Worlds Collide & Night Falls Quickly [MT?] [IC] [Open]

[Libraria and Ausitoria]

Panessos Productions Proudly Presents:

Worlds Collide

also perhaps titled

Night falls quickly in the Tropics

(OOC Link)

The Promenade
Miopolis, Mideane
Five days previously

The cool ocean breeze swept inwards, ruffling the leaves on the date tree on the promenade below the balcony. The two men looked out to sea across towards the red orb of fire that hung above the horizon and was generically known as a setting sun and less generically also known as the result of Rayleigh scattering from a nuclear heated source of black body radiation on a sphere spinning on the fabric of spacetime probably as a result of the gravity-induced accumulation of angular momentum, which gives you a sense of perspective.

The first man was Sir Alistair Freman, who, quite besides being aware of all that, was at that moment considering the sea breeze. He knew very well that no matter how good a metaphor it might be for Ausitorian influence, the only reason the refreshing sea breeze blew this way was because of meteorological conditions largely influenced by the rotation of the earth, as all other things being equal, sea breezes normally only happened when the ocean was warmer than the land, which was decidedly not the case in the tropics. Such things were what a Chattakang special agent like himself was trained to know, in case he had to find his way to a beach at the dead of night, but then all Chattakang special agents were expected to be well educated, so he had known it already, from some long forgotten ladybug book in primary school or something.

The second man was Governor Abba Selaphim, who was too mentally contorted for such idle thoughts. No doubt he would think it rather frivolous of me for having included them at all, for even though I have left a lot out, I have already belittled his great morale effort with the dazzling sense of perspective that a glimpse of infinity can provide. He knew that starting a rebellion would result in deaths; and while he was the sort of person who believed that the ends justified the means, he still preferred less devastating means where possible: the lesser of two evils.

“It’s time, isn’t it?” asked Alistair, spotting his friend’s reflection, and correctly deducing the reasoning for it.

“We’re ready,” replied the Governor with a sigh.

“We’ll start shipping in the Pandas^* then,” replied Alistair, dourly. “One week should suffice.”

Life could be so much simpler if we never left the ivory towers. (Although it might be even simpler if we had never entered them in the first place).

---

^*The Profligate Pandas (see stub), a secretive organization for some of the Ausitoria’s secrets.

The People’s Palace
Qa-Rasamal, Jadiyya
Five minutes ago

The palace was ancient, the trappings modern; and the operations room a flurry of business overlooked from the dais. From here the dictator ruled, carried to power on a wave of liberal socialist agitation that had held so much hope. The tale of how the predecessor nation had come crashing down may be celebrated elsewhere; and the subsequent communist corruption commiserated in the history books as a salutary lesson of how not to manage a revolution.

But history is littered with so many examples that you can guess at all that; now, great things are happening, and nobody has any time for history. The rulers, like a farmyard full of animals, are in it for what they could get out of it: all people are equal, and some are more equal than others.

“Rumours are circulating of a number of Chattakang agents in Mideane, your excellency,” said some humble functionary, scurrying up to the dictator, who was sitting on his throne and eating chocolate coins.

“Capitalist pigs!” replied the dictator, who liked to make simple replies like that. Let us introduce him. Barth Sanidas II, General of Jadiyya; short, fat, and very unforgiving of anybody who pointed either fact out. Not the sharpest of minds, but very expensively educated. “Tell me something new,” he said, reaching for his rum and coke. Of such hypocrisy are caricatures made.

“Our deputy chief Party Official is very worried, he thinks the Governor or someone close might be involved.”

“-WHAT?” roared the General, spilling his drink. “Abba Selaphim? Abba? Abba!?”

He stopped speaking, because he had run out of things to say. He had known Abba since childhood, counted him as a friend among those coastal libertarians (accursed be their name), and finally seen him as a suitable appointee to government. There had been a lot of trouble in the province, all those middle-class stuffed up popinjays bleating on about how hard life was, and demanding autonomy; and even worse, party officials going local. So he had sent Abba to clean them all up.

“Wasn’t that what the last official said?” he asked, remembering. Abba had found out several of the local officers were traitors, but one in particular had got away and had insisted upon sending messages saying that Abba was the true traitor. He could not believe it! And yet he paused.

If this was a plot, he was in grave danger. Palace plots were not unknown; he had ousted his brother by one. It was time to find someone who would put a stop to these liberals for once and for all. Sonshu.

“Get me the Foreign Minister,” he said testily, standing up and letting the remains of his drink shower down off his robes all over the floor. “And another drink,” he added, as he stormed off to the meeting room.

Secret Communication

From: The People’s Republic of Jaddiya
To: The People’s Republic of Sonshu

---

Dear Sirs,

It appears that Ausitorian agents may be moving to start a rebellion in our forever errant province Mideane. As one communist to another, would you please fly in some forces to help out? And I’m sure we can discuss some oil contracts.

Yours sincerely,

Barth Sanidas II, President-General of all Jadiyya, Party Chairman, Defender of Workers, People's friend, etc.

[OOC note: Please note that Jaddiya is rubbish at encryption. Provided your nation has any reasonable cyber capacity, reading that letter is about as easy as trick or treating.]

---

Edit: Evidently I still can't spell for toffee.

[Rhinocera]

The Empire of Rhinocera

Jadiyya, the smaller, oil rich, relatively unstable, poorer, less advanced, and all around lesser western neighbor of Rhinocera. At least that is how the Rhinoceran people viewed the neighboring nation. A minnow amongst sharks, albeit a minnow that Rhinocera dealt with regularly to maintain a steady flow of Jadiyyan oil into Rhinocera. The dealings between Rhinocera and Jadiyya were relatively simple. Rhinocera sent money and armaments (though they were admittedly not top of the line), Jadiyya sent oil. Lots and lots of oil, or at least that had been the arrangement for many years. However, when the new leader, General Barth Sanidas II assumed control of the nation’s government, he had gone out of his way to interrupt this steady flow. He raised the price of Jadiyyan oil, demanding more weaponry and money in exchange for access to Jadiyya’s precious oil. More importantly, he seized a series of oil fields that peppered the southernmost portion of the Rhinoceran-Jadiyyan border. Typically, such a brash action would have been handled by the Rhinoceran lImperial Army (R.I.A). However, the fields that Sanidas had seized just so happened to rest on the Jadiyyan side of the border, but had been held by the Rhinocerans due to deals in place with the former government of Jadiyya. Of course, when one usurps power through a coup, they don’t tend to keep agreements made by the previous administration had made, that they don’t particularly agree with. In response to the new Jadiyyan governments action, Rhinocera temporarily put a freeze on all business with Jadiyya, but the thirst for foreign oil eventually outweighed the Rhinoceran anger over what was viewed as an illegal seizure of property that had been legally obtained by the Rhinoceran government. After all, while Rhinocera did possess immense oil reserves within itself, it had no interest in depleting these reserves more than was absolutely necessary. However, these actions undertaken by General Sanidas’s regime created a sense of distrust and resentment towards Sanidas’s regime.

One result that stemmed from this sense of distrust was the establishment of a division within Rhinoceran intelligence that was solely dedicated towards keeping tabs on the Jadiyya. One method used by Rhinocera to accomplish this task was consistent monitoring of Jadiyyan communications. A massive amount of information sent by the Jadiyyan government that would be considered classified was routinely intercepted, decrypted, and analyzed by Rhinoceran intelligence personnel. One such piece of information was a message intended for Sonshu, requesting assistance in regards to a potential rebellion that was being stirred up by Ausitorian agents. This piece of information was extraordinarily to Rhinocera, for a multitude of reasons. First and foremost, the prospect of a neighboring nation erupting into civil war always posed potential issues. One such issue was that Ausitoria, a nation with whom Rhinocera had fostered rather positive international relations, was moving against a nation that bordered Rhinocera and engaged in dealings that one would want discontinued if they were moving to drive Jadiyya into conflict.

Such a conflict did present a variety of opportunities that Rhinocera could capitalize on, if it approached the situation properly. This was noted by Supreme Consul Tiberius as he reviewed the report that he had been presented with. The most obvious of these would be the deposition of General Sanidas and his regime, though care would need to be taken to ensure that the party which assumed control would be friendlier towards Rhinoceran interests, chiefly Rhinoceran access to Jadiyyan oil. The less obvious, but more important, opportunity resided in the potential to once again strengthen Ausitorian-Rhinoceran relations. If Rhinocera was a shark in comparison to Jadiyya, Ausitoria would be considered a kraken. Why they even deemed it necessary to meddle in Jadiyyan affairs wasn’t entirely clear to Tiberius, though he had his suspicions. In all honesty, it didn’t really matter why, it simply mattered that they were. This was a situation worth monitoring very carefully. However, for now, there was relatively little to be done. Obviously, the border would be reinforced, a standard procedure when a war was brewing in a neighboring nation. However, since the border was relatively well manned due to the general distrust of General Sanidas, simply shifting an additional corps to the border would be more than sufficient. Intelligence efforts regarding Jadiyya would be amplified. And finally, reaching out to Ausitoria would be essential.

To: Libraria & Ausitoria
From: Supreme Consul Tiberius
Encryption: Maximum

Old friends, it has come to my attention, through the gathering of intelligence on the People’s Republic of Jadiyya, that you may be moving to incite some type of internal conflict within their nation. We have intercepted a Jadiyyan communication that directly states there has been suspected Ausitorian operations angling to incite a rebellion in the province of Mideane. This communique also requested military aid from the People’s Republic of Sonshu, in regards to quelling such a rebellion. However, I am sure you were already privy to all of this. The real reason I am contacting you is not to inform you of a communique sent by Jadiyya, but rather to inquire upon why you have elected to interfere in Jadiyya. As you know, Jadiyyan-Rhinoceran relations have been stressed as of late, and we have no objection to the replacement of General Barth Sanidas II, be it forced or voluntary. Your reason for attempting to incite a rebellion eludes us, and as your friends and as a nation that borders Jadiyya, we must ask for clarification.

- With respect, Supreme Consul Tiberius

[Eemeria]

Prime Minister David Archelius had just finished writing regarding a conflict between Germany and France when one of his Intelligence Officers knocked on the door, "Come in James, what have you got for me?" James entered the room and began speaking, "Its nothing serious yet sir but we have some concerns. I'm sure you're familiar with the nation of Jadiyya, an oil rich nation, they border Rhinocera." David nodded and closed his laptop, "Yes I am familiar, that is the nation that we kept an eye on when Sanidas took control correct?" James sat down across from him, "Correct sir, they've been relatively quiet since the takeover, not much has changed until today. Our intelligence units intercepted a message, not much surprise it was barely encrypted, it was meant for the People's Republic of Sonshu, another smaller communist nation. According to the message our old friend Ausitoria is getting his hands into Jadiyya." David laughed as he responded, "Oh he could never stay uninvolved, what did the message say?" "Well it seems that Ausitorian agents are attempting to start a revolution from within, they want to unseat Sanidas. What we can't figure out is why, the only reason Ausitoria would want Jadiyya is for the oil and as we are both aware they are fine energy wise." David nodded, "It is weird for them to get involved in such a small and insignificant nation, maybe they have a contact on the inside who enlisted their help?" "It is possible sir but why would they get involved over something so small?" David leaned back in his seat, "I honestly don't know James, i'll get in touch with them and try to figure out what is going on, thank you for the info, keep me update." James nodded and left the room, David sighed as he got ready to send yet another message regarding a looming conflict.

From: Prime Minister David Archelius
To: Prime Minister Charles Perques
Subject: A Tip I Received
Encryption: High

Good Evening Charles

It has been some time since we last spoke, I hope you are doing well. I just wanted to get in touch with you regarding something one of my intelligence teams caught wind of. Are you planning a coup in Jadiyya? I understand their government is not the most ideal but we haven't heard much out of them in the way of problems. I do trust your judgement and I know you are not one to rush to action without a good reason. If you are willing to I would like to sit down and speak with you regarding all of this as I wouldn't want another big conflict on our hands.

GodSpeed

David Archelius, PM

[Libraria and Ausitoria]

Pax Prosperitas

By Order of His Imperial Majesty's Government

---

From: The Foreign Policy Office, The Aestorian Commonwealth
To: Supreme Consul Tiberius
Encryption: Top Secret

---

Your Excellency,

To sum, our motivation is (trying) to do good. What more reason do we need to remove an oppressive dictator, to remove an obstruction to free trade, and to support the coastal liberals who will demand autonomy; than to correctly identify that the Jaddiyan regime is all of those things? The rebellion was already virtually certain to happen; we are simply organizing it, ensuring that the minimum of casualties, disruption, and damage will occur, and ensuring that it will happen in the best possible way. We can assure you it is in the best interests both of the local inhabitants and of the wider free world.

Since the rebellion has not yet started, I must request that you keep this message absolutely secret, shared only perhaps with your Defence and Foreign Ministers. We will explain our involvement publicly and in more detail privately as things develop.

I can assure you that the Ministry of Intelligence and Statistics has put in place measures to evacuate all endangered foreigners from the country from the outset of war; we will also be taking a number of people linked to the regime hostage at the opening of hostilities for the purpose of prisoner exchange.

When the rebellion does start, if you would approve, and if you do not very quickly announce humanitarian provisions, we will formally request that you approve the creation of refugee camps by the International Cross and other humanitarian organizations, to establish refugee sorting camps on the borders. (If you would like runways to be built in particular locations, we can do that). Refugees would be flown to willing nations (all of them can be flown to Ausitoria, if no other nations are willing) unless of course you would like to take some in and any of them would like to be taken in. (They will all be supported under the Refugee Resettlement Programme, so should not be particularly desperate).

If you would desire to demand from the Jaddiyan regime upon the outbreak of hostilities a demilitarized zone reaching into Jaddiya from your border, perhaps extending 25 km or anything on that sort of scale, we would be happy to provide you with any intelligence and air support required; such a soft frontier would make it easier for refugees to escape, for humanitarian agencies to operate, and also provide you with required safety. If you would like to, the decision to also insist that other members of the international community refrain from intervening in support of the regime would be of great diplomatic benefit and might enable a complete regime change without other foreign interference.

We have planned everything with great care and enormous flexibility, we are confident that at least the coastal provinces will shortly be enjoying liberty, and that in due course the situation will work out in our favour, and we will be able to compensate all losers from the proceeds of superior economic policy. Naturally the participation of your nationals in the future nation's economy will be greatly appreciated.

If you have any requests or advice regarding the whole affair, please do not hesitate to contact us; we do value your support.

Incidentally, in response to your request about supporting Eurostine, I can confirm we’re planning immediate support in the disguise of a friendly goodwill visit. We're sending various officials to our embassy in Crete who would like to meet secretly with counterparts to discuss intelligence about the country as soon as possible, I expect we have different kinds of intelligence about the country; you, with your contacts, will know more about what can be seen from the inside; we, with our resources, may know more about what can be seen from outside.

