[TWI-Only] [IC] Troubled Waters RP

[Ainslie]

Troubled Waters RP

IC | OOC | Dispatch

This roleplay is for members of THE WESTERN ISLES ONLY. If you are not on the map, you cannot participate in this roleplay. However, if you are about to come onto the map feel free to speak up in the OOC thread (this one) but please stay out of the IC thread until you become a member.

Intro

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Deep below the waters lies one of the few things the Eterna-Argean don’t fully see eye to eye about. The progressive and peace loving governments of this region thrive on their lack of rivalry, forging cooperative bonds that make what otherwise would be a place on the periphery a dynamic and alluring place.

In the midst of lacklustre or inconsistent government responses, the great Northern Seas and the nations which rest and rely on them face the threat of illegal fishing. Rings and coalitions of illegal fishery operations threaten the stability and certainty of the ways many live, and pit governments against each other as they try to respond.

The wise leaders of the governments of the Eterna Argean face a challenge and an opportunity - to come together to reject illegal fishing in all circumstances, or to turn on each other and begin to find (or make up) the answers and sources of a problem that may never truly go away. Who is responsible? What do you do to stop a threat that is so diffuse and manoeuvrable? How do you manage relations with your allies if they look like they may be turning a blind eye to what threatens your people, your economy and your sovereign integrity?

Only time will bring to the fore the responses of the nations of the Eterna-Argean to these mysteries.

[Ainslie]

Northern Pride | Troubled Waters RP
9:32am, 13 September 2022
Just outside Deritivyan waters

The gloomy autumn skies hung over the Eterna Sea. It was fairly miserable to be out on the water today - a light, yet constant rain hit like ice crystals against any morsel of exposed skin. Steady waves sat under the dark, grey sky, causing the ship to rise and then fall in a way that was not really all that elegant. Despite the rather hurried complexion of the sailors, it was not the weather that fazed them. Rather, it was the waters that they were in. Deritivya was a world away from their usual base of operations in the Pulantara archipelago. They did have experience sailing and fishing in the Eterna-Argean before, but never had dealings or understanding of what the Deritivyan authorities were like.

And that was an important thing to know.

Very important.

Not because of what the authorities were like, but rather because of what they were doing in these waters and the complete lack of documentation that they had had on them. Rather, they were relying on their seafaring knowledge and a bit of beginner’s luck.

What complicated things further was that this boat did not even belong to them. It belonged to a man called the ‘Kahuna’, who happens to be in jail until the end of the year. Ever since he was locked up, there has been a jostle for control over who would be the new kingpin in the particular fisheries market they were in - particularly amongst the former employees of the Kahuna. This discord had soured things amongst people who were formally their friends - attempted boardings or shots fired across the bows of ships were not uncommon.

However, Dannel and his crew were determined to restart business. This was an opportunity to build a bigger, broader and more resilient business - one which their former boss could only attempt to match once he got out of prison. By operating in a decentralised model for now, meeting up with other allied crews, they could all lay low until they had a prominence that would make them invulnerable. That did not stop Dannel and his crew from having a relatively high profile - after all, this was the would-be flagship of the fleet he was on. It was a more expensive and versatile craft than the others, and for good reason - he had to make sure he could meet everyone in the business… the others… did not have that same sort of need, at least in his eyes. With him were four people who had worked on a Retren Fisheries boat back in the day with him - Terresten, Joe, Temas and Rele.

The only problem with fishing in the Eterna-Argean, particularly this part of it, was many of the nations had businesses who were very much in the fisheries game - meaning that stocks were reduced and what would be commercially available is closely regulated by governments eager to ensure the industry remains sustainable.

That was not a concern for Dannel and his crew though, unlike other businesses. Where they were going, fish were guaranteed. It was just a matter of getting into the zone and out without being intercepted. Joe made sure to watch over the left side of the boat as they made their way into the fishing spot. He keenly watched over the horizon to the coastline of Deritivya - keeping a watch for any sort of unfriendly boats who may stumble upon them. Out here, there could be many types of boats who could pose a problem for Dannel and his crew. There’s the nosy tourists who may ask someone onshore why there was a boat fishing where it was, a commercial fisher with a licence who would be agitated at the sight of a boat fishing where it shouldn’t, or even the local coastal authorities - who were largely a mystery to the crew. Temas and Rele were looking over the other side of the boat at the fish that were dancing around the bottom of the boat - moving in tandem in a large school.

