When The Tanks Come [CLOSED; attn: Ratsirana/Kergstan]

[Nacrad]

NAFB Benghazi, Overseas Territory of Cyrenaica, Nacrad

"Departure Runway 33, Ground 122.90, winds 350 at 5 knots, temperature..."
In the hot desert sand out of Benghazi, lies an air force base which shares the premises with the town's airport. While, in normal times, said base is barely active, it is now teeming with activity. On the apron is an unusual congregation of heavy transport aircraft - Boeing 747-8FM, C-17 Globemaster, those one would associate with a military power.

This time, however, they were not being deployed to a warzone. Not directly, at least. This time, they are headed to the small - and poor - Central African nation of Ratsirana, where rebel factions lay at the turn of the corner, and civil war a very real possibility. For months, Parliament had debated whether to sell its already-outdated M2 Bradley IFVs, ones that the Army had replaced with the Type 3 IFV and National Guards refusing to take on, to this nation which had requested its purchase. This nation, though not without its meddling from the Soviet Union, is at least not hostile towards Nacrad. So, sell it is. The only concession being that the TOW launchers - the most powerful piece of armament - be removed.

The mission today is not only to deliver the IFVs, totaling 22 of them, but also to deliver training personnel. That, and to deliver some 1 million doses of the Wuhan Pneumonia vaccine and healthcare personnel.

Under the hot desert sun, supplies and crew are being loaded on. First to be loaded is the C-40 Clipper. A total of 120 were shuttled onto the plane, mostly those from the Army, but also those from the Auxiliary Medical Corps. Meanwhile, at other stands, soldiers were busy loading the Bradley IFVs and spare parts onto the massive transports. Calculations suggest that they would be just about able to stop and take off from Katima, the biggest airport in the nation.

"Helping Hand 1, ready for departure. Requesting clearance to Katima City Airport," announced Squadron Commander Kristian Cheng, the pilot of the first flight: a Boeing C-40 Clipper. There is, however, one problem: The insurgencies in countries along the way pose a problem. However, there is little to be done, except for flying as high as possible.

[Ratsirana]

Preparations are taking place in and around the Katima Airport, the event is clearly seen as a minor one in Nacrad but surely it has a certain weight on ratsiranan politics and democracy.

Minister of Defense, Integrity Mizonga, while interviewed by the public broadcaster at the airport’s entrance reserved to the military, said that while the country is thankful to Kergstan for its military aid, the country deems it necessary to diversify its hardware and to broaden military cooperation with all countries interested in playing a global role against terrorism.

The minister also added that Nacrad’s relations with the country have been cordial especially at times of difficulty and that despite the internal political implications for Nacrad, they helped Ratsirana out of their moral commitment in defense of the rule of law.

Other officials were happy to receive the medical hardware, despite the Wuhan Pneumonia cases being low in the country, the importance of prevention has been highmarked as one official stated the consequences would be rather distastrous for the country.

President Asande invited the ambassador to the airport and simbolically cleared the way for the first nacradian plane to land, in total disregard of air control tower’s international regulations.

The President also invited the opposition in a quite provocative way stating that he wants the opposition members to see the new hardware at the airport rather than at some point in the jungles of the country, adding then that the second scenario hopefully will never materialize for the sake of the republic.

Kergstani PIMARAT forces secured the main roads’ conjunctions towards the airport as a precautionary measure, but the national army intimated them to leave and took their positions.

[Nacrad]

It is 4 hours later. The Clipper leads a flight of 2 other planes, a C-17 Globemaster carrying spare parts and a Boeing 747-8FM carrying 3 M2 Bradleys in its cargo bay. These flights will have to continue for many hours to deliver these heavy armoured vehicles. Having crossed the Chadian desert where insurgencies run wild at their maximum altitudes, the planes have been running low on fuel - enough to land and to divert to some UN task force's base, maybe in Congo, but not enough to return whence they came by any stretch of the imagination.

