Home Into the Motherland (Open, MT, IC)

by **Kyrenaia** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 3:46 am

Soraya Geal.
Yacht Rashiq.
The Rashiq, the motor yacht of the Sultana, was more then just a nice ship... and apparently, she wasn't really the Sultana's either. The parts of the crew, which weren't Handmaidens or Tabardariyya were so obviously Navy, that one would need to be blind, deaf and dead to not see that.
And yet, here I was... Soraya Geal, daughter of a Lieutenant Commander of the Fleet Ground Forces, the closest thing to a girlfriend of Prince Mahmut ibn-Idris had, a girl of fifteen (I would turn sixteen later this year)... and wore nothing but a blue silk towel while sitting in something, which the Sultana Her-bloody-self had called the Hammam Advisory Council, aboard a highly modern mobile command post concealed as a private yacht steaming along with a cruiser as an escort.
I sat to the Sultana's left, Mahmut to my left, next to that Princess Fara, next to her Crown Prince Ilia (who looked about as hot in the blue towel as he did in his leather jacket), Grand Vizier Hassan ben Sahid next to him, Vizier Azad Safir on his side, Sarah, the Ilkhana of Kyrene on his side and then the Sultana.
The notabilities of the Sultanate were assembled here to give council to their Sultana... and then there was me.
"In summary... it is not unlikely, that this freighter lost its freight on purpose or that someone ratted them out to bring this cargo into the hands of the wrong people.", Crown Prince Ilia continued his report, "The press release by the Imperial and Royal War Navy has us confused a bit as well. The Ostmarkians never even proposed an exercise in a more relaxed setting, let alone now. I think, they are searching for an excuse to bring material and ships close to the area of concern. I am not sure, if I like this, whether they are on 'our side' or not."
"The Ostmarkians are not the Yammies.", Vizier Safir said and shook his head slightly, "I spoke with Mister Caomhnaigh, the Free Lands have made good experiences with them during Operation Spartacus."
Crown Prince Ilia nodded. "There's one more thing.", he said, "We are unsure, if the Babenberg is underway. A carrier, which is very similar to her is currently laid up in Pola, as satellite images show. The only reason why we can't say its her or not is, that the areas, where the hull numbers are supposed to be, are covered up." He shrugged. "Might be her, might not be her. As for the Fusonese and their ships, I have no news yet, but so far, their foreign office has not published to any effect."
Silence for a moment.
"We know, that the Ostmarkians have a certain interest in the situation and that they are mostly supportive of the Reunification.", Safir said, shrugged, "So maybe we should play along? Maybe even invite them into the Shajarat Alnakhil?" Crown Prince Ilia raised an eyebrow. "If they really have more suspicious intentions, we could use the chance to gather intelligence from the sailors. We all know, how loose the lips of men are in the presence of beautiful women." There was a round of agreeing nods and amused snorts. "On the other hand, I doubt, that the Ostmarkians don't know about that security risk as well, so maybe they have curtailed the access their sailors have to information from the get-go."
"Possible.", the Crown Prince said, "Yet never underestimate the accuracy of the grapevine. I'll see to it, that a corresponding invitation is sent."
There was something nagging at the back of my head, though.
Of course, the Sultana caught onto it immediately.
"You look thoughtful, Soraya.", the Sultana suddenly said - and I felt my face heat up as all eyes in the room turned to me. "Please, speak up."
"Oh, no, I am sure, that..."
"Speak.", the Sultana ordered.
I was silent for a moment, then spoke hesitantly: "Well, I was thinking... the major sources of information, which we have about the ongoings in the Archipelago are from Shikonjima and some foreign reporters, not our own... what is, if the Shikos are lying through their teeth?"
The Sultana nodded. "The RBI-Team is actually supposed to guarantee that, the Kuros lend us valuable aid during the Al'Arz Aftermath.", she said and I nodded, preparing an apology, "But..." I stopped. "...you do have a point. We lack our own eyes and ears. Ilia, have Naval Intelligence prepare some people to send to Shikonjima and the Ferinan-Archipelago. Both openly and less so."
"Oh, I'll ask the Chandshar if they don't lend me Jamkiya. He should be open enough.", the Crown Prince confirmed, smiling slightly, "And I'll prepare the Fleet Ground Forces."
I couldn't help but think of Dad, still comatose since nearly two years now.

To:
Yamura no Kyouko, Princess of Shikonjima, Viscountess of the Oui no Tochi, Highest Servant of the Four Souls, Highest Lady of the Kazoku.
CC:
Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bakufu no Hiroba, Nashinya, N01SX504, Shikonjima.

From:
Razia-Sultana Umm Albilad, Lady of the Five Deserts, Ilkhana of Utica, Daughter of Kyrenaia, Mother of Her People, Highest Servant of the Lioness.

Subject:
The Ferinan-Archipelago.

Diplomatic Correspondence.
NOT to be released.

Dear Kyouko,
indeed, CG6 is moving closer to your waters. Ilia is currently working on adding a complement of the Fleet Ground Forces, which might be useful in the current situation. We will see, what he will come up with to do that.
I am also sending someone from the Chandshar, Captain Ilia Jamkiya, with a small team of six men and women in total, to the Ferinan-Archipelago. We still have no news about some of our citizens and my personal concern grows. His mission will be to find these people and, if they wish to, repatriate them. It should not require too much time and while your people's support would be appreciated, I am sure, that they have currently more pressing matters, which is understandable.
Meanwhile, the HAC is unsure of the intentions of the Ostmarkians. We will be playing along for now.

Indeed, let's think about that once the situation is solved.

Signed,
Razia-Sultana Umm Albilad

To:
HRM Atakheer Khan, Lord of the Sharulsi Khanate, Father of the Steppes, Son of the Yellow Desert, Unifier of the Black Hordes.

From:
Razia-Sultana Umm Albilad, Lady of the Five Deserts, Ilkhana of Utica, Daughter of Kyrenaia, Mother of Her People, Highest Servant of the Lioness.

Subject:
The Ferinan-Archipelago and Yamatai involvement.

Diplomatic Correspondence.
NOT to be released.

Dear and Esteemed Friend,
you are very welcome. I am sure, that I do not need to run the official line with you, but be assured, that Kyrenaia considers both Shikonjima and the Sharulsi-Khanate its friends. One can say many things about us, but let it never be said, that we abandon our friends.
Naval Intelligence uncovered information, that the Yammies (as we came to nickname them) are about to suppress another revolt, one, which resorted to terroristic means and is currently gassing their own countrymen. So... maybe they need a new field to occupy their military with in case they have that one solved? It is speculation, especially considering the militarized nature of their government. Your guess is as good as mine.
As for Kyouko, it is good to hear confirmation of her having a good head on her shoulders. I will not hesitate to aid her and I doubt, that you will hesitate, too. Her stability means a lot to the region, an unstable Ferinan-Archipelago will not spell direct doom and gloom, but it will certainly not be advantageous to anyone in the region - and needless to say, what a Shikonjima in upheaval would mean. Apparently, some groups are working hard and steady at achieving especially the latter, if Naval Intelligence and Chandshar are to be believed.
Then you must be twelve years younger then me, my dear lad! ; )

Signed,
Razia-Sultana Umm Albilad

P.S.: Informed and acknowledged. I'll see to someone sending you the IFF-Codes.

Official Press Release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Kyrenaia

On the matter of the naval exercises between the Sultan's Navy, the Imperial Fusonese Navy and the Imperial and Royal War Navy:
In the Name of Razia-Sultana Umm Albilad, Lady of the Five Deserts, Ilkhana of Utica, Daughter of Kyrenaia, Mother of Her People, Highest Servant of the Lioness, I am honoured to publish this message.
We gladly welcome our friends from the Imperial and Royal War Navy and the Imperial Fusonese Navy to our exercises and are glad to learn from them and to teach them our ways. To the end of maybe alleviating the stress of the sea voyage a little bit, Crown Prince Ilia and Admiral Azad Saefa have cordially invited the Carrier Battlegroup Babenberg and the First Carrier Division to the Shajarat Alnakhil, to enjoy the hospitality of the Sultan's Navy, the Sultanate and the little Archipelago and its inhabitants.

For all communication by state-actors, please send your messages to:
Azad Safir, Vizier, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qaleatan Maktab, Utica, Ilkhanate of Utica, Sultanate of Kyrenaia.
For all communication by non-state-actors and press, please send your messages to:
Public Relations Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sub-Department 01, Qaleatan Maktab, Utica, Ilkhanate of Utica, Sultanate of Kyrenaia.
As usual, messeges sent to the wrong recipient will not be replied to!

by **AHSCA** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 11:47 am

Somewhere in the Ocean

The rest of the world might have it's focus on the situation going on with Shikonjima, but this one small boat carving it's own narrow path in the wide and endless seas as apart of a sight seeing tour in the region; a long vacation to escape the doldrums of AHSCA's rainy season. Not a large ship only a handful of passengers and crew But this boat wasn't just packed with tourists from the islands, well it was but not everyone aboard were just ordinary tourists some of them were government employees. One was Roshin Tendo, the deputy foreign relations officer to the UIS. She was peering through binoculars to see the vast endless horizon. Her ears perked up every so often seeing sights of marine life moving about.

Second was Fumyo Taya she was actually the Village Administrator of Tsubaki on Animalpolis, thus she was the right hand to the Island's Premiere. Actually her place on this ship was set as a romantic getaway for the Premiere and her husband but they opted to attend a party instead. Oh well their loss, her gain. Her own little daughter Rikka was aboard too, having the time of her life. She tugged at Roshin to get a look, and Roshin happily obliged.

Last and hardly least among the VIPs of this trip, Asuna Yuki, a member of Royal Knights and thus a bodyguard, actually she was Marcella's own bodyguard. One would think with a couple of important government folks here she'd be there to protect them but she was off duty and also on vacation. It was nice to get away from work a while. She was soaking up the sun on deck enjoying how great the weather was. Actually this trip thus far had been very pleasant since leaving the choppy UIS waters. Usually islanders set sail on the high seas the Black Goddess made sure you bowed down and paid her respect for sailing on her domain. At the helm of this ship a Priestess Shino Nibutani. A clergy woman with nautical skills, then again who in the UIS didn't have skills? Technically this was her sister's ship but her sister had issues of her own back home and well these were too good to pass up! The ship's traveling Priestess another fox woman by the name of Yumeha. Maybe her prayers and chanting kept the angry winds at bay.

Now our cast of characters has been introduced now they will soon find themselves caught in this whirlwind of international politics and intrigue. Rika's little ears and tail moved about

"Mmm you see something, Rika?" Roshin asked her.

"Big ships." Rika responded

"Big ships huh?" Roshin squinted her eyes to see if she could see. She actually wasn't entirely sure if these were well traveled shipping lanes but these smaller civil UIS Vessels tended to avoid lanes traveled by large warships, cargo freighters or large cruise ships because well let's face it, Islanders were good at building ships but not good at outpacing or dodging large metal bohemians. A wooded sailboat versus several tons of hunking metal, doesn't take a mariner to know which one is going to win or which one will catch one first.

Emerging up from below was Rika's mother. "Briiight" She blinked her eyes several times having woken from a nap. "Mama, look, big ships" Rika handed over the binoculars "Big ships all right. A LOT OF BIG SHIPS" uuuugh she could feel her heart sink for a moment that many in a cluster usually meant warships. Asuna took notice of the three ladies gathered at the deck looking at the horizon. Hopping down to the deck she gave a hearty "What's up?"

"We see something." Fumio replied "You know military, what do you think?" Fumio handed over the binoculars to Asuna. These were fairly basic scopes they weren't super high powered so they were blurry enough but Asuna had a good pulse with her position in the Knights and military background plus her Duchess' own Naval background. "Well, they do look military. I couldn't begin to tell you where from."

"You sure it's many ships, maybe it's just one ship and the water is mirage-ing things around." Roshin thought

"Maybe but better not take a chance. Thinking the average cruising speed of an ACC or Destroyer won't be long before it's right on top of us. Hang tight I'm gonna go inform the Captain." A quick dash up to the bridge Asuna entered

"Afternoon, what brings you up here?" Shino asked her

"Well, we spotted what looks like one or more ships on our tail. I mean likely military in nature. I'm sure it's nothing we gotta worry about but a small course deviation would be a good idea."

"Huh, naval ships huh? Now I'm wishing I had served but alas the Cloth called me." She joked a little "Well how far off, can you tell?"

"Really my best guess is maybe 21k? Maybe."

"Modern warships do go fast don't they? That distance they'd be on us soon enough. I wasn't aware this was a busy lane, sis told me it's sparsely traveled except for cargo freighters. "

Asuna walked over to a bunch of charts on a table "Let's see...Best give these a wide enough berth." She pulled out a pen and made a few marks "This much off and really I think we'd avoid problems and getting caught in it's wake. "

"We are kind of conspicuous out here, you don't imagine they'd want to seize us for any reason?"

"As far as I'm aware and Roshin is aware we aren't in an active combat zone. It's probably just some naval exercise from somewhere nearby. We aren't far from Shikonjima, worse comes to worse we shore up there if we need but otherwise I think we can stay our course."

"Not bad, you make a fine Sailor!"

"You learn a thing or two with Her Majesty."

"Think you can stick around and help me, gee my sis is much better at this than me, really what she was thinking putting ME in charge."

"You're doing fine. Don't fret. But the tail wind is stronger so if we're gonna start moving we'd better move now."

"Aye."

The ship began it's small easy movements to port it'd be just enough time to swing out of the way and let the larger ships pass through.

(ooc: You are free to approach this little passenger ship however you wish but I want them alive. No disintegrations. That said doesn't mean some poor trigger happy crew member doesn't get killed, just none of my pictured characters ;) )

by **Kyrenaia** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 12:26 pm

AHSCA wrote:Somewhere in the Ocean

The rest of the world might have it's focus on the situation going on with Shikonjima, but this one small boat carving it's own narrow path in the wide and endless seas as apart of a sight seeing tour in the region; a long vacation to escape the doldrums of AHSCA's rainy season. Not a large ship only a handful of passengers and crew But this boat wasn't just packed with tourists from the islands, well it was but not everyone aboard were just ordinary tourists some of them were government employees. One was Roshin Tendo, the deputy foreign relations officer to the UIS. She was peering through binoculars to see the vast endless horizon. Her ears perked up every so often seeing sights of marine life moving about.

Second was Fumyo Taya she was actually the Village Administrator of Tsubaki on Animalpolis, thus she was the right hand to the Island's Premiere. Actually her place on this ship was set as a romantic getaway for the Premiere and her husband but they opted to attend a party instead. Oh well their loss, her gain. Her own little daughter Rikka was aboard too, having the time of her life. She tugged at Roshin to get a look, and Roshin happily obliged.

Last and hardly least among the VIPs of this trip, Asuna Yuki, a member of Royal Knights and thus a bodyguard, actually she was Marcella's own bodyguard. One would think with a couple of important government folks here she'd be there to protect them but she was off duty and also on vacation. It was nice to get away from work a while. She was soaking up the sun on deck enjoying how great the weather was. Actually this trip thus far had been very pleasant since leaving the choppy UIS waters. Usually islanders set sail on the high seas the Black Goddess made sure you bowed down and paid her respect for sailing on her domain. At the helm of this ship a Priestess Shino Nibutani. A clergy woman with nautical skills, then again who in the UIS didn't have skills? Technically this was her sister's ship but her sister had issues of her own back home and well these were too good to pass up! The ship's traveling Priestess another fox woman by the name of Yumeha. Maybe her prayers and chanting kept the angry winds at bay.

Now our cast of characters has been introduced now they will soon find themselves caught in this whirlwind of international politics and intrigue. Rika's little ears and tail moved about

"Mmm you see something, Rika?" Roshin asked her.

"Big ships." Rika responded

"Big ships huh?" Roshin squinted her eyes to see if she could see. She actually wasn't entirely sure if these were well traveled shipping lanes but these smaller civil UIS Vessels tended to avoid lanes traveled by large warships, cargo freighters or large cruise ships because well let's face it, Islanders were good at building ships but not good at outpacing or dodging large metal bohemians. A wooded sailboat versus several tons of hunking metal, doesn't take a mariner to know which one is going to win or which one will catch one first.

Emerging up from below was Rika's mother. "Briiight" She blinked her eyes several times having woken from a nap. "Mama, look, big ships" Rika handed over the binoculars "Big ships all right. A LOT OF BIG SHIPS" uuuugh she could feel her heart sink for a moment that many in a cluster usually meant warships. Asuna took notice of the three ladies gathered at the deck looking at the horizon. Hopping down to the deck she gave a hearty "What's up?"

"We see something." Fumio replied "You know military, what do you think?" Fumio handed over the binoculars to Asuna. These were fairly basic scopes they weren't super high powered so they were blurry enough but Asuna had a good pulse with her position in the Knights and military background plus her Duchess' own Naval background. "Well, they do look military. I couldn't begin to tell you where from."

"You sure it's many ships, maybe it's just one ship and the water is mirage-ing things around." Roshin thought

"Maybe but better not take a chance. Thinking the average cruising speed of an ACC or Destroyer won't be long before it's right on top of us. Hang tight I'm gonna go inform the Captain." A quick dash up to the bridge Asuna entered

"Afternoon, what brings you up here?" Shino asked her

"Well, we spotted what looks like one or more ships on our tail. I mean likely military in nature. I'm sure it's nothing we gotta worry about but a small course deviation would be a good idea."

"Huh, naval ships huh? Now I'm wishing I had served but alas the Cloth called me." She joked a little "Well how far off, can you tell?"

"Really my best guess is maybe 21k? Maybe."

"Modern warships do go fast don't they? That distance they'd be on us soon enough. I wasn't aware this was a busy lane, sis told me it's sparsely traveled except for cargo freighters. "

Asuna walked over to a bunch of charts on a table "Let's see...Best give these a wide enough berth." She pulled out a pen and made a few marks "This much off and really I think we'd avoid problems and getting caught in it's wake. "

"We are kind of conspicuous out here, you don't imagine they'd want to seize us for any reason?"

"As far as I'm aware and Roshin is aware we aren't in an active combat zone. It's probably just some naval exercise from somewhere nearby. We aren't far from Shikonjima, worse comes to worse we shore up there if we need but otherwise I think we can stay our course."

"Not bad, you make a fine Sailor!"

"You learn a thing or two with Her Majesty."

"Think you can stick around and help me, gee my sis is much better at this than me, really what she was thinking putting ME in charge."

"You're doing fine. Don't fret. But the tail wind is stronger so if we're gonna start moving we'd better move now."

"Aye."

The ship began it's small easy movements to port it'd be just enough time to swing out of the way and let the larger ships pass through.

