SDNWorld Redux: Story Thread the Third

[Shroom Man 777]

LIVE on ShroomSat/StratTV
The Sovereign Shroomanian Sentinel
VEXING VELARIAN VIKING VICTORY


A Harpoon Gun.

Just days after the demise of Mohammad Nemo, a new threat to the territories of the seas has emerged from the depths. The Sovereign Shroomanian Sentinel has learned from secret sources that the Zorian King Leighton himself has issued Letters of Marque to privateer vessels - with explicit instructions to raid jihadist vessels.

Moreover, the Zorian corsairs have copied the erstwhile Mohammad Nemo's shtick, and are operating in submarine vessels as well. In their war on terror, they have recently sunk (Japanistani) whaling and fishing vessels contracted by the Saudi Shroomania Sardine Sea-Syndicate - a worldwide franchise that provides Mohammedians with an alternative to unclean meats from cloven-hooved porks.

Though the operation of these privateers is a dirty secret for the Zorian government, the intrepid journalists of the Sovereign Shroomanian Sentinel have uncovered the name of the captain of the pirate fleet's flagship. This captain was tasked with the explicit mission of meeting the jihadist's own Mohammad Nemo in the oceans of Velaria to determine the true master and commander of the far side of the world!

The name of the man who bested Mohammad Nemo in marine mortal combat, SSS sources indicate, is none other than: CAPTAIN MORGAN THOR


An artist's impression of the elusive Zorian pirate captain.


Results:Shroomanian sensationalism strikes again! Half-truth, half outright fabrications, all awesome!
Basically:
Siege's captain = Mohammad Nemo
Shroomcocks = Captain Morgan Thor!

[Grand Moff Yenchin]

"On the alliance, besides the cooperation of trade, education, and crime prevention, perhaps we can further the alliance into the cooperation of underwater surveying, for resources. On a more conservative note, I'm also considering military cooperation in the Pacific, such as the increasing problem of illegal sea activity."

"Zoria will have it's full support of this. I am sure the Hirohito Institute is going to be thrilled."

"Good. Now I remember last time there were considerations on Serenity's MESS status, so I'm currently limiting Serenity's cooperation to defensive, naval operations, as well as using Byzantine's model in related affairs. Any opinions?"

[Coyote]

Ft. Garou Test Range
Canissia




The rocket that is destined to power the Eagle lander --the NERVA, or Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application-- is the heart of power for the advanced lander. Today, at Ft. Garou, initial tests of the NERVA are being conducted deep underground, in a massive old salt dome specifically modified for this purpose.



"Ordinarily, this sort of thing would be used to test atomic weapons," said Advanced Defense Projects Agency chief General Richler, "However, this is being used for a much better purpose, a benign purpose-- advancing the reaches of science."

The use of the military test site for the NERVA engine is part of an agreement reached between the Science and Defense Ministries to share technology "where appropriate". In the case of the NERVA engine, the military had the only suitable test area where the engine could be put through its paces while bearing environmental concerns in mind.

Next week, the same crew that tested the Eagle lander's pressure tests at extreme high altitude will take the seperable Command Module up and launch it from the Eagle lander and test the module's glide characteristics as it returns to the ground under remote control. The module's fall will be controlled by parafoil, and is intended to serve as an emergency escape capsule in case the Lander itself is damaged.

[Coiler]

Secret rendevous area, Coilerburg

Admiral Farve's attempts to eradicate the corruption that traditionally plauged Coilerburg's navy had been mostly successful, but there were still a few bad eggs-like a certain Captain van Tayo.

Van Tayo hated Zorians and their seemingly alien society, and he liked money. So it was natural that he try to find some way to supply the jihadis currently fighting them. After pulling all the strings he could, van Tayo could only get eight Slamdunk missile systems, two Mk. 32 torpedo launchers, and the targeting systems for both.

As his fleet of moving vans loaded with the weapons made their way down to the docks, the captain was worried that the jihadis would just shoot him and take the missiles. Thankfully, they hadn't. Leaving a small crew of sympathizing Coilerburg sailors who knew how to operate the weapons with the jihadis, van Tayo gave them some words of advice like "put the torpedoes on little fishing boats, and keep them hidden, like the Shroomanian Q-ships of the Great War. When a Zorian ship comes to investigate, fire away" and "Save the Slamdunks for the older ships in the recognition manual. The newer ones may have too good a point defense."

Money was exchanged, the transport left, and van Tayo was a happy man, for the time being.
__________________________________________________________________________

Admiral Farve discovered that the weapons were missing four days after the transport departed for Veleria. By the time he began his investigation, the ship was past any point of discovery by Coilerburg's navy. By the time van Tayo was discovered as the perpetrator, the missiles had arrived at their destination.

[Lonestar]

Dominion Defense
5th X-20 flight to be last for X-plane.
The Dyna-Soar program will end with the 5th flight of the X-20. Already an unmanned flight is scheduled for the X-20B "Stretch", which can carry a bigger load, much higher ceiling, will utilize the newer Conrad III rocket, and have a crew of 2.

Sweeping changes continue at ODAAF
Sweeping changes continue in the organization of the Armed Services as the ODAAF announced a plan to convert all active F-39 squadrons to ANG units. In addition a procurement plan of 82 F-22Bs has been signed with Tian Xia, as well as a re-manufacturing plan to bring the ODAAF's existing F-22As up to B standard.

Rumors continue that the two existing "Strategic Strike Wings" will be folded into a new combatant command, the so-called "Global Strike Command". Insiders have reported that ODAAF procurement officials are looking at acquireing more long range heavy bombers, with a very fast "super-bomber" being the ultimate objective, while an off-the-shelf one(such as the Tian Xia B-1C) will serve as an interim bomber.

[Shinn Langley Soryu]

Oberon class submarine Zulfiqar
Bandar Abbas, Azadistan, Syrian Caliphate



In the 1960s and 1970s, Oberon class diesel-electric submarines were indispensible components of the Shroomanian Navy's sub fleet, supplanting its Sturgeon class SSNs as they scoured the seas for enemy subs. When the Shroomanians retired the Oberons in the 1980s in favor of an all-nuclear sub force, they were passed on to other users, such as the Duchy of Langley and various Frequesquean nations, where they soldiered on until the early 2000s. By 2008, there were no Oberons in active service anywhere, having long since been replaced by Scorpènes, Type 212s, and updated Type 209s; while a few were dedicated as museum ships, the majority were destined for scrapyards. A few lucky Oberons, though, would be saved from the scrap pile and given new leases on life...

The Oberon standing at the dock in Bandar Abbas was originally commissioned in the Shroomanian Navy in 1961 as the SSS Obnoxious; when it was decommissioned in 1983, it was sold to the Langley Navy, where it was commissioned as the Megalodon class submarine HMS Sand Tiger. When the eight ships of the Oberon/Megalodon class were replaced by Type 209/1400 U-boats (Anguirus class in Langley Navy service) in 2003, the lead sub was dedicated as a museum ship in Ashford City, while another boat, the HMS Whitetip, was retained as a training vessel; the remaining six were sold off to an Arabian shipyard to be broken up. Instead, they simply lay derelict until 2008, when the governor of Azadistan province, Marina Ismail, bought all six of them; in a case of swords to plowshares, she intended to refurbish one of them, the ex-Great White, for use as her personal transport, while the rest would be used as parts hulks.

