The Second Magican War [MT/Finished]

by **Alexiandra** » Mon Jan 30, 2023 2:21 am

Western Sea, Off the Coast of the Magican Archipelago

The sea raged, but the skies had calmed. Over the last three hours, the volume of missiles streaking through the atmosphere had diminished, with fighters returning gradually to the supercarriers that formed the core of the Alexiandran fleet. The steel-grey surface of the ocean was littered with the detritus of battle: fragments from jet engines, missile guidance fins, oil slicks, propellers. Here and there, a stray body could be seen bobbing amidst the waves. What remained of the Lower Magican High Seas Fleet was withdrawing from the blockade line. Its fighting spearhead blunted, it would surely present an easy target for the packs of Allied hunter-killer submarines in the area. The Alexiandrans had one priority now: destroy as much of the High Seas Fleet as possible before it could reach the relative safety of the archipelago’s straits, infested as they were with communist anti-ship missile installations.

The losses suffered by the Allies, while not catastrophic, were significant. The Alexiandrans had lost at least five vessels of varying sizes, as well as a few dozen pilots. Now that the enemy had forfeited the battlefield, search and rescue operations could begin - specially equipped helicopters and dirigibles began to comb the wreckage, fishing pilots and sailors from the depths. Signals were sent back to the Admiralty in Lockbourne, urging the dispatch of resupply ships and aircraft. To the northeast, Alexiandran combat air patrols were waging a furious campaign of harassment against the retreating fleet. Some communist vessels had been left completely defenceless, with Lower Magican air assets too thinly stretched to ward off the waves of fighter-bombers and interceptors bearing down on them. Many of the craft were so antiquated that they did not possess dedicated anti-air assets aside from deck-mounted machine guns, which were completely useless against supersonic, over-the-horizon missiles.

Meanwhile, far to the north, the leading elements of Ninth Fleet were beginning to enter into missile range of the Lower Magican home islands. The Empire had given its qualified assent to the planned strike, and targets - predominantly military in nature - had already been picked out. The initial volley would consist of about a hundred cruise and ballistic missiles, aimed at known missile silos, airfields, chemical weapons factories and biological warfare labs. Upper Magica had had years to conduct reconnaissance against the communists, and their painstaking work was now paying off; its operatives were able to provide detailed instructions as to where and when each missile should strike.

The first warheads would be ballistic, fired by the fleet’s three nuclear-powered submarines. These would signal the start of the wider bombardment, and this bombardment, in turn, would trigger kinetic strikes from orbit. In the ensuing confusion, SEAD raids into enemy territory would provide cover for Alexiandran and Harrisopian helicopters to press north, delivering special forces teams to more resistant targets.

Far overhead, in orbit, Alexiandra’s fleet of weapons satellites - which had been so heavily taxed in recent years - began to wheel patiently into position. It would take a few hours for them to align correctly with their objectives, during which time the Ninth Fleet would be making its final preparations. Once the satellites were ready, this latter-day blitzkrieg, one of the most technologically advanced offensives Alexiandra had ever conducted, could begin. There was not long to go now.

Lockbourne, Alexiandra

Back in Lockbourne, a growing sense of unease pervaded the General Staff. Vichnaya had, once again, assured Lyceni of its peaceful intentions. But there was a clear dissonance between its words and its actions. The enemy’s preparations had been meticulous, but satellites had still spotted units on the move, and SIGINT concurred that a massive movement of vehicles and personnel was underway. What was more, the Magicans had been under sustained cyber-attack for days and experts agreed that the breadth and depth of assets deployed suggested that a state actor was responsible.

Deep in the bowels of the Information Defence Bureau, Alexiandra’s premiere cyber warfare organisation, analysts and coders were scrambling to improvise a defence against the storm that was sure to come. They took a leaf out of the Magican playbook, concealing ‘bombs’ within innocuous bits of code, testing backup servers, constructing whole decoy versions of important government websites. The name of the game was deterrence: if the Vichnayans did attack Alexiandran assets online, they would feel the sting.

A more conventional response was also in the offing, with the so-called ‘second echelon’ of Alexiandran forces in the midst of mobilisation. So far, only the Marines had seen action in Magica; now, the Army was steeling itself for battle. Long military trains snaked across the Republic’s backcountry, carrying tanks, trucks, ammunition and weaponry to assembly points around the nation. It was not yet known where the Vichnayans intended to strike, but any threat of involvement from such a large and technologically advanced state was to be taken in deadly earnest. Most likely, the Federal Republic was preparing some sort of invasion of the Magican archipelago, and its proximity to the theatre gave it a decided logistical advantage. The Alexiandrans were determined to close the gap, with huge troop transport planes taking off from airfields in the coast every few minutes. Within a couple of days, thousands more Alexiandran troops - and, crucially, a great deal more armour - would be on Magican soil. Naval assets not already committed in the east were bound there, streaming across the South Sea in vast, vigilant convoys.

The following military communique was sent to Riomler, the only belligerent which shared a landmass with Vichnaya, through secure channels.

Code: Select all: Dear Friends, We have become aware that Vichnaya, your northeast neighbour, is preparing to enter the Magican conflict. Since it has refused to clarify its intentions to our satisfaction, we can only assume that it is hostile, and that Federal forces are making ready to deploy against us. With this in mind, we urge you to undertake proactive defensive measures. Yours is the only Allied country which shares a landmass with Vichnaya, leaving you uniquely positioned to disrupt the enemy’s attack. A simultaneous air and land attack could blunt the Vichnayan onslaught before it can gather momentum. As always, please continue to act in coordination with Allied forces, and to keep us appraised of any new developments. We urge you not to undertake any rash moves until Vichnaya’s involvement in the war is confirmed.

by **Riomler** » Mon Jan 30, 2023 10:39 am

Daneve
Riomler
A city on the border with vichnaya
Since most of Riomlers army was in the magican front,they had to use reserve green units,about 300,000 men were sent to the border,and told to continue training there until further orders,meanwhile,Riomler also sends 120 f-35's and b-1 bombers to practice there and Riomler officials promise this is only training.

Operation Liberation
Hawk company
The operation was based on d-day but without the beaches as about 30 troop transport planes were sent towards the once bombed city of the communist filth,with 300 troops total to capture key officials and to attack the enemy from behind(pause)and hold it so moral of the communist would fall and they would vouch for surrender.

Front justice

Fox company

Since the commies started using gas,fox company has just been listening to the radio in the bunker they were stationed in,and they got news that they could fire back gas at the enemy,but,as they were infentry,all they could do was wait,wait,that was the theme of this phase.

Front justice
2nd artillery Division
They got info that they got permission to use gas,and they were ready for it as round after round was launched into enemy positions and strongholds(not near their capital sincethat would affect operation liberation)and they would fire till 7:00 in the night.

by **Riomler** » Tue Jan 31, 2023 9:13 pm

above communist capital:7,500 feet in the air
Rex company
1st marine division
Dany Rogers corporal
As the plane flew,you could hear the anti-air guns fire out at us,curuis,Dany looked out the window and saw a plane go down,"there was 30 men in that plane"thought Dany as the remaining marines jumped out,some forgetting to release their parachuts and dying from flak fire.Dany was sure this scene was playing out everywhere,but he knew his mission,get inside,capture the officials,get a surrender from the communist,and this would all be over."30 minutes till launch!"said one of the higher ups,Dany got ready and suddenly felt a feeling of bravado as he unconsciously sang the Riomler nation anthem(still in the works),pretty soon,he was sure the enemy could hear the soldeirs,young and old,chanting for their country knowing they would also die for it.
please rate that one a scale of 1-10 ,FREE

Justice front
Front lines
The crew of 12 men were either smoking cigars,or listening to the radio,or watching through the tinted glass window attached to the bunker for enemy movement,However,the one on watching duty saw something,while the land was a wasteland,the firing stopped,he stared and stared,he couldnt beleive it,as he was going to scream towards his compatriots,massive ammounts of nitrogen dioxide were heading over there heads all the way to..the enemy in front of them,then he watched as the gas slowly took hold of the men,he had seen in a book that the gas would take all the oxygen out of their lungs as the nitrogen cloud envolleped the forest enemy emcampment.then he turned around slowly to face the rest of the men,then he silently said"gas masks on.'',"Huh whad you say?"said one of the men."Gas masks on!enemy are scrambled like eggs,we have to take this oppertunity,tell command to contact magican army command,we have a way through."

HMMS Rovaria
"Tch,how many more hours till were there?"said admiral wood,"4,sir","alright,guess i cant complain,report on the justice front?,"we've received word that fox company has broken through the lines and are now pushing the enemies back,they also wanted us to report that they wish magican assistance to capture the last city before reaching the enemies capital,Rondaval."."Alright"

Hmms rovaria
Magican command\
"our soldeirs have found a oppertunity that could help with your capital,We know your busy with the communist attacking but,we wish for you to send half of the soldeirs to capture the enemy mainland,we believe this is possible with the communist focusing on that navy battle we're heading to,and this would confuse enemy command even more,which would result in chaos as he tries to manage all the battles occuring,Foolish communist,no man can control a who entire army and fight on multiple fronts,this will prove succesful with cooperation with you,of course if you wish not,we could abandon the plan,think it over.
Godspeed
Riomler fleet

by **Upper Magica** » Wed Feb 01, 2023 1:36 am

Command Center Rhea
People's Government of Magica

Yuval Yuvaraj sat in his chair in his fortified bunker without any cigars to rely upon to relieve the stress of day-to-day governance. It was a glum day indeed.

It was, perhaps to him, also the best day of his life. The High Seas Fleet had broken through the lines of the Capitalists and were now shelling Lockbourne. Aquis had fallen under a shroud of withering gas, and the first members of the Imperial Household were being extradited to the Metropole for trial before a People's Court. It was only a matter of time before the Imperialists had sent terms, in his mind.

Aquis would be bulldozed to make way for a new Metropole - the City of the People. In fact, he had secluded himself in his office to assemble the city plans personally for the last week. He envisioned grand avenues, modernist architecture, a public tramway spanning the entire city - and to enable travel without, a high-speed rail system based upon, ironically, Capitalist designs.

And at its center - the best for last, oh, how he marveled at its massive stature - a new House of the People, built upon the ruins of the Imperial Palace. It would be the size of four city blocks, and, vertically speaking, dwarf most mid-size high rises. It would house not only himself - but every facet of government. The dome of the building would be so expansive, so high, that condensation would form off of the top, creating a rain effect from time to time.

His vision was almost complete; all he needed to make this day a complete success was a cigar.

What the 'High Marshal' did not know was that, in his seclusion, the MSS had usurped almost every facet of government. Yuvaraj's reliance on political commissars to execute his commands had held a dear toll indeed, for now the man was essentially powerless. Every report to him was carefully faked, while his commands were outright subverted.

The High Seas Fleet had not gone on to Lockbourne to bomb it to its foundations - it had died a fool's death. Its survivors were more like a High Seas Flotilla, as only a few ships made it back. A pointless slaughter. The People's Navy now existed as, essentially, a singular fleet. Only two of its Arsenal Ships out of 9 were still afloat, a carrier - if it could even be called that - and a handful of cruisers, destroyers, and frigates.

Aquis had held strong - in fact, the People's Army's best trained and equipped formations were now trapped on the Isle de Dieu in the metropolitan area of Drande and in several other isolated pockets, for the first Allied troops had breached onward to the northern shores of the Isle. Its airmobile detachments were now static infantry brigades, for their helicopters had broken down or been shot out of the sky. Amphibious assault was now a fool's game, for the security of any marine detachments could no longer be guaranteed.

And the People's Air Force? Only 1,500 airframes - most of which were museum pieces - were operational, and its best pilots were now either kindling, shark food, or held by the enemy. Avgas, once plentiful, was now suddenly a rarity, for Lower Magican oil rigs were simply not able to produce, while the capitalist Southerners were able to dig deep and greedily into the abominable global marketplace.

Now it seemed that the tide had decisively turned against the People's Government - although intelligence was scarce now, for many MSS agents overseas had been arrested, killed, forced into hiding, or even turned against the Revolution. It was only a matter of time before the Empire came North with its might.

Indeed, the last card the People's Government had to play at all was its stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. Biological, chemical, and even atomic weaponry - thermonuclear devices were too expensive to maintain - were now on the table.

Elsewhere in the Command Center, Antoine Desmarais, the head of the Magistrate of State Security, was plotting. Unlike Comrade Yuvaraj, he was not plotting the demise of Capitalism world-wide. He was plotting how to get out of this farce of a War of Liberation without compromising his power - it occurred to him that the escalation of WMDs might be able to save his position and the independence of the Northern Government.

And so, he wrote a communique, only to be interrupted by an aide.

"Sir, the Meadows pharmaceutical installation just got hit by the enemy; it's a total loss. Air Defense is reporting massive strikes on anti-air positions."

His heart quickened. The 'pharmaceutical installation' was one of the premiere biowarfare laboratories of the Government. How could they have known?

There was only one conclusion to this: the last card the People's Government had to play of any importance was being removed from the game. It would have to be used - and quickly. But it occurred to Comrade Desmarais that would end in the same result: the destruction of the Revolution, for a counterstrike would be made.

It was in this moment that the seasoned secret policeman realized something. For the first time, he felt fear - for his position, for his riches, for his power.

The War was lost. Whatever could be salvaged from this debacle had to be - at any cost.

But how?

The Metropole de Marx - Anchorhead Formation

The skyline of the Metropole de Marx - erroneously listed as 'Rondaval' on Riomlerian maps was bright. Usually, in any case, the bustling cityscape, dotted with skyscrapers and buildings in the Brutalist style, was lit up with normal things such as lights glaring out of windows, traffic lights, and neon for miles.

Tonight, however, puzzling to many people - there were no lights, having been inexplicably cut off by the authorities. But the reason would be revealed moments later, as tracer fire from ground-based anti-aircraft guns and vehicles lit up the night sky. The roar of missiles from surface-to-air installations screamed out.

To the Policewoman patrolling the suburbs of the Metropole in her PMAC Type 90, an anachronistic open-top light truck from another era, it was bizarre. The Metropole had been her home for years. Now, things seemed apocalyptic, almost - she'd never admit it, for such words would be construed as treason. The streets of her city were empty, soulless. It wasn't a sight she was used to.

And then, in the middle of her melancholic line of thought - she'd seen it. Low-flying aircraft passed over her head. White trails - not of smoke, but of cloth - spewed out of them. She swore she'd even seen a few black specks she assumed were people hurtle all the way to the ground without deploying their parachutes.

She grabbed her handheld radio from the center console of the truck, pulling it over to the side of the street - hitting the curb of the sidewalk in the process.

"Uh, this is Patrol Unit 12 in 9th arrondissement - I need someone else to confirm this for me: is anyone else seeing parachutes over Revolution Avenue?"

Before long, the radio crackled with activity. "This is Unit 94 in 12th arrondissement - I see them too, Unit 12."

"Unit 5 here - are you two having a wank? You've got to be joking."

In a moment, the voice of the night supervisory sub-Magistrate of the People's Armed Police boomed out over the radio. "All units, shut the hell up. We've got an armed incursion by enemy forces in the middle of our city and we're thinking this is a joke? For goodness' sake. All hands on deck, people - you're all Code 3 to Revolutionary Avenue until the cavalry arrive. Break out the AKs."

With that command, the Policewoman flicked on her emergency sirens and floored it, speeding her wailing police truck to the city center. Across the city, the same scene repeated itself as the first line of response - the People's Armed Police - began to make contact with Riomlerian paratroopers.

The Riomlerian incursion into the heart of the Metropole was, to say the least, unexpected. Even more unexpected was its method - parachuting into an urban space defies every bit of military logic, as many unlucky Riomlerian marines ended up hanging themselves on street lights, antennae, and urban architecture while others were scattered over the Metropole's streets, easily isolated by responding units of the People's Armed Police and either subdued or destroyed.

by **Riomler** » Wed Feb 01, 2023 8:48 am

Rex company
Dany Rogers

"Go!go!go!"said one of the commanders as the squad jumped out,Dany pulled on his paruchute and it came out,he then precceded to land,with about 18 of the 30 men from the transport,dany shivered as he thought what there fates were.Dany didnt have time for that though,as communist police were firing on their positions,seeing as dany was the more higher rank of the group,he was squad leader,so he told 10 men to do suppresing fire while 8 of them entered the houses,dont injure the civilians,fire from the rooftops,once the police were gone,they were to destroy all anti air detachments of the communist.so he and 9 other men fired their new ak-12's at the enemy while the rest of the squad got into buildings along the street,then Dany hoped for the best as he reloaded and took cover.

HMMS Rovaria

"Sir!",said a lietenet,"yes?"said the admiral,"we've got info that the magican navy is in shambles"."Well damn,they got'em before us,well lets give the rest of the communist fleet a peice of our mind.","yes sir,enemy fleet was last spotted 4 clicks away sir"."Alright ,send b-1 bombers escorted by 30 raptors to bomb them then release the payload.","Yes sir!"

Clarification:the payload is the fleet firing rounds on the flotilla.

by **Vichnaya** » Thu Feb 02, 2023 5:24 am

Chapter 08, Act 01 - Eternity In Strength

Darinista-Osnovnoy, Constis Oblast

"Fortitude is the marshal of thought, the armor of the will, and the fort of reason."

All Was Quiet On The Western Front.

Watching Riomler mass on the borders were the 7 Divisions of the Vichnayan National Guard. Like their counterparts in the Ground Forces/Regular Army, they were well equipped with the latest armaments. Where other National Guards in the world would be considered second-line units, given hand-me-downs from the Army, the National Guard of Vichnaya were considered first-rate troops, deployed across the globe in they met the requirements to do so; the requirement that around 80% of their personnel count were contracted rather than conscripted. As such, the guardsman posted along the border were equipped with some of the latest gear, though most interestingly of all, the LS50 Powered Assistance Suit System; the first exoskeleton in Vichnayan military history to be mass-produced on a grand level, intended to give every soldier an extreme edge on the battlefield in comparison to their technologically inferior foes.

Born from the PMPSP 'Sokol Program, an ambitious infantry upgrade program that aimed to improve the individual capability of each Vichnayan soldier, the LS50 was the hallmark and the technological advancement that the RND teams of the Vichnayan Armed Forces were priding themselves over, something whose very research has sped Vichnayan understanding on artificial bionics by decades. Using pre-existing exoskeleton systems meant to assist those working in construction or manpower-intensive work, the LS50 helped the individual soldier run faster, march faster, lift more, and most importantly of all, shoot more precisely with the integration of datalink in other systems born from the same program.

And because they were on the border, the Guardsmen here enjoyed much more firepower than their counterparts deployed overseas, for they were mechanized. Instead of the light-armored infantry mobility vehicles such as the Tigr-M or Atlet series that were suited for mobile warfare that Vichnaya typically stuck to in times of war, the Guardsmen here were running a wide range of both wheeled and tracked Infantry Fighting Vehicles; BMP-4s, Kurganets-25s, BMP-3Ms, BTR-82Us, and even the ancient but upgraded BMP-2Ms were in common service in this region, further supported by the organic tank regiments in these National Guard divisions running T-22As, T-90Ms, T-80BVMs, and the T-72B series of tanks, all upgraded and modernized to Vichnayan specifications for the modern battlefield.

If that amount of firepower weren't enough, these guardsmen were not standing around in open fields, but in elaborate tunnels and bunker systems in the local forests, mountains, and even camouflaged towns that, instead of harboring civilians, contained large bunkers intended to hold me, machines, and equipment, along with defending against armored assaults. A carryover from the days of the Ustina-Adaki Empire and the Adak Provisional Authority, these bunker systems, though old, were still highly formidable in protecting Vichnayan troops, upgraded throughout the years and constantly installed with modern weaponry such as Anti-Tank missile systems replacing the large bunkers that once held castmate anti-ship guns.

And for the bunkers in the Vichnayan mountains and forests, they were camouflaged against ground and aerial reconnaissance units, blending in with their surroundings so well that one would struggle to find them even up close. Trap door firing ports and pop-up bunkers were common, built-in important rods and crossroads, potential gathering sites, terrain that supported heavy equipment, and for the bunkers that contained long-range missile systems, covering wide firing arcs that could hit targets for dozens of miles out.

That wasn't all, for the vast fields that separated Vichnaya from its neighbors dotted with minefields and missile systems, manned ad guarded by the aforementioned National Guardsmen. The vast minefields that dotted the landscape were not all that conventional, for anti-personnel and anti-tank mines were layered on top of each other, for if an anti-personnel mine was set off, that would in-turn would detonate the anti-tank mine or even a 1,100 lb bomb that was typically dug into the ground. In the forests, the usual complement of anti-personnel/tank mines was there, but they were greatly assisted by MON-50 Clymores and hundreds of spike traps that were dug into the ground, waiting for any soldier to walk into them.

Surrounding the bunkers, these traps would slow any invader down to a bloody standstill, not including the thousands of guns pointed in nearly every direction, from medium machine guns like the MG3A3, all the way to conventional and rocket artillery systems like the 2S19M2 Msta-SM Self-Propelled Howitzer and the BM-30 Smerch MLRS systems that, like the other vehicles, were hidden in the vast cave and bunker systems of the Vichnayan border territories.

And hidden deep within the forests or nearby were multiple batteries of gun and missile anti-air systems, their massive radars perched on top of high mountains and, like the other systems, hidden in pop-up bunkers. Along with the more mobile radars upgraded to detect and assist the S-Missile family in shooting down stealth aircraft, multiple regiments were newly issued the Nebo-M2 counter-stealth radar, using lessons taught from reverse-engineering of the single Ayshirean F-35 given to Vichnaya to more effectively counter stealth aircraft, using a wide range of radio bands to detect, identify, track, and swat stealth aircraft from the skies, assisted greatly by 9K50M Kolyma-M.

A newcomer to Vichnayan Air Defense Forces, the 9K50M Kolyma-M uses a mixture of radar and IRST systems to detect and swat aircraft, and with data linking with other units, allowed other Anti-Air systems to simultaneously track the same target the 9K50M designated. Not only it allowed the Pantsir-S1Ms and 9K332 Tor-M2s found in the region, but it also allowed S-500 and S-300VM Missile Batteries located further away to target precisely what the 9K50M was aiming at.

Even at lower altitudes, aircraft would still not be safe as all previous systems can engage well below tree level, and with the mass deployment of Anti-Air gun systems, MANPADS launchers, 9K33M1s, and 2K22M3 Tunguskas made the entirety of Vichnayan airspace a living nightmare for any invading foe.

Protecting the radars from likely SEAD/DEAD Operations would be hundreds of passive and active emitters concealed in the forests, giving off a multitude of radio waves similar to ones given off from all kinds of radars, essentially making them decoys that will automatically signal if they are destroyed and from which direction. For countermeasures near the Anti-Aircraft and Radar sites, mobile Electronic-Warfare vehicles, chaff launchers, and decoy drones were stationed, intending to jam or at least fool HARM or SEAD Aircraft from actually targeting the anti-aircraft stations.

And that's not even counting the airforce.

In response to a few dozen aerial threats lingering near the border, the Vichnayan Aerospace Forces sprang to action, with around 89 Su-75Ms, 12 Su-57SMs, and 7 Su-60As rushing into the skies with loudouts capable of swatting any aircraft from any range. The most common munitions in the region would be the K-74M2 and K-77M IR and BVRAAM missiles that used the radar and datalink systems from the mother aircraft and ground radar batteries to find their identify and track their targets, with a few modifications to the K-77M giving them a ramjet to quickly engage their target. Nearly all multirole fighters in the Vichnayan Aerospace Forces fitted with AESA and PESA radars, the Vichnayans had no problem detecting the F-35s that lingered nearby, not including the several dozen radars that were data-linked to the Vichnayan stealth crafts.

