NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: This thread is nominally open to the nations involved in the Gholgoth/Mediterranica dispute, although it's mostly between me and my northern neighbors.

Ministry of State

In the wake of the deteriorating regional security situation and the imminent arrival of significant Gholgoth forces in the northern subcontinent, the Senate and Praetor of Vetalia have drafted an ultimatum to the nations of Solenial and Quintus to ensure the continued stability of local trade between our nations and to spare the subcontinent the economic effects of an armed conflict.

The demands are as follows:

1. The governments of Solenial, Gataway and Quintus unconditionally permit the deployment of Vetalian military and police forces to their territories from their border with Vetalia to the coastline in order to ensure the secure and continued flow of resources and supplies to the Northern Naval Command and Gholgothan military units in the region.

2. The governments of Solenial, Gataway and Quintus permit the creation of a Directorate for the Northern Subcontinent, a Vetalian political and military commission whose purpose will be to ensure that anti-Vetalian and anti-Gholgothan activities are controlled and to interrupt any potential unacceptable threats to public order in Vetalia or the occupied regions.

3. The armed forces of Solenial and Quintus are to be temporarily disbanded and their war material moved to safe storage. All materials will be carefully recorded and properly returned or compensated for upon cessation of the necessary Vetalian administration over their territories. All service personnel will be granted supplementary benefits and compensation, and will have an opportunity to join their local divisions of the National Democratic Party of Vetalia's Free Corps organization.

We are willing to negotiate the particulars of these agreements, but only once we have been permitted to realize the most pressing strategic objectives regarding Vetalian northern front security. On behalf of the Vetalian nation and people, I would like to personally assure these nations that we will permit their ongoing political independence within the framework of a secure northern consensus regarding the threat posed by enemy forces. Failure to meet these goals, or refusal of this ultimatum will result in potential hostile military action.

Both nations have 72 hours to decide on their response to the ultimatum, after which point failure to accept its conditions will result in assumed refusal with corresponding consequences.

Regards,
Proconsul Vladimir Trepov II
Ministry of State
Republic of Vetalia

OOC: If needed, an OOC thread will be provided as well as more specifics regarding the size and composition of Vetalian forces along the border.

At present, this operation is highly classified and so little is known about our specific military position, especially for naval and ground forces. If needed, a comprehensive map of positions and troop strengths will be provided. Note that the goal of this RP is much more character-oriented and meant to provide a good chance for the nations involved to really model a lot of the kinds of resistance and underground activities that characterize military occupations. Right now, it's just the ultimatum with no additional exposition yet.

OOC: Would this pertain to my colony Serstabele as well?

OOC: I'm not too sure, since the newest version of the map doesn't have your local claims marked yet. The answer is a tentative yes if it's close enough to the Vetalian mainland to pose a potential threat.

OOC: Specifics will be provided if needed, but right now this is just a kind of kickoff post to get our invasion moving.

Vetalia City, Vetalia

"Polarize the windows, Viktor. It's getting hot in here."

The Praetor waved a languid hand towards the colossal windows of the Dorogomilovo Towers penthouse reserved for his private use. The colossal, 3,000-foot structure was a dominant feature of the Vetalia City skyline and its elevated position gave a sweeping view of the surrounding city. Below, the pulsing lights of the wealthiest city in the region were an elaborate web stretching in all directions while in the distance the round orange sun burned its last rays in to the humid, smoggy air. The air pollution of the city produced remarkable sunsets at this altitude, something cynical residents suggested as the primary reason for the city's ongoing pollution problems.

With a push of a button, the windows polarized themselves automatically, the sun seemingly controlled by the Praetor's very gesture. Of course, they all knew such a thing was impossible but at times like this, it was a comforting thought to know matters were in the hands of a higher being.

"The time will soon come for us to proceed with our invasion. These nations have shown their unwillingness to comply with our requests, and so they must learn to respect our authority over this continent through whatever means necessary."

