The Wenchuanese Problem (Archived Thread)

Nova's Spotify · by **Nova Secta** » Fri Dec 16, 2022 8:23 pm

From the Desk of His Empyreal Majesty the King, an Official Communiqué to the Nation of Sombreland:

To Her Majesty Alavaine de Cressa, Princess-Regent of the Kingdom of Sombreland: I am Banastre, Most Dread Sovereign of the Glorious Dominion of Saescia. Recently, the auspices of the Saescian central government in Williamstown conferred to me the seriousness of the present situation in the Kingdom of Sombreland regarding the political status of the Wenchuanese population, their current suffrage and the potential relocation of the affected population group. Certainly, such a problem does not engender feelings of envy or a predilection for meddling out of hand, and thus let it be so known that the deepest sympathies of my people lie with the people of the Sombrelandian Kingdom this evening. The Princess-Regent and the plight of her people rest heavy in the hearts of my countrymen, and we will endeavor tirelessly to help assist in the manifestation of a solution to the present crisis as best as can be wrought with the help of the guiding hand of Providence.

Dearest Princess-Regent, fret not over the peculiarities of these dark and consequential times, for the turmoil of a tempestuous night is often most violent right before the sweet tranquility of a lovely, serene dawn. Your people have assuredly endeavored mightily thus far to address the longsuffering Wenchuanese populous and the strain on national resources that their absorption into the Kingdom must have contributed towards. As a committed member of the International Coalition of Nations and thus your comrade-in-arms, we shan’t rest until this problem has been resolved satisfactorily to the benefit of both the Kingdom of Sombreland, the Wenchuanese people and the better graces of prosperity thereupon. We should wish to impose therefore upon you the pleasure of a meeting between our senior government advisors, that the Saescian Dominion might assist you in finding a satisfactory conclusion to this problem, and that we may help restore prosperity to you.

I Pray That This Missive Finds You All, and Finds You Well. Oyez, It Is So Entered Into Our Records.

Witness My Hand and Seal This Day, For the Good of the Dominion

His Royal Majesty the King Banastre III of the House Conne-Strauss
Righteous Defender of the Faith, Sovereign of the Glorious Dominion

by **Sombreland** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 4:59 pm

To: Tokugawa Asuka, Minister of External Affairs of the Empire of Greater Nifon
From: Prince Shaladew Kadav, Minister of the Left of the Kingdom of Sombreland
Subject: Wenchuanese Immigration
[/b]Encryption:[/b] Most Secret, Eyes Only

My dear Minister,

Our government is very gratified by your government's interest in our affairs. You observe with great wisdom how there is a problem with the Wenchuanese crisis. When, originally, the Wenchuanese fled their civil war and entered Sombreland, they were looked upon with compassion. They are, however, a population that do not fit in well with our society, and they have, as a result, caused many problems, ranging from labour competition to political undermining of our government and way of life.

It may interest you to know that other nations wish to take Wenchuanese immigrants, so I am delighted to observe that this will not simply be a burden for your nation and Palymiron's government to handle, but will be spread across several unilateral agreements. I am sure that this meets you with equal delight.

Currently, our government is relocating Wenchuanese from areas where there are greatest tensions to locations where they can b safe from attacks from angry mobs or religious zealots. Our government will be happy, through the official departments under my ministry, to organize immigration properly, even offering a choice of locations to emigrate to. I will look forward to having my officials coordinate with yours, and with Palmyrion's, to organize this to the greatest degree of organization and harmonious compassion.

Regarding the matter of foreign involvement, you must understand our current government policy.

First, there is our involvement with the nation of Kerberos. This country is assisting us with an agricultural problem, and has requested an air base in our country. You might wonder why we had agreed to the latter. This is simple matter: fear. I am not afraid to confess to fear. We are afraid in particular of states upon our border. Both of these states are aggressive, though one is at least insular. The other, Wenchuan, is, I am sure you are aware, a very chaotic nation, not yet recovered from their civil war. If we did not have the worry of Wenchuanese warlordism showing aggression against our border provinces, or, worse yet, being used as a proxy for aggression aimed at our country by other, more powerful nations, we would not have been prompted to worry so much that we invited an extra-regional power into our state. But, alas, such is the way of the world.

Second, you raise an important point about this extra-regional power, Kerberos, to point out the actual name. How can Kerberos support Sombreland without being threatening to our in-region neighbors? And you propose, very wisely, on a limit to how many aircraft and other military assets would be deployed to our country. Perhaps you would be kind enough to propose limitations, and we and our ally could consider them carefully?

A final note: according to the decorum of our country and our government, if you wish to have correspondence directly sent to the Princess-Regent, I would recommend, at the very least, that such correspondence be sent from the Shogun. The Princess-Regent admires him greatly, seeing him as an inspirational figure she would like to emulate, and would no doubt greatly appreciate the advice and recommendations of so wise, thoughtful, and morally courageous a leader.

Sincerely,
Prince Shaladew Kadav, Minister of the Right and of Death

by **Sombreland** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 5:07 pm

Galador, Sombreland

Princess-Regent Alavaine de Cressa waited for the transport bearing SACHI to arrive. Officials were gathered near her, and there was a small band from the Royal Navy as well as an honour guard of Royal Marines. The Princess-Regent wore a dark dark coat and had an umbrella held over her, for it was raining lightly from the grey skies above.

