NationStates Jolt Archive

It was a clear sunny day in Hawktowa, capital city of The Protectorate of Lucus Maximus. Clear, beautiful and breath taking. This wasn't to last long...

'' Gentlemen, said David Savage General of all the armed forces of Lucus Maximus, we have a situation in our hands.''

'' Unconfirmed reports have it that a rebellious force, knowed only has The Lucus Maximus Liberation Front or LMLF if your prefer, have been planning a coup d'état against are current governement. At this time, Joint Task Force 7 is currently infiltrating the possible location of the LMLF leader know only as ''Shadow''. We should be having intel shortly.''


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Alpha-one moved in silently and discretly as possible, inside the building. Him and his 5 men team of JTF7 were in downtown Hawktowa were reports had it that ''Shadow'' would be in the building.

''Alpha-two, he said, open and bang go, when ready''
-''roger Alpha-one''

He opened the door and threw a flashbang ''FIRE IN THE HOLE!''

They entered only to face something even more horrible then what they anticipated. A nuclear device was at 3 feet in front of them and the counter was nearing 0.

5,4,3,2,1...

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From inside his underground bunker, General Savage could feel the ground shake and here the noise from the 3 megaton explosion in downtown Hawktowa, more than 30 kilometers away. Luckly, the Prime minister Lucias Maximias was inside the bunker with him.

''What the hell was that!?'' asked the prime minister
''That sir...answered Savage...was a nuclear explosion...''

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''This is kim langiant from LMNN news with what appears to be a giant mushroom cloud coming from downtown Hawktowa. We have no confirmation of what that is but the military has been placed on high alert all around the country and...hold on...this just in, the Prime Minister has justed posted a public adress to the nation. Here it is.''

The screen turned black and the face of Prime Minister Lucias Maximias appears:

''My fellow Lucus Maximians, today, our nation was suddendly and diliberatly attacked by the LMLF with a nuclear device on Hawktowa. Our military is on high alert and we demand to all citizens to stay inside there homes. A bloody Battle is under way and we do not want you to be harmed. We shall eliminate this, now considered, terrorist threat. Be carefula and be safe.''


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Shortly after his presentation, The prime minister sent this message to all fellow nations:


To: The world
From: Prime Minister Lucias Maximias
Subject: Civil war


To all my fellow leaders around the world, today my country suffered a terrible nuclear explosion with many lives lost. This can not go unpunished. Aur enemy is well trained and well armed but I ask your assistance at this time to help us. My military is on high alert but they won't be able to stop this onslaught. I pledge you to help us in our time of need. We won' forget your sacrifice.

Prime Minister Lucias Maximias

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The war officialy began three hours after the explosion whne the military engaged the terrorists in the second biggest town, Montgold.

To: Lucius Maximians

We will immediately send 1 regiment of armored infantry (2,500 troops), and 1 NCD (Nuclear Containment Detachment, 500 troops each). They will arrive within 10 hours.

From: National Military High Command (NMHC)
----

The Army regiments arrived punctually. The military had been going places recently, as 6 regiments were already fighting in Greal, not counting the 3 air wings there.

The 3,000 men were complemented by a F/A wing of 96 aircraft. They landed on the beaches, and with the a 3/8th of a regiment peeling off toward Hawktowa, the rest going to Montgold.

At the outskirts of Montgold, the 70 M2 "Pounder" howitzer carriers pointed their cannons toward the city, and fired. Everybody else went straight toward where the shells would hit, as automatic weapons fire started....

To: Lucius Maximus
From: The Grand World Order Office of Foreign Affairs

Greetings, Lucius Maximians, we have recieved news of the nuclear blast in Hawktowa, which is comparable to the terror attack on a nuclear power plant in our city known as Radium. We will send a force of 20,000 Army personnel, including armor and artillery, along with 5,000 Marine personnel, including armor and artillery. Please specify locations for our forces to land at, preferrably somewhat close to the troubled areas. Our forces will mainly be arriving via Pelican (Not that Halo one, there's a prototype plane in developement that carries much more cargo than a C-130, and at longer distances called the Pelican. It's mainly for overseas transport.) transport craft.

Official Message of the Roman Empire to all nations involved:

The Holy Theocracy of the Roman People hereby forbid all nations from entering into the territory of Lucus Maximus either to offer relief, to fight the terrorists, or to assist the terrorists. The Roman Navy shall hereby be deployed to place an embargo on the affected area.