“Marine Parks always have the best fish, don’t they Temas!”, Terresten exclaimed before leaning over the railing of the boat to look at the fish before continuing…

“It’s pleasing to see the fish thrive so much. It makes the fishing more sustainable! After all, dipping into stocks here is much better for the environment then out there on the other side of the marine park!”, Terresten bellowed before grimacing.

It was a good day for fish - the grey skies and intermittent rain meant the fish were well and truly out, happy and all over the place. It would be a profitable day for Dannel and his crew. About forty five minutes passed as their boat slowly dredged along the ocean floor - collecting a plethora of fish of various colours, shapes and sizes.

The peace of the sea was soon enough interrupted from a loud shout from the port side.

“Large patrol boat coming directly for our location - from the Coast!” he exclaimed.

Terresten quickly darted his eyes behind him and then began to hurriedly shout orders to the sailors on board.

“We’ve been spotted”, Temas quietly said under his breath before spewing a long list of profanities.

Within a few minutes, the ship was ready to leave. Dannel, who was at the wheel by this time, quickly manoeuvred the vessel out of the marine park and towards open seas. As the boat sped off, Terresten made his way to Dannel’s side near the steering wheel. The adrenaline was slowly reducing in all of the sailors as relief set in knowing the Deritivyans would not be able to pursue them much further out into the open seas - if they even had the jurisdiction to do anything at that point.

“Fortunately we didn't go too deep into the marine park”, Terresten began.

“There was no need to - the fish stocks were good where we were, and its always better to be safe than sorry. Easy to be safe when the Deritivyans obviously know how to conserve their sealife.”, Dannel replied in a rather short way.

The other three had their sniper rifles and laid against the side of the boat looking out towards the Deritivyan craft which was steadily gaining ground. About an hour later, it stopped giving chase - a relieving sight for all those on board. After a little silence, Terresten (T) restarted his conversation with Dannel (D).
T: “So, Captain, where are we going?”
D: “I was thinking Greston, preferably through Renetian waters.”
T: “Renet seems a bit dangerous - I’d imagine the Deritivyans would have tipped them off, if not let the Gresswellian authorities know too.”
D: “They have no clue which way we are going - we could be off to Solaryia for all they know… this course is a good one too - you can look like you’re about to dock at Renet and really be heading to Greston - it’s really a handy decoy offered to us by geography itself. They won’t know any better once we turn off the communication sectors.”
T: “Ah excellent”.

What made things even better was that Dannel knew Gresswell back to front. It had been their hideout for quite some time, especially when the Ahnslen authorities were after the Kahuna back in the day. If even the Ahnslens couldn’t find them in their own territory back then, it could not be much easier for the Eternan states to present day.

Soon enough, the ship was approaching Greston after travelling through Renetian waters with little incident. Greston was an elegant town, at least in its own way. It was a utilitarian place, one which appealed to the pragmatic nature of a well-worn criminal. The houses there looked like large shipping containers, which sat amongst the ominous dark green hills which were littered with various observatories and laboratories. It was a pretty cove that you had to sail through to dock in Greston - what made things better was that the sun was just starting to appear out of the clouds, offering brief reflections of sun rays off the deep, dark blue waters.

As the boat got closer to Greston, the wind began to pick up. Far from shielding the town from the wind, the hills would typically cause the southerly winds to bounce off and pool over the township. Fortunately, the waves were less powerful. Neither bothered the crew all that much after being out on the high seas - let alone Dannel who was nonchalantly leaning on the steering wheel, making slight adjustments every now and then to help the craft navigate the final breaks in the waves as it neared the port. Dannel about five minutes later tapped the radio back on, though momentarily, in order to inform the authorities on the island to their imminent arrival.

D: “This is the Northern Pride. We are a vessel holding pre-arranged and approved fresh cargo for markets on the island.”