Like their offensive doctrine, Vichnayan defensive doctrine necessitated a rapid response and denial of all key major environments. And with local terrain suiting the defender and hundreds of years worth of construction, the Vichnayans were well-able to stick to this particular doctrine, using the terrain and local factors to conceal or respond to invading forces, cut their forces into groups, and encircle and destroy them one-by-one. For all of the criticism that variable-thrust engines had received over the years, the Vichnayans continued producing and installing them onto aircraft for the reason that it allowed a quicker take-off, and thus, response time.

To add to the sheer cliff that the attackers would have to go through, several dozen 'Ersatz-Ante' sites were scattered across the borderlands, consisting of abandoned bunkers and fake airfields filled with deactivated aircraft such as the MiG-29 and Su-27 series of aircraft, themselves were given constant paint jobs and cared by uniformed civilian workers to give off the impression that they were fully manned and capable airfields, with nearby anti-air sites only adding to this impression. The real airfields were far more protected, located near the bulk of jamming and anti-air sites are located at, their airfields protected by EW Vehicles and batteries of long-range, medium-range, and short-range missile and gun batteries.

And the Vichnayans weren't idle, as most of the border troops involved were on the move, repositioning in pre-prepared sites and bunkers, all vehicles doing the same in constantly repositioning and concealing themselves to protect against land or air strikes. The massive radars and missile systems that dot the landscape were, again, on the move or hidden in the massive tunnel and cave systems that dot the borderlands, nearby watchmen constantly on the alert if any sudden surge would occur by land or air, armed with short-ranged radios that connected to hundreds of transmitters that allowed every single soldier a 360-Degree and 24/7 idea of the environment around them.

Vichnayan sorties regularly ran alongside the border, watching and occasionally locking onto Riomlerian aircraft just to make them know that damn well knew they were there. If one attempted to fire at a Vichnayan aircraft, then they would have to contend with the land and onboard jamming systems, the hundreds of countermeasures, a swarm of Vichnayan aircraft both in the sky or waiting nearby, and the dozens of missile and gun anti-air systems, all of whom whose missiles didn't even leave a trail when they're launched and, in the cases of the Tors, Tunguskas, Osas, and Kolymas, didn't even require a radar lock to track a target, using a mixture of radar and IRST to guide themselves to any target, and said the target couldn't do much to evade since the missiles were able to handle G-Forces up to nearly 30 Gs.

So adding to this, the already formidable defense of the Vichnayan mainland and the garrisons involved on the border were reinforced with further deployment of 3 Motor Rifle Divisions hailing from the Ground Forces and even the 5th White Guards 'Order of the White Cross in Blue' Tank Division. Transported by rail, they would quickly take up defensive postures in the camouflaged bunkers and trenches hidden deep in the forest, with the 5th Guards Tanks equipped with the same model of tanks found in the 172nd White Guard MRD, capable of nailing enemy vehicles over 6.2 Miles away with an APFSDS round through the use of plasma.

But of course, this was all but a mere training exercise, just like how the Riomlerians stated.

Chapter 08, Act 02 - Eternity In Intellect

Southern Coastline, The Federal Republic of Vichnaya

To think that breaking into Vichnayan Servers, only whose very existence was rampant with AI Systems, would be easy was only the first drop in the bucket.

Like Upper Magica, Vichnaya's servers consisted of layers, multiple layers. Though weak, they were intentionally done to allow the introduction of a variety of systems. The first layer, the outermost and the weakest one was defended by a handful of AI Programs that would distribute antivirus and antimalware programs, along with generally trying to stump the flow of such agents long enough for the AIs to alert those higher up in the chain. From there on, they would open certain access points to contain and flow the attackers into multiple sections to specially designed AIs that acted like antibodies, tearing the foreign invaders piece by piece and using them as a blueprint on how to effectively control and neutralize them.

And from there on, they would only get smarter. The moment the first of the invaders were torn apart and studied, the information gained from the 'Antibody' AI would be rapidly spread to the other AI programs on separate layers, to where they would also control and specifically flow the army of zombie agents into other 'Antibody' AIs, essentially restarting the process until an effective solution was developed. In the meantime, a total of six AIs would be dispatched to deal with the massive breach; 3 named the 'Eyes' and the other 3 named the 'Hands.' Unlike the 'Antibody' AIs that would simply sit there complacently, these 6 AIs would actively hunt for any and ll intrusions, either directly swatting them away or tearing them piece-by-piece to study them, from thereon, improving themselves.

And they multiplied.

For each agent that was successfully neutralized, a pair of 'Hands' and 'Eyes' would be produced in the system to deal with these intrusions. They hunted everywhere, scouring the entire system for foreign invaders, sometimes ripping entire sections of minor and sometimes even major systems to rid them of the invaders. And the deeper the invaders went, the harder t would be to actually push on. Like a trapdoor, each and every intrusion they made would be sealed and they themselves funneled into the Hunting AIs or the Antibody AIs and, like clockwork, would work to identify and improve themselves. Eventually, the Antibody AIs would pump out enough Hunting AIs that millions would cover each layer.

And keep in mind, the layers in Vichnaya's servers numbered up to twenty. With AI systems running rampant, they would scour to identify compromised servers and systems, backdoors, and trapdoors, and either pull them out from the system and remove them or just wipe the entire slate clean after downloading most of the major information. These AIs, along with their overworked handlers, would locate compromised Government and important Pro-Government Influencer accounts and, like the others, either pull them directly out, wipe the slate clean, or in some cases, restore them back to use. Systems that were identified to be the point of intrusion or liable to them were, again, pulled and wiped or reinforced with additional AIs and overworked handlers.

And for every intrusion or agent they located and neutralized, the AIs would multiply, getting smarter each time one was eliminated.

And at the height of all of this, the main control AI, Mara Delta, was in full control. All intrusions were to be sealed and neutralized, and access to the internet for Vichnayan Citizens was revoked until further notice. Military layers were relatively untainted, for those of the actual and advanced AI Programs were located up there, protected by the layers upon layers on firewalls that blocked them and the surge of invaders. These programs, actively fed by information from the AI Programs down below, were not only utilizing them to defend against intruders but actively working to improve upon them several million times a second. Like a certain program, they were highly intelligent and capable of utilizing everything to their advantage, though they were mostly leashed.

And while the reshared news was able to be distributed widely, all it really did was serve to make the average Vichnayan's life harder than usual. These Hunting AIs, along with detecting, locating, and neutralizing intruders and their access points, also located those who directly viewed information from sites, displaying their direct location to operators that would in-turn turn them over to local Regional Police Departments, National Guard Regiments, and for the major cities, the All-Vichnayan Commissariat for Political and Social Security. The absolute moment the breaches occurred, the entire nation, whose cities were in martial law, was locked down, with hundreds of troops flooding the streets, detaining those who were identified to be potential risks.

Those who were identified to be potential risks, typically citizens who voiced their frustrations about the current government, were labeled as potential saboteurs and even traitors. High Treason in Vichnaya was the absolute worst, even above those of murder and rape, and thus, those accused of high treason weren't dragged away to courts to await their inevitable monkey trial but instead simply shot. Those who were identified as risks, though still voiced their displeasure, were dragged away into the endless night. Questioned? Tortured? Murdered? No one knew except the Commissariat.

The only thing that the intrusion into Vichnayan systems really managed to do was piss off the operators and the AIs already there. But regardless, the message was clear, and slowly they pulled back, not after trashing a few more systems and attempting to break the middle layer that is.

However, the few pieces of information the intruders were able to skim were not much, but they did prove to be very important. While nothing important was actually leaked, they were briefly able to see a multitude of projects currently in the works by the multiple Vichnayan companies that partook in them. Some were the usual, mainly improvements in domestic systems, whilst others were a bit juicier, with several projects centered on the development and theoretical production and usage of quantum machines. From radios, computers, and even radars, the Vichnayans were developing in this particular field with vigor and, if the reports were correct, were on the verge of researching and developing improved models of already built designs.

However, the most interesting of all was a particular project. Project Tuz. From the offset, it looked nothing interesting as it was just another AI in the dozens of others already used or in research by Mara Electronic & Aeronautics Limited. However, if one were to look deeper, this particular AI was significantly different from the others. It was highly intelligent, capable of several times the calculations done by other AIs of its era, and, what was most worryingly of all, Vichnayan researchers reported it to be gaining what they called only be described as sentience. Whether or not it was true, or just it is highly capable and adaptive, one may never know, especially with how secretive the entire thing is.

But one thing was certain, whatever the Vichnayans were researching, and which they were doing with vigor and determination, they were opening up pandora's box. No one was certain, even to the researchers themselves, what it may do, and frankly, the Vichnayans may have just opened a zone of endless possibilities.

. . .

The roars of engines filled the night.

Hundreds of engines belonging to cars, trucks, APCs, IFVs, tanks, and aircraft were constantly on the roll. The men and equipment of dozens of equipment, boarding or in the process of boarding transports, with those transports already filled to the brim sailing at high speed with their escorts, dodging the chunks of ice that sailed from the Northern seas. Helicopters, mainly transport, utility, and attack, were dusting from nearby airfields and landing on top transports previously modified to carry them, said helicopters carrying a variety of armaments that allowed them to contend with a wide range of targets, whether they be land, sea, or in the case of the Ka-52Ms and Mi-28NMs, dealing with aerial targets through the use of mounted MANPADs.

The soldiers in all of the formations involved were equipped with advanced pieces of gear from the PMPSP 'Sokol' Program, making the White Guards of Vichnaya an already formidable force into an extremely threatening one, if they weren't already. With all infantrymen who weren't in specialized roles equipped with a variety of smart and rocket munitions, such as loitering munitions and the aging but deadly lightweight RPG-22M, able to engage all manner of targets whether they be standard infantrymen or the heaviest of tanks. Their vehicles such as the Atlets and the BTRs carried additional systems like ATGMs or MANPADs, the deadliest of the systems involved was the 9M200 Ship, a fire-and-forget ATGM copied and improved upon, with a range of nearly 5 km and able to penetrate ERA and the hull in one fell swoop.

Passing down their older equipment to local and National Guard units, the units involved were now fully armed with the latest equipment and vehicles, said vehicles integrating dedicated Artificial Intelligence programs to ease the strain of operating vehicles that were designed for ease of use, thus making them nearly idiot-proof. All vehicles involved were modified to carry the L700V Storozhit Electronic-Warfare System/EW Jammer, protecting crew and troops against mines or Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), chosen for they were cheap, light, and low-cost measure of maximizing protection with little to no system cost or prime power consumption.

For many of the troops involved, not only they were dealing with minor sea sickness but as they found out later, much of the equipment they wore on a daily basis was suited for the cold Vichnayan mainland where the resting temperature in the summer seasons was 40°F ( 4.4°C ), was unsuited for the warm and humid weather of the seas as they neared the Magican Archipeligo, with even their base dress uniform being too thick for even this.

So, with the little they had, the personnel were hastily issued 6Sh200-P Uniforms originally intended for troops who fought in the desert. While lighter and far more breathable, they were rather unsuited for the green and temperate environment of Lower Magica. Though this was mostly only the air assault units that were able to, the rest of the units on the transports would simply just have to contend with sweating in their thick ML-A Individual Wear.

While this was a minor concern to High Command, titled Nebesa, the threat posed by the use of drones or any unmanned guidable platforms was taken seriously. To counteract this, platoons would have specialists attached to them that carried anti-drone rifles, disrupting multiple RF bands simultaneously to force the drone to land or fall out of the sky. The majority of the vehicles involved, mainly the APCs and IFVs, carried 30mm Autocannons that can track both land and air targets on the move, adding yet another force multiplier, especially since they were carrying duel-purpose rounds that could be set to explode mid-air.

As for the ships, they were on edge.

For hours they waited for perfect conditions to slip out of port. When the sky was black, the fog blanketing the ground, and the icy storm kicking and howling, ships from all 4 fleets departed from their ports, carrying with them the aforementioned men, machines, and supplies necessary to conduct operations on a long timescale. The majority of the ships in this fleet were transports; modified Kosatka-Class Transports that carried Tor-MKM SAM Systems that could engage all manner of targets, including anti-ship missiles if they were slow enough and in range.

Though that would not be the main defense of the transports, instead they would be the Lider-Class Destroyers. A technologically advanced ship built with stealth in mind, these destroyers were hard to detect on radar or sonar, and could fill the roles of an anti-air, anti-surface vessel, anti-submarine, and anti-mine warship, and thus, equipped to fill such roles. And with their nuclear powerplants, this 19,000-ton vessel was fast at over 32 knots (59 km/h) and while they typically would only be equipped to last 90 days at sea, the war had made every Captain overstock their shares, so on average they would last around 110~days. As they sailed, their massive radars scanned the seas and skies, their crews ever vigilant for any potential threats that may come their way.

Adding to the several dozen destroyers in the convoys would be nearly all of the Slava-Class and Kirov-Class Cruisers and Battlecruisers. At the turn of the 2020s, the Ministry of Defense had ordered most of them to undergo modifications, adding additional anti-air and anti-surface vessel capabilities that made them floating fortresses. Such was the VVK Eternal Sovereign , a Slava-Class Cruiser that carried P-1000 Vulcan ASMs, S-400 VLS SAMs, and 9M337 Sosna-Rs that replaced most of its aging systems that, along with its upgraded radars whose range that stretched out to nearly 200 miles, made it a formidable threat to face on the sea.

And joining them would be one of the newest additions to the Vichnayan Navy, the Kulchitsky-Class Battlecruiser. Unlike the other Battlecruisers that were multi-mission, this class was suited more to destroying cities and surface vessels, and thus, carried a heavy armament. It carried 288 BTM.131R2(N) "Makara" Theater-range ballistic missiles (4 were tipped with nuclear warheads) and, modified to fit with Vichnayan logistics, 96 3M22 Zircon anti-ship hypersonic cruise missiles, essentially making it Vichnaya's own arsenal ship. And really, that was only the tip of the iceberg on that ship, for it can defend itself against aerial and underwater targets, though just as not as effective as the purpose-built multi-mission ships that Vichnaya favored to field in conflicts.

The centerpiece of the three surface fleets, the Shtorm-Class Aircraft Carriers were massive at over 90,000–100,000 tons, carrying a variety of weapon systems, munitions, and the main offensive arm of the fleet, squadrons of aircraft. Like the VIchnayan Aerospace Forces, the Naval Air Service of the Maritime Forces received a wide range of modern and stealth aircraft to improve their defensive and offensive capabilities, and with that, received munitions befitting such high-end fighters. The main aircraft carried on the Shtorm-Class would be the Sukhoi Su-75UK, a cheaper alternative to the Su-57K that can still carry the same munitions, though far less and lack the capability of really engaging in aerial battles like its bigger cousin. Regardless, the fleets and their attached air arms were still highly formidable, able to deliver warheads on foreheads silently and precisely in combination with all arms of the Armed Forces.

Down below and circling around Lower Magica like sharks, the submarines of the Vichnayan Navy were out and hunting, trailing ships and constantly reporting their locations back to the main fleet. Most of the ships in this fleet were the aging but still formidable Akula-Class Fast Attack Submarines, tear-drop-shaped submarines that could silently move through the water with their recent upgrades to their propulsion and coatings. And because they were nuclear and equipped with 40 torpedoes, they were silent threats that could emerge out of nowhere and sink a handful of ships before anyone ever noticed.

And because they were silent, the previously mentioned 4th White Guards Special Operations Regiment were already on their way toward Magica. Half of the regiment would be directed to land in Lower Magica, armed and dressed with equipment from the 1990s to fit the look of Lower Magicans, whilst the other half would be landed in a nearby battlefield, armed and dressed to look like the Alexandrian Marines, though they were armed with Cheon Woo IR-520s, a rifle that looked similar to their standard service rifles as the Ministry of Defense were unable to attain the exact model. Regardless of their looks, the special forces teams would disperse and then mark targets for the incoming wave of aircraft coming from the mainland. They would avoid direct conflict and rely heavily on stealth and deception to make themselves look the part, the only thing distinguishing them from actual Marines would be a blue/white band wrapped around their helmet cover.

Speaking of the Aerospace Forces, they were quite busy.

Following up on the initial reconnaissance flight and the intel gained by them and satellite footage, the Vichnayan Aerospace Forces sprang to action. Airbases across the country were active and the initial wave of jets would take to the skies, their crews rushing in the dead of night to accurately and perfectly conduct flights in a fast and efficient manner to throw off the satellites of other nations, which were definietly aware of their presence.

Hundreds of flights took off from the Vichnayan mainland, their transponders already off and lifting into the night sky. Being the 1st wave, the Vichnayan aircraft were in their stealth configuration, with intelligence gained from the intrusions into Upper Magican servers, and were mainly equipped with anti-air or precision strike munitions. A few of the aircraft involved, such as the Su-75s and even the Su-60As carried dedicated EW/ECM Jamming pods that can effectively lock down an entire region, not including the jamming pods already carried by standard Vichnayan aircraft that could help deflect or jam missiles long enough for the pilot to maneuver away.

And joining them would be 10 of the Vedomyy-3M Odysseus UCAVs, an experimental series of drones fitted with the Mara-series of artificial intelligence that can automatically navigate the terrain and employ BFM maneuvers should they get into a dogfight. Able to be deployed by launchers concealed in cargo containers, these drones would get their first taste of combat in this very region, serving as a passage if the concept of unmanned fighter aircraft could actually be possible. With no need to worry about G-Forces and fitted with thrust-vectoring engines and ECM Jamming pods, these unmanned fighters carried a wide range of armaments, though the standard would be a mixture of K-77M BVRAAMs and K-74M2 IR-AAMs.

With all the fighters up in the sky, a swarm of S-70 UCAVs was there as well, again controlled by a navigational and flight-assistance AI, though slaved to the manned fighters. They would be the heavy hitters, armed with precision-guided bombs, cruise missiles, and anti-radiation missiles that could accurately destroy or disable any target of their choosing. They used GPS/GLONASS and active guidance to drop their target, so even if guidance was temporarily removed, they would still be able to carry out their maneuvers and adequately defend themselves even if they were intercepted by enemy aircraft.

Even then, the drones wouldn't be able to carry the same amount of munitions as the 10 Tu-200s, Vichnaya's answer to the B-2 Spirit. Carrying a wide amount of ordinance like their smaller S-70 cousins, they were able to hit significantly harder as they all carried KAB-1500LG-Pr-E munitions, a guided bomb with a laser gyro-stabilized seeker and a penetrator warhead, able to penetrate deep into enemy fortifications before detonating, either disabling or just simply collapsing the entire structure or the poor personnel/vehicles that were found to be the targets of such bombs.

Leading this group would be a pair of Sukhoi Su-35SM2s. Fitted with only air-to-air missiles, these two were special, not because of their black coating and red wingtips, but because of their cockpit. Usually, a pilot would be sat there along with their standard navigational and flight assistance AI in standard Vichnayan aircraft, but in this one? There was no pilot, instead, there were merely two cameras and wires that ran all along the cockpit, their cameras glowing a bright blood-red in the crisp night sky. They were fluid in motion, their dances in the sky running so perfectly that it seemed unnatural, which it was. Each pull, turn, and dive were in sync, acting as one rather than different individuals.

The 1st Wave would fly to Lower Magica, and from there on, circle around like vultures. The fighters would disperse to cover the main island of Lower Magica, with most covering the dozens of bombers that would circle over troop concentrations and important sites that were deemed safe enough. The majority of the UCAVs and Tu-200s, mainly the ones carrying the guided bombs, were designated to circle over Metropole de Marx, doing nothing to compromise their stealth signatures whilst. They would wait, wait until the signal was given.

And for the two Sukhoi Su-35SM2s with the strange red cameras? They would be hunting.

Chapter 08, Act 03 - Eternity In Desperation

Inner Maritime Border, Upper Magica - Magican Archipelago

To say Lubya was tired was an extreme understatement.

For hours on end, she had been battling the 'wildlife', the weather, and even her own aircraft as she fled for safety. Frankly speaking, she had failed her mission and all she was trying to do was just survive. With an aircraft that was the equivalent of a brick with little fuel left, all she was doing was following two aircraft, whose pilots couldn't shut up for the better part of a nanosecond, for the past 15-ish minutes as they flew. Eventually, her group was joined by the rest of the squadrons that had shaken those fighters off her tail.

Make no mistake, she was grateful, but the simple fact she was now in unknown territory and surrounded by what she could only count to be around a dozen fighters. Putting it bluntly and as (you) the readers can tell, there was no way she could actually worm her way out of this situation this time, even if she had the ECM pods onboard. SPekaing of them, one of them fired itself out from overuse and the other three were on the verge of doing the same, so the bright side was that if she was (and will) be forced to land, they wouldn't have much to work off of.

...

Oh right, the landing. She forgot about that.

When she first received and trained on the MiG-41, the manuals and briefings specifically taught that not under any circumstance that she nor her craft should be captured, the intelligence that would come with them would be far too valuable for even the dumbest of Vichnaya's enemies. That's why her SEER kits, unlike the others, were packing a few explosives like C4, just so the pilot can destroy all sensitive equipment and material to make actually studying the aircraft far too costly and long to actually conduct.

And she, along with the group escorting her, wasn't too far away from a local airfield. From what she guessed, Lubya was only a few thousand meters out and probably near a battlefield anymore. While she could try banking away running towards the sea and ejecting, one typically doesn't want to be shark bait, a fate Lubya didn't want to experience any time soon.

So when the group passed over scorched lands, Lubya looked to the pilot and knocked on her cockpit. The pilot and (Presumably) his Wizzo was already watching her, and for some reason, she saw something cracking or white back in the backseat. Frankly, she didn't care anymore, her hands already wandering down and gripping the ejection handle located in the middle fo the cockpit.

After a deep breath, she spoke into the mic, still rather exhausted.

UNKNOWN CONTACT
« I just want you two to know, especially the WSO, I understood everything you said. »

Once she transmitted that, Lub ya pulled her aircraft into a sharp climb, and rolled it onto its stomach before diving. Once it was in a sharp dive angle, she rolled it back, deployed the airbrakes, and finally ejected. The moment she pulled the handle, she felt her head rock back and the rush of air slamming against her body several thousand times a second. A beating from the air combined with exhaustion was enough to put Lubya out, silently down towards the ground.

by **Riomler** » Thu Feb 02, 2023 8:19 am

When the riomler navy saw the vichnayan navy and air massing to join the war,They couldnt take that lying down,so they created a blockade,from the east coast stretching south-south east so to not let any military assets go behind there lines,knowing they were unprepared ,they sent a communiqe to alexandria

Code: Select all: Riomler navy command From To Alexandria fleet We neec assistance,vichnaya has more military might then further anticapated,we currently have made a blockade noticing the massive buildup,be we fear this is not enough,since the battle for the west sea is won,can you guys help us?

Daneve
Riomler training ground
Normally,green units like the 153rd were given less important weapons,however,this was important,so with the not so cheap buying of Ar-15's,ak-12's,and even to fill the ranks,m1 garands,so they practiced knowing the weak spots,and where to strike.They were also told to watch the border for movement and indeed there was movement.The air force also noticed the vichnayan air fucking with'em,but they just had to take it,for Riomler could not be the aggresor at all cost,so they waited,The game of patients had begun.

