[STGOD] Primary Story Thread

[Stormbringer]

To: PIR Embassy, Vahalla System
From: Asgard Imperial Palace
Re: New Beijing Talks

We would be happy to meet with our fellow alliance members. It is our position that the hiring of privateers consitutes an act of war against the parties affected by it. We would like to meet at, as nations and as the fulll alliance to discuss this situation.

His Imperial Majesty's Foriegn Minister

[HemlockGrey]

The Senate today stated that it would recall all privateers and pay compensation for damages done if all affected states would condemn the boarding of ships in international space and promise to not interfere with Roman trade in international space.

[Stormbringer]

[AIN Fleet - Octavia System]

"It has begun. All ships, open fire"

This calm order touched off a the war. Hundreds of thousands of missles flew from their tubes as salvo after salvo was launched into the heart of the Roman fleet. Fighter leapt from their bay and hurtled after the missles.

Roman point defense would be far too weak to stop all of those missles. It was incredibly doutbful any of the ships would survive. The panicked reactions over the comms as ships on standby struggled to prepare were proof that suprise had been almost total.

The Roman fleets was doomed. The Asgard Admiral smiled as the first missle detonated.

[Companion Cube]

SIGNAL INTERCEPTED 1200 HOURS UNIVERSAL TIME. SOURCE: SALADIN CLASS SHIP "PICKET 136"

TRANSMISSION OF MESSAGE WAS INTERRUPTED BY SOURCES UNKNOWN.

MESSAGE CONTENT IS AS FOLLOWS:

...-s the 136....repeat, we are under.....engines disabled.....assailants.....not NRE.....

TRANSMISSION ENDS.

[Darksider]

Krytos News Network Broadcast
11:50 Krytos standard time

"This is KNN anchorman j'ualle darget with an exciting news story."
"At 9:50 KST a Dominator-class cruiser intercepted a pirate ship just outside of the Krytos system asteroid belt. The ship appeared to be carrying weapons to religeous extremists on Covelan, the third planet of the krytos system" "The cruiser engaged the ship and destroyed it while sustaining minimal damage" :::: Battle footage begins playing while the reporter speaks in the background::: "The KSN is not saying where the weapons came from, but all information indicates that they were not designs local to the KSE, indicating that an, as yet unknown forigen power also has a piracy problem"

[FBHthelizardmage]

the missile Dropped from warp as close as possible to the target world, as it decelerated it was already dumping submuntions.

Around half of the 200 submunitons held nothing more deadly than a Jammer, some chaff and varies other stuff designed to screw the hell out of any enemy detection system.

The rest were nukes. Simple fusion bombs each rated about 75 megatons yield.

they dropped though the planet thin atmosphere in evasive hard to follow patterns.

"98% accurate. That's a bit better than in the Sim."

The Cuttaniod SDV Serious Pain lay well away from the target observing with scanners and probes.

"97% of targets totaled, 3% probable mostly the hardened bunkers."

"I'd say a successful test of the new warp capable missile." the Cutteniod captain turned to his trill first officer.
"Bah. I don't like it. Weapons like that are what turned most of our planets into radioactive hells. "
"Don't be such a wuss. Human space is about to go up in flames, we need weapons to keep Whats Left safe. "

"I suppose. "
"Bah. You spoiled my mood. "
the Cuttaniod went back to looking at the blasts of nuclear fire on the unhabbited world and imagining them as cities....

[WhatsLeft NewsWeb]
Whats Left combined fleet test new Weapon.
the new long reach Warp capable bombardment weapon has been fired for the first time today at the uninhabited rock X9375711. The test was according to
Fleet sources a complete success.

However the new weapon has been condemned by other political groups as "just the kind of thing that caused so much horror in the last war"
(more)

exercises. A sign of growing readiness?
Whatsleft fleet offencive operation Wing has been conducting extensive Wargames in the system JG89 minor.

This is seen as a sign of growing military preparedness as JG89 minor is rather close, at least in astronomical terms to the increasingly fractious human space.
(more)

[Companion Cube]

OANN The Outworlds Alliance News Network

Breaking news: An OAN scout ship, whose number is yet to be revealed, has been attacked and destroyed on the outer edges of the Salaam system. A small fleet of Frigates nearby intercepted the ship's distress call, but as they were already outbound from the vessel's location, they were unable to render assistance in time. An OAN spokesperson issued the following statement:

"As yet, the identity of the assailant has not been determined, however, the damage inflicted on the ship's wreck appears to suggest modern, heavy-grade weaponry, which the pirates in our system are noticeably lacking."

