SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Third

[Siege]

Sam Ralson Is First Space Tourist

Pegasus Stellar Adventures© director Ian Edgerton today announced the name of the first space tourist to be launched by his company, and he is Executive Director Samuel ‘Sam’ Ralson, in everyday life responsible for the Directorate of Corporate Defence.


Executive Director Sam Ralson of CORDEF

As the first space tourist in history Sam Ralson will be orbiting the planet for nearly two days aboard a Silver Streak orbiter. Ralson, CEO of megacorporation Ralson Concerns, is a self-professed space enthusiast. “I’ve been involved in the design of spacecraft for nearly a decade now”, the Director explained during a brief press conference, “so it’s about time I found out what it’s really like up there”. Ralson will enter a short astronaut training course and be launched one month from now.

Earlier this year Pegasus Stellar Adventures acquired its first two Silver Streak orbiters and a permit to operate from Camp Kittyhawk Rocketfields spaceport. Thrill-seeking millionaires can buy flights into orbit for $15 million.

[Zor]

Naval Repair Yard, Victorium, United Kingdom of Zoria

The battered form of HMZS Indefatigable rested in drydock as teams of workers began to restore her to her former glory. The craft had been towed in last week after an attack by Jihadi insurgents had done horrific damage to the Destroyer, which had promted a search and screening by various port authorities in Rangatara to ferret out Jihadis in their staff to prevent loss of buissiness. She was salvagable, although it would be at least nine months before she would once again proudly fly the blue compass rose banner of Zoria in service to his Majesty.

Northern Hadhramara

In the Shadowveil Valley, attempts were being made to recover what had been lost after the Cascadian Airborne attack. Stores of ammunition, weapons and food were being transported towards old abandoned coal mines while whatever efforts could be made were being done to regain production copacities. Materials were salvaged and resources redirected and stopgap measures were being put into effect while Muballi had also used his accumulated plunder to buy machine tools from various firms (mostly Japanistani) via airlift, although it would take a long time to make a full restoration. Coal production was given a boost as more suspected Jihadi sympathizers were brought in to work the mines. At the same time, Muballi managed to aquire a set of Japanistani surplus anti aircraft missiles and launch equipment to prevent a furter incident and had set up in defensive positions around major towns in the Shadowveil valley.

Outside, the effect of Operation Avenging sword had forced a withdrawl. Several sections of terrriory on the frontier were abandonded to bolster the defenses in other more critical areas. When Muballi's forces left said problematic territories, the effects on the locals was hard. Food supplies and livestock were were pillaged, people were taken for labour gangs and children sent to the shadowhorn valley for re-education and in several grim circumstances, the entire adult population of an area was extermated and the towns burned in scorched earth policies. He also handing over other areas to some of his allied tribes for settlement and subjugation. The actions of the Jihadis. In many cases, the attack caused Muballi's soldiers to be even more brutal. However, the motivation of the attack had given Muballi reason to simply remove foreign aid workers out of his territory as safely as possible.

At the same time, he began massive repair projects to re-establish the supply lines, large numbers of labour gangs were set to work rebuilding bridges and improving roads, their were a few surplus rails laying about in a couple of abandoned railways and Muballi, being conserned about the destruction of railways had a small stock for this purpose. It would take time, but Muballi was never the less willing to work what he had to establish his base of power.

Dragonsnake River Basin

While Muballi never sent men into the forests, their was a distinct ripple effect as foreign Jihadis moved out to fight against Muballi's forces and and various Malip refugees (including Woman and Children) fleeing the forces of Muballi fell back into the forest, a split happened between the two groups. While their were a fair number of people on both sides which understood what was going on and admitted that their actions, their never the less was a resentment among Malip and the Jihadis building. Their was no shortage of Malip which saw this as abandoment by their former supporters, were less willing to put their sisters, mothers, wives, children and elders in harms way and were convinced that the presence of Jihadi activity started the affair. On the same note a good number of Foreign Jihadis saw the retreat of Malip Jihadis into the forest as a cowardly act that left Muslims at the mercy of Muballi. This had led to a few confrontations between the groups, several of which were armed.

To the south, another factor was having a distinct effect on the conflict. As Northern Hadhramara became a warzone, weapons and ammunition that would have gone to the Jihad against Zoria were being used by Jihadis fighting Muballi, Muballi's army and his allied tribes, the Reminants of the Hadhramaran Army and in increased conflicts due to distablization caused by the war. This increased demand also had driven up the value of weaponry in the area, and with it the price, which caused bandits to raid the convoys of arms merchants, prompting them to hire sizable bodyguards and further drive up its price. The fact that a few Jihadi groups took existing supplies of weaponry and ammo southwards only made things worse. In the end, this had begun to push an increasing number of Malip groups in the southern half to take their chances at the negotiating table with Zoria.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

The Hammer of Islam

For many of the mercenaries and soldiers of the warlord Muballi, it was their last dawn. As the sun started to rise, the only warning they received was "Allahu Ackbar!", and the jihadis rained down their divine punishment. First 122mm rockets fell onto the enemy camps, tearing huge holes in the camps and setting them on fire. Then 155mm artillery and 120mm mortar fire came raining down destroying the camps utterly. Snipers picked off any survivors. The mercenaries and soldiers were stunned by the sheer intensity of the fire and many simply fled. Survivors were mopped up as the CV90 AFVs came in and the jihadis fired off their machine guns. Within hours, the outlying camps, depots, observation posts of the warlord Muballi was utterly annihilated. But that was merely the beginning. 4 brigades worth of Light tanks, CV90s with 120mm guns, and their escorting AFVs filled with jihadis stormed through the border, with the BM-21 Grad 122mm rocket trucks, HIMARS and 155mm artillery mounted on trucks following close behind. Just so in case the Zorians retaliated with aircraft, some SLAMRAAM systems followed closely behind. Plenty of trucks followed to provide logistical support.

So began Operation Hammer of Islam. The operation was months in the planning. For the last few months, the Jihadis retreated to the northern ports. There they rearmed and trained hard. IRT flagged ships delivered quantities of war materiel, courtesy of the Sultan who purchased the war materiel from the IRT no less. If the Zorian fools thought they were dealing unorganised rabble, they were wrong. Months of hard training, drilling and instruction might not produce the most professional of armies, but definitely more than the rabble Muballi put together. The Syrian advisers coached the elite jihadis on tactics and trained some of them to be the officers of the new army. The defences of the port towns were reinforced, and the Jihadis heavily used camouflage and installed SAM systems such as SLAMRAAM and a select collection of Standard SM-2ER missiles, and some anti-ship missiles for coastal defence.

The tanks and AFVs headed for the secret valley, determined to destroy the source of Muballi's wealth and to finish what the Cascadians have done. They attacked the valley with sheer firepower, gutting and setting afire to many of the sheds and killing the inhabitants. While that happened, AFVs and jihadis marched on foot towards the outlying villages. They were given two options, either submit to the Caliph and pray for forgiveness, or die. In fear, many begged for mercy and submitted. Maballi tried to retaliate, but his ragtag forces, traveling in jeeps and trucks, were ambushed. The jihadis were also given UAVs and the force was spotted and then an ambush was laid. Some IFVs were disabled during the fight but they were repairable.

