NationStates Jolt Archive

It had been a week since the Principality of Wilhelmsborough aquired expensive aircraft from the Pudite corporation. The previous week had been spent learning the ins and outs of the craft, and preparing a couple of each type of plane to be reverse-engineered for domestic production.

It was by this time that the W.R.A.F. was finally settled in with their new planes. Which was good, because Prince William the First was itching to put them to good use.

To the south of the Crimean Peninsula lay the Black Sea, an almost completely land-locked body of water dividing Europe and Asia. Prince William knew that if any trouble was occur, especially in terms of a naval attack, the Black Sea would have to be secured.

To that end, Prince William and General Sherman devised an air patrol plan. It would work like this:

Four E-3 Reconnaissance Planes would patrol the skies above the Black Sea keeping watch for any enemy ships, and also working to spot any foreign aircraft flying making any unfriendly moves. These planes would be deployed in the north, from Odessa to the Sea of Azov, in the Southeast near the Turkey-Georgia border, the Southwest near Istanbol, and in the West near Romania and Bulgaria. These reconnaissance flights would take place around the clock. If anybody was flying though the Black Sea, the Principality of Wilhelmsbourgh, and more importantly the Wilhelmsborough Royal Air Force, would know about it.

These planes would not be flying alone however. Flying backup in case of enemy attack would be a squadron of twelve Sea Harrier FA2's. In the event that the patrol engaged an enemy, the Harriers would go off to fight them. But the E-3 wouldn't be alone during all of this. Guarding the radar plane would be 2 Su-27 Flankers. They would lead the E-3 away from the fighting, and if necessary, serve as the last line of defense provided that the Harriers failed.

Each E-3 patrol was to be conducted in this fashion. And since patrols were to take place around the clock, at any given point in time, the W.R.A.F. would have at least sixty planes in the air.

Prince William smiled and looked out upon the ocean from his balcony. He could see the that the first patrol group had already taken off and was heading towards their designated patrol in the southwest.

At that very moment Prince William was filled with a great feeling of pride and sense of accomplishment. Never before had he felt so much love for his country. And now, the Prince could rest easy with the fact that he was ensuring the safety of all people within the Principality of Wilhelmsborough.

May we never faulter in our duty to protect our country. Prince William thought with a smile.

OOC: Are you going to do anything with this? Wanna have a little skirmish without it leading into a war? Like in Top Gun they fight the Russians a little and then everything is fine. Maybe I mistake a patrol for an attack. One of your patrols is awfully close to my border after all. The one by the Turkey-Georgia border.

OOC:

Yeah, a brief skirmish seems to be appropriate. You have no idea who we are or what the hell is going on, and we have never heard of you before. This will inevitably lead to a few surprises.

OOC: I must warn you, I have an air force of more than 700 modern aircraft. I'll only have a few in the area though. I'm not looking for a battle with more than about a dozen aircraft per side.

Captain Yuri looked out on the horizon. Not a plane in the sky, except for his squadron of 4 other Saab Gripen Fighters. He sighed, another long patrol. Ever since the war had started with East Corinthia the air force had been on full alert. "Why was the air force mobilized?" Yuri thought. "The East has few planes. There's no point in us being up here."
A bit of turbulence woke snapped him back to reality. He sighed again, noting the minor turbulence. Suddenly there was a blip on his radar. Adreneline rushed into his veins. "Radar contact! Unidentified bogeys flying 9 o'clock high!"
"We roger that." replied an IL-76 Candid surveillance plane. It was far off though, and well out of identification range. "Unidentified bogeys spotted. Better go check 'em out."
"Roger." Yuri replied. "Tell the airbase. Have them scramble fighters, but don't launch yet. We don't know what's out there." Then he switched to the channel to talk to his squadron. "Attention men! You all see the bogeys on your radar by now. Hold your fire until I give the order to engage. We're going in closer to get an identification."
At the airbase 10 Tornado IDS fighters were being scrambled. They began taxiing onto the runway and awaited the order to launch.

OOC: And by investigating your patrol I'm unknowingly crossing the border into your airspace.;)

OOC: The Black Sea isn't part of my airspace. Not yet anyway.

IC:
-Southeastern Patrol group
E-3 Plane

The crew of 9 were hard at work, tracking the skies over the Black Sea. It was quiet now, although the hum of the engines could be faintly heard.

And then suddenly, it happened. There was a blip. The people monitoring the situation looked up in surprise.

"We got one already? On our first patrol?"

"Yeah, seems that way."

Just then, they were interrupted by another radar blip. And then another. And another. And another.

"Holy Hell! that's five aircraft!"

"Who does it belong to? What other countries are situated in this region?"

"I...don't know of any offhand."

"What!"

"Hey, those blips are moving in our direction."

"Holy shit, they are! Contact headquarters and tell them that we have a situation!"

-W.R.A.F. Headquarters

A young Major runs to General Sherman and quickly salutes.
"Sir! The southeastern patrol has run into a situation. Five bogeys are flying in from the mainland and are heading towards the patrol!"

"What! Oh fucking hell, why of all times now!" the General shouted. He calmed down and composed himself.

"Very well then. Tell the patrol to break off and order the Su-27's to escort the E-3 home. But I want those 12 Harriers to continue on course and see what the hell was on our radar. They're to attempt communication with the bogeys, and maybe even figure out where the hell they came from. Actually, they WILL find out where they came from. But if they launch weapons, order the squadren to strike back."

Captain Yuri was now in range to identify the craft in the distance. An E-3 Sentry spy plane. "So now their spying on us, whoever they are." Yuri said over the radio. "I've got a visual on an E-3 Sentry."
"Watch it, Captain." the Il-76 reported. "We've picked up another 12 bogeys on an intercept course to your position. Fighters all."
The captain swore under his breath. 3 out of the 4 other aircraft with him were new pilots fresh out of war college. They had no experience in this matter. The captain made an executive decision to send those 3 planes back home. Now it was just him and one other Saab Gripen pilot in the air.
The captain radioed his airfield in a panic. "We're under attack! Launch the alert fighters!"
The airfield had been watching on radar and had already launched the 10 reinforcement fighters. 10 Tornado IDS fighters went supersonic to catch up with the 2 Gripens.
It only took them a minute or two to reach the Gripens at supersonic. Then the Tornadoes slowed and entered attack formation with the Gripens.
12 vs. 12, numerically an even match of strength. From the Il-76 the entire crew watched their radar screens as the two sets of blips moved closer to eachother. Soon they would be in range.
The West Corinthian fighters each carried two long-range air-to-air missiles, 10 regular air-to-air missiles, and had fully loaded gatling guns.
The air base radioed to Captain Yuri, "What are they doing? Have they made any hostile movements? What is their nationality?"
The bogeys were near range of their long range missiles. The West Corinthians could either fire now and maybe take a few of them out or move in closer for a proper identification. Sweat dripped down Captain Yuri's face and arms. Would this be another war?

