NationStates Jolt Archive


Echoes of the Past [Haven]

Tnemrot
05-06-2008, 01:14
OOC: It's open to Haven but please TG me before overtly getting involved. I like to know what is going on rather than it becoming a clusterflop of postings.

Beyond the setting sun,
Rises a darkened moon.
Beyond the darkened moon,
Evil has been spun.

Sand swept over the quiet runway at the desert airfield, ninety miles into the Tnemration Desert. Vast expanses sat to its west and high mountains to the east. The Tnemration Desert was semi-arid, with hard vegetation that sprouted up everywhere. It received enough rainfall each year for plants to grow but, because the high mountains to the east blocked most of the precipitation from the eastern portions of the country. Because of this, the Tnemration Desert was sparsely populated, mostly with indigenous people that were of an entirely different heritage, culture, and being than the rest of Tnemrot. Many of them still lived in the early 1900s with their simple ways of life. Their culture revolved mostly around spirits and nature, many of them retaining their Indian cultures. They were far different from the paganism that the Tnemrations practiced and though their own form of religion could easily be classified as pagan, they were nothing alike. Following the Great Island War in the early 1880s, the Tnemrations pacified the regions to the west and determined their indefinite future to be one of poverty and simplistic ways of life. The few military outposts in the Tnemration Desert were situated close to settlements, which were all situated on the few water sources that existed. Any invading army, even the most modern and well equipped army wouldn't be able to make it to the mountains and still be at full strength.

http://www.forsakenoutlaw.com/Graphics/Nation-States/Role-Playing/Echoes%20of%20the%20Past/a1viper-01.jpg

At this airfield, which was only a few miles into the desert, a flight of A-1A Vipers was going through the final preflight checks. The A-1A Viper was a single-seat, light, ground-attack aircraft that had been built by the Tnemrations. It was perfect for domestic use and even provided excellence on foreign soil. The A-1A Viper wasn't a new plane though. It's systems were simple, compared to some of the newer, more sophisticated aircraft in the Tnemration Air Force. However, it was a rugged aircraft that could carry a lot of ordinance for its size and put each bomb, rocket, or missile on target from any angle, altitude, or speed. An upgrade program was underway to try to modernize the aircraft to accept the newest in smart munitions. Until then, the most precise ordinance the Viper could carry was a laser guided bomb or medium fire-and-forget missile. The aircraft had no standoff capabilities and could not carry the newest GPS guided munitions but that would change with the "B" upgrade program. The flight of two aircraft were being inspected by their pilots as a high wind kicked up and blew sand all over the place. A lot of the vegetation around the airfield had been cleared, intentionally, which gave way to a lot of loose sand, that blew everywhere and got into every crevice. Unfortunately, when the airfield had been built, nobody thought of that consequence. Because of that, the airfield was regulated to only certain aircraft and none of them too sophisticated. The small airfield was home to only twenty-four aircraft, twelve of them A-1A Vipers and the other twelve were A-2A Raiders. The Raider was newer than the Viper but only a little more sophisticated. It was propeller driven whereas the Viper was powered by a turbofan, jet engine. Regardless, they had similar combat ranges, 500 miles for the Viper and 450 miles for the Raider.

As the pilots walked around their aircraft, their mission was being explained, over a thousand miles away, though in a far different context. Dr. Stephen Alduous Thomas sat down on the comfortable cushion of a leather arm chair, a pair of glasses on his face. He smiled for the cameras as he shook the hand of Myra McAdder, the host of the show. Her show was the foremost program on daytime television for educational discussions, particularly for cultural and historical topics. Dr. Thomas was her guest this afternoon and he was going to speak at length with her about a very old but sensitive topic in Tnemration culture. "Doctor Stephen A. Thomas. Doctorate in Tnemration studies, particularly in the Esbat peoples. Thank you for coming on this afternoon.

"It's a pleasure Myra."

"Before we begin, let me help some of our viewers out there to understand just who the Esbat are. 'Esbat' itself is the name for an ancient holy time that has not existed, in practice, for well over two centuries. It is a holy time that coincides with each full moon and was a twenty-four hour period where our ancient ancestors prayed and worshiped the moon goddess, Luna. The Esbat peoples are named such because they continue to celebrate this holy time each month.

"The Esbat's are a group of people who live in the valleys, mountains, and forested area just to the northeast of Leurc Mountains. Their home area almost borders our northern neighbor, the Neo-Prussian Dictatorship of Kampfers. Historically speaking, the Esbat people have always sort of been the outcasts of Tnemration society, more so than our indigenous inhabitants in the far western regions of our country. During the 16-Year Military Rule following the signing of the Bunnia Accord in 1885, the Esbat people were subject to what many call genocide. During this time, the Esbat people, who remained defiant and tightly knit against the military generals began a push for independence. When it was over, most of their heritage, culture, and population had been destroyed and their plight ignored by the large majority of Tnemration citizens. Even today, they remain the outcasts of our society. Now, Doctor Thomas, why do you think this is?"

