NationStates Jolt Archive

Topography of Sar Layqüi (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Djibouti_Topography.png)
Operational Map of Sar Layqüi (http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g20/Xavier_Solis/DjbOpPlan-1.png)

It was dusk and several months after the last of the New Berbur scum had been sold off for both money and weapon, the latter being used to train the seven thousand strong armed force of Lluviando. With the deportation of the New Berbur the necessary agricultural crops were left undermanned, an oversight that would have been seen by most governments, however the prospect of both getting rid of the subpar-race and gaining millions of dollars in cash was too much for the corrupt government to decline. In truth, due entirely to the rampant corruption, only seventeen million dollars had made it all the way into the government banking, and this had been used to purchase ammunition for their new equipment. Almost all the fishing boats had been commandeered by the government for the following operation, and I along with II Corp. was sent off to attack Sar Layqüi, not for any nationalist pride or personnel agenda, but for the mere necessity of food, where the top-soil was abundant and the captured Layqins could be put to work, these would be treated much better than their predecessors, as they were not considered a different race than that of the Lluviando. Now at dusk the first landings to the north and south had been made, there were no casualties for either side, and the troops marched westward, so far in their attack only coming across six villages, the inhabitants of which were forced to stay back and wait for their return, even though all of which would most-likely be gone by that time. The supply lines were non-existent, and the old adage of Mao was to be the basis for which both units were to survey, "Let the enemy be your quartermaster."

To: Government of Lluviando
From: Office of Foreign Relations, Takaram

We will give one warning. Cease this attack on Sar Layqüi, or face the military of Takaram, along with several other nations many times your size, no doubt, when they here of this. We realize that you are in need of an agricultural workforce, but you should have thought of that before you sold off your existing workforce. This is the final straw, your intolerance and unprovoked attacks shall no longer be tolerated.

Cynthia Rose, Chief Foreign Relations Officer, Takaram

To: Cynthia Rose

We doubt that your country would devout any sizable force to our theatre as such an action would be exponentially larger then the return. We've laid claim to the north eastern coast of Sar Layqüi for the past two centuries and are only now exercising our claim due to recent pirate activity which has lead to the deaths of sixteen Lluviando fishermen. Also, we've sold none of our workforce, such an action would be held in disrepute in our country, and such claims are vulgar and unfounded.

To: Government of Lluviando
From: Office of Defense, Takaram

Takaram can dedicate quite a large force if we wished, and as to your claims of already owning Sar Layqüi, I think the people of Sar Layqüi would beg to differ. And the fact that you have just sold thousands of people to The Beatus does mean you have sold your workforce.

Cynthia Rose, Chief Foreign Relations Officer, Takaram

To: Cynthia Rose

It seems our country has steady stream of incorrect information exiting it, for we've had much the same conversation with another government, respectfully they claimed to have one of the best intelligence networks in the world. Also, if ten thousand people say left is right, and one man says right is right, then in your tenet the ten thousand would be correct, however in our country it is held right is right, and as thus the single man, of whom stands alone in his principle against a wave of false credence, is correct. And we've stated no doubt that you have the ability to position a large force in our theatre, however such a move would be much more costly then anything you would gain of it. And as stated before, we lay no claim to the nation of Sar Layqüi, we simply lay claim, as we have steadfastly for the past two centuries, to its north eastern segment.

The first real fighting had begun at Obock where a significant force of Layqin militia had been able to form up and been equipped. It began in the morning, when the first company of II Corp. reached the city, pre-determined ambush spots had been set up, and the first company walked right in the middle of one, suffering a fourth of their men wounded or killed. They were forced to pull back on the outskirts of the city, and surround it. However it is a port city, and continued supply of the troops via sea is a very likely possibility. It is estimated that there are currently six hundred militiamen holding the city. On the opposing end of the operational hemisphere lied I Corp. which had just recently reached the first highlands, this was their planned destination, and a trench line was beginning to be dug by the thousand men, which would be around thirty kilometers long. Meanwhile deeper inside the country the conscript army of some six thousand was being formed up at Yoboki, it was planned that a relief force of one thousand would be sent to the militiamen at Obock, another two thousand would be moved up to occupy the highergrounds of the northern sector of the country, and another three hundred would be sent reinforce Tadjoura, leaving two thousand seven hundred troops in reserve at the capitol, Yoboki.

ooc: I'll actually get involved if someone else joins.

II Corp. was ordered to precede into the city very cautiously, and to only penetrate a few hundred meters and then begin setting fire. They did so, however the initial push resulted in a further thirty-six casualties, the blaze efficaciously caught fire and was quick to burn threw half the city by night fall. II Corp. commander ordered that a full-strength company, which consisted of a hundred men, be sent in to assault north western section of the city, they did so and the militia which had been formed up had been partially disbanded to help fight the fire, and with the rampant success of the company which a runner had reported to the commander three more companies had been sent in, several thousand men and women had been captured trying to escape from the burning town. By the next day's nightfall the city was both burned to the ground and captured, any boats that might have been captured had been used by escaping civilians, or perhaps militiamen. II Corp. formed up once again and continued its push, to meet up laterally with I Corp., which it did so by the next day and began to dig-in, the very tip of their line, which was nothing more than a vertical commune of foxholes at this point, had linked up with the slightly more sophisticated I Corp.'s, theirs being a connected line averaging about three deep, with a tent site and command post about a hundred meters behind the mainline. II Corp. would be up for an unexpected surprise, being over five percent understrength currently, by the next morning.

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Ministry of Defence
The Republic of Reijvajik

It would be in your nation's best interest to retract your declarations of aggression towards Sar Layqüi.
Reijvajik strongly urges Lluviando to rethink its plans.

Sincerely -

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Ardon Wyjsten
Ministry of Defence

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Official Imperial Statement

The Empire fully supports Lluviando in their actions. They are meerly seeking to enact control over an overtly rebellious territory which has long since been under their control and jurisdiction, any one would do the same. The Empire recognizes these cowardly actions in support of the regime of terrorists who would seek to hurt Lluivando as just that - cowardly.

