NationStates Jolt Archive

ooc: My introduction into EII, looking forward to rping with you all, looks to be a good one.

Strasbourg, Imperial Republic of Gataway

Much of the former Fourth Reichian territory was in disarray. Local militias had been formed by many provinces as medieval like warlords vied for power splitting the once powerful nation into a series of city states.

Strasbourg on the banks of the mighty Rhine river, however was some could say the ray of hope amongst all the chaos as there and in several surrounding townships a united republic had been formed. There order had been restored, a fledgling senate and High Chancellor had already been elected and while small in number a disciplined and standing army had been formed with a good amount of modern equipment.

This new republic led by the charismatic high chancellor Bareve Von Elsrider had been on a campaign to unite all the former territories under republic rule.
So far their campaigns by way of political scheming,bribery, and the use of the republic's organized military had been successful in uniting territory stretching from the Bourgogne region of France in the west, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in the south, to the eastern extreme of the Thuringia region in Germany, and the Schleswig-Holstein region along the northern coast of Germany.

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/7030/eiiirgkj4.th.png (http://img242.imageshack.us/my.php?image=eiiirgkj4.png)

Red=area under republic control Green=Imperial control

The remainder of the territories had either been hesitant or blatantly rejected the republic's offers to unite the country. and an Imperialist force rivaling the republic's had been rumored to form in western french territories under an Emperor Shezar. Each side vying for the hearts and minds of the remaining neutral or independent territories, Chancellor Elsrider decided it was time to reach out to the other nations of the world for help.

Open Declaration to Nations of the world
From Imperial Republic of Gataway

The great lands once ruled by Fourth Reich have fallen apart as centralized government and order gave way to lawlessness and anarchy. However there is hope that these lands may once again rise to their former glory like a phenoix from the ashes.

In this the great city of Strasbourg we have layed the foundations for a strong and free republic. Already many of the former territories have seen that we hold the key to prosperity and greatness.

There are those however who would seek to stamp out our new way of life and stand against us. It is because of this that I must call upon you to aid us in our endevor and help us to bring peace,stability, and prosperity back to our lands.

High Chancellor Bareve Von Elsrider,
Imperial Republic of Gataway

August 19, 2008 - 22:00 hrs [GMT+1]
Sledge Air Force Base, Berlin

In the months and years since the Fourth Reich dissipated into a multitude of nations and independent serfdoms, the Empire had maintained a strong grip on its foreign bases, which included an air force base in southeastern France, Sledge Air Force Base outside of Berlin, a naval base on Norden Island, and another on Memmert Island. The Empire's and Fourth Reich's joint control over the Azores as a military outpost in the Northern Atlantic had now been wholly dissolved into the Atlantic Republic. Combined with holdings in Iceland, Ireland, Greenland, Bermuda, and dozens of other spots on both the eastern and western sides of the Atlantic gave the Empire full and domineering control over the North Atlantic Ocean. In the days of the Fourth Reich, both the Empire and the Fourth Reich had mastered a massive plan to completely close off the North Atlantic to hostile shipping both surface and subsurface in the event of a global war. The plan had been adjusted now but remained the same in essence.

Something else had happened in the time since the collapse of the Fourth Reich and that was right around Berlin. The 10th Quick Reaction Force, along with elements of the Imperial Layartebian Air Force and Imperial Layartebian Army had been deployed to a specially constructed "megabase" five miles to the southwest of Berlin in the mid-1990s as part of the European Collective Force, a North Germanian military plan for a joint-TOA presence in Europe to defend against hostile invasion. The Empire deployed this force to Berlin for one purpose and that was to protect the Germanian capital. When the country fell apart, they activated their contingency plans. Layartebian elements moved directly into Berlin and helped a Germanian ruling council secure order and maintain a solid hold on the 344 mi² city. The Empire maintained a strong presence, to date, in the former Germanian capital. Remnants of the Germanian government and military still held onto power inside of the peaceful city and life continued as it had done in decades prior. It was almost as if nothing had happened to the Fourth Reich in Berlin and, thanks in large part to the Layartebian forces deployed there, bloodshed didn't taint the city like it had elsewhere.

Few actually expected any sort of reunification of the Fourth Reich as a whole. Eurasian forces had been pushed out of Ukraine and now Nerotikan forces had completely taken control of the troubled region. Kazakhstan had fallen into Eurasian hands as well. Other lands had been here, there, and everywhere over the past few years. Then, when the Gatawain nation rose up and began to spread outwards from Strasbourg, in western France, Germanian and Layartebian forces in Berlin went to high alert. Not wishing to see bloodshed befall upon the city of Berlin, they fortified their positions and prepared for the possibility of incursion. The Gatawain nation spread outwards from Strasbourg quickly and when High Chancellor Bareve Von Elsrider announced the Imperial Republic of Gataway, Berlin knew that it wouldn't be long before Gatawain forces were crawling at their doorsteps.

It wasn't that the ideals of the Gatawain Republic didn't appeal to Berlin, it was the question of sovereignty, independence, and pride. Formerly the epicenter of the Fourth Reich, the notion of foreign rule was completely abstract and foreign. The system in Berlin wasn't very different from the one that the Gatawains had established except for some minor differences here and there. It was crucial that Berlin and the Layartebian forces within contact the Gatawain Republic in order to avoid a misinterpretation of intentions. Gatawain forces had already encroached upon Mühlhausen Air Force Base in southeastern France and found it to be largely unexpected. Layartebian forces were fully entrenched around the massive megabase and met the Gatawain forces at their gates, showed them their previously negotiated 99-year lease of the land, and turned them away. Gatawain officials were now in talks with the Empire for continued use of previously established military bases in France and northern Germany. The Gatawain Republic's ideals appealed greatly to the Empire and it wasn't long before full support would be bestowed upon them. Whether or not Berlin wanted to cooperate with the deal was another matter but it was the Empire would had the most sway there. International incidents were unnecessary and so the leaders in Berlin dispatched a communique to the Gatawain government shortly after their own, official announcement.

Official Communique

Priority: High
Recipient: High Chancellor Bareve Von Elsrider, Imperial Republic of Gataway
Origin: Klaus von Kübler, Reichskanzler of the Established Order of the Protectorate of Berlin
Classification Level: Secure
Subject: Berlin


Die Eingerichtete Reihenfolge vom Protektorat von Berlin ist die Strömung, die Körper in der Stadt von Berlin und seinem unmittelbaren fungiert, Äußerlügengebiete und ist seit der Auflösung dem Vierten Reich von Nördlich Germanium und dem Tod von Reichskanzler Heydrich Kübler gewesen. Das E. O. P. B. wird von unserem neuen Reichskanzler, Karl von Kübler, ältester Sohn des späten Heydrich Kübler regiert. Seit dem Sturz dem Vierten Reich ist Berlin eine friedliche Stadt, die vollständig das Blutvergießen von viele von den ehemaligen Ländern dem Vierten Reich vermieden hat, Dank in großem Teil zum Reich gewesen.

Das E. O. P. B. wünscht zu sehen nicht, dass die Plage von Krieg und Gewalttätigkeit auf unserer großen Stadt befällt. Wir stellen die äußerste Höhe der Wichtigkeit auf dieses und wir können nicht erlauben, dass Berlin in ein ungesittetes Blutbad heruntersetzt, wo und Gewalttätigkeitregel über Recht und Ordnung hasst.

Gegenwärtig gemeinschaftliche Kräfte vom E. O. P. B. und das Reich ist feststehend um Berlin unter Reihenfolgen, irgendeine ausländische Invasionkraft abzustoßen. Obwohl wir zahlenmässig überlegt werden dürfen, werden wir nicht outgunned werden oder werden übertroffen werden. Es ist diese Zusicherung, die wir wünschen, mögliche Verhandlungen für die friedliche Einrichtung von Berlin und allen Ländern unter der direkten und indirekten Steuerung vom E. O. P. B zu beginnen,. unter der Kaiserlichen Republik von Gataway. Wir setzen Ihre Ideale noch Ihr Stil der Regierung, trotz unserer starken Erbschaft zum ehemaligen Vierten Reich nicht entgegen.

Wenn Sie so zu diese Verhandlungen übereinstimmen werden, dass ich Ihren fungierenden Körper einladen werde, sich mit unsr an Bord ein Layartebian Flugzeugträger in der Nordsee für neutrale Verhandlungen zu treffen, handelnd das Reich als ein dritt. Sollte Sie zu diesen Verhandlungen nicht wünschen, flehe ich Sie an, Berlin auf Ihren Eroberungen zu umgehen, dass nicht Ihr Militär katastrophische Verluste leiden sollte.

[The Established Order of the Protectorate of Berlin is the current officiating body in the city of Berlin and its immediate, outer-lying areas and has been since the dissolution of the Fourth Reich of North Germania and the death of Reichskanzler Heydrich Kübler. The E.O.P.B. is ruled by our new Reichskanzler, Karl von Kübler, eldest son of the late Heydrich Kübler. Since the fall of the Fourth Reich, Berlin has been a peaceful city that has completely avoided the bloodshed of many of the former lands of the Fourth Reich, thanks in large part to the Empire.

The E.O.P.B. does not wish to see the plague of war and violence befall upon our great city. We place the utmost level of importance on this and we cannot allow Berlin to degrade into an uncivilized blood bath where hate and violence rule above law and order.

Presently, joint forces of the E.O.P.B. and the Empire are entrenched around Berlin under orders to repel any foreign invasion force. Though we may be outnumbered, we will not be outgunned or outmatched. It is this assurance that we wish to begin possible negotiations for the peaceful establishment of Berlin and all lands under the direct and indirect control of the E.O.P.B. underneath the Imperial Republic of Gataway. We do not oppose your ideals nor your style of government, despite our strong heritage to the former Fourth Reich.

If you will so agree to these negotiations I will invite your officiating body to meet with ours aboard a Layartebian aircraft carrier in the North Sea for neutral negotiations, the Empire acting as a third-party. Should you not wish to these negotiations, I implore you to bypass Berlin on your conquests, lest your military should suffer catastrophic losses.]

Sincerely,
Reichskanzler Klaus von Kübler


Classification Levels

Standard: Standard classification is the normal level of encryption. It is equivalent to the standard levels of encryption seen on most secure e-mail clients.

Confidential: Confidential classification is a higher level of encryption than "Standard" but it is not heavily encrypted. It is used mostly for flash traffic to foreign countries and requires some additional decoding time. It uses 512-bit RSA encryption methods and has several key ciphers that change unpredictably.

Secure: Secure communiques use 1024-bit RSA encryption and several key ciphers within them that change unpredictably to ensure that message traffic is not hacked or decoded. Access to said messages would require heavy cracking software and significant resources but it is not "uncrackable." It can be a viable level through 2010.

Encrypted: Encrypted classification is the second highest level of classification. It is uses 2048-bit RSA encryption and multiple key ciphers within it to ensure that cracking it would take such a significant amount of time to accomplish that, should it be done, the message's usefulness would have already expired. Though anything is crackable, because of the methods employed, this level is often considered "uncrackable" by current capabilities. To ensure revolving protecting, ciphers and encryption algorithms will change unpredictably. This level is sufficient until 2030.

Maximum: Maximum classification is the highest level of classification available. It uses 3072-bit RSA encryption and multiple key ciphers that change unpredictably. It can provide protection past 2030.

Experimental: Currently not a fully recognized level, experimental denotes a category using 15360-bit RSA encryption and multiple key ciphers that change unpredictably. It is not in full operational use as of yet.

All entries with the asterick (*) are top secret IC meaning that specifications on them are not public, performance is not public, their existence is not public, and knowledge of their existence may be deduced only to rumors and grainy photography taken by a lucky UFO nutso who may have gotten close enough to a secret airbase to actually get a shot off.

Order of Battle
Fourth Reich of North Germania
Imperial Layartebian Air Force
Location: Mühlhausen Air Force Base, Mühlhausen, France, Fourth Reich of North Germania
Elements: 39th Air Control Wing, 192nd Fighter Wing, 62nd Logistics Wing, 47th Space Control Wing, 45th Special Operations Wing
Personnel: ~5,000
Pilots: 1,056
Base Air Defenses: AADMS Site (2), APDS Units (16), Crow Air Defense Site (1) LAADS Units (16), Wizard MANPADs (100+)


3903rd Air Control Squadron: E-9A AWACS (2)
3904th Air Control Squadron: E-10A MC2A (2)
19201st Fighter Squadron: F-24C Knightowl* (16)
19202nd Fighter Squadron: F-19C Ghostrider* (16)
19203rd Fighter Squadron: F-49A Astaroth* (16)
19204th Fighter Squadron: F-39C Super Eagle (16)
19205th Fighter Squadron: F-25C Firefox* (16)
19206th Fighter Squadron: F-47A Horus (16)
19207th Fighter Squadron: F-47A Horus (16)
19208th Fighter Squadron: F-50A Cardinal (16)
19209th Fighter Squadron: F-41A Defender* (16)
19210th Fighter Squadron: F-41B Defender* (16)
6201st Logistics Squadron: C-130J-30 Super Hercules (8)
6202nd Logistics Squadron: C-17B Globemaster III (8)
6203rd Logistics Squadron: KC-10B Extender (6)
6204th Logistics Squadron: C-29A Titan (6)
4701st Space Control Squadron: MQ-14A Firefly* (4), MQ-15A Zweihänder* (4)
4702nd Space Control Squadron: RQ-4A Global Hawk (4)
4703rd Space Control Squadron: A-26C Condor* (2)
4704th Space Control Squadron: U-6A Blackcat* (6)
4501st Special Operations Squadron: MH-60G Pave Hawk (8)
4502nd Special Operations Squadron: MH-6M Little Bird (8)
4503rd Special Operations Squadron: EC-21C Learjet 80 (4)
4504th Special Operations Squadron: C-28A Gulfstream VI (4)


Location: Sledge Air Force Base, Berlin, Germany, Fourth Reich of North Germania
Elements: 183rd Fighter Wing, 59th Logistics Wing, 46th Space Control Wing
Personnel: ~650
Pilots: 122
Base Air Defenses: AADMS Site (2), APDS Units (6), LAADS Units (6), Wizard MANPADs (50+)


18301st Fighter Squadron: F-51A Demon (8)
18302nd Fighter Squadron: F-52A Saber (6), F-52B Saber (2)
5901st Logistics Squadron: C-130J-30 Super Hercules (4)
5902nd Logistics Squadron: C-130J Super Hercules (6)
4601st Space Control Squadron: MQ-1B Predator (4)


Imperial Layartebian Army
Location: Sledge Air Force Base, Berlin, Germany, Fourth Reich of North Germania
Elements: 35th Assault Regiment, 26th Logistics Regiment, 10th Quick Reaction Force, 35th Reconnaissance Regiment
Infantry: 400
Personnel: ~384
Pilots: 216
Base Air Defenses: AADMS Site (2), APDS Units (6), LAADS Units (6), Wizard MANPADs (50+)


3501st Assault Battalion: AH-99A Anasazi (3)
3502nd Assault Battalion: AH-99A Anasazi (3)
3503rd Assault Battalion: AH-6M Little Bird (8)
2601st Logistics Battalion: UH-60M Black Hawk (8)
2602nd Logistics Battalion: UH-96A Panther (4)
2603rd Logistics Battalion: UV-24D Bulldog (6)
3501st Reconnaissance Battalion: RAH-70A Arapaho (3)
3502nd Reconnaissance Battalion: RAH-70A Arapaho (3)
3503rd Reconnaissance Battalion: MQ-8C Fire Scout (4)



Airborne (Enlisted): 0
Airborne (Headquarters): 0
Airborne (Officers): 0
Airmen: 216
Infantry (Enlisted): 106
Infantry (Headquarters): 16
Infantry (Officers): 22
Reserves: 40
Total: 400



M2047A1 Arrow APC: 10
M2047A3 Arrow C3: 1
M2047A4 Arrow AT: 8
M2050A1 Serpent LBT: 12
M2051A2 CMPL: 18
M2051A3 CMPL: 18
M2060A1 Buzzsaw: 3


Imperial Layartebian Navy
Location: Memmert Island Submarine Base , Memmert Island, Germany, North Germania
Elements: 6th Fleet, 12th Submarine Attack Group
Infantry: 0
Personnel: ~2,500
Pilots: 0
Base Air Defenses: AADMS Site (1), APDS Units (8), Crow Air Defense Site (1) LAADS Units (8), Wizard MANPADs (100+)


Hunter SSN*: 2
Scythe Flight II SSN*: 2
Venom SSBN*: 6
Virginia Flight II SSN: 2


Location: Norden Naval Base, Norden, Germany, North Germania
Elements: 1st Fleet, 4th Carrier Battle Group
Infantry: 0
Personnel: ~13,000
Pilots: 1,010
Base Air Defenses: AADMS Site (1), APDS Units (8), Crow Air Defense Site (1) LAADS Units (8), Wizard MANPADs (100+)


Arsenal Flight II MMGN: 1
Dnalkrad Flight II FFGN: 2
Earthquake Flight II BBGN: 1
Emperor ASN: 1
Hampton AON: 1
Heretic FFGN: 2
Hunter SSN*: 1
Luna CVN: 1
Scythe Flight II* CVN: 1
Supply AOE: 1
Unforgiven CGN: 2
Venom SSGN*: 1
Verrazano Flight II DDKN: 2
Voodoo DDGN: 2
Wilson AKRN: 1



A-6H Super Intruder: 12
EA-5F Vigilante: 4
EA-18H Growler: 4
F-26B Typhoon: 24
F-35B Raven: 12
F-41C Defender*: 12
MC-11B CSA: 4
ME-11C CSA: 4
MH-60R Sea Hawk: 12
MH-60S Knight Hawk: 9
MK-11F CSA: 4
MS-11A CSA: 4
MQ-8C Fire Scout: 26
MQ-14A Firefly: 4
SH-102A Sea Lord: 11

The Cottish military presence in Denmark was, despite the relatively recent annexation following the collapse of the Fourth Reich, was low, standing at only one division, the 20. Divisjon (Infanteri) from the Army numbering no more than fourteen thousand men. They had plenty of air support though in the form of the 136. Air Wing from the Air Force with a significant amount of aircraft located in six airbases throughout Denmark. From the sea, the Danish region was protected by missile boats from the 10. Kystflotilje and some frigates from the 5. Fregattflotilje, as well as a few diesel-electric submarines designed for littoral operations like those in the waters around Denmark. All in all, the Cottish military presence in Denmark totaled thirty thousand men, of which fourteen thousand were in the Army.