For operations, we shall probably be able to manage only one division for the moment, but, as usual, very lavish naval support; we'll also be able to protect your forces if they travel by sea. Once it's announced, if you would find it useful for aerially transporting infantry reinforcements, we can fly in three strategic airlift squadrons to airbases in your country available for you to use immediately; otherwise, could you send us details about your own air force’s refueling probes, so we can arrange interoperability in the theatre when your air force arrives?

I have the honour to remain,
Richard Whittingrey,
Permanent Secretary of State,
The Aestorian Commonwealth

Top Secret, Private and Confidential

From Charles Perques, to David Archelius.

Dear David,

What a great pleasure it is to hear from you. I’m afraid I’ve now resigned, so cannot give you the inside track, but I expect that this is simply more of the “anybody can be Aestorian, nobody cannot be Aestorian” preference which seems to drive our foreign policy in these post-IFC days. (Of course I’m sure you all count as honorary Aestorians if you want too).

But anyway, Jaddiya is an oppressive dictatorship which is not open to free trade and is trying to eradicate coastal liberalism; furthermore, the coast was also historically under strong Chattakang influence, so we have strong cultural ties; I expect our government has an excellent case for supporting something which was probably initially a local plot.

You know Ausitoria well enough, we’ll have been preparing for years. Our government will probably try to nab the entire country for freedom and democracy, and they’ll probably manage to nab at least the coastal provinces. I expect they’ll be willing to compromise over the rest to avoid a major war if necessary, and be willing to grease the wheels of international diplomacy with money, like normal. That’s the advantage of taking over underdeveloped economies, we can make such large long-term profits that we can afford to compensate the so-called losers with more than they’ve actually lost. I expect the Treasury is already thinking of it in terms of a hostile buyout of a state-owned enterprise… most governments simply don’t have a clue how to run their countries and make them prosperous. Perhaps more governments should sell their countries to us to run, we could make everybody’s fortunes.

Anyway, if you’d like I’d be very happy to pass your message on to my successor, Sir Henry Taylor; I’m sure he’d be very happy to give you a detailed answer. If you’re ever passing through and would like to come and visit me in Ausitoria at any point it would of course be my pleasure; I’m sure the Prime Minister would be equally happy to extend to you an official invitation; I hear that there are interesting plans afoot regarding trading alliances.

Take care,
Charles

[Nerod Empire]

(OOC): This post is about the Great New Nerodian Empire, the version of the Nerodian Empire that exists on Panessos. This is not the same nation that RPs in Hemithea.

Isop, Imperial Capital of the GNNE
Imperial Palace, afternoon
His Majesty's Third Common Room

Don Pedrokus Nerod sat on a comfortable leather armchair next to a low glass coffee table. Above which a glass of whiskey waited for the Emperor to drink. He turned the page of one of the afternoon newspapers, sipped his drink and then kept reading.
The door opened and a butler in his red and green uniform entered the room, bowed and announced PDC Agent 7.
"Let him in." was the Emperor's response.
The Agent entered and vowed. Pedrokus gestured him to get closer and then pointed at one of the other (less comfortable)¹ armchairs. The Agent handed the Emperor a folder and sat down. Pedrokus put the newspaper aside and opened the folder, inside a classified briefing about the situation on Jaddiya. He read for a couple of minutes.
"So the Ausitorians are up to something... We've suspected that for a while now." the Emperor asked.
"Yes, sir." the agents answered. "They have been avoiding the topic, sir. But our people on the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs think that an official message and some talks will result in a favourable exchange of information."
"Well, that's interesting." Pedrokus thought for a moment. "What does the agency recommend?"
"We think it would be appropriate to send some more agents and see the situation for ourselves. It will have risks, as always, but we want to send good people and they will stay low. At the same time we recommend a letter from the Imperial Minister of Foreign Affairs to the Ausitorians."
"Sounds good to me. You have green light from the Emperor, I'll see that the Imperial Government sends the appropriate papers to Agent 1." the Emperor sipped from his whiskey. "You are dismissed".

CLASSIFIED
Imperial Missive

Subject: Imperial Permission
By the following official missive the Imperial Government certifies that His Imperial Majesty Don Pedrokus Nerod has approved Operation Delta-Bravo-55 of the PDC.
Shall any doubts arise on any given future about the authorizations regarding this operation, they shall be answered with this missive.
This official grant of permission also gives a CLASSIFIED status to this matter and recommends to let as few people as possible know about it on the Democratic Government.

Archduke. Head of the Imperial Government.

Letter to the Aestorian Minister of Foreign Affairs

---

From: The Imperial Cabinet.
To: The Foreign Policy Office, The Aestorian Commonwealth.
Encryption: Handed personally² by the Nerodian Ambassador on the Commonwealth.

---

My dear Aestorian friend, Prince Richard Kazpia:

First let me salute you with the usual respect and affection.

The Emperor has been briefed on the latest actions of the Aestorian Intelligence, it certainly looks like you guys are up to something on Jaddiya. While we understand your possible reasons and causes it certainly is everyone's business when a country like yours stars agitating a nation known for it's oil and extremists groups. It is not our intention to make you feel like you need to ask for permission, but it certainly would be nice if you could deliver a heads up to some other countries, specially those that choose to call the Aestorian Commonwealth a friend.

Let this letter be a new opportunity for our nations to work together regarding the Jaddiyan matter, I'm sure that collaborating like the friends we are we will accomplish much more. Attached to this letter there is secure contact information for our Intelligence Services to exchange information and colaborate on the task at hand. Together we will end the tyranny on Jaddiya.

The Emperor sends his best regards to the Aestorian people,
In his Imperial Name;

Archduke. Head of the Imperial Government.

Jaddiya

During the following days a number of foreigners entered the Jaddiyan country by many means. Some entered as Nerodian turists, some with passports from other nations. Others entered looking for jobs or using more studied excuses. This "many" foreigners had one thing in common, they were all PDC Operatives entering the country to implement Operation Delta-Bravo-55. Which had the objective of increasing the Agency's presence in Jaddiya, to observe carefully what happened and to be ready to take any necessary actions.

---

¹: Protocol dictates that Emperor must always use the best chair in the room and it also dictates that it must be better than the chair of the person of immediate lower rank in the same room.
²: The letter was handwritten by the Archduke and then sent with a PDC Officer to the Ambassador, who then asked for a routine meeting with the Aestorian Minister. During this meeting and in the middle of some unimportant conversation the Ambassador dropped the letter. This type of communication, while not fast, is oftenly used by the Nerodian Empire to deliver sensitive information and sometimes just because they like it.

[Xiangshu]

Khairraat
8:00

Khairraat was a huge metropolitan city, one of the largest in the world, in the early morning the rush hour is stupendous, you could hear the sound of motor engine and the constant sound of chattering all the way into the imperial palace. On this particular morning, Khairraat was chilled to the bone and its people, along with all the people in Xiangshu had no idea the world they woke up to was to be changed forever.

The Premier of the Peoples Republic of Xiangshu sat at his desk, as he did every morning, reading through the various state-owned newspapers. As he leaned back he could hear footsteps moving at pace and an abundance of voices encircling his location. Before utter silence, followed by three knocks. The Premier hailed them in with a thundering 'Come, Come' A swarm of men and women in suits entered;
'Premier Chao Zheng, we have received a most important letter from a fellow communist state, Jaddiya' Explained General Ching before handing over the letter to Chao's young hands. Premier Chao read through the message, his brown eyes widening with discontent. He looked up at the government officials that had invaded his office prior to him reading the letter and declared;
'The Ausitorian government has once again attempted to encroach on an independent nations sovereignty and stability with disregard for the global stability of Panessos'
Premier Chao proceeded to stand and looked General Ching straight in the eye, completely void of all emotion and said 'Mobilise our armed forces and Navy to land in Jiddiya as soon as preparations are made, I don't want to see another nation fall into the clutches of a damn fascist pig-dog because Ausitoria wants to make an extra penny of profit'
The government officials scurried out of his office and Premier Chao looked out of his window at the bustling city of Khairraat and he could not help but wonder if this day marked the beginning of the end of all that his people have accomplished, or if he is going to be the face of a much larger revolution.
He sat back down and prepared a message to be sent off to Jaddiya immediately

To: The Peoples Republic of Jaddiya
From: The Peoples Republic of Xiangshu

We have received your message about the impending rebellion in your territory and we are responding by sending a large task force of Men and Women to your nation, with your permission to help quell any national unrest. Our nations are comrades in this cold world and we aught to protect one another.

{{Very Hard to Encrypt this message]]

The Peoples Republic of Xiangshu had stood toe to toe with Ausitoria since the communist revolution in Xiangshu, overthrowing the Emperor. Xiangshu was a world superpower; only rivaled by Ausitoria. It was no doubt in anyone's mind that if these two titans clash, if these two worlds collide... it could be the end of Panessos.



Three days later

The Xiangese navy was based a few hundred miles away from Jaddiya - they had sent their transport ships to dock at the nearest port. It was vital that the Xiangese army got to Jaddiya before Ausitoria made their move; lest they be cut off by the Ausitorian navy. The dark sky shrouded the horizon and the mist had settled on a quiet sea; one hundred transport ships drifted along the salty sea when Captain Ming of the 'Red Star' saw a haze of yellow in the distant;
'We are here' he muttered. The captain relayed the information to Admiral Li, who was with the main battle fleet.

[Libraria and Ausitoria]

The original plan had been that several thousand special agents would assist the revolution in the early hours, assisted by a dozen battalions of trained soldiers of dual-nationalities, while Ausitorian Special Forces, supported by an Ausitorian Paratrooper Division and a full battle fleet of some 120 ships, would rescue the 100,000 or so tourists who for some reason had decided to investigate the interior, despite all warnings to the contrary, and likely also destroy all enemy units engaged, in what would be the biggest special operation that Ausitoria would ever have committed. It would all be over within twelve hours, ran the estimates.

But no plan can ever meet an enemy and remain intact; in this case, the sudden arrival of Sonxu’s forces rapidly invalidated that cheerful estimate, and the smiley faces at the Ministry of War grew longer. It would not do for Ausitorians to attack Sonxu’s forces. That meant that Sonxu’s forces would have to be defeated by Mideans attacking under the flag of revolt, and that meant that, wherever Sonxu’s forces managed to make it to the battlefield, attacks would have to be carried out by Midea; and that meant that Ausitoria could no longer just go to war to depose the tyrant – they could get out the tourists, and then that was that. Officially.

This meant handing over a lot of Ausitorian kit; fortunately under the expertise of Rear Admiral Lord Jeremy Chadwick, who, as an Ausitorian admiral and citizen, handed in his resignation, effective immediately, to become, as a Mideane citizen and Admiral, the most senior member of the Mideane Armed Forces; along with the eight-thousand other joint citizens who would bear the brunt of the fighting. Two thousand of them would form the nucleus of the Mideane Air Force, with 5th generation aircraft quite beyond anything that the dictator could field. Four thousand of them would form the nucleus of two Mechanized Brigades, preferably equal to any Division that might be sent against them. And two thousand of them would form the nucleus of a Navy, operating flying boats, a destroyer, three alphabet-class corvettes, and an attack submarine. A pretty ensemble.

Now to see whether even this plan could face an enemy and remain intact…

Governor’s Palace
Miopolis, Mideane

The trap was well-laid, remarked Abba to himself, as he ascended the steps of the Governor’s Palace as interim-President, and flung open the doors to the hall, relieved both that it was happening, and that it was happening so bloodlessly. All across Mideane allies had stepped into their positions while unknowns – there were never supporters of a dictator caught with his trousers down – had been woken by an apologetic servant and invited to assist the revolutionary government. It had been the most bloodless of coups in the eleven provinces, and he was staggered to find himself ruler of some 25 million people and at total war with a neighbour who was inundated with Ausitorians blowing up army bases and airfields merely to rescue the occasional wayward tourist.

He caught sight of Abdullah, deputy chief Party Official, who had alerted the governor, and was now sitting at a desk, sniffing for the direction of the wind while being politely interrogated by a couple of Ausitorians. “Ah, Abdullah,” Abba said pleasantly, to hide the butterflies in his stomache. “Thanks to your action this war will now take longer than six hours. If any of us die as a result, it is your fault.”

He caught Alistair smiling at him from ahead; and beside him that wayward demi-god extraordinaire; part man, part lunatic, part genius, part fashion-disaster, slick and flexible harbinger of eternity: Prince Kazpia, Foreign Secretary of the Aestorian Commonwealth, replete with turquoise feathers in a headdress above his head, below; his turquoise tunic, who joined him and started steering him in a certain direction.

“I’ve just set up your governor of the Bank of Mideane,” he said, getting things in the right order, because money is the most valuable thing. “I think we’ve shot down all enemy aircraft and destroyed most enemy radars,” he said next, because that was the next most important thing. “I suggest you make your speech to the world,” he finished, because that was how to finish. And then he continued: “Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your premiership,” he continued, because that was how to continue to put things into a wider perspective and handle eternity. “Casualties are only in the hundreds,” he added, because he knew that Abba was a good man.

“Thank you,” Abba heard himself say, as he stepped up onto the balcony at the opposite end of the building, with the Prince directly ascending to his side. And then, as he had rehearsed, he gave his speech:

“Fellow nations and peoples,

For too long we the peoples of Mideane have been oppressed by an absurd dictator; therefore, recognizing that sovereignty springs from the hopes of peoples, we hereby depose that dictator and establish for ourselves and for the world the Republic of Mideane here. Elections will take part in six months under international observers.”

And then he smiled.

“We desire only peace and prosperity for ourselves and for the joy of all peoples.”

And the applause of the television crews, echoed by the circle of civil servants, and the crowd of locals who had gathered beyond, rang out in hope and acclaim, waving the flag of the eleven provinces and the star of hope, and Prince Kazpia, beaming as usual, stopped clapping only to shake his hand, and then open the door for him to return back from the balcony.

“And now, to work,” said Prince Kazpia. “I’ve appointed Alistair as your Private Secretary; you have a teleconference meeting to do with the Governor of Dean at once about the Sanidas front, which you’ll be able to do while you’re flown over to Salem, which your Northern Brigade is just about to take; you’ll be able to accept the surrender of the Governor there, which will be terrific TV. You’ll be back inside two hours. Look after him, Alistair. I’ll hold the fort here and announce the Ausitorian drawdown, I think we’re getting towards the point where we’ve rescued all the tourists we’re able to rescue…”

Ninacre
Ten miles south-west of Bathilon.

There are, unfortunately, idiots in this world; and some of them cannot read between the lines of an Ausitorian travel warning and understand that a civil war is imminent. Of course plenty of clever people cannot read between the lines of an Ausitorian travel warning and reach such a conclusion either, because Ausitorian travel warnings are not exactly designed to warn people that a civil war is about to start. However, Sir Bane Falconer of the Ausitorian Airmobiles was not in the mood to differentiate between such people; this tour-group of Tulubarans was definitely idiotic.

A hundred school children on a camp in a village to study archeology (archeology! They’d be digging up their own bones if they didn’t get out shortly!) and in need of urgent evacuation. And so the airmobile brigades had flown in; casually obliterating everything they could find that might stop them, be it fighter aircraft, radar, or anti-aircraft batteries (the advantage of a 50:1 superiority in the number of aircraft alone), and telling all the tourists that they were in for a little more excitement than they had bargained for, and would they mind moving along quickly before the army noticed?