Captain Alex Lifeson was not happy. He had been expecting a uneventful day of flying, a way to get used to his new role as leader of a squadron.

And now this.

Orders had come in from headquarters. The Su-27s were to escort the E-3 back to base while the Harriers were to go and see who started all of this commotion.

Meanwhile, the retreating E-3 was still relaying information. "They more pretty fast, so they're probably fighters."

Super-de-duper.he thought grimly.

"Ok, several jets have just turned back. There's only two left!"

Just two? thought Lifeson. They're sending only two towards us? The captain frowned. It can't be that easy.

Then the radar plane sent another message. "Captain, ten more bogeys have just come into range. They're joining up with the other two!"

Lifeson rolled his eyes. It never fails.

"Captain, I think that they're in visual range now."

Alex looked looked around and saw them to his right. They were 12 tiny black dots in the sky and they were closing fast.

Twelve on twelve. Anybody could win here. he mused. Then he shook his head. "Hey am I in communications range yet?"

"Ah...let me check. Yes sir, you are in range."

Finally! Captain Lifeson turned his radio on all frequencies. And then he spoke.

"To the 12 unidentified craft closing in on our position, we ask that you identify yourselves immediately!"

*major bump

Captain Yuri started hearing static over his radio. "......12 unidentified craft.....closing on our position....we........immediately!" He checked his radio channel, it was on an open channel. It was coming from the 12 Harriers on an intercept course. What was immediate? Were they going to attack? Replying was no use, his message would be just as scrambled by static.
He closed his eyes and thought for a moment.
"Sir! What are we going to do?" a voice came from one of the Tornadoes. "Sir!" he repeated in a louder tone.
Captain Yuri radioed quickly back to base. "Sir, they've radioed us. There was a lot of static, but it didn't sound friendly. There's too much static on the channel to reply."
"Roger that." the airbase replied. "There shouldn't be any friendly patrols in the area. We must assume they're enemies. East Corinthians, probably."
"Roger!" captain Yuri panted into his radio. "To all the squadron! Arm weapons! Prepare to fire long-range missiles on my command! Fox 2! Weapons free!"
He activated his computer targeting system. The green circle drifted across the screen and locked onto an enemy. Yuri fired his first LRM (long-range missile). "Let us hope we were right." he said to himself as the rest of the squadron acquired targets and fired.

Captain Lifeson's eyes raised in horror as he saw the unmistakable streak of missiles flying towards him.

"Oh shit! Heads up! We got missiles moving towards us! Everybody, take your vehicle into a dive, repeat! Dive! Dive! Dive!"

OOC: Sorry for breaking the flow here, but this is amusing. Each of you bought your planes from me, and just to get blown apart by more of my own planes. Ironic...

OOC: Ya it is pretty funny.

IC: Captain Yuri saw the hostiles breaking formation to avoid their missiles. "Alright, men. Let's go to work." he said over his radio. "Break formation. Stick with your wingman. Blow them to hell."
The formation split into pairs and they raced towards the enemies, preparing to fire standard range missiles.

OOC: And it would be godmodding of me to say if my missiles from the last post hit or miss that's up to you but remember try to be realistic. You would have more time to try to dodge long range missiles but they are still guided and missiles are faster than planes.

Adrenaline surged through Lifeson as he rapidly descended towards the water in a desperate attempt to avoid the missiles.

He looked up. Holy Shit.

The missiles were turning and following them down. Soon, they would catch up to the Harriers if he didn't do something fast.

"Alright men, we're going to get as close to the water as we can. Once we get close enough, we're gonna pull up and go supersonic. Do you understand?"

Affirmations came through the radio.

The water was coming closer like some great liquid wall. 1500 meters, 1000 meters, 500 meters, NOW!

"EVERYBODY PULL UP!"

Automatically, wingflaps adjusted to raise the Harriers out of the air.

"John, pull up! pull up damnit!"

"I can't! The damn thing is moving too slo..ahhhh!!!"

Alex screamed as the plane hit the water. "No! goddamnit no!"

The missiles that had been following them down inpacted the sea with a terrific explosion. All Except one.

A sickening feeling went through Alex. "No oh God no..."

The missile was able to pull up in time. It struck the nearest Harrier, exploding in a ball of flame.

Now Alex was pissed. He turned the radio on all frequencies and gave the bogeys a piece of his mind.

"Goddamnmotherfuckingparanoidnutjobpsychopathicmotherfuckingassholes FUCK!! This is Captain Alex Lifeson representing the Principality of Wilhelmsborough! Who in the name of FUCK are you, and why the fuck are you shooting at my planes goddamnit!"

Captain Yuri answered, "Wilhelmsborough? Shit, break off! I repeat break off! Do not engage!"
"Yes, sir." came reluctant replies from the squadron. They broke off from the engagement and entered formation with Captain Yuri's plane.
Then Yuri said, "This is Captain Yuri Palenko of West Corinthia. What are you doing with a spy plane so close to our border? And when we came to investigate why did you send fighters!?" Yuri yelled, but he was mad at himself.

"What's going on? Why have you broken off?" the airbase radioed another captain in the squadron.
"They're not East Corinthians." the captain answered. "They're from Wilhelmsborough."
"God damn." the airbase answered. "This is gonna be a tough one to explain. I'll file a report to the government immediately."


Yuri looked out his canopy window and saw the debris from two downed Harriers. He had been wrong. The guilt was overwhelming. He sighed again, and punched his canopy.

