NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: For Leafanistan, The Northern Baltic and New Manth. If you're just along for the reading, the preliminary to this thread is in the Zhyolatskan Insurgency thread. I'm copying over the last couple posts from The Northern Baltic and Leafanistan.


IC:

The Military Networks were more robust. So they started really flooding it with hardcore attacks. They were using the full force of hijacked personal computers around the world. Computer Illiterate morons who couldn't remove the trojans, or didn't even know it existed now found their computers acting sloewr. Unbeknownst to them, their CPU and bandwidth was being robbed to ping the military servers. Keep the server busy, prevent antivirus suites and firewalls from moving too quickly. Give the hackers more time.

Meanwhile on the IMS Beloved Traitor, the higher ups ordered out the big guns. The massive server cluster Beowulf was called into action. It was an algorithmic machine, designed solely for military level intrusion. It would exasperate the problem of flooding the servers as hard as possible with requests for data. Then it would use its disguised handshake protocols to gain entry. It would then begin telling the hard drives to begin overwriting tombstone files with random junk, and at the same time, to tombstone every single file in the database. It was dangerous to employ Beowulf at the same time, it would risk the hacker's intrusion if files were disappearing at the same time they were trying to ruin it.

When telecom networks starting going down, they began to leave scripts, sometimes in the satellites themselves. They were leaving massive files, filled with just random 1s and 0s into the satellite's memory with explicit instructions not to delete them. It would prevent transmissions because the satellite had no memory left.

The hacker network had gained significant intelligence about military satellites, especially from defense contractors. They now positioned nearby ships at the satellites. With powerful transmitters overwhelming legitimate military transmissions, the satellites were being jammed. If they couldn't be hacked, they would be at least useless. The attacks would be focused on transmission protocols and internal chronometers. These were valuable to find out where a satellite was and use its intelligence properly. However, a select few, like Amy Wong, were targeting guidance systems. These usually were low-level systems, not important like firing controls, but just turning the satellite away from the sun, or not facing Earth would ruin it. However, she wanted a big finish, something that would make the nets buzz with joy, she wanted to create a meteor shower of satellites and went to deorbit them. this might even earn her a medal, and a fancy office in Saharistan or the Algeristani Strip, instead of the stinking fish tub that was the IMS Simulation.



The submarine had been using the panels that extended to track the oncoming ships. Amur subs were flanking the Typhoon and waiting for the helicopters to near. The Captain has called his aid, a mercenary from Saharistan, who spoke fluent Arabic.

"Sorry, we weren't sure exactly who you were or what was going on. Our SONAR operator nearly went deaf when you got hit by that missile, or GodRod, or something. We surfaced to get a better view of things and saw you."

"Our friends, we shall contact our command first before going in. I'm sure the homeland wishes to know of our neighbor's tragedy."

The aid released the button. And he looked over at the RADAR operator. The man nodded, at least 4 helicopters in close formation. It was being followed by two larger helicopters. They were well within range, and flying too slowly to avoid their advanced missiles. They were probably within range of Stingers too. The crew could see them as dots in the air.

The Captain was on the encrypted burst transmitter asking for another Ion Strike on the exact center of the ship. It was still now, an easy target. And they knew they had more than one of those massive stations. Even an angled shot (not toward them) would be a godsend.

The Captain nodded at the aid.

"My friends, we have received word of our mission."

It was silent.

"Please, do not do anything, we promise you safe passage."

Stinger missiles left their tubes toward the fast helicopters. With luck, they wouldn't notice the heat seeking missiles. The Submarine's RADAR did a hard RADAR spike a clear sign of a RADAR lock. It opened fire on the large transport helicopters. Stinger reloads were being brought up, along with RPG-16s. The men on deck now had their guns out.



The cargo ships were all flying Icovir flags, and released their cargo and opened fire from a distance with large bore, long range 280mm guns. Dozens of tiny BTR-90s, scale models, each one equipped with a .50 caliber remote controlled gun. Sailing inland toward New Manth territory.

Large transport aircraft had left Cyprus and were heading for the Sinai Peninsula. Each one of them was carrying a false paratrooper with small parachutes. They were actually mine dispersers, designed to make the area hazardous, but it was a great distraction while the real operation happened.

Encrypted Transmission to the Northern Baltic

We can now strike at New Manth. Your forces in Cyprus can move in. Our rapid reaction forces are moving from the North Sea into the Mediterranean. We can move infantry into your base in Cyprus via aircraft. We have the element of surprise.

[END]


3rd Fleet Military Harbor, New Manth
The midget sub finally reached it's waypoint at the entrance of the harbor. After a few minutes of sitting there, a few feet above the ocean floor, the midget sub moved again. This time, it's destination was under the flagship of the New Manth 3rd Fleet. It moved very, very slowely and it's path was picked that disturbed the least amount of sand on the sea bed. A few more minutes is all the little sub needed...

Viking Military Base, Cyprus
5 Orel Ul'yanovsk Class...check
2 Stalingrad-B Class...check
3 Pathfinder Class...check
6 Kiev Class...check
5 Longboat Class...check
8 Krivak III Class...check
5 Kirov Class...check
4 Neustrashimy Class...check
19 Kara Class...check
10 Sovremenny Class...check
15 Oscar Class...check
15 Alfa Class...check
350 Super J-10N Fighters for the Orel Ul'yanovsk Class
78 Yak-144 Fighters for the Kiev Class
90 Ka-27 Helicopters for the Kiev Class
12 Ka-52 Helicopters for the Kiev Class
The fleet was already leaving the harbor. The invasion fleet would follow after, as the nessesary troops were still being prepared.
The fleet would attack the port cities of Alexandria and Port Said. The pride of the Northern Baltic is considered her Navy and the men and women of the NBN(Northern Baltic Navy) hoped to prove that today.

OOC: I know programming isn't in any spoken language, I was just saying that command prompts, etc are in Arabic, and any intelligence that the hackers get their hands on will be in Arabic likewise. Probably not a huge difference.

Also The Northern Baltic, your sub will find the 3rd Fleet's naval yard empty, as according to the schedules we both gave the 3rd was 6 hours from moving out while your sub was 9 hours away. And yes I gave the 6 hour figure before you posted about the sub. :p Given that, if you'd like to have the sub go for a different target I will edit my post... though the naval yard is still a fairly attractive target.

New Manthian Central Command Building, New Manth

Commander Halys Reisschart, at the head of the Central Command council, is keeping close tabs on the military situation which seems to be spiraling towards war. Reports are coming in by the boatload, and the normally subdued Command Building has become a beehive of activity.

