The rise of imperial Katsur (IC)

[Katsur]

Anna Sabilline was seen in the capital leaving the headquarters of the royal council. From the looks of it, Katsur was back on track with no signs of political problems but cracks in this facade were easy to spot, even in a media controlled totalitarian nation. Katsurish news had often replaced names of religious people. Now instead of, say, Christians or Jews, several people from talkshow hosts to blog writers had mysteriously started saying "undesirables".

The next crack in the ice was the design of propaganda posters, by themselves there are nothing ordinary about a nation like Katsur using them. But, the new posters had a jarring tendency to brag about how Katsur was not a target in 9/11, soon teachers found themselves over-exaggerating the historical impact of the cult of the Dark Crystal.

On a global scale there have been an increase in interest for coming up with a blueprint for a Katsurish tank, this is despite how impractical such vehicles would be in the forests of Katsur. If they can't be used effectively within Katsur's borders, why bother?

---

The rp starts
International observers in Katsur woke up to see a strange military practice. In the eastern part of Katsur, the royal guard had built a city the size of New York city out of cardboard in 1:1 scale. 200 convicted criminals tried to capital punishment has got their identity chips turned off. Anna Sabilline stood before them on a pedestal while the convicts were one by one released in the cardboard city.
Anna Sabilline: Alright everyone listen up, first point of the day. Every one of you have recently been judged to death, in my eyes you're the most despicable scum on this planet and your convictions please me."

Unsurprisingly, every single convict booed in unison at Anna Sabilline throwing her monolog off track. Several even prepared to toss their handcuffs after her. That is until Anna Sabilline took her riffle and shot the sky to silence the group.
Anna Sabilline: "Enough! Let me finish. However despicable you people are, I have used my influence to give you another chance. This city of cardboard shall be your home for the next 24 hours. In one hour 200 of Katsur's elite soldiers will invade it, to your disposition, behind several of these cardboard houses there are weapons. If any of you are alive after the 24 hours, I'll personally pardon you for your crimes."
No convicts were happy about the situation but knowing that death is the alternative they reluctantly agreed after some thinking.

The "war" was ridiculously one-sided. By noon a drone found out that half of them had befriended each other in groups. Members of the royal guard on motorcycle started shooting the loners down quickly. By 4pm only platoons were left, they too found themselves cornered by the combined efforts of Katsur's helicopters and jaguar machines.

8pm and they were down to 1 convict, as a drone found out the last one was a tattooed man who tried to cheat by escaping. When the drone came close the man, he climbed it and destroyed it. Sadly for the man, Anna Sabilline had took precautions, when he tried to climb the fence surrounding the fake town. He was killed by a shock of millions of watt.
At 10:15:08 pm, Anna Sabilline declared the military exercise completed.

[Democratic Exodian Territories]

Somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean, more than 4000 miles from the Exodian Archipelago
Northeast Protected Wing, Kingstrom Forward Naval Base

The leader of the Democratic Exodian Territories sat in silence and ate his afternoon meal slowly in the dimly lit room, waiting for aides to carry his finished plates away, deep in extreme thought.

No, it was not his invasion of Tam Dimei, a relatively small island empire that had attacked one of Exodia’s merchant liners, and the reason why he was on a secluded military base so far from home. That conflict in itself was a headache- a painfully-slow operation, that combined with a lack of intelligence, had driven himself, the government, the military and even the people to the edge for some time.

No, it wasn’t the Natanese rebellion, a conservative-minded insurrection in the infamously left-wing state, where he had hired and sent his nation’s best crack mercenaries, good-minded men who bore no rank but defended freedom all the same, to risk their lives to help free these foreigners.
Instead, it was a strange feeling- with a crystal-clear, brilliant-blue cloudless sky outside, it absolutely did feel like calm before a storm. The eyes, sparkling dark eyes of the young Chinese man concealed an utter maelstrom of fervent wonder of what was to come.

Governor William Shang, Commander-In-Chief of the Democratic Exodian Territories

“Mr. Governor? Sir?”

Shang was disturbed from his imagination, as he scrambled to remember his thoughts for a moment, before catching himself. A young pale-skinned man and a dark-skinned woman stood in front of him, both bespectacled, the latter clutching a couple of file folders.

“I’m sorry, forgive me. What’s going on? Who are you two?” Shang stuttered for a moment, before getting up from his chair slowly.

“I’m Nasrin Abboud. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Governor.” The woman walked forward, placing her folders on the table and offering a handshake. “Ministry of State.” She said in a slightly high-pitched voice with a slight accent, stepping back to let her male counterpart step forward. Shang offered a small smile and nodded.

“Agent Alexei Romanoff, sir. It’s a pleasure to meet you too.” The man, unlike his female companion, who wore a civilian’s blazer and business clothing, was wearing the double-breasted uniform of the Exodian Navy, decorated with a few medals. He snapped a salute before offering his own hand. “Ministry of Intelligence, formerly in the Navy.” He smiled, talking in his own slight accent.

“Oh! I believe I know both of you. Miss Abboud, weren’t you one of the assistants to our Ambassador to the World Assembly? Before we left the damned syndicate, of course.”
The woman gave a small laugh. “Yes, that’s correct. And like my companion here, I didn’t exactly approve of that decision...” She glanced at the uniformed Alexei, who only shrugged. “Progressive Party, we’re afraid.”

Shang jokingly shook his head at the comment, before turning to Alexei. “Master Sergeant Alexei. I’ve heard your story. Rose quickly through the ranks of the Navy ever since you enlisted, was the youngest member of White Dragons Special Operations before joining the Intelligence Ministry. Almost joined the Executive Guards, but thought it wasn’t for you and instead decided to be our nation’s own Jack Ryan.” Alexei only nodded. “I also appreciate your brother’s work in our Air Force.” Shang added.

“Should we get on with this briefing, sir?” Alexei asked.

“Yes, please.” Shang replied.

Alexei left the room, while Nasrin came forward with her files, putting one folder in Shang’s hands.

URGENT: KATSURIAN INTELLIGENCE REPORT, it read, with the Exodian “Red Dragon” official seal and a blood-red “C” stamp on it, noting it’s sensitive information.

“I’m assuming you’ve heard of the Queendom of Katsur, Mr. Governor?” Nasrin asked, as Alexei returned to the room with an iron-colored briefcase, laying it down and opening it to reveal a projector and a laptop.

“I believe I have. Feudal nation with an arrogant, conceited underage princess as an absolute monarch, a bureaucracy-filled socialist system, and... that’s all, aside from the ridiculous flag. I’m afraid I haven’t taken the time to research the place.”

“Well, let’s start off. We knew you might not have known too much about the state.” Nasrin answered.