Magican war Riomler casualties(Can we review the total deaths in this war
847,923 Confirmed dead
4,000 wounded
2,134 missing

by **Harrisopia** » Thu Feb 02, 2023 4:53 pm

South-East Blockade
Harrisopian Navy
Sixth Fleet

The Sixth Fleet had set sail as soon as they received word from their Alexiandran brethren.
The Riomlerian Navy had sent a plea out to allied forces.
A new enemy was in the picture. The Republic of Vichnaya.

One and a half years of allied occupation in Riomler had brought about an expectancy of loyalty to the convalescent nation.

The Riomlerian Navy had set about establishing a blockade to combat the advancing Vichnayan forces who had thrown their hat into the conflict.

Allied intelligence had limited knowledge of Vichnaya. They were known as a private nation, protective of their own secrets.
Despite a seemingly clear lack of association with the rest of the Lyceni continent there were stories about Vichnaya. Whispers and tales.
Their technology was frighteningly advanced, particularly in terms of weapons. Their soldiers cold and calculated.
But Harrisopia had faced many threats over the years. As had Alexiandra, as had Magica. If the Vichnayans would bring knives then the allies would bring guns. If the Vichnayans would bring guns then the allies would bring missiles.
Any opposing force would be met head on and no challenge would be ignored.

As the Sixth Fleet cruised along the water, gracefully shadowed by Alexiandran forces, the sight of the blockade soon came into view.

The war had just been launched onto a whole new level.

by **Alexiandra** » Fri Feb 03, 2023 3:42 am

People's Government of Magica

The sky was falling. Across the land, great plumes of smoke sprang up into the heavens as Alexiandra launched one of the most fearsome combined-arms operations in its history. The first ballistic and cruise missiles, streaking in from the fleet to the west, had struck not long after midday, destroying chemical weapons factories, biological research facilities, arsenals suspected of housing WMD launch platforms. Then came the kinetic bombardment - dozens of re-entry vehicles pierced the atmosphere, scattering their deadly payloads over missile silos, command-and-control centres, runways, harbour facilities and other targets of urgent military value. The tungsten carbide was capable of punching right through the most impressive foritifications, so orbital strikes were reserved for the most hardened objectives. Even as these strikes were taking place, Alexiandran special forces operatives were inserting themselves deep into Lower Magican territory, slipping through the patchy communist air defence network to hit anything that wasn't readily visible from above. The Alexiandrans had even managed to slip a few attack helicopters through. The aim, in sum, was nothing other than the complete annihilation of the People's Government's ability to field weapons of mass destruction.

But not everything was going according to plan. All Alexiandran naval units in the Magican Theatre had received a distress signal from their Riomlerian comrades, advising that forces from Vichnaya - Lyceni's northern giant - were entering the war. The Harrisopians were already moving to assist, and the Alexiandrans followed suit. Ninth Fleet began steaming south, to link up with the combined taskforce on the old blockade line; together, they would constitute the largest fleet the Republic had put to sea in decades. Three supercarriers, thirty-four destroyers adapted to a variety of roles, twelve nuclear-powered hunter-killer submarines, dozens of supply ships.

Intelligence on Vichnayan military capabilities was limited, but it did not bode well for the Allies. For years now, Vichnaya had been investing heavily in stealth technology and artificial intelligence, amassing a fleet that was every bit the Republican Navy's technological equal. Back in Lockbourne, the General Staff were hardly excited at the prospect of confronting this force, but they had been left with no choice. Immediately upon receipt of Riomler's call for help, they dispatched additional naval assets to the theatre. They just hoped that the Allied fleet was still afloat by the time they arrived.

Alexiandra

Once the distress signal had been verified, contingency plans came into effect with the remorseless regularity of clockwork. All Vichnayan economic assets in Alexiandra were immediately frozen, and transactions of any kind with the Federal Republic were strictly forbidden. Of course, this would damage Alexiandra's economy as well, but the President and his advisors calculated that - with political instability at home - the Vichnayans had less in the tank for an economic war than the Republic and its Allies did. Alexiandra's few remaining orbital strike platforms began to plot courses that would take them over high-value Vichnayan targets, including known command-and-control sites as well as port facilities. Simultaneously, Alexiandran fighters armed with anti-satellite missiles began flying sorties against known Vichnayan assets operating overhead. The Republic's orbital defence network, while theoretically capable of eliminating enemy satellites, was to be reserved - at least for the time being - for the nightmare scenario of an enemy nuclear strike. Cyber Warfare groups of the Information Defence Bureau began a massive series of distributed denial of service attacks against Vichnayan government and commercial websites, fully anticipating a powerful retaliatory strike - they hoped that, partially occupied with Magica's cyber assets, the Vichnayans would be spread too thin over the digital realm. They also targeted aspects of the Federal Republic's civilian infrastructure, aiming to maximise discontent within the population by knocking out the electrical grid and water management facilities.

Back in the corporeal realm, Alexiandra's conventional preparations proceeded apace. Flight after flight of troops departed from airbases in eastern Alexiandra and on the Harrisopian coast, bound for safe bridgeheads on the Magican archipelago. With communist forces on the retreat, additional landing zones had opened up, meaning a greater throughput of personnel was possible. The nation's air defence grid was put on maximum alert, and civilians stood looked on in awe as tanks and armoured fighting vehicles rolled through major cities. Broadcasts advised members of the public as to their nearest bomb shelters, and reminded them of evacuation procedures they had not been required to memorise since the bad old days of war with Diol and Nitom.

On the Magican islands themselves, the Marines - joined, now, by regular Army troops and armour - were alerted as to the possibility of enemy landings in the near future. Whatever anti-ship weaponry was available was manned, and sentries around Allied beachheads were doubled in anticipation of contact. It was completely unclear whose side the Vichnayans were on - but, given the Federal Republic's proven deceptions, the Alexiandrans scarcely expected a friendly meeting. At the frontline, Allied troops redoubled their efforts to push the communists back into the sea. The Isle de Dieu would be much easier to defend, after all, if they had free disposal over its entire coastline.

In the midst of all this chaotic preparation, a terse, coded message was sent to the Harrisopian, Magican and Riomlerian high commands:

Code: Select all: Reports received of credible threat from Vichnaya. Highly likely that a full-scale invasion imminent. Recommend that we explore the possibility of temporary armistice with Lower Magicans in order to deal jointly with threat to archipelago. We leave this to Magica's discretion. Alexiandran naval units moving to support Riomlerian-Harrisopian defensive line; attack will most likely come from east-northeast, but not certain.

Lyceni was now in a state of total war, beyond anything she had experienced during the Traldonian conflict. And in war, the strong do what they can; the weak suffer what they must. Only time would tell which side was which.

by **Upper Magica** » Fri Feb 03, 2023 6:06 am

Somewhere in the Empire of Magica

War is a dreadful business. Many in the South didn't want war - but after the indiscriminate terror bombings of cities all across the Archipelago - nearly everyone was bound and determined to finish this fight, by God, once and for all time. Especially the reactionist classes of the Empire - the nobility majeur, the petit-nobility, and petit-bourgeoisie, who remained dominant as landowners, landlords, and, to a smaller extent than any other demographic, successful exemplars of the capitalist class. But, as powerful as these people were, they were dissatisfied.

For these people were being disenfranchised - a known liberal, Artur-Morgan, crown prince of the Empire, was at the head of the ship of state. There had been, prior to the War, talk of a constitution. Such a thing was anathema to these people living in the past. Their petty estates were gradually being nationalized and sold off to peasants and industrialists at the point of a gun, while, instead of following custom and bequeathing extinct titles to extended family - the properties of extinct families and houses were instead bequeathed to the State. It was clear what was happening - the Regent intended on, once and for all, destroying the Nobility as an effective force.

Like all monarchs of the old style, and rightfully so, the Empire ruled by the application of force when consent could not be found. Their existing dissatisfaction might have been, perhaps, hypocritical, but this was not the topic of the day.

When it came to the subject of war with Vichnaya - by all accounts a brother state and one that aligned closely with the values of these people assembled here today in this dark dingy room in the back halls of what was otherwise a bustling estate holding a victory ball in the name of the Navy, bereft of any electronic device to listen in on the outright treasonous words being spoken at this very moment - the reaction ranged from terrified to incensed to almost revolutionary.

Men - exclusively men - were assembled today, cut from a variety of different cloths. There were officers of the Imperial Army and Navy, judges, nobles, businessmen, politicians, local leaders. Perhaps the most notable one was the Marshal - Anastazio de Brocchi la Vela, who had served as the last Chief of State and Regent of the Empire during the Regency's death throes against the 'Wind of Change' of the early 80s. He was middle-aged then - now, he was old, practically at death's doorstep.

It is said that people get older, people become wiser. In the case of Marshal la Vela, it was not so, for today he was engaging in the same activities as he was so long ago: conspiring and plotting against progress.

But there had been another visitor, much to everyone's surprise - in awe, the room bent the knee.

Emergency Operations Center 'Two' - L'Anse à la Médée - Anvil Island, Empire of Magica

Everyone looked around at this old hotel as they shuffled in; it had been hastily renovated for the arrival of Government. Grand Admiral Contarini suspected that only the most necessary work had been done to make this building suitable for habitation. Everyone - guards, staffers, chefs, every Chief of Staff and every Minister had been instructed to leave any and all electronic devices at home for this one until Section 10 could clear their personal devices. He didn't much like the smartphone anyway - the kids were too overdependent on them.

Along with the Government were the Harrisopian and Alexiandran ambassadors; suitable temporary embassies had not been sited in the rush to leave Aquis. Flying in from across the Empire were the section chiefs of the Imperial Security Bureau, who had arrived prior to the Government. War Cabinet meetings were exceedingly rare now; especially with the threat of weapons of mass destruction looming over everyone's head.

In but a moment, the meeting started: there was no time for formalities to lose.

Contarini propped his jackboots onto the ratty conference table; it wasn't anything nice, so there was no loss. "Start. Mr. Gonzalez, you have the floor."

The man looked like he hadn't slept for years, truth be told, but he began speaking anyway. "We've confirmed a Vichnayan cyberattack on our digital infrastructure. It was large-scale, and it was aimed toward our force dispositions, so on, so forth, technical specifications and such. Civilian sector's taken a great deal of losses too; probably low billions, no more than ten. They stopped after a counterattack on their own 'net - which was...resilient, to say the least, but we achieved good successes."

"There's a lot of washing machines and refrigerators out." one of the staffers said - probably from another Security Bureau section.

"Yep. We're covering up the usage of our zero-day exploits on our tech - something like a buffer error. Magican Industrial Combine's already putting out 'patches' and self-installation media."

Contarini nodded, dismissing the irrelevant conversation currently taking place. "So, representing the Armed Forces, I can safely say our dispositions have been compromised, then - theater-wide. We'll have to make tactical adjustments to craft basing, air defense."

He shook his head. "This is a fucking debacle. It's nobody's fault; we at least expected Plan 9, so we were able to take countermeasures against the worst of it. This? This shit came out of the blue." He sighed. "The only good news is the success of our operation to suppress enemy air defense and WMD capabilities undertaken by the Imperial Air Force and the Allied air and naval forces so far and the encirclement of the Reds in Drande. Hell, nearly every arm of the Reds capable of power projection is off the table, save for their Inner Sea Fleet."

Contarini frowned. "I want to address something right off the bat. Reports are saying they're using artificial intelligence? And they've got sentient ones in development?"

"That's correct, sir. Section 10's tied up repairing damage. Data losses - mostly rudimentary things, government records and such, are huge. Once we're done, though - our priority is going to be examining AI countermeasures."

"No, our priority now is examining AI countermeasures. We can bring in the private sector for the little shit, national security risks be damned. Gentlemen, ladies - this is big. Manhattan Project big. As such - "

Contarini looked at Mr. Alain Decoux, chief for Section 11 of the Imperial Security Bureau, also known as the Department of Social Order: the Empire's secret police. "Get a list together of every professor, every academic, anyone at all with relevant skills and knowledge in the field of artificial intelligence - and scoop them up. While you're at it, start interning Vichnayan nationals, too. Anyone that's important enough to warrant referral to Section XIII, like AI researchers, for example, send them to a black site."

"Mr. Gonzalez, you are to help Mr. Decoux in this endeavor. As of right now, everyone you put on that list is in Imperial service. Any and all information on Vichnayan AI, if it wasn't already, is now top secret - eyes only. I want all necessary materials, data, equipment and personnel put together and ready to go on the next flights out to Lockbourne. By tomorrow at the latest - I want it done today. If they need their families, pets, whatever sent for - we'll do it, but get them out of here now. I want work to start as soon as possible."

He then looked at the Alexiandran ambassador to the Empire of Magica. The two ambassadors from Harrisopia and Alexiandra had basically become ministers without portfolio in the Imperial War Cabinet; such was the level of cooperation between the Empire and its allies. "Ambassador Witt, I trust we have your government's cooperation in securing for our blooming initiative a black site? Truth be told," the Admiral looked at the Harrisopian ambassador, "we'd like both your nations' technical expertise on this particular nut, too. We don't ask for help often - we're a proud people - but the faster this problem gets solved, the better."

"I'll put in a request to the Government for a location, but in regards to technical aid, we'll have to see what can be scrounged up. I can't say whether or not the Republic has any technical expertise with artificial intelligence off of the top of my head; I don't follow that kind of stuff." the Ambassador said.

"We'll have functional neural nets of both branches of AIA with us as well as, basically, the sum of our knowledge of both our own state of the art as well as salvaged examples of Vichnayan AI code samples, hacking tools, worms, computer virii in isolated and inert storage with us on the flight for your people to examine. And we'll need significant server architecture put in place for our facility, too - closed off from anything resembling the Internet for everyone's protection."

"What the hell is AIA?" the Harrisopian ambassador asked. The room went silent. Contarini pulled out two manila folders, passing one each to the ambassadors. Stamped in ominous red on the front cover were the words:

AIA 6.0 ACCOUNTABILITY & ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM
AIA 7.0 (PROTOTYPE) INFORMATION WARFARE SYSTEM
TECHNICAL READOUT
TOP SECRET - EYES ONLY

Northern Isle de Dieu - Empire of Magica

The CV90/120s of the 10th Armored Brigade had been duelling with T-80-IIs for the better part of the evening. The terrain was once jungle, like much of the Archipelago - cleared a century ago for new farmland. These artificial plains were tank country; and in one of the few moments in the War, the Communists had an edge, something the Empire didn't already have - these dual-barreled and upsized T-80s did not fire in tandem, but fired one after the other, increasing their fire rate, and thus capability to suppress enemy positioning by a significant margin. This was both a technological limitation of the autoloader as well as a desired effect.

Meanwhile, the men of the 204th Mechanized Division trundled along in their LAV-IIIs and Bradley IFVs towards the coast, well buttoned up in case the worst passed: another chemical attack. Above them were AH-64 'Longbows', hurtling barrages of rocket fire into what were presumably concentrations of tanks and troops.

"Dismount!" yelled the Sergeant from inside the LAV, muffled slightly through the gas-mask he was wearing. The troops, armed with the CAR-10, some mounted with M203s, while others wielded the M60 and the new AR-11 'Terminator' - a grenade launcher with a rifle attachment, essentially, featuring advanced infrared-thermal optics - jumped out of the APC.

The men stormed forward, supported by their battle carrier, laying down suppressive fire with their AR-10s and M60s, while grenadiers shot both airburst and 40mm high explosive into the enemy's earthworks. One after the other, they advanced, supporting each other.

The Sergeant, typical of the lead-by-example doctrine of Imperial NCOs and officers, was the first to enter the trench line, shooting a Red Magican dead with his carbine. Some of the others followed suit, while most of the squad took position above the trench line, shooting any of their enemy that dared make an escape from their entrenchments dead.

It didn't take long for the sounds of "Stop! We give up - don't shoot!" to start emerging from the enemy line.

The Sergeant loved the sight of pale-green rubber suits emerging, hands up - and the sound of the clattering of AK rifles onto the ground.

Emergency Operations Center 'One', Aquis, Empire of Magica

The Crown Prince shook, tearing up the note in rage.

"Armistice?! With Yuvaraj?! Are thou mad?!"

The poor Alexiandran messenger flinched at the outburst.

Artur-Morgan recomposed himself. "I... I apologize. You're just a messenger; but imagine this:"

"If Lockbourne had been bombed to its foundations - along with many other cities across your nation - during the Traldonian War, there would simply be no Traldonia, whether or not there existed any legal claim to their territories. There would be no thought to a peace, however temporary."

He sat down at his desk, and began writing. "But, that argument is pointless to your ears. Stay - I have a document for you to return to your countrymen."

To the Honorable Pres. Montferrat of the Republic of Alexiandra -

It is, perhaps, no surprise that I must categorically refuse any idea of reconciliation or armistice, however temporary, with the People's Government of Magica.

Such an idea is foolhardy, as the average Magican citizen can tell you. Ask the refugees now teeming in their tens of thousands in both your country and Harrisopia. Many of our cities are scarred from hundreds of rocket strikes that have targeted civilians. Aquis, our capital city, with all its historical buildings, is in an objective state of ruin. Many symbols of our culture are burned, blackened shells. Hundreds of thousands of our loved ones have been consumed by this conflagration.

At the root of this evil is the People's Government of Magica and 'High Marshal' Yuval Yuvaraj. This war has been deliberately started, thoroughly planned out, and bloodily executed by this thuggish government and its criminal ringleader.

When this war started, I said we would fight to the last, and we will. It matters not if the Adaks harbor ambitions of - ironically enough - imperialism in the Archipelago.

We will fight them, too.

Best,
Artur-Morgan de Sacre-Feu, Regent of the Empire, Prince of Aquis

Meanwhile, things were now afoot. Any Vichnayan citizens resident or visiting the Empire were, in one fell swoop, 'black bagged' by agents of the Department of Social Order - a honor reserved for identified MSS agents and assets, and in times long past, dissidents to the Regency. Their destinations would be the system of PW camps set up for the intake of People's Government soldiers, for no suitable internment facilities existed. For others, employed in careers conducive to the Empire's own research efforts, their destinations were Section XIII black sites. For them, a different kind of waterboarding - and not of the leisurely kind - would await them unless they were cooperative with their thorough regimen of questioning.

In a section of jungle on Anvil Island, meanwhile, the authorities launched a veritable manhunt for another Vichnayan citizen that had taken a wrong flight. Section XIII special operators and Territorial Army troops combed through the jungle searching relentlessly for a certain pilot that had slipped through the Air Force's fingers. However, the wreck of the mysterious aircraft they manned wasn't hard to spot - and before long, Imperial investigators were butchering what remained like a slaughtered pig, cataloguing every salvageable part and material.

Class II and Class III conscripts were formally given muster orders - and a long-thought-dead institution, the Local Defense Volunteers, was revived in cities and rural districts across the Empire in order to train civilians not otherwise eligible for service, such as women, teenagers, and men above 45 in rudimentary IED creation and firearms usage by qualified Territorial Army instructors.

Meanwhile, changes took place at sea - the battleships of the Imperial Navy formed the backbone of the Inner Sea Fleet, suitable in the upcoming conflict only for shore-bombardment. The Empire's carriers, missile cruisers, and singular arsenal ship formed the backbone of the Imperial Grand Fleet - a singular unified naval command only created once before: during the Great War.

Excepting those five battleships, four cruisers, six destroyers, and ten frigates diverted to the Inner Sea, the Grand Fleet totalled two supercarriers, one arsenal ship, four fleet carriers, eight missile cruisers, nineteen destroyers, and twenty-six frigates, all of which were sent to support the Alexiandran and Riomlerian fleets.

Below this fleet were fourteen attack submarines, nuclear powered, all of the Balor-class. The Empire's ailing diesel-submarine fleet had been retired - though older ships stricken from the Fleet lists that were still in mothballs were now being brought back out for service one last time - this included the Lych-class diesel submarines.

And, even before the following message was given to the Vichnayan charge d'affaires - and the world at large - a Balor-class submarine had spotted a Vichnayan submarine skulking against the sea floor near the shoals of Lower Magica.

Without hesitation, it fired.

FROM: The Foreign Ministry of the Empire of Magica
TO: The Vichnayan Charge d'Affaires representing the Federal Republic of Vichnaya
CC: The Foreign Ministries of the Kingdom of Harrisopia, the Republic of Alexiandra

Recognizing that our Government has discerned the perpetrators of the recent cyberattack against Imperial Government digital assets, as well as those digital assets under the ownership of Imperial citizens, to be none other than state actors of the Federal Republic of Vichnaya,

Recognizing that the Federal Republic of Vichnaya has lied about certain unfriendly military maneuvers currently ongoing in the Northern Sea,

Recognizing that the Federal Republic of Vichnaya's military forces have been confirmed to have violated Imperial airspace in an apparent reconnaissance flight over Our territory,

We hereby issue this letter formally severing diplomatic contact between our two nations and expulsing your Ambassador from our country. We now recognize our true relations with your country, and you have chosen the path of hostility against the Empire of Magica, cloaked in lies of military exercises. As such, we formally demand the standing down of Vichnayan offensive assets currently en-route to the sovereign territory of the Empire of Magica.

If the singular term of this ultimatum is not complied with within twenty-four hours of the transmission of this communique, the Federal Republic of Vichnaya and the Empire of Magica will be considered to be engaged in a formal state of war.

by **Riomler** » Fri Feb 03, 2023 10:49 am

Blockade line
4th Riomler fleet
Consisting of 18 destoyers
11 subs
3 carriers
20 cruisers
____________

Code: Select all: Riomler fleet:telex Allies encription:[b]HIGH[/b] We have to hold the lines here,if they get through,our troops in the magican front will die,and we will have lost,the time for war has come,so we shall fight to the last man,if we let them pass,who knows what will happen to our families back home?So let us fight for the future

Derendal
The orders came in,vichnaya had commited a act of war,30,000 men would carefully cross the border and make a front.while the other 230,000 would build trenches and artillery placements in case of a counter attack,the attack is also guarded by 200 f-35's and 300 b-1 bombers to bomb enemy positions.

Metrople de marx
Rex company

The skirmishes in the city were spradic ,and deadly as the police force of the communist,however,the Riomler para troopers were slowly pushing towards the goverment building ,attempting to capture goverment officials.

by **Harrisopia** » Fri Feb 03, 2023 5:25 pm

Harrisopia, Tritous
Magican Refugee Centre
King Theon Jadeous

The early days of the war had seen few Magicans come to Harrisopia for aid. Hospital patients mostly, sent to the Kingdom's main medical centres in order to ease the burden on Magica during the conflict. But as war time rolled on the floodgates had opened.

Hundreds of Magican citizens would come each week, transported by ship down the supply line established between NB Hemston and Sword Beach.
From there they were brought to the capital by train, welcomed warmly by the Harrisopian public.

Within days they would be assigned houses to reside in, food and water to refuel them and even social events and activities to participate in order to feel more at home.

If a house could not be found then they would stay at the Tritous Refugee Centre. A luxury hotel by all accounts with staff there working to keep them comfortable.
For those staying there they could expect a weekly appearance from King Theon who had made it a routine to come visit the Magicans in order to lift their mood.

The King would often tell them about the war, reciting tales of victories for the allied forces.
Morale propaganda is what many would dismiss it as. But the King cared about these people, adopting them as his own, and he felt stories to uplift moods was better than crushing hope.

After several hours of boasting about the allies' naval supremacy over their enemies King Theon returned to the Royal Palace, sitting on his throne alone.
He brooded in silence for at least an hour, musing, pondering.
He could feel his mood slipping to dreary depths when he saw his fiance enter the room.
A small smile appeared on his face as, without a word, their lips met.