Due to the unrest in Germany, just to the south of Denmark, the High Command in Oslo had ordered Cottish Forces Denmark, which was a subordinate formation to Defense District SKANDINAVIA, to go on heightened alert and take up neutrality watch positions near the border to ensure that the unrest didn’t spill over into Cottish territory. As such, elements of the Royal Cottish Army in Denmark, mostly infantry mounted in 5-ton trucks or XA-360 armored personnel carriers, took up positions near the border to show that Cotland didn’t intend to let the unrest in Germany to spill over into Her territory.

Similar actions were being undertaken in Defense District BENELUX, where the 19. Divisjon (Infanteri) and a special forces battalion, as well as about three hundred aircraft from the Air Force and a few surface ships from the 4. Fregattflotilje and 11. Kystflotilje and a pair of submarines from the Navy, totaling forty thousand men from the Armed Forces. These forces were also ordered to go on heightened alert and the borders to the conflict zone, these being somewhat longer than the borders Denmark shared with Germany, were reinforced by APC-mounted infantry before long. These troops were also under orders to keep fighting from spilling into Cottish-controlled territories.

ooc: I apologize for the slow response. The hurricaine/storms coming through have caused my internet connection to come in and out. I will post a response today.

IC:

Elsrider sat calmly in his office looking over reports coming from the republic frontier territories while a light rain fell outside softly tapping against the office windows.

"Our neighbors to the north appear to be mobilizing. I can only pray they don't seek conquest as we have no allies and we are already tied down in maintaining the areas we do control."

He thought to himself.

His train of thought was interrupted abruptly by a hard pounding on the old oaken door to his office.
"Let them in." the chancellor waved his hand towards the guard seated next to the door.

The unnamed sentry opened the door slowly, a dull mumbling is all the high chancellor heard as the sentry checked identification and other routine security checks.

After a brief moment the sentry opened the door completely and a wiry young man dressed in a solid blue suit and red tie entered the room carrying a black briefcase handcuffed about his boney arm.

"Greetings High Chancellor. I am Peter Dietrich, from the republic chancellery offices in northern Germany, We received a transmission from the governing body over Berlin and its surrounding territory. “

Dietrich opened the briefcase as he spoke handing over the official transmission recieved the previous day.

Elsrider quickly snatched the document from the aide's hand and read it over, almost immediately Elsrider sprang from his chair and began to put on his overcoat

"Chancellor, if I may why such a hurry?"

Dietrich asked looking somewhat puzzled, clearly the contents of the transmission were of great importance.

"We must act quickly, if we wish for this republic we've established to succeed. The governing body of Berlin wishes to meet with us and negotiate, they're also supported by the empire of Layterb."

Elsrider replied rushing out the door followed by several sentries and office aides including Dietrich, quickly the group moved to the chancellor's waiting motorcade and began their trip northeast.

As the motorcade made their way north the chancellor turned to one of his aides.
"Ensure the Berliners know of our intentions and that we do not seek hostile actions against them, and contact our northern neighbors we should try to uncover their intentions since they have troops mobilizing."

Transmission to E.O.P.B

From the office of the High Chancellor, Imperial Republic of Gataway

On Behalf of High Chancellor Bareve Von Elsrider we wish to inform you that the Imperial Republic accepts your offer for negotiations and wishes to assure you that we do not seek to take hostile actions against the city of Berlin or its surrounding territory.

Transmission to Cottish Government:
From the office of the High Chancellor, Imperial Republic of Gataway

This message is an inquiry into your intentions due to the clear mobilization of military forces under your command near our borders. We do not seek to open hostilities against you and assistance in restoring order to our lands would be greatly apprectiated

OOC: Yeah TS Fay doesn't want to let go and she's come back around for a second go at Florida. It's really causing some havoc down there with the rain especially. One of my coworkers is stuck there for a few more days. Excuse the German if it is inaccurate

August 20, 2008 - 06:00 hrs [GMT+1]
Reichstag, Berlin

The helicopter pad on the back side of the Reichstag building normally wasn't active at six in the morning but this was an emergency. Workers on the concrete pad had already prepped it and swept any loose debris off at an unusually fast pace. They were not accustomed to doing such a thing at such an hour, even though the helicopter pad was staffed twenty-four hours a day. "Schneller. Schneller. Ich sehe, dass es kommend!" [Faster. Faster. I see it coming!] Helmut yelled across the pad as he saw the blinking lights of the approaching helicopter in the distance. The sun was finally beginning to rise in the east but the helicopter was coming from the south. It banked low over the cityscape about two miles ahead of the building and began to slow down, getting ready to land. The two men on the helipad tossed away the brooms and one of them picked up a set of flashlights with red cones on them. He would guide the helicopter down while the other established communication with it and that was Helmut.

"Eagle's Nest. Eagle's Nest. This is Falcon One. Do you copy, over?" The pilot of the approaching helicopter asked over the radio frequency that was dedicated to the Reichstag helipad.

"I have you. Visual sighting." Helmut responded, his English appropriately capable, given his previous education in Layartebian Ireland. "Helipad is ready. You are cleared for landing."

"Understood Eagle's Nest. We'll be on site in a minute." The Black Hawk banked once more and put itself on a proper approach path with the helipad. Standing at the windows of the helicopter were a pair of gunners holding onto the triggers of their M74A1 Miniguns, each ready to unload on any possible enemy. Berlin wasn't hostile, especially not to a Layartebian helicopter but, with the approaching armies of the Republic of Gataway, caution was not thrown to the wind. People within Berlin were definitely nervous and their leader was trying to keep them from rioting.

The day for Colonel Henry Watson had begun an hour and a half earlier when he awoke. He always awoke at 04:30 hours. The commanding officer of the Layartebian contingent at Sledge Air Force Base, he had a lot to do before the run rose each day, including his daily run. He took off from his quarters at 04:45 hours, after having warmed up and stretched. He took off down the main part of the airport and ran for a half hour, covering four miles and he did this three times a week. For the other four days he stuck to other workouts and he did take off one day of the week, Sunday. On this day in particular, his morning would not fall into routine. As he sat down for breakfast at 05:30, he figured the day to be a calm day. Despite the looming armies to the southwest, Sledge Air Force Base was well protected. If the Gatawain armies would try to take the base, they would find themselves in deep trouble.

"Looks like runny eggs this morning," he joked with the officers as he reached his fork into his plate. "Beats the oatmeal from three days ago," and there was no disagreement amongst the men as forks and knives clanged all around the mess hall and the officer's mess. Suddenly though, before he could get any of his eggs onto his fork, he was startled by a tall, skinny enlisted man who was sweating profusely and breathing deeply.

"Sir!" He said with a salute but he didn't wait for a proper response, this was too important. "An urgent communique has come in from Reichskanzler Klaus von Kübler. He requests your presence urgently at the Reichstag building. Here sir!" He handed him a paper and saluted as he darted back off, towards his post.

The Colonel barely had time to salute back as he looked at the official communique. "Gentlemen." He said as he stood up, every officer at the table doing the same. He left the mess hall quickly and picked up his on-base intercom phone and dialed the flight operations center.

"Flight Ops. Sergeant Einsely."

"Sergeant Einsely. Colonel Watson. I require an immediate helipterums to the Reichstag building. What is presently available?"

"Sir. A Black Hawk is preparing for a patrol of the northeastern sector of Berlin. The flight crew is fully prepared."

"I am changing their orders. They will be my transport."

"Understood sir!" The Colonel was on the tarmac about four minutes later and stepped up to the cabin door of a UH-60M Black Hawk. The two pilots were finalizing their pre-flight checks and the two crew chiefs were hooking into their radios. They would man the two Gatling Guns of the helicopter for the duration of the flight.

"Colonel!" The pilot saluted, joined by the rest of the crew. In a hurry, Colonel Watson climbed into the cabin, shut the door, and hooked in a hanging headset as he put it over his head, adjusting the microphone to his mouth.

"Lieutenant. Have you received my change of orders?"

"I have sir. We are ready to fly if you are sir."

"Let's go! I don't want to keep the Reichskanzler waiting."

"Yes sir. Sledge ATC. Falcon One. Requesting clearance for takeoff."

"Falcon One. Sledge ATC. You are cleared for takeoff. Vector bearing zero-one-eight to flight plan."

"Roger that." The rotors of the Black Hawk began to spin as the engines spun up and gained power. When enough power was reached, the helicopter gently lifted into the air and ascended to one hundred feet before heading out on heading zero-one-eight. Once he was clear of the airbase, he climbed to five hundred feet and sped the helicopter up to one hundred and twenty miles per hour. Minutes later, they were calling the helipad at the Reichstag to report that they were inbound for landing.

****************

"Sir. This way!" A young German staffer at the Reichstag said as he met the Layartebian colonel at the helipad. His English wasn't nearly as flawless as Helmut's but it was passable. He led him down hallway after hallway, each lined with rich, ancient tapestries, statues, and decorations, some of them a thousand years old. There was one item though that was almost two thousand years old. It was a sword belonging to Arminius, chieftain of the Cherusci who defeated a Roman army in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. That battle had occurred in the year 9 A.D., one thousand, nine-hundred, and ninety-nine years earlier. During these early hours of the morning, the Reichstag was quiet. There weren't many politicians around and most interns and staffers were still at home, waking up to report to work. Many of them arrived at 07:00 to 08:00 hours and many of them were gone by 19:00 hours that day. Regardless, there was a buzz about the Reichstag that morning and the colonel would soon find out why.

He stopped at the doors to the Reichskanzler's office and waited as the staffer knocked, entered, and announced the colonel. "Colonel Henry Watson of the Imperial Layartebian Military, representative to the Established Order of the Protectorate of Berlin and proxy for the Emperor of Layarteb." He said as the colonel entered. He only expected to be meeting with the Reichskanzler but, when he entered, he found that the entire legislative high council of the E.O.P.B. were present. He entered and spoke, "Guter Morgen die Herren. Ich entschuldige mich für meine Verspätung." [Good morning gentlemen. I apologize for my delay.]

"Oberst Watson. Bitte sitzen Sie. Wir haben wichtige Materien zu diskutieren und Ihre Eingabe ist notwendig." [Colonel Watson. Please sit. We have important matters to discuss and your input is necessary.] He took a seat at a large, rectangular table, not unlike the same one in the Emperor's office in Layarteb City. The Germanians got to business immediately.

"Vor einer Stunde habe ich eine Erwiderung vom Gatawains empfangen. Es hat gelesen ‚zu Gunsten Hohen Kanzlers Bareve Von Elsrider wir wünschen, Sie zu informieren, dass die Kaiserliche Republik Ihr Angebot für Verhandlungen und Wünsche annimmt, Ihnen zu zusichern, dass wir nicht suchen, feindliche Handlungen gegen die Stadt von Berlin oder seinem umgebenden Gebiet zu nehmen‘. Wir müssen vorsichtig fortfahren aber wir können ihre Anwesenheit irgendein längeres nicht ignorieren." [An hour ago, I received a reply from the Gatawains. It read 'On Behalf of High Chancellor Bareve Von Elsrider we wish to inform you that the Imperial Republic accepts your offer for negotiations and wishes to assure you that we do not seek to take hostile actions against the city of Berlin or its surrounding territory.' We must proceed cautiously but we cannot ignore their presence any longer.]

"Oberst, wie rechnen Sie das Empire auf unsere Assimilation in dieses Land wir es wird reagieren sollte wählen?" [Colonel, how do you figure the Empire will react to our assimilation into this country should we choose it?]

"Minister Schröder, ich sind auf diesem direkten Aktionsverlauf informiert worden. Das Empire würde zur Eingerichteten Reihenfolge vom Protektorat des Berlins die Unabhängigkeit oder Assimilation in irgendeinen Nationalstaat nicht entgegengesetzt werden, der nicht feindlich zu das Empire sich ist. Wir wünschen, obwohl dass irgendeine Assimilation oder Unabhängigkeit unsere eingerichteten Einrichtungen oder Anwesenheit nicht rausschmeißen würde. Wir haben kleinen Wunsch, die Germanian Leute zu verlassen." [Minister Schröder, I have been informed on this direct course of action. The Empire would not be opposed to the Established Order of the Protectorate of Berlin's independence or assimilation into any nation state that is not hostile to the Empire itself. We do wish though that any assimilation or independence would not toss out our established facilities or presence. We have little desire to abandon the Germanian people.]

****************

Four hundred miles to the northwest, in the North Sea, just one hundred miles from the Cottish coast of the Netherlands, a Layartebian carrier group swayed with the waves. It was the 4th Carrier Battle Group, stationed in Norden Naval Base, on Norden Island, just one hundred and thirty miles away. The twenty-ship group was headed by a Luna class heavy carrier and its air wing. The ships were spread out in the North Sea, at strategic positions to defend the carrier against air, surface, and subsurface attack. Classified submarines lurked deep beneath the waves and destroyers marched along the lines, looking for enemy submarines while a pair of cruisers used their powerful radars and satellite uplinks to look for surface vessels. This area of the world was teeming with activity from the Imperial Layartebian Navy. Not only was the 4th CVBG in the North Sea but the 7th CVSG had left its port in Hammerfest, Norway ten days prior. It was now in the Baltic Sea, north of Poland.

If the Gatawains agreed to negotiations with the Established Order of the Protectorate of Berlin they would be conducted aboard the naval fleet. Layartebian HV-24C Bulldog transports would fly to Berlin and to a city of the Gatawain's choosing (providing it was within range), pick up the parties and transport them to the Luna carrier. Each Bulldog could fly 600 miles from the carrier and back with more than enough fuel for loitering. They could be equipped with weapons for self-defense or offensive operations and each of them could hold twenty-four people comfortably but more in overload configurations. Even in an overload configuration, 600 miles was an appropriate range.

http://www.forsakenoutlaw.com/Graphics/Nation-States/LDC/v24.jpg

****************

Official Communique

Priority: High
Recipient: High Chancellor Bareve Von Elsrider, Imperial Republic of Gataway
Origin: Klaus von Kübler, Reichskanzler of the Established Order of the Protectorate of Berlin
Classification Level: Secure
Subject: Berlin


Die Eingerichtete Reihenfolge vom Protektorat von Berlin wird erfreut, dass Sie unser Angebot für Verhandlungen angenommen haben. Bedienung im Süden von der Nordsee ist eine Layartebian Bote Schlacht Gruppe. Sie werden in Kontakt mit Ihnen für die Versammlung sein, die an Bord ihr schneller Bote stattfinden wird. Wir erbitten ehrerbietig, dass diese Versammlung als rein friedlich betrachtet wird.

Wir in der Der Eingerichteten Reihenfolge vom Protektorat von Berlin sind eine friedlichen Leute, und obwohl wir vorsichtig sind, werden wir diese Versammlung mit irgendeinem Wunsch für Gewalttätigkeit oder Gegenüberstellung nicht besuchen.

Wenn dies ist annehmbar wir uns am Nachmittag von am 21. August um 12:00 GMT treffen möchten.

[The Established Order of the Protectorate of Berlin is pleased that you have accepted our offer for negotiations. Operating in the south of the North Sea is a Layartebian carrier battle group. They will be in contact with you for the meeting, which shall take place aboard their fleet carrier. We respectfully request that this meeting be regarded as purely peaceful.

We in the The Established Order of the Protectorate of Berlin are a peaceful people and though we are cautious we will not be attending this meeting with any desire for violence or confrontation.

If this is acceptable we would like to meet on the afternoon of August 21 at 12:00 GMT.]

