SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Second

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Imperial Chronicles

"So gentlemen, I hear that our collaboration with the CSR on hypersonics is bearing fruit?" said the Emperor.

"Yes sire, the P-750 Meteorite series of missiles represent a jump in capability for our ships, and our Kirov Battlecruisers are undergoing refit to replace their P-800 missiles with P-750 Meteorite-ML missiles, with 3000-3500km range, and a cruise speed of Mach 3 at an altitude 22-24 km and over Mach 4 terminal decline speed."

"Excellent. What of our new destroyer designs?"

"We delayed the keel laying to mid year to do last minute revisions. We believe that we can install a lighter weight version of the P-750 Meteorite, the Meteorite-MXL on the destroyers, after some widening, and lengthening. The missiles will retain the same characteristics, but only 1000km range. They will only be able to fire 12 though."

"Excellent. Speed up production for our bombers and the missiles. We can't be caught flatfooted. And don't bother announcing the changes to the destroyers. Just build them. Let the enemy spies figure out what weapons the ships are carrying. Also, start working on a cruiser design to house the Meteorite-M. How about a new submarine design to accomodate the Meteorite-M?"

"That might take a while. We are thinking of working with our CSR counterparts on developing a new submarine to do the job. I might add that it is as good as building a ballistic missile submarine."

"Well, it's a missile submarine, not a ballistic missile submarine. Nothing wrong with that," the Emperor gave a mischievious grin.

"Indeed sire. Sire, do you want to start building coastal defence brigades operating some.. say each operating 96 of these P-750 Meteorite-L?"

"96 launchers with reloads? Sure. Make sure most of them are hardened and camouflaged. Have 24 brigades operating by the end of the year, and another 24 after that."

"Yes sire, we are on to it. We will keep the existing brigades operating P-800, and start working on new brigades operating P-750 Meteorite-L."

Result:
Exarch class destroyers to be fitted with 12 P-750 Meteorite-MXL
Kirov battlecruisers to be fitted with 16 P-750 Meteorite-ML
New cruiser and submarine design begins.
24 brigades operating 96 Meteorite-L launchers to start training. (basically, the land variant of the Meteorite-M.)

[Zor]

Union Press

Link Between Port Adria and COMMUNE-I proposed

Today, the Ministry of Science and Education has declared plans to establish international links between the Port Adria Scientific Base in Eastern Velaria with the Crimson Star Republic's COMMUNE-I to improve diplomatic relations between the CSR and the Kingdom and to futher the Global cause of Science. The plan has been well recieved by much of Zoria's Scientific Community and Port Adria's scientific population in praticular.

[Shroom Man 777]

To: Engr. Roch Rosploch (Chief Engineer of Project Killfuck, PeZookian division)
From: Engr. Ernest Emmerich (Chief Engineer of Project Killfuck, Shroomanian division)
Subject: Target Killfucked

Yo!

Work on Project Killfuck is going smooth, as smooth as it can get, even with KY Jelly. Working with those guys at the SHARP and doing preliminary ballistic tests using their hueg guns was a great time saver - just look at those guns, so long and hard and when they point those things up at 90 degrees, they're so tall. When they fire and those projectiles come out of it... man, those SHARP guys were nice enough to let me fire one of the projectiles, and let me tell you, holding that trigger in my hand and squeezing it, it was quite an experience.

You should've been there, mang, but I understand that you have your obligations with your wife and all, so that's okay.

Anyway, now we've gone past prototyping and we just tested the Killfuck hypersonic cruise missile in the Atlantic. I was there, on the battleship Iron Shroom, with all the seamen and sailors - Go Navy!

It was so exciting and the results were very good. The missile can carry an 800 kilogram warhead at Mach 4 and the range reached 5000 kilometers. That's the longest range baby, and we've got lighter and shorter-ranged versions too. The most important thing is that we know that it can be navalized - it can be crammed into the tight shafts of Yer Mom-class submarine launch tubes, which is what we've been aiming for ever since the start.

So, it's a huge success! I have my cake and I'm eating it too, so you better get some cake for yourselves too! We'll be fitting these things into our Yer Moms and I'm sure your PeZookian Navy will be fitting some into their launch tubes too, so I guess we'll be needing a lot of lube or something.

Anyway, look at the missile, here's an attached image:



Isn't it so big?

Further enhancements will enlarge the Killfuck's capabilities, further improving its target-rape capabilities. This is just the beginning! I'm getting really excited (and hard) at the prospect of future developments! I have an erection!


Love,
Ernest




Results:
We're matching CSR's developments in hypersonic cruise missile tech.

If someone doesn't ratify the Combined Continental Consortium Partnership where Old Continent arms manufacturers can work together while signing a contract not to proliferate various high-end weaponries to questionable buyers, then I might consider selling my hypersonics to other folks.

Ratify the CCCP and the benefits will make me not bother selling these things to other folks.