The Empire has seen fit to dispatch the 30th fleet with one corps of Imperial men, numbering 20,000 to assist and defend Lluviando in their actions.

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From the Office of the Chairman

TO: The government of Lluviando
FROM: Zaic Armashiran, Chairman of the PCRB

The People's Cyonist Republic of Boico supports the actions of your government. And would like to aid your nation economically, and if needs be, millitarilly. I hope that this is the start of good relations between our two nations.

*OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUE*

TO: All Parties Involved in Sar Layqüi
FROM: Sir Robert Donovan, Foreign Minister, Commonwealth of Tolvan

RE: Tolvanic Operations off Sar Layqüi

Be advised the Royal Tolvanic Navy has long conducted pirate operations in the waters off Sar Layqüi. As such the Commonwealth supports the nation of Lluviando in its efforts to suppress piracy in the region. While we will not be deploying additional forces to the region at this time, I must emphasize that any interference with the operations of Tolvanic forces will be looked upon with considerable disfavor.

The People's Republic of Létat
Office of the President

Aux représentants du gouvernement de Lluviando,

The People's Republic of Létat is most perturbed to learn of the events presently transpiring in Lluviando. Despite your government's frequent denials, the preponderance of evidence indicates that Lluviandan soldiers are engaged in the forced transfer of population from Sar Layqüi and have attacked local security forces there. We are likewise shocked that Lluviando did not see fit to attempt to resolve its territorial dispute with Sar Layqüi by peaceable means before resorting to an invasion.

This considered, and being moved by the suffering of the Layquians, the People's Republic will be deploying the First Fleet to Sar Layqüi to monitor this situation and prepare to provide humanitarian aid to the warzone. We affirm our neutrality as concerns your territorial claims, but will see to safety of civilians caught in the crossfire. Interference with such efforts to bring relief to the suffering will be regarded as an act of war and a crime against humanity. It is hoped that your leaders know justice, and shall permit us to ease the burdens of the people in Sar Layqüi.

--Madame Marine Bréton
Président de la République Populaire de Létat

Extract from The Republican, National Newspaper of Létat

Point: We should applaud Marine Bréton's bold statement and bold actions. "Moral Authority" foreign policy is what the Democratic Socialist Party campaigned on, and it's what we're delivering. I think everyone can get behind alleviating the suffering of innocents caught in the crossfire - and if half the rumors coming out of Sar Layqüi are true, relief can't come soon enough. The First Fleet and IX Corps now being dispatched for humanitarian are all professionals who have served admirably not only in the Revolution, but in rebuilding efforts in southern Létat. I hope for Lluviando's sake they think to let our boys do their thing. The Létatian rose has thorns aplenty to sting the unwary.
Guy Rougeard, DSP Chairman

Counterpoint: Moral Authority's all well and good, but how about a bit of practicality? These situations have a way of getting out of control - and while they may have the couilles, I don't know that our boys have the equipment and training to take on some of the foreign powers that might decide to get involved. First Fleet, I remind you, has Létat's only functional aircraft carrier, which is full of planes that were outdated in the late '70s. The rest of First Fleet is a hodgepodge of whatever ships weren't blown up or disabled by Republican sabotage. Front veterans fighting in IX Corps performed admirably in the Revolution, yes, but they were fighting with popular support against troops of equally poor quality and equipment. The present military overhaul is barely half complete, and only a quarter of those troops have been issued newer, more modern equipment. I'd guess half are still using weapons they brought with them when they joined the Republican Front. Don't get me wrong, I support the humanitarian notion, but in the case that Létat gets dragged from its humanitarian neutrality into a shooting war - as seems far too likely - let's just say I'll be praying for victory and preparing for a massacre.
Yves Mainlevée, Fellow of the Council for Peace

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Ministry of Defence
The Republic of Reijvajik

It would be in your nation's best interest to retract your declarations of aggression towards Sar Layqüi.
Reijvajik strongly urges Lluviando to rethink its plans.

Sincerely -

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Ardon Wyjsten
Ministry of Defence

We have made no formal aggression against the nation of Sar Layqüi, if garrisoning our land is considered aggression in your nation we wonder how you maintain any military force.

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Official Imperial Statement

The Empire fully supports Lluviando in their actions. They are meerly seeking to enact control over an overtly rebellious territory which has long since been under their control and jurisdiction, any one would do the same. The Empire recognizes these cowardly actions in support of the regime of terrorists who would seek to hurt Lluivando as just that - cowardly.

The Empire has seen fit to dispatch the 30th fleet with one corps of Imperial men, numbering 20,000 to assist and defend Lluviando in their actions.

We thank you for your support of our occupation, we hope that following this action diplomatic negotiations can begin, as your great nation would be one that we would very likely want to associate ourselves with.

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From the Office of the Chairman

TO: The government of Lluviando
FROM: Zaic Armashiran, Chairman of the PCRB

The People's Cyonist Republic of Boico supports the actions of your government. And would like to aid your nation economically, and if needs be, millitarilly. I hope that this is the start of good relations between our two nations.

Economically we are in dire support, and would love to receive any aid in this category. Militarily we ask that you maintain a status of preparation, however currently there is no immediate necessity to deploy such forces. Soon we will be sending a diplomatic envoy to your nation to begin our international relationship.

*OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUE*

TO: All Parties Involved in Sar Layqüi
FROM: Sir Robert Donovan, Foreign Minister, Commonwealth of Tolvan

RE: Tolvanic Operations off Sar Layqüi

Be advised the Royal Tolvanic Navy has long conducted pirate operations in the waters off Sar Layqüi. As such the Commonwealth supports the nation of Lluviando in its efforts to suppress piracy in the region. While we will not be deploying additional forces to the region at this time, I must emphasize that any interference with the operations of Tolvanic forces will be looked upon with considerable disfavor.

Interfering in the amicable practice of pirate hunting is something the Confederacy does not look favorably upon, in fact we grant you further status to continue operations of the shores of both our land on the mainland and our island, and thank you for your past operations.