Alexei tapped a few keys on the laptop, the wall lighting up as the projector started to softly whirr.

“This is the Queendom of Katsur. Subcontinent island nation deep in the South Pacific, located within a weak-power rift*, which explains how so many people and other influences have been able to reach them. Despite their location, their ethnicity is white- Anglican, French, a bit of Prussian influence- I’d say they all sailed there and colonized it during the Elizabethan era. It’s probably where they got their ideas of government and most of their culture from. I’m no expert on Katsurian history, so take what I say lightly.”
Alexei said, the projector displaying a digital map of Katsur.

“That’s interesting. I always thought they were inland, somewhere in Europe.” Shang said, sitting on the edge of the table. “What’s the fuss about them? Even though I did consider making an excursion plan eventually, I put it off due to other matters.”

“We’ll get to that very soon. This is their capital, and the only city we could really find intel on. They call it The Dark Crystal.” Nasrin said, a puzzled expression on her face that matched Shang’s.

“Damned weird name for a city, especially their capital. What gave it that moniker?” Shang asked.

“Apparently, in their distant past, there was a cult with the same name as there city, who believed that a giant black gemstone had the power to control demons. They worshipped the stone and performed human sacrifices to it, using those who criticized it and their deserters for the said sacrifices. They promoted violence towards those who didn’t convert, and.. yeah. Things you’d expect an extremist cult to do. Eventually, through a process much like the old witch hunts, the royal military was able to basically exterminate most of them. At the same time, it’s believed that they’re still at large. I have no idea why they would name their capital city over something so horrible in their own history, though.”

Shang narrowed his eyes. He himself was a Christian Catholic, and even had been captured by a religious cult as a child and was forced into slavery- thankfully, the experience was very short-lived.

“It’s also why modern Katsur are militant athests. After that, it was all over, with state atheism being a royal decree. There’s no record of any other religions from the outside world having any influence- no Muslim clerics, Christian missionaries, Buddhist monks that might have traveled there- it’s assumed they were all killed on sight.” Nasrin said, a somber tone in her voice.

“That’s horrible, quite a shame. I guess that an extreme in one side results in the extreme in the other, at least in this case.”

“Moving on.” Alexei said, as the projector skimmed to the next slide. “The main source of political unrest in Katsur. She’s the general of the Royal Guards, the state’s military as well as their police department. She’s grown just as powerful as the royalty in Katsur themselves as of late. Her name’s Anna Sabelline.”

The projector showed a photograph of the pretty, red-haired woman.
“A beauty like this? Is this some sort of twisted joke, or... I’m guessing it might have contributed in her rise to power.” Shang said.

“She started a protest during a military parade, which escalated into a bit of a civil uprising. She denounced the actions of the princess, and also protested by, umm... - Well, if I click here, it’s a video included in the intel we gathered.” Alexei struggled to suppress a grin under his tortoiseshell glasses, while Nasrin rolled her eyes.

“I think I understand what you’re saying, and we should probably skip this. Try to keep this professional, Romanoff. Nonetheless, I would like to see that video later.” Shang said, laughing for a moment. “Carry on.”

“We’ve got basic biological information, but that’s not important. What’s important are her views, however, and how quickly she became powerful through the military.” Nasrin said. “Much like what Katsur is known for, she’s a militant atheist and a far-left socialist. However, in addition, she’s quite an ultranationalist. It’s obvious she supports full-on authoritarianism and autocracy.”

“And above all that, she considers herself a f**king radical feminist.” Alexei added.

“Social justice, world domination, the same old dream. Anything else notable?” Shang said, listening intently. “I’ll write a letter addressing all this in a bit. I want to focus on what we have to expect once we start the intervention plan. What’s technology like in this place? Knights, fairy-tale castles and the like, or something more modern? Steam locomotives, primitive machine guns and trench warfare, up to the point of the First World War?”

“You couldn’t be more laughably wrong, I’m afraid. I was just getting into that as well. She’s responsible for the rapid modernization of their military.” Nasrin said. “Alexei, this is your turn.”

Alexei cleated his throat, as the slides flipped again to soldiers training.
“Like one would expect with their culture, all of their soldiers are talented horseback riders, much like our own cavalry units. But they’re trained extensively in modern tactics as well, notable guerilla warfare. That could be a powerful hindrance to an invasion.”

As the slide flipped once more, Shang spoke. “I’ve seen enough fighting in my own life to recognize these. Copy of the American Barrett M2 sniper and anti-material rifle, chambered in .50-caliber BMG. Chinese copy, albeit a very good one, by its looks and dimensions. The scope I don’t recognize. On the bottom is a Swiss SIG SAUER 9-millimeter submachine gun, with the stock off an American KRISS Vector and top furniture of an FN SCAR, alongside a generic suppressor, a laser sight, and red-dot reflex sight. Is this all they’ve got in their standard inventory?” Shang asked.

“No. There’s some you’ve missed, although most is correct. The’ve got their own KRISS-based SMGs and also Mk. 14 rifle versions of their own, but I don’t entirely need to touch on that.” Alexei said. “That scope on the Barrett- according to intel, it’s a Katsurian-made fire-control device. We’ve seen a few of those, but they’re rare. They’ve also got HUD systems in their scopes and helmets. They might be larger and heavier, but they perform almost like ours, “tagging” hostiles to show up on other devices. They also seem to have their own version of Power Armor- by the looks of it, it’s not half as effective as ours in terms of practicality, but it does perform psychological warfare just as well as ours.” Alexei switched the slide from the guns to the armor system, Shang staring at the screen. While it didn’t look too practical, it certainly was imposing.

“Also in their inventory are these strange-ass modular scout vehicle system. Two motorbikes come together to form a dune buggy. It’s all I can say. Among else, there’s... I think that’s all. You can look into these files yourself if you please.” Alexei finally stopped talking, a bit out of breath.

“Certainly. I know how you feel, these briefings can be tough. Alright.” Shang nodded to the pair.

“We’ll gather as much more intelligence as we can.” Nasrin said to the Governor, before leaving the room. Shang left right after them, taking the briefcase and files with him.

Central Command Room, Kingstrom Forward Naval Base

Shang walked into the theater-sized mission control, the briefcase and files under his arm. He walked up to the back of the the room as the service members briefly saluted him before returning to their duties, the multitude of monitors flashing away.

“Here.” Shang placed the things he had gathered in front of General Fowler and Director Bujeras, the leaders of his Defense and Intelligence Ministries, respectively.
They looked to each other surreptitiously, as if to say, ‘Off to War again?’ once before starting to brief themselves.

As they read and watched, Shang added, “They’re not too far from the base. We could send an entire contingency, even two naval groups, in less than 2 days. Our aircraft can reach the edges of the rift* in less than a couple hours. Here’s our chance. See what we have available, and let me know as soon as you finish.”

