NationStates Jolt Archive

A cool south westerly seabreeze liberated downtown Adelaide from its normally stifling 35 degree heat. the rains were about to come after seemingly years of perpetual drought that has ravaged the young South Australian Republic.

A land borne out of hardship and the mantra "to make do" was once again getting a light reprieve from the desolation and hardship of this part of the Australian continent.

For President Hawkings this was an omen as he sat on his ornate porch at government house, his aboriginal manservant laying out freshly made scones and coffee before getting curtly dismissed by the premier.

Times were changing, Hawkings has not only been bridled with reconcilliation with the polarised abroginal communities in the far north of the nation with all the associated "collateral" involved, Hawkings also had to propose the act of Union with the Northern Territories whom have had had a common "kinship" with the South Australian Republic since the inception of the two Republics from the yoke of colonialism.

This Kinship has been excaberated by the intolerable droughts that have effected both nations and the relief and community support that both respective nations have received from each other Hawkings knew however that the Nothern Territories took pride in their sovreinty as a nation and dispite these circumstances will not be easily swayed into one "happy family"

The South Australian Presidents cavalcade passed the somewhat quaint and low level 1930s "Art Deco" archetecture of central Adelaide to the Senate on the northern end of the city.

The powerful and imposing BMWs passed a raputous Aboriginal and European crowd realizing how close they were to the precipice of change and reconcilliation since the new president has made his intentions very clear on an official government broadcast last night.

Not all was serene in the city however as various extremist white lower class farmers drove into the outskirts of the city their pretense of discontentment with government farming subsidies in times of drought soon eroded into resentment that the country could potentially soon have a dark skinned president.

Their resentment however transpired into nothing but a few broken beer bottles and 25 Yobs arrested immediately on the spot.

The Botantical Gardens were set up with a full sized movie screen in the middle of the gardens public fields, with the general public arriving in their droves to witness the presidents state apology. It was a reflection of the occaision that the armed constabulary wielded only the standard issue holstered pistol and police baton.

A thunderous applause emanated from the state legislature and set the ideal tone for the presidents speech.

"South Australia, being a young land has been subjected to most of the trials and tibulations our forebears in distant lands and of much older and larger nations have had to endure, we have endured civil strive in the miners rebellions of 1899 and 1905 and the subsuequent civil war that followed, we have endured our colonial motherland------ leaving use to our own devices in 1926, we have endured racial segregation untill the late 90s"

The president stopped to re compose himself, his South Australian twang was not that of a baritoned statesman but it would have to do...

"We have endured enough, It is time we celebrate as a collective, As of this very day the foundations of our arhaic white elitist government and very constitution are over and we have a civic duty to apologise and rewrite the wrongs our predessors have done to the native Aboriginal people who were here thousands of years before the very notion of South Australia was even concieved.. so let me say this I the President of South Australia and my goverment apologise for the central plains massacre of 1910, the kangaroo island internment camps through to 1960, The abolition of Alchohol to any Aboriginal person, the denial of voting rights to any Aboriginie, the refusal to allow any Asian or African to migrate to our shores regardless if they were from Hirzigstan, East Asia Layerteb or the smaller nations, and all other wrong doings our and predessing governments have committed to maintain the very repugnent status quo"

The speech reached far flung areas of the nation and into the interior of the Northern Territories where emergency rescue staff from both respective nations listened intermittantly whilst dispersing much needed assitance to those effected by the great plains drought.

A somewhat cliched montage of South Australian and Northern Territorian fire fighters and emergency rescue staff collaberating together then drawalled across South Australian state television and was soon after televised in the Northern Territories to indicate President Hawkings next monumental agenda.

The Sweltering Tropical Heat of far noth darwin with its pleasantly open CBD and melting pot demographic belied an undercurrent of suspicion and anger amoungst the populace with their current governments badly mismanaged disaster relief plan in the current Great Plains Drought that had left the vast interior of the country resembling a third world nation suffering similiar effects of desertification.

Agricultural quotas were not being met and the foreign debt has a consequence was sky rocketing to unprecedented levels.....

Lák Kọth Sal, the emperor of Dạthum rested he legs on a fan that was combating the thick humidity of the room. Across the room was one of his advisors, who spoke "Lák ra, we find this nation would bring in great profit. Maybe enough to convince others to sell the lands that they call Aden to us. They seem to need agriculture products and right now we have a surplus coming in from what they call the Red Sea. They seem to have a growing issue with Ethnicity, maybe they could learn a lesson from what our nation did in the past of the lands around what is called Aden and Yemen."
The Emperor smiled "I like your trade offer, we shall send a half full commerce ship to them as a gift along with the offer of trading. But they should not learn from what we did three generations ago in Kor Dal, for they have failed. The local culture was the mostly asimulated, with Aden not under our control the local culture florished. But luckily enough in time enough people in the area considered themselves Of Dạth Rọt so a minority rule over a majority. The remaining minority remains to be a thorn in out side that I do not want to see other bear, good thing they have been spread out. Send out our gift and offer now."
___________
The ship journey was longer than expected. There was no supply centers controlled by the empire, so they had to roam for a while until they found a generous port in what was called the Andaman Islands. They had to set way off course, but they were ready for the final leg to Darwin. They were in completely foreign lands, and could easily be put into the mercy of the people who lived here. Especially as the passed through the strait of Malaca on their way south..

ooc very nice, Incidentally whats your nations ethnic makeup?

The challenge of a new day in South Australia woke many South Australians from their patriotic fervour with the harsh realities that the Presidents promises were build on a foundation of public approval, and that the public themselves were paying for most of the Presidents reform proposals.

Hawkings himself was schelduled to meet a Northern Territorian delgation to propose his act of "Union" in Darwin Today. and en queue the President departed for Darwin 9am sharp from Adelaide international airport.

On the South Australian Airways plane halfway to Darwin the Presidential aide informed Hawkings of the expression of interest made by the empire of Dathum to assist in the current plight of the nation.

"Discretion at this time is the better part of valour" Hawkings told the aide "tell his gracious majesty we would be glad to facilitate better relations with his respective empire at a time after I convince our stubborn brethren to the north that a Union will be the best way forward, His Majesty may send a delegation to meet the prime minister in Adelaide if he wants to expediate the diplomatic process"

The president then abruptly dimissed his Aide de camp, The Union had to come to pass....

"Fraternal Hedgemony" and a possible union with South Australia has been bandied about in the Northern Territorial parliament for sometime now. Prime minister Henderson of the Northern Territories somehow knew this 5th meeting with his South Australian counterpart was going to be different some how, As he and his chief of staff waited at Darwin International airport flanked by an armed brigade of the 2nd Territorial defense force.

The prime ministers decision to await president Hawkings at the airport was somewhat unothodox in the context of formality as in normal circumstances the two premiers met at hendersons palacial dutch colonial house in the centre of Darwin, but times have most certainly changed.......