Furthermore, The Roman People hereby demand the surrender both of Sovereign Nation of Lucus Maximus, as well as those rebels who have staged an attack against the same. The Roman people hereby annex the territory of Lucus Maximus, and declare it a territory of the Roman State. This is all.

Imperator of Rome
Sextvs Avgvstvs

IC:

5 fleets (http://www.freewebs.com/romanorum/gensromaenavy.htm) are on en route to Lucus Maximus, and are expected to arrive within a day.

Octavivs Valentinvs, an admiral of the 2nd fleet, stands aboard the deck of the S.S. Titan, the flag battleship of the same. He gazes out across the waters of the sea as the sun begins to set. Holding a glass of red wine, his sense of serenity is broken by an officer: "So what's the plan, chief?"

"Son, get your arse to the captain's quarters, reach into my drawers, pull out my pamphlet, and it examine yourself, holding it long a while. I cannot be bothered by these things."

The officer scurries off, and Octavianvs is left more or less to himself for a long while.

Official Message of the Roman Empire to all nations involved:

The Holy Theocracy of the Roman People hereby forbid all nations from entering into the territory of Lucus Maximus either to offer relief, to fight the terrorists, or to assist the terrorists. The Roman Navy shall hereby be deployed to place an embargo on the affected area.

Furthermore, The Roman People hereby demand the surrender both of Sovereign Nation of Lucus Maximus, as well as those rebels who have staged an attack against the same. The Roman people hereby annex the territory of Lucus Maximus, and declare it a territory of the Roman State. This is all.

Imperator of Rome
Sextvs Avgvstvs

IC:

5 fleets (http://www.freewebs.com/romanorum/gensromaenavy.htm), and with it, 5 Legions (http://www.freewebs.com/romanorum/gensromaearmy.htm) are on en route to Lucus Maximus, and are expected to arrive within a couple days.

Octavivs Valentinvs, an admiral of the 2nd fleet, stands aboard the deck of the S.S. Titan, the flag battleship of the same. He gazes out across the waters of the sea as the sun begins to set. Holding a glass of red wine, his sense of serenity is broken by an officer: "So what's the plan, chief?"

"Son, get your arse to the captain's quarters, reach into my drawers, pull out my plan, and it examine yourself, holding it long a while. I cannot be bothered by these things."

The officer scurries off, and Octavivs is left more or less to himself for a long while.

|Open Faxanavian Communique|
The people of Faxanavia have never, ever, ever condoned any action of terrorism. Having just put down a terrorist uprising in our own country, we will support the people of Lucus Maximus now. We will willingly deploy 25,000 armed soldiers to your nation, armed and bringing artillery, tanks, and other such ground combat groups. Also, a contingency of the Faxanavian airforce will be deployed posthaste to your nation to await further instructions.

Respectfully yours,
Ivansky Bochick
Prime Minister


The sky was a pale blue, and the 75 Faxanavian P22 AF-17 Mudhen's rippled through it like a knife through butter. These planes, armed and dangerous, were the first of the Faxanavian air forces to deploy for Lucus Maximus. They kept in close formation around the planes they were supporting- two CJ-19 Atlas's, loaded with Faxanavian infantry, bound for Lucus Maximus. A radio call went out from one of the CJ-19's:

"Come in, Lucus Maximus. I repeat, come in Lucus Maximus. This is Faxanavian armed forces, incoming for support on your terrorist issues. Request permission to land. I repeat, request permission to land."

Official Message of the Roman Empire to all nations involved:

The Holy Theocracy of the Roman People hereby forbid all nations from entering into the territory of Lucus Maximus either to offer relief, to fight the terrorists, or to assist the terrorists. The Roman Navy shall hereby be deployed to place an embargo on the affected area.

Furthermore, The Roman People hereby demand the surrender both of Sovereign Nation of Lucus Maximus, as well as those rebels who have staged an attack against the same. The Roman people hereby annex the territory of Lucus Maximus, and declare it a territory of the Roman State. This is all.

Imperator of Rome
Sextvs Avgvstvs

To: The Holy Theocracy of The Roman People
From: The Grand World Order Office of Foreign Affairs

It has come to our attention that you are currently violating the sovereignty of a nation we are lending aid to. On behalf of The Spire, we ask you to pull your forces away from Lucus Maximus. Failure to do so will warrant numerous trade blockades on your nation. You are also not to interfere with our operations in this nation, for doing so is considered an act of war.

We thank you for your assistance but the war is only begining.

