SD.Net World(RAR!) MK II

[CmdrWilkens]

King Andreneas's Tour Continues

His Imperial Supremacy, King Andreneas II, tody concluded the last steps in a whirlwind tour of MESS nations focused mostly on visiting important cultural sights. Having recently concluded a major intra-MESS summit officials at the Court of St Eustice were eager to re-inforce the cultural and socio-economic ties that link MESS member nations. Having finished that the King and his entourage are now headed for Byzantium and a week-long visit to that state in an effort to continue to strengthen economic relationships. Already on the board is the beginnings of a proposal that would create a free trade agreement between Wilkonia and Byzantium. Speculation has arisen as to what other potential talks could be under way during the visit though court officials stated that economic incentives for both naitons wer the most critical topic.

After the visits the King's tour is expected to take him to the Duchy of Langely though officials have not announced an official itinerary nor where the King will proceed afterwards.

[Master_Baerne]

Baernish News Service
File BNS-23

The new Ministry of State facility opened it's doors today, completing a year-long effort to upgrade the Sovereign Duchy of Baerne's government's security systems. Construction of the new MinState building was, in fact, begun before the recent civil disturbance, but was given higher priority after the destruction of the previous MinState facilities.

His Grace, recently returned from an incognito vacation to Shroomania's delightful beaches, spoke briefly to the construction workers and MinState officials, praising the former's perseverance in the face of construction difficulties, and the latter's patience while those difficulties were resolved. Duke Jame's speech was followed by an aerobatics demonstration by the His Grace's Air Force.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Constantinople Times

Furious Preparations are underway to await the arrival of King Andrenea's arrival in Constantinople

Constantinople awaits King Andrenea's arrival with great anticipation. The King is expected to be treated to not only to be greeted by the Emperor with full military honours, but also treated to a Triumph, something only given to distinguished heroes, generals, Emperors, but for the first time to foreign Kings. The event also marks the second free trade agreement between a MESS nation and an OMSK nation. Such a landmark agreement merely is an illustration of Byzantine Foreign Policy: To transcend above alliances and seek mutually beneficial agreements and open new lines of communication which will be vital in the game of diplomacy.

[CmdrWilkens]

King Andreneas Re-affirms Wilkonia's Committment to Quality Naval Shipbuilding

As part of the state visit to Byzantium King Andreneas carried with him offical notice of the coming delviery to Byzantium of the 3rd in a series of 5 total WCS vessels. With liscensing negotiations moving to fruition the King announced that the 4th and 5th ships on order have been placed onto an upgarded delivery schedule as space was free due to the recent launch of CVN-46. "I am here to recommitt the Wilkonian people to providing everything that is asked of us with the greatest of haste and the finest attention to craftsmanship."

Several questions were asked as to why the rush was placed on the order however the King indicated that he was merely the messenger of the news as a personal favor to Sir Arthur George, Duke of the Gap. Questions related to the sale and is expiditing were thereafter rebuffed. His Supremacy did indicate that there was no official intervention by the government rather simple business practice for FCSY. Spokesmen for the court would later add that the Minister of Finance was included in the royal entourage in order to promote Wilkonia's naval offerings in Byzantium and elsewhere. Spokesmen included a copy of the brief fact sheet which the Minister hs been distributing:


For Military Sale (Subject to export restrictions):

Cutter/Corvette:
Clyde-class OPV: 8 per year (Jessup Naval Shipyards)
Legend-class: 8 per year (Fulton Naval Shipyards)

All surplus Andrea Corr and Keira Knightley-class vessles. Currently none available, several expected decommissionings in the next 3-4 years.

For Commercial Sale

WCT (Fulton Commercial Services Yard)
- 115k DWT and 8,000 TEU (20ft ISO containers) capacity
- Currently the world's largest production container transport.
- Uses less than twice the crew of an FCS for 9 times the cargo load.
- 18-hour forced entry resistant bridge and engine room

JGC (Jessup Business Shipping)
- 170,000m^3 LNG
- only LNG carrier on the market.

Reliance (Jessup Business Shipping)
- 5,500 MT cable capacity
- Only Underwater Cable Ship on the market
- New line and repair capacity

[The Yosemite Bear]

Pro-Tech Rent-a-Cop #1:"Excuse me but this is Pro-Tech? Aren't you looking for a Mall or something?"