The strangest thing for the Princess-Regent was that she was playing hostess to a strange machine that seemed to behave in a human manner but had no human body. It would nevertheless seem to be one. It was a troubling thing; if this artificial intelligence could emulate a person, what else could it do? No one had really seen the people of Darlingtown. In fact, the place was becoming known among the people of Sombreland as "The Isle of Ghosts". it was said that there were no people in Darlingtown; that they had been replaced in an eerie way by the artificial intelligences.

The Thonist cultists had gone on a quiet but very determined campaign where all software that had any degree of intelligence was now being scrutinized. Thonists at workplaces, in lower government offices, and in every area where such things were used were being raked through for their degree of replacing human made policy or decision making. There were protests at places like factories, warehouses, and places where governments processed personal information. In some places, people had gone a bit wild and were throwing computers out of office buildings. Even though these were not high in Sombreland, they still smashed up monitors, printers and laptops quite well. And what of the military? It had not yet gone that far against the strongly ingrained habit of obedience but there had been protests.

And so the Princess-Regent, Alavaine, as she awaited SACHI's arrival, mostly felt wary. She felt that this meeting would mean more to her country than, perhaps, SACHI realized.. It had to be faced and dealt with though. Darlingtown was one of the architects of ICON. But, some of her subjects were wondering, for what purpose? And it was up to her to either demonstrate that that purpose was good for the people of Sombreland, or to pull back...

by **Sombreland** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 5:32 pm

In Another Part of Galador

The Director of Foreign Affairs had rarely had to work so hard in his whole career. Mostly, his duties involved coordination of consulates, visa production, supporting financial negotiations, and signing his name to legal drafts for trade agreements. Now he found himself constantly working on matters related to ICON, bilateral agreements, and managing this confounded Wenchuanese refugee crisis to an unprecedented degree.

With Sir Oswald Mosley's offer to assist in general with the policy development, he was relieved. They would work directly with Europe's officials to refine the planning. While he was still getting a sense for how they did things, at the same time they had a more long lived involvement with policy coordination with other countries. At the very least, he and his officials would be dealing with some degree of experience, and could benefit from it.

He had, however, a number of questions that he sent to counterparts and others in Europe.

First; what refugee crises had they handled before?

Second: What processes had they discovered worked best?

Third: What would they advise should NOT be done?

Fourth: What resources would need to be allocated?

Fifth: What had some of the outcomes been?

This was really just getting started. He also advised them of what was being done so far.

First: the Relocation plan which involved moving Weenchuanesee to areas more isolated from the regular Sombreland population.

Second: Five army divisions with supporting naval and air assets had been commanded to support carrying out the operation.

Third: The government was discovering unexpected resources needing to be available. The implementation of the plan had outstripped this.

Fourth: Political tensions needed to be managed between Thonist zealots who had a Sombreland first approach, and the liberals who had a Sombreland is part of the world view. The government was trying to keep the peace between these two factions.

The Director concluded that any advice on these matters would be most welcome, as he was preparing to organize meetings with the European officials.

by **Sombreland** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 6:04 pm

Sombreland Nautical Frontier

HMS Gambeson was on night watch. The frigate moved steadily through a dark swell, kilometers from land, but she was not fully awake.Three quarters of her crew ere dead in their bunks. Cradled, muttering, lost in dreams, they curled unconscious as the unborn writhe, in the metal, alloy and plastic womb that carried him.

Like roaming sharks far below her keel, despite her sleep, she swam and dimly knew. Deep in her engine rooms sweating men labored. Her engine rooms were solid with sound, shafts whirling blurs. Above, her senses fingered the darkness, sweeping the surface of the sea and the sky. Specialists leaned over radar and sonar, plotting always. Radio waves hummed and receivers whirred softly. On the bridge, men stared warily in the night, and the captain seemed to be dozing, although it was the dozing of a crocodile; he was resting but ready to, at a moment, snap to attention.

A junior officer, of the military caste, whose ancestors had sailed in armoured clumsy galleys carrying fuse lit bombs and boarding pikes, stared rigidly into the radar. A little light had moved. It was a recurrence that he saw that made him blink, and he decided to take no chance.

'Captain?" he said. As he had suspected, the eyes were now bright and looking at him, as though the captain had never been snuggled into his chair. He sat up, bright and eager.

"Go ahead, Lieutenant."

"
Sir, we have multiple contacts. We seem to have moved in on them." said the Lieutenant.

"Let's have them." said the Captain.

"Two aerial, inbound, We have this signal, indicating unknown vessel at the frontier." said the Lieutenant.

"We missed the inbounds," said the Captain tersely. "And they slipped past our patrol planes. Alert Naval Base Pelagus."

While this order was being related, the Captain alerted the coastal patrol, marked the movements of the strange naval contact, and began to move in on it. A naval patrol plane was to do the same. Other vessels strung along that area of the coast were to move with nightwatch crews for the moment to sweep the frontier more carefully.

