Islam Or Freedom: Fall of An Era [IC, MT, CLOSED/FINISHED]

[Qaidi]

OOC NOTE: This RP is now finished.

ISLAM OR FREEDOM

الإسلام أو الحرية
FALL OF AN ERA

OOC Thread

Al-Hanabah, Qaidi
5/26/2017, 00:00

---

As the streets of Al-Habanah were packed to celebrate the beginning of Ramadan, a small Christian family gathered in their home. They were there to get away from the celebrations. A normal day. Suddenly, there was a large knock on the door. The father went to the door and opened it. As he opened the door. A hail of bullets peppered him and soldiers in black uniforms burst into the room. The rest of the family were captured and brought to the bedroom to be executed. Rafeeq al-Saleem, the leader of the Moral Police, ordered the men to fire on the mother and uncle. Killing both of them. Then, he gave the task of killing the children to a newcomer. Ilyaas el-Reza. Ilyaas was scared. He did not want to kill children.

"Shoot them. There'ye infidels. Unless you have no faith in Allah." Rafeeq said.

Ilyaas took aim. He closed his eyes as the children's cries grew louder. Bang! He opened his eyes... to terror. Ilyaas was terrified as the children's bodies fell to the ground. "Shit," one of the soldiers said as still one of the children had survived and was screaming in pain. Another soldier took a knife and went over to kill the kid. "No! Let Ilyass do it." Rafeeq said as he took the knife and gave it to Ilyaas. Ilyaas then slowly walked over to the screaming child. He put the knife over the child's throat. And then... slit. "Good," Rafeeq said as he took the knife from Ilyaas now, terrified face. The team walked out. Ilyaas had come in confident and left terrified.

Meanwhile, on the streets, Muthanna al-Mohamad walked through the crowded streets with his friend, Nassaar al-Haj. The streets were peppered with signs like 'الثقة في الإسلام وقتل الكفار (Trust in Islam and Kill the Infidels)'. "So, what now?" Nassaar said as Muthanna looked at him. "Let's walk to a restaurant. I know this one place which is always open." Muthanna responded. They walked down the street to a night cafe. الرمح (The Spear). The Spear was a popular place for people to go to. Great as always. Muthanna and Nassaar walked in to get a table. They ordered orange juice. A splendid drink

[Allanea]

Her Imperial Majesty’s Office, Liberty-City

”Fucking shits.” – Cassiopeia Blaken-Kazansky said, as she looked at the newscast from Al-Habanah. “That they have to be evil fucktards, I accept and understand. But why do they have to be so fucking stupid?”

“It’s because they’re religious moral police for an awful interpretation of an Abrahamic religion.” - her husband said, eyeing the screen boredly. “I’ve not yet heard the words ‘moral police’ without them standing for awful asshattery. Now of course sniping small children in the streets is a bit unusual even for these shits. But that’s not in any way new.”

Maverick Monningham, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, intervened: “I for one object to lumping Jews in with this nonsense. We’ve never-“

“Never, Maverick?” – Alexander replied. “I’ll give you one word: Ralkovia.”

“Objection withdrawn.”

“Thought so. Now, the question is how we help the people there,” – Alexander said. “It’s going to be another one of these international shit-shows I can tell. We get in that shit, it’ll generate so much of a headache for us, we’re going to be ordering painkillers by the truck.”

For a moment, the Minister for Foreign Affairs pondered his response. “We need to speak to OAS, of course. Colonel Morrison will have some tricks in his sleeve. And my people need to prepare to handle the migrants.”

“Migrants?” – Cassopeia asked, and both men shot her a glance.

“It’s a civil war brewing in a third-world country with a terrible religion, Cassiopeia.” – Alexander replied, patiently. “I guarantee you that in two weeks it’ll be like a fire in a brothel, during a flood.”

“If we want to get as many refugees as we can, we should be prepared.” – Maverick said.

“Well,” Alexander replied. “You’re the person who does the preparing.”

*

We at the Free Kingdom are really tired of typing these messages out for the fifteen thousandth time. In case it is not bloody obvious to anyone who has ever seen Allaneans on television, we condemn the murder of political and religious opponents, and the use of sniper teams to suppress political protests by shooting children in their mothers’ hands. Not only is this morally wrong – a notion that we fully aware a ‘moral policeman’ is almost by definition unable to comprehend – it is also entirely fucking stupid. Nobody has ever managed to explain what possible law enforcement goal is served by murdering innocent people at random like a serial killer who failed out of high school.

Just in case the above wasn’t clear: Yes, Rafeeq al-Saleem, you are the serial killer.

For this reason, we are deploying two Sukhoi Superjet 100 planes we have chartered for this purpose, to go to Al-Habanah, to be delivering a cargo of bandages, emergency aid equipment, and a team of medics to deliver emergency first aid. We hotly recommend that the government of Qaidi not attempt to block the planes, not only because we are not to be fucked with, but because you will reinforce the stereotype of your government as a moral imbeciles.

That’s all.

May the Gods continue to Bless Allanea.

*

Naturally, there were things the Ministry did not see fit to mention. They did not mention, for instance, that a single submarine had left its pen in Allanean Mogadishu during the night, and headed towards Qaidi. They did not mention the Emergency Relief Department preparing for the worst already, phonecalls being made, warehouses of relief gear being cracked open, forklift engines humming ominously in the night. There was no need to generate fear and panic. If the preparations were needful, the Allaneans would be proven wise. If they were not, the warehouses would shut again.

[Wachterland]

Foreign Office Building; 119 Kaiser Wilhelm I Avenue, Traustadt
13:09 [GMT -4; Wachterland Standard Time]

---

The Auswärtiges Amt, the Foreign Office, is always a busy place. The building's mere 300 employees constantly scramble over international calls, paperwork, and the like. Today was no different.

Foreign Minister Henrietta Waldstein was in her office, filing the accounting papers from the Wachterlander Embassy in Moscow. The TV was on, currently displaying the afternoon news programme. One of the headlines was regarding the killings in Qaidi, and this caught the minister's attention.

"Yesterday, terrorists. Now, this. Why is it always with this... damned religion." She said to herself.

The telephone on her desk rings.

"Minister Waldstein of the Foreign Office speaking."

"PM's office here. I believe you've seen the news, particularly on Qaidi?"

"Yes."

"And you know our policy on human rights?"

"You aren't saying..."

"The US State Department rang about an hour ago. They asked us to send a diplomatic mission to the country, for the sake of human life or something of the likes. They claim to have their hands full with the Chinese Civil War at the moment, though personally, I think American public opinion isn't that much in favour of another intervention in the Middle-East. Right now, I'm convening the Herrenhaus for a vote, and things are looking in favour of an aid and peacekeeping mission, at least. You're a Member of Parliament, right? You should come."

"Yeah, I got the e-mail. I already called my driver. But... if things turn grim..."

"About that, the Yanks formed a NATO joint task force, in case this will all escalate into a bloody war, though I hope it wouldn't. Nothing big... barely a thousand men, actually. Anyways, as per our request, they put one of our generals in charge, and half of the manpower would come from us. The rest would be from various contributions from NATO, special mentions to the United States and the British Empire. The Kriegsmarine will provide all naval support for any future operation. All of that is bound to change, however, depending on the circumstances."

"Alright then. Auf wiedersehen."

---

To: Government of Qaidi
From: Government of Wachterland
Re: Diplomatic and humanitarian mission

---

To whom it may concern:

We have received word that your government has instigated numerous atrocities against your population. Killing innocents based on religious discrimination goes against international law on Human Rights. Due to this, the Herrenhaus has decided to intervene after a majority vote.

Humanitarian workers, escorted by military forces, will arrive, along with relief supplies, to help any people needlessly suffering under your regime. Any act of violence against them, and the people under their protection, will be considered an act of war, and will have major consequences.

Also, we have decided to send a diplomatic mission to convince you to end your archaic ways. We would like to solve all of this without any bloodshed.

