Experiment or Enslavement? [MT/PMT, OPEN]

[Treko]

Driving back into the narrow, sheer cliffed Cabra Pass, CA-aligned mercenaries are met by a familiar sight as armed locals with Kalashinikovs and bolt action rifles stare down at them grimly from their village gates. As always the local self-protection groups have remained cagey about allowing the mercenaries past their makeshift roadblocks, instead angrily directing them to take the long way around while continuing their journey deeper into local forces territory.

But one thing is new. While passing one village, the entire column was suddenly jolted awake by a devastating explosion. The lead Vesna armoured vehicle was suddenly engulfed in dust and debris, its occupants rocking violently under the blast. The mercenaries hastily disembarked, scanning the shrubbery and cliffs for their assailant. But there was nothing; an investigation of the site showed an improvised explosive had been set on the roadside, the IED going off near the front right axle and doing little appreciable damage. The mercenaries loaded back up and continued their drive.

That was until right near the heart of the pass on a particularly perilous bend in the road they found their route blocked for good. This checkpoint was much more permanent, seeing the usual rusty pickup trucks and tire barricades augmented by heavy rubble barriers, machine guns, and a sign in Spanish threatening the presence of mines. The Vesna troops saw them well ahead of time thanks to their drone coverage, and were quick to identify the presence of September Island tricolours and around a platoon’s worth of insurgents on the checkpoint, in addition to more than a company occupying fighting positions on the cliffs overlooking this part of the pass. These also weren’t the Mosin-weilding militia from further west. Many of these SPF fighters were seen with what looked like Flax-Core commercial optics on their modern AKs and Sevevillian M4 rifles, with many dug into the cliffs with ancient mortars and a motley collection of old binoculars and cutting edge night vision devices.

Vesna was expected. As their vehicles turned the corner a thick bearded man in a ratty old Kamooko Pact uniform clambered up onto the barricades, gesturing angrily to the Caution: Mines! sign while gesturing for them to stop. The local islanders behind him stared daggers at the newcomers, the whole valley holding its breath.

Captain Czjzek
Vesna Gruppa, Czjzek Battalion
Cabra Pass, September Island

---

Vesna convoy comm chatter was a buzz with what the next course of action was going to be. They’re predicament was perilous, and the IED explosion had already made the mercs anxious. Getting schwacked on some Spanish speaking backwater island was not how most of these men wanted to go out. Nonetheless, Captain Czjzek’s booming voice cut through the almost tangible fear of the chatter and calmed their nerves. A veteran of the civil war, Czjzek’s experience was a great boon to Lieutenant Colonel Bakal and a source of relief for the common merc. With the tension choking Cabra Pass, Captain Czjzek radioed command and apprised them of the situation. Support would be needed for what was coming, fast and hard hitting. A request that was quickly acknowledged followed by a hint that something else was coming. No doubt that Lieutenant Colonel Bakal was already watching over the situation via drone and HAPs footage. With command apprised, Captain Czjzek gave clear and concise orders which reverberated throughout the convoy radios, a simultaneous acknowledgment followed. With haste, APCs of the convoy reversed back up the perilous bend of the road. The CROWS system atop the APCs swiveled back and forth in an attempt to cover the numerous SPF fighters taking cover within the hills. Whilst the APCs fell back, Captain Czjzek had the remaining IFVs keep overwatch over SPF fighters. The IFV turrets slowly oscillated back and forth whilst the CROWS system copied the pattern, but in the opposite direction. When the APCs were an adequate distance away the external speaker on one of the IFVs came to life with static.

Captain Czjzek’s calming voice seeped out of the speaker, “Thank you for informing us of the hazardous conditions. We appreciate the info.”

At the end of the sentence, the remaining IFVs main 30mm auto-cannons and CROWS system holding the HMGs erupted in gunfire. Carefully, the crews of the IFVs, targeted SPF forces with weapons that could disable or destroy the armored carriers. SPF forces with small arms were left untouched. As the cacophony of gun fire and cannon fire continued, the most forward IFV popped smoke which quickly created a screen of billowy thick smoke in front of them. With haste the IFVs reversed down the same path as the APCs; using the smoke as cover. Despite falling back, the IFV crews continued to fire through the smoke at SPF targets through the use of FLIR.

[Serderistan]

-snip-

Tyrian Battlegroups North and Los Misioneros

While the decision to cut off jamming operations protected the EW Cruisers from the AARGM-ER and HARM missile strikes, it allowed the Tyrian battlegroups to regain situational awareness. That in turn gave them the opportunity that they should have done in the first place; absolutely bombard Tanager until they could no longer threaten September Island.

Though Tyrian CAPs were savaged, a few SAM sites, and an AShM battery were hit by HARM missiles, these elements were now retaliating with a vengeance. As the BARCAP tried to shift their attention to the Serderi, they came under missile fire from from both Javelin-21 SAM sites and V-77s equipped with BVRs. Both barrages are guided by Tyrian AWACs drones from the Dominator II carrier to ensure that the munitions hit their targets. As such, the Antarcticanian BARCAP had to deal with this new threat first before they could intercept the Serderi unless they wanted to risk catastrophic casualities by turning their backs on an active enemy.

While Tanager popped noisemakers during their withdrawal to mask their withdrawal, it didn't stop three of the five Juntar submarines from Group North from firing a mix of heavyweight torpedos and radar guided anti-ship missiles at the Antarctican's escorts before diving away to reposition themselves.

While the Antarcticanians took measures to deter incoming munitions with EW decoys and to mask their movements by going to EMCON Alpha, the relative proximity of the Tyrians (specifically Group North), meant that the measure was less effective than expected. While the noise makers did confuse the subs that were still shadowing Tanager, it was still difficult to mask the movement of 20 or so ships from sonar. As such, the Tyrians could track them.

The two Tyrian Battlegroups moved with additional hastiness to cut off Tanager's retreat. While the closest half of Group North manuevered to cut off Tanager's retreat, Group Misioneros pushed at full speed in pursuit (sending a message to the Serderi as the went to inform them of their new course of action as well as to share new targeting data). Using previous engagement data and information from Group North's submarines, the two battlegroups and land based AShM batteries fired off their ordnance. Tor Supersonic missiles launched from North's John C. Coleman and Darihan Destroyers first to soak up fire from Tanager's countermeasures and to remove the EW Decoys from the field. Those remain in the saturation fire would continue to focus on the outer escorts and EW cruisers. As the engagement distances for Group Misioneros were still at the very edge of the maximum effective range for their own Tors, those Darihans launched their Azan Hypersonic missiles instead. Streaking at speeds just below Mach 10, they would reach their targets shortly after the Tors previously launched. With just shy of 70 missiles fired at Tanager, the Antarcticanians would be fighting for their lives. Trying to escape from a trap of their own making.

Whatever remained of Tanager after that barrage would still be pursued by the ships of Group Misioneros. After all, they had to leave September Island as per the agreement between the Crown Alliance and the Kamooko Pact. Why not kill two birds with one stone; they would start the process of removing assets from the AO while also removing Tanager from the board.

1st MultiDomain Battlegroup, General Combat Section

Due to the distances that the mix of anti-ship and anti-radiation munitions had engaged TF Tanager at, the Serderi would have to wait for a proper BDA once the fight was over or the enemy fleet had left the area. With the Seahawks tasked with hitting said fleet with the aforementioned missiles having expended their initial payload, the anti-air section was still screening their withdrawal. It didn’t take long for the Antarcticanians to react, as the AEW&C aircraft picked up their radar signatures.

"All callsigns, multiple bandits incoming. Vectoring from the south and from the enemy formation."

While the Seahawks making their way back to the Iyengar would likely out of the enemy's engagement range, it was better to be safe than sorry. After all, splashing more Antarctican aircraft would only help. As the additional MIG-29KMs and the hostile BARCAP elements (that hadn’t been tied up by Tyrian fighters) refocused their efforts on the Serderi fighters, the AEW&C Commorants tracked them using their radars and relayed their positions as the Air Combat contingent fired a volley of Meteor BVR missiles. Their own volley was joined by additional BVRs from the Seahawks that were tasked with launching the AAGRM-ERs, meaning that a lot of ordnance was headed towards the Antarctican interceptors. Without the Yak-44s providing active radar support, the Antarcticanians would have a deficit in situational awareness as the air to air missiles rushed towards them at speeds exceeding Mach 4.

While the Serderi air to air squadron were using their advantages in VLO and net-centric capabilities to outrange their opponents, they knew that things would get interesting if any of the hostile interceptors remained and decided not to turn back after taking more losses from an opponent they couldn't see. Fortunately, the Seahawks had a few more tricks up their sleeves if the Antarcticanians wanted to engage in the 'close' fight.

Meanwhile, the remaining Serderi fighters on the Iyengar launched, ready to fight and internal bays fully stocked. While they officially acted as a defensive screen for the battlegroup, they would be ready to act as a QRF for the other aircraft in the air.

Naval Vessels

With the Serderi Battlegroup at EMCON Alpha status, the act of relaying communications with the formation through SATCAT and AUTOCAT was arduous but necessary to ensure that enemy SIGINT couldn't find them. However, they could still receive information from outside sources, which allowed them to learn that the Antarcticans were falling back and that Group Los Misioneros was now pursuing the enemy formation. With that new update, 1st MDO waited for the Tyrians to pass their position and for their fighters to return before they took up the Tyrian's former position...with the exception of the two Guardian Multirole Corvettes. They were given the task of regrouping with the Landing Force Section. While it would have been tempting to launch a salvo of hypersonic cruise missiles at the retreating Tanager, Admiral DuCard decided to hold fast. The Tyrians had it handled and he would rather not have additional eyes on his formation.

The submarine element had a different course of action. While the slower deisel-electric Alghul subs made their way to an intercept point (all the while checking for other hostile subs that may have been in the area), the nuclear Djinn sub, Sandstorm with it's greater speed and endurance were able to reach their intercept point by swimming at near max depth before gradually ascending
to its engagement depth. Coming from the West to hit Tanager's escorts on that side, the Djinn has better SA on its prey. With the Serderi EW aircraft jamming still disrupting the escorts on the western flank and the Antarctican ASW aircraft having been struck by the initial BVR salvo, the nuclear sub has an easier time sneaking.

While noisemakers has created some initial confusion, they didn't last forever. As such the sub waited until the noisemakers had stopped emitting before getting a good handle on the enemy's actual disposition. Then at 100 kms out from the furthest enemy escort, the Sandstorm struck. Rather than firing sonar guided torpedos, it launched four JSM antiship missiles from its tubes before diving away to avoid retaliation.

Meanwhile, the two Alghul attack subs continued to other intercept points further along the Antarcticanians' most likely path of retreat. If Tanager thought they would be able to fall back without the Crown Alliance hitting then, they would be sorely mistaken.

Landing Force Section, IVO Raelegona

With the withdrawal of Task Force Tanager, the other element of the Serderi Battlegroup came into play. The Solemn Vow, a Luzon- class LPD sailed steadily towards the port settled near the coastal city of Raelegona. Screened by the two Land Attack Frigates, with the two Multi-Role Corvettes moving to regroup with the rest of the section, the Landing Force Section proceeded with caution, looking for enemy elements below the surface and on the coast. While there hadn't been evidence of hostile attack subs reported by the General Combat Section on their way to reach their launch point but it never hurt to be careful...especially considering how thoroughly local factions had scavenged the equipment that Seveville left behind.

Instead of having 1 Commando disembark on their Ship to Shore Connectors and Berserker Amphibious Combat Vehicles to conduct a forcible entry, the shore party would be small; two RHIBs, each carrying a small team of Serderi Marines. The lead boat had fewer passengers on board, with some of the space being taken by a pair of rather large duffels. Interestingly, this boat is also flying a white flag, indicating that they were seeking to negotiate. For that reason, weapons were stowed away, removing any chance for a Marine's itchy trigger finger to ruin the prospective truce. The second boat maintained its distance however, with armed Marines ready to move in case their comrades were fired upon by jumpy locals. Pf course, if things went really pear shaped, they had other courses of action.

"I don't like this sir," said one of the Non-Coms in the lead boat, "We're going into the belly of the beast practically naked."

"Well, you're not wrong," replied a Major, "Lots of variables but we just have to minimize the chaos. Besides, it's just like the Commander said during the brief. Better in the long run to make some friends."

He briefly consulted his wrist-worn GPS before turning to the boat's driver, "Okay, we've reached it RP. Stop here and start signaling."

