Fistfulls of Sand (MT IC TG to Join)

[Yngen]

"They do my dear, they do" Naji said, to focused on the battle to be insulted. "Even so, the odds are against us. Ambushes, even when expected put one at a great disadvantage, and our army has been fighting or moving for days." After a pause to give an order, he turned to reassure his guest "Don't worry, even if we do not win this battle, you and I, our chances of personal survival are still high." As he spoke, the Colonel was weighing his options and his priorities silently in his head. He did not fear either defeat nor death, but his concern was for his cause as well as a obligation he felt as a host to protect his guest.



OOC: I don't think they could A) know that Princess Takara is in Naudin, or B) know that she is with the rebels and even if they knew that, they would not know which vehicle she is in.

Takara nodded. "Your soldiers seem experienced, admittedly. I have never been inside a...a how you say, APC? It seems durable," she said, but then added with a devious smile "at least from the inside."

[Barsovich]

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[Naudin]

Code: Select all

To the Council of Hanj:

A negotiation in our nation means that Stormwrath recognizes your legitimacy and existence. Therefore we will not lay down our weapons until you recognize the legitimacy and the authority of the royal house of Naudin. Even if we do sit down and do peace talks with you, we will push forward our proposal, that the royal house of Naudin be restored to her rightful place. What you wish does not suit all.

- Prime Minister Fred Jacobson Ichabod

Code: Select all

Prime Minster of Stormwrath

We do not ask you to surrender your weapons, or to abandon your policies. Of course, we expect you to push for your proposal, as you put it. We simply desire the opportunity to present our position. We believe that we may not have as many points of disagreement as you think. If you refuse to talk to us, we must conclude that it is a blood lust that drives you, and that it can not be slated without the deaths of thousands or hundred of thousands. However, we hope, for the sake of your men, that you are in fact reasonable.

Takara nodded. "Your soldiers seem experienced, admittedly. I have never been inside a...a how you say, APC? It seems durable," she said, but then added with a devious smile "at least from the inside."

"Yes, it is durable. The A stands for armoured" Colonel Naji explained. Reports of loses came in on the radio. Naji cursed. "The battle is lost. The regiment will keep fighting of course, but we must get our prisoner out of here." He cursed again, gave the orders. "We will head to those hills, once there we will have a chance of escape, we then can rendezvous with the prisoner and his guards. From there we will find our way to the capital." The Colonel was not happy, the battle was going worse than he thought it would, and he did not like the idea of fleeing.

[Alderann]

The message from the rebels was sent up to high command and then forwarded to the office of the emperor himself. Emperor Titus read over the message and after discussing with his minister of foreign relations and minister of armed forces the emperor decided that a meeting with the rebels was in the best interest of both nations.

" how many troops do we have in Naudin right now?" Asked emperor Titus.

" milord currently we have 45,000 troops in Naudin." Responded minister of armed forces.

Titus thought for a second then responded.

" inform the rebels that we agree to a meeting to end hostilities but until a date and time for the meeting is agreed upon, military operations will continue."


The message from Emperor Titus was quickly sent to rebel leaders. While airstrikes had been authorized. The carriers of the navy that was off the coast had been running flight operations nonstop since the invasion targeting targets such as power plants and radar stations in an attempt to cripple the rebels.

[Naudin]

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To the Alderaan Commander,

We are glad that you see reason. Let us send our delegates to the Grand Hôtel en Bord de Mer. It is just south of Kisk, and we believe that it is unlike that city, intact. We will send two delegates under a flag of truce, and if agreeable to His Imperial Majesty, we will begin at noon.

[Yngen]

"Yes, it is durable. The A stands for armoured" Colonel Naji explained. Reports of loses came in on the radio. Naji cursed. "The battle is lost. The regiment will keep fighting of course, but we must get our prisoner out of here." He cursed again, gave the orders. "We will head to those hills, once there we will have a chance of escape, we then can rendezvous with the prisoner and his guards. From there we will find our way to the capital." The Colonel was not happy, the battle was going worse than he thought it would, and he did not like the idea of fleeing.