All friendly aircrafts are cleared to land and airstrikes are go for these following targets:

The foothills of Montgold, wich are currently being overunned by enemy forces.

The outskirts of Hawktowa where enemy armoured divisions and personnel were spotted by air recon.

All avaible targets that anyone can see.

Shoot to kill...

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The terrorist forces have closed in on the General's bunker where the Prime Minister is Hiding. The few remaining Special Forces troops are pinned down by enemy mortar and small arms fire.

''I don't think we will be able to hold! We need back up NOW!''

''MAN DOWN! MAN DOWN!''

'MEDIC!''

Suddenly, static is heard on the Comm channels as the Prime Minister and the General start to panic:

''We need some sort of miracle to help us out of here, General'' said the Prime Minister

''I tried the Comm channels, they're all dead'' Replied the General

''SIR SIR!, Shouted a soldier, we got a faint radio signal, we could call in back up!''

The General rushed for the hand-held radio and started to sepak in the receiver:

''To all friendly units out there, This is General David Savage. We are pinned down in a bunker with the Prime Minister. Deamand IMMEDIAT rescue of priority one. I repeat requesting an EVAC ASAP. Over''

Now, all they had to do is wait...

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As Shadow watched the battle rage on, he turned to his lieutenant:
''Time to give the coup de grace. Tell the men that air capability is a go.''

-''Yessir!''


The terrorist forces now possesed the capability to hit whatever they wanted with airstrikes from close rogue nations who support there cause. Things just got even more complicated...

Official Message of the Roman Empire to all nations involved:

The Holy Theocracy of the Roman People hereby forbid all nations from entering into the territory of Lucus Maximus either to offer relief, to fight the terrorists, or to assist the terrorists. The Roman Navy shall hereby be deployed to place an embargo on the affected area.

Furthermore, The Roman People hereby demand the surrender both of Sovereign Nation of Lucus Maximus, as well as those rebels who have staged an attack against the same. The Roman people hereby annex the territory of Lucus Maximus, and declare it a territory of the Roman State. This is all.

Imperator of Rome
Sextvs Avgvstvs

The Terracratic Union declares the Roman Empires rule in Lucus Maximus null and void, and denounces any actions it may take to attempt conquest. Such actions are imprudent, and both the Union and (we may assume) The Grand World Order will stand against any and all assaults made by the Roman Empire.

Greetings and Defiance,
Ivansky Bochick
Prime Minister

The Roman People would like to remind The Grand World Order and Faxanavia that they are, in fact, "broke-ass" and tiny nations, and that the Roman People "gots" lots more military forces "where that came from", and that we will, in fact "bring it, yo."

Tyrone
Office of Official Smack Talkers
Gens Romae Government

An armada of ships, led by the Semi-Flagship Spear of The Spire began heading off towards Lucus Maximus, which included two Super Dreadnoughts, two Carrier Fleets, two Nuclear Attack Submarines, numerous anti-ship torpedo boats, five extra destroyers, three battleships, and numerous auxillary ships. The aircraft were grounded at one of the nearby Lesser Cities of the GWO's Global Network. They would not start flying until it was confirmed that the Romans would not fire. The transport ships mainly were carrying vehicles, but a few ships were loaded with infantry.

With a stoic smile, Field Major John Tarlington surveyed the men around him. He spoke simulataneously on his radio and to the men around him. "Gentleman, I feel no need for a drawn out speech. We know what we are here for. Let's take this country back." With a loud roar, the AF-17's kicked to full potential, and achieved Mach 2, ripping away. They each carried with them 8 GBU-24 Paveway III massive ordinance explosives. Their target was the foot hills of Montgold, and they made good time (as something at mach 2 tends to.) Hurtling over their target, they let loose with their considerable firepower- 200 Paveways, all targetting the terrorists below.

The Faxanavian soldiers onboard the transports, meanwhile, numbered only a few hundred. But, they were elite, well trained paratroopers. They deployed from the CJ-19's, their parachutes opening in a wide arc as they descended on the battle in Hawktona below. They were here to take the capitol back, and they landed with their guns blazing.

The Roman People would like to remind The Grand World Order and Faxanavia that they are, in fact, "broke-ass" and tiny nations, and that the Roman People "gots" lots more military forces "where that came from", and that we will, in fact "bring it, yo."

