NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: Originally posted in response to BG's latest moves, but I decided to post a new thread because the post got crazy long. My time online is limited a bit because of college applications (God, I can't wait to be finished!). Anyway, in return to grand British growliness:

IC:
The British Americas

Soviet buildups in Latin America do not go unnoticed, and indeed are mirrored by a commensurate buildup of regular army troops. However with regiment after regiment deployed to Africa in what is rapidly becoming a catch-22 between Soviet domination and League brutality, the available forces were stretched thin indeed. So the militia levies went out, the Territorials were called up, and Britain prepared for what seemed to be a war.

Nobody wanted it. The Indians, for all their bluster, had proven reasonable and forgiving, even the mercurial Commonwealth. Relations with the Union were on the mend, arms deals and joint diplomatic operations flying fast and furious between London and Bombay— Mumbai. In the Americas, the problematic Anarchan communes seemed content to dissolve peacefully rather than spark an orgy of violence that such lawlessness tended to provoke. Their people had been turning inward, content with their largely peaceful way of life and preparing to stand down from their Peoples' militias. Conflict between the Communes and the Roycelandians seemed unlikely at best, and British officers and civilians breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Relief, that is, until a series of fulminating speeches by Graeme Igo and Comrade-General Aidatorix seemed poised to start a war with the entire world.

Buenos Aires, perhaps the most fortified city in the Americas despite its laying to waste nearly a year ago, opened its arsenal of L1A1 SLRs and L85A1s to the newly formed British American Territorial army (inevitably shortened to 'Bats'). The Bats were a scratch militia force, formed from Aireans, St. Paulies and Rivereans who were, by and large, as proudly British as the next fellow. Or if not proudly British, at leas proudly Australasian, and that would do in a pinch. Poorly trained and led by soldiers of widely varying quality, they exercised in the jungles of Brazil and the Pampas of British Argentina. Artillery fire from early-postwar field pieces shook the plains, and Brazilian Bats took their cues, perversely enough, from the Vietnamese Communists who had fought a long and crippling war in their own jungles.

London

The Foreign Office was in an uproar. Christina Lloyd was living on Subcontinent time, her calls to the Supreme Soviet's foreign council constant and frustrating. She could only hope that the upcoming calls to Hindustan would be better. Damn Igo, anyway. She'd been making progress with India, slowly repairing the 'special relationship' between Mumbai and London while bringing— perhaps for the first time— Portmeirion into the fold. The investigation into the WIG's sinking of a month ago was still underway, but several heads had rolled for it and damages had been paid from the Kingdom's war chest. An apology— proud in the way that a Celt could understand— had gone from Parliament to Soviet, regretting the actions taken of late in the Mediterranean sea. Things, goddamn it all, had been looking up.

"Yes, I need to speak with the Foreign Office of the Union Parliament," Christina told the Indian governmental dispatcher.

Not so far away, Strathairn took an aspirin and bent to his work, composing a speech to answer those of Aidatorix and Igo. He scanned over it once again, snipping here and there, reading sections sotto vocce to himself.

It was a good speech, pretentious but in his own style. He'd accepted that some time ago, it was one of the things that made him good at his job. In many ways it was a speech that an academic would love best—most of his speeches were. Someone had told him, when he'd first made a name for himself criticizing Australasia's runaway public works spending, that he sounded like Winston Churchill without the grand topics of discussion. That was changed now, he thought ruefully, and there were worse wartime leaders to follow than Churchill.

Strathairn closed his laptop screen and his eyes. He lit a cigarette and took a long, slow draw, feeling the burn of smoke in lungs used to a milder cigar. He opened his eyes again and looked out the window, on busy streets in which he still did not feel at home. He almost wished that he could move the capital to Raleigh, but London had a sense of ancient power that he needed today, in giving this speech. He stood up, jammed his cigarette between his teeth, and marched purposefully from his office.

"Print me up a copy of the speech I emailed to you," he said to the secretary. "Have it to me in ten and notify the press that I'll be meeting them at Nelson's Column." It seemed a fitting place to deliver his ultimatum to the Soviets, at the feet of a man who gave his life to defeat a French fleet bent upon making Britain its prize. The French Revolution had ended in autocracy and imperial dreams, and so too seemed to be going that of India. It was a terrible shame, Strathairn thought privately, because he'd always admired the Geletian Celts and their commonwealth. It had been a brilliant experiment in governance, but it was failing so terribly and so it seemed that Britain and NATO would be picking up the pieces.

Thirty minutes later, Nelson's Column, Trafalgar Square

A Union Flag snapped in the autumn wind, and Strathairn buttoned another button on his woolen overcoat. His hair was tempted to fly away, but the obscene amount of fixative applied by his makeup people kept it in place. By his side, all of the Cabinet was arrayed, some thirty of the most powerful Royal Appointees in the Kingdom. The King was in evidence as well, standing to Strathairn's right and flanked himself by Queen Margaret Windsor, his wife of many years. Horse guards in evidence formed a cordon for the Royals and the government alike, preventing any assassination attempts and generally lending a military glitter to the proceedings. To his left, Christina smiled a tired smile at him. Coffee. He would need coffee after this, damn the British and their tea.

"Ladies and gentlemen, fellow British citizens, people of the world. I come before you in response to the statements made by the honourable Graeme Igo and Field Marshal Comrade General Aidatorix of the Fourth Indian Soviet Commonwealth. Let me firstly say that I believe— and that I will continue to believe until such time as the shooting may start— that the nations of this earth can live in peace. Indeed, we must endeavour to do so. Humanity, for the first time in its long and troubled history, prepares to embark upon a global conflict with weapons in hand that allow us to destroy all life on this planet. We are by nature a querulous race, we men and women, but we must overcome our nature to save us all the terrible threat posed by unrestricted war in today's world.

"In 1750, 1812, 1914 and 1939, we fought wars that could be termed global conflicts. Elements of armies European, Amerindian and Asian all took part in them, and few if any nations remained untouched by the conflict, but there was one difference then. In all these conflicts, however great the damage and terrible the suffering, the race itself was never in danger. Humanity, reduced and weary of fighting, would continue on. Today, this is not certain. Through our great scientific achievements that may one day lead us to the stars themselves, we have unlocked the secret to our own annihilation. For that reason alone, irrespective of all moral imperatives or concerns for the common good, we may no longer embark upon warfare in the same way. We must act only after reasoned thought, after the weighing of a thousand thousand deaths against the myriad dangers of not acting at all. No longer as innocent as we once were, the human race must learn how and when to fight, such that some of us, hopefully all of us, survive.

" In this sense, whatever the esteemed Graeme Igo and Field Marshal Aidatorix may choose to think, we are not his enemy. Nor are we the enemy of the people, by whom we are elected and for whom we serve. We are the enemies only of the tyrants, the militarists and the would-be imperialists. As the heirs to a long and not spotless history, we British are perhaps more acutely aware of the dangers of militarism than any other people. It was we who, in our honest belief that we were right and good to do so, brutalised and conquered Asia, Africa and North America. It was we who, in doing so, outlawed the cultural traditions that we thought were a danger to humanity, and thereby committed grave sins against those over whom we had no rightful control. We call ourselves the Second British Empire for a reason, we remember the wrongs of the first and exist today so as to ensure that they do not happen again.

"We seek no quarrel with India, but her Commonwealth seems to seek it with us. We have, in the past few months, embarked upon a long path to repairing relations between Britain and the Indias, and I think not without success. The Indian National Union has shown both forbearance and co-operation in diplomatic missions and trade initiatives, and the Commonwealth has been co-operative in the ongoing Mediterranean Incident investigation. This willingness to co-operate had me hopeful that the darkest days between our three nations were past, that we had come beyond the animosity of our doctrine to forge an understanding between market liberal, social democrat and anarcho-communist alike. Together our nations three could be a great champion of peoples' rights and human freedoms in this world. At war, two against one, we will only annihilate ourselves and destroy three great bastions of liberty. For I tell you all, annihilate each other we would. Britain is a proud land— surely the Geletian Celts remember this, if they dig deep enough within themselves and their doctrine. We will not be subjugated under an unwanted master, nor serve another nation's leaders.

"The State of Virginia has a motto, sic semper tyrannis, thus always to tyrants. It is a noble sentiment, and one which I affirm today. Britain is not the superpower that it was at the beginning of the last century, we cannot enforce our rule across the globe. Arguably, this is a good thing. However, we will fight to protect the dignity and freedom not only of ourselves, but of all people. We will not be threatened, we will not be cowed by superior military force. In 1939, our nation stood alone against a tyrant who wanted to remake the world to his own imaginings. If we are charged to do so, we shall again. Thus shall Britain always be to tyrants, be they great or small. My fellow British citizens, citizens of the world; know this: Britain will never seek war, will never fire first in anger. We will never again attack another nation with the goal of domination or subjugation, but we will defend ourselves against all who seek us harm. We will defend ourselves at home, and we will take the fight to those who attack us so that they may never do so again. All who see Britain as a weakened foe: it is true that we no longer rule an empire, and we seek none. But it is also true that Britain has not been conquered in nearly a thousand years of uninterrupted existence, though many have tried.

"We want no quarrel with the Indians, with the French, with any one state or collection thereof. But if with quarrel we are faced, we will fight until these islands of ours are blasted into the sea, until our empire is dust and our people are all dead. We British value our freedoms and our way of life. To bring us to our knees you must kill us all, and we have proven very difficult to kill. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you and good night. God save the King, God save the British people."

He felt Christina's small hand touch him on the back, a gesture of support invisible to the news cameras, and he was grateful.

Takêv, Republic of Cambodia

A lone Sirkeer ground-attack aircraft bore enough firepower to make the town's defences untenable, but owing to the pilot's inability to hold ground and establish order from a few hundred metres above, Vietnamese ground troops were still obliged to ride in aboard their newly-refurbished CICV-1 and 2 fighting vehicles. It almost went without saying that the nationalist Republican government was going to fall within days rather than weeks if nobody intervened. And, given just how bad an idea it has proven to fight the Vietnamese, not to mention the presence off-shore of several Soviet warships and submarines, that intervention would probably have to be in the form of some body's god if the raising of the state of Democratic Kampuchea were to be prevented.

Raipur, Soviet India

Strathairn's speech was, of course, not bad, it must have seemed. But the Soviet Indians, being the Soviet Indians, managed to find serious fault. Hardly had the Australasian finished speaking when commentators began to accuse the British of threatening the use of nuclear weapons against A and H bomb-lacking India.

Whether or not that had really been the Prime Minister's intention -and presumably it had not- it was excuse enough for revolutionaries who didn't really want to talk peace when they had convinced themselves of the dawning of the fabled final conflict between workers and bosses. The Commonwealth, though, found it difficult to out-right and officially inform the British of the total and global nature of their Igovian ambition. Nobody wanted to declare war on NATO before Plan Bola had secured India's most important ties and alliances, but everbody knew that the British, as capitalists, must be on the other side in this final world-war. Rather than provoke London so directly, Raipur was forced by its own momentum into ever decreasing diplomatic contact with the west. On the other hand, Raipur and Beijing had worked out an awkward mechanism for mutual trade and co-operation, and it seemed that there was little political or popular desire for a showdown with China. Whether this was some manner of Asian solidarity or the clearest sign of a preparedness to co-operate with less progressive states must be debatable.

Dhaka, Gana Prajatantri Banladesh (People's Republic of Bangladesh)

Desperately poor and struggling to modernise despite sustained efforts, Bangladesh had long been seen by Beddgelens as a needy and difficult little brother. But now, with 150 million people and more young and willing workers than available jobs, the People's Republic is increasingly appealing in Soviet eyes. Endemic corruption in Bangladesh dissuaded the Second and Third Commonwealths from really building on their friendly relationship with Dhaka as it frequently frustrated Igovian reform attempts, but the firm hand of the Supreme War Soviet is pushing that much harder. Sopworth Igo is in town to discuss further relations.

Already several thousand Bangladeshi troops have been offered to Soviet-lead multi-national forces fighting the Holy League in Africa, and the Bangladeshi air force now buys Golkonda fighters to replace its tired MiGs. But Sopworth wants labour to develop troublesome Bihar while so many Indian citizens go off to fight, and rice to feed communes that have given their sons and daughters up to the fight or the factory.The Supreme War Soviet has put to Dhaka a package of increased defence and economic co-operation and Soviet investment. Bangladesh was to be pursuaded, Raipur hoped, to accelerate Igovian market-simulation and democratic-Soviet reforms and to expel failed capitalist apparatus. A majority of Commonwealth citizens -and especially large majority amongst Geletians- feel that Bangladesh ought to have been incorporated into Beddgelen India in 1947, and, after it wasn't, that the People's Republic should have united with the Commonwealth in 1982. Whether Bangladeshis feel the same way is the subject of a Soviet study initiated by the Supreme War Soviet, which already claims that the Commonwealth's greater prosperity and lower crime and corruption are factors in this being the case. To the north a less high-profile Soviet delegation is meeting Nepali Maoist leaders to discuss Igovianisation of the mountain nation's revolution, which draws most of its support from Raipur and Mumbai and has no significant Maoist allies in the modern world.

Soviet India

Almost daily, now, India's space stations were conducting launches. New spy satellites as well as agricultural aids meant to assist the Commonwealth's economically deprived allies and potential lapdogs, and enough anti-satellite weapons to obliterate the Franco-Russian space presence.

