Trouble in the Nahr

A letter appeared on the Supreme Leader's desk, clad in a metallic envelope. Addressed to "Alssahra", with no other writing engraved on the metal, the Supreme Leader Amani Al-Jazari opened the envelope with an air of terror, before reading the enclosed.

Sach’aqan Hegemony

THE INKA OF SACH’AQA has resolved in the City of Allpakasikay on this day the twenty ninth of the ninth month of the year two thousand and sixteen as follows.

Whereas the Alssaharan Empire has imposed outrageous tariffs for the access and use for trade of the River Nahr. Whereas it repeatedly refuses to compensate Sach’aqa with financial reparations for the woes and damages inflicted as a result of its past colonisation.

Be it known that a state of war exists between the Sach’aqan Hegemony and the Alssaharan Empire and the Generals and Admirals are hereby commanded to direct the armed forces in conducting such actions as will be necessary to engage in war and bring upon a resolution favourable to the interests of Sach’aqa.

Wiraqucha IX
Inka of the Sach’aqan Hegemony


Al-Jazari thought of the declaration for a few short minutes, before exclaiming, "TO THE GUNBOATS!"

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Greetings,

It has come to our attention that the Sach'aqan Hegemony has baselessly and recklessly declared war against the Empire of Alssahra.

This act of injustice shall not be tolerated by the Kingdom of Fornoire, who shall stand in times of need with nations worth respecting and that are, frankly, sane and logical. Especially when the matter is of an attack on our closest ally and friend, the respectable Alssahran Empire.

So, we have decided to lend a helping hand to our friend in the Nahr. Since the Sach'aqan Hegemony has unjustifiably declared war on our close ally, the Empire of Alssahra, in retaliation, the Kingdom of Fornoire has declared war on the Sach'aqan Hegemony.

Thank you,

Prince Yousef, Minister of Foreign Affairs

There had been exceptions, but for the most part the First Councillor had resided at the Palazzo Malzo ever since the first kingdoms unified to form Eastern Sartoria, the confederation of industrialised states that eventually expanded to encompass a vast land larger than all nations save Selene itself. Through the decades many individuals held in high esteem, called honourable even by their fiercest detractors, had walked through the halls of the Palazzo and made consequential decisions in the many offices that it housed.

It seemed a mockery of fate then that when the time came for Marco Valerio to make one such choice, he was not at his office, but in the residential area, reading a fantasy novel with no more illumination than that which a nearby dimly lit lamp provided. He had felt his phone buzz on the nearby table, but he had ignored it. His staff was well aware by now of his rule about being disturbed during reading time. That and family time were the only two moments during the week when he was not to be disturbed unless a catastrophic event was ongoing, and none had taken place thus far. He let the phone rang.

Yet it kept buzzing, and when he refused the call it started buzzing again, and he started getting various text messages from his Private Secretary, the Foreign Councillor, the Military Councillor and the Royal Palace. He frowned, putting down his book and answering the call that he was receiving. "Yes?"

"Marco" he said the agitated voice of Grazia Marelli, his Foreign Councillor "please for the love of Or tell me you have been informed."

Informed? Her tone had been alarming enough, but now he knew something was going on without his being aware. "Calm down Grazia. Tell me what's going on."

"Check MALZO. It should all be on your inbox by now." he walked to his private study, turned on his computer and checked his inbox on the private government intranet. A document titled FCEO: WAR DECLARED BY SACH'AQA ON ALSSAHRA; FORNOIRE STANDS WITH ALSSAHRA opened, and he quickly read the summary. He swore.

"I see it now, Grazia. Come to the Palazzo; I'm calling a campfire." he hung up and opened the foreign affairs group on MALZO, inputting a one-word message that he knew would suffice: CAMPFIRE.

