The Merrinan War [Closed | ATTN Noctur]

[Poldania]

All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers.
Francois Fenelon

Merrinan Capitol Tower, Mer
Cities are important. They are imposing symbols of wealth and power, but more importantly they are homes and give comfort to their people. Cities are symbols, and symbols are good for morale. And so Gervas Hitzig cursed that Mer had been built so far north.

The interim president of Merrina stared anxiously out his penthouse-office window. He was no general, but he did know that Mer would be the first city to fall to the Poldanian invasion. It was only a hundred miles from the border, and his forces had enough on their hands just protecting convoy routes and industrial centers in the south. Hitzig had already ordered the capital evacuated; the only reason he was still there was because he'd refused to leave until the people were safely out.

"At least when this is all over there'll be plenty of jobs in construction..." The man next to him grunted. "What, I'm not allowed to joke about everything going to shit, Heinrich?"

The defense minister scoffed and moved away. "We should leave."

An explosion echoed from the north. The president grumbled something about imperialist bastards and reluctantly agreed, knowing full well the building they stood in might not be there in the morning.

---

Palies das Rives, Verdona
While the Merrinan president left his office in an armored car, the Poldanian president sat at his desk besieged by paper.

Calmes sighed. "Maia, how many people are trying to kill us now?"

"Segland just declared war too."

"Hm... Need to call Sivliu about--" The president signed a state of emergency order just as another paper was tossed in front of him. He rolled his eyes. "Nui-ta's decided to help us. Finally."

The Secretary of Defense walked in and handed Calmes a file. "Orders for deploying 2nd Fleet to the coast of Segland. And remember those nukes we put in Merrina?"

The president grunted and scribbled his signature. "They don't have the launch codes. I know, Charles."

"Actually, we think they could crack it if they tried hard enough," the larger man shrugged, "but Hitzig's not insane, so as long as we don't nuke Merrina or something, we're fine. Anyway, I'm going to go to have things blown up now. Wish me luck."

---

Outskirts of Mer, 0500
Flames leapt from shattered windows and licked away metal supports as the sun rose to the rumble of jet engines and collapsing buildings. The office where Hitzig had stood a day earlier was now a mess of glass shards and twisted steel, thanks to a well-placed missile by an over-eager fighter escort. Grounds troops circling south around city paused to watch a flight of bombers continue a centuries-old tradition: When Poldanians and Merrinans fight, Mer burns.

The advance continued south and east to the mountains, sparing a few battalions to go west and link up with Aazeronian troops.

The main goal in the west was to destroy industrial centers before the nationalists could put out too many weapons, then cut off reinforcements coming from Segland. There was also the issue of taking back nuclear silos at the tip of Merrina's "tail"; unfortunately that area was probably already covered with Seglandic troops.

In the east, the campaign would be more problematic, mostly due to the rough terrain -- which had led to the construction of lots of military bases in the region. UAV intel suggested the Merrinans had taken advantage of that and even exercised exceptional air superiority, given that none of the recon drones had actually survived their missions. The Poldanians suspected the nationalists were getting supplies through Crata, a point of frustration for diplomats and officers alike. They argued over sending troops across the border from further north. Crata wouldn't be able to do anything about it, and the Merrinans would be caught in a pincer, but on the other hand it would be a major international incident...

The navy, meanwhile, was sore about being relegated to blockade duty. The admirals were lobbying for a joint offensive with Nui-ta against Ainotula to "knock the commies out of the war before they do something incredibly stupid." Alternatively, they wanted permission to raid Tuthinan shipping.

[Nui-ta]

Samuel Revolo, the newly minted Nui-tan Minister of Defense, sat in his office and tapped his pen against the desk impatiently as Commandant Oron Balzabi stood in front of him blathering on about how serious the situation in Merrina was turning.

The pair were waiting on the Prime Minister and the Emperor to show up. Both had no doubt already been alerted that Nui-ta was now entering the war on the Poldanian side. Still, there was a sense of tension in the room.

"In the meantime, while we wait for the others," Samuel frowned, "what did you tell the Poldanians exactly?"

Oron leered a little and began, in his nonchalant, almost manic way, "Oh not much. Issued a statement that although we really don't want to enter the war and see bloodshed and all that crap, that we're entering as the chair for Defense in the HL and as an unofficial ally of Poldania...isn't that sweet?"

Samuel rubbed his temples together and looked carefully at Oron.

"You realy don't give a damn if we go to war or not, do you, Balzabi?"

"On the contrary, I do. War is a game I never get tired of..."

"That's barbaric".

"I take that as a complement, especially considering my last name is Balzabi. Balza? I think the English translation is "demon", correct?"

"Still barbaric".

"Well none the less I'll have you happy to know that I've had Air Fleet Two loaded with Division 1 of the Nui-tan Infantry. Both Light Infantry and Armory Brigade. The Navy has sent two fleets out to the east, and we do have ICBM's on standby due to the nuclear threat from Merrina".

"I thought I read that Poldania had the codes?"

"Codes can be cracked. I liked the Ivers girl better. She was better with military affairs rather than just funding and analysis, like you".

Samuel spat at the mention of Kiana Ivers. Ultimus Renton still kept her around, although she'd left behind the chance of being an MP to attend to the fact that she had a husband and daughter to attend to. These days, she worked behind the scenes as Ultimus's personal advisor on all things military. If Samuel couldn't outshine Kiana for this war, his importance to the Renton administration was doomed.

Damned Hadinian bitch, he thought to himself.

They could only wait to see where Ultimus was at that moment.

---

"Well I knew we weren't going to get Radiatian aid, but this is a serious predicament that we've gotten into," Ultimus frowned. He personally preferred the diplomatic route to war any day, not only for political reasons but because being a mixed-class man in the days of Apartheid was war enough for one lifetime.

Kiana Ivers, a stunning 29 year old woman with long blonde hair and glimmering purple eyes, sat in front of Ultimus with a stack of papers, going over them in her head as Ultimus assessed the situation in his head. Rowan di-Amori, the Emperor, was sitting with them quietly and watching them while he played with his watch.

