The Wheel of Fire (Earth II)

[Terra Reborn]

ACT I

The Rogue Spear

You do me wrong to take me out o' the grave:—
Thou art a soul in bliss; but I am bound
Upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears
Do scald like molten lead.
-Act 4, King Lear, William Shakesphere

[Terra Reborn]

His Grace William Thomas Dubaku, 1st Duke of Sierra Leone
Dubaku House
Freetown, Sierra Leone, the Apilonian Empire
Saturday 22nd March 2014, 0900hrs Local Time (0100hrs Imperial Capital Time, 0900hrs Zulu Time)

William, Imperial Duke of Sierra Leone, smiled warmly as the three Imperial Military officers stepped out of their vehicles and began to make their way towards the Ducal Residence. They were all in formal dress as the situation demanded of course, not full dress uniforms to be sure but certainly uniforms that looked far too hot to be wearing in weather like it was today. But then the military had their way of doing things and William wasn’t going to stop them from doing it, he knew it as well as they did, having served in his own Army many years ago. As the Duke he had a substantial input into the military defence of his territory, and as such the four most senior military officers present routinely briefed him, usually on a Monday but this was a special occasion after all. He greeted them all warmly with firm handshakes and led them into the building. It wasn’t a long walk between the entrance and the conference room that they usually used for briefings, due to both its comfort and the presence of a number of screens upon which information or images could be displayed.

They were here this morning because the situation in Liberia was taking a downwards turn.

The Republic of Liberia, on the Duchy of Sierra Leone’s southern border, had been in turmoil for years now, being probably the most unstable of all the territories in this part of the world. Well that wasn’t strictly speaking true, for all of the previous year the first democratically elected President in years, Joseph Fox, had been making real headway in solving the problems, with the subtle support of the Apilonian Empire. Unfortunately in the New Year the situation had, once again, gone completely to pot. Fox had attempted to restore order and government authority to the highly corrupt southern districts of his country, and it was safe to say that those corrupt factions had not particularly appreciated this. A number of groups had begun to cause trouble and then, at the beginning of this month, they had consolidated. Using their ill-gotten wealth and black market contacts they had been able to arm their troops in short order and had gone on the offensive.

The Republican Army had been able to check their advance at the St. John River where they had dug in their boots and refused to give up any more ground to the rebels. Unfortunately that put them within sixty miles of the capital. As a result the Republican Army was spread extremely thin across the board, they had a grand total of two divisions of ground troops, roughly twenty thousand men, with the rest being in the various support roles that kept the Army running, in addition there were roughly a hundred thousand militia reserve troops armed and in the field, but they had no combat aircraft, only a few helicopters and light aircraft, the only reason this hadn’t doomed them was because the rebels didn’t have them either. The 1st Division had been deployed along the river, along with the bulk of the militia, whilst the 2nd Division was stationed along the St. Paul River and Monrovia itself. There had been an uneasy stand-off over the St. John for several weeks now as everyone tried to work out what was going on, which was only made worse by the fact that no one knew how many troops the rebels could call upon.

The Apilonian Empire had largely been in the background. They had been supportive of the Fox Government during its year in uncontested power, it was seen as a promising beacon of hope in this part of the world. With the rebellion there was increasing talk back home of some sort of intervention, already thousands were believed to be dead, including a not unsubstantial number of civilians, and the Empire had never been afraid to intervene in such things if it was for the greater good, the likes of Rhodes and the Bahrain. So far they had been providing a substantial amount of humanitarian support to the Republican government, the Imperial East India Company was investing heavily in the territory, especially in regards to trade and infrastructure which it specialised in. Of course the regretful events in the south had resulted in the loss of some investment and those that remained were now constrained to the North due to the rebellion, largely negating the good work they had done in the south before the rebellion had begun. It was a damn shame because the general population of the size, who by and large weren’t corrupt, had really appreciated the work they had been doing.

Fortunately, as the Imperial Parliament edged closer to authorising intervention, the Empire’s military forces in the area weren’t exactly unprepared. The rise of belligerent rhetoric and actions from the Republic of the Khorsunui Nation, most notably the missile test the previous year into the EEZ of a Layartebian territory, had resulted in Sierra Leone being reinforced. The 19th Armoured Division had been deployed to bring XXIII Corps, the ground command authority for all forces in Sierra Leone, up to full strength and (more importantly) bringing a force of main battle tanks into play. In addition the Imperial Air Force had deployed an entire extra group, No. 76 Group IAF flying F-58 Vipers to substantially enhance the combat capability of its forces. And finally of course the Imperial Navy had deployed a force of patrol boats on permanent assignment to Sierra Leone to ensure that the main squadron could remain consolidated if the need arose.. It was this ability to deploy forces from several different parts of the Empire, without compromising defences in those areas, that was one of the great strengths of the Empire, especially in parts of the Empire such as Sierra Leone which were still very much undergoing rebuilding and, with the exception of ground forces which had been fully trained by this point, relied on the Empire for protection.

So although the Empire’s military forces in the area were arrayed against the Khorsunis, there was more than enough to intervene in Liberia if the need arose.

Which, William thought dryly as she settled into his chair, was no doubt what this meeting was about.

He looked at the officers as they settled into their seats. The most senior of the three, and dual-hatted as Commander, Imperial Forces Sierra Leone, was Lieutenant General Sir Nicolas Leach, an experienced Apilonian officer who had been specially selected to head up the ground forces in Sierra Leone. Commodore Henry Taylor, Commander of the South Atlantic Station, who was also overseeing the gradual crewing of the River-Class Patrol Ships that were assigned here by naval personnel born in Sierra Leone. Finally there was Air Commodore John Carter of the Imperial Air Force. They were all officers from other parts of the Empire, providing the senior leadership that had been lost during the short-lived civil war in Sierra Leone, the training of the troops had been completed in the time since the Empire had taken control, but rebuilding the senior levels of command would take longer.

“Good morning, Gentlemen,” William said warmly.

“Good Morning, Your Grace,” All three officers replied.

“Alright, you requested this meeting Sir Nicolas,” William commented. “I assume that the situation in Liberia has deteriorated?”

“Yes, Your Grace, our contacts in the Republican Army as well as our own reconnaissance assets are showing strong indications that the rebels are massing on the otherside of the river in preparation for an attack,” Leach replied. “They’ve also been stepping up their mortar fire over the river, they’ve still not been able to get their hands on any heavy weapons or artillery pieces, thank goodness.”

Leach sighed.

“However, that might be changing,” He said heavily. “Commodore Taylor has reported that…”

Sub Lieutenant Daniel Cooper KGM IN
HMS Grays Harbour
Off South Liberia
Saturday 22nd March 2014, 0900hrs Local Time (0100hrs Imperial Capital Time, 0900hrs Zulu Time)

Sub-Lieutenant Daniel Cooper looked critically down at the radar screen then up again at the ship in question that was just entering visual range. The Imperial Navy had been granted special authority by the Republic of Liberia to patrol its coastlines against smugglers and other such undesirables, whilst at the same time training its future officers for when it could get its naval forces re-constituted. To accomplish this the Imperial Navy had deployed a force of ten River-Class Patrol Vessels to the South Atlantic Station and the Grays Harbour was one of these ships. Their job had become more complicated with the rebellion in the south, but the fact that the Rebels didn’t have access to weapons that could hurt them was a godsend, but even then the ships were on lookout for unconventional threats, whilst at the same time ensuring that the rebels were kept as badly supplied as possible. Given that Liberia was a well-known flag of convenience state it was only natural that most of the ships they had stopped had actually been Liberian flagged, making the whole matter much simpler from a legal point of view. At any given time between three and five of the ships were on patrol with the other five or so back in harbour getting some down time. With that pattern they ensured that the crews at sea didn’t get overtired or overworked which might compromise their defences.

The enhanced River-Class was the largest patrol vessel in the Imperial Navy, designed either for long-range patrols of exclusive economic zones or for patrols of remote areas, such as patrolling the Liberian coastline from their base at Freetown. They had been heavily updated from the original design, as well as substantially up armed. Her main armament was in the form or a single 40mm Autocannon mounted forward of the bridge, as well as two 20mm autocannons mounted on the upper decks aft of the superstructure but above the aft cargo deck, plus mountable heavy machine guns and standard small arms. The ship’s company consisted of six officers and twenty-four officers, all of whom were accommodated in two-man cabins, even the junior rates, and even then had capacity for twenty more personnel if need be, which could either be in the form of a specialised boarding party or, more often, for the training of Young Officers.

It was in this later capacity that SLt Daniel Cooper was aboard the Grays Harbour. He had passed out of the warfare school at the end of 2013, but there was a great difference between knowing the theory and actually putting it into practice. He had first been assigned to HMS Ventura, and had been involved in the incident surrounding the Imperial Conference back in January (during which he had been awarded the King’s Gallantry Medal), before being reposted to Grays Harbour, primarily because he was believed to be an extremely promising officer and as such the Navy wanted him to get some proper over-seas experience. The River-Class were popular ships for YO continuation training, as their small complement (especially of officers) meant that the YOs got a lot of bridge time, serving as Second Officer of the Watch alongside a more experienced officer. Cooper had already achieved his Navy Watch keeping Certificate, but still had to earn his Bridge Warfare Certificate, and as they were in a ‘combat zone’, he could not stand a watch alone without the later as well.

Which was why he was serving alongside the ships First Lieutenant, Sarah Montgomery. Lieutenant Montgomery had been in the Navy for nearly four years, but in that time she had already made a name for herself. She had been the senior surviving officer, except the Captain, aboard HMS Earl of Anchorage during the Sierra Leone Incident the previous year, and had earned the Distinguished Service Cross as a result. And was doing extremely well, given that she was third (or second depending if the XO was on the leave rotation or not) of a ship, even a patrol boat, as her second complement job wasn’t a bad achievement.

“What’ve you got, Dan?” Lieutenant Montgomery queried, noticing his expression with a slight smile.

“This contact here, it was on a course perpendicular to the coast, but it turned sharply a few minutes ago, if they had turned a little later we’d have never seen it visually,” Cooper replied. “And it was a really sharp turn, like they were waiting for us to move on before they turned.”

“Certainly sounds odd,” Montgomery agreed with a frown of her own. “Let’s check AIS.”

The two officers moved to the aft of the bridge where one of the two WECDIS (Warfare Electronic Chart Display and Information System) consoles was placed. As a warship they had access to the Automated Identification System which every ship was supposed to carry. Sure enough the contact in question was broadcasting on AIS, which wasn’t surprising as not broadcasting was even more likely to draw suspicion.

“The Lucky Lady,” Cooper commented. “Registered in Monrovia, but apparently coming across from South America.”

“There’s a lot of black market in South America, especially the United Provinces,” Montgomery agreed. “And its Liberian flagged… you think we should take a look?”

Cooper glanced over at Montgomery, he could tell from her tone that she wasn’t testing him, she was honestly asking for his thoughts on the matter.

“Yes Ma’am, I do,” Cooper replied.

“Alright, it’s your discovery, you call the Captain,” Montgomery nodded with a slight smile as she looked out at the ship through the after windows, if they didn’t turn soon it would be out of view. “Suggested course is 135.”

Cooper nodded and moved over to the helm console where the Quartermaster of the Watch was helming the ship and picked up the intercom phone and punched in the Captain’s Quarters.

“Captain, Sir, Second Officer of the Watch,” Cooper introduced himself. “Sir, we’ve detected a Liberian flagged vessel heading for rebel territory, out of South America, looked like it was trying to avoid us.”

“You want to board I assume,” Lieutenant Commander Nathan O’Neill, the ship’s commanding officer, replied. “Alright, get us into the appropriate course and bring the ship to boarding stations.”

“Yes sir,” Cooper nodded and ended the call, then turned on the shipwide broadcast instead. “Hands to boarding stations, hands to boarding stations, hands to boarding stations, assume damage control state two condition Yankee.”

Cooper glanced over at Montgomery and she smiled and nodded, he then turned to the Leading Rate serving as Quartermaster.

“Take the ship in hand,” Cooper ordered. “Port thirty, altering one three five.”

“Yes Sir, altering one three five… thirty of port wheel on,” The Quartermaster replied then a short time later. “Passing one five zero.”

“Midships,” Cooper ordered. “Steer one three five.”

“Midships,” the Quartermaster repeated. “Steering one three five.”

“Half ahead both engines, revolutions two zero zero zero,” Cooper ordered.

It was at this point, as the ship finished its turn and began to cut through the water as at about eighteen knots, that O’Neill arrived on the bridge. On the upper decks the machine guns had been put into place and members of the ships company were turned out and armed ready to provide immediate defence to the ship, much like they would in a Quickdraw situations, the ships main weapons would not be necessary at this point. It didn’t take them long to cross the distance and they were soon coming up on the unknown vessel.

“Well, they know we are after us, they’ve just bumped up their speed… stay with them quartermaster,” O’Neill ordered. “Mister Cooper, I want you to lead the boarding team.”

“Yes, Sir,” Cooper nodded and left the bridge.

He quickly made his way down to the ship’s armoury where the rest of the four-man boarding team was waiting for him. He quickly pulled on some body armour and a holster for a FN Five Seven and strapped it around his middle and finally pulled on a boarding helmet. The team then made their way onto the upper decks where one of the RHIBs was being prepared for launch. Climbing aboard the coxswain gave the signal and the crane lifted them up off the cradle, over the side and down into the sea. Once they were in the water they detached from the crane and sped off away from the Grays Harbour. As they were speeding towards it they heard over the radio as the challenge was sent to the target vessel. Soon enough the ship had indeed heaved to and they pulled alongside and climbed up the provided boarding ladder; no matter what the ship was carrying they weren’t stupid enough to contest a boarding when the alternative was for the warship to simply send them to the bottom. Cooper, as the officer, was last aboard and had his pistol drawn as the carbine-armed sailors went ahead first. They rounded a container and found the ship’s crew waiting for them, and some fairly substantial shoulder arms laid down on the deck.

“Master?” Cooper requested.

One of the men stepped forwards, he was white and looked like he came from Europe or the Americas rather than Africa.

“I am the ship’s master, welcome aboard,” The man said. “I’m not getting paid enough to get shot at by an Imperial Warship.”

“You were working for the rebels then?” Cooper queried, by the sound of it the man was a mercenary who was being paid to bring weapons into the country. “What were you smuggling… weapons?”

“Something like that,” The mercenary replied. “I think you need to see something below decks.”

Cooper frowned and turned to the senior rate on his team.

“Buffer, watch these chaps, Allen, you’re with me,” Cooper instructed. “Inform the ship that we’re not facing opposition.”

Cooper and Able Seaman Allen followed the master into the ships structure and went down below decks. They followed cautiously, looking out for any ill-advised ambushes even if he thought it was unlikely. The master led them into the main hold and opened up one of the containers and flicked on a torch. Cooper felt his eyes widen as she looked over the object inside… and the warning stickers all over it.

“Is that what I think it is…” Cooper said when he got control of his voice again.

“Yes sir,” The Master replied. “It’s a tactical nuclear weapon, formally of the Bavinese military.”

“You were supplying nuclear weapons to the rebels?” Cooper queried sharply.

“Yes… they were paying an awful lot,” The Master replied. “I feel that I should tell you, that’s not the only one we were able to acquire, at least one of them made it past your patrols.”

“Wait, let me make sure that I’m understanding you…” Cooper said slowly. “The Liberian Rebels have access to a nuclear device.”

“Yes Sir,” The Master replied.

Cooper breathed in heavily then turned and headed up onto the deck and thumbed his radio.

“Charlie Oscar, this is Alpha Golf,” Cooper said grimly. “We’ve got a Rouge Spear in Liberia… repeat, Rouge Spear.”

[Terra Reborn]

His Majesty Walker I, King of Apilonia, Australia and the Imperial Dominions
The Imperial Fortress
Karin, Alaska, the Apilonian Empire
Saturday 22nd March 2014, 0200hrs Local Time (0200hrs Imperial Capital Time, 1000hrs Zulu Time)

King Walker had gotten used to being woken at the most ungodly hours imaginable over the time he had ruled over the Apilonian Empire, first as Archduke then of course as King. It was just one of those things, especially when you had concerns all over the globe, not everything was going to happen when it was daytime in the Imperial Capital. Not to mention that there were any number of concerns that couldn’t wait until morning either, some required an immediate response, whether because of the severity of the matter or because military forces oftentimes took long enough to deploy at it was so any hours that could be saved would be. And that was all something that Walker had accepted a long time ago and would never be annoyed by it, especially if it saved the lives of Imperial Citizens; that was after all his most pressing concern, what provoked him to make every decision he had ever made. Sending Imperial Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen off to war was the hardest decision he ever had to make, and he had made it more times than he liked to think about, and every time he got woken up in the depths of night he feared that he would have to again.

And more often than not he was right.

Walker woke quickly at the knocking on the door. He climbed silently out of bed and pulled on a dressing gown and made his way quickly over to the door. He opened it a crack and found his steward, Sir Thomas McArthur, waiting for him, looking concerned.

“Sorry to wake you, Your Majesty,” He said quietly, not wanting to wake the Queen. “The Defence Council are assembling in the war room, Sir Anthony told me to pass on a message to you.”

Walker nodded, Field Marshal Sir Anthony Brewis was the Chief of the Defence Staff, he gestured for McArthur to go on.

“He told me just two words, Sire,” McArthur said uncomfortable. “Rouge Spear.”

Walker felt his blood run cold. If there were any military terminology that he kept especially up to date on it was the nuclear incident terminology. Rouge Spear referred to an event where a nuclear weapon fell into, or was believed to have fallen into, the hands of a non-governmental group, which of course meant that it was a lot less predictable than any nationstate.

“I’ll be right down,” Walker said grimly and stepped back into the room and immediately began to get changed, he wasn’t surprised though when Queen Jessica flicked the light on and looked over at him curiously. “There’s a situation developing… Nuclear.”

Jessica looked concerned.

“Jesus,” She breathed then pushed back the covers and got out of bed. “You want me to come with?”

“Yes please,” Walker nodded, he had come to depend heavily on his wife, and she had military experience so she was a useful advisor to boot. “Don’t worry about anything fancy, just pull on some clothes.”

Jessica nodded and between them they pulled on extremely casual clothes and headed out the door. It wasn’t like anyone except the Defence Council would see them as such, and in a situation like this it was much more important that the King got to the briefing than it was that he was dressed to perfection, he could change once the pieces were moving and the waiting game began. They made their way to the end of the residence corridor, down the stairs, down the corridor that led from one side of the Fortress to another and down another set of stairs, the door to which were guarded heavily, and into a lift that took them down into the Fortress Bunker, a sizable complex designed to allow the King to administer the Empire in safety. Finally they reached the huge command centre that was the War Room, and already bustling with activity. As the King entered the room the gathered senior officers stood until Walker waved them down.

“No time for formalities if we’ve got a nuke in play,” Walker said grimly. “Let’s get started.”

Field Marshal the Earl of Wade Hampton, Secretary of State for Defence, and former Chief of the Defence Staff, stood up and moved to the main screen and started the presentation.

“Your Majesty, a short time ago HMS Grays Harbour boarded a suspect vessel heading for Liberia, it was manned by a mercenary crew who surrendered rather than put up a fight that might result in them being hung as pirates, the master was very helpful,” Wade Hampton said grimly. “Upon searching the ships hold the boarding officer found an active nuclear weapon, believed to have originated in the United Provinces… upon questioning he confirmed that his company had been contracted to deliver nuclear weapons to the Rebels, and that at least one device was already in Liberia.”

Walker leant back in his chair.

“Are you telling me that the Liberian Rebels have their hands on a nuclear device…” He said slowly. “That makes their massing of troops along the front line even more concerning.”

“Yes Sire, it does,” Wade Hampton agreed. “As we’ve not even known about this we have no way of knowing what they intend to use it for, but at the very least the thread of it will back President Fox into one hell of a corner.”

“We can’t leave a nuclear weapons in the hands of Rebels,” Walker said firmly. “It’ll neuter any offensive the Liberian Government might enact and defensively it’s a nightmare.

“Yes sir, it is,” Wade Hampton agreed again. “However we have a contingency in place for situations such as this.”

“Special Forces?” Walker queried.

“Yes Sir, they’re the best suited to finding out where the weapon is and then recapturing the device, conventional forces are far too obvious, and we can’t afford for the enemy to see them coming,” Wade Hampton replied. “Sir Anthony?”

“Our current thinking is to deploy a full Sabre Squadron of the SAS into Liberia, split up into their patrols they should be able to cover the entire rebel-held territory and then consolidate to hit the target,” Field Marshal Sir Anthony Brewis said simply. “We’ll fly them out to one of the patrol ships, they’ll then infiltrate under cover of darkness and begin their search, in conjunction with intelligence efforts to find them, they’ll then seize the device and exfiltrate back to the ships, with the patrol vessels already in place it shouldn’t arose suspicion.”

“Won’t the Rebels know we know about their nuclear weapons if we keep the freighter in open view off their coast,” Jessica frowned. “If they know that we know that they have nukes they might accelerate their plans.”

“If I may answer that one,” Admiral of the Fleet Dame Victoria Grisham, First Sea Lord, spoke up. “Lieutenant Commander O’Neill has already ordered the freighter to sail up to Freetown, as far as the enemy will know it’s just overdue, by the time they figure it out hopefully we’ll have the nuclear weapon back in our control.”

Jessica nodded, her concern apparently satisfied.

“How soon can we get the SAS deployed?” Walker asked.

“We’ll get them underway as soon as we finish here, they should be on the ships in twelve hours, infiltrating in twenty-four,” Sir Anthony replied. “Fortunately, we already have an SAS patrol in-country…”

Colour Sergeant John Rabb
Buchanan
The Republic of Liberia
Saturday 22nd March 2014, 1030hrs Local Time (0230hrs Imperial Capital Time, 1030hrs Zulu Time)

“This… isn’t right.”

John Rabb had seen a lot of bad things in his time in the Army, being a senior NCO in the Special Air Service that was pretty much unavoidable, but what he was seeing now was bad, even by his standards. Buchanan had been the third most densely populated city in Liberia, he was fairly confident it wouldn’t be after this. The coastal city had been one of the few settlements in the south that had not rebelled against the central government and had been under siege by the rebels since the New Year. Being just on the wrong side of the Saint John River there was nothing that the Liberian Army could really do to relieve the siege, and unfortunately the day before it had fallen to the enemy. Rabb and his patrol had been in the city doing what they could to help the loyalists fend off the rebels but now they were taking cover in a safe house, keeping their heads down until it was dark and safe to perform an exfiltration from the city. They had figured that the loyalist soldiers were probably in for a rough time, but what they were seeing know was beyond even that.

The rebel troops were going house to house and murdering everyone in side, women and children included. The city was full of screams, shouting and shooting as the rebels made their way through the city, their eyes dark with murderous intent. They were punishing the city for its decision to support the central government over them, and as far as they were concerned that meant everyone. The women were raped by the thousands, the children forced to watch before being raped or murdered themselves. This was one hell of a bad situation and Rabb, who had of course been through a lot, felt physically sick. He and his patrol couldn’t stop it alone, so they were doing the only thing that they could; making sure that word of this got back to the Empire and, by extension, the wider world. Rabb knew that this would almost certainly see the Empire intervene in this conflict, they weren’t going to stand idly by whilst rape and murder occurred on a massive scale; fifty thousand people used to live here, soon enough the place would be a ghost town.

“You got the video?” Rabb said grimly as he approached Corporal Ashley Kincaid, one of few women in the special forces, and being especially affected by all of this, she nodded jerkily. “Full up?”

“Yeah,” Kincaid managed. “We’ve got more evidence on this tape than I care to think about… what’s the plan?”

“We get out of here,” Rabb replied. “We have to get moving, if we stay here the enemy will find us, but there’s not a lot of enemies between us and the sea, if we can steal a boat we can make it out to one of the patrol ships.”

“Then what, Colour?”

“We get it back to the Empire and we intervene,” Rabb replied. “Then we come down on these bastards like a tonne of bricks.”