[Siege]

Business as Usual

Tower of Commerce, downtown San Dorado



The sun slowly rose over the million rooftops of San Dorado City. Subways, monorails and highways disgorged their tens of thousands of passengers into the central city districts like arteries pumping blood into the heart. Horns flared. Engines roared. A million voices clamoured for attention. And in the centre of the city, near the banks of the Dodson River, stood the Tower of Commerce, rising to the skies like the spine around which all the wheels of trade turned.

President Hank savoured the spectacle of the sunrise over the glinting skyscrapers for a moment, then turned back to the weekly meeting of the General Directors.

“… and finally, Sub-Director Duquesne extended an olive branch to the CSR yesterday at the FNC”, finished Director Skye of DEPICOR.

“Did we clear her to do that?” frowned Morgan, of DIFEI.

“Of course we did”, replied the President. “She has clearance to speak for the Board.”

“I still think we should not have done it”, grumbled CORDEF Director Sam Ralson. “It makes us look weak.”

“What it does, is make us not look like boneheaded idiots who let principles get in the way of politics”, replied the President dryly.

“And it’s not like we’re losing face, or anything tangible”, injected Skye. “We made our point by holding out as long as we did. Everybody else caved in weeks ago. San Dorado will still known as the hardliner side of the FTO, but we kept the peace with the CSR and maintained the unity of the alliance. It’s a clear win-win situation if you ask me.”

“As long as it works, I guess”, shrugged Ralson, clearly still not much satisfied. “Did it, Helena?”

“Apparently. We received a communiqué from the PRSF…” Skye dredged up the telegram from her briefcase and read it out loud, finishing with Zorin’s “…we are relieved to hear that San Dorado finally accepts the legal authority in these lands. And we are open to any negotiations that San Dorado wishes to engage in with our nation.”.

“What smug asshole wrote this?” Sam Ralson scoffed.

“That’s Valery Zorin, class-A commie jackass for you”, the President shrugged lightly. “Never mind him, it appears he gets off on this kind of bullshit.”

“Have we got anything to negotiate in the first place?” wondered Director Sinclair of DELEJ.

“We’ll leave it for the FTO to come up with some kind of offer. I’ve had about enough of these commies for now”, replied the President. “Sam, have you got anything new?”

“Let me see…” Ralson ruffled through his papers. “Gizmonic says the new Slamdunk missile should be ready for testing soon… Ah, yes. The F-111XL is ready to enter production. Final specs are… Maximum speed of roughly Mach 3.3 empty, supercruise of Mach 1.9 loaded. Enlarged internal bomb bays, all-new AESA radar, and so on and so forth. It’s a fantastic plane.”

“Great. Feed a proposition to replace our two old bomb squadrons with the new plane to the Board proper for rubberstamping. Anything else?”

“Not really. The Lucrelance still has problems, we won’t be able to attempt a second test before august at the earliest.”

“Right, fine, let’s continue on to DELEJ then. Daphne?”

“Riots again around the Shroomanian Embassy. Apparently some hippies blame them for the sinking of the Shroom Viking. The ambassador told them it got torpedoed, but their reasoning seemed to be that if they hadn’t shipped oil, the tanker could not have been sunk. They got quite violent near the end.”

“And?”

“And then the Mushroom Marines shot them. Well, some of them at least. Then AIP came in and shot some more just for good measure. We’ve got cleaners trying to get the worst of the blood off the Arch of Victory before bulk of the tourists arrive.”

“God-damn hippies.”

“My thoughts exactly. Some more riots in the Sprawl today, but nothing the rent-a-cops couldn’t handle…”

Results: Business as usual in San Dorado. The F-111XL Super Aardvark enters production and will outfit San Dorado's two squadrons. It's available for export too!

[Shroom Man 777]

LIVE on ShroomStratTV
The Sovereign Shroomanian Sentinel
PEACEKEEPER PROLIFERATION


A peacekeeping patrol in the wastelands of Shepistan.

The Sovereignty of Shroomania has voluntarily deployed a contingent of 1,000 peacekeepers from the Shroomanian Army and the Mushroom Marines into Shepistan. This mission comes in light of the recent civil unrest and turmoil engulfing the nation.

While the Crimson Star Republic has declined from deploying peacekeepers, citing already active missions in the former Border States and in South Frequesue, the Sovereignty of Shroomania has sent its men under the hopes that they will be joined by peacekeepers from other nations as well.


Peacekeepers distribute pre-owned clothing, as well as second-hand food, water and medicine.

"The situation in Shepistan is dire," Prime Minister Shroom the 777th said in an televised address. "The nations of the world must not be mere spectators to a nation undergoing such upheavals. While the Sovereignty has stood back and declared its neutrality to the war, it cannot stand back and watch the disintegration of an already fragile peace.

"We hope that other nations can commit to this effort in stabilizing the area."

