SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Third

[RogueIce]

((OOC: I figure MAROON HARVEST is over by now. I'll be going to PeZookia first, just because I can.)

Aboard the SRS Imperator enroute to PeZookia

After a ceremony aboard the carrier when he arrived, President Shinra had transferred over to the STAR destroyer he would be arriving to PeZookia on.

I suppose this isn't what they meant when they said I could run the military from here... Rufus thought with a touch of amusement, as he was presently buried in paperwork.

He saw that the deployment of their long-range AEW system, somewhat similar to the Stratellite concept, though this was the brainchild of Huang Di Beowulf, was going along nicely. As was the gradual introduction of the JSF-35 aircraft. Aboard the carrier he had had the fleeting thought that the A-6Fs aboard were, it would seem, almost obselete in this day and age. It was a shame, as he was personally rather fond of the plane. But he suspected that, as with the Old Dominion, he'd have to make a decision sometime soon. So far the admirals hadn't seemed to say much about it. But that day would come. As a final bit of business, he gave his approval to replace the current fleet of CH-53E Super Stallions with the newer CH-53K version. That would make the Army and Marines happy. Everybody gets a piece of the budget pie...

The ship's XO quietly knocked on his door and stuck his head in. He had, after all, ordered that they not go out of their way on ceremony while he was aboard for his Old Continent trip. "Mister President, we're about two hours out from PeZookia," the XO informed him.

"Thank you, XO. I'll be ready." Rufus was eager to see King Paul again. Especially when he asked him what he thought about the new ship, as the PeZookian monarch was to come on a tour of the vessel while it was docked. The STAR destroyer name had been his idea, after all.

[PeZook]

Gawron-class Corvette ORP "Jack Sparrow", 12 miles off the Tri-Cities metropolitan area

"Port lookouts report a silhouette, sir!", the XO reported dutifully to the small ship's commander. Captain Leopold Sztumski nodded, and walked up to the bridge windows, raising his own binoculars.

"Why, this is one sleek ship...", he muttered under his breath. Of course, they had radar contact for quite some time, and the corvette was stuffed with hastily prepared EW equipment designed to record any emissions from the STAR system that they could suck in with their sensor suite.

The coastal ship approached quickly at more than thirty knots, and pulled into formation with a gracious turn. The PeZookian sailors were eager to prove to their Shinra colleagues they knew their trade well. No doubt both crews would spend many an hour one-upping each other in the local bars later on. Flag salutes were exchanged swiftly, and then the captain turned to his radio operator.

"Signal the Imperator that they have crossed into PeZookian territorial waters, and we extend a most gracious welcome in the name of the King himself."

"Aye aye, sir!", the radioman replied and called out the mighty STAR destroyer.



Oksywie Naval Base, Tri-Cities Metropolitan Area

The entire port was decorated, and all berthed naval vessels had their rails fully manned. An entire pier was cleared out for the ceremony, and a welcoming comitte - including representative companies from the Navy, Army and Air Force - stood ready. The Royal Band was prepared, the speakers were set up, TV crews had the cameras rolling, and security barriers made sure the gathered crowds didn't turn into a mob.

The Imperator was still barely visible on the horizon, flanked by a pair of naval corvettes and preceded by the missile cruiser Orena, when Kamila approached the King. The sovereign and his staff were standing out of sight, preparing to make their big entrance right before the STAR destroyer docked.

"What is it, Kamila?", Paul asked, turning his attention away from the visit's schedule

"Sire, I...I have an urgent matter to, uh...to discuss. In private."

Worried, Paul handed the schedule to Karol, excused himself and walked a few steps aside with Kamila.

"I'm listening. What's wrong?"

"I...I'd like to, if that's not a problem...", she stuttered, "...I'd like to not participate in the ceremonies during the visit."

The silence that fell after that request was almost physical.

"Why?", the King finally managed to ask. Kamila gulped - obviously uncomfortable with the conversation - and answered, after looking around a bit.

"I will not be able to stay professional in the presence of President Shinra, sire."

Oh fuck no..., Paul thought to himself as it dawned on him what might've been happening, "And that would be because...?"

"I'd rather not say, sire."

Paul sighed, and looked at his staff, the gathered crowd, and the approaching Imperator. He nodded, very slowly and deliberately.

"Your assistants will be able to handle it?"

"Yes, sire, they've been fully briefied."

"Very well...then go back to the hotel. We will have to talk in the evening, after we're done with the ceremonies."

"Naturally, sire", Kamila answered, looking at her shoes and...blushing? Paul patted her on the shoulder and went back to his staff.

"Let's get this show started. How do I look?"