Takara smiled.
"Well we shall just have to fight our way out, neh?"

[Fashiontopia]

Just as all hope seems to be lost for the Rebellion, the Libertatem of Fashiontopia, a guiding light united under a banner of the same meaning as which is written on the hearts of those of the Rebellion. The Libertatem of Fashiontopia had once been in such manner of situation before, upon first gaining independence in the mid-1800s from a government stricken to itself by tyranny and power of itself. In attempting to save the Rebellion, it appears it may be too late. However, the lives of those postmortem will not go unavenged.

Under the cover of the smoke and mist of the seas, the Fashiontopian navy had been plotting an assault on the tyranny which has dominated the Rebellion and pushed them to the point of breaking. 2 Fashiontopian Brigades, well over 7,000 troops each (Three 1,008 Man Mechanized Infantry Battalions, One 62 Tank Tank Battalion, and Two 18 Gun Medium Artillery Battalions, as well as accompanying Logistics, Support, and Medical Detachments per Brigade) move towards the shore. Revealed piece: Meanwhile on high alert in bases across Fashiontopian controlled forward bases, the remainder of the 1st Army and the the their cousins the 2nd Army both standby laying in wait to deploy if needed: (OOC: All told they number 288,000 Troops (mostly supply elements not all front line Infantry - in case you thought this was a Number-Wank, plus Stormwrath has 2 Armies already deployed), 2,976 Tanks (1 tank for every 48 troops, again not a number wank because with 1 62 Tank Battalion per Brigade x 2 for Division x 2 for Army x 2 for 2 Armies this is what you get), and 2,304 Artillery pieces including 155mm Artillery and Anti-Air guns). These will only be deployed as necessary and will not flood the battlefield in order to minimize complaints any number wanking complaints which will quickly be met by pointing out that others have deploy Armies as well and no effective Army in real life would deploy with any less than 1,000 Tanks for an Army.)

Several detachments of Fighters and Ground Attack Craft fly over the heads of the men below, as the sound of race cars under the influence of helium, the light shrieks of their voices follow by distant flashes of booms and the sound to be associated with hell to pay. As the troops in their Landing Vehicles come to the shore.

According to the Fashiontopian Army Field Manual, upon landing, a standard Infantry Platoon is to unload on shore under the siren of the craft above the driving compartment. Every platoon is to file onto the Beach in disburse formation which shows no pattern and places troops in a scattered motion to prevent artillery from effectively wiping out the entire unit at once. Every man is to have at least 5 yards between himself and the nearest man in all directions. As the Tanks unload behind the Infantry they will immediately act as first plan of action troop carriers which allow nearby troops to jump on and ride for a few yards before dismounting again and finding a place to take cover. As the logistics trucks carrying supplies and Artillery pieces dismount they drop off various rear line pieces to allow the Task Force Command to set up on the Beachhead.

The first Plan of action, mount all APCs and prepare to move towards the enemy which is the government of Naudin. All pieces of Artillery are to be temporarily set up on the highest possible areas, to allow the best vantage points of the area of spread. Forward observing Cavalry deploys to the North to get an idea of the current size of the enemy and their positions to both report back to the Commander of the Task Force, but also to all Artillery units for Fire For Effect missions. In the sky the Fighters will return to their respective Aircraft Carriers awaiting the build or acquisition of an airfield where missions be coordinated in the future.

Any enemy troops spotted will be first identified by Scouts or first contact, secondly fire holding will be in place for the sake of insuring that a superior force is not upon them, thirdly the first order will be firing Mortars on the enemy's position as every Infantry Platoon has it's own light mortars which will be fired indirectly on the enemy, in fourth .50 caliber suppressive fire delivered in Fire For Effect in order to keep track of the enemy, meanwhile small arms will engage after sending enemy coordinates to the Artillery base for fire. Cavalry troops will be under direct orders to plant IEDs for enemy vehicles and troops, as well as setting booby traps in areas not occupied by Fashiontopian troops.