SIGNED,

Henrietta Waldstein
Foreign Minister of Wachterland

AUTHORISED BY,

Emilia Schultze
Prime Minister of Wachterland

[1st Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]

Moscow, The Kremlin, Russian SFSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ‎(UTC+3) 5:21PM

Marshal Latrova sighed turning off the television in her office she was all too familiar with the rituals of Islam including it's killing of what they called "infidels", she had served for a short time in Afghanistan in between her time in East Germany and the coup that brought her into power. Her mind hadn't changed from then, Islam to her like all religions was hated, more so for it's treatment of people, the workers and peasants of the world in her mind should be free from such things, religion as it was written in the Communist manifesto, something Latrova had read multiple times over her life was but an opiate of the masses, utilized to hold power with fictional characters, Islam was the worst in this case, she had studied islam herself while in Afghanistan, it was but as she learned a religion in which blood was spilled to appease a god with less "morals" than an American capitalist on wall street. Latrova would pick up her phone and dial in a number calling the Foreign minister of the USSR, Vyacheslav Pankin. "Pankin, this is Latrova.... Yes, yes long life to me and all that.... Listen, come to the meeting room with Alexi, we are going to have a meeting about this... Recent event of religious fundamentalism." Latrova hung up the phone afterwards getting up from her desk she'd walk out of her office and take her place at the head of the table, this was to be an "off the books" meeting for now, of course..

Not ten minutes later, Pankin a small weak looking man in his 20s in a double buttoned grey suit came in with Director of the NKVD, Alexi Chernov in contrast to Pankin Alexi was a somewhat just slightly overweight, balding older man with glasses that wore a black three piece suit both walked in to their places at the table while two NKVD guards at the doors on the other side of the room shut said doors, upon sitting down Alexi was the first to speak. "Comrade Marshal, I suppose this is to do with the event in Qaidi?" Alexi spoke clasping his hands together on the table. "Yes, it is. In Afghanistan we allowed such men to take power because they were simply goat herders in caves armed with our own weapons of which the Americans had gotten ahold of. We cannot allow such a thing come to pass where a country that could be a great place for all proletarians to live to continue on such a path of pointless killings to appease a fictional character in the sky. ....Alexi, you are to get in touch with our agents in the country, get details on infrastructure, military capability. ...Pankin, you are to play a larger role, either this settles peacefully or we shall intervene, killings in the name of a fictional being are something only savages will do and consider to be acceptable.... Meanwhile on my end I shall condemn this act of religious fundamentalism openly... That is all, you are to start on your tasks immediately."

Pankin and Chernov would only look at each other before Alexi shrugged his shoulders and stood up. "Then I shall get started immediately comrade Marshal." Alexi then started to leave with Pankin following suit. "Yes comrade marshal, I shall start as well!" Both left the room in record time, this was essentially a sort of "norm" for most to do, Latrova was seen mostly throughout the world as a second Josef Stalin, and she was, the USSR had returned to what it once was in the 30s and 40s, but this time people weren't starving but the gulags always had a minimum of 1,000,000 people collectively. Latrova rose from her chair at the head of the meeting table and returned to her office beginning preparations to give the government's official stance on the events in Qaidi, arranging a meeting with a press member of the Pravda, the official government media agency.... Which despite it's name didn't always give the truth.

An hour later the press member chosen for the meeting, Dmitri Kozin had come in to the Marshal's office after being escorted by two NKVD agents inside. "Where would you wish to give your statement Comrade Latrova?" Dmitri asked while the two guards that escorted him left and shut the double doors to the Marshal's office. "Just sit down anywhere boy, I don't have time for the specifics." Latrova said plainly while she sat in her chair writing orders for the Red Army, though she was also General Secretary of the Communist Party she was also still Marshal of the USSR and Supreme Commander of the USSR's armed forces. "Right, I apologize comrade..." Dmitri sat down at a chair infront of Latrova's desk taking out his pen and note pad. "I'm ready when you are Comrade General Secretary." Dmitri said ready to write down anything Latrova would wish.

"Good." Latrova put her pen down and stood up walking around her desk to wall that had hung on it two portraits, one of Lenin, and the other of Stalin. Looking up to the one of Stalin, Latrova thought for a moment on what she'd say before turning back to Dmitri. "Comrades, brothers and sisters.... Soldiers, Sailors, Sergeants, Officers, Workers and Farmers of the USSR... Today, we have seen another bloody act in the name of religion, today lives were taken in the name of a religion that many such as I, veterans of the Afghanistan war in the 80s... Had fought to save the peoples of Afghanistan from, only to have tried in vain.... Today we stand with one question on our minds. Will we allow more lives to be taken in the name of religious fundamentalism? Will we stand idly by those that committed this crime against an unarmed family be allowed to walk free? I say no. We shall never stand by while such crimes are committed the ideals of which the religion this murder was committed have no place in any modern society, whether it be a communist society or as I must regretfully say... A capitalist one. Therefore I openly declare this. The killings must stop, the men responsible for these killings must be tried and imprisoned... Or the government of Qaidi shall face an intervention in this matter in the form of Soldiers of our glorious worker's and farmer's red army." Latrova then walked back to Dmitri of whom was just finishing up writing Latrova's words down on his note pad. Looking over it she nodded her head. "Good. ..That is all I have to say, print it, show it on the news, radio, whatever, just get it out there.... You are dismissed."

Dmitri then stood up and closed his notepad smiling. "Thank you comrade Latrova, it is an honour to have written that down. I will insure this gets to spread around as is." Dmitri then turned around and left, the doors being opened by the two NKVD guards of whom would then escort Dmitri out of the Kremlin.

Meanwhile in Pankin's office he was just finishing up on his communique to the government of Quaidi exactly to Marshal Latrova's specifications.

Министерство иностранных дел Союза Советских Социалистических Республик; Отдел специальных дел
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; Special Affairs Division

From: The Kremlin, Moscow, Central Civil District of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
To: The Foreign Ministry of Quaidi

---

From: Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
To: The Heads of Government of Quaidi

Comrade Marshal of the USSR, FIkatsia Latrova wishes for me to relay to you directly, should the murderers Rafeeq al-Saleem and Ilyaas el-Reza go unpunished in their crimes of committing murder against an unarmed family in the name of religious fundamentalism, the Soviet Union as well as it's client states of Mongolia, The Polish People's Republic, The Hungarian People's Republic, The Socialist Republic of Romania, the Socialist Republic of Bulgaria, the Czechoslovakian Socialist Republic, and the German Democratic Republic shall no longer provide any goods of any kind to Quaidi or it's people... Failing to comply with this may also result in Soviet intervention in the form of troops and seizure of the criminals responsible for the crime.

Signed. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Vyacheslav Pankin.

[Shackley]

"The Spear", Al-Hanabah, Qaidi
00:03 Local Time

Professionally speaking, it had been a quiet day. Despite the growing festivities in the streets, Chris had managed to keep calm and focused, sheltered from the sprawling mass by the cafe's somewhat dilapidated walls.
He was thankful for his assignment; More friends and colleagues than he dared think about had gone MIA in places not unlike this one. The heat, sand and sun that could blast paint off car doors had given way to a cool evening breeze, allowing such a procession as that outside to continue in relative comfort.
Well, as comfortable as you could get around here, anyway.

He took another sip. Iced water served its purpose, but why couldn't these fucking savages come up with a proper drink?

Christopher Hamish Amir was still getting used to the weather. He'd been on-point in Qaidi for just over two weeks to keep an eye on the coming Ramadan celebrations.
Originally hailing from one of the Commonwealth's more southern island territories, he had the look of a local, but his time spent on the Shackley mainland had him accustomed to the cold. And his accent was off.

For the most part, he kept his head down, cautiously glancing about every minute or so underneath his tattered baseball cap. A scraggly beard, grown hastily for his trip to Qaidi, covered the rest of his face.

Another minute went by, a regular occurrence that Chris was used to by now, but this time something actually happened to break the monotony of his day. He almost missed it.
For once he was grateful for the lack of alcohol. His keen ears, no longer throbbing since he made it through the raving crowd an hour earlier, managed to pick out something a few streets over.

Initially he thought they were just fireworks, but he'd never known fireworks to rattle before. It had to be gunfire, and it had to be automatic. Just a short burst, maybe not even that, but the sound was unmistakable to the young intelligence officer. He reached for his phone and hit Record, taking in his surroundings and watching closely the two men who had just strolled through the door.



Headquarters of Military Intelligence (HQMI), Upper Dalton, Shackley, The Commonwealth of Shackley
01:46 GMT (Shackley Local Time)

"This had better be damned well worth my time, Basil"
"Sir, we've had reports of violence in Qaidi-" The Ambassador cut him off
"I'm not fucking surprised, you nonce! They can't go to their sodding greengrocers' without causing some sort of incident! Do you have any idea how tedious it is to talk to their "diplomats"? I'm going grey- Well, greyer!"
"Yes, very good sir, but this is different; We've lost some key informants in Al-Habanah." Basil smiled uncomfortably.
"What, MOUSEHOLE? Fucking hell. The fucking "Moral Police" blew their cover? If we're compromised we're going to have to scrap the whole bleeding network... Christ"
"No, nothing's been blown sir. Well, not the cover anyway. They didn't know about MOUSEHOLE's activities, it's all a horrible coincidence. They couldn't care less about rooting out our assets, but they're spending an inordinate amount of time and ammunition in blasting Qaidian Christians out of the water. We still have the data, everything's secure, but we're no longer getting anything from that side of the operation. We have one other agent in Al-Habanah, Lieutenant Amir, flew in last week for Ramadan. We've reassigned him for damage-control, ensuring we don't give anything away to the fucking ideologues."
"Right. Make sure he knows what he's doing. Keep me posted, we're going to have to make some public statement one way or another, and I want to know everything."