A harried lieutenant rushes into the councilroom, throwing a quick salute before hurriedly delivering his news.

"Sir, the Third Fleet is now well out to sea... however we've received no replies from the Zhyolatskan government, and we're receiving reports of a large and heavily-armed fleet departing from Cyprus and heading south. If they maintain their current course and speed, sir, they will be within Manthian territorial waters within the hour."

Reisschart sighs as he turns to address the council.

"Well gentlemen, I believe that we can no longer sustain commitments to Zhyolatska, not when our own homeland appears to be threatened... The Third Fleet will move north to assist the Fifth Fleet in repelling a possible invasion. The 22nd division will be rerouted to Suez, where it will defend the city and canal against possible attack. It seems likely that Suez will be the enemy target, but what is our state of readiness in other possible targets?

A grey-haired Army general speaks up.

"Alexandria, Damietta, Al Arish and Port Said are the other possible major targets, though they coudl be seeking a landing anywhere... Alexandria is well defended by the 9th Mechanized Infantry at Nasser Base. Damietta likewise by the 14th. Al Arish has only a regiment, but it's unlikely the enemy will seek to land there as there is little of military value in the area. Port Said is defended by the 5th Mechanized. However we're unlikely to be able to reinforce any of them significantly for several days, other than with reservists and National Guard, sir, although we can count on significant air support no matter where a landing may occur. Enemy attacks on our communications network have caused significant delays to general mobilization."

"Best that we stop or at least bloody any invaders in the Mediterranean, then. The Third and Fifth Fleets, along with the Fourth in the Red Sea, are to receive priority support from the Denomination of the Air Force."

"And what of enemy presence in space? Satlink believes they have pinpointed the origin of the attack on the Abydos, but they have't been able to discern what nation it belongs to."

"Take it out right away... we have no idea what the recharge time is on whatever weapon it used. We can worry about identification later."

Satlink HQ

The private satellite networks of several New Manthian corporations (with the notable exception of Reisschart Aerospace, a company noted as much for its ferocious secrecy as its equally ferocious sabotage of competitors), is rapidly descending into a shambles. Several satellites have been damaged past all repair, and others will likely need weeks of reprogramming before being useful again. The military network remains largely secure, however, as mass flooders were a foreseen scenario during construction of the network and systems are in place to quickly ban them from the network without much drain on system resources. The algorithm cluster Beowulf claims a few inroads, but those are quickly shut down as New Manthian computer security personnel, now on the lookout for such irregularities, quickly identify and quarantine them.

Where the hacker attack is stymied, however, jamming is doing the trick at least for the moment in disrupting military satellites. Still it could prove dangerous to keep up the jamming for too long, as New Manthian intelligence is already trying to track the sources of the massive signals.

Earth Orbit

The New Manthian Space Defense Authority is hardly worthy of the name; it possesses only three armed defense satellites, and the most powerful, a recently launched station equipped with antisatellite rockets, is currently experiencing severe problems thanks to enemy jamming. Still, the other two are in working order, though armed only with experimental high-energy lasers, and they have the advantage of being inmarked and unremarkable in appearance. One will soon be in a position to fire upon the as-yet-unidentified satellite which Central Command has determined was the source of the earlier blast.

Al-Maryut Naval Yard

The Northern Baltic controllers find to their dismay a naval yard empty of the Third Fleet, already three hours out to sea, but certainly not of other military assets. Besides the quite extensive shipyards themselves, there are coastal batteries to the east and west, as well as a few small harbor guard boats and - most significantly - several ships under construction. Two destroyers are nearly complete, lacking only armaments and some engine work. A large cruiser is partially built up, with work in full swing, and a few piers further on lies a hull that is intended to eventually become a Heracles-class supercarrier.

Small patrol boats guard the harbor mouth, but to all appearances they have failed to pick up the deadly minisub just a little distance below them.

~35 miles northeast of Alexandria

The four oncoming antisub helicopters had been on high alert and knew they were headed into a potentially hostile situation, unlike the unlucky chopper from the Abydos earlier. As such the sudden attack from the submarine, while unexpected, does not catch them completely off their guard. Still the lead chopper does not have enough time to avoid the incoming missiles, and goes down in a ball of flame. The larger transport helicopter suffers a similar fate, but the other three choppers are able, through a combination of countermeasures and agressive maneuvering, to avoid destruction. The (new) lead pilot radios back to shore control as the helicopters converge on their attackers.

"This is H2-9 reporting under missile attack from unknown sub! Opening fire."

The three remaining choppers quickly close in, releasing a staggered volley of LASS (Light Anti-Submarine and Submersible) missiles. Meanwhile some scattered small-arms fire comes from the hulk of the Abydos as a few crew members realize what is happening, but seeing as the ship is in the midst of sinking there is little the crew can do.

The Red Sea

In the midst of a sudden commotion as alarms ring out across the bridge, Admiral Asad Hamadi, commander of the Fourth Fleet's flagship, the Heracles-class carrier Ismaïlia, hurries over to the Ismaïlia's tactical battle map. Several blue dots, representing the Fourth Fleet's outer screen of small ships, have turned into red and blinking dots.

"What's going on?"

"Sir," replies the young tactical coordination officer, "screening ships are reporting that they are coming under attack from unknown enemies! Reports indicate that our vessels were approached by enemy vessels disguised as merchantmen, which have opened fire at long range."

"What's our status?"

"Sir, we've got reports that indicate the enemy is using fairly large guns. We've only got small craft in the area, and they have a heavy firepower advantage, although as far as we can tell they are mostly converted tankers or something, without much armor."

"Order our vessels to make a fighting withdrawal back to the 4th's capital ships, as fast as they can. Contact the Denomination of the Air Force and see if we can get any air support off the base in Berenice. Get our own aircraft in the air as well and running attacks on the enemy right away!"

"Got that sir. Calling up Berenice now... Err, we're having trouble with Satlink communications, sir. Switching to direct radio."

The 4th's small screen craft, mostly destroyers and missile boats, retreat as best they are able under withering fire from enemy guns, returning fire with antiship missiles and 5-inch or smaller guns as they get the chance. Meanwhile, as the Ismaïlia and its two light carrier escorts launch Jackal fighter-bombers, the rest of the 4th fleet - one old Diomedes-class battleship, a pair of cruisers and a number of destroyers, frigates and smaller craft - begins to converge upon the invaders.

The small submarine slowely continued in the harbor it was nearly below the flagship of the fleet stationed there. Just a few more seconds...

