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All across the grand nation of the Dominion of Khazaron cities became more and more packed with massive throngs of people. In Archon City alone, the overcrowding has gotten so bad that people are said to be sharing small three room apartments with upwards of ten or more people. The government is doing its best to try and stem the tide of this overcrowding, opening up now government housing projects as well as pushing for urban expansion, but it seems that at this point it would be like trying to stop a bus-sized hole in a dam with a pebble. Facing the nasty byproducts of increased crime and pollution due to overcrowding in their cities, the newly elected National Assembly of Khazaron met to hold a vote on what should be done in concern to this problem.
"We cannot stand by and let our people suffer in these squalid conditons." Announced Archon Philip of Amaria, speaking on behalf of the Democratic Alliance Party. "However, urban expansion is not the way either. We have many lush and verdant forests here in our nation, and to sacrifice them would be as great a crime as allowing our people to continue is such crowded spaces. To that end, myself and the rest of the members of my party are drafting a proposition that we will send to the Patriarch and other nations of AO, requesting for an expansion of borders for our people."
| QUOTE | To: His Excellency James Khara, and Esteemed Nations of Atlantian Oceania
From:The National Assembly of Khazaron
Due to recent population explosions throughout our nation, and the massive overcrowding that has resulted thereof, we the people of Khazaron do humbly request from our leader and brother nations permission to expand our borders. We do so because, although we could feasibly expand our urban centers to accomadate our current predicament, we hold nothing but the utmost respect for the environment of our land. To that end we wish not to ravage the land we currently inhabit, but seek to expand our land further east, in order to ease the tension on our people.
We put forth this letter to all in order that all may know the intentions of our surveyors in the area, as well as bring forth any objections that you may have. We await your reply. |
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Not long after drafting the letter, the National Assembly received word from the office of James Khara to go ahead and begin preliminary explorations into the lands bordering on their east. Five teams, of about 20 persons each, where organized and placed under the command of the Assembly Committee for Khazaronian Expansion. Each team contained at least three linguists/diplomats, five anthropologists, five surveyors, and seven military guards. The linguists/diplomats where to help in communicating with any indigenous peoples that could not speak either Khazaronian or English, the anthropologists where their to help ascertain what would be the best mode for transition of the region from their culture into the Khazaronian culture, the surveyors where to assess the natural resources of the region and report any significant finds (mineral deposits, good quality lumber, oil, etc.), and lastly the guards where their to protect the groups as they traversed the unknown areas.
According to Khazaronian intelligence the area had been previously inhabited in the past, but the current state of affairs within the area was mostly unknown. Fly-bys of the area by the Khazaronian Air Force had revealed small settlements and villages several miles east of the border. This was attributed to being the descendants of exiles and criminals from the early days of the old Khazaronian Republic, and even before then. Beyond that though, it was difficult for the government to find any signs of human habitation. Their planes flew as far as they could manage, but all settlements seemed to strangely end abruptly after the strip of villages and towns they had found several miles outside of their border. When this was reported back to the ACKE, they issued a word of caution to the five groups and even upgraded their supplies to include military SUVs and the best in armor and weapons for their guards.
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Theoretically the world's population could live in a city the size of Cockbill street. Still, go ahead, if it makes you feel good. May I consider artificial islands? |
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Falcania |
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Winging It Since 2004 |
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Posts: 776 |
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The Khazaronian teams began their slow but sure advancement towards the east. Within a day they where already beyond the Khazaronian border, and two days later they began encountering some of the villages that their recon flights had reported when conducting the fly-by of the area. Suprisingly enough, the initial contact between the Khazaronians, and what could be deemed their long-lost cousins, was fairly easy going. Talks between the two where slow at first due to their speaking of a strange dialect that consisted of old Khazaronian and a variety of other languages, most notably Arabic and German, but progressed quickly after they where able to get a basic lexicon down. This whole procedure of initial contact toke several weeks, and saw tensions jump between the two. The natives appeared to be wary about what these new visitors where doing, but once they began to recognize some of their current Khazaronian dialect, they grew at ease and welcomed them, albeit cautiously.
Once a dialogue was opened, the teams began explaining to the villagers that they where part of an advanced scouting party for a nearby nation that was suffering from overpopulation and looking to relocate some of their civilians to take the stress of the cities back west. The teams where hoping to speak with the village leaders in an effort to broker some kind of deal between their people and the Dominion of Khazaron. The initial reaction of the villagers was guarded, and had it not been for the relation between the two groups, would have turned to outright hostility. Several villages began to threaten to kick the groups out and chase them all the way back across the border.