Alex was incensed. "Palenko, what you just fired upon was Wilhelmsborough's Black Sea Patrol! We monitor air traffic around here! And for the record, we didn't know that we were so damn close to your friggin' border! This was supposed to be a shakedown mission before you got uppedy on us!!"

The E-3 suddenly radioed in. "What's going on Captain? You've lost two fighters. Have you engaged the enemy?"

"No Major, we haven't." Not yet anyway. "Send a message to Headquarters. We got into a skirmish with twelve jets from West Corinthia. Repeat: the nation is West Corinthia. Two Harriers have been lost." Alex's voice was strained as he said that. "Communication has been bridged with their leader. His name is Captain Yuri Palanko."

W.R.A.F. Headquarters

"General!" shouted the Major as he ran.

"What is it? Is it the patrol?"

The Major nodded grimly. "They lost two fighters."

General Sherman became infuriated. "Damn it, kill them all! Make them burn!!"

"Sir! The fighting has stopped. Captain Lifeson says that once they found out where they were coming from they stopped their attack?"

The General was still fuming. "Did he say where they were from?"

"Yes sir. They're from West Corinthia."

The General stopped. "West Corinthia? Aren't they at war right now? With the east?"

"Yes sir."

The General turned at pressed his hand into his eyes. Slowly he began to calm down and his mind took control of his emotions.

The moment he heard it was West Corinthia, he understood why they had done it. They were a nation at war. And a nation at war had to be constantly on alert for any and all threats to the country. It was hard to admit this to himself, but he knew that the reason that they had attacked the patrol was because they were paranoid and afraid.

He sighed. It was fortunate that it as only two fighters and not the entire squadron.

But he wasn't about to let them off the hook that easily.

"Major! Get on the line with the E-3. Tell them to head back towards Lifeson's and West Corinthia's squadrons. I want to have a little talk with the man in charge of those West Corinthian planes."

Captain Yuri composed himself and got back on the radio after having a chat with the airbase. "To the Wilhelmsborough squadron, our airbase has deployed blackhawk helicopters this way to look for survivors. And off the record, I'm sorry."
He looked back down at the dark water. Yuri knew the chances of surviving a sea impact were slim. But now they had to keep this from escalating. They'll court-martial me for this, he thought. Which was probably true, whether it was a true court-martial or just to keep up foreign relations. He might have to disappear, get a new name and move to a village in the mountains. Once again he pushed these demoralizing thoughts out of his head.
Then he thought, If it had been the East Corinthians I'd be a hero right now.

Captain Alex Lifeson was still on edge after the attack. He was still mad over the loss of his two pilots. Despite his anger, he reflected on the events that occurred today. This was a first meeting of nations. And it went terribly.

First impressions are lasting ones. Lifeson thought grimly.

Now the West Corinthians were attempting to make peace by sending helicopters to search for survivers. Which was a good thing too because Alex didn't want them to suffer the indignity of being discovered in the nets of a fishing boat.

Also, because Wilhelmsborough had no navy to speak of. Yet.

"Captain?" It was the Major from the E-3.

"I read you loud and clear." Alex replied.

'We just got orders from headquarters."

Alex stiffened. What if they order an attack? That might cause even more problems.

"We've been ordered to meet up with you and the West Corinthian squadron."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Why are you doing a thing like that?"

"Because General Sherman wants to have a talk with Captain Palenko." came the cool response of the Major.

Alex's eyes widened in surprise. Immediately, he switched on his radio and sent a message to Yuri's Saab Gripen.

"Captain, in a few minutes, the E-3 reconnaissance plane will be flying back into range. My superior officer back at base would like to speak with you. And just so you know, his name is General Salazar T. Sherman."

"I'm hardly the man to be speaking to, Captain." Captain Yuri replied nervously. What do they want to talk to me for? He thought. God damn this won't be good. "I think the man your General ought to be speaking to is Mikhail Gregorin. He's the Commandant of my airfield. He's the one who approved our....course of action." Yuri thought of trying to persuade Alex Lifeson that a meeting of this nature was not practical, but the tone of his voice made him reconsider. This was no time to speak to a man who had lost 2 planes about being practical.
Kydonia, West Corinthia
"Sir! We just recieved a report from one of our airfields near the Black Sea." a messenger burst into the palace meeting room.
"And?" Czar Vasili Kotov answered.
"They have engaged foreign aircraft. Now, we have since identified the bogeys as belonging to the Principality of Wilhelmsborough, who apparently we now share a border with."
"What do you mean engaged!?" the Czar retorted, standing up from the table. "Isn't it procedure to identify before engaging!?"
"Yes, sir. Apparently there was a miscommunication between aircraft and one of their radio broadcasts came across as possibly being hostile."
"Possibly hostile!? Was there a battle? Were there casualties?"
"Yes, sir. Two of their planes were shot down before communication was established. We have Blackhawks scouring the wreckage for survivors."
"Tell the airbase to recall all aircraft! We'll have a hell of a time smoothing this over with their government." Vasili was reading over the actual report.
"Actually, their general is planning to move into communication with the captain who lead the assault."
"Why would they do a thing like that? Oh, nevermind. Call Borislav Nikephorov and transfer the call to me."
The messenger obeyed and left the room.

"Captain, we're in position. Now patching in the General."

"Roger that." replied Alex. To Yuri he said, "We'll talk later."

For a second, there was silence.

"Captain Yuri Palenko?" spoke a deep voice. "My name is General Sherman. And I represent the Principality of Wilhelmsborough. I'm not going to sugarcoat this. What occured here today may have some serious rammifications between our two nations. You seem to me to be an intelligent person, so I'm quite sure that you appreciate the severity of this situation, am I correct?"

------

Prince William was pissed.

The Prince had been shocked been a messanger had burst into his office and told him that a patrol group had been engaged and lost two Harriers. William was just about to recommend the deployment of an entire wing of Su-27s in revenge when General Salazar interupted his destructive musings with a phone call updating him on the situation. Fighting had stopped and communication between the two groups was being made. The General assured him that the situation was under control.

The Prince shook his head. He hadn't been thinking clearly. He could have launched a retaliatory strike. But that would probably cost him more jets and earn the Principality the eternal wrath of a force most likely stronger than they were. And these people-these West Corinthians-were probably well experienced in warfare, something which the Principality was not (not that he would ever admit such a thing aloud).