Kincaid nodded and the patrol began to pack their gear away and get ready to move out. Once they were sure that they had left nothing incriminating behind the patrol made their way out onto the streets. It was difficult for them, having to move past and ignore the pleading looks of the civilians, but if the SAS patrol didn’t make it out of the country then no one was going to find out about this atrocity and there was every possibility that it would be repeated. They advanced quickly, not looking back because it was too painful, even for them; hardened members of the Imperial Special Forces. It wasn’t long before they reached seafront, unfortunately there were some rebels manning a checkpoint at the docks. Not that it bothered the SAS troopers, this was their chance to get some revenge for the atrocities that were being committed. Not waiting any longer the patrol attacked. The rebels were caught by surprise, clearly they weren’t expecting any more resistance from anyone in the city and it cost them their lives. The SAS attacked with a rage-fuelled ferocity that pushed them straight through the checkpoint and allowed them to rip into the other rebels that were in the dockyard. They found themselves a RHIB and clambered aboard and promptly gunned it out into the ocean.

They came under fire as they sped away, but it was sporadic and they suffered no this and soon enough they were out of range. Once they were clear Rabb got onto the secure radio and began to put out a broadcast, within a few minutes this had been picked up by a nearby Imperial Warship, the patrol vessel HMS Grays Harbour, which little did they know had already played an important role in the events in Liberia. After a few brief checks on the part of the Officer of the Watch they were allowed aboard and reported immediately to the commanding officer. Lieutenant Commander O’Neill looked as physically sick as Rabb had felt, and for a moment the Colour Sergeant had thought he would actually lurch for the heads, but he managed to swallow heavily as the video finished.

“We need to get this relayed to Karin,” O’Neill said grimly. “Take it down to the Ops Room, we’ll get it streamed and sent, they’ll have it by 1200hrs Zulu.”

His Majesty Walker I, King of Apilonia, Australia and the Imperial Dominions
The Imperial Fortress
Karin, Alaska, the Apilonian Empire
Saturday 22nd March 2014, 0430hrs Local Time (0430hrs Imperial Capital Time, 1230hrs Zulu Time)

“That’s… disgusting,” Walker said slowly. “So they aren’t just nuclear armed, they’re genocidal maniacs… this makes the situation even worse.”

“Yes sir it does,” Wade Hampton agreed. “The question is, what do we do about this?”

“We sure as hell aren’t going to stand back and do nothing, we are not going to allow something like this to happen, not on our watch,” Walker replied. “Once we finish here I’ll be speaking to President Fox, I’ll officially request permission for Imperial Forces to be deployed, however given that he has been asking for that for the past three months… I think its safe to assume we’ll get it.”

“I’d say that’s a fairly good bet, Sire,” Rebecca O’Brein, Countess of Thurston, the Imperial Foreign Secretary replied.

“Alright, in that case we’ll work on the assumption that we’ll be going in,” Walker said simply. “Sir Anthony, I assume you’ve got contingencies in place?”

“Yes Sire, we’ve been working on them since the loyalists checked their advance at the St John River, its objectives are to reinforce Liberian troops with forces from Sierra Leone, they are to prevent the enemy from pushing further into loyalist territory, whilst we deploy assets from the Rapid Reaction Force to take the fight to the enemy,” Sir Anthony replied. “In this case we’ll deploy the 46th Infantry Division to the St. John River to prevent the rebels from pushing across, at the same time we’ll deploy two battalions of Rangers into Buchanan, their task will be to save any civilians that are hiding out, destroy the enemy forces responsible for this atrocity and set up a base for future deployments.”

Walker nodded.

“How soon can our forces deploy?”

“We can get the Rangers on the ground within twenty-four hours, they are designed for that sort of thing after all, they can easily perform a parajump from Sierra Leone and land outside the city and head inside, especially if they go in under cover of night, if we get them underway then we might get them in pre-dawn,” Sir Anthony replied. “As for the 46th… it’ll take a few days to get mobilised, but we can provide the Liberians with air cover which should check any enemy offensive in its track, they’ve not got their own air cover after all.”

“Any concerns, James?”

The Right Honourable James Alexander MP, the Prime Minister of the Apilonian Empire, shook his head.

“We clearly need to act, and we need to act quickly,” He agreed. “I’ll deliver a majority in Parliament for this, I can’t see anyone opposing this.”

“Very good,” Walker nodded. “Alright then, let’s get these forces underway, I’ll address the media at 0700hrs.”

The gathered military officer and senior ministers nodded and set about getting to work. Walker and Jessica made their way back up into the main part of the Fortress and began to make their own arrangements, especially deciding what Walker would say when he addressed the Press Corps in time to make the morning news. Whilst they were doing that James Alexander was waking up people in Parliament and the Defence Council was setting tens of thousands of men and women into action. The Imperial Armed Forces had gotten very good at this sort of thing, there was a reason it not only maintained a Rapid Reaction Force but also a number of larger formations at higher readiness than the rest, those being intended to deploy as needed in much shorter time; they were Infantry forces of course but that was better than nothing. Walker sighed, he hated sending people to war, but this time he’d have felt a whole hell of a lot worse not intervening and preventing an atrocity.

“Do you think anyone will oppose us on this?” Jessica glanced over at her husband as they sat in his office.

“Intervening in a civil war to stop a genocide, especially when at this point we’ve got no intentions of absorbing it afterwards…” Walker replied thoughtfully. “Surely no one is stupid enough to try and stop someone from preventing a slaughter of anyone who supports a democratically elected government by a bunch of rebels.”

“You say that,” Jessica commented dryly. “You have met some people on this planet haven’t you?”

“Unfortunately,” Walker admitted wryly. “But then every command in the Atlantic and European theatres are going to be on enhanced readiness, the Admiralty is going to put most of the Atlantic and Mediterranean Fleets on alert I would imagine.”

“True,” Jessica agreed. “It might be worth mentioning in your address that you would appreciate the support of other nations… build a coalition if you will.”

“Not a bad idea,” Walker nodded. “Let’s put that in last.”

By the time came for Walker to go before the Press Corps he was showered and dressed. As was traditional when announcing military action or war, the King had changed into military uniform, specifically that of a Admiral of the Fleet in the Imperial Navy, as was his right and prerogative. When he stood before the cameras and the press corps he did so with a straight back and a steely gaze, he had had more than enough time to get over the shock and horror, now there was just iron resolve to do what was right, no matter how difficult it might be. The Empire had never backed down from something that was difficult or dangerous, and under Walker’s rule they would never ignore something like this happening on their doorstep, especially if there was something they could do about it. If no one else was going to solve the problem then the Imperials would.

“Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen… Imperial Citizens and our friends around the globe, I come before you with grim tidings out of Liberia where the civil war there has taken an unexpected and disturbing turn. A short time ago the Empire received video footage, which will be released to the media and international sources as requested, which showed a widespread massacre of loyalist soldiers and civilians in city of Buchanan, in the rebel controlled south of Liberia,” Walker said grimly. “According to the footage there has been widespread cases or murder and rape, horrifyingly also on Children, carried out by rebel soldiers across the city, and by all accounts this is due to their status as supporters of the first democratically elected President in Liberia in years.”

Walker paused for effect.

“This cannot be allowed to stand, no civilized nation can allow such atrocities to happen if they have the capability to prevent it. Many times in the past decade the Apilonian Empire has intervened to prevent such things from happening, we did this in Rhodes and we did this in Sierra Leone to prevent a brutal military coup, we will not stand idly by and allow this to happen again,” Walker continued, the grimness had gone from his voice and was replaced by steely resolve. “A few hours ago I authorised the Imperial Armed Forces to begin military operations within Liberia, following a phone call with President Fox of Liberia who authorised the action, they will be tasked with preventing the rebels from pushing into the North and, in due course, putting down the rebellion before it can perpetrate more acts of savagery and crimes against humanity.”

Walker paused again.

“The Empire is closest to the problem because of the Duchy of Sierra Leone, however such a situation should not be the concern of only one nation, I am sure that everyone else in the world will be aghast at what is happening in Liberia, any support for the Imperial campaign would be greatly appreciated so we can put a stop to this madness before it can be allowed to happen again,” Walker added. “I ask that the thoughts of all Imperial Citizens, and anyone around the globe who is aghast at this atrocity as I am, be with the men and women of the Imperial Armed Forces as they do what is difficult for those that cannot defend themselves, thank you.”

[Khorsun]

Rekhan Taneltar, Ankhazar and Sukaradar of the Khorsuni Nation
Hal Zetadha dhala Ankhazar [The Ankhazar's Citadel]
Verela, Republic of the Khorsuni Nation
Saturday, March 22, 2014, 1300hrs Zulu Time

The Ankhazar was quick to respond to King Walker's address with a statement of his own. Taneltar's agents and diplomats in Sierra Leone had kept him well-appraised of their Empire's concerns with the growing violence in Liberia, and he had been anticipating an armed intervention sooner or later from the Apayalata. Dressed in usual eccentric fashion, black hat, red sunglasses, gaudy jewelry, tunic and trousers of red embroidered with gold, the Khorsuni leader issued his riposte to his rival from the other side of the world.

"Brothers and sisters of the Khorsuni Nation, ladies and gentlemen of the world beyond our borders, and in particular the gentleman seated on the throne of ice, I stand as always against the surge of foreign imperialism in Africa, against the chains of the shacklers, against all threats to our blooded nation's freedom and independence."

He spoke in English now before a small room full of reporters, for the benefit of foreign listeners. He would repeat the speech later that day in the Khorsuni's native tongue; there would have been a long pause there for the wild applause such statements inevitably sent his Khorsuni audiences into.

"Yet again I hear the drums of war being beaten by the royal gentleman from Alaska, sending his armies marching once again to far-off corners of the globe where none of his ancestors ever plowed the soil, where none of his ancestors rest beneath the soil. Those of us who have heard the Alaskan king's speeches before cannot help but know their true meaning today. Yet again, the Alaskan king intends to plant his banner in the rightful territory of another nation than his own. And therefore, the Republic of the Khorsuni Nation will yet again condemn the Empire of Apilonia for its aggressive and imperialistic acts, as it did when the Apilonian Empire annexed Sierra Leone."

Taneltar went on, punctuating his speech with wild gestures. "I will again remind the world that the Khorsuni Republic does not recognize the regime of Joseph Fox as Liberia's legitimate government. Joseph Fox's election was marred by rampant corruption and rigging of the vote. He is and always has been a puppet of the Apilonian Empire. Any notions that his government is 'democratic' can be dispelled immediately by the fact that his people is rising up to overthrow him."

"I do hope that any 'evidence' King Walker provides to support his allegations is more credible than the 'elections' Mr. Fox claims to have won," Taneltar continued. "But whether it is or it isn't, I am well aware of the nature of war: there are never clean hands in wartime. I have spoken with refugees from the violence in Liberia. I have heard their stories straight from their mouths. And I have seen the atrocities inflicted on them by the government of Joseph Fox."

"King Walker, if your intentions are to bring peace to Liberia, call back your soldiers and hoster your guns. We will respond to the situation in Liberia in the way that any 'civilized nation' would: with diplomacy. You and I and the other peace-loving leaders of the world will bring the combatants in Liberia, both the regime and the revolutionaries, to the table for a negotiated settlement. Apilonian military intervention, or any sort of military intervention, will only escalate the bloodshed."

The Khorsuni Ankhazar concluded his statement on a hopeful note, but behind the offer of cooperation and diplomacy, Khorsun was making itself ready for war, mobilizing its forces towards the Liberian and Guinean borders. And within Liberia, the agents of Taneltar's Zhudan Guards were already deeply entangled with the rebellion against President Fox. After leaving the reporters behind with no questions, Taneltar withdrew deep into the Citadel to speak again with Brigadier Dorbhrano, the commander of his Sharokh Force, whose hands were very, very dirty with the blood being spilled in Liberia.

[Terra Reborn]

His Majesty Walker I, King of Apilonia, Australia and the Imperial Dominions
The Imperial Fortress
Karin, Alaska, the Apilonian Empire
Saturday 22nd March 2014, 0800hrs Local Time (0800hrs Imperial Capital Time, 1600hrs Zulu Time)

“That man really is a prick isn’t he,” Walker commented mildly as he sat with his Queen and his senior advisors and ministers in his office as they finished watching the broadcast by the Khorsuni leader. “You know you asked if anyone would be stupid to oppose us when we’re trying to stop a genocide, my dear?”

“Point taken,” Queen Jessica replied wryly. “Now the question is, what do we do about them.”

“Politically or militarily?” Walker replied. “Rebecca?”

“The Apilonian Empire should not take lectures on the virtues of democracy from a dictatorship, no matter how much they have brainwashed their people’s minds, not when this Empire has been a beacon of democracy for hundreds of years,” Countess Thurston replied. “As a result I don’t think you should get into a sparring match with him over it, we have to make a response of course, but it should be from the Foreign Office, ideally not even myself…”

“Agreed, get started on that then make it a general statement, lets make it clear that everyone can see our response, we’re not going to change the mind of Khorsuni civilians, but they aren’t the people we need on our side,” Walker said thoughtfully. “Alright, so I get the distinct impression that we’re going to be getting into a military confrontation with Khorsun… Thomas?”

“We need to start marshalling forces in the area, our priority has to be stopping the bloodshed in Liberia, but if Khorsun is going to get involved its not just Liberia that might fall to their tyranny, Sierra Leone is very much at risk as well,” Earl Wade Hampton replied. “It’ll take a while to start reinforcing both with more forces than we’re already sending into the area, as a result we’ll be relying heavily on the Imperial Air Force and, of course, the Imperial Navy.”

“What do you suggest?” Walker quiried.

“I’ve discussed the matter with Dame Victoria and Lord Vancousver, our immediate intentions are to deploy the HMS Reprisal Battle Group along with the HMS Audacious and the four ships we’ve got of the Second Battle Squadron immediately to the South Atlantic, we’ll keep them well clear of the mess until they are needed, but their presence will definitely give us an edge should the Khorsun’s try something,” Wade Hampton replied. “If they do it is our intention to destroy their ability to wage war as quickly as possible, we’ll start working on the actual battle plans but that is our intent is to make sure that they get the idea that going against the Empire is never going to go well for them, at the end of the day, Sire, we are getting involved here to stop something truly horrible from happening.”

“Indeed, lets get the orders out then, now we get to send over twenty thousand more men and women to war and hope that the Khorsuni’s are all talk and no action,” Walker sighed. “Let’s be about it.”

A short time later the Imperial Foreign office released a statement.

Imperial Foreign Office

Official Response to the Comments of the Khorsuni Ankhazar

His Majesty is most distressed to learn that the Khorsuni Leader will attempt to use a truly atrocious incident to political ends. The Apilonian Empire is taking action, as it always has, to prevent injustice and savagery such as that which has happened in Liberia. Men, women and children are being dragged from their homes and shot in the streets… women and young girls are being raped in the most brutal manner possible before being murdered as well. As a man, His Majesty cannot stand idly by and allow such atrocities to happen, just as the Apilonian Empire cannot stand idly by and allow it to happen, no civilized nation could.

It is reprehensible that the Ankhazar would try to use this terrible situation for his own ends. He may not like Sierra Leone being a part of the Empire, but it joined of its own accord. The Empire will never seek to bring any part of the world into its Empire unless it wants to, and Liberia is no different. Beyond this the Empire will not defend its record on such matters, its record will defend itself.

And yet the Ankhazar seeks to demean the achievements of the Liberians before this terrible civil war. It took a great deal of effort and strife to bring about the first democratically-elected President of Liberia in decades. It would seem that the Ankhazar is fundamentally mistaken in some of his beliefs:

Perhaps the Ankhazar forgets that the election process was observed by Electoral watchdogs from numerous nations, including the Empire, the Kingdom of Dalmasce and others, and that they were some of the freest and least corrupt elections Africa has ever seen outside of the New African Republic, and that his government has been recognized by numerous nationstates.

Perhaps he also forgets that the rebels only took up arms because President Fox attempted to put a stop to the ingrained corruption of the south of his country and that the rebels are rising up, not because he is not a democratically elected individual, but because he was trying to stop the corrupt elements from lining their pockets at the expense of the common people.

Further it is most disturbing that the Ankhazar would invent atrocities on the behalf of the loyalist forces, perhaps he forgets that the rebel forces were able to push loyalist forces as far north as the St. John River in fairly short order and that there is absolutely no evidence of such claims, because they are fabricated to discredit the loyalist cause.

His Majesty, and the Apilonian Empire as a whole, are committed to bringing peace to Liberia. However the rebels have proven themselves to be nothing but savages and monsters, there can be no negotiating with those that consider murder and rape as viable tools of rebellion, the Fox Government has been attempting to negotiate with the rebels since the New Year to no avail, instead they mass troops along the St. John River to take the loyalist-held area by force, and if their actions in Buchanan are any indicator, to visit the same horrors upon them as well. The Ankhazar would try to confuse the issue, but by doing so they are only defending those that would murder men, women and children, and perform the most heinous sorts of rape. The Apilonian Empire does not intervene in Liberia for its own glory, or to bring Liberia into the Empire, but rather for all the innocent civilians in northern Liberia and for the tens of thousands of women and young girls that would suffer the most horrific torment.

The Right Honourable Countess of Thurston
Imperial Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs

Done this 22nd Day of March 2014
In the Name of His Majesty King Walker of Apilonia, Australia and the Imperial Dominions beyond the Seas

Admiral the Earl Harrington KCS DSO
Residence of the Vicountess Stanford
Gibraltar, The Apilonian Empire
Saturday 22nd March 2014, 1700hrs Local Time (0900hrs Imperial Capital Time, 1700hrs Zulu Time)

Nicolas Harrington, Earl Harrington, smiled as he looked down at the form of Alice Stanford, Viscountess Stanford at they sat curled up on the sofa of her modest apartment on Gibraltar. It probably wasn’t what one expected when they thought of the residence of an Imperial noble, but then much like himself she was a Naval Officer first, and a member of the Imperial nobility second. Her duty assignment was the command of the Imperial Mediterranean Fleet, which meant that she spent most of her time here, Gibraltar, and her residence was a testament to that. Given the constraints of Gibraltar’s small area ever since the Imperial absorption of the territory (or rather re-absorption as Gibraltar had been part of the Empire before the Fall of the First Empire) the buildings on Gibraltar had been going steadily upwards to accommodate its population, which had steadily grown as it once again became one of the Empire’s most important military outposts, given its strategic position. Stanford’s apartments was by far one of the most expensive on Gibraltar, but it was still an apartment none the less, and they could see out over the bay, which more than made up for that.

Nicolas smiled fondly down at her again, he was so madly in love with her it was almost unreal. They had met during the Portugal Campaign and had become fast friends, but it wasn’t until he had been sent into real harms way during the Western Australian Campaign that they had realised what they meant to each other, and they had spent that amazing night together. Since then it had gone from strength to strength, even if they had to keep it secret from most due to their positions. They got together whenever they could, which was at least one advantage as they were only a couple of hours flight away. He stroked her hair and she looked up at him with a loving smile as he leant down to kiss her.

The moment was, of course, ruined, by a ring of the bell and the two Admirals glanced at each other, although it was hardly a secret that they were good friends they still felt a rush of exhilaration every time someone discovered them together. Alice stood up and went over to the door and discovered a junior rating on the other side.

“Sorry to bother you, my lady,” The rating said formally. “I was sent by the Duty Operations Officer, IMPMEDFLEET has just received orders from the Admiralty.”

He held out a folder.

“I’ve also got orders for the Imperial Atlantic Fleet as well,” The Rating added, holding out another folder. “Apparently the Fleet Commander expected Admiral Harrington to be here as well…”

“Indeed,” Alice smiled wryly. “Thank you Able, I’d get back to your ship, I reckon we’ll be sailing soon.”

“Yes Ma’am,” The Able Seaman nodded and departed.

Alice came back into the room with the two folders and handed one to Nicolas and they both began to read through them, their expressions getting steadily worse. They had been following the situation in Liberia as it developed, both through the news media as well as through the Admiralty and it hadn’t sounded good. If they were being truthful they had expected this, ever since the Khorsuni lunatic had gone in front of a camera it had been obvious that they were going to use this tragic affair to their own ends, it was sad, but it was the way things were and they in particular were going to have to deal with it.

“We should marshal our battlegroups here, at Gibraltar, there’s no point Reprisal sailing up to Scapa Flow just to come back down again,” Alice commented thoughtfully. “Once we’ve gathered our strength we’ll sail south, hopefully it won’t escalate too much before then.”

“You’ve got a point there, I mean each of my Battlegroups has their own flag officer, they don’t need their CINC just to sail down here, do they, besides, apparently we’re to start planning our side of this and make the recommendation to the Admiralty by the time we sail,” Nicolas replied. “It’s almost like Admiral Walcott knew that we’d be here together…”

“He’s not exactly a stupid man, Sir Christopher, and he was CINC Med Fleet back when we started seeing each other, he may very well have figured it out,” Alice reasoned with a slight smile. “At least he doesn’t care… anyway, we are both together so we should probably start thinking about this.”

“Indeed,” Nicolas nodded and they settled back down together with an iPad and a notepad. “Now we’re going to want to destroy their entire military force, now according to what intelligence we have…”

Lieutenant Jason Johnson MC
IAF Gibraltar
Gibraltar, The Apilonian Empire
Saturday 22nd March 2014, 1900hrs Local Time (1100hrs Imperial Capital Time, 1900hrs Zulu Time)

Lieutenant Jason Johnson stepped onto the tarmac of IAF Gibraltar to stretch his legs whilst their aircraft was refuelled. Lieutenant Johnson was part of 1st Battalion, the Rangers, and they were on their way to Sierra Leone, for their final insertion the following morning to secure Buchanan and hold it long enough for more troops to be deployed. It was a big ask for two battalions, the 3rd Battalion was also being deployed, to hold an entire city, but if anyone could do it was the Rangers, and they would after all have substantial air and naval support to boot. The two battalions were the quick-reaction units, capable of deploying anywhere in the world within twenty-four hours, they would be on the ground in Liberia within that timeframe. It had helped that they had been carrying out a full check of their kits so they had been able to literally pick up their gear and run for the aircraft which had taken to the skies and sped eastwards, even before the entire affair had been made public. It was all happening extremely fast but then that was why they had joined the Rangers, for the sheer excitement… in this case Johnson just wished it hadn’t been at the cost of fifty thousand civilians.

This was the second time that Johnson had been in Gibraltar with the Rangers, although he was only passing through this time. He had been approached to join the Rangers shortly after decision had been made to reactivate the Rangers as part of the 2012 Royal Defence Review. He had made something of a name for himself at Camp Overwatch during the Minnesota War, it had earned him the Military Cross and apparently membership in one of the Imperial Armed Forces special operations forces. The Rangers had been put together to provide a rapidly-deployable unit that was also special operations capable, it essentially served as a bridge between the Imperial Special Forces and the Imperial Rapid Response Force, indeed it was part of both, and as such membership in the Regiment was a high honour, it was also a common stepping stone to being selected for Special Forces selection. It also allowed for crazy, but adrenaline filled and exciting, deployments like this. In just over thirteen hours they would be on the ground in a country that badly needed their help.

Johnson considered the situation. On the way in they had passed very close to the naval base and at their low altitude it had been obvious that there was a great deal of hustle and bustle down there, but then with the news that the Khorsunis were being belligerent about the entire affair it was only understandable that the Empire would move military forces into the area. It was nice to know they would have a helluva lot of backup in a few days.

As he sat waiting he couldn’t help but think to one person in particular who was on her way to war. Lieutenant Amy Brooks, who had served with him in Minnesota, had become the first woman to join the Rangers after the integration of the combat arms in 2012, and was now somewhere over the North Atlantic with the rest of 3rd Battalion. She also happened to be his lover, forged in the fire of war in Minnesota they had been together since that time. He was strongly considering asking her to marry him, although naturally that would have to wait until after this war, because if the Army knew about the two of them at least one of them would be missing out on this war.

