NationStates Jolt Archive

Czardas... a Nation rich in resources, a nation ripe for Harvest, a nation alone in a world of Terror, where democratic nations lived in almost perpeptual fear of The Kraven 'Menace' as Kraven was quite often refered to as...

Geo Satelites had done many passes of Czardas mapping out the immense coal fields and other areas of resources, pinpointing areas of trees and other resources, anything to fuel the immense war machine of Kraven...

Officers now moved too and fro about the Command bunker deep below the dunes of Whyatica, while above, vast Harvesters combed the sands for minerals, trace elements of gold, silver... nothing was wasted, and while these harvesters churned, vast dust clouds rose into the sky, before falling onto the dune fields like sand rain...

"Report..." a Reichmarshal spoke while striding into the Command Bunkers main console area...

"The main Kraven assault has begun to engage the defenders positions, Centurians are meeting minimal resistance, while Velkyian forces are engaging our left flank..."

"What forces do we have?"

"Whyaticas main force is still on standby and guarding our border between Kahanistan and Whyatica..."

"Very good, what forces can we muster..."

"Reichmarshal, we can dispatch our first battlefleet, its two battalions of Capitol Police and Sardaukar should be enough to bolster the forces in Kahanistan..."

"See to it that it is done..."

A strained breathing entered the room, followed by the heavy foot steps of someone important... the systematic mechanical breathing ment only one thing, Helghan was present... Instantly everyone stood to attention in an almost perfect drill...

"Negative" His mechanical voice flowed from the various speakers built into his hideous death mask...

"The Allied forces in Kahanistan will prove no match for any of our forces present.."

"of course, Reichmarshal, I never doubted our forces for a moment" the First Reichmarshal spoke, speaking almost as if he was appologising to Helghan...

"The first battlefleet will be deployed and sent to launch a second front against the country of Czardas, recent sattelite sweep has shown there to be immense mineral deposits... Kraven needs this to continue its campaign.."

The Officers listened to Helghans mechanical voice as it uttered every word, and with it everyones respect and dedication...

"The Attack on Kahanistan was only a ruse, a distraction to allow our real army to complete its actual Goal, if we defeat Kahanistan, and the allied forces there, then it can be considered a bonous..."

"Your Orders Reichmarshal Helghan?"

"Prepare to dispatch the Battle fleet "The Red October" and one it is ready for operation, deploy it to Czardian Territorial Waters..."

POLONIUS: What do you read, my lord?
HAMLET: Words, words, words.
- Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act III, scene i

Words.

A few idle words, dropped into the well of eternal silence by a pair who can never know each other well enough to truly comprehend their meaning: that they are meaningless. The voice of understanding never touched any but the greatest of actors, and when it did them they were driven to insanity. Yet the words have been spoken. To whom, then? To the audience. To what is left of the world, waiting just beyond the footlights.

What are words? In the purest terms, they are naught but combinations of meaningless sounds charged with meaning—sometimes enough meaning to change the world forever, sometimes as little as to be passed over and forgotten, buried in the musty confines of a dictionary. Sometimes both at once. And why are they lent such meaning? Why, indeed? Perhaps that is what Hamlet means to imply in his unspoken question.

Let us move to a later line in the same play.

HAMLET: —but let it be.
The rest is silence.
- Act V, scene ii

"The rest is silence." Four words, naught more nor less. Yet each one, bearing in itself little meaning, when brought together with the others forms a powerful expression of death, stories forever unspoken, sleep, the final fulfillment of the play. All in just four brief words. Is that the power we have given such a statement? That, the power of language? Perhaps it is. But perhaps we are destined never to learn the answer.

We open with this last statement, spoken not by a latter-day Danish prince in the throes of dying, but by another whose world is slowly reaching the same culmination as Shakespeare's great play. Utter destruction.

***

"The rest is silence." Dreamy, distant... almost inaudible. But still there.

"What'd you say?" First Lt. Andreis Dorakov turns to look at his superior, twisting in his chair and putting aside the headset.

Captain Alma Finlay turns her green gaze upon him, calmly. "You heard me."

"So I did. Perhaps I ought to ask what you meant by it." Dorakov responds.

She pushes back a long strand of jet-black hair and smiles dreamily at him. "I have seen the future, and it wears black jackboots. We're the next ones to bat, Andi. And we're up against the toughest pitcher ever to sport a 185mm ETC."

Dorakov looks sharply at her. "What do you mean?"

"Kraven. They're coming for us." The commander of the notorious 14th Special Operative Division, famed for her imperturbability in tough situations, feels the same inexorable calm sweeping over her. "Kahanistan's a blind. They know as well as we do that they're no military target and have few natural resources."