Half an hour later

The band did their best, and the ceremony was impeccable. Accompanied by the roaring Shinra National Anthem, Rufus disembarked, performed an inspection of the gathered companies and shook hands with Paul for the cameras. There were speeches and choreographed jokes, there was a lot of smiling and plenty of shaking hands with the crowds. The TV crews made a point of showing several Shinra sailors greeting their PeZookian colleagues from the Jack Sparrow and the Orena, then there was another speech and a guided tour of the STAR destroyer. Finally, the huge tailing crowd of aides, reporters and naval officers was left behind as the national leaders sat down in the ship's stateroom, to discuss "Important matters of state" over tea and biscuits.

"Goddammit, it's good to see you again", were the first words Paul uttered after the hatch was closed by the Marine standing guard, "You have no idea how much this visit means to us."

Agatha nodded, agreeing with her husband, "It's the first visit by a head of state since the Pathogen Wars. It's like normalcy has officially returned.", she said, pouring herself some tea.

[RogueIce]

"Goddammit, it's good to see you again", were the first words Paul uttered after the hatch was closed by the Marine standing guard, "You have no idea how much this visit means to us."

Agatha nodded, agreeing with her husband, "It's the first visit by a head of state since the Pathogen Wars. It's like normalcy has officially returned.", she said, pouring herself some tea.

Normalcy indeed, thought Rufus as he sat in the wardroom of a STAR destroyer.

"I'm glad to be here. I enjoyed my last visit, and as I'm sure you know this time I plan to see more of the Old Continent. Important state business is all well and good, but damn it it'll be good to feel like a tourist. Which I fully intend to do on this trip." After everything that had happened, he needed a good vacation. He still wasn't entirely comfortable leaving with the current Crisis in the Caymans, as the media called it. But that was mostly Wilkonia's problem, more than his. If King Andreanus needed help, he knew how to reach him. Cell phones were useful that way, even though most people wouldn't suspect heads of state to communicate in such mundane ways.

"So, what do you think of the Imperator?"

[PeZook]

"I'm glad to be here. I enjoyed my last visit, and as I'm sure you know this time I plan to see more of the Old Continent. Important state business is all well and good, but damn it it'll be good to feel like a tourist. Which I fully intend to do on this trip." After everything that had happened, he needed a good vacation. He still wasn't entirely comfortable leaving with the current Crisis in the Caymans, as the media called it. But that was mostly Wilkonia's problem, more than his. If King Andreanus needed help, he knew how to reach him. Cell phones were useful that way, even though most people wouldn't suspect heads of state to communicate in such mundane ways.

"So, what do you think of the Imperator?"

Paul chuckled, especially after seeing Agatha's confused expression.

"Star Wars, honey.", he explained, but the confused expression remained, "The triangular ships there...you see, they were named Star Destroyers, and..."

After a period of awkward silence, Paul decided to sum it up differently.

"Okay, let me put it this way: The entire ship is a billion-dollar in-joke for our super secret club. Heh...by the way, while we've got a lot of sightseeing to do in the Tri-cities, there's a pretty serious matter we'll need to discuss in the evening. It's about Kamila..."

[RogueIce]

"Okay, let me put it this way: The entire ship is a billion-dollar in-joke for our super secret club."

He has a point there, thought Rufus. While the ship and the systems behind her were quite practical, he did remember the look of confusion on the STAR project leader's face when he told them the acronym would be STAR, and left him to figure out a way to make it work. It was also slightly unusual for the President to take a personal hand in the naming of a ship as well, though he supposed the Navy saw that as some kind of 'legacy' thing.

"Heh...by the way, while we've got a lot of sightseeing to do in the Tri-cities, there's a pretty serious matter we'll need to discuss in the evening. It's about Kamila..."

The amusement that was on his face was gone, a more serious look settling in. Or perhaps it was simply worry. "What's wrong?"

[PeZook]

The amusement that was on his face was gone, a more serious look settling in. Or perhaps it was simply worry. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not completely sure, but, uh...remember the last time we met, when general Kulinsky walked into the Fireplace Room? He had one hell of a deja vu moment back then, he told me later. And today, right before the ceremony, Kamila walks up to me, all uncomfortable, and says - get this - 'I won't be able to stay professional in the presence of President Shinra.'"

"She actually told you that?", Agatha asked, completely surprised, "I though she was ill or had some family matter to take care of..."

"No, that's what she said. I told her to get back to the hotel we're all staying in, and that I'd talk to her in the evening...but, you know, I have a sneaking suspicion that she's experiencing something aking to what happened to Kulinsky except, you know, you two were, uh...", Paul waved his hand in a random gesture, as if it explained it all, "So it's probably a lot worse for her. Or, at least, seriously weird."