"Professor M": We're the computer specialists from the Bear Republic your bosses should be asking for.
Pro-Tech Rent-a-cop #2: yeah right you don't have a reservation you're not going anywhere.
P.M.: "Sorry, I'm known as "Prof. M." (a prematurely balding man in his early 20s), my rather large friend here is "Sugar Crush" (a 6'tall wire thin guy sucking on a lolly), and these ladies are "Roxx" (Black haired girl in leather), "Shiela" (a Red head, wearing sunglasses and carrying an extra-large coffee cup), and "Star" (A pink haired lady with glasses), purhaps you've heard of us from "Networked" magazine?

[The Yosemite Bear]

With the Eye of Sauron being recalled due to scandel, the Ultra-high altitude airship, is enroute to Zablorgia, in order to deploy the airship's one offensive capability test.

ok, computer systems offline, prepareing for cold to full intenisty radar discharge, at upper atmosphere.

What if there's more of those kill bots still there?

Well they and the oil fields are about to join the Stone Age.

pre-paring for EMP discharge in 15 minutes.

[Shroom Man 777]

The Sovereign Shroomanian Sentinel
BYZANTIUM BOATS


An ISCA Automated Commerce Vessel, an unmanned fishing ship.

With the signing of the Shroomanian-Byzantine Free Trade Agreement, the International Sea Commerce Agency has decided to offer to sell ships to interested parties in Byzantium - ranging from sea transport corporations, to deep fishing companies.

While the ISCA may have some catching up to do, as Byzantium has already purchased non-ISCA Wilkonian Container Ships, the Agency is nonetheless optimistic in profiting from the other aspects of Byzantium's maritime industries.

The Agency is hoping to interest Byzantine deep sea fishing companies in purchasing its Automated Commerce Vessels. The original design of the ACV is that of an unmanned fishing ship capable of harvesting countless sums of fishes and marine mammals without need of any human supervision, or with only a minimum skeleton crew.

Unlike the other ISCA product, the Fast Commerce Ship, the ACV is not armed as piracy has so far largely ignored fishing vessels - perhaps not deeming smelly stocks of fish as worthy booty.

The Fast Commerce Ship may be able to compete with the Wilkonian Container Ships by being a smaller alternative better suited to quick inter-island shipping.

[The Yosemite Bear]

In other news today, a pirate attack on a yatch was foiled, when an electromagnetic pulse shut down the motors on all of the effected vessels. A Shroomian frigate with shielded electronics rescued the yatch, and let the megafauna eat the pirates...

Full Power loss in the white circle, communications were interrupted inside the Grey circle.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Constantinople Times

Constantinople Shipyards offers ISCA a chance to jointly market ISCA ships to Byzantine companies.

Constantinople Shipyards, a 50% government owned company, is interested in marketing ISCA ships to Byzantine companies, and perhaps to other parties as well. Known already for its advanced shipbuilding capabilities, the Constantinople Shipyard seeks to expand its clientele and markets by seeking out the best designs, while designing some of their own. "We have studied some of ISCA designs and are impressed by the quality of the ships and the excellent designs." says the president of Constantinople shipyards. The fishing vessels were noted to be excellent vessels that could be offered to Red Sea Fisheries, a major fishing company in Byzantium.

But Constantinople Shipyards is not done yet. "We also offer the new "Dromon" corvette hull form to ISCA as an anti-piracy vessel fully customizable to client's requests. The ship offers some radar cross-section reduction, while offering great degree of stability and customizability." says the president. Letters have been sent to the ISCA about prospects of further collaboration, such as design know how and others. Currently, Constantinople Shipyards is servicing a major contract from Constantinople Shipping building WCT vessels. While no doubt trade secrets for the WCT vessels cannot be shared, Constantinople Shipyards has plenty of ship designers experienced in civil and military applications eager to collaborate with the ISCA.

[Shroom Man 777]

The Mushroom Military Messenger
CONSTANTINOPLE CONTRACT


Byzantine aerospace engineers go to Fabranti.

The Schrom Corporation has successfully negotiated a third agreement with Byzantium Aeronautics today. The first two were from the Enhanced Tactical Fighter program, projects that are designing advanced upgrades for the F-15 and F-16 fighter planes. The third contract is believed to be for the Advanced Tactical Fighter initiative, a project that is believed to be designing a next-generation stealth fighter.

Both Schrom and Byzantine Aeronautics have released little information concerning the Advanced Tactical Fighter program.

[EDIT: Added the name of the Byzantine Aeronautics company, which is Byzantine Aeronautics. And I forgot that the ETF and ATF projects were Schrom's, not MacMillan's.]