"I've heard your generals are tasking a fairly considerable amount of armor and aircraft for this operation...might I ask why?"

"The same reason the Free Corps never moves during the day, only at night. People are less likely to subvert our rule if they cannot reach out to our humanity."

With that, a strange glimmer appeared on the Praetor's face, his language growing more animated as he lapsed in to a strange tirade. They had become more common in recent years, no doubt a product of his growing power and popularity. The things he spoke of when in this...mood...were both fantastic and grotesque, fiery rhetoric mixed with hatred. The dreams they triggered were ones of death and oppression, of the red, white and black flying over foreign capitols, of extermination and euphemism.

"Why do you think our people don't speak their languages? Why do you think we don't dirty ourselves by allowing these polluted cultures to stand alongside our own? Why do you think we will annex significant portions of their territory in to Greater Vetalia? I'll tell you why, Viktor: they are not worthy to stand beside us. Gholgoth's invasion has finally given us the opportunity to rebuild our Empire and bring Vetalian civilization to a new apex!"

"Yes, Praetor, that it does. However, we must not be too keen on 'civilizing' them or else we will risk general rebellion. There is no reason to be harsh on our neighbors..."
"No, but there is no reason to be kind to them either. That's why I'm making you Protector of Solenial and Quintus and Procurator of the new province of Northwestern Vetalia...I know your experience in the Free Corps will prove handy. Just pretend they're ghouls, Viktor, and all your concerns will melt away."

"Sure, that's what I'll do. I take it you've already cleared this, right?"
"Of course. Come next week, you should be comfortably ensconced in your new position. As you know, our party looks favorably on those that serve the Vetalian nation in a capacity of such expansionist importance...do I make myself clear"
"Yes, Praetor, you do. I will report to the Ministry of Defense immediately and will be in Solenial by tomorrow."
"Good. My staff will be glad to prepare your baggage, should you need to pack. We will send furnishings and other supplies once you've chosen a suitable residence. Your family will be sent once the area is secure."
"Alright, I guess I'm leaving then...goodbye, Praetor Ryzhkov."
"The same to you, Imperial Protector Sechin."

The Praetor smiled, almost cheerfully, and for the first time Viktor felt truly afraid of his political mentor. It was clear he was beginning the descent in to some narcissistic madness, one where he used his staff and his nation like pawns in some great game. However, now was not time to worry about such things...the first priority was always to make sure Viktor Sechin remained Viktor Sechin, not some unidentifiable corpse on the battlefield.

Vetalia-Solenial-Quintus-Gataway Border, 8 hours later

Field Marshal Pavlov surveyed the open plains of the western border, seeing nothing but the distant outline of the formal fence marking the dividing line between the two nations. A good thing, of course, since the Vetalian army had made every effort to conceal its numbers and their deployment, no small task in such a flat environment. However, he knew it would not be long before the lands before him were a sea of men and metal and the skies roared with planes bearing deadly cargoes. Thousands of kilometers away, the entire might of the Vetalian Northern Naval Command was moving towards foreign territorial waters, flying no combat flags and giving no sign of hostile intent. With any luck, they wouldn't notice until resistance was out of the question.

The field telephone rang. It was Viktor, speaking from a forward command center in New Sevastopol, roughly 40 kilometers from the front. "Field Marshal Pavlov, you are hereby ordered to begin a full assault along the border. Execute Cases Yellow, Red, and Green for their respective fronts and confirm with naval command that Operation Northern Shield has begun. Do not halt your advance unless I or the Praetor give the order."

With that, alarms exploded along the Vetalian line as the entire front prepared to move out. The biggest land and sea invasion in Vetalian history was now underway as untold numbers of troops, mechanized infantry, tanks, aircraft and other military equipment began to advance towards enemy territory. Over the next 24 hours, it would become clear whether war or peace would reign on the Vetalian continent.

