NationStates Jolt Archive

http://playahata.com/images/otherpics/mushroom_cloud.jpg

Skismirian News Network:

" This is James Goodnun reporting to you live from Skismirian Island of Calvicus was struck late tonight by a high yield nuclear blast. The island was home to the city of Sarmina and was populated by almost 20,000 people, and was also the place was major commerce for the region. As the the reasons behind the blast, or who is responsible is unknown. As the situation unfolds it is clear that investigating the area is out of the question as major explosions continue to erupt on the island itself. The Government has confirmed that large deposits of an unstable gas was located in many locations throughout the islands foundation. On top of a continued threat of natural gas explosions the threat of radiation is very real and is currently being blown out to sea as a strong sea-breeze has engulfed the area. We will continue to report to you as the situation continues..."

---- Clerics Office- Dretrota city

The office was booming with activity as tips, concerned citizens, and phone calls about loved one poured in as the sense of paranoia took ahold of the country. It was almost no time before the Clerics Office released a press conference.

OOC: this Press conference is open to the public and anyone can come to ask questions!

TO: Skismire Government
FROM: Ludmilla IV, Princess of Bergelland
RE: Nuclear Explosion

I have recently been informed of the nuclear explosion on the Island of Calvicus. As we speak, Bergian intelligence assets are actively investigating the cause of such blast. Any humanitarian assistance needed will be provided. If you so request, the Royal Airforce can deploy two flights of AAE Tornados to keep watch around the Island, while you recover from this disaster.

Sincerely,
Ludmilla, the Fourth of Bergelland

***Official Government Response***

The Kingdom of Orzio has been made aware of the nuclear blast in your nation. Any humanitarian aid you need, such as medical supplies, food, or shelter, can be dispatched to your nation shortly. Whatever your needs are, please let me know.

~John Issacson
2nd Minister for Foreign Affairs

From the Foreign Legate Office of The Democratic States of Vista Buena

Our nation has received word of this immense tragedy, and we have instructed our nation's Red Cross and Civil Defence team to deliver any supplies and assistance you might need. Please let us know of anything that is absolutely needed at this hour.

AATT flight A1098 was an aging C-class transport airship. Its 500 metre-long envolope, containing hydrogen mixed with dangerous amounts of air from the many leaks due to the ancient 80-year old structure, held up a massive white-painted metal-plastic containter bolted to its underside, filled with nearly 200 shipping crates, bound for Alfegos from one of its colonies. It had taken a route outside the main airshipping lanes, to catch the strong trade winds to carry it back to Alfegos on much less fuel, and in about the same time.

In the forward gondola, internally concealed inside the gasbag, sat 2 men. Behind them, 5 others were chatting and drinking tea, shivering in the cold temperature as the heater had been switched off.

The pilot and co-pilot were listening to the radio traffic, sending idle messages to Alfegos airships in the main shipping lane, about 120 miles off, and the occasional message to a Skismire ship that swam 8000 feet below them. They were inside Skismire airspace, but Alfegos currently had no quarrel with Skismire. And anyway, they doubted that anyone would complain about a nearly-silent C-class floating magnificantly in the sky.

They were now just over the land, and had started to pick up massive chatter from a nearby town.
"Shall we fly over the town?"
"No way... why would you want to do that? We are breaking international laws as it is to get this run in on time and on budget."
"Spoilsport. Alright."
The airship rudder moved slightly, as did the engine housings in the rear gondola, as the airship turned to the left.

Suddenly, the sky was lit up with a bright flash. That was all the crew saw, as the heat wave hit the airship, melting the outer skin, destorying the rigid internal structure, bursting all the gas cells and rupturing compressed fuel contatiners nearly similatneously before igniting nearly 6.7 million cubic metres of Hydrogen.

The shockwave as sectors 4-6 exploded followed closely by sectors 1-3 and 7killed the crew instantly, the heat melting their bones as the shockwave blew them apart. The massive light in the sky as the airship destroyed itself was nearly as bright as the

Seconds later, the nuclear shockwave caught up with the scattered remains of the once mighty airship, blowing it around the area.

--------------------------

"Flight A1098, repsond please. Flight A1098 respond"

The call had been going out for the last 15 mintues, and now with the satellite footage and world chatter of the nuclear explosion, there was no doubt in what had happened.

The cargo of silver though was not something that Alfegos wanted to think about: 700 tonnes of processed silver from Neo'Delgi, worth a few million at least. It was completely irretevable, unless the shipping containers had held together and not melted.

---------------------------

Another airship floated towards the nation from which the mushroom cloud was still visable. On this one however, there were missile pods showing the heads of many weapons, and the kevlar skin, concealing helium/hydrogen gas cells and a large internal bomb-bay.

The consul-class aircruiser crackeld as it apporached the area of the blast, the crew eeriely all having donned dosemeters and radiological warfare suits. A geiger counter was emitting the eerie noise, linked up to the ships loudspeaker system.

From underneath hung a large probe that dragged through the water on its massive cable: an antisubmarine sonar probe, now being used to map the sea bottom for any crates and metal. Sensors were also measuring the mineral makeup, radiation and prescene of life in the water. This was the interesting aprt for cleanup: how badly had the sea been conatminated?

Soon, it had found a couple of what appeared to be crates, surrounded by debris. What it had been looking for.

-----------------------------------------

Alfegos wishes to send comisserations on the blast, and will send cleanup teams and scientific teams to measure the radiation in the massive area and keep a track of the damage.

For more immediate care, the civilian airships L-923, L-841, K-91 and K-87 have been deployed, one carrying emergancy hospitals and medical personnel, the others carrying massive amounts of spoil to cover the area and thus try and bury the radiation in the area.