Thus, the atmosphere of Kingstrom Base changed in an instant, as gears shifted to roll in another direction... the clockwork was only to turn faster from there.

(*OOC:)

*The rift is our way of explaining how so many NS nations can exist in one area that would clearly violate basic maps and geographical charts. They’re protected by natural energy fields that block detection. Think of them like less-dangerous Anomalies from S.T.A.L.K.E.R., or the Amazonian island from Wonder Woman- they just can’t be detected. Governor Shang and most of the Exodian people came from a very strong rift-protected island called Asha-Wang, and the Exodian archipelago itself is in a weak rift, which explains frequent cartography errors. I believe Crysuko has their own version.

[The Republic of Christiandom]

Konigsberg, Barracks A1

Lord Inquisitor Quilljoy awoke, and staggered bleary-eyed into the mess hall. He grabbed a cup of coffee and a piece of toast when he noticed his counterparts(Lord Admiral Julius Drusus, Field Marshall Anne Gulliman, and Lord Commissar Harris Jones) staring intently at the TV.

Within a few seconds, he dropped his breakfast and let out a single, heartfelt curse.

A few hours later, Naval Scout Task Force Alpha-4 (4 destroyers, 5 frigates, 2 cruisers, 17 Seahawks, 200 RoC Marines, and 30 Stormtroopers) began steaming to Katsurian waters, while Katsurian ships began to be 'buzzed' by Thunderbolt fighters(Only a 30mm Rotary cannon and 2 Heavy bolters for the guns instead of the normal armament) and searched more thoroughly.

[Lethen Empire]

Koningsplatz, Letheny
King Ran woke up, and looked at the news.

"(.....This is a mess)," he said in Lethen, before taking a sip of his coffee. He walked off and ordered a quick meeting with his top generals.

"(Sir, have you called this meeting to defend bayonet usage agai-)" A general said, being cut off by Luka.

"(NO! Christ, general. I've called you all for a meeting to brief me on something. The Queendom of Katsur.)"

"(It's a feudal, absolute monarch, ruled by a child who desperately should have a regency council. It's a socialist state as well.)" Another general said.

"(The hell? Socialist, feudal....what a mess, and some child ruler?)" Luka replied. "(Well, I suppose we'll need to keep watch.)"

"(They're pretty disgusting people, anyways. They're very hostile to religion. They're militant atheists.)" The first general replied.

"(Ew! I may have to whip them up into shape.)" Luka replied.

"(Sir, their population alone matches our entire colonial empire.)"

"(....Well, s**t.)" Luka replied. "(We've hunted bigger prey. Are you sure?)"

"(They're also more advanced than us. With how unstable things are becoming, and how incompetent their government can be, I'm not sure if this will provide much trouble.)" The first general said.

"(Alright, your orders are to provide recon. I want to know the all bloody ins and outs of their army and government.)" Luka said.

"(Yes, your Majesty!)" All of the generals said. After 30 or so more minutes of speech, the meeting ended. Lethen civilian ships and civilian aircraft, which were actually disguised military vehicles, began to scout out the coast and skies of Katsur.

[Crysuko]

Office of Kadahan Malell
"Comrade secretary" an aide said to the great man, who was involving himself in some paperwork. And by that, he meant using his privelaged government position to idly browse the internet. Malell jumped slighlty. "Yes? what is it? can't you see that i'm busy?" the other stepped forward, putting a folder on his desk. "information courtesy of the intelligence service, the laconic is that they've identified a threat to the world. More specifically, have you heard of Katsur?"

Malell rolled his eyes in thought for a moment before picking up the folder to read it "reactionary monarchy, underage leader, that sort of thing" he flipped further into the more detailed section of the report. "opening of arms factories, nationalist rhetoric..." he said pensively, the cogs in his head turning. "they're going imperial" he said finally, setting the documents back down. "and you need my involvement to make this a military action" he continued.

"precisely" said the other man "I shall speak further with comrade Sangh about this matter, he won't hesitate to mobilise a force. This will be discussed further at a cabinet meeting later today. This is just a forewarning to get you up to speed".

Office of Alueck Sangh
The same man came to Sangh, head of the armed forces a short while later. "you needn't tell the same story. I just got off the phone with Malell, he sent me a copy of the documents you gace him" a smile came to his face "and i'll be more than happy for us to be involved in this action." he leaned back in his chair, an air of confidence about him "I must give my congratulations to the intelligence, we can root out this cancer before it spreads. But this is no mere intervention, if the satellite maps are anything to be believed, we have a lot of land to cover. Go, tell any others. We'll need to switch to a war economy, i'll work out a suitable force for this task"

It was a quick visit to the internal secretary and already an order was put out to ramp up production of arms, munitions and other supplies. Sangh settled on a general mobilisation order to be sent out, as there was a lot of ground to be covered, and a lot of reactionaries to be put down. It would take several days of preperation before the first troops could embark, but sizeable stockpiles of supplies were kept for this exact purpose, so they could be ready to stamp out imperialist skullduggery at a few day's notice. As to what the exact plan would be, that was yet to be decided...

[Raven Corps]

(Raven Corporation Naval Prototype systems flotilla- 1 hour off shore from Katsur

Gliding through the darkness which was the ocean as it crashed against its blackened hull was the newest prototype vessels of The Raven Corporation- the new TRC Mass Munitions Deployment Vessel MkII, designed to improved upon firing times, reloading automation and make deadly payload, it was minimally manned only needing about 30 men to fully crew each vessel of which there were 50 ships currently in formation making headway towards a testing location- a location they would never see. On the bridge of the lead vessel the Captain of the flotilla reached new orders from Corporate HQ.

All vessels are to turn to new heading provided in the attached and await further orders

Without missing a beat the vessel began to move to the new heading and to a new mission.

[New Mushroom Kingdom]

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Toad Town
Minister Kandi was busily reading the daily newsfeed and briefing, mostly prepared by the Ministry of Intelligence. Most of the entries were either entirely mundane or lacked personal and governmental significance. Eventually, he reached a small news passage about a recent military exercise (really, an unorthodox public execution) carried out in the unknown Kingdom of Katsur. Cross-referencing this with other news stories, official documents and on-record intelligence data gave the Minister a rather interesting read.

The actual execution itself wasn't at all uprising, ever since a past war he had become far too familiar with such things. No, what was unique and interesting was the state and environment surrounding the event. For one, in this state the military and both regular and secret police had been unified into a singular organization which could prove to be a dangerous decision if the person in charge went rogue or was unstable. Speaking of which, the more he read about their head of the Royal Guard, the less he liked her. The whole 'your convictions please me' didn't do her any favours. Radical Feminism, Socialism, hypernationalism and more were all additional negative traits. Her personal behaviour made him think that she was completely batshit and was likely to go rogue against the government in the future.