"Oh believe me, I know. The alliance with Radiatia states that we will recieve aid from Radiatia if fighting a defensive war. In our case, we're voluntarily siding with Poldania. It isn't like Hadin where it was an act of war against us. Besides, I'm the Radiatian ambassador's wife. If anyone knows Radiatia's position on anything, it's me".

"You're in the military, correct?" Ultimus said, raising his good eyebrow.

"Was. Giving birth to Johanna did something to my insides. I'm not as strong as I used to be. Also, I don't think my husband would appreciate me going back and fighting again with a kid at home. I've been considering baby number two anyway but I haven't talked to him about it or even made up my own mind yet".

Ultimus smiled understandingly. "If any of the others pick on you for choosing your family over politics...tell them to talk to me".

Kiana's eyes suddenly flickered as she read another report about all the intelligence about the situation in Poldania. She looked at Rowan curiously.

"Where did you and Commandant Balzabi send troops to?"

Rowan spoke methodically without looking up, his ADD showing a little. "Into Merrina through Detectatia, through southern Poldania, and some naval forces are set to block shipments to Merrina".

"What about the border with Crata? And the silos in Merrina?"

"I had troops stationed there..."

"How many?"

"About 7,000 at Crata and the silos are yet to be attacked but we're keeping an eye on them".

Kiana nodded calculatingly. "With your permission....increase the number of troops on the border to 15,000 as soon as you can. It seems supplies are slipping in through Crata, which is honestly too lazy to police itself. Prepare some units to engage the silos in Merrina at the opportune moment, as Segland seems to be trying to help Merrina slip through and those nukes have the capacity to hit us..."

Rowan looked up and some chess pieces and fumbled with them, mumbling over Kiana's plan quietly.

If this is the border and these pieces are us, and these are the silos...

He nodded. "Bring Oron in, and give him the order you just said".

As soon as she left, Rowan looked at Ultimus and smiled.

"Where did you get her? She's brilliant..."

"I see a great Minister of Defense in her..."

"So you do. Of course, we'll just have to wait and see, but that was pretty quick planning she had there...not bad for 2 minutes..."

[Radiatia]

Executive Tower, Federation Square
Xerconia, FCT

Britannia Howard's first day as a junior aide to the staff of Level 101 was not going well.

It began badly, with a train breaking down on her commute from the suburbs of Xerconia to Federation Square. Although the train company had promised to reimburse the passengers with for their "inefficiency" - which was a given lest they be sued more punitively by a disgruntled passenger - the damage was already done - she arrived at 09:30 hours instead of 09:00 - not a good impression for her new boss.

Things got worse after she was told to deliver a cappuccino to the Deputy Chief of Staff, but ended up tripping over and spilling it on a man who later revealed himself to be the Minister of Agriculture.

"Well dang it, is this some sort of ding-dong assassination attempt?" Exclaimed Minister Billy-bob Danailkov.

"Sorry sir, it's my first day." Said Britannia.

"Well shoot, I'll let ye off the hook then," Said the Minister. "I mean it was my first day not too long ago, so we're all new 'round here."

The Minister laughed and then went along his way, down to his office.

Half an hour later her boss - the Press Secretary - was looking for her.

"Oh Britannia, there you are! I need you to do me an important favour. I'm late for my briefing but could you please take this to the President directly?" She handed Britannia an envelope. "It's just a budget report. Nothing major."

Britannia, feeling slightly nervous about the fact the she was about to meet the President, navigated her way through corridors and office cubicles until she came to the ornate staircase which led up to President Silviu's office.

She took a deep breath and proceeded up, carrying the envelope.

At the top of the stairs, a guard was waiting.

"Excuse me sir, but where do I find the President?" She asked.

"Oh. I'm afraid you just missed him. He's gone downstairs to SHIT."

"He's umm..." Britannia paused a moment. "Actually I really didn't need to know that."

She returned down the stairs, a little bit taken aback by how blunt the guard was. He probably wasn't meant to be revealing any of the President's goings on, much less making references to Presidential bowel movements.

Feeling slightly confused she tried to return to her office, noticing one of the Deputy Chiefs of Staff passing through.

"Oh! Mr. Truman!" She called. "Um, do you know where the President is? I'm meant to give him this budget report."

"Oh sorry Britannia. He's gonna be a while. He has to have a meeting with the BASTARD."

"The bastard?" Asked Britannia. "I know he's meeting the Ambassador of Aazeronia today but I don't think calling the Ambassador a bastard is particularly nice."

But Mr. Truman never heard her as he had already run off to find his personal assistant.

Feeling more and more listless, Britannia finally found the Chief of Staff, Dexter Abram talking loudly in the hall to another senior aide.

"Dammit, Dexter, I've been trying to get FUCKED on the line all day," Said the Senior Aide.

"No Daniel, I do not want you to get FUCKED," Said the Chief of Staff. "You're overreacting as per usual."

Dexter Abram raised an eyebrow when he noticed Britannia standing there.

"Can I help you?" He asked her in a voice that was direct but not unkind.

"I've been told to deliver a report to the President, but I'm just being told weird stories about where he is," Britannia felt like crying. "First I was told he's on the toilet, then I was told he's talking to a wanker. Now you guys are swearing at each other. What's going on?"

"I hope he hasn't been talking to WANKER," Said the Senior Aide. "The last people we want to hear from today are the Western Area Nuclear Kill Emergency Response team."

Britannia paused. "Say that again?"

"Oh!" Said the Chief of Staff and Senior Aide together suddenly realising the confusion.

"Um, I don't think anyone taught you the acronyms around here," Said Abram. "The President isn't on the toilet. He's currently at SHIT which stands for Security Headquarters and Intelligence Team. He's there talking to the BASTARD which stands for Briefings, Advice, Security Tactics and Reconnaissance Department."

"And you guys weren't swearing at each other?"