King Theon almost never believed in love. He felt it was a myth for foolish. If he were ever to be married it would be to a political figure for nothing more than traditional reasons. Then he met Penelope and the myth of love became real life.

"You look troubled dear. What's wrong?" His fiance inquired, stroking his cheek affectionately.

King Theon sighed

"I visited the centre again today. I think the Magicans are starting to feel unconvinced by my stories."

Penelope smiled sadly

"You are offering them hope and protection. Our soldiers are fighting hard Theon. There is nothing more than can be done."

"Not by me." King Theon said

Penelope raised her eyebrows

King Theon continued

"The Magicans are strong people. But their lack of home is hurting them. I feel like the only thing that would truly lift their spirits is a royal figure of their own. I am going to send word out to the Crown Prince Artur-Morgan.
He is a brave boy and he wants to stay in his homeland during the war. But his survival is essential and his people here need him. I will send a message through our forces. Hopefully he will accept safe passage to Harrisopia. Then he can be with his people and he can be safe until this conflict is over."

Penelope looked unconvinced but laid her head on the King's shoulder.
"Whatever you think is best Your Highness."

by **Upper Magica** » Sun Feb 05, 2023 11:34 pm

Flight 890, Magican Airlines, Above the Southern Strait

"What about the Synchronized Hyper-Optimized Data Access Network? That's important-sounding enough to throw around."

"No, that sounds too generic. Heuristically programmed Algorithmic Computer?" "You all aren't thinking advanced enough. What about, uh, Deep Thought?"

The aircraft had been in flight for some time. Section 10's project leads quickly chosen for this project had gathered in a row of seating, empty save for these managers and their staffers. The topic at hand: the name of their project. It was, perhaps, inevitable that the enemy and other neutral nations might catch wind of what they were up to via, perhaps, someone seeing the wrong file. If the existence of a 'Project Death Star' got out, it'd be pretty obvious what the Empire was up to.

Likewise, no intelligence service paying attention that was worth its salt would witness the conscription en-masse of AI researchers, neural net specialists, malicious code writers, black-hat and white-hat hackers, server architecture engineers, software programmers, network administrators, and so on and believe that something like 'the Cancer Termination Initiative' was anything but a hard push into something relating towards the digital sciences - especially so close to the beginning of hostilities with an advanced enemy such as Vichnaya. Therefore, misdirection was required at all levels.

It would be easy enough to mask the acquisition of advanced server and IT infrastructure, given the recent cyberattack into Magican networks. It would be easy enough to mask the movement of Magican individuals overseas, for humanitarian flights and evacuation ships were taking place on a day-to-day basis.

It would be easy enough to allocate each Ministry extra sums of money, routing that money to hidden bank accounts, then converting that money into crypto-coin, exchanging it for foreign currency, then deposited into the accounts of shell corporations that then invested into non-existent humanitarian aid programs and agencies established for the poor and wretched across Lyceni, who paid handsome sums to yet more shell companies specializing, on paper, in the commodities business - that then fed back into a set of certain banks operated in the shadows by Section XIII, which would then feed funds into the accounts of the Project's many arms of procurement currently being set up and disguising themselves as limited-liability ventures.

It would not be easy to disguise the absence of the Empire's best and brightest in the field of artificial intelligence. Using the Army as cover, many were 'conscripted' fraudulently, despite many of these individuals having draft exemptions due to their education. Legal battles were fought between the State on one side - and the State's proxies on the other. In other cases, some came up 'dead' - though not all at once. To this end, the Empire hired the largely-unemployed special effects sector of the entertainment industry in order to create true-to-form replica bodies for these supposedly dead people for the funerals that followed - though not all at once, in order to create a sense of plausibility. In other cases, some were sentenced to entirely nonexistent prisons and jails.

But this was a topic for another time. One of the staffers began reciting a verse in the middle of the meeting abruptly. "The angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss."

"Revelations 9:1. It's appropriate, given it's a country with a star on their flag that just unlocked this Pandora's Box."

"...You're on to something. How about... Revelation?"

Everyone in the room nodded. "Revelation's a good one. Good work."

Secure Location, Lockbourne, Republic of Alexiandra

This hospital room - to be specific, hospice room, was abuzz with activity. In the dead of night, this ward's singular patient had begun to code, ringing alarm bells and pagers to the duty nurses and the physicians stationed here, who all ran, bringing all variety of medical equipment. Carts clattered through the hallways.

In the bed, surrounded by doctors furiously working to correct the rhythm of his heart lie a wizened old man - at least seventy five, by anyone's judgment. In reality - he was but barely sixty-one years of age.

It is often said that power corrupts. Although this might be true to those who so freely shirk power's responsibility to abuse it in small and inconsequential ways and large ways both, this man was not one of those people. Like his father had before him, he took his position of power seriously.

In the right hands - power kills its recipients.

As he lie in the last minutes of his long sleep, he dreamed of times past.

Palace of the Regency, Old Aquis - Empire of Lower Magica
August 17, 1981

As workers shuffled throughout the old building, pitching down old portraits of the de Magie dynasty and the military dictators that followed their downfall, Crown Prince Morgan Pius took in the ancient throne room. Many of its facades were militaristic. Brutal. Images of battles long past filled in canvas and set in marble columns, weaponry proudly mounted on display - it reminded him of an old Renaissance fair set.

Before long, steps of jackboots audible over the headphones he'd had wired to the loud electronic music playing from his Walker Companion that took up the majority of the room in his suit pocket came from behind; he looked instinctively. To his relief, it was a portly middle-aged man adorned in fine military dress.

His father.

Morgan Pius hit a button on his tape player, taking off his headphones. "What have I told you about playing that accursed thing?" The man smiled. "In public."

"It's unbecoming of a future monarch. Yes, I know. I've heard the speech a thousand times." Morgan Pius adopted a mocking tone of voice, reciting word for word: "An Emperor should be alert at all times, blah, blah, blah, most of all to the needs of the subjects."

Emperor Morgan VII frowned. "Do you know why that is, son?" He folded his arms. "In the times of the last Empire, the de Magie were content to gorge themselves on the hard-earned tax florin of the people. Have you ever heard the term: 'let them eat cake'?"

"Yes, I've been studying. Great Northern Famine of 1940 - when Mu tribal chiefs approached the Emperor Ricard for aid, he literally said to their face after hearing of the terrible cassava harvest and yam blight - 'why not let them eat cake?' implying they ought to have grown wheat or something, ignoring that the North is absolutely awful for wheat-growing. It was one of the breaking points the Northerners had with the Empire."

His father looked impressed. "That's good. It is one of your responsibilities, too, to be well educated and well informed at all times in your life in order to make informed decisions. Remember: the throne is a burden we carry for the Magican people. It isn't the other way around, where we are a burden to carry. It is our lot to serve, not be served. Being born a royal, son.. it is a curse, not a life of luxury by any means."

"We weren't born royal, though, Father. We-"

"But your sons and daughters will be. So will your grandchildren." He clapped Morgan Pius on the back, causing the teenager to flinch. "We've got a coronation to attend."

They turned towards the light of the door, his father looking down at him one last time.

"They're all waiting for us." he said, and the two left.

Emergency Operations Center 'One', Aquis, Empire of Magica
Present Day

The Crown Prince studied the day's various reports.

He was interrupted in his thoughts by the entrance of none other than the nameless head of Section XIII. And curiously - a priest - the head of the Magican Cathar Church, to be precise.. His curiosity turned to dread rapidly as soon as he realized why, precisely, a priest would be here; he was not deathly ill like...

The Emperor.

As soon as he made the realization, a team of servants bearing the Imperial regalia entered the room.

"Your Majesty," the head of Section XIII spoke solemnly, "your father, Emperor Morgan VIII has passed in his sleep. It was peaceful. The choice is no longer yours as to whether or not to remain in Aquis. You will be evacuated by the Imperial Guard and Special Activities troops to Harrisopia; we have accepted the suggestion of evacuation there on your behalf. Grand Admiral Contarini, having taken over the majority of business of state, will continue to act in that capacity as your Viceroy here. We will call for you as soon as the security situation improves."

"But first, we must officially coronate you as per the Law on Succession. We already have the required witnesses, your Majesty."

Artur-Morgan sat back down in shock. Or was it Morgan the Ninth? Arthur the Second?

His father was dead. Like a zombie, thinking of nothing else, he focused on the fact. Before he knew it, he was seated upon a golden throne nestled in a dusty storage room before dozens, crown and scepter in hand, reciting some kind of oath. He couldn't hear much, and didn't care to.

"....I, Arthur Imperator, do so solemnly swear."

"Then I, the Father Spiritual, Franciscus de Pereira, as head of the Magican Cathar Church, hereby confirm your appointment in the eyes of God and the Law. Rise, Arthur - second of his name, Emperor of Magica, Lord of the Southwestern Seas, King-Emperor of the tribes of Mu. Long live the Emperor and the Empire."

He offered out his hand, dragging the Emperor close as Franciscus helped him up, whispering, as the attendees of this coronation knelt in prayer: "I wish this had been under better circumstances. Your father would be proud of your leadership in this troubling month. There is a reason you were heir-designate; you've become a fine young man. I wish I could say the same of your elder brother."

And just as quick, he was donned in a simple cloak concealing his person, and was ushered above ground to an awaiting convoy of vehicles and both troops clad in all-black combat dress and the combat uniform of the Guard - the light assaulted his eyes that had not seen sun in a few days. As the convoy, escorted by helicopters and fighters above, began to move, so too did his mind, moving past the death of his father, beginning to dwell on an equally daunting fact:

He was now the Emperor.

Command Center Rhea - Metropole de Marx

Yuval Yuvaraj emerged from his hiding place - the stink of ages releasing itself from unwashed pores. His project was now complete.

But now he noticed something - something was amiss. There was nobody left in the bunker. The lights were flickering, as if the electric was ill-maintained.

Had he been... abandoned? Everyone had to be waiting for him in Aquis; and there would be grave consequences for each and every one of his staff. He stepped up to the surface stairwell, seeing not a soul on his ascent. When he reached the House of the People's first floor - there was nobody.

Nobody but a man wearing a strange uniform with a crimson patch flag adorning his shoulder. This one would serve well enough to vent his rage upon, he thought.

"Oi, you there! Where is everyone?!"

As the uniform turned - Yuvaraj realized something. The flag - it was crimson with gold - the flag of 'Riomler'. Without thinking, the High Marshal unholstered his gun - only to feel the sear of bullets striking him from every direction.

And as the cold overtook Yuvaraj - he contemplated. Everything was fine: how had it come to this?

Then he realized with his last breath. He had been betrayed, as he had betrayed the Mahendra dynasty.

by **Vichnaya** » Mon Feb 06, 2023 5:59 am

Chapter 09, Act 01 - Eternity In Coordination

Darinista-Osnovnoy, Constis Oblast

"Arise, vast country! Arise for a fight to the death!"

In a world of drones, thermal technology, and powerful optics, it is quite hard to conceal one from many, especially when you're moving entire theatres.

Such was the case for the Riomlerians who, in their intrusion into the border, found themselves the attention of the Vichnayan border guards and nearby National Guard Divisions. With the fields scattered with mines and booby-traps, it was only eventually that one would set them off, more rather, multiple. The response was short and brutal, the Vichnayan Divisions, having access to the best optics afforded by money and watching from what seemed to be every blade of grass, opened up with everything they had. Passing through a border such as this was considerably harder when you had to contend with endless fields of anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines, barbed wire, spike traps, and most importantly of all, the 10+ Motor Rifle, Mechanized, and Tank Divisions already stationed on the border, watching their every move as they were perched in the mountains, forests, and the wide and massive tunnel and bunker complexes that made up Vichnaya's border defenses.

The troops in the bunkers, the National Guard and Motor Rifle Division Infantrymen, were the first to respond to the influx of Riomlerian troops, opening up with hails of rounds from every weapon system they had on them. From the rifles all the way to mortar and artillery pieces everything was opening up on the Riomlerians, the Vichnayans essentially having a turkey shoot as their Augmented-Reality Networked Thermal Goggles, of whom had thermal and laser-rangefinding systems installed on them, simply just had to point and shoot at whatever they were targeting from. Not only this but because each Vichnayan Infantrymen were equipped with a Hybrid Laser Rangefinder and Target Designator, each squad would be able to accurately call in support assets from land, air, or sea.

To keep groups of Riomlerians pinned down was a weapon widely feared across the globe, known for its distinct and deafeningly loud and fast rate of fire, the Allemand MG3A3, and by far the most common machine gun in the Vichnayan Armed Forces. With over 1,200 rounds per minute, multiple groups of MG3A3 gunners would overlay their fire, maximizing the efficiency and damage each group could make. Far more mobile, Machine gunners with the venerable Adaki RPK-16 would push up, stop, and lay down fire as the rest of the infantry laid down their own hails of fire, and in the cases of the Combat Engineering sections, launched volleys of thermobaric warheads at any group that was seen in the open.

And at this time, the troops were able to accurately mark down anything of interest with the multitude of devices at their disposal to them, using radios and individual battlefield-management devices to constantly mark down any important locations to their fellow squad mates, their platoon leaders, and regimental commanders, and with every single soldier already having access to the Mara Tracking and Safety Chips, could give Divisional and Front Commanders and accurate, live, and up-to-date account of the situation on the front. Their radios and movements were heavily protected and encrypted by the Mara-Delat AI, advanced encryption and frequency hopping modes, and covered by the dozens of Electronic-Warfare Stations that dotted the entire defensive line, constantly jamming or outright denying Riomlerian troops from communicating with each other other than talking to each other in person.

And even then, that wasn't exactly easy as the Vichnayans constantly shook the battlefield with the roars of rifles, machine guns, grenades, rockets, cannons, and howitzer fire, the ground shaking for each and every second as the bombardments from the Vichnayan side only continued to increase in intensity. Every single shot was accurate, constantly suppressing the enemy in volleys of bullets and explosives, or blinding them in the heavy and burning smoke of white phosphorus munitions, falling from the skies the same way ran does in a tropical storm.

ATGM teams, armed with advanced anti-tank systems such as the AT-2A-K, RB57 NLAW, FGM-148D, and 9M200 Top-Attakc ATGMs, engaged anything that even remotely looked like a vehicle. Regardless of whether it was a tank, a truck, an APC/IFV, or even an armored car, they would engage them with terrifyingly precise fire, constantly repositioning so as to not have their locations tracked and marked for elimination.

...Though that would be only for the troops who were outside; rare. For the majority of the Vichnayan troops in the area would be shielded in fully-ventilated, thick, and armored steel-reinforced concrete bunkers, their environments covered by a multitude of radio relaying stations, explosive and non-explosive defensive works, cameras, automated turrets, armored cameras with thermal-sights, and themselves who had thermal vision/augmented reality goggles that essentially gave them a cheat sheet.

Still slowed down by the wide fields littered with mines and traps, the Riomlerians would find themselves the target of nearby artillery and rocket strikes, ranging from 122-mm HE Rockets from 9A53-G Tornados, all way to the punishing strikes from 220-mm Thermobaric Rockets from TOS-1M and TOS-2 MLRS Systems. These batteries, typically acting in four or six, would unleash an unyielding volley that would cover entire grid sectors, and in the cases of the TOS-2 Thermobaric Rocket Systems, wipe entire platoons out with a single strike. The TOS Series of MLRS Systems was especially nasty to infantry as, being designed to destroy buildings but fully capable of engaging other targets, would be able to wipe out entire grid squares, a single rocket releasing its fuel-air explosive mixture before detonating, and with a range of over 10-15km, these systems would be more than capable of engaging anywhere the troops requested them to be.

And to add to this nearby towed and self-propelled artillery guns stationed nearby would rain down a hellish amount of shells onto groups of Riomlerians, identified defensive and staging grounds, supply depots, command and control centers, artillery emplacements, troop concentrations; 152mm, 155mm, 122mm, and 120mm howitzers and mortars never resting for a second as they bombarded any advance to a standstill, their shots guided by GPS/GLONASS, and accurate readings from the troops at the front with laser rangefinders, and the most important technology to date in modern warfare; drones.

Using a mixture of shells, ranging from standard dumb HE Shells, all the way to the M153 “Holem” guided artillery shells fired by 155mm Howitzers, the Vichnayans would make the lives of all Riomlerian soldiers partaking in this invasion of the Vichnayan motherland absolute and literal hell. The M153 “Holem” Shells, a Ramjet Extreme Range Guided High Explosive Shell, could reach targets up to 160 kilometers away, a capability the Vichnayans didn't fail to utilize. Aside from targeting the aforementioned sites, the Vichnayans would target the C4I Centers located further away and even railyards or railroads that Riomler used to ferry troops to the frontline.

And the shorter-ranged shells weren't lacking, for the Vichnayans were using them in a rather peculiar manner. Using the M151S White Phosphorus Shells to flush out enemy infantry, and in conjunction with other artillery, anti-tank, and small-arms fire, absolutely destroy entire groups of infantry with M151A2/M152 High-Explosive Shells that were set to airburst, exploding 4-16 meters above an enemy's forehead and raining down an ungodly amount of shrapnel, as if the explosion and the following concussive force weren't enough to put a man down.

Regardless of what later actions may be made, the troops would still continue having access to GPS and GLONASS for Vichnayan Intelligence Groups had programmed all of their devices to bypass any restrictions made by foreign nations on satellite systems, their signals constantly protected by the Mara-Delta Artificial Intelligence Program that was the root of nearly all military systems used by the Federal Armed Forces.

And the absolute moment the Riomlerians dared to fire back, the Vichnaysn would have their positions marked and eliminated through the wide usage of man-portable or dedicated & mobile battlefield surveillance and counter-battery radars. The 1L271M Counter-Battery Radar, the most common of the radars found on this front, able to detect the position of weapons such as field artillery and anti-aircraft weapons, calculate the trajectory of incoming shells, and the general location where operators controlled unmanned aerial vehicles that, add to the usage of drones by Vichnayan soldiers themselves, would be able to accurately identify, calculate, mark, and eliminate enemy howitzer positions in as little as 2 minutes.

And once the Vichnayan positions were found, the Riomlerians would find that they were already gone, repositioned to any valley, crevice, hill, bunker, and armored house in the sector. It was a common thing to find entire sections covered by heavy tracer fire only to disappear in a matter of a few minutes, the Vichnayans constantly on the move and relocating to tactically significant and important positions. And if they tried to advance to a seemingly abandoned area, would find themselves to be in the field of fire by multiple MG3A3s, their movement tracked by cameras, trip wires, hidden pressure plates, and of course, the watch of other soldiers from the sectors.

The Riomlerians would be easy prey as the Vichnayans, camouflaged well to their environment with their uniforms meant to severely minimize the chances of being detected on Infrared/Thermal Optics, picked off the Riomlerians as they tried to advance, again slowed by the withering amount of defensive works that seemingly covered every single inch of the border. To say it was hellish was an understatement, for the open and golden fields and beautiful olive-green forests quickly became known to be impenetrable fortresses, with not even a single Riomlerian able to push past the open border, much less the forests where even more dangers awaited for them.

And with the advent and usage of drones in modern conflicts, a new terror reared its ugly head.

Aside from using them to mark, identify, and designate enemy positions for elimination by Vichnayans in the air, they would also be hastily modified to drop grenades onto enemy forces. Working in pairs, one drone would identify a Riomlerian troop gathering, pass the information off to the operator, and from there they would send in the drone equipped with 2-4 grenades and drop them. Silent and deadly, the only way one would notice the swarms of drones would be if they weren't preoccupied with something, an extremely rare occurrence as the Vichnayans laid down withering fire from their defensive positions, the mountains raining down murderous fire for each and every second.

And wouldn't even be counting the dedicated loitering munitions that were issued to every Infantrymen, as if the RPG-22Ms weren't enough. The most common of the dedicated loitering munitions would be the Shrakrak Miniature Loitering Munition, a small drone able to be launched by hand that, with the guidance of an operator using personal devices like the 10P330 and Taka-K30 devices, would be able to identify and track enemy soldiers or vehicles. And once tracked, the operator can simply designate it to attack, sending the Shakrak into a high-speed vector, deploying its deadly HE-FRAG munition the moment it makes contact. With coordination by machine guns, rockets, and artillery strikes, the Shakraks, and its bigger brother the Nakar Loitering munition, would flush Riomlerian troops from cover and into the withering amount of fire.

And if the Riomlerians thought that was bad, it was only going to be a lot more worse.

Finally, the Uragan-1M MLRS Systems, BM-30 Smerch MLRS Systems, SS-1E Scud-Ds SRBM Launchers, and the 9K720 Iskander-M SRBM Launchers were in place, their positions fully protected by nearby anti-aircraft missile systems and guarded by hundreds of Vichnayan soldiers. Stationed in the far back, their powerful and long-ranged rockets and missiles would be launched against Riomlerian troops and important sites, again, targeting defensive and staging grounds, supply depots, C2, C3, C3I, C4I command and control centers, artillery emplacements, troop concentrations and many, many more. In these strikes, the Vichnayans were extremely careful in avoiding civilian structures or nearby populations, for the blood of civilians wasn't needed on this bloody battlefield.

The mechanized and armored fists of the Vichnayan Armor Corps would finally reach the Vichnayan defensive lines after a few dozen minutes of organizing and rolling out. These consisted of the heavy APCs, IFVs, and MBTs that were deployed only hours ago, with the majority of these vehicles consisting of the new and highly formidable BMP-82U, an IFV in all but classification, seeing as the Federal Armed Forces still considered it an Armored Personnel Carrier just because it used the original hull of the BTR-80M APC.

Another of the common IFVs seen and deployed in this one-sided slaughter would be the BMP-3M, an up-armored and capable Infantry Fighting Vehicle boasting an upgraded 100-mm Smoothbore gun launcher, capable of firing HE Shells or ATGMs, whilst also carrying a fast-firing 2A72M Autocannon, and finally a 7.62x51mm MG3A3 Coaxial machine gun. Though different in type, one common feature amongst all of them would be their applique armor, stretching from simple caged armor all the way to the Kontackt-5 or Sokol-1 ERA Packages, which added with their onboard Active-Protection SYstems, made them hard to counter with ATGMs, much less infantry who carried simple rocket-propelled grenades.

Now, one cannot expect the IFVs and APCs to do all the heavy work, and thus came in the armored fist of Vichnaya; T-80BVMs, T-22A Nosorogs, T-72B4 Obr.2022s, and the T-72B3 Obr.2016s, all organic to nearly every single major formation in the Vichnayan Ground Forces. These tanks, while considered outdated by Vichnayan standards, were still highly formidable as they were able to provide direct-fire support, serve as repellants in enemy counterattacks, and conduct extremely aggressive maneuver warfare tactics. However, they would be sticking inside the forests or hiding in pre-prepared dug-ins that would provide them excellent cover and concealment, bolstered by them running specialized camouflage nets that reduced their Infrared/Thermal Signatures.

The T-80BVMs and T-22A Nosorogs, being the high-end tanks of their time, would serve as Quick Reaction Units should Riomlerian Armor Units be detected, to where they'd work with nearby infantry, vehicle, and support assets to efficiently stomp them out. The T-72 Series of MBTs, as the low-end tanks, would be up in the frontline, providing close-in direct fire support for Vichnayan Infantry and Mechanized Infantry units. Regardless of their role, they were all equipped with highly-capable ERA, APS, and Sensor/Camera Suites that, like their APC and IFV cousins, made them highly dangerous against all armored vehicles, much less infantry who would struggle to even catch a glimpse of them under the withering fire of the Vichnayan defenders.