But, they had come prepared for this as well. After sitting down with the leaders, the groups stated that if the villages where willing to concede to Khazaronian authority, not only would they ensure that the current structure of power would remain unchanged in the immediate future, until a rightfully elected local government could be established, but that they would also be given an equal voice in the National Assembly, along with the full backing of Khazaronian civilization and citizenship. The prospect of having their technology take a leap a century leap forward (The average level of technology in the area was about early 20th century.) was indeed pleasing to the leaders.
Word was sent back home to the ACKE of the contact made with the villages. Aside from the initial hostility between the two, and the unsure discussions that where occurring right now, the teams also made report of the fact that their seemed to be an abundance of easily treated diseases in the area. This was mostly due to inadequate plumbing and sanitation conditions. Also, several of them appeared to be suffering from a rather nasty version of the flu. It was decided then, that in addition to the current teams already their, that ACKE would send over medical teams to begin looking at the various villagers throughout the area, in an attempt to help treat them and stem the tide of sickness. Of course this would also serve to show them the benefits of accepting Khazaronian rule.
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Having reviewed a map of the area, King Falcon II has ordered several tonnes of a new form of material to Khazaron. The material, designed by Jay Industries, is denser than water, and, when exposed to water, will swell to around 30 times its original volume. Several shipments of this material will be made, should Khazaron decide to start building artificial islands. Rumour has it that the original Falcanian Isle is an artificial isle, but nobody can hold their breath for long enough to dive underwater and find out. |
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Falcania |
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Winging It Since 2004 |
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Posts: 776 |
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A military transport helicopter landed about a hundred feet away from a collection of tents set just outside a dense forest region surrounding a group of three mountains. The side door opened and out stepped five individuals. Two of the men had on army fatigues and had AK-47’s slung over their shoulders, while the other three wore the same fatigues, yet wore a white armband with a red cross on it. The individuals quickly scurried away from the helicopter, allowing it to take off once again. One of the men with the white armband turned to the soldier nearest to him. “So what’s the deal here? Am I to understand that we where flown all the way from Archon City just to look at some simple flu victims?” The man said, a slight hint of annoyance in his voice. The soldier turned and shrugged at the medic. “I’ve got no idea sir, we were just told to come and pick you guys up because they want to get a second opinion on this. Something about you guys being the best in your field or something. We’re just here to play bodyguards and make sure nothing happens to you.” The three medics turned and grinned at each other, a feeling of pride swelling up in each of them.
A few minutes later they reached the camp. What they saw where various doctors and nurses scrambling into and out of tents, many of them still wearing their white operating gowns and masks. “I don’t understand.” said the only female medic of the group. “I thought that the reports stated this was just a simple flu epidemic, but nothing beyond what our modern medicine could handle.” The other guard that was escorting them turned to her, a grim look on his face, and he nodded. “That’s how it started out, at least according to the teams that had the initial contact with the villages.” Replied the soldier, who turned to look at a group of doctors wheeling a moaning patient on a gurney into a nearby tent. “Not long ago though, the outbreak began to get worse. Docs are still trying to figure out exactly what’s going on. All they know is that it seems to be spreading, and it appears to be pretty nasty.” The three medics nodded in reply to the soldier. “I suppose it would be best if you lead us to the one in charge of this facility. We need to know exactly what has been going on here and what they have found out so far.” The female medic said. Both the soldiers nodded and lead the medics down the road between the lines of tents, moans of agony emitting from all around.
Meanwhile a military patrol had been sent out to investigate the disappearance of one of the ACKE teams. A group of ten soldiers, five on foot and five in an armored SUV, slowly made their way through the jungle. Vines fell from all around and it was a miracle that they hadn’t been tangled up yet. One of the soldiers on foot looked off into the distance and then looked down at a marked map he was carrying. Turning to his companions in the car he pointed towards a clearing that could be seen not far off. “This is where we think their last transmission came from.” The soldier said.
Making their way into the clearing, the car and soldiers came to a dead halt. Those soldiers that had been walking besides the SUV readied their weapons and began to stare nervously in all directions. The sight that had greeted the men was one of horror. Off to the right side of the clearing lay the burned out hulks of what had been the two SUVs used by the team. Their gear appeared to be scattered around in the center ground of the clearing, beaten and broken in to several pieces. Meanwhile the bodies of several of the members of the lost team where seen just off in the distance, piled up on each other. The soldiers in the armored SUV where already on the horn calling HQ.