Sincerely,
Reichskanzler Klaus von Kübler


Classification Levels

Standard: Standard classification is the normal level of encryption. It is equivalent to the standard levels of encryption seen on most secure e-mail clients.

Confidential: Confidential classification is a higher level of encryption than "Standard" but it is not heavily encrypted. It is used mostly for flash traffic to foreign countries and requires some additional decoding time. It uses 512-bit RSA encryption methods and has several key ciphers that change unpredictably.

Secure: Secure communiques use 1024-bit RSA encryption and several key ciphers within them that change unpredictably to ensure that message traffic is not hacked or decoded. Access to said messages would require heavy cracking software and significant resources but it is not "uncrackable." It can be a viable level through 2010.

Encrypted: Encrypted classification is the second highest level of classification. It is uses 2048-bit RSA encryption and multiple key ciphers within it to ensure that cracking it would take such a significant amount of time to accomplish that, should it be done, the message's usefulness would have already expired. Though anything is crackable, because of the methods employed, this level is often considered "uncrackable" by current capabilities. To ensure revolving protecting, ciphers and encryption algorithms will change unpredictably. This level is sufficient until 2030.

Maximum: Maximum classification is the highest level of classification available. It uses 3072-bit RSA encryption and multiple key ciphers that change unpredictably. It can provide protection past 2030.

Experimental: Currently not a fully recognized level, experimental denotes a category using 15360-bit RSA encryption and multiple key ciphers that change unpredictably. It is not in full operational use as of yet.

Elsrider's motorcade continued its trip north towards the city of Kiel. The rain pouring down had brought the motorcade to almost a crawl as visibility worsened, still the meeting with the E.O.P.B and the possible outcome of unifying all of Germany plus the addition of gaining Layarteb imperial support drove the chancellor and his entourage onward.

"Chancellor.", the office aide who was still busily typing away at his notebook, paused for a moment and looked up.

"The E.O.P.B. has responded, they are glad we wish to negotiate and they want to assure us they too do not seek to open hostilities. However we still have no reply from the Cottish government on their intentions."

Elsrider breathed a sigh of relief as he felt at least one burden had been lifted off his shoulders, there was however, the looming Imperial forces in the west and the unknown intentions of the Republic's Cottish neighbors. These would have to be dealt with later, hopefully through little bloodshed.

OOC: Let me know if it's alright to "transport" you aboard.

August 21, 2008 - 10:00 hrs [GMT]
Luna CVN, North Sea

"Panther Two you are cleared for vertical landing. Flight deck is clear." The flight ops operator inside the Luna's island said as he looked out the window to see the approaching HV-24C Bulldog. It was already slowing down to the approach speed as it vectored into a flight line with the sailing Luna class carrier. A pair of F-26B Typhoons, which had been escorting the transport the entire way from Berlin. The single transport was loaded with the Reichskanzler and his immediate entourage as well as the Colonel Watson of the Imperial Layartebian Army, who was overseeing the Layartebian military contingent to Berlin.

Gracefully, the near fifty thousand pound transport slowed from its horizontal flight and transitioned into vertical flight as its four vectoring fans rotated downward, keeping lift underneath the aircraft as it slowed down its forward speed to only nine knots, which was the speed of the aircraft carrier. Slowly, the jet pulled down from the sky and gently touched down on the deck of the carrier. The pilots immediately began to power down the aircraft as the doors were opened by the commander of the 4th CVBG, Senior Admiral Charles P. Finch. "Reichskanlzer. Colonel. Please, this way." He said, the colonel saluting him as was custom in the Layartebian military. The Reichskanzler, because he was not Layartebian garnered no salute. Behind them, the Reichskanzler's entourage of aides brought out suitcases and were helped by several enlisted men on board the vessel. The Gatawains would be arriving at 11:00 hours and that meant there was an hour to get the Reichskanzler and his personnel settled in before they had to do it again for the Gatawains. The meeting would be held in the officer's mess inside the vast, floating city. It would take a nuclear bomb to sink the vessel and anyone shooting one would have a hard time getting it into the carrier safely.

ooc: That would be fine. Again I apologize the weather continues to be an annoyance and interrupting my Internet connection

With the rain finally letting up the motorcade was able to pick up speed and make up precious time.

After seemingly endless hours on the road, Elsrider and his aide's all felt exhausted as the motorcade finally pulled infront of the Chancellory building in the city of Kiel.

Sluggishly carrying their belongings up the old medieval like spiral stairs the Chancellor settled into quarters while his aides retired for the evening in rooms down the hall.

Only a few hours until he would be on board a Layarteb carrier the chancellor leaned back in his chair cherishing the brief moments he had to rest.

August 21, 2008 - 11:00 hrs [GMT+1]
Luna CVN, North Sea

The second inbound HV-24C Bulldog vectored in for landing, carrying the Gatawain delegation. The carrier remained on its course and steady at nine knots, allowing the Bulldog to land just as easily as the first one. The Reichskanzler and his staff were already below deck, preparing their documents and their arguments for the meeting, under strict military guard that was. A company of Layartebian Marines had been brought to the aircraft carrier ahead of the meeting to protect all parties. They were the only personnel allowed to be carrying weapons on board as the Reichskanzler and his staff had to relinquish theirs. The Gatawains would be asked the same. Despite the obvious alliance between the Germans and the Layartebians, the Layartebians were entirely neutral here. The Empire gained from both an independent and a Gatawain-controlled Berlin, it didn't necessarily matter to them. There were; however, several things that the Empire did in fact need from the Gatawains. As such, there wouldn't be any funny business.

Prepared and ready for the meeting, Senior Admiral Charles P. Finch also greeted the Gatawain staff but like the Reichskanzler, he did not salute. "Sir. Welcome about the flagship of the 4th Carrier Battle Group of the Imperial Layartebian Navy. I am Senior Admiral Charles Finch and this is my ship and my battle group. I trust that you will feel welcome and comfortable aboard this vessel. Any need you may have will be met by the enlisted sailors of the Imperial Layartebian Navy. Before we proceed below deck to your quarters I must ask that all weapons and firearms be relinquished. The only personnel with weapons on board are soldiers of the Imperial Layartebian Marines. Your counterparts from Berlin is subject to the same policy. Weapons will be secured in our armory and returned upon your egress from this vessel." Enlisted sailors stood around, ready to help the Gatawains carry their belongings below.

Elsrider turned to the two sentries which had accompined him and his staff since they departed Strasbourg.

"Relinquish your arms."

He spoke waving his arm towards the awaiting Layarteb navy personnel motioning for the sentries to give their weapons to them.

Elsrider turned back to the admiral waisting little time with formalities he was quick to get down to business.

"Let's get this meeting started, time is not necessarily our friend as I have recieved reports of Cottish mobilizations without clear intentions, and Imperialist forces have been reported to be mobilizing into independant territories, Im sure you are all equally as interested as we are to begin negotiations."

Senior Admiral Finch nodded as the enlisted sailors took and safetied the weapons. He led the Gatawains below deck and towards the Officer's Mess, where the meeting would be held. "Time is never on anyone's site. The Cottish; however, are amongst the strongest allies of the Empire. Should they plan to act against your territory, this is the safest place you could be as we do not necessarily share the same agenda as our Cottish brethren. I think, personally, you do not have much to fear from the Cottish, unless their sovereignty is infringed upon, which I would strong warn against." He said as they arrived at the Officer's Mess. The meeting would now begin as all of the affirmed parties were announced, introduced, and present. "Before these negotiations begin," Finch said, "there are several ground rules." He explained the obvious rules of any negotiations, which basically meant that the Layartebians had the right to cease them if tensions became too threatening and intervene to make sure that all parties remained calm and peaceful. "With that, the table is in the favor now of the Gatawains to announce their plans. Sir, you have the floor."

"Thank you." Elsrider said nodding his head towards the admiral before turning towards the represenatives from Berlin.

"I am sure you are aware of the chaos that plauges much of the lands formerly under fourth reichian control, and clearly you have noticed the spread of the republic from strasbourg.

It pleases me to see that you have agreed to take the diplomatic route to establish relations with us, others in the past have gone so far as to fire upon our emissaries' convoys.

It is the wishes of myself and the senate that Berlin and its surrounding territories unite with us and join the republic, like the states who joined before you, you would be given representation in the senate as well as share in the prosperity and peace that the republic offers. Surely you can see that Berlin standing alone is not in your best intrests or the best interests of its inhabitants.

Furthermore by joining it would make the assimilation of the rest of Germany as well as the remaining independent states of france easier and far less pragmatic.

Surely you remember the prosperity and strength under the fourth reichian control, together we may restore our lands to their former glory.

The republic has much to offer Berlin, and Berlin has much to offer the republic."

OOC:If you dont mind me asking, How did you make that map? Im not very computer savvy.

ooc: I did it with paint, simply cut out two maps one of france one of Germany each showing their provincial divisions. I then sized them up and pasted them together. Then used the paint bucket to fill in color for republic and imperial controlled territory.

OOC:Thanks alot man.:)

"Most certainly you are correct. Berlin does have much to gain from being part of a large, powerful state again. The collapse of the Fourth Reich was detrimental enough to the pride of the Germanic people. Since the collapse of the Fourth Reich, Berlin has existed in peace and prosperity. Our economy is bustling thanks largely to the allies of the Reich and those who traded with them. Unfortunately, while our economy remains strong, our defensive abilities are limited. Thanks largely to the Empire, we won't be overrun easily if at all, which is why we wish to discuss our incorporation into the Imperial Republic of Gatawa.

"Let me be frank," Reichskanzler von Kübler continued. He had been educated in the finest schools in the Fourth Reich and his English was as flawless as his German, almost as if it were his own native language. Speaking with his counterparts in the Gatawain Republic, he found that his education was his greatest weapon. The Layartebians could only do so much to boost his stature and even he knew that should his city become surrounded, he couldn't hold out indefinitely while continuing to prosper. "Berlin is a city of great wealth and prosperity. We have a determined population of over five million who all were born and bred Germanians. Should any siege ensue I can guarantee you that the entirety of Berlin would be out to fight. Your losses would be tremendous. Our losses would be just as bad.

"With this fact, I feel that this is completely unnecessary. Nobody needs to die on either side. It is in our interest to continue to represent our people and pay homage to the memory of the Fourth Reich by continuing to represent them. We would not be opposed to anything that you have proposed except for one. While we wish for representation in your senate, we wish to maintain a degree of self-rule over our city and the populace of Berlin." After everything was ironed out with the E.O.P.B., the Empire would have its turn negotiating with the Gatawain Republic.

Elsrider nodded in agreement.

"I am sure an arrangement for self rule over Berlin can be made, perhaps expanding the current administration and allowing republic officials seats on the city's governing council this way equal representation is shared both on a national and city wide level. Are these terms agreeable to you?"

"Provided that the ultimate rule of Berlin would rest with a duely elected resident of Berlin that would be acceptable. A representation on the Berlin Council would not be an object of resentment amongst ourselves or the German people. Reorganization of the council is necessary and we wish to enact fully democratic reforms to the council and to our city. We would propose a system whereby each of the twelve districts of our city would elect two leaders to serve on the council. These twenty-four men or women would serve for a six year term, alternating one full third every two years. In addition, each district would cast votes for an overall council leader. We would automatically reserve two additional seats for Gatawain representatives and provide them with the same powers as those from Berlin. We would have to agree to some sort of term limits though.

"Defense of Berlin would naturally be a hot topic as well. The Empire has provided for our defense for some time now and our history with them extends over three decades spanning even the days of the late Republic of Layarteb. Their presence in the city cannot simply be cast away. We would like to keep the Layartebian presence in our city, which is headed by Colonel Henry Watson who sits amongst us. They occupy a base five miles to our southwest affectionately called Sledge Air Force Base. Their mission there and contingent there is small but directly responsible for the direct defense of Berlin. We would like to request that they remain in that same capacity."

"I do not see why these terms would be unacceptable, on the matter of the Layarteb base, would republic craft be authorized to use the facilities as well? This would be a great asset to us but if it can not be done then the loss would be minimal.

I don't see why they could remain so long as thier purpose remains the defense of Berlin and not other operations unless authorized by the governing body of the Republic."

"While the base is strictly regarded as sovereign territory of the Empire," Colonel Watson added. "We have never turned away a civilian or friendly military aircraft from landing in an emergency situation. It is the request of the Empire though that the base remain sovereign Layartebian territory and be used only by the Empire for the defense of Berlin and additional facilities already present in northern Germany, which we will be discussing afterwards. Operations at this base would never be conducted in a manner hostile to your government or state unless approved by the Emperor himself through the chain of command. It is not a base for espionage, if that is a concern of yours."

Elsrider paused for a moment, taking a drink from a glass of water.

"The Republic sees no issue with allowing Layarteb bases to remain within its borders, and the bases being used strictly by Layarteb forces is understandable. I would ask that republic government officials be allowed access to these bases under Layarteb military supervision.

On the matter of term limits we would like for our officials to have the same term limits already established. Are there any other issues which you need to address? I believe we have covered all of our proposals."

"By all means supervised visits by governmental officials of the Gatawain Republic would be allowable under certain restrictions and circumstances. That is something better discussed by the Admiral, who will speak afterwards concerning the status of Layartebian bases in territory now governed by the Gatawain Republic." Colonel Watson concluded as the Reichskanzler seemed pleased with the results.

"The term limits established for your officials can be amended to be what they are for your own representatives. I believe that would be a fair trade-off. Well then, you are correct, the matter of Berlin and the Gatawain Republic is, in essence, concluded. Sir, it will be a pleasure to bring my city under your Republic and you shall reap the rewards immediately." He stood and offered his hand with a smile. He would be leaving the room to allow the Gatawain delegates and the Layartebians talk privately about the status of four Layartebian bases in Germany and southern France, two of them naval and two of them air force.

Elsrider nodded extending his hand shaking Reichskanzler's the the room lit with a flash as several aide's snapped photo's for latter use in both propoganda to bring other territories into the republic and for newspaper reports.

"I look forward to the continued prosperity and greatness that will surely befall this Republic."


Elsrider paused as the Berlin delegation left the room before turning back to the Layartebian officials

"Now on to the matter of your imperial bases inside our soverign territory.."

"High Chancellor, thank you. This matter is obviously of significant importance to the Empire. Since the inception of the October Alliance, the Empire has had a significant presence in Europe. Unfortunately, with the fall of the Fourth Reich, that presence has waned. As of this moment, we possess four bases in Germany and France, three in the former. These bases are crucial to the security of the Empire and, as such, we would like to remain at these bases and for the Gatawain Republic to honor the lease we worked out with the Fourth Reich.

"Our four bases include two naval bases, one on Memmert Island, which is a submarine base. The details of the Memmert Island Submarine Base is of the utmost secrecy. The second is on Norden Island and is a surface base. The Norden Island Naval Base is home to the Imperial Layartebian Navy's 4th Carrier Battle Group, the same battlegroup you are currently on, this being the flagship. The two air force bases are located near Mühlhausen in southeastern France and the other is Sledge Air Force Base, which you have already been told about by the Reichskanzler and Colonel Watson.

"The details of the lease agreement we negotiated with the Fourth Reich in 1989 allowed for these four bases to be sovereign, Layartebian land, just like an embassy. The Fourth Reich enacted a policy of non-interference with our operations at these bases but were allowed a yearly tour for higher officials in the military and government; albeit, classified areas were excluded. Memmert Island Submarine Base was excluded entirely due to the secrecy of our submarine force. The duration of the lease is for ninety-nine years and the restrictions are the same as they are in the charter for the October Alliance. In our charter, we are barred from offensive warfare against each other, unless requested by the afforementioned government, such as in the case of an internal civil war." Senior Admiral Finch said, explaining the Empire's position. "Should the Gatawain Republic wish to continue this lease agreement, the Empire is fully prepared to recognize your state and open favorable relations."

"If given the option for quarterly tours by senior government officials, for example myself, the defense minister, the minister of foriegn affairs and high ranking military officials such as those placed in command of field armies or members of the military command council. Not to say that tours would be conducted quarterly but just as an option.

Also in emergency circumstances if republic vessels or aircraft could be allowed to utilize these facilities. Emergencies being defined as any event that could cause loss of life to the piolt or crew, or loss of the vessel or aircraft if immediate repairs were not conducted.


If these stipulations can be met then the republic sees no problem with allowing the continued lease of land to the Empire."

"To make it clear, we would never refuse any craft in any emergency situation. Human life is always more valuable than technology or hardware and you have our assurance that should an emergency situation arise, the Empire's sovereign bases would not become brick walls. We would like to stay away from quarterly tours as these could constitute a threat to the secrecy of some items at these bases. We would not object to yearly but it must be known that the tours would not delve into areas deemed 'classified' nor could we allow anyone but trusted officials to take them."

While the Gatwaian delegation met with the remnants of the leadership of the Fourth Reich aboard the Layartebian carrier, the Cottish leadership had finally decided to make a official stand on the matter. The Gatwaian armies that roamed through the former lands of the Fourth Reich and caused so much unrest so close to the Cottish borders was starting to become unacceptable to the Cottish government. Thus, after a cabinet meeting where the King and the upper echelon of the High Command also attended, a open broadcast was sent to the Gatwaian leadership at just before midnight on the 27th of August. It was short, sweet and to the point.


