OFS Vulture, Kingdom of Calamique — November 24, 2019/1639
Alright, I want people running to their planes as soon as this briefing wraps up! The situation in Calamique has significantly escalated beyond our expectations, and their government has requested our immediate assistance before their cities are overrun!
It appears that elements of the kingdom’s military have launched a coup d’etat right as Ambassador Eccleston’s delegation was about to meet the head of state; the plotters have utilised rudimentary armoured vehicles in an attempt to capture the town of Waizer, but we’re also receiving unconfirmed reports of another behemoth of a creature within the enemy’s ranks. Due to your experience in eliminating Nosgorath, HQ has tasked Golem and Mage Squadron with destroying this creature and eliminating whatever additional support the plotters have at hand. Helicopter divisions and ground units are already holding defensive positions within the city’s walls, but they will need your support to tip the balance of the siege in your favour.
Now get out there and start prepping your planes, ASAP!
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Waizer, Calamique Kingdom — November 24, 2019/1639
“This is Sky Keeper to all callsigns, be advised: we’ve entered the AO and have confirmed visual contact with the creature. The local defenders are communicating with the OMDF about the entity’s abilities, but HQ is confident that the new doctrine they’ve formulated should be sufficient in negating and nullifying whatever it throws at us.”
“Copy that, Sky Keeper.” Clown glanced down at the battlefield below, where several Apaches were already making quick work of the makeshift tanks advancing on the city walls. “What bearing is the big bogie?”
“Errr, stand by…five kilometres to the north of your current position, Mage One.”
“Roger, repositioning—yep, I see it. Damn, that’s huge!”
“Well, we know the new protocol for scenarios like this, Golem and Mage—use your EMLs to immobilise the beast, then go for the head. Try not to get hit, do you hear?” Knocker’s gruff voice echoed in his fellow squad leader's headset, his confidence bordering on infectious. “Golem, with me!”
The six Hornets dove down from their high altitude and swept down towards Diobehemoth, their railguns crackling with energy as their magnetic propulsion systems came to life—with a clap of thunder that echoed throughout the battlefield, a barrage of projectiles punctured the creature’s armour and burrowed right through its body at several times the speed of sound. A roar of pain sent shudders through the frames of each plane as the unholy entity gazed upon the intruders, only for a new maelstrom of fire and light to strike his form with near-impunity—the sheer force of the aerial strike caused it do waver, tilt, and fall, landing on its back as it crushed a dozen Demon Flame Tanks attempting to flee the scene.
“That’s the spirit! Come around for another pass, people—”
“Hey, boss,” Brownie queried, “what exactly am I seeing on that creature?”
Green light glowed from Diobehemoth’s wounds, which visibly began to retract and recede. With a mighty groan, the creature began to rise from the ground, much to the audible dismay of everyone present; groans from both the two squadrons and the Oseans below cracked on the radio.
“Damn it, it’s healing its wounds!”
“What exactly is that; some kind of magic?”
“Of course it’s not going to be that easy, is it?!”
“Hey, Sky Keeper! Are you on this frequency?”
The AWACS operator was quick to respond, “Affirmative, who is this?”
“Captain Doug Robinson of Shooter Squadron, in command of the helicopter units on the ground. We’ve mostly dealt with the remaining enemy ground and air units, and can provide saturation fire on the creature while you deal the killing blow. That should be enough to overpower its healing factor, if my reckoning is correct…”
“He’s got a point, Sky Keeper,” Clown quickly remarked. “If we can wound it quicker than it can heal itself, we can potentially kill the entity before it gets back up and charges the city walls—”
“Make your call, because that thing’s looking healthier and angrier than ever!”
“Hold on, Knocker…affirmative, proceed with the saturation strategy—use missiles and gunfire to wound the creature and your railguns to kill it. The Vulture’s escorts are preparing cruise missiles to assist your efforts; ETA: two minutes.”
“Copy. Trigger, on me!”
Swooping over the battlefield, the two F/A-18Fs split the sky in half as their railguns fired on Diobehemoth once more, scoring hits on the creature’s neck and chin and sending chunks of flesh raining down on the retreating monster armies. A chorus of missiles left a vibrant display of explosions and fire throughout its armour as the entity collapsed onto the ground once more—thunder and sound crackled in the air as four more Hornets shot at Diobehemoth’s head, the latter spraying red in a billowing geyser of organic matter and magical manna.