Interestingly, although the army should have noticed, evidently they had decided not to come out and fight. And so, as the last crying child clattered up the ramp, his squadron, like dozens of others across the country, beat the ground into clouds of dust and shot across the surface of the land back towards the safety of Mideane, while the Ausitorian air force continued to criss-cross the country far in the sky above them, saturating the air with electricity and studying the ground minutely so as to be able to obliterate even the slightest sign of any further local hostile interference.

“As your tour guide for today, you will note the historical remains of Ninacre behind you. Fortunately none of you are going to be history here today either if I have anything to do with it…”

And then he cursed mentally, for he remembered they still had a rendezvous with an intelligence operative’s car in the scrubland several miles to the left, some prominent businessman’s family they had smuggled out from the city during the night…

A patch of scrubland
Thirty five miles north of Bathilon.

General Benetos of the 3rd Armoured Brigade sighed and peeked out from behind the tree at the planes circling above. Cursed be thy name, he thought.

His armoured base was in ruins; bombed to pieces almost with impunity by great big stealth bombers which had simply penetrated the nations’ exalted air defences like they weren’t even there. Apparently some anti-air batteries had fired a first salvo but been instantly wiped out, and their missiles had failed to lock, exploding harmlessly, perhaps giving the pilots a bruised arm. Amateurs. But at least they had kept to their posts – although, in fairness, all of them were now probably dead. Plenty had simply deserted their posts, which might be useful and allow something to be done about this accursed air power at some point.

The air force had been no better. They hadn’t even been in their planes when they had been blown up on the runway; there was one pilot – if that was what you called an expensively trained idiot with his airplane blown up – hiding in the tree next to his.

What do you do, he wondered? He had heard of Air Superiority before, he had heard of Air Supremacy. What he had not expected was to suffer was what Viscount Vickers of the Commonwealth Space Forces was calling Air Restrainment: the ability to restrain an entire country from the air.

But he would not have to suffer it for long. Already more capable generals than him had realized that the best place to put their weapons was in civilian areas, or next to Sonxu units, where the Ausitorians could not bombard with such impunity. And by the time he had worked it out himself, the Ausitorians would be gone: even for a country with as large an Air Force as Ausitoria, there is a time limit to how long they can maintain such a pace of operations. This was Ausitoria restraining a country for eight hours, long enough to evacuate those who needed evacuation, and no longer; an operation unmatched on breadth of vision and scale, but ultimately still only temporary.

Nonetheless, little did the General know it, but his suffering was not for nothing. The Air Strategos could be proud, for the Ausitorian Air Force had finally proved that command of the air allowed command of all the elements. So much for talk of abolishing the branch. The Walrus was finally smiling; the Aurora was still some time away…

[Terripin]

Nova Astrif, Terripin
The scent of baked pastries flooded the warm air, mixing with the smell of drying asphalt from the last rains of the season.

Swipe, went the card as the cash register rung up $4.23

Ethan Paulson stepped out of the bakery and briskly made his way to the subway station. The paper bag in his hand swung back and forth from his movements.

Swipe

The subway card registered him, gave a green light and a friendly boop, and the doors opened. He stepped off the subway and entered two double doors. The front desk was blocked by a gate.

Swipe

The gate opened. He flipped out his phone and checked the news for a few minutes. Seeing nothing unusual, Ethan put it away and entered the briefing room. Two faces stared at him. Kate O'Connor and Higgen Welsh. The Director of the Office of Strategic Intelligence and the High Consul himself, both ironically in one of the most insecure buildings in the city. The OSI's offices in Nova Astrif were rather bare compared to their headquarters in Reirington.

"Late again, I see," a voice rang out from the back of the room.

"Punctually," replied Ethan as his face broke into a grin. "It's a pleasure to meet with you today Ms. O'Connor. And it is an honor to be in the presence of the High Consul today, Consul Welsh. I was unfortunately held up by other parts of my work. As you know Director O'Connor has already assigned me on another task." Neither of the two were moved by his overtures.

"Mr. Paulson, tracking your plastic history, you were busy buying sweets in a bakery and you loitered in front of the lobby of this building for six minutes. Do you take us for idiots?" O'Connor's voice was stern yet smooth.

"Definitely not. I do not mean to insult either of your intelligence. I'm merely suggesting that sustenance and keeping up with current events is part of my job."

"Enough chit chat. We have work for you today, Mr. Paulson. Give us your presentation." The High Consul seemed to be in a poor mood.

"Of course," Ethan said as he plugged in the flash drive to the computer. A slideshow loaded on the projector screen, displaying a map and a few bullet points. "This is Jaddiya. A self proclaimed communist state actually run by a dictator. Recently we, intercepted a message from them concerning Ausitorian agents sponsoring a revolt in the country. Their SIGINT was rather poor and we believe most nations with any developed signals capabilities would also hear of this message. Anyways, as you know, Jaddiya's rich natural resources in oil make it a very lucrative investment for multi-national megacorps. We believe Aestorian Commonwealth as a whole is looking to benefit from trade liberalization policies should the revolt be successful. Obviously speaking, any benefit Terripin gets out of this would be through sponsoring the rebels with Aestoria, as the current government seems shaky at best and unreliable to aid due to their weak operational security. We would land in some serious hot water if the Commonwealth discovered we were operating directly against them."

"This is an informative briefing Ethan, but I disagree with your recommendation of our next steps, and I believe Director O'Connor does as well," Higgen said curtly.

"I suppose staying out of it would be fine. That would be the standard operating procedure of our government."

"No. I mean opposing the Ausitorians. You might be aware that we have business dealings with despotic regimes. The fact is, many of our natural resources sales come from exclusive contracts from these regimes. If we allow the Commonwealth to topple Jaddiya, what's next? Our oil fields, our uranium mines, our factories in bumfuck nowhere - all gone. Aestoria may be a major trading partner of ours, but the Terripean economy needs the leadership of these countries intact to survive. We have almost no dealings with Jaddiya, but God knows they'll come for our client-states after they finish with Jaddiya. Blame the Objectivists all you want for establishing this system decades back, but we're stuck in this now and we'll have to deal with it to survive."

"But supporting the government is foolhardy. Even if we wanted to directly sponsor them, the budget would be too large to hide under the black for us to call it a success," Ethan protested. The High Consul's logic was right, but there didn't seem to be a winning move.

"I agree with your assessment," said Kate. "That's why there is a third option. Splintering Jaddiya with more rebel groups. Turn the country into a gridlocked warzone, and we'll give the Ausitorians a taste of what happens when they meddle too much. The ensuing chaos and death will then be publicized and pinned on the Commonwealth. Public backlash will then finish the job, perhaps even ending their interventionalist streak. This is the perfect job for the OSI, as we can deny we ever had combatants in Jaddiya."

"Utterly immoral, but alright," replied Ethan curtly. He couldn't help but feel his blood boil on the inside. To cause senseless bloodshed was not what he signed up for. Still, what did he expect? Welsh's philosophy was well known already. "I suppose we want to fund and supply the Communists and Islamists in the country for violent revolution?"

"Sharp thinking Ethan. From a utilitarian point of view, better to stop the loss of lives now than let Aestoria topple a hundred despots and lose millions more lives. Plus, we do work for the national interest after all. Send a message to the Ausitorians saying we want in. We'll do a bit of typical dabbling with the Mideans and arm the other two parties brim-full."

"You Libertarians and your fellow Objectivist friends keep believing in the "necessities of prosperity". One day it's gonna bite you in the ass, and people might just come to realize that exploitation isn't needed to keep a nation running. I'll have it done by tonight." Ethan got up, ready to leave.

"Perhaps, but that is not up for you to decide. If you think this is some pulp fiction from Pax Concordia, you're sorely mistaken. Romanticism has failed this land. Concorden lies six feet under, and the dead can't do jack shit to help us with their morals, let alone judge us here. The elected lead and the agencies will follow. Don't forget that Ethan."

"Don't forget that there's an election soon, High Consul. I'm just saying, you might find the blood hard to wash off your hands when this is all over." The door slammed shut, and the lights seemed to flicker in acknowledgement, as if a specter was in the room. Perhaps the ghosts of Old Concordia were watching.

Republic of Terripin
To: The Aestorian Commonwealth Embassy in Terripin
Secret Communication, Encrypted

It has come to the State Department's attention that Aestoria has taken actions in Jaddiya to end the despotic regime there. As fellow trading partners and nations that promote trade liberalization, we would like to express interest in possible collaboration in Jaddiya.

Long has Jaddiya been a thorn to the interests of global trade and security. As you may know, the recent Terripean Global Economic Freedom Initiative (GEFI) has included loaning money to multi-national corporations to developing nations and providing developmental aid for trade liberalization policies. However, GEFI also includes a black budget to aid democratic causes in despotic nations under the management of OSI. Although recent budget cuts by the Senate and Administration have reduced the scope of operations it was originally meant for, we believe we can still use these funds to help Mideane gain it's rightful independence.

A free and prosperous Jaddiya would not only ensure more economic opportunity, but also make the region a safer and more stable place. Please reach out to me or the State Department if such an offer piques your interests.

Sincerely,
Sophia French
Foreign Consul

To: Leaders of the Islamic (Sunni) Activist Community of Jaddiya
Secret Communication, Private Courier Mail

My friends,

I am but a humble merchant who has made his fortune in the construction industry abroad. As a native who emigrated from Jaddiya, long have I wanted to return to my homeland. But the present political state and oppressive government does not allow me to do so. I cannot bear to allow my sons and daughters to live in a land where we are marginalized by our faith in Allah. But now I see the time is right to strike. The rebellion in Mideane can be taken advantage of for our sake to create our own state. There we can finally find peace and prosperity. I am willing to fund, train, and arm any man who is willing to fight for our Lord in Jaddiya. Please reach out to me if you wish to undertake this great struggle for peace in our time with me. Let me pay my zakat in my support for you.

Sincerely,
Ibrahim Singh
Construction Business Magnate

To: Local Leaders of the Jaddiyan Communist Movement
Secret Communication, Private Courier Mail

Fellow comrades,

I hail from a land across the Hermanian Sea. I have watched the capitalist pigs dress up with their smoke and mirrors while they wrapped the chains of fascism around you. Let's be honest, the man in charge of Jaddiya is no more than fascist who deserves nothing less than the guillotine. In order to create a true worker's state, we must rip down the foundations of authority of capitalism and industrialize rather than give up our natural resources to imperialist scum. In this just cause my commune network and I are willing to support you. Join us, and we will send you the men to train you and the arms to fight this great class struggle. Across the sea, I see a Midean rebellion that is nothing more than a front for capitalist interests. It is only through a pure revolution that you may find the true proletariat state you seek. Please reach out to me if you wish to fight.

Our cause is just. Our time is now.
Arcturan Daniel
Chief Quartermaster of Commune 3B

[Xiangshu]

(General Yang)

The sun had just sprouted from over the horizon and revealed the blue wave seat; you could hear the roar of the waves crashing against the rocks as the Xiangese 18th Khairraat Corps advanced under the leadership of General Yang with lightning mobility. General Ming was a small man, yet very stern. He was 'supreme commander of the south' and was charged with the defence of the coastline from the impending Ausitorian Navy. The Khairraat corps was infamous for their urban warfare capabilities. That is why they were to be based in the strategic sea port of Sanidas - this flourishing and rich city is where a lot of the oil gets transported to other nations. It was strategic for opening a new supply route from the south.

As the Corps entered the city the command vehicle lead the way; it was heading for the State building of the city. The sound of tanks, footmen and helicopters woke many up on the early hours. Many people lined the street; cheering their defenders. For Xiangshu was protecting their native soil from impending Ausitorian and rebel forces. General Yang remarked;
'The Damned Ausitorians always seek to force their own policies on other nations; they're mongrels with an ego as large as their big heads - not to mention the fact their Navy couldn't even beat ours to securing this major port city; all talk - no action'

The Command Vehicle entered the gates of Sanidas - outside was a fat, short man with a large mustache and a military uniform. General Yang stepped out of the vehicle; 'Ah you must be the Mayor of this city' he exclaimed.
'Yes - sir, Welcome to our city you are most welcome here; our country is in your debt. These Ausitorians cannot keep out of other peoples business' He retorted.
'Well we are here to protect you now- as from now I hope you understand we are putting the city under Marshall law so we can enact the required executive authorities to protect the city' Yang said.
'But of course, whatever it is - i wish to help in anyway I can - we have a small regiment that are mobilized for the defence of the city' The Mayor responded.
'You must understand the rebels are not the real threat here - its the damned Ausitorians' Yang said
The mayor nodded resolutely.

As the two distinguished gentlemen exchanged courtesies; The general took up residence inside the state building and drafted a new executive order to be put into effect immediately- it read

Code: Select all

1)An Immediate evacuation of the city of Sanidas will take place- evacuees will be transported north where our refugee camps are located.
2)Any trying to make port who are aligned with Libraria and Ausitoria shall be seized or sunk.
3)All Xiangese soldiers are subject to local laws.


Huge grey bunkers were erected along the shore front and trenches were built - floodlights were installed and snipers were placed at strategic vantage points. The city was a seaside fortress.

A few miles North-west
Outskirts of Salem
As 18th Khairraat Corps was digging in at Sanidas - a major airport was about to be quarantined by the 7th Guanxying Regiment - under the control of Colonel Kun. The airport was new and another important strategic outpost for the airforce of the Xiangese army. Once the 7th Regiment took control of the airport a communications array was erected and Colonel Kun and General Yang finally made contact:

It read:

General Yang: Our forces have taken control of Salem International airport and we are beginning the transition into a military airfield. We have deployed 20 new aircraft for field operations and we are now covering your airspace. What is our next strategy?

Yang replied:

My Corps have taken control of the major port city - we are waiting on the other regiments and General Ciao to come in on the progress of controlling the North - we know the capital is under Xiangese control as it stands. The Rebels have not yet made any incursions into our controlled zones. Nor has the Ausitorians begun any kind of military operation - we now have the upper hand; we are prepared, supplied and well dug in. I'd like to see them try and attack us

[Libraria and Ausitoria]

[OOC: Sorry for the delay - I think it's probably best I put down where I'm at, although I may edit in a few details later. Mizrad, feel free to take over any side, and then I'll get a reply up to Terripin from the others. Sonshu, I think we should probably RP the battle for the Salem airbase, if you're interested in doing it properly I can draw up a tactical map some time next week?]

On the outskirts of Salem
Mideane

Captain Marcus Osman, who was studying the drone footage intensely, whistled the first couple of lines of the Ausitorian anthem carelessly, and then suddenly stopped. No sparkling azure sea here, just a sea of scrubland, just enough to prevent his tank from sweeping the field, and just enough to make hiding them fairly straightforward.