[RogueIce]

"I'm not completely sure, but, uh...remember the last time we met, when general Kulinsky walked into the Fireplace Room? He had one hell of a deja vu moment back then, he told me later. And today, right before the ceremony, Kamila walks up to me, all uncomfortable, and says - get this - 'I won't be able to stay professional in the presence of President Shinra.'"

"She actually told you that?", Agatha asked, completely surprised, "I though she was ill or had some family matter to take care of..."

"No, that's what she said. I told her to get back to the hotel we're all staying in, and that I'd talk to her in the evening...but, you know, I have a sneaking suspicion that she's experiencing something aking to what happened to Kulinsky except, you know, you two were, uh...", Paul waved his hand in a random gesture, as if it explained it all, "So it's probably a lot worse for her. Or, at least, seriously weird."

"I can only imagine..." Rufus mumbled, half under his breath. Granted he too had the same memories, although he didn't know how 'complete' her memories were. Rufus himself had largely managed to deal with it by now. Of course, he had the advantage of knowing why those memories were there in the first place.

"I wish I knew what to do," said Rufus, this time so his companions could hear. "I hate thinking my mere presence would cause her difficulties, both personally and professionally." Kamila was, after all, supposed to be with the King during such visits. Having her disappear just because Rufus Shinra was around was likely to cause talk, at least amongst her coworkers.

That last thought jolted him. "Actually, it's probably not anything I can do. I have a feeling anything I tried would probably make things, at the very least, much more awkward for her."

[Beowulf]

FUSION WE CAN BELIEVE IN?

Working on a shoestring budget, researchers have found no reason why a low-cost approach to nuclear fusion won't work. For decades, scientists have been trying to figure out how to harness the power of the nuclear reaction that sets the sun ablaze. Fusion involves smashing the nuclei of lighter elements together to produce heavier elements, plus an excess burst of energy. The sun turns hydrogen into helium.

The mainstream approaches to commercial fusion would involve heating up plasma inside a doughnut-shaped magnetic bottle known as a tokamak, or using lasers to blast tiny bits of deuterium and tritium. Then there's the ROB 1.8 million (yes, million) project that's just been wrapped up at EMC2 Fusion Development Corp. in Ghangzhou. The experiment, funded by the T.X. Navy, was aimed at verifying some interesting results that the late physicist Robert Bussard coaxed out of a high-voltage inertial electrostatic contraption known as WB-6. (The "WB" stands for Wiffle Ball, which describes the shape of the device and its magnetic field.)

An EMC2 team headed by Los Alamos researcher Richard Nebel (who's on leave from his imperial lab job) picked up the baton from Bussard and tried to duplicate the results. The team has turned in its final report, and it's been double-checked by a peer-review panel, Nebel told me today. Although he couldn't go into the details, he said the verdict was positive.

"There's nothing in there that suggests this will not work," Nebel said. "That's a very different statement from saying that it will work." By and large, the EMC2 results fit Bussard's theoretical predictions, Nebel said. That could mean Polywell fusion would actually lead to a power-generating reaction. But based on the 10-month, shoestring-budget experiment, the team can't rule out the possibility that a different phenomenon is causing the observed effects.

"If you want to say something absolutely, you have to say there's no other explanation," Nebel said. The review board agreed with that conservative assessment, he said.

The good news, from Nebel's standpoint, is that the WB-7 experiment hasn't ruled out the possibility that Polywell fusion could actually serve as a low-cost, long-term energy solution. "If this thing was absolutely dead in the water, we would have found out," he said.

If Polywell pans out, nuclear fusion could be done more cheaply and more safely than it could ever be done in a tokamak or a laser blaster. The process might be able to produce power without throwing off loads of radioactive byproducts. It might even use helium-3 mined from the moon. "We don't want to oversell this," Nebel said, "but this is pretty interesting stuff, and if it works, it's huge."

[ooc] liberally stolen from http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/ ... 18741.aspx[/ooc]

[Karmic Knight]

News from the Vinish Press – Month of January 2012

New Years Celebration Goes Off Happily
January 1, 2012


New Years Fireworks in New Sheoth

The King was in New Sheoth today not only to give a new year’s speech live on CNBC, but also to show the public that romours of terrorist problems along the borders were not threat to the Commonwealth, and that they would work with the victims to help find the criminals. The speech also spoke of major future projects and developments Gizmonic and Ralson would create after the announcement of collaboration by the two Military Industrial Giants. A third point of the speech was simply hope for the future.