Tyrone
Office of Official Smack Talkers
Gens Romae Government

The Grand World Order and it's allies hereby take this as a Declaration of War. We would like to remind the Roman People that Faxanavia and ourselves alone make up nearly your nation, and the Grand World Order Economy is not "Broke Ass". The Grand World Order military alone is more numerous than yours, combine that with Faxanavia's military and our allies.

As the war raged on, It came to the attetion of the Lucus Maximus troops that they have a new foe. The Roman empire.


To:The roamn Empire invading force
From: Prime Minister Lucias Maximias
Subject: War

It Came to my attetnion that your are willing to invade our great country. I will declare a state of war on your Empire if your troops open fire on my men. I must inform you that my country is not a puny little country and that we will ''bring it, yo'' with all our military might that we can muster and the possible use of Nuclear threat on YOUR capital cities. I demand you to withdraw ALL forces inside my waters or on my land. If you do not comply, we shall be forced to open fire on you...

Prime Minister Lucias Maximias

OOC: Hey, Lucus, do me a favor: Could you link to a map of your nation? Or perhaps give us some idea of what your nation is physically? Like, for example, my nation is basically modern Italy.

The Roman People would like to remind The Grand World Order and Faxanavia that they are, in fact, "broke-ass" and tiny nations, and that the Roman People "gots" lots more military forces "where that came from", and that we will, in fact "bring it, yo."

Tyrone
Office of Official Smack Talkers
Gens Romae Government

The government of Faxanavia wishes to remind Gens Romae that their "lots more military forces" are, frankly, going to be paltry. We would advise they back down. Now. Before measure are taken. Large measures.

Greetings and defiance,
Ivansky Bochick
Prime Minister

The Grand World Order and it's allies hereby take this as a Declaration of War. We would like to remind the Roman People that Faxanavia and ourselves alone make up nearly your nation, and the Grand World Order Economy is not "Broke Ass". The Grand World Order military alone is more numerous than yours, combine that with Faxanavia's military and our allies.

OOC: I seriously (http://www.sipan.org/~peter/NationStates/Tracker/index.php?nation=gens_romae&nation2=The+Grand+World+Order&nation3=&nation4=&nation5=&nation6=&nation7=&nation8=&nation9=&nation10=) suggest you rethink that.

OOC: I seriously (http://www.sipan.org/~peter/NationStates/Tracker/index.php?nation=gens_romae&nation2=The+Grand+World+Order&nation3=&nation4=&nation5=&nation6=&nation7=&nation8=&nation9=&nation10=) suggest you rethink that.

OOC: Actually, I must agree. TGWO is not as large as you. Yet, somehow, he's not the only one fighting here.

Basically, Lucs Maximus is alot like modern canada.

Hawktowa is a the same place as Ottawa and Montgold is at the same place as Montreal.

More battlefields to come and more cities.

Stay tuned

OOC: I seriously (http://www.sipan.org/~peter/NationStates/Tracker/index.php?nation=gens_romae&nation2=The+Grand+World+Order&nation3=&nation4=&nation5=&nation6=&nation7=&nation8=&nation9=&nation10=) suggest you rethink that.

((OOC: Police forces are officially part of the GWO Military, under the Unconventional Warfare/Government Affairs Department. So they share funds. Plus the fact that we use prisoners for free work along with cloning to boost military numbers. Now, I'm going to prevent a flamewar by not participating in this OOC arguement.))

The forces in Hawktona had landed in a group of just 200, but they were not alone. Inbound from Faxanavia were another 20 AF-17's, supporting 2 CJ-19's, ready to deploy more troops. However, first the AF-17's had to do their job. They flew past the CJ-19's, and out to the outskirts of Hawktona, where the terrorist forces seemed to be waiting, oncoming towards the capitol. But, not for very long. The AF-17's let rip with their Paveway III's, onto the oncoming force- a total of 160 Paveways, all inbound and ready for destruction.

((OOC: Police forces are officially part of the GWO Military, under the Unconventional Warfare/Government Affairs Department. So they share funds. Plus the fact that we use prisoners for free work along with cloning to boost military numbers. Now, I'm going to prevent a flamewar by not participating in this OOC arguement.))

OOC: I agree. Let's agree to not fight this out. Gens Romae, I apologize if I've been inflamatory to you in anyway OOCly. Let's move ahead with this.

Semi Secret IC (Not secret insofar as the fleet is obviously not hidden, but secret insofar as the discourse between the admirals won't be apparent):

The Fleet is within a day from landing on Maximus shores. All 5 of the admirals of the 5 fleets, as well as the 5 Commanders of the 5 Legions, stand upon the deck of the S.S. Titan.

