MacNealy Air Force Base — April 13, 2019/1639
Right, people—it looks like we’re going to be entering our first armed conflict within the New World! Settle down, and I’ll let you in on the details.
With the new treaty that we’ve signed with Qua-Toyne and Quila, we are now economically and financially dependent on them in order to not starve—therefore, any threat to them is by extension a threat to us. And yesterday, their neighbor became just that—this, folks, is the Kingdom of Louria: an absolute monarchy located right along the western borders of Qua-Toyne, with visions of eradicating all non-humans amongst its neighbors and becoming the local power in the region. We’ve received confirmation both from observers at the ISEV and in Maihark that several armies have crossed the border and are now in the process of pillaging the border town of Gim; the situation looks grim for the local inhabitants, and we’re fairly certain that what we’re seeing could easily be replicated throughout the island if Louria’s not stopped. That’s where we come in—on both economic, political, and humanitarian grounds, we’ve volunteered to deploy our armed forces to halt the invasion and force the Lourian government to stand down.
The Lourian invasion consists of two fronts: a naval fleet along the coastline heading towards Maihark, and a ground offensive making its way to the capital of Qua-Toyne itself. Our primary objectives will be to first neutralize these offensives before striking Louria’s capital of Jin-Hark—a naval fleet led by the Kestrel II will intercept the former, after which paratroopers and air assets will deploy into the outskirts of Gim and liberate the city. Both groups will then converge at Jin-Hark, where elements of the LRSSG will have softened up the place for us; needless to say, we’ll be capturing the leadership and bringing them to Osea where they’ll likely face trial for whatever war crimes we uncover along the way. Mage and Golem Squadrons, you’ll be transferred to the Kestrel II and deployed on all subsequent sorties from there; the LRSSG will also be stationed on the Kestrel while headed to Jin-Hark, so play nice.
The upcoming naval battle is expected to be a simple affair of eliminating as many ships as possible—barring any unknown magical abilities, the sheer technological disparity between the Lourians and ourselves means that we have a significant advantage over the enemy. However, this does not mean that we can simply underestimate them—no ship is to make it even close to our carrier fleet and give the invaders a chance of close-quarters combat. Similarly, none of the enemy’s air units are to make even a single scratch out of the Kestrel or the Puffin—that’ll be up to you pilots to deal with.
Consider both the upcoming naval battle and the liberation of Gim to be a show of force, both for our allies and the Lourians—make it clear that we’re not to be trifled with and that we can be depended upon to defend our friends and uphold our values anytime we like. Any questions?
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“Whoah,” Cyclops One exclaimed as a single F-15C narrowly shot past his fighter and laid waste to yet another Lourian vessel, “Mage Two’s really going at it!”
“I’ll bet,” Húxiān’s voice spoke on the radio with no small amount of awe, “that’s got to be the fiftieth boat he’s splashed so far—isn’t he running out of ordinance at this point?”
“With these vessels, missiles are pretty much overkill—and besides, Trigger, aren’t you supposed to be sticking to your wingman?”
If the rookie in the IUN squadron heard his commanding officer’s chiding remark, he showed no response even as he swooped around to make another pass—a barrage of machine-gun and PLSL fire caused a particularly large galley to combust and burst into flames, sending debris and unfortunate sailors flying across the battlefield. Even as Wiseman turned his head to his periphery, he could spot Mage Two releasing a salvo of missiles on an unsuspecting wyvern carrier, clearly enjoying himself in what was quickly turning into a glorified turkey shoot. Shaking his head in clear incredulity, the veteran pilot refocused his attention to his target: a flagship with several large sails and what appeared to be several important individuals aboard, judging by the bright colors they were wearing.
“Cyclops One, visual on target—Fox Three!”
A missile shot forwards gracefully from his plane and onto the doomed vessel, hitting its mark with perfect accuracy. The results were near-instantaneous: the exploding payload caused the hull to rupture as the numerous containers of gunpowder within were ignited and combusted in a fiery reaction, a billowing fireball cracking the ship in half before sending it downwards into a watery grave.
“Splash one, Long Caster. How’s the battle going?”
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“Swimmingly. We’re just pounding our way straight through the Lourian fleet—wait, hang on. Several wyverns appear to have made it past our AA network and are now attempting to open fire on the Kestrel itself—eliminate the enemy air assets before they can cause any unnecessary damage to the carrier!”