The Northern Territories for a decade now has been the economic darling of the Australian continent with its liberal foreign trade policy and the elimination of the states foreign debt under Hendersons tenure, but what a difference a year makes...

The Great Plains heatwave defied the continents best scientific pundits and precipitated Northern territories and South Australias worst drought in recorded history, the agricultural belt 100 km south of darwin was drying up at an alarming rate.

This brought around the Alice Springs food riots(whom were complely subsistent on food imports from the north of the country) that paralyzed the interior of the entire country. two protestors were killed by the overzealous Alice Springs constabluary which in turn led to the Tennant Creek army barracks revolt over the allegations the government sent 16 year raw recruits to handle the Alice Springs riots (which didnt subside for 2 months).

With the entire interior army in dis repute and the capital national guard on disaster relief duty in the farming belt, Henderson made the call under increasing vocal demands from the opposition bench to allow the South Australian Army intervene in Alice Springs and help the releif effort in the farming belt.

South Australia Immediately dispatched 3000 Infantry troops, whom arrived in weeks to most areas of Northern territories vast interior

ooc very nice, Incidentally whats your nations ethnic makeup?
OOC: Well, the only thing based off our version of earth in the Nation is the land mass that it occupies, really. On the mainland about 79.8 percent of the population is dạth nók, 11.5% are Mulaki, 3.7% idenitfy themselves as among the native culture of the claims in Yemen 'chichamati', and 5% are immigrants from various nations or consider themselves of another racial group.

In Kor Dal, or what is 'Yemen', about 38% identify themselves as chichamati, but they are spread around the land to the point that the only major concentration of their population is around ''Aden''. 42% are dạth nók or Mulaki. 3% are foreign immigrants, and the remaining 17% are of mixed race.

IC post incoming.

Bob Hawkings slowly walked into Hendersons line of sight, Hawkings pomp and splendour was a thin veneer covering his own anxiety of his life changing 3 day political oddessy.

The State television crew captured the usual schemantics being expouted by both respective premiers to each other, and then it was on to "business".

Hawkings and Henderson walked in mutual silence outside the austere Darwin international airport to an awaiting amoured personelle carrier, not Hawkings first choice of transport granted, but giving the beleagured northern territories current state of affairs this was the equivalent of a Bently.

"Pick up some one those machine guns under deck, I am unsure of these waters until we reach that one new nation. Don't load the guns unless something directly poses a risk to our health. Too bad we couldn't take this journey on one of the new tupạk nojun, but then again I don't think these people have good facilities to rest those rigid airships. But once there are they will see a great deal of them coming over to their lands eager for trade. Also I wonder if they have received our Emperor's email dispatch to them regarding this trade. " Said the ship captain as he paced around the ships bow. The crew did as he said and just shrugged in response mostly ingoring what else he said that was not a command.

OOC: I'd like to know if I could have a role in this but what role I know not, please let me know. Thanks.

cool, perhaps you could be an external mediator in the proceedings, or I can drum something up as in internal political faction of somekind

A crowd of 50,000 gathered outside the Northern Territorial congress after a somewhat considerable media construed anticlimax of hushed political undertones on whether this time henderson would relent to Hawkings on a complete political union with South Australia.

Many territorians realized the priviledges of the status quo of being a state of South Australia without actually being a state (ergo free trade, no visa and open border priviledges for the past decade) was now an archaic concept and a rather irksome one to many South Australians whom would rather end the Northern Territories pretenses of sovreignty and incorporate the territory into a greater Central Australian hegemony as president Bob Hawkings United Australian party has long advocated for.

A somewhat curt political statement an hour later by Hendersons PR chief that the two premiers are in "on going discussion on the possibility of a political union" to the genral public was both vague and ambigous and did not vindicate any Darwinian citizen whom where waiting in the sweltering tropical 30 degree heat all morning, but never the less parlayed attention from the ongoing political heat inside congress....

OOC: I could host those sure but I'd love to get in on the action too, maybe US-Lebanon style.

The political mud throwing and alleigance positioning was begining to look completely untenable for Hawkings, Bob could see that the weak willed Henderson had capitulated to everyone and yet maintained a stoic diginified composure, The speaker of the house was simply reduced to an abitrary entity simply to create some sort of peace in the pandemonium.

Most of the issues being addressed over the abitrary political vitiorial and bellowing by both members of the house of commons were regarding the democratic legitimacy over an Australian "anchluss" as some political PR reps have spinned to the public media.

ooc Sweet maybe the Empire could assist in the annexation of the territorys in exchange for a strategic base location in Darwin?

Hawkings sat in an unaccustomed silence with Henderson, the indifference of the northern territorian prime minister was unfathomable.

OOC: Nah I don't need any bases I've got, in that particular region alone, Guadalcanal and New Caledonia as major military installations but I would like to get my hands bloody.

The 6th Amphibious Assault Group and its forty-four vessels displacing 2,111,529 tons had sortied shortly after the first fighting broke out in Australia. Essentially around the corner, they were based at Guadalcanal Naval Base and tasked to Indian Ocean operations, the group could easily lend a helping hand in Australia. The majority of the firepower that the group brought was placed to the south of the forming state while the rest stayed to the north and the split was pretty well done, twenty-two vessels per area. What made the 6th AAG so important was not so much that it carried a full division of Marines, 18,500 soldiers and officers but that it was one of only four battle groups in the Imperial Layartebian Navy that sailed with the Overburdened class battleship. Only four ships had been built thus far by the shipyards of the Layartebian Defense Corporation and eight more were authorized with as many as twenty-four ships planned, in total. The newest batch of four wouldn't be ready though for another six years with four vessels being built every six years at four distinct yards across the Empire: Norfolk, Caracas, Northern Ireland, and Portsmouth in Maine. Each of the mighty ships displaced just over two hundred thousand pounds fully loaded, were just shy of sixteen hundred feet, and had a coefficient of block just above that of the famous Bismarck. Powered by two, 250 megawatt nuclear reactors, the Overburdened could sail around the worlds sea's for one hundred and twenty days before needing a resupply for its one hundred officers, eighteen hundred enlisted men, forty flight crew, and one hundred and twenty-eight Marines. It's main firepower came from four triple turrets of 508 millimeter gun backed up by a secondary battery of eight 5 inch guns. Heavy machine guns and small caliber cannons provided other defenses as well. There was more though. The Overburdened was designed to be not just a gun-based battleship but one that could launch missiles as well and she came with one hundred and ninety-two vertical launch cells, twelve SSM launchers, and twelve armored box launchers. There were four triple-tube torpedo launchers, twelve Mark 205 gun and missile CIWS units, four Wizard turrets, and twenty MANPAD launchers aboard. The Overburdened was stationed to the south of Australia while the other battleship in the group, the Earthquake was stationed in the north, its guns trained on Darwin.