The RHIB, which had already been steadily slowing, soon came to a complete stop. The man at the ship's bow wasted little time procuring a red lens flashlight from one of his pouches, which he turned on and off at regular intervals. With the relative darkness obscuring their position, it was thought that the wiser course of action would be to signal any observers near the shore instead of showing up unannounced with a party of kitted up Marine Commandos. After all, the Serderi would rather proceed with caution during this attempted link up with the local Raelegona militia.

OOC: Joint Post made with Tyria.

[The Green Union]

As if on cue, within hours of the move self-declared president of the island Inigo Azaña made an announcement through official Kamooko Pact channels. The insurgent president, avid user of social media, was not able to tweet out his usual snarky remarks about the occupation due to his account apparently being hacked. Instead his statement was professional and diplomatic, highly sanitized by the Kamooko Pact bureaucratic machine and members of his exiled government. Azaña framed the Crown Alliance abandonment of the eastern front as a major success for the independence cause. The CA, he said, was losing its nerve in the face of the people and international community’s unflinching resistance, and looking for a way out of the mess they had gotten themselves into. He thanked the Markion Union, Kooplieden Commonwealth, and even the Iron Alliance for providing support against this criminal regime and its occupation _{with a tiny begrudging thank-you to the Kamooko Pact for being a meat shield} before announcing that he looks forward to attending the Fort Hemington Island Peace Summit and finally ridding September Island of foreign influence.

For several days the only local faction response to Kooplieden’s demand was SPF President Azaña’s highly sanitized message routed through the Kamooko Pact. This may be easily owed to continued Crown Alliance cyber-warfare efforts wreaking havoc on the pro-islander information space, making it hard sometimes to know who is actually an authority and who has been hacked or was an imposter to begin with. However, now with just a few days to go to the conference there has been another surprising message. The Self-Protection Forces, speaking once again through official Kamooko Pact channels, have issued a joint address with none other than Mayor Botella’s Los Misioneros Emergency Directorate. In it Mayor Botella and Acting President Azaña, speaking on s split screen from their respective bases, have reiterated Azaña’s previous praise to Kooplieden and the Iron Alliance for their concrete steps towards peace by restricting combatant shipping through the Urilas Straits, and applauding Kooplieden for using their position to force all factions to the table. Both leaders went on to urge all nations of the Central Ocean to keep their ports closed to combatant shipping, with President Azaña making a rare show of calling out the Corporate Free Zone of Vilhala for offering alternate basing.

Then came the formal reason for this address. Both leaders confirmed that the two factions had established diplomatic back channels and discussed their shared interests on the island, expressing how, while they may disagree on the future of September Island, they are both in full agreement that this future is one the islanders must write themselves. For that reason Mayor Botella’s LMED would be honoured to attend the Fort Hemington Island Peace Summit alongside the SPF in order to jointly advocate for their independence. However, due to the short time and pressing work to be done at home, as well as the rapidly deteriorating security situation around Los Misioneros, the two leaders refuse to make the journey off September Island. Nor will they appoint representatives to speak on their behalf. Instead both leaders have asked for permission to attend the summit virtually.

To achieve this end they have promised to allow Kooplieden and Markion Union workers into their territory to establish a secure connection, as well as asked Kooplieden to help mediate talks between the SPF and LMED so that they can approach the upcoming talks with a united front.

Captain Czjzek’s calming voice seeped out of the speaker, “Thank you for informing us of the hazardous conditions. We appreciate the info.”

At the end of the sentence, the remaining IFVs main 30mm auto-cannons and CROWS system holding the HMGs erupted in gunfire. Carefully, the crews of the IFVs, targeted SPF forces with weapons that could disable or destroy the armored carriers. SPF forces with small arms were left untouched. As the cacophony of gun fire and cannon fire continued, the most forward IFV popped smoke which quickly created a screen of billowy thick smoke in front of them. With haste the IFVs reversed down the same path as the APCs; using the smoke as cover. Despite falling back, the IFV crews continued to fire through the smoke at SPF targets through the use of FLIR.

The carnage was immediate. SPF fighters concealed with their RPGs and antique anti-materiel rifles were immediately rendered limb from limb by autocannon and machine gun fire. Whether they were concealed in shrubbery among the cliffs above or standing guard on the checkpoint over a dozen were killed instantly, many more living just long enough to writhe in pain and whimper for their mothers. The ferocity and ruthlessness of their attackers was clearly more than any had expected, sending the entire valley into shock for a few seconds. Even the KP officer, shrapnel flying all around him as the fighters on his right and left were cut down, stumbled and fell in a shower of splinters, laying still. A few panicked RPGs flew wildly, but by the time the SPF could react their enemy had already cloaked himself in smoke.

But although delayed momentarily, the local resistance’s response was a booming one. They had chosen their location well, giving fighters on the cliffs above a small, exposed section of treacherous pass which they had homed their artillery on weeks in advance. Within seconds mortar shells were landing all around and on top of the armoured vehicles. And the other fighters were rallying too to shower the vehicles in small arms fire. Their smoke screen may have concealed them from the front, but their flanks and rear were fully exposed to many extremely angry insurgents.

Particular emphasis may be placed on their rear. As soon as the first explosions echoed down the valley drones circling overhead were quick to notice the villages behind the mercenaries coming to life. Young men stood up like hares hearing the approach of a fox before running to dive into wells, ditches, and barns, soon coming out with old weapons they had squirreled away for just this sort of scenario as they ran to seemingly pre-determined fighting positions or else rallied around village leaders. A few dozen armed with Mosins, AKs, and old or even improvised anti-tank rockets were already loading up onto their pickup trucks and starting off east, directly towards the ongoing combat. Others, meanwhile, mostly the villages’ women and children, were actually moving to conceal things of their own. Suspiciously IED-esque devices were being hidden on the percarious pass, blocking the way out . . . or in, for any help.

[Serderistan]

-snip-

Los Mis

The announcement of the supposed truce between the LMEF and SPF came at a rather awkward time as the Crown Alliance and Mandate forces were moving in on Los Misioneros. After all, there was no mention of peace or cease fire for the Tyrians trapped at the airport. As such, the LMEF were still considered hostile.

Up in the north, the Serderi and Rhamosian task force had, for all intents and purposes, annihilated the LMEF advance to Soruel. Through the use of precision strikes, advance reconnaissance, and effective maneuvering, the airborne soldiers and marines had cut off the main body of troops and rapidly destroyed them piece by piece, with every effort made to capture conscripts, until the few survivors retreated back to Los Misioneros. As promised, any POWs were treated humanely and even sent to Soruel to be given medical attention (though under guard by a company of Serderi infantrymen).

The Serderi and Rhamosians weren't the only ones on Los Mis' doorstep. The Tyrian 115th Mech Infantry Brigade and the Battalion-plus sized QRF task force composed of 45th Airborne Brigade forces had also arrived. The latter was further reinforced by Vesna Groups' two battalions, who had been following the 115th Brigade and set up blocking positions to act as security for incoming LOGPACs. The Special Operations Unit, "Hog Hunters" were also in play. To top it all off, one of the two Divisions from September City, the 31st Lamarian, had been moving out at a hasty pace. All this culminated in the Mandate steadily enveloping the city or soon moving to join in tightening the noose.

As for the civilians still in the city, they would once again receive a mass text message, advising them to either leave the city within 24 hours and barring that, to shelter in place. IHAPS and other ISR were overhead, monitoring foot traffic and looking for signs of key LMEF personnel that may have been attempting to leave with civilian traffic. The Crown Alliance, true to their stated objective, wouldn't be entering the city. Instead the Serderi and Rhamosians watched and waited for civilians that may have been trying to leave. Both to protect anyone from reprisal for leaving and to screen the mass of humanity for LMEF escapees.

Once their forces were arrayed and in position, the Mandate made their move. Their most time-sensitive objective was to relieve the beleaguered defenders of the airport, with the 31st Div elements on ground as the main advance. Aside from that, the joint force was to remove LMEF C2 nodes, destroy indirect fires assets, and capture key LMEF personalities.

Prior to entering the city, EW operators conducted a courtesy burn over Los Mis, with the intention of prematurely detonating enemy IEDs within the city. Following that, LMEF cell/radio freqs as well as wi-fi were targeted by jamming operations just before the main advance made their way into the city, preventing the LMEF from coordinating. Afterwards, precision strikes from Tyrian strike fighters and UCAVs hit the city, avoiding civilian infrastructure but focusing on mobile armored vehicles.

While the 31st Lamarian was the lead element, heliborne infantry supported by attack helicopters for close air support (which included the "Hog Hunters") were executing their own objectives, namely enemy logistics hubs and their indirect fire assets located too close to civilian infrastructure (where CAS use was restricted). The "Hog Hunters" had their own objective. Using ELINT and SIGINT direction finders, their job was going after the big fish; the capture of Mayor Botella and his key staff.

Captain Czjzek
Vesna Gruppa, Czjzek Battalion
Cabra Pass, September Island

---

APCs and IFVs alike were rocked by the shock waves created by mortar rounds falling near the convoy as if the convoy was a man-of-war sailing the rough seas. Debris of earth and shrapnel was flung at force towards the sides of what seemed, at the moment, a metal coffin. Those armored carriers unlucky to survive the bombardment were blown asunder by the blast. The interior of the armored vehicle now containing only once recognizable individuals with gore galore. Only flame consumed metal husks and scorch marks on the road would tell the world of the impromptu burial in Cabra Pass. Despite the carnage and chaos, it was not yet over for Czjzek’s Battalion.

Whilst Captain Czjzek’s convoy continued to reverse back up the road taking heavy small arms fire and mortar rounds about them, there was more bad news. From the rear of the convoy came news that SPF forces were beginning to close in on them. Albeit it was smaller arms they had been spotted with improvised anti-tank rockets atop the back of pickup trucks. It became evident the SPF intended to surround and eliminate them. A problem, Captain Czjzek, took issue with. If the SPF wished to remove him from this world he would make it as difficult as possible. Whilst IFVs near the front of the convoy continued to lay down fire at SPF fighters on the hill, Captain Czjzek relayed an order…

“All APCs are free to engage any and all targets to the rear. Waste the motherfuckers,”

A fusillade of HMG fire erupted from the APCs as they took aim at anyone at the rear of the convoy. 14.5×114mm casings cascaded from the roof of the APCs down onto the road. Though it seemed a reasonable response to the situation, Captain Czjzek was not finished. He radioed command and requested any and all available support to help with the matter. The first to respond was Captain Litwinowicz. His mechanized battalion force was in the area of Cabra Pass and was quickly en route to pinch the SPF fighters attempting to attack the rear. Lieutenant Colonel Bakal responded to the call by alerting CA forces within the AO of the matter. Though he was not done. MLRs which had been sitting in Port Gold awaiting orders were finally being put in use. Through the use of drones and HAPs provided by the CA the MLRs were able to get eyes on visuals of the targets. Hastily, the MLR's rocket pods awoke and swayed towards the hills of cabra pass. A cacophony of sound erupted as the MLRs let loose salvo after salvo towards SPF positions on the hills.

Ares/Vesna aerial QRF

From Port Gold, a QRF composed of a platoon of Ares Strike Force troops on board MH60 Blackhawks supported by a pair of AH20F Boomslang attack helos. To no one's surprise, they were also joined by Vesna Ni24 and Ni28 helos lifting up to support their comrades. Once in the air they sped forward towards Cabra Pass, flying near Nap-of-the-Earth due to SPF SAM threat. Below them, an element from UNDC also drove towards the same troops in contact alert.

Instead of landing right at the sight of the firefight, the Blackhawks and Ni24s landed offset at about 8 kilometers away with the attack birds providing security as the two platoons of contractors disembarked. Rather than fight the enemy's fight and rush in, they moved to a predetermined ORP about 3 klicks out. From there, they had a better view of the fight…and one side of the SPF ambushers.

Instead of mixing it up with an enemy that outnumbered them, they merely lazed targets with their NGALs and called for fire. Keeping with the ROE of destroying enemy operated anti-armor/anti-air systems, the Boomslangs and Ni28s launched their stand-off munitions, prioritizing enemy mortars. Then they engaged the enemy with their 20mm and 30mm autocannons respectively before waving off to avoid retaliation.

Another aspect of their task was to guide in the incoming JVP support.


JVP sends aid to Cabra Pass

Outside of Port Gold, the Carriers Angela and Lillia, sat with their defense escorts, and the helicopter/drone Carrier Bellestar.

