Work of the Freeman [open, MT]

[Allanea]

Official Announcement of the United States of Allanea with Regards to the Democratic States of Tehraan and Slaver Shipping in General

Given the appeals of certain slaver states to their so-called 'sovereignty', and the slave states' threats against the world community, as well as Allanea's commitments under the Amistad Declaration, the Greater Prussian Charter, and the CASTLE treaties, the United States would wish to qualify its foreign policy regarding slaver states.

In brief, our policy is to kill slavers and burn their possessions. Our policy is not that of international respect, love, and fairness towards the slavers. Our envoy is the torpedo. Our diplomat is the artilleryman. Our ambassador is the machine gunner. Our language is the gun-shot. Our message is death.

It would be wrong to say that we do not value the slaver's life. On the contrary, we understand its value. A Nicksyllvanian or Tehraani civilian could turn out to be a poet that will tomorrow sing the value of his slaver system to the world, or an engineer that will invent a new weapon for the slaver armies, or perhaps a doctor that will contrive a way to make the lives of slavers longer and healthier. Therefore he must be shot.

Not only this – but we must destroy as much of the material culture of slavers as possible. A house built with slave labor must be burned down. A university where the sons and daughters of slaveowners learn, their scholarships provided by the labor of the myriads enslaved, must be wrecked until not a stone stands on another.

It is irrelevant what 'benefits' the slavers feel slavery provides to their victims – the very fact they need to be forced upon the unwilling tells us everything we need to know about them.

Therefore, we now turn to the main issue: the issue of Tehraani, Roman, and other shipping. The United States Navy hereby authorizes all its crews, and especially submarine crews, to hunt and take over slaveships anywhere. Those ships that do not carry large quantities of slaves – oil tankers, RORO ferries, and so forth – must be sunk, and any civil aircraft belonging to these nations must be shot down.

Every month a tally will be made of the enemy ships destroyed, by tonnage, type, and amount, and awards will be issued to those aircraft and ship crews who sink down the most boats, free the most slaves, or kill the most slavers.

Let our brave sailors go now unto the open seas. They will have one directive: to go out, to explore the boundless seas, to locate slavers, and to kill them like dogs.

And May God Continue to Bless Allanea.

[The Ctan]

Seabird Conservation Trust

Open Letter to the Department of Defence, United States of Allanea

Dear Sirs,

We are concerned by your stated intention to sink slavers’ oil tankers. While it is of course obvious to anyone with a brain that their lives are by declarations in support of slavery, utterly forfeit, we would, in the name of environmental stewardship, suggest that this is an inappropriate response.

Surely he is worth nuking some slavers for?

The life of say, every single Tehraani, Scandinvan, Nicksylvanian and so forth is worth less than a single microbe’s continued existence, having as it does, a negative value, surely innocent sea-birds do not deserve to suffer?

Why not use nerve gas, conventional atomic weapons, neutron bombs, white phosphorous, salted nuclear weapons, napalm, naval artillery deployed mines and cluster munitions on their ships instead? Then the oil will be salvageable and the slavers will die in more interesting and amusing ways.

We ask you to reconsider this policy and be more brutal about it in order to be humane.

Failing that, we would very much appreciate it if the United States Navy could give us alerts in the event of oil spills from slaver vessels.

With thanks,
The Board of Trustees of the SCT

[Ainin]

The People's Republic of Ainin is very disappointed by this barbarian act of genocide. We WILL be addressing the World Assembly. But don't get us wrong! We are against all forms of slavery.

On this seventh day of the third month of the year two-thousand-eleven,
The President of the PR of Ainin

[-Deus-]

To: The United States of Allanea
From: The Dei Consortium
Subject: This declaration

---

Dear Nation,

It is troubling to say the least that your recent declaration prompts such things as unethical murder and destruction of property. It is even worse that you state that you shall do this to all slaver nations, which the Dei Consortium is. The Dei Consortium, there for, whole heartedly condemns this barbaric act and unlawful view. And if it weren't for slaves, this communique would never have been written and so I, the leader of the Consortium and king of Deus state that our nation supports slavery in all forms.

---

"The skin of slaves lay in heaps as men and women were flayed of their skin and crucified, the shouts of children as they were raped and dumped in acid or the crying of pregnant mothers as they were cut open, the baby inside of them burned in molten steel as the mother was raped and beheaded."
~Slave Genocide of Leviathan.---Exert from event

[Allanea]

Captain Ernest Bogomolov, 1st Class, Personal blog entry, 03.07.XXXX

The fate of the Allanean on the international stage – is a tragedy not unlike my own, and indeed it is proper that I became a Naval officer - a tragic actor to play a tragic act indeed! Everywhere where the Freeman goes, he is betrayed, backstabbed, berated by the international community – and why? Because of our struggle against the slaver and the fascist, our eternal desire to bring the world freedom, justice, civilization!

