SD.Net World Redux Comment Thread III

[Zor]

Alaska Will be holding a competition for a new Medium-Heavy Fighter to replace the F-101s and F-105s!

Royal Areospace Reserch can outfit you with a few ZF-12 Dragons (F-22s).

Zor

[Steve]

Nice, Veg, but those units are in South Veleria proper, yes? We're not talking about instigating guerrila warfare there. We're talking about all those nice unstable states you saw fit to try to tie into a general alliance.

And Zor, I don't think he's looking for pricey 5th Gen fighters.

[Norseman]

Nice, Veg, but those units are in South Veleria proper, yes?

Errr no, the marines and the detachments at the Zakay base are not in South Velaria proper. For that matter neither are the personnel on the (admittedly limited) bases that I actually mentioned in the alliance post. Note that the Zakay base, the marines, and the bases in parts of South Velaria were in fact mentioned in public posts.

We're not talking about instigating guerrila warfare there. We're talking about all those nice unstable states you saw fit to try to tie into a general alliance.

So are you intending to bomb them untill they begin to get unravelled, or are you planning on sending in advisers?

[Steve]

Given that they're based off Somalia and Congo? Just giving locals good arms will be enough.

[RogueIce]

Of course, we again see Shepistan picking fights with the MESS

Astaria is connected to the MESS? As for Shep's desire to disguise his guys as MESS-sponsored rebels - that's a pretty common action. In case Astaria starts asking questions, it will only meet a wall of strange looks from the MESS (do MESS nations even have any relations with a nation that has slaves and no internet)... a walll of ignorance and thus all ends would be cut loose.

Byzantium has some consul/embassy from Astaria. So they could contact us through him if they so desired. Of course that also applies to the SNC so there you go.

As to this "frame the MESS" nonsense, if the Astarians emply even halfway competent people, as I'm sure they do, they'll dismiss that equipment as a poor attempt to frame us. I mean honestly, a random terrorist attack out of nowhere against civilians? Does anyone really think we'd do that, or employ anyone else to do that, with weapons and gear stamped "Made in MESSamerica" or whatever?

As much as Shep and Skimmer seem to enjoy questioning the intelligence of our collective government and military agencies and those who run them (after all, we're the only ones to employ utter idiots who didn't think, "Gee, Shepistan sure loves subs, maybe we'd better invest in better ASW gear before getting in a fight with them?") we are not, in fact, that stupid.

Once the whole obvious frameup has been deduced, the next question is, "Who would bother to frame the MESS anyway?" Who else has such a beef that they'd go and do something like that (and who else shows a general disregard for civilian life *cough*Caravo-land*cough*) they'd consider such an operation and then try to frame the MESS specifically as a bonus?

Gee, that's kind of a short list. Especially seeing as how one of them signed a treaty of friendship with Astaria.

[Beowulf]

Alaska Will be holding a competition for a new Medium-Heavy Fighter to replace the F-101s and F-105s!

I'll need bids.

Douglas Aerospace offers up the F-15. Grumman offers the F-14. Both will be available with avionics packages of the buyer's choice.

[K. A. Pital]

As to this "frame the MESS" nonsense, if the Astarians emply even halfway competent people, as I'm sure they do, they'll dismiss that equipment as a poor attempt to frame us.

Of course they would. However, they won't be able to guess which nation provided the equipment. They would be lost (considering the fact that Shep is somewhat of a Skimmer proxy, they would be hard pressed to imagine what moved him to do it ). In any case, my cooperation with Shep centers around a different (but no less important plan). I don't know what Shep's goals are - perhaps he's just having a good day and would genuinely help out the CSR in return for me selling him some good weapons like the Su-34 - but my own goals are crystal clear to me. The proposed course of action allows me to achieve a large part of my objectives regarding Astaria.

These objectives have not changed from day one since that whole brouhaha in Veleria, and in fact they have been considered even before, when the kidnapping of various citizens bound for Astaria even first started.

[Norseman]

Mind if people would slow down for a second so I could fire off a couple of story posts. I'm being slowed down a bit by the story line with Pezook. I should have these posts out by the end of Saturday, but I hope you can cool your horses a bit untill then.

EDIT: Oh and we may not be able to find out who did it (not now anyway) but we'll blame Communists.

[K. A. Pital]

but we'll blame Communists

That was the most likely outcome anyway after my botched Plan A.

Mind if people would slow down for a second so I could fire off a couple of story posts.

I won't be doing anything, possibly for the entire weekend.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Stas, do you have any actual stats for the Il-102? I might be interested in the aircraft some years down the road, but not without .. some modifications. Like.. revamping the cockpit into a typical 2 man cockpit or a single cockpit but with a whole new slew of electronics.

[K. A. Pital]

Stas, do you have any actual stats for the Il-102?

Of course I do. You could look here for the basics. I'll make a detailed diagram of Il-102, Su-39, Su-34 some time down the road.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Stas, do you have any actual stats for the Il-102?