The biggest goal of the Layartebian contingent was to foster good relations with the rising state. In that specific region of the world, the Empire had little influence and with the collapsing Russian Federation and Eastasian Republic, territories and states would arise that were definitely and without a doubt, hostile to the Empire. With a concrete base of power in support of the Empire, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hoped it could help keep any sort of hostilities at bay. It was a game of chess, geopolitics, and the Empire was no rookie at it. While the separate groups had yet to fire an actual shot in anger, both of them sailed beyond the horizon and yet, still within range of their awesome weaponry. Whether or not the government of the burgeoning state would need their help was still to be determined but, if need arose, the Empire had aircraft, guns, and missiles all capable of leveling whole cities without effort.

All entries with the asterisk (*) 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
Operation GARDEN SNAKE

Imperial Layartebian Navy
Location: Great Australian Bight, Southern Australia & Timor Sea, Northern Territories
Elements: 6th Amphibious Assault Group
Personnel: ~20,000
Pilots: 2,724


Arsenal Flight II: 1
County: 2
Dnalkrad Flight II: 2
Earthquake Flight II: 1
Emperor: 1
Gotham: 2
Hampton: 1
Heretic: 2
Independence: 1
Jackal: 4
Mexia Flight IV: 1
Mexia Flight V: 1
Ocean: 2
Odin Flight II: 2
Overburdened: 1
Supply: 2
Unforgiven: 2
Venom*: 1
Verrazano Flight II: 2
Virginia Flight II: 2
Voodoo: 2
Wilson: 9



AH-99B Anasazi: 24
CH-53N Super Stallion II: 50
F-35F Lightning II: 24
HV-24C Bulldog: 40
MC-11B CSA: 4
ME-11C CSA: 4
MH-60R Sea Hawk: 29
MH-60S Knight Hawk: 18
MQ-8C Fire Scout: 54
SH-102A Sea Lord: 19
UH-95A Super Huey: 40


Imperial Layartebian Marines
Location: Great Australian Bight, Southern Australia & Timor Sea, Northern Territories
Elements: 6th Imperial Layarteb Marine Division
Personnel: 18,500
HQ: 68
Officers: 3,072
Enlisted: 15,360


M777A1 Lightweight 155 ART: 54
M2009A1 Fennek RV: 18
M2015A1 Cobra APC: 48
M2016A3 LAADS ADU: 12
M2017A2 Frog APC: 48
M2021A1 Fast Patrol Vehicle: 30
M2031A1 Tumbler BV: 36
M2032A2 Sabertooth MBT: 30
M2033A4 MTV: 66
M2033A6 MTV: 12
M2033A7 MTV: 12
M2033A9 MTV: 42
M2033A10 MTV: 12
M2033A11 MTV: 12
M2033A13 MTV: 36
M2033A15 MTV: 174
M2033A16 MTV: 24
M2034A2 LTV: 42
M2034A4 LTV: 126
M2034A6 LTV: 12
M2037A2 HEMTT: 30
M2037A10 HEMTT: 6
M2043A1 ACB: 36
M2047A1 Arrow APC: 48
M2047A2 Arrow MEV: 114
M2047A3 Arrow C3: 12
M2047A4 Arrow AT: 0
M2047A6 Arrow TD: 48
M2048A1 Shark IFV: 96
M2048A3 Shark CFV: 18
M2050A1 Serpent LBT: 60
M2051A1 CMPLV: 150
M2051A2 CMPLV: 162
M2051A3 CMPLV: 150
M2052A1 Cougar: 54
M2052A2 Cougar: 66
M2059A1 Rattlesnake AT: 36
M2060A1 Buzzsaw: 48

Bob Hawkings now had a very big hand to deal with, The somewhat omnipresent Layatebian military was close to the Darwin coast covertly at the request of Hawkings under the pretext of "foreign mediation" in the troubles in downtown Darwin.

Henderson was astonished at the audacity of south australia, first blocking outgoing northern territorian shipping traffic and now allowing a foreign super power whom South Australia had cosied up with over the past decade, he knew hawkings sometimes derogotory (to nothern territorians in particular) nickname was Layertebs sheriff of Australia.

Hawkings dropped his political bombshell at the prime ministers residence after finishing his rather delectable seafood entree "Henderson, it pains to tell me from one premier to another that you have lost grip on the rather onerous circumstances you have placed your country in..."

Henderson spluttered in his incredulality at that remark, but retained his composure to allow Hawkings to continue.

"you had no control over parliament today, and slowly the Northern Territories are turning into an anarchic mess with your jurisdiction being somewhat limited to 50 kms outside the perimeter of Darwin, Alice Springs is now one big welfare town totally subsistent on South Australian food aid, it can be somewhat safe to say that the Northern Territories are close to the precipice of becoming another failed state."

Henderson rallied

"my good sir, what do you propse, that I simply step down as head of a soveirgn country and accede to your demands of a political anchluss simply because it benefits you and the empire of Layerteb?

Bob Hawkings was absolutley non chalent and blunt in his reply.

"yes mr henderson I however propose you stand down as premier and disband the entire congress and in return I will offer you the illustrious position of first minister of the new state in the new amalgamated nation".

"And If i refuse???" henderson replied curtly allready knowing his last question was almost rhetorical.

"Mr henderson must i undermine your political savvy by explaining the consequences of such an action?"

Henderson sighed and reluctantly put blood to paper......

Tuesday 1500 Mindel Beach markets Darwin....

The South Australian SAS got the message from the high command, to precipitate resistance from rebel factions to allow a pretext for South Australian and layertebian forces to storm Darwin.... this goal would be achieved by disguisng crack soldiers as disgruntled Territorian militia and open fire on South Australian aid facilities in a controlled environment....

Captain Mortimer recieved the go ahead at 1500 hours on the second day of talks between the two premiers...

Mortimer knew that a few deaths would inevitably end up as "collateral damage" to the greater cause, but the job had to be done without the sanctimony of a "concious responsibility".

He got the call....

Mortimer was flanked by a group of 12 men as they approached an aid convoy restocking a local Chinese food stall, the resulting carnage was swift and deadly as Mortimer quickly pulleout his issue steyn assault rifle in perfect synchrony with the squad and fired in short rapid bursts at the predominantly northern territorian aid staff....

Motimer without any emotion shot each mortally wounded survivor in the head and then called Bob Hawkings on his direct line...

Bob recieved the call while at a Darwin childrens hospital with Henderson on a obligatory P.R stunt.

excuse me good people of the press i have to receive this call....

Operation Garden snake is ago sir, first objective complete....

