NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: I'm not sure if there's one of those underwater tunnels there, but for the sake of the RP, let's say there is.

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Kara Sea, North of Russian Federation soil...

The U-414 Nuclear Submarine - using the indigenous water propulsion/nuclear reactor engine [making it almost completely silent] - was creeping through deep water, 1.450 feet to be precise. Its mission was to detect Russian Federation submarine movement. What was to happen next would build tensions that would last for years.

The U-414 carried a total of thirty-eight missile tubes each containing two 120 kiloton Germanian-made Cobalt-12 SLBMs and six torpedo tubes each carrying four Kretschmann-9 attack torpedos. These Cobalt-12 nuclear weapons were a last resort weapon, to be used only in the outbreak of total nuclear war. The Commanding Officer of the submarine, a Kapitän zur See by the name of Hermann Ringhoffer was standing next to the Executive Officer, Fregattenkapitän Ritter van Lüth.

Ringhoffer: "Any activity yet, Herr van Lüth?"

van Lüth: "None so far, Herr Kapitän. I'd like to point out though that we are dangerously close to the side of the rock tunnel."

Ringhoffer: "It's nothing to worry about. This submarine can maneuver through it easily."

Then, the unexpected happened. The Sonar room detected something falling straight down towards the U-414's path.

Oberleutnant zur See Heissberg: "Conn, Sonar! Detect something large headed straight down on top of us!"

Ringhoffer: "Sonar, Conn, can we get out of its way?"

Heissberg: "I don't know, sir. This tunnel is real narrow, and whatever it is that's headed towards us is coming fast!"

Ringhoffer: "U-414, sound the alarm! Brace for impact! Launch the buoy!"

van Lüth: "Launching! Let's hope our guys find it before anyone else."

And then it happened. A huge chunk of rock had struck the U-414. The submarine was taking in water, and lots of it. A large hole had been hammered into the starboard of the sub, and it was taking water fast. The ship began sinking downwards, and then struck a plateau. However, it was too late. The crew drowned within a matter of minutes, and the most destructive weapons now lay at 1.578 feet. Anyone could detect the launched buoy. The crew just hoped the Reich would pick it up before anyone else and terminate the signal...

OOC: So is this international waters or my waters? Also i have a SOSUS type system all along my shoreline about 30 km from it. Just something to keep in mind.

OOC: Hrm. Let's say it's just outside your waters, but very close. A little too close.

The SOSUS Station 13 on the Isle of Svalbard picked up the buoy transmission, but forty-five minutes after it had been launched. Forty-five minutes was a long time, in this sort of situation. The Fourth Reich already had tensions with the Russian Federation, and a nuclear submarine sunk just outside their waters could be bad. In fact, it could be catastrophic. The Russian Federation's Army was no laughing matter. It could quite possibly match Germania's own.

An even bigger problem was that the Russian Federation was huge and so was the Reich. They shared multiple borders on two different continents. The outcome if the Russian Federation had found the U-414 depended on the disposition of the Russian President and their Vice-President, the latter of the two was not currently happy with Reichskanzler Kübler. In fact, they had exchanged a few harsh sentences.

Now was the time to act. The Commander of SOSUS Station 13 was Generalleutnant Heinz Führmann. As soon as the flashing red light appeared on the monitor, followed by a message in red text reading: "NUCLEAR SUBMARINE U-414 SUNK ONE KILOMETER NORTH OF RUSSIAN FEDERATION WATERS", he jumped up off his chair and got on the phone with the Commander of the Luftwaffe, Reichsmarschall Hermann Reinhold.

Generalleutnant Heinz Führmann: "Herr Reichsmarschall, this is Generalleutnant Heinz Führmann, Kommandant of SOSUS Station 13, Svalbard. Nuclear Submarine U-414 has been sunk one kilometer North of Russian Federation waters. The buoy was launched approximately forty-... six minutes ago. Herr Reichsmarschall, a lot of people could've picked up that signal."

Reichsmarschall Hermann Reinhold: "Agreed. I am authorizing that an observation plane based in Svalbard be launched to see if there's anyone around. I will inform the Reichskanzler myself."

Generalleutnant Heinz Führmann: "Danke, Herr Reichsmarschall."

Führmann hung up the phone and sat back down. "The Layartebians should know about this", he thought to himself. Again, he lifted the phone. Except this one was red, for use only with the incredibly secretive Atlantic SOSUS system. Instead of single digit numbers, it went up over twenty. Each button pressed would connect the dialer to that respective SOSUS Station.

The Generalleutnant lifted the phone and pressed "10". It rang twice, and then a voice answered in English. Führmann responded in a moderately thick German accent.

Generalleutnant Heinz Führmann: "This is Generalleutnant Heinz Führmann, Commander of SOSUS Station 13, Svalbard. The Reichsmarine nuclear submarine U-414 has been sunk one kilometer North of Russian Federation waters. The buoy was released precisely forty-...seven minutes ago. I thought the Emperor should be informed. That's a large time frame and anyone could've picked up that signal."

The voice responded, "Thank you. I'll let him know."

Führmann hung up the phone and watched as an SF-119 spy plane took off from the nearby runway...

In the command bunker deep below the mountains of northern Norway, Landsdelskommando Nord picked up the distress call from the Germanian submarine. The General in charge called high command in Oslo, and discussed the issue with them for a few minutes. Then Oslo ordered LK Nord to prepare for a rescue operation.

Military bases in the newly aquired fylke of Murmansk were placed on highest alert, and a P-7A Orion II was sent out to check the area. It was going to be very close to Russian territorial waters, but thanks to the GPS navigation equipment, they would do their best to fly in international waters.

In the five bases in Murmansk, a total of 64 naval vessels were prepared for the rescue operation. Most of the vessels were destroyers of the classes Rothsky and Devlin [Flight II] and frigates of the classes Mjelde, Bergen and Armada, but there were also cruisers of the types Hordaland and Kulber and an aircraft carrier of the class Odin [Flight I]. They would be accompanied by a civilian vessel carrying two DSRVs, each capable of rescuing 25 men at the time. If the Germanians, close allies through the October Alliance, decided to ask for help, the Norwegian navy would be ready.

To: Germanian high command
From: Norwegian high command
Subject: Missing sub?

We have detected a distress call from a submarine close to Russian territorial waters. The distress call identifies the submarine as a Germanian sub. If you are in need of assistance, we are ready and able to assist. We await your reply

Berlin, Germany...

The Reichskanzler had received word of the sinking of the U-414, as well as the time it took the distress call to be received. Needless to say, he was quite concerned at the possibility of the Russian Federation or any other neutral nations finding out that a submarine capable of destroying most of the planet was just outside of Russian territorial waters.

The respective commanders of the Reichsmarine, Luftwaffe, Reichswehr, and OS were present.

Then, it happened. A message from the Kingdom of Norway.

Encryption MAX
To: Germanian high command
From: Norwegian high command
Subject: Missing sub?

We have detected a distress call from a submarine close to Russian territorial waters. The distress call identifies the submarine as a Germanian sub. If you are in need of assistance, we are ready and able to assist. We await your reply.

[Translated from German]

Reichskanzler Kübler: "My God. They've already picked it up. If the Norwegians picked up the signal, then so did the Russian Federation, Bjornoya, Celtayoshi, and Andrehervia. God knows who they might have told or who else picked up that signal. We're about to be in a shit storm."

Reichsführer-OS Heinrich Fütler: "Herr Reichskanzler, I agree, and from what I understand, the Russian Federation is not happy with us at the moment. However, your judgment and logic cannot be questioned."

Reichsmarschall Hermann Reinhold: "Herr Reichskanzler, we must ready the Luftwaffe in case of a strike against our fleet based in Svalbard. The 34th Luftwaffe Division in Svalbard is ready to be launched."

Reichsadmiral Johann Dönitz: "Herr Reichskanzler, we should mobilize a Search & Rescue team as soon as possible. If we can find the sub, we'll be able to move it and say that the buoy misfired and it was an accident."

Reichskanzler Heydrich Kübler: "Wouldn't someone notice?"

Reichsadmiral Johann Dönitz: "Herr Reichskanzler, there's a chance, depending on who's there and if anyone else besides the Kingdom of Norway picked up the signal."

Reichsgeneral Erwin Gernhein: "Herr Reichskanzler, the Reichswehr stands ready as always."

So it was decided. Eight deep-sea rescue submarines were launched from Svalbard, accompanied by the attack submarines U-344 and U-519, plus one Bremen Class Aircraft Carrier and three FkS-119 Missile Ships.

James Morris yawned. He had been at his post for almost five hours - a dingy shed of a building that monitored the seas north of the United Republics. There were several of its type but this one was the most North-Westerly. Four miles from the Russian Federation, at the back end of the country waist-deep in snow. Captain Morris began to fall asleep and was in the middle of a light snooze when it started.

...beep...beep...beep...beep...beep...beep...

Morris blocked out the constant beeping, believing it to be his watch or some machines' auto-warning signifying it was still warning. Five minutes passed.

...beep...beep...beep...beep...beep...beep...

Morris began to stir. The beeping continued and he realised in his half-asleep delirium he would have to get up and investigate. He slowly pulled himself from his warm chair and stumbled over to the monitor. He could see the source of the beeping - a red light flashing on and off continuously, a few miles from the Russian Federation.

"A beacon."He confirmed in his thoughts and picked up the phone. Any sign of a distressed ship was enough to prompt a direct call to the Base Commander. "Good evening, Sir. My scanners have picked up a signal. Yes, a red light flashing and a beeping. Coordinates? Two minutes, Sir..."

Mexted Airport, one hour later

The Globemaster sat on the airport, fuelled and waiting to be flew. It was a modified transport craft designed for long-range coastal patrol. The pilot, Bernard Andrews, stepped out onto the blizzard-struck runway and ran towards and into the plane. His and the co-pilot Harry Brown's job was to go over the site of the beacon, scan the area and send their data back to base to send to the Russian Federation for their recovery.

It was a short flight to the site. Forty minutes passed into their quiet flight when the co-pilot broke the silence.

"OK, we're approaching the beacon area now. Activating camera." Harry said, an audio record for the black box.

"Camera activated. Ten seconds to beacon area...six...five...four...three...two...one..." Harry looked into the monitor next to him.

"Strange," Harry commented, "The camera isn't picking up anything. Neither is the sensors." Bernard looked into his monitor and Harry was right. The only thing down there was the beacon, being smashed by the rough waves. There was no ship there for miles.

"A prank perhaps?" Harry asked. Bernard had experience, he had an educated guess of what it was.

"No, no, if it was something would've showed up on our monitors. No, this is something else." Bernard said.

"What do you mean? What are you thinking?" Harry asked.

"A submarine. I was flying when that Squornshelan sub when down a while back. This is a text book submarine alert." Bernard replied.

Harry sighed and spoke into the radio. "HQ, HQ, there is nothing on our monitors or scanners. Pilot thinks it's a submarine."

"Are you sure, 00172?" the radio crackled back.

"That's the pilot's conclusion, the data from this we're sending now. Are you recieving?" Harry said.

"Ah...yes, we are. Thank you, 00172, stand by for further orders."

B.F.G. Maxim, Tennessee Class SSN

The Captain Feyneman sat astutely in the submarine's bridge. An annoying bleeping sound rudely interrupted his daily reading. It was hard enough reading through Carl von Clausewitz's 'On War' in this wreched machine, let alone the thousands of blinkings and bleepings.

"What the hell is it!?"

"Sir, appears it is a bouy signal from a Fourth Reich submarine."

"So what?"

"Sir, it's in Russian waters..."

The captain closed his book, and hit it against his head a couple of times before placing it back in his lap. He thought about the possible repercussions of this, and the likely possibilities. The Fourth Reich and Russia would be at each-other's throats over the matter. If only he could destroy the damned bouy, make it go away, make the damned bleeping go away. But that was stupid, every nation with territory or ships in the Arctic would have picked up the signal by now.

"Inform the Bjornoyan Federal Fleet Command of this."

With that, the captain returned to his book.


Nearly a dozen Federal submarines, on routine patrol in the Arctic had picked up the signal, and more were being confirmed hourly. Jacksehn Hegel, Left Hand of State, would have the first say in the matter. He was a gaming man, and enjoyed such situations. As a child, he loved chess, and still did. Whenever he played, he choose to be white, not from it's connection to the Bjornoyan nation, but because he loved to act first.

"Dispatch 2 Nightengale Class hospital ships, and 2 deep sea recovery vessels. Move them to the region immediatelly. I'm sure Russia won't mind us being there, and we'll act on the pretense that we assumed a ship was sunk, and we are in the process of recovering the survivors. They'd be digging themselves into an even deeper hell-hole if they dared to threaten or shoot at non-combatant ships."

OOC: I'm soo closer...

Arctic Ocean

The small armada moved forward. the Monegasque navy was training with their new equipment, under Arctic circumstances. The 2 Armada class Frigates "Khartoum" and "N'Djamena", The Moengen class Replenishment ship "Moroni", aswell as the Monegasque fleet flagship, The Devlin class Destroyer "Monte Carlo" cut through the waves, to get Arctic navigation skills for the crew.

"Radio to comm, we've got a vague trace of a radio transmission, possibly from a buoy set by a Germanian sub. encryption shows this, at least."
"Comm to Radio.Get it through to Monaco and the Grand-Ducal Intelligence service. maybe they can decode it"
"Send through to Monaco, Aye sir!"

Monaco

The large, light yellow building was the headquearters of the Grand Ducal Intelligence service, a small detachement of the Monegasque Terraforce (Groundpower, or Army). They were there to watch over the Monegasque interests, aswell as some interesting things around the world. In the building was a very powerful computer, used for cracking codes. The first job for the Computer was to decode a message of a Germanian sub. After some hours, the computer was fully finished with decoding, showing a vague distress signal. this was immediately resent to the Terraforce HQ, in the palace, aswell as the Marine in the Arctic Ocean.

The Devlin class just pierced one of the bigger waves when the message came in to intercept the signal, as a possible Germanian sub was sunk.

"Voronej. it would help us to operate there."
"Voronej? in the Russian Federation?"
"No, smartass. the VCO. we hopefully may operate close to their waters with that organization signed."
"why don't we ask them?"
"Cause I want to be the first to rescue all those guys out of that sub. I don't want to see any Ruskie near that ship. If we mention it, they are there within hours."
"Why were we sent on this exercise, actually?"
Rear Admiral Dremi looked at his Helmsman First Class Greboir, and then looked up to the sky.
"I guess God, or The Lord decided us to do so, my son."

(OOC: it is pure coincidence that my forces are here. Monegasque ships are now spreading all over the globe to do exercises. Arctic, Tropical, subtropical. think of it, these ships were there, or are scheduled to be. I just needed to join a RP. I'm bored as hell lately.)

The P-7A Orion II reconnisance plane flew near the Monegasque ships when the radar operator detected a familiar sight. He got on the intercom to the aircraft commander.

[translated from Norwegian]

"Sir, do we have any ships out here?"

"Not that I know of. Why?"

"Well, I've got a Devlin, two Armadas and a Moengen on bearing 3-5-5. 31 nautical miles away from us."

"What? Well, let's swoop by and take a look. If they're ours, we're safe. If they're foreign, well, I doubt that they'll be hostile. After all, our government did authorize the sale. Keep a close eye out though."

"Aye sir." the operator said, then peered his eyes on the ships on his radar scope while the pilot eased the Orion II into a 45° turn and headed for the ships. In case of trouble, the Orion II was equipped with six AGM-84H Harpoons anti-ship missiles and four Mark-50 Mod 2 Barracuda torpedos. They also had the advantage of knowing the Devlin and Armada classes in and out. If it would come to hostilities, the Norwegians would be ready. However, for now, they would just fly past at a range of two nautical miles, 400 feet above the waves. A nice little fly-by.

The P-7A Orion II reconnisance plane flew near the Monegasque ships when the radar operator detected a familiar sight. He got on the intercom to the aircraft commander.

[translated from Norwegian]

"Sir, do we have any ships out here?"

"Not that I know of. Why?"

"Well, I've got a Devlin, two Armadas and a Moengen on bearing 3-5-5. 31 nautical miles away from us."

"What? Well, let's swoop by and take a look. If they're ours, we're safe. If they're foreign, well, I doubt that they'll be hostile. After all, our government did authorize the sale. Keep a close eye out though."

"Aye sir." the operator said, then peered his eyes on the ships on his radar scope while the pilot eased the Orion II into a 45° turn and headed for the ships. In case of trouble, the Orion II was equipped with six AGM-84H Harpoons anti-ship missiles and four Mark-50 Mod 2 Barracuda torpedos. They also had the advantage of knowing the Devlin and Armada classes in and out. If it would come to hostilities, the Norwegians would be ready. However, for now, they would just fly past at a range of two nautical miles, 400 feet above the waves. A nice little fly-by.

Devlin Class Destroyer "Monte Carlo"

The Destroyer was now heading towards the last known position of the buoy, when it picked up an incoming aircraft.

"Radar to Comm. I've got an aircraft on radar, shape is that of a P-7A Orion II, unidentified nationality."
"Comm to Radar, check. Comm to radio, send a signal towards that craft, signing us in on Monegasque papers."
"Aye, sir. Send signal."

The radio operator opened up the channel used for these signals, and sent the message.

"Attention P-7A Orion II, Unidentified Nationality. please make you knwon to the Monegasuqe Authorities. prepare to be shot at if no ID is given. I repeat, this is Monegasque warship "Monte Carlo" out of the Norwegian Devlin Class Destroyers. We Kindly request you to Identify yourselves. please make yourselves known. we don't want Friendly-fire. out."

Port Nordvik, Russian Federation VMS 1st Fleet Command Center, 20 minutes after the accident.

Leutenant Sergei Bruhovsky was intensly watching his radar monitor. Russian Federation sported a system of buoys in the international waters that emited both radar and sonar signals allowing the Russian Federation to have a better understanding of what is going on outside of its territorial waters. The network was a secret project and as far as the world knew those buoys were emiting special singnals in order to attract the fish to that area. For seven hours a day Bruhovsky stared at his screen sometimes registering a bird that flew past his buoy or a whale that swam underneath it. But today was different, Sergei saw something that he had never seen before, in addition his buoy's radio transmission equipment relayed a SOS call coming from that mystery object. He picked up a phone that was placed on the right side of his pannel and pressed the speed dialer button to get his commander.

"Admiral Krotsky? We have a situation...."

Three minutes later Sergei was called into Admiral's office. Krotsky set behind a wooden desk in an average size room field with loads of filecases. He greeted Sergei with a slight motion of his head.

"What is it Leutenant?"

"Tovarish Admiral, i have captured a distress signal coming from an unindentified object just outside our territorial waters."

"Hmm...okay, i saw the data you sent me. Thank you, you can go now."

Sergei saluted and made a sharp 180 degree turn, exiting the room. Admiral was left alone, he took time to think.

"Hmm...well....distress calls happen, all we need to do to look good is show that we care....this is nothing, no need to inform the Marshall."

He looked at a computer monitor infront of him that showed him the location of all VMS forces in his fleet at the moment, picked up his phone and pressed on one of the speed dials.

"There has been a distress call just outside our territorial waters, i want Admiral Letunov missile-cruiser and Vodopersk IV Rescue Ship to move in and scan the area. I also want a heavy underwater recovery ship standing by and ready to be deployed. Plus send Osen I and Osen VI attack subs to look for anything suspicious underwater. You have your orders."

He hung up the phone.

Outside of Russian Federation waters, 3 hours 40 minutes after the accident


Timofei Grizlov 1st Rank Capitan was drinking his tea in his cabin on the Osen I Cartagena class nuclear powered attack submarine. His 1st officer entered into his cabin.

"We are on the site Tovarish Capitan, what are your orders."

"Begin scanning the area with passive sonar for now, once "Admiral Letunov" arrives on site they'll scan the ground with active sonar, they should be here in another half hour, no need for us to use active sonar and reveal our location to whoever might be interested."

"You expect someone to be interested?"

"Who knows...better safe then sorry. I already called Osen VI, their Captain Valerie Andropov is a good man, we both approve of this plan...now go....issue the order. If anything happens let me know."

"Yes Gospodin Capitan"

Port Nordvik, Russian Federation VMS 1st Fleet Command Center, 3 hours 56 minutes after the accident


Admiral Krotsky received a priority II call from the Naval Intelligence division of R/C-R.

"Admiral Krotsky?"

"Yes. Who am i speaking to?"

"Capitan Uzlov, i have vital information for you."

"Speak."

"There have been several foreign vessels, submegibles and aircraft detect in the area of the distress call. I will send you the data with your next VRPB model update."

"Thank you."

He hung up the phone, as he looked at his computer monitor he saw a series of icons pop up on the screen some icons were identified by nation and type while others just by the type.

"Hmm....We got Van Luxembougrans want something, so do Germans, they sent 3 missile cruisers, now i have to inform the Marshal.

He made the appropriet call.

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After hearing Krostsky's testimony Marshal of VMS Andrei Parohodov called in the President and told him about the issue. After speaking to the president he hung up and picked up the phone again.

"Admiral Krotsky. I want you to dispact, 4 Cartagena class attack submarines and 8 Skipjack class attack submarines to the border of our territorial waters and i want them to lay there dormant for the time being, ready to be deployed to the accident site in a moment's notice. In addition i want you to raise alert level of your fleet to be ready in case of an enemy attack. I put you in charge of this operation since this is the jurisdiction of your fleet. Do not engage any foreign vessels unless provoked or issued an order from me or the president to do so. Good luck."

He hung up, 40 minutes later the submarines were deployed.

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Official Statement from the Government of Russian Federation concerning the incident outside of Russian Territorial waters

We ask for all the parties involved in this incident to please let us know why you are sending military ships so close to our territorial waters. So far we detected ships and submergibles (i think i could have detected your rescue subs, plus the active sonar on my buoys can pick up any sub no matter how quiet) from Van Luxembourg, the Fourth Reich and an undentified P-7A spy plane. We received a distress call from that area earlier and are preparing to do search and rescue operations. We are still gathering information on the sunken object, any information regarding it would be highly appritiated as would be an explanation for deployment of such large quantities of military vessels to the distress call site.

President of Russian Federation,
Vladimir Ivanov

The 4 ships making the Bjornoyan 'fleet' had nothing to lose from giving their intentions. It's not like they would try to sneak in and secretly rescue people. A reply was sent by one of the hospital ships to the Russians:

"The Bjornoyan Federal Government wishes to assist in figuring out what caused this distress bouy to appear, and if our suspicions are correct help with rescuing anyone who may have been hurt if there were and accident."

"Purhapse our rescue team and yours can cooperate"

President of Russian Federation
Vladimir Ivanov

"Perhaps our rescue team and yours can cooperate"

President of Russian Federation
Vladimir Ivanov

Of course, we shall begin as soon as we can. We will be arriving in approximatelly an hour and 15 minutes.

-Herrgott Jacksehn Hegel

Official Monegasque Reply to the Official Statement of the Russian Federation

We can safely mention you that our small force is on Arctic training in the Arctic Ocean. We also have picked up a distress call and are now working towards the last known transmission. we have no hostile intentions at all, and we will be content with jointly coordinating this operation.

Reginault Van Luxemburg,
Grand Duke of Monaco

The crew responded the way they had been trained to when they were hailed by the Devlin class destroyer.

"'Monte Carlo', this is Royal Norwegian Navy reconnisance aircraft 'Penguin Eight'. We are en route to investigate a distress call. You guys are a long way away from home. Identify your reasons from being here, over."


***********************

"The aircraft you have detected is a P-7A 'Orion II' ocean surveilance aircraft operated by the Royal Norwegian Navy, and it is en route to investigate the distress call. If we find that it is a vessel in distress, we will send vessels to assist in the rescue operation, if desired by the government who owns the vessel who is in distress. We have no intentions of starting hostilities."

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

""Penguin Eight", This is the "Monte Carlo", We're here for an exercise in Arctic conditions. we have got a distress call and are now on our way to the last known transmission of an unknown buoy. out."

Slowly, an Sh-99C Lynx II took off of the Helicopter Deck of the "Monte Carlo". it accelerated to head for the buoy, and see if there was anything that they could be of service. they hoped so.

Aboard Admiral Letunov missile boat

"Admiral Letunov" was now searching for the object in distress in the vacinity of the SOS buoy suddenly its underwater detection sensors picked something up. The officer overlooking the panel picked up his phone and reported to his commander.

"We have detected the object indistress, it seems to be a submarine, request visual identification."

"Request granted"

A small sub took of from the light underwater rescue ship present at the site and swam towards the object to confirm its identity.

The Bjornoyan deep sea vessel 'Leopard Seal' (http://www.innovationsreport.de/bilder_neu/4875_seeflug2.jpg) and 'Fur Seal' dropped search lights upon the ocean floor. The arctic sea life was scattered and small, a few colonies of sponges, sea anemones, and mussels grew amongst the frigid waters near the continental shelf. It would take a long time to try and find the vessel, a few hours, a few days. It was highly unlikely anyone could survive, but they would try. From their reports, every other nation's vessels had been searching, but with no success reported yet.

Then, the 'Leopard Seal' found something out of the ordinary. A piece of torn black metal lay half buried on the ocean floor. The search light came up, and before them was the back half of a nuclear submarine. The vessel appeared to have hit a something along the sea-bed and in pretty bad shape. Various sections of the sub were cracked and torn. The back portion lay on its side, and debris from it was scattered about. The 'Leopard Seal' drifted further, and hesitated. The top of the vessel was stripped off, but the tubing on ship remained somewhat intact. He stared directly at 38 nuclear missiles, pointing straight at him. 38...wait no 37! A single tube, closest to the ocean floor was empty, and one of the missiles had fallen on the sea floor.

"Report this to the surface ships."

Within seconds, highly encrypted messages were sent to the surface ships, who sent highly encrypted messages to the Federal Navy Headquarters in Baum. Herrgott Jacksehn Hegel got the report. He smiled

"Hide it."

And that's exactly what the B.F.S. 'Leopard Seal' did, beyond an oyster colony maybe 1 and 3/4 kilometer from the crash site, it buried the missile as best it could. It carefully recorded its position, so that it may return. No-one would would find it, it was painstakingly blended into the ocean floor, covered with dirt. 21 minutes after the discovery, the Bjornoyan Federal ships sent a message, declaring they had found what appeared to be half of a sunken submarine and its location. Rescue efforts would begin immediatly and assitence would be appreciatted, but it was doubted that anyone could have survived.

OOC: Eh, not wanting to destroy your RP, but up there where we're RPing, the water depths vary from roughly 60 meters to 200 meters, well within the limits of what a SSN / SSBN can cope with, so I doubt that the sub would have cracked in half due to pressure.

OOC: Eh, not wanting to destroy your RP, but up there where we're RPing, the water depths vary from roughly 60 meters to 200 meters, well within the limits of what a SSN / SSBN can cope with, so I doubt that the sub would have cracked in half due to pressure.

"...was creeping through deep water, 1,450 feet to be precise."

"...most destructive weapons now lay at 1,578 feet (480.98m)."

OOC: Yeah, I was wrong to say it would have gotten crushed from pressure, but it is at a decent depth or else we could just send well equipped scuba divers. Will require a bit of effort to find, that was all I was trying to get across. Along with the variable depth, the bouy itself would have drifted due to current away from the crash site. It says it hit a plateau. If it got hit in the center the internal pressure would have been comprimised. As I recall from Hollywood (prbly not the best source), the point where a sub is weakest and most likely to implode is the center. I'll be vague and leave it to others to be more specific. *edited*

And please let me have that one missile, it could lead to a very interesting RP in the future.

OOC: Right. Gotcha.

OOC: Since i was the closest and the first one on the scene its more reasonable to conclude that i'd be the first one to discover what the hell is going on, but okay....

IC:

Secret Message to Bjornoya and Van Luxembourg

As i am sure you have already detected with your own equipment there is a ballistic sub with Fourth Reich markings on it on the buttom of the ocean just outside of the Russian Federation territorial waters. As VCO members i believe that we should cooperate. I believe that we should salvage the nuclear missiles before we make this issue globably public and start prosecuting the Reich. You have my personal permission to send your representatives to Nordvik, the 1st Russian Federation VMS Fleet command center in order to coordinate any further actions together.

President of Russian Federation,
Vladimir Ivanov

OOC: I think that we should wait for NG to post before we start salvagin the nukes.

OOC: Don't touch that!

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A Search & Rescue submarine had reached the site, equipped with four divers on two wings. Three bright halogen lights beamed through the frigid Arctic waters. As the sub descended, the lights found two Bjornoyan-marked salvage vessels. The commander of the small Danish-made Search & Rescue submarine cursed aloud when he saw the machines. The Bjornoyans had found it first, and it was in awful shape.

Kapitän zur See Pfeiffer: "Divers away."

The four divers jumped off the small wings of the submarine and swam towards the U-414. In their arms were underwater-capable WMP-39submachine guns, lights attached to the barrels of the guns. The divers slung the small arms over their backs, the weapons hanging on by straps.

The commanding officer, Oberstleutnant Dieter Holbein, was in the lead and his feet were the first to land on the U-414. The noticed the exposed missile tubes, every single one exposed. But... something was wrong. A single missile was missing. Speaking through a radio system, the Oberstleutnant gave orders to the divers.

Oberstleutnant Dieter Holbein: "Search the perimeter for the missile, if you can't find it, make sure the Bjornoyan subs don't move."

Three divers swam around for several minutes before returning to the Oberstleutnant.

Hauptmann Taschen: "Nichts, Herr Oberstleutnant. No signs of the missile. If it had been fired, everyone would be at war by now."

Oberstleutnant Holbein: "Are you suggesting someone took it?"

Hauptmann Taschen: "It's very possible, Herr Oberstleutnant."

Oberstleutnant Holbein: "Arm yourselves. Take aim at the Bjornoyan Rescue subs. Someone get a communication going with our rescue sub. Tell them to pass a message along to the Bjornoyan subs telling them to not move. Inform them that if they do move, we will open fire. Inform the U-Boots. Tell them to send a squad of divers down here."

The U-833 Rescue Submarine sent a message over to the Bjornoyan sub, while the four divers aimed their weapons at it. Though only effective at relatively short ranges, the guns could still do damage and four of them could .

Surface Waters...

Above the water, ships and planes were buzzing everywhere from various different nations. When the Reichsmarine showed up, everyone seemed to get a bit nervous. The FkS-119s were tracking every plane that flew by and monitoring every ship in the water. Slightly beneath the surface, the two U-Boot attack submarines were watching for any potentially hostile targets.

The international community had definitely found out...

OOC: err... think we're stuck with machines at this depth (http://scuba.about.com/b/a/053745.htm) 313m tops, we're at 480.98m. I usually don't care at all for the minor details, but part of the mystery and intrigue of this situation is that we can't go down and feel it with our hands. And at least pretend to be worried about repercussions, I hate being new and tossed aside as an idle threat merely because I did not start my nation earlier.

"They did what!"

"They threatened the rescue sub, herrgott."

"So the Germanians show their true colors...they'd kill a saint if she tried to redeem their people. What happened?"

"Well, they were being hounded by divers. The Germans sent a message telling them not to move or they would shoot. The sub took a quick dive to get out of reach of the divers. However, the sub got shot up quite a bit. The motors went out, but the oxygen supply is ample. Our other rescue sub is attempting to rescue the other as we speak."

"Tell them to stay out of the German's range, as they should already be doing."

"They're not as dumb as they look, sir."

Herrgott Jacksehn Hegel sent an unofficial message to the German fleet at the crash site:

To: German Fleet (what's appropriate name?)
From: Herrgott Jacksehn Hegel
Re: Submarine Crash

By now we are fully aware that one of your nuclear submarines has crashed very near the Russian coast. I'm sure the press is already having a field-day about this incident, do you wish to dig yourselves into an even deeper hell-hole than you're already in? You've got some nerve, shooting at an unarmed submersible sent to rescue your own soldiers. Soldiers who are most likely dead now due to your incompetence.

Any further acts of aggression against our harmless fleet will be met with military force.

The herrgott sent another message to the Russians, informing them of the German presence in the region and their threats.

The Norwegian military intelligence agency FO/Es northern unit intercepted the message sent from the Bjornoyans to the Germans, and wrote an analysis and had it sent to LK Nord and to Oslo. The message was read, and in short told the readers that the risk of war between Germania and Russia/Bjornoya just jumped seriously. It was immediately classified Strengt Hemmelig, the most serious of the Norwegian encryption classes. It also lead to the entirety of the Norwegian Military going to a increased standby, and the northern forces going to the highest peacetime alert. Fighters started more intense CAPs, any potential violators of the 24 nautical mile territorial waters of Norway were warned off and presented to a couple of F-22s or, if they really were threatening, classified F-37 fighters. The Army left their garrisons and readied themselves, the air defenses were bolstered, and the Navy prepared to leave port. The next hours would decide the fate of the world.