Black Barracuda Reaches San Dorado Safely
January 10, 2012

Project Rust Belt Special Report
January 30, 2012

By Martin Blanc

White-Gold Tower, Sheoth - Isle Today marks the beginning of the rail line linking the Commonwealth’s contiguous territories together with the CFR dependencies. The line will employ over three million citizens from Mirata, The Commonwealth, the Autonomous Frequeusuan Socialist Republic, and even the remaining territories of the CFR. The job is expected to run in the billions, and is expected to massively slow the previous rail adventures of the Commonwealth, the categorical assessment of the contiguous rail lines.

Project Rust Belt – ASFR


Map of the ASFR rails, as proposed by the Commonwealth, the larger line is the attached ‘Central Line,’ the smaller line is the ‘Tunnel Line’ and the dot is the location of the Vinish-Republican Tunnel Complex

The ASFR is one of the early focuses of the project, as is the tunnel between the Commonwealth and Mirata, which work has started on. The ASFR will receive a major central line, and a robust line from the V-R Tunnel Complex, which was completed after years of discussion and problems. Overall the ASFR is going to be connected to the Commonwealth not only with the tunnel and rails but economically also, as the two nations are operating together to diminish cost.

Diplomatic Notes & Messages

Message to: All Nations Bordering the Wilderness.
Message From: The Vinish Wilderness Survey Earlesi Office

The VWS would like to expand the Earlesi borders to match a river running along the far south of the Earesi territory, and would like these new borders to be recognized by the neighbouring nations.

[PeZook]

"I wish I knew what to do," said Rufus, this time so his companions could hear. "I hate thinking my mere presence would cause her difficulties, both personally and professionally." Kamila was, after all, supposed to be with the King during such visits. Having her disappear just because Rufus Shinra was around was likely to cause talk, at least amongst her coworkers.

That last thought jolted him. "Actually, it's probably not anything I can do. I have a feeling anything I tried would probably make things, at the very least, much more awkward for her."

"I really think you guys should tell her", Agatha interjected, "It's not fair to keep her in the dark about this."

[Siege]

Monkeylord To Begin Anti-Pirate Ops



A CNFN carrier taskforce lead by the Monkeylord has arrived off the coast of Sabika to begin anti-piracy operations together with the Coilerburg Navy. Piracy has for some time been a nuisance around the Sabikan coast. Merchant ships passing through the area are hijacked and held for ransom, or their cargo sold on the black market. To put a forceful stop to the illicit activity the Monkeylord has embarked the 3rd Marine Battalion, who are trained in boarding ops.

The mission, which takes place under the flag of the FTO’s Joint Naval and Air Command, is the first joint operation by Coilerburg and San Dorado since the One Day War.

[PeZook]

Soyuz 1 heat shield fails

Despite numerous redesigns and improvements to the system, the unmanned Soyuz 1 capsule did not survive re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. This marks the fourth catastrophic failure of the capsule, which calls into questions validity of the entire program.

"This is really surprising", said a FASTA engineer involved in design of the Soyuz, "We used a good design, proven on the Mercury, and after initial catastrophes, introduced a lot of improvements. This shouldn't have happened."

The capsule's flight recorder survived, miraculously, landing in a Katangwan corn field - as did several parts of the capsule itself, scattered over half the continent. Recovery efforts are ongoing, though hampered by vagaries of international law.

Another failure of the Soyuz could spell doom for the entire program, and may well lead to sever cuts in FASTA funding. This has the potential to ruin any chances of a FASTA-led moon landing.

(OOC: Sorry guys, really unlucky dice throws here. I assumed a 1% chance of failure, and guess what I rolled )

[Ryan Thunder]

"This is ridiculous."
"Yes it is, sir."
"I thought you had assured me this wouldn't happen."
"Yes, I did, sir."
"Well, I believed you, and I still believe you now."
"Thank you, sir."
"Just remember that even with the best engineering, things can still go wrong. A meteor could have compromised the heat shield, say. See if you can find a few more aerospace scientists before you head back to work on the next one; perhaps a few fresh minds will help iron out the issues."

[RogueIce]

"I really think you guys should tell her", Agatha interjected, "It's not fair to keep her in the dark about this."

"That would seem to be the right thing to do," agreed Rufus. "But then we run into the problem of, why would she believe us? We all know, certainly. But there's a good reason we, all of us," and with this he was including the other world leaders, "kept it a secret. Can you imagine the reaction the public would have?" He thought back to the 'space vampires' episode and the panic that had induced in certain corners. Telling the world their leaders weren't who they thought they were...well that would probably be even worse. Assuming people didn't just lock them up in the loony bin.