The Prince sighed. It would be foolish to go to war. But we are the wronged party. We are at least entitled some repairations. The prince nodded. Yes, repairations and dipliomatic relations. That would be appropriate. Prince William picked up to phone to call Ambassedor Geddy Lee. He would know what to do.

"I do, General. And I assure you I was only following orders. Orders which were based on....false information." Yuri answered dejectedly over his radio. The Blackhawks had arrived below them and had divers swimming around the wreckage.

West Corinthian Airbase
Cammandant Mikhail Gregorin stormed out of the command bunker. What are they doing up there? he thought. He stopped and looked at some air traffic controllers and thought a moment. They can't talk forever. The Gripens have external feul tanks with them, but the Tornadoes were scrambled and should only have another two hours of feul. But what would it look like if I sent more fighters to join up with them with full feul tanks?

Kydonia, West Corinthia
Czar Vasili finished reading the report. Then the messenger told him Borislav Nikephorov was on the line. "Yes, sire?" the man on the other end of the line asked.
"We need to smooth things over with the Principality of Wilhelmsborough. Prepare a trial by court-martial for Mikhail Gregorin and Yuri Palenko. Make sure the Wilhelmsboroughans see the trials."
"It will be done. Is that all?"
"For the time being. Farewell, my friend." And he hung up.

General Sherman let a small smile briefly cross his face. He's smart, that one. Then he spoke again.

"Captain, what's the name of your commanding officer?"

"Commandant Mikhail Gregorin, General." came the reply.

Down below, the Blackhawks had pulled one pilot from the water. He was from the plane that had been directly hit by a missile. He was unconcious and having trouble breathing. The Blackhawks broke off the search and returned to the airbase where there was a field hospital.

"Commandant Mikhail Gregorin," repeated the General. "I'll remember that. Listen to me, Captain. I want you to go back to Commandant Gregorin. I want you to tell him that we want to discuss matters of hand between our states. Diplomacy, as it were."

There was a pause

"Can you do that Captain?"

---------

Ambassador Geddy Lee answered his phone.

"Hello?"

"Ambassador Lee!"

Lee started. "Ah! Your majesty! How may I be of service?"

"Your diplomatic skills are needed, Ambassador. There's been an incident in the skies over the Black Sea. Fighters from the nation of West Corinthia came accross our patrol. There was some confusion and two Harriers were destroyed. Both pilots are presumed dead."

"Oh my goodness sir! Of course I'll help you in this situation! What do I have to do?"

"Come to my office. You'll recieve further instructions here."

"Yes, general." Captain Yuri switched channels to talk to the airbase.
"Go ahead, Captain." an air traffic controller answered.
"It is safe for the squadron to return home."
"Roger that. Runways are clear. You are cleared to land."
"Roger." Yuri and his squadron turned direction and returned home.

At the airbase, Commandant Gregorin held the papers for both his own and Captain Yuri's court-martials. Damn. he thought. They'll let Yuri off for sure, it's easy to pin the blame on authority.

Ambassador Geddy Lee entered Prince William's office.

The Prince stood up. "Ah, Ambassador!" he greeted. "I'm glad you've made it."

The two shook hands.

"Always a pleasure, your majesty. Now, what's the situation?"

Prince William told him about the new patrols around the Black Sea and how on their first day out, the southeastern patrol had run into trouble from another patrol from West Corinthia, resulting in the loss of two Harriers.

"And this hasn't happened to any of the other patrols?" Lee asked.

"No, to my knowledge the other patrols have been relatively uneventful." the Prince replied.

"And what's the situation on the West Corinthian side?"

"They appear to be rather pensive about the situation. General Sherman talked to the Captain of the West Corinthian squadron. He told the Captain to tell his commanding officer that we want to discuss this in diplomatic channels." The Prince paused. "That is where you come in, Lee."

Lee stood up straight. "Sir, I will assist you to the best of my ability."

Prince William smiled. "I knew you would Lee. Now, who's in charge over there? And what's his phone number?"

Captain Yuri opened his canopy and stepped out onto the ladder placed next to his cockpit. The past few hours had seemed like weeks, and he nearly fell off the ladder. Soon a relatively important looking jeep drove up and Commandant Gregorin along with several other officials stepped out.
"What is it?" Yuri asked, though he dreaded what it might be.
"I'm sorry, Captain." a man said, handing Yuri the papers for his court-martial. "The government is looking into this situation. Until the trial ends, you will be placed on paid leave."
"But..." Yuri couldn't even speak.
"It's just procedure, son." Commandant Gregorin interrupted. "I've got one too." he held up his own paper.
"They want to speak to you, sir." Yuri finally was able to say.
"Speak to me? That's not possible. Just like you I'm on paid leave. Besides, The Czar is sending Aleksandr Demorovich to speak with them on our behalf."
"The Head of Diplomacy is coming here?" Yuri felt weak as the enormity of the situation hit him like a ton of bricks.

An hour later a C-17 with a heavy fighter escort landed at the airfield. Aleksandr Demorovich walked out with a contingent of Hoplites. "Someone brief me on what's going on! Who's in command here?" he yelled, approaching the nearest group of people, which happened to be Captain Yuri, Commandant Gregorin, and the other men with them.

In the field hospital, the Wilhelmsboroughan pilot had been stabilized. He was no longer coughing up water/blood and the major pieces of shrapnel had been removed from his body. He had lost a lot of blood, but thankfully would not need any major surgery or amputation. It was important he survive because he was the bargaining chip if things went South.

When Prince William had taken control of the Principality, his predecessor had left behind a lot of old baggage in the Royal Palace: bad furnature, tacky wallpaper, and asbestos in the walls. It had taken several months to get the place up to code, but it was quite an annoyance that the Prince would rather soon forget.

But for once, his predecessor had left something useful behind. Inside the bottom right drawer, underneither some worthless clutter, was a Rolodex filing device. Though the technology was somewhat outdated, it held the names and numbers of several world leaders. Unfortunately, the previous leader had not kept it in order.

"Jesus, what a mess!" exclaimed Prince William as he thumbed through the files. "Now I know why the people overthrew him."

"Gross incompetance?" ventured Ambassedor Lee.

"You got it."