Meanwhile, back at Northern Baltic Command, General Kruss watched the small submarine on the GPS screen move through the harbor.
"Aw screw it!", he said,"Blow that bloody thing up now."
The General reached for a large red button on the desk and inside the submarine, a 10 megaton A-bomb exploded. Even if it didn't destroy all the ships, it would currently render the port of this military base useless.

Al-Maryut Shipyard

A security officer is just starting to get nervous about something listening devices had picked up, moving around the harbor bed, when General Kruss gives his order. And in a moment, Al-Maryut Shipyard is no more.

Most of the six or seven thousand working-class men employed in the Yard, and nearly all of the eighteen hundred military personnel stationed there, die instantly in the blast, which momentarily throws much of the harbor's worth of water into the air in a massive explosion and devastates the shoreline. Those few unlucky enough to have been protected from the initial explosion find themselves soaked as radioactive water rains back down upon them. They would die too, just more slowly. All the unfinished ships are wrecked as well; the shattered debris of both destroyers is visible for a moment before the sea rushes back into the harbor in a great wave. Further on, the remains of the cruiser are thrown across its ruined pier, and the unfinished aircraft carrier hull cracked in two and thrown up on shore.

Central Command

The attitude at Central Command had quickly turned from cautiously paranoid to flat-out furious. Between the chaos caused by the news of a nuclear attack against New Manth and the disruption of New Manthian communication networks, confusion and alarm reign free as alarms ring out and staffers rush this way and that. In the council room, the assembled New Manthian command is still giving orders even as they prepare to move underground.

"We've tentatively identified the enemy satellite as Northern Baltic, and there's no doubt about the fleet sailing from Cyprus."

"And in the Red Sea?"

A hurried shrug, as the commander in question gathers papers and stuffs them in a briefcase.

"Could be. We'll know more soon if we can get our blasted communications back up. Navy Command lost contact with the 4th a few minutes ago thanks to a hacker, we're trying to reestablish communications."

"Air Force still has them, sir, on radio. They're reporting under attack from ships flying the Icovir flag, and requesting air support."

An aide quickly rattles off the latest messages from the Fourth Fleet.

"What? The Icovir navy is still , and I'm sure as hell they don't have any ships like the ones Hamadi is describing. Shit, their embassy is just down the block and we haven't had a peep out of them."

The other man shrugs.

"False flags is Admiral Hamadi's guess. Could well be the Northern Baltic again."

"How many ships?"

"Unknown, sir, but a large number. Hamadi is requesting air support."

"Call off the Third Air Fleet from Hamilayan operations. Reroute whatever is necessary to Hamadi. Get moving!"

Elsewhere Commander Reisschart is dictating instructions to a small group of officers even as he hurries to a helicopter.

"Qusay, you're in charge of evacuating the Corporate Council building and getting all Councilmembers safely to the bunkers. Also any foreign media or officials in New Manth are to be confined to hotel rooms or embassies. Hamad, have the entire area around Al-Maryut shipyards sealed off. I want soldiers guarding every major road in and out. Fahad, damage reports, estimated fallout paths and containment measures. Go! Tariq, what's the situation in Alexandria?"

"Widespread panic from what we can tell. No direct damage from the attack, it was too far off."

"Have the governor declare a state of emergency and institute martial law. Abraham, what's the situation at Strategic?"

"We've been on red alert ever since that detonation in Zhyolatska, sir. We're ready to order a retaliatory ICBM strike against the Northern Baltic, awaiting your order."

"No! We don't yet know whether The Northern Baltic ordered or was complicit in this attack. It could well have been terrorist groups related to the Zhyolatskan insurgency, or practically anyone else that has a grudge and nuclear capability..."

Reisschart shrugs helplessly. There were so many nuclear nations in the world today that even keeping a reasonable track of the movements of nuclear weapons was basically impossible.

"But contact the Northern Baltic government through whatever channels you can reach them on. Let them know that we'll be watching, and if we even see a twitch coming out of Northern Baltic silos we'll fucking blow as many of their cities as we can reach to hell. If it was them I don't want them getting any ideas that they can pull a repeat operation without consequences. And while you're at it, ask them what the fuck they are doing attacking our ships and sending fleets towards our waters! Last I checked they hadn't even declared war."

"Got that sir!"

Alexandria

Seismographs pick up the explosion, but the citizens of Alexandria don't need scientists to explain the massive explosion they can see and hear, miles to the northwest. In the wake of the blast, streets across the city grind to a halt as panicking citizens flee from cars, shops, and jobs to seek out fallout shelters, subways or for the desperate even just basements. Luckily for the Alexandrians, thanks to the underwater detonation and favorable winds and currents, most of the fallout would not reach their city... but as far as the average citizen could tell, they might well be the next targets of a nuclear attack. Even the notoriously large and efficient NM Police Corps is overwhelmed by the chaos.

The NDBLF (National Die Boerestaat Liberation Front) Operative got off of a secure communication with a Northern Baltic opertive. He walked into the mess hall of the Amur 1850 Submarine and sat down with some NDBLF Commanders.
"Comrade", he said,"Our supplier wants us to take fault for an atomic bomb in a harbor in someplace called New Manth."
They all began laughing.
"New Manth? My father lives there."
"Well Comrade, they also want us to begin attacking New Manth merchent ships."
They all began laughing again.
"How the hell are we going to justify this, Comrade?"
"He said change our name to the International Liberation Front, temporarily of course..."
The Commander opened up a secure line with the NDBLF HQ somewhere deep in Africa.
"You got the messege as well? Good. Why of course we must help them. They saved our ass against Leafanistan and those other Facist Pigs. So you're going to tell the other three submarines near us to join with us and hunt in packs. Good idea, Comrade. I'll get the crew ready now. Goodbye Comrade."
20 NDBLF Submarines were in the Medeteranian Sea, while 30 more were on the way. They would begin hunting in packs ranging from 4 to 8 submarines. A messege had been sent to New Manth telling them they had asked for the A-Bomb by giving aid to some Facist Pigs or something like that. The NDBLF wanted war and they were prepared for it.

Meanwhile, The Northern Baltic fleet turned and seemed to be heading towerds Israel, not Egypt as its former course had suggested.

Earth Orbit

The unmarked satellite whirls closer to the enemy position, onboard course correction speeding up the craft's orbit in order to catch up with the Northern Baltic satellite. Orders from Central Command were to neutralize the enemy satellite ASAP, and so the satellite begins targeting the enemy craft as soon as it is within range. This would be a trial by fire for the New Manthians, and their first anti-satellite operation in history. Fortunately, the experimental lasers are still in working order. Their first target is what appears to be the enemy satellite's weapons array.