Another thing that piqued Kandi's curiosity was the existence of a regent. They could only mean a few things, and he was surprised to find out that Katsur's government was in a similar situation to his own, they had a whole council of people instead of just the one. He decided to learn more about the young Crown Princess, but was very disappointed to find out that Lucy had an obsession with pink and chocolate and made extensive use of her absolute monarchial authority despite presumably advice to the contrary. These two things in combination made Katsur very notable and also significantly more strategically important. He had seen what could happen in a revolution or uprising, even to young innocent children and it would be a disgrace if it happened in another country. He looked at his calendar for the next scheduled meeting with his boss, which as a matter of fact was later that day. He added the nation to his agenda and moved on from the topic until later on where he would bring up the matter with his de-facto boss, Regent Vince.

[Crysuko]

Conference Hall, capitol building.

It's a common practice that not only do the cabinet attend the conferences but a bevy of advisors and third party observers, mostly as a measure to ensure corruption is kept down. And of course, the main subject is the upcoming conflict.

Internal secretary Olsat Capsen was the first to speak. "As the charts show" he said bringing up a holographic display "arms factories are stepping up their production cycles, a three shift rotation system has been implemented, the decentral planners have expressed concern about metal shortages, but I have discussed a priority system with them to ensure the production lines that need it for essential civilian purposes will be supplied properly". He took a breath, pointing to the next graph "and lastly, we have begun requisitioning for chemical weaponry from the associated production plants"

Sangh was the next to speak "according to our agents already in Katsur, their military is sizeable but the feudal method of operating could be their downfall. Much of the central command is high centralised among a few individuals in a highly inflexible system" he explained, a note of smugness in his voice "as has been explained before, I have put out a general mobilisation order. Naval forces with requisitioned civilian ships will be able to transport a large number of troops at once, further more CCS-ICA will be using their own military wing and some modified cargo ships to get there. The idea being they look like trading vessels until they get close enough to land the troops, once they get inland the freighters can act as their supply line"

Malell was next "I will wait until we are ready to spring on them to send a formal declaration of war, my plan for them is fairly simple. We clear out the reactionary government and install a neo-Marxist regime not unlike our own" he paused for emphasis "with our guidance in the background, of course. A question for Sangh, through. How long until embarkation can begin?"

"About 72 hours to get everything in order to begin, and likely another 24 to 48 to get everyone in the ships with a naval task force assembles. We're going all in on this one, 450 ships including all our carriers. We need maximum force to break through. Lastly, I will consult with the high command to draw up a strategic plan"

Everyone including the advisors took their turn to speak, but one thing was entirely clear. In less than a week, a full invasion force would be ready to sail. Sangh knew full well other nations would want to involve themselves, he simply didn't care. In his eyes, the Crysukon army is the finest in the world, and with a few divisions of anarchist paramilitary which was frighteningly proficient at forest and urban warfare, how could they lose?

[Democratic Exodian Territories]

Central Command Room, Kingstrom Forward Naval Base

“So.”
General Fowler sighed.
“We’ve got a heavily-armored feudal socialist army with spy-fiction tech, led by a squabbling fascist Laci Green and a female Kim Jung Un.”

“That’s a way to put it.” Director Bujeras said. “We had put several high-ranking station chiefs in Katsur, as well as many more field agents. as part of Operation Cyrus. But them, initiating a revolution entirely by themselves, as we had always hoped, have proved to be impossible.”

The three men sitting at the table fell silent for a moment, before Governor Shang spoke.

“I’ve already made a pitch to the Senate for an official, but still secret, declaration of war.
The public have grown tired of chess with the enemy. They want us to make a move on many of the parts of the world we promised to liberate.”

“We’ll have to rush several military projects. Although they’re still rather primitive by our scale, have almost hundreds of zeppelins. We only have 27. Such a sudden increase in demand might catch our manufacturers off guard. We’ve got other things too- the mechs, the ion craft- to try and get them battle-ready in such a short amount of time might prove risky.”

“Don’t forget- The international community is on fire right now. Ever since this whole fuss started in Katsur, everyone’s been looking to have a piece of it. It’s impossible that we’re not going to come into contact with anyone else besides Katsur- I’m betting a few other royal kingdoms, maybe a few fascists, even worse, commies- might be looking to force Lucy or Sabelline’s hand for their own gain. The moment we step in, we enter a sh*tstorm.”
Director Bujeras added.

“Take a step back.
We’re Exodians. Ever since we’ve fought for our freedom on Asha-Wang’s cold hills, we’ve always thought of ourselves as one of the best, if not the best, at innovation and efficiency in wartime. We always seemed like rebels and mutineers to the bastards in Old Collective City, yet we’ve built tech to trump theirs too many times to count with nothing but captured factories- while severely lacking the numbers they had.
This is an achievement, a high point, a climax... but it’s only the first. This is our first proving ground, the point where we establish how we’re not going to be downtrodden on by other nations. We win. We earn our place in the world, that we belong. We’re not a group of lousy insurgents and refugees that happen to have guns. We’re a proud nation, and one that won’t hesitate at all to show the world the sparks of beloved democracy.”

Shang took a deep breath, waiting for his chiefs of military operations to respond.

“Once a politician, always a politician.”
Bujeras said dryly, but with a smile on his face.

Fowler chimed in.
“I promise we won’t lose.”

“And if we die, General?”
asked Bujeras.

“Then we die hard, cool off, and get our asses back into the fray once more.”
Shang voiced, firmly.

West Harbor and Airfield, Kingstrom Forward Naval Base
Clusters of soldiers, sailors, and pilots were in a rush, mechanics and technicians on overdrive.

Forming in a matter of 20 hours were two naval task forces, due to reach Katsur’s shores in less than two days. A single air task force would monitor the skies above them, in preparation for a preemptive strike on the island.

Many more would follow, almost a fourth of Exodia’s military.

Though it could not be seen, secret rush orders had already been placed for top-of-the-line military equipment, as factories’ mechanical hearts back on the Exodian archipelago began to only beat quicker.
Within the mountains of Kingstrom Base itself, Exodia’s most revolutionary weapons and vessels of war were being tested once, twice, thrice, and getting ready to be used for the first time.

And above all this, on an iron balcony overlooking the airfield and harbor, illuminated by the sunset, were Governor Shang and his two ministers.
Turning back after watching for a moment, he let out a single remark.

“Operation Jericho has only started.”