"But we won't be next unless Kahanistan falls," Dorakov says. "And with aid from Psi-Pso, Allanea, Velkya and the rest of the coalition, they might still have a chance."

"Whether Kahanistan falls or not, Kraven'll be coming for us," Finlay says darkly, rising to her full 5'11" (amplified by her ubiquitous five-inch spiked heels attached to her combat boots) and sweeping past Dorakov to a tactical display. "Look at this."

Dorakov looks. In front of him is a map of the resources of the area.

"As you can see, Czardas is far richer in resources than almost any surrounding country. The forests around what was once Senazkerkia have been converted into one of the largest coal deposits in the world by 52,500 Imperial missiles... the southeast is rich in oil and iron... there are massive virgin forests, which may cover large deposits of silver, titanium, nickel, even tungsten... Pop quiz, why are the Kraven freaks bent on taking over other countries?"

Tentatively, Dorakov proposes, "They need the resources of the captured countries to fuel their war machine?"

"Right on. Infinite loop, isn't it? But at any rate, with all Kahanistan's been through in the past few years, I doubt there'll be much left. Czardas is over four times the size of Kahanistan, we're in recovery from a major war, and we have the resources—frankly, I'm surprised Kraven hasn't tried anything with us before this."

"So it's not a question of if... it's when."

"More or less."

"To be frank, though, I don't see how Kraven expects to hit us without taking Kahanistan first, which could take a while. The east is highly mountainous; in fact, it's almost impossible for a team of trained mountaineers to make their way there, let alone troops. The north border is with Imperial Galactica, a nation which even Kraven would have qualms invading. To the west is the sea, and I'm sure Kraven knows of the CAMERA systems from watching the Warmasterian conflict..."

"They don't know about CAMERA V," Finlay reminds. "We've covered parts of the southern coast, but not all of it. There are a few corridors they can avoid to invade via the south."

Dorakov looks doubtful. "You sure this is a given? Kraven might bypass us...the way they've undoubtedly bypassed a number of other resource-rich countries..."

"No," Finlay states with conviction. "We've been weakened as a result of this war. It's an opportunity they can't pass up. And, if I know Kraven, they won't."

With a definite note in her voice proclaiming the end of the argument, she says, "Get me the MoD on the line."

***

A few minutes later, Minister of Defense Henrik A. Ogden has assembled most of his staff of Generals, Admirals, Marshals, and everything that comes along with the command package. He sweeps them with his gaze with a satisfied look, then turns to the chief General, Ezekiel Shaestri.

"General Shaestri, how prepared are we for a possible war against Kraven?"

"Not very, sir," Shaestri says, shuffling a few papers aimlessly. "The Army is down to about half strength, although we can probably crack-train a few million volunteers before the Kravens hit. Tanks and artillery are being produced in masses as we speak; we're working on a 305mm self-propelled ETC design that can probably outclass anything Kraven can get on the field, but the first batch won't be ready for a week or so yet. There are still plenty of other field guns left over, and a few thousand tanks are still operational."

"Admiral Thiers?"

Fleet Admiral Mariel Thiers stands. "Our initial plan to expand the Navy from 220 vessels to over 2,000 appears to be taking much longer than expected, sir," she says. "In short, we need more ships. We have the manpower. Currently the Navy contains some four hundred and fifty seaworthy combat vessels, and we're attempting to produce more as quickly as we can; however, the ships will have to hit the sea blind, as we've got almost no time for sea trials." She sits once more.

"Marshal Karlsen?"

Air Marshal Karlsen stands now, and grins. "On the other side, the National Air Force has never been stronger," he says. "Which is saying a good deal. The Blue Jay Strike Fighter and new designs for the Peregrine Interceptor are both quite successful; we may not even need many of these aircrafts as the Kraven Corporation contains no air force to speak of. There are well over a hundred Hailstorms and two thousand Strikers, not to mention airships and the like."

Ogden nods at Karlsen to sit. "It looks as though our greatest asset lies in your hands, Marshal," he says. "But we will need everyone's co-operation to defeat such a foe. Admiral, I want you to work on—instead of producing as many vessels as possible—making the ones we have the best possible. We're going to need all the firepower we can get from the sea... how many missile-configured ships do you have?"

"Fifty Arsenal-class vessels, sixty-five Mjenaz-class, eighty Federate-class, eighteen Cyrus-class," she rattles off. "Or a total of two hundred thirteen."

"Good, good," Ogden says in approval. "In addition to CAMERA that should repulse a sea attack. General Shaestri, have your troops fortify the borders and dig in for an attack from either land or sea. Keep the fortifications along the border with Kahanistan, in case Kraven succeeds in taking that country, and make the coastline impenetrable, particularly the south coast."

"Yes, sir."