We also ask for permission for submarine recovery crews to enter your nation, going after a large consignment of silver from a destroyed airship in your airspace.
----------------------------------------

The 4 airships flew at low height, as to keep the storng breeze on their tails, compared to the high-altitude winds. One split off to where medical personnel seemed to be gathering, while the others went into formation with their cargo-bay doors readied to drop the lines of earth on the city.

From: SKismirian Clerics Offices:

"As of today, any nation who is willing to assist in the clean up and recovery of the island are welcome to come with what ever resources to assist. All aircraft are cleared to fly in the area and all non-military submarines are authroized to begin scientific mission in the near-by waters. All nations in the area are free to plunder as they see fit to help pay for any cost in aiding our recovery.

I will also like to remind all nations that the initital attack has not affected our mainland and only the island has been affected. I hope this wil not deter you from visiting our northern cities an I hope all nations will continue trade with our nation.

Signed:
High Cleric Atermis

Arab-Canada offers it deepest condalences for your lose and the lose of a major port city...

A quiet rumble as the submarine started its engine as it reached the bottom of the sea, followed by a screech as the sonar echoed out, pinpointing the crates nearby. The searchlights then picked out the melted remains of the airship strewn across the bottom, surrounding the distorted crate, part of it melted and part crushed as it hit the ocean at speed.

Inside, the lights picked out disfigured masses of silver bars, some melting into each other. There were other lumps of molten metal, possibly silver bars, scattered around the seafloor. It would take a while to get all this up.

The submarine grasped onto the crate with its pincers underneath, before blasting clear its tanks and dropping all the iron weight inside. It started to rise to the surface, with over $100 000 of silver hanging underneath.

From: SKismirian Clerics Offices:

All nations in the area are free to plunder as they see fit to help pay for any cost in aiding our recovery.

Signed:
High Cleric Atermis

Ingorland will be there, always up for a freebie :cool:

The people of the Free Lands of Sei Nushi flock to the Skismirian in order to assist as much as possible. Including the saving of any possible wildlife that may have been affected. We carry a message from Furi-Suki our Toumoku of our lands.
"Our country weeps over the loss of life in you situation. We offer any assistance we can in aiding you in any possible recovery and investigation in this matter. May this situation resolve it's self quickly for you."


I have been authorized to allow the use of 3 billion to aide you in the clean up of your island.

UN Delegate
Saidai

FLASH TRAFFIC
FROM: Supreme Commander of The Armed Forces of Bergelland
TO: Skismirian Government
Re: Relief Operations

The Princess Ludmilla IV has given me full authority to deploy relief assets to your island. We would like to set Combat Air Patrols around the islands enforcing a 30 mile air exclusion zone so that para-rescue personnel can be deployed to the island to assist any survivors. If you agree with that, of course.

We would also like to be granted temporary access to an airbase or airport with a 4,000m runway so that these aircraft can operate closer to the island, reducing flight times. We would be deploying a single 12 aircraft Tornado fighter squadron for the CAP duties.

Understand that I cannot authorize any overflights of non-combat assets or para-rescue deployments without full air cover in the area. If you own air force is capable of establishing the exclusion zone and providing air cover, that would be preferable.

The airships now were over the city: the three ones carrying soil first scanned the area using borrowed infared cameras, and through the fireshere and there saw the warmth of bodies. The medical crew who had landed, all in full radiological warfare suits, had taken the onboard airship helicopter to evacuate as many people as they could, before the airships began to stop any further contamination.

Back where the airship had landed, the remaining medics, about 50, had set up a large prefabbed hospital, made of many interlinking domes, carried aboard the airship. In here was equipment hopefully enough to try and treat acute radiation sickness and the hideous burns, or to put them out of their misery.

The aircruiser stayed near the other airship, it weapons banks armed so that they did not come under attack: the oppertunity of plunder would maek some quite hostile, especially when they knew that it was about ot be covered with a metre of topsoil.

-------------------------------------

With the few survivors found evacuated from the run area: the airships began to release the thousands of tonnes of topsoil onto the ground in a controlled flow, burying the area around the epicentre with a thick layer of protective earth.

Soon, they were empty, and moved away to pick up more earth from the least-contaminated parts of the island.

In the hospital area, the 42 survivors who were the only ones found within 5 miles of the epicentre were being treated. Charred skin and hideous damage could be seen to all, yet the screaming had stopped now all had been given sedative.
In the small lab, a blood-sampling computer had sampled all the patients bloods in under 15 minutes, and had given them all an idea of the blood groups, and the situation.
All were suffering from acute radiation sickness, and would soon die if left untreated.

"They are all suffering from massive dose of about 1000 REMs. This means that their bone marrow will have disintegrated, and their intestinal and gastric linings will have likely as not been badly damaged. There is no chance of these guys goign back to a normal life, but there is a chance they will live.
Give them all a temporary boost of platlets and white bloodcells, and we'll see about getting them some bone marrow transplant."

The medics busised themselves quickly with collecting together the equipment, and then taking out large sacs of fluids from a massive refrigerated chest. The head suregeons quickly used a computer to look a the quickest way they could find of getting in bone marrow. They found it, and still felt grim.

They quickly delved into the chest, and found the large amount of bone marrow in cylinders at the bottom. Luckily, they had been equipped for this emergancy.
they then went over to the patients, still sedated, and used cleans needles to remove the patients' blackened bone marrow and replace it with bone marrow from another donor. Not ideal, but it would have to do until they could undergo gene therapy.
Next, to treat their burns, which vaired from a couple of radiation burns to near full-body charring by third degree burns. These people would not survive, so were put under heavy sedation until that came.