Enemy armor will be immediately met by Anti-Tank rounds from each Company or Tank shells from Fashiontopian Armor. Following that Artillery and Air Attack will ensue to insure destruction.

(OOC: Looks like one of those moments when at the last moment someone shows up to help)

[Naudin]

Takara smiled.
"Well we shall just have to fight our way out, neh?"

Meanwhile, in the Northern Desert, Colonel Naji's APC raced towards the hills. Alongside a hummer containing Prince Sami hurried to join him. The remainder of the troops continued the battle. However, as the Colonel had already determined, victory was outside of their grasp. All advantages were against them, the enemy having superiority in the position, numbers, and air. It was really the air strikes that were the nail on the coffin for the rebels. Faced with no other choice, they scattered in all directions.

The APC and Hummer had just reached the hill line when the rebel ranks broke. Even still, they were not safe as enemy fire rained down on the landscape. Each explosion threatening to test Naji's claim regarding the durability of the APC. It would take just one direct hit from a large enough missile or a shell, to split open the APC. Fortunately, the only hit they received was a near miss.

Still, the APC was rocked and severely damaged. Smoke billowed all around them as the occupants evacuated. Colonel Naji instinctively grabbed the Princess and prepared to pull her out. The driver in the front lay there bleeding to death, his skull cracked open.

[Yngen]

Takara stumbled out into the sand after the Colonel, coughing, and dropped to one knee, partly to reduce her profile and partly to escape the smoke billowing from the wrecked APC.
She drew her pistol, not cocking it but holding it firm, turning back to look at the ruined APC before look around at the chaos behind them. Absent-mindedly, she pulled out a pair of wraparound shades and slipped them on, protection against the desert heat. Coughing some of the last of the smoke out, she called to the Colonel.
"What now?"

[Naudin]

"We run" the Colonel said looking around, getting his bearings. "This way" No sooner than he said it, than he was off, heading around the nearest hill. He looked back and shouted, "There are settlements in this area, once we find them we are safe!" Keeping a brisk pace, they soon put a good distance between them and the battlefield. They came to a river and Naji paused. He took off his hat and uniform jacket, and threw them into the water, and took his keffiyeh from around his neck, and put it on his head. "Where there is water, there are people. When we present ourselves as strangers seeking help, the law of hospitality saw we should receive aid, no matter their politics."

[Yngen]

Takara did not bother changing her clothes - she had nothing on her person to identify her as belonging to any military, let alone Naudin's - she was dressed as an Imperial Tiger. Instead she simply followed the Colonel, trusting to his instincts. She stopped for a second by the river, tempted to refill her half-empty canteen, but she had no idea whether there was a settlement upstream and how bad the water might be, so she left it and carried on.

[Fashiontopia]

As Fashiontopian Troops pour through the shores a strange character by the name of... well you can't have his name, this thing is it's classified... has stopped at a Train Station in country. An average looking fellow - chosen because he blends in well with the general populace - no real distinguishing features that would make you think he's not a native. His first objective, track down the Colonel, his second objective place the Colonel back in power and help him find and train more men through a series of coordinated propaganda messages aimed at bringing more people hungry for freedom together.

He had gotten intelligence from the Aerial Reconnaissance High Flyers over the battlefield that a lone APC left the battlefield and unidentified persons presumed to be important had exited and run on foot away from the battlefield. His first inclination is to go check out the remains to see if he could pick up a trail, but for the occupants to head in a direction: he figures the first thing they will need is a supply of water and with a nearby river on the map he heads to see if he can find them and see what they are doing, who they are, and if they know the location of the Colonel.

Members of his Section which had come along as his Intelligence Gatherers, Suppliers, etc dressed down as well and took various different modes of transportation to assemble at the meetup point in country. At the meetup point in a building found to be abandoned with an underground cellar will be their base of operations. They purchase the building under identities created for them by the Acquisition Man. The Spy then uses the car that he purchases from a local vendor - with cash, to drive out to the town where the unidentified people are. He scopes out any potential areas where the duo may have gone.