"Nope. Daniel here has been trying to phone the Federal Unified Crisis Key Emergency Defences, or FUCKED, all morning."

"I see..." Said Britannia, realising with much trepidation that these were the sort of people currently running the Radiatian Federation.

---

BASTARD meeting at SHIT
Somewhere underneath Federation Square
Xerconia, FCT

"So, Mr. President, as you see here the satellite pictures show that fighting has already broken out in Mer,"

Oleksiy Romanov, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pointed at a display on the screen.

"How old are the pictures?" Asked the President. This was his first meeting with BASTARD - and with the National Security Council in general and he was struggling understand what was happening.

It was clear that the Commanders and the Generals didn't have much respect for the new President. While they were efficient and obedient, their occasional contemptuous glances did not go unnoticed and there was no doubt that the novice President still had to prove himself in their eyes.

It was Lena Toriah, the former Prime Minister, who had told him that this was normal during the first few BASTARD meetings. The Radiatian military establishment was often slow to warm to new people.

She told him to endure it as long as he could and then wait until one of them screwed up - which would inevitably happen. Then humiliate that person, making the rest of them fear you. In the Radiatian military fear meant respect, she said.

Sadly, there was no noticeable screw-ups happening today - or if there were, Keldon was still too naive to notice them.

"The pictures were taking by a satellite flyover approximately 30 minutes ago," Said the Commander-General. "If we could use UAVs we'd be able to get a clearer - "

"No," Said the President. "The Merrinans have missiles. But what they don't have is the means to tell a Radiatian drone from a Poldanian one."

Defence Minister Leon Peyton nodded next to him. "I don't think that wasting 200 billion Tsenyens on getting a clear photograph of a war we're not involved in is a particularly good idea."

Commander-General Romanov clenched his teeth but nodded and continued.

"Very well Mr. President," He said continuing. "Down here is where the nuclear missiles are located. This is pretty much the first priority. The Nui-tans are sailing into the gulf and we're likely to see naval skirmishes between them, Segland and Detectatia. The Aazeronians and Poldanians are coming from the north."

"Any word from Ainotula?"

"No Mr. President."

"And what about Crata?"

"We're keeping an eye on their border. We suspect that the Merrinans are being supplied from there and we're starting to see troops on both sides amassing along their border."

Keldon sighed. "Okay. Well..."

"We're not in any danger. As along as Ainotula and ArghNeedAName don't do anything stupid then this war shouldn't affect the Radiatian Federation at all."

"That's all I wanted to hear," Said the President. "Thank you gentlemen."

[Tuthina]

Tuthinan Camp, East Merrinan Border

While the Tuthinan imperial government, as usual, could not care less about the situation happening beyond its border and the immediate surrounding states, the imperial faith - or, as referred to its old name and sometimes the preference of the others, imperial cult - had acted rather quickly after the war between these two far-away states had erupted. Acting under the name of humanitarian effort to the Merrinan people, numerous shipments travelled over the seas and were unloaded in Crata, the extremely pacifist nation that happened to border Merrina, and had a very lax border control as far as civilian products were concerned. With that issue solved, the imperial faith had soon set up a camp by the Merrinan-Crataan border for its future operation.

The camp was a rather humble place. Most of the structures were built by wood and lumber decorated with white cloth, with wire fence and several isolated concrete buildings being the few exceptions. On the cloth, especially those forming the ceiling of the numerous tents, emblem of the imperial faith, along with as many symbols denoting international humanitarian, or otherwise civilian operations could be seen rather clearly from sky. Despite the civilian stance the faith hold, though, given its status as the official religion of Tuthina, as well as the fusion of politics and religion in the Tuthinan doctrine, the presence of the priesthood was rarely without tacit support from the empire, and the numerous clans and corporations forming it.

Another fleet of Tuthinan-made pick-up three-wheeler, arrived from the Crataan border and stopped at the empty grounds of the camp. Being the cheap, light, small, and surprisingly durable products that characterised Tuthinan exports, these trucks were perfect for moving a lot of cargo around the mountainous regions of eastern Merrina. After a quick inspections of the trucks to register them, the workers in the camp started loading supplies onto the back of the trucks. As claimed towards the outside world, the goods were strictly of civilian usage at least by appearance - cans of water, crates of canned food (including can openers), metal water pipes, fertilisers, automobile fuels, and even portable generators and radio relay could be found among the supplies.

However, while these goods were genuine humanitarian efforts that could maintain basic living quality for the population even when they were being blockaded from half of the world and being constantly under attack, on crafty enough hands they could also be used for war efforts. While rockets launched from metal pipes were not going to put a dent on most modern war machines, they could be quite an annoyance to the occupation when deployed in guerilla fashion. This was not how they were meant to be used, but as long as there was the need and supply for these goods, they would be used that way, and the alternative would be ending all operations in Merrina all together. On a more ulterior note, no matter whether Merrina succeed in gaining independence from Poldania, the supply of humanitarian effort would be beneficial to Tuthina: If Merrina won, then Tuthina would be among the first to offer quasi-official support towards them; If Poldania won, then Tuthina would still be performing a humanitarian relief - arguably more so than the Humanitarian League itself. Both actions would probably increase the fame of Tuthina, and it was worth much more than all the supplies would cost.

Like practically every civilian organisations worth their salt, this entire operation was guided by the priesthood, complete with their traditional garment regardless of weather or practicality - blue Tuthinan robe for men, and white and red one for women. As the most learnt class in the imperial faith, if not the entire empire alongside the nobles, they were here both to provide spiritual guidance, administrative documentation, along with other, more down-to-earth works. Among them was Titose Unebi, one of the higher-ranking priestesses in the camp, standing by the square inspecting the cargo. As a rather sharp contrast to the traditional garments worn by her, the tool of recording on her slim, unworked hands was not ink brush and paper, but a brand-new tablet computer, which could hold more information than an entire truckload of scrolls.