Further, several infiltration squads had slipped into the capital days before the attack. Noting the strategic areas, such as power stations and other military bases, they then proceeded to sabotage the power stations, and then set off multiple bombs in various buildings housing Muballi's men. When the massive jihadi army arrived at the capital a few days later, they laid siege to a capital with no power and with crippled communication lines, and laid down heavy fire with their 122mm rockets and 155mm artillery. Electronic warfare jammed what was left of Muballi's communication networks. Merciless bombardment went on for days, two reserve armies were on the outer perimeter of the siege looking out for any attempts to break the siege or relieve it. Most of the capital was devastated. The forces of Muballi were given a choice: either surrender and bring Muballi's head, or die. They weren't given much choice there.

Result: Muballi is a dead man whether he likes it or not.

[Zor]

Island base, Zorian Veleria

Security was tight, given the scenarios which were unfolding as the assembled leaders of the Greenspear River group of Malip had arrived. Their were a myriad of events which brought them to try to seek a settlement. They were boarderline traditionalists and while intially supportive of the Foreign Jihadis tried to keep them at arms length. This had gotten into a couple of scuffles with Jihadis and the more Othrodox muslims and the rape of the daughter of a tribal leader by a young Egyptian (who was now rotting in a remote and throughly unpleasant bog with a series of holes in his torso), something which deeply offended the complex Malip system of honor. The fact that a foreign Jihadi leader managed to . Occasionally the Zorians would do leaflet bombing runs to try to convince groups that it would be better simply be a better idea to take up a Zorian offer for peace and they were willing to take up the offer.

On arrival, the leaders were met by a cheerful thin young man, a Muslim from the Zorian League of Mosques (something which suprised the tribal leaders, according to what the Jihadis said there was no such thing as a Zorian Muslim) which greated them in Arabic and offered them some coffee before the negotiations began. The Zorians desired a V shaped section near the mouth of the Dragonsnake river Delta and had some interests in the Ironridge mountains (well beyond the realms of the Egsa or the Malip), a few areas of land of logging (all well away from the most heavily populated areas and that it would replant what was taken in the lumber harvest per Zorian law) and right to use the river for transportation. This left slightly more than 97% of the forest in the hands of it's natives, which were allowed to live as they wished without Zorian Interference in the day to day lives. At the same time Zoria would give an annual supply of various modern goods, including rust proff cooking wear, radios, metal knives, life jackets, laptop computers, sattilite dishes, solar pannels for power, batteries, outboard moters (and gasoline for them), modern medicines and walkie talkies, as well as emergency assistance in case of collosal natural disasters if they so desire, as well as military assistance if they came under threat. All those which signed up had to do was not engage the Zorians in Combat, not offer Jihadi forces aid and report movements of Foreign Jihadis onto their lands. He also stressed that a good number of Malip subgroups had agreed to this. They were also given a set of non combat related goods as a jesture of goodwill regardless of their decision.

When they brought up the foreign Jihadis, the Zorian official stated that despite being Muslim, the powers which backed the Jihadis had ambitions of their own and in praticular the Caliph of Syria desired to turn the entire Dragonsnake River basin into a vassel of his Kingdom and destroy the Malip way of life in the process. For the next few hours the exchange over various techincal details before they called it a night, the next morning the leaders discussed what they had heard and read and eventually caim to a conclusion. They made a couple of adjustments to the proposed deal in regards to themselves, but never the less were willing to meet the agreeement.

Stephen I international Airport, Port Victory

King leighton boarded the Jetliner and prepared for the twenty hour flight to Constantinople. It had taken some effort and planning on part of the Zorian Royal Guard and the local police authorities to prepare proper measures, given the unpleasant undercurrents. Never the less, he was willing to meet with Saladin to try to defuse the scenario which had unfolded.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Imperial Chronicles

Prior to the storming of the capital, the men were warned repeatedly to control themselves and not loot the city. Officers were charged with ensuring discipline among the men. Looters and rapists will be charged under military law and subjected to the proper punishments. A soldier that surrendered was not to be shot but to be taken into custody. As the Sultan of Syria asserted his influence, he issued a number of fatwas to enshrine the laws of the Caliphate, and to ensure that the rule of the law was obeyed. A select group of Jihadis, the more learned ones, were instructed on how to enforce law and order and to be policemen. Everyone part of the Jihad were told and warned repeatedly that law and order must be followed. The laws of the Caliphate were not strictly based on Islamic Sharia law, but rather an amalgation of Byzantine and Islamic law; it was part of the Caliphate's drive for secularism which dated back to the time just after the Second World War where the Caliphate and Byzantium signed a peace treaty that led to the Caliphate becoming a protectorate of Byzantium.

As a result, the capital was stormed with maximum discipline. There were some losses, but for the most part the troops of Muballi were broken. The mercenaries for the most part, recognised when their time was over and surrendered peacefully, while the diehards of Muballi's troops fought to the death. The mercenaries were taken into custody and will be tried as per the laws of the Caliphate and according to International Laws. Others were to be treated as Prisoners of War as such. Those who broke the laws were executed to set an example to troops. The Council of Sheiks and Village leaders immediately declared martial law in the capital and that refugees were to be gathered and given food, water and shelter. Trucks from the port cities streamed in with food and aid; all from the Caliphate.

For many of the Jihadis, it was a long struggle that was over, but they all knew that a threat remained in the north, and they would maintain maximum readiness. Another question remained: Who would now take control of the new nation? The Sheiks and Village leaders jostled about for control, but the Sultan's representative however stepped in immediately to assert control. "You owe the Sultan Saladin your lives. You swore allegiance to him. Leave it to him to decide who would take command. Do not worry, you will remain in your current positions, while the country reorganises itself." The country would indeed take time to rebuild and regain order, and the issue of leadership remains unresolved.

[Coyote]

Katangwan Border: Canissia on Patrol


Safeguarding the Katangwa Free State from potential insurgent activity is one of many ways to serve in the Canissian Army. Here, a motorcycle patrol machinegun team tears through the countryside, looking for signs of activity along the earthen berm that delineates Katangwan territory--



The jungles of northern Katangwaland are no match for the hardy motorcycle patrol teams and their trust R71 Wolfhound motorcycles. Carrying three men for either machinegun teams, sniper teams, grenade-launcher teams, missile or mortar teams, the Wolfhound can cover a lot of territory.



Negotiations are beginning for the Katangwan Army to buy the R-71 Wolfhound for themselves, as Canissia turns over more and more of the border security mission to the natives who live and work in this lush, beautiful land.


Image of desert-camo painted R-71 with anti-tank guided missile set-up on it.