For a while there was silence which was broken only by the shuffling of file cards.

"Ah ha!" said the Prince triumphantly. "Found it!"

"Excellent!" Lee replied as he reached for the phone. "Who is it we're calling?"

"Let's see. His name is Czar Vasili Kotov..."

----------
W.R.A.F. Headquarters

"Sir? Shall we scramble Harriers to replace those that were lost?"

The General shook his head. "No Major, that would be a bad idea. If we sent new fighters, they might take it as a hostile action. They'll just have to keep flying as they are until the next patrol comes to take their place."

"Yes Sir."

The Wilhelmsborough pilot slowly opened his eyes. They were out of focus, and wouldn't adjust. He had an awful headache, and couldn't feel his right leg. He tried to prop himself up to see, but a sharp pain in his elbow made him think otherwise. He could tell he was in a hospital, and nurses were running about, talking in Russian, some in Greek. The pilot knew these were the languages of West Corinthia. West Corinthia! he thought, The ones who attacked us! Now he made a serious attempt to move. A nurse noticed him and called "Doctor! He's awake!"
A moment later a doctor ran up and jammed a needle into the pilot's arm. The pilot tried to ask "Where am I" but his speech became slurred and he drifted back to sleep.

The court-martial of Captain Yuri was over in a matter of hours. He was clearly following orders and all charges had been dropped due to that fact.
Commandant Gregorin, however, was having a disastrous trial. No matter what points he brought up, the jury either ignored him or found a loophole to twist the evidence against him. It was clear the government wanted to make an example of him. At best, he would recieve a drop in pay and re-assignment to a remote airbase. At worst....he dare not think about it.

"I want defensive systems on medium alert." Czar Vasili Kotov told his general, Pyotr Chenko. "It would be foolish of them to retaliate at this point, but I don't want to let our guard down. Are we prepared to open communication with them again? We can't afford a bad rep with such a closely neighboring country. Or their people...." He remembered back to when East Corinthian insurgents had nearly captured the city of Lakonia out from under their noses. They had to kill thousands to cleanse the city. Now they were at war. Decisions were tough to make, but in war time they were vital. He hoped Wilhelmsborough knew this. What had happened was nothing more than an error in communication. In simpler terms, an accident.

Prince William started. "Alright Lee, let's call the Czar."

"Yes your majesty." Ambassador Geddy Lee replied. "And do remember to be tactful. This is a hardened military leader we're talking about."

The Prince nodded. "I will." he replied with a serious tone.

He glanced at the number and began to dial. "This damn Rolodex is so old. You think this number still works? Hope so."

A few seconds later...

"Success! It's ringing!"

*Bump*

The phone rang at the palace main security office. "Hello?" the guard asked in a sharp tone. A moment later, "Hold on, I'll patch you into him."
Czar Vasili was re-reading the report on the engagement. A red light flashed on his telephone next to him. "Yes?" he asked gravely.
"Sire, it's Wilhelmsbrough on the line. They'd like to speak with you."
"Well, patch them through."
He waited a moment, then picked up the telephone. "This is the Czar of West Corinthia. What is it you would like to discuss?" But he knew what they wanted.

"Good Afternoon, Czar Kotov. My name is Prince William Kennedy the First, of the Principality of Wilhelmsborough."

William paused.

"By now I am sure that you are aware of the situation that has occurred today."

"I am aware, Prince Kennedy." his voice took a sharper tone. "I had thought it was sorted out by now. Our planes are back at the airfield, your planes are safe, and I hear you even sent one of your generals to speak with a captain in my air force. We are already holding court-martials for both the captain and his commandant. Frankly, there is not much more we can do."

The Prince raised his voice slightly "Actually Czar, there is quite a bit you could do.." He paused to look at Ambassador Lee who silently made a look that said don't make another world leader angry.

Prince William nodded and started over, albeit more calmly.

"Czar Kotov, seeing as that our two countries exist in such close proximity to one another, I do not believe that it would be wise to provoke an international incident over what happened today. But Sir, I strongly believe that what occurred here must never be repeated again between our two nations. We need to come to an understanding."

The Czar mulled this over in his mind for a moment. Then he stated, "Indeed. We don't want to lose any more men so needlessly." he paused and composed himself. "My report tells me my patrol intercepted a radio transmission from your aircraft prior to the hostilities. There was interference, but they interpreted it as hostile. I have no reason to believe it was at this point. As I have said we are conducting an internal investigation into the matter. I'm sure you will agree with that course of action."

Another messenger ran into the room and pushed a report under the Czar's eyes. He read it over quickly. It said, "Wilhelmsborough pilot in airbase hospital. In critical condition but expected to make a full recovery." The Czar kept this new information to himself. This was his ace in the hole for the time being. He would see how the discussion went before mentioning the survivior.

Ambassador Lee pushed a report under Prince William's nose. He glanced at it. It was Captain Alex Lifeson's report.

"Well Czar, there probably was interference, though I'm not sure how your pilot could have construed," he glanced back at the report "'To the twelve unindentified aircraft closing in on our position, we ask that you identify yourselves immediately.' as a threat. But there it is. The deed is done. And the two pilots," he glanced at the report again, "Majors John Forrester and Neil Peart have been lost. But what I hope has not been lost is the chance to make amends between our two states. I will admit, I made a mistake in not informing nearby countries that I was sending out patrol groups around the Black Sea."

"That was your prerogative. You of course note I did not inform others of my own patrols. I would rather not have the East Corinthians knowing the positions of my entire air force. Even so, I consider these acceptable losses. You should just be glad the situation did not escalate further. Now we have other matters to attend to. For instance, our Blawkhawk salvage team did pull one pilot out of the water. We do not know whuch of your pilots he is, for he's been unconcsious and in critical condition. Moving him at this point could kill him. I advise you let him stay in our field hospital until he is stabilized."

OOC: Forgive his attitude towards your "acceptable losses." He is, after all, a Russian hardliner with absolute power, you get the point.

Prince William stood up so fast that his chair fell back onto the floor.

"You have a surviver?! Which one...wait you don't know, didn't you check his dog tags?"

"Oh my godness," Ambassador Lee said. He reached for his cellphone. "General Sherman and Captain Lifeson will want to know about this."