Here you have the C'tani – actually one of the few entities on the international stage resembling some kind of civilization – and do you see them applauding our actions? No! They are wailing about seabirds! Seabirds!

Have these men never experienced the joy of seeing a tanker or RORO hit by a torpedo, its prow shattered, its stern raising pitifully towards the sky? And yet they seek to deny to the Allanean sailor, to rip the morsel of victory from the very lips of the submariner. They are the truly merciless here, not us, who merely do what needs to be done. True, we enjoy it – but any man who has ever done it knows it is naturally enjoyable.

Rumor has it that the Emperor himself is like me, suffering from an unrequited passion, forcing him to pursue with even more vigor the course of justice against the slaver vermin. I know that he would understand my fate – and although I miss Greta still, to see the fire rising from the decks of the slaver-ships would be something approaching that pure joy I had once hoped to feel.

And perhaps even we will set a record – in tonnage or ship-count. Perhaps Greta shall then reconsider my character. But most likely not – like in the international stage, I am in the personal stage also forever a victim. And yet even that fleeting hope, even that does the world seek to wrench from me!
But the Emperor is with us yet, and he will not allow it. I depart, my friends. There is maintenance and dockside training to be done!

[Tehraan]

Announcement from the High Counsel of the Democratic states of Tehraan

As of Today the counsel of 37 tribes and the state counsel along with the support of the High Counsel has brought the new law in effect.

Known as the "Tehlra-an egglehmm yoh akatameh eh kabalragg katameh" Tehraanian order of self defense and piracy protection

This lawn authorizes the following;

1. Any Ship that sails under the Tehraanian flag will avoid any and all national waters outside of Tehraan's national waters.

2. Any ship that sails under the Tehraanian flag has the right to protect it self in anyway it sees fit, as will have the authoritiy to carry arms even if that ship is civilian.

3. Ships of the Tehraanian navy shall escort any Tehraanian ship convoy with the authority to open fire on a confirmed threat, in addition to that, a message to any aircraft or ship that enters long range radar will be send asking them to stay out and not arm weapons, if this is ignored they have authority to attack. Any submarine that enters and is detected within that range will be attacked apon conformation that it isn't allied.

4. Any person that gets captured while in a act of piracy including destruction of Tehraanian ships. Will be send to Tehraan for trail. The punishment for piracy acourding to Tehraanian law is for small offenses (I.E attempt at piracy) is eternal servitude to the state and for high offenses (destruction of ships) the Death penalty.

5. To preserve national stability, a ship regardless any nationality that makes it self guilty of piracy will not be considered an attack by the nation that ships belongs to nor a reason to declare war on the pirate's nation.

That said the following statements are in order to make a few things clear.

We do not export people that are under the condition of servitude (or slavery as many other nations think it is) any ship under the Tehraanian flag will not most certainly not carry slaves nor is owned by slavers, we do not trade slaves to other nations. We also do not torture, kill, rape people under servitude as some nations seem to believe all 'slave-nations' do.

A second important note is that our slaves (to use your terms) are mostly criminals sentenced to 'servitude to the state'. Temporal servitude also exists, but as the name implies that is only temporal and after the amount of time expires will be released. Any slave that we buy falls under our laws of servitude and is granted the same rights and can be released from there status under the conditions that that would apply, we have a don't ask policy regarding the origin of foreign bought servitudes, we assume they ended up the way they are under the conditions that our law states a person can be put under servitude and should they be freed they have the option of returning to their country of origin.

[New Korongo]

The Imperial Palace, Korongo City, New Korongo
The lights dimmed and the data projector turned on, on the screen appeared the Allanean flag.

"At 04:46 the Allanean government has announced that they will embark on a crusade to stop slavery" the man briefing the government officials announced. "So, a little less slavery in the world is a good thing" Prime Minister Webb said to the people in the room.

The image changed to an oil tanker spilling oil into the sea, "At 04:57 they Allanean government announced that they would civilian ships of slave trading nations, including oil tankers" the man continueed. "What, sinking ships that have nothing to do with slavery, has the public protested against this?" Emperor Robert asked. "There have already been several protestets and a riot in New Korongo and a fleet of small civilian ships is preparing to sail towards a fleet of Allanean ships" the man briefing answered.

"Imagine all that oil, the sea life will be destroyed" the Minister of the Enviroment yelled. "Shut up tree hugger" the Emperor said. "The price of oil will rise as well, also there will be many innocent people hurt or killed" another Minister said.