FAH-33 Valstrax's, already lined up on the deck, received their orders and quickly took to the skies. Once the group of six had linked and formed up, they took off and headed straight towards Cobra Pass.

With in seconds of the Valstraxs taking off, then did the six Buddy drones take to the deck, launching one after another, circling around the Drone and Helicopter carrier, waiting for their main units to launch. FAH-33 Valstrax's, already lined up on the deck, received their orders and quickly took to the skies. Once the group of six had linked and formed up, they took off and headed straight towards Cabra Pass.

Within seconds of the Valstraxs taking off, then did the six Buddy drones take to the deck, launching one after another, circling around the Drone and Helicopter carrier, waiting for their main units to launch.

On the JNI Angela, a pair of JX-37s, lined up on the deck. Then thin frames were starkly different from the F/A-46Js, which waited their turns to launch.

Within a matter of seconds, the two 37s were in the skies over the Carrie's and her escorts, each doing two loops around the fleet as 3 of the buddies peeled off and linked up with one of the 37's.

This would be the first deployment of the JX-37, but not the first deployment of her Buddy Drone systems, which saw combat tests during the Brown Family crack down.

This sortie, even though it was a supporting mission to aid Vesna Gruppa, would also be used as a way to collect further data on the systems and uplinks.

The Navigators in the 37's began linking with their assigned buddies, as the screens in the area of the cockpit flicked to life, giving them a live feed of what the buddies saw.

Once all checks had been done, then did the JX-37s screamed towards Cabra Pass.

Then the Marines took off, heading to the outskirts of the Cobra Pass. Looking to link up with Allied elements in the area.

From the deck of the Lillina a battery of J-232 lined up. they locked in before firing their complete payload of J-243 Loitering Drones, each able to fire six, with a battery total of six trucks, for a total of 36 Drones in the skies. Each with a 25 hour life span.

Like wish four JA-235 Long range sensor drones took to the air, each being used as a link for the various JVP elements in the air and soon to be on the ground, Providing networking and uplink for all JVP elements, and sharing Intel with Allied forces.

Once the J-242 had left the deck, they were quickly replaced by a battery of Comet Storms, each carry a twelve pack of long range precision missiles. Their main job was to provide fire support for the Marines and other Allied elements.



OOC: Joint Post with Treko, Serderistan, Rhamos, Tyria, JVP

[Phoenxia]

snip

Stinger-1
0347

"Missile warning, Alex. It's a long ways out, but punch it," Friedov's adrenaline was still amped way high, but he was a bit more calm now.

"Gotta be hypersonics at this range. Send our little friends back to buy us some time." McTavish tightly gripped the throttle as she yanked it harshly to the side, and suddenly Friedov’s vision was filled not by sky, but by the royal blue of the sea.

“Uh, Alex . . ?” Friedov couldn’t help but let the worry creep into his voice, watching them dive inverted towards the ocean as their speed ticked up towards three times the speed of sound.

“This is where the fun begins.”

Friedov did his best to give the drones their final orders, distracting himself from the several missile warning alarms blaring throughout the cockpit, the rapidly approaching ocean surface, and that growing weightless feeling in his stomach. But that did not take him very long, and soon enough he had nothing to do but hold on and trust in his utterly unhinged pilot as she rocketed them down like an arrow from heaven, periodically twisting the aircraft at mind shattering angles to plunge downwards in a different direction. Intellectually Friedov knew what she was doing, dragging the missiles into denser atmosphere and escaping at an angle to force them to turn and lose their energy. But no amount of book learning really prepared someone for this.

“50 000 ft . . . 40 000 . . . 20 000 . . . Alex, we’re going in the drink!”

“Just trust me, slow mover.” His pilot’s voice was strained, her helmet shuddering in front of him as their whole plane shook. The yellow hornet decal on its back was vibrating hard, giving the illusion of life.

Alex jinked right again, and out of the corner of his eye Friedov caught sight of several contrails arcing down towards them. “They’re still tracking!” The ocean surface was so close now Friedov swore it was about to swallow them whole. His altimeter was still dropping quick, from five thousand to four, three, two . . .

And then it happened. Alex flicked the flaps, threatening to tear the wings clean free as the two of them were absolutely crushed by the G-forces back into their seats, the plane suddenly leveling out. For that brief moment Friedov was convinced they would simply belly-flop into the ocean, before the engines came on to full power and sent them rocketing along mere dozens of metres above the surface. Struggling against blacking out Friedov took a look out the Arrow’s small window, watching as as one of the huge hypersonic missiles plunged into the ocean. The missile warning tone went out, the cockpit suddenly eerily silent.

[Drones engaging]
All the while, the four XD-5 Harpy drones swung around to face the oncoming threats, their onboard artificial intelligence quickly identifying the only active radar systems in the area, belonging to large heavy AWACs drones. The group moved as a pack to quickly intervene, only one of the drones activating its radar to lock up the target. One Meteor missile per drone ought to suffice, at which point they would turn silent once again to cover their master’s escape by engaging any new airborne radar emissions. Ordered now to stay and cause havoc until their fuel ran out, these murder bots would do their duty to the last.

RPN Fratež
0350

The missiles had shaken up the entire crew, but it seemed to be quiet now. Three gunners mates sat on the port deck to decompress while looking at the rich blue night sky. Above them flew a war plane with full afterburner, going north towards Albatan.

"What is that?" One of them pulled back on a beer and looked inquisitively up at the sky.

"One of ours, an Arrow. I heard over the comms that it was called Stinger-1. Apparently they shot down an Imp fighter," another of them watched as it shot into the horizon, its engines' fiery glow burning into his eyes.

"That's so fucking badass."

[Republic of Altos and Stratis]

OOC Note: This post is going to be a bit of a cluster as their are several loose ends that need tying.

SNIP

Kamooko

Although Lt. Gen. Arthur Stone was infuriated by the news reports coming out of Kamooko, the protesters were not his problem. What ultimately was his problem and had enraged him were the reports of KDC soldiers refusing to show up for work.

“What sort of shoddy discipline is this, back home all of these fools would be court-martialed and drummed out of the military,” he grumbled

The most concerning report of all was the mass desertion and apparent imminent mutiny of the September Battalion, the last of the now defunct September Island Defense Force. Who in their albeit righteous anger, planned to seize the base armory and confine themselves to barracks.

Stone had decided that he would deal with the islanders personally, Ardmarie in its infinite wisdom had not yet decided to replace them with more reliable units from Takhur. It was also a Spanish-speaking country, one that had a close working relationship with the KP. Ardmarie however had decreed that to be an option of last resort, so now he had to go talk the islanders down.

He would not allow them to arm themselves before he had a chance to speak to them. So to prevent that, he ordered a platoon of the Mariroux Light Infantry to reinforce the base armory as soon as he heard. A knock on his door let him know it was time to go. With the streets blocked by protestors, he had received permission to use helicopters to move around. He would now use one of them to join the company of men he had deployed outside the islander's barracks.

Throughout the flight, Stone went over his planned speech to the Islanders. Despite the help of his adjunct, he still wasn’t happy with it. The short nature of the flight meant that he did not have much time to finalize his remarks. Touching down at the base, it was a short walk to the cordon around the barracks. Stone-faced Amerians awaited him, they were upset at having been called out in the middle of the night and incensed that they might come to blow with their allies. But they had manned their positions nonetheless, standing guard around the barracks with their rifles and riot gear.

As Stone moved toward the front of the formation, a look of concern crossed some of the soldier's faces. While others who had slackened in discipline started to put their helmets back on and pick up their rifles. He waved them off as he moved past, megaphone in hand. When he reached the front of the line he had finally decided what he was going to say, he would make no grand speeches or promises, he would simply say the words that these patriots had longed for.

Raising the megaphone he pressed and held the siren for just a few seconds to get the Islander's attention. In the distance behind the curtains, he could see some faces peer out.

Now that he had their attention, he spoke into the megaphone, “September Battalion, you are going home!”

Jules, Kamooko Pact headquarters

It was but a short walk from the chambers of the governance council to where the Islander government was staying, yet despite the distance, Jules had never made the walk. The Kamooko Pact headquarters’ halls were still sterile and modern, barely yet worn down by the hundreds of feet that passed through this way every day. She had gotten news that the September Islanders had signed out a large conference room and were holding an emergency meeting to discuss the governance council disaster of a mere couple of hours ago.

The conference room was utterly packed with September Islander politicians and staffers, each clamoring for a chance to shout their disgust at the recent turn of events. On a screen near the front of the room, a ragged and tired-looking President Azaña was calling in from his new office in Barcelonica.

Almost immediately upon the door opening one of the Islander councilors spun around, none too happy to see this Amerian again. “Get out of here, Weiss.”

“It's always a pleasure meeting with your government.”

The room was glowering at her now, some of its members raising their voices to shout in anger at the woman who had blatantly stated she would never fight for their homeland. Tough talk was on their minds, of returning to their home with or without Kamooko’s support, and leaving the Pact if necessary. She was the last one they wanted to see right now.

Jules couldn’t help but revel in their discomfort, delivering her news. “The September Battalion along with an accompanying KDC Airborne Force will be deploying to September Island and will escort the September Island Government on their return to the island. You will be landing in September city, once there you will perform a road march to the Cabra Pass to meet the SPF, then you will continue onto Barcelonica.
We leave for the airport by 16:00.”

* * *

The first C-17 touched down on the pavement of the September City airport and pulled into its spot to unload the troops and vehicles it had on board. Several other Amerian C-17s had landed already and were busy unloading and receiving maintenance checks by Amerian ground personnel that were brought along.

SNIP

Rear Admiral Łukasz Woszczyński, CVN Parthenay

Łukas fumed, while his ship had been spared the worst of the missile attack other ships in the formation were not so lucky, and with every passing minute, the increasing reports of dead and wounded sailors angered him further.

He was so caught up in his anger that when someone came to tell him that Stinger 1-1 was on its way back toward the formation he saw red and almost lost control. But at the last moment, he was able to steady himself and breathe.

“Take me to the CIC.”

He had arrived in the CIC just in time to see the Iyumians almost succeed at killing them. But much to his dissatisfaction Stinger 1-1 avoided the incoming missiles and didn't slam into the ocean.

So while Łukas would now have to fill out more paperwork for what he was about to do it was certainly the more gratifying.

“Send a message to KDCMFW and request that this so-called Stinger 1-1 be detained. if they ask for a charge tell them Improper Hazarding of Aircraft, we can change the charges later when we know the full story.

Stinger 1-1 would be greeted by Military Police when they landed in Albatan.

SNIP

ABG News Bulletin

International

Kamooko Pact will attend joint peace summit in Kooplieden

The Kamooko Pact has confirmed that it will attend the Arcadian-Koopish peace summit on Fort Hemington Island.

Ameria demands investigation into September Island Attack.

President Hamilton spoke out today, demanding a full investigation into the events preceding the Iyumian attack on the KP task force operating off September Island. The attack which left 604 KP sailors dead, and 668 injured led to its withdrawal from the area and was a stunning setback for the alliance. Giuseppe Tarolli, the commander of the task force is expected to face a court-martial this week.

Amerian Parliament votes unanimously to annul and declassify the Authorization of Military Force Against the Iuman Imperial Domains.

Today the Amerian Parliament voted to annul and declassify the Authorization of Military Force Against the Iuman Imperial Domains. This sudden move came as a shock to many as few considered conflict a possibility. Although Amerians broadly disapproved of the occupations of Zekniya and even supported intervening in September Island, the fact that an undeclared state of war had existed unsettled many. Ameria First who had voted against the authorization took this as an opportunity to rail against the secretive nature of the process. In this, they were not alone, for once they were joined by members of the Amerian Labor Party and Green Dawn Party who also spoke out against the process.

[The Kingdom of Rhamos]

Port Gold (Back dated to Ambush of Vesna Gruppa)

The sudden large scale deployment of Improvised Explosive Devices being deployed by the insurgents and picked up by the HAPS and other drones necessitated an immediate response.

A finding out for those that had decided to fuck around as some would put it.

The Rhamosian EW battery located at Port Gold and its sister unit at Soruel went into action conducting a "courtesy burn" in a 400km radius around each of their locations. Rapidly working their ways through various frequencies and modes, they broadcasted an activation signal that would trigger command detonated style IEDs preemptively, and hopefully while they were still being handled or stored. Following this they would immediately go into a full spectrum burn to block cellphone and satellite coverage within their radius.