After ticking - or rather, circling - the last item on a check-list, the last truck was filled with the usual items and supplies, while at the same time, the workers, most of them volunteers, hopped onto the back of another fleet of truck, which would be the seat of the drivers after they had delivered their cargo. The pick-up trucks moving the cargo, on the other hand, would be given to the native Merrinans along with its load. It was both because of the restriction of time to supply as many settlements as possible, but also the policy of not interfering with how the natives deal with the supplies beyond asking them to use them appropriately - misuse of them would be "regrettable", as they said. It was a rather common word for Tuthinan diplomacy, as one concluded that the "security level" of Tuthina consist of nine different level of "regrettable" and the last level being "full-out war". Then, Titose joined one of the trucks as well, no doubt surprising the co-workers around her, as they quickly gave a slight bow towards her, whom replied with a bow and a smile.

"It, it is our honour to share a seat with you, milady!" One of the worker, a rather humble man despite his strong build, said ot Titose, whom was a head or two shorter than him. However, due to the rather rigid social hierarchy, and the fact that most villagers in Tuthina were raised and educated with help from the priesthood, almost all of them paid their respect to the imperial faith, happily or otherwise. "May we ask why would you be sharing a trip with us?"

"It is my honour as well." Titose smiled to them as well, as the small, quite engine started humming in front of them, and the three-wheelers slowly gain speed towards the mountainous road of Merrina. Before they left the relative comfort of the camp, a white flag, along with the myriad of symbols, was put onto the roof of the truck, to prevent them from being mis-identified as combatants - Tuthina was not going to be involved in this conflict militarily, and the only thing remotely military in nature was the ceremonial side swords carried by the priesthood. As the trucks left the small plain and entered the country roads, they split up to reach their different destination, with about three cargo trucks accompanying one of workers. "I would be going to meet the Merrinans personally. I think it is about time we meet the one we sought to help, after all."

[Crata]

A brand new building was sparkling in the distance. "CCRC" was written on the signs as the Crataan President approached it. "Crataan Crisis Response Center". The outer walls seemed to be made out of glass, but upon looking at it more closely, it seemed to be a different material.

Well, glass would have been interesting. In the case of an actual crisis, this building would be the first to collapse.

The building was guarded by what looked like heavily guarded police forces. The President identified himself and was let in. The doors slid to the side, opening. From the inside, the building was not less astonishing: The newest technology, even by Crataan standards, was in place. Employees were mainly typing, but a few were seen talking on the phone or in the hallways.

As the President passed another few security checks and finally entered the main conference room, he was greeted not only by his ministers, but also giant screens on the walls, computers in walls and tables and a chair approaching him. It really was approaching him - sliding towards him on a rail. As soon as the President sat, the chair was sitting still for a second before beeping, moving the President to the table and announcing: "Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the Federal Republic of Crata. All members required to start the meeting are present. No intruders detected." Then silence.

"I hereby declare this meeting to be opened" said the President, unleashing a storm of light. The screens showed news, TV channels, projections of current on-goings, the room was a lot brighter now and it seemed like it had gotten louder as well.

"Sir, we're here to talk about the crisis in Poldania and Merrina. The situation is currently classified as war, which really should not surprise anyone" started Dr. Robert Gray, the nation's foreign minister. "Now, a lot of the information needed was already given to you. If you do need to refresh your memory, everyone has been given a copy of the report released just this morning - it is in front of you."
The President flipped through the report. He had taken his time to read it before, but he could not remember every single detail of it.
"What's the situation in Crata? What can we expect?" asked the President.
"As far as we can see" replied James Fernandez, the Minister of Internal Affairs, "we have not been affected yet. However, this may soon change. The most dangerous possible result of this war may be a use of Crataan soil as a battleground by Poldanian and Merrinan forces."
"How likely is this?" asked the President, feeling more and more uneasy.
"We can't say it won't happen. Merrina does border Crata, and so does Poldania. But even if they don't fight on Crataan soil, there are still other consequences, some of them even existing right now. Dr. Gray?"
"Thank you, Mr. Fernandez" said Dr. Gray calmly, "And indeed, we are already facing consequences. Not directly, as Mr. Fernandez stated, but indirectly. For one, foreign troops are moving very close to our border, officially to protect supplies from Tuthina reaching Merrina. These supplies have been classified as humanitarian goods."
"Do our police forces control them?" asked the President.
"Surely" noted Mr. Fernandez, "but there's not a lot they can do. They check the convoys, see they're humanitarian goods, and then let them leave. In order to arrest them, we'd need a new law. But I'd personally say banning humanitarian aid would be completely against our policies."

"Indeed." noted the President before turning to Janna Adler. "What can CHAF do?"
"Not a lot, sadly" responded Ms. Adler. "We lack the necessary funding and would be unprotected against any foreign force."

The debate went on for a couple of hours before all left. The sliding chair slid back, the doors closed, the President walked home in the cold, fresh air of Crata City.

And this in the middle of elections.

[Aazeronia]

Previous day before deployment...

War...something that seemed foreign to Aazeronia, yet was at strangely closer to home than few would imagine. History tells that the last major war in which Aazeronians took place was nearly 200 years ago during the Great Civil War, yet that was Aazeronian verses Aazeronian. Never before had an Aazeronian soldier fought a foreign opponent on foreign soil.

This war was different. There was no long volunteer or draft lines of men and women eager to join the fighting, as with the Great Civil War. There was expected to be no fighting in mainland Aazeronia, no rationing of food, no shortage of basic necessities. Posters lined the streets and the news constantly reminded citizens of the righteousness of the Poldanian cause in fighting the Merrinans, yet still there was a lack of eagerness. This truly was a foreigners war, yet bound by a promise, the Aazeronians must intervene. For Aazeronians always keep their promises once made.

The day finally came when it was time for the Aazeronian troops, formed into the 23rd Expeditionary Force, to leave for Poldania. It would be no simple task transporting thousands of men and women across the water. Troops were to be transported by air initially to establish a beach head and construct a forward base within Poldania close to the Merrinan border.