Qal, The Trinity, International Wing.
'Fellow people, I assume you have heard of the tension between Alssahra and Sach'aqa, whom share borders. Some countries, notably Fornoire, have already intervened, feeling it their need to interfere with another countries issues. The situation sparked due to large tariffs imposed on Sach'aqa by Alssahra, regarding trade on the river Nahr. This in itself was not enough to spark the threat of war from Sach'aqa obviously..' #78 Manager of International Affairs Edyrm Zumgwyn stated, before being interrupted by a farmer known as Halamar. 
'Threat of war? You describe a threat of war as mere 'tension' between countries?' Halamar interrupted.
'Well yes, because I believe that it can be resolved diplomatically if both nation cooperate' Edyrm answered 'are you alright with this?'
'Yeah fine go ahead' Halamar replied 'It's just some of us have not heard of this situation yet so I was a bit struck when I realized we were talking about war'
'Ah yes I will make sure to describe in more detail the event later on, as well as show several newspaper articles on the big screen' Edyrm said, gesturing at the large projection screen behind him, 'alright, as I was saying, this was obviously not enough to spark the threat of war from Sach'aqa, but after reading a copy of the letter that Sach'aqa sent online, then also researching more into the matter, I found that Sach'aqa had faced brutal colonization and oppression from Alssahra, which I'm sure you all know is a dictatorship. I believe this and the large restrictions on their trade routes has caused the threat of war, which, due to this evidence, I believe to be completely justified' Edyrm paused as a murmur stirred in the audience. As the chatter died down he continued 'now, although war may have been a bit to much to fast on their part, I think that we need to support them and try to coax them back to a friendly relationship with Alssahra, while getting Alssahra to perhaps meet them halfway by compensating them for what they need and lessening tariffs on the River Nahr. That is my case, please consider this before deciding to attack them like other countries have so far. Edyrm sat down on a chair in the front row of the audience to hear the next speaker, #46 Manager of International Affairs and a noted isolationist called Ailduin Varnala, who was once again making a case for not getting involved.

'Fellow people, Edyrm hear has made a good case on behalf of Sach'aqa, but he did not address the issue of why we should get involved at all. Do we not have our own problems? The stronghold of Karknar still holds strong and he and his men take more land and prisoners everyday. Should we not clean up our own problems before we try to clean up other nations ones? Although I agree that Alssahra needs to lessen tariffs and perhaps take measures to ensure that the compensate Sach'aqa for the problems caused by the colonization, Sach'aqa still should not have declared war like that. Both of these countries seem childish and need to sort out these problems themselves, us interfering in their problems is only going to raise tension and tempers between us and the side we choose not to support. I implore you to vote to not take action, so that we can instead focus on our problems, rather than that of two countries that can't make up'. Ailduin sat down near Edyrm and got ready to listen to the third and final case, presented by a citizen who worked several jobs called Jaonos Zumfiel, who was in favour of helping Alssahra.

'Fellow people, you have heard two arguments already, both presented by Managers and are undoubtedly a lot better written then mine' this caused a few laughs 'I think that we should help out Alssahra, they are the ones being attacked and they have no obligation to lift tariffs if they don't want to, hell we should know, with our heavy and might I add, discriminatory tariffs levied upon capitalist nations, while we trade freely with communist ones. Sach'aqa has no right to declare war, the woes inflicted upon them by colonists was most likely an event that happened far in the past and had nothing to do with Alssahra's present leader, so why should they pay for it. I ask that you make the right choice and follow Fornoires example by voting to help Alssahra'.

Jaonos sat down at the other end of the meeting room while Hagmar, the coordinator stepped up to announce that the vote would be released and that the meeting was dismissed. All 100 viewers left the room, with a lot of them voting as they exited. The 'ivote' app notified the population of the issue and provided recordings of the presenters cases. In 5 days the voting closed, with 96.576% of the population having voted. These are the results.

Pro Sach'aqa: 47% of votes.
Pro Alssahra:  26% of votes.
Staying out:   27% of votes.

With this outcome the Trinity put out a public notice that Sach'aqa would be receiving support, they also notified Sach'aqa and Alssahra of the outcome as well. Supplies and medics would be sent to Sach'aqa to help if war broke out, as well as 25 Managers of International Affairs, with Edyrm leading them as acting voice of Oscad.