Global statement issued 06:00 GMT (Shackley Local Time)



Friends, allies, and associates. The tea brewed in Qaidi does not suit the Shackleyan palate, and it is time to take action before the kettle boils over.
We have received news that earlier tonight a mass execution was committed in their capital city, persecuting their Christian inhabitants. This is unacceptable, and will be treated as nothing less than the detestable crime it is.
We in Shackley are a proud folk, and for good reason; Our society revolves around the Shackleyan tradition of respect and sportsmanship, and this obscene violence is simply not cricket.
The "Moral Police" of Qaidi are a threat to the cultural values we hold dear. No democracy is safe if we allow such acts to sprout and grow, and grow they undoubtedly will.
It is for this reason that the Ministry of Defence has authorised a sizeable naval presence near the Sultanate of Qaidi, to protect Shackleyan sovereignty overseas. As we speak, three Type 45 Destroyers are en route to the Mediterranean where they will conduct live-fire exercises. Let us pray they remain nothing more than exercises.

[Jackania yugo]

Jackanian base cancer 6, 01:05 local time, Qaidi

It was hot, really hot, really really hot. If someone didn't know better, they would say the earth had been teleported into geostationary around the sun. But that would be stupid, because if that happened then the world would burn and we would all die with it. But that answer didn't solve the problem of the heat, what did solve the problem was the internal cooling system of the lower levels of the base.

Frank Redstone wasn't in the lower levels.

He was in his office, pacing back and forth, sweat pouring down his face. He was waiting to contacted by the leader of Jackania, Jack smith.

When is he going to contact me?

Suddenly, the hologram display flashed a bright blue. Jack now stood firmly in the middle of the room, in front of Frank's desk.

Greetings Frank, how are you doing?

Not very well.

Why not?

For starters, it's boiling and two, THE WHOLE COUNTRY'S IS STARTING TO GO TO SHIT!

Calm down.

Calm down? Calm down?! HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSE TO CALM DOWN WHEN I COULD HAVE THOSE FUCKING ISIS WANNABES BAGGING ON MY DOOR SAYING THEY WANT TO CHOP MY HEAD OFF BECAUSE I'M BLOODY GAY!

SHUT THE FUCK UP OR ELSE YOUR EMPEACHED!

Frank sat down.

Now listen to me, your overexerting. They can't hurt you here.

Are you sure?

Yes. I'm very sure.

Are you "sure"?

Yes, I'm sure. We have one of the most advanced military's in the world. I doubt an army of a million or so troops from a third world country will hurt you.

Ok, sorry.

Good.

Jack inhales deeply.

Now, do you know why I called you.

No.

Do you want me to tell you?

Yes.

Ok then, your here to maintain the guise that Jackania has set up bases here for "peaceful" reason.

Why are doing that?

You just said your a homosexual, right?

Yes.

Well, do you want Muslims to chop your head off?

Of course not.

Then we need to eradicate the problem, that being those rancid followers of the Karan.

How is that achieved?

By replacing the government.

With what?

Not Islam.

Ok.

So you know your job now.

Yes.

Help us kick their arses so we can save yours.

Understood.

Good.

We shall wipe that cancer off the face of this country, then the same shall go for the rest of the world!

Very good, I admire you.

I admire you too...

Jack glares at him strangely.

...but not in that way.

Good, you know your job, now carry it out!

Sir yes sir!

The hologram switch's off.

*phew* This isn't going to be hard at all...
...
...
All right, I'd better get to work. Now how should I get to work?

[Palmyrion]

Al-Hanabah, Qaidi

On one of the town's buildings was a man. He looked like pretty much any other man out there, this time clad in more clothes than any other, but it didn't interfere with his mobility at all. He looked on the city as the soft glow of the sunset kissed the rooftops of the town, with eyes that gleamed of a thousand-meter stare at objects just at most a few hundreds meters below him.

Benyamin al-Asad was his name, a descendant of a clan of Palmyrian refugees that fled a crumbling, rotting Palmyrion during the worst days of the Dark Era. One can only wonder how his family were granted asylum in this country despite being Kogyokist Christians - perhaps they knew how to disguise themselves as being Muslim? If anything, being born and raised in this land he called God Allah, instead of using Ama Ototosama (as the Kogyokist Christians called God in the Nifonese tongue) or simply God. A recent graduate of BS Chemical Engineering in a nearby university, al-Asad regularly fiddled with anything that involved chemicals in his job as a chemical engineer in a local chemical plant - and that would involve the making of bombs.

With cellphone in hand and revenge in heart, Benyamin al-Asad settled his resolve to avenge his Christian brothers and sisters in Qaidi; this was the final part of his initiation rites in a secret military order of Kogyokist Christians: kill any military or police personnel - a radical addition for recent entries into the military order. While this obscure military order wasn't quite active in the past months (some are even active duty members of the Qaidian military), the recent persecution of fellow Christians in Qaidi was the last straw for them. The Qaidians have obliviously turned an ally into a menacing enemy: the Order of Akamura, like a dragon rudely awakened from its slumber, would soon start striking at its former master.

With eyes shouting of fire and a hand full of death, he dialed a number through the cellphone, a cellphone whose tracking system was removed to prevent being tracked by the government. Moreover, the SIM cards were not registered in the Qaidian government's SIM number database. The bomb was a pressure cooker filled with ball bearings and nails alongside, of course, fuel for the bomb, the latter courtesy of Benyamin. To enhance the blast, the explosive mechanism was gas-enhanced using butane. Wirings were courtesy of a friend of Benyamin who was an Electronics Engineering graduate from the same university as him.

He watched with steeled callousness and cold heartedness as the bomb unleashed death near a Moral Police station. The attack was meant to render the station unable to operate; the shrapnel would severely damage the Moral Police cars, especially the tires and the radio. It would also kill some Moral Police unlucky to be outside and within the blast radius, and to Benyamin's slight dismay it would also kill some civilians. For him the fireball was like a campfire in the night in the middle of the desert: a radiance speaking of comfort from the searing cold of the night, a fire that lessened the searing cold of his revenge-obsessed heart.

[United Tecdo Peandland]

Al-Hanabah, Qaidi

Ambassador Amadei Gorski sipped his coffee from his mug slowly, one finger scrolling down an article about Qaidi on his laptop. He was in his "V.I.P" hotel room currently, having just arrived in Qaidi a day earlier. He was getting used to the different languages in the city and the very run down feel of the city itself in this state. His hotel was no exception, with blown out rusted cars sitting in the parking lot, shattered glass patio doors and entire caved in sections.

He read the article title. "Qaidi Religious 'Police' Kills Christan Families" His eyes didn't widen, after all, he was sent to the nation to discuss with the Qaidi government about their religious attacks.

Outside he heard the loud thumping of footsteps and then several loud bangs on a door only a few rooms down from his own. A mere few seconds later and he heard in English the word "Infidel", followed by the loud bangs of several rifle shots. He spun in his chair and stood up slowly, trying to be quiet, moving over to his door and checking the lock. As he made sure it was locked he peered through the eye hole and saw several Militaristic looking men in black clothing walking down the hall with rifles slung over their shoulders.

Then and there he knew that the media around the world hadn't blown the killings out of proportion and that the nation was about to explode in a fireball of a Civil war. A destructive one at that. He'd been to other countries like this, during civil wars and had nearly been killed in one, years ago. He sat back down and began typing an email to King Alexander back in Peandland to schedule the talk with the Qadi government sooner.

[Qaidi]

Al-Habanah, Qaidi
5/26/2017 09:12

---

القصر الملكي The Royal Palace, His Sultan's Throne

His Sultan Muhammad Ismail Hamood al-Qadir of Qaidi (سلطانه محمد اسماعيل حمود القادر من قايدي) or simply Ismail sat down as a man ran into the room. "My Sultan, we have just received reports that other countries have condemned us for our moral police!" He shouted. "Allahu Akbar! They've done what now? Get the Royal Qaidi Foreign Office to write something down," he said as the man rushed to tell the Foreign Office. The Foreign Office quickly lashed out responses to all the condemnations Qaidi had received. However, the Foreign Office could not respond to all the condemnations. So, it made a statement on the condemnation.