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The days rolled on and the Khazaronians continued their advance into the newly opened frontier. Viral outbreaks continued to be reported across the new territory, and doctors had yet to find a way to trace things back to a Patient Zero. Furthermore, the virus seemed to be mutating at an alarmingly rapid pace. Treatment methods that had worked just a few weeks prior on individuals where now hardly effecting the sick at all, mostly just helping to lessen their symptoms and allow their body some respite from having to constantly fight off infection. On the positive side though, those that had been treated previously where seen to be immune to the virus as it was right now, though with the mutations the government still kept quarantine in full effect.
Attacks on ACKE teams continued, with three other groups having been reported as being wiped out by as yet unknown aggressor. By order of the National Assembly and the Minister of Defense all further excursions of a non-military nature into the new area where halted. From now on the Khazaronian military would be sending out armored transports and re-initiating fly-bys of the region, in order to find where the threat was emanating from. News of these attacks in the villages near the Khazaronian border had more than just the teams worried, as the villagers became skittish and superstitious when the Khazaronians mentioned continuing excursions deeper into the area. Several statements of the area being “cursed” or “haunted” where mentioned.
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Three heavily armored SUVs slowly advanced through the jungle foliage. Atop each vehicle where heavy machine guns manned by men in standard issue camouflage, who where continuously scanning their surroundings for anything out of the ordinary. Along side the SUVs, on each side of them, walked about twenty or so men brandishing assault rifles and the same military outfit as those that where manning the machine guns on the SUVs. A quick glance at the flag that was painted onto the right side of each of the vehicles revealed that these where but one of the many military groups that had been sent out into the new frontier territory of Khazaron. They where charged by the Assembly and Patriarch Khara himself with the discovery of what was attack their attempts and recon and colonization. So far they had come across very little except the standard menagerie of jungle beasts.
One of the soldiers who was on foot, walked in front of the column and appeared to be leading them through the jungle. His shoulders bore a Captain’s insignia, and on his left upper arm, there was a patch that revealed he was part of the 7th Heavy Infantry Division. The sound of the rustle of leaves and the snapping of branches caused him to raise his right hand to signal the column to stop. The other soldiers toke up defensive positions around the column, and the machine gunners trained their weapons on the foliage. Another rustle of leaves was heard, and it continued for awhile, seeming to get closer as they stood their. One of the men standing next to the captain turned to him and whispered: “I don’t get it. Why do we keep getting all jumpy at the sound of some leaves and twigs? Every time we do this, it just turns out to be some lion or a bird or something.” The captain turned and gave the soldier a stern glance. The soldier quickly got the message and returned to his duties.
A few minutes passed by as the rustling continued and then stopped suddenly as a group of lions jutted across the path and disappeared quickly in the other side of the road, briefly crossing the vision of the soldiers. Several of the men let out a sigh of relief and lowered their guard. “Stay on guard!” Came the quick reply from their captain, who kept on alert. “Aw come on Cap, it was just some lions again.” The captain turned to the soldier and glared. “And you didn’t bother to think that maybe there was a reason those lions didn’t try to stop and have us for dinner? That maybe, they where more concerned about…” The captain didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell to the ground frothing at the mouth and twitching as if in a seizure.
One of the soldiers flanking him quickly knelt down to check on him, only to himself fall down and go into a seizure. A strange whooping and hollering sound then was heard all around the men, and then two more of them dropper to the ground. That was the last straw and the machine gunners and soldiers began to fire into the surrounding foliage. However, despite their best efforts, the strange whooping and hollering did not dissipate. In fact, it seemed to intensify and get worse, with several other men dropping to the ground in spasms as the others tried to locate the disturbance and neutralize it.
Several minutes later, all the men lay dead on the ground. A strangely clad group of individuals, wearing black dyed animal skins and what appeared to be human bones, walked through the collection of dead bodies. Their faces looked like something out of a horror novel as their hair was matted from lack of hygiene, their teeth filed to sharp points, and what appeared to be dried blood caked all over their faces. The largest of them appeared to be directing the others to begin stripping the bodies of their equipment. |
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General Kansing sat in a folding chair, staring over a map, on the table before him, that was pock-marked with bright red dots to indicate the various areas where his patrols had come under attack by the assailants. So far the reports indicated that the majority of these mysterious attacks where initiated by what appeared to fearsome clad tribal people that lived somewhere deep within the jungle of the newly opened frontier. They looked like cavemen, yet they fought much differently than that. There was a certain amount of brutal effectiveness to their attacks. None of it made any sense. If these where tribesmen, then how could they outgun heavily armed patrols? General Kansing shook his head as he traced his finger along a string of red dots on the map that where placed not to far from where his HQ now was. He had been given specific orders, in light of these new attacks, to begin an all out war in the area, to push these people back and secure the region for Khazaron.