At the centre of Kos, the capital of Solenial, was Palise dé va Principau, home of Prince Moliére II, and the State Office. The news reached the capital that the Vetalians, their Mediterranican neighbours, had began the invasion on The Principality. This obviously didn't come as a suprise to them as after heavy discussion within the National Council led to the conclusion that Solenial would stand and fight the Vetalian and Gholgothan forces.

"Just how many soldiers are the Vetalians sending!?"
"A lot, sir."

The Vetalians offered the nations of Solenial, Quintus and Gataway an ultimatum 3 days prior. After denying the terms that the Vetalians demanded, the only choice was war. Vetalia was a much larger nation than Solenial and to most people this would be a quick conflict, but Robert hoped different.

"It's also true that they have a Naval Force sent from the north."

Gholgoth had decided to invade the region of Mediterranica not so long ago. Vetalia had needed a larger coastline that would easily access the rest of the region to aid the invasion and Solenial had proved the perfect location for this expansion. It was the State Seceratary's hopes that perhaps fighting against Vetalia could result in helping Mediterranica stop the invasion.

"Okay i want troops lining up across the border. There will be 20 bases across
the border and i want 100,000 troops located at each of them. I want the AA Guns on the coast to be ready for conflict."
"What of the Navy?"
"Wait until we know some more."
"Yes sir." the man left the room and Greene sat back in his chair.

Troops were called and drove to the Solenian/Vetalian border where they were to fight off the Vetalians.

OOC: Map of Solenian Military Bases and AA Guns

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/7250/map4buk5.png

OOC: Thanks. You'll have an idea of our ground force strength once we're in range of your AA guns.

OOC: As someone who is observing this thread, Solenial left a bay wide open and I don't know if he knows the scale of the Med map because it looks like he copy&pasted his section of the map and on that map 1 pixel is 25 km. So that bay is huge, wide open and even at some of the thinnest areas, the distance from coast to coast is more than 250 km. I'm only spectating for now though and I suppose a canal 1 km wide wouldn't appear well on the map.

Focus Point I, Southern Solenial Front

The tanks and mechanized infantry accelerated, pushing headlong towards the enemy line. The goal was simple, to break through and encircle the individual outposts and bring sufficient force on each position to force its destruction. Ideally, this would happen with sufficient speed to ensure no reinforcements arrived to delay the conflict.

Behind them, the entirety of the artillery and missile launcher units began to fire salvo after salvo from entrenched positions, targeting enemy AA installations and identifiable command and control infrastructure linking the border defenses. The other major targets were runways and hangars at civilian and military airbases alike, the goal being to crater them and render the facilities unusable for any airborne reinforcement or supply convoys. Approximately 4,000 self-propelled artillery units and an additional
5,350 multiple launch rocket systems were involved, hurling their explosive payloads at their maximum rate of fire; this amounted to roughly one missile from the MRLS every ten seconds and one artillery shell per minute from the SPA.

On the southern front, Vetalian fighter and interceptor squadrons were held in reserve, with orders to engage enemy fighters on their own terms in friendly territory, while the bombers awaited their own orders to begin full-scale bombardment of enemy military bases upon sufficient disruption of the enemy AA network. Ground troops, consisting primarily of general infantry, snipers, and anti-tank brigades, were held in reserve to ensure maximum retaliatory strength once the enemy troops were encircled.

Focus Point II, Central Solenial Front

The center of the line marked the heaviest concentration of manpower and vehicles, designed primarily to draw enemy forces in to costly attrition. These units were also the most reckless, consisting mostly of Free Corps volunteers specially tasked with the brutal job of smashing through enemy resistance at any cost. They were ordered to take as many prisoners as possible and to thoroughly disarm the local populace as they moved inland. Multiple divisions of military and civilian police trailed the initial assault force, preparing to immediately implement occupation policies on the enemy civilian population.

