He's a Pirate [Open]

[ACR of Deerfenland]

"All agreed on this relief bill?" Congressman Yanha raised to the table.

The rows of the Oclusi National Congress started to come to a decision on how they would address the recent issues of towns off the Northern Coast being raided by an unknown entity. Several congressmen rose to their feet in front of the crowd. "One of the concerns I have on the bill is that there is no exact call to action in this. What will we do to make sure that this doesn't happen again?" he asked. The ringleader stepped back. "Sir, we need to know what these are before we create action. We don't know if these are attacks or organized crime. We need to make sure that people are okay before we step right into action." The man sat down. Yanha continued to look around for opposition. "If we have no opposing views, we will move right into a voting bloc. Remember the deal. One vote per delegate." Every man put down their placards and waited for the first option to be on the board. Then, a bust through the door was heard. "I'm afraid no legislation shall be passed today!"

A man wearing long, silk, brown garments with his leather brown boots stood at the door. He wore a bandana around his head and was armed with a pistol and a sword. His sword was red as he had wiped out the guards to the chamber. He brought them out and threw them in front of him as he walked forward, stepping on their cold, lifeless bodies. He aimed his gun at Yanha and fired. One-shot, one down. Yanha lay on the ground lifeless. The man walked around the chamber shooting randomly. Then, he walked over to one aisle. He shot all fifteen congressmen in a row. Then, he walked over to one more man. He drew his sword and stabbed the man in the neck. He walked around the room shooting warning shots over the heads of any congressman. He took out his unlit torch. He sprinted to the fireplace. He had a flame in the torch. Then, immediately, he torched several desks and legislation. The historical archives were burnt to the ground and he threw the torch into the middle of the chamber. One congressman grabbed his garment. "Who are you..." he asked as he was clinging to his last breath. The pirate looked at him. "Goldsmith Zayn..." he said as he shot the man.

 

[Prydania]

An island somewhere off the coat of Oclusia

Brúsi Blómkvist chomped on a cigar, as he read the newspaper, muttering to himself as the taste of sour tobacco permeated his mouth.
"That ballsy son of a bitch" he said, to no in particular. "He's got ash on his soul, I'll give him that" he added, this time speaking to his First Mate Frigg Reynholt.

"You think so babe? He ain't a Thaunnic."

"Eh" Brúsi chuckled.
"Ya don't need to be one for the gods to find favour in you. He's a bold one, that's what matters" he remarked, his hand casually caressing the Thaunnic pendant around his neck. He'd come from Prydania, spirited away to Saintonge after the Syndicalist Coup. He'd only been thirteen then. He'd grown up near the coast, and the drudgery of working class immigrant life chafed him as he grew older. He resented being taken from his home, resented that his parents had to work two jobs each just to make ends meet, and resented his parents for not doing anything about it. Most of all though? They were Thaunnic. His parents weren't observant, but young Brúsi clung to his faith as a matter of identity. He wasn't just a Prydanian, he was a Thuannic Prydanian.
And so all of this led him to gangs. Mostly with other Prydanian immigrant youth, but there were some Hessunlanders there too. And the gangs....well eventually they got tired of the small time stuff. And Brúsi had convinced his girl Frigg, likewise a young Prydanian living in Saintonge, to leave it all behind. And go somewhere where they could make some real money. Oclusia.

The piracy off the coast of Oclusia wasn't a concern in Saintonge, their navy keeping them well at bay. Still, the stories filtered into the port towns. And Brúsi and Frigg bit. Good thing they did when they did, in their early 20s. Any older and they might have known better.
So they ran off one night, got smuggled into Oclusia, and joined a crew. The years from then to know were hard, and there was a time of about three years they didn't know if each other was alive or dead, but eventually Brúsi got himself a ship, carved himself out a small territory with a crew, and finally? He found Frigg, his sweet, and made her his first mate.

But that small territory...it wasn't enough. Still the Oclusian coast was contentious business. You didn't fear the local authorities, no. You feared the other pirates. And now this whole mess...it had shown him a way forward. To even greater freedom and riches.

"You're thinking something" Frigg remarked. Brúsi just chuckled again, reaching out to stroke some of the sunkissed blonde hair from her face. He turned, tossing on his faded red coat and grabbing his orange cavalier's hat.

"I am, my love. We're going to kill Goldsmith Zayn."

 

[North Timistania]

Somewhere off the coast of Oclusia ​

The sun blazed in a cloudless sky, the ageing Dhow was like a rusting heat box, men clung to whatever meagre shade they could find. Thabo Na Zondi stumbled about the deck, he had a crazed look upon his leathery face and owing to a liberal supply was perpetually drunk on rum. He was presently yelling at his mechanic between swigs of Admiral Sedhain No.7*, the ship's motor was deader than Thabo’s spacial awareness.

“N’cube you bastard! Fix this piece of junk before I get another mechanic!” He growled at the prone form of his only college-educated crewman

“It wouldn’t take so long if you hadn't shot the last mechanic, bastard!” N’cube yelled back as he struggled with the ageing engine

“That Hessunland bastard called me a Kaider, I will not tolerate racial prejudice upon this vessel!” Thabo said in a proud tone

At least that's what Thabo had assumed the last mechanic had said, Gotics all sounded like they were strangling a cat whenever they opened their mouths to speak as far as he was concerned. They had been travelling for days to reach Oclusia, the situation there had gotten out of hand and now it was affecting Thabo’s business. They had been close to arriving before the wretched engine had seen fit to give out.