"I have one question," another General pipes up, General Danail Arachinovsky. "Why are you so certain Kraven will attack us solely based on the word of one of the Special Operative Captains?"

Ogden turns a burning gaze upon Arachinovsky. He says quietly, "I know Alma Finlay, General. In all the eleven years she's been part of the 14th, her intuition has never been wrong. That's why I give her a free hand—when she says something's up, it means something in a big way. Like the Imperial Galactican war, Amyntos, Muesilania, Scellia... she knows."

The officers in the room look at each other and murmur quietly among themselves. They have never seen Ogden like this. General Adrian Longleaf alone among them is silent, smirking a self-satisfied smile, secure in his knowledge of the truth.

Ezekiel Shaestri breaks the silence. "Very well, sir... We'll begin preparing for a full-scale invasion."

"Good." Ogden pushes back his chair and departs the room swiftly, leaving an eerie silence in his wake.

As Ogden taps along the corridor gloomily, another line from the same Shakespeare play pops into his head for no apparent reason and refuses to budge from there, playing with his neurons like a kitten with a ball of yarn...

HAMLET: O, I could be bound within a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.
- Act II, scene ii

[OOC: I will be deploying the 4th and 5th Fleet to assist if that's ok. This thread will be editon upon permission being granted or denied. I can also have Jessica Hart make her comeback if thats OK]

[ooc:] If Kraven's ok with it, I'm ok with it as well. But this should be a comparatively small RP with 3-4 people maximum... just making sure that's clear for all lurkers.

OOC: Check your TGs, Czardas. :)

Kraven was doing a lot of ground work before this invasion was going to commence, several Mark III VTOL stealth Craft had taken off from the respective run ways and were now making their way low, across the waters towards Czardas, it was designed to map out what the topography was like, and what the Kraven Ground forces were to expect...

Meanwhile, Several other Mark III's were being prep'd for a Strategic Strike against Csardian Facilities, fortress's and ground defenses, or even Air Defenses if Kraven chose to launch an attack via an Air Armarda...

But for know, The Kraven Officers continued to pour over the various aspects of the Operation, looking at maps, and other bits of information...

Something that Interested The Captains was what was known as CAMERA, so it was decided that a lone Mark III was to be sent to the possible areas where this thing could be, several areas, were the Coastline, mountainous regions, and forested areas, if any....

CAMERA I. Aurdania, Czardas.

The elevator descends hundreds of feet into the very bowels of the earth, carrying a single passenger. It descends to level N, where the doors open and Alma Finlay steps out, to be immediately confronted by a massive wall. Taking out an ID card, she inserts it into a hidden slot near the floor, and a panel flips open; she punches in a few numbers and waits as her fingerprints are scanned by the keypad/scanner, and then the huge metal wall slides apart, just long enough for her to make it through before it closes again with a deadly whoosh and a slot vomits out her ID once more.

Finlay is in a long passageway with doors on either side now, and her spiked heels click metallically along the concrete floor as she makes her way towards the second-to-last door on the right, which has no handle or other visible means of entry. The appropriate security is undertaken—retinal scan, picture ID, voice recognition, numeric keypad, even a cursory DNA scan—and then the door slides open eerily, shutting once more behind her.

She is staring now at a wall of terminals, and quickly enters an ID and 11-character password, waiting as the information contained within is decrypted for her. Then she nods in satisfaction.

In front of her is a display showing a satellite shot of the Aurdanian Spit overlaid with the CAMERA system; namely, a hidden forest of rotationary, subaqueous launchers. She clicks on one area and the viewscreen zooms in à la Google Earth, cutting down the display to the twenty thousand-odd missile and torpedo launchers in the selected area, and then she clicks on a button named "Stores".

Numbers roll in front of her eyes. After swiftly checking that the truly massive banks of missiles hundreds of feet under the ground are at full capacity, she turns to a radar display on another monitor.

All quiet on the Czardaian front. Yes, very quiet.

Several hundred kilometres away something is moving quietly, an aircraft perhaps, although Finlay cannot be certain. Perhaps a drone, performing pre-invasion reconnaissance? A prelude to the symphony of death to erupt upon Czardas?

She plugs in her mobile keyboard to an USB 5.3X native port and keys in the radar signature, transmitting it to the other CAMERA systems. Within minutes the staff working there return matches to her.

For now they will not move to attack the Mark III Stealth VTOLs. The margin of error for CAMERA-launched SAMs, given the tiny radar signature of the plane, and the extreme distances make it a severe risk.

They simply sit, and watch.

[ooc:] Kraven, check the Invader's Guide link in my sig for a map and more info.

Also, SU and Fourhearts want to contribute small forces to my side, is that ok?

