NationStates Jolt Archive

ooc: This is not the present. It's a description of past events and recounts the last dynasty, along with demonstrating the Dekho attitude towards colonies.

Travista lay as a bright prize in the sun. a long thin island, it contained huge amounts of resources to supply and house Dekho's growing population.

On the Northern end of this temperate island, humans were setting foot, not for the first time, but with the first intent of staying there. Avil Tratus, the fifth son of a Noble, would have received a petty inheritance, but this venture could make his fortune. He had under him 200 young men and women who would help him create a land to be proud of.

ooc: Comments are allowed.

Ships poured onto the Northern end of the island. They carried supplies, equipment, and, most importantly, people.

Avil stepped off his boat, surrounded by 20 soldiers. Raising a Dekho flag, he slammed it down into the Earth. The cheers of 200 started ringing through the air.
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The 200 settlers had been divided into 8 25-person squads. These squads were all male or all female, with no unsupervised fraternization allowed so far. Everyone's focus was to be on the mission.
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The beginnings of a village had been set up. so far, it was a series of 8 campgrounds. Shelters had been erected and wells had been dug. Hunting and fishing were also quickly established.

Avil went around directing a watch of all available males, all of whom were from the reserve back home. Security was a must.
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On the southern tip of the island, another group arrived. Darianus was also attempting to take this island. They proceeded to unwittingly take the same steps as the Dekho colonizers.

ooc: These events take place roughly 100 years ago.

1 week later...

In a field at the center of the group of campgrounds, now named Argonaut City, nearly 100 men and 100 women exercised repeatedly. They were all physically fit and between the ages of 18 and 23. And they were all tired.

"Sir," said one woman, walking up to Avil. "Its been 5 hours since we started. Could we take a rest?"

He looked over at her. "If you think planting the crops counts as rest..."

"It's better than this," she replied.

Avil groaned. If it had been anyone else...

"Fine," he said. "Back to your homes!" he roared, turning to the citizens. "We have work to do!"
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In the meantime...

Captain Tyler Argosto rode his horse hard through the woods, clutching his carbine at his side. He turned and fired a shot at his pursuers, pursuers who shouldn't have been there.

I'm a member of the Exploratory Crew! he thought to himself furiously. I should be looking at trees, not fighting some random civiliza-

His thoughts were cut short as his horse's life was simultaneously cut short. Down he fell, whacking his head on a rock and losing consciousness.
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1 month later...

A group of Darianii, working on a defensive wall for their southern colony, were rudely interrupted when shots rang out from the nearby forest. Five of them fell immediately. More tried to fire back, but they couldn't see their attackers. Soon 13 of the 20 men were dead.

"surrender!' came the cry from the woods. "Drop your weapons, and faces to the ground!" The survivors fearfully complied, and a group of Dekho soldiers, unseen by the earth-blinded Darianii, rushed past them. even if their group of 4 was killed, the six in the trees could escape.

Breaking through a fence, they soon found their prisoner- in a grave. He had not recovered from his coma, and had been buried under the title of "enemy combatant". They returned, making sure to tie up the surviving Darianii and take them with them. Forget reconciliation- this was war.

OOC: This is pretty good. You should add some more detail but, that's pretty good.

ooc: I know. Time constraints. I usually don't have time for much detail.

Argonaut City was rapidly developing a nerve center, building a town center and capitol building. the capitol was a rather glorified description, being about the size of a house. but it did its job. At the moment, the Council, comprised of the 8 leaders of the 8 squads, were discussing what to do about the Darianni.

"Could we call in imperial support?" asked one woman. She sat near the end of the conference table. Avil was at the head.

"No," he replied. "we're an experiment, and we haven't shown too much value so far. They couldn't justify it."

"So it's us versus them," said a 23-year-old male. He had been on the last monarch's Royal Enforcement Squad, and had no qualms about fighting. Indeed, his face was suffused with red light- the sun was setting, and he was underneath stained glass- one of the only status symbols of the building.

""Looks like it," said Avil. "Advisory vote time!" he said in a falsely cheerful voice.

Although this vote wouldn't decide anything, it was supposed to help Avil decide the general feeling of the colony.

"All for war?"

all seven raised their hands.

"done."

Battle of Harad Desert/Battle of Bona Fida

Dekho: 50 troops under Captains Horatio and Kenny Alapaca
Darianus: 62 troops under Commandant Opio Atari

Terrain: Forest

One month after the declaration of war, and after numerous small raids and skirmishes, Dekho and Dariani troops appraoched each other for an enagagement that had been tacitly agreed to. Two Dekho squads were facing 62 Dariani soldiers under the infamous Commandant Atari.