A Shroomanian peacekeeper walks a group of children to one of the few still-standing orphanages in Shepistan...


...but only one child makes it to the orphanage. Disease and malnutrition has taken its toll on the local population.

So far, the Sovereignty of Shroomania is the first nation to commit actual peacekeeping personnel to the reconstruction and recovery of both Shepistan and the Old Dominion. Efforts in Shepistan have been prioritized, due to the increasing instability of the region.


A Shepistani child is discouraged from playing with razor wire by a Shroomanian peacekeeper.

Aside from aiding in humanitarian efforts, the peacekeeping force will also provide security to foreign personnel and corporate workers aiding in the reconstruction efforts. Many Shroomanian companies have been contracted to rebuild damaged and destroyed infrastructure, and their employees have been attacked by bandits and rioters.


Despite the grimdark situation, Shroomanian peacekeepers maintain an upbeat attitude.

[K. A. Pital]

PCIA Confidential to Byzantine enteprises covered by the 2nd Level of Secret Documentation Access Partnership
Dear members!

Please review this most recent design of a very heavy cruise missile submarine - the Project 941M.

This design is the latest development on the specifications we received. However, the proposed weapon complement of the submarine requires additional input.

Should we use the "Vodopad" anti-submarine system or go with the "Shkval-2" supercavitating torpedoes instead?

Which organizations will be awarded contracts for supplying weapons and materials for the new submarine?

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

PCIA Confidential to Byzantine enteprises covered by the 2nd Level of Secret Documentation Access Partnership
Dear members!

Please review this most recent design of a very heavy cruise missile submarine - the Project 941M.

This design is the latest development on the specifications we received. However, the proposed weapon complement of the submarine requires additional input.

Should we use the "Vodopad" anti-submarine system or go with the "Shkval-2" supercavitating torpedoes instead?

Which organizations will be awarded contracts for supplying weapons and materials for the new submarine?

Communique from Byzantine Ministry of Defence

Dear Sir,

Could you elaborate on which system, namely the Vodopad and the Shkval 2, is quieter and more lethal. The submarine's priority, given its strategic nature, is survivability. We will support an option that optimizes the submarine's survivability.

On the Byzantine side, Constantinople Shipyards, Kontos Munitions, and Byzantine Heavy industries can be called upon to produce the vessel. Kontos Munitions handle the electronics and sensors, while Constantinople Shipyards can build the ships themselves, and Byzantine Heavy Industries can provide the high grade steel and nuclear reactor required.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Imperial Chronicles

About the Winston Church Shroom

"Well Commodore Cornelius, we would be more than happy to stop by Shroomanian port for a bit of rum on the way back. But business first, won't you say?" smiled Commodore Ciaphas Cain. "Here is my captain and aide, Captain Jurgen." The captain smiled and smelled fresh. Apparently, he had taken a bath before coming aboard the vessel. Cornelius shook the Jurgen's hand and gestured, "Indeed, business first." Cornelius led them to the bridge to the map table.

Pointing on the map, "We believe that the Shroom Viking was lost somewhere here." Cornelius drew a circle around a spot somewhere midway in the Atlantic, somewhere between Shepistan and Japanistan. "It's international waters, and it was 0840 hrs on March 20th when we lost contact with the ship.”


The map.

“Awfully close to Japanistan, and not too far from the Impact Crater archipelago, right in the midst of a bloody war,” commented Cain.

“Indeed. It does raise too many suspicions.”

“The ship is in good seaworthy condition?”

“As good as any Constantinople Shipping, or any MacMillian Shipping vessel. She’s as large as the largest oil tanker as any in your own home country. Double hulled too.”

“You know, X marks the spot, and the oil shouldn’t be too far off from where she sank.”

“Were there any reports of oil slicks?”

“Some of it was reported in Astaria, and given the currents, I guess we aren’t too far off the mark on the ship’s last location.”

“I see.”

Jurgen looked at the map, then said, “Then sirs, perhaps we should follow the ship’s course and map out the seabed as we go along?”

“You got it right Jurgen. Hopefully the ship isn’t too deep, though the salvage ships come with the equipment needed for deep sea search.”

“In that case, gentlemen, let’s be on our way.”

The collection of ships sailed on into the horizon.

[Shroom Man 777]

PAINTING FARBANTI RED
A Crimson Photojournalist's Trip to Shroomania (Part 1)
By Pyotr Pavel Petrov



I arrived in Farbanti International Airport at the morn, right before the sunrise. For a so-called city that never sleeps, the place was pretty quiet. The roads were free of traffic as we made our way to the city proper, passing over several bridges along the way.

We, as ferrying me was the taxi driver, a pretty jovial fellow for a man missing a night's sleep. Driving one handed, and holding a cup of coffee with his other hand, he welcomed us to the country and suggested we take the scenic route.



