NationStates Jolt Archive

For several years, the East Lemon Islands had been regarded as Griffincrest territory, and Griffincrest had set up a number of rubber factories and a set of oil rigs around these islands. Unfortunately for Griffincrest, the East Lemon Islands were regarded by the nation of Automagfreek to be within the AMF maritime border, and had only just realized that the Griffincrest Corporation was setting up shop there. Initially, Griffincrest employees ahd noticed no more problems than anywhere else within the Griffincrest Overseas Territories, the occasional Wanderjarian spy or Hurtian submarine, a Rosdivanian privateer here and there, but nothing to big. That was soon to change however.

At around 5:45 AM, February 20, Mickey O'Flattery and a number of other workers were heading to work in the rubber plant when he spotted a plane circling overhead. He thought nothing of it, until later that day, when there were now several more. Mickey soon told his boss of the situation, and soon a flight of Gnats were scrambled. The intruding aircraft were gone by the time the Gnats were airbourne, but it soon became apparent that somebody was watching over the islands. The same event happened the next day, only that time the aircraft were photographed by surveliance drones over the rubber plant, and the images were soon sent to the Griffincrest Board of Directors back in Paradise City.

The image that was soon displayed across the white board in the room caused a good amount of grief for the executives. The aircraft were from Automagfreek. This could not turn out good. The Board clamoured over how to respond, and soon, they decided to send a message to Damien Dreadfire.

"Dear Damien Dreadfire,

It has come to the attention of the Griffincrest Board of Directors that aircraft from your nation have been circling over our facilities in the East Lemon Islands for several days now. We are unsure of the intentions of your aircraft, but we request that you halt all activity over our facilities. Not only is it frightening our employees, but it is also a direct threat to our factories there. Please end your flights over the East Lemon Islands, and the action will be forgotten about.

Yours Truly,
Claudius Griffincrest, CEO, Griffincrest Oil Incorporated"

Dreadfire was not pleased by the message, for he was clearly being challenged on something that should never have been an issue; the East Lemon Islanads being within the boundaries of Automagfreek control. Though he did not pen the response himself, the words uttered in the brief transmission from Defense Secretary Marv Bonesplitter reflected the will of the Supreme Warlord directly;

To whom it may concern,

The recent exercises off the coast of the East Lemon Islands by the Freekish Navy are a direct response to Griffincrest's continued encroachment on our rightful territory. For ages now these islands have been within out boundaries and thus are not open to any foreign presence without our government's express permission, to which you have none.

We advise whatever employees you may have there to vacate the premesis immediately or face forceful eviction, since we will not tolerate any foreign colonization or operations on any inch of sovereign Freekish soil. If you do not begin to remove yourselves in the next twelve hours, we will conduct additional exercises.

AMF trusts that you will not test our patience on this matter.

-Marv Bonesplitter

++++++++++++++++++++

Within the hour, aircraft from the carrier Retribution stationed in Freek controlled waters began to assemble themselves in greater numbers in the skies overhead. A small detachement of escort ships started to stir with activity in preparation for a possible military intervention should Griffincrest refuse the demand to vacate the East Lemon Islands. Sentinels stationed on the small neighboring island known as Outpost 24 began to flock to their designated staging areas where they received continuous briefings as well as detailed plans in case they would be forced to move in.

The small garrison of 3,500 was comprised of the battle hardened 606th Legion of Elites, Sentinels that had served in several notable conflicts such as Kahanistan, Kravonika, and several discreet operations that most outside of their Legion would have no idea about. As they gathered their gear and awaited additonal orders, Freekish High Command placed on standby a fast response force of some 5,000 in case they would be needed in the event of a large scale blowup, but it was unclear if they would even be needed. However, the Freekish military was not one to be caught with its pants down, and as a result would plan for every contingency.

The response was not at all what the Griffincrest executives had hoped for. The small garrison of roughly two hundred and fifty mercenaries in the East Lemon Islands would need to be reinforced, that was for sure. The 2nd Division was called upon to do the task. With 8,500 men, it was not up to full combat strength for a Griffincrest division, but it was the closest thing Griffincrest had to the islands, and they needed to send whatever they could to defend their territory.