He paused briefly, gathering his thoughts. "Now, I don't think Kamila would go running off to the press. But there's still the problem of her thinking we're crazy. And that wouldn't accomplish much, would it?" He sighed. "If I may humbly suggest, Your Majesty, that when you have this discussion with Kamila you find out just if she does, in fact, remember. Is it vivid memories, or just a feeling?"

After a moment of reflection, he pressed on. "Your example of Kulinsky and his deja vu is what I'm thinking, here. Now as far as I can remember, he was never around for any 'fireplace chats' we may have had. So his feeling of deja vu probably wasn't a direct memory, but more the result of seeing Rufus Shinra and King Paul together, which he did see in the Old World. So is this reaction on the part of Kamila the result of some memories telling her we were together, or just a vauge sense that we should be together in her mind? I think that would probably determine the best way to proceed."

[Siege]

Inspector Affright



Ozone Hill, southwest San Dorado City

The armoured AIP patrol bike rumbled slowly down the street, the sound of the monster V-4 engine oddly muffled in the fogbank that had drifted in from the Dodgson River. Old and decrepit buildings lined the streets. A pale moon reflected weakly in shards of broken windows. Haggard people skittered through the street, gaunt faces turning away as soon as they heard the trademark growling of the heavy police bike.

Ozone Hill was not exactly the best part of town. The dilapidated neighbourhood lay so far from the central districts that the metropolitan police didn't bother patrolling here, and its inhabitants couldn't afford even half-decent PRISEC. Most of the time, the Armed Interdiction Police didn't care for it either. Inspector Preston Affright certainly wouldn't have, were it not for the fact that a private security firm in a adjacent district had reported explosions in this general area, forcing Central to dispatch a patrol cycle.

The motorbike rolled on across the cracked asphalt, lined alternately by battered convenience stores, rundown four-story brownstones with rusted fire escapes, and ramshackle storehouses. Affright turned a random left at the next intersection, entering a deserted roadway in-between rows of low housings. All was quiet. Too quiet to be to the inspector's liking. He knew the bad side of San Dorado all too well. It was never this quiet, not even in the depth of night, unless something was very wrong.

Suddenly, a woman ran-stumbled out of a darkened side-alley, signalling desperately at him to stop. Affright pulled the bike over, and she nearly hurled himself at his armour-padded arm. "Help me", the woman whimpered. "Please, help me!"

Affright frowned. Like all AIP officers he was not accustomed to being asked for help by a civilian. Mostly people tried their best to get out of his way, and those that didn't were usually spoiling for a fight.

He didn't have much time to reflect upon the oddity of the situation however, as four burly men stormed out of the alley, obviously looking for something. They were wiry, hunched-over figures, brandishing a variety of improvised weapons, and there was something peculiarly animalistic about their movements. Seeing them, the woman squealed, and in unison the men turned their heads toward them.

"Armed Interdiction Police", Affright bellowed, still sitting on his bike. "Put down your weapons and prepare to be-"

"Aaarargh!" the nearest man screamed, and charged at him, swinging a rusted pipe over his head as he came. He looked as if he was high on some one drug or another. Affright didn't care. Drugs were legal. Assaulting an AIP officer was not. The inspector whipped out his Enforcer .45 Hi-Power autopistol and unceremoniously shot the man in the face. His body abruptly hit the pavement.

Oddly enough the death of their comrade didn't deter the others- far from it, in fact. As one, they lunged at the inspector. At his side, the woman tightened her grip on his arm so much he could feel it through the Kevlar.

"Lady, please stand back", he grumbled, shielding her with his body as he swung off the bike. Then the attackers were upon him.

"Asssss-hole!" growled the first, his speech nothing but a rudimentary, barely-human snarl.

"That's inspector Asshole to you!" Affright spat back and pistol-whipped the man, sending a spray of blood into the air as the man's nose broke and he went tumbling to the pavement. The inspector sent two bullets after him for good measure, blowing the man’s skull apart in an explosion of gray brain-matter and bone fragments. He dodged under a swinging piece of wood from the next attacker and put three rounds through his torso, sending the man reeling back- but surprisingly he didn't go down. Must be high on Meth, Affright thought but he didn't have time to think about it: the last man grabbed hold of his hand and unsuccessfully tried to bite through the armoured glove. With an annoyed grunt and a flick of his thumb the inspector activated his electro-glove, delivering a lethal dose of electricity through the man’s teeth. The assailant's corpse continued to twitch long after it hit the ground.