Artillery and other support firepower were comparatively scarce on the central front, mostly due to concerns over friendly fire. These troops were wading in to the heat of battle with little disregard for their own safety, a level of determination not capable with other Vetalian units.

From the central line also came swarms of Vetalian fighter and interceptor units, along with both conventional and stealth bomber wings ordered to begin massive bombardment of all "targets of value", including Solenial cities designated as prime targets for terror bombing to ruin morale. Of particular focus on the central front would be infrastructure, particularly electricity and energy infrastructure. Refineries, oil terminals, storage tanks and oil producing infrastructure were the highest priority targets of all, the goal being to cripple enemy resistance by depriving them of fuel. The interceptors and fighters would launch careful precision strikes ahead of the bombers as well as focus their efforts on engaging enemy planes in the sky, the goal being to remove as many hostile pilots as possible early in the campaign.

Focus Point III, Northern Solenial Front

The Northern Front was the most mechanized of the three fronts, its goal being to penetrate as far in to enemy territory as possible in order to drain troops and materials away from the center and south, disrupting reinforcements and shattering civilian morale. Compromised first and foremost of the fearsome Nakil MBTs, its units were ordered to bypass points of resistance and force its way to the coast, where it would link up with the amphibious landings of the Northern Naval Command to cut the nation in half. With the forces in Quintus likely to soon be in control of their rear, the entire northern half of Solenial would be surrounded on all fronts by Vetalian troops.

The artillery and missile units, roughly equal in number to those on the Southern front, began a more conservative bombardment designed to disrupt rather than destroy enemy positions. Ideally, the goal would be to advance sufficiently far enough that enemy border forces would be so far behind the line that their retreat could be hassled to dissolution by the infantry bringing up the rear. Teams of special forces would comb the area, selectively picking off enemy units and spreading fear and confusion among civilian and military forces alike.

The Northern front had the smallest concentration of air forces, the primary reason being that the forces in Quintus and the carrier-based aircraft and anti-air defenses of the Naval Command would hopefully be sufficient to hold Solenial aircraft at bay. The bulk of their aircraft were held in reserve, with some dispatched to the Quintus and Gataway Expeditionary Forces to aid in those movements.

Northern Naval Command

The Naval Command was still a good distance from its ultimate destination; it would take at least 4 days to push safely in to the deep sound on Solenial's eastern side. A comprehensive disabling of coastal defenses, as well as a sizable force to be stationed at the mouth of the sound, would be needed to ensure its security and thus was likely to result in a slow advance along the coast. However, the large fleet was well-equipped and supplied, prepared to unleash devastating blows against coastal cities and facilities during its move towards the coast.

Along with them were a large force of Vetalian Marines, whose task would be to secure a landing zone at the end of the sound in order to link the fronts and cut Solenial in two. The supply lines themselves were heavily guarded, with a considerable portion of the fleet monitoring its journey along the coast of Quintus back to Vetalian territory. Once Quintus was secured, naval supplies could be shipped entirely overland, freeing up considerable manpower for operations further south, including support for the rapidly approaching Gholgothic fleets.

The fleet approached the mouth of the sound carefully, its forces prepared to engage any enemy forces that approached. Ideally, they would be able to bottle up a sizable portion of the Solenial merchant marine and fleet in the sound and destroy it through attrition, but the scope and power of enemy forces remained to be seen.

Quintus Expeditionary Forces

OOC: To be filled in when I get the go-ahead from Quintus

Gataway Expeditionary Forces

OOC: To be filled in once I get confirmation Gataway won't cede the territory peacefully.

Preliminary ORBAT for Operation Northern Shield
Focus Point I

25 armored divisions
80 mechanized divisions
30 infantry divisions

250 fighter/interceptor squadrons
30 bomber wings, mix of stealth and conventional

Reserves: Primarily infantry and mechanized, at least 100 divisions in total. Artillery for these reserve units have been detached and moved to other fronts.