Along with the 2nd Division, two pocket battleships and a light carrier, along with a small group of destroyers, were diverted to the East Lemon Islands. They had recieved the news that there was a possible conflict brewing with Automagfreek, and every sailor in the small fleet realized that there was a good chance that they would not make it back home. Several even contemplated mutiny or desertion, but decided against it out of fear for their families, and so the fleet pressed on its way to the East Lemon Islands.

On the main island, the meager coastal defenses were assembled. Two P-15 anti-shipping missile batteries, the tiny RADAR station, and an SA-17 battery sprang to life as news of the possible conflict struck the island. Mercenaries and employees alike ran about setting up sand bags annd digging trenches, and a number of the employees were given Leafanistani AR-550 assault rifles to help in the defense of the island.

Claudius Griffincrest, dissappointed by the response from Mr. Bonesplitter, penned a response.

"Dear Mr. Bonesplitter,

We will not now, and never will, leave these islands. We have set up our facilities on these islands and intend to keep them there, at least until the island has been stripped of all material benefits. We will return it for you when it is devoid of any usfefulness, but not a moment earlier. Mercenaries and naval vessels have been deployed to the area, and we hope this goes no further. Do not waste the lives of your sentinels here.

Signed,

Claudius Griffincrest, CEO, Griffincrest Oil Incorporated"

When the reply from Griffincrest came in and was received by staff at the Great Hall, they knew that Damien would not react well to the clear defiance on behalf of the corporate officials. Bonesplitter was the only man brave enough to take the piece of paper containing the brief reply to the Supreme Warlord's chambers, and as he walked down the cold, bare hallway, he knew exactly what would happen.

Sure enough as Bonesplitter began to read off the transmission the atmosphere in the room seemed to shift, and the burly defense minister felt the air pressure around him drop significantly. Dreadfire spoke not but waved a hand towards Marv, directing him to leave at once and carry out the orders that he knew he would have to issue; crush all resistance on the East Lemon Islands and evict Griffincrest at once.

Several minutes later word was sent forth to the commanding officer at Outpost 24, a young Colonel by the name of Theron, that he was to deploy his men immediately per Dreadfire's orders. Without hesitation he gathered his combat gear and made for the waiting battlecruiser at port, the Stonewall, which would serve as his floating command center. Freekish technicians on board the 'Pincer' class cruiser Snakeskin began to monitor all signals for both inbound and outgoing transmissions coming from the island in order to gather as much intelligence as possible. The small naval outfit would likely be outclassed by larger Griffincrest ships, but number wise both sides would likely be even and that was good enough for Colonel Theron.

As his meager detachement prepared to embark for the East Lemon Islands, aircraft in the form of the advanced Stratosfighter II's and Sea Scorpions began to assemble overheard in preparation to initiate their strike package. Three, four plane formations would be charged with clearing out enemy airspace to allow the Freeks to claim air superiority and allow Theron's ships and troops greater ease at which to operate. Being supported by AWACS and two Stratosfigher I-E electronics warfare planes, two of the formations began to embark towards the hostile islands at nearly their maximum ceiling, while the third would be held in reserve while additional planes were scrambled in anticipation for more enemy interceptors.

Each strike group kept in a tight formation as they began receiving live data from AWACS and fleet, with each unit being given seperate objectives in terms of neutralizing enemy aircraft and engaging ground based defenses. Satellites that orbited overhead began to supply the specialists on board the Freekish ships with detailed locations of what was where, making special note of the runways that Griffincrest had used to challenge their presense earlier in the day.

But before the Freekish fighters would even be in range of the island, long range stealthy cruise missiles were fired from the tubes of the single guided missile cruiser and the few destroyers that were present. The targets for the Sea Scorpions would be basic since they were multi-role aircraft; planes on the deck, jet fuel and ammo dumps, missile turrets in the form of SAM and AShM sites, and other hard targets that would present themselves as obstacles for the Sentinels. The Stratosfigher II's would be charged with eliminating any airborne threats that the strike groups may encounter. Theron was also careful to monitor the skies and seas for any threat in the form of a missile, plane, or ship. Intelligence had revealed that the enemy ships were well on the other side of the island having been deployed almost at the same time his forces were, so he knew that a clash on the seas was inevitable. All he could hope for is that he could get as many of his troops on the ground as possible.