When Sultan Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn called for jihad against the Zorian Satan, Marina was all too willing to oblige. She secretly ordered that one of the spare Oberons, the ex-Sand Tiger, be refurbished and rearmed as quickly as possible to join the fight. With covert help from a Tonkinese shipbuilding firm and a few arms dealers of relatively high reputes (at least as far as arms dealers went), the ex-Sand Tiger, now rechristened as the Zulfiqar, was ready for service by the time the Fist of Allah nearly met its demise at the hands of one of the Zorian Satan's destroyers.

The crew that had been recruited for the Zulfiqar came from all over. Half of them were Arab and Persian civilians who had answered the call to jihad; while they had plenty of enthusiasm, for most of them their only experience with submarines was some brief on-the-job training aboard Marina's personal sub. The other half were mercenaries of various extractions, many of whom had themselves served on subs in the past; while a few were former members of the Syrian Caliphate's navy, most were foreigners hailing from places like the USSR, Canissia, Shroomania, Langley, San Dorado, Coilerburg, and Indhopal.

The same arms dealers who had helped rearm the Zulfiqar also provided the mercs and volunteers with Zorian naval uniforms and weapons (or at least copies thereof). Two of the mercenary officers, Shroomanian XO Klaus Grado and Langley Japanese COB Edward Miyasaka, openly carried G36s rechambered for 6.8mm Remington SPC and dressed up to resemble the standard Zorian RZR-9 assault rifle, while several other mercs carried P90 (Z90) submachine guns and USAS-12 (ZAS-12) automatic shotguns; more of these weapons were stored aboard the sub's armory, along with high explosives, diving gear, some falsified papers in the captain's safe, and at least one Zorian flag. While simple privateering was the primary objective of the Zulfiqar and its crew, infiltration and sabotage were also kept in mind; in the event of being accosted by the Zorians, they were to simply join the enemy and bring them down from the inside.



The commander of the ragtag bunch of misfits manning the aged and battered rustbucket of a sub was an imperious, cat-eyed woman named Shirin Bakhtiar. She was once a lieutenant commander in the Syrian Navy and had some experience with subs, having served aboard a Syrian Tango class SSK before resigning so she could fight the jihad on her own terms; she was also a very good friend of Governor Ismail, and she was all too happy to volunteer when she learned of Marina's plans to outfit a submarine for jihad.

XO Grado and COB Miyasaka stood opposite the rest of the Zulfiqar's crew on the dock as Shirin, decked out in full Zorian Navy officer's dress, approached. As soon as Shirin came up to him, Miyasaka fired off a brief salute and announced to her, "All crew present and accounted for, ma'am!" Shirin returned the salute and faced the other would-be sailors, pacing back and forth as she addressed them.

"Comrades," she began, "there is trouble in Velaria! The Sultan has called for us, and we are going over there and bringing one of the stealthiest and deadliest killing machines ever devised for one purpose alone: To defend our brethren! We constitute the front line...and the last line of the defense of the faith! I expect and demand the very best! Anything less, you should have just stuffed fertilizer into a truck and blown up a Zorian Embassy!"

Shirin paused for a moment, smiling visibly as the crew members laughed at her statement. Once they had settled back down, her smile faded, and she continued her speech. "We may be fighting on behalf of Islam, but this is my boat! All I ask is that you keep up with me! If you can't, that strange sensation you're feeling in the seat of your pants will be my heel in your ass!" Shirin cracked another smirk as the sailors laughed once more, then looked them over once more before walking over to the XO and standing alongside him as she addressed the COB.

"Mr. COB?" Shirin asked.

"Yes, ma'am!" Miyasaka replied.

"You're aware of the name of this ship, aren't you, Mr. COB?"

"Very aware, ma'am!"

"It bears a proud name, doesn't it, Mr. COB?"

"Very proud, ma'am!"

"It represents a fine weapon!"

"Very fine weapon, ma'am!"

"Wielded by a fine, outstanding man!"

"Outstanding, ma'am!"

"Who served the one true prophet, Muhammad!"

"The one true prophet, ma'am!"

"And what is that name, Mr. COB?"

"Zulfiqar, ma'am!"

"And what do we say, Mr. COB?"

"There is no hero but Ali!" Shirin and Miyasaka simultaneously uttered.

"And no sword except Zulfiqar!" the crew intoned.

"Chief of the Boat," Shirin said, "dismiss the crew!"

"Dismiss the crew! Aye-aye, ma'am!" Miyasaka replied as Shirin and Grado turned to board the submarine. "Crew, department heads, attend to your departments! Fall out!"

The rest of the crew cheered loudly as they followed Miyasaka onto the sub. They would soon be underway and out on the open seas, ready to join their brothers and sisters in the faith as they waged jihad on the Zorian Satan...

RESULTS
Another jihadi sub joins the fight against Zoria!

As with the Fist of Allah, don't sink the Zulfiqar just yet; I intend for Shirin to play roles other than commanding jihadi subs in the future, and we can't have that if she's dead, now can we?

[Zor]

Dareem, Republic of Hadhramara, one day ago

An explosion eccoed across the nation's capital as the Government House exploded, taking most of the government figures of Hadhramara with it. It started in the storerooms as earlier that week a few hundred kilograms of explosive were smuggled in on a timer. A claim was given out by a Jihadi orginization that they were responable for dealing with the corrupt government to replace it with a new Islamic State, however the real purportators were in reality a small group of bribed guards and officials promiced considerable wealth for their efforts, although in reality they were simply uncerimoniously shot and tossed into a river about a hundred kilometers to the south by a team of armed goons. This event crippled what little state remained in the nation, but also caused a growing wave of fear towards the Jihadis and served as a nessisary burning of the Reichstag for a praticular ambitious leader.

Jihadi Training Camp, Northern Hadhramara

It was like any other day in the camp, the trainees had gathered near the makeshift mosque for early day prayer before breakfast. Soon this group of some 400 men would be ready to push over the boarder into the Dragonsnake rainforest to do battle with the Zorian Satan. For many of the foreign Jihadis and those from the south, weather or not they could reach the Dragonsnake river to fight was a matter of luck. The Zorians had brought with them an experienced medical corps and the Malip, who had lived in the Dragonsnake rainforest for centuries and had over the time developed genetic immunities and various cultural methods to avoid disease. The foreigners had neither and it was said that for every one warrior of allah which fell to the Zorians in the heat of battle ten more died from some infection, sickness or from eating some posionous fruit. A few Jihadis saw this as a sign from Allah that the Jihad was against his will and had turned back to try to convince others, although these were still quite small in number as of yet and they were at best a footnote in the whole matter. These Jihadis however were still fresh faced and eager for battle, although how it would come to them was not how they expected.

Out of the foggy gloom came a fleet of about ten aircraft. Among them were several biplane crop dusters and planes that were effectively the same as the original earth's Sesnas. They were painted a dull greyish blue on the bottom and with cammoflauge painted on top. Planes like these were not unheard of and not too much attention was payed to them by the praying muslims until they opened fire. Each of them was equiped with a pair of wing mounted machine guns and four to eight makeshift rocket launchers. The praying Jihadis were taken completely by suprise by their opening salvos, which managed to kill some 50 Jihadis in a few seconds, as well as blowing up several stores of ammunition. Their responce was a chaotic attempt to try to get hold of some sort of weapon and gun down the aircraft as began firing to the sky by firing in the general direction on full automatic. This was in general uneffective and was soon met with a salvo of mortar shells rained down upon them. The Jihadis reacted without stratagy, disipline or goal beyond simple survival for the next instant. Their was little threat in their mind in regards to being attacked outside of the Dragonsnake valley by anything other than bandits in search of guns and ammunition. The Zorians held respect for boarders and the few which had seen the Royal Zorian Air Force in action knew that these were not Katana or Maelstrom aircraft. After about two minutes came by, a second strafing run came down as their machineguns hammered again. This time their was less casaulties as the rockets had been exausted and the Jihadis had taken cover and were more spread out, but a few people were never the less shot and a few trucks and ammunition crates exploded.