Dawn was softly breaking as Dekho's men raced through the woods. There was a plain on which most of the fighting would most likely be held. On the northern side was a series of low cliffs, while the southern side held a river.

Dragoons were being subtly lined up on the Dariani side. They were due to make a diagonal cut across the field once the clash had hit the general middle. Dekho sharpshooters, however, were positioned on the cliffs. They saw them and opened fire.

The Dariani dragoons escaped intact, but the damage was done. Shots rang out, and all elaborate plans went to hell as fighting started spontaneously.

Dekho and Dariani troops raced through the trees towards each other as bullets whistled past them. for a time, distance and foliage prevented any casualties. Then:

"Oh my God!" screamed a Dekho private as he dropped with a bullet in his leg. Dariani soldiers who heard him started pouring their fire into the cluster of Dekho troops there, wasting several of them.

Commandant Opio realized that this would be a great chance for a bluff. he ordered a bayonet charge across the field. 18 men lined up and leveled their sword bayonets. Then they charged, screaming wildly.

their war whoops soon turned to screams of pain. Although their charge had had the desired panic effect on enemies at their level, the sharpshooters, who had supposedly been decimated by well placed artillery fire from weapons that had not been set up yet, had a clear shot. Most of the line was hit, and the few whole Dariani fled back to the woods.

Captains Alapaca and Alapaca (no relation) ordered a two-part bayonet charge of their own. Ten soldiers crawled on their bellies halfway across the field, while behind them infantry and sharpshooters poured punishing supppressive fire on the enemy's tree line. At the halfway mark, the audacious troops leaped to their feet and completed the charge, discharging an occasional shot at any who would block their way. They pushed through the tree line with no casualties, hitting head-on a wall of Dariani in varied stages of preparedness.

Casualty report:

Dekho: 6 dead, 5 wounded, 0 POWs

Darianus: 11 dead, 10 wounded, 0 POWs

The two lines battered each other quickly, and the Dekho troops took the edge of the tree line. Their support started to fill in the field, as the Dariani in the woods had no clear line of sight to hit them.

Captain Alapaca ordered a detachment of 15 to go through the woods and take the river. They encountered no resistance on their trip, but when they made it to the Dariani boats, enemy troops sat up and shot at them. This fight ended quickly, as all 15 Dekho troops were hit. Although they sank a few boats and set off some supplies, they were the definite losers, as all of their troops were finished off.

At the same time, the Dariani dragoons had adopted a new strategy. they sacrificed their ability on open fields to sneak through the woods past the Dekho lines, then climb up the slope towards the cliff with the Dekho sharpshooters.
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A 23-year-old Dekho soldier exulted as his fire into the opposite woods cemented his new life, bullet by bullet. In this new country, he could buy land, start a family, and become established. Back in greater Dekho, his region was impoverished and this would have been impossible. Fighting these Dariani would cement his future.

Such thoughts, and the thoughts of the 6 men with him, were of no avail when they were shot in the backs.
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After the deed, the dragoons went down again and swept the field in the pattern that had been planned. The Dekho troops, who had been relying on the sharpshooters, were unprepared, and the Dariani took heart. They began to take back the woods with bullet and bayonet and fire onto the field.

Captains Alapaca and Alapaca realized that they were done. They charged forward calling for a total retreat, but themselves ignored the cry. barreling into the Dariani line, they shot Commandant Opio several times, only retreating afterwards.

The retreat was disorderly, with many Dekho troops injured, killed, or captured, and with much equipment lost. It had been a great victory for Darianus.

Summary of Battle of Harad Desert/Battle of Bona Fida

Dekho: 35 dead, 8 wounded (5 of these permanently, 3 of these mortally), 3 POWs, much equipment destroyed or captured, 4 escaped unharmed

Darianus: 23 dead, 4 wounded (3 of these permanently, one of these mortally), 0 POWs, some equipement destroyed, no equipment captured, 35 escaped unharmed

Victor: Darianus

Later that day...

Avil looked at the war report glumly.

"Please tell me that I'm misreading this," he said softly to his two captains/squad leaders- they had been among the 9 soldiers who were alive and free.

"We're sorry, sir," said one of the Alapacas.

Avil grit his teeth. "Already over one quarter of the colony has been destroyed. We will receive no help from greater Dekho. the only thing to do is-"

"Fight a duel," said one female captain.

"WHAT?" came the reply from seven stunned leaders.

"The leader of the Dariani is a pacifist," she explained. "He'll want to end the war early. Tell him that if you lose, we'll leave the island, and if they lose, we get to stay on this half."

He considered it. "Fair enough."