************************

Secret IC
At Haakonsvern naval base, in the secret subpen drilled into the mountain, the 8 Vengeance class SSBNs stationed there were started up and readied for sea. They were part of the seabased ICBM force, and consisted of 10 % of the naval nuclear deterrent, which in itself was 80% of the entire nuclear deterrent in the Norwegian military. The rest consisted of nuclear ICBMs and IRBMs hidden away from sight, and tactical nukes of the types B-61, B-83 and nuclear tipped MGM-203 'Imsdal' cruise missiles.

Anyway, the subs warmed up, and within an hour slipped unnoticed out of port escorted by one Hades class SSN each. Not that the Vengeance couldn't hold its own. By all means, the Vengeance was the best damned submarine out there, being exclusive to the October Alliance and fitted not with pebblebed nuclear reactors, arguably the worlds most quiet and efficient nuclear reactors, but also by an ingenious new cooling method for the propulsion developed by Soviet Bloc, using closed circut freon. It eliminated the need for the reactor to draw coolant from the surrounding water, thus eliminating a lot of sound, leaving it to be the proverbial hole in the water. Anyway, back to its weaponry. It could carry a total of 20 UGM-133 Trident II D-5 SLBMs, 16 UGM-203 Imsdal hypersonic cruise missiles and 32 Mk48 Mod 9 ADCAP torpedoes, which was the standard loadout.

The Hades class subs were there only to attract attention from any submarine or surveilance vessel which might be out there somewhere, although it was unlikely that they could have passed the Norwegian navy which was protecting its home waters, using SOSUS and other listening devices. In four hours, well clear of the coast, the Vengeances would split up and head to their designated patrol areas, which were unknown to everyone except the Captain, XO and Navigator on each sub, and the highest-ranking Generals and Admirals in Forsvarets Overkommando, the high command. They would remain there untill the crisis was over, they were ordered to open fire, or recieved other orders.

OOC And the tentions are rising. NG, if you need help, let us know at teh sekrit TOA lair...

OOC: Coolantless peddlebeds? If i know what you are talking about and i do they would not generate anythere near the amount of power the liquid cooled reactors work. God, between your amd NG's uber tank armor, Lay hiding a whole army and this reactor TOA is just magic. You people need a reality check. I'll post Icly tomorrow.

After the request from the Germanian government, the following forces are to be deployed to Oral in Kazhakstan. They will arrive within the week.

33rd Korps
Generalløytnant J. Koss, commanding


Infanteribrigade 2

Officers: 413
Soldiers: 5,927
Logistics: 2,706

IV-8A1 Dingo APV: 482
IPV-6A1 Gramstad APC: 446
IPV-6A2 Gramstad RV: 30
IPV-6A3 Gramstad MRTR: 72
IPV-6A4 Gramstad C2I: 18
IPV-6A5 Gramstad ATGM: 48
IPV-6A7 Gramstad FAADV: 18
PLV-1A2 Devestator AAA: 6
IV-10A1 Dunder RV: 60
IV-10A2 Dunder ATGM: 48
Five Ton Truck: 798
Logistics: 151


Infanteribrigade 9

Officers: 413
Soldiers: 5,927
Logistics: 2,706

IV-8A1 Dingo APV: 482
IPV-6A1 Gramstad APC: 446
IPV-6A2 Gramstad RV: 30
IPV-6A3 Gramstad MRTR: 72
IPV-6A4 Gramstad C2I: 18
IPV-6A5 Gramstad ATGM: 48
IPV-6A7 Gramstad FAADV: 18
PLV-1A2 Devestator AAA: 6
IV-10A1 Dunder RV: 60
IV-10A2 Dunder ATGM: 48
Five Ton Truck: 798
Logistics: 151


Infanteribrigade 44

Officers: 413
Soldiers: 5,927
Logistics: 2,706

IV-8A1 Dingo APV: 482
IPV-6A1 Gramstad APC: 446
IPV-6A2 Gramstad RV: 30
IPV-6A3 Gramstad MRTR: 72
IPV-6A4 Gramstad C2I: 18
IPV-6A5 Gramstad ATGM: 48
IPV-6A7 Gramstad FAADV: 18
PLV-1A2 Devestator AAA: 6
IV-10A1 Dunder RV: 60
IV-10A2 Dunder ATGM: 48
Five Ton Truck: 798
Logistics: 151


Panserbrigade 6

Officers: 276
Soldiers: 2,571
Logistics: 2,070

IPV-6A4 Gramstad C2I: 35
IV-8A1 Dingo APV: 274
LPV-1A2 Devestator AAA: 30
IPV-4A2 Viking IFV: 62
KPV-5A2 Løve MBT: 396
IPV-6A7 Gramstad FAADV: 30
Logistics: 712


Panserbrigade 18

Officers: 276
Soldiers: 2,571
Logistics: 2,070

IPV-6A4 Gramstad C2I: 35
IV-8A1 Dingo APV: 274
LPV-1A2 Devestator AAA: 30
IPV-4A2 Viking IFV: 62
KPV-5A2 Løve MBT: 396
IPV-6A7 Gramstad FAADV: 30
Logistics: 712


Artilleribataljon 5

Officers: 25
Soldiers: 237
Logistics: 173

IPV-6A4 Gramstad C2I: 1
NPH-2A1 Targa SPH: 36
RPV-9A1 HIMARS MLRS: 9
IV-8A1 Dingo APV: 31
Logistics: 35


Artilleribataljon 17

Officers: 25
Soldiers: 237
Logistics: 173

IPV-6A4 Gramstad C2I: 1
NPH-2A1 Targa SPH: 36
RPV-9A1 HIMARS MLRS: 9
IV-8A1 Dingo APV: 31
Logistics: 35


Helikopterbrigade 7

Crew: 708
Maintenance: 2,232
Logistics: 900

AH-64D Apache: 36
AH-75B Stalker: 24
AH-99B Lynx II: 12
CH-47E Chinook: 12
CH-80A Halo: 18
CH-80B Halo: 12
CH-80D Halo: 6
UH-60L Black Hawk: 72
UH-99A Lynx II: 12
Various vehicles: 783

OOC Pebblebeds are expected to be usable by 2012 - 2015. Freon is toxic, but exists today. You are trying to use fusion reactors, if I'm not mistaken, which are 2050-ish. Please do better research before accusing the October Alliance of godmodding. If you have questions concerning the propulsion, go to Layarteb (pebblebeds) or Soviet Bloc (freon-using closed coolant) and gripe. Let's keep this thread clear of OOC clutter, agreed?

OOC: Fusion is MT, atleast the way i am going to use it. Your peddlebeds are godmods though, not the fact that you use a peddlebed reactor but the fact that you use a freon cooled one and it still generates enough power to move your submarine forward (Unless i misunderstood something in english naming and this isn't the direct heat to electricity transfer i saw SB talk about earlier.) Now NG's tank armor, your magic satelite destroying missiles and Layatreb's magical ability to hide a whole army from view of my satelites, thats pure god mod. Anyways, lets not discuss this here, sorry NG, aight here we go.

IC:

Statement to German Government

We the Russian Federation government would like to inquire as to why you have attacked our ally Bjornya and why there is a ballistic submarine so close to Russian Federation territorial waters. If you do not reply actions will be taken to remove your forces from the area of the incident. We do not wish war, we wish peace, but you're making that possibility highly unlikely with your direct actions. Yet still hope remains for us to solve this diplomatically, on your next action depends fate of hundreds of millions of Russian Federation and the Fourth Reich citizens.

President of Russian Federation
Vladimir Ivanov

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Yes, gospodin Marshall, i understand."

Admiral Letunov hung up the phone after the Marshall gave him permission to move the 10 attack subs near the RF territorial border closer to the action. He also now had permission to attack at first sign of hostilities by the Fourth Reich.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silently, the attack subs started moving.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

An order was issued to reinforce all borders Russian Federation has with North Germania. Hundreds of thousands of troops began to move.

The Lynx II helicopter slowly accelerated away from the fleet, and began approaching the buoy. As soon as the helicopter reached it's target, it deployed it's sonar, and waited. they had a prize some ten minutes later.

"We've got contact on sonar. several submarines moving in close on the probable crashed submarine. we've also got contacts on the surface. I suggest we retreat back to the ship and let the Marine do the talking for us."

"Totally right. I'll tune into the Marine's Frequency"
The radio crackled and eventually found the right frequency. The pilot was asked for identification almost immediately, and returned the answer.
"This is Bear 1-4, is of type Lynx II, homebase the "Monte Carlo". we request the Marine detachement to move towards our location, and join with the Bjornoyan and Russian forces for a cooperated SAR operation."
"Roger Bear 1-4, "Monte Carlo" and others are heading for you."
"Thanks. I'll be waiting. It's getting kinda hot down here."

From: Arctic Exercise Unit of the Monegasque Marine
To: Nordvik, 1st Russian Federation VMS Fleet

As of now, Captain Isabelle Yiour will be sent by Lynx II helicopter to your HQ. The Frigate "Khartoum" will also be heading for the port of Nordvik. Out.

Encrypted message to all VCO members

If Germany goes all the way it will mean war, we need to be ready. RF armed forces are already at the highest alert status, purhapse all of you should do the same with your armies. I will not discuss plans of war right now, but we will need to discuss them. I invite you to send your head stragtegists to Voronej so we can coordinate our military actions from there. Although might yet resolve this peacefully, we must prepare ourselves for war.

President of Russian Federation
Vladimir Ivanov

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Permission granted Luxembourg."

Official statement from the Norwegian Government

The Kingdom of Norway has monitored the situation since it occured, and is deeply troubled. The submarine lies in international waters, not in Russian territorial waters. We strongly urge the Russian Federation to back off and allow the Fourth Reich to recover its submarine and any equipment. We will view any Russian/Bjornoyan/Monegasque attempt to claim the sunken Germanian submarine or any of its contents, equipment, weapons, bodies or other items as an act of piracy and/or an act of war upon not only the Fourth Reich, but also the entirety of the October Alliance, which the Kingdom is a signatory of. If any violation of the Germanian submarine or its equipment occurs, we will as mentioned earlier in this statement consider it an act of piracy and/or an act of war upon the October Alliance and act accordingly. Tread carefully, for the worlds fate may depend on the outcome of the next few hours.

OOC You must be thinking of something completely different when it comes to the propulsion system of the sub. But ask SB if you're wondering about something, cuz its him who made it. As for the armor, the RHA value will be taken under consideration. As for the ASAT, I'm not backing down from my claim that it can destroy moving satellites. Anyway, no more OOC chatter about that here. It can be taken to the E2 main thread. Sorry NG and everyone else.

Responce to the Kingdom of Norway

There is a submarine capable of firing ballistic missiles and destroying any city in the Russian Federation only a few kilometers from the Russian territorial waters. I hope gospoda from the Nowegian government will understand our position and why we will not heed to their request to back off at this point. In addition Bjornyan rescue submarine was threatened and attacked without any provocation. That in itself is an act of war not only upon Bjornoya but the whole of Voronej Cooperation Organization. However we still do not have enough information to know that this action was done to start a war or if it was only a misudenrstanding. That is why Russian troops have not yet retaliated. You are right however, the next few hours will decide the fate of the world.

Vice-President of the Russian Federation
Nikolai Bezrukov

Official response from the Norwegian Government

The Kingdom of Norway understands the feelings of the Russian Federation, but we must remind them that however close it may be to Russian territorial waters, the submarine still rests in international waters. Therefore the Russian Federation have no legal grounds for ceasing the submarine and its contents. Because the submarine is in international waters, it also leaves the Fourth Reich free to defend its property using whatever means it deems necessary. In the interest of international peace, we again urge the Russian Federation to leave the rescue work to the Fourth Reich, which has already arrived in the area and not do anything which might be perceved as an act of war. We remind the Russian Federation and its allies that the Kingdom of Norway will view any attempt to cease the submarine or any of its contents as an act of piracy and/or an act of war.

Response to Kingdom of Norway

Although it is international waters we still reserve the right to observe the Fourth Reich's rescue operations and at this point that is what we are doing. In an event of further hostilities from German side i am afraid a larger conflict is inevitable. However it now depends on the Reich's next action.

Vice-President of the Russian Federation
Nikolai Bezrukov

Official Response from the Bjornoyan Patriarchal Federal Government

And now we have two sunken submarines. The Fourth Reich has threatened and shot a rescue submarine, sent to search for survivors. If the Fourth Reich has such little regard for their soldier's lives, so be it. We, however, uphold the sanctity of human life. Two submarine operators are currently being rescued as we speak. This is our submarine, our people, and in the same rationale being presented by other involved nations we demand no outside involvement. If you wish so strongly to stick to your little clubs like immature children, we cannot change you. It is high time we start working together to solve such issues, but seeing as the only thing our adversaries know and respect is primitive, brute force, we have no choice but to cease negotiations. We will no longer interfere with the rescue efforts, but you will not interfere with ours.

OOC: We're not good with people skills

Official response from the Norwegian Government

While we appreciate the position of the Russian Federation, this whole thing can be ended peacefully if you only allow the Fourth Reich to recover its submarine without interfering. We understand that the Russian Federation wish to oversee the situation, and suggest to both the Russian Federation, the Fourth Reich and all other parties involved that the Russians be allowed to observe, but that they do not intervene in the rescue mission. We urge the Russian Federation forces in the area to keep clear of the Germanian rescue mission, and instead observe from a distance. In the eyes of the Kingdom of Norway, it is imperative for all nations involved to keep their heads cool and think rationally in order to prevent any misunderstandings (which may start a war) to occur. We suggest that the Germanians, who in the view of the Norwegian Government were firing in order to defend themselves and their sunken submarine from what they preceved as a theat to their property, allow the Russians to observe the rescue attempt.

As for the Bjornoyan request to be left alone in their own rescue attempt, the Kingdom of Norway will respect that wish and urge all other parties to do the same. We wish to extend our wishes for a swift and positive outcome of the rescue operation.

We repeat the stance of the Kingdom of Norway: We will view any attempt to cease the submarine or any of its contents as an act of piracy and/or an act of war.

OOC: Okay, I am sorry that I haven't posted sooner. I was busy. So I'll make a huge ass post as if I were there in the beginning in a way and I'll explain in a way why the EOL hasn't done anything to this point.

Immediately thereafter incident

The special phone rang, something was up. The SOSUS stations in Iceland and Greenland picked up something in the Kara Sea but it was too far away and too faint to surmise what it truly was. With this phone ringing, it could only mean one thing. The operator picked up the phone and immediately took the message from Generalleutnant Heinz Führmann. "Yes sir. We will." As per protocol, he immediately phoned the superior at the base in the Azores, who, in turn, immediately phoned the Joint Chiefs. The message was across the desk of the Emperor in less than twenty minutes after the initial call. It would be around this time that the SOSUS stations and listening stations in Iceland picked up the distress call and finally had it decoded. The Fourth Reich had lost a submarine and it was definitely a dangerous situation, especially so close to Russian territory. The submarine was still in international waters so it would be anyone's game. Whomever got their first would have dibs on the submarine. The main problem was that the Layartebian Arctic Submarine Fleet was too far away to do anything. At any point in time the ILN had two Hunter Class SSN submarines, a New York Class SSGN, and a Centurion Flight I Class SSBN in the Arctic Sea. None of them were within twenty hours of the downed submarine.

Immediately, one of the Hunter SSNs would be sent to investigate while the other three remaining submarines stayed further away, hidden and quiet, away from prying eyes, just in case.

Over the next few hours things in the Arctic went crazy. Aircraft were in the air, ships were all racing at high speed to the AO, and submarines were heading there as well. Everyone everywhere was making noise. Whatever was the true nature of this it definitely wasn't minor.

Official Statement from the Empire

The Empire of Layarteb has monitored the situation since it occured, and is deeply troubled. The submarine lies in international waters, not in Russian territorial waters. We strongly urge the Russian Federation to back off and allow the Fourth Reich to recover its submarine and any equipment. We will view any Russian/Bjornoyan/Monegasque attempt to claim the sunken Germanian submarine or any of its contents, equipment, weapons, bodies or other items as an act of piracy and/or an act of war upon not only the Fourth Reich, but also the entirety of the October Alliance, which the Empire is a signatory of. If any violation of the Germanian submarine or its equipment occurs, we will as mentioned earlier in this statement consider it an act of piracy and/or an act of war upon the October Alliance and act accordingly. Tread carefully, for the worlds fate may depend on the outcome of the next few hours.

Second Official Statement

The Empire understands why the Fourth Reich will and has engaged foreign submarines. This submarine is the property of the Reich and any foreign nation "investigating," "stealing," or otherwise "hampering" with anything to do with that submarine is infringing upon the self-defense of the Reich and its submarine. They are in the green here whilst nations trying to "recover" parts of the submarine are doing so only as acts of piracy.

Beijing

"So the imperialists are churning up the tensions yet again?"

Premier Kristan Zhao inspected the large plasma screen which dominated Eastasian Central Command's operations room; the screen currently displayed the area surrounding the 'incident' and the positions of known forces. As the Eastasians had no vessels in the area, they were relying on information from their allies in the VCO. Field Marshal Kun gestured to the various reports they had received, as well as the Russian message regarding a strategy meeting in Voronej.

"What are we to do, Comrade Premier?"

"Marshal, you will go to Voronej. Let our allies know that we are willing to intervene if necessary. I also want forces moved up to our border with the Reich's Asian territories. I want them in position if the October Alliance decide to turn this into hostilities. I hope we can count on the Norwegians to keep the Reich and the Layartebians in cooler heads."

Zhao turned to one of his many aides. "Inform the Bjornoyan government that we are deeply saddened by the attack on their submarine, but we are heartened by the successful rescue of its crew."

Zhao tapped a few buttons and the screen adjusted to show the UER and the surrounding territories. "Marshal, in your opinion, how difficult would it be for us to strike at all Norwegian holdings off our coast simultaneously? Just in case we need to."

Official Message to Beijing

The Empire and the UER have had good relations in the past and we should not dwell on this events and sever such. The Empire hereby formally extends its hand for a 'crisis meeting.' The Emperor will personally visit Beijing, if allowed, to meet with Premier Kristan Zhao concerning this situation.

Message to all parties involved

The Kingdom of Norway wish to invite all parties involved in the incident in the Kara Sea to come to Oslo, Norway immediately so that we may discuss the events and come up with a diplomatic solution before the situation gets out of hand. We do not wish war, and will do everything in our power to prevent it from ending with war. While the negotiations go on, we suggest a truce to be in effect for the duration of the meeting. IE all parties keep their forces away from each other, and the Germanians and Bjornoyans be allowed to continue their rescue operations.

It is imperative that all parties be willing to discuss the situation before it turns into war. We therefore urge all parties involved to join the meeting so we can set things straight.


OOC TOA members, go to teh sekrit TOA boards (http://s4.invisionfree.com/Empire_of_Layarteb) please.

Beneath the Arctic ice, the single Hunter SSN lurked, its torpedo tubes, both internal and external loaded with Stallion missiles and ADCAP II torpedos. The Hunter was not about to be caught in the same situation and though it was moving slow, close to the floor, it was using its high-frequency sonar to detect any types of rock formations or the like.

Official Message to Beijing

The Empire and the UER have had good relations in the past and we should not dwell on this events and sever such. The Empire hereby formally extends its hand for a 'crisis meeting.' The Emperor will personally visit Beijing, if allowed, to meet with Premier Kristan Zhao concerning this situation.

Premier Zhao's heart skipped a beat as his aide read the message out.

"The Emperor of Layarteb wants to come to us?! Perhaps we can solve this dispute without bloodshed after all..."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Official Message to Layarteb City

The UER is most heartened by the Empire's offer; this tension between our respective alliances could be disasterous for all concerned. Premier Zhao would be proud to welcome the Emperor to beijing, so that our nations can lead the way to a bloodless outcome.

The Emperor shall arrive via VC-25C Condor in 24 hours. His plane will come escorted by fighters and land at your designated airbase or airport. Our fighters must remain with the VC-25 throughout its entire journey, should this be a problem we may have to find some other arrangement.

The Empire

The Emperor shall arrive via VC-25C Condor in 24 hours. His plane will come escorted by fighters and land at your designated airbase or airport. Our fighters must remain with the VC-25 throughout its entire journey, should this be a problem we may have to find some other arrangement.

The Empire

That is perfectly acceptable. Zhao International Airport has been designated for the Emperor's arrival; we shall have an honour guard and welcoming committee on hand.

Eastasian Foreign Ministry

The Emperor shall be there as stated.

Bjornoyan Rescue Site

3 Hades class, 2 Crow, and 2 Tennessee class submarines from the vast Bjornoyan Arctic fleet* had secured the crash site, approximatelly 1 and 3/4 kilometers from the German crash site, just beyond a large oyster colony. They stayed just of of the way of the Bjornoyan operational rescue submarine, and inbetween the Bjornoyan and German submarines, waiting. More Federal ships were sent, surface vessels.

The operation was scheduled to be completed in just a few hours, midnight, in the dark and desolate Arctic Ocean. The two surface vessels that had carried the rescue submarines sat anxiously.

The Patriarch would not negotiate with anyone until his submarines and crew had been returned in one piece.

Meanwhile, Herrgott Jacksehn Hegel fiddled his fingers, and cracked his knuckles. A bold retort by the Germans, but he loved these games. He had the situation under control.

*I live up here, I'm allowed to have more concentrated amounts of forces.

The Empire hereby upgrades its Readiness Condition (RECON) level to 3.

This refers to an increase in force readiness above normal. Radio callsigns used by Layartebian forces change to currently-classifed callsigns.

Berlin, Germany...

The Reichstag was bustling with activity. Outside of the building itself, over one-hundred OS soldiers patrolled, constantly keeping watch over the ancient government building. Inside, the Reichskanzler was meeting with the Directors of every branch of the Reichswehr.

The OS Intelligence Service's satellites had picked up the massive Russian Federation troop movements near the borders. Needless to say, any given person within the Reich was worried. The Reichskanzler, on the other hand, was more angry than worried.

Reichskanzler Kübler: "So... the Russians and the Chinese are moving their armies near my borders? Increase readiness to KRISTAT-3. Mobilize Kazakhkorps Army Groups A and B to the Russian/Kazakhstani border. Mobilize Army Group D to the Kazakhstani/Chinese border. Mobilize Army Group C to the Mongolian/Kazakhstani border. Move two Panzerkorps to the Ukrainian/Russian border. Move two Panzerkorps to the Belarussian/Russian border.

Herr Dönitz, order your men to retrieve all nuclear missiles from the submarine, then order them to destroy it. Make sure they don't blow up the reactor though. That could be construed as an act of war.

I will issue an official apology to the Bjornoyan government for firing on their rescue submarine. I will also question the Russian Federation's mobilization of their forces. It is uncalled for.

Herr Goettel, see to it that the 52nd and 33rd Luftwaffe Divisions are prepared to be sent to the skies at any time."

OS-Reichsgeneral Darfmann: "Herr Reichskanzler, what of any possible Russian or Bjornoyan citizens in the Reich?"

Reichskanzler Kübler: "We will not deport their citizens until war is imminent. Speaking of war, I will attend this meeting in Oslo. Until then, we will maintain KRISTAT-3 and close all borders to any foreigner who is not part of the October Alliance or participating in the construction of the Eurasian Line. Increase internal security. Order the OS to search all Russian Federation citizens and their homes. Any Russian citizen committing illegal activity is to be immediately deported, not arrested.

Send the following message to Bjornoya..."

------------------------------------

- Encryption Medium -
Message To: Bjornoyan High Command
Message From: Reichskanzler Kübler
Subject: Apology

"As Supreme Commander of the Reich and all of its assets, armies, and people, I do hereby officially apologize for the attack on your rescue submarine. I wonder, however, where the 38th nuclear missile is. If you have any information on this, now or at the Oslo Conference would be an excellent time to present it. Keep in mind that a Cobalt nuclear explosion would be devastating if detonated anywhere. It has clearly not been launched or destroyed.

Request a reply to this message. My sincere apology for the attack on your submarine and men."

-- Reichskanzler Heydrich Kübler

Midnight: Bjornoyan Crash Site

Three frigates and a cruiser illuminated, the perfect dark that surrounded the Arctic ocean, blinding anyone trying to look at the Bjornoyan ships. A shield of submarines walled the Bjornoyan crash site from the German site. The surface vessel B.F.M. Enlightenment carefully lifted the unoperational 'Fur Seal' rescue sub into its hull. The bottom of the Enlightenment closed, and the water slowly drained. The two submarine operators were brought out, and quickly sent to one of the hospital ships. The two had suffered from hypothermia, but were expected to recover.

Meanwhile, the B.F.M. Coldsoul had picked up the other rescue submarine the 'Leopard Seal.' The fleet's normal crew was dismissed by a mysterious group of Bjornoyan Federal Peacekeepers, who wore a greenish black uniform that in no way resembled the brownish uniforms worn by the normal peacekeepers. The 'Leopard Seal' was brought safely through an opening of the hull in the B.F.M. Coldsoul. In its mechanical arms rested a somewhat intact German made Cobalt-12 SLBM.

With their objectives acquired, the Bjornoyan fleet left the scene, carefully cleaning up after itself before it left. The fleet set course for the coastal city of Baum, located in the far east of Nenetsia Okrug. To avoid further complications, the fleet would sail within the relative safety of the Russian waters.

Esthar: Bjornoyan Capital

The Bjornoyan Patriarch had received word from Herrgott Jacksehn Hegel that at midnight, the Federal Fleet had succesfully recovered the downed submarine. The German Reichskanzler Kübler had personally sent an apology for the incident. Although the Patriarch was not a fan, to say the least, of the ruthless tactics employed by his government, he did have a respect for their organization which until recently had been superb. He had reviewed the message sent to him by the Reichskanzler, and was wondering why the Germans would have accused them of stealing a missile. He had issued no such orders, and besides, the nature of the crash and the Arctic currents could have easily taken the missile away from the crash site. Before Herrgott Jacksehn Hegel finished reporting to him about the incident, he asked him,

"Herrgott, the Germans mentioned something about a lost missile. Do you have any information about it from our rescue efforts?"

Herrgott Jacksehn Hegel looked directly into the Patriarch's eyes, and with a cold stoicim replied,

"No, sir. I have no information about such a thing."

"Then, you are dismissed."

"For love and honor!"

The Herrgott raised a fist across his chest, saluting the Patriarch before he left.

As Jacksehn returned to his luxurious mansion to spend the night, he was met outside the gate by a mysterious man in black. Staying away from the walls and drains, he whispered a simple message into the man's ear,

"Tell the Freemasons we have it."

.................................................................................................... ....

The Bjornoyan Patriarch sent a reply to the Reichskanzler. It was not like the Germans to do such a thing, but then again nothing about this scenario was ordinary.

To: Reichskanzler Kübler
From: Patriarch Rand
Subject: Re:Apology

From the reports given to me, it appears our submarine operators are in non-critical conditions, and are expected to recover within the week. It is fortunate that no-one was killed. We Bjornoyans hold human life in high esteem, I do not wish to dwell upon the consquences if they had not returned alive. I hope we can further resolve this issue in Oslo.
As for the missile, from my reports our submarines found nothing. Possibly, the missile was lost in the crash. It is imperative that it be found, lest it fall into unworthy hands. Do your best to find it.

-Patriarch Sedaht Rand

OOC: I'd better do something about my plane.

IC: The aircraft had been rotating around the buoy for forty minutes since they transmitted to HQ. Since then they were continuing to study the area for anything - ships, lifeboats or anything that may give some clue as to how the buoy got there. Nothing changed for the forty minutes they were picking up and transmitting data.

"00172?" the radio crackled back to life, taking Harry by surprise. He scrambled to sit up in his seat and reach for the transmit button.

"This is 00172, HQ. What are your orders, over?" he said

"You are to return to base. Repeat, you are to return to base immediately, over." Harry and Bernard glanced to one another in confusion before Harry replied.

"HQ, are you sure? We are able to continue reconnoitring if you wish." Harry offered.

"No, you are to return to base immediately. Nothing else. Over." HQ replied.

"Copy, we are returning to base now. Over and out." He said into the radio then prepared a course back home.

"I don't like this, Harry. I don't like this one bit." Bernard said to Harry, forebodingly.
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4 days later

"The situation now, Sir, is that around three nations have warships in the area, Layarteb is at RECON 3 and there are now two sunken submarines." Supreme Marshal Ralph Miles finished reading from the report to Chief Executive-Elect Victor Irvine and looked over at him for instructions. Victor mulled over the situation.

"What forces do we have in the area?" Victor asked.

"We currently have five Field Armies in the Northern District, but there are no warships on the north coast, only recovery ships and the Coast Guard. You must also remember that we are currently re-organising our forces as well." Ralph replied.

"This country's just joined the Voronej Cooperation Organisation, headed by the Russian Federation yet North Germania is our ally - tried and trusted for decades. If this does reach breaking point, I doubt the general public will want a war either and I don't need unwanted attention from the official ceremony of the creation of the United Republics either. I can't just pick and choose here. I have to make an informed decision." Victor thought to himself.

"At this point we have no choice but to declare neutrality to the situation and offer search and rescue teams to recover the submarines. We should also prepare to offer a negotiatory team if things do kick off, as it were.” Victor replied.

“Yes, sir.” Ralph nodded and left the room. Victor followed shortly to give his reaction to the public.
--------------------------

Official Statement of the Government-Elect of the Interim United Republics of Eastern Siberia

The General Government-Elect looks on with concern at the developing situation to the seas in the North. We entreat on the governments involved to scale down their warship numbers in the seas and we offer the Russian Federation seven recovery ships to help bring the now duo sunken submarines. We also declare our neutrality in this situation, as we now have too many internal problems to warrant interfering in a neighbour’s affairs.

We hope this crises lets off coolly and amicably.

Signed,
Victor Irvine,
Chief Executive-Elect of the Interim United Republics of Eastern Siberia

Official Statement of the government of the Grand Duchy of Monaco

We will retreat our forces in immediate vicinity of the submarine back to 50km's, to prevent any of the threats made by The October Alliance and others to become reality. Our Grand Duke Reginault will travel to Cotland, while Marshall Witteman will attent meetings in Voronej. The Monegasque Terraforce, Airforce and Marine will not interfere with any foreign case that is not their case. We are however signatory to the VCO, which will translate our stance at this moment. we however asre striving for peace, and not war. let this be clear to all here.

The Monegasque government.

To: Norwegian Government
From: President of Russian Federation, Vladimir Ivanov
Subject: Meeting in Oslo

I have decided to personally attend the proposed meeting in Oslo. I have already been to the palace as an aid to Alexandr Chorni during the UCR-Cottish Empire alliance negotiations. I would be honored to visit those grand halls again. It is my most sensere hope that this meeting will allow us to resolve this conflict peacefully.

OOC OK, let's just get the meeting started.

Oslo, 0920
The high-level meeting would take place in building H in the Government Block (http://www.ft.dep.no/upload/Regjeringskvartalet_svarthv.jpg) in Oslo, and already the police and military were preparing the protection.

Prime Minister Thomas Rothsky looked over the city from the cabinet hall on the 28th floor. This was where the meetings would take place, and the fate of the world be decided. The Norwegians were going to do their best to keep the news of the conference away from the press untill after the meetings, but they couldn't be sure. Especially not when journalists were posted outside, taking every opportunity to snoop around. The Government Block had already been closed down to anyone not belonging there, but it was going to be difficult to keep the journalists away. They weren't that huge of a problem though. When it got out, and if it turned out to be successful, Norway would have guaranteed its place in history as a peacemaker.

A knock on the door interupted Rothsky, who turned and saw his Chief of Staff come in with a list. It showed that everything was set. Translators had been gathered, some of them not even fresh from the Military's Language School or the various universities. Refreshments were ready for when they were needed, and each of the delegations would have a small conference room to discuss matters in private if they were needed. They had been cleared of any listening equipment, and were completely clean. Too much depended on this meeting for it to be smashed by someone detecting a listening device. Rothsky nodded as he looked over the list before he turned back to watch Oslo from above.

Meanwhile, at the military part of Gardermoen Int'l Airport, clearings were already being made for the various aircraft which would bring the foreign dignitaries to Oslo, and Mercedes Benz limos were waiting, each escorted by two Mercedes S-class escort cars. Other vehicles would bring the aides of the dignitaries to Oslo.