From Naval Base Pelagus, there was a watch set, but they were, naturally, startled by the message of urgency. They had hoped that their naval units would catch any incursion long enough before that they would be a bit more time. As it was, half dressed sailors from the Type 1989 Shotokan battery, mounted on Ueda trucks, were being shocked awake, screamed at by petty officers shrieking about their duty and loyalty, and were shrugging into jumpsuits and running for their truck borne batteries. At the same time as this, a Blackfly UAV night patrol was not far from Borovor, which was guarded anyway, and on instruction it began to do an orbiting patrol around the base. At this time, there was no understanding of where the inbound aircraft were heading. it was analyzed that they appeared to be aircraft moving under jet speeds; either rotor driven aircraft or possibly rotary wing. Both the area commander and Grand Admiral Teroth, who were each woken up from sleep to receive the information, instinctively wondered if the incursion was Nifonese.

by **Neo-Western East Korea** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 7:22 pm

National Airport, Galador Sombreland

It was a rather average day (in the sense of the current average, which to be fair was not truly the best it had ever been) when Air Korya Flight 275 touched down upon the runway.

It was not exceptional, so to say, when only three men stepped out of the aerial vessel, although it was at least distinctly strange to the few who cared to look at the three who dressed as military-men, although considering the recent occurrences in the nation (especially in Galador itself) it was not unheard of.
What would have truly peaked one’s interest if they cared to look was both the fact they were non-Sombrelanders, and the fact that their uniforms were, rather obviously, the wrong color to be members of the nation’s military,

Still, though, this (rather luckily, considering the circumstances) did not peak the wrong sort of attention, and as such the three men made their way to the hotel that would be their home for some time, they were able to enter and acquire a room with no major issues.

With this first step done, it was time to establish a plan, the first step to that plan of course being to arrange a meeting with several military and foreign affair officials involved in the current crisis, as their role was, as was known atleast, to offer support and advice on the matter of imprisoning a large population for what may become a large time.

With this done (and a meeting arranged for the future), they moved unto step two, with two members of the trio leaving the hotel to perform an more intimate examination of the mood of those not involved in the current actions of the government, while one stayed to ensure that if they were required, they could be gathered in a short enough time to remain useful.

After all, it would pay to be prepared.

by **Sombreland** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 7:50 pm

Galador International Airport

The arriving Neo-Korean officers were approached by a pair of senior Sombreland officers, one in a Royal Sombreland Air Force dress uniform, one in a Royal Sombreland Army uniform. These uniforms had high collars rather than ties and double breasted jackets. Instead, they were single breasted, each with two rows of medal ribbons, and with gold braid indicating their staff positions.

Once they had been brought through customs, the officers greeted them with courteous brief bows of the head.

"Gentlemen, we are Generals Corthard and Elvol, of His Majesty's Royal Air Force and Army, respectively. You are welcome to Sombreland." These two men stood very straight, and were strong of jaw and greying of hair. "We have a car waiting, gentlemen, and we are looking forward, on behalf of our governments, towards coordinating this matter. May I say," added General Corthard, "That this is a good start to our mutual involvement in ICON. Solving a problem together. By the way, are any of you in need of refreshment or rest before we start?"

by **Kerberos** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 8:06 pm

withdrawn

by **Darlingtown** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 8:29 pm

Galador, Sombreland

The journey from Darlingtown to nearly everywhere save for New Zealand, Australia, Chile, or any of the miniscule Imperian stations in Antarctica was always going to take some time. And though she could have bought a faster jet to try and make up some of that travel time, the cost was exceedingly prohibitive for the city-state of Darlingtown and SACHI spared no individual funds for herself. Instead, betting on the Princess-Regent accepting her request, SACHI had secretly taken off before receiving a reply in the affirmative.

As the slight drizzle fell upon the city of Galador, SACHI's plane began making its final approach. The plane, though not as fancy or fast as would most likely be befitting a head of state, had still been retrofitted to accept complete automated control of the craft. The AI was still technically experimental and in need of more rigorous testing before she would let a single living soul onboard, but SACHI still trusted the plane's new digital pilot to get her safely on the ground.

Which it did. The aircraft touched down on the runway and came to a crawl as it taxied to an offloading area designated by the tower. Stopping before the waiting gathering of Sombrelandian officials, the boarding ramp lowered and the blue-haired Administrator of Darlingtown stepped out, opening an umbrella of her own and carrying a bulky metal suitcase. She was about to speak as she exited the craft, but the sudden playing of the band she had failed to notice startled her for a second. The AI woman quickly recovered and laughed at her own moment of surprise, smiling and nodding at the band in an attempt to show them that they were okay and had not actually scared her in any real way.

- SACHI -

"Princess-Regent Alavaine! It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person!"

SACHI bowed deeply, her ear-to-ear smile giving away her untamed excitement.

"It has been a while since we've first met in Gyzantia, and I was much less...corporeal back then. Which I am certain you must have many questions about, of course. And while I'll be more than happy to answer any of those questions, let us first get ourselves out of this weather. There is much we must discuss, and I'm sure it'd be better taken care of without the aid of the rain."

by **Sombreland** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 9:14 pm

Galador

The Princess-Regent and her entourage stared in surprise at the fumble and the startled laughter. One of the aides murmured to the photographers present, so that they would make sure that they captured an image showing more dignity. By the time the AI had stepped down towards her, the Princess-Regent was wearing a warm smile.