The Freekish missiles slammed into the Griffincrest positions, and with no anti-missile defenses on the island, there was no way to stop them. Twelve Gnats were blown apart, leaving only five left, as well as two F-4 Phantom II's. This air group would have no chance, especially without the help of the anti-air battery, which was also now destroyed. Nonetheless, they still took off, hoping at least to get their AMRAAM's flying towards the Stratosfighter's before they were downed. The only thing that was in the minds of these pilots now was their familes. They knew that if they died, their families would be paid a large amount of money, and they would make even more if the pilot died after downing an enemy fighter.

The anti-shipping batteries were also shattered. One battery was destroyed outright, and the other reduced from four launchers to just one. Unless the reinforcements arrived soon, the meager garrison on the island would be overrun within minutes. The commander in charge of the island sent out a panicked message to the captain of the relief fleet.

Upon recieving the message, the captain steamed ahead. Only a few more hours and his fleet would be there, hopefully to save the island. He hoped that the Freekish fleet would not arrive before him, and he was just itching to get into a naval battle with the forces of AMF. That would be a story he could tell at the bars and dives of Paradise City for ages.

All throughout the fleet, sailors prepared themselves for the conflict that lay just ahead of them, and within the transport ships, the men of the 2nd Division readied themselves to fight some of the most fierce soldiers the world has ever known.

Seven off the ground, low and closing fast. AWACS had spotted the enemy planes as they took off, alerting the Stratosfighter II pilots that they would need to engage and destroy these threats immediately so that the Sea Scorpions could drop their guided bombs on the enemy's defensive positions. The multi-role fighters would stand out on the enemy pilots radar screens the most, and thus the four man wing of Sea Scorpions broke into two seperate elements and continued forward but in two seperat directions, leaving the unified wing of Stratosfighters in the center to deal with the inbound air threat.

While it was unclear if the high flying, stealthy air superiority fighters were spotted on screen or not, they would keep their radar turned off and rely on AWACS data to first fire off their 'Hellrage' AI driven missiles. After each plane fired off their first missile they too broke into two seperate forces and began to spread themselves out in order to either engage the enemy planes as they attempted to incercept the Sea Scorpions, or engage them directly if they continued on their way. This much was certain though, the expert skills of the Freekish sailors had made their job even easier by leaving few high priority targets left, allowing the Freekish pilots to strike quickly and leave.

Meanwhile, Theron's ships had steamed close enough to the island to begin deploying his ground forces first by air, then by sea. The first strike team loaded themselves into the small 'Thunderbolt' transport helicopters, each of which could transport 8 combat ready troops into action. A small swarm of the birds began to take off with support from AMF's most advanced attack helicopter, the FAF-1 'Vassago', and as the 14" guns of the battlecruiser Stonewall sounded off with rocket assisted, GPS guided shells against the defensive positions near the shore that satellite intel had identified, the birds began to move foward.

The small landing craft were being quickly loaded with the first wave of several hundred Sentinel shock troops, while additional units were either being prepped or were standing by for the craft to return. Heading the 1st platoon of Bravo company within the 'Impaler' battalion, Captain Pfeiffer locked and loaded his R-31A2 SOPMOD as the first landing craft began to plow forward through the unsusually calm seas with great speed. He would be in charge of the first wave of Sentinels both by air and by sea, and would be expected to clear out enough landing zones to allow more forces to come ashore.

The several DAC-9 amphibious assault vehicles that had been deployed would serve as light armor support in case the landing Sentinels encountered any force or obstacle that would threaten their forward movement, hopefully nothing its 30mm chaingun could not handle. These would be deployed to the center landing zone, while light airborne units would advance from the right of the main Sentinels force and coordinate helicopter and fighter strikes accordingly. Theron knew that he had to take as much valuable ground as he could as quickly as possible, because the unknown number of reinforcements would soon be arriving on the opposite side of the island and would pose a serious threat.

Out of the 3,500 that had been stationed at Outpost 24, a sizable portion would be used to combat the enemy defensive forces as well as those that were being shipped in. Theron knew that he was going to be fighting this conflict against a force easily twice the size of his, but he also knew that the expert training of his Sentinels as well as the state of the art hardware they possessed would help even the odds. The medical station at the outpost was alerted that medivac choppers would likely be diverting casualties to them once the quarters on board the ships began too swamped. It was something the Colonel did not want to think about, but as a responsible commander he knew that he would have to plan ahead and be prepared for any eventualities.