(ooc: You are free to approach this little passenger ship however you wish but I want them alive. No disintegrations. That said doesn't mean some poor trigger happy crew member doesn't get killed, just none of my pictured characters )

Leftenant Amir Zawbiea.
Onboard Helicopter of RKN Oud.
We had spotted the little ship long before they even knew they had been close to Shikonjima. A Baghl-B from RKN Tartib detected them on their AWACS-Radar, a small flight over the boat by a pair of planes are high altitude confirmed, that this boat was no danger to anyone.
We had let it come closer.
Now it was about twenty kilometers off of our right flank, where Cruiser Squadron 6-2 was holding steadfast and true.
Of course, with the best intent in mind, these people had to change heading. They would cross paths with our rearguard and with a warship of several thousand tons on one side and a little boat on the other... well, the outcome was clear.
That was why the Fleet Ground Forces Complement aboard RKN Oud had been mobilized and sent out on a Bijea-C. Our doorgunners were at the ready, the Section of eight men in total armed and ready.
Eight heavily armed soldiers with KGS-29 Heavy Submachine Guns and other weapons and Pattern 2019 Infantry Armour would surely be able to get them, should need arise. Plus, we had air support, both in the ways of the helicopter and in the ways of the Combat Air Patrol, which was very high up and very heavily armed.
Weird times.
We approached, made a singular pass above, then made one circle around the ship, counting people on deck, acquiring targets and so on. Assessing the situation.
Then, I raised a megaphone and spoke in English, my voice amplified to be heard over the rotors and down on the ship: "Unidentified vessel, this is Leftenant Amir Zawbiea, Fleet Ground Forces of the Sultan's Navy. You are about to cross the course of a fleet of said Navy, which will soon begin conducting exercises. I therefore urge you to change your heading north, out of our safety cordon. You will be on course for the Ferinan-Archipelago, where you can resupply and spent a merry time. I recommend this to you to ensure your own safety. Should you not comply, I am authorized to use force to make you comply." I let a beat pass. "What do you say?"

by **AHSCA** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 1:23 pm

Kyrenaia wrote:Leftenant Amir Zawbiea.
Onboard Helicopter of RKN Oud.
We had spotted the little ship long before they even knew they had been close to Shikonjima. A Baghl-B from RKN Tartib detected them on their AWACS-Radar, a small flight over the boat by a pair of planes are high altitude confirmed, that this boat was no danger to anyone.
We had let it come closer.
Now it was about twenty kilometers off of our right flank, where Cruiser Squadron 6-2 was holding steadfast and true.
Of course, with the best intent in mind, these people had to change heading. They would cross paths with our rearguard and with a warship of several thousand tons on one side and a little boat on the other... well, the outcome was clear.
That was why the Fleet Ground Forces Complement aboard RKN Oud had been mobilized and sent out on a Bijea-C. Our doorgunners were at the ready, the Section of eight men in total armed and ready.
Eight heavily armed soldiers with KGS-29 Heavy Submachine Guns and other weapons and Pattern 2019 Infantry Armour would surely be able to get them, should need arise. Plus, we had air support, both in the ways of the helicopter and in the ways of the Combat Air Patrol, which was very high up and very heavily armed.
Weird times.
We approached, made a singular pass above, then made one circle around the ship, counting people on deck, acquiring targets and so on. Assessing the situation.
Then, I raised a megaphone and spoke in English, my voice amplified to be heard over the rotors and down on the ship: "Unidentified vessel, this is Leftenant Amir Zawbiea, Fleet Ground Forces of the Sultan's Navy. You are about to cross the course of a fleet of said Navy, which will soon begin conducting exercises. I therefore urge you to change your heading north, out of our safety cordon. You will be on course for the Ferinan-Archipelago, where you can resupply and spent a merry time. I recommend this to you to ensure your own safety. Should you not comply, I am authorized to use force to make you comply." I let a beat pass. "What do you say?"

A slight deviation of course later with the wheel they began to head south for a bit to ideally just give enough clearance to any ships passing by, it was easy to see they were getting closer with each passing minute. Crew on deck working to turn the ship ever so slightly could see it and were getting antsy enough. Asuna remained on the bridge to help the Captain guide things along. "That's it, steady as it goes." But it wasn't that much longer from that it seemed someone caught up to them first. It wasn't the apocalyptic scenario of a large ship steamrolling them into oblivion but a smaller ship at their flank. "What is going on now?" Shino wondered. Asuna peered out the window "Oooh boy that is some serious firepower..."

"What?"

"Nevermind. Keep steady wait a moment."

Other on deck seeing this were growing anxious as well. Fumiyo pulled her daughter close to her to safeguard her from anything, Roshin was looking about to assess things. Asuna had a gun herself stowed in her cabin and likely some of the crew were armed as well, never can be too careful in the open seas. Hopefully this could just amount to a simple "get out of the way or get ran over" call to action and not "prepare to be boarded." Then again, besides pirates what country in their right mind would hijack a civilian vessel. The chopper (I presume it's a chopper if not I'll fix it) kicking up mist from the sea made it hard to really see any markings. But there wasn't much more time to assess the situation as a voice yelled out via a megaphone, as Asuna figured it was a call to move out of the way, or else.

"What did he say?"

"He wants us to head north. Go north." She replied plainly leaving out the or else part.

Shino complied turning from port to starboard which would eventually swing them north "North, that's really gonna eat up time." Time with only the wind to push them along and enough supplies for so many days at sea and taking a large deviation from course could lead to trouble.

"I think he said there's an archipelago relatively nearby we can shore up there. You have a megaphone on this boat?"

"I don't think so but there's signal flags."

"Good enough." Asuna pulled out a couple of signal flags so she could show confirm their compliance, ideally the turning vessel should be enough. This was turning into one helluva vacation already. Asuna had perched herself atop the Bridge Deck with a signal flag to show her intent. Let's hopped this worked well enough.

by **The Selkie** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 1:33 pm

Shikonjima wrote:[...]

Kongoutou Police Station.
Suzuhara nodded and hummed along, to signalize, that he was listening.
Finnegan Síol of the Tribe of Fermanagh was more of a hardliner when it came to the Tribalist ideology, to the extent, that he had colleagues thrown off the set due to being 'a half blooded runt'. The little scandal was known about amongst Miss Umhal's fans in these parts, and this kind of behavior of his had usually commented on by the words, 'Kono yarou!' What everyone had wondered about, though, was why everyone else at the set had put up with it instead of giving him a decent punch into the face or somewhere else, or at least telling him to get his shit straight - but then again, the way entertainment business worked was all but the polar opposite of how the rest of the world did.
Amy Cíoch of the Tribe of Cork was a Tribalist, too, but rather in terms of the ideologies the Tribalists opposed, less based on what kind of policies and ideas they actually supported.
And then there was Finnegan Bod of the Tribe of Antrim, called Finny, who was obviously well-equipped in the lower third of his body, but apparently less so in the upper one, as he basically just repeated what his brother, a follower of the Tribalist ideology, said, in lieu of thinking on his own. A potato farmer from the Baile ... any chance he might also have any relatives in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho ...?
"So" - Suzuhara began, "we have basically an ar..." - he interrupted himself, clearing his throat, "... a man with questionable behavior, a woman with less support for the ideology itself than rather a similar stance on the ideologies the Tribalists oppose, as well as a potato farmer who doesn't really think anything through and relies on the input he gets from others." This, especially the last point, was probably the most diplomatic way to put it, and it would also help keeping the industry secret as secret as possible. "Does anyone of the three, particularly Mr. Síol with his rather radical views, maintain any contacts abroad? Possibly Shikonjima, or rather countries where Tribalist views are more common, such as the Sharulsi Khanate, Tangrusia, or Democratic Semporna?"

[...]

Cecilia Umhal of the Tribe of Sligo.
Kongoutou Police Station.
I snorted as Suzuhara caught himself - that was cute. He had a face to uphold, sure, but that did not mean, that I was made of sugar. Quite on the contrary, I knew more then my fair share of uncouth words in more languages then I could count.
As he had summarized, I nodded.
His question made me sigh. "Oh, boy...", I said and looked at him, "Do you want the contacts you can also find on our filmographies as well or do you only want the private contacts?" I shrugged. "I know Finnegan well enough to know, that he likes making movies of our genre in Shikonjima, please don't ask for the reason, but that he also likes making them in the Khanate. I know, he has a few personal friends there, but I don't know any specifics except one of them being a guy by the name of Sükhbaatar or something." I shrugged. "Sorry, lad, can't help you much more..."
I really wanted to, but this was not good.

Ensign Fiona Bláth of the Tribe of Wexford.
SDFS Maighdean, on a training cruise.
Year 2 Ensigns were supposed to get their Sea Legs, to see the world and to represent the Free Lands - we were no exception. We were even above average, seeing that we had spent the autumn at sea (including at the 2019 Port Ember Navy Day Celebrations, something I still remember fondly) and were now at sea in winter.
Continuously, mind you, with no longer port calls then a few days.
We had Sea Legs alright.
And we weren't doing that bad, I thought, when the Captain had called me to his ready room. Yeah, I know, what you might think, but neither Captain Trodaí nor his first officer Commander Bratoi were men, who would abuse their position of power, which they held over us Ensigns in such a way.
I was, due to my experience in leading the Naval School's Sensha-Do Team, the unofficial leader of the Ensigns. I was proud of that.
So, when I passed the Bridge and nodded to the Officer in Charge, he returning it with a smile, I was a small bit worried. In the short hallway behind the Bridge was the door to the Ready Room, open and I knocked on the frame.
"Come in, Ensign.", Captain Trodaí called without looking up from the printout in front of him. I stepped in, took in air to report, but the Captain interrupted me: "How quickly can you and your lads and lassies be ready to disembark?"
I was dumbstruck. "Captain, if there was anything..."
"How quickly?"
I swallowed. "If I give the word now, we are ready by tea time.", I said and swallowed, "Captain, if we..."
"It's not your fault.", he said and I had to suppress a relieved sigh. "It's not mine either." He let a beat pass. "You know of the proceedings in the Ferinan-Archipelago?" I nodded, confirmed verbally, too. "Admiral Curadh and the Foreign Office want us to be ready in case things escalate and anyone needs us to safely escort neutral trade convoys through that mess. We are still recognizing the Ferinan-Archipelago as Shikonmanjese, don't worry, but we won't participate in any wars over it."
I nodded. "Sounds like the usual approach.", I said.
He grunted in confirmation. "We will meet with the cruise liner Colm in the evening, hand you and your Ensigns over.", he said and I was surprised. The Colm was a very new, very luxurious ship. Over one hundred Ensigns would surely be expensive to be brought aboard and housed and fed and everything. "Don't you dare to think of it as a vacation. We organized lessons in nautical matters and practical time for you and the others, so you will have lessons. I also told the Captain, that you aren't replacement waiters, so..."
I nodded. "I wouldn't have dreamed of it, Captain, to see this as a vacation!", I said and he snorted in amusement.
He knew, that I had already seen myself in a bikini on the Sun Deck.
"Get them going!", he ordered. I saluted and was off.

Sunday, 23rd of February, 2020.

Open press release.

Concerned by the proceedings in the Ferinan-Archipelago, the Elder Council, representing the Fifteen Tribes of the Selkie, wishes to reaffirm, that the Free Lands still recognize the Treaty on the Reincorporation of the Seven Duchies of the Ferinan-Archipelago into the Shikonjimanese Realm from the 6th of February of this year.
However, due to the increased presence of military forces of various nations, the Elder Council finds itself concerned with the security and safety of innocent ships and crews of nations, which have not yet taken any side in this upheaval. To that end, the Elder Council offers the services of the SDF-Navy to safely escort trade convoys along the edges of the area in question.
All ships, which wish to approach Shikonjima will be escorted by Shikonmanjese vessels, should the need arise. Vessels of the SDF-Navy will not violate the sovereignity of Shikonjima except in case of emergencies.
As we speak, SDFS Maighdean is disembarking the Ensigns aboard onto the cruise liner Colm, which will return them to the Free Lands, while the Maighdean will steam towards a position near Shikonjima.
We hope for positive replies of all parties involved in this upheaval and wish to avoid a further escalation, which all involved parties might regret.

May Carman Fea protect the Peace between the Peoples,
Felicia Sciotóg of the Tribe of Monaghan,
Head of the Foreign Office of the Free Lands of the Selkie.

by **Austria-Bohemia-Hungary** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 3:11 pm

Kaiser Maximilian I.-battlegroup - Unspecified Grid Square
(OOC: Posting with some input from Rupudska)

In another part of the ocean far away from the sailing vessel coming in the way of Kyrenaian Cruiser Squadron 6-2, HMS Kaiser Maximilian I. and her battlegroup cobbled together from two separate carrier groupings that operated in the Indian Ocean before steamed ahead at their leisurely cruising speed of some 16 knots. They were per standard operating procedures formed up in standard cruising formation, a double line some sixty kilometres long and twelve kilometres wide in the middle of one of the more popular sealanes to Kyrenaia. Emissions were strictly restricted to commercial radars while every asset above and under the surface paid diligent attention to their passive sensors. Hostile overhead satellites were avoided as best they could by the tried and true method of finding the nearest large overcast area to dive into. And so by these methods four carriers and two ships-of-the-line of the Kriegsmarine, in addition to their consorts had completed over half of the distance to their objectives without being caught by unwelcome attention.
Ahead of the main group and in a far tighter sailing formation, HM Hospital Ships Caroline and Ophelia were making best speeds towards the Ferinan Islands to discharge their humanitarian mission. It was these two that first visually detected a single large container vessel adrift and in the middle of the path they were taking...

Sixty or so kilometres behind the hospital ships encountering this unidentified contact HMS Huszár, covered by the ready-for-action cruisers behind her surged ahead to investigate. Per the report received via datalink they knew the ship was very much adrift, and so a boarding and inspection team was readied per Linienschiffskapitän Dennig's instructions. Twenty minutes later, Huszár's Merlin helicopter lifted off the fantail of the heavy frigate and proceeded directly towards the location the hospital ships reported in.
Linienschiffsleutnant Theodor Flanegan, aircraft commander of today's boarding and inspection flight spent the twenty minutes of the flight processing his sense of trepidation at the prospect of delivering his passengers to what appeared to be a "ghost ship". Compounding the butterflies roaming around in his stomach were Flag-Officer-Commanding Lieutenant-Admiral Duchess of Brunswick's words that in case anything went awry and the derelict vessel proved to be a danger to him or the traffic surrounding it the battleships some two hundred kilometres behind his helicopter stood by to sink the merchant - who was not broadcasting her AIS signal. The latter fact alone was enough to rouse suspicion, the fact that their objective was adrift did not help matters.
Dutifully flying an orbit along the hulking Panamax carrier. Lieutenant Flanegan and his crew identified the merchant as M/S Danzig, a Panamax chemical tanker that had gone missing some months earlier. Sending a request for the ship manifest to Huszár, our pilot took his Merlin aft of the merchant, and with some manoeuvring carefully disembarked the boarding team, and then hove to next to Danzig, ready for a recovery.

Dropped onto the bridge, Oberdeckoffizier Kirchmayer and his team of six sailors breached their way into the conn, only to discover five dead bodies with rifles strapped to them. Checking them, they noted that these dead men appeared to have been chemically burnt by some sort of substance. Furthermore, power to the control stations appeared to be completely gone as well. Leaving the conn and proceeding downwards towards the safe room, Kirchmayer and his sailors discovered more dead bodies, some of them with gunshot wounds in them. The safe room itself was unoccupied and as far as they saw, pristine. Going on deck, Kirchmayer radioed the helicopter to report that the entire ship appeared to be dead, that there were no evidence of a fire as far as they've seen, and that there has been what Kirchmayer assumed to be pirates onboard. In return, he received an alarming piece of information: M/S Danzig carried industrial chemicals, including explosives and liquefied phosgene gas in some of her holds, and chlorine and phosphorus in her other holds. Evidently the refrigeration systems to the phosgene gas had failed at some point during the pirate attack and doused the ship aft of those holds in poison. There and then Oberdeckoffizer Kirchmayer decided to evacuate his team at once before they encountered another poison gas release, after all only the Gods knew what those holds had gone through between Danzig's disappearance and her reappearance today. Gathering what documents they had from the bridge he and the rest of the boarding team returned to their helicopter and left the scene. They would have to sink her, preferably from as far away as possible.

Back on Kaiser Max, Lieutenant-Admiral Duchess of Brunswick agreed with this course of action and delegated her submarines to carry it out. Twenty minutes later, having given the cleared signal from Huszár HM Submarine 113 discharged a full salvo of torpedoes at the derelict merchant vessel from twenty kilometres away, while Wilhelmina sent her reports to headquarters and anybody else that was definitely involved. Minutes later, the six four ton torpedoes struck Danzig's keel in a line beneath her, breaking the former Karlsland merchant in threes. She sank fast in a fireball the crew on the Huszár would describe as brilliantly orange.

Utica International Airport - Morning of the 23^rd of February, 2020

Korvettenkapitän Joseph Perczel von Bonyhád, naval attaché to the Free Lands was finding himself in Utica, Kyrenaia at a time best described as "middle of the night". In forty-eight hours he had gone from going through paperwork to receiving an emergency diplomatic message to being ordered to present that diplomatic message to his counterparts in the Sultan's Navy as soon as possible. So he had bought an economy class ticket from Fortham to Utica via Silverport International, put the bill on the embassy and commandeered the first taxi that would take him to the airport. Having rushed his way through customs and security controls he arrived in his destination country on the morning of the 23^rd. Getting off the plane Perczel von Bonyhád presented himself to Kyrenaian customs with his diplomatic passport and the traditional and slightly cheeky: "Please take me to Your Leader. I have important diplomatic mail with me."

Code: Select all: START FLASH TRAFFIC TO: HQ K.K. KM. CC: HQ the Sultan's Navy, Utica; HQ Kaiser. Marine Karlslands; HQ SDF-Navy Fleet Command FM: FOC-in-C HSF Duchess of Brunswick SUBJ: M/S Danzig ENCY: HIGHEST DATE: 22ND FEB 2020 Encountered derelict merchant of KARLSLAND origin adrift on this date at approximately LONGITUDE & LATITUDE. NO ACTIVE AIS. NAME "M/S DANZIG". CLASS Chemical Tanker. Ship carried PHOSGENE, industrial EXPLOSIVES, CHLORINE and PHOSPHORUS. Evidence of PIRATE assault and subsequent RELEASE of POISON GAS, NO FIRE. To prevent the spillage of chemical agents onto nearby shores "M/S DANZIG" was subsequently SUNK with no further complications. END FLASH TRAFFIC

by **Rupudska** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 8:01 pm

Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft
Imperial Broadcasting Corporation - Your News, Your Nation

Lost Freighter Found with Dangerous Gas Leak

23 February 2020

The search for the M/V Danzig ended in tragedy this morning when the vessel was located by the Ostmarkian frigate IMS Huszár.

The Danzig was found adrift in the Sea of Songthom nearly a hundred kilometers off-course and dead in the water. The ship had to be located visually as its AIS signal, along with nearly all of its communications systems, had been deactivated or destroyed - both the Ostmark and Karlsland navies report pirates as the likely cause, though the ship itself had not taken any noticeable damage when it was found.

Instead, and far more alarmingly, it is reported that the Danzig suffered a failure in one or several refrigerant systems, resulting in a leak of phosgene gas that at present is the most likely cause for the ship's disappearance - phosgene, a common industrial chemical, is highly toxic at doses far lower than a standard human's ability to detect by smell, and can take up to 24 hours to have an effect. No signs of life were found on board, nor was there substantial evidence of pirates being on board recently.

After confirming the presence of the failed refrigerant systems, the Imperial and Royal War Navy evacuated all personnel from the ship and, confirming that there was no chance of survivors, sank it at around eleven o'clock local time. Environmental activists have complained about the damage that will result from so many industrial chemicals leaking into the ocean, but due to the depth at site the KVAA considers this "somewhat unlikely."