[The Yosemite Bear]

Hughes/Kaiser to negotiate with McMillian on deploying ultra high altitude communications airships. Based on existing Bear Republic Military designs, these quite smaller unmanned airships will transmit and receive radio signals, including TV, Cellphone, and other Radio signals at much lower cost than a full satillite rig.

The New Designation for these communication platforms will be HK&M CA - Icarus. The first version will feature the Led Zepplin Icarus image.

[General Deathdealer]

Baal Daily News

New Ship To Transport the Air Assault Brigade

The Ministry of Defense announced today that design work had been completed on a new 2-ship class that would be used to transport the 1st Air Assault Brigade anywhere in the world. The ships are being built from modified Aframax Tankers. By doing this they plan on saving about 1/3 of what it would cost to build the ship from the ground up. The 2 ships will have enough space to carry all 270 Helicopters of the Brigade as well as the approximately 5000 troops of the brigade. The Ministry estimates it will take about 2 years to complete the ships.

Code: Select all

Specifications
Cost
			$1,500,000,000
Power Plant		
			2 x 35,000 BHP "LM 2500 plus” Gas Turbine Engines
			2 x 5,000 BHP Variable Speed AC Electric Motors
			2 x 16.5 Ft Diameter Controllable Pitch Propellers
			6 x 4,000 KW Diesel Generators 
Length			
			1,197.9 feet (363 meters) 
Beam			
			148.5 feet (45 meters) at waterline
			327 feet w/flight deck elevators extended 
Draft 			
			27 feet Maximum (Full Load)
			36 feet at the stern [ballasted] 
Displacement		
			Approx. 60,500 tons (52,450 metric tons) full load 
Speed			
			20+ knots (23.5+ miles per hour) 
Range			
			9,500 nm @ 20 knots 
Fuel			
			7,000 tons, plus 
			2,500 tons aircraft fuel 
Medical		
			8 Operating Rooms
			20 Bed ICU
			500 Bed Ward
Aircraft Facilities	
			18 x CH-53K Landing/Launch Spots
			O-Level and I-Level Maintenance
			2 x Deck Edge Aircraft Elevators
			1 x Center Deck Aircraft Elevator
			Up To 80 x CH-53K Aircraft
			No Fixed Wing Aircraft
Armament		
			2 - MK29 launchers for NATO Sea Sparrow
			3 - 20mm Gauss Phalanx CIWS mounts
			8 – GHMG-1 .50 cal. machine guns 
Combat and Control Systems	
			AN/SLQ-49 Chaff Bouys
			AN/SLQ-25 NIXIE Towed Torpedo Countermeasures
			SRS-1 Combat D/F
			AN/SLQ-32(V)3 Electronic Warfare (EW) system
			1 AN/SPS-48 radar
			1 AN/SPS-49(V)7 radar
			1 AN/SPS-64 radar
			1 AN/SPS-67 radar
			AN/SYS-2 Detection/Tracking System
			1 MK-23 Target Acquisition System (TAS)
			1 MK-36 Chaff Launcher
			MK-91 Fire control System 

Crew			
			104 officers + 1,004 enlisted Ships Company 
			1,075 Ships Company crewmembers
			2,500 Embarked troops

[General Deathdealer]

Boy the Hyper-Velocity Gun was a fuck-up.

[General Deathdealer]

Baal Daily News

Landing Ship Aircraft Cancelled

The Ministry of defense announced today that the plans for the new Landing Ship Aircraft (LSA) were cancelled today.

"After passing around the design to some of our allies, they pointed out some serious design flaws that we had not previously seen. Our designers are not used to designing something that big, and their inexperience really showed when our allies pointed out some of the design flaws. Instead of these ships we will be looking into some smaller proven designs that are out there."

[Coyote]

"Arik! How good to see you again, old friend! Congratulations on the new heirs! I heard about King Paul's wonderful gifts to your children. And since there was no way I could possibly match such a wonderful gift, I decided I'd give you a physical gift, and your children something more." Rufus then opened his case, and took out a small, fourteen inch tall statue...

...

" My second gift is for your children. By executive order, I will offer them a full scholarship, tuition, board, and a stipend, should they choose to attend any public or private university in the Shinra Republic. If they want to go anywhere else, and that is of course a matter for your family to decide, I will still offer to pay fifty percent of their tuition. I believe the gift of learning is the greatest any person can give to a child, and I wish to give that gift to yours."

"Dude... this rocks! Thanks! Man, you guys are awesome!" He looked at the Coyote statue and contemplated a bigger version, maybe a statue in the central hall of the nursery wing... Definitely worth a thought!

