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OOC – Following this post from The Pazhujeb Islands as K&P, the former lands of Kagdazka have been laid to waste and all survivors have taken up residence in Pazhujebu. After consultation with K&P, the following takes place with his blessing… IC- It was eerie. And that was quite literally an understatement. They had been all throughout the once proud nation of Kagdazka to find nothing but the signs of massacre that had befallen the peoples who used to live here, people the Vegai had considered friends. And yet in every instant the remains of the dead showed no signs of apparent trauma and the buildings and structures remained intact. Oktyabrsk, Gvardeysk, Chadan, like all other cities here seemed to simply have stopped. From all appearances it seemed that Oleg Vaskaryev, A former Kagdaz who had approached Istrianii Raelea Vega in hopes that she could help in rebuilding his homeland, had been correct in his tale of ice and death.
The government of The Pazhujeb Islands had no desire to rebuild the former nation and had left it abandoned. At Oleg’s urging, and with confirmation from the Pazhujebi government, Istrianii had sent the 4th Furozii element and the 17th Vegai Armored Division to scout the lands of Kagdazka and lay the groundwork for Vegai occupation. Both tasks had been completed and the troops present in Kagdaka had set up operations in Oktybrsk as that city was the only easily accessible entry point into the new Vegai territory.
Soon Istrianii herself, along with Oleg would arrive and begin the political process of rebuilding the devastated lands. Some 1500 Kagdaz refugees would join the 500 or so survivors located in the mountains near Fatezh as well as a host of Vegai immigrants who would help to rebuild the nation. Even the Dwarven clans from Stonengarten had vowed to send their own engineers to aid in the effort in exchange for the foundation of another Dwarven State in the northern panhandle to be named Indenhelm. Rumor also told that Istrianii would open the doors of the new territory to immigrants from other nations around Atlantian Oceania who would be welcomed as Vegai citizens.
More to follow… |
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OOC: Oh, my sweet summer Vegan child, what do you know of RAWRCRUSH?
"GLASS THEM!" The voice of Chorus in the Lord-Protector's head was a searing, bitter fire in his temples.
"Glass them!" Julius Starblayde blurted out, owing more to his pain than anything else. What? he thought to himself - to Chorus.
"Yes," said his advisor, which was the thing you always said when Lord-Protectors gave orders. The advisor raised his eyebrows almost imperceptibly, then paused for a moment, "at once, my Lord?"
"Nuke those bastards from the face of the earth!" Chous shouted, this time without actually giving him an instant migraine, "Godrod them to oblivion! Target Errion Vega now!"
"No, don't. Forget it," Julius said, "and don't give me that 'At once my Lord' tone when you don't agree with me."
"Yes, my Lord."
"Careful now," Julius narrowed his eyes, "I over-reacted." What was Chorus doing?
"How dare they try and 'colonise' Calania, this is our continent! Warmongering bastards!"
"It might help, my Lord," the advisor's petulant tone of indifference was gone now, "if you did not make such statements in overreaction, as those underlings with less vigour may have carried them out before you can retract the unretractable."
"Thank-you for your advice."
"This is our sphere of influence! First they try and denigrate our military by their ridiculous 'facts' and invented 'figures' and now they invade territory a stone's throw away from our borders! They're aggressive expansionists who must be stopped!"
Julius tried to ignore Chorus, but she was hard to block out from inside your mind. She'd always provided him with the best advice - he was a much-loved Lord-Protector now, after all, how much better could things be? But actually launching weapons of mass destruction at - what had been until now - a firm regional ally? That was beyond what Julius was prepared to do. It was probably beyond even his powers, too.
"Where is the nearest fleet?" he finally asked.
"Curently north-west of the Septen Islands, my Lord."
"Just when the path is clear, they move their troops in! Typical!"
"Move it west. Move it in between Savski Venac and Ninety-Five-Ex. Cut them off at sea. Then send a letter: unacceptable aggression, interference, posturing and sabre-rattling, good of the region, peace and stability, RAWRCRUSH, all that stuff. You know how it should go."