The lights brightened again "Ok, we will send a frigate along with this civilian fleet to stage an official protest" the Emperor ordered.

Ohs Naval Base
The HMNZS Kingfisher, a Sachsen class frigate, set sail from Ohs Naval Base. While there were guns on the ship all munitions and missiles had been removed to show that this ship was not going to attempt to attack the Allanean ships. The word "UNARMED" was spelled out with International maritime signal flags. They meet up with the fleet of 67 civilian ships of all shapes and sizes and sailed towards a position around half way between Allanea and Tehraan.

[Allanea]

OOC:

Is New Korongo a slaver state?

Where are those ships sailing? You would not IC know about the location of my submarine deployments. Are they sailing towards Allanean territorial waters?

[New Korongo]

OOC:

Is New Korongo a slaver state?

Where are those ships sailing? You would not IC know about the location of my submarine deployments. Are they sailing towards Allanean territorial waters?

ooc - no, i am not a slave trading state. The protest is more about killing possibly innocent people and the damage caused by oil spills. sorry, i did not know where to send the fleet of ships. I will change the post to about halfway between your nation and Tehraan.

[Third Spanish States]

Official Announcement of the Fourth Reich

The genetic flaws of the human race are the cause of the waste of countless great minds to fulfill the pride of the sub-human filth. Subhumans who think that having guns make them superior, but guns exchange hands. True superiority never does. The so called "slaver states" are no friends of the Greater Hispano-German Reich, for they halt the controlled evolution of the human race towards the superman by either suppressing the superior or allowing the inferior to continue their pitiful existences in miserable conditions instead of wiping them out quickly, painlessly and efficiently.

However, we take notice of the obvious emotional weaknesses and absurdity of this faulty, flawed state that has been pulled by an insatiable desire of promoting their paradigm through all means necessary. A state that puts emos as captains of military ships is one we advise caution when relating to. To prevent the contamination of their cultural impurities within our soil, the Greater German Reich is currently embargoing any Allanean-originated products, regardless of the fact the destruction of the slaver subhumans benefits our own cause. Considering the strong likelihood this embargo would sooner or later become a reciprocal policy regardless of anything, we will simply pledge neutrality to the conflicts between slaver states and Allanea.

Humanity shall rise to a better form of existence with the guidance of the Reich.

[Holy Marsh]

A Missive from Arch-Bishop Seranasata:

We applaud the actions valiant of the Allanean gun-arm of liberty and freedom. Glory to those that wipe from history the slave states; glory be those who kill the slaver; glory be those who free the enslaved. Glory be Allanea and its vast armies of freedom and righteous fury! Arch'allanea Ooli Wasan!

[Tagmatium]

To: the Government of the United States of Allanea
From: the Foreign Ministry of the Greater Holy Empire of Tagmatium
Subject: the Fate of Foreign-Flagged Vessels


Honoured sirs,

The Imperial Government of the Greater Holy Empire is concerned with your recent proclamation on the fate of slavers and their possessions. Whilst Tagmatium respects the task you have taken upon yourselves, the fate of foreign-flagged vessels under the employ or suspected of carrying either slavers or their possessions is now under question. Does the United States presume to police what foreign vessels are carrying, or who they are carrying? To attack and despoil the vessels of the nations you are at war with is one thing, but to attack, or attempt to, the shipping of a power that is not involved with your wars is another.

The Greater Holy Empire is not a slaver state, and it endeavours to make sure that none of its citizens are involved with the trade. However, the Imperial Government would prefer it the United States did not extend its war to foreign-flagged vessels involved in trade with any nation that Allanea finds itself at war with because of moral outrage. Any Tagmatine-flagged vessels involved with trade will be dealt with by the Imperial Government, not destroyed out of hand by the United States. Similarly, if vessels under the flag of the Greater Holy Empire are suspected of trade with what the United States considered to be a slaver state, then the Imperial Government would prefer it if they were reported, rather than become benefit of Allanea’s mercy.

If a Tagmatine-flagged vessel is found to be carrying any human cargo, then the Imperial Government requires that the crew, the vessel and any cargo are detained, rather than suffer the United States’ justice. Especially if the Imperial Government is to ignore that any vessel would have to have been illegally boarded for that to be truly ascertained. Rest assured, any they will face the full force of Tagmatine law for their acts. Similarly, Allanea must assure the Imperial Government that any Tagmatine citizen found trading with slavers, or taking part in the slave trade, is detained, rather than summarily executed, so that they can face what is internationally recognised as justice.