Focus Point II
50 armored divisions
125 mechanized divisions
300 infantry divisions
10 special forces divisions, scattered in to small groups

350 fighter/interceptor squadrons
50 bomber wings, mixed

Reserves: Almost all infantry along with 30 divisions of military and civilian police. These forces are further back from the front and would take at least a day to reach the line.

Focus Point III
50 armored divisions
100 mechanized divisions
10 infantry divisions, mostly anti-tank and sniper focus

50 fighter/interceptor squadrons
10 bomber wings

Quintus Expeditionary Force
25 armored divisions
50 mechanized divisions
125 infantry divisions

100 fighter/interceptor squadrons
12 bomber wings, conventional

Reserves: Unknown, but large numbers of reservists and other units could be called up and sent to the front quickly.

Gataway Expeditionary Force

Currently awaiting orders, troop strength unknown

Northern Naval Command
7 Command Groups, each consisting of a command fleet along with (per fleet):

1 Surface Fleet
1 Special-Duty Task Force
1 Carrier Group
1 Light Carrier Group
7 divisions of marines

Approximately 270 ships per fleet, a total of 1,890 combat ships of all classes in the entire command. Note that not all of these will be grouped together; some will be wolf packs hunting down enemy ships, some will be guarding supply lines (although these will be freed up once Quintus is secured), others will be scouting and others will be dispatched in specialized task forces. Additional naval forces are available in the Western and Eastern Commands, but are mostly in dry dock being serviced for operations and so will not be available for at least a few months. The Southern Command is currently serving military duty and is unavailable for this campaign.

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

The Imperial Republic is not one to bow to the demands of tyrants. However in the matter of Pansigrad being a barren rocky wasteland filled with those deemed undesirable by both the Imperial and the new Republic government.

The lands of Pansigrad could be bought, along with the stipulation that all Republic military equipment and personnel as well as the few Gatawayan civilan workers be allowed safe passage in their return home.

OOC: Pansigrad was under Imperial rule and remains the same under the republic's rule as to how the British uses Australia as a "prison" for debtors except the conditions in Pansigrad would be more like how Soviet Russia used Siberia as a "prison"

Ministry of State

The Vetalian government is pleased to hear that your government has seen the wisdom of our proposal and is interested in making an offer for the territory in order to incorporate it as a new province of Northern Vetalia. We will pay a sum of 5 billion rubles, or $10 billion, for the territory and will provide additional funds for the relocation and transfer of any assets or persons that wish to relocate from the territory.

All military and civilian personnel will be granted free passage out of the territory in accordance with international law, and all Gataway civilian naval traffic will be permitted free access through Vetalian territorial waters. A state of mutual nonaggression between our states will be in effect, although due to our Gholgothic commitments we can neither deny access nor interfere with any hostile military actions on Gataway territory and must maintain full access for Gholgothic supplies and military forces.

If your country is interested in this offer, we will immediately bring its provisions in to effect and formally annex Panisgrad in to Greater Vetalia. All funds will be transferred immediately and the Imperial Protector of the Occupied Territories, Viktor Sechin, will be instituted as Interim Procurator of the Province of Pasingrad during this period of transition. All prisoners interred will undergo processing and will be organized according to the Vetalian Civil Code, with the majority recruited in to the Free Corps and given Vetalian citizenship in exchange for transmuted sentences.

We await your response,

Yekaterina Pavlovna
Proconsul pro Tempore
Ministry of State
Republic of Vetalia

The shock hadn't really begun to set in as a long line of military vehicles and equipment rumbled through the ice coverd port town of Cader in the republic colony of Panisgrad

The normally quiet town, home to only a few fisherman and military guards' families for the undesirable camps which scattered the rocky frozen wasteland already dotted with craters from its former use as a bombing and naval artillery testing ground.

The equipment and the new unexpected emigrants hudled along into the bowels of outdated and decommissioned naval craft which would take them to the mainland.

This came as an agreement between the new republic government and the Vetalian government who was buying the desolate chunk of ice and rock, as the locals had often called it for 10 billion dollars.

