NationStates Jolt Archive

With the war against the Undershi practically over the Infinite Empire had turned to the more pressing matters of trying to feed the billions of people now under its care and restore the infrastructure that would allow them to be self-sufficient once again. Supply shipments had replaced munitions loads and container trucks had replaced tanks as the main vehicle on the roads but there was of course still a state war existing between Yallak and the Undershi Empire and that would need to be dealt with soon.

Many miles North of the enormous Southern City was a small town which although insignificant in its own right had been the sight of a major battle, a battle that the Empire considered a crucial victory. Periodic bolts of lightning streaking down from the black sky cast an eerie illumination across the vicinity of the towns remains revealing barely a handful of standing buildings among the ruins. One structure, a medium sized house, was astonishingly untouched considering the widespread devastation around it and it was here that several of the militaries highest-ranking officers were now gathering.

‘Very good,’ replied the Imperial officer in command of the Empire’s 4th Legion, General Kellarn Dortrean into his communicator before abruptly ending the conversation and returning the device to his belt.
‘Lord Caracas has arrived,’ he said, this time to another General, Lujayne Forge of the 5th Legion, who sat next to him on one side of a simple dinning table. She gave a small nod of acknowledgement to his statement. Next to her an empty seat was waiting for Caracas while across the table were three more empty seats awaiting their own occupants.

Apart from them the dusty and slightly damaged room was otherwise empty. Guards and even a tank were positioned throughout the town, a few were on station within the inside of the house but there were none within the meeting room itself. They were nothing more than a precaution though, because any real threat to the officers would be hundreds of miles away at the closest. Half of the reason this town had been chosen for the meeting was for the ease of security - the only people left in the area who weren’t Imperial soldiers would be corpses, everyone else had been relocated to Southern City. The second reason was for the fact that the Undershi forces here had been badly beaten. The Empire wanted this fact to weigh heavily in the minds of the people attending this secret meeting, for the extra seats were set aside for the arrival of the Undershi delegates.

OOC: Nowhere near as good as I was hoping but didn't have as much time as I planned to work on it. I'll have another post tomorrow setting some background to why the meeting was arranged. You can reply straight away though as that post will be SIC and have no effect on what you can post).

David Rosch of the Undershi Ministry of Foreign Affairs cursed his career choice to himself as he walked through the ruined streets. his friend and colleague, Daniel Lee, seemed equally lost in thought. The area they were passing through had seen fierce fighting - an outnumbered battalion of the Undershi 91st Second Line Infantry had tried their best to hold this town, and had done admirably. They'd been courageous, heroic... and they'd died. The bodies were even now being stacked for mass burial by Yallak soldiers. They'd held here against forces eight times their size, until bullets and power and fuel and, in the end, hope were all exhausted. But they had not been beaten men when they died. They had fought on until death, and in the end had only lost the ground they had held because dead men cannot hold ground. Reports had said that no prisoners had been taken. It was easy to believe something like that, when one saw the devestation first hand.

These two Undershi diplomats had been chosen to go and negotiate a cease fire, and perhpas a peace treaty. They could understand the need to do so, it was clear from the news they were recieving about the war with the NPE that Undershi could not affoard to have another front open up. So they needed to make peace. And make peace they would. Undershi could not win if it chose to begin this fight again, that much the half-a-million Undershi dead showed. Every man was needed now, so nothing but peace was possible.

The terms they were prepared to offer were simple, but clear:

That the Islandic League was now clearly the province of the Empire of Yallak,
That Undershi would renounce all claim therein,
That the Undershi troops still holding out in their tiny pocket in the farthest southwestern reaches of the main island would withdraw leaving all infastructure intact,
And that all other Undershi forces left in the League would withdraw and leave the infastructure intact as they left.

Simple terms. He hoped they would be accepted.

Hey. Working on my next posts now but I don't have alot of time until the weekend at the moment, so sorry if you have to keep waiting several days between my replies.

Hey. Working on my next posts now but I don't have alot of time until the weekend at the moment, so sorry if you have to keep waiting several days between my replies.

No problem. I can wait.

OOC: I assume my intrusion won't be rejected, 'cause, y'know, I wuz de invaded party.

IC: The devastation was immense. The hyperdelicate economy of the League, relying on the vast kelp farms and food imports to keep the nation running had been shattered, and, even now, only Yallakian aid packages fed most of the people in Southern City.

Southern City had been a great battleground - half a billion people, one of the largest sprawling cities in the world. Or at least, it had been. Only a fifth of that remained, hundreds of millions of refugees streaming from the cities, some killed by the occupation, others killed as Undershi janissiaries, and even more dead from starvation, through mismanagement.