[Novaya Equestria]

Morales, Novayan Confederation

"So, what do you know of Katsur, Lt. Col. William?" Grand Marshall Borealis Norsoutha, military dictator of the Novayan Confederation, asked Lt. Col. William Johnson. "Well, sir. It is a really, really hyperreactionary monarchy led by an underaged princess, has a flag of a pink unicorn, an advanced military but with feudal control over it, known for its population of militant and militaristic atheists and its hypernationalism, and a socialist state to boot." Lt. Col. William Johnson replied. "Anne Sabilline is an ultranationalist, a radical feminist, and supports social justice and world domination. She's gonna be the new Napoleon." He added.

"There goes my plans to build new infrastructure." Grand Marshall Borealis said. "If any nation is willing to invade it just to make it better or, of course, take parts of it for themselves, we'll just join the bandwagon." The military dictator added. "Besides, we'll take a few parts of it and then make it more better. Now, go." He said, allowing Lt. Col. William to leave. With that, Grand Marshall Borealis orders for an expeditionary force to make ready.

[Katsur]

As scouts from the sea and the sky have found out from different nations. Katsur's royal navy is also affected by Anna Sabilline's influence. Roughly 200 warships of cruiser class was found patrolling as close to other borders in the south pacific ocean as absolutely possible without literally declaring war, those warships were behaving very much like coast guards and was giving the overall impression that the entire ocean belonged to Katsur, given the relatively size of the island of Katsur that was quite a bold claim to make in foreign policy.

To the republic of Christiandoms relief, the majority of non-militant ships that leaves the Katsurish borders contained jewelry of various qualities as well as seafood. Nothing usual there considering their main exports. Of main imports, however, you could easily draw a tendency towards weapon imports and materials such as steel and electronics not to mention fuel and ammo. Every 3rd or so market related ship turned out to in some way being catering to the royal guard.

To the various agents that are around the royal guard: There are currently a tense atmosphere within the inner circle of the military. Anna Sabilline is on the highest military rank but between the soldiers no one really knows who they are rooting for. If any agents asks a soldier of Katsur, in an environment where surveillance is no issue, about the ownership of the royal guard one of 3 answers will appear.

Either their purpose is to defend the nation and help inside, either their job is to protect the royal family as enforcers, or perhaps most worrying that Anna Sabilline is a local hero who saved Katsur from the pink years that nothing she does is wrong. Trying to argue with the latter faction is futile as they'll just find one reason to put the blame on Crown Princess Lucy.

---

The atmosphere in the royal palace was not that much better, the council was together to discuss the situation behind closing doors while several of them were ripping their hair out.

"What do we do now?"
"No idea, can't we just fire Sabilline and get it over with?"
"You know very well we can't, look at France, look at Russia, look at Libya. Where are their royals?"
"Sigh, I know. And arresting her is out of the question, who should prosecute the prosecutor? The best we can do so far is to let her play her little war game and hope she leaves the Crown alone."
Most members of the council were exhausted or depressed, some of them outright paranoid. Then the chairman spoke.
"All in favor of intervening in the royal guard?"

A depressed "nay" could be heard by about 60% of the council, while the rest just placed their face on their table. Truly the place of political power! The next day they sent a press message with the royal seal in place of Lucy's signature broadcasting a statement:
"While the royal council acknowledge the controversy by General of the royal guard Anna Sabilline. There is no political interest in an intervention at the present time."

[Lethen Empire]

Letheny sends Katsur a demand.

A message from...
The Lethen Empire

To Her Majesty's Government, Queendom of Katsur

We hereby demand you cease your trespassing of our waters. From now on, we ask you to keep a 20-mile distance from our possessions in the Pacific. Our possessions in the Pacific include the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, which is legally the half of the island not possessed by the sovereign nation of Indonesia, and the Solomon Islands, the Vanuata archipelago, New Caledonia, the islands of Fiji, and New Zealand.

Furthermore, we ask you to refrain from entering within 200 miles of our possessions in the Indian Ocean, which includes the Lethen Raj - which is what you may call India, the island of Ceylon, the Island of Madagascar, and the remaining entirety of Lethen South Africa, which includes the Mozambique region and the Cape Region (what you call South Africa), which are the parts of our South Africa colony.

We also not that this is no excuse to harass our territories in any other ocean aside from the Pacific or Indian Ocean. In all other oceans besides the Pacific and Indian oceans, our hold in the water extends 20 miles off of any coast, except for in the Lethen Channel between mainland Letheny and France - where it is 12 miles.

Excuse us for going into such detail, but we are making sure to remove loopholes. Ignoring this demand will result in usage of force to defend our territory.

[Raven Corps]

(Just beyong Katsur territorial waters - midnight)

The 50 vessels stood at the edge of reason and chaos, their blackened hulls a bare silhouette against and equally blacked sky as the vessels went dark hours ago to make it that much harder to detect them visually. They had been sitting and waiting for what some would say felt like days, but was in truth but a few hours. As the clocks hands crept forward the ships came to life as missile bay after missile bay opened its doors revealing a dim hellish red glow from below as hundred of conical shape objects emerged still blanketed by the dim red light. 50 ships, ten bays a ship 10 missiles per bay all faced upwards facing the sky as if challenging the gods above.

Then they launched, nearly simultaneously, each reaching directly above them in nearly straight lines climbing higher and higher into the upper levels of the atmosphere before changing course and making a new course for the island of Katsur's major population centers not far from its coastal holdings. From above the people would see nothing as missile chemtrails would be light and expanded due to the thin air. As the missile came close to their target cities their engines turned off letting the missiles begin to free fall en mass but as silent as could be.

Once the missiles where falling back to earth at terminal velocity their engines re-ignited thrusting the missiles down to the ground at near ultra-sonic speeds letting the tungsten nose caps turn bright red from the friction before striking aimlessly and without concern for life or property letting their enriched uranium lined high explosive cores deal death and suffering to any and all.

[The Republic of Christiandom]

-snip-

TO: Anna Sabilline/any other relevant departments and personnel
FROM: THE RoC DEPARTMENT OF CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT AND THE RoC NAVY

Cease all naval activites anywhere near Letheny's shit or else next time you do it we're plopping an Inquisitorial Stormtrooper Squad on the ship.

-Lord Admiral Drusus

[Crysuko]

If it was one thing Crysukon's know how to do, it's mobilise. Ahead of schedule, all carrier groups along with missiel cruiser groups had formed up off the coast, a truly fearsome armada. The troops were still being embarked, and while the armed forces opted mainly for mechanised and motorised infantry (and this wouldn't be for forgotten) many units accustomed to forest warfare were being brought up as well. It would be at least another day for the forces to be ready, but a suitable marshal for the force had been found.