And soon enough, the men and equipment of the 5th White Guards Tank Division would take part in the heavy fighting, rushing to defensive lines as they slaughtered the invaders. They fought with vigor only seen by men defending their homeland, to defend it against what they saw as invaders. They would replace each and every single Vichnayan conscripted and contracted soldier that fell in the defense of this mountain pass, their mountain fortress. With the chants and sermons of the priests blasting through the PA System that filled every single section of the border defenses, the Soldiers fought so violently, so determined that not even the heaviest of wounds were enough to put them out of action. The call to action, and more importantly, the call to the defense of one of the bastions of the Eight Sacred Stars, would be answered by the abled sons and daughters of Vichnaya.

Sileans, Ustinians, Klendovans, and many more from the dozens of ethnic and racial groups of the Vichnayan Federal Republic were engaged in combat, fighting in the same room, the trench, and in the same vehicles. The air whipped and cracked for every nanosecond, red and white tracers zipping across the open fields and leveling the invaders where they ran to. They would not falter, and they would not fall. The sounds of cannon and gunfire would be joined by the roar of a cannon and the sizzle of plasma.

For each roar of this cannon, the sizzle of plasma that trailed it would illuminate the ground, frying all those who stood in their way. This was the newest tank designed by the RND Teams of the Vichnayan Federal Republic, one that would rival all in the world. With the best armor, best engine, advanced fire-control systems, artificial-intelligence programs, protection systems, and many, many more, which included the most noticeable feature of all; the 140mm Electrothermal-Chemical Smoothbore Gun, the beast of the Vichnayan Armored Forces was fully revealed, unveiled to the world in the defense of the motherland.

The T-110 Vityaz, named after the knights of old, has made its debut. With each roar it sounded, a dozen of the invaders would fall, burnt by the trail of plasma that ignited its deadly round.

Every single Vichnayan deployed would be working in conjunction, fighting as one heart, one hand, and as one soul. They would smash the invaders, destroying their dreams and haunting their nightmares. Not once did the defenders relent, not once did their guns stop firing, and not once did they think to retreat. For every Vichnayan killed, they would be replaced by two more, their comrades fighting harder and filled with determined rage. The orders from up high stated their nation was in peril, the whirlwinds of danger spiraling around them.

The world had watched Vichnaya slapping each other, with the impression that the people and government were actively tearing themselves apart. They were right of course, and the White Maiden Bloom had certainly sent a giant jab into the Government's political and social reputation, and the Vichnayan Church had taken a beating in its reputation as the all-knowing and all-seeing eye and hands of the Vichnayan Federal Republic. But there was one thing that no one in the world knew except Vichnayans themselves. For they had weathered invasions, massacres, and disasters at a scale unimaginable to the rest of the world. They were the ones living in the frozen tundra of this nation, and they were the ones who had to climb their way up through the world, to cement themselves as a sovereign and influential nation.

And to watch the world criticize and try to sympathize, watching the world treat them as brain-washed and power-hungry individuals obsessed with shiny, shiny technology, concerned like parents to their children when they do something. And with the news and fears that they might be invaded? That foreign tanks were rolling into their most holy lands? That foreign boots might trample on their sacred temples and churches? That the Vichnayan people were to be removed from the Light of the Eight Sacred Stars? That Vichnayan's lands will not be ruled by Vichnayans?

To think that the people would not stand up to that would be a fantasy and a fallacy. While the Vichnayan People were bright and intelligent, responsible for the most recent technological and scientific breakthroughs in modern human history, they were, at heart, highly religious, devoted to the Eight Stars that had gifted them the whisper of life and the gift and fire of all of the knowledge in the universe.

The world has yet to know, has yet to learn the history of Vichnaya. For centuries it has bickered and toiled with itself, making itself look ripe for invasion. And it has been, thrice, all leaving a terrible mark on the people of Vichnaya as a whole. There was one saying especially, one that was well-known throughout Vichnaya but not the world, a saying that the world will painfully learn in the coming days.

. . .

Like the ground, the skies roared with metal thunder.

Aircraft across the oblast had been scrambled in response to the waves of Riomlerian aircraft. In coordination with the Aerospace Defense Forces and the Ground Force Anti-Air Crews, the entire airspace between Vichnaya and Riomler would be sealed off. The hundreds of stealth aircraft sent by Riomler would have their response in the form of the technological might of the Federal Armed Forces. No matter if their aircraft was advanced compared to other nations, the fact that Vichnaya had already cracked one apart by a previous dealing with another foreign nation, Riomler's F-35s would already be detected the moment they took off, the massive radars perched ontop of the mountains and those stationed down below already fine-tuned to detect, track, and shoot down stealth aircraft.

And as the ground shook with the thunder of thousands of guns, the troops and vehicles of the Aerospace Defense Forces and Ground Force Air Defense Forces rolled out from their armored bunkers and tunnels, the radars of dozens of 9K332 Tor-M2s, 9K33M3 Osa-Ks, 2K22M4 'Tunguska-Ms, 2K22M3 Tunguskas, Pantsir-S1Ms, and 9K50M Kolyma-Ms dispersing into the forests or perching themselves onto the old forts that dot this mountain pass, assisted by dozens of radar stations that dot the valleys and peaks of the mountains, constantly searching for the enemy. For many, they would fire and maneuver, never holding for more than a few minutes before relocating, to ensure that SEAD/DEAD Operations would be costly. The Anti-Air sites, and all systems in general, would have their own dedicated group of vehicles, consisting of fire-control radars, a battlefield-management radar, and an automated command and control system, linking to the aircraft high up above.

And to make sure the force of bombers and fighters Riomler had deployed were to be truly weakened, the massive Murmansk-BN and Manimekhala Short-Wave Strategic Jamming Systems, along with their smaller Krasukha-2, Krasukha-4, and Omamori Electronic Warfare Vehicles, would be deployed, their frequencies placed into high gear and targeting the incoming wave of Riomlerian fighters and bombers, jamming all guidance systems for them and, with a range of over 5,000 kilometers, made sure that even the Riomlerian troops on the ground were unable to contact higher or local commands. With the assistance of AI Programs and information from prior experience of reverse-engineering an F-35, the Vichnayans would be able to accurately identify the communications bands used by the Riomlerian F-35s and B-1A/Bs, set their frequencies to the right signal, and jammed them.

They went above and beyond, the local jamming and command stations hidden inside the mountains, with the assistance of PKKV and Cyberwrfare Agents, would transmit coordinates that would either land them into the teeth of where the majority of Anti-Aircraft Systems were or re-direct them back to Riomler or even inform that, once they were over Riomlerian troop positions, where at the exact place to drop their ordinance. Not only would it make the Riomlerians waste their own energy and troops, but it made them extremely easy targets for the dozens of missile and gun Anti-Aircraft batteries that lined the entire range.

For the troops on the ground, those who were armed with MANPADS, they would engage any aircraft flying at low-to-medium altitudes, white trails of smoke raising from the valley as dozens of 9K34 Strela-3s, to 9K333 Verbas, all would be used to swat the invaders from the sky. A few sites would have ZU-23M1s, an 23mm Anti-Aircraft system with two MANPADS attached to them, allowing them to engage their targets of choosing regardless of the circumstance or range. The troops and guns would be controlled by nearby radars from mobile air defense units, with many gaining their firing patterns from 9K50M Kolyma-Ms. With coordination with other anti-aircraft systems, the Riomlerian Fighters and bombers would be forced down to lower altitudes, to where they would be engaged by every soldier with a weapon in their hand.

And soon joining them would be the smokeless flashes of the Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Systems, with most consisting of the newly upgraded 2K22M4 Tunguska-Ms. Like their cousins, the Pantsir and Tor Missile systems, the missiles would be near invisible as there was only a brief moment of light, and that was only half a second long. That would be the cold launch of said missiles.

And with while the initial lock would be radar, the guidance of the missiles themselves would be done by a mix of Infrared and AESA Radar that, in the chaos of every single radar locking onto the invading aircraft, made actually responding and dodging every missile an extreme chore, if they heard it their RWR/MAW in the first place that is. While the missiles were small, they packed an extremely nasty punch, along with being able to hold and maneuver up to 30gs and engage targets flying at up to Mach 2, the missiles themselves flying at Mach 3.8. With thrust vectoring and the capability of data linking to 9K50M Kolyma-Ms, who would track the F-35s and B-1Bs with their PESA and IRST Systems, ensuring that regardless of what the Riomlerian pilots did, they would not escape their violent and explosive fate.

Further away, multiple batteries of S-500 Prometheus, S-400 Triumph, and S-350 Vityaz Long-Ranged Surface-To-Air Missile Sites would open up with dozens of missiles screaming into the air, their formidable radars whose range extends to 300 kilometers or 482 kilometers, were greatly assisted and extended by the Nebo-M and SPC Brahmajala Counter-Stealth RADAR Systems, of whom would communicate, mix, and fuse multiple datapoints to accurately and precisely identify, track, and target non-stealth and stealth aircraft alike, with the near hundreds of anti-aircraft systems located in the entire oblast able to take that data and lock onto those targets as well. With assistance from every radar in the entire oblast, the missiles of the S-Series of Mobile SAM Launchers would be able to accurately and precisely track and target multiple targets at once, a feature shared with nearly all of the Anti-Air systems in the Vichnayan Federal Armed Forces.

The Tor-M2s especially were a hellish nightmare for B-1B bomber crews as the sites these SAMs were in were protected by Pantsir and Tunguska Gun/Missile Systems, able to shoot down munitions heading towards their way and return the hate in the form of the Pantsir/Tunguska's 57E6M-E Missiles and dual 2A38M 30mm autocannons, and the Tor-M2s able to track 48 targets simultaneously and fire off 16 9M338 missiles, not to mention the other hordes of missile anti-air systems. In turn, these Tors and their escorts would guard the S-Series of SAMs as they targeted the stealth aircraft, swatting them out of the skies like flies. The sky was filled with the trails of MANPADs, tracers from the gun anti-air systems, and the burning and falling hulls of Riomlerian Aircraft.

And that's where the Vichnayan Air Force would join in.

Over 98 Su-75Ms, 30 Su-57SMs, 20 Su-60As, and 20 MiG-41s would join into the fray. With datalink with the radars on the ground, they would unload an aerial volley of over K-77ME BVRAAM missiles, each missile traveling at over Mach 5 and guiding itself to its target with its AESA Seeker, their ramjet and dual-pulse engines zipping across the sky and towards their targets. The Vichnayans were going all in with this one, moving in closer with Close-Ranged R-74M2 IR-Missiles, traveling at Mach 2.5 and, while they did use Infrared guidance, were slaved to the Sukhoi and MiGs powerful AESA and PESA radars to greatly improve the chances of scoring a hit. All of the responding jets, with the exception of the MiG-41s who pulled away to rearm, were master-class dogfighters, employing a number of sensitive and highly-powerful equipment that would outshine the Riomlerian F-35s, with the Sukhoi Su-60As, in particular, having a field day tearing the Riomlerian F-35s apart, seeing as they were directly engineered from Ayshirean F-35s.

And like the Riomlerian Troops on the ground would find, any incursion into the Vichnayan motherland would be an extremely costly endeavor. And with the incoming 3 Motor Rifle Divisions and 2 Mechanized Divisions coming in as a reserve for the defenders in the border fortresses, the 30-40 UCAV-Fighters flying in to reinforce the Vichnayan Aerospace Forces, and the twin lasers having a field day targeting and swatting Riomlerian stealth fighters like mere flies, Vichnaya was giving a very clear message of what was to come if the coalition itself were to try to put boots on the ground.

Chapter 09, Act 02 - Eternity In Determination

The Federal Republic of Vichnaya

"We shall repulse the stranglers of all ardent ideas, the rapists and thieves, the tormenters of people!"

The Ground Forces of the Federal Republic, known simply as the Vichnayan Army, are the premier land forces of Vichnaya, being the largest and most well-equipped branch of the Armed Forces, and thus, tasked with the defense of the motherland and the rapid success in wars waged by the Federal Republic. It is a highly mechanized and advanced force, making large-scale use of Artificial Intelligence Programs and other advanced pieces of technologies to wage large-scale land combat and ensure the rapid defeat of enemy troops. It employs a highly aggressive combined-arms approach centered on destroying, suppressing, and disorganizing enemy forces using highly mobile mechanized and aerial support units to ensure swift breakthroughs can be thoroughly exploited and sustained throughout the entire depth of the battlefield. In the defense, the Vichnayan Army relies upon a defense in depth strategy, using overwhelming technological superiority and the giant size of the motherland to wear down invaders in multiple phase lines that, if the phase is doomed to be lost, then will simply pull back, repeating the cycle until all offensive momentum is lost in the invading forces.

And all across the Federal Republic of Vichnaya, the Ground Forces of the Federal Republic were hard at work, either in defensive positions or creating new ones entirely. In only the span of a few hours, hundreds of thousands of trench lines, firing emplacements, storage dumps, etc, all in the impending conflict. Thousands were working around the clock creating land works, assisted by their robotic/AI friends who assisted them in the majority of the heavy lifting. The logistical arms of the Ground Forces were also hard at work, delivering thousands of tons across the Federal Republic, whether they be simple comfort items all the way to refurbished equipment, protected by the radars, missiles, and guns of dozens of batteries, and even MANPADs they carried onboard.

Speaking of them, the Ground Forces, which consisted of the mechanics and assistant personnel, were busy pulling tens of thousands of equipment from cold-storage bays and refurbishing them to modern standards. Thankfully, they hadn't had to do much as the Federal Republic of Vichnaya already upgraded older equipment throughout the years to keep them up with modern standards, something the mechanics were thankful for like in situations such as these, though they still had to go through the required maintenance checks and tests to make sure they were combat-ready and capable.

Speaking of conscripts, a mobilization order resounded across Vichnaya, Churches across the country calling for all able-bodied men and women to join the Federal Armed Forces, to defend the motherland as danger lurks around her.

The National Guard of Vichnaya, busy with the current skirmishes in Constis Oblast, was reinforced with an influx of conscripts straight out from advanced infantry school. Because of this and the gear they had in stock, the National Guard Conscripts would be equipped to modern standards and deployed as a quick reaction force, placed nearby railroad and highways so at a moment's notice, they would be on the way to respond to any potential invasion of the motherland. As per Vichnayan doctrine, these infantrymen were heavily motorized and mechanized, fitting the hyper-aggressive doctrine the Ground Forces followed.

And though the absolutely gigantic numbers of men and material called up for use by the Federal Armed Forces, military planners, using sources from multiple outlets, determined that the combined might of the Republic of Alexiandra and the Kingdom of Harrisopia would be far too much even for the might of Vichnaya, and thus to augment the apparent disparity of machine and manpower, began the mass implementation of Unmanned Ground Vehicles, with all formations of the ground forces to be equipped with either the Alta-3M or Uran-9V Combat Support Drones. To add to their efficiency, versatility, and tactical flexibility, many of these drones were outfitted with Artificial Intelligence Programs derived from standard Aerospace Navigation/Flight Assistance AIs, modified to suit the purposes of the Ground Forces.

In the skies, the Tactical Aerial Arm of the Ground Forces were doggedly attacking the enemies of the motherland alongside their brothers and sisters in the Aerospace Forces and Naval Air Service, and like them, for every one of them swatted out of the sky, two would come to replace them, attacking viciously all the way through. They were armed with a mixture of armaments, from Ataka/Vihkr ATGMs to the old but capable S-8 Series of unguided rockets. All helicopters used by the Ground Forces were up in the skies, with more being dragged out of cold storage. The most common of the helicopters in service would be the Mi-24M3 and Mil Mi-8AMTSh Gunships, equipped with heavy armaments and armored similarly to an IFV, these helicopters were absolute beasts that needed entire regiments to train their fire on them just to bring them down, if they weren't covered and assisted by the Mil Mi-28NM and Mil Mi-28NM Attack helicopters, of whom would perform long-ranged attacks with their precise load of air-launched ATGMs. And the eye of all of them would be the Ka-52M, a heavily armored gunship/scout helicopter that can simultaneously designate targets to be attacked and can attack themselves, armored with Vihkr ATGMs and the S-13 Series of unguided rockets.

Able to be launched from nearly everywhere and attack nearly everything, these helicopters hunted in packs, attacking a singular target area with overwhelming viciousness and speed that one would struggle to attack them. And because they were heavily armored, equipped with ECM/EW Pods, and packing more countermeasures than even some aircraft, the helicopters of T-ASV were nightmares for infantry and armor alike, and because they operated closely with the other branches of the Federal Armed Forces, they were also being covered by their brethren manning everything they could get their hands on. They were relentless in their attacks, with severely damaged helicopter crews choosing to crash their stricken helicopters into enemy units rather than ejecting, a hallmark of Vichnayan indoctrination and loyalty to the Church and State.

Bombarding the enemy into submission through night and day would be the Artillery Troops of the Ground Forces and Tactical Rocket Forces of the Federal Republic, lighting the night skies with burning fury and shaking the ground with hundreds and thousands of guns. From rocket systems introduced in the 2020s all the way to howitzers dragged out of storage bays that were accepted into service in 1955, all would be used to pound enemy infantry, vehicles, tanks, and in the cases of the more fanatic regiments, attempting to swat aircraft as well. In the span of only a few hours, hundreds of thousands of shells were fired, their crews never stopping to rest as they lit the very skies on fire, the trails and tracers from their rockets and guns. Artillery Divisions were firing so quickly, so furiously, that many miles away would feel the thunder of their rockets and the howling of their rockets, feeling the heat of each barrel as they sent precise and overwhelming barrages at the aggressors. Guided by GPS/GLONASS, Artillery Coordinators, drones, and all means at disposal of the Federal Armed Forces, they either worked close to the troops, sometimes providing direct fire support with heavy guns, or they stuck far back, lobbing rocket-assisted shells at enemy command and control, supply depots, and in the case of the aggressors on the border, sending barrages at identified locations of command personnel.

Regardless they were Artillery Troops or Rocket Troops, their orders were exact. With the thousands of batteries, and for the tears of their mothers, they would fight night and day, never resting nor stopping as they hounded the enemy, making sure none remained unscathed. Some, those manning the new and modern 9K720 Iskander-Ms all the way to the again but modernized OTR-23M3 Oka-Ms, would launch all manner of guided and unguided rockets, containing the standard HE/Thermobaric Warheads. If the coalition thought the horrors they faced in Lower Magica was unimaginable to barbaric, then they would taste a new type of warfare in combating the Federal Republic of Vichnaya. One that was born from the deaths of millions of Vichnayans across human history. They would not relent, nor would they show restraint as they sent everything downrange.

Defending their comrades from attacks from the air would be the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Troops of the Ground Forces, from the most modern of systems such as the 9K50M Kolyma-M, all the way to the reactivated ZSU-23-4M3 Shilkas, ZU-23-2Ms, and even Modernized AZP S-60 Guns, they would use all. Stationed near key areas like factories, power generation sites, storage and ammo dumps, staging grounds, and more, even more still up-close with the Ground Forces to provide close-in anti-aircraft or anti-personnel support, the white trails of missiles and the red tracers of guns would light the sky, outshining even the sun and stars that hanged overhead. With access to the Short/Medium-Ranged Anti-Aircraft Systems of the Vichnayan Federal Armed Forces, their attacks would be sudden and violent, striking from nearly everywhere and attacking nearly everything, constantly on the move or hiding to avoid attack from enemy forces. In coordination with troops armed with MANPADs and the Aircraft of the Aerospace Forces, Naval Air Service, and Tactical Ground Aviation, they would make the Vichnayan Skies a living nightmare for any and all Coalition aircraft that even dared to think intruding into Vichnayan Airspace, neither safe from up high or down below.

And from experiences gained from watching and sometimes partaking in Foreign Conflicts, the staff of the Anti-Air Troops were well versed in being able to deceive and counter SEAD/DEAD Operations, and thus, equipped their units to do their work as efficiently as possible. One favored tactic that would be modified to the individual commander's taste would be having their units hidden nearby, either in forests or structures with their radars off - save for one, whilst having an active and heavy signal emitter that would give off the same signature as standard Search/Targeting radars would. Using that they would, if SEAD/DEAD Aircraft do take the bait, draw them in and in coordination with other branches, swat them out of the sky using volleys of missiles and guns, to where they'd relocate to other favorable locations.

For their faith, for the flag, for the nation, and for the people, the Ground Forces of the Federal Republic would not falter in the defense of the motherland.

. . .

The Maritime Forces of the Federal Republic known simply as the Vichnayan Navy, is the naval arm of the Vichnayan Federal Armed Forces. They are tasked with a variety of missions, the most vital of which are sea-based nuclear deterrence (a task shared with the ORRV-FR), sea control, maritime security, and coastal defense. As such, the Navy and Coastal Defense Forces operate a wide range of ships and aircraft with missile-heavy armaments, all designed to carry interchangeable payloads for the main function of overwhelming enemy sea forces with barrages of missiles. Like the branches, they specialize in total area denial, whether on the ground, sea, and air, regardless if they are on the offensive or defensive. The Maritime Forces, with command personnel trained in prestigious at home and abroad, were adept at warfare even if they weren't battle-hardened like other nations, with the lowest conscript sailor all the way to the board of Admirals trained and prepared to carry out a variety of tasks to the best of their abilities that, especially with the mass religious indoctrination and propaganda in Vichnay, made them a highly determined and formidable foe, whose sailors would serve without question nor restraint.

Across naval yards in the Federal Republic, Naval Personnel and civilian contractors (Or hell, even civilians that were dragged over to assist either way) were likewise assisting the Ground Forces in building and constructing defensive works all across the country, in fields, in farms, in towns, in cities, and many, many more would be diligently in the works. The logistical arm of the branch would also be hard at work, working alongside other logistical personnel in the Federal Armed Forces to refit, refurbish, and supply each and every single combative unit with the best equipment they had. In the many streams, rivers, and lakes in the Federal Republic, Mangust-Class Patrol Boats and some requisitioned civilian craft were used to ferry men and material to every single position manned by Vichnayan troops.

All across the globe, from the warm and temperate shores of Magica, all the way to the cold and barren wastelands of the North Pole, all ships of the Navy of the Federal Republic would be recalled for the defense of the motherland. Regardless they were the large and formidable Battlecruisers found in the 4th Fleet, or the Zaliv-Class Large Patrol Ships that carried only a fraction of the firepower in a single destroyer, all would be used to sweep the invaders, the fifth of the tides, far from Vichnaya's shores. Their attacks would be relentless, and their determination and faith were absolute. While the sailors were hesitant in engaging in foreign conflicts, that couldn't be the same when their homes were in danger, when the sacred shores and lands of Sacred Vichnaya were in peril. Day and night, they would hound the enemy fleets with barrages of guns, rockets, and missiles, never resting for a moment to rest, for the defense of Sacred Vichnaya and the temples of the Sacred Stars were placed above all.

For the fleets in the Northern Ocean, the bulk of firepower the Federal Republic had at its disposal, all ships would be sailing hard and fast back towards Vichnaya. The ships, using the Lider-Class Destroyers Stealth and, along with the Kapusta-Class Communication Ship, radar and electronic jamming array to disguise themselves against satellite guidance, not like tracking them would be possible with the efforts of the Vichnayan Aerospace Forces and their fuckery. These ships, along with the hundreds of aircraft taking off or already up in the air, would be circling around the 3 Fleets, conducting wide-perimeter searches so as to not immediately reveal the fleet's positions. And because many of the aircraft deployed were stealth, save for two, they were guaranteed to get the jump on any foe that was detected within 300-400 Miles within them.