"Thanks! And the college funding... dear God, you have no idea how much I was sweating that! It hit me last night and I was awake tossing and turning... but you're a total life-saver!"

Arik's mood brightened considerably. He introduced Rogue-- he still could not help but think in terms of usernames-- to the kids and their moms and they walked out onto the beachside patio, where the warm sun was just right. Carafes of hot coffee were already waiting.

"Man, I tell you what, this rulership thing has its ups and downs both, don't it?" Arik asked.
"Yeah, I know," Rogue replied, "I guess you don't get to have quite as much fun as you used to, eh?" he said with a grin. Arik shrugged, hiding his own smile behind the upraised coffee mug.

"Well, I guess the karma had to catch up at some point. But to be honest, I still don't understand why good living and hedonism aren't seen as perfectly viable pursuits. I mean, I hate to sound egotistical, but wouldn't things be a lot easier, simpler, more enjoyable if all the world leaders took my approach?"

"Well, until the overpopulation kicked in."
"Touche," Arik said, and raised his mug again and took a sip. "Although," he said afterwards, "In my defense I will say I thought I had that handled previously, and I did not know that Q had, um, unfixed that which was fixed."

"Well, that which is done is done," Rogue said, "Now you have a royal family with heirs. Actually, that's not a bad thing in a inherited monarchy. Your options otherwise would have been more... limited."
"True," Arik had to agree, "Now I may have too many. But then again, in a few years I'll have ready-made Ministers, Governors, Army Chiefs, what have you."

"Ahh, nepotism, the gift that keeps on giving."
"Huh, I thought that was syphilis."
"Please, you should try to maintain a family-friendly atmosphere. Have you used the portal home much?"

"Couple times, just to get stuff. Sentimental stuff, and to see my folks. My dad's... not well. Age, basically."
"Ah." They were silent for a moment, enjoying the noonday sun, the clean sand, the clusters of beachgoers and their kids at the seaside, a few hundred meters off...

"You were planning an Olympics soon, weren't you?"
"Yeah... in fact, the Olympic City is built, the summer phase will be held near Delphi City, the winter phase in the Wolfsburg mountains. I'll start sending out the official announcements in a few days, but you're welcome to see it."
"That'd be cool."
"It's designed so that after the Olympics, it can be easily converted to a theme park..."

[Lonestar]

San Antonio Buisness Journal

Reactor One goes online at Royal Rail Republic nuclear powerplant.
Reactor One went online at the 3R Nuclear powerplant today, with a commencement ceremony including Royal Rail Officers, the LSR Ambassador, and the SWP&E Program Manager.

"SWP&E is pleased to being a quality and safe design the the Royal rail Republic." Program Manager Chris Pozo said. Reactor Two will go online next year.

LRS Commanche comissioned at Southwest Marine
The Fleet Ocean-Going tug Commanche was comissioned today, making it the first of a pair of heavy-duty tugs for the LSRN. A third tug is under construction for Canissia, as well as two Dallas-County Dry Cargo Vessels for the TXN. and five OPVs for the DPS.

El Preisdente:"I ain't afraid of no muzzelmen."
El Presidente Lonestar angered some Texan Muslims today with the comment "I ain't afraid of no Muzzelmen!" when asked about Sultan Ibrahim's recent string of rants towards the LSR.

"It's completely inappropriate for him to have said that." Bartman bin Surpaman, president of the Islam anti-defamation League said. "I would recommend to my members that they vote for Erwin McFibblestein, if it weren't for the fact that he may be a Secret Jew."

[Shroom Man 777]

[Deathdealer, let me tell you something about railguns... ]


The Mushroom Military Messenger
GREAT GUNS


Two massive prototype cannons stand tall and erect at the heart of Shroomania, the progeny of the Shroomanian 'Stonehenge Project'.

Early in 2008, the first year of New Earth, the Prime Minister authorized the conception of the 'Stonehenge' project to create a strategic system that would deter any would-be aggressor from attacking the homeland. This development was before the beginning of friendly Fungal relationships, and not long after the Shadow-Shroom Incident which saw multiple Shadow assassination attempts at the Prime Minister's life, a Shroomanian cruise-missile counterstrike, and the Shadow Empire's surrender and apology.

In light of the Shadow-Shroom incident and the Syndromian Strike, it seemed as though the New World was at the brink of disaster - with potential crises looming over the horizon due to rash military adventurism and ill-conceived conflicts. Though the current geopolitical situation has stabilized, many believe that the New World has yet to exit this tenuous phase - with the recent OMSK-MESS incident and the affairs of Terra Libertia, times are still interesting.

