Benevolence's Vengeance (MT, IC, Open)

[Congreveopia]

Vist the OOC for rules and such

HIDF Hespler, Flagship of the Fourth Primary Ship Fleet^{[image credit]}

The Fourth Primary Ship Fleet, 150 kilometers off the coast of Qiraj, 0520 hours:

(Music)

“The final attempt at diplomacy has failed.” said the captain, walking up to Admiral Deborah Contreras as she stood outside the bridge, looking out at the water. “The Congreveopians closed talks after Qiraj failed to agree to immediately withdraw from the area around Benevolence. There has been no attempt to reopen a dialogue. New orders from Lesterville are advising you to prepare to make an invasion, and to take the fleet up to maximum readiness.”

“Maximum readiness it is.” ordered the admiral “Make it so across the fleet. Is there any word on when war will officially be declared?”

“It looks like the Congreveopians will claim that the war began with the destruction of Benevolence to legitimize our raid on the crash site.” answered the captain “They will likely invoke the RavenForce charter and call upon Llamaopia, Exantos, and us of course to join the war in the next few hours.”

“But we should be ready for action before then.” said the admiral, cutting in “We’re fighting to strengthen our ties to the RavenForce coalition as an insurance measure for our nation’s security. The people of Qiraj are going to be fighting to defend their continued existence. There’s no reason they need to wait for an official declaration which will end up saying the war began three days ago anyways. Have the fleet move to maximum readiness, but don’t wake the troops. I can’t launch an invasion until the Fifth Aviation Wing gets me air cover anyways.”

“They aren’t going to.” replied the captain “The deal for Kocahisar Air Base fell through ten minutes ago. Some ally of Qiraj convinced them that if our fighters were stationed at the air base, then it would become a military target, and military action would be taken against it.”

“Without air cover, we have no invasion.” said the admiral “I’m sure we can put up a valiant fight and all that, but this fleet is nothing to the air power of Qiraj. They have more planes than we have missiles.”

“This fleet is not alone.” answered the captain “The international community has joined in condemning this unprovoked attack on Benevolence. Forces have already been mobilized from Ceneria, The New Finnish Republic, GAmeTopia, Mizenta, Birtonia, Tekkit, and more nations. By my count, at least seven aircraft carriers have been pledged in support of this operation from nations outside the Hale Isles.”

“God, what have the Congreveopians wrought?” wondered the admiral. “Briefing room, 0525 hours, I want all the latest information, and the fleet should be at maximum readiness by then.”

“0525 hours.” the captain said, saluted, and walked back into the ship.

The admiral returned the salute, then went back to leaning on the railing and looking out at the fleet. Small waves slipped quietly past the bow of her flagship as it calmly sailed against a gentle currant, maintaining its position out in the sea. Around her vessel were six smaller ships, though their lack of size didn’t diminish the imposing figure the mighty warships presented as they floated together in the black expanse of water. Tomorrow, they might be crumpled husks at the bottom of the sea, burning ruins fleeing for home, or even failed weapons, surrendering to an overwhelming enemy. But today, they were still as perfect and unblemished as the day they left the factory. Tomorrow, it would be her job to keep them that way.

Deborah watched as the navigation lights went off all over the fleet, then the ships that had them closed the armored shutters on their bridge windows.

“Ma’am, will you be stepping inside shortly?” asked a saluting seaman from the door to the bridge, evidently meaning to close it in accordance with making the ship ready for combat.

“Yes, thank you.” said the admiral, walking back into the bridge.

0527 hours:

“It’s settled, then.” said the admiral, addressing the assembled officers. “We will make no action against Qiraj until we’ve conferred with the rest of the forces that are inbound. With the loss of the Llamaopian radio team, we have no idea if any of the forces sent to Benevolence are still operational, and we will not risk the readiness of this fleet to find out. We should arrange a meeting among the incoming forces to discuss plans for the invasion.”

“I’d make 0700 hours as good a time as any.” said the captain. “Only the Cenerians will have arrived in the area, but everyone else should probably be awake and can attend via satellite.”

“Make it 1245 hours.” said Admiral Contreras “It is up to us, not Qiraj when this invasion is launched, and I doubt we’ll be launching it with a quarter of our forces. We can spend the time to do this properly. 1245 hours lets the GAmeTopians and Mizentians fly over by helicopter if they want.”

“Not to question your judgment, but what good does that do?” asked the captain “We’re just giving Qiraj more time to dig in.”

“If this comes to war, at some point, I will have to ask these men to decide between my soldiers and thiers.” said Colonel Ira Sifford “Before I ask that of them, I had better have looked them in the eye without a webcam between us.”

“1245 hours it is.” said the captain. “Command wanted me to relay that they are putting together a rush shipment of AA units for you, by the way, colonel. They stated they need sixty hours to get the first flight of Mi-17s to Kocahisar, but after that you should start seeing reinforcements.”

“Yes, I’ll get in touch with them.” said the colonel “We are equipped for making tactical amphibious attacks, not fighting a prolonged ground war halfway across the world, and I need to get that fixed.”

“Very good.” said the admiral “Captain, withdraw us to 200 kilometers off the coast, and adopt wide spacing. Let’s not get ambushed before we’re even in the fight.”

“I’ll see to it, admiral.” said the captain “And where will you be, should I have occasion to contact you?”

“I’m going to be in my quarters getting some sleep.” said the admiral “I believe that particular commodity will be in very short supply in the days to come.”

[Senkaku]

Breaker of Chains, Chapter One: War Drums

"We shall defend our land, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."

---

Kharsaan Capital Region
Kharsaan
Central District
Office of the State Presidium
Situation Room
0530 Hours

---

"Ladies and gentlemen of the State Presidium, the Chiefs of Staff," a cool voice said over the speakers. The various ministers and directors of the Presidium were all seated, aides standing by with tablets and papers, as a small group of military men stood and headed to the front of the room, in front of the huge wallscreen.
Director Marvan Bakhtiyar, of the Foreign Intelligence Directorate, the usual mouthpiece for Supreme Command, opened. "Ladies and gentlemen, I will give you a brief summary of the situation. Congreveopia has dragged in several allies to support their upcoming military intervention. We expect an imminent amphibious attack once their forces rendezvous, and we expect a rendezvous within 24 to 72 hours. All military units have been placed on high alert in response, and mobilization of the Civil Guard has begun in Ardakan and Qiraibashi. Admiral Khodadi has ordered all our submarines out of port and all large surface ships are also preparing to deploy. Our missile boats will be released to attack once they inevitably break past the larger ships- the task force being assembled will doubtless eventually destroy them all. Air Marshal Modher, meanwhile, has placed interceptor units on high alert and ordered fighter patrols to watch for enemy incursions into our airspace The Air Force and the Air Defense Group are cooperating to heighten general alertness and ensure that our ground-based anti-air systems are also well-prepared for enemy invasion. General Talukdar, meanwhile, is preparing fortifications with the 1st and 2nd Armies and elements of the Revolutionary Guard, Air Defense Group, and Strategic Tasks Group around and in Ardakan, Qiraibashi, Ultsengel, and Farahan, and along the Syrtij Highway. Reinforcements from the Third Army will begin moving within the next two hours or so, to form a reserve force. The forces remaining at the base will soon be wiped out, as a detachment of the Fourth Army's mechanized infantry and artillery should be arriving as we speak to reinforce the troops already there." He paused, suddenly looking grave.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Director Saramad of the Strategic Tasks Group informed me earlier that, as we speak, we have Soliryn units on standby at this very moment capable of striking at the assembling international task force. These units include six Soliryn-5 missiles, each carrying twelve hypersonic glide vehicles. If this Presidium wishes it..."
The Chairman, Sahand Adarkin, suddenly interjected. "Not yet. No, we will wait- and when the foreign bourgeois dogs begin moving towards our shores, intruding into our airspace, and when they refuse to heed our order to leave- then we shall unleash our rain of fire.
"Comrades, this is one of the darkest times in our revolution's history- but we must remember. We have the support of the people, of the nation, and we are fighting for our freedom and our motherland. Every path before us now leads to victory- it is only that some paths are longer than others. I am confident that we will defend our nation and its people to our dying breaths, and that, however long it may take, the foreign menace will eventually be vanquished. Qiraj will remain free, and if- which I do not believe for an instant- we are somehow defeated, then the true bannermen and women of the Revolution, the proletariat, will carry on our fight for us from behind every street corner, from every farmhouse wall and fence, from the peaks of the Khevruul to the sea shore, until the enemy is utterly defeated and we can continue our great revolutionary project."