Bob repied in his encrypted message meaning

"excellent I will alert Layerteb and all other concerned parties to intervene with the 1st and 2nd South Australian Infantry corps in Darwin"

Without further hesitation Bob Hawkings made his curt apology to the media and informed henderson to come with him to rectify the newly risen "national emergency"

Mate go to E2 and claim some land and join in!! NSWs free

The deployed Army of South Australia consists of: (being deployed throughout entirety of Northern territory)
(Im not really good at military stats by ah well)

1st and 2nd South Australian occupational armies

1200 ASLAVS (Infantry Fighting Vehicles)

100 M1A1 Abrams Tanks

500 Bushmaster AMVs

Artillery:
200 Hamel Guns/ 200 M2A2 105mm Howitzer

Infantry forces:

100,000 Infantry Troops (regular)

350,000 Logisitcal personelle

South Australian occupational Airforce

120 F18 fighter jets

8 C17 Globemaster transport planes

9 Boeing C47 Chinnook

The Deployed Occupational army was gratitous almost to the point of perversity making the stability ruse conspicous to many of the Northern teritorian public.

Citizens in Alice Springs simply watched in bewildered awe as Battle Groups of Abrams battle Tanks thundered down the main street literally unappossed to suppossed military threats in the region.

The Alice Springs Radio station was immediately shut down with the added pretense of 25 Infantry troops storming the building backed up by an Abrams battle tank and 2 Bushmasters only to comeout with 1 morose radio producer and two DJs whom were still detained for 4 hours for ther personal security.

General Simon Richards of the 1st and 2nd infantry battalions had the rather dubious honour to have consolidated South Australian Rule in Alice Springs within 8 hours

Henderson was fuming as he heard Hawkings actions, Henderson could read Hawkings motives like a childrens book, placate the prime minister long enough to send a elite group of SAS troops disguised as territorian militia to shoot up Mindel beach markets ostensibly to give the South Australian Army a free pass right to darwin.

"this is tantamount to war" Henderson screamed

"No sir, this is tantamount to an annexation" Hawkings rebuffed conceding atleast that henderson had called his bluff.

"your cowardly packrape will not go un noticed hawkings, I still have forces in Darwin that number your own untill either layerteb arrives or your expeditionary armys arrive from the interior, believe me sir we will fight!!!!"

Hawkings was bemused at the prime ministers predictable rhetoric. Gunfire suddenly burst through the prime ministers compound, the door burst opened and hendersons aide slumped forward in a bloody bullet ridden heap behind him was captain Mortimer with his contingent of SAS troops.

Sorry Mr henderson, I have an early appointment, I will let you fight your war little man, you know my number when you want to surrender."

Henderson was agook, he thought Hawkings would immediately place him under house arrest for his own security but he obviously lost interest in vestiges of nothern territory security and now wanted to play mindgames with him.

"what about your apology proclamation, and you oppress us, you cock sucking hypocrite!!!!!" Henderson screamed at the the departing heavilly flanked South Australian president trying desperatly to get a rise from Hawkings.

" that is another matter henderson, you have led you people down to the road to pandemonium, you popularity polls wer what an all time low at 12% and half your army has deserted you, I have nothing to apologise for, Northern territorians want this anchluss..."

Hawkings then left passing what were the futile vestiges of resistance from the slewn bloody corpes of the territorial guards around Hendersons palacial house.

Gove free army barracks and conjoined Naval base -1300 Gove.

General Graham dalton recieved message of Darwins immediate plight from Prime Minister Henderson

he the Humpty Doo military reserve and the beleagured darwin central reserve were now the last vastly outnumbered bastions of Territorian defense, he had to do something to etch some resistance from the Northern territories defence forces in the annals of history.

The gove Base was in a pathetic state, three of the 6 main battleships were left in complete dissarray and did more collateral harm by clogging up the naval harbour, His contingent of 6000 Infantry were the creme of the crop of the remaining loyal territorian defense forces but this was counteracted by insufficient armaments and relatively poor equipment.

The navy reserve of 5000 was even worse, dalton did not want to be reminded that the last government military subsidy went towards new farm machinery. he had to slow down the progress of layerteb whom were miles from the shoreline of Arnhems land province, Humpty Doo reserve would be the first to contend with the onslaught of the surrounding South Australian armies.

Grame Dalton alerted his military staff to send his entire ragtag rustic naval fleet to match naval muscle with the gleaming proud fleet of Layerteb.

The Naval fleet being deployed to Layerteb constists of:

3 "Territory" Class Frigates

2 submarines

26 "Darwin Class" patrol boats.

The Military contingent garrisoned at the base consists of:

5000 Infantry Troops

27 Bushmaster AMVs (South Australian import)

20 (Working Abrams Tanks)

The twenty-two ships of the Layartebian battle group arranged north of Darwin were spread out over twenty-four nautical miles with the carriers and Arsenal ship the furthest away from the North Australian coast with the frigates and destroyers interlaced between the whole group, protecting it from air and subsurface attack. F-35F Lightning IIs would protect the fleet from air attack combined with surface-to-air missiles and while the Northern Task Force had only twelve aircraft, they had hundreds upon hundreds of SAMs. The group wasn't a carrier battle group and it didn't carry wings upon wings of fighters, instead concentrating on amphibious deployment and aerial support, mainly through rotary-winged aircraft and the few Lightning IIs for fixed-wing duties. In a full-blown invasion scenario, a single AARG would be escorted by a Carrier Strike Group, adding another eighteen Lightning IIs and seventy-one other aircraft and possibly even a Carrier Battle Group with almost two hundred aircraft, depending on the scenario.

This close enough to the enemy coast there was little purpose for EMCON, their presence was known and anyone in an aircraft could easily see them situated a few miles over the horizon. The only vessels acting quietly were the submarines, a single Virginia Flight II class attack submarine protecting mainly the carrier and, much further away, out of the battle area, a Venom class guided-missile submarine, armed with cruise missiles for land-strike sorties. Both of them were operating quietly, using only passive means of detection, the Venom too far away to hear much of anything except its own noise. It was protected by another attack submarine but one that was attached to the 6th Submarine Attack Group, also based out of Guadalcanal. That single Hunter class submarine was close enough to the Venom to hear if it were in distress but far enough away that it could provide some sort of expanded, layered defense.

It was obvious when the ships departed the North Australian coastline and began heading their way that it was a confrontation. Under orders to aide Hawkins only in a limited fashion, they were also tasked with defending themselves and to the group admiral this was definitely a self defense situation. He didn't have to wait for them to fire first either; although, that was what the rules of engagement stated. A pre-emptive strike was authorized but only in spite of obvious and overwhelming force and while the patrol boats and frigates weren't overwhelming by any means, they could devastate the carriers with an onslaught of missiles. Already in the air, the two F-35F Lightning IIs relayed the information of the incoming vessels to the carrier group. The admiral had to assume that they were already within engagement range, especially of the frigates, the order was given.

While most of the missiles carried were surface-to-air, they had enough surface-to-surface weapons to devastate their enemy several times over both at sea and on land. Sailors inside the various CIC rooms inside the Heretic, Unforgiven, Voodoo, Verrazano, and Overburdened ships went to work as general quarters was announced throughout the entire task force. The Verrazano immediately began active sonar pinging and ASW helicopters were launched. If there were surface ships, there would be submarines and while their enemy wasn't the most advanced in the world, they did possess very quiet, diesel-electric submarines (OOC: I figured this much but correct me if I am wrong.), which could easily sneak into the battle group, especially if they ran on just electric power and the admiral was sure they would be, this was their best chance to shine. Even an inexperienced captain would know to run on just electric power. This would make the submarines very hard to find but since the Empire had their own diesel-electric submarines, they had plenty of practice hunting them and with sonobuoys, dipping sonar, and active pinging, they were sure to find them, eventually and hopefully before they could fire their weapons at the Layartebian task force.