The Over Lieutenants walked out onto the ramp where both the first wave of troops to be deployed and the transport aircraft were waiting. They were tasked with final inspection of the troops before being sent into the conflict. The lieutenants walked slowly up and down the rows of troops assembled. They gazed upon the faces of the men and women, some seemed eager and others sad, for the soldiers knew they may never see their families again.

Upon final inspection being accomplished, soldiers were ordered onto the transports. The transports were to take off late in the evening fly through the night and have a foothold established by the next day. Soldiers were to be deployed to designated drop zones and then link together forming a front.

The soldiers were on board the transports, and with a final salute from the commanding officer the transports were off. The soldiers were now bound to fight in a land that is not their own for a cause they did not ask for, but each was expected to do their duty all the same.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The following day...

The transports had flown all night, pushing as fast as possible to get the troops to the drop zones on time. So far, it had been smooth flying as Poldania was friendly airspace. Most of the drop zones were near the southern Sumarie state of Poldania.

The area was clear of enemies and the green light was given to proceed with the landing. As the troops leaped from the transport aircraft and deployed their chutes, the landscape of Poldania could be seen. The surrounding area was so far pristine and yet untouched by the conflict. In the far off distance, the fires of Mer could be seen burning despite the sun beginning to rise. The soldiers knew that Poldania was already in intense fighting but was expecting Poldanian forces nonetheless to link with up with them upon establishing a base of operations.

As the soldiers touched the solid ground, they immediately began forming into squads and performing their assigned task. At first, it all seemed peaceful, perhaps a little bit too peaceful. A small group of soldiers moved into a nearby, small Merrinan community, which had been abandoned. This was to serve a temporary headquarters despite it being so close to the Merrinan border.

However, it was after all, to easy and convenient. In the drop zone closest to the Merrinan border, no sooner had a radio in the temporary HQ been setup to radio in construction supplies and heavy vehicles, when a Merrinan scouting force began to open fire on the complex. Two Aazeronian soldiers were cut down immediately being caught off guard by the enemies. The others scrambled to set up fire support and kill the scouts, as the position of the Aazeronian soldiers should not be given away so easily.

The commander was yelling trying to give orders to his men over the sound of constant gunfire and the combat mask he was wearing. "I want a heavy machine gun in that window to give us some covering fire!" he yelled. The soldiers provided cover to buy time for the support soldier to set up the heavy machine-gun. One more Aazeronian fell, a large caliber bullet to the jaw, which mangled the face almost to being unrecognizable. Another soldier, who saw this, took cover and could not control their emotion and dropped their weapon.

"Pick up that weapon and fire at the enemy or I will shoot you myself!" The commander yelled at the terrified soldier. The soldier continued to hide in a corner. The commander moved over, grabbed the soldier by the collar and yanked him to his feet and put a gun in his hand and yelled, "You are an Aazeronian soldier! You do not cower in combat and you show the enemy what you are made of!"

The fighting continued for another hour with the Merrinans finally being defeated due to the timely arrival of another drop zone force. Only four out of the ten initial soldiers survived the skirmish. The commanding officer of the re-enforcing forces walked up to the commander of the first soldiers, a the while seeing the carnage of the dead Aazeronians and Merrinans, and inquired as to what had happened.

The rescued commander, now revealed to be General Vikter von Aazrik, leader of the forces in Poldania, only gave one reply with a sullen look upon his face and the dead soldier he had earlier tried to rally whose lifeless corpse now rest in his arms, "This is why Aazeronians do not fight. We never know what we are getting into until it happens. When the carnage of conflict finally shows its ugly face not one of us can bear it. Take a look at this carnage commander...this is the war we are in, and in the end this is all you will remember."

[Detectatia]

Emma Drew, the Premier of Detectatia, took a few short breaths before standing to commit political suicide. At least, these were the sentiments of her Moderate compatriots, and at least a few from the Liberal wing of her government. The warnings behind closed doors were incessant--do not do this, Premier Drew, lest you risk your government's support. But Emma was sure of herself. The fact of the matter was that her--her--Moderate-Liberal government was doing what was right. At least they were doing better than the backwards, so-called "Free People," and "New Libertarian Objectivists" of the Opposition. The fact of the matter was that she was reforming Detectatia. The fact of the matter was that this Vox needed to complete the final necessity in bringing Detectatia greatness--standing up to international bullies like Poldania, and defending Merrina. Surely her government would back her up--they had to.

Emma bent the desk microphone upward, toward herself. Before she spoke, she glanced around the Deputies chamber. The fact that the previous Senate chamber was now a place for true MPs, and the fact that a full house--all 809 of them--now sat here was all her doing. This was her legacy. And this legacy would now help her create a new one. A nation forever in Detectatia's debt.

"Mr. Speaker," she said into the microphone. "I would like to make a motion. I move," she said, pausing a moment before continuing. "That a state of war does now exist between the Federal Republic of Detectatia, and the Democratic States of Poldania. I further move that-"

The chamber began to grow restless as Deputies began muttering to each other, most sounding angry.

"I further move that the Federal Republic of Detectatia does now officially recognize the Republic of Merrina as a state.

"Fellow Deputies, war is not a move to be taken transiently, or lightheartedly. Our nation has been an example of this for 194 years. However, we must recognize that there is indeed a season of all things. A time for peace, and now, a time for war. As I warned the Poldanian government during my Presidency, it should not overstep its bounds. It should not restrict the right of the people to form their own government, especially one with such differences than native Poldanians.

"But did the Poldanian government listen? No. Instead, they stomped all over our plea, and stomped all over Merrina. It is time that we stand up and show our commitment to what truly is a human right. It is time that we stand up and show Poldania, Noctur, and the world, that Detectatia means business." With that, she sat down, the murmurs of outrage growing around her.