The Griffincrest aircraft were plucked from the sky quickly as the enemy missiles began to scream in. Still, each aircraft launched their AMRAAM's and the missiles began shrieking for the enemy aircraft, and the pilots all hoped that they would get a kill before they died, and hopefully get their families alittle something extra as a reward.

On the shore, the defenders began to dig in, and the single P-15 launcher still left alive in the devastated battery soon went to work. A P-15 missile was launched at the first transport vessel in the Freekish fleet headed for the shore, and the crew hurried to load up another missile as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, in the relief fleet, more frantic transmissions began to pour in. It soon became necessary for the 2nd Division to board helicopters and make their way to the island that way, drastically cutting down the time needed to get them to shore. Not only that, but the twelve F-4 Phantom II's aboard the light carrier, Achilles, took to the sky to attempt to protect the helicopters as they ferried their precious human cargo to the island.

All over the island, land mines were being dropped, machine gun nests established, and employees given assault rifles, hoping to turn back the Freekish force and save their factory.

The Sea Scoprion pilots were quite surprised at the seeming lack of tactics on behalf of the Griffincrest airmen, who madly launched as many missiles as they could at their aircraft. Without a sufficient lock they would have a very low success rate since the Freekish planes had already begun evasive maneuvering in order to allow the Stratosfighters to do the dogfighting (which, would not be required now). This success rate was lowered even further by the two electronics warfare planes which began actively jamming the radar guidance of the long obsolete missiles, preventing them from acquiring an already difficult to lock target.

One thing was clear; the Freeks now had control of the skies and would be able to assert themselves fully. When fleet notified the pilots that they had been launched upon by an anti-shipping battery, two of the Sea Scorpions diverted to engage it with a laser guided 500 pound bomb. The launcher was not difficult to spot amidst the aftermath of the cruise missile strike, and the lead fighter in the two man unit began to mark the target so that his wingman could drop the bomb quickly and return to engaging other ground targets. The anti-shipping missile was picked up by the small fleet's defenses as soon as the network detected a lock, and an interceptor missile was dispatched to deal with the threat accordingly. Additional short range interceptors, rolling airframe missiles, and 'Hellfury' CIWS stood by in case for some odd reason the missile mananged to evade destruction.

A clean run was made and the high explosive bomb was dropped by the engaging Sea Scorpion, being guided directly towards its target from the other plane. The pilot who had engaged the site then swooped around in order to regroup with his mate and continue their runs elsewhere. Meanwhile, the other duo of Sea Scorpions were acvitely dropping guided bombs and firing air to surface missiles at entrenched positions that were directly in line with the landing parties. Having no shortage of targets, they spent all of their primary weapons quickly but wisely, then made several sweeping gun runs over Corporate lines in hopes of picking off a few unfortunate souls. Two replacement groups broke off from over the lead carrier and would replace the active combatants as they prepared to return for additional fuel and ammunition.

So far all had gone well, the air and cruise missile strikes had thus far achieved a 100% success rate against hard targets and enemy aircraft, and shells from the battlecruiser Stonewall continued to fall. The morale of the Sentinels in the first wave began to surge incredibly, and as they bayed for blood they roared in approval as the moan of naval gunfire streaked overhead. From what Freekish Captain Pfeiffer could see the air cavalry had flown beyond his sight far to the right of where the amphibious forces would assault, and he hoped that they would be successful in both diverting attention and outflanking the static Corporate defenses.

Those on board the transport helicopters watched as their 'Vassago' attack escorts began to fly ahead towards the insertion point, actively scanning the area with FLIR and additional sensors to engage any man or machine that would present itself as a threat. DIRCM and other advanced electronic countermeasures were also active and ready to defeat whatever MANPADS or SAM sites sites the choppers might encounter, though the electronics warfare planes overhead were still disrupting any enemy radar sites that might still be online. The 'Vassago' helicopters circled around the area briefly before the transport birds swooped in very close to the deck so that they could offload quickly without fully touching down. The first team on the ground immediately began to establish a perimeter in order to protect the insertion point until the rest of the airborne assault forces could exit their choppers, and as they and the attack helicopters overhead prepared for a firefight, they sent word to Captain Pfeiffer that boots were on the ground.