The first weapons to be fired were shot out of vertical launch cells on the Heretic and Voodoo. The two ships were tasked with targeting the patrol boats and both of them put a total of fifty-two RGM-193A Relic anti-ship missiles into the air, two targeted at each boat. The Relic was a dangerous missile, a ramjet powered supersonic missile with a range of up to 115 miles. It was fitted to a powerful booster that pushed the missile to supersonic speed shortly after its launch and then jettisoned when its fuel was exhausted. Powered then by its ramjet, the missile would cruise at just five to fifteen feet over the waves, depending on the sea state to the target. The missile could execute three attack profiles: striking at the waterline, just below the waterline using its depleted uranium penetrator to punch through the ship, or pop-up and attack through the deck. The latter method was for larger, slower targets but, against the patrol boats, the best option was for the waterline strike. Each three hundred and fifty pound warhead could shatter the patrol boats with a single hit, let alone two hits. Moving at Mach 2.8, the missiles spaced themselves out and bore down on the patrol boats.

The Unforgiven and Overburdened ships, on the other hand, would target the three frigates. Each frigate was powerful and potent and while capable, hardly as capable as its opponents. Both vessels were loaded with more VLS cells than either the Heretics or Voodoos and carried much heavier weaponry as well. Both ships would fire on each vessel, putting plenty of missiles into the air at different directions, splitting the defenses of the frigates. The missile salvo would be simple but effective. Each ship would fire one RGM-205B AMESM missile. With the same warhead as the Relic, the AMESM missile was only barely supersonic but it could fly a much more agile course and attack through waypoints, allowing the missiles to all arrive at the same time, despite the different distances the ships were from their targets. The missiles would execute pop-up and dive maneuvers and strike the ships from the top, negating their defenses and punching through the deck at over Mach 1.25. However, while one missile may have been enough to sink the vessels, it wasn't all that was fired. The Unforgiven and Overburdened also fired a pair of RGM-193A Relic missiles at each ship. By the time the quick salvo was over, the three frigates would each be facing two RGM-205Bs and four RGM-193As each.

The first hostile shots by the Imperial Layartebian Military had been fired and they had definitely come from the Layartebian side. When the submarines were found, they would be engaged as fiercely but that wasn't all that there was. The ships had come from somewhere, from a naval port and that was to be the ILN's first land target.

[Encrypted Telegram to The Rhodesian States]

The Free Republic of Khorsun would like to welcome a fellow rising nation and show its peaceful and friendly intentions to its new neighbor. We have a special request as well: we wish to join your side in the battle to secure Australia. We would not make any demands in exchange for our aid. We would be capable of deploying several brigades of troops to fight alongside you. We await your response eagerly.

[The Free Republic of Khorsun]

-Encrypted telegram to the free republic of Khorsun-

It pleases our nation that the generous people of khorsun have expressed their common solidarity with their fellow Australian brothers in this way, we have the Northern territories pinned down in a military context but would require a small number of spec ops logisitcal personelle and maybe a token peacekeeping detachement to Darwin.

Yours faithfully

President Bob Hawkings

President of the Rhodesian States

Humpty Doo barracks was a smouldering (albeit still fortified) ruin by the time the South Australian airforce pummelled the military installation, the "clean up" duty was relegated to the "grunts" of the 10th and 12th South Australian infantry battalions whom were hours behind the "tactical airstrike" involving 15 F18 fighter jets.

-South Australian military convoy 150km southeast of Humpty Doo-

Sergeant Watkins was an anxious mess sitting alongside his platoon of commandos in the typically constricted confines of the Bushmaster AMV.

whilst not a consumate coward Watkins always expected his acension through the ranks would be through the mundane peacetime military rigmorol and through his family connections in the South Australian military hierachy, not like this...

the incessant yammering of his squad only worsened matters, watkins was embarresed that these predominantly farming yokels atleast appeared to show more testicular fortitude than he was which was something considerable as his was the leading bushmaster, the South australian high command in their infinate wisom simply decided to take Humpty Doo township and barracks with overwhelming air strike power and a rather underwhelming military strike consiting of 2000 troops dispersed into 90 Bushmasters and 150 military trucksbeing flanked by a token tank regiment of 5 M1A1 abrams tanks.

Watkins was tired, he needed some fresh air, he was going to sit on the gunnery station for a while....

Time slowly passed as the convey passed through the seemingly perpetual nothingness of the central desert, untill hours later semblences of life incrementally appeared in the surrounding terrain (first limited shrubbery then interspersed desert foilaige and then the occaisional bewildered Kangaroo narowly avoid a rather onerous fate by just missing a thundering bushmaster)

The progression of life culminated in the decimated skyline of the army barracks with fire still billowing seemingly out of every structure.

The convey abrubtly stopped, rudely waking Watkins from his contemplative slumber to the amusement of his platoon....

Until now, until this moment in time, the Overburdened had never fired a shot in anger. The missiles it sent fourth against the frigates were its first and ironic that a battleship's first combat shots should be guided missiles and not its massive cannon shells. The Overburdened was a ship that traveled with four turrets holding three cannons each and those twelve cannons could rain down almost twenty-nine tons of shells in a single salvo, firing at one and a half rounds per minute. The guns were fifty-two calibers in length and twenty inches in diameter, the biggest cannons ever built, fitted, and dreamed by the Layartebians for a battleship. The Earthquake, which carried eighteen inch guns was more than outgunned by the Overburdened, a mammoth vessel that was more than two hundred thousand tons.

With the naval port of Darwin the fleets next target, it was the admiral who first though of an opening salvo of naval gunfire from the battleship, to allow its cannons some use. Capable of lobbing shells almost fifty nautical miles away, without rocket assistance, the Overburdened had the naval port well within range when it turned its four turrets to the port. Advanced satellite imagery of the target was fed into the computer and the main targeting officer selected various targets, sixty in total. Between the twelve guns, the Overburdened carried forty-eight hundred shells or eleven thousand, five hundred, and twenty tons of ordinance. That didn't even include its mighty secondary weapons or missiles or torpedoes or small arms. It took a few minutes for the targeting officer to save all sixty targets but when he did, the coordinates and information were immediately fed in the ship's massive computer system. Wind, humidity, temperature, weather patterns, air pressure, and what not were all converted to a formula and that data fed into the targeting computer. Each barrel was elevated and trained accordingly and the computer selected, from those sixty targets, which ones to engage. From that point on, all it took was the loaders to load the guns and the firing officer to press the buttons. Each cannon on the ship could be fired individually or, grouped together for maximum effect. He grouped all twelve main guns together and sounded the alarm. Anyone on deck immediately ducked into the nearest door and shut it and they had only forty-five seconds to do so, a generous amount of time but a necessity. On the older Iowa's and their sixteen inch guns, the concussion and muzzle blast of the cannons was sufficient enough to collapse an individual's lungs and crush them to death. These guns were far larger and far more powerful. Safety was of the utmost concern as sailors prepared for the violent shaking that was about to bestow the vessel.