To whom it may concern in the Gatwaian leadership,

The Realm has observed with growing unrest the dispution of peace and creation of havoc and general unrest caused by the field armies of the Gatwaian Republic, and we notice that the fighting infringe closer to our sacred borders for every passing day. Thus, it is hereby decreed by His Majesty's Council in the Name of His Majesty King Haakon VIII that should any military, paramilitary, government-backed insurgent or any other such type of unit, whether it be a ground, aerial or naval-type unit, come within seventy (70.00) kilometers of the sacred borders of the Realm, the Realm reserves the right to take whatever action it deems fit, including but not limited to diplomatic, economic or military action, to preserve the safety and stability of its territories and directly adjacent border regions. His Majesty shall not allow the conflict taking place in the former lands of our friend and ally the Fourth Reich to spread into the sacred lands of the Cottish people and cause fear and unrest with His Subjects where there need not be any.

Any such unit as described above that is currently within the specified demilitarized exclusion zone of 70 kilometers shall have a total of twenty-four (24) hours to withdraw to positions outside the exclusion zone before the Realm forcefully removes them with whichever means It deems fit to employ to accomplish this objective.


Signed,

in the name of His Majesty King Haakon VIII,
His Majesty's Council, The Realm of Cotland


At the same time, heavier units began moving into position near the border. M2032A1E Sabertooth main battle tanks and CV9035 infantry fighting vehicles with embarked infantrymen began moving out from their garrisons and head for the borders, while the heavier Panzerhaubitz-2000 self-propelled howitzers and the M270 MLRS units moved into positions and began preparing their fire positions so they were ready to unleash their deadly 155 millimeter shells and 227 millimeter rockets against any Gatwaian military units that might still be in the announced buffer zone by the time the deadline issued by the Government ran out. Further back behind the border in Holland and Denmark, heavier equipment in the form of LAyartebian-made short-range ballistic missiles of the type Vesta were being prepared, being fed information from the reconnaissance satellites in the space above and the MQ-9 Reaper UAVs that flew close to the border, but still well inside Cottish airspace, gathering information that would be used to the fullest extent at just over midnight on the night to August 29 should the Gatwaians choose to ignore the Cottish warnings.

As the Gatwaian leaders would find out should they ask the Layartebians, the Cots were both willing and able to defend their territory with everything in their arsenal, and they knew perfectly well how to do it. For proof of that, they could just ask the Nerotikans, whom the Cottish Army had annihalated twice in less than three years for threatening the Cottish national security. Should the Gatwaian leadership decide to ignore the Cottish ultimatum, it would be their troops that would do the dying. The Realm hoped of course that it wouldn't come to that, but if the Cottish leaders had to choose between the lives of some Gatwaian soldiers and the safety of Cottish citizens, they would choose the latter without hesitation.

"I understand your concern for secrecy, thus yearly tours it shall remain. I am pleased by your acknowledgement for the emergency use of these facilities. The only personnell to be given tours will be myself or the current High Chancellor, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Defense Minister and the Senate Priemere.

I hope that this list is acceptable to you, as these members make up the Hierarchy of the Republic's government."



Strasbourg

De Champion sat idlely at his desk, the senate primere was finding the task of running the republic in the Chancellor's absence easier than expected, following news that Berlin had agreed to join the republic the rest of the German city states had already pledged their new loyalty to the Republic or were in the process of doing so. And several independant states in France had opened negotiations into joining the republic.

However storm clouds still loomed on the horizion as the Imperialist movement continued on its path to bring the former Fourth Reichian lands under Imperial control rather than be ruled by a democratic government.

A loud knock at the door somewhat startled Champion as he had began to fall into a slight daze


"Sir, we've recieved an ultimatum from the Cot's."

Another young nameless office aide dressed in a business suit presented a copy of the transmission recieved only moments ago.

Champion snatched the document and quickly dismissed the aide, it seemed his easy going day had abruptly come to a halt.


Official Response to Cottish Government
From the office of the Senate Priemere

The republic while small both in population and in military manpower when compared to the realms of cotland will not be buillied into submission by its neighbors and reserves its soverign right to station her troops within the republic's doman however we see fit.

We have made no threats to your people, your lands, or your government and yet you bring threats of war and destruction as we attempt to rebuild our lands.

Instead of seeking to stabilize the region and promote peace and prosperity you offer only further bloodshed and chaos.

We are sure that your government, military commanders and citizenry are educated civilized people.

As such we must request that you cease mobilizations against our borders and conduct cooperative military operations in maintaining the security between our two borders instead of bringing further aggitation.

Senate Priemere, acting head of state
Alexander De Champion

"I think that would be an acceptable compromise. When your conquest is complete, I am told that the Empire will formally recognize your government as the official, ruling body in France and Germany. We would like to use our Berlin embassy as a main stepping point for this and perhaps open a new one in Strasbourg. You will be invited to Layarteb City to open your own on International Island (rl Riker's Island)." He concluded hoping that the stones laid for this meeting would carry for a long while. When both parties were comfortable and had concluded their business, they would be transported back to their starting locations via HV-24C Bulldogs, again under Typhoon escort.

Elsrider nodded again in agreement.

"Shall we make our agreement official then?"

OOC: And what are you doing about my ultimatum...?

ooc: Im in the process of typing up that response. i apologize for the delay i've been hopping around from one rp to the next trying to play catch up

replied to the ultimatium...

OOC: You know, it's considered bad RP form to just edit your old posts instead of posting new ones. The reader can't find out that there's additions to the RP since there aren't new posts. /friendly piece of advice

Oslo

"De nekter å trekke styrkene sine tilbake." [They're refusing to withdraw their forces.] Colonel General Diesen, the Commanding General of the Army told Prime Minister Thomas Rothsky.

"Da får de akseptere konsekvensene." [Then they will have to accept the consequences.] The aging Prime Minister said defiantly. "Styrkene har grønt lys." [The forces have the green light.]

"Herr statsminister, kun Hans Majestet kan beordre..." [Prime Minister, only His Majesty can order the...]

"Jeg har fått skriftlig mandat fra Hans Majestet til å fatte de tiltak som er nødvendige i denne saken. Derfor gir jeg denne ordren kun en gang til general. Styrkene har grønt lys til å renske den demilitariserte sonen for banditter."

The General hesitated, but the ice-cold glare from the seventy-nine year old Prime Minister combined with the claim from the Prime Minister that he had permission to order the King's troops around in writing from the King finally won Diesen over. Sighing, the fifty-seven year old general nodded.

"Javel. Ordren er forstått og vil bli utført. Gud bevare Kongen og fedrelandet." [Yes sir. The order is understood and will be executed. God save the King and Fatherland.]

Danish-German border
The 27th of August had just given way for the 28th of August in the year of Our Lord 2008 when the midnight calm was shattered by the roar of jet engines and the dull thunder of a hundred artillery pieces firing their ordinance at pre-plotted targets beyond the border. This cacophony of destruction was accentuated shortly thereafter by the high-pitched whines of hundreds of artillery rockets being fired from the MLRS launchers behind the border at targets inside the pre-designated 70 kilometer demilitarized zone. The targets in the initial barrage were targets of a military nature that were seperated from civilian settlements, thus greatly reducing the risk of collateral damage.

Thousands of cluster munitions had been separated from the artillery rockets that the MLRS had fired and would cause great damages to the targets, and the approximately 10% of the cluster bomblets that failed to detonate would pose a very serious risk to anything that moved into the area after the carnage had been completed. This relatively high percentage of duds was the primary reason why the Cots targeted targets away from civilian built-up areas. Still, while the bomblets might not be too reliable, the 155mm high-explosive projeciles fired by the PzH-2000s more than made up for that.

The PzH-2000s delivered highly accurate, highly deadly fire to ranges of up to 35 kilometers from the Danish-German border, principally targeting Gatawayan artillery and air defense sites, with armored formations and infantry formations being secondary targets. The MLRS also targeted known artillery positions, but their principal targets were armored and infantry formations and bases.

Attacking simultaneously were Brimstone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brimstone_missile) anti-tank guided missiles being fired from the orbiting MQ-9 Reaper UAVs against Gatawayan armored columns, while the Air Force began attacking troop concentrations and military targets inside civilian settlements through the use of GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GBU-39_Small_Diameter_Bomb) and GBU-38/B 225 kilogram JDAM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Direct_Attack_Munition) guided bombs in order to both take out the targets but also minimize collateral damages. No target outside the declared 70 kilometer DMZ were engaged.

Through the use of these stand-off weapons, the Royal Cottish Air Force were able to engage these targets while still flying inside Cottish airspace, meaning that the Cots had the ability to claim they acted in self-defense and call on support from October Alliance nations if the Gatawayans tried to attack the RCAF inside Cottish airspace.

However, a few Cottish aircraft did violate Gatawayan airspace. These were FB-177C Barsuk supersonic fighter-bombers, armed for the occasion with leaflet containers that they dropped over Gatawayan civilian settlements that they streaked over at low altitudes and supersonic speeds, violating Gatawayan airspace for a maximum of 15 minutes before they were back in Cottish airspace.

These leaflets, printed in German, informed the civilian populace that the Cottish were taking these actions in order to protect themselves from aggression from the Gatawayan leadership, and that the Cots harbored no ill feelings towards the Gatawayan people. Therefore, the people were asked to leave the declared 70 km DMZ so that they wouldn't be accidentally targeted when the Cots intended to attack the settlements sometime during the next day. The leaflets identified three avenues of escape that the Gatawayan civilians could use that would be under no risk of attack from the Cots, assuming of course that the Gatawayan military didn't attempt to use these avenues of escape in order to bring troops up to the border.

In order to make life harder for the Gatawayans, a substantial number of MGM-140C ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles modified to deploy land mines and MGM-233F Vesta intermediate range ballistic missiles filled with land mines were fired into the DMZ, scattering the land mines into areas expected to be used by the Gatawayan military to move up reinforcements and supplies, as well as into areas around Gatawayan military formations that had survived the initial bombardment, which continued through the night. Closer to the Cottish border, air-dropped land mines were deployed on the German side of the border in order to make it harder for the Gatawayans if they decided to try an invasion.

The same actions were being taken in Benelux, where the artillery and airstrikes were supplemented by missiles and gunfire support from the warships stationed there.

Less than an hour after the artillery bombardment and air strikes began, the Cots released a general statement that was also broadcasted inside the Gataway nation, courtesy of the electronic warfare capabilities of the Realm which hijacked the radio and television signals and broadcasted the Cottish message instead of the regularly scheduled programming.

[i]Following the Gatawayan refusal to comply with our generous offer of preventing the Gatawayan insurrection from spreading, the Realm has been forced to take action in order to defend the sacred borders of the Realm of Cotland. The Realm has no quarrel with the people of Gataway, but we have been forced to take these actions by the regime in Gataway, which has the gaul to make demands to the Realm. You ask for the Realm to conduct military operations in maintaining the security between our two borders. As the Bible says, "ask and ye shall receive."

Cottish military operations will continue until the demilitarized zone has been cleared of all Gatawayan military forces, or the Gataway regime agrees to withdraw all their forces from the demilitarized zone. This is your final chance for a peaceful resolution to the situation. Should you refuse it, the blood of those that will die are on your hands.

Until the end of operations to clear the DMZ of Gatawayan troops, merchant shipping belonging to the Gatawayan nation shall not be allowed passage through Cottish territorial waters, including the Kattegat strait, nor shall Gatawayan aircraft be allowed passage through Cottish airspace. This also applies to any foreign shipping heading to the Gatawayan nation. The Armed Forces of the Realm reserves the right to inspect any foreign shipping entering Cottish territorial waters as stated in the Protection of the Realm Act of 2004. Any vessels or aircraft attempting to violate this decree shall be destroyed by the Armed Forces of the Realm. Any Gatawayan shipping or aircraft currently in Cottish ports, airports, territorial waters or airspace shall immediately be confiscated indefinitely, and any Gatawayan citizen currently within the borders of the Realm shall be detained indefinitely. All Gatawayan assets in Cotland shall also be frozen indefinitely. These actions will be taken in accordance with Royal Decree 08/136, issued by His Majesty the King in Council on the 27th of August, 2008.

While operations are ongoing, the Realm encourages all civilians to leave the area. While the Realm will carry out precision strikes against military targets only, the Realm cannot guarantee the safety of civilians in the demilitarized zone while operations are ongoing. We therefore encourage the civilian population in the DMZ to leave the DMZ until operations have been completed.

In the interests of peace, we encourage the world to persuade the Gatawayan regime that the only realistic way of ending this conflict is through accepting our generous demands. Should this conflict be allowed to resume, it will only bring suffering to the innocent populace. If the Gatawayan rulers truly care about their people, they will accept our demands and withdraw their forces from the DMZ.


Signed,

in the name of His Majesty King Haakon VIII,
His Majesty's Council, The Realm of Cotland

While the statement was being delivered, even more land mines were being scattered inside the DMZ, and the artillery bombardment and air strikes continued uninterrupted throughout the night. The Cottish intention was that the continuous pummeling would convince the Gatawayans to leave the DMZ through reducing their combat abilities and strengths. Added to this the Cots hoped that the psychological stresses of the hell they created around the Gatawayan troops in the DMZ would scare the troops enough to turn tail and flee.

Given that the Gatawayan soldiers' only experience with conflict would be fighting the irregulars on the other side in the civil war (if even that), not a well-organized, well-equipped, well-motivated proper armed force like the Cottish Army was, the Cots didn't expect the Gatawayan soldiers in the DMZ to be well enough trained or have good enough morale to stay in the steel rain that rained down on their positions. The Gatawayans wouldn't station their best troops so far from the front with their enemies when there was already a conflict on. Surely the Gatawayan leaders and generals weren't that stupid!

Add to this that with the Cots making good their promise to take action to defeat the perceived threat of a Gatawayan invasion, the Gatawayans now didn't only risk fighting a two-front conflict, but a three-front one. The strategic prudent thing would be to finish fighting on at least one of the fronts if not two, and that could be done very easily if the Gatawayan leaders just accepted the Cottish ultimatum.

“Perhaps this fledging little republic would like a hand?”

“I don’t see why they wouldn’t,” replied Baruti.

His frustrations over the October Alliance seemed to grow with every passing day. While in the past he had been confronted by those who wished to confront this global alliance of world power, he had simply turned them away. At that point they had not exceeded their bounds to the point of action, and, more importantly, the US was in no position to take actions of any sort. However their actions recently have been forcing him into a corner. It was no secret that the majority of the US population was extremely anti-TOA, and consequently such feelings were beginning to find their way into the government.

The man sitting across from him was Günter Whitman, secretary of Foreign Affairs. He was younger than Baruti but still old in the general sense. His board shoulders and fiery eyes gave the impression of an Old Prussian linage.

He continued, “We must act quickly though, the Cottish were never ones to miss a deadline.”

“We will have to buy some time. I will issue a brief statement and arrange for a meeting between our nations.”

“I will contact our liaisons in Layarteb. Perhaps they could talk some sense into the Cottish.”

Baruti replied, “They have thick skulls in Scandinavia.”

--

Official Press Release from the United States

We request that the Cottish military cease all military actions against Republic of Gataway. They have made no aggressive threats towards your nation. If you act upon your ultimatum the world will most certainly view you as the aggressor nation and show you no support.

Instead we ask that you cease all hostile actions and meet with delegates from the Republic of Gataway, United States, and Layarteb to discuss a peaceful resolution in Windhoek.

Respectfully,
Ngozi Baruti
President, United States of Brink

OOC: I assumed the time since you didn't post it and we all know you aways start bombing at night.

August 28, 2008 - 02:00 hrs [GMT+1]
Western Europe

"Sir. Admiral. Sir. We've got a number of launches, long-range sensors just picked them up. Characteristic of a theater launched missile. Location is all over here sir," the panel operator aboard the Luna class CVN said to the Admiral as he entered the CIC. He had been summoned down when garbled communications from Gatawain forces drifted over the air. In a frenzied panic, the Gatawain soldiers reported coming under heavy attack from an unknown origin. When the Admiral entered the CIC, the Cottish had begun to launch MLRS missiles at Gatawain positions near their borders. "Sir. Here," the panel operator pointed to a section along the BENELUX border with France and Germany. The sensors of the carrier group were linked together to create a three dimensional view of the battlefield as far as they could see. With satellite uplinks, the carrier group could see across the world and patch into any sensors on station there, so long as they were Layartebian and linked to the Layartebian defense network.

"Seems like the Cottish have just gone to war with the Gatawain Republic." Senior Admiral Finch remarked to himself as he left the CIC and immediately headed for the communications room, picking up a microphone before he reached the exit to the CIC. "Captain," he called to the bridge and spoke directly with Captain Steven Hillard, the Luna's captain and CO when the Admiral was not on board. "We've got a situation. The Cottish have just gone to war with the Gatawains. Sound general quarters, alert the group."