We took the scenic route, and promptly got stuck in traffic. Nonetheless, I took the time to appreciate the urban scenery of Farbanti. The mixture of new buildings encroaching upon the archaic architecture made for an interesting sight, reminding me of the old quarter of Minsk.

As we got trapped in the early morning rush hour, I made small talk with the taxi driver. While more and more Shroomanian tourists were coming to the Star Republic, the taxi driver told me that Crimson visitors in Shroomania were still few and far-between.

I was barely sated with my Aeroflot in-flight meal, so we took a detour and found a MacMill's Drive-Thru. I ordered pancakes and my driver refilled his cup of coffee.



By the time I got to my hotel, a Shroomiday Inn near the port side, it was late afternoon. Farbanti's trademark dreary rain came, and it came hard.

I forgot to bring my raincoat.



Despite the pouring rain, I had nothing to do at the hotel, and rather than let boredom take me, I decided to go walking in the rain.

Before I got myself thoroughly soaked, I had the presence of mind to buy an umbrella.



Unsatisfied by the unhealthy MacMill's happy meal I had earlier, I decided to try the 'local' cuisine. Specifically, a noodle store owned by a Japanistani immigrant. The soup was pretty tasty, and kept me warm as I waited for the rain to stop.

The rains did stop, and the skies cleared quickly, just in time for the sunset.



The sunset was, quite frankly, a breathtaking sight.



I stayed and watched until day turned to night.



Satisfied with my first day in Farbanti, Shroomania, I decided to go back to the hotel...



...but then, I realized that I was lost.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Constantinople Times

Emperor sets out for his world tour

The Emperor and his advisers, and the Empress have together set out on round tour visit to a number of states. He plans to visit the Kingdom of Serenity and the Shinra Republic, Cascadia, before he arrives in San Dorado. He would probably be the first foreign Monarch to visit Frequesue in many decades since the nations on the continent gained independence. It is expected that a business contingent would follow the Emperor.

[Grand Moff Yenchin]

Royal Palace, Serenity

The meeting room was prepared well by Sonija, with the appropriate equipment and favorite foods and drinks of both kings. Various charts of the Pacific area were prepared on paper and computer files.

The kings sat down, and the meeting began...

[Norseman]

Olive Gill's House, Sweethaven

Kasia touched the cold surface of the mirror. The reflection was wrong, the person she saw in the mirror wasn't her. She would never have worn that schoolgirl's uniform, something that looked like it came from a music video. Of course he made her wear it, and she could live with that. Other things weren't so easy to live with. She leaned so close to the mirror that her breath fogged up the mirror. Slowly she moved her fingers across the fogged up area, leaving long clear ruts behind, the fingers stopped over the reflection of her lips. One breath, two, she waited, then she touched her real lips, feeling them, before pulling back from the mirror.

The clothes were one thing, but her body was quite another. In the mirror she saw someone beautiful, someone with large firm breasts, full delightful lips, and a glimpse of a firm belly in the space between her shirt and her skirt. It wasn't really her body though, it was his body. He had shaped it, forced her to have surgery, forced her to obey the trainers that pushed her every day, forced her to eat only what she ought. Changed, moulded, twisted her body all without her consent or input.

When she grabbed her breasts and squeezed them she felt it, they figure in the mirror did the same. It just wasn't her though. For a while she kept touching them, not sure why. Then she began to weep. She had nothing, not her freedom, not her body, nothing.

All that kept her from breaking, or going mad, was remember her promise to herself, that she would survive, that she would go back. Only now she wasn't sure if anyone she knew would recognise her anymore.

Once the tears stopped she sat down on a chair, and grabbed one of her old schoolbooks. An analysis of old Pezookian language, as she read it she calmed down, the boring familiar words were like a magic balm taking away her problems. For as long as she was reading anyway. By now she practically knew them all by heart, if she ever got back home she'd ace the next semester, or so she hoped anyway.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Imperial Chronicles

Royal Palace Serenity

"So how badly did your forces suffer from Shepistan's submarines? I understand that one of the submarines was taken out, but your carrier group took quite a bit of hit. Was it salvageable?

It has not escaped me that Japanistan is mixed in all of this. A lot of the intelligence suggest that Japanistan supplied lots of advanced weapons to Shepistan, almost as if this was some proxy war, or maybe it is.

Do you need any help to rebuild your losses?"

[Lonestar]

Industrial Physicist Quarterly

The MESS to back Superconducting Super Collider project?

David Kraft of the Old Dominion's Advance Research Project Agency(ODARPA) has a dream. And that dream involves smashing very small things at very high speeds.

"This project could yield enormous amount of information about the universe, and even just fundamental physics." Said the head of ODARPA's Fundamental Sciences division. "We plan on bringing the MESS to the forefront of all the sciences."

Indeed, IPQ has learned that ODARPA survey teams are looking at sites overseas for a suitable location. The security situation on the continent of Shepland prevents the SSC to be constructed in the Old Dominion.