[Siege]

Expansion Time

San Dorado Straits



Assault forces spilt out from the deck of the Pride and Profit like oil across water. Helicopters, LCACs and conventional landing craft raced from the LHD out toward the distant beach under the watchful eye of surveillance aircraft.

Of course the possibility that there would be actual resistance to the landing was absolutely minimal. The landings took place less than a hundred miles from San Dorado proper, and the aerial oversight was present mostly to ensure the military operation didn’t interfere with the busy commercial shipping routes through the Straits.



Minutes later the first marines made landfall on the northern cape, the roar of their vehicles’ engines disturbing the tribes of parrots and looter monkeys who had until today called this region their home.

That was all going to change however. Although the monkeys and parrots had no way of knowing it, San Dorado now called the wilderness of the cape its own. The reasons for the sudden change were twofold: for one, Paragon military planners had long since considered the untamed jungle headland a liability, a place from where any rebel or foreign operative could potentially launch missile attacks at ships and harbors along the southern edge of the strait. A series of planned fortifications along the shore would in the near future guard the Straits and the Orizaco Bay.

But the more pressing reason was that the port city of La Palma was rapidly running out of room for further expansion. In the past fifteen years the city's sprawling harbors had expanded rapidly. New petrochemical refineries and storage tanks, bulk iron ore and coal handling facilities as well as container and new motor vehicle terminals had used up so much space that the harbor now had to resort to the creation of artificial islands to house additional container facilities.

The solution to this problem was all too obvious: claim the northern cape, and transform it into a new center for petrochemical industry. As chemical industries moved to the new harbors in the north, room would open up in La Palma proper for cargo transshipment. Meanwhile pipelines running along the bottom of the sea would allow the northern facilities to send their produce southward, from where ships, rail lines and highways would disseminate the cargoes through the Raj to the heart of Frequesue, and through the Costa into Baerne and beyond.

The name of this massive harbor construction and reorganization project? FreeGate, shorthand for the ‘Gateway to Frequesue’, a program intended to cement San Dorado's position as Frequesue's foremost trading hub well into the 21st century...



A brief overview of the territorial holdings of San Dorado. A is the Valley Forge development region; B the newly claimed area, to be called Port MacArthur.

[Coyote]

Denninburg, Canissia


"Another successful operation," the High Priest said.
"Heh," muttered the Anubis operative next to him. "I dunno, these Odinists seem to come out of the woodwork. There weren't any here at all just a few months ago."



"Well, consider it job security," the High Priest said. "The whole Zorodinist movement has provided a boost in recruiting for us, though, I'll admit. That Miranda Moonbeam stunt sure put the whole polytheism movement in general on everyone's front burner."

"D'you suppose she spiked it herself," the Anubis asked, "Or did someone do it to her?"
"To her or for her?" the Priest asked. "There could be a distinction."
"True, that."

They went through the ruined Odinist temple-- it was a small building, really, a side-building off an old factory that had long ago been abandoned and boarded up. The nascent Odinist community of Dennianburg had conducted their rites away from the general public, which meant that they avoided detection for a long time by the militant Qalqayyid followers. But it also meant that Odinist recruitment was slow and selective-- but then again, the ones they got were truly devoted, as well.

So the Followers of the Pharaohs, the Qalqayyid adherents, had to be more persistemt in rooting them out.

What had really helped was the High Priest coming into some cash recently. The Anubis acolyte knew that they had actively promoted recruiting among the nearby Royal Air Force base, and the money had gone to flyrs, mailers, and hosting a couple parties. Supposedly, they had located the Odinists through aerial surveillance by an RAF training overflight.

"Our True Believers in the military are helping out," said the High Priest. "This is their victory. We must make sure to recruit among the police, as well. Then we can be a bit more open about our movements." He sighed, and looked around. The Odinist holy books, wooden staffs, and recruitment flyers were smouldering in a bonfire that had run its course; the small gaggle of Odinist adherents had been shoved around --no real beatings, mostly just intimidation-- and tied up, watching as their ritual things were burned.

"Alright, we've made our point," the High Priest said, "Let's get outta here."



Results:
Anti-Odinist movement picks up among followers of Qalqayyid gods.

[Coyote]

Puerto Los Santos
Least Cayman Island




The Canissian government charter jets were too big for the local runways, so Foreign Minister Ren Lars (Labor Party, Libris) and Trade Minister Rayzha Rumaclin (Labor Party, Caprica) used a government helicopter instead. They were brought to just outside the territorial waters of the Cayman island and flew in, making a gentle descent on the cracked pavement tarmac of the old runway.

"Hello," greeted the Puerto Los Santos mayor, Culo Bournes, "It is my honor to welcome great guests of Canissia!" Handshakes and introductions were made as the Canissian envoys were guided to a pair of waiting limousines. The three of them climed in one limousine while the other remained empty; then, escorted by a few police motorcycles, the small motorcade traveled through the streets of the ramshackle city. Lars and Rumaclin exchanged glances-- the limousine was clearly older, and used. It was the old square-block body styling popular from the 1980's, and the upholstery was faded and worn in many places.

"Thank you for seeing us, mayor Bournes," said FM Lars, "I hope you've had time to review the proposal we sent you."
"Yes, yes," the mayor said, "Radar station, small Navy base. How much land you want, and how much you pay for it?"

"Well, we'll need at least a 12-acre site for the tracking station, which we were hoping to put on that hill up there," the Foreign Minister said, pointing out the window at a nearby small mountain which the mayor barely glanced at, "It's not going to be very big. And at least a two square mile area that sits on the shore for the Naval base. We won't park anything bigger than a Destroyer here, and we won't interfere with your shipping-- or government."

"So, you pay lease?" the mayor asked, very hastily flipping through the detailed report. "Lease and utilities?"
"Well, yes, we were going to have to negotiate the land lease with the Cayman government..."
"No worries. My uncle is in the national government."
"...and of course we'll have to make sure your local utilities can handle the demands of the base and the radar."

"If not, is okay. I can give permit for you to build power station, too. Maybe nuclear one, for all of city, eh? And we give reduced price for lease, then. Is deal?"

"Well, mister mayor, that's what we're here to negotiate..."


*** *** *** *** *** ***

Royal CanissiAir flight Z-1090
To Shroomania





"And as we drift liesurely over the channel, we come to the Shroomanian shore," the Captain announced over the intercom. In the wide, luxurious observation lounge, the passengers sipped their martinis and gazed at the lush, lovely landscape below them.

"If you look right below, you can see the Shroomanian entry point for the cross-channel tunnel, or the famous 'chunnel', as it is popularly known." The passengers "ooh'd" and "ahhh'd" at the vista, which was truly magnificent.

The entry to the Chunnel on the Shroomanian side was a well-known point of interest to airborne tourists that flew the regular Zeppelin route between Canissia and Shroomania. The flight was short-- just a couple hours. It would have been a 30-minute hop on a commuter airplane, but the Zeppelins offered the best views... and the most comfort.