While it was believed that the dignitaries would spend the night at their respective embassies if the meetings should take so long, the entirety of Grand Hotel, situated just across the street from the Norwegian Storting (national assembly) had been reserved by the government and was being prepared for the various international dignitaries. A company from His Majesty the Kings Guards had been assigned to provide protection to the hotel, along with local police.

The meeting would start at 12 noon the same day. It was about time for the delegations to arrive.

Given the rather quickness of this conference, the Empire will be sending the Ambassador to Norway to the conference. He currently resides in the embassy in Oslo and thus will be able to attend quickly.

*****************************

Layarteb City

The VC-25C Condor was sitting on the runway at Layarteb IAP when the Emperor boarded the aircraft. A pair of F-22A Raptors flew low, over-head, each armed with 2 AIM-204A Escape missiles and 6 AIM-120D AMRAAM missiles internally and two 600 gallon fuel tanks externally. Four more F-22As were sitting on the ground, behind and in front of the Condor and would taking off with the transport. Lastly, another flight of two F-22As were already in the air, high above the airport.

For the duration of the flight, the VC-25C would be protected by no less than 8 F-22As and where necessary, as many as 16.

Encrypted Message

To: Norwegian Government
From: Bjornoyan Patriarchal Federal Government
Re: Oslo Conference

We regret to inform you the Patriarch is rather busy at the moment, but we wish to send a diplomat by the name of Anja Hyvärinta to represent Bjornoya's will at the conference. She will arrive at approxiamtely 11:30 in the morning, Norwegian time.

OOC: You guys might find this funny. I have a game, Sub Command, which has accurate depths and contours of the ocean floor. This whole area we're operating in is only in the area of like 200 - 800 feet deep, at the most. Now, just north of Nova Zemla, 77-08°N / 069-37°E is an area where it's like 1,500 feet deep. The area is maybe 20 - 24 nautical miles north of the island, so that could be just outside of Pushka territorial waters.

http://www.theforsakenoutlaw.com/Graphics/Nation-States/Role-Playing/Spah/karaseasub.jpg

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The Hunter SSN was moving slowly, four knots, to an awaiting position at 79-43°N / 070-41°E, in water that was approximately 2,075 feet deep. The Hunter class had a maximum diving depth of 2,400 feet and a tactical silent speed of twenty-five knots. Moving at four knots, at a depth of 2,000 feet the submarine was completely silent. Her eight internal torpedo tubes were loaded with eight ADCAP II torpedoes. Her six external torpedo tubes were all loaded with two UGM-193B Relic anti-ship missiles, two UGM-198C Stallion ASW missiles, and two UGM-198B Stallion LAM missiles. In her sixteen vertical launch tubes were another eight UGM-198C Stallion missiles, four UGM-176B Tomahawk II ASM missiles, and four UGM-176C Tomahawk II LAM missiles.

The submarine was ready and willing to fight. The ice coverage of the area was 100%, meaning that above, there was a thick layer of from the surface to sixty-five feet below the water. Nothing was surfacing there nor were any surface ships getting to the Hunter SSN. The submarine was able to recieve deep-sea communications if it rose to 150 feet but it was not scheduled to do that for another eight hours, plenty of time.

In the freezing waters of the Kara Sea, where the temperature of the water at 2,000 feet was far below zero degrees Fahrenheit, the outside of the submarine kept sound moving slow. The Hunter trailed its towed array, listening to everything in a full 360° circle around the submarine, using its towed array, spherical array, and hull array.

Lurking and listening, the Hunter SSN was elite at this task. It had orders to hold fast, at this position, far enough away from the submarine and Russian waters not to provoke anything but close enough to react quickly, should it be necessary.

***************************************************

Far away, north of Norway but south of Svalbard, around 74-12°N / 028-30°E, another Layartebian vessel came into the area, only this one was not alone. The Sehnsucht command ship moved in slowly, its satellite jamming systems active, its passive detection systems active, and its electronic warfare package active. The Sehnsucht was nothing more than a marvel. 824 feet long, 108 feet wide, and 75,000 tons, the ship drafted 28 feet. Powered by a pair of SNR-6 pebbelbed reactors, the ship was driven by 3 controllable, reserve-pitch propellers, each pushed by two geared steam turbines. Limited to 180 days on supplies, the ship would not need refueling for 80 years.

The Sehnsucht class was crewed by 10 officers and 180 enlisted men, all of them very secretive, very classified, and very non-existent, just like the ship. At a cost of $4 billion, the ship was extremely powerful. Its sensors package was classified beyond any doubt of existence but its self-defense systems included satellite defeat systems, sonar masking systems, radar defeating systems, and thermal jamming systems.

Self-defense on a more active role came from a 96 cell VLS system loaded with 64 RIM-162B ESSM missiles, 20 RGM-176B Tomahawk ASM missiles, 20 RIM-184B Standard SM-4MR Block II missiles, 20 RIM-185B Standard SM-4ER Block II missiles, and 20 RGM-193C Relic missiles. In addition, it carried 24 RGM-180H Harpoon II missiles, 6 Phalanx CIWS systems, 84 RIM-116 missiles, and 36 Mark 50 Mod 2 Barracuda torpedoes. In addition, the ship had two helicopters, one an SH-97A Serpent ASW helicopter and the other SH-97B Serpent transport helicopter.

The Sehnsucht snuck into the AO and remained quiet. Its two escorts, a Scythe SSN and a Seawolf Flight III SSN, remained underwater, no further than twenty-eight nautical miles away and no closer than ten nautical miles. Their torpedo tubes were loaded with torpedoes and missiles, their vertical launch tubes loaded with cruise and anti-ship missiles.

The Sehnsucht had been at sea for forty-six days already, having changed to its Gold Crew just before it went out again. They had two crews, a Gold and a Blue. January through June would be the Blue crew and the rest of the year would be the Gold crew.

Listening to communications, tracking ships, tracking submarines, patching into satellites, and watching the sky were just some of the duties of the Sehnsucht. As the cold, Arctic, icy wind battered against the hull and the structure of the Sehnsucht, its 190 men inside were kept warm by excellent heating systems. They ate well-cooked food three times a day and enjoyed eight hour shifts, meant to keep the men alert and ready. The captain of the vessel was experienced and had been with the Sehnsucht program since the beginning. His ship had spied on many areas of the world, most of them would remain classified throughout the remainder of the next fifty to a hundred years.

The Sehnsucht was within range of land-based P-8A Excalibur ASW aircraft, which were always on constant patrol in the area around Greenland and Iceland, as well as the Atlantic Ocean. One P-8A Excalibur tasked for high-altitude operations and weather reconnaissance in the Artic Circle only had to be diverted a few extra miles to spy on what was going on the Kara Sea. It remained far enough away, close to its normal patrol, to remain a non-threat but, at the same time, it remained close enough to know what was going on.

Oslo, Norway

The Gulfstream V Jet touched down, leaving smoke coming from the tires. The jet had the insignia's of the Royal Monegasque Airforce, aswell as the Grand Ducal Jet markings. As the aircraft slowly taxiied towards the gate it was appointed to, Grand Duke Reginault looked out of the window. He saw several Norwegian military aircraft. Not very strange, on the military part of an Intl. Airport. When he looked somewhat forward, he could see a few Mercedes's, waiting for their passengers.

As soon as the aircraft had cut his engines, the doors were opened and Reginault got out, together with two members of the advisors board. He was only escorted by two men, clothed in black suits, walking at his left- and righthandside. Thye looked as a quite normal delegation, and the two men in black suits, bodyguards, were not recognisable as so. That was just the meaning, as bodyguards didn't need to show off. They however had been mentioned to the Norwegian government, as the Monegasques didn't want any problems with Norwegian security.

*****************************

Layarteb City

The VC-25C Condor was sitting on the runway at Layarteb IAP when the Emperor boarded the aircraft. A pair of F-22A Raptors flew low, over-head, each armed with 2 AIM-204A Escape missiles and 6 AIM-120D AMRAAM missiles internally and two 600 gallon fuel tanks externally. Four more F-22As were sitting on the ground, behind and in front of the Condor and would taking off with the transport. Lastly, another flight of two F-22As were already in the air, high above the airport.

For the duration of the flight, the VC-25C would be protected by no less than 8 F-22As and where necessary, as many as 16.

(Lay, hope you don't mind skipping to the arrival)

Zhao International Airport, Beijing

Foreign Minister Bei Ruiyan held a last-minute inspection of the honour guard as news of the Emperor's impending arrival reached the gathered welcoming committee. A large stage had been set up not far from the runway featuring a small military orchestra, and a number of the elite Revolutionary Guard stood to attention in full dress uniform.

As the Emperor's air armada came onto airport radar, the tower issued landing instructions and contacted the committee. A red carpet was brought up, ready to be unfurled once the VC-25C came to a halt on the runway. Ruiyan adjusted his suit several times in anticipation; the Layartebians were a prime example of the imperialism that the UER was crusading against, but Premier Zhao had decided that it was best to be pragmatic in this instance.

At Gardermoen, the Norwegians had fourty soldiers from the Air Force lined up as the Gulfstream V stopped near a hangar a bit away from the F-22 fighters. All the soldiers were dressed in their blue duty uniforms and holding an old AG3A1 rifle, ready for the inspection from the foreign head of state, as protocol dictated. Most of the soldiers were 19-year olds, serving their mandatory 18 months in the military for the duty of their country.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Morten Meyer stood on the tarmac along with the base commander, a Brigader (Brigader General). The minister would have a busy morning, greeting digntaries from all over the world before he would attend the meeting along with the PM and the Minister of Defense.

When the Grand Duke exited the G-V, an order was cried out and the soldiers snapped to attention, presenting arms. The base commander saluted, and a small band started playing the Monegasque national anthem. When it ended, Meyer walked over and greeted the Grand Duke before leading him to the waiting Mercedes'. they would take the Grand Duke and his entourage where they would spend the night before the meeting would start at 12 noon.

OOC Not sure if you have an embassy here. If you do, you'll live there. If not, you'll live in Grand Hotel.

(OOC: as long as I know, I don't have. maybe we could get that solved.)

The Grand Duke slowly saluted to all soldiers, and shook hands with all the soldiers, aswell as the men he was intended to go with. Reginault wasn't a man who followed precise military orders, or service, and was somewhat more loose than other heads of state, probably. He thereafter shook hands with the base commander and Morten Meyer.

"The weather is different than that I am used to. I think that's no surprise, Monaco is somewhat more south."

Reginault looked up towards the sky, and then looked around the base, whereafter he looked at the Brigader.

"Nice Fighters you've got there. not exactly what we have, but I bet you will be experienced with our jets too."

He got into the Mercedes and asked it's men to get in too.

Yar-121 private jet was quickly flying towards Vladimir's destonation, followed by an escort of two Mish-11 jet fighters. The escort broke off as Vladimir's plane crossed the Norwegian border. Soon after his plane landed. Two FSB agents got out first, followed by Vladimir and several of his cabinet members, the procession was closed off by another pair of FSB agents. The group started walking towards the Norwegian minister of foreign affairs.

The first ever description of the Emperor.

"Communists." The Emperor said to himself as the door opened. They had brought in the full honor guard for this event. "You know guys," he joked to the men beside him, which included the men of Force Falcon Team One, "these guys hate us and we hate them, for all that we and they stand for. At the very least, this is going to be fun." He smiled and walked down the stairs, a tall and brooding man. He was 6'1" and weighed a solid 190 pounds, most of it muscle. He wore a brand new suit for the event, dressed up with a blue tie, worn significantly to avoid the "red" used to describe communists.

Behind him, the VC-25C loomed and a strong gust of wind attempted to defeat his hair, which was no longer than standard, military regulation for a SOF. That meant it was long enough to blend in but short enough to be kept neat easily. He was clean shaven and his green eyes scanned every person he could see.

The Emperor walked with confidence and with a quick stride. Everyone kept up...Flanked to his side and rear were the eight men from Force Falcon Team One, dressed as aides, all of them sporting M71A1 P90 SMGs and M33A6 Pistols. On them they carried sixty rounds for their M33A6 and two hundred for their M71s. Both weapons used the powerful 5.7 x 28mm bullets and they wore them well, concealed and hidden. The Emperor himself wore a pistol, an M33A2 and he carried forty-eight .45ACP rounds on him. Many heads of states wore swords, daggers, and the like. The Emperor was not a man of lineage but rather a soldier and he would always remain a soldier. The remainder of his entourage consisted of another twenty-six individuals which included a doctor, two cabinet ministers, another team of guards, and several other individuals.

"Greetings Minister Ruiyan, I am pleased to see your wonderous country." The Emperor said in Chinese. He gave a short bow, extending lower than the Minister, hoping it would instantly ease relations, after which he offered his hand. In the Empire it was customary to shake hands but certainly in an Oriental nation it was customary to bow. He would bow first, as he was in their land, and then offer his hand. "I am quite honored at this reception." He continued.

Oslo was 960 miles away, too far to truly spy on the convention using the most normal ways; however, the Sehnsucht had been able to use over-the-horizon radar systems to detect several aircraft heading there. Transponder codes and information recieved showed that the conference was being recieved well. The Layartebian ambassador to Norway was already there, living in Oslo, in the embassy. She would be attending the conference as soon as it kicked off with a single goal in mind, to ensure the safety and protection of the Fourth Reich submarine.

The Sehnsucht had its priorities elsewhere. The ice cover in the Kara Sea was too much to get in there without seriously making noise. Icebreaking was no quiet task and though equipped for the task, the Sehnsucht was tasked with maintaining an unknown presence more than anything. The ship would move just north of Murmansk during the course of the operation, to a position around 70°N / 040-00°E, well over the horizon from Norwegian Murmansk. That would put it a lot closer to the submarine in danger, in the Kara Sea.

At the same time the single P-8A Excalibur was refueling to "divert" its course to an area between Svalbard and Franz-Josef Island. The aircraft was jet powered and could fly for as far as 6,000 nautical miles without refueling. It was loaded heavy with six Mark 50 Mod 2 Barracuda torpedoes in its internal, forward bay, four AGM-205A AMESM missiles in it aft weapons bay, four AIM-204A Escape missiles externally, and six more AGM-205A AMESM missiles externally, leaving two pylons with no weapons on them. Instead, they held an advanced sensor pod and an advanced jamming pod. The latter would be able to jam the newest active-radar missiles and the former would allow the Excalibur to see some 43% further.

In similiar fashion, an EP-8A Excalibur spy plane was being flown Iceland to run a transit just north of the Russian border, roughly eighty miles out. Flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet, the EP-8A would be able to detect most of the active coastal defenses that the Russians employed. Should war break out, they wanted to be as ready as possible.

Although the conflict was likely to be resolved peacefully nobody would have said that if they looked at the Russian-Germanian borders. Seventh and ninth Gvardias in full strength supported by 12th and 17th armies in full strength were assigned to the border with Fourth Reich's Kazahstan since it was suspected to be the location of the initial attack by the Reich. In addition to those troops 28th, 19th and 15th armies were ready for fast deployment to that location. Meanwhile 3rd Gvardia backed up with 9th and 11th armies sealed off the Celtayoshi border. Along the Belorussian border 25th, 29th and 31st armies were ready for battle. The Ukranian border was sealed off by 5th Gvardia backed up with 14th Army. The rest of the armed forces were in the fast deployment mode in case Germany would somehow be able to break through the border.

All the Air Force attack divisions were on high alert ready to be deployed within their sector on a moments notice. The VO positions were watching carefully for anything crossing into Russian skies, ready to shoot it down at first sign of trouble. The ANZ centers in the major urban areas were starting to issue armored vehicles to the local ANZ units.

Marshalls of VVS, VNS and VMS as well as the representative of the ANZ board of Directors were having a private meeting in the armed forces HQs in Brejnevo. The word has already reached them that the UER Marshall should be arriving to Voronej soon, once he did they would be ready to meet him.

In all this ordered chaos the world held its breath.

Yar-121 private jet was quickly flying towards Vladimir's destonation, followed by an escort of two Mish-11 jet fighters. The escort broke off as Vladimir's plane crossed the Norwegian border. Soon after his plane landed. Two FSB agents got out first, followed by Vladimir and several of his cabinet members, the procession was closed off by another pair of FSB agents. The group started walking towards the Norwegian minister of foreign affairs.

Four Norwegian F-22B Raptor fighters escorted the Yar-121 to Gardermoen Int'l Airport before they broke off. At Gardermoen, the fourty soldiers were lined up yet again, and the band played the Russian national anthem before Meyer and the Brigader greeted the President.

"Mister President, welcome to Norway. I'm Morten Meyer, Minister of Foreign Affairs. If you'll follow me please sir..."

Meyer then escorted them to the cars, which were waiting to take them the 30 kilometers to Oslo and the Russian Federations embassy.

OOC: The UER's going to have to pass a law demanding that all Chinese-Eastasians change their names around; at the moment, all Chinese characters have their family names first (so it's Minister Bei, as Ruiyan is his given name). I'll get round to it as part of the whole 'being Eastasian rather than Chinese/Filipino/Malay/etc.' drive.

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Beijing

Minister Bei took the Emperor's hand and gave it a hearty shake.

"We are greatly pleased by your visit. I appreciate your bowing, but it is really unnecessary; we are trying to phase it out as it gives the impression of superiority. We are all equals here, after all. Comrade Premier Zhao is awaiting your presence, he has much to discuss."

Bei escorted the Emperor along the lines of the honour guard to inspect them before the military orchestra played the Layartebian anthem, followed by the Eastasian anthem. After the welcoming ceremony, Bei joined the Emperor in one of the awaiting limousines which were reserved for visiting Heads of State. As the limousines and accompanying escort ferried the Layartebians into downtown Beijing, the Emperor was given a quick history of the city's newest buildings and the recently started construction projects which would dominate the skyline.

Eventually the convoy arrived at Zhongnanhai, the Sea Palaces; Kristan Zhao had refused to ever allow government to meet or reside within the Forbidden City. The Emperor and his entourage were shown to Ziguangge, the Throne Hall of the Effulgent Polestar; once there, Premier Kristan Zhao stood waiting with Yao Tanren, former bodyguard to Emperor Suun and now Chief of Security for the Premier. Zhao was clad in a black longevity suit (if anyone reading doesn't know what that is, it's one of those Chinese suits that looks a bit like silk pyjamas), with a pair of rose-tinted spectacles; he extended his hand as the Emperor approached.

"Many greetings to you, and welcome to my home. Please treat this as your home, my staff will be on hand if you need them....although I see you probably have all that you need with you. This is becoming a tense time in the world; let us see if we can defuse this time-bomb, hmm?"

(OOC: hope you don't mind me skipping to the intro)

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Voronej

Field Marshal Kun disembarked his plane, eager to get on with business. Premier Zhao had dispatched him to liaise with the other VCO militaries in case of armed conflict between the VCO and the October Alliance; Kun personally hoped that war could be avoided, but it was still an unfortunate possibility.

Voronej

After their private meeting ended the Marshalls were quickly flown into Voronej to meet the Eastasian commander. The representative of the Directorate didn't join them, however Vice-President Nikolai Bezrukov did. The greeting party arrived at the Pushkino-I airport just outside of Voronej. As the Eastasian Marshall disembarked his plane the party aproched him, led by the Vice-President. Bezrukov firmly shook the guest's hand looking him straight in the eyes.

"Welcome."

He said in Russian, one of his bodyguards translated to Eastasian.

"Let me introduce you. This is Marshall Hlebov of the VNS (Ground Forces), this is Marshall Olegov of the VVS (Air Force), and this is Marshall Parahodov of the VMS (Navy). Let us procceed to the Armed Forces Head Quarters in Voronej, we can discuss our business there."

"Thank you Minister. These accomodations are nothing short of fabulous. I am honored. I hope you don't mind but in addition to our official business, I wish to treat this as a vacation. I have never seen the UER and I wish to make this a pleasant stay. Now, to business," he shook his head. "A time bomb is what this is and we are the bomb squad. If we snip the wrong wire or do not act quick enough then we'll be looking at world far different than we see today. It is imperative that this meeting comes off with a success."

(if you want to skip ahead to the meeting go ahead)

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The EP-8A Excalibur flying high over the Arctic Ocean was codenamed Juno 11. It flew in an orbit pattern, 40,000 feet up, at no more than 300 miles per hour, keeping slow enough to not burn fuel but fast enough to avoid stalling. Inside the hull of the aircraft, seven men sat at panels, watching all sorts of gauges, displays, and readings. The two pilots and the navigator, tucked away in the cockpit sat comfortable, sipping Green Tea and watching the various dials and panels in their area.

Due to the heavy ice coverage in the Arctic, the presence of sailing vessels was limited. The EP-8 had no plans to drop sonobuoys into the water to search for submarines, that was not its tasking. It flew 80 miles away from the Russian border, using its passive and active sensors to scan the coastline and one hundred miles into the border. They could see further away at that altitude but it was crucial that every speck of land be observed. Their loiter time would keep them on station long enough to observe a lot of movements along the coastline and the border.

Further north, the P-8A Excalibur, callsign Nevada 11, kept a close watch on the hostile shipping, which was limited. Both aircraft were tremendous and capable of highly advanced ASW, ASUW, and reconnaissance operations.

"Thank you Minister. These accomodations are nothing short of fabulous. I am honored. I hope you don't mind but in addition to our official business, I wish to treat this as a vacation. I have never seen the UER and I wish to make this a pleasant stay. Now, to business," he shook his head. "A time bomb is what this is and we are the bomb squad. If we snip the wrong wire or do not act quick enough then we'll be looking at world far different than we see today. It is imperative that this meeting comes off with a success."

After some pleasantries and settling in, the meeting was opened in one of the many conference rooms housed within the complex. Premier Zhao had both Foreign Minister Bei and Defence Minister Qong in attendance, along with various other bureaucrats. Zhao took a sip of water before starting.

"This meeting is being held to address the rising tension between our respective alliances; we recognise that there is an attempted peace conference in Oslo right now, but should that fail we need to have a contingency plan. The United Eastasian Republic does not want war with anyone, least of all the October Alliance. I know that our fellow members of the Voronej Cooperation Organisation feel the same, but right now tempers have overtaken good judgement. The UER and the Empire of Layarteb are two of the most powerful nations on the planet; we should use our power and influence to avert any possible conflict."

-----------------------------------------

Voronej

Marshal Kun smiled at his Russian counterparts. "We have much to discuss, my friends. Hopefully war will not come, but if it does then we must be ready."

The Emperor sat stiff but prominent in the chair. The room was well lit and it bothered his eyes a little, a byproduct of being stuck in a castle for the better part of the past twenty-five years. He was very reclusive but when it was necessary, he had to do what he had to do. He took a sip of the water in front of him. Cold. He thought. "Now, you are quite correct. We are amongst the two most powerful nations in the world. The combined might of our militaries alone could devestate the entirity of the planet a hundred times over. Restraint is of the utmost concern. Our outlook on the situation is as follows.

"The presence of a Germanian submarine in the Kara Sea, in international waters, is of little concern. Russian submarines are as close, if not closer, to our waters or Germanian waters elsewhere in the world, at any given time. The concern of the Russians of the location of this submarine is unfounded. They fear its use as a weapon. The Empire would fear the possibility of its weapons or reactor becomming an ecological threat that could harm the coast, nay we do not believe the Russians see it this way.

"Secondly, the rescue efforts of the Germanians is of the utmost importance. Given its presence in international waters, we cannot condemn other nations of their concern and curiosity. However, the theft of any material from the submarine does constitute an act of piracy and such, even though it is not specifically outlawed on the high seas, is of major concern. The Fourth Reich has every right and priority to protect its property, which it is doing. The Bjornoyan submarine incident, which resulted in fire being exchanged, was right and just. The Fourth Reich's actions in protecting its submarine was of the utmost importance, especially given the highly classified nature of submarines to begin with.

"We feel that, in perspective, that is where the situation should cease. It should be a direct matter between the Fourth Reich and the Bjornoyan government. The presence of Russia due to the proximity of the submarine is also a given. However, such has not happened. The fear and paranoia of the Russians has turned this situation into a potential disaster, one that could invoke the charter of The October Alliance, which states that we will all come to the defense of each other, regardless of the enemy, big or small.

"The entire October Alliance will, should the Russians go on an offensive assault upon the Fourth Reich, act to defend our ally, there is no leeway on that matter. However, we do not feel it should come to that. We feel this is a minor inconvience, in the grand scheme of things.

"Now, in so far as the VCO is concerned, the October Alliance has no quarrel with the alliance as a whole. We feel it can benefit the world rather than harm it. However, individual members that act in ways that would violate any good nature are targets of quarrel. Should war break out, the October Alliance would not seek to make war with all members of the VCO merely on principle. Neutrality is a condition we respect highly. Any member-state of the VCO that declares neutrality, towards all sides, TOA and VCO included, a condition of total neutrality that is, should not see any ill will given towards it.

"The Empire believes that given the long history of the Chinese people and the Layartebian people, that we, as solitary actors, can have a profound effect on these proceedings. Make no mistake, the Empire will defend the Fourth Reich in a defensive war should it be necessary. Our charter does not make allowances for unwarrented, offensive war but defensive war, we would all agree, is just cause for retaliation. The Empire will step in and protect the Fourth Reich as necessary. We hope that, should this occur, the UER would seek neutrality and that our relationship may not be harmed but the future is an untold saga." He leaned back, took another sip, and took a breath.

OOC: Hey Cot i am sure that nobody would mind skipping the routine stuff, you should go ahead with the Oslo meeting.

OOC: Pushka, do you have any declaration anywhere of your order of battle of your forces (i.e. what types of systems you have and such)?

Baum Port: Nenetsia

The B.F.M. Coldsoul and B.F.M. Enlightenment reached their destination, the Bjornoyan coastal city of Baum without incident. The Elite Bjornoyan Federal Peacekeepers maintained control over the Coldsoul, and went about the task of transporting their secretive cargo. Deep within the hull of the Coldsoul, the missile was carefully packed into the back of a big-rig trailer, and brought by crane to the streets below. The trailer was made of re-enforced metal for armor protection, but more importantly to stop anyone from trying to look through. A large contingency of Federal Peacekeepers assisted with guarding the cargo as it was attached to the cabby and sent on its way. It stayed on the surface for a while, taking major freeway routes until it finally disappeared into an underground tunnel that would take it to its final destination. Military escorts surrounded the rig, who moved along with many other normal supplies, including the wreched 'Fur Seal' who was being transported by flatbed.

All in all, from above or on the ground it would be extremely diifficult to prove foul-play. The missile did not see the light of day from the moment it fell to the ocean floor to the moment it was unpackaged and carefully stored within the unknown vaults of a Bjornoyan Federal Peacekeeping base, run by Bjornoyan Herrgott Jacksehn Hegel.

Beijing

Premier Zhao listened intently to the Emperor's words, watching him the whole time. Layarteb was regarded (in private circles) as the UER's foremost rival; as a result, Zhao was examining the Emperor for any hints or signs that betrayed his personality. As the Layartebian finished speaking, Zhao smiled broadly.

"We are very glad to hear that you believe in neutrality, but I feel you may be misunderstanding the intentions of the Russians and the Bjornoyans. The Fourth Reich is known in our part of the world for expansionism and belligerence, then the Russians find one of the Reich's nuclear submarines just off their coast; what was the submarine doing there? Were they monitoring the Russians, and if so why?

We are also concerned by the Reich's decision to fire on the Bjornoyan sub; why fire on a rescue vessel? If it is discovered that our allies had sinister motives for moving on the downed vessel then rest assured that we shall have something to say about it; on the other hand, why was the Reich so desperate to stop others from assisting their vessel? The Bjornoyans could have completed the rescue efforts quickly, but instead they were fired upon. Would all members of the October Alliance act this way?

It must also be pointed out that currently the VCO is being swept by concerns of Germanian aggression; we are preparing for a defensive war, there is no intention to launch a pre-emptive strike or any such move. Both sides are preparing for the other side to attack; there must be a way to ease these tensions. We must reach a compromise agreement that allows both sides to save face."

Oslo, 12 noon

Prime Minister Thomas Rothsky looked over the room, where the representatives from the nations involved were gathered. Hopefully, by the time they left, a peaceful sollution would have been reached. As the clock passed twelve, and the bells in the City Hall chimed 12 times, Rothsky stood up. He waited till everyone was quiet before he started.

"Honored representatives, welcome to Oslo. We're gathered here today to find a sollution to the problem in the Kara Sea. Hopefully, a peaceful one. Let it be clear for all representatives present that this meeting may very well be crucial for the continuation of the world as we know it.

I propose that we start with declaring a temporary truce in the Kara Sea, and allow the Germanians and Bjornoyans to conduct their rescue operations in peace and without foreign interference. Will all parties agree to this?"

This was the first of the things the representatives would have to agree upon in order for a sollution to be reached.

"We can understand the sentiment felt towards the Fourth Reich, they do control most of Europe, after all. However, the presence of a nuclear submarine off a coast, while it may be most unnerving, is common practice by all nations of the world. I don't doubt that our respective navies have come so close, perhaps by accident, perhaps on purpose. The Russians have submarines just as close to Fourth Reich land, I can assure you." He took another sip of water. "We know not of the intentions or the mission of this submarine and we can imagine it was, perhaps, one of many: deterrance, reconnaissance, and so on and so fourth.

"In so far as the engagement of the vessel is concerned, we can understand why. Submarines, by nature, are very technological, highly sensitive pieces of technology. Perhaps the Fourth Reich did not want any 'classified' technology to fall into their hands. Secondly, why, if it was a rescue operation, did the Bjornoyan government not make any formal requests for help? Why did they just act without first letting their intentions known. At the time, their intentions were not known and since it has been made public, we believe the apology by the Germanian government is suited. In a similar scenario, with one of our submarines getting so close to a downed UER submarine, of a highly classified nature, should it not raise your suspicions as well?

"The Germanians are a very proud people. Having a 'foreign' nation rescue their own soldiers would most likely not go over well with the public. The government would have a lot of explaining to do and surely, public opinion polls would reflect disapproval of having a 'foreign' nation do it. It would shake the balance and the faith in the government, hence why we can see why the Reich was so unwilling to allow for foreign assistance. That and we once again revert to the highly classified nature of submarines.

"In so far as the remainder of the alliance is concerned, we cannot answer for each individual nation. As far as the Empire is concerned, if we were in a similar situation, with a downed submarine, and a foreign nation was so close without first requesting, formally, to help, we would act in the same manner. Should one of our submarines be downed, we would regard any assistance as hostile until we knew further of what happened. Another possible scenario is this. At the time of the incident who knows if the Germanians knew what happened to their submarine. Perhaps it was torpedoed? Perhaps it was an accident, as we have come to find out. What if it were torpedoed and this 'submarine' was the aggressor and trying to steal something from that submarine? That is a very fitting scenario to look over and one that has certain crossed our minds until we found out the full truth of the nature of the accident.

"The OA is also being readied for possible war as well in response to the heightened tensions. I have authorized all forces of the ILM to REDCON 3, in case. We have no intentions either of launching any offensive operations nor should we sit back while offensive ones are launched to us.

"What I propose, more than anything, is the recovery of the vessel, by the Reich, as per their terms. Should they want help, that is fitting, should they not, it should be respected, the submarine is in international waters. In addition, should anything be found 'missing' from the submarine or 'tampered with' the Bjornoyan government will have to do explaining, lots of it. Any acts of theft or piracy must not be allowed to go unchecked. From then, on, perhaps a phased, timed, stand-down of all ready forces."

"What I propose, more than anything, is the recovery of the vessel, by the Reich, as per their terms. Should they want help, that is fitting, should they not, it should be respected, the submarine is in international waters. In addition, should anything be found 'missing' from the submarine or 'tampered with' the Bjornoyan government will have to do explaining, lots of it. Any acts of theft or piracy must not be allowed to go unchecked. From then, on, perhaps a phased, timed, stand-down of all ready forces."

Zhao tented his fingers. "This all sounds quite reasonable, but how do we know that the Reich will not arrange for something to go 'missing' during their recovery efforts? In any event, we would have no way to prove such an occurence, so I must admit that your suggestion is our best way forward. I think it best to say that we both have allies who occasionally over-react to situations, hmm?

We will contact our allies and let them know of our understanding, perhaps it will lead to cooler heads. It is unfortunate that our two nations cannot agree on everything else in the world, don't you agree?"

OOC: Pushka, do you have any declaration anywhere of your order of battle of your forces (i.e. what types of systems you have and such)?

