OOC: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=261882
Close to the North Pole, in the Arctic Ocean, lies a small island roughly 32 square kilometers in size. It has never been colonised, but is known by many names. The Toishimans call it Shinhyoto. Dead Ice. The surface is almost completely covered in permafrost, with patches of unforgiving, razor-sharp black rocks. The terrain is generally rather rocky and mountainous, with a single peak, once an active volcano, dominating the panorama of white, grey and black. The island takes a crescent shape, with the waters between both "prongs" of the crescent frozen over with thick pack ice, artificially expanding the island a few more square kilometers.
Over the years, dozens of nations have tried to land on it. Dozens have failed. Throughout history, people of all races have tried to scrape out a living here. The Eskimos. A band of wayward Vikings. East Europeans. East Asians. If it was not the cold, it was the supply line. If it was not that, it was warfare. If it was not that, then it was the sheer desolation of the place. Loneliness does things to a man. The ground hides bodies, and graves can occasionally be found in the foot of the unforgiving, jagged slopes. There are too many to count. Different styles, too. Mass graves filled with rifles. Elaborate tombs with spoils of war within. "Dead huts" where the deceased meditates eternally. One section may be tagged, and yet another cluster of burial mounds would be revealed by an avalanche.
A small expedition of scientists from the Toishiman New Kikui University came to this island to conduct some small-scale research and experiments involving weather balloons and underground resonance equipment, designed to find ores and caves beneath the ground. While testing the equipment, however, the scientists discovered a large deposit of oil and what seemed to be a large amount of rare earth elements deep beneath the island, as well as a large, unidentified solid of some kind of metal deep beneath the frozen bay. Further investigations showed this object as a large meteorite embedded into the ocean floor, containing large amounts of iron and other unidentified materials within.
The Imperial Administration immediately attempted to buy the island, which had yet to be claimed by any world power and was sitting in international waters, uninhabited and untouched except for a single automated Solmaki weather monitoring post (that had been blown over by the strong wind and was nonoperational). This, of course, rose international suspicion, which was furthered by the Imperial Navy's sudden deployment of a carrier task force to the area. It was when one of the scientists absent-mindedly published the team's findings in an international geology journal that the other nations' suspicions were confirmed. The resources would interest many countries, and so would the spoils within the multitude of tombs painstakingly carved out of the icy ground.
As the international hawks circle overhead and the Toishiman government attempts to seize seize the island for itself, it all boils down to who would survive the brutal subzero temperatures of this ice-covered wasteland, where the wind itself tries to sweep you over and the ground tries to cling to your legs with every step, where the ice floes aim sharp spikes at incoming ships, as though the dead themselves are trying to ward you away.
Welcome to Shinhyoto. Treasure trove for the dead.
"The claim is not yet recognised by over 99% of the world's nations!"
"Typical foreigners. Which nations recognise our claim?"
"Solmakia and North Jirigistan. Other nations have also taken an interest in the island. Satellite scans from one of our allies show multiple foreign ships heading to that location."
"One is a psychotic dictatorship with a Napoleon Complex and the other is a quasi-socialist backwater. I say we take matters into our own hands before these foreigners begin to stir up trouble. This is what we dispatched the Task Force there to do, after all. Hopefully they can take it before any blood is spilled."
"The fleet is merely a day out, I shall notify them at once. We will have this island."
1300km south of Shinhyoto Island
International Waters
Imperial Navy 3rd Northern Task Force
Gendo-Class Carrier, HIHS Kyushu
The Lower Bridge was abuzz with activity as 3rd Lieutenant Kojuro Okasawa stepped through the hatch. Nobody paid the junior officer any mind, concentrating on their own monitors and equipment. Kojuro, a fresh face out of the Navy Officer Cadet School, had just recently been transferred to this gargantuan ship, the largest in the Imperial Navy. It was based off of the Admiral Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier, with some modified internal facilities to allow for a few more planes to be squeezed in, along with other modifications. Amongst all of the other seamen in their grey jumpsuits or white dress uniforms, Kojuro did not stand out.