"Yes, my Lord." The advisor turned on his heels to leave.
"And raise us to MITHRIL Four."
"From Six to Four, my Lord? In one go?"
"Yes."
"We won't let them get away with this."
I know, Chorus, thought Julius, I know.
OOC Notes:
• MITHRIL (Military Threat Information Level) is Starblaydia's equivalent to the US DEFCON system.
• ASMV, is one of only three nations on the Starblaydi 'Good Standing' Foreign Relations list, along with Vilita and Valanora. |
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Istrianii sat quietly at the head of the massive conference table as her closest advisors argued violently over the current state of the Empire and the dissention both domestically and now from Starblaydia over the claim laid on Kagdazka. As had become the norm, she had very few supporters in the group gathered and if history served any sort of compass, they would once again be forced to admit that she was right.
The noise quieted down as the single question rang through the room. She wasn’t even sure who had asked it. But it hung there awaiting an answer.
“Why is Kagdazka worth all this trouble?”
She looked at each of them before she began to speak.
“It is always worth it to lend humanitarian aid.”
Hugas Ta’dulyk spat his remark. “Humanitarian aid is one thing. Claiming Kagdazka as our own was a move that has put us and our goals in harm’s way. Our inside sourses say that Starblaydia is up in arms over the situation and the Lord-Protector has even made moves for intervention. How will we stand against the Purple Giant?”
Istrianii was furious. “How will we stand? On our feet with our heads held high like true Vegai. Long gone are the days where we will cower before our rivals. Gone is the time where we could not stand on our own feet and force those who oppose us to take notice and be wary.”
Hugas, to his credit, did not back down from the irate Presidente Commandante. “But their navy is already on the move!”
Istrianni smiled. “Ah yes. That. They will take up position in the straits between 95X and Savski Venac in a show of force. And yet already we have counter-moved and when they arrive they shall be greeted by our own forces casually performing routine training exercises off the coasts of 95X and Vettrera. I see the move as symbolic and nothing will come of it.”
“You will oppose the Lord-Protector so openly!” Hugas was shocked.
“You serve the Empire, not the Lord-Protector!” She quieted before continuing. “Julius has soiled his diaper and needs changed before he will stop his crying.”
Hugas nearly whispered across the table. “He has ears everywhere and will know of that comment very soon.”
Istrianii smiled again. “I do hope so. In fact I shall tell him that myself. Send a message to Julius Starblayde that I wish for a face to face meeting. We shall see if 95X will play host for this. And inform dear Julius as well that I shall bring the baby powder. It should help with his chafing.”
This post has been edited by Andossa Se Mitrin Vega on Jul 19 2013, 12:17 PM |
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In his past, the General had objected to the use of the term "War Council" to denote meetings between the Government, Defence Forces, and the High Court's representative - if they bothered to send one. "We haven't been in a war since, well, the one we weren't really fighting," he had said long ago, as the occupation remained a sensitive subject for the sons of those who lived it. "It misses the point of what our defence force does - to prevent the possibility of war on our soil, and give our people a chance to show some citizenship and self worth. It's a machine that is ready for war if it must be, but plans to never fight it."
While he prevailed on that front - the group was now called the Council of State, serving the purpose of coordinating the efforts of the government's civil service and justice functions with the defence forces, all in accordance with the rulings of the High Court, though usually in their absence - he realized that, today, the previous term might be more accurate.
"Signals indicate movements from both Vegai and Starblaydi forces into the area surrounding the former Kagdaz lands to our north," an officer briefed - Connell had missed the soldier's name and rank. "The Vegai have claimed to be working on a humanitarian mission, however their efforts look more like occupier to me."
That caught Connell's attention. "Occupier? That's a very strong claim to make - and a word you better be damn sure you're using correctly around here, son. Care to explain?"
The solider-turned-analyst faced the Chief-of-Staff of the Defence Forces. "Yes, General, sir, it is a very serious accusation to make, but one that is clear from previous actions by the Vegai, as well as their friends, the Wightlings. First, there's Burk’dyngr. Second, they form a defence alliance with Wight, taking land on the Wightling lands in the process. Then, Wight takes possession of the Milles Quatre-Vignt Trieze Iles in the name of helping the Septen peoples. It's a disturbing trend there alone."