The Leader of the Opposition, Andrew Roneril, quickly stood as soon as he was beckoned to do so by the Speaker. Andrew Roneril--who always was the face of couth, diplomacy, and politeness, seemed to finally reach a motion which he could no longer tolerate. His words were full, however, with more of an angry disappointment than all-out rage.

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Fellow deputies, I have debated and debated with the Premier about myriad issues and bills, which have all ultimately passed. And now, seeing this motion, I finally must conclude that Premier Drew, a woman who I've had the utmost respect for, is not fit to have a government, and is hardly fit to have a seat in this House at all. In fact, this leader of the Moderates, is anything but.

"Deputies, as I've pointed out, Premier Drew and her government have only worked to expand the role of the state beyond necessity. Currently, this is largely in the economic realm. Thank goodness that the Liberals have a love for social freedom, else this expansion would be in every area available.

"However, not only has the state expanded, but now Mrs. Drew has done something I wouldn't even think the government capable of doing: masquerading a Jingoistic attempt to grab a protectorate or even colony as Detectatia taking action to preserve human rights. The truth is, Deputies, if we should intervene at all--and that is up for debate--the Premier would have us support the wrong side, both diplomatically and in terms of rights.

"Merrina has violated its compact with the Poldanian government as per its Constitution, which prohibits the raising of an armed forces. What we see now is not only secession--an act which can very well be considered not right, taking our Constitution as an example--but have been engaged in military hostilities with Poldania, in direct violation of its agreement.

"Further, we have received warnings from our allies like Nui-ta to not support Merrina. It would be international folly and diplomatic suicide, especially with Poldania.

"Therefore, I must offer a counter-plan to the Premier's. We must advocate a ceasefire. We shall allow our allies passage through Detectatia to assist Poldania. And, if the need absolutely arises, we shall join our allies on the correct side.

"Until then, I feel it is prudent now to remove this woman--anything but Moderate--from office. Her whole government seems to be reasonable. I only see one bad egg.

"Therefore, I move that this House has no confidence in the Premier's government, and mandates the Premier's immediate resignation from both the Premiership, and her House seat."

Emma could only stare blankly at Andrew, the nice young man of 29, so respectful, as he put her on the chopping block with almost the whole House in agreement.

---

Emma could barely even move her arm to press the button to vote on the three motions as they were called.

The screen that was displayed above the Speaker's rostrum and which wrapped around the walls began lighting up as the votes took place.


On: That a state of war does now exist between the Federal Republic of Detectatia, and the Democratic States of Poldania.

Aye: 52 (Moderate - 10, Liberal - 37, Detectatia Rises - 4, Communist - 1)
Nay: 756 (Moderate - 352, Liberal - 50, FPP - 218, Traditionalist - 67, NLO - 22, Anarchist - 2, Green - 42, Syndicalist - 2, Technocratic Atheist - 1)
Abstain: 1 (Syndicalist - 1)

MOTION NOT AGREED TO.


On: That the Federal Republic of Detectatia does now officially recognize the Republic of Merrina as a state.

Aye: 52 (Moderate - 10, Liberal - 37, Detectatia Rises - 4, Communist - 1)
Nay: 756 (Moderate - 352, Liberal - 50, FPP - 218, Traditionalist - 67, NLO - 22, Anarchist - 2, Green - 42, Syndicalist - 2, Technocratic Atheist - 1)
Abstain: 1 (Syndicalist - 1)

MOTION NOT AGREED TO.


Emma closed her eyes as the last roll was opened.

This is it, she thought.


On: That this House has no confidence in the Premier's government, and mandates the Premier's immediate resignation from both the Premiership, and her House seat.

Aye: 701 (Moderate - 325, Liberal - 20, FPP - 218, Traditionalist - 67, NLO - 22, Anarchist - 2, Green - 42, Detectatia Rises - 4, Technocratic Atheist - 1)
Nay: 108 (Moderate - 37, Liberal - 67, Syndicalist - 3, Communist - 1)
Abstain: 0

MOTION AGREED TO.

[Nui-ta]

tagged --- naval combat, land strat., and Detectatia political response

[Poldania]

The roads of Merrina, as the Tuthinans learned, were virtually unused this close to the Crataan border. Most people chose to fly; one of the few things Poldanians and Merrinans had always had in common was dislike of rough terrain. Despite this, the winding highways were very well maintained, thanks to the area being being full of military facilities and its infrastructure deemed "vital to national defense".

Normally the trip would have been quite nice -- beautiful, even, to those who enjoy mountainside scenery -- but the constant roar of patrolling jets and the occasional sight of grim-gray convoys passing by quite ruined the atmosphere of a blissful mountain pass.

A group of refugees making their way, on foot, down the road was stopped by an armed patrol as the Tuthinan's truck slowed to watch. The people -- five or six, maybe family -- were quickly searched and loaded into a greenish-gray transport truck. Two soldiers eyed the Tuthinans and approached their oddly-designed pickup truck. One kept his distance and cautiously leveled his rifle. The other knocked on the window.

"You're from Tuthina?" He asked. He had a private's insignia. Titose nodded. "You're, uh... one of the priests?" She nodded again. The soldier grinned. "Great! If you wanna follow us, we're bringing these people to Agmark airfield. It's our biggest civilian camp so far, sort of an unofficial capital. And Hitzig's there. I'm sure he'd be interested in talking to you."

Half an hour later, the convoy pulled into an airfield at the base of a small mountain. After a short inspection, the Tuthinans were allowed to enter as well.

Two runways ran north to south, dividing the base into the military west and civilian east. The east saw civilians -- mostly refugees from Mer and other northern towns -- being housed in barracks whose garrisons had been sent to the front lines. The west boasted an impressive collection of aircraft, their blue-and-white roundels repainted red-and-black, and their wolf-head insignia replaced with eagles. The two sides came together at the south end, were a large command center now served as both a high command for all Merrinan forces and an administrative center for the would-be nation. The president made his office there, and upon hearing of the Tuthinans' arrival, asked to have Titose Unebi brought there at her convenience.