Right now the view of the famous Shroomanian Chunnel entrance was what captivated the sky-tourists. The Shroomanian Public Works department had carefully sculpted and manicured the landscaping around the Chunnel entrance. Carved in smooth, round sweeps from very stable rock with a strong quartz content, the rock had an odd, almost flesh-like, pinkish hue to it. When the sun caught it just right, with the quartz crystal refracting the light, the hilly mounds of rock looked almost exactly like two firm, round pink buttocks, glistening with sweat.

"Oh, we're in luck!" called the Chief Stewardess, "Look, a train is going in!"

Sure enough, down the track, a large train was approaching the entrance between the two giant, rock-carved buttocks. Shroomanian trains were all colored in friendly colors that represented all the hues of humanity's ethnic groups-- the train approaching now appeared to be one colored like the skin of a healthy, strong young Black male. The train rocked on the rails and it plunged into the tunnel, which seemed to pulsate and throb with delight at the entry of the large, pounding train.

"Always an awesome sight," said the Stewardess. "Let's be glad that the tracks loop around and come back out another location. I'd hate to see the psychological effect of that one coming back the same route!" she said with a girlish giggle.

The Stewardesses went back to serving coffee, tea, or drinks, as the Zeppelin went on its merry course.


***

[Coyote]

South Pole Expedition






The Canissian Zeppelin fleet was nothing if not versatile.

Canissia had recently increased the funding for science and research, and a major South Pole base was one of the projects being funded. A research Zepp, full of construction equipment, was headed to the Pole to set up what would become the McMurphy South Pole research station.

Research would be carried out not only in meteorology and extreme-cold studies, but ice core samples would be drilled, and long-term habitats to test potential Moon Base applications would be made as well.

[Siege]

Intelligence Communique, Priority One

FROM: Military Intelligence Corps, San Dorado
TO: Canissian Military HQ, Canissia
SUBJECT: Antarctic Research

Gentlemen,

It has come to our attention that several of your country's institutes of advanced learning have fielded a South Pole expedition with the goal of establishing a base in the Antarctic region. Once there Canissian scientists intend to carry out a variety of studies in the arctic, some of which will reportedly include the drilling of ice core samples from the permafrost.

Whilst we applaud the fervor of your academia, we feel obliged to send you a warning regarding certain peculiarities your team could potentially encounter in the region.

In the early 1980s the San Dorado Navy ran a research outpost in roughly the same geographical area as your McMurphy South Pole research station. Unfortunately this outpost was destroyed in a 1982 cataclysm that killed all 12 researchers and leveled the base. From what little remained of the outpost an SDN rescue team managed to deduct that the base's personnel had dug something out of the ice-- an alien creature capable of absorbing and perfectly imitating other life-forms, which the team had accidentally awakened after it being buried within the ice for thousands of years. The rescue team was shortly thereafter set upon by this creature, its members barely managing to escape alive.

We strongly advise that your researchers stay away from and do not drill at, or near, the coordinates 84º 33' S, 22º 07' W on the Antarctic Plateau.

Cordially,

Col. R.J. MacReady
Anomalous Situations Activity
Military Intelligence Corps

Result: San Dorado warns Canissia for...

[Zablorg]

As it later turned out, the Shroom forces were a mirage, effectively meaning that negotiations between the cultists and the lawyers had been ruined for no real reason. But Cultist had heard tell of like-minded folk and allies to their cause in the mainland of Velaria.

"Kali?" he barked at the Stonethrower Battalion's officer.
"Yes, sir. The men believe he was a brother of the Republic and enemies of the Titanic Ones. And a more diverse culture in the island would probably frighten the lawyers."

Cultist pondered. He didn't much like the idea of trekking all the way over there to try and talk about religious diversity. He could be attacked. He could be raped by a squirrel. Plus, the mainlander's facepaint was a different color to the Fordian's facepaint. Still, the Lawyers were furiously scribbling clauses and precedent day and night, angered by the imaginary misconduct during the peace talk. They needed all the help they could get.

"Very well."
"Should my troops head to the mainland now, sir? It should only take a couple of days of steady march."
"No. We need as many men we can spare against the Lawyer menace."

He ducked into his hut and remained inside for seven or so minutes, then re-emerged wearing a most curious garb.



With a voice that sounded like a dying buzzsaw, he said
"Ishallow"

"What?"

"Ishallow. Ishallow."
"You swallow?"
"Nu. Lerson. Ishallow an eat therainsanders"

Frustrated that his menacing voice wasn't working and was in fact causing the troops to giggle slightly, he shook his head and headed off towards the foul Kali-folk.

[Grand Moff Yenchin]

Serenity Sentinel



Second Tachibana Sounding Rocket

The second Tachibana Sounding rocket, TS-2, launched last night at the Takao Launch Site. The TS-2 carried a solar sail, designed by Tachibana Heavy Industries in collaboration with the Ketagaran Institute of Technolgy. The purpose was to test deployment mechanisms of the sail. At the height of 180 Kms the sail was released from the rocket and successfully spread out. 5 minutes later the rocket plunged into the sea and the mission was over. The THI-KIT collaboration group announced the test a success.

Miho Tachibana, director of THI's R&D Department did not attend the launch and was unable to be reached. Dr. Joseph Todd, head of the THI-KIT group mentioned to the press that the results of the mission would be carefully studied for a future project.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Imperial Chronicles

The Zorian King arrived with little fanfare, though he was met by the Byzantine Emperor, and given the obligatory Guard of Honour. The arrival was mostly kept quiet, and he was escorted quickly to the Imperial Palace in Constantinople under heavy guard. There, he was led to one of the meeting rooms in a room facing the Bosphorous. Guards were at every corner, and the bullet proof windows were closed shut. In that meeting room, the Sultan of Syria, Saladin IV waited and rose when his adversary arrived in the room.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Constantinople Times

Ministry of Science authorises funds for the exploration of the seabed

The Ministry of Science has authorised funds for projects related to the exploration of the seabed. 2 billion Solidi in grants were awarded. One of the research groups at the University of Athens intends to use the funds to construct a deep sea submersible for the purpose to exploring whole swaths of the seabed. "While Byzantine and Shroomanian ocean survey vessels have scoured the seas and mapped out the seabed, this will be the first vigorous attempt in the world to explore the seabed thoroughly, and to develop technologies to search for untapped riches on the seabed. Our scientists will be working again vigorously with their Shroomanian counterparts in this endeavor as well and attempt to construct a deep sea station to facilitate the exploration of the ocean seabed," says the Minister of Science.

Construction of the Super Linear Collider Completed.

Scientists involved in constructing the Super Linear Collider have reported that the construction has completed and they have begun vigorous testing of the collider. While the grand opening ceremony is scheduled next year, the next 4-5 months will be crucial in ensuring that the collider will work as planned and yield crucial data, including discovering the Higgs boson. The collider is capable of up to 10TeV collisions.

[Shroom Man 777]

LIVE on ShroomSat/StratTV
The Sovereign Shroomanian Sentinel
SHROOMANIAN SEA SCIENCE SURVEY SCIENCE


The Shroomanian Scientific Society's latest project - an oceanographic outpost for the 21st century.