The important thing was getting them both through it, there was a hell of a war coming up and despite what had caused it Johnson was looking forward to it, after all, everyone joined the Army to prove themselves in combat, to a lesser or greater degree depending on the person, but it was undeniably there. Johnson had already more than proved himself, not everyone won the Military Cross after all, but every time he went into combat he knew he was proving it again, to himself if no one else, that he had the personal fortitude to stand in the line of fire for King and Country, to protect the weak and oppressed. He smiled to himself wryly, he actually was one of those damn fool idealists that went in for all the recruiting tools, but the truth was he believed in all that, this wasn’t just a job for him. And regardless of his motivations he was one hell of a soldier and a leader of men.

The shout went out, the aircraft was refuelled and the men began to embark aboard the aircraft.

The Rangers were off to war.

[Itailian Maifias]

Prime Minister Daniel Soers GCM, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Holland
Oude Zaal(Old Hall), Binnehof
The Hague, Netherlands, Kingdom of Holland
March 22, 2014, 4:03 PM Local Time

Saturday's where usually a day off for the members of the States General, or Dutch Parliament, however for some unique reason, the two hundred and seventy five member House of Representatives was sitting in session in the stuffy, cramped quarters that the Oude Zaal, or Old Hall, offered. Built in 1992, it had housed the House of Representatives for every year since then, but following the inclusion of Germany and France into the Kingdom, the States-General and the House had expanded greatly. An expansion on a new hall for the House and Senate was currently underway but it would not be completed, but thankfully, be ready till the early summer months this year.

Daniel leaned back into the worm cushioned bench that he sat on; the Old Hall was set up rather differently then the American Senate buildings or other European legislature houses; it consisted of four massive u shaped benches that had green cushions on their back and bottom, with desks sporadically placed in front of them for each of the Representatives, name plates with one's name and Party on it on the front of each desk. In the center of the U was a stand with a large podium, behind which, the Speaker sat, a personal friend of Daniel's, he had been an hold over from the Svestalak premiership that ended two years ago, Daniel managing to talk him into switching parties. As Daniel leaned back and lazily flickered his eyes over the forty page bill in front of them, if he vaguely recalled it was a environmental regulation bill, he tuned out the dribbling monotone voice of some MP from Bayern that was the author of the bill and currently speaking in favor of it, as he had been for the last twenty minutes. As he sat there attempting to stay awake enough to begin forming a counter-argument to the man's points, he noticed the doors that served as the entrance and exit to the room suddenly swing open and two men in black suits enter, quickly making their way towards Daniel. As Prime Minister, he had the distinct honor of sitting in the first or "senior" row of benches, and they were able to reach him relatively quickly, their ID badges identifying them as from the Ministry of Defence, but more then likely they were from the Kriegwatchen. The taller of the duo leaned over Daniel's desk and spoke in a low, hurried tone " Minister-president, moet je even met ons, is een situatie komen. " ["Prime Minister, you should come with us, a situation has come up."]

Daniel nodded and quietly excused himself from the session, not many taking notice at his departure as members came and went frequently during the sessions, and he was quickly escorted out of the Hall and into the courtyard of the complex of buildings that were all colloquially called Binnehof. His own personal office, called the Little Tower, was just a few meters from here, but they were not be going there today. Instead of taking the usual elevator up to his office at the top of the tower, they took one with red doors and the seal of His Majesty, going three floors down to an emergency control room. Instead of a brightly light room, most of the light in the room was provided by the numerous glares of the computer screens, the walls not even painted, the steel bulkheads and concrete still viewable. At the center of the room, the King was already seated along with the Chiefs and ranking officers, most of which nodded as Daniel entered, taking a seat at the end of the table next to the King. "Dus wat hebben we?" [" So what have we got? "]

A young Commander in an Air Force uniform, got up before a large screen which numerous images were now being projected onto, of the evidence of the genocide forwarded by the Apilonian Foreign Office, to snap shots of the press conference of King Walker's and the Khorsuni one, Daniel attempting to force the bile down at the images recovered by the Apilonian forces in Liberia." Dus, wat zijn onze voorwaarden van de actie? " [" So, what are our terms of action? "]

"Botweg gezegd, dit is de situatie waarin we hebben gewacht maanden te verschijnen. Betrekkingen met de Apilonians zijn edgy al sinds de Overeenkomst Allen en de samenwerking op dit ... walgelijk affaire kan zeker helpen verlichten eventuele problemen ook niet van ons houden en ze kunnen blijken te zijn een belangrijke handelspartner zijn. " [" Bluntly put, this is the situation we've been waiting months to appear. Relations with the Apilonians have been edgy ever since the Allen Agreement and cooperation in this...disgusting affair could certainly help alleviate any concerns either of us hold and they could prove to be a major trading partner."]

"Admiraal Hastegrad, wat is onze opties?" [" Admiraal Hastegrad, what's our options? "]

"Nou zoals u weet, het verdrag met de Verenigde Staten van Brink kunnen hebben ons verhinderd stationeren marine activa, maar we hebben wel een significante aanwezigheid grond, overgebleven van onze overname van het eiland. Twee hele divisies, de 17e en 21e , gemeenzaam onder bevel van een Luitenant-Generaal Ralph Gruenewald. Ze kunnen eenvoudig monteren op A300 en in het theater binnen ... een week tops. Ze kunnen gemakkelijk bieden zeker verwelkomd versterkingen en bovendien kunnen we de Freyr en Valkyrie gevechtsgroepen verzending te voorzien vliegtuigen en steun. " [" Well as you know, the treaty with the United States of Brink may have prevented us from stationing naval assets there, but we do have a significant ground presence, left over from our acquisition of the island. Two whole divisions, the 17th and 21st, colloquially commanded by a Luitenant-Generaal Ralph Gruenewald. They can easily mount up on A300's and be in theater within...a week tops. They can easily offer surely welcomed reinforcements and additionally, we can dispatch the Freyr and Valkyrie battlegroup to provide naval and aerial support."]

" Oke, iemand krijgen Buitenlandse Zaken om iets aan de Apilonians snijden, laten we bezig mensen. " [" Alright, someone get Foreign Affairs to cut something to the Apilonians, let's get busy folks. "]

---

To: Apilonian Empire, Prime Minister Alexander, King Walker
From: His Majesty King Willem-Alexander I, Prime Minister Daniel Soers
Encryption Level: High
Re: Situation in Liberia

---

*Translation Services Provided by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs*

Your Majesty and Excellency,

We have by now, like most of the world, seen your public statement concerning the truly horrifying situation developing in southern Liberia, and given the evidence that your own foreign office has forwarded ours, we must say that we are compelled to agree with your determination of the execution of genocide on the civilians in southern Liberia and we agree that something should be done immediately. Despite our differences in the past with both yourself and the October Alliance, we would like to extend an offer of help to your state at this time. We have ground forces in the terms of two divisions in theater and can be fully arrived within the week and we can also provide substantial naval and aerial reinforcement. We also join you in your condemnation of the actions committed by the Liberian rebels in their current rebellion.

Signed,

His Majesty, King Willem-Alexander I
King of the United Realms of Francia, Holland and Germania

The Rt.Honorable, Prime Minister Daniel Soers MP

[Dalmasce]

The Kingdom of Dalmasce
Rabanastre - Saturday March 22nd, 2014
5:30 PM

The Castle that sat on the outer most skirts of the capital city of Dalmasca was the very same one entered by the now legendary Industrialist Henry Cotter well over a hundred years prior. It stood tall over the desert, constructed in the Anglo-Saxon style as opposed to the native Kashbah, the structure was a legacy, a shadow of the Kingdom's medieval glory, though it had been modernized many times. Officially the residence of the government, these days that was hardly in practice. The Queen herself lived in the castle with her army of servants and her close family only part of the year, migrating through out the royal residences within the Realm. While the Parliament and Prime Minister met in the Capitol Building in the downtown sector of the city, surrounded by splendorous skyscrapers and neon lights.

Instead the castle served primarily as the headquarters for the Royal Defense Forces, who had taken the liberty to build a network of interconnected hard-point bunkers beneath the castle and its surrounding area throughout the nineteen eighties and nineties. It was in one of these bunkers deep below the Sahara Desert that the military brass and government of the Kingdom sat in meeting, many of them called in at last minutes notice. The bunker was utilitarian to the extreme, a simple amalgamation of reinforced concrete and steel, and the rooms were similar in nature, including the one that nearly twenty individuals were gathered in around a simple table in a room filled with computer screens and information displays, one of which towards the center of the room displayed a variety of information concerning the Republic of Liberia and its ongoing problems, the most recent addition being the footage caught by the Apilonian Empire, which everyone in the room from the most hardened military men to the softest politician agreed, was a sight of macabre horror.

"I think it goes without saying that something must be done in support of the Apilonians. While their previous imperialism into Africa is distasteful they are one of the best equipped assist the Liberian Government in putting down this rebellion against lawfully elected authority." The voice of reason came from Prime Minister Radclyffe Freeman, a man in his upper forties with thinning gray hair and a look half-way torn between disgust and concern at what he was seeing laid out in front of him. There were a few murmurs around the room but no one either agreed or disagreed directly, Dalmasce while enjoying cordial relations with Apilonia was not fond of the idea of imperialism in Africa, similar to the New African Republic they believed in the idea of Africa for the Africans, though they did not object openly.

"Before we jump up and print any foreign addresses though." Freeman continued, "What are our options if we were to support this notion openly?" He directed his question towards the military leaders around the room, The First Lord Admiral of the Navy, Sid Reed, spoke up in response.

"Assuming we back Apilonia's play and support the Republican Government of Liberia, we can supply two battalions of the Royal Marines for amphibious and ground operations in Liberia, ready-up within two weeks at the most, in addition the Royal Navy can assist in maneuvers off the coast and of course in support of ground force movement." Admiral Reed had a smooth, strong baritone that cut through the unease in the room, Dalmasca was small, and war, even in support of a possible ally, was a large concern for the nation's leaders.

"I apologise but the Royal Air Force would be mostly useless in this, our distance from Liberia is greater than our aircraft's safe operational range, and the Royal Navy operates no aerial units." The voice of Air Marshal Ridwan Karimi, a Berber in his early sixties said with the lightest hint of depression in his squeaky but respected voice.

"We could spare up to two full divisions of the Royal Army safely without compromising our defenses, I feel it necessary to note that they would be less... Stretched than the leathernecks on the lines, no offense Admiral." - General Farouk El-Ghazzawy, another Berber in his middle fifties spoke up. The Lord Admiral muttered something along the lines of 'none taken'.

Throughout the conversation Queen Lynette, a woman only twenty-six years old and the youngest person in the room by far, sat in silence, letting her officers go over the various responses they could supply in support of the governments of Liberia and Apilonia when finally she spoke herself in a melodic soprano that floated on the air. "And what of this business with the Khoursuni 'Republic', if it comes to blows are we prepared to fighting with the Alaskans who are more than four thousand miles away proper, while the Khoursunis are less than half that?" While a woman for a decade by Dalmascan standards the fear in her voice was picked up on by the veteran men at arms, none of them said a word about it however the Lord Admiral held up a hand in defense of their speaking.

"Your Majesty, the Apilonian Empire is indeed far from us, and if it came to war the Khoursuni Republic could possibly win in Liberia, or wherever they choose to meet the Apilonians on the field. However I assure you, that the men and women who defend this kingdom would lay down their lives in the tens of thousands before we saw our sovereignty robbed of us by their lot, and I as I am sure most of the men in this room agree, Alaska is a far better ally for the prospective future of a prosperous Africa than the blatant dictatorship to the south." The words were met with more than a few agreements, though they were all quiet, either Apilonia, who were a world power, or Khorusun who were a regional power could either decimate Dalmasca if they truly desired it, and every man and woman in that room knew that, but they'd be damned if they unnecessarily shook the faith of their ruler in their ability to defend her and her realm.

"Very well, then." Lynette spoke again as she toyed with her long, well kept strands of brunette hair as she often did when she was nervous or frightened, "We are in agreement that the Kingdom stands with President Fox, and with King Walker over the state of Liberia, and that We shall aid the Apilonian effort in whatever way We can do so." She made expert use of the Royal We, it could be noted. The Foreign Minister then sat forward, a kindly looking Berber woman by the name of Zahira Ghadir Darzi in her sixties. "Shall I release a public statement in this regard, Your Majesty, or does Your Majesty wish to address the world?"

"It is better if the foreign office handled this properly, I have no desire to go over heads if it is unnecessary." The Queen's answer was simple and responded to with a short nod.

---

Diplomatic Missive of the Hellenistic Kingdom of Dalmasca

Code: Select all

That it is to be known that the Kingdom of Dalmasca and its Monarch, Queen Lynette of Godwinson does hereby declare it most troubling that the Khoursuni Republic has declared the lawful and carefully recorded and watched proceedings of the electoral process in the Republic of Liberia to be unlawful to be of the most disturbing nature. That it is to be known that the Kingdom and Her Majesty do stand by the duly elected government of President Joseph Fox in support of that government, chosen by the peoples of Liberia to represent them. That it is to be known that the Kingdom and Her Majesty find this rebellion against the government of President Fox to be most unlawful and that it is recognized as illegitimate.

Furthermore it is to be known that the Kingdom and Her Majesty duly stand by the Empire of Apilonia in that great nation's support of the Presidency and government of Joseph Fox, and whom the Kingdom considers a close friend of the Cause of Freedom and Liberty in the world today, that it is to be known the Kingdom and Her Majesty are most greatly disturbed by the motions of the Khoursuni Government to use the tragedy of the Liberian Civil War to their advantage as a political statement when indeed it is a human tragedy, that the Kingdom and Her Majesty are most disturbed to the undermining of peace and stability that the Ankhazar of Khoursun has made false allegations against the duly elected government of Liberia, and that the Kingdom of Dalmasca does stand in support with its friends and allies in Apilonia and Liberia, in finality.

Most Sincerely,
Zahira Ghadir Darzi - Secretary of State, Her Majesty's Government

Most Sincerely,
Her Royal Majesty the Queen Lynette of Dalmasca.

[Khorsun]

Brigadier Lamal Dorbrhano, Commander of Sharokh Force
Hal Zetadha dhala Ankhazar [The Ankhazar's Citadel]
Verela, Republic of the Khorsuni Nation
Saturday, March 22, 2014, 1800hrs Zulu Time

The commander of the Sharokh Force was a man nearing his fifties, one of the older figures in the Ankhazar's decidedly youthful inner circle. Slim and short, typical for a Khorsuni, dark-skinned with a worn face, graying hair around the temples, and intense eyes. Lamal Dorbrhano was a man devoted to his craft, having led one of the KZI's brigades into battle during Khorsun's war of liberation. He was one of, if not the most trusted of Taneltar's subordinates; the Ankhazar consequently left him a great deal of autonomy to use his resources as he saw fit.

And use them he did; Sharokh Force's webs of subterfuge had steadily grown across the continent and beyond. Brigadier Dorbrhano was always expanding, always pushing his limits, seeing himself as a composer and as a conductor; there was an art to his work.

Dorbrhano could not credit himself as the sole author of the tragic violence playing out in Liberia, but he was perhaps more responsible for it than any one other man. From the moment its war to overthrow the Republic of West Africa was concluded, Khorsun had taken an interest in Liberia and the other largely ungoverned territories on its borders.

Liberia, like most of the West African coast, was home to a scattered Khorsuni ethnic minority; somewhere from 8-10% of the population. The Republic of Khorsun, itself only 14% Khorsuni in terms of ethnicity, was ever hungry to absorb more of its own people to better even the odds. Annexing Liberia directly, though, would have presented the problem of administering the other 90% of the population, as well as addressing the country's devastated infrastructure and other problems.

Dorbrhano had presented Taneltar with a solution to this dilemma. The Sharokh Force had sent its agents to work in Liberia and in Guinea building networks of ethnic militias among the Khorsuni minorities; these militias had not only policed the Khorsuni-populated territories of those countries but also taken control of key natural resources: Guinea's bauxite mines and Liberia's diamonds, which they would smuggle back to Khorsun as payment for their Sharokh Force arms and training.

Handling these militias was not easy; each of them had their own rivalries, their own petty goals, their own little strongman in charge with their own ambitions and corruptions and egos. It was like holding the leashes of an entire pack of unruly dogs, each of them them trying to tear off in their own direction and bite one of the others, or their master, or anyone who just happened to be pass by.

Dorbrhano was normally the the right man for the job, the man who was capable of keeping the pack under control. Things had unfortunately gotten out of control in Liberia, all thanks to the election of Joseph Fox, some poor fool who had only the best of intentions. Fox's attempts to reassert Liberia's control over its own resources had driven Dorbrhano's Khorsuni militias away from the diamond mines and disrupted the vital flow of resources to Khorsun's still-recovering economy.

Dorbrhano had taken the subtle approach, sending his intermediaries with bribes to Fox and to various members of his cabinet. Fox, though, had refused to be bought, so Dorbrhano had gone ahead with a campaign to destabilize his government. Sharokh Force had through local actors orchestrated a relentless propaganda offensive against Joseph Fox's government, deriding his elections as being fraudulent, his administration as corrupt, and his police and armed forces as guilty of brutality and lawlessness.

The propaganda had worked all too well, striking a chord among many of the former authority figures Fox had removed from their posts as part of his anti-corruption campaign. The Khorsuni militias in Liberia had soon found much of the country rising up alongside them in rebellion against Fox. The situation had suddenly gone beyond Dorbrhano's control; the Khorsuni elements of the rebellion over which he held influence were now badly outnumbered by Liberians of other races; they now amounted to only 20-25% of the rebellion's manpower.

Dorbrhano would never have allowed the mass slaughter in Buchanan to take place; the world would happily ignore low-intensity wars in Africa but bring its wrath to bear in the face of such blatant atrocities. Unfortunately, however, the Grand Bassa county was almost entirely in the hands of non-Khorsuni rebels and thus outside his ability to control; the Khorsuni rebel elements were concentrated further east in the Sinoe, Grand Kru, Maryland, and Grand Gedeh counties, well behind the current front lines at the St. John River.

"How was the international reaction?" Dorbrhano asked the Ankhazar, who had just returned to his office, having been going in and out all afternoon as he went off to attend to various urgent matters before coming back each time to discuss his options with Dorbrhano.

"Terrible, as expected," the Ankhazar told his spymaster, circling round him as he sat in his desk. Taneltar walked with silent footsteps, but the mass of jewelry dangling from his arms and neck clanked each time his foot hit the floor. "The home crowd is behind us all the way, of course, but Dalmasce and Holland have already come down in favor of the Apayalata."

"Not good news," Dorbrhano said bluntly. Khorsun had courted relations with both over the past few years, seeking partners to counterbalance the aggressive expansion of the Apilonian Empire, whose takeover of Sierra Leone had earned it the bitter enmity of the Khorsuni Nation.

"Not encouraging, no," said the Ankhazar, coming to a stop in front of Dorbrhano and silently regarding him from behind his shaded glasses, waiting to hear his ideas on what to do.

"If we can't prevent the coalition from forming, we obviously need to join it and pursue our goals from within it," Dorbrhano began, the Ankhazar nodding his agreement. "Since you've already burned yourself on this, send Valorsa to talk sweet. Foreign governments like her a lot more than you."

"That they do," said Taneltar, smiling. Valorsa Trakhun, Khorsun's foreign minister, had earned her place for that reason. In spite of the burn and shrapnel scars she'd earned as a KZI fighter during the battle for Verela, Trakhun was a genuinely kind and gregarious person, one who carried on well in international meetings and and didn't grate on the nerves of other countries' governments as Taneltar inevitably did with his arrogant bluster, nationalist tirades, and moments of unshielded cynicism.

"On the ground, we need to divorce our rebels from the other groups, the ones behind the Rape of Buchanan. Have them consolidate control of the territories further east, keep their fighting strength well back from the front lines. Apilonia's strikes will most likely fall along the St. John River front." Dorbrhano paused, thinking ahead for a moment.

"We match the Apilonians movement for movement," Taneltar said, filling in the silence. "If and when they move their troops into Liberia from the northwest, ours move to take control of the southeastern territories. We work with our militias and pay the Liberian rebels back for the slaughter. We do this whether or not the Apilonians come to an agreement with us and force them to react."

"Agreed, we do need to play our hand carefully, though," Dorbrhano said. "We need to ensure the Khorsuni rebels and other Liberian rebels are distinguished from one another. The Liberians are the cannibal rapists, our rebels are fighting for their own self-determination. I can redirect them to carry out attacks on the Liberian rebels rather than the government, but you need to ensure on a political level that the Apilonians and the others are perceiving those reactions carefully."

"The Apilonians are certainly playing realpolitik here behind the show of humanitarianism. They will see whatever is in their interests to see," Taneltar replied.

"Certainly," Dorbrhano said. "We need to better articulate our goals here. Our economic interests in Liberia cannot be justified internationally, and the world isn't biting on our attempts to de-legitimizate the Fox government. The fate of our minority there is all-important to the Khorsuni home population, but the rest of the world doesn't give a damn what 10% of the people in any country want."

"They won't accept that is rightfully ours," Taneltar laughed. "What will they accept?"

"The buffer zone argument," Dorbrhano replied. "Send Valorsa to pitch it to them discreetly. Liberia and Guinea as neutral zones keep our borders from touching theirs'. The Apilonians and us are already too close for comfort; they don't like it anymore than we do. In exchange for our help in crushing the rebellion, we can maintain the balance of powers and the separation of our borders by dividing Liberia into a pro-Apilonian west under Joseph Fox and a pro-Khorsuni east under a government from the local Khorsuni population. Alternatively, if they don't want to deal with us, we can play our hand with a counter-invasion into Guinea, which will allow us to put our forces onto Sierra Leone's northern border. That will give us use one more leverage to use before we must resort to fighting them directly."

Taneltar gave a quick nod. "Make your end of it happen," he said, before leaving the room.


Valorsa Trakhun, Foreign Minister of Khorsun
The Khorsuni Consulate
Freetown, Duchy of Sierra Leone
Saturday, March 22, 2014, 2000hrs Zulu Time

Valorsa Trakhun arrived at the consulate in Freetown by helicopter, having spent the previous hours issuing damage-control statements on behalf of Taneltar and Khorsun, condemning the violence in Liberia and expressing remorse over the tragedy in Buchanan while still maintaining calls for international dialogue and negotiation rather than immediate military action.

She sighed to herself, tired and stressed after being sent on very short notice to Sierra Leone. The consular officials had already been briefed to have a meeting arranged for her with a representative of the Apilonian government; she hoped they too had managed to follow through on their orders. The Ankhazar did not make her job easy; she spent much of her time having to tone down his statements, clarify them, re-word them, apologize for them. It was partly his own personal doing, his own personality at work, but also, she knew, partly because of what his people and his party demanded of him.

The Khorsuni National Party that dominated every facet of the Republic's government was a very disparate coalition, counting among its ranks nationalists, religious Zherdutasars, old KZI and current military and Zhudan Guards figures, populists of varying stripes, and even socialists, all bound more by their loyalty to Taneltar than by any ideological common ground. The National Party kept its infighting discreet and out of the public and international view, but Taneltar's diverse array of supporters quite often necessitated his erratic decision-making and self-contradiction. To the outsiders unable to see the party's underlying plate tectonics, Taneltar quite often seemed a madman.

Which was only half-true, at least from Valorsa's point of view. There was a certain madness to the Ankhazar, but it went hand-in-hand with a certain brand of genius. Without Taneltar, there would not be a Khorsuni republic to begin with. So Valorsa was inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt when the man's motives seemed a total mystery to her.

The Khorsuni consul came to greet her, kissing her cheeks as was custom between Khorsunis along with their handshake. "Good to see you. Have I got an Apilonian official ready to meet with me?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am," the consul replied, briefing her on the who and the where...

[Terra Reborn]

His Majesty Walker I, King of Apilonia, Australia and the Imperial Dominions
The Imperial Fortress
Karin, Alaska, the Apilonian Empire
Saturday 22nd March 2014, 1200hrs Local Time (1200hrs Imperial Capital Time, 2000hrs Zulu Time)

“It is nice to know that we aren’t the only sane people on the planet,” Walker commented thoughtfully as he sat in his office with his inner circle once again. “It doesn’t always seem that way sometimes.”

