War - Dansaa Archipelago (MT)

[Federal Republic of Zimbabwe]

//OOC here

The communications officer at Dansaa Naval Base furrowed her brow and pulled up the diagnostics menu. Communications to the Northeastern half of the Archipelago had gone silent for over a minute now. While diagnostics was running, she picked up the phone and dialed the number for the FRZ-Dansaa Telecomms. "Hello, communications with the Northeast sector seem to be down, can you confirm?"

"Please hold while we check," said the man.

Seconds ticked by and turned to a minute, in which diagnostics finished. Error 30217a: Hardline connection failure. Please contact administrator. Hardline connection failure, that happened when the actual lines had been damaged. It happened on occasion, but not enough to be commonplace.

"We can confirm loss of communications on an Error 30217a Hardline failure. A repair boat will be sent out to assess damage and conduct repairs later today."

"Thank you," replied the communications officer. She compiled a report including the conversation transcript and sent it to her superior, not thinking much of it. She glanced around to look for a supervisor, and seeing none, opened a solitaire program on her phone.

Two hours later, a cable-laying and repair boat chugged slowly along the stretch of sea where the cable of the Northeast sector lay. "Ayeh, we should be reaching the site of damage soon, ain't foun' it yet, sah should be up in the next 'alf kilometer," said the chief engineer, keeping an eye on the scanner. "Some reefs near here, could be them tha damaged th' cable, ayeh." Ten minutes later the chief engineer growled in victory as the scanner chimed, alerting a breakage in signal. "We're here, ayeh, hook up th' cable and draw it up to tha winch, les see what we got here."

In the distance a patrol craft turned and made a heading for the cable boat.

[Gernonai]

"This is PT-172, we have a small unidentified naval vessel in sector Z-7, we are moving in to investigate." Sergeant Speer messaged to the Gernonaise naval base on Dansaa.
"Roger that PT-172, we are tracking you on radar." They replied
"Copy that command." Speer turned to one of his gunners, "Be ready for anything, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."
He replied, "Yesserie." He double-checked the minigun and determined everything was working, "All systems go!"
Speer gave a short laugh and grabbed his binoculars. The boat looked normal enough, but, according to his maps, it was in Gernonaise territorial waters. However, it had Zimbabwen markings on it. "Ey Geoff!" He called.
Geoff, the man steering the boat, called from the wheelhouse, "Ja boss?!" The wind was blowing hard as they shot across the water.
"Steer us to intercept that little craft over there!"
"Right away boss!" Geoff turned the wheel and they turned toward the small boat.
As they grew closer to the craft, Speer got on a loudspeaker and announced, "This is PT-172 of the Gernonaise Navy! You are trespassing in Gernonaise colonial waters! Turn off your engine and gather where we can see you! Put your hands in the air and prepare to be boarded!"

[Federal Republic of Zimbabwe]

The patrol boat drew little attention from the cable boat as it made it's heading. The winch hummed as it hauled up cable steadily. The engineers only looked up when an amplified voice rang across the water. "This is PT-172 of the Gernonaise Navy! You are trespassing in Gernonaise colonial waters! Turn off your engine and gather where we can see you! Put your hands in the air and prepare to be boarded!"

Chief Engineer Harbin raised an eyebrow and looked to the patrol boat as it drew near. "Wha th' hell are they talkin about? Sam, git on th' radio, let base know we've got some idiots wanting to board us. Gernonaise waters my left buttock."

Sam nodded and went in the wheelhouse, and grabbed the mic "Dispatch, this is the Big Tuna cable repair boat, come in, over." He waited for a reply. "Dispatch, this is the Big Tuna, come in. Over."

"Big Tuna, this is Dispatch, whats up? Over."

Harbin leaned against the railing, crossing his arms and yelling back. "We hear ya, ya Gerdies. I've got cable to repair in Zimbabwean waters, here. 'ow about a raincheck on our little date?"