After the forty-five seconds expired, the firing officer pushed his illuminated, red button. Instantly, the entire ship rocked and though the compartments above and below deck were watertight and thus sound resistant, the guns were louder than loud. All twelve of them fired at once, rocking the ship back, depressing the water for a few hundred feet as the twelve, forty-eight hundred pound, armor-piercing, high-explosive shells exited the barrels at thirty-three hundred and twenty-five feet per second. Below decks, the loaders had already begun the reloading for the second salvo and a minute later, the second salvo was fired. It took five minutes to put all sixty shells in the air and when they hit, they would hit with such force and explosive power that the naval base wouldn't know what hit it, especially under the combined weight of an aerial and missile attack, which was to come after initial BDA was completed.

ooc you know your stuff dont you lol

That amusement was transformed into shock as a snipers bullet penetrated Watkins neck leaving him in a prostrate bleeding mess, TAKE FUCKING cover!!!!! watkins next of command appropriately decreed.

The Convoy was then suddenly attacked by a barrage of RPG fire, a grenade falling into the interior of watkins Bushmaster through the entrance left open by the hapharazdly exiting South Australian troops and instantly incinerated the still Watkins and the driver in his futile desperation to unclip his safety belt and escape....

Humpty Doo was turned into an ethereal carnival of interspersed gunfire between the South Australian Forces and their hidden assailants..

by mid day South Australia lost atleast 20 troops with 30 injured untill the Abrams Tank regiment caught up with the rest of the convoy...

Gove Naval Base.....

Grahame Dalton new his suicide naval raid on the Layertebian fleet was suicidal at best and he had now left the base completely vulnerable to an offshore raid by Layertebian Marine forces..

"such is the price of inevitability" Grahame sighed, The military base was located in a far flung isolated corner of Arnhems province, a full scale evacuation without the pre requisite logisitical resources and Northern territories now defunct airforce would be impossible, it was going to have to be a fight to the death.

The three remaining frigates were scuttled and sunk at the entrance of the manmade harbour so as to impede the progress of Layerteb by a few hours or so... Machine Gun Posts were set up on the beach and the bases limited flak cannon and surface to air missiles were set up. (10 Flak Cannon, 6 Surface to Air Missiles)

OOC: With submarines? Yes. Curious, now what happened to those patrol boats and frigates I lobbed missiles against?

ooc yeah sorry mate, i will get on to that...

Deployed territorian naval fleet to intercept layerteb...

Captain Johnsons deployed fleet had the military capacity as a sailing flotilla in the carribean ocean and the discipline to boot, It took over 4 hours to deploy the two main frigates at about 75% fighting capacity and a somewhat reduced ordinance stockpile..

The two diesel submarines Darwin and Resolute led the fleet out into the tumultous waters of the indonesian channel heading for the co ordinates of 25 degrees latitude by 30 degrees longitude where the layertebian presence was initially detected.

The first Salvo of layertebian martial might hit the leading frigate "Commonwealth" with a vocasious appetite for destruction which hit the ships command tower that instantly killed captain Johnson and the higher echelons of his command staff, The entire ship was engulfed in flame within 20 minutes and the remaining two frigates and patrol boats applied desperate naval manuevres in a attempt to avoid more of Layertebs deadly blows.

Meanwhile Darwin and Resolute were powering at full steam towards layerteb keen on extracting retribution of some kind....

A desperate counter missile salvo was launched from the "Impervious" at the first sight of the layertebian fleet...


Meanwhile in humpty Doo military proceedings were almost at a stalmate with South Australian military forces being bogged down by covered territorian sniper and rocket fire untill the military "fire fight" stratagem was implemented where 15 Cherokee routed out many of the hidden territorian militia hiding in the buidings allowing the South Australian infantry to enter the town unimpeeded, by the end of the day South Australia had lost 100 infantry troops the northern territorian militia lost close to 400 according to initial government "estimates".

Humpty Doo township capitulated within hours of the capture of the barracks, the beragged captured militia resembled some third world military cause as opposed to a battle of modern tech nations.

Meanwhile, Hendersons forces and some partisan civilians in Darwin were feasting on their appetite for vengeance against the encroaching South Australians, a resurgence in Northern territory resolve resaw them retake Mindel Beach markets and the northern suburbs of the city, the resistance momentarily disturbed the incoming South Australian military artery lines into the city and subsequently enabled a fierce revolt against the garrisoned soldiers near Darwin international airport which Bob Hawkings just flew out of literally hours ago..

The thunder of steyn rifle fire reverberated throughout central darwin, the task of minimal collateral damage to civilians now looked objectionable as Air Strikes were now implemented in a desperate measure to secure the main military routes into the city.

120 South Australian troops lost their lives on this day along with 20 Bushmasters irreperably destroyed and 50 logistics personelle killed

A blood thirsty northern territory soldier brandishing an Ak47 was firing shots sporadically in the air on top of a captured Bushmaster AMV which encapsulated the efforts of the day for the reeling South Australian military garrison whom were now reduced to 1300 men in the outskirts of the city.

Day two of the Siege....

The

an F18 thundered

OOC: So what's left and what's on its way?

ooc ok two frigates and the two subs and about 13 patrol boats are whats remaining and they will be at your location now

The citys rebellion was a stark contrast experienced by the South Australian Infantry corps tearing through vast chunks of the interior literally unopposed, the inland forces consolidated South Australian authority from Alice Springs through to Tennant Creek 200 km from Darwin itself, the strategic farming belt was a mere 30 kilometers now which recent ordinance surveys indicates that there is a token civilian militia sporadically guarding the vast agricultural area....

