Caught In The Web: Astyrian Conflict & Intrigue (IC/Closed)

[Nation of Polarus]

CMB Cornell
Northern Casgene

A lone C-295 aircraft touches down on the runway of this out of the way Casgenian military base after a long round about trip over Dungeyland and thenacorss over the vast, empty steps beforte they reach their destination. They finally came to a stop, and quickly a few men walk out, exchanging formalities with the local soldiers before turning and opening the cargo compartment. Within the hold are several large crates, each of them filled up with an assortment of weaponry and munitions. The most important piece they carried, however, were the 9K38 Igla MANPADS and their associated munitions. These were among a number of other things, mortars. anti-tank weapons and the like. There was also a promise for more, should the Casgenians need it. All they needed to do was ask.

South Astyrian Seas

The Kilo class submarine El Idrissi was on routine patrols when it suddenly detected the presence of a very large Western fleet moving into position and immediately relayed the news back to the base at Zulheina. In a short time, she would be joined by her sister submarine El Moutarid, and together moved into positions on the flanks of the joint task force to Agrincourt. Their captains maintained vigilant watch on the foreign fleet, ready at any moment to unleash a hail of carrier killer missiles into the midst of the enemy should the time come. For now, however, they were content to wait along the sides of the large enemy group and continue to observe, relaying the information back to Zulheina and continuing their watch.

[Casegene]

Longmount, Capital Province, Casegene

The sun had already set on the horizon in Longmount, and the moon was already high up in the sky. Longmount, a city of 700,000, and the capital of The People's Republic of Casegene, was lit brightly, but its streets were mostly empty, save for the occasional desert camouflage GAZ Tigr of the State Security Department, or the blue-yellow UAZ-469 of the National Police Force. Previously, the government of Casegene declared a curfew, and all members of the public found outside after 20:00 in the evening were to be arrested.

The building of the government of Casegene was located in the centre of the town. It was a large building of blue-yell-white brick, with over six stories and stretching for one-hundred and fifty metres. A fifty-metre tower poked through the centre of the building. It was made up of reinforced blue-yellow-white brick. The whole building was cordoned off by hundreds of metres of high fences, and guarded by members of the State Security Department and the Republican Guard. Nothing entered or left the compound of the Governmental Building without them knowing about it.

Within the hollow halls of the building, was a large, spacious room; filled with refined leather furniture and a large, wooden desk. Sat behind it, was an older man; into his forties, perhaps early fifties. He had white skin with a slight tan and brown crew-cut hair. He was dressed in a black military uniform, which fitted him well, as he was surprisingly muscular for his age. The set of five silver stars marked him out as the Supreme Marshal, and the upper sleeves of his jacket were marked with an insignia of a white skull, crossed over with two daggers. This man was the Supreme Leader of The People's Republic of Casegene: William Cornell. He had just finished watching the President of The Republic of GHawkins speak. He scoffed slightly, and shook his head, staring ahead at the man infront of him - The Supreme Minister of The People's Republic of Casegene, Alexander Coren.

"I would rather be consumed alive by maggots than yield to that Western scum. What is the status on those reinforcements, Coren?" The Supreme Leader asked the man infront.

"The 1st Republican Guards Division has mobilised; III, IX Corps are ready; the XI Border Corps too. The invading task force has set up a defensive position already, and they are awaiting for the reinforcements, Leader."

"Very good. I shall make a speech, then. Prepare it."

"Of course." Coren stood up, and promptly left the room.

The Supreme Leader stood up after Coren left the room. He let out a sigh, and himself left his large office. He made his way down a long, wide corridor and soon arrived at the broadcast centre, which was located on the left wing of the building. He entered the centre through the large set of oaken doors, and the two Republican Guards guarding the room stood to attention. They were clad in immaculate black overalls, with the insignia of a white skull crossed over with two daggers. They were also armed with FN FAL battle rifles. Cornell made his way across the room, and soon arrived infront of a large camera and a green screen. He stood infront of the camera, and gazed directly into its lense as it began recording: the broadcast would be seen all across Casegene.

"Greetings, dear citizens of The Glorious People's Republic of Casegene. I, your Supreme Leader, am here to inform you that the Western nation known as The Republic of GHawkins has pledged its support to our enemy: the Agrincourtians. Fear not, for I shall guide us to a swift victory. We shall end these wars very soon, and re-capture the lands stolen by our "neigbhour". These Westerners shall taste the brutality of the Casegenian war machine and you; the people of this nation!"

The camera then shut off, and the Supreme Leader left the room swiftly afterwards.

[Terra Azure]

Off the coast of Port Blacksand
Terra Azure

The Confederate fleet sat, tightly packed in formation to avoid running into any further mine fields off of the coast. At this point, they had still not received any word at all from the Azuran government, and as a result were not about to conduct full scale offensive, or even defensive, operation. That was all about to change in a matter of minutes. Radar operators throughout the fleet began tracking the incoming aircraft of the Azuran military. Immediately, interceptors were being scrambled but full on offensive operations against them were not about to commence as it was assumed this would be a mere show of force. Technically, the nation of Terra Azure was still allied to the Blackhelm Confederacy. Even beyond this, it was unfathomable to assume that the Azurans would be crazy enough to launch two aircraft out against an entire fleet for offensive missions, yet it was now obvious that the Azuran government was not one for rational thinking.

The Azuran Sukhois closed in just as the SuFb-8's began to turn towards a path to intercept when suddenly the radar men throughout the fleet became frantic. Shouts of "Missiles fired" began to fill each radar room as CIWS and rolling frame missile systems throughout the fleet snapped to life. Missiles and bullets began to fill the air, but with the short amount of time allowed the crews there was not much to be done. The Kh-31A could be fired from a range of 25 km, giving only seconds to the men on the ships to react. Two missiles slammed into the cruiser Alicorn on picket duty at the outside of the fleet, slashing major holes in her side and killing and wounding several on board, while the other missiles were handled by the combined CIWS strength of the fleet as they streaked in. This was the second ship to be knocked out of commission, and very quickly helicopters and smaller vessels began to converge upon the wounded ship to attempt to right her and remove the wounded.

In the skies, meanwhile, the pilots of the two aircraft that had been sent to guide the Sukois away now looked wide eyed when they saw the missiles loose themselves from the enemy planes. Reacting quickly, both pilots slammed on their burners to close the gap between themselves and the Azuran offenders. With vengeance on their mind, they both gained ground on the aircraft of the fanatical government before releasing their own missiles. A pair of R-Darter missiles were fired at each of the fleeing Sukhois as the Confederate planes continued their pursuit, moving to close the gap even further in case that first volley had somehow failed to find its mark.

Meanwhile, in the bridge of his flagship, Thatcher was secretly overjoyed at the events. Now he could finally be free to play his cards as he wanted. He was finally able to unleash the full might of his carrier group upon the enemy, and he would do so without restraint. As the drones continued their mine clearing operations, he gave the go ahead to prepare the men once more to make a landing and then ordered his Ticonderoga class vessels to prepare for action. Three cruisers, each of them carrying a full load of 122 cruise missiles aboard her now prepared for action as coordinates were relayed to each of them, detailing the positions of Azuran missile sites, air fields, SAM's, barracks, and anything else of military value. Once received, the cruisers crews all made their last minute checks before finally, the BCNS Extinguish exploded to life. A virtual stream of long ranged Cormorant missiles, all one hundred and twenty two missiles aboard the ship, began pouring forth from the hold, one after another as they made their way towards various positions all across the area. Her two sisters would remain silent, at least for now, waiting to see if any additional firepower was needed.

The two Sukhois, flying low and fast over the water were about to get bounced, which at just 10 feet above the deck is no place to be bounced, furthermore they had another problem to deal with, for the Blackhelm carrier defence aircraft that had been performing Combat Air Patrol had loosed off 4 air to air missiles, two bound for each plane. Blue 1 did not have a chance, the missile striking home just behind the cockpit. distributing the component parts of the SU24 like confetti at a wedding, this also included the bodies of the two crewmen as they, like the Sukhoi SU24 they were flying were killed instantly without a chance to even eject from the aircraft.

Blue 2 however was a little more lucky, ramming his aircraft into full military power the pilot pulled up into a hard climbing turn in a bid to get around the back of the Blackhelm aircraft, as he did so, a flick of the defensive weapons system switch sent a stream of hot phosphorous out of launchers on each side, this however did decoy one of the missiles. The second missile fired, coming in a few seconds behind temporarily lost its acquisition as the pilot jinked the Sukhoi hard over, however the missile was soon back on its quarry, chasing down the SU24 before it got chance to get a bead on the aircraft that launched it.

With a flash of light and a revurbirating thud, the tail of the second SU24 was blown clear of the fuselage, sending the aircraft into a terminal spin so there was now nothing for it but to pull the eject handle and hope for the best. The pilot pulled on the handle causing the canopy to shatter and the seat to hurl skywards, seconds later the co pilots seat also came hurtling skywards, imparting an initial accelleration of around 12g's of force for a short moment as the seats were pushed clear of the sukhoi which was now heading for the ocean leaving behind a trail of smoke and flame.

Kilo class submarine, Azure bay
With the massed Confederate force to the east, Dungeyland to forces probably somewhere near by, the captain was summoned to the Political officers's cabin.

"Captain, here are your orders, I suggest you open them and brief your crew" says the political officer, a tall man with slick black hair.

The captain looked at the orders and smiled, "yes sir", he said if only to apease the political officer, however he had other plans at hand and went quietly to the helmsman, placing his arm on the helmsman's shoulder he smiled and whispered "now we have a job to do, the time is almost right, now make our depth three hundred meters, slowly and quietly, we have half the blackhelm navy above us and I dont fancy a suicide mission, set course zero zero five point four, make it so!"

The helmsman pushed forwards on the tiller and so the sub began to slip below the waves from below periscope depth, heading north rather than to the east and the blackhelm confederacy. opening the ballast tank flood valves the sub adopted a destinct nose down angle but there was no claxon going off, just the sound of creaking metal as the depth increased on the hull, pushing the sub to its limits as it made its way to the assigned depth.

Summoning the executive officer, the captain asked in privacy away from the political officer "how much can i trust you?"

"how do you mean?" asked the executive officer

"well I have other plans afoot, that buffoon of a president is probably going to get everyone in Terra Azure killed if he is not careful, and right now I believe it would be a good time to make a move" replied the captain, "get the pistols out, here are the keys". he removed his keys off his neck and handed them to the executive officer.

At 300m below the water the sub levelled out as the helmpulled back on the controls, the captain returned to the helmsman "when I give the signal, I want you to stand this girl on her arse as far back as she will go but dont let her slide, I will drop a key, okay?"

"yes sir" replied the helmsman as the sub slowly continued on its way.

The captain was taking a risk, a big risk and he knew it, however in his mind it was worth it, though a short while later, probably no more than 10 minutes away, the executive officer returned to the captain, handing him a 9x17 pistol, "are you sure you know what you are doing captain?" he asks the captain.

"yes", he says "definately yes" before turning to the political officer "Geraud, come to the conn" says the captain over the intercom, as the political officer, Geraud Auland comes to the bridge, the captain drops his keys and instantly the helmsman pulls back on the sub, blowing off ballast as he does, as Geraud holds on the captain draws his pistol and fires.

The sound of the shot echoes through the sub and probably beyond, BANG!, the bullet striking its target and so the political officer is no more, shot in the head bringing instant brain trauma, The captain fires twice more to make sure the political officer is well and truly dead and so the lifeless body slides to the back of the command area of the sub.

"okay level us off, make our depth one six zero" calls the captain, before turning to the weapons officers over the intercom, "listen, you guys our political officer had an accident with his coffee, burial at sea!" he says, calmly and quietly.

It is to no doubt that the sub may have been detected by the Blackhelm navy, however they are about to get a surprise package, and one which they may not expect as the captain and executive officer haul the lifeless body of the dead political officer to the forward torpedo room. "seaman, get me the radio beacon" says the captain, and so the seaman gets a life jacket and so wrestles it onto the dead political officer.

Once he is wearing the life vest, the political officer is man handled into a torpedo tube and the hatch closed behind. the weapons commander opens the forward torpedo hatches, and the captain nods. moments later the weapons officer fires the "torpedo" and with a hiss of air and a lot of bubbles, the dead body shoots down the torpedo tube and thanks to his bouyancy the body rockets to the surface and the radio pinger starts to sound.

*beep* *beep* *beep* *beep*, a signal that is heard oh so clearly by the Blackhelm Confederacy Navy, about 150km to the south as the sub sails in the opposite direction, heading close to the surface.

"now we have to watch for our own boys coming after us, so the sooner we're out of Azuran waters the better, My guess is to head towards Vizion and the channel that will take us over to Nikolian waters, be prepared to ditch what ever we have to to ensure we are not followed, take all our EPRBs off our life jackets and get rid of them. Hopefully the Azuran navy may think we have sunk" says the captain, not sure if his sub and his crew are going to last the next 24 hours, his destination is not as ordered, but a course hopefully in the opposite direction.

[Aquitayne]

Royal Palace
Telora, Aquitayne

"We can't ignore them about this one, Your Majesty. Not something this severe - if anything, we need their support."

"Do you really believe they're going to assist us in this crusade? The AFN wants nothing to do in foreign affairs; not anymore." Sam looked down at the dark brown oak wood table at which he sat, admiring the curvature of the embedded grain, seeking the distinct mark of the artisan who had sanded and polished it by hand. He almost got lost in the transcendent movement of the curves, but stopped himself, as life was too busy to be running away from. "There was a time where Symphonia would be no further behind us than the seconds it took for them to embark. Now, there are committees, investigations, votes; the whole process is very much changed from what it was when my father ruled."

It was true. The Asian Federation of Nations, and the Symphonian government and people as a whole, now very skeptically viewed foreign affairs which involved the allocation of Symphonian soldiers. Irrefutably, they were some of the best in Astyria, their training respected, but their use soon to be that of a small wooden box kept in the shadows of an attic which is the one place no grandson can ever look. Since the Civil War, there was much discontent between Symphonians and not enough unity to very effectively garner public support for any type of expedition, but hopefully the circumstances of this one would shake their feet enough that they would feel compelled to act.

It was not every day that a nation - rather an Empire at heart - simply vanished from the map, and in the 21st Century, lost all communication with the outside world. This type of event was mind-boggling, and it was one which needed to be investigated and dealt with swiftly, before it became a safe-haven for the black market, and the terrorist organisations that sought a place to do their training. It was widely known that Aquitayne's relations with the Imperial Spartanian Empire had been shallow and cold at best, but it was nevertheless Aquitayne's responsibility, as a nation which upheld that which is good in the world, to investigate what had happened and to render all assistance necessary.

Symphonian support was irrefutably necessary for the success of any mission brought to Insula Fera. They were the closest allocation of Aquitaynian influence in the region, save for Cape Town - although the only military installation in the Protectorate had not yet been finished, and thus Symphonian support was necessary for whatever was to happen in the future. Given the right information and the right amount of finesse, the Symphonian's would agree - and what was becoming known as Operation New Dawn would come into effect.