The young man pushed his way past a technician carrying a dossier, in a black file just like all of the others. He brushed aside a curtain and made his way up a flight of stairs into the upper bridge, which was much quieter. It was here that the higher-ranking officers usually resided, issuing orders and monitoring the situation based on information filtered through the chaotic floor directly below them. The contrast was astounding; while the Lower Bridge was cramped and lit by harsh fluorescent lights, with seemingly all of the command and control equipment crammed into the single room, the Upper Bridge was a spacious, sun-lit room, with but a single bank of monitors from which a small group of officers relayed information to their commanders. A hatch to the back of the room, like the one Kojuro entered the Lower Bridge via, led to a short corridor that itself led to a stairwell that serviced the whole Island. Directly above was the shared room for Communications and the Air Controller.
Kojuro saluted a junior commander who frowned at him for a second, then headed to the front of the room, where two white-uniformed men were standing. He bowed deeply, almost ninety degrees, as the men turned to face him. He then snapped a stiff salute as the men nodded at him.
"At ease, lieutenant. What do you have for me?" The older man said.
"Admiral Morita, Captain Tokaji, we have received a report from IMHC. We are to make for the island immediately and claim it as quickly as possible. Major foreign forces are inbound," Kojuro said, handing his binder to the Admiral, who read the single sheet of paper within. The captain nodded and turned back to the window. In the distance could be seen the island itself, looking like a black speck on a blue horizon, accompanied by several white specks Kojuro knew to be ice floes. Down on the flight deck, men in thick parkas could be seen scraping off ice from the deck, using portable leaf blower-like heaters or scrapers. In the warm interior of the ship, it was easy to forget the outside environment was like.
"Good work, lieutenant. Return to your duties," the Admiral dismissed him, pressing the binder into his hand, then turning away. His job done, Kojuro scurried out of the room back to his original post. So much for attending the OCS and wasting three years of his youth. He seemed to be nothing more than a messenger.
As soon as the junior officer left the room, Captain Tokaji turned to his commanding officer. He had a massive amount of respect for the man, who had participated in at least five different wars. Tokaji aspired to end his life somewhat the same way, with a long military career and have a good commanding post. Tokaji himself was but 34, young for such a high rank. He liked to believe this made his prospects for fulfilling his aspirations more realistic.
"Admiral Morita, what are your orders?"
"We follow our orders. If IMHC wills us to take the island now, we shall do so. Make for the island immediately. Get air control to launch two fighters to scout out the island, and get the SNLF transports to prepare for landing. We are only a day out, and there is a lot to be done," Morita replied, speaking extremely quickly. Tokaji was somewhat taken aback by his commander's sudden seriousness, but merely saluted, bowed and went to order the other officers in the back of the bridge around. When he glanced back, Morita was staring at the island with a pair of binoculars. How quickly the man's mood could change. To think they were talking about ice fishing mere moments ago.
The ships shuddered slightly as the engines were cranked up to full speed as they headed towards that island. There were many legends surrounding it, including some about swarms of Yuki-Onna or worse, as well as corpses and mysterious tombs. Tokaji imagined himself as a stoic, realistic man, yet somehow felt lucky that he did not have to set foot on the island himself. He was perfectly content with watching from a distance.
As the fleet began the day-long journey towards the island, two MiG-29Ks from the Nichijou-Class Escort Carrier HIHS Minakami were dispatched to do a few flyovers of the island to confirm there was no presence on or around it. The fighters carried two air-to-air missiles each, for emergencies only, as well as fuel pods to extend their range significantly. With the island almost at the end of their maximum service range, this was a necessity.
Meanwhile, the troop carrier ships began broadcasting announcements to the troops on board to prepare to land in a day's time, and to prepare the vehicles for activity. Most of the vehicles had been winterized, with white camouflage, internal heaters and tracks made for operating on slippery surfaces. As were the soldiers equipped with winter gear, replacing the standard camouflage they normally wore. A large Radiant Star flag was also prepared for this very mission, to be planted by the Imperial Army Engineers on the peak of the mountain for all to see. It was several meters tall, and thus required a flatbed-mounted crane to carry it and to raise it.
And so the race began.