“Yes this is Greston Port. We have record of the arrival of a Noren Pride?”, a crackled voice replied over the radio.

D: “Must be the dodgy radio. Yes, that is us.”

“Good. We shall await your arrival in ten minutes.”

“Copy that. We will see you shortly”, Dannel replied before quickly flicking off the main communication devices.

Temas and Rele donned their coats, ready to walk back out onto the boat to talk to the port workers which would help them dock the vessel. Thirty minutes later, everything was ready to disembark. Dannel and Terresten quickly left the boat, making their way to the markets in order to sell off their cargo quickly and convert it into cash before the authorities could trace their steps to the town. Fortunately for the crew, Greston was known to export fish to the Ahnslen mainland and in a rather ad hoc manner - perfect arrangements for Dannel and his crew.

Dannel and Terresten left the dock and soon enough their feet were on the cold, lifeless and wide layer of asphalt that is normally referred to as Greston’s main road. The fish market was not far, maybe about 200m away from the entrance to the port. In bad weather though, it would feel like an eternity - fortunately it was not that. About ten minutes passed before they made their way to the fairly unimposing building which looked like a large, thought converted, warehouse.

The two men, who would normally look fairly well built and intimidating, blended in well in a market that made its money off of manual labour and hard work. It was a building quietly humming with people who either had been spending their entire day out on the water, or who were carrying heavy boxes from ships to the market itself. Terresten and Dannel briefly scanned the room, slowly walking through the middle of the corridor, paying particular attention to the range and quality of fish that were on offer.

“Let’s split up. We’ve got a big catch.”, Terresten suggested to Dannel.

“Good idea.”, he replied.

And with that, Dannel moved off to the left to chat to a rather friendly looking fishmonger. Dannel recalled that the happy ones were normally the family run businesses. They were always the best to sell illegally caught fish to - it was impossible for them to evade the authorities, yet they were virtually impossible to indicate because of the sheer lunacy of such a small operation getting their hands on the sort of fish Dannel had on his boat. What made things even better was the absolutely atrocious recordkeeping these businesses typically had, making it nearly impossible to make a link between the small enterprises and the illegal fishing industry.

The family enterprises were always the best to sell illegally caught fish to, since it seems almost impossible they could get away from the authorities but equally difficult to bring to justice because there’s no logical way they could have gotten their hands on the sort of fish that he was wishing to sell to them. Dannel approached the fishmonger, whose store was identifiable only by a rather worn sign reading “Spirit of the Sea Food”

“Good afternoon, sir!”, Dannel said in a rather friendly manner.
“Hello there, are you wishing to buy some of the best fresh fish that the Eterna-Argean can offer! We have a number of species here today…. Its been a bumper…”, the vendor began before Dannel interjected.

“I should stop you there. I am not looking to purchase fish, but rather sell. We have too much fish on our own boat. A bit too much, to be entirely honest. We’re with a fishing company based out of Yursea and we had to dock here to refuel. Of course, now by the time we could get back there it will be difficult to sell fish at a reasonable price for our efforts. You would know yourself - fish caught the same day - particularly to the larger exporters - is particularly beneficial financially for both buyer and seller.”, Dannel added in a rather natural way, concealing the fact that him or any of his crewmen being or having any connection to Yursea being a complete lie.

“Indeed. So, what have you got for me.”, the vendor replied, leaning his arms on the counter, intrigued to see what the man had to offer.

Dannel: “We’re operating a Ceres VK-93 - our storages are full. 30% cod, 20% herring, 15% mackerel and 5% Argean tuna.”

“Sounds like a good catch. We can take that off of your hands. You came with that other man over there, right?”, the vendor said as he pointed to a stall on the other side of the warehouse.

“Yes.”, Dannel replied.

“Call him back over. We are happy to buy above our normal purchase price for what you have caught. It will be great here for selling to the fish market, but also locally we’ve been struggling to meet our catch quotas to send into the Gael markets so we’ll put this on the first plane out of Greston.”, the vendor (V) continued.

D: “Great. I shall call him over. Give me a few minutes, please.”

V: “Certainly. I’ll call in a few of my staff to help unload your vessel as we discuss specifics”

D: “Sounds good. Our ship is the Northern Pride.”