*Bump*

"He was found without dog tags. A shrapnel wound around his neck could have cut them. I am glad to hear you are so excited." the Czar smiled quietly to himself.

At the airbase
The pilot regained consciousness again. He had a sort of dull pain throughout his entire body. After a few moments his eyes focused and he noticed it was getting late. "Where am I?" he groaned.
Another syringe in the arm quickly put him back to sleep.
"Listen!" the doctor yelled at his nurse. "He's still has a piece of shrapnel in his back. It's dangerously close to his spinal cord. Until we can operate, he has to be kept unconscious. Otherwise he could be paralyzed from the neck down. Understand?"
"Yes, sir." the nurse whimpered, and returned to duty.

Prince William paused for a moment as he composed himself.

"Yes, we are quite relieved that there was a surviver in this incident. When his condition is stable, we will send an airlift for him consisting of a Chinook helicopter and two Blackhawks.

Meanwhile, at W.R.A.F. Headquarters...

"They have a surviver?!" shouted General Sherman. "Which one?"

"They don't know, General. His dogtags were cut from him by a piece of shrapnel."

The General winced at the thought.

"The Prince is preparing to send a Chinook and two Blackhawks to get him when his condition stablizes."

The General nodded as he thought to himself. Who survived? John Forrester or Neil Peart? John's plane was the one that hit the water and Neil's jet was hit by the missile.

He shook his head. John hit the water at speeds of hundreds of miles per hour. Nobody could survive an impact like that. A missile on the other hand...

He interrupted Ambassador Lee. "Ambassador, in light of this update, I'm going to assume that it was Major Neil Peart that survived. Nobody traveling in a jet hitting the water head on at 900 kilometers an hour is going to survive that; you might as well be flying into a steel wall."

The Ambassador nodded. "I understand General. I'll inform the Prince. In the meantime, get those helicopters ready."

*bump

"That is acceptable. I'll make the proper arrangements with the airbase. If you send the helicopters now I'm sure he'll be stabilized by then. They're about to bring him back to consciousness."

At the airbase

"One hell of a job, this is." the doctor said, holding a pice of shrapnel the size of a baseball. "It's safe to let him be conscious for a few hours a day. I dare say he's stable, though. Heart rate is all over the place, and we can't be sure if there is anything else wrong with him until he's awake."

"Yes, sir. I'll bring him back right away." the nurse administered a stimulant via injection into the pilot's arm.

A few second later the man snapped awake. "Where am I?" he asked. "I'm Major Neil Peart of the W.R.A.F. Who are you? I-" he asked several more questions without waiting for answers before finally his speech slurred off into an unrecognizable sort of jibberish.

"Calm down, Major." Commandant Gregorin entered the field hospital. "I'm Commandant Gregorin of the West Corinthian Air Force."

"West Corinthia?" the man had a flashback to being in his cockpit. He remembered hearing the name West Corinthia. "You shot at us!" Suddenly the man's heart rate skyrocketed. He ripped the sensors off of his body and jumped off the table.

"Calm down, Major. It's over. We're going to send you home once you're better." the Commandant tried to calm Neil down.

"Like hell!" was the response. He grabbed a knife off the surgery table and cut a nurse who was going to give him a sedative. "You stay away from me!" he cut his own door out of the field hospital tent with the knife and bolted off.

The Commandant grabbed his radio. "He's running. Stop him, but do not shoot him, I repeat, do not shoot the Wilhelmsborough pilot!"

Now Neil ran into a bunker and came out moments later with a loaded HK G3 assault rifle. "I want a plane!" he yelled.

Commandant Gregorin caught up to him, now holding his Colt 1911 pistol ready. "Drop the gun and lay down. NOW!"

Several police now swarmed in, wielding MP5s and in full combat armor.

"Screw you!" Neil yelled, and without warning shot the Commandant. Gregorin fell, clutching his side.

A hailfire of bullets brought Major Neil Peart to the ground in a puddle of blood. Medics swarmed in to treat the Commandant and take away the body of Neil Peart. When they found Neil, he was miraculously still breathing, so they quickly got to work removing bullets. "Call the palace!" someone yelled.

OOC: More controversy!

OOC: Thanks for the edit. Things really would have escalated badly there if he had died.

Hours after the incident...

Prince William gritted his teeth in anger as he gripped the phone. He considered what to say to the battle-hardened leader.

"You know Czar Kotov, this incident is going to cause a great deal of strain between our two countries for a long time. I'm just amazed that Major Peart was able to survive a hail of bullets to the gut. I trust that Commandant Gregorin got off much more easily, thank goodness."

He paused as he considered what to do with Major Peart.

"If Peart regains consciousness, tell him that the Principality knows that he is alive, and that he will be coming home soon. Until then, he should stop making stupid moves that would result in more international embarrassment."

The Czar sighed. "Our doctors have attributed Major Peart's actions to a psychotic episode brought on by the stress of coming out of his unconscious state. I only hope we can look past this incident and not let it effect the relations our countries may have one day."

He was silent for a moment, thinking of how to tell the Prince what he must hear. "I am sorry to report that Commandant Gregorin has died from the wound Major Peart inflicted. It seems the bullet hit a major organ and caused severe internal bleeding. If Major Peart was a West Corinthian citizen, he would be put under trial for murder of an officer of the West Corinthian armed forces. Then he would likely be publicly executed. I'm telling you this because it is a serious crime to interfere with the military in our country. However, given the circumstances, I'm willing to grant the Major extraterritoriality. We will not charge him with any crime, however if you wish to under your own laws I'm sure it would smooth some things over with his family. Again, we will not force you."

OOC: Yeah I was thinking how I would explain that. I'd prefer not to have things escalate to war over this, even though I looked up your country on one of the economy sites and it said you have $0 defence budget. *shrug*:rolleyes:Not that they're exact.

OOC: Well, if I ever needed to pay for war, I would just take the money out of Government Waste to fund it. Not that I wish to start

http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/wilhelmsborough.jpg

The Prince flinched as he heard the news of Commandant Gregorin's death. This was bad. This was going to be real bad.

"I'm very sorry about what happened to the Commandant. I will make a public apology for his death and send money to his surviving family."