Meanwhile as the guards within the camps began their withdrawls towards the coast their was the matter of dealing with the prisoners over ninety percent of whom would not be making the trip back to the mainland.

They stood huddled for warmth, in rectangular formations as they did multiple times a day for head counts today was different a few short machine gun bursts and soon the snow covered ground appeared to be covered by an evergrowing red curtain.

The scene repeated itself, always to the same effect, across the colony the camp structures set a blaze, the bodies left to freeze in their twisted masses as a light snow began to fall the few survivors left to wait for their new masters huddled around the burning structures for warmth and scavanged up what little food they could find.

Cigar smoke choked the sprawling study behind the main façade of the Ibblesguarder Mercantile Bank, the premier foreign exchange and holdings for the Waldenburg Empire and it’s ventures overseas. The Emperor, who personally knew many of the men did not smoke, had wandered into the room some time ago to hear out this plan. Bankers kept up appearances, and though the style was at least a hundred years out of date, waistcoats and fob chains lay heavily upon ample chests.

A conversation had been going on for sometime but even so the Emperor had been tuning it out, there was nothing his disliked more than interrupting workmen extolling their craft so he sat demurely in the large armchair twirling a pen distractedly. Finally a set of two mahogany doors gently slid open to allow the President of the bank, Thorad Stevenson to slip in.

“I apologize,” he moved as if her were a galleon under full sail, his tailcoat floating gently behind him and his massive frame delicately maneuvering himself through an array of armchairs and coffee tables. “About my lateness,” he slide behind a monster of a desk at the rear of the room, “The old jar of pennies again I’m afraid.” There was a polite chuckle of laughter before all eyes in the room darted to the Emperor and mouths closed as one.

“It is quite alright,” Wyatt von Waldenburg finally breathed out as a window was opened across the room, he himself was not a smoker and had been attempting, over the last few hours to breath as little as possible. “We all have matters to attend to, and now that you have accomplish yours perhaps you will attend to mine?”

“Naturally.”

“Excellent; I want Vetalia bankrupted in a week.”

There was silence around the room as several of the men, attempted to fit all their shock onto only one face. “Are you quite sure you have that right Your Majesty?”

“Yes, I think so. Bankrupted is not actually compulsory however; I would accept a worthless Ruble.”

Thorad leaned back in his leather chair that was as institutional as the desk or bank itself and attempted to frame the sentence. “Vetalia is,” he waved one pudgy hand about in the air which tried, and succeeded, to encompass the difference between the stream line almost in assayable walls that were Vetalian economics and the awkward Waldenburger giant so reliant on heavy industry and the exploitation of minerals. “What we call very large, in the banking industry, and I’m afraid directly tied to the well being of the regional economics and indeed the worlds. A bankrupt Vetalia is something we do not want in fact, even if they are our enemies.”

“But am I correct in believing that such an upheaval will do us comparatively little damage?”

“In comparison to whom? To the panicking banking houses of the Confederacy? No in comparison to them we will be relatively unharmed, if necessary we have the mineral wealth, if only in potential, to support our currency, however such a change is most definitely not in our favor. Should the Vetalian, and her subsequent economic subsidiaries collapse, there would be a panic, the Ruble backs more than a dozen currencies worldwide and God knows what will happen should mass inflation strike these other nations. At any rate I do not see how it can be done.”

“At the present time,” the Emperor had spent some time studying the situation and even longer studying people, and he could see a few ideas striking some of the merchant bankers. “We have yet to issue and ultimatum, or indeed a statement to the Vetalian government on the recent annexations of Pasingrad for one; and I have every intention not to make one, we must assume that the Vetalians have thrown their lots with the LION, and they will not be given a change for remittance. As of now our eyes are elsewhere, around Greston, in Leistung, and on more disturbing rumors. Their borders are still open, their banks still taking our money and still presenting interest.”