"Aye sir!" Captain Hillard answered as he put down the headset and turned around to the rest of the men on the bridge. "GENERAL QUARTERS! GENERAL QUARTERS! ALERT THE GROUP! GENERAL QUARTERS!" He barked as the klaxon sounded, alerting everyone on the carrier that general quarters had been declared. The watch commander on board the vessel picked up the headset to the speaker system next and continued the alert.

"General quarters! General quarters! Man your battle stations!" He repeated as sailors scurried around the mammoth vessel. On the deck of the carrier, the alert fighters were beginning to hook up to the two, main, electromagnetic catapults on the bow of the vessel. The two F-26B Typhoon fighters on the bow, armed with a full air-to-air complement of four AIM-221A Gryphon BVR missiles on its fuselage, a single 270-gallon fuel tank on its centerline, two AIM-202A Dodsengel long-range air-to-air missiles on its inner wing hardpoints, a pair of 370-gallon fuel tanks on its center wing hardpoints, and four AIM-204A Escape short-range missiles. Loaded and ready for combat, the two aircraft slowly taxied up to the catapult harnesses and the green shirts hooked up two aircraft to the catapults, locking the T-bars of each aircraft into the catapult shuttle guide on the deck. Deafeningly noisy, the flight deck was crowded with people as the blast deflectors raised behind the Typhoon fighters, readying them for launch. There were four catapults on the carrier, two of them running towards the longer bow of the carrier and the other two towards the end of the landing runway.

In the past, these decks would be flowing with white steam from the catapults below but now in the age of electromagnetism, the catapults were powered by a generator below deck that hummed loud enough to make anyone deaf without adequate ear protection. All of the men scrambling along the flight deck had ear protection on and it would save them from going deaf after just a few hours. The hum of the generator powering up underneath the flight deck only added to the noise, which was made louder by the roar of the Typhoon's engines, powering up from idle for a quick test. The pilots inside moved their control sticks around and pressed on the rudder pedals, moving all of the flight surfaces to make sure they worked. With the engine test complete, another green shirt ran up to the nose gear of the lead aircraft and checked its T-bar lock as the pilot continued to move around his flight surfaces, pushing his throttles up from idle to maximum power, the full afterburner setting. The roar on the deck became louder than anything, anyone had ever heard as the green shirt ran away from the plane with his thumb in the air. The men cleared the launch path of the aircraft and a yellow shirt officer, ducking down in a crouched stance eyed the men and the pilot, who signified that he was ready. With the afterburners on the plane active, the yellow shirted man extended his arm and the catapult crew inside of the shielded control booth took over, pushing only one button, which was shielded underneath a clear, hard, plastic cover. The button was illuminated green, which meant that the catapult was ready to go. If it was charging it would be a yellow button and if it were red that would mean the catapult was either offline or damaged. All of the lights read green and the catapult operator depressed the button and watched as, on the deck, the Typhoon roared forward, accelerating from zero to one hundred and thirty-five knots in just three hundred feet, equating to a force of around 3.5Gs. It would take forty-five seconds to recycle the power for that particular catapult but the second one was ready to go, the second Typhoon already hooked up to it.

The Typhoon roared over the deck of the aircraft carrier and the pilot immediately put his aircraft into a climb, banking to the right as he raised his landing gear, reducing the amount of drag on his aircraft as it rapidly accelerated from its minimum stall speed. The yellow shirt operator pivoted his body and rolled his arms around each other, telling the crew in the control booth to rewind the catapult as another green shirt gave the thumbs up on the second aircraft. With the first one banking away, its afterburners still lit, the second pilot gave his own thumbs up, prepared to launch himself. He sat back in his seat, his left hand on the throttle and his right on the stick in between his legs. Seconds later, the yellow shirt gave the order to launch him and he bolted off the deck just as fast as his wingman, tearing into the air at over one hundred and thirty-five knots, banking himself as the men clapped. The two fighters would begin a combat air patrol around the carrier and join with a flight of two Typhoons already protecting the ME-11C CSA AWACS aircraft, flying at 32,000 feet where the horizon, and its radar range, was over two hundred and ten miles.

At the same time, Senior Admiral Finch entered the communications room. He picked up a coded, encrypted communique that was to be sent back to the Ministry of Defense and he gave it a quick review. Approving it, he handed it back, "Send it!" The message would go to fleet headquarters, their own naval base, the Ministry of Intelligence, and the Ministry of Defense. It was a short message but it reported that Cottish forces had begun to engage the Gatawain forces near the border and that the Empire's military assets were very close to the action and requesting orders. He looked around at the men in the communications room and cleared his throat. "Order all vessels of the 4th Carrier Battle Group to maintain defensive posture. Should any foreign vessel or craft, land, sea, or air, engage our forces, regardless of their flag, destroy them. Understood?"

"Aye sir!" They repeated as a message went through the channels to the various ships in the group, which stretched over twenty miles wide.

The order was controversial though and Senior Admiral Finch was immediately pulled aside by his XO, who had joined him in the communications room. "Sir. Are you willing to engage and destroy a Cottish plane or ship?"

"Brendan," he addressed him by his first name in a hushed voiced. "I don't care who it is, if it comes within range of my ships and opens fire I'm going to blow it up so fucking fast that they'll never know what hit them."

"Understood sir."

"Until further orders from headquarters can be had, we are completely defensive here and within engagement range for both the Gatawains and the Cottish. I don't want either side getting any bright ideas."

"Aye sir. I concur." He whispered back as the two of them exited to go their separate ways, one to the CIC and the other to the bridge as the carrier began to prepare more operations, to defend itself.

********************************

Miles away, on Norderny Island and Memmert Island, two Layartebian naval installations, men were scrambling around the bases, preparing them for the possibility of attack. Only twenty-four and twelve miles from the Netherlands, sovereign Cottish territory, both naval bases were well within the range of Cottish artillery and missiles. Detecting the launches of Cottish artillery rockets themselves, the bases had already put out encrypted messages to command back in the Empire at fleet headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia and both the ministries of Defense and Intelligence in Layarteb City, thousands of miles away. From their bases, they could watch the streaks of smoke from the rockets flying up from Cottish territory for the Gatawain Republic. The barrage was massive and the Gatawains wouldn't be able to hold out for long under the massive force of the Cottish military.

For the first few minutes though, the only targets detected were soaring missiles. Then, the aircraft began. Initially detected and given little regard, the biggest targets were the MQ-9 Reapers, armed and improved variants of the original MQ-1 Predator. Flying at high altitude with a light war load, the UAVs were initially hard to spot. Though the Predator was not necessarily a stealthy vehicle, it was small, nimble, and hard to engage. The Reaper was stealthier and fly both higher and faster and for longer periods of time. It could also carry a heavier war load. Dangerous and capable, the Reapers would be the biggest threat to the Gatawains, initially. The Cottish Air Force, which possessed a number of advanced fighters and bombers, such as the stealthy Barsuk, could easily overwhelm the Gatawains with stealthy aircraft that could avoid radar detection or, at best, skip through it with only an intermittent echo.

Initially too, the Cottish remained only within a zone very close to their border with the Gatawain Republic but that would soon change as intermittent radar contacts were seen entering Gatawain airspace, moving at high altitude but subsonic speed. The bases, which were equipped with powerful, phased array radars, could track the targets but not very easily, thanks largely to their range from the radars. Despite being able to counteract the advantages of stealth, even phased array radars had difficulty tracking stealth aircraft at long range. With defenses heightened, the personnel at the bases were happy the aircraft were at long-range. If they came too close to the bases, they would be fired upon by one of two Layartebian, mobile SAM sites on both islands. One site was equipped with the deadly MIM-188 Crow long-range missile with the other was equipped with the MIM-202 Dodsengel, which was a variant of the air-to-air missile modified for SAM duty. Both missiles were capable of taking down fixed and rotary wing aircraft from an altitude of eighty feet upwards to eighty-thousand feet for the Dodsengel and forty-eight miles for the Crow. The Crow was, essentially, a mix between the PATRIOT, THAAD, and S-400 but years ahead of all systems. Developed to retire the PATRIOT, the Crow had been used in combat before with excellent success but never against maneuvering, stealth aircraft, not that it would have any trouble once it locked onto the target.

********************************

Elsewhere in France and Germany, specifically at the Mühlhausen Air Force Base and Sledge Air Force Base, respectively, all forces went to high alert. Far from the Cottish borders, both of these air force bases were of great importance to the Empire and, with the Cottish in a state of war against the Gatawains, nobody knew if they were targets or not. The Empire had voiced support for the Gatawain Republic, which surely did not make the Cottish happy, especially now that they had engaged the Gatawain forces. Essentially in between the two nations, the Layartebian bases and forces could only watch as the missiles and bombs streaked overhead, hoping that a guidance error or human error would land one in their yard. If that happened, mistake or not, the Empire would, in essence, be in a de facto state of war against whomever they came from, regardless of their flag. Nothing short of a cease fire could make that tension ease and, in the dark about what was happening, the Layartebians could only hope that the war did not spill onto their soil.

It wasn't until an hour into the attack that the Empire finally got its explanation, not that it was acceptable. Apparently, the Gatawains had been offered some sort of agreement, the details of which remained unknown, by the Cottish and rejected it. Had the Gatawains attacked the Cottish it would have been a different story but they hadn't and the Empire had no intelligence or warning that they were planning any such thing. In assaulting the Gatawains, the Cottish hoped to create some sort of demilitarized zone, perhaps entirely within the borders of the Gatawain Republic, there was little explanation as to the total details of the operation. The Empire was already preparing a statement when the Cottish announced their intentions, prompting the Emperor to personally phone the Cottish King, Haakon VIII. Whether or not he would get through was unknown to him but whether or not he would still say what he had to say. The Cottish were not going to receive the support of the Empire and neither was the Empire going to rally around them. With the way the Cottish had dictated how the Empire should handle the situation in Mato Grosso, this was to be considered an insult to the Empire. After brokering a peace deal with Berlin and Strasbourg, the Empire had hoped for a peaceful, continental Europe. In addition, the Emperor would inform the Cottish King that should any Layartebian vessel be impeded, boarded, to fired upon, it would retaliate appropriately. He would assure them that, until now, they had no threat from the Gatawain Republic but now there could be no telling.

With deadly and unstoppable Vesta missiles flying over Gatawain territory there could be no mistaking what was going on at all. Only minutes earlier, the Emperor had spoken directly with the ambassador from the United States of Brink. He implored the Emperor to personally "talk sense" into the Cottish government and the Emperor agreed that he would try. He assured the United States that this was not backed by the October Alliance but a unilateral act by the sovereign, Cottish government, without any prior notification to the Empire. With its own domestic troubles, the Empire would not be brought into a war that it did not support. Before the Emperor could conclude his conversation, the United States put out their own statement and the Emperor would wait for his own, until he could speak to the King. If the King ignored his call, he would release the statement and possibly offset the balance of power in the entire world.

Danish-German border

"INCOMING"
cries rang out through the forests as the sound of explosions tore through the air mixed in with the splintering of trees, occasionally the cries of agony from the wounded and dieing which now littered the crater laden waste land would rise above the chaos that engulfed the area like wildfire.

Many of the men which were stationed along the border were those either being relieved from heavier fighting or younger recruits, they all now fled from the borderlands as the Cot's barrage continued with few isolated pockets of the brave or foolish holding their ground as best they could.

As such their responses were sparadic and futile only a few light artillery counter barrages which were soon whiped out by cottish air strikes. The entire 34th Border Security Brigade lay in shambles as forces retreated further inland particularly heading towards larger camps which had been established following the assimilation of Berlin into the republic.

Strasbourg

De Champion sat blankly at the chancellory desk, Elsrider was still away and without any contact from him the assumption was that Elsrider was dead or captured by the Cots.

"Sir reports from the front have ceased..the entire Brigade has been routed, thousands are dead or missing.. Including Field Marshall Berland..Major Cutene has taken over command at Fort Grieger outside Havel and is rallying the remenets of the Brigade there."

De Champion shook his head in disbelief.

"Very well, inform Major Cutene to dig in his forces as best he can, Forces from Elbe will be dispatched to bolster his ranks. and by no means is ANY counteroffensive type operation authorized without approval and for the love of god someone get me in touch with the Layartebian Governemt."

"Right away sir."


http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/7/sealuo2.gif

Official Statement From the Imperial Republic Of Gataway to International Community

By now I am sure you are all aware of the unwarrented Cottish aggression against the soveriegn lands of this newly establish Republic.

The Cottish government claims that we had intentions to invade their nation or to undermine their authority. When in fact we had issued a response to a Cottish ultimatium which interfered with our soverign right to station troops within our own borders as both our military commanders and government officals saw fit.


*Declassified* Under Order 546-R-125
Official Response to Cottish Government
From the office of the Senate Priemere

The republic while small both in population and in military manpower when compared to the realms of cotland will not be buillied into submission by its neighbors and reserves its soverign right to station her troops within the republic's doman however we see fit.

We have made no threats to your people, your lands, or your government and yet you bring threats of war and destruction as we attempt to rebuild our lands.

Instead of seeking to stabilize the region and promote peace and prosperity you offer only further bloodshed and chaos.

We are sure that your government, military commanders and citizenry are educated civilized people.

As such we must request that you cease mobilizations against our borders and conduct cooperative military operations in maintaining the security between our two borders instead of bringing further aggitation.

Senate Priemere, acting head of state
Alexander De Champion
*Declassified* Under Order 546-R-125


Clearly the republic government made no such threat against the Cottish government, its people, or its assests. In fact it was my hope to recieve cooperation from the realms of Cotland to bring stability and prosperity to the region.

The Cottish government instead decided to impose its will through the use of military force without provocation or justification. The Republic calls upon the civilized nations of the world to both respond and act accordingly in the face of such malice.

Alexander De Champion, Senate Priemere, Acting head of State

OOC: You should have him back by now. Our meeting was Aug 21 and Cot is hitting you Aug 28. Did you lose your head of government? LOL

ooc: He doesn't have to be back in Strasbourg though....I didn't specify why he was absent...

OOC: Okay just know that he isn't in our possession anymore.

ooc: I wasn't clear on that..My apologies for any confusion I may have caused by maintaining his abscence.

Activity around the 4th CVBG was hard to miss. Fighters and AWACS were high in the air, searching for any threats to the group, which remained in the south of the North Sea, not far from territorial, Cottish waters. At the same time, hundreds of miles overhead, a Layartebian KH-14 ICARUS-A spy satellite on an elliptical orbit that brought it as low as two hundred miles or as high as four hundred miles, came over the horizon. Disguised simply as a commercial communications satellite and registered as such, the stealthy ICARUS-A satellite was a billion dollar spy-satellite that spearheaded the latest generation of Layartebian spy satellites. Stealthy and primarily tasked with imagery analysis and live intelligence feeds, the ICARUS-A could also transmit secure, encrypted communications throughout the world but their primary goal remained image gathering, like the KH-13 EIS CRYSTAL satellite series. Sixteen KH-14s were in orbit and they were all highly classified. Capable of providing resolution as low as 0.03 meters the KH-14 also contained powerful EO and IIR capabilities as well as 1024-bit, 2048-bit, and experimental but powerful 3072-bit encryption systems. It would take a supercomputer decades to crack through its encryption levels, let alone get through the firewall systems it used to transmit data. The KH-14 put itself into a proper orbit to see exactly what was going on in northwestern Europe. Live images were broadcast directly to both the CIC of the 4th CVBG Luna class CVN and to the ministries of Defense and Intelligence on the other side of the globe. What they broadcast was pandemonium. Gatawain forces were in a retreat from the Cottish border area and they were in shambles. Devastated by the heavy onslaught the Cottish provided, the Gatawains were undoubtedly searching for answers and assistance.

It wasn't long before the Gatawains issued their own statements, calling for worldwide assistance against the Cottish forces and they would surely receive it. As of yet though, the Empire had no official response as the Emperor stood, frustrated, in his office, thousands of miles away.

Waiting for the Cottish King to pick up his call, the Emperor paced around his office, looking at the clock. He had never had trouble connecting to the Cottish King, despite the secure lines he used to contact him and all other TOA heads of state and government. Finally, the secretary picked up the phone, after being, essentially, on hold for fourteen minutes. "Sir," the secretary spoke in perfect English.

"Has King Haakon been located?"

"Sir. I'm afraid His Majesty is unavailable at this present time. You should direct your call to Prime Minister Rothsky. I will transfer you immediately," the secretary said as he quickly transferred the call, before the Emperor could respond, only serving to anger him.

"What do you..." He got in as the transfer clicked on his phone. "That son of a bitch!" He said aloud as the Minister of Defense rushed into the office with a folder and picked up the remote control to the television, setting it to receive the imagery broadcast from the KH-14. "The King is apparently out of his office," the Emperor remarked to himself.

"Sir. The Minister of Intelligence commented earlier that the Cottish King has not been seen publicly in a few weeks."

"Interesting. What does the Ministry make of it?"