As this happened, gunfire fell upon the camp from the surrounding forest. First a few snipers began picking off random exposed Jihadis from the seculsion of the bushes, then random RPG shots fell upon structures and vehicles. Jihadis brought their weapons about blazed blindly into the bush in hopes of hitting something, taking more defensible possitions against the fire, but things were not going well. A third strafing run hit the defenders, taking down an additional dozen jihadis, setting off several hastilly moved crates of ammunition and feeding the fires of chaos and confusion before they fell back to their home base. As this happened, about four dozen vehicles moved in from the sides, which were poorly defended. Some of them were simple technicals, others were much more heavily armored and had simple turrets installed. Attempts were made to get RPGs, although these were hardly sucessful. As they began their advance, the Jihadis began to break. Some men ran in fear for the safety of the brush, some fell back to more defensible posititions, others stood their ground and fought as best they could. However, it was clear, they were outgunned and outnumbered and eventually those which stood and fought at the defenses were. After that a force of about 800 infantry made their way onto the base, among them were a decent number of mercenaries with a hodgepoge of weapons and clothing, invited by the promise of weapons and food and other items they could plunder, but the majority of them were something diferent, they had dull green camoflauge uniforms, camoflauge which was applied in a hogdepoge manner but camoflauge none the less and simple iron helmets. They were all equiped with the same type of rifle and had backpacks and had solid layer of professionality and steel willed determination upon them. They were not just warriors, they were soldiers and soldiers with a collective vision that Davin Muballi gave them. The old broken down failure of ca country that was Hadhramara was to see its last days and a new proper state would emerge in her place, and no Jihadi would stand in the way of that. Several operations of a similar nature were already going on, and their spirits were rising with the occasion.

Farming Villiage, 18 miles south of the Jihadi Training camp, Hadhramara

While Muballi did not hold a praticular distain towards muslims in princible, he did see the Jihadis as a threat to all he had worked for and felt the need to put them into line. To do this, he beleived in the concept of the carrot and the stick. The carrot would come afterwards when he set up a provisional governer among the survivors and provided them with farming equipment and provisions, but that would come after the stick and in this case the stick would be Captain Tekullig. Tekullig was not a pleasant man to begin with, he was agressive and often cruel and he had two brothers and several good friends to Muslim raids in the past, but he was good at what he did. With this willage Tekullig watched the chaos as the village was set alight by his men and the mercenaries with sadistic relish as the surviving adults were lined up at gunpoint. The children would be sent back to the Shadowhorn valley to be brought up as proper children for the new age, but the adults would be made an example of. This town was sympathetic to the Jihadis, supplying them with food and ferrying weapons to them and they would pay for doing it. He would have been happy to simply reduce every last one of them to ash, but he was given his objectives. He watched as one of his Seargents walked down the line counting to ten, with the tenth being dragged away to a pit seperate area. He got up onto one of the bed of a technical as it drove by those left in the line.

"Sons and daughters of our nation!" He bellowed in a smug and insulting voice "While our fatherland lies in ruins, you bring in and care for the Jihadi scum. Men from across the seas and seek to plunder our nation and enslave it to their wims! Today begins a new age for our state, one in which the failures of our past are washed away. However, for your crimes against the people of the New Hadhramara you face the penalty" He turned the machinegun to those who were picked out sat "Decimation!"

Results-A civil war begins in Hadhramara, please note that no-one outside Muballi's inner circle knows about that the detonation was orginized by him

[Siege]

The Fist of Allah (IV)



Captain A'shadieeyah Mohammad gazed down on her ship. Docked against the hull of the gargantuan Tonkin International Armaments Underway Replenishment Ship Bill Shroomsgate the diesel-electric submarine looked distinctly diminutive.

The massive Tonkinese merchant ship had extended a series of huge cranes and bridges to stabilize the Fist of Allah and allow technicians unrestricted access to the submarine. TIA engineers were examining plans, moving machineries into place, pointing at the dents in the pressure hull, crawling in and out of the Fist in order to restore the damage done to the once-proud ship.

The captain marvelled at Abu Thamer’s resourcefulness. Who else would have thought of hiring these Ahlul-Fetrah, these people ignorant of the teachings of Islam, to further the cause of Jihad? Truly he was a brilliant man, even if the mannerisms of these Tonkinese were alien to her. They were… Oddly dispassionate. As if struggle was only business to them. Which was true enough, she supposed.

Mohammad smiled. Did not the Fitra teach that all those ignorant of Islam live according to the natural religion innate to human nature as created by Allah? And was not the quest for profit a part of that very human nature? In that sense, one could say that even the IRT served the one true god, even if they did not know it. After all they were here, supporting the cause of Allah.

“Miss Mohammad?” a businesslike voice said, and the captain tore away her attention from the frenetic activity aboard her boat. A stocky Tonkinese man in a sharp business suit stood before her. “Le Van Kieu, assistant manager with Tonkin International Armaments. Pleased to make your acquaintance and your business ma’am.”

“The pleasure is all mine”, the captain replied as she shook the man’s hand. “Your help is most welcome- I don’t know if we’d have made it much further.” The two vessels drifted some eighty miles off the Velarian coast, well outside of any territorial waters and far away from the shipping lanes.

“Well”, the TIA manager produced a PDA. “I have a damage assessment here… Actually the damage isn’t truly major. And luckily we had the plans for the Type-209 on file…” he grinned. “Although you better not tell that to the Byzantines. Dented deck plating, banged-up valves, some hydraulics need replacing, a few leaking seals, some damaged machinery… Nothing we can’t fix-- you should've seen what we did to those old Shepistani subs way back in the day. So, you’re going to be here for a couple of days, but after that you’ll be good to go and better as ever.”

“You have our thanks, Mr. Kieu.”

“Oh, don’t thank me ‘till you see the bill”, the manager smiled.

“Other people than us will take care of your compensation.”

“Ah, true enough, it’s always a pleasure doing business with the Sultan. Speaking of which, apparently he asked this Thamer fellow to ask us to transfer a passenger to you. I told him we at TIA don’t do pleasure cruises, but apparently this is an exception. Word is, this man couldn’t exactly hop on a plane to Velaria.”

“Truly?” The captain’s interests were piqued. “And who might this man be?”

“It is I…”, a voice said from beside her. The captain turned around to face a lean man with catlike features, who leaned against the railing. “Mohammad Jihad.”

“Mohammad Jihad?” despite herself, captain Mohammad was impressed. This was a man with a reputation. A ruthless reputation perhaps, but also one as a true warrior of the faith. She gazed at the mujahedeen. “I thought you were dead.”

Mohammad Jihad smiled. “I thought I was dead too, sister, until I realized it was just that I was in Shroomania!” He pointed at the Fist of Allah below. “Yours is an impressive vessel, captain. A man with twelve of these could rule all of Velaria!”

