SDN World 3 Story Thread I

[Siege]

Cairo

The office of Aly Dessaix Pasha, as Wazir al-Istishara the head of the Sultan's diplomatic staff, was decorated in an eclectic and surprisingly un-Islamic fashion. In fact it looked more like a public art gallery, containing a bewildering mish-mash of artifacts ranging from Orthodox icons, Roman statuettes and medieval oil paintings to modern masterpieces from the hands of Cézanne and Picasso.

The Wazir himself sat on a plush chair that had once belonged to Louis XIV. The former Frenchman stroked his arrow-pointed goatee. "So. There is finally peace between Mexico and Colombia?"

"Indeed, Wazir," his aide nodded. Then the man frowned. "Or at least we think so -- the leaked draft treaty is written in terrible French. But we're reasonably sure they mean to sign a peace."

"Ah," the Wazir sipped of his tea. "That is unfortunate. If the Mexicans had pushed on, the Colombians might have bombed the locks to their canal before letting it fall into the hands of their adversaries. I take it this possibility can now be ruled out."

"Indeed, sidi."

"Truly a pity." Aly Dessaix Pasha shrugged. "Well then. Give word to my broker that he is to sell twenty percent of my stocks in the Suez Canal within the hour. After that I will brief the Sultan."

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Imperial Chronicles

15th July 1926

Roman Emperor Alexios IV Komnenos, flipped through his set of papers prepared by Exarch Ignatius Korolev and John Doukas. There were many matters of concern to the Emperor. For one, the situation in South East Asia. The bulk of Roman forces were based in Europe and Persia, and only a few squadrons were spared for the East. The integration of Yogjakarta continues slowly. Some degree of resistance against Roman rule naturally occurred, though the Communist Party, in a secret agreement with the Emperor, helped a fair bit in easing the integration. Most of the Dutch Communist Party saw the virtues of cooperating, but pockets of resistance still persisted. The recent explosion involving a German liner was disturbing, and troops from the Legio XII Javanopolis were on high alert for possible bombings. Aid to Afghanistan was slowly streaming in via rail, as the Romans had a valid interest in ensuring that their corporate holdings in Afghanistan stayed intact and free from their ... rather belligerent neighbour.

The Emperor had arrived with Ignatius at Taranto, the Imperial Navy base at the southern tip of Italy, and now headed up to Florence via rail, to meet the President of Cascadia, along with the leaders of the Kingdom of Tuscany. Much there was to discuss, and some treaties to be signed.

[Lascaris]

A collaboration between me and Thanas, with moi providing the intrepid British journalist and Thanas the supreme warlord...



Berlin,
Stadtschloss

The journalist was led in and noticed the strained face of Gustav Stresemann, the foreign secretary.

The journalist started: "What is your majesty's view of Germany surrendering the grand majority of the territory of Elsaß-Lothringen to France?"

Wilhelm frowned, not having anticipated such a question. Then, he settled on: "My dear fellow. I fear you are misinformed...we returned about half of the territory, especially the french-speaking parts. For that part, I do not really care for it - if the french want to belong to the french, let them. We retained the German parts, after all.

"What about all the non-German subjects of the Reich then? If your majesty doesn't particularly care about the French of Elsaß-Lothringen and their lands then what about the Italians or the Hungarians or all the Slavs? Or the Walloons for that matter? Would you for example trade off territory to the Balkan Confederacy if it meant large German gain elsewhere?"

His Imperial Majesty threw up his hands. "Slow down, slow down." Wilhelm laughed. "The Italians and Hungarians are bound to us by a common history, as are the Walloons. The Russian exiles are here because we are honour bound to help those in need. As for trading off territory - why? Do you know something I do not? Has the Balkan confederacy made an offer?" Wilhelm laughed once more. "In all seriousness, dear fellow, Germany has no aspirations to the Balkans. As Bismarck once said, they are not worth the bones of a single Pommerian grenadier."

The journalist continued. "With the addition of the Low Countries, Germans have become a clear minority inside the Reich. How does this affect the nature of the empire? Will the empire retain its Germanic nature even though Germans are now in the minority?"

"Good heavens. What math do they teach in British schools? Anyway, of my close to 200 million subjects, about 75 of them are dutch or walloon. We have about five million russian immigrants, six million chinese immigrants, twelve million Italians and 20 million Hungarians. That still leaves a sizable German majority." The Emperor looked at Stresemann for confirmation, but the face of the foreign secretary had gone ashen.

"Would you agree that the recent French-German treaty returning Elsaß-Lothringen to France as well as allowing France to annex large areas of Belgium is essentially overthrowing the whole German policies for the past century and more? Especially the policies of your grandfather and Bismarck who adamantly opposed Napoleon III putting his sights on the Low Countries even in exchange for French alliance and then made Elsaß-Lothringen part of the Reich? Were their policies wrong?"

Wilhelm smiled. "I exchanged several miles of territory for gaining two nations. What better vindication can there be? Bismarck was a man of his time. I am a man of my time. Why should we slavishly cling to dicta of the past when the times are changing?"

"Are we to assume by this that your majesty sees nothing wrong to a nation taking over by force of arms another, at least under certain circumstances? To use another communist state as an example what if it was for example Cisplatina and Chilitina trying to dismantle Brazil?"

"Is Brazil a terror state that keeps its citizens under an iron yoke? I do not think so, then again, I have never been there."

"Germany prides itself at being the most powerful nation of the continent. Was it really necessary to surrender German territory to France in order to obtain French support in overthrowing the Dutch communists?"

"Knowing the dismal state of the dutch defenses, it was not necessary. However, at that time we simply did not knew that the dutch were so ill-prepared. They did their best and General Seyffart is a great general - but the best general can only do the best with what he is given by the politicians. You know, I face the same problem with my Reichstag. They always refuse an increase in military spending."

The journalist smiled. "Speaking of the Reichstag, how do the recent reforms affect your constitutional position? Some analysts say that the reforms effectively minimize your role to no more than a figurehead. How accurate if at all is this?"

Wilhelm nodded. "Oh, constitutions are constitutions and monarchs are monarchs. As long as my Reichskanzler does what he is told, I am happy. I pay no mind to the press and saying of so-called analysts. I am invested by God and only God himself determines my actions."

"Many in Britain feel uncomfortable at the prospect of the coasts of the Low Countries coming under French but also German control. Should we actually fear the fact that most of the Dutch and Belgian coasts are in German hands?"

Wilhelm laughed, a deep boisterous laugh. "Oh, you English. Always so afraid, like hare before the fox. I have always been a friend of your country. The mere matter of Germany being more powerful than England and the German Navy being the strongest in Europe should not matter. If I wanted to see the destruction of England, I would already have ordered my great Navy to set upon yours."

Wilhelm paused a minute before continuing. "But I am no enemy of England. I am a friend of England. Why can't your government not accept that? Why do I always hear screaming whenever I launch a new battleship? Why can't England just accept its place in the world? Why can't your mad populace notice that Germany is a true friend and not an enemy? I was educated in England. Do you really think I will destroy the home of my beloved grandmother?"

"Someone might think from your comment on Britain not accepting its proper place in the world that you consider the position of the Reich superior to other powers. Is this correct?"

Wilhelm grew furious. "Oh, you British, always twisting the words like you are some Je"- Wilhelm barely stopped himself. " - like you are some merchant. My position is what it is. We Germans have certainly been blessed for the duration of my reign, and that is all I will say on this matter."

"Your majesty has repeatedly stated his desire for closer ties with the United Kingdom. Yet in the recent Dutch war while your country has sought support in its actions in advance from several states like Spain and Portugal it did not see fit to contact Britain despite the great interest Britain always had on the fate of the Low Countries. Some even allege this being a clear sign of German hostility towards Britain. What is your Majesty's stand on the matter. Why Britain was not contacted in any way?"

Wilhelm smiled, his rage evaporating. "My dear fellow, does Britain ask for permission to conduct its foreign policy? Fact of the matter, we are allied with both Portugal and Spain. We are not allied with Britain. Did Britain ask Prussia for permission when it conducted its wars?"

"By the same logic you shouldn't had contacted France as well? Why you sought French but not British alliance at the time?"

"Why, my dear fellow, you British seem to harbor some sort of unnatural aversion to me which saddens me deeply. The Non-aggression pact barely passed. On the other hand, the French immediately accepted the offer. And they were of much more help than Britain could ever have been. The fact is, Germany does not need Britain, but Britain needs German goodwill more than ever. Without is, who will protect you from Socialism? Who will protect you from the Dominion? I suggest Britain learns to take care of its responsibilities to the world. There are no British ship patrolling the Indian Oceans. But German ships are there, risking their lives to make sure all shipping can pass. Why do the Brits fail to live up to their responsibilities to civilization?"

"Speaking of the Indian Ocean, what is your country's stand on the Shepistani-Grand Dominion conflict as well as their claims over navigation in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian sea?"

The German Emperor scowled. "Their claims are as valid as Britain claiming navigation rights in the English channel, that is, none at all. However, they are not a priority. I am not worried about them."

[Lonestar]

Eastern Palk Strait


The Vanguard and Sternguard stood out several kilometers from the bevy of sloops, minesweepers, chartered ocean liners, and chartered fishing trawlers. The rinky-dink collection of two-dozen vessels went to work offloading dummy mines, practicing seamanship, and learning that civilian ship captains were perhaps not as good at sudden manuevers and convoy movements as naval crews.

There had been some excitment as a fishing trawler had reported a periscope. Two destroyers had spread out and promptly depth-charged the hell out of a unfortunate pod of dolphins.

Results: Major fleet exercise as the Grand Dominion practices large scale mine laying.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Imperial Chronicles
Aegean sea near Crete

The newly received aircraft from the Sultanate were loaded onto the INS Goliath. The ship would later set out together with a heavy escort of ships, to let the pilots have their first taste of landing on the ship at sea. Previously, they had done most of their practice on the ground. Some new ideas and tactics were to be practiced, to see how good the aircraft were with bombing and torpedo runs. Things appear to be at their infancy, because of how slow the aircraft were. Nevertheless, the idea of parking a carrier not too far off the coast, and having her aircraft bomb static fortifications was a rather interesting idea that merited some study. Two light carrier conversions were underway, in the continuing aim of the Imperial Navy to experiment with new tactics.

Nearby, submarines and destroyers were busy with their mining exercises, and minesweepers were hard at work at countermining. This would be under close observation of Naval command. Subsequent exercises will be conducted at Basra, and areas near the Persian gulf, where possible future conflicts may occur.