Kamunek us Guneyha Eirar us Aquitayne a Symphonia

Ab ordo: Aeternae libertatis

---

Recipient: The Asian Federation of Nations, Office of the Prime Minister Adaminghir Singh
Sender: The Constitutional Monarchy of Aquitayne, Office of His Majesty the King Samuel Reich,
CC: Her Majesty, Empress Seondeok vi Kiramashi-Reich, Empress of Symphonia and Head of State of the United Kingdom; Office of His Majesty King Rickard VII of Kelonna, Office of Lord President John Shepard
Subject: RE: Spartanian Question

---

Nas Renum Gardures,

The Office of His Majesty the King, Samuel Reich, has received your message, in which this letter is a response, Spartanian Question.

We have received copies of the questionable evidence your intelligence agencies have received, and attatched in this response are almost symmetrical pieces of data which point to a total, and complete, collapse of the Imperial Spartanian Empire's government structure in the areas of Northern Insula Fera. We, as of yet, do not know how this has come about nor are we currently aware of the circumstances surrounding the Blackout, but new intelligence has found that a shipment made through the trophy ports of Trellin, around Agrincourt and through other nations has been the gateway of the arms which supplied unknown - but suspected rebel group Heralds - to take out the Spartanian government.

His Majesty would like to reassure Empress Seondeok that we do not have any information that would point to a likely trap to lead Aquitaynian and Symphonian troops into the region in an effort to inflict severe casualties in our Armed Services. We, as of 12 January 2014, believe that the rebel group Heralds are the sole group responsible in the perpetration of the collapse of the Spartanian government. It is our firm belief that due to rising political tensions, brought about by the Spartanians overthrowing of the indigenous government on 25 April 2013 - of which your Office should already have been briefed - is what lead to this escalation.

As of now, the evidence of humanitarian insurrection and violence is at the foremost of our minds and hearts, and we believe that it is both of our nation's responsibilities, being the two strongest powers with influence on the Insula Fera islands, to intervene speedily in the situation that has enveloped the former Spartanian Empire. We must put boots on the ground, and facilitate the construction of a new nation and the construction of a government which has been chosen by the people; however, firstly, the insurrection and violence which endangers the people of this island must be halted forthwith, it any progress is to be made at all.

It is due to these necessities, and the circumstances which demand our involvement, by which I ask your Office to approve the deployment of a Symphonian contingent of soldiers which will assist Aquitaynian soldiers and Special Forces to bring peace, order, justice, and hospitality back to the Pangean and indigenous peoples. It is in our hopes that we may work together to create a new government which will be self-sustaining. We do not require any more resources than you are willing to send, but as many as is preferable to your Office is greatly appreciated.

If you are so inclined to assist us in our grand endeavor, we will be forming the Unified Insulian Command (UICOM), to allow for the facilitation of resources and peacekeeping to begin immediately. As of now, however, a dispatch of Aquitaynian Regoweina Opehationeil Manuveir Grup Operators are to be dropped into the former capital city, to investigate what currently is happening.

I eagerly await your response.

Sincerest regards,

His Majesty Samuel Riech

ATTATCHMENT
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Log/Flight-OP21[CLASSIFIED].txt

Skies over Blackout Zone
Insula Fera

At approximately 35,000 feet above sea level, the group of GROM Operators were preparing their gear to jump out of their aircraft and preform a routine HAHO jump into occupied territory; their mission, to find out exactly what is going on in the former Spartanian Empire, and establish communications with whomever has taken charge of the area. It was expected that they would meet heavy resistance, due to their unknown presence in the area and the expected high level of vigilantism and violence that was taking place in the former nation, though as long as their presence remained unknown, analysts believed they shouldn't be in excessive dangers.

Underneath their parachutes, the GROM Operators wore native civilian clothing to the region. They wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible, not to attract any attention of their presence nor allow any of the terrorists to know they were being watched. The only thing that would give them away was their service rifles and (most) of the groups inability to speak native Prudesian. Their Commanding Officer had let them know explicitly that they had been given an enormous amount of autonomy on this mission specifically because there was no room for an Aquitaynian presence to be known just yet. They were responsible for intelligence gathering, and getting the basic support for Sympho-Aquitaynian intervention to be successful. Plus, Command needed eyes on the ground.

Five minutes from the drop zone, the back loading door of the aircraft lowered slowly, depressurizing the cabin and forcing the soldiers to put on their oxygen masks, given that none of them wanted to pass out before they even got started. The soldiers were decked out in their favorite jump equipment, the Gabriel Automatic Deployment System, which would allow them to effectively glide over five kilometers to their destination; a large field just outside the capital city of Corvus est scriptor Sedes. When the plane rumbled its way through the sky, Nicam checked his gear.

It was important that each member of the team inspected one another's equipment, to ensure that no flaws had escaped their natural attention to detail, and compromise their mission. Small tears in the Gabriel System, malfunctions in their oxygen supplies, no lubricant for the barrel of their rifles, and much more could lead to their downfall - quite literally - in the success of this mission. As Nicam cleared himself, the yellow warning light illuminated the cabin, as the dark moonlit sky could be seen just feet away.

Then, the final signal was given. Taking a large breath in, Nicam calmed his nerves. Taking the first step forward, he slowly began to sprint towards the end of the ramp, leaping off of it as he hit the end. With his arms extended out, he began to hurdle towards the ground, the wind resistance slapping his arms and legs yet absently missing his face. It was like he was numb to it all. His peaceful descent was stopped, however, when the Gabriel Automatic Deployment System kicked into action.

The wings of the Gabriel system extended outward and began tilting until Nicam was facing the correct GPS coordinates that were programmed into the system. The engineering and operational capabilities of the Gabriel system shined during their trials in the Arme Deveens, and especiall with Special Forces Operators. It was a system that they loved, as it could put them within two feet of where they needed to be - and that was an invaluable asset. Through the radio, Nicam wanted to make sure that the rest of his team had made it off of the plane. "Headcount, boys." As the 6 man team was falling to the ground, they began to count their names one by one through the secure radio frequencies.

Marksman Fraer crackled through the radio. "One!"
He was followed by Sergeant Halloway. "Two!"
Halloway was followed by Command Sergeant First Class Peirson. "Three!"
After Peirson was Marskman Koller. "Four!"
Finally, after Koller came the last of Nicam's squad, Marksman Second Class Icorine. "Five!"

If it were possible to clean weapon systems in mid-flight, Nicam would do it. Unfortunately, due to descending at high rates of speed towards the Earth's surface, it wasn't very plausible. Instead, most GROM Operators took this time to focus on the duties they were expected to perform once they hit the ground. Operational success meant victory in the long term, and GROM was simply the microscopic diamond tip of the Aquitaynian military spear. Their dive only took about ten minutes, and once Nicam could see their drop area through the clouds, he knew it was time to spool up. "Alright guys, spool up! LZ in 4!"

The Gabriel systems had been programmed to land the team about 6 kilometers out of the city; the area was clear of any major infrastructure and would provide a secure area for a satlink. It would also provide a staging ground for the rest of the operations in the area, and allow the team to effectively conduct reconnaissance away from any possible fubar situations that could arise.

A parachute deployed at the back of the Gabriel system, which allowed Nicam to guide himself down into the small field which was to be called their home for the next few days. Aquitaynian Command would not devote troops to a situation that could not be won simply and effectively, and likewise, they needed to know what kind of situation they were dealing with at all before even beginning to seriously contemplate troop deployment in the area.

Slowly, but not gracefully, Nicam descended to the ground, hitting it harshly as he buckled his knees and rolled - just as he was taught in Jump School - to make a painful, but safe landing. Quickly exiting the full body flight suit, Nicam raised his AR5R2 Carbine (Telescoping Stock) to the treeline, ensuring that any visitors would enjoy a five-five-six party favor. Over the course of about five minutes, the rest of the team hit the ground, and Operation Blackwater had begun.

[Romberg]

Holmgard, Romberg Proper

The Rombergian response was swift. Once the reply from the Ecossians was received by Central Military Command, it was forwarded to both the Kaiser and Director Högel, and a short video conference was all it took to get everything finalized, with Graf Lenesov reinstated as Supreme Commander of the Imperial Armed Forces. Although the agreement offered by the Ecossians was not exactly totally matching the plans of the Rombergian Central Military Command, it was better than nothing. Indeed, though they had rejected plans to establish a national redoubt in the North, they had after all offered a military base to the East of the mountains, where Rombergian forces could successfully mount a defensive operation on the mountains, or head South towards the border, either which proved to be exactly what the Rombergian current strategy was. And besides, now a complete supply route was established. Starting at Sturmhåll navy base, Rombergian aircraft could now fly directly to Eisengård for a quick refuel, before crossing over to Nouvel Ecosse proper and land at the airbase now under Rombergian control. And it was certainly rather thoughtful of them to have one of their elite units in the area, which coupled with their strategic location would make them one of the foremost reserve forces responsible for defending the Southeast and especially the peninsula including the capital Edinburgh.

And as a symbolic measure, although the deployment of troops was only under the control of Central Military Command and by extension the Kaiser, it was determined that a vote through parliament, the Grand Council, would be called by the Kaiser to approve of this deployment. And apart from a few dozen dissenters who had a pacifist voting record, therefore voting against on principle, most supported the bill. According to polls conducted on the general population, support for this military deployment, classified as a peacekeeping operation and therefore justified by the constitution, was rather high. And this was all that was needed for the military to be put to action.

---

Sturmhåll Naval Base, Romberg

With the Expeditionary Forces already notified for action several weeks back, it was finally time for action. Now, the Rombergian military would be prepared to help ensure the safety and security of Nouvel Ecosse regardless of the circumstances. Graf Lenesov, as supreme commander of the military, and the Kaiser himself, as the leader of the nation, were present in the naval base to say their goodbyes and best wishes to the departing soldiers. And this was the day that the Rombergians would be leaving their nation to fight in a foreign land, so far yet still so close. Today would be the day that the chosen soldiers would be sent to Nouvel Ecosse to serve their mission, and a simple ceremony would be called for them to salute their peers and be saluted back from their counterparts, as well as taking an official oath of loyalty to the Kaiser and the nation, as well as a promise to serve the nation of Nouvel Ecosse to the death and to their best capabilities.

Soon, after short speeches by both Graf Lenesov and the Kaiser, the base began swarming with action. For one hour, the departing soldiers were allowed to make final phone calls to their families before their departure, and to do anything they wanted before they would have to conform to the strict rules of active service on a tour of duty. For some, this meant getting drunk. For others, it was simply to spend time with their families. Either way, this one hour was the final time that they had before they would be leaving the nation.

Then the transport operation began. With the rather large deployment to Nouvel Ecosse, a correspondingly large deployment of C-10 transport aircraft would be used, taking soldiers and other personnel, as well as other supporting equipment ranging from food supplies to armoured vehicles to even self-propelled artillery, MLRS systems and tanks. Though the Imperial Armed Forces was supposed to only be there for a peacekeeping operation, they were ready for war.

In accordance to legendary Rombergian efficiency and organization, the process was done rather smoothly, and with a refuel on the Rombergian Arctic Islands, which had by now not only grown to be a major military base in the Northwest of Astyria, but also become a rather significant pit stop for allied military fleets moving to bolster the defenses in Nouvel Ecosse, the bulk of the Rombergian deployment were on the ground in Nouvel Ecosse in around 12 hours since departing the naval base.

---

Nouvel Ecosse

Once on the ground, the Rombergians began to make the place seem more suitable for their use. Very quickly, they had checked into the barracks and arranged their sleeping locations, as well as setting up a guard as planned. The armoured and other vehicles were stored too, and supplies were neatly placed in their respective storage areas and warehouses. The airstrip too was further prepared to allow for a higher rate of plane transfer and turnover, vital to maintain supplies to the garrison. But above all, the name was changed. While to the Ecossians it still remained Matveyez Barracks, to the Rombergians there was a different name. It was now called Matvayev Overseas Military Base.

---

Order of Battle - Operation Neu Ålben (OOC: Rombergian for New Alba, given that "Ecosse" and "Alba" both refer to Scotland.)

10th Expeditionary Force "The Legion", Kaiserliche Armee, Imperial Realm of Romberg

Infantry:
122nd Motor Rifle Division (10000)
> 1221st Motor Rifle Brigade (2000)
> 1222nd Motor Rifle Brigade (2000)
> 1223rd Motor Rifle Brigade (2000)
> 1221st Combined Support Brigade (2000)
> 1222nd Combined Support Battalion (2000)

Armour:
> 123rd Tank Regiment (2000)
> 12th Artillery Regiment (2000)
> 12th Anti-air Regiment (1500)

Gebirgsjåger (Alpine Troops):
> 12th Mountain Brigade (2000)
> 1st Mountain Armoured Brigade (2000)
> 11th Combined Mountain Support Brigade (2000)

Combined Air Support:
> 121st Fighter Squadron (1000)
> 123rd Fighter-Bomber Squadron (1000)
> 124th Attack Squadron (1000)
> 121st Transport Squadron (1000)

Total deployment: 25 500

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(Image)

Desk of Atticus Moriarty
President of Nouvel Ecosse

To: Graf Johann Lenesov von Königsberg, Romberg
From: Atticus Moriarty, President of Nouvel Ecosse
Encryption Level: Very High

Dear Sir,

Firstly, let me introduce myself. Considering the assistance you offer my Minister of Foreign Affairs has forwarded on this letter and the subsequent duty to reply to myself. I am the elected President of the Nation of Nouvel Ecosse, and I must tell you, your offer of military assistance in our time of need is much appreciated, and an offer which we would hope to replicate in the future should the need ever arise, although lets hope that this never does happen. The way and style with which our Regional allies in Astyria, your nation in this considered, has replied to our calls for help has been extraordinary, and the people of Ecosse, especially those most affected in the South-East, will be forever grateful for your assistance. Bonds will be forged in this conflict that will, and I stress will, withstand the lengths of time.

The arrival of your 10th Expeditionary Forces is greatly anticipated, and we have decided to house them at Matveyez Barracks before we launch our reply to the Yellosians. They will be barracked alongside the 4th Infantry Urban Division, a unit much like the Legion which will be at the forefront of our operations in the future. Much like the Legion, the Urban Division is largely composed of veterans, many having fought in Platteisen Adler in the past, and with a knowledge of the local area the two Units together makes a knowledgeable combination.

Although your expertise and experience are well-known of and desired, I am afraid that the plan you have suggested to us would simply be unworkable. We are devoted to the people of the the South-East and of our Capital, and to abandon them in their time of need would be a betrayal of our principles as a nation. Although we are willing to sacrifice that area to the militaries of Astyria for use in housing troops, we simply could not abandon it to the merciless whim of the Yellosian aggressors.