This was the vale of Salem: a land of olive-green; perhaps in the future, fine vinyards; yet the only water was the lazy Salem river, running down through the city towards central Mideane. The airport was nestled on a patch of ground just to the north-west, eight miles from the city, and had been Mideane target no. 1: an airborne battallion with a hundred assorted helicopters had arrived in the small hours, within two hours of the start of the war, instantly knocking out the single company of guards with intelligent bombardment.

It was true that an air battallion on its own would have a hard fight against a regiment - even a foreign regiment. On such a basis, thought Marcus, a premature assumption by Sonxu that the airport was being taken would not been too outrageous, and given that the Mideane government had announced that it had been take by only a single airborne company, it was really quite a reasonable supposition, for revolutions do not typically have strategic mobility available - setting up an armed force takes time, as anyone who has grappled with the problems in logistics will know.

However, there is a cheat - use an already trained army. (Handy that there were so many Mideanese in the Chattakang system). The Mideane government had arranged to buy the equipment of an Ausitorian mechanized brigade - and, entirely confident of their success, have it flown directly to the airport to arrive fifteen minutes after the attack. Thus, three hours and sixty planes later, there was an instant mechanized brigade on site, and it was highly unlikely that the enemy would know about it. A plan will never survive contact with a more agile military.

There was also the advantage of superior human and drone intelligence - thus they knew that a few thousand Sonshu forces were gathering in the city opposite - a small brigade or largish regiment. And thus the plot had been hatched: entice them out into the open, and then destroy them. City sieges could be bloody (and a catastrophic ‘nuisance’ to residents who failed to flee).

The tanks were hidden on the flanks, infantry screen extended in front and between, the three airborne companies with their attack helicopters silently dispersed in fields in reserve, infantry organic with the companies.

“Will you step into my larder, Mr. Rabbit?” had asked the fox. That was The
Importance of Trivia, thought Captain Marcus, the extraordinary Ausitorian play. Strange, and disorientating that even as he prepared to fight and die for his ancestral company, his head was filled with the thoughts of Ausitoria. But, like a true Ausitorian revelling in pluripotency, he consoled himself with the duty to protect doctrine: whether his country was Ausitoria or Modeane, he was fighting in the same cause.

And there was a lesson for him to focus on. The white rabbit had escaped; and the great game was on forever.

Meddle, meddle, meddle, thought the Ausitorian. When will it end? And what do we all believe in, he wondered?

And suddenly he stiffened. There came the enemy…

Governor’s Palace
Miopolis, Mideane

Disquiet in Terripin, evidently. But with it - at last - opportunity, thought the Turqoise Foreign Secretary; sitting at a desk as though the Governor's Palace in Mideane was just another palace of the Ausitorian government. Because this was Terripin he was thinking about: a market of billions of people and trillions of dollars, which had held out from trade deals for so long, preserving their isolation, much to the detriment of commerce, particularly now, with all the anti-globalization nonsense that was sweeping through conservatism, and the corresponding loss of foreign markets - but might Terripin, so much closer, so much richer, filled with so much more economic opportunity, finally, finally, finally, be persuaded to give mutual free access to Ausitoria?

It would be a prize easily worth a small country, ran the calculation... why, the IT know-how of Terripin plus the lower colonial manufacturing prices of Chattakang could be unbeatable...

Pax Prosperitas

By Order of His Imperial Majesty's Government

---

From: The Foreign Policy Office, The Aestorian Commonwealth
To: Sophia French, The Terripin State Department
Encryption: Top Secret

---

Your Excellency,

Your offer is most welcome and collaboration would, as always, be greatly appreciated. The Mideane government has already signified to us in our capacity as Panessos Prime Minister their intent to join the PFTZ; if Terripin would accede to the organization your corporations and enterprises will have equal access to Mideane markets via the principle of fair competition. Otherwise we could easily set up a trilateral treaty of the same nature.

On the broader subject of the course of the conflict, I should also assure you that the Ministry of Intelligence and Statistics has put in place measures to evacuate all endangered foreigners from the country from the outset of war; we are also taking a number of people linked to the regime hostage at the opening of hostilities for the purpose of prisoner exchange.

With regard to setting up specific economic programmes, we are sure specific details should best be sorted out with the local government. If you would like to establish an embassy in Miopolis, we are sure your presence would be most welcome; until then you are of course free to operate via the Panessos Senate Embassies.

If you have any requests or advice regarding the whole affair, please do not hesitate to contact us; we do value your support.

I have the honour to remain,
His Imperial Highness Richard Henry Terefort-Kazpia,
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the International Commonwealth,
The Aestorian Commonwealth

[Libraria and Ausitoria]

[OOC: I am very delighted to reboot this - by bringing both Worlds Collide & Night Falls Quickly and The Zelphos Civil War: At Heaven's Command together. Sometimes it's fun to leave loose ends and then use them to enrich RPs later... it's almost as though I planned it from the beginning. So welcome, Phenyzia! IC:]

Angels of the Night
Episode π

Episode I – Episode II - Episode III - Episode 死 - Episode IV

Aestorian Embassy

"It's certainly going to be an...experience." The princess nodded in agreement as she stood up. "It might certainly be possible to set up something like that, yes! I'll contact you again after the helicopter took off, your highness! Oh, and make sure you keep your eyes on the news!" And thus Viktoria found herself running down the corridor, in a manner that was everything but fitting for someone of royal heritage, towards the waiting helicopter. She intended to not waste anymore time as she practically rushed inside, flashing the flight-attendant a brief smile as she entered. "I assume you've been briefed about where we're heading?"

After asking this she sat down and made herself comfortable before she. "Oh, before I forget it. The code-word was 'pine-nuts', correct? I would like to talk to the prince again if possible."


At the same time in the office of the Reichsmarschall inside of the Imperial Palace

The term office perhaps wasn't correct as it was more or less a large conference room for Reichsmarschall Wagner and other senior military officers on one hand and a command center for the Imperial Military on on the other, as evidenced by the countless screens constantly displaying updates on the situation in the different conflicts Phenyzia is currently involved in.
Wagner had gathered every high ranking military officer in the city, reporters from several major Phenyzian news outlets and of course foreign reporters.

"I won't take up your time for long, but I have to make an announcement and an order:
By decree of her Imperial and Royal Highness, Prinzessin Viktoria von Hohenzollern the Terror Doctrine as devised by his excellency Großadmiral Straßburg is to be immediately abandoned, and any attack on civilians in either Zelphos or Nvyarcy are to cease immediately as well. Furthermore the Imperial Military will not carry out further chemical or biological attacks on foreign territory, as long as this decree is in effect these weapons are not to be used as anything but a deterrent or if provoked by a similar attack with weapons of mass destruction.

Her Imperial and Royal Highness would also like to express her deepest apologies for the attacks carried out in Zelphos, she hopes that this can be the beginning of a deescalation between Phenyzia and the Loyalists to avoid further bloodshed."

After he finished he held the written piece of paper into the cameras. This would certainly make the news, the question was whether it also reaches the right people.

VT-414
Aestorian Embassy

Viktoria entered the small cabin, not paying too much attention to the other people around. Before sitting down she implied a slight bow of her head at the prince and the man who had just joined him. "A pleasure to meet you, Lord Wright."

She watched the silent replay, which didn't really show any of the journalist's faces but among the military officers the expression seemed rather divided between either approval or disgust at the thought of being forced to restrict, what they considered to be an effective method of warfare, due to some royal decree. The Reichsmarschall himself seemed rather neutral while one persons' expression certainly stood out, Generalfeldmarschall Ludendorff, the man in charge of the invasion of Nvyarcy appeared visibly upset.

Viktoria finally spoke "Imperial Propaganda will now publish this everywhere, probably citing it as an example for the Royal families' commitment to peace and stability. The military is rather dificult to judge, I know that Wagner and the High Command tend to follow such a decree very strictly, but local officers might be tempted to simply ignore it."

She pointed one finger at Ludendorff. "And since Ludendorff was there the Reichskanzler will certainly be aware of the decree at this point, I don't think he'll openly challenge the decree but he might try to bypass it. He's already asked the Kaiser before to temporarily disband the Reichstag, our parliament, and instead put a military administration in charge for the duration of the conflict to uhh...ensure maximum efficiency."

VT-414

As the aircraft shot through the air, the secretaries studied their notes, considering the matter from a dozen angles - with the increasing attention of the Ausitorian government. Countess Agnes, however, took a more direct tone.

"Any chance of removing the Generalfeldmarschall, your Highness?" she asked, a slight frown over her eyes and an inquiring tone in her voice. She had rather a lot of experience in the area - the Ministry of Intelligence and Statistics was by far the most deadly Ausitorian department, when it chose to be. "Preferably by character assassination, with actual physical assassination merely optional? I mean, would it be possible, for instance, to entice Ludendorff and Richter into the field, so that we can pick off their forces? Are they hot-headed enough to act on a suggestion? Or might their honour be belittled? We could easily arrange to have the Ausitorian equivalent people go to the front."

VT-414

Viktoria briefly shook her head at the Countess' suggestion, while she wanted Richter gone as well she was clearly a bit more hesitant when it came to Ludendorff, a member of the Imperial Military's Supreme High Command, not to mention that the nobility is very easy to scare and assassinations might bring far more domestic trouble than she wished for.

"Generalfeldmarschall is a honorary title, only the Kaiser can possibly revoke his title, and it's something that's never happened before. If it were to happen however it would essentially be a character assassination. Perhaps with the right incentives and a failed campaign as a public reason to revoke Ludendorff's title, my grandfather might be willing to do it. And...there's of course no way Ludendorff would refuse the Kaiser's order to embark on a certain campaign.

Richter on the other hand is a politician not a soldier, he would never come come close to a battlefield. Unless...well, how familiar are you with the feudal laws of Phenyzia? It probably doesn't come as a surprise that Richter is also the ruler, king to be precise, of one of the Phenyzian states. Each state, of course, has it's own army. Him being forced to take action there is the only way I ever see him personally taking charge of an army. And I can't really see that happening either, but I suppose Ausitoria really wants Richter and those close to him gone? There might be an alternative, the Kaiser has the right to dismiss the Reichskanzler if he deems his policies to be detrimental to the Reich's interests. Again it's something that's never happened before and after being in power for over forty years I doubt Richter is just going to give up, not to mention that it won't be easy to convince the Kaiser to do it.

In either case I'd prefer to avoid a physical assassination, though. There is a very delicate balance of power between the nobility of the different states, and Richter, the king of the second largest state, being assassinated on behalf of Kaiser Friedrich, who is also the king of the largest state, might be seen as very threatening by some of the lesser nobles. Perhaps if the balance of power regarding domestic politics was to be shifted in favor of the Imperial Crown, away from the local Kings, Lords and Dukes, things might be easier to achieve."

The Chattakang Cave, United Realms
Press Briefing Room

“The first rule of government: never believe anything until it’s been officially denied.”

“The first rule of intelligence: use that rule.”

Thus spoke Agnes, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry for Intelligence and Statistics, as she addressed the Profligate Pandas, the most well known secret intelligence organization in history, an organization that traded in knowledge and analysis. The masons were nothing on them, too fat and greedy; the assassins and templars, too fanatical and disorganized; the company-states, too large and busy. The Panda’s prediction skills might one day lead them to develop the science of psycohistory and apply it to project the future with inevitable certainty, but for now they were content with merely knowing a lot about everything they wanted to know about.

“It is - and this is already knowable - the intent of the Aestorian government to belittle the evil Phenyzians Richter and Lundendorff from power.

It will already have struck you, therefore, that it is elegantly inevitable that we should officially deny that these two people are, for instance, plotting to assassinate Abba Selaphim, as we would expect, and that we are planning an aermobile counter-strike by a Grand Fleet to bring these warmongers to justice, as we would respond.”

Agnes smiled at the crowd before her. The Profligate Pandas found dry irony delicious, and her words were like a nectar to them. They knew perfectly well that Agnes was merely stating the obvious - and that nobody could be held responsible for the inevitable. And it was only inevitable now that they had thought about it.

And therefore, inevitably;

---

Article from the New Alexandrian Courante online version
Subsidiary of the ABC

---

Breaking News: Richter and Lundendorff accused of plotting shadow war against Mideane
We don’t want to fight, but, by jingo, if we do...

Hot on the heels of rumours of a plot to assassinate Abba Selaphim, former Governor and now President of Mideane, Alexandria has issued a strong denial that it has been planning a counter-strike to infiltrate the Kingdom of Normanien and bring the perpetrators, Field Marshal Lundendorff and Phenyzian Prime Minister Richter, to justice.

Analysts at the Strategy First think tank have suggested that Field Marshal Prime Minister, leaders of the Phenyzian fringe right, wish to enhance their position and reputations within Phenyzia by striking a blow against Ausitoria and the liberal order in revenge for Ausitoria’s successful intervention in Zelphos and victories over Phenyzia in Bluewell.

Responding to the allegations that his life is in danger, Abba has issued a statement impugning "the dishonourable, cowardly, warmongering Normanien plotters", calling upon the international community to issue targeted sanctions against the state and their regime.

Asked to comment, an unofficial spokesman in the Foreign Office stated that “it is obvious that Richter and Ludendorff are doing their best to lead the entirety of Phenyzia to war,” and that “the pair pose an irresponsible menace to the international community”, while the Foreign Secretary has called for Phenyzia to hand the pair over to an international tribunal.

At the same time, sporadic fighting continues in occupied Nvyarcy, large parts of which were invaded by Phenyzia during the Zelphos war.

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ABC News, bringing reports and updates live.

Richter's Office
Somewhere in Phenyzia

The telephone rang.

“Good morning, sirs... this is the Aestorian Broadcaster asking whether Richter has any comment to make about the charges that he is stirring up a shadow war of assassinations against Mideane?"

[Xiangshu]

North Jaddiya

The rocky mountains in the north of Jaddiya overlooking the vast sea of sandy dunes harbored a small village of local Jaddiyan civilians. As the sun was setting and the chilling night winds were rising, a villager called Ali, who was merely sixteen was collecting water at the village water pump, he was small in stature - bulky for his height and his skin was the same olive colour that is typical of the mountain people in Jaddiya. As he worked his arms pumping the water into a bucket he heard a slight buzzing noise that was so faint he almost paid it no mind. But as he pumped the water again, and again, and again... the noise began to gradually get louder. He looked over the horizon to see giant transport helicopters traversing the dune sea. The lights of one flashed in his eyes. Ali covered his face from the bright light and dropped the water bucket which splashed over his rags. He turned to run back to his hut in the confusion of the bright lights and the loud repetitive sound of the helicopter.

As the helicopters landed near the village the sand blew up into the air which almost shrouded the helicopters from the villagers field of view. Among the swirling sand a hive of Xiangese soldiers poured out. To the poor mountain villagers it looked like something from the future - the Xiangese soldiers were dressed in a red camouflage uniform to blend in with the red mountain rock. The Villagers lined the streets in the cold night watching hundreds of Xiangese soldiers marching through setting up anti-aircraft weaponry and hoisting the Xiangese flag. Out stepped General Ciao, supreme commander of the Xiangese forces, a tall and well-built man dressed in his red officers uniform. As he stood out looking across the dunes he picked up a communication device and opened a line between himself, General Yang and Colonel Kun stating that;

'The North is under my command, I am bunkering down in a isolated village in the mountain region of Jaddiya, Colonel Kun, I want you to hold the airport and ensure that any encroachment by the rebel forces or such else is halted. General Yang, bunker down in the city of Sanidas - it is our main supply route from the sea and we cannot afford to let it be taken over, our strategy for now is to be patient and defensive to see how our foes move first'.