Fleet gunnery remained an important part of fleet training, and rumours were swirling around that the first two dreadnaughts of the Imperial Navy were likely to be decommissioned. One was likely to be relegated as a training ship, while the other was to have its armaments removed, and the ship used as a target. The removed guns were likely to be based near Basra as part of the ongoing improvements to naval fortifications throughout the Empire.

[Thanas]

Berlin, Stadtschloss

Stresemann hurried after the British journalist, trying to get him to hold back on publication of the interview. Unsurprisingly, he was unsuccessfull as the Journalist gleefully reminded him of the constitution that was just enacted and had the provision of no censorhip.

Visibly shaken, Stresemann returned to the Reichskanzlei, where he was presented with even more bad news. Apparently the Colombians and the Mexicans had signed a peace treaty - and nobody had noticed in time.

Even worse, the sinking of the Bremen was apparently the result of a concentrated resistance attack. Over 400 dutch marines dead and the Naval Staff had not coordinated with him on a response, but instead said it was due to incompetence.



Berlin, Reichskanzlei
July 22nd, 1926
One week later, the interview had been spread around the world and the reactions were less than favorable. With just a few misplaced words, the Emperor had squandered nearly all the goodwill around the globe. The reaction in Germany had been extreme, with the public outcry even more virulent than it had been during the first Telegraph crisis. And now it had come to this. The Berliner Zeitung had gotten wind of a motion before the Reichstag, a motion that was both unprecedented and also devastating to the Emperor.

Berliner Zeitung

Unfit to rule?
We Germans are not unaccustomed to bold words of the Emperor. We all remember when he said that he was "the master of Germany as long as he could take a bataillon and have them storm the Reichstag." While those comments were merely stupid and ignorant, the new interview was not only that, but also deeply damaging to the German Nation.

Not only did his Imperial Majesty insult the Balkan Confederacy by implying that their lands are worth nothing, he also jokingly implied he would trade off the territory of our Italian and Hungarian compatriots if a good enough offer would be presented. His comments reveal a deep lack of knowledge about our trading partner Brazil. The Kaiser also destroyed all diplomatic rapprochement with the Grand Dominion by dismissing their claims as ridiculous. Even worse, he did all but outright say that he considered Britain a country filled with madmen and a weak nation that has to cling to Germany's coattails to survive. He also derided Britain for failing to live up to its promises with a contempt not befitting a monarch.

As if that would not be damaging enough, his Imperial Majesty also showed a deep contempt for the new constitution when he said that the Reichskanzler had to do what he was told. We have got to ask whether his Imperial Majesty is purposefully obstinate or just incapable of reading. We also have to question His Majesty's memory, for this is not the first time he has embarrassed the Empire in an interview with the British press. The fallout of the Telegraph affair is still fresh in the mind of many.

Even more, the recent conduct of his Imperial Majesty's government raises serious questions about his ability to conduct the affairs of state. We have learned through various sources that there has not yet been a German response to the peace treaty signed between Mexico and Gran Colombia. As each of them are valuable trading partners, this is a major diplomatic faux-pas. Furthermore, the recent statement about the loss of the SS Bremen has been called into question by numerous sources. If these allegations are true, the German Navy lied to the public about what caused the death of over 400 marines.

It has become increasingly clear that the Emperor is unable to govern Germany if he does not have a Reichskanzler to hold his hand. We therefore call on the Reichskanzler to end his honeymoon ahead of schedule and hasten back to Berlin. For there can only be one verdict about the Kaiser - that he is unfit to rule.


The Kaiser to resign?
Talking to the press today, Werner Müller from the SPD has confirmed that his party plans to introduce a resolution that calls upon the Kaiser to resign. If the resolution gets a two-third majority, it will be considered binding. Already, the dutch, Hungarian and Italian delegates have confirmed their support for this resolution. The liberal party has also indicated early signs of support. The National liberals and the Conservatives appear to be on the fence. Public opinion also has swayed against the Kaiser - in a recent poll, over 50% of the citizens of the German Empire said the Kaiser should resign, with a further 20% being undecided.

His Majesty was unavailable for a comment.

The dutch delegates have also confirmed their plans to introduce a resolution into the Reichstag, calling upon the Navy to fully disclose the reasons for the loss of the SS Bremen. The resolution will be voted upon in two days.


The replacement?
If the resolution passes, the crown will pass to the Crown Prince, His Royal Majesty Friedrich, King of the Netherlands and of the Belgians, Crown Prince of Prussia, Duke of Brabant etc. His Majesty served as Generalmajor in the Prussian Gardekorps before ascending to the throne of the two Kingdoms, where he has quickly captured the hearts of his subjects. In a recent poll, over 70% of the inhabitants of the two kingdoms stated that they were in favor of their King. Friedrich has reportedly quickly learned dutch and has conducted the business of the two kingdoms without a major incident.

Though there is the question of a royal heir, as he currently is without issue, the Berliner Zeitung believes he will be a worthy successor to the throne and unlike his father would not embarrass the Empire in such a dumb manner.

Stresemann sighed. "I need a line to the coastal garrison of Wangerooge immediately".

Result:
- the german public blows a major fuse over Wilhelm's latest interview
- the Reichstag will vote on whether Wilhelm should resign.

[Thanas]

Wangerooge

Hans exited the coastal gun emplacement with a frown on his face. He did not like disturbing Sänger and his wife, but the news from Berlin left him with no choice. Before he jumped on his bicycle and went on his way, he allowed himself the rare pleasure of smoking a cigarette. Sänger abhorred tobacco, which was also a reason for why he rarely smoked during the day. Looking over the gun emplacements, he noticed how strong the fortress was. Cleverly hidden in the Dünen, it sported a number of heavy guns taken from a scrapped armored cruiser. However, even now workers were starting to dig holes for new gun emplacements. Doubtlessly these would be ready to receive the turrets from the warships currently under refit. Wangerooge was a crucial coastal fortress, guarding Wilhelmshaven as well as the coastal shipping approach to Bremerhaven necessary for a lot of the coal being shipped to the hungry furnaces of Bremen. Therefore, it guarded the two most important shipyards of the German marine.

Having finished his cigarette, he jumped on his bicycle and soon had arrived at the small cottage at the outside of the village that dominated Wangerooge. It has been a nice two weeks, he mused. With no threat, he too had had the luxury of a holiday. Unlike Sänger, he had spent his in the local tavern, listening to the tales of the fishermen. Some of them had been quite angry at his patron for limiting fishing quotas, but the financial compensation had been generous enough to make sure they could maintain their standard of living while fishing less. A lot of the fishermen had joined the expanding German Navy and was taking full advantage of the state - despite drawing their salary from the Navy, they still got the compensation for the lesser quota. While expensive, this also provided the German Navy with a number of experienced sailors, which would come in handy if the Navy were to conduct trials soon for all the export battleships under construction in Germany.

When he arrived at the cottage, it was late afternoon - the drive having taken almost half an hour - and he noticed that the two newlyweds had returned from one of their walks, sitting contently together on the terrace. As always, the Countess had laid her head on the Chancellor's breast, while he held her in an embrace by his right arm, stroking her hair with the other. The two were quietly talking to each other, switching between Russian, French and German as they did. A few meters away, the horses were grazing and Hans stopped a moment to admire the beautiful mare the Countess had received as a wedding gift. He actually did not want to disturb the peace of the moment. Truth to be told, he was glad the Chancellor had married and especially that particular woman, for she seemed to balance him out. This was the first time since he had started working for the Chancellor that he seemed at peace. Which once more made him seriously reconsider his task. But he knew that the Chancellor would have wanted him to, considering the importance of the news.

He announced his presence by clearing his throat. The two looked up, but did not separate, something that made him smile. "Yes, Hans?" The Countess asked. "Matters of state, mylady." Sänger frowned, but nodded. When Hans had finished his tale, the frown had deepened and the Chancellor had stopped stroking the hair of his wife. Then he nodded. Hans took this as his cue to depart and retired to a respectful distance.

Sänger turned towards Natasha. "I am so sorry." She smiled, understanding yet a bit saddened. "I understand. I'll start packing." He was about to suggest that she could stay for the rest, but stopped himself. She would not want to be left out, she would want to share the toils with him. He nodded. "If you want to, we can make this a yearly holiday." Natasha smiled and turning her head, kissed him. After seperating herself, she said: "Oh, I would love that."

Taking a transport plane from the Navy airfield on the island, they arrived at Bremen airport at night. Their luggage and the horses would be sent back via a transport, but time was not something they could afford to waste.



Reichskanzlei,
Berlin

Having taken the night express back to Berlin (but leaving Natasha to enjoy a good nights sleep at his parent's house) Sänger arrived in a foul mood. Storming past the guards and with Hans in tow, he briskly walked through the outer office, glowering at anybody who wished him a good morning. Eventually, he reached his office. Elise was already waiting for him with a fresh cup of coffee. "Good morning, Herr Kanzler." Ignoring the coffee, Sänger went straight for the bar and poured himself a scotch. "I'm tired, I'm cranky, my wife is in Bremen and the government is on the verge of collapse. How is this a good morning?"

Elise just kept smiling, knowing through long practice when to let the chancellor rant. True enough, after a few minutes, Sänger sat down behind his desk. "I am sorry, Elise. Let's get Burchardt, Stresemann and Scheer in here and then weigh our options."

Half an hour later Sänger had read through the summaries of the events when the three men entered. Stresemann immediately tried to apologize, but Sänger just nodded and stopped such an attempt. "What is done is done. Let us try to fix this. Let us start with the easier problems. Stresemann, coordinate with the Spanish a good response to the Mexican/colombian peace treaty. The Spanish want to reinforce their Caribbean presence, let us see if we can assist with them. What else on the diplomatic front?"

"The Dominion and the Byzantine Empire are both conducting massive exercises. Especially the Dominion seems to exercise their minelaying capabilities," Grand Admiral Scheer reported. Burchardt added the obvious: "So Lord Fairfax lied to us about the Dominion plans of not planning to mine the Gulf of Aden". Sänger nodded. "He is not to be trusted. Every attempt I make at rapprochement has been met with only one thing - more Dominion threats. Very well, if he wants to play chicken with us, let him try. What can we do to decrease the risk of mining?"

Scheer thought about this for a moment before replying. "Frankly, given the current state of our defences at Berbera, it is very unlikely the Dominion will even get close enough to start mining. I can write a more detailed report, if you want to." Sänger nodded. "Please do. Now what is this about the loss of the Bremen?"

