We're Going to Need A Whole Lot of Tea [FanT]

[Allanea]

Official Announcement by the General-Secretary of CAPINTERN and Emperor of Greater Prussia, Alexander Blaken-Kazansky

Loyal friends and comrades!

Members of the Greater Prussian Empire!

It is known that a terrible disaster has recently befallen our Imerian allies, a disaster from which we have not been able to shield them. Many are dead, their cities lie in ruins, incredible areas of land are irradiated and devastated by the blows of the alien invader. Destruction and ruin, national tragedy on an immense scale - similar indeed to Allanea’s own One-Day War - are now the state of Imeriata.

There is a natural consequence of the phrase “our ally has suffered a terrible tragedy”. The consequence of this phrase is the phrase “we must assist them”.

As King of Allanea and Emperor of Greater Prussia, I possess several tools with which to assist the Imerians, and I intend to use all of them.

For this purpose I appoint a Special Imperial Envoy to Imeriata, General Timothy Ambrose of the Allanean Combat Engineers. He will be empowered to plan rescue efforts, organize and dispense funding, and coordinate the actions of Allanean and CAPINTERN recovery workers throughout Imeriata.

Furthermore, I authorize the transfer of a tranche of 50 billion Universal Standard Dollars from the sum recently donated by the Yohannesians to CAPINTERN needs, to the government of Imeriata directly. An additional fund of 25 billion will be dispensed, as needed, by General Ambrose.

While this is not a sufficient sum for the rescue of the Imerian civilization, it is certainly one that is necessary.

Furthermore, I have rented, with my own personal assets, a fleet of cargo airships. These vessels are on their way to Imeriata at the moment.

That is all.

May the Gods assist Imeriata, and may they forever continue to bless Allanea.

*

The fleet stretched out to the horizon. Several immense, white, bulbous vessels, remininscent somewht of whales, their sides marked with the logos of several airship companies, were proceeding towards Imeriata at a somewhat ponderous pace.

“Unbelievable.” - muttered the General, as he surveilled this fleet from the cabin of the lead airship - “There is a nation out there that’s lying in ruins, and we are moving like fucking snails.”

Of course, this wasn’t quite true - the General was well-aware why the airships had been chosen for this task. THe vessels carried an immense quantity of cargo, and were capable of bypassing the irradiated zones with ease, while still being able to land anywhere - a combination of qualities no other aircraft possessed. Certainly there had been a thought process behind the Emperor’s choice of the vessels that could not be outright denied - but it was also natural that the Colonel felt impatient.

Naturally, his impatience was not fully tied to a desire to help Imerians - people whom he had never met, and considered to be somewhat barbaric in their manners and outlook. Oh, he did want to help them, they had after all suffered a major disaster, but the reason he was so impatient was tied, truth to be told, simply to the fact he was stuck on board an airship for hours on end.

“Really.” - he said, tapping his boot on the floor. - “Really. Sergeant Kane, where is my tea?”

“Here it is, Sir.” - said the Sergeant, placing a mug of tea on the foldout table next to him. It was a dark-red hue, nearly completely black. As the General reached for the tea and raised it to his mouth, it was bitter and strong, with no sugar to disrupt the tea’s natural taste.

“At least there is tea, Kane. I am suspecting that we are going to need a whole lot of tea.”

[The Ctan]

OOC: As this is the first actual IC post I have been aware suggesting that Imeriata is a member of the GPE, as opposed to talk on IRC. Posting Luna under C'tan's account like it's 2012 again.

To the Emperor of Greater Prussia and the Vice President of the Capitalist Internationale

Your Imperial Majesty, My Dear Morning Star,

Please can you explain why CAPINTERN funds are being used to aid a state and ideological enemy of capitalism?

Imeriata is a state where all international trade aside from the (largely government owned) Royal Merchants Guild is banned by law, excepting with ourselves, having enforced Free Trade on their country with our own, only, which operates deliberately to exclude:

• All foreign goods from reaching their population.
• Foreign ownership or trade in their businesses.
• Foreign merchants making a profit in interacting with Imeriata in any way

The function of this is to not only prevent foreigners from trading with Imeriata, except as receivers of their exports (Imerian merchantilism regarding 'balance of trade' as something that happens to other people), but to impoverish their own population, as goods are mass produced for export via the Merchants Guild to keep the nation and its army strong (that same army which is used to suppress dissent and support the inquisition) at the cost of blocking off all access to the products of advanced technological civilization to the non-noble, non-guilder class.

While naturally I sympathize with the plight of the Imerian people, and have been planning to offer our own aid, my intention was to pair this only with a requirement that King Primus abolish the monopoly of the Merchant Guild and permit real, capitalistic Free Trade in Imeriata. To simply rebuild the system of oppression that keeps many Imerians from ever even seeing a light bulb, let alone enjoying the fruits of modern life, is

As my Turtleshroomian enemies say of their own deranged policies 'The Freer the Market, the Freer The People.' I believe this is true, but I can't help thinking it is unwise and does not truly benefit the people of Imeriata, to give aid unconditionally, when it will just be used to exclude the population from the free market again. Doubly so when that aid is from the emergency fund aimed at promoting Capitalism, defending against its aggressors, maintaining a strong economy and strengthening business around the world.

The Merchants guild regard trade as an extension of war, with the goal being to build up gold and other valuables inside their own nation; they are aggressors to capitalism, more so than say, Crystal Spires, where for instance one can (and indeed I do) own stock as a foreigner, unlike Imeriata, because Merchantilism is just as opposed to free market values as communism is, and the toll of dead and enslaved that the Imerian system has generated over the years has been the equal of many communist states.

I do not object to Imeria receiving aid in itself, of course, but believe that the principle of this aid should be to be of lasting benefit to its people, not merely restore them to their already wretched state as lifetime labourers for the state-controlled Merchants' Guild. Please consider requiring free market reform as a condition on any aid offered; this is not only more moral, but it is more in line with the goals of the Empire.


Her Grand Royal Highness Princess Luna,

[Allanea]

To her Grand Royal Highness Princess Luna!

As you know full well, membership in the CAPINTERN and in Greater Prussia is not restrained only to ideologically pure capitalist states, such as Allanea and the Greater Pony Herd, or the Hobbiest Republic. Many states with restraints on the freedom of trade are, or were, admitted - for example, Menelmacar, which restricts the exports even of civilian products such as game consoles to ‘inferior’ civilizations specifically to deny them the blessings of technology.

Indeed any state that is broadly capitalist and broadly free - even welfare states - is permitted to join CAPINTERN, this is because CAPINTERN is not a mechanism to promote ideal Misesian free markets, but a mechanism to promote capitalism more broadly. For this same reason no lawsuits have ever been filed against your own nation for its restraints on exports, or against Menelmacar when it was a member.

I am ready however to discuss the issue of aid to Imeriata with you. Perhaps it is possible for us to make some of the aid conditional on capitalist reforms, while not making Imeriata entirely bereft of aid, as after all outright starvation is now known in some parts of the country and we cannot allow peaceful citizens in an allied state to starve.

Sincerely yours,
Alexander.

[Princess Luna]

Your Imperial Majesty,

As an actual worshiper of generosity, what we are about to say is bound to seem strange to some, but we do not support unconditional developmental aid. We naturally believe in the principles of aid, and the use of funds to support charitable institutions, but we also believe that such aid should be used to further the welfare of the recipients in the long run.

We are of course aware of the differences between your policies and ours, but to compare us to the Imerians is fatally flawed as a comparison. We have free enterprise, they do not, we are capitalists, they are not, our laws aid our people in purchasing any product they desire, theirs most certainly do not, indeed they prevent their people buying so much as a calculator. We promote free trade, and they do not.

The Imerians do not merely ‘restrict’ capitalism, they seek to destroy the free market.

You may recall the Tráçtagá Affair, when Pryellian Imperials were prevented from unloading their goods in Imeria, at that time Greater Prussia was prepared to oppose the tyranny of the Merchant’s Guild and while we did not endorse it in doing so openly, we certainly supported the principle. It is lamentable that now this alliance regards the Imerian government as a member in good standing, when it is a more virulent opponent of our shared values. To establish its history of opposition to capitalism, one merely needs to visit it.

You, as we have, have visited the court of the Imerian king, we are certain you have also noted how he sits with his many guilders surrounding him, as the ‘Royal Trade Advisory Board’ who controls all trade and industry within the nation. We beseech you, examine any reply you have received from the Merchants Guild storefront; you will surely find it signed by a member of the Imerian government. This is because private enterprise is banned in the Imerian kingdom, and all export is controlled by the state, all import taxed to a level to prevent any but nobles obtaining such things, the taxes of which can be used immediately to fund the military and state-industries, perpetuating the situation.