We will of course inform you of any future developments in concern with your supplied troops. We will want to keep our Northernly neighbours informed and once again I would like to extend my gratitude, and the people's gratitude, to you, your people and your kind and gifting Kaiser.

Yours,

Atticus Moriarty
President
Nouvel Ecosse

General Stefan Trowoski NEC
Nouvel Ecosse Military

Thomas Dietrich
Minister of Foreign Affairs

Classfied Document, the Imperial Realm of Romberg

Re: Military Assistance
To: Government of Nouvel Ecosse
Encryption: Very High

Dear President Atticus Moriarty, Minister Thomas Dietrich & General Stefan Trovoskiy,

We appreciate your positive response to our request. In this time of need, rest be assured that the Imperial Realm of Romberg shall stand by your side in any case of aggression, and we shall maintain the military presence as a deterrent to any opposing force hoping to undermine the very structure of your nation as required by your nation. As I am typing this, determined soldiers of our military are on their way to your nation according to the plan, and they have each made a personal oath to swear loyalty not only to our Kaiser and our nation, but your nation as well, and fight to the death in the case of any invasion. Remember, you are never alone. I'm sure the ATO which I understand that you are a part of, will always be on your side. And apart from that, you can always be at peace knowing that we, the people of the Imperial Realm of Romberg, as well as other governments supportive to your course, shall always offer you all the assistance you require should you need it and stand in solidarity to your cause.

Yours Sincerely,

Graf Johann Lenesov von Königsberg

Commander of the Imperial Armed Forces of Romberg,

Senior Advisor to

Kaiser Hans Jerkov II

The Imperial Realm of Romberg

---

Classfied Document, the Imperial Realm of Romberg

To: Government of the Yellow Star Republic
Encryption: None

To whomever it may concern,

We at the Imperial Realm of Romberg would like to officially take this opportunity to condemn your nation for your actions. We have been silent for too long. We have let your annexation of Adler to go by unscathed, and has even not reacted against your air raids against our friends in Ecosse until now. But your invasion of Glisandia was totally uncalled for, and bears resemblance to imperialism, the very ideology which you claim to vehemently oppose. Take this as your final warning. As one of the few neutral states remaining in Astyria, we are one of your last trading partners still willing to trade your goods, and provide imports to your nation to feed your people. But so far, your nation has been a nuisance to the region and a destabilizing force, one which no self-respecting leader of any other nation can tolerate. I hope that you could reverse your decision, and withdraw all invading forces from Glisandia and let the local people decide the fate of their own country. This is your final warning. You have 72 hours to act, and should you be unable to comply, sanctions shall be applied to your nation, with more to follow. And also, should you dare to continue your act of unwarranted aggression against Nouvel Ecosse, expect the Imperial Armed Forces to respond with adequate force.

Yours Sincerely,

Kaiser Hans Jerkov II

The Imperial Realm of Romberg

---

Official Government Document, the Imperial Realm of Romberg

To: the Glisandian People
Encryption: None

Dear Glisandians, our fellow brothers and sisters in humanity,

We are strongly opposed to the invasion and occupation of your nation by the Yellow Star Republic, and hope that they would cease such actions. But this may not work. Either way, and understanding the proud traditions that your nation hope, rest be assured that the Imperial Realm of Romberg shall stand by your people in this time of crisis, and provide assistance if required to help restore independence and freedom to your nation. We hence strongly encourage you to continue in resistance and struggle against the occupation government, for the sake of your culture and livelihood, which both as we understand you value greatly. Your nation may be gone, but in our eyes, your spirit remains, which is most important. Help is on your way, and we will be on your side whatever the circumstances are.

To show our determination, we shall also extend the offer outlined thereafter. Should any Glisandian reach Rombergian soil, including the Arctic Islands, possess valid Glisandian citizenship and request for it, asylum would automatically be granted in the Imperial Realm of Romberg. And should you desire to fight for the liberation of your nation, declare as such, and we shall assist in arming and training any available manpower to help defeat the invasion. There is no requirement for enlistment. Declare your wish to do so, and we will help you in your quest for freedom.

We may be of different culture, but through this event, we are now united, as brothers and sisters, in blood.

Yours Sincerely,

Kaiser Hans Jerkov II

The Imperial Realm of Romberg

---

Classfied Document, the Imperial Realm of Romberg

To: Government of Symphonia, Gaveria and other Astyrian members of the International Coalition for Expansion
Encryption: High

To whomever it may concern,

I am sure that the recent happenings in various places around Astyria has been a major source of concern to your nations as well. A nation had just gone off the map, and invasions are underway. Though some of us may not be directly involved in the conflicts, it is clear that partnerships are vital for the survival of our nation. However, conflicting ideologies has proven to be a major source of division. With similar goals yet allowing for differing governments and ideologies, the ICE on the other hand provides a collaborative environment free of all the political obligations as with other major pacts formed within our region. As such, and as fellow ICE members, I would hope to extend the invitation to either a video conference or a meeting in Holmgard, Romberg to discuss on the current Astyrian situation, and ways in which us as Astyrian ICE members could work together to ensure the safety of our respective nations, and perhaps contribute jointly to ensure the stability of our region.

Yours Sincerely,

Frederick Högel,

Director of the Imperial Investigative Institute,

through

Kaiser Hans Jerkov II

The Imperial Realm of Romberg

[Aurora Confederacy]

Haven Bay, Khayr Var

After the Black Manta had landed, its intelligence had been scoured over, and so it came to the attention of the Foreign Affairs Bureau, C.I.6 and the office of James Callaghan, Undersecretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and with images of various sites that could very well be concentration camps, mobile launch sites for possibly long range surface top surface missiles though there is no actual evidence of Terra Azure owning any such weapons, and with the Blackhelm navy poised to make a strike at Port Blacksand, there was some vital information that could be handed to the Blackhelm military.

Callaghan picked up the phone and called the switchboard
"Get me the Consular building for the Blackhelm Confederacy, then I want their highest diplomat in my office within the next few hours" he said to the receptionist. The receptionist held James in a que whilst she routed his call, before taking him off hold.

When the call to the Embassy connected, James Callaghan was short and somewhat straight with the Blackhelm Confederacy embassy staff.
"Good Afternoon, James Callaghan, C.I. Six here, can you send a representitive over to me AS SOON AS POSSIBLE please, this is a matter of grave urgency and I need to speak to one of your diplomatic staff, higher the better please" he said to the Consular receptionist.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

Near Port Blacksand

Once both of the Azuran aircraft had been knocked out of the sky, a lone big ugly Ka-32S left the deck of the Ocean class carrier and made its way for the wreckage to pick up the Sukhoi survivors. They would then be brought back aboard the Grappler, where interrogation and internment would begin. Meanwhile, the Protector USV's were making their last rounds, mopping up the remaining mines in the path of the landing force as the men all stood anxiously in their craft, awaiting the order to burst forth and spill onto the beaches. They had been given their predesignated landing zones hours ago, and now that the missile barrages had cleaned up any possible threats just beyond the beach and the drones were buzzing back and forth clearing any mines from the sand, all the men were now more then confident, and some a bit let down, that they would be stepping onto the shores unopposed.

Khay Var

Longinus Rockwell, the Confederate consul on the tropical island, was awoken from his mid afternoon nap by an aide. "Sir! I have an urgent message from the Auroran government! You are need right away!" he said nervously as he entered into the diplomat's office. Longinus shook himself awake. "Hmm? What? Me?" he said rather confused. One of the perks of being assigned to this post was that you had virtually no responsibilties, and nothing to do but enjoy the tropical sun and beautiful beaches. The Aurora Confederacy was a staunchly neutral nation, and this heavenly little outpost was their piece of paradise, a place that was the envy of most in the diplomatic scene. He couldnt imagine what the cause for this was, but in the back of his mind he was sure it had something to do with the collapse of the ISE not far away. "Call my driver" he said "and let them know I will be there with haste" he said as he stood up and straightened out his suit.

Before very long, the consul had arrived at the Foreign Affairs Bureau and stepped inside, informing the receptionist of his presence and asking for the directions to the office of Mr. Callaghan after showing his credentials. He was not sure what he was here for, but he was sure he was about to find out any moment now.

Matvayez Barracks
Nouvel Ecosse

Tribunus Silvershield had only just stepped out of his helicopter on return from meeting with the ATO officers when he was greeted with a mess around him. He started waving his arms angrily, demanding to know just what was going on before a nearby Ecossian soldier informed him that he was about to be sharing the base with the Rombergian soldiers. "Rombergians? What the fuck? Nah nah that aint right" he exclaimed. I dont want no foreign bastards around here, especially one from out of the region" he said. "Get me to you c/o. And I wanna talk to the Rombergians about this shit too. If we need to share a base, I want some ground rules to be followed" he said before storming off towards the mess of Rombergian soldiers running about unloading on the runway, asking every soldier he came in contact with for directions to their commanding officer.

[Romberg]

Matvayez Barracks
Nouvel Ecosse

Tribunus Silvershield had only just stepped out of his helicopter on return from meeting with the ATO officers when he was greeted with a mess around him. He started waving his arms angrily, demanding to know just what was going on before a nearby Ecossian soldier informed him that he was about to be sharing the base with the Rombergian soldiers. "Rombergians? What the fuck? Nah nah that aint right" he exclaimed. I dont want no foreign bastards around here, especially one from out of the region" he said. "Get me to you c/o. And I wanna talk to the Rombergians about this shit too. If we need to share a base, I want some ground rules to be followed" he said before storming off towards the mess of Rombergian soldiers running about unloading on the runway, asking every soldier he came in contact with for directions to their commanding officer.

Military Base "Matvayev", Nouvel Ecosse

The deployment of Operation Neu Ålben was going on smoothly until they encountered a slight hiccup in the form of the return of the delegation from the Confederacy. But still, it was determined that this issue could be solved rather easily. Running as fast as he could, a soldier on the tarmac went to the office of the commanding officer and asked for a response to the issue.

"Brigadier Ingersson, apparently the commander from the Blackhelm Confederacy would like to see you."

"At ease, Sergeant. Get back to work."

The Brigadier then walked out and approached Tribunus Silvershield. As a Brigadier, she was one of the highest ranking females in the entire Imperial Armed Forces, something which she was very proud of. Despite gender equality being rigorously enforced in the military, the high physical requirements required for both genders in officer school meant that women were rarely promoted into top command positions, though they were already more frequent than in militaries of similar size. She was an overachiever too, having already maintained the rank of Brigadier for a year or so, and still under the age of 40. Despite having a rather high level of intelligence and good looks though, she hoped not to be judged on that only, but instead for her military leadership capability, which had already shown several times in conflicts around the world. She was already one of the most popular military commanders, and was considered a top prospect for transfer into diplomatic service or promotion as a general.

Now, she stood before Silvershield, with her Officer's Pistol holstered on one side of her waist, and the standard issue war axe on the other. Wearing a full military uniform she saluted to the Tribunus, then said in a rather assertive tone "Brigadier Aleksandra Ingersson, commander of 10th Expeditionary Forces "Operation Neu Ålben". How may I help you?"

---

Things were not looking too good for the Yellow Star Republic. Not only were they facing intervention by ATO forces and the Blackhelm Confederacy, they were about to be outclassed by the Imperial Armed Forces, or at least on paper, according to Rombergian estimates. Though Soviet support for the Yellowsian military had subsided in the 80s, relations with Russia had significantly improved thereafter by Romberg, and hence although the Yellowsian military mainly used late-cold war equipment, the modernized versions of such, the Russian improvements, as well as other western and local weaponry and combined weapon systems made up the bulk of the Rombergian military. Some of it were in direct comparison. For example, while the Yellowsian military used Mi-24 Hinds, the Rombergians preferred to use the Mi-35M version, re-fitted with Western avionics and mixed weapons capability which dramatically improved its performance. Similarly, though the Su-27 was the mainstay of the Yellowsian military, the Rombergian main service fighter was the Su-35, again much improved from the Su-27 model. And with a high devotion of funds and training in the Rombergian military, despite using similar equipment, it was estimated that the Yellowsians would probably not be able to match up with the Rombergian standards. Overall, according to a basic analysis by the Rombergian military itself, it appears that they were going to be able to deal with the Yellowsian threat rather effectively. But ultimately it was only an analysis on paper from one side. As long as there was no physical military engagement, it was impossible to tell otherwise.

---

In the air, the Rombergian propaganda effort was cranked up. To show a more solid sign of solidarity with Nouvel Ecosse, Rombergian Tu-160 bombers, painted black, now would take regular patrols taking off from Eisengård on the Arctic Islands, circling the central Ecossian airspace before returning to Eisengård. It was the first time in many years that the twin Iron Cross of the Imperial Armed Forces would be seen over the airspace of Astyria proper. And it was a powerful message, that was that if anyone dared to mess with Ecosse, the Imperial Realm of Romberg would be prepared.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

Matvayez Base

The Tribunus stopped in his tracks as the Rombergian brigadier approached before he raised an eyebrow at Aleksandra. "They sent a woman?" he said, at first startled before he then began to laugh in a rather unnecessarily uproarious manner. "A WOMAN!" he said again, wiping a tear from his eye. "O wow, that is rich. I always said you in the west were a bunch of girls! I didnt think it was going to be taken literally!" he said as his laughter started to subside and he straightened himself out. "Whew, ok that was good. Thanks for that, anyway, I am Tribunus Tarquinius Silvershield of the Confederate 1st Airborne Guards. It looks like your on my base, so we are going to have to get used to sharing the space. I just want some ground rules here. My men are in the Northeast corner of the base. As far as I am concerned, that piece of ground is for now Confederate territory. I dont want to catch any of your lady soldiers up on that corner of things. You keep your troops on your side, and I'll keep my troops on mine. Think we can work together on that?"

Meanwhile, as he spoke, the combat engineers of the airborne group began erecting a chain link fence and running barbed wire and sandbags around their corner of the area. A Confederate flag was run up from one of the barracks buildings as well. The Confederacy was working with the ATO on this mission, and they were happy to do so, but that doesnt mean that they could trust them to keep their hands off of Confederate technology. As such, precautions were taken, and measures were being laid out to keep the Confederate soldiers from fraternizing too much with their ATO counterparts. The Ecossians, however, they were encouraged to talk to and build up a rapport with. It was the Ecossians country after all, and they were there on the behalf of the Ecossian people. Might as well make friends!

[Aurora Confederacy]

Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Haven Bay
Khayr Var

The building mr Rockwell has been summoned to is a white building, two storeys above ground, (3 below as well) and done in the Spanish Colonial Style, a flight of wide steps lead up to the front porch which stands the full height of the building, flanked by large heavy duty coloumns. the roof of the building has a large white dome on it. Inside, there is a large marble reception area with several doors down each side and in the middle is a large desk. A chandelier hangs down from the dome.

Being in a tropical island paradise does have its perks, however it also has its drawbacks as the sky darkens outide, then with a bright blue flash and a rumble of thunder the heavens open, with rain hammering down onto the ground outside. Though Mr Rockwell gets in before the rain comes down, two other visitors are not so lucky, having to run the 100 meters to the porch as the rain hammers down.