The other men and women in the room nodded their agreement to his sentiment. King Walker had been most gratified to discover that not only had the Kingdom of Holland offered its assistance, but the Kingdom of Dalmasce as well, and that was just within the first few hours. The Empire could have prosecuted the entire campaign on its own and everyone knew it, but that didn’t mean that doing so would have been the right idea, and there was a reason why Walker had subtly put out a call for a coalition of willing powers to put an end to the bloodshed. For one it would speed up the process of getting a large number of troops onto the ground, for one the Imperial divisions had to come from much further away, but the sooner they could get enough troops onto the ground to push into the south the better, the last thing they wanted was for the rebels to decide another city was too loyalist for their liking and to carry out another massacre like the one in Buchanan. It was true that the Imperials could secure the loyalist territories quite easily, but they weren’t the only ones that needed protecting. Sure there were a lot of corrupt people in the rebel held territory, but at the same time the vast majority of the population were either keeping their heads down or being forced to fight for the rebels, it was telling that the brigade that had carried out the massacre had been a ‘hardline’ faction within the rebels, all of whom had a personal stake in opposing the government.

At the same time if the Khorsuni ‘Republic’ was going to start a war over this then Walker was grateful for the fact that there were going to be other nations involved, hopefully it would either dissuade them from starting a war or, if it was inevitable, again provide the Empire with more forces in-theatre sooner to defend against their aggression. Of course he wouldn’t make the assumption that the foreign forces were going to get involved against Khorsun itself, and he would direct the Imperial High Command to work under the assumption that they wouldn’t assist in that regard, and on his part and that of the Foreign Office he was going to have to reach out and get a feel for the degree to which their new comrades in arms were willing to assist.

It was telling perhaps that the Kingdom of Dalmasce had chosen to join them, and said a great deal about their Government. Unlike the Khorsuni they weren’t willing to play politics when something like this was happening. Walker was all too aware that the Dalmascans weren’t tremendously impressed with the Imperial presence in Africa, although they weren’t anywhere near as verbal about it as some others, seeing it as Imperialism. Walker had to concede that it was technically Imperialism, but he had made the decision a long time ago that he would never compel any part of the world to become a part of the Empire unless they wanted to. When he had offered Imperial military strength to help Sierra Leone against its military coup it had been totally without strings, the fact that Sierra Leone had in fact subsequently elected to join the Empire was beside the point, Liberia would be the same it would never be compelled to join, but if it wanted to he’d never turn them away no matter how politically difficult it might be. But the fact that the Dalmascans were willing to help regardless said a great deal about their character and Walker was glad to have them.

The Dutch were another good addition to this growing coalition, the relationship between the Empire and the Kingdom had always been a strained one, ever since they had nearly gone to war over Dutch moves into the Pacific, it was perhaps ironic that the Apilonians were concerned about Dutch Imperialist Ambitions! But then, Walker considered, it was perhaps because the Dutch had come so brazenly into the Empire’s pacific backyard. Relations had warmed somewhat in the years that had passed since then and, although in a situation like this Walker wasn’t thinking politically, something like this would hopefully change their relationship forever.

In terms of the forces that would be available from the coalition members there was at least two additional divisions from the Dutch as well as undisclosed air and naval forces, whilst the Dalmascans had not stated what they were willing to provide, not in the open broadcast anyway. The first step was to send a personal message to them accepting the help and thanking them for it, then directing them to ‘liaise’ with the senior Imperial officers in theatre. The ideal state of affairs would be for the Dutch and Dalmascans to place their forces under the command of the Imperial senior officers, given the fact that this was an Imperial spearheaded operation. If they weren’t willing to do this, which would be disappointing, then at the very least they needed to be willing to co-ordinate with the Imperial military. He didn’t want to alienate his new coalition allies by insisting they place their forces under Imperial Command, even if it would be the optimum set-up. Hopefully they would see the writing on the wall and set it up themselves, besides it was better that such things came from the military commanders themselves and not a demand from the highest political levels. No doubt they would know exactly what Walker preferred, given the situation.

“Alright, Rebecca, I need you to stay with me to pen those replies to the Dutch and the Dalmascans, John, please inform Lieutenant General Leach that he’s going to be getting some more forces, and that as of now he is to be responsible for the campaign in Liberia on the ground, upon arrival Lord Harrington is to take command of the naval situation,” Walker instructed. “In the meantime let’s start leaking to the press that both have offered their help… anything else?”

“One thing,” Thurston replied. “Apparently the Khorsuni Foreign Minister flew into Freetown a short time ago, requesting a meeting with an Imperial Official.”

“Has she now… no doubt realised that her crackpot leader has gotten it wrong in a rather unequivocal manner,” Walker grimaced. “Well we can’t just ignore her, I’ll tell William to meet with her, but I think he knows our current opinion on the Khorsuni ‘Republic’.

Official Diplomatic Communiqué

To: His Majesty King Willem-Alexander I
Copy: Prime Minister Daniel Soers

Your Majesty,

We are most gratified to hear that the Kingdom of Holland is as aghast at the situation in Liberia as we are, and that something must be done before it can be allowed to happen again. We are likewise most grateful for any assistance that you can offer in this matter. Your ground troops can muster in Sierra Leone at IAF Bo and the Bo Garrison staging area and report to Lieutenant General Sir Nicolas Leach who is the senior Imperial officer responsible for ground operations. Any naval forces that you can provide should muster with an Imperial force gathering at Gibraltar under the command of Admiral The Earl Harrington who has been designated as the Imperial Naval Commander for the campaign. Once again we are most grateful for your assistance in this matter.

Yours Sincerely

Walker R
King of Apilonia, Australia and the Imperial Dominions

Official Diplomatic Communiqué

To: Her Royal Majesty the Queen Lynette of Dalmasca.
Copy: Zahira Ghadir Darzi - Secretary of State, Her Majesty's Government


Your Majesty,

We are most gratified to hear that the Kingdom of Dalmasce is as aghast at the events in Liberia as we are, as well as your pledge of support for our much-needed intervention in Liberia to prevent such atrocities from ever happening again. As well as in regards to the disturbing rhetoric of the Khorsuni Nation. On that latter point I can pledge that the Apilonian Empire will view with suspicion any attempt by the Khorsunis to interfere in this operation as although we have no evidence that they are complicit in atrocities in Liberia, their rhetoric in its regard is most disturbing to us. We look forward to working closely with the Kingdom of Dalmasce in both solving the Liberian question but also in ensuring the long-term prosperity of Africa, for although the majority of the Empire is not of Africa, our commitment to the prosperity of those parts of Africa that have become part of the Empire is not diminished because of that.

Yours Sincerely

Walker R
King of Apilonia, Australia and the Imperial Dominions

Admiral the Earl Harrington KCS DSO
Devil’s Tower Complex
Gibraltar, the Apilonian Empire
Saturday 22nd March 2014, 2100hrs Local Time (1300hrs Imperial Capital Time, 2100hrs Zulu Time)

The Devil’s Tower Camp was the official headquarters of Imperial Forces Europe, which included the Imperial Mediterranean Fleet, the Imperial Air Forces Europe and the 3rd Army Group (although it wasn’t exactly army group sized, for obvious reasons). To the outside world it was a relatively small (it was on Gibraltar) complex of buildings on the surface, however it was much more than that, below the surface there was a sprawling complex that went all over the island and linked up with tunnels in the Rock itself, although naturally they could be sealed off. Both the senior Admirals had finally made their way over from Alice’s apartment to the command centre to get the planning done properly. The Audacious Battle Group as well as the Second Battle Squadron (half of its planned strength anyway) had sailed from Scapa Flow a short time ago and were on their way down to Gibraltar.

“Let’s go over what we’ve got,” Nicolas commented. “Aside from the Battlegroup itself and the 2BS, we’ve also got the 2nd Cruiser Squadron and the 3rd Destroyer Squadron coming down to thicken up the defences for the task force, that should give us plenty of cover.”

“Indeed, but we should keep the fleet well-clear of the coastline, let’s not give the Khorsuni an easy target if we can avoid it, but if they come out to us we can still kick the living shit out of them, and it’s not like we can’t hit them at range ourselves,” Alice replied. “We’ll have air cover from the two Carriers of course, but I’m sure the IAF will be able to put a fairly substantial CAP over us as well, so we shouldn’t have too many problems in that regard, besides I don’t think we’ll be getting too close until we take out their coastal defences anyway.”

“Agreed,” Nicolas nodded. “The Army will have the task of holding them down in Liberia and out of Sierra Leone, but it’ll be up to the Navy to prevent them from being able to further prosecute the war.”

Alice nodded and glanced over at an AB as he handed her a print-out from the secured communication network.

“Looks like we’ll be getting reinforcements from the Dutch, and possibly the Dalmascans as well,” Alice read off the paper. “They’ve been requested to marshal their ships here at Gibraltar and we’ll sail down in force.”

“Do we know what force they are sending yet?” Nicolas replied, taking the news that they were working with the Dutch in his stride. “And under our command?”

“We don’t know for either,” Alice replied. “Although given the circumstances it should be pretty obvious we’ll want to maintain overall command.”

“Indeed,” Nicolas nodded. “It is nice to know we won’t be going it alone for once.”

“It is, isn’t it,” Alice agreed.

“Alright then,” Nicolas smiled. “Let’s start working them into our plans, I was thinking…”

His Grace William Thomas Dubaku, 1st Duke of Sierra Leone
Dubaku House
Freetown, Sierra Leone, the Apilonian Empire
Saturday 22nd March 2014, 2100hrs Local Time (1300hrs Imperial Capital Time, 2100hrs Zulu Time)

William had not been particularly impressed by the fact that he was supposed to be meeting with the Khorsuni Foreign Minister. As the Duke of Sierra Leone he had been at the forefront of the Imperials perspective of the rhetoric of the Khorsuni’s crackpot dictator. As far as he was concerned they were the biggest threat to the prosperity of his Duchy and of Africa in general, they were belligerent warmongers that were extremely unpredictable. Their belligerence over recent times were what had provoked the substantial reinforcement of the Imperial Military in Sierra Leone, as well as the reason why such force was being redeployed on the mere possibility that they were going to cause trouble. When considering the Empire in totality the Khorsuni Nation couldn’t hope to win, but Sierra Leone wasn’t the Empire in totality, right now it was an exposed colony of the Empire in a part of the world that was largely a series of isolated colonies. It was entirely possible that Khorsun could take Sierra Leone if it wasn’t reinforced in time, and it was partially that reason that the Imperial Armed Force had already brought in more units and would continue to do so.

But then, William smiled to himself, if the Khorsuni Nation was stupid enough to oppose the Empire on this, they wouldn’t be posing a threat to anyone ever again. He knew that if they were stupid enough to attack Imperial forces on a humanitarian mission that the Empire would strike them down like the upstarts that they were, even if it meant bringing military force from across the Empire, they would utterly crush them. The Empire had done well in the years since its re-establishment but it had never really faced a challenge to its rapidly growing power base, they could not allow the first such challenge to go either unanswered or undefeated. This was even more important given the nature of the intervention in Liberia. There was a small hope that he would be able to talk some sense into the Foreign Minister, especially given that it was clear that world opinion was condemning the Khorsuni for their stance. William was highly suspicious of the entire affair, he was of the opinion that based on their rhetoric they were probably responsible for it, but at this point he didn’t have any proof. If he had… well he wouldn’t be having this conversation, the Imperial Parliament would be voting out a Declaration of War to prevent the Khorsuni from remaining a threat to the Empire or any part of the civilized world.

“The Khorsuni Foreign Minister is here, your grace,” His aide said as neutrally as possible.

“Alright then, send her in,” William said, his tone matching precisely.

[Layarteb]

March 22, 2014 - 06:00 hrs [UTC-5]
Layarteb City, New York
Fortress of Comhghall
(40° 41' 28" N, 74° 0' 58" W)

Saturday's were quiet days in the Layartebian government. After the restless week, many within the government sought the refuge of home and errand to de-stress and forget that the world was truly an awful, mud-ridden place. Despite the fact that life around the world kept going, Saturday's were days when the Layartebian government ran only at half of its usual staff, not unlike night's and Sunday's, when even less people, a mere quarter of the usual amount, manned the desks, phones, and terminals that ran a country of 735 million. On this particular, Saturday morning, the Emperor was not in his office but rather, in the exercise room, finishing up an hour job on the treadmill. With nothing but the repetitive motion of the workout machine and the labored breathing of a man who was aging, the Emperor was able to de-stress himself, a much-required activity for the leader of a country of 735 million.

Finishing up at ten to six, the Emperor grabbed his bottle of water, chugged it out, and exited the room, heading back to his office to shower. The slick sheen of sweat that covered him from head to toe was evidence of a thorough workout that kept his heart rate up and his metabolism screaming along at a hundred miles per hour. Now, as his pulse returned to its resting rate of just under 54 bpm, the Emperor climbed the stairs with some arduous effort, heading back to his office. As he passed through the reception area, he caught sight of Judy Mitchell, who was still wearing her coat. Her ear was stuck to the phone and she held up a hand to the Emperor to stop him, "Sir, I have King Walker on the line for you," the Emperor looked at the clock. It was barely 03:00 in Alaska and no call from a head of state at that hour of the morning could be a good one.

"Put it through in there, I'll take it immediately, thank you Judy."

"Yes sir," she returned the phone, "Your Majesty, he will take the call in just a few seconds, I will transfer it now."

Inside of the Emperor's office, as the doors closed behind him, the room was still and quiet. The fireplace was smoldering and thus the usual cracking of firewood was not heard. The television was off and the lights were dim and an air of tranquility hung over the ambiance, that was at least until the Emperor picked up the phone's handset. "Your Majesty, what terrible news do you have for me?" And there King Walker I laid out the situation in Liberia, the discovery of a "Rogue Spear" situation. In the Empire's language, this translated to "Pinnacle - Empty Quiver." It had been a long time since a nuclear situation had come to a frightening level and the last time was summer of 2006. Saint Georges in Grenada had still not recovered. The population was barely a fraction of what it was before a 5 kiloton device detonated on the island, killing 37,621 Layartebian and Cottish people, most of them military due to the raging insurrection.

"I understand Your Majesty," the Emperor said in return. "We will immediately redirect our reconnaissance efforts in South America. Every ship that leaves the South American coastline will be made known to you. The correlation between the belligerency of the Khorsunis and the rebels in Liberia is no coincidence. This is part of their ulterior plan. Whatever assistance needs to be rendered, will be. In the meantime, I will convene with my Cabinet in no less than four hours to discuss this situation. I will personally inform you of the results and the course of action that I decide."

Before the Emperor and his Cabinet could meet, King Walker I was on air, speaking to the matter of an atrocity committed by Liberian rebels, no doubt the Emperor believed, with the complicity of the Khorsuni military and government. Two hours before the Emperor and his Cabinet could meet, the Khorsunis responded, in true belligerent fashion. It was only fair that the reaction of King Walker I, "That man really is a prick isn't he," was mirrored in a much more profane fashion within the Emperor's mind.

Still, at 10:00, the Layartebian Cabinet met for their usual, daily brief. Midway through the discussion, the Emperor broke the news that the Apilonians had incontrovertible proof that the Liberian rebels were now armed with at least one nuclear device. The nature of said device was still unknown but it did not matter, the word "nuclear" was never to be used with the word "rebel" in any circles of the Layartebian government. Flashbacks and images of July 2006 and the mushroom cloud over the southern Caribbean Sea came to mind and everyone seated at the table, from the youngest to the Emperor himself, knew what that meant for the world. As the diplomatic spar began between King Walker I and his Khorsuni counterpart, the ever vitriolic Ankhazar Rekhan Taneltar, the Emperor and his Cabinet were deciding what to do.

The course of action would be threefold. First and foremost, the Empire would lean on the New African Republic, which held the torch as the "bringer of peace" to the world to settle the situation amicably. If President Briddick thought that the Khorsuni Ankhazar was a "friendly" then he was more naïve than the Emperor ever imagined. Secondly, the Empire would defer to the Apilonians on the matter unless specifically requested. Lastly, the Empire would marshal its resources in theater and contribute to the Apilonian effort as significantly as possible. Airborne early warning from the African Republic as well as naval and long-range detection elements for both airborne and seaborne threats would be linked through the chain of command that was The October Alliance, feeding up-to-the-minute information directly to King Walker's generals, admirals, and directors.

As other nations of the world, the Dutch and the Dalmascans in particular began to stand by the Apilonians and denounce the Khorsunis, the Empire's government, with just half of its staff, began to operate on a level that was rarely seen. Feelers went out around the world to ambassadors and diplomatic staff to learn the intentions of other national governments. The intelligence apparatus that had so harmfully failed the Empire in China was rotated and directed now to the largest threat at present, the Khorsunis. And on top of it all, the Imperial Layartebian Military, for once experiencing a moment of calm, suddenly changed its gears from calm observance to unstoppable determination.

The situation was still primarily in Africa by the time that the sun set over the Layartebian capital and though it was likely to remain like that, the Emperor wasn't going to let the Empire be sidelined too badly. The Khorsunis had demonstrated their belligerence to the world before, by conducting a missile test into the Layartebian EEZ around Cape Verde, during a night when the leaders of the world celebrated the Monégasque inclusion into the Empire. Ever since, the Empire had stepped up its motions towards the Khorsunis and now, with Liberia blossoming before the very eyes of the world, those efforts would not be wasted.

[Khorsun]

Valorsa Trakhun, Foreign Minister of Khorsun
Dubaku House
Freetown, Sierra Leone, the Apilonian Empire
Saturday, March 22, 2014, 2100hrs Zulu Time

"Good evening, your Grace," said Valorsa Trakhun, courtesying briefly after being admitted to see the Duke of Sierra Leone. "Thank you for your availability on such short notice. There is still time for our governments to resolve their misunderstanding over the crisis in Liberia before any greater tragedies strike."

The Apilonian duke had the courtesy to conceal his feelings behind a pointedly neutral expression, but Valorsa could nonetheless sense just how little he cared to see a representative of the Khorsuni government at the moment. Ordinarily she would have felt a similar disdain for meeting with the lord of this so-called 'duchy,' whose title had been concocted by fiat. But this was no ordinary occasion. Valorsa had already lived through one war with the scars to prove it; she was hoping she wouldn't have to see another. Time was running short, and she needed to sell her case well.

"First off, let me share my sorrows over the suffering in Liberia. My people have a long history of suffering and persecution as well; they do not condone atrocities against the innocent. I was a soldier in our own war of independence, and I witnessed firsthand the horrors of war crimes." Her hand went to the veil that covered the lower half of her face; it concealed underneath it the ugly scars the war had left her with. "I assure you I and the other leaders of my nation are taking the tragedies in Liberia every bit as seriously as yours are."

"Our Ankhazar as well," she went on. "His leadership saved our own people from genocide. He will help to put an end to this one too." The Duke's skeptical expression kept her going on. "Ankhazar Taneltar is, like you and me, a politician. We know that part of our trade is, when necessary, making public statements out of line with our true intentions. The Ankhazar has appearances to keep up with the domestic audience. When one of the great powers makes a unilateral military move near our borders, he must show himself to be forceful and defiant to reassure our people of their safety."

It was more or less a true statement, but that didn't seem to have changed the Duke's feelings towards the Khorsuni leader. "Khorsun is ready to put a stop to the bloodshed," Valorsa continued, "We have no love for the rebel movement. And if Apilonia wants to save lives, you know you can save the most only by working with us, not opposed to us."

"Khorsun is willing to condone your intervention and take part in your coalition if you can give us assurances for our concerns. The first is the Khorsuni ethnic population in the east and in the south of Liberia, who are opposed to the Joseph Fox government. Khorsun will not allow any harm to come to them from an intervention or for Apilonia to plant the flag of its empire on their lands."

"The second is the issue of security, a concern I'm willing to bet you yourself would share. Liberia, along with Guinea, forms a crucial no man's land separating your Duchy from our Republic. Any territorial annexation in Liberia that puts Apilonian forces on Khorsun's borders is unacceptable to us."

She eyed the Duke for a moment before allowing her expression to soften. "If you can provide us with guarantees in these areas, Khorsun will not interfere and will collaborate with Apilonia as a partner in bringing peace to Liberia."

[Brydog]

Federal Council Wing, Wroclaw Town Hall
Wroclaw, Poland, CEF
March 22, 2014

The Federal Council was meeting at its usual spot at Wroclaw's town hall. The Council's home was being built in the city, and until then the Federal Council was to still use the section of the town hall. This meeting was called up in regards to the matter in Africa, the government had decided to get involved in international affairs rather then just have a purely European focus in foreign affairs. It seems rebels were in engaging in a revolt against the Liberian Government. The first to speak was the Minister of Federal Security,

"Now, Africa isn't we should get involved in but a certain nation may be behind this and might be trying to use it for some purposes"

The Council paused for a minute, Khosun had been one of the nations on the Government's watch list.

"This is a serious situation, I believe that the Federal Congress has been informed?"

"Yes, and they are waiting for our plan for the situation, whatever it is."

"Well, I believe the FIS needs to increase its activities in Liberia, which I believe you have done."

"Yes, and what is your plan with the military?"

"The Congress will be asked to allow the deployment of a element of the Rapid Reaction Force to boost the security of our embassy in Liberia."

"Ok, and now its girl of the group's to do her stuff."

The Foreign Minister nod, and give her move.

"Simply, we are going to call for cool heads and importantly work with others to defuse the situation."

The Federal Council nodded in a agreement as the President went to make his case to the Federal Congress for the deployment of a security force in Liberia, which would be the first deployment of Federal troops in a foreign nation while The Foreign Minister crafted a statement and contacted the Liberians to get the approval to enter their airspace to reinforce the embassy.

A Statement From the Central European Federation

We find the situation in Liberia troubling, the Fox Government seemed to be on its way to making Liberia a better nation but forces have seem to troubled by this. We asked that all sides find a common ground and work to solve this matter in a peaceful matter rather them take up weapons and murder defenseless people. We will not intervene unless our citizens are in danger, the only forces will have will be a small force to ensure our embassy's protection, and if comes to it, a peacekeeping force possibly. We hope that the troubles come to pass, by peaceful means.

Signed,
The Federal Council of the Central European Federation

Reading the statement, The Federal Council finished up the meeting, they were to adopt a observant role in the situation, letting the others use military force. The policy was simple, the CEF would only intervene if its citizens were in danger, and at the time, the embassy was the only area of concern for the nation. The whole issue was simple, a certain nation wanted resources from Liberia and Fox was a roadblock to it. This was how almost everyone operated in the world, and it seems that Central Europe was one of the exceptions, the nation rather use diplomacy and trade then war to achieve its needs.

[Terra Reborn]

His Grace William Thomas Dubaku, 1st Duke of Sierra Leone
Dubaku House
Freetown, Sierra Leone, the Apilonian Empire
Saturday 22nd March 2014, 2100hrs Local Time (1300hrs Imperial Capital Time, 2100hrs Zulu Time)

William listened carefully to everything the Khorsuni Foreign Minister said… and didn’t believe a word of it. After what the Khorsuni Leader had said on television he found it difficult to believe that they had any sorrow for the incident in Liberia, there was one thing to bend the truth for public consumption, it was an entirely different one to do what the Khorsuni Leader had done and effectively deny that anything was happening whilst simultaneously denouncing a government that had been lawfully elected, and election that had been confirmed by four separate nation-states. It was most disturbing to William, and Walker as he had already stated, that the Khorsuni were desperately trying to make this matter political, it was really rather disgusting. They had already proven their belligerence in times past, but this was going beyond that and trying to use the murder and rape of tens of thousands for a political end. But here they were, trying to change a situation that shouldn’t be political into one that was, and that left the Empire with very few options to avoid it.

“Madam Foreign Minister, there is a distinct difference between being liberal with the truth for the purpose of public consumption and going on TV that can be seen by the entire world, attacking a foreign Head of State and saying what your leader said,” William replied evenly. “By my count he claimed that the Massacre never happened, questioned the legitimacy of an election that has been confirmed by four separate nations, including some that don’t particularly get along and then went on to fabricate claims that the Government was carrying out atrocities of its own, that is clearly beyond the pale.”

William took a sip from a glass of iced water.