He drives out to the river, looking for any signs of people coming recently, he scans the river for a few miles before coming across two people running desperately, seeming tired and worn out, his vehicle being a truck with some water crossing ability he waits for a shallow enough area before crossing to the other side to stop them and offer them a ride. "Hey my name is Charles Vandenblock please identify yourselves... I'll give you a ride to the nearest town..."

[Stormwrath]

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To: The Fashiontopian government

Do not attempt to escalate this conflict. You will only bring more bloodshed into this nation, and Naudin has already suffered enough of it. Kindly back down and demobilize your forces from Naudin in 36 hours, or face military action.

- Prime Minister Fred Jacobson Ichabod

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To: The Council of Hanj

We have deliberated on your proposal for peace talks, we will consent. Our proposal is this: We propose that the Emir will be only a symbolic head of state while the Colonel shall be Prime Minister of Naudin. By this, the Colonel can remain in power while the royal family of Naudin can stay on the throne without holding any real power other than to set taxes. We will be sending diplomats to discuss with you. However, military operations will still continue.

- Prime Minister Fred Jacobson Ichabod

As word had spread that the Fashiontopians are coming en masse to support the rebels, the Stormwrathian government sent another flotilla, this time with 37,000 troops, 23 main battle tanks, 25 long-range artillery vehicles, and 42 F-35 fighter jets.

They were sent to reinforce the northern arm of the Stormwrathian advance, and to defend against Fashiontopian forces. Meanwhile, in Hanj, The Stormwrathians were met by enemy resistance, and a battle ensued, involving the northern part of the city.

[Fashiontopia]

Notice: In seeing Wrathland defying it's face as a Democratic nation the Libertatem of Fashiontopia sees any attack on troops to be a violation of the code of liberty and justice of any Democratic nation, and any person killed or injured as a direct or indirect result of Wrathland will be seen as an act of war.

OOC: I would like to point out that F-35s technically do not exist as this is NationStates and second of all sense in real life they are still a project which has yet to be deployed in actual combat units, the technology level cannot be achieved at mass production levels, I will assume any F-35 I come in contact with is in fact an NS fighter that uses current technology levels, below that of the real life F-35 even better for me... after a conversation F-35s aren't off the table, so my Anti-Air guns will be better suited to fight them with slightly more advanced targeting systems and smart missiles, as well as my fighters being better suited to fight them sense the F-35 is first of all a Multi-Role Fighter not an Air Superiority Fighter and therefore my fighters are Air Superiority Fighters which will be better suited at Dogfighting.

Back our the shore the Commander of the First Army decides to deploy half of the 144,000 troops of his Infantry Divisions and the rest of the first half of Tanks which are 744 strong, along with the remainder of the first half's 576 Artillery pieces. The other half will deploy further north and push far East then cut south. Every Tank Company is being attached their own Self-Propelled Anti-Air Gun which will be directed to fire on sight of any enemy aircraft, followed by a coordinated follow up by Fighter Squadrons aboard ships at sea.

All Naval Vessels in the water are to take up Defensive positions to the South to thwart any advance by Naval Vessels of the enemy. Engineer units deployed with each Brigade are being ordered to build an Airstrip out of a flat piece of land they found which will be there to allow Air Transfer of Paratroops which have been decided to not attempt to make any Hard Landing over enemy held ground. The Airstrip will be defended by a Heavy Infantry Brigade which are troops with much heavier weapons in addition to their standard equipment and that are intended primarily as defensive troops.

With units already advancing to the battle area booby traps and IEDs are being spread along the Southern operating line to thwart any advances by enemies advancing. Any mountains and high ground will serve as primary places where troops will be based in defensive positions where they will have SPAAGs, Artillery and Air Support on command from the Sea and the Airstrip after it's establishment.