Dr. Kraft waved aside comments about a War Ministry agency pushing for funding for the project. "ODARPA has always did a lot of fundamental science research, even when it doesn't yield any immediate applications. It was ODARPA research into wave physics in the '60s that allowed the MESS to put out the first stealth aircraft in the '80s. Who knows what will come out of this? Maybe nothing. But we think that science for the sake of science is a good reason to investigate."

Dominion Defense

Replacement program for ODMC AAVs moves forward.



The recent eviction of Shepistani forces from West Fuckland Island and San Fuego showed that, even with decades old antiquated equipment, the ODMC can still handle likely opponents. It also showed, with the repeated breakdown of decades-old AAVs, how poorly equipped the "little brother" of the Old Dominion armed services is.

Chesapeake Arms, which proposed a replacement in the '90s, has brought out it's prototype for the EFV once more. And this time the War Ministry is listening. The EFV will be able to maintain the same speed on land as a Leopard 2A6, and travel 30mph at sea. The War Ministry has awarded at $200mil contract to begin refinements and updates of the decade-old design, which never got beyond the initial company-funded research stage. If the vehicle proves successful, it is likely that it will be marketed to other MESS members.

[Coiler]

Future Arsenal Warfare System Project -- Naval Branch
Submittal to all participating FTO members

Design Report
Coilerburg Navy Bureau of Construction

Swarm-class submarine

Displacement: c. 700 tons
Speed: 13 knots surfaced, 19 knots submerged
Range: 4,500 km at 6 knots surfaced

Armament:
8x533 mm torpedo tubes
Ability to carry external mines

Design notes

The Swarm-class SSK is designed as a fairly inexpensive coastal submarine able to be built easily in large quantities, to defend the seas around Frequesue.

Coilerburg has ordered four Swarm's for its own navy, and believes that many in the hands of the FTO could serve as a powerful force.

[MKSheppard]

Shroom Space Weekly

Fighter Surprise!

Shepistan has hinted that it may sign a contract under the Bulwark against Imperialism and Tyranny program with Japanistan to supply 216 JF-90 Violet Lightning heavy air defense fighters for the Shepistani Air Force to replace it's surviving F-106Hs.

Apparently the Violet Lightnings will be heavily integrated into the upcoming Brilliant Blossom air defense complexes that Japanistnai engineers broke ground on last month...

[Steve]

Fenraven, Indhopal
Frequesue


Vice President Verdes' tour through the continent was going as planned. She'd started in Coilerburg to find the local populace somewhat muted in their reaction and word of plenty of grumbling about how little material gain Coilerburg was getting from the peace, though the new junta was very accomodating and friendly. From there she'd been flown to Sabika to find an even more hostile populace, one convinced that victory over Coilerburg had been nigh when Coilerburg's allies had snatched it from them. The FTO was openly reviled by nationalist politicians and the Vice President asked to make sure Cascadia provided protection for Sabikan interests from Coilerburg "and their lackies"... when she wasn't reviled as well, at least, with a number of nationalists openly preaching in the streets for the peace to be ended and for Sabika to "fight and kill, even after we are conquered. Bleed the FTO imperialists!". Even in Saffonburg there seemed to be little relief at being restored to Sabika - instead there was consternation that towns across the river, the homes of relatives and friends and business partners, was still to be kept in Coilerburg despite the old Sabikan claims there as well. Clearly Sabika was the weak link in the chain when it came to regional peace - one strong tilt, one loud nationalist voice, and the accord would fail and they would be on the warpath again.

But Alexandra Verdes hadn't been prepared for Omango. The Sabikans had been defiant to the point that they didn't quite care if the war went on. In Omango, the populace was almost the exact opposite. From the airport to the governmental buildings the crowds gathered carrying banners of peace, makeshift Cascadian tricolors being hanged from every building along with the Omangan emerald star. Throngs of humanity surged against the security forces' barricades along the roadway with such sights as children holding out flowers and young mothers offering their infants for Alexandra to kiss on the forehead. It was soon evident that the peace movement in Omango was overpowering and the government scrambling to stay in power against popular belief that the war was orchastrated in a botched attempt to influence coming elections. The Omangan government was more sober than their people, more knowledgable of the Sabikan and Coilerburger attitudes and how it might harm their country. Assurances had to be given in this case, and she did as well as she could.

And now Fenraven had come, complete with meetings with President Raj and his government, all of them very eager to see the Accord ratified by all parties.

[Siege]

[OOC: As ever, since I don't know much about these things I'm left to guesstimate a lot, so if any of our more knowledgeable members spot any extreme incongruities, feel free to let me know.]


