NationStates Jolt Archive

Arch Arsonist Adam Wincenty sat in his office, a large file on his desk.

“Non-Essential Decommissioned Vehicles and Mothball Ship Register” it read. The Navy had only recently finished a massive spending glut, with the result of vastly increasing defensive power. The Maritime Guard, the joke of the Ennuisian military, now could defend the Armed Republic’s shores beyond missile absorption. Another, smaller piece of paper sat next to the folder.

“SR 1595: Kahanistan Arms Negotiations: Approved 174-58.” Rumors of the Doomani pillaging of civilians and the ongoing razing of Najaster had only infuriated the largely Roman Catholic republic.

He tapped an intercom.

“Yes, Sir?”

“Have we dispatched the invitation?”

“No, Sir. You had wanted to read the report before we sent it.”

“Right, thank you.”

He took his hand off the button. It would be at least a day before the Kahanistanis sent a representative. He took the register, and put it in the empty slot of a bookshelf, before continuing on to other non-essential matters of importance.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

From: The Office of the Arch Arsonist
To: The Foreign Ministry of Kahanistan
Re: Negotiations
Encryption: One-time pad no. 4368

As previously discussed, the Armed Republic has compiled a list of mothballed equipment. Please send a representative to the Mer de Noms to finalize the details.

-Adam Wincenty
General of the Home Guard
Arch Arsonist of Mer des Ennuis
“Fear Ensures Loyalty!”
“All Glory to the Hypnotoad!”

bump

The Kahanistanian government decided to send a military representative to this discussion. It was a matter of extreme military importance, and the government wanted to send someone who understood the various ships that would be sent, and wouldn't end up getting distracted with other pursuits.

Fleet Admiral Raghad Nazmareh boarded a civilian passenger plane bound for Mer des Ennuis. She was dressed as a civilian, in a dark dress jacket and long navy blue skirt. Her hair was worn down at the sides of her face, in the style of most Kahanistanian women. She was of Iranian appearance and looked to be in her late 50's.

The plane carrying the Admiral flew into the airspace of Mer des Ennuis, following standard protocols for a landing, and the Admiral stepped off the plane.

OOC: I’ll have a detailed post on the ships and arms tomorrow.

A small color guard on the jet way, their faces somber and steely in the morning rain, saluted the Admiral as she descended. A man in a black trench coat, more in place at a funeral than a diplomatic meeting. He was otherwise wholly unremarkable and easily forgettable.

“Welcome, Admiral. We’ve been expecting you” said Tomas Swietoslaw, director of the State Security Administration and one of the most feared men in the country, “right this way.”

He shut the door of the sound-proofed town car on the Admiral, and hit the roof, sending the car speeding away. The Admiral would not be able to ignore the heavy presence of the Home Guard troops. If word got out that Kahanistan was going to be on the receiving end of a generous arms deal, and it certainly would, the retaliation could be devastating… if it came to that.

After a half hour ride, the car passed through a security gate, a kill zone, another security gate, and came to a stop in a carport.

A guardsman opened the door, and silently saluted. The carport’s door led to an elevator, which slowly dropped four hundred feet into the ground: the Home Guard Command Bunker; a small city below a city, and a far cry from the concrete tombs of many tin-pot dictatorships.

She was led to a small conference room, where sat General Adam Wincenty, Admiral of the Navies Ivan Andrei, and Admiral of the Maritime Guard Katica Neza, who stood and saluted as she walked in.

“Greetings Admiral Nazmareh, I am Adam Wincenty and this is Admiral of the Navies Ivan Andrei and Admiral of the Maritime Guard Katica Neza. We’ve been expecting you. Please, have a seat. I’m surprised that Miss Levitt is not in attendance, but I suppose that is to be expected. We are here today to discuss a transfer of military hardware, both small arms and naval, to Kahanistani forces.” said the Arch Arsonist, his voice cool.

"Miss Levitt would probably try to seduce you," said Nazmareh, smiling. She did not know about the sexual relations between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Arch Arsonist.

"On a more serious note," continued the naval commander, picking her right arm up with her left and laying it across her lap, "may I ask why such heavy security? Why do we meet in this bunker?" She had expected to meet in the palace, or possibly at a military base. Did the Arch Arsonist intend to hold her as a hostage?