“As a result of this, the general consensus in the Imperial Government is that the Khorsuni Government is less concerned about the atrocities in Liberia than it is about some imagined threat, the fact that the Khorsuni Nation is trying to turn this horrific situation into a political issue is disturbing at best and downright disgusting at worst,” William continued. “Therefore the intentions and motivations of the Khorsuni Nation in this matter are viewed with a certain degree of suspicion in the Apilonian Empire, and after your historic belligerence, most notably firing a missile into the territory of one of our closest allies, this latest development is not promising for our future relations, however unlike yourselves apparently our current concern is ending the atrocities in Liberia.”

William leant back in his chair.

“To address your ‘concerns’, I want to firstly point out that just because they oppose the government doesn’t given them the right to take up arms against it, that is not how a democracy works, and your own close association with them is disturbing in relation to the Massacre,” William replied. “Secondly at this point the Empire has no intentions in Liberia beyond its own intervention under the terms of a Protectorate Agreement that President Fox signed a short time ago, however if they were ever to request to join the Empire, we would not turn them down, your concerns for ‘security’ however are unfounded, the Empire only ever goes where it is asked to go, may I also remind you that of the two of us, it is your nation that has been the most belligerent, again most obviously with that missile test.”

William leant forward again.

“If you are so concerned about the ethnic Khorsuni population in southern Liberia, which makes up a not unsubstantial part of the population there, then as far as the Empire and President Fox’s government are concerned you should open your borders and encourage them to migrate, which will be advantageous for all as it takes a fairly substantial portion of the rebels out of Liberia,” William said as he sipped his drink again. “I spoke with President Fox shortly before this meeting and he advised me that neither he nor the Liberian Congress is willing to allow Khorsuni troops into any part of Liberia, and that if that were to happen it would be considered an act of war, given that as of midnight tonight Liberia will come under Imperial protection for the duration of the rebellion. Any movement by your troops into Liberia will be considered an act of aggression by the Empire as well.”

William paused one last time.

“Madam Foreign Minister, I have already stated that the Empire’s main concern in this matter is the prevention of further atrocities in Liberia and the restoration of the control of the lawfully elected Government,” William said simply. “We have no desire to get into a fight with Khorsun over this as it will distract from our primary objectives in Liberia, however if you violate Liberian sovereignty or, quite frankly are stupid enough to attack Imperial or Coalition forces whilst they are attempting to help the people of Liberia, we will come down on you like a tonne of bricks.”

William leant back in his chair again. In the few minutes that the Khorsuni Foreign Minister had been here he had become more convinced than ever that they were going to try something once the Imperial and Coalition forces moved into Liberia, they were clearly making this entire mess a political matter, and that was something that William didn’t want. He found it much more likely that if the Empire had let them get involved in the Coalition they’d have used their prime placing on the south to carry out a landgrab, after which it would have been much harder to remove them. At least this way if they weren’t dissuaded by the promise that the Empire would defend Liberia then if they did indeed try to get involved militarily the gloves would come off of the Imperial Military the minute they crossed the border. He had no desire to get into a sparring match with the Foreign Minister. As far as he was concerned all that had needed to be said had ben said, it was her own fault if she had come here for a five minute meeting, that was what Ambassadors and Consuls were for after all.

He leant forward and depressed a button on his desk.

“Thank You, Madam Foreign Minister, you have made it most clear where the Khorsuni Government stands on this matter,” William said as his aide came into the room and opened the door. “Oh, and in case you were thinking of misrepresenting this meeting for… consumption, we’ve been recording it. I think it’ll make quite clear what your agenda was when you came here. Good evening, Madam Foreign Secretary.”

Once the Khorsuni Foreign Minister was out of the room and on her way William gestured for his aide to come back.

“Write up a transcript and dispatch it to all commands, also send a copy of the audio to all coalition countries and make sure that it is available for the Foreign Office,” He instructed.

Admiral the Earl Harrington KCS DSO
Devil’s Tower Complex
Gibraltar, the Apilonian Empire
Saturday 22nd March 2014, 2300hrs Local Time (1500hrs Imperial Capital Time, 2300hrs Zulu Time)

“Are you receiving us properly, General Leach?” The Earl Harrington said as he looked at the telepresence screen at the form of Lieutenant General Sir Nicolas Leach. “We’ve got you five-by-five at this end.”

“Likewise, my lord,” Leach replied. “May I enquire as to the occasion at this late hour?”

“Of course. I’ve just received a message from Imperial High Command outlining the chain of command for Operation Iron Wolf, as this entire affair is now being called, this is both in relation to the current objectives in Liberia as well as any… unpleasantness, we have with the Khorsuni,” Harrington nodded. “I have been appointed as the overall commander of the Operation, and as such I’ll be establishing a headquarters in Freetown as soon as we arrive, Viscountess Stanford has been appointed as the Naval Commander and will fly her flag from the Reprisal and be in operational control of all naval forces, you Sir have been appointed as Commander of the Land Forces assigned, with the IAF working under you for operational purposes, I’ve also been advised that given that we’ll be getting more land forces deployed soon your extra-ordinary promotion to full General is forthcoming.”

“Makes sense,” Leach nodded. “And the Dutch forces?”

“We’re working under the assumption that they’ll be under our general command, if so their two divisions will answer to you, their naval forces will answer to Viscountess Stanford and you’ll both of course answer to me,” Harrington replied. “In terms of deployment times, the Ductch reckon they can be here in a week, we can get our high-readiness divisions deployed in a similar time, and of course the Rangers are already on their way into the battle area.”

“What about the Navy…” Leach queried. “What are your time estimates?”

“Our assets from Scapa Flow are steaming down at flank towards the marshalling zone at Gibraltar, they are due to arrive around 1500hrs on Monday 24th, we’ll wait until dawn on the 25th before we sail, that should give the Dutch enough time to join us,” Stanford replied glancing down at her notes. “However we won’t arrive off Freetown until the afternoon of the 27th, but after that it’ll be only a matter of hours to get wherever we are needed, we’ve also got attack submarines from across the Atlantic converging on your part of the world at this time.”

“Very good,” Leach nodded. “What are my orders until you arrive?”

“You’re authorised to enter Liberia as soon as possible, put one Infantry division on the river to support the line, leave the other in Sierra Leone in case the Khorsuni try anything, but put one of your armoured brigades to garrison Monrovia in case the rebels try to flank us when we attack,” Harrington instructed. “Those rebels aren’t going to want to go up against Main Battle Tanks, and they’ll be of better use there than in the rugged terrain of the rest of the country, these orders come directly from Imperial High Command.”

“I understand,” Leach nodded. “We should be able to get the infantry units deployed by morning at the least, the armoured unit might take a bit longer, given that they have to get their armour into position.”

“At your discretion, until we get all our troops into position the priority is keeping the rebels out of the North, once we’ve done that we can liberate the south,” Harrington replied. “What word from the Special Forces?”

“The SAS troops began deploying back in-country as soon as it began to go dark, they’ll begin to spread out across the country searching for the Nuke, at the same time we’re putting UAVs into the air to search for gamma spikes that would indicate a nuclear device,” Leach replied. “Once we’ve located the device the Rebels will go in and retrieve the weapon and get it back to our hands, we’ll have helicopters on stand-by to extract the device and the team, once the weapon is gone the SAS will be tasked with gathering intelligence on rebel troop movements.”

“Alright, do keep me updated if there are any developments,” Harrington nodded. “I’ll let you get back to your work… Harrington clear.”

Leach nodded and signed off. Harrington and Stanford sat back in their chairs. It was good to know that there was not only a lot of military strength going into central Africa but also that their ground commander, who would by far have the hardest job of all of them, was a competent sort, but then officers in the Imperial Army (or any part of the Imperial Armed Forces) didn’t make senior rank without being so, and they certainly didn’t have the kind of record that Leach did, not to mention that he had been Knighted for his service, in the Empire this was not an achievement to be laughed at. As they looked at each other both knew that they were still holding onto the hope that this could be avoided without the bloodshed that Khorsuni interference would result in. There was going to be fighting, to put down the rebels that was unavoidable, but it didn’t have to turn into anything more than that, the Empire might view the Khorsuni as belligerent warmongers but that didn’t mean that the Empire would demean itself by sinking to their level. But god help them if they tried to escalate this.

Stanford stood up and moved behind him, resting her hands on his shoulders and gently massaging.

“Did you see the transcript of the Khorsuni Foreign Minister’s meeting with the Duke?” She asked.

“Yeah, was more concerned about some imagined threat to Khorsun than about the Massacre at Buchanan, as if we’d attack Khorsun unless they provoked us like Portugal did,” Harrington shook his head. “You know it’s funny, Empires are the stereotype for evil and unprovoked aggression, when more often than not it’s ‘Republics’ that are the worst culprits.”

“Indeed,” Stanford agreed. “Do you think they’ll heed the Duke’s warning?”

“I think it’s doubtful, they’ve got it into their heads that we’re planning some scheme to take over Khorsun after the situation in Liberia is finished,” Harrington replied. “One way or another we’re going to end up fighting them, I think.”

“Well, if it comes to it we’ll have to convince them of the error of their ways,” Stanford said simply. “Now, we need to get some sleep, we can’t do anything more now, we need to be wide awake in the morning a lot will begin to happen, and Imperial High Command does have some good planners as well you know.”

“You’re right, of course,” Harrington sighed as he reached up and held her hands for a few minute. “We probably should get some sleep.”

The two Admirals left the room and made their way quickly through the corridors of the complex until they reached the elevator that would take them back up to the surface. Stepping out into the night-time air of Gibraltar, placing their headwear onto their heads. The atmosphere in Gibraltar was very much of a military outpost that was going to war, it was busy even at this time with sailors, marines and other military personnel, with the task of getting the majority of the Fleet at Gibraltar ready to sail southwards. Not to mention that resident Infantry Division, the 47th Infantry, was preparing for deployment itself. The 47th was unique in the Empire as its peacetime establishment had Territorial Army units assigned to it (the 94th Infantry (TA) Brigade, which consisted of the 4th, 5th and 6th Battalions of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment).

“It is rather annoying, isn’t it,” Stanford commented dryly as they walked. “Because the Khorsuni are being belligerent little so and so’s tens of thousands of men and women are having to go to war, instead of the much smaller number it would have been otherwise.”

“It is rather, unfortunately there will always be those that see the need to be belligerent like the Khorsuni are being, I mean they’re trying to stop us from stopping a genocide, despite what they might say,” Harrington scowled. “Hell, for all we know they are complicit in it, god knows there are enough of ethinic Khorsuni in the rebel-held area after all.”

“I wouldn’t put it past them,” Stanford agreed. “And that is why we have to put them down hard, if it comes to it.”

“Yes we do,” Harrington agreed. “And one way or another, we will do it.”

[Khorsun]

Rekhan Taneltar, Ankhazar and Sukaradar of the Khorsuni Nation
The Ankhazar's Citadel
Verela, Khorsun
Saturday, March 22, 2014, 2330hrs Zulu Time

Can hardly blame them for not trusting me, thought Rekhan Taneltar as he watched Valorsa Trakhun on television revealing the Apilonians' rejection of Khorsun's offer for a negotiated settlement. Taneltar was a consummate practitioner of dirty tricks, and his government would typically be saying and doing five different things at any given moment, but the Apilonians' rejection of this offer seemed to have been ill-conceived.

Valorsa Trakhun had been on both state and international news almost continuously since her return from Freetown, where the Khorsunis had closed their consulate, talking about her meeting with the Duke of Sierra Leone. Her account of the meeting, which stuck closely to what had been said, had shown a Khorsun that was willing to collaborate, that was willing to put aside its usual bellicose rhetoric, that had offered an option for the intervention to proceed without coming to blows with Apilonia.

"Our conditions were not odious," she said, "the safety of our ethnic brethren in Liberia, and Apilonia's foreswearance of annexation. If putting an end to rebel atrocities is Apilonia's only priority, neither of those promises would have been hard to make."

Yet they'd refused. It was the Apilonians who came out of this looking callous and belligerent, as she described things. "The Duke brushed aside Khorsun's own tragic past without so much as a cursory acknowledgement. He dismissed our concerns out of hand and effectively said that Apilonia would rather have a war than any sort of compromise with Khorsun. He even went so far as to hint at ethnic cleansing, that things would be better off if Liberia's Khorsunis would just go away, if they were sent over the border into our Republic. Perhaps the Duke is not yet well read on the history of the region he now rules; if he were, he would know that Khorsuni settlements in Liberia date back more than 1,000 years. To suggest that a people vacate their traditional homeland for the political convenience of his own country is simply a moral and human outrage."

Rekhan Taneltar was a man who was rarely surprised, but that last bit had been a jaw-dropper when she'd first told him of it. You couldn't make up something like that. In fact, Taneltar suspected that many overseas listeners would take it as an invention of Khorsuni propaganda. Perhaps there was some method to this seeming madness; that veiled threat to expel the Khorsunis from Liberia, whether the Duke had really meant it or not, had driven Khorsun's population into a fury. Thousands, tens of thousands were amassing in spontaneous rallies in Verela, Zamayana, and elsewhere, their signs and chants denouncing Apilonian warmongering and calling on their Ankhazar and their Army to save their brothers and sisters in Liberia.

The Khorsuni government was just as outraged; had it not been for Taneltar, Khorsun would have already declared war on the Apilonian Empire. The Ankhazar found much amusement in the fact that he was considered a dangerous, unstable extremist abroad but was seen as too moderate, too compromising, and too cautious by many in his own country. Taneltar was not afraid to give his people the war they were asking for, but there was still maneuvering to be done if Khorsun was to be ready for that battle.

"What more of a rebuttal can I make than what the Apilonians have already said?", Valorsa asked, her voice high and her tone emotional. "They have refused any sort of negotiation. They have refused to guarantee the protection of Liberia's Khorsuni citizens. They have refused any constructive role for Khorsun to play in restoring the peace. They accuse us of exploiting a tragedy when they are making motions towards annexing Liberia. They accuse us of belligerency when they would rather go to war with us than talk. They accuse us of insensitivity while ignoring the suffering the Khorsuni nation endured at the hands of a former member of their October Alliance. Where was their intervention when the Commonwealth of Hirgizstan was butchering Khorsunis by the tens and the hundreds of thousands?"

"All we have asked for is dialogue. For a chance to talk, a chance to collaborate and find a solution that all parties can agree to. The Apilonians are the ones who have insisted on war, not Khorsun. The Apilonians have made military threats, not Khorsun. The Apilonians have shut down any attempts at negotiation, not Khorsun. So who are the belligerents here? Those who've agreed to take part in the Apilonian coalition, ask yourselves why the Apilonians won't renounce any territorial ambitions. Ask yourselves why they won't guarantee the safety of Khorsuni Liberians. Ask yourselves why they'd rather risk war with Khorsun than make these promises. Our offer still stands: Khorsun will provide its full support to the intervention if Apilonia and the other coalition powers will promise not to annex territory in Liberia and to guarantee the safety of Liberia's indigenous Khorsunis. So many lives are at stake. I plead you to make the right decision and choose the path of cooperation and friendship."

Taneltar smiled. Well-done, Valorsa. She had served the Nation well today. So too had Lamal Dorbrhano, who while all eyes were on the foreign minister was busy carrying out his own part in Taneltar's plans. The Liberian Khorsuni militias under his command had begun launching attacks upon the non-Khorsuni rebels, hit-and-run raids that would soon draw the rebels into doing one of two things: following one of the militias to the border and starting a fight with the Khorsuni Army, or unleashing a retaliatory massacre against Liberian Khorsuni civilians like the one they'd done in Buchanan. Either way, Khorsun would have cameras waiting to gather firsthand footage for the world to see.

The real surprises wouldn't come until tomorrow. Over 80,000 warriors of the Army and the Zhudan Guards had amassed along the Liberian border, with a further 35,000 on the border with lawless and ungoverned Guinea. The armed forces were mobilizing in full and shifting their dispositions, with paramilitary units taking over positions in the east and north to free regulars for possible action in the west. The Navy was putting its major units to sea, sticking close to home to remain under the umbrella of Khorsun's extensive shore-based missile forces but outside of vulnerable harbors where Apilonian air raids might cripple them at their moorings. The multitude of international air and naval movements in the region was monitored by the over-the-horizon radar center near Verela, a former Hirgizstani complex that had been refurbished and brought back online only with extensive help from the Empire of Hi No Moto. A small contingent of Hi No Motoan technical advisors still continued to help staff the facility, which was one of Khorsun's most heavily guarded military targets. Khorsun was also dependent on Hi No Moto for satellite intelligence, and awaiting its diplomatic support as well. The nation was readying itself for war at any moment, but before a single one of Khorsun's soldiers set foot in Liberia, Taneltar still had a couple more gambits to put into play.

[Itailian Maifias]

Admiraal Orpheus Kommers GCB DSM
HNLMS Freyr, Freyr-class aircraft carrier, Task Force 7
Nearing Gibraltar, Apilonia
March 25, 2014, 0845 Hours

" Admiraal, we've nearly reached the Apilonian base in Gibraltar."

" Thank you Lieutenant, any word on who I'll be working with?"

The younger Lieutenant stepped over to a small console and examined a few sheets of paper while Orpheus brushed off a few stray particles on his duty uniform before picking up a small white mug that bore the insignia of the Freyr, a golden braid circle with His Majesty's crown affixed to the top with the picture of the Freyr in the center with the motto of the ship in Dutch along the bottom. Orpheus took a quick sip of the strong black coffee inside while he waited for the aide to continue, who just happened to turn on her heels and re-approach him as he set his mug down. "Admiral Nick Harrington and Admiral Stanford, who is also a noble, Viscountess. Harrington commands the Imperial Atlantic Fleet and Stanford commands their Mediterranean Fleet, both of whom the Naval Chief hinted might want you to work with the Imperial chain of command."

Orpheus rolled his eyes and exited his chair, picking up the reports that had been compiled by the Naval Intelligence Office for him, a picture of each individual followed by a brief summary. His eyes briefly flickered over the reports before heading back to his command chair, looking towards his communication officer. " Ensign, what's the status of the Task Force? "

" HNLMS Valkyrie is reporting normal status, as is all escorts for both her and our self. Helm estimates we'll be in HMS Rooke or outside of it within an hour, two tops."

"Excellent news Ensign, please send a message to Admiras Stanford and Harrington informing them of our arrival and send a standard list of all of our ships over as well. O, and ensure to include my personal greetings."

Task Force 7 ORBAT

• HNLMS Freyr (CVN-2) [Freyr-class aircraft carrier]
• HNLMS Bronki (F844) [De Zeven Provinciën-class destroyer]
• HNLMS Vrijheid (F845) [De Zeven Provinciën-class destroyer]
• HNLMS Moed (F847) [De Zeven Provinciën-class destroyer]
• HNLMS Bezenti (F870) [De Zeven Provinciën-class destroyer]
  --
  
• HNLMS Valkyrie (BBGN-1) [Valkyrie-class guided missile battleship]
• HNLMS Yahia Heek (F845) [Waarden-class cruiser]
• HNLMS Daenen (F846) [Waarden-class cruiser]
• HNLMS Raschid (F871) [De Zeven Provinciën-class destroyer]
• HNLMS Aachenesta (F887) [De Zeven Provinciën-class destroyer]
• HNLMS Beatitude [Marstung-class troopship] (Carrying the 35th Armored Division)
• U-36 [Type 212 U-Boat]

[Layarteb]

March 23, 2014 - 07:30 hrs [UTC-5]
Layarteb City, New York
Fortress of Comhghall
(40° 41' 28" N, 74° 0' 58" W)

It was early morning and the Emperor was not alone in his office. He was joined by several members of his National Security Council, though not the entire body, and the Apilonian ambassador to the Empire, Prince John, Duke of the Yukon, King Walker I's brother. After the previous day's spattering of diplomatic traffic between the Khorsunis, the Apilonians, the Dutch, and the Central Europeans, the Emperor had asked the Apilonian ambassador to attend a recap meeting. "Prince John, as you've heard over the past fifteen minutes," the Emperor said as the clock shifted to 07:30, "we are taking this matter very seriously.

"It is obvious that the Khorsuni government is not out to be anyone's friend, at least not anyone that we consider friendly. Between their missile test last July and this, it is plain that they are a foe of our countries. Therefore, in response to their belligerence and what His Majesty, King Walker revealed to me yesterday, these are the following steps we're enacting. Minister," the Emperor said, turning it over to the Minister of Defense.

"Sir, as it stands now, the 18th Carrier Battle Group is operating near São Tomé at present acting as a screen just in case the Bavinese get edgy. Since the missile test last July, this patrol station has been more oriented to watching the Khorsuni coastline. The 1st Carrier Battle Group, which packs more firepower, will be departing Norfolk tomorrow to take up an active position south of the area of operations. It will take approximately nine days for them to get into position. Afterwards, the 18th Carrier Battle Group will return to its anti-Bavinese screen.

"The 2nd Amphibious Ready Group and the 5th Marine Brigade will be departing Little Creek on Tuesday and heading into a position near São Tomé just in case we need an infantry force. They'll move a little slower so we don't anticipate them being on station until April 6.

"On São Tomé, Príncipe, Bioko, and Annobón, we have a Super Standard air defense site, several NASAMS 2 sites, and point defense sites. All of those will remain at high alert, as will our sites in Cape Verde.

"Since last July, the 41st Defense Missile Battalion has been at São Tomé and they are equipped with anti-ship missiles of a long-range variety that pack a heavy punch. The Khorsunis have no ship in their arsenal that can stand a chance against the missiles deployed with the 41st Defense Missile Battalion." The Minister of Defense paused, only to ensure that Prince John was following, which he was. "Lastly, we will have a guided-missile submarine within an engage box near the area of operations. This submarine can fire over one hundred cruise missiles into the Republic of the Khorsuni Nation from a safe enough distance that it will not be vulnerable."

"Are there nuclear missiles on this submarine Minister?" Asked Prince John.

"There are not. This is not a ballistic missile submarine."

"And what of your ballistic missile submarines for this?"

"Prince John," the Emperor said, stepping in, "we do not comment on the operations over our SSBNs even to our closest allies. You can rest assured that there is always at least one SSBN in the South Atlantic Ocean at any given time. We regularly update our targeting packages so this patrol will have a targeting package for the RKN. I trust we won't need it."

"Sir, I'm concerned about the Rogue Spear."

"Yes, for that we have deployed a specialized team to São Tomé in the past eighteen hours. Should they be needed in theater, they can be deployed rapidly. Your government needs only to say the word. They're fully combat capable and entirely self-sufficient.

"As for matters of further weapons shipments, we are currently doubling our surveillance efforts of the South American coastline. There are three vessels asea already with destinations in West Africa. One of them in particular, the MV Rotterdam, we are watching closely. We believe it is carrying weaponry to Verela. If we confirm it, we'll stop the vessel in open waters long before it gets to its destination. We cannot allow any more weaponry of nuclear nature reaching anyone in West Africa." The Emperor hoped that this was satisfactory for the Empire of Apilonia. Knowing that Prince John would know that this information wasn't meant to be leaked, the Emperor had full confidence in him delivering that information to King Walker I promptly and confidentially.

In the meantime, special alerts had gone out to Layartebian nationals in the RKN. The embassy was not far from going into lockdown mode and all nationals were advised to leave the country for their own safety or seek shelter in neutral localities. The embassy could shelter only so many people and the majority of the people would be directed to the airport. Once the 2nd Amphibious Ready Group was on scene, mass evacuations could theoretically occur. Once again, the war drums were beating and the Empire was poised to deliver a major punch to the Khorsunis if the need arose. However, as the Emperor further explained to Prince John, "Our intention is not to become directly involved in this conflict yet. We will provide airborne early warning and other ELINT and SIGINT data to your forces and the forces of your coalition but we feel that our involvement will only complicate matters. However, should major foreign actors," and by this he meant the Hi No Motons, one of Khorsun's allies, "get involved then we will revisit our level of involvement."

[Khorsun]

The Central Pacific Times

Op-Ed Contributor
A Call for Understanding From Khorsun
by Rekhan Taneltar
March 23, 2014

VERELA - RECENT events regarding Liberia have led me to engage directly with the people of the Apilonian Empire and other nations concerned. At a time when tensions are high and potential consequences dire, it is vital to have a clarity of communications.