[Gernonai]

Speer looked down at his maps once again. Once again he confirmed that this boat was in Gernonaise waters. He got back on the loudspeaker, "I repeat, you are trespassing in Gernonaise colonial waters. Turn off your engine and prepare to be boarded!" Speer looked toward his gunner, "If they don't comply this time, give them a warning burst in the water off their port side." Speer grinned.
His gunner grinned back and said, "I will do so happily sir!" He then attached the solid belt to the gun. This weapon could fire over 4,000 rounds a minute, and could tear a man in half.
Speer then got on the radio and said, "Command, we may have a problem here. The craft refuses to comply with boarding and claims to be in Zimbabwean waters. Please advise on the latter."
He heard back, "Roger that PT-172, standby." After a few moments they said, "PT-172, this boat is in fact in Gernonaise waters, if they continue to refuse to be boarded then you are to assume they have hostile intent, and proceed accordingly, understood?"
Speer grimaced at this news, "Roger that command."

[Federal Republic of Zimbabwe]

"Dispatch, we've got a Gernonaise patrol boat wanting to board us. They say we are in Gernonaise waters. Please advise, over."

Harbin gazed coolly at the man attaching a belt feed to the machine gun. "Bunch of bullies," he growled. "Hold on ta yer panties, Gerdy. No need to sweat." He strode into the wheelhouse and glanced at Sam. "They're settin up their machine gun. I dunno what they are gonna do, but if they want a fight, we don't have the means to shoot back. Stay in here, don't let them see you. John and I will talk to them."

Sam nodded "Dispatch knows about them."

"Big Tuna, comply with their orders. I will alert Dansaa Naval Base of this. Over"

"Copy that, Dispatch, over." Sam gave Harbin a sour look. "Since when did Gerdy waters extend this far?"

Harbin shook his head and shrugged. The winch needed power from the engines to run, and he wasn't about to let the work be delayed for an hour while some Gernonaise tramped over his boat. Harbin kept the engines in idle, and went back out. "I've got two kilometers of cable to pull up. I'm not cutting the engines and setting us back several hours of work. Feel free to come aboard, just don't break anything," he yelled back.

John stayed at the cable winch, letting it go unobserved could prove deadly if the cable got caught on something and snapped. It would whip up with great force and possibly kill someone.

[Klowr]

[CNS Winston; somewhere off the coast of North-east the Dansaa Archipelago]

The Captain looked at his watch, it was nearly time for his First mate to take over, annoyed that the fool had yet to arrive early. The captain looked down at the sea, watching the waves dance as the ship moved slowly through the water. Moving back into the bridge, the captain sat back in his favourite chair. The captain was, Captain Christopher O'Melchett, was a short, balding, plump man; having served many years in the Commonwealth navy, he had given himself to drinking when his position for Admiral was turned down for the fifth time, the various excuse given to him, 'too valuable' and 'too inexperienced,' caused him to start drinking his mind & dreams, having served in the navy for many years, the captain felt betrayed by the navy for this position.

However, he liked CNS Winston; it was a humble boat, it had agility and speed. However the navy had never cared much of it, out-dated weapons, and the most crazy crew ever presented to him, though he did meant that in a good way. The navy only use of it was to supply the far-away colony of Davis isle.

"Sir, there seems to be something going on --not a click from here. Should we investigate?" his radio operator asked.

"Hmpf, why not." The Captain grunted out, putting his hands on top of his belly, and slouching in his seat. 'Must be nothing' he thought to himself, as the ship changed course towards the incident, closing his eyes, and sleeping.

[Luicinas]

30 nautical miles East of Northeast Sector
S.G.R. Cvjetko

The Byovic Class cruiser, the S.G.R. Cvjetko, was on a scouting mission to observe the area around the archipelago. Though Luicinas did not have any colonial holdings on the islands, it wished to get a clear map of the area for any further military exercises. The area seemed to be a good area to establish a training center to train Luicinian troops in island and archipelago exercises.

On board the S.G.R. Cvjetko, Lieutenant Neven Lukić led his very first mission. He had just been promoted to the rank if lieutenant a month ago and was eager to get a mission under his belt. Neven had been hand selected by Byovic himself as a lieutenant for his aptitude during training missions. In the report of the promotion, Byovic described him as “level-headed” and “calculated”, a great compliment from the glorious warrior of the motherland.

