NationStates Jolt Archive

This is a part of this RP here. (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=558454)

Incognitia occupies the eastern peninsula of Spile, though it interacts much more closely with the nations of western Esterna such as Angermanland and Frozopia. It is an oligarchic republic with a strong mercantile tradition and a stable economy. Most power is in the hands of the wealthy merchant princes of the major ports.

The Constitution calls for a fairly centralised state, with power resting in the hands of the ruling coalition/party/factional interest in the Assembly. The rights of the people are guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, and are generally respected.
Certainly Incognitian citizens have a healthy sense of their own rights, especially where they relate to their right to the contents of your purse – Incognitian merchants are world-renowned for their shrewdness, and while this doesn't always breed respect but rather envy, others try frequently to emulate their successes and never really manage it.
The Bank – it has no other name, needing none, for tis so unique – provides the foundation of this system, as it controls both the stability of the currency through minting (and ferocious penalties for counterfeiting) and the National Debt.
Additionally the government provides some encouragement to mercantile ventures, but isn't often directly involved – business is for businessmen, after all.


Religion: A limited personal monotheism based on the revelations of the prophet Krall some centuries ago is firmly established in Incognitian public life, though there is little interest in government in forcing anyone to follow it.

Military: Generaly speaking, the officers are nobility, as is the case in other nations; however sometimes there simply aren't enough nobles to go around, so the merchant families also provide some of the officer class. This may in time provide an impetus towards seeing the military as a profession, rather than a call heard by those of nobility, but that will take time if it is even possible.

The people in general are reasonably prepared to serve their country, certainly by comparison with the average man in Angermanland, but do not have the fervour for warfare and martial pursuits seen in Frozopia.
For similar reasons it is more expensive to raise and maintain regiments than in some foreign countries – though of course the government in Incognitia has more money to spend, and many consider this to be more significant.
The navy, on the other hand, has long been well funded, and is a force to be reckoned with. Both forces emphasise quality over numbers, but there is not the obsession with elite units which can be seen so often in Frozopia.

Language: Incognitian; a grammatically simple tongue which more than compensates with it's broad vocabulary, permitting wonderful nuance, shades of meaning, and of course invective.

Resources:
Agriculture: Vast forests take up much of the space of Incognitian territory; on the West Coast much of the forest has been felled to clear crop-land over the centuries. On the Northern border however, there are forests ancient and primeval, in some of which people have rarely ventured. This, of course, speaks well for the future of the shipbuilding industry.
Mineral resources: are found in sufficient quantities and variety in the Black Country, so called for it's main import of charcoal from the forests to the north, which is combined with the iron ore excavated locally to provide the rest of the country. Other essential metals are found, though little silver or gold – ironically, given the quantities of both that find their way to Incognitia eventually.
Power: water wheels are common for driving machinery of various sorts, particularly mills for corn, and log-cutting mills. Windmills are also occasionally seen, especially along the more populous West coast.

Education: there are private schools in the cities and larger towns, often provided by the will of a well-meaning merchant when he died. Additionally some religious foundations run their own educational establishments, and there are of course the universities of Nescia and Dunkennen – though one usually requires prior education to enter these establishments, this can include informal tutoring.

The Fair-weather Friend was a larger-than-average trader, with a larger-than-usual crew to go with it.
This was usually concealed, otherwise it tended to cause alarm amongst customs officials and harbour-masters, because they tended to see the large crew and scream 'pirate'!
They wouldn't be entirely correct, of course, because the Fair-weather Friend was actually a smuggler. However, any vessel riding the wrong edge of the law would occasionally get attacked, either by pirates, or by an over-zealous enforcer of the laws. It was usually best to survive the said attack by whatever means necessary, then ask forgiveness.

This time the threat appeared to be an Angepas ship. They were closer to Angepas than Incognitia, but not by much.
It wasn't a large ship, but it was large enough to pose a threat to the Fair-weather Friend, and her owner and commander Jonathon Holden. He had had his lads quietly preparing a welcome ever since the ship hove over the horizon, obviously no mere trader. They had intensified their efforts when the said ship altered course to approach them.

And now they waited, to see what the other ship would do.

ooc: gah, the point was to Avoid 'see what they would do' moments like that! heh. oh well. also, evil wrong adjectives must die! [y^pangep, not angepas. angepas is a noun. it's like the difference between Britain and British.] this paragraph needed a third exclamation mark!