The eldest speaks:

"Alright, men. Within 24 hours, we are going to be landing within 50 miles of each other, the central landing point of which is going to be Sept-illes (or whatever it is that you call it, Lucus). (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/americas/canada_pol99.jpg) Within the next hour, we are going to send air squadrons for a preemptive bombing run over critical cities. Once we land, 3 legions are going to go south to Montreal and Ottowa (or whatever it is that you call it, Lucus), and secure those cities. The fourth and fifth legions are going to make a sweep southeast to Chibougamou and Sudbury respectively, and secure those cities. Get rested, gentlemen. In the next 24 hours, it's on."

Meanwhile, there is a screeching sound and blurrs as 3 groups of 80 fighters each (40 Typhoons and 40 F-35s respectively) depart from the Nimitz Class Carriers, rise into the air, and scream towards St. John's, Halifax, and Septilles for a preemptive bombing run. They should arrive there in a few hours.

Entr'acte.

Scene: the clouds.

Dramatis personae: 'Joe', aka 'Echo One', and his five wingmates Two ('Eric'), Three ('Bob'), Four ('Sam'), Five ('Ned'), and Six ('Ferdinando Augusto').

The DF-6 Super Peregrine is only the most advanced long-range fighter/interceptor to be produced in a long line of Czardian aircraft. Some pilots, it is said, can fly it at Mach 5 without ill effects; those pilots are largely urban legends, but it's still pretty dang close. Their blunt noses and vaguely delta wings are near iconic across the territories that fly them. But these Super Peregrines are not the variety that carry weapons. Instead they are outfitted with reconnaissance equipment advanced enough to record the newspaper over your chief spy's shoulder. Their mission is a generic wide patrol, scanning the world for interesting incidents; it is the unspoken policy of the Governor-for-Life to end Silanche's period of isolation and reignite the old Czardian spirit, preferably through blowing stuff up, hence the Super Peregrines wheel and wing their way across airspaces far removed from Silanche's own.

And today they will see something.

Bob is the first to break the formation. He descends. The Peregrines are at the altitude of almost eighty thousand feet above sea level; now they are descending, and slowing significantly to the far more reasonable velocity of Mach 2.8ish; he pulls up the feed and radios his wingmates. "You guys saw that?"

"Yeah. Looked like a mushroom cloud. And there's definitely fighting going on down there."

"Joe, whose airspace are we in?"

"Don't remember the name. Lucus Maximus, I think. Are they at war?"

"Not that I know of. Intel would have warned us to stay out of warzones. Ferdy, you do the honours."

"Ferdinando Augusto, as I say every time-"

"And don't start this with me, I control the beer supply."

"Fine. [pause] Nightwatch, come in Nightwatch?"

"This is Nightwatch, reading you loud and clear, over."

"Nightwatch, this is Echo Six, we have a possible situation in Lucus Maximus, over."

"What kind of a situation? Over."

"It looks like some kind of fighting. What are you getting?"

"Well, we're picking up a few naval flotillas heading in your general direction, so stay out of their way. Over."

"Echo Six, over and out."

And so it went from Nightwatch to another AWACS base station, to yet another; until finally it came home to Silanche, and then Intel got involved. It always does.


Act One. Scene one.

Scene: A large spare modern briefing room. Quiet furniture, screens on the walls, the conference table and chairs arrayed neatly; light, fluorescent and overhead, yet none too hard. Behind the head of the table there is an abstract painting.

Players: Governor-for-Life of Silanche, assorted Ministers and Generals.

Time: Call it present day and we'll go half and half.

When Intel gets involved, it gets messy. Proof, that such a meeting is even called. Silanche is not technically a democracy; representation extends as far as Parliament, but the Governor and the highest ministers are handpicked and serve for life. Nonetheless, popular opinion is one of the main topics of discussion. As General Williams comments, the people have just as much influence in a democracy as in a dictatorship; they just use it differently there.

James Shadowe Dell O'Brien, Jim to friends, steeples his fingers and plays with a paper clip. He is Governor-for-Life of Silanche and it shows; the sleepless nights and unremitting hours are indicated in part by dark circles under his eyes and an unshaven stubble covering his cheeks. It is, as he says himself, because he is too ethical.

"So, we have four hundred billion dollars available for the first quarter, and if it spills over we'll need to ask Parliament for more?"