[Cpt_Frank]

To: Asgard Embassy and other NBA members
From: President Li onboard command ship Red Dawn
Subject: Re: New Beijing talks

The PIR will regard the privateer attacks against OU ships as an act of war. All NRE ships, including merchant ships, will be denied passage of PIR territory. The fleet will be stationed at the border and is on high alert.

[NecronLord]

"Admiral. We should arrive at the boarder within a day Ma'am." Admiral Kreshka turned to the liutenant.
"Any word from CSCN Centcom?"
"Yes Ma'am, We are to monitor the situation."

Meanwhile in the senate house on Norcendrol

"The senate can say what it likes! we all know that the emperor has all the real power in the NRE! There is nothing that they can do to stop them. Besides, this is a feeble squawking, they have offered no concessions over the slavery issue. I suggest that we go to war with them immediately." Senator Rothchild sat back down, and Senator Kopinski stood as she did so.
"Senator, prehaps it has escaped your attention, but we are not in the business of launching invasions of other nations. We should offer the NRE the chance to negotiate their way out of this situation whithout needing to resort to barbaric violence."
"The NRE are barbarians. They will only show any respect once they've been given a damm good thrashin..." Princeps Koloth cut the speakers in the room to silence this interjecting voice, which could still be heard echoing from the high vaulted roof of the chamber. It was going to be a long night.

[Stormbringer]

To: Asgard Embassy and other NBA members
From: President Li onboard command ship Red Dawn
Subject: Re: New Beijing talks

The PIR will regard the privateer attacks against OU ships as an act of war. All NRE ships, including merchant ships, will be denied passage of PIR territory. The fleet will be stationed at the border and is on high alert.

To: President Li
From: The Asgard Imperial Palace
Re: Talks

We have responded to the war begun by the Romans. We will send a respresentative to the talks as soon as possible. Are fleet has been mobilized for operations and is on a limited offensive.

[Darksider]

Krytos star admiral john conner stood on the bridge of his flagship the Victory-class command ship Liberator "What is the status of the fleet?" he asked "ready and awaiting orders sir, the pirate base in the Sigma delta 412 asteroid field has not detected out approach" replied an Ensign "Excellen, commence the attack" with that order, the Liberator, two Glory-class battleships and four Dominator class cruisers moved in on the pirate base, Raising their shields and launching their fighters. The pirate forces flew out to meet them. They consisted of several corvettes and frigates, and one large destyroyer. Space came alive with weapons fire as the KSN units fired their first salvo, destroying four pirate corvettes and heavily damaging the two frigates. "Sir, the enemy forces have sustained moderate losses and are coming into position for a counter-attack" "All hands, brace for impact" The shots fired by the pirate fleet impacted on the KSN fleet's shields and did moderate damage. On the bridge, admiral conner looked at the tactical display. "Order all fleet units to close to maximum firing range and close in the enemy forces." The KSN fleet closed around the pirates like a group of pack hunting animals and struck with ten times more ferocity. The KSN fleet's second salvo blasted the two frigates into peices, destroyed the remaining corvette and sent the destroyer spinning out of control into the asteroid belt. "Sir, all enemy forces are nutralized" said the XO. "Shall we board the pirate base?" "No commander, lets make an example of them" With that, the KSN fleet closed around the large pirate installation and blasted it into peices. And then it was finished

[phongn]

GNN Headline News

"Just half an hour ago, the State Department convened a press conference with unusual haste. Jean, we're going live to you.."

"Thanks, William. The State Department just issued this press conference and it looks like they're getting ready to start. This is rather unusual as they generally schedule at least an hour or two's advance..

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for convening on such a short notice. Three days ago, a combined strike by the Special Boat Service and the Navy raided a privateer base that had been conducting raids on various shipping owned by powers opposing the NRE's slavery. We had expected to find letters of marque from the Romans, but instead we discovered something else. We found no letters of marque, but instead funding from other powers.

"Interrogation of these privateers has implicated the following nations in direct funding of their operations: Oceana Union, Durandal Empire, Asgard....<continued>

"It appears that the objective was to hit merchant shipping while appearing to be employed by the NRE. This would be a valid pretext for war which may already be underway... "

[Beowulf]

Deep in space, the various OU merchant marine ships started clumping. From now on, they would be going in convoys to their destination. Guarding the convoys were the many frigates of the OU Navy. In addition, the freighters were being armed with a pair of missile launcher pods apiece, which should be sufficient to allow them to fight off such pests as privateers when they were grouped up in a convoy.

Elsewhere, the main offensive units were sent off for a "deep space training exercise" They would soon be rendezvousing with forces from the Asgard Empire, the Kokand Empire, and the PIR.