Scheer swallowed. "I have to report that the Bremen was lost due to a terrorist attack. We believe at least three, possibly more charges were placed alongside its hull. It appears that we cannot discount the possibility of an organized resistance movement." Sänger nodded. "And why did we not say so in the first place?" "The Naval Staff thought it important not to give away too much of our shipbuilding programs by admitting that the docks at Antwerpen and Rotterdam are already filled to capacity." Scheer took a deep breath and then continued: "I am prepared to resign over this."

The Reichskanzler almost immediately shook his head. Scheer had supported him as often as he could, so he deserved some support in return. "Thank you, but no. Germany needs you and I will not have you resign over something like this. Truth to be told, I was under the impression the majority of people in the Netherlands welcomed their new ruler." This time, Stresemann answered. "They did. We think this is just a small group of hardcore communists." "A small group that managed to sink one of our 10 dedicated troop transports. Can she be salvaged?" Scheer shook his head. "No, Herr Kanzler. The cost would far exceed the remaining use she would have."

Sänger stood and contemplated the issue while walking through his office. Eventually, he stopped. "Very well. I shall make a speech to the Reichstag tomorrow regarding the loss of the Bremen." This touched upon the elephant in the room and once more Burchardt asked the obvious. "What about the Kaiser?" Sänger nodded. "How serious is the resolution?" Burchardt nodded. "They are serious." Sänger nodded. "In that case I shall need an audience with His Majesty as soon as possible. Thank you for your time, Gentlemen, Admiral."

The three left the room, but Burchardt remained behind. "How are you?" Sänger snorted. "How do you think I feel right now? Twelve days, Burchardt. Twelve days and the Kaiser makes a mess of things." "Then I take it you want to replace him?" Sänger nodded. "Oh, I certainly want to. But I can't." Burchardt, who had been about to pour himself a glass of scotch, stopped his hand in mid-air. "Why not?" "Because of the Bremen." Burchardt finished pouring the scotch and turned around, his face indicating confusion. "Think, Jakob. What is the most popular German import to the dutch territories?" "The King." Understanding began to dawn on his face.

Sänger finished his scotch. "Indeed. If I replace the beloved Kaiser with the King, there will be nobody as skilled or as beloved to integrate the dutch. Sure, our investments there help, but nothing helps as much as a monarch the dutch like. So I cannot replace the Kaiser with the crown prince, although he certainly would not be as stupid. So at least for the next years, they both have to stay put. We cannot let that resistance grow in force."



Stadtschloss,
Berlin

When Sänger entered the audience chamber of the emperor, he noticed that Wilhelm was barely composed. His face was ashen and he sat even more rigid than usual on the throne. The Kaiser reminded Sänger very much of a drowning man who tried to hold on to a plank for dear life. Curiously, there was a lack of the usual courtiers.

"Your Majesty." "Herr Kanzler." The greeting was curt. Then, as if he could not contain himself any longer, Wilhelm blurted out: "Have you come to tell me that I have to resign?" Sänger looked his monarch in the eye. Then, he bowed his head and said "I have come to tell your Imperial Majesty that I have only one master. And his name is Wilhelm, von Gottes Gnaden Deutscher Kaiser."

The change that came over the Kaiser was immediate. His face lit up and he almost choked on tears of gratitude. Rising from the throne, he walked over to the chancellor. Then, in a loud voice, Wilhelm said: "See this, gentlemen." He then gripped the shoulder of the Chancellor with his good hand. "Here stands a true loyal German." He dropped his hand and lowered his voice so that only Sänger could understand him. "Unlike the rest of my courtiers, of whom half are already trying to curry favor with my son. Dear Kanzler, I shall not forget this."

Then Wilhelm smiled as if a heavy burden had been lifted from him. "What are you planning to do?" Sänger smiled back, hoping the situation permitted a joke. "Well, first of all, it might help if your majesty would stop giving interviews." To the chancellors relief, Wilhelm laughed.


The same day, several telegrams went out to several nations:

From the German Empire to the nation of Gran Colombia and the Mexican Empire

Your Imperial Majesty,
Your Excellencies.

The German Empire congratulates you both on the signing of the recent peace treaty and hopes that it may lead to a perpetual peace in the Caribbean. His Imperial Majesty, Kaiser Wilhelm II., von Gottes Gnaden Deutscher Kaiser, König von Preußen, Reichsverweser von Österreich und Ungarn etc., pledges his assistance to both nations if it might facilitate the transition to a peaceful situation.

Signed,
Sänger, Reichskanzler

From the German Empire to the British Empire

Your Royal Majesty,
Your Excellency the Prime Minister,

in light of recent events the German government feels it might be better if the time period for the visit of the Reichskanzler to Britain is pushed back until January 1928. We regret the inconvenience, but the legislative schedule does not permit any travel until then.

Signed,
Sänger, Reichskanzler

From the German Empire to the Grand Dominion of the Indies

Lord Fairfax.
I hope this missive finds you and your state in good health.

First, I must thank you personally again for the thoughtful gift to my wife and myself. The map currently occupies a place of honor in my stateroom, but it will be moved to a German Museum in short order to be made available to our historians and the public. I hope showing the rich history of the Dominion to the German public meets with your approval.

In your notes from January 8th and 11th you claim that the plan for a massive mine barrage was only an "internal study" and would need a lot more preparation before it could be adapted, "were it adopted". However, it appears as if your Navy is currently conducting exercises that would go a long way to give your Navy that capability. The German Empire is therefore most concerned about these exercises and would like to know what caused this change in the situation.

Signed,
Sänger, Reichskanzler

The next day
Sänger leaned back into the chair and offered a thin smile to Elise who brought him the latest evening newspaper. It had been another exhausting day, but thanks to numerous telephone calls and private talks he had managed to stave off a collapse of the Government.

Berliner Zeitung

Dr. Sänger speaks before the Reichstag
The recent speech by the Reichskanzler has not only most likely saved the Kaiser, but also raised a number of disturbing issues.

The Reichskanzler first revealed that the sinking of the SS Bremen was not an accident, but the result of terrorists who had killed over 400 of their countrymen. The Bremen could not be salvaged and would be scrapped in January 1927, when an investigation was complete and the dead could have been recovered with the utmost respect. The Chancellor also said that while the loss of the Bremen would not impede joint Franco-German maneuvers, it was a terrible loss in peacetime. He said that "this was not an act of war, but cold-blooded murder."

He further added that although the terrorists were few in number, they have to be rooted out quickly before they harm anymore. The Kanzler then revealed that His Royal Majesty, Eitel Friedrich, King of the Netherlands and of the Belgians, wanted to stand by his subjects in this time of crisis. Sänger then went on to add that any plan to replace the Kaiser would be met with his opposition and that Eitel Friedrich had stated to him that the only way he would accept the mantle of Kaiser would be through the natural succession. He would not rob his father of his honour.

The Reichskanzler then went on to say that in this time of national crisis and mourning, one should not meddle with the reigning Monarch. Rather, one should face the coming threats with national unity. Calling upon the christian values to forgive and forget, he closed with: "Terrorists are threatening our liberty in the Netherlands. A few days ago we lost many brave men. Let us not besmirch their memory with an unprecedented act of dishonor. For though the Kaiser's words may have been ill-chosen, he is still the reigning monarch and deserves our thanks for the many years of service he has given us. Let us look forward together, for the fact is that whatever the words of His Majesty, the actions of his government speak for themselves and I think one would be hard-pressed to call his choice of ministers and Kanzlers stupid."

With no candidate in sight and with the impression of the chancellor's speech, the resolution for the abdication of the emperor was quickly defeated, with even the SPD not supporting it in full.

The Reichstag then voted to increase economic measures to the Dutch, to tighten security on naval, army and Luftstreitkräfte facilities and to publicly commemorate the victims of the bombing.

German Navy to form Spanish arm
As the Spanish Kingdom, Germany's closest ally, has formed a caribbean squadron in the wake of the dutch surrender and with this squadron encompassing no fewer than two of their four Baden-class battleships and four España-class dreadnoughts, the German Empire has promised to make up for the loss of those ships to the Spanish Home Fleet. The German Empire therefore announced that the battlecruiser SMS Derfflinger would join the Spanish caribbean fleet, while the battlecruisers Lützow, Hindenburg, Seydlitz, Moltke, and SMS Goeben would join the Spanish homefleet.
Critics derided this choice as a complete travesty, saying that this would deprive the battlecruiser squadrons of more than half their strength. However, the German Navy said that this move would free up much needed dock space and that if need be, the ships could be relocated in a matter of days.

Results:
- Sänger has to cut his honeymoon short
- messages sent to the Grand Dominion, the British Empire, Gran Colombia and the Mexican Empire
- German Army sents more ships to Spain to bolster their home defences.
- Sänger's trip to Britain has to be delayed (OOC: It will happen, though. Definitely).
- Wilhelm narrowly escapes being forced to resign

[Master_Baerne]

Le Monde

Cascadian President Arrives in Paris!: President Garret, of Cascadia, arrived at Le Bourget aeroport Friday afternoon, for a three-day visit that included talks with President Dupont, a formal banquet, and a sightseeing tour of the capital. While Le Monde was unable to determine what the two Presidents discussed, both were seen to be in high spirits afterwards, and President Dupont accompanied President Garret and his family on their tour, which featured a visit to the Eiffel Tower followed by a late lunch at Maxim's. Saturday, more talks included several ministers, including the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and for State, and a formal dinner was given in President Garret's honor, which was attended by many highly-placed government officials and ladies and gentlemen of good family. Sunday, an elaborate air show involving members of the Republican Guard Aerial Corps flying new-pattern fighting scouts and bombers took place, followed by more sightseeing. Yesterday morning, His Excellency President Garret departed by train for Calais, where he is scheduled to take the ferry to meet with the English government.

For more information, turn to page A7, Visit.

OOC: Sorry this is so bland, but I'm really short on time at the moment.

[Ryan Thunder]

THE NEWS
(On a cue card)

• German Battleship Deal Settled!
• Grand Army of Colombia (and a diplomat) Reclaims Panama!
• Bridging the Darien Gap! Five Times Over!

[Lonestar]

Admiralty Row, Williamsburg

A recent survey of the Gold Palace had revealed that there were serious questions about the soundness of the ancient edifice, and the building was undergoing an extensive reconstruction. In addition, a sprawling bunker complex was being added to the palace. In the closing days of the 1913015 war the Schismatics had begun dropping chemical weapons on urban centers, and as the range of bomber aircraft increased something had to be done to ensure the safety of the Lord Protector in the unlikely event of a Schismatic air raid.