Regardless of our nations' divergent perspectives on the civil war in Liberia, the violence taking place is indisputably tragic and unfortunate. We in Khorsun are just as eager to see it come to an end as those of you in Apilonia and elsewhere. We share a common goal in bringing peace and stability back to Liberia. This is a basis upon which our nations can successfully collaborate. Where we find ourselves at odds is over the methods by which we intend to reach our common goal.

Apilonia's stated course of military intervention, while commendable as a swift and decisive response to the humanitarian situation in Liberia, is one that Khorsun finds deeply concerning. The international community's response to the carnage in Liberia must indeed be swift and decisive, but it must also be thought out carefully.

Apilonia has taken a unilateral approach to the Liberian crisis, one that has discounted the interests of all those who have disagreed with their plan of action. Apilonia is not the only nation with concerns in Liberia and it cannot afford to ignore the concerns of other nations whose interests are at stake.

Khorsun is a young state but an ancient nation. The last two hundred years before its independence were spent in the shackles of the Commonwealth of Hirgizstan, a former member of the October Alliance, which Apilonia has recently joined. The persecution of the Khorsuni people under the iron hand of the Commonwealth was without limits and perhaps without parallel in the history of the world.

To say that the Khorsuni, who have so recently freed themselves from that suffering, have no regard for such injustices inflicted elsewhere is the epitome of slander.

And to say that Khorsunis have nothing to fear from Apilonian military action on their borders is just as much an affront. Foreign oppression is not some distant history our people learned of from textbooks. It is something most Khorsunis alive today experienced firsthand. Every family can remember a relative or a friend who was imprisoned or killed.

We cannot help but view the expansion of Apilonian military power in Africa, a continent so distant from their own Pacific heritage, as a grave threat to the safety of our people and the independence of our nation.

Such historically justified suspicions, of course, need not doom our nations to be eternally hostile towards one another. With trust-building measures from the Empire of Apilonia, the Khorsuni Nation can come to see through the dark legacy of the past towards a brighter future, a future of friendship and harmony.

Khorsun has offered its full support to Apilonian operations in Liberia provided that Apilonia is willing to carry out some of these trust-building measures.
Khorsun has asked Apilonia only to provide assurance for the safety of Liberia's Khorsuni citizens and a guarantee against any territorial annexation in Liberia.

Given that the Apilonian government has declared its only concerns in Liberia to be putting an end to to the atrocities, there is no reason it cannot provide either of these assurances.

Worryingly, however, the Apilonian government has rebuffed all of Khorsun's diplomatic approaches and refused to take either of those measures. This rejection of diplomacy is perplexing in the face of Apilonia's stated objective in its Liberian intervention, that is, to save lives.

Taking a belligerent stance against Khorsun does nothing to help save lives in Liberia. What is the logic? Why is the Apilonian government willing to jeopardize so many more lives by refusing to address Khorsun's concerns?

Powers so heavily armed as Apilonia and Khorsun, powers that have the capability to end millions of lives, cannot afford to take a unilateral approach to areas of mutual interest. War between such powers can have no other outcome than defeat for both.

We must seek win-win solutions if we are to avoid such calamity. We must come together to find a solution suitable for both parties. To do otherwise, to face off against one another like nuclear-armed gunslingers at the high noon, is to court certain disaster.

[Terra Reborn]

Colour Sergeant John Rabb
Somewhere on the Cestos River
The Republic of Liberia
Saturday 22nd March 2014, 2355hrs Local Time (1355hrs Imperial Capital Time, 2355hrs Zulu Time)

Rabb looked keenly through night-vision optics as the group of RHIBs, commandeered from across the patrol squadron leaving each ship with just one each, carrying Boat Troop of D Squadron of the Special Air Service proceeded up the Cestos River deeper into Liberia. They had infiltrated into enemy territory under the cover of darkness, with the majority of the rebel forces arrayed against the loyalist line at the St. John River it left the rest of the territory relatively undefended and they had had no problems getting into the river and moving up river as quietly as they could. Like the other SAS troops that were being dispatched into the country they had been tasked with locating the nuclear weapon that the rebels had got their hands upon and removing it safely to Imperial control. No matter what else was going on having a nuclear weapon in the hands of rebels was simply unacceptable and it had to be removed before any real intervention could be enacted. The strike on Buchanan by the Rangers, which would take place shortly before dawn, was a much more contained event that was unlikely to provoke the rebels to detonate their nuclear weapon, once the Rouge Spear was recovered the main intervention could occur.

As they continued up river Rabb gripped his weapon tightly. A specially modified L90 Carbine (the Imperial Designation for the production model of the XM8 Carbine) with a suppressor mounted for increased stealth. The weapons of the entire team were based on the same weapon; Corporal Kincaid had the marksman variant of it of course, Sergeant Ian Rock (his 2iC) had the Automatic Weapon variant and their medic, Corporal Jones had the compact version. Aside from carrying a different weapon, each member of his team had a special skill that they had been specifically assigned to his team for. Before he had been selected for team commander Rabb had been a communications speaclist, and he carried the encrypted communications gear. Corporal Kincaid was of course a trained Sniper, Sergeant Rock was a heavy weapons expert and also carried light anti-tank gear and Corporal Jones was a trained medic. Any SAS patrol was set up to allow it to operate independently, without having to rely upon its parent troop if it could be avoided.

Rabb and his troop were at the tip of the proverbial sword. The rest of the troop was following them up the river but they were branching off into the various tributaries. Their troop was tasked with scouting out any outposts based around the bridges over the river. That had been the original plan anyway until they had received intelligence that a convoy had driven from the port of Greenville a few days ago, just after another ship from South America had arrived in-country, and arrived in the town of Bokoa; close enough to the frontline to move the nuke up if they wanted to use it, but far enough behind the lines to prevent the loyalists from recapturing it. The fact that it had been deposited into a large compound outside of the town had only heightened suspicions. The rest of the troop was hurrying to converge on their position but Rabb’s patrol had been ordered to take up a position near the compound and to set up an Overwatch. The hope was to launch an assault before the Rangers deployed, this was to both prevent the rebels from doing something stupid and to make sure that the SAS had somewhere to take the device to.

Up ahead Rabb could see some light, which of course began to mess with his night optics, which was a fairly good indicator that they were approaching the town. Rabb gestured and Rock moved the RHIB over to the side of the river and tied it up, they would leave it behind, and in case it was captured anything that might identify it as coming from the Imperial Navy had been removed, including all the communications gear. Once ashore they moved slowly and cautiously, the rest of the troop was still over an hour away, there was no point in going fast and loud as that would just give the rebels a chance to prepare their defences. It therefore took them what seemed like a long time to get from where they had stashed the RHIB and the rise from which they would observe the base. Once they arrived there they set up. Corporal Kincaid set herself up so that she was providing overwatch over the compound, Sergeant Rock and Corporal Jones set themselves up into positions to watch their flanks, whilst Rabb himself settled down beside Kincaid with binoculars.

Over the next two hours, as the rest of the troop began to gather in the harbour area that Sergeant Rock had established further back, Rabb and Kincaid between them were able to get a reasonably good idea of what they were dealing with. There were approximately sixty guards at the compound, half of them arrayed around the perimeter, the other half apparently either sleeping or otherwise not watching particularly well inside the compound itself. If they could take out the perimeter guards in a co-ordinated assault then they might have a reasonably good chance at catching those inside the compound by surprise. There were also a number of jeep like vehicles that looked ideal for the not-very-good roads in this part of Liberia, those would be ideal for getting the nuclear weapon safely to the Rangers at Buchanan, and then out to Sierra Leone or, at the very least, the safety of the Imperial Fleet. The priority was getting the nuclear weapon out of rebel hands, the damage that they could do with it was unthinkable, if they placed it on the other side of the St. John River from the main loyalist strongpoint… the casualties would be substantial.

Leaving Kincaid on overwatch Rabb made his way to the harbour area where Captain Hunter, their troop commander, had just arrived with the last of the patrols. He briefly conversed with him, filling him in on the situation and the basic lay of the land. They crept back to the observation point so that Hunter could see for himself before returning to the troop to brief them on the attack plan. They would move into position on all four sides of the compound and attack in unison, taking out the perimeter guards silently if they could, once they had secured the perimeter they would breach the outer walls and secure the rest of the compound whilst one patrol would secure vehicles for the extraction. Kincaid and the other sharpshooters would remain on overwatch given vital sniper support that would be essential if this raid was to succeed. As it was they were twenty soldiers going up against at least three times their number, but then they had superior weapons and equipment, superior training and superior experience, they were all combat veterans and whilst the men chosen to guard the rebel’s nuclear weapon were unlikely to be green, they were still unlikely to be particularly hardened soldiers, giving the SAS a distinct advantage.

Once the briefing was complete the SAS troopers took on water and a quick, cold as they couldn’t risk starting a fire or even a gas fire due to the potential to be spotted, before moving into position. Rabb, Rock and Jones began in position just underneath the rise where Corporal Kincaid had already lined up her first target, the individual she believed to be in charge of the guard of the compound, she had been joined by the other sharpshooters who had picked out other priority targets along the perimeter. Once everyone was ready Captain Hunter gave the go order and the SAS troop attacked. The snipers fired first and downed their targets, quickly moving on along the perimeter and systematically downing all of their targets. The troopers on the ground moved quickly across the open ground and added their own carefully aimed shots to take down the other guards before coming to a halt once they were up against the perimeter wall of the compound. They waited in silence for any sign that their initial attack had been detected. None came, but that wouldn’t last for ever.

Rabb nodded to Sergeant Rock who placed an explosive charge on the wall and again waited for Hunter’s order and simultaneously four explosions rocked the compound, blasting a hole in the wall. Before the rebels inside could react the SAS troop piled in and engaged them quickly and without mercy. As soon as the rebels in sight were downed the troopers moved without needing orders to start clearing the buildings systematically and carefully, but also quickly, although their silenced rounds had meant that there would be no gunfire, the explosions were hardly subtle. There were bound to be rebel troops in the village, if they responded quickly enough it could be a problem; for that reason Kincaid and the other sharpshooters repositioned onto the road to get a better view up it to the village so as to provide early warning and harassing sniper fire. As three of the patrols moved into the buildings the fourth troop secured the jeeps that had been spotted earlier and quickly brought them around to the entrance near the road on the western side of the compound, so far everything was going well, so far anyway.

Rabb kept his L90 rammed into his shoulder as his patrol moved carefully through the largest of the building, his eyes never leaving the sights of his weapon. Sergeant Rock was on point, Corporal Jones bringing up the rear. So far the SAS troop had been madly successful, as far as Rabb knew they had not suffered any casualties, which was by no means a bad thing. This all changed in an instant. Through no fault of his own Rock failed to notice a rebel lurking in the shadows, mainly because the man was hid underneath some blankets and rags and even the best night vision optics made this nigh impossible to see. Rock went down in a hurricane of fire into the doorway and crumpled immediately, Rabb didn’t need to check, he knew the man was dead even before Jones was able to drag him out of the way and double checked. Whilst his medic was doing that Rabb had taken a grenade and tossed it in the direction of where the fire had come from, a few moments later after the grenade exploded there was a scream of pain and after a few more checks Rabb entered the room and confirmed the man had been caught in the explosion… but still put two more rounds into him anyway, double-tapping was SAS practice, the last thing the SAS needed was to leave a man not quite dead and have them pull a weapon on them.

“Bravo Two Charlie, this is Bravo Two One, man down, repeat man down,” Rabb reported grimly as he and Corporal Jones continued onwards, for now leaving Rock, but it was only a few more rooms with (thankfully) no more nasty surprises that they found what they were looking for. “Bravo Two Charlie, located the device, building six.”

It wasn’t long before Captain Hunter arrived with the members of the troop that weren’t on perimeter security. He took one look at the device and nodded, so they put the plan into effect. They manhandled the device, and Sergeant Rock’s body, onto one of the vehicles and proceeded to set out. That was, at least, before all hell broke loose. As they were loading the weapon onto the truck they came under heavy fire, seemingly some rebels had snuck around and was hitting them on the flank. The Troopers took up defensive positions and returned fire but they had to get out of here sooner rather than later, they were going to be heavily outnumbered. There was a cry of pain from the wreckage of a car that the sharpshooters had been using as cover, glancing over Rabb could see that Corporal Kincaid had gone down with what looked like a gunshot wound to the leg. As the last round of his last mag fired and the weapon clicked open he removed the strap and threw it into the back of one of the vehicles and sprinted the distance to where Corporal Kincaid had let her rifle fall onto its sling and was still returning fire with her sidearm.

Rabb slid into cover beside her, narrowly avoiding a not unsubstantial amount of fire. He didn’t waste any time in putting his arm around her and hauling her to her feet on her bad side so that she could take all the weight off of her injured leg. Drawing his own pistol he fired at the rebels as the helped Corporal Kincaid move as quickly as possible towards the trucks were the rest of the troop were waiting for them, putting down what fire they could. Captain Hunter and another trooper helped pull her into the back and as soon as Rabb himself climbed aboard the three vehicles shot off as quickly as possible down the road to the south.

“Thanks Colour,” Kincaid said weakly as Corporal Jones got about taking a look at her injured leg, but that didn’t stop her from taking her rifle and holding it ready to fire out the back if need be. “I thought it was a goner there.”

“You’re welcome,” Rabb laughed. “Couldn’t very well leave you behind, could I?”

“True,” Kincaid smiled. “I suppose the medal you’re gonna get out of that is just an added bonus?”

“I didn’t even think about that,” Rabb shook his head with a slight smile. “But I didn’t do it for the medal.”

“I know you didn’t,” Kincaid nodded then winced as Jones tightened the bandage. “Jesus Jones, could you tie that any tighter?”

Rabb shook his head as he settled down on the other side of the truck with his L90, now with more ammunition courtesy of the rest of his troop, and looked out the back of the now rapidly moving truck as they blasted south-westerly. In the time that it had taken for their troop to move into position to recover the weapon, the other troops of the Squadron had captured key bridges to ensure that the weapon could be safely evacuated, the last thing they wanted was to get ambushed whilst comparatively vulnerable as they would be whilst crossing a bridge. Once they had passed those troops would move onto their own tasking whilst Hunter’s troops continued on to Buchanan and would remain with the device until it was safely in Imperial territory. For all intents and purposes their war was over, by the time they had safely returned the device to the Empire the number of special forces in Liberia would probably be a lot less, and as they would already be out-of-theatre there was no point in redeploying them, although this assumed that there wasn’t a massive clusterfuck of a war with Khorsun.

But although their time in this fight might have been short, what they had achieved was substantial. The nuclear weapon that was sitting just a few feet away from him was the one thing that could have inflicted substantial casualties upon the Imperial Army and the ground forces of the nascent coalition countries, with that threat removed, the senior commanders could breath a little easier.

It wasn’t finished yet of course. Even once they got to Buchanan they would have to get it out of the country. Using an aircraft was potentially dangerous, especially if the Rebels were somehow able to shoot it down, it was unlikely but Rabb was doubtful that anyone wanted to take that risk. Most likely once Buchanan was secured one of the patrol ships would come in and take the weapon aboard and sail it safely up to Sierra Leone where it could then be put on a plane in relative safety and flown to a proper nuclear holding facility. The Apilonian Empire had extremely strict regulations on how nuclear weapons were dealt with, there was a reason why in the entire history of usage of nuclear weapons and nuclear material there had never been a case of a nuclear weapon being lost, stolen or unaccounted for, and Captain Hunter in particular didn’t want the distinction of being the first Imperial Officer to lose a nuclear weapon.

But for now at least, Hunter, Rabb, Kincaid and all of the other SAS troopers could breathe a little sigh of relief, they weren’t out of it by far, but arguably the hardest bit was done.

[Terra Reborn]

Lieutenant Jason Johnson MC
Buchanan
The Republic of Liberia
Sunday 23rd March 2014, 0800hrs Local Time (0000hrs Imperial Capital Time, 0800hrs Zulu Time)

It hadn’t been the most comfortable of trips. The Merlin HC3A, operated by the Imperial Air Force, was rated for twenty four combat-equipped soldiers sitting or forty-five standing, one allowed an entire platoon to be moved, the other didn’t. More importantly one format allowed an entire battalion to be deployed in one fell swoop, the other didn’t, so in this case where getting as many troops on the ground as quickly as possible was the most important the comfort of the soldiers had been given second priority. So the Imperial Rangers had grabbed whatever bit of floorspace there was and sat down on the deck, holding tightly onto the straps, it was rather cosy inside, but then they were all going into combat together very soon, so it wasn’t a tremendous hassle, besides they’d all happily give up their personal space if it meant having twice their number on the deck when they landed. There were a few more bumps and bruises caused by turbulence than there would have been if they had either been sat in the proper seats or holding onto the handles as they were ‘supposed’ to when going in in this format, but as one the Rangers preferred not to be on their feet for longer than they had to.

Over the course of the ninety minute flight from HMNS Freetown the Rangers had been mentally preparing themselves for what was about to come. War films liked to portray the soldiers as macho and full of banter as they flew into combat, and whilst there was some of this, by and large across the battalion most soldiers sat in silence or quiet conversation. It was a time for introspection, not arrogance or overconfidence, both of those got soldiers killed, that kind of thing could come afterwards. Right now they were at the very tip of the spear, they would be the first Imperial Military unit to officially enter rebel-held territory in Liberia, although Johnson and the other officers had been informed that even now there were numerous SAS troops in-theatre and that one troop was bringing back a recovered nuclear weapon to their protection at Buchanan. They wouldn’t be able to move much further than Buchanan itself, but the symbolism of Imperial Forces being where the atrocity had taken place was a potent one in regards to the idea that they were here to end all of the bloodshed, and it would of course give follow-up troops an ideal jumping off point.

As they got closer to their target Johnson considered the attack plan. They had been escorted all this way by Viper F.1 fighter aircraft of No. 143 Wing, once they reached Buchanan they would carry out a suppression of enemy air defences if any were detected and whilst the enemy was distracted by the fighters the Rangers would put down to the south of the city, hopefully well clear of any RPGs or similar. As soon as they were on the ground they were tasked with crossing the open ground as quickly as possible and penetrating into the city, securing it street by street before setting up a perimeter at the city limits. There was plenty to go wrong of course, but they had the Vipers overhead as air cover and they were out here in force and could probably deal with anything that the Rebels might throw at them. This was after all the kind of deployment the Rangers were trained for, quick-notice, effectively on their own and at the very tip of the spear.

And by god, every one of them loved it.

As the pilot announced that they were only five minutes out Johnson gripped his weapon and carried out his last checks. Like the Special Forces the Imperial Rangers, and in fact all other parts of the Rapid Response Force, had been equipped with the L90 and its derivative. He liked the weapon, it was lighter and more effective than the L85 he had used during his first campaign in the Dakotas and Minnesota, he loved that old weapon but the L90 was definitely a more than acceptable replacement. The rest of his equipment was some of the best that the Empire had to offer, the Rapid Response Forces were the elite of the Imperial Army, easily on-par with the Imperial Marine Commandos and some of their units were sufficiently experienced and capable to serve as back-up for the Imperial Special Forces, and as such they were near the top of the list when it came to the procurement of personal equipment, anything that gave them an edge. For that Johnson was glad, he loved the Army and his job in it, but he had other things to think about.

But now wasn’t the time for thinking like that, a distracted soldier was a dead soldier after all.

By now his entire platoon was on their feet and out the now open back Johnson could see some of the other twenty-three Merlins that were bringing the Rangers into combat. They were coming in low over the sea now to try and keep their approach a surprise for as long as was physically possible. But then the moment came and they came into full view of the town below, but they didn’t stay in the open long enough to take fire and the Merlins began to touch down on the airfleid, which was literally nothing more than a dirt landing strip, but then the helicopters didn’t exactly need anything more substantial, nor would the C-130s that would bring in reinforcements in due course. There was a slight shake as the Merlin touched down and then they were off, moving out of the helicopter as quickly as possible under the careful watch of the door gunners and their machine guns, as soon as all of the Rangers were clear the majority of the Merlins would go into a holding pattern, some would remain available to provide covering fire, although if they began to take RPG fire that would probably change.

The Rangers split up into their companies, and then down into their platoons, each with a specific task to carry out. The officers had studied what maps were available of the town and passed that knowledge down onto their senior NCOs, so they were able to move airly quickly all things considered. They were able to get the important bit done quickly, that was getting across the open ground before they started to take too much enemy fire, indeed the majority of the battalion was safely across open ground before the enemy could respond, and the fire they did take was generally sporadic and ineffective. It wouldn’t remain that way for long. Johnson joined the rest of his platoon in taking cover behind a building at the outer edge of town as they awaited the go-order that would be given once all units were in place, until then they held their positions, putting fire down on enemy rebels who came at them, at least one advantage of the striking this far inland was that anyone with a weapon was a valid target under the Rules of Engagement, after all the nearest loyalists were many kilometres away and the armoured Imperial soldiers were generally easy to distinguish from unarmoured rebels.

The fact that they were shooting at the Rangers was also a pretty good indicator that they were hostile.

Johnson nodded as the order came in and the leading sections of his platoon began to push up the street they had been tasked with securing. They did so systematically, one section would hold down the forward aspect, another the rear, the remaining two sections would search the buildings on either side of the road and Johnson’s command team would remain in cover. It wasn’t that Johnson was personally afraid to get into the thick of things, it was just standard tactics, after all it was not really an officers place to get right up in the forefront of the action, their job was to remain a little bit behind and co-ordinate the actions of their unit rather than get caught up in it all. An officer that couldn’t look at the bigger picture was no use to anyone, there was a reason why at the section level NCOs were in charge, they could handle the immediate fighting allowing the officer to deal with the wider tactics and how it all worked into the larger battleplan; it was a system that had worked for a very long time for the imperial Army, and was unlikely to change.

They continued to advance slowly but surely up the street, Johnson careful to stop them before they moved into a position where they could potentially allow themselves to be flanked. He knew that in the adjoining streets there were other platoons making similar advances, but aside from the occasional glimpse through sidestreets (which also had to be cleared of course) there was no way of telling where they were up to, thus they couldn’t rely upon the other platoons to cover their flanks. Urban warfare was always bloody, the enemy knew the lay of the land and any cityscape was simply packed full of ambush points. Thankfully Buchanan was not exactly what one would call the most developed settlement in the world, but even so it was tough going, and casualty reports (including fatalities) could be heard over the radio, but thankfully only the command element heard this, preventing the morale of the average Ranger from taking a nosedive as was inevitable (and understandable) after one KIA, much less more.

“LT, you’re going to want to take a look at this.”

The voice in question belonged to Corporal Danny O’Brien, one of his Section Leaders. Johnson frowned but he had had no reason to distrust the young but capable Corporal before so he dashed across the street with his Second in command and headed into one of the buildings. Corporal O’Brien led him down a flight of stairs into a basement area. The first thing that Johnson saw was a pair of rebels in pools of their own blood, but beyond that he saw something that made his heart both leap and sink just as quickly. Survivors, at least three dozen women and young girls crammed into the basement, all had been beaten and many had been raped, including Johnson was sickened to realise some of the younger girls as well, but they were all very much alive. At first they seemed as frightened of the Imperial Rangers as they had been of the rebels but after a few minutes and it became clear that they weren’t going to hurt them, they were grateful and allowed the medics to take a look at them.

Johnson headed back topside to make his report and to his delight discovered that several more groups of survivors had been found and that the medics were getting about the task of caring for them. In the meantime Johnson joined his platoon in helping the battalion secure the entire town, by 0900hrs the entire settlement was secured and the Imperial Flag was raised over its largest building. As soon as all the rebels had been killed or captured the Imperials began the task of setting up defensive lines in case the Rebels tried something.

Fortunately this seemed unlikely.

As the Imperials began to debrief their surprisingly willing prisoners, it became rapidly clear that the state of affairs in the rebel held territories had begun to take a tumble. The rebels stationed here, for the most part, were not the monsters that had carried out the atrocities, by all accounts those hardliners had already moved on and these rebels were a garrison force more than anything else. It also became clear that there was a great deal of uncertainty in the rebel factions. The imperial intervention had caught them all by surprise, the de facto leader of the rebels, one Brigadier Alexander DeSanta, had already denounced the hardliners who had carried out the atrocities here and was doing his best to keep control of things. He also wasn’t taking the bait of the Khorsuni sponsored rebels who were blatantly withdrawing towards the Khorsuni Republic, and despite the treasonous attacks once they were fended off the rebels held their positions. They were already fighting the Apilonian Empire, the last thing they needed was to be fighting a war on two fronts if they could avoid it.