"Simple Myra. It has to do with cultural heritage and history. When the Tnemration country consisted of roaming hordes of barbarians and nomadic settlers, the Esbats were a people that had always existed and always in the same place. History tells us that they first settled in their region in the early 400s B.C. Continually, throughout the next, perhaps eight hundred years, they managed to defend against invasions and encroachment by both hostile and non-hostile Tnemrations and outsiders. They, more or less, became the thorn in the side of Tnemrot at this time. When they northern borders of Tnemrot became consolidated during the Middle Ages, they found themselves surrounded, on all four sides, by claimed and recognized Tnemration territory. Fearing the inevitable, the Esbat people, for the better part of the Middle Ages, waged small-scale warfare on Tnemration settlements around their land. It wasn't until 1602 that they were finally, 'placed in check,' by a powerful attack by Tnemration soldiers. They were brutally defeated but they did not become extinct. Twice more, in 1780 and 1858, they attempted again to assert their power and their borders, being crushed each time. Because of this, much distaste grew for them in the Tnemration culture.

"Then, as Tnemration culture advanced, the Esbats lagged behind. They held on, vehemently, to their traditional ways and practices. To date, they conduct human sacrifice, to occasionally appease the gods. This practice has been outlawed throughout the rest of Tnemrot simply because of its sheer absurdity and the fact that it is illegal to commit murder. The Esbats also practice arranged marriages, genital mutilation, and, many believe, witchcraft. The latter of this I find difficult to believe and my research has shown this to be more of folklore than anything else."

"Now you said genital mutilation? Is that a common practice?"

"Not necessarily no. However, in the past decade, there have been ninety-eight reported instances of this. It has died down significantly. One hundred years ago that number would have been fifty times as high. The more traditionalists in the Esbat society continue to practice such barbarism."

"What about cannibalism? There has been a lot of accusations of such, even in the most recent times."

"Yes. There have been. I, myself, find it hard to believe but yes, in rare occurrences, they will and have practiced cannibalism. The most recent and obviously public instance was with poor Timothy Datary."

"Indeed. That story made headlines all around the world. Timothy was twenty-two years old and a nature enthusiast. He had been on a photography trip with two of his college friends last summer when he had, unknowingly, encroached upon an Esbat ceremony, to what kind remains a mystery. Because a major thunderstorm hit the area that evening, going as far as to spawn a tornado, the Esbat people believed that Luna had become furious with them and demanded a human sacrifice. Timothy and his friends, who had been held against their will by the elders of the society were tortured and beaten. Poor Timothy was burned, at the stake and his body eaten. Both of his friends were forced to eat his flesh. Neither of them survived more than two weeks after their daring escape and rescue. One of them committed suicide and the other died of dehydration."

"That was one of the most tragic events last summer. If you recall, public polls and outcry demanded that the Esbat people be, essentially, eradicated from our planet."

"Do you believe that is harsh?"

"Very much so."

"Hold that thought. We'll have to cut to commercial right now." The network operators cut to a commercial sequence while Dr. Thomas and Myra briefly continued their discussion off-camera, their audience highly intrigued. Millions had tuned into the show and were waiting for the commercials to end to get back to their beloved program and the discussion about the Esbat people.

It was ironic that the topic of the day was the Esbat people. It was also the topic of the day throughout the inner circles of the military and both the interior and defense sectors. The aircraft preparing to take off thousands of miles away were going to be headed right for the Esbat enclaves, on a strike mission. Since the incident with Timothy Datary the previous summer, the government had grown increasingly fed up with the Esbats. During the winter, negotiations for integration into Tnemration society failed miserably. It was just before this time that a scientific expedition into the territory stumbled across a vital natural resource, natural gas. A pocket large enough to boost the strategic reserves of the Forsaken Realm of Tnemrot by over fifty percent was discovered, seemingly by accident, right in the heart of Esbat territory. Kept hush-hush, this fact was enough for the Tnemration government to put pressure on the Esbat's. Until now, the Esbat Nation, as it was so named, had its own special status. Much like the indigenous inhabitants to the far west, they had a sort of sovereignty within the confines of the Realm. It was very limited though. Within their "nations," they could make their own laws, to a point, and self-rule. They could not make treaties or what not out of the confines of their nations, especially outside of the borders of Tnemrot proper.