Field Marshal Syavodal Petroka is a tall and imposing man, but one with many years of experience. And he loved nothing more than to bring overwhealing force to bear on the enemy, even if that meant chemical warfare, scorching entire towns and liberal use of white phosphrous and napalm. Hand picked by Sangh, he was on the team to draw up a strategic plan. not an easy proposition at the best of times but when the notice was so short, it would be a truly mammoth task to make a viable plan before forces would have to make landfall, and the intelligence that had to work with was limited, only a handful of intelligence documents and satellite maps. best they could hope to do is make a generalised plan, and adapt it as informaton became more abundant.

[New Mushroom Kingdom]

Imperial Palace, Toad Town
Minister Kandi was in his meeting with Vince. He gave him the dossier prepared earlier, containing the information he had read and gathered previously. Vince was unusually interested in the contents, for he saw two things: an opportunity and a cautionary tale. This was a land not too dissimilar to the NMK, yet someone had clearly failed at their jobs at both heading the government and raising a good Crown Princess. The nation of Katsur showed to him what could easily go wrong in the future, hopefully he will learn and avoid this.

After he had finished, Minister Kandi spoke again "Since that was compiled, the Ministry of Intelligence has bought additional information to light. Namely the increased activity of both civilian and non-civilian craft in the region and elsewhere. Katsur's government has also released a statement but unfortunately it doesn't reflect any actual actions, only empty opinions. I easily expect the increase to largely be a result of unknown foreign nations and any Katsurian response to their actions."

Vince nodded, and gave his own opinion and response: "This situation is unlike most others. Many great wars have started with buildup and events like this, and getting involved in a conflict of such scale is highly undesirable in both policy and practical grounds. That said, we can't simply do nothing, we cannot let revolutionaries or rogue government officials bring down a fellow monarchy and perhaps murder a young child. The uniqueness gives us both opportunities and problems as while war is good for buisness it will at the least be awkward if the other intervening nations discover our few similarities. I recommend we dispatch or reroute a few vessels and aircraft to obtain increased intelligence both on Katsur itself, but also to identify who else will we need to consider. You can talk to the MoD, I think I will try the diplomatic route with their Regent, I haven't spoken to anyone else with my job so it'll be fun."

Kandi left the room and Vince opened the program to type his letter.

To: Duke Wilfred V, Regent of Katsur
From: Regent Vince, New Mushroom Kingdom
Encryption: Maximum
Greetings, I must first say it's unusual to write to another Regent, I have never done it before. I would ask how you are doing with respects to Katsur and the Crown Princess but you already know the answer. Wifth this letter I am offering assistance and advice, but also my negative opinions on some things.

Firstly, I believe that Anna Sabilline has too much power for her own good and that in the future it will backfire on you. There's no if or but, it's a question of when she will go rogue. This problem is especially intense due to the merger of Police, Secret Police and the military into a single unit. That'd work better with a different type of person in command, as she has clearly demonstrated to us and the world she is not fit to do it.

Secondly, your inaction on the former matter and the Crown Princess as a whole is to me most unwise. Not dealing with political incidents reflects badly on your power, and suffice to say that reviewing the actions of your government and the Princess over time leads me to conclude that there were failures both in raising the Crown Princess to be a kind, just, liked ruler as well as failures in ensuring the government operates well and isn't involved in stupid things like being obcessed
with chocolate or the colour pink. All of that does make me feel better about my work, my country though.

All that done and out of the way with, let it be known that we would be very glad to offer your any assistance needed, as fellow monarchies with....young rulers we should stand together lest revolution spring up, take root and do horrible things to those we love. If needed, I would be open to more personal, private communications about the situation and dealing with it but I would have security concerns about physically visiting you in Katsur myself.

[Kumbhalgarh]

*Rajput is the denonym of Kumbhalgarh


Kunwar Veer Singh looked at himself in the mirror. His thick black haired beard standing out along with his light brown eyes, hair, and a wheatish complexion. He stood up. He was 6"2, Muscular, and agressive. Not to mention the Leader of Kumbhalgarh. A massive nation with a 6.2 billion people, and a frigheningly efficient and large economy of 920 trillion swarnmudras. With each swarnmudra at roughly 1.7 NS Dollars. 100 Trillion of those SM or Swarnmudra would be allocated to the millitary. Every Single year. Kumbhalgarh's army was one of the world's most scary sights. Their Hell Marches would involved millions and millions of soldiers, thousands of tanks, and even more apc's and guns.

Veer went into his office, stroking his beard and opening the files of his succesful conquests of the neighboring territories. He had flexed his millitary might and expanded his empire. He heard a knock on the door and looked up. His defense/security council wished for a meeting. He nodded and went into the council room. He took a seat and order the initiation of the meeting.

One of his general commenced, "Kunwar Saab look at this map of the island nation of Katsur" He pointed to the a country some odd 2000 KM away from Kumbhalgarh's coast. This country is in a mess. Foreign Intervention, A crazy feminist bitch, and an underage whore as their queen not to mention their odd combination of feudalism and socialism. This country's millitary is awfully corrupt and inefficient led by that feminist bitch called Anna Sabille.

Veer chuckled and said out loud, "once we are done in that shithole of a country, bring her back if you can" adding a wink. The general grinned and nodded, continuining, "This island is home to breeding grounds for a plethora of valuable ocean animals. Lots of potential for a fishing industry and money for our economy. But the real gem is up north in their snowy mountains of Katsur. Where large deposits of white diamonds lay" We capture that and we can pay off the cost of this operation and head into profit almost immedietaely my lord"

"Then Attack you cunts" Veer said, and got up for a stroll.

So attack it was. 3 naval battalions of 7 Rajput Aircraft Carriers, 15 destroyers, 7 corvettes, and 8 submarines each would attack the northern coast of Katsur, and would unload an initial force of 25,000 Rajput Veer commandos, the best of the best in the world, would secure the location out on a 20km distance and await the unloading of gradually more soldiers, tanks, apc's, artillery, and evenutally the covetted millitary division of Kumbhalgarh: The Rajput Airforce. The combined push would capture the diamond mines, and then gradually their ships would attack the fishing grounds. Any resistance would be flat out crushed by the superior training, economical support, supplies, equipment, and valor of the Rajput Forces.

The 7 aircraft carriers chosen are labelled using RNS, or Rajput Naval Ship. Rajput being the denonym of our country: RNS VIRAT, RNS VIKRAM, RNS HAMLA, RNS MIHIRBHOJ, RNS PRATAP, AND RNS SISODYA

[Lethen Empire]

Letheny detected what seemed to be an invasion of Katsur. Luka wrote up Queen Lucy a message.

From: King Luka IV of Letheny
To: Queen Lucy of Katsur

Greetings. I see your nation is in a bad situation. Can you please tell me exactly how many people are attacking you?