“Trust me to sign on with the only woke pirate in the Meterran sea! I have a degree from Limpasha university, and I am stuck here with you idjotts!” N’cube retorted irritably as the engine roared into life

Thabo was not listening; he was already hobbling towards the next target for verbal abuse. He scratched his dirty dreadlocks and took another swig from the rum bottle as he dragged himself towards M’Khibe. The younger man was presently bashing an ageing Astracomm tv set, the signal was patchy but consistent enough to pick up the latest episode of compatriots under the Baobab tree.

“THE RANCH WILL BE MINE!!!” the villainous voice on the set yelled

“M’Khibe! Why are you not checking the ammo you Bastard! I want us ready to kill this Oclusi Idjott when we finally arrive!”Thabo roared angrily

“I'm watching my bloody programs! “ M'Khibe protested

“You’ll be watching me cut your eyes out in a minute Bastard! Get it done!” Thabo yelled before stumbling on

He leaned over the prow of the ship and vomited a steady stream of rum coloured mess, without hesitating he took another deep swig before glaring over the horizon towards land. The recent attack on the national assembly had cost Thabo dearly, many corrupt politicians in his pocket were dead which put his drug smuggling at risk.

“Goldsmith Zayne! You Bastard! I know where you live, and I am coming for you!” he hissed menacingly

*Astragonese Rum, very expensive

Bastard Count: 6

 

[Kyle]

L'Indépendant > Mercanti > Top Stories

Royal Santonian Navy to step up patrols in the North Meterran Sea​

by Marie-Catherine Landrin-Blanquart in Saintes,
SAINTES – Defence Minister Marc-Maëlmon de Liescoët announced yesterday that the Royal Santonian Navy (Marine royale saintongeaise, MRS) will be stepping up patrols in the North Meterran Sea, in response to the pirate attack in the Oclusian capital of Minsk.

Increased alert status
Admiral Christophe-Stanislas Guillemardet, chief of the Royal Santonian Navy, also yesterday raised the alert level of the MRS from yellow to orange, its highest level since the Fascist War. This means that all ships and personnel of the MRS are to be activated and deployed for missions. As a result, the five new ships of the MRS will be joining the missions. The Corb-class frigates Rance, Basses-Alpes, and Côtes-du-Nord; and the Saint-Brice-class offshore patrol vessels Saint-Théoffrey and Saint-Janvier had just finished their shakedown cruises in the first quarter on 2020.

An orange alert level is one level below red, which involves general mobilisation of the MRS and the naval militia of the coastal departments. The alert level was raised from green to yellow last October 2019, in response to the refugee crisis in Oclusia. It was maintained at yellow due to the increase in pirate activity in the area after the fall of the Oclusi government.

All ships on missions
Admiral Guillemardet said that the First to Fourth Fleets would still remain in their assigned areas. The First Fleet is assigned to protect the Bay of Saine, where the country’s capital is located. The Second Fleet is assigned to the eastern coast, from the Corb to the Hesskin maritime border. The Fourth Fleet is assigned to the northeastern coast, from Capoterre to the Haine. The Third Fleet is assigned to the northwestern coast, from Rance to the Oclusi maritime border. Vice-Admiral Paul-Corentin Roüault, commander of the Third Fleet, had also previously announced that the fleet will be patrolling the adjacent international waters. Admiral Guillemardet said that detachments of the territorial fleets may be ad hoc made into task forces to augment the Sixth Fleet.

Sixth Fleet to patrol international waters
The Sixth Fleet, consisting mostly of seagoing and oceangoing ships, will be assigned to the international waters beyond Saintonge. The Sixth Fleet was augmented by the offshore patrol vessels Saint-Matthias, Sainte-Marcelline, Sainte-Victrice, Saint-Papoul, Sainte-Radegonde, and Saint-Baudouin, transferred from the territorial fleets. The mission is headed by Sixth Fleet commander Vice-Admiral Marc-Diedéric de Broxeele.

Mr de Liescoët also added that the Sixth Fleet will now patrol the international waters immediately beyond Oclusi territorial waters, in order to confine the pirates to the Oclusi waters and prevent them from raiding in the high seas. Mr de Liescoët warned that “the Royal Santonian Navy will not hesitate to shoot and sink” the pirate boats in international waters.

The Royal Santonian Navy is also willing also escort ships that will ply the international waters between Saintonge, Oclusia, Xentherida, Yalkan, and Ilia-Taveris. Admiral Guillemardet said that prior coordination is needed to request such assistance.

Army, Air Force to assist
The other branches of the Royal Santonian Armed Forces are also going to assist in the operation. The Air Force helicopter squadrons operating out of the Sixth Fleet amphibious warfare ships Saintonge, Liberté, and Révolution were also placed on orange alert, as was the First Air Force Squadron based in northwest Saintonge. “We’re prepared to blow them out of the water if needed,” commented Royal Santonian Air Force chief General Maximilien Hellebaut. General Hellebaut also said that the Royal Santonian Air Force will be conducting surveillance missions in the North Meterran Sea in coordination with the Sixth Fleet.