---

Farahan Governorate
Farahan District
Sainah Municipality
0530 Hours

---

Chagha'an flinched a little as the sonic boom hit- two Air Force interceptors, taking off from the airfield a few miles northeast of them had gone screaming overhead, low enough he could see the gleaming red stars on the bottom of their wings. MiG-31s, he thought as the boom rattled the entire transporter-erector.
If Chagha'an looked back, out the window, a glorious and frightening sight awaited him. A single Soliryn-5 missile, a dull grey color, stood tall, towering over the transporter-erector that had carried it to this out-of-the-way little spot, on the shores of one of the Syrtij's cadet branches that wound through the delta. The sky was still deep bruise-blue, blushing pink in the east, and a few stars still twinkled in the sky, while they were all cast into shade by the trees and the horizon itself. Even the very uttermost tip of the great missile was not kissed by the sun.
"Unit 616, this is Farahan Control, continue standby," the voice over the radio suddenly crackled. Every five minutes, since they had told Control that their missile was ready for launch, they had been told to standby.

Chagha'an was still waiting for that order as he watched a contrail trace across the still-dark western horizon, and listened to the river whisper through the reeds as it always had and always would, no matter how this war ended.

---

East Manjil Governorate
Urhai District
Toqto Municipality
Camp Benevolence
0530

---

Arman Naazem winced as there was a loud concussion from outside- had the foreigners somehow gotten a mortar? Something had exploded, that was for sure- a light rain of dust fell from the ceiling, although his screen stayed on.
"This is Position Theta, we have a MiG-25 on an intercept course with the helicopter," he said into the microphone. "Are we gonna need anything besides that?"
A new voice- deeper, more commanding- came through into his earphones. "Negative, Theta. There are no current enemy air intruders that would necessitate requesting further assets from the Air Force."
There was another bone-shaking explosion. "Copy that, Command. What are those explosions?"
"We had Strategic Tasks fire off a few Makals, nothing to worry about."
"Makal as in the ballistic missile?", Arman blurted.
The voice on the other end sounded mildly amused for a second, but then became serious once more. "Yes, Position Theta. Tell your interceptor they're cleared to engage as soon as they can."
Arman gulped and tapped the channel-switcher as the comparatively gentle bam-bam-bam of a thirty millimeter cannon started up. "Foxbat-4, you're cleared to engage. Target is proceeding due west at 255 kilometers per hour at around 2,000 feet, currently 12 klicks west of the base. Engage ASAP. Do you copy?"
"This is Foxbat-4, I already have a missile lock."
Arman's eyebrows climbed. "Foxbat-4, please engage immediately, as I said."

Two smaller radar contacts appeared on Arman's screen, accelerating away from the MiG, which peeled off. A few contacts jumped off of the helicopter- chaff or flares of some kind- but neither missile was fooled.

All three radar contacts abruptly vanished, and a few seconds later there was a low, rumbling boom. Arman could not see it, but all that was left of the desperately fleeing Gametopian helicopter was now an expanding orange cloud of fire and debris, turning blackish-brown as it puffed outwards like some hellish pastry.
"This is Foxbat-4, I've lost contact with the target."
"Copy that, Foxbat-4. Confirming a kill." He switched channels as another set of emerald-colored contacts moved on and a status note appeared on the computer.
"Blue Flight, this is Control. We've got several attack helicopters that appear to be faring better than expected against our MANPADS so far," he said coolly. They actually had only had one or two MANPADS teams initially- with outdated missiles, so it was no surprise- but now that the Fourth Army unit was coming he'd been told they had Iglas, Mistrals, and Kaftars online and moving. Might as well make sure and give the flyboys something to do. "Swat them, please."
"This is Blue Leader. Copy that, Control," came the crackling voice of the pilot. The four MiG-29s began descending sharply as they made their attack run, selecting targets among the Allied attack helicopters still in the air and unleashing twelve air-to-air missiles against them. Two of them gave short bursts on their cannon as well, for good measure.
Airman sat back, slightly bored, as he watched the missiles track steadily towards their targets.

---

Babak Jobrani felt slightly silly looking through the night-vision binocs, like some field marshal from the last century surveying his line of battle, but they were good enough. Two massive plumes of smoke were rising from where the two Makal tactical ballistic rockets had landed, and Colonel Jobrani was quite certain that the enemy forces entrenched in the two makeshift strongpoints were finished. He could, in fact, from here, survey the battlefield, such as it was, like some grand old field marshal or a khan riding into battle. He could see their reinforcements finally arrive- two hundred Fourth Army troops in IFVs and two PLZ-45s. Seems like overkill, but they probably want to stop any further insertions a bit more quickly.
One of the IFVs started yammering away with its 30mm cannon, and Babak put the binoculars on the table and sat down. The battle at Camp Benevolence was in its closing stages.

But the war- well, the war was only just now beginning.

---

timestamp:0531 hrs
Encryption/0/Open Channel
Ardakan Naval/Air Transmission

---

Vessels of the Fourth Surface Fleet, please be advised you are now inside Qiraj's exclusive economic zone and offshore military identification sector (MIS). This region has been declared a Special Security Zone by the Presidium in light of potential threats to the Motherland's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Please identify yourselves and vacate Qiraji waters, moving on a course away from Qiraj's shores. We reserve the right to use lethal force if you do not comply.

POST SUMMARY:

-The State Presidium is making plans for the impending invasion. [ICly obvious they're doing it, but specifics are secret]
-Qiraj is making preparations for the attack- air defense is being put on high alert, missiles are being readied, ships are being deployed, and soldiers being moved to set up fortifications. [ICly Secret but observable to *some* extent]
-Soliryn missiles have been prepared to strike at the Allied fleet and the invasion force, if/when it attacks. [ICly Secret]
-The Gametopian helicopter has been shot down by two missiles from a Qiraji MiG-25 interceptor.
-Qiraji forces are finishing off the troops in Camp Benevolence, launching a pair of Malak rockets to take out two surviving strong Allied positions and sending in some Fourth Army mechanized infantry to finish the job (with artillery backup from a pair of PLZ-45s).