IC:

the Wy`hxfas, under-Captain Afdly Jdlin commanding, was one of the larger and more recently built frigates in the y^angep navy. recent thinking was that it would be better to be able to put more weight of shot directly for and aft, seeing as how the heavily armed frigates often found themselves chasing smugglers and pirates who were often faster than they were themselves, or fleeing larger warships in combat situations. as a result, of it's twenty four guns, a full third of them were chasers. these were mounted two to a deck both on the main gun deck and on the upper deck, both 'fore and aft, while the regular broadsides consisted of eight guns on each side of the the main gun deck.

currently on patrol for pirates and smugglers, the latter more aggressively than usual by the king's own order, they were boarding and inspecting every ship they encountered between Angepas and the half way point to Ancognitia. save those of their own navy, of course, as that would simply be silly.

"Leutenant," he spoke to his second in command "please be so good as to instruct our friends over there to heave to and prepare for guests. guncrews ready for action and decks cleared, but don't run the guns out just yet."

"aye sir."

orders were given, and soon the ships came within hailing distance of one another.
"by order of His Majesty, King Cypgi of Angepas, all ships found to be closer to his lands than to any other are to be searched. heave to and prepare to receive an inspection team. resistance will be taken as a sign of criminal intent" these words were uttered through a speaking trumpet and in incognitian by the lieutenant.

The answer to the hail was instant.

"By the traditions and laws of Incognitia and the High Seas, you have no right to demand we do anything.
We will not heave to.
Using force against me or my ship on the High Seas constitutes piracy, against which I advise you most strongly."

They carried only four cannon, and small ones at that, so if it came to a fire-fight they had no chance. If boarded, on the other hand, they might be able to surprise their assailants.
For now they continued on their course, and loosed more sail, but if necessary they could cut a few yards to bring the Fair-weather Friend to a swift halt. If they were really lucky they could make it seem as though the Wy'hxfas' fire was responsible.

Belowdecks, the rest of the crew armed themselves, ready to appear as soon as the two vessels came into contact. This was about to get messy.
Holden shuddered at the thought of the cost to his ship, and crew...but then, there were various things he didn't want found by a naval ship far from port; local customs officials were a different matter. And then there were the rumours of ships that had disappeared on this run. No, there was no choice. He fingered his sword-hilt nervously.

"well, that answers that then." Afdly sighed "all guns to be run out, forward chasers may fire as they ready. target their rig, we don't want them running."

as the distance closed to more accurate ranges, the four guns in the Wy`hxfas's bow opened up, sending shot whistling towards the Incognitian ship.

Three of the four shots missed. The fourth battered the transom, but was well above the waterline and thus far from critical.
Obviously the first salvo was always difficult to judge aright, and any following would be more accurate, so Holden signalled his men to stand by to loose certain yards and make it appear they had been shot out, so the Angepas ship would come up on them suddenly...and yet unsuspecting.
At least, this was the hope.

OOC: If Fair-weather Friend doesn't get away from your ship, how is word going to get back to Incognitia of what your lot are up to?

"aaaand, they're running. wonderful." Afdly's sarcasm was blatantly obvious to all who could hear him. "and deeper into our patrol area, at that. bring her to leeward, helmsman, let's give the main batteries their shots."

the Wy`hxfas began to turn, and then straightened out again, now running at an angle to it's previous course, the wind coming from it's port quarter. this opened the distance between the ships on one axis, and closed it on another, while allowing the larger port side main guns to do their work.

"We're getting battered here Mr. Holden. She's a sturdy ship, but she can't stand this forever."
"Surely we can outrun them?"
"Not really sir; well, at least, we could, assuming as how they weren't shooting at us in the meantime. Chances are they'll have taken out some important rigging before we pull out of range of their guns."
"Ah. So what if, instead, we do the reverse, and close the range?"
"How would that help, Mr. Holden?"
He began pacing the deck, thinking.
"Well, if we turn back at them, they will consider that we've gone crazy, and are attempting to board, correct?"
"Yes. Which since even with our expanded crew we're likely outnumbered would be...a little silly, Mr. Holden."
"So they'll let us come, confident of winning when we board?"
"They'd be right sir, so yes, I'd expect they'd let us come."
"Very well, see to it. Turn us up into windward, then back down towards the Angepas ship."

So Fair-weather Friend began to turn. It would seem lunacy, charging into the teeth of a frigate's fire as a merchant vessel, even a tough, armed smuggler...but the Wy'hxfas would know they would win the resulting fight. What Mr. Holden's plan was that made this an acceptable state of affairs...was a secret to all but him, at least for now.