Green magic began to flow once more through the gaping holes in the monster’s face—
Three cruise missiles struck home with brutal accuracy, obliterating the already-mutilated body of the most infamous creature ever known to haunt the Kingdom of Calamique in an fiery explosion that rocked the entire battlefield; from the castle walls where the defenders of Waizer stood, the fortifications rattled and shuddered as the shockwaves of the consecutive blasts reverberated throughout the island and the circular mountains that surrounded it. Clown winced as his fighter groaned and whimpered and his console whined and complained, quickly reclaiming control of his craft before turning to look down at the carnage below.
“Sky Keeper, what the hell were in those cruise missiles? Half of the entire battlefield got vaporised in that strike!”
“Stand by…apparently those were some experimental magic-tipped Aegir missiles that Gründer developed. Looks like they managed to get the higher-ups to field-test some of their munitions again—”
“Gründer? Damn scheming, warmongering South Belkans—they wouldn’t be up to something again, would they?”
“Well, it’s a good thing none of us were near the creature when those missiles hit—that would have been rather unpleasant if one of us got taken out by accident.” Knocker sighed in irritation, before glancing back at his wingmen. “Anyway, are we all right? Do we have any targets left to eliminate, Sky Keeper?”
“Negative, Golem and Mage. The local defenders have informed us that they’ll be mopping up the remaining stragglers, and our own special forces are currently moving in to capture the enemy leadership before they can escape. Well done, everyone; RTB.”
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Foreign Affairs Audit Bureau, Eshirant, Parpaldia Empire — October 6, 2019/1639
“Good afternoon, Lady Remille. What business do you have with the Osean Federation?”
“I’m sorry, who are you?”
“Me? Oh, I’m Gabriel William Clarkson, Attaché to the Osean Embassy here in Eshirant—”
“A subordinate?! Does your superior have the temerity to send a mere underling on his behalf to the Auditor of the Foreign Affairs Office, or is he foolish enough not to comprehend the privilege of being summoned by the envoys of the Empire?”
“Err, Ambassador Harling is currently in Oured at the moment—I believe he’s currently preparing to return to Eshirant after that MNN series in Selatapura wraps up. You’d be able to arrange a meeting with him by this weekend, if you’d prefer to communicate with him or someone more befitting of your station, instead.”
Remille’s nostrils flared at the sardonic undertone of the diplomat’s remarks, but decided to chalk it up to inexperience with directly dealing with foreign affairs. “No matter. I take it that whatever we agree upon in this meeting will have the same effect as any arrangement with Ambassador Harling?”
“That depends on what happens during this meeting. Now, what business does your government have with the Osean Federation?”
“The Parpaldia Empire would like to formally resubmit its application to the International United Nations, in the hope that the Federation would rethink its refusal to admit us. In light of Mu’s recent admittance and the arrival of the Holy Millishial Empire’s own delegate to the Assembly of Nations, we feel that omitting a single superpower while simultaneously inviting several others would be…somewhat discriminatory, especially with all the previous unsuccessful efforts on our part to become a member of your organisation.”
The official blinked. “I’m—“
“As a gesture of goodwill, and perhaps to demonstrate our gratitude for your nation’s cooperation, the Empire would be willing to offer several privileges unique to Osea’s position: one of our Wyvern Overlords, the most powerful of their kind in all of Elysia; the exclusive right to trade with nations beyond the Third Civilised Region without direct interference from the Parpaldian Navy’s security patrols; a promotion in Foreign Affairs to the Second Department, reserved only for nations civilised enough to warrant our significant attention yet not quite powerful enough to be considered a superpower; and an official recognition on behalf of the Emperor himself as a ‘civilised country’.” Remille smiled at her counterpart in satisfaction. “I take it that such arrangements would be acceptable for your superiors?”
Clarkson blinked in confusion. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Let me simplify my offer to a degree within your level of comprehension: in return for these gifts, your government will cease its obstructive efforts and inform the members of the Assembly of Nations to vote in our favour when our application comes up for consideration—”
“No, I’m sorry; I definitely understand your original proposal. The Osean Federation’s actions as a key member of the IUN are independent of whatever the other members choose to vote regarding your application, and our abstention specifically serves to prevent us from inadvertently appearing to be actively preventing your accession to full membership.”
Remille’s eyes narrowed. “And would our already exceedingly generous offer be insufficient for your superiors to change their minds?”