Nazmareh had been wounded in the Pwnage conflict, struck through the shoulder by a large piece of shrapnel from her destroyed command battleship. A year and a half later, she had limited use of her right arm; she could grasp items with her hand, but moving her arm at the injured shoulder joint was difficult and very painful.

The supreme commander of the Republic Navy was now, of course, interested in obtaining a free load of ships if she could. There was a rumor going around of a plot in the Senate to destroy the Nationalist movement, where anti-Catholicism was strongest, by actively encouraging mass immigration, which would mean more people to defend and the need for a larger military force. If this were true, it would mean an increase in the labor force and a corresponding increase in military strength. Paradoxically, it was the Nationalists who advocated a military buildup...

Admiral Nazmareh herself was a Nationalist. However, she did not harbor particularly anti-Catholic views, unlike an increasing percentage of Nationalists. This was, of course, a plus when dealing with the leader of a largely Catholic state like Mer des Ennuis.

The Arch Arsonist laughed slightly at Admiral Nazmareh’s remark. He composed himself, and said

“Certainty, Admiral, you know that Kahanistan has many enemies despite being a generally good nation. You are now sitting in the most secure military installation in Mer des Ennuis. We realize that word might reach unfriendly ears, and we want the details hidden as best as we can. Thusfar, we’ve managed to hide most of the naval buildup. We are especially proud to field a bigger submarine force than The Silver Sky, who is our new supplier.”

“The report in front of you lists the details of every ship we are decommissioning, including vital statistics, areas in need of overhaul, faults, etc. You’ll notice most of these ships have not taken battle damage, a plus” stated Ivan Andrei.

“Most of these ships are ready to go, having been stricken from active duty yet still laden with stores and fuel. In particular, we have decommissioned the entire Maritime Guard, and have replaced them with more potent designs.” Katica Neza cracked a smile, eager to defend the homeland with ships that packed some punch for a change.

“We are also willing to discuss an export of small arms: six million Steyr Aug A3 rifles. The Ennuisan military used these in large numbers. Right now, the rifles are taking up space. We can discuss the pricing later, but for now, you might want to review these ships.”

The report contained details on the following ships, (Read as Ship Name – Number; for Skyian ships, you’d have the older, slightly smaller versions. Still potent though.)
Glorious Class Super Dreadnought (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11495157&postcount=31)-27
Spiritus Dei-Class Trimaran Heavy Cruiser (http://z14.invisionfree.com/TSSTechCentral/index.php?showtopic=118)-450
Union Class Trimaran Guided Missile Destroyer (http://z14.invisionfree.com/TSSTechCentral/index.php?showtopic=42)-700
Comberth-Class Trimaran Heavy Destroyer (http://z14.invisionfree.com/TSSTechCentral/index.php?showtopic=148)-700
Dolphin Class Trimaran Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigate (http://z14.invisionfree.com/TSSTechCentral/index.php?showtopic=143)-800
Alpha Class Attack Submarine (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11965137&postcount=4)-350
Endeavour Class Large Combat Transport Ship (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=9912960&postcount=388)-275-In need of total overhaul
R-11 Princep De Austrias STVOL Carrier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principe_de_Asturias_%28R11%29)-32
CG-73 Ticonderoga Class Cruiser (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Port_Royal_%28CG-73%29)-48
D32 Type 45 "Daring" Anti-Air Destroyer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_45)-48
DDG-109 Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Stockdale_%28DDG-106%29)-48
FFG-61 Oliver Hazard Perry Frigate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Ingraham_%28FFG-61%29)-96
LCS-3 Litoral Combat Ship (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Independence_%28LCS-2%29)-240
SSN-22 Seawolf Attack Submarine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seawolf_class_submarine)-64
LHD-8 Wasp Class Amphibious Assault Ship (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Makin_Island_%28LHD-8%29)-32
T-AOE-10 Supply Class Oiler (http://navysite.de/ships/aoe10.htm)-32
LSV-6 Frank S. Besson Logistics Support Ship (http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/lsv/)-64
T-ARK 310 Fast Sealift Ship (http://navysite.de/akr/akr310.htm)-64
Wave-Class Large Fleet Oiler (http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/wave/)-270

Nazmareh looked over the list. "Twenty-seven super dreadnaughts?" she asked. "Our navy has only three in active service. I won't even ask how you managed to maintain such a fleet without absolutely crushing your economy," she said. The Fleet Admiral looked over the rest of the list.