Corpses were piled on the roads, having been shot for trying to escape. While the effect of the occupation on the rest of the League, having been far more decentralised, was barely noticeable - the Northern League had recovered in quick form, and the southern isles had never been occupied in the first place.

Southern City, though, once the economic hub of the nation, was a barren ruin. Thousands of suburbs lay ruined and empty, gangs roaming them, looting and pillaging - there were not enough soldiers to keep order. The prevailing mood, however, screamed revenge against the Undershi.

Nevertheless, the population had swelled once more, and one-hundred-fifty-million people lived in Southern City once more. The mines were, for the most part, unworked, and what had once sparked jealousy among the world with the skyscrapers that reached up into the clouds was now shattered and broken. The centre of the city was abandoned, and the seaside area of the megalopolis was inhabited.

All this was fairly irrelevent, however, to the political realities of the situation. Yallak was indeed a mighty nation - many times more powerful than the Undershi, but they were unlikely to commit many more young men to die in order to destroy the Undershi. No, the Undershi had been beaten back, and, Mayor Iun suspected, that would be all that would happen.

Many changes had been made since the League had existed. Out of one-fifty million people, a full quarter of those were militia members, with their own rifles. If Southern City were invaded again, it would be turned into a charnel-house before the citizens would allow new occupiers take over.

Where the cost to both Yallak and Undershi had been high, the cost to the League had been tenfold. A nation of almost seven billion people, it was now a nation of six. Starvation, occupation, and flight were to blame for that. A full seventh of the nation gone, and, although the birthrate had shot up - at almost four point three babies per woman, the highest ever recorded, it would be a long time before the nation recovered, if it ever really could.

Mayor Iun looked over Sector Fifty-Three A. Once called Nishun, it was now another uninhabited area, where gangs and looters resided. He was here to begin the restoration of the area. Southern City still had many intact homes, and resettling people there seemed to be the easiest thing to do. They were far easier to keep an eye on, and the law could be kept there.

He was awaiting a reply he had sent to the Yallakian government yesterday. A simple one, but, as mayor of over one hundred million people, he felt he had a right to know.

Will the war end?

OOC: Damn. My monited died. I had to connect my computer just to my sisters monitor just so i could finish this post and get it up. I can only use mine now when shes not using hers now so that could make the delays abit more annoying. Sorry, I'll do my best to reply as fast as I can though.

No problems with your entering HT. I'll have a reply for you hopefully on tuesday.

The Imperial City of Arrandin, Capital of the Infinite Empire
Two days earlier

When one cogitates winter throughout the lands of the Empire they would instantly think of freezing temperatures, icy winds and depending on location possibly even rain, snow, ice or a combination of all three. This one was no less severe. In fact, it may even have been harsher than usual and no doubt the reason why the typically busy capital of the entire Empire was comparatively deserted. Anyone who didn’t urgently need to leave his or her home found it preferable to stay indoors.

For the Emperor, this was not such an issue because he lived, worked and had everything he required inside the Palace and yet not even the depths of the Imperial Palace seemed impervious to the particularly bad weather today. Of course, that could merely have been a product of his own imagination Balor had decided eventually, brought on by the fact that he sat alone within the sizeable and, apart from the furniture, empty High Council Chambers.

Well, technically alone anyway. In the center of the ornate council table was a silver metallic disc protruding out just higher than the table itself. The outer rim of the device surface bore the Imperial motto inscribed around its circumference in Yallakian runes while in the very center sat a small and opaque glass hemisphere. From this sphere was projected a foot high holographic image of Supreme Commander Dagon, however this ethereal representation glowed a diffused blue which only served to remind the Emperor of the icy conditions.

‘There has been no major engagement with the enemy for the past twelve hours at least,’ confirmed the Commander, continuing on with his latest report of activity within the Islandic League. ‘The Undershi are falling back on every front.’

‘That probably has something to do with this new CA/NPE conflict they’ve gotten involved in,’ interjected the Emperor. His voice betrayed a slight hint of amusement at the fickle logic of the Undershi leaders.

‘No doubt,’ agreed Dagon, ‘yet they will still not go quietly in any circumstance. They are fierce fighters but I think they have suffered more than we have. Never the less casualties have been mounting. Yesterday we were forced to temporarily combine the 8th and 13th Legions into a single unit because neither had the strength or capacity left to act as an independent force in this war. They are moving south to link up with General Vallon’s forces now who a preparing to attack the significant Undershi presence that is currently holed up in the Southwest of the main island. I believe he said the operation was scheduled to begin in about seventy two hours.’