Watching the ground, the skies and the seas would be the combined might of the Naval Air Service of the Federal Republic, Vichnayan Coastal Defense Forces, and the Naval Infantry of the Maritime Forces, all doing their part in the active and relentless duty to defend their motherland. From the Naval Guards diligently manning their stations on the Vichnayan Coast, all the way to the Naval Aviators taking part in bombarding the Riomlerian invaders into submission, their attacks would be relentless and without mercy, serving alongside their brothers and sisters from the other branches of the Federal Armed Forces. They would be on watch and on guard, ready to respond to any attacks from any angle and in any direction.

The Vichnayan Coastal Defense Forces and Naval Air Service would be especially active, for they carried some of the most formidable weapons and firepower that would be found on a conventional battlefield. From the hypersonic 3M22M 'Zircon' anti-ship missiles found in both air and land-based launchers, all the way to the feared Kh-47M2 Kinzhal, a missile with a mass of 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) and a speed of Mach 12, their conventional warheads capable of taking out 100,000~ ton Aircraft Carriers with a single strike that, especially in the Tu-22M3/M3M's operated by the Naval Air Service, would be found being launched in pairs or in barrages of four per aircraft. With coordination with the Fleet and Air assets, the Coastal Artillery Batteries that lined the coasts would be on high alert, ready to trap and sink any aggressor that would dare enter Vichnaya's waters. And all across the nation, where the troops gather and train, they would be protected by dozens of Electronic-Warfare and Missile Air-Defense Batteries, capable of jamming and swatting any petulant aircraft that would even think to harm a single Vichnayan.

For their faith, for the flag, for the nation, and for the people, the Maritime Forces of the Federal Republic would not falter in the defense of the motherland.

. . .

The Aerospace Forces of the Federal Republic, known simply as the Vichnayan Air Force, is the third of the large frontline combatant commands, acting as both the sword and shield of Vichnaya. The Air Force, tasked with defending Vichnayan sovereignty both in the air and on the ground, employs a variety of multi-purpose aircraft to ensure tactical flexibility on ground, air, or maritime missions, with a strong emphasis on aerial superiority and airspace denial as the key to an effective defense of the motherland. While the smallest of the three, they makeup with technological supremacy and, in recent years, the mass usage of artificial intelligence programs to assist aircrews in manning installations and aircraft, and with the outbreak of the Second Magican War, the control of purpose-built or converted UCAV Fighters, giving the Aerospace Forces an absolutely massive boost in capability whilst lessening the sacrifices made by human pilots. And unlike the other branches, the Vichnayan Aerospace Forces are combat-tested and battle-hardened, deployed across the globe to assist Vichnayan Allies in aerial dominance and close-air support missions.

From the moment the Riomlerians had been massing on Vichnaya's border, the entirety of the Armed Forces, and most particularly, the Air Force of the Federal Republic, were put on high alert. And the absolute moment that the incursion was confirmed the first of the ground forces were in contact, all combat-capable aircraft were launched, responding to or directly attacking the enemy and their means to wage war. From the Interceptors like the MiG-31s and MiG-41s that flew at near low-orbit, armed with anti-satellite/ballistic missiles, to the Multirole Su-75s and Su-57s securing total control over Vichnayan Airspace, and all the way to attacker aircraft like the Su-24Ms and Su-25s that flew at a low level, unleashing guided/unguided bombs, rockets, missiles, and even strafing runs against Riomlerian troops, all the crews and their drone wingmen would be up in the skies.

And speaking of drones, a newcomer to modern warfare and the Vichnayan Aerospace Force and Naval Air Service, they would be getting their first taste of a large-scale conventional conflict. From the high-end UCAV Fighters like the Vedomyy-2A Halieias, an equal to the venerable Su-57SM, the Vedomyy-3M Odysseus, the UCAV Equivalent of the Su-75Ms found in Vichnayan Service, or the Vedomyy-4 Chelovek, a mass-produced UCAV built with some stealth features but mainly built to wear down enemy airforces with sheer numbers, they would be attached to nearly all Vichnayan manned aircraft, providing additional air-to-air combat capability or escorting them, with all of these UCAVs installed with a mixture of proven AI programs like the Mara-Series, or in the case of the Vedomyy-2A Halieia, brand new AI Programs that could match and outperform human pilots in speed, tactics, adaptability, and flexibility.

With data attained by decades worth of combat, combat simulations, air combat data, aircraft specification data, and many, many more, and with the capability of learning on the fly, all of them would be formidable in aerial engagements, especially when they were joined by the other branches of the armed forces that would assist and improve their capabilities, for they would not only learn aerial combat data, but from data from ships, tanks, and in some cases, even missiles. For each encounter they faced with Riomlerian forces, they would only get smarter.

And joining in defense of the motherland would be the Aerospace Defense Forces of the Federal Republic, responsible for the long-range defense of the Armed Forces against all manner of aerial targets using the most sophisticated and advanced technologies and aircraft available, operating Land-Based A-235 Anti-Ballistic missile systems, Peresvet/Zadira Anti-Aircraft/Satellite/ICBM Laser Systems, and S-500 Anti-Air/Ballistic Missile Batteries to disrupt and destroy enemy aerial movement in the skies or even space. A multitude of high/low-band radars and jamming stations are operated by the Aerospace Defense Forces (SVKO), allowing them to conduct their duties with high efficiency, and precision, and at a low cost compared to other systems.

And with the start of the Riomlerian advance into Vichnaya, the Aerospace Defense Forces got to work, their batteries working in tandem with Ground Force Anti-Aircraft Troops, Maritime Force Ships and Anti-Air Batteries, Naval Air Service Sorties, and Aerospace Sorties to create murderous and hellish nets to go through, all altitudes covered by some sort of anti-air artillery that could easily swat anything hostile in a matter of only a few minutes, using the shared linked with other branches in the Federal Armed Forces to easily identify, track, locate, and then intercept any threats that come within Vichnayan Airspace. Any aircraft not immediately intercepted by the other branches would be swatted by S-500, S-400, or Laser System Batteries, constantly on the alert with the assistance of radars, communications with ground force personnel, and constant communications with all air and sea assets.

Along with swatting Riomlerian Aircraft, the Peresvet and Zadira Anti-Aircraft/Satellite/ICBM Laser System Batteries would be trained onto satellites up in orbit, and specifically directed at Riomlerian ones, and those associated with the allied forces would have their movements tracked and trained on by the 30+ Laser Systems scattered across Vichnaya, burning through the exterior shell of the satellites up in orbit and frying their systems, ensuring minimal if any debris would be launched into space and cause the dreaded Coriolis force. However, the crews of these laser batteries would only be given permission to target military satellites and orbital space stations, and even then, they would be strictly forbidden from engaging Upper Magican satellites.

For their faith, for the flag, for the nation, and for the people, the Aerospace Forces of the Federal Republic would not falter in the defense of the motherland.

. . .

The Armed Forces of the Vichnayan Federal Republic, known colloquially as the Federal Armed Forces, are the unified combined arms forces of Vichnaya. The branches of service mainly consist of the Ground Forces, Maritime Forces, Aerospace Forces, and Missile and Rocket Forces, with a multitude of smaller and sub-arms assisting in Vichnayan interests, both at home and abroad. With access to a vast pool of manpower, advanced and modern equipment, and the mass usage of Artificial Intelligence-integrated systems, weapons, and vehicles, it has quickly become one of the premier militaries in the world, capable of conducting wars on a grand scale, of which it was greatly suited to, and thus, prepared for throughout the decades.

Where armies focused only on their terrain and technology to win conflicts, performing small strikes to weaken their opponents, the Vichnayan Armed Forces prioritized fast, decisive, and brutal wars of attrition on a grand scale, using robotic and artificial intelligence programs and systems to give both a technological and numerical advantage over any foe it would face over the lands it stands guard over, from the frigid Northern Steps of the Adaki Oblasts, all the way to the mild and warm fields of the Silean Oblasts. Their soldiers, while not as well-trained as other soldiers in other superpowers, were still highly capable individually and, with access to advanced technologies, made them their equals and superiors.

From the lowliest of conscripts to the highest of Admirals, all would share traits that made them stand them out in the world; Religious fanaticism and Near-suicidal determination. The end result of years of manipulation by the Church of Asteros and the governments that preceded the Vichnayan Federal Republic, each citizen was instilled with a sense of religious fanaticism to the state and country, with all, regardless they were men, women, and children, to give up their lives for the safety and continued prosperity of Sacred Vichnaya and the Eight Sacred Stars.

The sheer determination and fanatism that made them look insane, is what gave the Vichnayans their will to climb through history, even through the endless terrors, massacres, and oppression they faced throughout the centuries. For what the Eight Stars, the Eight Sisters that sat high above, wished and willed, they would follow without question nor hesitation. If they willed were to fight, then they shall. And if they were willed to die, to die in endless droves that would drench the world in their blood, so they shall. Men, women, and children, all would be expected to serve the motherland and the church, for what the Sacred Stars willed, so shall the follow.

All across the Federal Republic, the Federal Armed Forces were on the march. They were building defensive works so large and extensive that they would rival the size of entire nations, they would be perched in the highest of mountains and in the deepest of caves, they would sail the open seas and guard the motherland's most holy lands. Divisions already in service would be called up to defend the motherland, and they answered, hundreds of thousands moving across the land by air, by sea, and by land, with most rushing towards the Riomlerian Front, The Eastern Front. All across the Federal Republic, the Vichnayans would be responding with overwhelming force, pushing hard to reclaim any inch of grounds lost by the enemy, with local commanders commencing local counteroffensives to drive the Riomlerians out of Vichnaya.

And joining the other branches in mobilizing across the country would be the Unified Missile and Rocket Forces of the Federal Republic, commanding the Tactical Rocket Forces of the Federal Republic, Strategic Submarine Missile Command, and the Air and Missile Defense Forces of the Federal Republic. To put it more bluntly than the civilian description on Vichnayan Websites, the ORRV-FR controls absolute power over the strategic and operational nuclear weaponry in Vichnayan stockpiles. In a conflict, the mobile missile launchers would be expected to disperse into the Vichnayan countryside, making it near impossible to track each one of them, whilst silo-based missiles would be ready to launch within 60 Seconds.

From nukes that were a mere 350kt, all the way to ICBMs that mounted warheads of 50 Megatons, they would be responsible for the destruction of Vichnaya's enemies should a war go hot. Using the movements of hundreds of other units across the nation and seas as a cover, the submarines and mobile ballistic-missile launchers of the Federal Armed Forces would disperse widely, ensuring that a single strike would not eliminate the majority of Vichnaya's world-ending arsenal. And with over 14,000+ Warheads at her disposal, the horrors that could and would be unleashed would be unimaginable, ensuring life would never spring up on Lyceni for generations to come.

For their faith, for the flag, for the nation, and for the people, the Armed Forces of the Vichnayan Federal Republic would not falter in the defense of the motherland.

by **Vichnaya** » Mon Feb 06, 2023 5:59 am

Chapter 09, Act 03 - Eternity In Perseverance

The Federal Republic of Vichnaya

"Let noble rage boil over like a wave!"

As the Alexiandrans were found out like their Magican Allies, their attempts to break into Vichnayan Servers, whose presence is filled with Artificial Intelligence Programs vigilantly on the watch, would be difficult if not near-impossible. On the surface, they looked weak enough, though if one were to look deeper, then the situation would quickly become clear. Consisting of dozens of layers, each layer would be governed by multiple Artificial Intelligence programs, each with specialized and extensive roles that once combined would make them an absolute nightmare to successfully counter and break through. And with the attacks from Magica, the AIs and their operators had gotten smarter, implementing patches and modifications to nearly all layers to ensure that none would breach into classified servers, and better yet, for none to escape their grasps.

The first layers would be governed by multiple Artificial Intelligence programs that would open certain access points to contain and flow the attackers into multiple sections, alerting all other AI Programs up high in the incursion. Though this time, there would be pairs of AIs on the lower levels, and the amount would only increase with each layer that was breached. Individually they were improved, being able to access certain access points far more precisely to more effectively control the spread of the attacks. The 'Antibody' AIs, larger and more complex AI Programs, would absorb and tear apart the invaders piece by piece, using them as a blueprint on how to effectively control and neutralize them, and with the updates since the last attacks, the AIs were able to respond almost immediately to the breaches.

Only a few layers in, and with the constant work of the Valve, Antibody, and 'Seeker' AIs, a brand new type of AI introduced to specifically target notable agents and bring them over to the 'Antibody' AIs to study, would be used on a grand scale, identifying any breaches and compromised servers/systems and, after identifying and downloading all important and essential data, would seal and quarantine them, gradually stemming the spread of invaders and notifying other AI Programs on what systems to individually identify, destroy, and/or save. With the constant flow of information, the AIs would be directly feeding the 'Antibody' AIs that would, in turn, send all of that information to the quick reaction forces; the 'Hunting AIs

As usual, these Hunting AIs would be dispatched in pairs, initially coming in only six, these AI would actively hunt for any and all intrusions, either directly swatting them away or tearing them piece-by-piece to study them, from thereon, improving themselves, and upgrades to the main Mara-Delta AI had allowed them to do their jobs at a much faster pace. They hunted everywhere, scouring the entire system for foreign invaders, sometimes ripping entire sections of minor and sometimes even major systems to rid them of the invaders. And the deeper the invaders went, the harder it would be to actually push on. Like a trapdoor, each and every intrusion they made would be sealed and they themselves funneled into the Hunting AIs or the Antibody AIs and, like clockwork, would work to identify and improve themselves.

The cycle would continue, with the 'Gage/Valave' AIs containing and forcing intruders into the 'Antibody' AIs, where then they would be studied and the 'Seeker' AIs that would track down, store information, and quarantining sections before handing over pairs of 'Hunting' AIs that would scour and identify compromised servers and systems, backdoors, and trapdoors, and either pull them out from the system and remove them or just wipe the entire slate clean after downloading most of the major information. For compromised civilian and government sites, they would be restored at a moment's notice, only impeding operations for only a few minutes before running back at full strength.

And at the height of all of this, the main control AI, Mara Delta, was in full control. All intrusions were to be sealed and neutralized, and access to the internet for Vichnayan Citizens was revoked until further notice. Military layers were relatively untainted, for those of the actual and advanced AI Programs were located up there, protected by the layers upon layers of firewalls that blocked them and the surge of invaders. These programs, actively fed by information from the AI Programs down below, were not only utilizing them to defend against intruders but actively working to improve upon them several million times a second. Like a certain program, they were highly intelligent and capable of utilizing everything to their advantage, though they were mostly leashed.

The layers that contained servers for important infrastructure like factories were especially highly protected, with Gage/Valve AIs directing any attackers away from those and into the jaws of either the Antibody or Hunting AIs. Several packets containing various worms, trojan horse programs, and malware were widely distributed in these servers that, if taken by the intruders, would immediately bite back. The Gage/Valve AIs would be actively deploying antivirus and antimalware programs to key systems as the Hunting AIs doggedly protected all key systems and important information necessary for the continued production of Vichnayan civilian and military products.

And that would only be the start of their troubles.

The civilian servers would be targeted, though in a different fashion. With assistance from the All-Vichnayan Commissariat for Political and Social Security, the Federal Security Service of the Federal Republic would be distributing both truths and propaganda that would display the Empire of Riomler as an aggressor against the Vichnayan State, piling on another list of states that have caused needless death and destruction against her in the centuries she had existed. Vicyhnaya, having existed since the 11th century, had known history of constant disasters, massacres, and invasions, her people suffering in the three invasions that she had to throw off herself, the invaders only causing more despair.

And for what? To conquer a nation whose people are already living in a cold tundra, whose government, while strict and authoritarian, was doing its best to effectively ration the nation's precious resources, to fend off aggressors from foreign nations, to juggle a multitude of problems ranging from religious and socio-economic problems spawned from having to contend with a diverse people and land, where they would differ extremely significantly even within walking distance of each other? What about the nation, whose people have known aggression and invasion even before the modern Vichnayan state existed? What about the nuclear containments that came from the Magican Archipelago? Containments that would poison Vichnaya's lands and people? What about the shootdown of the aircraft sent to investigate, whose crews were never recovered and are now denied from an investigation? Was Vichnaya not allowed to search for her lost sons and daughters?

Did the Vichnayan State not have its sovereign right to respond? Did the Vichnayan State not have its right to investigate? Did the Vichnayan State not have the capability to respond to what it would describe as an attack on her territory? Was Vichnaya not allowed to conduct actions that would protect her sovereignty? Was Vichnaya not allowed to protect her land? Was she not allowed to protect her people?

Was the Vichnayan people not allowed to investigate a potential attack on her lands, an attack that had radioactive elements detected in them?

The information would be spread far across the world, from the most southern of nations, all the way to the Upper Magica. For the faults Vichnaya had, she, like the other nations, had their formal right to exercise her authority for the betterment and protection of her people as a whole, one that will most definitely be flawed as she had to contend with a multitude of problems that were spawned from ages past and new ones from all across the world. She had to deal with problems on the local, governmental, religious, and worldwide levels, one she would not be able to do perfectly and guaranteed to screw up.

Problems stemming from cultural, local, and geopolitical would affect the answer, response, and outcome of each and every nation, and for Vichnaya, the Federal Republic that had just spawned 50 Years ago from not one, but three states that collapsed within her lands, her people who knew and had to grow up in a world of suffering and aggression, who had to desperately climb up onto the world stage knowing that enemies lurked around like vultures, and would pick her and her people apart given the chance, where any attempts of diplomacy only ended with the death of her citizens. Again, while the Federal Republic of Vichnaya would accept she had looked like an aggressor, was she not allowed to screw up from time to time? Where this was essentially her first big move on the international stage in a situation such as this?

While the situation may have looked clear to the people of the Magican Archipeligo, such couldn't be said of the Vichnayan people, who had yet to still join an actual alliance and were guessing which side had deployed nukes, whose fallout would spread to their lands and contaminated their soil.

And for the Riomlerians, a nation that just invaded Vichnaya. Would they be justified? After all of this? After all the Vichnayan people and state had to endure through the ages? After what just happened on her sacred lands only days previously? Would the Alexiandra support an act of aggression against a nation who hadn't even considered the Empire of Riomler as an actual threat, who viewed them in an understanding light as they too had suffered under imperialism and countless death? Would the bombardment, the shooting, and the literal invasion occurring on the Vichnayan steppes be justified and supported by Alexiandra, who were also defending Magica from invasion from Lower Magica?

Where was the reason for that? The absolute hypocrisy in protecting an Empire whilst denying the fledging Federal Republic, which just emerged 50 years ago, a nation that would be obviously inexperienced in the world of geopolitics and dealing with countless problems regarding how to effectively keep the near hundreds of different groups and sub-groups happy and in-line, its very right to discover the where the contamination first spawned from? Would the Republic make an exception for Riomler who just invaded the Federal Republic without any warning? Would Alexiandra support an act of aggression and imperialism when they themselves are protecting another nation from invasion?

Along with this, Vichnaya would actively leak and display the orbital weapon stations hanging over her lands, looming dangerously over her people, her cities, and her sacred lands.

Would the people justify partaking in the invasion that Riomler started? Would they too partake in an act of imperialism when they themselves are protecting another nation from invasion?

And the most important question of all, would Alexiandra deny Vichnaya her right to defend her borders?

. . .

To say the news of the Riomlerian invasion had spread like wildfire would be an extreme understatement.

Schools, offices, people where people lived were put into immediate lockdown, and their occupants quickly rushed to nearby bunkers. This typically wouldn't be the response for any invasion lest it was especially wide-reaching, but the Federal Republic of Vichnaya, of whom watched the previous war and the current war with great interest, had noted the Empire of Riomler's tendency and absolute willingness to deploy nuclear weaponry as if they were candy. And with the reports of chemical weapons deployed overseas and on their land themselves, the people of Vichnaya would be rushed into a giant series of underground networks called 'Haven.' Originally started from the previous Ustina-Adaki Empire and finished by the Adak Provisional Authority, the massive series of underground shelters would stretch across the motherland, featured in all major population centers with varying levels of quality.

For the population centers closest to the border with Riomler, civilians were evacuated in trains and cars, watching as the Vichnayan Federal Armed Forces rushed to respond to the invasion, watching the thunder of guns shake the mountains and nearly choking the gunpowder from the vicious and determined actions of the nation's defenders to sweep the invaders from their motherland. Entire blocks were left deserted, with families thankfully bringing along their pets as they left, and with nearby industries loading whatever equipment they had into trains or nearby trucks, hauling all they could to specially designated evacuation zones, zones all the people in the border territories knew from heart with the constant drills the Federal Republic conducted in cases of invasion.

Some, however, would not join the thousands fleeing the battle zone, instead joining the Ground Forces.

Men and women, adults and teenagers, pro-government and revolutionaries, all understood that the motherland was being invaded and that the prophecies by the Church of Asteros had finally been realized. From those who were staunchly in favor of the current administration, all the way to even the people who had taken part in the recent rallies, protests, and riots against the government, who had watched the Commissariat shoot indiscriminately, all would join for the defense of the motherland.

First starting as a small stream but eventually flowing into a raging river, they would start joining their local territorial defense regiments or for those close to military recruiting stations, enlist and be sent off to train. And this was happening all across the nation, from the borderlands all the way to the Southern coasts, the order for mobilization would be answered by the people of Vichnaya, joining the fight directly in either the Armed Forces or by the local territorial defense militias that were supplied with hand-me-down equipment, ranging from relatively modern equipment all the way to equipment that was first produced in the mid-1960s.

The old, the weak, and the young would be called to assist in making defensive works or barricades in the population centers closest to the front, typically working alongside Vichnayan soldiers who were sent there. For the prized industrial equipment, all able-bodied citizens would be called upon to dissemble and load them into train carts, o where they'd be sent deeper into the motherland, safe from enemy bombardments or capture. From then on, they would be conscripted into the Federal Armed Forces, training regardless of the freezing and frigid weather in Vichnaya, for again, the considerations of the few would be placed below the defense of the people, the state, and the motherland itself. If they bleed, then one would not care, for that would be minuscule for bleeding on the battlefield. The elderly and young would be given explosives and told to await for any invading forces, to personally 'gift' them these prizes for helping to invade Vichnaya.

The people would work side-by-side in building and constructing defensive works in the motherland, given shovels and pickaxes and told to dig trenches until their hands would bleed, to where they'd be replaced by another as they were treated and rested. At the same time with the total mobilization order, dispatches and communique packets would be distributed across the Federal Republic, essentially informing citizens to give up all metal/steel, rubber, coal, and other valuables to Commissariat forces that would drive by and collect these items at designated collection points. The Church of Asteros, the institution that held significant amounts of authority and influence in Vichnaya, would broadcast sermons, chants, songs, prophecies and orders, telling all in Vichnaya to contribute to the defense of the motherland. While not entirely trusting the administration, the majority of Vichnayans did trust the State Church, so as to not be against the very teachings of Eight Sacred Stars.