1 week later...

Avil took one look at Vespasian, leader of the Dariani, and silently gulped.

What kind of pacifist is this? he thought. His opponent was huge and looked like a rabid bear.

Rosa Atika felt somewhat guilty as she watched the spectacle proceeding. Having lived in Darianus for a period of time, she actually knew the man, and he was no pacifist. He waas, however, incredibly arrogant and a glory-hound, while at the same time obsessed with concepts such as honor. It as this that she had hoped to exploit when she had turned to Avil and basically lied through her teeth.

Two lines of 100 troops armed with repeating rifles faced each other, as the two men walked down the line between them. Many of the Dariani jeered as they saw how many of the Dekho troops spots had to be filled with women- there were no longer enough men left alive to do the job.

Avil and Vespasian walked towards each other and then slowly started moving away while a binational drum set began playing. The music would grow louder and louder and then when it crashed to a finish, the fight would begin.

Rosa felt a sob, which she hastily repressed, build inside her as the drums grew louder. Suddenly, they stopped.

Vespasian spun and fired his revolver several times. So did Avil. Both men crashed to the ground. as vespasian struggled to get up, Avil raised his back and fired once more. They then both collapsed.
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That night, after hours of speculating and rumors, the news finally became public. Avil was alive, though he now had to get a metal leg and would wear some interesting scars. Vespasia was dead.

Massive cheers went up as 100 Dekho troops shouted for joy. Their music came in harmony to the groans of the Dariani. For now, Argonaut City would endure.

ooc: we now surge ahead to the future. There has been relative peace between the two colonies for the past 50 years, and both have expanded immensely due to high birthrates and immigration. Argyria, the colony that started off as Argonaut City (now the capital), is the bigger of the two. The Dariani colony is now the only land the Dariani have, as their homeland was essentially destroyed in a total war they engaged in with another country, now also destroyed. Darianus now refers to the former colony alone, which is still very powerful.

50 years later...

Miguel Tratus-Atika, Lord of Argyria, sat in the Argyrian Capitol Building conducting business. The colony which his mother and father had helped found no longer had a mere 200 citizens. No, he wished it were that simple. Due to high birthrates that showed no sign of letting up, and even more due to large amounts of immigration from fortune-seeking GD citizens, Argonaut City's population had ballooned, and had eventually expanded into Argyria. 50,000 people were now his to deal with.

Across the table from him sat Nero, "His Imperial Majesty" the ruler of Darianus. By any rights the balance of power in the room should have been firmly with Miguel, and not just becuase they were on Argyrian territory. Sure, Darianus had an equal population to Argyria, and much more technology, but Argyria could count on the rest of Dekho in a pinch. However, Nero had some entitlement to authority and respect here by both nations' standards, not only by diplomatic conventions of rulers vs. nobles but because Miguel had both the blessing and the curse of being married to his daughter.

"So as I was saying," rambled on Nero, "we should definitely allow the cultivation of marijuana on the communal farms. major cash crop, you know."

Miguel considered. "You'll owe me, you know that?"

"Of course."

"Very well, I'll make the arrangements. By the way, how's your wife doing?" Miguel rather liked his mother-in-law- much beter than her husband, anyway.

"Fantastic. We're having another baby, actually." Nero was in his 60s, but his wife was 42- another thing which Miguel disliked about his father-in-law, as he really doubted the marriage had been based on any sort of affection rather than Nero throwing his political weight around.

"I'll let you tell Sappho," he lied. He would of course be taking the small vicory of telling his wife himself. "is that all for today?"

"No." Nero produced a packet. "Read that at home, we don't have time here." He got up to leave, and extended his hand, which Miguel shook. he then proceeded to depart, while his lackeys outside played musical instruments.

Later that night...

Miguel lay next to Sappho on their bed. The situation may have suggested fun and games, but she was just too tired, having worked all day at a development conference.

"Your mom's having another baby," he said abruptly. In retrospect, that may actually have been the best option- he couldn't think of any good ways to bring it up.

"No comment," she replied. The staff in the manor were the only ones privy to the fact that she didn't like her parents very much, and hated visiting. "Though I suppose politics will be more awkward, now that they have a second heir."

He remembered something. "Your dad gave me something, actually- told me to read it at home." he got up and grabbed the packet, then sat down again and opened it.

Sappho noticed Miguel's face. "What's wrong?"

"nothing," he replied tensely. "Absolutely nothing."

"I don't believe that."

"Neither do I," he replied. "I've been asked to commit high treason."

She sat up suddenly. "WHAT?"