The Sovereignty of Shroomania has announced the continuation of its cooperation with Byzantium in exploring the seas. The Shroomanian Scientific Society will be working with the University of Athens by providing an underwater base of operations for the proposed Athenian super-submersible.

This sea lab will be a fully inhabitable environment for sea scientists to conduct their sea science under the sea. Aside from the University of Athens, Shroomania's own University of Farbanti will also be working in the sea lab - not with submersibles and oceanographic mapping, but with genetic engineering and marine lifeforms.

The University of Farbanti has also been part of the joint Shroomanian-CSR biotechnology projects, and aside from that has also seen great success in genetically-engineering marine lifeforms, such as bioluminescent plankton and hyperintelligent Mako sharks.


The Sealab 2021 project will involve many scientific disciplines, from oceanography and genetic engineering to shark-wrestling.

[DarthShady]

Shady News

CSR delivers first two Lada class Submarines

The new, fourth generation Project 677 Lada class diesel-electric submarine is a successor to the Type 877EKM and Type 636 Kilo-class submarines. The Lada type is significantly smaller (1,600 tons D/W) than the previous Kilo type submarines (2,325 tons D/W), and generally configured for anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare, minelaying and special forces deployment. The CSR is expected to deliver three additional submarines within the next two years.

Characteristics:

Displacement: 2,700 long tons (2,700 t) submerged
Length: 72 m (236 ft 3 in)
Beam: 7 m (23 ft 0 in)
Draft: 6.5 m (21 ft 4 in)
Propulsion: Electric propulsion motor on permanent magnets
Storage battery with increased service life
2 diesel Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) systems based on oxygen-hydrogen fuel cells
1 shaft
2,700 hp (2,013 kW)
Speed: 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h)+
Endurance: 45 days
Test depth: 300 m (984 ft)
Complement: 38 officers and men
Armament: 6 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes
18 torpedoes and tube launched cruise missiles:
• SET 16 torpedoes
• Novator Alfa or Oniks SSM
• RPK-6/SS-N-16 Vodopod/Stallion SUBROC

[Shroom Man 777]

LIVE on ShroomSat/StratTV
The Sovereign Shroomanian Sentinel
POTASSIUM POWER


The USSR purchases Shroomanian-made heavy machinery to mine potassium.

"Shadowland number one exporter of potassium, all other countries have inferior potassium!"

So goes the USSR's new national anthem, and rightly so for Soviet Shadow Union is using its world-quality potassium exports to bring its staggering economy back from the brink of financial turmoil. The Shadow Unification of the Border States was a costly endeavor, and the process of bringing the former Border States to higher standards of living is a costly one, but with perseverance and foreign aid from Old Continent allies and loans from the economic Free Fungal Union of Nations, the truly United Soviet Shadow Republics may very well thrive in the face of adversity.

As the USSR's new national anthem goes:

"Shadowland is greatest country in the world, all other countries are run by little girls!"

The USSR is an excellent source of potassium.

[Coyote]

KING ARIK: "NAVAL EXPANSION WILL HAPPEN"





In a surprise, off-the-cuff interview landed by the Canissian Sun-Times, King Arik Coyotus announced the first major expansion of Canissian armed forces since the F-16L acquisition for the Air Reserves.

King Arik, who was at Baron Blackwulf Public School for his daughter Chyou's dance recital, was asked for a quick interview by the Sun-Times. The King, who usually does not grant unannounced interviews, surprisingly agreed.

His Majesty primarily discussed expansion of the education budget, especially for arts and humanities at earlier ages, but also mentioned the need to "balance those needs with the planne dincreases in the Navy". When asked to explain the comment, the King said that there were definite plans to build two Frigates, two Anuket-class Corvettes, and two Pegasus-class Patrol Hydrofoils.

"Those plans are being budgeted and there'll be a vote in the Parliament, which I'm told will pass easily," the King said. "these expenditures appear small, because it is only six ships, and they are among the smallest types of ships we have, but the long-term plans --and this will take some negotiationg, I admit-- are to eventually add another two Expeditionary Forces to the Navy."

When asked why the massive expansion of Naval power-projection assets was taking place during a time of relative peace, the King explained that with space opening up more and more each day, and the need for more research and ground-control and monitoring stations being planned worldwide, there "needs to be a means to protect all our far-flung assets" and that relying on the four Expeditionary Forces already in the Navy would require too-frequent rotations and deployments, which would quickly wear out crews and equipment.

"In the long run," His Majesty said, "That would cost far more than the cost of the new ships. It's not only just the ROBs to take into account, but degraded readiness levels and morale, which leads to retention problems, which in turn leads to the need to recruit more and spend more money on training."

Later, contacts at the Admiralty contacte dby the Sun-Times confirmed the King's plans.

"We will build enough ships to round up our squadrons and divisions to full strength," the Admiral, who wished to remain anonymous said, "Then, we'll just build the unique ships needed to form the nucleaus of new Ex-Forces. That'll mean carriers and amphibs, that sort of thing, and then we'll just draw from the new, rounded-up squadrons for escorts as needed."

King Arik emphasised that he was taking care to keep the budget imprint small while radically expanding the Navy's capabilities. "We won't be building whole new fleets," he said, "I want the bulk of the Defense budgets to always go towards training first, where possible. We'll just order what's needed to fill the gaps, and use existing ships to build the Expeditionary Forces to full strength from there."

The King's primary interest, however, was in the planned increases to Education, which he called "exciting".

"More arts and humanities," he said, "And putting human development courses on a par for prestige with sports programs. People should notice that I like to invest in brainpower first and foremost-- whether it is the Education bill, or training for the military-- all of life is a classroom, and people should never stop learning."

He went on to watch his daughter's dance recital, in which she came in second.




BREAKDOWN of CURRENT and PLANNED EXPENSION:

CURRENT NAVAL DEPLOYMENTS & FORCE ORGANIZATION:
[T]..[D]..[R] ("Total/Deployed/Reserve")
5.....2....3 Cruiser Divisions of 2 Cruisers each.
20...10...10 Destroyer Divisions of 2 Destroyers each.
13....8....5 Frigate Divisions of 3 Frigates each (1 hull left over: PLANNED: 2 more to round up to 14 Divisions)
7.....3....4 Corvette Divisions of 4 Anuket Corvettes (2 hulls left over PLANNED: 2 more to round up to 8 Divisions)
7.....4....3 Fast Strike Divisions (FSDs) of 4 Pegasus Hydrofoils each (2 hulls left over PLANNED: 2 more to round up to 8 Divisions)
3.....2....1 Mine-warfare Special Task Groups (STGs) of 2 Seahorse Mine warfare vessels each
7.....2....5 Hunter-Killer Teams (HKTs) of 2 Victoria SSKs each
8.....3....5 Seawolf SSNs; deployed singularly
4.....4....0 Neptune Assault Carriers w/MEU; deployed singularly (2 more eventually planned)
4.....4....0 Triton CVNs; deployed singularly (2 more eventually planned)


Standard Expeditionary Force composition:
1 Triton-class CVN
1 Neptune-class LPDN w/MEU
1 Ryujin-class LSDNs w/MEU
1 Nabiya-class LPDs w/MEU
1 Cruiser Division (2 Cruisers)
2 Destroyer Divisions (4 Destroyers)
1 Frigate Division (3 Frigates)

The long-term increases will give the Royal Navy 6, instead of the current 4, full Expeditionary Forces.