The receptionist checks the identity papers then calls a consular guard over "Escort this man to the office of Mr Callaghan please" says the receptionist.
"Yes Ma'am" says the guard who gestures to Longinus to follow him down a long, echoy corridor.

The corridor heads to the east wing, doors every 12 meters or so along it on both sides and about half way down the guard stops, knocks on the door, "Mr Callaghan, the diplomat you requested to see" he says, standing back as he does so, and from behind the door there is a clear "Send him in Please".
The guard looks at Longinus and nods as if to say "in you go".

The room beyond is a long room, 12m wide, 20m long with a large picture window at the far end, a table runs almost the entire length of the room with just enough room to get around it at the far end. Down the middle of the table are 6 polished brass desk lamps that shine down onto the polished mahogany table which has light pine inlay strip around its edge and in the middle betweem two lamps was a folder marked in BIG red letters

TOP SECRET

FOR EYES OF NAVAL COMMAND
AND AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL
ONLY

BY ORDER.

Callaghan looks up to face Longinus as he enters
"Good afternoon, glad you could make it. I recieved some inteligence from one of our units earlier, this has been duly analaysed and it appears that it could be most beneficial to you. The Government and Intelligence Board and my superiors here at C.I.six have given me authorisation to hand this information to you. In the folder are photographs taken by one of our assets which were studied this morning. We can't be certain but we think Terra Azure may be working towards an intercontinental rocket. We don't think they have atomic power but we do know that they do have nerve gas and other chemical weapons"

James points at the file

"please can you deliver this to your naval command please" he says.

[Dungeyland]

HER MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT

The following document has been made available to the general public under the Freedom of Information Act, 1999 by a MR HENRY HARNICK. Certain sections herein have been omitted at times when they were subject to the provisions of the Official Secrets Act, 1904.

White Paper: Maintaining peace in Astyria

The Select Committee on War of the House of Commons and the Select Committee on Astyria of the House of Lords met on the twelfth of January to discuss the deteriorating situation in Astyria. As requested by Her Majesty's Government, the Joint Committee had produced this white paper with the aim of clarifying the Imperial position on the nation states of Astyria and the prospects of conflict therein. The Joint Committee consisted of the following members of Parliament (MPs) and peers:

• Sayeeda Jamil MP (Chair)
• Simon Markville MP
• Sir Alan Shephard MP
• Rebecca Morgan MP
• Lara Stephenson MP
• Abed Hawks MP
• Baron Lewis
• Marquess Oxford
• Baroness Beveridge
• Lord Hewitt
• Lady Donahue
• Baroness O'Riley

This white paper is the produce of the aforementioned Joint Committee members, but has been thoroughly read and approved by Her Majesty's Government. It is therefore appropriate to use this document as evidence of the intentions of Her Majesty's Government in the relevant area. Nevertheless, this white paper only contains the intentions of Her Majesty's Government, and is not legally binding in any way or fashion. Whilst it may at times imply parliamentary approval, the white paper itself does not possess any.

---

Introduction:

The current foreign policy orthodoxy in the Empire is one of minimalistic intervention in the issues of Astyria. This stance has been maintained for the past decade, and many foreign policy theorists believe it is responsible for the general peacefulness of the continent. However, it is clear that this peacefulness has broken down in the last few months. The ultimate goal of our foreign policy should be to promote Imperial interests abroad. Her Majesty's Government views this, in its most simplistic form, as being about Imperial economic interests.

The failure of the peace is clearly harmful to the economics interests of this Empire. Conflict restricts trade and a lack of trade restricts the growth of the Imperial economy, the main growth of which is currently export-based. Foreign policy must therefore do all it can, within reason, to ensure that peace does not fail.

As was stated in the "Resolution of the Lords, the Commons and the Crown in Parliament assembled, for the establishment of a Union of States and Interests in Astyria, for the relief of the Dangish and Astyrian peoples," commonly known as the Osbourne Doctrine,, the Dangish Empire intends to meet this colossal foreign policy challenge through both diplomatic and military pressures. The aim of this white paper is to clarify the Imperial position to all interested parties.

Alliances

The Liberal minority government which governed the Empire prior to elections in December managed to secure a majority in Parliament with which the Empire acceded to the East Astyrian Treaty Alliance, henceforth known as EATA. EATA is an alliance of east Astyrian nation states including the Blackhelm Confederacy (architects of the treaty), the nations under its influence, the Dangish Empire and the Holy Republic of Terra Azure.

The Joint Committee believes that the government of the day was not fully aware of the intentions of the Confederacy in the drafting of the East Astyrian Treaty. In accordance with the foreign policy orthodoxy of the day, and indeed of now, Imperial involvement in supranational organisations would be restricted to economic membership only. Whilst the Treaty does include economic provisions, the Joint Committee has come to the conclusion that its raison d'être was in fact military.

Nevertheless, the Osbourne Doctrine makes clear that the current orthodoxy is not one which Her Majesty's Government intends to follow. Furthermore, membership of EATA has accrued the Empire certain benefits. For example, Imperial exports to the Blackhelm Confederacy have increased by 16% since the Treaty was ratified. The Empire has not been forced to enter into any conflicts due to EATA membership. At present, Her Majesty's Government sees no objective reason for withdrawing from the East Astyrian Treaty Alliance.

This does not ignore the quagmire into which the Empire has been placed by the formation of a competing supranational organisation. The Astyrian Treaty Organiastion, henceforth referred to as the ATO, was founded only recently by the Republic of GHawkins. Although its membership ranks have not yet exceeded that of EATA, the ATO has received pledges of military support from many nations, including the Aurora Confederacy.

The worry of Her Majesty's Government is that the existence of two competing alliances will destabilise an already unstable system. This would not be a problem in normal circumstances, were it not for the fact that membership of each alliance appears to be mutually exclusive. The ATO Charter and the East Astyrian Treaty in fact are extremely similar; it appears the key aim of both is military co-operation.

The mutual exclusivity of the two alliances poses an even graver problem, which at first is not particularly obvious. If one keeps in mind the ultimate aim of all Imperial foreign policy, however, it becomes clearer. Imperial trade with the ATO nations is of paramount importance, so the animosity of the ATO to the EATA is detrimental to Dangish interests. ATO antipathy for the EATA translates to antipathy for the Dangish Empire.

This problem is compounded by the Empire's existence as a democratic state. Arguably the only democracy in the EATA, Imperial foreign policy is best suited to other democratic nations. Imperial democracy would not normally preclude Imperial diplomacy with authoritarian regimes, as both are necessary for an effective foreign policy. However, the antipathy caused by our association with the EATA has caused Imperial diplomacy with the democratic nations of the ATO to decline.

The response of Her Majesty's Government to this problem is quite clear: Her Majesty's Government intends to outreach to the democratic nations of Astyria, primarily those who are member states of the ATO. It has already done so with an ally of the ATO, and received a cautiously warm response. Further outreaches shall be made to defuse inter-alliance tensions, or at the very least, to make Dangish participation in the EATA irrelevant to occidental viewpoints of the Empire.

[OMITTED]

Rogue states

The quagmire caused by the alliance system is accentuated by the growing strength of rogue states in the region. The primary example is the Holy Republic of Terra Azure. In December, the Azuran government ordered the summary execution of all people of Dangish or Imperial origin on Azuran soil. This included the murder of two operatives, [OMITTED] and [OMITTED].

These heinous crimes are viewed in the Empire as being utterly despicable. Indeed, they have provoked the response of Her Majesty's Armed Forces. The Royal Air Force has been enforcing a no-fly zone over the country since December 23rd, which has significantly limited the Azuran response. The Admiralty, and by extension the Royal Navy, has been enforcing a blockade on the Azuran shoreline. However, the effectiveness of these two acts has been limited by the "hermit"-like nature of the Azuran state, which appears to have no concern for the welfare of its citizens. In spite of the negative effects it would have on the Army's incursions into Azure, Her Majesty's Government intends to end the naval and air blockade for non-military craft by the end of January, for humanitarian reasons.

The Army has been making strong progress through the country, in spite of its unfriendly geography. The Ministry of War believes the conflict should be over by the end of February, given good weather and the continued support of the Blackhelm Confederacy. There have been difficulties in regards to Azuran use of land mines and chemical and biological weapons. An Imperial tank was destroyed by a land mine at the start of January, and several soldiers have reported that chemical weaponry was used against them. Intelligence suggests the Azuran government has stockpiled the Anthrax virus for use in a potential final battle. Her Majesty's Government has prepared for these threats, and has ordered compulsory vaccinations of all Dangish personnel as well as the provision of gas masks and special training for land mines. Intelligence obtained from [OMITTED] suggests Azure is manufacturing a [OMITTED], for which Her Majesty's Government has not yet produced an adequate response in time for the publication of this white paper.

The Dangish Empire has not received significant international support for its operations against Terra Azure. Where it has received support, it has come from the Blackhelm Confederacy. After the Empire, the Confederacy is the largest military partner operating against the Azuran government. Their assistance has proved invaluable, supporting the pro-EATA position held by Her Majesty's Government. [OMITTED]. The fact that the Confederacy aided the Empire in this instance may not have been viewed positively by ATO nations.

The secondary example, which this white paper hopes to highlight, is that of the Yellow Star Republic. The Yellow Star Republic is an unstable neo-communist state which has violated the sovereignty of several northern nations. An ironic twist of fate, the Republic's incursions into nearby Nouvel Ecosse has been the only incident to align the foreign policy aims of the ATO and the EATA. Her Majesty's Government has clarified its position against military intervention in this particular case. This does not, however, repudiate the Osbourne Doctrine. The invasion predated the Osbourne Doctrine, and the Crown believes the anti-Yellow Star forces to be adequate. If necessary, however, the Empire will provide logistical support such as use of the rail network or of excess Imperial military capacity.

The Osbourne Doctrine secondarily aims to limit the power of rogue states such as the Yellow Star Republic and Terra Azure. At times, this may conflict with the primary aim of maintaining the status quo in the Empire. Mr. Osbourne does not wish to create a power vacuum, and as such plans are in place for a provisional government in Terra Azure and the Yellow Star Republic. This will not result in an overall reduction in Azuran and Yellow Star defence spending whilst the provisional government is in power, according to Imperial policy. In both cases, the policy will almost certainly be morphed through relentless negotiations.

Her Majesty's Government has identified several states which it believes may go rogue and act in violation of international law. Those states are: [OMITTED], [OMITTED] and [OMITTED]. [OMITTED].

Conclusion

The purpose of this white paper was to clarify the Imperial position with regards to the changing situation in Astyria. To that end, the Imperial position is actually quite clear and can be summarised quite effectively: the Dangish Empire seeks to improve relations with the democratic nations, so as not to become part of a future conflict between the ATO and the EATA; the Dangish Empire seeks to ensure the status quo is maintained, and that no nations illegally acquire land in Astyria; the Dangish Empire wants to ensure that international trade continues at its full capacity.

The immediate consequences of Imperial policy are beginning to be felt. When the war in Terra Azure finishes, expected by the end of February, the Empire will be responsible for the establishment of a provisional government which will not affect the status quo position and destroy peace in the future. Humanitarian concerns must be given top precedence in the conducting of military campaigns. The Empire must be prepared for the rogue state in Azure to reach a new level of despicableness in the use of biological weaponry.

A greater concern is a pending "cold war" of sorts between the East Astyrian Treaty Alliance and the Astyrian Treaty Organisation. Despite being a member of the former, it is contrary to Dangish interests to lose trade and diplomatic access to the ATO member states. However, the Empire is not prepared to forfeit its ties to EATA, especially in light of Confederate support in Azure.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Haven Bay

Longinus looked shocked. He had no idea that the Aurorans even had a military capable of reaching Terra Azure, much less capable of finding any info that his own agencies could not gather on their own. He knew, however, that getting this folder to the right hands with the least amount of time was of the utmost importance. Any delay could very possibly lead to the deaths of many Confederate servicemen, and possibly even the failure of the mission as a whole. He picked up the file from Callaghan's desk and nodded. "Thank you Mr. Callaghan" he said. "I will be sure to get this to the Chancellory immediately." And with that, and no more, he turned and rushed for the car waiting for him outside to whisk him back to his consulate. Once there, he would transmit the contents back to Paradise City for the generals back home to figure out and start planning for their next move.

Once received, the warning was quickly relayed to Thatcher and his task force and the order went out to the men still on their landing ships. Each man was to have his gas mask on and ready for an attack as soon as the transport ships hit the beach. There was no telling what the Azurans were going to do when the Confederates hit the coast, but they were sure it would not be good. A number of men were even being given full on chemical warfare suits for the first wave to hit, in anticipation of a possible blister agent being used against them.

[Empire of Symphonia]

Hall of Undying Wisdom
West Genevira, Hitachi Province
Metropolitan Symphonia

There were murmurs in the aisles as the wooden doors creaked open to reveal Prime Minister Adaminghir Singh, surrounded by a dozen or more guards. There was a respectful silence as the delegates stood up and bowed as the prime mine minister hurried to the dais in the central hemicycle. The room was cold, unnaturally cold for West Genevira's normally rainy winter, and one could see the puff of warm air being expelled from people's mouths and noses. Such was the weather during Symphonian winters. And this being despite the fact that the entire country lie so close to the Equator.

The cold temperature did nothing to help calm the fears of the Symphonian prime minister, who had felt the icy-cold glares of the nobility and more pacifist members of the Congress as he walked up to the dais. The latest Aquitaynian information about the atrocities in Feri Insula were more than enough to send an outraged Seondeok demanding the obliteration of the Heralds terrorist organization, no doubt scaring junior members of the imperial family as the empress' continued to storm on about the violence and bloodshed. He had to give it the Aquitaynian king, Samuel von Reich, that the message was a diplomatic masterpiece in setting off the old hatred that rarely flared in the heart of the empress. No doubt the Emperor, Samuel's own brother Jacob, would be sending him amusing messages regarding the state of household affairs back in Symphony.

But back to the present. Adaminghir could feel the proverbial sweat drop slide down his back as the Consul of the Senate read off the day's proceedings, lingering slightly over the part where the prime minister was supposed to argue the case where Symphonia was supposed to back Aquitaynian requests for military support in Feri Insula. And it just so happened that this issue was the first one of the day, much to the displeasure of the prime minister.

"This nobility still hasn't gotten over the Civil War", Adaminghir thought as he stepped forward, "I swear one of these days the bastards are going to burn."

Smiling grimly as the media cameras panned in, the prime minister began his address to the Congress and the Senate.

"Honorable delegates and the senators of the Imperial Legislature, I bring grave news from outside the frontiers of the Realm of the Universal People. For the first time since our Third Civil War, an entire nation known to us has collapsed completely, its people shattered and its institutions annihilated. The blood and tears of the innocent run through the streets with wild abandon, and perpetrators free and uncontrolled in their sinful desire for wealth, power, and bloodshed. Is it our national policy, to ignore the cries of those who cry out for help, to ignore the man who is dragged into a dark alley by a violent criminal and his pleas silenced by the threat of violence? It should not be, and it has never been.