The People's Republic of Létat
Office of the President

Aux représentants du gouvernement de Lluviando,

The People's Republic of Létat is most perturbed to learn of the events presently transpiring in Lluviando. Despite your government's frequent denials, the preponderance of evidence indicates that Lluviandan soldiers are engaged in the forced transfer of population from Sar Layqüi and have attacked local security forces there. We are likewise shocked that Lluviando did not see fit to attempt to resolve its territorial dispute with Sar Layqüi by peaceable means before resorting to an invasion.

This considered, and being moved by the suffering of the Layquians, the People's Republic will be deploying the First Fleet to Sar Layqüi to monitor this situation and prepare to provide humanitarian aid to the warzone. We affirm our neutrality as concerns your territorial claims, but will see to safety of civilians caught in the crossfire. Interference with such efforts to bring relief to the suffering will be regarded as an act of war and a crime against humanity. It is hoped that your leaders know justice, and shall permit us to ease the burdens of the people in Sar Layqüi.

--Madame Marine Bréton
Président de la République Populaire de Létat

We will not interfere in your humanitarian efforts, however the claims you make can not be practical proven from an unbiased standpoint, as such we can not affirm nor disprove them. However, all goods to be shipped to the warzone are to be checked as to be sure that no weapons we to be hidden, this as you can understand is a clear necessity.

The metal groaned as the large doors slid open on Bellum dreadnoughts, allowing amphibious assault vehicles to fly out – quickly racing towards the beach as mounted guns ensured that all threats present were eliminated. As these powerful machines reached shore and made their way up, many allowed the Imperial soldiers they stored inside to flood outwards. This flood rushed forward, acting in tandem with the amphibious assault vehicles to push out in an enlarging arc, ensuring a safe and secure beachhead for the landing of Imperial assets.

The perimeter was quickly secured as more Imperial units, military, logistic, and otherwise flooded the beach – creating a fortified position some 50 kilometers southward of the advance units of Lluviando.

Naval units began fanning out – not yet starting massive shelling campaigns, but ensuring that no threats would approach the Imperial encampment.

Pre-fabricated buildings were unloaded as structures sprung up on the beach – signifying the Imperial decision to remain here, no matter what opposition force may come to assault them.

At this point, floating docks had been released and sunk right off of the shore, creating makeshift docks to help the flow of Imperial might onto the beach. As engineers quickly assembled ramps from the docks to the beach, the groan of Borman tanks slowly built as lines of them rolled out of the bellies of Imperial transport ships. These lines rolled through the camp quickly, reaching the loose perimeter before pushing out even further. Eventually, they stopped and began to fortify themselves – allowing many of the units first used to secure the perimeter to return to assist in constructing the camp.

However, numerous Imperial foot-soldiers choked the gaps between the tanks, ensuring a heavily fortified ring would keep any threats away from the Imperial camp.

As the beach-head continued to be more heavily fortified, beginning units had formed up and were preparing to move out southward, towards the nearest village – identified as a heavy supporter of rebel soldiers.

We thank you for your support of our occupation, we hope that following this action diplomatic negotiations can begin, as your great nation would be one that we would very likely want to associate ourselves with.

Official Imperial Communique:

...Begin 2VX Encryption...
...2VX Encryption Complete...

To: Lluviando
From: Chancellor Licinius

Of course! We feel the same way. We are always willing to assis a nation in resiting the belligerent swine which has come to prominence in today's world.

As we speak, Imperial units are securing a beach head and preparing for excursionary action to identiy the strength of rebel frces.

Together, we shall attain victory.

...End Transmission

To: Government of Lluviando
From: Ministry of foreign relations, Prostok, Birkaine.
Classification: Not classified. Free for distribution.
Importance: Normal

While we understand your current situation, we judge that a campaign aganist the nearest developping country is a bit of an excess seeing that you could simply request for international aid to provide some goods your country. We personally have a quite large fleet of merchant vessels and transport craft, and we would be willing to provide your country with all it needs (at a price) in an humanitarian offer that is certainly more productive to both of our nations than military intervention.
As far as military matters go, we will not involve our strictly-defensive armed forces in any way.

High General Viktor Yulianov
President of the majestic Commonwealth of Birkaine and its colonies.

======

This was unsurprisingly a lie. The Birkanian Tatum II (http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll31/DemonLordRazgriz/TatumIIClassSSCGN-1.png)-class submersible cruiser K-242 approached the coast of Layqui in a straight path. Or at least it was meant to, but the crew was completely drunk and chanting loudly inside the submarine. That class of submersible cruiser was always sent to monitor different warzones of interest, and because of that it was usually the first ship to get sunk in a war.
Two Victor-class submarines of the Birkanian Navy followed the erratic path of the submersible cruiser.

Having confirmed the begrudging permission of Lluviando to conduct humanitarian work in Sar Layqüi, First Fleet began deploying the relief mission. Lt. General Rémy Matin, commander of IX Corps, orders the 1st division to land behind the supposed line of advance of Lluviandan security forces and to begin conducting relief operations, while the 2nd is ordered to land merely 5 km in front of this line and hastily instruct villagers on how to say safe in war time while distributing emergency rations. Despite his protests, Madame Bréton had insisted strongly on troops not being armed, and as President, her orders won out. Thus, troops were deployed without more than the truncheons carried by military police. However, 3rd division remained on board the ships of the First Fleet, a reserve of three thousand troops armed and ready to go into action if need be to assist their four thousand landed comrades should they come under attack.

As the 1st and 2nd division land, they begin heading into cities to distribute humanitarian aid packages. These consist of sacks of rice and flour, bottles of water and water-purifying tablets, as well as aspirin and first aid kits. Troops hand out decks of cards bearing the Létatian rose, candy, and bottles of aspirin, while medical stations are set up, staffed by Létatian medics and stocked with plenty of morphine and a bit of transfusion-ready blood - though never enough. In 2nd division territory especially, troops are instructed to improve local firefighting abilities. In both territories, Létatian troops distribute a handful of video cameras, wireless laptops and satellite phones. They are not all top-of-the-line - most had seen plenty of action in the Létatian revolution - but experience had taught veterans of the Republican Front that no weapon could keep you safe like a video camera could.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Meanwhile...