[Military Democracy of Birtonia]

Out at sea
7th Amphibious Assault Group
Knight-Lieutenant-Admiral Frederick König
0700 Hours

Knight-Lieutenant-Admiral Frederick König was getting dressed in his cabin of the BMS Lawrence Bradley the flagship of the 7th Amphibious Assault Group and the officers command post. He had just finished shaving and donned his white officers jacket when a voice crackled to life over the intercom in his cabin.

"Sit we have orders from command, you might want to come to the CIC" the speaker said.

"Get the coffee ready" he grumbled in response.

Frederick opened the hatch of his cabin and stepped into the hallway, moving towards the Combat Information Center. Throngs of sailors and soldiers passed by rendering the morning greeting to him, he nodded and grunted back at the men. Finally making his way to the CIC, a crisp attention was heard.

"At ease" said König.

A young officer approached him with a steaming cup of coffee and retreated back once the KLA had taken it from him. He approached the second officer in command and was handed a file, putting it on the desk and opening it he examined its contents. There was orders from BAF command ordering his group to conduct an amphibious assault along with various forces aiding the Congrevopians.

"Alright, navigator plot a course here" he said tossing him the coordinates, "sound general quarters, prepare for battle" he finished.

"Aye sir" the two younger officers responded.

He waited a few moments and sipped on his coffee, which was very strong and black, just the way he preferred it, it appears his subordinates were great at remembering things.

"ETA to the coast?" He asked his navigator.

"We'll be there tomorrow morning........0300 hours sir" replied the Knight-Captain.

"Very well, all ahead full" ordered the commander.

With that, the 7th Amphibious Assault Group was headed towards the coast of Qiraj, ready for action.

[The GAmeTopians]

Onboard Viper-5, 550 Hours
"Co-pilot, start the upload to the satellite. There are fighters incoming, I don't know how long we've got." The pilot directed, gripping the controls tightly.
The co-pilot hooked up the files that the Benevolence pilot had carried with him to the helicopter's data bank, and started the transfer back to the homeland.
"The data is sorted by importance, we should be able to get them the key evidence."
As the fighters neared, the pilot released flares, all while the co-pilot continued the transfer. The pilot activated a broadcast to every radio within a mile.
"It's been a good run, fighting for my country and her allies. I'll see you all in the next life."
"Critical data transferred! See you in the next life, sir."
The missiles hit, decimating all inside. But the important data had reached headquarters.
At the Benevolence Crash Site, 555 Hours
The GAmeTopian forces as a whole watched Viper-5 fall, hands going up in salute to their fallen comrades.
The leader of the forces snarled. He contacted the battlecruiser that was already nearby Qiraj, the one that had carried them here.
"Duelist, this is BenevolenceAirSquadron. Viper-5 has fallen to Qiraj. Let war commence, and pray for our fallen comrades. I may soon join them. Out"
He threw down his weapon, and slowly the others in the Royal Air Squadron did the same, and they all dropped to one knee, in combined surrender and prayer for their comrades. The gunships landed, and shut down. There was a moment of silence for Viper-5.

[New Finnish Republic]

Qiraj, 0550 Hours, Outskirts of Camp Benevolence

"BRACE!" Korpi yelled at his men as the missiles detonated near their position. The blast knocked a few of his men back, but they seemed to all be alright as the got back inside the crude trench they'd dug into. Those damn things were getting zeroed in on their location. It would probably take another salvo or two until they would be dropped right on their location. Their position was to the east of the GAmeTopians where the two forces were desperately trying to hold off the onslaught of Qiraji forces but as night was beginning to turn to day the possibility of surviving had grown to near impossible. Their radio operator, who had the equipment that allowed contact back to HQ, ended up getting blown away by an HE shell from the enemy's armor. He wasn't the only one who'd fallen. Out of the 34 men that had made it outside, another 5 had fallen including their radio operator. Ammo was becoming scare, and most men were down to their last mag or forced to use their sidearms. Things had fallen apart very fast. The Cenerian choppers proved ineffective at taking out the bulk of the enemy. Even if they would've, reinforcements had arrived and were beginning to hammer away at their position. Then the missiles became a factor. At first they were way off the mark, but they were beginning to creep in towards Korpi's position. If a salvo of those struck his men, it'd be game over.

"Lieutenant, we've got a friendly chopper being pursued by enemy fighters! Flares are being engaged and... FUCK!" A corporal yelled at Korpi through his headset. Korpi watched as the rockets slammed into the chopper creating a massive fireball in the sky. There would be no survivors. This was the hair that broke the camel's back. As soon as the chopper went down, Korpi noticed the rest of the friendly forces begin to surrender. They must have realized that there was no other outcome other than death.

The remaining 28 Öinenhaukat looked at Korpi. Korpi knew these men would more than willingly fight to the death. The thought of dishonoring the Öinenhaukat name was at the forefront of their minds. Korpi felt the same. However, he didn't want his men throwing their lives away in a god-forsaken country half-way across the world. He knew what had to happen.

"All men... lay down your arms and... surrender." Saying that last word was like swallowing poison for Korpi. His men reluctantly laid down their weapons and began to slowing walk out with their hands up towards to enemy's position. Thankfully the Qiraji forces didn't open fire upon them, although all weapons seemed to be pointed at them. A small force of infantry approached them and begun to search the Öinenhaukat. After concluding that they were disarmed, they tied their hands up and began to march them back to the rest of their forces.

As Korpi marched forward, he took one last look behind him at the battlefield. Bodies and the remains of vehicles littered the area as smoke still bellowed from where the napalm hit previously. Korpi could only ask himself if all this death was worth it.

New Helsinki, 0555 Hours, War Room

Kalm stared at the screen for the longest amount of time. A curtain of silence had fallen as they observed the remaining Öinenhaukat surrender to the enemy. Kalm was glad that at least some of his men would live through this disaster, at least for the time being. He'd do his best to ensure that he'd get those men back home. It would be impossible to retrieve the bodies of their fallen however. This pained Kalm greatly. He would soon be writing his hand-written letters informing the families of the deceased that their husbands, brothers, and fathers would no longer be able to come home.

The thought of families learning of this news put Kalm into a fit of rage. He threw what had been his 12th cup of coffee at a nearby wall. "What the hell happened?! Intelligence never informed us of their offensive capabilities! I want a meeting schedule with Congreveopia scheduled immediately and have them tell me why the hell we didn't get better information on this op! I'd never have sent them if I'd known it was going to be this heavily contested!"

Heikkinen stepped up and cleared his throat. "Sir, there is a meeting scheduled at 1245 hours for the Allied leaders. Until then I would suggest getting some rest." Heikkinen stepped back after saying this. He knew what the President was feeling. He felt the same boiling rage. He'd served in the Coastal Marines and understood the costs that came from engaging in war.

They'd get their revenge. That was for damn sure.

[Hale Isles]

Lesterville, the Hale Isles, 1435 local time (0535 hours Qiraj time), Presidential Building, Crisis Management Room:

“It’s an ultimatum. They know their coastal defenses are stronger than our fleet can weather, and they’re pushing us so they can have an excuse to sink us before the other fleets arrive.” said the Commander of Sea Defense “Divide and conquer. I hate to say it, but we need to withdraw before they fire.”

“Let’s not be too hasty to capitulate before we start to fight.” said President Anita Morgan. “What’s their legal footing on this? Is their ‘special security zone’ going to stand up?”