[Pablo Sanchez]

On the surface of the Earth, the situation was also deteriorating rapidly. PSR corps, which had been mobilized and ready to embark onto transports landed in Croatia and Romania for the purposes of the Bright Star wargame, suddenly changed objectives. The Space-Lane and Taiga Fronts swiftly switched from embarking formation to assault, evidence of the superior skill of Slavic general officers. Within hours, thousands of troops were already en route. Their supply stockpiles were small, and they could only sustain an advance for a brief moment, but that was all that was planned. They were to encircle the first line of NRE defenses and hold them until they could be reinforced.

Along the Romanian-Bulgarian border, success was reported. Initial commando movements siezed enough of the bridges that the border could be crossed without significant difficulty, and the first line of Roman legions was enveloped. There the troops held, weathering inevitable counter-attacks and waiting for the Balkan Military District to begin mobilizing and shunting divisions down to assist them.

The Alpine front was not so successful. Roman troops held mountain passes with determination and would not be rooted out easily. Slavic troops suffered casualties, but they bunkered down just within the Italian border and waited for reinforcements.

They knew, as the NRE commanders no doubt knew, that the Empire lacked sufficient strength to oppose these movements immediately--and that by the time they were able to respond with force, the far more numerous and effective PSR divisions would be in the field, reinforcing the initial thrusts.

But for now... the front was stable.


SBC Breaking News Interweb Broadcast
Joint Attack on New Roman Empire Aims to End Slavery!

"What's going on in Red Square, Constanza?" Chip Daniels asked.

The attractive woman on the other side of the feed shrugged. In the background crowds of jubilant citizens could be seen, "Well, what started out as a demonstration against the government's growing accomodation with Royalist powers has--as you can see--become something of a celebration. These people don't care about the cooperation with Royalists, or the surprise attack; they only care that the government is taking quick action to end slavery in other states. Back to you, Chip?"

"Hahah, thank you, Constanza. In related news, the current administration's approval rating has sky-rocketed from 45% to 70%, following the attack on NRE territory, and the Republic's announced support of the aims recently announced by the Kokand Empire. More news... as it occurs."

[Beowulf]

GNN Headline News

This is nothing but a trick by the NRE! Too late they realize the consequences for their actions. So now they plant their agents in a privateer base to claim that WE the WRONGED party is responsible for these acts? Lies! This only goes to further prove their treachery!

[Darksider]

TO: ambassador T'oorth, KSE ambassador to the New Roman Empire
FROM: supreme Admiral Jack O'neil KSN centeral command
Subject: Diplomatic recall

T'oorth, let's get to the point, you're being recalled. So are the ambassados to all the other nations involved in this war. The KSE is taking an official stance of neutrality, but the emperor and the senate do not condone slavery except for violent criminals serving as forced labor, so unofficialy if we do get involved in this war, we'll side against the NRE and we can't afford that right now. We're battling a leigon of pirates and fanatics left over from the civil war a thousand years ago (I don't understand why anybody cares that some dictator was executed a thousand years ago, it makes no sense to me) our military can't go on the offensive against the NRE and battle pirates at home, at least not until the buildup's completed so we're recalling all our ambassadors so we can stay out of this interstellar slugging match

[Companion Cube]

[Aleikum System-OAN Fleet HQ]



"The whole galaxy is going to hell isn't it?"

"Sir?"

"The Major Powers seem to have been playing their own power games while we were scrambling around, fearing an NRE invasion..."

The Admiral sighed, seeming to age before his aide's eyes. "Looks like the NBA decided they weren't going to wait before the NRE went after a minor power. They decided to advance the schedule with those 'NRE' privateers, and now the whole situation looks set to blow up..."

"Uh, sir, if I may ask..."

"Yes?"

"Why did they launch these attacks, and blame the NRE?"

"Well, the NRE was responsible for a fair number of them, but, frankly, the entire issue springs from the NBA/ITA attitude towards slavery. They rightly see it as repulsive, and they are willing to take any steps necessary to eradicate it..."

[Stormbringer]

GNN Headline News

We, the Asgard Empire categorically deny the charges. We wonder why the NAU would make such allegations. They are of course baseless as the ASE has no need for privateers or mercenaries. We regret that the NAU has been suckered by the Romans and hope they will see sense soon.

We hope for an international investigation into these charges by an impartial panel. No doubt that will put the matter to rest.

[Darksider]

We hope for an international investigation into these charges by an impartial panel. No doubt that will put the matter to rest.