Our nation, which we sacredly hold as the Middle Kingdom, the Defender of Moral Civilization, the protector of Ten Thousand Years of Humanity, should not sit still while the smell of death and destruction reeks from across the ocean. We have fought for our principles in all of our wars, whether they be against stronger foes and multitudes of enemies. We have been willing to throw our nation's children to sacrifice for Freedom and Liberty, and so brings up my point.

Why do you, the representatives of the people of the Asian Federation of Nations, stand in defiance of our Mantle of Responsibility? Is it not, in memory of our sacrifices in our homeland, our duty to spread and defend the right to live a free and happy life from those forces which seek to enslave the people to violent goals? The people of Aquitayne are already ready to send in their children to follow in those most holy of causes, and so why not us? Aren't we, Symphonians as a whole, also indebted to them for their sacrifice from delivering our nation from the jaws of tyranny at the hands of the Shogunate?"

Let me, as your prime minister, remind that each and every one of us here in this chamber owes our lives and future the sacrifice of those who fight to preserve the freedom to hold elections, the freedom to travel without fear, the freedom live life without impending death outside the doors of your home.

Our principles are the cornerstone to our national honor, and yet some members of this body seek to ruin our history by marring it with their own political agendas. I therefore ask once again, for this body to reconsider its reticence on expanding freedom and liberty with force of arms against those who seek to reverse it. Let this be the opening shots of a Symphonia once more willing to fight for its principles, and to not stay in a static time but rather move forward. This decision lies in your hands and your hands alone."

With that, Adaminghir stepped down from the dais and strode out of the room, leaving members of the Congress and Senate to worriedly discuss the implications of the speech. For the nobility and members of the Congress, they were trapped in a political corner, and there was nothing they could to stall the inevitable public outcry and support for intervention. Photos obtained by the Aquitaynian and Ministry of Information were spreading across the Symphonian internet like a wildfire, and legislature refusal would destroy the fragile support the body had from the populous.

Relum Imperial Palace
Symphony, Metropolis of Symphony
Metropolitan Symphonia

At a cabinet meeting, Adaminghir has been discussing the response to the Aquitaynian and Rombergan messages when a call from his liaison office in West Genevira broke in. After listening for a few moments, the prime minister broke out into a large smile.

"Your Majesty, I am pleased to inform you that our latest measure has passed unanimously in the Imperial Legislature," Adaminghir stated, "It seems as if our political enemies in the Senate have cowered in the face of public outcry."

The empress has only just smirked before returning to her tea. At this point, Symphonian intervention was going to be clear, and would perhaps signal a new shift in Symphonian foreign policy.

Official Communique of the United Kingdom of Aquitayne and Symphonia

Ab ordo: Aeternae libertatis

---

Receiver: His Majesty Samuel von Reich, King of Aquitayne and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Sender: The United Kingdom Ministry of Information, Office of Secretary Emil Schneider, on behalf of Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Seondeok vi Kiramashi-Reich
CC: The Imperial Realm of Romberg, Office of the Director of the Imperial Investigative Institute, Frederick Högel
Subject: Spartanian Question

---

Dear Excellencies,

Following arguments that the situation in Feri Insula has become a greater security issue in regards to the safety and prosperity of the former Spartanian people, the Symphonian Cabinet, with the approval of Empress and the unanimous vote of the Imperial Legislature, will begin interventionist operations to repel the Heraldic threat. The Government has decided that only through direct intervention that peace can be restored, followed by a provisional government under the joint administration of the United Kingdom to restore the socio-economic wellbeing of the region.

To this end, His Excellency Prime Minister Adaminghir Singh has ordered the deployment of the AFN 2nd Hienkoku Fleet and 5th Army to join current Aquitaynian assets in the UICOM in preparation for an expedition against Heraldic and any other hostile forces in the former ISE and the Feri Insula as a whole. The Royal Government of Hienkoku has also further opened several ports to help facilitate the movement and transport of soldiers and military supplies from Aquitayne to the Province of the Cape, and the Symphonian military is planning a general expedition under the codename Operation "North Star" to secure a stretch of territory adjunct the former ISE. As of now, this operation has yet to be finalized and will not be underway until the preliminary results from Operation "New Dawn" have come in.

As Her Majesty's Government has decided to support the Aquitaynian spearhead, this issue therefore formally has been elevated to official status recognition as a United Kingdom Joint Military Operations Theatre.

In addition, in response to the Rombergen request for a conference upon this matter, Her Imperial Majesty Seondeok vi Kiramashi-Reich will be travelling to Holmgard, Romberg to represent official Symphonian policy in regards to the conflict. It would then be of Her Imperial Majesty's inquiry whether an Aquitaynian representative will be present to officiate the policy of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom / King of Aquitayne.

Sincerely,
Emil Schneider
Minister of Information of the United Kingdom

[Terra Azure]

Somewhere near the coast of Vizion.

The submarine Benedict IV, having disposing of its political officer is now on the way to somewhere, the captain has not yet decided where but given that he has just, along with his crew, virtually carried out a mutiny it can only be certain that as he makes his way to where ever he is going, any living relative of the crew of the sub is being rounded up and being either interrogated, tortured or worse. The captain has a concience and can not sit any more and watch a tyranical government lead by some despot go about carrying out blatant murder on the citizens of the nation for things that many nations would probably hold as tennents of its constitution, such as practicing free speech.

As the vessel approaches a screen of naval vessels at periscope depth, the engines sucking in air from a snorkel to allow the batteries to be charged for later, as well as allow air to be changed aboard the vessel, the sonar operator calls to the captain
"naval screen dead ahead Sir"

The captain looks at the helmsman and gives an order "all stop, make this boat as quiet as a graveyard" and so the helmsman responds by bringing the motors to idle and shutting down the diesel engines, allowing the sub to begin to drift, gently slowing down because of its own drag in the water, "sonar, verify range to target, ONE ping only" he says.

The sonar operator responds by pressing a button on the console, and so a loud ping echoes from the front of the sub, announcing the presence of the sub. As the ping dies away, the captain brings the scope up and puts his hand on the flash light button, performs a full sweep before focusing on the vessels ahead, where he begins tapping out a message.

*-. .- ...- .- .-.. / ...- . ... ... . .-.. / ... - --- .--. / -. .- ...- .- .-.. / ...- . ... ... . .-.. / ... - --- .--. / - .... .. ... / .. ... / - .... . / .- --.. ..- .-. . / -. .- ...- -.-- / ...- . ... ... . .-.. / -... . -. . -.. .. -.-. - / .. ...- / ... - --- .--. / .-- . / .- .-. . / -.-. ..- .-. .-. . -. - .-.. -.-- / --- -. / .- / -- .. ... ... .. --- -. / --- ..-. / -.. . ..-. . -.-. - .. --- -. / ... - --- .--. / .-. . .--. . .- - / .-- . / .- .-. . / --- -. / .- / -- .. ... ... .. --- -. / --- ..-. / -.. . ..-. . -.-. - .. --- -. / ... - --- .--. / .--. .-.. . .- ... . / .-. . ... .--. --- -. -..*

After tapping out the message, the captain waits for the reply.

[Nation of Polarus]

Near ViZion

The submarine El Saher on picket duty near the straits of ViZion detected the Azuran submarine on sonar and alerted her sister vessel, El Chihab, to the oncoming boat. Both turned to intercept when the Azuran message of defection came of the air waves. The captain of the El Saher was quick to respond with his own message,, quickly thumping out the short burst of

"-... . -. . -.. .. -.-. - / .. ...- / ... - --- .--. / ... ..- .-. ..-. .- -.-. . / ..-. --- .-. / -... --- .- .-. -.. .. -. --."

Once sent, he ordered his vessel to be brought to the surface as well, while the El Chihab remained at the depth she was cruising at, watching carefully to make sure the Azurans, not particularly a trustworthy group, did not try any funny business. At the first sign of treachery, the crew was prepared to loose a volley of torpedoes. But now, however, they would wait and see what developed.

[Aurora Confederacy]

Southern Khayr Var, 10km from Haven Bay

Situated at the southern tip of the main part of Khayr Var is a large clearing with a large tower, with various large tanks and trenches around the tower, yet this is an important place for the Aurora Confederacy as like any self respecting modern nation it has a space program that up to recently has been more interested in putting satellites, not people, into orbit but on this wet afternoon, things are about to change for the Aurora Confederacy, or more particularly, Project Aurora.

Sitting on the pad is the latest piece of hardware, a large heavy payload multi stage rocket, maybe not as sophisticated as the shuttles that come from GHawkins or Kelonna, but still equally important and historically, a great leap forwards for the Aurora Confederacy and when it lifts off from here, the sight will be heard from Haven just a short drive away.

The control room is a hive of activity, 3 large screens on the front wall facing the desks with a room behind and here the tension is electric yet not a word is being spoken out of time, leaving just the humm of the air conditioning system to be audible, then the capcom officer speaks,
"Ladies and Gentlemen, associates and partners, a word from our dearest President", he says, after which people stand up behind their desks.

"Good afternoon, I would like to thank you all on this occasion for bringing this together, the first time that our proud nation has put a human into low earth orbit, this will be a major step forwards for us and our people. We are all behind you and wish you all the very best of luck in this endeavour" says Zafferana Promura, giving her seal of approval. The line goes quiet as Zafferana hangs up, presumably to watch the coverage from Lake Hai'lu'kai.

Capcom engineer, Alan Mc.Tavish takes a look at the console, picks up his head piece and puts it on before sitting down again, "Orion copy, Haven" he says over the radio

A voice came back, "Haven, Orion, go ahead" the voice was of Mitch Garrett, the man who has been selected to take this first step

"Yeah Mitch, everything is in place, and we're wishing you the best of luck, have you a prayer?" replies Mc.Tavish

"Dear Lord, lets not screw this up, I feel like my ass is about to have a giant rod shoved up it, amen!" replies Mitch with a laugh

Mc.Tavish looks across at engine control and nods, then looks at the clock, its slowly ticking down to zero. As the minutes pass by, the final stage count down is reached, as it does people in the viewing area pick up their binoculars and look at the rocket as water is dumped into the huge acoustic damping trench,
"water sound suppression system activated" reports the PAO over the tannoy and so the count down continues

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the moment of truth as Orion begins her final count down, here we go, five, four, we are go for main engine start..." says the PAO as sparkers begin to generate sparks then with a loud hiss followed by a bang the main engines fire in, their nozzles focusing their thrust down into the tunnel, vapourising water instantly to steam "...three, two, one, booster ignition lift off for Orion, pushing Aurora to the stars", at that point the large boosters lit up and the hold back clamps released, Orion, with Commander Michael "Mitch" Garrett at the helm was heading skywards, leaving behind it a stream of exhaust gases.

Despite the rain, the launch goes off without a hitch, the rocket climbing towards its orbital inclination and as it does so, TV cameras track it as far as they can until the rocket is out of sight, heading on its way to put Aurora's first human being into orbit. The plan is for a 4 day trip, returnining to earth to land somewhere in the ocean near Khayr Var in 4 days time.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

Near Platteisen Adler

The speed with which the Yellosian counter attack took to the air was nothing short of shocking for the Confederate pilots who had just launched the raid. Within seemingly minutes, there were twelve to fifteen enemy jets screeching in for the kill. Immediately, the MiG-27's made a break for it, gunning it with everything they had for the safety (or so they thought) of the airbase back at Matveyez. As they did, the 29's prepared to engage. Knowing that he who shoots first kills first, the pilots of the MiG's began tracking the enemy aircraft, letting the Sukhois get within around 45 kilometers and well into the so called "No Escape Zone" of their missile before launching upon the enemy aircraft. Firing a double tap of a radar guided R-77 and an IR guided R-27ET, the enemy would not even realize they were locked on by the missiles until it was within 10 miles of them, when the missiles guidance switched from the mid course link to the missiles own on board systems. The MiG pilots, smaller and less of a target than their Sukhoi counterparts, were hoping that, should the enemy possess the same kind of missiles, they would have a better chance of shaking them. With each MiG launching a spread of 4 missiles, tracking two aircraft each, they hoped to knock the Sukhois down before the enemy had a chance, leaving the pursuing MiG-27's for a different time. They could out run the 27's, they believed, and those attack fighters did not carry any air to air munitions beyond a short range Aphid, so the Sukhois would need to be dealt with if any of the Confederate pilots hoped to get back alive.

Matvayez Base

Sirens began blaring all throughout the base as pilots darted to their jets and began rocketing down the short or makeshift runways. The men of the Airborne guards, meanwhile, began getting into air raid shelters or taking up positions with their MANPADS to defend against the enemy. The fifteen Mig-29's would be easiest to get sky born, the heavier, more cumbersome Sukhois might take a bit more time, but it was going to be clear that those 15 MiG's were soon going to be in for a world of trouble if the Rombergian Air Force did not manage to scramble at least something into the skies as well. The first real test of the Confederate troops in Nouvel Ecosse was now upon them, and the pilots were determined to show the world, and show the west, that the Confederate military was the preeminent military machine in the region.

800 km SE off the Yellosian coast

The Confederate carrier and strike groups under Admiral Marcus Redfield had been holding position, outside of the range of potential Beriev AWACs sweeps, as the admiral and his staff debated their next move. The Yellosian navy was still very much alive, and would need to be cleared out of the area if the fleet hoped to arrive and unload their military cargo to assist the men already on the ground. An air strike against the fleet was being worked out between Rombergian and Confederate commanders on the ground already, but this most recent Yellosian attack on Matvayez had threatened to upset these plans.

A plan had to be taken to strike out against the Yellosians in retaliation for their bloodletting in Nouvel Ecosse and to clear the way to land the rest of the Confederate Expeditionary Force. Utilizing the recon report from the Or-1000 as well as satellite surveillance, the positions of the Yellosian ships near the coast were designated, and the coordinates relayed to the Ticonderoga class cruiser BCNS Nefarious, which quickly had her crews set to work. In only a few minutes, one hundred and twenty two up-ranged 3M-54 Klub cruise missiles began to erupt from the ship, designated for targets throughout the enemy fleet with particular attention paid to the YRS Sæskrímsli, the carrier and flagship of this group. Positions on Ankkeyja Island itself were also relayed to the fleet, with there coordinates being sent to the BCNS Copious, who proceeded to spit out twenty missiles of her own against positions on shore belonging to the Yellosian Naval Command. And finally, last but not least, came the salvo from the BCNS Pious. A total of forty five missiles would spew forth from her decks, bound for air fields and radar sites all along the coast. Once fired, the fleet began to move due east, away from the fire zone and further away from the possible Yellosian counter strike. With the enemy hopefully blinded by the missile attack against their radar and if there was any luck damaged enough by the launches against the air fields to be rendered unable to respond, there was hope that the task force would get away unharassed. In case this was an impossibility, however, which was likely, the fleet had deployed its fighter group of 12 Ay-05NG's to fly point, looking out for any potential Yellosian revenge missions.