"That's the idea, Governor," General Daniel Arachinovsky says. He is the only officer who has been around for as long as O'Brien; he led the first Czardian military detachment stationed in the fledgling colony, and his hair is grey with age.

"That leaves the only question as that of popular support. Are the people likely to support a war?"

"At this point it's too early to tell," the Minister of War says testily. "But it shouldn't be a problem. A righteous cause will unite the people and send strong signals to Dzanjir and Taroën, to say nothing of the diaspora, that the old Czardian spirit of liberty and justice is still alive."

"Whereas, having government officers who serve for life does the opposite," O'Brien says, leaving an unpleasant silence in his wake. "Well, I'm willing to do it, but I think we should start drawing up withdrawal timetables as soon as the operation is far enough underway to determine it. I don't want us getting stuck in a political quagmire and becoming the laughingstock of the region."

"I have complete faith in the ability of my boys to complete the operation in under three months, Governor," Arachinovsky says promptly. "In addition, if we do need any more money, I'm sure DDI would be willing to put up a few billion. This is war, after all, it's a worthwhile investment for any sane arms company."

"This is war, not the stock market," General Albert Williams says.

"That too."

"Well, Daniel, I think we should give it a go. I'll have Parliament rubber stamp it, and deliver me your proposed orbat by Saturday."

"Will do."


Re: Imperialistic Warmongering

Dear Imperator Avgvstvs:

It has come to the attention of the Militant Pacifists of New Czardas that you have chosen to annex and invade a smaller nation undergoing unfortunate internal difficulties. Let it be known that New Czardas does not look kindly upon such actions and will not hesitate to respond with full military, political, and economic force should you fail to back down before Saturday. Points, however, for not hypocritically claiming you're going in as "liberators"; if there's one thing we hate more than warmongers, it's liars.

Signed,
J.S.D. O'Brien
Governor-for-Life of Silanche

And for those of you (http://www.sipan.org/~peter/NationStates/Tracker/index.php?nation=gens_romae&nation2=the_grand_world_order&nation3=faxanavia&nation4=new%20czardas&nation5=&nation6=&nation7=&nation8=&nation9=&nation10=) who put stock in calculators.

OOC: If Gens Romae doesn't back down, i'll get involved on Lucus Maximus' side. and since Gens Romae likes his calculators somuch.... (http://www.sipan.org/~peter/NationStates/Tracker/index.php?nation=gens_romae&nation2=the_grand_world_order&nation3=faxanavia&nation4=new_czardas&nation5=1010102&nation6=&nation7=&nation8=&nation9=&nation10=)

Official Message of Gens Romae:

The Roman People hereby rescind their earlier act, which is to say, the annexation and declaration of war on the troubled peoples thereof. Her fleets are being called back as this very announcement is being released.

Sextus Augustus
Imperator of Rome

IC:

The admiral sits alone in his quarters, with the exception of an officer.

"We're being ordered to do what?"

"It's coming from the Imperator himself. We're outclassed."

"..."

"I know, huh?"

Meanwhile, as this conversation occurs, the fighters land once more on the aircraft carriers one by one, and the ships begin to turn a complete 360. They make their way back to Italia.

As the Roman ships headed home, the Federation fleet dispatched to the region came within close view of them. Many sailors stood on the sides, simply observing the Romans. Several sailors were snickering, but they made sure to stay inside. The GWO fleet continued it's course to Lucus Maximus, and the transport planes took off and headed towards the combat zone.

OOC: wow, way to back down right in the middle of when I was writing a post, which i'll include here for the lulz. i still had the letter and a military portion to go D:<

Kampfers Stadt, Kampfers
In the office of the Fuhrer

Fuhrer Eric Richtoff watched the news ticker in the upper lefthand corner of his computer screen go by, filling his mind with endless amounts of useful information. It was times like these, times with nothing else to do, that gave the Fuhrer a dreary sense about his work. It was nearly dinnertime and he was going to be heading for home shortly. His wife would be there waiting, and would hopefully have made one of his favorites for dinner again. Last night it was schnitzel. Man, that Rachel was a good cook. There weren't anny little ones yet, and nor were there any plans at the moment, but Richtoff was glad that he would get to enjoy his wife... alone. As the clock neared his checkout time, he began to pack up, when a news flash on the ticker caught his attention. He shook his head, and read it again. It looked like he wouldn't be going home so soon after all. He swiveled around in his chair and flipped on the television, quickly informing himself on the situation. He reached over to the telephone and paged his secretary. "Erika? Get me Bill Richardson. It's urgent." He put down the phone, and no later than four minutes later, Richardson was standing in his office.