V: “I will send them there, then.”

[Deritivya]

In the Capital city of Kuninkallen, the central government would be running it day to day operations. Prime Minister Olaf Holst, would meet up with his entire cabinet for their weekly meetings. However this meeting would be somewhat different, as both Minister Viggo Olesen, Ministry of Interior, and Minister Stella Poulsen, Ministry of Environmental Protection, came somewhat in a hurry into the meeting room. Olaf Holst would look at the two ministers…

“Well, you two came down in a hurry, may I ask what news you two have to share at our meeting today?”

Both the ministers look at each other before Viggo Olesen spoke up,

“Prime Minister, we received news that one of the Marine Parks established by your Ministry of Environmental Protection was violated by some fishermen.”

Olaf would look at the two for a moment before smiling a bit,

“You mean to tell me that you rushed all the way here with a considerably small incident?”

Both ministers would look at each other once again before Viggo spoke up once again,

“This wasn’t a normal incident, the fishermen when a patrol boat spotted them could not identify them as Deritivyian, and we did not receive any report that they had docked at one of the nearby ports. Which only comes to one solution, it was a foreign commercial ship.”

Olaf Holst would pause for a moment, as if analyzing the situation at hand before looking up at both of the Ministers.

“I see, and what are the risks of them getting away?”

Viggo responded to the question rather quickly, “We could expect more foreign fishermen in the area along our coast, either at more marine parks or in territorial waters.”

“Which could ruin our oceans!” Exclaimed Stella after Viggo finished speaking.

Minister Henrik Isaksen, Ministry of Economic Affairs, would then speak up after Stella, “Not only that, Derivative relies on the fishery industry not only for the fish but for about 10 percent of the economy as well as more than 1.5 million jobs.”

Olaf would listen to the inputs of the ministers speaking before getting up from his chair, “I understand the situation now, as of right now, double the amount of patrols near our marine parks and alert the Royal Navy near our territorial waters. Minister Bentzen, could we possibly spare a small UAV towards Minister Olsen so that we can track the next foreign ships that come near the marine parks.”

Minister Rolf Bentzen, Ministry of Defense, nods at the Prime Minister, “We can certainly spare some of our smaller UAV to follow them to where they go.”

The Prime Minister nodded at Rolf Bentzen, “Excellent, then I will go speak to his Majesty and the Speaker of the Folketing on the matter on what the government response should be towards this illegal fishing by foreign fishermen. For now we will keep this information to ourselves and see if they is a repeat in measures before we go to the international stage. But as of now, I adjourned this meeting for today and I want updates daily on the situation and if any new illegal fishermen enter our waters.”

All the ministers would nod at the Prime Minister before each one left the room, Olaf would then head towards his office and would begin his calls towards the Palace.

[Aizcona]

3:42 AM; 20/9/2022
25 Miles off Aizconan Coast

The Aizconan Coast Guard Off-shore Patrol Vessel, Rio Marron, was responding to reports that a vessel was sailing without a transponder towards Aizcona. It had set off from its duty station an hour earlier, quickly making way due to this likely being a smuggling operation. In that time the ship had steamed towards the likely path that the potential smuggling vessel would be taking and had its on-board helicopter flying through the area attempting to ascertain the location of the boat. Another helicopter, this one land based, was being dispatched to the area as well to assist and would be on the search in the next five minutes. The Skipper of the OPV was by a map of the area with the Navigation Officer.

The Skipper took a swig of coffee from his mug, "I'm impressed with the information that that Uprean cargo ship gave us, but from what they gave us the boat should be in this area. They must have made a turn somewhere, although if they stayed going the speed they were going they shouldn't have reached land yet."

The Nav Officer nodded, "Captain, if the cargo ship was able to estimate their speed correctly, and they were going around 12 knots an hour, they could only be in this area." The Nav officer circle with his finger an area of sea that resembled an oval with the Rio Marron in its center. "We have our helicopter searching to the east of us, and we are about to have support to our west. It might be time to turn around and wait for a sighting sir."

Taking another swig the Skipper thought for a second, "I agree with your assessment. Coxswain about to stern! Speed to 12 knots!"

