NationStates Jolt Archive

The constitution of the Pyekan-Kuogu was quite clear about things. Unfortunately it was quite clear in usually two opposite directions on a given single point. It reminded all Pyekan, in a paragraph on foreign relations, of the inferiority of foreigners since these had not benefitted from the blessing of the Emperor. On the other hand, it -the constitution- promised good relations with Pyeki's neighbours.

Very recently a meeting between representatives of the Pangkai -the Pyekan parliament- and the military, along with two of the Emperor's Consuls, had travelled to Tiastan for fairly informal talks on improving relations between that larger neighbour and the traditionally introspective and ignored little Pyekan state, which spent most of its formative years fawning over Imperial Japan and dropping off the world's radar screens.

It was agreed in principle that trade should be made official and the long-standing issue of cross-border smuggling should be addressed, though it was unfortunate that nobody had really broached the subject of actually mapping and deliniating said borders.

Alas

It remained unknown to most in Pyeki and all in Tías Than, but the delegation's military representative, Admiral Akihiko Hirata was a member of the four-strong secret society that pulled the strings attached to each corner of the Pyekan state. The Garcat-Laur conspiracy as it was actually called, unsuspected by the outside world as much as by the Pyekan people, had invented the unseen Emperor Pan Yoshimura whom the masses now worshipped as a demi-god, and sought to manipulate the coming of relations with Tiastan much as they did the hollow Pangkai behind the auspices of which they cloistered themselves and through which they exercised many of their domestic powers.

In the arena

Pyekan fishermen and hunters worked in a manner little changed since time immemorial, tied inexorably to the life of the mighty River Panaku as it flowed like a vital cord through the spine of the Pyekan-Kuogu's roughly two hundred and fourteen thousand square kilometres, meeting the ocean at one end and the alien territory of Tías Than at the other. To these people, though, it never much mattered that remote authorities identified vague borderlands at the latter extent. To them this was merely a point somewhere relatively close to the river's source.

To others it was less a territorial boundary and more a... profit margin, one might say. It turned out that Pyeki actually did quite the roaring trade in minerals, narcotics, food, people, endangered animals, traditional medicine, and arms amongst other things. A fairly diverse economy, in fact, operated without benefit to the nation, the people, the government, or, importantly, the four fatcats hidden in plain sight... or gaudy uniforms, if the Admiral's plumage and white pith helmet were a standard by which the Garcat-Laur's wardrobes could be judged.

The long and the short of it was the approach of Pyekan National Army forces into border regions for the purpose of counter-smuggling efforts with a view to improving future legitimate trade with the Tiastanis. An innocent affair made a little confusing by limited agreements on exactly where borders ran and worse by the under-developed nature of the environment.

far eastern border of Tiastan

The young conscript scratched his head fiercely as his combat group waded through the deep stream, and then thought aloud. "Why do we have to thresh throught these hot waters? My scalp is eaten alive by yolk fleas!".

His commanding sergeant sighed, and they walked on in silence for a bit. Then the sergeant came up with an answer, but bit it down as he saw movement. He held his palm up flat, pointed to his eyes and then pressed his palm downwards. The group lifted their Mabu 7.7mm rifles and spread out, crouching down. Then he saw the vibrant pennant. "No worries, these are Pyeki units."

Another conscript piped up. "Seems like there are no smugglers since both nations started patrolling these areas." A third joined in. "I heard the Commissar say the other day that their units are too close for comfort, whatever that means."

"Oi, shut up! The both of you."

And that was the end of that.

All over the border, however, commanding majors were getting concerned. While they knew joint patrols would be stepped up, these were regular Pyeki army units, moving into border areas no one really knew who belonged to.

To Pyeki, Tiastani envoys loosely suggested that patrolling should be stepped down, and that national defense forces should just go back to shooting smugglers caught inside territory that definitely belonged to them.

Chotaro woke at dawn a young farm boy probably a few years away from inheriting control of a small paddy and the family home, a bamboo structure on stilts over a pig sty, walked eighteen miles and became Soldier Togin, 32nd Company. As yet he wasn't even aware that his 32 Company was one of several, and part of the 4th Division.

Soldier Togin was oblivious to the fact that the Mark 2 Sten he'd been issued -along with a single magazine loaded with twenty-six rounds of 9mm ammunition- was considered a near throw-away weapon suitable normally for National Army Training Reserve use alone. He marched on -well, walked, having never been shown how to march- clutching the submachine-gun to his chest, observing the odd sights that greeted him on passing from the jungle interior through the low hills approaching this part of the Pyekan-Tiastani border. Those were deep irrigation ditches, he thought, it must have something to do with their being on a hillside. A Type-98 halftrack mounted with twin 20mm anti-aircraft guns he took for a farming machine, too. At first he thought that he saw irrigation piped being hauld up and sunk into the rear face of one hill, but eventually began to wonder if they weren't artillery guns, which, indeed, they were.

Soldier Sawamura recognised everything quite quickly. Even the 128mm guns and the Nebelwerfer rocket launchers. Some of them had been used in the past during the internal conflicts that followed Pyeki's isolation by the collapse of Imperial Japan, and old soldiers like Ikio Sawamura had fought them for no real gain or purpose until the establishment of the new order and rise of an emperor to rival Japan's finest. Ikio marched with knowledge of the step but a visible stoop about him, twitching when the clatter of tank tracks passed the Company by. He carried a Number 5 Jungle Carbine in 7.92mm chambering and notably missing its distinctive flash hider, as were a number of other men about him, all, one might notice, at least middle aged, while the ignorant teenagers mixed amongst them bore only Sten guns, often workshop examples of little use. If it was an attempt to hide the fact that the Company was poorly equipped, thought Sawamura, it was a poor one, since the old men could see what the young could not.

Ah well, an officer was shouting something about the identification of smugglers versus that of Tiastani soldiers.