"The Skyians make their ships far larger than we do," said Admiral Nazmareh. They had destroyers the size of the Iowa-class battleship that weighed more and carried heavier firepower. Kahanistanian ships, on the other hand, were largely imported from Isselmere-Nieland these days. These warships, with few exceptions, were roughly the same size as traditional designs of their type, but had stronger hulls and superior firepower.

The submarines would have been acceptable had they been nuclear, but the Republic Navy refused to use ships without nuclear power, except small coastal defense corvettes and patrol boats. The smallest escort in a Republic Navy battle fleet was likely to be a general-purpose destroyer, with some attack and/or ballistic missile submarines underwater to provide undersea protection.

"I don't see us taking more than a few of the Glorious class ships," she said finally. "I'm sure that some nations, like the Hatarians, might have more use for these ships, as ruined as they must be now. She passed Wincenty a data pad detailing the current strength of the Republic Navy.

3x Royal Sovereign (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=10447047&postcount=3) class SDN
14x Union (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11045174&postcount=54) class fleet carrier
18x Emmanuel Goldstein (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=502211) class heavy battleship
72x Solquist (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11023369&postcount=10) class heavy cruiser
10x Marquess (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11023630&postcount=20) class amphibious assault ship
50x Guinness (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11023747&postcount=26) class multirole replenishment vessel
64x Hobbes (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11023766&postcount=27) class nuclear hospital ship
513x Sianach (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11674066&postcount=178) class destroyer
500x Lake (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11023707&postcount=25) class coastal defense frigates
24x Tichy (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11023528&postcount=16) class attack submarine

Total: 1,267 warships

"Yes, many are surprised to learn how super capital intensive we are. They haven't been cheap by any means, and thus the necessary downsizing of the size of our ships" spoke Admiral Andrei in an easy, diplomatic tone. "Quite frankly, they were never used in combat. Its easier to maintain a ship when it isn't being used beyond combat drills."

"We've used Skyian ships precisley because they are very, very powerful, and the ones that have been used have held the line more than anticipated" responded Adam. "Surely, Admiral, you know that non-nuclear submarines can run silently for days at a time. The Alpha class is silent enough to cruise past even the most impenatrable of passive sonar lines and strike at close range... closer than most anti-torpedo countermeasures can withstand." He began to flip through the datapad. "As for the rest of the ships, you would not need them in active service long. The Doomani have blocked themselves in Kahanistan, and you've had some trouble in your new home. Though expensive, suddenly bloating your fleets will have a chilling effect, and possibly dissuade an escalation in Havenic Kahanistan, while allowing you to possible launch a beach head into Kahanistan proper."

“Your navy is rather small Admiral, take this is a free opportunity to swell its ranks, if only for a short time. We do want to help you. A war nowadays is won not by boots on the ground alone, but by steel in the sea capable of surrounding and cutting off the enemy.” That came from Admiral Neza.

"Basically, we want only a token sum for each ship... say, a million to reactivate each of them, administrative and mechanical, that sort of thing, along with a ceremonial coinage payment; say, a proof gold coin for each ship" responded Wincenty, trying to read the Admiral's face.

I'd be stupid not to take them up on this. She knew that AMF had at least eight super dreadnaughts in service in the Doomani war. "I figure we can take a dozen or so of the Glorious, and all the Alphas you're giving. I can't believe I didn't remember those were nuclear-powered."

The admiral sat back in her chair. "I'll be quite honest with you, General Wincenty. Very few of our admirals have substantial combat experience. Many of our lower-ranking officers don't even see the point of escorts when a superdreadnaught can engage air, surface, and underwater targets. Even in defensive situations where we expect to be able to turn back fleets twice our size, with our backs to the wall, with experienced commanders at the head, we often end up slowly whittled down and crushed. May I suggest a series of wargames to be held at the earliest convenience for both our navies?"

Rumours of armament negotiation's between two certain nation's reached the many attentive ears of the Union. Distressing is this event, but none of our business. Should people wish to wield bigger and more lethal chains to choke each other with in their pitiful conflicts, why...who are we to judge?!