The Krytos Star Empire would be willing to send investigators to such a panel. The true nature of the increase in pirate attacks througout known space must be ascertained

[phongn]

For General Release
NAU Department of State

"The NAU did not lightly make these allegations, but only with thorough investigation of the relevant information at hand. None of the privateers held Roman citizenship, but rather citizenship from many of the implicated nations as well as others, including our own. The available evidence, which has been freely distributed, points to non-involvement of this party by the NRE.

"We realise that several attacks on Oceanic merchant vessels have been conducted by the NRE as well as other attacks and we have lodged a formal protest. However, not all of the attacks were as such - rather they were engineered by third parties in the hopes of fanning the flames of war.

"The NAU finds it disturbing that despite hundreds of years of peaceful coexistance, indeed, with the New Roman Empire included despite their insistance of that cruel institution of slavery, that the various nations would be so eager to launch war so quickly."

[Straha]

The scene was fervent, the Regent (a millitary prince, who had only taken the job becaus ethe political prince had died, and the next heir apparent was three years old) was storming around the room. Finally he reached a decision.

"Order the regiments in the Middle Eastern Section up to the NRE defense, They are not falling while I have a chance of saving them."
Turning to his political representitive he spoke quickly and quietly.
"Release the news about the cloaking device being installed on the Hyper-Driver, show as many videos as you want just prove that we have installed a working transport cloak on that thing beyond any doubt. Then make a decleration that unless there are NO foreign troops in NRE teritory in twelve hours we will pound their planet to slag. Then get the NRE on the phone and work out some sort of Emancipation Decleration. Do it now!"

The Regent was very agitated, the NRE were close allies. With twelve regiments coming up to support them they would be able to stand much long. But hopefully the Hyper-Drivers with their new cloak should be able to crush any even suspected oposition.

EDIT: Fixed a typeo

[HemlockGrey]

"Multiple contacts!"

Click.

Admiral Decimus flipped the switch.

The fleet sprang into action.

A dozen Gusti were enveloped by the swarm of missiles and destroyed almost instantly. Numerous Adoreae and Scuti followed suit.

The spaceforts erupted with volleys of missile fire. Nestled in the back of the system the Arci cut loose with a barrage of missiles.

The remaining Adorea, shields battered and low, hulls plastered, detonated their X-laser warheads. The bomb-pumped X-rays shot out toward the enemy fleet-whoever it was- slicing through torrents of missile fire on their way out. On Gladius, Trajan, and Imperator the surface batteries began pumping out shot after shot into the approaching fleet as the bruised and depleted Roman fleet drew inward into the murderous cross-fire of Octavius' defensive stations.

[HemlockGrey]

The Emperor's son swept towards the border of Italia in a black-painted tank, in the rearguard of the swiftly advancing Praetorian Guard.

Imperial news denounced the initial assaults. The regular legions at the Alpine front were holding, but now the Praetorian army would sweep in to reinforce them and drive the invaders from their lands. Through the comm links the thunder of precision bombs could be heard as the Praetorian vanguard reached the Italia border. Light mechanized units had raced ahead to secure key passages and now the heavy armor was roaring behind. The greater part of the Praetorian air forces had been dispatched to Constantinople, but kept in reserve; it would not be needed.

Setting off from Caesar Station a dozen Adoreae shot towards Earth. Priming their weapons, they hovered in geosynchronous orbit. They were armed now with low-yield tactical nuclear weapons. At a word, they launched towards the Bulgarian front, where even now the Roman forces were rapidly withdrawing.

Down, down, down fell the bombs, guarded against enemy interception by the hammering batteries of Graecia, preparing to detonate along the enemy lines...

[Raptor 597]

ATTENTION: New Roman Empire
FROM: The Regent's Office, Menias-Dorian Hegemony
SUBJECT: An Imperiall Alliance

The Regent graciously shall send his Expeditionary Fleet and the rest of the MDHEF under General Brisbane to defend your great lands. For this in return the Regent requests any excess amount of war booty ye sees fit.

Thank You
Regent Menias-Dorian XXV

[Straha]

ATTENTION: New Roman Empire
FROM: The Regent's Office, Menias-Dorian Hegemony
SUBJECT: An Imperiall Alliance

The Regent graciously shall send his Expeditionary Fleet and the rest of the MDHEF under General Brisbane to defend your great lands. For this in return the Regent requests any excess amount of war booty ye sees fit.

Thank You
Regent Menias-Dorian XXV

The current Regent of Monacora is willing to send 20 Army and Marine regiments to support your troops if you would give me time to arrange a meet point, and for my deadline to the invading nations to reach its end.