A red-haired lieutenant walked into the General’s tent and saluted. General Kansing looked up and sighed. “Yes? What is it Sira? Can’t you see that I’m busy? I’ve got ACKE and the Patriarch breathing down my neck to secure this place so we can start establishing colonies here.” The lieutenant nodded. “I apologize sir, but our scouts have something have reported something rather…interesting.” The General looked at Sira with a puzzled look and motioned with his hand for him to continue. “We’ve detected large movements in the jungle areas that we have been monitoring since the attacks began. It appears that our mysterious enemy is on the move sir.” General Kansing became distinctly more interested in the topic of conversation. “Where to?” asked the General.
Lieutenant Sira walked up to the map that was before the General and pointed to the north-eastern area of the new frontier. “This area sir. As far as we can tell, they all appear to be moving there. Strange thing is, since we discovered this movement, we haven’t had a single attack on our patrols.” The General nodded and stood up. “Notify the Patriarch of this new development. I want to troop movements to go ahead as planned. Maybe we can catch this buggers off guard, and even if we don’t, we still need to secure the area and prep for the coming colonists.” The lieutenant nodded, saluted and left. |
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The Khazaronian units advanced in all directions, hoping to catch their mysterious enemy off guard and to put an end to the attacks on their people. However, despite how far they moved into the area, they encountered no resistance from their foe. Nothing happened, no attacks on convoys, no attempted raids on supply lines, and no threats or warning signs where left for the military to find. This made the men even more antsy and friendly-fire incidents sky-rocketed as patrols began to bump into, and spook each other. What was even stranger still was that the cases of the flu being reported dropped dramatically after the military began their advance into the area. No sane person would say it out loud, but there everyone was thinking it, that somehow these mysterious individuals where linked to the outbreak of the new flu.
Regardless of what the cause was, for the first time in months the medical personnel that had been sent to deal with the outbreaks where making headway against it. Finally the hospitals that had been set up where becoming less crowded with patients, as more effective treatments against the latest incarnation of the disease where found. Hopes where at least high for the medical community in the area, while the military remained cautious and prohibited any further civilian advancement into the territory until they had made darn sure there was no possible threat.
Countless weeks passed as the military finally reached the edge of the new territory and then doubled back, searching every nook and cranny for their elusive foe. In the mean time, the Patriarch and National Assembly had decided to continue on with their discussion with the village leaders in the are. Thanks to Khazaronian aid many people had been saved from the flu epidemic, and crime had dropped dramatically in the area. Many villagers welcome the new peace and security they had. For once they didn’t have to fear bandits or being mugged as they walked across town or between their villages.
As the popularity of the Khazaronian government increased in the area, the Patriarch knew it was time to secure what he had been looking for. In a meeting with the major leaders of the area, ACKE representatives and Jonathan Cair, who spoke on behalf of the Patriarch, offered the people of the new territory a multi-stepped plan to be annexed into the Dominion. First would come the setting up of multiple new urban areas in select parts of the territory. Caution would be used to choose sites that would be the least intrusive into the natural environment, and the villagers could have the choice of moving to these new cities or staying where they where. Each city would be the center of a frontier zone, and serve as the central governing position of that zone. On top of that, each zone would be allowed to elect two non-voting representatives to the National Assembly.
Once the population and urbanization of each zone reached a satisfactory level, they would be offered up for official annexation into the Dominion. However it was clearly stated that most of the zones would probably split up into multiple new districts once over this process, to make things nice and even with the other 13 that already existed. After official annexation, each new district would be allowed to elect their own Archons to send to the National Assembly.
While some dissent was heard from the leaders, most thought this was a fair deal for them to accept. Many of them, after seeing the benefits of Khazaronian society and the end to crime that it brought, where glad to accept almost any conditions, provided they keep receiving those benefits, which of course they did keep receiving. The announcement was made official later that evening and the papers where signed. The military would serve as security while the new urban centers where set up. Once things settled down, police and other law enforcement officials would take over. For the most part, the villagers opted to stay where they where, petitioning to have several of the larger towns set up as the first of the new urban centers. Seeing as how this cut the cost of having to build something from scratch, ACKE readily accepted this proposal, establishing the first several urban centers along their border. |
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