For those in the factories, the ones responsible for producing machinery, weapons, and vehicles the Federal Republic used to supply their armed forces, and in the yards where old equipment was refurbished, they would be gifted an influx of additional workers, ranging from relatively well-abled peoples all the way to high schoolers that were given last-minute instructions and training on operating, assisting, and fixing machinery. If they screwed up, then they would be quickly be corrected or disciplined by other experienced factory/fabrication workers and guards, though they mainly just maintained the automated machinery that would already produce them. Vichnaya, a proponent of scientific changes that embraced nearly everything without hesitation, had a significant chunk of their factories refitted in the past few decades to allow the introduction of automated systems that would produce equipment more efficiently, quickly, and at a significantly lower price compared to human workers, able to pump out advanced pieces of gear and equipment in a combination of parts produced by standard machinery and 3D Fabrication.

All across the Federal Republic, the people would be called upon to do their part in the defense and continued existence of not only themselves, their comrades, their lands, their motherland, and most importantly of all, the defense of the churches for each of the Eight Sacred Stars. To defend the Eight Sister's sacred temples and lands against the foreigners who dared to attack the land of eternity, who would dare to bomb her cities where the children of the Sacred Stars presided inside. Who dared to cross into Sister Ustina's sacred lands with the expectation that they would bow before them.

The world has yet to know, has yet to learn the history of Vichnaya. For centuries it has bickered and toiled with itself, making itself look ripe for invasion. And it has been, thrice, all leaving a terrible mark on the people of Vichnaya as a whole. There was one saying especially, one that was well-known throughout Vichnaya but not the world, a saying that the world will painfully learn in the coming days.

To slap a Vichnayan, they would greet you with stone-cold stares; To step into their homeland, they would greet you with stone-cold rage.

The moment the Empire of Riomler stepped into Vichnaya, the moment their bombs had been dropped on Vichnayan soldiers, and the moment a single Vichnayan was killed, their blood sprayed across the black and fertile soil of the motherland, they had not just committed themselves to any other war, but a war like no other. They had just committed themselves to a conflict that the Vichnayan steppes hadn't known since the Third Astovkan-Vichnayan War, a war that had taken place nearly three decades ago. To step foot into sacred Vichnayan soil, to spill the blood of her sons and daughters on her sacred grounds, and bombard the stones that were created from the bones of Father Makra, the very deity that gave Vichnaya the Eight Sacred Stars, the Eight Sisters who had blessed the Vichnayan people with the icy fire of life and the gift of knowledge.

This was no longer a standard war. This was no longer a war Riomler would know. This was no longer a war the world was familiar with.

This was now a Holy War.

Arise, vast country,
Arise for a fight to the death
Against the dark fascist force,
Against the cursed horde!

Let noble wrath
Boil over like a wave!
This is the people's war,
a Sacred war!

We shall repulse the oppressors
Of all ardent ideas,
The rapists and the plunderers,
The torturers of people!

Let noble wrath
Boil over like a wave!
This is the people's war,
a Sacred war!

The black wings shall not dare
Fly over the Motherland,
On her spacious fields
The enemy shall not dare tread!

Let noble wrath
Boil over like a wave!
This is the people's war,
a Sacred war!

We shall drive a bullet into the forehead
Of the rotten fascist filth,
For the scum of humanity
We shall build a solid coffin!

Пусть я́рость благоро́дная
Вскипа́ет, как волна́!
Идёт война́ наро́дная,

Свяще́нная война́!

Chapter 09, Act 04 - Eternity In Death

The Federal Republic of Vichnaya

"This is the people's war, a Sacred war!"

Federal Republic of Vichnaya
Ministry of Foreign Affairs | Ministry of State Security
«Под небесным звездным светом мы видим все!»

OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUÉ FROM THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

This document is strictly to be read only by [The Republic of Alexiandra, The Empire of Magica, The Kingdom of Harrisopia], ~~unauthorized use of this document will result in a 130,000 Aurum Fine and repeated offenses will result in sentencing in accordance to an individual's oblasts laws and regulations.~~ СЛАВА РОДИНЕ, СЛАВА СВЯЩЕННЫМ ЗВЕЗДАМ, СЛАВА СВЯТЫМ СЕСТРАМ, КОТОРЫЕ ПРАВЯТ ВЫШЕ!

At 02:54 AM, the automated Administrative & Safety AI of Reactor №2 of the 'Taman' Block, Reactor №3 'Yarla Block, and Reactor №4 'Oka Block of RBMK-M Special Production Plant №112 detected a leak an apparent leak of radiation from all three blocks, forcing the total evacuation of non-essential facility staff and as well as alerting other AIs in neighboring facilities and oblasts, mainly the National Nuclear Laboratory in Klendova Oblast. Civil and Military CBRN Teams were dispatched to investigate the situation and to evacuate the local residences. Rather than the expected contaminants one would find in RBMK leaks such as Cesium-134 and Cesium-137, the CBRN Teams found elements of contaminated dust, as well as trace amounts of Uranium-238 and Plutonium-239, confirmed by testing air samples off of the Vichnayan Coast.

Following a series of lengthy investigations conducted by the Advisory Board of the National Nuclear Security Forces, the Vichnayan Nuclear Sciences & Technology Institute of Hero-City Orlova, the Ground & Maritime Forces Chemical, Biological, Radioactive, and Nuclear Assistive Protective Committee, and the Klendova Incident Committee of the Klendovan Branch of Nuclear & Physical Sciences University, the considerations of an accidental leakage by any of the Nuclear Production Facilities, Nuclear Storage facilities, or Strategic-Nuclear Stockpiles have bee ruled out in an order of likeliness, with factors considered by a multitude of sets and variables watched and approved by the World Assembly and its associating Scientific Branches. All parties, which include international observers and independent nations not associated to the Federal Republic in military, cultural, socioeconomic, or religious matters, have agreed that the blast had to have originated from the intentional detonation of a Thermonuclear/Nuclear weapon of a varying yield, whose fallout has spread over Vichnayan land.

And further investigations continued by the branches of the Federal Armed Forces, the Mara Technical Institute of Sciences, and the Vichnayan Air and Space Agency have determined that the origin of the contamination has been identified in the Magican Archipeligo, with further air and radioactive-debris samples conducted by satellites operated by the Aerospace Defense Forces and the VASA confirming this. At the time of that incident, the Vichnayan Federal Republic was preparing a notice to either of the Magican Governments that would detail reparations that would be estimated in the 30-45 Million Aurum range to assist in the cleanup and injuries caused by the contamination, though held for further investigations into the matter.

A few days later, at 10:14 AM Silean-Vichnayan Time, approximately four MiG-41A/RBs hailing from the 41st Interception Squadron and 111th Reconnaissance Squadron departed Charkov Air Force Base to conduct a reconnaissance run that would locate the possible locations where the nuclear detonation originated from and, in all cases of the MiG-41RBs, carrying a modified camera apparatus that would detect the radiological signature of the ground below as well as collecting air samples to determine the origin, yield, blast, and total fallout from the suspected detonation, However, this reconnaissance run was ultimately disrupted when unidentified aircraft shot down Senior Lieutenant Lubya Wodarska and Junior Lieutenant Gera Kusya, with further attacks on Junior Lieutenant Oni Harlicher and Junior Lieutenant Kirk Mitchell eventually forcing Aerospace Regional Command 'Nebesa' to recall the remaining two aircraft, to where a taskforce would be called upon and organized to assist in the search and rescue of the two downed Airmen. Later, at the start of the current conflict, Radiological Satellites and Civilian Intra/Internet reported the use of Chemical Weaponry and the deployment of Nuclear Weaponry, with the latter of the two WMD Types identified to be Riomlerian in origin, where contamination from the further detonations would be swept by the Northern winds, carried by the Polar-South winds, before resting inside Vichnaya.

A task force organized by the varying flotillas belonging to the 4th, 7th, and 9th White Guard Fleets, along with White Guard units from the Ostova Military District and Luzinov Military District dispatched to participate in search and rescue, SAR Protection, and ground operations against the People's Government of Lower Magica, originally identified to be the origin of the first Nuclear detonation and the reported mass deployment of chemical-based weapons of mass destruction. A further flight of MiG-41s was dispatched to search for the two missing aircraft and aircrew based on geolocation/IFF tracking measures, though with the hostility shown against the Federal Republic of Vichnaya stated above and the current incursion and invasion conducted by the Empire of Riomler against the Federal Republic of Vichnaya, the National Security Council has an ultimatum of its own, as well possible agreement should it be possible.

- The Federal Republic of Vichnaya will agree to leaving the waters around the Magican Archipelago and the cessation of offensive military actions against the People's Government of Lower Magica, though asks that the ambassador assigned to Upper Magica to stay, with Shiro Kujō of the Gotō Clan, a delegate from House Gotō from Novolensk Oblast, to be sent to smooth out any and all misunderstandings regarding Vichnaya's participation in the current crisis. For the damages against civilian and military networks, the Federal Republic of Vichnaya will also accept the blame and be willing to commit to a varying monetary or (If agreed upon) material compensation. The Federal Republic of Vichnaya will agree to the end of any and all military actions in the Magican Archipeligo, agreeing to the withdrawal of the 3 Fleets involved with operations, with the exception of the Search and Rescue of the downed Airmen in the Magican Archipeligo, with monetary compensation to be used in recovering these two.

- In turn, the Federal Republic of Vichnaya requests continued diplomatic, economic, and scientific association with the rest of the major powers involved in this transmission, with the exception of the Empire of Riomler. The Federal Republic of Vichnaya will agree to compensate for any damages against civilian or military assets of the Empire of Magica, the Kingdom of Harrisopia, and the Republic of Alexiandra, with again, the sole exception of the Empire of Riomler. The Federal Republic of Vichnya offers a 2-5% Tax and price reduction for imported goods from Allied Nations and a 3% Export Price/Tax Reduction for Vichnayan products to the nations stated above, with Vichnayan products such as foodstuffs, fuel, general products, machine and medical machinery, and factory machinery and parts subject to these reductions.

- The Federal Republic of Vichnaya requests the end of all offensive military operations by the Allied Powers, and most notably, the Empire of Riomler. As stated before, the Federal Republic of Vichnaya will accept and commit to the end of military operations relating to the current conflict in the Magican Archipelago.

However, while the Federal Republic of Vichnaya (mostly) accepts the terms determined by the Empire of Magica, if the terms presented are not accepted by the Allied Powers, the cessation of offensive military operations against the Federal Republic of Vichnaya is not halted, if the Allied Powers were to join the current invasion of the Vichnayan homeland, and if the Empire of Magica and the Empire of Riomler are indeed to be determined as the true culprits of the contamination of the nuclear fallout spreading to the Federal Republic, and if the Empire of Riomler, or the associating allied powers, deploys weapons of mass destruction against the citizens, military and civilian assets, and aerospace/homeland territory of Vichnaya, then the Federal Republic of Vichnaya will have no choice other than committing to full mobilization and war against any aggressor states.

The Vichnayan homeland, and its people, have known generations of suffering; from war, famine, chaos, and of disaster. From the earliest days in the Principality of Ustina, all the way to the Third Astovkan-Vichnayan War, the Federal Republic of Vichnaya has kept a singular promise throughout its history, a promise that was asked by the Eight Sisters, personifications of the Eight Sacred Stars that gifted humanity the whisper of life and the fire of knowledge. To upkeep the promise asked by Sister Ustina, the first of the Eight Sacred Stars, the most sacred and holiest of them all, the Federal Republic of Vichnaya promises all of the allied powers, and the world, a singular promise.

If the world unites against Vichnaya, slaughters her sons and daughters, starves her livestock and plentiful pastures, razes her fields, and burns her cities, if the world even thinks of committing to a full-scale war against the Federal Republic of Vichnaya, then the Federal Armed Forces will a wage a war that has never been seen in history, and will ensure it will never be seen again. If the sacred temples of Asteros are reduced to rubble, if the sacred soil beneath the feet of Vichnayans are reduced to glass and burnt, if the plentiful lands gifted by the EIght Sacred Stars are razed, and if the sacred and ancient religion that every Vichnayan is born into is threatened to be removed, the teachings preached across Vichnaya reduced to whispers and tales like ages past, then the Federal Republic of Vichnaya will commit to a war like no other, a war that, if Riomler deploys Weapons of Mass Destruction and continues its war against Vichnaya, the world shall know.

For each Vichnayan that will be killed, the motherland she will deal the damage tenfold. For the destruction any of her Sacred Lands, a hundredfold. For the deployment of WMDs and the destruction of any building on Vichnayan soil, the death of Vichnayan Citizens, and the destruction of her most holy sites, then the people of Vichnaya will respond a thousandfold. For while they bicker and toil, kill and maim one another, there is one thing foreign nations never understand about the Vichnayan Motherland, and like mother like child, the Vichnayan People; Only Vichnayans will rule Vichnaya.

If the Sacred Stars wills Vichnaya to fight, so she shall. If the Sacred Stars wills Vichnayans to fight and die, so she shall. If the Sacred Stars wills Vichnayans to die en-mass, in the millions if needed, so they shall. For whatever the Eight Sacred Stars, the Eight Sacred Sisters, wills their sons and daughters to do; every man, every woman, and every child will be sacrificed to bring their wishes to fruition. If the world unites against Vichnaya, and her lands threatened to be reduced to ashes, the Federal Republic of Vichnaya and the People of Vichnaya will not accept it, they would not accept their fates so easily. Father Makra and the Eight Sacred Stars toiled day and night to bring the land Vichnayans run on, the water they drink, the food they eat, and the skies they gaze upon.

Vichnaya will smite the invaders from her Sacred Lands. Though they would sweep over the lands like the sands of winter; Never again will she bow before them, never again endure their oppression, never again their tyrany. She will strike out without warning, and without mercy, fighting as one hand, one heart, and one soul. We will smash the invaders, to shatter their dreams and haunt their nightmares. She will drench our ancestor's graves with their blood. And as her last breath tears at the Invader's lungs, the world shall know a new type of war, a war that will be the last in history.

The moment the Empire of Riomler stepped into Vichnaya, the moment their bombs had been dropped on Vichnayan soldiers, and the moment a single Vichnayan was killed, their blood sprayed across the black and fertile soil of the motherland, they had not just committed themselves to any other war, but a war like no other. They had just committed themselves to a conflict that the Vichnayan steppes hadn't known since the Third Astovkan-Vichnayan War, a war that had taken place nearly three decades ago. To step foot into sacred Vichnayan soil, to spill the blood of her sons and daughters on her sacred grounds, and bombard the stones that were created from the bones of Father Makra, the very deity that gave Vichnaya the Eight Sacred Stars, the Eight Sisters who had blessed the Vichnayan people with the icy fire of life and the gift of knowledge.

The world will know a true war, a modern Vichnayan war, a Sacred War.

by **Alexiandra** » Mon Feb 06, 2023 8:00 am

Official Communiqué

To: The Empire of Magica, The Kingdom of Harrisopia, The Empire of Riomler
CC:
From: The Republic of Alexiandra
Encryption: MAXIMUM

Dear Friends,

I am writing to discuss the Vichnayan communiqué that, by now, you will surely have received. It is clear to me that the Federal Republic is attempting to drive a wedge between Riomler's former occupiers - Alexiandra, Harrisopia and Magica - and Riomler itself by offering the former a separate peace. While Vichnaya's military might is formidable, I am not willing to abandon Riomler, so recently reconstructed, in its hour of need. As such, I propose the following:

- Riomler agrees to cease its invasion of Vichnaya; and
- On the basis of this cessation, the three Allied nations agree to Vichnaya's terms on the condition that Riomler be included in the arrangement.

It seems to me that this represents our best chance to end this war swiftly and with minimal bloodshed - millions of lives in Magica and beyond stand to be saved by a successful diplomatic outcome to this crisis. Without Vichnayan assistance, the People's Government will be obliterated in relatively short order. But it is crucial that, in the face of Vichnayan aggression, we remain united as a coalition and present a strong, indivisible front in negotiations.

Yours sincerely,

Harper Montferrat,
President of the Armed Republic of Alexiandra

by **Riomler** » Mon Feb 06, 2023 10:50 am

Communiqe to All allies
encription:MAXIMUM

"we agree to stop our invasion and accept all parts of this truce with vichnaya,for long ago,riomler,magica,and vichnaya used to share the continet but we kept clashing for over a century(dont mind me,just making some lore.)now,there is no need for this as the continet is so close to peace and we beleive we can reach it.It will be called the treaty of Rovaria?will be left to your discretion.

Communiqe to Lower magica
"your leader is dead,your capital taken and your forces captured,there is no winning this war,so hear our demands.

-repartation to The empire of magica
-Your goverment will be abolished with their no longer being north and south,upper and lower.
-all Military and polical indevisuals involved in war crimes will be tried with'n the month

by **Upper Magica** » Wed Feb 08, 2023 1:46 am

FROM: Dr. Hercule Franzetti, Chief, Analytical Department, Imperial Security Bureau
To: The Governments of the Empire of Riomler, Kingdom of Harrisopia, Republic of Alexiandra
Clearance Level: Top Secret

Greetings everyone,

We've taken a look at the Vichnayan diplomatic document forwarded to us earlier on, and there are a few takeaways from it:

Vichnaya seems to have overreacted to the earlier detonation of a 3-5 kiloton nuclear device in the Metropole de Marx - as you all know, this event was the beginning of the bloody ascent of - who, on a personal note, I hope is burning in Hell - the recently-deceased Gen. Yuval Yuvaraj. Given their... lack of presence, and consequently, experience in regard to international geopolitics, the Department deems this explanation as sound, though we cannot within a shadow of a doubt confirm it as truthful per se.

In addition, they seem to be reacting most strongly to the shoot-down of their pilots in Magican airspace; which... I believe any of us would understand, though the amount of force applied to such a proposition seems disproportionate. This, we believe, is in line with Vichnayan militarism and, again, their lack of experience on a geopolitical level, and perhaps some cultural chauvinism might play a role in this; it is likely their shotcallers expected to walk all over the Archipelago, not expecting such a unified - and forceful - Allied response.

Regarding President Montferrat's fear that Riomler could be left out of any potential peace agreement, this is a real possibility; this document doesn't actually specify whether or not a seperate peace is to be made. However, it does exclude Riomler from further association with the Fed. Rep. of Vichnaya; that's... understandable, given the Riomlerians crossed the border before the expiration of the Imperial ultimatum. We would have undertaken a similar policy - in fact, the Empire maintains no embassy or diplomatic relations with Traldonia to this day, and have refused any and all offers from that rump state towards that end.

There is one erroneous claim made in the document - the deployment of Riomlerian nuclear weapons on the Archipelago. Although we've well established that the Riomlerians did, in fact, intend to use nuclear weaponry in their assault on the Anchorhead, they never actually followed through after Allied - especially from the Empire - outcry. Overall, that's a large improvement given the track record so far.

We've determined that the Vichnayans might be actually telling something like the truth - and we have a massive diplomatic coup in front of us, should we choose to take it.

Sometimes brinksmanship has its benefits.

We recommend to the Imperial Government and the Alliance the following basis of any peace plan:

As Pres. Montferrat said, with alterations:
- Riomler agrees to cease its invasion of Vichnaya; and

- On the basis of this cessation, the three Allied nations agree to Vichnaya's terms on the condition that any cessation of hostilities will also extend to the Empire of Riomler. Riomler will, officially, pay an indemnity for damages. The bill, in reality, will be footed by the Empire of Magica, which will be charged as a zero-interest loan to the Government of Riomler, payable within the next 200 years.

- The Empire of Magica will allow a search-and-rescue element from Vichnaya to operate within its actual and claimed territory jointly with the Imperial Armed Forces in their drive into the Northern Magican Archipelago to effect the safe return and/or recovery of their downed fighter pilot, recognizing their right to do so. The other pilot, having ditched their aircraft over Anvil Island, shall not be apprehended without the presence of Vichnayan consular support and/or other representatives from that country as they shall send. In addition, any and all pieces of recovered Vichnayan aircraft will be duly returned, having been thoroughly catalogued.

- The Empire of Magica refuses any monetary compensation from the Fed. Rep. of Vichnaya; instead opting for a further increase of 10% over those decreases in import/export levies offered by the Federal Republic, bringing the total sum up to anywhere from a 12-15% reduction in imported goods and a 13% discount on export fees - while endeavoring at the same time to extend this courtesy to any and all imports from and exports to the Fed. Rep. of Vichnaya. This should, in theory over time, provide for fair compensation for both nations.

- The establishment of a 'hotline' directly to the highest echelon of Vichnayan government from the highest echelons of Harrisopian, Magican, and Alexiandran governments to prevent incidents such as this from occurring again; it's clear the Vichnayans are a peer competitor with the Alexiandrans and, following that train of thought, we'd probably be better off not pissing them off.

- The Empire of Magica, specifically, the Emperor Arthur II, will accept the envoy of the Fed. Rep. of Vichnaya in two weeks' time in the city of L'Anse à la Médée, and shall with immediate effect revoke Imperial Decree 159-2023 - the specific Decree expelling the Vichnayan ambassador and providing for the protective custody of Vichnayan citizens - restoring our two countries to normal diplomatic relations.

Thoughts, anyone?

'Little Magica', Tritous, Kingdom of Harrisopia

The news of Yuval Yuvaraj's death spread like wildfire among the Imperial forces and citizenry. Almost instantaneously, Imperial troopers heckled their Red Magican counterparts on the other side of the trench lines surrounding Drande and in other areas where the Red Magicans still lay in contact with the Imperial Army, while spontaneous celebrations broke out in nearly every major city in the Empire of Magica - most specifically, in the 'Little Magicas' that had sprung from the mass flight of refugees into Allied territories.

Contrary to most local laws forbidding their usage, fireworks, an integral part of Magican commemorations - everything to funerals, weddings, anniversaries, birthday parties, and minute business functions - were set off, illuminating the skies of far-away Lockbourne and Tritous.

The Emperor couldn't help but smile, even in as low of a spirit as he was, strolling through the cold streets, filled with revelry and amusement. It felt good to be among the citizenry, to be honest; nobody had recognized him, for the Emperor was well-versed in the art of disguise - to the shock of many a servant and dogsbody, he would often slip out into the streets of Aquis to play the numerous arcades. He wondered how many people would be shocked that their liege lord had beaten them - badly - in competitive Pirouette Pirouette Revolution.

"Perhaps this is why I was sent here," he wondered out loud. "That shadowy old bastard."

A nearby reveller stopped in his tracks. "Hey, I recognize that voice!", Arthur heard, much to his dismay. He turned back, raising his index finger to his lips. "Shh. Do me this favor, please."

"U-uhh, yes. Er, yes, Your Majesty. If you, er, don't mind me asking - what brings you here?" the reveller said in response.

He thought, for a moment. "Family affairs." The reveller went pale - realizing. "Oh. Er.. my mistake, Your Majesty; I was being insensitive. For what it's worth, sir, you have the sympathies of most people here. We've all lost people too." He held his hat in hands. "I lost my wife in the bombings; our apartment block collapsed in on us. I was the lucky one. I'll never walk right again; couldn't volunteer for service."

Arthur nodded in sorrow. "I... can't imagine the pain you feel, sir. I was in Aquis during the first barrages. It.. I felt helpless. Would that I had issue - I would have been on the front lines, damn my royalty. I would have felt like I was doing my part instead of being a throne puppet. When I think on everything.."

He was interrupted by the citizen. "That's no good - that isn't our way. 'He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds', as the Book says. But you're only healed if you want to be, Your Majesty. I don't know if you believe, but give yourself a chance."

The Emperor mused these words. "You.. may be right." He looked down, his phone buzzing. "I've got to take this call."

"No problem. I hope you'll think about what I've said today." The Reveller left, the Emperor picking up his phone.

"Hello?" he answered.