Similarly, units of the 5^th Airborne Division ‘Dragon’, 9^th Mountain Division ‘Comminges’, and 2^nd Marine Division ‘Domnonée’, all based in northwestern Saintonge, were placed on orange alert. All of the army’s other Marine Divisions – the 7^th Marine Division ‘les Pouilles’, the 13^th Marine Division ‘Griffonné’, the 16^th Marine Division ‘Béthagne’, and the 27^th Marine Division ’Aunis’ – which are responsible for coastal defence, were put on yellow alert.

Response needed
It increasingly looks like the failed state next door to Saintonge is necessitating a response. When asked for the government's response to the crisis just a mountain range beyond Saintonge, Foreign Minister Marcelline Tréhet said that “the Foreign Ministry is considering all options available, including involvement by multilateral organisations.”

translation by Jérôme-Caden Barceloux Colcolough

​

 

[ACR of Deerfenland]

PRESS RELEASE: NATIONAL CONGRESS DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY FOLLOWING RECENT ATTACKS

(Minsk) - For the first time in over three decades, the Byeloszlavic State of the Osclusi Democratic Republic of a Greater Northwest Meterra has declared a state of emergency. The nation has been around for sixty years and this is the first time since 1990 that they had declared a National State of Emergency. Here was the release from the Head of Congress.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, it is with great sympathy that I am here to announce that the glorious Byeloszlavic State of the Osclusi Democratic Republic of a Greater Northwest Meterra is under attack. 12 days ago, we were able to connect the dots with the recent raids against towns on our own coast with a few attacks and loots on our mainland. We were able to connect dots and create a plan, but then, we were attacked and a great portion of Congress was killed. This included delegates from Astratov and Vlad as well as a range of others. These men were fathers, grandfathers, and sons, and their lives were just taken away from them.

We were able to connect the recent attacks to a group of thugs that like to hang out along the coast. We can only assume that they are pirates. None of them have been caught, but we know ways that we can put an end to this. However, this means we need you, citizens to remain calm, vigilant, and aware of surroundings. Do not try to stop these pirates alone. Stay safe.

To the rest of the world, Oclusia calls on you for help. We are in trouble, and we don't know what to do. The Byeloszlavic State of the Osclusi Democratic Republic of a Greater Northwest Meterra declares a National State of Emergency from here on out until these pirates can be taken into custody."

 

[Haor Chall]

UMATCO STATEMENT
​

The United Meterran Aegis Coalition Organisation is offering support to the Oclusian government in this time of crisis. Whilst Oclusia is not a member of UMATCO, if left unchecked the piracy off the Oclusian coast would have far reaching effects on the security and economic stability of all nations in Meterra. As such, following agreement of the member states, a UMATCO-led Counter-Piracy Task Force is being generated, with contributions from all UMATCO nations, and will deploy to the waters around Oclusia in short order.

UMATCO will also deploy a small liaison team to Oclusia, to work with the local government, as the task force arrives. Two Charrian frigates are currently in Saintonge and will be supporting the Saintonean Navy in their counter-piracy security operations until the UMATCO Task Force arrives in area.

UMATCO is willing to work with other Meterran nations who are able to contribute forces to support this deployment, to help ensure the security of our continent.

​

On behalf of the Coalition,

General Walter Simstons, HCA
Supreme Coalition Commander

 

[ACR of Deerfenland]

Breaking News: Upon the State of Emergency issued because of the Pirate Situation, the Oclusi Stock Market has taken one hit too many, and now, the market has plummeted. ​

 

[ACR of Deerfenland]

The grenade-launcher was set and the boat was ready. The truck was onshore to take pirates. Bound for Astratov the truck was. Four pirates went into the back of the truck. The captain looked at them as he handed them knives and firearms before they shut the door. The driver shook the captain's hand before he looked straight at him. "Sir, everything is going well. Nobody will know." The commander nodded he looked around the garage. "UMATCO is nowhere to be seen... Saintonge? Out of action. Yalkan? Done..." he said as he paced around. The clap of his shoes hit the marble floor before he walked outside to the main deck. The sun glared upon him. "This town will be the next to taste our bronze..." he said before he moved back to the garage. He pulled out his pistol as he looked at a captured Oclusi soldier he took from the border. "You're first, cheeky bastard..." he muttered to the man as he was tied up. Quickly, he pulled the trigger.

Soon, the soldier's blood was on the marble flooring. Stained. The man had one look on his face as he was shot. Stunned. Double Stunned. Flabbergasted. The commander put his foot on the corpse's head. "We're back, bastards..." he said in a deep tone before he crunched the man's skull on the floor. He picked the body up and hung it on the wall. He turned to the driver. "...do what you need to do. Crush those scallywags..." he said, "Make sure those salty land-lovers regret the day they messed with the Crew..." The driver nodded as he got into the truck and took off for the place. The commander walked over to the grenade-launcher that they had stolen from the guards. "Ming Hya!" he shouted. Ming Hya rushed over. "Yes master!" he shouted. The captain smiled. "I need a mission from you..."