Tiastan City, the Red Flag restaurant

"..And it would probably be in our best interest to send cartographers to the area, and step down patrols" Advan finished, looking the Pyekan consul in the eye. Advan was one of the most experienced diplomats in the Tiastani cultural attaché core, but he hadn't seen people as shifty as the Pyekan consul in front of him. The man wouldn't answer straight, as if he was not sure what his country's policy was on the matter. Advan listened to the evasive answers the man gave him, then beamed the foreigner a placating smile and ordered some chicken and rice wine for the two of them. Inwardly he sighed, it would be a long night if he could not convince Pyeki to agree to a more stable military border arrangement.

People's Army Central Command, classified location

The assembled political Commissars started to sweat. It was one thing that the Boss had called them in for a meeting, but it was evident that things were turning grimmer than that.

The Boss, more formally known as 4-star General and Guardian of the Republic Kae Thonh, turned to face them; his face twisted into a bad parody of a polite smile. "Gentlemen, you know the concerns we've been having lately?" A nervous chorus of nods and murmured assents followed. "It is time to act upon them.".

Borders, later that week.

Brigade Major Kim Sung arrived to the 66th Shooter Division that was currently the only professional fighting force patrolling the borders, in comparison with the reservists and poorly or even un-trained militiamen that currently patrolled the ill-defined areas. They were good men, all lined up in their nicest with rifles and uniform, but like the militia, they probably had little to no idea what they were doing there. He had.

"LOOK SHARP! Good, then, at ease. As you may know the important task of controlling Tiastani borders and maintaining peace and stability in Asia rest on your shoulders. As of late, you've been seeing a lot of PNA soldiers around the borderlands, and although this was agreed upon, they seem to consider parts of Tiastan their responsibility. While this will probably be resolved quickly and peacefully by the comrade diplomats in good order, we can not be certain there is no cause for concerns over their troop movements. As of today, no Tiastani soldier OR officer is allowed to talk to Pyeki troops without authorization from a Political Commissar to do so and regarding the content of the talk. Also, TPA Observation Protocol applies to sighted Pyekan troops now, not only unidentified individuals. I want to know how many, where they're going and why."

The soldiers started to sweat cold. This sort of thing hinted at planning from tier one of the Tiastani government, the Central Communal Council, and that was informally considered a very bad thing.

After dismissal, they suited up and went on patrol. What else was there to do?

Advan was an observant fellow, and at something of an advantage. The Tiastani knew his 'enemy' better than the Consul knew himself, or at least his own position. This was perhaps one of the fundamental shortcomings of the Garcat Laur's complicated conspiracy that obviously had to trade something for the benefits it achieved: many of their puppets hung from delicate threads, made so fine that the puppets would never notice them but as a consequence quite delicate were the puppets to be rattled by external forces.

At least the Consul had what one might call plausible deniability and genuinely believed in the anti-smuggling dictate handed down by the Emperor.

Early in the second week after the begining of deployments to the border areas isolated cases of gunfire were reported in the jungle. The PNA began to claim one or two successes against smugglers, illegal loggers, and poachers, but hardly to the value of obvious expenditure in troop deployment.

Soldiers -young boys, women, and old men- continued to pass in view of the Tiastani forces near the borders, stomping back and forth with newly issued peaked hats with flaps hanging down either side in what was an effort to conceal the various extreme ages of the recruits on show. Most were jumpy either from the traumatic experience of being pulled form their homes days earlier and transported far across country to patrol the border or from memories of internal conflict that crippled them as proper soldiers years earlier.

Behind them, across rivers, amongst trees, and over hills, the more ordinary shape of the Pyekan National Army continued to gather, digging in guns, laying supply trenches, sinking fuel and munitions pits, and carving out dirt airstrips.

Then, back in the Pyekan heartlands, talk of troops gone missing on the Tiastani border began to trickle through villages, nothing convincing as yet, just a stirring of speculation. Almost everybody had a loved one dispatched to the frontier in the last week or so, and Pyeki communications being what they were, almost none had yet received concrete word back.

If Advan knew of the advantages he held, he gave no sign. He, and other envoys who now requested to travel into Pyeki, wish to debate the border situation with the higest tier of government. If his divine majesty would not see them, then someone with power to legislate were demanded access to. The brisk tone was not due to any perceivable ill-will towards the Pyekan government, but due to the fact that any number of unpleasant accidents might happen at the area if it was not properly cartographed and guarded.

Brigade Major Kim Sung was now placed in charge of the entire central Pyekan border district as militia and conscripted forces around him were withdrawn to the capital to assist the civilian workforce as labour regiments. Being the only one concerned with the border, apart from maybe Kae Thonh, he has requested the 5th Fighter Wing, composed mainly of aging Pen Lung jet fighters, moved to airstrips near the border; and radar trucks can now be seen in operation on the border along with the artillery and infantry currently stationed there.

Banter and gossip in Tiastan was nowhere as tense as it was in Pyeki, and even soldiers patrolling joint Tiastani/Pyekan territory were mostly concerned with when they would get time off to hit the town.

Office, Tiastani People's Army coordination, Tiastan City

Colonel Commissar Manmo Minh, of joint Hindustani/Tiastani heritage, had only been in the office for fifteen minutes, but he was already making four more Tiastani commanding officers sweat (placing him in the unofficial regional finals for scaring subordinate officers sh*tless!). Known as the Boss' right hand man, Manmo Minh was the highest ranking political officer in the army, and could get away with a lot of things. Scary things. He looked them over, and continued.

"As such, we clearly need better intelligence on the Pyekan plans than what confused recruits on the border can give us. Agreed?". Lots of murmuring, nodding. "Any suggestions, then?" As one officer began with a suggestion, Minh cut him off. "We can hardly fly a surveillance plane with radar and photographic cameras in; we'd never hear the end of it, and it could conceivably provoke the Pyekans into agression if that IS what they are planning."

One officer piped up. "How about Flying Fish dreaming of Pork?". Manmo stopped, looking at the officer incredously; before realizing that the other man spoke code, and his eyes glazed over for a few seconds while he scanned his considerable memory of contingency plans. Then he smiled. "I like. See to it, and full deniability this time."

The other men, high-ranking division commanders and also the only current special forces liaison officers, nodded and left the room.

OCC: Looks wonderful, Tias & Pyeki. Mind if a lumbering, ham-handed northern neighbor joins the state of affairs?