It is true that the Imerians are starving; it is likewise true that they have starved many times before, in artificially created famines knowingly created by the Merchants’ Guild’s policies, who regard access to foreign foodstuffs and foreign agricultural reforms as weakening to their own food production autarky. If the Merchants Guild is allowed to rebuild again, then they will inflict more artifamines on the Imerian Population. The artifamine is of course, characteristic of communism, but it is also characteristic of the deliberately and knowingly chosen Imerian economic system.

It should not be presumed, because they have crowns and like to sell things, that the Imerians are capitalists, they are not, they are the enemies of capitalism. The Imerian government is communist, in atrocity, if not principle. It regards foreign produce as morally impure and unsuitable for access to its own population. This is directly similar to the economic policies of communists, and it is as doleful to the Imerian population.

Imeria must be taken and dragged, kicking and screaming, into the nineteenth century.

What I would suggest, in mind of your compromise position, is the same pattern of cessation of aid payments currently imposed by the C’tani International Department on Crystal Spires be applied to Imeriata, then. That is to say, the restriction of developmental aid. This is based on the division of aid into two categories, emergency and developmental, where emergency suffices to address immediate needs, only.

For its communist policies (the oppression of religion, such that they celebrate me as their ‘saviour’ while persecuting my faith, hypocrites) we have prohibited Crystal Spires receiving any developmental aid. That is to say, we will not build or give funds to build, anything in Crystal Spires. We will happily provide foodstuffs and medicine, and temporary shelters, but roads, hospitals, telephone cables, and of course, arms are off the table.

We would also suggest that a priority in dealing with Imeria, or allowing it to receive any rebuilding aid, not only its market liberalization to more normative CAPINTERN standards, but the abolition of mandatory, state education under the control of the state, and the imposition of a Menelmacari or Allanean-style education system, naturally with full availability of foreign providers such as Demented Schooling.

We are naturally prepared to provide further input or discussion as you see fit, or elaborate further on the suggested restrictions we would suggest; perhaps a meeting of some sort would be best?

Luna
Princess of Equestria, etc. etc.

[Allanea]

[align=justify]To her Grand Royal Highness Princess Luna.

The primary objective in my view should be to deal as soon as is possible with the consequences of the alien invasion. For this purpose I’ve ordered an airship fleet to airlift into the nation of Imeriata a large quantity of supplies - rice, buckwheat, and various engineering equipment, which will be used in deontamination. I had planned, this much is true, to transfer additional, more permanent, sorts of reconstruction equipment and help later on, but this is entirely negotiable and can be discussed in our meeting.

I agree with you that future discussion is necessary of the precise nature and quantity of aid that Imeriata will receive. As my own duties prevent me from attending such a meeting, I recommend that my Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maverick Monningham, shall attend it in my place, perhaps even by telepresence (given the tendencies of diplomatic meetings, you may understand my cautiono n this issue, and it is not so much due to any concern I have with your nation in particular, but due to a desire to establish a positive tradition, where attending diplomatic meetings by telepresence will become hopefully commonplace for Allanean diplomats).

In this light, I believe the best place to hold this diplomatic meeting should perhaps be in Imeriata itself, or at least Imerian officials should be invited to it, as obviously they are a side in the discussion.

I am happy to hear any input you have regarding this meeting.

Sincerely yours,
Alexander.

[Imeriata]

Official communiqué from the absolute royal federation of Imeriata and her realms

From: His lordship Edward auf stjärnhelm speaker of the Royal Foreign relation advisory, Lord of Anderberga, and official herald of his royal highness, may his name forever be sung in glory, to all territories and nations outside our most blessed borders.
To: Alexander Blaken-Kazansky
Regarding: Reply to: statement.
Encrypted: No

---

I am writing this letter to you warm with anticipation and hopeful of a new start for my and my royal highness most troubled kingdoms from the somewhat enlightened city of Scanderborg that have turned into a temporary capital in Scandera, while some are arguing to move the federations power to Sydvinland so have we not yet begun such preparations. Instead so am I expressing my deepest gratitude to the aid offered to us in such a friendly manner. While we have worked hard to try to rebuild so is this a slow process and supplies are generally running low all around and starvation is a problem we are constantly struggling to keep at bay.

These news that our fellow friends in the Greater Prussian Empire have not forgotten us nor our plight fills my hearth with warmth and I can only say that we will welcome any such aid with open arms and friendship for years to come.

---

Signed and approved by:
His royal Highness Primus rex XIV by the grace of the gods high king of the absolute royal federation and divinely appointed ruler and unifier of the Scandinavian races, the descendant of the first Imerian high kings especially and foremost Emanuel the first, Son of Oskar II, the son of Primus the XIIIth, the son of Emanuel the VIIth, the son of Gustav the IInd, the son of Anders the IIId, the carrier of the royal sword first carried by the demigod Belrion son of Bel, vanquisher of evil, Champion of life and light, defender of the living and vanquisher of the dead, the protector of the federal crown jewels, the holder of the sword of Halmir and carrier of the enlightened torch of civilisation, patriarch of the noble house auf stjänkhrone, carrier of better and more important titles than the space Russians, Chief of Chiefs, Shan of Shans, as well as the protector of the free city states of al-Jzr al-Khḑrā as well as defender of Hungary and her regions and the realms as king of Imeriata and as such the defender and autocrat of flodmarkerna, Sundet, Söderang, Söderberga, Innahafsarna, Aster öarna, Vast öarna, Sydvedian, Storfloden and the river king, king of Vedian and the duke protector of the mountains, Eple Halvøyn and lavlandet, king of Erathia and as that the duke of Ankea metsä and ruler of the thousand lakes, the lord and defender of Länsisola and Etelä-kentät, king of Karmanjaka over the ancient rivers river, from the ancient mountains mountain, king of Northern Taranakan, king of Chanjing, king of Nordomark, and king of Andervel but also the righteous and lawful king of New felandia and the king emperor of Dajing, the duke of Sydvinland, Northern Venezue, Sthalinge, Gustavsland and Sjöland, The Shah of the crown states of al-Jzr al-Khḑrā and the Padishah of all of al-Jzr al-Khḑrā, The lord regent of the colony of Nova Imeriata, Imerian Africa, Angland, the two peninsulas of Tvaude and of Somalmark, The Grand duke of Suderland, The prince of Isarna, Salmo, judeheim and Khan of Salonia, Sultan king of Ramir, the Emir of Sandland and Jarl of Salywa and the free city of Krakborg and Styrfastning, defender and lord of the city of Arkham and Sirmera, and further more the ruler of the federal terretories of Vastermark and the northern iceplains and as such high chief of Isfalten and keeper of Sfartmård , By the right of the constitution of the protectorate leopridaeria prince defender of leopridaeria, the high lord of Kalmer, Salmoborg and Gaseborg, Lord of the countless cities and lands under his most blessed and righteous rule, the lord defender of Imerbürg, Coparborg, Vesiki, Sjöborg, Afrikas fastning, Erikasborg, Nova Imerbürg, Wein, Udeborg, Angborg, Ambir, Nya Landborg, Nymarksborg, Sorgerstad, Anderborg, Nordanstad, Kängruborg, Sthalstad, Kängruborg, Judeborg, Moskstad, Daji, Sajing, Ademarksborg, Salem, Söderhamn, Öborga, Dragograd, Gapur, Bor-zut and Táibĕi but as well the Enlightened Emperor of Nicksyllvania and as such the King of Leazus, Emperor of Helman, Grand Prince of Zeth, Emperor of Japan, Emperor of Jungria, Duke and king of Hornet-Kereburos, Despot of the Great North, Grand Duke of the Western Badlands, Master of the Southern Marshes, and the king of Dragkon and the wielder of the Holy Swords, the Demon Sword Kaos, the Holy Sword Nikkou, and the Greatsword of the Empire, Nickiller, Great Protector of the Helman Wall and Majino Line, also by the right of his birth high marshal of the royal guard and the Imperial commander of the Imperial nicksyllvanian army, the grand commander of the federal order of the golden sword and the Nicksyllvanian order, the knight commander of the order of the golden cross and the order of Africa, the lord commander of the colonial order, the high commander of the federal order of the silver rose and the order of Scandera, the Taranakan order and the Order of Vinland may his reign last until the end of time and may the empire and federation he rules stand even through the flames of the endtimes to protect all of his royal highness subjects.

[Allanea]

In a large field near Scanderborg

The General’s cargo airship set down first, a bulbous white craft marked with a bright logo of a transport company emblazoned on its side. Gradually, carefully, the whale-like craft settled into position, and a ramp at its front opened.

The first Allanean vehicle to make its way onto the soil of Imeriata was a jeep, immensely broad and heavy set, dark-green in color. As it drove down onto the soil, a hatch within its roof opened, and the General stood up - a square-jawed, tall man with a serious appearance, wearing a black, broad-brimmed military hat. A silver badge in the shape of two crossed shovels on its front denoted that he was a Combat engineer. As he stood, the hatch reaching up to his chest, he waved to any spectators that happened to see him, attempting to demonstrate an atmosphere of cheer in times of struggle.