Khairraat

Back in Khairraat, news of the invasion of Jaddiya had reached Premier Chao Zheng; the national news papers had been publishing of a great stand-off to protect the communist factions which had united with the Liberal left, libertarian left to form a 'Jaddiyan Republican Army'. One newspaper headline was 'The Left faces its ultimate test' and this was self-evident in the war that would potentially ensue if the Ausitorians retaliated - and who were in the eyes of Premier Chao - the core essence of right wing capitalism. In order to hold out against Ausitoria or the Right wing movement in Jaddiya (Who were called the Nationalists in Xiangshu) Premier Chao Zheng ordered a message of an alliance be sent to the Leftist Republican Rebel group which read -
'We have stationed our forces from the south-west and we have a secure control over the north with what we expect to be an impending attack on Salem international airport very soon due to its strategic importance and the close proximity to the right wing rebels - we propose an alliance between ourselves, the Socialist Republic of Xiangshu and yourselves, the Republican Rebel group in Jaddiya and if when we beat back a potential Nationalist-Ausitorian coalition we will help establish a communist government in Jaddiya and proclaim a guarantee over your old and noble nation'.

[Rhinocera]

The good of the people. That was the justification that was to be used to justify the largest incursion of the Rhinoceran-Jadiyyan border in recent history. After continued dialogue with the Ausitorians, Rhinocera had committed to "establishing" a safe zone along the Rhinoceran Jadiyyan border. This would, obviously, be an easier task now that the Ausitorians had more or less hammered the Jaddiyan airforce into the ground, with no aerial resistance even possible, though even when it was "operational", the Jadiyyan airforce would have been out of its league in an attempt to stifle Rhinoceran aggression.

As it was, the operational plan was based off of a contingency plan put in place, as to prepare for a sudden need to invade Jadiyya, should the neighboring nation give Rhinocera sufficient cause to do so. Operation Western Shield, the name of the operation that was currently set to commence, involved three armies in addition to a plethora of fire support from air and ground sources.

Operation Western Shield

Top Secret

Issued by: General Ragnar, Rhinoceran Imperial Military Command

Troop composition:

3rd Legion (General Jackson): Army Group J (General Zeus), Army Group B (General Talco)

Army Group J: 11th (Lieutenant General Hall), 12th (Lieutenant General Halvick) 13th (Major General Crassus) Armies

Army Group B: 14th (Lieutenant General Sampson), 15th (Lieutenant General Reese) Armies

Orders:

Army Group J : Secure a front 50 miles into Jadiyyan territory and establish a safe zone. Divide the border into 3 sections. The 11th Army will move to secure the northern sector. The 12th Army will move to secure the central sector. The 13th Army will move to secure the southern sector.

11th Army: Secure the northern sector and prepare to receive refugees. Ready for additional advancement and await additional orders. Intelligence indicates Xiangese forces have seized northern territory. If Xiangese forces are encountered, do not engage Xiangese forces unless you are engaged. If necessary, hold the advance and await further orders.

12th Army: Secure the central sector and prepare to receive refugees. Ready for additional advancement and await further orders. Intelligence indicates that the only military force to be encountered within the central sector are Jadiyyan units. If encountered, engage at your discretion. If Xiangese forces are encountered, do not engage unless engaged. Continue the advance to the objective regardless of Xiangese presence, unless doing so would necessitate actively engaging Xiangese forces.

13th Army: Secure the southern sector and seize oil fields contained within the southern sector. If Jadiyyan forces resist, neutralize with whatever means necessary. If Xiangese forces hold oil fields and resist, surround and entrap. Do not engage Xiangese forces unless they engage first. Intelligence suggests that Xiangese forces may be present within 25 miles of the Rhinoceran border. Continue to advance. Encircle Xiangese units when possible and continue the advance, but do not engage unless you are engaged first.

Army Group B: Reinforce Army Group J when necessary. Protect the flanks of the advance.

14th Army: Support and reinforce the 11th and 12th Armies. Secure the exposed flank of the 11th Army, protect supply lines of the 11th and 12th Armies. Assist in establishment of the safe zone within the northern and central sectors.

15th Army: Support and reinforce the 13th and 12th Armies. Secure the exposed flank of the 13th Army, protect supply lines of the 13th and 12th Armies. Assist in seizing of oil fields when necessary. Assist in the establishment of the safe zone within the central and southern sectors.

As 0100 hours came around, Operation Western Shield commenced. The initial phase of the operation was a wave of precision strikes on identified Jadiyyan military outposts within the determined safe zones. F-22B fighters and F-22B/H air to ground attack aircraft launched precision airstrikes on numerous targets, while artillery batteries on the Rhinoceran side of the border thundered away, firing on predetermined military targets. Even the Rhinoceran rail artillery, which consisted of batteries of 31.5 inch guns opened fire, albeit on hardened targets that had been predetermined as potentially strike resistant if engaged by lighter munitions. The southern and central sectors bore the brunt of the artillery and aerial assaults, though the northern sector was only struck when the site was verified to be clear of Xiangese personnel, a task accomplished through aerial reconnaissance and intelligence reports from assets within Jadiyya. At 0230 hours, after an hour and a half of relentless attack, the Rhinoceran Imperial Army crossed the Rhinoceran-Jadiyyan border.

[Libraria and Ausitoria]

Outside Salem
Mideane, early afternoon

The Jabdiyan People’s Army was, somewhat contrary to propaganda, an indoctrinated, disciplined, professional force, easily capable of handling a few disordered rebels, and quite distinct from the disorderly conscript militia, which had simply evaporated in the face of the terror from the skies. However, unfortunately for the army, it had no equipment which looked respectable this century, to make matters worse, it had been badly shaken by the brief but total loss of control perpetrated by the enemy air force, and it was up against an expensively trained army which had almost no equipment more than a decade old.

Nonetheless, thought the Brigadier, Ben Oman, the Brigade guarding Salem had recovered into good order, and had even recovered its fighting spirit: true, enemy helicopters had seized the airbase – intelligence suggested there was a small battalion and a large squadron of helicopters opposing him – and true also, there were precious few anti-aircraft weapons which he had not sent there; with only a single anti-helicopter rifle per platoon, and eight vehicles. Indeed the Sonshu forces had had to be left behind to fortify the city and lay mines, for they seemed to be lacking both in innate anti-aircraft capability and in fighting spirit.

But as the armoured lorries swung along up the tracks he felt proud, especially as he looked ahead at the twenty-four “Grumper” AFVs, a third of them the all-important anti-aircraft variant, more armoured lorries, and marching men, doggedly leading the way, and at the towed artillery, rocket artillery, and self-propelled artillery batteries all around him, the last finally clearing the gate. (It was good to have a complete artillery battalion).

Of course he was expecting trouble. That was why he was keeping half of the seventy-six lorries back, as a sort of mobile striking force. It was not conventional, to split a battalion like that, but this war was not conventional; half of his third battalion was presumably lying dead at the airfield; and the other half lay immediately before him, to assist either flank if enemy expeditionary tanks turned up.

Nor was it entirely conventional to advance in multiple lines, four to a company – although that was the necessary result of not enough lorries and not enough cross-country capability. They were advancing slowly; and he was again sorely tempted to take the mobile forces and dash across the country. But with hostile skies, and with a squadron of light tanks probably in proximity, this was no time to march into an ambush with unsecured flanks. It was best to use the whole brigade to deal with this tedious enemy battalion.

All quiet. The airbase lay ahead; one ridge running along to the right, a lower one, to the left. No sign of those enemy tanks. “Wheel right, I’d prefer to be on top of that ridge rather than below it,” he commanded.

“The radio’s suddenly gone,” said the captain beside him. Suddenly a Grumper ahead stopped and turned to the right.

“Still no helicopters,” said his lieutenant, scanning the sky ahead with his binoculars.

The brigadier opened his mouth. But at that precise moment there came a whistling and rumbling, and then his brigade was confronted by a suddenly unconcealed crescent of dozens of enemy tanks, ten miles around him – at ranges far too far for him to fire at. Presumably not just a battalion, he thought. Only the artillery could fire at that range, and he turned to give the command…

Excerpt from the General's report: Battle was joined.

The sight was terrifying, and that was merely to the perpetrator. As Marcus tapped on the screen, a hundred shells following a hundred missiles into the targets that he was circling, the enemy force lost all cohesion, vehicles obliterated in clouds of smoke and fire, men tossed into craters and scrambling for cover, artillery blown to pieces before it could find a range. It was a pitying spectacle.

“Breaking radio silence, the Ausitorian Watch Office satellite division would like me to pass on that the forces in Salem have been preparing minefields. They’re currently updating our maps,” said Marcus' Major over the radio.

Some enemy soldiers, with great presence of mind, had torn off their white clothes and were waving them, and he quickly redirected the weapons from targeting those groups.

“Incoming,” Marcus noted, as missile vectors appear on the screen. One of the rocket artillery pieces – now seemingly wiped from the map – had managed to get off a salvo in their direction. The staccato fire of automatic close in weapons systems opened up; the missiles launching – in six seconds they would know – five – four – three – some of the infantry were starting to get off shots now – they needed to keep out of firing range – oh, he was still alive, good…

Enemy vehicles and artillery pieces were targeted as a matter of priority, and a number of infantry on the edge of the enemy body also surrendered. However a determined core returned fire northwards up the hill, forcing our flank to retire back to the top of the ridge.

As our helicopters, infantry, and IFVs came up behind, it was decided to surrender the ridge to the enemy, where they were more exposed. The group of men that straggled to the top of the hill were then cut down at minimal loss to our own forces, while our other flank simultaneously closed in upon the remainder of the brigade at the bottom.

Seeing this result, the vast majority of remaining enemy forces surrendered, although a helicopter and three IFVs were lost on each flank. However about a tenth of the enemy brigade had made their way back into the city, where the enemy disposition of minefields and fear of prepared anti-tank and anti-personnel traps led to the ground-level pursuit being broken off to be replaced by a combination of drones, snipers, and limited use of heavier weaponry, which was effective in reducing enemy numbers and prepared positions. However the difficulties of irregular urban warfare are well documented and after a few hours it was impossible to select any further reasonable targets.

In the meantime our tanks circled round the city. While a large number of civilians were fleeing to the south, and patrols were arranged to check for concealed weapons, Sonshu forces escaped to the south-east, and, after giving our tanks the slip, were pursued by our helicopters. Fortunately they did not appear to possess any meaningful anti-aircraft weaponry, and the helicopter wing was able to launch a large number of anti-tank missiles and strafe the retreating half-track column until they fled from range.

A conference was called as the helicopters returned, and the President indicated his preference for Salem to be taken peacefully, offering to allow any remaining enemy forces to march out with their weapons and colours, and he pointed out that subsequently propaganda would show that Sonshu forces had fled their allies without reason...

The Senate Chambers
Late Morning
Panessos City
Ailanor

That was not what had been meant to happen, thought Khloe, Aestorian Ambassadorial Senator to the Panessos Senate, Acting Speaker and Prime Minister.

The Aestorian idea, circulated by secret briefing paper by the International Cross (which was as determined as ever to continue its constitutional work in the IFC, whether what was left of the IFC wanted it to or not) was to have the refugee zone announced first, giving the Jabdiyans time to retire. It was not the Aestorian intention to have Rhinocera suddenly invade, even if the hawks in the government and the pro-Mideanes were utterly delighted at the prospect of a warlike ally. She had just been speaking on the phone with one of them, the Director for Outer Planning, who had told her it was the beginning of the end for Jabdiya, and why was she so fussed? True, it was a little unorthodox, and belligerent, but at the end of the day Jabdiya was hardly likely to have just rolled over anyway, and the exact order of who declared war on who first was hardly important and Jabdiya was so badly run that they’d been asking for it which was why Aestoria was supporting Mideane and on the same grounds Rhinocera had enough justification to invade them and for Christ’s sake why was she so concerned? At least this way the Jabdiyans were on the hop.

And in fairness, he had also passed on the point that Aestorian estimates were that there had been few casualties anyway - Jabdiyan forces had already been called westwards, and those that had disobeyed their orders to do so were now obeying them with quite considerable determination so as to get away from the firing zone before they were obliterated.

But Khloe was not happy. It was now her job to explain to the international community (which was hardly as in favour of Ausitorian liberal interventionism as it might once have been) exactly how Rhinocera’s invasion was justifiable. True, the Ausitorian government was willing to overlook it, because it made no significant or substantial difference in principle, but she had to deal with the "little" matter of international law - whatever that was. Which was where the fun began, of course.

Fortunately they did have the very strong argument that the primary aim was to establish a soft border for handling refugees. Already some 15,000 displaced former Jabdiyan now Mideane soldiers had joined the International Cross, and there were already as many civilians on the way to manage the refugees.

The secondary effect - supporting Midean against a dictator - was also commendable and entirely above board.

Which left only the "little" matter that it was an entirely unprovoked invasion which also lacked any justification for the lack of a formal declaration beyond perhaps operational necessity.

...this is going to be interesting, thought Khloe, as she stood up to deliver her speech. Particularly interesting, of course, as it was the first time anyone had actually needed to call the Senate to order for years. It was in fact only her third time in the Senate building, which the architects would have considered a great waste, were it not for the fact that the chamber was generally used for government committee work. Indeed she had not even seen most of the ambassadors present, which was no surprise as there had been nothing to discuss during Ausitoria’s regional hegemony - certainly from the Ausitorian perspective, it was pretty much perfect.

But it really was a nice building, with enough seating for every nation to have an assistant representative, and more space besides for further aides. It was splendidly decorated, with two double thrones; one for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, one, at the opposite end, for the WA Delegate and Senate Founder; tasteful and expensive paintings; traceried architecture - really almost perfect, even if for some reason the flags of Senate red cross were flying beside her. Although that was probably fitting given the humanitarian nature of the session.

“Order! I would like to call the Senate to this special session,” she said, banging the gavel, which caused a few of the delegates to wake up from their jet lag. “Thank you to all delegations for making it here.”

“I would like to report to the Senate that Rhinocera has, as of four hours ago, invaded the Jabdiyan-Rhinoceran border regions, in part to secure them for refugees in the wake of the Mideane Revolution from an unmanaged refugee crisis which might lead to the collapse of local order and civil society, with the ensuing potential radicalism that entails.

The refugee interest and our regional government interest will be represented and organized by the International Cross, which has dispatched some 40,000 people to manage the civilian affairs of the border regions in democratic co-operation with the local governments.

This intervention, now taken as a whole, is therefore considered by our government to form a reasonable intervention in accordance with the duty to protect and in accordance with the triple humanitarian, democratic, and security requirement for intervention.