The last living man lunged for him once more, but Affright managed to parry his wild swing with his gun-arm. Despite the three gaping holes in his torso the attacker was still standing, but he was quickly bleeding out. These might not be ordinary druggies after all, Affright mused as he was involuntarily treated to a close-up of the man’s face. No, this was definitely no ordinary meth-head. For that, his muscles bulged too unnaturally, and his eyes glowed too red. Still, the loss of blood was already slowing his movements, so the inspector was easily able to block another swing of his arms and move into the man’s guard. Affright quickly grabbed hold of his head and broke the man’s neck over his knee. His limp body hit the pavement with a dull thud.

The street was suddenly silent again, silent but for the whimpering of the woman. Preston Affright gazed around to make sure there was no-one left to surprise him, then nonchalantly holstered his weapon and flicked some imaginary dust off his armoured vest. He frowned as he looked at the four dead men, the odd glow in their eyes already dissipating. He shrugged. His was not to wonder why, only to call it in to Central. Otherwise, this was just another day in the AIP.

Result: Monsters! Monsters who aren’t a match for stalwart Inspector Affright!

[Master_Baerne]

Baernish Ministry of War
Deployment Orders
FROM: Her Excellency Countess Truman, Minister for War
TO: Commodore Elizabeth Seagrace, CO BDN 5th Squadron

Madam,

You are ordered to join the FTO anti-pirate task force as soon as possible. Squadron shall consist of Isabella, Redress of Grievances, Right to Bear Arms, Alice, Jasper, Edward, Vampire, Werewolf, Medusa, and Eye in the Sky.

Baerne Invictus,
Countess Truman

RESULTS: We've sent 1 Kitty Hawk CV, 2 Kirov CA, 3 Standard DDG, 3 Vigilant SSGN, and 2 Perry FFG to aid out brethren in the FTO in the elimination of the scum of the seas.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Byzantine Military Journal

Constantinople Shipyards announces a new series of corvettes and patrol craft

Constantinople Shipyards, a publicly listed government-owned company on the Constantinople Stock Exchange, has announced that it intends to market a new series of corvettes and patrol craft. Dubbed the Newark line of corvettes and ranging from 700-2000 tonnes, the ships are designed for maximum endurance, excellent seakeeping, survivability and stealth. They can be customised as per customer needs and for a range of mission profiles, including ASW, minesweeping, coastal defence and river patrol. They can be powered by a range of propulsion units, including COG The smallest vessel at 600 tonnes is a fast attack craft designed to speed at 50 knots and is excellent for coastal patrol. It is understood that the Byzantine Coast Guard is interested in the 600 tonne vessel as well. It is also said that the Constantinople Shipyards and Kontos Munitions are working on a light weight version of a new towed array multifunction sonar that incorporates VHF Active sonar as well as high sensitivity passive sonar that can be fitted on the Newark, as well as existing Visby and K130 corvettes.

(Note: The 600 tonne version is an extra. But, it should be comparable to the Visby in terms of specs. Really, it depends on what you want to stuff into the ship.)

New Electric Reactive Armour being developed

It has been revealed that Electric Reactive armour is currently under development as a possible add-on armour package. Whether or not it will make it onto the new K-3 Black Tiger tanks.

[Karmic Knight]

The Gizmonic Institute Presents:

The Oracle Class Pirate Hunter:


The Orca, Upgradeable to Oracle Specifications

The Oracle is built on Orca frames, and can also be upgraded from Orcas. A Majority of the Oracle's information is similar to that of the Orca, aside from:

Updates:

Weapons:
3x M2 Machine Gun
4x Recoilless Rifles
an optional autocannon
From:
1x M2 Machine Gun

Engine Upgrades are still under development (OOC: I'm having trouble figuring out just how to update the engines)

(All Prices are Option to lower with larger orders)
Cost: 13,500,000 Per Boat
To Upgrade: 2,5000,00 Per Boat

[Coiler]

Pacific Ocean, near Sabika

A flurry of gunfire from the Coilerburg corvette C-35 sent yet another suspected pirate vessel to Davy Jone's Locker. That was the fun, exciting part. Now came the boring part. The crew would have to pick up survivors and wreckage from the vessel, examine them, make reports, etc...

Or so it would seem. For once, there was a mostly dry manila folder sitting on a piece of desk that had been broken loose. The crew took care to get it on board safely-it could have listings of pirate bases, known vessels, or even plans. The folder turned out to have something they would never have suspected.

"Hmmm, this is apparently from the Miratian government."

The captain read it more.

"Our weapon designs have met with a notable lack of sales worldwide, even on our own continent. We are thus appointing you to create a need for our weapons, to attack the FTO fleets with a weapon that coincidentially can be countered by Miratian development.