He knew that behind him, within the bellies of the airships, were mobile soup kitchens, digging vehicles and hundreds of tons of rice. He knew also that these were only the tip of the spear that Allanea was about to drive at the beast of hunger and desolation. But it was just as important a part of the operation that the Imerians could feel that way, too.

“Hurrah!” - he shouted at the passers by - “Hurrah for Imeriata!”

[Imeriata]

Scanderborg

While the shorelines of Scandera had been abandoned after the war so had most civilian and the government either moved to the colonies or retreated inland and several large settlements were currently growing up in the large forest areas that earlier had been mostly unclaimed or only nominally inhabited by settlers. Amongst all these new growing settlements so were Scanderborg clearly the largest of them all and where the royal government had withdrawn to and one could see large building towers start to grow while motorised vehicles ran back and forth to aid in various tasks.

The field where the Allaneas had currently landed was just beyond the designated airfield and train station, there were a few train tracks running there but they were currently clogged and two trains seemed to just barely have been able to avoid a collision as the two locomotives were aimed directly at one another with a bowshot or less between them and two drivers standing in the middle shouting angrily at one another while waving their hands around as to make their points a bit more obvious. There were a few airstrips as well and a few towers for airships but even here could one see a certain lack of organisation or space as the towers for the airships themselves seemed dangerously full with some of them having three ships each instead of the two federal regulations demanded, Airplanes on the other hand seemed to be a bit in better shape as they simply were pulled off the driveways.

Beyond this organized chaos and the people that ran back and forth could one see the beginning of the city walls and beyond them the city proper with large living towers in various states of construction ranging form looking somewhat complete to just metal skeletons. Most people in this massive field just looked surprised at the new arrivals with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity as the newcommers started to unload their supplies.

"Well met!" A voice called out however from a group that looked a tad bit more sure what to make of the situation, The man that had called out was a tall man in fine clothes and a sword hanging from his belt. The cold winter air was kept at bay with a thick fur cloak that hang heavily from his shoulders, he seemed to be in his fifties with his long braided hair had turned grey in several places but still wore hints of the original light brown that it had, had in his youth. His cheeks were covered in a similar thick moustache and a pair of sideburns that covered any hint of there being a layer of skin behind the thick fur. At his side was a woman, much younger than the man and from a quick look did she seem to be of mixed breed with a skin colour a bit more golden than what was common amongst Scanderans, her hair was dark brown and her eyes had a lightish brown colour but even they seemed to be a tint too narrow for what one commonly associated with Scanderans. She did however wear a more official looking clothes as the white robe of the external affair advisory tightly pressed itself to her body. The final man in the party that seemed to be in front was a dwarf, a short and stocky looking creature that was well on the side of being fat with a massive nose that seemed to cover most of his face and two thin tiny eyes that were almost hidden under a pair of bushy red eyebrows. His beard was braided and a thick red hat had been pushed down firmly behind his ears as he hurried to keep up with his two human compatriots, a task that seemed to be rather hard as he was breathing rather heavily. The dwarf wore a rather ornate tunic and one could see a pair of striped trousers ending in equally ornate boots. There were also two massive high dwarves that followed him around, they wore both simple grey tunics that went down their massive gorilla like arms that they used to keep moving behind their smaller cousin that walked upright like most humanoids did. Behind them so were there a large group of men and even a few women either wearing white and grey robes making them out to be part of the internal affairs advisory and the external affairs advisory but there was also a lot of men wearing the long blue great coats that the military wore in colder climates with the thick fur hats that covered most of their heads.

"I am his lordship Egalfrid auf Söderås and I have the honour to welcome you to the rekindling light of civilisation's torch at the very birthplace of civilisation!" The older man called out as he bowed when the party finally arrived within enough distance to actually make conversation, similarly did the woman curtsied and the dwarf did something that could be seen as a bow but he seemed more happy to simply be able to stop and catch his breath.
"These are my companions, Frida auf Söderås and finally his lordship Sverker auf Dvärgaberg!" He continued and nodded first towards the woman and finally the dwarf even if there was just the slightest hesitation between his and lordship as if he was not entirely convinced that the man had earned the right to be spoken about like that just yet.

[Allanea]

“Greetings your Lordships!” - said the Allanean officer, saluting them. What they did not know was that under Allanean custom, soldiers were intended to salute all civilian officials first, to signify the subservience of the military to the civilian authorities. - “We have brought food and supplies to assist you in your mission, as well as various items that will help in this task.”

As he spoke, a tracked roadlayer made its way off one of the airships, and then another and another. “What we’re going to do is deploy a range of field kitchens and field bakeries to provide assistance to the starving, as well as use our engineering and transport capacity to deliver food and supplies. A field hospital will be deployed.” - he continued confidently. - “Of course, for use to maximize the effectiveness of the fucking help, we’d need to know some details.” - he was an Allanean, of course, and a military officers and thus it was not possible for him to speak without the help of some expletives.

“I apologize on behalf of my nation that we could not make it here on time to defend against those yebanie alien slavers, we should have done better by you and we have not,” - he continued. - “I promise you that we’ll do better from now on.”

[Imeriata]

"Pish posh Hern, I honestly doubt there might have been too much foreign support could have done to fend of the second attack!" Egalfrid said with a dismissing wave of his hand "The guard managed to do well enough and drove off one attack, given time so should we most likely have been able to take out even the second wave but his royal highness sacrificed himself earlier to avoid more bloodshed!" he continued even if a few of his companions looked a bit less sure about that fact.

"We are of course more than happy for any help you can provide and the support should make our food situation a bit more stable, while the federation is trying our best to supply the home continent with food so are there still massive logistical problems and we have not been able to create enough supplies to feed all the refugees here without causing famine or at least steep price increase in the colonial realms! Even imports of enough food have been considered but we have not yet been able to acquire enough!" he continued to explain as he looked approvingly at the new arrivals and the supplies that were unloaded.

"I would of course be more than happy to supply you with any information hern may need to help us spread out the supplies properly, I would be more than happy to guide you and your men to the local head quarter for the internal affairs advisory so that we might better poll our resources, we have more information there after all!"

[Allanea]

“Let’s go on to the headquarters, then.” - the Allanean said. - “The way I see it is broadly this. Of course, we will use airships and planes to airlift food into the country in an emergency fashion, in this way we can feed people who are in need of food, and provide emergency aid. But we also will want to land a force of sappers on the shore,” - he made a hand gesture, as if showing an outline of the Imerian shore with one hand - “And then these people will build a temporary railroad, through which we will be able to move a far more sizable quantity of food towards the places where it is needed most.”

He paused, then explained. “It is far easier to get supplies moved by ship and train than it is by air. We will also be able to erect modular housing, in which we can have at least some of the people who are rendered homeless, shelter during the winter. A cheaper way, of course, is to teach people locally to dig zemlyankas - I’m not sure, do you know what a zemlyanka is? It is is a sort of earthen home, not entirely unlike a hobbit burrow- actually, just an earthen home - that is exceptionally warm during the winter. We can teach the refugees to build those, and help them build this. This concept of an Imerian winter troubles me, frankly, I have heard that it is comparable in its harshness to Allanean winter. We must take action before winter begins to set in, yes?”

[Allanea]

RECOMMENDED LOGISTICS ACTIVITIES FOR EMERGENCY RECOVERY IN THE NATION OF IMERIATA
UNCLASSIFIED
Timothy Ambrose, General, Free Kingdom Army Combat Engineers

As it has already been stated, the Absolute Royal Federation of Imeriata is the victim of a series of high-energy orbital strikes by a slaver invader. This fact qualified Imeriata for Allanean assistance by grounds both of its membership in the Capitalist Internationale, and by grouds of general humanism. However, Our Glorious Allies have requested - and the civilian authorities have agreed - to limit aid to Imeriata until additional diplomatic measures are undertaken, and make reconstruction aid contingent on economic and political reform is caqrried out. As a member of the armed forces, I am obliged to describe those aid activities that can be (and in parts are being) carried out within the Absolute Royal Federation of Imeriata under the limitations imposed by the civilian authority. For the purposes of the following report, these measures are being outlined broken down by branch of the Armed Forces that will be responsible for implementation.

1. Strategic Airlift Command - The Strategic Airlift Command will be responsible for bringing in the first wave of supplies, medical equipment, and armed forces personnel that are responsible for assisting the Imerians. Given that the state of the Imerian airport system has been dismal even before fighting had broken out, and is now catastrophic, I recommend the usage of airships and soarwhales to be the chief method of transport. A soarwhale is capable of lifting as many as 22 tons of cargo, and airships in use by the Armed Forces can lift as many as 150 tons, and can deploy in unprepared fields. While cargo aircraft can land in relatively unprepared positions, they do not rival the versatility of the airship and the soarwhale.