IC:

Aboard His Robotic Majesty's Ship Audacious, Near The Equator

The crew of HRMS Audacious lies about in the heat and moisture of the tropics, quite alien to citizens of a country straddling the arctic circle. They curse the tankers which the small frigate is supposed to protect, and they curse the lords of the admiralty who took it upon themselves to lobby so hard for the maintainance of the RRN's big fleet assets.

With the opium dens and brothels of the East Indies tantalizingly close yet so terribly far, excruciating boredom is the order of the day.

On the bridge, the captain lazily reads a teletype message from Southern Command in Dili, ordering him to take his frigate to the 'coast of Indochina,' and once there await further orders.

(( We are actually looking at acquiring a second neighbour, if it behooves you to move your nation? Anyway, jump right in - only restriction is self-imposed population cap(AMW style) and modern tech at best.))

Despite obvious nerves playing up in the border regions it was clear to the Pyekan-Kuogu that their efforts were unlikely to generate a stand-off that would put the neighbours close to war. Work would continue along the same lines, since it didn't hurt the Emperor's case to keep unspoken tensions running more than usually high.

Deployments to the frontiers now ran parallel to poster campaigns at government facilities, military barracks, and throughout the villages of the nation. Many showed the horrors of western living. These ranged from photographs of citizens struggling through smog with masks to their faces or of the horrific aftermath of road traffic accidents to simple charts indicating crime rates and other trends in which it could be considered that various western states were inferior to the Pyekan-Kuogu. Such popularised things as infamously twisted criminals featured in many posters as further indication of the things that such society created and the things that it made people do, as well as the sort of people who were attracted to it. The posters were all very simplistic and amaturish in production values, since the Pyekan peasant was supposed to be a simple and honest entity.

The second, initially inferior but steadily rising aspect of the campaign worked on identifying the neighbouring Tiastanis with western ideas. Industrialisation, urbanisation, the division of society along party lines- not only was Tiastan corrupt, not only was it selling-out its own people to foreign vices, not only was it close by, but it was divided itself and likely to fracture against Pyeki. The Pangkai was full of disgust at the notion of a society without the unifying influence of a devine emperor, and many in the parliament didn't even consider a nation... well, a nation if it hadn't such leadership.

The people were also ready to believe that a people without a traditional emperor were apt for the sort of corruption described.

Off shore, the Pyekan fishing vessels operating with some degree of government involvement were now frequently to be seen forcing small civilian boats out of the best fishing waters, thus encouraging them to violate the surrounding waters of the Tiastanis, and even if their little wooden boats didn't look like much of a security risk to the government, the fact that they were fishing Tiastani waters was new to the citizens of that nation: usually the Pyekan kept very much to themselves, not so much out of fear or hate as of quiet respect for neighbours with whom they exchanged at best a nod and never dared start conversation.

Kawasaki Ki-45 KAIc Toryu twin-engine propellor-driven aircraft were now becoming fairly common near the borders as they deployed their primitive radar in a basic attempt to learn at least the bare bones of how many, how close, and how often were sorties by Tiastani aircraft, though it would be a stretch to say that they built up a detailed strategic picture or even a great tactical awareness of the neighbouring force's capabilities and disposition.

Dili, Equatorial Robotstan

"What's this? A border scuffle?"
"Well, we won't be having any of that!"

A group of Robotstani Parliamentarians and PRDF officers lounge about in a comfortable, well-ventilated sitting room in Parliament House, the traditional setting for Robotic policy-making. While reading through the stacks of correspondances from their constituancies, they discuss matters of diplomatic importance.

"Nonsense! Utter nonsense! We're over here," says Abdul Rahman, a minister of parliament, while making vague hand gestures, "and they're over there."

"You should lay off that hash, mate! Aren't we part of this region?" retorts Thabo Ndlebe, another MP. "If its a regional problem, we'll rightly address it and solve it."

"Aye."

"I'm going to propose that we contact the Pyekians and Tiastanis and offer our services as mediators. Its in nobody's interest to see people shooting at each other, eh?"

"Indeed."

"Well, its settled then. The honourable Minister of Parliament from East Kupang will propose as much in today's after lunch session?"

"I will, Pradip. I don't think Robotstan will be, in good conscience, be able to say no."

Later that day

"The right honourable Thabo Ndlebe..."

"Thankyou Mr. Speaker. Might I put foreword the following proposal; 'Let it be resolved that this Parliament should do all in its power to ensure peace, stability, and good governance in this our Region through active participation in Regional politics and by ensuring that the greivances of other soveriegn nations in this our Region are widely known and acknowledged, and thus not allowed to forment widespread violent feelings. This might well be done by our Nation's performance as respectable and understanding mediator, and to those ends we might start by contacting the respective governments of the Soveriegn States and National Bodies of Pyeki and Tiastan and offering independent and unbiased review of their common border area, which at this time has the potential to cause violent transnational conflict.' That is all, Mr. Speaker."

"Hear, hear!"

"By vote of one hundred and seventy-six to eleven, eight abstaining, this Parliament does approve of the Diplomatic Act."

By the end of the next day, the local councils come out in favor of the Diplomatic Act, and a commission is quickly established to compose letters to the Tiastani and Pyekian governments.

"To the Soveriegn State of (Pyeki/Tiastan),

It has come to the attention of our Robotic Commonwealth that some disagreement exists as to the actual shape of the border common to both Pyeki and Tiastan, and that disagreement has caused increased deployments of military units along that common frontier. It is our view, being no strangers to struggle and warfare ourselves, that violence benefits no-one, and it is therefore imperative that the threat of such be diminished as much as possible. To those ends, we (the Commonwealth of Robotstan, Equatorial Robotstan) offer to dispatch a border survey commission with the goal of determining a common border beneficial to both your nations and drawing up an agreeable border treaty.

With utmost reverence & humility,

The Right Honourable People's Parliament Of The Robotic Commonwealth"

Tiastan

The many boats fishing in Tiastani waters were not given a particularly warm welcome. The People's Fighting Coast Guard, recently buffed up with surplus People's Navy equipment, escorted fishermen out of the territorial waters at gunpoint. Several of the vessels that returned were sunk and their crew detained in Tiastani ports by coast guards ignorant of the fact that the trespassers were in fact forced into foreign seas by their own government.