We are currently working on stealth technology. You will attack the FTO on X-Day with the missiles we have provided you. After you fire the missiles, head to shore and inland as soon as you can. Then you will receive your reward, and we will undergo a demonstration showing how pirates with missiles are no match for our new technology. The FTO will be wowed into buying our weapons, and you will be much richer."

Sadly, there was no mention of when X-Day would be in the documents, and most of them were simple specifications. Still, this news was worth passing back to the commanders of all the FTO fleets currently participating in the anti-pirate operations.

[Siege]

What's this X-Day thing? And how do the people planning those missile attacks think to get within range of our task forces, which operate under cover of ASW helos, CAP, P-3 Orions, and perhaps a few Citidef flying boats?

[Ryan Thunder]

He's full of shit, of course, since Miratia would have to be suicidal to try something like that. It'd never make it out of the Assembly, anyways.

[Shinn Langley Soryu]

[OOC: As a heads-up, many of these ships have had their weapons significantly altered from their real-life counterparts.]

Nergal Heavy Industries Public Communique
FROM: Y. Misumaru, CEO, Nergal Heavy Industries
TO: Any and all interested parties from the continent of Frequesque

To whom it may concern,

Having problems with piracy? Nergal Heavy Industries has the solution! Our line of corvettes, fast attack craft, and other small combat vessels are sure to make even the most determined of pirates reconsider their career options. When it comes to eliminating the plague of piracy from your territorial waters, accept no substitutes. Buy quality. Buy Nergal.

Sincerely,

Yurika Misumaru
CEO, Nergal Heavy Industries

[Please see the attached brochure detailing our products.]

===============



Nergal Heavy Industries

SMALL COMBAT VESSELS

Combat Boat 90



Top speed: 40 knots
Weapons: 1 x Oerlikon 20mm cannon, 2 x Browning M2 12.7mm heavy machine gun, 1 x Mk 19 40mm grenade launcher, 4 x naval mine or 6 x depth charge
Cost: $2.8 million

Super Dvora Mk II



Top speed: 52 knots
Weapons: 1 x Mauser BK-27 27mm cannon on stabilized mount, 2 x Oerlikon 20mm cannon, 2 x FN MAG 7.62mm machine gun, 1 x Mk 19 40mm grenade launcher
Cost: $10 million

Super Dvora Mk III



Top speed: 50 knots
Weapons: 1 x Mauser BK-27 27mm cannon on stabilized mount, 2 x Oerlikon 20mm cannon, 2 x Browning M2 12.7mm machine gun, 1 x Carl Gustav M3 84mm recoilless rifle
Cost: $15 million

Jacinto class patrol vessel



Top speed: 25 knots
Weapons: 1 x Otobreda 76mm gun, 1 x Bofors L/70 40mm gun, 2 x M242 Bushmaster chain gun, 2 x Oerlikon 20mm cannon
Cost: $30 million

Gepard class fast attack craft



Top speed: 40 knots
Weapons: 1 x 4-cell RGM-84 Harpoon launcher (can be configured to accept Exocet, RBS-15, Sea Eagle, or Kh-35/SS-N-25 Switchblade), 1 x 21-cell RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile launcher, 1 x Otobreda 76mm gun, 2 x Oerlikon 20mm cannon
Cost: $60 million

CORVETTES

Braunschweig class corvette



Top speed: 26 knots
Weapons: 2 x 4-cell RGM-84 Harpoon launcher (can be configured to accept Exocet, RBS-15, Sea Eagle, or Kh-35/SS-N-25 Switchblade), 2 x 21-cell RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile launcher, 1 x Otobreda 76mm gun, 2 x Mauser BK-27 27mm cannon, provisions for naval mines or depth charges
Cost: $200 million

[Karmic Knight]

Message to the Nations of the FTO:

Did you know that every dollar spent purchasing products from Gizmonic stays on the Continent, fuelling jobs, employing citizens, and utilizing resources of our own continent?

It does, and not only does Gizmonic do that, it also offers a wide selection of vessels to choose from in anti-piracy operations.

The Oracle, as shown by our recent advertising blitz, is just one of our great boats provided by hardworking shipwrights in Syl, Thadon, and other areas of the Continent.