"well, they're brave enough, i suppose. foolish, but brave." Afdly scanned the state of his own ship, then looked back across the waves at the Incognitian. "what Are they trying to achieve?"
"maybe raming us, sir? for all that our crews are good, we're not exactly particularly famous for skill in boarding actions."
"yes, but even so, it's daft. Right. i want the ship turned to align the guns as precisely as possible on their bow. the chasers are to be turned to tear down their rig... the main guns are to focus on her bow."

if successful, the planking of the incognitian ship could well simply tear away from it's frame at the bow, turning the entire front of the ship into one big leak, less like a ship than a child's bucket used to gather water from the sea for a sand-castle's moat. if not, any high or penetrating shots would still tear down the length of the ship's deck, wreaking havoc through their passing.
perhaps this would teach these fools, or at least those who survived, at least some of the lessons they so obviously needed.

once the ships had aligned on each other, the order was given to fire.
"yg - niz!"
a great crash, as the eight demi-culverin spat their eight pound shot from the deck below. this was followed shortly after by a less orderly, and loud, crash from the four chasers on that side.
the main guns would continue their orderly volleys, not that they'd get off more than a few. the crashing broadsides were more likely to cause sufficient stress to the Fair-weather Friend's bow than a series of single, isolated shots. the chasers, however, could, and did, fire as they came ready. rigging offered little more resistance to cannon shot than the air it's self, after all.

The signs were worrying...creaks and groans, showers of splinters sent flying from the deck as cannonballs impacted it.

However, thus far Fair-weather Friend was disproving her name and remaining resolute through this artificial storm.

And now, now Captain Holden reckoned the time had come; now it was possible.
"Helmsman, take her to starboard 3 points. Master, all sail! Full speed away from these destructive pirates.
"Helm starboard three, aye."
"Full sail, aye."

Even as fire from the Angepas chasing cannon continued, they did only just that; chased away a ship that while it had been going eastwards, was now running west, towards home; and closer than that, to the safety of regular Incognitian patrols.

They were not, as the saying went, out of the woods yet; they were still close enough to be fired upon, even if not for long, and there was nothing to stop the Wy'hxfas turning to give chase.
However the prime concern, which had Jonathon Holden running belowdecks as soon as he had given those last two orders to the helm and sailing master, was whether his ship had survived that little stunt sufficiently intact to sail away.
What he found made him shudder, from the final realisation of the full risk he had run - there were leaks, but sufficiently small that patching on the move, and using spare crew-men to pump, would be able to handle it, at least over the next few hours.
Just a few more hits on the bows and well, he dreaded to consider the results for his precious ship.
For now, they fled, but whether they fled successfully or not, word would get home, he would make sure of that; and then these pirates, these scum of the waves, would pay for their arrogance.

the problem with fleeing, as any able warship's commander knows, is that it exposes the vulnerable stern of the ship to the enemy's guns. normally the risk of raking was, in all likelihood, outweighed by the possibility of escape. most enemies could either shoot effectively or chase one. not both.

this was not quite the case when the enemy was the Wy`hxfas. those extra chasers made a rather large difference. oh, of course, the Wy`hxfas took a little time to turn so as to pursue, and it took a little time to turn the chasers back to their natural position, though that still left it with the other two bow chasers even so. also, of course, y^angep ships were slower than their incognitian counterparts. not to mention, of course, that chasers were weaker guns than the broadside cannon.

that said, the day a frigate could be truly out paced by a merchantman, especially a damaged one, even if she Was a smuggler, had yet to come.
and the Fair-weather Friend had exposed her stern. a ship was not so prone to coming apart when subjected to bombardment from that direction, but every single shot which found the mark would travel the length of the ship, punch through intervening bulkheads, and smash it's way back out through the bow, stressing still further the already strained bow seams. if that weren't enough, any shot that didn't manage that perfect line would inevitably ricochet off a cannon, or a bulkhead, or some other object and wreak yet more havoc.

well, if it were well built enough, it was entirely possible that the chaser's shots would not penetrate the incognitian ship all the way to the bow. and it was hardly as devastating as a true raking with the main guns...

"Come about, pursue! we're not having distorted reports of this stupidity reaching shore ahead of us! bah, i grow tired of these fools. Sink them! bow chasers to rake her stern!" Afdly's enthusiasm for the task and frustration with the other ships actions rubbed off on his crew, right enough. they set to with a will.

for all that frigate captains hardly set government policy, at least not in their role As frigate captains, they were charged with executing it.

Death's disfavour upon the whole situation, but he was NOT going to have himself and his crew declared pirates by some idiot Smuggler for following the instructions of his government. and he knew, from words and attitudes, that that was Exactly what the fool would do if allowed to escape.

no, far better that the cursed ship sink, and anyone alive after that be taken back to the capital for what trial and explanation awaited them. let the mess land in the lap of those who's lot in life was to deal with such things.