"Yes, it seems like it was more than just a few months ago," said the Princess-Regent. "I regret that there is not nicer weather for this. I hope that it will not have a bad effect on you. Still you are here though. On behalf of the Kingdom of Sombreland, welcome."

The car was comfortable, warm enough but with a pleasant, dry heat, with comfortable seats and a nice view of the city. The city was well spread out over rolling country, and did not have many tall houses. There were temples, palaces, places of commerce, banks, and other such places, rarely taller than four stories. There was an old world elegance to many of the places, though there were also more humble places such as tenements and small houses.

She led SACHI to the waiting car, and they settled into the seats. The Princess-Regent said, "I have been greatly looking forward to talking to you. Before we get to matters closer to home, I am curious about how you feel the formation of ICON is going? I have received, of course regular reports from my ambassador and the appointed commander of allied forces, but I would enjoy hearing your own perspective."

by **Darlingtown** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 9:50 pm

Galador, Sombreland

- SACHI -

"Oh, I don't particularly mind the rain all that much. If anything it's an refreshing change from the weather of Antarctica. And it would take much, much more water before it started to affect me. Like total submersion, on a count of my inability to swim due to the density of my body as well as my body not being water-proof."

In the car, SACHI struggled to keep her attention from wandering to the passing scenery, completely enamored with the idyllic old world cityscape. But as the Princess-Regent spoke again SACHI gave Alavaine her full and undivided attention.

"Ah yes, ICON. Honestly I am amazed at how quickly the community has come together and bonds have formed between our nations. Even though we have hit some rough patches here and there we've still managed to do what many others seem to fail at. I have high hopes for the alliance, and not merely because I am the President of the Assembly or because Darlingtown is a relatively small city-state that needs allies in this tumultuous world we live in. There is an esprit de corps in the alliance that I think sets it apart from others in a very uniquely positive way.

But I must ask in return: What are your thoughts on ICON? I am certain some of our mutual allies have already offered support in some form or another to you and your nation in these difficult times. But I am extremely curious to know your thoughts on the alliance."

by **Sombreland** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 5:58 am

Borovor, Sombreland

Soldiers posted near Borovor were mostly sleeping in their prefabricated shelters, in their sleeping bags, turned on their sides, on their backs or on their fronts, dozing away. They were used to sleeping in bivouac, and knew each and all of them how to make themselves comfortable. Others were on watch, and were observing the landscape occasionally. While their main duty was to watch the road on the approach to the construction site, others were observing the perimeter area as well.

Suddenly there was a thunderous noise of rotary air units rushing upon the area. Their officer of the watch had been alerted that there might be inbound aircraft, and so he peered around, and saw the blurring of dark shapes, and then the helicopters were inbound on the site. The soldiers could not see what was happening, but soldiers were becoming awake, shocked at the sound, and the officer of the watch immediately sent in a radio report to the unit's air contact. He did not want to take action unless there was an attack on his position, but he knew something very wrong had happened.

As the helicopters were taking off, meanwhile, they were being tracked by the Blackfly UAV that was orbiting the area. The Blackfly's operator and pilot, back at the naval base, sent an advisory report to the base. And so it was that as the helicopters were heading back, radio transmissions were trying to reach them before they headed to the coast.

"Unidentified aircraft, you are under observation by the Royal Sombreland Navy and you are required to land at Pelagus Naval Base." Coordinates were sent, and the instructions were repeated, with this warning, "If you do not head to Pelagus Naval Base, you will be fired upon."

While this was going on, the coastal naval patrol, consisting of the frigate, Gambeson, a corvette, and a diesel electric submarine, were coordinating and attempting to move so that they could triangulate on the unknown naval contact. Moving through the dark waters and the damp night, they were instructed by the frigate captain who was the operational commander to try to move to surround the contact. It would not be easy, for they also had to maneuver carefully. Fortunately, there was little commercial of fishery shipping in the area at that time of night.

by **Kerberos** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 7:17 am

withdrawn

by **Neo-Western East Korea** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 8:27 am

Sombreland wrote:Galador International Airport

The arriving Neo-Korean officers were approached by a pair of senior Sombreland officers, one in a Royal Sombreland Air Force dress uniform, one in a Royal Sombreland Army uniform. These uniforms had high collars rather than ties and double breasted jackets. Instead, they were single breasted, each with two rows of medal ribbons, and with gold braid indicating their staff positions.

Once they had been brought through customs, the officers greeted them with courteous brief bows of the head.

"Gentlemen, we are Generals Corthard and Elvol, of His Majesty's Royal Air Force and Army, respectively. You are welcome to Sombreland." These two men stood very straight, and were strong of jaw and greying of hair. "We have a car waiting, gentlemen, and we are looking forward, on behalf of our governments, towards coordinating this matter. May I say," added General Corthard, "That this is a good start to our mutual involvement in ICON. Solving a problem together. By the way, are any of you in need of refreshment or rest before we start?"

After a moment’s worth of silent communication, one of the men stepped forward and began to respond to the twin generals.

Ya In

While it takes the man a moment to respond, once he does it is in a tone that is surprisingly joyful for the generation situation.

“Greetings, gentlemen!”

“I am CIS-General Ya In, the two men behind me are CIS Internal Director Kazimir Fedoro and my deputy Cai Xiaowen.”

As the group begins moving towards the car, he continues with his…… slightly long-winded speech.