Off the coast of Terra Azure

With the previous missile strike giving a pretty good sense of coastal security, the CAP of the fleet was pushed out to three hundred kilometers, ensuring a strong screen with aircraft flying at high medium and low altitudes to make sure nothing manages to slip through again. Drones continually were working, clearing mines from the area as the two wounded ships were still struggling to be righted. Finally, however, the order was given, and the dozens of landing vessels began to leave their holding positions and follow their predesignated routes to the beach. The Confederate force was to land on the north and south sides of the city while a task force moves on the capture the local airport. The Polarussian group would be moved to the west, effectively sealing off the city from the outside.

Aboard the transports, the men sat eager to feel the sand on their boots. Aboard on transport, Optio Julius Tanner stood peering out at the shore ahead of him. He had actually never been in an amphibious landing before. His career had always been hunting rebels in the jungle, so this whole thing was new to him. Behind him, one of his men started to sing "vadimus a la ora, mihi placet salta!"* which brought about a chuckle from those around him but a stern look from Julius, who was not about to have any of his men making jokes during a time that could become so serious. And so he watched, his eyes carefully scanning the area just beyond the beach, ever vigilant for a counter attack as the details on the ground got ever larger before him. All of his men were already prepared for the likelihood of a chemical or gas attack, even possibly a radiological attack, thanks to the information from the Auroran surveillance mission, and as a result all the men had their gas masks and chem suits prepared to throw on once they got closer to shore. Now, however, the heat required that they stay in theirregular uniform until they at least got a little closer to the danger zone.

* "Vadimus a la ora mihi placet salta" would be the Confederate version of "vamos a la playa, mi me gusta baila" as sung in this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYAKYCyOIXk

[Romberg]

Holmgard, Romberg

Normally, the Kaiser was a rather forgiving man. Unfortunately this time, upon receiving the press release from the Yellow Star Republic, his tolerance began to run low. Though as a neutral member with significant socialistic policies in place in the form of a welfare state, it was clear that by now sympathies had completely shifted away from the Republic in Romberg. And thus, given the defiant attitude of the Republic and the clear breach of international law displayed through the invasion of Glisandia, the Kaiser finally felt that it was no longer time to negotiate. Rather immediately, and upon recommendation of the Grand Council, he signed into law an addendum to the Economic Sanctions Act of 2013, finally sanctioning the Yellow Star Republic, and depriving the nation of sought-after aid which the Republic is known to rely on. All economic activity remaining between Rombergians and the Republic are henceforth declared illegal, and considered as treason should the Act be breached.

---

Matvayez Base

The Tribunus stopped in his tracks as the Rombergian brigadier approached before he raised an eyebrow at Aleksandra. "They sent a woman?" he said, at first startled before he then began to laugh in a rather unnecessarily uproarious manner. "A WOMAN!" he said again, wiping a tear from his eye. "O wow, that is rich. I always said you in the west were a bunch of girls! I didnt think it was going to be taken literally!" he said as his laughter started to subside and he straightened himself out. "Whew, ok that was good. Thanks for that, anyway, I am Tribunus Tarquinius Silvershield of the Confederate 1st Airborne Guards. It looks like your on my base, so we are going to have to get used to sharing the space. I just want some ground rules here. My men are in the Northeast corner of the base. As far as I am concerned, that piece of ground is for now Confederate territory. I dont want to catch any of your lady soldiers up on that corner of things. You keep your troops on your side, and I'll keep my troops on mine. Think we can work together on that?"

Meanwhile, as he spoke, the combat engineers of the airborne group began erecting a chain link fence and running barbed wire and sandbags around their corner of the area. A Confederate flag was run up from one of the barracks buildings as well. The Confederacy was working with the ATO on this mission, and they were happy to do so, but that doesnt mean that they could trust them to keep their hands off of Confederate technology. As such, precautions were taken, and measures were being laid out to keep the Confederate soldiers from fraternizing too much with their ATO counterparts. The Ecossians, however, they were encouraged to talk to and build up a rapport with. It was the Ecossians country after all, and they were there on the behalf of the Ecossian people. Might as well make friends!

Aleksandra was not impressed. Though she knew that the Tribunus was obviously and without doubt a battle-hardened and well-respected military leader back home, she felt that she needed to make it clear she wasn't going to be pushed around. As the Tribunus laughed, she was not only disgusted, but thoroughly offended by it. And eventually she could not take it much more. She withdrew her Officer's Pistol, chambered a round, then pointed it at the distance and fired a round. It hit the glass window of her office several dozen metres away, and the window shattered into a million pieces. Holstering her pistol, she then coldly remarked to her subordinate "Sergeant, remember to replace the glass, alright?" then turned to face the Tribunus.

"It appears you haven't seen too many women before, let alone one in combat. I suppose I'll need to teach you a lesson then? I'm warning you. I'm not going to let you push me around. Here you call me Brigadier Ingersson, understand? And my troops? Well I'd surely pity anyone who stands against them in battle. The viking spirit lives on. You have been warned." Aleksandra's tone of voice turned from rather sarcastic to stern, all the while maintaining a sharp stare at him.

Then, hearing his suggestion for cooperation, she changed to a more cooperative tone, albeit businesslike and devoid of emotion. It was rather obvious that she did not like this man at all, and at the moment, all relationship would be strictly work-only, and even then, only purely for the interest of Nouvel Ecosse, the nation which both nations were protecting.

"Alright, Tribunus. That plan you have sounds fine. You stick to your side, I stick to mine. We don't interfere with each other's business. Fair enough then."

And with that, she returned to her office, notably with a broken window. There, she started getting her troops to do the same thing that the Confederates did, raising the swallowtail war flag of the Imperial Realm of Romberg, and getting the air defense systems online. It was only a matter of hours until the place began to finally resemble what a proper Rombergian deployment should look like.

---

NORTHERN PLATTEISEN ADLER AND GLISANDIA

With the proximity of the allied forces just over the border, and with RLO and JaegerFlok teams active, as well as intermittent radar, the launch of the Blackhelm Confederate planes that evening from their bases was detected within a couple minutes, a handful at most. At 4 bases in Platteisen Adler, Central Eastern Glisandia and Northwestern Yellow Star Republic, intercepting flights were launched to put a stop to the raids. Additionally, there were flights that were tasked to bring the fight back to the enemy, streaking right past the incoming Confederate planes.
While several Su-27s and MiG-27s were meeting the incoming enemy flights, many more would be crossing paths and passing the enemy planes, heading once again for targets in Nouvel Ecosse that would be much more lightly defended. Part of their duties were to escort several of the Alligators, Black Sharks and Hinds of the 157th and 158th Rotor attack squadrons, that were also rushing in to strike at the allied forces gathering at the Ecossian bases at Haverville, Matveyez and some other scattered outposts.

Expecting some sort of attack from the ATO allied nations once they had started to arrive in force, the Yellosians had been prepared. A handful of radars and jamming sites went online briefly, to lock on to the missiles and planes heading towards YSR held territory and scramble their circuits, or throw them off course. They utilized technology that had been obtained from the Spartanians, or stolen by their deep network from other Astyrian nations, in order to upgrade the electronic suites they put into full effect now. The YSR was not going to go down with out a massive fight and they were throwing a huge hail mary now, as well as hoping to freeze an attempt to knock out their air defenses.

Mobile AA and SAMs, while not able to get a solid lock on many of the aircraft, did in fact turn on intermittently and were rewarded with some images. While some launched, others were unable to even make a launch before getting locked on by the advance aircraft and struck by the Confederate missiles and destroyed. Some survived, however, and got their rounds off, sailing towards enemy aircraft. It was left up to the interceptors to hopefully get a visual on the enemy planes and clean out the aircraft the SAM radars had missed. Beats after the SAM launches, the first barrage of air to air missiles were launched towards whatever signatures could be, even fleetingly detected.

Meanwhile, the YSR dedicated and multi-role bombers and fighter escorts powered on, countering with their own strikes against allied radar AA and SAM positions. Likewise, the gunships that followed close behind rocketed the sites closer to the border that the fixed wing aircraft had bypassed in order to leapfrog to the thicker defenses around the allied bases.

In timing with the aerial assault that was launched a little earlier than expected, artillery and mobile rocket launchers of the PRA of the YSR opened up belatedly to add their contribution to the din. Those that could reach, targeted the allied barracks, as well as other Ecossian bases within range of the border. The smaller caliber howitzers started to pound away at the closer outposts, using the latest fed data by recon teams overlooking the borders. Rockets fired off, giving off massive clouds as multiple waves sped to their targets.

The final piece to the all out counter-offensive, were elements from the 1st and 2nd Revolutionary Fleets moving into place along the Caledonian coast. On command from Arkjelstad, and in conjunction with airborne commands and the major military commander on the Northern front, they bulled their way in, fighting towards the Ecossian coast. Patrol craft were sunk by Ecossian defenses and counterparts, the destroyer, YRS Meistari, and the corvette, YRS Hæstaréttar, were crippled by several blasts from shore based Anti-ship missiles and suicidal Ecossian patrol craft that had to, in some cases, make the ultimate sacrifice in order to get close to hitting the defended ships. The Hæstaréttar took one fatal blow that detonated midships, killing dozens of the crew instantly.
The corvette started to take on water and the fires raged out of control, to the point that they couldn't save the ship. The captain ordered all hands to abandon the boat.
The cruiser YRS Isakov had one missile explode across its forward deck as CIWS crossed paths on the projectile, taking out two guns and a launcher, as well as 14 men and wounding twice as many.
A launching of cruise missiles and non guided rockets from all of the capital ships left that were capable, including the still floating Meistari, sped their way to targets all along the coast and interior, from Edinburgh, Matveyez, all the way west towards Asimov and the several army bases surrounding, including Haverville.

Though the Rombergian radars were online most of the time, this was still rather uncalled for. And hence it was rather late - only after the Confederates had moved, than the Rombergians took to action. Fortunately though, Rombergian military doctrine had always been very paranoid and defensive, even for an offensive operation. And hence, although the Rombergian military had not gone for an offensive, by the time the Yellowsian aircraft and gunships began approaching Matvayez, it was already fortified. And the 12th Anti-Air Regiment did a good job, operating a mix of Pantsir-S1 systems for closer range and S-400 units for far range. Not only were they advanced technology, but were proven to still perform rather effectively even under heavy jamming, which shifted the odds decisively away from the Yellowsians. And on the ground, elements of the Motor Rifle Brigades turned to anti-air formation, taking out MANPADS and other anti-air weaponry to combat the threat. Though it was obvious that the Republic would still be a considerable foe, it was hoped that the Rombergians were prepared enough to fight it.

Similarly, for the missiles, while it is known that from the sheer concentration of it, it would be unlikely that the base would remain unscathed, the Rombergian 12th Anti-Air Regiment were also ready, operating modified anti-missile units based on SAMs, but optimized for anti-missile roles. And these were quickly activated and put to service.

On the ground, the situation was not much better for the Yellowsians. In the initial attack, rather significant damage was indeed done to the complex, although with the help of combat engineers, the base was soon restored to working condition. Several dozen Rombergians were killed or otherwise put out of service, but at the same time a vigorous counterattack would be occurring. Though the 12th Artillery Regiment had also a mix of multiple rocket launchers and self-propelled guns, they had notably more advanced equipment, and made use of the mobility to their advantage. For instance, to make up for the slow reload time of the multiple rocket launchers, the rocket packs had already used a modular design, enabling launchers to fire barrage after barrage of rockets by switching rocket packs, and letting troops reload used packs back at base. Moving to the front, an intensive barrage of rockets were fired back towards the Yellowsian positions, while Self-propelled guns offered point support to positions of interest. And moving rapidly forwards towards the border, this heavily mechanized formation would be a serious force to be reckoned with.

Back at the base, while land units were not required for the full counteroffensive as of yet, the remaining units from the motor rifle brigades, as well as the 123rd Tank Regiment and the 124th Attack squadron were now mobilized, and stayed at a state of constant readiness to prepare for the inevitably assault. Meanwhile, the 3 Gebirgsjåger units moved North into the mountains to establish a defensive line, where the mountain and snow skills of these units would be used to hold the terrain and prevent any further Yellowsian advance North.

---

Matvayez Base

Sirens began blaring all throughout the base as pilots darted to their jets and began rocketing down the short or makeshift runways. The men of the Airborne guards, meanwhile, began getting into air raid shelters or taking up positions with their MANPADS to defend against the enemy. The fifteen Mig-29's would be easiest to get sky born, the heavier, more cumbersome Sukhois might take a bit more time, but it was going to be clear that those 15 MiG's were soon going to be in for a world of trouble if the Rombergian Air Force did not manage to scramble at least something into the skies as well. The first real test of the Confederate troops in Nouvel Ecosse was now upon them, and the pilots were determined to show the world, and show the west, that the Confederate military was the preeminent military machine in the region.

The anti-air systems were not enough, and as the Confederates raised the air raid signal, it was time for the air component of the Imperial Armed Forces to spring into action. With the aircraft already armed and just needing a quick refuel of high-quality Rombergian jet fuel, the 121st Fighter Squadron and the 123rd Fighter-Bomber Squadron, operating modified Su-35 and Su-34 aircraft respectively were now also sent to the frontlines. Operating 50 aircraft each, 20 aircraft of the 121st would first be sent up against the Yellowsians to assist the Confederate units. The other aircraft of the 121st would meanwhile patrol the vicinity of the base to help clear it of any remaining threats. On the other hand, the 123rd Fighter-Bomber Squadron would be placed on high alert, waiting for at least a partial control of the air before being sent to either destroy remaining Yellowsian ground threats or attack the Yellowsian naval fleet instead. Unfortunately, due to the lack of a naval deployment, the fleet could not be directly dealt with yet, until air supremacy was achieved.

Livery of Su-35, unarmed. Courtesy of myself and GHawkins:

---

Official Communique of the United Kingdom of Aquitayne and Symphonia

Ab ordo: Aeternae libertatis

---

Receiver: His Majesty Samuel von Reich, King of Aquitayne and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Sender: The United Kingdom Ministry of Information, Office of Secretary Emil Schneider, on behalf of Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Seondeok vi Kiramashi-Reich
CC: The Imperial Realm of Romberg, Office of the Director of the Imperial Investigative Institute, Frederick Högel
Subject: Spartanian Question

---

Dear Excellencies,

Following arguments that the situation in Feri Insula has become a greater security issue in regards to the safety and prosperity of the former Spartanian people, the Symphonian Cabinet, with the approval of Empress and the unanimous vote of the Imperial Legislature, will begin interventionist operations to repel the Heraldic threat. The Government has decided that only through direct intervention that peace can be restored, followed by a provisional government under the joint administration of the United Kingdom to restore the socio-economic wellbeing of the region.