Pfeiffer himself almost missed the call, for his landing craft was mere seconds from reaching the sands of the island, and the explosions from Freekish bombs, missiles, and shells was deafening. With Sentinels approaching the six landing zones in unison, Colonel Theron began to closely monitor live satellite video of the landing in order to properly conduct the ground campaign. Ten seconds! Came a voice over the loudspeaker inside the hull of the Captain's armored transport. He gripped his rifle tightly and glanced over his shoulder to the waiting Sentinels behind him, and time seemed to slow as his head turned to see the metal ramp come falling down in front of him.

The first of the relief party was hitting the ground at roughly the same time as the Sentinels, and it soon became quite clear that the situation on the island was going to get really bad, really fast. Shells were smashing down on the beach, and the missile form the shore was intercepted. Not only that, but the launcher was now destroyed as well.

The fleet was now nearing quickly, and would soon be within range of the enemy fleet. If they could gain naval superiority, it was hoped, they would be able to regain control of the island. In the meantime, the F-4 Phantom II's from the light carrier were preparing to engage the Freekish aircraft. The complete loss of aircraft from the island airbade was a blow to the Griffincrest forces, but it was not a death knell.

Meanwhile, on the island, men began to open up with everything they had. Several rows of barbed wire seperated the Griffincrest defensive lines and the shore, and hopefully that would slow down the enemy advance long enough to let the rest of the relief force arrive. Unfortunately for the defenders, they were far to caught up with the amphibious landing to deal with the men coming from the helicopters.

Employees and mercenaries all crouched behind the sandbag barrier they had set up, firing with every bit of courage in them at the Sentinels coming towards them. Sporadic mortar fire began to hit the beach from secondary positions further back on the island, and that was a bit of encouragement, knowing that they had at least some form of cover from the other mercenaries on the island. Machine gun nests were spraying wildly at the transports as they unloaded, using Otagian made M32 LMG's, hoping that the wall of lead would be enough to stop the Freeks as the made their way through the barbed wire.

As the Sentinels in the center force poured from their armored landing craft they quickly came under fire, resulting in several immediate casualties before the rest could drop down for cover. Simultaniously they had begun their assault against the six designated landing zones, each just out of visual range of the other, but all with sufficient air and naval cover. Thus far the Blackhelm forces had been concentrating themselves solely on a series of crudly constructed defenses that opposed mainly the center force, so immediately the landing parties deployed along its flanks advanced cautiously but swiftly. The Sentinels that were taking fire began transmitting coordinates for naval gunfire and airstrikes from the Sea Scorpions, though their prayers were first answered by the 5 'Vassago' attack helicopters that were now circling back towards the heart of the enemy defenses.

From high altitude they scanned the target locations with their advanced sensors and began to fire their 30mm cannons and FFAR conservatively. At the same time the attack choppers were making their runs, the DAC-10 amphibious infantry fighting vehicles began to come ashore alongside the center force, advancing cautiously through the sand and firing their own 30mm guns and preparing to plow through the light wire defense. Several sections were simultaniously breached by satchel charges as Sentinel engineers tossed them out from inside the impact craters they hid in, waiting for the proper moment to strike. As the armored vehicles came closer to the compromised barbed wire fence, the back hatch opened and from inside came 10 Sentinels per carrier, each firing their rifles precisely while receiving a covering base of fire from the troops taking cover on the beach.

With two of the landing parties to either side of the center force preparing to flank the defenders and the other three detachements moving quickly to secure real estate and push back other enemy defenders in their path, the Sentinels that were dropped in via helicopter began to advance on a series of buildings less than a click from their insertion point. They advanced carefully in a heel-toe fashion in a wide firing line, their rifles at the ready and scanning the foliage for the slightest disturbance. Theron was pleased thus far with the progress being made and on ground and therefore suspended further landing parties temporarily. With Blackhelm ships and planes advancing rapidly upon them his small fleet would not be able to provide cover for more men, and if he was going to have to forsake his troops he would rather it be a small number.