“Probably not.” answered a legal advisor “It’s in direct opposition to UNCLOS, and there’s no precedent in support of it. Maybe some of the examples set in the cod wars would support their case, but it's entirely different circumstances. Nobody is going to buy the legality of their zone.”

“So what’s their game then?” asked Anita “If they sink our fleet, we lose a fleet, but, say, five join our side in defense of UNCLOS. It works out against them. Are they bluffing and trying to force us into withdrawing because we value our sailors over the success of the war as a whole. Can we call their bluff?”

“We would be betting our largest fleet and thirteen hundred halian souls that they’re bluffing.” said the Commander of Sea Defense.

“And they’re not bluffing.” cut in the legal advisor “Their special security zone doesn’t stand up in court, but to attack it, we have to commit to when the war started, and once we do that we don’t have a leg to stand on.”

“How’s that?” enquired Anita. “Our fleet’s taken no hostile action.”

“It’s still a hostile combatant.” replied the legal advisor “Currently, it claims to be protected because it is guaranteed a right to ‘innocent passage’. It’s not ‘innocent passage’ if you’re at war with the nation whose waters you’re passing through. Look at it this way, if war was declared on April 5th, as the Congreveopians want to claim, then our fleet is at war with Qiraj, and it’s fair game for them to strike. If the war begins later today, April 7th, then the raid on Benevolence was an unannounced first strike, which Congreveopia has made an agreement to never commit. Either way, we can get mad at them all we want for declaring a ‘special security zone’ unlawfully, but they can bring a much stronger case against us, and they get to sink our fleet.”

“So be it, then.” said Anita “Order Admiral Contreas to withdraw to four hundred kilometers off the coast. Qiraj wins the first battle.”

[Hypsinar]

Day before at 2200hrs (above Qiraj in allied nation):

Captain Jury of the Martinique guards had assumed control of the Martinique guards. Their transport helicopters were nearing the border when they decided to set up camp and await the main reinforcements. Captain Jury fastened up his shoulder pads and took out his pistol. He then observed the mountain range in front of him and realised the main reinforcements will have to skirt further down south to the main passage through the mountain range. He took out his map and plotted a route to the air base that Blueheath and Jackson escaped to. He planned to leave his extra men at the passage through the mountains while the rest leave as soon as it is light.

Qiraj Mountain range 0700hrs:

The men clambered aboard the helicopters with practised ease and efficiency. The men were all eager and ready to avenge their brothers. Jury however was smiling as he realised the surprise that was awaiting both the enemy and Lt General Blueheath who had not been able to make contact for a while. He looked below at the snow topped mountains as he soared over them. He looked at his Sat Nav unit and noticed they were now around 40 km away from camp Benevolence and approaching fast. He also hoped that the Qiraj military didn't take all the fun from him and his men in Camp Benevolence.

War room aboard the HMS Recluse, 0700 hrs:

Stagler looked as his animated map on the wall of the large square room. He noticed the many different markers placed on the board, one for his fleet he was currently in, his reinforcements soon to be arriving. Ground reinforcements Alpha and Strike force Imperialis. He also noticed the unmoved cluster of markers that showed Paralax Organisation who they had not heard from for a while. He had called Brigadier Maverick many times, however he had no reply, until now. Stagler was interrupted by the ringing of his secure line he picked it up confused of who it would be on the other end.
"This is General Stagler of the Hyperion Army, who is this?"
"Well hello old friend. This is Brigadier Maverick and I would like to announce that after ignoring your thousand calls we are on our way and are now 217 miles from your position and will be inbound and ready to deploy in a few of days. Well I have stuff to attend to so Maverick out."
With that the line went dead and Stagler rolled his eyes and a look of haughty derision was on his face as he thought about Maverick's manner and lack of respect for authority. After a few seconds a broad smile lit up his face as he realised this war while currently they were outnumbered was about to take a turn for the best.

[Hale Isles]

The Fourth Primary Ship Fleet, 400 kilometers off the coast of Qiraj, 1245 hours:

Admiral Contreras leaned on a railing above her flagship’s hangar and watched the helicopters arriving from the other fleets. It looked like the first one landing was a seahawk. That could be the Finns or the Mizentians. Then there was one of the heavily armed Vipers from GAmeTopia waiting for the seahawk to land, and some more that she couldn’t make out from this distance.

The seahawk gently touched down on the forward pad, and Deborah saw the ASIST system moving to secure it. She decided that she’d better make sure the meeting room was ready, and headed back into the ship.

1249 hours:

A single metal table took up most of the space in the meeting room, with chairs secured to the floor around it. A light green paint on the walls did little to disguise the mechanical nature of the warship they were aboard. The firm metal bulkheads were only punctuated by the occasional vent or power outlet, save for the room’s door, and the projector screen that filled most of the far wall. A fairly young sailor stood by a small podium with a laptop on it, evidently running the projector. As Deborah entered, followed by the other nations’ command staff, the sailor at the podium turned to look, as did the two high-ranking Halian officers already seated at the table. Deborah walked to the head of the table near the projector, and one of the officers slid a folder of papers over to her, which she glanced at approvingly. As the final people filed in and took seats, a stone-faced lieutenant closed the door, and then returned to his statue-like pose at attention by it. Deborah remained standing as she addressed the assembled people.

“Hello. Welcome aboard our ship Hespler.” said Admiral Contreas to the assembled leaders of the various coalition fleets. “I am Admiral Deborah Contreras, and we are here today to discuss the matter of how best to go about the invasion of Qiraj, so let us get directly down to business. Here to offer their input are Captain John Whitley, who runs this ship, and Colonel Ira Sifford, who is in charge of the battalion of soldiers aboard. Lieutenant Kevin Isaacs will be making sure we are undisturbed during this meeting, and technical officer Judith Rocha will be providing maps and such on the projector. Now that the various pleasantries are over, I believe we can dive into planning. Lieutenant Isaacs, you may secure the room.”

“Command back in the Hale Isles has decided that, given my experience in these areas, and my on-site expertise, I may draft our initial invasion plan acting on their behalf.” said Deborah, once the Lieutenant had finished “By the end of this meeting, I want a plan that I can send back to them for approval, and I trust that you all want the same for your respective higher-ups. So, I will present my initial plan, then we will go to open discussion. Before we begin, though, I want to say that we will not move on a plan if anyone is unsatisfied with it. I know that you all have soldiers to care for, and their lives matter. If you think that a plan has a problem that endangers your men, we will fix it. This war will not start with bickering and backstabbing in an attempt to force others into harm's way, we will all agree on a plan that mutually benefits us all.”

“So, if everyone is satisfied with that, the actual plan then:” said Deborah, moving to the projector screen, while Judith loaded a map of Qiraj onto it. “I started with the idea of winning the war, and worked backwards to simple principles of how that could be accomplished, and then to how we can deliver those principles. To begin with, I looked over your ORBATs this morning, and we must be aware that we have been given the privilege of leading a truly mighty force. At the same time, though, we must acknowledge that our force does not have the power on the ground to firmly defeat Qiraj and its allies. Hence, logistics becomes central to winning our campaign. We accept that the principle of logistics is central to winning this war, but we are still left to wonder how we will set up a powerful enough reinforcement chain to defeat Qiraj. Kocahisar Air Base is a start, but in order to wield enough power to seriously threaten Qiraj, we need to deploy directly to their own soil. I have identified three sites that, if captured, will let us make such deployments in force: Qiraibashi, Ardakan, and Ultsengel. The ports at Qiraibashi and Ardakan will greatly simplify landing forces, and the importance of the airports there cannot be understated. Ultsengel obviously doesn’t have a port, but its airport is no less important, and it allows us to split our enemies into a northern and southern front.”