(OOC: They are welcome to join in, I'll have a read over your Information, and I'll have the next phase of the Recon, begin probably tomorow morning, thanks for the info)

OOC: Kraven, I intend to participate here as well. Also, you owe me a post in the original Arabian War thread.

Alright, I'll post up later. Czardas check your TGs.

The two Mark III Stealth Craft had swooped in low to the sea now, they were following standard procedure and moved below the Radar sweeps that were surely monitoring the seas, the two Craft side by side were gradually closing in onto the shore..

The two craft increased their speed from mach 2.1 to mach 3.1 and gained a little height, enough for the two Capitol Police pilots in each craft to easily manover the craft over the shore, each craft began to take photographs, recording data, strengths and weaknesses of certain areas, and more importanatly areas of heavy troop formations.

The Craft were always reamaining quite low, only rasing slighty to dodge hedeges or tree lines, power cables and buildings...


The Command Staff of Kraven Held Whyatica were currently looking over the data feed as it was coming in from the two craft...

"This is Interesting..." one Officer perked up,

"Yes, what do you think should be our course of action"

"I'm unsure at the moment, but judgeing by the various military bases that are situated here, here and here, We should go out for an all out Air Armarda, bring into service our Super VTOL carriers, with a combined KSSF operation, we should be able to neutralise their airfields before they can get their craft into the air..." the Officers all nodded in agreement until the Facility Reichmarshal spoke up...

"The plan sounds good, but I want to wait until we get more data from the two craft, before commiting any forces..."

"As you wish" they all responded with before returning to looking at the photographs

Prince Drake had ordered the 4th, 5th, and 7th Air Fleets to the region. As the massive airships left the shores of Fourhearts their crew expected to be fighting in Whytica and Kahanistan.

Already 3rd Fleet had taken quite a hit and 4th Fleet was expected to switch out with them. 5th and 7th Fleets were to go on the offensive.

At least, that was the plan.

~ Czarna, Combined Strategic Military Command (CSMC) ~


"Sir, there appear to be planes passing directly over the Czardaian Shore."

General Ezekiel Shaestri rubs bleary eyes and sighs. "So? Jets are always passing through our airspace along the required paths."

"But sir... those paths don't include flying approximately fifty metres above the ground, do they? Especially since they're not cleared to land anywhere."

Shaestri comes awake. "What?!"

"They appear to be flying low along the coast, past military bases near Port Khûfi and Mariosz, at transonic velocities. Radar fix unknown, but they appear to have come from a path directing them to... Whyatica?" The butlerish aide glances at a few sheets of paper.

"The hell?! Send a half-squadron of Peregrines to intercept them and find out what the hell they think they're doing. Pick up some of the radio chatter as well. These sound like spyplanes to me."

From an airbase near Czarna, six CZF-27 Peregrines rise into the air, shocking birds and residents with a rapid series of sonic booms as they accelerate from zero to Mach 4 in literally seconds, the airframes groaning as the Interceptors near hypersonic velocities, turning slowly towards the Mark IIIs. With the data from ground-based air sweeps, which although not as powerful as the sea and ground radar searches still detect the low-flying planes, they lock onto the co-ordinates of the planes and the radio frequency, sending out a hail.

"Unknown craft, this is Alpha Blue One, requesting intentions and nation of origin, do you read us?"

The "us" is purposefully inserted into the statement, as meanwhile the Peregrines' AIM-140D 'Jinx' XLRAAMs are prepped for launch in case the Mark IIIs fail to respond. The AIM-140Ds are guided first by radar, then in the second stage by both laser and sound. The Peregrines approach rapidly at unthinkable velocities, prepared for anything.

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OOC: Could I join in? Since becoming an ally of Kraven, I've been wanting to get into a war without having to read a short (if well written) books worth of posts. That, and I want to try out my Im Eisen Gescreiben's.

OOC: Could I join in? Since becoming an ally of Kraven, I've been wanting to get into a war without having to read a short (if well written) books worth of posts. That, and I want to try out my Im Eisen Gescreiben's.
[ooc:] You're welcome to come in on Kraven's side if he feels that SU, Fourhearts, and I vs. him is a dogpile.

Still waiting for Kraven to respond.

[Tag] For post in the Morning, again appologies for slow responses

~ Czarna, Combined Strategic Military Command (CSMC) ~


"Sir, there appear to be planes passing directly over the Czardaian Shore."

General Ezekiel Shaestri rubs bleary eyes and sighs. "So? Jets are always passing through our airspace along the required paths."

"But sir... those paths don't include flying approximately fifty metres above the ground, do they? Especially since they're not cleared to land anywhere."

Shaestri comes awake. "What?!"