Around 50 other officers and 300 enlisted men served as the ship’s complement. Many were monitoring the ships radar at the time which had a range of about 100 nautical miles and did at the moment detect some sort of action in the Northeast sector. At the moment the decision was to observe, and it was believed that nothing would come of the disturbance.

The ship was lightly armed, as it did not need a full armament for its scouting mission. It came only equipped with torpedo and infrared decoys, that were usually on all ships, lightweight Mark 45 guns, a few mark 46 torpedos, and one tomahawk missile, which was required on scouting missions as a final security procedure.

[Gernonai]

"Thank you kindly. Sorry about this, orders from the top." Speer said as two of his men put fenders out and tied the boats together. They then hopped on the boat and went up to Harbin, bringing their XE-1 Carbines with them.
"Hello, my name is Private Hans Colmar. Sorry bout this sir, but I need to know a few things about your crew. First, how many of you are there? Second, are any of you armed? Third, do you have any other contraband that we should know about? If you are truthful and honest then you will not need to worry. But if we find anything illegal, we are obliged to seize the vessel."
Back on the PT boat, the gunner of the GAU-17/A minigun trained his sights on the stern of the boat. "Ey sir, there is a guy hanging out at the back of the boat."
Speer called back to him, "Keep an eye on him." He then relayed the message to Colmar and he asked Harbin, "Also, what is that guy doin at the back of the boat?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gernonaise Colonial Naval Base, Dansaa
"Admiral, there seems to be a lot of activity around sector Z-7, multiple craft coming around the area where PT-172 has stopped and boarded the Zimbabwean vessel."
The admiral responded, "Message the Sergeant of that PT boat immediately. Scramble 3 helicopters to give them air cover and assure everything goes smoothly."
"Roger that Admiral." He then got on the radio and said, "PT-172, be advised, several unidentified surface craft are headed your way. We have helos on the way to provide cover, ETA 5 mikes. Continue with boarding operation. We will keep you updated."
A few minutes later three AH-64D attack helicopters took off from the naval base, lightly armed but prepared for a fight if it occurred.

[Federal Republic of Zimbabwe]

FRZ-Dansaa Naval Base

Dansaa Naval Commander Roxanne Sandari casually flicked the ashes from a cigarette into the ashtray. She loved her command. Dansaa Archipelago boasted wonderful weather and a peaceful climate. Only three times did they have to put the base on alert. When her phone rang, she sighed and set the cigarette aside, and picked up the phone. "Sandari here."

"I have a call to forward to you from FRZ-Dansaa Telecomms, ma'am."

"Lets hear it."

"Commander Sandari? This is Bill Watters from FRZ-Dansaa Telecomm. I have a cable boat out on the archipelago, and they are reporting that a Gernonaise patrol craft is wanting to board them. They should not be in Gernonaise waters according to our maps."

Sandair closed her eyes for a moment, "what are the coordinates?" Watters relayed them to her, and she checked them. "The ship is close to the territorial boundary. I'm going to give you my extension number, if anything develops, call me immediately."

"Yes ma'am. We are in contact with the ship, and we have told them to allow the patrol boat to board."

"Alright, thank you." She hung up and put her head in her hands. The Gernonaise territories had given them some grief over the years. She had met their fleet commander at a formal banquet and had taken an immediate disliking to the man. In all honesty, she would be perfectly happy if the Gerdies left, or did something embarrassing. Though that was unlikely, she could still write up a formal complaint to the Gernonaise commander. Sandari pulled up a text program and began to type.

[Federal Republic of Zimbabwe]

Northeast Sector, Cable repair boat Big Tuna.

Harbin crossed his meaty arms and let his eyes roam over the array of weaponry brought on board, then studied the man before speaking. "Captain Julian Harbin of the Big Tuna cable repair vessel. We're here to assess damage and apply repairs to restore communications with the Northeast sector. There are two of us," he lied, wanting to keep the man in the wheelhouse safe and unnoticed. "Myself and John Lustop, the man operating the cable winch in the back of the boat. And no, we are not armed. The only thing that could be considered a weapon is the flare gun. Would you like to confiscate it," he asked dryly. He had personal effects taken by Gernonaise officials before when he had been arrested for "disorderly conduct" on one of their islands.