“On the subject of actually capturing these cities-” here a list of the coalition’s forces appeared next to the map “-it will be a challenge, and possibly the most challenging part of this war. Once we have a foothold, we merely need to roll our enemies back, but to get that foothold will require work. The earliest that I could see an attack being realistically made would be the morning of April Eighth, after the Birtonians arrive, although the attack could certainly be made later. I anticipate resistance will be heaviest around Ardakan, and lightest at Ultsengel. As I would not ask any of you to face heavier resistance than that which I will face, the Fourth Primary Ship Fleet is prepared to contribute to the assault on Ardakan. In addition, I believe the Finnish force is the best equipped to collaborate with us in this assault, and support from the Cenerian naval squadron would be appreciated. The GAmeTopains and Birtonians are then capable of making the assault on Qiraibashi to the North, and we may end up calling on them for support if the resistance we face is substantially stronger, or visa-versa, as the two cities are very nearby. As for Ultsengel, I believe the Mizentians have the vehicular support to reach the city from the sea and hold it. As the city is relatively remote, enemy resistance will probably be light, and reinforcements will be distant. And finally, we can hold the force from Tekkit in reserve for wherever we find our numbers falling short.”

“These cities are, in my mind, what we need to establish an unshakable foothold.” said Deborrah, as the screen changed again, and the latest intelligence reports on the Qiraji Armed forces appeared in a third section. “And I believe I have a passable notion of what forces we should commit to capturing each of them as well. The opening stages of this war are not my field of expertise, though, so I put the question of our opening moves before the landing to you. The Qiraji air force is formidable, but could we beat it down in days of skirmishing over the sea, leaving their missile forces exposed? If we charged the coast right now, would your fleets get past the Soliryn-5 missiles intact? Are their submarines a threat to any of your fleets? I open the meeting to general discussion of these questions, and anything else relevant to the planning we’re going here.”

[New Finnish Republic]

400 kilometers of the coast of Qiraj, 1245 Hours, Halian Flagship

Major General Harju stepped off the helicopter as soon as it was secured followed by his aides and security detail. It had been a quick flight from the FNS Voitto which had set anchors a few dozen kilometers away but the flight couldn't have seemed to take any longer for the grizzled old war veteran. He'd been discussing plans of action with the President the entire night. The President was furious and was hell bent on unleashing the full might of the New Finnish Republic's military. Harju didn't blame him. Thanks to the lack of intel nearly 80% of their men had been killed and the rest taken prisoner. This was going to not settle well with the civilian population back home, however Harju knew Kalm's reputation would soon persuade the population to support this conflict. If not, this war would be over before it could really begin for the Finns.

Harju followed his escort into the bowels of the ship which eventually led them into a meeting room. Harju took his seat as and gritted his teeth as the rest of the representatives took their place among the group save for the Birtonains who seemed to be put on a conference call with the rest of the group. The commander of the Finnish carrier fleet, Admiral Palo, was also on a conference call as well. He had insisted on staying aboard the Viotto to ensure that the fleet was positioned correctly.

The Halian Admiral stepped forward and addressed the Allied leaders on the invasion plan. Their plan was extremely similar to what the Finnish Military Command had already thought of, however there were a few things on which Harju wanted to add to. After allowing the Admiral to finish, Harju raised his hand to signal that he wished to speak.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are distinctly at a disadvantage in this conflict from a logistical point of view. The enemy have us outnumbered, easy access to resources, and most importantly they are fighting on their own turf. You can be damn certain they will fight tooth and nail to defend their cities to the last man. We will be reenacting the German invasion of the Soviets. These cities will slow our forces down tremendously and allow the enemy to even further dig in. We'll need to strike fast and strike hard if we want to keep the momentum rolling forward in our favor. In order to do this, we need to do three things. The first is to secure the skies. Our men are going to get shredded if we try landing without air cover. However, we're going to need eliminate enemy SAM locations to keep those bastards of our birds. That brings me to my second point. I believe we should insert small bands of our Spec Op units into enemy territory a few days prior to our invasion. These men will eliminate SAM locations that we've picked up through satellite imaging as well as the MALAK missiles stationed around the area. Taking these threats out will greatly reduce casualty losses as well as save us a lot of time. My third point is to request a small detachment to secure the oil field to the north, crippling them if necessary. I'd like to see if we could use these for possible refueling of our armored units later on."

Harju looked around as he presented his idea to the rest of the Allied leaders. They looked interested but it was too dark to be able to read their facial expressions.

"Regarding the Admiral's plan, however, I fully agree with the attack route. Our men will be ready to blow the bastards to high hell. My President would also like to inform you that once we make enough progress inwards we'll be sending in another Expeditionary Force. We're still going through details but expect a force roughly the same size as what we currently have. That is all."

Harju sat down as the rest of the leaders absorbed his words. He could only hope that they'd listen to what he said.

[Hale Isles]

Continued discussion aboard HIDF Hespler, 400 kilometers off the Qiraji Coast, 1250 hours:

“I like the idea of going after the anti-ship missiles.” said Colonel Ira Sifford “I’m concerned about its long-term viability, beyond the initial strike, though. It’s only a matter of time before our enemy begins to realise what we’re doing and increases security on the relevant sites, so we can only target so many installations. Hence, I think we should prioritise the missile sites, and deal with the oil fields later in the campaign. What sort of missiles are we looking to kill?”

“My intelligence briefing says that the Soliryn-4s and below are no threat, and its skeptical that the hypersonic glide vehicle on the Soliryn-5s is actually satisfactorily operational” said the Captain “Congreveopia only has 90% confidence in its hypersonic glide vehicles, and hasn’t begun rolling them out to production, so its unlikely that Qiraj cracked the technology. If it did, though, that’s the biggest threat. Malak-3 could pose a concern, and it’s more believable that it's a working system. They’ll be harder to find, but might be a softer target when we find them. Finally, the Elsen-11 and Elsen-12, we believe, should be easily defeated by anti-missile systems, but the later weapons in that series might not. And, I’m sorry, we’re a lot less clear on the enemy’s SAM arsenal.”

“That’s alright.” said the Colonel “That’s a start. There are more targets here than I think we can hit before they tighten security, but it's a start. We could prioritise the anti-air installations and then defeat the anti-ship bases with strike fighters, and the numbers already look better, but we still need more methods of engagement. We could try to pull together enough cruise missiles, unless there are other ideas. That still leaves the problem of target acquisition, though.”

“A lot of the nations of this coalition, including Congreveopia, have very sophisticated satellite intelligence systems.” said Admiral Deborah Contreras “I’m sure we can draw time on those to identify at least enough targets to fill the special forces’ rosters. For the rest, we could fly drones of the the country to spot or even destroy them, but we’d need the enemy’s radar gone for that.”

“But that’s the answer!” cried Captain John Whitley “We target the radar rather than the missiles and hit two birds with one stone. There have to be less radar sites than missile sites, most of them will be fixed, and killing the radar not only blinds the missiles, but lets our airplanes and ships move undetected for the most part.”

“Okay, that seems like a good plan to me.” said the Admiral “We open with special forces strikes on enemy radar installations, follow with cruise missiles once security tightens, and then we’ve hopefully blinded them to our air force, which can take out the anti-ship and anti-air missiles. Anything else someone would like to contribute to this plan?”