More warnings, delivered through dramatic speeches rather than direct diplomacy, demand a halt to British satellite assistance to the Holy League, though British orbital assets are yet to be targetted directly. There is, however, increasingly little care taken to avoid leaving debirs in the path of British satellites, while pains are still taken where possible to avoid interfering with socialist and Chinese systems.The Supreme War Soviet meets regularly to discuss further militarisation, not yet put into effect, against the worrying possibility of war with NATO. It is suggested that the war effort might end up being worth some two trillion dollars yearly, equivalent to the GDP of the British home islands, but this is as yet a remote prospect and one liable to cause serious upset in the relatively deprived north of Soviet India. Either way, Auxiliary Corps personnel are receiving increasingly advanced training as hundreds of new tanks and fighter jets roll off production lines turning out billions of dollars in extra defence equipment.

Finally Mumbai and then Da'Khiem, Sithin, and Belgrade in their turn receive official word from Raipur on the Commonwealth's decision to enter the final conflict so often forewarned in bombastic Soviet doctrinal propaganda. The Beddgelens are now actively pursuing in the short term the communisation and decapitalisation of Africa, Asia, and South America, and diplomats warn that -despite an absence of Soviet plans to attack Europe or North America- they do not expect NATO to remain uninvolved for very long.

OOC: Seems to be you and me at the moment, eh? I have TGs out to much of NATO at the moment, but it could take several days to hear back. I should really be doing homework... but physics is a capitalist fiction. The world moves through the will of the people, not the will of invisible 'natural forces'. We should know. We have proof.

London

The Soviets, apparently unwilling to engage British diplomats or the Foreign Office alike, are not spared by the media. Labeled as 'warmongers' by the Times and 'neo-imperialist thugs' by the Guardian, it seems clear that Soviet propaganda has so far failed to cover for Soviet acts. Calls for the conquest of Africa are heard in London as well as the Progressive capitals, and the esteem in which Britain's unions once held the Commonwealth has essentially faded. In the public mind, Graeme Igo has joined with such as Stalin, Tito and Mao as an autocratic and expansionist ruler, rather than a champion of liberation.

For indeed, is it really liberation when one talks of 'communizing' Africa? And is that verb really different from the 'colonizing' with which Europeans preached their misplaced gospel two hundred years ago? Those British versed in history will recall that the imperialists of Victoria's reign sought only to save Africans from themselves, by converting them to Christianity and, in the process, borrowing a bit of their resources as an advanced 'thank-you' gift.

Geletians were men too. They could make the same mistakes.

This was made much of in the speeches that weekly, even daily occurred on the floor of Parliament. As in any nation faced with a bogeyman, the Second British Empire suddenly found itself united more than ever. The classes mingled and faced that which formed a threat to them, worker and entrepreneur alike. Men and women began to identify not as 'proletarian', 'Sikh', or 'barrister', but as 'British Citizen'. Sociologists at centres of learning remarked upon the quick rise of the 'siege mentality', apparently bubbling just below the cultural surface and brought to specific heat by the pressure of 'communization'.

After all, nobody believed that it would end in Africa. Not anymore.

That day, the territorial army was put on 'high alert' for overseas deployment. The recruiting sergeants began roaming slums, red light districts and classy urban areas alike, looking for those who would take Godfrey's shilling and fight for their country.

The response to India's satellite demand was terse:
Until such time as the Fourth Commonwealth disavows its naked territorial ambitions in the Americas, Africa and Asia, the United Kingdom will be unable to deny the League states what was taken from them by Indian weapons, and will continue to maintain the status quo ante bellum in space, neutral territory by all international agreements made to date. Space is the property of all mankind alike, not the playground of India. In the interest of status quo however, we propose a simple trade. Cease buildup in the former Neo-Anarchos, and we will cease supplying the League with intelligence.

The Supreme War Soviet is quick in pouncing upon London's focus on one particular territory targetted by revolutionary forces, and comrades in the Soviets put forward many theories, such as a supposed British desire to rebuild the empire with a focus on Latin America, where it already has one of its strongest footholds, or a still more focused push to monopolise petro-chemical resources taken back by the people of Venezuela. Others suppose that NATO, with so much of its strength clustered around the Anarchan communities, plans to cut-off the Commonwealth's chief source of fossil fuels in the event of any conflict.

Extremely frustrated by Britain's military aid to the Holy League -and claiming that London only dares to give it with the United States looming treaty-bound in the background- Raipur is beginning to explore alternative leverage, sending diplomats to South America to seek courtship of those who may feel that they have lost out by Britain's domination of the Malvinas -which Beddgelert has never previously called the Falkands- and of Buenos Aires.

In Central America, the Republic of Costa Paz -lying across the Quinntonian-run canal- which lost Igovian sympathy many years ago (for reasons that will be explained some day, when the Costa Paz RP gets moving again), also receives its first diplomatic contact from Raipur since the collapse of ties.

The resource situation

(In reference to your post on the off-site forum)

Indeed, as the British likely appreciate to some degree as they brace for record high energy prices, a large part of Soviet India's reasoning behind such a sharp rise in involvement with the fractious Anarchan communes is a desire not only to maintain but to expand the favourable relationship that has previously seen the Commonwealth acquire crude oil at less than quarter the price paid by capitalist firms and their agents in state. The apparent decline in the Anarchan population's faith in their casual and care-free ideal leaves a void that Raipur is absolutely committed to filling with Igovianism, the closest social, political, and economic form, relative to the Anarchan ideal, that has been clearly laid-out and shown to be effective in practice.

Today the easiest way for a Soviet Indian, it is said, to excuse oneself from active participation in the Militia Auxiliary Corps, is to take one's world-class education to Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, or southern Guyana and use it to improve the lives of the peasant masses by advising on public works or the re-organisation of slap-dash labour co-operatives into productive Soviets.

Closer to home Raipur is promising heavy investment in Bangladeshi natural gas, and in Africa the Commonwealth's interventions in the former UAR is in no small part driven by Colonel Tanko's control of the so-called copper-belt.

The sub-continent at large

The recent opening of Indo-Armandian borders has been followed within months by the apparent collapse of the Combine. Constance long wanted the fences torn down, but the result seems to hold up a mirror to the fall of the Berlin Wall as Armandian citizens flood from North Sienna into Jharkhand and the Chhattisgarhi Soviet State and fill the communes with rumours of political detentions and medical or military experiments on prisoners.

Graeme Igo is most vocal in his attempt to draw a propaganda triumph from these circumstances on several fronts.

First, he says, this is further proof of the failure of command economics in the long-term: Soviet India's market-simulation and worker-management appears to have trumped the Combine's centrally planned system. This Graeme weilds as a double-edged sword. First, he does not want the masses to forget that War Communism must not last forever. Second, it is a powerful tool by which to convince the Nepali Maoists and other revolutionaries of the supremacy of the Igovian model, and an almost unbelievably well-timed gift to the Soviet war effort.

In fact Graeme has given several speeches in recent months at Soviet and friendly socialist universities in which he directly implies that the decline of the Combine is the final sign heralding the final conflict between capitalism and socialism.

In addition Igo is able to contrast traditional, centralised Armandian communism with vibrant and liberal Igovian communism, and to thrust images of Armandian refugees and their tales of woe into the spotlight on the world stage as they come to the light of Soviet India.

Assam

Soviet involvement in Assam has traditionally been low-key, West Bengal was a priority. Now the princely state, estimated by Soviet demographers to be home to twenty nine million mostly destitute citizens, is of increasing interest. The Hindustani mission to Assam and related British interest has finally caught Raipur's attention, and with the weight of an on-form Graeme behind it a motion in the Soviets narrowly approves in-principle a co-operative mission involving not only Soviet and Union Indian but also British participation.

It is the Commonwealth's intention, perhaps, to show-up western propagandists by accepting their nations' involvement on the sub-continent on one of Soviet India's most ill-secured frontiers.

(OOC: Link to a map of India (http://www.nationsonline.org/bilder/map_of_india50.jpg) that seems especially clear and more or less up to date. Because I'm not sure how easily people remember the divisions, I'll clarify the Commonwealth's territorial extent.

Sri Lanka, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, and West Bengal consitute the Fourth Commonwealth, and Pondicherry is a semi-autonomous territory in which the Free French government recognised by Raipur is based, pursuant of a socialist Sixth Republic. The Maldive,s also visible on this map, are currently facing occupation by Soviet forces and it is unclear whether the nation will end up a Soviet State within the Indian Commonwealth or an independent Maldivian Commonwealth.
Armand's North Sienna is Uttar Pradesh.)

In response to the naked aggression of the citizens of Beth Gellert, the Quinntonian people can no longer stand by and wait for the inevitable attack to come. The time is now, and we will make a stand for what is right once and for all. Polls indicate that the Quinntonian and Mexican peoples are fully behind this (92%), and we need to act as one. I am calling up the first two tiers of reserves, and announcing immediate wartime economy. We now have a stated goal of defending any nation against Progressive aggression that asks, and will first move to dislodge the Progressive nations, especially the psychopathic Gelletians, from the continent of Africa in its entirety. We are recalling all of our diplomats that remain unarrested. We do not see much hope for a diplomatic option, but we will march forth with our allies in NATO to defend the right. That is all.

OOC-I am free as of Dec. 3.

tera square 9:30am

President of canine cavelry: my fellow Cavelryans,through much consideration i have decided to back up Gurguvungunit,i am curtain i am making the right decision,right now i am contacting the president of Gurguvungunit,i am sure he will choose to have our support.Thank you.

In response to the naked aggression of the citizens of Beth Gellert, the Quinntonian people can no longer stand by and wait for the inevitable attack to come. The time is now, and we will make a stand for what is right once and for all. Polls indicate that the Quinntonian and Mexican peoples are fully behind this (92%), and we need to act as one. I am calling up the first two tiers of reserves, and announcing immediate wartime economy. We now have a stated goal of defending any nation against Progressive aggression that asks, and will first move to dislodge the Progressive nations, especially the psychopathic Gelletians, from the continent of Africa in its entirety. We are recalling all of our diplomats that remain unarrested. We do not see much hope for a diplomatic option, but we will march forth with our allies in NATO to defend the right. That is all.

OOC-I am free as of Dec. 3.

Itssssssssssss ONNNN BIOTCHES!!!


Also, sorry this is a closed RP Canine cavelry although you are welcome to join if you want. We can always use support against the commies

OCC:Sure,id like to join

(Here is our membership thread, please post here to avoid cluttering up this thread)
http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=13191592

OOC: Damn, Jolt ate my really long post. Maybe I'll type it again sometime, but here's what I was going to talk about:

-Britain's ship production increases to wartime levels.
-A regiment is dispatched to Cyprus for possible duty in the Eastern Mediterranean.
-Submarine patrols increase in the Timor Sea, eastern Indian Ocean.
-Defensive buildup continues in Singapore.

OOC: Replacement post.
Barrow-in-Furness

The BAE Systems shipyard of Barrow-in-Furness was a zoo of submarines, partial submarines and large beige buildings, its dozens of cranes lifting tubular sections of hull from one assembly point to another. Men and women scurried about below, like ants skirting enormous logs of steel. The flashes of arc-welders lit the interior of BAE's many large assembly buildings, and a number of crates with fearsome looking warning labels stood under guard in a receiving area. They were the PWR2 nuclear reactors, provided by Rolls-Royce, perhaps the most sophisticated of their kind in the world.

On the shiplift that had replaced old slipways, HMS Attack was lowered into the water to the sound of cheers. Finished in record time and still lacking some of her nonessential systems, Attack was set to begin her shakedown cruise and then depart for Australia, where she would join Submarine Group F for a patrol circuit in the Timor Sea. Already in the building from which she had come, the next hull, that destined for HMS Archer, was already taking shape. Its multipart skeleton, currently lacking both engine block and electronics as well as much of the hull plating, was in the process of being welded together while beside it, one of the reactors was laboriously connected to the rest of the engine assembly. The remaining construction would take roughly a month, after which the sixth Astute class would set sail for parts as-yet unknown.

Barrow-in-Furness, like all shipyards supplying the Royal Navy, was hungry for manpower. Workers skilled and unskilled were offered tempting pay packages and benefits, as well as being enjoined to defend their homes by building the tools that Britain needed to secure its future. The government, for the first time in a long time, started buying television and radio announcements to the patriotic tune of 'save your aluminum, save your country', or 'fight the Reds, use less petrol!' Young men and women were urged to join up and 'fight for King and Country, fight for your future!' Suddenly it felt very much like 1939, the machines of commerce slowly regearing to become the machines of war.

Portsmouth

The deployment of 4th Division marked a change in British foreign policy as surely as its federation with the Free Colony. Battalions and regiments deployed during a time of peace, when widely spread armies with little available strength were permissible. Indeed, local strength was not necessarily to be desired, rather a wide effect that comes from spreading forces and supplies across a large geographic area.

The division was a unit of warfare. Three brigades, each composed of three battalions, formed the 4th. 14,000 men and women served under its standard. It took time to move such a division, a matter of weeks or months even with the assistance of nations such as the United States or Roycelandia. While the US Army could, in theory, deploy a division to any point on earth within a week, the estimate was far less optimistic for Britain's army. Moving the 4th to their new post in Cyprus would take three weeks, by last estimate, and would demand a significant portion of the Empire's transport capabilities.

If war came with the Soviet Commonwealth, Cyprus would be a vital location. It allowed quick deployment to most of Northern Africa, most particularly to the Suez Canal zone. Transportation would be on hand to provide that as necessary, and it was estimated that the 4th could be in Port Said in three days of hostilities' start. Following would be 3rd Division, which was in the process of gearing up and forming for departure. Horse Guards estimated that it would require a further two weeks, plus three weeks of deployment time, plus a few days here or there delayed by enemy activity. 4th would be on its own in Egypt for a while, barring assistance from NATO's forces in and around Africa.