[Gernonai]

Colmar gave a dry laugh at that. "No I think you can keep that. My friend here, Mister Private Nechovin is just going to take a look around the boat, is that ok with you?" Colmar was sympathetic to the man, as he knew he was just trying to do his job. But Colmar had to do his job as well, and was fiercely patriotic, not wanting any harm to come to his adopted country.
Just then, the sound of rotor blades was heard, Colmar was puzzled and looked over his shoulder at the helicopters coming from the Naval Base. He looked at Speer who said, "Don't worry, those are ours. Some unidentified vessels have been spotted coming our way, and they are here to provide overwatch."
"Alright then." Colmar turned to Harbin again, "So it's ok if Private Nechovin searches your vessel?"

[Federal Republic of Zimbabwe]

"So it's ok if Private Nechovin searches your vessel?"

It took effort for Harbin to not glance reflexively at the wheelhouse. He eyed the private and grunted. "if Nechovin breaks anything, he's swimming home." With that he strode over to a hatch and opened it. "th' head and engine compartment is down there. Feel free ta search the ship," he said loudly so Sam could hear, "but don't take anything that isn't already yours."

In the wheelhouse, Sam glanced at the door, puzzled as to why Harbin was almost yelling. It took footsteps for him to realize why. He quickly put the mic back and glanced around the wheelhouse, looking for a place to hide. There were maps and a row of lockers, but anyone would likely search them. He looked at the gap between the lockers and door. If he crouched a little to keep his head below the window, he could hide there when the door was open, and blocking him from sight. Carefully, he trodded to the gap and pressed himself against the wall, crouching down and doing his best to breath softly. He wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers and waited for the search to finish.

Outside, Harbin looked up at the approaching helicopters. "Quite the reception for a cable boat. You guys always Johnny on the spot or what?"

[Gernonai]

Colmar nodded to Nechovin and he proceeded to search the boat. Colmar then said to Harbin, "Not usually, but apparently someone back at the navy base thinks that those boats on their way here are possibly dangerous." He then called to Nechovin, "Don't forget to search the wheelhouse!"
Nechovin replied, "Aye aye, captain!" and both men grinned. They had a little running joke between them that had started back at the academy.
So Nechovin entered the wheelhouse. He went over to the table there and rifled through some papers which seemed innocent enough. He then proceeded to open and check all the lockers. He found nothing that was even remotely dangerous to the Gernonaise. He took a look behind the large map hanging on the wall. Obviously there was nothing there. He was just about to leave when he saw a few hairs sticking up through the window. He leveled his rifle and aimed it at the door with one hand, and with the other he grabbed to door and slammed it shut, revealing a man crouched behind the door. "Hey!" He yelled, "What the bloody hell are you doin?"

[Federal Republic of Zimbabwe]

Sam stood slowly with a nervous grin on his face, hands above his head. It was a natural reflex to him when in a bind, usually accompanied by light giggling. "Boo," he said quietly, glancing to the radio mike. "I was told to keep low, in, uh, case you guys weren't friendly..." He stared at the gun pointed at him. "So uh, what happens now?"

Harbin looked over as the door slammed and a loud voice could be heard. He looked to John and back at the PT captain impassively, silently praying he wouldn't hear a gunshot.


FRZ-Dansaa Naval Base

The radar operator picked up his phone and called Sandari's office. "Radar operator Sanchez, I am picking up heavy activity in Sector 72. I count four naval craft and three helos. Repeat, four naval craft and three helos."

Sandari stood up in her chair, silently swearing. "Sector 72, you said?"

"Confirm Sector 72."

"Thank you." She hung up, then picked up the phone again, and put it on the loudspeaker system. "Attention all personnel. I am issuing Alert Level Three, repeat, Alert Level Three, potential military activity on our borders. This is not a drill, repeat, Alert Level Three. Please have IDs on your person and do not leave the base for any reason. Again, this is not a drill, Alert Level Three is issued." She set the phone down and keyed in the alert code on her computer. It would automatically record a log of the alert and send a flash message to the FRZ Naval Command.

Sector 72 was 45 minutes away for her craft on base. Still, she needed a vessel outbound. She grabbed the military-encrypted radio and keyed the mike. "This is Commander Sanchez calling the FRZ Trident, please respond. Over."