And so, Lord Fairfax was living in an unoccupied house on Admiralty Row until work was finished.


"let's seewhat we have here..." Fairfax murmered.

From the German Empire to the Grand Dominion of the Indies

Lord Fairfax.
I hope this missive finds you and your state in good health.

First, I must thank you personally again for the thoughtful gift to my wife and myself. The map currently occupies a place of honor in my stateroom, but it will be moved to a German Museum in short order to be made available to our historians and the public. I hope showing the rich history of the Dominion to the German public meets with your approval.

In your notes from January 8th and 11th you claim that the plan for a massive mine barrage was only an "internal study" and would need a lot more preparation before it could be adapted, "were it adopted". However, it appears as if your Navy is currently conducting exercises that would go a long way to give your Navy that capability. The German Empire is therefore most concerned about these exercises and would like to know what caused this change in the situation.

Signed,
Sänger, Reichskanzler

Fairfax snorted, and reached for his typewriter. The Foreign Ministry had practically begged him to start using one instead of continueing the transcribe his unreadable scrawl. Blitzschlag from the SIG had commented that Fairfax "should have been a doctor", whatever that meant.

To the German Empire from the Grand Dominion of the Indies

Reichskanzler Sänger,

I wish your Emperor good health.

I have nothing but approval of your decision to move the map to a place of public viewing. Artifacts of historic interest should be made availiable to all.

I would also like you to convey to your Emperor my outrage at his treatment in the German press. As a ruler by Divine Right he should not be treated so. He has my support in maintaining his throne, although I'm sure that is something he would not care to publicize...especially after the sound thrashing on the Grand Dominion's Honor he gave.

Every year the Grand Dominion Navy conducts a major fleet problem with new an innovative ways to fight. The Admiralty feels that in recent years the fleet problems have had an undue concentration "large fleet"(multiple capital ships, line of battle) evolutions that has allowed "small fleet" (single or small numbers of ships) skills to atrophy.

I might also add that the fleet problem is taking place in the Palk Strait, which are Dominionite waters by any stretch of the imagination, and therefore it is not of your concern about what we we do there.

Yours in Christ,
M.B. Bucher
Lord Fairfax
Lord Protector of the Grand Dominion of the Indies

Sänger thinks we're planning on mining the Crusaders Gate Fairfax thought. Which was true, from a certain point of view. The fact of the matter was that the correlation of forces against the GDN was getting worse and worse, no matter what kind of building program the Dominion embarked upon. The SIG had been emphatic: The Grand Dominion could not affrord a navy that could handle multiple foes in a conventional war at once while maintaining an army to hold the line against the Schismatics. All other options had to be considered. If the Grand Dominion found itself in a war with, well, anyone, force multiplers would have to go into affect. Hence the massive coastal defense program(the Grand Dominion would likely end up splitting the buy with Krupp guns as a way to salve Germany outrage when they started to show up in Aden) and mining plans.

[MKSheppard]

Crusader's Hotel, outside the Nuln Naval Yard -- Grand Dominion

The agent for the Shepistani Intelligence Service along with his compatriot, carefully counted each train full of naval mines that passed by the hotel on the rail line leading into the Nuln Naval yard. So far, quite a bit of trains had passed. Later that night, they'd tote up the numbers, then send a coded telegram to SIS personnel in Britain, which would then be passed along to SIS Headquarters in Shepistan.

This would get around the fact that every telegram that passed between the grand dominion and shepistan was carefully scrutinized by both sides for hidden meanings. Many a hapless businessman or scientist had been interrogated by both sides for meanings that weren't there.

[loomer]

Fort Akmar, Southern Afghanistan

"It is a good truck, Abdullah. The engine will hold through the desert, the tires are wide with good tread. I see no reason it will not do the job we need of it, so long as we can keep the fuel flowing and don't push too hard."

"It is not that I do not have faith in the trucks, brother. I just wish for more half-tracks. They would be better on the dunes."

"We have what we have. Signal the men to mount up. It is time to sweep the dogs to the sea."

First Lieutenant Abdullah Al-Katar nodded and turned on the wall to survey the men arrayed in tents and lean-tos outside the sloping, artillery resistant walls of the Desert Fortress, and the long rows of newly delivered trucks, half-tracks, fuel tankers... And most important of all, tanks. Modern-ish tanks, Medium Mark-IIs, specially fitted for desert operations. Hot, dirty, loud, but a powerful addition - and of course, they'd had most of the identifying manufacturing marks filed away. Not all - capture would reveal an interesting, but far from secret connection.

There were 150,000 men there. The rest of the army were along the border and in the Kandahari, waiting, but it was still an almost endless mass of men lounging about in the shade from the Rock on which the fortress sat. He blew a bugle three times - long, short, short - and then shouted an order through a primitive, wall-mounted loudspeaker. Mount, and prepare to move.

All along the border, the order was repeated by radio and local officers. Men mounted their covered half-tracks and trucks, with their rifles - both the new Afghani inventions and the older Russian models - and hurriedly tied artillery to tow-bars with improvised fittings. The army was not trained in the use of such modern techniques, but speed was vital if they were to overwhelm the Shepistanis.

At the same time, the bomber flights from Kandahar, Olm and other, temporary airfields were underway, supported by the very best fighters - old and clunky even so - and pilots. A full three-quarters of the Afghani Air Force had been committed to the operation, and they were relying on the Mongolian pilots to pick up the air-superiority slack in the Eastern Front.

Abdullah nodded and then descended along the stairs as men hauled supplies into follow-up vehicles and camel baggage trains. The push would be immense - 400,000 men and three quarters of a thousand guns, even at half-efficiency, were not to be scoffed at. If they failed, and lost those men, then the war would be turned to a quagmire of slow pushes and blood-soaked sand until the economy finally gave out and the heart of the nation violently stopped beating.

The Front-Line, Several Hours Later
Fusilier Havari had been in the desert trenches for a week. The war was static, except for the odd gas attack, the odd trench raid, and the odd bombing. He'd taken a few pot-shots over the top - maybe he'd even gotten that one Shepistani with the big eyebrows, but he couldn't be sure.

But now things were very different. The message had been received to fix bayonets - long, unwieldy bayonets left over from the last war, and no good for trenches. But the message was clear, and they had, and now stood nervously by their makeshift ladders under the afternoon sun as the roar of bombers sounded from above, streaming to daze, disorient, and scatter the Shepistani line in as-yet unseen numbers for the war, a wide V of angry planes. He was sure he could see a Shepistani response coming in as well - nimble little biplane fighters zipping through the sky.

The handful of artillery pieces behind the lines started as well, with smoke in the narrow no-man's land. The wind was wrong and it blew back towards the Afghani trenches, but it'd stop some of the fire being accurate and aimed, at least. The horn blew as the first real shells began to fall.

Time to go over the top.

[Lonestar]

Symphony From Hell

Marlow’s Crossing, Zone of Death


Corporal Reiner of the 133rd Stormgrenadiers racked his M1921 LMG with the “special ammunition”, the latest nightmare to come out of the Special Industrial Group. Seriously, who sat around thinking up ideas like “let’s coat bullets and shrapnel with Ricin”? It would only be a matter of time before the Schismatics introduced their own version.

He wasn’t a corpsman, but Reiner was reasonably sure that the long term survival prospects of the average frontline solider were going down and down.

There came a sound like an inbound freight train as the 400mm siege mortars slammed into the Sheppo line. Reiner fiddled with his necklace, before stuffing it back under his fatigues. The 105mm gas canisters were timed to arrive at the same moment as the 400mm mortars, the feeling being that the Sheppos wouldn’t be able to distinguish the sound from the roar of the mortars. Reiner doubted it. The Sheppos used the same tactic and he always managed to hear the gurgle first.

Not for the first time he regretted not being able to swing naval service. He remembered when his older brother derisively told him that he had it easy, as the official stance by the General Staff was to stay on the defensive and “atrit” down the Schismatics. How was launching a division-size attack in order to “liberate a gridsquare” defensive in nature? If he were a paranoid type, he would swear that the general staff was just using this as an opportunity to try out new toys. Wasn’t Manchuria for that though?

The shelling ceased, and Reiner girded himself. His platoon leader blew on the whistle and Reiner went over the top in the order that he was assigned. Private Smuckatelli followed carrying the ammo, then the two jumped into a shell crater and began firing on the Sheppos on the other side of the gully. Reiner thought that he may have got a few, but…they fell just like they would if it had been normal ammo. For some reason he expected more.

“Alright Smuckatelli,” Reiner said. “Let’s…”

Reiner never finished the thought, as a Sheppo shell landed right into the crater the two were taking cover in.

Just another day on the Zone of Death.

Results: The Grand Dominion deploys and tests a new weapon with disappointing results. Ricin is hard to produce in mass quantities and as much as it has been diluted it's worthless.

[Steve]

Co-written with Raesene.

Florence, Kingdom of Tuscany
July 15th, 1926


The second day had seen the morning punctuated with further business discussions, and some paper signing, between Stephen, King Francesco, and Prime Minister Napolitano. Business brought up briefly the prior night was finished, more sublime issues touched upon, while the King invited them to enjoy a lunch afterward where more pleasant issues were discussed. Stephen did find himself delicately recounting his brief foray into Italian New Guinea - and getting shot at by colonial patrols - while the two Tuscan leaders nodded and chuckled at the appropriate places.
The rest of the day had been devoted to touring Florence with his family, Gasperi acting graciously as guide, before the official state banquet to welcome him to Florence. As in Berlin, the children were left in their rooms, to be given portions of the dinner and attended to by the same staff who watched over the King's grandchildren.

The banquet was as ostentatious and large as the one in Germany had been, though thankfully Stephen and Rachel had been given nearly a week to recover from that one. Again they were to the right of the Sovereign, with the Prime Minister and Prince Lorenzo opposite them. The meal was to be 18 courses long, the de Medicis not about to be outdone by the Hohenzollerns, favoring Italian dishes with some wider Continental foods added. The finest Tuscan wines were served for the pleasure of the guests. As before, Stephen required his wife's help in getting his left arm into a position against the table for him to use the hand in the meal.


Everybody had wanted to be invited; the protocol staff of the foreign ministry had been swamped with requests for favours. Most ministers had made it due to their job, but merchants and entrepreneurs, as well as some artists were included to enliven the table and provide other topics to the talk.