[The Nation of Ceneria]

The Fourth Primary Ship Fleet, 400 kilometers off the coast of Qiraj, 1246 hours

Rear Admiral (Upper half) James Clarke Maxwell watched out the door of his helicopter as it approached the Halian flagship, from which the efforts of the Congreviopian coalition would be coordinated. He stood and unclipped his harness as the helicopter flared it's nose and settled into a hover eight inches above the deck. The pilots in the front of the aircraft, he knew, we continuing training for the tactical insertion of Cenerian special forces, and he quickly disembarked in order to facilitate this task. His aide, who carried his briefcase and computer, followed closely behind him.

He entered the secure meeting room moments before the door closed, and listened in silence to the first several minutes of commentary. After this, however, he spoke up.

"As you are well aware by now, the majority of our supporting force is still en route, aboard CNS Gallant. The 14th Air Support is one of the Air Force's most distinguished squadrons, and is well used to operating in adverse weather such as we have back home. They are also extremely adept at low-level, under-the-radar flying.

While they will not be here until April twelfth at an estimated 0300 hours, I believe it would be very wise to use them in order to, shall we say, remove the offending radar and SAM sites using these helicopters. They are able to quickly and quietly swoop in just above the ground and take out the aforementioned sites using laser-guided munitions, targeted from rotor-head masts.

While I certainly understand the need for expediency, especially when it comes to acting before the Qiraji receive reinforcements, I definitely believe that every precaution should be taken in order to preserve the lives of the men and women in our respective militaries. While I regret that this caution will come at the expense of valuable time, I believe that this is the safest and, of course, inexpensive method available to us right now. Cruise missiles cost a lot of money gentlemen. Helicopter-lauched missiles do not. Let's do our taxpayers a favor here, shall we?

On another note, my naval squadron is very well versed in antisubmarine operations, especially the crews of the Stormcry and the Gilgamesh, our two submarines."

[Mizentia]

400 kilometers of the coast of Qiraj
1245 Hours

Brigadier-General Edwin Casey was what people liked to call a ‘classic gentleman’ – soft-spoken, masculine, hardworking, with a good head on his shoulders. He had been two-time MVP for rugby while at the Academy and played bass trumpet in the full-dress band. He was considered to be an outstandingly dependable officer, sometimes lacking imagination, but eminently deliberate and good at seeing through the ‘fog of bullshit’, as it was sometimes not-so-affectionately named, which lay between the facts on the ground and the daydream in the mind at camp, ever waiting to ensnare a naïve or overzealous commander.

Sitting on the other side of the dimly lit helicopter, Rear Admiral Benjamin Hayberry was at once marked as a different sort of man. He was not in a terribly great shape, having become increasingly accustom to a slightly amorphous ovular shape, with an emphasis at the viscous bulge which challenged the grip of his fine brass buttons just around the midriff area. He had been in the navy for a very long time, and he had been an admiral for a fairly long time of that as well. He was not overanxious for the coming events, nor had he particularly expected them, seeing as he had been dispatched with the intention, by all auspices, of a ‘shakedown run’, and so he sighed. His thoughts were with his gingerly-bound books of military history back in his quarters, which were ever the source of his passions and the eternal animator of his life.

As the helicopter touched down on the deck, the two officers bade words of thanks to their Halian handlers and were led at once to the conference room, whilst a pleasant bout of chatting was endured by all, save the Admiral Hayberry, who withheld his contributions.

They listened politely until the previous remarks had been completed.

General Casey stood from his previously silent repose at the far end of the table. He gave the tiniest, most imperceptible of nods, and then he clasped his hands behind his back. "Gentlemen, in the main we are agreed with your assertions;" as he said this motioning to his colleague beside him. "Mizentia accepts the overall stratagem of full invasion but, we must be explicit in saying, we do not commit ourselves to go the any lengths in achieving it. The force we have brought to the field is the full strength of the force we intend to employ in these operations. I feel that it is only right for us to be upfront about this policy from the beginning, to prevent any...exaggerated expectations."

He shifted his weight a little, his downcast eyes distracted by the effort of gathering his thoughts. "In planning our primary point of focus has been the Qiraji missile defense shield. We consider this to be the primary military threat against our operations. Their network is prolific enough to stymie virtually every form of attack we might contemplate. We strongly believe, as our allies in the NFR have assessed for themselves, that prior to any major ground operations it is essential to conduct some kind of campaign aimed at the neutralization, at least in part, of the shield. Special operations teams are an attractive option, or perhaps we may find, by surveilance, some vulnerable links in their network which could be susceptible to a well-executed bombing strike at an unlikely time. But we do not hold any great optimism for our success if we are not determined in our effort against their missile network."

Only just now rousing his ample fleshed form Admiral Hayberry grumbled as a prelude to his content of speech. "With respect to the aerial front, we strongly believe that a conservative approach is optimal, likely yielding much fewer losses than an aggressive approach but without sacrificing much additional killing power. We are greatly of the mind that the enemy air power should be destroyed through physical attack on their bases on the ground. We envision our own aircraft to provide a dense shield against enemy harassment. At the naval front, we should 'circle our wagons' so to speak and collect our anti-air and anti-submarine capabilities together to provide a network of coverage around our fleets while we work. The more disciplined and tightly-packed our formation, the more capable we will be for repelling sorties from the enemy."

In closing he said, "let us be deliberate in availing ourselves of every tool at our disposal with regard to surveillance and reconnaissance. We have a number of UAV on hand that could be invaluable in scouting the enemy defenses and supporting special ops forces in deep-strike operations on missile batteries and the like. We are on the attack here, gentlemen - let us not be hasty, but deliberate, so that we may dictate the battle and strike at our leisure."

[Cruxa]

The Cruxan battlegroup of 2 Warhead-class destroyers, 2 Hellhound-class heavy cruisers, an AC carrying 20 G-23 fighter jets, and fifteen transport freighters holding two Main Battle Tanks, 20 Light Resistance Vehicles, one Amphibious Tank, and 15000 troops approaches the Congreveiopian fleet.

[New Finnish Republic]

400 kilometers of the coast of Qiraj, 1255 Hours, Halian Flagship

Harju listened to the other coalition leaders as they went through the various battle plans. While each nation had it's own method of doing it, they all agreed on what was needed to be done in order to completely route the enemy forces. Harju looked down to see a message notification from Admiral Palo on his secure tablet. He informed Harju that he was on board with anything they agreed upon, he'd prefer to have them follow their plan of action. Harju replied that he agreed but that they should remain flexible. Harju waited until the Cenerian military leaders were done putting in their opinions to raise his hand to signal he wished to speak again.

"It seems like we can agree that the radar installations are the biggest threat to our invasion. Although it is by no means a bad plan, I have doubts with the Cenerians. Even if they manage to avoid radar and remain relatively quiet I seem it unlikely that their helos won't be spotted by eyes on the ground since they'll be flying so low. If they get spotted before they destroy the targets the whole op will be busted and more than likely those helos will have a hell of a time getting back since it's likely the enemy will have some form of aerial patrols in the region. We've confirmed that they are at least increasing air traffic via our satellites. We might end up losing those helos before they get back to our fleet.