On top of the above, the Imperial Government politely asks that Allanea guarantees that no foreign-flagged vessels, especially not those of the Greater Holy Empire, are fired upon without due provocation. If the Greater Holy Empire is given to suspect that a Tagmatine-flagged vessel has been destroyed by the United States, then the Imperial Government asks that it is allowed to investigate such possibilities. In the event that this possibility is the case, then it is required that the United States has an eye to fully reimbursing any company or individual from the Greater Holy Empire who has suffered loss due to the actions if its armed forces.

The Greater Holy Empire will take a dim view of any actions by the United States that results in the injury or death of any Tagmatine citizen, or the destruction or damage of property belonging to a citizen of the Greater Holy Empire. Whether they are guilty of any offences related to slavery, such a matter is up to a court of law in Tagmatium, or any other nation that sufficiently recognises the rule of law.

May God will that your endeavour succeeds,

Yours sincerely,

Eugenios Goulielmos,

Minister for Foreign Affairs

Of the

Greater Holy Empire of Tagmatium

[Allanea]

Karbyshev Street, Liberty-City

The garage door opens without a sound, its engine pulling it up without a suggestion – it simply heard the driver getting in. In a single, fluid motion, Greta Adler twists the key. The engine roars defiance – and in a second, her car is in the road.

It is a thirty-minute drive to the harbor. She has an hour. Nothing will go wrong today. Nothing can go wrong.

The vehicle is not unlike how Greta sees herself – a bright-red pickup that she inherited from her older brother, scratched in places, suspicious banging emanating from under its hood, a slight rattle in its left door, the wheelhubs already showing specks of rust... and yet, nothing is going to go wrong. It is still a reliable car. Nothing is going to go wrong. Not today-

Good morning, this is the traffic chopper, we are now over Liberty City's Victory Borough...

Greta turns the wheel, merging almost – almost, damnit! Why am I such a clumsy...

Ladies and gentlemen, if any of your are headed to the harbor via Montgomery Avenue, well, my news to you is, you are all stuck without a paddle. The front half of Montgomery Avenue is one big traffic jam three miles long, and...

Greta hisses as if in pain as she sees it before her – a long, gleaming snake of metal. Hundreds, nay thousands of cars, all four lanes filled with them. Worse yet, the cars are moving – forward, at a slow, torturous pace. Had she been walking, she would be faster than them.

Her first instinct is to yank on the steering wheel, take herself out of the crowd – but already it is too late. Behind her, several cars are already waiting.

...we expect it to take about half an hour to clear the jam, maybe a bit more. Frankly just drink a Pink one – by the way, Pink Bunny Cola is the sponsor of this show. Call in at...

*

Aboard the USS Pittsburgh, Liberty Harbour, Submarine Dock 27

Captain Ernest Bogomolov passed his hand through his black hair. Already it was growing wild, and would not be acceptable in any maritime force elsewhere – but he was an Allanean, and issues of hair and tattoos were taken in stride by military men. Had he been a rank higher, he would be exempt from uniform duty altogether. A degree of freedom that most military men, the world over, could only dream of – but for now there was simply work to be done.

But even that was nearly complete. The torpedoes had been lowered into the vessel's armored belly, the long-range missiles loaded, the supplied prepared. Even the paint of the squadron's coat of arms had been renewed. Any minute now, the Free Woman's Farewell would begin to play – and, to the cheering of the crowd, the Pittsburgh would go to sea.

If there was anything Captain Bogomolov felt good about in this affair, it is the job he had done preparing the Pittsburgh for battle.

*

Liberty Harbour, Submarine Dock 27, just outside the docks

The large, heavy, unwieldy car barrels through the parking lot. It parks haphazardly – and Greta explodes out of the driver's door. Her clothing is not unlike that which Ernest would have wore if he were a young woman – heavy, black boots, black socks, a black, metal studded skirt and a shirt that was also black – cut vertically in the sides, with ranges of gleaming pins holding it from completely falling apart , all together setting off her paper-white skin.

She ran.

And yet she was already too late. Already the ancient Russian lyrics wafted into the air above the dock. She knew the Naval ritual. This meant that the engines had already started.

Nastupayt minuta proshaniya,
Ty gljadish' mne trevozhno v glaza,
I lovlju ya rodnoe dykhanie,
A vdali uzhe dyshit groza.

The crowd had already gathered by the dockside, preventing her from even seeing the Pittsburgh. With elbow and knee, she forced her through a line of observers – and then another – and then another – and then collapsed at the edge of the dock.

The submarines were by now only black shadows on the water of Liberty-Harbor, moving swiftly past the giant Founders' statues and out into the sea.

[Allanea]

Tehraan

The two missiles speed through the air. They require no active guidance – and in fact, no guidance at all, because their target cannot move away. They fly on inertial guidance alone, their path set by gyroscope inside the missile itself. They cannot be jammed. They cannot be stopped, unless they are shot down – and of course their target is not known to be armed.