"Now we have this, a vast expanse of land whch, as per our latest intelligence, contains very few people, most having joined their Pazhujebi brothers in the far south" the analyst continued, voice growing firmer. "They are establishing a strong holding on the continent, claiming humanitarian purposes, which I'll believe just as soon as I see a sober Druid, and it's a potential threat. I worry about what comes next, sir."
Connell remained silent, debating between acknowledging the results, and chastising his subordinate.
Fortunately, he had to do neither.
"Wow, Francis, you brought us someone with a mouth today." commented the Director-General, Marcus Gomer. He turned to the presenter. "What's your name, son?"
The solider saluted. "Malcolm, sir. Reynard Malcolm, rank Lieutenant. I apologize for my frankness and lack of decor, sir, and ask that the urgency of the issue be considered a mitigation."
The Director-General laughed. "Don't worry, son, I'm not your direct commander, so to speak. And as I'm sure the General over here would tell you," Gomer added, ignoring the cringe he saw coming from his counterpart in the Defence Force, "you will be forgiven much if you're right, and little if you're wrong."
He turned to the General. "So, General, is this young lieutenant Malcolm worth forgiving?"
The General turned to the young analyst. "Thank you for your presentation, Lieutenant. Your insight is helpful to the conversation, and you are dismissed."
Lt. Reynolds breathed a sigh of relief as he hurried out of the room at a brisk walk.
Connell turned to Golem. "The kid's right, we have a problem. Even if this is the end of the Vegai expansion, it's both a considerable expanse of land, and it is on our soil. For them to trot out the humanitarian excuse yet again is, I must say, either a sign that they think we're stupid, or that they just don't care about what the international community thinks."
The Director-General nodded. "So, what do we do about it? Last I checked, we weren't exactly a naval force."
"That is correct, sir. Land engagements, especially on our soil, will favor us heavily, and we have sufficient air support to keep from losing our skies entirely to most, but we're not designed to travel elsewhere and fight a war - since we've never been that way, and don't plan to start."
"Agreed. Our efforts are on the homeland, meaning that any international efforts will be diplomatic." He turned to the Director of Foreign Service. "Your turn, Wilma. Do we have foreign service assets with the nations involved?"
The career foreign-servicewoman didn't hesitate. "Only with Starblaydia, sir. Ambassador Reiner remains with them in Jhanna. We do not have formal relations with the Vegai, however we do with their close ally, the Falcanians. May I suggest we send a message through Ser Felix?"
Gomer smiled. "Good thinking, madam. Draft those up, and send them to me for a signature."
"Yes, sir. One more thing to remember, if I may: the Vegai and Starblaydi have a history of friendship, and are considered close my many, even with no formal alliances in history." Her face betrayed a few wrinkles as she frowned in seriousness. "If they're willing to do this with a friend, we must be very concerned about how they'll treat everyone else." |
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OOC: I know Falc has not taken a role in this yet, and if he doesn't, shall we expect that he's passed the message on properly, at least?
CODE | Ser Felix,
Greetings. I hope peace and good fortune rests on you, your family, and all those who serve the Falcanian Empire.
Alas, I write to you in less charitable moments. As we have no formal relations with your all, the Draggoni Socialist Empire, I am afraid that I must direct my protest to you, regarding recent actions of the Vegai. While the decline and fall of the Kagdaz has been sad, we had received word that they were largely safely ensconced in Pazhujebi lands to the south of us. With this having been done, it should eliminate any need for action in their former homeland, which is why we find the actions of your allies troubling at best. I am aware that Falcania is in favor of extending their borders whenever necessary, but I find that taking such holdings - especially those with no logical connection to the Draggoni Socialist Empire - are at best an insult to the rest of the international community, and at worst, inviting significant action from your new neighbors.