When negotiations began in the winter for integration, the natural gas find was kept secret from the Esbats. When negotiations degraded to stalemate in late February, the government toyed with the idea of pressuring the Esbats under the auspices of national security. By April, negotiations were completely over with and progress was non-existent. Still, the find was kept secret from the Esbats and the general public. Classified as a security risk, few people even knew about the find. Military planned began in late April for intervention, action, and destruction against and of the Esbat Nation. Unwilling to cooperate, the Esbats found themselves with the status, again, of being the thorn in the side of the Tnemration government. This time, however, they wouldn't last very long. In their history, the Esbats had been harassed and tormented by the Tnemration people and government. The few Esbats that had migrated into the rest of Tnemration were treated as lower class citizens, outcasts. Racism against the Esbats was never higher than it was at the beginning of spring.

Finally, in late May, the military planning and coordination was completed. Operations could commence whenever they received the approval of Overlord Alduous Plumb. He wasn't quick to give his approval but neither was he ignoring the issue. Finally, on May 31, he authorized operations to begin against the Esbat Nation. They would start off low-scale, nothing large enough to attract the attention of either Tnemration or foreign media outlets. The first forced deployed was a forward advance team of special forces soldiers, commandos who lived and breathed unconventional warfare. They parachuted into Esbat territory early on the morning of June 1, before the sun ever came up, stowed their gear, and began reconnaissance operations. The Esbat Nation had no military capabilities but their people were heavily armed with assault rifles, light machine guns, and what not. They had caches of weapons and they even had a few advanced weapons such as man-portable, surface-to-air missiles. Of course, the locations of these weapons was unknown.

Despite even these rare instances of advanced weapons, the Esbats were crude and ill-equipped. They had no armored units and, at best, they could slap a few guns in cars and trucks to make shoddy, third-world style technicals. They had absolutely no air support and no organization. The only advantages they had was their large cache of weapons, their unique knowledge for their own terrain, whatever foreign sympathy they could procure, if any, and their warrior ethos. The latter was something not unique to the Tnemration culture. Tnemrations, since their first ancestors, had been a warrior culture. They had fought for every inch of land and conquered lands far away and fought to keep them, although not always retaining them. The Tnemrations had pioneered chemical weaponry in the Great Island War and devastated the numerically superior Shansekian forces in the early 1880s and waged massive warfare within its own borders for sixteen years afterwards. However, on modern Tnemration society, like many others around the world, that fever for the warrior ethos had ebbed slightly. Militarized nations were the exception but Tnemrot was not a military nation. It was a theocratic republic and its citizens had grown with technology, maturing greatly. The Esbats, on the other hand, had never fully matured and still were Spartan-like in their warrior mentality. An army full of Esbats, with loyalty to the Realm and the Realm's technology could defeat even the greatest foes in the world.

http://www.forsakenoutlaw.com/Graphics/Nation-States/Role-Playing/Echoes%20of%20the%20Past/sof-01.jpg

Fierce fighters, even today, the Esbats would prove a formidable foe for any ground force. They may not have had technology but they could counter it with their own ingenuity. That made introducing men and tanks to the Esbat Nation an idea that required long and deep thought. The four man reconnaissance team deployed were among the best in the Tnemration military. Regardless, if they were caught, they weren't likely to ever return. Torture against them would probably be horrific, long-lasting, and end in an undignified way. They would die no honorable death. No kin would be notified as none existed. This elite unit of warriors were loners. They had no family ties to leave behind and no loyalty higher than service to their country from all foes, foreign or domestic. They watched and observed now for three days before acting and their first act would likely light up the horizons for miles, which was why they chose daylight, rather than night.

The "war" against the Esbats was quietly swept under the rug before it even began and given a classified name of Operation JENNIFER. There was an acronym to the name but it was unwieldy and chaotic. This first strike would be the first shots fired during the war and, likely, the most potent. The four man reconnaissance team had stuck close together and observed the city of Carpp now for three days, from inside and outside. They had identified a significant number of targets during the day and night but nothing worthwhile until they found a lot of camouflaged netting. The netting had been stretched over a small structure that was, obviously, an underground bunker of some sort. The top portion was small, high enough to get a truck into one of the doors but not high enough to protrude above the trees. The netting that was stretched over it clearly hid it from overhead satellites. The four man team, convinced they found something worthwhile took up their overwatch positions and carefully observed the bunker. It was definitely new construction, less than a decade old and wasn't built by the Esbats alone; they had help.