"You might be coming back home soon, Your Majesty. The situation has unexpectedly taken a turn for the better. We've got you on the first flight back to L'Anse à la Médée in about a week's time. For now, you're officially on a state visit. Make sure you keep that appointment with King Theon tomorrow; and the PR appearance in Little Magica, of course. After that, we've got an appointment with President Montferrat and a bunch of Alexiandran talk shows down in Lockbourne - and finally, a little bit of layover time until your flight back." He didn't need a description of who was talking on the other side - it was the head of Section XIII, his de facto chief advisor.

He gulped, dreadful. In a week's time, this temporary vacation, if it could be called such, would be at an end.

After finishing the call, the disguised Emperor strolled into a bar - musing the inevitability of what was to come over a Harrisopian dark stout.

With the enemy on the defensive - and most of its military in disarray, to say the least, the decision had been made: the Imperial Armed Forces were going to take the offensive in earnest.

Over the next few days, the Imperial Air Force began unleashing a hellstorm of its own over the People's Government, its hands freed from interception air patrols in expectation of further attack by recent developments. While the People's Air Force still posed a formidable threat to isolated squadrons, the numerous bombing formations that were currently annihilating radar, anti-air and anti-ship installations over the last days now focused on bombing the air bases of the People's Air Force aggressively, seeking to destroy the force before what was to come.

On the land, the Imperial Army began marshalling for air and amphibious assault at pre-planned muster locations on Anvil Island and other areas behind the line, intending on a series of assaults along the Inner Maritime Border - while brigades and whole divisions formerly engaged in the destruction of People's Army troops on the Isle de Dieu were sent to relieve the multiple areas still under Imperial control in the Eastern Island Chain; unfortunately, the key city of Drande still lay in enemy hands, as tens of thousands of Red Magican troops fortified into that urban jungle - while on the other side, several brigades worth of Imperial Magican troops were satisfied to dig in around the perimeter and starve out the Reds.

The Navy would hold its position north on the Blockade Line, still vigilant, as peace terms were not necessarily guaranteed. For the Riomlerians, though, a godsend arrived in the form of the Inner Sea Fleet: the firepower of five battleships began to hurl gigantic 460mm shells at the Red Magican defensive lines on the Anchorhead Formation, weakening their rigid defensive capabilities considerably - possibly even allowing the Riomlerians to break out.

by **Alexiandra** » Wed Feb 08, 2023 3:52 am

FROM: President Harper Montferrat, Alexiandra
To: The Governments of the Empire of Riomler, Kingdom of Harrisopia, and Empire of Magica
Clearance Level: Top Secret

Dear Friends,

I am in full concurrence with Dr Franzetti's appraisal: this stands to be the largest diplomatic coup in Lycenian history. Not only will it allow us to conclude hostilities in Lower Magica, but it will buy us precious time to conduct research into Vichnayan military assets and devise countermeasures for use in future conflicts. I suspect that our region is about to enter upon a period of cold warfare, pitting our alliance against the militaristic and increasingly assertive Federal Republic. With this in mind, a respite - which will allow us to marshal our forces and rebuild Magica - must not be rejected lightly.

Alexiandra remains willing to accept the original terms offered by Vichnaya, on the proviso that any settlement includes Riomler as well.

Magican Theatre

By now, communist resistance on the Isle de Dieu had effectively crumbled. The enemy had withdrawn to the anterior islands in disarray, demoralised by the death of General Yuvaraj; Alexiandran jets and helicopters, more assertive than ever in the face of declining enemy air power, harried them relentlessly over the straits, sinking a number of troop transports as they fled north. But this victory had not come without its costs. Over a thousand Alexiandrans had been killed or wounded on the Isle de Dieu alone, chiefly as a result of enemy gas attacks, and many more were missing. Communist casualties, no doubt, were many times greater, but that was no consolation to the marines who had lost comrades amidst the billowing clouds of death.

Alexiandra's presence on the Isle de Dieu and adjacent territories had escalated rapidly since word of Vichnaya's involvement had reached the General Staff. Thousands of regular Army personnel had landed at airbases throughout the southern half of the archipelago, coalescing swiftly into a powerful 'island-hopping' force equipped with amphibious landing vehicles and more close air support than any infantry grunt had ever seen before. Transport planes streamed across the South Sea night and day, each fully laden with personnel and materiel alike. This was the largest airlifting operation in Alexiandra's military history, and Vichnaya's offer to foot the bill had been received with some satisfaction in Lockbourne. But the Alexiandrans had not lowered their guard just yet. While several thousand troops had been sent north to support the Magicans in their offensive, many more still were working diligently to fortify existing Allied positions, digging trenches, constructing hardened command posts and installing anti-ship missile batteries on the coast. Alexiandrans were generally distrustful of diplomats, even if their President was more than willing to call the Vichnayans' bluff.

Back in Lockbourne, technicians were scrambling to regain control of government websites targeted by Vichnayan hackers. The preparatory work they had undertaken beforehand had blunted the impact of the attacks, but many citizens were inconvenienced nonetheless, and several important auxiliary systems remained offline. There was some cause for celebration, though, with Space Command reporting several hits on Vichnayan satellites. The Republic's own orbital weapons platforms had been diverted from their targets upon receipt of the latest Vichnayan communiqué, as the General Staff felt that kinetic bombardment would represent an unacceptable escalation of hostilities and endanger peace negotiations. Nevertheless, with the bulk of targeting work complete, they remained ready to swing back into their attack orbits with a few hours' notice.

Lyceni was perched on a knife-edge, and the next few days would decide its fate. Alexiandra was taking all possible steps to ensure that this fate, if conflict could not be avoided, was one in which the west triumphed over the east, and the phoenix overcame the star.

by **Harrisopia** » Wed Feb 08, 2023 1:24 pm

Harrisopia, Tritous
Harrisopian Royal Palace
Conference Room
King Theon Jadeous

The Harrisopian King sat back in his seat, habitually tapping the table in a broken, unrecognisable rhythm.

It was a big day in Harrisopia. A meeting of monarchs always was. But a newly crowned monarch whose country was at war tended to bring about a different kind of anxiousness.

Magican Emperor Artur-Morgan had been in Tritous for the last four days.
King Theon had only seen him the first day as a welcoming. He had wanted to give the young man time to become comfortable in his nation.
The worries of war were grueling for all but particularly the young.

A meeting between the two had been scheduled quickly. To discuss the matter of war and also the future of the blossoming yet still young relationship between Harrisopia and Magica.

As if on cue a knock came at the door.
"Yes?" Asked King Theon
The door opened and in poked the head of a Harrisopian guard.
"The Emperor is here Your Highness. Shall I send him in?"

The King stood up quickly
"Of course. Let him through."

Seconds later in came Emperor Artur-Morgan, dressed in casual attire. He looked tired but gave a professional smile.

King Theon stepped forward and took his hand enthusiastically
"Emperor Morgan, welcome. I trust your stay so far has been comfortable?"

He awaited an answer from the young Emperor.

by **Upper Magica** » Wed Feb 08, 2023 7:20 pm

Royal Palace, Kingdom of Harrisopia

It was but a normal day for Arthur the Second as he strolled through the halls of the royal palace of Harrisopia. He'd allowed himself to get soft in his time here, he thought - now it was time for work.

He felt a little uncomfortable at the thought. He was now an Emperor, such was his duty - but in his mind, it felt wrong. Perhaps it was the clothes - casual wear. The Imperial Regalia had been left behind, while the standard Imperial Marshal's uniform worn by Emperors outside of Court was still being tailored.

The Palace Guard led him to a rather regally-decorated door, adorned with what looked like gold. "Here you are, Your Majesty. King Theon awaits beyond these doors," the Guard said.

"Thank you," Arthur replied, giving and receiving a military salute as he passed.

Beyond the double doors was King Theon - after an enthusiastic reception, he replied to the King's pleasantries, posing some of his own in return. "I am well enough. It's too cold up here, though." He rubbed his hands to warm them up some, underlining his point. "Perhaps you ought to visit the Magican Archipelago one of these days. Don't visit in summer, though; the heat and humidity are as brutal as your winters are to me."

He sat down at a nearby chair. "The regnal name, though, is Arthur the Second, by the by. Little bit of a break from Imperial tradition," he continued, closing his eyes, a brief glint of a grin breaking out on the corners of his face, "but it'll be a drop in the bucket compared to what I've got planned after this accursed war."

Communique from: The Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Empire of Magica
To: The Federal Republic of Vichnaya, Kingdom of Harrisopia, Republic of Alexiandra, Empire of Riomler

We accept the notion of the continuation of peace with the Federal Republic and would like to proceed with talks under these terms in addition to Vichnaya's own:

- The Empire of Riomler will cease its ground invasion of the Vichnayan borderlands and withdraw to status quo ante bellum borders, while Vichnayan and Riomlerian forces shall observe a general cease fire. Allied forces will cease hostile operations against the Fed. Rep. of Vichnaya, while it is expected that the Fed. Rep. of Vichnaya will observe the same.

- Acknowledging that Riomlerian troops crossed the border before Vichnaya had a chance to respond, Riomler will pay an indemnity to be negotiated for the regrettable property and environmental damage inflicted, as well as the loss of lives.

- The Empire of Magica, for its part of any compensation offered, refuses any Vichnayan compensation to the Empire; instead, we propose a mutual reduction of tariffs and fees on exports and imports in the range of 10-20% between our two countries to make good any damages on both sides.

- The Empire of Magica will allow for Vichnayan forces to launch a search and rescue operation for both pilots in conjunction with the Imperial Armed Forces, which will lend its assistance in the case of the pilot currently stranded in People's Government territory, while current operations to apprehend the other on Anvil Island will be paused pending the arrival of Vichnayan consulars or any such representatives as they will send.

- The Empire shall rescind its decree of persona non grata on the Vichnayan embassy staff and its ambassador and release those Vichnayans held as enemy aliens in protective custody.

- The Empire of Magica accepts and therefore extends an invitation to the envoy of the Federal Republic of Vichnaya to meet in the auxiliary capital of L'Anse à la Medeé in two weeks time, to be received by the ambassadors of the Empire's allies or, as they so dispatch, representatives of the same, as well as His Imperial Majesty Arthur II, who will represent the Empire personally.

by **Riomler** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 5:51 pm

Front justice
Western lines of the front

The Riomlerian soldeirs were having a feild day as every moment,you could hear the yells of "We surrender!" from the communist forts,trenches,and emplacements,as the soldeirs marched,they could just hear the war ending.

by **Harrisopia** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 6:09 pm

Harrisopia, Tritous
Harrisopian Royal Palace
Conference Room
King Theon Jadeous

King Theon began "The death of Yuval Yuvaraj will certainly raise morale for all allied forces. But reports from General Davenport tells me there are still several contested zones that enemy troops don't seem keen on losing."

After taking a quick sip from his water he continued
"I will deploy 5000 more soldiers to assist in the conflict. They can join you on your return journey along with another batch of military supplies.
Hopefully it won't be long before we see the end of this war."

The King leaned forward intently
"However that does bring us onto another matter. With tensions the way they are, how long do you think it could be before hostilities between ourselves and Vichnaya escalate into something bigger and more consequential?

The atmosphere took a cold turn at this question.

The Magican Emperor tensed slightly before regaining his composure.
The King was eager to hear his response.

by **Relikai** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 9:42 pm

Capital City Silvanus
United Federation of Relikai

Conflict in this region has more or less affected a number of trade deals between local businesses and Relikan partners. While private ventures were not really a concern for the United Federation of Relikai, escalation of conflict in the region was never something to look forward to. That and the fact that tension of thousands of expatriates and refugees has found their way to Relikan shores, the government has finally decided to intervene as a third party entity. With time of the essence, has initiated Operation Swift Eagle, the deployment of a Carrier Task Force and Amphibious Ground Force distinctively dressed in the blue and white of the Peacekeeper garb.

Swift Eagle Naval Force
- 4x Archipelago-class Fleet Aircraft Carriers
- 6x Gallant-class Missile Cruisers
- 6x Formidable-class Missile Destroyers
- 12x Shield-class Stealth Frigate's
- 6x Sardine-class Diesel EW Submarines
- 8x Motherlode-class Transport Ships
- 8x Respite-class Freight Carriers

Each Archipelago-class Carrier carries 60x F-18 Super Hornets, 8x Electronic Warfare F-18 Growlers, 8x Seahawk Helicopters, and 4x E-2 Hawkeye AWACS command nodes.

The Respite-class freight carriers, each with a carrying capacity of 616,000 tonnes will hold enough supplies to support a full population of 10 million for a month. Construction, medical, and other supplies will be shipped, including coal, oil, and military supplies for the entire force. Presented foodstuff will supply the populace and the troops during this period before an air corridor is established for cargo flights from local nations and Relikai allows for fresh produce to be flown and shipped in.

The Motherlodes will be carrying two full expeditionary divisions and supporting battalions and companies.

Swift Eagle Expeditionary Force

Officer Commanding - Expeditionary General Istvan Skyler

10th Guards Mountain Division
11th Guards Mountain Division

Independent Attachments -
201st Armoured Battalion
202nd Armoured Battalion
501st Anti-Aircraft Battalion
502nd Anti-Aircraft Battalion
613rd Combat Engineers Battalion
607th Logistics Battalion
608th Logistics Battalion

The Mountain Division Infantry are equipped with Kruppgonne MG3 squad machineguns and BMG3 battle rifles. Each rifle team carries an anti-IFV Panzerfaust VII with a top-attack capability, and the anti-tank teams are armed with MILAN F-5 ATGMs.

Mountain artillery comes in the form of the 106mm Panzermorser and M109A7R self-propelled gun batteries, as well as a smaller squad mortar for the infantry company. Divisional support includes MARS and LARS rocket batteries with deployable anti-tank minelets.

Mountain battalions are provided a platoon of Leopard 1A7 tank destroyers and Jaguar 3 missile tank-hunters. Armoured battalions will provide Leopard 2A8R1 MBTs and Marder 2A4 heavy IFV support.

Recon units provided are MK-7U aerial drones. And the Luchs armoured recon cars, which will provide light local security during humanitarian operations. Marder 2s of the Aufklarungs Company will provide armoured support.

Anti-Aircraft elements are provided by Gepard 3 anti aircraft guns, Roland 2 missile batteries, and Redeye 2 MANPADS.

The Logistics Battalions will provide fleets of supply trucks, field hospitals and maintenance depots for the civilian populace, and provide medical supplies for wounded personnel encountered from both sides of the conflict.

The fleet will sail forth for Magica immediately, and will begin operations at a Magica-controlled port as soon as clearance is given.

Back in Silvana, the situation is being observed by the Committee. The Capitol is open to being the site of peace talks, while the expeditionary force and followup elements, including another fleet of supply ships, being prepared.

The message is clear, as the front remains precarious. With two powerful entities in hostilities, the United Federation will intervene with it's hammer to forge peace from the ashes.

by **Upper Magica** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:20 am

[REDACTED], Rovoria, Empire of Riomler

The die had been cast. When "Asset 'Hot Wheel'" saw the news on the television, his mouth slacked in uncomprehending horror.

The House of The People - defiled by Riomlerian soldiers. People's Army soldiers being corralled like chattel into prisoner of war camps - by the hundreds.

Was the war really lost?

Shortly afterward, he would have gotten a coded message - as well as 12 others like him, which would have amounted to the remaining MSS assets available in the country.

"Sic semper tyrannis".

And so, he got the message - looking towards the closet, he'd gotten an idea for the use of the sniper rifle secreted away within. He just needed an opportunity for the highest prize:

The Emperor of Riomler.

Command Center Gamma - Anchorhead SAR, People's Gov. of Magica

Comrade Desmarais strolled through the halls of the hardened bunker. Things so far had been a nightmare.

Every chemical, biological, and nuclear storage facility had been wiped out by a well-coordinated Allied attack. His peace plan, such as it was in his head, was in tatters. So were the communities surrounding said facilities, but that was a story for another time.

Entire commands had chosen to go renegade, disposing of their political officers - each claiming to be Gen. Yuvaraj's successor. Reports were even coming in of blue-on-blue between units loyal to him and those belonging to petit-warlords; an unacceptable situation. The cohesion of the People's Armed Forces was rapidly disintegrating, and before long he would likely be just another warlord among many.

Unless, of course, the MSS acted first - which they would.

Over the next few days, general officers would be quietly liquidated, while political officers took direct command of their formations - which would be greatly expanded, due to Mobilization Law #90, which would be activated in lieu of the dire situation. Men and women as young as twelve and as old as seventy would be given rifles and grenades - many dating back to the Great War era.

If no sufficient stockpiles existed, they would even take up the pitchfork. Those who refused to take arms in defense of the Revolution would be shot or hung, a sign advertising their cowardice adorning their body, which would be put on display for the benefit of those who harbored similar defeatist sentiments.

And in, perhaps, a moment of self-delusion, a message came from the People's Government to its rivals in the South as well as that of their allies.

Official Communication from the People's Magistrate of Foreign Relations
FROM: The Central Committee of the Defense of the Revolution, People's Government of Magica
TO: The Aquis Imperial Government, Republic of Alexiandra, Kingdom of Harrisopia

We acknowledge this war is lost, having been driven by the bloodlust and revolutionary zeal of the reactionist and centralist zealot Yuvaraj. This war has cost everyone involved dearly, and hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. There is no point in continuing further with this farce of a brother war, and we, the Central Committee of the Defense of the Revolution, lead by Comrade Desmarais, propose the cessation of hostilities based on these points:

- The People's Government of Magica will revert to a status-quo ante bellum situation within the Magican Archipelago.

- The reinstitution of the Aquis Peace Treaty of 1959, restoring the previous arrangement of 'Lower' and 'Upper' Magica

- The People's Government shall remain free of foreign interference, and interference from that of the Empire.

- No restitution will be paid by either party, for the ultimate fault of this war lies in both parties' hands.

- The restoration of the Empire of Magica's unaligned neutral position, renouncing all military alliances and foreign basing agreements.

Failure to act on this opportunity of a lifetime will be regarded as a colossal mistake by future generations - if there are any left after the bloodshed that will no doubt take place.

Regards,

Antoine Desmarais, Chairman of the Committee and Magistrate of State Security

Meanwhile...

Royal Palace, Tritous, Kingdom of Harrisopia

The Emperor tapped the floor with his left foot, frustration clearly on his face. "That's a curveball, King Theon, if there ever was one."

He thought for a moment - an awkward kind of silence filled the room. "I think... our countries could have a productive relationship with the Vichnayans. We would need more to know about them, though. They've been an unknown for so long, despite their close proximity to the Archipelago."

"Thinking about it, it's likely outright war between us escalates into Armageddon. I don't know about Harrisopia, but I'm fairly certain Alexiandra has the bomb. So do we - 56 nuclear warheads, 120 thermonuclear bombs. And I'm told the folks down in the lab we're setting up down south - they're aiming to be working on an artificially intelligent computer virus that can eat - or rather, assimilate other AI and self-replicate like a... like a cancer. Nothing like it's ever been talked about before. And, of course, they're working on other countermeasures and computer tricks."

He looks down. "If we don't come to an understanding, the world's going to go down the pot and quick. Future generations will suffer like no other has before. But we mustn't be doormats, either. I made that mistake with Yuvaraj, delaying, not reacting to the bellicose rhetoric - or what we thought was bellicose rhetoric - hoping he'd be open to peace, and hundreds of thousands of my subjects are dead now."

He looked glum, an uncertain mood readable on his face. "It won't happen again."

Office of Naval Intelligence - L'Anse a la Medee, Empire of Magica

Grand Admiral Contarini strolled in, having been woken up in the middle of the night for an urgent matter.

"This had better be good, Lieutenant Ronan. Last time I got a call from you this late at night, you'd said an enemy fleet was heading in from the southwest - and it turned out to be an Aquilaran whaling fleet." the tired Admiral and Regent said to his sub-officer.

"Yeah, well - this is the real deal, sir. We've begun tracking a fleet from the, uh, United Federation of Relikai - if signals intelligence, civilian intelligence and long-range RADAR tracking is to believed - that is currently heading our direction. We haven't received a communique from them yet, but we're at least 44.7% certain that fleet's going to be in the united Magican EEZ in a matter of days." Lieutenant Ronan said.

"Wait until they're for sure heading our way," Grand Admiral Contarini replied. "Find out their intentions when we're in full confidence they're heading our way; could just be a naval exercise. We don't want to pull another Vichnayan incident. In the meantime, apprise the Alexiandrans and Harrisopian fleets of our determination. And, uh, send a U-2 flight their way, full IFF and transponder suite engaged. If they shoot it down, it'll be pretty clear what side they're leaning on."

The Lieutenant saluted. "Yes sir, we'll make it happen."

A singular, unescorted U-2 spy plane took off within an hour - its mission to surveil the incoming fleet.

Vichnayan Ground Forces	Vichnayan Navy	Vichnayn Aerospace Forces
2 White Guards Motor Rifle Divisions 1 White Guards Tank Division 2 White Guards Mountain Air Assualt Brigades 2 white Guards Naval Infantry Brigades 1 National Guard Division 1 Motor Rifle Brigade 1 (Experimental) Mechanized Brigade	SURFACE COMBAT ARM 4 Shtorm-Class Supercarriers 4 Mistral-Class LHAs 3 Kirov M-Class Battlecruisers 1 Kulchitsky-Class Battlecruiser 6 Slava-Class Cruiser 23 Lider-Class Destroyers 9 Sovremenny-Class Destroyers 5 Gepard-Class Frigates 5 Admiral Gorshkov-Class Frigates 2 Zaliv-Class Large Patrol Ships SUBMARINE TASK ARM 3 Typhoon-Class Nuclear-Powered Ballistic Submarines 4 Borei-Class Nuclear-Powered Ballistic Submarines 3 Antei-Class Nuclear-Powered Cruise Missile Submarines 7 Akula-Class Nuclear Attack Submarines TRANSPORT ARM 4 Ivan Gren-Class Landing Ships 6 Ropucha-Class Landing Ships 6 Zubr-Class Hovercraft/Landing Crafts 14 Serna-Class Landing Crafts 13 Dyugon-Class Landing Crafts LOGISTICAL ARM 10 Kosatka-Class General Purpose Cargo Ships 5 Kit-Class General Purpose Cargo Ships 1 Medsestra-Class Type A General-Purpose Cargo Ship 4 Lyubov-Class General Purpose Cargo Ships 6 Koroleva-Class Fast Combat Support Ships 3 Devochka-Class Large Fleet Tankers INTELLIGENCE ARMS 1 Kapusta M-Class Communications/Surveillence Ship	RECCE WAVE 5 MiG-41RBs Stealth Reconnaissance Aircraft 5 MiG-41s Stealth Interceptor/Heavy Fighters 12 Sukhoi Su-57SMs Stealth Multirole Fighters 2 Sukhoi Su-60A Stealth Multirole Fighters 1ST WAVE 45 Sukhoi Su-75M Stealth Multirole Fighters - VKS/VVS 30 Sukhoi Su-57SM Stealth Multirole Fighters - VKS/VVS 27 Sukhoi Su-60A Stealth Multirole Fighters - VKS/VVS 10 Tupolev Tu-200 Stealth Strategic Bombers - VKS/VVS 23 Sukhoi S-70 Okhotinik-B Stealth UCAV Bomber - VKS/VVS 10 SerVoron Vedomyy-3M Odysseus Stealth UCAVs - VKS/VVS 2 Sukhoi Su-35SM2 Mod. UCAV Fighter - VKS/VVS

The Second Magican War [MT/Finished]

The Wars ending phases...

The blockade

Chapter 9 - Part 1

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