“I must agree with you that this endeavor shall hopefully prove a good first test of the cooperation between our nations and offer some interesting insights into the advantages of our alliance, presuming no other crises overshadow it.”

“On the topic of refreshments, we would enjoy some water, anything more may interfere with business”.

The man seems to change entirely upon finishing his last sentence, his joyous mood absent in exchange for one almost resembling a machine in its lack of passion.

“On the topic of business, once we get in the vehicle I have much to ask about the current situation.”

by **Sombreland** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 4:26 pm

Borovor

"Air contact, that is negative," snapped the ground controller from Peragus. "You have exactly ten seconds to start turning towards our location or we will fire on you."

On the ground, the Medium Air Defense System Type 2006 "Kurotora" Naval Air Defense Regiment had been called to life. The commander felt an acid burn in his guts; this was the first formal test of his unit, though they had been training for two months. He was a dedicated naval artillery commander, and he had always felt secondary to the "true" naval officers who crewed the big ships or flew the planes or helicopters. But now he was being tested. Moreover, he had been promoted as the Navy relocated or dismissed naval officers who did not measure up to the new required training and equipment.

From his Network Control Center, he commanded the batteries under his command. Network Command Center communication through radio or datalinks, featuring highly advanced ECCM such as highly directional antennas, coding or frequency hopping. "SHOGUN" battlefield management system allowed him to link with other units and provided the commander with constant stream of data. Every NC2 featured data processing station that automatically classified, evaluated and prioritized threats detected by radars.

Data was being sent to the NCC, and that, in turn was being transmitted to the batteries. They were spread along a range of 30 km from one another surrounding the hub of the NCC, and this would give them a good range; at least one would be in detection range. The radars were sweeping the skies, and the trucks raised and swiveled their missile boxes to point at the night skies...

Seas off Borovor

Aboard the Gambeson, the radar petty officer report said, "Sir? Report from Pelagus says that the contacts are two helicopters, and they are bearing rapidly towards the coast."

"We are receiving a call from Admiralty, sir," reported a communications petty officer.

The Captain took a deep breath. He had many trying to contact and report to him. He said, "Number Two," referring to his third lieutenant, who had joined him on the bridge, and was sipping hot tea to wake himself up, "You have the con."

He could overhear that Number Two was receiving a report of the nautical contact withdrawing from its position. As per previous instruction, Number Two gave orders for the little patrol squadron to continue to triangulate on the movements of the strange vessel. Already, the men on the bridge were referring to her as "the phantom". The ship was fast, and seemed to be large, but the frigate was a faster, lighter ship. Unfortunately, the submarine and the corvette were falling behind. Number Two did not want to do maximum speed in the dark, but he did request that one of the Blackfly drones move out to try to help the vessel avoid any potential collisions. He and the navigation officer were quickly checking the chart for rocks and shoals.

"This is Commander Pero," said the Captain.

The Operations Officer, speaking on behalf of the coastal Naval Command, wanted an update on the situation. The captain explained, as briefly as he could, that they were pursuing the unknown contact, and were slowly closing with it. The Operations Officer agreed that they should do so, but should also attempt to hail the contact.

So that was what the Captain did. "This is RNS Gambeson. hailing unknown nautical contact. Please respond, over," the communications officer began trying to connect with the Phantom through radio channels.

The Captain made a decision, and ordered, "Chief of the Ship: beat to quarters!"

A recording was immediately played of a drum roll, and the other watches began to climb from their bunks, shrugging into coveralls or uniforms, and moving to their stations as their chiefs and petty officers, somehow magically awake, were already shouting at them to hurry their backsides and get there quickly.

by **Kerberos** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 5:01 pm

withdrawn

by **Sombreland** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 5:07 pm

Galador

As the Princess-Regent and SACHI rode along in the car, they passed by a number of large buildings which were for grain storage, which were guarded by police barricades.

The Princess-Regent, Alavaine replied to her, "ICON, ICON...such a fascinating idea for an organization. It balances the importance of national interest with the importance of international cooperation. It avoids ideology but does focus instead on purpose. I believe, however, that it accomplishes that goal only with great effort. I am a bit concerned about some nations hanging on coattails, and I am concerned about national conflicts drawing in the alliance.

"Another thing that has concerned me is that there some quarrels going on in the backrooms that suggest that some leaders are more concerned with holding titles than with what those titles mean, or what purpose they are dedicated to. For instance: the title associated with command of military forces. What I am hoping is that the excellence of our organization and the threat it represents making other nations and organizations hesitate before acting. I believe strongly in readiness to act, with all that entails, and offering a peaceful, face saving way out for potential opponents and I hope to encourage that in ICON.

"Finally, there is my most pressing concern: the cooperation in use of technology and in improvement of economics and finance, my dear SACHI. Along with a desire to get to know you, that is part of why I invited you here. Your city-state is one of the most advanced of the membership in this regard. There is much my nation has to learn and consider."

by **Sombreland** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 5:13 pm

Galador

The Neo-Koreans were taken not that far away from the airport to an Air Force Base that somewhat overlapped it. They passed through a guarded gate and to what seemed to be a pleasant country house surrounded by a lovely garden of shrubs, flowers, and trees, and were led to a meeting room with a polished table, comfortable chairs, and large glass jugs of iced water, of three varieties. One kind had lemon slices in it, one kind was carbonated, and one kind was plain. There were also nice glass tumblers and saucers for each person to put their tumblers on.