"There are theories but no certainties sir. Here is the imagery now." He said as he turned to the television and the Emperor continued to pace, remaining on hold, something that was highly rude for any head of state.

Finally, the secretary picked up, speaking Cottish and the Emperor replied, in Cottish as well, "This is the Emperor of Layarteb. I must speak, at once, with Prime Minister Rothsky."

"Sir. Have you spoken to King Haakon yet?"

"Apparently the King is not available and I have been directed here. Kindly put Rothsky on the phone now." In the background, the Emperor could hear the Prime Minister arguing, very loudly with someone else, someone who sounded as if he were a military general. He couldn't necessarily make out what they were saying but he could tell that there was definitely dissent between the two men.

"Sir. I'm sorry but the Prime Minister is not accepting calls at this time. I apologize."

"What in the hell is going on in your country!"

"Sir. I'm sorry, there is nothing more that I can do." The secretary hung up the phone before the Emperor could say anymore, only infuriating him, causing him to slam the phone on the table so hard that it echoed through most of the fortress.

"The fucking Cottish have gone mad!" He said as he looked at the television screen to see Cottish artillery missiles launch at more Gatawain positions. "This crisis is not going to end well," he continued.

"Sir. We have tracked multiple Barsuk's flying over population centers."

"Damage must be tremendous."

"Sir. It is interesting to note that they carried a payload that was non-lethal."

"Non-lethal? Or did the warheads simply fail to detonate?"

"Sir. That many warheads simply do not fail to detonate. They were dropping leaflets."

"Do we have one of them?"

"No sir. I've ordered imagery to zoom in on the ground and try to read one of them. We should have that answer in roughly forty minutes. I am told a KH-13 has already snapped the picture and it is being authenticated."

"Good. Now what more of the King?"

"Sir. The conversation I had was brief but aside from the King not being seen in some time, the Royal Standard has not been flying over the Royal Palace either."

"Meaning the King has not been in Oslo."

"Correct sir. That is all we have."

"Until this mess can be sorted out, raise our Readiness Condition to level three. If any of our hardware is damaged we're going to retaliate. Until then I will coordinate a proper response with the Minister of Foreign Affairs."

"Yes sir."

Forty-five minutes later, after the leaflet was prepared and read, based on reconnaissance imagery, the Empire released its official statement to the world and it would not be a state the Cottish liked, let alone accepted.

Official Communique

http://www.forsakenoutlaw.com/Graphics/Nation-States/General/seal.png

Priority: Urgent
Recipient: Global Community
Origin: The Empire of Layarteb
Classification Level: Standard
Subject: Layartebian Response to Cottish Aggression Against the Imperial Republic of Gataway


Earlier this morning, Cottish forces launched an unprovoked, offensive attack against the Imperial Republic of Gataway. Targeting border units inside of the sovereign territory of the Imperial Republic of Gataway, the Cottish military has had devastating success. This unprovoked and highly improper attack has been explained to the world as the establishment of a De-Militarized Zone that is seventy kilometers wide, all of it inside of sovereign Gatawain territory.

The Empire has not endorsed this operation nor were we aware of it prior to the moment of launch. We do not support the actions of the Cottish Realm and these are not the actions of the October Alliance, which has not been consulted prior to launching this offensive. As per the October Alliance Charter, Article III, Section II, "No member-state shall seek unwarranted war with another member-state of this alliance nor shall it seek unwarranted war with any other state outside of this alliance, especially if doing so could jeopardize the sovereignty, sustainability, and survivability of member-states and this alliance." The Cottish Realm has violated this and thus it shall not, under any circumstance, receive material, logistical, or general support from the Empire, as allowed under Article V, Section VIII, "In instances where a member-state enters into conflict with the ally of another member-state, it is the option of the member-state to not wage war against that ally."

The Imperial Republic of Gataway has shown neither harm nor ill-will to the Empire. It has allowed the Empire to maintain its military installations inside of its sovereign territory and it has gone through impressive measures to absorb, peacefully, the Established Order of the Protectorate of Berlin into its state, fully respecting the wishes of said territory. The Empire has seen nothing but beneficial contribution to the world from the Imperial Republic of Gataway and we hope that the world has seen this too.

The Empire immediately calls a cease-fire of all offensive operations by the Cottish Realm against and inside of the sovereign territory of the Imperial Republic of Gataway. In addition, the Empire shall offer its hand in negotiations following this cease-fire with respect to the best interests of the Imperial Republic of Gataway, as they have been attacked without provocation. The call by the Cottish Realm for the establishment of a DMZ entirely within Gatawain territory is insulting to the Gatawain government, their people, and the Empire.

The Empire hereby warns, formally, that any aggressive action taken against air or sea borne craft by the Cottish Realm will be met with a swift and devastating response. The Empire shall give material aide to the Imperial Republic of Gataway following the cessation of hostilities as the Imperial Republic of Gataway has shown no intention of conflict with the Cottish Realm.

Shame befalls the Cottish Realm for their blatant disregard of logic in this conflict, which also brings shame upon the October Alliance and all of its good. We look forward to a formal apology and restitution by the Cottish Realm when this is concluded.

Sincerely,
The Emperor


Classification Levels

Standard: Standard classification is the normal level of encryption. It is equivalent to the standard levels of encryption seen on most secure e-mail clients.

Confidential: Confidential classification is a higher level of encryption than "Standard" but it is not heavily encrypted. It is used mostly for flash traffic to foreign countries and requires some additional decoding time. It uses 512-bit RSA encryption methods and has several key ciphers that change unpredictably.

Secure: Secure communiques use 1024-bit RSA encryption and several key ciphers within them that change unpredictably to ensure that message traffic is not hacked or decoded. Access to said messages would require heavy cracking software and significant resources but it is not "uncrackable." It can be a viable level through 2010.

Encrypted: Encrypted classification is the second highest level of classification. It is uses 2048-bit RSA encryption and multiple key ciphers within it to ensure that cracking it would take such a significant amount of time to accomplish that, should it be done, the message's usefulness would have already expired. Though anything is crackable, because of the methods employed, this level is often considered "uncrackable" by current capabilities. To ensure revolving protecting, ciphers and encryption algorithms will change unpredictably. This level is sufficient until 2030.

Maximum: Maximum classification is the highest level of classification available. It uses 3072-bit RSA encryption and multiple key ciphers that change unpredictably. It can provide protection past 2030.

Experimental: Currently not a fully recognized level, experimental denotes a category using 15360-bit RSA encryption and multiple key ciphers that change unpredictably. It is not in full operational use as of yet.

“The Emperor has made his statement,” Whitman began, “and it is certainly good news.”

“Please continue,” replied Baruti.

“He has sided with us and more importantly with the Republic. He has actually gone beyond our expectations. They have pledged military support should Cotland launch another attack!”

Baruti was taken by surprise. The October Alliance, for decades, had been the world’s foremost military alliance, seemingly unbreakable. This certainly wasn’t the first time the Alliance has shown signs of weakness, but for a member nation to threaten armed intervention against another member was monumental.

“I cannot believe this? That is a bold step…to defend a nation so new.”

“Perhaps they are making a point. They have been under international pressure as of late for their precarious human rights’ record, as has the entire OA. We have seen in the recent past that the OA is beginning to show signs of weakness. Maybe they are making a stand, making a point if you will.”

“They have great international appeal. People will listen to them. Cotland will listen to them,” Baruti said though more out loud then to Whitman.

“I’ll contact Layarteb and see if we can arrange a meeting with Cottish and Gataway representatives.”

Oslo

”What the fuck do you mean you won’t order an invasion of Germany?” Rothsky thundered. “Need I remind you, General, that I have the mandate from His Majesty to take whatever measures are necessary in this situation?”

“Sir, with all due respect, ordering a strike into a foreign country is one thing. An outright invasion is a completely different one, one which can only be ordered by His Majesty! As such, I refuse the order on the basis that it is unlawful sir!” Colonel General Diesen replied, his voice not as loud as Rothskys but still well above normal levels.

“This is mutiny! I am acting on the authority of His Majesty while he is at the hospital, and you are obliged to carry out the orders given to you by His Majesty!”

“Exactly sir. I am obliged to carry out the orders given to me by His Majesty. You are not His Majesty, and I will not carry out the order to invade any foreign nation-state unless I hear them come from His Majesty’s mouth.”

“I will have you shot for this insolence!”

“No Thomas, you will not.” A far quieter third voice interrupted, making both men turn to see where the voice came from. The voice belonged to King Haakon, who stood in the doorway to the conference room where the two men had argued. The King looked quite terrible. He was pale and far thinner than normal, even though the expensive suit mostly concealed that, and the peripheral venous catheter in his right hand connected with an IV drip that an aide behind the King carried. Hovering immediately behind the King was his personal physician, Professor Otto Smiseth M.D., who had a very concerned expression on his face.

Rothsky and General Diesen immediately quieted down, with Diesen snapping to attention, saluting the King as he slowly walked into the room. Clearly, the King was not well. Nodding quietly to Diesen that he acknowledged the salute, the King made for one of the chairs in the conference room, something an aide realized and rushed forward to pull out the chair for the King, who gave the aide a thanking smile as he sat down, clearly fatigued. After drawing a deep breath which was followed by some violent coughing, the King cleared his throat and looked at the two men he had interrupted.

“General, please wait outside while I talk with the Prime Minister. That goes for the rest of you too.”

“By your command Sire.” The General said with reverence as he saluted the King again before exiting, followed by the King’s entourage.

“You too professor. I’ll be alright.”

Professor Smiseth looked deeply concerned, but after a few seconds of hesitation he nodded deeply before exiting, leaving only the King and Rothsky in the room.

“Thomas, what the hell have you been up to? I get a call from Diesen saying that you’ve launched an attack on a sovereign country, one that we have no real reason to fear at present, and managed to galvanize the world opinion against us? And now you want to invade them too?”

“Sir, it’s not that bad. We can still recover the situation! The enemy is fleeing…”

“They didn’t have to be our enemies in the first place!” The King shouted, something which invoked another series of violent coughing, something which again prompted Professor Smiseth who had been listening by the door to burst in.

“Damn it Professor, I asked for privacy. How can you expect me to run my Realm if you burst in every time I cough a little!”

“Majesty, you are in no condition to be running the Realm until you have improved. I must again insist that you return to the retreat and recover.”

“I wish I could Professor, but I can’t do that if my Prime Minister will launch an invasion every time I leave town. Now leave us in peace Professor. This won’t take long.”

The professor sighed, but relented and exited the room, leaving the King and Rothsky alone again.

“Now,” The King said. “Is what Diesen told me true? Have you done this?”

“Majesty…”

“Yes or no Thomas. Yes or no.”

“Yes.” Rothsky relented. The old man seemed to have aged a decade since the King entered the room. “I have ordered some small-scale military operations that are aimed at defending the Realm, and we’ve had great success too.”

“Great success? You’ve managed to get the Layartebians, our closest allies, to publically condemn us and pledge assistance to the people you’ve ordered my troops to attack! Surely you can’t consider that success.”

“The Layartebians are just pissy at us since we condemned their actions in Mato Grosso earlier this year.” Rothsky announced dismissingly.

“That may be true, but the Layartebians still wouldn’t have used so strong diplomatic language against us if they hadn’t had reason to.” The King replied sternly. “Why don’t you just admit it Thomas. You blew it. That’s a fact. Now what I want to know is why. Why did you order this? Why did you allow my realm to come into this situation?”

Rothsky suddenly looked far from the confident man he had been just a few minutes prior. Gulping, he sat down in a chair next to the King and was quiet for a moment, realizing that there was no fooling the King anymore. Finally, he spoke, quietly, while staring at the expensive carpet on the floor.

“Because it was the only way. It was the only way I could convince the critics in the Storting that I still had the balls necessary to be Prime Minister. I figured that if I could just get a quick decisive victory, which we are getting as we speak, they would realize that I wasn’t the frail old man they portray me to be. They would realize that they are wrong, and I am right.”

“But Thomas, you’re not. You’re wrong in this case. You don’t need to use force to prove that you’re still capable of being prime minister. You’re wrong, and you’ve caused a hell of a ruckus in proving you’re wrong.” The King said coldly before sighing deeply, something which sparked another few coughs. “I entrusted you with the Royal Powers, and you abused them. You abused them quite thoroughly. Had you been any other man, I would have ordered a court of impeachment against you right off the bat. However, you’ve served this great nation for over three decades, two of them as Prime Minister, and you’ve served it well up to this point. Therefore, I’m not going to impeach you.”

“You’re not?” Rothsky said, looking up with a glimmer of hope in his old eyes.

“No, I’m not. However, I hereby rescind the authorities I’ve given you as a result of my absence, and I expect your resignation to be on my desk first thing tomorrow morning, and for you to withdraw from public life.”

“You’re firing me?”

“Yes Thomas. You’ve proven to me that I can no longer trust you, and I can’t have as Prime Minister someone I can’t trust. Now go, and write your resignation. Say something about the need to be more with your family or some other such reason for resigning, I don’t care. Just have it on my desk first thing tomorrow morning.” The King said, his voice growing colder.

“Sire, I…”

“Go, before I have my guards escort you out.” The King said dangerously quietly.

Rothsky rose slowly, tears trickling down his weathered cheeks as he accepted that the fight was lost. Quietly, the Prime Minister straightened his old frame and bowed respectfully to the King, who nodded, not letting his icy stare off the Prime Minister. Defeated, the old man walked slowly out from the conference room, leaving the King alone in the conference room.

One of the aides entered the room right after Rothsky had left, and found the King sitting deep in thought, with tears trickling down his face.

“Sire?”

“Ah Erik,” The King said, whipping the tears from his face with the shirt sleeve. “Please send in General Diesen.”

“Sire, are you crying? Is there something wrong?”

“I just fired a good and loyal friend of mine, and I have to call for reelections a year early. Yes, you could say that something is wrong. Now please send in the general.”

The aide, being a clever one, took the hint and sent in the General, who saluted once again when he entered.

“Ah General, do come in. Please, have a seat.”

The General did as instructed, and sat down in the chair that Rothsky had sat in just a few minutes prior.

“Are you aware of the reason behind my absence for the past few weeks General?”

“No sire, I am not.”

“As you probably remember, I was shot a few years ago. While that assassination attempt failed, it did damage my spleen, something which has caused my immune system to be less stringent to infections. For the past few weeks, I’ve been incapacitated by a particularly resistant form of pneumonia. While not that big a deal for a person with a functional spleen, I have been on the border between life and death for the past few weeks now. Had it not been for the expert care I’ve received from Professor Smiseth and his team, I would surely have died. Now, since I’ve been unable to carry out my office, I gave Prime Minister Rothsky the authority to execute my Royal Powers in accordance wih the Constitution, but on the express condition that he only administer the Realm while I was absent. As you know, Rothsky violated my instructions, and I have therefore been forced to sack him. I expect his resignation to be on my desk by morning. Needless to say, the authority I gave to Rothsky has been rescinded.” The King said quietly and slowly, taking several breaks to regain his breath.

“Now, I’ve been forced by circumstances to return prematurely to the job, so please do inform me what the military situation is.”

“Yes Sire.” Diesen replied. “The military situation is a positive one. We achieved total surprise despite our warnings of the use of force, and the… opponents, are fleeing in wild disorder. Airstrikes have been highly successful, with minimal collateral damages and complete damage inflicted on the opponent’s positions.”

“So our boys have done well?”

“Yes Sire. They have. Militarily, we’re victorious. However, diplomatically and politically, we are not. Already, several parliamentarians have contacted the Defense Ministry and asked what we’re up to, and as Your Majesty knows, the world is looking upon our actions with contempt.”

“Yes, I am perfectly well aware of that General. It is something I must rectify immediately.” The King said before falling quiet for a while, thinking. Eventually, he spoke again. “General, please cancel all further strikes on Gatawayan positions and order our troops to cease hostile operations and to revert to the old rules of engagement, namely fire only if fired upon. Keep the troops at a sufficiently high level to be able to react immediately if the Gatawayans attempt to take revenge upon our territory though.”

“Yes Sire. The order has been understood and will be executed.”

“Dismissed. Send in Erik on your way out please.”

The General rose from the seat and saluted crisply once again before exiting, his destination being the closest secured phone that he could use to relay the King’s orders. Almost immediately thereafter, Erik entered again.

“Yes Majesty?”

“Please contact the President of the Storting and have him come to the Palace immediately. The leaders of the political parties on the Storting as well, save for Prime Minister Rothsky. Have the vice chairman for the Progress Party attend in Rothsky’s stead. I have to inform them on the situation. Also, draft up a statement to the world for me.”

An hour later, as a series of cars rolled up to the Royal Palace, which had been flying the Royal Standard for the past twenty minutes, the firing against Gatawayan positions in Germany and France ceased, and an eerie quiet fell over the war torn 70-kilometer belt of devastated territory that bordered the Cottish borders. At the same time, a statement was issued to the world.