There are reports that the Reichsmarine plans to offer to assist the Yamatai Imperial Navy in anti-piracy campaigns in response to this discovery, but no official statements in favor or to the contrary have been made.

by **Kyrenaia** » Mon Feb 24, 2020 4:47 am

AHSCA wrote:
Kyrenaia wrote:Leftenant Amir Zawbiea.
Onboard Helicopter of RKN Oud.
We had spotted the little ship long before they even knew they had been close to Shikonjima. A Baghl-B from RKN Tartib detected them on their AWACS-Radar, a small flight over the boat by a pair of planes are high altitude confirmed, that this boat was no danger to anyone.
We had let it come closer.
Now it was about twenty kilometers off of our right flank, where Cruiser Squadron 6-2 was holding steadfast and true.
Of course, with the best intent in mind, these people had to change heading. They would cross paths with our rearguard and with a warship of several thousand tons on one side and a little boat on the other... well, the outcome was clear.
That was why the Fleet Ground Forces Complement aboard RKN Oud had been mobilized and sent out on a Bijea-C. Our doorgunners were at the ready, the Section of eight men in total armed and ready.
Eight heavily armed soldiers with KGS-29 Heavy Submachine Guns and other weapons and Pattern 2019 Infantry Armour would surely be able to get them, should need arise. Plus, we had air support, both in the ways of the helicopter and in the ways of the Combat Air Patrol, which was very high up and very heavily armed.
Weird times.
We approached, made a singular pass above, then made one circle around the ship, counting people on deck, acquiring targets and so on. Assessing the situation.
Then, I raised a megaphone and spoke in English, my voice amplified to be heard over the rotors and down on the ship: "Unidentified vessel, this is Leftenant Amir Zawbiea, Fleet Ground Forces of the Sultan's Navy. You are about to cross the course of a fleet of said Navy, which will soon begin conducting exercises. I therefore urge you to change your heading north, out of our safety cordon. You will be on course for the Ferinan-Archipelago, where you can resupply and spent a merry time. I recommend this to you to ensure your own safety. Should you not comply, I am authorized to use force to make you comply." I let a beat pass. "What do you say?"

A slight deviation of course later with the wheel they began to head south for a bit to ideally just give enough clearance to any ships passing by, it was easy to see they were getting closer with each passing minute. Crew on deck working to turn the ship ever so slightly could see it and were getting antsy enough. Asuna remained on the bridge to help the Captain guide things along. "That's it, steady as it goes." But it wasn't that much longer from that it seemed someone caught up to them first. It wasn't the apocalyptic scenario of a large ship steamrolling them into oblivion but a smaller ship at their flank. "What is going on now?" Shino wondered. Asuna peered out the window "Oooh boy that is some serious firepower..."

"What?"

"Nevermind. Keep steady wait a moment."

Other on deck seeing this were growing anxious as well. Fumiyo pulled her daughter close to her to safeguard her from anything, Roshin was looking about to assess things. Asuna had a gun herself stowed in her cabin and likely some of the crew were armed as well, never can be too careful in the open seas. Hopefully this could just amount to a simple "get out of the way or get ran over" call to action and not "prepare to be boarded." Then again, besides pirates what country in their right mind would hijack a civilian vessel. The chopper (I presume it's a chopper if not I'll fix it) kicking up mist from the sea made it hard to really see any markings. But there wasn't much more time to assess the situation as a voice yelled out via a megaphone, as Asuna figured it was a call to move out of the way, or else.

"What did he say?"

"He wants us to head north. Go north." She replied plainly leaving out the or else part.

Shino complied turning from port to starboard which would eventually swing them north "North, that's really gonna eat up time." Time with only the wind to push them along and enough supplies for so many days at sea and taking a large deviation from course could lead to trouble.

"I think he said there's an archipelago relatively nearby we can shore up there. You have a megaphone on this boat?"

"I don't think so but there's signal flags."

"Good enough." Asuna pulled out a couple of signal flags so she could show confirm their compliance, ideally the turning vessel should be enough. This was turning into one helluva vacation already. Asuna had perched herself atop the Bridge Deck with a signal flag to show her intent. Let's hopped this worked well enough.

Leftenant Amir Zawbiea.
Onboard Helicopter of RKN Oud.
Upon my message, a lot of hectic activity broke out, which I noted with some satisfaction, until I saw a woman (quite a looker, at this distance, if one could believe the low whistle of appreciation of my Section's Marksman, who had her in his sights) climb atop their bridge.
Our doorgunner aimed at her, too, though his intent was far less appreciating.
She began to make signals with a signal flag, the boat began to turn.
I nodded, raised the megaphone to my lips again: "Your compliance was noted, unidentified vessel.", I spoke, hoped, that they would hear me, "Have a safe trip - and watch out for naval exercises."
And with that, I nodded to one of my men, who poked his head into the cockpit and informed the pilots.
Our helicopter moved off - not back home to the Oud, but to a position well within sight of the small ship and vice versa. We were to watch and keep a lookout until they left the security cordon... and to aid in case someone confused them with a target drone.

Austria-Bohemia-Hungary wrote:
Kaiser Maximilian I.-battlegroup - Unspecified Grid Square
(OOC: Posting with some input from Rupudska)

In another part of the ocean far away from the sailing vessel coming in the way of Kyrenaian Cruiser Squadron 6-2, HMS Kaiser Maximilian I. and her battlegroup cobbled together from two separate carrier groupings that operated in the Indian Ocean before steamed ahead at their leisurely cruising speed of some 16 knots. They were per standard operating procedures formed up in standard cruising formation, a double line some sixty kilometres long and twelve kilometres wide in the middle of one of the more popular sealanes to Kyrenaia. Emissions were strictly restricted to commercial radars while every asset above and under the surface paid diligent attention to their passive sensors. Hostile overhead satellites were avoided as best they could by the tried and true method of finding the nearest large overcast area to dive into. And so by these methods four carriers and two ships-of-the-line of the Kriegsmarine, in addition to their consorts had completed over half of the distance to their objectives without being caught by unwelcome attention.
Ahead of the main group and in a far tighter sailing formation, HM Hospital Ships Caroline and Ophelia were making best speeds towards the Ferinan Islands to discharge their humanitarian mission. It was these two that first visually detected a single large container vessel adrift and in the middle of the path they were taking...

Sixty or so kilometres behind the hospital ships encountering this unidentified contact HMS Huszár, covered by the ready-for-action cruisers behind her surged ahead to investigate. Per the report received via datalink they knew the ship was very much adrift, and so a boarding and inspection team was readied per Linienschiffskapitän Dennig's instructions. Twenty minutes later, Huszár's Merlin helicopter lifted off the fantail of the heavy frigate and proceeded directly towards the location the hospital ships reported in.
Linienschiffsleutnant Theodor Flanegan, aircraft commander of today's boarding and inspection flight spent the twenty minutes of the flight processing his sense of trepidation at the prospect of delivering his passengers to what appeared to be a "ghost ship". Compounding the butterflies roaming around in his stomach were Flag-Officer-Commanding Lieutenant-Admiral Duchess of Brunswick's words that in case anything went awry and the derelict vessel proved to be a danger to him or the traffic surrounding it the battleships some two hundred kilometres behind his helicopter stood by to sink the merchant - who was not broadcasting her AIS signal. The latter fact alone was enough to rouse suspicion, the fact that their objective was adrift did not help matters.
Dutifully flying an orbit along the hulking Panamax carrier. Lieutenant Flanegan and his crew identified the merchant as M/S Danzig, a Panamax chemical tanker that had gone missing some months earlier. Sending a request for the ship manifest to Huszár, our pilot took his Merlin aft of the merchant, and with some manoeuvring carefully disembarked the boarding team, and then hove to next to Danzig, ready for a recovery.

Dropped onto the bridge, Oberdeckoffizier Kirchmayer and his team of six sailors breached their way into the conn, only to discover five dead bodies with rifles strapped to them. Checking them, they noted that these dead men appeared to have been chemically burnt by some sort of substance. Furthermore, power to the control stations appeared to be completely gone as well. Leaving the conn and proceeding downwards towards the safe room, Kirchmayer and his sailors discovered more dead bodies, some of them with gunshot wounds in them. The safe room itself was unoccupied and as far as they saw, pristine. Going on deck, Kirchmayer radioed the helicopter to report that the entire ship appeared to be dead, that there were no evidence of a fire as far as they've seen, and that there has been what Kirchmayer assumed to be pirates onboard. In return, he received an alarming piece of information: M/S Danzig carried industrial chemicals, including explosives and liquefied phosgene gas in some of her holds, and chlorine and phosphorus in her other holds. Evidently the refrigeration systems to the phosgene gas had failed at some point during the pirate attack and doused the ship aft of those holds in poison. There and then Oberdeckoffizer Kirchmayer decided to evacuate his team at once before they encountered another poison gas release, after all only the Gods knew what those holds had gone through between Danzig's disappearance and her reappearance today. Gathering what documents they had from the bridge he and the rest of the boarding team returned to their helicopter and left the scene. They would have to sink her, preferably from as far away as possible.

Back on Kaiser Max, Lieutenant-Admiral Duchess of Brunswick agreed with this course of action and delegated her submarines to carry it out. Twenty minutes later, having given the cleared signal from Huszár HM Submarine 113 discharged a full salvo of torpedoes at the derelict merchant vessel from twenty kilometres away, while Wilhelmina sent her reports to headquarters and anybody else that was definitely involved. Minutes later, the six four ton torpedoes struck Danzig's keel in a line beneath her, breaking the former Karlsland merchant in threes. She sank fast in a fireball the crew on the Huszár would describe as brilliantly orange.
Utica International Airport - Morning of the 23^rd of February, 2020

Korvettenkapitän Joseph Perczel von Bonyhád, naval attaché to the Free Lands was finding himself in Utica, Kyrenaia at a time best described as "middle of the night". In forty-eight hours he had gone from going through paperwork to receiving an emergency diplomatic message to being ordered to present that diplomatic message to his counterparts in the Sultan's Navy as soon as possible. So he had bought an economy class ticket from Fortham to Utica via Silverport International, put the bill on the embassy and commandeered the first taxi that would take him to the airport. Having rushed his way through customs and security controls he arrived in his destination country on the morning of the 23^rd. Getting off the plane Perczel von Bonyhád presented himself to Kyrenaian customs with his diplomatic passport and the traditional and slightly cheeky: "Please take me to Your Leader. I have important diplomatic mail with me."
Code: Select all
START FLASH TRAFFIC TO: HQ K.K. KM. CC: HQ the Sultan's Navy, Utica; HQ Kaiser. Marine Karlslands; HQ SDF-Navy Fleet Command FM: FOC-in-C HSF Duchess of Brunswick SUBJ: M/S Danzig ENCY: HIGHEST DATE: 22ND FEB 2020 Encountered derelict merchant of KARLSLAND origin adrift on this date at approximately LONGITUDE & LATITUDE. NO ACTIVE AIS. NAME "M/S DANZIG". CLASS Chemical Tanker. Ship carried PHOSGENE, industrial EXPLOSIVES, CHLORINE and PHOSPHORUS. Evidence of PIRATE assault and subsequent RELEASE of POISON GAS, NO FIRE. To prevent the spillage of chemical agents onto nearby shores "M/S DANZIG" was subsequently SUNK with no further complications. END FLASH TRAFFIC

Hochseestreitkräfte „Herzogin von Braunschweig und Lüneburg, Fürstin von Calenberg“

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief High Seas Force „Herzogin von Braunschweig und Lüneburg, Fürstin von Calenberg“: Admiralleutnant Wilhelmina Ingernohl Herzogin von Braunschweig und Lüneburg, Fürstin von Calenberg
Chief of Staff: Kontreadmiral Johanna Theresina Freiin Lindemann von Lindesheim
Chief of the Operations Department: Kommodore Maria Franziska Gräfin Csáky de Körösszeg et Adorján
Second Flag-Officer: Viceadmiral Hanna Rosalind Sieglinde Freiin von Reinach
First Staff-Officer: Kontreadmiral Peter Wilhelm Ritter Gisbeck von Gleichenheim

Carrier Group „Kaiser Maximilian I.“

Flag Officer Commanding: Viceadmiral Hanna Rosalind Sieglinde Freiin von Reinach
Second Flag-Officer: Viceadmiral Anton Bolko Rietheim von Rettenbach
First Staff Officer: Linienschiffskapitän Nicola Caterina Prinzessin Esterházy von Galántha

IMS Kaiser Maximilian I.
IMS Monarch
IMS Erzherzogin Sophie, Herzogin von Hohenberg
IMS Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia
IMS Don Juan d'Austria
IMS Târgoviște
IMS Hesione
IMS Huszár
IMS Sarajevo
IMS Bihać
IMS Perseus
IMS Europa
IMS A1452
IM U 111

Surface Action Group „Szent István“

Flag Officer Commanding: Viceadmiral Janko Vuković-Podkapelski
Second Flag-Officer: Viceadmiral Viceadmiral Więcesława Viktorina Edle von Milfait
First Staff Officer: Linienschiffskapitän Felicia Zeschkova

IMS Szent István
IMS Hunyadi
IMS Nándorfehérvár
IMS Sankt Georg
IMS Arthemisia
IMS Pandúr
IMS Mostar
IMS Banja Luka
IMS Constantia
IMS Clementia
IMS A1451
IM U 113

IM U 114

IMS Caroline
IMS Ophelia

Note: Quote modified by removal of spoiler-tags.

At Utica International, the men of the customs office noted the diplomatic passport and the small bit of humour. Their Leftenant nodded. "Please come with me."
Perczel was brought into a holding area, a nice secretary bringing him a cuppa tea, while the Leftenant informed his superiors and let the message go up the chain to those, who needed to know and some others.
It did not take overly long until a couple of officers of the RKN and a man from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs came, thanked Perczel for his pains and efforts, took the message and got him a room in a good hotel nearby. They said, that he would be asked to take a return message with him.
They were not lying.

To:
FOC-in-C HSF Duchess of Brunswick.
CC:
HQ K.K. KM..
HQ Kaiser. Marine Karlslands.
HQ SDF-Navy Fleet Command.

From:
Azad Safir, Vizier, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qaleatan Maktab, Utica, Ilkhanate of Utica, Sultanate of Kyrenaia.

Subject:
MS Danzig.

Diplomatic Correspondence.
NOT to be released.

Dear Admiral, Ladies and Gentlemen,
in the Name of Razia-Sultana Umm Albilad, Lady of the Five Deserts, Ilkhana of Utica, Daughter of Kyrenaia, Mother of Her People, Highest Servant of the Lioness, I wish to thank you for your assistance in the matter of MS Danzig.
On a side note, if any of your vessels encounter a derelict vessel (a "ghost ship", to use the more colloquial term) close to Kyrenaian Waters, please contact the Royal Kyrenaian Coast Guard. They will then take her in for investigation and safe disposal instead of sinking her at sea and risking an environmental disaster and destroying evidence, which might be helpful in revealing the causes for that disaster. That is the standard procedure around these parts. I took the liberty of attaching the information and frequencies on which to contact the RKCG below.

Signed,
Azad Safir,
Vizier, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

What none of them knew, was, that the battlegroup around the Kaiser Max would soon be able to pick up Kyrenaian Radio Stations, including music, and, more importantly, signals from vessels and aircraft of the Royal Kyrenaian Coast Guard. They would even be able to pick up signals from drones of RKCGV Yuqiza, one of the three Ea-class Drone Carriers of the RKCG, quite a bit away.
And of course a lot of commercial sea traffic, freighters and fishing ships and cruise liners and a lot of other types of vessels, moving in and out of the EEZ and around inside of it, too. The closer they got to Kyrenaia, the harder it would get to avoid detection by any of that traffic - although one had to question why they were hiding in the first place if they were friendly...

by **Toishima** » Mon Feb 24, 2020 6:31 am

ARAMAKI DAISUKE COMPLEX, YAMATAIAN MINISTRY OF NATIONAL SECURITY
(REDACTED), YAMATAI IMPERIAL SECURITY AGENCY HEADQUARTERS
HEIAN, GREATER EMPIRE OF YAMATAI

Colonel Shimano Futoshi, the large military man from the Grand Marshal's Office, yawned discreetly behind a beefy hand. He squinted his eyes at the slide show, which had been going on for what seemed to be hours. Cast from rough Niihama blacksmith stock, the imposing colonel was more accustomed to using heavy armour to smash through enemy lines. Shimano would always be a tanker at heart, and all this talk of sneaking around and doing a bunch of unconnected things to destabilise Shikonjima was terribly boring to him. He wasn't ignorant by any means, and clearly understood and appreciated what was going on here in the bowels of the ISA. He just wasn't very interested. His entire job scope here was to report to the Grand Marshal what was going on, and then to dispense the Grand Marshal's orders.

A fresh lieutenant could do that.

The only thing that kept him awake was the fact that this Agent Tamura, ISA commander of the operation, was fairly attractive for a woman her age. Shimano smiled to himself internally, privately cursing the existence of that increasingly repellent woman at home that did nothing but spend his money on social gatherings with the wives of other high-ranking officials. Other than Tamura, a whole team of other ISA types filled the room. It was again like something out of a movie; the task force was a bunch of men and women in black business kimonos wearing lanyards and typing furiously into laptops. He didn't get many of their names, and wondered if they were all using codenames. Only one other man was in a type of military uniform, a dangerous-looking man with a scar across his face, dressed in combat fatigues and full combat gear as though he was ready to start blasting at a moment's notice. Typical cocky-ass TokuSa*.

The door to the soundproof conference room slid open and ISA Director Goto stalked in, clutching a cup of tea in his hand. He was clearly unhappy about something. All of the ISA personnel immediately rose to their feet and bowed in his direction. Shimano gave him a curt nod as the wiry intelligence director took his position at the head of the table, tossing down a folder. Some photographs of a ship, amongst other things, spilled out.

"What's this M/V Danzig situation?" Director Goto asked as he took his seat, which typically was left empty.

"Ostmarkian naval vessels found this derelict ship, M/V Danzig, in the Sea of Songthom. Then they blew it up, claiming it was leaking dangerous chemicals," Agent Tamura explained. The secretary operating the laptop switched tabs to the TSUBAKI web browser, which showed the recent news from Karlsland.

Goto inhaled, his lips pursing.

"Was it one of ours?" He demanded, realising why he had been called down here.

"Technically, no. However, we have records that it was involved in Operation Shuka," Agent Tamura explained. Operation Shuka was the codename of the mass ISA-run operation to bring explosives, weapons, and other instruments of disorder into various states around the world, to equip insurgents and other forces of chaos in order to further the Greater Empire's causes.

"How was it involved?"

"The ship was boarded by pirates in the Indian Ocean with the intention of ransoming it. Shortly after that, we... Acquired the ship," Tamura glanced at the TokuSa commander, "and brought it to a convenient place near Trinh Atoll where it was then 'lost' to another group of Songese pirates. Pirates that then sold the valuable new cargo that they happened to conveniently find aboard. After that..."

"They probably offed themselves mishandling whatever remained of the chemicals we put there," Goto completed with annoyance, rubbing his temple, "the Ostmarkians probably blew up the ship so quickly because they didn't find anything of interest aboard, which is at least a good thing."

Shimano folded his arms and wondered at the thoroughness of the ISA. The Ostmarkians probably didn't find anything precisely because there was nothing to find but what the ISA wanted them to. It was still more of the sneaky stuff he wasn't particularly interested in, though, and he instead wondered how it was these foreigners passing through the area that found the ship, and not the Imperial Navy, which heavily operated counter-piracy operations in that problematic area. The foreigners' sudden and reckless decision to blow up the ship also suggested some kind of cover-up. Perhaps they had something to hide on that ship as well...

The Army officer grunted in distaste.

Fuck, I'm starting to think like one of these spooks.

OFFICE OF THE IMPERIAL GRAND MARSHAL OF YAMATAI
HEIAN, GREATER EMPIRE OF YAMATAI

A modernised building of angular steel and glass, the Office of the Imperial Grand Marshal was three stories tall and had its own extensive gardens and pools that adjoined the Empress Kayako Memorial Centre's own. The Office was often called the Azure House, the last reminder of the beautiful roof tiling that adorned the old Office that was torn down and replaced back in 2003. Though the Grand Marshal did not live here, it was her seat of power and workplace. Imperial Army troops protected the building like a military installation. This was where the real decisions were made.