Food products can easily be airlifted in large quantities. A single [i]Nimbus series strategic cargo airship can easily airlift in sufficient rice to feed 250,000 Imerians, or an emergency atomic reactor with all its gear. It can land virtually anywhere, and easily deploy its cargo, as compared to a Minotaur-class cargo aircraft that requires several kilometers of runway.

In addition, SALC can utilize lighter airlift measures - such as helicopters - to tactically airlift medical supplies and other such equipment to places that urgently need them. It would be useful to deploy several cargo helicopter regiments within Imeria for the duration of the emergency.

2. Strategic Sealift Command - Strategic Sealift Command will utilize several of its prepositioning vessels to pre-deploy large quantities of food, containerized housing, and necessary equipment to surviving Imerian port facilities, from which it can be dispensed throughout the south of the country. This is sufficiently straightforward. Containerized housing can be delivered by heavy container ships to the effect of 12-16,000 housing units per journey. CAPINTERN fleet logistical assets can also be utilized, for the purpose of aiding the Imerians, and in general this element of the mission is well-practiced and well-trained for. Many of our sailors and naval commanders already have experience training for such missions.

3. Medical Command - Mobile field hospitals and ambulances are a standardized element of post-nuclear disaster recovery, and would probably best be deployable either by air, or by use of Water Buffalo nuclear-powered hovercraft. At the basest minimum we require the immediate deployment of field hospitals at Vasterhamn, Soderhamn, and Karjaa, where they will provide emergency treatment to radiation victims. Furthermore, the Navy will operate a minimum of three hospital ships in the Imerian seas, and additional hospital ships will be requested from the Greenleaf Imperial Charity. Their primary goal will be to treat radiation victims.

4. Railway and Pipelaying Forces - While the railway system of Imeriata is partially intact, in some places the railways have been damaged by the slaver enemy’s atomic strikes. This report recommends the deployment of rail-laying vehicles that will deploy up to 10 kilometers of rail per day per rail battalion, to thus allow the rail shipment of food, emergency supplies, etc. Armored trains can be improvised on-site to defend the shipments from wild animals.

Furthermore, an additional service can be provided by the Pipeline Troops. We believe it is useful to commence laying pipe from the harbours where our ships deploy, to pipe liquid nutrient mixes (Mix-16 through Mix-22 are the likely variants of use), towards the Imerian population centers Field nuclear reactors can be used to irradiate the food in transit.

These measures do not constitute permanent reconstruction aid, as the railways will be temporary in nature, and the pipelines tactical in scope. Regardless, 150mm battlefield pipeline is capable of delivering 3,000 tons of Mix-16 per day, sufficient to provide over 6,000,000 people with three balanced meals a day. It is the most efficient method of long-range delivery of food, and can be deployed at a speed of 10 kilometers per day.

5. Materiel Support Brigades - One of the most effective disaster relief forces is the materiel support brigade. Equipped with trucks, field kitchens, military bakeries, even a single MSB, were it deployed to Imeriata, would likely save thousands of lives. This will be achieved in several ways.

5.1. Transport - The Materiel Support Brigade has within its ranks both driven and driverless vehicles capable of delivering food, water, equipment, housing supplies, etc. to any point within Imeriata. These are both LY83 Fox 4x4 vehicles, HEMTT trucks, MAF trucks, as well as MULE logistical UGVs and legged UGVs. This delivery capacity constitutes over two hundred vehicles per brigade.

5.2. Hospital - Each Materiel Support Brigade has a field hospital element, equipped with both hospital tents, beds, and ambulances sufficient for providing several hundred beds for the injured. Already this alone is a lifesaver and will save countless lives.

5.3. Bakery and Food Preparation Services: - The MSB has within its ORBAT two bakeries, capable of producing 11 tons of bread per day each - enough to provide 300,000 individuals with adequate supplies of bread. Several field kitchens are also available, capable of serving for the production and distribution of soup.

In short, two thousand men, organized and deployed as an MSB, can save tens of thousands, or perhaps hundreds of thousands, of Imerians from death from starvation, exposure, radiation, and injury. The MSB is a lifesaver and must be used.

6. Combat Mages and Meteorologists - Battlemages should be deployed and used within this operation to the best of our ability. While Allanea’s battlemage complement is highly limited, at the very least they could be used to manipulate the weather, in such a way as to manipulate fallout, either by causing rains on the affected areas (‘knocking down’ fallout dust to the ground), or by shifting winds to manipulate fallout patterns. For the same purpose, Combat Meteorologists can be used, utilizing the Air Force’s cloud-seeding capacity.

7. Combat Engineers - By all accounts, the Combat Engineer is the hero of the hour. Combat Engineers will be capable of providing aid to the Imerians in countless ways both big and small. From erecting temporary automobile roads to ship aid on, to deploying mobile battlefield reactors to provide heating and electric power in absence of standard electric power plants, the Combat Engineer has plenty to do.

Another activity in which combat engineers will be extremely effective is providing housing and housing assistance to displaced persons. It is possible to either order on the civilian market, or construct from existing shipping containers, a containerized housing unit capable of holding up to 8 men (a family of four would be more comfortable), heated and insulated to allow survival in even the harshest Imerian or Allanean winter. If emplaced in the ground, such unit would also be perfectly fallout-safe. Furthermore, the Combat Engineers can organize the labor of Imerian civilians to construct such units.

Further, in places where containerized units are not available or cannot be immediately deployed, Combat Engineers can dig - or instruct the Imerians in digging - earthen homes such as Zemlyanka, to secure the local population against both the elements and radioactive fallout. A team with a bulldozer can within a day construct emergency shelter for 50 people.

Combat Engineers can provide the full range of road services, from constructing temporary roads to building pontoon bridges and establishing ferries at locations where bridges have been knocked out by the enemy strikes, or have become necessary due to population movements, thus making possible the work of Materiel Support Brigades.

Combat Engineers can furthermore deploy power plants, scaling all the way down from the Pamir-series mobile nuclear reactors, down to producing, on the spot, manportable stoves for heating domiciles.

Finally, Combat Engineers can use their equipment to drill water wells and filter and purify water, allowing for short-term water needs being covered for the population.

CONCLUSION

Allanean and allied forces are capable of mounting a large-scale combined operation to temporarily provide for the needs of the Imerian population in terms of transportation, medical care, water, food, and shelter, while remaining within ROE restrictions. However, due to these ROE restrictions, the armed forces will not be providing reconstruction aid. Reconstruction aid is necessary if long-term, rather than short-term, solutions for Imeriata’s disaster situation are sought.

[Imeriata]

"Truth be told, mindvinter is soon upon us and the sun have set for the winter!" The general explained as he nodded to the night sky above them, IT was dark but the light from the city made it impossible to see the stars above them.
"But I am aware of the kind of house you are talking about, we call them nordansil långhus!" he continued, the term translated to "northern longhouse" as the regions to the far north had often been made from stone buried to keep them warm. The term was a bit missleading though as not only the extrme north had used houses like that but instead had they been very common in most regions that lacked large forests in Scandera so jarnarna, Asterarna, Karmanjaka and western Erathia had all been regions where that style of longhouses had been common until it was replaced by cross timber houses.

"But yes, there is talk about moving the capital down to Haraldsborg, it was just a small town before the war so it is way out of the radioactive zones so people were drawn there, it is however not too far from storfloden and it is in the central you could land supplies by ships and then by lorry drive inland until you reaches the city of Hardford, it lies by Storfloded and have a rather intact infrastructure by keeping river going ships and a train network, it has just like Nya Scanderborg here and Haraldsborg grown massively though and been expanded upon so they should have more than just the simple fishing ships they used to carry! By river and train you should be able to reach almost all of central Scandera, For the south so could ships just land at Asterarna and Sudermark and move inland by train or lorry, though that region was mostly farmland and generally untouched, Asterarna... well they were dirt poor to begin with and the fishing and whaling should not have been that much decreased, those regions should be fine on their own with only federal aid. It is Erathia you should worry about, but there can you once more just land at the entire southern and eastern coast. As for Vedian should ships be able to reach Applehalfan easily enough and they should be able to use the old infrastructure to reach most of Vedian, The tricky part would be karmanjaka, they were not too affected but their only large city was destroyed and the coast does not make for easy landings!" He continued to explain as he scratched his cheek and thought about the issue. "No I am not too sure how we should solve that, we could use the railway and then rely on lorries where it took hits but other than that am I not too sure, The Karmanjakan pass is not too easy to cross in winter after all!"