Inside Pyeki

The small group waddled through the border jungles as inconspicously as they could. In the past three weeks they had fasted and trained on a special diet to appear malnourished while retaining their already expertly honed physical form and psychic faculties.

Selected from the fairest-skinned special forces servicemen available, clad in rough weaves and armed with Sten SMGs purchased from a British weapon collector residing in Tiastan City as well as a couple of intentionally banged-up and smeared Taka Jungle Carbines; they were to all but the most perceptive onlookers, a group of typical young Pyekan peasant soldiers.

Several of them were well versed in pyekan, and with some luck they could advance far enough into Pyekan soil to find out what the hell was going on.

Message to Robotstan

It behooves the People's Socialist Republic of Tiastan to determine our borders with Pyeki, and reduce border military presence; but we will agree to no such survey that does not include Tiastani supervisors drawn from our dependable and loyal core of Political Officers.

Since the majority of the old governmental assembly was long since murdered, it was no surprise that the new Pyekan Kuogu had almost no personnel abroad. There would be no great change if and when the Pangkai called back its agents abroad.

In the meanwhile, drastic steps were being taken at home. More than 98% of Pyeki's twenty-seven million residents were thought to be aboriginal, so to speak. The ethnic minorities were probably Tiastani in the main, and located mostly near the borders.

Bearing in mid their corruptions, natural aversion to order and unity, and the threat they and their kind clearly posed to Pyekan institutions, the Pangkai finally passed down a nomination to action on the matter. This was not an imperial decree, rather it was for the Emperor's benefit. His loyal Parliament apparently felt that it might be wise to act in defence of the Emperor's order and the serene unity he cultivated.

The Pyekan people were not, then, legally bound to act, rather it was by honour, and, of course, loyalty. Western influences, be they carried by whitemen or Tiastanis, ought to be driven-out and prevented from ever re-growing in the new Pyekan Kuogu. This way never again would Pyeki sink into obscurity and chaos as it had during the second half of the twentieth century.

As word gradually spread, citizens began to shun non-Pyekan ethnicities, eventually driving them out of communities on which they depended for subsistence. Various elements of the nation's vast security forces sometimes took more direct action, unofficially arresting people who looked or acted, "foreign" which was not really a term that most in the backwater understood terribly well.

The scouts meanwhile would find jungle even less disturbed than that which they may be used to at home, and, if they looked in the right places, trails of Pyekan recruits, mostly old men and young boys, moving up to the border. Typically they would not be challenged, since most Pyekan tended to assume that everyone had something to do, and that they were doing it because someone told them to. Apart from anything else, it was hard to tell an officer from a conscript, or an official from a labourer. Generally the former of each pair identified himself by shouting at you, and the latter sorts by not doing.

To call Robotstan a white country would be by no means accurate. After all, the odd collection of nationalities that forms the bulk of the citizenry spent the better part of two centuries fighting on-and-off wars against a Portuguese monarchical family.

But it would be quite accurate to characterize Robotstani government as western, at least in some respects. And because of that, the Robotstani Parliament is taken quite aback when no response is had from Pyeki. Bearing in mind the amount of information Robotstan has pertaining to this mysterious neighbor to the northwest, next to nobody knows that Pyeki is a remarkably insular state with an emperor at its head.

Another diplomatic telegram is dispatched, just in case the first wasn't recieved.


Tiastan, on the other hand, appears to present a much more friendly government. In accordance with Robotstan's policy of extending diplomatic feelers throughout the region in the wake of the 1938 royalist revolt, followed by the Japan war and the 1950 revolt, Parliament resolves to invite a Tiastani delegation to Dili in order to take stock of their parent government. Without Pyekian participation, any border commission would not have much to work with, but some Parliamentarians advocate shocking them into action. How this is to be done, at the present, nobody has the slightest idea, but with an airforce inflated by a small but significant number of new jet aircraft, it can't be that hard. And it is hoped that, after talking things over with the Tiastanis, the Robotstanis will have at least some idea of what is going on.

Over The Tiastani/Pyekian Border

If one of the numerous troops deployed along the presently contested frontier bothered to look skyward with a pair of good-quality binoculars, they might catch sight of a tiny sky-blue speck far above, moving at a fast clip. They would need a sharp pair of eyes, though, because the speck in question is over fifteen kilometers up and moving at over four hundred miles per hour.

Robotstan in particular would very much prefer that nobody sees the speck, since it is no ordinary airborne speck but rather a PRAF Spitfire PR.19, assigned to photograph the Pyekian/Tiastani border area. The powerful Griffon engine, driving counter-rotating propellers, moves the Flight Leftenant unlucky enough to be assigned the hours-long, high-altitude flight at what is rightly deemed a safe speed, since anything except a jet would have a tough time just climbing to the Spit's present altitude and would then be presented with the equally tough problem of catching it. That said, without a radar and concentrating on remaining slightly on the Pyekian side of the border, the pilot wouldn't know of an interception until it happened.

Hopefully nobody would notice the rather scandalous violation of foreign airspace committed by the lonely spitfire...

OOC: This is a great RP, I might join. Could Someone tell em waht the main issue is here and who is going to be fighting who?

If Pyekan radars had picked-up the Robotstani aircraft, the PNADF appeared to be ignoring it. The Pyekan-Kuogu's best turbojet and rocket driven interceptors could just about out-run the cruising Spitfire, but couldn't get within even five thousand feet of ceiling at which it was travelling, and though some aircraft with up-angled guns might take a shot at it, command considered the chances of scoring a hit against such a small and quick-moving target unworthy of a sortie. If it came down to between eight and twelve thousand metres there was every chance of its being mauled by flak and fighters, but for now it was quite safe, and the Pyekan didn't imagine that anyone could take a useful picture or give accurate fire from almost ten miles away, and so remained, rightly or wrongly, unconcerned.