Aside from the rather informal and simple request, a fleet of 14 aircraft carriers, 45 frigates, 54 destroyers, 32 corvettes, and 34 nuclear submarines made their way from the coast of Atkemri to Lethen South Africa for minor repairs and refueling. Some Lethen ships were nuclear and never needed to refuel, but some did.

[The South Falls]

From: Prime Minister August M. Johnson
To: Queen Lucy of Katsur
We are jumping into the war going on in your nation weather you like it or not. On you're side of course. A Tirano-Class battleship is already in your waters, and 161 ships will be at your waters in four days. Good day to you, my lady, and we hope to be on the winning side of this war, helping you!
-Best,
Prime Minister August M. Johnson



Off of imperial Katsur waters, January 08, 2035, 12:32
The SFN Tirano stalked silently through the black night. It was cold, but not so cold the gun radar froze, like on New Year's Eve. Three eighteen inch guns poked their way out of a turret on the port. A fire control operator moved across the small deck, trying to make sure the guns weren't fully retracted, which would cause an explosion on deck as some ammunition was stored above the guns, which would explode if it was shot with the huge 18-inch projectiles. On the starboard side of the deck, a missile attack, with MI-3XA medium-range missiles, was getting readied.

A small, diminutive, 5'1" Commander Second Class scurried all over the starboard side, trying to get the missiles to become ready to hit the decks of Sabilline-Loyal ships. Her name was Anne 'Mother Anne' Rukin. Rukin was aboard the Tirano, having been transferred after being promoted, from the Fezziwig, another class leader-ship. Rukin was short, but strong and brash, overestimating herself and underestimating others. "Hey, boys!" "Why are you laggin' behind!" "We need to get the missiles off by 1 AM!" "When I was your rank, I did this in double time!" We MUST get these missiles off! "Yes, Ma'Am, Commander Ma'Am!", yelled Captain Nosiri Macano, part of the missile radar crew that was tasked with getting the missiles off. Finally, at 12:58:33, the missiles launched. Rukin stood there, next to Macano, watching the missiles launch. 48 missiles in all launched from the multiple missile launchers on the Tirano, whiting out the sky.

They arced in lines. some hitting detected Katsurian ships, and others not hitting targets, as the reconnaissance was not properly conducted, which meant that they were not able to hit very many Katsurian ships. Only about three ships were actually hit by the missiles, but none were sunk, or even damaged.

Next, the 18 inch guns, that had been preparing under Commander First Class Thomas Wallaby, fired. There were 12 on the ships, because of the fact that the Tirano-Class were originally meant for carrier destruction, but were now used for bombarding ships of other fleets. These fired 24 rounds, two from each weapon. One per weapon was Armor-Piercing, and the other was High-Explosive 16 rounds hit ships, 14 HE, and 2 AP, from the heat sigs they made, that were detected by a glasses-wearing, lanky 'nerd', Captain John Diamond, who tracked the weapons across the ark. These rounds hit 12 individual ships , but none were damaged. "S**t!" "We needed those to be on target!" "Really, we need those to be!", Rukin yelled. "Macano! Why did you fire before the E-25s!" "I'll get you demoted for wasting resources, and my time!"

Meanwhile in the capital, two task forces were being mobilized for the war coming. These were made up of 50 Malphe-Class attack submarines, 50 Morton-Class GMS (Guided Missile Submarines), 3 Palmerston-Class Supercarriers, 15 more Tirano-Class Carrier Destroyers, 28 Fezziwig-Class Destroyers, and 15 Arrington-Class Light Carriers making up a Grand Task Force of 161 ships about to attack the Loyal to Sabilline Katsurians. These set out from Port Arrington on January 8, and made it on January 12.

"Here we go, people!"
-Rear Admiral Dudoterte Susan Swannington, summing up the South Fallsian Spirit.

[The Republic of Christiandom]

FROM: Field Marshall Anne Gulliman
TO: Queen Lucy
I see your nation is being invaded.
If you deem it necessary, we can provide troops(And chocolate).
-Field Marshall Anne Gulliman

The Naval Scout Task Force anchored off of Katsurian waters, waiting for Naval Task Force Alpha-1(1 supercarrier, 2 escort carriers, 150 aircraft, 20 battlecruisers, 25 destroyers, 30 frigates, 196,000 Marines, and 5000 Inquisitorial Stormtroopers) to arrive from the Baltic Sea.
When they arrive, it'll be about 196,200 Marines, 5030 Stormtroopers, and 150 aircraft, most of them battle-hardened veterans from the Hongchaonese-Hinodian war and the Atkemrian expedition.

NOTE:
10 Marines/frigate
30 Marines/Destroyer
50 Marines/Battlecruiser
Stormtroopers are spread out through the carriers.

[Crysuko]

The invasion force was ready to sail, the only thing remaining to do was to finish the invasion plan made by the group of generals and advisors. Malell began to put up a decleration of war, and put upon the fearsome armada and over 250,000 troops in the first wave, but over a million overall.

***NOTICE FROM CRYSUKON DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS***
To those all concerned and most of all the underaged reactionary of queen Lucy, this is a formal decleration of war from the United Crysukon Socialist States. For too long people have suffered under your madness and oppression, and have taken it upon ourselves to provide liberation. Pick a god and pray, and hope they are merciful, for we will not be.

And with that, the journey began. It would take several days to reach the invasion site, but when they did they would have full air and amphibious invasion support with which to rapidly secure beacheads and logistic system to provide supply. With in-air refuelling, a wing of strategic bombers could raze any defensive sites to the ground, as they were expecting to be met with resistence. Nonetheless, the liberation of Katsur would soon begin.

[The Republic of Christiandom]

The invasion force was ready to sail, the only thing remaining to do was to finish the invasion plan made by the group of generals and advisors. Malell began to put up a decleration of war, and put upon the fearsome armada and over 250,000 troops in the first wave, but over a million overall.

***NOTICE FROM CRYSUKON DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS***
To those all concerned and most of all the underaged reactionary of queen Lucy, this is a formal decleration of war from the United Crysukon Socialist States. For too long people have suffered under your madness and oppression, and have taken it upon ourselves to provide liberation. Pick a god and pray, and hope they are merciful, for we will not be.

And with that, the journey began. It would take several days to reach the invasion site, but when they did they would have full air and amphibious invasion support with which to rapidly secure beacheads and logistic system to provide supply. With in-air refuelling, a wing of strategic bombers could raze any defensive sites to the ground, as they were expecting to be met with resistence. Nonetheless, the liberation of Katsur would soon begin.

A formal declaration of war would come later, but the RoC began to kick into gear. Drafts began, and Naval Task Force Alpha-2, with the same amount of ships and men as the previous NTF, was mobilized and set sail for Katsur.