I can also confirm that, pending the successful conclusion of elections in Mideane, or of any treaty any recognizable Jabdiyan government concludes with then, it is my government’s intention to grant them full membership in this Senate. At least until then they will be ably represented within the International Commonwealth Agency.

I understand both the Leader of the Opposition and the Jabdiyan Senator have tabled requests to speak on the subject. With the permission of the latter I therefore give way first to the Leader of the Opposition, the Senator from Sonshu.”

[Xiangshu]

Senator Daiyu Lin approached the podium to speak on behalf of the Socialist Republic of Xiangshu, she was a tall lady, her hair looked as if it had taken hours to prepare and her makeup was soft and not too overdone. Xiangshu had long been a supporter of the Pannessos Senate and the delegate senators who represented their nations. Daiyu, being one of the oldest senators, had a wealth of experience and was well-respected in her home nation as an able delegate. As she stood at the top of the podium she tilted her head to look over her glasses at the delegates. Xiangshu lead the opposition in the senate and was the only nation to declare their support to Jabdiya.

Senator Daiyu shuffled papers and after a few moments of gathering her thoughts she spoke;
'Xiangshu recognises and supports the Jabdiyan government in their struggle to protect their own territory. As such the Xiangshu government has stated that it cannot and will not recognise the state of Mideane under any circumstances. Mideane is carrying out their conquest of Jabdiyan territory by force and not seeking a diplomatic approach, for this Xiangshu has already stationed troops in Jabdiya to protect our allie to the east.
Our position on this matter is already known and we use our position today to say we do not recognise the state of Mideane at all. However, this is not the only development that has occurred in recent hours, four hours ago Rhinocera seized lands on the border with Jabdiya... Xiangshu is a nation of principle and we swore to protect Jabdiya from the Mideane menace. The Rhinoceran government already understands our position and has chosen to defy it anyway. So, a letter has been sent to the Rhinoceran government with an ultimatum to withdraw from Jabdiya in the next three hours or a status of war will be declared between our nations. It is important to see it from our perspective, my fellow Senators, Xiangshu is here to protect the integrity and honour of an independent state, thank you, I give way to the speaker'.

Message Sent to the Rhinoceran Government :

To the Rhinoceran Government,
This is a grave matter that has befallen our nations and thus due to your outrageous military actions, the Xiangshu government is giving you three hours to withdraw from Jabdiya, if these conditions are not met then a status of war shall exist between our nations -
Yours, Premier Chao Zheng

Shortly after the message was sent, Xiangshu soldiers were ordered to rally to their defensive positions on the northern portion of Jabdiya, preparing themselves for the possible eventuality of war.

[Arkadonisia]

Arkadonisian President Thomas Morley had been awake for a few hours now, but had only just begun his usual morning routine; a cup of coffee, a bagel with cream cheese, and the daily newspaper. He was sipping his coffee contentedly as he read, with the main article attracting most of his attention: the Jaddiyan war had continued to escalate, and now it was threatening to spill out across the globe. As he read, the door to his suite opened and his assistant poked her head inside.

"Mr. President? You have a visitor," she said in a chipper tone. Morley glanced over his paper at her.

"Show them in," he said, returning a half-hearted smile at her as she ducked back out. A moment later, two men entered the room, wearing military uniforms. Morley folded his paper up and moved it and his breakfast to the side as he rose from his seat.

"An honor, Mr. President," one of them said, extending his hand and taking the President's in a firm handshake.

"General Greer, good to see you again," Morley acknowledged the other man, who gave the president a crisp salute before Morley offered them chairs. "Now, what can I do for you, gentlemen?" he asked. Greer cleared his throat before speaking.

"Mr. President, it's Jaddiya," he said curtly. "We've received reports that some of our own citizens are trying to travel to that country to assist in the fighting, for one side or another. Furthermore," the general produced a small packet of papers from inside his coat pocket, "we've received detailed information from the Immigration Bureau that a large number of refugees are fleeing the country; no doubt some will likely end up here," he finished. Morley nodded in silence, tenting his fingers against his mouth as he listened.

"So...what are you proposing, General?" he asked.

"It is of course none of my business, Mr. President," Greer replied, "but we may wish to consider sending support to try to end the fighting sooner, rather than later, before the situation gets out of hand." Morley nodded slightly again.

"I don't believe we need to sacrifice Arkadonisian citizens in a foreign war, General," Morley returned, "but...ending the fighting does sound like a good idea," he added. Ms. Stevenson?" he called out; a moment later his secretary popped her head into the room again. "Rouse the cabinet, I need to discuss some things with them."

"Of course, Mr. President," the assistant replied, smiling again before disappearing to do her delegated duty. Morley then returned his attention to the two men in front of him.

"General, I will discuss the necessity of calling a peace conference with the Cabinet," he told Greer. "However, I would be honored if you chose to join me to deliver a debriefing on the combat going on, to assist in the discussion." The General gave a nod.

"Of course, Mr. President," he replied as all three men rose to their feet. "I will have it as soon as possible," he extended a salute to the president again.

"Very good," Morley replied. "The cabinet will meet in a few hours' time; please have it ready by then," he added, shaking the hands of both men before they turned and left. Morley gave a small sigh before sitting back down to finish his breakfast and reading the paper, almost as if nothing had happened.

[Libraria and Ausitoria]

The Senate Chambers
Late Morning
Panessos City
Ailanor

“Thank you very much, Senator-Ambassador,” said Khloe, with studied monotone politeness required by formality. This ultimatum was a development that had been entertained by Ausitorian planners, but hardly considered particularly probable; a paper protest and secret support had seemed more likely. Evidently Xiangshu was acting with purity of purpose and slightly less concern for realpolitic. Indeed, Khloe had been watching the Jabdiyan Ambassador, the inept but well-born Ben Sanidas, who was waiting anxiously in the wings to see which way the wind was blowing. Apparently there was even a slight chance that he might defect to the Mideanes.

In the event of the onset of a Rhinoceran-Xiangshu war, there were two schools of thought in the Aestorian establishment, first, led by the Hawkish Directorate for Outer Planning: let them fight, with a minimum of diplomatic niceties; Rhinocera was arguably no natural ally of Ausitoria’s, being a dictatorship, and Mideane needed military support. Second, led by the Dovish International Cross, try for peace; Rhinocera was an ally with a progressive, benevolent government, and a great deal of Ausitorian investment, and the refugees needed peace. Besides both Rhinocera and Xiangshu had a nuclear capability. The second view therefore had the edge.

But there was also the Jabdiyan dimension to consider. The Jabdiyan ambassador would be just as torn as Ausitoria - both delighted with the prospect of Sonxu supporting Jabdiyan territorial integrity against Rhinocera, and also wary at the prospect of a general war against Rhinocera where Sonshu reinforcements would have to run the gauntlet of Mideane airpower. And even now the Ausitorians were briefing on the understanding that this was no general invasion by Rhinocera, but rather a matter of securing the Jabdiyan border - and no more. Jabdiya had no desire or ability to fight a two-front war, particularly if when it came to it Xiangshu forces where going to flee the scene, like they had in Salem.

She had two options open. She could now let the Jabdiyan Senator squirm ineffectually between these two competing concerns. But the Jabdiyan Senator had also, in a moment of initiative, requested a projector, which meant he was likely planning to show and portray any photos as an atrocity. Therefore it was better that Ausitoria appear prescient, and appear to be on the same side as Ben Sanidas, and the people of Jabdiya and Rhinocera, all the better to drive a wedge of suspicion between Jabdiya and Sonshu while leaving options open.

“In view of this sudden, unexpected ultimatum, I would like to state, with the forbearance of the Senator-Ambassador from Jabdiya -” Ben Sanidas glared, as ceremony demanded, and then nodded “- that it is The International Commonwealth’s opinion that this Senate should immediately mediate to prevent such a conflict from transforming the interior of Jabdiya into a protracted warzone, and also to ensure the safety of refugees in the border zone by co-operating with Rhinocera. To these ends we call upon Xiangshu to extend their suspiciously short deadline, although it may make for good TV in Xiangshu.”

She left it at that, as there was nothing else she could say that would not be open to accusations of hypocrisy - but the implication that Ausitoria thought Xiangshu an unreliable ally of Jabdiya was clear. Khloe paused to see if the Leader of the Opposition had any intention of replying directly from her opposing podium, while Ben Sanidas continued to wait silently in the wings: he was doing an excellent job of appearing to be ominously impatient to make his compliants, but not so much as to actually require him to fall upon one side or the other before he knew which way the wind was blowing.

Such is the fate of a little country.

400 km south-west of Sanidas
Morning

“There goes the second wave.”

“A hundred fighters fewer to fight this morning… and more for this afternoon.”

“Nothing like seizing the centre-ground between enemy forces.”

“Textbook battle, this.”

“3… 2... 1… LAUNCH.”

Sir James and Oscar Kagoole, lately of His Aestorian Majesty’s Air Force, now Air Marshal and Captain of the Mideane Air Force respectively, pressed the buttons before them - one to fire the lasers signalling the start of battle, the other to alert their AWACS flight to turn to port.

From below, the advance squadron of Krakens, that veritable missile launchpad, issued the first wave of missiles, 200 Marlow 250s, sleek and smart medium-range air-to-air missiles which could hone in on their target by radar, laser illumination, and heat; three or four for every enemy target, presently on passive. A third of the Xiangshu aircraft, spotted and verified a dozen times by the unstoppably and irredeemably nosy might of apparently “neutral” Aestorian reconnaissance drones, ships, baloons, and aircraft, had gone passed; short on fuel and two thousand kilometers from their carriers, they could have no choice but to go on to Jabdiya, and take no part in the battle behind.

The next wave, a further 50 or so fighters, and similarly short on fuel, was however blundering most satisfactorily into a trap, but they were followed five minutes behind by a fourth wave, and then a fifth, and then a sixth. This was going to be hot work, for the Mideanes, although they might have the advantage of full fuel tanks, were markedly inferior in numbers. Ahead and above were two F-70 Panther (stealth) squadrons, below, two Angel II (stealth) squadrons, in the middle, three F-III Lightning (not so much stealth) squadrons. About 90% of the fighter strength of Mideane, to be precise, and merely 120 fighters with which to try to take out 200… odds of 5:3.

So, time to see just how well organized the Sonxu air force was…

[Rhinocera]

3 hours, that was the time given to them. The Socialist Republic of Xiangshu had given the Empire of Rhinocera 3 hours to withdraw, under the threat of war. Obviously, a war with Xiangshu had not been the desired outcome of Operation Western Shield, but it hadn't been a possibility that had been entirely dismissed. As a power that had aligned itself with General Barth Sanidas' regime, Rhinoceran intelligence had suggested this would be a possible scenario. This potential scenario, upon being considered, had been deemed unlikely by the powers that be. Jadiyya bordered Rhinocera, while Xiangshu sat thousands of miles across the Argyre Strait. The prevailing opinion amongst Rhinoceran authorities had been that Xiangshu would almost certainly condemn the Rhinoceran seizure of the Jadiyyan border territory, they would not entrench themselves in the situation by playing the role of a weaker nation's stalwart defender. Unafraid of the costs and consequences that their hardline stance would entail.

The prevailing opinion was wrong. With this ultimatum, this 3 hour line in the sand that would lead to unnecessary bloodshed, Rhinocera had been put in a precarious position. The options were simple. Rhinocera could fall back, relinquish the seized territory, abolish the safezone, and more or less cower in the face of the adversity being presented by the Socialist Republic of Xiangshu, or Rhinocera could stand its ground, dismiss the ultimatum, and invite Xiangshu to ignite a conflict for which there would be no obvious favorite if the war were to be fought on neutral grounds. Unfortunately for the Socialist Republic of Xiangshu, this would not be a war fought on neutral ground. This war would be fought on Rhinoceran ground if Xiangshu possessed the resolve to wage it. The border territories seized were a few dozen miles extended from Rhinoceran soil. Current Xiangese forces in Jadiyya posed no serious threat to Rhinocera, numbering a few corps, maybe an army. Rhinoceran forces in the seized area alone greatly outnumbered this, and now that Xiangshu had threatened war the count would rise. The Empire of Rhinocera, at least in the eyes of its people and government, including those of Supreme Consul Tiberius, was quite secure. Unsurprisingly, Tiberius did not elect to abandon the border regions. However, he also did not elect to launch a preemptive assault on the Xiangese forces in Jadiyya. If Xiangshu wanted a war, then they would have to come and get one.

Make no mistake, Rhinoceran forces would not sit idle. Aerial assets flooded the skies, protecting Rhinoceran men and women, as well as thousands of Jadiyyans that had already crossed into the safezone, from Xiangese attack. Rhinoceran forces along the border prepared to reinforce the 3rd Legion, many already set to receive orders to support Operation Western Shield if the need were to arise. The Rhinoceran Imperial Navy, ever vigilant in the protection of the homeland, moved to secure the coasts. Patrols were in place and if the Xiangese decided to enter the Panessos strait, they would not do so without Rhinocera having sufficient forewarning. Xiangshu would not catch Rhinocera unprepared.

To: Premier Chao Zheng of the Socialist Republic of Xiangshu

We agree in regards to there being a grave matter that has befallen our nations. We disagree regarding the substance of the matter. The Empire of Rhinocera has done what is needed to be done, necessitated by humanitarian requirements. We have established a safe zone along the Rhinoceran-Jadiyyan border. We did what was necessary to accomplish that, nothing more and nothing less. Advances have halted, for we have accomplished what was necessary. We have no designs on a grand conquest of Jadiyya, nor do we consider ourselves the perpetrators of some egregious act. If you do not agree with our methods, then make your grievances known in a civilized manner, one befitting of regional powers such as ourselves. We took significant steps and precautions to ensure that Xiangese lives were not claimed in the events that have unfolded. We showed your nation that respect. Unfortunately, the Socialist Republic of Xiangshu has not reciprocated this, instead threatening Rhinoceran security through a blatant ultimatum that may soon embroil us in a violent and costly conflict.

Let it be understood that the Empire of Rhinocera will not be intimidated by your threats. We will not be bullied into accepting your will as law. The Socialist Republic of Xiangshu does not tower above the Empire of Rhinocera. If the Socialist Republic of Xiangshu proceeds down the path it has set forth, it will find a more than capable adversary awaiting it. The Empire of Rhinocera rejects your ultimatum in its entirety. We have no desire to embroil ourselves in a war, but we will not be ordered about as if we were cattle. I sincerely hope you reconsider your position, for the sake of both of our nations. Let us engage in open dialogue, not open war.

- Supreme Consul Tiberius

To: Richard Whittingrey, Permanent Secretary of State, The Aestorian Commonwealth
From: Supreme Consul Tiberius
Encryption: Top Secret

Mr. Prime Minister,

Our two nations have long enjoyed a relationship of cooperation, one that has been mutually beneficial for all parties. We hope that the actions that we have most recently undertaken have remained in line with this. While unorthodox, our unannounced seizure of the border territories was a tactically necessary action taken to achieve minimal loss of life for all sides. We have also moved to act as discussed in prior communications between us, with the safe zone being established and humanitarian aid being made readily available. Obviously, if you still wish to do so, we will formally approve the creation of refugee camps within this safe zone and we will make resources readily available as to accelerate the process, once another delicate situation is resolved.