By the next day, the extremely limited diplomatic corps serving the Pyekan-Kuogu had responded to the second Robotstani message with some brief and non-commital talk of the true anti-smuggling purpose of deployments. Of course, if their reconnaissance missions had any success at all, the Robotstanis would be well aware that armour, munitions and fuel dumps, aerodromes, artillery, and trenches were appearing along with numbers of men that would have obliterated the biggest criminal operations in the world, let alone a handful of daring smugglers between Pyeki and Tías Than.


OOC: Thank you, Findan.

For more general information I have just linked to my introduction thread, which I hope will now show up in my signature.

Nobody is actually fighting just yet, but forces behind the scenes in Pyeki are conspiring to start a war with neighbouring Tiastan. They are out-numbered and out-gunned, but they happen to be rampant control freaks hiding behind an Emperor that nobody else knows is completely fictional (like Japan's pre-war Emperors the population never hears him speak directly, and like the early Khmer Rouge leadership nobody even knows his face) and his Parliament (the Pangkai) which appears to be a puppet to the Emperor but in fact is a puppet to the people who made-up the Emperor. Complicated, I know!

It is important to know that both Tiastan (80-something million?) and Pyeki (27million) use realistic populations and land-areas, and (especially in Pyeki's case) dated technology, though we are considered modern for anyone who wants to interact with us: it's just that I don't want people to think that they can do anything they want to our nations just because we choose to impose limits on ourselves. So long as everybody is respectful of one another, I am happy.

Basically, to anyone watching closely, it looks like a poorly marked border area is becoming dangerous as two quite different nations move forces up to combat smuggling, and that Pyeki's Emperor is being difficult and aloof.

Tiastan

While the somewhat out-dated radar net of the People's Republic did register the foreign Spitfire, it was not deemed prudent to take action. It stayed largely clear of Tiastani airspace, and it was not like the People's Army had a lot to hide anyway.

If any of the Pyekan fishers who were escorted back into their own waters decided to return to Tiastani fishing waters, they too would have their vessels sunk and be either detained or extradited to Pyeki. News of Tiastani citizens fleeing discrimination and ostracism in Pyeki is met with some concern. Ostracized citizens notwithstanding, the foreign council pulled an all-nighter, trying to determine whether this was the time for an actual Pyekan attack. Would they dare? No, not really. Just in case, though, the People's Armed Forces were involved; and new tank regiments and Pen Lung jet fighter sqauadrons were moved to the Pyekan "front".

It is reluctantly agreed upon by the Central Communal Council, the closest thing Tiastan has to a parliament, to send a delegation into Robotstan. While there is still some resentment about foreign powers involving themselves in Asia, they seem earnest, and so a group composed largely of Political Comissars, attaché clerks and head by Advan Biau; a diplomat with experience in Tiastani-Pyekan relations, is sent into Robotstan.

OOC:

This thread certainly sounds like my style... world war II times... the days of real combat... *sighs*

I LOVE IT!

Anyway, if I can, may I sign up? And if so, could I come in as a third, seperate force wishing to make gains in the region?

(Like Imperial Japan when it invaded China who was fighting amongst itself in the 30's)

My guys are techno-savvy in most aspects, bar military, still WW2 standards there!

Anyway, if that is all good with you, count me in.
I'm going to do a small set-up for a rough outlay of my available forces soon... cheers! :)

IC:

DYNASTY SPACE COMMAND: 0540 ZULU

"Marshal sir", the aide, dressed in the standard Imperial administration greatcoat walked briskly through the military complex and around the numerous Space Command staff busily striding to their own posts. The huge communication networks and LCD displays on the displays around him showed a number of different scenes, some were of Cape Vanden, the Imperial Dynasty's primary space launch facility, in front of which now stood Marshal Adam Hendrix of Space Command. The aide came up to him, "Marshal... wow" he too stopped and watched the screen in front of them.

The huge rocket that was sitting on the launch pad had just been counted down to launch, even through the static-laced black and white screen of the launch chamber camera the very essence of power and prestige that came from the rocket as it thundered off it's launch rail and began to accelerate into space could be felt by all.

A resounding cheer filled the chamber as 'Eagle Eye 7' made its initial boost and began the tedious process of powering up to achieve escape veolcity; "Well done all, good show folks!" boomed the voice of Marshal Hendrix, who presently noticed the military aide calmly waiting his attention. "My apologies Lieutenant, I hope you were not waiting long", the aide obligingly shook his head and said "No sir, it is fine", knowing full well he would recieve a verbal summary execution for his apparent lack of urgency.

He handed the orders folder, clearly marked PERSONAL EYES ONLY - RESTRICTED to the Marshal, "compliments of High Command sir". After the near-ritualistic mumblings about those higher than one's own rank, the Marshal proceeded to open the relatively open document - and promptly hand it back to the aide!

"Read it son", the Marshal said, "I've lost my bloody glasses again..." as he fumbled through his pockets for a moment he yelled "Has anyone seen my reading glasses... again?" a few good-natured chuckles and guffaws came from his crew, who proceeded to promptly look about for their commanding officers glasses on the darkened floor.

"Sir, the order states that the payload of Eagle Eye 7 is to be re-directed towards the lands of our regional neighbours Pyeki and Tiastan to assist in strategic analysis of the current situation on that land"

Marshal Hendrix's eyes opened a little in what was open surprise, "well well, High Command listened to the spooks eh? Maybe we will be bored after all, seeing as viewing the local islands for development companies was so exciting and all..." he dismissed the last thought with a derisive snort and wave of his hand, accepted the salute of the aide (who also politely returned the file lest he get further hammered for not even delivering the files) and went to the task of allocating elements to re-routing the recon satellite when it was put into orbit...

A few photos from our satellites:

http://www.digitalglobe.com/images/qb/three_gorges_dam_oct24_2003_dg_thumb.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e1/Port_of_LA.jpg/750px-Port_of_LA.jpg

And the internals of the command centre itself...

http://www.astrosurf.org/lombry/Documents/ctrl-room-spaceshuttles.jpg

OOC>> I don't know, man. We were looking for a third part, which Lunatic Robot Retards has filled, and now Findan also wants to get involved. I'll consider it, and we will see what Pyeki and LRR thinks about it.