Their target is one of the largest oil rigs in Tehraan, and oil rigs generally don't move. The missiles are launched from their maximum range – five thousand, five hundred kilometers. It will take them five hours to reach their target, flying low over the water to avoid RADAR detection. By that time, the USS Middleton that has launched them will be far from the launch point, maintaining complete radio silence. There will be no public announcement, and no way to know which nation launched the attack – although of course anybody with half a brain will be able to put two and two together.

The missiles slam through the upper stories of the rig, their half-ton charges detonating in its facilities, showering the crew in flaming shrapnel. Seconds later, the rig collapses, a chain of oil explosions ripping through the remains of its hull. Then, the pressure of the oil patch itself begins to pump thousands of barrels of oil into the waters of the Tehraani Exclusive Economic Zone.

[Tehraan]

Breaking news
National Tehraanian news (translated)

We have just received word that a few hours ago 2 missiles hit one of Tehraan's largest oil rigs. Their are reports of massive oil leak and catastrophic damage to the surrounding ecosystems. Our government has started a operation to contain the oil leak but its not known if the damage is recoverable. A message to the international community has been send by the government requesting help to contain the leak.
Already experts are calling it the largest ecological disaster to hit Tehraan in history. The identity of the perpetrators aren't know, but the use of missiles indicates that ordinary terrorists aren't involved. As of now the government doesn't wish to make a statement and will futher investigate this attack. But already rumors are going around that pirates from the United states of Allanea are responsible as a responce to Tehraan's declaration of sacred sovereignty and the passing of the "Tehraanian self defense and piracy protection" law which.
The impact this event will have on our oil recourses is acourding to our economy experts that in order to prevent a massive increase in oil prices, Tehraan will have to increase the amount oil that is imported from other nations, which will increase the amounts of transports that Tehraan has on the seas.

More news on this story as it develops.

---

Emerency telegram from the Democratic states of Tehraan

We request help to stop the oil leak and preventing it from further damaging the surrounding nature.
If the leak isn't stopped to damage to the ecosystems in that area will be catastrophic.

[New Korongo]

Protest Fleet
It was all over the news, it had also been heard at the fleet of ships, oil was spilling everywhere at one of the Tehraanian oil rigs."Commodore Williams, that oil will cause massive ecological damage. See if you can help out, those tree huggers will just love to join you." Grand Admiral Foley ordered the Commodore.
"Ma'am, don't you think calling them tree huggers is a bit harsh" Commodore Williams asked.
"Ok, fish huggers. You have your orders" Grand Admiral Foley said as she ended the conversation.

"Lieutenant, send a message to the Tehraanians" Commodore Williams ordered.
"Yes sir, what shall it say" Lieutenant Johnson asked.
"On board HMNKS Kingfisher, have protest fleet, will help with oil clean up" Commodore Williams told the Lieutenant. "Good, now send it" Williams ordered.
"Ok, it's away" Johnson reported.
The fleet began to move again, they would sail towards the destroyed oil rig and assist in the clean up, the protestors would be happy to help clean up the mess even if the Allanea would just blow up another.

[Tehraan]

Tehraanian ships started to work on closing the oil leak but is was to late to stop it from the spreading.

Some images that were taken:

[Allanea]

OOC: Permission has been granted by the player behind Deus for this post. I have promised to make it epic. This is my attempt at epic.

IC: Strike Area 45, near Deus, in the Azhukali region

The sun had nearly set. The area no doubt had a special designation – a name perhaps – in the records of the local oil industry. It was beautiful – oil rigs, their silhoettes almost black on the red background of the sunset. Oil workers from Deus were nearly completing their chores on the rigs. In some places, tankers or service ships were still moving between the rigs. In an area this size, there would be hundreds of rigs, dozens of ships serving them.

Naturally, it was never called Strike Area 45. The locals had a different name for it, a name that would reflect its beauty, its sunsets, its productive value – it's ability to warm their homes, to run their power plants, to clothe their children in synthetic shirts and provide their cars with fuel and oil. But other people had already given it this name: Strike Area 45.

Deep below the water, they were approaching – five submarines, SUBRON 16, Submarine Squadron 16. Five captains – for a near-defenseless area of the Azhukali region. The Allaneans had not yet mentioned this nation in their communications, and in truth, there would be no reason for the locals to believe they would be the ones to be targeted – and the rig zone was in the nation's EEZ, outside of its territorial waters. And of course, had oil rigs carried CIWS, oil would be a bit pricier...