In an insulated room buried in the bowels of the Aube Rouge, Létat's only aircraft carrier and flagship of the First Fleet, Major Véronique Flèche, along with the other commanders of the 1st and 2nd divisions had understood the intended order masked beneath General Matin's brief mention that they should "ensure that local governments are able to provide local security and stability." In other words, train the Sar Layqüians to resist. Even if the People's Republic wasn't willing to risk smuggling in firearms to the warzone, they were already sending in veterans of the ten-year insurgency that had ultimately toppled the Létatian monarchy and put King Philippe-Michel IX to flight.

So as her troops in the 8th Battalion of 2nd division were setting up a medical station in the town of Cevillage and beginning to distribute rice rations and water bottles, she sought out the town leadership, to give a few friendly hints of advie.

The metal groaned as the large doors slid open on Bellum dreadnoughts, allowing amphibious assault vehicles to fly out – quickly racing towards the beach as mounted guns ensured that all threats present were eliminated. As these powerful machines reached shore and made their way up, many allowed the Imperial soldiers they stored inside to flood outwards. This flood rushed forward, acting in tandem with the amphibious assault vehicles to push out in an enlarging arc, ensuring a safe and secure beachhead for the landing of Imperial assets.

The perimeter was quickly secured as more Imperial units, military, logistic, and otherwise flooded the beach – creating a fortified position some 1500 miles southward of the advance units of Lluviando.

Naval units began fanning out – not yet starting massive shelling campaigns, but ensuring that no threats would approach the Imperial encampment.

Pre-fabricated buildings were unloaded as structures sprung up on the beach – signifying the Imperial decision to remain here, no matter what opposition force may come to assault them.

At this point, floating docks had been released and sunk right off of the shore, creating makeshift docks to help the flow of Imperial might onto the beach. As engineers quickly assembled ramps from the docks to the beach, the groan of Borman tanks slowly built as lines of them rolled out of the bellies of Imperial transport ships. These lines rolled through the camp quickly, reaching the loose perimeter before pushing out even further. Eventually, they stopped and began to fortify themselves – allowing many of the units first used to secure the perimeter to return to assist in constructing the camp.

However, numerous Imperial foot-soldiers choked the gaps between the tanks, ensuring a heavily fortified ring would keep any threats away from the Imperial camp.

As the beach-head continued to be more heavily fortified, beginning units had formed up and were preparing to move out southward, towards the nearest village – identified as a heavy supporter of rebel soldiers.

|OOC: The country is the rough equivalent of Djibouti and the scale is the same. The distance from the beachhead to my troop's position is only about 30-50 kilometers.|

[ooc: is the new scale better?]

The second real battle of the war had begun as the first thousand troops that had been sent to relieve the Obock militia slammed against the thin line of troops holding the southern hemisphere. The troops of II Corp. were spread longer then a man per thirty meters, so the sheer volume of fire was more then titled as the mass of Layqin troops made a full frontal attack. The II Corp. Commander radioed in for more support from the northern section, luckily a company was on reserve and they were sent to support the middle, however this movement would take at least several hours. As such II Corp. commander had ordered all his troops to converge into the middle, including himself, to help repel the enemy. This action, also in part due to the small nature of the foxholes, turned the battle into the II Corp.'s hands and they were able to carry the day, though at the cost of a hundred six dead and two hundred thirty-four wounded. The company previously in question would be augmented into II Corp.'s ranks and used as a front line unit. This clash had taught both Corp.s a valuable lesson, the trench only needed to be garrisoned by a few troops, while the rest of the men were to hold position in the rear. The ratio for this would be about 1:4. However the enemy troops organization had not been broken the result of which was repeated attacks, the most notable of which took place at night and nearly ran over II Corp.'s position, but what just saved by the timely arrival of fresh reserve troops.

An additional corps was to be sent to reinforce the battered units, but this would take two full days to accomplish. At this point the troops at Tarjoura had combined with the survivors who had attacked the southern section to form a single unit, but were having a good time stealing food and rations from people who had previously been given some by the Letat government. Up in the norther section the troops were not nearly as lax and had begun building earthworks, with over twice the available manpower as their counterparts they would soon be able to surpass them in sheer dirt moved, but this would be were tactics would take priority.

Lets take this time to review the in-theatre troops' defenses. The southern units currently have a four foot high earthwork, behind this is currently in construction a dirt mound, that would allow them, if beaten out of the trench, to look over and fire into the trench, of have higher ground against infantry that are advancing towards the trench. The northern section have built their trenches at several angles, leaving it at seven feet high with a dirt stool to step on an allot a firing position with very limited opportunities for the enemy to fire. They however did not build an earthwork, deeming it a waste of time. They are currently constructing positions to be of use during artillery barrages. The enemy in the northern section currently have nothing more then a two foot indention into the ground and have no true tactical knowledge behind the construction or garrisoning of the trench line, they do however plan to have a significant force in reserve, thanks to placid tradition.

|OOC: (Edit) What do you mean by new scale?
(EDIT) Yea it's fine.|

"Word's come down from the General, this isn't going to stand. We aren't here to feed rampaging militias. Starting tonight, the battalion's on 24/7 police detail. Companies will rotate watch responsibilities. Keep an eye out for anyone poking around, and if you see them trying to cart off an aid sack, get in there and stop them. We're going to try to keep one of the locals around with a camcorder if we can, but no guarantees. If you get in too much trouble, don't get yourself killed, get out and call for the militia." Major Thierry Gueule, 2nd Battalion, 1st division, had enough to worry about without marauders roving through and causing disruptions. The orders had gone out across both divisions - be vigilant! No further harassment would be tolerated from anyone.

"Word's come down from the General, this isn't going to stand. We aren't here to feed Lluviandan troops. Starting tonight, the battalion's on 24/7 police detail. Companies will rotate watch responsibilities. Keep an eye out for Lluviandan troops poking around, and if you see them trying to cart off an aid sack, get in there and stop them. We're going to try to keep one of the locals around with a camcorder if we can, but no guarantees. If you get in too much trouble, don't get yourself killed, get out and call for the militia." Major Thierry Gueule, 2nd Battalion, 1st division, had enough to worry about without Lluviandan troops roving through and causing disruptions. The orders had gone out across both divisions - be vigilant! No further harassment would be tolerated from the Lluviandans.

|OOC: The Sar Layqin soldier are the ones stealing food from the civilian populace.|

ooc: fixed

OOC: My bad, mistook meters for miles, fixed

As the fortified column rolled away, the Imperial base camp continued to fortify. Preliminary automatic gun turrets were installed as surveillance cameras, equipped with night vision and thermal vision, began to dot the perimeter. But base camp would come to strength in time - that much was certain.