They had run far and fast; they had raced well, as you might say.
But they had never been able to pull clear, out of range of the frigate's guns.
So they had been slowly pounded over the last several hours.
Mostly, they had been lucky; casualties had been light, and the damage to rigging had been minimal, permitting them to continue running.
However they couldn't keep this up; there was only so much daylight left, and in the waters they were heading for, squalls could strike at all hours of day or night. They would have to take in sail to make it safely through the night; to take in sail meant doing it in daylight, or having a high probability of losing yardsmen to the deep blue sea; but they couldn't do that while being fired upon.
It had been a fine gamble, and it had nearly gained them safety; if the Fair-weather Friend had been any faster, they would have done. But it had failed.

"Heave to. They're pirates, but that's no call for all of us to die."
"Mr. Holden? Are you sure?"
"Do you want to run all night on full sail?"
Silence.
"I'll take that as a no. Heave to, we'll sort this out. They might be acting like pirates, but they won't kill us off-hand, I'm sure."
"How sure?"
"Sure enough I'd rather risk it than a cannon-ball."
His words were punctuated by another incoming ball, throwing up splinters from the poop-deck rail.
"Yeah, fair enough."

They hove-to, in hope that their pursuers would recognise the surrender.

"humm. not a complete fool, after all. cease fire, close in and come about on their stern. if they try that again they'll get a broadside, and well they should know it.
and inform their captain, or whoever is still alive and in charge of things over there, that I'll expect to see him, here, directly."
"sir!"

one last cannon shot from the bow as he spoke, and the guns went quiet. still ready, but no longer firing.
at least for the moment.

Jonathon Holden didn't like it, he didn't like it at all...but he didn't appear to have much choice.
So a boat was lowered, and he went over to the frigate, to see what they actually wanted, and how lightly he, his ship and his crew could get away from this.

a short time later, Afdly stood on the deck of his ship, Holden before him. on a larger ship they would have been in his cabin, away from the ears of the crew, but on a frigate such as this, even the captain's cabin was hardly a comfortable environment for anything but sleeping.

"i assume you can speak Angepaf, yes?"
an affirmative
"very well then. first off, you need to understand, this could all have been avoided if you'd simply stopped and allowed the inspection. finding nothing untoward, you would have been on your way. anything that was would have resulting in an escort either where you said you were going, or back where you came from, depending on it's nature and your decision.

as it is, i have the dubious honor of escorting what's left of your ship, which presumably isn't sinking yet, to Byas, for a thorough inspection, repairs, and potentially legal proceedings. lucky me, at that point, it's out of my hands and you get to deal with the courts and the diplomats.

be aware. you no longer have a choice in this. if you refuse or attempt to flee again, I WILL have you sunk. that said, if your ship is damaged badly enough that it cannot sail under it's own power, we'll arrange to tow it.

any questions?"

"Yes, I have several questions."

"What do you think gives you the right to do this? Why, besides the naked threat of force, should I, or any captain, go along with the demand to heave to for inspection on the High Seas? And what, do you expect, will the reaction be in Incognitia to all this - are you trying to start a war?"

"heh. simple enough questions, i suppose, with simple answers.

for the first, as it is ordered, so is it done. i need no further right than that when there is official instruction covering my actions.

the second, i would have thought the risk of cannon fire would be significant enough in it's own right, but failing that, let me put it to you thus: if you are an honest trader, paying all the tariffs and taxes required, what would you think of smugglers, who do not, or pirates, who truly would take everything you have and sink you to hide the evidence?
it is our job to catch and bring to justice such as they, and this is by far one of the more peaceful and effective ways of catching up to them, assuming that the honest cooperate.

as for the third... they will either be reasonable and dismiss you for the fool you were being when you refused to cooperate, or they will be foolish and retaliate. in the latter case, if it leads to such a situation, i will fight as is my duty. personally, i am not trying to start a war. nor am i trying to avoid one. i am doing what i am instructed by my king in the interests of my nation."

A sullen silence was his only response. Holden disagreed heartily with the claims of his unwanted host, but was no longer in a position to dispute the matter; that would be left to the news-sheets, the coffee-houses and the Assembly when word returned to Incognitia.
For now he'd sit back and wait for whatever was to happen next.

It had taken a while, for Holden to make his way through the Angepas bureaucracy, and eventually get home. However, it had happened in the end, and on reaching Incognitia at last, he had begun speaking out against those who had 'kidnapped' him.
It had been quite popular with the libels and scandal-sheets, the idea of the wronged trader battling to come home...and the story had taken well in the coffee-houses and the 'Change as well.
Soon enough the pressure was building to do something about these 'pirates' and "obstructers of legitimate trade".
And so, as is the way of Incognitian government, something was done; letters of marque were issued, and some few of the Navy's ships were spared. The former would hunt down 'traffickers', meaning Angepas traders - the legality of this was dubious with no war declared, but they would only replicate the behaviour of Angepas warships against Incognitian traders - and the warships would hunt down the 'pirates'.
Bloodshed was inevitable, but confidence was high that Incognitia would come off best.