Before the Prime Minister decided to steer Shroomania and, by extension, her Fungal allies to the path of peace, he dedicated himself to the defense of his nation. The Stonehenge would be great and magnificent erections, cannons that could ejaculate death upon any foolhardy future foe, and the planned Yer Mom-class of super submarines would deeply penetrate the enemy, violating his waters to ravage him from behind.

The Stonehenge would be the principle weapon of choice - a system of powerful railguns that could propel projectiles to intercept incoming ballistic missiles and deny Shroomanian airspace from the enemy, or launch warheads to devastating the very homeland of the aggressor.

The Stonehenge would be grand and audacious, and it would be doomed to failure.

After the Syndromian Strike, Shroomania withdrew from its costly occupation and shied away from anymore militarism. The Stonehenge Project was suspended, save for the prototypes, there would be no more development. Likewise, the Shroomanian super-submarines would never go beyond the two sister ships, the Yer Mom and the Yer Face. The price of these systems was too costly, and the Prime Minister decided that Shroomania neither wanted nor needed these superweapons.

That was the official line. Before the suspension of the Stonehenge, Shroomania was proud of its great guns, boasting the length and the hardness of the cannons' barrels, how no other nation had cannons anywhere near as large as Shroomania's. It was said that because of the project, Shroomania was lightyears ahead of the world in the field of electromagnetics.

That would have been so, if the prototype railguns were actually developed - if Shroomania had, in fact, constructed two functioning electromagnetic cannons.

It did not.

Though the concept of creating an exceptionally powerful and exceptionally large cannon that could hurl projectiles through electromagnetism was sound in theory, in application it was beyond difficult. At that macro-scale, the technology was plagued with problems, and the cost of perfecting such an untested system was deemed to be too much.

The scientists in charge of the railguns were left to experiment with electromagnetism, but they would no longer serve in any significant capacity in the Stonehenge Project.

Most of them would become founding members of MacMillan Multinational's Mushroom Magnetics division, which was crucial in developing the first-ever monorail network in Shroomania's capital, Fabranti. Mushroom Magnetics would also be an important contributor to several proposed international particle accelerator projects, in the Bear Republic and elsewhere.

A few of them, however, went on to create Shroomania's premier beach volleyball team - attracting world-class SAF ace pilot volleyball players into their ranks and, eventually, rejoining their colleagues in MacMillan to formulate the ever-popular BodyOil.


Former Stonehenge scientists. After the project's suspension, the relegated researchers spent most of their free time pumping iron.

While the electromagneticists were busy building monorails and playing with their balls, a new team was sent in and the Stonehenge Project was diverted to a new direction. It would instead use more conventional methods of delivering payloads.


Electromagnetism gave way to more orthodox means.

Using research data gained from the Project HARP (High Altitude Research Project) and the Project Babylon, amongst other things, the Stonehenge Project commenced once more - a final hurrah before its ultimate end.

A series of ever-largening prototypes and test modules and scale models were built, eventually culminating in the twin guns that compose the final prototype Stonehenge - with a ballistic range covering the entirety of the Shroomanian island, and beyond. When the Stonehenge was first fired, the inert projectiles went further than the Shroomanian coast, touching down far into the waters west of Shroomania.

After this successful weapons test, Project Stonehenge was suspended. The Prime Minister decided that it was for the best if Shroomania did not end up possessing strategic superguns.

However, the prototypes, though they will never serve as weapons, are still being used today. The multinational Shepnukistani-led Project Blackbeard is currently making use of the prototype cannons to run ballistic tests on its missile experiments.

Through testing anti-ballistic missile systems, by shooting models of high-speed interceptor missiles from guns as opposed to building supersonic wind tunnels, the Stonehenge may still contribute to the defense and safety of the Shroomanian homeland and to the Fungal Union of Nations as a whole.

While the Stonehenge's range may extend far beyond the borders of Shroomania, with its new and more humble purpose, the research data netted from its continued use will provide the means with which the whole of the FUN will be protected from nuclear weapons by ABM systems.


[Summary: Shroomania wanted superweapons. Chickened out. Now the prototypes are shooting Blackbeard mock-ups into the air and sea. How undignified ]

[Coyote]

CNN: Canissian News Network

Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Purchased

The Ministry of Defense announced today the purchase of 1 THAAD Battalion from Tian Xia. The THAAD system is designed to shoot down short- and medium-range ballistic missiles over a theater or region by ramming them with interceptor missiles. It only has a limited capability against ICBMs. The THAAD system was purchased for an undisclosed amount.