“My apologies, Lady Remille, but even with our cooperation in the matter, you would still have to persuade the other members that the conditions that lead them to refuse the Empire’s proposal in the first place have sufficiently changed for them to reconsider their positions. Even if my superiors were to be swayed by your offer, it would be remiss of us and our fellow delegates to simply ignore the standards that our Charter requires from all applicants for full membership—”
“Don’t evade me with your false words, young man! We know that the nations of the Third Civilized Region look to the Osean Federation for guidance over whether they should vote in our favour in the Assembly of Nations—what lies have you told Elysia about us?! What falsehoods have our neighbours been led to believe in order to subvert our role as the superpower of this continent?!”
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“Nothing less than what your neighbours have said to us about your own nation, my lady,” Clarkson drily remarked. “Parpaldia’s reputation precedes your country, and we have yet to see any meaningful evidence that the Empire intends to pull back from its more unsavoury practices—and from what we’re led to believe, even your own fellow superpowers would have preferred more ‘civilised’ conduct from a nation that proudly extols itself as one—”
“It is our birthright! Our position as the superpower of the Third Civilized Region makes us superior to all and the sole harbingers of civilization and culture in Rodenius to these barbaric lands! Why your nation chooses to consort with these savages instead of us evades me, but to bring this continent under a single roof but leave us out in the cold is nothing short of outrageous—do not speak to your superiors again about matters beyond your understanding, you incompetent brat—”
The door to Remille’s office opened, and a young aide dressed in an Osean business suit quickly walked in, approaching Clarkson.
“I’m sorry, excuse me for just a second…what is it? What? Next week? Alright, but inform Mr. Harling about the summons as soon as you can.”
Remille raised a questioning eyebrow. “Well?”
Clarkson sighed. “I’m sorry, but I’ve just been informed that Ambassador Harling will be unable to return to Eshirant until the fifteenth, at the latest—a matter of national security requires his presence in Oured for at least a few more days.”
“What? But that’s absurd! Is his job not to sit where you are and respond to the questions that the Empire has for him?!”
“As a former President and a key advisor behind the Osean Federation’s foreign and state policy in the past twenty years, his superiors believe his experience would provide valuable insight for the unfolding situation—”
“Balderdash! Lies! I shall submit a formal complaint to your government about your conduct—inform your superior upon his arrival that his presence in the Foreign Affairs Office is required, and that nothing less than total acquiescence to our demands will be acceptable!”
The Osean delegate simply shrugged. “Very well; I will notify Ambassador Harling of your sentiments on this matter when he returns, but I am fairly certain that his assessment of your proposals may be no different than mine. Now, if there is nothing else for us to discuss, I would like to take my leave. Good day.”
Clarkson swiftly rose and left the office, leaving Remille to quietly simmer in frustration at the impasse before her.
“The gall of that grey-haired cur! What extraordinary calamity would require Osea’s envoy to delay his return to his post?”
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Bright Hill, Oured, Osean Federation — October 4, 2019/1639
“Alright, how bad is this situation that we’re looking at?”
Vice Chairman Edwards sighed as he rose from his seat and gestured at the projected diagram of Elysia’s outer atmosphere. “Not very good, Mr. President. We’ve compiled the data from Pilgrim Two and the ISEV, and these are the all the unknown satellites we’ve uncovered so far—”
The holographic sphere was abruptly blanketed in a sea of red—each dot representing an artificial device from an ancient power known only through rumour and old tales of a frightening past, now hurtling right above Osea and its neighbours, waiting for…something, or someone, to bring them back to life. Bartlett’s eyes widened even as the dots continued to multiply, the estimated number rapidly increasing by the second.
“My god…”
“Each satellite appears to be powered by magic gems, but they all appear to have distinctive purposes; the vast majority of them seem to be for long-range communications, while others appear to be designed as orbital weapons platforms. And that doesn’t also include the satellites with what appears to be extremely high concentrations of magic stored within—we think they may be meant to either detonate and trigger a Kessler event, or to rapidly deorbit and strike a target below their current position.”
“Right, so how many are we looking at?”
“Assuming each and every magic gem detected in orbit around Elysia is powering a single satellite…approximately five thousand and counting.”
Groans and murmurs broke out from the generals and officers present, the severity of the situation only truly starting to dawn on the Osean leadership. Prior to the Transference, over seven thousand satellites orbited the planet above Osea and its neighbours—a mixture of Ulysses fragments and satellites launched both prior to and following the Disaster. With almost the same amount of objects in low earth orbit and all potentially hostile…
Bartlett spoke up again. “Does anyone else in Elysia know about this? Some civilization capable of reaching space that we haven’t made contact with yet?”