"They appear to be flying low along the coast, past military bases near Port Khûfi and Mariosz, at transonic velocities. Radar fix unknown, but they appear to have come from a path directing them to... Whyatica?" The butlerish aide glances at a few sheets of paper.

"The hell?! Send a half-squadron of Peregrines to intercept them and find out what the hell they think they're doing. Pick up some of the radio chatter as well. These sound like spyplanes to me."

From an airbase near Czarna, six CZF-27 Peregrines rise into the air, shocking birds and residents with a rapid series of sonic booms as they accelerate from zero to Mach 4 in literally seconds, the airframes groaning as the Interceptors near hypersonic velocities, turning slowly towards the Mark IIIs. With the data from ground-based air sweeps, which although not as powerful as the sea and ground radar searches still detect the low-flying planes, they lock onto the co-ordinates of the planes and the radio frequency, sending out a hail.

"Unknown craft, this is Alpha Blue One, requesting intentions and nation of origin, do you read us?"

The "us" is purposefully inserted into the statement, as meanwhile the Peregrines' AIM-140D 'Jinx' XLRAAMs are prepped for launch in case the Mark IIIs fail to respond. The AIM-140Ds are guided first by radar, then in the second stage by both laser and sound. The Peregrines approach rapidly at unthinkable velocities, prepared for anything.


The Craft began to bank hard left, Altering its vector thrusters until the air frame was stressed to almost breaking point, in all this manouver brought the craft around almost 180 degrees, while the two pilots inside continued to struggle with the controls, their consoles were flashing with various colours as the insturments kept informing them about various stress fractures in the air frame...

however across the radio came a message requesting that the craft identify itself... the two pilots responded to the transmission with Kraven battle language, a series of noises that each had a specific meaning, almost impossible to decifer due to its almost random nature.... but regardless the sudden burst transmission of random noises and static would surely shake up the pilots of the other plans a little....

Although a few hundered miles away, The Kraven Battle fleet had left the docks and was now on the high seas, moving to the northern part of Czardas, but avoiding shore defenses by remaining far enough away, and using several Gorgoroth Ultra Battle carriers to launch multiple air strikes, and the final assault by air....

it would be several hours before the fleet arrived, but what ever happened... it was on route...

~ The sudden burst of radio static takes the Czardaians by surprise, confusing them, and the harsh speech reminiscent of something an orc in Lord of the Rings would say identifies them fully as Kraven. Therefore, the Czardaian pilots recover swiftly, launching twelve LRAAMs at the Kraven planes, the missiles rocketing through the air at Mach 4.5 with their thrust vectoring and stabilising fins to reach the enemy planes in a matter of seconds, giving them little time to respond.

Although, the pilots know not whether they are too late... ~

~ The sudden burst of radio static takes the Czardaians by surprise, confusing them, and the harsh speech reminiscent of something an orc in Lord of the Rings would say identifies them fully as Kraven. Therefore, the Czardaian pilots recover swiftly, launching twelve LRAAMs at the Kraven planes, the missiles rocketing through the air at Mach 4.5 with their thrust vectoring and stabilising fins to reach the enemy planes in a matter of seconds, giving them little time to respond.

Although, the pilots know not whether they are too late... ~


The two pilots were unable to react, their ECM's failed to compensate for the sudden missile attack, the craft exploded quickly and in a bright plume of flames...

wreckage spread out across the ground as the parts of wings, cockpit and engines barrelled before being evaporated in a puff of smoke and dust, leaving nothing but twisted mangled shrapnel..

The Other two craft however, had managed to avoid the missiles and now accelerated up to Mack 3.1, their thruster engines powering them onwards, making turns and activating the heat masks, and various other counter measures..

Meanwhile out to sea, The Kraven battle fleet was nearing the northern reaches of Czardas, still several hours away, fighter craft, escorts and assault Vtols were being readied... prepared for the attack... prepared to bring hell towards the Czardian people...

~ CSMC, Czarna. ~

It is early in the morning. Very few personnel are at the CSMC, some of whom have been working the graveyard shift, watching the monitors and/or porn videos, freely downloadable onto work computers.

At approximately five in the morning, one aide toggles to a tactical RADAR display of the area. The display slowly comes into focus, and he starts to laugh as he looks at the red mass, like a swarm of bloody mosquitoes approaching the northern shores of Czardas.

"Hey, Jim... Look at this." Chuckling, he calls over another man sitting at a different screen. "Look -- it looks like a lot of shit, doesn't it?" They laugh together at this display. "Like a fleet of ships..."

Then their laughter slowly begins to choke up in their throats as they realise the implications of this. Jim, the slightly less drunken one of the two, pulls a red lever, setting off alarm klaxons throughout the building.

When Ezekiel Shaestri arrives, the place is a blur of activity. He is informed simply: "It's starting."