The system will be placed initially around the capitol city of Neve Tikveh; the second system, when purchased, will go around Delphi City as a deterrent to terrorism during the upcoming Olympics.

Further purchases are considered, but not confirmed, at this time.

In other news, the Ministry of Defense decided not to replace the Halifax-class frigates with the F101-class frigates being built in the Shinra Republic.

"After careful analysis, it was determined that the service life of the Halifax frigates is still sufficient that replacement at this time would be an un-necessary indulgence for Canissia," Defense Minister Ral Tenn said, "The F101 is an outstanding design, and offers some key advantages, but not enough so that we can really justify a complete replacement program just yet."

The Navy, however, is following very closely the futuristic DDX program underway in the Lonestar Republic, which will rely on a great deal of automation to cut down on crew requirements.

"We are partners in the DDX," Minister Tenn said, "And we feel it is more prudent to wait until this comes to fruition rather than spend money on new Frigates right now."


Artist's impression of the supposed DDX.

Other reasons not to buy the F101 series could be the order for new supply ships for the Navy, as well.

One ship being looked at is the Type 332 Frankenthal class mine hunter, representing a capability that is sadly lacking on Nova Terra.


"We'd like to see maybe ten or twelve of these ships added to the inventory," Defense Minister Tenn said, "They're good for clearing mines, and when we look at all the problems currently faced in the maritime realm right now, we think this is very pro-active. Mines are a cheap way to deter shipping and create kill zones-- the types of situations that pirates or certain rogue-state elements might find appealing."

The Defense MInsiter would not expand on what "rogue state elements" he was referring to, but it is widely suspected that Libertopian-backed pirates or commerce raiders are becoming an increasing concern. Recent fiery rhetoric from the Saddamistan-backed Sultan of North Libertopia against both MESS and OMSK nations have sparked an increased interest in naval capability.

Other Navy projects include acquisition of four Powhatan-class ocean-going tugs, all-round workhorse ships for everything from dive support to towing and sea salvage.

Powhatan-class tug used by the Lonestar Navy.

"The Powhatan-class oceangoing tug will provide a great deal of flexibility to our Navy," Minister Tenn said, "Despite being a Navy vessel, over half the crew is actually made up of civilian contracted specialists. It is not a combat ship by any means, although the Navy crew itself is armed."

Overall, the Navy is increasing its use of supply and replensihment ships. Two other types of ships being ordered are two Type-702 Berlin-class replenishment ships, and two Type-404 Elbe-class small craft replenishment ships.


The Berlin-class replenishment ship, a large vessel with little armament.


Type-404 Elbe-class replenishment ships.

The Replenishment ships are basically oceangoing stores-carriers, and not intended for combat.

"They have light armament, mostly anti-aircraft missiles and light autocannon to repel boarders, as well as crew smallarms," Minister Tenn said, "These ships will add range and flexibility to our deployed Naval forces by allowing them to replenish food, fuel, ammo and crew needs such as mail delivery without having to pull away from stations."

While the vessels are certainly useful, a great deal of consternation has been raised in the Parliament about how to pay for all these ships.

"We've been hit with an environmental problem along the north shore, and the King has already authorized cutting the requisition of Anuket-class missile corvettes to help pay for that," said Finance Minister Erma Felna. "I can't imagine where the cuts will have to come from to pay for these other projects, but I can tell you that I will not cannibalize Education or Science for this."

King Arik Coyotus-I is considering axing another 10 Anukets from the procurement budget to pay for the construction of the minesweepers and support vessels.

"If that happens, we can make the budget," Minister Felna said, "It will still come out a bit in th ered, but manageable. The thing I'm worried about is some of the other costs that are not being addressed by this issue-- we haven't even begun to consider the purchase of five Cruisers, three more Destroyers, two air-defense systems, and of course the Olympics promotion."

"Minister Felna is doing a fine job with the budget," Defense Minister Tenn said, "But she forgets that the Olympics will eventually pay for themselves with tourist revenue. We've had to tighten up a bit, true, but the volatility of the Libertopian situation deamnds that we be ready. This is our responsibility, and we have to absorb it with dignity."

Minister Felna was not so sure.

"We'll make some money off the Olympics," she said, "But it won't factor in until the next fiscal year. And we may just break even at best. Outdoor and Adventure Tourism is starting to shift back to the Bear Republic, so we can't bank on that any more. This would be so bad if we were at least building some of these ships here, putting money in the pockets of our own workers, but we're buying shipbuilding services from other republics."