"I suppose they will just have to slay their sheep or actually try to figure out a way to fish like sensible people until late spring, with air supplies so should we be able to ensure that the entire region do not starve to death!" he continued as he shook his head "At least so will their dragons keep them warm, besides, a chance to be poor and miserable, I am sure the bastards are loving the whole thing, crazy dragon worshipping fanatics each and all of them I say!" He finished his thoughts about the situation of Karmanjaka as they passed the city walls. The town spread out with buildings in various states of completion all around them and armed guards with the heavy KVG rifles clearly visible standing at the walls while peacekeepers patrolled the gates with their thick winter cloaks wrapped around them. However so had they wrapped them a bit ineffectively since their long sabres emerged from beneath to remind everyone that the crown could bring down the full extent of the law if people tried to break the laws or try to take advantage of the situation by looting or robbing.

[Allanea]

“I see that you have the issue of law and order well at hand at least,” - said the Allanean, waving towards the peacekeepers. - “That is an important one, and I am glad to see that you have gotten that under control. That said, I believe that rail troops could fix the damage to the rail, if not permanently then at least lay down temporary rail roads which you can then send trains under. Have you ever seen rail troops at work, good Sir? It is an impressive fucking sight if I do say so myself. I hope that later on there will be an opportunity for you to watch them. And generally speaking, a lot of the problems we’re talking about, could be solved with combat engineering and hard work. I am a great believer in soldiers and in hard work. If you have a company of men with shovels, and perhaps a grader and a field excavator, you can work miracles such that even a battlemage battery would wonder at your work.”

[Imeriata]

"I would more ask if Hern have seen the Karmanjakan pass? The whole thing is crawling with Schvart mossa, as it is now covered by snow so could the result be catastrophic, That is not even mentioning dragons, rivers covered by snow, freezing snows and heavy winds would result in snowstorms, avalanches, underground cave ins, quicksnows!" He explained, "the pass might have been the best road to travel between the northern iceplains in the old days but it was under no circumfe road and by winter is it even worse, The spring is much safer for travel no less building!"

"I have nothing but respect for our troops and their abilities but the Scanderan climate is nothing to underestimate either, nothing but death lies that way!" He pointed out "As for the rest of the continent should we be able to create a more stable connection, it is as a matter of fact worked on as we speak but until then so should lorries and crawlers be enough for transportation!"

[Allanea]

"That's fair, good Sir," - said the Allanean. - "In the meanwhile we shall try and do our best by delivering supplies by airship and plane. I will make arrangements for cargo ships and ice breakers to be sent here from Allanea as soon as humanly possible. I think it would be useful if you help me and my comrades in surveying the extent of the damage, so we can better plan the rescue activities. I think this would be something that would help us a lot win preparing the rest of the operation."

He pointed to several of his men, who were preparing to follow him, unpacking heavy-looking military tablets and cameras as they left their airship. "As you see, I have a team of experts that is prepared to evaluate the damage and the overall circumstance in regards to the need for assistance."

[Imeriata]

"Surveying the damage should be easy enough, a crawler or a motor sled should be able to take us out there in no time would you require it. the man continued to explain as they finally entered the main square that from the looks of things had been there when the town had just been a tiny outpost in the middle of nowhere. The chronological nine sided temple was a rather small one all things considered but despite that so were tons of people sitting outside of it and when the doors opened could one see it being crowded by people. There were also a couple of kitchens where people tried to hand out food to people, at one of them could one see two banners flying they were red with burning roses embroidered on them and clerics stood and handed out food. Similarly could one see a group of men and women in white cloaks that represented the federal mission but there were also men from the internal affairs advisory and even one from the merchant guild that seemed suspiciously charitable. Though here were the police presence even more noticeable and one could see armed men dressed in the thick blue great coats and fur hats of the royal guard suspiciously eye everyone looking for troublemakers and so on.

"Other than that so are there the maps of the damage we have back at the temporary palace and the ones at the military HQ!" He continued as one could hear a scream from the crowds a bit away, a young man in his early teens were being dragged away from one of the lines to the kitchens, the chronological one, by a massive cleric in a white robe of a temple servant. The cleric seemed none to pleased and half dragged and half carried the young lad as he held his ear in a tight grip. With the exception of a couple of surprised glares from most people did nobody but two peacekeepers seem to care too much as they started to approach the pair, from the look of things doing their best to taking their time.

[Allanea]

“What is happening?” - asked the Allanean, looking at the young man being dragged violently by his ear. “Did he try to cut in the bread line or something?”

[Allanea]

Reichsburg, Reichskamphen

The historical center of Reichsburg had been once more cleaned and prepared for a meeting of Greater Prussian leadership. Once more, the flags of the member states who would take place in this newest meeting - Allanea, the C’tan, and others - hung from every lamp post, and from the windows of the Greater Prussian palaces.

At the Winter Palace of Reichsburg, one of the inner yards was set up for greeting an allied official of great importance. Four hundred Grenadiers in traditional green uniforms, the brass badges on their mitre caps polished to a gold-like sheen, stood at attention in the yard, a large space in front of the formation left open for the official to land on. Somewhat off to the side stood a small marching band, prepared to start playing at any moment.

All was set for Princess Luna’s arrival.

The ilthildin-decorated vilulaire dropship coasted to a stop above the courtyard, its wings folding upward fractionally as it sank gently to the ground on gravitics, landing legs extending daintily to touch the grass, not disturbing a single blade, the Menelmacari-constructed vehicle showing the same light touch as many of their other artefacts as its ramp came down, neatly touching the very edge of the path, the Princess stepping out, clad in her customary regalia and flanked by a quartet of golden armoured night guard whose caparisons shimmered with stars behind them as they fell in beside the C’tani leader.

As the vehicle came down to the ground, an officer in a tricorn hat appeared in front of the formation, signalling the soldiers with a subtle gesture of his hand. With a clanking sound, all four hundred soldiers brought their rifles to port-arms, a forest of chromed parade bayonets gleaming in the sun as if they had been made of silver. Four hundred infantrymen’s throats roared at once, making a flock of terrified pigeons rise from the palace roof as the men greeted the Princess.

“GOOD MORNING, YOUR GRAND ROYAL HIGHNESS!”

Luna waved a hoof at the guardsmen as she passed, green eyes looking at them intently as she passed, nodding now and then to those who seemed particularly fervent or whose equipment met with her approval above the others, though it was difficult to find differences in such matters, there were some there, and it was hardly appropriate not to pay attention, she felt.

As she descended, she was approached by three men. Two were servants, wearing black tailsuits. They carried between them a red pillow, on which rested an elaborate, mithril-and-diamond necklace. Were Luna to choose to wear it, it would be designed to hang on her neck in the Lariat style, hanging deep down from her neck. The third man was even more formally dressed, sporting a gold-stitched bicorne of the sort reserved for top Imperial officials.

“Greetings, Your Grand Royal Highness.” - he spoke - “I am Karl von Hoffmeister, of the Imperial Heritage Authority. I am honored to see you here in this Palace. Please accept this small gift as a greeting from Their Imperial Majesties. Emperor Blaken-Kazansky awaits you within the palace, and hopes this small gift will make your stay here this much more pleasant.”

“Thank you kindly Mr von Hoffmeister,” she said, “and please convey our thanks to Their Imperial Majesties,” she said, wings spreading a little, seeming to be quite pleased by the gift.

“You are truly welcome, Your Grand Royal Highness,” - said Karl, doffing his bicorne to her. “It is my duty now to take you to see His Imperial Majesty.”

The Winter Palace was used at least in part as a museum by the Imperial Heritage Authority. Even in those parts not open to the public, one could see long rows of displays - statues, suits of ancient armor and artefacts of the various civilizations of Greater Prussia, some displayed under glass, others standing openly, each with a small plaque describing its nature and purpose. As they entered the palace and walked through its corridors, von Hoffmeister suppressed his urge to commence explaining the exhibition to Luna, something that would no doubt delay the meeting.

Eventually, after passing through several ornate, and lavishly decorated corridors, they entered a small - by the standards of this building - meeting room.. THe insides of the room had been decorated in emerald green and gold, and at its center stood a briefing table designed to accomodate perhaps a dozen men.

Set on this table were meals for two - poached potatoes with a side of green peas, and various other things, as fit for an Emperor’s table. Standing on the other end of the room was a young-looking man, dressed in surprisingly informal clothing - a black, short-sleeved T-shirt and pants. Only a slender golden circlet on his head identified him as the Emperor of Greater Prussia.

“Good morning, Your Grand Royal Highness.” - he said. “I hope your journey has not been too tiring?”

Luna smiled, sitting down on a broad curlpad beside the group, paying only a little attention to her surroundings, luxury was her birthright, after all, or at least, she chose to project that impression, “Not at all, Your Majesty, it has been quite refreshing,” she said, with a slight yawn from the daylight, it was well known that she was nocturnal after all, “It is a little early for me though,” she said, abandoning the royal we, to match his informal dress, “I apologize if I seem tired, thank you for the necklace, it is most elegant, I only regret that I did not take the time to procure some suitable gifts for you myself; it was something of a rush, I’ll make sure to send something on.”