Of course the suspicious behaviour of the ethnic Khorsuni was disturbing but still they had no firm proof, and until the prisoners could be formally debriefed anything they said would remain hearsay, but Johnson was sure that His Majesty’s Government would be most interested in hearing about it. More to the point it was possible, even if a little unlikely, that this Brigadier DeSanta could be convinced to lay down his arms, especially if he agreed to help them hunt down the hardliner renegades and make them answer for their crimes. But that was a decision so far above Johnson’s pay grade that it was unreal. Right now he had more important concerns. The survivors were already being loaded onto helicopters for transport out to the warships where they could receive better medical care, and the photographs of an embedded journalist were already making breaking news back in the Empire as stark proof of the good that the Imperial Intervention was doing already.

At roughly 1000hrs a convoy of vehicles was allowed into the settlement. It was escorted straight to the dockside where a RHIB from one of the warships loaded something aboard and another took a number of soldiers, wounded and a body aboard and headed out to see. No one actually said anything but it was obvious that it was the SAS troop that had recovered this nuclear weapon, and Johnson for one was glad that it was out of the country and couldn’t be used to kill him, his men or any civilians. There was still a lot of work to be done in Buchanan, the 3rd Battalion would be joining them shortly after noon and the task of turning Buchanan into a now deserted settlement into a forward operating base would begin in earnest.

The Right Honourable James Alexander MP
Karin City
Alaska, The Apilonian Empire
Sunday 23rd March 2014, 0900hrs Local Time (0900hrs Imperial Capital Time, 1700hrs Zulu Time)

“… can also confirm that Imperial Special Forces have recovered a nuclear weapon that had fallen into the hands of the Liberian Rebels, it should come as no surprise to his house that the presence of such a device also played a substantial role in the decision to grant Imperial Protectorate Status, even before the atrocity in Buchanan.”

Prime Minister of the Apilonian Empire, James Alexander MP for Sydney, looked around at the packed House of Commons. Nine hours had passed since the Rangers had first deployed into Liberia and the mobilisation of additional forces for the enterprise was well underway by this point. Never the less so far so good, the news coming out of Buchanan was good, all things considered.

“In addition, the Imperial Rangers now on the ground in Buchanan have located a number of survivors of the atrocity there, mainly women and young girls, all of whom have been brutalised,” Alexander continued. “They are in the process of being flown back to Sierra Leone at this time, having been treated aboard a number of Imperial Warships for their immediate injuries.”

Alexander glanced at the Speaker of the House of Commons.

“I will now a few take questions, Mister Speaker.”

“Mister John Howard,” The Speaker of the House of Commons said in reply.

“Thank You Mister Speaker, if I may ask the Prime Minister about the RKI, there has been some interesting rhetoric coming out of that ‘Republic’ over the past twenty-four hours, including some pretty slanderous comments about an Imperial Duke, most notably this morning ” Howard stated. “May I ask him what his and the His Majesty’s Government have to say about this?”

“Prime Minister…”

“The rhetoric coming out of the Republic of the Khorsuni Nation is typical for them, although due to the nature of events it has obviously sped up and intensified the matter.” Alexander replied. “However despite everything that the Khorsuni Foreign Minister said in her statement, she does seem to be missing the important point that neither the Empire, nor President Fox’s government, trust the RKI as far as we could throw them.”

Alexander paused.

“As a result of their historic belligerency, as well as their initial telling statements when this whole mess began, have led both us and President Fox to believe that they do not have the best wishes of the Liberian people in mind, and it is for that reason, at the request of President Fox and the Liberian Congress, that the Empire has refused to allow them to join the coalition, quite frankly we believe that they would occupy the south of Liberia and refuse to give it up,” Alexander continued. “The Foreign Minister also fails to mention that whilst the Empire has made military ‘assurances’ these are only to defend the Republic of Liberia should the RKI invade Liberian territory, that my honourable friends, is not belligerency, that is trying to prevent a conflict by making sure that an aggressive nation, in this case the RKI, knows exactly what the consequences of any invasion will be.”

Alexander paused again.

“The Khorsuni continue to make the claim that the Empire has territorial ambitions in Liberia, we do not, however as there is an increasing possibility of Khorsuni military action against Liberia, we will not renounce our intention to do whatever it takes to keep our commitments to protect Liberia,” Alexander sad simply. “If it comes down to it, and the Liberian Government asks to join the Empire we will not turn them down, I think its safe to say that the Khorsuni are not going to ask to join the Empire, so as with our standing policy we’re not about to force them, so one assurance I can make is that the Empire has no territorial ambitions in regards to the RKI.”

This last comment garnered a laugh from the chamber.

“In regards to the slanderous allegations of a threat of Ethnic Cleansing by an Imperial Duke, I have read the transcripts of the Duke’s meeting with the Khorsuni Minister and nothing could be further from the truth, I believe that the Duke makes a tongue-in-cheek comment in reply to statement that if the ethnic Khorsuni were so opposed to the Fox Government then they could emigrate to the RKI,” Alexander continued again after sipping some cold water. “But that is a far cry away from threatening to expel them or, god-forbid, that either the Liberian Government or the Apilonian Empire would ever engage in a campaign of ethnic cleansing! In addition neither the Imperial nor Liberian Governments will fail to protect any innocent civilians, regardless of their ethnicity, it is perhaps telling that the Khorsuni feel that those of their ethnicity deserve special protection over others…”

Alexander shook his head.

“As you can see, the statements made by the Khorsuni Foreign Minister are either out-and-out fabrications or creative interpretations of what has been said, and that the Right Honourable gentlemen should take less stock in what a regime that has repeatedly been either belligerent or misleading in the past,” Alexander concluded, this last comment garnering a fairly loud shout of approval from his own benches, and many of the others as well. “As I have already stated the Empire will endeavour to protect all civilians in this intervention, and we will only ever ‘absorb’ Liberia if that is the wish of its people and that is not on the table at the moment, however I will reiterate what the Duke said, if the RKI violates the territorial sovereignty of the Republic of Liberia or attacks Imperial or Coalition forces, we will respond appropriately.”

Alexander looked at the speaker.

“Before we move on, I’m sure that the whole house will want to join me in wishing the men and women of the Imperial Armed Forces the very best in the upcoming operations.”

This time the agreement was unanimous.

[Layarteb]

March 23, 2014 - 10:00 hrs [UTC-5]
Layarteb City, New York
Fortress of Comhghall
(40° 41' 28" N, 74° 0' 58" W)

"No, that's excellent news Your Majesty, thank you for the update," the Emperor said, hanging up the handset of his phone seconds later. His National Security Council was all present in the room, hinging upon the announcement of good news. "Ladies and gentlemen," the Emperor said with a look of relief in his eyes, "King Walker has just confirmed to me that his forces were able to secure the missing nuclear device. We're in the clear." Clapping and smiles filled the room, "But," the Emperor added, immediately deflating the joy, "we cannot assume this is the only one. We must remain vigilant on the matter. I'm going to keep our special team deployed just in case we have another incident.

"King Walker informed me that there will also be a special address of Parliament shortly. We'll want to see what happens; but I can bet I know what they will say. The Apilonians will approve measures of war against their enemies. It is my hope that Fox does not kick this gift horse in the mouth." The Emperor took his seat at the table. "Now, what have we discovered for inbound shipping?"

"Well sir," responded the Minister of Intelligence, "our main focus is on one vessel, the MV Rotterdam. The Apilonians can handle the other two we flagged, the MV Johnston and the MV Osiris. The Rotterdam is much further behind the other two. The Johnston and the Osiris could put into Verela on March 26. The Rotterdam is four days behind them."

"Do we have a naval force in range to get them, I assume we do, the 18th Carrier Battle Group?"

"Yes sir, we've dispatched one destroyer already to intercept the MV Rotterdam. We expect that they will make contact with the ship in the next three days. A boarding party will move onto the ship and secure any potential threats to the cargo."

"How are we going to know what's there before we board it?"

"Ah ha sir," the Minister of Defense said, "I've been waiting for this question."

"You seem as if you have something pressing to tell us?"

"Yes sir, the navy has modified several MQ-8B Fire Scout drones with radiological sensors for this purpose. They are able to fly over cargo ships and detect even the slightest hint of radiation. We've been using them to scan ships before they enter our canals, to avoid a potential terrorist attack. Primarily, we've focused on the Suez but we have been focusing more on the Thai Canal as well, given the threatening stance of the Hi No Motons."

"And is one of these modified drones present?"

"Yes sir, the navy flew out the necessary parts once we gave the order to deploy our specialized team. By the time the destroyer reaches the MV Rotterdam, the Fire Scout will be ready."

"Excellent, I want to make sure though we button this up. If anyone knows we have this ability, we'll be sunk."

"Yes sir, it remains classified, we'll just keep it as such. None of the equipment is visible. More or less the drone appears to be providing visual reconnaissance."

"Good, let's see what we get on the Rotterdam then. If radiation is detected, I pre-authorize our forces to seize the vessel if it does not act in a cooperating fashion."

"And if not?"

"It's the Apilonians' problem then. We're looking for special weaponry, not rifles. They have more of a leg here than we do so if they want to stop arms shipments, they can. We're on the anti-proliferation mission. Is that clear to everyone?"

"Yes sir."

[Terra Reborn]

Commander Jessica Harrington IN
HMS Vendetta
Off Gibraltar, Territorial Waters of the Apilonian Empire
Tuesday 25th March 2014, 0900hrs Local Time (0000hrs Imperial Capital Time, 0900hrs Zulu Time)

It was extraordinarily busy at Gibraltar. It was usually a bustling naval base at the best of times, with an entire Battle Group as well as a squadron of its own stationed there it wasn’t unusual for some of the ships to be at anchor in the bay rather than alongside, there simply wasn’t enough room for all of them. Cordial relations with the Spanish government, such as it was, meant that this wasn’t so much of a problem, and careful observation made sure that they would know quickly if that changed. The biggest hassle that his provided was that it meant that it wasn’t easy for the crews of those ships to go ashore, which was rather annoying when they were within sight of land, especially in such a naval city as Gibraltar. Of course there was a tried and tested system in place to ensure that all the ships rotated and all the crews got ashore for at least one night during their stays. This had all gone to hell in a hand basket when a significant portion of the Imperial Atlantic Fleet had arrived at Gibraltar to wait overnight for the arrival of the Dutch forces, and thank god they wouldn’t have to be accommodated as well, not yet anyway.

Commander Jessica Harrington stood on the bridge wing of her ship, the aging Type-42 Destroyer, HMS Vendetta. She was one of the younger Commanders in the Imperial Navy, a combination of her raw talent and the need in the Imperial Navy had resulted in rapid promotion for those capable enough for it. She had been in the Navy for fourteen years, it was perhaps even more remarkable that the first six of those had actually been as a rating. She had come from an impoverished background and her family had not been able to afford for he to go to college, so she had joined the Imperial Navy at the age of sixteen. After six years as a rating, and on the cusp of promotion to Petty Officer, she had been selected for training as an officer and had attended the Imperial Naval Academy. Commissioning as a Lieutenant, due to her previous experience, she had been steadily promoted at the earliest opportunity, gaining command of a patrol vessels in 2012 before being promoted and assigned command of the Vendetta at the beginning of this year.

The Vendetta was the last of the Type-42 Destroyers that had served the Imperial Navy for many years. Built during a time when the Imperial Navy had been badly short of funding they were small, heavily manned and terrible sea-keepers, but they did provide the imperial Navy with sufficient capabilities for its needs. As they had been steadily replaced by the Type-45E Destroyer that was now nigh-ubiquitous in the Fleet they had steadily been decommissioned, with a number being sold off and those that remained generally relegated to minor duties with an emphasis on training Young Officers. Her assignment to command Vendetta was designed to give her a taste of big-ship command so she could command something larger in due course, she was taking the venerable last ship on its farewell global cruise of the Empire, tasked with providing training for a number of YOs that were aboard especially for their first long-term trip away from home. They were still armed and fully equipped but they had not expected to have to use them.

That had all changed when she had sailed into Gibraltar on the morning of the 23rd of March.

The Vendetta might just be an old destroyer with less capable weapons, but she was a warship none the less. Her Sea Dart missiles might be well far behind the curve compared to modern weapons, but they would still be somewhat useful, her fire control and point defence was also upgraded to the most modern specifications available. Although she wouldn’t be able to be in threat vector she could stick close to the capital ships and add to the weight of defensive fire and that might, just might, make the difference between losing a carrier and not if something unexpected happened. In the time that it had taken for the news to spread throughout the ship it had become pretty obvious that there was a certain degree of… anxiety, after all the entire ship was basically either just out of land training or experienced enough to be aware at just how old the ship really was, both of which added up to the fact that the atmosphere on Vendetta was tense, not against its Captain or anything sinister, more at what they were going to face.

Never the less in the past two days Commander Jessica Harrington couldn’t be prouder of her crew.

She knew that most, if not all of them, had expected that they would be crossing the pacific, slipping the Panama Canal and after a series of visits to Imperial ports along the Pacific Seaboard would have come alongside at Anchorage and enjoyed some leave whilst the ship was decommissioned. Instead they were going to war, in quite possibly the oldest and least capable ship the Imperial Navy. She stood out amongst the rest of the Imperial fleet gathering at Gibraltar, she had none of the modern, sleek and stealthy lines of modern warships, instead she was angular and a herald to ships of yesteryear. They had been designed with brutal efficiency in mind, they were supposed to give the Imperial Navy a long-range area defence capability as cheaply as possible, and they had done just that when the Navy needed them most, but that came at the cost of cramped, terribly uncomfortable in rough seas and incredibly uneconomical in terms of fuel, they had never the less been very good value for money. Now they were going to war once again, and Commander Harrington was secretly glad that the rebels lacked the ability to hit ships at sea, although she was more concerned about the rumours flying around about Khorsuni intervention.

Never the less the fact that she was proud of her crew was a good thing, as Commander Jessica Harrington had just formally vouched to the Admiralty for their readiness for this. As a general rule any Imperial Warship before it was deployed, either on a specific tasking or a medium-term forward deployed posting, went through extensive operational training by the Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) before being cleared for operational duty and maintained this once deployed (there was a reason why the individual ships and formations of places like Gibraltar, Scapa Flow and even Freetown, were generally able to sail far quicker than those based in places like North America or Australia, except for units in those formations specifically on higher readiness. There were exceptions of course, especially during wartime, and in this case that was a good thing. The core crew of Vendetta had been certified by FOST before they left, the trainees aboard had not, because it was just that, a training cruise. Before the Admiralty had approved Admiral Stanford’s request that Vendetta be added to the fleet it had required Harrington’s professional opinion. All of which meant that if something went wrong on Vendetta as a result of its crew’s preparedness the blame would fall squarely on the shoulders of Commander Jessica Harrington.

Harrington smiled to herself, then again if anything went wrong on Vendetta it was ultimately her responsibility, there was a reason why the Imperial Navy court-martialled the captain of a ship every time one was sunk, more often than not they were honourably acquitted of wrongdoing but it emphasised the fact that at the end of the day the Captain was in charge of the ship and everything that happened aboard it was their responsibility. So as they prepared to go to war Harrington felt that responsibility on her shoulders as she never had before, this wasn’t her first command of course but it was the first she might have to take her ship into real danger, and not just pissed off fishermen or merchants that she had stopped in her last ship. She hoped that the Khorsuni weren’t stupid enough to try anything, one the one hand they’d have very little international support if they were trying to stop an intervention against genocide and on the other surely they had to know that there was no way they could beat the Empire, or that if any of its ships were sunk or its soldiers killed that the Empire wasn’t going to move heaven and earth to get vengeance for that.

Unfortunately, Harrington was all too aware how many truly stupid people there could be on the planet.

“Captain?”

Harrington glanced around at the source of the voice, Sub Lieutenant Elizabeth Fox, one of her (many) Young Officers, who was serving as second officer of the watch.

“Yes, Ms Fox?”

“We’re about to make visual contact with the Dutch task force,” Fox reported. “Green two zero.”

Harrington nodded, they had detected the Dutch task force on Radar some time before and it’s identity had been confirmed by a P-8 from IAF Gibraltar, after all the Imperial Navy wanted to know who was bringing sizable groups of warships through the Straits of Gibraltar. In a total war situation this could be essential as, by holding both Gibraltar and the northernmost tip of Morocco, they could theoretically close the Straits of Gibraltar to enemy traffic, which would have a massive economic effect even before the military consequence was considered. And the ironic thing was that it could be done without any warships, given the amount of surface-to-ship missile launchers arrayed in the area, although it would naturally be more effective with ships as well. It was not a step that the Empire ever wanted to take, but it was a step that they were fully prepared and willing to take if need be. Harrington shook herself, even if the Khorsuni decided to get testy it was unlikely they’d have to close Gibraltar, rather the ships remaining behind would just intercept any of their vessels individually and well away from the Rock, she accepted the binoculars from Fox and made her way around to the starboard bridge wing.

Sure enough the Dutch task force was coming into view.

“Alter course twenty degrees to starboard, let’s go say hello,” Harrington ordered. “Make signal to Flagship; have sighted Dutch warships, outbound by the numbers.”

By the time Fox returned to her side Harrington had got a good look at the ships that were coming her way.

“What do you make of them, Subby?” She enquired of the young officer who put the binoculars to her eyes.

“I see a flattop, what I assume is a battleship based on her size… lots of escorts, cruisers and destroyers by the look of them,” SLt Fox replied. “Looks like they’ve sent us one of their new battleships, like the one we tracked heading East of Suez,”

“Well done,” Harrington nodded. “Go see if we’ve got anything back from the flagship.”

Fox nodded and disappeared for a few moments before returning.

“Ma’am, the fleet is getting underway and we’re ordered to tell the Dutch to stand clear of Gibraltar and then join the force once it is in open waters, the Earl wants to get us underway ASAP,” Fox replied. “I also checked the AIS transponder on WECDIS whilst I was waiting… their flagship is the Freyr.”

“Very good,” Harrington nodded. “Let’s greet them the old-fashioned way with ALDIS.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Fox nodded and stuck her head into the bridge. “Communications Yeoman, get an ALDIS.”

A few moments later a junior rating arrived and uncovered one of the ALDIS lamps.

Harrington nodded and dictated her message.

Dutch Warship Freyr, this is Imperial Warship Vendetta.

Commander Harrington’s compliments and those of the Flagship.

The Imperial Fleet is getting underway, please stand-clear of Gibraltar then join Fleet once clear.

The Flag requests that you senior officer join them for lunch at approximately 1200hrs Zulu once we are underway southwards.

Out

With the message sent Harrington turned her attention back at the Rock. Sure enough the first of the ships were getting underway, which had the useful bonus of clearing the bay so that the bigger ships could likewise get underway. As soon as they were clear of the rock they assumed cruising stations well clear of the main shipping lanes into the Straits, it was going to be busy enough as it was without plonking a fleet in the middle of them. Slowly but surely the fleet continued to grow, the four Battleships of the Second Battle Squadron were the first capital ships to clear their moorings and join the Fleet, with the two Carriers joining last and the various ships of their various groups as well as the second Cruiser Squadron and the third Destroyer Squadron also gathering. It was nearly elven o’clock by the time the entire fleet was ready and it was another half-hour of sailing before the fleet had assumed its formation for steaming southwards, with the Imperial and Dutch capital ships at the centre of the formation. The Cruisers were arrayed in a pattern around the capital ships, their heavy missile armaments would provide close area security, whilst the numerous destroyers were spread out over a wider area to give both early warning and early response capability. A Combat Air Patrol (CAP) of F-58Ns was flying from both Reprisal and Audacious and both carriers had a ready-five on the deck just in case.

Vendetta was trailing behind the main group of ships at the centre of the formation. Her job was, as Harrington had suspected, quite simply to provide additional defensive fire alongside the cruisers, if any enemy missiles got past the outer defences then every missile would help, even if they were older Sea Darts. Never the less Harrington was happy, she had changed from her No.3 uniforms (white shirts, black trousers) that officers normally wore at sea, into the same No.4 Action Working Dress that the ratings normally did. In wartime this was standard, as it was entirely possible that the flame retardant nature of the No.4s might save her life, or at least prevent serious injuries.

“Signal from flagship Ma’am.”

Harrington narrowed her eyes as she turned in her seat to look at the commutations yeoman.

“What does it say Leader?” She enquired.

“It’s our number, and Captain to muster aboard,” The leading Rate replied. “Apparently you’ve been invited to lunch.”

Harrington grimaced.

“Really?” She sighed. “Fine, let the helicopter crew I’m going to need a lift to the flagship, and pipe my steward to get my No.1s ready.”

Harrington paused.

“Oh and someone please check with air traffic control,” Harrington added. “I really don’t want to cut off the Dutch Admiral.”

Harrington pointedly ignored the amused looks of her bridge crew as she departed the bridge and made her way down to her cabin where her steward had prepared her uniform. She quickly stripped out of her No.4s and pulled on the black trousers and white shirt, tied her tie and pulled on the heavy black jacket with three golden rings on her sleeves with the distinctive executive loop at the top. She grabbed her tricorn cap and put it under her arm as she walked the length of the ship to the flight deck. Given that the grand scheme of things meant that Vendetta’s role in the general defence of the task force was limited her secondary role was trailing behind the carriers so that in the event of a ramp strike or a man overboard they could respond quickly and, hopefully, save some lives. This meant that the helicopter aboard Vendetta was able to get airborne much quicker than most ships in the Fleet, except for the carriers of course. She climbed aboard the Lynx and after a few more checks it took to the skies and completed the very short trip to the Aircraft Carrier Reprisal.

The Lynx put down on one of the numerous helicopter landing pads on the flight deck. She was met by a small side party and a young Lieutenant.

“Permission to come aboard?” Harrington said simply.

“Permission granted, welcome aboard, Ma’am,” the Lieutenant replied. “Admiral Stanford has asked me to escort you to the wardroom.”

“Of course,” Harrington nodded. “Lead the way.”

Harrington followed the Lieutenant off of the flight deck and down into the bowels of the ship along corridors until they reached the wardroom, which was far larger than any that Harrington had ever seen before, having served aboard smaller ships before. There were a few other flag officers and senior Captains but, by far, she was the most junior officer present. That didn’t stop both Admiral Harrington and Admiral Stanford from coming over to greet her, she shook both of their hands firmly.

“Welcome aboard, Commander,” Admiral Harrington said. “Your record precedes you.”

“But then, anyone with your name in the Imperial Navy generally does quite well it seems,” Admiral Stanford commented with a slight smile as she glanced over at her fellow Admiral. “I assume as he’s not mentioned you, you aren’t related.”

“No Ma’am,” Commander Harrington replied. “Different parts of the world, I believe, Sir?”

“Sounds about right Commander,” Admiral Harrington smiled. “I guess you’re wondering why you are here?”

“I had wondered, Sir,” Commander Harrington admitted.

“Well, your ship is the only one not from either the Atlantic or Mediterranean Fleets, quite simply neither myself nor Lady Stanford have had a chance to get to know you, and we both like to dine with our Ship Captains,” Admiral Harrington replied. “But we’ll talk more over lunch, we’re just waiting for the Dutch Admiral right now…”

[Layarteb]

March 27, 2014 - 15:00 hrs [UTC-1]
South Atlantic Ocean
126 nautical miles SSE of Ascension Island
(9° 46' 35" S, 13° 17' 29" W)

From the bridge, Captain Steven Hardwick watched the rough seas of the Atlantic Ocean as his vessel steamed due west, looking for an intercept course with the MV Rotterdam. They knew where it was based on the ship's AIS signal but that didn't mean that such a signal couldn't be wrong. It was when CAPT Hardwick heard the comforting acknowledge of from his CIC, "Surface contact bearing 2-2-0, course 0-5-5, speed fifteen knots, four-five nautical miles," that he finally acknowledged that the vessel was within range.