Фестываль; Астратаў, Oclusia; 5 мая 2020 года

Trumpets played as people marched down Mainstreet in Astratov. The van rushed down Mainstreet and swiftly ran over dozens of musicians who played and ramped its way onto one of the floats. The driver got out with a .44-caliber pistol and shot dead three performers on the float before grabbing his switch-blade and holding the fourth dancer at knifepoint. He led her to place her back against the truck in a state of nerves. She kicked the man back before making a run to the stairs of the float. The man rebounded himself off the ground and hit her hard as she hit the ground. "You're funny..." he said, "You think you can get away from me when in reality, all you do is land on your fat ass..." he said as he slit her mouth from side-to-side. "Now, nobody will think you are pretty..." He moved away from her as he threw her off of the float. He unlocked the backdoor and the four pirates inside busted out and shot another twenty on the other float behind them and the Oclusi professional marching band below.

They jumped off the float as it stopped before they scattered out. The leader scurried his way through the people right along Mainstreet. With his rifle, he gunned thirty people down before he ran out of ammunition. He pulled out his knife and ran up to more people and stabbed them. Behind him, there was a crowd of people who jumped him. He struggled to stay on his feet and dropped his knife right beneath him. He was on the ground for a solid ten seconds before he found his way back on his feet and grabbing his knife. He pulled a taser from his pocket and tased down all ten people and tied them up to a pole next to a company building. He pulled out a timebomb from his pocket and strapped it to the pole and let it ring down from ten seconds. "What the f-" BOOOM!

The next man went around with a knife on him but also with a .44-caliber pistol on his person as well. He slashed down the legs of ten before he placed them all up against a wall. "You motherfuckers have messed with the wrong group..." he shouted as he pulled the pistol from his pocket. One-by-one, loud BANG sounds were heard until all ten people in the row of people were cut down. The man went into one of the top bank headquarters downtown and shot security guards dead. He made his way to the fifth floor and cut down many more bystanders and a cop before... "Freeze!" he turned around in shock. It was the cops. The tried to pull the trigger, but he was out of ammo. He panicked and threw his knife and it hit an officer in the head and made a run for it. He tried to run through the blockade before he was tackled. He set the time bomb for five seconds as the cops landed on top of him. Five seconds later, a loud BOOM was heard from the fifth floor.

The third and fourth went off on a killing spree slashing down twelve in a row before they threw several grenades at marching bands trying to scurry away. Then, they placed timebombs under taxis before they set them off igniting taxis into flames. However, this did not last for long. Soon, they were surrounded by cops. They pulled rifles from their back pouches and started to shoot. Three cops were cut down before the marauders were killed.

----

За ўзбярэжжам; 5 мая 2020 года

The captain upon hearing the news smiled. "We're back..." A man ran into the captain's quarters. "Argh! Lad! You have the good news?" he practically smirked. The man shook his head, "No, sir. We have gotten alert that they went on their rampage, but they were caught..." the captain slammed his rum on the ground. "We leave at dawn..." he said as he retired.

 

[ACR of Deerfenland]

Commander Yuliy looked at the shore. The waves crashed along the shore as soft as the leaves fall to the ground from trees. He paced the beach lightly before looking at the new camp set up by the Oclusi military beyond the walls of a fence with barbed wire. Base Silver Strand had been quiet, but now, it came to a certain point to where it was needed. The sun was sinking under the horizon, and nightfall was coming. A breeze came across his face, a cold sensation of air blew his hair to the side before he started to retreat towards camp. There was a meeting that supposed to take place any second from this point, so he decided to make his way towards the situational room.

SILVER STRAND SITUATIONAL ROOM - 18:55

Yuliy entered the room next to his advisors, two generals, and the Minister of Defense. He took a seat at the table at a seat. The room was dead silent. The Minister of Defense looked at him. "The pirates should be hitting any day now. What should our first move be?" he asked. Yuliy looked around. "I believe that we should set up several men along the beach. We need to defend the Silver Strand with everything we have if we want a chance to end this crisis." Then, General Alyaksandr stared at the shore out of the window. He stared back at his colleagues and said, "Upon the landing of the pirates, we need to push them back to sea. We will likely face heavy resistance, but if we can manage to get them back to sea, we might be able to inspire confidence with the rest of the Oclusi."

General Kipel looked at the map. "That might work. However, if we mess something up here, we can kiss all of the hopes of inspiring confidence goodbye... Are you sure that we can handle this risk? Failure means deaths of hundreds of our men at least," he said. The Minister of Defense took it all in. He then started to look at the possible options. "I will go along with whatever you all think is right. We need men to guard shore by midnight. No later," he declared. The generals nodded. The senior war advisor looked at everyone in the room. "Execute Order 66."

SILVER STRAND BEACH - 23:55

The hours were over, and now it was time for the resistance. Alaksiej Cierashkovich, a new recruit, stared out at sea. The sound of the waves crashing gave him chills down his spine. However, he was ready to fight for his nation. "This crisis needs to end..." he said as he stared out. He was ready for the pirates that could potentially come that night. His eyes were drawn to the water as he and 350 other men that were stationed at Silver Strand stood along a line along the beach.