“Perhaps”, the captain raised an eyebrow. “Where is it you need to go?”

“Oh, nothing special, just a quick trip to the edge of Hadramhara. My forces will be waiting there. I’m sure this will not be a problem for an intrepid submariner such as yourself.”

“It will not.”

“So if that’s all settled then”, Kieu injected amicably, “perhaps I could interest you for a few torp-launched missiles? You don’t want to go into battle without them!”

Results: With the help of an amoral IRT merchant of death, the Fist is free to roam the seven seas once more! Also, Mohammad Jihad is now aboard.

[PeZook]

ORP Orzel (OP-3), off the coast of East Veleria

"ELF transmissions, sir.", the ensign handed a thick folder full of printouts to captain Kuźmierczyk. The sub's captain was sitting at his little desk, composing a report from their brief engagement against a Zorian destroyer - which, fortunately, ended with the warship losing contact and sailing off.

"Good. Put it right here, I'll read them in a minute. Tell First that I'll be on the bridge in half an hour."

"Yes, sir!", the young man saluted and left the small enclosed space his captain called home during patrols.

As Kuzmierczyk put finishing touches on his report, he carefully pulled out the ELF printouts and began reading.

"Interesting...", he muttered after he was done.



ORP Orzel (OP-3), control room

The sub's navigator, Lt. Commander Gorzelec, marked the spot mentioned in ELF dispatches on their charts.

"This seems to match the bearing of that triple explosion we've heard earlier.", he finally said to the gathered officers.

"If that was really a Japanistani whaler, then we could be in for a world of hurt...", the first officer commented, "Depending on who torpedoed it, of course."

"Either way, we should render assistance if necessary. Helm, bring us up to periscope depth. Extend the radio masts - let's see if anybody's answered their distress call."

The Orzel rose from murky depths and briefly poked its antennae through the surface of the water. However, almost immediately, they picked up emissions of a Zorian warship's surface search radar.

"Command, it's a ZR-5 set. The bearing is fixed.", the EW technicinan dutifully reported from his station.

"No large warships at that bearing. Lots of small fast screws, though, like motorboats."

"Lower the masts. Helm, make our depth 50.", the captain commanded immediately. Now, since the Zorians were picking up survivors, there was no need to reveal their presence here. Their patrol was almost over, anyway. Kuźmierczyk walked over to the charts table.

"First, I'd like to head due west along the coast. We'll try to get a fix on any of the radar stations there, double back and then head for Langley. We'll refuel there and go home.", he said after a few minutes of deliberation.

"Are you sure we shouldn't investigate that Jihadi submarine?"

"There's no point to that. We're not an SSN, our patrol range is limited, and frankly - Zorians can deal with their own problems. Our orders are quite clear."

One day later, eighty miles off Velarian coast

"That's odd...", Orzel's XO listened intently to the sounds picked up by the sub's sonar suite. They were an odd mix of clanking, banging and hissing, almost like a port or shipyard. But their bearing went straight out into the ocean.

"Fixed bearing, sir. Doesn't look like it's moving."

The XO put down his headphones, "Rouse the captain and try to get a fix on their position."

Fifteen minutes later, the captain appeared on the bridge, somewhat scruffy and unshaved. He was still buttoning up his uniform blouse when he got a situation report.

"Sounds like an open sea repair operation. Perhaps an oil rig?", the XO finally suggested, "Commander Gorzelec is checking the charts."

"Do we have their position?", Kuźmierczyk asked his CO, who took a pencil and made a mark on the chart.

"Yes, sir. Bearing 231, fifteen kilometers."

"Well, let's have a look."

Orzel creeped up towards the sound contact, towards the slowly setting sun,running slowly on batteries. As they approached, the sounds of frantic work became more and more clear, but the biggest shock came after the submarine creeped up to periscope depth and, as its captain put it, "took a look".

"Holy shit!", the watchman let out, but soon composed himself, "It's a Tonkinese repair ship, working on a damaged submarine...uh, looks like a Type 209, sir."

The captain and XO looked at each other.

"We picked up explosions about a day after that destroyer gave up chasing us...", the XO suggested carefully. Kuźmierczyk made some quick measurements on the chart before answering.

"If that's the Fist of Allah, they could've easily made it here in the time between that engagement and now. But who the hell arranged for a tonkinese underway replenishment ship for them?"

"The Tonkinese are war profiteers. It's possible the jihadis just radioed for one.", the navigator observed.

"Or they have some hefty support from the locals."

Captain Kuźmierczyk lost himself in thought, tapping the chart with a pencil. Finally, he raised his head and began barking orders.

"All right. Snap some photos of this operation, then lower the scope and extend the floating ELF antenna. Inform command of the situation and request new orders. Untill we receive them, we stay here and observe their movements."

"Aye, sir", the watchman answered and began snapping digital pictures of the scene using the periscope's built-in camera. Both the Bill Shroomsgate and the sub it was working one were silhouetted beautifully against the setting sun.

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

---BEGIN MESSAGE---

ELF OP-3 T. NAVY COMMAND

DETECTED JIHADI SUBMARINE FIST OF ALLAH SERVICED BY IRT VESSEL BILL SHROOMSGATE
REQUEST FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS

---END MESSAGE---

---BEGIN MESSAGE---

ELF NAVY COMMAND T. OP-3

MONITOR MOVEMENTS OF JIHADI SSK ALAP
RESUPPLY IN KATANGWA IF NECESSARY

---END MESSAGE---

[Shroom Man 777]

PIRATES OF VELARIA
The Coast of Curses

Their battered longboat neared the desolate Velarian coastline. The ragged crew had spent weeks out at sea, risking scurvy and sharks to do battle against the jihadist host. Four weeks in the endless blue of the ocean, four weeks of pretending to be a hapless vessel before springing into action - waiting for the Mohammedian menace to approach near enough, before springing into action, entering close quarter combat with their axes and Tec-9s! Many of the Mohammedians were caught unaware, but the battles had been costly. Five men had been lost when the trap was sprung too early, allowing the Mohammedians to draw their Kalashnikovs to spill first blood. Two had been cleaved at another attempt, when the brownskins had rallied in hashish-fueled rage, to meet axe with scimitar, and using their turbans to headbutt horned helm-wearing heads.

Now their ship was filling with water, and they had been wayward for days. Sickness was setting in, their stores of beef jerky had run out and they had resorted to feeding upon the excrement of seabirds - a good sign, for the presence of gulls surely meant they were nearing dry land.



Captain Deacon Saito surveyed his ragged crew. They were yellow with scurvy, feeding on boots and drinking their own urine. Soon, they would have to resort to cannibalism - for in these treacherous waters, they could not erect a funeral pyre to honor the victorious dead. The seven of theirs who had fallen had been turned to chum, tossed to a watery grave to be sharkbait.

This was stark contrast to when they sailed, side by side, with the submarine of Shroomcocks - whose valiant exploits had now christened him with a true warrior's name, Captain Morgan Thor. While the mad warrior was honored, Captain Deacon Saito's own exploits had been all but unheard of.

Goddamn Jihadists and their fucking submarines, he grumbled in his malnourished mind. The absence of fresh water, and the oppressive heat, was making his brain shrink - making it shrivel like a prune.