"Commander Sanchez, this is Communications Officer Dwight of the FRZ Trident, proceed, over."

"FRZ Trident, you are ordered to go to Sector 72, we have a civilian boat that may be in distress and heavy activity. Keep a distance of ten kilometers. If our civilians are in immediate danger, you are authorized to render assistance in the manner you see fit. Authentication Alpha, Alpha, Epislon, Whiskey, Nine. Repeat, authentication Alpha, Alpha, Epislon, Whiskey, Nine. Over."

"Authentication Alpha, Alpha, Epislon, Whiskey, Nine, confirm, over."

"Authentication confirmed. Over."

"Roger that, we will proceed, over." Dwight called out to the captain, "Sir! Priority mission from Base."

Captain Howard Gar strode across the room to Dwight. "What is it, sailor?"

Dwight slid the notepad that he had written down the conversation transcript, his eyes hardening. "Very well. Navigations, get us a heading for Sector 72, stay 10 kilometers out of the action. He grabbed the ship-board mike. "Engines, get us full power, hydro-pumps going as well. Over."

"Copy that, full power and hydro pumps, over."

The Trimarite Class corvette pulled out smoothly from her berth three minutes later. At full speed, she would take 30 minutes to reach Sector 72.

[Gernonai]

Speer and his men immediately raised their weapons and pointed them at the crew of the small vessel. Nechovine grabbed Sam by the arm and pushed him out of the wheelhouse, keeping his rifle pointed at his back. He brought him out to the deck of the boat. Speer then called to him, "Go get the guy in the back!" Speer was pointing his weapon at Sam while Colmar was aiming at Harbin.
Colmar took control, "What the hell was he doing hiding in there, huh? You'd better have a damn good reason for lying to us. I have half a mind to blow your brains out right now."
Speer got on the radio, "Command this is PT-172, we have boarded the unidentified vessel and the passengers have tried to hide one man from us. We are questioning them now."
"Roger that PT-172. Be advised, we have even more activity converging on your location, we suggest you wrap up there ASAP. Do what must be done."
"Roger that Command."

[Federal Republic of Zimbabwe]

John was dragged away from the winch unceremoniously, before he was able to stop or slow it down. Harbin clenched his fists, then relaxed them. He glanced at his crew to make sure they were unharmed, and eyed Colmar. "I was sheltering him from you. I did not know your intentions or what you wanted. He is an engineer working with us." Harbin eyed the gun pointed at him, then looked hard into Colmar's eyes. "Well, what are you going to do" he asked softly.

Below the surface, the steel cable steadily ascended, sliding over the seafloor and up a coral reef. Part of the reef shelf broke under the grating movement of the cable, causing the cable to slip, and fall into a V shaped gap. It caught, jerked free, then wedged itself tighter into the gap. Tension on the cable began to build.

[Gernonai]

Colmar, without moving, called to Speer, "Sarge, what're we gonna do with them?" As Nechovine returned from the back of the boat. The gunner back on the PT boat now had all three men in his sights.
Speer thought for a moment, then said, "Well we have to get the hell out of here, cuff the one that was hiding and get him on here." Colmar walked around behind him and took out some flex-cuffs.
He then said to Sam, "Put your hands behind your back."
Speer once again radioed the Naval base, "Command, this is PT-172, we are returning with one man in custody for stowing away in a foreign vessel bound for Gernonaise territory." He said all this while looking straight at Harbin, and as he did, a smirk slowly appeared on his face.

[Luicinas]

15 nautical miles East of Notheast Sector
S.G.R. Cvjetko
A tall man strode through the corridors of the ship with haste. The corridors were small and uncomfortable and many people were transiting in them. The man had to dodge these people, muttering “Important, Message for the Captain” as he did. This man was petty officer Bernard Lukić. Bernard had been placed on the ship after one of the last class officers caught a case of the measles and they need a replacement. Bernard was just 2 months out of the naval academy in Red Port, and with his lack of experience came the inability to speak loudly or audibly to superiors.

“Important message captain,” Bernard whispered as soon as he entered the captain’s quarters. Neven was eating his lunch at the time and had been told that there was little activity in the area.