---

The Western Front had spent the night rolling slowly south, following the Aazeronian transports that passed overhead. At dawn, the men looked east to the twin lights burning on the horizon.

For all its barbarity, the sight of Mer burning by sunrise was among the most cherished of Poldania's cultural memories. There was a painting done near the end of the Kings' Wars of the First Razing. The emperor so loved it that he supposedly hung it in his bedroom so he would go to sleep "and each night dream of glory". Of course, it took a century before anyone noticed it was actually an image of the Merrinans burning of Prime in Galne -- the first hint was the ocean in the background. Still, the impression stuck, and variants of the painting appeared virtually everywhere during each Merrinan uprising. This war was no exception, but now the propaganda posters featured actual photographs.

The reservists were just as eager to mobilize as they had been a hundred years ago, during the last rebellion. The old guard would put it to patriotic fervor and a deep-seated nationalistic rivalry; to them, war, especially with Merrina, was Poldania's natural state. But to the young men and women doing the actual fighting, they went south for more personal reasons -- the Merrinan soldiers had sworn to defend Poldania. They had trained together and lived together, and grew friendships without caring that their ancestors had hated each other. And then they turned around and decided a flag was more important. So the politicians and commanders made sure to spin the war as one of betrayal -- with Poldania playing the still-hurting victim looking for justice.

The first report of distant gunfire came from an advance squad charged with finding and securing the Aazeronian command's landing zone. The battle was over by the time they arrived. One of the men sought out General Aazrik to inform him that the main force, along with General Jean d'Amre, would be arriving within fifteen minutes.

d'Amre arrived half an hour later, along with Army Group West's 116th Brigade. A handful of infantrymen followed the general while the others set about establishing a field HQ.

"Apologies for the delay, general," d'Amre approached his Aazeronian colleague. "A few miles out, we came under fire from a dozen or so Merrinan... civilians with guns, basically. We're not entirely sure what they were doing out there, but they clearly didn't have any training. No casualties on our part -- APCs can take bullets pretty well. I hear your welcome wasn't quite as warm."

[Tuthina]

The rough terrain and the general lack of any infrastructure beyond the highways was no stranger for most of the Tuthinans, barring those who had never leave the few highly-developed modern cities before this mission. While Tuthina, similar to Crata, possessed and sometimes pioneered many modern technology, and the urban cities were every bit as modern as most metropolis in Noctur, the overwhelming majority of the Tuthinan land was virtually the same as they were for millennia: mountainous islands covered in forests and dotted with farmlands and villages. Because of the difficulty in maintaining a vast road network in Tuthina - both due to funding and subtle rivalry between some regions, roads beyond the major highways were either stone road laid in the distant past, or mud roads built and maintained by by the frequent passing of trucks and vehicles.

Experience with using and maintaining vehicles with poor infrastructure, as well as attempts to enter developing markets with similar conditions, produced the three-wheelers that the Tuthinans were riding and giving to the local Merrinans. While they were inferior to their four-wheeled counterparts in terms of stability and load, the small-size and easy construction of them meant they could maneuver in these rural roads with ease, as well as being very easy to maintain, construct, and still profitable when sold in a low price. Despite their mundane appearance, these trucks were also surprisingly durable as well, being able to function even after being buried in mud or dust after continued usage.

Of course, that did not necessarily make the ride through Merrina a pleasant one, and most would still choose to use the highways when possible, as the small fleet of trucks carrying Titose Unebi and supplies for a few villages did. Despite the occasion disruption from the patrolling jet planes and convoys, Titose and the workers still enjoyed the mountainside scenery of this foreign nation. While it might not be as beautiful as Tuthina - something that most Tuthinans were proud of - it nevertheless reminded them of it, which could somewhat ease the gradually developing homesick, as well as stress from all the work and possible hostility from Poldania and its allies.

The convoy soon stooped as they arrived at what seemed to be a Merrinan military checkpoint. Refugees were searched and loaded into trucks, presumably to somewhere safer, while one of the soldiers approached Titose's truck. The confusion and caution on his face was easy to spot, and the feeling was mutual for the Tuthinan workers, even though they were probably more friends than foes - xenophobia of the Tuthinan people, especially towards those from a vastly different culture and were not travellers, was as prevalent and fundamental as something on the genetic level. The priestess, however, kept her calm and smile as the Merrinan approached and started asking her questions.

"You're from Tuthina?" He asked. He had a private's insignia. Titose nodded. "You're, uh... one of the priests?" She nodded again. The soldier grinned. "Great! If you wanna follow us, we're bringing these people to Agmark airfield. It's our biggest civilian camp so far, sort of an unofficial capital. And Hitzig's there. I'm sure he'd be interested in talking to you."

"Of course. It is my honour to be interested by such a high-ranking individual like him." While for her, most foreign names seemed to be identical and difficult to remember, she, like most priests, did enough research on Merrina before they arrived here to know that Gervas Hitzig was the leader of the nation. Unlike her, most of the workers alongside did not know the foreign languages they were using beyond the simplest words needed to hand the goods to the natives. As such, the priestess conveyed his message to the workers, before asking the driver to change the destination to Agmark, handing the original supply to another truck.

"So... we are going to meet the leader of this state?" The man beside Titose asked her again, as the Tuthinan fleet followed the Merrinans towards Agmark.

"Yes." Titose answered him again, before giving the fellow workers a wry smile. "It seems that I always caught the attention of high-ranking individuals."

"Well, at least you do get to meet the head of those we are helping." The worker replied, before the whole crew burst into a short and relatively quiet laughter. "Maybe you can ask the head priest to give you a raise for all the works of rites you need to do later."

It did not take long before the Tuthinan convoy to Agmark reached its destination - a rather large based divided into military and civilian quarter by two runways, littered with planes newly-acquired by the Merrinan air fleet. Although most of the workers had some quasi-military experience in the local neighbourhood watch before, the sight of jet planes was still a rather new and exciting experience for them, as some of them keep their eyes on these modern weaponry, while the trucks moved into the civilian quarter.