مكتب القايدي الخارجية
The Royal Qaidi Foreign Office

الإصدار؛ الإنجليزية
Version; English
--
دت:٩/٢٦/٢٠١٧
Date:9/26/2017

---

صباح الخير الموالين للمواطنين من قايدي. هذا هو بيان من وزارة الخارجية القايدي الملكية على الادانات الأخيرة لإيمان قايدي في الله، محمد (السلام أبونه) والإسلام. هذه هي الترجمة الإنجليزية للبيان. صلى الله عليه وسلم قاضي ورحمه.

إن تنصروا الله ينصرکم

Good morning loyal citizens of Qaidi. This is a statement from the Royal Qaidi Foreign Office on the recent condemnations of Qaidi's faith in Allah, Muhammad (Peace Be Apon Him) and Islam. This is the English translation of the statement. May Allah bless Qaidi and have mercy on it.

إن تَنصُروا اللهَ ينصُرُکُم

Recently, many countries have condemned us for our Moral Police. This is simply against Qaidi's and Islam's values. We give rights. The very same rights Allah and his messenger Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Apon Him) delivered in the Quran and the Hadiths. We will not tolerate this anti-Islamic hysteria that our enemies give. Why don't you leave us to our own peace? May Allah have mercy on these non-believers.

Hopefully, Islam will rise. Now is the start of the fall of Western Civilization. Leave our land. Death to America, Death to Israel, Death to the West. God is great. Allahu Akbar.

~ Royal Qaidi Foreign Office (English)

The statement was quickly put out in Arabic and English versions. The Sultan hoped this would make the western nations like Allanea slow down. Sultan Ismail read the statement and loved it. "Good, I hope the infidels get the message," He said. The 'president' of Qaidi, Umar al-Murad sent out a response to the messages from the U.S.S.R. and Wachterland. However, when the U.S.S.R. message miss-spelt Qaidi. They refused to answer the U.S.S.R. message. Umar decided to just give a response to Wachterland. Great, now I have to answer only to one message. he thought. Soon, the message was made and sent out

السلطنة الكبرى في قاضي
THE SULTANATE OF QAIDI

---

To: Government of Wachterland
From: Government of Qaidi
Re: Diplomatic and Humanitarian Mission

---

Your allegations are false. There are only Moral Police enforcing the law Allah handed down to us. Praise to Allah and Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Apon Him). Your Human Workers will be arrested if they step on Qaidi soil. This is our land. Your diplomatic negotiators will be sent back (without refuelling) immediately. There is no use. We will never stop the ways of Allah.

SIGNED

Ali el-Asmar; Foreign Minister of the Sultanate of Qaidi

AUTHORISED BY

Umar al-Murad; President of the Sultanate of Qaidi

---

Al-Habanah, Qaidi
5/26/2017 00:12

---

الرمح The Spear

As Muthanna and Naasar drank the orange juice, they began to talk about personal things. "Naasar, I heard your son has turned 7," Muthanna said as Naasar looked at the spilt orange on Muthanna's long, thick beard. "Yes, he has," Naasar responded. "So, it's time for his... snip-snip". Nassar immediately knew what he meant. "Actually, I thought I'd let him choose," Nassar said. "What! Bruv, it's in the Hadiths. Unless you're a Quranist," Muthanna said. "Actually, I am," Nassar said. "Well, you betta' not tell the police. They would kill you. Only Sunnis are considered Muslims," Muthanna said. Suddenly, two Moral Police officers came in. They noticed a strange man sitting at the corner. They walked up to him. "Excuse me, we would like to sit here," one of the Moral Police or MP said (in Arabic). Suddenly, they heard a bomb explode as an MP ran in. "One of the Stations has been bombed!" He shouted as the other MPs ran out with him.

[Mediama]

Queen Williams, dressed in a simple, but formal red long-sleeved dress, black stockings, and black heels, walked into another session in Parliament. From there, she took a seat from her own spot next to her husband. Once everyone was seated, the Speaker of the House, clad in his elaborate robes and wig, banged his gavel to signify parliament in session. "Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please, we have the utmost of issues to deal with, may Amara Yousafzai please take a stand. Intrigued by the deviation from the agenda of issues, the queen paid close attention as the speaker came to the podium, surrounded by Parliament, to make her case.

"Thank you, Mister Speaker. Members of Parliament, I come here to speak in representation not as a Mediaman, but as a Qaidian immigrant. My family had risked their lives to immigrate to Europe in hopes of finding a new, bright future. Because of his gamble, we now live in a land where we are free to speak our minds, where we can wear what we like, and where there's plenty of resources to share, even in light of our struggling economy." Yousafzai paused looking around at the house representatives observing her, she then continued. "Day by day, news comes from our homeland of the atrocities being committed perversely in the name of Islam. The theocratic system of prejudice, torture, and execution of those who dare to dissent against the holy Qur'an. Nights are not easy for my family, or for anyone who immigrated from Qaidia. Every night, we hear of families being murdered in our homeland for the simple fact that they believe someone else's teaching, where brother will kill sister, just because she loves the same girl that he does, that corrupts the message of Islam to the point where racism against our culture flares within this nation. As a Qadian, my family taught me the traditions, and the cultures that have helped shape my moral compass. My adopted homeland has taught me the values of freedom. Please, I urge of your to take action against these atrocities. Thank you." Parliament clapped as she left to take her seat.

"Prime Minister Thompson will now take to the stand." The middle aged woman with greying blonde hair, dressed in a simple, plain dress, waked up to the podium.

"Mister speaker, members of Parliament, it is clear to me that in the context of their latest actions, the Qaidian government is failing in its task to provide for the people. That the rights of many, are not being upheld. It is with this in mind that I make a proposition. The government of Qaidia is an oppressive one, and has the potential to endanger the world. However, they provide the nation with a steady hand, and if removed, will create lawlessness, and chaos within the region. My proposition is to deploy a naval taskforce to international waters in the Mediterranean sea as a precaution. A precaution for devolvement that needs to be avoided at all costs.

I propose to provide mediation between the Qaidian government, and the rights groups involved within the incident. In addition we provide asylum to political prisoners imprisoned by the Qadian government and those who need it. And to provide medical aid via deployment of three hospital ships to aid all parties in the current ongoing conflict. I also propose to close off further travel to Qadia until further notice, and the possible evacuation of any nationals that remain in Qadia. In conclusion, we must take action, and we must take it now. Thank you members of Parliament."

"That concludes the Prime Minister's Proposition, does anyone have anything to say?"

A hand raised in the crowd. "You may speak" The speaker of the house said as he nodded.

"Missus Thompson, surely you cannot expect us to unnecessarily lose any Mediamen lives for a nation many do not know. In addition to the costs in defense spending that would potentially cost the government trillions. We have done well as a nation of neutrality and of pacifism, is such a conflict worthy to exit isolationism and pacifism?"

"Mister Atkinson, may I remind you that we are planning to mediate first, we will do whatever we can to solve this issue peacefully before it devolves into war. Violence will only be a last resort."

Queen Willams proceeded to stand up, "I agree with the Prime Minister's sentiments, Mister Atkinson. It is clear to see that should nothing be done to deal with the issue, then we will leave the safety of our nation, our region, and quite possibly the world in jeopardy if we fail to take any notable action. If we fail to do anything now, the issue will just come to us."

Representative Atkins stiffened and nodded, and sat down. The queen followed.

"Are there any further questions?" There was no reply. "Then we will relieve for recess, before we begin the vote."

Two hours later, the Parliament reconvened, discussed, and set to vote on the proposition, Thompson's proposal, coupled with numerous phone calls from grass-roots activists and everyday people in the previous months leading up to the session, had pushed the National Assembly to vote for her proposal to take action against the building threats in the Middle East. It is quickly approved by the Senate, and then by the queen herself.

The following evening, footage of the Parliament session is published on C-Span. In addition, a speech made by the queen calling for unity in action to provide for human rights and to help the people of Qadia in their time of need, and the actions the Mediaman government were taking was broadcasted via MBC 1 and internationally.