In his altered state of mind, he began to reminisce about the day he received his Letter of Marquee from the Zorian King. How he joined the ranks of his fellow pirate predecessors.



But that was neither here nor there.

"Costner!" Saito shouted. "What's our bearing? Are we there yet?"



"Sir!" his matey answered. He had saved his cigar for when the fat lady sung. "Land whore! I see land whore!"

Captain Deacon Saito laughed. He grabbed a cigarette, and a bottle of his own urine. It was sterile and he liked the taste!



"Haha! We've arrived at Velaria, men! Prepare to land! Prepare to ravage, to rape and pillage! Ho ho ho and a bottle of rum!"

It wasn't rum.

But it tasted like victory.


Results:
Up next, rendezvous with Kali!

[Shroom Man 777]

Farbanti, Shroomania



Alan Shroompard nursed his bruised rib. He had been in the hospital for too long, doing physical therapy regimens to bring him back to his game, but as much as he wanted to go back flying, he knew that his wings were clipped for the time being. For all he knew, the 'incident' up there with Miranda might've totally crashed and burned his chance at going for the Moonshot. As for Miranda, well, she would probably never be allowed to set foot on a FASTA facility.

Not that Alan felt sorry for her in the least. Crazy bitch.

He sighed and nursed his bruised rib. Now he wasn't in the hospital anymore, now he was done with the physical therapy regimens. Now he was in the Hotel Shroomdorf Astoria, on the balcony of its first-class penthouse suite, seated on a table meant for two and enjoying the fine view of the capital city. He had a wine glass in hand and was just savoring the momentary reprieve. For the moment, he wasn't one of FASTA's elite cosmonauts in constant training for the next mission, nor was he a SAF fighter jockey dosed on the eyeballs on amphetamines prepping for ace combat against the goddamn commies, and neither was he Alan Shroompard - Hero of Space - though tomorrow he would have to humor that when he'd meet Prime Minister Shroom and get himself decorated with the Pink Cross. Pink Crosses, Coilerburg Crosses...

Right now, it was just him and the Farbanti cityscape, the artificial lights so much like the stars he saw in space. Now that was a great view.

"What are you thinking about, hero?" an accented voice asked him. He turned and gazed at his fellow cosmonaut, his friend, Svetlana Savitskaya. The cute Crimson commie cosmonaut was wearing a little black dress that clung tightly to her sleek, athletic form, and as she went over and sat herself on the chair across his table, Alan found himself enjoying a different kind of view entirely.

"Nothing," Alan smiled. "Just enjoying the view."

She smiled too, looking at him looking at her. "Are you ready for your big day tomorrow?"

"Not really," Alan scratched his head. "Believe it or not, I've never gotten used to these ceremony things..."

"Hard to believe, especially when its coming from the First Man in Space," Svetlana chuckled heartily. "So, I heard your Prime Minister has taken to the liking of the title 'Premier' and he's going to give you the..."

"Pink Cross."

"Ah, yes. How many of those have you gotten already, anyway?"

"Just one so far," Alan grinned. "I did get some Coiler Cross in the mail. But it got ShroomEx'ed, saving me all the pomp and ceremony, so it's all good."

"I can't believe you!" Svetlana laughed. "You Shroomanians are just so strange, so flippant about these things, world leaders are coming to give you prestigious awards and you just joke about it."

"What can I say?" Alan got the bottle of Vinish wine and poured some into Svetlana's glass. "Want some?"

"Thanks," she said as she picked it up and took a sip. "Not bad. Though, if I was getting an award for having to risk my ass to save Miranda, of all people, then maybe I wouldn't be so enthusiastic about medals either."

"Hmm... how's the crazy girl, anyway?"

"They've put her in a crazy house after they debriefed her, but your 'Lord Moonbeam' did some string-pulling and now she's confined to her home. But at least she's out of our hair and you won't need to tackle her back into space capsules anytime soon."

"Did they find out who placed the LSD in her water ration?"

"No. They debriefed her, but she didn't own up and we can't prove a thing. FASTA will keep it hushed, we can't afford to have this right now, but we know that it definitely wasn't sabotage of any kind."

Alan nodded. "She could've spiked my rations. Decided to spread her blessings, to have someone to share her 'religious experience' with. If she had gotten me high up there... none of us would've made it back. We would've been two slices of space toast."

"But you did make it back, Alan." Svetlana said, putting her glass down to look at him. "You made it back and you saved that crazy woman's life. By all measures, the mission was a success, and we're all glad you didn't end up becoming 'space toast'. We're proud of you and," she paused for a second, and smiled. "I think you fully deserve that Pink Cross. That ShroomEx'ed Coilerburg Cross too."

Alan looked her in the eyes and knew that she meant much more. She couldn't say it outright, even though she wanted to. She was one of FASTA's finest cosmonauts, best of the best, selected from the Crimsons' ace elite. That made her quite like Alan, who was also drafted from the Shroomanian Air Force, but he knew that she was far more professional than his fighterjockey self could've ever hoped to be, that she was a driven woman, and that as a Crimson and as a professional she had to maintain a sense of detachment from personal feelings. He admired her for that, for her strength.

"Thanks," he finally said.

"I..." Svetlana trailed off.

"Yes?"

"I talked with Deke Slayton," she continued. "I convinced him not to ground you. They were planning to, but I talked them out of it."

Alan began to say something, but Svetlana cut her off.

"You don't have to thank me," she said. "When you were up there, when you jumped out of your capsule to haul Miranda's sorry ass back... your transmission was cut off, there was nothing but your lifesigns on the monitors. We didn't know what was happening, if you'd make it or not. But when you did, we were all just so glad, even that Zorian bastard who suggested just ditching Miranda was ecstatic.

"Alan, what you did was nothing short of heroic and now I know that you truly are the best among us. I couldn't let them take your wings away just for that, not with the Moonshot so close at hand. The Selene missions will begin in a couple of years, and we'll need you then."

Alan didn't know what to say. Over the years, FASTA had become the center of his life. It gave him purpose, a goal to look forward to, something beyond the SAF sorties and the beach volleyball, all of which felt so pointless in hindsight. It gave him something greater to strive for and the prospects of being grounded, of being put on hold, was a horrible one he couldn't bear. What Svetlana had done for him wasn't just a favor. She had saved his life.

"But you're welcome anyway," Svetlana smiled as she looked at him and remembered her days in the Crimson air force. She hadn't told any of her new FASTA friends much about it (else she'd risk the KGB), and she had tried to forget her bad memories. Life in the military was a constrained one, and while protecting the motherland was a duty, FASTA had given her a new purpose to dedicate herself in. Aiming for the stars. Not just for the motherland, or against her enemies, but for everyone. In FASTA, she had met new friends from all over the world, and life there was not a constrained one. It was open, it was free, like floating in space and looking down at Earth. "It's the least I could do, Alan."

"Then I guess I'm in good hands," he said as he finished his glass of wine.

Svetlana looked at him speculatively. "I'm hoping you won't be the only one tonight," she replied.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Imperial Chronicles
Somewhere in the CSR

They starred at the proposed spacecraft. "Should we use nuclear engines?" asked one.

"Perhaps. But what we gain in thrust, we increase in volume and possibly weight."

"We will have a launcher that should be able to lift her up regardless. And the added speed might be advantageous in getting the spacecraft in position for missions. There are a few nuclear thermal rocket engines under development in the CSR. The engine has entered testing phase."