Still, two and a half hours after beginning to observe the bunker, they still didn't know what it was. There were no guards at the doors and they were securely shut. From their point of view, there was no activity whatsoever. The sun set eventually and they continued to watch the bunker, this time through night vision binoculars, waiting and watching. Half an hour past midnight, they finally got their answer. They put the call in moments later and the strike began planning. Now, over eleven hours later, the A-1A Vipers were finally preparing for takeoff. Loaded on each one of them was a small array of weapons. On their wingtips, they carried a pair of infrared guided, short-range, air-to-air missiles, for self-defense. Then, on their outer wing pylons, they carried a pair of seven hundred and fifty pound laser-guided bombs, each one with a penetrator warhead. Inside of those, on the inner wing pylons were a pair of fuel tanks, each one holding an extra three hundred gallons of fuel. Finally, on their centerline, under-fuselage hardpoint, they carried a single, two thousand pound laser-guided bomb, also with a penetrating warhead. With their fuel tanks, they could increase their range by almost thirty percent and, since they had to fly over the mountains to get to the target, it was a necessity.

http://www.forsakenoutlaw.com/Graphics/Nation-States/Role-Playing/Echoes%20of%20the%20Past/a1viper-02.jpg
Tnemrot
08-06-2008, 18:08
The two Vipers came inbound at 36,000 feet and 500 miles per hour, their target less than thirty miles away. Spaced a mile apart, the attack fighters were going to be dropping their heavy ordinance first, the ground team targeting for them. Silence ruled the skies and the ground, an overbearing panic of doom that was about to bestow this fortified structure. "Hornet One, Hornet One. Do you read, over?" The lead Viper pilot communicated over the radio to the ground team, breaking the silence of the airwaves.

"Reaper One-One. This is Hornet One. Authenticate. Over."

"Hornet One. Alpha, six, eight, one, bravo. Over."

"Reaper One-One. Report your position. Over."

"Three zero miles to sierra papa. Over."

"Roger that Reaper One-One. Estimate time to target. Over."

"Three and a half. Warheads armed. Over."

"Roger that. Lighting up the target. Over."

"Hornet One, we've got you. Rolling in. Over." The two Vipers continued their airspeed and course, flying towards the target, covering eight and one third miles every minute. "Two. Master Arm on,"

"Two."

"Continue course and spacing. Sixty seconds."

"Two. I've got you lead." The two Vipers maintained the one mile spacing, which they could cover in just over seven seconds. Inside the digital cockpit of the lead Viper, the pilot had acquired the laser source from the ground team and locked the guidance system of his centerline, two-thousand pound bomb onto the laser source. The weapon was ready to fire but not within range yet. The bomb had a range of over eighteen miles at their altitude but they wouldn't drop them until 10 miles, providing an even stronger laser source for the weapons and a steeper trajectory, giving the twenty-three hundred and thirty pound weapons good velocity and angle for maximum penetration. Twenty miles took almost two and a half minutes to cover, plenty of time for the Viper pilots to get their weapons in order.

The lead pilot would be the first to drop the bomb and, as the range to target dropped to ten miles, he pickled the bomb and released it. "Hornet One. Pickled and one away."

"Roger that Reaper One-One."

"Two. Coming down!" The wingman reported in just seven seconds later. Both aircraft executed a 3G right turn after releasing their ordinance, the bombs completely on their own, tracking the laser beam illuminated from the ground team. A camera feed from the bomb fed an image to the aircraft, showing what they saw. The advanced avionics of the Viper and the bomb link allowed the pilot to see time to impact, range to the target, and altitude, all decreasing numbers. The bomb cameras still went blank before the actual weapons hit and the lead pilot would never see the explosion. His wingman, because his bomb was seven seconds behind the first, would. The first bomb slammed into the target and pierced through it like a hot knife through butter, tearing through the roof of the bunker, penetrating deeply into it, then exploding. The explosion shook the ground and sent a fireball up, through the top of the bunker and throughout its entire innards. The wingman watched the bright flash on his screen and smiled, "Shack!" His weapon impacted seven seconds later, piercing through the hole created by the first bomb, exploding even deeper into the target.

"Reaper One-One. We've got a shack. Circular error probability is zero. Safe home."

"Roger that Hornet One. Stay hidden." The two Vipers banked hard to the right again and headed home, to their airfield. The strike came as a total surprise to the Esbats. Leaders of the Esbat nation were mystified at what happened and when the smoke rose over the horizon, hundreds flocked to the scene, trying to find out what happened, what was burning. A photojournalist in the Esbat nation captured the scene with his digital SLR camera, which would publicize the event. Anyone with any sense of military bearing would know that, whatever happened, came from an aerial source, based on the damage. Accusations would befall the Tnemration Air Force within hours and two questions suddenly arose: what was bombed and why was it bombed.