A naval task force of five destroyers (HMS Newport, HMS Alliance, HMS Fairchild, HMS Deliverance, and HMS Beaumont), three frigates (HMS Archer, HMS Sabre, and HMS Falcon), two carriers (HMS Mediama and HMS Untouchable) with three wings of fighter-bombers (Two for HMS Mediama, one for HMS Untouchable),two helicopter squadrons (one for each carrier), two supply ships (HMS Williams, and HMS express), three hospital ships (HMS Pharma, HMS Mercy, and HMS Humility), two submarines (HMS Conqueror, HMS Silence), and two landing support ships with a total of four landing craft (two per each ship) are sent off from Oceana Harbor.

The land contingent consisted of one brigade of Royal Marines, one division of regular army troops, one mechanized brigade consisting of one battalion of Landrovers, two battalions of APC's, and two battalions of tanks. They begin their journey from the North Sea to Gibraltar, eventually to the Mediterranean, it will take a week until the taskforce can arrive.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs scrambled to make preparations to try to mediate the situation. They send one message to the Qadian government.

Mediaman Ministry of Foreign Affairs

---

From: Mediaman Ministry of Foreign Affairs
To: Qaidian Ministry of Affairs

Dear Sir,

The modern age calls for a people of acceptance, not tolerance, in order to crate a prosperous nation. In light of your nations actions this past week, we are deploying a naval taskforce in Mediterranean Sea. In addition, we offer to grant asylum to anyone who needs protection, and to receive any political prisoners taken by your government. We are still considering on sending humanitarian aid via hospital ships from our navy with your permission despite recent events. However, times are changing, we live in a world where one can be easily connected to someone halfway across the world at the press of a button.

It is with this future in mind that we offer to mediate in dialogue between the human rights activists, and your esteemed government. We urge you to consider dialogue before we fear this will devolve into civil strife and further violence. Failure to do so, or any attempt made to attack either the embassy, the hospital ships, or the naval taskforce stationed in international waters, will result in at best the severing of any future trade relations and military aid that could be provided.

At worst any attack made will be considered as an act of war, and we will be forced to declare war based on international law set within the World Assembly. We condemn your violations of civil liberties. However, we are reasonable, and we understand that you are doing what's best for you people. It is with this understanding that we advise for your government to tread this situation lightly.

Signed, Milton Freeman, Mediaman Secretary of State

Another letter was sent via encrypted network to the Mediaman Embassy in Qadia.

Mediaman Ministry of Foreign Affairs

---

From: Wade Davison, Mediaman Ministry of Foreign Affairs
To: James Williamson, Mediaman Embassy, Qaidia

Dear Ambassador,

In light of actions taken within Qadia, it has been decided within Parliament to no longer permit travel to Qaidia. Your orders are to recall any Mediaman nationals back to the embassy, in addition to any political prisoners and Qaidians who greatly aided our government. In addition, assume the worst, and begin preparations for a possible evacuation of the embassy. In light of actions unfolding in Qaidia, this may easily devolve into civil war.

Should that be the case, we have a carrier task force being deployed in international waters in the Mediterranean to provide airlifted evacuation via helicopter. Your safety, and the safety of the nationals, and our allies are key, and thus, we urge you to not take any unnecessary risks that will jeopardize the safety of the aforementioned. I wish you a good luck for your success, and your safe return.

Signed, Wade Davison, Mediaman Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Upon receiving the letter, in addition to word spreading of another ambassador being attacked, orders were carried out to double the shifts of the Royal Marine contingent defending the embassy.

// Link to factbook to get general idea of military forces: https://www.nationstates.net/nation=mediama/detail=factbook/id=842997

[Allanea]

OOC: All insults below are in-character only.

IC:

Greetings, to the ‘Sultan of Qaidi’.

I am Grand Ambassador Peter Nizhinsky. This morning, your country’s case file has been redirected to my office, just as I was about to start relaxing and drinking my coffee and watching Eagan’s Fireplace like a sane fucking human being. But oh no. That couldn’t be had. That wasn’t how I was going to start a motherfucking morning, because a reasonable fucking motherfucker can’t have a yebanoe morning, because somewhere, some unflushed smelly turd of a third-world dictator has decided to be a shit and turn back our humanitarian flight. Apparently doctors with bandages are now a threat about your version of Islam, which tells me absolutely everything I need to know about your religion. And the short of it is: if your religion forces you to oppose bandaging injured children, your religion is shit.

Now I know you are about to accuse me of blasphemy, ‘Sultan’. Let me just say, you’re the one guilty of blasphemy. This shit you do is a sick parody of the Islam decent human fucking beings believe and practice. Ibn Khaldun is crying in the afterlife as he looks at this shit, I’m quite sure, as he looks at this fucking bullshit. Averroes is weeping. You’ve basically equated people who are coming to aid your nation’s injured children and armed invaders who are coming to destroy your culture. That tells me fucking everything I have ever needed to know about your culture, its values, and your government: it is either composed of cowards who feel frightened of doctors, or it is so evil and cruel that doctors and kindness are genuinely a threat to it – or possibly both.

In my capacity as Speaker-to-Slavers, I have seen some pustulent trash in my life, ‘Sultan’. I have conversed with cannibal imbeciles, genocidal twats, and communist douchebags. I have probably seen more different varieties of human evil than you have eaten varieties of shwarma. But let me tell you, ‘Sultan’, you are a fucking prize specimen of human evil, arrogance, megalomania and idiocy. And no, that’s not a compliment.

As for your threats against Western Civilization and so forth, that’s fucking idiotic. You and what army, twatbag? You pizdobol, radical Islam’s finest armies can only achieve a kill-death ratio of 1:15,000 against Western troops. So far Lady Blaken-Kazansky has only eyed you with discontent and you’re already having your jimmies rustled, now tell me, how is your dolboeb civilization going to fare when it actually fights an Allanean… say, an Allanean police patrol? Do you know how many selfie sticks there are in Allanea? (Let’s ignore, momentarily, the aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, fighter jets, and the guns almost every Freeman carries. Let’s just talk about how your civilization is going to deal with the threat of the selfie stick and the pizza tray.)

You are leaving us with very sad choices, ‘Sultan’. We’re going to have to be working with Communists again. That is probably going to be making Her Imperial Majesty annoyed. You will not like Her Imperial Majesty when she is annoyed, ‘Sultan’.

Now, I am giving you your final offer.

Permit our medics and emergency aid services to operate safely within your country, and we will remain neutral in the conflict that is clearly about to emerge.

Have fun with the Soviets!

*

The aid planes had been turned back, and the submarine went unmentioned again. Its black body, moving at a set depth of a furlong, moved so quietly that it could not be distinguished from the background noise of the ocean, to a point about five hundred kilometers North of Qaidi’s coast. What it would be doing there and why, was still classified

[Qaidi]

Al-Habanah, Qaidi
5/26/2017 10:11
His Sultan's Honourary Head of Government Office, President's Office

The past few hours had been extremely controversial for Qaidi and the Qaidi government. Sultan Ismail never knew how in the hell that foreign governments knew about the Moral Police's killings. Normally, no one would know if a killing happened at night. Even though there were plenty of daytime executions. No one had proof of the rumours of nighttime kidnappings. Sultan Ismail decided to make it Umar al-Murad's problem. Umar was more of moderate. But, still, he was a radical. Umar quickly an email to Mediaman Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

To; Mediaman Ministry of Foreign Affairs
From; umar_al-murad@qa.gov.my
Subject; Humanitarian Aid

---

Dear Milton Freeman,

As the President of Qaidi, I am meant to protect Qaidi's values. Qaidi's values are Islamic values. We kill non-believers because the Quran commands us so.

“When the sacred months have passed, then kill the Mushrikin wherever you find them. Capture them. Besiege them. Lie in wait for them in each and every ambush but if they repent, and perform the prayers, and give zakat then leave their way free.” 9:5

This is simply values that we have to follow. We do give rights given to us in the Quran. But, we are against your western barbarism.

Sincerely,

Umar al-Murad, Honourary Head of Government and President of Qaidi.

---

Al-Habanah, Qaidi
5/26/2017, 10:30

---

القصر الملكي The Royal Palace, His Sultan's Throne

Sultan Ismail sat on his throne as a Malayan servant brought him coffee. Malayans and other 'Asians', although Muslims. Were treated as 'converters'. A symbol of racism in Qaidi. Because of that, many Malayans were on Christopher Isaac el-Rahman's side. Suddenly, a man ran in. "My Sultan! The Allaneans have sent you a personal message!" He shouted as Ismail quickly snatched the paper. After reading it, it lit up with fury. "I WANT ALL THE WORKERS WHO COME HERE CAPTURED, TORTURED AND KILLED!" He shouted. He then went on a rant. As time passed, he calmed down. "Uh, allow the Allaneans in," he said. "But, don't allow them to even step foot on land." he then said as he raised the tone of his voice. A response was quickly sent back to the Allaneans.