 

[Kyle]

L'Indépendant > Mercanti > Top Stories

Royal Santonian Navy clashes with pirates off Oclusia​

SAINTES – Task Force B of the Royal Santonian Navy (Marine royale saintongeaise, MRS) Sixth Fleet, patrolling the international waters off Oclusia, reported a clash with pirates yesterday morning.

In a press statement yesterday, Rear-Admiral Robert-James Rangeard, commander of Task Force B, the incident happened 154 nautical miles ENE of Douvres, in international waters. A Lawston-flagged container ship Sagana, travelling unescorted eastwards en route to Ganatrastadt, was attacked by a big pirate ship. The pirate ship launched four skiffs to surround Sagana.

A reconnaissance helicopter from the ship Liberté alerted nearby ships of Task Force B, while at the same time firing shots against the pirate ship and skiffs. One of the skiffs received a direct hit from the helicopter and capsized. Within an hour, the Royal Santonian Navy frigate Coole and the offshore patrol vessel Saint-Cédric arrived, just at the moment the pirates were about to board Sagana.

Coole fired warning shots at the pirate ship and at the skiffs, which led the pirate mothership to exchange fire with the two MRS ships as the skiffs tried to continue with the boarding of Sagana.

Coole then distracted the pirate ship by exchanging fire, while Saint-Cédric tried to pry Sagana away from the pirates. Saint-Cédric sank another pirate skiff as the two others continued to maneuver aggressively.

The heavily-armed pirate ship engaged Coole for almost two hours, while two helicopters from Liberté fired on and harassed the pirate ship. At 0835h, Captain Marie-Geneviève Verdollin of Coole ordered the anti-ship missiles fired on the pirate mothership, with one of the shots blowing a hole just above the waterline. Some of the pirates went overboard, where their pirate comrades rapidly abandoned them to their fate. The pirate mothership quickly headed into Oclusi waters, where the Santonian ships could not chase them.

Coole managed to rescue and detain four individuals from the pirate ship. One of the pirate skiffs also escaped to Oclusi waters, while the occupants of the other skiff surrendered to Coole, Dyle, and Basses-Alpes, the latter two ships arriving at the area after the pirate mothership left.

Saint-Cédric then escorted Sagana to the nearest Santonian harbour of Penthièvre (Côtes-du-Nord), to assess for damage. Reconnaissance drones from Liberté and Volterre reported that the pirate ship was beached somewhere near the central part of the Oclusi coast, between Silver Strand and Vasilenak.

This incident was the first such direct confrontation between the Royal Santonian Navy and the pirate ships. “As we have warned, the Royal Santonian Navy is not averse to using force to prevent piracy on the high seas,” remarked Santonian Defence Minister Marc-Maëlmon de Liescoët. “We will likely be seeing more of these in the next few months, and we will be prepared.”

translated by Kyle MacTaggart-de Flesselles

​

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OOC: Post pre-approved with @ACR of Deerfenland and @Lawston . Special thanks to @Predice for technical assistance.

 

[Prydania]

Frigg Reynholt tossed a glass of whisky against the wall as she paced back and forth.

"FUCKING SAINTONIANS!" she screamed, seething.

Brúsi Blómkvist, however, had his feet up, sipping his own whisky.
"Damn shame" he muttered. That ship the Royal Saintonian Navy ship Coole had taken out was captained by a man who was on good terms with Blómkvist, but now he was gone. And with the damn Oclusi coast lighting up? Every captain needed as many allies as they could wrangle. Blómkvist's response was, in light of this, rather sedated.

"Why aren't you more mad?" she asked as she leaned towards him, and against his chair.

"Who said I'm not mad?"

"You don't seem mad."

"I am. I'm just trying to keep some perspective" he smirked at his first mate and lover.
"Astratov is gone, love. One ship is small potatoes. Besides, we still have the bank."
The bank. Blómkvist and his crew had actually stolen Yalkan Dram printing plates while they were in transport from Goyanes to Yalkan. Neither Goyanes or Yalkan ever discovered it was his crew. Which was perfect. Blómkvist was in this for money. He didn't want fame. In fact fame was counter productive.
And he had plenty of money. Counterfeit Yalkan Drams had made him quite a nice stack of actual cash. Between that and his raids? He was living the life no one would have given him otherwise. No Syndicalists back in Prydania, no self-righteous Saintonian catholiques. He was living his own life.
Only now... Goldsmith Zayn had attracted Oclusian attention to their operation. And Saintonge's navy had eliminated an ally's ship.

"That's not going to matter. The Oclusians or Saintonians will find us eventually. We're being boxed in and you don't seem to care!" Frigg screamed only for Brúsi to stand up and kiss her deep. She kissed him back, biting his lower lip as he growled deep before pulling away.

"We're going to kill Zayn and once his dead body washes ashore? Once I bring the other Pirate Lords in line? We'll all lay low. The Oclusians will go back letting their barracks rot from the inside, and the Saintonians will go home. And we'll be free, forever."

 

[ACR of Deerfenland]

SILVER STRAND BEACH; 0:00

Alaksiej Cierashkovich smirked at the sight of the ship. He cracked his knuckles quite loudly. Then, he cracked his neck. A cold sensation drilled down his spine. Excitement took its place. He looked at several of his neighbors. "You know what we should do?" he nudged them. They looked at him with blank expressions before shrugging lightly. Alaksiej rolled his eyes a little bit before gesturing towards the craft. "We need to get on that ship..." he said. His compatriot, Goodman, shrugged. "We have a problem, though..." he began, "We need to plunge right through the pirate defenses to take a boat..."