Shaestri takes one look at the screen and informs the men: "Fire CAMERA. Now."

~ Northern Czardas. ~

A morning mist hung over the Czardaian Sea, a few people beginning to stir in what was left of the shelled-out city of Tyriandor. It was a scene of peace, at least until certain orders reached an underground room near Tyriandor. The crews there dutifully dragged and selected part of the CAMERA system, and pressed a small blue button.

Then all hell broke loose.

The waters are forcibly blasted apart by sixteen thousand missiles accelerating from zero to Mach 3 in seconds, bursting from subaqueous launchers and targeting the Kraven fleet on the horizon. The missiles rise into low earth orbit, rocketing along at transonic velocities before nearing their targets and dropping out of the sky towards the fleet, reaching projected terminal velocities of Mach 10, enough to send even a battleship or carrier to the bottom of the sea.

Meanwhile, as CAMERA does its job, a Czardaian fleet is being mobilised at the nearest military base, Aurdania. Hundreds of ships are preparing to depart to intercept the Kraven fleet before it can reach Czardaian territory... but with several hours before all of the sailors can arrive, it being so early in the morning, they may not reach their destination in time. ~

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OOC: I'll post later at night, when im back home so I can do a proper indepth post about the Missile attack, and launching of the actual invasion!

Ok. :/_:

The missiles from the CAMERA attack had caught the fleet off guard, they weren't expecting an aqua launch, but regardless, automatic systems came online, as the "Mimir" class tracking ships began to track the high angle of trajectory that the missiles were taking, the various vessels prepared themselves for the incomming attack, with crews and Capitol Police alike, bracing for impact and preparing to repair any of the damage that might have been inflicted...

The Massive Gorgoroth Battle carriers activated their CIWS weaponry and soon an umbrella of protective lead was created, with several smaller cruisers and specialist CIWS vessels moving in to add to the umbrella...

They didn't have long to prepare, and while crews and repair teams were preparing the barrage struck, the first of the missiles completely annihilating an Apotheosis class Cruiser, while another salvo sent an Immortal Class Battle cruiser into the murky depths below... but the CIWS system came online, lead filling the skies as missiles exploded across an almost invisible umbrella, vessels struggled to contain the massive salvo, as another cruiser was lost to the depths below, the high angle caused most of the CIWS to strain under the weight of the attack, with several other missiles striking targets but failing to cripple or other wise damage the vessel severly.

The Annihilator Dreadnaughts were sat in the centre of the formation, as several missiles dropped in on them, their immense personal network of CIWS made short work of the incomming missiles much to their Commanders relief...

In response, Several wings of Fighter Bombers were launched, the "Mimir" Tracking ship accurately pinpointing the launch areas by following the trajectory of the missiles attack and thus allowing a counter attack to take place, the wing was launched in several waves that circled round until all the planes designated to this run were ready... within around an hour the planes were on their way towards the target drop zones, carrying 5,000 pounds of depth charges, and other munitions designed to strike hardened targets under the sea...

However at the same time, the fleet continued closer, while Fighters were prepared, around 2,100 Fighters were launched from the total of Four Gorgoroth Class Super carriers...

they too headed towards the CAMERA systems, and were there to provide cover while at the same time running Sorties on any shore defenses or Military bases near by...

Kraven was stepping the war up a gear...

Prince Drake had ordered the 4th, 5th, and 7th Air Fleets to the region. As the massive airships left the shores of Fourhearts their crew expected to be fighting in Whytica and Kahanistan.

Already 3rd Fleet had taken quite a hit and 4th Fleet was expected to switch out with them. 5th and 7th Fleets were to go on the offensive.

At least, that was the plan.


However, it was not to be.

Upon hearing of the Kraven Battle Fleet, the 4th, 5th, and 7th Airship Fleets were ordered to engage and destroy critical invasion craft. Targets would include landing ships, supply vessels, oil tankers, and anything else Kraven could use to invade or sustian his forces.

The Fleets merged into an Armada Attack Formation and began their ascent to the attacking altitdude of 60,000 feet.

So Kraven, can I join?

~ Tyriandor, Czardas. ~

"The shit has officially hit the fan," General Ezekiel Shaestri muses ruefully, rubbing a day-old stubble and staring at the displays. "Adrian, can you summarise?"

Shaestri's aide glances over the sheets. "The Kraven fleet has launched fighters and bombers towards our systems. Lots of them. Our fleet, on the other hand, won't be ready for another hour."

"Damn. How about air forces?"

"The 2nd Air Force is on standby."

"Good. Deploy them to the combat theatre at once."