By the personal command of His Majesty King Haakon VIII, Sovereign Ruler of the Realm of Cotland and Supreme Warlord of the Armed Forces of the Realm, all Cottish military forces in Denmark and Benelux have ceased their operations against the Gatawayan Republic. All Cottish forces will cease their attacks upon Gatawayan positions and revert to the rules of engagement of status quo ante bellum.

Furthermore, His Majesty invites representatives of the Gatawayan Republic to meet with Him in Oslo for negotiations which will hopefully result in a peaceful resolution of this unfortunate incident. His Majesty personally guarantees for the safety and well-being of these representatives which the Gatawayan Republic may chose themselves. Of this you have His Majesty’s word of Honor. Furthermore, to prove the Realm’s good intentions, representatives of the Empire of Layarteb and the United States of Brink are also invited to attend these negotiations to prove to the world that the Realm has a genuine wish for peace, and that no attempts of pressure is attempted against the Gatawayan Republic.

His Majesty patiently awaits your response.


Signed personally by,

Haakon VIII Rex
By the Grace of God the Almightly, King of Cotland; Lord and Master of Scandinavia, Murmansk, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Gardarike, Tsjuderike, the Faroes, the Shetlands and Svalbard; Supreme Warlord of the Armed Forces of the Realm; Protector of the Weak, Defender of the Faiths, and a Thousand Other Titles and Honors.

Any intelligence analyst that had monitored the Cottish statements would immediately see that this statement was quite different from the others that had been issued by the Cottish government over the past few weeks. Not only in message, but the whole style of addressing and choice of words, and of course the signature. Any skilled intelligence analyst would conclude that this message, unlike the other messages, had been drafted by the King of Cotland himself, not some minister or high-level bureaucrat. This made it a very rare occurrence, something which again emphasized the message’s contents. The King of Cotland himself asked for a top-level meeting with the Gatawayans, and to prove that he had no ulterior motive, he had invited the Layartebians and Brinkmans to attend as well. Perhaps this meeting would shed some light on the recent political situation in Cotland…

Strasbourg

De Champion stood leaning against the wall looking out the window in dismay.

At any moment he expected to hear news of cottish tanks and infantry pouring over the border.

The door to the office opened slowly, bringing a somewhat unexpected surprise

"Well it seems in my absence that things have gone down the tube eh Champion?"

Champion turned to see Elsrider returned at last to the capital, a tired and haggard look about him.

"I haven't recieved any news, on the positive side it would seem the world is on our side, althought they have yet to offer any real aid apart from political condemnations."

Elsrider nodded slowly.

"You go and get rest, I'm sure the past several days have been draining for you, as they have me but it is my burden to bear not yours."

The two men were interrupted as the office phone rang, De Champion shook Elsrider's hand before making his way out to return home after nearly two weeks away.

"Take care Bareve."

"You too Alexander." Elsrider responded before finally picking up the phone.

"Sir there's a new transmission released by the Cottish, they're asking for audience with you in Oslo."

Elsrider was taken back by the sudden change in Cottish policy.

"I will release my own statement then within the hour, alert the press secretary."

With that Elsrider retired shortly for a shower and to change into professional looking clothes aside from the tattered looking suit he had worn for the entire duration of his absence.

Open Response from the Imperial Republic of Gataway to Cottish Government, Nations of the world.

http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/7/sealuo2.gif

While I am pleased with the decision to stop hostilites. I am equally disgusted with the underhanded and unwarranted acts of the Cottish government against my nation.

I am thankful to all those who have voiced their support for my administration, the Republic and its people.

I am eager to meet with this King Haakon VIII, it is my request at the request of my security advisors that a contingent of Republic army personnel accompany me on my trip to Oslo. If this one stipulation can be met I will depart for Oslo as soon as conformation is attained.

Furthermore I too encourage the nation of Layarteb and the United States of Brink to send attendants to these peace talks.

It is my sincere hope to both recieve viable explanation as to why such unprevoked agression were taken out and look to establish some plan to rebuild the damage sustained during this brief yet devestating attack against my nation

High Chancellor, Head of State Imperial Republic of Gataway
Bareve Von Elsrider

Encrypted Statement

While we do no understand the need for armed guards since His Majesty has given His Word of Honor that no harm will befall Mr. von Elsrider or any other member of the Gatawayan delegation, we shall in the interest of peace permit a small contingent (less than a dozen persons) to escort Mr. von Elsrider to Oslo, on the condition that they are not armed with anything greater than one (1) pistol calibered below .40 (10 MM) per soldier. Furthermore, these guards will not be permitted entrance to the Royal Palace.

This is a long-standing rule that applies not only to foreign military units, but also to Cottish military units. The only military force of any sort that is permitted entrance through the gates of the Royal Palace is His Majesty the King's Guards, which guards His Majesty and the Royal Family. This rule is in place in order to ensure the safety and security of His Majesty the King, and has been in place for the past 200 years.

If this is acceptable, His Majesty is looking forward to the arrival of Mr. von Elsrider.


Signed,

Haakon VIII Rex
By the Grace of God the Almightly, King of Cotland; Lord and Master of Scandinavia, Murmansk, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Gardarike, Tsjuderike, the Faroes, the Shetlands and Svalbard; Supreme Warlord of the Armed Forces of the Realm; Protector of the Weak, Defender of the Faiths, and a Thousand Other Titles and Honors.

OOC: Just RP arriving at the Palace when everyone's agreed to come. IIRC Lay isn't back until Monday so let's keep the actual negotiations on hold until he arrives back, ok?

Secure Transmisson Response to Cottish Government

On Behalf of High Chancellor Von Elsrider the terms you have proposed are acceptable and the Chancellor will depart for Oslo within the hour. Under escort via helicopter. His craft will be broadcasting on open channels and bear the ID code IRG-1332. We are certain this information will be relayed to Cottish border units to ensure safe passage through Cottish air space.

ooc: sure we can hold off on talks, I could arrive before the others agree though since they don't neccessarily have to come if their governments chose not to. Or I can go ahead and wait for the US of Brink to accept.

The weather was a chilly 52 degrees in Oslo, a stunning difference from the scorching heat of South Africa. Baruti hadn’t been to Norway in his entire life, despite the beautiful things people had to say about it. Only now, he wished his visit would have been under better circumstances. Baruti had made it a point in the latter half of his term to attend all matters himself, to prove he was no lame duck president as they are so often called. However his age, along with the cold, was certainly showing. Beside him, almost holding him upright was Günter Whitman. Being a German immigrant to the United States, Whitman had traveled rather extensively in Scandinavia though the majority of his trips were to Sweden or Finland. Nevertheless once on the ground in Oslo his memory kicked into gear.

A small envoy awaited them courtesy of their hosts. Baruti had never seen Cotland up close, but he was about to get a very close look.

The Emperor received word from the Cottish early on that there was an immediate change in the battleplan, one that suited the interests of the world and immediately cleared his schedule to personally attend the Oslo Talks, as they were being dubbed by the Empire in the media. Word had spread has around the world that the Cottish had ordered a halt to their offensive operations, which had pummelled the Gatawain military. Intelligence analysts clearly marked the difference between the tones of the original and new communiques and all of them knew something was remarkably different but still, the puzzle pieces had yet to form a clear image. It would be up to the Emperor himself to find out what truly was going on in the Cottish Realm.

His VC-26F Condor transport had left Layarteb City IAP only nine hours before the scheduled meeting time, giving him enough time to get there and get settled in before having to then depart for the talks. A nearly seven hour flight at cruise altitude and speed, the Emperor would be able to accomplish many things onboard the flight, which was guaranteed to be calm and peaceful. Escorted by five F-45A Scorpion fighters equipped only with internal stores of two AIM-204A Escape, four AIM-202A Dodsengel, and six AIM-221A Gryphon air-to-air missiles and a pair of external, 600-gallon fuel tanks, they would have minimal drag and a takeoff weight of just 81,500 pounds, give or take, which, although heavy, would give them a long, subsonic range. Escorting the Condor was usually the duty of both the 107th and 108th Fighter Squadons, both based at Layarteb City IAP with sixteen fighters each. Unique also to the flight of the Condor was the constant use of a decoy. A second VC-26F Condor, also escorted by five Scorpions, would fly a different route to Oslo, acting as a decoy plane, a practice done regardless of the situation. Once the flight of aircraft reached Cottish airspace, they would be joined by Cottish fighters and escorted all of the way down to Oslo. The Cottish would send up aircraft to meet both flghts, unaware which one was actually the real one.

The song and dance for the Emperor was the same as it always was. He was ushered off to the talks where he met and greeted those present, mingling here and there. When they would finally begin, he would take a quiet seat off to the side and watch the proceedings.

Oslo, Norway
August 29, 2008
Upon arriving in Oslo, the envoys would find themselves welcomed by a high-level official from the Foreign Ministry, something which wasn't entirely in accordance with diplomatic protocol, but in this particular case it could be excused due to the fact that when Prime Minister Rothsky earlier that morning had offered his letter of resignation and been granted it with immediate effect, he had not only offered his own job but that of his entire cabinet, including the Foreign Minister. As a result, Cotland was currently in a political vacume with the King and the public officials having to handle the day-to-day management of the Realm until a new prime minister could be elected and a new cabinet formed.

Anyway, being welcomed by a high-level official from the Foreign Ministry was the only deviation from the diplomatic protocol. The envoys were welcomed at Gardermoen International Airport, which had just finished its $1.7 billion expansion that included a third runway and substantial upgrades, by the standard military honor guard of one hundred soldiers from His Majesty the King's Guard, clad in their black parade uniforms and presenting arms as the national anthem of the visiting head of state was played, before the envoy was politely shown to the waiting black Mercedes-Benz S-class sedans that would drive them from Gardermoen and down to Grand Hotel in Oslo, where the Palace had reserved the normal luxury suites for the visiting envoys. Here, the envoys would be allowed to rest out from the trip for a few hours before the schedule called for them to go to the Royal Palace for the meeting with the King.

If the envoys flicked through the countless channels on the 42" LCD TVs in the suites, they would probably come across one of the many international news channels that reported on the breaking news of the day, namely the sudden resignation of the Cottish prime minister and his entire cabinet, citing "personal reasons" as the cause for the resignation. Since Rothsky was unavailable for comments and the Prime Minister's Office refused to comment, it was speculated that the Prime Minister's departure was a result of the reported border skirmish (in Cottish media)/attacks (in international medias) on the Gatawayan Republic, which had caused international outcry, with so-called experts on Cottish politics commenting and speculating wildly. It was also noted that the King of Cotland had called for general elections to be held on the Tuesday October 7th, giving the Cottish political parties fifteen days to carry out their election campaigns. In the meanwhile, the news reporters said, the administration of the Realm would be managed by the public officials under the supervision of the King, as he was allowed to by the Cottish Constitution. If the envoys looked at Cottish newspapers, they would see that the Prime Minister's resignation was the top story here too, with one of the most popular tabloids, VG, having their entire front page filled with a picture of a clearly stressed Rothsky taken two years ago during the Nerotikan invasion of Kostroma, with the words "ROTHSKY, REGJERINGEN GÅR AV!" (Rothsky, Cabinet resigns!) printed in war types above his face.

If the envoys did this, they would get a clear idea of the current political chaos in Cotland, with the various political parties having to carry out a rushed campaign for the newly announced Storting elections, and that the King, who had been out of public view for almost a month, was now directly in control of the day-to-day running of the country. Clearly, things were rather chaotic politically in Cotland.

A few hours after arriving, the envoys were informed that their vehicles were waiting for them to drive them up Karl Johan street to the Royal Palace, which flew the Royal Standard, showing that the King was currently in the city. After a quick drive up the street, the black sedans rolled up to the Palace, where a company of His Majesty the King's Guards had been assembled to a honor guard, presenting arms with crisp military precision as the sedans drove past and into the Palace. The troops looked quite sharp, their uniforms crisply pressed, their uniform buttons, belt buckles, boots, assault rifles and bayonets polished to shine like the sun, and the young stern faces expressing no emotion what so ever as they rendered honors to the envoys as they passed.

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj146/Eeobroht/Scalegeometry373x280.jpg

The sedans stopped just inside the Palace, with two officers of the Guards opening the doors and saluting crisply to the envoys as they exited the sedans and were immediately greeted by a naval officer who escorted them up the large marble stairs that led from the entrance to a long hallway that had been strategically decorated to show off the grandeour of Cotland, displaying pieces of art that showed off Cottish exploits and achievements, mostly conducted by various Cottish kings, along with various artifacts that emphasised Cotland's old history, including an ancient sword on a pedestal that had been presented to the King for his last birthday by the Emperor of Layarteb himself. Along with these items showing off Cotland's achievements, there were a number of items that displayed that while Cotland had many peaceful achievements, it was also a military power to be reconned with. Many war trophies and pieces of art that displayed glorious Cottish victories, including one recent painting unveiled five months prior by an internationally acclaimed Cottish artist showing the glorious victory of a single battlegroup of the Cottish 85th Infantry Division over an entire Nerotikan paratrooper division in Kostroma. This painting showed a small amount of Cottish troops and a CV90 defeat a vastly superior Nerotikan force, with quite a few of the Nerotikan troops having fallen and the rest surrendering to the Cots. There were also a number of items that were clearly not of Cottish origin, but that were labelled with being war prizes taken from wars ranging as far back as 968 A.D. The general idea was to inflict a feeling of inferiority among foreign visitors, while at the same time boosting national pride and respect for the King among Cots.

After the walk through the long hallway, there was a turn that took the visitors up another set of stairs, this time made from the finest wood, and through another hallway, this one decorated with portraits of various Cottish Kings on one wall, with the other wall being dominated by large windows showing a splendid view of the autumn Oslo. After a quick walk through the hallway, the envoys would pass another two Guardsmen who stood guard at the large double doors in the end of the hallway, presenting arms as the envoys passed through the doors and into a waiting room with a number of comfortable chairs and some splendid pieces of art, including a couple of Rembrants, as well as another pair of armed guardsmen standing at attention at the next set of double doors, and a pair of servants who stood along the walls, bowing respectfully as the envoys entered. The guardsmen naturally didn't move an inch, save for presenting arms as the envoys entered the waiting room and approached the next set of double doors.

The envoys were politely asked to wait a moment by their guide the naval officer, who then turned and knocked sharply on the door before opening them, stepping one pace inside, and bowing deeply before announcing in Cottish the arrival of the envoy from the specific country. With the envoy announced, the officer stepped aside and motioned for the envoy to enter.

When the envoy entered, he would find that the room in question was a tastefully decorated meeting room with a conference table that could seat twelve people. For the occasion, there were only some six chairs around the table, giving ample room for the envoys to have their negotiations. There was a table along the far wall with refreshments, including several silver pots filled with the finest Colombian coffee and steaming warm water for the large selection of teas that sat next to it, as well as an unhealthily large selection of bottles of soft drinks and water, both still and sparkling water, if the envoys didn't fancy coffee or tea.

However, most importantly was the person sitting at head of the conference table. King Haakon VIII of Cotland didn't look anything like the pictures, being far thinner than his already skinny self, and his skin pale and sweating with fever, not to mention the peripheral venous catheter in his right hand, still connected to an IV drip a trusty aide standing behind him held high enough for the powerful antibiothics to drip continuously through the IV and into the King's system, hopefully beating off the strong pneumonia infection he was struggling with. Still, the King was dressed smartly in a dark suit that concealed how thin he really had become, his black beard and hair was freshly trimmed and cared for, and more importantly, his ice-blue eyes were sharp and alert.

Still, it was with some struggle that the King rose from the seat and greeted the envoys.

Directed to Gataway

"Chancellor von Elsrider, I welcome you to my Realm and my capital. I wish that I could have done this under better circumstances, but Lady Destiny isn't always in agreement with us mortals. Please, do sit down." The King said after first offering the Gatawayan leader his hand for a shake, then one of the comfortable seats. More precisely, the one which had the chancellor's name and a miniature Gatawayan flag in front of it.

"May I offer you a refreshment?"

If the Chancellor wanted anything from the refreshments table, one of the servants would fetch it for him quickly and quietly.

Directed to Brink

"President Baruti, I welcome you to my Realm and my capital. I only regret that your first visit to my Realm couldn't have been under better circumstances. Please, be seated." The King said as he shook the African leader's hand, offering him the comfortable seat with the President's name and a miniature Brinkian flag in front of it.

"May I offer you a refreshment?"

If Baruti wanted anything from the refreshments table, one of the servants would fetch it for him quickly and quietly.

Directed to Layarteb

"My old friend, I welcome you yet again to Cotland," The King said in Cottish, smiling weakly as he struggled to get to his feet, and finally offered his hand for a shake. "It's only a shame that it couldn't be under better circumstances this time. Please, have a seat." The King said, shaking the Layartebian Emperor's hand firmly, but not as firmly as he normally did, before offering him the comfortable seat with the Emperor's title and the miniature Layartebian flag.

"Can I offer you a refreshment?"

If the Emperor wanted anything from the refreshments table, one of the servants would fetch it for him quickly and quietly.