[The Republic of Christiandom]

The invasion force was ready to sail, the only thing remaining to do was to finish the invasion plan made by the group of generals and advisors. Malell began to put up a decleration of war, and put upon the fearsome armada and over 250,000 troops in the first wave, but over a million overall.

***NOTICE FROM CRYSUKON DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS***
To those all concerned and most of all the underaged reactionary of queen Lucy, this is a formal decleration of war from the United Crysukon Socialist States. For too long people have suffered under your madness and oppression, and have taken it upon ourselves to provide liberation. Pick a god and pray, and hope they are merciful, for we will not be.

And with that, the journey began. It would take several days to reach the invasion site, but when they did they would have full air and amphibious invasion support with which to rapidly secure beacheads and logistic system to provide supply. With in-air refuelling, a wing of strategic bombers could raze any defensive sites to the ground, as they were expecting to be met with resistence. Nonetheless, the liberation of Katsur would soon begin.

FROM: Inquisitorial Department of Foreign Affairs
TO:GenSec of Crysukon, Crysukon DoFA, Crysukon Defense Forces/Army
RE: Response to your declaration of war

Comrade Secretary;
The unworthy scum of the Republic of Christendom have sent us
an

INSULT

We now have a Casus Belli upon them, and our relations
have deteriorated

Normally we would ignore messages from such uncouth
barbarians as the Republic of Christendom

[Democratic Exodian Territories]

Somewhere in the South Pacific, 900 nautical miles from the Katsurian coastline

The propellers of the ESS Nationale aircraft carrier thrashed in the oceans, putting the massive vessel into a constant shove. Beside her, the ESS Divergency destroyer churned the waters in front- alongside almost 110 other naval vessels, including the hulks of 3 full-sized battleships, another aircraft carrier, and submarines hidden beneath the surface. From guided missile destroyers to amphibious assault ships, vessels of every conceivable kind were there.

Beams of shining light accompanied long shadows on the seas below, as the pristine-white teardrops of 2 destroyer zeppelins, accompanying the fusion-powered ESS Avalon carrier zeppelin- the first of its kind, with the ability to carry up to 25 fixed-wing aircraft while already airborne, as well as refuel up to 10 aircraft at a time.

All were bound for the Katsurian eastern coastline, due to arrive in less than 2 days- if they could somehow get past Katsur’s naval blockade.

If so, then the 400,000 infantry and 150 vehicle crews, alongside their pilot counterparts with 280 aircraft, would get their first real chance at the plate.

Central Command Room, Kingstrom Forward Naval Base

“This came in from the Auroras. Few sat-images too.”
Director Bujeras tossed a C-marked file folder containing several photographs (taken from Exodia’s high-altitude spy planes, as well as satellites) onto the table, a dark expression on his face.

“R-O-C’s mobilizing, as well as a few others. A country called the South Falls has decided to enter too on the side of the Katsurian monarchy, and they’ve already got vessels near the Katsurian coastline.”

“Well, we did send our task forces to the eastern coast, while almost all of them seem to be coming in from the west. By the time we come in contact with them, then we’ll have our second contingency ready and there, and we shouldn’t have an issue overpowering them. And I’ve already said in a goddamn public statement, I’m not taking any military action against the R-O-C unless they do against us.” General Fowler replied.

“Look through the photos some more. Tell me what you f**kin’ see.” Bujeras answered back irritably.

The images were unmistakable- the Crysukian fleet, although much farther back from the Exodian task force, was ridiculously larger. With the amount of aircraft carriers they had, an air-superiority contest would soon follow once both reached Katsur.

“Oh, the commie bastards!” Governor Shang growled. “Them? Of course they’re going to enter this thinking they can ‘liberate’ and virtually rape Katsur and its population for their own gain. We’re denying those motherf**kers that chance. The entire Senate’ll probably vote for us to blitz them.”

“For that, I’m assuming we rush the main invasion forces’ preparation- we might have some time to catch them.” Fowler said, a confident tone in his voice.

“I’ll work on the proposal for declaration. Unless any changes come up, we’re dismissed until tomorrow.”

As Fowler left, Bujeras went up to Shang, revealing two last documents- a satellite photograph in infrared, and a data sheet from the satellite.

“Heat plumes. 100 of them, and damn hot. South of Katsur’s coast. All briefly going out, before impacts on several small towns in Katsur. Each impact had an accompanying radiation spike- data sheets say they’re small, but they don’t lie- a low-yield nuke of some kind fired from cruise missiles, probably dirty bombs.
We don’t know who the hell fired them.”

Shang gave a hard look at the documents, before rushing to his quarters, a somewhat frightened look on his face.

Once at his desk, he made a heavily-encrypted video call, one that even his own cyberwarfare specialists couldn’t intercept.

[Lethen Empire]

//Lethen forces aren't actually mobilizing, so clearly your super special space satellites are broken.

Finally, the Lethen fleet landing in South Africa and began its repairs. These repairs would be rather brief, as most ships left the Lethen-Atkemrian War unscathed. Among the many ships was the Lethen HMS Pacifica, a destroyer with an experimental railgun.

Out of the two million or so men that fought in the Lethen-Atkemrian War, only between 200,000 to 400,000 men were enlisters. The majority of draftees went back home to use their pensions, most for college. The enlisted were sent to various stations across the Lethen colonial empire, with 45,000 being sent to Lethen South Africa and 35,000 being sent to Lethen Aotearoa.

---

Köningsplatz, Letheny

"Your Majesty, intelligence report." Said a general. He had a bland expression.

"Tell me." replied King Luka.

"Katsur was hit by a few weapons. High heat signature, radiation...essentially, we're sure Katsur was hit by nuclear weapons." The general said. He cleared his throat and continued speaking. "The Exodians are acting really suspicious, and we have reason to believe they may be likely spying on us. They have satellites, we're sure, and they've come over us a few times."

"Do we shoot it down, then?" Luka replied.

"Most nations would be very angered, but would not declare war....I think, at least. However, I am utterly sure that the Exodians will declare war, in my opinion - I find them to be utter bloody spastics. Pardon my french." The general replied.

"Pardoned. We should order them to cease their spying. They'll look bad if they say no, and if we shoot down the satellite and they declare war, again - they will look bad. I'm not sure if they have any shame, but certainly this will hurt their diplomatic reputation." Luka replied.

---

A demand from...
The Lethen Empire

To the Government of Exodia...

We are aware you are spying on us. We do not appreciate being spied on, as any sovereign nation might. You are hereby demanded to cease and desist all espionage and subversive activities towards Letheny. We have the capability to shoot down satellites, so we advise you do not assume your spy satellites are out of our reach.

If you decline to do so, or pretend to accept our request, we will take action against you to prevent further spying. If you accept our rather understandable request and follow through with it, no further action will be taken.