OOC: look in my sig, Pushkan Armed Forces is there you need to go minues the navy, but i'll put that up as soon as possible. Sorry Cot can't reply ICly today, don't have time, might early morning tomorrow (in a few hours) but thats only if i am conciouss so don't count on it.

"You are quite right. We, as our respective alliances go, tend not to trust the other. We must, unfortunately, in this situation, rely only on the word of both the Reich and Bjornoya. But yes, we should most certainly alert our respective allies, who do overreact, most certainly. It is a shame the UER and the EOL are not common on other grounds but such as our ideologies are, we are far more different in those respects. Let us see this as a step forward though." He relaxed a bit. "But, alas, I must ask ye one question. Should this turn into a war with the offensive being the VCO, what will be the stance of the UER? And should this be offensive on our part, what will be your stance?"

OOC: look in my sig, Pushkan Armed Forces is there you need to go minues the navy, but i'll put that up as soon as possible. Sorry Cot can't reply ICly today, don't have time, might early morning tomorrow (in a few hours) but thats only if i am conciouss so don't count on it.

So aside from the Tunguska, the Praetorian II PVNS Missile Battery is your other SAM? Are there specs on it on the net?

So aside from the Tunguska, the Praetorian II PVNS Missile Battery is your other SAM? Are there specs on it on the net?

OOC: Well, it says that i am using a RL Triumph system, but i wanted to change that i a while ago, all my ground to air missiles are Maccabees made, i bought production rights for anti-satelite, long range surface to air and so on, check out his storefront i purchased all of his missiles. Basically i do have a network of bunkers across the nation (this is VO) that controll an individual section of my airspace each, they also controll the missile launching installations to shoot enemy objects down.

IC:

Oslo

Vladimir leaned forward in his chair, towards Rothsky.

"Yes, a truce is acceptable, however we will not remove our ships that are already monitoring the situation. We are willing to not interfere with Bjornya's and Reich's rescue effort, unless our assistance is requested."

"You are quite right. We, as our respective alliances go, tend not to trust the other. We must, unfortunately, in this situation, rely only on the word of both the Reich and Bjornoya. But yes, we should most certainly alert our respective allies, who do overreact, most certainly. It is a shame the UER and the EOL are not common on other grounds but such as our ideologies are, we are far more different in those respects. Let us see this as a step forward though." He relaxed a bit. "But, alas, I must ask ye one question. Should this turn into a war with the offensive being the VCO, what will be the stance of the UER? And should this be offensive on our part, what will be your stance?"

Zhao dropped his ever-present smile and suddenly became quite serious.

"If the October Alliance went on the offensive against the VCO, the UER would not stop until you regretted your decision and sued for peace. We would use whatever was necessary to end the war, without hesitation or remorse because you were the ones who betrayed us by talking of peace and then launching war."

The smile suddenly re-appeared.

"If our allies in the VCO were foolish enough to start any war, we would hope that we could talk them out of it before hostilities began. Failing that, we would undoubtedly lodge a formal protest and declare neutrality. Of course, if we then received word of any massacres or civilian mistreatment on the October Alliance's part, we would enter the war and smite you down with everything we have at our disposal.

Just to ensure that we understand each other, of course."

Oslo

"A truce you say? Perhaps such would be beneficial. The Empire has no actual shipping in the area and our reconnaissance aircraft are further north and not in the Kara Sea but we will agree not to further augment the situation than it already is. You have the promise of the Empire that we shall not introduce any more shipping or aircraft into the Kara Sea than already present." The ambassador worded his response well. He made a point of "already present." A single Hunter SSN was in the AO and it had been there for some time now. However, it wasn't "new" per say, it was there before the conference began, albeit unbeknownst to anyone.

Beijing

"The Empire can respect such a decision and stance. The October Alliance would not seek to wage offensive and unprovoked war with any individual or group of nations, in any situation. Should, however, we be provoked, we must, in the interest of self-defense, act to ensure the protection of our borders and our people, regardless of the level of threat.

"The Empire trusts that the UER are of sound mind with rational thinking. However, we are less trustworthy of your Russian allies and strongly urge that your rationality be conveyed upon them and keep them in check, so to speak."

Oslo

Reginault stared at Rothsky before speaking.

"Agreed. The Monegasques already are at a distance of 50 km."

Oslo

Anja had just arrived a bit late, but that was to be expected. She listened to the Norwegian proporsal, and after the others spoke,

"These terms are acceptable, we have already removed our non-combatants from the region. However, due to the pre-emptive nature of the Reich's attack, we have not removed our naval forces, and shall not until the Reich has completed its efforts and reduced the concentration of its forces within the region. We do this as a simple safety precaution."

[OOC I had hoped that NG would bother to pop by and check it out, but he hasn't yet, so I'll just continue and hope he shows up soon.]

Rothsky nodded gratefully to the Russian president, the Monegasque Grand Duke, the Layartebian ambassador and the Bjornoyan representative as they promised to keep their forces away from the area, at least untill the rescue operation had been completed. He hoped that the Germanians would as well. Anyway, since they had promised to keep away, the first obsacle had been climbed. The first of many, Rothsky feared.

"I'm glad to see that we're all sensible people, and I promise on behalf of the Kingdom of Norway that Norwegian forces shall not enter the area."

He paused and looked over the representatives before he continued.

"That leads us to the next point on the agenda. What is going on in the Kara Sea, and what can we do to end this peacefully. I would like each representative to explain the situation and their country's views regarding the incident." He looked at the Germanian head of state. "If you don't mind, Reichskanzler Kübler, I would like for you to begin, it being your submarine and everything? The table is yours sir."

Rothsky sat back and listened to the German head of state as he was to explain the views of the Fourth Reich in this matter.

Oslo, Norway...

The Reichskanzler had listened intently to all of the representatives, their ideas, concerns, etc. It seemed to him that these men did not desire war. Nor did he himself. As Kübler and the rest of those present knew, a major war in Europe would be devastating to all parties involved, and would haunt the winner and the loser for years after it was all said and done.

Nonetheless, where in the hell was that 500 kiloton nuclear weapon?

Germany's own Reichskanzler rose from his seat after Herr Rothsky had finished speaking. To his right, the Supreme Commander of the OS, Hermann Goettel, sat quietly and observed with dark brown eyes the Russian and Bjornoyan representatives in the room. To say the least, Goettel was a bit intimidating. Not necessarily by his physical stature, but there was something in his eyes and his lanky body that made one nervous. Apart from that, he was only the second most powerful individual in the Reich, standing behind only the Reichskanzler himself.

To the Reichskanzler's left was a quiet young man who translated his speech from German into English.

[Translated from German]

Reichskanzler Kübler: "Meine Herren. I have come here today... left my own Reich, for the lone reason that war is looming on the horizon in Europe. As it stands, two Army Groups in Kazakhstan are poised to strike the Russian Federation on my command. Directly across from those two Army Groups is the Russian Federation's own army.

"In Europe, four Army Groups in Ukraine and Belarus have positioned themselves in a perfect stance to hit the Russian border with everything they have.

"The Reichsmarine is stationed far from its own harbors in the Kara Sea, only a dozen or so kilometers from Russian waters. They, too, have been given the order to strike in a moment's notice.

"The Luftwaffe's fighters and bombers have been moved out of their hangers, their bombs and missiles have been armed.

"My point gentlemen, is why? Why suddenly do the Russians want us Germans dead? Why do we want them dead? The answer is fairly simple. As you all know, one of my submarines sank in the Kara Sea very near Bjornoyan and Russian waters. A Bjornoyan rescue submersible was shot at by divers from my Reichsmarine. Why, you ask? Because out of thirty-eight 500 kiloton Cobalt-based nuclear missiles, only thirty-seven were recovered. No search team has found the thirty-eighth missile. However, the Bjornoyans managed to get to the crash site before we did with equipment that could easily move about a nuclear missile.

"As it is my understanding, gentlemen, the divers requested that the Bjornoyan search & rescue submarines in the area stay put. When they immediately attempted to leave the area, my soldiers opened fire. A bit of an overreaction, yes, but why did the submersibles try to leave so quickly? After all, we have never had poor relations with Bjornoya.

"Now, why are Russian army forces building up along my border? This makes little sense to me. They were never threatened, yet thousands of Russian soldiers disgrace my lands.

"Thus far, Herrgott Jackson Hegel and I have been able to discuss with eachother the situation openly without any hostilities. Why is it then, meine Herren, that these Russians want so badly to rock the boat?

"To answer your question, Herr Rothsky, my intentions are to recover my U-414, bury the sailors, and recover all of the weapons it carried. Until those requirements are met, any and all actions necessary to complete those requirements will be taken."

After the Reichskanzler had finished speaking, Goettel stood up to add a follow-up to Kübler's point.

Reichsführer-OS Goettel: "Herr Reichskanzler. Meine Herren. It seems obvious to me that the Russians have their own agenda on this matter. Without considering the delicacy of this situation, without consulting their allies, without communicating with the Reich, hundreds of thousands of Russian Federation soldiers have been placed along their borders shared with the Fourth Reich in Europe and in Central Asia.

"I must ask the Russian representative: exactly what are your motives insulting the Reich with these disgraceful actions?"

The Reichsführer-OS took his seat next to the Reichskanzler and sipped a glass of water. Both men waited for a response...

The Layartebian ambassador listened intently and knew the words could not be better spoken. Now they just waited for the response from the Russians. Where is that weapon? She asked herself. She wanted to stand and accuse the Bjornoyans of stealing the weapon but she knew better.

Oslo...

While there was a lull in the speaking, a German aid silently walked into the room with a folded piece of paper in his hand. He then politely set it in front of the Reichskanzler. What it contained was a brief letter from Generalfeldmarschall Heinz Guderian, Supreme Commander of the Panzerkorps. The message delivered news of the latest development of Guderian's men, something that would change German front lines for quite some time.

Kübler opened the folded paper and read what it had to say...

[Translated from German]

"Herr Reichskanzler,
R-21 armor compound completed. StuG-I Panzer testing completed, ready for production. R-21 armor compound applications to StuG-I tested and completed. Phenomenal results.

Panzerfabrik 23 in Danzig prepared to produce 200 units.
Panzerfabrik 54 in Amsterdam prepared to produce 130 units.
Panzerfabrik 19 in Dresden prepared to produce 90 units.
Panzerfabrik 92 in Königsberg prepared to produce 110 units.
Panzerfabrik 121 in Vienna prepared to produce 80 units.

Production of the StuG-I with R-21 armor compound will begin as soon as authorization is received. Material available for immediate construction of 610 units total."

- H. Guderian

The Reichskanzler looked over at Goettel confidently and passed him the sheet of paper. Goettel read over the message and lightly smiled at Kübler, then passed the folded paper back.

Kübler pulled out a clean piece of blank, white paper and scribbled a message on it rapidly...

"Herr Guderian,
I am very pleased and impressed with this latest development. Begin production immediately. Maintain current production rates and activate Panzerfabrik 55, 29, 34, and 48. Immediately ship necessary material for production of a further 400 units.

- Kübler"

The Reichskanzler motioned for the aid to lean down, and he then whispered in his ear.

[Translated from German]

Reichskanzler Kübler: "Deliver this message immediately to Generalfeldmarschall Guderian."

Aid: "Jawohl, Herr Reichskanzler."

The black-uniformed aid took the piece of paper, clicked his heels together, and exited the room. The question of German tank superiority versus foreign tanks had never been debated amongst the upper echelons of Reich command, but now it was more of a statement than a question. Now it was only a matter of proving it to the world...

"ATC Keflavik, this is Juno 11, request permission to land."

"Go ahead Juno 11. Runway 2L is open."

"Roger that. Beginning descent."

The EP-8A Excalibur had finished its grueling 21-hour patrol north of Russian territory. It had done quite a bit of monitoring of the coastal air defenses, radar defenses, and immediate targets. They had collected vast amounts of data, pictures, locations, and capability reports of the Russian coastal defenses, including a number of Macabeean made missile sites and Triumpf sites. These would pose the most serious threat and would require immediate neutralization by aircraft equipped with the AGM-88F AARGM Block I.

Stealth would be of the utmost necessity. No better tasking could be done than a flight of the coveted F-19A Ghostrider, equipped with four internal missiles each, capable of taking out the sites. Should it be necessary, these aircraft, along with their F-24A Knightowl escorts, would fly towards the coast, over the pole from Baffin Island, from Greenland, Iceland, and Ireland and neutralize the coastal air defense sites. They would be flying high, over 60,000 feet and subsonic to make their presence even stealthier than it could be otherwise.

A neutralization strike would require between 100 and 180 F-19A Ghostriders. The possibility of EA-5F Vigilante EW aircraft would be a possibility too. Unfortunately, given the ice coverage in the Arctic, getting any surface ships into a striking position would be hell. The furthest a CVBG could get would be Svalbard or just shy of Murmansk. In order for the Russian navy to even get that far they would need ice breakers. SSNs would work to sink them, at all costs, as well as land-based, long-range bombers, particularly the B-6A Dementor, which could fire its AGM-180 Harpoon II missiles from over 200 miles away.

The only logical opportunity the Russians had was a land assault into the Reich. Their air assaults would be hampered by the presence of highly advanced SAM defenses supplied to the Reich by the Empire. Should the UER get involved it would complicate matters but they had vowed to not get involved in an offensive war and so had the Empire. The October Alliance had no plans to launch an offensive but should they be challenged, defensively, they would face no choice but to retaliate.

The best hope the Russians had was to launch a pre-emptive decapitation strike against Germanian and Layartebian targets in the area. This would require long-range bombers, long-range cruise missiles, and/or nuclear missiles. Should the Russians choose the nuclear option it would be the best for them in that it would catastrophically decapitate the responses available by either the Reich or the Empire. The only drawback was it would alienate them. This was a tough decision for all sides to make.

As the EP-8A Excalibur landed and its data downloaded, the Imperial Layartebian Space Division began an SR-71A Blackbird flight, which would fly within 40 miles of Russian airspace, taking long-range reconnaissance shots. At the same time, as that proved to be a distraction, satellites would be going "off-schedule" and "off-course" and take reconnaissance pictures. These were weather satellites and communications satellites, declared as such, known as such, and used as such. They were just "augmented" with spy-equippment, a fact that was known to only a few higher ups in the Space Division and the Joint Chiefs.

OOC: NG your claim that your tanks have 18k RHA is ridiculus, there is no way that can be done MTly. If a war is to break out i WILL ignore those claims. In addition you are reluctunt to respond to criticism against those completely unrealistic numbers. Just felt i had to say this in light of your new uber godmodded R-21 armor.

And lay there is no way you'd be able to notice any of my VO bunkers, most of them are hidden either undeground or in heavily wooded areas, same goes for the missile batteries they controll that are scattered around the sector a bunker controls instead of being centered around the bunker itself, so please mind that. Also i do have an airforce of my own capable of intercepting your aircraft which you seem to not recognize. And i do have icebreakers that keep trails open for my ships to go through then needed. I also have a secret mine network system that is at this point burried into the soil below the sea but it can pretty much destroy any approaching navy.

IC:

Vladimir looked over his papers for the last time, stood up from his chair and started speaking in nearly pure english.

"Gospodin Kubler has asked a very important question. Why? Why is this happening, why are lives of billions of citizens of the Voronej Cooperation Organization and of The October Alliance are hanging in a balance. For some reason we are blamed for this, however all our actions were motivated by our obligation to Voronej Cooperation Organization. Bjornyan rescue submarine was attacked, our immediate response was to mobilize our forces to our borders with the Reich, we were obliged to do so by the documents we signed then we became a member of the Voronej Cooperation Organization. From what i know TOA members share similar obligations, as in if a TOA member is attacked then all other members must aid him. This is what happened. Soon after we have received word from the Reich that this attack was an accident on their part. However under the circumstances it would simply not be reasonable on our part to blindly believe the Reich's words especially since we have detected several of their military Naval vessels coming into the area. So i have not ordered Russian Federation troops to end mobilization until this conflict is resolved. We did it for our protection, i hope that Gospodin Kubler is satisfied with my answer to his question. Now let me ask you this of Gopodin Kubler. Why was there a submarine carrying ballistic nuclear missiles so close to the Russian and Bjornyan waters?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside the concealed R/C-R bunkers all over the Federation there was much movement. Several dozen satelites were ordered to monitor the troop movement of Layatreb, Norway and the Reich. SR-71 spy planes were flying along the Russian/Germanian border gathering intelligence. Other SR-71 planes were flying just outside of Layatrebian and Cottish territorial waters, refueling in flight and collecting vital intelligence.

Oslo

PM Rothsky looked at the Russian outburst with curiosity. Was this guy stupid or what? There was a perfectly natural reason for the Reich to send in a naval force: To rescue its sticken sub! However, his face revealed nothing of this. Instead, he raised his arms in a defusing gesture.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, please. Let's see if we can't try to resolve this peacefully and in a calm fashion.

"We can understand the reasons for why the Germanians are sending in a small portion of their fleet. To rescue its submarine. There are no reasons offered for why it sank, and I assume that the Reich assumed that it had been sunk by some foreign power. Also, may I remind all parties present that the submarine resides in international waters, and that the Germanian government therefore has a good reason for sending in a naval force: to protect its vessel from pirates and such."

He paused for his words to sink in before he continued.

"Now, from what I've gathered, the Germanian release of fire onto the Bjornoyan rescue submarine was a mistake, one which the Germanian government has appologized for. According to my sources, there were no loss of life on the Bjornoyan side.

"The thing which worries me is not the naval buildup in international waters in the Kara Sea, but rather the Russian and Germanian buildup on their joint borders. From what I've gathered, it was the Russians who started the buildup. Mister President, why did you start a buildup of forces on land? An action which may be considered preperations for an offensive war against the Fourth Reich, and therefore also the October Alliance.

"Gentlemen, what I propose for now is a phased, mutual standdown of Germanian and Russian forces in the areas mentioned to pre-incident strength over a 24-hour timespan. I suggest this as an attempt to ease the tentions down to a less threatening level, for both parties, as it is a heightened risk for some overzealous soldier opening fire and igniting a huge incident which is beyond our control.

"Gentlemen, the fate of the world rests on your shoulders. Let reason and not fear or anger govern your judgement. Show the world that you are the great leaders which we believe you to be."

With that, Rothsky sat back and held his breath. If they weren't willing to stand down, the chances of peace would be severely weakened.

*********************************

Landsdelkommando Nord-Norge

Reports from various naval vessels and long-range radar stations picked up the SR-71s outside the territorial waters, and identified them. The SR-71 was an old bird, yet still useful. It was fast and soaring high. The only problem was that it had a one heck of an RCS, which allowed modern radars to pick it up relatively easily. Therefore, LK Nord ordered a few fighters to follow the for them unknown contacts, albeit remaining inside Norwegian territorial waters.

The fighters, in this case two F-22B Raptors following a contact off Murmansk were each armed with 2 AIM-9X Sidewinders, 6 AIM-120D AMRAAMs, 2 AIM-204B Dødsengels and 480 rounds for the M61A3 internal 20mm cannon. This allowed them to retain their RCS which showed up on radar as a large bird. However, they would make their presence known to the unknown aircraft, showing that they were watching. However, they would not open fire unless fired upon first.

"Gold one, Gold two. Contact. Range, 60 nautical. Just within Slammer range. Over."

"Roger. Let's close in to Sidewinder range."

"Wilco."

The two fighters were at 42,000 feet, flying at Mach 0.8. Right now, they increased to Mach 1.5 using the supercruise functions on their engines, and closed relatively fast. They didn't know if the contact knew that they were there, but it would very soon.

OOC: Outburst? What? Also an F-22 catching up with an SR-71 is highly unlikely.

IC:

Vladimir looked at Rothsky. A string of thoughts ran through his head.

"Strange from what i remember then serving under Mishin, Rothsky was a reasonable man yet now he seems incoherent. I have just gave him an explanation and he tells me to say it again. Well either way he has to be dealth with."

He took a sip from his glass of water and continued in a calm voice.

"Gospodin Rothsky i have just explained the reason for my actions, an act of unprovoked agression from the Reich, why do you need me to repeat myself is beyond me. Yes they have apologized, and yes we still have no reason to trust them. I am not on trial here and i am yet to receive an answer from the Reich as to why there was a submarine so close to Russian Federation waters in the first place. Just because it hasn't entered Russian waters does not make it any less of a threat. As for your claim that the Reich sent those warships to protect their submegible from pirates, well i doubt there are any pirates with adequate equipment to swim that far out into the ocean and dive that deep into the water to recover anything from that submarine. Russian Federation forces will not stand down until this conflict is resolved, our objective is to have it resolved peacefully but since this situation is still highly unstable we see no reason to let our guard down. As for your concern about a soldier discharging his weapon without an order, well there are several kilometers between our and Germanian forces, i doubt that such a discharge is a possibility.

I have proposition to make on how this conflict might be resolved. Although this issue was to be discussed at the Voronej Cooperation Organization congress which was postponed because of the development of this situation, purhapse since representatives from all the members of VCO are present here we might just as well discuss this here. First of all the Reich and Bjornya should finish with their rescue operations, second i propose that Voronej Cooperation Organization signs a non-aggression pact with The October Alliance. This will put a barrier which might be able to stop similar situations from happening in the future. After that Russian forces will demobolize back to the pre-conflict level and Germanian forces will do the same. This way the conflict is resolved and all parties are satisfied. Does anybody have any objections?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leutenant Barkov looked over at his LCD screen noticing the F-22s that were picked up by a radar recoinessance plane flying somethere in the area. Although Brakov didn't know there it was he knew that it was probably escorted by Mish-11 Arhangel fighters, he had no worries, his eyes would always be open. The data picked up by the radar rec. plane was immediately transfered to the VRPB and Barkov could now see his pursuers.

"Hmm, are they seriously trying to catch up with me? Well no reason to let them know that i see them, if there is trouble i can always run away."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

An order was issued to all VO bunkers

"Visually target and track all Layatrebian, Cottish and North Germanian recoinessance aircraft. Do not engage unless an order is given."

OOC: Pushka, what you're referring to is the R-16 compound. I scrapped that for the very reasons you stated and replaced it with the R-21. I haven't released any specs for that armor yet, except what it's made out of, because I'm still researching how the armor should be distributed, RHA level, etc. Therefore, you really have no right to play the Godmod card, which is pretty tired to begin with. You should also reconsider being so aggressive and rude. No one has shown you such disrespect.

Also, what's your president's last name?

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Panzerfabrik 23, Danzig, Poland...

Generalfeldmarschall Guderian stood inside the giant armor factory, which moved huge slabs of armor, machine guns, cannons, and various parts to tanks along gigantic machine-powered assembly lines. Behind him stood two black-uniformed officers of the OS-Panzerkorps. He was there to witness the birth of the first StuG-I Primary Assault Tank.

At one end of Panzerfabrik 23, three railroad cars were being unloaded by workers donned in blue coveralls with an armband bearing the symbol of the Panzerkorps on their right arms. Some of what they unloaded was too heavy to be carried by hand, so large metal arms attached to the ceiling would periodically reach down and set whichever materials too heavy for humans to lift onto the assembly lines.

This factory had the normal sounds of such a building -- loud clanging of metal parts, the squealing of assembly lines, the noise of hammers banging against steel, drills whirling screws into place, and workers shouting above the almost deafening sounds. Despite the snow on the ground outside, the factory was warm from all of the movement.

Guderian watched the workers put together the first StuG-I with anxiety and anticipation. This one wasn't much like the test units, which were a dull grey color and had all of the screws, nuts, and bolts visible from the outside. This one was painted the standard camoulflage color used by the Panzerkorps, and all of the parts which stuck out - the screws, bolts, and nuts - had been covered properly by protective sheets of R-21 armor.

The Panzer was nearly completed -- its main cannon had been attached, the coaxial and top-mounted 15 x 115mm machine guns were in place, the smoke grenade launchers were secured, et cetera. Only one piece remained, a sheet of R-21 armor, and five workers were screwing it on.

Several minutes passed and then the Panzerkorps assembly workers stepped back away from the StuG-I which was moved 100% complete along the largest belt in the factory. It reached a 55 degree downward angle, and it was carried down onto the cold concrete floor.

An officer holding a clipboard under his left arm approached Generalfeldmarschall Guderian, clicked his heels together, raised his right hand over his right eye and saluted.

[Translated from German]

Oberstleutnant Braken: "Herr Generalfeldmarschall, the first StuG-I Primary Assault Tank has been finished to the complete specifications of your orders, sir. It is ready to be deployed."

Generalfeldmarschall Guderian: "Danke, Herr Braken. Drive it out of the Panzerfabrik. I'd like to see it how it would look in combat."

Oberstleutnant Braken: "Jawohl, Herr Generalfeldmarschall."

A few moments later, the StuG-I and its four crew were slowly driving out of the huge aluminum doors to the outside testing area. A light snow fell on the ground as the treads on the tank crunched the frozen water beneath it. Guderian watched in admiration as the first of the StuG-I Primary Assault Tanks had been completed. He looked down at a clipboard and saw how accurately it matched the blueprints.

http://www.onwar.com/tanks/germany/plans/stug3f.gif

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Oslo, Norway...

When asked the question of what the U-414 was doing so close to Russian and Bjornoyan waters, the Reichskanzler almost cringed. It would be disastrous to inform everyone of what the submarine was really doing there. Yet this was a hole that was easy enough to climb out of.

[Translated from German]

Reichskanzler Kübler: "As I am sure you know, Herr President, a submarine sometimes has to maneuver to avoid crashing. I rest assured that the U-414 was merely doing what it had to in order to avoid a crash. Apparently, however, that was not enough.

"To answer your question more thoroughly, Herr President, the U-414 was on routine patrol in international waters in the Kara Sea. Why that submarine was so close to your waters I cannot with certainty say. The only person who could answer that with 100% sure knowledge would be the Captain of the U-414. Unfortunately, he can no longer speak.

"I have a question for you, Herr President. Why did you feel the need to respond so drastically to such a miniscule attack, which was the mistake of the officer in charge? Do not misunderstand me, I am not trying to be rude, I am simply curious.

"As you correctly stated, yes, members of the October Alliance would indeed retaliate against a nation who had attacked another member of the Alliance, or at least position themselves to attack. While I do respect your loyalty to the Voronej Cooperation Organization, that sort of major action should be reserved for a comparable incident.

Again, why was such a huge force mobilized? The threat it responded to was much less significant."

The air in the conference room was getting a bit tense, though none of the representatives had gotten rude yet, which was a good sign. Nonetheless, it seemed like there was a storm gathering...

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OOC Yeah, I was kinda in a rush when I wrote that. It should be a F-37 or something, not a F-22. Anyway, let's assume that the SR-71 is flying at Mach 1.5 or something, for the sake of the RP. You could always fly away from me if you don't like the attention though... Expect IC post in a few minutes.

OOC: Hey guys i have just edited my post proposing a non-aggression pact, sorry guys, can you please edit your posts?

OOC: I don't recall saying anything about bunkers. A spyplane like the EP-8 does most of its detection through passive and infrared means, which won't get everything but it'll get a lot. Sidelooking radar also helps to detect stuff. Camoflauge will help with the camera and visual avoidance, keeping the systems offline will avoid passive detection, keeping them cold and off will avoid FLIR, but avoiding an active SLAR requires a lot more. I don't see what role your air force plays in anything I posted at all. You're just talking now.

Near Layartebian Airspace

The moves were like chess. The EOL flew a spyplane, the Russians flew a spyplane. The moves were similiar and lacked creativity but that was to be expected. Radar picked up the Russian spyplanes but they were of good use to the Empire. F-22A Raptors and long-range, high-altitude, F-36A Thorn fighters were dispatched, to fly a BARCAP inside Layartebian airspace, which extended 24 nautical miles from the edge of its land. The F-22A had no chance of catching the SR-71 but its missiles did, should it be necessary. The F-36A Thorn fighters, still classified, were fully capable of catching the SR-71, hence their purpose as high-altitude, high-speed interceptors. The F-36s would come close to the edge of Layartebian airspace and keep quiet. Their stealth techniques, which were among the best in the EOL, would keep them well hidden from prying radar and FLIR. They would simply monitor the SR-71 through the use of their LPI radars and AESA units, as well as IRSTs.

SR-71 Overflight, Arctic

"We're being tracked and targetted!" The defensive systems officer shouted as the SR-71 made its way across the Arctic Ocean.

"What is our location?"

"Forty miles north of Russian airspace, we are in international airspace. We're being engaged!"

"Roger that." The SR-71 pilot immediately activated the electronic warfare systems and sent in the call for help. "Lightning base this is Devil 11. We're being targetted and tracked by ground-radar, in Russia. We are in international airspace. Advise situation, over."

"Devil 11. Maintain course and heading. Report launch."

"Roger that." Tension suddenly brewed.

Oslo

"I do not understand. You propose that we go about peaceful means, yet when we offer a phased, mutual stand-down, you reject the idea? Is that not peaceful?" The ambassador could hold her tongue no longer. "The presence of a Germanian submarine close to Russian waters if of concern to you. So is the presence of similiar Russian submarines in similiar locations to the Reich, the Empire, the Norwegians, and so on and so fourth. This is not a one-sided game Mr. President." As she concluded, a small note came to her hand. It read in simple words: "SR-71 being targetted and tracked by Russian ground based radar. In international airspace."

"If I may interrupt. The Empire has an SR-71 spyplane flying north of Russian airspace, forty miles into international airspace. Currently its mission is to monitor the Kara Sea and the Russian coast to ensure that our temporary truce is being enforced. Obviously it isn't. I just recieved a note that it is being targetted and tracked by ground-based radar, inside Russia. Now I ask you, Mr. President. Why are you targetting and tracking a reconnaissance plane, in international airspace, which is unarmed, which is not deviating into your airspace? When has international airspace suddenly become Russian airspace? I ask you Mr. President. You want a peaceful resolution? You are not getting it with this situation. You are forcing us into a defensive posture! You are engaging our aircraft, in international airspace and you dare reject our offers of peace as non-peaceful and propose a Non-Aggression Pact? Since when have those been binding? What assurances do we have that you will not break them? Your word? This incident itself shows that we, the Empire, cannot trust this. We must reach a different accord. Before any accord is signed forces must be down to pre-incident levels, not afterwards.

"Let is also be known that Russian SR-71s flying near our airspace are being monitored by fighters flying in our airspace, not targetted."

Beijing

The Emperor was nodding to the comments of Zhao. "This is most humble of you to let us, your ideological enemies, stay. And I must be thankful for that. The conference in Oslo, I am sad to report, is not doing as well as I had hopped." He had only recieved the information moments ago about the SR-71 incident. "I must advise you on a situation. We at the October Alliance proposed a phased, mutual stand-down of all forces to pre-incidental levels, an offer which was rejected by the Russians in favor of a NAP. The reason for the rejection? It was not a peaceful solution. What could be more peaceful than a standdown of forces.

"In light of this, to ensure that our 'truce' in the Kara Sea is being kept, we have flown an SR-71 mission 40 miles away from Russian airspace, in international airspace. It is being tracked and targetted by ground-based defenses in Russia. That is an act of engagement. This places us in a defensive posture immediately. This is an unarmed, unescorted, lone reconnaissance plane, flying in international airspace. If that aircraft is engaged with missiles, I must order a retaliatory strike against the site or airbase responsible.

"The Russians are doing the same with us, flying SR-71s. We have flown fighters out to the edge of our airspace boundaries but have not engaged. We are merely monitoring the Russians. This is most unnerving. We must come to a resolve as quickly as possible as this is spiraling out of control faster than we could imagine."

Rothsky looked at the Layartebian representative, somewhat amused at her ourburst. He agreed with every single word she said.

"I concur with the representative from the Layartebian Empire. We offered you a clearly peaceful sollution, and you rejected it. Then you demand that the October Alliance sign a non-agression pact with you before you feel that you can reduce your forces, forces which you were the first one to send to the borders sir. Obiously, I must ask, do you really wish peace mister President?"

(OOC: As from this post, all UER characters will be referred to with given name first, family name second)

Beijing

Premier Zhao shot a glance at Defence Minister Wanfeng Qong, who excused himself; the Premier then turned his attention back to the Emperor.

"Rest assured that we will contact our Russian allies immediately to verify what you have just told us. If they are acting in the manner you state, then we shall request that they halt these measures of theirs."

Zhao stood and sighed loudly. "This whole situation is pathetic; world powers are squabbling like children. One accuses another of some deed, then recriminations fly from all sides. I am beginning to feel that you are all, what is the expression, 'boys with toys'. To think that our current way of life is under threat from macho posturing.....I am calling a recess to this meeting. Would you care to join us for dinner?"

-----------------------------

Voronej

Marshal Kun scowled as his call from Wanfeng Qong ended, and he made his way to his Russian counterparts.