Any advances by troops from the south at this point will be met first by boobytraps and IEDs which target Infantry and Tanks. Vantage point positions have been taken in mountains and hills where observation posts will report the location of any enemy approaching and immediately direct Artillery Fire For Effect which is to both kill the enemy and to halt enemy movement as they would be pinned down by such Barrage, forced to take cover. Second of all, any "F-35" Fighters nearing Fashiontopian positions will be immediately fired on by all SPAAGs in the area. All troops have begun digging in for defensive combat in widely spread and pattern-free formations therefore any enemy fighters making it through will need to make multiple runs to hit formations, therefore they will have greater chances of being hit by SPAAG fire. Not to mention with highly advanced Anti-Air capabilities the SPAAG will be the top notch Fly Swatters hunting planes like a can of Powerful Bug Spray on a Swarm of Flies. All enemy pilots captured will be given medical treatment and held in peaceful detainment free of torture, however we will demand that they talk at all times and that they be stripped of their flight suits and dressed in civilian clothing to prevent any hidden weapons from being pulled and escaping.

The Spy (wearing a concealed bulletproof vest similar to that of undercover Police) - growing more anxious that the two runners get in his vehicle - offers them some fish that he collected from a market previous to arriving. "I'm here to help... I only want to make things easier for you two."

[Alderann]

General Bruce Glendening was the Commanding officer of 2nd Cohort of the Imperial Legion and the General that was charged with negotiations with the rebels.

All Alderannian forces had been given a 24 hour cease fire order while negotiations with the rebel leaders went on.

General Glendening made his way to the designated area under a white flag of truce with a company of soldiers from the 2nd Cohort.

" there is a cease fire right now and don't do anything to mess it up. Do not provoke them in anyway but if you see something wrong then take appropriate actions."

The General gave the order to his men. After traveling for an hour and half the General and his men arrived and met with the rebel leaders.

" good afternoon I'm General Glendening I'm here to discuss peace with you. Our first demands is you stop the killing of the royal family. I have a direct link to the Emperor himself as he wants peace to occur and something both sides can agree upon."

[Barsovich]

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[Naudin]

The Spy (wearing a concealed bulletproof vest similar to that of undercover Police) - growing more anxious that the two runners get in his vehicle - offers them some fish that he collected from a market previous to arriving. "I'm here to help... I only want to make things easier for you two."

Colonel Naji was confused who the man was. He obviously was not from around here, but to be in such an isolated place made no sense. He considered pretending not to understand, but decided that the stranger's offer was to obvious, and to refuse a ride would be suspicious. "What are you doing here? This is wilderness, only shepherds live out here."

General Bruce Glendening was the Commanding officer of 2nd Cohort of the Imperial Legion and the General that was charged with negotiations with the rebels.

All Alderannian forces had been given a 24 hour cease fire order while negotiations with the rebel leaders went on.

General Glendening made his way to the designated area under a white flag of truce with a company of soldiers from the 2nd Cohort.

" there is a cease fire right now and don't do anything to mess it up. Do not provoke them in anyway but if you see something wrong then take appropriate actions."

The General gave the order to his men. After traveling for an hour and half the General and his men arrived and met with the rebel leaders.

" good afternoon I'm General Glendening I'm here to discuss peace with you. Our first demands is you stop the killing of the royal family. I have a direct link to the Emperor himself as he wants peace to occur and something both sides can agree upon."

"Hello, I am Yakub, and this is my colleague Husam. We have been appointed to negotiate for the Council. We too want peace, and there can not be peace without agreement. Let us sit down and have some coffee while we discuss" spoke the taller of the two men. Yakub thought the General a bit anxious regarding the Emiral house. "Do not worry about the Princes, it is true, our ruling family has decreased greatly in size during the civil war, but with the cease fire, they should be safe. Contrary to Barsovich propaganda, they are not being murdered, but rather falling in battle." The negotiators sat down, and a waiter came to bring the coffee. The Naudinis took Turkish coffee, a strong thick brew.

Yakub took a sip. "Perhaps it is best if I start. Our goal is to restore peace and order to Naudin. Several days ago, our Blessed Emir was assassinated as part of a coup attempt. Do to the actions of our commanding officers, the coup was subverted, and the man behind it killed. Unfortunately, this resulted in the civil war. False accusations have been made against the Mamluks, who have set up an emergency government, and various members of the Emir's family. That leaves us where we are now, do you have a proposal to solve our dilemma?"