Mediterranean

"I don't buy it, sir. What about that satellite?"

"Neither does Central Command. Maneuver to stay between the enemy and our shores. Stay 5 miles outside of missile range, we'll want some warning if they turn towards us suddenly. What about coastal support? We're outgunned here, we'll have to rely on coastal batteries and the Air Force to even the odds."

"The Air Force is still sorting out problems from these hacker attacks, sir. Still, the longer they delay the more time we have to prepare."

"I'm sure they know that too. Beat to battle stations, radio all ships and tell them to prepare to repulse enemy attack. What's the latest count?"

"Approaching 90 craft, sir, including several subs although we haven't been able to fix how many yet."

The admiral grunts. On paper, the ships he has at his command outnumber the Northern Baltic fleet... but with a significant number of his 'ships' being in reality littoral ASW or missile craft, including a number of small 16-man missile boats, the real strength of the New Manthian fleet is somewhat less than paper might suggest. Shore support would be crucial in a battle.

The combined Third and Fifth Fleets take up a course parallel to the enemy fleet and a few miles outside of missile range, ready for action. Planes roar off the Fleets' carriers and into the air, in order to decrease response time if, or when, the Northern Baltic fleet makes its move.

In the other news section of the Northern Baltic Defence Website, a small article describing how a communications satellite became nonresponsive and after several attempts to fix it, Northern Baltic Aerospace decided to shoot it down in order to test some of their anti-satellite missiles. In about 10 minutes, the satellite would be in range to shoot down by Missile Command.

Meanwhile, the Northern Baltic fleet went into the Israeli port of Hafia for some repairs they were scedualed for next week. When asked about this incident, the Head of the Council of Military said,"It was just more convinent to do it now. Next week we have a military drill, so we had to do it now, or wait another month or 2."

"What the hell is going on?"

Halys Reisschart is not a happy man.

"Northern Baltic Fleet has turned into Israeli ports, sir. Still awaiting updates from the Red Sea... the communication network is still experiencing severe problems."

"...Bullshit the lot of it. What about their satellite? Are we seriously supposed to believe their satellite had a 'malfunction' while it just happened to be pointed at our ship? Speaking of which, what is the result of our attack on it?"

The other Commander, his shoulder stripes identifying him as a Navy man, shrugs.

"Too early to tell, sir, Control lost contact with their satellite shortly after the attack due to all this jamming. They're trying to regain contact now. As for the enemy fleet, well I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, sir. If it's not hostile, then we've escaped a war. And if it is, the extra time will help us work through this hacker attack and give us more time to mobilize."

"Keep me up to date, Commander. What's the situation with the Corporate Council?"

"Once the enemy fleet changed course, the Speaker decided there was no longer any need to make for the bunkers, sir. Unfortunately the usual suspects are up there making speeches right now. Antiwar, the military brought this on everyone, too much autonomy in Central Command, blah blah. You know the drill. They weren't happy at all when they learned we'd authorized covert aid to Zhyolatska without asking them first."

"Right, Commander. However, I've just thought of a way in which those damned hackers can be of some use to us. One of these attackers is going to break into the Corporate Council's broadcast network. Unfortunately, the broadcast of current proceedings will be interrupted and the records erased by a virus. Understand?"

"...Yes, sir. I'll arrange for it. If I may, are you considering... well, putting our plan into action?"

"Just a few rangefinding shots, Commander. It is not necessary or expedient... at least, for now."

During the war over Die Boerestaat, NDBLF Camps had been set up in central and in northern Africa. These camps were either underground or hidden in forests. Now the men and women training in these camps split into groups and headed towerds New Manth to conduct a series of raids on small towns in southern New Manth. 3 Golf Class Submarines prepared to fire Scud Missiles on New Manth port cities and NDBLF Armour prepared for a trip across the desert.

[Going to give Leafanistan a chance to reply before going much further.]

[Going to give Leafanistan a chance to reply before going much further.]

OOC: I'll start implementing Snow Crash. It is up to you how to handle it. Hopefully as a form of terrorism, this works well.

Amy Wong sat there, listening to the IRC channels fill up with words, talking about how to hack, exchanging scripts, talking about defense mechanisms, and watching as counter protocols signed off people.

Then suddenly a window flashed. The encrypted WASTE messaging protocol sent over a simple .bmp with a massive warning:

<HiroProtagonist> NEVER OPEN THIS BMP, THIS IS THE ULTIMATE VIRUS

Amy Wong read the literature accompanying it. Supposedly, this BMP was a meta-virus, unearthed from Saharistani tablets, from the ancient Sumerian empire. It was the ultimate hack. A literal mind-hack. The BMP looked like a snow crash, or just screen static, but it was actually binary, information that when presented to an experienced hacker, assembled into instructions on how to think in the oldest way possible.

The human brain once assumed a state known as a bicameral mind in which cognitive functions are divided between one part of the brain which appears to be "speaking," and a second part which listens and obeys. It was schizophrenia, and the people spoke a deep language that all could understand. But soon the beginnings of true consciousness and sentience appeared and the bicameral mind died out.

The BMP when read is first pointless, but soon the unconscious mind goes 'AHA' puts it all together and descends toward schizophrenia. It was a terror weapon, and one of the new class of weapons of mass destructions. It was an Informatic Weapon of Mass Destruction.

During their attacks, they had seized a list of government emails, including names for the government counterhackers. They sent the BMPs to them, under the guise of a government mass mailing. A very bureaucratic memo showed up, reminding everyone to add cover sheets to their reports along with a picture of the new cover sheet, the BMP.

Meanwhile, the false invasion was nearing the shoreline and very close to landing. The cargo ships had been abandoned and were now just sailing toward the shoreline. Inside they were loaded with explosive charges to disable them and cause a navigational hazard for years to come.

OOC: Bump. You can't have forgotten New Manth? You ok-ed the WMDI over AIM.

[Mea culpa, sorry about the delay in response]

The Red Sea

"19-B, this is Misnya-22 reporting in coming up on Red Sea. Request situation update and tactical dispositions."

Only static from the air base in Berenice answers Hamad al Mohandes as he rocketed towards the Red Sea. He grimaced. Communications again. Problems had been plaguing Berenice for hours.

"There's one." the copilot exclaimed as a blip flashed on the plane's radar. "Not Manthian. Probably not civilian, they should have been cleared out by now."

The copilot flips the cover off the firing controls as the pair close in.