"Good to see you again, Bill," Richtoff greeted his guest warmly, and stood to shake his hand. "How's life been?"

Richardson accepted the hand, and smiled back. "I've been good, sir. Just finished up overseeing a report on the inner workings of the Kampferian economy, which seems to be as streamlined as ever. Anyways, I get the message that there isn't much time for small talk, so lets cut to the chase."

"Right you are, Bill," Richtoff said. Bill, deducive as always, was the head KIB, or the Kampferian Intelligence Bureau. While many nations had at least two intelligence agencies, the Kampferians only had one. In the mind of many Kampferians, it reduced the power struggle and allowed for quicker action, much like the Kampferian system of Parliamentary Dictatorship. "Anyways, this upstart in Gens Romae is threatening some young nation experiencing inner turmoil. The nation of New Czardas, and one of our fellow brethren in Continentia, has interceded in behalf of this nation, known as Lucs Maximus. In an effort to promote world peace, we should not, we will not, allow these aggressive moves to continue. I'm going to dispatch some military might, and when helped by the New Czardians, their shouldn't be a question about who will win should the nation of Gens Romae continue on their current course of action. As such, I want all information we have on this nation of warmongerers as soon as possible."

Richardson smiled, and grabbed the file of Richtoff's desk. "Right-o, sir. I'll hae some boys get that too you in no time." He turned around and exited the room quickly. Richtoff swiveled back towards his computer, and began tapping out a message to the involved parties.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w107/imdmill/kampferianseal.jpg

[TO] The World, especially those nations involved in the Lucus Maximus Affair
[FROM] The Neo-Prussian Parliamentary Dictatorship of Kampfers

The untold warmongering of the nations of the world must stop, and indeed, it must stop now.

There is no small amount of rejoicing in New Czardas following the announcement from the Roman People, but it is remarkably subdued. Partly because now, with their initial aim achieved in under an hour, the Czardians have no idea what exactly to do next. Or as Minister Blount of Foreign Affairs despairs, "We've won the first battle without firing a shot, but we can't just end it here."

Minister Feldman of War agrees: "We've taken a stand on the issue, we have to stick to it. I'm all for deploying a token force to smoke out the terrorists from Lucus Maximus."

So the forces of good and justice, in their minds at very least, regroup in the briefing room one more time. The situation is outlined, and GfL O'Brien listens carefully and nods several times. After a time, he sighs and motions towards Minister Feldman.

"All right, Minister. You want a counterterrorism operation? Well, that's rather different from a war. You see, counterterrorism would fall under my jurisdiction. Now, -" he holds up a hand "ordinarily this would be a simple manner, prosecute the ongoing world war against terrorism and make the world a safer place, et cetera -- but there are a few complications. First of all, the terrorist group in question appears to be small and localized. This makes it difficult to present it as a threat to the Czardian people. Second, several other nations have already stepped in with their own counterterrorism units, and we may be superfluous."

O'Brien steeples his fingers again. "On the other hand, we can use the terrorists' own nuclear devices against them." He smiles. "As you well know, Silanche has few nuclear power plants and fewer nuclear weapons. This has in part fueled strong public fears about radiation and nuclear fallout. Focusing our propaganda on the use of nuclear weapons by these terrorists should be enough to get us plenty of money, and that four hundred billion may last us through the year."

General Arachinovsky looks up at him sharply. "Governor. What is the counterterrorism unit you plan to deploy?"

"My own unit, of course. The 14th Special."


Act One. scene two.

Scene: A cargo aircraft, probably outdated, but all that could be summoned on such short notice. One of several in the formation.

Players: Members, including the Captain, of the 14th Special Operatives. How exactly they leaped the cross-dimensional gulf from pre-civil-war Czardas is a minor violation of the laws of physics.

Time: Several hours after scene one.

Things have changed, but in many ways, they are still the same. There is the supposedly powered armour, which does more in the brochure than in real life; the gun, which you double- and triple-check to make sure it's really loaded; the parachute, which logistics assured you really does open, but accidents do happen; the captain, yelling over the wind from the back of the plane a few last-minute motivational words. There's the adrenaline coursing through your body; you can actually feel it, it makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, sends electrical tingles through your arms, sort of makes you need to pee. You're still nervous even though you've done this a million times before, even though they all say you're the best of the best, la crème de la crème, because it's time to bring molon labe to yet another third-world hellhole.