As you likely already aware, the Socialist Republic of Xiangshu has taken exception to our seizure of the border territory. They have issued an ultimatum giving the Empire of Rhinocera a few measly hours to scatter to the wind, lest war be declared upon us. For obvious reasons, this places the establishment of any international humanitarian effort on hold. As I'm sure you likely expect, we will not be satisfying the demands of Xiangshu, and while we will do what we can to avoid armed conflict with them, we have no intention of allowing a foreign power to order us about. This point brings about several others.

The first and most critical of these being the well being of the thousands of refugees that have already crossed into the safe zone, or were already present within it upon its seizure. As of now, we do not believe that the Socialist Republic of Xiangshu will mount an attack on the safe zone, but as a precaution we intend on carrying out a mass relocation effort for these refugees. As a major actor within the Mideane region of Jadiyya, we believe that a cooperative effort would be the best course of action. We could relocate the refugees to a site designated by yourself, after which Ausitoria would be tasked with permanent relocation efforts. Rhinocera itself will stand ready to accept refugees from permanent relocation efforts when the situation allows for it, but with potential armed conflict remaining a possibility that time is not now.

The other point is the issue presented by Xiangshu's ultimatum. I've made you aware of how we intend to respond to these ridiculous threats, but this will likely have a drastic impact on the course of the events that Ausitoria has put in play. With this in mind, I must make a request of your nation. I ask that you formally condemn this drastic and dangerous ultimatum and formally express support towards the Empire of Rhinocera and its place in the events of recent days. We are not asking that you commit material resources or anything of the sort, for we are quite confident that the Xiangese presence on the continent poses no genuine threat to Rhinoceran security. However, even an expression of support from your nation could go a long way in regards to influencing the reaction of Xiangshu and other nations that are presently observing the situation at hand. An expression of support would be seen as a grand gesture of goodwill between our nations and could perhaps lay the groundwork for future, significant progress regarding Ausitorian-Rhinoceran affairs. As a token of our goodwill, we are willingly to allow Ausitoria to use Rhinocera as a staging point for future operations regarding Jadiyya and we will provide facilities and resources to help facilitate this.

The Empire of Rhinocera is proud to continue its relationship with the Aestorian Commonwealth and hopes for continued positive development between our nations.

- Supreme Consul Tiberius, Empire of Rhinocera

[Xiangshu]

Palace of Khairraat, beneath it was the Xu Bunker Complex

Premier Chao Zheng was in the Xu Bunker Complex at the time he received the message from Rhinocera. He was sitting at the head of a long table with Naval Admirals, Air Command and the Army Generals. As he read the message he hesitated with a confused look on his face. He glanced over to his Secretary of State and asked;
'Did we ever receive one message or warning of the border incursion, prior to the events that unfolded'.
Without hesitation, the secretary of state responded 'none at all sir, why do you ask?'.
The Premier paused to look back at the letter and read the line which said 'Humanitarian' before looking back up to the secretary of state 'Why would they proceed to take military actions and seize Xiangshu-controlled territory without warning us and then suddenly claim it was for humanitarian purposes - at any rate it matters little, we made our ultimatum known we cannot abandon it, we need it to be to known that this conflict in Jabdiya is vital and any one-nation who thinks they can make incursions into the territory need to understand that Xiangshu is deeply involved in this.
It is also quite suspicious that Rhinocera feels the need to invade the entire border and then some to establish a place for refugees - my suspicion is they shall not let go of the territory when the war is won'.

General Ling put his hands on the table, leaned forward to attract the Premieres attention and stated that 'The deadline is in an hour and a half and we need more soldiers, aircraft and naval support sent there to prepare - if we are going for all out war, it would be more prudent to land in the Xiangshu-Controlled parts of Jabdiya on the western border' The Premier then responded with 'Let it be done then - It is about time that we show the world our commitment to the cause in Jabdiya. At any rate this meeting is over, we will convene again in approximately an hour - half an hour before the deadline and by then it will be a much clearer picture of what we are to endure. Let it be known now that as far as we are concerned, Rhinocera will not meet the terms'.

Xiangshu began sending a large force, transported by the Peoples Navy to land on the western shore - a few hours after the deadline is over. Preparation was a long-time coming and therefore the Xiangese were efficient in scrambling their forces to make ready for the journey to Jabdiya.
It was clear that the premier very much doubted the cause claimed by the Rhinocerans but he was willing to call him out on it - to show the world that the true provokers of what could be an impending war, was indeed the Rhinocerans. A message was sent to the Rhinoceran government that read;

To Supreme Consul Tiberius
From, Premier Chao Zheng

We have read the message you have sent and by no means does the Xiangshu government believe that the entire border of Jabdiya is needed to conduct humanitarian efforts. We still have a while before the deadline is met and we ask that you, one final time that you surrender the borderlands and if you truly are concerned for the humanitarian issues in Jabdiya you would go through the correct procedures in the Senate, for which Xiangshu remains loyal stewards of, and have a senate approved safe-zone - and not march on Xiangese territory unannounced under the guise 'Humanitarian Aid'.

The WMD's of Xiangshu were set on standby for if Rhinocera decides this war won't be fought the old way, then Xiangshu has the means of retaliation. A provoked war with Rhinocera was not something that the Xiangshu government anticipated - as far as they were concerned Rhinocera was neutral and had no intention of getting involved however this development where Rhinocera took over Xiangshu-Controlled territory without any communication to Xiangshu was in the eyes of the Premier at the very least, Rhinocera attempting to size-up Xiangshu's resolve in the conflict and paint themselves as the victim.

As for the matter of Ausitoria, the thought that loomed over everyones head in the government - it was no mystery that Ausitoria sympathised with Mideane, but as for the Rhinocera tensions, it was more of a mystery to say the least. Although the Premier was interested in the actions that Ausitoria took, he had no doubt that it will probably not involve military action as the saying in the Xiangshu cabinet goes 'Ausitorians only intervenes when they have the odds 10 to 1'.

[Terripin]

Southwestern Jaddiya
The dirt-caked man squinted his eyes in the distance as eight figures approached in the distance. Sure, these were no mountains, but the plateaus offered nothing but rocks and dust.

While Balmo Aslo had grown up knowing the culture of Sunni Islam well, he had never desired to step into a backwater place like this. Disgust filled him. Truth be told, he was not a very devout man. But Balmo knew what was immoral when he saw it. And this, supplying weapons for slaughter in the name of faith, was likely a crime in the eyes of all religion. He wasn't sure if there was a God out there, but he whispered a plea for forgiveness in case there was.

Among the eight figures was a white haired man. A scar ran down his left cheek, almost in the shape of a snake. Balmo assumed this was their leader, Ismail.

"I've brought you the first batch," said Balmo, waving at the pickup trucks behind him. "If you'd like we'll set up a regular supply train to you weekly at this exact spot."

Ismail gave a wry grin, "That is fine by us. We do need more transportation however. These trucks alone will not suffice."

"InshAllah, we will be able to provide more by the end of the month."

"Great. Please give Mr. Singh our thanks for his support."

"I will relay that to him," he replied curtly. Turning his head away from the two men, he climbed into a sedan and signaled for his men to drive.

The OSI had done some pretty horrid things in the past, but he was sure that this one topped them all. Those men were going to kill thousands, if nothing more than as a diversion in Jaddiya. Perhaps it was time for him to quit field work and go work in a private firm. The plateau seemed to agree, the wind almost howling a sound that sounded like yes.

The Islamic Republic of Jaddiya
Official Communique

Let it be known that the current regime in Jaddiya is cruel, unjust, and unable to provide for the Jaddiyan people. As we the people of Jaddiya will no longer tolerate this incompetence, we have taken upon ourselves to establish a new government that holds true to the heritage and culture of old Jaddiya. Our government holds true to the faith of the people of Jaddiya and will rule itself in accordance with the laws of Islam.

Our demands are simple and reasonable.
1. The surrender of the current Jaddiyan government and armed forces in Qa-Rasamal.
2. The southern half of the disputed state of Mideane is to be ceded to the Islamic Republic in accordance with its cultural history of Islam.
3. The withdrawal of all foreign powers with armed forces in Jaddiya.
4. Acknowledgement in the Panessos Senate of the Islamic Republic as the true representative government of Jaddiya

Any efforts to stop us will be met with armed resistance and a righteous holy war by our people. God willing, we will prevail in our righteous struggle.

Sincerely,
Ismail Areeb
Interim President

[Libraria and Ausitoria]

tankstorefront

The Senate Chambers
Late Morning going on Noon
Panessos City
Ailanor

Barth Sanidas now had the chance to make his speech to the Senate.

“Honourable Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to lodge a formal complaint against the foreign invasions of Jabdiya.

Early yesterday morning, the Ausitorians bombed our country. If I may, I would like to show you some photographs of the houses hit by Ausitoria….”

Khloe zoned out. Words and shocking images - probably most shocking because of how misrepresentive, out of date, or fabricated they were - started to float past.

“... miserable atrocity ....”

An aide brought up a memo. Ausitoria was developing its position.

“... cowardly aggression ….”

Another memo. Rhinocera was not to advance any further.

“... here we see the Rhinoceran bombings, hitting civilians… “

And a final memo: the Ausitorian decision, complete with a short speech for her to deliver.

“... and to sum,” - Barth Sanidas said at last - “I would like to request the Senate put a stop to this reign of terror by uninvited foreigners. Thank you.”

Khloe rose, making full use of the right to reply, and delivered her speech.

“Your excellencies, it would appear that the honourable Senator is guilty of a misunderstanding and misrepresentation. Both Ausitoria and Rhinocera have merely confined themselves to removing the military threat posed, first to the evacuation of friends and allies of this Senate; and second to the organization of refugees. Even with the threat of interference, the Aestorian Commonwealth estimates that casualties - and I include the wounded - are only in the hundreds. And while this is regrettable, it is regrettable that Jabdiya has been so poorly misruled as to be unable to offer security, prosperity, and democracy to the people there; firmly necessitating our intervention to protect the tourists and refugees within the country.

To sum, we have a duty to protect when a country fails to do so. And this brings me on to the present, and to the future. My government is firmly of the opinion that this conflict must be de-escalated on the international stage for the betterment of Jabdiyan affairs and to avoid the country falling into the hands of puppets. To this end we welcome the declaration that Rhinoceran forces will advance no further. We would like to propose an extension of the ultimatum until the end of the day, and invite Rhinocera to send representatives here forthwith to negotiate a peace treaty; or at the very least to establish a communications channel to minimize escalation, and avoid both sides sending in ever escalating forces and using ever more devastating weaponry to turn first Jabdiya, and then Panessos, into hell.

But this may be insufficient. I would therefore like to communicate that in the event of the following actions, the Aestorian Commonwealth will enter the fray:

1. In the event that any side uses weapons of mass destruction, cluster munitions, or unannounced mines.
2. In the event that Jabdiya or Rhinocera sail their military ships or submarines or fly their military aircraft within a thousand kilometers of their enemy’s coast, satellites excepted.
3. In the event that Jabdiya or Rhinocera interferes in any way with the innocent navigation, commerce, or travel of any country, even of their enemies.
4. In the event that Jabdiya or Rhinocera interns the citizens of each other’s countries going about their lawful business, or impede their ability to leave the country.
5. In the event that Jabdiya or Rhinocera attacks the other’s home territories or anyone's satellites.
6. In the event that any side fails to abide by the conventions of war regarding the fair passage of humanitarian relief organizations, diplomats, and community government members, the fair treatment of civilians, prisoners of war, fair medical treatment, fair trial, surrender, false flags, child soldiers, civilian shields, or any other crimes against humanity or war crimes.

In the last case, perpetrators shall of course be personally liable.

I would also like to declare, with the Mideane government, that our countries’ flying boats have jointly mined the Gulf of Sanidas to impede entry of further reinforcements into Jabdiya, which would only serve to convert Jabdiya into a battlefield. Civilian ships which can no longer pass through will be fully compensated by the International Arbitration Court; those who must travel through, such as humanitarian groups, shall be given free passage by Aestorian air assets. We will of course remove the mines promptly after the conflict, and ensure civilian ships in the area are well-notified.

Thank you.”

---

Article from the New Alexandrian Courante online version
Subsidiary of the ABC

---

Interview: Deductions in Jabdiya
With Prof. R. J. Williams

“Good morning. I’m here with Professor R. J. Williams, intelligence analyst, author of “Deduction in Diplomacy. Professor, thank you for coming here.”

“A pleasure to be here.”

“Now, Professor. What’s going with Jabdiya? What exactly do you deduce?”

“Well, there are a number of troop movements in Sonxu, particularly near the vicinity of the coasts, that can be spotted by satellite. Therefore it should be clear that Sonxu is preparing for the option of a landing force. Now that’s child’s play - observation, deduction. But try this. Sonxu and Jabdiya are not real communists. The war will impair Jabdiya’s finances. Therefore Jabdiya is suffering hyperinflation.”

“Well, do you have any proof?”

“That will come later - or an announcement by Sonxu that they will support Jabdiya, currency-wise. But therefore I deduce there are currently Ausitorians considering whether they can seize the money for international arbitration purposes.”

“And will they?”

“There’s been an announcement of an islamic group. It is hostile to Mideanes and Jabdiyans alike. Which fascist Islamic countries do we know to be our enemies? It’s obvious really. SACTO’s puppet, Bashria. Therefore all of a sudden this conflict looks multipolar and Ausitoria will be pushing for peace before they get a chance to gain a foothold. They will allow Jabdiya to fall - but only down one level.”

“Well, you certainly know all the answers. And I can confirm you’ve just reduced and then lifted the Jabdiyan Dinar by 1.4% down, then 1.8% up.

Professor, thank you very much for illuminating the situation.”

“My pleasure.”

Current projection. Note Sonxu forces are currently withdrawing east from Salem, while Mideane forces move to cut off Sanidas from overland reinforcement. Fighting is expected to break out between Sonxu forces and Rhinoceran forces north of Rend, around the Ranas oilfield. Rumours abound of a scattered IR (Islamic Republic) presence across the south, including warnings in the border regions north-west of Sanidas.

---

ABC News, bringing reports and updates live.

Pax Prosperitas

By Order of His Imperial Majesty's Government

---

From: The Whittan Office, The Aestorian Commonwealth
To: Supreme Consul Tiberius
Encryption: Top Secret

---

Dear Friends,

I would like to start by briefly stating that the appropriate humanitarian organizations are already on their way and naturally under our protection, both as regards their safety and their freedom to operate. You need have no concerns regarding them, and information on their locations will be freely available, and I can confirm that they will locate themselves at a distance from your strategic points.