‘Three days?’ Balor queried.

‘Yes. Is there a problem?’

The Emperor smiled. He was beginning to feel a little warmer now, something to do with that inner contentment one gets when everything seems to fit into place. ‘No. In fact that’s perfect. But before then I want someone, no I want Caracas, to arrange to speak with these Undershi. They have proven a resilient and formidable people and it would be better to have such a race available for our disposal than dead. I’m sure he can persuade them to see the better option too.’

‘So shall I order the cancellation of the offensive my Lord?’ asked the Commander.

‘No,’ responded Balor coldly, ‘defiance must meet with a swift end, lest they become a problem we must deal with again in the future.’

Dagon bowed his head in the typically Imperial fashion. ‘Consider it done, my Lord.’ Then the hologram flickered and vanished.

Current Day

The soldier saluted sharply and then waited for an acknowledgement from one of the Generals before he spoke. ‘They’re here.’ His message was short a simple, there was no need for anything more and no Yallakian would want that to be different. Why use two words when one would do?

‘Then see that they find the way here, Corporal. And make sure they have no weapons.’

The man saluted again and turned to leave. As he turned left out of the doorway a voice called out from behind. ‘Or anything that explodes!’

Negotiation Site

David Rosch grimly endured the Yallakian soldier's prodding and probing, as did his colleague Daniel. They knew they were not here as conquerors to dictate terms... but rather as... well, they were not conquered, but they were definitively beaten. They'd been heavily outnumbered to begin with - there had only been one million True Undershi soldiers in the entire League, and they'd held off and hurt a much larger force for longer than had seemed possible.

But now was the time to negotiate. Fully half of those million heroes were already dead, and the Undershi Empire could hardly affoard to lose another half million of its finest sons.

The rituals of security complete, David was allowed to meet his Yallakian counterpart.

His first act was to stiffly recite the conditions given to him by the ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Nothing radical. The Undershi troops would withdraw from the entire league, leaving infastructure intact as they went. Undershi would acknowledge what was already basically fact and accept that the League had new masters and they were Yallakian. That was what he was supposed to begin negotiations with. Any deviations... well, he was approved to deviate, which was rare for an Undershi diplomat. His main goal was clear enough, though... he had to get those five hundred thousand True Undershis out intact, and as quickly as possible. That was his goal. He only hoped he could accomplish it.

Undershi Hold-Out Pocket: Southwestern Islandic League

Abdul Whitman knelt in a shell crater, watching the enemy move its tanks and troops into position for the final crushing blow both sides knew was coming. He shivered a little, remembering desperate fighting in Southern City, when they'd fought house-to-house. He remembered taking on a Yallak tank all on his own, leaping from cover behind it as a 20mm auto-cannon position supressed its infantry protection. He'd tossed a satchel charge right under its turret, then ran before the explosion. It had been like that a lot, desperate fighting, suicidal attacks. It was a miracle he was still alive. Each moment was a miracle... but he wasn't sure he wanted that many more miracles. He had always been at peace with the idea that he could die. Every True Undershi was like that. No, it wasn't death that frightened him. He was not afraid, not really at any rate. No, he was in pain, pain from the wound in his side he'd taken as he fought three Yallakian soldiers hand to hand with his combat knife in one hand and an entrenching tool in the other. Pain in his mind, from the long retreat and the slaughter he had seen along the way... he was tired, more than afriad. He was more tired than afraid, more tired than in pain to be honest. He didn't want to fight any more. Not because he disliked fighting especially, but because he had had too much of it, and now merely wanted to lay down and rest.

He closed his eyes and dreamed... but there were few pleasant moments in his life. From age six on he had been a soldier of one sort or another, well, either than or a soldier in training. He remembered his mother, smilling as he left home for the training camps at age six. That had been the last time in his life when he had felt protected or loved. He had seen his family only a few times after that... but he'd never really connected.

His father had been a soldier, had fought in the Paxtonite War. He remembered listening to the stories his father told him. Of how he'd driven his Viper IFV over Paxtonite protestors as they'd lain in the street in a human chain. They'd mostly dispersed after the Viper had plowed its way through the bodies of their comrades, but a few had still stayed, weeping and refusing to move, until some officer had had some Occupation Police shoot them. All the stories he'd ever heard had to do with war and violence. He wondered, for a brief few seconds if there could be a life without such things. He doubted it very much indeed.

He glanced over his shoulder - a Dragon assault gun, one of the worst examples of Undershi gigantism ever invented, was waiting behind the military crest of the hill, its 500mm gun silent. To its left, a squad of infantry waited, dug in with the muzzles of their heavy weapons defiantly pointing in the direction from which their annihilation would soon come.