Alaksiej smirked. "We'll worry about that later, but you gotta have my back here..." he said. A look of determination was all over his face. "Let's fuck 'em up, boys..." he smirked. The ship stopped and pirates began to plunge out with smaller boats. Rowboat after rowboat reached landfall. The Oclusi forces on the ground were ready and aimed their guns towards the approaching pirates. Commander Yuliy came out in front of them. He twirled a huge Oclusi Flag right in front of the forces. He raised it over his head and a yelp was heard from the Oclusi forces.

"Three!!!" he shouted,

The Oclusi began to load their weapons. Armories were inserted. Swords were drawn. The midnight raid would become something that would be heard all around Oclusia. Alaksiej stomped his feet and looked at the group of people. The chilly seashore had begun to emerge itself into his shoes. He didn't care. He nodded and a nod of acknowledgment was given right back.

"Two!"

Alaksiej and his group of comrades begun to shift themselves over to the left. Ready to go around and take a boat. A bulge right through the pirate defenses. From there, the plan would be simple; provoke outrage. Outright. Don't engage, strike by night. Remain relentless until the troops take flight. Then, they would outrun the pirates, outlast them, and then upon entrance to the ship, hit them quick and out fast. Stay alive until they have passed. Alaksiej looked at his friends. "We're gonna fly a lot of flags half-mast..." he said.

"Raise a glass," they said.

"One! Charge!" Yuliy yelled,

The Oclusi forces began to charge. Alaksiej with his group of ten soldiers shifted and ran the other way and began to shoot several pirates and waited for the rest of them to take land. They waited behind a rock watching the conflict enrage. "Raise a glass..." Alaksiej said as the rest of the boats began to land ashore.

 

[Haor Chall]

++International waters, near Oclusia++

Commander Iain Smith, of the Haor Charrian Navy, wiped the ocean spray from his binoculars as he stood on the bridge wing of the frigate HCNS Unity. It was an overcast, grey day, far from the tropical sun they had been enjoying only a few weeks ago in Demescia. The abrupt change in orders hadn’t come as a shock after recent events, but he was pleased with how rapidly the crew had taken the shift from what had been planned as a purely diplomatic and relationship building “cruise” to what was now a combat deployment.

Without the binoculars he could just make out the angular shape of the HCNS Valiant, sister ship to Unity and, currently, their only company. She was about 400 metres away from the Unity and just off their port quarter, her bow making large sheets of spray as she raced through the water.

Both ships were travelling at around 28 knots, not quite full speed but close to it. After a very short stop in a Saintonian port to refuel and load supplies, the frigates had left in a hurry to rendezvous with Task Force B of the Saintonian Navy. Smith was slightly less happy about this aspect of his orders, as he was to fully comply with Saintonian Rules of Engagement whilst operating with Task Force B – which were much stricter than he would have liked, they precluded following any pirates into Oclusian waters for one thing. That would change once the rest of the UMATCO force arrived, including the Charrian 4th Carrier Battle Group. Their Charrian shipmates were still a week or so behind them, but naval forces from the other UMATCO nations should begin to arrive in the Oclusian JOA within a few days.

For now, however, he had different company to meet. Although they had already been picked up on radar, and already communicated via radio, Smith wanted to see their temporary partners for himself. He looked through the binoculars again, and this time, he could see three more warships slowly coming into view. The Saintonians certainly knew how to build ships he mused, looking at the lines of the approaching vessels. Now they were in visual range, it was time to slow down and join with the Saintonian Navy’s patrol formation…

 

[North Timistania]

Thabo Na Zondi was sitting under an improvised parasol with his feet resting on a crumbling table,with his back to the sea enjoying the feeling of cool wind in his dreads. The Oclusian coast would have seemed idyllic if not for the stench of smoke and fire that now wafted its acrid mélange across the narrow sands. The bodies didn’t help the overall image of the place either, Thabo and his men had killed everyone they had found, the toxic mixture of alcohol, drugs and pent up frustrations setting the pirates into a frenzy.

Thabo was coming down from the psychotic highs of the blood weed* and as the depressive thoughts began to sink in, he busied himself self-medicating with rum and marijuana. He watched with a dispassionate eye as his crew looted the corpses of the fishing village’s inhabitants, he chuckled in a drugged stupor as they slit throats and put bullets through skulls. After countless days of heat, isolation and endless oceans the crew had waded ashore like hyena with tails aflame. Thabo chuckled maniacally as he recalled the wondrous mix of excitement and heat as he had personally firebombed over a dozen homes.

The village hadn’t been much to look at, Thabo doubted a soul in it would be missed, but still, it did have ample supplies with which Thabo would fill the bowels of his vessel. House was stripped of anything usable; food, ammo, fuel and mechanical parts were unceremoniously looted from the gutted homes. They would leave soon, speeding away on their nimble Dhow before any would-be saviours could avenge these unfortunate souls. All the navies of Eras would find was fire and death.