"You do realise that you are escalating this tension with your actions, don't you? I just had a call from my superiors in Beijing; they request that you stop targeting non-VCO aircraft in the vicinity of the Kara Sea. If you do not do so, it will jeopardise Eastasian membership of the VCO. The Fourth Reich would love a war against Russia, and you are playing into their hands!"

OOC: Sorry about that Mari. I keep forgetting but I'll get it sometime. I edited the post above to say Zhao instead of UER Premier.

Beijing

"Dinner sounds delightful. I cannot concur with you more and I understand that the Empire too has been playing this game of tit-for-tat but we must, unfortunately. Please do confirm it with the Russians. If necessary, we can make some of the SR-71 flight data available, obviously not all of it, given the sensitive nature of it. But you put it well." He chuckled. "I love my toys." He joked. "I must just conclude. The SR-71 flight, I assure you is of a non-aggressive nature. It is there to ensure that the Kara Sea true is being upheld. I can safely say that so far, it is."

OOC: Sorry about that Mari. I keep forgetting but I'll get it sometime. I edited the post above to say Zhao instead of UER Premier.

Beijing

"Dinner sounds delightful. I cannot concur with you more and I understand that the Empire too has been playing this game of tit-for-tat but we must, unfortunately. Please do confirm it with the Russians. If necessary, we can make some of the SR-71 flight data available, obviously not all of it, given the sensitive nature of it. But you put it well." He chuckled. "I love my toys." He joked. "I must just conclude. The SR-71 flight, I assure you is of a non-aggressive nature. It is there to ensure that the Kara Sea true is being upheld. I can safely say that so far, it is."

(OCC: No worries, I was going to change it anyway so that the Chinese citizens are 'no different' from the rest of the Eastasians. It's explained better in the 'Son of Heaven Rises' thread. Anyhoo, I'll post IC later, as my keyboard is getting temperamental again.)

"Let me respond to Mrs. Ambassador first. Mrs. Ambassador you are mistaken. Russian Federation does not have ballistic submarines patrolling Layatrebian or Norwegian borders, purpose of our navy is mostly defense and the purpose of our nuclear arsennal is a retaliatory strike not the initial strike. However a purpose of a ballistic missile patrol is an initial strike and that is of concern to us. Even so Gospodin Kubler gave an explanation to this incident but how can we possibly trust his word? Especially since his statement does not clarfiy the situation. We can't.

As for the SR-71 incident, i am hearing about this for the first time, since i was present here then this happened i hope you believe me then i say that this didn't happen upon my order. Purhapse there was a misunderstanding in the lower part of the chain of command, obviously they do happen, for example the incident that caused this tensions to rise in the first place, i am of course refering to German attack on a Bjornyan rescue sub. I assure you that the targeting will be discontinued immediately."

He took out a note pad, wrote something on it and gave it to one of his advisors who rapidly exited the room.

"Now you asked a very important question. How can you trust us? The answer is that you can't, but the same is true the other way around. We can not trust you. We obligate ourselves to follow through on the promises we gave, us doing that is the reason why we are here today in Oslo discussing the fate of the world. If it weren't for us following through on our promise to defend the nation of Bjornya then this wouldn't be near as big of an incident as it is now. However obviously we weren't the ones who initiated the whole thing since it was the Germans who attacked the Bjornyans first.

Breaking of a non-aggression pact would put a nation who did it in a very uncomfortable position. However attacking during a removal of forces won't, there will always be a loop hole that will allow the real attacker to blend the line between who initiated the conflict and who retaliated against an initial attack. That is exactly the reason why we must sign a non-aggression pact before we start removing our forces, that way in an event of one nation attacking another it will be clear to all the world who is the aggressor. In addition the pact will not only ensure a short-term peace but will also motivate long-term stability.

Now let me address Gospodin Kubler's question. An attack on our ally is equal to a decloration of all out war that is why we mobilized the entire army. However we hoped that this incident could simply be a misunderstanding so we ordered our forces to reinforce our border instead of launching an assault on the Fourth Reich. It was when that we received word that the Fourth Reich appologizes for the incident, however all things considered we couldn't trust that information right away, and then the Fourth Reich moved its forces to reinforce its own borders and at that point we simply couldn't demobolize our troops. I hope this explains all your concerns."

Marshall Letunov turned towards his Eurasian counterpart.

"Do not worry Comrade Marshall, we were just issued an order from the president to discontinue the targeting. This whole thing was initiated by some 2nd rate mayor in the R/C-R HQs. He wanted to promote war for personal reasons. He has been just removed from his post and is currently stationed in the R/C-R HQ prisoner containement room, he will be moved to a military prison shortly. We do not want war, and we value UER as our most important ally."

"Mister President, if we cannot trust eachother, then what can we trust? Trust is instrumental for the negotiations to succeede. For instance, if the Layartebian representative said that Layarteb would return all their forces to port, I would trust that the ambassador told the truth. You don't want to believe Reichskanzler Küblers word. Then we have a serious problem sir. You need to lay behind you old prejudices and start trusting people sir. Because from the looks of it, it doesn't seem like the Russian Federation want peace."

Rothsky took a deep breath. He had wanted to say this for quite some time, and finally he couldn't hold it in anymore. Now, the Russians would have to give a direct answer. Yes or no to peace.

SR-71 Overflight

"Lightning base. Devil 11. Russian ground radar has discontinued lock on our aircraft. Resuming normal flight pattern."

"Devil 11. Understood. Report any changes in the situation."

"Roger that." The information would be to the ambassador and Emperor within minutes.

Oslo

"Understandable. In this situation of increased and heightened tensions reactions can become overbearing. Given the removal of the lock-on, we can forsee these conflicts happening." The information came to her from her aide. They were telling the truth, about the removal of the lock-on that was. "Well you have kept up your end I see. The SR-71 will continue its flight at a range of 40 miles and not closer. Upon completion, it shall return to its airbase. No more scheduled overflights are on the docket for the time being. Now may I ask the purpose of Russian reconnaissance aircraft near our airspace? But before I do, let me say this, concerning our proposed mutual stand-down.

"The phased-mutual stand-down goes in stages and is done as a quid-pro-quo type of system. First, the most dangerous of forces stand down, which are any strategic forces. Two hours after the last one stands down, tactical forces begin standing down, first the closest, in this case the border guards, then back forces, and so on and so fourth. That is our proposal. It is far more peaceful than a Non-Aggression Pact, which lulls both sides into a false sense of security. Breaking the terms of a NAP and this stand-down is as equal. In this case, should the forces of side A attack those of side B, while they both agreed to stand-down can even be worse. During removal stand-downs, forces are far more vulnerable than during a Non-Aggression Pact, simply because all of the logistics is away from the front, which means that an attack would be against a rear flank, far more devestating.

"That is our proposal. A Non-Aggression Pact seems only like words. We want actions. We also want an explanation as to what happened to that thirty-eighth missile from the submarine. Now concerning your submarines and oceans and a defensive navy. The purpose of an SSBN is to be as close as possible to the enemy's shore. This is a first-strike weapon, yes. It is also a defensive weapon. Coastal warning is five minutes. It is thirty minutes from land based. A retaliatory strike from an SSBN would cripple any secondary strike. Therefore an SSBN is not only a first-strike weapon."

"Hmm..you bring up a good point. I hope that my next proposal we can all agree on.

The North Germanian and Russian Federation forces begin standing down immediately and every nation in this room promises to meet again and draft a non-agression pact between our respective alliances to promote long term peace. The terms of the non-agression pact will take time to discuss, purhapse they can be discussed at the Voronej Cooperation Organization congress in the special series of meetings to which the nations whose representatives are present here today will be invited. Gospodin Roshsky is right, this conflict will take trust to resolve. I trust you to follow up on your promise to sit down with me and draft a non-aggression pact, will you trust me then i say that peace is in my interests?"

Bjornoya (http://0601.netclime.net/1_5/Q/E/U/Epic.mid)

4 Crow class SSBNs waited as statues, one off the coast of Norway, one off the coast of Bjornoya Island, one off the coast of Nenetsia, and one off the coast of Bjornoyan Wallis Island. The ships and crews had all been prepared in anticipation of a single order; an order that would be the bane of every citizens, every nation, every hope and dream in the world. Herrgott Jacksehn Hegel stood in full uniform deep within his command center. A simple call was all it would take.

A mysterious voice spoke to him; the same as before. That voice stuck with him like a curse, an omnipotent invasion of thought. The voice spoke through his head, through the phone, “Launch them, go on coward, pull the trigger.”

The monotone voice of the Bjornoyan Herrgott echoed ominously through the empty halls of the submarines. With drone-like precision and an inhuman lack of emotion, the operators let their Trident II nuclear missiles fly. Within minutes, their success was confirmed. All countermeasures failed, targets neutralized. A sea of flames engulfed Beijing, Oslo, Berlin, and Voronej. The entirety of Eurasia began to decompose into a heat wave and an endless sea of grey ash. Jacksehn watched from the top of the world, like a god. Millions upon millions fell like dominoes, a horrific chain-reaction of death and annihilation. The flames and ash slowly crawled upon the borders of Bjornoya. He felt short of breath, slowly drowning. He looked across the waters and saw a nameless shadow grinning. He lost sub-consciousness.

Jacksehn coughed loudly, blood streaming down his face. It flowed upon his pillow and bed. He reached desperately for a glass of water resting on his bedstand, and popped a few pills into his bloody mouth. He fell to the ground in excruciating pain as the blood slowly stopped filling his lungs. As he regained his composer, he looked around his bedroom. Upon the chess-board he had been playing with during the night, the white king lay fallen.

“Patriarch…”

In a slightly drugged and fearful state, the Bjornoyan Herrgott put on his long black trench-coat and ordered his chauffeur to take him to Ormus Stronghold, the underground facility where the stolen missile was being held.

Oslo

Anja watched, somewhat disconcerted. Had the Russians really targeted Layartebian aircraft? The Layartebians were asking for trouble by openly admitting flying spy aircraft so close to Russian territory, but the Russians were asking for more by targeting the craft in international airspace. No matter, with a bit of reasoning, their issue could be settled, and the troubles between Bjornoya and the Reich would fall out of the spot-light.

Rothsky smiled when he heard the proposal. Finally the Russians were starting to see things from another point of view.

"Mister President, on behalf of the Kingdom of Norway, I accept the terms of a mutual phased standdown and commit the Kingdom to meet again at another location to work out the terms for a possible non-agression pact."

OOC: Was that real or were you dreaming? And if real? You do realize you just godmodded an attack.

OOC: Was that real or were you dreaming? And if real? You do realize you just godmodded an attack.

ooc: lost subconsciousness=woke up
not a dream, a revelation

ooc: lost subconsciousness=woke up

OOC: Yeah just needed clarity.

Oslo, Norway...

Reichskanzler Kübler had been listening intently to the conversation, keeping his mouth closed for the time being. When the mutual stand-down was proposed, it was then that he spoke up.

[Translated from German]

Reichskanzler Kübler: "Herr President, I will accept these terms of the mutual stand-down taking place immediately. The first step on my side will be to change the readiness stance on Kormoran first-strike missiles. With your assurance that you will do similarly, all Kormoran missile launchers will be set to pre-ready status and border guards will move three kilometers back."

Goettel leaned towards Kübler and spoke in a whisper.

Reichsführer-OS Goettel: "Do you think the Russians will follow suit?"

Reichskanzler Kübler: "It's possible. We'll find out, Goettel."

Rothsky smiled when he heard the proposal. Finally the Russians were starting to see things from another point of view.

"Mister President, on behalf of the Kingdom of Norway, I accept the terms of a mutual phased standdown and commit the Kingdom to meet again at another location to work out the terms for a possible non-agression pact."

"The Empire can accept these terms as well. As a response, we will order all strategic assets from REDCON 3 up to REDCON 4, normal readiness. We will follow up with a cessation of increased air patrols over our territory."

Arctic Ocean

The radio transmission pierced through the ice and the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean. The Hunter SSN on station was ordered to stand down from strategic attack stance and it did. The submarine would remain on station but it would cease its battle plan, which at REDCON 3 meant that it would begin to make preparations for a strategic strike using conventional or nuclear missiles.

"We will start the stand down immediately with our strategic forces going to a lesser state of readiness first. However i would like you all to agree to come to Voronej and discuss the non-aggression pact first."

"The Empire shall send a representative to Voronej."

Reichskanzler Kübler: "I will send a representative of the Reich when the time comes."

"Alright, then i shall order the stand down."

The ambassador smirked and turned to her aide as she scribbled another note. "Now that such is settled. We need to determine one last thing. It is the matter of a 'missing' weapon from the Germanian submarine. We advise the use of high-frequency sonar on the floor to find this weapon, if not because of the potential environmental risk if it were to explode, by accident. The presence of a nuclear missile on the floor of the Kara Sea, should anything go wrong, could kill far more than anyone anticipates. It must be found. I believe that the Bjornoyan government, given its involvement in the area should, to protect the innocent, divulge what information they have of the situation."

As the Imperial Layartebian Military transitioned back to REDCON 4, which was a normal, alerted state of readiness, the country slowed down a bit. The entire military had been raised to REDCON 3 and it was definitely not an easy maneuver. The highest they ever got was REDCON 2, which was during the Yelmish war. This war would have gone all the way to REDCON 1, had bullets begun flying. The might of the ILM was nothing to joke about nor anything to meddle with. It was untested in its full resolve and thus far, in its slight deployments, as they were referred to as, they had annihilated all foes and vanquished all enemies. At REDCON 1, who knew what capabilities the ILM would have.

This experience did teach the ILM something very important. The Russians had an ace up their sleeve, something that was definitely unknown. The SR-71 flying over the Arctic had been locked up far too quickly for a stealth aircraft. It had to have been tracked prior to the actual lock-on. Did the Russians have some new detection method? Satellites were a possibility but a space track showed that nothing capable was in the area at the time. Infrared was a possibility but again, the EP-8 picked up nothing of the sort. Was it passive? It could not have been, the SR-71 emitted no active signals. The detection was a passive detection but not passive radar. They had something new, something potent. Was it anti-stealth? It could have those possibilities and that potential. Visual tracking was entertained but far too complex and complicated or was it?

"I agree the missile might proove to be a hazard potentially to the Russian Federation. We will start our own sweep of the seabed, if we find the nuke we transport it back to the Fourth Reich. I hope we can cooperate on this."

"The Empire believes it would be utterly foolish not to return the missile. The sheer might that it could unleash upon innocent lives is unimaginable. This single weapon could ruin the entire Arctic ecosystem and the shores that surround it, including Layartebian lands. This must be found, at all costs."

Oslo

Anja:

Official Bjornoyan Patriarchal Federal Government Report on the Kara Sea Incident

"Immediatelly after receiving the signal from the bouy in the Kara Sea, 4 Bjornoyan ships were dispatched to investigate. The fleet was composed of 2 Nightengale Class hospital ships, and 2 Janda Class Bjornoyan transport vessels which each carried a deep sea recovery submersible. At 1 hour and 32 minutes after receiving the distress call from the bouy of the Germanian submarine, the fleet reached its destination. At preciselly 1 hour and 53 minutes after Bjornoyan Federal ships had received the distress call, the rescue and recovery submersible 'Leopard Seal' found what appeared to be the back half of a recently sunken submarine. Upon confirming the find, the fleet sent an open communique to all ships in the region that a sunken submarine had been found, and requested assistance with the rescue efforts. In 13 minutes, the Germanian fleet had reached the region, and within two minutes divers from one of their vessels ordered the operators of the rescue and recovery submersible 'Fur Seal' to cease operation or they would be fired upon. The operators of the 'Fur Seal' proceeded to dive below the operational range of the divers, and were fired upon. Minor components that guided the vessel's bouyancy were destroyed, leaving the submersible unoperational. To escape further damage, the operators of the 'Fur Seal' used what could be used of the ship's vertical propulsion to escape. It landed at the site 1 and 3/4 kilometers away from the Germanian Crash Site, which was called the Bjornoyan Crash Site. 3 Hades class, 2 Crow, and 2 Tennessee class submarines were called forth from their Arctic patrol to assist the threatened non-combatant vessels, the first of the vessels reaching the area within 19 minutes, the last of the submarines had reached the region within an hour and 42 minutes. During this time, rescue operations to assist the 'Fur Seal' were conducted by the 'Leopard Seal' and by midnight, 10 hours and 35 minutes since the 'Fur Seal' had crashed, it was brought into the hull of one of the Bjornoyan Janda class transport vessels. In another 15 minutes, the 'Leopard Seal' was secured in the hull of the other Janda class transport vessel, and the non-combatants left the site, and returned to Port Baum in 2 hours and 37 minutes........."

*report continues*

"Most interesting. Very well. Would it be of possibility to set up a small, court of inquiry into the matter, perhaps have the crew of the submarine interviewed?" She was pushing and on purpose. The ambassador had a hunch about this situation, there were far too many "loop holes" that could be exploited and her goal was to push the Bjornoyans into making a mistake, into slipping up. She was unrelenting in the matter.

Anja: "We as a nation are in no way obligated to offer our soldiers or citizens up to the world for public inquiry. Suppose every time we were suspicious of foreign troop actions we demanded to question soldiers of another nation? Such a move threatens the autonomy of a nation, and the Layartebian suggestion threatens the autonomy of Bjornoya. The report was compiled by the man in charge of the rescue operations, Left Hand of State Herrgott Jacksehn Hegel. Any questions regarding specifics may be re-routed to him and him alone. And it will certainly not be in a court setting. Our national leaders will not be dishonored; will not be forced to stand trial in front of foreign observers in a court of inquiry. Perhaps if you write a polite note he may be in a good mood and answer your questions.
We offer to assist in scanning the ocean floor in search of the supposed missing missile, but we know when we are not welcome, even when it is no-one's home."

Anja was puzzled by the Layartebian ambassador's aggressiveness. Anja knew for a fact from the reports Bjornoya had nothing to do with the missing missile, and the suspicious questions were turning more and more aggressive. She wondered if perhaps the members of the TOA had invented the entire story simply to accuse Bjornoya of piracy, and use that as a basis for a pre-emptive strike. In the end, it would come down to the Reich's word that the ship even had 38 missiles to the Bjornoyan's word that the missile was not removed by their forces. Considering the Bjornoyans took over an hour to reach the crash site, and there were at least two other nations with forces in the region how could they know others did not reach the submarine first? How could they know the missile wasn't lost during the crash? The nature of the crash, the currents, and many other factors could have led to the disappearance of the missile if it even existed. With so many variables, Anja had to believe the attempts to dishonor Bjornoya were merely a grandoise plan to create an incoherent rationale as a means to go to war.

Oslo
Rothsky listened in mild horror as the Layartebian ambassador started her aggressive line of questioning towards the Bjornoyan representative. It could seriously affect the peace process, but they needed to find the damned missile as well.

"Ladies, please, calm down. We all wish to find the missile in question, do we not?"

Rothsky waited untill the two representatives had cooled down before he continued.

"I support the court of inquiry suggestion, but I do not believe that we should prosecute anyone. At least not untill we have anyone to prosecute or untill we have proof that the missile is infact stolen.

"Ms. Anja, you asked if there really were thirty-eight missiles aboard the U-414. Reichskanzler Kübler, can you verify that the U-414 carried thirty-eight missiles?"

Outside the conference room, Defense Minister Alvheim was on the phone to his ministry, talking to the Joint Chief.

[Translated from Norwegian]

"Yes, we've reached an agreement. Take all conventional forces down to BERSTAT-4, and strategic forces to BERSTAT-3."

"Very well sir. It will be done."

Somewhere off Murmansk
The two F-22Bs were still trailing the Russian SR-71 when the E-5B Kami AWACS contacted them.

"Gold flight, this is Heaven Warrior six."

"Heaven Warrior six, Gold lead. Go ahead."

"You are ordered to return to base immediately. Confirm."

"RTB? But we're at BERSTAT-3!"

"Not anymore. We've gone down to -4. Now, RTB!"

"Wilco. Returning to base."

The two F-22Bs banked left and kicked down to Mach 0.9, leaving the SR-71 alone. They, and fifty other fighters were backing down.

Somewhere in the Atlantic
"Conn, radio! We're recieving an Emergency Action Message. Recommending alert one, repeat, recommending alert one."

The voice of the young kvartermester echoed through the command center of the Vengenace class SSBN. Immediately, the XO made for the radio room while the Captain took charge.

"Go to alert one, stand by battlestations."

The XO recieved the message, and met up with the weapons officer and navigation officer at the ships safe, where the confirmation codes were. They used the three combinations needed to open the safe, and took the authorization code which was inside before meeting up with the Captain in the command center. The weapons officer spoke up first, according to the regulations.

"Sir, request permission to verify the message."

"Granted."

The officer cracked open the plastic container in which the code lay, and read it up loud while matching it to the six-letter code on the end of the EAM. He feared that this might be the order he had dreaded to recieve for his entire time in the Navy. To release nuclear weapons.

"Alpha - alpha - golf - sierra - bravo - bravo."

Then the navigation officer took the EAM and authorization code and read it.

"Alpha - alpha - golf - sierra - bravo - bravo. Sir, I concur that the message is authentic."

Then it was the time for the XO to check. He got the EAM and code and matched it silently.

"Sir, the message is authentic."

"Read it out loud."

The weapons officer got the EAM again and read it out loud for the Captain, XO and the entire conn. The captain nodded and took the 1-MC.

"This is the Captain. We have been ordered to reduce our alert status to BERSTAT-3 and power down the missiles. The crisis is over. We are ordered to return to our regular patrol. Good job gentlemen. Out."

The Vengeance class ballistic missile submarine decended to 400 meters and five knots, back to its normal patrol, somewhere in the North Atlantic. A crisis had been averted, and the crew could start breathing again.

"Korshun One, return to base, i repeat, Korshun One return to base."

"I read you Baza. Returning to base."

The SR-71 flying along the eastern border of Layatreb changed its course flying east, SR-71s partroling Norwegian and North Germanian borders did the same soon after.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oslo

"I am sorry ladies and gentlemen but i can not support this unjustful inquiry of my nation's ally. There is no evidence that singles out Bjornya as the one having anything to do with the disappearance of the missile, in addition we haven't even completed the sweep of the sea floor, we should atleast wait until we got the results from that search before we start throwing around baseless accusations that can jeopardise our current truce. And even if the sweep of the seabed will proove beyond any reasonable doubt that missile was removed from the area intentionally there is still nothing to suggest that it was the Bjornyans who removed it. It could as well have been the Norwegians, the Luxemburgeans, the Germans themselves or even my own people. I am not accusing anyone i am simply stating that there is no evidence to suggest that it was Bjornyans who did it, why should Bjornyans go on trial especially since we don't even know that the missile was taken away intentionally? Until the sweep of the ocean floor is complete and it shows us that the missile is not in the area its most logical to think that the missile was swept away by the currents opposed to thinking that it was removed by someone."

The Grand Duke stood up.
"Objection! Monegasque Naval forces have not been within 1 km of the wreck, before they were retreated. There was no Monegasque Submarine in the area, and only one, unarmed helicopter has patrolled over the wreck site. there's no possibility our Navy has took the missile. Even when we took it, what should we have to do with it? Monaco owns no nuclear weapons. They disgust them, so why should we steal one? If we had wanted one, we had produced one ourselves."

Vladimir looked at Grand Duke with a surprised expression, but momentarily his face changed back to its original calm state.

"I apologize sir if you misuderstood me, as i stated previously i was not accusing anyone, i was simply trying to make a point that any of the participants could have done it and nobody should be singled out. Once again i apologize if i offended you."

Reginault stared back at Vladimir for a while, before he made his answer.

"I understand, but as you knew this, you could have left us out beforehand. Therefore I objected. I also would like to press that nobody in their right mind could've stolen a nuclear weapon, as it WOULD create an international crisis."

"I agree with your statement, it would create a crisis. This is yet another point that supports the hypothesis that the missile was not taken away but simply dragged by the currents and is currently still in the area."

"And that is a point on which I agree with you."

Rothsky listened to the Russians argument, and cooled down. What he spoke was true.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am forced to concur with the Russian President. Let us wait untill after a survey before we start accusing nations. It may simply be hidden under the sand. Let us all conduct the survey before we start accusing people. Mrs Ambassador, Herr Reichskanzler, is that acceptable?"

He asked politely, but his eyes said that he urged the representatives of the Kingdoms closest allies to agree.

ooc: Anja has yet to verbally question the existence of the 38th missile. She will probably ask later.

"The Empire is officially accusing no one, merely presenting certain questions pretaining to the matter at hand. We feel it is necessary to get statements before anything has happened. A court of inquiry would not point any fingers, nay, just present all of the facts of the incident and try to find a logical explanation. The court could be held in Layarteb City, should it be necessary."

"First lets see if the missile was stolen at all, we need to choose a 3rd party to do the sweep since we might have problems trusting each other at this point. I propose contacting the government of the United Republics of Eastern Siberia. They only recently became a member of the Voronej Cooperation Organization and they have close ties with the Fourth Reich. In addition they have proclaimed their neutrality. They can do the sweep. Any objections?"

"Perhaps we can also have the United Eastasian Republic also operate, if they are willing. We and they have been meeting to resolve this situation and we trust them highly."

Oslo

Anja:

"We see no need for Bjornoyan presence at a court of inquiry; by this report Bjornoyan forces have already collected and presented the neccessary data. Any questions regarding Bjornoyan actions during the Kara Sea Incident are easily answerable by simply looking at the report regarding the incident compiled by Herrgott Jacksehn Hegel."

Esthar: Bjornoyan Capital (http://0601.netclime.net/1_5/M/D/J/Jacksehntheme.mid)

Patriarch Sedaht Rand looked over some of the feedback coming from the convention in Oslo. He wondered why he had even sent anyone in the first place, logical reasoning seemed beyond these people. The suspicious jumping to conclusions of some of the representatives led the Patriarch to believe discovering the truth was hardly their motive. There would be no chance in hell that a Bjornoyan soldier and especially a Bjornoyan Herrgott be subpoenaed by a foreign nation. Apparently the representatives in Oslo were unaware of such concepts as national autonomy and regional jurisdiction. The day Bjornoyan soldiers or a Bjornoyan Herrgott was questioned in Layarteb regarding the Kara Sea Incident would be the day Layartebian soldiers and governmental figures were questioned in Bjornoya regarding Isla Sorna and Isla Nublar.

"So, they want to interview our soldiers? How dare they question the legitimacy of Hegel's report. This is nothing more than a slap in the face to our government, nay our nation. Nonetheless, if they so desperatelly want more than what Jacksehn has already compiled, we should inform the Herrgott."

Deep within Ormus Stronghold, Bjornoyan Herrgott Jacksehn Hegel received a brief message from the Patriarch informing him he may be needed to answer some further questions. Jacksehn sighed, he felt a certain sense of relief in hearing the Patriarch's words. Such dreadful revelations as he had last night seemed to come more often. Blood still remain, staining his uniform. He looked cautiously at the missile, as if touching it could turn a man to stone. He thought of the possibilities of the future, and his dream. Then he thought about what may events may fall upon him in the near future. He prepared himself; being not only a soldier but a politician, Jacksehn was highly skilled in diplomacy; the art of lying for one's country.

"Very well. We still see the need for a Court of Inquiry and let it be the fate of the Germanians to decide if necessary. It will simply look at all of the facts and all for a broader and more thorough examination of this area, with the aim of finding that weapon, should it still be on the bottom of the Kara Sea. Once again, it must be found. The presence of that weapon presents a major opportunity for ecological catastrophe."

Upon hearing the question of whether there even was a 38th missile was a bit of a step too far.

[Translated from German]

Reichskanzler Kübler: "There is undeniable proof that all U-400 class submarines carry 38 missiles. Apart from hundreds of written reports dating back over a year, pictures of U-400 class submarines reveal 38 missile tubes.

"I have no reason to lie about the number of nuclear weapons carried by my submarines. Furthermore, could even such a strong current carry a missile so large and heavy? If divers could swim through the water without being drifted anywhere, could a nuclear missile be pushed about? This makes little sense, gentlemen. Were they not some of the most classified instruments of warfare in the Reichswehr, I would give detailed blueprints of the U-400 class submarines.

"However, I think any divers in the area would have photographs taken of the submarine which clearly shown all thirty-eight missile tubes. Perhaps the use of my GPS locators would help ease your minds? Not to mention, it would locate the missile."

"Ah yes. This should solve this crisis most quickly. A GPS tracker in the missile. Perhaps it should be activated so that salvage units may be able to recover the missile. I must advise we approach with caution. Should its core be breeched we could be looking at a powder keg."

ooc: Anja has yet to verbally question the existence of the 38th missile. She will probably ask later.

ooc: NG, Anja and as far as I know no-one else has stated Germany lied about the existence of the 38th missile.

As for GPS, it is too late (would've been nice if mentioned in the beggining yes?) since it is being brought about now, I'm going to say radio transmissions required to determine the co-ordinates using GPS are hindered by the high permittivity of materials used to construct an underground fortress. And its underground, you're not going to get a signal.

OOC: Didn't mean to say anyone was necessarily saying I lied, but whether or not there was a 38th missile was brought into question. So, it was almost an accusation of lying in a roundabout, questioning kind of way. Not a flat out statement. Also, didn't know it was underground now.

OOC: Didn't mean to say anyone was necessarily saying I lied, but whether or not there was a 38th missile was brought into question. So, it was almost an accusation of lying in a roundabout, questioning kind of way. Not a flat out statement. Also, didn't know it was underground now.

ooc: Anja mentioned 'supposed missile,' which kinda got blown outa proportion but o well. For the underground, here (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=10044533&postcount=78) it was implied, and bottom of here (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=10073121&postcount=112) it is more blatant.

Beijing

Dinner was served and both Zhao and the Emperor was feasting quite well. "So it seems disaster has been averted. We owe much credit to ourselves for this. Certainly tension has been no stranger over the past few days. We must, in case this happens again, implement a standard operating protocol. It's time for us to delight in this food though."

Beijing

Dinner was served and both Zhao and the Emperor was feasting quite well. "So it seems disaster has been averted. We owe much credit to ourselves for this. Certainly tension has been no stranger over the past few days. We must, in case this happens again, implement a standard operating protocol. It's time for us to delight in this food though."

Zhao nodded as he sipped at his tea. "Indeed. It would be foolish of us to miss such an opportunity to hammer out some arrangements in case this kind of madness grips our allies again."

An aide entered the room, apologising profusely for the interruption, and whispered something to Zhao which brought a smile to the Premier's face. Zhao grabbed a napkin and a pen from the aide, scribbled something down and sent the aide back out.

"Apologies for that interruption. Something needed my permission; you know ministers, they come up with ideas all the time then come begging to you for permission to go through with them."

"Perhaps we can also have the United Eastasian Republic also operate, if they are willing. We and they have been meeting to resolve this situation and we trust them highly."

(OOC: Although there are no representatives of the UER at Oslo, assume that the Eastasians would be willing to operate in that situation.)

"Yes they do. It seems sometimes that it requires my permission to place a stop sign in some rural town. I wonder honestly, if the aide is having that bad a day that he or she can't think for themselves or if they are really afraid they'll get fired for not. It's an odd sort these aides we have sometimes. I tell you, some of the ones I have had, well...real winners. Others, well you know how they are." He sipped his tea and shared a laugh.

ooc: if you haven't noticed, I put music at the beggining of my posts, the link is where it is underlined.

Ormus Stronghold (http://0101.netclime.net/1_5/F/S/M/Homage.mid)

Jacksehn sat alone in silence, glaring at the missile. He could hear a peacekeeper outside his door talking with someone. He heard the word ‘guests’ and then the doors to the chamber flew open violently. Jacksehn prepared himself.

A tall man burst into the room, escorted by a group of 8 young soldiers. Jacksehn had seen them before, their faces haunted him. Their eyes were cold, their manner robotic, their emotions...dead. Jacksehn spoke to the tall man,

"It is here as protocol demanded,"

The tall man glared at the Herrgott,

"Is it ready to be transported?"

"Yes, all that is required is for it to be moved from this vault to the docking stations above."

"Have you gone through all the neccesary safety measures?"

"From our preliminary scan it does not appear to have any timer set, nor have we tampered..."

"That's not what I'm talking about! Did you destroy the tracking devices within the missile. I will not have this organization compromised."

"If we tampered with it it may have..."