Pyeki

The small group of people who officially didn't exist and unofficially tried to appear as Pyekan as they possibly could pressed further into Pyeki; probing out the surprisingly large fortifications and military concentrations near the border, as well as they persecution of ethnic Tiastanis in the villages they pass.

Once they discover these disturbing numbers of material and personnel, their commander decides to effect a retreat - All that can be learned without resorting to high-tier spies has probably been learned, and they begin to backtrack; helping expulsed Tiastanis get back to their native land safely.

OCC: Being here on the kindness of your (Tias & Pyeki) hearts, I'll let you guys decide what you want to do.

IC:

After the Spitfire flies its pre-planned survey route, it turns around and heads back to Robotstan, arriving at Faisal Rahman airfield, the closest PRAF airbase, with a dangerously low amount of fuel in its tanks. The sweaty and hungry pilot nearly falls out of the cockpit, complaining about the failure of the aircraft's air-conditioning equipment, while a group of technicians retreives the film cannisters.

The developed product is passed on to analysts in Dili, who, as expected, find it quite difficult to pick out much of anything. The thick jungle (?) on the border areas hides all but the most obvious Pyekian preparations, and even those are rather difficult to definitively identify as military in nature.

Some roads are picked out as rather too wide, and one small logistical column was chanced upon by the Spitfire's cameras, but besides that the photographs don't suggest anything new.

Dili

If the Tiastanis expected to land in a city populated by europeans in a temperate climate zone, quite a distance from Tiastan itself, they are mistaken. Dili, the capital of Robotstan's Southeast Asian district, houses the bulk of the Robotstani population and contains very few Europeans. Besides a large amount of native Indonesians, sizeable populations of Indian, Arab, and African ancestry exist, the former and latter brought as slaves or low-cost labour respectively before Robotstan's Portuguese-born monarchy was torpedoed to death.

The Tiastani plane is met by a military band and a 'motorcade,' and is invited to Parliament House...

((TAG, Tiastan here. I will post eventually, am just reeeeally busy with christmas and school things.))

OOC: I'm back, and if this is to recover I suppose it best to return with a radical change of pace!

Pyeki

As yet, to the frustration of the Garcat-Laur, their ramshackle forward armies hadn't managed to get themselves shot-at in spite of the troops' mix of inexperience and long-untreated shell-shock, and the Emperor's uncooperative attitude in demarcation of the frontier.

The increasing interest of other foreign states and the continued rebuttal of Pyekan fishermen however were more irritating to the oblivious Pangkai, which was becoming daily more belligerent even without the direct encouragement of Garcat-Laur agents.

Never the less, events unfolding at the break of dawn on an otherwise unremarkable day came without any more warning than they would have given by arriving weeks earlier.

Four small aircraft appeared suddenly on Tiastani radar displays, moving from the Pyekan-Kuogu at three thousand metres and some four hundred miles per hour. Eight metres long and five and a half wide, these pulsejet-driven machines would be revealed on visual contact as remarkably small. Closer inspection still would reveal them as Pyeki's UAVs, though it would not be difficult to conclude that their purpose was not one of reconnaissance or anything so innocent as often assigned to such machines in more evolved nations.

In fact, these buzzing contraptions were identifiable as something bearing remarkable similarity to the V-1 flying bomb.

As they sortied into Tiastan, the slightly evolved machines -which had been made in nothing of the Second World War's quality-reducing hurry and now had the originally intended ability to power-dive instead of cutting-out as they began to descend- began to diverge by command of their modest guidance systems as they headed for targets up to one hundred kilometres inside Pyeki's neighbour. Their accuracy, yet unproven after Pyekan adaptation, was not expected to make them reliable against targets much smaller than a town, and their warheads remained a primitive but quite large 1,800lb affair, but the restoration of the power-dive meant that they could penetrate the earth to a depth sufficient to maximise the damage done by detonation there.

Minutes later...

With the flying bombs newly across the border, ski-ramps similar to those that launched them were used to launch twelve rocket-driven interceptors with the rather optimistic hope of flinging them against Tiastani aircraft returning home after presumably engaging the missiles. The Mitsubishi Ki-202 Shusui-kai's high subsonic top speed, 20mm gun armament, and modest range were perhaps less likely to impress the enemy than the Pangkai presently hoped.

Concurrent with these launches, based on patchy intelligence from returned 'fishermen' and the limited reach and ability of radar carried aboard Kawasaki Ki-45 KAIc Toryu, two-dozen Nakajima Ki-84-II Kai piston-engine fighters proceeded at low altitude up the coast, virtually at right angles to the earlier path of the V-1 type machines. The Ki-84-II were chosen instead of the ordinary Ki-84 because the former used more wood in its construction, making it cheaper but, the ever optimistic Parliament theorised (without any tested basis), also reducing radar signature, which was also the aim of their near beach-hitting altitude.

Eighteen of the Kai fighters were armed each with four 20mm cannons and two 250kg free-fall bombs, but six of the partly wooden machines were fitted with no such luxuries, being no more than manned equivalents to the quartet of bombs flying pilotless against the enemy inland, this wind afforded divinity by the blessing of Pan Yoshimura, which was delivered to the honoured pilots by a member of the Pangkai who claimed to have met the Emperor personally during authorisation of the attack. The fighters were to strike at the closest naval facility of substance, the Pyekan-Kuogu having no bigger strategic plan available, though of course everyone involved directly had full confidence in the Emperor's possession of all useful facts.

In these first fifteen minutes, a few forward units received orders to open-fire on unfortunate targets of opportunity, and a couple of newly emplaced 87.5mm, 105mm, and 150mm guns chucked shells in the general direction of known or suspected Tiastani outposts or villages across the border, though there was no immediate sign of a co-ordinated barrage or a direct assault.

((Tiastan's player here. First off, my sincere apologies for not having posted before now. I've been busy as hell, and said to myself that I'd post soon... But now it's the 22nd, and I haven't gotten around to it :(

Tiastan has been deleted from the forums, as have all my posts, it seems :(

Therefore, I'll be posting from my primary account, African Commonwealth. I know I could be an impostor, but the content of my posts should show that I am the artist formerly known as Tiastan, heh. Also, of course, if you don't want to play this outdated RP anymore or because you think I'm an idiot, I respect that; just let me know.))