Meanwhile, the UNDC combat elements stationed at Port Gold are rapidly spun and briefed at on the situation developing at Cabra Pass. Using real time footage provided by the drones overwatching the area, a tentative plan is put in place to develope the AO in support of relief operations for Vesna.

The light Motorized battalion would conduct their movement to contact in the vicinity of Cabra Pass and move to secure the surrounding villages where insurgent activity was located. Buildings where armed personnel were seen moving and transporting suspected insurgent equipment and weapons were prioritized. In layman's terms, they were essentially conducting a sweep to secure Vesnas rear lines as well enabling follow on forces the freedom of maneuver to counter the developing insurgent assault.

Elsewhere, the "PMC" Air wing was scrambled to provide CAS and CAP over Cabra as needed with UCAVs already on station utilizing PGMs to provided targeted strikes on uniformed leadership of the insurgent assault as well as targeting mortar and artillery positions.

[Soveiniesberg]

PL-710 Condor Ultra Heavy Aircraft: Callsign 001300
Element of the "145th Long Range Strategic Bomber Squadron"
Gholgoth-Markion Ice sheet.
04:00 Hours Standard Imperial Time.

Lights flickered to green as the umbilical chord from the Condor tanker disconnected and began to pull away, moving upwards as the two previously matched speeds now began to deviate, the Capitol Police pilots expertly feathering the flight sticks causing the two large birds to open the gap between them, the aircraft rumbled with the sound of twelve low rpm turbo props running fuel efficiently which allowed such a heavy and large aircraft to cover such vast distances relatively quickly.

The voice of a pilot crackled into life across the coms system of the condor, the other crewmen listened with machine like patience having been in the air already for over 18 hours...

"Secondary refuelling completed, primary operational focus to begin in three hours"

"Affirmative" came the chorus of responses from the other crewmen.

The operational mission of this aircraft was simple, penetrate Markion airspace and test the reaction times of patrolling aircraft or failing that the reaction times of scrambled quick response aircraft that might be sent to intercept the possible threat, the Condor was flying with no transponder signal, which despite aviation norms was not something the Reich did routinely unless it wanted whoever's airspace it was, to know that the Reich was there.

This version of the Condor was a surveillance aircraft, across the rear of the fuselage was an aerodynamic pod which housed a high-power X-band radar, which can detect a 1cm radar target at 10,000km's, the crewmen and radar operators watched intently for any movement on the scopes, allowing them to see with frightening clarity just who was watching the skies and how long it would take for someone to respond.

Of course, they could simply perceive this gigantic aircraft as an immediate threat, with tensions running so high already and simply shoot it out of the sky without so much as a warning, but then the Reich would return with another, but it wouldn't be there to simply watch...

01:57 AM, local time
Rhiymann Weather Station, somewhere upon the Markish Arctic

It was cold. Really cold. A snowdrift was forming up against the side of the building, and Boris Simekov awoke at his chair, looking at the radar. He took a moment to process what he was looking at."What the fuck? What is that? What is that doing here? Wh..." He frowned. It was unusual, surely he would report this. He picked up his telephone and dialed a number, one he knew all too well. And he talked for about an hour, tracking the plane's location. He frowned again. "...Yes, yeah. Goodnight. See you at 8..." He hung up, stood up, pushed in his chair. He looked out the window. Well, he couldn't look out the window, a snowdrift had piled high upon that side of the building.

He walked to the bunkroom, taking off his coat. He walked to the bathroom, which was connected by a short hallway with ornate paintings from a bygone era. They lined the wall, seemingly crammed together to fit. He reached the bathroom, and opened the door, staring at himself in the dirty mirror. Tomorrow was going to be big.

[Soveiniesberg]

"In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”
- Sun Tzu

---

The hangar door clattered open, as the plane mechanic yanked the pulley. "You idiots gonna get over here? You gotta be in the air in thirty minutes, man!" The plane mechanic said to the pilots, who were running over.

A few minutes later, the pilots were in their planes. Two Sukhoi Su-15s with modernization kits, and two Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25s. "Dyenieviech 16-2, permission to take off? ATC, oh, uhhh, yeah, alright, thanks." The ATC tower gave them the thumbs up, and they were off. As they headed to the last reported position of the mystery aircraft, they wasted time by talking, playing games, telling stories, and generally goofing off.

"Foreman 16-4, I think I got it on radar. It's massive. Bigger than anything I've ever seen. I wanna get visual contact of this before we establish radio contact with it." They changed course, flying directly in the direction it's going. "Clogs 16-3, I just gotta say all of this is just, absurd." As they trailed the large aircraft, they flicked through radio channels. "Clogs 16-3, I got their radio channel." They exchanged the radio channel frequency. They were about 1 kilometer behind the mysterious aircraft. "Anatomical 16-1, Attention, unidentified air contact at around 51 degrees north, 134 degrees west, at 35,000 feet, you are estimated to be approaching the airspace of a foreign nation. Request you establish communications, identify yourself, and state your intentions." They await a response.

[Soveiniesberg]

"Dyenieviech 16-2... I got a suggestion, for all of you... erhm.. We just trail them." Everyone came to the consensus that that happened to be a good idea. "Foreman 16-4... Gonna go look for some sort of visual identification, hopefully it's nothin' too sinister?" He laughed. They all laughed. His aircraft went ahead, and sped up towards it, as to them it was merely a plane-shaped outline near the horizon.

"Foreman 16-4. Pretty, uhh, chilling, to say the least. Eh, uhh, Some sort of... Really odd looking... two headed eagle? Nothing I've ever seen before..." He did a cobra maneuver, and slowed down to go back to the rest of the planes. They continued flying behind the massive aircraft.

[New Antarcticania]

Somewhere in the eastern Central Ocean.

Tanager sails at full pace towards the northeast. Desperate to reach the help that was promised to them by high command, the once proud battlefleet has been pounded mercilessly by the Tyrians and Seredians for the past 24 hours. And with a full Tyrian battlegroup still at their heels, Barely keeping out of anti-ship weapons range.

There is no sugarcoating it, there is no euphemism that high command could possibly use to downplay this.
The Imperialists were underestimated.


Though the Gorschev would (Forunately) leave the AO unharmed, the other surface combatants of Tanager did not have a pleasant time.
After days of constant harassment from Tyria's North and Los Misioneros battlegroups, Tanager's reserves of Hard-kill countermeasures and Anti-air missiles were beginning to thin. As such, casualties from the Imperialist barrage was only a inevitability.
Casualties such as the F-27. Who was struck dead amidships by a Seredian missile, detonating in the frigate's fire control room, only to be followed by another hit in the ship's bow by another missile that killed 27 seamen, and sent the F-27 into the sea, capsizing into it's port side. Almost like it was trying to hide it's two ugly large gashes of exposed hull and superstructure as it plunges deeper into it's cold, watery grave. It's crews were thankfully able to evacuate in time, and Most of the survivors would be recovered by passing ships from the battlefleet.

There was also the D-82, who's CIWS thankfully intercepted a Tyrian missile speeding it's way towards the destroyer's bridge. But the concussive shockwave from the explosion that it produced knocked out the ship's more sensitive electronic systems.
Systems like the ship's Radio and satellite communications system.

Several other frigates and destroyers were also marked with Severe damage and close calls. Radar being knocked out, deaths and injuries overwhelming the ship's sick bay. And plums of exhaust trail and chaff as far as the eye can see.

The EW ships-- Having their Jamming and Electronic warfare systems decidedly turned on during the barrage. And being even less equipped for point defense than the conventional combatants of the fleet, was not spared from the wrath of the barrage either. Particularly the HARMs, with the destroyers and Heavy cruisers of the fleet being forced to shoot down HARM after HARM whilst also fending for themselves. But some also inevitably got through.
The ADF Pripiyat and Chelybainsk in particular was very bloodied, with several HARMs detonating at the both ships' Radar and EW systems, leaving the ships not only barely intact and taking water, but blind and deaf. Forcing the captains of both ships to scuttle and abandon their ships. With all hands (except for those that died or were mortally wounded from the detonations) being safely taken on by the task force's rearguard. Firing chaff and launching VLS after VLS whilst hurriedly taking on survivors.

....

Code: Select all

SECURE SATELLITE COMMUNICATION TRANSCRIPT
[DATE HERE]
FROM: ANTARCTICAN ADMIRALTY COMMAND

TO: ADF GORSCHEV, BF-TANAGER
*************************************
High Command has acknowledged the lack of resources, assets, and intelligence gathering allocated to the Markion theater of operations. As of 01800 Task Force time, BF-Tanager's orders at the following:

1- BF-Tanager is to immediately transit to the Vilhalaian port city of [INSERT NAME HERE].
 
 1.B- If Tyrian assets are still in pursuit, cooperate with Vilhalian PMC assets to disperse or destroy the agressors.

2- Once arrived in port, two weeks shore leave is to be put into effect. Crew are to be handed their Ship's pay in the form of Markion marks.
 2.B- Contracted dockworkers and shipwrights will handle the repairs of any damaged vessel.
 2.C- Memorial Services are to be held before the crew is relieved.
 
3- High Command has seen it fit to deploy additional assets to either assist or embed with your battlefleet.
This includes:
 *Replacement crew for casualties
 *Full VLS/Ammunition resupply
 *Full replacement and enhancement of ADF Gorschev's Naval Air Arm.
 * Full replacement for all naval assets lost in contact with Imperial forces.
 *Additional reinforcements. Including one Intelligence gathering vessel (ADF Kyfir).

 3.B- Although High Command has seen to deploying escorts along with the relief fleet (Hereafter designated as Task Force 'Centre') Tanager must contribute to the security of TF-Centre. Or risk losing more assets to Imperial or unknown forces.

4(**PRIORITY**)- Following the arrival of the TF-Centre. Admiral Yaromir Mikhailov is to relieved of his command and board TF-Centre for it's transfer back into New Antarctica. Where he will be questioned on his actions during the battle. A new Flag officer will be placed in command soon.

5- Await further orders.

NOTES:
A) IT IS BELIEVED THAT TYRIAN AND IMPERIAL FORCES STILL HAVE ELINT OR SIMILAR ASSETS DEPLOYED WITHIN EFFECT RANGE OF YOUR FLEET. MAINTAIN EMCON ALPHA, AND USE SECURED SATELLITE TRANSMISSIONS ONLY. THE PROPER ASSETS TO DO SO -- ALONG WITH ORBITAL ASSETS TO ASSIST WITH INTELLIGENCE GATHERING -- HAVE BEEN COMMITTED.

//////////////////END MESSAGE//////////////////////


[The Green Union]

The Kamooko Pact was far too sluggish in their response. Within a few hours, as crowds were gathering on the snow-covered lawn of the Kamooko Pact headquarters, media were suddenly rushed to a waiting room. Green Union Councillor Charlotte Fried had an address for the people of Kamooko. The woman looked gaunt and tired after the long night, staring out at the assembled news teams with characteristic annoyance.

“In response to yesterday's events, the Kamooko Pact and Ameria have taken several actions. Firstly, we have revoked the accreditation of the Phonexian delegation and asked for them to be replaced. Secondly, the Amerians have recalled their representative who made such controversial remarks on the issue of September Island. Our alliance’s policy on the use of force remains unchanged. We will continue to support our allies on the island.”

The wide boulevards of Kamooko had been clogged with encampments for days, overflowing from their heart on the lawn of the Turtleback Palace and Kamooko Pact headquarters. The peaceful but tense occupation here had been grating both on the KP guards and Kamooko city police, as well as the poor protesters who found themselves out facing the elements every night in the vain hope of forcing someone, anyone in that building to communicate about what was happening with the war on September Island. Sure, the Pact had put out a very wooden address days ago to quell the outrage following the now-infamous Möslit Iffirin’s meeting. That address, while confirming that KP troops and their allies in the SPF were continuing to fight on September Island, had not offered any concrete commitments to properly liberate the island. And in the absence of proof that the KP was anything but an impotent bureaucraftic blob, resentment continued growing.

Some military observers urged calm, saying that an operation was probably in the works but would not be revealed for operational security reasons. But the KP’s public relations team was still either massively dropping the ball, or else the fallout from Möslit’s Iffirin visiting was so bad that they couldn’t even address the occupation on their front lawn. And so it was that for days on end the public in every KP nation stood still, glued to the news for updates; first from official sources, then investigative journalists and milbloggers, and finally from any unconfirmed cell phone photo purporting to show activity in the September Island area. Any shadow of a rumour could indicate that the siege was breaking, that full on war had come.