This is why I propose we go forward with our plan that has been altered by the Halians. Allow our men to laser designate radar installations for cruise missile strikes and from there have our men lay low and provide some eyes on the ground until we can reach them on a later date. I propose sending them in via CRRCs as soon as night hits and get them to their locations as soon as we can. It may be more expensive but I'd feel more comfortable going forward with this option.

And lastly, this is more of a personal request from our leader, but we have reason to suspect our captured men may be in the vicinity of the area we are invading. We Finns would prefer to see our men back in friendly territory as soon as we can. While I have no doubts that the Qiraji will treat them fairly, I don't want to see them becoming bargaining chips later on in this conflict. That is all."

Harju sat back in chair and waited for the responses from the other leaders.

[Hale Isles]

Further discussion aboard HIDF Hespler, Fourth Primary Ship Fleet, 400 km off the coast of Qiraj, 1257 hours:

“Okay.” said Admiral Contreras, absentmindedly pacing in front of the projector “In my mind, the special forces raid is still the best initial strike. Air raids and cruise missiles care not how well guarded these bases are, but special forces can make the most of the element of surprise. Colonel, if I asked you to put a raid together, how long would it take?”

“I’d call up supplies from the mainland.” said the colonel, leaning back as he did some mental math “Call it an hour to get them ready, then the Congreveopians have agreed to loan us three C-17s initially… so, maybe an seventeen-and-a-half hour flight with stops for refueling... If you can give me the Super Cougars to make the flight from Kocahisar so we don’t have to wait for the Mi-17s, then call it twenty-one hours until they’re on the carrier and ready for action.”

“Ten hundred hours tomorrow.” said Admiral Contreras “I think we’d all agree this is best done under cover of darkness, so we lose tonight to preparation and transport and begin this war the night of the eighth? Would everyone present be prepared to conduct the initial special forces raids on the radar installations then?”

[Military Democracy of Birtonia]

En route to Qiraji Coast
7th Amphibious Assault Group
Knight-Lieutenant-Admiral Frederick König
1259 Hours

Frederick relaxed in the Combat Information Center aboard his flagship and listened to the coalition meeting. He had been on conference call since the 7th group was too far away from the AO to conduct a face to face meeting. Between the silence of the gathered officers on the other side, every few seconds or so another aircraft would launch from the deck of the ship, pilots running drills, preparing for war. He observed another "Sniper" VTOL UCAV lifting off from the deck, those new craft would be very useful in the upcoming engagement.

He listened intently to every word the other commanders were saying. He was able to identify the Fins, the Cenerians, and one or two other nationalities he was not particularly familiar with. Every now and then a few flicks of his wrist indicated he was taking notes on a small pad next to his chair, it looked like near gibberish but it only served to reference key points for the Admiral.

A young officer approached the veteran commander, admiring the many ribbons and awards that adorned König's jacket. In one hand he held the last situation report or SITREP that the Birtonian Intelligence Service had on Qiraji fighting forces. A fresh pot of jet black coffee was carried in his right, the crew was going to need a steady supply of it over the course of the next few days. The next statement caught his attention however, the coalition wanted special forces for the first op. He looked and nodded at his second in command, which he knew meant to get on the phone with higher and try to authorize a platoon of Rangers.

And after some delegation, back and forth arguing, and a few choice words it was a success! There was a platoon of Rangers out on the fleet who were being reassigned to the 7th and would be arriving at just around the same time the group would meet up with the rest of the allied fleet. This information was given to the Admiral, still listening and scribbling away notes while consuming his coffee.

Throughout the whole teleconference, Frederick had not chimed in, but now was his time. The last officer to speak was confirming if everyone could commit to an SF raid at some point tomorrow night. He finally spoke, "Gentleman I can offer a platoon of Birtonias finest, our Rangers, they should be arriving on my ship at 0400 hours tomorrow morning. They are highly versatile and can perform any mission you see fit", he explained with much pride exuding from his voice over the speakers.

[The Tekkit Guy]

600 miles from the Qiraj Coast
Bridge of th TNS St. Thomas
1430 hours

"Sir, we expect to enter their weapons' range by the end of the day. It looks like they've got advanced anti-air and anti-ship weapons, making an amphibious invasion way too dangerous." Reported Executive Officer Johnathan Matthew.

"Very well, proceed to the edge of Qiraj weapons' range, and hold the fleet there. I want our battlecruisers' missiles hot in the tubes, ready to fire. Hale Islands is planning on taking out their radar, they can provide us with targeting coordinates when they do so. If we're going to encounter any sea resistance, its going to be small craft so have our destroyers form a perimeter around the capital ships." Replied Shipmaster Admiral Kevin Marshal.

The large battlecruisers acknowledged their orders and opened their silo doors. Each had 12 thermobaric anti-ship missiles, which could be set to land attack mode. They used a partially-classified fuel-air bomb technology which created a large explosion with an even bigger shockwave. Their 12 inch guns were rendered useless out of range, however.

[The GAmeTopians]

Colonel Arturo Landon listened intently to the words of the other military leaders, not interrupting until they had all finished. Once they had, he spoke up.
"My nation would be more than happy to provide ICBMs or cruise missiles for the take down of the radar system, once the points are laser designated," he said.
"Alternatively, we could send in low-flying aerial drones, to decrease the chance that they can be destroyed without injuring Qiraji civilians. Our drones have the ability to uplink with our information satellites, and give our ship the coordinates within minutes. The only downside to this is that we did not bring the drones with us, and thus will have to wait for a shipment. Any questions, comments, complaints, et cetera?"

[Hale Isles]

More discussion aboard HIDF Hespler, Fourth Primary Ship Fleet, 400 km off the coast of Qiraj, 1259 hours:

“So, if I can cut in, there is an unresolved issue here, and that’s the question of what role the special forces are playing in this attack.” said Admiral Contreras “Because unless I misunderstand the situation, it doesn’t make sense for them to just go in and lase a target for a cruise missile. If we choose to spend a multi-million dollar cruise missile to attack a fixed radar installation, then it is capable of locating and destroying the target itself. In my mind, the justification for employing special forces is either that we want to attack a fixed installation, but spend less money than launching a cruise missile would entail. Or, it’s to hunt down the mobile radar and the small stations that could pick up and run if they had advance warning of a missile attack. Now, the first justification is bollocks to me. The entire Qiraji navy is between us and the shore, to say nothing of whatever defenses the bases have, so I’d much rather definitely lose one expensive missile than risk the lives of several squads of special forces.”

Colonel Sifford nodded his approval at this statement.

“That leaves us with the question of the mobile radar, and the small stations.” continued the Admiral “That is a worthwhile risk for our soldiers to take as far as I’m concerned. If we can hit these things while they’re still sitting parked in the open, rather than after they’ve gone to ground and hidden in the forests, we’ll be dealing a tangible blow to Qiraj’s defenses. Especially if we follow up with a cruise missile strike on the large fixed radar. So, moving forwards then, we need a list of sites to attack. I can contact Congreveopia about satellite reconnaissance, and if any of the nations you represent have similar capabilities they would be willing to employ, that would be appreciated. We can probably regroup tomorrow afternoon to look over findings and assign targets for a tentative raid tomorrow night. In the meantime, the idea has been mentioned of grouping our respective fleets into one large formation for added security, probably with the command ships, aircraft carriers, and troop transports near the center. I would be in favor of this tactic. And, in addition, we want the raid tomorrow night to be as unexpected as possible, so I’d advocate for attempting no engagement with the Qirajis until then.”