"About to Stern! Speed to 12 Knots!"

With that the ship begin to turn to starboard and reverse its course while the helicopters searched. About ten minutes later the OPV's helicopter spotted the boat without its transponder on. It was an ocean trawler, loaded down with nets of fish. Even with its transponder off the vessel still had its running lights on. It was 15 knots to the OPV's east, having veered off its course towards Pabere. Soon enough the Rio Marron had pulled close and had dispatched a boarding team on a RHIB to search the vessel and talk to the boat's captain. After questioning they had learned that the boat was Aizconan and had been fishing in the Eterna Sea within a few nations' EEZs.

The Boarding Team Leader was in communications with the Captain of the Rio Marron, "Captain, do you want us to search the vessel?"

The Skipper silently chuckled to himself, "No. Tell the fishermen to turn their transponder on and to get to port safely. Return to ship."

With that the Rio Marron let the fishing vessel get on its way towards Pabere. The Coast Guard was here to stop illegal fishing in Aizconan waters. What Aizconans did in other EEZs were none of their concern as far as top brass was concerned. With that, the fish market in Pabere would be abuzz with news of a huge haul coming in.

[San Jimenez]

4:32 am, 26 September 2022
Many miles off the coast of San Jimenez

The dark sky was illuminated dimly with light from the crescent moon that hung and the stars that surrounded it. The waters around San Jimenez stay calm and dull on a typical day. The wind above the sea was deafening and cold this morning, making it challenging to be in the area. Beams of illumination from spotlights broke through the darkness. After an uneasy impasse, a Jimenean Coast Guard vessel had successfully apprehended an unidentified vessel. Moments of miscommunication and inability for either party to respond to one another had left the situation tense as boarding teams from the S.J. Coast Guard vessels surrounded the unidentified vessel.

The many bodies on the vessel remained completely still, most looking upon the boarding guardsman fearfully. Most of the still people on the unidentified vessel were obviously of Jimeno descent, speaking very little English and having to rely on a translator to communicate.

"Sir, nothing of note was found on the vessel," a young guardsman spoke to Officer Allen Bailey, "the vessel was solely used for illegal fishing. Most of the crew might be unaware of what they were really doing. They seem to all be from Puerto de San Andrés and hardly any of them speaks any English." "Hm," replied Officer Bailey, "either way, they're going to have to answer for what this whole operation is and whose vessel this belongs to. Take the ship back to Puerto de San Andrés. Inform the families of the crew of their arrest. We'll keep the crew detained there unless informed otherwise." "Do you suspect they'll need to be transferred to the mainland for interrogation," asked the guardsman. "I'm not sure yet, as of now I don't see a reason why that'd be necessary. If reports similar to this continue to be true, we hardly have the means near Maladium to control it."

"For now, ensure that the crew is taken care of properly and informed of their rights when you reach port. We'll keep up patrol for the rest of the area until sunrise."

[Ainslie]

Honesty | Troubled Waters RP
6:54am, 14 September 2022
Greston Fish Market, Gresswell Island

Eskel’s eyes darted around the fish market, observing the pitter patter of the morning’s foot traffic through the Greston Fish Market. It had been a late night - both for him and the staff who were loyal enough to stick around through to the early hours of the morning. Fortunately, they had managed to get the cargo they had bought off of the Northern Pride and it was now on its way to a plane off of Gresswell Island. Despite the tiredness, Eskel had a sinking feeling in his stomach - it was rare a catch quite this big would just be unloaded on a seller at a somewhat modest fish market. After all, Greston was hardly a large port within the size and scope of the nations of the Eterna-Argean. With every minute that passed, he got more and more agitated, running his mind over the potential explanations for the catch. Every ten minutes or so, his mind would filter out a few options and it left only one.

This was an illegal catch - either it was rejected at a port for some reason or they were avoiding the surveillance that comes with bringing a large catch off to those ports.

Fortunately for him, the authorities were relatively relaxed on the island about such situations - particularly considering how much they needed the community’s support and guidance in solving what crime did occur on the island. For a few hours, he continued his fishmonger work and sold away what he could haggle at people despite having a largely occupied mind. He had decided he could not sit with this for too long. He would have to go down to the local police station after he close up shop.