As the first salvo of missiles struck, the second was being prepared as well as all of the defense aboard the fleet. The salvo took out half of the patrol boats and two of the frigates. The submarines, which had yet to announce their presence were being searched for through a combined use of active and passive sonar aboard the ships as well as sonobuoys and dipping sonars from a few MH-60R Sea Hawks that were in the air. The Layartebian salvo had arrived in barely a few minutes, striking hard and sent ships to the bottom of the sea with little effort. A second salvo was prepared and fired immediately thereafter, two more Relics per patrol boat and a combined assault of three Relics and two AMESM missiles against each frigate. As well, the frigates and patrol boats, the latter moving quicker than the former, were now within gun range of four Layartebian ships, the Overburdened included. Locking onto the nearest patrol boats first, the Voodoo class frigate immediately trained her 155 millimeter/62-caliber ETC gun on the ships and began a quick barrage. Holding three hundred and thirty-five shells for the gun, the Voodoo's M247A1 AGS could fire at a rate of twelve rounds per minute or one shell every five seconds. In the first minute, the AGS put out a full twelve rounds with three rounds per patrol boat, targeting the four closest patrol boats. The twelve shells were all Extended Range Guided Munitions. Each shell weighed a little over a hundred pounds and moved at nearly nineteen hundred miles per hour and could travel as far as sixty nautical miles. Originally intended for shore bombardment and equipped with seventy-two DPICM submunitions, the ERGM had been improved by the Layartebian Defense Corporation for a specific anti-ship version. It was equipped instead with a fifty pound, armor-piercing, thermobaric warhead. The shells, guided by GPS and powered by a solid fueled rocket motor arched into the sky and would come down on the ships at nearly 90° aimed at the center of each ship. They could easily penetrate through whatever armor, if any, the patrol boats had. They had the potential to destroy each ship but three plus the missiles ensured that potential be lived out fully.

The ILN took a different approach with the frigates though. While the missiles were inbound to them, the ILN also fired four RUM-139 VL-ASROC missiles, each equipped with a Mark 54 Mod 1 Mako lightweight torpedo. Each ASROC would fire out to only a few nautical miles from the frigates, dropping the Mako torpedoes into the water. Each Mark 54 would travel towards the target, using their active sonar, at forty knots. Combined with the missiles, the torpedoes would also ensure that the frigates met their end.

It was throughout this time too that the ILN fleet was engaged in a battle over Darwin. A flight of four F-35F Lightning II fighters armed with GPS guided bombs vectored in and began an assault on the naval base. Each fighter carried a pair of thousand pound JDAM II bombs and two Gryphon BVR missiles internally and, externally, two AMESM missiles, two Mavericks, and two Escape dogfight missiles. They would be using their missiles against the HQ portions of the ship yard and then save their bombs to attack a variety of underground targets, previously identified by Australian intelligence. If they encountered any sort of air resistance, they could fire back with their Gryphon or Escape missiles and if they were engaged and ground missiles, they would call in naval strikes while evading the SAMs as best as they could. Because the fleet was just over the horizon, a naval strike would take a mere four to six minutes to take out the target. Whether they vectored in a fire missile from the cruisers and destroyers using ERGM projectiles or a missile sortie, they were sure to destroy the target.

The battle zone of the fleet was above, on, and below the surface of the sea. It was below the surface that the activity became a concentration. The surface vessels were moving at flank speed, chopping up the waves and sending echoes throughout the water. All of these false echoes had been identified, based on the simple concept of rotation speed and the band of noise. Submarines, down below, moving on electrical power, wouldn't be moving at flank speed but they were above the thermal, that being the best chance they had for striking the fleet. With all of the active pinging going on, the submarines only had a matter of time and when a pair of faint echoes and contacts showed up on the sonar screens of the Verrazano, immediately, actions were taken. Sea Hawks were vectored to the positions where they would drop sonobuoys and dip their sonar into the water. If they got lucky, their magnetic anomaly detectors would detect the submarine.

When the enemy fleet fired back it was only from one of the frigates. The missiles they fired were against a fleet with a fully tiered defense system. The moment they lifted off from the ship, the Layartebian ships took to action. Each missile was instantly engaged with two ESSM surface to air missiles, which would travel towards them at Mach 4, giving them enough time to fire back with another missile salvo before they came within RAM and then CIWS range.

The resolute was detected seemingly by whimsical fate by a fluke Sonay Bouy that seemed to be off course by the Laytrebian forces but neverthe less the resolute has been compromised, the submarine took evasive action as a precautionary measure and headed straight for the Overburderned.

The Darwin still indicated that they had not been discovered and their undisclosed location was still intact, for how long was to be decided.

The remaining Patrol boats were in a suicide run capacity only as there limited armaments would have little to no effect to a fully equipped Naval frigate, the patrol convoy headed directly to Layertebs fleet the ordinance on board scuppered for rudimentary explosives.

The Two frigates were still in the same position firing their second Salvos


Meanwhile the Flak over Darwin continued the pretenses of defence, interspersing the base with rapid fire but seemingly causing no effect to the Laytebian Airforce,

The South Australian counter attack in Darwin was ruthless and clinical, The once ostentatious vibrant heart of the city was turned to smouldering ashe by the South Australian airforce, The South Australian F18s ruled the sky the only challenge was from a few remaining heat seeking missiles and Flak in the Territorians depository.

The backing of the airforce allowed the infantry corps to not only resurge through the streets and regain the ground lost last night but come within kilometers of Prime Minister hendersons Compound, the endgame was in sight....

OOC: So did the missiles and gunfire hit? I'm confused...

Assembly

The Khorsunian Navy began to assemble for its first mission. Khorsun had been given clearance to begin military operations against the Northern Territory in conjunction with Southern and Layartebian forces. Currently the Layartebians were attacking in the north and the Southern Australians from the south. The Khorsunian military intended to begin a third front, in the northeast of the country. This was a highly ambitious operation: an amphibious assault by a fledgeling navy and army in foreign territory. Vice Admiral Emmanuel Dukazys, a bold, relatively young career naval officer (served ten years in Kreynorian Navy prior) was placed in overall command. Dukazys knew that he was inexperienced in actual war and that this was a key chance to prove himself a worthy commander, as well as gain prestige and experience for the Khorsunian military. The Gove Penninsula was selected as the target of the Khorsunian operations, with an aim to neutralize the deep-water port of Nhulunbuy which was being used as a secondary naval base by the Northerners. Once accomplished, Khorsunian marine and army units could move along the highways further inland and secure the rest of the northeast region.

When the Kreynorian empire fell, its navy was for the most part either scuttled, seized by foreign powers, or destroyed in regional conflicts. However, a fraction of it survived by moving to ports in other fallen nations where anarchy ruled. By moving from port to port in these lawless lands they were able to survive as an independent force. Most of these ships had returned to Khorsun and now formed the core of the Khorsunian Navy.

A trio of cruisers formed the centerpiece of the Expeditionary Fleet. The cruisers were all old and had been worn down by insufficient maintenance and spare parts, but still functional and dangerous warships, easily outgunning anything in the Australian fleet. A single nuclear-powered attack submarine also joined the fleet to screen it from below the waters, although it only had six torpedoes on board. About twenty destroyers and frigates and two dozen smaller vessels, including corvettes, patrol boats, and small missile craft formed around the three cruisers. The ships were all in varying states of repair and readiness, and overall the fleet was lacking in ammunition and various other supplies. Only seven dedicated transport ships were actually available; the Khorsunian Navy was forced to requisition large numbers of merchant ships and other civilian vessels and hastily press them into service as troop transports. Landing craft, on the other hand, were fairly numerous. The only air support the fleet could call on were a small number of naval helicopters and long-ranged, land-based fighter-bomber squadrons.