The tall man brought his right fist over his left shoulder, and with a quick swipe felled the Bjornoyan Herrgott. The Herrgott crumbled to the floor, staining the ground with blood. Jacksehn quickly reached for his pistol and aimed it at the tall man's face, but both men knew he would not pull the trigger. The tall man sneered and looked down in disgust,

"God knows why we picked you for this, you incompetent piece of shit. And how dare you attempt to threaten me. We created you, we can just as easily destroy you. A simple phone call from one of our puppets to the Patriarch telling him you were in charge of stealing one of the Reich's nuclear missiles is all we’d need. He'd throw you over to them in a heartbeat. He doesn't give a damn about you, no-one does. You hold your position solely through our grace... you are replaceable, never forget that."

With a motion, 2 of the young soldier went about disassembling a portion of the missile. The tall man reached in, and with god-like knowledge smashed the communications relay device. The tall man gave Jacksehn one last kick in the gut as he lay on the ground, then departed. Within minutes, the soldiers had loaded the missile, and had it lifted to the docking station to be transported.

Jacksehn slammed his fist to the ground. He despised his predicament, and had been looking for a way out ever since he'd acquired his position. So far there was nothing. He picked himself up, and went to clean his face.

Sehnsucht Class - Barents Sea

The lingering Sehnsucht Class was sitting quietly in the cold waters of the Barents Sea. The temperature outside couldn't have been over -5°F. Its missile stocks and gun magazines were fully loaded still and its armorey onboard was fully stocked.

The Sehnsucht was under the command of Captain Heidel, a Layartebian born of Germanian descendence. He'd been with the ILN for some time now and in command of the Sehnsucht for the previous four years. His particular ship had done over a hundred operations already. They had collected volumes of information and data about satellite paths, shipping routes, coastal artillery and missile defense sites, aerial defense sites, long-range radar sites, and various other useful information.

The ship was going to remain on station in the Barents Sea, avoiding aircraft and jamming all active defenses looking for it. It's primarily task was now to find, more or less, how the SR-71 had been tracked before it was targetted. That was a major point of information that had to be obtained.

"Yes they do. It seems sometimes that it requires my permission to place a stop sign in some rural town. I wonder honestly, if the aide is having that bad a day that he or she can't think for themselves or if they are really afraid they'll get fired for not. It's an odd sort these aides we have sometimes. I tell you, some of the ones I have had, well...real winners. Others, well you know how they are." He sipped his tea and shared a laugh.

"Oh, too well. Sometimes I just want to spend some quality time with my partner, but there's an emergency meeting or something else. That's the worst part of having a relationship with one of your nation's top music stars, either you're busy or they're working. We manage pretty well though; the media in the UER respect our privacy."

"Well it is good to hear you have found happiness as such and the media leaves it be. I too have a relationship interest, if you put it that way," he chuckled, "she's a head scientist. I think out of any given month she's at four conferences and I am dealing with the Empire. It seems we have far more in common than either of us thought. It is good that this situation has brought us together in communication."

OOC: Yeah...eh..Lay. How do you know that i have an anti-stealth system? I mean i do but i didn't use it to track your SR-71 i used a simple ground based phased array radar for that. So now, how do you have any room to suspect anything?

EDIT: I accidentally listed the guy as 3 meters when I meant 2. Silly mistake.

Also, since Elephantum got all picky about this whole thing, I'm not saying the Thule Gesellschaft is an all-knowing group. They collect what data they can on all nations, they don't know everything.

OOC: Some background information: Bunker 16 is in the heart of the Black Forest, covered and surrounded by very tall, thick trees. Only the entrance, which is a very, very thick steel door is visible from outside. That door is covered in foilage. There's no way to see the bunker or anyone in and/or around it from satellite or recon planes. Besides the Thule Gesellschaft and its assets, only the Reichskanzler is aware of its existence, and he believes it to be abandoned.

IC:

Bunker 16, Wolfach, Germany; 4:37 PM...

A black-uniformed officer in his early 50's walked through a thick steel door, similar to a door of a bank vault, and walked down a long tunnel underground. It took the man over a minute to reach his destination. Another bank-vault-like door greeted him, flanked on both sides by black-uniformed soldiers holding StG-36 assault rifles. In front of the two men was another black-uniformed officer standing next to a small scanning device attached to the wall.

As the officer approached the four-feet-thick steel door, the two soldiers clicked their heels together and stood straight and still. Above them was a halogen blue light which lit the tunnel. These same lights were placed in the ceiling every eight feet.

[Translated from German]

Officer #1: "Identity card, please."

The older officer reached into his black leather trenchcoat and pulled out a plastic card with a picture of his face, a barcode, and various information on it. It read:

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer
Age: 52
Height: 2 Meters
Eye Color: Blue/Grey
Hair Color: Grey
Birthplace: Wolfach, Germany
Reichsnummer: OS-935-215-SS-304-809
Branch: OS-Polizei/Luftwaffe/Waffen-OS/OS-Schutzstaffel/Schwarze Sonne

The younger officer placed the card under the scanning device, which projected a red laser scanner. When the barcode passed under it, a green light lit up above the thick door. The officer flipped a switch, and a pneumatic pump opened the entrance. He handed the card back to Heifer.

Officer #1: "Welcome, Herr Reichsleiter. Please proceed."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "Danke."

The Reichsleiter entered another tunnel which led even further downward. On each side of the tunnel were various rooms in which OS officers were typing up information on keyboards, satellite imagery was on various screens, security cameras of the Black Forest outside the bunker relayed their images to monitors, and it seemed as though everyone was bustling about. From each room, the tunnel extended farther to the left and right, and even deeper into the Earth.

At the end of the tunnel, there was another room which was not on the left or right side of the walls, but directly in the center. It too was guarded by two OS soldiers. This time, they clicked their heels together and stood aside. Heifer opened the door and inside were three men sitting at a table.

The four of them together, minus the fifth man who was currently in Oslo, consisted the Thule Gesellschaft, a secret society turned into a government syndicate. No one, not even the Reichskanzler himself, knew it existed. The only people who did were the founding members: Reinhardt Heifer, Hermann Goettel, Heinz Guderian, Heinrich Roel, and Helmut Steiner.

These five men were the most powerful people in the Reich, aside from the Reichskanzler. At any given time, they monitored every citizen of the Reich, watched with satellites every country in the world, gathered intelligence, plotted, planned, spied, and carried out some of the worst atrocities on Earth when necessary. Combined, they represented every branch of the armed forces, every aspect of secret and classified government activity, commanded every army of the Reich, and ran their own version of the government.

Unlike every other officer and soldier of the Reich, these men's loyalty was not necessary to the Reichskanzler. On the surface, the members appeared to be ordinary military Generals and special-ranking officer. However, underneath that facade they were something much darker. They were only loyal to the Thule Gesellschaft. Every man of this group was once part of the Schwarze Sonne Program, which was dedicated to attempting to apply occult studies to the military, science, and the minds of the people. When the program was cut by the Reichskanzler due to an absence of progress, five men decided that they should continue their studies and expand their power.

Within four years, they had done exactly that. By this point, the Thule Gesellschaft was arguably the most powerful group in Europe (not including Russia). The society had sleeper cells in every country which would periodically activate and attempt to gather intelligence on every aspect possible on every government. No one knew of their existence. These men knew well that should they be discovered, they would be executed. Therefore, no one knew what was truly happening. Only the Freemasons of Bjornoya and an unnamed government group in Layarteb had some sort of idea of their existence.

Heifer took off his black trenchcoat and black officer's cap, and hung them on a coatrack on the wall.

[Translated from German]

Generaloberst Heinz Guderian: "Good of you to join us, Herr Heifer."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "Watch how you speak to me, Guderian. The Kommandant of the Panzerkorps can easily be replaced."

Guderian smirked slightly.

Generaloberst Heinz Guderian: "No one can command the Panzerkorps like I can. I meant no disrespect anyway."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "You'll have to excuse my short temper today. This matter of the missing nuclear weapon in the U-414 has me worried. Any idea where it is?"

Heifer pulled up a chair and sat down. A pack of cigarettes and a flip-top lighter with the symbol of the Schwarze Sonne engraved in it were removed from his officer's tunic.

Generalleutnant Helmut Steiner: "Bjornoya, we think."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "Why do you think that?"

Generalmajor Heinrich Roel: "An informant within the country gave us a report. The Bjornoyan Freemasons seem to have a hand in it."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "Why would they be interested in a nuclear weapon?"

Generaloberst Heinz Guderian: "That's what we aren't sure of. Reich technology? Money? Power?"

Heifer lit a cigarette and a puff of blue/grey smoke swirled through the air.

Generalleutnant Helmut Steiner: "We've decided to contact them."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "And give away our identity? Are you mad?"

Generalmajor Heinrich Roel: "They would give away their identity as well, Heifer."

Generaloberst Heinz Guderian: "Is there any reason to not let them keep it?"

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "Guderian, you cannot be so blind as to think it would be wise to allow another country to develop Cobalt-based nuclear weapons, can you?"

Generaloberst Heinz Guderian: "The Bjornoyan government is stable enough. The Freemasons aren't a militant group. If the Russian Federation held the Cobalt-14 my stance would be a great deal different."

Generalleutnant Helmut Steiner: "I agree with Herr Heifer. We must recover the Cobalt-14. No one knows its operating system."

"Generalmajor Heinrich Roel: "I too agree."

Generaloberst Heinz Guderian: "Very well. I vote we get it back."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "Does anyone have any idea how to contact the Freemasons?"

Generalmajor Heinrich Roel: "Goettel should know."

Generalleutnant Helmut Steiner: "Unfortunately Goettel is in Oslo with the Reichskanzler."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "I will contact him then. How is the production of the StuG-I coming along, Guderian?"

Generaloberst Heinz Guderian: "We have produced 120 units."

Heifer nodded his head, reached over to a black phone and proceeded to dial twelve numbers.

Oslo, Norway, 4:49 PM...

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel was headed back towards the jet along with the Reichskanzler, which would bring them to Berlin, when he felt a vibration in his black trenchcoat. He pulled out a small pager and read the message.

"Cobalt-14 SLBM believed to be held by the Freemasons in Bjornoya. We have decided to retrieve it. Only you know how to contact them. 120 StuG-I PATs produced.

- Heifer"

The Reichskanzler looked over at Goettel.

Reichskanzler Heydrich Kübler: "What was that about, Goettel?"

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "Heifer has informed me that 120 StuG-I PATs have been produced."

Reichskanzler Heydrich Kübler: "Good news."

What the Thule Gesellschaft did not know was that Kübler knew all too well where the Cobalt-14 SLBM was...

"Yes a GPS tracker should atleast tell us if the missile is in the area. This will save us some time....however we will still need a confirmation of information released by the Reich if the Reich chooses to release any information. So GPS or not i suggest that we still have the third party initiate a sweep of the area. I suggest we contact the United Eastasian Republics as soon as possible and see if they would be kind enough to agree to do the sweep. It should take several days, if the missile is not found anythere near the area we can assume that it was taken away. However in that case, since the missile is no longer anythere near Russian Federation waters and there is no threat of contamination, Russian Federation will withdraw from this affair, and only reemerge again to discuss the non-aggression pact. Now is there anything else left to discuss?"

OOC: Yeah...eh..Lay. How do you know that i have an anti-stealth system? I mean i do but i didn't use it to track your SR-71 i used a simple ground based phased array radar for that. So now, how do you have any room to suspect anything?

First it was visual. Now ground-based phased array. Time to make up your damn mind, changing this and that, what are you Duke Barol? (sorry DB). Basically this is how it happened, according to you the first time. The visual sensor tracked onto the SR-71. Yes that doesn't give a warning visually but otherwise would give a warning (except IR and it was too far for IR). Then, all of a sudden, the SR-71 was targetted (i.e. a lock-on). That gives a warning (unless IR and again, too far to be IR). So if you are suddenly targetted you are like hmmm no warning of the tracking. Somehow the plane was tracked without it knowing. That is pretty obvious grounds that there is some type of sensor there that isn't revealing its presence and is capable of tracking, which could be assumed to be anti-stealth. It's pretty simple deductive reasoning.

OOC: If you are targeted visually you wouldn't know it, if you are targetted with a radar you would. Since you knew that i targeted you that means that i used a radar to do that. Also the visual thing i discussed with you on AIM, it has nothing to do with this thread, i can change my final story as much as i want, all of this is happening because of a misunderstanding on your part anyways, i am referring to then i said target but don't engage and you decided that i used a radar and you could detect it although i never said that i used a radar and i could have targeted you without you ever knowing with my anti-stealth sysmte. Think buddy, think.

OOC: 3 meters tall? Remind me NEVER to fight him. I would know it if the avionics package included laser, IR, or any type of optical scanners. In order to lock-on to something you need to maintain a constant, active way of doing it. You could use passive if the aircraft was emitting active signals but on a reconnaissance mission, active signals are a big no-no.

Inside the Empire of Layarteb, secret societies flourished all too well. Freemasons were the least secretive and their existence was known, sadly for them. Then there was the Illuminati, secret, unknown, but limited by their capabilities. The Freemasons penetrated most of the academic circles whereas the Illuminati, on the other hand, penetrated only the elites of society and very few at that. The Freemasons in the Empire numbered between ten and thirty thousand. The Illuminati numbered less than six hundred and they were scattered. Those were the two most common of the bunch, albeit the latter was far more secretive than the former and its existence, on any given day, was a guess.

The other two groups weren't known, period, not even to the Emperor. The first was Majestic, which operated as a shadow government, should something happen. They would be able to step in and completely take over the government, should revolution, chaos, or death sweep throughout the Empire and the Emperor. They were the ones that knew everything about everything and they were the ones who were the most powerful and dangerous. They numbered between twenty-four and ninety-six on any given point in time, fluctuating with deaths, expulsions, additions, and executions. Mr. Carpenter was one of them.

Then, the most secretive of all the groups was the Order of Comhghall, which numbered thirteen individuals, all of them in Majestic. This secret order was not known to Majestic and those inside of it were kept to the utmost secrecy. Should Majestic be compromised they were the last line of defense for the Empire. All of them stood for the Empire and their loyalty was to the Empire itself.

Unlike the Freemasons and Illuminati who had tendencies to support the Republican ideal, both Majestic and the Order of Comhghall were supportive of the authoritarian style of leadership present in the Empire. It was the Order of Comhghall who would, should it be necessary, guide Majestic in the event of a major collapse in the government. Their leader was the most infamous, secretive, and deadly man in the Empire, one who was far more capable than any number of individuals put together.

Majestic had been monitoring the situation in Russia and the Kara Sea since the incident began. It was they who first surmised that the missing weapon wasn't missing at all but rather stolen by the Bjornoyans. They knew not who stole it nor of their motives but they didn't believe nor buy into any story of the missile having gone missing underneath the water. It would have been found already, especially since the Germanians had GPS trackers in their missiles. The technology came straight from the Empire and for that specific purpose only. The Empire had such devices in all of their nuclear, chemical, biological, radiological, and electronic pulse weapons, tactical and strategic. The GPS tracker was wired into the actual guidance of the missile. It had more failsafes than were necessary. The initial failsafe was a simple GPS beacon, sent over an encrypted network. The GPS beacon could penetrate over 15,000 feet of water or 200 feet of earth. Should that become disabled, the entire guidance and arming system of the weapon would be rendered inoperable by a simple charge that short-circuited both systems, frying any electronics. However, just before this could be done, the charge would send a broadband pulse over non-encrypted networks, alerting those in the Empire to what was happening. Once that system was disabled the weapon would be in a type of "self-defense" mode. Any further tampering would cause the weapon to self-destruct by the way of a full and complete charge based system built into the encasement of the weapon. This would completely damage any bunker or recovery operation being taken place.

As the situation unfolded throughout the world, Majestic kept a close eye. They had been previously distracted by the crash of a UFO in Greenland and the presence of mysterious lights, again, over some rural towns in West Virginia but they had not forseen the problems of the Kara Sea. The presence of ILN assets in the Arctic as part of routine was their best hope for understanding the situation. EP-8 and SR-71 flights throughout the area gathered information that not only found its way into the ILM but also into their hands. When the SR-71 had been locked-on without prior notice or notification it immediately alerted them to the presence of a passive detection system in Russia, one that was very capable, especially to be able to track the SR-71, of which only the B-2, F-22, and F-117, of known existence, were stealthier. The 0.0009SF series aircraft developed by the LDC were far more stealthier than any of those and would require a lot more than simple phased-arrays, overpowered radars, over-the-horizon scanners, or even FLIR sensors to detect. At night, it would require far more than all of those, as well as visual and electromagnetic scanners. They were extremely classified and extremely capable, built for the purpose of first-strike.

OOC: I already explained to you the whole deal, but if you're too stubborn to admit something as simple as this then there is nothing i can do. But i WILL NOT reveal my anti-stealth system no matter what you do.

The 0.0009SF series aircraft developed by the LDC were far more stealthier than any of those and would require a lot more than simple phased-arrays, overpowered radars, over-the-horizon scanners, or even FLIR sensors to detect.

Now thats BS, a low enough frequency radar can detect anything.

OOC: I already explained to you the whole deal, but if you're too stubborn to admit something as simple as this then there is nothing i can do. But i WILL NOT reveal my anti-stealth system no matter what you do.

You need to chill the hell out. I never made any claims to you revealing it, me figuring out what it is, or anything. It's all guesses and the like so relax there and calm down. Stop assuming everything and just trust in the fact that my knowing exactly what it is 100% would constitute godmodding...Paranoid much?

OOC: I already explained to you the whole deal, but if you're too stubborn to admit something as simple as this then there is nothing i can do. But i WILL NOT reveal my anti-stealth system no matter what you do.



Now thats BS, a low enough frequency radar can detect anything.

:: SIGH ::

You need to chill the hell out. I never made any claims to you revealing it, me figuring out what it is, or anything. It's all guesses and the like so relax there and calm down. Stop assuming everything and just trust in the fact that my knowing exactly what it is 100% would constitute godmodding...Paranoid much?

OOC: Yes i am.

:: SIGH ::

Now what is that supposed to mean? Also as mentioned previously in this thread i have a network of buoys (or however you call them) that emit active sonar waves and WILL detect any ship or submergible that tries to enter Russian Federation waters, officially that network is part of a program to track the fish movement, but nobody is fooled by that cover story. So here we go, good luck getting into my waters undetected, from what i remember no sub can evade detection by active sonar.

OOC: Yes i am.



Now what is that supposed to mean? Also as mentioned previously in this thread i have a network of buoys (or however you call them) that emit active sonar waves and WILL detect any ship or submergible that tries to enter Russian Federation waters, officially that network is part of a program to track the fish movement, but nobody is fooled by that cover story. So here we go, good luck getting into my waters undetected, from what i remember no sub can evade detection by active sonar.

You know as much about submarines as I do about partical physics. Seawolf and Virginia submarines can't be detected by active pings very far out. Their hulls absorb a LOT of sound, which is what my submarines do. They are double hulled with a thick, sound absorbing material in between the two hulls. Secondly, anything that is bolted to the hull is bolted through rubber lining on both the RL and my submarines. Just because you guys bolted everything to the hull, never did any of the lining, and what not doesn't mean it can't happen. And I hold true that my submarines can get in and out of your waters pretty quietly unless they come close to a buoy or sensor and if it is emitting active pings it's pretty easy to avoid.

OOC: Its a network and there is no gaps, plus i can claim the emitted sonar waves to be as powerful as i need them to be to detect you.

OOC: Its a network and there is no gaps, plus i can claim the emitted sonar waves to be as powerful as i need them to be to detect you.

There are always gaps. And if the waves are that powerful not only are you going to kill all the fish in the area but you going to illuminate your own submarines. Plus being really powerful is going to damage the recievers. Jeez man...stop making stuff up.

OOC: In addiotion let me guess you have your own system that will make it impossible for anyone to get into your waters but its workings are of course classified. You do a lot of things with magic you know Layatreb, you can make a sizeble military unit exist on a fixed location without my satelites detecting them, you capture UFOs, you have a plane that is capable of avoiding any radar and yet the most magical thing of all you claim to be an MT nation.

See you are still making stuff up. I never made a claim that nobody could get in or out of my waters or airspace. Hell I let you and that SR-71 get close to my airspace. Will I know if someone is in my waters or airspace? Probably. Can they sneak in? Of course, it's possible. You think I do magic because you can't understand anything except how to field strip an AK-74, of which I envy btw, but that's about it. Everything you claim I do with magic is probably so far from magic it isn't funny. The closest thing to magic is my LGM-175A with its 1.057 gigaton nuclear warhead but its PMT so I don't use it in MT or E2. I mean come on stop...you make my head hurt...

OOC: Okay so you will know if i enter your waters, but i won't know if you entered mine. Now that is magic. I understand more then you think and in many areas more then you do but then i bring up an argument against you most of the time you can't respond.

When you learn how to read the entire post and not just what you want then start talking again but stop cluttering up this thread with OOC posts trying to pick a fight with me. You do it all the time. So shhh...

"Hush little baby don't say a word, mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird." Shhhhh...quiet time now...my head hurts listening to this...let's be good and stop cluttering up the thread shall we?

OOC: I read an entire fucking post and i respond to it. I didn't try to pick a fight i am trying to proove a simple point and you are trying to piss me off with retarded attempts to insult me just like in the previous post.

Let it go man...I'm not biting today...Gotta eat dinner...

OOC: I read an entire fucking post and i respond to it. I didn't try to pick a fight i am trying to proove a simple point and you are trying to piss me off with retarded attempts to insult me just like in the previous post, you probably even think that you are funny or constructive.
You know what you do then? You act like the adult you claim to be, shut up and ignore him instead of replying to him. Simple as that.

OOC: Let what go? You are wrong and i am right, you have no way of explaining how most of your super-duper systems work so you fail to respond to the questions then somebody asks you how that happens. And now thats a usual manuver on your part, you can't put up any intelligent argument, so you try to attack a person who puts up a valid argument against you. Hey, i remember we had that discussion about WW2, how did that turn out? Oh wait yeah right, i gave you plenty of facts to support my argument, you gave me an incorrect statement, called me an idiot and ran away. You're so intelligent Layatreb, i wonder why they haven't given you one of those Genius awards yet. Oh wait, right claiming to know something and then not being able to answer any questions on the topic doesn't qualify you. Have a good dinner.


NG, i am sorry, i'll delete all of this tomorrow.

OOC: That doesn't really solve anything though, he will go to bed thinking that he is correct, his ridiculus views and lack of understanding will never be opposed and i will have to come back to this issue or the next time he will have his undetectable microscopic soldiers invade my nation and claim the inside's of my president's ass in the name of Empire of Layatreb.

I am obviously joking, but seriously he doesn't have an explanation for over half of things he claims to know about and be able to do.
Well, I'm not the one who starts one thing, then when I get called on it go back and edit into something else which you have done earlier in this thread. As for explenation for his stuff, do some f'ing research before you start ranting. Check out his website where he have it listed. Check it. It's in his link. Dunno how updated it is, but when he get his ass up and update the site like he's said for a few weeks, it will be updated (hint for Layarteb). Do some research before you start accusing people. You could also benefit from showing credible evidences for your claims instead of calling everyone who disagree with you imbeciles, idiots and uneducated, and claiming that you are correct and everyone else is wrong (like you did in the post quoted above) like you've tried against me and others several times. If I have understood the rules of this forum correctly, that can constitute trolling, and possibly flamebaiting. Therefore, get a grip and do your homework before you claim stuff. Also, as Layarteb pointed out, read the posts completely, and preferably several times to ensure that you don't miss anything. Even the best can error. After all, it is human to error. I rest my case.

http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001160.html
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050921-102706-1524r.htm
[url]http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/space/SpaceRepublish_120537.htm[url]

Here we have evidence that the satellite jammers are a operational, and possibly a real concern for RL militaries. There are all sorts of jammers. The satellite jammers can completely distort satellite reconnisance and transmissions, GPS transmitters can confuse items which use that, such as JDAM bombs. In fact, during the Iraq invasion in 2003, the Iraqis tried that. However, they were picked up by RQ-1 Predator UAVs equipped with Hellfire missiles (which use laser-guidance) and destroyed before the USAF dropped JDAMs on the target. They work. And just imagine how beefed up the jammers Layarteb must be using are in comparison to RL jammers. Now, I can't say that this is how he's doing it, but it's how I'd do it. It is very much possible. It demands resources, yes, but its plausible. Now, stop clogging up this thread.

OOC: Anyways, lets just move on. As i said Lay, not having the best week, kind of pissed at life, although i don't agree with a lot of things you claim it doesn't matter for the purposes of this RP, you can look for my anti-stealth system all you want you ain't gonna find it. Lets just delete our debating posts and move on. I already deleted mine.

OOC: So Lay what kind of presence do you have in the area right now? Okay i'll say that i'd have trouble getting the submergibles but my system will sure as hell pick up the above water ships, so how many do you have? Just that command ship?

OOC: So Lay what kind of presence do you have in the area right now? Okay i'll say that i'd have trouble getting the submergibles but my system will sure as hell pick up the above water ships, so how many do you have? Just that command ship?

OOC: Aside from the Hunter SSN in the Kara Sea and the other subs in the Arctic just the Sehnsucht command ship which has a considerable amount of jamming systems, stealth systems, and masking systems.

Greenland (80°N, 24°W)

"It's cold today." SGT. McMillian said as he lit a cigarette. "Too cold to go out to the smoking area."

"It's Greenland. We're in the Arctic Circle. What do you expect?" His colleague, SFC. Nardelli said. "Bet you wish you didn't piss off the colonel last year in Iceland huh?"

"No. No I don't. I'd rather be there than here. I can't even feel my hands if I go within twenty feet of the door. This place sucks to hell."

"Tell me about it. We haven't had anything good in months."

"I have a feeling we'll get something though. Maybe something good."

"Yeah, it beats watching old reruns on television or soccer."

As they were saying that, a man of large stature walked down the hallway to the main central command center. Only SGT. McMillian, SFC. Nardelli, and four others were on duty in the room. The man walking down the hall was the base commander, MAJ. Jasons, a man who loved cold weather so much he rejected any Caribbean leave he recieved. "Attention!" He shouted as he walked into the commander center. All six men shot to attention. Another useless inspection probably. They thought. The Major was known for his inspections and his keen awareness to drilling, even here, in the middle of the Arctic Circle, thousands of miles away from anything above 0°F. "Gentlemen. We have a new tasking at hand. We're going to be working on gathering intelligence on Russia. We will be using all of our methods available to monitor communications, gather encrypted data, and basically do what we were bred to do. Carry on men. I trust you are all aware of the tasks you must do?"

"Sir yes sir!"

"Very well. Enjoy men. Make me proud." He saluted and left. The men returned the salute and returned to their panels.

"Russia huh?" SFC. Nardelli said as he went to work. He was extremely gifted in cryptography and had, on more than one occassion, broke even 512-bit encryption. He expected the Russians to be using 1024-bit as a minimum and so he was prepared. Nobody said this would be a quick task nor did he expect this to be an easy task. Signals intelligence was an art form and that was what they were there to do. The SIGINT facility in northeastern Greenland was built for that purpose, to monitor across the Arctic Circle, specifically Russia.

In the freezing temperatures, howling Arctic winds, the men inside the base began working on their roles as SIGINT operators, a task which they knew they could and would complete, albeit it would take time.

Bunker 16
Wolfach, Germany
7:56 PM...

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel and his escort approached the entrance to Bunker 16. As protocol commanded, the same two black-uniformed OS guards greeted him. However, as Goettel was second-in-command of the entire Reich, they opened the doors without question.

Hermann walked quickly down the tunnel, passing various extensions and workrooms, his jackboots clicking against the floor with each step. As he reached the vault door separating the tunnels from the Thule Gesellschaft Meeting Room, he removed his identity card and waited for the black-clad officer to scan it. The two guards behind the officer clicked their heels together and stood at attention.

[Translated from German]

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel
Age: 48
Height: 1.8 meters
Eye Color: Dark Brown
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Birthplace: Würzburg, Germany
Reichsnummer: OS-418-463-SS-578-658
Military Branch: Waffen-OS/OS-Polizei/Heimwehr/OS-Schutzstaffel/Schwarze Sonne

OS Officer: "Welcome, Herr Reichsführer. Please enter."

Upon seeing Goettel nod his head, the officer tapped the button which opened the thick vault door. Inside were the other four members of the Thule Gesellschaft. This time, they all stood up, clicked their heels together, and gave the fascist salute. Their respect was reciprocated by the Reichsführer.

[Translated from German]

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "It is good to see you gentlemen. The matter at hand today is the missing Cobalt-14 SLBM, correct?"

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "Indeed."

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "And you all presume the Freemasons in Bjornoya hold it?"

Generaloberst Heinz Guderian: "We have an asset who believes it to be true."

Generalleutnant Helmut Steiner: "We've been debating sending a coded message in Old Morse Code. It's obvious they were able to sneak under their own government's nose and pick up the C-14. Despite the unfortunate death of Herr Ringhoffer and the entire crew of the U-414, they still purchased this technology from us."

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "The situation has drastically changed since the initial deal was made, Steiner. It's now an international debacle."

Generalmajor Heinrich Roel: "There's no chance in taking the deal back now. The Freemasons already gave us that little piece of information we've needed for some time. Wouldn't it be better to just say we've retrieved the weapon?"

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "That's a sound possibility. We just need to buy time to allow them to produce one of their own. How do we do that?"

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "We start a war, gentlemen."

Roel and Steiner quickly turned their heads to Goettel, almost sweating. The only two who didn't appear concerned were Guderian and Heifer. Heifer, being of a natural war-like and sadistic nature never had a problem leading several Army Groups into foreign soil. Guderian, on the other hand, would benefit in a war by making himself look better to the Reichskanzler.

Goettel proposed the idea, in part, because it would be an opportunity to send the military branch of the OS, the Waffen-OS, into combat for the first time. The Waffen-OS soldiers had proven themselves superior to the Reichswehr soldiers in practice combat and were far more fanatical, giving very little or no value to their lives or those of others.

The silence in the room was suddenly broken by the red phone ringing. The five men turned their heads towards it in shock, as it only rang if one of the men was calling the room. As all five were present, an outside source had located them.

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "We have a spy amongst us. Answer it, Heifer."

Looking a bit nervous, the Reichsleiter picked up the phone.

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "Heifer."

After announcing over the phone who he was, he heard a series of beeps and pauses. Morse Code. As the beeps were being played, he quickly scribbled down what was relayed.

"Contact Mr. Murdoch of Majestic. Elkins, West Virginia, Layarteb. 9 46 8902 45825 312."

Generaloberst Heinz Guderian: "Well?"

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "The message was from a man in Layarteb, from a group called Majestic."

Generalmajor Heinrich Roel: "Never heard of it."

Generalleutnant Helmut Steiner: "Well, besides Majestic and the Freemasons, who has heard of us?"

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "I'm impressed. Call Herr Murdoch then, Heifer. Only you and I are to speak to him."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "Very well."

Heifer picked up the red phone and dialed in the numbers. After three rings, a voice on the other end answered. Heifer replied in a moderately thick German accent while Goettel picked up another phone on the same line.

[In English]

"This is Mr. Murdoch..."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "This is Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer. How did you come by this number and who are you?"

Mr. Murdoch: "Ah, Mr. Heifer. I have heard many things about you here in Layarteb. To answer your last question first, I represent an organization called Majestic, similar to your Thule Gesellschaft. To answer your first question, one of your assets in Layarteb informed me of your existence."

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "This is Goettel. You are aware that is grounds for execution, correct?"

Mr. Murdoch: "Ah, Mr. Goettel. I have heard many things about you as well in Layarteb. To answer your question, I am well aware. However, I have a proposition in which you may be interested -- something to negate your desire to execute that asset."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "...continue."

Mr. Murdoch: "I assume that the Thule Gesellschaft has already theorized something similar to my proposition, which is to merge organizations similar to our respective own into one international group which works together to serve its own interests."

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "We have indeed. However, we did not know of your existence until a few minutes ago. The only other group considered were the Freemasons of Bjornoya. Let's say we had a deal arranged with them."

Mr. Murdoch: "I didn't know they existed. I assume the deal had something to do with the U-414?"

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "That's our concern, Mr. Murdoch."

Mr. Murdoch: "Yes, of course. I propose you not execute that asset until we discuss this merger of sorts."

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "When did we agree to a merger?"

Mr. Murdoch: "You haven't yet."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "Hold please."

Goettel and Heifer pressed the "silent" buttons on their respective phones.

[Translated from German]

Generalleutnant Helmut Steiner: "We should meet with this 'Majestic' group. The Layartebians have always been our friends."

Generalmajor Heinrich Roel: "I agree."

Generaloberst Heinz Guderian: "I too."

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "I approve."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "So do I."