Much like the rest of the building, the personal office of the Grand Marshal, referred to colloquially as the Marshal's Chamber, was a large, rectangular room with floor-to-ceiling windows that gave a stunning view of the gardens, the government headquarters, the Amegawa River that bisected Heian, and beyond to the pristine glass and steel towers grasping for the skies in the central business district on the far bank. Grand Marshal Miyazaki herself enjoyed staring out at this view, spotting the slight differences between each day.

Her table was large but not remarkable. A personal computer was on the left, an in/out tray on the right. Photographs of her three children and her husband were framed and placed neatly in one corner, a small Radiant Sun flag in the other. The rest of the room was dominated by bookshelves with priceless cultural artefacts on display where there weren't books which Miyazaki had never read, and a sitting area and round table where foreign guests or the Imperial Council could gather when they needed to meet here for whatever reason.

At the moment, the plush couches of the office were occupied by General Tenzai, Minister of National Security, Admiral Matsunaga, the Minister of the Navy, and the head of the entire Imperial Navy, Fleet Admiral Mitanabe. The military-ruled government of Yamatai appointed officers to the various ministries based on merit and selection boards; though Admiral Matsunaga represented the Navy's interests in the Imperial Council, he still answered to the Fleet Admiral according to the chain of command. It was a curious state of affairs that effectively gave the military unlimited power over the government, which other states often saw as abhorrent.

"As of the latest report, submarine I-344 is still in pursuit of the Ostmarkian force that did this," Fleet Admiral Mitanabe continued, subtly showing his seriousness in this matter by wearing the grey-blue digital camouflage Naval working uniform, "but reconnaissance aircraft have lost sight of the fleet, and believe they have left Imperial Yamataian waters. Satellite reconnaisance is also finding it difficult to pinpoint where they came from or where they are going, but I can guess."

Grand Marshal Miyazaki sighed heavily. Of course it would be Shikonjima, where else?

"The ISA has informed me that this ship was actually involved in some ISA black operation, but was left in this state entirely by chance," Admiral Tenzai reported, touching the back of his neck in that typical Yamataian expression.

"Where exactly did this whole thing happen?" Miyazaki asked, looking at a map of the Sea of Songthom, one of the busiest yet most dangerous sea lanes this side of the world. The Imperial Navy was working very hard to keep it free from pirates, though the raiders infested the shoals and atolls of the region and refused to die out. This was one of the few areas where Yamatai's military was appreciated and even praised by the foreign community.

"From I-344's report, it was near the Trinh Atolls. It's a known pirate hotbed, but firmly within our territorial waters," Fleet Admiral Mitanabe pointed the location out on the map.

On the map, a broken line of 15 dashes made up the outer boundary of the Yamataian maritime border, though not many foreign countries recognised this. A fainter blue line marked the internationally-recognised border line, but this line was totally unlabelled, and the average citizen who didn't know about the situation would remain in the dark... While the Imperial Army Cartography Department could still deny foreign accusations by pointing out that the internationally recognised border was on the map. Miyazaki tapped a slender finger on the Trinh Atolls.

"It's in our waters, but also outside of our waters," she said softly, rubbing her chin with her other hand.

"Excuse me, Grand Marshal?"

"The foreigners don't recognise our traditional maritime boundaries," Miyazaki raised an eyebrow, "which is why they thought they could just torpedo a ship in Imperial waters and expect to get away."

The Navy men in the room looked at each other uncomfortably.

"If the ship really was connected to the ISA and these foreigners found out, the whole operation in Shikonjima would be compromised," the Grand Marshal continued tapping on the map at the Trinh Atolls, "if we attempt to pursue this matter any further, they may get suspicious and start digging deeper."

"What are you suggesting, Grand Marshal, that we let them get away with such a hostile act within our territorial waters?" Admiral Matsunaga queried incredulously.

"At the moment the priority is Shikonjima," Miyazaki pulled her hand back, "we have to ensure that this M/V Danzig stays buried beneath the waves forever. Perhaps in this case, we should let them off."

"Not even a formal complaint to the government?" Fleet Admiral Mitanabe asked.

"Nothing to draw further attention to this incident. We'll let the local news go on about the ecological issues, but nothing more than that," the Imperial Grand Marshal stood up, signalling an end to the meeting, "judging by how long they spent searching the vessel and then immediately destroying it, I'd guess they didn't find anything useful on board. We must keep it that way. They'd likely want to keep the whole thing quiet too, and soon everyone will forget about this."

The other officers stood up after the Grand Marshal, and began bowing to her in turn. She responded in kind.

"But the submarine keeps following them at a safe distance. I want to be ready for anything. We don't know how those people think," Miyazaki ordered, turning to head back to her desk... And that beautiful evening view.

OOC:
*TokuSa: Tokushu Sakusen Butai; the Spetsnaz of Yamatai
(Ironically) It's probably a little strange that Yamatai isn't publicly complaining about foreigners violating their 15 dash line this one time, isn't it?
If no submarine stalkers are desired, TG me and they'll peel off.
As of 12 am 25/2/2020, this post underwent a major revision to put the decision of keeping things quiet in the hands of the Grand Marshal herself.

by **New Visayan Islands** » Mon Feb 24, 2020 11:20 am

Atty. Enrique G. Wong, LlM
Lumangbayan City Court, Calapan, MR
February 24th, AD 2020
0930 PHT

"This is the case of the City of Calapan vs. Andrew Calleja, with Attorney Janus Wang representing the City and Attorney Kenneth Katigbak representing the defendant. Are counsel ready to proceed?" Both lawyers nodded. "Andrew Ortega Calleja, please come forward with your attorney. You have been charged with resisting arrest, reckless imprudence resulting in property damage, and assault upon a law enforcement official. This court proceeding is the arraignment; I will advise you of your rights, the charges against you, and the maximum penalties. You will then plead guilty or not guilty to the charges." Enrique Wong had presided over a good number of cases in Lumangbayan, where he was judge for eight years and counting. The case before him had somewhat made sense: Calleja has gained notoriety when he claimed that he was exposed to SARS-CoV-2 after spitting on a police officer who had arrested him for ramming into another person's car, a notoriety that was put paid after quarantine revealed he did not have the virus.

Francis Cui
AFB Ubay, Ubay, BH
February 24th, AD 2020
1132 PHT

"So, any updates?" Francis asked over his earpiece. The surprise inspection went off without a hitch; after CINCPHIL upped the alert level for most of the Confederation's bases, airmen and airwomen had been moving almost round-the-clock to ensure above normal readiness.
"You'll be happy to know that the COVID-19 tracker was update to reflect one of the surviving patients recovering, Frank," Arthur Jacob Santiago replied. The Vice President was filling in for him in Malacañan de Cebu, and kept an open line with the President as he was appraised on the situations at hand.

Andrea Allyn G. Auza, CPA, MPA
Malacañan de Cebu, Cebu City, DH
February 24th, AD 2020
1322 PHT

It wasn't every day Director-General Auza of the Visayan Intelligence Agency spoke with the President, the Vice President, and any one member of the Federal Council in person at the Malacañan de Cebu. Here she spoke with Vice-President Santiago, Secretary Castro, and Secretary Sanchez in the Situation Room, while President Cui was on one line and the rest of the Council was on AV link.
"Speak up, Director-General," Arthur said. "The President is listening."
"As you well know, last Friday Director Calomarde briefed you in on what makes Yamatai tick: 'Showa Statism cranked way the hell off the charts,' in his own words. Yesterday, we received reports of chemical weapons being deployed against a town; whether this was a terrorist attack or the government response is still being determined at the moment."
"I'm surprised we could glean this much info," Secretary Castro said. "From what little we know of the country in question, information is strictly controlled," he added. "That being said, if this was a terrorist attack, we could offer assistance in rooting out terrorists that have the stones to deploy weapons of mass destruction; if this was the government response, however..."
"...we have good reason to invoke, inter alia, the Aquino-Magnitsky Act," Arthur finished. "Nate?"
"Yes, Veep?" Secretary de los Reyes replied.
"I suspect we could use a quicker response time. A gas attack is a gas attack, and we need to respond ASAP."
"Fair enough." The discussion continued for two hours, with a debate related to invoking the Aquino-Magnitsky Act against Yamatai still unfinished.

TO: All Unified Combatant Commanders
FROM: Department of Defense
RE: Alert Status

Commanders,

Owing to developments related to the Shikonjima-Ferinan Archipelago Reunification Process, it has been determined that all elements of the Armed Forces are to set alert status to Condition Yellow. You are to exercise all measures needed in accordance with this status.

Sincerely,

ADM Nathaniel Charles de los Reyes, VCN (Ret)
Secretary of Defense
Confederation of the New Visayan Islands

by **Lux Pulchrae** » Mon Feb 24, 2020 11:42 am

Royal Palace, Citta del Re

Against the typically quiet palace were the quick steps of royal advisor Alessandre Massimo, folder in his hand he made his way towards the king's office. As he approached the door, he was stopped by the usual guards.

"Sorry sir, His Highness is not present at this time."

"Well then, where is he?" the advisor asked, looking at the two guards.

"He said not to say." the one guard responded.

"Carlo, tell me."

The guard sighed and reluctantly answered "He's sitting his time with Lady Cecile."

"Isn't that usually at noon?" he checked his watch.

"He took another one."

Alessandre thanked the men and lightly bowed his head, the others returning the bow. He then headed to where he knew the king would be in the same quick pace. He went to the palace gardens where the pond was. He was laying on a blanket with Cecile, a guard stood nearby. His Majesty would take time off, usually during his siestas, to enjoy emotional support. This was done by either holding hands, embracing, or resting his head on his partner's lap in absolute silence. Nothing lewd or scandalous, simple physical affection which was understandably hard to come by as an unmarried king but thank the Lord, Cecile had come into his life. Some say he had a maid especially for this but it's not good to rest on rumors.

Arriving at the king, Alessandre called him out "Your Highness! Your Highness! Information!"

Cleone took his arm off his eyes to look over to Alessandre, who was stopped by the guard. The guard looked back and Cleone nodded approval to approach.

"What does that fool want?" Cecile wondered, visibly annoyed.

"My time." Cleone sighed and groaned as he got up, helping Cecile up as well. When Alessandre finally reached him, he put out his right hand. Casually but respectfully, the advisor genuflected and kissed both their right hands. "Forgive my intrusion Your Majesty, but I just wanted to go over something with you."

"Is it life threatening? Is the world going to end? Would I lose a dollar, Signore Alessandre? Eh? What could be so important that you interrupt me at this time. Of all the times I am in my office you pick the time when I am not!"

"To be fair, you don't usually take more than one of these breaks, I had assumed you were at your office. Speaking of, if we could move it there."

"Fine Massimo, but make it quick please." the two would depart and headed to the office. "So what is it that was so important?" he said as he sat down.

"You keep with foreign news?"

"Not much."

"Well, do you know about Shikonjima?"

"That orient nation, no? What do you know?"

"I've seen them in Teressien, but nothing as far as that. Well anyways, they're having a bit of an issue: they are reincorporating some autonomous archipelago back under their royal sovereignty, and it is getting a bit involved. Several nations have a watchful eye over those islands, none less then our friends, the Kyrenaians. And outbreaks onsite and online have occurred. Who knew something so simple could cause such a storm? You also have Austro-Boheme-Hungarians, the Astares Amauricanum, Kuronami, the Visayan Islands, and others loosely involved."

"Why should I care about some island dispute of some nation I have no ties with?"

"You might not care, Your Majesty, but others do." Alessandre said as he opened his folder and showed a paper with the flag of French Quarter Separatist Group, and little information about them underneath, as well as some of their instigating posts from PiffleNet.

"What is this? Who are they?"

"I don't know. They just showed up on that social media website a couple days ago, spreading dissent online. These aren't coming from here, investigators say they come from all around. Mostly Europe. I'm not an internet man, they just told me we can't pinpoint them. It's possible Robespierre is tied to this but who knows, little over a year without incident from him. What I do know is that if this whole archipelago business continues, word will keep spreading, it will no doubt reach a violent point if it hasn't already. And if the dissenters here, see what is happening over there, they'll get some not-so-bright ideas of their own. Especially with this little group adding to the fire. Who knows what can spread on the streets."

"Well we can't pin every negative French action on Robespierre. There are more people that share his sentiment."

"He was face to face with your family, endangered them. Few would take it to the extreme that he has. But with this, more might. We might tread back into 80s-era hostilities."

"What happened in the 80s?"

"Nothing." Alessandre quickly dismissed that subject, moving onto the next "Look, we need to make some sort of public display of solidarity. Show to the public that this archipelago business, is nothing but trouble making. A nation works best when it works as one, and it is foolish to cause such noise."

"But our situations differ, the French were never autonomous and have always been under the crown. They were the crown at one point! Ofidiani were basically puppets."

"Your Majesty, we can get the people on our side if we act now and show them this similar situation and the right of their royalty and unity. It's all subconscious. Now, as for what we should do, I've mentioned the Kyrenaians. They are conducting some exercises in the waters and since we're well acquainted with them, maybe we could request a little joint exercise and be on the scene. Possibly send Toledo in with a news crew aboard."

"News crew?"

"Better for public display. La Costa has already come to me with being the one to cover it on-site. And yes I've had them vetted."

"Fine, but I don't want them out there indefinitely. And get Gentile to make a request to Kyrenaia and Shikonjima."

Alessandre stood up, bowed, and kissed Cleone's hand. You won't regret this Your Majesty, this investment will pay dividends in the near future, you'll see."

Grand Ministry of Foreign Affairs

TO: Azad Safir, Vizier, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qaleatan Maktab, Utica, Ilkhanate of Utica, Sultanate of Kyrenaia

FROM: Grand Minister of Foreign Affairs under His Majesty Cleone IV, Giani Gentile

Most honored greetings from the Kingdom of Lux Pulchrae to our good friends in the Sultanate of Kyrenaia, we have been observing the brewing problems in Shikonjima, and aware of your 'exercises' in their waters. We would like to request a tag-along.

Pending yours and Shikonjima's 'okay', the Toledo carrier fleet under Commander Calogero Massera will be headed to join you.

Sincerely,
Grand Minister of Foreign Affairs under His Majesty Cleone IV, Giani Gentile

Grand Ministry of Foreign Affairs

TO: Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bakufu no Hiroba, Nashinya, N01SX504, Shikonjima.

FROM: Grand Minister of Foreign Affairs under His Majesty Cleone IV, Giani Gentile

Most honored greetings from the Kingdom of Lux Pulchrae to the Princely State of Shikonjima, this letter serves as a notice and request, we have asked Kyrenaia for participation in their naval exercise and request permission to the territorial waters. The Kingdom believes greatly in the power and right of authority and sympathizes much with your situation.

Sincerely,
Grand Minister of Foreign Affairs under His Majesty Cleone IV, Giani Gentile

by **AHSCA** » Mon Feb 24, 2020 12:36 pm

Kyrenaia wrote:Leftenant Amir Zawbiea.
Onboard Helicopter of RKN Oud.
Upon my message, a lot of hectic activity broke out, which I noted with some satisfaction, until I saw a woman (quite a looker, at this distance, if one could believe the low whistle of appreciation of my Section's Marksman, who had her in his sights) climb atop their bridge.
Our doorgunner aimed at her, too, though his intent was far less appreciating.
She began to make signals with a signal flag, the boat began to turn.
I nodded, raised the megaphone to my lips again: "Your compliance was noted, unidentified vessel.", I spoke, hoped, that they would hear me, "Have a safe trip - and watch out for naval exercises."
And with that, I nodded to one of my men, who poked his head into the cockpit and informed the pilots.
Our helicopter moved off - not back home to the Oud, but to a position well within sight of the small ship and vice versa. We were to watch and keep a lookout until they left the security cordon... and to aid in case someone confused them with a target drone.

It seemed their message was received and the chopper backed off. I guess they weren't flying their nation's flag, it really wasn't mandated for civil vessels to do so, honestly it seemed moot most of the time because again Islanders were usually cursed to face endlessly stormy seas. She sighed relieved, this could have ended badly if things had gone differently. But something wasn't sitting well with her about this. Watch out for naval exercises she was told. Well okay, but why were navies suddenly practicing here? And everyone has since heard the story of what happened to the Yuzu granted that was a perfect storm, literally, of bad weather, bad timing and wrong place at the wrong time. Returning to the bridge as the ship continued it's course northward now, "I think they got it and are backing off."

"Oh what a relief. Asuna, do you know what that's about?"

"I was just about to ask you."

"Sis has done this route several times, she hasn't seen anything in regards to naval activity."

"I'm only a guard and I only know so much my self." As if on cue even Roshin emerged to the bridge. "Roshin. Everyone okay down there?"

"They're shaken but we're okay now. Seems we're okay they're letting us go?"

"For now, providing someone with an itchy trigger finger doesn't spark something. Roshin you're the Deputy F.R.O. do you know if we're in some kind of restricted area?"

"Nothing has come into Noir or myself about this part of the sea. Nothing that I know of has filtered up to the DO either. But it is a large ocean it's not like it'd be unheard of for any nation to pick a piece of water to have war games in. You had a good vantage did you catch the markings of the helicopter? I could go through my logs and double check"

"Afraid I didn't."

"Yeah and the mist and wind was too strong for any of us to see, either" Roshin shook her head.

"Well providing no other unusual events happen to us, perhaps we don't need to mention this. I really hate to concern Duchess with this. Seems they were just trying to get us to move out of the way and that's it. But now we're on a northward course instead of following straight east."

"More time at sea I take it?" Roshin

"That's right, Roshin." Shino nodded

Asuna looked at the maps "Here. These islands here we can maybe make an emergency stop over, rest up, resupply and head back for home. It's not a straight shot but it's the safer option I'd think."

"I agree and that's easily what my sis would do in this situation. So we'll keep course North and see if we can shore up there."

A small hatch on the floor opened out emerged the other fox Priestess among them, Yumeha. "Hey. What's all the hubbub about?" Yumeha spoke in a fairly low dulcet tone her voice being a little deeper

"Yumeha I could have used you up here." Shino clicked her tongue annoyed

"Honestly don't know why, I'm a Priestess more than I am a Sailor. This isn't the Nanao Era anymore ya know."

"Nonsense, you and I did Sea Duty together before being assigned at the Temple and now you're my first mate."

"Asuna, you wanna be first mate?"

"Yeah sure." Asuna agreed nonchalantly

"Whaaaa?"

"Shino I've First Mated more times than I can count for The Duchess, I might as well. Besides if we interrupted Yumeha's meditation that can only mean our luck with the sea is about to end."

"Aaah yeah. I think I was doing a good job at appeasing Homura. But now the lines of communication are severed so we're back at her whims again."

"Then start praying to Madoka that we'll be granted safe passage. Last thing I want is to be Captain Indou."

"Why not, she's a hero." Yumeha

"She's also full time captain, I'm moonlighting for my sister's sake!"

"Just relax everyone." Asuna said "Look first thing is first let's make sure everyone aboard is okay. Roshin can you take care of that?"

"On it!" Roshin saluted and left to go reassure everyone

"For now we still have the sun and wind on our side so no need to grow concerned. Shino I'll help you every way you need for now you're doing just fine, keep us on our heading make adjustments as needed. If things begin to change just ring the bell for all hands. Yumeha, do whatever it is you plan on doing."

"ah good. I was just hoping I could go to sleep."

"You've been meditating this whole trip," Shino chastised "why not go help Roshin and sooth our passengers"

"All right all right."

by **Shikonjima** » Mon Feb 24, 2020 4:09 pm

Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs

To: Grand Minister of Foreign Affairs under His Majesty Cleone IV, Giani Gentile.
From: Jitsuko Sageshima, Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bakufu no Hiroba, Nashinya, N01SX504, Shikonjima.