The Expeditionary Corps aboard the fleet was equally ad hoc. Ranks had been established, with most all of the sergeants and officers made up of veterans of the former Kreynorian army or marines, but uniforms were in short supply. There were helmets for everyone but not enough body armor to go around. A huge variety of weapons were carried, from the foreign-made hi-tech Hali-47 assault rifles of the former Kreynorian army to cheap AK knock-offs to civilian sporting guns. Machine guns (mainly .50 calibre Hellraisers from the Kreynorian armories) and mortars were plentiful, but close-range weapons such as submachine guns, grenades, and flamethrowers were scarce and made up for with shotguns and Molotov cocktails. The variety of weapons created a logistical nightmare for supply of ammunition and spare parts. There were many military vehicles including a number of the extremely advanced Soviet Bloc-manufactured ST-37K1A1 main battle tanks available, but many civilian cars, trucks, and motorcycles had to be taken with and fitted with improvised armor and weapons to completely motorize the troops.

Vice Admiral Dukazys knew that his logistical situation was a waiting disaster and that his forces weren't truly prepared to begin combat, but he knew the Australians would be in an even greater predicament and that this was a valuable chance to gain experience and regain confidence in Khorsun.

Recon

The fully assembled fleet began sailing towards the Gove Peninsula just after dusk. It was plotted out so that its arrival time would be just before dawn. The sleep schedule was adjusted so that the soldiers would have extra sleeping time and be awake an hour before they were needed. Saving Private Ryan was shown just before lights out as a special treat.

A pair of helicopters lifted off from pads on the cruiser KRS Mombasa, which served as Admiral Dukazys' flagship. The choppers were carrying out an advance reconaissance of Nhulunbuy. Ordinarily a satellite reconaissance would have been easier and less risky but there simply were no satellites in orbit to use.

The weather was sunny and clear with very little wind; good for flying a chopper, good for visibility, but also good for being seen in return. The helicopters were operating cautiously; they were a scarce resource. These two had been jerryrigged with radar jammers stripped from decaying AWACS planes that were no longer flyable, and as soon as their radar warning receivers began going off the choppers threw off a wall of jamming and separated.

The Northern Australians responded by raising an alarm at their bases and mustering their pilots for an emergency takeoff. There was a very limited supply of jet fuel and it could not be wasted; only two F-14 Tomcat fighters were scrambled as a result. Spotters on the ground and on the decks of ships began sweeping the sky with binoculars in search of the jamming aircraft.

High-powered cameras on the helos began taking pictures of the harbor and nearby facilities as the copilots manually counted ships at the same time. They also spotted the fighters taking off and turned away to avoid an engagement. However, it was too late to avoid being spotted; lookouts on the ships spied the helicopters and radioed their positions to the fighter pilots. Each fighter took after a helo, quickly closing the distance with their much greater speed.

Luck was on the side of the first Khorsunian chopper; the F-14 tailing it developed a sudden engine failure and was forced to turn back. The second Tomcat rapidly closed on its target helo but was unable to lock its missiles on; the pilot chose to use his Vulcan cannon. The helo pilot turned his craft around to engage with a minigun. The dogfight was over in seconds: the Tomcat pilot had aimed his Vulcan poorly and missed his first shots; half a second (and about 50 missed shots) later the weapon jammed. The gunner on the helo aimed his minigun perfectly and struck the fighter with over two hundred rounds of ammunition, killing it.

The helos escaped without further incident and the information they gathered was processed: two frigates, twenty-three patrol craft, and at least forty small boats were spotted in the harbor.

OOC: So did the missiles and gunfire hit? I'm confused...

Yeah they did buddy, Im working on the next thread tonite (will explain everything) :p

OOC: For lack of update by Rhodesian I'm going ahead

Engagement

Vice Admiral Dukazys receieved the returning helos personally on the Mombasa. "You are all so damn lucky I could just shit myself for it. Do you know what the odds of surviving against those fighters were? You better hope nothing bad happens on this campaign, because you just used up our supply of miracles at the start!" he said, "And nice job with those pictures." He dismissed them and quickly returned to the bridge.

"What do you make of the situation?" Dukazys asked the Mombasa's CO, Captain Strickert. Dukazys knew the value of listening to capable subordinates and how often failure was the result of not doing that.

"Their bigger ships shouldn't be of great concern; we have greater firepower and can destroy them from long range with missiles. The small boats are more of a concern; they'll be harder to target and could threaten us. If there commander is smart he'll try to save some in reserve to disrupt our landing craft after we think it's safe to deploy them," responded Strickert.

"I think we'll send a wave of decoys out first. Empty landing craft, to draw out any small boats or aircraft they have hidden in reserve. According to intelligence they shouldn't have much in the way of air power at all but I'm not trusting them even fifty percent on that," said Dukazys.

"That may also draw out any submarines they have. We can send the Bonefish to screen the decoys and search for submarines," added Strickert. The Bonefish was a Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine, a long-lived veteran of the Kreynorian navy and the only sub available to Dukazys' fleet.

The Khorsunian fleet sailed forward, now armed and ready for battle. Helicopters flew ahead and laid picket lines of sonobuoys to keep an eye out for submarines (none were detected). At thirty miles the action began.

The cruisers Mombasa, Imperator, and Tahiti obtained firing solutions on the two Australian frigates using over-the-horizon radar and targeted each with Harpoon SSMs, with two missiles from each cruiser to each frigate. Vice Admiral Dukazys gave the order "Fire at will" and the Harpoons lanced out of the launchers and were out of sight from the ships' crews in moments.

On the Australian frigates alarms blared as the incoming missiles were detected. The captains of the frigates each gave separate orders to return fire with snap-shots. Four Exocet missiles were fired from each frigate in the general area of the Khorsunian fleet without any specific targets chosen. The frigates then began erratic maneuvering at flank speed in the hopes of throwing off the Harpoons.

Six missiles were inbound for each frigate. The first had its two 3-inch guns open in up in some miraculous hope of intercepting a missile; this strategy was completely futile. Three of the Harpoons slammed into the frigate, smashing through the unarmored hull and exploding within, blowing it out of the water. The second frigate was luckier. Only one Harpoon sruck it in the stern; this frigate too was dead, but it sank slowly, giving most of its crew enough time to escape.

As the eight Exocets closed in, the Khorsunian ships spread out to minimize damage. Five of the missiles, assisted by a barrage of chaff, fell harmlessly into the ocean. A sixth was blown out of the air by fire from a CIWS. The remaining two, however, both struck the KIS Imperator. The cruiser was well-armored and the missiles struck the armor belt, mimimizing the damage. Fire control crews responded swiftly to limit the extent of the resulting fires. Imperator was wounded but not out of the fight.

The frigates were despatched and the Khorsunian fleet closing, but there was still a fleet of smaller craft to deal with, along with potential submarine and aircraft threats...