“You’re going to have to speak up son,” Neven said. The use of the word “son” was an odd facet of Neven’s language. He was 23 and yet was under the impression that everyone was his offspring.

“Important message,” Bernard whispered again holding out the note he had been given. Neven decided not to ask a second time and instead took the note from Bernard’s hand dismissing him afterward. Neven uttered a few curses in the petty officer’s direction before reading the note.

Sign of intense activity 15 nautical miles to the West, suspected ship boarding, radar indicates birds in area. Orders?

Neven was surprised but took the situation with a hint of optimism. Perhaps this was his time to shine and show that he could deal with a new, novel situation.

A message was sent to the boarding ship’s frequency:

Code: Select all

Unidentified Vessel
Please state origin of your vessel and the possession of the waters you are in
SGR Cvjetko – Luicinas


[Gernonai]

Geoff in the wheelhouse noticed the message pop up on the ship's computer. It was his job to deal with this kind of stuff so he quickly sent a message back.

Code: Select all

SGR Cvjetko, this is PT-172 of the Gernonaise Navy, we are in Gernonaise colonial waters dealing with a smuggling run. The situation is under control. Thank you for your concern.

Geoff knew that this was the story they were going to be sticking to. He didn't like it one bit, but he wasn't going to go against his superior. The Sarge didn't always make the right choice, but the choices he made always had a purpose. He was a good man, he just displayed it differently than most.

[Federal Republic of Zimbabwe]

"You son of a bitch Gerdy, yer not taking any of my crew. I will yell as loud as I have to, beat my chest hard as I have to and make as many calls as I need to if you do, to get him back." The winch began to whine with the strain of the caught cable. Harbin ignored it. "This is a cable repair boat, not a cocaine or weapons smuggler. What are ya, vying fer a promotion? Big man, calling out three helicopters to deal with three engineer-" he stopped as the whine grew louder. His head snapped to the winch and his eyes grew wide. "Oh shit the cable!" He growled, lunging for the winch, shoving Colmar's gun out of the way. "Dammit!"

FRZ Trident - 23 km South of sector 72

"Thirteen kilometer to go until we are in position, sir," said the navigation officer.

"Make no contact, keep our electronic eyes and ears active, scan all frequencies," replied Gar. "If a ship tries to hail us, let me know." He looked to the communications officer, "you got that?"

"Make no contact, let you know if they hail us. Scan frequencies. Got it."

[Gernonai]

Colmar heard the noise as well, and when Harbin shoved his gun, he reacted instinctively. He fired three rounds into Harbin's torso, and Speer fired a burst at John. Nechovine then grabbed Sam and threw him over onto the PT boat, where Speer was waiting for him. He clubbed him hard in the head with the butt of his rifle. "Let's go!" Speer yelled.
They could all hear the sound of the cable about to snap. Colmar dove into the PT boat and quickly untied the ropes attaching them to the cable boat. "Come on Nechovine!" he called frantically.
Nechovine, still off-balance from throwing Sam onto the PT boat, was still on the Zimbabwean vessel when the cable snapped.

[Federal Republic of Zimbabwe]

An impressive amount of tension had built up on the cable between the winch and the coral. The cable snapped and surged up, lashing out of the water like Poseidon's whip, recoiling and striking Nechovine in the thigh, carving flesh to the bone and cracking it. He fell to the deck screaming, clutching at his shattered thigh, blood poured onto the deck. Nechovine was lucky to be alive at the moment, cable snaps could easily be fatal, snapping a man's neck like he would a toothpick. The cable flopped to the deck and slithered as the winch tried to wind the now messy cable.

On the PT boat Sam was dimly aware that the cable had snapped, and his immediate reaction was to fix it. "Cable," he slurred, staggering to the edge of the PT boat, five feet to the left of the ladder. "Cable!"