*

Two hundred meters beneath the surface of the sea, Captain Bogomolov raises a small phone to his eyes. It's tiny screen comes alive – not because there is a network feed, because of course there isn't. Greta Adler looks at him from the photograph. Her lips are black – black lipstick is all the range among their circle of friends – and a black-and-metal collar is taut on her neck. She is beautiful.

She had not come to even say goodbye to me, – Bogomolov ponders in a fleeting thought. She will never come back. I...

“Captain? We are now within range of our targets. Satellite mapping suggests four unattended rigs as priority beta target. Multiple priority-alpha rigs also detected. One heavy production platform, recorded in our intelligence briefings as Target Priority Ultima, designation Sparrow.”

The Captain turns off the phone and places it, calmly, in his front shirt pocket. “I understand. Let's proceed on our plan. Launch seven missiles. Choose four NUIs, give them one missile each. And the heavy platform... hit that thrice.”

“Thrice, Captain?”

“Thrice. If I recall from our briefings, she has storage for a hundred thousand barrels of oil. We set that off, there's going to be some awesome fireworks.”

“Aye aye, Captain.”

“Get going. The other crews want to score their kills, too.”

*

The seawaters part. Twenty-eight missiles, launched by five submarines, rise from the surfaces, screaming towards their targets on pillars of smoke and steam.

The NUIs die first – the lightest platforms, automated, their size not even justifying a constant crew. Anti-ship missiles, designed to penetrate the armored hulls of military vessels, strike with satanic precision into their spars. Their half-ton explosive charges detonate – and then, oil comes rushing through the holes, secondary explosions taking the tops off the small rigs.

Five heavier, manned rigs are within sight of the first attacks. For a briefest moment, the crews are staring amazed as around them, fifteen NUIs explode at once, in a bacchanalia of flame. And then, there is no more amazement. Multiple rockets strike the heavier rigs at once. The crewmen manage merely to scream out in shock as they are eradicated.

Finally there is Target Sparrow. It is a moderately-heavy rig, with its own storage facility for hundreds of oil – several huge tanks, compartmentalized for safety and..

None of that is engineered to be struck by three anti-ship missiles at once.

Flaming oil spurts from three holes on the rig's sides. Then there are secondary explosions – one, two, three, as fire begins to consume the rig.

*

'YES!” - the Sonar operator screams out in joy.

“Yes?” - Ernest leans back. Gone is the distraught-looking young man. His eyes burn with a hunter's fervor.

“Captain, we have multiple detonations!”

“YESS!” - Bogomolov screams out in joy - “Yes! Bring us to periscope depth!”


As Ernest presses his face to the periscope, he can see a grotesque image that could have been painted by Goya. The water itself seems to burn as hundreds of tons of priceless oil spurt out onto the surface. Far in the distances, ships can be seen – some of the ships that just happened to be unlucky enough to frequent this area.

“What is that?” - he asks the RADAR operator. - “On bearing...”

“That is a tanker, Sir. Two hundred thousand tons or so.”

“And that small thing?”” - Ernest's hands are shaking with excitement - “The one turning right here?”

“I don't know, Sir. I think it's some kind of rescue or firefighting vessel.”

“Very well. Prepare to launch the rest of the missiles.”

*

Four missiles climb steeply into the sky. It seems slow, painful – and then they dive back down, towards the deck of the oil tanker. One misses narrowly, its guidance system taking it deep into the water, passing the stern by just half a yard. But the three others punch through the thin deck in three locations.

And there is fire – geysers of angry flame, spurting out through every hole in the hull, every hatch, every door. Slowly, the tanker begins to sideways, like an injured whale.

There is nobody who can note its demise. Six more of the light rigs are aflame, and several heavier ones are beginning to catch fire. The firefighting vessel is now itself ablaze.

*

“Full ahead!”

“Aye aye, Sir, full ahead!”

Bogomolov has transformed now. His pale face seems to glow from within with sadistic joy. His fingers are right on the periscope handles as he turns it, looking for additional targets. “These two ships! Size estimate!”

“Carrier, one hundred thousand tons! Towing vessel with attached light rig, twenty thousand tons!”

“Torpedoes, fire! Full spread!”

There are several long, painful minutes – and then:

“WE HAVE IMPACT! MULTIPLE IMPACTS! WE HAVE DE-TO-NATION!”

*

The submarines steam ahead through the area. Sometimes they dive deep into the waters, at others, they rise to periscope depth. The acrid smoke of burning crude oil rises above them, helping them to conceal their passing. Underneath that, they strike again and again.

The Pittsburgh is the most successful. It strikes a container ship at the full range of its torpedoes, using its onboard RADAR to guide them towards the target. After the launch, RADAR is powered down to avoid detection. Minutes later, two general-purpose tankers perish, their crews struggling to decouple them from the rigs they had been moored to even as several of the torpedoes strike at once. And then a Large-Range carrier, a hundred thousand tons in size.