That suited Major General David Nairn just fine. Commander of 4th Division, Nairn was a large, burly man with a barely controlled mop of grey hair that was strictly against army regulations. His service ribbons bespoke a long and storied career that stretched from Ireland to Vietnam and back again. In many ways the perfect commander for a cut-off force on another continent, Nairn's sensibilities tended towards those of his highland ancestors who terrified the English into submission with their huge swords. His idea of a good fight involved standing, unbuttoned, in the turret of a tank, leading a breakthrough spearhead against an entrenched enemy; or fighting to the last man behind a network of defensive trenches and pillboxes. His sort of soldiering was dead in many ways, but the role he planned to take in the possible war was indeed one that demanded heroism.

Timor Sea

The HMS Collins was no longer the premier submarine of a navy, nor even a particularly special one. Lacking AIP propulsion she was restricted to short bouts of silence and long, tedious snorkles to recharge her batteries. Such a cruise was no threat in peacetime, though, and the skipper of the Collins got her jollies while she could, as it were.

Commander Vera Harcombe liked standing on the sail, her back resting against a guardrail wet with sea-spray and her rapidly sunburning skin warm in the summer sun. She had a wonderful view of Sujava from here, looking now for all the world like an endless expanse of jungle, its trees unbroken by the cities of man. She scrunched up her nose as a drop of water alighted there, and blew it away idly. If the rumours were true, she wouldn't have much of a chance to stand on the Collins' sail and watch the world go by, not for the next few years. Her world would shrink down to a tiny, black steel tube beneath the ocean, a game of echoes and angles, of silence and stealth and the quick strike of a torpedo. A world of running, of lurking, of hunting and being hunted. The sun and the surface world would be her place of greatest danger, where her Collins would be at the mercy of fate while she recharged her batteries.

Harcombe shuddered, and not entirely with fear. Part of her was excited, thrilled by the possibility of war. Part of her— the part that had become a submariner— loved the idea of those long, quiet patrols and the trickle of pure terror that came with the word, 'contact'. Part of her wanted the hunt, wanted to stalk her invisible, nearly silent prey and be stalked in return. And it scared the rest of her, that part. Vera was not a person who reveled in bloodshed or in danger. She liked to curl up in a big chair with a book, or count the seabirds as they crossed overhead. She liked swapping gossip with the other captains in port, and emailing her girlfriends from university. Commander Harcombe, maybe, she was the killer. And really, she reflected, Vera was just afraid that somewhere in the next few months or years, Commander Harcombe would take over, would consume her and be all that was left come peace.

She shook herself again, forcefully. Damn it, this wasn't a way to start a war, not even a way to start an afternoon! She thrust herself away from the guardrail and ran a hand through her short, wet hair to clear some of the seawater from it. A few twists of the hatch and she was down, an awkward few moments on the ladder, close the top hatch and open the bottom, and she was through. Into the hull of her boat, in the nerve-centre of the Collins.

"Anything new on the radio, chief?" Her question was directed at the burly noncom sitting by the radio, only useful above the water. He shook his head and Vera turned in place—the conn was very small— to face her XO. "What's the status of our batteries?" Lieutenant Commander Peter Castleman was ready with the answer, as he always was.

"Full charge, ma'am." He was one of the few officers not from the Colonies, his precise upper-crust London accent strange amongst the twangs of his Australian comrades and the drawls of the few from British South America. Vera nodded and consulted her folded orders, kept safe from the sea-spray by her breast pocket. She perused them for a moment.

"Right then. Officer of the Deck, make your course north-northeast and prepare to submerge. Twenty-five degrees down-bubble."

"North-northeast aye. Twenty-five degrees down-bubble aye."

"Helm answers North-northeast, dive control answers twenty-five degrees down-bubble aye." Vera felt the deck begin to tip beneath her feet, ever so gently, and heard the ring of the dive bell. The rush of feet, the clank of hatches shutting, the sputter of the diesel-electric as it died. She chewed the inside of her lip, a nervous habit from her academy days, and ran over her orders in her head.

The Powers that Be were concerned about Soviet (Vera mentally substituted 'enemy', considering the way things were going) shipping to the other Progressive powers and had determined that the Timor Sea, as well as the Malacca Strait, were high-volume traffic areas for their convoys. She was to patrol the Timor Sea in the company of other assets 'both submarine and surface' to attempt to delay and harass the Soviets' transport abilities. Obviously were the Strainists to enter the war, her job would be to enter Indonesian waters and sink anything that moved, accompanied by a dozen other submarines as well as constant strikes by aircraft. The drive to maintain sea supremacy would start with the first shot and would end when the Soviet navy was sunk, she reflected, reading between the lines of her orders. The last lines seemed portentous, somehow, as skimmed them again in her mind's eye.

'Any targets of opportunity are to be pursued with extreme prejudice. Unnecessary loss of civilian life is to be mitigated as much as is possible considering the situation.'

Vera felt a trickle of fear, and a spark of excitement. Not so long, now. Not so long...

OOC: I don't mean to get into another economic debate but this how I see things going for Germany.

The Vaterland a Frenzy of Activity

German ports, such as Wilhelmshaven, were bustling with activity as all kinds of ships and sizes were coming together. The modernization of the Carrier Fleets was almost complete as Type 212A's were completed and slipped off the dock into sea. U33 and U34, Type 212A submarines, were within a week of completion and by the end of the week they were to sold to Britain. Cheaper export models were also being assembled for export and large numbers of the subs were in the initial stages of construction.

Large mountains of steel and iron, such as Ebeleben and Eisenach Frigates were being painted and test. Soon they would be completed, and with their sisters soon the German navy would once again be feared. At an earlier time Britain and Germany competed for naval supremacy and this was true today as ports all over Britain and Germany were frantic with activity. National pride was at stake and Germans were eager to prove that they could build bigger and better warships more quickly than their close ally. Production quotas were compared with Britain as Germans showed off their capabilities.

The same was true for aeronautical production as planes were being rapidly being completed. Pilots were being trained at joint NATO training facilities as the allies continued to produce second to none fighter pilots. Additional pilot academies were being built and space from the military bureaucracy was allocated to allow more German pilots to be produced to fly the increasing number of planes being produced.

The German logistical system was also being expanded as both foreign and domestic demand accelerated. The increased difficulty in procuring raw materials also pushed demand as it production in Africa became increasingly disrupted by the conflict. German companies all over Africa were becoming increasingly panicky and were moving operations and assets away from the fighting. British territories in Africa found themselves booming as German companies fled to secure locations to do business. German companies worldwide were looking for stable locations and many were moving to South America to tap into more oil. While the Soviets likely experienced numerous shortages resulting from blatant fiscal overmanagement of the economy, the capitalistic system strengthened from the instability in Africa and increased prices for oil. Capitalism once again increased its stranglehold on the world's economy. Other forms of energy developed in response to the increased demand and decreased world supply. Solar, wind power continued to accelerate in Germany, rivaling the enormous amount of wind, solar, and nuclear power in the Fourth Commonwealth.

The large booming military production increasing put a crunch on what was increasing becoming a shortage of skilled workers. But Germans were proud and patriotic and wanted to work hard for their motherland. And the government kept them happy and paid out billions in more money to their workers. But the government took back almost as much in increased tax revenues from the increased German prosperity. Although billions of dollars went into Portugal and Depkhazia, this could help Germany's worker shortage as citizens in those countries were recruited to Germany.

Britain, of course, was offered the use of German planes and ships which had helped to transport 50,000 Germans to Cyprus.

Again, the Germans would be disappointed as Soviet India surfed on a tide of petrochemicals during another global energy crisis.

Continued small-scale exploitation of the Commonwealth's couple of billion barrels of crude continued as ever, often now with Bangladeshi labour replacing Indians gone off to train for war. Both crude and processed fuels came back from Libya despite a couple of recent but easily absorbed losses accredited to Italian submarine activity. Some purchases had been made lately in Angola, where Igovians were now somewhere between helping the collapsing African Commonwealth to maintain its former stranglehold on the territory and outright replacing them with a view to barring exports to the capitalist nations as had already been done for the feudalists.

Far more important than India's five or so billion barrels in domestic reserves, Libya's socialist-controlled forty-odd billion, or Angola's perhaps soon to be monopolised five billion plus, quarter of a trillion Anarchan barrels sell to the Soviets at a quarter the price paid by the capitalists on their precious free market, and on to Igovian allies at still significant discounts.

Soviet military industry too was working hard, presently making German and British efforts appear as a cruel joke, so far inferior were their capacities at this early stage to the War Communism of the Soviet economy. "Next year, certainly by the year after, if we have not already worn them out or starved them of resources" an excitable Sopworth virtually bellows to listeners at the Final Soviet, "the capitalists will have completed their transition to war economy and we meanwhile will have no more road in front of us, nowhere else to go. It is necessary, comrades, that we bring a favourable end to this conflict well inside the next two years, or we may see our Hiroshima in Calcutta and Nagasaki in Galle. To arms! To work! To victory! Jai Hind!"

European build-ups in Cyprus are answered readily in the meantime by Indian presences in Libya, Eritrea, and Senegal amongst other locations, and Raipur declares that it will not stand in the way of Hindustani delivery to Yugoslavia of Meteor missiles, even if it means a decline in sales of the Commonwealth's own L'Angelot Maudit AAMs.

Sithin, Lyong
As the world continues its spiral downward into global conflict, the Strainist Party finds itself dragged along for the ride. That war a prospect which some members dread and others welcome, internal tensions shaking off the Party’s authoritarian stability and leaving grave uncertainties about the future.

Even the most eager proponents of conflict are forced to admit that circumstances could be better: ten years to consolidate in Indonesia, time enough for Beijing to recognize its proper responsibilities, a chance to see the Party’s vision supplant Soviet anarchism in leadership of the world’s revolutionary movements. Some pessimists even warn that conflict today could spell the doom of the True Way, even as it ushers in the next stage in the world’s development.

Some letters are dispatched, some diplomats make calls, in hope that perhaps some powers can be turned or slowed from their present course. The British have proven somewhat reasonable in the past, sins in Singapore aside, and Mumbai might provide a moderating voice. Still, those within the Party are hobbled in their efforts… for every call to negotiate spoken to a Soviet by Strainist emissaries, one is likely to find a voice raised in encouragement from the Party’s own Revolutionary Army. And, for all the best efforts of their authors, the very language used in communiqués to London and Washington is bound to follow Strainist ideology, which is quite clear: conflict between the Party and the capitalists is inevitable. The Indians cannot be ‘wrong’, only ‘excessive’ or ‘premature’, hardly comfort to states already feeling threatened by the growing Progressive march.

Within the Party sphere, the economy begins to adapt to war before a political decision on the matter can be reached: as export markets start to dwindle, production is diverted into goods bound for the armories, while the Party begins to divest itself of foreign bonds and currency holdings, global warfare not being conducive to the usual manipulation of money markets. With fuel still flowing from the Combine and Neo-Anarchos, there is time to prepare policies for its conservation, though not much… Armandian instability a risk to one and increasing Soviet demand likely to consume the other. The Party has long tried to ready itself for a shortage of petroleum, and it is hoped that existing measures will allow the bulk of current reserves to satisfy military needs should fighting begin.

It was all over South Korean media. The north's ICBMs, believed to be Soviet-built Agni delivered by submarine when the Commonwealth quit its strategic nuclear effort and converted two of its former SSBNs to transport duty, having vanished into coastal cave facilities after delivery, were re-emerging.

A defector who lost most of his Seoul-based family during the Reunification War had directed the Republic to have satellites watch a previously barren patch of land in hills near the former DMZ, and they soon found there a new tunnel opened from below. There shortly followed works clearly intended to support a missile base. At other sites identified by the defector missiles were seen briefly, between apparent under-ground transport and installation at numerous silos across the CPRD.

Reports that the north had completed and was waiting to test its first domestic multi-stage ballistic missile, Taepodong-2, were also provided. A development of the Kurosian-1, itself a single-stage missile with a 3,000km range, Taepodong-2 was said to be a two-stage missile with a reach of 4,000km and potential for development to a 4,500km-range three stage vehicle.

The informer vanished from the streets of Busan less than thirty-six hours after South Korean media broke the story, and has not been since in more than a week since then. His whereabouts are no more certain than those of Director Hotan, unseen in several months. Some say that neither man is alive.

Central uplands, northern Dra-pol (near the Taedong-gang river)

"Authorisation received. Test successful, comrade Colonel."

"Close blast doors! Confirm target acquisition." The Colonel's reply was delivered quickly and in the harsh tone characterising the delivery of orders during the Three Day War and rather lost to most officers since the Reunification War.

"Target confirmed, British observation satellite, bound Indian Ocean, interception parameters encoded..."

"Captain!" the Colonel interrupted, talking over the head of the Sub-Lieutenant, "Fire when ready."

Moments later Dragon's Talon #4 lashed out anew and hurled a sabot-encased projectile from its 340mm barrel.

Hundreds of tonnes of propellant having been detonaded underground in the CPRD ROKA forces naturally mobilised, fearing a nuclear test or disaster or else a major new tunnel project in the north. UPA forces responded in record time to the southern mobilisation, having of course expected it to follow their Talon operation, and thousands of soldiers were soon staring one another down across the Naktong-gang.

The Unified People's Army used the stand-off to display its latest battle tank, a develoment of the basic D-18, a T-62-copy long built in the People's Republic. This vehicle obviously had a widened hull and new gun probably copied from the Indian Soviet 125mm weapon carried by MT-3 Peripatus/Hotan, wore ERA blocks, armoured track skirts, and other features that would be widely speculated over by southern analysts.