The "silent" buttons were pressed again.

[In English]

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "I wish to meet you myself, as I represent the Thule Gesellschaft with the highest seniority. Where is the rendezvous point?"

Mr. Murdoch: "Name a place."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "Almaty, Kazakhstan. Industrial District, Barnau Street. Of course, that's where you will go to find out where to find me and how. Tomorrow, 1:37 AM. If you're late, this meeting will be called off and I will assume you've been killed."

Mr. Murdoch: "I look forward to meeting you."

Heifer and Goettel hung up their phones.

[Translated from German]

Generaloberst Heinz Guderian: "Interesting. Now, where are the Freemasons?"

Generalmajor Heinrich Roel: "Ah, gentlemen, I forgot to mention something. The Reichswehr and OS have replaced the old SG-31 (http://www.hkdefense.us/pages/military-le/mil-leimages/g36fullmain.jpg) with the new SG-33 (http://www.hkdefense.us/pages/military-le/mil-leimages/416-14main.jpg). It has a 6.3 x 43mm caliber. More accurate, better at piercing armor, longer lifespan, better range, three-round burst fire... an excellent rifle."

Generaloberst Heinz Guderian: "Your inability to stay on topic is proving to be most irritating, Roel. But since we're on the topic of production, I'd like to inform you all that to date a total of 155 StuG-I PATs have been produced."

Generalleutnant Helmut Steiner: "The Reichsmarine is in the process of designing a new warship and submarine."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "The Luftwaffe should begin production of the BF-17 by the end of the month."

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "Very well, gentlemen. This meeting is adjourned. Heifer, stay behind."

Three of five men left the room, leaving Goettel and Heifer alone.

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "What's this about?"

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "The Bjornoyan Freemasons should be calling any minute now. I want you present when they do..."

Elkins, West Virginia

Mr. Murdoch hung up the phone and looked around the table. The top twelve members of Majestic were seated around the table with stern looks in their faces. "Should we trust this alliance with the Bjornoyans?" One asked.

"It is a perilous idea." Mr. Murdoch answered. "I am not entirely sure we have a choice."

"Very true. I don't understand though, what is it that we are trying to accomplish here?"

"The motives of the Reich are not our concern. The motives of the Bjornoyans are."

"Cobalt based weapons are definitely a major bargaining chip. Our space based launch platforms contain only four missiles with 33 pounds of Cobalt-60 each. Unfortunately that is more than enough to render the world a very uncomfortable place."

"The presence of Cobalt weapons was previously only in our hands and the Reich. Now the Bjornoyans have it." Mr. Murdoch lit a cigarette and puffed. "You know. We should go to this meeting with the idea of monitoring both the Reich and the Bjornoyans on this situation."

"Right. Mr. Murdoch may you go. I shall accompany you." That man was Mr. Gray, one of the higher ranking members in the twelve. He was number three, whereas Murdoch was ten. The two of them usually saw eye to eye on most matters and this was no different. Both of them were in their mid-40s and both recruited from the same place, the now defunct Manhattan Program, which was the first program that investigated the use of Magnetite in nuclear warheads as a booster.

Mr. Murdoch was a man of small stature, only about 5'6" and he weighed about 160 pounds. Mr. Gray, on the other hand, stood a full foot taller and weighed just over 200 pounds. They were both old allies and old friends from the Manhattan Program, both having doctorate degrees in physics, more particularly nuclear physics. They had accomplished a lot of evil between the two of them. The entire LGM-175 program owed its existence to the two of them.

Charleston, West Virginia

Sitting alone, on the edge of the tarmac was a single C-21B Learjet 80, the transport plane of choice for Majestic. The aircraft was heavily modified from the C-21A military version, which had been retired almost ten years earlier. The transport was crewed by two pilots and seated eight comfortably or twenty in an emergency configuration. At 64.89 feet long, 14.56 feet tall, and 48.79 feet wide at its wingtips, the $88M aircraft was well made. It weighed 18,000 pounds empty and could take off at a maximum weight of 40,510 pounds. She could carry 12,190 pounds of fuel and up to 1,600 pounds of weapons, stored in a pair of small bays underneath the aircraft, which usually held four, short-range, infrared missiles. One bay faced forward, the other faced aft. They carried the AIM-9X Sidewinder until it was retired by the AIM-204A Escape missile. Powered by a pair of turbofan engines, the plane had 8,000 pounds of thrust to push it to 590 miles per hour at sea level, 635 miles per hour at altitude, and 57,000 feet at a rate of 2,200 feet per minute. Unrefueled, it had a range of 6,289 miles and it was equipped for inflight refueling.

The aircraft sat guarded by a pair of soldiers, each armed with M30A3 Carbines. The two pilots were inside, working on their preflight checks when the limo pulled up. The driver got out and opened the door. Both Mr. Gray and Mr. Murdoch stepped out, dressed in suits. They each carried a briefcase and they had one bag of items, which the driver carried to the plan and loaded onboard. The guards checked their ID passcards with a UV scanner to ensure they were real. Upon verification, the guards stood at attention and saluted. "Sirs. Your aircraft is ready."

"Thank you gentlemen." Mr. Gray returned the salute. "Perhaps we should be going then?" He turned to Mr. Murdoch.

"I believe so. Gentlemen. Carry on. You are relieved."

"Thank you sir." They walked off as the door of the aircraft was shut.

Both men sat comfortably in the aircraft and Mr. Murdoch poured himself a soda. "Louis, what is the flight plan looking like?"

Louis was the pilot. "Sir. We're going to be refueling over the Azores and then flying straight through to Almaty. We have 2,880 miles to the Azores and then another 5,060 to Almaty so we're going to be in the air for about sixteen hours. It's going to be a long trip so we better get comfortable."

"Thank you."

"Always a pleasure sir." Within twenty minutes, they were sitting on the edge of the runway, waiting for clearance. When that came, the aircraft bolted down the runway at full throttle, climbing out of its take-off run after a mere 4,800 feet. It would climb to 36,000 feet and fly the entire length of the Azores to meet up with an airborne KC-10A Extender. After that, it was on to Almaty, at five hundred miles per hour and 44,000 feet.

Hmm I guess there was no point to ever putting top secret IC on the Sehnsucht if you don't even know what that means.

OOC: So wait a second I have to respect every point of your RPs but you don't worry about details of anyone else?

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=7811067&postcount=6

may be out of date but its there

Says Top-Secret IC. That means the name of it, who owns it, the details about it, are all pretty much unknown. It carries stealth systems to stop radar from getting it. It carries satellite jamming systems. It carries submarine masking systems (think NIXIE on coke). It carries IR suppression systems. There is a reason it costs $4B each. I am not saying it can't be detected but trying to detect it is going to take a lot more work than "Oh hey there you are."

OOC: Then do you respect points of my RP? Anyways, just to stop your whining okay i will delete my post, you delete yours and lets be a happy, happy bunch. Also don't forget to delete your yesterday's posts.

OOC: Then do you respect points of my RP? Anyways, just to stop your whining okay i will delete my post, you delete yours and lets be a happy, happy bunch. Also don't forget to delete your yesterday's posts.

OOC: Let's see your whole Anti-Stealth System is Top Secret IC. I think I respected that a LONG time ago. But yet I have a single ship that can't be Top Secret IC. Never said you had to delete. Just wanted to at least respect the fact that nobody knows who the ship belongs to, what the ship is, or anything else.

OOC: i am not retyping that, lets move on.

OOC: i am not retyping that, lets move on.

OOC: Dear God man...There's no hope...Want to know a secret? You can never hide from visual and an aircraft moves A LOT faster than a ship. I mean it's so simple.

OOC: I know that i can detect you, obviously, i just don't want to bother retyping a whole god damn post, atleast not now.

OOC: I know that i can detect you, obviously, i just don't want to bother retyping a whole god damn post, atleast not now.

OOC: You don't get it. I want the Sehnsucht detected. I want it detected very much because its too hard to hide it anymore period, anywhere, in any theater. I just want due effort put into getting it as I took me hours to make. It's one of my best naval creations yet.

OOC: Alright, i will detect it but not now, i am busy now. I am working.

OOC: Alright, i will detect it but not now, i am busy now. I am working.

OOC: See that wasn't so hard. I am sure you have aircraft patrolling around the Barents Sea. I am sure you have submarines doing 3 knots that might just coincidentally raise periscope and see something on the horizon. There is a myriad of ways.

Necropolis (http://0302.netclime.net/1_5/742446/1134767791_20313/Plan.mid)

The tall man and his soldiers made their way out of Ormus with no incident, any move on the part of Jacksehn would have resulted in the Herrgott’s immediate termination. The Freemasons had built the man known as Jacksehn Hegel quite literally. Born within a secluded laboratory of Amgen prior to the revolution, Jacksehn Hegel was the final prototype of a series of bio-engineering experimentations. After years of failure, the Freemasons’ scientific branch had successfully spliced certain favorable genes into their test-tube creations. However, the process was extremely expensive and costly, the work required to go through the entire genome was exhaustive. Alas, Jacksehn now was the last survivor of the experiments. Jacksehn had been implanted with various devices as well, including a direct communications device that relayed the Freemason’s commands as electrical signals sent directly through his neural pathways. Along with these, various biological triggers were set within Jacksehn as a safety protocol. Should the Herrgott choose to betray his creators, the Freemasons could neutralize the threat beforehand by artificially triggering the production of certain toxins produced naturally by the body, killing the Herrgott from the inside out.

But Jacksehn was not what concerned the tall man. The missile had already been re-secured within the endless catacombs of Necropolis. It was the utter failure of the transaction that bothered him. How could the German submarine have crashed, and why the hell hadn’t Jacksehn moved vessels into the region sooner? Had he not been able to recover the missile before foreign forces got their hands on it, he would most likely have been considered a ‘disposable asset.’

The tall man shadowed his feelings as he made the call to what was known as ‘Bunker 16.’ A predetermined block of Morse code rang through the German line for over 10 minutes before the Germans confirmed the call was genuinely from the Freemasons. The men known as Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer and Reichsführer Hermann Goettel listened.

“Gentlemen, we were damnably fortunate that we have secured the weapon. But we do not operate by such a flimsy process as chance, we are fate. This sort of mishap will not happen again, yes?”

“As we have discussed, the disappearance of this missile could lead to some very beneficial situations for our nations. This missile if ‘found’ by your teams will become rogue. It never existed. I’m sure if you use your imaginations you can discover the possibilities?”

“If you wish to further discuss the situation, I propose we meet within the depths of Necropolis’ catacombs. Should you agree to this, you will come to the western suburbs of Necropolis in two days, 04:30 Bjornoyan time. Look for 624 Fatali Ave, an abandoned subway system lies beyond the retirement homes. Its doors shall be open when you arrive. Descend to the depths, and take the automated subway-car to the third stop. There you will find an empty hallway of the catacombs that extends for 1 ¾ kilometers. At the pair of brass doors, the answer is ‘Ad astra per aspera.’ I shall be waiting…”

"THREE SECONDS FROM WAR!"

OSLO (Aftenposten) - Twelve days ago, the world came to the brink of all-out war! Aftenposten has the world exclusive story!

According to Aftenposten's sources, the northern hemisphere came to within centimeters of all-out war between the Kingdom, the Empire of Layarteb and the Fourth Reich on one side, and the Russian Federation, Monaco and Bjornoya opposing. After having problems in international waters just off Russian territorial waters, the Germanian submarine U-414 sank after deploying a emergency bouy. This bouy caused a flurry of attention, and lead to a massive buildup in the Kara Sea, where Russian, Bjornoyan and Germanian naval forces stood opposing each other after Russian paranoia increased the tentions of an already strained situation to the brink of all-out war.

After Germanian forces opened fire on a Bjornoyan rescue submercible, something Professor Geir Berge at the University in Oslo's legal faculty says that the Germanians "were completely within their perogative, as the submarine lay in international waters and is Germanian property. Therefore the Germanians were well within their right to open fire to defend their property if they felt that the security was threatened." Professor Berge continued to say that "the Germanians could have thought that the submarine was on its way to for instance steal technology," and "very secretive and sensitive weaponry". From what Aftenposten has learned, the Germanian government issued an official appology when it became clear that the submercible was a rescue submarine. Thankfully, no one died in the exchange of fire.

After the incident became known and military forces from various nations in the area increased, the Government issued orders for increased military readyness. Spokespersons from the Ministry of Defense has confirmed that the readyness drill twelve days ago was infact a genuine mobilization instead of the unannounced readyness drill the MoD claimed it to be. However, thanks to cool heads within the Norwegian Government and in the governments of the nations involved, a conference was called in Oslo. Prime Minister Rothsky has refused to answer of our inqueries, but sources from Gardermoen International Airport has confirmed that aircraft from among others Germania, Russia and Monaco landed at Gardermoen early in the morning of the 17th, then left later that afternoon.

From what we've gathered, the conference which was hosted by Prime Minister Rothsky ended with a phased stand-down of the forces. Apparently, after several attempts, the Russians finally agreed to the Norwegian suggestion of a phased timed stand-down after first refusing it, claiming that the stand-down was not "peaceful enough" for the Russians, while the signing of a Non-Agression Pact, something which most major nations are more than happy to ignore, was. However, after the Norwegian and Layartebian delegations pointed this out to the Russians, they turned around and agreed to the stand-down.

After that, the delegations left for their respective nations, and the militaries of the world stood down. Inquries to both the Layartebian and Germanian embassies have been made, but they refuse to answer our questions. Could that be indications that the Russians might be up to something new? Something which our politicians and our allies don't want to talk about, as it might destory the fragile peace that is in the world today? Time will tell. But for now, we only ask ourselves a single question. How long will the world peace remain peaceful?

OOC: You forgot Marimia he'd also be fighting on our side.

R/C-R bunker somethere inside Russian Federation

Operator: "Kapitan, the recoinessance object # 265 has just registered an unindentified naval vessel. Ready to initiate data transfer on command."

Kapitan: Initiate data transfer.

Operator: Transfer initiated.

Kapitan Abrahimov hung up his phone and was now looking at the computer monitor infront of his face showing the pictures of the mysterious vessel with a VRPB designation number Obiekt 1213. Siping his tea he moved his fingers over his thick mustage. Since this was peace decision of whenver to include this information on the next VRPB update was left to him.

Abrahimov: This is strange, i need to let the Admiral know just so he wouldn't have my head incase this is something.

He picked up his phone.

Abrahimov: Operator # 231 add all the information about Obiekt 1231 to the next VRPB model update.

He hung up his phone.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Admiral Parahodov was back in the military HQs in Voronej. Even with peace declared the UER Marshall was not ordered to go back home yet, so with nothing to do the 4 Marshalls were involved in casual conversation. If the conflict was to reemerge they would be ready to counter it.

Parahodov was looking at the VRPB model represented on his notebook, a new object appeared on the global map in the Arctic circle. Parahodov zoomed in on it and opened the file folder attached to the object with all the data on it, he saw the photoes taken by a high resolution camera. Without further thinking he picked up his phone.

Parahodov: I order 2 attack submarines to be dispatched to monitor Obiekt 1231, the submarines are not to reveal their presence and only act if ordered to by me personally, they are to follow the vessel tracking it via VRPB while keeping detection safe distance. I repeat do not engage in any way or form until ordered to by me personally.

He hung up the phone.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two attack subs stealthily departed from their ports and swam towards the location of the mysterious vessel while making sure to keep enough space between them and the vessel as to not get detected.

OOC: Can't argue with a shread of that. Just curious, where are the subs coming from?

Barents Sea

The Sehnsucht drifted quietly. It was running all jamming systems, including its submarine masking systems. However, it had been shown that extremely quiet submarines moving at very slow speed could approach quite closely. They would only be detected by a magnetic sensor installed on the ship to prevent against close attacks. Unfortunately, the sensor only worked to about ten nautical miles. It was a precise art that was not done inside of eight seconds. The use of it was certainly adapted from the S-3B Viking and the P-3C Orion, which could deploy magentic detection systems.

The ship was working in conjunction with a SIGINT facility in Greenland to gather intelligence and information on the Russians. It had remained in international waters for some time now and was only going to be on station for another week before it would depart back for the Layartebian coast, having completed another 180 day tour of duty.

"Russian Federation forces back to pre-incident readiness level...."

by Anna Nikitova, Voronej Pravda Newspaper

It seems that the tensions are relaxing as the opposing forces are relinquishing their level of combat readiness. The whole incident was apparently began by a Germanian U-414 sub carrying ballistic missiles suffering a fatal accident in the Kara sea, very close to the Russian Federation waters. After Russian and Bjornyan VMS responded to the SOS call transmitted by the buoy that was released by the submarine another incident happened that brough the world even closer to war. Germanian underwater troops have fired on a Bjornyan rescue submarine without any provocation. The outrageous outburst was responded to by the defensive build up of forces on the border of Russian Federation and the Fourth Reich. Soon after the Reich issued an apology to Bjornyan government however Russian Federation in light of recent developments at the time could not take the Reich's word as absolute truth that is why our president Vladimir Ivanov was reluctunt to remove the forces stationed near the Russian/Reich border. Meanwhile the Reich has proceeded with its own border force build up at which point Russian Federation forces simply could not just leave.

A meeting was called in Oslo with a goal to resolve the conflict peacefully. Our president himself attended that meeting, he made a reasonable proposal of signing a non-aggression pact before doing anything else as to prevent these types of incidents from happening in the future. His opposition was reluctunt to accept those terms, however because Vladimir Ivanov truly wished peace he decided to compromise with his stubborn opponents. He agreed to the mutual stand down as the first course of action but forced all the participants of the meeting to meet again and discuss the non-aggression pact, something that neither Norwegians, nor Layatreb, nor the Reich wanted to do at first.

This brings another question that is yet unanswered. Why would the TOA members be reluctunt to sign a non-aggression pact? If the terms are laid out correctly such a document can be a binding, effective way of stopping hostilities between the nations who signed it. So why? Is the TOA's desire for peace just a show? I will leave this question to be answered by the reader.

OOC: Marimaia, shall we conclude our visit?

OOC: Shall we conclude Oslo everyone? Cause i really need my President to be doing more important things right now.

OOC We didn't conclude Oslo? Oh wells... naturally this is before the articles and stuff. Hey, this is actually the first conference that we've actually concluded in E2. Huzzah!

Rothsky stood up and got the attention of everyone. The meeting was dying down, and they had reached an agreement.

"Well ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for attending, and thank you all for taking part in keeping the peace. I wish you a good journey home."

After that, he waited till all the representatives had left before he went into his office and started typing a memo.

The Layartebian ambassador returned to her embassy and reported the entirity of the conference, which had been recorded. All of the information of the conference would be sent to the database in the CIA, what else was there to do with it.

OOC: Marimaia, shall we conclude our visit?

OOC: Yeah, sorry, I've been a bit busy and my attention's been on one thread every now and then. If you don't mind, I'll have both leaders at the airport.

IC:

Premier Zhao mulled over the Layartebian visit as the limousine arrived at Zhao International Airport; all things considered, it went well, he thought. A certain understanding had been reached with the Emperor, one that he hoped would remain intact as their respective alliances grew in strength and came into contact on more and more issues.

The honour guard once more lined the red carpet which led to the Emperor's aircraft, all of whom were clad in their pristine dress uniform. As the two leaders approached the aircraft with their respective entourages in tow, Zhao extended his hand.

"Well, I hope that the relationship between our alliances can be as cordial as we have been. I wish the Empire of Layarteb a joyous and prosperous future; may you have a safe journey home."

OOC: No objections.

The Emperor wished fortune and luck upon the UER and the new relationship was solidified. The Empire and the UER, though radically different in ideology, were linked by a common bond to prevent worldwide destruction. They were allies, in a way, despite their different alliances. The Empire regarded the UER in high regard and viewed them as a major world power.

The VC-25C Condor would depart the airport and return to Layarteb City, under the escort of F-22A Raptors, just as it had flown there.

Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia
3:46 PM...

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer and Reichsführer Hermann Goettel were overviewing the recent German occupation of the four Oblasts in Russia and the possible response of the Russian Federation. Given the recent tensions between the Reich and Russia the acquiring of these territories, it was assumed, would make President Vladimir quite nervous. As always, the two men were dressed in black uniforms, black leather jackboots, black officer's caps, and long black leather trenchcoats. As this was not a meeting of the Thule Gesellschaft, they were accompanied by ten OS officers. A light snow was falling from the sky...

[Translated from German]

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "Der Führer was wise in the acquisition of these lands, Goettel. Not only will they serve as a buffer between Russia and the Eurasian Line should an attack from Pushka occur, but it also opens up more oil fields and natural resources. Not to mention a starting point for a counterattack should it become necessary."

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "I agree. As always, the Reichskanzler has further improved the overall status of the Reich. I have some concerns, however, Heifer. As Commander of the OS, it is my duty to help influence the Führer's decision on where to move the elite forces of the OS. It would be best to move them out of Kazakhstan."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "Out of Kazakhstan, Herr Goettel?"

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "Yes. Should a Russian attack occur, the best soldiers need to be in a defensive position and also simultaneously in a position to counterstrike. I will advise the Führer to replace their presence with the Kazakhkorps instead and transfer Afrikakorps troops to the Oblasts and Kazakhstan. We have little threat in Africa."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "And what of Europe? The Ukrainekorps cannot possibly defend the entire Eastern Border, even if it is a million-man army."

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "Easy. Tensions between The Wick and the Reich are at a minimum again. We will transfer the 250.000 strong 12th Army to Belarus. From Germany, we will move the 9th Army to Central Ukraine. There's little need to defend Lithuania with either one. All that territory needs is one OS-Panzer Division."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "Lithuania, eh? A wise plan. Yet, I have my concerns as well. The Afrikakorps was designed to fight in the desert, not the cold. Many of the vehicles can't withstand the temperatures of Eastern Europe or our Oblasts in Russia."

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "That is exactly why they're to be used as a defensive group. We will use the OS as a fast counterstrike Army."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "I suggest Guderian commands any counterattack. The Russians cannot possibly match our tanks. Our Panzerkorps is numerically superior as well as technologically superior."

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "Naturally. We must be concerned with Pantheaa as well. Their territory is small, therefore their Armies are incredibly concentrated. While the Reich enjoys the luxury of vast natural resources, every climate on Earth except tropical, and plenty of Lebensraum, we do not have the luxury of easily concentrating our Armies. Should a Pushkan attack occur, the Pantheaans will undoubtedly support them. Sparta, too, we should be concerned with. Their stance is unknown."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "We should be concerned with Carthage and Elephantum as well. An attack from Asia would open multiple fronts for us to defend. I will suggest to the Reichskanzler that we move our stealth fighters and bombers from Germany and France to Ukraine and Belarus. Four Luftwaffe Divisions would help concentrate our forces. How is the production of the StuG-I PATs coming along?"

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "To date, we have produced 450 out of the total 1,650 slated. They are being transported via railroad to Ukraine. Which Luftwaffe Divisions do you suggest we move?"

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "The 52nd, the 13th, the 7th, and the 24th."

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "Why those?"

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "They primarily consist of very fast stealth fighters and bombers. Their presence would counter the traditional Russian tactic of relying on artillery use in battle as well as attack alongside our Panzers."

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "I have several more things to inform you of. First, the Führer has issued an order that all Pushkan citizens in the Reich are to be deported immediately. Second, the Japanese soldiers stationed in the Alps are to be removed immediately. Third, a total of 60 Kormoran-III Cruise Missile sites are to be installed in our new Oblasts. Fourth, the 3rd Reichsmarine Division is to be moved out of port in the Black Sea and farther towards Russia to serve as a defense. Fifth, the Reichskanzler has ordered that eight medium-range Cobalt-60 ICBM silos are to be built in Kazakhstan. Each silo will hold ten missiles. Sixth, two Kazakhkorps Infantry Divisions are being divided up and moved to our new four Oblasts. Seventh, all border patrols have been ordered to increase their readiness along the Pantheaan border and are to be accompanied by Predator AAAVs, one Predator for every twenty soldiers. That is all. Oh, one more thing. The Reich is scheduled to be participating in wargames with Cotland, Hirgizstan, and the Empire in Murmansk, Volgograd, Kiev, and Novosibirsk. They will simulate a Russian attack."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "Very good. When should we meet with the Führer?"

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "Once the deportation of Pushkan citizens begins."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "When is that?"

Reichsführer Hermann Goettel: "Beginning now. A message has already been sent to the Pushkan Government informing them that all of their citizens in the Reich are being immediately deported via railroad because of the risk of espionage. A Russian spy is something to be weary of. We are to fly to Berlin in one hour."

Reichsleiter Reinhardt Heifer: "Good. Generaloberst Heinz Guderian will be in command of the defense of Eastern Europe. Generalmajor Jochem Nibler will be in command of the defense of the Russian Oblasts. The Reichskanzler informed me earlier today that he wants you on administrative and strategic duty. I will see you at the airport in one hour."

The two Generals gave eachother the fascist salute and the ten officers following them split into two groups. Five behind Heifer and five behind Goettel. The deportation of Pushkan citizens due to their threat of exposing government secrets was a necessity in the eyes of the Führer...

ooc: but the missile...

Upstate New York

Inside a highly sensitive, highly secretive bunker, the Joint Chiefs were meeting with concern to the possibility of war. Preparations had to be made and forces had to be trained and ready.

"Admiral, what is the current status of the Marines?" The General of the Army asked.

"Currently, the Marines are fully equipped and ready for battle and can be deployed within eighteen hours, no matter where we need them. If amphibious landings are in order we will have to wait until the forces are in place."

"Very well. And what are they trained for?"

"They can do just about everything except Arctic landings, which I know is of concern."

"Yes it is. Very well. In light of that, let me begin by explaining just what we need to have capable." The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs said. "First of all, we need all of our paratroopers and all of our Marines capable of Arctic fighting. We must train and train. Secondly, our army must be capable of the rugged fighting that we might see in Russia. Thirdly, our pilots, from all branches, must be able to fly through snowy conditions and blizzards. This will be very difficult and take some time to train but we must accomplish it. Fourthly, our navy must be able to operate in the cold, Arctic waters without impediment as well as get their aircraft into the air."

"Understood." The men agreed.

"For this we have Operation Furious Rose. It is a joint operation of wargames between the Reich, Norway, us, and possibly Hawdawg. We will be conducting operations in the Arctic with the navy and Marines. Marines will practice landing on Iceland and possibly an Arctic island, we do not know which yet. Aircraft will be conducting flights in Central Asia and training in mock dogfights with our allies. Army units will be training in Kazakhstan, Norway, and Iceland for the types of fighting we may encounter."

"Understood. Very well. Time frame?" The General of the Army asked.

"It will begin within the month."

"Excellent." At the conclusion of the meeting an encrypted message was dispatched to both Norway and the Reich. It read. "The roses have bloomed."

OOC: NG you seem to be talking a lot about how technologically superior your tanks are, yet i am still to see a write up, plus don't take it in offence i doubt you have ability to outdo ST-37K2 tanks that i have. Also is there like a write up for the composition for your armed forces? I want to know how many tanks you have. If you want to see how many i have look at the link in my sig. Also please post your representative's arrival to Voronej.

IC:

Voronej

Valerie Prikolov, Vladimir's aide has quickly walked into the presidencial room in Kremlin. Vladimir was quietly siping his morning tea and reading the newspaper.

Prikolov: Gospodin President, the Germans have just accired new lands near our border what shall we do?

Vladimir slowly turned his gaze towards the man who interrupted his morning routine.

Vladimir: Nothing of course, we are about to have non-aggression pact talks with the Reich, why would do anything? If the Reich wants to provoke us we will respond. Our armed forces are more then capable of defeating whatever Reich can put up against us.

Prikolov: But the press sir...they will need to know that something is being done. The German troops are moving, Russian citizens were deported from the Reich.

Vladimir: I don't care about the press, i already have this issue taken care off. The public doesn't need to know anything, atleast not now. We will not respond to the Reich, and i want you to create a committee to take care off the incoming deporties. Some of them might be German spies, i want them allocated away from any important sites and people and tracked until i say overwise. No public statement by Kremlin. Is this all?

Prikolov: Yes gospodin president.

Vladimir: Then leave me be, i have a lot to do today.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

All over Russia, concealed long range non-nuclear ground to ground missile batteries were slowly turning their gaze towards the Reich.

OOC: Wow, look at that, no link and no sig. Why am I not surprised?

But for your information, I've got a minimum of 75.000 tanks easy. That number is 15.000 more than that of modern-day Russia, and given my population, natural resources, and economy it's quite feasible and possible, so I don't want to hear any "Godmod" BS. During wartime, that number will probably increase by 30% or more.

And if you consider the fact that slightly half of the funding for the Reich's military goes into Panzer research, I'm pretty sure my tanks in general are superior. Sure, you might have one or two tanks in there that could counter one or two of mine, but look at the big picture. I'm working with over five or six different types of modern tanks alone and that number doesn't include IFVs, AAAVs, APCs, etc.

The reason you haven't seen a write-up of my armed forces is because I have the following things to worry about:
1) The University
2) Finding a new place to live
3) Money
4) Women
5) Transportation

I simply don't have the time it takes to deal with all those things and then write a breakdown of my armed forces (which would take hours). And again, you're trying to prove me wrong about something. Which isn't too surprising, of course, but you need to consider the fact that you have to balance everything out.

You can't have a submarine that can defeat all of Layarteb's submarines or all of mine, and an airforce that can defeat Cotland's air force, and a tank force that can defeat mine, and an infantry force that can defeat Cotland's, and an SOSUS system that can pick up every naval vessel we have, and an anti-stealth system that can defeat every plane we have, etc. You see, it doesn't make sense, nor is it possible, to be completely superior in every branch of the military. Even in the U.S., the Americans would be worth absolutely nothing without their Navy and Airforce. Furthermore, Russia would be nothing without its Artillery and Infantry (traditionally the backbone of a Russian Army, I don't know if that has changed, but I don't think so).

You seem to like to claim that you can beat Layarteb, Cotland, and myself in every type of warfare. I don't agree, but if you can prove me wrong, I'm listening.

OOC: Wow, look at that, no link and no sig. Why am I not surprised?

But for your information, I've got a minimum of 75.000 tanks easy. That number is 15.000 more than that of modern-day Russia, and given my population, natural resources, and economy it's quite feasible and possible, so I don't want to hear any "Godmod" BS. During wartime, that number will probably increase by 30% or more.

And if you consider the fact that slightly half of the funding for the Reich's military goes into Panzer research, I'm pretty sure my tanks in general are superior. Sure, you might have one or two tanks in there that could counter one or two of mine, but look at the big picture. I'm working with over five or six different types of modern tanks alone and that number doesn't include IFVs, AAAVs, APCs, etc.

The reason you haven't seen a write-up of my armed forces is because I have the following things to worry about:
1) The University
2) Finding a new place to live
3) Money
4) Women
5) Transportation

I simply don't have the time it takes to deal with all those things and then write a breakdown of my armed forces (which would take hours). And again, you're trying to prove me wrong about something. Which isn't too surprising, of course, but you need to consider the fact that you have to balance everything out.

You can't have a submarine that can defeat all of Layarteb's submarines or all of mine, and an airforce that can defeat Cotland's air force, and a tank force that can defeat mine, and an infantry force that can defeat Cotland's, and an SOSUS system that can pick up every naval vessel we have, and an anti-stealth system that can defeat every plane we have, etc. You see, it doesn't make sense, nor is it possible, to be completely superior in every branch of the military. Even in the U.S., the Americans would be worth absolutely nothing without their Navy and Airforce. Furthermore, Russia would be nothing without its Artillery and Infantry (traditionally the backbone of a Russian Army, I don't know if that has changed, but I don't think so).

You seem to like to claim that you can beat Layarteb, Cotland, and myself in every type of warfare. I don't agree, but if you can prove me wrong, I'm listening.

The link is in my sig, i don't know why you can't see it. Here it is anyways.

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=450054

Don't give me this crap, if i don't see the write up of your tank that shows that you tank is superior to mine i am not gonna view it as superior, if you have time problems (we all do, and i am pretty sure that my time problems are a bit more significant then yours) then don't claim that your tanks are superior. I am not saying that all my branches of military are superior to every branch of TOA, but that is only because i don't know their tactics and their composition. I didn't build my army to specifically target any of you, but if i play my cards right in an RP i do believe that i will be able to defeat you. Technology wise, yes most of my equipment is superior to what you got, deal with it, thats not my problem, you can go to the same storefronts i buy my stuff from (except you can't buy my Mish-11 which is the best fighter on EII).

Also i don't know there you get your numbers from but modern day Russia has about 14-18 thousand tanks, while during USSR it had just over 30 thousand.