[Coyote]

HAWKEYES TO KATANGWALAND




E-2C Hawkeye airborne radar planes are slated to set up a permanant base in Katangwaland, military insider sources say.

The versatile aircraft are being sent to help keep an eye on any potential jihadi infiltration activity that may be nearby, or attempting to reach the shores of the Katangwa Free State, which has so far been kept out of the Velerian wars on the eastern side of the continent.

"It pays to be careful, and vigilence is a small price to pay," said Defense Minister Ral Tenn (National Party, Saggitaron). "These aircraft are going to be under Canissian control. There will be Katangwan observers along, learning about the systems, but there are currently no plans to turn over any E2 Hawkeye aircraft over to the KSA Air Force. It is an agreement between allies."

*** *** ***


KING'S NAVY BUDGET PROPOSAL HITS ROCKS


The surprise announcment following last night's impromptu interview of the King met with sudden resistance by some members of the Parliament when session opened this morning.

"We have agreed on the acquisition of the six small ships for the Navy," said Finance Minister Erma Felna (National Party, Tauron), "But there is a great deal of consternation over the desire to increase spending on new Expeditionary Forces."

The King's plan is to expand Expeditionary Forces, usually consisting of a Carrier and several Amohibious Warfare ships, plus escorts, to enhance security at far-flung Canissian bases, such as those proposed in the Cayman Islands.

"Once we spend money on those ships, we'll have to spend money to build more support & replenishment ships as well-- since the current number we have won't be adequate for the job," the Finance Minister said. Parliament is offering an alternate plan, where the Navy will expand by one Expeditionary Force and divert the rest of the money to enhancing the Navy's small fleet of service and support ships, which is already barely adequate (some say inadequate) for resupplying ships that Canissia already has.

"We can barely support the Navy as it stands," says Science & Industry Minister Mark Reebo (Libertarian Party, Gemenon). "And the King wants to put increased strain on the supply chain by protecting far-off bases we don't need? Preposterous."

When asked about the need for radar tracking stations for space-based applications, Minister Reebo scoffed at the need to pay "backwater dictators" and unstable governments for the priviledge of building infrastructure on islands when the ability existed to build and deploy free-floating X-Band radar stations based off of oil rig designs.

"That way, we don't have to negotiate with questionable officials on far-off lands who could turn on us, and we can position the radar where we want it, not where the islands are."

A counter-proposal will seek funding for these alternate proposals.

"If possible," says Environment Minister Myra Foxglove (Greens Party, Picon), "I'd like to kill the funding for Navy expansion past these six boats. We don't need more Aircraft Carriers in a time of peace. I'd support funding for supply ships and the floating radar idea, but not for more war machines."

[phongn]

Arms to Rangatara?

LESONNO (Green World News) - Reports are coming in that Rangatara's armed forces are suddenly being equipped with heavy warmaking equipment. The source, of course, is Tonkin. In their zeal to expand their interests in the relatively untouched continent of Velaria and its pristine interior (believed to be almost totally unexploited by man), Tonkin has virtually transformed Rangatara into a puppet nation. Indeed, the IRT has recently demanded that Rangatara eject Zorian arms inspectors, adding to the bloodshed now occurring to the south. Arms experts with GWN believe that the latest slaughter of the indigenous peacekeepers under Muballi was enabled primarily through IRT culpability in shipping arms through formerly secure Rangataran ports.

Amongst the arms now appearing include advanced aircraft such as EC-121 battle management transports, A-4 and F-110 multirole aircraft, AC-119 gunships and many other aircraft now wearing the jungle camouflage of the Rangataran Air Force. An addition are many surplus utility helicopters ...

Manned Orbital Development System Test Flight



HUE - THE IRT today announced the first successful launch of their so-called 'Manned Orbital Development System' today. Rising from the Tuân Space Center on the equator, this vehicle is said to be an unmanned space laboratory designed to validate critical systems now in development for their Lifting-body Earth Reentry Transport (LERT) reusable space plane now in development. While the IRT has remained secretive about its long-term plans, the shot of the "MODS-0" rocket show what is quite clearly a capsule on top similar to designs used around the world. However, released documents indicate that this space ship has an extended-length cargo module attached to the rear of the capsule.

If taken at face value, the IRT's TASC has crammed this cargo cylinder full of equipment. Of course, it is will known that IRT aerospace companies have subcontracted on various space projects across the world - and also, that the IRT's corporate espionage efforts are widely believed to be some of the best in the world. The fruits of the IRT's spy efforts may be that hard-won information from other countries may now be in TASC's hands.

[Beowulf]

TXAF directorate of research meeting

"Our team has developed additional innovative space launch ideas. One that shows much promise is the laser thermal rocket. Essentially we use a weapons grade laser to heat up the propellant in a rocket. We've made some rough estimates, and thing we can get about 1.5kg of payload mass to orbit per megawatt of laser power. Initial estimates for small scale prototypes is about $50 million. A full up test facility should cost approximately 20 times that cost. That will allow us to put a 100 kg satellite into orbit. We predict we'll run into severe scaling problems past the 1.5 ton to orbit mark. Mostly, it's supplying enough continuous power for the 15 minute trip to orbit."

"What would be the point?"

"Orbital propellant depot. For a standard mission out of LEO, half or more of the spacecraft mass is just the gas they need to get to wherever they're going. The depot would probably have to be launched on a Jupiter or Ares, but could fairly cheaply be filled by this."

"Well, get some sort of demonstration working, and then we'll see about funding for prototypes."

[Shinn Langley Soryu]

Pankot, al-Ghazzara

Be it by luck, fate, or sheer coincidence, the Zulfiqar had found itself on the trail of Deacon Saito's longboat, discreetly tailing it as it made its way to al-Ghazzara; however, Shirin was forced to break off the pursuit, as she was running low on fuel and other supplies for her sub. While Deacon Saito's longboat eventually made landfall in an unsettled area on the Isthmus of Shroomston, the Zulfiqar pulled into port at the city of Pankot, one of al-Ghazzara's few seaports and the site of an Astarian naval base that had been abandoned midway through construction; with the help of a few bribes, as was the custom, the submarine was accomodated right next to a derelict ex-Astarian Abukuma class destroyer escort, where it would remain while Shirin and her crew went out to secure additional supplies and ask about the jihad and the state of the ex-Astarian ship.