Titose's truck, on the other hand, went towards the command centre as the Merrinans asked. After arriving as close to its destination as it is allowed, the Tuthinan priestess left the rear cargo tray and the workers. She turned towards them and gave them a small bow as the truck left and join the rest of the convoy, before turning towards the administrative centre and walked towards it. Unlike the rather casual encounter with either her colleagues or the Merrinan soldiers, it was a relatively formal meeting, and as such, she stood more uptight as usual, with her slim hand resting on the hilt of the ceremonial sword by her waist. In order not to provoke unwanted attention, she merely griped the end of the hilt, not unlike resting on the arm of a chair.

[Poldania]

Titose was escorted down a series of military gray halls, up an elevator, and then down more halls, by an armed guard who spent the entire trip anxiously fidgeting with his weapon's safety, wondering why no one else seemed bothered by the fact that these nominally-friendly Tuthinans were carrying freaking swords around. His nerves were only natural -- he looked barely 17 and held his rifle loosely, as I'd afraid it might go off with too firm a grip.

They stopped by a door flanked by two soldiers. A plaque on the door simply read "CIC.

"Apologies, ma'am, but we're going have to relieve you of your sword, temporarily," said the man on the right. This one was clearly not as green as Titose's escort; he wore a sergeant's chevrons. He took the ceremonial weapon gently and briefly looked over it, curious. It was beautiful, in a simple way. An elegant weapon, if there ever was one, but a relic of a less civilized age. Not that the current one seemed all that civilized at the moment.

He looked to the young escort. "Dismissed, private." The boy saluted and walked away.

The sergeant opened the door for Titose and entered, gesturing for her to follow. The Merrinan president's office was nowhere near as luxurious as Verdona's Paleis das Rives, but then this was an airbase, and that was an imperial palace.

In the corner, a secretary sat at her desk, apparently searching through computer files to no avail. Nearby, a similarly-frustrated pair of unarmed soldiers were raiding a collection of filing cabinets. Defense Minister Heinrich Sudmark stood at the window, overlooking the base.

"Unebi Titose, it's wonderful to meet you," President Gervas Hitzig rose from his desk, smiling tiredly. "It takes something admirable to defy a nation in the name of helping people you've never met. I guess you could say that's why I was so interested in meeting you. Please, have a seat. And your sword back, if you want. Just don't draw it too quickly and no one should jump on you."

Straightening out his suit, Hitzig relocated himself to a cushioned seat by a relatively ornate coffee table. "Normally I would offer you a drink, but all we have left up here is tap water and horrible coffee."

[Tuthina]

The nervousness of the young escort did not escape the notice of Unebi Titose, as she was led down the hallways of the Merrian base. As a part of the vast priesthood that effectively formed the backbone of the theocratic empire that was Tuthina, as well as its military, one of her jobs was to notice the uneasiness and hardship of the people she herded, and resolve it with any means allowed and supported by the imperial cult. However, seeing that the foreign soldier was already quite nervous escorting her, it was probably not a good time to try doing that, especially to foreigners whose culture and practice might be very different from Tuthinans. The fact that she was completely unaware of the sword by her waist was one of the major sources of her concern seemingly proved that as well. As such, she merely did the simplest thing to ease the tense atmosphere between them - a soft smile towards him.

As they reached the door marked in the simple foreign alphabets, the escort stopped, and one of the guards asked her to relieve of her sword. As it was ceremonial for many people, including the priesthood, to carry swords by their side in Tuthina, she was briefly baffled by that request, until she quickly realised that carrying weapons while meeting important individuals was not a terribly common tradition of many people beyond her homeland.

"So, that is what the boy has been worrying." She thought to herself, before giving a affirming and smiling nod to the Merrinan soldier. Carefully not to make moves that might be misinterpreted, her hand on the hilt moved downward and hold the wooden sheath, while the other hand moved to her sash and remove the sword from her waist. Then, she handed it to the soldier as instructed.

For Tuthinans, it was a rather mundane curved sword about two feet long, and was protected by a wooden sheath. However, it was also elegant if only because of the distinct characteristics of traditional Tuthinan swords, including the curved shape of the blade, and the multitude of simple decorations on both the hilt and the sheath. As Titose passed the sword with both hands to the sergeant, he could feel that it was not a decoration, but was a practical weapon as real as it was ceremonial. Although some said it was a powerful weapon capable of decapitating a human, even a horse with a heavy strike by a master of swords, the priestess seem unlikely to be one, although if she did use it, then she might had some hidden strength beneath the rather lithe body.

The private was dismissed, and the sergeant opened the door and welcomed the Tuthinan into the room where the supreme commander of Merrina was at. Granted, it was a rather simple office for someone with that position, but given the general situation around, even if they could afford having an office as luxurious as, say, the emperor's bathroom, doing that would be immoral in many culture, and she assumed it was same for the Merrinans.

Apart from the president, there were also a few individuals and soldiers either searching through the piles of documents around, or was looking outside, probably because there were nothing much to see in this room. Her attention, though, naturally fell on the one just rose from the desk and welcomed her, identifying himself as Gervas Hitzig, the one who summoned her. Titose gave a slight bow, about 30 degree and seemingly quite precise, to him, before taking a seat after he instructed her to. Although the concept of chair itself was alien to many Tuthinans, including her, she knew enough of it, especially after her arrival to Crata and then here, to be sat somewhat comfortably to not look too awkward.

"That is fine, I understand, and it seems that your people will be more at ease if my side sword is in their custody for the time being." Titose responded with a smile, as she nodded to the president. "And the honour is all mine, for me to be personally summoned by someone of such high authority such as you, mister president."

"As for our assistance for the people in Merrina, it is of our belief that as we are both human beings, it is only natural for us to help each other when they are suffering." The priestess replied, trying to be as humble as possible as she explained her, and the cult's motive. "Despite our difference, I believe we are all the same inside, and if the situation is reversed, we are sure your people would do the same."