By this point the Tyrian Ships of the East group had fired their first stage of missiles, the Azan ASM, before moving to the second volley. Some would follow the same flight path as the Jycore, having linked targeting and course, the rest would follow their own paths predetermined by firing solutions.

Of the eight Jycore, four broke skyward, releasing their first stage and moving on secondary boosters as they screamed downwards at Mach 5, towards the four carriers decks.
The other four dropped first stages and kept on the skimming course two the four carriers they were marked on to.

The JTACM on the other hand kept and upward course, each missile claiming to a key mark, before dropping their first stage and moving to above the area of the KP Fleet and nose dived towards it, the protective nose cone breaking up as the hundreds of APAM bomblets spread out, each missile releasing their bomblets over a wide grid.

Finally, exactly that happened. All at once a torrent of amateur footage hit the internet, going viral in an instant. Grainy videos from fishermen purporting to be north of September Island showed tiny ships in the distance launching rocket after rocket into the sky. Others filmed as dozens of contrails from these missiles arced overhead, the far off sonic booms shaking their boats ominously. Almost immediately picketers outside the KP buildings were reinvigorated, waving their September Island flags in anticipation of a coming intervention announcement. Others were not so welcoming, and thousands across the KP began to call off work early in order to be home with their families.

And yet hours passed, and no address came from the KP. Night fell, frustration mounted, but no news came.

Task Force Markion made wake north. Several ships were detached to rescue survivors and tow the ships that could not sail under their own power. Expectations that the frigate Leafville would sink after twelve hours had vanished. Even with two craters and a slight list to starboard she stayed afloat, with her crew refusing to leave the ship. The Destroyer Tanzanite was not as lucky, needing to be abandoned. An oceanographic survey vessel would do a pass over her last recorded position in the coming weeks to determine where she had rested on the seabed two-hundred and fifty fathoms below.

Task Force Markion, at the recommendation of Rear Admiral Łukas, split up into Task force 1 and Task Force 2. The Carriers Adernó and Tresmon, along with their escorts, pulled into the port city of Morhua, Placeoderms, for emergency repairs and restocking of supplies. They would be heading home to Ameria in two weeks, where they can be serviced by the proper technicians and naval engineers who have been trained in repairing the damage done. Any Amerian and KP ships that are designated to stay will be reorganized into a new Taskforce.

Task Force 1 consisting of Parthenay, Touron, Attu, Constable, and their escorts headed to Albatan. Once in port they restocked ammunition and made repairs. The EMALS on Touron were repaired by the Amerian technicians aboard the ship once they had the proper tools in port. Touron needed a closer inspection of her forward mounted CIWS and missile systems, so they would be taken offline for a time until it was deemed safe to operate.

Until it did. Not from any official source, but from a lone jogger in the Albatanian port city of Sea Board. From there, amid the early morning rays on the city’s waterfront, she snapped a horrifying photo. A half dozen Kamooko Pact ships were limping into port, half of them suffering shrapnel and fire damage. And being towed into port behind them was the burned out, floundering form of the Green Union’s flagship, the RLS Leafville. The plucky ship, veteran of a hundred missions across Markion and beyond, enduring symbol of a people even in the dark days of Vilhalan and Arcadian occupation, had been wounded perhaps mortally. In an instant an entire country was shocked into silence, but it did not last long.

The outrage was immediate, overwhelming, and inevitable from every corner of the KP alliance. What happened out there? How many of their loved ones were hurt or killed? Was the Kamooko Pact beaten, and if so did they still have the ability to protect member nations? Did they ever have that ability to begin with? And most importantly, why in the name of all that is holy wasn’t anyone in the Pact addressing them?

[Phoenxia]

snippysnippysnip

Steps Outside KDC Headquarters
Press Conference

A crowd gathered in close behind the associated press as an impromptu podium and loudspeaker set was assembled at the top of the steps. Coming through the doors was a fashionably bundled Phoenixian in the form of Kjel Mänstrom, tightly squinting as the cold gust hit his face. He cordially walked up to the stand with a stack of papers, straightening them and clearing his throat.

“Tonight—we, the people of the Kamooko Pact—have been attacked. Attacked by the imperialists who still have their claws dug into September Island. An unprovoked barrage of missiles slammed into out great united fleet. The Green Union frigate Leafville was badly damaged, with many casualties, but she is still afloat, while many other warships received lighter damage."

He was met with scattered cheers through the crowd.

“The proud Placeodermsian destroyer Tanzanite was damaged beyond repair and abandoned. If you want to look at all the other ships, there will be a full dispatch on the KDC website when I am done with this address. The strike by the Tyrians and Crown Alliance were in retaliatory nature to a KDC Arrow scoring an aerial victory against a Tyrian V-17 stealth fighter in self defense whilst conducting a simple reconnaissance mission. Though they tried to talk their pursuers down from further action, explaining that they were within full jurisdiction of terms set by the KP and IA.”

A larger wave of cheer erupted from the crowd, some audible chants included, “Give them what they deserve!” or “We can take em!”

“The KDC fleet exercised extreme discipline in not firing back as we continue to observe the situation. We now urge Kooplieden and Vilhala, the last two holders of open ports on the central ocean, to close themselves to the Crown Alliance, who have so blatantly wasted hundreds of human lives over the loss of a single plane which put itself in dangerous circumstances, politically speaking. This is an uncalled for escalation and we will not stand for it!”

As the crowd further erupted, he subtly realized that there was no turning back, but he loved it. Extra-regional powers have come and gone for centuries, always leaving their wake to drown the outer rim. That would come to an end starting today.

[Iyum]

Snip

The VNR-17s of the Imperial Air Service's "Lavak Squadron" are approaching Sector 4 with the intention of engaging enemy drones. Lavak-1 checks his radar, keeping track of the movements of the hostile aircraft.

"Lavak-1 here, enemy drones have been acquired. I repeat, enemy drones have been acquired. We're moving in for engagement," he reports over his comms, observing the enemy through his augmented hud. The drones show up clearly on his thermal imaging, making them easy to track. "Lavak-2, take point on that sortie. I'll handle the rear."

"Copy that, Lavak-1."

Despite the fact that the drones have not yet detected them, the Lavak pilots waste no time in moving to eliminate the threat. Lavak-1 initiates the process of targeting the enemy drone with his Z-61 air-to-air missile, the low-pitched tone ringing in his ear before transitioning to a high-pitched tone, indicating a lock. "Fox-2!" he declares through his radio along with Lavak-2 before firing the missile at the target. After firing his missile, Lavak-1 waits for it to hit the intended target before shifting his focus to the next one. To his satisfaction, both missiles find their mark almost simultaneously.

"Splash one, XD-5," Lavak-1 announces. "I'm moving on to the next target."

The last two remaining drones attempt to evade the VNR-17s, making a move to engage them. "This one's flying low. Almost got it... Fox-2!" Lavak-2 exclaims, securing another confirmed kill. "Another splash."

Now, only one drone remains, and Lavak-1 pursues it while maintaining a safe distance to arm his missile. "Lavak-1, break off, break off," Lavak-2 warns.

Lavak-1 veers off to the right just as Lavak-2 launches his second-to-last Z-61 missile, which takes out the final target. Another confirmed kill for Lavak-2.

“C’mon man, why did you have to steal that?” Lavak-1 complains.

“Don’t have much time, we need to catch up with that KP arrow.”

“Shit… alright. Spectre, this is Lavak-1. Permission to pursue KP aircraft?” Lavak-1 asks controll.

"Negative, Lavak-1. Return to formation and proceed to bearing 300. Our current priority is the Antarticanians," the controller responds.

"Copy that, Command," Lavak-1 acknowledges, though with a hint of dissatisfaction.

The two VNR-17s swiftly change course to rejoin the rest of the Lavak Squadron, tasked with providing air cover over the northwest area of September Island, assuming their positions to maintain aerial control over the area.

---

Snip

The Imperial Caretaker Mandate of September Island has released a video(with audio) on their social media accounts that document an encounter with a Kamooko Pact (KP) aircraft, callsign Stinger-1. The video feed is from the downed VNR-17, callsign Gold-4, which shows another VNR-17, Gold-6, warning Stinger-1 that they are violating sovereign airspace and telling them to turn around. The video was recorded at night, and there is no visible sunlight.

Flashback

Flashback

The video starts with Gold-6 warning Stinger-1 that they are entering September Island's airspace and instructing them to turn around. However, Stinger-1 continues to fly toward the island, ignoring Gold-6's warnings. Moments later, Gold-4's instruments light up, indicating that it is being locked on by Stinger-1's radar. Gold-4 and Gold-6 begin to disperse, but moments later, the feed shows Gold-4 being struck with a KP missile. Before crashing into the ground, the feed cuts off. Feed from Gold-6 shows the same, but Gold-6 manages to dodge the missile.

Flashback

Flashback

Flashback

Flashback

The video then shows the AWACs radar, which picks up Stinger-1's missile and its trajectory toward Gold-4 before returning to its point of origin. The video shows the AWACs radar then picking up the aircraft that are being launched from the KP fleet’s aircraft carrier. With the information provided to them, the September Island Naval Security Command then authorizes Group East to engage the now-considered hostile KP fleet.

The video evidence suggests that the KP not only violated September Island's airspace but also made an intrusion onto September Island itself, which gives the mandate the right to retaliate against those who infringed upon September Island’s sovereignty. The video has been made public to inform the international community about the incident and to show that the mandate acted in accordance with their rights and obligations to protect the sovereignty of September Island.

The Imperial Caretaker Mandate of September Island has stated that they will take all necessary measures to defend the territory and people of September Island, whether it's the Antarticans or the Kamooko Pact. The release of this video is part of their efforts to inform the international community about the situation and to demonstrate that they are acting within their rights and obligations. The Kamooko Pact's unprovoked incursion into September Island's airspace has violated their sovereignty and threatened regional stability. The escalation of the situation resulting from the KP's aggressive actions demands a detailed explanation from the organization, including the reasons behind their incursion and their plans to prevent further escalation of the conflict.


OOC: Video in 4k, corrections will be made if said post is missing any information.

[Rhastov]

Rhastov has made a bold move by closing its ports to the Crown Alliance. This decision comes in the aftermath of an attack on the Kamooko Pact fleet near September Island, which has caused tension and suspicion between the nations involved.

The reasons for Rhastov's decision to close its ports are very clear. According to the prime minister, Nicolae Dan, “We want this to be a very clear message to the Crown Alliance. Rhastov does not tolerate imperialism, terrorism, and aggression, and we will do everything we can to put an end to it”.

[Iyum]

September Island

More than a year had passed since the last major battles on September Island had ended. After multiple attempts at armed interventions and diplomatic shouting matches, a solution had finally been reached, finally allowing for reconstruction and rebuilding efforts to go forward. Since then, an odd sense of calm had finally settled over the beleaguered nation. While it would be many years before September Island would be able to be fully functional, the sharp decrease in violence and semi-establishment of order had been a boon to its people.

However, that wasn't to say that everything had ended neatly. After all, the end of open conflict had been preceded by a significant loss of life. In the east, a massed SPF ambush in Cabra Pass became a rout for the insurgents. While the event would end up becoming the largest loss of life for the lethal surrogates hired by the Iyumian Empire, it was dwarfed with the man and material costs inflicted by the subsequent counter attack. In the aftermath, there were no further attacks or infiltration on the part of the KP backed insurgents…not that they would have received much support from the west side populations (particularly Port Gold) after a particularly deadly mishap. While the Rhamosian used its EW equipment to initiate a courtesy burn, it not only prematurely detonated a vast swath of SPF IEDs within their caches, it also detonated a number of their bombs stashed in Port Gold. While the loss of life wasn't as large as that in Cabra Pass, it was still a shock to the population of the recovering city…combined with feelings of betrayal among those who supported and enabled Kamooko's proxies. Following the short period of mourning, a brief wave of violence followed as vigilantes scoured the night and executed SPF operatives that they had previously protected. With the realization that their position was more precarious than before, the SPF/KP contingent occupying Fort Gold enacted plans to evacuate. After destroying or packing up sensitive items, the insurgents and their advisors used ratlines to escape from the ancient fort before they were starved out. While some of the infiltrators were caught, either by bands of angry citizenry or security forces, most (including a particular nun) were able to escape back to SPF-controlled territory.