By then, of course, a British satellite believed by the Banat -working with GSIC-sponsored intelligence- to be used in co-operation with French intelligence services, had been struck by the contents of a Talon projectile.
A sticky synthetic goo impacting at high speed was designed to blind the unit, possibly for good.

At the same time the first Soviet super-tanker to dock in Korea was unloading its cargo at the Revolutionary Sea port from which CS India set out on her maiden voyage, delivering thousands of barrels-worth of Indian fuels refined from Anarchan crude.

That day in Sithin an impressively serene middle aged man with 'a haircut you could set your watch to' and the uniform of a UPA General approaches the Party to discuss Strainist co-operation with the delivery to Dra-pol of Soviet aid 'in the event of Quinntonian interference with Indo-Korean commerce.'

Some might just recognise General Wang, a little more worn than when last they had seen him, but wearing the same haircut with which he had headed North Dra-pol's football side into an unlikely lead against Australasia in Marimaia, 1965... and not the more recent bald top that appears on countless propaganda posters depicting Our Wisest Director.

Lyongese response to queries from the Drapoel is mudded, after a fashion... in the first few days, Party bureaucrats make lengthy explanations on the unpredictability of the international situation, that no solid guarantees can be made. Within the week, however, uniformed officers of the Revolutionary Army begin parallel discussions, making it known to their guests that Lyong will ensure the flow of Soviet assistance continues unabated.

Such soldiers also pass on data gathered from the Strainist over-the-horizon radar system and other intelligence assets. The Dragon's Talons, of great value to their Lyongese allies, are now a potential target for NATO action, and the SRA hopes to assist the CPRD's already-bristling air defenses against any attack.

No matter who they speak with, however, the Drapoel will find themselves queried at length on their opinion of the Indian assertion that the final battle between Progress and Capitalism now begins... does the notion find agreement within the Choson People's Republic?

Da'Khiem continues preparations for further strikes against British satellites while diplomacy with Lyong comes back to life and aid from India arrives to reduce fears over the future of Combine assistance.

Since the Indian Soviets worry that war with NATO at this juncture may hurt operations in Africa, it falls to the fearless Drapoel to weild the knife that cuts down League-aiding British spy platforms. In return, the UPA acquires desperately needed spare parts and support equipment with which to maintain its CS-400 Red Sky ABM defences and MT-3 battle tanks, not to mention a strategically significant quantity of intercontinental ballistic missiles meant to dissuade US intervention against the rogue state, which has proven itself apt to take radical action beyond even that which a superpower would think to get away with.

"General Wang Kuo-fang" prefers, since the army's exposition of its helpful attitude, to talk with Spyrian soldiery over politicians, at least for now (traditionally the reverse has been true of Hotan).

Dra-pol, perhaps unsurprisingly, seems to feel that it has been fighting the final conflict since Sulo's partisans fighting the Imperial Japanese Army adopted a derivative of Mao Tse Tung Thought some seventy-odd years ago. The Choson People's Republic has several times taken on the most powerful nations on earth, in the space of a few years killing almost a million Quinntonians and fifty thousand Chinese soldiers, not to mention a couple of thousand Russians and several Indians.

However, Dra-pol has always seen itself as walking a solitary path, and its final conflict refers specifically to the Kurosite Juche Idea and the Korean peninsula and its surrounds. Da'Khiem, says the Director, is only interested in the international revolution from a selfish standpoint. The KCP is concerned internationally only with having aid, allies, pawns, or whatever else it requires to sustain Hotanite Cholima Progress in Korea.

As a great Drapoel thinker once implied, the CPRD is a wildcat, and probably even the Igovians must take a Churchillian perspective when walking with it.

...Strainist muddling may have found a like partner in Hotanite allusion.

Still, those nations with satellites left in the sky may well be aware of frantic stockpiling efforts in the CPRD, which has apparently acquired more oil from Armand and India than the KCP has allowed the people to use, while hot-spots indicate increased activity at Kanggye's munitions plants and UPA forces actually decrease the frequency of the mass exercises after recent heights of activity at Yellow Sea coastal facilities especially.

OOC: Oh, my. I guess we're demilitarizing space then! I've been writing college apps for the past few days, but I think I'll have a little breathing space for a bit. Onward...

London, MoD Strategic Planning Office

Strathairn stood, arms crossed, facing the display. It was a large one, depicting the world in wireframe, and on it twinkled scores of green and red dots in a shell around the Earth. Each dot represented a satellite of the British Empire or the Fourth Commonwealth, with a few Dra-Poel here and there. A section of the Indian Ocean was greyed out, the dots within orange rather than red to denote hypothetical positions based on last known trajectories. It was no great loss; negotiations were underway with the United States to share satellite intelligence and usage, giving Britain access to the most secure and extensive network in existence. On the other hand, until those negotiations were complete, the Empire was restricted to its own satellites, and Strathairn was not about to let billions of pounds in technology be destroyed without a response.

He didn't want to do this. Satellites were crucial in providing precision guidance to munitions, and their very existence reduced civilian casualties a great deal. He didn't want to return warfare to its Vietnam days, when faulty guidance could drop a bomb on a school or village rather than a depot. With a loss in accuracy came a rise in volume, and with volume came collateral damage. He did not want collateral damage. But he wanted Britain to be blind in the sky even less. This was war, there was no time to dither about costs and moral choices.

"General Meyers," he said tersely. "Launch the Alert Squadrons, weapons free." Meyers saluted and picked up a corded telephone, repeating the instructions into it. They were broadcast by radio and satellite across the globe, orders for a massive strike.

Diego Garcia

"Move it! We've got the order! Case blue!" Captain Phillips felt ill. There was very little chance of interception on this run, very little risk to him, but he still felt afraid. He was about to start a war, or at least respond to an attack. That was what Case Blue was about. Somewhere, someone had taken down a British satellite, and he was about to return the favour.

The mess hall erupted into activity. Pilots of No.44 strike squadron hurried to their aircraft, pulling the toggles of their flight suits into place as they went. Under the wings of the modified Tornado IDS aircraft of No.44, ASM-135 ASAT missiles developed by the United States were racked into place. Beside them, heavy fuel pods to carry the aircraft to their required altitude were slotted into place, the fuel leads connected and the tanks filled. Pilots in special pressure suits were seated in their aircraft, their canopies sealed shut, showing off the modified pressure-ring that kept the cockpit liveable for the short exposure to near-vacuum.

And then they were off, roaring down the runway, Captain Phillips in the lead. He felt sluggish in the pressure suit, not quite a full body-sock type space suit but close enough, and he hoped to God that no Soviets came calling.

Western Australia

Down the runway in a flare of heat and fire, No.32 Strike Squadron, laden with its special payload, took to the skies to complete their Case Blue orders.

Dover

No.12 Strike Squadron's mission was the same as its two compatriots, the elimination of any Soviet or Dra-Poel satellite in range. They broke into sections, then wing pairs, then single aircraft, intent upon cutting as large a hole in the Soviets' net as possible.

Near Cyprus

Above the Mediterranean, No.21 Strike Squadron broke into wing pairs. One aircraft was outfitted as an ASAT platform, its wingman as an ADS aircraft. Six satellites in their range were targeted, rather than twelve. Still, no need to take un-necessary risks.

Above the Indian Ocean

It was very lonely. Captain Phillips was cold. His aircraft stood on its tail, afterburners blazing in the thin air, as he fought the stall and lined up his shot. The computer, its special targeting package unfamiliar to him, beeped an affirmative and he touched his thumb—ever so lightly— to the red button on the top-left of his stick. He felt a shuddering jerk as a very large missile detached from below his fuselage, and then it was gone. The ocean was above his head, Phillips' aircraft had performed a loop, and then the dark sky above was back. Mission complete. He turned tail for home.

Elsewhere

Pilots the world over felt the sickening jerk, the greying out as their aircraft heeled over, then the rush of fluids resettling and the flush of nerves. Missile away. They pointed their noses at their bases and pushed the throttle to a high cruise. Get me home, back to the company of my wingmen, leave the dark to itself.

But the dark was not so black that day. Explosions filled the sky. In Dra-Poel and Soviet intelligence stations, readouts would be going down. Space was being returned to the cold stars, mankind would fight its wars absent their Gods' eye view.

The press releases were terse. Britain had responded in kind to an attack by Dra-Poel missile sites. This was not an escalation, it was a response that could not be avoided if the status quo were to be maintained. The Supreme War Soviet must be made to understand that Britain was not prepared to cede an inch of ground to crypto-imperialism, nor would it ignore wanton acts of aggression by a rogue state.

Immediately after it becomes apparent that British forces are moving to threaten orbital Soviet property, Raipur's diplomats begin to demand audiences and explanations. What the Choson People's Republic does, indignant Indians maintain, is Da'Khiem's business, and not the People's Cosmonautical Co-operative's!

Though fighters in Libya also scramble, the only Soviet interceptors with anything approaching a realistic chance of reaching British strike aircraft during their missions are a solitary pair of NT-7 Kan-gel launched from the Maldives, where they have been stationed since the recent start of Soviet occupation and tasked with discouraging intervention from the BIOT. Wearing drop-tanks and DRAB ASRAAM on their wings, they each have four AAELRS long-range AAMs under their bellies, giving them great potential stand-off range for engaging the enemy, but only an intermediate chance of actually hitting an even half-way agile or well-piloted fighter at such distance.

As its only interception attempt closes in, Raipur warns, in what minutes remain, against what it will call unprovoked British aggression, and threatens to respond by launching more anti-satellite weapons and intervening against British interests outside of the Atlantic theatre. Much more quietly, Da'Khiem is encouraged to keep up the good work.

Indeed, on the ground the Soviets seem suprisingly well prepared to meet unprovoked aggression, as launch facilities are already preparing new missions to orbit both observation satellites and anti-satellite weapons, and Soviet Marine and Militia Expert Corps forces muster at ports and WIG stations on the Laccadive Sea in which submarine activity is increasing.

Meanwhile, even as the crisis unfolds, Gadar! begins to run sensational historical documentaries on Lakshadweepa, the Sanskrit name of the so-called one hundred thousand islands that comprise Lakshadweep Soviet State, the Soviet-occupied Maldives, and the British-occupied Chagos Archipelago of which Diego Garcia is a part.

OOC: I had intended that to be a strike that took place within the post, but I suppose I can say that the flashes are premature detonations triggered by the pilots in the event that we reach an agreement. Don't think that's going to happen though...

London, Strategic Planning Office

Slightly off from the main room, a relatively well appointed office that gave no indication that it was buried beneath layers of re-enforced concrete and solid rock was the nerve-centre to Strathairn's government as the aircraft approached their targets. Because of the nature of events, there was no time for diplomatic channels or anything of the sort. Soviet diplomats were on speaker phone, connected directly to Prime Minister Strathairn and his cabinet.

"However so long as the Commonwealth continues to provide supplies and funds to Da'Khiem," Strathairn said without preamble, "The United Kingdom will continue to consider the Commonwealth as aiding the Dra-Poel war effort, and for that our hostilities will extend to you. Moreover, we are not moved overmuch by your threats. Either stop the shipments and funds to Dra-Pol, or lose your satellites." There was no time to wait for the Supreme War Soviet to debate, the decision would have to come now.

Strathairn glanced uneasily at the clock, the room silent. Six minutes, twenty seven seconds remained until the first aircraft would launch.

Near the Maldives

Lieutenant Dustin Quince's Tornado GR.4 was the only aircraft seriously within the Kan-gel's interception envelope. Case Blue spread one squadron of aircraft over an entire area, the theory being that if the Soviets concentrated against an aircraft, they would miss the others, and if they spread out they left themselves with only slightly better than even odds of a kill on the majority of targets.

Of course, Lieutenant Quince wasn't feeling very reassured by that. His aircraft carried two ASRAAM on wingtip mounts, that was it, and was hobbled by its double load of fuel tanks as well as the single, massive ASM-135 ASAT under the fuselage. If it came to combat, Quince could hope to down one Kan-gel, maybe, but had not a hope of launching his payload. Better that it didn't happen, he mused. If the Kan-gels did something untoward, like fire, Quince intended to drop his ASAT and make a run for base. Two ASRAAM against a full interception loadout, double-to-one odds? Doing ones' duty was all well and good, but there was no need for suicide. Mission parameters left pilots with the choice to abort if unable to take the shot, and he figured that this just about fit the picture.

Quince keyed up his ASRAAM and prepared to fire them dumb, faking a target lock in the hopes of scaring the crap out of the Indians and giving him a bit of breathing space. Of course, without orders to fire on aircraft, he'd just have to wait for them to shoot first.

And Quince didn't like that, not one bit.

Shultz was not surprised by the preemptive actions taken by Britain as it had been a common occurrence by that nation. His only response was to issue an order for the Australasians to vacate the commonly held Cyprus base until Germany was officially at war with the Soviets. No war declaration had been issued and until it had been issued Germany was neutral in any combat involving the British. German spy satellites are watched very closely for any signs of tampering and any actions taken against them would of course be considered an act of war against Germany.

German Eurofighters equipped with a full arsenal of Meteor missiles continued to patrol and protect the airspace around Cyprus and violation of the airspace would merit some form of a response by Germany.

Northern Dra-pol (shortly following initial British reactions)

Sub-Lieutenant Xioaro didn't quite understand, and was, for a Drapoel soldier, unusually forthcoming about that fact. Newspapers, to be fair -even though published by the Central Directorature that didn't trust even the KCP to get it right- were a new experience for northern Drapoel. But this outburst in front of a senior officer was a bit much.