As Helping Hand 1, the first aircraft arrived, everything seemed well. The airport is encased in a wall of urban sprawl, just like Riverfort Norfeld Airport, but that is not a concern.

"One thousand."
"Check; Landing checklist please."
"Start switches?"
"Continuous"
"Speed brakes?"
"Armed"

The flight deck crew was busy preparing for landing, until a command came:
"Helping Hand 1, go around: Runway not clear."

The pilot-in-command immediately responded, pushing the throttle to maximum. The plane made a low approach over the runway, where the President and the Nacradian ambassador were symbolically clearing the runway. The ambassador, Victor Lam, proposed to President Asande that they should leave the runway. If all goes well, the first plane now to touch down is the Boeing 747, which carries the M2 Bradleys.

[Ratsirana]

President Asande left the runway and directed himself to the organized crowds around the airport with the ambassador, shaking hands with his supporters, while guards where observing nervously as the president proceeded.
Behind the crowd of supporters some RPC (Ratsirana People's Congress) workers were piling sacks of flour near to the visitors' exit area.

[Nacrad]

A Boeing 747-8FM appears over the horizon on a long final to Katima Airport's short runway. This time, the runway was clear, so there was little to worry. The crew performed checklists, just like they have hundreds of times before.

The plane is soon over the threshold. It made a firm landing, then braked hard to stop. Slowly it taxied towards the ramp, but it didn't start unloading its contents. It sat at the ramp for 15 minutes, what seemed like forever, at a hard stand away from where crowds gather. The crew asked that they be kept away for security concerns.

The unloading did not commence until the first plane, originally turned away, arrived again. It parked near the crowds, a colonel leaving the aircraft first greeting the Ratsiranan president and the Nacradian ambassador, as the rest of the Nacradian soldiers onboard helped with the unloading. Meanwhile, a container, clearly labelled as the Nacradian vaccine donation, was slowly withdrawn from the cargo hold. The medical personnel, which rode in the back of the plane, also disembarked one by one.

[Ratsirana]

President Asande was quick to go to the podium and started his discourse with a warm and playful tone at the crowd

These Nacradian friends are great eh? They’re helping us in two conflicts one we can see and one that we cannot.
But I know my people too well, you are scared of these vaccines aren’t ya?

The crowd starts to laugh

Nurse stop here and take a vaccine with you for god sake miss

The president indicated he wanted to vaccinate at that moment in front of everyone.

[Nacrad]

She walked up to Asande to explain that she can't vaccinate him right now. "Sorry sir but the vaccine require some special procedures to prepare. Perhaps you can come to a vaccination center in an hours' time or so."

At the same time, the M2 Bradleys start to be slowly rolled out of the fuselage of the massive transporter. It was driven to within the field of sight of the crowd, and the 3 IFVs were unloaded within 15 minutes, and at the same time a C-17 Globemaster landed as well, carrying spare parts. The 747 lowered its front gear again, and was ready to leave soon.

[Ratsirana]

''I'll take three'' the president joked at the nurse.

As the first vehicles were unveiled Asande started to applaud, with a few generals and colonels behind him doing the same, one of them though, General Inkibura, whispered a dozen of times ''Where's the TOW sir'' the mic though was too nearby and the public heard it a few times.
As Inkibura is from the same clan as Asande, Asande is heard saying Cut it imbecile in their dialect, he rarely uses Ndoni especially his dialect in public.

The show continued and the military inspector general was also behind Asande, looking at every inch of the vehicles, as for him, he knew there were no TOWs.

[Nacrad]

The nurses boarded buses already waiting outside the airport to a place near the center of Katima to set up the first vaccination center. At the same time, a colonel and a sergeant second class walked forth to the group. The colonel started, "Any questions about these vehicles? I'm James, and this is Bruce. If you want, Bruce will show you around the iFVs."

The Boeing 747 is ready for departure, and before it took off, another plane of the same type, carrying more IFVs, landed at the airport.