The violence in the west was far more brutal, as joint Serderi/Rhamosian forces defeated a massed push by the LMEF to the port “city” of Soruel and forced the militia to the urban limits of Los Misioneros. Arriving to both pacify the militants and rescue the beleaguered forces occupying the airport, Iyumians forces began an offensive into the city. Unfortunately for the Imperials, the LMEF, and those living in the city, things soon went off the rails. Though many civilians managed to escape during the 24 hour grace period, many still remained (whether due to the LMEF preventing their escape or being unable/unwilling to leave). While the soldiers of the 31st Lamarian Division had the advantage in equipment, information dominance, and air supremacy, the LMEF(now having been backed into the proverbial corner) had grit. Not long after their assault, they soon realized that well positioned and determined fighters could hold out against most threats. Though the Iyumian forces did their best to maintain the restricted rules of engagement, mounting casualties forced them to realize they would have to follow the historical trend of destroying the city to save it. Enemy strongpoints are neutralized with bombs or missiles. Parking garages used as caches for armored vehicles or rally points for fighters are bombed. Room clearing is initiated by frag grenades. In the end, the situation was resolved by a surgical raid by the Iyumian special operations team, “Hoghunters”, in which Mayor Manuel Botella (leader of the LMEF) and a number of his command staff were captured. With key leaders killed or captured, the LMEF are ground into oblivion by vicious urban combat. Though the brutality of the LMEF's near-total destruction had incentivized other groups in the west not to follow in their footsteps and the capture of Mayor Botella (who was scheduled to be tried by an international court due to certain actions of the LMEF), the cost was dire. Los Misioneros had been turned mostly to rubble, the 31st Lamarian Division had been mauled by the fighting, and the Iyumians lost further political capital (with their ‘allies’ in the Crown Alliance forcing them to accelerate their withdrawal). Ironically, like a controlled burn, the scouring of Los Misioneros was the first step in finally putting September Island in the road to recovery.

With some measure of peace finally in place, the island is now divided in two. The eastern half, with its seat of power set in Barcelonica and governed by a SPF group (backed by the Kamooko Pact). In the west, a coalition of major factions/city heads took over the organs of power in September City (supported by a partnership between the Crown Alliance and FASC) and were happily supplied by the Kooplieden arms industry. While the power brokers of the two fledgling states would have preferred to finally settle who was top dog of September Island without foreign interference, several factors placated them. First, they were under the watchful eye of well-equipped peacekeepers, which limited the ability to conduct direct action against rivals. Second, said peacekeepers largely stayed out of their domestic affairs as long as they didn't reignite the conflict. Thirdly, with said foreigners seeking some assistance from the local population for certain aspects of reconstruction efforts, it meant that both sides had the opportunity to take advantage of foreign contracts and discreetly line their pockets to an extent. So for now, the Islanders could have some hope as the quality of living on both sides of the island improved on a daily basis.

At the end of the day, one question remained unanswered: who won? It was plain to see who the losers of the conflict were; the LMEF, the Antarcticanians, and the Iron Alliance in particular. However, the identity of the victors was far less clear.

A rare few made the assertion that the Iyumians could technically be seen as successful. After all, it managed to hold onto the island despite the efforts from multiple parties. They were also able to successfully evacuate any of the local collaborators who wished to leave, while also ensuring that those who stayed behind would be protected (the more affluent of whom would be tapped to take part in the fledgling government of the island’s western half).

Those who advocate this assertion conveniently forget that much of the heavy lifting was not executed by the Imperials, but rather their proxies and allies. In fact, it is more commonly argued that this conflict caused the Iyumians to show massive weakness to the world at large. Despite having a numerical advantage against invaders, the Republic of Serderistan and the PMC group Echo Flight struck more decisive blows against hostile naval forces. Combined with their inability to effectively tamp down on insurgent activities without assistance meant that this conflict potentially exposed the Iyumian Empire as a paper tiger. Add in the loss of confidence among its allies (a failing that led to the Empire being pressured to give up the Drejveškan cantons of Zafa and Maliin to the Serderi), likely meant a greater geopolitical loss in the long run.

Some argued that the Kamooko Pact, and their SPF faction, would be the ultimate victors. After all, their goal of having the Iyumian occupiers removed from September Island and, once they completed transitioning control to the Arcadians, soon the powers from Wendler would be gone too. However, it cost their already faltering reputation, as they fought amongst each other more often than the Iyumians and Crown Alliance. The times they did choose to engage in combat, it ended poorly for the Pact. In addition, they didn't have full control of the island under their thumb. Due to the rash actions by their SPF proxies on the west side, they would likely have to use the force of arms (or support their proxies) in order to unify the island under their control. Add the fact that Kamooko's recent actions have somewhat soured their alliance with the SPF means that the partnership is now on somewhat shaky grounds.

Taking the above into account, then surely that meant that the nations of and supporting the Crown Alliance were the winners. As the key drivers of success within the alliance with Iyumia, they not only defeated the KP/Antarcticanian intervention forces with minimal losses but were ultimately responsible for negotiating a two-state solution with Ameria (the main provider of the KP's military power), stabilize the west side of the island to allow for significant reconstruction efforts to take effect, and even brought the major Islander factions in their AO to solution with the Amerians (the key provider of the KP’s military power), bringing together the major factions on the West Side of the Island to mostly cooperate, and finally stabilizing their half of the island to allow reconstruction efforts to take effect. While bringing in the regional powerhouse of the Arcadian Federation to assist certainly aided their efforts, the CA’s actions helped lay the groundwork for the path to recovery. While the Crown Alliance hadn’t lost much in terms of men or material, their support for the Iyumians had cost them dearly in terms of political capital. Having already been seen as interlopers at best and invaders at worst, the choice of the Wendler nations to prop up an increasingly unpopular puppet government did not win them many friends in the region. While they have managed to maintain a presence thanks to a last minute deal with Anakovia and Rhamos’ colonial holdings, their influence was unlikely to extend in the region. If one were to look deeper at their accomplishment of finally ensuring peaceful cooperation among the western factions, they might determine that this was less of an alliance and more of an armistice. Insiders within the halls of power noted that there was far more bickering than governing involved. No knives were unsheathed but that was more likely due to the presence of the CA and FASC peacekeepers. However, with the former withdrawing more of their force back to the homeland, that left the Arcadians to keep the peace…and there was no guarantee that they would stay for long. Time would tell if the efforts of the CA merely set the stage for the next round of violence on September Island.

In the realist's view of the conflict, there were two points of view; either no one achieved victory or the victor had yet to be determined.

OOC: A post jointly made with the Serd.

Notes of changes:
-Remove placeholder
-Paste story
-Fix heading
-Add OOC note
-Add Notes of changes

[The Green Union]

A recent declaration was made by Kooplieden's current monarch, Queen Margaret II. The declaration, which was broadcast on live television and sent as a transcript to all nations involved in the September Island crisis, reads as such:

"War is brewing in Markion, and should we wish to avoid the devastation such an event would cause, peace and resolution to the September Island crisis is required immediately. To achieve this, Kooplieden will be hosting a peace summit on Fort Hemington Island, 40 miles off the eastern coast of September Island. Every nation involved in the current conflict, or utilising Koopish infrastructure for their purposes in September Island, is expected to be present at this summit. Adequate efforts to have the various peoples of September Island represented at this summit will be undertaken by Koopish authorities, and their transport and safety will be assured by Koopish and only Koopish forces.

"This war cannot be allowed to escalate any further than it already has. My heart goes out to all peoples afflicted by this dreadful conflict, and we will be working tirelessly to ensure that it is finally put to an end."

- Queen Margaret II, Monarch of Kooplieden

As if on cue, within hours of the move self-declared president of the island Inigo Azaña made an announcement through official Kamooko Pact channels. The insurgent president, avid user of social media, was not able to tweet out his usual snarky remarks about the occupation due to his account apparently being hacked. Instead his statement was professional and diplomatic, highly sanitized by the Kamooko Pact bureaucratic machine and members of his exiled government. Azaña framed the Crown Alliance abandonment of the eastern front as a major success for the independence cause. The CA, he said, was losing its nerve in the face of the people and international community’s unflinching resistance, and looking for a way out of the mess they had gotten themselves into. He thanked the Markion Union, Kooplieden Commonwealth, and even the Iron Alliance for providing support against this criminal regime and its occupation _{with a tiny begrudging thank-you to the Kamooko Pact for being a meat shield} before announcing that he looks forward to attending the Fort Hemington Island Peace Summit and finally ridding September Island of foreign influence.

For several days the only local faction response to Kooplieden’s demand was SPF President Azaña’s highly sanitized message routed through the Kamooko Pact. This may be easily owed to continued Crown Alliance cyber-warfare efforts wreaking havoc on the pro-islander information space, making it hard sometimes to know who is actually an authority and who has been hacked or was an imposter to begin with. However, now with just a few days to go to the conference there has been another surprising message. The Self-Protection Forces, speaking once again through official Kamooko Pact channels, have issued a joint address with none other than Mayor Botella’s Los Misioneros Emergency Directorate. In it Mayor Botella and Acting President Azaña, speaking on s split screen from their respective bases, have reiterated Azaña’s previous praise to Kooplieden and the Iron Alliance for their concrete steps towards peace by restricting combatant shipping through the Urilas Straits, and applauding Kooplieden for using their position to force all factions to the table. Both leaders went on to urge all nations of the Central Ocean to keep their ports closed to combatant shipping, with President Azaña making a rare show of calling out the Corporate Free Zone of Vilhala for offering alternate basing.

Then came the formal reason for this address. Both leaders confirmed that the two factions had established diplomatic back channels and discussed their shared interests on the island, expressing how, while they may disagree on the future of September Island, they are both in full agreement that this future is one the islanders must write themselves. For that reason Mayor Botella’s LMED would be honoured to attend the Fort Hemington Island Peace Summit alongside the SPF in order to jointly advocate for their independence. However, due to the short time and pressing work to be done at home, as well as the rapidly deteriorating security situation around Los Misioneros, the two leaders refuse to make the journey off September Island. Nor will they appoint representatives to speak on their behalf. Instead both leaders have asked for permission to attend the summit virtually.

To achieve this end they have promised to allow Kooplieden and Markion Union workers into their territory to establish a secure connection, as well as asked Kooplieden to help mediate talks between the SPF and LMED so that they can approach the upcoming talks with a united front.

ABG News Bulletin

International

Kamooko Pact will attend joint peace summit in Kooplieden

The Kamooko Pact has confirmed that it will attend the Arcadian-Koopish peace summit on Fort Hemington Island.

Ameria demands investigation into September Island Attack.

President Hamilton spoke out today, demanding a full investigation into the events preceding the Iyumian attack on the KP task force operating off September Island. The attack which left 604 KP sailors dead, and 668 injured led to its withdrawal from the area and was a stunning setback for the alliance. Giuseppe Tarolli, the commander of the task force is expected to face a court-martial this week.

Amerian Parliament votes unanimously to annul and declassify the Authorization of Military Force Against the Iuman Imperial Domains.

Today the Amerian Parliament voted to annul and declassify the Authorization of Military Force Against the Iuman Imperial Domains. This sudden move came as a shock to many as few considered conflict a possibility. Although Amerians broadly disapproved of the occupations of Zekniya and even supported intervening in September Island, the fact that an undeclared state of war had existed unsettled many. Ameria First who had voted against the authorization took this as an opportunity to rail against the secretive nature of the process. In this, they were not alone, for once they were joined by members of the Amerian Labor Party and Green Dawn Party who also spoke out against the process.

Fort Hemington Island, a small Koopish colony in the Urilas Straits, already had a storied history. From its numerous sieges by Laegist ships in the 1798 War of Urilas to being a critical stopover point for the kingdom’s trade through Markion’s most important waterway, this tiny rocky and desertish island and the strong old fort atop it had the unique status of never falling from importance. Instead it had received constant investment from the homeland for new garrisons and infrastructure. Most importantly for today, it boasted extensive modern furnishings and accommodations which could more than facilitate the high level delegates and their staff who would be attempting to broker a durable peace. Foreign representatives arriving by boat, helicopter, and seaplane were immediately struck by the turquoise water, white coastlines, and lush yet subtropical foliage. The Fortress’ mixed-era brick and concrete exterior however contrasted greatly with the natural beauty of the land, with parts looking like it had survived the age of piracy and others looking like a concrete monolith straight out of Placeoderms. Of course, once they had gotten settled in and were escorted to their military accommodations this appeal started to wear off. This was not helped when the hot water ran out, or when attending delegates found they had nothing to eat but fish, chips, and cabbage for two days straight.