To this end, His Excellency Prime Minister Adaminghir Singh has ordered the deployment of the AFN 2nd Hienkoku Fleet and 5th Army to join current Aquitaynian assets in the UICOM in preparation for an expedition against Heraldic and any other hostile forces in the former ISE and the Feri Insula as a whole. The Royal Government of Hienkoku has also further opened several ports to help facilitate the movement and transport of soldiers and military supplies from Aquitayne to the Province of the Cape, and the Symphonian military is planning a general expedition under the codename Operation "North Star" to secure a stretch of territory adjunct the former ISE. As of now, this operation has yet to be finalized and will not be underway until the preliminary results from Operation "New Dawn" have come in.

As Her Majesty's Government has decided to support the Aquitaynian spearhead, this issue therefore formally has been elevated to official status recognition as a United Kingdom Joint Military Operations Theatre.

In addition, in response to the Rombergen request for a conference upon this matter, Her Imperial Majesty Seondeok vi Kiramashi-Reich will be travelling to Holmgard, Romberg to represent official Symphonian policy in regards to the conflict. It would then be of Her Imperial Majesty's inquiry whether an Aquitaynian representative will be present to officiate the policy of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom / King of Aquitayne.

Sincerely,
Emil Schneider
Minister of Information of the United Kingdom

Classfied Document, the Imperial Realm of Romberg

To: Mr. Emil Schneider, Minister of Information of the United Kingdom
Encryption: High

Dear Mr. Schneider,

On behalf of the Kaiser, I am pleased to see your prompt response to our invitation of a meeting. We strongly thank the decision taken by your government to accept our offer and attend the meeting. However, understanding the organization of the United Kingdom, we would indeed hope for a representative from Aquitayne to also be present for the meeting. And according to information obtained through the III, it appears that they have indeed also have pursued membership in the ICE. As such, I would hope to delay the meeting until they too have been accepted in to the ICE, in which case representatives from both constituent states of the United Kingdom could be present for the meeting. I hope that this would answer your inquiry, and I hope to see you soon.

Yours Sincerely,

Frederick Högel,

Director of the Imperial Investigative Institute,

through

Kaiser Hans Jerkov II

The Imperial Realm of Romberg

[Aurora Confederacy]

As the sun again began to set on the island of Khayr Var, and with information given to them by CI6, information had to be gathered on Gislandia and the YSR, so with a brief to gather evidence of war crimes in progress, carried out by YSR troops and the likes, Black Manta 001 was called upon to head out and fly to an area off the coast of the YSR at an altitude from which they could also see the Aurora Confederacy and may other nations beyond, high above any known missile attack capability.

The briefing by General Hammond was simple and straight forward, as such the crew, both male in this case, the pilot, Commander James Warren, with RSO to take up the rear cockpit was Commander Alan Henderson. Their outfits bore a close resemblance to a space suit, indeed these bright yellow suits were pressurised, feeding the crew initially pure oxygen prior to flight to purge nitrogen from their blood before going onto an oxygen rich air supply.

After making their way down to their aircraft and climbing in, technicians strapped the two crew into their capsulated seats which in the event of an ejection will enable them to make a safe decent, and with most of this flight being over water, for they will not need to go into YSR territory, but simply sit 500km off the coast and see a large part of the target area, and then a flight over Nouvel Ecosse and northern AC to see into Gilsandia and other parts of the YSR. This information will then be delivered to a secret location within the AC without stopping, or at least thats the plan.

Once strapped in, the crew were left to their own devices whilst the support team went around the aircraft for one final walk around before the lights were turned off. With the lights off, the doors to the hangar were opened and the tow vehicle moved in where it was then coupled to the landing gear of the large reconaissance aircraft. Once connected, the aircraft was pulled out and the hangar doors closed behind the big, black jet. Clear of the hangar the tow vehicle was disconnected and pilot James Warren flicked the switch to spool up the two turbines. Engine number 1 starting first. As it spooled up it began to whine before fading to a roar with a feint whistle in the background. As the engine stabilised, Warren flicked the switch for the second engine to start, again it began to whine as it spooled up, then WHUMPH!! it caught and slowly began to roar. Carefully Warren trimmed the engines to allow them to idle, now the aircraft was pushing out as much thrust as 4 T-38 talon aircraft at full power and the Manta's throttles were sat at idle, as such the aircraft strained at its brakes. Looking forward through the IR camera, James Warren had a view of the ground staff, he waved his night lights.

"Henderson, you ready?" asked Warren
"yes Sir, A'h sure ah'm" replied Henderson
"okay" said Warren before keying the radio "Tower, Manta zero one, requesting take off, destination sector two zulu north four"
The tower controller replied "manta Zero one, Tower. Taxi to runway and await instruction"

At that moment the sky lit up as a streak of lightning arced across the sky, accompanied seconds later by the loud hammer of a thunderclap, the sky arked up for a second and third time in quick succession.

Warren eased on the power and released the brakes and slowly the Manta began to move. carefully James Warren followed the lines on the runway, guided by the infrared camera on the nose gear. Reaching the runway, James tapped the brakes and the big jet lurched forward. Behind the aircraft was a Lamborghini Aventador with a set of flashing police type lights, "Surface check" called the assistant in the passenger seat of the lamborghini.

With this instruction, James pushed the stick fully forwards, pulled it fully back, then gave full left and right deflection, its control surfaces moving as commanded, the observer called out "Manta Zero one, Chase car. All surfaces good, we're going to move off now" as the observer keyed down the driver made his way back down a taxi lane away from the runway, and so the tower controller called out.

"Manta Zero one, Tower. Clear for take off"

With permission to take off, James released the brakes and pushed the throttles all the way forwards, giving full afterburner, the two engines responding by pushing out a sharply defined bright blue flame nearly 30m behind the aircraft. As the thrust left the exhausts, the Manta began to move forwards, slowly at first then rapidly gathering speed. 100km/h came and went in a matter of seconds, 160km/h came within 16 seconds and the nose lifted as James pulled back on the stick causing the water on the runway to flash into steam as the aircraft began to rotate then climb skywards. As the aircraft unloaded the landing gear James flicked the retract switch bringing in the nose gear and so the Manta was on its way, 180,000ft altitude somewhere east of the YSR and Nouvel Ecosse.

[Empire of Symphonia]

AFS Union of States
7th Task Force, AFN 2nd Hienkoku Fleet
Mican Strait, 375 km west of Pangus (former ISE)

The grey, steel bow of the Washington-class battleship Union of States cut through the dark waters of the Mican Strait, sending a spray of water alongside as the ship sliced through the ocean swells. Also nearby were the Ishikarawa and the Mutsu, Sejong the Great class missile destroyers, serving as the advance patrol for the 2nd Fleet before Symphonian operations in Insula Fera began. Other ships in the task force were spread out a little further, and so the only ones in visible range were the two destroyers each about 7 miles away from the battleship.

Indeed, ever since the establishment of the Province of the Cape under the Aquitaynians at the southern end of the island, Spartanian threats had drove many Symphonian and Aquitaynian merchants to seek military protection and patrols, a role that once was under the direction of Her Majesty's Coast Guard. However, the collapse of the Spartanian state had caused greater concern amongst the business community, and many now sought the farther, more southern route between Symphonia and Aquitayne, leaving the Mican Strait to the patrols of the AFN High Navy to fight against possible pirates and marauders.

Captain Haneda Izumi, a Hienese of Japanese descent, absolutely despised this job. To him, it was a minor station compared his family's older, more prestigious posts as one of the longest bloodlines to ever serve in the navy. His father had served the in the Seong-Kiramashi War, or the 3rd Symphonian Civil War, in the old United States Navy, commanding one of the great battleships that fought in the numerous skirmishes in Sea of Haru before the Seong were melted down in nuclear fire. His grandfather before that had served in the Great Asian War against the Greater Evil Imperial Japanese Dystopia, one of the officers aboard the old aircraft carrier that this battleship had carried as its namesake, on which the great Prince Kohaku vi Kiramashi-Sveltz had ordered annihilation of the invading Japanese forces.

To be relegated to a mere scouting party would be considered an insult in normal traditional standards, but thinking like that was extremely frowned upon by the new High Command, the AFN government, and even the Empress herself. It was this same kind of thinking that had caused two civil wars, one between the old Numenor clan and the Kiramashi, and the second by the Seong. The sole consolation was that Izumi commanded one of the ten nuclear battleships in the entire AFN navy, and was the commanding officer of the entire 7th Task Force. That in itself, was a good reason why Izumi hadn't asked for another post when this one was presented to him.

But for goodness sake, even lowly sailors knew that no pirate was going to face head on the might of an AFN task force, not to mention the rest of the 2nd Fleet that was slowly making its way north along the coast of Insula Fera.

Izumi closed his eyes for a second, trying to calm his thoughts down, enjoying the silence of the ships's considerably comfortable officers lounge. The PA crackled, causing the captain to frown with annoyance.

"Captain," came a voice over the system," We are registering ships signatures bearing the mark of the Yellow Star Republic. We have contacted them through open channels, but we would prefer that you speak to their commanding officer. Please come to bridge immediately."

Izumi grunted, getting off the couch and flipping off the lights in the lounge. Once on the bridge however, he was brought to the communications station, where he clicked button that would record the conversation while simultaneously transmitting to UICOM in the Province of the Cape.

For the Yellow Star Republic to deploy assets here, this far away from northern Astyria, was unusual. Izumi had heard rumors that the YSR was fighting a war against the ATO and the East Astyrian military forces, and so why YSR units were clearly moving in the direction of Pangus and the Insula Fera was completely lost to him. If anything, every nation in the region should have recognized that the entire island ands its oceanic environs was under United Kingdom Joint Operations Mandate.

"If this situation occurred prior to the 3rd Civil War, FLEETCOM would have obliterated the intruders promptly", the captain noted with a smirk, "Oh well, lets see what they are here for."

This is Haneda Izumi, Captain of the AFN battleship Union of States and commanding officer of the 7th Task Force.

Attention Yellowsian forces, you are entering the United Kingdom Joint Operations Theatre and therefore intruding on the Oceanic Exclusion Zone. As you are not authorized by the Office of the UK Prime Minister or that of the Empress, I must request that you halt your advance on the Insula Fera and state the reasons for your intrusion.

While better left unsaid, I must inform you that failure to comply will force us to take the appropriate measures to ensure the security of UK assets in the region.

Relum Imperial Palace
Symphony, Metropolis of Symphony
Metropolitan Symphonia

"Prime Minister," Peter said as he walked in," I just got word from the 2nd Fleet that we have intruders in the area."

Adaminghir looked up from his papers, peering over the rims of his circular glass as he readjusted his turban. It was late night in Symphony, and outside, the wind was howling another surprise snow storm whipped the Holy Imperial Capital. Despite Symphonia's location to near the Equator, it seemed as if the cold of the Far North had suddenly rushed south, leaving many Symphonites scrambling to buy the latest coats and headwear in fashion. Luckily enough, perhaps more strangely enough, the immense rooms and offices of the imperial palace remained quite comfortably warm.

And yet, instead of enjoying the snow with the rest of the imperial family, Mr. Singh was spending his late night hours trying to respond to the outrage that many Symphonians were express in thanks to the Yellowsian public announcement by their premier.

Apparently, the nobility had been insulted by the fact that the Yellowsians seemed to have somehow figured out their agenda of expansionism, notably in the Insula Fera. As for the Congress, many were incidentally members of Symphonia's capitalist high society, which was not uncommon in the nation's stratified social structure. Despite being a parliamentary democracy, the facets of the old Empire and its Imperial Federation did not go away. In most cases it was bad news since it seemed like nothing broke the back of the aristocracy and the upper classes, but in this case, it played right into the hands of the central government and the Privy Council.

While many incidents were private and outrage muted, the common public had also been slightly miffed by the announcement, considering most worked in the capitalist society. Public opinion polls across the six constituent countries (Symphonia, Hienkoku, Huanqiu, Cheonsa, Xinhai, Singapore) showed notable decreases in sympathy for the cause of the YSR and a slight increase in the cause of its opposition. But on the whole, intervention was heavily frowned upon, and so nothing was going to be done.

"May I ask," the prime minister questioned jokingly," As to what makes these intruders so special as to inform me of them? Surely, as Defense Minister you could have sorted this out by yourself."

"Normally, I would," Peter replied as he sat down into one of the plush couches," But its seems like we have Yellowsians in the Exclusion Zone, and I don't feel like being the cause of an international incident considering the YSR is already at war."

"Well that's interesting," Adaminghir said as he stood up to look out the window," Does the YSR think it can also fight the UK as well?"

There was a pause before Peter replied, the sound of tea being poured quite audible and the clink of a porcelain cup as it was being set down.

"I don't think an attack is the case," he said," If they wanted an attack, they would have brought larger forces, not some motely group of ships as what our forces are reporting. I wouldn't have brought this matter to you if it hadn't been for the fact that the ships were moving towards Insula Fera."

At this point, the prime minister couldn't help but laugh. Peter raised one eyebrow in incline as Adaminghir struggled to contain himself.

"You should have the seen the faces of the nobles when the YSR announcement was publicized on our news networks," Mr. Singh explained," One of them was opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water, and a number of them had grown as pale as a mole rats seeing the light of day for the first time. His Majesty the Emperor remarked that they were all scared that the Yellowsians had caught wind of their plans to annex portions of the Insula Fera to make more fiefdoms for themselves."

Peter chuckled a bit while sipping some more tea.

"Well then, do we have a response or some plan?" he asked in finality.

"No," Adaminghir replied with a sigh as he sat down on his desk," As of now, the United Kingdom is officially neutral in the conflict that has embroiled the Far North for months now. The Empress doesn't want a war, and neither does the Party. It would be political suicide, and seeing how hard it was to raise support for even a humanitarian mission to the former ISE, an actual war would need a genuine tragedy, as unfortunate as that sounds."

"Well then," Peter said as he stood up to leave the room," I'll tell you if there is any funny business."

[Romberg]

---

23 Jan 2014

---

This is War

Several days ago, the military of the Yellow Star Republic launched an unprecedented and unprovoked attack on the Rombergian contingent stationed in Nouvel Ecosse, as part of the peacekeeping effort in the area. This is following repeated invasions and incursions into foreign territory by the military of the YSR.

As quoted on our constitution, "any attack on the Imperial Armed Forces constitutes an automatic declaration of war on the Imperial Realm of Romberg itself." Consequently, the Kaiser has officially declared war on the Yellow Star Republic, and will be closely cooperating with allied and friendly forces to defend the threat, and possibly launch punitive operations against the Republic in the future. In the meantime, the sanctions as defined by the amendment to the Economic Sanctions Act 2013 shall be upgraded to a full embargo.

Active service personnel of the Imperial Armed Forces stationed at home are advised to keep a close eye on the happenings, and for commands issued by Central Military Command in Holmgard. Additional forces may be required to bolster deployments in Nouvel Ecosse and the Rombergian Arctic Islands, while the threat level at home may be raised.