"Yes, sir." The aide radios an order across the comms and, at an aerial base outside Tyriandor, pilots begin to rush into their aircrafts, donning helmets and strapping on equipment as klaxons wail. Within half an hour several thousand planes are in the air, and the fleet begins to sail through the sky at supersonic speeds, a force to be reckoned with.

Noting the bombers, the 720 Peregrines in the formation launch their Excessively Long-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (ELRAAMs), 1,440 in all, keeping the remainder for any survivors. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays and Daggers prepare for a deadly aerial battle, keeping their own weapons prepped as they begin to close towards the Kraven war armada.

CAMERA itself is not without air defense. A second salvo of two thousand missiles is launched, this one targeting transport ships and the pair of massive Dreadnaughts. However, these are designed to skim the sea instead, maintaining low radar and infrared signatures, until dropping 1000mm keelbreaker torpedoes into the murky depths; the torpedoes describe an arc, descending towards the seafloor and then turning back up to blast through the hull, making the highly advanced close-in weapons systems of the enemy ships virtually useless. Meanwhile, the Surface to Air Missile Launchers in boxes around the Command Centre open up with four hundred missiles, these aimed towards the bombers.

The Czardaians hope to take Kraven by surprise where it is weakest, and Czardas strongest -- the air. There is no allowing for even the thought of defeat now.

The price is not death. It is life... ~

On the opposite side of the Kraven Fleet, the Airship Armada began to launch it's vast array of air-to-ground missiles at the supply ships, tankers, and landing craft. Thier attack was aided by the fact that the logistics ships were not nearly protected as the battleships and the fact that the attention of the ships commanders were focused to the front.

~ Tyriandor, Czardas. ~

"The shit has officially hit the fan," General Ezekiel Shaestri muses ruefully, rubbing a day-old stubble and staring at the displays. "Adrian, can you summarise?"

Shaestri's aide glances over the sheets. "The Kraven fleet has launched fighters and bombers towards our systems. Lots of them. Our fleet, on the other hand, won't be ready for another hour."

"Damn. How about air forces?"

"The 2nd Air Force is on standby."

"Good. Deploy them to the combat theatre at once."

"Yes, sir." The aide radios an order across the comms and, at an aerial base outside Tyriandor, pilots begin to rush into their aircrafts, donning helmets and strapping on equipment as klaxons wail. Within half an hour several thousand planes are in the air, and the fleet begins to sail through the sky at supersonic speeds, a force to be reckoned with.

Noting the bombers, the 720 Peregrines in the formation launch their Excessively Long-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (ELRAAMs), 1,440 in all, keeping the remainder for any survivors. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays and Daggers prepare for a deadly aerial battle, keeping their own weapons prepped as they begin to close towards the Kraven war armada.

CAMERA itself is not without air defense. A second salvo of two thousand missiles is launched, this one targeting transport ships and the pair of massive Dreadnaughts. However, these are designed to skim the sea instead, maintaining low radar and infrared signatures, until dropping 1000mm keelbreaker torpedoes into the murky depths; the torpedoes describe an arc, descending towards the seafloor and then turning back up to blast through the hull, making the highly advanced close-in weapons systems of the enemy ships virtually useless. Meanwhile, the Surface to Air Missile Launchers in boxes around the Command Centre open up with four hundred missiles, these aimed towards the bombers.

The Czardaians hope to take Kraven by surprise where it is weakest, and Czardas strongest -- the air. There is no allowing for even the thought of defeat now.

The price is not death. It is life... ~



The Kraven forces parted, splitting off and using their powerfull ECM's to counter many of the incomming, missiles but however many of the missiles still struck home, impacting into the fighters and bombers, sending shrapnel crashing into the seas below, Officers watched as radio signals from craft died out, and more and more craft were being sent into the great depths below, still, Bombers that escaped the CAMERA attacks now deployed their payload, the various Depth charges dropping into the sea and exploding where the attacks had eminated, sending huge plumes of water rising into the air, as more and more of these liquid mushroom clouds exploded into the air....

The Fighter craft, the ones surviving now broke land, targetting the aircraft installations to hopefully catch the Czardian air force on the ground, no doubt some would make it air born, but if Kraven managed to cripple their ability to land and refuel/rearm, then Kraven would have a big advantage..

The Bombers continued their work on the CAMERA systems until their payloads were spent, at which point they would return to the Battle Carriers that were sat a few hundered miles off the coast line...


The Fourhearts attack was unfortunatly, well prepared for, Standard Kraven doctrine indicates that Support vessels are covered well by Cruisers and Destroyed in the Tier set up, so the Missile attack had to cover around three rings of the Tier formation to actualy reach the Support ships that were nestled under the protective elements of the Fleet..

CIWS systems came online with missiles exploding on their way into the formation, shrapnel and flames exploded across the invisible umbrella, until several of the missiles snuck through and exploded into the side of a destroyer and a support ship, their hulls were split open as oily black smoke rose from both of the vessels...