In the leadup to the summit many factions had been busy, with each entering the negotiations between one another to hash out the peace frameworks they would enter with. The SPF and LMED’s respective five point peace demands, were made public before the conference began. The Kamooko Pact, amid their insistence of not negotiating without the local people, primarily promised to simply back up their SPF allies. All this had allowed the conference’s primary sponsors in Kooplieden to speak one-on-one with most factions and develop what they hoped would be a balanced draft treaty for peace on the island which they hoped would take into account the primary concerns of all sides, and offer a starting point for the negotiations at Fort Hemington.

The Crown Alliance, meanwhile, maintained a secret framework which they promised to unveil at the conference.

When the day finally did come officials and their staff were moved to the fort’s old Age of Sail chapel, a surprisingly massive space which reflected one 1723 garrison commander’s shock and horror at how unpious this new generation of young whippersnappers was becoming. Now, the space between its historical stone walls was fitted out with modern lighting and sound equipment, the old stained glass windows casting light down upon an event of far more earthly concern. As the delegates took their seats a presiding President checked his notes and thanked everyone for attending, reminding all of the importance today would hold. Then, it was time to begin.

"The Assembly recognises Serderius as the current speaker."

As he was given the floor, Malik Abn-Karim stood up at his podium. Clearing his throat, he leaned in towards the microphone.

"Fellow delegates, I would first like to thank our gracious hosts for hosting this forum. However before I begin, my associates and I have an announcement and I would like to recognize them at this time."

As expected, the representatives from the Crown Alliance all stood. What wasn't expected, was the Amerian representative, Marie-Claude Chapelle, and the Stallenbourgian representative standing up with them. The nation of Stallenbourg had no stake in September Island, but the fact that they were giving their support to this new announcement was unprecedented. With a gesture, Malik ceded his time and gave Marie the floor.

“Thank you Mr. Abn-Karim. We truly appreciate the effort that has gone into this conference,” she stated as she placed a tablet in front of her, “However, we do not see the need for this new document, as we have come to an agreement with the Crown Alliance.

One; the Crown Alliance will remove Tyrian forces from September Island and its territorial waters as a show of good faith and a measure of de-escalating the conflict. Do note, that with Antarcticanian forces now fighting the Tyrians, there may be difficulties with this step.

Two, the Markion Union is to recognize that they are there under the invitation of both the Kamooko Pact and Crown Alliance in our mutual pursuit of peace and de-escalation.

Three; the Kamooko Pact and Crown Alliance will deploy peacekeepers to their respective halves of the island, with us supervising the East and the Crown Alliance supervising the west. The two halves will be separated by a buffer zone operated by the MU, with observers from each respective faction attached accordingly.

Four; the Kamooko Pact and Crown Alliance will sign a Non-Aggression Pact.

Five, both factions will also sign a mutual defense pact in the event of a third party attempting to lay their own claims on September Island…which is a perfect time to discuss the last two points.”

The Amerian representative turned toward the Iron Alliance delegation, clearly showing that the next two points concerned them.

“Six, The Iron Alliance is barred from September Island.”

“Seven, we also propose, as per the original treaty of September Island, that the Iron Alliance, particularly the Empire of Sevevill, take full responsibility for starting this crisis in the first place.

Now, before you start your protests to this, we’ve already started. At this time, KP forces led by Ameria are moving in to conduct stability operations on the eastern side of the island. They should be arriving shortly.”
The Stallenbourgian representative then walked to the podium and shuffled his tie, but was halted by the President.

"Stallenbourg, the next nation on the General Speaker's List is Emerstari. If you wish to be added to the General Speaker List, please indicate so now."

The representative looked scornfully at the president, and then spoke. "Fine." He moved back to his seat and crossed his arms as he patiently awaited his turn.

Both an Arcadian, Kooplieden, and Rhamosian delegate motioned to join the GSL, and the President would acknowledge both. "The Assembly recognises Emerstari as the current speaker."

Georg Ljoftenskøld, the Emerstarian delegate, rose from his seat careless for the Stallenbourgian breach of procedure, and ambled to the podium. He began: "Thank you, Mr. President."

His nation had neither any interest nor stake in September Island, but she would not dare be absent from so important an event; she would not dare have her voice unheard nor her opinion left unknown. The King would not have it.

"I should like to restate what that fine gentleman from Serderius stated some time ago: 'Thank you to our gracious hosts for this forum.' It is most gracious of them, indeed. I may say of myself that I have been accommodated in every way whatever in even the least of things — and if in the least of things, how much more in the greatest? This forum itself is a great thing. Thank you, again."

He spoke in an affected but sincere manner and, having finished his extemporaneous introduction, unfolded a well-creased piece of paper for his planned remarks. It was marked with fine, black ink in the Emerstarian tongue.

"Now, of the topic at hand: It is a secret to none that His Majesty the King of the Emerstarians and so on has till now been little involved in the matters of September Island; yet it behooves him, as a Christian monarch, to repent of this inaction and before this assembly voice his concern for the afflicted and dishonored.

"Seeing that it is paramount for their sake that this conflict quickly come to an end, he endorses the new Kooplieden-sponsored document with sympathy for the other produced by the Amerian delegate. The former is at once a document unfettered by the hands of any combatants and one which may be easily amended in this summit.
"In fact, it must be amended. It neither anywhere entreats Iumia to leave September Island nor acknowledges the source of the present conflict, which is Sevevillian in nature; for it is 'aware' of it as a tree is aware of the wind that blows, but it makes no judgement of it as a product of men endowed with moral sensibilities. In these ways and others it ought to and must be amended in moderated caucus, and each of the articles reviewed, before it may be signed.

"Notwithstanding these critiques, Kooplien efforts to revitalize September Island economically and otherwise are applauded — as are my fellow delegates, who have gathered for a good cause.

"I yield my remaining time to the President."

Ljoftenskøld, then, returned to his seat in the same way he had left it.

The Iffirin of Möslit would stand up from her seat and clear her throat, as she lazily held a stack of papers stapled together in one hand. As she stood up for several seconds she did not speak or make eye contact with anyone, instead skimming the first page of the stack. She would then sigh as she rolled her eyes and dropped the paper down on the desk of her Foreign Minister, who had his head in his hands.

“The Empire of Moslit would like to first thank our gracious hosts in Kooplieden Government for forcing this conference on all belligerent parties involved. . . However we can not in good conscious agree with the point of number eight. As our counterparts in the Emerstarian Delegation has pointed out that this conflict is Sevellian by nature. This conflict has only started because of the negligence and lack of care for human life by the Sevellians and by extension the Iron Alliance.”

Jihukeao took a breath as she looked up at the ceiling and placed her hands in her cloak. “It is the opinion of this delegation that Sevevill should be solely responsible for paying reparations in regard to the damages in September Island.” Her eyes would fall from the ceiling as her eyes fall to the ground. “In the anyways, Moslit only wants a lasting peace and appreciates the efforts taken by the Amerians and Rhamosian Delegations. If the KP’s leading representatives and the CA’s leading representatives have already come to a comprehensive peace agreement in the private backdoor rooms of diplomacy than this humble delegation sees no need to object to this peace solution but rather submit it to the original document and edit it in a compromising way.” Jihukeao would exhale as she looked off to the side of the room at seemingly nothing.

“That is all. This delegation cedes their remaining time to questions or the President.” She said before taking her seat and staring at her desk, bored.

The President, obviously having been briefed on the Iffirin's track record for diplomatic actions, took a slight sigh of relief. "Thank you. The Assembly now recognises Stallenbourg as the current speaker."

The Stallenbourgian representative walked again to the podium and shuffled his tie (again). He set his papers down and adjusted his glasses before speaking.
“I speak on the behalf of my nation, we have been neutral on the sidelines of this conflict, we do not wish to intervene on behalf of the
Crown Alliance or the Kamooko Pact or Amerian Armed Forces, but we wish to give our ascent to the document that has been presented by the
aforementioned parties before the forum.

We do not fully consent to this document, the 6th and 7th point specifically were points that we gave some protest to, as our economic interest
in the region of Markion-”
he gestured with his left hand to the seated Iron Alliance representatives,
“-will not change with the agreement of this
document. We can not however deny the fact that Seveville has played a part in the damage caused to September island both as a nation, a people,
and in what the Sevevillian armed forces left behind in their rushed evacuation. Some price needs to be paid”

He paused, he looked out to the seats of the other neutral nations.

“My government can not in good faith give ascent to the Kooplieden sponsored proposal on several grounds. It lacks any mention of the withdrawal
of Tyrian forces from the island, and it lacks any repercussions towards the previous actions made by the Sevevillian armed forces.

Another point of contention is the 6th point stated in the Kooplieden document, which I will read aloud;
‘6. Strongly advises, in order to alleviate tensions between the social strata of September Island’s populace and avoid civil war, that expatriates
and certain September Island natives be deported when requested by the SPF or the LMED.’

I have been advised that we will not accept any document that actively promotes the use of ethnic cleansing. Furthermore, this point in the
document violates both a grave violation and Protocol IV of the Gothenburg Accords;
‘Forced relocations’ and ‘Mass deportations of the civilian populace, while partial evacuations are permitted.’

If any agreement is to be reached in further negotiations then these points must be addressed, because as it stands there is no reason why the
Kooplieden sponsored document should be considered legitimate while actively in violation of the Gothenburg Accords, and promoting the use of
ethnic cleansing in order to ‘appease’ the people of September Island.”

He paused.

“I only ask going forward my fellow representatives and countrymen that have assembled in this forum to give ascent to the agreement made by the
Kamooko Pact and Crown Alliance, because as it stands this conflict must come to an end. The cost in lives has been too great, as most displaced
peoples can’t leave the island, and they need foreign aid to rebuild their country.”

He gestured with open arms to the neutral representatives with this last sentence, before he gathered his papers from the podium and walked back to his seat.

". . . Thank you.” The president was by this point looking quite annoyed at the Stallenbourgian representative, whose word salad of an address had completely misconstrued the Koopish-proposed peace plan. “The Assembly now recognises Kooplieden as the current speaker."

One of the Kooplieden delegates would rise before speaking.

"It is clear that many nations here wish to see changes made to the resolution, which we actively encourage in order to ensure that all parties can agree to the final outcome. We would like to make it clear the stance of Kooplieden on many of these proposed suggestions."

He would straighten his tie before continuing.

"Regarding Serderius and Ameria's supposed peace agreement, supported by Stallenbourg, that supposedly renders this summit obsolete, this deal fails to consider various things that would ensure its long-term success, and we will explain so on a point-by-point basis."

"Before we do that, however, the initial 'elephant in the room' so-to-speak must be addressed - with full knowledge and awareness of an international summit involving all members of the crisis, the Crown Alliance and Kamooko Pact thought it wise to create their own peace arrangement without consulting or considering any other powers involved in the crisis - as far as we can tell, not even the SPF or Directorate were consulted. Such an act is unprecedentedly rude and while it is paved with good intentions, only serves to lengthen the crisis and divide discussion regarding the future of September Island into the CA-KP treaty versus the Markion Union treaty. It is for this reason that a quick and expedited deconstruction of the CA-KP treaty is necessary."

"Point one is covered by clause 1 of the Fort Hemington Treaty, which also considers the various other forces that the CA-KP treaty fails to mention that are operating within and around September Island that must be removed for stability to be reinstated. Point two is unnecessary and only acts as an attempt to drag down the international community to be less important than this new-found CA-KP cooperation, and humiliate this summit once more. Point three..."
He stopped and took a deep breath before resuming.

"Point three will only result in a divided, splintered September Island community. The Fort Hemington Treaty has been drafted with careful consideration to ensure that the SPF and LMED can cooperate and engage on equal levels in a new September Island government, authored by them and ruled with minimal international influence as per their requests. The utmost care has been employed to ensure that the division of an 'East September Island' and 'West September Island' does not emerge - the CA-KP's farce of a treaty does not consider this, and even threatens to create a third 'Central September Island' faction! Like imperialists of old, this resource-rich nation has been carved into territories by the Crown Alliance and the Kamooko Pact, and with a piece thrown to the Markion Union to satiate their requests to rectify this gross misuse of power! We would like to think that this will not prevent the rest of the nations here at this summit from taking issue with this plan. We cannot imagine the level of betrayal and outrage that the SPF and LMED, along with all other September Island residents, must be feeling upon hearing this news. Point three will only result in civil war, and will only please imperialist tendencies within the Crown Alliance and Kamooko Pact."
He took a breath out to regain his composure, before straightening his tie and resuming.