[Allanea]

Greetings, to the ‘Sultan of Qaidi’.

I appreciate your willingness to cooperate. Two aid flights are being prepared. Please clarify what is being meant by 'set foot on land'. If it is not permissible for our doctors to leave the aircraft, it will be somewhat hard for them to administer medical aid.

[Qaidi]

السلطنة الكبرى في قاضي
THE GREATER SULTANATE OF QAIDI

---

To; Government of Allanea
From; Royal Press Corps of Qaidi
Subject; Aid

---

Greeting to the Foreign Minister,

By 'set foot on land' we mean that your doctors will not be able to set foot on Qaidi land. However, you can drive cars or trucks to the Embassies where you will be considered on foreign land. However, none of your doctors will be able to set foot on Qaidi land. We do recommend not to go through towns as you may be ambushed. May Allah have mercy.

[Wachterland]

GIB Building; 83 Admiral Karl Dönitz Street, Traustadt
09:47 [UTC -4; Wachterland Standard Time]

---

"They did what?!" Prime Minister Emilia Schultze said, slamming the reports on the meeting table. "Surely they must be crazy."

"You forgot one thing: they are crazy." said a man as he enters the meeting room. He was Albert Keitel, Director of the Geheimesintelligenzbüro (GIB), or in English, the Secret Intelligence Bureau. He sat down on one of the chairs, and unpacked his briefcase.

"You're late, Director Keitel. The meeting started ten minutes ago." the Prime Minister scoffed.

"Again with the pissed-off attitude, Emilia? God, you haven't changed since college." the Director replied.

There were 3 other people present in the room: Defence Minister Hans Schneider, Foreign Minister Henrietta Waldstein, and Deputy Prime Minister George Campbell. They were meeting to discuss the situation in Qaidi. It had been a couple of days since they sent the letter to Qaidi's government. Recently, they turned away the Wachterlander diplomats sent to talk about human rights, who were then forced to refuel at the British Territory of Cyprus before heading home.

"So, ladies and gentlemen, what is our plan of action?" asks Defence Minister Schneider.

"The denial of our ambassadors is the perfect reason for us to act a bit more... er... harshly." said Director Keitel. "If you'd allow it, your excellency, we could instigate some acts of subversion. The oppressed locals already have little love for the regime, they're just scared they might get shot by the local secret police."

"Intriguing. Continue, director." the Prime Minister said.

"We are already planning to land agents to the country. The GIB has eight agents currently in the Middle-East, seven of whom are of Arabic descent. They have no affiliation to the Islamic faith, just to cold, hard cash, but they've sure put up a good act of being adherents of Mohammed. For the meantime, we'll be sending four of them. After a bunch of plane rides, they could cross the border and get to the city of Al-Habanah in maybe two to three days."

"We'll see to that. Anything else?" the Prime Minister asked.

Defence Minister Schneider replied: "Well, the NATO task force has been assembled, and is ready to ship off from the British Territory of Malta, though, to get to Qaidi, it will take up to a week, at most. I can also order Sondereinheit 13 to be stationed with the task force, in case we need some special ops in the area."

"There might be some area of compromise here." interjects Foreign Minister Waldstein. "We can't just waltz in there, guns blazing, without any good reason."

"As I said, these people are crazy cultists. They're the same kind who aren't afraid to pilot a plane right into skyscrapers in the name of their god 'Allah'. They just rejected numerous attempts by other countries to pacify them diplomatically. Heck, they announced the words 'death to western civilisation' in an international broadcast. Now, there are dozens of battleships from other countries currently headed there." Director Keitel answered. He turns to Prime Minister Schultze. "Now, your excellency, what actions do we take?"

"We offered them the carrot, now it's time for the stick. You may commence, Director Keitel, Minister Schneider. Dismissed."

---

To: Government of Qaidi
From: Government of Wachterland
Re: Wachterlander mission to Qaidi

---

To whom it may concern:

Due to the denial of our diplomats, we have decided to send no further diplomatic missions. However, we will continue our original plan to land humanitarian workers, this time with greater military presence. They will carry out their duties with or without your permission. Again, any violent action committed against them would have severe consequences.

Please cooperate, we wish only for the welfare of the people you oppress.

SIGNED,

Henrietta Waldstein
Foreign Minister of Wachterland

AUTHORISED BY,

Emilia Schultze
Prime Minister of Wachterland

---

---

Malta Dockyard; British Crown Territory of Malta
One hour later | 16:21 [UTC +1; Central European Time]

---

It was a sunny afternoon. Generalmajor Lukas von Richter, commander of the NATO task force to Qaidi, was having tea in his office.

A lieutenant enters the room. "General, we've received the order from Traustadt."

"And what of our allies?"

"Traustadt has informed them, too. We have a green light for the British and American battalions, though we're still waiting for the Norwegians."

"Alright."

The general opens the base intercom. "Attention, NATO task force Qaidi. We're moving out. Prep all ships and supplies for sail. I repeat: we're moving out. Prep all ships and supplies."

He turns it off, leans back on his chair, and sighs. "I can't believe it. We're sticking our fingers into a hot pan. Trust me, we shouldn't have gotten involved in this mess. May God help us all."

By morning of the next day, the 4 surface vessels, 2 submarines, 5 transports, and 980 ground troops consisting the task force have all left. It would take them a week to reach Qaidian shores. However, once near Qaidi, instead of landing immediately, they're planned to stay within international waters just outside the country's coast until further orders are issued, to temporarily avoid conflict with the local military.

The fleet would also be carrying Sondereinheit 13, the elite special forces unit of Wachterland, to carry out secret operations on Qaidian soil once the fleet arrives. The unit will be cooperating with the GIB agents yet to be deployed into Qaidi. What those operations will be are still uncertain, since they will be waiting for the agents to arrive.

---

---

Qaidian border checkpoint; Qaidi
Days later | 11:02 [Qaidi Local Time]

---

A dusty, old Lada Riva car pulls up on the checkpoint. Carrying two people, a hired civilian driver and a man named Ahmed Ali Tawfiq, a supposed businessman from Saudi. He is actually one of the 4 agents to be deployed by Wachterland into the country, and the first to enter so far. He was an experienced agent, having had many aliases, including the one he is currently using, knowing many dialects of Arabic, and successfully having infiltrated ISIS-controlled areas in the Middle-East without getting captured. He looked like a typical Muslim man, sporting a thick beard and wearing traditional clothing.

A menacing-looking border guard, carrying an AK rifle, approached the car. "Papers." he says in Arabic.

Ahmed brings out a passport and visa from his bag; both falsified, of course, but virtually indistinguishable from originals.

"What is your business here?"

"To meet my uncle and his family. He lives in Al-Habanah."

"What's in your bag?"

"Some clothes; and my Quran, of course."

The guards inspected the rear compartment of the car. Empty. Next, his bag. No contraband whatsoever. The driver was questioned, and his papers scanned. Nothing questionable.

"Alright, you may continue. May Allah bless your journey, brother."

"And may Allah bless you as well."

Later, the other three agents entered without any complications; their weapons and equipment being concealed successfully. They scouted the city of Al-Habanah and the surrounding areas, relaying gathered information through encrypted channels, all while acting like devout Muslims to avoid suspicion.

However, the NATO task force was still far away, so no major act has been instigated so far.

[Allanea]

Greetings, to the ‘Sultan of Qaidi’.

Please be aware that the Free Kingdom holds Qaidi as a state responsible for security of our foreign aid teams. We request the authority to designate an area of, say, 10 dunams of land near the airport to be designated the Free Kingdom embassy to Qaidi, to allow our doctors to treat the injured. Failing this, we request to know which nations have embassies in your nation.

[Shackley]

Commonwealth of Shackley
Foreign Office
With Dignity and Persistence

From: Shackleyan Foreign Office
To: Mediaman Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Dear Sir or Madam,
It has come to our attention that it is your intention to deploy a number of your warships in the Mediterranean.
We do not know the reason for this course of action, but we were under the impression that your intelligence services fit their definition.
It is now clear that this is not the case, as surely you would not deploy a force so inauspiciously within Shackley's area of interest without ill intent?
As you well know, the Royal Shackleyan Navy is currently operating the destroyers HMS Dalton, HMS Moore, and HMS Brosnan in the Mediterranean Sea, conducting live-fire exercises. If foreign vessels were to enter the area in which these exercises are being conducted, it is possible that an unfortunate incident could occur.
Please bear in mind that our ships are defending Shackley's interests overseas, and any interference with these duties would be considered to be an attack on Shackley's interests and therefore an attack on our Commonwealth as a whole. It goes without saying that any such attacks would not be tolerated.