I ask that the Draggoni Socialist Empire consider carefully the implications of their actions before they move forward with a further land grab, under the guise of humanitarian efforts. I hope that the Falcanian Empire will make a note of the actions of their allies, and how it reflects upon them as well.
With respect and honor, I remain yours,
Wilma Devaney, Director of Foreign Service On behalf of the People and Government of Legalese
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OOC: Ooooh goodie. This is my kinda news.
Council of the Nation Chamber, Floor 85, The Citadel
There was lots of shouting, that was for certain.
The chamber had not been this crowded in quite some time. At the far end of the table, Alp, Shelb and Baill were quietly chatting, but nobody had expected them to come into this affair much. But apart from that, everybody was up in arms.
King Falcon sat at the end of the table, motionless, and impassive, as people talked at him. Warst was doing his best to quell the emotions of those involved. Radnett was bellowing at Ceorgo and Akikka. Pack and Coopst were in the middle of a low-key but intense argument. Porston and Northwatch sat opposite each other, staring daggers. Jonnes had his head in his hands.
Princess Jerinna looked up at her father. The old man was looking... old. Even the very finest healthcare that money could by couldn't halt the deterioration of the Falcanian frame. He was lucky to have made it this far, into his early sixties.
He gave a small cough.
Everyone around the table fell silent.
"Ladies, gentlemen, we find ourselves at an impasse, do we not?" He said quietly. "The Dragon will have what the Dragon will want. There is nothing short of military intervention which will stop this expansion."
"That is the point, sire," interjected High Marshal Pack. "The Giant has been awaking for many, many years now. They have always been keen on emphasising their continuing strength and prowess after many years of peace."
"So have we, Marshal. All our activities in the past few years - the 'humanitarian efforts' in Snorth, that blockade-busting business with the Leorudians, marching up and down the Starblaydi coastline, what is all of that, if not posturing? This is the truth of it: Since the civil war, we, as a nation, we have all felt humbled on the global stage. Fifty years have not been sufficient to heal our wounded pride. You can see it on the streets, hear it in taverns, watch it on the news. The war made us feel weak, and we want to feel strong."
"But that is what I am saying, sire! Finally, we have a chance to defeat Starblaydia in the field!"
"Do you think that would make us feel strong, Marshal?" Falcon snapped. "A war with the old enemy? Committing loyal highborn lives to the grinder for your own satisfaction? Plunging us back into war?"
"We were once the greatest nation in the whole of Atlantian Oceania!" Pack shouted back. "Not just one of the greatest, the greatest overall! Before the war, before any of this, back when the Low were crawling out of the mud with their stones and their spears we sat atop our castles like gods! And you would have us bow before the Starblaydi mud-men? Have you forgotten the Phoenix?"
There was a silence, and the general feeling that Pack was on the verge of regicide, or suicide.
"I think you have forgotten yourself, momentarily, High Marshal." This was Jerinna's voice. "You address the King."
"I'm currently addressing a feeble old man's whelp." He turned back to the King. "If you are too weak to be King, I think it's time we had a new one."
"You challenge me, Pack?" Falcon said. "You challenge me in the old way?"
Before Pack could answer, Jerinna was on her feet. "High Marshal Allian Pack. I accuse you beneath the open sky of treason. Will you stand my challenge?"
Pack looked at her contemptuously. "You, whelp? What contest of honour would that be?" But if you must-"
Jerinna pulled her handgun from its holster and shot the ground by his feet.
All eyes were on her.
"If you wish to dissent, feel free. But do not threaten the King."
She sat down. Pack paused for a moment, and sat down also.
"Alright," said the King. "What resources do we have?"
"Phoenix group is, as ever, on task near Starblaydi airspace. Feather is also on extended patrol around the north and west."
"The two stalwarts. Perfect." The King drummed his fingers. "We will stand by our allies. We will not inflame the conflict any further. We are the Falcon. We will hover overhead, keeping a watchful eye on the situation. I'll draft some statements."
Jerinna helped him to his feet, and he walked out. |
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Falcania |
Winging It Since 2004 |
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