"Point four would be good if there were no other parties involved in September Island other than the Crown Alliance and the Kamooko Pact. As is, there is no resolution for these other powers and if the CA-KP treaty were to pass they would be free to continue fighting. Point five is good-natured but with this treaty fracturing September Island further, it fails to consider what might happen if a civil war were to break out. Would the Crown Alliance and Kamooko Pact willingly fight each other? Would they fight Markion Union peacekeepers? Perhaps the Crown Alliance and Kamooko Pact would find it easier to let the nation embroil itself in civil war and pick through the ashes afterwards."

"The only points of any worth in this treaty are points six and seven. Other speakers have demonstrated that a desire to hold Sevevill accountable for causing the September Island crisis, and pay reparations accordingly, is well-supported by members here at the Assembly. However, these can easily be made as amendments for the Fort Hemington Treaty, instead of going to such lows as to upstage the entire international community of Markion and Wendler in a short-sighted effort to bring peace while keeping their personal standing high."

"This CA-KP treaty is ill-planned at best, and an imperialist ploy to control September Island at worst. The fact that KP forces are already being deployed to the island should be a sign of such imperial ambitions, and the resolution of the Fort Hemington Treaty must be enforced adequately in order to prevent this."
He would sigh under his breath, inaudibly, before continuing.

"We echo the sentiments of Emerstari and Möslit, that the treaty presented by the Crown Alliance and Kamooko Pact must be ignored or parts of it - particularly points six and seven - be amended to the Fort Hemington Treaty."

"Regarding the confusion around Iumia, or Tyria, leaving the island, as expressed by Emerstari and Stallenbourg, perhaps an amendment clarifying this could be made. While clauses one and two do result in Tyrian forces leaving the island, it does admittedly comment little on the stance of their government on the island, and while later clauses imply that this will be superceded by a new constitutional government, clarification would certainly be welcome."

"Regarding the demands for Sevevill's role in causing the conflict to be recognised, we would not be opposed to an amendment to clause 8 that includes Sevevillian reparations and the addition of a new clause that outlines their role in causing the conflict more clearly."
"Regarding Stallenbourg's objections to clause six, we would like to refute any claims that such a clause would fall under a violation of the Gothenburg Accords. If it were, many other fellow members of the Assembly would have been commiting a grave violation of the Gothenburg Accords in evacuating their own expatriates from the turbulent conditions in September Island. As we all know, such claims are not reasonable. Given the large amount of expatriates already evacuated, any further evacuation as enacted by this resolution would be considered a 'partial evacuation' as outlined in Protocol IV of the Gothenburg Accords. We would like to note that the alternative to evacuation of expatriates and 'collaborators' is violent civil disobedience within September Island, which threatens to undo all our efforts at this summit and in the near future to restore stability to September Island."

"Before we concede our time as speaker, we would like to congratulate most-" He shot a glance to the Amerian and Serderian delegates. "-of the international community for being so eager to work together on a peaceful and humanitarian-oriented resolution to September Island. We would like to invite the SPF and LMED, however, to contribute to discussion as this regards the future of their island and we cannot help but feel without their say this summit can't go anywhere useful."

The Kooplieden delegate would cede his time.
"Thank you. The Assembly now recognises Rhamos as the current speaker."

Princess Otille cleared her throat as she stood up from amongst the gathered delegates of Rhamos and the Crown Alliance as a whole. Her wardrobe and makeup had been deliberately styled once again to subtly evoke a comparison to an angel though the expression on her face could be said to be, less than angelic in contrast.

As she looked around before speaking there was a clear hint that she was less than pleased so to speak.

"Before I get started, I too would like to thank the gathered powers of Markion here-" She spoke rather slowly and methodically at first, carefully choosing her words and adding in deliberate emphasis where needed to indicate that the statement implied so much more than just what was actually said.

"For finally stepping in now that the first blows between opposing Pacts have been struck."

"That you would see now as a fitting time to step in when the region is at the brink of war and chastise the CA and the KP, for instead working out their differences for the good of the island and not resorting to bloodshed speaks volumes to your intent here."

She paused to allow for her words to sink in.

"That you would stand here before us and codify yourselves as participants in this conflict now that we seek peace, yet left our calls unanswered when we pleaded for help to save the people of the island is a violation of trust and the basic laws of decency expected from amongst our fellow God fearing man."

"This den of thieves gathered here seek not peace but to scavenge their piece of the pie now that the dust has settled and a price has already been laid for by the KP in both ships and the lives of their brave servicemen and women."

"WE, did not ask for this summit, nor did we ask for your self-righteous indignation at our attempts to do what none of you even cared to help with. You demanded we should appear here lest we lose access to the Kooplieden Ports and basing rights we earned in exchange for saving Kooplieden Expats trapped on
September."

As she spoke the evidence of virulent anger seeped into her voice.

"So before I continue, I'd like to address the points my counterpart speakers have made before me. The Kooplieden representative has failed to take into consideration that their future presence on the island and the MUs mission as a whole was initiated not by the SPF or LMED, but at the request of the Crown Alliance. The MU up until such time had actively worked to undermine the peaceful transition of the Iumarian Mandate into its governing role in overseeing the rebuilding of September Island."

"None.of.you. have been involved in this crisis. None of you sent aid. None of you sent doctors. None of you saw this for what it really was, the people of September Island in desperate need of help from an international community who turned their backs on them."

"Until now. And how do you repay our calls for assistance? With this farce of a Treaty that calls for the immediate removal of the Crown Alliance? Have you no decency?"

"You stand here before us pious and holy, lecturing us on our attempts to set aside our differences for the good of the island with little to no understanding of any of our efforts to save the island and her people."
"And for what? Because the CA was not able to rebuild the nation and quell the warlords in 3 weeks time? What fanciful delusion of grandeur has beholden this gathered delegation that they believe they could do better in that period of time? I ask you this!"

"Is it because we are foreigners to this land?! Is it because the blood we shed on that island for its people is not Markish in origin?! Do we not all bleed the same rouge hues of that most holiest quality imbued to us by the lord above?"

"Or is it because the supposed representatives of the people of the island have crawled in here and whispered their hollow words through their silver tongues?"

"The Crown Alliance has personally stopped the mayor's attempts at subjecting the western half of the island. His assaults on its towns and villages with tanks and child soldiers is both well documented and known. Or at least it would have had any of you even bothered to send an observer to the island. Instead you look over our proof with disdain and hatred, calling us liars and imperialists."

"What of the weapons smuggling and human trafficking? Permitted not only by LMED and the SPF but also by the IA who permit their territory for such elements to operate and base themselves out of? The SPF has openly requested Vilhalan involvement in the MU mission and admitted to having Vilhalan assistance during the KP's security council meetings. Or the LMED who have utilized forced conscription and human shields in an attempt to seize humanitarian aid supplies through force of arms? Or openly called farmers, who were focused on their own survival, parasites for not surrendering their crops that they need for their own communities survival?"
"These are the words of people who we can not take at face value, one is naught but a mediocre warlord attempting to force his will upon farmers with violence! The other, the SPF are mere puppets of Vilhalan interest attempting to sink their sick fangs into what is surely a repeat of the Green Union."

Otille finally paused taking a deep breath, a little more calm now having gotten that out of her system though if anyone looked closely enough it was possible to see her hands had just a slight tremble to them.

"The fact of the matter is the delegations here have two choices."

"Either continue in your present course of apathy and leave us to do what you have refused too for over a month now."

"Or accept that the CA and the KP have agreed to work together and help us rebuild the island as partners."

"As far as the question of 'will the CA ever pull out from September Island'? Yes we will. We can not indefinitely occupy the island nor do we wish too. But that is contingent on the level of support we get and the international community's willingness to help shoulder the burden. Naturally the more help, the sooner we can extricate ourselves."

"It is my deepest wish to see all those gathered here finally expressing their willingness to be involved to turn those words into actions. Transforming this from just the CA or the KP into an international effort to stand the people of the island back up on their own two feet again, save those of the IA naturally."
"To this extent, I propose the formation of an SIFOR as a truly international peacekeeping and security force. With the pooled resources, expertise, and knowledge of our nation's militaries and civilian organizations I am sure there is no challenge we can not surmount."

"Through this international organization we will gradually transition the island back into the hands of the Islanders. Who will, no matter how fanciful, not be able to stand as a functioning country for a significant amount of time as history has repeatedly shown us."

"Naturally the eventual withdrawal of the CA is an inevitability and one we are open to discussion too, but outright abandoning our doctors and aid workers we brought with us, is not an option."

She took another deep breath as she surveyed the room and gave a slight half bowing curtsey. "I thank you for your time and cede the remainder of mine to the president." Before sitting again.

A small clap came from the Iffirin as the President spoke. "Thank you. The Assembly now recognises the Self Protection Forces as the current speaker."

A delegate for the SPF - that is, a Koopish representative who has been wired up to an SPF delegate on September Island due to the logistical nightmare it would be in bringing them over - motioned that they would like to speak. Likewise, a similarly set-up Koopish representative for the LMED motioned. The SPF representative stood, speaking deliberately as he translated the words being fed to them.

"I am speaking on behalf of Acting President Inigo Azaña, interim head of state and government for September Island . . . according to himself and the Self Protection Forces organization. Firstly, the president is deeply troubled by this peace proposal laid out by the Kamooko Pact and Crown Alliance. We appreciate the efforts by our KP allies to help secure our independence on the world stage, and are eternally grateful for the blood and sweat shed by KP troops on the ground with our men. But while we recognize the KP as partners and allies, we will never surrender our sovereignty to them. KP troops only remain on September Island soil at our pleasure, and any attempt to change that relationship to one of forced vassalage will result in Kamooko being expelled from our shores. The Crown Alliance and Iumia are completely unwelcome and must be removed as quickly as possible, owing to their many crimes evidence of which we have submitted prior; this is something I have had the pleasure of discussing with Mayor Botella, and we agree it is in the interest of all September Islanders."

With time yielded to the other Koopish interpreter, the translated words of Emanuel Botella filled the room. "On behalf of the people of Los Misioneros and the west, I too have been disgusted at how the foreigners here are treating our island. You talk of peace and rebuilding, and act as if we should be happy for your forced presence. You came to our shores in the midst of a crisis, paying money to the very Iron Alliance you now claim to disavow, and then kill us for resisting."
"For that reason President Azaña and I have both drafted our own peace proposal, agreed upon by us, which focuses on the withdrawal of foreigners as quickly as possible and return of the island to local control. The only ones allowed to stay will be those helping us to restore peace and prosperity. All others who try to lord over us will be removed by force, first and foremost this disgusting slime of a woman representing the Horse fuc-uh, Kingdom of Rhamos."

The translator frowned, and in the silence all in the room could hear the rising, tinny, indistinct voice of an increasingly angry Botella yelling through the man's earpiece. Finally, uncertain, he spoke. "Mayor Botella insists I convey several obscenities and spit in the direction of the Rhamosian representative. As this is highly inappropriate I must refrain from doing so, but I will note the Mayor's colourful objection to what was said."

“Uh, thank you.” The President was glaring at the poor translator’s earpiece. “With that, I think we ought to be taking a short, or probably long recess. We can continue with the Arcadian Federation when we return.”

Unfortunately for the cause of peace, there would not be a return. The recess went on for an hour, then two, then stretched on to five and seven as delegates argued and threatened. The Amerian representatives in particular found themselves cornered and yelled at by their colleagues in the Kamooko Pact, accusing them of yet another betrayal and attempt to sell out their allies on September Island to the imperialists. The Amerian reveal that this backroom deal had allowed them to secretly move the September Battalion as well as large elements of the Kamooko-exiled September Island government back to their home did little to assuage their rage. Meanwhile, the exiled Islander delegates which had attended the peace summit and did not even have time to deliver their addresses before the recess were practically boiling. Yet day crept into night and it was announced that they would postpone proceedings until the morning. By the time next day rolled around a great majority of representatives had left, though whether most were driven from the island out of despair for the state of negotiations or due to the abysmal catering status was not altogether clear. The war would continue.


OOC: Post formulated from negotiations with Kooplieden, Serderistan, Ameria, Emerstari, Möslit, Stallenbourg, Rhamos, and Arcadia.