NationStates Jolt Archive


'...And When The Clock Strikes Thirteen...' [Attn Haven]

Skinny87
21-01-2006, 00:45
OOC: This will be an ongoing story, with this first post happening in the present, and the last three weeks being RP'd in a free-form way to eventually come to this conclusion. All nations can react, but I'd like it if only those from Haven do anything more than do posts on reactions (Press, Media, Governments etc), as they'll be the ones in the actual RP


The ocean was oddly calm in this area. The water was a pristine blue and crystal clear, almost invisible if looked at from a certain angle. Nothing disturbed the sanctity of this pure state; not a fish moved through the water, no whales or larger mammals troubled the tranquil state, and certainly no man-made vessels ploughed through, leaving behind a wake and disturbing the oceanic population for miles around. Nature reigned supreme, an unusual state of affairs in a world that was now dominated by a species that did not understand nature, nor even wish to attempt to do so. It truly was a place of beauty, and not a sound could be heard apart from the gentle, hypnotic movement of the water itself as it slowly moved.

This state of harmony was soon to be broken, turned into chaos by the actions of man. The first indication of this state of affairs was a faint humming that came from far above, in the skies above the ocean. At first it was hardly noticeable, hardly peaking above the sound of the water moving; within seconds, however, it had resolved itself into a deep bass rumble that began to cause tremors in the water. The sound became louder, descending in pitch at the same time, until it became an all-encompassing roar that could be heard for miles in every direction. For a few more seconds this remained, and then the object came into view. If there had been an observer standing on the water itself, he would have seen a dim glow high above the ocean that increased in brightness every second until it would have been painful to have continued watching. As the deep rumble became even louder, if the observer had had some kind of shade he would have seen a long, thin object appear from out of the bright light and plummet towards the ocean, waves forming and moving violently from the disturbance caused by this object.

With the few seconds on this mortal earth that the observer would have had remaining to him, he would have seen the object resolve itself into the shape of a single Multiple Independently Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV), one of six MIRVs that had detached from a Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) high above the ocean, in the thin air of the planets atmosphere. The ICBM had been launched from New Kaylee Missile Command exactly twenty-seven minutes before this MIRV approached its target and detonated. It had been a perfect launch, one that the scientists stationed at the missile base would monitor and record as an example for later use, and the giant missile had rocketed into the planets atmosphere, stratosphere, peaking at the planets boundary between air and space. There, the first and second stages had detached from the missile and fell into the atmosphere, burning up as the third and final stage fell back to earth, gravity and internal rockets guiding its deadly cargo. Every few seconds the missiles computers had checked and re-checked its coordinates via more than a dozen satellites, military and civilian, ensuring that it arrived in the correct position for detonation. A mile above the ocean it had split apart into the six MIRVs, and each of the smaller rockets had gone into their terminal phase, already arming themselves.

Metal plates slid around, explosives armed themselves, and atoms and electrons began to move towards their destiny. As they hit the ocean waves and plunged into the ocean, the MIRVs had started their detonation sequence; once a specially-modified depth metre had moved down to 200 feet exactly, the MIRVs detonated. The effect was spectacular, although few would have seen it. Each MIRV, a mile apart from its companions and in a square formation, detonated in a fury of explosives and unleashed a hellish amount of nuclear energy. Water was turned to steam or vapourised as the energy came into contact with it, steam rising rapidly to the surface; anything living for miles around was either killed in the initial explosion, or by the heat and shockwaves that followed within a second of the initial explosion. The two waves raced out from the explosion, hitting their companions from the other MIRVs and then expanding outwards even further, killing and crushing anything in their paths. The bubbles caused by the cavitations and explosions from the missiles, hundreds of billions of them covered more than twenty miles of ocean; known as ‘blueout’ to submariners, the bubbles would not dissipate for days, even weeks, rendering sonar useless in the area. Finally the heat and shockwaves ended, leaving a churning, boiling mass of radioactive seawater behind as their legacy.


The Grey House, Dowland City, Sovereign Nation of Skinny87

To: All Havenic Nations
From: Foreign Office, Skinny87

It will have come to your attention that a nuclear weapon was detonated in the ocean some two thousand miles from the shores of the Southern Havenic nations. The weapon, an old Minuteman III ICBM, was launched as part of a test of the Sovereign Nations nuclear test pile and was meant to have detonated on a testing range several thousand miles further south-west of the Havenic region. Due to a guidance error from the Minuteman IIIs older missile guidance systems, the missile fell short and was detonated underwater to prevent any loss of life. Rest assured this missile launch was a test gone wrong, and was not aimed at any nation; the Sovereign Nation will pay for all ecological damage caused by the missiles detonation in the area and will clean up and long-lasting complications.


His Majesty, King Alexander I, leader of the Sovereign Nation, stared at the message flimsy in his hand. This was the message that was to be sent out to all the Havenic nations about the missile launch and detonation in the apparently empty section of ocean it had landed in. He stared at it for a moment longer, then looked up at the man standing in front of his desk. Foreign Secretary Philip Bernard was a short, stout man in his fifties, with a rotund figure and slightly balding head. He wore a designer suit and carried a black leather briefcase in his hand, handcuffed to his wrist for security, and his expression was one of relief mixed with worry. Alexander looked at Bernard.
“So, this is the message that will go out officially, Philip. It looks official enough and vague as well; the missile guidance error as an excuse was a good touch. Do you think it will stand up to scrutiny?” Bernard shifted, as if uncomfortable, then answered. “Nothing is sure, Your Majesty, but the military experts have assured me that the Minuteman III was an unstable missile, and the excuse should be accepted as it was. Clearing up the mess caused by the detonation should help cover our tracks as well.”

Alexander nodded, forehead creased in worry. “Very well Bernard, thank-you.” The Foreign Secretary nodded and moved to leave the Kings office, but was stopped by a single question from Alexander. “Did we get him?” The tone was cool, yet held a hint of anxiousness, as if in need of reassurance. Unfortunately, Bernard had none to offer the beleaguered monarch. Without turning around, he answered in a toneless voice, the more to disguise his own fears. “We don’t know, Your Majesty. The missile covered twenty square miles, above water and below as well. But the Revenge was a new submarine, top of the line, and this ‘blueout’ will make confirmation extremely difficult. We shall have to wait and see.” With that, Bernard walked out without pause, leaving a frowning Alexander behind him.