Tiastan

The People's Ground-based Air Defense originally did not worry much about new blips on the radar, figuring that it was probably Robotstani recon sorties or perhaps Pyekan jets overstepping their boundaries( It's not like it hasn't happened before!) but when a Pen Lung pilot overflying the UAVs by chance sent in a nervous radio report about unmanned craft resembling ballistic devises ; all hell broke loose.

It was immediately decided that the best of the Tiastani air defense material should be used in the face of what might or might not be ballistic missiles. The PGADs single Soviet issue SA-10 battery near the rear border grid were promptly notified, and a barrages of four missiles streaked against the intruding devices, each charged with destroying one of the UAVs. As cutting-edge(by Tiastani standards) technology, the launcher and sealed rounds were well-maintained, and the warheads semi-active radar and Flap Lid-guided command receiver guidance systems switched on without a hitch.

Once the missiles were on their way, ten Pen Lung fighters took off to pick off remaining flying bombs. Although normally equipped with bombs or rockets in under-wing hardpoints, these interceptors were not fitted with them as it was deemed unnecessary to engage the ballistic devices and would only slow them down. Instead, they relied on two 30mm cannons each, not knowing just how badly they would soon be needing them against Pyekan fighters.

The clash between Pyekan and Tiastani fighters had not happened yet, although first-generation Mig fighters and more Pen Lung squadrons were told to be ready for conflict, as were 12.7mm machine guns, 88mm and 40mm flak guns and what few SA-7 armed airfield guards were activated at at the time.

As shells began to sow chaos and dissent in villages and People's Army border outposts, labour regiments quickly got their things together and saw to the evacuation of villagers inland. In short order, the 66th Shooter Division stationed on the border were ordered to enter the borderlands and engage all Pyekan units they encountered, and 88mm and 200mm mortars attached started sustained bombardments against known Pyekan border patrol outposts.

Also, with the possibility of total war looming(the Central Communal Council being the paranoids they are), several infantry divisions were activated, and the all-mechanized 6th "Republican Guardian" Shooter Division - the only thing the People's Armed Forces have that comes close to being a rapid deployment force - is moved to the front. To the world at large, Tiastani consuls complain that they have been attacked for no reason whatsoever, and regret to declare Tiastan in "a state of armed conflict" with Pyeki.

OOC: Ah! I will deal with this, later. Welcome back.

Tiastan

The flying bombs were no match for S-300 missile systems, and first one, then another, and a third exploded, quite impressively, less than two miles over the heads of Tiastanis living close to the border. The wave probably only got as far as it did because it was initially passed-off as Robotstani or other non-threatening activity. The fourth and final pulse-jet driven contraption, trailing a few hundred feet behind the next bomb, passed through turbulent air, perhaps the shockwave of an interception ahead. In doing so at this moment, it appeared to have performed a radical evasive action at the last second, and one that might have disabled a human pilot. The machine swung away from the incoming surface-to-air missile, which detonated anyway, perhaps by proximity fuze or perhaps by encountering debris flying from the other intercepts. It was too far from the final bomb to cause a safe mid-air demolition, and sent the Pyeki weapon spinning towards the ground, by now relatively deep into Tiastani territory and diving at impressive velocity. The big eighteen hundred pound warhead was driven deep into the earth by its own weight and several hundred miles per hour of pace, and there, a number of feet below the surface, detonated with impressive force. Of course, it had fallen short of the intented city centre target, in territory unknown to Pyekan high command.

The Tiastani Pen Lung fighters might see the crater caused by just one bomb impact, surrounded for several miles by insignificant fragments of wreckage fallen from the first rather feeble swing of the Pyekan-Kuogu's long still blade. But they would not have to wait long for the arrival, from high altitude and out of the rising sun, of a dozen Shusui-kai rocket planes, their pilots yammering and shrieking away as their stubby steeds dropped down with the last of their remaining rocket thrust to attack fighters they assumed would have been sent to intercept the flying bombs several thousand metres below. This would be probably their only realistic chance to take victory in the first case if air to air combat between these neighbours, so all twelve came down, knowing that they were running like an axeman set to put all of his energy into a decisive first blow, and fully aware that he would be exposed and helpless against a riposte if his strike was not clean and true: if they survived their attack run, the Mitsubishi Ki-202s would have no choice but to turn for home and regain any altitude possible before their rocket motors cut out. The flight back into the Pyekan-Kuogu and home airfields would be made in a powerless glide, with every evasive action that a pursuer forced from them becoming a detriment to their declining velocity.

Over the coast...

With jets, rockets, and guided missiles exploding inland, far away, the two-dozen piston engines of Umihebi Force must have seemed insignificant as its Ki-84-II fighters cruised at hardly half the speed of sound, surprising fishermen by almost tipping their boats and seeming half likely to catch their propellors in nets as they were cast.

The flight leader broke radio silence only moments before the humming of the planes' engines would reach the Tiastani naval facility closest to the Pyekan-Kuogu, snapping from his steely gaze, which had been fixed for the last ten miles on the beach, waiting for a feature described by agents detained for illegal fishing activities and sent back to Pyeki by unsuspecting Tiastani authorities.

Even when the captain did contact his comrades, orders were short and to the point, a mere signal to perform a rehersed operation. Sixteen fighters peeled off, turning inshore and gaining a little altitude. They would make themselves known in a high banking turn that might, if, as it appeared, the planes hadn't been detected during their initial approach, give the impression of an attack coming somehow from inland. The sixteen would attempt to pick targets as they banked around before straighening out for straffing runs with four 20mm cannon and two 250kg free-fall bombs a piece.

In truth, the main intention of this attack was to cause surprise and disruption, and to turn the attention of defenders away from the sea. It was from there, some moments later, that the remaining eight aircraft would approach, two more configured as the sixteen and attempting to protect the low-level charge of six other Ki-84-IIs, the pair rising up and bellowing advice to the six that were blessed suicide pilots sat atop hundreds of kilos of high explosives bound, in theory, for ships or, failing that, docks and slips.