Far from it! We believe in the defence of the nation! In the integrity of democratic sovreignty [and in whatever form it should choose to manifest itself across the 'verse], the right to co-exist, the right to blast your neighbours brain's out. Let it be know that should a certain nation be in need of capital to acquire the means for defence, that the Union is a friend, a very sympathetic friend indeed...

[QUOTE=Hrstrovokia;12739874]snipQUOTE]

OOC: Who the bloody caress are you?

IC:

"I do not believe Mer des Ennuis has ever conducted a full-scale wargame. We will naturally be willing to do so once we have a replacement for our Ocean-Class carriers and new flagships for our various battlegroups. Katica, when is the last time we've done joint manuvers?"

"I do not believe we have ever conucted an honest to goodness operation with an ally outside of wartime, sir."

"You see, Admiral Nazmareh, we've done training either through constant manuvers, live-fire exercises, and through the extensive study of current naval battles. When we have fought, we’ve usually done so successfully, and we use old ships to simulate damage control operations, rotation to emergency and secondary positions, and so on” added Andrei.

“Perhaps, Admiral, after a situation we are having in the small country of Lerasia blows over, and your crews can familiarize themselves with their ships, we can engage in mutual training exercises. Perhaps in a year or two?” added the Arch Arsonist.

Nazmareh looked back at the Arch Arsonist. The fleet commanders didn't have a year or two to sit and wait while the Doomies threatened to overpower AMF and spread the teachings of Ahriman to the world. She looked as if she were thinking for a few seconds.

"We might conduct some form of exercise with your forces at that date," she said slowly. "What is your situation in Lerasia about?" Depending on the situation, Kahanistanian interests or ideology might be at stake.

Adam sat back, laughing a bit, while the two admirals smirked.

“I’m surprised that the Lerasian situation hasn’t spread around the halls of COMCON-SD. Lerasia was a tinpot dictatorship in South America; some guy named Romescu seized power of the three hundred million strong nation after a revolution, and the place was worse than Hataria. He was deposed in a popular uprising. Out of the goodness of our heart, we persuaded the group that seized power to allow us to invest the equivalent of their GDP through our national conglomerate Global Tetrahedron Inc, and in turn, we secured a city with a light division, after this Romescu was executed.”

He paused.

“Hope you are still following me, Admiral. After a few months, the government we backed, named the CRL and lead by the former prime minister, a man named Truka, had destroyed most of the former state police, and decided elections would occur. Around this time, we began to suspect the former head of the secret police, Fein Goreda, was conducting terrorist attacks against our peacekeeping forces with old secret police elements and the old Lerasian army. That’s where COMECON-SD member Droskianishk steps in.”

Adam took a sip of water, as much as to help him speak clearly as for dramatic effect.

“Droskianishk shares the northern border of Lerasia, and satellite intelligence suggests that they were rather lax about keeping rebels out of their nation. Northern Lerasia has been and still is a hotbed of separatist activity. Fein’s separatists began launching attacks on our personnel, ultimately culminating in a massive raid on an open-air temporary power generation facility on the eve of the national elections, which brings us to the present day. We found Droskianishkian military vehicles in the kill zone. That raid killed thirty five Ennuisian soldiers, and wounded damn near half the battalion. Lerasia has claimed sixty of our men, maimed and injured three hundred more, and has claimed the lives of over one hundred contractors. We have no intention of backing down in this Lerasian situation; the country needs us to be truly free. Droskianishk has called a conference, to which we have sent a delegate. I’ve furthermore been given the good news that Fein and his separatist north have lost the legitimate election. We’ve marshaled some forces: after this “peace conference,” which, I’m being told, is no more than Droskianishk attempting to get their man Fein into power, we are going to reunify the country, by force if necessary.”

He paused again.

“Hope I didn’t talk your ear off.”

"So, if we send someone to this peace conference... would it resolve the situation any faster?" asked Admiral Nazmareh. "Preferably someone not as confrontational as Miss Levitt. She's good for dealing with the Doomies, or the Dominion, but not so good when a more refined solution is needed. Did a hell of a job on our relations with Amestria for some time, I think. They probably think al-Omari is mad as a bat for putting her in the Ministry."

"Now... this Goreda, he just wants to do the same thing as Romescu, keep the place a third-world... hole so he can rule?"