The attack was what was up in the air.

“Alright men, locked and loaded! This village is a confirmed supporter of the rebel movement. We believe they’re funneling food along with men and weapons up to the enemies slamming against our allies from Lluviando. They’re getting pinched, so we need to stop this!”

As the commander’s brief speech came to an end, the APCs shuttered and halted. The whiz of bullets and explosions could be heard through the thick armoring of the vehicle. Shortly the entire vehicle began to hum with a rhythmic beating, Imperial weapons were returning fire.

Without a moment of hesitation, armored hatches swung open an Imperial troops charged out.

At first horizontally placed tanks and APCs provided shelter for soldiers, but as gunfire grew sparse – they began to creep inward as the mechanized vehicles prepared to enter the city’s true boundaries.

---------------------------------------------

But deep underneath the waves, something more sinister lied in wait. Stingray submarines had fanned out, coating the floor of the rebel coast. Sensitive passive sonar arrays relayed information to them, aided by underwater sonar buoys and microphones that Imperial vessels had surreptitiously dropped on their approach.

One of these subs confirmed the massive vessel floating far above them – the aircraft carrier of Letat. Fully loaded with Tolvanic weaponry and insignia, this submarine was prepared to counter any offensive action detected from the carrier, lying so vulnerable above it.

The village that the Empire had decided to attack did believe that the territory claimed by Lluviando was Sar Layqüi's. However the men there had nothing more then machetes and hammers, but they had for seen the enemy coming, if not for the rather loud approach that it was. The men threw out the village, only just under two hundred strong, hid inside of the buildings, there they would wait until the invaders penetrated deep inside the city, hopefully the vehicles would be destroyed by the makeshift molotov grenades they had made from their spare liquor.

-----

III Corp. had finally reached the trench line and was split into its two battalions, one of each would go to an opposing hemisphere. Layqin night raids were a common practice at this point, and the toll they were enacting was growing, along with that the men wanted to return to a normal life in the army, pillaging the local civilians and such. Although they were not personally invested in this war from its beginning the death of many of their comrades had forced a kind of hatred in them, something that would last longer then the war itself.

The Sar Layqin forces were forming up, having a revered battalion of Utnäk tribesmen in each hemisphere, they sent them up to the front of the hilly battleground to begin a long battle with the enemy, behind several hills there was a half or full strength company ready to attack as soon as the several guards men would be silenced, this would mark the beginning of some hellish fighting. Meanwhile back at the city the men had ceased their savaging of food, however their demeanor towards the Letat service men and women was less then enticing, though it was in complete contrast to the civilian populace that was ever grateful of the help that they were receiving.

The door burst inwards as a foot slammed it towards the ground. Smoking gun barrels led the way as a small group of Imperial soldiers forced their way into the house. The entrance room displayed an overturned table, dishes scattered on the floor. Evidently the family fled when gunshots erupted outside – a smart idea.

Suddenly a side door flew open as a machete found its way into the back of a soldier loosely standing on the edge. He was sloppy – he was punished.

Several bursts dropped the man to the ground, his body twitching and convulsing as holes ripped their way through him, sending flesh smattering against the wall.

Expanding bullets.

Several men quickly strode into the room where they encountered a couple armed boys charging at them – a woman protecting two girls in the rear. They opened up with their assault rifles, spraying a deadly stream that only stopped when five bodies decorated the floor.

The rest of the men scoured the house, pillaging and breaking what they pleased. No food or valuable was left behind – much of what remained was shattered.

The other houses on the edge of the city had this same scene repeated – zealous villagers shabbily armed who would deal small wounds before Imperial soldiers made their entire families pay.

Most of the Imperial soldiers lined up, eerily forming a strong wall of men branching around and through the houses dotting the side of the village they approached from. As men cleaned out the insides of these houses, Imperial soldiers stood in wait in the alleys and streets between them, guns held firmly as they looked into the city.

Several ear-shattering explosions beat the air as Imperial Howitzers lobbed exploding ammunition into houses scattered throughout the city. Shortly a chorus of explosions followed as the Howitzers played a death tune several minutes long. The launch of tank shells was sporadically scattered throughout – sending houses exploding into showers of rubble.

As the song wore down, the Imperials marched forward – slowly and methodically. The rebels had drawn first blood – something they would pay for.

The second row of houses usually was graced by several fragmentation grenades and random streams of lead before the soldiers marched in, killing everyone inside a house if anyone inside the house resisted. Their orders were clear. If the occupants of a house surrendered, all were handcuffed and led away towards the Imperial camp – deployments of fresh soldiers guarding their short path.

As the force began its insertion, the dull of helicopters quickly grew louder as a large fleet of Bellicus helicopters made their way into the air. They were skirting the city, riding along the coast within a stone’s throw of the city.

From their view in the sky, they could see mechanized units slowly spreading out to cover the city side adjacent to where Imperial units were entering. They were still far from sight of the inhabitants, but they were reading.

The choppers beat their way towards the side opposite where Imperial units had begun the insertion.

Machine guns mounted on the sides swept through the streets of the city, occasionally opening up to drop someone who might have been foolish enough to leave their building. Usually, however, they opened up to send rounds of hot lead smashing through windows and careening through the more flimsy walls.