Pyeki-Tiastani border

Here, the initial counter-fire of Tiastani mortars is at least a match for Pyekan fire, which is oddly limited given the sudden and ambitious nature of aerial strikes. For one reason or another, the Pyekan simply aren't coming, though gun positions, snipers, and machinegun nests, protected by pits, traps, and mines, are on hand to engage enemy units sent into the borderlands.

No word as yet from the Emperor at Panpok, nor from his Pangkai Parliament.

Godai, a small village outside of Tiastan City

Where the final flying bomb had struck, much too fast for any nearby AA assets to react, destruction had been considerable. Having hit a well nearly in the centre of Godai's market, the ground-burst and fragment had torn apart several buildings like so many card houses, and killed and injured numerous civilians - a conservative estimate puts casualties at fifty, but the Tiastani news and propaganda ministries have more pressing matters on hand, so determining the losses fall to the villagers themselves, and the militiamen that can be spared to help them search for the survivors.

However, capitalizing on the human losses were quickly done by the Tiastani news outlets "Truthful News" and "Tiastani Worker's Daily". TV crews and reporters dispatched once the area was deemed safe(in fact, way before it was!) gleaned many images and tapes of elderly wounded, women lamenting the loss of their children; and young men in their prime without a arm(and in one case, without both). The images are gruesome, and the Political Officer Core put them to use like they had been born for the same thing, which indeed they had. Posters, flyers and speeches are hitting the presses - If war is coming back, the commissars reason, it must come back in style.

Tiastani airspace

The swept-wing, turbo-jet powered Pen Lung had definite maneuverability advantages on the Shusui-Kai, their crimson red frames climbing speedily towards the sun to engage the new targets even as they were taken by surprise. Their reaction did not come in time for a total deflection, however, and three Pen Lung screamed towards the ground, 20mm shells having torn their cockpits and wings beyond repair - Air Command had almost immediately preceeding take-off authorized the pilots to engage any enemy planes, and while the Pen Lung had their hardpoints emptied before takeoff, they each had some forty rounds of ammonition for their twin heavy 30mm main cannons. If the Shusui-Kai retreated, however, they may have some luck in their endeavour, as the Pen Lungs limited 300km operational fuel range may force them to stop short if they do not destroy their quarry.

Tiastani Coastline

The People's Ground-based Air Defense, while warned of incoming enemy air power, was in a state of disarray, and the coastal defense sections older soviet-issue radars were furiously coaxed to reveal incoming hostiles, but to no avail.

As one soldier near the Port Equality naval base, anxious with the news and distraught because he had family in Godai, wandered down to the beach he suddenly froze. Over the cold and still february waters was, suddenly, a low unnerving drone - And, could it be, dark shapes just over the coastline? He panicked, and hurried back to his base, but by then it was too late. The sixteen Ki-84-II had a good run over several facilities on the coast, but faced withering hails of 12.7mm, 40mm and 88mm fire as they approached. Also, some enterprising marines and airfield guards ran to meet the Pyekan pilots, risking their lives to fire Igla and Strela-2 guided SAMs towards the strafing attack planes.

The sixteen initial Ki-84-II, regardless of how many had been destroyed by PGAD assets, had wrought considerable damage on the ports. The marine facility at Port Equality had been hit bad, destroying landing craft, armoured vehicles and besides hampering the Tiastani militarys amphibious strike ability, had also killed a number of naval infanterists staying in the barracks, the best troops available to the People's Army. Piers and tugs had been destroyed, and the People's Navys single Tarantula-Corvette, the TNC Wuxia, had suffered hull and weapons damage as a result of bombs and small arms fire.

How the dubiously blessed Kamikaze pilots and their escorts would fare, remained to be seen. At this point, a smattering of four Pen Lung and four "Shanti" P-15(licence-built soviet MiG-15) were taking off to defend the coastline, and while the widespread chaos sown by the Ki-84-IIs hampered the ground-based AA personnel, and had to some degree been succesful in distracting the People's Ground-based Air Defense, most 40mm and 88mm batteries around the ports were now actively seeking targets.

Tiastan

When the initial shock had settled, the Central Communal Council reviewed the situation, and convened the parliament in Thana, the ancient capital of Tiastan. As expected, the parliament nearly unanimously voted for a declaration of war on the Pyekan-Kougu - Only the Syndicalist League for Democracy(a largely anarchist organization) and Tiastani National Front had members who voted against. While some anti-war sentiment has been expressed in both Thana and Tiastan City, any who protest will find themselves dispersed, and organizers charged with contra-revolutionary "Wrecking", facing incarceration sentences up to six months for their trouble. As people gathered in the streets, spokeswoman for the council Xia Parvez, took the balcony of the parliament building; and declared "That the People's Socialist Republic of Tiastan is now at war with the immoral and reactionary Pyekan-Kougu.".

Borderlands

The 66th Shooter division bore on, but found themselves lacking the mobility and support to make any serious inroads. As the first casualties from sniper fire and mines made themselves felt, a number of field lazarets were quickly erected, and helicopter evacuation and transport of troops entered serious consideration. While the 66th has armoured vehicles and heavy artillery support, C.O. Kim Sung quickly requested more air cover and infantry. While the 6th Division was still getting ready in mainland Tiastan, the 15th Shooter Division, composed mainly of Indo-Aryan troops, could be made ready considerably quicker. Also, several squadrons of Pen Lung were being prepared for supporting the 15th and 66th Divisions.

As Pyekan villages were encountered and any resistance fought down, the villagers were all forcibly evacuated to the "Serene Internment Facilities", labour internment camps where villagers-turned-POWs could be kept safely for the duration of the conflict. Also, any and all ethnic Pyekans in Tiastani cities were likewise detained and, along with their families, sent to the camps.

Robotstan reacts unusually quickly to news of the Pyekian attack on Tiastan, and many Parliamentary figures strongly advocate action against Pyeki. The fact that Robotstanis in general know little to nothing about either of these nations is seen as of little consequence by those Parliamentarians in favor of action. Robotstanis only rid themselves of their monarch a little while ago, and most aren't eager to see Tiastan taken by reactionaries.

Parliament comes out in favor of military action, although with just above the required simple majority of votes, and Tiastan is promised a squadron of Canberra B(I).58s.