One of the odd characters to be invited was placed on the list by the Queen – Ernesto Tomba, recently returned from exploring New Guinea. A geographer by training, he had chosen to tour the Pacific territories of the Tuscan Kingdom, mapping and collecting samples wherever he went. By his behaviour, he felt not at ease, but tried not to let it show. Queen Maria Elena was looking forward to his latest report. His travel diaries were published after the military censors had removed sensitive information and were very popular books. She had of course the privilege to access the full version.

The Crown Prince enjoyed the conversation; the Cascadian First Couple was educated, friendly and outgoing. He was deeply in a discussion about some finer point of Latin grammar when he noticed the barely concealed smile on his mother’s face. Looking at her quizzically, she told Rachel Garrett that her son had caused her a lot of trouble by his refusal to learn languages, “until we decided to educate him together with children from other parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This taught him the value of a capacity for communication and made him the language fanatic he is.”

Rachel gave a friendly smile in return. "I've always loved the different languages. My maternal grandmother was Italian and as a child I was raised to speak Italian, Spanish, and English, and as I grew further my father was eager to meet my appetite for others. Well, until he found out I wanted to visit New Guinea and its vast array of different languages."

The Crown Princess looked as disapproving as she dared at her mother-in-law. She was in a bad mood as her precious children were exposed to foreigners against her will and now she had to listen to that woman disparage her husband in front of the whole banquet hall. To conceal her anger, she reached for her wine glass and beckoned an usher to refill it.

Next day’s entertainment also cast its shadow as the main cast members of the opera due to debut tomorrow were present. Turandot, Puccini’s last opera, was to have its debut in the Teatro della Pergola. The Royal family hoped that their guests enjoyed classical music as much as they did.

The question of policies in the South Pacific started some of the weightier discussion, as were some comments on disturbing reports of the Grand Dominion commencing naval maneuvers that aimed to training for laying a mine barrage across the Gulf of Aden. It seemed to all concerned that the behavior of the Subcontinent states was, as usual, sorely lacking, and their volatility meant a continued threat to a major trade artery of the world.

The King gave the protocol chief a nod and the man rang a silver bell. When all talk had stopped, he rose and started his speech.
He welcomed the President and his wife, hoped they had enjoyed their first day in Tuscany. After the usual diplomatic part of the speech he came to his announcement.

“Mr President, we have decided not to use honours. History has shown you to be a man of honour; you do not need a badge to proclaim that you are a friend of Tuscany and a friend of culture and education. You have had the advantage to travel to historic sites, seeing great pieces of art, and being exposed to other cultures and mindsets. Most of the citizens of our countries do not have these opportunities, their desire for education and culture, to see the masterpieces in the flesh, must remain unfulfilled.”
“To provide such an opportunitiy for the population in our overseas territories, our Ministry of Education and Culture has plans to transform an ocean liner, the Michelangelo, into a floating museum, to show the history of their ancestors. The curators of Tuscany's greatest museums will select suitable pieces for this tour, and we would be honoured to be granted the opportunity to include Cascadian ports into Michelangelo’s schedule.”
He raised his glass: “To Friendship, and to Culture!”

The toast was gratefully welcomed. Stephen had been forewarned that there'd be no exchange of honors as the Kaiser had planned so he didn't have anything in his pocket. Speaking in English - German being the only other European language he knew well enough and just as unlikely to be widely understood - he answered, "Your Majesty's honor would be gladly returned. The Cascadian nation has many ports on both sides of the Pacific where the Michelangelo may port and make its treasures known to our people. I look forward to seeing it visit Portland."
"Cascadia is blessed to have such a wonderful Kingdom as its friend and ally in the maintenance of peace and prosperity in the South Pacific. The friendship of our nations and the lowering of trade barriers between us is a symbol to the other nations of a path to the future, of the exchange of not only goods and resources but ideas and culture, which can only lead to a more noble and uplifted Humanity. To the future of our nations, I propose and give this toast."
The toast was had and the final courses of the meal finished. The time eventually came for the banquet to end, and with full stomachs and some lack of sobriety from the wine, all concerned departed for their rooms or homes to end the eve.

[Thanas]

Reichskanzlei, Berlin
August 25th, 1926

Berliner Zeitung

Cooperation between NDL and CGT
The German shipping company of the Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, and the French Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, Paris, have entered into an agreement regarding the formation of a new daughter company. This daughter company, situated in the Belgian city of Antwerp, will coordinate technical cooperation and the sharing of technological advantages.

This development represents a heavy blow for the HAPAG line efforts to purchase the NDL. The NDL is Germany's second-largest shipping company after the HAPAG of Hamburg. In recent years, the HAPAG has gained superiority over the NDL due to its massive trio of liners, the Vaterland, Bismarck and Imperator, the three largest passenger ships in the world. The NDL has specialized on secondary shipping routes and has a fleet mostly composed of midsized liners, but which many regard as more cutting-edge than the HAPAG giants.

Cooperation was highlighted last year when the NDL chose to purchase a French liner design for the new state ship of Belgium. That liner is supposed to be launched in one years time and will be the largest liner of the NDL fleet at 43.000 tons. However, this is still more than 10.000 tons short of the Hapag trio.

Sänger folded the newspaper and nodded at his secretary, who let in Grand Admiral Scheer. After greetings were exchanged, the two got down to business. "Are the results from our analysts in?"

Scheer nodded. "Quite so, Herr Kanzler. You can read them later, but the latest excuse from Lord Fairfax is just that - an excuse. While our spies were unable to ascertain the exact composition of the maneuver, we believe that the presence of several non-purpose built warships means that the Dominion is planning to enhance their mining capabilities by any means necessary." Sänger nodded. "Indeed. You know, I had almost planned of withdrawing more ships, but it seems that any reconciliation attempt is seen by the Dominion as a weakness. Very well, if they wish it so, we shall respond in strength. What assets can be relocated to the indian Ocean?"

Scheer frowned and then answered. "Sadly, the Navy cannot spare any further battleships due to the refit program. We also cannot spare any of our marines due to them all training in France or receiving new equipment. So I am afraid there is little we can actually do." Sänger nodded. "Very well. Can we schedule a maneuver in the Indian Ocean?" "That should be doable, provided only the forces already assigned to the theater are taking part in it."

Sänger nodded. "How goes the...ah, what did we call it? Coastal shipping initiative?" Scheer smiled. "It is coming along as planned, Herr Kanzler." Sänger nodded. "Good."


Soon, various telegrams were sent out to the various nations:

From the German Empire to the Grand Dominion of the Indies.

Lord Fairfax.

in response to your missive from July 23rd, I am sure you are aware of the vital importance of the Suez shipping to the whole of Europe. I am also sure you will endeavour to keep the channel open, no matter the circumstance. After all, trade is an imperative for both our nations.

Signed,
Sänger, Reichskanzler

From the German Empire to the Byzantine Empire, the Egyptian Sultanate, the Southeast Asian Union, The Kingdom of Siam, The Cascadian Republic, the French Republic, Sudan, the British Empire, the Balkan Confederacy and the Tuscan Kingdom.

Your Imperial and Royal Majesties,
your Excellencies.

The German Empire is concerned about possible attempts to mine the Gulf of Aden and would like to humbly suggest a mutual exchange of information as well as a coordination of efforts to prevent any such damaging act to our economy.

The German Empire welcomes any suggestion or opinion on the matter.

Signed,
Sänger, Reichskanzler

Reichskanzlei, Berlin
6 PM

Sänger was about to call it a day and go home when he received an urgent telephone call from the President of the French Republic, Alain Dupont. As he listened to the contents of the call, his face became more and more like a grimace. Keeping his voice free of the contempt he felt, he thanked the President for informing him of these grave news. After putting the receiver down, he cursed. "Those perfidious...." He stopped himself from ranting and walked over to the map. Everything has to change now. Quickly, he turned towards the door and asked Elise to get him a line to Queen Marian of Spain. After that, he telephoned with the Tuscan King.

Natasha walked in two hours later, greeting Elise and Hans with a smile. She had become something of a semi-regular presence at the Reichskanzlei, spending her free time reading in Sänger's office or engaging him or the secretaries in small talk. This time her husband had not appeared at the dinner table and had not even sent a message, so she had come back after hours. As she entered the office, she noticed that her husband was in an especially foul mood. Sitting hunched over at his desk, his left hand was holding a half-empty glass of scotch, while his right was scribbling furiously at some papers. His foul mood was even more proven when he did not look up or greet her as she entered the room, a first.

She walked behind him and put her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulders. After a short period of time, she felt him relax and soon enough, he hugged her back. "Hey." "Hey." After smiling at each other, Sänger nodded. "What time is it?" "Almost 8:30". The Reichskanzler grimaced. "Sorry about missing dinner. That must have worried you." "It is alright. Come, let us eat."

The four (Hans and Elise, as always, accompanied them for protection and because Natasha thought they too deserved a good meal) made their way to one of their favorite restaurants, where they enjoyed a late dinner which considerably lifted Sänger's spirits. Hans and Elise excused themselves, noting that the Countess wanted some time alone with her husband and retired to wait outside. After Sänger had once more apologized, he tried his hand at some small talk. "How are Wanja and Piotr?" "Fine, thank you. I actually wanted to talk about them with you - Wanja has decided to join the Gardekorps and Piotr still wants to enter the Navy."

The Reichskanzler sighed. He did not really like Natasha's brothers joining the armed forces. Especially not with Wanja wanting to joint the Hussars, best known for their flashing uniforms, their high connections due to most being aristocrats - and their atrocious attrition rate in the wars. Piotr wanted to join the Navy, having apparently gotten a taste of Navy life during the trip to and back from Manchuria. Both were quick career option, but with the Gardekorps being the elite troops usually caught in the heaviest of fighting and with the Navy being at risk from not only the hostile elements but also from possible enemy action, Sänger really was not sure if he should support them. After all, he knew how attached Natasha was to both of them.

After further contemplation, he reached out and took her hand. "Do you want me to intercede on their behalf? Despite the risks?" Natasha thought about it for a while and then sighed. "They are firebrands. I fear they would resent us both if you were to block them, but I do not want to support them in this foolishness." Sänger nodded. "Then I shall do nothing and let the recruiters determine if they are fit to serve."

After this they sat in silence for a while. Sänger noticed Natasha wanted to say something else - she kept biting her lower lip - but he did not prod her. After all, if she wanted to speak, she would speak. Eventually, she did. "So I think we should start looking for a house." Sänger nodded and felt the familiar feeling of guilt coming over him.