"Strong infrared..." he murmurs, somewhat surprised. "All right, double tap."

Two light antishipping missiles drop from the plane and rocket off towards the ship. After launching, Hamad climbs quickly and starts a slow turn towards the 4th Fleet's last known position.

"Command wants a status report on the Fourth... couldn't raise them, at least that's the way it was last time we could raise them. Trans friendly, do a high pass over..."

"Shit." the copilot murmurs. "Target was dead in the water already. Look."

Sure enough, the missiles are rocketing towards a ship already afire and sinking in the midst of what is normally a main shipping channel.

"Fuck, someone else got it. Waste of missiles."

"We're first group out, couldn't have. And no sign of the Fourth anywhere near here..."

"Scuttled?"

"Maybe. Save a record of the location, the wets can investigate later."

Manth, Southwestern Borders

The southern borders are guarded by barbed wire and minefields in places where tank and army crossing would be easiest, but the border outposts and checkpoints were only manned by small groups of men, the reinforcements which should have been sent there during the army mobilization held up in a tangled logistical mess thanks to Leafanistani hackers. Here and there a few tanks and infantry companies had arrived to back up the border police, but in most places the Die Boerstaat men would find little blocking their way other than police men with light sidearms and occasional machine guns and RPGs.

Manth, Undisclosed Location

Ismail Hassanein rubs his eyes and reaches for a cup of coffee. A night worker and day sleeper by habit (fairly common in central Manth where daytime heat could reach astronomical levels), the sixty year old programmer had been dragged out of bed late in the morning by an urgent phone call and had spent the next six hours at a CIC base advising them on how to fend off increasingly persistent attacks against the satellite and computer networks, all the while fending off increasingly angry bureaucrats' demands to save their precious, expensive networks, most of which had already been compromised past the point of recovery anyway.

Another email pops up, prompting a sigh.

What is it this time...

Ismail grimaces and opens it up, prepared for another order to 'do everything possible.' As if they weren't already...

OOC: It's alright, as long as the Northern Baltic comes back we can play. Before I do anything, I want you to read my telegram.

IC: Die Boerstaat

Ships had been coming in all day. Many of them were loaded with new equipment from the factories in the Galation Islands, and new ships were coming too.

Along with it was the main battlefleet of the Mafia, including one Space Union built Conqueror class Trimaran Ultracarrier. A few DMG-made ships floated around the harbor, mostly Stingray class Cruisers, though a few Sentry class Antiair Destroyers sailed around the main battlefleet.

[END]

New Manth, Southwest Border
Small groups of rangers, either on foot or on horseback attempted to cut through the barbed wire, but were driven back by the minefields. Some of the border outposts, about a third of them, were opened fire on by 2S1 Artillery guns. The rest were attacked by ranger divisions using BRDM-2's and modified BTR-152's. Mig-29S's conducted strafting runs on about a dozen outposts.

Suez Canal
500 Tu-22m bombers headed north through the red sea. They were escorted by 130 Mig-29OVT's. The Tu-22m's carried hundreds of magnetic bombs which they planned on dropping in the Suez Canal. A messege was sent to the Mafia warning them that the Suez Canal had mines in it. Amur 1850's hunted for New Manth shipping in packs of 5 to 7 in the Mediterranean. After sinking a ship, a messege would be sent to New Manth's government alerting them where the ship was sunk so they could pick up the survivors. If there were any survivors.

Somewhere South of New Manth
The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Mechinized Divisions prepared to push into New Manth after the border outposts were eliminated. The troops has been prepared by years of training and most were veterns of the Die Boerestaat conflict years before. They wanted revenge and this will have to do for the time being. General René Savary was well trained in the art of war and he was now preparing an excellent speech to give to the troops to encourage them to fight their hardest.

[A quick reply, I will pick up the informatic weapons thread and major governmental responses next post.]

New Manth border outpost

Most Manthian border police have had enough by the time artillery shells started dropping on their heads. Regular army support had in most cases been supposed to arrive hours ago and not showed up. In the cases where it had the tanks and soldiers had been considerably fewer than expected. There are a few pockets of resistance where the Army had arrived in force, but over most of the southwestern border the first lines are falling back and abandoning border defences.

Suez Canal

The enemy bombers, however, will find a much stiffer resistance. The Suez Canal is, in light of its importance, one of the most heavily defended areas of New Manth outside the capital itself. Hundreds of permanent SAM sites had been recently supplemented by mobile AA artillery units, intended to blunt any Northern Baltic attack, but they would serve as well against the new enemy. As the Tu-22s near the Channel, they are greeted by Praetorian missiles, anti-aircraft shells, and for any aircraft which might stray too low, heavy 20mm autocannon fire.

[A quick reply, I will pick up the informatic weapons thread and major governmental responses next post.]

New Manth border outpost

Most Manthian border police have had enough by the time artillery shells started dropping on their heads. Regular army support had in most cases been supposed to arrive hours ago and not showed up. In the cases where it had the tanks and soldiers had been considerably fewer than expected. There are a few pockets of resistance where the Army had arrived in force, but over most of the southwestern border the first lines are falling back and abandoning border defences.

Suez Canal

The enemy bombers, however, will find a much stiffer resistance. The Suez Canal is, in light of its importance, one of the most heavily defended areas of New Manth outside the capital itself. Hundreds of permanent SAM sites had been recently supplemented by mobile AA artillery units, intended to blunt any Northern Baltic attack, but they would serve as well against the new enemy. As the Tu-22s near the Channel, they are greeted by Praetorian missiles, anti-aircraft shells, and for any aircraft which might stray too low, heavy 20mm autocannon fire.

OOC: Agreed upon via Telegram and OOC.

Southeastern Border

The Mafia rapid reaction forces had snuck in very quickly. The distraction landing was confusing their border forces giving time for their rapidly mobile divisions to move in.

Special forces divisions rapidly assaulted the coastline sometimes capturing just police officers. Soon a convoy of armored trucks would be arriving to secure prisoners. The Mafia intent was to secure where the Red Sea emptied into the Red Sea, and take the entire southern border with the intent of assisting Northern Baltic forces entering the country.

Soon convoy ships would move up the African coastline ferrying more heavily armored forces.

Suez Canal
The airforce had withdrawn due to stronger then expected resistance. They lost over three dozen migs and several Tu-22m. The navy came up with a new plan. The navy had a fleet consisting of 1 Kiev class, 14 Sovermenny Class, 10 Kara Class, 3 Ajax Class, and 10 Grisha V Class. These ships were now moving to the Suez Canal. Originally these ships planned to take part in a bombardment of New Manth's southern defenses, but the navy had ordered it off. These ships would move up the Suez Canal and destroy all of New Manth's defenses and ships they encountered.