Christ, it's so embarrassing to be apologizing for this! And they were the ones who started this whole mess in the first place! Wait... The Prince thought it over for a minute. I lost one pilot, and two jets. West Corinthia lost a high-ranking officer.

Realization began to dawn on the Prince. A major is not as important as a Commandant, but aircraft is as important as several high-ranking officers. You lose a great deal of combat and tactical experience when a ranking officer is killed. All things considered, we're pretty much even.

Not that he would ever admit such a thing aloud to the Czar. Such words would ruin everything he had been working to accomplish today.

"As for Major Peart, Czar Kotov, we will be sending the Chinook and two Blackhawks to collect him now. Although he was shot down by foreign aircraft and brought to their base, the way he behaved was intolorable and embarrassing. He will have to be court-martialed for these actions."

"We're glad you understand." the Czar replied. "I'll make preparations at the airfield now."

At the airbase

The airfield was scrambling to make preparations to recieve the helicopters from Wilhelmsborough. As was expected from West Corinthians, a massive display of strength would have to prepared in view of the foreigners.

T-72s were lined up along both sides of the runway which also doubled as a helipad. Their turrets were aimed high in ceremonial fashion. Tornado IDS fighters were brought out of the hangers and looked menacing behind the rows of tanks. Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters patrolled the perimeter of the airfield. Several Smerch AA mobile rocket platforms were positioned under camo tents but made to remain visible intentionally. To follow this up, dozens of troops armed to the teeth stood at attention in front of the tanks. The runway was clear for arrival.

This was a typical way to recieve any foreign visitors in West Corinthia. A way to flex our muscles and establish dominance. All this to recieve 3 helicopters and evacuate a wounded pilot to Wilhelmsborough.

http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/wilhelmsborough.jpg

"We're approaching the airfield now, sir." said the pilot of the Chinook helicopter

Colonial Jim Baker looked out the window upon the West Corinthian base

"My God look at that!" Baker gasped.

Organized around the helipads that were to receive them were rows of fighter jets, columns of tanks, and lines and lines of soldiers standing at attention.

"The way they're organized you'd think they were recieving the Czar himself, sir." said the pilot.

Baker nodded. "This is a show of force. They're posturing themselves as a means to intimidate us. To subtlely tell us not to fuck with them."

He sighed. "Let's just get Peart home quickly so we can court-marshel him."

The Helicopters, branded with Wilhelmsborough's Arm and Sword Insignia, touched down on the helipad. The rear hatch was lowered and Colonial Jim Baker, backed up by Marines wielding AK-47s, stepped out onto West Corinthian territory.

Acting-Commandant Alec Vladimirov walked briskly towards Colonial Jim Baker followed by two hoplites with HK G3 assault rifles. The soldiers were in standard West Corinthian uniforms.
http://www.clantemplates.com/renders/gallery/data/media/17/spetsnaz_aug_1.jpg
Alec stopped and saluted. "I am Acting-Commandant Alec Vladimirov. Your man will be returned shortly." His Russian accent was very thick, yet not so much that it was difficult to understand him.

One of the soldiers behind him toggled his radio. He whispered something inaudible into it and snapped back to attention. Moments later a stretcher appeared from out of the field hospital. It was being wheeled because an IV was attached to it. Several medical-looking personnel were attending to it very attentively. It reached the chinook without incident.

The Principality of Wilhelmsborough

http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/wilhelmsborough.jpg

Colonial Baker looked down upon Major Peart. He was just barely conscious.

Baker raised his eyebrows. "You've had us worried sick, Major."

Peart didn't say anything. He just looked away in embarrassment. Now that he had recovered from his "incident," he now fully understood the implications of his actions.

A pair of doctors and a security escort came out of the Chinook. The doctors checked on Peart's condition while the security team looked over the stretcher for any suspicious devices. They found none, and gave their approval to wheel Peart into the Chinook.

Baker turned to Commandant Vladimirov. "The family of the deceased Commandant will be financially compensated for their loss."

"I am sure it will be of little relief to them, er." The Commandant tried to think of the man's rank, but when he couldn't, he continued. "Just be glad your Major isn't being tried under Corinthian law." he nodded his head towards a cement wall on the far side of the base. It was a firing line.

Baker flinched inwardly at the bullet-ridden cement wall, but he maintained his outward composure.

"I understand, Commandant." he said solumnly, looking the West Corinthian right in the eyes. "Believe me, I understand. Major Peart will not go unpunished for his actions. He'll be facing a court-marshall as soon as he recovers."

Commandant Vladimirov nodded. "Very well. Is everything in order here?" he watched Major Peart being wheeled into the Chinook.

"Yes. Everything's ready for departure."

Colonial Baker turned and walked back to the helicopter. Before he went inside, he turned and said to Commandant Vladimirov "Our governments will continue to maintain communication with each other. We're leaving now."

The rear hatch of the Chinook closed. The Blackhawks took off first, followed by the larger transport helicopter. They flew off the base and headed north for home.


OOC: Think an epiloge is necessary?

*bump

OOC: Yes an epilogue would seem to be in order.

IC: The Commandant stood at attention while the helicopters departed West Corinthian airspace. When they were finally out of sight, he told his men to put the base back in order and resume air patrols.

Epilogue:

Major Neil Peart was returned to the Principality, where he eventually recovered. He was then court-marshalled for killing a ranking officer of a foreign government. He was found guilty and sentenced to 2 years of hard labor.

The Patrols over the Black Sea would continue, but the southeast patrol near West Corinthia-controlled Georgia was pulled back about 50 miles from their territory.

Wilhelmsborough and West Corinthia still stay in communication with each other. There are rumors floating around that they plan to exchange embassies, but nothing has been officially announced.

OOC: I'd like to know how he recovered after being shot down, fished out of the water, and shot multiple times, but I figure he's your pilot and you can do what you want. Or at least he recovered, but can never fly again, or has a limp? Now I actually feel bad, all that and then 2 years of hard labor.

IC: West Corinthia would like to officially extend an offer of embassy exchange with the Principality of Wilhelmsborough. If you would approve, we would bring the following as security for our ambassador:
1 Little Bird Helicopter, armed
1 Blackhawk Helicopter, armed but weapons removeable
2 Stryker APCs
30 West Corinthian Hoplites
3 Civilian Vehicles

Major Peart sustained severe wounds which led to a great deal of internal bleeding. Most of the bullets were removed, but there is at least one embedded in his body. He certainly won't be flying again. The strains brought on by the G-forces might open up internal wounds that were stitched closed.