"Good work radar," CAPT Hardwick answered into the microphone, "best course and speed for intercept?"

"Course one-niner-zero, speed two-nine knots sir."

"Helm, set course to one-niner-zero, increase speed to flank, let's get there before they do," CAPT Hardwick replied.

"Aye sir, helm is changing course to one-niner-zero, increasing speed to flank." The destroyer, a Voodoo-class immediately responded and as the ship came about to its port side and the speed increased, CAPT Hardwick watched the horizon change ahead of him.

"Flight ops, you have a green deck, launch the UAV."

"Aye sir, green deck, launching the Fire Scout," came the replied and within five minutes, the MQ-8B Fire Scout had lifted off of the deck and slid off to the side before increasing altitude to 500 feet and turning for the MV Rotterdam. Guided by the ship's radar, the UAV operators set a direct course for the MV Rotterdam, which was making just fifteen knots and moving relatively calmly through the seas of the South Atlantic Ocean. They had no idea that they were walking into as the Fire Scout cruise towards them at over eight miles per hour.

Watching from a single overlay screen, CAPT Hardwick could only watch the timer count down as the Fire Scout drew closer and closer to the target. When the vessel finally came within visual range for the Fire Scout, CAPT Hardwick could see that it was a quite a big vessel. "She's a big one," remarked the XO as he looked at the vast amount of containers aboard the vessel.

"Sixty-seven thousand tons XO, she's got a lot of containers on her. Two hundred and ninety-four meter length, thirty-two meter beam, ten meter draft, we're talking a proper sized vessel here."

"That's got to be five thousand containers Captain."

"Close to it, I think the report had her loaded near capacity at forty-eight hundred and fifty with about three hundred and seventy refers. She's a big sucker, making port calls up and down Africa. Buchanan is her first port call. She'll offload a few hundred containers there and keep going south, all the way down the African coast until she gets to Cape Town, then it's back across to Buenos Aires for another load."

"These vessels just do this up and down, it's a good catch for us."

"Well it may be, how are the SEALS doing?" There were twenty-eight men, two teams of SEALS from the 2nd Special Operations Group and one team from the 8th BOG, Force Storm, waiting in the hangar area for the signal to go. As far as anyone on the destroyer, and the SEALS knew, the men from the 8th BOG were in fact just other special forces. No one knew that they were a black operations unit. The Voodoo-class destroyer usually carried two SH-60R Sea Hawks and a single Fire Scout but because its mission had changed, its Sea Hawks went to the carrier in exchange for a pair of MH-60S Knight Hawks, which were better designed for carrying troops than the Sea Hawks were.

"Itching to get in the air as far as I'm aware. You know how they are."

"I do XO, I do, all right let's keep the intercept, if we get positive confirmation we're not doing anything until the vessel is within gun range. I want to make sure the SEALS aren't over there on their own. "

"Aye sir." With that, the two men continued to watch but now in silence. A short while later, after quiet moments on the bridge, the MQ-8B Fire Scout made contact with the vessel, hovering at one hundred feet, low enough to get a good fix. Radiation sensors had begun to pick up hits approximately eight hundred meters from the vessel and now that the Fire Scout was directly overhead, those sensors were picking up a positive hit. "Shit, well doesn't that make things worse," answered the XO to the revelation.

"That it does, yellow light the SEALS that they're going soon. Once we get within gun range, we'll call it eight nautical miles, we'll send them in, for now get this reported back to COMSURFLANT."

"Aye sir," the XO headed off to the radio room to send the coded transmission while the destroyer and the merchant vessel continued on the way to their rendezvous. In the background, once COMSURFLANT or Atlantic Fleet Command got word of the positive radiation hit, information traveled very quickly up through the chain of command to the Emperor and thereon to the members of The October Alliance. This live situation, unfolding before their very eyes, would promise something more than just a blurb in a newspaper. With a live feed from the drone, members of the National Security Council would be watching the events unfold from various secure rooms in the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Intelligence, and the Fortress of Comhghall. The Emperor in particular would be watching from that locality.

The plan would have the sixteen SEALS immediately chopper onto the MV Rotterdam, fast rope onto the ship, and secure its crew and the vessel before the men from the 8th BOG landed. The twelve men from the 8th BOG made up a 6-man protection team and a 6-man specialist team, the latter of which who would be responsible for securing the device, if there was one. There were two bomb technicians, an equipment tech, two assistances, and a scientist and while they were trained for all manner of military operations, they were eggheads so to speak. They weren't going to do anyone any good by getting involved in a firefight, hence the necessity of the protection team. Normally, they deployed with their own air assets but the situation wouldn't permit that in this instance.

When the time came for the men to finally lift off of the deck, the two Knight Hawks moved off of the side of the ship first before the hailing began. Calling for the ship to heave-to and prepared to be boarded, the radiomen of the Voodoo-class destroyer watched in vain as the MV Rotterdam not only ignored the warnings but violently altered course and speed so as to put the ship on a direct path with the destroyer. Maneuvers were taken but the MV Rotterdam continued to adjust and that meant bad news.

The Knight Hawks raced forward and reached the vessel quickly as the destroyer turned and put the Rotterdam on its rear quarter, negating the use of its gun. The idea was to gain some distance and make a sweeping turn on the ship to outmaneuver the container ship. It would work since the destroyer was smaller, faster, lighter, and more easily able to change its speed. Both MH-60S Knight Hawks, unable to land on the deck, went into a hover over the cargo ship's deck as the ship continued to change its course. For the SEALS, it would be a difficult boarding but not one they hadn't trained for and when the ropes finally went out, the SEALS slid down them rapidly. The 6-man protection team for the 8th BOG went as well, to provide extra guns.

The ropes were dropped and the Knight Hawks cleared out, their Miniguns now the only cover these men would have. Flanking forward, checking around the containers, the SEALS moved towards the vessel's superstructure, which was located more aft to provide balance to all of the containers. No one was topside, which meant that the move through the superstructure wasn't going to be easy. Hostiles would be waiting around every corner and thus the SEALS would need to move quickly and make liberal use of their stun grenades.

All twenty-two Layartebians breached the doors together, moving into three doors simultaneously. Flashbang grenades went off, blinding anyone inside and with a few rapid gunshots, three merchant sailors, all armed, were shot dead. From there, the SEALS split off into four separate, 4-man teams. They would sent two upwards and two downwards while the 6-man team from the 8th BOG went upwards. Gunshots echoed out immediately as merchant sailors protected their vessel from the Layartebian raiders. Bullets pinged off of everything thanks to the design of the ship and the SEALS and black operations commandos kept low. They were armed mainly with submachine guns and sawed-down shotguns. Moving within a ship was difficult with an assault rifle, thus the need for the smaller weaponry. To counter the decrease in muzzle energy for the smaller rounds, they utilized slugs in the shotguns and .360 Auto rounds in their submachine guns, all equipped with hollow points to provide maximum damage and reduce ricocheting.

In the first five minutes, the twenty-two Layartebians had been engaged nine separate times and they had killed seven hostiles. The merchant sailors, infinitely more familiar with their vessel were using shoot-and-scoot tactics to lead the Layartebians into ambush situations but the SEALS were wary of such tactics. They caught on quickly and began to differentiate the pattern that the merchant sailors were using. The four additional kills that they achieved were all after the merchants had retreated to a favorable ambush position, only to be hit with Flashbang grenades and then gunned down in their own variably disoriented states.

Deeper into the bowels of the ship the men went and slowly, they began to encounter less and less resistance as they moved from corridor to corridor. In the superstructure, the merchant sailors had opted to make their stands on the stairs but again, Flashbang grenades neutralized most of their advantages and they were brought down quickly. The firefights continued for another ten minutes while the SEALS and the 8th BOG commandos moved from compartment to compartment. Bullets flew through the air wildly as the merchant sailors aimed to ricochet their rounds for maximum effect. To their credit, it worked and ricocheting rounds injured three SEALS underneath their armor but none mortally. Unfortunately though, one SEAL was killed during the course of the raid when his submachine gun jammed. The point man fell to the ground limp, three rounds having caught him in the face. The merchant sailor fared a much more gruesome fate as rounds tore up his chest and his dead as two SEALS nearly emptied their magazines into him.

The body was dragged clear, checked, and left while the SEALS continued their mission. It would be collected at a later time, the necessity of the mission dictating that they could not carry the body around with them. In other situations though, they would have camped there until it could be safely moved.

From start to finish, the raid lasted twenty-nine minutes. It cost one SEAL his life, injured three others, and brought down forty-two merchant sailors. Eight were captured alive, including the vessel's captain who had made a heroic but futile stand in the bridge of the vessel. It took a bullet to the knee to finally bring him down and end his heroism. Once clear, the vessel was brought to a halt and the specialist team was landed via rappelling rope. They had a lot of containers to search but they were able to narrow it down enough thanks to the manifest of what was to be offloaded in Buchanan. When the device was finally found, the results of the find were quite startling, enough to make the Emperor call an emergency meeting with the Apilonian ambassador, the Cottish ambassador, and the National Security Council.

[Terra Reborn]

Brigadier William Griggs CS
Imperial Forward Command Post
Monrovia, The Republic of Liberia
Tuesday 25th March 2014, 1200hrs Local Time (0300hrs Imperial Capital Time, 1200hrs Zulu Time)

The 19th Armoured Division of the Imperial Army was probably as far away from home as any formation at the current moment. It was normally part of XIX Corps, itself part of the Imperial Seventh Army, which was part of the 2nd Army Group, all of which meant that it was an Australian-raised formation, and as such was quite literally on the far side of the world from home. The 19th Armoured had been deployed to Sierra Leone last year to beef up the Imperial Army’s presence on the ground after the Khorsuni missile test had raised tensions about the unpredictable government therein. It was tasked with brining both the heavily armoured offensive fist of main battle tanks as well as armoured infantry in case they were needed, given that Sierra Leone itself had so far only been able to raise two divisions of infantry troops, which all things considered was not a bad achievement considering the state of affairs their military had been in, but after the intensive training of their existing troops and a substantial recruitment campaign Sierra Leone now boasted two divisions of Imperial-trained and equipped troops. Those divisions were currently led by Imperial Officers, as Sierra Leone-born officers were still going from Imperial training to bring them up to scratch.

As a general rule the Imperial Army tended to keep its officers in whatever part of the world they came from. This was for a few good reasons, firstly in defensive fights they were more likely to know the ground they were fighting on and that could be the difference between victory and defeat, secondly it had no interest in taking its people away from their families more than was necessary, and posting officers to the far side of the world was just that and, thirdly, the Empire had no interest in even the hint of the idea that they were taking over by force, every part of the Empire had joined willingly and it only made sense that although their military would be funded (and ultimately controlled) by the Empire it just made sense for them to raise and lead their own regiments and major formations. It was a system that had worked well for a long time, and no doubt would in the future, whilst at the same time ensuring that any unit of the Army could deploy to any other part of the Empire and do their bit for King and Country, which was what had allowed the 19th Armoured Division to be deployed here, to protect Sierra Leone.

William Griggs had been in the army for a long time. He had been in the Australian Army and fought alongside the Imperials during the First Australian War in which the majority of Australia’s advanced equipment had been disabled by a fine piece of cyber warfare on the part of the Western Australian Republic and, after the Eastern parts of Australia had joined the Empire shortly after, he had joined the Imperial Army and subsequently served in the Second Australian War, his service in which had earned him a place as a Companion of the Order of the Sword. Although Australia had only been part of the Empire for a comparatively short time Griggs, like many of his countrymen, were already staunchly Imperial by this point. Not only had the Empire saved them from the fascists that had been oppressing their kin in Western Australia, but they had then liberated those oppressed and proceeded to invest heavily in Australia whose economy was already much stronger than it had once been. The importance of Australia to the Empire had also been recognized in the fact that the heir to the throne held the title of Prince of Australia.

As the situation in Liberia had begun to deteriorate Griggs’ brigade had been ordered into the country. Given that the rebels lacked any armour the presence of a main battle tank on the field would be substantial, however no one had particularly wanted to take it into the rough terrain of much of Liberia where the rebels could potentially get at its weak spots with weapons that could take it out. So the decision had been made to place the entire brigade around the perimeter of the capital city of Monrovia, essentially putting a line of heavy metal around the city to prevent any assaults. Of course given that one of the infantry divisions was already reinforcing the rebel’s defensive line it was unlikely that they would be needed, but it was nice to have insurance. Besides, if the Khorsuni turned out to be as actively belligerent as their rhetoric had been, they might be needed.

As a result of his brigade’s behind-the-lines status Brigadier Griggs was responsible for keeping the logistics lines open from Sierra Leone to the front where there were an increasing number of imperial troops. It was by no means the most enjoyable job in the world but it was one that he understood the need for and was quite adept at, supported by the Royal Logistics Corp of course. It would be essential if the Imperial Army was to execute a successful campaign here in Liberia. The Imperial Rangers at Buchanan had secured their position with ease and there were already waves of refugees entering that city for protection, in addition their presence was having a substantial impact on the state of affairs in the rebel camp. The hardliners were rushing to the front along the St. John River to face down the loyalists, the Khorsuni ethnic group were mustering near the border with Khorsun (which was causing a degree of concern at Imperial Intelligence) whilst the moderates were deciding what to do, although apparently the Rangers had managed to get them to agree to let the refugees come to them, which was laying the groundwork for an amnesty to ensure that the worst rebels, those that had perpetrated the massacre at Buchanan, would be brought to justice.

And that was the priority here. Once they had been caught and brought to justice the task of rebuilding the country would begin in earnest, and whether Liberia ultimately became part of the Empire or not, the Apilonian Empire would play an important mediating role in ensuring that stability was ensured. And ultimately that was what the Empire wanted, whether or not they joined up they wanted Liberia to be peaceful and prosperous, not just because it was on the border of an Imperial Duchy but because it was the right thing to do. The Empire had gone into Rhodes and Bahrain with the same attitude. It wasn’t totally selfless of course, these parts of the world would be grateful to the Empire and the Empire could invest heavily in those parts of the world for eventual profit. But whether it was the selfless or the self-serving motivation that came about the most the assistance of the Empire was not reliant on that territory joining the Empire, it would be given if it was needed and if they joined the Empire so much the better, as they could do more.

The same was true here for Liberia. The belligerence of the Khorsuni was certainly pushing Liberia towards the Empire but they were still working under the assumption that once all this was over Liberia would be an independent state, which was the current end-goal for the Empire at the moment. If Liberia wanted to join up then they could be accommodated pretty quickly, if not then the Empire would continue to invest and aid in the development and, perhaps more important, continue to commit to the protection of the territory from those that would seek to oppress it.

Griggs sighed heavily as he watched one of his Challenger 2 tanks rumble past outside on its way to its position. It was going to be a long deployment.

[Layarteb]

March 27, 2014 - 22:00 hrs [UTC-5]
Layarteb City, New York
Fortress of Comhghall
(40° 41' 28" N, 74° 0' 58" W)

An entirely somber and sober mood hung in the air in the Emperor's office as his National Security Advisor briefed not only the National Security Council but also the Cottish and Apilonian ambassadors, who because of The October Alliance were privy to information few other ambassadors would hear. After describing the SEAL raid and the outcome, which left one SEAL dead and several others wounded, the National Security Advisor went on to explain the recovery efforts. The ship was going to be brought under tow to Senegal hopefully, given its closeness, where law enforcement officials would be able to comb through it and put together a proper legal case against the eight sailors who had been captured. So far, while there was bad news, the news was overall good, another nuclear weapon was prevented from getting to Liberia and with it, extra scrutiny on Bavinese ports was put into place. As the Emperor gave his briefing here, the Layartebian Ambassador to the Bavinese Republic would be meeting with the Bavinese government to give them the nth degree.

However, the news took a massive turn for the worse when the Emperor dismissed all of the aides and several of the NSC members, "What we are about to discuss is a codeword-level situation, it is classified above top secret. We have scrubbed some details for our foreign guests but the gist of it will not be missed. I trust we will not have any situation whereby leaks could get out," the Emperor added, waiting for a verbal assent from both ambassadors before he let the National Security Advisor continue.

"August 23, 2010, three and a half years ago," he began, prefacing his discussion. "I'm sure you're all aware of the Porto Velho Incident?" The Porto Velho Incident was a very public disaster that happened in Porto Velho and provided casus belli to the Empire of Layarteb for eventually invading and annexing the Brazilian state of Rondônia. "We don't have to touch the details, obviously the Emperor's helicopter was downed by hostile forces within the city and a massive rescue operation was launched. What you don't know is that the Emperor's helicopter was never the target, despite all of the publicity to it.

"The target was actually a Bavinese helicopter that had intruded upon the city without our authorization for the sole purpose of recovering a stolen, nuclear weapon in the possession of one Raul Lobato. He escaped the Bavinese that day but ultimately, he met his end on February 11, 2011 when Achesian forces cornered and killed him in what could only be considered a ridiculously daring operation. Long story short, the Bavinese were able to recover the device and owing to our distrust of them, we demanded they allow us to inspect the weapon. We did and we made a full catalogue of it, recording serial numbers, radioactive signature, the works.

"The device we recovered on the MV Rotterdam is the very same device!" Heart's skipped a beat, breaths were held, and the National Security Advisor continued. "To the best of our knowledge, and we're going to push this with the Bavinese this afternoon, this device never left the hands of the Bavinese. The Bavinese are remarkably anal about their nuclear weapons, for obvious reasons, they fear we're going to sneak in with black ops and steal them or set them off, a ridiculous fear but one that benefits us. You can't have looseness when it comes to nuclear weapons.

"Whatever deal has been struck with the Bavinese though, and its one we're going to investigate to the fullest extent of our resources, we don't know the specifics yet. We don't know if the Khorsunis and the Bavinese are in cahoots or if the Liberian rebels are or any combination thereof. What we do know is unequivocally that the Bavinese have now attempted to supply two nuclear devices to the Liberian rebels, one of which got to them. We are going to ensure that no further devices get to Liberia but there are two very key components that we need.

"For starters, a blockade of Liberia must be put into effect with the capacity to stop every single ship, civilian or military. Secondly, a task force needs to ensure that ships out in international waters do not get to the blockade line. The blockade should only be a final layer of protection, we should be stopping these vessels further out in the waters of the South Atlantic Ocean. We're going to put diplomatic pressure on the Bavinese to stop the supply of all weapons, especially nuclear weapons. This will have two major impacts for us, and ones that we need your support.

"For starters, the Bavinese will vehemently deny any wrongdoing and they'll claim we're inventing and fabricating this 'lie' and nothing we can say, show, or prove to them will, under any situation mean otherwise. Secondly, the Bavinese will increase their military presence in Southern Argentina, fearing that this will give us the casus belli to invade. Prudence demands that we increase our military presence. You can understand how this will unfold. The last thing we need is to have this turn into a war in South America but if that happens, if the Bavinese are so crass as to let this play into the hands of Mars, then will your respective governments support us?"

"The Empire is willing to go to war in South America to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons but we will not be a sole actor in this instance considering that the origin of it is in Liberia." The Emperor added with reinforcement.

[Terra Reborn]

His Majesty King Walker I of Apilonia, Australia and the Imperial Dominions
The Imperial Fortress
Karin, Alaska, The Apilonian Empire
Tuesday 25th March 2014, 0300hrs Local Time (0300hrs Imperial Capital Time, 1200hrs Zulu Time)

It was late but King Walker couldn’t sleep. He never could at times like this. The decision to intervene militarily in Liberia had been made and the troops and ships were on their way to the theatre, indeed there were already substantial troops on the ground. But they were just reinforcing the status quo rather than upping the ante, which would only take place when the Fleet arrived off the coast and the Army began their assault into Southern Liberia. It was, as he had always thought, the waiting that was the worst part, he had made his decision and he believed it to be the right one but there was a delay between making the decision and actually seeing the consequences. It wasn’t so much that he was afraid of the consequences, or unwilling to face them, he just wished that they would get it over and done with. He had sent thousands upon thousands of men and women into war but it never got easier, and he knew that it never would. In fact if it ever got easy he wouldn’t be sure if he could live with himself.

His Queen had tried several times to make him come to bed and get some sleep but he had shrugged her off each time. He knew that it was futile and that there was nothing that he could do and that staying up was just stupid, but even if he had gone to bed he wouldn’t be able to sleep. Instead he stood looking out the window at Karin City arrayed before him, once he got past the King’s Park that dominated the area immediately in front of the Imperial Fortress, all the way down to Horse Guards Parade and the Government District. The past few years had been busy from a military stand-point and Walker had found himself ordering men and women into combat a lot more often than he would like, but at least the burden (and the casualties) were spread across the Empire and the re-organisation of the Imperial Army under the Army 2015 plan would ensure that each formation that was deployed (below Corps level anyway) would have a lot less of an impact in terms of the area they recruited from if the worst should happen.

Walker sighed again, it was a shame, if it hadn’t been for Khorsun there would be a much lesser chance of a lot of people dying. The Imperial Army would have deployed into Liberia and ended the rebellion, the country would have been regenerated and all would have been well. Now fi the Khorsuni followed through on their threat a lot of people were going to die, Walker had no concerns that the Empire wouldn’t be able to crush the Khorsuni Nation if it came down to it, but a lot of people would die getting the job done and, although it naturally concerned him to a lesser extent, a lot of Khorsuni would get killed as well. It was just simple bloody stubbornness and a perfect example of the harm that a dictatorship could do; the Empire had no particular wish to go to war with the Khorsuni, its stance and rhetoric were troubling (and had resulted in several actions being taken) but the Empire didn’t just go around crushing those it disagreed with. Of course, that being said, if they were stupid enough to attack any Apilonian troops, the Empire would strike back.

The situation in Liberia was reaching the tipping point. Most of the initial ground troops were in position, with reinforcements flying in from all over the Empire to assist (and prepare for a war with Khorsun, even if the current OP Plan was to avoid putting boots on the ground inside Khorsuni if that could be avoided). The Army would push into rebel held territory on the 27th, just after the Fleet arrived off-shore to provide much needed combat air support. In the interim period Imperial Intelligence was still trying desperately to get the moderate rebel leader, Brigadier DeSanta, to defect or at least surrender, they had had some success already by keeping him away from the Khorsuni-funded rebels and their borders and they were hopeful. If they could persuade him to surrender then they would just have to deal with the rebels that had actually carried out the attack on Buchanan, and they had made it quite clear to DeSanta that they were the Empire’s main concern, and that if he surrendered they would moderate a peaceful settlement between the rebels and the government, possibly as part of the Apilonian Empire depending on how the situation proceeded.

They had two days left, but Walker was optimistic. DeSanta was a smart man and he had a firm grasp of military strategy; he knew that he couldn’t take on the Imperial Army with the equipment and manpower that he had, to do so would be suicide. And given that his troops had not carried out any atrocities and had actually behaved quite honourably, there was a very good chance that he’d be able to do more by surrendering and working out a peaceful settlement. He had already done the Imperial Army a massive favour, pulling his troops off the frontline leaving just the hardliners for the Imperial Army to have to combat. In doing so he had decreased the casualties that the Army would take crossing the river and for that they were all extremely grateful. Walker had talked personally with President Fox and they had agreed (after some time) that if DeSanta could be persuaded to surrender they would have to live up to the terms that he surrendered under, Fox hadn’t been pleased of course but he had seen the logic, especially given the threat still posed by the Hardliner Rebels, not to mention the thrice-damned Khorsuni.

Walker turned as he heard movement behind him and found himself looking upon his wife, Queen Jessica. She looked tired and was yawning but the fact that she was still awake and trying to make him stop his moping warmed his heart. He took her hands in his as she stopped in front of him.

“Come to bed,” She said softly. “You’ll do no one on the ground any good if you are knackered when you need to make big decisions.”

Walker nodded, accepting the wisdom of her words and followed her down the corridor to their bedchambers where he undressed and climbed into bed with her, snuggling up close and putting his head on her shoulder as she put her arms around him. They normally slept the other way around, but tonight Jessica knew that he needed comforting more than she did. Within a few minutes he was asleep and the Queen smiled fondly down at him before drifting off to sleep herself.