“Not as far as we’re aware. Stories and evidence regarding the ASE would suggest they were the last major civilization in Elysia to be capable of space travel, but most nations since then haven’t quite reached that level in technological development. As the prominent magical superpower in Elysia, the HME might have a better understanding of the whole process behind magic gems, but we’ll have to wait until we finish establishing diplomatic ties before approaching them about this. They’ll likely want some concessions in return for their assistance—trading benefits, maybe some additional technology or scientific data, or something of the like.”
The President sighed. “Fine; try and see if we can accelerate the process, then obtain the information that we’ll need for this as soon as possible. In the meantime, do we have any other way of countering or removing these satellites as of right now?”
“There are at least three different solutions being devised by Gründer and the ODF at this time; some of them make use of what resources we currently have at hand, while others may be…unorthodox or outright controversial…”
“Well?”
“Let’s start with the Defence Force’s proposals: their first plan involves utilising our decommissioned ICBM stockpile for eliminating specific satellites or preventing orbital strikes on Osea and the ISEV. It’s a simple solution, but its effectiveness remains debatable, at best—and as we don’t necessarily have enough missiles to eliminate all the satellites, we’re opening the possibility of leaving some of our major cities open to attack. We’ll definitely need something better in the long run.”
“Right, so what else do we have?”
“There’s the Air Force’s idea: it’s an old proposal from back during the Cold War, and it involves using F-15s to launch anti-satellite missiles from the upper atmosphere. The concept’s been proven through a couple of successful test flights back in the eighties, and we can feasibly update our current hardware to modern standards—some ideas have also been floated around about adopting our experimental DarkStar program for the ASM system, but we still need to finish testing the prototype for general use before anything else.”
“Hm. Would employing both proposals provide an adequate countermeasure against these orbital weapons, Edwards?”
The Vice Chairman paused in thought. “It would, perhaps, but leaving the satellites in orbit even before they actually do anything could potentially prove to be a security risk for Osea. As it is, we don’t even know what some of these satellites could do at this point—there might be some new superweapon that we won’t necessarily have the right countermeasures for, regardless or whether or not we have a sufficiently skilled pilot at hand to eliminate it. Lives are at stake, even at this moment, Mr. President.”
“So you believe that preemptively removing these objects from orbit would be the best path for us to take? Do we even know to whom those satellites belong?”
“We’ve detected signals from the Branchel Continent that are generally similar in appearance, but not necessarily identical. Pilgrim Two’s currently been assigned with observing the region for signs of a post-industrial civilization, but they’re apparently still sifting through all the data they picked up…”
Bartlett nodded. “Right. Have our ambassadors ask around to see what exactly is down there, and have some more satellites take photos of the continent for our OIA boys to look over. Now, do we have any more proposals?”
The other officers present shifted uncomfortably in their seats; Edwards shared their uneasy expressions as he glanced at the President.
“Well? What are you waiting for?”
“Mr. President…there is one more proposal, from Gründer Industries.”
A pause. “What?”
The Vice Chairman sighed. “The Chiefs of Staff received plans from the current president of the Gründer regarding a new and upgraded version of the Arkbird, taking into consideration its more recent work with Aigainon and the Arsenal Birds—”
“Another Arkbird?! Are you…are you kidding me?! You do realise what happened to the last one, right? And this proposal’s from Gründer, no less—it’s bad enough that we already have two drone fleets hovering over a third of the entire Osean continent, and now you want me to give the go-ahead for the construction of yet another possible planetwide disaster in the making?!”
“Mr. President—”
“No! Absolutely not! Out of the question! I know the OIA won’t release the Razgriz documents until next year, but we all know how close Gründer got to outright destroying Osea and Yuktobania with the last Arkbird we constructed! The damn tragedy of the whole thing, and you’re asking for us to repeat it here in Elysia?!”
“Mr. President, at least hear out the proposal—”
“No, Edwards. I’ve experienced the horrors of what Belka did to this country, and I will not be a willing participant in whatever that executive and his people have planned for the rest of the planet. And that will be all—”
“Jack!”
The heads of those present quickly turned to the other side of the room, where Ambassador Harling had been quietly observing the proceedings until now. Bartlett’s eyes focused on his predecessor, narrowing in suspicion at what had caused him to intervene.