Twenty minutes later
Eskel had just finished selling some trout to a local, and noticed that the town policeman was standing with a man in full military uniform. He focused his eye further - making sure that the military man was not an outsider. After leaning over the counter, he recognised the face - it was one of the usual servicemen who would come and go from the island to assist the police officer and ensure that order was being maintained on the island. If his memory didn’t fail him, the soldier went by the name Arresay.

Regardless, it was safe to approach - he wasn’t going to be arrested if he spoke up. Certainly not by the soldier, let alone the police officer.

“I’ll be back in 10”, Eskel called out to one of his workers who then walked up to the counter, allowing Eskel to leave.

Eskel then made the short journey over to where the policeman was talking with the soldier. As they saw the fishmonger approach them, the two men glanced over and nodded to acknowledge his impending entrance into the conversation. Soon enough, the three were within talking distance of one another.

“Good morning Eskel, how goes business today”, the policeman (P) said in a rather neutral tone.

“Well enough, there was a big catch last night I moved out of the island - so we’re well ahead on the bills.”, Eskel (E), said before quickly following up his comment in order to prevent the policeman from asking questions too soon.

“And… you”, Eskel continued, briefly gazing over the uniform before finishing his sentence, “uhh… corporal… I believe we have met before, but your name escapes me!”

“Corporal Arresay”, the soldier (A) said in order to clarify.

E: “Yes… that’s the name. I’ve heard plenty good about you, especially amongst the others in the Montane Platoon stationed here.”

A: “I am glad to hear. I should let you continue now though, given you must’ve left your business to tell us something important.”

E: “Yes, I wasn’t sure whether to bring it up but I’ve got this bad feeling about it and when I get that feeling I know I have to tell someone.”

The police officer reassuringly nodded, and pulled out his little notebook after asking whether it was fine to write down what Eskel was about to say.

E: “Yes, sure, write this down to jog your memory later. Beats making a statement down at the station, those places still scare me…”

The policeman nodded, then allowed Eskel to continue.

“A number of fishermen, led by a man called Dannel - he had a large ship, large volume of fish caught and some quite exotic ones that he didn’t mention as a part of his overall catch. It doesn’t quite sit right - its as if he was using very different fishing grounds to the sorts we’re used to seeing the fish from around here.”, Eskel explained.

P: “Do you think they may have been illegally caught?”

E: “It’s very possible.”

P: “Do you know where they were going to?”

E: “They came from the direction of Renet, I overhead one of the men saying. One of them also mentioned a conservation zone - but I’m not sure exactly where. They said they were off to Yursea next.”

P: “The ship’s name?”

E: “Northern Pride.”

P: “Anything else you remember? I’ll follow this up with the more serious authorities after we talk.”

E: “Not that I recall.”

P: “Tell me if you remember anything else - you know my number, right?”

E: “No…”
The policeman then handed a business card to Eskel, who promptly put it in the pocket of his pants.

P: “Thank you for this. Was there anything else you wanted to let us know about - anything you wanted to talk about?”

E: “No, that’s about it. I should get back to my business.”

P: “Understandably - please, don’t let us stop you.”

Eskel then shook the policeman’s hand and then returned to his shop. The policeman then spoke to the soldier for some time, before returning back to the station.

Ten hours later
Office of the Ministry for Defence and National Security, Keranan, Ahnerten, Wesland

“We should be raising this with the Minister - should we not be?”, Arlan, a staffer for the Minister said to the person next to him.

“Seems enough to escalate. Hopefully he doesn’t get nervous enough to flick it up to the Prime Minister and cause a scene.”, the other replied.

“Hope not. This is too big to let it pass over though.”, Arlan stated.

Arlan, who was a relatively mid tier staffer within the Ministry, walked past the remaining cubicles before walking up to the Minister’s secretary. The Secretary let him know that the Minister was free to speak with him.

“Arlan, is it not? What brings you here today.”, Defence Minister Parick Carven said warmly as he looked up from the papers below him and almost gestured to stand up.

“Yes, Minister.”, Arlan replied before shaking the Minister’s hand. The two then sat down. Arlan then continued.