"...'London is holding Red India responsible for the catastrophic failure of one of the satellites that the British Empire uses to spy on potential targets and the resistance movements in its many colonies'" he read aloud, "We never get any recognition! Do they even have any proof that the Indians were involved? It says here, 'circumstantial'!"

"Maybe they saw the rockets we bought." Offered Sub-Lieutenant Sun. "Ai! You don't start wars on circumstantial evidence!" Cried Xioaro.

"The capitalist's running dog does." Captain Thak had been silent, and slipped back into it after uttering that sole assertion, never shifting from his at-ease posture as he gazed through a narrow viewing port looking into the Talon's breech room. He wore the scars of the Reuinification Struggle, and so his words carried some weight with the junior officers.

Sun jumped in, perhaps to save Xioaro by engaging him with a comrade of his own rank, but he made sure to pull no punches.

"Ah! Idiot!" He criticised. "Why should you care?"

"The Indians are mobilising for war with the Empire!" Protested Xioaro.

"That's good! If they liberate Chagos, the United States might get involved." Sun observed, displaying a Drapoel student's knowledge of geography as a learning based upon places where capitalists might in our lifetimes lose a fight to socialists. "And we'll pull the rug from under them at Hungnam!"

Xioaro still felt that something dishonest was afoot, but he had to admit that events seemed to be leading towards further reunification.

The proceedure for firing another anti-satellite shot was starting, and he had no more time to worry about it. Talon #2 was making its second attack of the campaign, and so far firing at seven European satellites had cost about two million US dollars. Well worth it for a hundred thousand barrels of fuel and a ballistic missile. With no action yet taken against Dra-pol's globally unique ability to destroy orbital objects for a tiny fraction of what it cost other nations to launch them -let alone build them or shoot them down- the Drapoel really felt that they were achieving their first anti-capitalist victories since the rise of Secretary Kim, and national moral was receiving a much needed lift.

There is a significant uproar in Sithin when news arrives of British anti-satellite activity (though likely this would need to be conveyed by the Soviets if the information is to arrive before-the-fact). While few Strainist officials have any doubt that the Drapoel are responsible, their process is hardly broadcast by the contrails and bulky rockets of a conventional launch into orbit… guesswork, it is said, is hardly grounds for such an extreme reaction, and not only against the suspected state but the third-party Commonwealth as well. Such belligerence on the part of the British, taken with an earlier attack on a Soviet WiG and provision of succour to the feudal powers, is not welcomed by bureaucrats seeking to dismiss Geletian claims that the Final Battle has dawned between capitalism and the True Way.

Of equal concern, though, is that the British may fire on Drapoel satellites… while Lyong’s commercial satellites might be easily identified, their military orbiters are hardly announced loudly to the world. Launched from CPRD facilities, it would take some effort indeed to distinguish these machines from those belonging directly to Dra-pol. While not so eager for war as their comrades in the Commonwealth, the Strainists place great value on information, and loss of eyes-and-ears in the sky would be a significant affront.

Surprised by the British reaction -as the lack of provision for intercept missions testifies- Raipur is indeed quick to cry foul to the world.

Over the Indian Ocean

Though two Kan-gel were heading for Quince's Tornado only one had fired-up its absurdly powerful radar, sharing target information with its partner aircraft. The lead interceptor had likely only just appeared on Quince's much less powerful radar when, already having acquired a missile lock, it launched a single AAELRS missile against him.

Coming from more than one hundred kilometres out, the missile could be easily evaded in its terminal stage, but the Soviet pilot's hope was simply to cause the enemy to drop his anti-satellite weapon or break off his attack, and in all honesty the Commonwealth Guard wasn't keen to have the fighter shot down at all. A Dwrgi-T WIG was already deploying from the north to pick up any crew in the event of an ejection by the British pilot, as the loss of a man would be far more likely to lead to all out war than would the simple loss of equipment.

Anglo-Indian communications

The response from persons empowered by the Supreme War Soviet to Strathairn's position indicated that Soviet support of the Choson People's Republic was less the business of London than was Britain's support of France. After all, France is at war with India!

Of course, at this time, Raipur continues to feign ignorance of any conflict between Dra-pol and Britain, taking much the same view as the Spyrians when it comes to the burdon of proof.

The tone of Soviet communiques remains indignant, as if from a wounded yet proud entity, and they tend to imply something menacing about Soviet superiority relative to British space capacities.

Still, the loss now of any space capacity is going to significantly complicate both warfighting and development projects in the expanding Igovist sphere.

With things falling apart all over the world, it has become clear that this conflict is inevitable. NATO, a purely defensive alliance, was mobilising for a massive war the likes of which had not been seen sine WW2.
All across the nation, from pulpits and town halls, military and political officials were expounding on the new decision to take he fight to the Progs directly. The people of Quinntonia were scared, but they were angry. No one wanted a war, especially not of this scale. With each day came new reports from all over the world of deteriorating conditions, but it was widely thought now that just like Japan in the last Great War, the Gelletians had awakened a sleeping giant.

The military was moving throughout the US and Mexico, cataloguing industrial capacities and giving those bits of information to the Pentagon in order to coordinate in real time the national production of the nations. The commodities markets were going crazy, with the government stockpiling raw building materials and precious, precious oil. Millions upon millions of barrels of oil were being bought daily; the entire Canadian production had been earmarked for the time being, as well as full wartime exploitation of both US and Mexican resource, as well as a complete stoppage of all exportation.
All over the nation, ordinary men and women were responding to the call for the reservists to come back to service. Each man and woman born into the USQ was required to serve two years of military service during their lives, which allowed for a massive trained civilian contingent, and they were put on notice. With the reservists being activated in their entirety, the bases all were bursting at the seams and the new soldiers were dividing their days between building large areas for many, many more soldiers, and training. Also, every member not in an essential service that had served in the USQ military as a NCO of Staff Sergeant or above, officers all, were re-called and being put through their paces to refresh their training, building the officer corps. For a much, much bigger military force.

The civilians that were left knew that they were not being called yet, but they began to volunteer in mass numbers to spend the extra time at their various jobs to move their places of business into places of wartime production, using the guidelines available online and through the numerous call centres that were being set up to deal with questions of that nature by the military. And the National Guard, the Coast Guard, along with local police forces began to beef up security throughout the nation, cooperating with the Pentagon and beginning to centralise their operationality. The citizen militias of yesteryear were activated, with the local people organising of their own volition in order to train together and reacquaint themselves with the military hardware that was now becoming freely available to them. The military began dispatching officials in order to coordinate and catalogue these new capabilities.

All along the coasts, Navy personnel were doing seminars and handing out free digital walkie-talkies that were geared to localised call centres. With these, and with the books that were being handed out, they were shown how to watch the waters and the airways form interloping incomers, patrols were soon set up, not to replace the military and Coast Guard ones, but to increasingly place a Quinntonian on every rock and lonely stretch of beach along their massive coastlines.

Personal watercrafts were being gathered together near Florida, under strict naval protection, with thousands upon thousands of craft being readied for a long sea voyage.

The government was also being reorganised with party lines quickly disappearing, as new councils and committees were being struck to deal with the massive new work and oversight that the government was now being asked to deal with.

The Council of Bishops was opening the treasuring that they were responsible for, spending their money to buy uniforms, food for soldiers, and providing care for the families of those that were being called up.
On every TV set, radio, computer, bill board, newspaper, magazine and every other thing that could be thought of were images of the massive mobilisation that was occurring.

War bonds were going on sale, and citizens were responding en masse, spending life savings, taking second mortgages, and selling valuable household items in order to support their government’s massive new commitments.

And the backbones of the culture, the churches were humming along like crazy, with drives for basics like socks, gathering of materials, serving as prayer warriors, and basically doing all of the forgotten social things that eased the burden of the effort on the average people.

Fully millions of people were training, building, helping, readying, and most importantly, praying towards the goal.

In US military bases and outposts all across the world, defences were being built up, leave was being cancelled, and new materials and reinforcements were being stockpiled. This was no more evident than in Quinntonian Dra-pol, where the massive Quinntonian military presence was coordinating both with the massive civilian paramilitary presence that remembered all too clearly the threat that was posed by Dra-pol, and also with the ROK military, who started in earnest to prepare for the inevitable sabre-rattling along the border. The ROK military, and their Japanese counterparts doing their part for the cause, were putting themselves in a position of war readiness in case the Choson people decided to make their muscles known during the coming conflict.

Even in the USQ’s closest ally, Roycelandia, wartime preparations were occurring, with reserves being called up and amphibious, naval and air capabilities were being gathered in strength near the capitol city, with fly-overs occurring fairly frequently as they tested the borders of Neo-Anarchos.

http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh575.sht

WWJD
Amen.

Mumbai

Parliament is none too happy about the present state of affairs, especially concerning Graeme Igo's recent speech and the Western reaction to it. It was not so long ago that Unioners felt they were making good progress towards de-escalating tension between the Soviets and Britain, and to see all that collapse is especially disappointing. It isn't long before lengthy communiques reach Raipur and London, bearing the signatures of a majority of Parliamentarians, which tries to convince both sides that it is best to reach some kind of peaceful settlement, that war benefits nobody, that the real winner of any NATO-Soviet conflict will be the Holy League...the usual things that Parliament has been harping on for months, apparently to little effect.

Certainly Unioners tend to view the Western capitalists through a somewhat different lens than do the Spyrians and Soviets. Unlike the INU's main allies, the INU itself does not adhere to any specific ideology or doctrine, and is not strictly a communist country. At least, there aren't many Hindustanis who would identify themselves as communists. Most in Parliament, therefore, see no reason why the leftist nations can't co-exist peacefully with the likes of England, which, think most Unioners, does not treat its people altogether badly and which has been, in general, square and reasonable in its dealings as of late. British support for the League does not unduly concern Unioners, who, after all, maintained a civil relationship with Whitehall even as it supplied the Llewellyn Principality with military equipment that was being used against INA troops on the battlefield. Whatever the case, the INU will find it extremely difficult to go to war against Britain, seeing as there is remarkably little bad blood between the two states and few Unioners are eager to change that.

British attacks on Soviet satellites do little to improve the situation, however, and it is a move roundly condemned by the majority of Parliamentarians. Some also criticize as heavy-handed the Soviet reaction, but at the same time maintain that NATO would have acted in a similar manner if put in the same situation.

Especially worrying are the recent statements coming out of Quinntonia, which some Unioners consider tantamount to a declaration of war on several nations, the INU among them. There is of course little love lost between the INU and Quinntonia as of late, and Unioners are not nearly as keen to forgive Washington as they are London. In large part they are bitter over Britain's joining NATO, an organization, many Unioners will point out, that did not come to the UK's aid when the Holy League made its attacks against Gibraltar and Portugal. And, of course, the business with the Suez Canal and Roycelandian Goa has also done much to erode Mumbai's patience with the West.

Hindustanis point out to departing Quinntonian diplomats the fact that Mumbai did not enforce the Soviet blockade against Goa, that the INU not long ago allowed a sizable Quinntonian convoy into the Roycelandian colony, very much against better judgment. The INU, they say, does not want a war with anybody besides the Holy League, and they maintain that Mumbai's actions as of late, relative to NATO, have been anything but belligerent. Quinntonia could at the very least tone-down its rhetoric and express at least some interest in reaching a diplomatic understanding with the ISC, the course of action so recently proposed to Prime Minister Moerike herself.

Parliamentarians do however have a few things to be happy about. Construction projects at UTS are, as ever, on time and under budget, and HAL continues to turn-out new F.11 fighter-bombers at an encouraging rate. Reports from Rajasthan indicate a steady decrease in violence perpetrated by the deposed Rajput families, though at the same time it is noted that the standard of living there remains somewhat below that of the INU as a whole. Small things, to be sure, but enough at least to convince Unioners that their domestic policies are for the most part sound, and evidence that the morale of the population remains reasonably high. High enough, at least, for Unioners to continue funding military projects.

Bissau

Under a heavy security umbrella ECOWAS foreign ministers meet in Bissau, a city deemed comfortably distant from French bomber bases in Nigeria, the Canaries, or Algeria. It is the first such face-to-face meeting since the start of the French war, long overdue and with an itinerary a mile long. Most of the organization's member states are represented, a small miracle all things considered, and the only seats that remain unoccupied are those of Niger and Benin, their governments deep behind French lines and wholly eliminated respectively. Mauritania is also expected to send a representative, in light of invitations to do just that. And, of course, British and Indian observers are present as well, invited or dragged along in order to make sure that those nations are well aware of what the foreign ministers decide.

If the French invasion has taught the ECOWAS states one thing, it is the futility of any one state trying to fight-off an incursion by the larger power blocs on its own. Heads of state from Dakar to Kumasi have become quite convinced that collective defense, and to a certain extent collective action, is required in order to preserve West Africa's independence.

On the top of the list is of course a joint declaration of neutrality when it comes to any prospective war between NATO and the Soviets. Certainly it is impossible to hide the closeness of Senegal and Guinea to India, but the organization has seen more than enough of modern war already. Both parties are strongly urged to tone-down their rhetoric and to reach a diplomatic settlement, and, if that proves impossible, they are asked to do their fighting elsewhere.