He hoped it was quick - he was tired, and he wanted to reach the empty blackness he'd been told waited in death as soon as possible. A life without pain might not be possible, but an ending of them in death... that seemed entierly possible. He hoped it was.

The Imperial City of Arrandin, Capital of the Infinite Empire

The Undershi occupation and its subsequent forceful removal had made certain that any attempts to maintain the League would be difficult at best. Problematic was probably a more appropriate term. Even with a full seventh of the League’s population deceased, the complete loss of the local food resources meant that the Infinite Empire was now having to feed virtually fourteen billion people on a infrastructure only used to catering for seven and a half billion. It was becoming quite draining.

The Imperial government had begun siphoning any excess foodstuffs from its protectorates and had commenced importing sizeable provisions from its allies in Mediterranica yet for all that it still meant that there was beginning to be slight decrease in the food available for distribution throughout the Empire. While irritating, the Yallakian people had yet to become disgruntled at the situation – their mood was being upheld by the imminent victory they knew was coming against the Undershi.

The Emperor knew that such favourable outlooks on the circumstances would not last though. And it became more apparent as he sat reviewing the most recent trade and resources report. The minor shortage of food would build up into a significant famine if the situation continued for too long. But that was not something that he had to worry about now, even if the Imperial Senate kept reminding him of the urgency of the problem every time he spoke with them as engineers had already been dispatched to get the League’s kelp farms operational again and once done that should be enough to put food production into the surplus. For now he had to answer the rather bizarre question from one Major Iun. Will the war end? Of course, he would see it to its end whatever that would be but as for when, where or how, that was a simply a matter of chance, power and politics.

Official Imperial Transmission
To: Major Iun, Islandic League
From: The High Council of Arrandin

Rest assured my good Major, this time of war is almost over now. The Undershi menance which has been the cause of so much devastation has been driven almost to the sea. One more kick and they will be finally cast from the League once and for all.

So for now, worry about restoring a decent level of living conditions back to your people. If you have any further concerns or queries then you can contact your local garrison commander or the overseeing Legion General and they will be able to provide you with whatever assistance or answers you may need.

Signed
Lord Balor

OOC: Reply coming for you later on today/tommorrow for you Undershi

Imperial Frontline: South-western Islandic League

‘I’m not interested in hearing how many batteries are in position so far, Colonel,’ shouted Captain Aetius Valiir through his communicator to one of his officers, ‘I want ALL of them in position! Every gun that can still fire must be moved up to the frontline for tomorrows attack. Understand?’

He terminated the conversation without waiting for an answer. He wasn’t angry with the man though; after all, the Colonel was carrying out his orders in a flawless fashion and had still made time to call in a report. It was other factors that had instigated the yelling. Most obviously was the noise, the strident rattle of churning tank tracks, the deafening chorus of hundreds of roaring vehicles driving past him as he supervised the arrival of the eighth and thirteenth legions, all forcing him to talk louder simple to so he could hear himself. Then there was the frustration. He had survived unharmed throughout the war, unscathed after countless battles of varying intensity, viciousness and desperation leaving a trail of Undershi dead behind. That had been up until his last battle a few days ago though, where enemy shells had fallen down amongst his unit. The first few had been perfectly placed and the force of one explosion had blasted his helmet right off and sent him hurtling into the crumbling remains of a building. He remembered recovering quickly, leaping right into action and ordering his men forward at the Undershi positions but after that he remembered nothing. The next salvo had torn another building to shreds just ahead of him and a metal fragment from the detonation had found its mark slamming into his chest before bouncing of his armour and slicing a deep gash upwards across his chin and cheek. The next hit brought about unconsciousness. He had awoken later to find himself being treated by the unit’s medic, the battle already over.

The wound still stung and that kept Aetius in a particularly bad mood. He made to scratch at it but refrained when he remembered the medic specifically urging him not to touch the stitches. Instead he picked up his rifle, which lent against a tree and headed towards the road. The last of the arriving vehicles were now passing and he would need to get a ride with one of them back to the front. He waited for the chance to get some revenge on the Undershi with his own artillery strike, one that he hoped would leave the ground filled with craters, craters that would then be bombarded to have their own craters. The only thing that was stopping him was the order from command not to fire at the Undershi unless given direct orders from General Caracas. He didn’t know why and that made it all the more irritating, but he would obey and patiently await the chance to repay his enemies for the embarrassment he felt at completely missing that last battle.