Future Arsenal Warfare System Project -- Naval Branch
Submittal To All Participating FTO Members

Design Report
Blues Brothers Shipping / Carris Shipbuilding / Coilerburg Iron Works

Vigilant class Guided Missile Submarine
A 2nd Republic of Indhopal / Coilerburg / Corporate Republic of San Dorado Joint Venture

Displacement: 12,640 tons (surfaced) / 14,335 tons (submerged)
Length: 135m
Beam: 12.50m
Propulsion: Pressurised water S15 nuclear reactor (150 MW) (Shroomanian Design; Constructed Under Lease), turboreductor system, Pump-jet, 2 diesels-alternator auxiliaries.
Speed: 20+ knots

Armament:
12 Mark 45 missile tubes
28 Mark 41 missile tubes
4 x 533 mm torpedo tubes

OR

52 Mark 41 missile tubes
4 x 533 mm torpedo tubes

Electronics:
S-1 Integrated Sonar System
Tactical Operations System
Very low-frequency towed array sonar

Design Notes:
* Design incorporates either 12 x enlarged missile tubes for projected heavy missile and 28 standard Mk 41 VLS cells or 52 standard Mk 41 cells.
* In response to conclusions drawn from the Old Dominion – Shepistani war, the design team is open to potentially enlarging the torpedo tube bore to facilitate the firing of larger diameter torpedoes.

The Vigilant class submarine is designed for long-endurance patrols around the Frequesuan continent. Pump-jet propulsion facilitates noise reduction resulting in a low Sonar signature. Unfortunately, as a result the top forward speed is reduced to 20 knots.

Assuming four ships are ordered the cost of the Vigilant project is estimated at nearly $16 billion. This cost drops appreciably with each extra submarine built.

[TimothyC]

Official Post:

Alaska is buying the following from Cascadia:
6 KC-77s
6 E-77s
2 VC-77s
4 C-77s
Re-builds for the C-141D fleet.

And the Following from Shepistan:
80 F-105s
132 F-101s
25 B-56s
75 RB-56s
10 DFB-56s
Undetermined number of F-106s

[Master_Baerne]

Baernish Subministry of Procurement
Equiptment Request - Vigilant-class SSGN
FROM: His Excellency Count Winston, Subminister for Procurement
TO: FTO FAWS Project - Vigilant Division

I have been instructed to indicate the BDN's interest in obtaining four of these submarines, after the design is sufficiently tested.

[DarthShady]

Location: Somewhere in Cialan
Small Village, near the Sjenska Border

Ana hated waiting, she hated it more than anything else. But she was well paid to wait this time, so she decided to give it some more time. The wait was worth it when she saw a farmers truck in the distance. The vehicle parked near her car and a man stepped out. "The sun looks red today, doesn't it?", the man asked. "I wouldn't know.", she said, "I'm colour blind." The man smiled and knocked twice on the side of his truck. "Come out my friend, we're safe now.", he said and watched as a tall man climbed out of the hay and jumped out of the truck. "It was about goddamn time.", the man said while removing the straw from his clothes. "You are Karic, I presume?", Ana said and checked him out. "Yes I am, but not for long.", Karic said, "I hope my friends prepared everything."

"They have. I have your new id documents right here, and the doctor is waiting in Vulpesia.", Ana said, "Oh, and the items you requested are here." She places a strange looking box on the hood of her car.


"I hope everything is to your liking.", she said.


"Oh yes, these will do quite nicely.", Karic said. "In that case it's time for us to go.", Ana said, "We have to be in Vulpesia by morning."

"It's time to introduce a little chaos in the lives of my enemies.", Karic said as he entered the car, "And you will help me with that."

"Of course.", Ana said, "That's what I'm here for."

[Steve]

Star of Sweethaven Forsyth Shipping Line Vessel (Astaria-flagged)
1 day out from South Veleria


The Star of Sweethaven was an older cargo vessel bought by the Forsyth Shipping Line, one of the Astarian shipping companies that plied the constant trade of passengers - free and unfree - and other cargoes from the many ports of Astaria proper and her South Velerian holding, that almost unnaturally-kept appendage of the Free Republic that was a vestige of the old Shroomanian colonial organization and kept under Astarian suzerainty despite the increasing discontent with the costs back home. She was only one of five ships held by Forsyth Shipping, the bicentarianian shipping line's once-expansive shipping fleet having atrophied over these many years.
Where once Astaria, as a colony of Shroomania and then an independent nation, had sent her clippers and bulk carriers to the four corners of the globe from her natural trading position at the nexus of the Atlantic and Pacific, now the years of international isolation imposed by the Republic's stubborn adherence to organized and legal chattel slavery had rendered her ships persona non grata in most ports of the world. The Astarians no longer carried so much trade, no longer having it with the outside world, as almost none would countenance purchasing Astarian goods that had been made, farmed, or otherwise manufactured by the sweat of enslaved persons.