"The packet says I'm next in line for the Dariani throne if I deliver Argyria to him. He'd control the island, and he could definitely keep it out of Dekho's hands. I'd be a crown prince, not a noble. I'd also be the most hated man in the country," he chuckled mirthlessly, "but he neglected to mention that."

2 weeks later

Miguel woke up and stepped past his sleeping wife. He asked his Chief of Staff if they had any mail. Today he should be getting a reply from the Dekho Intelligence Service, to whom he had sent the packet quietly.
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Previously...

The chief of Dekho Intelligence stared at the packet, then asked his assistant to read ti to prove that his eyes were working properly. After a few steadying sips of brandy, he called King Othello.

"It's your call," came the delayed reply. Chief Wayne grinned.
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Miguel read the short, concise reply.

Stall, it said. We will handle this shortly with full royal authority. Make the preparations for hosting Blacksleeves- the experiment is going forwards.

Miguel sat down hard. Sappho woke up and moaned, confused and more than a little sleepy.

"Sappho," he said, "we'll be inviting your mother over for, like, 6 months." She was due to give birth in five.

"Why?" she asked, still somewhat confused.

"DI is going to try out its Blacksleeves," he said. "To put it simply, your dad won't be living very long."

She gave a noncommittal shrug. "And you want her out of the way. Fine. Invite her over."

"You're reacting well to this news."

"There's nothing wrong with Mom, and Dad wasted his chances."

He smiled, gave her a quick kiss, then went to change before breakfast.
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1 month later...

Two Royal Guards, finest soldiers of Darianus, stood guarding the palace. More specifically, they were guarding the man who owned the palace. His wife was out, and Dekho was capable, if nothing else, of guarding guests.

One of the guards, however, would today be trading in one nation for another. Swiveling quickly, he shot the another guard at the gate in the head with a suppressed pistol. He then opened the gate just a bit, and waved his hand at the bushes.

A detachment of 20 men, dressed as Bathmiri insurgents from an old Dariani province which had never been quite able to forget the past, moved up. They were rather too heavily armed and armored, he noted, to be insurgents. However, he was sure they knew what they were doing.

"Go in," he said, pocketing a wallet full of cash and some safe transit papers. "It's your turn." The head "insurgent" nodded and led a rush through the gates and along the walls. The guard quickly left, making sure to steal the king's car for the purpose.
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The invaders quickly ran along the walls. One took out a guard in a tower, and the rest smashed through a window, promptly executing another guard and two armed servants at the foot of a staircase.

The 20 Blacksleeves split up. Ten ran down the stairs, and burst into through the hallways gunning people indiscriminately. The only people they spared were a child and his mother, whose primary job was as a maid here.

The other ten raced up the stairs. An honor guard of twenty soldiers awaited them outside a large, ornate door. After a quick exchange of fire, the Blacksleeves, having exploited both the element of surprise and various types of grenades, frag and flash-bang, destroyed all 20 soldiers. One Blacksleeve was hit in the leg, and was promptly bandaged.

The lead Blacksleeve crept up to the door. He tried to stealthily open it, then gave up on quiet when he realized that the door was so heavy that he'd have to shove it open... not that the room's inhabitants could hear through it anyway. On the count of 8, he and three of his men barged through the door, and the rest moved in as well.

A scene of utter debauchery awaited them. Nero lay sprawled on a huge, soft bed. Five naked women lay around him. An attendant stood by each side of the door, watching the scene without commenting and holding a total of 5 maids' uniforms. They were immediately knifed.

If Nero had been younger or more fit, he would have immediately hopped up and tried to run away instead of lying on the bed screaming. Ironically, this saved his life. The young woman, little more than a girl, actually, who had been at his side jumped up instead, and was promptly hit by the bullets meant for Nero. The other 4 immediately scrabbled past him, but all were hit by a wall of bullets. He jumped down a laundry chute, and the lead Blacksleeve radioed his counterpart downstairs.

Gaz heard his radio.

"Stop!" he shouted to his team. He then promptly set some explosives on the ground, backed off, and detonated. A swift exchange of fire from above and below the hole in the floor lead to several casualties below, both civilians and guards. Flashbangs were then thrown, and 6 of the Blacksleeves leaped down into piles of clothes. 4 ran for the stairs downstairs.

Meanwhile, the ten Blacksleeves upstairs raced down. Suddenly, they ran into a hail of bullets, and two promptly bit the well-cleaned lack of dust as reinforcements poured in.

Meanwhile, the six Blacksleeves downstairs crept through mounds of clothing, turning their guns at every corner. As Gaz turned past a set of jeans, plaster from the roof fell on his head. This was not what he had noticed first. That had been the loud bang from the big gun Nero had failed miserably in firing at him. Apparently, he hadn't understood the concept of recoil. The team did, and they were accurate. Nero was soon sprawled on the floor.