Quinntonian offers of assistance are not unwelcome, though the Foreign Ministers are, privately, very upset that Washington, having ignored their earlier requests, Liberia's especially, has chosen now to present itself as West Africa's savior. Indeed, Quinntonia is told that ECOWAS would be very grateful Washington's protection against France and the Holy League, should that organization make another attempt on ECOWAS. The ISC is not even mentioned in the resultant communique. The Soviets, it must be said, are not the most appealing allies as far as most of West Africa's heads of state are concerned, but they have so far proven themselves the only ones willing to step in and assist the badly-mismatched ECOWAS, Quinntonia having been quite unreceptive to the organization's previous requests for assistance and advocacy.

A request also goes out to the world community for medical and financial assistance, needed in Ghana especially. That country now counts its internally displaced in the millions, and its dead touching one hundred thousand, the capital having been devastated by French carpet bombing, nerve-gassing, and, finally, nearly leveled by thermobaric weaponry. For the same reasons demands are made to the Holy League for restitution, though few expect the League governments, notoriously racist in their attitudes, to pay much heed.

The Foreign Ministers also agree to send diplomatic missions to Brazil and China, both seen as important trading partners that might also be approached for defense assistance and monetary relief.

With Quinntonian mobilization reaching a fever pitch, there is little choice but for the Party to continue along its path to war, increasing militia demands and production of war materiel to pick up any slack from losses to exports of consumer goods. Even the optimists amongst the Party bureaucracy lose what little hope they may have had that matters would calm... such an expansive effort on the part of Washington cannot help but provoke the members of the Commonwealth to redouble their own efforts to the war, ceding more power to Sopworth's War Soviet with certainty that conflict lay just over the horizon. Past a certain point, particularly in the Commonwealth, the populace will build too much momentum to be turned back by those few voices who retain a clearer vision... the price paid for democracy.

Armandian oil is hauled along in increasingly large quantities, passing over China by truck and train as Beijing is inundated with lobbyists from various Strainist factions. Chinese neutrality seems likely, given internal pressures and lack of direct provokation by either side, but the more hardline Strainists hold out hope that NATO will make the error of returning Imperial Japanese troops to mainland Asia. A chance at tactical victories for NATO, perhaps, but a PR coup for Lyong which could pull the Chinese populace into the war, and their reluctant leadership along with them.

Propaganda from such factions can also be seen playing out in Southeast Asia and in the Indian National Union... the former, from Malaysia to Papua to the Philippines, is a mess of simmering post-FRB conflicts bound to explode should a NATO-Progressive war break out. The latter has, despite its bravery in confronting the world's ills, always suffered from an inability to grasp the concepts which must underpin true moral action... perhaps they can be pushed to enlightenment by flashy cartoon billboards and anti-Quinntonian ska. In Lyong, such efforts (through television and soul-destroying techno pop) recieve counterpoint from rightist Party elements, but these have no interest in Hindustani opinions and do not waste their dwindling assets on similar ventures.

London

Strathairn, his cool cracking under the intense pressure of the moment, collapses woodenly into his chair and admits, in bleak tones, that he doesn't know what to do.

"Surely you have to understand our predicament," he says to the speakerphone. "Dra-Pol, with respect, is barely capable of launching this sort of attack. To target one of our satellites would require at least some information from other spaceborne assets, and how would Dra-Pol receive such intelligence but for the GSIC? Moreover, it is abundantly clear to everyone here that the Commonwealth supplies Dra-Pol such that the state can function, and that state has just committed a very clear, very obvious act of war against us.

"Yes, Britain makes its satellites available to the League in the areas that the League's satellites were destroyed by an Armandian attack. We are maintaining the status quo ante bellum, unlike the attack made against us. Look, I don't want a war with you lot. You don't want a war with us. Here are my terms. Stop supplying Dra-Pol, do not support Dra-Pol in any further military conflicts. That state has declared war upon the Empire of Great Britain, and if you are seen to provide Dra-Pol with supplies you will be seen to be providing material aid to an enemy of the Empire. Dra-Pol will face the consequences of its actions, I hope India is not dragged into that conflict. Do you see where I'm coming from?"

Maldives Airspace

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Quince was still in contact with his airbase. "I have inbound missile. Dumping ASAT and evading!" Suiting action to words-- and no doubt pleasing the Soviets rather-- Quince pressed the release key and then switched to his Meteor targetting computer, left over from the ADV configuration of his aircraft, and painted his enemies briefly. Scare them a bit, maybe, make them think he wasn't quite as toothless as he was. The missile closed within seconds, becoming apparent as a flame-wreathed speck on the horizon. He waited for a few gut-churning seconds before snap-rolling to port, the missile flashing past. Then he turned tail and ran.

The Soviet aviators might be cheering, but an aircraft of the Royal Air Force had just taken missile fire from Soviet aircraft. It wasn't quite an act of war, Britain had been engaged in anti-satellite missions against the Soviets. Still, there was a big difference between shooting down a satellite and trying-- however inefficiently-- to kill a man.

Britain

It took very little time for war's mentality to settle over the Empire. Within days of the loss of its satellite, the British government passed Special Measure Sixteen, outlawing all communist and socialist parties in the Empire. Hundreds were arrested and questioned-- often very carefully indeed-- before release or imprisonment awaiting trial. Igovian-style communal businesses were issued warning orders informing them that their 'seditious practises', and were required to cease and desist from all attempts at 'Igovian-style worker self-management that may threaten the public order'.

For a nation as proudly democratic as Britain, there was little outcry. People were afraid, terribly so. Cartoons of bearded, axe-bearing Soviet marines appeared in such publications as the London Sun, second rate newspapers that still saw a fair circulation amongst the masses. The Times, ever more reserved than its tabloid cousins, commended parliament's 'swift actions to protect the national order' and said of lost freedoms only: 'we, like all wartime generations of Britain's past, must be prepared to sacrifice for our King and country."

Scapa Flow, one of a great many old navy bases reactivated to serve the Royal Navy, saw its first warship in half a century. HMS Invincible, Britain's only remaining light carrier, docked to take on stores and arms after a short stay in drydock. Old cranes that had stocked ships like the Iron Duke and the Hood were put to work again, this time loading Sea Darts and rounds for the small stable of Harriers.

In Liverpool, the HMS Warden slipped into the waters of the Irish Sea. It was an escort carrier in the same vein as Vindex, built from the hull of a handymax bulk freighter. In a navy that was rapidly expanding to wartime levels, the time required to construct a new fleet carrier was simply not available in the short term, and so a series of converted warships had been authorized. Liverpool and Port Darwin had already produced one each, two more remained under construction in January River and St. Paul. Each carried six Harriers and two helicopters, effective in small fleet actions but outclassed by the Nimitzes and Queen Elizabeths built during peacetime.

Construction was, of course, not limited to converted merchant ships. Its fiscal attitude modified somewhat by the destruction of a multi-million dollar satellite, and HMS King Richard V, a sister to the Elizabeth IIIs already in service, was authorized, along with a family of LPDs based on HMS Ocean's design. They boasted slightly expanded passenger and cargo accommodations at the expense of hangar space for helicopters, putting them more in line with the Wasp class of the United States than anything.

Commentators the world over seemed rather convinced: the Empire was going to war with the Commonwealth. It was regrettable, but not surprising given India's policy of 'war communism', and Parliamentarians in the Union might be comforted somewhat by London's staunch declarations that so long as Whitehall had any pull in NATO, the Union would be safe from attack. Washington was privately informed that under no circumstances was Union India to be threatened in any way, unless Union India did something along the lines of launching repeated attacks on NATO targets. Britain, it was reiterated, was not prepared to fight a longtime ally simply because of geographic and linguistic links to an enemy, and NATO would be well advised to take note.

The Commonwealth Air Guard's attempts to frustrate Britain's anti-satellite attack having saved just a single orbiter, the PCC -Soviet India's space agency- suffered tens of millions of dollars in lost equipment and future expenses in launching new satellites.

Raipur responded by launching a ground-based anti-satellite missile from Sri Lanka against a British communications satellite, but though further missiles were brought to launch readiness and a number of mothership satellites bearing parasite weapons were moved to launch facilities, the Commonwealth refrained from launching a wide scale assault at this juncture. It appeared that the single shoot-down attempt was made as a gesture in reply to London's attack and perhaps as a show of the nation's considerable space-warfare capability.

Soviet diplomats continue to deny knowledge of direct military co-operation with Da'Khiem, but Indo-Korean commerce does not appear to decline in days following the first incidents.

As Strainists appear to predict, the Supreme War Soviet spends its time proposing new extensions to its mandate over the Commonwealth's economy and military...

(OOC: Not that it really matters, but from Liverpool Warden would put out first on to the Irish Sea, the Celtic Sea being further south, in the Atlantic off Cornwall, Brittany, southwest Wales, and southern Ireland ;)
Sorry if this post fizzled out rather, I'm hungover and the internet cafe's closing right this moment!)

OOC: Yay geography. Edited. Um, I don't know if I made it clear in my posts, but I was also targeting any Dra-Poel satellites that I could identify... Dra-Pol has satellites, right?

IC:

London

Sixteen hours had passed since the British response to the destruction of the second satellite, and Anglo-Soviet relations appeared to be stable, if tense. Further ASAT missions were prepared, targeting 'mothership' satellites as they were identified. As of yet, authorization for further strikes was not forthcoming. Strathairn had gone to bed to catch a few hours of sleep before appearing on the BBC and calmly informing the nation that the British Empire was at war with the People's Republic of Dra-Pol. It was not the announcement that most had expected, for talk of war had referenced only the Soviets thus far. The broadcast, piped throughout the nation, showed the prime minister before a nondescript background of red curtain.

"Twenty-one hours ago, the People's Republic of Dra-Pol launched an unprovoked attack upon a British communications satellite in the Indian Ocean, making use of a missile system acquired from the Indian Soviet Commonwealth of Beth Gellert. This act of war triggered an immediate strike by our forward assets against Soviet and Dra-Poel spy satellites, and as of this moment the Empire is at war with the People's Republic.

The Commonwealth has agreed to cease military shipments to Dra-Pol, and at this time our two nations are engaged in negotiations. The Imperial Fleet has been dispatched to the Dra-Poel coast, and further military preparations are underway. Thank you, and God save the King."

Melbourne

HMS Adamantine was an old ship, by the standards of the ex-Australasian navy. Built in the 1970s, she had been retired from service after two decades of defending the Free Colony's interests abroad. Her re-activation, begun in the first days of the League War, was now complete. Stripped of armour and with increased hangar space, Adamantine resembled less the Stormhawk of Cape Roca infamy and more the USS John F. Kennedy, one of Quinntonia's last conventional carriers. Lacking much of her newer sisters' automation, the Adamantine required a crew of four thousand to operate at full capacity, and only now were her last sailors filing aboard.

The cavernous hangars housed over fifty airframes, most of them Harrier GR.11s. A fleet carrier by loadout, the Adamantine would be flagship for Rear Admiral Elizabeth Baynes, recently promoted from commodore. Her fleet-- formally the Australian Station but known to all and sundry as part of the Imperial Fleet-- was more of a carrier battle group. Lessons of the League War had been learned, the Empire wasn't about to dispatch a flotilla just to punish a second-rate communist power. Adamantine would be joined by HMS Vindex and escorted by three destroyers and two frigates. A pair of Collins class submarines would join them en route to Quinntonian Dra-Pol, their new forward base.

Admiral Baynes stood on Adamantine's bridge, disdaining the comfortable chair that was her right as Flag, Australian Station. She was of middle height and slight build, with greying hair and aristocratic features that bespoke a rather well-bred line from England. Not really a commanding presence, if truth be told. In her time as a commodore, she had led a not terribly distinguished life as commander of a destroyer squadron out of the Isle of Wight, but she was well loved and genuinely respected for her keen intelligence and genuine concern for the welfare of her crews.

The flight deck of the Adamantine was a godawful mess, ammunition and fuel tanks brought aboard and awaiting storage. There was order in that chaos, Baynes' keen eye observed, but not quite enough order. Her ship was not prepared for war, and she must take care to keep it out of danger for the first few weeks. Let Vindex launch the first, probing strikes on Dra-Pol, Captain Simmons had a more experienced staff and a practised air crew, and six Harriers would more than suffice for forward recon. Her pilots could give a competent CAP, with the added bonus of giving her own crew the experience of combat launches. Baynes looked to her left.

"Captain Cross," she said. "Have a readiness report to me by the end of the day, I want to know when we'll be ready to leave port."

Gibraltar

HMS Artful's propulsors sent the submarine gliding out of port, her stores refreshed and her crew happy after a week on land. She slipped beneath the waves with a quiet grace that seemed beautiful from shore, her reactor operating at 2/3rds capacity. Fifteen knots was a perfectly acceptable speed for a patrol, now that war seemed likely. Nice and quiet, the Artful was a black fish beneath the sea. Her sonar, easily the most advanced on earth, scanned the nearby sea for contacts and discovered a few noisy transports, some surface ships and a few quiet whispers that were probably submarines as well.

Artful was no longer on a flag-showing mission. She was a hunter. Submarines were to be tracked, logged and identified for sinking. Transport routes would be watched keenly, escorts assessed for danger potential. Artful was not alone in the ocean, sister boats of the Royal Navy kept the vigil as well. When war came-- it was no longer a question of 'if'-- they were prepared to strike. The Mediterranean had ever been a British sea. It would be so again.

[OOC:

"...Twenty-one hours ago, the People's Republic of Dra-Pol launched an unprovoked attack upon a British communications satellite in the Indian Ocean, making use of a missile system acquired from the Indian Soviet Commonwealth of Beth Gellert. This act of war triggered an immediate strike by our forward assets against Soviet and Dra-Poel spy satellites, and as of this moment the Empire is at war with the People's Republic..."