Esteemed Colleague Signore Gentile,
Most honored greetings back to the Kingdom of Lux Pulchrae from the Shikonjimanese Realm! Your cooperation and willingness to assist the Royal Kyrenaian Navy on our behalf is appreciated and, as a consequence, gladly approved. In accordance with Admiral Hideyasu Miyagi of the Royal Shikonjimanese Navy, all fleet vessels under the Kingdom's Flag will be given the permission to enter the Shikonjimanese territorial waters along with the RKN and other navies' vessels aiding us.
We are also aware of the troublesome situation in the Kingdom of Lux Pulchrae as regards the ethnic tensions, and we wish the Kingdom all the best in resolving the issue as peacefully as possible!

Respectfully yours,
Jitsuko Sageshima,
Royal Minister of Foreign Affairs.

To: Razia-Sultana Umm Albilad, Lady of the Five Deserts, Ilkhana of Utica, Daughter of Kyrenaia, Mother of Her People, Highest Servant of the Lioness.
From: Yamura no Kyouko, Princess of Shikonjima, Viscountess of the Oui no Tochi, Highest Servant of the Four Souls, Highest Lady of the Kazoku.
Subject: The Ferinan-Archipelago.
Encryption level: For Your Eyes Only.

Dear Razia,
That's good to hear! I have also been informed, that the SKS Gantulga is on the way to the current position of the CG6. Admiral Miyagi has given permission to cross Shikonjimanese soil near Iejima, coming from north-northwest. In the meantime, Silas has informed me, that the 14th Paratroop Brigade is being prepared at the Lechelen/Nasserath Military Airport.
I understand your concerns. The Oukeikyoku has done everything it could in order to find all Kyrenaian citizens in the Archipelago, but with the number of them there is still not a single life-sign of, I don't have a good feeling about this, either. Of course, it is not the only difficult task they currently have, so getting some assistance from Captain Jamkiya and his team is an absolutely logical step to go.
As is the OAC, especially since the Press Release doesn't exactly match with what we know. We'll see where this is going.

Signed,
Yamura no Kyouko

To: Razia-Sultana Umm Albilad, Lady of the Five Deserts, Ilkhana of Utica, Daughter of Kyrenaia, Mother of Her People, Highest Servant of the Lioness.
From: HRM Atakheer Khan, Lord of the Sharulsi Khanate, Father of the Steppes, Son of the Yellow Desert, Unifier of the Black Hordes.
Subject: The Ferinan-Archipelago & Yamatai involvement.
Encryption level: For Your Eyes Only.

Esteemed Sultana,
Indeed, there is a lot of accusations and other things Kyrenaians tend to get to hear (especially from certain leaders of certain former colonies on social media - and, all background history of that aside, I shouldn't have to comment on the lack of maturity of this kind of behavior), but abandoning their friends is something one cannot plausibly claim.
The information the Naval Intelligence has of the Yammies (a good nickname!) matches with the ones the Khaga believe to have gained, albeit it remains unconfirmed as of now, but apparently, it isn't unlikely, that there is something about it. And yes, I wouldn't be surprised, if they sought a new place to humor their troops and keep them at work. It is only a theory, indeed, but it does have merit.
And yes, I will hesitate as little as you will, especially due to the stabilizing factor Kyouko's rule has. An unstable Ferinan-Archipelago isn't necessarily a security threat, but an unstable Shikonjima would definitely be. And if what the the Khaga found out is anything to go by, there are quite a few groups who wish to destabilize Shikonjima. I hope, that they become aware of what that would actually mean before they succeed (the Spirits forbid!).
Indeed, I'm of 1965-vintage. Which, as I said, would still be fairly old from a young ruler's perspective. ; )

Signed,
Atakheer Khan

P.S.: Wonderful! Let's hope and be confident, that nothing goes wrong. They should be close to Iejima now.

Above the ocean, south of Iejima Island.
So far, nothing had gone wrong. The Sharulsi battlegroup would arrive safely at the party soon, where navies of various nations, including the Imperial and Royal Navy, a battlegroup from Lux Pulchrae and, at least according to public statements, the Imperial Fusonese Navy, would gather soon. The SDF-Navy did not plan to participate directly, but would assist in escorting neutral and civilian ships soon, which the RSN would certainly aid in as well, should the need arise.
It would turn out soon, that the Sharulsi practice of sending a small fighter bomber for a reconnaissance flight in order to check, if the way for the carrier battlegroup around the SKS Gantulga was free or not, in order to avoid collisions. The fighter bomber, an Ulaanerslen U-218, had departed from the Gantulga near Iejima already, a small, outlying island belonging to the Duchy of Yayoi, where they had crossed Shikonjimanese territory already - of course, by permission of Admiral Hideyasu Miyagi.
From the current position, the vessels of the CG6 were already visible at the horizon, but better safe than sorry. Miyagi's Sharulsi counterpart, Admiral Batu Tsagaanus, had informed the Commanders of the RKN battlegroup on the recon flight beforehand, of course - as seeing a fighter bomber on the sky above oneself was not necessarily a convenient surprise.
"Steppe Wolf 4-6 for Steppe Wolf 1! Expecting report! Over!" - Admiral Tsagaanus spoke into the radio. For everyone's convenience, the radio communication would now be conducted in English, not in Sharulsi Mongolian, and on the same frequency as the RKN.
"Steppe Wolf 4-6 speaking!" - a female voice responded. "No obstancles so far! Approaching Lion from north-northwest! Over."
"Roger, Steppe Wolf 4-6!"
A beat passed.
"Wait ..." - Steppe Wolf 4-6 spoke up again. "Civilian boat approaching Lion! I repeat - civilian boat approaching Lion! Changing course towards north! I repeat - they are changing course towards north! Over!"
Admiral Tsagaanus raised his eyebrows. The Gantulga and her battlegroup approach from north-northwest, from around 40 kilometers of distance ... should the civilian boat keep going north, everything would be fine. If not, that could get close ... On the radar, he saw Steppe Wolf 4-6 drifting away from the RKN's group again.
"Roger." He kept thinking for but a moment. Most certainly, the Kyrenaians, who would surely be listening along, would be able to tell definitively, if the situation was already fixed, for no one was into collisions ...

Kongouto Police Station, a few days in the past.
Suzuhara nodded again. So, the Sharulsi Khanate it was, for most ... so, a lad named Sükhbaatar. This was not a lot one could work with, for there were about as many Sharulsi named Sükhbaatar as there were Selkie named Finnegan - but at least, he worked in the industry, which would reduce the number of possible candidates to ... well, still quite a few. Suzuhara could only think of one at the moment. Maybe Sükhbaatar Sönöd, who was known for his political attitude as well. While there were no scandals of that type known from him, a certain readiness to get his message across by violent means wasn't excluded by his colleagues from the Khaga. But this was still speculation.
"Hm, that's not a lot to work with ..." - he said. "You don't really know much about any possible private contacts, I assume?"
In fact, Suzuhara hadn't expected much helpful from the get-go, but he had superiors who insisted on this interrogation, even though she certainly had only ended up in this demonstration by accident, and who wanted to have results. Well ...

Nohoyama, Duchy of Akizuki.
Although in the second largest city of Akizuki, Nohoyama, on the other side of the island from Norioka, the situation had been quite calm so far, one was prepared for anything to happen. The experience had shown, that there were only very few places in the Ferinan-Archipelago which were truly safe, and considering the known plans of the RSN to set a base up here (or rather, to use the one already existing), there weren't exactly few higher-ups mandating carefulness.
This included the Oukeikyoku - even though many were quite busy trying to detect the source of various cyber activities going on. While known international social media networks such as Setz and Piffle seemed to be capable of intercepting them, in the latter case even despite the restruction works in the phase of updating to PiffleNet 3.0, much of the botspam had reached Shikonjima-based networks such as Taidan.sj, Seseragi.sj and various more. While the particularly sensitive content, along the lines of 'Creating Chemical Warfare For Dummies' and 'Bomb Making 101' could be shut down almost immediately, the thousands of posts calling for violence would take a lot more time. Whoever had spread these, they had masked themselves almost perfectly well.
But that wasn't their only concern, and quite a few people from all departments raised a few conciliatory warnings about further potential sabotage work all over the Ferinan-Archipelago.
And quite not without any reason.
CCTV-footage aired on Shikonjimanese TV and published on WhoTube would show a bog-standard transporter from Morimoto Motorworks Ltd., thus Shikonjimanese Mainland production, with an unassuming local license plate and an even more unassuming label of a local logistics company, coming down the busy Main Street of Nohoyama.
At a point where it went downhill, the transporter kept rolling - withour braking. It got faster and faster, and the sliding showed, that the driver had apparently lost control over his vehicle.
He would miss the last curve.
As the CCTV-footage didn't record any sound, one could only imagine the loud, panicking screams of the people around, the rev of the engine, and the bang and clattering of glass during the impact.
Of all places it could hit, it had to be a street café.

Minami-ku, Toriyama, Mainland Shikonjima.
Wheras the inhabitants of Toriyama, the largest city of Shikonjima by far, were generally quite accustomed to having to replan the routes of their commutes every now and then due to some police operations of varying size, the ongoings on one of the main boulevards of the city in this evening were something completely different.
Police lines had been put up on both ends of the street at the next intersections; police cars had been parked in their way in addition. The people living in the street had been asked to stay in their homes, no matter what. In the stores nearby, police forces had told everyone in them to go down and duck, or even better, leave through the backdoors, where they existed.
But the lads and lassies who were about doing the most important job didn't work for the police forces, but were a tactical squad of the RSA.
In one of the flats of this street, there were quite a few people the authorities of the Shikonjimanese Realm had quite a couple of questions to, and if the pieces of information they had received from the Oukeikyoku were anything to go by, ringing the doorbell and politely asking for a couple for answers was fairly unlikely to succeed.
Whether or not yelling the usual stuff along the lines of, "Come out with hands up!" and so on through a megaphone, would be any more successful, this was yet to be seen, but chances were low, so better play the safe card. If you know your enemy, the day has structure.
The enemy, in this particular instance, was a group of well-known members of the anarchist complex behind Asato, who was still hospitalized down in the Ferinan-Archipelago, and certain hints from the Oukeikyoku had led to the conclusion, that some of them were to find here, certainly not unprepared for the arrival of the long arm of the law.
But how well they were prepared, that was something not even they could have anticipated.
Suddenly, gunshots were to hear all over the place. In the third floor of a building, the door to a balcony was opened, and someone threw something out - and a second later, the detonations down on the street made clear what it was.
The RSA units, trained for situations like this one, immediately responded with gunfire.
And through the whole chaos this caused, with said members of Asato's network quickly escaping from their base, using machine guns to make their way free, the police forces trying anything to dispose of the immediate danger to the public while chasing them into the city center, until they finally managed to take them down, an ominous man would sit in an entirely different place on the opposite side of the Mainland and laugh. A man who wasn't exactly a fan of Asato and his henchmen, but who considered them useful fools.

Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Official Press Release

February 24, Wakaijidai 10 (2020).

This afternoon, a transporter of a Shikonjimanese brand has crashed into a street café in Nohoyama, Duchy of Akizuki. As confirmed by the Akizuki Police, 16 people have been injured, five of them to a life-endangering degree. The driver, a 34-year-old man from Norioka, was only injured lightly and could immediately be arrested. The transporter contained a hidden amount of explosives that, fortunately, have not detonated, which will have saved many lives. The driver, whose name is not in the records so far, stated, that he lost control over the vehicle, which an unknown man, who claimed to work for a logistics enterprise in the Mainland, has assigned him to get to Nohoyama Harbor. Forensic investigations found out, that the brakes were manipulated.
Upon this, the Oukeikyoku kept investigating on said alleged client from the Mainland; the trace led to a network of Anarchists around Youichirou Asato, who is said to be responsible for the shootout in Yatsukata a week ago. When the police and RSA Special Forces wanted to take them into custody in the flat in Minami-ku, Toriyama, they used grenades and machine guns to escape. With a brutality rarely seen, they shot their way free when escaping towards the busy city center, causing a mass panic, until they finally could be taken down Toriyama Police Forces. According to official statements during this well-prepared escape in Toriyama, eight people, five thereof police officers, have lost their lives, and around two dozen people were injured, nine thereof to a life-endangering degree.
We condemn these shameful and ruthless deeds as terrorist attacks and see them in the line of all the other shameful attacks on Shikonjima and its state, nation, and people.

For any concerns you might have, we will be available permanently. For maximum efficiency, we ask you to make sure to send your messages to the appropriate recipient address.
For all official state communication: Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bakufu no Hiroba, Nashinya, N01SX504, Shikonjima.
For all non-state and press communication: Royal Press Office, Kurogawa 02, Furushima/Akebono, UB63DB38, Shikonjima.

Koushitsu Nikkanshimpun, English online version. 24/02/2020.

Shikonjima, Awaken! The Day Has Come!

An opinion piece by Sayuri Ichigawa.

The day has come.
Which day? Now, for the first, the day when we finally have to acknowledge, that domestic terrorism is a thing in Shikonjima. Yes, it has taken us a while to see that, but at the end of the day, the government of the Shikonjimanese Realm can no longer deny this fact. It is the day when we have another attack in the long series of attacks in the Ferinan-Archipelago - but with the difference, that it has taken place in the Mainland. As a conclusion, the immediate danger going out from these harmful elements is no longer something we spectate "far away in the outlying territories", but directly in front of our house doors.
And it is the day Shikonjima can finally show strength again!
Let's face it - for more than three decades, Shikonjima was the peaceful and fiercely pacifist island state at the edge of the world. A fun place to be in, with love, peace, and harmony, a Principality all small and inoffensive. Some started calling us 'The Teressien of the East'. The Island of the Four Souls, a place that couldn't squeeze a fly to death.
And now, we can show them all how wrong they have been!
Not only that we have our rightful soil back, the Ferinan-Archipelago, Shikonjimanese Lands by right and law - we also can get back onto the international stage again, and there is only one natural way to achieve this: showing strength.
Before anyone misunderstands me - I am in no way advocating for aggressively attacking foreign lands again. We've had these times, we all know how it ended, and nobody wants these times back.
But showing strength internally is the key. These shameful terrorists, an Anarchist complex around a guy whose days are, hopefully, numbered, have forfeited all their rights after this filthy crime. Shikonjima has to strike back with all rigor and ironness possible, clamp down on elements disturbing the Harmony, no matter the cost. The situation has gotten out of hand, and in the interest of us all, Shikonjima needs to show, that it hasn't lost a single bit of her former strength and glory.
Shikonjima, proud old Shogunate, awaken from your decades of slumber! A number of foreign navy vessels is parking next to our door, and further ones are preparing. And while it's never bad to have friends and allies on the map, Shikonjima has now the chance to show, that it can retain order and stability on its own! That it has Yonrei Spirit, the spirit of the warriors who once made this country proud and big! That it has been founded by Warrior Clans, and that the descendants of these Warrior Clans still have the old Warrior Code in mind and heart!
The day has come. And who knows what other days might yet come - maybe even in the near future.
Sayuri Ichigawa.

From: ichigawa-sayuri@yuubin.sj
To: yuki-onna@tsubaki.com
Dear mysterious friend,
I begin to see where you're coming from, even if I don't know who you are and what you want (aside from a stronger leadership for the huge flower beet that is this country, obviously), and be sure, that you're not alone with this desire. I would now keep inquiring as to your identity and goals, but since you prefer it through the art of poetry, I'll play along.

In the Spring of Springs,
The Island of the Four Souls
Blossoms up again.

Flowers blossoming,
Gracious, with a destiny,
But which one am I?
Ichigawa Sayuri

Ulaanels Sonin, English online version. 24/02/2020.

Is That A Carrier Battlegroup Near The Coastline, Or Are You Just Happy To See Us?

An opinion piece by Yelda Altanereg.

18 days have now passed since the Treaty on the Reincorporation of the Seven Duchies of the Ferinan-Archipelago into the Shikonjimanese Realm has been given to paper and released. Since then, we have seen a myriad of opinion papers, another myriad of social media posts with numerous claims and statements, a public debate supposed to sort things out, more demonstrations, more escalations, and a number of terrorist attacks I don't think I need to comment on. And, of course, lots of military waiting for the signal to move forward into Shikonjimanese waters.
Among them, of course, the carrier battlegroup around the SKS Gantulga, not only a Khagan-class carrier, but the Khagan-class carrier, the carrier named after Gantulga Khan, the founder of the Khaganate, the (in)famous Sharulsi Empire that, centuries ago, scared the living daylights of any civilization nearby once someone only mentioned it.
As a Sharulsi with ties to Shikonjima, I won't need to explain why I consider it an entirely legitimate step for the leadership of the Khanate to assist its friends in these worrisome days. I'm aware of how controversial the issue is among the Sharulsi society, particularly among those who consider any relationships with foreign countries a threat to our way of life, be it the JATRACO Railway Project (which I, needless to say, support in its entirety), be it an international conference on the future of Elista Devseg, or be it Sharulsi involvement in assisting a friend bringing stability to a piece of land reunified with the Mainland in a peaceful and absolutely legitimate manner. On that end, we have the Kyrenaians, whom Shikonjima and the Sharulsi Khanate alike quite have a history of good relationships with, and for my own surprise, Shikonjima is even supposed to be assisted by countries it hasn't had any relations at all with so far.
And then, we have the Greater Empire of Yamatai, which impressively shows its own toys and keep grandstanding. Like, "Everyone look how bloody awesome our tubs are!" It surprises me, that they are back on stage, after a longer history of rather having to keep their own regions along the lines with their leadership. Whether they have solved them, or rather just want to distract from them, this remains to be seen, but what I can already say, is that the thought of getting them involved doesn't sit particularly well with me. It is known, that they used to have a lot in common with the Old Shogunate, especially in the 1950s and 1960s, and while Shikonjima has undergone a lot of changes and modernizations, Yamataians have kept their militarism and nationalism, especially ethnocentrist nationalism, still into these days. Since I consider nationalism in all shapes and forms nothing else but an ideology designed for moving the people's attention away from true problems in society, it's not hard to imagine, that Empress Kiyono won't receive a lot of fan mail from me.
Yes, Shikonjima has drifted away (some say, alienated itself) from the times where they used to occupy huge chunks of foreign lands, and how some people, without naming any in particular, still seem to wish the society of the 1970s and 1980s back - a time where Shikonjima didn't trigger the thought of peace, harmony, and awesome food, but of tons of napalm thrown onto cities and villages in Nho Quoc for no reason - is entirely beyond my understanding. Some consider Yamatai a role model Shikonjima should follow. But no, thank you, I clearly prefer a Shikonjima that is not in the hands of someone without any sense for reality, but by someone who actually knows what life works like and can make decisions based on her knowledge. And yes, I'm proud, that this knowledgeable ruler has Mongol roots (a fact that Yashiman racialists still keep being blissfully unaware of).
One could now wonder why I even bother, and argue, that I am but a sixteen-year-old girl who happens to have gotten famous by writing an entire travelogue on her school exchange year in Toriyama, a book that originated from what was actually supposed to become an article series for a school newspaper of a Middle School in Bayanshand, and just escalated - in a similiar manner like this very opinion piece was actually supposed to become my fulminant first social media post after the PiffleNet 3.0 Update and became a newspaper article. But I still have ties over there, and if a terrorist group drops grenades and starts Wild-West-style shootouts literally on the very same street that used to be a part of my daily commute to school for the entire last year, I do wonder about Shikonjima's future. And I'm glad to see, that the Shikonjimanese Realm can rely on its friends and doesn't have to depend on some shady empire on the other side of the pond with little history of having anything remotely good in mind, just because the languages happen to be somewhat related.
My two Tögrögs.
Yelda Altanereg.

by **Eochora** » Mon Feb 24, 2020 9:02 pm

Citizen fe57eb4 was once again hunched over her desk, pasting download links onto sketchy forums through sock-puppet accounts. She used to be able to distribute documents unmolested, but lately the downloads seemed to be taken down almost as soon as they were uploaded. At this point she had to send the documents as image files designed to trick detection algorithms. At least now whoever was taking down the links would have to comb through each one manually. It wasn't all bad news though, recently terrorist attacks and international tensions gave the bot accounts the perfect material to work with, generating finger-pointing, conspiracies theories, condemnations, and praise galore. And recently, she received a welcome update from Eochora.