"Perhaps we should have two options and make the decision later. Either retain the RD-0120 or use the nuclear thermal rocket."

"Agreed then. Now what about progress on the Vulkan Ares modular system?"

"Progress is being made. We believe we can achieve our target launch date by 2019-2020..."

[Zablorg]

BREAKING NOSE

Following the disturbing and pretty fucked up shattering of causality only five minutes ago, the native cultists of Ford Prefect's Country are looking to start a loud but largely harmless war against the Pantheonic Lawyers of the area, rogue archeologist Andrew Lovejoy reports. The source of the conflict appears to be an ideological one; while the Cultists appear to devoutly worship the fabled god pantheon the Republic of One, the Pantheonic Lawyers stand to protect the legal rights and privileges of already established gods such as the snake lord Apophis, who has recently engaged in a heated trial against the terrorist group SG-1. The Republic of One, who's history in legend is wide and diverse, were last reported to have been slain by the Titanic Ones. But an optimistic cultist says

"It really isn't a big deal. The ancient texts are pretty easily retconned, but we've ran out of ink. Blood doesn't contrast well with the paper either, I'm afraid."

If the resurrection of the Republic were to be a success, at least 60 clauses would be in direct violation, the Lawyers report. It is currently unkown whether this conflict will have a large if any impact on the rest of the world. Both parties have more or less agreed to keep the events out of anyones way, unless the Shroomanian Mercenary Aces come and stir their shit up. That would be bad.

[phongn]

One Country, Two Systems?

HUE - Rumours are flying over recent intense negotiations between the Kingdom of Svalbardia and the Incorporated Republic of Tonkin. In recent years, especially after the Biowar, Svalbardia and Tonkin have become increasingly closely aligned. Tonkin military units are permanently deployed to Svalbardia and the two nations enjoy intensely close economic ties. Indeed, the CEO of the IRT is married to a Svalbardian economist, and outside observers have often considered Svalbardia a de facto autonomously-operated territory of the IRT. These recent negotiations may make this arrangement fully legal under the so-called principle of "One Country, Two Systems. " While details remain scarce ...

[RogueIce]

FLASHBACK - During President Shinra's Visit to PeZookia

Rufus had just completed his last day of various tours and visits throughout PeZookia and was getting ready for sleep. He reflected back on his time and thought that yes, it had been good to get a vacation. And he looked forward to the rest of the planned visits in other countries. As he was reading a book in this rare, but enjoyable moment of quiet solitude, free from the pressures of statesmanship, he heard a light knock on the door.

Of course, I knew it was too good to last. Setting aside his book with a sigh, he got up to go see which staffer had come to him with some doubtless important problem that couldn't possibly wait until morning.

To his surprise, when he opened the door, he discovered it was no staffer who had come to see him. At least, not one of his. He briefly wondered how she had gotten through security, then decided that the PeZookian King's chief of protocal probably was on the Approved List. "Mrs. Brzozowska," he began, hoping his voice and reaction were as neutral as he thought. "How can I help you?"

Kamila looked haggard and unkempt, like she was battling her thoughts well throughout the night. Obvious efforts to conceal her weary state didn't quite work as advertised.

"I am sure that you suspect what this is about, Mr. President...may I come in?"

Rufus quickly looked up and down the hall. He had heard King Paul complain about that tabloid piece, and had no interest in his own 'featured article' appearing. Although it might happen anyway, depending on how this conversation went.

He knew that it might be easier, at least for him, to simply dismiss her. But looking at her and her current state, he knew doing so would be an extreme disservice to her. And, frankly, he didn't want to be that much of a jerk. And he wasn't so sure he could have lived with himself later if he did.

"Yes, of course," he replied, moving aside to let her in. He motioned her onto the couch and pulled a chair over for himself. Before sitting down, he asked her if she would like some water or something. "I'm pretty sure I know how to work a tap without assistance still," he said lightly, hoping to put her slightly more at ease with a small - and admittedly lame - joke.

Kamila smiled in response, "Yes, water would be very nice, thank you.", she said after sitting down. She watched Rufus pour her a glass, wondering idly about whims of fate which put her in this position...

Not fate, she remembered, But this...Y? Z? Whatever his name was...

She took the glass, and after a deep breath, started talking.

"I will be frank, Mr. President...Rufus...I'm not sure how to adress you now", She paused a bit, realizing this wasn't quite how the opening looked when she went over it in her head on the way here, "I mean, you are aware the King told me everything...about multiple universes and aliens and...I still can't really believe it myself..."

She downed the glass, grateful for the small bit of time it gave her, "I've been thinking this over for hours...and I still don't know what to do. It's awkward saying that, but I love my husband...I really do...but I realized today that...if what King Paul said was true, the past, um...the life we had together seemed happy, too."

She finished, starting at the empty glass. The silence was quite palpable.

"It was happy, at least as happy as we could make it," Rufus responded into the silence. He found himself suddenly at a loss of words. What could he say, after all?

Kamila snapped out of her melancholic mood, and put the glass down. She looked Rufus in his eyes and smiled.

"Could you tell me more about that? The King mentioned a thing or two about the...last world? How do you call it? But didn't elaborate..."

The atmopshere seemed to slowly be growing easier on both of them.

"We called it Nova Terra," he began. "It was quite different from this world. The countries were all islands, and we were clustered into a giant archipelago. Made things interesting, as I'm sure you could guess." He continued on for awhile, in a story somewhat similar to the one he told President Garrett four years ago, although he focused a bit more on the Shinra Republic and PeZookia's fairly close ties back then, as well as their first meeting when King Paul had come to visit the Shinra. He continued on, telling of the strife with Shepnukistan and the UAR, and then finally how the Apocolypse had come to be. Rufus wasn't quite sure why he told her about those aspects in detail, although he would admit later to himself that it was probably in an attempt to justify himself and others in their dealings with Shepistan. Especially the One Week War, which still held some controversy despite what had happened later.

He concluded with their meeting aboard the hospital ship SRNS Mercy, their wedding and the forty years thereafter. "We never had a child," he added. "Whether it was the war, fate, or because Q had other plans for us," with this he gestured to the room around him, indicating the world at large, "I never did know."

Kamila listened to the tale intently. It shed more light on the...things she saw in her dreams - some horrible, other pleasant. Often, she would daydream about simply walking around the Royal Palace, running everyday errands. Other times, she had flashbacks and vision of nuclear holocaust.

Once Rufus was finished, her expression had subtly changed.

"This...puts things into perspective. Explains everything about those horrible events...the Seven Day War, the Pathogen War, the sudden changes in government policies..."

She looked at the President - and he looked back into her eyes, and found understanding there. The truth, that elusive thing which most people searched for and never found throughout their lives, was laid out bare for her.

"So...I'm a bit like two people, right? There are memories from Nova Terra, obscured by the new personality I was...overwritten...with, and the 'new' me, the married woman from Earth..."

"Well...maybe. Truthfully, I have no idea what happened to Nova Terra. Maybe it's still there, and those who lived there still go on, but with different 'people' inhabiting the bodies of the leaders. Much as Rufus Shinra existed before the year 2008, after all. However, given the memories..." Rufus paused and considered. He'd been going with the truth so far. Why stop now? "Honestly, I don't know if it's an overwrite, as you just said. Or maybe Q is just implanting certain memories into certain people, just because he can."