Negotiation Site

The trio of Generals listened with fascination as the Undershi diplomat listed off the terms of their peace proposal. This hadn’t been what they were expected from such a formidable enemy, perhaps they had overestimated the will of the enemy to fight. That or perhaps they simply no longer felt the League was worth fighting for and the troops were needed elsewhere. Caracas knew well of what had transpired between the Undershi Empire and the nation of Kampfers. The Infinite Empire had been asked to assist by keeping the very soldiers the Undershi now wanted to withdraw tied up. And they could, the current state of affairs meant they could keep those soldiers here indefinitely or dead. But the Kampferian government had failed to realise that the Empire cared little for wars that had no bearing on it or its allies.

‘Is that so?’ he asked when Rosch had finished. He didn’t give the man the opportunity to respond. ‘Well, that is all well and good but I’m afraid the Empire wants something more from the Undershi.’

He held out his hand to General Kellarn who placed a couple of pages of paper in it. Without looking at them himself he slid the documents over to Rosch along with a silver pen he took from his chest pocket. As he spoke again his eyes focused in on the Undershi diplomat. It was not a threatening stare but it would make anyone at least question themselves very well about whether or not it would be a good idea not to agree with him.

‘In addition to the terms you have provided here the Empire will require two additional conditions for the safe passage of your soldiers out of the league. One, that they be unarmed, handing all weapons and equipment over to the Imperial military. And two, that the Undershi Empire signs that non-aggression pact which I have just handed to you thereby agreeing to a permanent peace between themselves and Yallak and its protectorates.’

If they accepted then this day could very well be the beginning of something good, because the Emperor had a plan for the future of the Empire and the Undershi.

The Undershi diplomats hesitated for a moment, then David replied:

"Certain equipment currently being used makes use of very new technology, and so we would prefer to destroy it rather than handing it over. Other than that, we feel we should accept your offer." He seemed a little shaken by this, as though making this agreement was painful.

‘Do you seek to test my patience, Undershi? You are in no position to resist should….’ There was a pause and Caracas exchanged a few brief, whispered words with General Forge before continuing, ‘Very well then, if you tell me specifically what you wish to destroy rather than hand over I will consider it. The Undershi have proven to be a formidable people worthy of our respect so I will grant you this concession.’

David nodded, then explained:

"We would destroy a Dragon Mobile Fortress - it is one of only sixteen Undershi has made so far, and we would not like for it to fall into foreign hands. That is all. Other than that, we accept your terms."

‘That is acceptable to us,’ answered the General contentedly. ‘If you would then sign the documents before you,’ he persisted, motioning to the papers which he had previously given David, ‘we can finally conclude this state of hostilities between us.’

David nodded, and leaned in, signing the documents. Peace was at hand. The half-million Undershi soldiers left in the Islandic League would be able to return home, to fight again, this time in defense of their homeland. It was a good result, all things considered. A very good result.

A thin smile crept onto Caracas’ face as the diplomat signed the documents. Everything had fallen into place well. The Undershi had other battles to fight, and so did the Empire. This peace would now ensure that the remainder of the Islandic realm survived relatively intact and that in turn would make it far easier to alleviate the food problem.

‘Very well gentlemen. If you’ll excuse me now, General Kellarn here will help you make the arrangements for turning over your equipment.’ He stood and moved out behind his chair. ‘The Imperial Government will in touch with you at a later date.’ With that he left. There were other battle at hand and they would not wait for him.

OOC: I guess this is the end?

David nodded, and went off to see to the exchange. The Undershi soldiers would be where they were needed, Undershi would be able to survive... but he could not help but feel a touch of shame at his actions - to surrender ground... that was not something an Undershi did lightly. But he had done it. It had needed to be done.

OOC: Pretty much. Well, except for my military scientist who will spend the next few weeks 'playing' with their new undershi toys.

OOC: Pretty much. Well, except for my military scientist who will spend the next few weeks 'playing' with their new undershi toys.

OOC: Alright, in that case you get a couple hundred Drake MBTs, some Viper IFVs, tons of grenades, grenade launchers, 20mm auto-cannons and 2mm, 3mm and 4mm rail guns. Plus artillery. Stats are available for the Viper and the artillery - the Drake stats need to be cleaned up from how I originally wrote them up (when I was young and stupid), but if you like I can post the stats for it and for all the other stuff I mentioned, here to this thread.

That would be good thanks.

Alright, the stuff on the Viper etc. is available in the Undershi Military thread, I'll provide a link:

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=488008&highlight=undershi

As for the Drake, it'll take me a while to fully update - I'll post its stuff when I do.