Yours faithfully,
Ambassador Lionel Higgins, MSE.

[Qaidi]

Al-Habanah, Qaidi
5/26/2017 13:00

---

A message from Wachterland came. The Sultan ordered the government not to respond to it. All humanitarian workers who would come would be arrested and stopped. Sultan Ismail then ordered the moral police to start multiple raids on suspects. This was happening as word of a Pro-Rights protest led by Chris I. el-Rahman on the 1st of October grew louder. Rahman had always been a target of the government. On the streets of Al-Habanah. The panic from the explosion of a bomb at a local Moral Police station had died down. Suddenly, the Allaneans sent a message to the Sultan. The Sultan eagerly ordered his men to make a reply as he and his servant 'pleasure girls' went up to the Sultan's Chambers.

السلطنة الكبرى في قاضي
THE GREATER SULTANATE OF QAIDI

---

To; Government of Allanea
From; Royal Press Corps of Qaidi
Re; Embassies

---

Greeting to the Foreign Minister,

Unfortunately, you can only stay in Terminal 1. However, if the Mediaman Embassy allows you to go there. A road will be provided.

I would suggest that Wachterland try to slow down (a bit) on the stuff in the future until other RP-ers catch up. By all means, you should still continue but I reckon you should slow down a bit. Thanks. If the other guys don't catch up. Well, sad for them.

[United Tecdo Peandland]

Peandland Ministry of Defence

To:The Sultan of Qaidi
From: Secretary of Defence: Jarek Kowalczyk
It has come to the attention of the great King Alexander that you have recently threatened many nations in a press release. We wish to only bring aid to your country and try to negotiate something. We don't want to bring harm and we won't bring harm unless harm is brought onto the Aid Workers from The Orphaned-Hydro Organization who are flying in shipments of water and food for both sides of the spectrum. Though if you continue to threaten nations over mere words, we'll be forced to pull back the incoming Aid workers. As for the Ambassador, He sent us a telegram reporting that only a few rooms down from his "V.I.P room" a group of people was shot to death by several Qaidi Moral Police. This is all for now, 2 small Freighter's with food and water will be moved to the coast of your nation and flown into cities by helicopters. There is one thing, to protect the equipment we will have an Escort of 1 Missile boat. This is, of course, to stop pirates from attacking the shipments worth hundreds of thousands.

---

The first Freighter was being loaded via crane. Lifting massive cargo containers of canned foods and drinks which would be served at Peandland refugee points across the country if allowed. They weren't going to leave until the acceptance of a convoy going to Qaidi with supplies came down to them. Admiral Justen van Zwet, a Dutchman was the commander of this mission, ordering over 10 tons of food and water on each boat. It would be enough to gain the trust of the citizens and hopefully the government. This, in turn, would help with the talks later on down the line.

[Mediama]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs forwards the response from Shackley to Secretary of State Freeman, where he widens his eyes in horrer. "Our damn spooks fucked it up again!"

"Actually sir, I think it was a communication error." His secretary corrected him.

"Send a reply immediately, and get into contact with the Prime Minister, and the Ministry of defense."

And with that the Mediaman taskforce, still in the Northern Sea, are advised to dock at the British port of Gibraltar until further notice. In addition, a communique is sent to the Shakleyan Foreign Ministry.

Mediaman Ministry of Foreign Affairs

---

From: Mediaman Ministry of Foreign Affairs
To: Shackleyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

To whom it may concern,

It is our deepest apologies for our lack of knowledge of the live-fire exercise in the Mediterranean. We have found the error to be in our communications systems, and thus, the people responsible will be reprimanded accordingly. We do not mean any ill intent for your interests in the region. Our intent is to be on standby in the event that our embassy in Qaidia needs to be evacuated, provide any form of peacekeeping with other allied, Pro-Rights factions in the event of civil war, and if possible and permitted by the Qaidian government, provide humanitarian aid to all parties involved, including non-combatants. Our naval taskforce is still in the Northern Sea, from which they will dock in our allied British port of Gibraltar until further notice. That is unless you have set boundaries around the area of operations for this exercise. We are open to any options, including the possibility of participating in the live-fire exercises. We would kindly ask for a response whenever convenient. Again, apologies for the error.

Signed, Milton Freeman, Mediaman Secretary of State

[Shackley]

HQMI, Upper Dalton, Shackley, the Commonwealth of Shackley
6:20 GMT (Shackley Local)
With a wry smile the ambassador leaned back in his chair, lighting another cigar.
"You see, Basil, I told you we could take 'em!"
"Er, yes sir, very good."
"Bunch of bloody lightweights, I tell ya....Did you hear them earlier? Two aircraft carriers! Two!"
"Yes, I am obliged to read everything the intelligence boys send us..."
Pausing between puffs; "Basil, take some time off. Can't be having you moping about the place like that. You'll spoil the mood. We're winning a... well, not quite a war, but we're winning it!" with that Higgins raised a shaky glass, leaning back even further, despite the creaky protests of his chair.
"Yes, sir, right-o. I'll be heading off then." The door swung shut.
"Bloody parasite."

Commonwealth of Shackley
Foreign Office
With Dignity and Persistence

From: Shackleyan Foreign Office
To: Mediaman Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Dear Sir or Madam,

We thank you for your compliance in these times of tension. I cannot reveal too much without fear of compromising the security of our taskforce, but we may rest safe in the knowledge our ships are in capable hands and your forces will be afforded a wide berth around your moorings at Gibraltar.

Your participation in our exercises will not be necessary, but we are most grateful for the offer.

With respect,
Ambassador Lionel Higgins, MSE

[1st Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]

Outside of Moscow, General Secretary Latrova's Private Dacha, Russian SFSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (UTC+3) 9:40 PM

Latrova sat and sighed reading out of the Pravda and listening to the radio, usually she'd be watching television but at this time she had no real wish to, it seemed that among all the newspapers she had received from all over the USSR and their allied states in the Warsaw Pact the headline was all the same. "Marshal of the USSR, General Secretary Comrade Fikatsia Latrova demands the surrender of two murderers from the Islamic state of Qaidi." Latrova smiled and put her newspaper down folding it up she'd put it on the table next to her chair before getting up and getting ready for bed... That was until she was interrupted half way by a ring on the phone. "At this time of night? Who is it?" Latrova said to herself walking to her phone on her desk picking up the phone. "Who is it?" Latrova asked to which foreign minister Pankin answered. "It is me, Minister Pankin, comrade Latrova. Qaidi has yet to respond to our communique." Latrova sighed and sat down at her desk. "Well send another, check and see if you've made any mistakes... And if they still refuse to answer, then tell Alexi to blow up something of value to their infrastructure, something like a water purification plant should do it. If that's everything I'm going to sleep, goodnight Pankin." Latrova said quickly before putting the phone down on the receiver to Pankin's dismay.

"Chyort.... Alright. I'll get right on it then." Pankin sighed and pulled up a copy he made of the communique he sent before he realized he added a "u" to Qaidi. "How petty, probably not answering because of that.... Let's add this... And this... Take this out and there." Pankin quickly adjusted the communique and sent it off again.

Министерство иностранных дел Союза Советских Социалистических Республик; Отдел специальных
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; Special Affairs Division

From: The Kremlin, Moscow, Central Civil District of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
To: The Foreign Ministry of Qaidi

---

From: Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
To: The Heads of Government of Qaidi

Comrade Marshal of the USSR, FIkatsia Latrova wishes for me to relay to you directly, should the murderers Rafeeq al-Saleem and Ilyaas el-Reza go unpunished in their crimes of committing murder against an unarmed family in the name of religious fundamentalism, the Soviet Union as well as it's client states of Mongolia, The Polish People's Republic, The Hungarian People's Republic, The Socialist Republic of Romania, the Socialist Republic of Bulgaria, the Czechoslovakian Socialist Republic, and the German Democratic Republic shall no longer provide any goods of any kind to Qaidi or it's people... Failing to comply with this may also result in Soviet intervention in the form of troops and seizure of the criminals responsible for the crime. In addition. Failing to respond to this will result in firmer action against the Government of Qaidi.

Signed. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Vyacheslav Pankin.