One man at the center of the village, one of the few entrusted with two molotov 'grenades', saw them mercilessly killing everyone without checking inside the houses, killing children and women. One such unit was in front of him, luckily he was far enough down the line to not yet be shot or blown to bits, but he could clearly see. As soon as they were within five meters of his position he would lob one molotov at the center of the group, hopefully burning those bastards. After that we would run upstairs, if he lived that long, and use the more advantageous height to throw another molotov at an unsuspecting group, his wood cutting axe slung over his back, if he survived that long, which even he didn't expected, he could jump on the top of the houses and land in the middle of another group. In other houses, half the resistance lay dead, none wounded due to the starch efficiency of its enemy, the men heard the screams of their children, they knew that it was repatriation for their friend's deeds, they didn't want to see their own family die, and they soon left their houses in droves to surrender, but after the killing of the first few men they quickly took back up their arms. A charge was made, about twenty men, but it was not completely suicidal, they jumped from cover to cover, and grenades that they expected to be thrown at them would be quickly launched back at the enemy, helped enormously by their reflexes trained in the surrounding world.

---

Meanwhile over in the trench line it was just before dark, due to the inadequacy of the Layqin equipment to fight snipe in the dark, they would take out the few guards and then move up. The Utnäk tribesmen, across both hemispheres, opened fire, but due to their McGiver-style silencers few hit their target on the first try, but the receivers of the bullets did not scream or return fire and as thus they were killed silently. Full companies moved across the hilly terrain, fifty meters to go, and still silence. Finally, on both sides, they made it across into the trenches. The men were silently ordered to fix bayonets and hop the ridge, in the southern section the Lluviando had placed their camp so close to the heightened earthwork that the Layqins had clear shots, and fired upon them with a torrent of lead.

The soldiers, armed with machetes and an M14 returned fire, but at such close range over half a company was decimated, forcing them to a retreat. The men along the rest of the trench line held their ground, accustomed to such noises at this hour. The reactionary force in the southern hemisphere was just over a thousand men strong, and the fresh men laid down a volley of half-accurate rounds, which culminated into a bloody attrition. II Corp. commander ordered that company be pulled back and start digging up a cluster of foxholes around the most prominent hill that was behind the range of fire of the enemy.

Over with I Corp. the situation was not as similar as expected, the men were broken up into force projection positions, which consisted of no more then a platoon, and when the fire started information was quick to allow the full force of both I Corp. and III Corp.'s detached battalion to respond, along with the absence of an elevated earthwork it turned out that luck was moreso on the northern hemisphere's side. However the enemy had one massive advantage, the ability of rapid fire, though this was countered with up close and dirty machete versus bayonet action, and even though outnumbered 3:5 the machete proved to be able to defeat the close up, but the retreat action of the enemy was short one, that culminated into the loss of the trench work, which was a hard built one and demoralized the surviving troops. Despite this I Corp.'s commander pulled back his forces, and its notable that they also captured some five hundred enemy AK-47s, to a far distance and commence attrition of the enemy, anyone that poked their head too high was likely to have pelleted ground all around him.

Over with II Corp. the situation was beginning to turn dire, the only thing that saved them was the equipment of a grenade per troop, and with a strong counter-action, no doubt led by this device, they quickly retook the earthwork, along with the capture of over two hundred AK-47s. The enemy had no clue that the earthwork was made to fire into the trench line, and soon their flanks were hit by at least twenty men on each side, which had a clear line of fire due to the straight nature of the trench line. The survivors of the Layqin movement ran past the hills, with governing fire from the Utnäk tribesmen. The casualties for II Corp. was a staggering fifty percent, which left them with just over six hundred men including their III Corp. attachment. The wounded men, numbering over five hundred, was left to the mercy of the Letat servicemen who would be passing by soon. The enemy suffered just under four hundred casualties, with fifty-three being captured.

This left the whole issue of Sar Layqüi in a precarious position, tactically, operationally and strategically. Tactically the men were flanked, at this time unknowingly by their enemy, operationally the men were dangerously low on troops, both hemispheres, though the southern's was crippling, and strategically the men back home didn't want to send more troops, both because the fishermen hadn't fished in almost two weeks and a social issue was arising amidst the rampant corruption. It left them no choice, they had to appeal to their allies to send more then just a token force of troops to help them garrison the line.

---

To: The Borman Commander; Sar Layqin Theatre

My men have fought valiantly, stop. We're outnumbered and we don't, stop. have the capability to, stop. continue this fight any longer, stop. We need your forces to, stop. reinforce our position, and we, stop. need them in force, not, stop. just a show of strength, stop. we need true strength. stop.

We wish you luck,
Marcus Muyii : Sar Layqin Theatre Commander; I Corp. Commander

FULL STOP

|OOC: Just to keep track, it's more for me really. >.< Lol
I Corp. Casualties: -100 (588)****
312 - N. Hemisphere

II Corp. Casualties: +100 (342)****
25 - Obock
36 - Obock
340 - S. Hemisphere
13 - S. Hemisphere
341 - S. Hemisphere

III Corp. Casualties: A Battalion (356)****
144 - S. Hemisphere

III Corp. Casualties: B Battalion (424)****
76 - N. Hemisphere

Enemy Casualties:*
600 - Obock**
316 - S. Hemisphere
327 - S. Hemisphere
53 - S. Hemisphere***
571 - N. Hemisphere

Total Enemies Losses:*
1,867**

Total Troops Lost:
1,287

*: Includes both regular and irregular forces
**: Estimated
***: Captured
****: Remainder

This does not include the battle with Borman|

OoC: Owing to some personal issues, I shall not be participating further. My troops pull out, pack up, go home etc. etc.

Pommey held the crumpled paper in his hand, waving wildly at the men around him.

“Why the hell have we not sent a force there yet? I know we’re taking care of that city, but if you haven’t noticed – we’re not alone in this fight!”

Pommey quickly dispatched orders to his men, a flurry of communication going out from the newly constructed communication station. Orders rang through to the navy, military commanders, and more.

Imperial Military Transmission:
…Begin 2VX Encryption…
…2VX Encryption Complete…
To: Marcus Muyii
From: General Pommey

Aid is on the way immediately, you should be receiving soldiers with fresh supplies shortly – a heavy contingent of men should be there in under two hours.

Good Luck, God Bless

General Pommey
…End Transmission….

Trailblazer cruisers had been waiting for action – and now they could get it. Reconnaissance planes and the numerous information technologies had long been running, collecting information. Weapons systems aboard the cruisers had targeted numerous large concentrations of Layqins. Those nearest the soldiers of Lluviando were sure to be decimated, rampant destruction sowed amongst the others.