Sorry for OOC clutter here, but just to check: this is IC propaganda, correct? If not, there may be some misunderstanding, as the CPRD's launch system is a 'missile' only by very broad definition, and whatever blame for Drapoel capabilities can be dumped on the Soviets, their cannon are of their own making.

As for CPRD satellites, as mentioned IC above distinguishing them may be difficult as pretty much every Strainist orbiter has been launched out of Dra-pol. They had at least one, as I recall, which was 'sputnik feat. propaganda', but that may have burnt up on its own by now. I suspect they dont have many... they dont really need the things, given their Korea-centric requirements... but since we've been passing advanced satellite technologies through them for years who knows what they've picked up.]

OOC: Yep.

Sithin, People's Republic of Spyr

General Wang Kuo-fang sat with a notable Party official who had come as close to friendship with the mysterious icon as one ever really can. He was sipping delicately at a small measure of soju as if it were hot tea, and in fact he took it in a little china cup. He'd just finished explaining that such a little quantity of the national tipple, taken on a regular basis and consumed with this unusual care, was good for his constitution, and one of the many things he had to do to remain well.

"I shall turn sixty in the western new year." He said, "And after being shot three times I must take care to do everything exactly in its proper way." He stopped to rub his hand over his buzz-cut hair, and smiled, apparently pleased that he had been able to grow it back after so many years. And that it was still black.

Presently Wang's smile faded and he placed his empty cup on to the low table at which he was squatting.

"Comrade." He began after a moment of pointed silence. "I have been too long in Spyr. You have given me noble company. I must tell you honestly the facts. You, your people, have wanted to know, and I have evaded the issue.

"You must prepare for war."

He paused again, his facial expression relaxed as ever, the tone of his voice having never seriously altered.

"You must prepare for history's greatest war to be fought in Asia's northeast."

He was gazing into the middle distance as the sun broke through his east-facing window and its warmth began to glide across the wooden floor towards the two, the light exposing surprisingly little dust in the air of Wang's spartan Sithin residence.

"You know that the British have declared war. You probably know that we have used the Soviets to some end, and that we have done works against them for the sake of India's own design. You may know something about espionage and insurrection brewing in the Choson People's Republic.

"Let me assure you that I know everything about it.

"It is why I have been here. It is why I have become again Wang Kuo-fang, footballer, scholar, soldier, a man I have not been since The Greatest Director made me Secretary of the Korean Communist Party.

"Director Kurosian identified me as his successor after the glorious Battle of Da'Khiem, against the western airborne force. During those years of The Quinntonian Aggression the Land of Morning Calm saw its first modern conspiracies. The westerners showed us what it was for a government to decieve, to steal, to hide behind treaties and bribes, and to deceive and betray.

"My mentor's half-white offspring took it rather too heart, if not to head. When the Christians murdered my mentor and tried to assassinate me, I became Director, and while I lay in the new China, awaiting my recovery and the birth of my thinking as a political form for Korea, I saw a path leading to the torch-lit summit of Paektusan."

His eyes seemed to become more intense as the sunlight caught them at that instant, almost as if he had been measuring the pace of his speech to meet with the advance of the light across the floorboards. His face contorted just a little, but his tone's even serenity now seemed somehow out of place.

"Since then" he started again, "everything that has transpired has done so according to my design. The rebels and their friends are walking into a trap, as is the British fleet. It is of no concern.

"The insurrection is the half-blood and his Quinntonian allies. They and the British think that we are as unprepared as I implied when I called Dra-pol, 'a poor country'. Weak, because I engineered the appointment of a reformist who favoured reconcilliation with the south and negotiation on our own military posture. They even believe that our tunnels are a faded memory of their former glory after the Neo-Suloist genocide that collapsed merely a handful of them, one or two of which the Hindustanis have been allowed to see.

"When they strike, they will witness the power of these fully armed and operational submerged battle-stations and their Red Sky batteries. Oh, our defences will be quite intact when their British friends arrive.

"The rebel is attempting to shut-down our great Juche society, but it is quite safe from his pitiful little band.

"It was I who allowed them to hide their plans and their explosives from obsessively orderly Combiners and canny Spyrians at the loyal Banat-controlled Dragon's Throat. Entire legions of my best troops await them.

"From Lyong you shall witness the final destruction of the rebel's alliance and the end of his insignificant rebellion."

Another lingering pause during which the little Drapoel did no more than respire and, once, blink.

"...I shall return to my people when the moment is right, the hour darkest, and I shall declare our outrage at NATO's collusion with attempted nuclear terrorism against the Choson people and their government. The rebel base -the Quinntonian enclave- will be obliterated in history's most violent day, and we shall turn south and bring all Dra-pol around to the true power of the Juche Idea."

The General rose to his feet.

"I must go. The attack begins. My people will feel it, and they, lacking their Director, will embrace fear as never before." He touched his hair, again, and continued, "I will uncover my head, and, like a Norman king with helm to the sky I shall rally my people and spring the trap on these reckless Anglo-Saxons."

The Director's body cracked as he presented a salute that send resting particles of dust into a frenzied dance in the sunbeam that now drenched the entirety of the little man, and then, almost silently, he turned and shuffled away in sandaled feet, sliding shut the paper door between this multi-purpose room and his little study.

((OOC: To clarify what Spyr's saying, the Dragon's Talons are a series of something
like half a dozen 340mm superguns built into hillsides. They are primarily
anti-satellite weapons that fire shells into orbit, but have also launched some tiny
satellites. The Dragon's Throat is a much larger single piece that launched
Dra-pol's first satellite, Red Zero, which Spyr mentioned as not all that different
to the early Sputniks and was little more than a propaganda demonstration that has
probably by now crashed into the atmosphere.

All guns were starting to fall into disrepair until the Combine and Spyr invested in them as cheap space-launch tools: it only costs a couple of hundred thousand dollars to orbit via Dragon's Throat what would cost NASA many millions of dollars to deploy via rocket or shuttle.
Dra-pol has a very few satellites, probably few enough that they can be counted on
one hand, but Spyrian and a few other foreign satellites have been launched from the
same sites and so those that are of military or other sensitive use may be impossible to tell from Dra-pol's handfull of orbiters.

Dra-pol built the guns itself during the years of extreme hostility with the USQ
thanks largely to the good luck to have a genuine genius born in the CPRD. Taka
Oamarii-Il, the slightly eccentric mind behind the guns, now spends much of his time
working in Spyr's superior scientific institutions.

On missiles, Dra-pol hasn't launched any for a while, but has developed successful intermediate range ballistic missiles, and recently did acquire intercontinental missiles from India, but hasn't used them. Our domestic missiles can only really hit Japan and South Korea amongst our enemies, and the best of them might get Hawaii or parts of Alaska, though none are precision accurate or 100% reliable. We've never used them to shoot-down a
satellite, possibly because we think we'd miss, possibly because we can't afford it!

The Soviet-provided Agni missiles could reach Sydney or parts of the continental US, and can carry multiple small nuclear warheads. They were acquired when the Soviets scrapped their strategic nuclear programme and exist as a deterrant that we may not be able to
maintain in the long term. They are supposed -the Soviets think- to protect Dra-pol
from Britain while we shoot down British satellites for them, and -Da'Khiem thinks-
to protect from the US while we... well, never mind what we were planning!

Edit: Well, that was weird [tilts head at paragraphs]))

OOC: Undersea battlestations? One wonders.

Whatever their suspicions on how events have unfolded, there can be only one response to London’s declaration of war against the Choson People’s Republic of Dra-pol. Mutual defense had been a key principle of the Shining Sphere which stretched from Persia to East Asia, and though founded to counter the anarcho-socialist purity now vanishing in Sopworth’s Commonwealth-at-war, it was a pact which held strongly still. PDA-toting Lyongese peddled market socialism on the streets of Seoul, Combiners in dark glasses extracted information from broken mouths within the tunnels of the Dragon’s Throat, and Wang Kuo-fang once more became Hotan beneath the neon lights of Sithin.

To the embassy of the United Kingdom in Sithin, and too in North Sienna, statements are issued warning against any acts of aggression against the CPRD and its revolutionary progress, as such could be seen as nothing less than an attack on all members of the Sphere.

In the end, though, it was a useless missive… the Strainists knew now that war was a certainty, and preparations continued for the Decisive Battle.

The Strainists are informed that the CPRD has taken actions of war against the United Kingdom, and that by all standards the UK is within its rights to respond in kind. A fantastically expensive British telecommunications satellite was shot from the sky, without provocation, and the Strainists have the gall to accuse the UK of aggression? The UK has no quarrel with the People's Republic of Spyr; indeed trade was once strong between the two countries.

Britain has no particular intention of dismantling the CPRD state, but by all means it will attempt to remove Dra-Pol's ability to launch ASAT weapons that have now been used in direct attack upon Britain's national property. If the PRS desires to support an aggressive and violent action by the CPRD to the point of war, Britain will regret any combat that occurs between the PRS and the British Armed Forces, but will defend itself 'with extreme prejudice'.

Off the Great Barrier Reef

The Australian Station Fleet cruised northward at a steady fifteen knots. With the PRS' declaration of intent, its submarine screen had been replaced by a pair of Trafalgar class nuclear submarines and a single Collins class SSK, altogether more capable escorts together than the planned two Collins would have been. The first submarine, HMS Triumph, cruised far ahead of the fleet, her orders were to scout the South China Sea for Dra-Poel or Spyran assets that could attempt to interfere with their mission. She operated alone, a single silent killer that sprinted at twenty-five knots for a time, before falling to a dead stop and listening on the passive set. After the commander was pleased that the area was clear, Triumph resumed her northward dash only to stop again later. The sprint and drift technique allowed for a balance between speed and safety, the submarine's excellent passive set giving it a wide berth of safety inside which an enemy submarine would have to enter before launching.

Perhaps the one area in which the west had always excelled was ELINT, short for Electronic Intelligence. With billions of dollars or pounds to pour into development, the Quinntonians and British had kept a comfortable lead over first the Soviets and then the Asian sphere as a whole. Their only real competition in terms of top-quality sonar came from Spyr, home to dozens of tech industries. Poorer nations such as Dra-Pol, or even high-tech latecomer India, were somewhat more dependent upon outside sources of technology. In short, the Triumph could expect a marginal advantage in detection.

Its main disadvantage was, of course, the fact that it sailed in unfriendly seas. Although technically in international waters, the Triumph's course skirted the territorial seas of Spyr and Sujava, perhaps creeping into them from time to time. It wasn't an easy thing to follow the borders of a map while underwater. Triumph could expect to be outnumbered and, if discovered, subjected to relentless ASW attacks in the event of war with the Spyrans.

Fighting Spyr wasn't the mission, though. Detached from its SSN(DS) role, the Triumph was supposed to head northward into the South China Sea, then the Strait of Japan. The narrow seas weren't Triumph's element, but to prosecute a successful war against the Drapoel they would have to be entered, and an SSN was the perfect boat with which to do it. Submarines were a delightful mix between scout and raider, and a talented submarine captain could report on the state of an enemy's navy, while whittling down that navy a bit on the way. Air power was, of course, a concern for the submariner, but the simple fact was that the best way for Triumph to survive her cruise was to stay a secret for as long as possible.

Strainist diplomats scoff at British certainty. A satellite lost in the void of space and a rumble in Korean earth around the same time, hardly grounds to claim an act of war, unless one already had a thirst for it, particularly as such rumblings are a regular occurence, prodded along by Spyr's own demanding launch schedule, now joined by Combine and Soviet needs as well as those of the Choson themselves. Let Britain lay blame for its technical malfunctions where it belongs, with the human errors of engineers and the harsh realities of orbit, not with the unfortunately-timed deployment of commercial microsatellites.

The telemetry from nearby military satellites then, which observed a catastrophic and unexplained failure not in keeping with mechanical error? The explosion registered even on ground-focused observation units? The ballistic path of the debris, entirely consistent with an impact by a ballistic system on the Korean peninsula? The perfectly timed firing of Dra-Pol's cannon? These things were fabrications? Errors?

Sithin is lauded for its desire to see peace in the world, but criticized for its insistence upon viewing the Dra-Poel through rose-tinted spectacles. Its envoys were asked to allow for limited warfare against the Korean peninsula. The implication was that London would prefer to leave Sithin out of the picture and continue positive relations with the Strainists, but if they proved intractable then the British Empire would simply fight them both.

Mumbai

Though by no means inclined to involve themselves in a conventional war on Dra-pol's behalf, Unioners are nonetheless extremely displeased at the Strathairn government's insistence on starting something with the CPRD. As Spyrians have already pointed out, the destruction of a satellite nowadays is hardly grounds for war, and, with all the debris now in orbit, nations with space assets ought not to be surprised if a satellite comes apart here or there. British diplomats, if there are still any to be found in the INU, are advised that a little restraint might go a long way towards relaxing the tense global situation. Besides, people ask, what does Britain expect to do against a nation with no navy or merchant marine to speak of, and almost no overseas commitments? All that London's declaration of war will accomplish, they maintain, is the straining of relations with Spyr.

In a bid to de-escalate the situation, Parliament offers to pay for the destroyed British satellite out of its own war chest, provided Strathairn agrees not to react in such a drastic and disproportionate fashion in the future.

Also criticized is the Soviet response to British anti-satellite operations, but at the same time Unioners can't be too upset given that, not too long ago, several of the ISC's WIGs were shot down in the Mediterranean by none other than Britain's Royal Navy, with heavy loss of life on the Soviet side and no casualties suffered by the English. A less level-headed power, the British are reminded, would have gone to war there and then.