The Kraven Tier formation altered itself slightly, bringing some more of the BattleCruisers to face the Fourheartean fleet that now approached...

~ Shaestri watches the screen morbidly as depth charges explode among the CAMERA launchers, blowing missile tubes apart and sending water cascading into the base itself, where autoloader crews immediately cut off damaged launchers to prevent the rest of the system from flooding. In one specific instance, the depth charge manages to hit just as another missile is loaded in; a bright explosion results, a yellowish flower blooming underwater as a massive hole is blown in the wall, sending the sea pouring in and killing six of the crew members; a barrier is erected, cutting off all launchers above that one just as the force of the water blasts through the missile tubes and their armour, collapsing equipment and flooding over a thousand missile launchers.

Shaestri nods impassively and switches to another screen, where AGMs streak through the sky towards the large airbase outside of Tyriandor; SmartFlak cannons open up, peppering the missiles with rounds and shrapnel, but many continue to plunge downwards. SAMs and RAMs strike at the remaining missiles, but dozens of them hit one of the airfields, leaving massive craters in their wake. More missiles blast through one of the control towers, but all of the airbase's planes are in the air already, so none are damaged by the attack.

In the air, fighters retaliate with even more air-to-air missiles as they move into close combat with the enemy, separating into groups and flooding the clouds with hundreds of missiles and 30mm rounds, small groups surrounding individual Kraven squadrons from high above, firing missiles down at them, then disappearing into the clouds once more, a type of "shadow warfare" the CNAF is known for.

Meanwhile, the Czardaian Fleet is beginning to form up for battle, headed by six massive battleships surrounded by a cordon of smaller ships, including dozens of cruisers and destroyers. Even as sailors pile aboard, running to battle stations, ships begin to let off more and more anti-shipping missiles towards the Kraven fleet, a total of thirty thousand popping up to give the fleet clearance, then skimming the sea at Mach 2.4, maintaining low radar and infrared signatures and playing hell with enemy electronics using built-in EW equipment. At 40 km from the Kraven fleet, each missile drops a large torpedo, which begins to supercavitate, making the CIWS systems almost useless; meanwhile the sabot continues to intermittently jam sensors as it approaches the ships, causing the Kraven systems to variously show a tenth of the number of missiles approaching, or ten times as many, or sometimes both simultaneously.

Even as this barrage approaches, the Czardaian Fleet begins to steam towards the Kraven fleet at maximum speed, shells sliding into its guns and missiles being loaded into their launchers. The Czardaian ships are outnumbered by the enemy's, but with air support they may well succeed in driving Kraven back from Czardaian shores. ~

The Kraven fleet was ready, it had the time since the first salvo from Fourhearts, to reload the various CIWS systems, so the fleet was at full capacity to deal with incoming missiles that had been picked up by various “Mimir” tracking ships that were an integral part of the Kraven battle fleet, each one showed a certain number of missiles, but when the data was correlated together to give an accurate number, each date feed displayed a different number of missiles, confusing the fire control teams, as well as the computer targeting systems, the first of the missiles and torpedoes struck home with an effective and devastating attack, nearly wiping clear the first tier of vessels that protected the internal vessels, multiple cruisers and destroyers began to slip beneath the murky depths, while thick plumes of black smoke rose into the air..

However, aware that the enemy vessels were using some form of ECM’s with their missiles, so the second attack was not as effective as the first, despite the loss of many of the dedicated CIWS vessels, the many anti missile weapons, opened fire, tracking and bringing down many of them, causing the bright flaming umbrella to explode over the fleet, as from the rear of the formation, cruisers and destroyers were being moved to fill the gap now made by the enemy missile salvo…

Dedicated missile vessels returned fire, launching “Cyberaxis” anti shipping missiles, shaped charge warheads packed with the devastating C12 of Kraven arms, the missiles were launched in a horrific display of Kraven fire power, mimicking that display by the Czardian fleet, as missile upon missile was launched high into the air, followed closely by the trail of crimson fire and white hot smoke…

Fighters and Bombers continued to harass the enemy air force, while many were taken down by the initial missile strike, others twisted and turned, attempting to avoid the strikes, until the missile struck home, sending debris crashing down onto the land below, missiles roared across the sky, as the Interceptors and Fighter craft responded with their own tirade of missiles, while those designated to damage the Air Force bases, continued to, with their last remaining missiles, devastate the air field, its supply and ammunition dumps, while others attempted to strike the control and radar towers…

Once the missiles had been spent, the pilots would turn their craft around and begin heading back towards the Battle carriers, while the Interceptors and Fighters continued to harass the fighters of Czardas…