Also who said that i am trying to claim that everything of mine is superior, my navy is my weak link.

I use the following tanks: T-140PVNS for my regular Armies and ST-37K1PVNS for my Gvardias, PVNS means that they are updated with a set of electronics that allow them to participate in the VRPB network.

OOC NG, we all know that the Russians, and the Soviets before them have all tried propaganda to try to intimidate others into falling in line. Hence, I consider all this OOC ranting as nothing more than propaganda, and thus don't take any of it seriously.

[/hijack]

OOC: What the hell are you talking about Cot? There is no way his tanks are superior to mine since his tanks don't exist in any way or form on NS. I use Soviet Bloc's and MassPwnage's tanks, that are ones of the best on NS. I am tired of this bullshit, its useless to debate TOA members at anything, they simply lack capacity. Nothing i said was illogical or incorrect, none of you can proove me wrong. Can you all stop bitching and move on please? I will treat his forces as they are in NS reality, if he has a problem with that its not my problem i simply playing by the rules.

OOC: This is beside the point, but I'm not sure if you are aware or not that I live/lived in New Orleans, which was recently destroyed by a hurricane. Since I lost my apartment, 3/4 of my clothes, a car, the University I was attending was temporarily shut down, I had no way of getting a job, etc. I think I have just a little bit more to worry about at the moment. Like uhh... building my life over from scratch.

And how did you come to the conclusion that you could defeat me (that would require you to destroy all of my territory from Spain to Australia without the use of nuclear weapons)?

OOC: This is beside the point, but I'm not sure if you are aware or not that I live/lived in New Orleans, which was recently destroyed by a hurricane. Since I lost my apartment, 3/4 of my clothes, a car, the University I was attending was temporarily shut down, I had no way of getting a job, etc. I think I have just a little bit more to worry about at the moment. Like uhh... building my life over from scratch.

And how did you come to the conclusion that you could defeat me (that would require you to destroy all of my territory from Spain to Australia without the use of nuclear weapons)?

OOC: Sorry about the hurricane, i had to go through very similar shit after i finished the army few years back. Then i said that i can defeat you i meant that i can succesfully stop any attack you plant against my soil and maybe counterattack on the areas close to my soil although it will all depend on the situation and how the RP goes. My navy isn't powerful enough to take me globaly and i will need allies to help me with air transportation.

Norwegian Sea

The water was calm and cold, a standard day for the cold winter months. As the breezes swept through the air, the calm of the sea was penetrated and defeated by the oncoming armada of two naval battlegroups from the ILN, coming towards the Norwegian Sea, with the intention of wargames.

OOC: Thank you for being respectful, Push. I am not being sarcastic. A lot of people have said real mean stuff like, "Well, it's your fault this happened because you live there and you knew it would happen!"

By the way, Pushka man, I thought you meant defeat me as in march all the way to Berlin. I agree with you that it would probably be a stalemate if I tried to invade you. Both of our armies would suffer huge casualties, that's why we would both need our allies. Don't worry, I'm gonna get some details out on the tank and its armor. I understand your stance on the matter, I would react the same way most likely.

Cotland, thanks for supporting me and being understanding, man. Most of the time I'm left to defend myself on that matter. Anyway, let's keep this friendly and have fun.

Pushka, I'll try to make time in my day to type up a report on my armed forces. This would probably benefit everyone, including myself.

By the way, I'm trying to draw up an ORBAT for my Naval forces in the Arctic for wargames, but I don't know much about how to distribute armaments on ships, so if it isn't realistic, someone politely tell me and give me some advice. You especially, Lay. I'm trying not to Godmod, but if I do, it's an accident.

IC:

North Sea, off the coast of Denmark
Bismarck Class Heavy Battleship
6:44 AM...

Reichsadmiral Ritter von Greim, Supreme Commander of the Reichsmarine, had been not only placed in command of the defense of the North Sea - which he had been for roughly eight years - but also in command of detailing a plan of battle should the Russians, Bjornoyans, and Pantheaans become hostile. By order of the Führer, he was to lead an English/German/Danish Battle Fleet out of the North Sea, through the English Channel, Northward through the Atlantic, then station itself off the Northern Coast of Norway upon receiving authorization of the Norwegian Government.

The fleet consisted of what would be used in combat should a war break out between the Western Powers and the Russian Alliance, yet what was being sent to the wargames was only 3/5 of the 5th Reichsmarine Fleet.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Reichsmarine Arctic Circle ORBAT

(1) Berlin Class Aircraft Carrier [80 Aircraft]
(25) BF-13F Stealth Fighter/Bombers
(25) BF-14F Fighters
(30) BF-15F Stealth Fighters

(1) Danzig Class Heavy Bomber Carrier [30 Aircraft]
(10) HE-19 Medium Bombers
(10) Do-112 Stealth Bombers
(5) Fk-110 Missile Jets
(5) Do-113 Stealth/Small Bombers

(1) Bismarck Class Heavy Battleship [Flagship]
(5) 270mm Cannons [Three Bow, two Aft]
(5) 310mm Cannons [Three Amidships, two Aft]
(3) 355mm Cannons [Two Bow, one Aft]
(1) 390mm Cannon [One Bow]
(2) 170mm Eight-tube Shiffschreck-19 MLRS Platforms [One Amidships, one Stern]
(4) Three-tube T-14 SVTTs [Two Starboard, two Port]
(8) Four-tube Luftschreck-19 Anti-Air Missile Pads [Two Bow, two Amid/Starboard, two Amid/Port, two Aft]
(4) 40mm Eight-barrel Fk-Schreck ABM Gatling Guns [One Bow/Starboard, one Amid/Port, one Stern, one Amid/Starboard]

(1) Hindenburg Class Battleship
(5) 240mm Cannons [Three Amidships, two Aft]
(4) 290mm Cannons [Three Bow, one Aft]
(3) 340mm Cannons [Two Bow, one Aft]
(2) 365mm Cannons [One Bow]
(2) 170mm Eight-tube Shiffschreck-19 MLRS Platforms [One Amidships, one Stern]
(2) Three-tube T-14 SVTTs [One Starboard, one Port]
(6) Four-tube Luftschreck-19 Anti-Air Missile Pads [One Bow, two Amid/Starboard, two Amid/Port, one Aft]
(4) 40mm Eight-barrel Fk-Schreck ABM Gatling Guns [One Bow/Starboard, one Amid/Port, one Stern, one Amid/Starboard]

(6) FkS-119 Missile Ships
(4) Two-tube Kormoran-III/S Cruise Missile Tubes [Four Aft]
(4) Six-tube Greim-13 Low-Altitude Rocket Pads [Two Bow, two Amid]
(4) Three-tube T-14 SVTTs [Two Starboard, two Port]
(2) 170mm Eight-tube Schiffschreck-19 MLRS Platforms [One Bow, one Stern]
(6) Four-tube Luftschreck-19 Anti-Air Missile Pads [Two Bow, two Amid/Starboard, two Amid/Port]
(4) 88mm Four-barrel Luftgewehr-11 Anti-Air Guns [Two Starboard, two Port]
(4) 40mm Eight-barrel Fk-Schreck ABM Gatling Guns [One Bow/Starboard, one Bow/Port, one Amidships, one Aft]

(1) U-334 Hunter/Attack Submarine
(14) T-16 Torpedo Tubes
(12) T-17 Torpedo Tubes
(2) Heifer SLCM Tubes
(6) 5" Countermeasures

(1) U-337 Hunter/Attack Submarine
(14) T-16 Torpedo Tubes
(12) T-17 Torpedo Tubes
(2) Heifer SLCM Tubes
(6) 5" Countermeasures

(1) U-341 Hunter/Attack Submarine
(14) T-16 Torpedo Tubes
(12) T-17 Torpedo Tubes
(2) Heifer SLCM Tubes
(6) 5" Countermeasures

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Reichsadmiral von Greim estimated it would take the fleet some time to reach the Norwegian Sea due to the small size of the English Channel and the large size of the fleet. However, the 5th Reichsmarine Fleet was the best the Reich had to offer. The Führer and the Reichsadmiral had agreed that sending the entire 5th Fleet at once would be unnecessary, so the 2/5 that remained in the North Sea would be sent later on during the wargames.

The 3rd Alpenkorps Division would be sent to simulate beach landings in Arctic conditions, theoretically to take place in Murmansk. In any case, the elements of the 5th Reichsmarine Fleet set sail with Reichsadmiral Ritter von Greim in the Bismarck. The U-300 Class submarines would periodically submerge, but it was not necessary for them to use their stealth factor. This operation didn't call for it.

OOC: If any OOC comments bring Earth II to moderator attention I am going to shove my foot in your asses.

OOC: Don't look at me, I've been polite.

OOC: If any OOC comments bring Earth II to moderator attention I am going to shove my foot in your asses.

ooc: sorry Lay

OOC: Just a general comment. I could care less if you tore each others' heads off just don't let the mods come.

OOC: NG please post your representative's arrival to Voronej in this thread.

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=458597

OOC: NG please post your representative's arrival to Voronej in this thread.

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=458597

OOC: What's up with the Sehnsucht, you gonna find it? If not, it's leaving the AO without being completely known.

OOC: I already found it, i simply don't have a reason to make any kind of public statement, its in international waters.

R/C-R bunker somethere inside Russian Federation

Operator: "Kapitan, the recoinessance object # 265 has just registered an unindentified naval vessel. Ready to initiate data transfer on command."

Kapitan: Initiate data transfer.

Operator: Transfer initiated.

Kapitan Abrahimov hung up his phone and was now looking at the computer monitor infront of his face showing the pictures of the mysterious vessel with a VRPB designation number Obiekt 1213. Siping his tea he moved his fingers over his thick mustage. Since this was peace decision of whenver to include this information on the next VRPB update was left to him.

Abrahimov: This is strange, i need to let the Admiral know just so he wouldn't have my head incase this is something.

He picked up his phone.

Abrahimov: Operator # 231 add all the information about Obiekt 1231 to the next VRPB model update.

He hung up his phone.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Admiral Parahodov was back in the military HQs in Voronej. Even with peace declared the UER Marshall was not ordered to go back home yet, so with nothing to do the 4 Marshalls were involved in casual conversation. If the conflict was to reemerge they would be ready to counter it.

Parahodov was looking at the VRPB model represented on his notebook, a new object appeared on the global map in the Arctic circle. Parahodov zoomed in on it and opened the file folder attached to the object with all the data on it, he saw the photoes taken by a high resolution camera. Without further thinking he picked up his phone.

Parahodov: I order 2 attack submarines to be dispatched to monitor Obiekt 1231, the submarines are not to reveal their presence and only act if ordered to by me personally, they are to follow the vessel tracking it via VRPB while keeping detection safe distance. I repeat do not engage in any way or form until ordered to by me personally.

He hung up the phone.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two attack subs stealthily departed from their ports and swam towards the location of the mysterious vessel while making sure to keep enough space between them and the vessel as to not get detected.

OOC: That's it? Wow man...

1st rank Capitan Alexandr Plutonov was standing on the main deck of his "Oleg IV" submarine. He was in charge of the 2 sub recoinessance mission. Both subs were resting their bellies on the buttom of the ocean waiting for further orders. Looking over his computer screen he was reviewing the situation via his VRPB model. To keep the subs locaiton hidden the Information Link on the sub was connecting to the database via satelite in short encrypted bursts at random times, usually there was an update within the range of 10 minutes. This way Russian subs could see the position of their target but not reveal their own location or atleast make it hard for their locatio to be found.

With the new update the screen blinked and a new window poped out. Pulonov slowly read.

Maximum Encrytion

You are to contact Obiekt 1231 via a direct radio transmission. Take all neccessary safety precautions. Over.

Nordvik

Plutonov took the intercom receiver in his hand.

Plutonov: Grebnikov, get your ass over here.

First officer 3rd rank Capitan Apolon Grebnikov seemingly magically appeared on deck and saluted his commander. This ability of the first officer to appear and disappear in a moments notice was making the sailors not like the young officer with a rank that was too high for him, even more. He was only assigned to the boat few months ago after the last First Officer Genadie Lujnikov died in a car acident during his leave. Then Apolon first steped on board rumors started flying that the 22 year old Capitan was in favor with the Admiral because of his relationship with the Admiral's granddaughter. Sailors started giving him a hard time, his soft character didn't allow him to take care of his problems with his subordinates. Finally Capitan Plutonov was forced to step in and remind the sailors who is their God, their father, and the commander of the boat they serve on. After that sailors started hating Apolon even more, but they kept quite because they feared and respected their real commander. Apolon had a long talk with his comandir, and after that became more quiet as well, finally finding in himself the strength to oppose the sailors. And now like he has done so many times before he had appeared out of thin air right behind Plutonov's back. Plutonov turned around.

Plutonov: We have received new orders. I want you to contact "Afanasi I" that is escorting us on this mission and tell their Capitan this. I will initiate contact with the boat in question to attempt to gather as much intelligence as possibly, meanwhile "Afanasi I" is to not reveal their location to the vessel in question and be prepared to attack our incognito in case of the offensive action from the side of the unindentified vessel. Message to be sent via maximum encryption channels as to not reveal "Afanasi I's" location. In addition order the crew to move closer to the unkown vessel, knowledge of our location is compromiseble. You have your orders.

Grebnikov vanished. Few minutes later the message to the captain of "Afanasi I" was sent and "Oleg IV" started moving towards the unkown. Once Plutonov knew that the incognito already realised the locaiton of his sub, he picked up his radio transmitter and broadcasted to the unindentified ship in Russian, his cryptologist repeated the message in english, german and spanish.

This is Capitan Alexandr Plutonov of the Russian Federation Navy. Unkown vessel please respond. I repeat, unknown vessel please respond

In the CIC of the Sehnsucht, screens were buzzing with activity. A burst transmission was picked up coming down from a satellite but it was heavily encrypted, perhaps too encrypted to crack in such short time. Nonetheless, they would be working on it as the days wore one. The Sehnsucht was to be off of its tour very shortly. They knew that there was a submarine in the area but any exact positioning was uncertain. Their sonar picked up intermitten contacts and reactor plant noise here and there but nothing big enough to get a location or classification. They could be friendly submarines or they could be enemy. The Sehnsucht had escorting SSNs that were not moving, just as the Sehnsucht was, meaning they made no noise. Their reactors were shielded from any plant noise leaking out past more than 3,500 yards, which was close enough for their High-Frequency Sonar to detect.

As they were summarizing their data and preparing to come off station, an open message shot across the ship. A submarine was either floating a buoy or at periscope depth. As the message was recieved, visual recognition systems and FLIR systems began scanning the water for 25,000 yards, trying to detect the source of the transmission.

Immediately, a crafted reply was sent. "This is the weather vessel Cohen. We are monitoring Arctic currents, salination levels, and weather at the moment. Please identify yourself."

OOC: I don't know if you are floating a buoy or at periscope depth with your radio antenna raised.

This is Russian Federation VMS attack submarine Oleg IV, conducting routine patrol in the Arctic sea. Please identify your port and nation of origin.

Plutonov moved a finger through his mustage. The conversation was being recorded, so was everything else the subs sensors could pick up about the ship, which wasn't much.

"Russian Federation VMS attack submarine Oleg IV, we are the lead flagship of the Non-Governmental Organization Weather Watchers. We have many ports and several headquarters'. Unfortunately we cannot say which one nation we are from as we are based in many."

OOC: Weather Watchers is a viable NGO, which was set up by the Layartebian government as a shadow group. They are very legitimate though and do significant research into global warming. The company is based in many countries as it is a viable institution.

Plutonov looked at his sensory equipment officer Anton Burilov. Anton shook his head and pushed a couple of buttons on his control, transfering data to Capitan's screen. Alexandr could now see that the ship had two nuclear reactors. And gave off far too big of an electromagnetic field to just be using a doppler radar and is had a helipad. Something was not right, something was not right at all. Plutonov didn't know what to do for now, he needed time to think.

Weather vessel Cohen please maintain your position and subdue your electronic activity while we verify your identity.

"Very well. We cannot cease our electrical activity. We are in the middle of recordings. If we cease now our work will be in vain. We cannot stop until the data collection is complete. We are working under complete scientific principle meaing that the environment cannot be interrupted. If it were so our mission would be to waste and it has cost us several million dollars. We will not be on station for long. ETA to departure is twenty hours."

Plutonov was unmoved.

I repeat. Weather vessel Cohen please maintain your position and subdue your electronic activity while we verify your identity.

The captain was getting annoying. Goddamn Russians, he muttered to himself as he sent out the message. "Repeat. We will not subdue any activity as it will thwart our collection of weather readings. Should our mission be a failure it will be up to the Russian government to refund the money for this expedition."

Plutonov was not going to give up.

You do not have an option. Our sensors detect that your ship is propelled by two nuclear reactors, that alone qualifies you as a combat vessel according to Russian VMS foreign combatant recognition manual. Subdue your electronic activities and maintain your position until your identitity can be verfified. Failure to comply may register you as a hostile object with all the concicuencess that are derived from carrying that status. Any complaints you have will be addressed by the Russian government if you choose to present those complaints. Once again i repeat subdue your electronic activities and maintain your position until your identity can be verified.

"We are in international waters. The reason we carry nuclear reactors is because we are out at sea for lengthy periods of time and they do not use fossil fuels. Nuclear power is far cleaner and very safe. Should we be attacked it will be regarded as an attack upon a neutral vessel in international waters. We will not subdue any activities and we are leaving the area now. This incident will be logged." The captain ordered the Sehnsucht to leave the AO immediately but, at the same time, to prepare weapons systems. The ship was carrying several ASROC missiles and Mark 50 Mod 2 Barracuda torpedoes and though they were hidden from visual sensors, they were not about to be sunk by a Russian submarine with a naval recognition book that was about as useless as their submarines.

At the same time, the captain sent an immediate burst transmission to one of the headquarters, this one in Layarteb City. It was an emergency call that they had been visually identified and were being engaged. The distress call gave the position of the ship and the object tracking them: Submersible. Within minutes, a readied P-8A Excalibur in Iceland was launched and it would be over the position in twenty minutes. Escorting it were a pair of F-22A Raptor fighters.

This is your last warning, you will subdue your activity and remain stationary until we contact agency you claim to be a part of and that agency confirms your claim. I repeat this is your last warning.

Plutnov took the radio away from his mouth.

"Flood the torpedo tubes, let them know we mean business. Grebnikov, let Nordvik know about everything."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nordvik, Russian VMS 1st fleet HQs

Gospodin glavcommandushie we have received a transmission from Oleg IV, they have approached Obiekt 1231 but it has so far resisted interrigation. Also 3 Layatrebian military aircraft took off from Ice Land, they will be in the area within 10 minutes. I am sending the data over.

OOC: Yeah NS died in the middle of that.

"Conn, SONAR. Target has flooded its tubes." The captain couldn't let on that he knew that the submarine had done so. No civilian vessel would be able to tell that. As the ship began moving, slowly away, the captain recieved a radio call from the P-8. It was inbound at top speed with a pair of F-22 escorts. He smiled and ordered that the submarine solutions be put into the computer for targetting. "Russian submarine. We repeat. You are engaging a civilian vessel in international waters." As they sent the reply, their main headquarters in Layarteb City flashed an emergency message to the Russian government. It read:

"Have recieved distress call from NGO Weather Waters ship Cohen in the Barents Sea. Ship is in international waters. Claims to be under threat and possible engagment from Russian submarine. Have dispatched assistance to ensure it is not attacked. Reiterate. Ship is NGO in international waters. Cease and desist immediately."

The P-8 had a full warload. It had been on patrol and though its fuel levels were reduced, it had enough to stay on station for much longer. In addition, if necessary, a KC-10A would be dispatched to fuel it and the F-22s.

The P-8 was carrying, externally, four AIM-204A Escape missiles, four AGM-180D Harpoon II missiles, and four AGM-205A AMESM missiles. Internally it had eight Mark 50 Mod 2 Barracuda torpedoes in its rear bay and an extra sonobuoy load in its front bay, increasing the load from 120 to 192. Both of the F-22As carried two AIM-204As and six AIM-120D-2s.

Reply to Layatrebian Government

We have requested time from the vessel in question to confirm their identity. They have refused. The type of the nuclear reactors that this ship uses for prupolsion as well as the unusual amount of electronic activity on board that vessel clasifies it as a military vessel. Now that the status of the vessel is confirmed by Layatrebian government as beloging to NGO organization we will allow the vessel to leave the area.

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On board Oleg IV

Grebnikov: Tovarish Capitan, we have received word from Nordvik, we are to let the vessel go and transfer all the data already gathered to Nordvik immediately for analysis.

Plutonov took up the radio.

NGO vessel Cohen, your status was confirmed. You are free to leave the area.

Grebnikov ran up to Capitan.

Grebnikov: 3 Layatrebian aircraft detected in the area. Also we were able to indetify that the NGO vessel is carrying satelite jamming equipment as well as very extensive recoinessance sensory, we were unable to identify exactly what that sensory consits of.

Plutonov: Send all the data through encrypted channels to Nordvik and continue on with our pretend patrol course.

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Ob board Afanasi I

1st rank Capitan Ivan Maraderov just received new encrypted orders from Nordvik.

You are to track and follow the NGO vessel Cohen without revealing your position if possible, revealing your position if neccessary. You are authorized to use your sensory equipment to abtain knowledge of the ships electronic activities as well as its radio and satelite transmissions.

"The vessel Cohen was supplied two Layartebian, military-grade nuclear reactors because of their non-pollution levels and their long-endurances. The vessel Cohen did not impeede on any confirmation but would not shut down its electronic sensors because it was collecting necessary and pertinent weather information on the possibility of desalination in the Arctic, which could lead to a catastrophic climate shift. Had its sensors shut down, the entire, $55M experiment would have been useless and its scientific data compromised. Luckily, the captain acted to prevent that. The reasoning behind the ship leaving the area was it felt it was being engaged by the ineptitude of your commanders to realize a civilian vessel and the importance of scientific data being collected without any outside interruption. The Empire officially condemns this strong willed and unfounded display of musclery towards a civilian vessel. The ship is returning to port in Layarteb without any incident. Should it be followed to further engaged in international or our waters, our escorting ASW aircraft will proceed to act in its defense. We say this because we supplied $20M of the funds for this experiment. Our Arctic territories rely on this information and should it be impeeded, it will be up to the Russian government to pay restitution."

The P-8 arrived in the area and dropped four sonobuoys to locate the enemy submarine. It dropped two with active-passive sensors and two which would detect through magnetics. The P-8 would send one active ping from one sonobuoy to show it meant business. One ping was an acknowledgement warning.

As the Sehnsucht moved further away, its two escorting submarines began moving as well, slowly, less than 5 knots. They were silent and their external tubes, which were already flooded, were muzzled shut. The water would remain inside for a time now.

Our submarine captain acted according to the protocol and his mission. We did not request an explanation from you, we do not value your word, in addition, we reserve our right to follow this vessel without engaging it as we please as long as it is in internation waters. We also do not hold ourselves accountable for any monetary loss on your side and will not compensate in any case. According to the latest analysis this vessel is a military vessel, onboard it has military recoinessance equipment. It is shocking to us that Empire of Layatreb would put the fragile peace between our nations in jeopardy by this type of action. Ships of this class will now be regarded as military vessels with the Layatrebian Navy and dealt with accordingly. Once again we do not request any explanation from you and we will not reply to any more messages alike to the last one we received.

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Afanasi I started following the Layatrebian vessel trying to remain undetected and gather data at the same time, which was rather hard. Its torpedo tubes were already flooded prior to this incident.

The Sehnsucht, once it cleared the Barents Sea picked up speed to twenty knots. It would be returning to port in a secluded military base inside Dnalkrad, for the time being.

"If the Russian government would seek information first and not immediately assume it would learn that military type reconnaissance equipment is used in many weather vessels. The extremely sensitive nature of military equipment allows for much more accurate readings, especially in terms of ocean currents and high-altitude winds. Should this vessel be followed into Layartebian waters, in accordance with the Doctrine of Sovereignty, the follower will be engaged and destroyed as a violation of our waters. The Empire puts no rift between our relations that the Russians did not immediately insert through its irresponsible handling of this situation. Should this vessel be engaged and fired upon by any Russian vessel, the international implications will be far more severe than the Empire could render."

Official Message to the World

Earlier today, the Cohen, a weather monitoring vessel from the NGO Weather Watchers, which many of you are familiar with, was irresponsibly and aggressively encountered by a submarine of the Russian navy. The vessel was on a $55M expedition to determine desalination levels in the Arctic Ocean, which could lead to a catastrophic climate shift, which given the presence of our territory in the Arctic, is very important to us. The expedition was partly funded by the Empire, $20M at that. In the middle of its information collection, the vessels of the Russian navy ordered that the ship, which was in international waters, turn off all sensors. It was in the middle of collecting data and doing so would have compromised the data collected, thereby rendering the entire operation and expedition useless, a $55M failure.

When presented with an explanation, the Russian government rejected it and immediately sought to classify this vessel as part of the Layartebian Navy. They cite the use of military reconnaissance equipment and nuclear reactors as their just cause. The explanation for these is simple. Military reconnaissance equipment is very sensitive, which allows it to collect much more precise measurements with terms to weather monitoring. The use of nuclear reactors, which were supplied by the Empire, allows for the ship to maintain long patrols and they do not pollute, which is a main goal of this organization.

Upon these incidents, the vessel requested immediate assistance. A patrolling P-8 Excalibur of the ILN was sent to escort the vessel and ensure it was not fired upon.

The Russian government has clearly showed, through this act, that it plans to bully anyone and everything remotely close to its coast and territory, even in international waters. The Empire hereby requests that this act be condemned by the international circuit and any further inquiries by the Russian government be ceased and halted.

The Empire has made it clear that this vessel will be returning to the safety of Layartebian waters and a Layartebian port. Should it be followed and engaged into Layartebian waters, it will be engaged by the Layartebian Navy. The act of following this vessel, even after it has left the Barents Sea and any proximity to Russian territory will constitute as unnecessary and aggrevated harrasment, which will be regarded as an act of war against a civilian, non-hostile vessel.

OOC: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=8939206&postcount=188

This is the submarines i use.

OOC: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=8939206&postcount=188

This is the submarines i use.

Pretty nice. Kinda slow but nice.

Voronej

Everyone awaited a public statement but then it did come it was rather short.

We reserve our right to follow that vessel in the international waters and we reserve our right to classify it as a vessel of Layatrebian navy. Verbal attacks by Layatrebian government on our navy only support our assessment that this ship is a military vessel, an assessment backed up by the data we have collected about this ship including the electronic activity on its board which exceeded that which would be required for the type of data collection this ship claimed to conduct, in addition we have detected attempts to reroute signal from our military satelites and we have triangulated the location to this ship. Our intellegence report will be open for viewing to any nation that wishes to view it. Let it be known to all the world, we will protect our sovereignty and we do not play games then addressing those matters.

Pretty nice. Kinda slow but nice.

OOC: Me and Mac will start desiging a new sub soon that will blow your socks off.

OOC: Me and Mac will start desiging a new sub soon that will blow your socks off.

OOC: Doubtful but go for it.

Official Response from the Holy Republic of Hawdawg

Our government would like to take this opportunity to condemn the agressive acts by the Russian Navy towards a legitimate weather collection vessel in international waters. Any vessel is free to be monitored in International Waters, but demanding sensors be turned off is an outrage. It doesn't matter if the vessel is a military vessel or not, threatening them in international waters is uncalled for. The further classifying of the vessel as military in nature simply because they carry nuclear reactors is propostorious. We have several Ice Breakers that work the northern zone in Karelia that are nuclear powered. Since your government has used such a broad stroke for classifying foreign shipping we won't be breaking ice for any of your ships any time soon with our nuclear breakers. Have fun getting around the ice cap. This has further strained our relations and this incident has severely jeparodized the potential for future progress for peace in the region.

Signed,

Josey Wales
Prime Minister
Holy Republic of Hawdawg

Response to Holy Republic of Hawdawg

We do not undestand why you choose to ignore factual information that states that the vessel in question was attempting to gain highly sensitive, encrypted information from Russian military satelite network. We have granted free access to our findings. Why are you so eager to believe the cover story Layartebian government has put up? If believing everything that Layatrebian Empire says without looking at evidence of the otherwise is your government's mindset then truly the peace between our nations will never be strong.

In addition there are several steps to classification of a vessel as military or civilian. Having nuclear reactors is one of them, but that does not automatically classify a vessel as a military vessel. The levels of electronical activity on board of the ship is another factor, they were far exceeding any use of military equipment for civilian implications. And third this ship has attempted, succesfully, to access highly sensitive information from Russian VMS. Those are the factors that qualified this vessel as a military naval vessel. I hope this clears the whole matter for you.

Signed,
Vladimir Ivanov
President of the Russian Federation

OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION

COMMONWEALTH OF HIRGIZSTAN

DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

PRAIA, HCCV

The Commonwealth of Hirgizstan stands by its allies in condemning the acts of the Russian Navy on a vessel conducting scientific research. If a fishing trawler had a military-made GPS system on board, would you threaten it with a submarine?

The vessel was flagged as a civilian ship, doing highly important scientific research in the Arctic area. This concerns all nations in Eastern Europe, and to interfere with this research is certainly not a cogent idea.

Once close enough to shore the vessel, along with Layartebian forces will be escorted by aircraft from the COH so that it reaches the immediate safety of Layartebian waters. These aircraft will use only allied airspace (i.e. the EOL). Two HH-60G, one PC-3 Orion and one F-14D Tomcat will accompany the ship from a safe distance if this meets with the ships, and ultimately EOL approval.

Once again we condemn the acts of the Russian Navy and Government for threatening a civilian vessel in international waters. The Governemnt of the COH would like to see some sort of apology, signed by the Russian Government, to be forthcoming to the crew of the threatened vessel and possibly to the company/institution from which it is registered.

COH

Responce to government of Hirgizstan

We will not sign any sort of apology. If you choose to ignore evidence that strongly supports the fact that the vessel in question was infact a military vessel, that is your decision, if you wish to condemn us for attempting to engage a Layatrebian naval vessel that has attempted to obtain highly sensitive information from Russian military satelite network, that is your decision. Our decision is to disregard your condemnation. We have proof that the ship in question received encrypted information from Russian military satelite without authorization, using military hardware specialised in satelite signal hijacking. That prooves beyond any reasonable objection that he vessel in question was conducting a spying operation against the Russian Federation, if a boat of this type ever goes inside the Russian Federation waters, it will be sank without warning. Once again i repeat, it is your choice to ignore the fact that this vessel was a military ship, it is our choice to disregard any comments you might have that are fueled by your ignorance and unwillingness to accept that which is true. Either way the relations between our nations are not going to change, they haven't been friendly before and they will not now and the members of VCO i am sure will realize the poorly hidden attempt by Layatreb and its allies to mask what was obviously an intellegence gathering operation against Russian Federation.

Official Response: Department of Foreign Affairs

We stand by our Russian allies. The choice they made was based on credible information. Even if it was not a military vessel, it was conducting espionage on the Russian nation. The Layartebians have stated in their Doctrine of Sovereignity that under similar conditions, they would treat it as an act of war. The Russian Federation has shown that they are a strong willed people, not going to war over this event, as less rational rulers would.

Official Response from the Holy Republic of Hawdawg

Your response is unmoving. The fact that you actively engaged a civilian vessel in International Waters is troublesome. Wild accusations of capturing satellite communications is a cover story on your navies part of not being able to adequately read charts showing the clear demarkations between Pushkan Waters and International Waters.

Most countries have the necessary equipment to listen in on our neighbors without getting near them. I am sure you have the same technology and use it just like us. Capturing satellite traffic is one of the easiest technologies to intercept and doesn't require a presence in the area the signal is directed towards. We all have listened to each other's communications, hell its why we all encrypt our messages. In short, these things can and are intercepted via other strategic means in the upper atmosphere.

The fact remains we all have vessels that travel International Waters daily and the fact that your navy engaged a clearly denoted civilian vessel, whatever it was doing, is wrong. Maybe your navy will reevaluate its policy, for your sake I hope so. International Waters are meant to be a safe haven for unimpeded travel, regardless of what the vessel is doing. Violating the sanctity of International Waters will not be tolerated. Had the vessel in question violated your territorial waters this would be an entirely different matter. In fact, we would have supported your response if this incident would have transpired in that manner. If a Hawdawg Civilian vessel is threatened in such a way by your Navy our response won't be nearly as measured as the EOL I can assure you of that.

Signed,

Josey Wales
Prime Minister
Holy Republic of Hawdawg