[Gernonai]

"Get him Colmar! Now!" Speer yelled. Colmar dove at Sam and tackled him to the deck. He finally flex cuffed him and brought him to the wheelhouse, where he tied him to a chair.
Meanwhile, Speer lept across the gap between the two boats and rushed to Nechovine. He pulled out a package of battle wrap, ripped it open and wrapped his leg tightly. He then yelled to Geoff in the wheelhouse, "Bring the boat close!" He then looked Nechovine in the eye and said, "Calm down, you have to trust me here." Nechovine stopped wailing and took a deep breath. "This is going to hurt, but we have to get off this boat." He slung Nechovine over his shoulder, hearing a grunt of pain.
Geoff steered the boat so that Speer could get back on from the cable boat. Speer laboured to get himself and Nechovine over to the PT boat, but he succeeded. He brought Nechovine to a bunk and set him down. He had lost a lot of blood and was fading from consciousness. Speer called Colmar down to keep him awake and to tend to him. Speer went back topside and looked at the gunner on the minigun, "Sink it." He said. The gunner unleashed a 5 second burst from the weapon, and it tore the cable boat to shreds. He then called to Geoff, "Get us home!" He also radioed the Naval base, "Command, This is PT-172, we are coming in. We have one seriously wounded and one man in custody. The other men tried to resist. They are dead. The boat has been sent to the bottom of the sea."
"Roger that PT-172, be advised, a Zimbabwean cruiser has been detected heading straight for you. Get back here now."
"Understood Command."

[Klowr]

[CNS Winston, Sector 72]

"Sir, our radars are picking up something..." The radio operator slowly said, noticing a large vessel heading the way. The Captain didn't move or flinch and just asked, "Distance?"

"Hard to tell sir, I'll say around a kilometer from here."

"Send them a radio message." The Captain said, gesturing his arm for the radio operator to go-away.

"Unidentified vessel. Please state your ship and purpose. This is the Commonwealth Naval Ship Winston." The radio operator, said into the microphone. Even in this day and age the navy hadn't bothered to upgrade the ships radios, effectively putting a radio which was designed in the sixties on too this boat.

The Captain suddenly realise something, turning to his first mate, Haraldar Denis, "Haraldar, this is international waters, right?"

"Yes sir, our charts have stipulated that we are in international waters." Haraldar said, moving towards the map.

[Colonial]

The U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, Colonial's largest and most powerful battleship, was in the area of the waters near the current conflict while conducting war games. The calls going back and forth between the two ships were interfering with the radio of the Ronald Reagan.. The messages going back and forth were being recorded by the ships captain James T. Kirk, and than sent to the Admiral of the Navy Mr. Jefferson Davis.

"What actions, if any, should be taken, Admiral?" Asked the new captain of the beautiful ship, Kirk.

"Captain, please stand by for further information. I'm going to jump on the horn to ask President Huckabee." Admiral Davis replied.

The Admiral tried contact the President for over an hour before finally receiving a response. When the call finally came back the entire crew was walking on pens and needles. This phone call would mean the difference between continuing a War Games common drill, or to engage in a military action on the sea.

"Admiral, Davis. I thank you for your waiting so long. I have been in a meeting with the Secretary of Defense. He's advised me to have you go ahead and approach the vessels, with the flag at half mass to symbolize peaceful actions, for now. I'm contacting both Governments. We believe that this is going to turn into a full pledge war very soon, so close to our home we have to get involved." President Huckabee.

"Sir, I understand. I'll tell Admiral Kirk to make way towards the Ships." Admiral Davis.

"Actually Admiral, we want YOU to fly out to the ship and take command yourself. Please be there soon to assume command. We have already advised Captain Kirk of the actions to be taken. He's waiting for you now." Pres. Huckabee.

"Yes, Sir. Mr. President I'll be in the area within half the hour for further direction." Admiral Davis.

Less than one hour had passed before the Admiral was aboard the ship, Ronald Reagan. The guns had been loaded, the crew prepared for battle, and the ship was in rout for the battle of the seas. Like ordered, once the ship had came within sight they called the captains of the two ships at "friction" and asked for details as to where the conflict was at in terms of peace talks.

The Sea's were currently filled with the Navy's of several nations. It looked more like a Giant port than the middle of an ocean. It was turning into the World WarIII, only on the sea this time rather than on dry land. Either way this battle went, one nation was sure to come out with much more ocean room to patrol. this would be a huge victory for one, and a devastating blow for another.