Large cannons had sat silently in place. Then a mighty boom echoed through the air as a lone shell traced its way towards the Layqin encampment nearest Lluviando forces. Suddenly a harsh chorus of explosions joined in as hundreds of shells catapulted towards the enemy.

Whispers of air and rushing sounds became more audible as many hundreds of cruise missiles exited launch cells, coursing towards enemy encampments.

Layqin men would not survive this – death was raining from above and seemed to be intent on taking all Layqin men to the underworld.

---------------------------------

A few VTOL aircraft took off from base camp, joined by a number of others from the navy floating in the water. The sky grew dark as the mass of aircraft floated higher, streaking towards the Lluviando encampment. Around one thousand men were loaded on these aircraft, crates of supplies taking up more than half of the total space. The aircraft brought nearly 2,000 Dommani sub-machine guns, obsolete by Imperial standards, but far surpassing the AK-47s that seemed to be common place on the battlefield. Ammunition toted aboard would allow each weapon to fire several thousand rounds before running dry. More crates also held hoards of grenades, medical kits, and rations.

The airborne force was intent on more than solidifying the Lluviando lines before the real Imperial force arrived.

-------------------------------

On the ground, some five thousand men were loading up into APCs and tanks, ready to speed off towards their allies in need of help. They would not allow Lluviando to suffer by themselves.

“There, there!”

The machine gun mounted atop the tank quickly rotated, sending streams of hot lead into the group of men charging towards the Imperial line. Numerous soldiers dropped on their knees, shouldering their assault rifles to steady their aim as they let numerous bursts of death fly towards the enemy. Since the first line had gotten low enough, the second line was able to join into the firefight, sending copious amounts of lead slamming into the men charging towards them.

Vladimir Putya squinted his eyes as the rebels charges towards him. He silently traced numbers with his lips as they came closer and closer, squeezing the handles on his unorthodox weapon, waiting to pull the trigger.

There, they were only a foot or two from crossing the last street before they reached the block where his unit was. Having already mapped out his shots numerous times, Vladimir squeezed the trigger, sending ten rounds out that were spaced to equally occupy the gap between the buildings.

The Generic Death was a new tool, named, in honor, after the other half of the Borneric Empire – long since having slipped into decay. The Generic Death was the child of a drunken night involving a flamethrower and a handful of grenades. Loosely shelled projectiles – about half the size of a grenade in size – would burn off most of their coating in the forceful projection from the launcher. Then, upon impact, they would explode in a torrent of heat that released a flash fire that usually grew as large as the upper half of a large sphere, twelve feet in diameter. Depending on chance, or what fell within the blast radius, the sphere of fire could greatly exceed that size – sometimes wiping out the entire unit of the man who operated it. But, that was what came with new weapons.

Not relying completely on the new weapon, Imperial men had assembled at the edges of the neighboring blocks. This gave them a short window in which the charging rebels would pass through their sight before buildings protected their charge from side fire as they made their way towards other men.

Having already crouched down into position, they opened up with a stream of bullets as the rebels came into sight. Sadly, some bullets escaped the cross-fire – finding their way into the armor of several Imperial units; but most didn’t seem to escape the cross fire.

----------------

Brian shook briefly as the force of his kick sent the door careening to the ground. Entering in a slightly erratic pattern, his men began to sweep the house. However, a horrible error in protocol committed by several of the newer units left Brian entering the basement stairs – alone.

When he knew he needed help, it was too late.

Slowly making his way down the stairs, the flashlight on his head and weapon providing the only light in the dark, he scanned the open side of the staircase facing the room. He never noticed the thin cord fastened to the concrete wall, leading off into the dark.

When he was only half way down the stairs, the line grew taught – sending Brian crashing down as he tripped over it.

The light from his head still shone forward into the dark room, illuminating the bulky man charging towards him with a heavy hammer swinging from his hands. Brian grappled for his assault rifle – only to realize it was underneath his back.

As the hammer came slamming down towards Brian, still lying on the floor, he put his hands up in an X – absorbing most of the blow. He felt the pain shoot through his left wrist as his armor flexed under the blow.

Sending a shot to the nuts, the man stumbled back as Brian tried to get up – finding his foot twisted in some mass of cord connected to the bottom of the banister. Brian quickly drew his short-sword, knowing full well it would see usage on something living before it met the cord.

He was right.

Brian deflected the stabbing point of a pick axe, swung at him by a man in his early twenties. Parrying the rusted weapon, Brian slid his blade into the man. He pulled it up and out towards the side, almost severing the man in two as he let the blade work its way towards the cord.

Just as he cut it, the first man dove upon him, sending a curled fist into his faceplate. Brian bore the brunt of two more blows before he managed to lift an arm – four short, curved blades rising to prominence. Brian slammed a fist into the face of the man, allowing the blades to follow through – leaving terrible gashes in the man’s chest and face.

He toppled off as Brian got up, swinging his assault rifle around in time to fell the teenager wildly charging at him.

At this, Brian’s men, who had wondered where he was, came down into the basement in force – the few responsible for his solitary position realizing the error of their ways.

The men pouring into the basement turned on the lights, revealing the cowering presence of a young, attractive women – no more than twenty five. Before the other could put a bullet into her head, Brian stopped them. He grabbed her by the arm, dragging her towards the center of the floor, in sight of the man slowly wheezing on the floor, blood leaking from the gashes across his body.

“Your wife? Daughter, perhaps? Doesn’t matter!”

Brian ripped her shirt off with one hand, holding her down with the other. His pants slid down as the man’s eyed bulged – lying their helpless, struggling to move and help – but far too weak to do anything but squirm.

-------------------------------------

Outside, the sweep continued, various parts of the line moving slightly ahead – but always ensuring that they were securely locked and no one could slip through the line.

Imperials were relaxing a bit as new orders came in. Fragmentation grenades and gunfire would only enter a house before Imperial units if men were attacked from someone in the house or who fled into the house. Otherwise they moved in in force, giving no quarter to those who raised arms against them.