“We’ve received a telegram from a police station in Greston. A man reported potential illegal fishing activity, with a sizable load having been sent off in multiple directions after being received in Blacken once the initial plane landed. The person responsible for the shipment has very little records of what happened and the police officer on the island has given us somewhat scant details. What we do know is the ship is called Northern Pride and is on its way to Yursea after passing through Renetian waters. The talk on the ground is that the catch was somewhere in a marine park in the immediate vicinity of the Eterna-Argean subregion.” , Arlan (A) said.

“Interesting. What else do we know?”, Parick (P) replied.

A: “There were definitely some exotic fish on board, likely endangered species that have been tangled up with the export of the more usual catches you’d find in the area.”

P: “Have the Yursean Government been notified of the impending arrival?”

A: “The authorities in Greston did not say one way or another. From past experience dealing with the Gresswellians, they probably want to keep this in house.”

P: “Right. That sounds reasonable enough of an analysis. It’s been ten hours though. We can’t leave it without a shadow of a doubt that they know about the vessel - it could still be in their waters and capable of being intercepted. Pass me the phone, stay in the room whilst I tip off the Yurseans.”

This was fairly unconventional practice for a Defence Minister in Ainslie, especially given this sort of action was typically reserved for the Foreign Minister. However, the Minister thought it was urgent enough to bypass protocol. After about five minutes, he got through to the Defence Ministry in Yursea and delivered the information to them.

[Coldwoods]

Big Willie | Troubled Waters RP
Stapleton County Sheriff’s Office
6 Evangelidis Way
Deerfield, SA 01583
Coldwoods
10-22-2022 6:39 AM EST


Sheriff “Big” Willie Dustice stood in front of the window soaking in the twilight rays and looked out over Elksburg. Dustice poured some coffee into a mug, took his hat off, and sat down at his desk. Dustice began to read from the bible while sipping on his coffee, when the door swung open and in walked Deputy Jason Stanton, dragging in a man in cuffs.

JS: “Morning Sheriff, found this fool drunk in a Port A Potty, I got some ID on him; should I book him?”

WD: “At six in the morning?” Dustice shook his head “Put that degenerate in the drunk tank to sleep it off. No need to waste the time to book him.”

JS: “Alright, I’ll put him in.”

Stanton took the man away and Dustice sighed. Deerfield was full of drunken fools like him, especially now during the gloomy time between October and December. Despite being elected promising he would reduce crime in the county, Dustice found that there isn’t much crime in Stapleton County at all. Occasionally there would be a fight or a vandal, but there was rarely anything more than a few drunks. Locals were getting restless wanting Dustice to stop crime that did not exist, with some even considering to petition for a recall election.

Suddenly, the telephone on his desk rang. Dustice picked up the phone and answered.

WD: “Stapleton Sheriff. Hm that is concerning. I understand. We will be right there.”
Dustice put the phone down, put his cowboy hat on, and grabbed his Delino R21A.

WD: “Deputies! Get your guns! There is a foreign boat fishing in our waters, we must stop this!”

JS: “Uh Sheriff? Should’nt we call the navy? What are we supposed to do about that?

WD: “Are you questioning my authority? I said get your guns, if we see any boats, we are gonna arrest them or shoot em. Don’t make a fuss, just do your job.

JS: “Yes sir.”

[Najimam]

Pitch black | Troubled Waters RP
San Jimenez waters
29-11-2022 00:03 AM


"It is pitch black". That's all Antara Janah could think about while fishing at this unusual time and place. He could barely see the other fishermen who were tight lipped. No light was allowed under any circumstances to not get caught. The fish they came here for, the Giant Sea Bass, is still not found and time is not on their side. Antara started to regret accepting this job, but the amount of cash he's going to get for it will make him set for life. Two hours pass by, the fish finder spots something. A few minutes later, the desired fish is finally captured and the atmosphere suddenly changed. They made it, they're rich now. Antara looks at the fish once, twice, thrice in disbelief. As he was about to take some photos a light broke the darkness and a sound broke the silence. When hearing it, Antara couldn't hold back tears. It's all over now, they have been caught.