“Listen to the man, and at least give his idea some thought! We all know what the Grey Men did to us and Yuktobania, but don’t let their legacy overshadow the choices we may have to take to survive.”
“But it was your legacy that got tarnished, Harling—do we not want to make sure that doesn’t happen again?”
“Then we do it again, but we do it so the likes of the Grey Men won’t be able to repeat what they did. And perhaps Edwards might have actually been able to think of something to counter whatever those people—if they’re even still here, that is—might have planned for us in the first place…”
Bartlett roared in frustration. “Damn it! Fine. Edwards, please tell me Harling actually had some merit in his argument?”
The man nodded. “Well…”
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Osean Broadcasting Corporation — November 25, 2019/1639
IUN forces were deployed to the Kingdom of Calamique yesterday afternoon, almost immediately after establishing diplomatic relations with the isolated nation-state. According to a statement released by Bright Hill, the arrival of the Osean delegation coincided with an attempted coup d'etat by local government officials—lacking the means to successfully repel the internal threat, King Brandea immediately asked for the assistance of the accompanying OMDF force. Despite wielding significant aerial forces and an improvised armoured vehicle, the plotters were quickly neutralised and handed over to local authorities for the due process of law—IUN forces suffered little to no casualties, and are expected to return by the 28th pending the formal completion of diplomatic ties between Osea and Calamique.
In other news, the Assembly of Nations yesterday evening once again overwhelmingly voted against admitting the Parpaldia Empire to the IUN. While the Empire is one of the few remaining nation-states within the Philades Continent not to be an official member, its attempts at joining have been consistently rejected by several members on the grounds of its refusal to fully adhere to the Charter and concerns about its potential influence within the organisation as a full member.
As in previous votes, Mu and the Osean Federation abstained from voting on the Parpaldia Empire’s petition, citing a desire not to appear to be influencing other member states’ votes; they, however, did stress that the Empire would need “further social reforms'' in order to be fully accepted as a fellow member of the institution. The delegate for the Holy Mirishial Empire, while a non-voting observer of the process pending a vote on the HME’s own application for IUN membership, shared similar sentiments in a separate statement and suggested that Parpaldia “look inwards” to see what would prevent its formal accession.
In an official statement issued by the Foreign Office of the Parpaldia Empire, Auditor Lady Remille condemned the results of the Assembly’s vote:
“We are a civilised nation and just as much of a superpower as Mu and the Holy Mirishial Empire! Why are we being denied by false friends and barbarian kingdoms our rightful place amongst our fellow peers? Rest assured, there will be consequences for those who would refuse us what is ours—”
Ladies and gentlemen, we have just received some breaking news. We’ve just been informed that the Assembly of Nations has been convened for an emergency session at the request of a delegation from the Kingdom of Altaras. We now go live to Bana City—
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Bana City, Osean Federation — November 25, 2019/1639
Delegates of the International United Nations, General-Secretary Kanata, Ambassador Harling, Ambassador Mugei, President Bartlett:
I am Princess Lumies of the Kingdom of Altaras. On behalf of my father and the people of Altaras, I come before you to offer our gratitude for allowing us to address this exalted chamber and to plead for aid in our desperate time of need…
We are a nation of free peoples who enjoy the seas that surround us, who value the rights and liberties granted to us by the Supreme Creators as living beings who share this realm of existence with all others. We, like the people of this room, enjoy our freedom as a people who deserve the dignity and respect afforded to all other nations of this world—basic commodities that now lie in peril with the actions of another nation that deems itself superior to us by mere circumstance.
Tales have spread throughout Elysia of the majestic power of the Osean Federation and its mandate in protecting the peoples of its own world and of ours: we have heard of the Liberation of Gim and the campaigns in Topa against Nosgorath himself; of the peacekeeping efforts in Calamique and the defence of Fenn against the infamous Black Fleet. The names within this institution are associated with the heroes of old that once stood strong against the Ancient Sorcerous Empire itself, of the Emissaries of the Star God that protected these lands against those who would do it harm. We ask—no, we plead, we beg—for you to help us, to show us the mercy that you gave many of the nations that now sit within this Assembly today.
Two days ago, the Parpaldia Empire came to my father and demanded nothing less than complete annexation of our nation and my subservience to their Emperor as his personal slave; in response, we broke all diplomatic ties with Eshirant and expelled their ambassadors from our lands—but we know that they will return with guns and wyverns and terrible monsters to enforce their will upon us…