Thabo watched as Hakubu busied himself scalping his victims, the ex-Kaiderin stumbled about in a drugged haze. Hakubu wandered the beach with a bloodied knife in one hand and a fist full of scalps in his other, soon the pirates would need to leave but first, they would have their fun. Thabo felt the last of his sober mind slip away as he began to laugh maniacally.

*Blood weed, a potent psychoactive drug produced from ground-up powder from the scarlet grasses in northern Astragon. Known to induce psychosis, paranoia and delusions of grandeur.

 

[Highton]

On the orders of Highton City, the mighty SGR Phönix made its way towards the Alemansee. Captain David Rosenthal has been on board the aircraft carrier for the better part of six months hovering mostly near Hightonian waters off the coast of Vaasa. It had taken about a week to travel from there to the Alemansee, but as the crown jewel of not only Highton's navy but also the Geimeinschaft's, it was set to play a crucial role in that alliance's response to the piracy crisis off the coast of Oclusia.

"Those damn pirates takin' us all the way over here," he said, looking out at miles of open waters. They were less than 60 miles from the Meterran coast yet they had not spotted anything more than shipping vessels. The Phönix had essentially arrived at its destination in the sea as it would patrol the waters in the region to keep pirate in check. 30 miles off the coast, a distant shot was heard. A small manned boat was quickly spotted, probably 800 or so meters away. Immediately the Phönix was mobilized. First, warning shots were fired in the direction of the small boat. After the pirates' ship refused to surrender, bullets rained down on it, with a noise so loud it could be heard for miles. Eventually, they become totally irresponsive. The pirates had been obliterated. A helicopter was sent over to investigate the wreckage and from the pieces remained it was obviously a smuggler's ship. It was also very clear that those pirates had messed with the wrong ship.

"Those pirates," the captain said to his officers, "they're stupid. They pushed the limits of their capabilities." He looked out at sea again, trying to find more ships. "We're back here again," he said in reference to having been here a year prior due to the previous mobilization of troops in and around Oclusia due to the Courantist purges, "and hopefully this will be the last time we need to come here." He banged on the windows; "Let's show these fuckers what she can do!"

 

[ACR of Deerfenland]

The Oclusi forces began to charge. Alaksiej with his group of ten soldiers shifted and ran the other way and began to shoot several pirates and waited for the rest of them to take land. They waited behind a rock watching the conflict enrage. "Raise a glass..." Alaksiej said as the rest of the boats began to land ashore.

Heavy gunfire was coming from all sides. Pirates and soldiers. Alaksiej took a deep breath before shaking his head and turning to his friends. "Do we really want to do this?" he asked them. They looked around with heavy determination in their eyes. Deep breaths all around were given as glances around the certain area. The beach, a spot with previous heavy tourist activity, now a war ground. Alaksiej took one more breath to look at his friends. They gave a small nod before turning to the shoreline. He stared at his own hands. "I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory... This is where it gets me, on my feet the enemy ahead of me. If this is the end of me, at least I have a friend with me, a weapon in my hand, a command, and my friends with me. Then I remember my Liz is expecting me. Not only that, but my Liz is also expecting. We gotta go, gotta get the job done. Gotta begin this assault, gotta meet my son!" he shouted. He turned to his friends.

"Take the bullets out your gun!" he said,

"What?" the remarked,

"The bullets out your gun!" he emphasized,

"What?"

"We move undercover and we move as one. Through the night, we have one shot to live another day. We cannot let a stray gunshot give us away!" he reasoned. They moved quickly towards one of the boats. They took a moment to stand behind the rocks. "Load your weapons..." Alaksiej urged. Once everyone had their weapons loaded, he took a note of two boats. Then, he loaded his weapon towards three pirates. "Fire..." he silently yelled. Rounds of gunfire from behind the rock were heard and those pirates fell dead. Some pirates decided to move towards the rock, but then, in swift action, Alaksiej cut them down and moved them towards the rowboats.

They got into the rowboats in groups of 3 and they began to row towards the giant pirate ship out 2 miles from shore.

 

[Goyanes]

Børista, Yalkan
Early June 2020


Note: Reference made to this post: https://forum.thenorthpacific.org/topic/9015868/post-10319240

The Financial Crimes Service had been called in to help after the Yalken investigators reached a deadlock after two years. The Dram printing plates had been stolen, prompting the Bank of the Goyanean Empire to hastily update designs to ensure the counterfeits would be easier to detect, however the culprit was still at large.

Special Agent Heinarder stepped off the charter plane, his associates were removing the cases with computers and other equipment. They had rented a townhouse in the city where the operations of this mission would be based.

“The air smells fresh,” he said as he sniffed in quite an exaggerated fashion, “doesn’t it, Fredrik?” asked Heinarder to his partner, who had just walked up next to him.
“Quite.” He sighed. “The piracy in the South Gothis Sea has come to a boiling point.”
“Yep. Yep. Them bastards think they run this sea. We’ll show ‘em... in due time.”
“ I’ve told the juniors to load up the vans, we’ll meet with the Fraud and Embezzlement Bureau agents at their office.”
“Right on.” Heinarder looked around. “Now which one’s ours.”
“The black sedan.”