The guests were meeting, in addition to the two officers with them, with Grand Admiral Teroth, who was the Director of Military Affairs, a straight backed, fit, middle aged man with a balding head and a stern but polite manner. He greeted the three Neo-Korean officers with this speech:

"Gentlemen, I am glad to meet with you! I am proud of my service and my honour, but not so proud that I am unwilling to ask allies for help and advice in time of need. This refugee crisis is an unprecedented challenge to us. I am told you will have questions for us, and so I would like to offer you the opportunity to ask any questions you like. And, please, do not hesitate to ask if there is anything you require." With that, he sat down at the head of the table. it was noticed that he was accompanied by three younger officers, two of whom were naval officers, with a third being an Army officer.

by **Neo-Western East Korea** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 5:27 pm

Ya In

Ya takes a sip of water before making any statements, seemingly taking a moment to format his questions, although once this process is done he makes a rather rapid stream of questions.

“Before I get into the questioning Grand Admiral, I would wish to thank you greatly for the refreshments, and for allowing us to assist in your efforts.”

He once more loses the majority of passion in his voice, before stating his first question far more seriously.

“Now, to get into the details, I must ask a few questions to establish a basic amount of information.”

“One;
How many individuals have you managed to contain as of the current moment, and how rebellious would you say they currently are?
Two;
How many individuals outside the government or military know of the existence of the concentration locations, and how many know of their location?
Three;
What efforts have been taken to prevent hostile individuals (such as Thronists or Wenchuanese agitators) from entering or leaving the area.”

He pauses before clarifying

“By that last question, I would be more correct to ask what measures have been taken to defend the locations.”

by **Sombreland** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 5:29 pm

OOC Note: I am presuming this to be a slightly different timeline than the negotiations going on in this thread.
IC:
Borovor

On the bridge of the Gambeson, shock whipped through everyone present. Eyes swung briefly to the captain before staring at their stations.

The Captain shook his head. He forced himself to remain under control, though he was shocked as the lowest ranking petty officer there.

"Send a communication to the Admiralty. Advise the foreign vessel's identity. Request instructions." The communications officer gave his acknowledgement, and the Number Two said, "Captain, Number One is on his way up. And shall we continue pursuit?"

"This is a Royal Sombreland Navy ship, Lieutenant," said the Captain calmly, though he did not feel calm. "Until I receive contrary orders I will pursue."
Which was exactly what he did., as well as sending a message to the Fortune that they had violated Sombreland's territorial integrity and must turn about and make account for their violation.

From Peragus, the following communication was sent, but only following a swiftly moving radar signature that would be picked up by the Lynxes; far faster than they, and clearly a missile contact that would miss them only by a few hundred meters, its visible presence briefly lighting up the sky. "USSK Section: you are in Sombreland airspace. Move to the location now. The first shot was a warning. The second shot will not be."

The Sombreland Death Council, which was on a conference call, encrypted, had Prince Shaladew Kadav, Grand Admiral Teroth, and the Foreign Affairs Director as part of the conference, as well as the senior Military Arms Commands. They were only, at this moment, being told that the Kerebosians had violated their waters and airspace. Most of them were still in nightclothes, bathrobes, with hair mussed from sleep. The Admiral commanding the coastal patrol zone was the most alert, and he was advising that there had mostly definitely been an incursion in violation of Sombreland sovereignty. Reluctantly, Prince Shaladew Kadav, Minister of the Left and Minister of Death, sent word to the Princess-Regent and the Chancellor that a major incident was taking place.

by **Sombreland** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 5:44 pm

Galador Royal Air Base

Ya takes a sip of water before making any statements, seemingly taking a moment to format his questions, although once this process is done he makes a rather rapid stream of questions.

“Before I get into the questioning Grand Admiral, I would wish to thank you greatly for the refreshments, and for allowing us to assist in your efforts.”

The Grand Admiral inclined his head in courtesy with a slight smile on his otherwise stern face.

He once more loses the majority of passion in his voice, before stating his first question far more seriously.

“Now, to get into the details, I must ask a few questions to establish a basic amount of information.”

“One;
How many individuals have you managed to contain as of the current moment, and how rebellious would you say they currently are?

The Grand Admiral glanced at General Elvol, who cleared his throat and read from a list on a tablet. Elvol seemed to be a very practiced staff officer. He had an elegant, efficient and calm manner, and seemed to have the facts at his fingertips.

"Thus far, we have gotten about 100,000 people either moved or on the move from areas in the Five Provinces. About 20,000 roughly are in Camp Five."

Two;
How many individuals outside the government or military know of the existence of the concentration locations, and how many know of their location?

"Generally," said General Elvol, "It is not expected to remain entirely secret. A large number of officers, at the very least, know locations. Although we have avoided using public transport systems for the time being, we did have to commandeer some such as trains and ferries to move some of the population. Therefore, officially none, but unofficially it is difficult to say at this time."

Three;
What efforts have been taken to prevent hostile individuals (such as Thronists or Wenchuanese agitators) from entering or leaving the area.”