[Mediama]

Mediaman Ministry of Foreign Affairs

---

From Mediaman Minostry of Foreign Affairs
To: Shackleyan Office of Foreign Affairs

Dear sir,

We have received your message and will dock at Gibraltar for the duration of the exercise. It will be appreciated if you notify us immediately once you have completed your exercises, or to give us a date on when it will be completed.

Signed, Milton Freeman, Mediaman Secretary of State

[Shackley]

HMS Dalton, RSN Taskforce-Qaidi, Eastern Mediterranean, 60 miles from Qaidi coastline
26/5/2017, 19:12 GMT

It was another cold night out on deck. The Captain was strolling leisurely along the balcony. He'd spent all day up in the air-conditioned bridge, sheltering from the oppressive heat as he watched his officers work.
They'd been conducting gunnery trials today, ensuring the sights were properly zeroed-in for the ship's conventional weapons.
They'd started from the smallest guns upwards, firing GPMGs blindly into the water before leaving a trail of target-buoys for the larger 30mm cannon to lob their shells at. After that they'd moved onto the rapid-fire weaponry, miniguns and CIWS, leaving the air full of lead and the surrounding ocean full of brass.
They only had to test the 4.5-incher now.

The ship knifed through the water, the smooth Rolls-Royce turbines humming contentedly below deck. Dalton had separated from the rest of the taskforce briefly, taking to more distant waters to perform the trials without risking damage to the other multi-million-shilling warships.
The day had gone by relatively unperturbed -none of the usual ferries or MAERSK ships dared come within visual range of the grey steel monsters that now plagued their workspace- but the locals weren't bothered by their presence. Or maybe it was just that they had no other choice.
Either way, by late afternoon the sea was teeming with Qaidi fishermen, straying towards the deeper waters in the hopes of a better catch.

But hours had gone by since, the fishermen back at port with their catch, and the Captain was pacing irritably, cursing them.
"Bunch of aimless twats!" He said to noone in particular (Of course the deck was clear, he couldn't show such lack of restraint in front of the men.)
"Glorified fucking nautical pedestrians getting in the way!" He walked to the port-side corner of the balcony and lit a cigarette.

Meanwhile, Qaidi Merchantman "Sultan's Splendour", sailing from Qaidi coastline...
"How much further, Uncle?"
"Not long now, little one. We're nearly there."
The boy shifted in his seat, watching the houses shrink behind them.
They sailed on in relative silence, broken only by the phug-phug-phug of the ageing diesel outboard. The lad was well-disciplined, his uncle remarked.

"Here, young one; we have arrived!"
"Is this the spot, Uncle? The one you told me about?"
"The very same! Look," he said, tracing with his finger "just up there is the North Star. A sailor who makes that star his friend will never find himself lost again." The old man leaned forwards, placing a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "And just down there, do you see? Those stars there, the bright pair so close together, those are your parents, my boy. Allah recognised their efforts to serve him, and gave in reward those stars to mark their place in paradise for all to see!"
The boy gasped, trying to follow his Uncle's finger as they stared into the twinkling blackness.
"One day, my lad, if you serve Him as your father did, you may get your own star some day..." A sombre moment passed, before the uncle clapped his great hands together, beaming; "But only if we show our appreciation truly! We won't leave the celebrations to the city-folk will we, lad?"
"No!" the boy shouted defiantly, a chuckle breaking out amongst them.
"Then let us break out the fireworks!"

The man had once been a corporal in the Sultan's Army, his job to maintain and improvise weaponry to fend off the foreign devils if ever they dared tread on Qaidi soil. But that was a long time ago, and he now spent his declining years constructing fireworks for his nephew's entertainment, and there was no better time to make use of them than the start of another Ramadan.
Crudely worked from tin cans and old nails hammered flat, the old man had filled his fireworks with flour and cordite, having removed the powder from his surplus cartridges. He had no use for them now, and this made a far greater impression on his young apprentice.

They were simple and would not have held up to much scrutiny from western audiences, but his uncle's fireworks were a marvel to the curious lad. Cautiously he stood up in the boat, careful not to lean too far over, he retrieved one of the cans from the box at his feet and passed it to the old man. The man took a match from his pocket and lit the fuse on the can. A simple thread doused in petrol, it caught alight easily and would stay burning throughout its flight. He handed it back to his nephew, careful to keep the flame away from his clothing as he lit the next few cans in readiness.
Reaching back with all his might, the boy lobbed the can as far as he could away from the boat, the makeshift firework tumbling in the night.

BANG!
The can exploded violently in the night sky, leaving a small black cloud in its wake.
BANG! BANG! A volley of fireworks were now soaring gleefully through the air, the pair laughing and whooping alone in the night.


HMS Dalton, RSN Taskforce-Qaidi, Eastern Mediterranean, 60 miles from Qaidi Coastline

The Captain was leaning heavily on the rail. It had been a long day, and it would only get worse in the coming days. There would be reports to write and forms to fill-in, detailing extensively the performance of both crew and ship. He would have to liaise with the other officers, be briefed and debriefed by the Commodore, not to mention the fact that they still hadn't tested the 4.5-inch main gun which they set out to test in the first place! It was the centrepiece of the destroyer's firepower, and it hadn't been fired in months!
"Bloody civvies..." he muttered to himself.
Suddenly, a sharp crackling broke the calmness of the night. Somewhere off in the distance the Captain heard a striking, sort of popping sound.
He raised his binoculars, scanning the horizon for the source of the noise.
"Bingo" He said quietly to himself, spotting an oddly familiar group of small black clouds bursting in the sky.
It took a moment for him to realise where he'd seen such clouds before.
"Bugger!" The Captain dropped his binos, pacing hurriedly through the armoured door of the bridge.
"Forty Mike-Mike, firing from bearing zero-six-two, I want a radar sweep immediately and a lock on whatever it is that's shooting at us!"
The bridge was alive immediately with relayed orders and tapping at computers. The colossal radar dome atop the mast was spinning up, gathering data on the surrounding area and relaying it to the capable hands at their terminals.
"Sir, unidentified vessel off the starboard bow, approximately 20 feet in length, 15 klicks at the bearing you specified, sir" a lieutenant piped up.
"Right, can we get a more detailed picture of it?"
"No, Captain, in this light we can't get anything good optically. The radar's got a good lock, we're able to engage, sir"
"Are they still firing at us?"
"No way of knowing for sure, sir, but it sure looks that way. Still picking up airbursts on the thermals"
A lightbulb came on in the Captain's mind.
"Bring the Mark 8 to bear, we can use this as an opportunity for real-world gun-trials. I want this on record, and I want peak performance, men." The Captain stood from his chair and walked to the front of the bridge. The gun-turret for'ard of the bridge turned rapidly to starboard, the long black barrel hoisting towards the heavens.
"Course laid in, sir, HE loaded, target locked."
"Excellent. You may fire when ready."
"Aye, sir. Gun-team, three-round salvo, High-Explosive, bearing zero-six-six, stationary target, fire!"
With a furious retort the gun spewed a hail of angry steel, reeling from the recoil before firing another two identical rounds.
The computer had calculated the perfect trajectory for each shell, allowing for delay, so that each shell would land on target simultaneously. This was nothing new in the world of artillery, but it was damned effective.
Such a system could triple the ship's firepower, raining a hundred and forty pounds of chemical potential around the small wooden motorboat.
Somewhere in the night's sky two new stars twinkled over Qaidi.

[Mediama]

Mediaman Ministry of Foreign Affairs

---

From: Mediaman Ministry of Foreign Affairs
To: umar_al-murad@qa.gov.my

Dear sir,

To what part of our actions speaks of Western Barbarism to you? Our ships are respecting your boundaries, and will only enter Qaidi waters when given explicit permission to unless our safety is at risk. We offer mediation to prevent the collapse of your government. A barbarian, though a loose term dependent on world view, would never talk before fighting to de-escalate violence. Had we been barbarians, we would've used our naval power to sack the cities and ports, yet instead we offer to talk. We understand your loyalty to the people dear sir, but we fear that should there be no attempts of mediation, that your regime may lose control of its people.

Many of them live in fear if news reports are relaying information correctly, but the fact that many people had rallied behind El-Rahman is proof that the people want change. One cannot rule through fear. And one cannot protect the people if the people resent you. We offer our embassy in your capital to be the meeting place to create dialogue for the Qaidi Government, and the Human-Rights movement.

I urge you to please consider dialogue with the opposition in neutral territory, and I offer our services to help mediate a dialogue with the people. Before it is too late.

Signed, Milton Freeman, Mediman Secretary of State