Their combined status in society necessitated that they kept a large house with ample opportunities for hosting dinners, dances etc. There were however a few problems with such an idea. While Natasha was heiress to part of a great fortune, she had not inherited it yet. His own salary would almost only cover the salary of the servants necessary for such a large house. Which put them in a rather precarious position. However, he also knew that he owed it to her to try his best. Living with her own family was no place for a married woman and yet she had endured it for the last weeks without complaint. So he did the only thing he could - apologize. "I am sorry. I think I haven't exactly been the model husband lately."

She smiled back at him. "None of that. If we are in agreement, I shall hire an agent to look for a suitable house." Sänger nodded. "My lawyer already has given you power of attorney, feel free to use it and my assets." She nodded. Sänger would offer to look as well for a house, but this offer would have been a false one. He barely had enough time to talk to his wife and leaving the Reichskanzlei to go house-hunting was not an option. Besides, he trusted his wife.

Results:
- Answer to the Dominion
- Concerned parties and countries bordering the Suez canal also get a message.
- NDL and CGT form joint daughter company
- Sänger receives a secret disturbing message from the French
- Natasha goes house-hunting

[Thanas]

The Netherlands

Top secret - combined list of suspicious activities, August 1926

August 3rd: A sailor from SMS Baden was found murdered in a Rotterdam brothel. An investigation found no connection to organized crime.

August 5th: A car carrying engineers from Krupp took a wrong turn and drove into a wall. Three engineers sustained minor and one heavy injuries. The cause of the accident were switched street signs.

August 8th: A bomb exploded at an abandoned spotting outpost on the Meuse River. There were no casualties.

August 13th: A train carrying munitions from Germany almost had a head-on-collision with an incoming passenger train. Somebody had cut the telephone cables so the local traffic directors were unaware of the train schedules.

August 18th: While carrying out a check on the Z-251, sailors discovered someone had jammed the excess relief valve. Had this not been discovered, it would most likely have caused a catastrophic boiler explosion during a High-Speed run. Investigation revealed a disgruntled dutch maintenance worker at the Rotterdam shipyard, whose son had been killed in the war. The man was sentenced to lifelong hard-labor in the colonies, an appeal is ongoing at the Dutch supreme court.

August 20th: Several public buildings were defaced with red letters spelling "Germans go home" during the night. Investigations are ongoing on whether a drunk German subaltern might have aided the perpetrators by correcting their German spelling and then ordering them to write it 100 times on the face of the buildings.

August 22nd: A Hauptmann commanding a company of the Dutch Gardekorps and three of his men were the casualties of a bomb when during a hunt, their horses tripped a wire detonator.

August 25th: Nothing important happened today.

August 25th, 1926
Thomas de Vries and his friends looked at the wooden box in an almost reverent manner. They all knew what it contained - a Mosin Nagant sniper rifle stolen from the Dutch surplus stocks that were the result of half the army resigning instead of serving the new kingdoms. But to Thomas and the rest of his group, it was more than that - it was hope.

Rijksblatt

New play opens to great applause

The new Play called "Our Kaiser" has opened to great applause in the theater of Amsterdam. The play, which offers a satirical outlook on the thought process leading to the absorption of the Dutch Union, was described by members of the audience as both sad, realistic and funny. It's biting portrayal of the Kaiser and the Reichskanzler were particularly well received.

"Those are Germans, alright" and "Exactly how I thought this happened" were just some of the many approving comments that could be heard during intermission. The play's director was also quoted as saying "before the new constitution, we could not have produced this play. Now, with freedom of speech, I decided to put it to good use".

Some German military members attending the premiere were reportedly less than amused about the depiction of the Kaiser as a bumbling, vainglorious fool. "They did not even get the medals right", said one officer before departing. There was no comment from either King Friedrich or any high German official, though at least one socialist member of the Reichstag could be seen laughing during the performance.


Lead actor Peter de Jong as Our Kaiser.

Results:
- resistance grows
- A new satirical play is a great success

[Lonestar]

Admiraly Row

"Well," Lord Fairfax said. "Can there be any doubt now what the intentions of the Germans are?"

The assembled personages looked morose. The curt response from the German government had been a bad sign, the massive number of diplomatic messages sent to other nations was even worse. There could only be meaning: The Germans were gathering a coalition to strike down the Grand Dominion. Not content with being master of Europe, Sänger was now positioning himself to seize control of the Indian Ocean.

“You, this is your fault!” Ved suddenly said, pointing to Grand Admiral Saldana. “You’re trying to engineer another crisis so you can get more funds! Just like the January before last!”

“Mr. Ved have a care, I am not above challenging members of the legislature to the Field of Honor….”

“Aggressive exercises…”

“Stop.” Lord Fairfax said. “Grand Admiral Saldana, would you like to explain the exercise?”

“Certainly. Every annual Fleet Problem since 1915 has concentrated on major fleet movements, either battleline engagements or practicing landings. Very rarely do we practice mine laying, and minesweeping, of this scope. Since we do not have the conventional numbers to match the Schismatics in a head-to-head battle, we are planning on laying a barrage across the Grand Dominion Gulf if the ceasefire completely breaks down and the war escalates. The Palk Strait is out of the way and entirely within Dominion waters. I might add that we saved a tidy sum in fuel costs by only having two BBs taking part in the exercise.”

“Grand Admiral Saldana,” Ved’s voice sounded like fingernails scratching on the chalkboard “To the casual observer the Eastern Palk Strait would look like a reasonable facsimile of the Gulf of Aden. Pray tell, why would we not practice a mine barrage intended for the Grand Dominion Gulf across the Bengali Bay?”

“Because the Europeans perceive the Bengali Bay as international waters.” Saldana added. “Believe it or not, we do take political repercussions into account when we plan these problems out. Of course, even if we could practice laying a barrage like that in the Bengali Bay without political repercussions, we don’t have 300,000 dummy mines on hand.”

“I repeat, it looks as if you’re planning on mining the Gulf of Aden!”

“Mr. Ved…there are, of course, staff studies for the mining of the Gulf of Aden. Those studies assume that a state of war exists between us and a European power, and that we have been unable to convince the Egyptians to close the Suez to belligerent warships through diplomatic means. This does not mean we have an active program in mind. I’m sure that, for example, the Germans have war plans to mine the Danish Straits if the situation calls for it.”

“Alright,” Lord Wythe grumbled. “So we’ve established that the Germans and Socialists blow everything out of proportion. What are our options when the Germans attack?”

“The Germans?” There was a snort from Dr. Blitzschlag from the S.I.G. “No Lord Wythe, it will not be just the Germans. It will be the Germans, their Tuscan Lackeys, possibly the Cascadians as well…after all, they maintain a fleet in the East Indies that could sweep Eastern Fleet from the Bengali Bay in one go. No, he numbers are skewed in the favor of the Germans, and they know it. That is why Sänger is going through with this.”

Fairfax drummed his fingers on the table. “Gentlemen, we must do everything in our power to increase our fighting power.”

“I wholeheartedly agree Lord Fairfax, as I’ve said many times before…”

“Thank you, Lord Wythe, but you are actually one of the biggest roadblocks to increasing our security. When I took this office I proposed extending the franchise to women, which you and your Whigs have time and time again blocked. For every job that a woman can do, being a clerk, quartermaster, what have you, we are forced to pull away one shooter from the front line or the navy. Gentlemen, we are facing national death and you sit there bemoaning the ‘traditional place of women’!”

Lord Wythe remained silent. Fairfax continued.

“I will have to insist that the legislature bring to a vote, and soon, the question of extending the franchise.” Lord Wythe stared forward stonily, Ved nodded vigorously, and both Lars Lars and Lord Winton grudgingly nodded. Three out of four major parties isn’t bad… “Second, I have long stated a goal to bring about a permanent peace treaty with the Schismatics. I have been rebuffed in the past, but I shall make another attempt. Our situation is dire. Gentlemen, that is all.”

[Lonestar]

Altdorf Times

House passes sweeping Franchise expansion
THE House of Burgesses has passed into law a bill that would expand the franchise to women of the Citizen castes in the Grand Dominion. This is the greatest change in the voting laws since the 1883 act which granted Jews, Protestants, and Parsis membership in the citizenship caste...

Lord Fairfax: "Peace Treaty with Shepistan will be aggressively pursued"
SIGNING the new franchise law into effect, Lord Fairfax took the time to tell members of the press that a permanent peace treaty with Shepistan will be "aggressively pursued."...

Krupp excluded from coast defense contract
The German arms manufacturer Krupp will not be selected to for the Coastal defense upgrade programme, the Altdorf Times has learned. At the moment it's unclear as to whether or not all foreign manufacturers are to be barred from the competition, or if others are still in the competition. War Ministry officials are in talks with Vickers of Britain and Bethlehem Steel of the USA...

[Steve]

Note: Last post should've been 14th. Co-written with Fingolfin.
Florence, Tuscany
15 July 1926

The third day was the start of the time-constrained, rough part of the schedule. July 15th saw the arrival of Emperor Alexios IV, sovereign in Constantinople, and while Francesco and Napolitano went to give the direct greeting Stephen and his family would be around to welcome the Emperor and his entourage at the Palazzo Pitti.

The prior night's meal had settled well and the day was reserved, early on, for Stephen and family to see more sights before their return to greet Emperor Alexios, letting Stephen and Rachel work off some of the added calories they'd gained. With discussions for all three leaders set for the next day, today would see the two heads of state sharing dinner and time for private talks to make up for the Tuscans' earlier access to Stephen. The Emperor would interact with them soon enough, given the luxury of staying longer with his state banquet slated for the night after Stephen departed for Madrid.
Dinner was comparitively light, if still well-made and exquisite, with fine wine to be enjoyed by the President of one of the world's youngest powers and the Emperor of its oldest sovereign power (if one discounted China arguably) as they talked of lighter things

"These are pretty fine wines. Tuscan I take it? Some of the oldest vineyards dating back to that of the hey days of the Roman Empire still operate in some fashion, if my memory serves."
"So I have heard," Stephen agreed. "I do not know if Your Majesty remembers, but I believe we met in winter 1913. I was Executive Officer aboard the Cascadia when the World Cruise Squadron made its visits to Constantinople."
"Indeed, I vaguely do. There was a grand dinner thrown at the Imperial Palace at Constantinople, for the officers and sailors. The officers and I sat in the main dining hall, and you were next to your captain. You struck me then as a fairly opinionated person. How things have changed since over the last decade."
Stephen let out a chuckle at that. "I'm told that's one thing that hasn't changed since then. But so many other things have... I do consider it a slight miracle that Europe did not plunge further into war that decade. Hopefully some of those changes have made such things less likely."
"Ah yes that. Between the Russian Revolution, and the occasional wrangling between the German and French and the British, Europe rarely has a dull day. Now however, the Germans seem to have won the French over, probably because of the latter's recent lack of constitution, and the Dutch have been squashed, after centuries of 'independent rule.' The Soviet Union situation has stabilized somewhat, though their recent tiff with the Manchurians seem to have disturbed their ... equilibirum somewhat. But that aside, matters in the far east are of greater concern now, rather than "matters in Europe.