The cargo of Star of Sweethaven was mostly inanimate, save a group of four containers. Half of the contents there were fully legal slaves under Astarian law, being shipped home because the tropical weather of South Veleria had exhausted them, their owners looking at some recovery from the worn out laborers. The other half, though, were of newer status. Some were native South Velerians sold for whatever reason; paying debt, criminality, young people sold by destitute parents who needed the money for other children.
The fourth and final container were not South Velerians at all. Some Caravo from the Astarian buffer in southern al-Akharabat, where Astaria had not yet been forced to withdraw, and various tribals slipped into South Veleria from Bissaru... as well as the twenty-six International Peace Corps volunteers seized by the greedy tribal slavers in the process of their other operations.

For these mostly young people, the entire case was a nightmare. They had anticipated a tough time in leaving the comfort of their First World homelands for Bissaru, but being dragged through sweltering jungle to badly-framed boats before being sold into Astarian slavery was completely out of those anticipations.
There had been attempts to demonstrate to Astarian inspectors whom they were. But those attempts had mostly failed, though they would never see the wads of bills changing hands out of sight. Their chains had been removed for the voyage, at least, though the Astarians never entered the containers for feeding without using large guards armed with machine guns.

The disturbance was actually caused by the Caravo. Knowing they were being taken far from their homelands and possessing a singularly fatalist view of life that had contribued to their tribe's earlier resistance to the Japanistani, they attacked the guards that came to feed them that night. Alone, they would likely have not survived - the guards had the weapons to mow them down quickly.

But two of the Peace Corps volunteers, James Kinelroy and Alejandro Marchez who were former Canissian and Cascadian conscripts respectively, joined in the fight, and in turn encouraged the others to do so. The entire container was overrun and the two men retrieved the assault rifles their captors had been carrying, the Caravo not fighting for them mostly because they had been caught up in the passion of the moment against their tormentors.

The mutiny was almost over before it began. The guards for the other containers opened fire, killing two of the Caravo and wounding four more, but Kinelroy and Marchez had the more recent military training - something that the guards either did not have or had not had chance to use in a long while, used as they were to docility in transported slaves - and they would ensure the guards were put down. Other Caravo grabbed the remaining rifles, as did the other Peace Corps volunteers with countries that had National Service, and would provide mass to the slave mutiny as it spread to the other containers. Though some of the older slaves would not fight back, as ingrained as obedience was to them, or would not be fully able to due to their tropics-ravaged health, they soon spread out about the ship.

The vast majority of the guards had been in the hold. Had the hold doors been closed, however, nothing more would have happened, but one of the crewers was a Bissaru native and from a tribe the captives were part of. They appealed to him as their tribal brother and he surrendered a door leading straight into the main levels of the ship.

Kinelroy and Marchez took the important job - advancing on the bridge and radio room. The radio room was found first but was empty, the reason why noticed a moment later when the radio-man came running down from the bridge where he had been. He grew pale at seeing them and surrendered when four assault rifles were pointed his way.

The next floor up was their encounter with the Captain. Half-drunk and in a state if undress, he screamed threats at them, punishments if they did not surrender. Marchez and Kinelroy were of the opinion to let him go until they entered his cabin and saw the undressed girl there, looking no older than fourteen facially even if her overall figure was more mature.

The Captain was trussled up in the cabin and left there and the bridge was next. Shots had already rung out there, the Caravo getting their first, and the Peace Corps prisoners were afraid they'd hit something critical until a thorough inspection showed that no bullets had hit any critical machinery or electronics.

The Star of Sweethaven was now in the hands of the slaves. But how would they pilot it? Even the twenty-six First Worlders - representing citizens from Canissia, Cascadia, Shinra, and PeZookia with one pair of brother and sister who were mixed CSR/Byzantium origins and citizenry - had no maritime experience. And nobody could trust the Astarian crew at all....

About thirty minutes after the bridge fell, their answer came from a sad direction. The Captain, his First Mate, and the Radioman all had brought aboard girl-slaves for the expected purpose - the thirteen year old girl of the Captains and a pair of sixteen year olds. The thirteen year old, a South Velerian girl named Naheen, and the First Mate's sixteen year old slave Ranaa both had knowledge of running the ship gleamed from watching their masters. And so the older Peace Corps representatives watched in amazement as the two girls stoically plotted their course north.

It would not be long at all until they missed the radio check-in - Astarian practices after earlier slave mutinies resulted in lost ships - and needed to get as much distance as possible from their intended course. The decision was made to head north and start curving back toward the north-northeast and even northeast, the hope being to arrive at the very least in a Japanistani port (even if they were insular xenophobics and their authoritarian streak might not mean well for the leaders of the mutiny, they might at least be hoped to free the other non-mutineer slaves since they were not friends with Astaria) or even better to get into the Canissian-held region of former al-Akharabat or further north to Cascadia's Van Halstoff Territory.