“Oh there is absolutely no need for that, I assure you - would you kindly leave us, Baron?”

Karl von Hoffmeister bowed deeply. If he was upset by the rudeness, he did not show it. “Yes, Your Imperial Majesty,.” - he then backed out of the door and vanished.

“Karl is such an irritating fellow. I am quite sure he is involved with some unsavory nonsense.” - said Alexander - “And one day I shall yet find it out. But on more pleasant matters, you do not need to go through with all this dumbfuckery. You can address me as Alexander, or Alex if you will, and that will entirely suit. I am not as much of a chaser after titles as my wife is. But please, let us move on. We have a matter of grave importance to discuss.”

“The aid to Imeriata?” Luna asked, “I quite understand, it has been a rather unpleasant affair, I would say,” she began, with a frown.

“I’m told that we can expect anywhere from a fifth, to half of all Scanderans to be dead within the year. A fifth is what happens if we do everything right, tick all the is and cross all the t’s.”

“Let’s cheat,” she said, “I propose evacuating everyone to dedicated safe zones elsewhere, and then dealing with the geoengineering afterwards.”

“I...” - Alexander paused - “I don’t quite understand. You’ve said in your letters you were opposed to long-term rebuilding efforts and wanted us to restrain ourselves to simply giving first-priority aid. On this logic I thought you were opposed to geoengineering.”

“Not at all,” she said, “I’m opposed to giving them money to rebuild their economies and cities from the Capintern stockpile, on the general principle that these people hate capitalism. Not that I think we should leave them to die.”

“Right then.” - said Alexander. - “I was concerned that you would accuse me of trying to sneak rebuilding aid under the radar as emergency aid, or something of this sort.”

“I think it would be of great benefit to them to adopt free market principles, and of some benefit to ourselves too, and I think it was frankly, unwise to let them into the Empire without making them reform their economy to the same standards as everypony else, but... let’s deal with the problems one at a time? My reason for perhaps jumping the gun a little before, was that I had been hoping to trade long term aid for reforms with their leaders myself. I am entirely in favour of helping them... not die.”

“I like the idea of long-term aid for reforms, really. The thing about Imeriata is that it has never visited, say, the 18th century. This has the obvious disadvantages that it’s horrible in terms of mercantilism and property protection, and the obvious advantage that twentieth-century bureaucracy hasn’t quite been invented yet.”

“Oh, they’ve got an effective enough bureaucracy you know, it just uses an incredible amount of paper. But they still, say, enforce all kinds of land planning laws and laws about drug use and so on.”

“Are you kidding me.” - said Alexander. “I have been to Imeriata. These cities look like they’ve not invented land planning yet. Like, you know, with vast slums and everything. What’s the cocksmongling point of land planning if you don’t plan any land with it?”

“You must remember, only a small number of people own the land, the tenants build all over the show, but all pay rent to one lord,” she said, “I’ve been there too, remember,” she teased, before munching on one of the potatoes, “Well, they did before we gave the former slaves a lot of the land. Which is of course, another reason to geoengineer that land back to its former state.”

“So it is essentially like a third-world country, held back by lots of bureaucracy that doesn’t let people effectively own the property that they possess in fact - say, like Rejistania, or perhaps, I don’t know, some other place with horrible bureaucracy and corruption. Pantocratoria? The point is, a third-world shithole vaguely disguised as a decent country?” - the Emperor said - “This is disappointing.”

“Well, they’re largely free of corruption, the chief virtue the Scanderans have is that they are genuine believers in their principles. Sadly, their principles are deranged. It’s held back by a lot of factors, no doubt. And, careful Alex, if you say Land Distribution,” she whispered, “too loud around here, you might start a riot. This is Reichskamphen,” she teased.

“You see, there’s a reason I’m fond of the Scanderans. You have seen them in Vorradia. Steered properly, they could do an incredible service to the cause of good.”

“I have hoped so, though before we praise the Vorradia action too highly we shouldn’t forget thier habit of putting unarmed slave sappers in the field there, which was deplorable,” she said, “our people had to actually buy a decent part of the Imerian army once they captured the Vorradian leaders.”

“That’s... fascinating.” - Alexander said. “One grows curious as to what cultural factors would cause a culture to fail itself into such a shape.”

“In some ways, I blame their gods, I’ve met them you know, they still have slaves which is... disturbing,” she said, “I’m not sure how to deal with that yet, but there are top people looking into it.”

“We are arriving at actual agreement exceptionally rapidly. So what we have is: at the first stage, first aid and distribution of food and shelter, followed up rapidly by a large-scale evacuation of everyone who lives in the potential path of fallout, followed by a geoengineering effort.” - Alexander said - “Then someone negotiates reforms in exchange for aid, with the carrot being rebuilding and military aid, and with the stick being a cessation of GPE membership via the Imperial courts. Does this sound like what you’ve had in mind?”

“That seems quite equitable yes,” Luna said, punking a hoof on the table, “That said, I have a few specific ideas, not all my own, that could be considered to speed up technical matters. But yes, of course, I was hoping to withhold any promises of rebuilding aid until they agreed to reforms, which by their nature, need only be limited, other than that, we should act in the most rapid and effective way possible.”

“I’m very positively surprised.” - said Alexander. - “I expected this meeting to go down much differently.”

“The letters were written with a secondary audience in mind, of course, I can be more frank here,” Luna said.

“Excellent.” - said Alexander, looking at Luna with some suspicion. “I think we’re in perfect agreement, then. Is there something else you would wish to ask me about?”

“Vingilots, I understand you bought a substantial quantity of them for the exodus project? Could you re-task any?”

“On a very technical matter, I don’t own any Vingilots, neither does the Allanean state. However I am certain arrangements could be made. Failing that, I happen to be the owner of several large megafreighters that are serving the colonial lines. For such a matter they could be retasked, of course.”

“Well, I don’t know too much about others, but I happen to know from speaking to their designers, that there’s a useful way to apply them, the individual containers can be set down over a conventional rail line, like a bridge, and then it is possible to just extend a stairway, I don’t think that comes as standard, and take on a few thousand people per box, and the thing is pretty much radiation proof, the Imerian railways should mostly be intact, so you can potentially move in large groups that way, it might need some polish depending on local conditions, naturally,” she said, “I’m not an engineer, but I know there’s a detailed evacuation plan for this scenario using those, railway compatibility is part of the original design specification, on any gauge you might fancy.”

“That is absolutely excellent!” - beamed Alexander - “And if I understand the maps correctly, there are some parts of the Imerian mainland that are going to be unaffected by fallout. If not, we could move them to their colonies, which ought to be a learning experience for many Imerians, which is always a plus. A teachable moment, if I may.”

“We also have Isasrach, which was built for this kind of thing, in preparation, it’s currently located in Mystria, also,” she said, “I’ve put out queries for large scale hospital ships also, though there are some already committed to other issues, such as the chaos attacks in Skyriver.” She frowned.

“Is it possible for us to use the webway for this purpose?” - asked Alexander. - “I am not exactly familiar with its functioning but it seems to me if we could erect some kind of portals that might be of use?”

Luna summoned a black folder with an audible pop, flicking through it, “From what I know of webway matters, other portals are probably more useful at the moment, it has its problems. We could also set up conventional teleporters for this purpose, we don’t exactly need to get them far, in stellar terms,” Luna said, glancing at the windows to look in the direction of the moon.

“That seems suitable.” - said Alexander, and then smirked. “Wait, we are not going to start throwing hand-grenades across the table? I am almost disappointed.”

“We could put the customary diplomatic meeting shootout off until we’ve got all this sorted out. Then, well, I’m sure you have some awesome games here. Or maybe laser-combat?”

“I could have a stage set up for you at the local range. We could call it The Diplomatic Meeting Shootout and see who gets the better time.” - Alexander said. “Now, what I have on the ground right now is several brigades’ worth of combat engineers and support soldiers who are building shelters and laying down pipelines. We’re using those to distribute liquid food, and of course we are also having field hospitals put in place.”

“Do you still have that ‘yacht?” she asked Alex.

“The Audacity is in repair. We can use the Chutzpa, and of course we can borrow my wife’s yacht, the Macha. I’m not sure how Macha would land, per se, but it’s certainly large enough.”

“I think it would be best if I left the details of what we’ll be able to put on the ground and when to the experts,” Luna said, “I think within a few hours or so, we’ll need to talk to the Imerians some more, of course.”

“I agree. Although I think it’s best to put off the threatening and carrot-and-sticking until after we’ve at least put the proverbial women and children out of harm’s way.”