“Copy, moving—”
Mage Two shot right past Wiseman’s fighter yet again in another reckless feat of piloting, narrowly avoiding a mid-air collision at roughly Mach 2 as the IUN pilot almost immediately began to shoot at the aforementioned wyverns. Each creature couldn’t evade the deadly beams of light aimed at them and were struck almost instantly, hurling their riders off and writhing in pain before being knocked from the sky by the Kestrel’s CIWS systems—the rookie pilot simply blasted straight through the maelstrom of bullets and otherworldly carnage, a quick flourish smoothly shearing through the mess like a steak knife through a slab of meat.
“—nevermind, Trigger splashed the entire set of bogeys! This guy’s good!”
Golem One, the leader of the IUN contingent, let out a dry, sarcastic laugh. “Yeah, showing off to the pros, eh, rookie? What are you trying to do, get a transfer?”
“I think Trigger might be getting aspirational, boss. That, or he really needs to get out for sorties a bit more.”
“It’s a shame the kid doesn’t talk that much—maybe if he asked nicely, he might actually get that sweet spot he always wanted with the Big Shots.” Clown’s voice was dry and sardonic, but Wiseman could sense his fellow pilot’s amusement even as both pilots maneuvered in close coordination across several sinking Lourian vessels, sending ripples of water to splash on the beleaguered wrecks. In a good mood, the ace decided to join in on the fun.
“Hmmm, maybe I could use an extra pilot on my wing. Lanza, what would you say about having another rookie join our team?”
“Another one? I thought you were already happy with Húxiān!”
“Hey, at least I don’t act like I’m constantly trying to kiss Wiseman’s ass unlike Mr. Trigger-Happy here—”
“‘Mr. Trigger-Happy’? Now that’s something I’m going to have to remember to use on my wingman again later—”
“You do realize,” Long Caster drily interjected over the radio, “that while you folks keep roasting the poor fellow, he’s gone and splashed over thirty-two ships? And that’s not even mentioning all the wyverns I’m seeing vanishing all over my radar—yep, there goes another one. Good work, Trigger.”
A faint grumble could be heard on the radio, yet loud enough for every pilot present to hear. Wiseman’s eyebrows rose, his lips twisting into a grin.
“You did hear that, right?”
“Well, well, well—so he can talk after all! He’s not a mute, folks!”
A chorus of lively cheers and raucous laughter echoed among the aces even as the battle raged on, the screaming and dying Lourians none the wiser.
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Osean Broadcast Corporation — April 26, 2019/1639
In a public statement this morning, the Osean Department of Defense confirmed that the Kestrel Fleet engaged and successfully neutralized the Kingdom of Louria’s naval forces in battle. A coalition of Osean and IUN forces were able to quickly establish naval and aerial superiority over the less technologically advanced Lourian vessels, which were quickly annihilated and surrendered after suffering overwhelming casualties. Vice Chairman Edwards of the Osean Defence Forces’ Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that no lives within the IUN coalition were lost and that its vessels only suffered slight damage due to Lourian magic; the victory ensures that the coalition of Osean and Selatapuran forces will be able to make landfall and begin liberating the occupied regions of Qua-Toyne, as well as directly attacking military targets within Louria itself.
In other news, diplomatic relations were formally established between the Osean Federation and the Kingdom of Fenn, as well as the Gahara Thearchy. A delegation aboard the OFS Puffin arrived at the two islands after several days at sea, and upon arrival they were greeted by the local authorities without incident. Both nations are located on two adjacent islands roughly six hundred kilometers north of Maihark and 1,500 kilometers west of Cape Landers.
Officials in the Osean Department of Foreign Affairs also stated that once satellite readings of possible nations within the continent of Philades are complete and the conflict in Louria has been resolved, diplomatic missions will be sent to the continent as well.
The IUN has formally invited Qua-Toyne and Quila to send representatives to its General Assembly as non-member observers in a formal statement issued this afternoon. Despite calls for the institution to be disbanded in light of the vast majority of its members no longer existing in this reality, Ambassador Johnson insisted that the organization still represents an opportunity for nations of the wider international community to participate in peaceful cooperation, and that further contact with other nations in the New World will eventually result in more members:
“The conflict in Qua-Toyne, along with the rumors of countless atrocities in Gim, serve as a reminder of the importance of our mission even in these uncertain times: to ensure the basic rights and liberties of each individual are respected and the lives of each person or being are kept free from the horrors of war, regardless of whoever they may be or where they may originate—”