Meanwhile Prince Abdul heard of the negotiations and was angry he was left out. Taken advantage of some privacy with his family, he held council. "Sister, what do you think we can do? Can we trust the Alderaans? Will we be able to hold on to Naudin, and still avenge our kinsmen?" Princess Zaida looked down at her feet quietly, then gathered the courage to speak up. "Is not the course ahead of you clear? You must make an alliance with Alderaan, and with the Emperor's backing, declare yourself Emir. For who else can be Emir? and then once on the throne, place those that are loyal to you into government. The troops only follow their commanders, retire the old ones and replace them with new men." Prince Abdul was surprised of the sage advice coming from his sister, however the Emira was not. "And what then about my blessed husband? is he to remain unavenged, are his murders to be allowed to walk free? oh the shame."

"Shhh!" said the Prince, "revenge will come later, that is in Allah's hand. Now we must act to save the living, before we can honour the dead." With that he called for a steward, and requested to send a message to the Emperor.

[Yngen]

Colonel Naji was confused who the man was. He obviously was not from around here, but to be in such an isolated place made no sense. He considered pretending not to understand, but decided that the stranger's offer was to obvious, and to refuse a ride would be suspicious. "What are you doing here? This is wilderness, only shepherds live out here."

"He's here for us. Which probably means he's dangerous. But he's been kind enough to bring us a vehicle."
Takara drew her pistol, levelling the bulky P226 at the strangers' face and squeezing the trigger.

[Fashiontopia]

Seeing the pistol and using quick evasive movements he swats the pistol away and draws his own after moving his head away from the barrel of the weapon. Slightly angered but not phased he says:

"Alright, we're pressed for time, my name is Major Joseph Black with the Fashiontopian Army, I am an Intelligence Officer which is deployed in order to conduct covert operations, I have been ordered to locate you and help put you back in charge of more troops, our first order of business is to get you two safe, and to an undisclosed location, secondly we'll begin operations to promote more people rising against this tyrannical government, the Fashiontopian Army, Navy and Air Force have arrived in numbers in excess of 200,000 and over 2,000 tanks, those will all be in joint operation with your Rebel forces once we link the remaining Rebel units to the Fashiontopian units, from there all resources will either be in joint command by our commanders and yourself, or you can command your own troops and we'll command ours. One way or another the Rebellion must continue, we will not tolerate any less than your people being finally free. Now please get in the vehicle and let's move out, time is very much of the essence." He pulls out a tablet showing scenes from the battlefield where the Colonel's men are and areas where they were overrun, then he shows him the Fashiontopian advance in the North.

[Naudin]

(Image)

Seeing the pistol and using quick evasive movements he swats the pistol away and draws his own after moving his head away from the barrel of the weapon. Slightly angered but not phased he says:

"Alright, we're pressed for time, my name is Major Joseph Black with the Fashiontopian Army, I am an Intelligence Officer which is deployed in order to conduct covert operations, I have been ordered to locate you and help put you back in charge of more troops, our first order of business is to get you two safe, and to an undisclosed location, secondly we'll begin operations to promote more people rising against this tyrannical government, the Fashiontopian Army, Navy and Air Force have arrived in numbers in excess of 200,000 and over 2,000 tanks, those will all be in joint operation with your Rebel forces once we link the remaining Rebel units to the Fashiontopian units, from there all resources will either be in joint command by our commanders and yourself, or you can command your own troops and we'll command ours. One way or another the Rebellion must continue, we will not tolerate any less than your people being finally free. Now please get in the vehicle and let's move out, time is very much of the essence." He pulls out a tablet showing scenes from the battlefield where the Colonel's men are and areas where they were overrun, then he shows him the Fashiontopian advance in the North.

"I don't know who really are. We are not rebels! I do not know what you are talking about. Now, if you will let me, I wish to go on my way" the Colonel said angrily. He turned to Takara and whispered into her ear "You may go with him, but I for one don't trust him, and besides I have my own orders. Whatever you do, don't say who I am." Then turning to the Major, he said. "I think you look for someone else. Safe travels!"