Southern Border, New Manth
The armored units began to push in. The few pockets of resistance were disappointing, but a combination of air power, in the form of Mig-29S fighters and Mi-24 attack helicopters, artillery power, in the form of 2S1, 2S3, and D-30 artillery pieces, tank support, in the form of T-62M and T-72BM tanks, and of course, countless well-armed infantry men would assure the pockets of resistance would be overwhelmed. The armored units continued their push north into New Manth. Northern Baltic units were preparing to join them. General René Savary stared at a map inside his T-72BM command tank. "With men from the Northern Baltic here, New Manth's days are numbered."

Central Command

The initial frenetic mood at Central Command has subsided somewhat since the first attacks several hours ago. Now, in an expansive, climate-controlled bunker over a hundred meters below the city of New Manth, the various men of the New Manthian High Command are getting down to the nuts and bolts of how to defend their country. A massive computer-generated tactical map spread on one wall shows Manthian military forces and known enemies. Normally, the map would be updated by the minute, but with the strain on the computer networks it is lucky the thing still is working at all. What it is showing is a different matter. There is entirely too much red and not enough of Manthian white on the map, and where the white generally is dominant is where it isn't needed, in nonconflict zones. The Manthian military had definitely been caught flat-footed, there is no doubt about that.

As staffers rush around or monitored computer readouts, the Central Command Executive is holding its very first full meeting since the attacks. Admiral Adolfo Gerhard, the top Navy officer in charge of the Mediterranean theatre, shakes his head as he skims over a report before turning to address the Executive.

"Our satellites - what's left of them - have detected a fleet moving towards Suez. At least twenty-five craft."

"Die Boerstaat?" asks the old Commander Omar Shamil, overall chief of the Mediterranean Defensive Zone.

"Indeed, we are trying to determine where they acquired all these ships. The Canal is of course the likely target."

"Can the Third and Fifth Fleets intercept?"

"Not without leaving the Northern Baltic fleet in Israel under-guarded in case they decide they aren't there peacefully after all. We're stretched far too thin in the Mediterranean area."

"What about the Fourth Fleet in the Red Sea and the Sixth Fleet further south?"

Several heads turn as Pierre Montague speaks up. The Corporate Commissar is too savvy not to notice the hostility in those looks, but he gives no indication.

"The Mafia will soon take that coastline anyway, unless the Die Boerstaat gorup gets there first. There is no point in defending our coast if the enemy has seized it behind our backs."

"But with naval support, and eventual counterattack..."

Gerhard trails off as the Commissar cuts him off midsentence.

"As the key to our commercial heartland and perhaps even the capital itself, Suez is infinitely more important. Move the Sixth up to the Fourth's position in the Red Sea, and send the Fourth to intercept this new threat, that is what I say."

"What about my forces?" an older Commander inquires. "The enemy has made no attempt to suppress our coastal artillery, we could shred the enemy fleet with Khan and Sledgehammer missiles before they get close to Suez."

"Do you have enough missiles in the area?" the Commissar asks, clearly intrigued.

"For this small fleet? With plenty to spare! If they send more, we may need to replenish our arsenals, but we are already evacuating from the Somalian Economic Zone and we can bring missiles up from there."

"Very good, Commander, but move the Fleets nonetheless. Should the missile attack fail, or the Northern Baltic enter the war, we must have a second option. Otherwise the two halves of our Navy may end up cut off from one another."

"Very well. On the subject of the southern front, though...?"

"Reports are still extremely jumbled. As far as we can tell, enemy forces have crossed the borders in force in multiple locations. Major concentrations of our army are further north, but are not prepared to advance south yet due to logistical problems. The Council has agreed that a limited counterattack, led by the 77th Mechanized, will be all we can muster and will be necessary to relieve trapped troops on the border and give time for the rest of our forces to muster."

Pierre sighs.

"Frankly Commander it is mind-boggling that we have found ourselves in such a situation so early into a war in which we are the largest military power! I still struggle to understand how the military could have let this happen."

An observer might have sworn the temperature in the room dropped several degrees. Finally Omar Shamil clears his throat.

"We were caught off balance, Commissar, but I assure you we are doing everything possible to defend New Manth. Once we are able to marshal our forces, we will quickly recover, there is no doubt. The first step is the counterattack."

"For your sake, Commander, I hope you are correct. Who will command the attack?"

"Commander Muhammed Zaki."

"Unacceptable. Commander Zaki has been caught in a disgraceful state of unreadiness and certainly cannot now be trusted to lead a competent counteroffensive. The Commander is to return to the capitol. Commander Saad al-Baradei will take over command of the Southern Front. His orders are to blunt enemy advance long enough to evacuate major military assets."

After that comment, not even the normally unflappable Pierre can ignore the daggers stared his way. He clears his throat.

"Is there a problem, gentlemen?"

Halys Reisschart had not yet spoken, but to the surprise of several of his comrades it is he who replies.

"There is no problem. Saad al-Baradei will lead the southern attack. Commander Zaki will return here. Now, if we may return to the matter of the Northern Baltic fleet in Israel..."

The Red Sea and Southern Manth

The Fourth Fleet, battered from its confrontation with Republican ships but by no means destroyed, begins withdrawing towards Suez, shortly to be joined by the Sixth which would bottle up the Red Sea while the Fourth augmented defenses in the Mediterranean. For now, the coastline beyond the Red Sea was being abandoned to the enemy. Meanwhile, masses of unorganized troops - from men who had been driven back by the Die Boerstaaters to others who had never reached their units - were retreating towards the east, where they would probably end up caught by the Mafia.

Further north, however, a semblance of order had finally been established at the Southern Front Headquarters with the arrival of Saad al-Baradei, a seasoned veteran of several conflicts including the Hamilayan war and the defense against Lost Hills - the latter of which had been under rather similar circumstances. A plan had already been worked out to gain breathing room with which to organize the defenses.

On paper, the Southern front included twenty-two divisions - ten infantry, four mechanized infantry, six armor and four artillery, as well as a large air contingent. In reality, none of the infantry divisions were close to combat strength yet, and only two armor divisions and one mechanized infantry division were truly ready for combat. Many men had been caught up by the Mafia, and many more had reported to the wrong muster point or not at all thanks to Mafia hacking. Half of another mechanized infantry division, the 77th, had been sent south to reinforce the defenses, and as the size of the enemy attack became apparent would have to retreat north almost as fast as they had advanced, taking what remained of the border police with them.