Code: Select all: 53NET DEPLOYED POSSIBLE MORE TO COME

53NET of course referred to an Eochoran malware used to target governments. It was engineered to hop around quietly around the internet until it reached the targeted network. It would take root across as many machines on the network as possible, gradually bloating the CPU and RAM usage of software until it became unusable while wearing out hardware faster. It was especially effective against servers, cloud computers, and supercomputers, running up to possibly billions of NS in cost in attempting to resolve the performance issues. What makes this malware so insidious is that even those who know about it will have an incredibly difficult time telling apart the malware's effects from inefficient code and bloat. It works particularly well against IT departments who would rather buy more cloud computing space than investigate performance problems more deeply.

Suddenly, the buzzer in her apartment went off, and she quickly stood up to answer the call.
"Hello?"

"I have a package for Anda Shimizu?"

"Yes that is me. Wait right there. I will let you in."

After locking the door behind her, she quickly walked down to the front door. After unlocking the front door, she saw the delivery boy holding what she was expecting, a brand new Toji V243 microwave oven. She signed the paper with her deliberately messy signature and effortlessly hauled the microwave back to her apartment. After checking a second time that the door was locked behind her, she took the package to her office which had no windows. She gave the package a few shakes. No rattling. That was good. Using a knife to slice open the packing tape, revealing the brand new microwave oven. However, she was more interested in what was inside. Pressing the button that caused the door to spring open, she saw her main package. Taped to the microwave's interior walls were the parts and ammunition for a foreign designed, Eochoran manufactured sniper rifle. The rifle itself was nothing special; it was designed in the 1970s and it fired 7.62x51mm rounds, but it was still an effective tool if she needed to get her hands dirty. She had a pistol hidden in her apartment from when she was originally smuggled into the country, but that was only good for so much.

After peeling the rifle parts and ammo out, she set the new microwave down in her kitchen and plugged it in. She would have to throw away her old one tomorrow. The diet she was eating was quite alien compared to the spartan diet all Eochorans normally ate but it was a small sacrifice in order to dissuade any suspicions. Back inside her office, she begun assembling the rifle perfectly. After all, she was trained to do it this way.

by **Kyrenaia** » Tue Feb 25, 2020 3:32 am

To:
Yamura no Kyouko, Princess of Shikonjima, Viscountess of the Oui no Tochi, Highest Servant of the Four Souls, Highest Lady of the Kazoku.
CC:
Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bakufu no Hiroba, Nashinya, N01SX504, Shikonjima.

From:
Razia-Sultana Umm Albilad, Lady of the Five Deserts, Ilkhana of Utica, Daughter of Kyrenaia, Mother of Her People, Highest Servant of the Lioness.

Subject:
The Ferinan-Archipelago.

Diplomatic Correspondence.
NOT to be released.

Dear Kyouko,
this is shaping up to become a huge mess - fleets from at least four countries, a Lillo-Paratrooper Brigade making itself ready, all of that in addition to your own forces... it's only a question of time until someone is misinterpreting something and pressing the wrong button. A detachment of the Fleet Ground Forces is underway, too.
In the lights of the recent actions, the detachment under the leadership of Captain Jamkiya will also bring a little hospitality gift: We have indicators towards the flow of illegal arms smuggling into Shikonjima, or at least parts of it. The documents will be brought along.
Indeed - let's see.

Signed,
Razia-Sultana Umm Albilad

To:
HRM Atakheer Khan, Lord of the Sharulsi Khanate, Father of the Steppes, Son of the Yellow Desert, Unifier of the Black Hordes.

From:
Razia-Sultana Umm Albilad, Lady of the Five Deserts, Ilkhana of Utica, Daughter of Kyrenaia, Mother of Her People, Highest Servant of the Lioness.

Subject:
The Ferinan-Archipelago and Yamatai involvement.

Diplomatic Correspondence.
NOT to be released.

Dear and Esteemed Friend,
the most dangerous kind of soldiers are bored soldiers, for bored soldiers get up to no good - and while in some countries, that only means the usual debauchery of using tanks at the drive-through of the local fast food chain, in other countries, it is a bit more worrisome. Naval Intelligence has reason to believe, that Yamatai belongs to the latter group.
In the light of the recent action, both in Nohoyama and in Minami-ku, there are groups in Shikonjima, which attempt that for various gains - the question now is, who is supporting them. I am sure, that both we and the Shikonmanjese and your agencies are on it.
I must admit, that I estimated you to be older then me...

Signed,
Razia-Sultana Umm Albilad

P.S.: We have them on screen.

To:
Grand Minister of Foreign Affairs under His Majesty Cleone IV, Giani Gentile.

From:
Azad Safir, Vizier, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qaleatan Maktab, Utica, Ilkhanate of Utica, Sultanate of Kyrenaia.

Subject:
The Ferinan-Archipelago and Naval Excercises.

Diplomatic Correspondence.
NOT to be released.

Minister Gentile,
best greetings from Kyrenaia to Lux Pulchrae - may the wind carry a cool breeze and water to your lands!
Indeed, we are conducting exercises in International Waters near Shikonjima, together with a few other friends and acquaintances. The High Command of the Sultan's Navy would love to welcome the Toledo and her battlegroup in these exercises, as well as in the nearby Shajarat Alnakhil to rest, recover and resupply.

Signed,
Razia-Sultana Umm Albilad

Official Press Release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Kyrenaia

On the matter of the ongoings in the Principality of Shikonjima and the Ferinan-Archipelago:
In the Name of Razia-Sultana Umm Albilad, Lady of the Five Deserts, Ilkhana of Utica, Daughter of Kyrenaia, Mother of Her People, Highest Servant of the Lioness, I am honoured to publish this message.
The Sultanate condemns the terrorist attack in Nohoyama in the Duchy of Akizuki and offers its best wishes for a quick recovery to the ones hurt in the cowardly attempt. Furthermore, the Sultanate condemns the actions by an anarchist splinter group of yet unreleased name in Minami-ku, Toriyama, Mainland Shikonjima. We offer our condolences to the friends and families of those, who had perished, and our best wishes to those, who survived.
The Sultanate griefs with its friends, but the Sultanate wishes to remind them, that the path of rage is not the way to go. If you allow a bit of an historic excursion, in 1948, a terrorist attack usually placed in the context of the Allaazwrd-Uprising claimed 19 lives in Sinope, Mainland-Kyrenaia, one of the only times, that the Decolonization-Wars slopped over into the Mainland - our wrath was tremendous, claimed at least two thousand lives as fighterbombers of the RKA and the RKN wiped several villages in Salalkubz off the map, one of the pilots being my own Grandfather. To this day, he regrets, what he did under orders, and so do other pilots and other personell involved and in the end, it only caused more upheaval, more strife and more deaths. I ask of you to avoid bringing your own officers and men into similar situations and to avoid more violence - not by turning the other cheek, but by a measured and calm response of right and law, like the swift strike of a Shikonmanjese Sword.

Forthermore, the Sultanate continues to acknowledge both the claim of the Principality to the Ferinan-Archipelago and the Treaty on the Reincorporation of the Seven Duchies of the Ferinan-Archipelago into the Shikonjimanese Realm, as it was given to paper on the 6th of February, Wakaijidai 10, in Nashinya. As far as we are concerned, these lands are rightful Shikonjiman Ground and Soil, the citizens Shikonmanjese.

For all communication by state-actors, please send your messages to:
Azad Safir, Vizier, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qaleatan Maktab, Utica, Ilkhanate of Utica, Sultanate of Kyrenaia.
For all communication by non-state-actors and press, please send your messages to:
Public Relations Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sub-Department 01, Qaleatan Maktab, Utica, Ilkhanate of Utica, Sultanate of Kyrenaia.
As usual, messeges sent to the wrong recipient will not be replied to!

Lion 3-3, Lieutenant Amir Wasi.
Above the ocean, south of Iejima Island.
Of course, I was in the air as Carrier Air Patrol even when we were meeting with our Sharulsi Friends. Flying a Saqr was a full-time job, especially when expecting to meet someone. And the Ulaanerslen U-218 was on our screens for a bit now, identified as a plane from the Gantulga.
We had been informed about this 'vanguard' beforehand and thus did not shoot them down.
The transponder said Steppe Wolf 4-6 and the plane was conversing with his carrier on one of our frequencies, in English, and noting our little escort.
I smiled.
"Steppe Wolf 4-6, Steppe Wolf 1, this is Lion 3-3.", I spoke into my radio, "Don't worry, the boat is civilian, harmless and made aware of where they are and that they should contemplate getting lost." I checked something on my own radar. "There's a helicopter of the RKN, Oud-3, escorting them away. You should have them on your screens, too."
"On that note, this is Lion's Den.", another voice added, the voice of Admiral Qiada, "Steppe Wolf 1, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

by **New Visayan Islands** » Tue Feb 25, 2020 9:46 am

Nathaniel Charles de los Reyes
Department of Defense Complex, Consolacion, DH
February 25th, AD 2020
1433 PHT

"General Flores, what options can we pursue to defend ourselves in the event of a full-scale war?" Nathaniel asked. Facing him in the room were the entirety of the Joint Chiefs, Director Calomarde of the DID, and Director-General Santiago of the CSD.
"Condition Red or Black?" Eli Wang asked in return; the Air Force Chief of Staff was a stickler for clarity and did his best to resolve any possible ambiguity.
"Let's start with Red."
"Joint Staff's been planning an exercise for Carrier Strike Groups Lapu-Lapu and Humabon since December last year to coincide with Magellan and Pigafetta coming off from the tail-end of their tours of duty; given the alert status we can move the timetable a little sooner," Cassandra Jakosalem replied. The Vice Chairwoman of the Joint Chiefs took a good amount of pride in the Confederation's four Carrier Strike Groups, each centered on a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
"How soon is 'sooner?'"
"Magellan and Pigafetta are due to end their tour of duty on June, and the exercises were originally planned for April, but at Condition Yellow, the exercises can be carried out no earlier than next week."
"Very well, Vice Chair. Now, for Condition Black...?"
"Mr. Secretary, with all due respect, Condition Black means an exchange of WMDs. We're talking nukes, germs, gas shells, and dirty bombs here, and as you well know we only have nukes. I speak for the Joint Chiefs when I say we're all aware that one of the players in this game is suspected to possess chemical weapons," General Flores said. "Planning for a Condition Black scenario would require input from JSAC to say the least, and even then...God have mercy on all of us if it ever comes to that."
"I see. Can we reach General Gomez?" Nathaniel asked; General Vicente Gomez was the Combatant Commander of the Joint Strategic Arms Command. "When the gas shells start flying, we need to prepare for dealing the inevitably nuclear response."
The discussion lasted for four hours; the Joint Chiefs were still with Secretary de los Reyes by the time he spoke with the President and the Federal Council, having finally agreed on various exercise plans. Among those plans was Exercise STONE RAZOR.

by **AHSCA** » Tue Feb 25, 2020 12:19 pm

Shiokaze - Sailing North

Out of the fry pan into the fire? Only time was going to tell. The Shiokaze (ooc: my bad I should have named the ship earlier) now sailing northward hoping to land in the islands next few days and hoping the weather would hold for now. Soon the hunks of metal on the distant horizon were dipping out of sight, whatever this event was that was causing their unplanned detour. Of course all were unaware the folks who heraded them along this path were the RKN from Kyrenaia, AHSCA's trusted friend and ally but for now their new focus was getting back on track with an enjoyable cruise in the seas. With the boat stirring from the run in. Lest not of all Fumio. She was born in the aftermath of AHSCA's great war for independence but her parents had told her all the stories and any sight of foreign ships stirred up anxieties in her. Come on, I have to keep it together, for Rikka's sake! she thought to herself as her little one struggled to keep up on her hind feet to look out the window of their little cabin. The ships rocking motions often caused her to fall. Shaking her head and trying again.

In came Yumeha "Oh hey, Fumio. Feeling seasick?"

"Please, I could be tossed in a hurricane and sleep through it." Fumio sat up "Just what went on back there." She whispered while Rikka was still distracted trying to keep her view out the window.

"Ah yeah I heard all about it. Did break my perfect meditation and prayer streak though."

"Isn't that a bit competitive for a noble Priestess?"

"The Goddesses ask for our prayers nothing says we can't have fun with it. Oh well now that's done Captain's got all hands on alert."

"I feel the rocking more, guessing conditions are changing."

"It is what it is. But don't let that worry you, sounds like they just wanted us to turn around and go somewhere else. A few days from now we'll land somewhere else, hold up for a day or two and be on our way."

"I guess." Fumio muttered

"Relax, Asuna-chan and Shino-chan at the helm, I'd say we're in good hands. Well I'm making rounds to sooth more anxious passengers, thank heavens this is only a small charter boat!"

"Hehe good luck there, Yumeha."

Rikka stumbled over into her mother's lap "Ooh, Hey you."

"Momma, I can't stand real good when it's moving around so much."

"Hehe it's a little rougher now, I suppose we're fighting a north wind which makes it choppier than before. We'll be fine baby." She patted her girl's head

Roshin meanwhile had gone into her cabin to search through her documents trying to see if she'd miss something. But as such nothing in regards to upticks in military activity. It was still unsettling being this tiny sailboat in the middle of a vast ocean with who the hell else knows who or what is lurking around them. Asuna said it might not be worth mentioning when they returned but honestly she couldn't be so content, if and when they made land she'd see if she could reach UNIFRO or their Embassy (if any was present) and further inquire on these events. Until then nothing more to do than wait.

Asuna taking first watch this evening, with their rather close encounter it might be a good idea to see if any other ships were lurking around. If conditions were a bit calmer maybe they could trim the sails and glide along but for now best keep the course. Nobody aboard knew the amassing convergence of various nations in these waters nearby, this could become a very dangerous situation if they weren't careful. Out of her feelings of caution she momentarily left her post to retrieve her firearm, a rifle she could strap on back. It was out of caution, who knows if it would help if they came across less friendly parties.

by **Austria-Bohemia-Hungary** » Wed Feb 26, 2020 10:56 am

Kaiser Maximilian I.-battlegroup - Unspecified Grid Square closer to Kyrenaia
(OOC: Posting with some input from Toishima)

Wilhelmina Duchess of Brunswick, Lieutenant-Admiral of Her Imperial and Royal Majesty's War Navy was staring out of the bridge windows on HMS Kaiser Maximilian I.. Twelve hours earlier her battlegroup's submarines had sunk the derelict Danzig in international waters after seizing her documentation and charts. They had quickly left the scene after sending a series of flash traffic messages to both home and Kyrenaian and Selkie authorities. The entire group still spread out over sixty kilometres had ramped up to full cruising speed of some twenty knots while the escorting submarines cleared their baffles of any possible contacts.
It was at this stage of the operation when HM Submarine 111 made contact with a biologic signature moving behind the main body of the fleet at about ten knots. Gently ascending to periscope depth the submarine informed Wilhelmina and her staff aboard the carrier via their datalink and then submerged again, all the way to a point just beneath the local layer. Taking no chances whatsoever, Wilhelmina ordered the helm (and the rest of the fleet) to thirty knots and for the UNREP and the surface action groups to detach themselves and head deeper into international waters. They had streaked dangerously close to Yamataian claims earlier and right now, as Wilhelmina suspects, a tail had been acquired as a result.

Twenty kilometres behind the last ship in Wilhelmina's group that was steaming away as fast as it could, Captain Heinrich Barensfeld's U 111 slowly came to a crawl in their pre-planned position ten kilometres behind U 113. Onboard, silence reigned as his sonar team listened to every little move their sonar contact made. It had been temporarily classified as "biologic" but soon enough, as the main body of their fleet accelerated away, Captain Heinrich Barensfeld's sonar team heard what they expected to hear.
"Conn. Sonar. Sierra Four-Nine Re-Class. New Class: Submerged Submarine. 1 seven-bladed prop. Contact of interest is accelerating. Classify: Akula I."
They had her, a goddamn Akula in these waters. This Akula had no idea that they had been counter-detected as they committed one of the more basic mistakes one could make while tracking a carrier group - accelerating to catch up. By this action alone they had not only shed the flock of shrimps and fish feasting on their detritus but also any pretence at stealth. Ten kilometres ahead of them U 113 was just waiting for such a pliable target as this Shark sped past them at speeds above thirty knots.
Suddenly, the stillness of these Kyrenaian waters was shattered as three ear-splitting sonar pings at over two hundred fifty decibels reverberated through the ocean. Sierra 49 had overtaken U 113, practically given them its baffles for free and U 113 had taken full advantage of its victim.

by **Lux Pulchrae** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:11 am

En Route to Shikonjima waters

With the OK to mobilize the carrier, the powers involved took a couple days to get ready, and when it did, it took a couple more to reach Shikonjima. Headed by Commander Calogero Massera, the sailors were a bit excited to finally be able to leave port somewhere far away. Being a somewhat isolationist nation, Lux Pulchrae's military was rarely utilized abroad, so forces like the Royal Navy were directed to simple "guard dog" duties in the waters, leaving many on reserve. Ironic for a nation that stresses and upholds militaristic values. The last intense involvement was almost a year ago in some backwater kingdom, which Lux Pulchrae did have the upper hand, at times, but was ultimately more of a loss than gain.

Being a militarist nation, the armed forces made sure to be as up-to-date on their assets as possible. Accompanying the carrier Toledo was the missile cruiser Apollonia and six frigates. While Amaglione(nickname for the capital/administration. Like "Washington" in the US) humored Massimo's plot, sending anything more than this would've been seen as unnecessary, even now it was considered a bit much. The carrier also only carried fifteen F-16s fighters, four MD 500 light helicopters, and a couple of medevacs. It should also be noted that the military was notoriously lacking in a proper airforce, instead invested heavily in anti-aircraft and had aerial divisions in the army and navy.

Apart from Massera, most of the ship's crew were boys from the Spanish Coast, and some from Fiore province. Most of the navy was actually made up of Spanish since they made up 80-90% of the coast's population, and filled the ranks easily. Whereas branches like the army were more inclined to be Italian/French comprised. Even with the numbers advantage, a large chunk of the navy's higher positions were filled by Italians, much to the annoyance of its rank and file, but Massera knew his and learned their language. Not that it was difficult.

While on their way to Shikonjima, things apparently got a bit more hectic. Shootouts, bombings and the like were manifesting on the islands and their mainland. The situation might get hairier than they could've expected. Reports of arms smuggling on the waters and protests also didn't help when this was suppose to be a show of good strength back home.

Closer and closer they got to Shikonjima, Massera decided to begin contacting the Kyrenaian fleet "Lion's Den...Lion's Den this is the Toledo group, Commander Massera speaking. We are roughly..thirty/twenty-five kilometers from your position. Since we are joining your exercises, you have primacy. Awaiting response."