“And? There is no change, that is what you wished to tell us?”

The Emperor held up a hand; he had learned some time ago that no leader could afford to be a despot for very long in the modern world, but even he had his limits, “Indeed no. There is now a war on, certain economic factors must be considered, and undoubtedly the price of oil has risen in the VCSE?”

“Naturally, the military will undoubtedly buy up some large quantities for any potential movements however in considered production levels this should not spike prices more than ten percent, we could make a decent profit I suppose, if there is a blockade, even more; this will not bankrupt them.”

“Perhaps not, however if we introduce five billion barrels of oil to the VCSE in the matter of one hour at fifty percent less than the going rate what will happen?” The Emperor looked slightly smug as several of the bankers rose from their chairs shouts already forming on their lips.

“You can’t deregulate oil! Our exports are already shaky enough we do not need this! There will be no stability!”

“I have spoken with the Charimen of the Scant Group this morning and he confirms that our oil reserves will survive; for the matter of exports we cannot hope to attack without equal risk.”

“Your Majesty!” Thorad seemed to have forgotten all protocol, “Your plan is to give them oil? Your elaborate plan to cow the Vetalians is to give them cheap oil? It may annoy someone, somewhere, but it will be the end of us.”

Another banker, from a dark corner of the room lit a match, which burst into a super nova in the semi-darkness, “Unless of course they are buying out oil with our money. Your Majesty how many Rubles are at our disposal?”

With a huge grin the Emperor nodded to the corner, “Two billion, in circulation, within the Empire itself, not nearly enough of course.”

“Will we be printing additional notes? I understand the Laserwerks at Hemsen could produce quite an excellent likeness.”

“I would prefer not to have to. The Cenobiarch has candidly put out that we will trade silver for Rubles within the diocese of the Church, however this will,” the Emperor waved his hands around suggesting it again would not be enough.

“Where will we find the remainder?”

“The Blackhelm Confederacy.”

“Really?”

“I am afraid so. A letter will be sent within the day.”

The two nodded slightly as if all that had been needed to be said had been said, the remainder of the room however seemed to be lagging behind considerably. “Tell them,” the Emperor nodded once again.

“Any economy which out steps it’s boundaries, becomes too powerful, has only become too powerful through and with a system of interdependence. It is the basis of trade, the exchange of wealth for wealth, in any form. However most present, economic models are based entirely on hope, not gold, not land, or manpower, or food, but on hope. Hope that the Ruble will not collapse and the thin charade is dismissed, there is not a chance in Hell that even we can pay, at any given moment, the intended value of all the Reichmarks both here and overseas; as you gentlemen know. Vetalia is undoubtedly a chronic sufferer of the same strain. So our ultimate goal must be to take from the Vetalians their material wealth and replace with only more hope.”

“Then why,” Thorad asked testily, he did not appreciate being talked down to by one of his own subordinates, “are we giving them oil?”

The figure in the easy chair attempted to speak but faltered, a shadowed head turned to the Emperor who smiled wryly. “Hope Mr. President, we must give them hope, and then take it away.”

OOC: As someone who is observing this thread, Solenial left a bay wide open and I don't know if he knows the scale of the Med map because it looks like he copy&pasted his section of the map and on that map 1 pixel is 25 km. So that bay is huge, wide open and even at some of the thinnest areas, the distance from coast to coast is more than 250 km. I'm only spectating for now though and I suppose a canal 1 km wide wouldn't appear well on the map.

OOC: i brought that up a while ago, but the scale of the map is not the actually scale of the region..it just seems a little ludicrous, a proper one has never been established. although I usually my nation as being around the size of France

I'll update the map later today including Pasingrad as part of Vetalia

OOC: Bump. I'll be updating the map soon to reflect the capitulation of Quintus and our positions in Solenial, but I'm not in any hurry to move this forward since the overall campaign has not progressed considerably beyond this point.