We also offer:

Optimized Nirvana – Class Pirate Attack Vessels

Speed: 30 knots (econ.) 40 knots (sprint)
Armament: 1x Gizmonic Arms, 76 mm ‘Burner’ cannon, 3x M2 Machine Guns, 8x Anti-Ship Missiles
Price: 200 Million Sh$

Von Shroomainian – Class Fast Attack Boat

Speed: 40 knots
Armament: 2x Gizmonic Arms, 76 mm ‘Burner’ cannon, 4x Anti-Ship Missles, 2x Torpedo Launch Tubes
Price: 300 Mn Sh$

Van Helsing – Class Fast Attack Craft

Speed: 45 knots (choppy water) 60 Knots (good water)
Armament: 8x Anti-Ship Missiles, 1x Gizmonic Arms, 76 mm ‘Burner’ cannon,
Price: 350 Mn Sh$

And Gizmonic Offers Other Boats to Patrol Coastal waters:

Oracle – Class Patrol Vessel

Speed: 20 knots
Armament: 3x M2 Machine Guns, 4x Recoiless Rifles, 1x Autocannon (Optional)
Price: 11.7 Mn Sh$

Kingston – Class Mine Countermeasure/Patrol Craft

Speed: 15 knots
Armament: 2x M2 Machine Guns, 1x 40 mm Cannon
Price: 15 Mn Sh$

Mujica – Class River Patrol Boat

Speed: 28.5 knots
Armament: 2x M2 Machine Guns
Price: 5 Mn Sh$

All orders of 15 or more are subject to a percentage off.

And Remember, Buy Locally.

[Coiler]

"So, it said that on X-Day, the FTO fleet would be attacked, but doesn't say what X-Day is?" Admiral Farve stated to the unlucky captain.

"Uh-yes."

"What bullshit. It's just someone's lame attempt to tear us apart."

"But, the document could be incomplete-"

"Look, I've been in the navy since before you were born. And I can say that I know false flags when I see them. UNDERSTOOD?"

"Y-yes, Admiral!"

After he dismissed the captain, Admiral Farve looked at the Gizmonic report and sighed. Calling the Vineyards, he said "I'm sorry, but I've already placed quite a large order with Byzantium. Not to worry, we still might get some smaller craft, those could be useful..."

[Zor]

Union Press

Worldwide Police Evaluation draws attention

Eric W. Matsukawa, former Police Cheif of the New Atlantis Police Force, master of forensic sciences, awarded writer and blogger has recently drawn controversy over his latest book Lawkeepers of the World: an international evaluation of police forces. He, along with several accademic colleagues after spending the last 3 years on fact finding missions among 20 nations and made a comparative analysis of their operational methods, internal structure, training and equipment of their various law enforcement agencies, including assigning a rating to their effectiveness.

Despite favourable reveiws among literary critics and it's making of several bestseller's lists, Lawkeeprs of the World has gained controversy over the evaluation of certain nation's law enforcement agencies and accusations of nationalism in the case of the more favourable reveiw of Zoria's law enforcement. Among the policing communities, Zoria is well known for having top notch training methods, tight standards of behavior, being well funded at all levels, outfitting the average beat cop with what is considered a very high level of armament (including a Taser, Baton, Siderarm and a Personnal Defense Weapon) as well as employing Closed-circuit television cameras to a rather high degree. Matsukawa has praised this level of enforcement as being instrumental to Zoria's low crime rate. At the same time, he had repeatedly has pointed to "Weakness and Inefficiency" in the Police Forces of various states in the effectiveness of their police foces, notably Cascadia, San Dorado, Byzantium, Canessia, Alaska, and Serenity. A few people have accused him of supporting the concept of an authoritarian police state, although he had made an remark that he is "insulted that people use the term to discribe tyrannical nations" and says that "People who accuse police for tryanny should look beyond the badge and to the lawmakers. Men and Women like me have for nearly two centuries kept the streets safe from crime and lawlessness, while before us the world had both tyranny and lawnessness in no short supply. A just and democratic society can and should keep a good strong police force to maintain order and peace, not one bound and gagged out of misplaced fears involving Tyranny." He has also explained that he also criticised standards involving checks against abuse of power and (which is clearly stated on the first page of the book) the reveiw is not an attack on the competance or capability of any individual officer or cheif in the forces he evaluated, but rather a criticism of the Equipment, methods and pratices and is ment to be ultimatley constructive. Never the less, he has received a fair amount of hatemail over the contence of Lawkeepers of the World and several politicians have brought up the book in a negative light.

Molybdenum discovered in Ironridge mountains

Port Adria scientific center, Zorian Veleria-Today, the Geology section at the Port Adria has confirmed from core samples the presence of Molybdenum in the Ironridge mountains about 75 KM south of the nearest RMM mining sight. Being a highly useful strategic metal, Royal Mining and Metalurgy has taken an interest in this, although it has yet to bee seen if said deposits are substantial enough to warrent a mining expedition as of yet.