Also aboard the carrier were a news crew from La Costa press group. What they hoped to do here, no one knows. Maybe display the narrative of a "strong and rightful monarchy over chaos-prone separatists" in order to strike a cord with audiences back home. That would come later, but until then Massera had them stay aboard. Also on the ship was an attachment of chaplains, standard for any abroad operation, especially in the coming opening days of Lent such as Ash Wednesday.

by **New Visayan Islands** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 10:09 am

Gen Vicente A. Gomez, VCAF
Joint Strategic Arms Command Headquarters, Bacolod, NG
February 26th, AD 2020
1933 PHT

"So, how's that third star?" General Gomez asked the vice admiral in charge of the Confederation's seaborne deterrent.
"Almost like another weight, General," Lloyd Basul replied. As a rear admiral, he had been assigned to JSAC after Vice Admiral Ortega retired in October of 2019, but did not earn his third star until the previous week.
"It should be, Lloyd. You're in charge of the seaborne nukes this Confederation carries. Remember that what you command has the power to erase entire cities and doom whoever survives decades down the line, and that means you can't just nuke your way around things." Turning to General Flores, who was on an AV link, he explained the intricacies if factoring in an exchange of weapons of mass destruction.
"Speaking of 'nuking your way around things,' I suspect this is in relation to the potential mess we might expect from Shikonjima. Am I wrong, Arnie?"
"No, Vic; what do you have for us vis-a-vis potential use of WMD?" General Flores replied.
"Well, this is all hypothetical, seeing as the most we expect from any nuclear or other WMD power with interests in Shikonjima involves a gassing--we are operating under the presumption that the gassing was done by the Yamatai government as a worst-case, after all--we can expect countervalue, if not counterforce, attacks should Condition Black be established. As everyone in this room and connected over the AV links knows, we operate under a strict no first use policy; we will not deploy nuclear weapons unless we are attacked by any weapon of mass destruction, be it chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear in nature, and even then second strikes are limited to counterforce and Vergara Doctrine missions in compliance with Geneva IV and Protocol I." Gomez paused to take a sip of water. "For the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with the term, President Vergara declared that the leadership of a nation-state would be held personally responsible for the actions of its government in January 2006."
"So in other words, a Vergara mission would--and this is still a hypothetical--involve nuking Heian to Kingdom Come should Yamatai decide to gas or even nuke Visayan populations, cities, installations--anything?" Secretary Castro asked.
"That's right, Secretary Castro."
"Christ..." Jack breathed. The thought of invoking the Vergara Doctrine had the Secretary of Foreign Affairs going pale. As the discussion continued, his expression soured further.

Col Gregorio O. Ono, VCMC
VCS Toledo City (LHD-3), Somewhere in the Indian Ocean
February 27th, AD 2020
2212 PHT

Colonel Ono had been chewing a wad of tobacco for the better part of a few minutes when he reviewed his orders. The commanding officer of the 12th MEU had gone far from the fresh lieutenant assigned to its predecessor, the 12th Marine Experimental Unit. Ono had proven himself during the Tagbilaran Riots, when President Martinez deployed the unit to assist in suppressing the monumental unrest that followed radicals firing upon government offices in 2003 during the first day of Ramadan. Since then, he had found himself training, practicing, and even studying about the various roles of command, rising up the ranks before becoming Colonel the previous year.
He had a cup of sencha with his staff and the senior officers of the ship that ferried him. Captain Damian Fernandez had taken the time to brew tea to keep them awake as both parties discussed what exercises they were to expect before making a port call at VCNS Abd al Kuri; they had all learned of Exercise STONE RAZOR, which was scheduled for next week. While their counterparts in the 22nd MEU would be closer to Shikonjima in what was admittedly the unlikely event that the Visayans would aid that country--unlikely as the Confederation still chose to maintain armed neutrality--it never hurt to train, even when one considers that the Toledo City Expeditionary Strike Group had the deployment rotation for the current year. The group itself was composed of eight ships at the moment: VCS Toledo City, an amphibious transport dock, a dock landing ship, a cruiser, a destroyer, two frigates, and one attack submarine. With the readiness state at Condition Yellow, the group was expected to be reinforced by additional warships, but which warships were to reinforce them was still to be determined by CINCFOR.
Until then, the group was content to patrol in international waters, closing on the Horn to allow for some anti-piracy duty; the Confederation, by virtue of treating maritime pirates as hostes humani generis, typically took a "sink-on-sight" approach to pirate ships that refused to surrender.

by **Kuronami** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 11:19 am

National Security Room - Caloris

Memos are confidential but nobody can hide a massive buildup of ships and fleets in the territorial waters near a highly disputed zone. Right now Kuronami shipping wasn't at risk, YET but who's to say it wouldn't be in the near future and that's what had The Empress watching this situation carefully. At first this seemed to be a mild case of territorial claims drawing ire of nations that opposed any kind of perceived imperialism, Kuronami had it's share of that too over the centuries but this was starting to get out of control. Now Fine was spending half her days down in the chambers of the NSR below the nation's Assembly Building.

"What on earth is going on?" Fine rhetorically wondered out loud as she was presented a large grid of various naval fleets gathered by satellite surveillance and aerial reconnaissance. "This whole thing is about to explode and I have a half-dozen or so Inspectors on the ground."

"Aye, Your Majesty." Her Security advisor agreed taking a stride next to where she was standing. "Right now we have the RKN we have this fleet looking to either join them or assault them, we honestly can't tell, there's another fleet deploying from Lux Pulchrae"

"What about our navy?"

"Most of our ships are still near the UIS near our own bases of operation around there. Of course we also have to worry about the Imperial Americans down there who are in this mess too but I figure we leave them alone they won't bother us."

"We don't have a reason to worry for the UIS do we?" Kuronami did value them as a friend and would eagerly protect them.

"No Milady as far as we can tell it's outside most of their commonly traveled lanes for civil and naval use and they haven't really weighed in on this situation we can't see anyone feeling a need to quash them. Us we might have to worry."

"We declared neutrality."

"True but all it takes is one crazy plan to try to draw is into one side of the conflict."

"If this escalates to, we will step in for our friends with the Sultanate. But it is your call if you want to make your intent known."

"I'd hate to get drawn into this further but I'm growing worried. But it might be good to let the Sultana know we are willing to help them if they need it. Benio."

"On it, Milady."

Fine's eyes caught a tiny mark on the map. It wasn't a live picture but a compilation of several hours of observation. "What is that?" she pointed to it. It was so small and insignificant but that's usually what it takes.

"That? Well we think it's probably nothing but Naval Intel is looking to be through so they're marking every little thing."

"Not a sub, scout boat, anything?"

"It's the smallest object picked up, even then the radar cross was insanely low so it's likely just another blip from somewhere else."

"We're certain there aren't any Civilian ships from Kuronami in this location?"

"As certain as it can be. Just to be safe I've had the Civil Mariner Board do a roll call of all freighters and cruisers out to sea currently all have reported in at various points in the open ocean or in foreign ports. Milady it really likely is something of little consequence."

"1799."

"Milady?"

"1799 a scout boat from Marche Noir snooped around our coasts. Everyone said it was nothing."

"We're talking about 200 years ago."

"221 Next Month. Point is everyone wrote it off as just an anomaly on the sea and what happened we were revenge struck for their failed invasion a century earlier. By the week's end half of Caloris burned to the ground."

"All right, Milady all right I'll have them take another look to see if anything else is out there. But even then it's far from us."

"But it's close to our friends and that has me worried. Something as small as a mine can do a lot of damage. And that's what I'm worried about."

"Yes Milady, of course I'll have them examine it closer."

"Please do so."

TO:Razia-Sultana Umm Albilad, Lady of the Five Deserts, Ilkhana of Utica, Daughter of Kyrenaia, Mother of Her People, Highest Servant of the Lioness.

FROM: Royal Agency of the State (RAS)
Encryption Level: HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL

Honorable and Gracious Sultana,

Greetings to you. You're probably well aware Her Majesty Empress Eylstadt has been watching the situation closely in regards to the ongoing annexation by Shiokojima. As such we've been watching the slow increase and military buildup in the region as tensions seem to begin to escalate. We want to pledge our support of you, our friends, in times of need should you call upon us. Her Majesty expresses the utmost confidence in you and is ready and willing to help. Further, Milady, we'll be passing this along to channels as best we can but we also want you and your navy to be aware that some anomaly has been spotted in the area your navy has been situated. A small discretion on our various radar and satellite mapping that we simply can't identify based on our limited vantage though honestly with your presence in the area you likely already know but still, Her Royal Highness wishes to express concern and vigilance just to be safe. We are for now able to rule out most major maritime travel from Kuronami with naval and civil vessels accounted for by our Government.

In the meantime we hope to hear from you soon and we hope this situation will be resolved amicably without the need of force but until then we wait.

In Friendship,

花村紅緒
Benio Hanamura
Agent of State for The Empire

On Behalf of Her Majesty,
Ortfiné Fredericka von Eylstadt

by **Quen Minh** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 12:32 pm

Kongoutou, Kongou, Shikonjima

Tropical mountains, clean beaches and traditional architecture that blends well like diamonds on a gown. Reminiscent to that of home; that is, without the recent violence.

Nguyễn Ngọc Khương, Thảo Quang Bửu, Baurzhan Nguyễn, Đặng Mỹ Loan, Trần Ngọc Vân, and Zubaira Hoàng sheltered themselves in the lobby of the hotel, sitting as if apprehension were next to them as a spectre. They all tucked their inactive phones in their pockets and gazed off into space, save for Khương.

"I hope we get out of here soon," Zubaira chimed and sighed softly, "I don't wish to die here."

"We won't, Zubaira," Loan replied, grabbing Zubaira's right hand, "We won't die here."

"They will respond to us, for sure," Bửu said, nodding, "There's no way our government will leave us behind."

When another ring of shots resonated, they all turned.

"I just hope they're not too late," Khương said.

Silence reigned. Then, Khương's ringtone blurted out and vibrated on his hand. Picking his phone up, he could see the name displayed with the caller ID. It was from the Office of International Affairs.

The Imperial and Royal Office of International Affairs

Đức, Trí tuệ, Và thịnh vượng
(Virtue, Wisdom, Prosperity)

To: Jitsuko Sageshima, Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bakufu no Hiroba, Nashinya, N01SX504, Shikonjima
From: Nguyễn Đắc Chánh, Minister of the Imperial and Royal Office

Greetings Minister Sageshima,

first off, I extend my sympathies to your nation and government. What has happened in the Ferinan-Archipelago was appalling, and with the recent military buildup, I hope that things do not exacerbate. As of now, my government has considered an observational stance on the matter. However, if by chance, your government requests further assistance whatsoever, we will surely take it into consideration.

Moving onto another matter, we have received calls from the respective family members of six of our tourists who are currently residing in a hotel in Kongotou. My government is currently deliberating on the matter of evacuation. However, we need confirmation from your government that they are willing to accept the presence of our nationals who are appointed to carry out the evacuation and assist them on the matter. I hope it is not too much to ask of you, and I hope that this implied request is beneficial to the both of us.

Sincerely,
Nguyễn Đắc Chánh, Minister of Office

by **Kyrenaia** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 1:32 pm

Of course the Kyrenaian Navy maintained a network of sonar listening posts a prudent distance from their coast. On average, these little posts were around a hundred kilometers from the shoreline and they were, while not completely outdated, getting on with the years. Half of these stations were passive listening posts, the other half could become active if they heard something on their passive sonars. After a demonstration of what the Siorc-class Submarines of the SDF-Navy could do with their AIP-Engines, it had been a major concern of the High Command of the Sultan's Navy to get the funding for an update.
All things considered, however, a deaf guy on a cane could have heard the sonar pings, which had been used by U 113 to scare the living daylights out of its victim.
And a reply came with the speed of sound, when said sound traveled underwater: Four sonar pings from four different directions (all of these directions sitting in Kyrenaian Waters) as the formerly passive stations switched to active mode and were investigating via their own pings.
Automatic alerts went off and, should it turn out to be more then a false alarm, submarine hunter planes were made ready - big, lumbering amphibians, which were designed for the task, the worst nightmare of any submariner.
The question now was, what would come back? Would it turn out to be a false alarm or would it turn out to be something way more serious?

Lion 3-3, Lieutenant Amir Wasi.
Bridge of RKN Tartib, South of Iejima Island.
We were still in these waters. I had just returned from a CAP-Run, reported to the bridge, when the Toledo finally saw it fit to contact us - sure, we let them close to 25 kilometers and would let them even closer before we would have called them up, but we had seen them quite a while ago - not from as far away as we would have liked, though, admittedly.
The Sharulsi had commanded all of our attention, someone would later say in an inquiry.
The Admiral, who had listened to my debriefing with half an ear, received the message as it had been handed upwards and, as one fleet commander was contacting another, she took care of that: "Toledo, this is Lion's Den, Admiral Rasha Qiada speaking.", she said, "Welcome to this stretch of water. Please join our starboard flank." She let a beat pass as someone caught her attention with a small notepad and a few words scribbled on it. "On that flank, you will also find a small civilian boat being escorted away by one of our helicopters. Leave them be, they harmless and got muddled up around these parts. Lion's Den, over."

To:
Her Majesty, Ortfiné Fredericka von Eylstadt, Empress of Kuronami.
CC:
Benio Hanamura, Agent of State for The Empire, Royal Agency of the State (RAS), Empire of Kuronami.

From:
Razia-Sultana Umm Albilad, Lady of the Five Deserts, Ilkhana of Utica, Daughter of Kyrenaia, Mother of Her People, Highest Servant of the Lioness.

Subject:
The Ferinan-Archipelago.

Diplomatic Correspondence.
NOT to be released.

Dear and Esteemed Friend, Peace, a cool breeze and water may be upon You and Kuronami!
We have received a very polite and very courteous message from Your Agent of State, Mister Hanamura, and We wish to reply to You in regards of the concerns about the ongoing crisis in the Ferinan-Archipelago, which he raises in Your Name.

We are aware of You and Your Agencies watching, in fact, We believe that, if there is any truth to discover, that the team of the RBI will uncover it. Their work last year during the aftermath of the Al'Arz Attack has left Us very impressed with them and their work - and with Kuronami. If We were to point a finger to anyone in this mess, who is speaking the truth to the best of their abilities, the finger would point directly at Your nose.
The offer to support Us in Our support of Shikonjima is well received and very appreciated, but We hope, that more then diplomatic support will not be necessary. The fleets of several nations are converging south of Iejima Island in order to form a deterrent to anyone, who might have a stupid idea - enough lives were already lost needlessly, there is no need for more.

As for the signal, which had been detected near Carrier Group 6, the Kyrenaian formation Your own services detected the presence off, the matter has been investigated and taken care of. To Our knowledge, the signal was a small, civilian sailing boat, which drifted with the winds and closer and closer to CG6. A helicopter of one of the vessels investigated and made them aware of them entering a zone of naval exercises and asked them to change course. The vessel proceeds to do that and while they are slow, We are positive, that the vessel poses no threat.

Bound to You in friendship and peace,
Razia-Sultana Umm Albilad,
Lady of the Five Deserts, Ilkhana of Utica, Daughter of Kyrenaia, Mother of Her People, Highest Servant of the Lioness.

Meanwhile, from Surya, Fleet Ground Brigade 3 was shipped in and would depart during the night. Their objective was to join Carrier Group 6 with a total of four more ships, a tanker, two frigates and a Soraya-class Amphibious Assault Ship.
Everyone hoped, that they would not be needed, but if the time came, Kyrenaia wanted to be ready to aid Shikonjima on the ground as well as on the seas.

by **Toishima** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 6:52 am

IN PURSUIT OF OSTMARKIAN FLEET
KYRENAIAN WATERS, [REDACTED] OCEAN

Holding the hydrophone operator's headset to his ear, Commander Danbara Masao listened intently, his thick eyebrows furrowed, eyes glued to the jerkily scrolling console in methodical concentration. Typical of the equally infamous and substantial Yamataian submarine fleet, the cramped conn was filled with an eclectic mixture of old and new equipment, with the classic yellow-tinged plastic fixtures and simplistic-styled panels of dials and switches slowly giving way to LCD screens and touchscreens. Though age was catching up to them, the legendary I-300 class of submarines remained potent combatants beneath the waves, especially in the hands of a competent commander.

Commander Danbara suddenly flinched as three active sonar pings filled the water. Some of the operators immediately looked to him for orders. The veteran captain sighed deeply as his executive officer tilted his head, ready to receive new instructions.

"Idiot," Danbara resumed listening, "he's gone for the bait. Maintain pursuit course, ten knots."

"We're getting dangerously close to Kyrenaian waters," the XO advised, "I suggest we break off the pursuit, sir."

"Nah, we'll keep watching. They may still do somethin' stupid to I-344 now that they've detected him," Danbara licked his chafed lips, his Niihama accent showing through, "and they may be gettin' nervous. No way they can maintain this speed with those destroyers."

The underwater world was full of noise, and luckily for I-327, their fellow boat was making most of it at the moment. Still safely nestled behind the baffles of the Ostmarkian submarines which I-344 had failed to account for, I-327 continued a slow, almost leisurely pursuit course. It would only be a matter of time, however, and if I-344's skipper continued to make these novice mistakes, this chase wouldn't last much longer. He was probably one of those freshly-promoted academy graduates who probably had the right connections to put him in the captain's chair. It was usually these nepotist types that went to such stupid lengths to make a name for themselves. If it had been up to Danbara, this whole chase would have ended outside of the 15-dash line, not all the way here at Kyrenaia.

Suddenly, the underwater world came alive with noise as a barrage of sonar pings filled the water. Danbara put down the headset and headed back to the chart table towards the rear of the room. The chart table of today had been upgraded with an LCD screen and interactive functions, a stark contrast to the ancient-looking communications station located right behind it. Checking a few things, the captain pushed his finger against the map firmly.

"Well, looks like we're in Kyrenaia," Danbara tapped his finger softly against the glass screen.

Kyrenaia's network of anti-submarine countermeasures were fairly well-known in these submariner circles, and as a potential adversary of Yamatai the Kyrenaian ASW network was well-studied by the Imperial Navy's planners and tacticians. The Imperial Navy's skippers loved to try running the net harmlessly during their open patrols, if only to annoy the locals, just like foreign submarines loved chasing down Imperial submarines throughout the Pacific in that endless cat-and-mouse game global submariners were constantly engaged in.

"Sir, I-344 is diving and changing course," one of the hydrophone operators reported. Danbara stepped back and folded his arms, nodding grimly.

"Do we continue pursuit, sir?" The XO asked.

If the Ostmarkians and Kyrenaians were not going to do anything and let I-344 leave, he was content with the results of this pursuit. The foreign force had not done anything after torpedoing the abandoned ship, and he definitely had no orders to start a war or invade foreign waters. Once I-344 was clear, he could stop watching over that stupid son-of-a-bitch and return to the regular 15-dash patrol.

"We'll play this game another day," the captain declared, "planes 12 degrees down bubble, helm, bearing 0730. Let's get the hell out of here."

Sadly enough, with the latest news they received from the surface world, it seemed like war was on its way regardless.

RURAL AREA
97 KILOMETRES SOUTH OF TORIYAMA, SHIKONJIMA

Deep in the Shikonjimanese rural heartlands, a single white pickup truck bounced along a remote forest path at breakneck speed. The road was unpaved, hilly, and filled with potholes, which the truck's beat-up suspension barely kept up with. Mud, grime, and scratches covered the last-generation Morimoto truck, a blue tarpaulin covering a selection of wooden crates in the back. The only thing remarkable about this lone vehicle was the music blasting at full volume from the wound-down windows - the Yamataian idol group Fukumusume's latest song.

Agent Yoroi Sakon, Architect of Shikonjima's Misery, was slumped in the front seat, one arm leaning casually out the window. The whole Architect of Misery thing was coined by the much younger agent driving the truck, the same young man who decided that Yoroi should unwind by listening to the music of the younger generation. The veteran operative was more of an enka fan, as stereotypical a music taste as that was for a man his age. And the more he had to hear some young girls sing about love encyclopedias and Saturday Night (...Hibi no arekore omoikitte atomawashite- Shit, it's stuck in my head), the more Yoroi was inclined to make himself the Architect of Agent Inoue's Misery.