Heightened military activity in Roycelandia is the cause of much concern for Unioners, who are content to leave Port Royal alone unless it tries to snatch more land from established, sovereign states. Roycelandia is believed to harbor significant ambitions over the former Lusaka, and, as a precaution, the UDF decides to keep its 4th Army in Tanzania, a deviation from original plans that would have the 4th Army shipped to West Africa. 80,000-some troops, for the most part infantrymen, hardly amount to an invasion force, but it is hoped that their presence will serve to dissuade any expansionists across the border.

Opposite Goa, meanwhile, INA troops may be found improving their defensive positions and building new border obstacles. The INU, as evidenced by Parliament's decision to let-through Quinntonian supply convoys, is not about to go after that piece of ground without very good reason, but Unioners want to be ready if shooting does start. Heavy artillery, mainly 4.5 inch guns and Long Toms, WWII-vintage pieces kept by reserve and militia formations, is brought up to cover the border, while truck-mounted Brahmos and Sea Eagle batteries are positioned to cover harbors and naval anchorages.

Da'Khiem

The capital for its part remains firm as ever. Even as Quinntonian-backed conspirators are rounded up and a few fire-fights continue in parts of the Republic, it becomes apparent that Hotan is alive and well, the Director returning to expose the plot and inspire his people.

The Wisest Director now admits that the Central Directorature has been misleading the world and Dra-pol's own people in order to preserve the Revolution.

Hotan reveals to his people the reality of Anglo-Quinntonian intrigue against the KCP and their support for the maniac Suloist Kurosian II. He also proclaims the release of flour and grain stockpiles to the public so as to aleviate current food shortages necessitated by western plots against the people.

The Director declares that the British fleet will be destroyed if it approaches Choson waters, and swears that US provocations will not go unanswered by a Republic that is fully recovered from the hardships of imperialist war and terrorism.

Actually, several major terrorist incidents were still causing problems, but the Director appeared -and was- unimpressed and unconcerned as his plan advanced.

Wider Dra-pol

Supposedly reduced to 750,000 personnel, the Unified People's Army now begins to show once again its true strength as lately rotated personnel come back on to concurrent full-time duty and whole formations appear from hidden facilities and subterranean infrastructure.

Combine fuel aid, leading to the largest stockpiles in the history of the Choson People's Republic, helps no end as trains above and below ground quite suddenly screech back into life and soldiers seep out of the earth as if they too were oil bubbling from a well under great pressure. (The whole terrifying display stopped just short of producing tanks from under parade floats and re-animating past Directors to crush capitalism!)

Though defences along the southern border remain fairly strong and some reinforcement to potential landing zones on both coasts is presently under way, the bulk of UPA forces appear to be massing opposite the unfortunately titled Peace Line around Quinntonian Dra-pol, and tunneling work has re-started after being believed rendered impossible during the Neo-Suloist troubles. Some previously inactive tunnels reaching to the fringe of the defences (but halting there perhaps owing to Quinntonian listening stations liable to be tracking their activity) show signs of habitation while other tunnels previously further from the line have begun to advance towards it once again.

Though estimating this accurately will be close to impossible for foreign agencies, the UPA has returned to its 1.4 million strong peak, fields over 4,500 tanks including mysterious new P'okpoong-Ho and Ch'ŏnma-ho models, almost 3,500 armoured fighting vehicles, 5,750 self propelled artillery pieces including newer 190mm-gunned Chuch'e-Po, 4,500 towed pieces, 3,250 pieces of rocketry, and 14,000 anti-aircraft artillery pieces.

The PAAF is beginning to increase its patrols to prior levels after a long time on reduced activity and training programmes are regaining their former scope as Drapoel pilots try to refresh their skills, rusted by limited flying hours. The PAAF has once again between 2,000 and 2,500 aircraft as maintained briefly at its peak strength, which ultimately proved unsustainable with older Russian-origin aircraft, now replaced by Indian and domestic machines.

The oft-under estimated Coast Guard -which still refuses to call itself different despite being larger than most of the world's navies- maintains some sixty diesel-electric submarines, most Soviet Hound Class SSKs while some are domestic and Yugoslavian midgets and swimmer-delivery vehicles. Two Al Khali-built light patrol frigates remain chief amongst surface combattants, but shipyards have begun to gather materials for the construction of more vessels, and Da'Khiem is rumoured to have negotiated purchase of Yugoslavian frigates in a deal delayed by Belgrade's losses in the Black Sea.

After just a few years of peace and unparalleled foreign assistance, the UPA has become possibly more powerful than in any previous conflict, and Hotan, likewise restored after his mysterious sabatticle, seems ready to continue the work of his mentor.

(Damn time constraints, I'm far too busy for this time of week!)

OOC: LRR, you're making this war hard to start. Grr.

London

The Hindustanis are perhaps the only Progressive bloc nation which stands a chance of de-escalating the situation at all, and in the face of outcry from the Indians, the British are given something of a pause. British envoys, who indeed remain in Mumbai despite the increasingly unstable relations with the Subcontinent as a whole, listen intently to Parliament's propositions. Their position remains firm; the Dra-Poel almost certainly took hostile action against a military asset of the United Kingdom which cost many millions of pounds and represented the height of Britain's indigenously produced communications satellites. This action was taken using-- and here the diplomats might have to hold back a few chuckles-- what appear to be giant mass accelerators of some sort, entirely capable of launching very devastating weapons in their own right, as well as, apparently, conducting ASAT warfare.

Parliament's generous offer of payment for the satellite is politely refused by the British Embassy, which put forth a publication saying that 'Britain will not require its Hindustani friends to pay for the errors of another state'. On a somewhat related note, Whitehall authorizes a payment of several hundred million pounds-- the cost of the destroyed WIGs-- to the ISC, to which is added half a million pounds each for the dead crewmen thereof, to be forwarded to their families with letters of apology. It is made known that the pilot of the Harrier responsible for firing upon the WIGs has been stripped of his rank and is facing criminal charges before a military tribunal. Cold comfort, perhaps, but the best that can be done retroactively. It can hardly be said that Britain does not admit mistakes when necessary.

As for the Dra-Poel situation, all levels of the British government maintain that it is nothing more than a response in kind. The Hotanite regime has supported itself through the indoctrination of its people and the exploitation of its allies' generosity, and while Britain may not be able to remove that regime where even the Quinntonians failed, it may be able to show the Directorate exactly how much NATO will allow it to launch attacks on non-regional powers. Enough, the diplomats will say, is enough. The Dra-Poel regime has been playing a dangerous game of provocation, and it will not be allowed to strike against the property or citizens of the British Empire.

China Sea
OOC: If I'm wrong at any point about the Hounds (I imagine them to be much like the old Foxtrot class that's still in service with China in RL). If they aren't, let me know and I'll edit this section.

With no attacks by Spyran assets thus far, the HMS Triumph cuts its speed as it approaches the furthest extent of Dra-Pol's sphere of influence. Creeping along at ten knots and rigged for silent running, the Triumph is almost certainly quieter than anything the 'coast guard' might be able to muster. A Hound SSK wasn't considered that much of a threat, being of much the same vintage as a Russian Soviet Kilo and perhaps on par with the aged, noisy Foxtrot class. If any Hounds moved within nearly a hundred nautical miles of the Triumph, they would almost certainly be heard and avoided.

The Triumph's mission was to scout the area, and her commander's orders told him that he could only fire if fired upon by an enemy. While there was little fear of destruction at the hands of the ineffective Dra-Poel torpedoes, the commander preferred not to be on the receiving end of one and so aimed not to be detected. At his current depth and speed, creeping below the thermocline with only brief stretches at periscope depth, there was little chance of detection for the nuclear submarine.

Triumph, like all of her class, was stocked with twenty of the heavy Spearfish torpedoes, perhaps the best in the world, four Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and two Tomahawk land-attack missiles (TLAM) used for destroying sea platforms, land fortifications, and anything else large, surface bound, and unmoving. Docked warships, for example. This loadout made her a balanced killer, able to destroy a great deal and escape whatever she couldn't sink. Once her task force, still in the South China Sea, joined her near the southern mouth of the Strait of Japan, she could begin her second job of destroying any Dra-Poel ships-- civilian or otherwise-- leaving the peninsula. No reason to waste lives fighting the enemy on land while you can starve him at sea, and in this the Admiralty was taking a leaf from Karl Doenitz' book of warfare. Dra-Pol's most practicable supply routes came from across the seas, and all nations were informed that their shipments to the Dra-Poel regime must cease or be considered in supply of an enemy state and therefore legitimate targets for the Royal Navy's submarines.

There would be an outcry, but Britain wasn't particularly interested in backing down. If anyone wanted to support a nation that was known for crucifying aid workers (albeit Christian ones, but that notwithstanding), starving and indoctrinating its population to create the illusion of scarcity and a popular hatred of other peoples, and finally attacking communication satellites of the British Empire, let them come.

The Hound Class SSKs supplied to Dra-pol may not be world class any longer, replaced in Soviet service by the Ortiagon Class, one of which recently snuck up on a US carrier battle group and could, in a wartime setting, have destroyed most of said group on its own, but it should not be too easily dismissed.

Unfortunately it may be the case that the British have some reasonable intelligence on the Hound, if they can just dig it up from the archives of the Wilson or Heath government eras. The INU was certainly a Wilson ally and was the first nation to face the then-new Hound Class in combat, pitting its generally superior navy against the Principality's first effective maritime weapon. When the Conservatives returned to power under Heath, it is even possible that Llewellyn's government and military shared information as Britain struggled to deal with its at-odds former colonies.

Of course those were early mark Hounds. Some of these were indeed handed-off to the CPRD during the Sopworth era ('82-'89) to resist sudden US aggression arising at that time, but a number of Dra-pol's boats are akin to those refurbished by the first Soviet Commonwealth and are in many ways more akin to Kilo than Foxtrot in capability. To dismiss out of hand the capabilities of a Kilo would be likely a quite literally grave mistake, as they were not called a hole-in-the-sea for nothing.

Some of Dra-pol's Hounds, then, are 1960s vintage boats, only marginally superior to Foxtrots in their own performance and stealth, and armed with 485mm torpedoes that represent only first-generation guidance technology with a limited warhead, unreliable fuze, and basic propulsion. Others are cleaned up, fine tuned, and refitted with 517mm tubes launching the same up to date torpedoes as Soviet India's own subs. If Tulgarian buckets can take out their warships in exercises, and horrendously faulty and sketchily-designed Collins can sneak into the middle of a Quinntonian fleet or go toe to toe with an LA Class boat, a retrofitted Hound at least poses a realistic threat close to base, if not so much mid-ocean.

This is, of course, only of secondary concern to Raipur, which is already lodging diplomatic protests with the British over their blockade announcement, while the Supreme War Soviet has called the Spyrian ambassador to appear for discussions on re-routing Indo-Drapoel commerce through Strainist ports and land-based routes. The British assertion, meanwhile, that Dra-pol is reliant on the seas seems to betray teething problems in the transition to Empire and the intermingling of Anglo-Australian administrations, as it forgets much of the Quinntonian Aggression (TM) and the presence of US and allied (German?) Nimitz Class carriers in both the Yellow and Revolutionary seas during the conflict, and minimises the importance of Da'Khiem's relationship with neighbouring Lyong.

Still, India's glee in remonstrating London and predicting doom for the British mission is spoiled somewhat by the distinctly un-evil apology and compensation over the WIG incident, which forces an almost reconciliatory statement of satisfaction, though it comes from the popular Soviets and not the SWS.

((OOC: where are you saying my carriers are?))

"Let them come" was an odd sentiment for a power sending its military forces across the world to strike a state whose supposed wrongs were at best assumed. Still, while any threat to the CPRD would be taken quite seriously, the British did not seem to be making such a threat... the Choson had driven out powers far greater than the United Kingdom before, from Quinntonia in recent times to even Lyong's August Empire during the ages on antiquity, and they had been preparing themselves to win a far greater conflict than Britain could ever hope to begin in Korea. Let London smash its men and machines against the immovable height of Paektusan if it wished... such foolishness was typical of barbarians, and despite some hope years ago, it seemed the British Isles were no better than the French in that regard.

The threat to Drapoel shipping is taken somewhat more seriously... Lyong, trapped as it is in the embrace of Korea, Russia, and Japan, must send its civil vessels out through the Japan Strait in order to reach the ports of China and Sujava, and the thought of lurking imperialist submarines is worrying indeed, particularly as Lyongs larger and more modern ports already prepare to move goods from Soviet ships to Choson railcars.

In the Yellow Sea, there is little concern for any potential hostiles... such is a Drapoel area, and they are able to take care of their own interests in that regard. The more strategically-valuable waters of the East China and Great Revolutionary Seas, along with the Strait of Japan, are far more closely monitored.... above and upon their waters, Lyong's OTHR installations serve as eyes searching for any danger, while below dozens of passive hydrophones sit silently, waiting and listening. Surface vessels are not of great concern to Lyong's ears, for their primary purpose is to track submarines... something such installations do very, very well.

OOC: Not much to say (waiting on NATO to jump in, perhaps...?), but I should note that my fleet is out of Australia, and operations in the South China Sea were conducted by carriers so based in the 1940s.

((OOC: No need to worry, the war's coming all right. TheFrom the Depths (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=489252) thread has gone from Hotan's much-exaggerated decline to his defiant return and a couple of nuclear incidents for which Da'Khiem is openly blaming NATO espionage. Worth keeping a British eye on Drapoel preparations there, I think. Could be an interesting tiff, as the Directorature has been preparing for this war for several years. I hope the capitalists have plans more advanced than point and shoot ;) ))