"Minister Felna forgets that the Anuket program is being built domestically, with few parts or services being contracte dout to MESS allies," Minister Tenn fired back. "Of course, if she wants us to axe the Anuket program to pay for other needs, then we won't even be able to do that."

Minister Felna declined to retort, saying, only, "What-ever."

[Coyote]

OLYMPIC CITY READY


In a brilliant display of nightime ceremony, the Olympic City near the town of Delphi was declared ready.

The opening ceremony caps off years of planning and preparation, and an intense construction effort in the last few months. President Rufus Shinra, of th eShinra Republic, was present with the Royal Family of King Arik Coyotus-I for the ceremonies.

The construction of the village is complete, and the ceremony marked the successful completion of the effort. Invitations have gone out to all nations on Nova Terra for athletes to compete.

Talk of the Olympic City construction has been discussed openly for some time, and athletes around the wqorld have been training and preparing for the opening day.

"As soon as we hear from everyone participating, we'll set a date," said Tourism Minister Seela Kimthrel. "It will be in the next couple of months, to be sure."

Vendor passes have been circulated among all interested nations, but this business-oriented paperwork was kept low-key and not widely discussed. Vendor areas will be plentiful, with dozens of pads available for all attending nations.

"We hope to see a big turnout," Minister Kimthrel said.

[PeZook]

BodyOil to sponsor Olympics

BodyOil, the brand notorious for its homoerotic advertising and presence amongst Shroomanian athletes and fighter pilots, announced today it participate in the Canissian Olympics as a sponsor.

"We wish for all athletes from all over the world to participate in this great event. Amelia Bodyworks has thus decided to supply BodyOil for free to all participants!"


BodyOil - make your muscles shine!

We expect a scathing comment from Sultan Ibrahim to follow this article.

[RogueIce]

Rufus looked out at the spectacle of the opening ceremonies.

"It's great, Arik. This has been a good vacation...er, official visit for me," he grinned.

"Yeah. Sometimes my penchant for indulgance pays off, Rogue."

"Quite. So I heard you didn't want our F100s?"

"Um, yeah, sorry." Arik looked a little uncomfortable.

"No problem. I can understand, especially with everything else you're working on. Myself, I'm planning on a large-scale upgrade to my Navy too. The frigates and the F-14 deal with Tonkin are the first step. I decided on the frigates mainly because they had a better air defense system than the old ones. And with the proliferation of anti-ship missile systems, a good AD suite is vital. Especially as I'm using them for merchant convoys, along with the anti-pirate details.

"And don't worry about those naysayers. Like me, you're pretty alone up here. I may have Tongdijuana and Baal nearby, but let's face it: if the shit hit the fan, I'd mostly be protecting them, not the other way around. We have to be able to take care of ourselves. Any help from the rest of the MESS might be too late if things went south fast."

[Sea Skimmer]

WORLD SOUNDBITE NEW SERVICE
FIRE AND EXPLOSIONS IN TERRALIBERTIA!

THIS JUST IN: Sources and bloggers in the north of Terra Libertia are reporting heavy fires and explosions, after two waves of what appeared to be intensive air attacks against several small cities and coastal towns in the north of the country. The bomber planes are reported to have the flag of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Empire of Saddamistan, a reclusive dictatorship in some cases just 50 miles of open water away. One correspondent indicated that the planes may be targeting the waterfront at Al-Freetown, and that other planes had flown over and dropped leaflets denouncing ‘Systematic And Consciousness Support Of The Illegal Jidadist Invasion Armada In Preparation’. None of these reports can be independently verified at this time

[Shinn Langley Soryu]

The Ashford Times

ARMY, MARINES TAKE DELIVERY OF IFVS, SAMS
Linebackers, Avengers, and Guardians from Baal and Bradleys from Shepnukistan added to inventories


FILE PHOTO: A Shepnukistani M2A3 Bradley on exercises


FILE PHOTO: Langley Marine Corps Avengers carry out a live-fire exercise at Camp Kusanagi

KALAYAAN PROVING GROUND - In an effort to increase their offensive and defensive capabilities, the Langley Army and Marine Corps both placed orders for infantry fighting vehicles and air defense vehicles to supplant their existing Humvees, M1097 Avenger air defense trucks, and M1117 Guardian armored cars. Fellow OMSK member Shepnukistan was willing to part with some of its surplus M2 Bradleys; the Grand Duchy of Baal, a MESS member state, offered to produce additional Avengers and Guardians, along with the M6 Linebacker variant of the Bradley.