But he had better things to worry about than the young field agent's choice of music for now. Bouncing roughly on the seat as the truck ran over another pothole, Yoroi clicked the curved orange polymer magazine of a folding-stock Arisaka Type-74 into place, deftly pulling the charging handle. He took a few last puffs of his cigarette and tossed it out of the window as the truck jumped again. Agent Yoroi had shed his businessman persona by now, the businessman having officially been recalled from the country due to the Coronavirus. Now the older man was dressed in a black t-shirt, jeans, a plate carrier and a pair of aviator sunglasses. A very conspicuous gold chain hung around his neck, and jade bangles adorned his wrists. There was nothing in the directive to stop him from dressing however he liked.

Not that a field agent had a directive anyway. He was here to cause chaos, and that's what he would do. Other people were working on the exploitation part of the whole destabilisation thing. All he had to do was get people to blow shit up, and then cover his tracks.

Today's mission was of the latter type.

"Fuck!" Agent Inoue yelled, jamming the brakes as the unmistakeable echo of rifle fire shattered the peaceful forest from somewhere ahead of them, the rounds impacting the dusty road. Inoue dove down below the dashboard, while Yoroi opened the door and rolled out of the vehicle, his weapon at the ready.

Another burst of rounds sailed over the truck, hitting the foliage on the other side of the road harmlessly. Yoroi threw down his Type-74 and raised his hands, standing hesitantly and walking around the front of the truck. He began waving his hands, then spit on the ground uncouthly.

"Oi, idiots! You almost capped me, fuckers!" He yelled out in the roughest Niihama accent, his voice changing almost completely from the usual calm, collected native Heian accent.

"Cease fire, cease fire!" A voice came from the bushes in the local Shikonjimanese dialect.

After some rustling, a man emerged from the bushes carrying a foreign assault rifle that was particularly easy to procure. Four others pushed their way out of the foliage too. It made sense that this band were hiding all the way out here, since their faces were now all over the national newspapers. That thrilling shootout as they escaped Toriyama meant it was now far too hot for these local anarchists to do anything else for some time.

"I thought there were more of ya," Yoroi tsked, lighting another cigarette.

"Some are dead, we're all that's left of our group," the leader of this particular cell explained hesitantly, "how the hell did you find us, Suzuki?"

"The Gokudo has its ways. But mostly I'm here to restock you on bullets," Yoroi casually explained, leaning against the hood of his truck as Inoue began unloading a crate.

The Gokudo were the crime gangs of Yamatai, some of the largest, richest and most organised criminal syndicates in the world. A pragmatic man by default, Yoroi was not one to go for flashy clothing - his current ensemble with the gold chains and jade were all calculated for today's audience. The local anarchists believed he was Mr. Suzuki, Gokudo arms dealer contracted by their leader Asato to arm them for revolution. The Gokudo operated all over the Yamataian Empire; the Niihama accent was just his own personal touch, though Sotenbori in Niihama was indeed the stereotypical Gokudo hangout... Of the movie world.

"That doesn't answer my question, how did you find us?" The leader was a jumpy man. Perhaps the original leader was dead. By the way he began to swing his rifle around, Yoroi knew his had to tread carefully.

"Alright, calm the fuck down," Yoroi raised both hands, "it wasn't easy, but another cell told me where you guys might have gone."

"We've never been here before," the leader raised his rifle. The man had just had a shootout with the national police and special forces, then slept in a forest maybe eating bugs.

"You sure about that?" The ISA agent folded his arms. Inoue had finished unloading the crate.

"Yeah, and nobody knows where the five of us are," the leader replied agitatedly, "so why don't you start telling the truth before I shoot you for real?"

"Five, eh?" Yoroi flicked his cigarette to the ground, "you sure it's not four?"

Suddenly, one of the anarchists shot the leader in the back from the hip. Yoroi drew a Nanbu pistol from behind his waist and shot the one of the far left between the eyes. Then, Agent Inoue mowed down the other two anarchists with the light machine gun variant of the Arisaka that he had retrieved from the crate. Within three seconds, four of the anarchists were dead. The final one released his rifle and let it hang by its sling.

"Couldn't ever stand that guy anyway," the 'anarchist' muttered in a perfect Heian accent.

"Welcome back, Agent Hamazura," Yoroi bowed, and the man responded in kind, "it is finally time to go home."

"Indeed. I look forward to never hearing you do a Niihama accent ever again," the ISA sleeper agent replied softly, receiving a mirthful huff from Yoroi.

Inoue dragged three shovels over from the truck, and the three ISA operatives began digging a mass grave for the four anarchists. In an area this remote, the grave would probably only be found by archaeologists a hundred years from now. And if things went well over here, those archaeologists would be citizens of the Greater Empire of Yamatai. With these anarchists dead, the source of their heavy weapons could never be revealed under interrogation.

Yamatai did not tie up loose ends, they cut them off completely.

MINISTRY OF CULTURE BUILDING
HEADQUARTERS OF THE YAMATAIAN MINISTRY OF CULTURE
HEIAN, GREATER EMPIRE OF YAMATAI

Elsewhere, the morning sun was rising over the city of Heian, capital of the Greater Empire of Yamatai and centre of the universe. At least, that was probably what these young children still believed, standing at attention in their black and red kimono-inspired school uniforms. They were only in Primary One, seven years old, just barely learning what math is and how to hate it, and already their vocabulary included words like "pure race", "violent oppression of superior cultures" and "apocalyptic race war". All this, of course, was partly the doing of the gaunt man in the military kimono proudly giving his speech after handing out award ribbons to each child.

The Minister of Culture was a natural for his role. General Komaba Shinji was a natural showman, a talent from his childhood and into his military service. He had been a child actor before the mandatory conscription period, during which he had been drafted into the morale-boosting Music and Drama Detachment by virtue of his already-existing talent. After deciding the military was the career he sought, he decided to forego a lucrative acting career and enlisted for regular service, becoming a signals officer and later on a Psychological Operations officer, eventually becoming the commander of the Signals Institute and a strong proponent and expert in psychological operations. It was only natural that the review board chose Komaba to be the next Minister of Culture. He was the right man for the job of influencing the nation's public opinion and controlling the thoughts of the masses, and some would say the only man.

And he was absolutely detestable. Vice-Minister of Culture Lieutenant-General Majima Mikoto stood alongside her superior as he gave his fiery speech to top off the award ceremony for the Senbonzakura, the youth wing of the Tatenokai, the national government-sponsored mass political movement. Lieutenant-General Majima had far more humble roots than her boss, and had been a mere signals intelligence officer aiming for a quiet career before she was unexpectedly chosen for the Ministry of Culture after the 2015 war with Meishan. Put simply, Majima did not like her job. Signals intelligence already opened her horizons beyond what the average citizens was meant to see. Working in the very organisation that prevented the citizens from seeing these things simply let her see even more. And the more she saw it, the less the omnipresent portraits of Her Imperial Highness held sway over her.

Other countries saw Yamatai as a backward nation of crazy people who only managed to get to the modern world simply because they were too big to fail, and nobody dared to see what would happen if Yamatai failed. Many foreign nations truly did not understand Yamatai, but then again Yamatai itself refused to be understood. And the more she looked into it, the more she realised the High Council was also aware of Yamatai's role in the world. The government continued to lie to the people to remain in power, utilising all aspects of society to control their subjects. Democracy was constantly taught to be a confusing, impossible Western construct that could not work in unique, superior Yamatai, but why was democracy such a bad idea?

But the most frightening thing to Majima was that she had eventually realised that the authoritarian rule of the Imperial military was necessary in Yamatai. If the government was not so forceful, if they did not insulate the people's minds from the outside world, then there would immediately be chaos and violence. The system had gone on for too long, and it would not be possible to suddenly remove it, just like one does not just let go of a child's hand while crossing the street. Any transition would have to take place over a long time, with a willing government to slowly loosen its hold.

And, if she played her cards right, Majima would be the one who starts that government. So for now she toed the line, smiling at these children who barely understood why they had to shun people with golden hair and blue eyes. And one day...

"Vice-Minister, ma'am," her mental image of the Imperial Grand Marshal's seat was shattered as a ministry aide called her from offstage. She quietly slid behind the curtain as General Komaba continued his rant about the strength of the youth, and their custodianship of the future - slogan of the Senbonzakura.

"Yes, what is it?" Majima asked, and was shown a tablet computer.

Ah, Ichigawa Sayuri. The propagandist on the other side of the ocean, who lived on the latest islands that fell into that bloodthirsty Grand Marshal's crosshairs. One had to wonder, was Miyazaki doing all this because she had not had a proper war during her term? Foreigners were definitely thinking that.

Majima quickly read the brief poem that the expert PSYOPS personnel of the Ministry of Culture and the Signal Corps had come up with and nodded to the aide. It was somewhat endearing that Sayuri thought she was talking to an individual, which in a sense she was, but there was no way for her to know otherwise anyway. She provided her signature to the bottom of the page, approving the message to be sent out to that poor, young, foreign woman.

12, 3-CHOME, HAPPONGI
MIYAZAKI HOUSEHOLD
HEIAN, GREATER EMPIRE OF YAMATAI

Miyazaki Yuko was just like any other teenager. She was 16 years old, excelled in her grades, excelled at sports, stood at 163 centimetres, and was fairly good at kendo. She liked listening to the latest Jeobseoni boy bands, she liked going out shopping with her friends, and she liked reading manga and light novels. Did all these things make her just like everyone else? Apparently not. When one's mother is the second-most powerful person in the nation, there were naturally some difficulties in trying to live some kind of 'normal' life like everyone else. There were always whispers, there were always people intimidated. Boys were afraid to approach the daughter of the Imperial Grand Marshal. She couldn't blame them, not while her mother's scowling portrait was everywhere alongside Her Imperial Highness's serenity.

But there was someone she could blame. Though she caused so much trouble for them, Yuko's mother was never around. Some part of her understood that this was because of her job, because she was busy balancing the needs of the state, because of this, and that - but the rest of her knew that that was the boring facet which was activated during state visits and when they went to visit the Empress. Unlike her siblings, she was old enough to remember when she could go outside and play with the neighbours without a Kenpeitai soldier watching over her, before her mother took this job and became a whole different person. Yuko wanted the old version back.

With her father also often out of the country on his research trips - Yuko wondered if he was having an affair - the eldest daughter took it upon herself to be the stand-in parent for her two younger siblings. Though of course this did not amount to much, since the staff took care of most of their needs in the large traditional-style mansion. The head maid Sakuya claimed that Yuko was going through a typical rebellious teenage phase, but Yuko did not agree. Her mother clearly didn't care what any of them did, so they had to start taking care of themselves. Sakuya was a good confidant.

"Stop that and eat quickly," Yuko scolded Yosuke, her ten-year-old brother. He was stacking his breakfast onigiri on his plate in a pyramid.

"Aww," he complained, taking a bite from one of the rice balls, kicking his legs under the table. His older sister glared at him.

"You mustn't be late for school," the middle child, twelve-year-old Yuno, joined in. Yosuke folded his arms and leaned back in protest.

And then a black ghost showed up. The often unoccupied seat at the left head of the table was suddenly pulled out, and Imperial Grand Marshal Miyazaki Reina sat down. As always, she was dressed entirely in her military uniform, an all black kimono with a golden obi and golden epaulettes. The style of kimono was similar to that worn by men in other Japonic countries. Yamatai had eliminated the distinctions between male and female working kimonos two centuries ago, though the beautiful female style still existed for casual wear. She leaned her sword gently against the table.

"Come on, Yosuke, eat," her mother's soft voice almost made Yuko's hairs stand. She stood up and grabbed her plate.

"Yuko, sit down," her mother ordered, and Yuko reluctantly sat back down, staring at her breakfast with suddenly no appetite.

"So, what's happening recently?" The mother asked, taking an onigiri from the plate in the middle. Yuko continued glaring into her plate.

"Well, I got full marks on my maths test," Yuno proudly proclaimed, beaming under the adorable bob haircut that was recently popular amongst girls her age.

"That's great! I knew you could do it," her mother praised, "I was never that good at maths, but I guess that's you father's genes."

"Also, Yuko went out with Hijikata Kazuma the other day," the middle child smiled slyly. Yuko immediately slammed both hands on the table.

"What! You little shit! I'll end you!" Yuko pushed herself to her feet, gesturing wildly with her chopsticks across the too-wide table.

"Hey, watch your language. I mean, it's a perfectly normal thing for a girl of Yuko's age, after all," her mother began. Yuko looked at her mother, surprised at this unexpected reaction. Suddenly, the smartphone on the table began ringing, the device vibrating loudly and cutting the brief conversation in half like the sword leaning against the corner.

And just like that, the tiny glimpse of the mother she could have had was gone. Once she stood up with her phone, moving away from the table to 'protect national secrets', she was back to that woman whose portrait was in almost every building in the nation, alongside the serene expression of Her Imperial Highness the Empress. Yuko sighed and sat back down, glaring at her younger sister this time.

"What?" Their mother exclaimed into the phone, grabbing her sword and rushing around the table, "Mitanabe did what?"

Perhaps in another, more perfect world, the Miyazaki family would be a happy and normal one. Mother didn't seem like the type so father would be the one at home, mother would be a typical salarywoman who still came home every night and had weekends off, when they could go to the park and stuff. Maybe she could even go out on outings with her mother and sister, like Tomoko from Kendo Club did the other day. And of course there wouldn't be kenpeitai watching their every move.

"The whole 3rd Battlegroup is headed to Shikonjima? On who's order?"

Or maybe she could even still be in the Imperial Army. She could still come back on weekends like Shizuna's father, and she wouldn't need to work on every weekend, so they could still go for those outings. And the kenpeitai wouldn't be watching them all the time.

"Bye kids, I'll be back soon," Imperial Grand Marshal Miyazaki Reina waved from the door.

Yeah, right.

IYS SHINANO, SHINANO-CLASS GUIDED MISSILE BATTLECRUISER
3RD CRUISER BATTLEGROUP, EASTERN FLEET
INTERNATIONAL WATERS, PACIFIC OCEAN

Admiral Inoguchi Mitsugi stood on the bridge of the lead ship of the Shinano-class battlecruisers, IYS Shinano herself. After the complications with the Army had been sorted out through machinations he did not feel the need to be privy to, Admiral Inoguchi's ship was able to move at double-time to meet with the rest of the 3rd Cruiser Battlegroup in the Pacific just in time for Navy High Command to send him his latest instructions. With the rapidly increasing foreign military presence in the area, and the recent blow to the Navy's pride with the foreign intrusion into Imperial waters, Navy Command believed it was time to do a more dramatic demonstration than continuously running drills in circles within Yamataian waters.

Thus, Inoguchi was ordered to steam straight towards Shikonjima, and await further orders just outside of their waters. The message to the foreign powers would be clear: Yamatai really is involved in this situation now, and they are serious about it. The large surface force was only a fraction of the true force moving to the region - as the world well knew, the Imperial Navy had a major emphasis on submarines. As the 3rd Cruiser Battlegroup moved in to show the world's cameras and satellites Yamatai's commitment to this situation, the implication would be that a large amount of submarines would be following invisibly.

This was the Navy's intention, steeped in pride and perhaps an attempt to save face after the embarrassing M/V Danzig incident. Inoguchi knew it was a very questionable plan, but did not question. He personally felt that a conflict was inevitable, and if his forces were already in the area of operations, the chances of a Yamataian victory would be higher. Shikonjima was the prize, and he knew that the hawks above him in the chain of command were just waiting for some kind of development to make an even more violent move, if the ongoing schemes did not work. And even if they somehow did work, there would come the matter of holding the islands. Inoguchi was old enough and well-travelled enough to know the reality of the situation too, but he had turned down appointments to the High Council several times.

His place was at sea, on the bridge of a Shinano-class battleruiser. His force comprised of the IYS Imperial Fleet Admiral Shinohara, the second of the two Admiral Nishizawa-class aircraft cruisers, the IYS Zuikaku, a Shokaku-class missile cruiser, a Fubuki-class destroyer, two Harushio-class destroyers, and two Asakaze-class frigates.

This was a show of force, but if and when the time came, Inoguchi was confident that he would be able to effectively show force.

OOC:
Ah, I finally gave some fodder to the spy thriller portion. Maybe have a drone or something spot the ISA truck, or maybe other anarchists survived but were not in this group.
There was yet another scene involving Colonel Ishihara, but I cut it because it's late and I think this post is really off-topic with regards to my characters' doings anyway (the whole Yamatai arc seems this way, because Yamatai is more of a shadow player, so my posts are less connected to everyone else's. Apologies.)
Fleet will likely be a couple of days away from Shikonjima, but visible. It can arrive as soon as it's needed by the plot.
Just consider the Russian stuff I "use" to be very similar but slightly different indigenous shit built by Yamatai. Thanks.
TG for clarifications and other such things thanks

by **New Visayan Islands** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 8:38 am

TO: Damian Diallait of the Tribe of Wicklow, Ambassador of the Free Lands to the New Visayan Islands
FROM: Department of Foreign Affairs, Confederation of the New Visayan Islands
RE: Message of Good Will

Admittedly, it has been quite a while since you first visited us. That said, I wish you well even as measures taken to contain the COVID-19 outbreak have made the environment around much of the Confederation radically different from what is usually the case.

Wishing you well, however, is not the only thing I have in mind. Having read the open letter by our old friend Felicia Sciotóg of the Tribe of Monaghan in yesterday's discussion concerning the Shikonjima-Ferinan Archipelago Reunification Process, we have come to a decision to aid the SDF-Navy in safely escorting trade convoys along the edges of the area in question. A master lists of ships from the Visayan Confederation Navy is still being drafted, but rest assured, we will be more than happy to help defending neutral shipping.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jack Castro, PhD (International Relations)
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
Confederation of the New Visayan Islands

Jack Castro
Department of Foreign Affairs Building, Mandaue, DH
February 28th, AD 2020
1642 PHT

"...and done," Jack said after sending the message to the Embassy of the Free Lands. It had been a considerable amount of time since he last met the good Ambassador. Indeed, the discussions that were had shortly before the 30th Anniversary of Visayan independence celebrations gave the Secretary a good measure of the man...and his friends in the Academia Caebuana had quite a lot of stories to tell about him, especially those involved in training the university's archery club.
"Now, where were we?" he asked the various members of the Council and other ancillaries who were connected through AV links.
"Recent satellite footage suggests Yamatai is flexing a little," Director Calomarde replied. "We're seeing a battlecruiser strike group supposedly several days away from Shikonjima. Russian-based hardware, flagship is most certainly the Kirov-class. We're also seeing a Kuznetsov, a Slava, a Sovremenny, two Udalois, and two Gorshkovs. We suspect they're playing for keeps."
"Surprising that they would just allow satellite overflights," Zach said. "From what I understand, this isn't the MO of any naval force worth its salt...?"
"Unless the intent is a show of force. Gunboat diplomacy and all that," Nathaniel replied. "I hope for the love of all that is holy that you know what you're doing in helping those Selkie people, Jack."
"I do, Nate; we know all too well they're pretty good people to deal with overall, and I suppose an offer to assist their navy in protecting neutral shipping would be well within our obligation as a neutral state, don't you agree?"
"Unless Yamatai decides a good ass-fucking is in order."
"Say what you want about those guys, but I doubt even they would be stupid enough to provoke neutral forces." Jack's voice hardened as he addressed Nathaniel's concern.
"I'm just saying we have to keep our heads on a metaphorical swivel, Jack. That's all. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a list of ships to draft; you should have it just before the day ends; I daresay an after-hours letter would be quite the surprise."

Home Into the Motherland (Open, MT, IC)

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