[The Tekkit Guy]

500 Miles off Qiraji Coast
CIC of Battlecruiser TNS Slates
1500 hours

The flotilla continued cruising toward the coast, when a relatively large detachment of vessels appeared. They were nearing the Congreveotopian fleet, however the radar signature did not match their more advanced design. No, this had to be Qiraji, seeing as no other allies were reported in the area.

"Attention! General Quarters, General Quarters, this is not a drill!" Announced the shipmaster, sounding the alarm. The ship buzzed with activity, as sailors scurried about to their stations. Crewmen leaped out of their beds and ran to their stations, some in their sleep clothes. Crew members seated at their consoles, monitoring gauges and screens, while pressing all sorts of buttons across the brightly-lit panels. The white lights on the ship dimmed as the red alarm lights turned on. More crewmen quickly climbed the ladders into the massive gun turrets on the deck, where they opened the breeches of the 12 inch guns, ready to receive shells and powder from the magazine down below. Marines ran to the upper decks of the battlecruiser, manning the machine guns mounted in metal shelters. Marine snipers took their positions around the ships in well-protected nests, with a slit to shoot and see out of. The pill-shaped CIWS came to life and pointed up to the sky. The Combat Information Center was tense with activity. Two sailors readied their keys and turned them at the same time, opening a plexiglass cover for a console of small switches.

"Alright, what have we got here." Inquired the captain, looking at the blips on the electronic map.

"Qiraji Naval Forces, most likely. Nothing spectacular: a lot of corvettes and small craft, several aging destroyers, a few new frigates, and maybe two capital ships; probably light cruisers. Our fleet could rip them apart if it weren't for those damned coastal defense weapons." Announced the sailor scanning the map. This one battlecruiser alone could quite possibly take down all their destroyers, but could not get close enough to bring her 12 inch guns to bear without the coastal defenses quickly sinking her.

Captain Franklin Amadius, shipmaster of the battlecruiser, looked out of the porthole in the CIC, the Tekkitian destroyers were changing their position again, creating a phalanx. The destroyers were specifically designed to take on large numbers of small craft with their 5-guns and rotary cannons, now they formed an arrow in front of the other ships, pointing towards the Qiraji fleet, forming a shield against incoming small boats to protect the bigger ships.

Ready for their next orders, they neared the Qiraji Navy at a quick pace.

[New Finnish Republic]

400 kilometers of the coast of Qiraj, 1303 Hours, Halian Flagship

Harju let the Admiral finish and quickly raised his hand again. Things were progressing quickly and these last few exchanges of words could mean the difference between the fate of the upcoming war. The Admiral nodded towards Harju indicating he was done speaking.

"I agree with the Halians. Let's organize strike teams against the mobile radar installations. We're going to need as much of a blackout as possible in order to help us achieve air superiority which in my opinion will be what makes or breaks us. Are we expecting our men to eliminate these targets with plastic explosives or anti-armor weaponry? Also, are we wanting our men to haul ass back to the sea for evac or do we want them to remain in country? As long as we get these questions answered I'm prepared to dedicate my full force of 75 Öinenhaukat to the operation"

Harju looked down to his tablet to see a message from Admiral Palo confirming that he was on board and prepared.

"Also, our Admiral is on board with merging naval forces. We can begin maneuvering within the hour if needed."

[Hale Isles]

Continuing discussion aboard HIDF Hespler, Fourth Primary Ship Fleet, 400 km off the coast of Qiraj, 1304 hours:

Admiral Contreras looked to Colonel Sifford, the best member of her staff to answer the Finn’s questions.

“Individual approaches to the mission would vary between team, I imagine.” said the Colonel “Each group will be acting independently for the most part, so I don’t see a reason why they can’t use whatever weapons system they’re most comfortable with. For our part, the Halian Army has a variant of the Orbiter 2 Mini UAS called the ‘kingfisher’ equipped with an explosive warhead. Currently I’m planning on requisitioning a couple of those and a Dzik or two outfitted with control stations. With luck and the element of surprise, our teams could take out that radar while sitting hidden eighty kilometers away. That’s not to say that the mission couldn’t be done with a Spike or a couple C4 charges, though. As for the question of evac, if I send my teams in, they will be taking some of this ship’s landing craft probably, so they are damn well bringing them back before I have to make an invasion.”

“As for merging the fleets, I think we have time, but we probably shouldn’t take longer than we need.” said the Admiral, picking up as Colonel Sifford finished speaking “We’ve certainly got time for everyone to get back to their respective ships, but once that’s done, I’d be in favor of merging directly, and integrating in more ships as the other fleets arrive.”

[Military Democracy of Birtonia]

Knight-Lieutenant-Admiral Frederick König
7th Amphibious Assault Group
En route to Coalition Fleet
1304 Hours

Frederick continued to listen to the other nations and their respective admirals on the invasion plans and finer details of it. There was speculation on the particulars of the special operations teams regarding their mission parameters. Frederick then chimed in on the conversation.

"Since it appears most nations present will have a spec ops team in the area very soon, why don't we divide Qiraj into sectors and have one team from each nation responsible for defeating enemy radar and AA assets in their respective AO's?"

He cleared his throat and finished the meal that the cook had brought to him.

"Now defensively grouping our ships I agree with but I do not want my flagship grouped in the middle with other landing ships and aircraft carriers", he added.

[The Tekkit Guy]

Rear Admiral Shipmaster Kevin Marshal
CIC of Amphibious Assault Ship TNS St. Thomas
1307 hours; 2 hours earlier

Admiral Marshal stood before the other leaders on the screen of the Combat Information Center, communicating through an encrypted video channel, listening to what they were planning. He was confident in the abilities of his ships and their crews.

"Our battlecruisers carry Thermobaric missiles which are designed to crush fortifications and bunkers with its enormous shock wave. We can execute the destruction of the Qiraji defenses, seeing as we did not procure special forces for this mission, but have a very capable naval force." He paused for a moment as the Navigation Officer recited some numbers off to him.

"But in regards to your collective naval formation, I would request to decline. First off, we are quite far away and would hate to delay your maneuvers, but also: Tekkitian battlegroups are specially trained to maintain various formations so that the ships best compliment each other and they are the most effective in battle. Reports indicate the Qiraji navy's larger ships are outdated, and most of their threats come from small craft, which our destroyers are designed to handle. Let us be punch through their navy, so your superior ground forces can make a landing." He added.

[Hale Isles]

Ongoing discussion aboard HIDF Hespler, Fourth Primary Ship Fleet, 400 km off the coast of Qiraj, 1304 hours:

“Yes, integrating into the combined fleet is voluntary, not mandatory, so you can alter your positioning or ignore the combined fleet altogether if you want.” said Admiral Contreras “I think that’s pretty much everything. Once we have targets, it will be up to the teams to individually go about accomplishing their mission however they see fit. There is one issue I think we should address as a group, however, and that is the matter of how our teams will go about reaching the shore in Qiraj. I don’t have any submarines available, and I’m fairly sure a mere boat or a helicopter would be intercepted. So, we can either group together to devise a stealth insertion, involving a stealth ship or a submarine or such, or we can plan some distraction to coincide with the insertion. Admiral Marshal, I believe you volunteered your battlegroup to spearhead the attack on the Qiraji navy. Could you coincide your attack with the special forces operation to draw heat of the inserting forces?”