It had been several weeks since the Quintian military had dissolved, the government had fled in exile, rumored to have gone to the Imperial Republic of Gataway to seek refuge as several thousand refugees had already done. Dissent had been growing ever since over the Vetalian population, rumors of a resistance movement quietly spread through the streets of cities and towns across the nation.

In recent news several old military depots had been raided with large ammounts of small arms and ordance stolen, reports of ex military units rejoing in secret also spread across the nation in the nightly news.


Derstand, Occupied Quintus. 23:30...

Mark and his crew walked quickly, sweat forming on his brow as his adrenaline rushed, slightly reciting a childhood song in his head as he walked along the highway his backpack was heavy and an assortment of digging tools strapped to it.

The group set about their work quickly, digging up the curb along the highway in several places each twenty to fifty meters apart. Then tediously packing the curb with as much explosive as possible, several home made bombs were filled with ball bearings and nails, a sinister device indeed.

After filling the holes with their explosives the plan would be to cover them back with the curb and wait. Wait for a Vetalian corps to move through the area then when they were in position detonate the explosives via remote detonators, then strike them with pre zero'ed mortars and pull out slipping back into the civilan population

The Quintian Resistance movement had begun.

OOC: This predates your post, Quintus. It's more to give people a flavor of what Vetalian occupation is like.

Silvanost, Quintus

Thundering military music and the sounds of marching and roaring engines greeted the solemn Quintian capitol as the Vetalians took command of the now-capitulated nation. The columns passed through the heart of the city, all dressed in their finest parade uniforms bearing a new medal commemorating the bloodless seizure of power. The parade was chosen to pass the most important monuments and the heart of Quintian government, carefully designed to demonstrate the power and majesty of the Vetalian state and to demonstrate to the occupied populace that they were dealing with a force far exceeding anything they could hope to muster in opposition.

All across the city, patrols labored to set up checkpoints and to replace Quintian flags with the flags of the puppet Protectorate of Occupied Quintus. New road signs bearing Cyrillic lettering were imported by the thousands to aid patrols, and colorful propaganda encouraging Quintians to collaborate in exchange for privileges as well as calling for ethnic Vetalians to renounce their citizenship in Quintus and to join Greater Vetalia in its quest for glory.

Protector Sechin himself arrived shortly after the seizure of power, establishing his headquarters in the former Quintian capitol building and converting several others for the use of the Quintian puppet government. Other private structures were seized as needed to establish local State Security and occupation force offices, and soon after his arrival the first police forces began deploying to secure the city and restore civil order as needed.

Derstand, Occupied Quintus. 00:27

The Vetalian Occupation Police were a new invention, created only recently to supervene the regular Federal Police and the State Security secret police forces. Unlike their counterparts in Vetalia, the VOP, or "vopos" as they were more commonly called did not even attempt to separate themselves from the armed forces. They not only had a reputation for brutality above and beyond that of the regular police and armed forces, but also lacked any kind of corruption. They were chosen on the basis of loyalty to the Republic, loyalty to the NDPV, and an utter lack of empathy for their fellow man.

It was often joked that "sociopathy is the path to promotion" in the VoPos, and nowhere else was it more evident than in the man recently appointed Protector of Occupied Quintus. Viktor Sechin had spent a considerable amount of time in the force, serving in the colonies to ensure they were sufficiently tamed and brought back in to the Vetalian fold. He had a reputation not for violence or sadism but for the sheer nonchalance with which he sentenced people to death. It was just another day, another document, another undesirable effaced from the Earth.

And it was the VoPos that were sent to Derstand, to investigate rumors of growing resistance activity and the disappearance of significant quantities of compounded Quintian military equipment from depots. A full platoon, some 40 men, were sent to the city under the cover of darkness to launch surprise raids against the local population, something the military would not be authorized to do under Vetalian law. They would seize the targets, take them back for questioning, and then make them disappear in one way or another.

It was going to be another routine mission.