AWACS had shown that the enemy was scrambling more planes their way, and the scores of Stratosfighter II's that lingered overhead began to form up and prepare to engage. Little did the Freekish pilots know that their planes were several generations more advanced than the obsolete F4's, which lacked modern avionics and weaponry. As a result they began to take to the upper atmosphere and engage from maximum distance, while anti-air missiles from the ships below would mop up any hostiles that managed to slip by them. AWACS continued to stream data to the Stratosfighters above which had kept their radar off in order to lessen their chances of being detected, and cautiously the first few fighter groups locked on and fired their long range 'Skewer' missiles with the intention of downing as many as they could before either being detected or encroached upon.

In the meantime, satellites had acquired the enemy ships nearing their position and began to stream the data down to the networked fleet defense computers below. The initial response was in the form of 'Predator Mk.6' anti-shipping missiles which were fired in unision from each ship outfitted with them, targeting first the enemy aircraft carrier(s), then the larger pocket battleships which could pose a serious threat to Therons ships and landing forces alike. Scores of them were fired non-stop and as fast as they could be put into the sky, and the two electonics warfare planes diverted to the scene and began attempting to jam all of the enemy's sensors in the sky and on the sea.

While this was happening, the Sea Scorpions that were dedicated to air strikes on land had received word from naval technicians that satellites had sensed a massive increase in warm bodies coming from the other side of the island. This was without a doubt Blackhelm reinforcements as the pilots were also informed that additional landing craft were emarking towards the shore, and to engage immediately before they could impose themselves upon the Sentinels. Immediately they rallied and began to soar towards the enemy combatants, and the planes that had re-supplied were armed with a couple thousand pound bombs, or many small diameter bombs capable of wreaking havok even with their small size. Two of the Sea Scorpions risked their planes by flying directly over the landing zones and dropping their ordnance, while the other two planes began to loiter on the outskirts of the engagement zone and wait for the chance to make their run. Three of the 'Vassago' attack helicopters were also diverted to help deal with this threat until the Sentinels could overrun the enemy defenses and take them over.

Colonel Theron could not have been more proud of his men, for they performed exactly as expected and had achieved great results fairly quickly. As his ships broke off from their land bombardment and prepared for defensive maneuvers against the enemy fleet, he continued plotting how to take down his foes with minimal losses. It was determined that air superiority was the key, and he stood an excellent chance of achieving this as the enemy fighters were several decades out of place and would find it extremely difficult to best the advanced Freekish planes. As his mind plotted and planned, he winced every so often as the missile tubes on his battlecruiser fired off anti-shipping missiles against the enemy fleet. He knew that he would have to defeat his foes at sea quickly in order to keep his ground forces alive, and he ordered that more planes be scrambled and put overhead immediately. He would be damned if he would let Blackhelm take the initiative.

Freekish forces were now overwhelming the poorly constructed coastal defenses. Employees and mercenaries began fleeing from their prepared positions and running back to the factories and other buildings further inland, while many others attempted to surrender to the seemingly unstoppable waves of Sentinels. Only a handful of dedicated mercenaries remained on the beach, lobbing grenads and firing as accurately as possible, hoping to make every shot count be they would inevitably be cut down.

In the air, Freekish forces were having a field day gunning down Griffincrest aircraft. The F-4's were ordered to return back to the fleet and regroup. For the time being, the Freeks would have control of the skies.

At the landing zone, however, Freekish pilots would find a surprise as the moved to dive on the troop ship that were unloading on the shore. Many of the transport craft were equipped with a Skynet SAM, and as the Freekish Stratosfighters began to make their pass, they vessels opened up. The sky would soon be filled with thousands of explosive darts, creating a massive cloud of deadly weapons.

The missiles launched from the Freekish ships took their toll on the Griffincrest fleet as well. CIWS and anti-missile batteries began to fill the air, but it was not enough. The Midnight Light, one of the pocket battleships, was mauled by the enemy warheads, and was steadily sinking beneath the waves. Two of the five destroyers were destroyed as well, one of which exploded after taking several direct hits, and went down with all hands.

The situation was growing worse for the Corporation. Hopefully soon something would happen to swing the battle into Griffincrest's favor.