"Zorians!" an incredulous barkeep exclaimed as he caught sight of Shirin, Klaus, and Edward, all still wearing their ersatz Zorian Navy garb, entering his establishment. "What brings you here to these parts?"

"We've come here for information," Shirin replied matter-of-factly. "We are here on a mission to root out jihadis operating throughout eastern Velaria. Do you know of any in this area?"

"Personally, I know nothing of them, though the Kali cultists might," the barkeep replied in turn.

"Kali cultists?"

"After the Pathogen War, the Astarians constructing their base here quickly went native. Their leader, some nutcase colonel named Kurtz or something like that, set up shop in some of the temple ruins nearby here and helped revive the old Kali cult. Blood sacrifices, child slavery, you know, those sorts of things that give sane worshippers of Kali a bad name in other parts of the world. With the jihad going on, they've started targeting Muslim villages near the Hadhramara border. You want to kill some jihadis, you'll have to visit the Kali cult and tag along with them. You better have a strong stomach, though; like I said before, blood sacrifices."

"I...see," Shirin said, barely managing to suppress the urge to vomit right then and there. "Where are these ruins, and how do we get there?"

"They're further north up the isthmus. The jungle's thick, so you'll probably need a few guides to help you get there. In any case, you'll know it when you see it."

"Oh, one more thing before I go," Shirin said, still trying to suppress her nausea. "That Astarian ship at the dock. Does it still work?"

"Most of its crew left long ago, but some of them stayed behind to maintain it. All I know is that it still runs, though I wouldn't know about the weapons."

"That'll be all for tonight, good sir," Shirin said as she dropped a wad of ROBs on the counter for the barkeep to take. "You see any of my men coming around here, you make sure to treat them well, you hear?"

"Yes, ma'am."

With that, Shirin, Klaus, and Edward left the bar, with Shirin puking her guts out on the ground shortly afterwards.

"What's wrong, ma'am?" Klaus asked.

"Did you hear what he said about those cultists?" Shirin said as she took out a hankerchief and wiped her mouth with it. "I can't stand idly by as these heathens butcher my brothers and sisters in the faith! You may not be Muslims, yes, but surely you understand the difference between warfare and slaughter, right?"

"Right, ma'am," Klaus responded. "I may be a mercenary, but there's no way in hell you'll pay me to dismember civvies."

"So, what about it?" Edward asked. "Are we going to pursue these bastards, or what?"

"Round up the crew and inform them of the situation," Shirin replied. "Also, go around town and see if you can find a few good men to accompany us; we'll need all the help we can get."

[Siege]

Executive Decisions



Tower of Commerce, downtown San Dorado

“Ladies, gentlemen”, president Hank looked around the stately boardroom at the 92nd floor of the Tower of Commerce. “Welcome to this week’s meeting. Point of order: since Sam Ralson had to go out play space cadet, CORDEF is represented by his second, miss Sandy Harmon.”

The three other directors exchanged brief greetings with Harmon. Although all present had at one time or another spoken with her, she obviously didn’t feel entirely at ease. Of course there was a reason for that, this was the Executive Board after all, and Miss Harmon hadn’t been Ralson’s second for very long. To her credit, she did an astute job of hide her uneasiness. She might go far, the president idly mused. Then another thought occurred to him. With him and Iago facing down Daphne, Helena and Sandy, this was the first time in the history of San Dorado’s highest executive that the women outnumbered the men.

What are we coming to, the president smirked. Next you know they’ll be accusing us of egalitarianism.

“Penny for your thoughts, Sidney?” Iago Morgan gave the president a bemused look, clearly having noticed the smirk.

“It’s nothing”, the president hand-waved the comment away. Iago had a rather unique way of looking at (or rather, overlooking) the differences between the sexes. “Something occurred to me, that’s all. Let’s begin, shall we? Helena, why don’t you start?”

“Sure thing boss”, Helena Skye of DEPICOR began at her usual ever-cheerful tone. “So, the situation in the world. Of particular interest these days is of course Velaria. The situations there continues to deteriorate- the IRT are just flooding the region with weapons, the Caliph of Syria is issuing edict after edict that do nothing but inflame the sentiments of the Muslim populace further, and although the mujahedeen have been busy rooting out local warlords it’s just a matter of time before they get back to killing Zorians again. Oh, and the Cascadians are getting in on the action too.”

“Hmm,” Sidney frowned. San Dorado didn’t have much stake in the region – much of it was traditionally part of the IRT’s sphere of influence, and the city-state typically tried not to step on any IRT toes – but the conflict was a source of instability in the East Velarian Sea, and thus of some concern. “What about the peace talks in Byzantium?”

“Behind closed doors. Our embassy says they haven’t heard anything yet”, Skye shrugged.

“Neither has the EIA”, added Daphne. “But I’ve told our people in the Empire to stay back for a bit.”

“Good”, the President nodded. “No need to inflame the Byzantines by spying on them, particularly not now we’re getting on their good side. Is there anything we can do about Velaria that’ll net us a profit?”

“Right now?” Helena shook her head. “I doubt it. I mean, the usual suspects are getting a few bucks out of it, but apart from that I don’t think so.”

‘The usual subjects’ being weapons traffickers and people smugglers, the president thought. Oh well. What else was new? “Okay, so we’ll leave that be. How’s our more immediate neighbourhood?”

“Funny you should ask that”, Helena smiled. “We’ve received a communiqué from Mr. Vincente Fárias.”

“The new Costa president?” Sidney Hank frowned. “What does he want?” The Costa de las Cinco Muertes was a traditionally a bit of an eyesore to the city-state. Most of the time the Executive just sort of pretended it didn’t exist, and usually the people of the Costa preferred it that way.

“He wants to talk with you”, Helena replied. “He wants to cooperate.”

“Cooperate how?”

“Mr. Fárias wants our help straightening out his nation, help him rid it of the cartels and the gangs… In return, he’s promised to grant our corporations certain perks.”

“Interesting…”

“He’s also apparently thinking of joining the FTO, or the CNFN.”

Hank raised an eyebrow. “Okay, that’s new. Well, we can always talk. Schedule a meeting, I’ll fly down south.”

“And speaking of meetings, there is the matter of President Garrett’s tour of Frequesue. Should I schedule a date for that too? This is of course assuming that he’ll win the elections…”

“Oh, I’m sure he will”, the president replied airily. “Yes, try and arrange something with the Cascadians. And you know, I think Cascadia is an opportunity for us. So whilst you’re at it, ask them if it’s alright for us to expand our mission there into a full-blown embassy. Let’s see if we can get a foothold in the Messican markets.”

“Certainly”, Skye nodded as she jotted down a few lines on a notepad. “That’s pretty much all from me for now.”

“Alright. Morgan?”

“Our industries are doing better than fine. Just now we’re beginning to reap the benefits of that generic drug deal on the Old Continent, the shipyards are all working at full capacity, aerospace is coming along nicely…” Morgan looked at his papers. “Ah, yes. One word of advise: the oil deals with Byzantium and the new harbours in La Palma are both probably going to net us a lot of money in the long run, but the initial investments are staggering and as a result we’re running dangerously low on funds right now. We can’t really afford anything major like that next year. Unless you want to take out foreign credit.”
“We don’t, not if we can help it”, the President shook his head. “What’s the status of the FreeGate project?”