Rufus supposed this was one of those things he probably could have asked Marina about. But for whatever reason, she hadn't appeared for quite some time. He supposed that Cascadian 'miracle cure' might have been her, but then why had she let Sheppard launch the attack in the first place? Whatever the answer, this is not the time and place to consider it.

He looked at Kamila, wondering how she would react to his "Q is just screwing with us" theory. She considered it for a while, before shaking her head and replying.

"It's useless to consider this right now...but there is one thing I'd like to tell you. Whether by Q's machinations or because of...something else, I think I always...had feelings for you. It's really hard for me to say this, and I feel like I'm betraying my husband by just admitting it...but I have to ask if you feel the same way about me. And, more importantly, if you ever want to...you know..."

"I do have feelings for you, yes. But, well...it's complicated. And not just because of the inevitable tabloid scandal. We could well be different people." He paused to consider his next comment, but then decided it was too late to hold back. "Take President Stanislav of the CSR. He's one of us, but he's...changed since Terra Nova. I don't know how cleared you are, but their unilateral actions, and when I met with the President," Rufus sighed, "Well he's just a lot colder I guess I should say. I'm not surprised, given what he, what all of us went through. But I guess I'm just worried that, maybe the chemistry isn't there?"

Kamila laughed, surprising Rufus a bit, "Believe me, the chemistry is there. It was the entire reason why I didn't attend the ceremony, after all."

She seemed a lot happier now than she was when they began this conversation, for some reason. A small flicker of hope entered Rufus Shinra's mind when he saw her like this.

"Still...please don't take it the wrong way, but I will need some time to...to get it all sorted out in my head. I guess...heh...I'll call you. That sounded weird..."

"No, not weird," smiled Rufus. "Just...natural." As Kamila rose out of her chair, President Shinra followed her to the door, where she briefly hugged him and left for the night.

[Shinn Langley Soryu]

The Ashford Times

SPECIAL REPORT: LANGLEY ARMED FORCES EXPANSION CONTINUES

ASHFORD CITY - It has been nearly half a decade since Duke Lelouch first announced his plans to expand and modernize the Langley Armed Forces, and in 2013, it seems that events are proceeding just as planned for the military's top brass.

The Langley Navy has been host to tremendous growth, with twenty-two frigates and eight submarines purchased from Byzantium and added to its inventory since 2009; in addition, two corvettes were locally built by Nergal Heavy Industries and added to the fleet. Three Berlin class and two Elbe class replenishment ships and four Landsort class mine countermeasures vessels are due to be added to the fleet within the next eighteen months. Plans to acquire a retired John F. Kennedy class aircraft carrier from the Shinra Republic have been put on hold due to various concerns. In the realm of naval aviation, a modernized variant of the Tu-142 Bear will be replacing the CP-140 Aurora currently in service; existing SH-60B Seahawks are to be replaced by the MH-60R/S, while the MH-53E Sea Dragon will be replaced by the improved MH-53K.

The Langley Air Force has more than doubled in size since 2009, with massive acquisitions of aircraft produced locally and purchased from Shroomania, the Crimson Star Republic, and the defunct nation of Shepistan. However, most of the planes purchased from Shepistan prior to its demise are to be themselves replaced by aircraft from the MESS and SNC. The Tian Xian A-7L Corsair II has been tapped to replace ex-Shepistani F-105K Thunderchiefs, with forty-eight ordered from LTVR and Kyoto Aviation holding a license to produce additional aircraft as needed. Basic B-56G Stratojets are to be replaced by Tu-22BM Backfires produced in Byzantium, though the RB-56H and DFB-56J variants are to remain in service (albeit in reduced numbers) until appropriate replacements can be found. The F-106H Delta Dart will also be retained, though the Langley Air Force is planning to replace it with the Byzantine-built MiG-31T Foxhound. Other Air Force acquisitions currently in progress include twelve F-12L Habu interceptors from Tian Xia, four C-130J Super Hercules transports and four AC-130V Super Spooky Heavy Plus gunships from Wilkonia, and sixty-four Typhoon Tranche IV fighters from Byzantium (traded in on a 1:1 basis for existing F-16E/F Fighting Falcons). The Air Force is also considering ordering additional Typhoon Tranche IVs and F-16XL Fighting Falcons from Byzantium and Shroomania.

The Langley Army and Marine Corps were among the first branches to be fully modernized, with much of their obsolete and semi-obsolete kit phased out early on; locally-produced ERC 90 Sagaie armored cars replaced 1960s-vintage Panhard AMLs, while the M60 Patton and AIFV were replaced by the K2 Black Panther and Puma IFV. However, actual expansion and reorganization of the Army was mostly put on hold in favor of focusing on the Air Force, Navy, and Marines. Now, the Army seeks to grow in its own right, with the planned addition of two infantry divisions, an armored division, and an aviation brigade to the regular forces and an infantry division to the reserves. With the recent acquisition of licenses to produce PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers and the Piranha family of IFVs, the Morgenroete corporation is prepared to fully supply the Army's expansion efforts. In the realm of aviation, both the Army and Marine Corps are in the process of acquiring UH-60M Black Hawks, CH-53K Super Stallions, and AH-1Z Vipers from Wilkonia; the CH-53Ks will be replacing existing CH-53Es, while the Army and Marines are also considering having their existing UH-60Ls rebuilt to M standard. In addition, the Army has also ordered OH-58D Kiowa Warrior scout helicopters from KyoAvi.

[Siege]

Corporate Secrecy Level 3

FROM: Ralson Concerns Ltd.
TO: San Dorado Rocket Authority
SUBJECT: Silver Star

With assistance of recently engaged Miratian assets we have completed design work on the S-2 Silver Star approximately nine months ahead of schedule.

S-2 is projected to be significantly more capable than the first-generation S-1 Silver Streak orbiter. The new vehicle features superior endurance, operational ceiling, orbital and intra-atmospheric manoeuvrability, and payload capacity. Mass increase is offset by the introduction of Lucrelance IIA series lifter rockets in SDRA service.

We are ready to begin prototype construction.



<<ATTACHMENT: FULL SILVER STAR SPECIFICATIONS>>


FROM: San Dorado Rocket Authority
TO: Ralson Concerns Ltd.

Very impressive. You may begin prototype construction with all due dispatch.

Signed,

General Jane Masterson
SDRA

[CmdrWilkens]

Operational Force Posture 2030, "FutureWar"
Excerpts from the Executive Summary
.
.
.
Wilkonian Air Service (WAS) will be forced to cede strategic and heavy lift bomber capacity in the medium term in accordance with structural and financial guidelines prepared by principals committe and Joint Combatant Command. Reasons for this are detailed in section II of this report and are summarized as follows:

(A) Long term planning calls for long range strategic heavy strikes to be carried out by SSC and or OMC operating from planned bases beginnign somewhere in the 2030-2035 timeframe. Penetration raids by heavy bomber groups is already becoming an increasingly risk heavy venture without extremely heavy investment in SEAD aircraft. While SEAD in and of itself remains a requisite mission under II.D.4, III.E.1 and IV.D.7 the comensurate increase in missions profiles as part of operational planning guidelines is insufficient.

(B) Current stock of heavy and strategic bomb delviery systems would need to be drastically upgraded in order to provide sufficient capacity to effect meaningful contribution on the battlefield. Cost analysis is presented principally in II.K.1-9 but indicates that no existing or short-term platform has shown cost effective ratings within reach of SSC and OMC planning guidelines.