[Fashiontopia]

With these words from the Colonel, he does one more thing. "Alright suits yourself, good thing I have the President of Fashiontopia on a Video call on this tablet waiting to speak to you." He scrolls to the next page to a live satellite feed directly from the Presidential Office in Anakin, Fashiontopia.

The President receives the video call and answers "Colonel, this is the Dimitri Nance - President of the Libertatem of Fashiontopia, this covert mission has been ordered directly by myself and out lead Intelligence Officials, please note that as I'm sure you are already en route to a safe location, you will be instrumental in making this Revolution happen. The Major has most likely informed you of the mission and the fact that we have over 200,000 troops standing by to aid in freeing these lands. When you get to a more secure location you will be given a further briefing by some of our top Leaders in the field now."

[Alderann]

Emperor Titus received the message from Prince Abdul. Titus pondered on the request of Prince Abdul.

" fly the prince and his family here to Alderann. Once he is here I will talk to him."

On board the aircraft carrier where the prince and his family was being kept. Officers informed the prince that he and his family was being transported to Alderann to meet the Emperor.

It was a long flight about 8 hours. Finally the prince and his family arrived in the capital city. As soon as they landed all of them were taken to the palace and showed rooms. Prince Abdul was taken to the throne room where Emperor Titus sat waiting.

" ah my friend I'm glad to see that you made it unhurt. I hope the trip wasn't bad and that my people made it comfortable for you. Now I understand you want to discuss some things with me?"

[Fashiontopia]

With every position being complete, daily head counts remain the same, and every defensive position is being checked for sound structure according to the field manual, every possible type of position given the time has been constructed. From simple Foxholes, Shot traps, Various trenches, Sandbag Bunkers, Vehicle Camo, Artillery Digouts, and more, no detail of the defensive has been overlooked, every soldier will keep their heads down. Meanwhile Tanks stay on standby to conserve fuel, running on battery power, occasionally turning on to complete alternator charge cycles to keep the batteries charged.

At the grounds where land had been cleared to create the Airfield, finally the Concrete has hardened and the makeshift hangars have been built, every plane to arrive later has had doubles created of them out of various different materials, which will absorb 50% of any attack from the air, the Heavy Infantry digging in around the airbase have received a Garrison of Anti-Tank Guided Missile trucks and crews to help defend against any armor advance.

The Cavalry units operating ahead of the pack are continuing to observe enemy advances and continue to estimate the numbers and the size of the force. The Cavalry has been ordered to refrain from firing on the enemy and make sure to keep all assets from destruction by withdrawing once the enemy closes the safety gap. Artillery Battalions remain on alert, running through a few practice test runs without firing to maintain vigor. General Gruppen - commander of the forces in Naudin - continues to ride around to see each of his posts meet with his troops in person, he then returns to the HQ and continues to formulate his plans with his senior advisers and commanders of Corps, Divisions, and Brigades.

[DnalweN acilbupeR]

As the sun sets upon the Naudinian coastline, the calm sea is rattled by long trails left behind by the RN First Marine Corps fleet. Sailors gaze into the distance as the ships approach the beach. It has been a long journey, however, the worst is yet to come.

Three helicopters fly overhead, headed towards the Fashiontopian base ashore. As they skim across the amber sky and over the friendly vessels, the Fashiontopian fleet sounds off its horns to salute the arrival of their allies. They are carrying the commander of the Corps, Lt. Gen. Ray Shepherd. The helicopters land, the doors slide open: out comes the Lt. Gen. , it is the first time Shepherd is setting foot on Naudinian soil: "Greetings, General Gruppen. Pleased to meet you." - "The pleasure is mine. Welcome. I have heard many things about you, Lt. Gen. Shepherd. Let's hope you will live up to your name." - "I'll do my best, General. My men will be arriving shortly as well, they are exhausted after this long trip, and so am I. Let us settle down for the evening, and we shall discuss things thoroughly tomorrow first thing in the morning. Until then I wish to invite you for dinner. I have the best cooks in the entire Army."

[Barsovich]

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