Of course I do. You could look here for the basics. I'll make a detailed diagram of Il-102, Su-39, Su-34 some time down the road.

Alright.

It's just that I think the idea of a rear gunner is really silly. I mean, a simple 2 person cockpit, with the pilot and weapons officer sitting front and back would have made heck a lot of more sense, even with a rear gun.

[K. A. Pital]

It's just that I think the idea of a rear gunner is really silly.

Why exactly is it silly? It removes the strain on the pilot to optronically control the rear gun - something that might not be possible in combat with an enemy. And it's not just a gunner, it's a targeteer for all optronic weapons.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

It's just that I think the idea of a rear gunner is really silly.

Why exactly is it silly? It removes the strain on the pilot to optronically control the rear gun - something that might not be possible in combat with an enemy. And it's not just a gunner, it's a targeteer for all optronic weapons.

Why not.. put the guy in front? I mean, either way, the pilot has to fly in such a way that a gunner can shoot... Or the designers had nostalgia?

[K. A. Pital]

It's Ilyushin. He made all of them with a gunner. Given the Il-102's high cruise speed, it is very much possible that enemy fighters would have to get into the range of Gsh-23.

Technically since there was no option to re-test the "classic" configuration of assault planes, I don't know how well Ilyushin's predictions would work.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

It's Ilyushin. He made all of them with a gunner. Given the Il-102's high cruise speed, it is very much possible that enemy fighters would have to get into the range of Gsh-23.

Technically since there was no option to re-test the "classic" configuration of assault planes, I don't know how well Ilyushin's predictions would work.

Well, wouldn't the regional air defence against fighters be done by other fighters? I mean, I would imagine that the CAS fighters be covered by faster fighters.

Not to mention, you now have to make not one but two armour bathtubs. Or did they plan to sacrifice the gunner?

[DarthShady]

Nice work PeZook.

The bastard got what he deserved.

[Norseman]

You know it looks like we created a villain that people truly love to hate. However the saga isn't over just yet.

[K. A. Pital]

Not to mention, you now have to make not one but two armour bathtubs. Or did they plan to sacrifice the gunner?

His armor, as well as the catapult system, were identical to the pilot's. He was no longer cannon fodder. Also, if you are penetrating a heavy-IADS area, there's no guarantee you aren't on a lone gunman mission and there are escort fighters.

P.S. Pezook, nice. The arc is awesome. I'm thinking about the story arcs I could have with the remaining characters in the CSR.

[RogueIce]

"He tried to pull a gun on us. Didn't he, captain?"

Nalecki nodded.

"Yeah. He tried to pull a gun."

I do believe I was expecting this very scenario earlier. Well maybe not for this case but I know I was talking about it for somebody's apprehension.

And no, I did not accidently post this in the story thread only to delete it and repost it here.

Nothing like that happened at all. No sir.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

What happened to the damn slaver is mild to what would have happened in a Byzantine Court. There would be baying for blood on the streets, and the guy would be lucky he wouldn't be given some sentence based on some obscure punishment that no court had used in centuries.

[K. A. Pital]

Meet Alexei Chadov - the guy whom the PCIA calls when you most definetely need to find someone and kill him.

He is also the one who would be coming for the people who conduct kidnappings of Crimsons. He does have an issue with that, obviously... kept for years in a Border state prison (more like a pit) and used as essentially a slave, he is more or less a loose cannon.

The CSR doesn't fully control him even, he has a lot of ties in the PCIA and thus can convince superiors of the necessity of several of his lone-man operations.

[Norseman]

What happened to the damn slaver is mild to what would have happened in a Byzantine Court. There would be baying for blood on the streets, and the guy would be lucky he wouldn't be given some sentence based on some obscure punishment that no court had used in centuries.

Astaria alas has laws and civil rights, which is why they shot him. Anyhoot there's more still to come! I think you'll find it of interest too.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

What happened to the damn slaver is mild to what would have happened in a Byzantine Court. There would be baying for blood on the streets, and the guy would be lucky he wouldn't be given some sentence based on some obscure punishment that no court had used in centuries.

Astaria alas has laws and civil rights, which is why they shot him. Anyhoot there's more still to come! I think you'll find it of interest too.

Oh civil right laws still count.

But when there's populist baying for blood, even the most stout jury and judge would quail.

If the Ecumenical Patriarch even declares the felon an arch-heretic...

[Steve]

The problem is that the way the Astarians have been written, they'd be more outraged at the warrantless entry into his manor and hardliner slavocrats could paint the entire situation as a CSR ally "undermining the rights of Astarian citizens with secret abolitionist collusion".

The way Astaria has been written, I figure that concern over whether a slave is legal or not begins and ends with obvious bits. If a normal middle-class couple kept a clearly non-Astarian born slave with a strange foreign accent without asking questions....