The 14th and 30th Armored Divisions, supported by the 56th Mechanized, will have buy them the time they would need to do that. At al-Baradei's command, the attack starts. Several thousand Nakil 1A1 tanks, supported by Arica APCs and numerous light tanks and other fast combat vehicles, roll south in a broad-fronted attack, while in the rear divisional artillery hurls 155mm shells from seventy kilometers away against the Die Boerstaaters - albeit with much reduced accuracy due to loss of satellite-assisted aiming. Still, the aim is as much to create panic and delay as actual casualties. As the armor advances, dozens of SuF-A6A Wraiths, all that can be mustered on short notice, roar overhead to provide air cover.

77th Strategic Missile Command, Libyan coast, as the DLBF fleet passes

Life is rarely very exciting at SMC 77. Other than routine maintenance on the facilities' giant Khan missiles, the occupants generally spend their day trying to convince the lone female PFC on station that strip poker will help the time pass by. Not today, however. The order had come down that all Mediterranean Khan batteries would stand on high alert due to the presence of the Northern Baltic fleet. Of course, the missiles will work just as well against this new target.

Twenty-four Khan missiles rise into the air from camoflaged launch sites and speed towards the Die Boerstaat fleet at sickening speeds of over Mach 11, eight each aiming at the Ajax-class battleships of the enemy fleet. From various smaller missile launch sites, two hundred Sledgehammer II missiles soon follow at over Mach 2, though they will speed up to over Mach 5 as they close in, targeting the other vessels. The Manthians are hoping that the high speed of the missiles, but especially the Khan, will essentially render enemy CIWS useless as even computer-driven systems would have little time to react. But though the Khan and Sledgehammer had been tested in many international conflicts and had proved their worth resoundingly, this will nonetheless be the first time either missile is fired in anger by New Manth.

One way or another, the results will be critical for the naval theatre in the Mediterranean.

bump

Near the Suez Canal
The fleet was hit hard. The Ajax Class Battleships went first. They sunk fast, but most of their crew was on the decks, waiting for some kind of attack, however when the rest of the missiles came in targeting the other ships, most of the sailors were killed. Tragedy. Northern Baltic high command received word of what happened to the fleet a few minutes later. They wanted revenge on the New Manth if it was the last thing they would do.

Southern New Manth
Twenty Infantry divisions arrived to join forces with the mechanized divisions already in Southern New Manth. Three Northern Baltic Mechanized Divisions also arrived. Some of the elite members of the Northern Baltic Mechanized Division rode the LNB-1 MBT. Although still in testing, it would no doubt be a very formidable opponent due to its combination of firepower, armor, and speed. Mi-24 Helicopters began flying over enemy troop positions. They were sometimes supported by M-29OVT fighters.

Meanwhile, several regiments of Die Boerestaat Commandos were gearing up to be transported to Western New Manth and begin harassing enemy supply lines and troop formations there.

Near the Suez Canal
The fleet was hit hard. The Ajax Class Battleships went first. They sunk fast, but most of their crew was on the decks, waiting for some kind of attack, however when the rest of the missiles came in targeting the other ships, most of the sailors were killed. Tragedy. Northern Baltic high command received word of what happened to the fleet a few minutes later. They wanted revenge on the New Manth if it was the last thing they would do.

Encrypted Transmission from Skull and Sickle to the Northern Baltic

You reap what you sow.

[END]

The Mafia were never stupid. They knew the consequences of attacking another CA nation, and a tremendous rouse it was. A bit of a Pyrrhic victory was expected, but victory nonetheless.

The Mafia commanders had sent all the relevant data on Northern Baltic Troop concentrations, ORBATs, and detailed dossiers on the Northern Baltic military. They finally had concrete evidence that the Northern Baltic was supporting the Sudafrikan Insurgents, bringing them up north to fight New Manth.

Harpoons, Exocets, and the Tomahawks lifted off from the Mafia fleet, right over New Manth, streaking over the Suez Canal, straight at the Northern Baltic Fleet.

Southern New Manth
Twenty Infantry divisions arrived to join forces with the mechanized divisions already in Southern New Manth. Three Northern Baltic Mechanized Divisions also arrived. Some of the elite members of the Northern Baltic Mechanized Division rode the LNB-1 MBT. Although still in testing, it would no doubt be a very formidable opponent due to its combination of firepower, armor, and speed. Mi-24 Helicopters began flying over enemy troop positions. They were sometimes supported by M-29OVT fighters.

Meanwhile, several regiments of Die Boerestaat Commandos were gearing up to be transported to Western New Manth and begin harassing enemy supply lines and troop formations there.

Encrypted Message from the Skull and Sickle to New Manth

Operation Red Flag is in effect, double cross is complete, the Northern Baltic will be caught off guard. All Southern Divisions are to report to the borders while Mafia garrisons landing reinforce the area and join you in major combat operations.

When major combat operations in New Manth have ended, you are to move south to claim Sudafrikan territory in the name of the Corporate Alliance.

[END]

Mafia fighters streaked from their carriers, Earwigs and the occasional F-4 Phantom began to engage the Northern Baltic MiGs in air to air combat at close range. The Mafia had the element of surprise on their 'ally' and hoped to grab a quick aerial victory and begin bombardment operations. The later Earwigs launched were equipped with 500lb bombs and began to drop them on the hapless Infantry Divisions.

From their bases in the heavily reinforced AirField One, Mafia F-15s, F-16s and DMG manufactured F-44s took to the skies to bring down Sudafrikan planes and begin an organized bombing campaign of the partially irradiated Sudafrikan north.

The DMG made ships and reinforcements began to move antiair ships north up the coast with a few smaller arsenal ships to begin major bombardment of invading Northern Baltic forces.

Operation Red Flag's intent was to make this the Northern Baltic's Waterloo and to seize control of Sudafrika at last.

The Mafia garrisons that had begun landings found soldiers arrested by special forces which had gone in first, and began undoing their restraints. The tide was going to turn, and that they were really friends, just here to spring a trap.

Libyan Coast

"This is 77th Strategic reporting in. We have confirmed multiple disabling hits on primary and secondary targets. At this point, we believe that the enemy force has all been sunk or mission killed."

The radio lay silent for a moment before crackling to life again.

"Well done. Transmit the last coordinates of the enemy force. We will arrange for whoever survived to be picked up."

Encrypted Transmission to the Skull and Sickle from Central Command

"Perfect timing."

Halys Reisschart smiled as the message went off. He turned to address the rest of the Council.