As they drove off towards the center of town, Heinarder couldn’t help but notice the language.
“If only they just spoke normal Gojan…”
Fredrik laughed out of his nose. All this place needed was a railway station for every person and it was practically Goyanes.

---

​

MoD Head Offices
Gojannesstad, Nyhett, Goyanes
Late May 2020

Admiral Steven van Krønno was a stern-faced man. The former head of the Imperial Navy and veteran of the Gotmark War had taken the role of Minister of Defense after General Genter Leidr resigned due to a scandal involving extrajudicial killings done by Gojan-Prydanian soldiers in post-war Prydania. He had no time for bullshit and took it from nobody. He commanded the ministry with an iron fist. “My way or the fjord!” he’d jokingly say, referring to the ministry’s head offices on the banks of the Mydfjord in Gojannesstad.

He walked into the conference room, and everyone stood to attention. The morning sun came flooding through the windows. He came around to the head of the table. The projector turned on and the curtains rolled down, dimming the room and preventing any snooping eyes from the streets of Gojannesstad from peering inside.

“Please be seated. We’ve got business to attend to.” He clicked the remote and advanced to the title card. “New game plan everyone. We’re going pirate hunting!” His eyes lit up, merely at the thought of a new naval objective. Next slide. “I call it the South Gothis Chain.” A map appeared on the screen depicting the South Gothis Sea. A red line stretched across the water, labelled The Chain. “Pirates from that failed state of Oclusia are threatening our economic livelihood and our shipping interests through there. It’s one of our primary routes, traffic from the west coast mostly ships through there.” He looked around at the heads of each of the branches. “We need to use our available hard and soft power assets to secure a free trading route not just for ourselves, but for our strategic allies of Gotmark, Valland, and Yalkan.” He clicked the slide once again. “In addition, the Chain will help strengthen our shipping routes to Craviter and Saintonge, as well as help keep our Dramzone intact.”

The army chief, General Norbrygge, raised his hand, “And how exactly are we going to keep unwanted interests out. Intel tells us the Hightonians are deploying there already, via their Gemeinschaft.”

“General, we already have a presence in this sea. It’s ours.” He pointed arrogantly at himself. “It’s just a matter of tying the strings together and shutting this little party down.” Norbrygge nodded approvingly at Krønno. “This brings me to the next part of my presentation. Phase 1,” he clicked again. “We are going to relocate a carrier group from down south to here. In addition we’ll deploy an additional strike group. This will give the base core of our operations.” He surveyed his crowd. “Phase 2. With the cooperation of Yalkan and Valland we will deploy our maritime patrol jets via their airports. Should they turn us down we will use tanker jets and deploy them from Nordgotmark or Kira.”
The Air Force chief looked on interestingly. The use of air assets would be vital, he sensed it.

“Phase 3: We begin striking. We take down the pirates directly. Air-to-ship missiles, torpedoes, whatever we have to do to secure our shipping lanes and send them a message. If we have to bomb that damn country we will!” Krønno was fired up. Maybe he just lost some money on Hysende Shipping Lines stock, but he was more fired up than usual. “We have contingencies in place to recover as many pirates from any wreckage, and we’ll take them to trial. Perchance we even find the one that stole those Dram printing plates.”

Krønno continued on, more military details, but Goyanes was on a mission. Later that day he visited the Landesdag and presented his case. The left was particularly inquisitive that day, but the National Union Party always pulled through. Within two days there was parliamentary approval, and before you knew it the Jægerstrom dockyards were bustling with activity as a new strike group prepared for deployment. Phase 1 was go for launch.

 

[ACR of Deerfenland]

The rowboats rowed off into the night. Darkness filled the water. The mood, anxious. The name of the sound was silence. Alaksiej, a determined man with a look of anger on his face, had a chip on his shoulder that he wanted to make right for himself. For his own good. He knew that his plan would work well for him. As they rowed forward, another rowboat met them. It was Aleš Bohšsa. Alaksiej raised a fist in the air as Aleš met up with them in the middle of the water. His friends stared at him. "How did you know that he would be here?" they asked quickly. One of them opened their eyes widely. "Aleš Bohšsa?!" they practically shouted.

"A tailor spyin’ on the Pirate scallywags! I take their measurements, information, and then I smuggle it to my brother's Oclusia covenant. You know I’m runnin’ with the Oclusian Military and I am lovin’ it! See, that’s what happens when you up against the ruffians. We in the shit now, somebody gotta shovel it!"

"Dude, we thought you were dead!"

Bohšsa reached into his pocket and gave them the Pirates' fighting formations and raised two dead pirates, who they could assume were guards. He gave a small smirk. "Aleš Bohšsa, I need no introduction. When you knock me down I get the fuck back up again!"

Aleš Bohšsa jumped into their boat and they began to row towards the ship. "This will be the greatest assault on these pirates anyone has ever seen... You guys know the form in which they join the rest, correct?" The guys nodded as they continued to inch closer and closer. "So, we take that route, and first chance we get, we fire upon the other ships in the fleet..." Bohšsa said with heavy determination in his eyes.

Alaksiej widened his eyes with fear. "Isn't this a suicide mission?"

Bohšsa smirked, "Yes. Yes, it is... Unless we play our cards right."