But other men still do their duty. Tankers of all size, cargo ships, oil rigs, and even the repair and rescue vessels steaming towards the size of the disaster – everything is a target.

Even a single oil rig being destroyed would be an ecological disaster. Even one tanker sinking would cause the Green community to cry out. What the Allaneans are doing now is far beyond that.

But eventually, even the Allaneans are sated, and they need to leave some torpedoes in their holds in case they needed on the return journey.
Once more the Allanean vessels drop deep into the seas and retreat, under the cover of darkness. On the sea bottom, they leave a handful of mines, hoping to graze a few enemies as the rescue efforts commence.
It is over... isn't it?

*

[align]

“Sir... we have a ship detected. Identification assumes tanker.... very large tanker.”

“Bring us to periscope depth.”

“But Sir...”

Still half-dazed with the rush of battle, Ernest grins. “Periscope depth. It is the middle of the night. It is a tanker. Bring us to periscope depth.”

The submarine rises. Slowly. Far too slowly for anybody's liking. But eventually, in the green-hued vision of the sensor net – actual periscopes are long passed from naval use – the captain can see the last target.

“What is that? Anybody with an identification? It's... huge.”

“FPSO. Mobile processing plant. Designation hostile. Estimated size category – over five hundred thousand tons.”

There is a pause as Bogomolov's smile grows broader.

“Hit it. Full spread.”

“But, Sir...”

“It's over five hundred thousand tons. We hit that, we're aces. Full spread.”

Again... waiting.

And then the wait is reward.

“We have impact! We have five impacts!”

Powerful explosions, designed to break the keels of naval ships, ring under the immense vessel. It begins to tip towards the stern, its mighty prow rising skyward. Lightning flashes – and through the rain-washed glass of the sensor gear, Ernest sees something that no man had beheld since the processing vessel left drydock – it's immense, red-painted belly, strikingly clear in the brief light, fire bursting from its wounds.

And then it tips over, and vanishes.

“Retract the telescope. Navigator, take us to the nearest harbor.”

*

In the Seabird Trust's headquarters, a color fax begins to run.


What appears is a satellite photograph of the entirety of “Strike Area 45” and its surrounding. The wealthy rig field is painted in red, roughly, as if with a crayon. About twenty miles away, where Ernest has met the processing vessel, a single, small, red dot is marked down for the Trust's benefit.

The message is annotated.

These are the locations you asked for.
Ensign Jones, Department of Defense.

[NS Limbaugh Island]

IC:

From the Desk of the President...

It has long been the policy of these United States to oppose slavery, but perhaps "oppose" is too weak a word. We do not seek merely to speak out against them, to encourage a less favorable international attitude towards slavery, nor do we seek only to change the laws of those nations which now practice slavery, though such is a part of our goals.

If that is not this nation's goal, what, then, do we seek? That is simple enough, friends.

In no uncertain terms, Limbaugh Island seeks to sponge, to purge, and if needs must even to blast the horrible and obscene institution that is slavery from the Free World before we are through. It is not an easy mission, but it is surely a worthy cause.

I have resolved, with the full backings of the Continental Congress and the Sovereign People of these United States, to join with the United States of Allanea in the fight against international slave traders, and, against modern slavery in general.

For this reason I have ordered the sale of weaponry from the Navy's stockpiles, weapons which have been phased out of service but are still quite capable of inflicting damage in battle against those who would dare seek to advance the cause of slavery. These weapons will be sold at cost, to captains of the US merchant ships which now sail the High Seas in search of justice.

Unlike the Allaneans we will not be officially handing out awards of some kind at the national level. This is a war, not a game show. Still, those communities from which vessels involved in this business hail will no doubt speak proudly of their noble sons and daughters, and take their own measures to reward their great efforts.

Units of the US Armed Forces will be used to assist in safeguarding our own merchant ships against misguided efforts at reprisal, and to guard our own shores, as well as being involved in the supression of global slavery as they always have been.

~ David Tweed, President of the United States of Limbaugh Island

[Anemos Major]

OOC: Maybe not in the open seas, but all slaver ships sailing through Anemonian waters are quietly boarded and liberated. Slavers are... put out of the picture.