"All staging areas are guarded, and specified units are assigned to specified areas. As a result, we are not simply permitting anyone to approach and flash rank. If the 2nd Fusilier Brigade is assigned to transport and staging areas, for example, then only officers and men correctly identified with that unit are supposed to be able to enter."

He pauses before clarifying

“By that last question, I would be more correct to ask what measures have been taken to defend the locations.”

"Yes, of course," said General Elvol. "Each area has a drone flight to patrol in order to interdict anyone trying to move into the area by land or air. In addition to this, roadblocks and sentry positions, and checkpoints for all points of ingress and egress. Soldiers assigned to particular relocation zones are granted authority to prevent entry by threat of arrest leading up to being fired upon if absolutely necessary."

by **Kerberos** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 9:05 am

withdrawn

by **Sombreland** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 11:24 am

Borovor

In the NNC of the 1st Coastal Defense Regiment, the commander was receiving confirmation of targeting by two batteries on the retreating lynxes. He now felt simply alert and eager. The helicopters were trying to hug the land contours and had moved out over the waters of the coast. They had time before they reached the Fortune.

“Sir, may I remind you that these are our allies, violation or not?” offered the commander’s ADC nervously.

“You may, lieutenant, but until I receive contrary orders…”

Out to sea, the Gambeson was plotting its own targeting with Harpoon missiles. Batteries were swinging up on the wave washed decks, and the weapons crews were already plotting courses to the Fortune...

Galador

The Princess-Regent had been having an unsettling dream about being lost at sea in a small rowboat, with dark swells rising and falling like hills around here, and spray flying off the crests of the waves. It was very disturbing, because, of course, to touch an oar was outside of her caste, but there was no one to row for her. She did not want to scream, in the dream, which was also outside of her caste, but it was most disquieting. When she woke up, the sheets and blankets were all bunched up around her as though she was a caterpillar, and Lady-Countess Carnelian was very gently shaking her awake, advising something about a telephone call.

"A telephone call?" said the sleepy Princess-Regent. "But it's still dark!"

"Yes, Majestic Highness, it is sleepy time, but you have a call from the Minister of the Left." said the Lady-Countess Carnelian, offering her a glass of water.

The Princess-Regent sipped and noted, with astonishment, that a maid was holding out a telephone.

"Now?" she exclaimed.

"The Minister said that it was urgent, Majestic Highness. Shall I insist that it wait till morning?" the Lady-Countess asked hopefully.

"Morning...no, Uwanda, I'm simply astonished that the Minister is awake at this hour. Please put him on."

The phone connected, and the Minister of the Left and Minister of Death, Prince Shaladew Kadav, came on the time. "Majestic Highness, the Chancellor is not yet here, a health issue. I must advise that this is a secured conference call. Others present include the Minister of the Right, the Director of Foreign Affairs, the Director of Military Affairs, and the Admiral commanding the Patrol Fleet."

"Oh...hello everyone," said the Princess-Regent, receiving a chorus of "Majestic Highness" in response.

"Your Majestic Highness, let me be brief. Kerberos has violated our airspace and coast." said Prince Shaladew Kadav.

"Why?" the Princess-Regent was confused but not entirely surprised.

"We don't know," said Grand Admiral Teroth. "But Majestic Highness, right now, there is a pursuit of two Kerberosian helicopters bearing an unknown cargo from Borovor. They landed there stealthily, and were only detected by chance by one of our ships…”

“Excuse me, Grand Admiral,” said the Princess-Regent gently, “But was there any communication to you, or to the Foreign Affairs Director, regarding this operation of Kerberos?”

“No, Majestic Highness,” said the Grand Admiral. “There is a recording of some of the communications.”

The Princess-Regent and the Death Council listened carefully.

"RNS Gambeson, this is the KNC Helicopter Carrier Fortune, we are conducting an evacuation operation, do not interfere or we will take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of our citizens."

"We are unable to comply, by order of USSK Security Section 205, you do not have clearance to alter our flight-plan, we are on a civilian aid mission."

The Princess-Regent was still not altogether surprised. She said to the Death Council, “It seems clear to me that the government of Kerberos thinks that they can do as they like in our country. Do any of you disagree with this?”

“I do not disagree…” said Prince Shaladew Kadav, “But I think that they might be looking for an excuse to invade us.”

The Princess-Regent almost burst into tears, but she controlled herself. The cruelty of the world was, at times, overwhelming. She took a few deep breaths and gently pushed Lady-Countess Carnelian away when she tried to comfort her, but gave her a gentle expression of tenderness to not hurt her feelings. “I do not understand why they would do that.”

“Well, we may have an answer,’ said the Grand Admiral. “We are receiving a communication from the Chairman of Kerberos.”

The Princess-Regent took a deep breath. “Put her “Well, we may have an answer,’ said the Grand Admiral. “We are receiving a communication from the Chairman of Kerberos.”

The Princess-Regent took a deep breath. “Put her through.”

Maria Smith’s voice was clear, in the background voices could be heard, it sounded as though she was in the middle of a military operation. “Good morning your Majesty, it seems we have an ongoing misunderstanding.”

“It does seem so, Madam Chairman,” said the Princess-Regent Alavaine. “Perhaps you might be kind enough to explain the actions of some of your military personnel?”