Orders were further loosened as the Borman units began to shackle all the occupants of a house who didn’t resist – sending them back towards the main base.

Early cruelty faded as howitzers and tank cannons began to silence, only opening up to devastate a house which held a number of men who were assaulting Borman units.

-------------------------------------

The helicopters touched down, scores and scores of men unloading. They had with them a few small pre-fabricated defenses, which they began to set up – creating the last line locking the city in, ensuring none could escape. The choppers grew to life once more before taking off into the air, heading to carry more men towards this line.

Marcus Muyii, I Corp. and the Theatre's commander had begun to organize a plan. He ordered that three hundred men of the remnant of II Corp. form up in the northern most part of the South Hemisphere trenches, equipped with their captured AK-47s along with the bayonets attached, these men would be a supporting force to an subsequently force. He would have a man every two hundred meters, a stupefyingly few amount of men, behind this he would leave over two hundred men in active reserve, along with ten men guarding the prisoners and a further few dozen to finish the defenses on the already designated Hill 001. His troops in the North Hemisphere, over half his unvarying unit, would form into five different groups. A group would be a unit that was buffered up to a hundred men, equipped with the standard M14, to move and take a relatively close hill and open fire, three hours before dark, and keep up the attack until ordered to cease, but not advancing, simply pinning the enemy units down. This would be the main diversion, since he calculated that the enemy troops were still in close proximity to each other, not willing to search the rest of the trench line for fear of booby traps, this conjecture was correct. Group B would be a unit formed to exactly a hundred fifty men (With the captured weapons) to assault in the southern-most part of the North Hemisphere trench. If this assault was undetected, or had achieved a significant amount of success then Group C, a contrived force of three hundred men, similar in equipment to group B, would reinforce their position. Group D was a further unit of fifty men, also equipped with the same gear, that would be the last immediate reserve specifically for the assault. Group E was roughly seven hundred men that would act as a general reserve.

Three hours before dark Group A began its move, opening up fire on the enemy. Now slightly more experienced then when they were first in-country their shots found their marks surprisingly often, however the return fire was in such volume that they lost eight men before they reach the complete cover of the hill. However the unsuspecting consequence of this action was the commander ordering their Utnäk Battalion, composed of four hundred men, compared to the average six hundred for a Layqin comparable unit, to make a wide flanking maneuver that would cross the neighboring country, and would as such completely bypass the perception of the Lluviando commanders until they were behind the attacks, though this movement would take four hours. In the trenches the Layqin, now numbering about nine hundred, began to form up and their fire becoming increasingly concentrated.

Over in the South Hemisphere trenches the Layqin commander was paranoid of an enemy counterattack, his unit in such disorganization that even a force of two hundred men could force an arduous and protracted retreat. His only viable force was his Utnäk battalion. He ordered this unit to launch small counterattacks all across the enemy trench line, which it did, usually in a force between twenty and seventy. The first action was against the northern most section, unluckily they had ran right into the shrunken II Corp. and were decimated. This left the commander to believe that the enemy was preparing to launch an attack from the north, so in response he ordered increased counterattacks in the south to divert the force into a more defensive cohesion. This attack was replied to by a reserve platoon, at this point in the Southern Hemisphere that was equivalent to about ten men, and was forced back. Such circumstances would come into abundance in the souther sections.

An hour had passed since Group A's initial assault and Group B began to move the three hundred meters of hilly terrain into the south trenches of the North Hemisphere line. They made it without interruption and soon met up with II Corp. and Group B began to follow. It was decided that they would organize their unit for an hour and then begin the trek threw the trenches. Due to the angled nature of the North Hemisphere trenches it did not allow them to have no more then a few meters of line of sight, it was decided by the commanders to have their machetes more readily available then their attached bayonets. The force now consisted of over seven hundred men and they soon began their march. The tactical formula would be two men width and their would be two meters distance before each unit, but as soon as any one man yelled 'Un ut nalli!' the men would close ranks and surge forward, this command was left to the individual soldier at the front line, the officers would be seeing some very combat bloody very soon. Group B, however, was ordered to go top side and trail a hundred meters behind the other units, they would run a top the trench line and fire down into the enemy when clashes became escalated into unit-on-unit combat.

---

The last of the defenders, except the four remaining chargers, had been defeated. The last of the villagers crowded into their huts, currently the ratio of man to woman was about 1:1.78 and many of the men left were above fifty. However for the rapist and sexual offenders the amount of women infected with various diseases, ranging from syphilis to AIDS, was staggering. Perhaps in the future, if there was any continued occupation by either Lluviando or Borman forces, this would be the Layqins major weapon, sex, and it was not one that would be easily defeated by either force.

OOC: So, is the village pretty much taken?

OOC: So, is the village pretty much taken?

|OOC: Aye, you kinda killed everyone that fought back...|

As Imperial units moved through the city, killing any resisters left, they rounded up the remaining peoples and sent them back to base camp. The Empire had deployed considerable force to the city, and had absolutely overwhelmed it. Helicopters returned to pick up soldiers, transporting them towards the Lluviando men. The mechanized line on the adjacent side to entry also began to make their way north towards Lluviando men.

The Empire now controlled a swath of territory on the coast, the bulk of the force used to take the city continuing to expand southward and in towards the country – enlarging the area under Imperial control.

But this was not where the problems were, Lluviando men were desperately in need of help.

VTOL aircraft came in fast, automatic cannons and several short-range missiles ensuring that any Layqin men would not attempt to interfere with the aircraft. Supply crates were dropped right behind the men from Lluviando as Imperial soldiers clambered out, helping to ferry supplies into the trenches with the Lluviando men.

Huge craters graced the land where naval bombardment and missiles had eradicated enemy troop clusters. Imperial units needed to be scattered around these, then making their way into the trenches, because the mass of aircraft was too thick to allow all to drop right near their allies.

VTOL aircraft began to take off, returning home as Borman soldiers dispersed Doomani machine guns, ammunition, grenades, rations, med packs, and more to the Lluviando men.

One of the Imperial units, slightly taller than the rest, began to move through the allied men, “Where is your commanding officer?”