There would be no response from Stephen on the issue of the French. He regarded it as a brave and bold move by their nation, one that nearly toppled the government just as it could have doomed Johannes, that ensured peace for France, ensured the reclamation of their countrymen in Lorraine, and helped bring down an onerous, brutal police state (as much as he'd sought peaceful transfer in Darwin, the post-reunification cases involving political dissidents, the fates many of them met, and the activities of Dutch Internal Security in the Top End had confirmed that even with war having been waged it had been, ultimately, a good thing). But, of course, Cascadia had nothing to fear from Germany and little direct interest in Europe; the Greeks, on the other hand, would naturally look with consternation at the German accomplishments and the potential for balance of power troubles.
"The Far East... I am honestly relieved the Japanese backed down over Manchuria, but there might still be something there. And the Indian Subcontinent continus to vex...."
"The Indian Subcontinent." The Emperor let that hang for a while. "One would sometimes wish that the leadership there would be more engaging, rather than belligerent. Over half of the Roman armies are stationed in Persia, largely because of possible war with Shepistan, and Shepistan continues its aggression against Afghanistan. Grand Dominion obviously does not desire any German encroachment and continues to rattle sabers at Germany in some fashion or another. And the Germans are obviously getting rather agitated at any perceived threats from Grand Dominion. I would dare say I would prefer to avoid any conflict with anyone in the Indian Continent, but such belligerency vexes me as Germany might bring miraculous unity to a continent that hasn't seen any for the past century or so."
"Such Unity is preferably not achieved at all. If you understand why I'm saying."
"I do," Stephen remarked darkly.
With dinner finished they retired to one of the private studies of the de Medicis and, under several portraits of the old rulers of Tuscany, business was up for discussion, particularly in the line of conversation from dinner.

"What vexes me is how to bring Germany and Grand Dominion to the negotiating table. Trading insults and accusations via telegram is a sure-fire way to getting both sides riled up with various interpretations. A face to face meeting is essential in my opinion. However, how some both sides can be cajoled into such a meeting isn't within my reckoning as my influence with Grand Dominion is minimal at best."
"Nor is mine. The Dominion considers Cascadia to be the eastern half of a German encircling strategy going by their press and other reports and remarks from their government. I have considered trying my own initiative but I am unsure if the Dominion will regard me as anything better. We have our own issues, after all. Waterway rights between the Nicobars and Sumatra, radicalism in the Hindu expatriate communities of Australia..." Stephen let out a sigh. "Still, the effort needs to be made, and if this situation has not solved itself soon I shall try."
"Byzantium is willing to be a third party entity to this, but I wonder if Dominion regards us as a neutral party at all. We do not have any disputes with Dominion, but as a major holding entity of the Suez canal, they may regard us with some suspicion for allowing Germany to send its ships through the Suez. Which leaves... just about no one left except maybe Madagascar."
"I would like to involve them, yes. I believe if Cascadia and Madagascar could put together some agreement with the Grand Dominion and Shepistan on the shipping issues, we would be able to reassure Germany and other powers, and this is an avenue I would like to pursue with everything now happening. As with all things, however, it is entirely dependent on the willingness of the two powers to deal with us. We need both; if Shepistan does not forswear the policies while the Dominion does, I do not think we can talk Germany and Tuscany into reducing their presence."
The Emperor let out a sigh. "Between Shepistan and Grand Dominion, Shepistan looks like a bastard step brother of Grand Dominion, who aspires to be the ultimate bastard of sorts. Shepistan has been consistently belligerent, and getting them to the table with Grand Dominion is less likely than starting a war between the two. I suppose one could try, though I wouldn't place my bets on that working out at all."

"And so we have our dilemma. We need both aboard to satisfy the worries of Europe on its Asia trade and this seems unattainable." Stephen rubbed at his eyes. "To avoid continuing to dwell on matters neither of us may have the ability to fix, I believe there is also some issue of Byzantium's holdings in the East Indies and their vulnerability should the Gulf of Aden be closed."
"Yes indeed. That is of concern to us. We have allocated few forces to South East Asia, as concerns with Shepistan have made it difficult for us to allocate too many. In many ways, our forces there are stretched. Only one legion has been posted there, along with some cruisers and destroyers, and some old battleships. Which brings me one item of interest. Byzantium is willing to open its naval bases to Cascadia, and vice versa. We also are interested in a suitable defence arrangement in SEA, in exchange for favours asked for by Cascadia. Are you amenable to such an agreement?"
Stephen gave a slight nod. One of the things he'd been hoping as President was consolidate the security situation across the Pacific. He already regarded his nation, and its Navy, as a force for keeping the peace of the Pacific. It had been a viewpoint placed into him back in the Navy, under Admirals Mack and Coglin, the mentality of the Cascadian Navy building itself to replace the British as the keepers of the peace in the Pacific and Far East. "A security arrangement with Byzantium over the East Indies and Southeast Asia would be something I am interested in pursuing, yes."
"In return for?"
"Trade agreements of the mundane-yet-important variety, something better left to our diplomats and their economic advisors to delve into detail about, access to your naval stations in Java and the Riaus for our own naval forces, reciprocated of course, and Byzantine diplomatic support for Cascadia's security arrangements in the region and consultation on any arrangements Byzantium wishes to make with other Asian states."
"That sounds reasonable. We will leave the bureaucrats to deal with such matters. Yes, indeed, Byzantium is interested in deepening ties with Cascadia. There are many crucial matters here and there where Byzantium cannot turn its attention to, what with Shepistan being a sore thumb in many ways. Europe is something of a concern for us, but we prefer to leave things cordial and simple for now."
"That is the best policy to take, I agree."
"Well then, a toast to good ties between Cascadia and Byzantium. Pray tell things stay sane for the next few years or so."
"Indeed." The two men shared the toast, after which some questions of issues to be brought up the following day with King Francesco and Prime Minister Napolitano were made before the meeting was ended.

[Siege]

From the Egyptian Sultanate to the German Empire

Your excellency,

Salutations from His Most Imperial Majesty Abu Khalid Musa'ed Hashim al-Din bin Abdulmuin, Sultan of Sultans, Victorious Emperor, etc. He salutes you and prays that every year may find you in good health.

His Exalted Majesty finds in favor of your proposal of an information sharing agreement with respect to possible attempts to mine the Gulf of Aden by the Grand Dominion of the Indies. The Sultanate is gravely concerned about a potential obstruction of trade through the Suez Canal; such an impediment would have exceedingly grave consequences for the peace in Arabia.

As-Salamu Alaykum,

Ali Dessaix Pasha,
Wazir al-Istishara of the Sultan of Egypt

Ikrimah al-Jaffar, the gaunt Grand Wazir of the Sultanate, scratched his chin as he looked from the communique in his hand to Dessaix Pasha. The minister-counsellor sat impassively in the chair opposite the Grand Wazir's baronial desk. As usual the face of the former Frenchman was devoid of any particular expression or emotion. The Sultanate's chief diplomat was an expert at dissembling his thoughts and emotions, to the point where the Grand Wazir sometimes wondered if he had any at all. Undoubtedly that was one of the reasons why Dessaix Pasha had come as far as he had. It also made him a very dangerous man: it was inadvisable to trust a man one couldn't read. For now however, al-Jaffar decided, the wazir al-istishara was still a valuable asset.

"His exalted majesty is unusually blunt," al-Jaffar finally spoke. "He all but comes out and declares that if the Dominion mines the Gulf, he will make war upon them." There was a note of distaste in his voice. Usually the Sultanate preferred more indirect, flowery language -- in a culture where one's promises were all too often used to hang one with, brevity and clarity were things to be avoided. The fact that the Sultan had decided to forego the usual lofty and long-winded spiel of veiled intimations and subtle suggestions spoke volumes... Almost as much as the continuous stream of military reinforcements that trickled into the Hejaz.

"Indeed," Ali Dessaix Pasha inclined his head in the barest of nods. "But then this letter is meant for a European audience. It would be inadvisable to unduly confuse the Kufrul-'Inaad." Dessaix Pasha used the Islamic term for disbelief out of stubbornness, a phrase that in the Sultanate was synonymous with 'barbarians'. His lips twitched for a moment as the wazir recognized the irony inherent in a European characterizing Europeans so.

"Even so," the Grand Wazir furrowed his brows. "I wonder if it is wise to commit ourselves to this course. We seem to be tying our fate to that of Europe."

"My place is not to question why," replied Dessaix Pasha, but his tone indicated quite the opposite, and the Grand Wazir knew it: the Frenchman had the Sultan's ear, and he would have been extensively consulted before the telegram was composed. "If His Exalted Majesty commands, we have but to follow."

"This is true," al-Jaffar inclined his head in a display of fake piety. He handed the message back to the minister-counsellor. "Very well then, have the diplomatic office telegraph it to Berlin. We will see where this course takes us."

[loomer]

Afghani-Shepistani Southern Front
They were a motley selection of troops - professional soldiers in modern, British-inspired uniforms with modern rifles and equipment standing next to reservists in old Russian and German surplus with Mosins and even, here and there, a few Russian Krnkas. And next to them... The devastated soldiers of the tribes, pressed into service as cavalry and shock troops. No uniforms - just flowing robes and distinctive scarfs. No issued rifles, just whatever they already had.

The initial charge had been a success in the Southern regions. They'd forced their way over the barbed wire, past the guns and machine guns. The momentum of the sudden strike had carried the day to the second defensive line. Then the third. And then it had stalled and the fight had become bloodier than it had ever been in the entire war. They'd forced their way past the fourth only by the end of the second day.

But it had been costly. Thirty thousand men were dead or dying - twenty thousand of them the local nomadic tribes. More important than the death of almost the entire Kandahari tribes was the fact that the push had been blunted and slowed. They'd only taken fifteen miles with the element of surprise and the overpowering momentum of over four hundred thousand men rushing forward with reckless abandon.