This is the first time in many years that the Imperial Realm of Romberg is forced into a war, but during the time, the Imperial Armed Forces have been under intensive training to defend the homeland against aggression. It is believed that with this declaration of war, the Imperial Armed Forces could finally show the world the efficiency and effectiveness that it possesses in a real life combat situation.

On the declaration of war, the effective military leader of Romberg, retired Field Marshal Graf Johann Lenesov von Königsberg, was quoted as saying the following:

Ladies and gentlemen, citizens and visitors of the Imperial Realm of Romberg, it is unfortunate that we are officially entering a state of war. For too long, we have been tolerating the acts of the Yellow Star Republic. Though we had been lately deployed in Nouvel Ecosse on a peacekeeping mission, we have not done anything to relieve the suffering of the Adlerians and the Glisandians. They who have been invaded and conquered, ironically by a nation that claims to be against imperialism. And now they have turned on us. A few days ago, our base in Ecosse was attacked by a group of military units belonging to the Republic. And until this day, the Imperial Armed Forces are hard at work, fighting back and helping to defend the Ecossians from any further invasion. But this is not enough. We have been lenient for too long. As the constitution says, any attack on our military is considered a full invasion of Romberg itself. According to the wishes of the Kaiser, and passed near-unanimously by the Grand Council, on this day, the 23rd of January, 2014, we, the Imperial Realm of Romberg, shall officially declare war on The United Socialist States of Yellow Star Republic. That is it, ladies and gentlemen. We are now at war.

From today onwards, the national flag of Romberg is officially changed from the rectangular civilian flag to the swallowtail war flag. And from now onwards, the military shall be ready, in case of total war.

[Terra Azure]

Near ViZion

The submarine El Saher on picket duty near the straits of ViZion detected the Azuran submarine on sonar and alerted her sister vessel, El Chihab, to the oncoming boat. Both turned to intercept when the Azuran message of defection came of the air waves. The captain of the El Saher was quick to respond with his own message,, quickly thumping out the short burst of

"-... . -. . -.. .. -.-. - / .. ...- / ... - --- .--. / ... ..- .-. ..-. .- -.-. . / ..-. --- .-. / -... --- .- .-. -.. .. -. --."

Once sent, he ordered his vessel to be brought to the surface as well, while the El Chihab remained at the depth she was cruising at, watching carefully to make sure the Azurans, not particularly a trustworthy group, did not try any funny business. At the first sign of treachery, the crew was prepared to loose a volley of torpedoes. But now, however, they would wait and see what developed.

The captain watched and read the moorse code as it came in, "so they intend to board us, could be interesting", he thinks before looking at hos sonar operator. "verify range to target, ONE ping only" he says.

The sonar operator presses a button on the console, and a loud ping echoes from the sonar bulge of the submarine, ringing loudly through the Polaran fleet, yet the Benedicit IV stays still in the water, hovering at periscope depth its screws stationary in the water as the vessel drifts slowly forwards.

The captain of the Benedict IV puts his eyes to the viewfinder of the periscope and flashes a message again.
*^{POLARAN NAVAL VESSELS STOP WE WISH TO NEGOTIATE PASSAGE TO NEUTRAL TERRITORY STOP UPON RECEIPT OF MESSAGE PLEASE CONFIRM STOP}* it says. The captain waits for a responce from the Polarans,

[Nation of Polarus]

The captain of the Polarussian vessel received the message from his Azuran counterpart but was not about to lose the opportunity for a new submarine for the Polarussian navy and the opportunity for information from the crew. Immediately he ordered a reply sent back.

"Benedict IV STOP Surface Immediately STOP Failure to comply will result in your destruction"

As he did so, the second submarines prepared to fire, its crew just itching to fire a torpedo spread at the Azuran vessel and send it in pieces to the bottom of the sea.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

Matvayez Base
Just before the air attack

The Tribunus shook his head with a smirk as the Rombergian brigadier fired a round into a nearby window. "Just like a woman" he chuckled. "Cant control their emotions so they haul off and break things."

"Well, I'm sure I'll be seeing you around Leksi" he said as he turned to leave. "And try to leave those poor windows alone, they didn't do anything wrong" he announced before he strolled down the runway towards the Confederate corner of the camp.

Skies Near Adler

The MiG 29's and the 27's under their protection were detected by the Yellosians, much as they expected, but the volume of response caught them off guard. They didn't have much respect for the Yellosian Air Force, and certainly did not think they were able to muster twelve aircraft to meet them. This was an underestimation that would prove to be a fatal mistake, and one that would need to be compensated for in the future. As the MiG's came in, the Yelloisans began rocketing down their runway.

The Yellosian Su-27 Hrafn1 prepared for take off, the lead aircraft of it's flight. In moments he was in the sky, the pilot of the Russian made fighter looking out over the rest of his flight as they left their base at Hollowran. They had just been readying for strikes against coalition positions across Ecosse when the alert came in of an enemy raid, and were only too eager to get involved in the defense of their newly conquered territory. Hrafn1 had only been in the air for but a few moments, however, when the first missiles started coming in. The Confederate MiG's had the jump on the Yellosians, only by seconds, but had still managed to target each of the twelve Yellosian planes with a radar seeking R-77 and an infrared seeking R-27ET, a missile duo which they had hoped would be enough to guarantee the enemy would not follow them back to Matvayez.

"I have pings! They see us!" Hrafn3 shouted into his headset. Hrafn1 was quick to silence him commanding "Radio Discipline, Hrafn3" which had little effect, as not a second later Hrafn2 chimed in. "They're closing in fast, Actual" he announced to the flight group, prompting Hrafn 3 to exclaim "Launch! They launched!"

Thinking quickly, Hrafn1 immediately ordered his men to return fire. "Lock on. Hit em!" he ordered as he looked out at the rest of his flight group, happy to see that a second flight, Ulfur flight, was now in the air alongside them. "Ulfur Actual, we have missiles launches" he announced to his comrade in arms. "I see them, arrows out Hrafn Actual" the Ulfur flight lead responded before both flights unleashed their initial barrage. Most had weak locks on the fast approaching Confederacte MiG's, but they hoped the fire would at least cause some damage on the incoming raiders. As they fired, Hrafn flight began to dive hard, blasting out chaff and flares from their aircraft as their missiles screamed in. Hrafn3, however, was last to make his maneuvers and the rest of the flight looked on in horror as the missile closed in with his aircraft. "It's locked in tight, I can't shake it!" the pilot of Hrafn three shouted into his headset seconds before the warhead made impact with his fighter, sending it to the sea in a ball of flames. Hrafn1 swore lightly under his breath as he watched the plane go down to the dark aters below. No chute was visible, and so the worst could be expected. "We lost 3 Actual" Hrafn2 confirmed.

"Hrafn flight, pursue, but do not cross into Ecossian territory" Hrafn1 ordered.

"Roger that Actual" Hrafn2 replied. They were not out of the woods yet, however. One more missile came whipping back for a second pass just as the flight was beginning to level out, having not been completely fooled by the countermeasures of the Yellosian aircraft and sped in for Hrafn5. Quick countermeasure deployment caused the missile to detonate on a flare, but it was still close enough to severely damage the Sukhoi's wing. Black smoke poured out of Hrafn5 as the flight watched the pilot fight to steady his injured bird, nearly clipping the wing of Hrafn2 as the pilot struggled to maintain control. Finally, he was able to right his plane just enough to safely eject, and did so with the rest of his flight watching as his shoot drifted down to the murkiness blackness below. A final missile made it's way for Hrafn2, but after a superbly executed corkscrew he managed to shake the missile, watching as it sped off into the darkness.

Ulfur flight, for their part, were having some troubles of their own. Ulfur4 had gone down in a fiery wreck, the pilot having no time at all to bail out. Ulfur3, meanile, was dodging and jinking as best he could, letting loose an oddly beutiful display of chaff and flares in his wake as he desperately tried to shake the oncoming missile. Before long, however the missiles were upon him, one exploding just below him. His Sukhoi shook violently, and the pilot of Ulfor3 was sure that he would wake up on a cloud somewhere. HE had managed to survive, however, although his left wing and tail were badly mauled. "I'm done, this crate is not gunna fly any more" Ulfur3 announced. "Roger that, head back to base" Ulfur1 responded as the damaged fighter turned and made its way back to land. Ulfur2 looked out, in the distance, some lights could be seen from where Andreas, PA would be. Then he was back on the screen, watching for any blips.

Meanwhile, for the Confederate part, the pilots had gunned it to get out of there, blasting on their afterburners just after their initial launch to put as much distance between themselves and the oncoming Yellosian wave as they could. ""Merda...quidam vitae. Revertimini et pugna" Rapere1, the flight leader of the Confederate aircraft sighed as he and the MiG-29's turned, leaving the MiG-27's they had escorted in to make their way back to Matvayez. The missiles that the Yellosians had fired were now bearing down on them, and they needed to shake these off before they could engage. Rapere1 and the rest of the flight dove down low over the water, the missiles cutting in just behind them before they begin dumping out flares and chaff, confusing the sensors of the tailing Yellosian missiles, then moments before hitting the water the MiG's pulled up executing a 180 degree turn and leading many of the missiles to smash into the sea. With a sense of pride in the maneuver that they had just pulled off, Rapere1 looked out to the rest of his flight, Rapere1 looks out his window to check on his flight, proud of the execution they had just pulled off, only to see that not all had been as lucky as he was in shaking the enemy weapons. Rapere6 was banking violently as a barrage of countermeasures rained out of the plane, the pilot doing everything in his power to shake the missile before it collided with the tail of his aircraft, sending it end over end into the sea. No chute, the pilot didn't have much of a chance. "Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo, Yellosi pathice" the pilot of Rapere4 shouted in anger as he watched his brother in arms crash into the water below before loosing his last two missiles at one of the oncoming Sukhois and bugging out. Rapere3 followed suit, painting the enemy and firing and then peeling off from combat, the missile racks of his fighter now empty. As they did, the rest of the flight jammed on their burners, hoping to get across Ecossian airspace and under the protection of the Ecossain SAM umbrella.

The Yellosian were now preparing for their second run, with Hrafn1 ordering his flight to open fire once again, Ulfur flight following suit seconds later. Seeing the enemy launch, Rapere5 broke from the Confederate formation and dove straight for the trailing Yellosian Sukhois. He launched off his last two missiles before hitting the ejection seat, watching as he beloved aircraft slammed into the oncoming missiles and erupt into a ball of flames as he drifted calmly for the cold sea below. Rapere4 was not as lucky, as his cockpit now burst to life with missile lock warnings and the pilot of the now missileless plane began dumping out the last of his countermeasures, countermeasures which he knew would be useless at this range against a missile of the caliber of the one chasing him. He quickly hit the deck, hoping to lose the incoming missile over the water, praying a wave or something, anything, to rise up and knock the weapon off his tail. It was of no use, however, and the enemy warhead pounded into his plane causing it to hit the water with the same force it would if it hit concrete, smashing and bouncing violently over the top of the sea before finally coming to a stop and sinking beneath the waves. The rest of Rapere flight began to report in as they charged for home.

The Confederate missiles, meanwhile, where now making their way into the planes of Ulfur and Hrafn flights as well. Ulfur1 whipped his head back as a bright fireball burst again. This time, with a sinking feeling, he knew it was one of his." Ulfur, report ag-..." he started to say before being forced to dve as another missile locked on with short range. He twisted the Sukhoi for all it was worth, punching countermeasures to avoid being blown from the sky. Hrafn1 also began to issue a flight report, but no sooner had he asked for his flight to report back did he watch Ulfur 4 explode. He listened as the rest of Hrafn reported in before he too was diving for the water, taking a missile with him on a long zig zagging journey.

"Hrafn, back for ho- AAAGGGHHHHH!!!" he started before he was hit, a wing was torn off causing him to slam into the cockpit hard. The piece of plane that remained helicoptered down into the dark Caledonian, taking the pilot with it to drown and sleep forever in its watery embrace. "Actual, this is 2? ...Actual is in the drink. Let's head back." Hrafn2 announced, peeling back to get back to base and regroup. Hrafn2 was't answered as the rest of Hrafn were still busy avoiding missile locks of their own. They were barely able to shake them, but 4 was hit as a missile tore up his side and perforated the jet with hundreds of holes. 4 was able to eject just barely as the fireball raced up the fuselage.

"We had better pray that the Ecossians have their SAM's online" Rapere1 announced as his planes saw the Ecossian coastline growing ever larger before them. As he said that, Rapere2 shook violently as a missile exploded just near him, launching shrapnel across the body of the plane. "If they don't we are fucked up here Rapere 1" the pilot said into his comms set as he righted his plane. Behind them, luckily, Hrafn and Ulfur flights began to cut away and head back for bases in Adler, feeling that they had done their job and driven the raiders from their airspace.

Rapere1 looked out around him. He had lost half of his escorts, and one was pretty badly damaged but they had survived. The pilots he lost today were good men, and they would surely be awarded well for their sacrifices.

The above was a joint work on IRC between myself and Neu Engollon

[Romberg]

Matvayev Base, Ecosse

The first meeting had certainly not been successful, and despite the obvious condescending tone made by the Tribunus, the Brigadier could barely tolerate it. She knew that they had to depend on each other now, after all. Thus, despite having to suck it in, she still tried to keep her cool, and continued with her business.

It was not long after when the glass of her office was replaced. And only several hours later, she received a message classified from back home. It was time. Immediately, she announced on the loudspeakers on her sector.

"Attention, this is your commanding officier Brigadier Aleksandra Ingersson speaking. We have just received a message from Central Military Command at Holmgard. The Kaiser has just declared war on the Yellow Star Republic. I repeat, we are at war. Let's do the nation and the Ecossians proud!"

With that, the flag was quickly cut into the swallowtail shape for war, and the missing triangles burned. This was it. They were determined to fight and win now.

But something did not feel right. Although the first wave had so far left some casualties, it was rather small, and from the size of the first wave, she could see something was not right. And when she saw what remained of the Confederate flight land on their side, it only further supported her agitations. It was not over. Though the base had manage to withstand the first wave of attacks, there was no telling how large the scale it may be, or indeed how long the attacks could last. But it was time for the Imperial Armed Forces to fight back. Now, fully refuelled and armed, the 121st Fighter Squadron regrouped in the skies and headed South, straight into the concentration of enemy aircraft which they knew were there from ground radar. It was time to fire the first shot. It would be a deadly game of "chicken", but one that they had to play.

"Give 'em hell" she slowly mused as they made one last sweep over the airspace above the base towards the Yellowsians. She knew that despite the technological and possible training advantage the IAFR had, it would not be an easy fight, and if the Confederates taught her anything, losses were expected to be high. But it was all they got. As the jet trail slowly lead away, she strolled back to her office, and began calling home to prepare for additional reinforcements.