The crew of 8 Najimamian fishermen were transported to land for questioning. Upon closer inspection of the ship, some documents were found in one of the cabins. After reviewing their contents, the San Jimenez Coast Guards immediately sent digital copies to the Najimamian Coast Jihadists.

Radin Coast Jihadists office, Najimam
29-11-2022 04:16 AM

Bahhar Harir, Coast Jihadist Captain, couldn't believe what he was seeing in front of him. He instantly contacts his superiors who hold an urgent meeting to discuss the issue at hand. Bahhar was the first to speak:

"San Jimenez coast guards caught 8 fishermen working for Sayyad Fishing Company doing illegal fishing. The ship used was also under the company's name. They were looking for a very rare fish, the Giant Sea Bass. The fishermen had documents detailing the approximate location and best method to capture the endangered fish. These documents also contain info about the agreed price and genetic data of various fish, which leads us to believe that someone in the fish farming industry is trying to get their hands on it to conduct illegal genetic engineering research and profit off of it in the international fish farming black market. Only fish farmers in Radin have access to this kind of precise and detailed data. Your orders sir?"

Kobtan Barakat, Coast Jihadist Admiral, replied:

"Launch an immediate investigation, everyone in the fish farming industry is a suspect. Inspect every Sayyad Fishing Company vessel and patrol our waters twice as much. Search on fish related to the Giant Sea Bass and look for any fish farm producing them. Get an undercover Jihadist in Radin's fish market, I need a daily report on everything happening there. Get in touch with laboratories working on fish genetic engineering, I want a check on everyone. I'll contact San Jimenez authorities to know more about what the fishermen said and suggest a possible cooperation in this matter. Get to work now!"

After the meeting, the Admiral was sure that this incident was somehow, someway connected to recent illegal fishing that occurred in the Eterna, Argean and Eastern seas. He was worried that something much worse was behind all this. He briefly looked at the pitch black sea in the horizon, thinking to himself: "With darkness comes... Troubled waters..."

[Yursea]

Coast Guard Unit 05 - Local Station,
City of Agocaster, Province of Corwe

Petty Officer O'Donnell sat at his desk reviewing paperwork from the local weather stations, things had been picking up as of late with weather patterns not matching their usual statistics. His thoughts about the safety of civilians swimming and going boating were set aside when Seaman Felan knocked on his door and entered after opening it. He held a file with the markings of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defense. Walking over, Seaman Felan saluted the Petty Order and set the file down and awaited for it to be reviewed.

"What is this Felan?"

"New file related to a rogue fishing vessel that may have violated another nations territorial waters, sir."

"and I'm guessing it's based in Agocaster's Fishing Docks?"

"Yes sir, the Defense Ministry wishes for us to take procession of the boat and transfer it to the local authorities for a proper review, and of course retain those on the boat."

"Do we have a name for this boat?"

"Yes sir, the file has it listed as the Northern Pride. It's owner appears to be Christian O'Flynn."

"Alright, let's get the bastard."

Northeast Docks,
City of Agocaster

The Northern Pride slowly approached the Docks, with some of the crew jumping onto the pier to tie the ship to it and prevent it from drifting away. Soon enough, the tie was fastened and everyone began disembarking their hard fought bounty's. Christian would be amongst them, helping one of the crew unload a big crate of exotic fish he'd capture far away from Yursea. After a while, most of the cargo was unloaded and organized. Now ready to be sent to the markets as soon as possible so the money could start to flow in. Yurseans rely a lot on fish as being part of their diet. With exotic and rare fishes now being available, he wagered that he'd get even more Yosey's than he had in the past. What he wasn't expecting was the Coast Guard to arrive. He'd hear from a few feet away the closing of a Jeep's door and the slapping of boots on the ground. Turning around, he'd see a little squad of Coast Guard standing there.

"Mr. O'Flynn?"

"Yes, what can I do for you?"

"As part of a investigation by the Ministry of Justice, we have been tasked to commandeer your boat and transfer it to the proper authorities. We have the warrant already signed off by a Judge. We've also been asked to transport you to the local police station for some questioning."

"I see I don't have a chance to say no, very well. Let's go."