Another group of the Peace Corps volunteers, a Cascadian student named Amber Sanchez and a Shinra Republic citizen named John Calico, began to give them a backup plan, playing with the radio room and trying to put together their own narrow-range transceiver to try and communicate with the Canissian or Cascadian forces in Katangwaland and Van Halstoff. Kinelroy would lead a fourth contingent to keep watch on the captured crew, who were placed into the slave containers save the young man from Bissaru that had held the door open for them earlier.

And so the tale of the Star of Sweethaven began....

[MKSheppard]

Military Airfield somewhere in Shepistan

Captain Rudy Sloman pushed the throttle forward, and the first operational JF-103 Screaming Thunderblast in the Shepistani Air Force nosed forward on the runway, the sheer power of it's 40,000 lbf afterburning turbojet overcoming the power of the brakes, leaving smoking black streaks on the runway as he let the engine run up to full power before releasing the brakes.

With the engine in full afterburn, the Screaming Thunderblast even fully loaded with six heavy air to air missiles and a full load of 2,440 gallons of fuel had a thrust to weight ratio approaching nearly one/one.

Despite this, the JF-103 still proved the boast made about Nakttackajima long ago -- if you built a runway the length of the equator, Nakttackajima would build a fighter that would need all of it.

While most modern fighters needed 1,000 feet of runway, the JF-103 needed every last inch of it's 3,100 foot takeoff run to get airborne. Within about five and a half minutes he was at 60,000 feet, and climbing, with his speed approaching the magic level of Mach 3, driven onwards by the integrated turbojet and ramjet which formed the heart of the Screaming Thunderbolt. The turbojet had shut down at around Mach 2.6, with the ramjet taking over.

Several minutes later, Captain Sloman was flying at the astounding speed of Mach 3.3 at 80,000 feet; where the sky was a deep dark blue, and you could see the curvature of the earth far below

Results
Shepistan flies first operational flight with JF-103 Screaming Thunderblast; Tian Xian F-12Bs no longer invunerable to interception. Two JF-103 prototypes arrived from Japanistan during the War; but did not work up fast enough to be used before hostilities ended. Total strength eventually to be 72 x JF-103s in one group.

[Zor]

Royal Palace, Serenity

"Now, lets get started..." King Leighton-I began as he sipped a glass of fine Zorian Sake and took a sip of Avgolemono Soup. "The first thing i was considering was the Joint Security of the Pacific against whatever Naval threats may emerge, as such, i beleive that a joint defensive program should be in effect. This would include some fairly standard things, such as airport use rights, access of naval craft to bases for refueling and so on. This would also cover non military aircraft and ships as well, to improve international commerce. An act which should also improve trade between our repsective nations."

The second part of which would be the establishment of a Joint Naval Defense Program. For which i beleive that this would be the best option." Zor pressed a button bringing up a photo on a large screen provided.



"This" Zor said as he jestured a leather glove clad hand towards the screen "is the Latest Anti Shipping missile from Royal Zordinance codenamed Daikyū. It has a range of 300km, capable of supersonic speeds and can deliver a 350 kilogram warhead to it's target. They can be launched from fixed locals or from mobile launch vehicles. Royal Zordinance has informed be that a cheaper lower range variet codenamed hankyū shall hit the assembly line soon. A network of such devices could provide reliable mobile coastal defense for all Pacific Pact states. We can deliver a couple for evaluation immediately if so you wish."

"On economic and social matters, we should form tighter links between universities in both our respective nations, as well as joint law enforcement programs in which criminals charged with Crimes in Zoria who traval to Serenity shall be apprehended and transfered back to Zoria and vice versa as well as exchange of Criminal and forensic information between law enforcement agencies, as well as a universal reduction of terrifs on all ships in the Pacific Pact." He took another sip of Sake "I hope that you find these conditions reasonable."

[Steve]

Wuhan, Kingdom of Serenity


Lieutenant Commander Hadrian Caldwell, RCN, had been dispatched by the Cascadian Defense Department as a special envoy, joining Senior Designer Greg Rodriguez from Bremerton Shipbuilding in engaging in high level meetings arranged between the Serenite and Cascadian defense bureaucracies.

They were enjoyin local cuisine with their Serenite counterparts in what would be the first of a joint planning session regarding the recent brainchild of Defense Secretary Robert Dale of Cascadia, who had gotten President Garrett's approval for the idea brought on by the loss of Serenity's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the San Fuegan War with Shepistan. Given the likely financial difficulties that could restrict Serenity's abilities to make another, Cascadia was coming to them with an idea for the two countries to combine their shipbuilding industries to produce a new carrier they could both use, effectivelly modifying the CVA-04 proposal the Cascadian Navy was fighting to win to accomodate the needs of both countries.

The current plan for the Joint CVA Project proposal was being laid out. Displacement of 65,000-70,000 tons, capacity for a carrier air wing of 56-60 fixed wing aircraft and up to ten choppers.

Of course, even after the budgets were compared and the money needed considered, the legislatures of both countries would have varying degrees of say over the concept....