"We believe that this Fein Goreda is trying, and failing, to do just that. Sadly, the peace and reunification conference has already commenced, and the Droskianishkians are insisting that Goreda be appointed as vice president, and, being halfway intelligent, we have no intention of allowing that to happen. Miss Levitt is quite the lady, and I’d fear for the Droskianishkians safety if she were involved. That being said, there is also the small matter of six million of these.” He pulled an Steyr Aug A3 in a light machinegun configuration from a case at his side.

The Republic Guard had plenty of small arms, with production rights for Kriegzimmer weapons and a thriving civilian arms market. The Admiral had intended to quietly ignore the offer rather than refuse it outright and insult the Ennuisians, but it seemed her hand had been forced.

"We have millions of guns in our nation," she said. "Most civilians own firearms in Kahanistan. I think we might be able to find a use for these, but I'm not the person you would talk to about infantry weapons."

If Adam was taken aback, he didn't show it.

"Ah, then you won't need them. I was under the impression that Kahanistan propper was still using AK variants, but I see I was mistaken. You have the list of ships, which ones would you like? Naturally, we'll need approval from your nation's head of state, but I see no reason to drag this out: your country needs the firepower."

"Twelve Glorious and all three hundred and fifty Alphas," said Nazmareh. "You can contact President Khalid bin Abdullah al-Omari, but I don't see him disagreeing. He'll probably be mad at me for not taking all of the dreadnaughts, until I mention the maintenance costs to him."

Admiral Andrei spoke up.

"Admiral, I applaud your choice, though I must insist that you take some escorts as well. While Super Dreadnoughts, as you probably know, are strong, they are not impregnable. I'd recommend the Comberth class; they are among the best air-defense vessles ever made. I must also stress that this is a one time deal: after this meeting, the ships that aren't going to be donated to Lerasia are going to be sold for scrap."

"We have escorts, imports from Isselmere," said the Admiral. "Destroyers and a few cruisers, heavy battleships, attack submarine pickets... We can't integrate too many ship classes into our forces, especially since we can't maintain Skyian designs, our relations with the Silver Sky are fairly... bad. We won't likely be able to get parts for those ships when they wear down."

"The only things I can see us needing are good stealth bombers. The Macabean bombers we have are good, but so expensive we can't field more than a few dozen."

“I apologize, we do not have stealth aircraft that we can get rid of. Admiral, how soon can we have a preliminary deal up?”

Admiral Andrei smiled.

“Tonight, sir. I’ll have my command staff go over the Glorious class ships, and we’ll pick the twelve best conditions.”

“Excellent. Admiral Nazmareh, the price will be a million a ship; so 362 million, along with 1 gold Shekel each. Does that sound fair? We’ll naturally require that Valens sign any deal, but we can have ships ready as soon as you can get enough crew here. I’ll have some of the Ennuisian Maritime Navy sailors train them in use over the course of a week before they make sail, and for another two weeks after that.”

"President al-Omari," said Nazmareh. "Valens is missing in action from the Doomani invasion, presumed dead. I'll ask him to sign off on the deal, but I don't see a lot of opposition to it."

"Legally, though, I could simply ask the Navy to send a few hundred million of its budget," she said. "But I always consult with the President before authorizing procurement, though he generally defers to me." President Khalid bin Abdullah al-Omari was the first President in over 50 years to have no military record.

"Please, take your time! We are just glad to get rid of them; they've been taking up harborspace since we upgraded to several Skyian designs. As soon as President al-Omari signs off on the deal, they'll be yours. We'll even provide the Champagne to break on the hulls. Speaking of which, care for a drink?" An aide brought over a bottle of vodka, and poured four shot glasses.

"Shalom" said Adam, before downing the drink.

"Not all of us are Jewish," said Nazmareh. "I myself am a Zoroastrian. In fact, with massive immigration from other countries, our Jewish population is down to about twenty percent."

"But the same sentiment... shalom," said the Admiral, taking a sip. She did not wish to become intoxicated at the meeting. She pulled out her cell phone. "Mind if I ask the President here?"

"Indeed, peace through superior firepower as the saying goes. By all means, there are repeaters all over the building. We'll leave if you want."

"Thank you," said the Admiral. Without waiting, she dialed the President's number; secrecy was not essential as far as she was concerned.