“The landings all went according to plan; we’ve thrown up some preliminary quays that allow heavy equipment to be unloaded. As we speak the bulldozers should be finishing up the clearings for the first construction efforts.”

“Did we hear anything from Baerne?”

“They have protested our seizure of the cape”, Skye filled in. “According to them they’d claimed that entire region for the Duke.”

The president gestured airily. “And they’ve done a big load of nothing with it ever since. They can’t seriously expect us to accept their claims if they don’t develop the region. Otherwise we might as well lay claim to the entire northern jungle for ourselves!”

Skye looked unconvinced. “Baerne Fine Timbers did do some logging…”

“And we had some aircraft pass over it. In the grand scheme of things that’s about as relevant. Besides, last I checked the Duchy of Baerne isn’t running out of room. We are. We need that territory and we’re damn well going to develop it.”

Iago Morgan grinned. “I knew you’d think of it like that.”

“Right, if that’s everything… Sandy?”

Ralson’s second from CORDEF bolted upright. “Well sir…”

“No, please no. No sir. This is the Executive, Sandy. We’re all supposed to be professionals and equals here, we can do without the formalities.”

Harmon blushed but nodded fervently. “Alright si- Sidney.” She scraped her throat. “The most important thing is that the S-2 prototype will be ready for a test flight in January. Also, the Paragon feels that with the expansion to the northern cape, now is the time to put in orders for some additional air defence. General Every would like another air defence group formed.”

“Alright, we can look into that.”

“He also feels we could do with some short-range point-defence missiles”, Harmon continued.

Morgan shook his head. “We’re not producing anything like that and we can’t afford to begin development of anything like that right now. Maybe I could slip them into next year’s budget…”

“Yeah, hold off on that for now.” President Hank steepled his fingers. “Anything else?”

“That’s all for me, si- Sidney.”

“Right, Daphne?” Sidney Hank turned to his director for Education, Law Enforcement and Justice.

“Nothing going on in my quarter”, the blonde executive director began breezily. “That is, apart from the usual riots and trials. AIP has been bugging me for extra funding though- general Sturmond wants more helicopters for his quick response teams.”

“We all want something, he’ll have to wait-” the president began, but he was interrupted by Sandy Harmon.

“With all due respect, but Citidef is replacing some of their old Bad Penny’s with modern choppers. I believe they were thinking of off-loading them to either the CFR or Velaria, but if AIP needs a few aerial taxis…”

“Good thinking”, the president’s respect for Harmon went up another few notches. “Make it happen. Alright, if there’s nothing else? Dismissed, and we’ll see each other next week.”

Results: * Ralson is being temporarily replaced by his second-in-command due to his impending space trip.
* President Hank will visit the president of the Costa soon-ish.
* We get in touch with Cascadia to see if we can build an embassy there.
* Preparations for the state visit by President Garrett of Cascadia are underway.
* We ignore Baernish complaints about seizure of the northern cape .
* S-2 Silver Star prototype is nearing completion.
* Some ado about helicopters.

[Steve]

Adams Capital District
Election Day


It was customary for the Cascadian President, if running for re-election, to hold a small election day party in the Presidential Mansion with only Cabinent members, family, and close friends. Such a circle had gathered this day for President Garrett, running for re-election on a plank emphasizing an assertive foreign policy where Cascadian interests were involved, a maintainance of neutrality and use of it for supporting global initiatives for peace, and a number of domestic policies aimed at ending reliance upon petroleum.
In debates he had fought hard against the lead opposition candidate, Rachel MacKenzie, and weathered fire from other parties who believed he'd been too active in Veleria, that his placing the Army on the chopping block first during the Pathogen War aftermath's economic crunch as "un-Cascadian", or that his economic policies were not strong enough in this or that way. About the only internal group of Cascadia that seemed unquestioningly loyal was Cascadia's small Muslim population, which by polls now overwhelmingly-supported him by over 95% due to Operation: Avenging Sword and his increasingly critical stance on Zoria's expansionism in Veleria.

"Either way it's been a good six years," he remarked to his SecDef, Robert Dale, as the two men stood in the corner. "I wouldn't take back any of it."
"Wouldn't you?", Dale asked in a serious tone.
Well, except that maybe, Stephen added to himself, knowing what his SecDef was referring to. His participation in the covert anti-Astarian alliance was something he always blamed himself for, believing it had helped embolden Shep to launch his insane war of annihilation. The look on his face was enough that Dale backed off.
"We got Columbia!"
The cry brought everyone's attention, prompting a look at the electoral map. The Cascadian system was similar to the US one, with representation in the Congress determining electoral votes, though there were provisions where if the electoral vote was not of a certain margin and nor was the popular vote, automatic recounts were permitted in all states and, if the margin was still not met, electoral voters were not picked entirely by the winning party but by the parties' precentage of holdings on the provincial legislatures, which could dilute his EC holdings from the populous provinces enough that he might well lose against a coalition of Stalwarts, Conservatives, and Liberals. As in his home world's USA Cascadia had movements wanting to dismantle this, but the more rural provinces had little support for the idea and nor was it very popular elsewhere - the outlook was "why change what's worked for 200 years?".
So far Stephen had solidified Olympia and Columbia. Yukon and Jieshi were lost, narrowly going to MacKenzie since Whig votes were being siphoned to the stronger Stalwarts, Conservatives, and in Jieshi, the ethnic-centric Jieshi Solidarity Party. Rosario, Oregon, and Grant would thus decide the election. He had to get at least one of them to even hope for re-election.
Thirty minutes later word came that Grant had swung for MacKenzie. If she took either Rosario or Oregon, it was over. This was particularly upsetting since Grant was the one frontier province that the Whigs had taken the last time, and the voting rolls showed that he'd lost ground in what he had narrowly lost in 2007.

Anxiety and a bit of dread settled into the room was the votes continued to tally. And then came reprieve: Rosario blipped the light blue of the Whigs on the screen, won over by local support for Stephen's continued good ties with Shinra and the prestige San Magdalena had gotten when chosen to host the peace conference over the Sabikan-Omangan War (since then they had been chosen as a conference site by various other global agencies and NGOs).
That left Oregon. Due to their populations the electoral college votes of his three provinces gave him a majority of the Cascadian EC, but not the necessary margin. He had to win there; if he lost, his majority in the popular vote would be too thin to win on electoral votes alone and would ultimately go to the provincial legislatures to choose the EC, with all the consequences that held.
The night continued long.... and at midnight the networks made the official announcement: Too close to call.


Result:
So far the incumbent President Garrett has succeeded in the two most crucial up-for-grabs provinces and has a majority of the Cascadian EC, but not enough to have complete victory yet. If Oregon goes another way his re-election becomes increasingly doubtful.