Tomorrow they might manage five. Then perhaps, if they were lucky, another day's progress. But then they would hit the newest Shepistani line - a rail line. Rail guns would be there, men easily and quickly redirected from the city of Karachi and the Iranian provinces, tanks and fuel and ammunition. The war would grind to a halt again. The push through Chaman had been slow but successful, so the forces there would not be able to assist any time soon.

Masses of Byzantine lend-lease - nearly the entire GDP of the nation - had been hurled into the churning mess for nothing. The one chance at a decisive strike had failed because the PRA had fought as if it was the last war, against trench warfare specialists. The one advantage was bled off.

But now the political pressure would ease. No more demands for an assault from the opposition and the threat of lost votes for being so solely focused on defense, now that it had proven to be almost impossible to force back the Southerners in any real capacity. Fahad could breathe easy, safe in the knowledge that all of twenty miles of near useless desert was now Afghani.

But first, there was a matter of some import to deal with...

[DarthShady]

A New Dawn, Part Two

Even the mightiest man, at the end of the day, is just a man.

Belgrade, Palace Gardens



Bullets whizzed across the once beautiful Imperial gardens, which were now a collection of rubble and dead bodies, scattered across a flowery grave. The Imperial Guard was losing the fight for control of the city, the civilian rebels didn't pose much of a problem for them, but the soldiers under the command of General Stojkovic were a completely different story. The Army was loyal to Sirah and they had managed to push the guard back to the palace, forcing them to make their stand there. Now they were attacking the palace with everything they had, but this was not an easy task, the guard were well armed and well fortified in the palace, dislodging them would prove to be a very difficult task.

But Sirah's followers came prepared, ships from the river bombarded the palace, assisted by artillery which had moved into the city and now tanks and other instruments of war would be brought to bear. It was a certainty that the palace would fall, it was only a matter of time.

General Stojkovic was confident of his victory, so confident in fact that he promised Sirah that the Palace would fall by evening. Something however appeared that would threaten his promise. From the east a number of tiny spots appeared in the sky, eventually they grew larger and it became apparent that they were in fact planes, fighters and bombers. Unfortunately for the soldiers of Stojkovic, these were The Emperors Eagles, elite pilots loyal to the Emperor just as much as the Guard, if not more. They came down from the heavens and began bombarding the forces assaulting the Palace, raising the morale of the fanatics defending it.

Belgrade, 1st Army Corps Forward Command Center

"Where the hell did they come from?" General Stojkovic shouted at his subordinates, the appearance of this new threat was not a good thing. "I thought we had sent men to their air base..."

"We did Sir, but most of them managed to take off before our men seized the airfield." His second in command answered.

"Damn it." Stojkovic muttered. "Call..."

"There won't be any need for that." A voice came from behind the General. He turned around to see a two men standing behind him, one scratched his goatee and the other adjusted his eye patch. "I have made arrangements for some air support." Shady Sirah said and approached the General. "Now tell me, how goes the fight."

Belgrade, Palace gardens



The gold painted bombers dived and delivered death to the attackers, explosions rippled all around the palace as their deadly payload hit it's targets. The bombing had slowed the attack and forced the men to seek whatever shelter they could. The battle seemed to turn in favor of the Emperors fanatics who, encouraged by the appearance of their heavenly allies, even launched a counter attack. Their luck did not hold however and as the sun began setting down, small dark specs appeared all around it and soon the sun itself seemed to be covered by this dark swarm. It soon became apparent that these specs on the sun were in fact planes.

Hundreds, if not thousands of freshly red painted airplanes - The Confederate Air Force had arrived. Once they got close there was no doubt as to who they swore their loyalty, as they began shooting down the Emperors Eagles, one by one they sent them to a fiery death. General Stojkovic did not wait, with the arrival of the planes and his tanks, the tide was turning. The Army swarmed the palace with great numbers, slaughtering the guard as they moved forward - and soon all you could hear were explosions and gunfire, punctuated by the occasional scream of a dying soldier.

The Guard realized that they were losing and their commander ordered them to retreat into the Palace, or at least what was left of it after the bombardment. It was there that they would make their last stand and prove themselves warriors worthy of the Emperor.

Inside the Palace

The realization came a bit late though, and soon the hallways of the Imperial Palace were rapidly disintegrating in an orgy of blood and gunfire. The Horror punctuated by frequent explosions and the sound of bombers outside, diving in for the kill. The fighting was intense and lasted for almost two hours, before finally the Confederate Army managed to take control of the majority of the palace. They had however payed in blood for every single centimeter of every single hallway. Only one thing left to do now, take the throne room and reach the Emperor.

The throne room was locked down, the massive wooden gate barring entrance to the army and inside was what remained of the Imperial Guard. They refused to surrender, saying that they will gladly die for the Emperor. Such was the nature of fanatics and such was the duty of every Guardsmen.

"Sargent, Sargent!" A soldier shouted as he approached his commanding officer. "The door is to thick, we can't get through."

"Well then, we'll just have to make a hole, won't we?" The Sargent said and motioned for his men to fetch the explosives. A few minutes had passed until the soldiers prepared everything and took cover.

"We're ready Sir."

"Good, then let's get this over with."

"Wait." A sound came from behind the soldiers, men in black uniforms came through - lead by a large man with an eye patch. "The boss wants to be here. He wants the Emperor alive."

"Sirah is coming here?" The Sargent asked. "He can't, it's not safe here..."

"You let me worry about the boss, you have a job to do." Boris said and motioned for his men to take cover.

The explosion was loud and forceful, sending pieces of wood flying through the hallways and raising up a large cloud of dust and smoke. Wind gusted through the hole in the door, sounding like the howl of a hundred wolves, come to feast on the flesh of fallen soldiers. The order was given and Sirah's soldiers stormed the room, gunning down everything in their path. One by one the Emperors fanatics fell and soon the battle was over. The last of the Emperors Guard had fallen dead and now Alexander stood alone on the Balcony of the throne room, surrounded by soldiers.

The Emperor didn't react though, he clutched a gun in his hand and observed the burning city and the explosions that rippled across it. He heard the voice of the people, "Shady Lives in Death!", and he realized what had happened. It was all over.

"Your highness." A voice interrupted Alexanders dark thoughts. "It's over, put down the gun."

Sirah was standing behind the Emperor extending his hand. "There is no need for things to end like this..."

Alexander looked Sirah in the eyes, a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

"It seems the fates have decided the outcome of our struggle, you have won." Alexander said and turned to observe the city ablaze once again. "Do you hear that, my friend? They are shouting your name. I realize now that my time is over. I am the Balkans past, you -- are it's future. Farewell!"

"NOOO!!!" Was all that Shady had time to shout before the Emperor placed his gun to his head and pulled the trigger. The bang was louder than anything Sirah had heard before, the shock left him paralyzed for what seemed like eternity. He looked upon the Emperors fallen body with sadness in his eyes.

"It wasn't supposed to end like this..." He said as a single tear ran down his face. "Goodbye Alexander, dearest of all my friends..."

Moments passed as Sirahs followers secured the room and announced his victory to the troops. Soon the banners of Shady Sirah replaced those of the fallen Emperor at the Imperial Palace, although it was now merely a ruined palace, no longer Imperial in any way. Shady stood at the Balcony, near the body of Alexander, surrounded by his most loyal soldiers celebrating their victory and observed the city of Belgrade. His gaze however went much further, he saw the entirety of the Confederacy and it's people and extended his hand towards them, they were all know firmly held in the palm of his hand. He had won, and although the victory had cost him, his power was now absolute.

[Siege]

A day after the bloody conclusion of the Belgrade Insurrection, a courier attached to the Egyptian embassy delivered a diplomatic telegram to the office of the Prime Minister. It was addressed to "Prime Minister Shady Sirah, Protector of the Balkan Confederacy".

From the Egyptian Sultanate to the Balkan Confederacy

Your excellency,

It is with great sadness that His Exalted Majesty the Sultan has learned of the emergency that has recently befallen your nation. With the resolution of this crisis in your favour the Greater Diwan of the Egyptian Sultanate recognizes your government as the legal authority of the Balkan Confederacy by virtue of popular sovereignty.

Since it pains us greatly to see our friends and allies in such dire straits, we politely inquire what help we may provide to alleviate any discomforts the people of the Balkan Confederacy may be experiencing. We further wish you to know that the Caliph of Cairo will pray for your fallen Emperor and all others who perished during the troubles.

May the blessings of Allah be upon you,

Ali Dessaix Pasha,
Wazir al-Istishara of the Sultan of Egypt

[MKSheppard]

Army House, Shepistan

von Shapp looked at the latest reports from the fighting on the Afghan border, and as well along with the border with the Grand Dominion, and then at the head of the SIS, who coughed politely.

"We have no proof that the Goddamns or the Jihadocommies are working together, sir." replied the man.

von Shapp snorted at that.

"Keep at it. I'm sure there's SOME sort of link."

Results: Sheppo intelligence begins beating up Goddamn and Jihadoanarchocommie people in Shepistan to try and find proof of a conspiracy that doesn't exist.

[Lascaris]

Churchill appeared ill at ease at his office of the newly established Ministry of Defence

"Ah mr Tizard, welcome." he start.

"Thank you minister. And to what I owe this invitation?"

"Why the country is once more in need of your services." answered Churchill a bit enigmaticaly.

"How that would be so?"

"To be blunt the country has been ill-prepared to meet the recent upheavals around the war. Particularly events in Europe. I do not care about communists in the slightest but the fact remains that the Germans and the French were able to capture the Low Countries without even bothering to wonder of British opinion of the matter. And they succeeded without us lifting a finger to affect things or gaining anything in exchange for German armies and warships now being placed on the Dutch and Belgian ports."

"Which is the reason the previous government lost in a landslide." noted Tizard

"Which is the reason it did, true. This doesn't change the fact that we have to prepare us best for the new situation. Establishing the Ministry of Defence was one of the steps, to help better coordinate the armed forces. You are here to do the same for the research establishment."

Tizard raised an eyebrow.

"We have decided to establish the Royal Defence Research Agency. It will supervise and coordinate research activities to develop technology and weapons in defence of the realm. The Admiralty Research Laboratory the Aeronautical Research Committee are all going to come under the RDRA. And I want you to head RDRA. Do you accept?"

"I do" Tizard answered simply

Actions

Establish RDRA