(C) Cost savings from cessation of Bomber Command would enable at least one additional Interceptor Wing, one additional Strike Wing, several additional Support Command squadrons, and fully finance the F-22 "B" model upgrade.
.
.
.
SSC and OMC formation is ordered forward with initial command operational dates of 1 January 2015. Current cadre units will then be turned over to the WSCA and WSCA will gain a seat at JCC. This will not be published for general consumption nor will any WSCA units appear on the official roster of units provided during annual appropriations. Reporting authority will be held with the relevant Parliamentary committess until all pre-requisites outlined in Title 45 Sec 4.201 are met and the command is certified for public availability.
.
.
.
Homeland Defense will continue work on systems integration with the Ministry of Defense in order to finish the Unified Combat Command Center as prinicpal resource center for all NCA related order processing.
.
.
.


Results: Wilkonia gets ready to slash its heavy bomber force, beef up certain other military elements and toss a crapload of money at long range 2030-2035 horizon projects.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Imperial Chronicles

The Jihadi forces were instructed to gather themselves and their people to the Tonkin-friendly border. They gave the rival factions an illusion that they have won, but in truth they were gathering themselves in the jungles on the Tonkin-friendly border for one reason: receipt of large quantities of war materiel, and also Syrian advisers and some 1000 special forces from the Sultan's personal Janissary corps. There they will train, and gather their strength, and make a push later to destroy their enemies once and for all.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Constantinople

Tu-22BM bomber acquisitions to be scaled back this year.

In anticipation of an alternative bomber acquisition, Tu-22BM bomber acquisitions will be scaled back. Production of Tu-160 will continue at a low rate.

Decision to stop F-22B low rate acquisition.

Some 36 F-22Bs have been acquired at low rate acquisition, but a decision has been made to discontinue the acquisition. No reasons were provided for the switch, but suspicions are raised that an acquisition of Su-50 will be made.

[CmdrWilkens]

Martin Marietta of College Park awarded contract for RSA's Ares Advanced SRB

With early success in the recent testing of Martin Marietta's first generation 5.5 stage solid rocket boosters the Royal Space Agency has contracted with them for the next generation of solid rocket boosters. While competition and design analysis has been proceeding apace for years the Royal Space Agency has finally annonced that MM will be the final vendor to produce the second generation of solid rocket motors that will power the Ares program for the MESS Space Agency. While the solid rocket component will not be the largest contract for the Ares program it does represent the greatest leap in currnet MSA technology. While rockets powered by Liquid Oxygen, commonly called LOX, and either Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) or Liquid Keronsene are currently the prime movers for most MSA launch systems the solid rocket motors in use have been consistently smaller. Despite that planners at MSA's Johnson Space Center in the Shinra Republic feel that the first generation of 5 segment Solid Rocket Boosters that Martin Marietta has produced for the Ares I program show the company is the best source for the second generation. Currently the first program, tenatively titled the SSRB, is set to begin operational testing in late 2015 with the first dead weight flight no earlier than the middle of 2016. This second generation SRB, a program name has not even been released, is set to be introduced sometime after 2021 and will comprise a 5 and a half segment SRB.

Results: Sure its early (8 years out) but never to early to finish contractor selection for critical components. So what if these aren't the folks who build this stuff in the real world.

[Shroom Man 777]

LIVE on ShroomSat/StratTV
The Sovereign Shroomanian Sentinel
MANY MERCENARY MONIES


Shroomanian Mercenary Aces arrive at Velaria.

With the rise of sectarian and religious violence in the Velarian region, the provisional government of Ford Prefect's Country has submitted a formal request to several notable Private Military Corporations for contractual combat intervention.

The self-appointed Mushroom Minister of Mercenaries, Sir Mace Macragge Murray, has answered the call and under his orders the Mercenary Aces, along with the PMCs Dark Liquid and Octagon Octopus, have been dispatched to the conflict-convulsed territories.


Sir Mace Macragge Murray, the Mushroom Minister of Mercenaries - a position officially unaffiliated with the government of the Sovereignty of Shroomania.

"Thish operashion will be called Peppermint Schnapps," the Minister said in his distinct Shroomttish accent. He was also wearing his kilt, often mistakenly identified by illiterate Shepistanis as a 'tutu'. "My boy 'ere, Rock Ironbeef, will anshwer all your queshtionsh for me. Ironbeef, m'lad, you're the man now dog."


A picture of Rock Ironbeef after a mercenary operation.

Upon being asked of the nature of various mercenary operations in Velaria, Mr. Ironbeef answered:

"Finally, the Rock has come back to Ford Prefect's Country! The most electrifying name in modern warfare! We're gonna go in and beat some sense into those jihadi jabronis, and kick some Viking candy ass! Finally, they will know what it's like to go one-on-one with the Great One!"

Mr. Ironbeef then told the assembled journalist that they smell his cooking.

[TimothyC]

Pan Pacific Conference

The Alaskan Delegation had been noticeably quite up to this point when suddenly a loud snore was heard to emanate from the Alaskan President, loud enough to wake even himself up.

"Wha?" was his first response after coming to consciousness.

[Zablorg]

"Do you expect me to talk?" the lawyer leered at his hated foe.

From the other side of the brunch table, the cultist Bussein replied
"Well I'd ever so appreciate it if you did. I believe that the Republic of One can be ressurected without interfering in anyone else's affairs, and I think with your help we can reach a compromise. Crumpet?"
"Oh, why thank you! Yes, indeed."


The rock-throwing skirmishes had been put on indefinite hold by both parties, and as the sun continued to rise against the cool ocean breeze, peace was finally going to be realized. The lawyer continued
"Yes, I've had a look at your suggestions, they seem to be well thought out. I'm entirely willing to set this whole thing behind- hang on, who are they?"

Several large ships had begun to sail shoreward. The cultist managed to catch a glimpse of the people on deck.
"They look like... soldiers!"

"YOU ASSHAT YOU SET ME UP!"
The lawyer smashed aside a perfectly good crumpet tray and ripped up the treaty that sat before him. He then gave the cultist a swift punch on the cheeck. The cultist massaged the slight bruise for a few seconds then began to choke up.
"Awwww, poor diddums, did I punch too hard?"
"NO! It's not the punch, my body just makes too much, cortisol is all, *sniff*"
"Cortisol, sure. CONSIDER NEGOTIATIONS CANCELED FOREVER."

As the cultist stood looking at the ships who were a great deal closer now, sniffling and snorting in an alledged cortisol induced cry, he caught a garner at the symbol on the sides of the vessels.

"SHROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

[phongn]

Tonkin Military Force Cuts Continue

HUE - Tonkin's military forces continue to be reduced as procurement of highly sophisticated weapons replace decades-old designs and introduction of nuclear weapons on a large scale increase her armed forces' firepower substantially. While her naval forces remain the single largest national navy, her army remains small and her air force was primarily optimized for defending against the MESS colossus to the north. Even as Tonkin's strategic forces are bolstered and now include LLE Shroomtofortress aircraft forward-deployed in Rangatara, her tactical aviation outside the Navy and Marines continue to fall. Heavy interceptor numbers have also fallen.

Our analysts believe that Tonkin is realizing significant cost savings, but to where the freed-up money is going is anyone's guess. Rumours abound of major investment into black space programmes, but there have been few to no details of the secretive TASC ...