OOC: Just have your envoys arriving and greet the King, and we'll move this into the negotiations smoothly I think. I'm assuming that you arrive one by one so we'll do the welcoming one by one m'kay?

OOC: Consider the Emperor welcomed and announced, he really doesn't have anything to say at the moment.

despite urges from the senate to be critical and perhaps ill mannered during his visit Elsrider was a man well educated on international politics, shaking the king's hand firmly making sure to not break eye contact. He would wait until the other delegates began to sit before he did.

"Lady Destiny can indeed be a bitch sometimes, and I too wish my visit was not of such a nature, It is my most sincere hope that our meeting today may be the basis for a prosperous and more importantly peaceful future together."

Elsrider chuckled, hoping the minor and perhaps unexpected lingo would lighten the mood a bit, he already had international support for his cause and saw little need to come off with a condesending attitude.

Observing Haakon he was taken back a bit, the ruler of the mighty realms of Cotland was a sickly looking old man.

"Seeing as it is my first time to Cotland, I think it to be best to sample what the native lands have to offer, so your majesty what refresment would you recomend. I must say I have thus far been impressed by what I have seen and I'm sure Cottish spirits will not dissappoint me."

Again Elsrider took a perhaps unorthodox approach he watched the other delegates and Haakon's reactions closely.

Baruti had already met with the King briefly before Elsrider. The two of them, men of power, both showed the stress of the job outwardly, though Baruti still maintained his health in most regards. Despite the Cottish King’s noticeably aliments, he still managed himself with dignity and respect.

After hearing Elsrider’s choice of beverage, Baruti spoke up, “I believe I will do the same.”

The King, unfazed by the quite straight-forward and completely lack of diplomatic sense and protocol, nodded discreetly to the puzzled servant standing behind the Gatawayan chancellor as he sat back down in his seat. Even the simple task of getting up from the seat had been a strain on the sick 34 year old monarch, but he would endure these negotiations. He had to.

The servant appeared shortly thereafter with two shot glasses of akevitt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akvavit), one for the chancellor and one for Baruti. The amber strong liquid was 40 % proof, but this combined with its strong taste would make even the most experienced connoisseurs cough for air. Normally, alcohol wouldn't be consumed at the negotiation table, but in this case the King ignored norms. If the Chancellor was intent on getting intoxicated at the negotiation table, the King wouldn't stop him. With luck, the Chancellor would get so inebriated that he could be easily manipulated into adhering to every Cottish request.

As the two heads of state were given their beverage of choice, the King spoke.

"Gentlemen, first of all I would like to thank you for taking the time and effort to come to Oslo. I would have offered to come to any other arena deemed fit by the Gatawayan Chancellor had it not been for my ailing health." The King said, smiling weakly.

"Before we begin the negotiations, I would like to explain the actions preformed by my armed forces in the past few days just so there aren't any misunderstandings. I have been away from my capital for medical reasons for the past few weeks, during which time I entrusted some of the Royal Powers of the Realm to Prime Minister Rothsky, who decided to disobey my trust and instructions to run off on a crusade of his own. Regretably, this involved the defensive operations against the Gatawayan Republic, which were carried out without my knowledge. I would like to emphasize clearly that Mr Rothsky has come to learn the errors of his ways and have made pennance before myself and my Realm, by among other things resigning his position as Prime Minister with immediate effect.

"I also wish to make it perfectly clear that there will be no further attacks upon the Gatawayan Republic carried out by my forces unless we are attacked first. These are instructions I have given all commanders in the theaters in question, on pain of death if they disobey. They will obey my instructions, I assure you.

"The question that now arises is, where do we go from here? Gentlemen, the floor is open."

With that, the King sat back and drank some water, clearing his throat, as he waited for responses from the three other heads of state.

The Emperor remained silent and still, watching the proceedings around him. He had much to say but now wasn't the time, he would wait until both parties, the Cottish and the Gatawains had ironed out their own issues first before he spoke of the Empire's stance on the situation and matter.

Elsrider cast aside his carefree attempts to relax tensions, his beverage was stong but good tasting, a drink he would like to enjoy again under favorable conditions with the King.

"Compensation is clearly in order for the damages caused from the Cottish bombardment. Roads, parts of towns, installiations all need to be rebuilt, as well as the replacement of equipment lost.

As for the matter regarding the demilitarized zone, the idea of a DMZ completely within the Republic's borders is unacceptable, our requests for cooperation to achieve stability were met with a aggressive military actions.

Your former prime minister acted under the guise of wishing to secure Cottish borders and bring stability to the area when in fact his actions have only lengthend the time it is going to take to stamp out the Imperialist movement as resources must now be diverted in order to establish security where it was whiped out by Cottish artillery. If anything he should be tried and jailed but I will not seek to impose the republic's laws on Cottish territory."

Elsrider paused before beginning again

"While I am deeply distruaght and to be honest angered by the breakdown in your government I see that in order for peace to reign over the region our two nations must work together in a harmonious nature. I hope that you too see this as a necessity your majesty?"

"The Realm is in principle willing to offer compensation to the families of those killed as a direct result of our operations, and to those few civilians affected by this unfortunate incident. Thanks be to God that collateral damages were kept to an absolute minimum. However, I fail to see the reasons for why the Realm should pay for military facilities and equipment that could be used against us. What guarantee do I have that your nation will not attempt to embark upon a foolish endeavour to avenge this unfortunate incident some time in the near future when you've gotten back up to strength?" The King asked, leaving the question hanging for a few seconds so it could sink in before he continued.

"As for the insinuations that Mr Rothsky should be trialled and jailed in the Gataway Republic, that will not happen. Mr Rothsky has acknowledged his responsibility in this unfortunate incident and is paying his pennance, and that shall be sufficient. Should any attempt of arresting or prosecuring Mr Rothsky be undertaken by anyone but the duly appointed authorities of the Realm, that will be considered an act of hostility by the nation-state in question and responded to quite severely. I believe you are painfully aware of my nation's capabilities Mr Chancellor.

"Peace, Mr Chancellor, is what I wish to give to my people. What I wish for my legacy to be. That my people shall remember my reign as a peaceful one, not a war-torn one. God knows that my nation's been forced into taking up arms enough already." The King stated, only for it to be violently interrupted by another series of coughing. Several aides rushed to the King, but he hushed them away with his hand, coughing into one of the Kleenex tissues that he had sitting beside him on the desk. When the coughing ceased, the King noticed that he had coughed up blood, but he concealed it from the envoys, ignoring it for now. The negotiations had priority over his personal health.

After a sip of water to wash down the blood and saliva from his mouth and throat, the King continued.

"As I was saying, I wish for peace. The question is, what guarantee do I have that your nation will not retaliate when you're back up to strength in a few months or a few years? What guarantee can you give me Mr Chancellor?"

"It would be foolish to launch a counter offensive against your realm even at a regained strength."

I would propose the following."

pulling a document from a briefcase Elsrider sat it upon the table for the King to read.

"Merely a rough draft if you will but I believe something can come of it."

Stras-Oslo Accord

The Following agreement hereby ends indefinitely the outbreak of hostilities between the Imperial Republic of Gataway and the Realms of Cotland

A. A non-aggression agreement to last thirty years between the nations of the Imperial Republic of Gataway and the Realms of Cotland. To be renewed if wished by both parties upon expiration

I. The prohibition of stationing more than 3,500 troops within one concentrated area to be considered 40km's along the border between Cotland and the Republic of Gataway for 40km's along both sides of the border

II. The Prohibition of the stationing of tanks or pieces of artillery within 25km of the border between Cotland and the Republic on both sides of the border

III. The prohibition of any military air craft with the exception of rotary craft flying over the pre established 40km buffer zone on both sides of the established border area.

B. Both nations seek to establish and promote trade between each other agreeing to lower tariffs and other taxes placed on imported goods coming from the later nation.

I. Agreement to allow free shipping through both nations territorial waters with the exception of Military vessels which will be prohibited from entering the latter's territorial waters without prior authorization.

II. The Realm of Cotland agrees to pay in full reperation due to the families of those killed during the conflict and to pay for the rebuilding of infrastructure and civilian structures which were damaged during Cottish operations against the republic

C. A consulate from the later nation will be established in host nations capital to facilitate quicker and more effective means of communicating diplomatically

The King skimmed the document briefly before he made a verdict.

"Unacceptable. A ban on positioning troops within forty kilometers of the border would leave the district of Sønderjylland in Denmark defenseless, not to mention the Benelux provinces. Entirely unacceptable. Furthermore, you have the nerve to demand free and unchallenged passage through my waters, despite my nation not even having recognized you diplomatically. Clearly sir, you know nothing of the Realm." The King said coldly, drinking a little more water before resuming.

"In return for the peaceful conclusion of hostilities and a return to status quo ante bellum, the Realm would offer the following.

"One: Compensation to be paid to the families of those killed, not exceeding the sum of one million Cottish Rikskroner per person killed, and the Realm will bear the costs of rebuilding civilian infrastructure and buildings damaged or destroyed as a direct consequence of our operations. We will not be paying out the money until after it has been ascertained by a third party both parties have agreed upon that the damages are indeed caused by our units, and the money flow will be monitored by the third party to ensure that the money aren't diverted into the pockets of corrupt Gatawayan officials or to military means.

"Two: Limiting the garrisoning of troops on either side of the border to five hundred soldiers inside sectors of forty kilometers wide by twenty kilometers deep on either side of the border. Artillery and armor to be kept twenty kilometers from the border in times of peace. Military aircraft not to come closer to the border than ten kilometers, unless with the other party having been informed beforehand.

"Three: The Realm will recognize the Gatawayan Republic diplomatically and establish a diplomatic legation in your capital, and we shall permit the same here. The Realm will also in principle agree to consider permitting visas to Gatawayan citizens, and we will consider ending the ban on Gatawayan shipping through the Kattegat.

"Four: A solemn pledge from the Gatawayan nation that there will be no future attempts at seeking revenge against the Realm in any way, manner or form, on pain of... well you are aware what we'll do if you attack us, aren't you." The King said coldly before he concluded, "These are my terms. Now the ball rests in your hands Chancellor." The King said, sitting back, somewhat exhausted by the lengthy monologue.

"Clearly relations between our two nations will remained strained, I would add a pledge from your government that such events will not occur either, further I must stress the approval for civilan shipping to be allowed passage through your waters as in not doing so you greatly impeed our progress."

Baruti’s frustration level continued to rise with every word of the conversation. He had tried to read the face of the Emperor but the man remained stoic. Was the Realm truly this stubborn?

“Sorry, if I may…

“I do not believe the Realm is in any position to be dictating the terms of this accord. Keep in mind, it is your nation, your armed forces, King, that have brought us all together here today. The world sees you as the aggressor nation and that does not put you in a favorable position. I do believe Mr. Elsrider’s terms were more than acceptable.

“Furthermore for you to demand that his nation pledge not to retaliate is simply mindboggling. Such an action would certainly be unwise, but you are in no position to demand such terms. You have to admit your fault on this and deal with the consequences accordingly. I personally agree that Mr. Rothsky should be tried, along with high ranking officials which carried out these actions. However, if Mr. Elsrider does not want to push that issue then neither will I.”

It was rash, but needed to be said. Baruti could not understand the stubbornness that the King had shown. Surely he understands just how precarious his situation is. One of his closest allies and friends is sitting next to him pledging armed support for the Gatawains.

The Emperor, remaining silent, a hardened look upon his face, watched as both parties countered each other's offers. He thought, internally, of the sheer idiocy that would have to befall the Gatawain Republic in challenging the Cottish Realm. Their offensive had been a mere demonstration, nothing close to a full attack. At the same time, the Gatawain demands that the Cottish instantly establish a free-trade agreement, in sorts, was also ludicrous except the Emperor knew why. Samuel Huntington had said it in one of his many works that nations with similarities do not often war with each other. Democracies often do not war with democracies and those who trade with each other will not often war with each other, especially if both parties established something as personal as a free trade agreement.

The Emperor continued to ponder what was going on here and he was pleased to see that the Cottish were accepting responsibility and agreeing to pay for the civilian losses and damages. That was to be expected, of course. He could not raise any point about the issue of rebuilding the military, that was not necessarily their responsibility but a responsibility the Empire might undertake. Neither side should be hampered by any sort of DMZ, he believed as he truly understood the situation now. Rothsky had, in a moment of complete senility, acted upon his own behalf, not the behalf of either the King or the Realm. The Cottish wouldn't be attacking again and neither would the Gatawain's be exacting any revenge. Regardless, the Empire's interests remained too great for him to speak just yet. He would let the Gatawain and Cottish duke it out while the Brinkians stood helplessly off to the side. For now, the Empire would remain silent.

The King was about to respond to the Chancellor when President Baruti spoke up. After listening to the rather rude statement the Brinkian leader made, the King gathered his thoughts for a few seconds before responding.

"Forgive me Mr President, but I beg to differ. Would I have agreed to pay compensation to the families of those killed by my forces in this unfortunate incident if my nation did not accept responsibility? No, I would not. The fact that I have done so is in itself an admission of responsibility on the behalf of my nation. As for the world seeing the Realm as the aggressor, I would like to remind you that beside the Gatawayan Republic itself, only your own nation and the Empire seem to have taken interest in this unfortunate incident. Two nations, out of twenty-two. I seriously doubt our international relations and economic interests will be noticably damaged by this unfortunate incident.

"I called for this meeting in good faith, in the hopes of achieving an acceptable peace for both parties. I should tell you that several of my generals are making a strong case for a peace treaty should be signed by the Chancellor in his office in Strasbourg, with the muzzles of Cottish rifles aimed at his head. My forces are fully capable of doing this, make no mistake, but I have no interest in further bloodshed if it can be avoided.

"Therefore, I will agree to pledging on the behalf of the Realm that we shall take no future hostile actions against the Gatawayan Republic without due provocation having been received from the Gatawayan Republic in advance, if this means that the Gataway Republic will accept the terms I presented a few minutes ago. Furthermore, I will in principle agree to consider permitting Gatawayan-flagged civilian shipping through our waters.

"Do we have an accord Mr Chancellor?"

"I do not take kindly to such threats your majesty" Elsrider used the term condesendingly.

"I can assure you the Republic would burn, and Cottish blood would spill for every inch of soil, should you seek to open hostilities again.

"However seeing as I have no other options at the current time we will have this accord, I can see relations will be strained at best for some time but this is through no fault of my own."

Elsrider signed his name, and shook the King's hand a bit firmer than a person normally would, glaring into the kings eyes before turning briefly acknowledging the other delegates and making his way out of room to return to Strasbourg.

OOC: This should have been before Gataway's post but I didn't get to it in time.

Before the accord could be signed by the Gatawain Chancellor, the Emperor stood up and garnered the attention of the room. "Gentlemen. This is ridiculous. We are here to negotiate a peace, a status quo, perhaps but instead we threaten each other. This is more than unprofessional and it is downright rude. Of course the Cottish shall pay compensation, this is established and it is as much an admission of guilt as anything else is. At the same time I am sure that, after watching the events along the border, everyone knows how capable the Cottish military is. We must discuss the matters at hand and go forward in such a way that there are motives for revenge and no chance for regret to foster ill-will or contempt. You must think and plan ahead, decades ahead. This may end here, today, with a grudge for this generation but what of generations to come? How will your children or grandchildren react when they read about this in history books? It is up to you, here, today, to establish something that your future generations will admire, not scorn.

"There is a reason why the Gatawain Chancellor has asked for passage and trade. Nations that trade do not often war with one another. The same for nations that are akin to one another. Democracies will not often war with each other either. You understand how this goes? It is the entire concept of modernity and the Gatawain Chancellor is looking to establish that sort of modernity. Rather than scoff at each other why don't you look deeper into one another's motives." The Emperor returned to his place and waited now as the Gatawain Chancellor and the Cottish King were left to brood over his comments.

After the Emperor had concluded Baruti felt a nudge at his arm. Whitman leaned in close and whispered into his ear, “I thought he was going to leave us out to try truth be told.”

Baruti nodded in agreement, happy that the Emperor spoke his mind though perhaps aimed at his outburst as well.

“I agree,” he said softly, “we are here to establish peace but instead we are planting a seed of hatred.”

OOC: Bump or are we concluded?

I dont really know where else to take this..lol....I gained an ally in you, an enemy in cotland, and a semi supportive USA

OOC: LOL well I think it's fair to conclude that this is over for now as the Cottish elections have sort of moved forward with the story but I can't speak for everyone.

Well there will be strained Gata-Cottish relations obviously, I'll probably seek to strengthen ties with your empire, Ill probably announce the solidification of the Republic across france then go from there..

OOC: Yeah this is pretty much concluded, unless you want to do that little thing we discussed via IRC Layarteb?

As for Gata-Cottish relations, they're strained but I'm probably going to have my new government try to improve them with time

And don't forget about it! Anything to help a young republic thrive, especially when it proves to be a proverbial thorn in the side of OA!!

OOC: Yeah this is pretty much concluded, unless you want to do that little thing we discussed via IRC Layarteb?

OOC: Remind me because I don't remember.