Not that there should be any fighting in the zone: we have undertaken to cut off the maritime reinforcement route by mines, which should severely limit Sonxu’s heavy equipment and offensive ability. In addition I have the authorization to offer all intelligence assistance in identifying targets inside the border in the event of a more general war, and of course keeping you informed of all strategic matters; and for the ease of mutual planning regarding such matters I would like to invite you to send a strategic planning team to our hypercarrier SS Unicorn, currently in the southern end of the strait, which you may wish to invite to Crete. You may announce this visit as a sign of broader Aestorian support and goodwill, to complement our clear verbal support for your establishing the refugee zone.

With your forbearance, we have however stopped short of formally condemning the actions of Sonxu. We would like peaceable negotiations and for such an end we can hardly condemn one of the parties, even if we do condemn their actions and support the actions of the other.

Finally, regarding your suggestion of basing, I have been requested to offer, on behalf of Mideane, a mutual basing deal for up to five hundred aircraft?

I have the honour to remain,

Lord Richard Whittingrey,

Whittan Secretary

Aestorian Commonwealth

DAILY STAR
★
The Voice of Jabbiyya
online version

A LETTER TO THE PEOPLE

“The treachery of the rebels knows no bounds. Not content with their base ingratitude and selfish money-grubbing, or even with fighting our brave forces peacefully exercising in the Salem valley and seizing the city by corruption, they have conspired against us, bribing Rhinocera to invade our border regions in a naked land grab. Are these the sorts of people that the Senate and the wider international community supports? And now yet more foreign adventurers gather from the imperialist SACTO, starting some Islamic campaign against the glorious enlightenment of communism, where man is free from any higher form of dictatorship.

We face tough days of toil, comrades, but we will fight them in the beaches, we will fight them in the deserts, and we will fight them in the skies and in the landing grounds, we will never surrender. Let us stand up for what we believe in, arm ourselves, and go down in the last ditch if we must, for we will never be enslaved by a merciless fascist conspiracy. But our allies will step up their efforts to aid their cruelly attacked cousins, and put a stop to this appalling abrogation of the rights of all peoples and all nations to be free and equal.”

It was good propaganda, thought Barth Sanidas. He turned, with a nod of approval, to its progeniter, the aging, white haired, yet somehow still youthfully determined Prime Minister, Deputy Chairman, Sath Adin.

“We must get more support from Sonxu,” Sath said peremptorily. “The images Midea has circulated of their forces fleeing from the field is not going down well with our troops. And we are facing economic collapse at a time when the government must raise a revolutionary militia. If you would care to approve also this message…”

Secret Communication

From: The People’s Republic of Jaddiya
To: The People’s Republic of Sonshu

---

Dear Comrades,

Thank you very much for the forces you have sent to assist us, and the diplomatic cover you are providing in the Senate. The images of your soldiers fleeing the battlefield at Salem, circulated by those perfidious Mideanes, is however contributing to the instability of the country, as evinced by the impunity with which the Senate and Rhinocera can see fit to disregard the equality of nations and seize a border region for a buffer, and as evinced by the rise of an islamic faction. This total war is placing a grave strain upon our ability to direct our economy, with secessionist elements opposing our communism abounding, and we fear complete collapse.

May we request, therefore, the arrival of at least 20,000 further defensive forces by air to line our borders, and the sum of $500 billion to shore up our currency and economy, and place orders for military equipment? It is high time for a second communist internationale to rise up and work together to put a stop to this travesty, whereby fascists can walk all over our peaceful utopias.

Your comrades from across the sea,

Barth Sanidas II, President-General of all Jadiyya, Party Chairman, Defender of Workers, People's friend, etc.

It was indeed good propaganda, as even Lord Richard Whittingrey laid out to the Star Chamber; the agglomeration of cabinet and committee which could give the Aestorian government such a frightening centralization of power.

“No, no, no, no, the first sentence - and second - is completely untrue, but yes, yes, yes to the third. And then a call to arms. It looks bad. The socialists will probably be asking some awkward questions in parliament. Let me ask them too. Are we really intending to topple a dictatorship which might actually have some support and even a modicum of noble intention and right to rule; and which at any rate will preserve stability, when it might fall into an anarchic festering snakepit which it may not be possible to prevent from becoming a SACTO-terrorist hell-hole under dispute from 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 - and possibly 7 different factions? And are we really sure that we want to channel Sonxu forces into attacking Mideane? Those are the questions we must ask ourselves.”

Sir Henry Taylor, the perfect Prime Minister, squirmed uncomfortably under the morning sun which shone determinedly over the verandah.

“To which I should add,” said George Tilt, the Chancellor, who felt that asking his own questions would be much easier than answering anybody else’s, “do we really want to try to intercept the funds which will no doubt flow to the communists? As I’m sure you’ve read from Graham Pricer’s comments, Jabdiya is on the brink of economic collapse. The Jabdiyan dollar is in itself virtually worthless - it is only worth the market estimate of the probability that Sonxu will keep it afloat multiplied by the probability that we won’t put a stop to it. Already there are reports of people going back to barter, or using the Universal Dollar, while the government is looking at reintroducing price-fixing to curb rampant inflation. But without monetary authority even a communist society won’t hold together.”

“Not a happy country,” confirmed Alice, the Minister for Intelligence.

There was a pause, during which the foreign secretary, who was still in the air, cannily excused himself with a ‘technical glitch’.

“You still there?” asked the Chancellor.

“Um, back again,” he said, although his hologram failed to reappear. “Sorry, did anyone say anything?”

Victoria, the Deputy Prime Minister, rolled her eyes and took charge. “I think we’re all agreed not to decide straight away. Wait and see, investigate possibilities. Get onto the foreign office to open up communications with the Jabdiyan government. Plan for an early any satisfactory end to the war - and get an announcement out to that effect with Midea jointly. No desire to upset regional or national stability, etcetera. We must be quick, and keep tight control of the situation and the timetable.”

“That seems sensible,” said Henry.

“Splendid,” said the turqoise Secretary.

“Super,” said Argus, the Defence Secretary.

“We’ll look at where to draw the dividing lines,” said Agnes, head of intelligence. “Perhaps the siege of Sanidas will be the siege that never was.”

“I’ll get catography and trade analytics to help with that. George, also take a look at modelling buying out or renting the Rhinoceran borderlands for refugees,” said the Foreign Secretary.

“Just to float an idea,” said Arthur Wright, “I wonder whether Barth Sanidas might take a ceremonial role, like a dual monarch, in Mideane. No, hear me out, that would save face very neatly without changing any facts on the ground.”

“He’s not exactly a bad dictator, only completely incompetent,” nodded his minister, Argus, thoughtfully.

“Vascillating, and tyranical,” replied the Foreign Secretary. “Not wantonly cruel, but indirectly responsible for famine and purges, and no doubt involved in the massacre perpetrated by his father. This is hardly Ausitoria’s natural friend, even allowing for the fact that we share some common ground. He is quite outside the bounds of acceptability. I shall get in touch with his younger sister, Hatha, instead.”

“Indeed. All good then,” said Henry Taylor. “Next item: ah… provocative nudity in the Outer Commonwealth.”

“Do we have to discuss it?”

“Do we have to take an official position?”

“Can’t we leave it with the local authorities?”

“What’s wrong with our no policy policy to not have a policy?”

“Well, Kegmet is planning to arrest some Ausitorians at a nudist protest. Have none of you read the briefing notes?”

“Can’t we nobble them?”

“I can just see the headlines: is the Prime Minister attempting a cover-up?”

The Prime Minister sighed. Partitioning countries could be so much easier than actually running them…

[Rhinocera]

Crete, the Island Capital of Rhinocera

R.I.M.C - 45 minutes until the deadline
The Xiangese response had been quite predictable. They were sticking to their guns, at least up until this point. The heads of Rhinoceran government did not think that the verbal and written offensive would genuinely translate to a war waged with guns and men. Any reasonable entity would derive that the costs of waging a war against a foe who had the advantage of fighting on their own ground would outweigh the benefits of sticking up for the soon to be former regime of a weak and hapless nation with little resolve of its own. However, despite Rhinoceran commands confidence that bloodshed would be avoided, they weren't willing to bet the security of the Empire of Rhinocera that the aforementioned resolution would come to pass. No, they much preferred to play the game with a full deck of cards. In this case, that deck of cards just so happened to be the Rhinoceran Imperial Military. And this deck was already in play, with the contested regions and others already having received their reinforcements, and with further support but a stones throw away.
Of course, there were a handful of restrictions in place, the obvious ones and the obscure. No weapons of mass destruction would be employed, unless of course the Socialist Republic of Xiangshu decided to fire them off first. No one wanted a nuclear war, especially between two powers that are relatively comparable. The other obvious restrictions were simple, not truly worth mentioning. The obscure, however, were quite mentionable. The 1st and most critical, the Rhinocerans could not and would not fire the initial shot. It was imperative that, if this war was to be waged, Rhinocera would do so as a nation defending itself from a foreign invader. This war would not be fought with Rhinocera acting as the aggressor. The 2nd, the oil fields were to be preserved. Such a valuable resource was not to be squandered in a demonstration of relentless firepower. Of course, an exception could be made if necessary, but only if necessary. Oil was what was truly at stake here, and while Rhinocera had no present intention to remain as occupiers once the conflict concluded, they also had no intent to relinquish access to the oil fields.

To: Premier Chao Zheng, of the Socialist Republic of Xiangshu
From: Supreme Consul Tiberius, of the Empire of Rhinocera
Encryption: Open

I am genuinely disappointed that you seem deadest on drawing our two nations into open conflict. I send this message as a plea of sanity and a warning against insanity. We did not march on sovereign Xiangese territory, as you claim we have. We have seized territory from a brutal regime, for the protection of the innocent. Do not attack my people, do not attack my country, and do not continue this escalation to madness. If, when this deadline passes without our compliance, you do attack the Empire of Rhinocera, we shall find our two nations at war. I assure you, this is not a war that the Socialist Republic of Xiangshu will win. If your forces engage us, many will die. I assure you, we will scatter any offensive you have planned as if it were a pile of leaves caught in the gusts of a cyclone. If this war is fought, it will be fought on and near our soil, and we will cede none of it. Relent in your pursuit for war, cause I fear you may get what you seek. The Empire of Rhinocera will not remove itself from the safezone. If you continue on your path, know all of the blood spilt will be on your hands.

- Supreme Consul Tiberius

To: Lord Richard Whittingrey, the Aestorian Commonwealth
From: Lesser Consul Augustus, the Empire of Rhinocera
Encryption: Maximum

I am glad to here that there are still those who possess their senses. The Xiangese' blatant violation of reason has made this a precarious time for us all. It is a strong statement that we continue our humanitarian mission despite the violent thirst of another nation.

We truly appreciate your willingness to share intelligence regarding the upcoming potential conflict, as we also appreciate your efforts to mitigate the damage that the Xiangese can cause to us and thereselves, as well as any unfortunate Jadiyyans that could be caught in crossfire of such a war. Regarding your invitation, we are eager to accept. Any cooperation between our nations regarding the strategic situation is much needed at this time, and we would also gladly extend the invitation for your carrier to make its way to Crete.

I am also obligated to tell you that the tone of our communications with the Socialist Republic of Xiangshu remains bleak and the potential for war is no longer the improbability that we initially perceived it to be. It is no longer believed that peaceful negotiation with Xiangshu is possible. The ultimatum will soon pass, and they will make their choice when it does.

Regarding the offer of a mutual aircraft basing deal, the Empire of Rhinocera agrees to the terms as presented and will await a more detailed plan if you wish to present one.

-With respect, Lesser Consul Augustus

[Xiangshu]

One minute to the end of the deadline, the Xiangese senior officials had gathered to grant authority to the Premier to take immediate military action. Delegates from all nineteen districts had gathered in Khairraat. On the floor of the Peoples Congress the Premier made his case to take military action against Rhinocera;
'We have already pledged immediate support to Jaddiya and our alliance with them can only continue so long as we stand on integrity and principle for their sovereignty. Earlier today, the Rhinocerans encroached on Jaddiya without warning, without consultation of the Xiangese or Jaddiyan officials and seized lands along the border declaring it to be a 'safe zone'. These are lies and just an excuse for the Rhinocerans to make a land grab of Jaddiyan territory, thus we require your support to take military action against Rhinocerans". Shortly after the speech the delegates cast their votes and revealed that the Xiangese Congress voted unanimously in favour of taking military action..

In Jaddiya, orders from the high command were revealed and the Xiangese armed forces began to carry out planning a series of operations targeted at the Rhinoceran held strategic locations along the border, the main Xiangese force that was stationed in Jaddiya was located in the south of the country, attempting to suppress the rebellion that was currently underway. General Ciao, who at this point had just received word of orders to assault the Rhinoceran held territory ordered the deployment to double the presence of the Xiangese forces in Jaddiya due to it being stretched thin and fighting now on two fronts.

[Rhinocera]

To: Premier Chao Zheng, of the Socialist Republic of Xiangshu
From: Supreme Consul Tiberius, of the Empire of Rhinocera

The Empire of Rhinocera recognizes that the timeframe set forth by your ultimatum has come to pass. With war imminent, I wish to request one final attempt at diplomatic resolution. We invite the Socialist Republic of Xiangshu to a diplomatic conference to be hosted within Crete, to take place in 2 days. We assure you that the Empire of Rhinocera will not move further into Jadiyya or move against the Xiangese presence within Jadiyya, during the duration of the conference and the days leading up to it, assuming you accept the invitation. Obviously, we would expect Xiangshu to cease the flow of Xiangese forces into Jadiyya and refrain from moving against Rhinoceran held territory, as an assurance that your nation attends these diplomatic proceedings in good faith. We assure you that the security and safety of any Xiangese delegation will be our upmost priority. We await your response.

- Supreme Consul Tiberius

[Xiangshu]

Once Premier Chao received the message from the Supreme Consul of Rhinocera he summoned his generals and senior officials.

'We have received a message from the Rhinoceran Government Communique regarding diplomatic talks on Crete. Although we would've preferred a neutral location, for the sake of Xiangese lives and the logistical difficulties of a war on two fronts, we will accept this and send a delegation there at once and thus not pursue and military action until then'. Chao decreed with a resolute expression. The officials seemed to be surprised about the turn of events as Chao had seemed adamant in that he wanted to draw out military operations. However, Chao had hoped that Rhinocera would have been forced to come to the table as with the threat of war, the Xiangshu government have great diplomatic leverage in any peace process that may occur.



In response to the Rhinoceran Supreme Consul, Chao wrote;

To Supreme Consul Tiberius
From, Premier Chao

I am writing in response to your previous message, although the time of the ultimatum has passed we will not conduct and military operations until the talks in Crete are over. A delegation lead by Ambassador Nuan are already on their way. She will negotiate with you our position regarding your encroachment onto Jaddiya. For the sake of both lives that would be lost, we hope you understand our very serious position we have found ourselves in and that further, we can come to a last ditch diplomatic arrangement to avoid hostilities.

Furthermore, we would wish for you to extend this offer to include the government of Jaddiya and the rebel leaders of Mideane in an effort for a peaceful resolution to be met as soon as possible. We do however wish that the Ausitorian government are not extended an invitation as they may undermine the potential for peace to be reached.

Regards, Premier Chao.