[Aldarminia]

TO: United States of Allanea
FROM: Emperor Sir Hrothashki I The Cossack of the Capitalist Imperial Republic of Aldarminia
SUBJECT: Praise and Support

I am pleased to announce that all of Aldarminia stands alongside our Greater Prussian allies in this effort to rid the world of slavery. We commend your actions with the greatest praise and honor. The Unite States have taken upon themselves a heavy burden in eradicating any and all slavers they meet. Such a burden, no matter how great the cause, is still hard to maintain. We will happily provide support to your efforts. You can rest assured that Aldarminian aircraft and warships will stalk the open seas for those bearing the flag of a slaver nation. We board these ships, liberate their slaves, arrest their crews, destroy ships, and then send their crews' heads back to their homeland in a basket of thorns. Once again, we applaud your actions. Let the slavers live short, cruel, harsh lives and die slow, painful deaths!

Signed,
Emperor Sir Hrothashki I The Cossack of the Capitalist Imperial Republic of Aldarminia
CIRA

[Libertarian Governance]

The gruff Supreme General kissed his wife on her left cheek, then with a smile sat down for breakfast. Beautiful day today, Marth. Are you going out?

You know the weather this time of year, Arkady. She shakes her head negatively as she takes a glass of the freshly prepared mango and orange juice and begins to drink.

Arkady nods in agreement. It could rain, what's new about that hey? But, I think Marth it will be a great day, warm and sunny. You should go get our princess from Sasha. He takes a look around the breakfast table, croissants, three kinds of preserves, an exquisite three egg omelet filled with sausage, bacon, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, two kinds of cheese decorated the plate before him while wearing a rich and very hot salsa. To his right strawberries and two types of sliced melons and to his left potatoes mixed with peppers and onions along with a bowl of hot cereal. He decided that the omelet would be first and dug in with his fork.

Wonderful Marth, wonderful Marth. Taking a tablet computer he looked up the days events by manipulation of the touch screen.

Th first thing he noticed was an intelligence advisory detailing several attacks on the oil and shipping assets of slavers. Then he got into current Libertarian Governance actions which the previous evening included the seizure of five suspected slave ships by commandos. All commandos were fine he noted, two ships were empty of human cargo though one contained 200 slaves, one contained 155 slaves and one 78 child slaves. There was a note attached that the slaver crews suffered a total of sixty eight KIA and twenty two prisoners were taken. A rope around their necks as soon as they were convicted. He checked each of the prisoner files and found all were due for chemical interrogation. Good he thought, more information and more scum to go after.

I might just go get our baby. Martha said with a smile while adding peach preserves to the inside of a croissant.

Taking a healthy bite of the potatoes Arkady nodded in agreement. You...know...they need help. Young people just don't get it. Chewing and talking and alternately taking gulps of the mango-orange juice he deftly multi-tasked. Scrolling between reports, budgets, troop movements and more while holding a conversation with his wife of 40 years. The Libertarian war on slavery was a hot war. It was a war in which troops, ships and aircraft were actively involved. It would seem our allies are pushing the same policy on slavery as our Chief Executive. This is good.

Martha looked out the window of their breakfast nook towards her garden. I just can't fathom that such a reprehensible practice continues in this day and age.

Pushing the tablet back a bit, Arkady retrieves a slice of Cantaloupe melon. Taking three big bites, it is discarded. Then while chewing profusely the General continues in a soothing tone. Marth....it...is...such..an evil world. That's why they have guys like me.

Will you be home for dinner babe?

I should. I have a few meetings on some of our deployments. Secret stuff and then a pretty regular day at defense.

She laughs brightly and looks her husband in his bright blue eyes. Covert operations?

Arkady shrugs in a way that his wife long ago found meant yes. Oh, you have to try the peach. It's really good. Try this one babe.

Taking the offered croissant from his wife he takes a bite. Then a second and third bite finishing it off.

Allanea does so much good. We should do something for the staffs of the Imperial offices here in Liberty.

Marth, I don't know, maybe you could have some sort of picnic with your group. It could be good for those that are away from home. Though, I think our Chief Executive would himself prefer to provide more military support.

You know speaking of Robert babe, Sally Jamison's daughter has her eye on him. She says in a singsong.

Arkady laughs a little. Then grabs a handful of strawberries . He's still married to his sweetheart. Bad business that raid. He takes a moment to think about a special ops raid so long ago that cost the Chief Executives wife her life. He continues looking through the days briefing reports as he finishes his breakfast.

[Tehraan]

Tehraanian National news (translated)

New development consiring the Oil leak

The fire and leak has been stopped thanks to the Tehraanian and New Korongo ships, but damage to the environment has been massive. Acording to reports the area around the Former Oil rig is still covert with oil that has begun to drift towards other Islands near Tehraan. The government has not stated who is responsible or claimed any guilty. They did however state that 'the guilty will not go unpunished, as this an unwarranted act of violence to Tehraanian nationals and a disgrace to any form of civilization.'

[Tehraan]

attention:
http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=100730