“Agreed, I can put a few calls through and we should look into setting it up as a joint headquarters affair, if we’re going to be threatening and offering things from a Greater Prussian perspective, we should perhaps label it an ‘Imperial’” she waved her hooves in air-quotes, “mission?”

“Excellent. How do you feel about airships, Your Grand Royal Highness? I think our headquarters should be on an airship. I think that will be met with approval in Imeriata.”

“It might be awkward to find one with the right size, but I am fond of airships of course,” she said.

“I own one of those excellent Yohannesian airship yachts, the Day Dream. We could run the effort from it. It is quite... sizable.”

“I look forward to visiting,” she said, “You know, this is really rather good,” she said, of the food.

[Princess Luna]

The first responders to Princess Luna's will were among the strangest, even compared to the vast hordes of C'tani constructs and creations. They were delivered by gravitic module from the Principality, but they did not land. Instead, their modules opened, hovering at static positions off the Imerian coasts, deploying a fleet of silver and blue… chariots.

These were however, no ordinary chariots, for they were pulled by pegasi, swift as could be, their heavy bodywork seeming lightweight when pulled by the superb air ponies, whose wings carried the chariots at speed through the air, not comparable to the speeds an unlimbered Pegasus might achieve, but still fast, in the realm of helicopters more than airships. Their passengers, two per craft, hung on to the frames of the chariots, though were also strapped in for the fast manoeuvres that might prove necessary.

Below them, a landscape passed, of bright white clouds that rolled below like a fluffy plane of cotton wool, snow-bearing clouds that were contaminated and lethal, though they looked far from it. Instead, without sign of the cold beyond the heavy colds the ponies wore in many cases, the cloudscape looked inviting, but to land on it would mean a painful death, for mixed up with the suspended water vapour was thousands of megatons of dust and contaminants, heavily ionized.

Banners of the Lunar Principality flapping in the wind, the chariots formed a broad line staggered in waves, zig-zagged back and forth through the sky to give more depth to the formation they assumed, their pilots soaring above the worst of the radiation as guided by the senses of some of the unicorns who were with them, while others projected bubbles of protection to deflect the clouds as they soared forwards.

The main group aboard, however were largely earth ponies, whose strength made them excellent archers.

They were there to shoot the fallout out of the sky.

It would to most, seem an audacious plan, but it was not completely unknown, the use of ice arrows was a sport among equines, and as had been discovered in the Equestria Games of the Crystal Empire, they could have a runaway effect when they hit clouds. The fallout was, further from the blasts themselves, carried dissolved in clouds. Their objective then, was to; to prevent the wind carrying the fallout further to Karjaa.

Bow Shot stood in the back of the lead chariot as it soared through a hole in the clouds created by one of the weather service pegasi riding with him, looking around as they circled below, scanning for any settlements or anyone they could see alive, the chariot taking a large parabolic arc below the clouds, and seeing nopony, no one, in fact, below they flew upwards once more, and he took a flag, a green pennant on a spear-like banner pole, slotting it into place, the signal to begin.

The sound of mighty crystal longbows twanging echoed through the sky, and unwilling to be left out, Bow Shot took his own, an angular composite piece from the Crystal Empire itself, its strange material bending as wood might, though stronger, and he rose to his hind legs, knocking one of the ice arrows from the front of the chariot onto it and drawing it back, aiming at a bulge in the cloud nearby, drawing it back with a might beyond any human warrior, and releasing it.

The arrow flew straight, with little drop, through the air, slamming into the cloud as if it were a solid thing, rather than an intangible mist, almost immediately, blue-white ice spread from the point of the impact, filled with air bubbles, but still forming sharp, ominous spikes of razor edges, the cloud drifting downwards as its overall volume decreased and its density dropped slightly below that of the surrounding air, becoming a nest of sharp blades and spikes, that sank faster and faster toward the ground, shattering into a field of ice as it hit the ground, splintering into a thousand fragments.

Each arrow could affect a single contiguous cloud, some of which were huge, and they sought out the largest on their first pass, ice arrows carved from the glaciers of the Frozen North singing through the skies from a hundred night black chariots, each cloud that fell giving the people of Karjaa that much greater a chance at life.

[Imeriata]

"Gods knows" Egalfrid said as he looked in the direction as if he had not seen it or given it much thought before it was pointed out, ultimately did he not seem to care too much and shrugged
"Maybe he tried to steal food, maybe he was using a fake rationing card, could be a lot of things even!" He finally added with another shrug seemingly ending the conversation as far as he was concerned and continued out of the court. Here could one see more of the newer houses, they were simple things made from wood from the looks of things with stone and dirt pressed against their sides as they seemed to grow in that rather devil may care attitude Scanderans seemed to favour when it came to city planning. Or anything even remotely linked to the concept.

The longhouses and the large tower houses seemed to have been placed about wherever the building foremen seemed to thing was appropriate and the road itself was ever so slightly wobbly as a result. Though one could see smoke rising from a lot of houses and several of them had electrical wires leading too them which seemed to take that issue into account in some temporary places so had even houses made from snow showed up, though those looked more like storage spaces due to the fact that there were armed guards surrounding them, with the exception of some of them that seemed designed to house a couple of children at best and were made in a rather shoddy manner to say the least built very close to other houses. In a few of them did a few kids even run, or more accurately crawl out of chasing one another as they laughed and threw snowballs at one another.

However so did they slowly but surely make their way into the older parts of the city where the houses were made in a more Scanderan traditional style with cross timber houses spread about, broken only by two tower houses that someone seemed to have been able to fit amongst the loose collection of houses. But finally did they stop at a rather large house that seemed to have been an old palace, or at least a large mansion. It was made from golden sandstone just as Imerbürg herself had been and it certainly displayed some manner of Scanderan gothic style, but for some reason did it seem a bit cheaper than the large mansions in Scandera had been. There was large painted statues but they seemed faded and at some places brown rather than gold as one would expect, the large stained glass windows were rather cheap looking displaying just heraldry, argent with an gules man with the legs of a lion on it and the wings of an eagle on them. A heraldic image that was mirrored on a flag that hang outside of the building, a flag that in the end was overshadowed by the massive federal flag that hanged from the walls and from a pair of newer looking flag poles. To make this mansion look a bit more impressive was it further more walled off by a fence, a not to impressive looking one made from iron and showing hints of rust here and there. What on the other hand looked way more impressive was the military troops outside of it, they were all dressed in the long blue great coats of the military winter uniforms with pointy fur hats and with the familiar KVG in their hands.
"Ahhh, here we are!" Egalfrid finally said sounding a bit cheerfully as he started to walk towards the gates as the guards stepped aside.

---

Federal weather airship

"That is weird" One of the airmen dressed in the uniform of the royal aerocorps called out as the weather airship that as the name implied were assigned to figure out what kind of weather one could expect. While not as glorious as the military aeroplane corps, which in turn was the least praised of the military branches making the crew of the ship the lowest of the low on the informal military hierarchy. While it was of course not too impressive to say when one introduced one self at a ball or so, so did the crew of the airship know that their job was immensely important. Not only was the navy, the aerocorps but also the army itself dependant on their work to function and to make plans but they also had massive benefit to the civilian population and at the moment were they assigned to the glorious duty of watching the forbidden zones and making sure the radioactive clouds did not spread and if they did so could the people run for the hills.
"Oh? what is the problem airman?" the captain of the happy little craft asked as he turned around to see what the man was looking at
"Well from the looks of things so are the clouds... well they are not moving properly, they are falling as a matter of fact, but... also they seem to take most of the radiation back down with them... a rather odd thing as I said!" the airman explained as there seemed to come confirmations about this from all around the bridge of the little happy ship. Most peculiar indeed. Well this was not the reaction the crew had, they checked all their findings over and over and then made a reboot of their systems, after all one did not become part of the royal aerocorps weather division by being an idiot, in fact that was how you ended up being one of the poor sods that scrubbed the floors or washed the aeroplanes themselves, since the royal aerocorps was surprisingly meritocratic compared to the navy and army's favouritism of Noblemen and the rich amongst the higher parts of the military hierarchy.

[Allanea]

As they moved on, members of the Allanean delegation did not hesitate to take photographs of the surrounding environment, some with their phones, some raising tablets, and one man even using a dedicated camera with an enormous optic to take pictures of the hastily-build housing.

“What’s already clear is that we’re going to have to provide some better shelter,” - the General said calmly, “Which we could of course easily do, from both fallout and cold.” - he wasn’t aware yet of the plan that Luna and Alexander had worked out, and was working from earlier, much more pessimistic assumptions.

As they arrived at the palace, the General descended happily from the car. “Excellent. I hope that we’ll be able to get some work done once we see the maps.”