The faces have changed. The captain yelling the few encouraging words is not the razor-sharp and steel-cold Finlay, retired and gone into politics, but the slightly anachronistic and devious Shrike. The sniper is not Dorakov, long dead, but the slightly fascist and occasionally berserk Virtus. In the ranks few faces remain from the days of the war in Imperial Galactica and the genocide in Amyntos; Red Wolf, now grey with age, still bears his rifle, with carefree Enigma and Neuromancer by his side; Davy Crockett's Lovechild waves at you and pats his rifle Deathbullet, which he says has cut down more enemy soldiers than a man could count in a year. You listen to Shrike's mezzo with only half an ear, her voice buffetted by the noise of the engines and the wind:

"-- out about twenty klicks from the capital. We're facing a pretty heavy force -- armoured divisions, aerial support, the works. Jade Company's coming in from the other side of the city, so they'll take most of the firepower; we're coming out from the forests to hit the terries from behind, so we are the crucial element in this battle. Remember, extra points for successful infiltration, and we'll all meet back at Geordi's. All right! Ready? We have green light, go go go!"

And you leap into space, rather, into air. Around you your mates in the 14th fall like stones towards the earth; you don't look at the ground, the one glance you risk revealing only layers of clouds that snake in tendrils around your legs and body as you descend. Your parachute deploys and you yank taut; for a moment it seems as though your body will tear itself apart, but then you notice your slowed descent, and you also hear the raindrops thudding lackluster upon your canvas canopy as the trees float up to meet you.

Your armour is securely fitted on. Your rifle is loaded. You are part of a cluster of seventy of your comrades and friends, one of perhaps sixty more clusters; and now the real fun begins -- the sleeping on the hard wet ground and eating chemically reheated rations and digging holes for toilets and wading across icy rivers and bushwhacking through mountain laurel and then, of course, the lovely fighting, when you can finally blow out the brains of the evildoers and maybe in the confusion steal some real food from someone's house. But you also know that in thirty years you'll look back on this experience with at minimum ambivalence, and maybe with patriotic nostalgia:

You are the 14th Special Operatives. The elite of the elite. And you are here to win.

re: Terrorism

To Whom it may concern:

Regarding the terrorist threat to your nation, as exposed by the recent detonation of a nuclear device upon your soil, we have seen fit to deploy the 14th Special Operative Division, and its associated aerial assets, as a counterterrorism unit. The total manpower of this force is approximately thirty-five thousand individuals, of which five thousand combat. We only request that you allow us to use airfields in the vicinity to refuel and land men and matériel, as well as supplies to help the victims of this tragedy.

signed,
Peter Blount
MFA of the New Czardian Combine

The room was silent, a cluster of men gathered around the tiny radio sitting on the table in front of them. They were all in the hull of the HPS Defenstrative, one of the several carriers en-route to Lucus Maximus. These men were waiting, quietly, for news from the troops already in foreign territory. Suddenly, the radio squawked. "Gens Romae has left the building. I repeat, Gens Romae has left the building." A cheer went up amongst the men. The major aggressor, Gens Romae, had backed down. Now it was time to kick this up a notch. The Defenstrative became a hive of activity, and it and it's sister shipped prepared to land, and to take Lucus Maximus back.

Hawktona was alive with battle. The Faxanavians had touched down some 400 troops from their airborne forces, and they were now in the heat of battle with the terrorists. The bombings on both Hawktona and Montgold were continuning as planned. And now reinforcements were arriving from the west and the HPS Defenstrative and its bretheren. More ground based forces were arriving, and artillery lit the night with fire as it pumped into the terrorist forces.

From: Vice Prime-Minister Danielus Lefebius
to:the world
subject:death of Prime Minister Lucias Maximias

My friends,

It is with great grief that I announce you the death of our beloved Prime Minister Lucias Maximias. It seemed he was killed in a fire-fight when his bunker was overruned by rebel spec-ops. I will therefor assume the fonction of Prime Minister of this country and will continue on this campagne against the rebels and will personnally avenge the death of Lucias Maximias. Victory and revenge shall be ours!

Prime Minister Danielus Lefebius

The death of the Prime Minister was sad to hear of, indeed. Faxanavia redoubled its efforts in Hawktona, attempting to push slowly in on the terrorist forces flooding the city. (OOC: Lucus Maximus- it would be helpful if you could RP the terrorist response to my attacks.)