Wilhelmsborough accepts your offer for an embassy exchange. We have a facility in Sevastopol which we believe will be appropriate for your needs, and is capable of housing your men and equipment.

As for our embassy, the Principality requests that it bring along:

1 Chinook Transport Helicopter
2 Blackhawk Helicopters
2 M1 Abrams Tanks (we took them from Machinist after we conquered their country)
An Embassy staff of 15
30 Marines
3 Civilian Vehicles

We would prefer you not bring heavy tanks to your embassy. Heavy armor will not be needed to defend an embassy, and quite frankly our citizens would be worried by their presence. APCs or other light armored vehicles are more appropriate to bring. Other than that, we would accept your embassy once the tanks are replaced.

We accept West Corinthia's objections to the tanks. They will be replaced with two military-grade Hummers.

Ambassador Geddy Lee will be in charge of the Wilhelmsborough embassy in West Corinthia.

Other than that, good luck in Sevastopol. There are plenty of museums and statues to see. There are also tours of the old naval base where the Black Sea Fleet used to be located.

Finally, a phone line will connect the office of the head of the West Corinthian embassy to the Office of Prince William at his palace in Yalta.

Good Luck.

*bump

OOC: Are we done or would you like to talk to my ambassador?

OOC: I'd say we're done here. We've met, we've had a conflict, and a resolution was reached. Now I believe it's the end.

It was great rping with you. I think I understand more about how this game is played. See you around the forum. Maybe we'll meet again in other International Incident that happens to occur.

Prince William sat at his office chair looking at the reports spread out across his desk. They all concerned a war that had been going on in the Hungarian/Romanian regions of Southeastern Europe. In that area lay a Fascist State known as Kravania. It was ruled by a mad dictator, and was currently at war with the nation of McKagan. And they were losing. Badly.

"I had no idea that such a vile country was so close by." said the sovereign Prince.

But he did not say these words to nobody. Around his desk stood the leaders of the three military branches. There was General of the Army Nicholi Trotski, a white bearded Ukrainian man. There was also Admiral of the Navy Vittorio Augustine, a dark skinned Italian man from Rome. Finally there was the General of the Air Force and Minister of Defense Salazar T. Sherman, a Liberian man who held seniority over all his military peers.

"Indeed." replied General Sherman. "We should resolve to be more aware of the world around us."

"My God!" gasped Admiral Augustine. McKagan used Nuclear weapons against Kravania!"

"And Kravania used nuclear weapons against itself," growled General Trotski. "They blew up important economic powerhouses in order to rid themselves of rebels!" he spat in disgust.

"Completely unacceptable," agreed Prince William, "and incredibly excessive."

"It's like crushing a tin can with a forklift!" said Admiral Augustine.

"Gentlemen, let's focus." said General Sherman in a stern tone.

There was quiet.

"Now, we know that Kravania and McKagan are pretty much concerned with their own affairs. They have not bothered us in any way.

"But the fact remains that Kravania, the country which McKagan is attacking, is far too close in proximity to us. Now as you know, the Principality monitors any and all air traffic over the Black Sea. The Black Sea Patrol is ESSENTIAL in the defense of the Principality."

Prince William nodded. "Quite so."

Sherman continued. "But with McKagan attacking the country, especially by air, there have been so instances when their planes have crossed over into our territory. We shifted our patrols to intercept, but they always cross into the mainland before we arrive."

Prince William considered this. "But this is just skirting the line. They're not exactly making a beeline towards the peninsula."

"Yes, but there is something important to consider. McKagan has shown itself willing and capable to use nuclear weapons against powerful adversaries." Sherman turned to the men sitting before him. "When their jets were 'skirting the line' around the Black Sea, how many of those jets do you believe were carrying bombs?"

The room was filled with silence at this question.

General Sherman went on. "We consider the Black Sea to be our territory, our airspace. What they have done is transport nuclear weapons across our borders in order to use them against another nation."

The General pounded his first on Prince William's oak desk, causing him to jump in surprise.

"This is completely unacceptable! My lord, you and I both know that such weapons are terrible, horrible things. The fact that another nation went through out territory as a means to more quickly deliver atomic death from the skies is INTOLERABLE!"

Prince William stood up. "I agree with you General. This is unacceptable and needs to stop."

"That's all very well and good that you want it to stop," said the gruff General Trotski, "but what are you going to do about it, Your Majesty?"

The Prince reached into his desk and pulled out a pen and a pad of paper. "This is what I'm going to do," he replied.


Official Proclaimation from the Principality of Wilhelmsborough
The Principality refuses to take any side in this war between the nations of Kravania and McKagan. As much as we are disgusted by the civil rights atrocities of the Fascist State in how they treat dissentors, we are equally disturbed by McKagan's decision to drop an incredible number of nuclear weapons upon Kravania.

Though this does not effect Wilhelmsborough directly, there are many of us here that worry about the travelling radioactive fallout touching down upon the Crimean Peninsula.

As of this writing, I, Prince William the First hearby declare that the movement of military ordinance over the Black Sea by either of your countries is hereby prohibited. Please seek alternative roots.

Signed,
Prince William I, Sovereign
Principality of Wilhelmsborough
Crimean Peninsula

(OOC)

Wilhelmsborough:

Kravania is made up of the RL nations of Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia.

It's coastline is on the Adriatic.

Also, the dictator you made a reference too, Atne Pavelic is now under McKagan arrest and the Fascist regime has been overthrown.

McKagan is NO longer a enemy of Kravania and they have only sent in Special Forces in to remove the Fascist regime, they have no plans to occupy the nation.

Kravania is now going to transform from a Fascist Republic into an Empire, for a Kravanian aristocrat will now take power and proclaim himself Emperor.

The new Imperial government will imporve civil rights and will be socially and economically liberatarian, but with NO political freedoms, for it will be an absolute monarchy.

Prince William threw his hands in the air.

"What does it take to get some up-to-date information around here?" he shouted in frustration.

"Ok then. That letter is hereby null and void. I just hope the press doesn't get wind of this..."