpg)
Former Dominican Rep (http://www.trailmonkey.com/SAmerica/DominicanRepublic_MAP.jpg)
Former Haiti (http://www.olgp.net/ministry/haiti/map/haitibigmap.jpg)

Note: the Haitian govt. his hold-up on the Ile de la Gonave, the Dominicans either captured or in hiding/on the run.

OOC: I am landing at San Pedro de Macoris... it is to the East of San Cristobal.

IC:The hovercraft continued to make their way to the beach as the G-Battleships kept their guns trained towards land, waiting for any firing mission.

The port at San Pedro de Marcorís on the east bank of the Higuamo River was the source of the first defensive shots fired by the Quisqueyans, a burst of 7.62x51mm fire coming from the H&K G3 rifle held by a recent volunteer to the QER as the first hovercrafts came into view. After that there was nothing for a time, as a trio of recruits busied themselves setting up a Brazilian Uirapuru Mekanika 7.62mm machinegun between a couple of warehouses just back from the waterfront and not immediately visible.

There wasn't much more being done at the scene, though the local Red Army commander was trying to relay messages to Pedernales and Santo Domingo to inform Batistuta of the landings under way: most had assumed that the fleet was hanging in the region with the intention of attacking Santo Domingo directly.

Within the next half hour, however, the Quisqueyan ambassador in Pracowity would be taking bare details of the invasion to the world media, such as he understood them thus far. Whether anyone would care about the brand new nation was yet to be seen.

The first hovercraft went over land, 'hovering' a inch off the ground, it shut off its engine shut off, the forward ramp fell to the ground and a full company(100 men) of Amphibious Warfare Soldiers raced out, weapons raised.

The next hovercraft raced onto the ground, its dislodging 100 more men, and then the next, and the next, 25 hovercraft could carry 2,500 men, which is a entire Red Tidean regiment, so far, there were 50 hovercraft heading towards shore, carrying a full brigade of troops. The AAPC-45s, being slower, would arrive in 10 minutes after the first hovercraft. The divisions Amphibious Light Battle Tanks Model-44(ALBT-44) were launched, these still had their 105mm ETC gun, but it did not have a mounted missile launcher.

Okay, since this thread was mostly about the revolution and the title reflects that, I've started a new one for the new invasion. I'll post there again in a minute to react to the landings. I have no idea whether anyone will want to help RQ, or if I'll just end up encouraging other people to come in and imperialise or save the old governments! We'll see!

Invasion thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=10059155#post10059155)

May I have permission to join in on your new thread? I'm pro New Republic.