“Its very simple, our intelligence service has observed the recent acts of ethnic violence in the Borovor area, and has come to the conclusion that it is unsafe for our civilian citizens. Since your police and military forces have been actively participating in the violence we felt an overt evacuation would be unwise.”

“Madam Chairman, words cannot express my outrage at this. You could easily have, at the very least, picked up the telephone, and asked to have your citizens withdrawn. Furthermore, you could have asked my government or myself what was going on in my country that concerned you. Instead, you have violated Sombreland’s waters and airspace, as though we were enemies.” said the Princess-Regent.

“I believe that you are not my enemy, however it is clear many of your citizens have a certain dislike of foreigners, and after the police participation in the Falifey riots, it is my government’s opinion that the risk was unacceptably high.”

“You do not seem to hold me, or my government, in the slightest degree of respect, Madam Chairman,” said the Princess-Regent. “Are you not aware of the massive refugee crisis going on? Has your intelligence service failed to observe that the people being targeted are Wenchuanese, and not your own people? We had even placed a guard over the construction site. This is causing me to reconsider all of our agreements, Madam Chairman.”

“With all due respect, today it is the Wenchuanese, a people far more established that my own, these things have a tendency to escalate, and I have seen satellite images of the camps.” The Chairman’s voice was cold with a tone of disgust. “What is next, will you sell them to your neighbors like cattle, or maybe execute them to save time, or just let them starve?”

“The plan is to first relocate them, and then have them transported to other countries, since they won’t go home, and probably can’t.” drawled Prince Shaldew Kadav, who was on the call. “Destinations include Palmyrion, Neo-Korea, possibly The Imperium, and others can be applied for. But I should point out, Madam Chairman, that you didn’t ask.”

“That is all beside the point,” said the Princess-Regent. “Since you have made it clear that you have no respect for this government, I think that we should end this alliance, and our agreements. I think we should let your people leave peacefully. And if your people enter our country again without agreements to do so, I think we would see that as an act of war.”

“I suggest a compromise, your people are relying on our food deliveries, I can’t in good conscience let them pay for our indiscretions, and the cost of transporting and providing for the Wenchuanese is an expense Sombreland can ill afford. Suppose I was to grant them Kerbosian citizenship, making them my responsibility, our supply ships are already returning home empty and with Delta Port finally radiation free, there is an entire empty city in Kerberos to settle them in.

“That’s not the present concern. You violated our national borders. You do not respect us. Our people can find friendly nations to help with our food crisis that won’t do that.” The Princess-Regent replied. “Your remaining citizens in our country must leave.”

“Call it an excess of caution, and frankly if I didn’t respect you we wouldn’t be speaking and I wouldn’t send a small team with orders to operate covertly.” Maria’s voice was icy and uncompromising. “The Senate wanted a full scale military intervention, I decided our friendship was worth defying the will of my people.”

“So your people want war with us,” said the Princess-Regent sadly, “Who have never done anything to them. And you do not even apologize for not talking to us. So you thought the worst of me and my government, and maintain that that was justified. Madam Chairman: my words stand. Your people must go. I will make sure that this is worked out in the most orderly manner. All your equipment and goods will be shipped out. Please have your military commanders and foreign affairs people work out the details with mine. I regret this. I think you are a very well meaning person, and even if you did not know how to respect me, and perhaps, I you, I wish you the best, Madam Chairman.” And, with that, the Princess-Regent Alavaine hung up the phone, leaving the Chairman, or her officials, to deal with the matter of arranging the departure of her people from Sombreland.

by **Neo-Western East Korea** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 9:55 pm

Ya In

Ya takes quite a few moments to respond to the information granted to him by the Grand Admiral and his subordinates, seemingly attempting to finalize a response before finally speaking after a small period of time.

“While the effects of two were…… to some extent inevitable in this sort of operation, I shall-“

He pauses, having been tapped upon the shoulder by Kazmir, and after a short discussion Ya returns to speaking.

“Ahem, I shall be having my subordinate speaking of some of the concerns of the response to 1 and 3.”

Kazmir Fedoro

The (rather unimpressive looking) man steps into the forefront, and without a moment of hesitation launches into a string of questioning.

“In regards to the first issue we brought up I feel the need to ask another question before making any suggestions in that front:
How many individuals are required to fit in the location(s) by the end of this process?”

Pausing to take a small sip of water, he continues.

“In regards to the third issue, we can finally offer some advice.

While in regards to physical security (the prevention of entrance and exiting) you have done a perfect job in all regards, (and while I wish to congratulate the brave men under your command further there is simply no time), we have noticed a slight lack of specific policy direction in regards to preventing internal or foreign agitators from utilizing the concentrated groups as an improvised force to strike against Sombreland.”

He pauses briefly, perhaps to let what he has said sink in, perhaps to take another sip of water, although either way he swiftly continues.

“Here, we are able to apply past experience, and thus we suggest the opening of negotiations with specific elements inside the camps (criminals, known Wenchuanese opportunists) who may be willing to accept payment in exchange for information on individuals who are agitating in any shape or form, so those individuals may be taken to areas where they are unable to harm the morale of the group as a whole or rouse them into violence.”

“We also suggest the creation of internal areas within the locations where these people can be held”.

by **Kerberos** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 10:09 pm

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The Wenchuanese Problem (Archived Thread)

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