Gaz radioed it in. His counterpart, Hari, upstairs, and their coordinator heard that he was dead. Then he rallied in teams.

"A-wooooooooo-gaaaa!" they shouted, as they raced up the stairs, almost bumping into their own people. It was time to fight for escape.
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Later that night...

Miguel lay next to Sappho, the bed rumpled and looking abused. His arm was wrapped around her, and he could faintly feel her heartbeat inside her warm, soft body.

A knock came at his door. He reached over to cover them with a sheet, giving her a quick kiss while he was at it, then pressed a button to unlock the door once he received the visitor's identity.

His chief of security walked in. "Intel gave us this," he said, holding up a typed report.

"Bring it here."

Grateful for the partial relief from the sheet, Ryan Diarano walked up to the bed and handed it over. "I brought up our security level, sir," he said, "but it's not particularly urgent. Read it tomorrow, if you want."

"Thank you, i will," came the reply. "And go home, you look tired."

When Diarano walked out, Miguel locked the door. He reached over Sappho to put the report on the desk. Instead of moving back, however, he remained in the same general position. She laughed, and a few kisses later, they were on their way.

The next morning saw Miguel walking by the sea. He had wanted privacy as he read this document. At first, when he had risen that morning, he had left his wife sleeping on the bed. When he had opened the document, however, he realized it was best he be out of the house.

As Miguel pondered on how he could break the news to Sappho, he caught sight of a gray mass in the distance. Slowly, it came into view: a large fleet from greater Dekho.

"Holy shit," he murmured, reading quickly ahead. There he saw it: "Troops are being moved in for the end of this 50-year conflict."

That's ominous, he realized. Well, that was only a small part of what he realized. The rest was, There's a war on!

He raced back to his car and gunned his way into the capitol. Breaking into the Defense Headquarters Room, he shouted, "Get everyone mobilized! Now!" The cowed officers obeyed immediately.

A phone rang. "It's for you," said the secretary, handing it to him. he took it and put it to his ear.

"Declare a police action."

"Right."

Border Conflict: Day Three

The fighting had not actually had a ground invasion involved yet. Despite the fact that it had been three days since the offensive began, so far the battles were being fought with big guns across the river border and in Dariani airspace.

The blue seas were not being spared from the carnage either, as the waters were stained red with blood. Fleets from increasingly more regions of Dekho kept pouring in. However, they were met with staunch resistance from the Dariani Navy and Air Force, which had invested greatly in submarines. Thousands of men dies in pitched aquatic battles, and the scene was only repeated as the hours proceeded.

Dariani cities had always been somewhat poor, but the architecture had been first class. Now they were just poor, as bombs sent them into rubble. Occasionally, a plane from either side went down in a population center. If the pilot survived the initial devastation of the crash, chances were the angry crowds would destroy him, no matter what the danger. Cases where the pilot was pulled out of the cockpit by barefooted people walking through bits of heated metal and flaming gasoline far out numbered those where a pilot escaped or was successfully provided with cover fire from a friend. Soon the civilians did not distinguish between Dariani pilots and the Dekho Air Force. In all fairness, the uniforms were usually burned off beforehand.
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Sappho sat across a desk from a very important man. Right now, however, she didn't care about his rank. She only cared that her former homeland, which she still cared about, was being destroyed.

"But why?!" she said, verging on the edge of hysteria.

"We want to deal with the Dariani problem once and for all," replied the ruler of Dekho, King Othello. Well, the proper title was "Rex", but she always thought "king".

"I'm part of that 'problem'!" she shouted.

"Not anymore," he replied softly.

She nodded, steadying herself. He was right, in the end. But she could not control her feelings after she wandered back to her room, sat on the bed, and burst into tears.

1 week later...

Darianus was now a ring of land inside an island. Surrounded on all sides by the Dekho military, it was quickly depleting its primary source of soldiers, adult males. They were being shipped wholesale to hold the borders, which were gradually being consumed by big guns and bombing raids.

Those who lived in the center of Dariani territory were hardly better off. Sleep was a near-impossibility, as their Air Force's aircraft were constantly buzzing around in the skies, defending the land below. The land was overcrowded with refugees, mostly women and children. There had been some men in the beginning. Soon they had been drafted. Teenage males had started to be taken too, and it was the same with old men, who previously were considered a final reserve.

Farms were destroyed. Factories were aflame. Hospitals were demolished. Yet the Dariani leadership, a gaggle of generals, would not surrender.