[Imeriata]

"Of course, Maps we have aplenty!" Egalfrid said as they entered the building. Guards stepped aside with their long rifles resting on their shoulders as they saluted by slamming their fists at their right chest. The inside looked like the outside, worn but recently decorated with old tapestries, these however were in stark contrast with the worn down walls around them were these ones of the finest quality one could imagine with vibrant colours depicting the old times passed, there were kinds dressed in white as they were crowned by the silver helmet Imer once wore. There were battles as Scanderans descended down upon foes far and near, the pike formations of the 200 years war was followed by a large battle in Vinland. Enemies dressed in weird clothes looking like eagles, jaguars, and other horrid beasts armed with teethed clubs fought against Scanderan Riksknäktar armed with long pikes, firearms and with axes and swords protected by heavy plate armours. Natives dressed in barely anything armed with pikes stood side by side with the Scanderans and on the far side could one see how the animals dressed men broke and ran as large wolves, horses and mammoths bore down on their rear.

Other images showed how large impressive monuments were raised, sandstone pillars and arches rose to the skies themselves as rosetouched and heroes cheered for their descendants. There were images of explorers as Scanderans set ashore on strange lands and were greeted by natives and how both sides shook hands with one another in mutual respect and how the explorers handed over torches to the natives they met.

Other pictures showed scenes of the nature, there was animals looking up from ponds and how two unicorn males tried to compete for a herd of females, the beast variant of the creature rather than the thinking kind. As they continued in so did more and more guards stand in attention before they finally entered what had once been a ballroom but now seemed to buzz of military activity. There were large maps of Scandera and the colonies, sometimes showing white and a few odd red figures of Soldiers standing in attention. The main centre piece of the map however was a large map of Scandera itself where areas were marked in red and more of the white troops but this time could one also see blue figures of fortifications and civilians that were shipped around. There were even this time large triangles with twisting dragons on them covered with runes that one could see placed around the Karmanjakan pass but also around the place where Storfloden met innanhafet as the two most well known places. But one could see the odd markers a bit inland as well. A couple of much smaller markers were also there, large red ones with flames surrounding a weird looking rune.

The entire room was full however and one could see countless men running back and forth, either in the grey anb blue robes of the internal affairs advisory but also in the dark blue uniforms of the military broken only by the grey, black, and purple uniforms worn by men of Karmanjaka. Large computers stood in the corners and hummed in their weird way that electronic devices are known for, but there were also paper, tons upon tons of paper. There were scribes holding large books and quills, there were men with large scrolls and amongst all this could one see a group of men wearing the most ornate bunch of uniforms one could see, there were men in blue and grey with austrian knots in blue and there where men with gold and blue of the military. In fact were there only one man not wearing much in the way of ornate decoration and he wore one of those odd simple grey tunics, a simple pair of black trousers and finally a long black cloak that were purple on the inside.

"Maps should be..." Egalfrid said as he hesitated for a moment as he tried to figure out exactly what to do and where to go. He quickly grabbed a young page and a quick exchange were made in the good old tongue before Egalfrid started to head towards one of the corners of the room. "Over here apparently!"

[The Ctan]

"Lock and load, let's go hunting Imerians."

The necrons stood in ranks before short duration portals built into the military workings of the massive military base of Sentinel One, their bronze frames polished to a fine sheen, marked with deep green icons in their own language. They'd been to Imeriata before, but this time, though they bore the same weapons, they had a different intention; the same gauss flayer that could carve through a tank could carve through a collapsed building, after all. The same scarabs that could be used to dissolve vehicles could be used to hunt over the landscape for any sign of life, and the same equipment that made tomb stalkers able to detect the pulse of life through hundreds of meters of solid rock to scent intruders in necron complexes could as easily be used to hunt through the ruins of burning cities for survivors.

The noospheric interface, the augmented reality available to all necrons, showed their 'transport' craft's view, far away over Imeria, as it swept over the burning landscape, augmented senses showing radiation hotspots, areas of air subduction and areas where liquid water was running through the ruins. The view from the transport fighter levelled out, flattening off, as it hurtled over the landscape, the portal built into it powering up, a target area appearing on the view they had from its pilot's eyes.

The Night Scythe transport operated by carrying a portal generator rather than a passenger compartment, able to project the portal onto the ground, deploying its 'passengers' directly from a necron base over the light years, or in this case over merely an AU or so. On the necrons end, the chamber they were in glowed a bright green as the portal on their end powered up, along one wall; linked with the fighter, it moved for a moment, at the same velocity as the fighter moved over the Imerian terrain.

In the darkness and the fire, it looked like a beam of green light that flicked on and off for a moment, deploying the twenty necron warriors, their metal frames moving eerily, unaffected by the radiation that would rapidly and horribly kill a man, they began to spread out, scanning instruments whirring with motion and energy as they set to work.

There were thousands of necrons deployed to the cities, and with them, many scarabs and tomb stalkers, machines which were based on the neural patterns of living beasts from the Ancient Necrontyr Homeworld, the Tomb Stalker's instincts were based on those of a giant burrowing centipede like being, and it was likewise built with scores of legs, though it was able to functionally hover, so it was more for the comfort of the being than for any necessity; some might question why the necrontyr built such inefficient designs, not understanding the link they were to ancient history. But here, they were solely functional, able to sense the buried injured and burrow down to them.

Rescue efforts were underway.

[Allanea]

Imeriata

“Alright then,” - said the Allanean general, seeming somewhat shaken by the sight that was now unfolding before him, more so than he had been shaken by the sights of despair and devastation that had previously passed before his eyes. Still, he appeared to have enough self-control to immediately commence issuing orders to his men. “Tavrov, begin photographing those maps. Stern, I want to see a fallout projection. Okun, I’d like you to tell me where we can begin deploying evacuation craft. Soames, I want you to plot me a plan for rapid food delivery to this, this, and this area,” - he aimed his hand at some of the more populated areas on the map - “on the double. Within twelve hours the food transports should be airborne and on their way here. Within twenty-four hours I want to start loading transport ships. Consider this being a large-scale reaction time exercise.”

He turned to the Imerian and, after a brief pause, spoke: “Sir, I’d like you to give the orders to prepare for evacuating the first batch of people as soon as we can. Now it is true we don’t have sufficient capacity to evacuate everyone quite yet, but we do have several dozen airships which as you know have just landed in your country. As soon as they unload, they should be filled with people, children first of course. We will arrange for better means of evacuation later but for now you should shove as many people aboard the airships as you can and have them take off.”

*

Allanea

Colonial Lines, passengers awaiting the SS Venture, your loading time is being delayed. the SS Venture has been temporarily requested to assist with an international emergency. Your loading time is delayed for humanitarian reasons. We hope you understand.

“I don’t understand shit!” - someone shouted. “What humanitarian bullshit this is? I have sold my house to be in the colonies! I demand my colonial flight! Fuck that shit!”

But the Vingilot-class was already on the move, rising silently and inevitably out of its dock. As the colonists watched - some in sad disappointment, others in rage - it rose above the dock, and began to turn majestically, its bright-red sides burning brilliantly against the greyish-blue of the sky. Then, it began rising, still silently, until its hull began to diminish, turning into a bright-red dot against the sky, and then melding away into nothingness.

“What the living fuck is that?!? - someone asked.

Another angry voice joined in: “Just what in the living world of cocksmongling inebriated Communist fuck is that?”

“Be reasonable!” - a Port Police officer called out. “Be reasonable! There is a nuclear emergency in Imeriata!”

Before him, thousands upon thousands of colonists stood or sat on the concrete, having waited for takeoff for quite a while. They were dressed in several layers of winter clothing, as a dock of this size was, of course, open to the skies.

“Be reasonable!” - the officer repeated. Cybernetic augments within his body made his voice very loud, far louder than that of a baseline human. - “There is an emergency in Imeriata!”

“FUCK the Imeriatans!” - a man with a short, red beard shouted, suddenly hopping to within inches of the officer. In the fraction of a second in which the man’ was just next to him, the policeman could see his terrible, degraded teeth, and feel the man’s breath on his face, a terrible mix of bad alcohol and rot. “Why should my life get delayed because of the Imeriatans?”

“They’re... actually called Imerians...” - said the officer weakly.

This was the wrong thing to say.

Suddenly, pain blossomed across the officer’s face. Blinded momentarily by the sheer pain of the impact, it took him a second to realize that the red-bearded man had headbutted him in the nose.

Without even thinking, he reached for his baton, yanking it off his belt, the belt loop simply giving way as the policeman pulled on his weapon, the baton making a crackling sound as he activated the shock function in mid-swing. In a single sweeping motion he had yanked the baton off his belt, activated the shock function, and jabbed his attacker in the ribs. There was a cracking sound, and the man stepped backward, flailing haplessly with his hands.

Before the policeman could say anything, two of his subordinates rushed the man to the ground. He was not visible any longer, hidden under two policemen’s bodies, his legs scraping against the ground as he was subdued.

There was a murmur in the crowd.

“I ASK YOU TO REMAIN CALM!”