"Gentlemen. We have received the go-ahead. Implement Operation Monsoon."

Outside Hafia, Israel - Bridge of the Carrier Ismailia

"We're receiving an encrypted transmission, sir! From Navy High Command!"

Admiral Hamadi turned sharply as an ensign called out.

"What is the message?"

"Just a second... It says, 'Operation Monsoon has been green-lighted. Good luck.' Sir. There's also an attached information packet... uh, it's a complete order of battle for the entire Northern Baltic fleet. Down to the last plane."

"All hands to battle stations. Call the fleet to battle, and begin launching Jackals and EW drones."

"...Sir? We're attacking?"

"Yes. This is Operation Monsoon. We will destroy the enemy before he knows what hit him."

The Manthian fleets which had been 'defending against' a possible attack by the Northern Baltic fleet holed up in Hafia now showed its true colors. Dozens of Sledgehammer missiles streaked towards the Northern Baltic fleet which had taken shelter in the harbor at Hafia. Now it would become a trap.

Naval bombers and torpedo planes, escorted by F-19 interceptors, streaked towards the harbor in the wake of the missiles. They would engage whatever remained of the enemy fleet after the first surprise attack by the Mafia.

Southern New Manth, Somalian Coast

The earlier feint by al-Baradei's armored divison was now joined by the main force of the attack... the ten divisions from the Northern Line, whose 'logistical mess' had long since been sorted out after the initial hacker attacks on the Manthian military networks were called off. Tanks and APCs which had been sitting idle along the roads in 'traffic jams' revved up their engines and set out southward, while the earlier weak artillery bombardments were joined by massive self-propelled howitzers, hurling sixteen inch shells over a hundred kilometers to smash into enemy lines. While this force struck the enemy from the north, it would be met by thousands of soldiers coming in from the east alongside the Mafia men, in a carefully planned two-pronged attack designed to catch the men of The Northern Baltic and the DBLF between the hammer and the anvil.

Air Over New Manth
The Die Boerestaat Migs were taken by surprise by the friendly fire. After the first few incidents, a message was sent to Mafia HQ by Northern Baltic High Command, but after a dozen more planes were shot down and several dozen troop formations were attacked, it became clear that there was no need for a response. They were at war.

Haifa, Israel
After the multiple friendly fire incidents had occurred, the Northern Baltic fleet at Haifa was warned to keep a sharp eye out. When the Harpoon, Sledgehammer, and enemy fighters showed up on radar, all of the Northern Baltic's Super J-10N fighters, 350 of them, rose up to meet them. ASW and Radar Picket helicopters were escorted by Yak-141's and followed the large group of fighters. The ASW Helicopters would clear the mouth of the harbor of enemy submarines. The Northern Baltic destroyers and cruisers lead the fleet out of the harbor. They fired nearly all of their anti-shipping missiles at the enemy surface vessels. The Stalingrad-B Class fired their guns at the enemy Carrier(s) hoping to disable or destroy them.

The ships would employ countermeasures and sometimes jamming for the enemy missiles. If this failed, the CIWS systems would attempt to take care of any remaining missiles.

Off of Cyprus
As was planned, the Northern Baltic 5th and 7th fleets were on exercise for the last week, however this new development in the War in New Manth allowed them to divert course and head for the fleet blocking Haifa. The 5th and 7th fleet ships are as follows:
5th Fleet
1 Orel Ul'yanovsk Class (70 Super J-10N)
2 Kirov Class
2 Udaloy II Class
7 Slava Class
3 Krivak III Class
5 Longboat Class
11 Sovremenny Class
7 Lada Class

7th Fleet
10 Longboat Class
4 Kirov Class
3 Udaloy II Class
4 Neustrashimy Class
6 Kara Class
5 Sovremenny Class
6 Akula Class
4 Oscar Class

The Northern Baltic
This is Channel 15 Populist Party News. The President has declared war on New Manth. He explained just a few minutes ago that New Manth conducted a surprise attack on the Northern Baltic fleet docked in Haifa, Israel. We have no reports if any sailors were killed, but the military has promised us an update within the hour. [End of Broadcast]

Northern Baltic African Colony of New Haven
The First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Northern Baltic armies were gearing up to support the Die Boerestaat troops already in New Manth. They would move out in about a day. They had limited armor support, but they wouldn't be needing much because most of the fighting would be street combat for now.

gonna finish this long post a little later. Still have people in New Manth and people in Sudafrika to put in.

Encrypted Reply to the Northern Baltic

We have betrayed you. This should have been obvious the moment you read the CA charter and realized New Manth was in the CA. But times have changed.

The Glorious Republic may see this as an oppurtunity to send its ships downstream and smash Die Boerstaat and tear it from our grip.

We have proposed, via Colonial Officials that we could negotiate a peace treaty between New Manth, The Republic of the Red Islands, and the Republic of the Northern Baltic.

At the same time, the Leafanistani government has become interested in conquering Gens Romae and since you are already deployed in the Mediterranean Sea, we are willing to let the Glorious Republic, wire you a sum of $60 billion USD to 'convince' you to join the conflict.

What do you think?

[END]

Encrypted Reply to the Mafia
Assuming all hostilities ended between New Manth, the Republic of the Red Isles, and The Northern Baltic, we would be willing to accept the money you offer to destroy Gens Romae. We do wish for New Manth to remove her fleet from the entrance of Haifa or her fleet will be completely destroyed. That is all.

Encrypted Reply to the Mafia
Assuming all hostilities ended between New Manth, the Republic of the Red Isles, and The Northern Baltic, we would be willing to accept the money you offer to destroy Gens Romae. We do wish for New Manth to remove her fleet from the entrance of Haifa or her fleet will be completely destroyed. That is all.

Encrypted Reply

We will relay that message. If this works, the Glorious Republic may give you Sardinia or Sicily in return for helping.

[END]

Encrypted Message to New Manth

We are negotiating a peace treaty, and their only condition is that you remove your fleet from the entrance of Haifa, or they will level your fleet. In the meantime, we have a brewing conflict with the NPE to discuss and participate in fully.

[END]

Denomination of Foreign Diplomacy
Encrypted Transmission

These terms are generally acceptable. The Greater Economic Union will add one term of its own in return for a cease fire, which is that ten billion (1/6 of the amount offered by the Glorious Republic) be forwarded to New Manth by The Northern Baltic in order to rebuild Manthian shipbuilding capacity after the Northern Baltic nuclear attack.

In the interests of peace, however, we are willing to forego seeking general reparations for the surprise attack or lost Manthian merchant shipping.