In all, the Department of Defense placed orders of sixteen of each for the Linebacker, Avenger, and Guardian from Baal and thirty-two Bradleys from Shepnukistan, to be divided evenly between the Army and Marine Corps; in addition, the Department of Defense was able to work out a deal with the Shepnukistani military to acquire as many more of the surplus Bradleys as needed in the future. Air Force An-22s and C-130Js transported most of the Baal arms order to Fenette AFB, with the rest loaded onto a cargo ship and sent to Ashford City under heavy guard by the Navy's lone Sachsen frigate and a Gepard FAC; the Shepnukistani Bradleys were also placed on a ship, arriving at Stadtfeld around the same time as the Baal arms orders. All vehicles arrived at their destinations without incident.

[Sea Skimmer]

DDDF: Deutch-Danish-Dusseldorf-Fregency News
SADDAMISTAN BOMBS TERRALIBERTIA, CLAIMS ‘ILLEGAL JIHADIST INVASION ARMADA’!

At least 100 Saddamistani Mirage and MiG fighter bombers swept over the coast of northern TerraLibertia, bombing docks and anchored ships as afternoon fish market crowds fled in terror. Hundreds of dead and wounded are reported after cluster bombs struck several beaches, apparently aimed at wooden boats used by local fishermen, and Saddamistan has claimed in the past, ‘terrorist-pirate criminal anti-Saddamistan agents’. Dozens of internet users have already posted images taken of Saddamistani leaflets released just after the raid, threatening future attacks and claiming today’s bombing was in retaliation for a supposed islamist invasion plot. The DDDF obtained the following report by satellite phone from renown independent reporter Joe Sixpack, calling from inside a local militia camp.

TRANSCRIPT:
“ …(static)….I’m on the road not far outside of the city of Al-Freetown, I can’t say exactly where because they said I’d be shot, and my local cameraman hanged if I do. This afternoon I was invited to a base camp in a wooded area to see how the local militia train and operate. In TerraLibertia any militia is a legal organization, and in most cases virtually the only armed authority in the areas, but several countries of lodged complaints against its actions in recent years. Today however, this group was only cooking rice with he heard the first sonic boom, and then the distant explosions of the Saddamistani air assault. At one point they actually fired assault rifle at a passing fighter jet, but it was in vain. The militia commander became exuberant when radio Al-Freetown reported one of the attacking jet had definitely crashed, but the same report also told of Saddamistani warships approaching close to several islands just off the coast. Now on the move by truck with the militia, to a location I can only guess at. This is Joe Sixpack reporting from TerraLibertia.”

[Lonestar]

National Military Command Center, the Trigon, Austin


"This had better be good...." Lonestar muttered. He'd been fast asleep less than an hour before.

Director Holtz of the National Collections Agency spoke up.

"Sir, We picked up a brief feed from a BBC reporter in Migidishiu for 4 minutes before it was cut off abruptly. Since then we've tasked other assets," Assets meaning the SSN Catfish, which had been off the coast monitoring North Terra Libertia. "To follow up. It appears that the Saddamistanis are staging a military intervention."

"You kidding me?" Lonestar sat down and opened a bottle of water. "Christ. Damnit. Christ."

The phone rang and a Army Major answered it. "Alright, put it through." The Major turned back. "That was from NMEC Sir. We're getting a feed from an Adrianopli news service."

The projector started.

"This is Arnold Cavendish, of the Adrianopli News Service in Al-Freetown. Explosions have wracked the city and a series of air strikes. At the moment there is no knowledge of who the attacks are, although the locals have much speculation."

*shifts to a local*

"It is surely the Infidel Lonestar and his army of Satanists, returned to kill more of the Believers."

*shifts back to reporter*

"Some leaflets have been dropped, denouncing the 'Systematic And Consciousness Support Of The Illegal Jidadist Invasion Armada In Preparation'. We, uh...we're still trying to figure out what that means."

Lonestar picked up the remote and hit the MUTE. "DAMN IT! How'd we miss this?"

There was some uneasy shuffling. "Well, the Saddamistanis haven't been doing a whole heck of a lot for years..."

"Wonderful. Fucking wonderful. What do we have in the area?"

"The Catfish" That was CNO Saldana.

"Anything else?"

"The Texas strike group is out on JTFX-10-B. We can bring them into port for a day or two so the sailors can make any arrangements they need, then send the strike group out."

"Send them out. Have them track and follow but do NOT engage in anything that can possibly be construed as 'aggressive', got it?"

"Yes sir."

"FUCK!"