Fornirian East Naval Fleet, International Waters

"M'lady, we have orders from the mainland" said Vice Admiral Akue Terinoka

The Admiral of the fleet, Akua Aurumile, was the first female naval admiral in charge of an entire fleet. It was her first time in charge of a fleet in an actual naval war, and she never expected to be in one so soon. All that training and studying would have to pay off in this battle

"Don't waste my time, Vice Admiral. Say it quick, or else, go away"

Despite being a man, Akua Aurumile's attitude and personality would frighten many. She was authoritarian and cold, characteristics needed to be dominant in a male-dominated, harsh career. With her simple presence, her crew followed her, because her attitude was commanding, in a cold way

"Y-yes, m'lady. They want us to defend Bawwaba Medina"

When she heard the name Bawwaba Medina, and saw it on the map, she began to complain

"What?! They expect my fleet to go through the damn Nahr?! That place is infested with Sach'aqan warships! Not to mention that Sach'aqan forces are pushing south! We need land troops!"

Akua kept on, rambling and complaining. It's a river, they never trained for such a body of water, who knows if Alssahra has not been contacted, Sach'aqan gunboats might cripple the fleet with a home advantage...However, she eventually gave up, reluctantly, however, and prepared a strategy to defend Bawwaba Medina

"...Fine. But, tell them to send me 10,000 men, or this fleet ain't moving"

"B-but they're the superiors and-"

"Shut it!" said Akua, in a demanding tone, while throwing a crystal object into the floor, shattering to pieces "Do as I say, or these ships are sitting ducks!"

"Un-understood, m'lady..."

Even men feared the female Admiral. When she arrived to lead the fleet in early September, men did not then. However, her anger and commanding attitude, along with savagely punching her men as punishment, made her a nightmare known throughout the crew. She had beaten the Vice Admiral before, and he was the one that was most scared of her because of that, after he refused to do an order because she was a woman. Although they could launch an assault case, Akua won three cases before, in which she justified her actions as both provocation from her subordinates, and the fact that, under naval code, women can take these actions to establish their dominance amongst a crew that views them as weak

Eventually, the mainland ceded, and sent 10,000 troops to aid the Fornirian East Naval Fleet, composed of 7 monitors, 12 battleships, 15 submarines, 17 torpedo boats, 20 destroyers, 22 cruisers and 30 frigates. The carriers, FNAC Valerius and FNHC Helius, were left behind because of terrible wind conditions, and told to regroup with the Fornirian South Naval Fleet, which will send part of it's fleet to take the place of the East. They set course for Bawwaba Medina, as Fornoire's first mission, Operation Arabian Nights, to defend it's closest ally began

Sach'aqan gunboats lined the shore. The Nahr was peaceful, like always. It never flooded unexpectedly, or tragically, or had bad weather. Climate change was starting to become a real threat, and the river's shoreline was rising higher and higher, but otherwise, it was calm.

But then the engines of the gunboats roared up. Dozens, if not hundreds, flared up to perform a final attack on the city of Bawwaba Median, highly unusual for starting to have been built over the river itself. This was due in part to the rising river, but also due to a need to defend the Nahr better, to keep the dastardly Sach'aqan out if an all-out assault occurred. Fortunate for the Sach'aqan, it was not built to completion yet, and their gunboats races down the Nahr.

Bawwaba Medina was unprepared. The combined fleet of the Fornirian and Alssahran gunboats and heavy ships were still mostly in their docks when the assault came battering down. A flurry of combined shelling from Sach'aqan heavy ships, and the rapid fire of the P.T. Cruisers battered the majority of the combined fleet. The city itself received a fair amount of destruction as well, although the more permanent defenses built on the shoreline and out into the river were mostly kept intact. The Sach'aqan Admiralty knew how to defend the river with them, and they'd take every chance they could.

A call from El-Ghazzawy to world leaders that have shown sympathy to Alssahra has gone out, in the hopes that at least Alghana Al'ard does not fall in the defense of it.

The #2 Manager of International Affairs, taking charge in the 1st's place, begs the Inca to stop. 'Please, no more attacks, Oscad will support you but if this continues we will be forced to withdraw our medical teams and return home. There is still an option for diplomacy, I implore you to meet with the leader of Alssahra, you've scared them well enough so they're sure to meet your demands, please consider this'


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Palazzo Cerveleri
10:25AM

Grazia Marelli had never felt at ease in the Senate. She had served in the Foreign Service for twenty five years, and in that time had grown accustomed to the indirect, perhaps even hypocritical, custom of being courteous to others while secretly wanting to stab them in the back. That was not to say she felt that way towards all foreign representatives, but it was to be expected that disagreements would be expressed in a diplomatic manner. That was not the case in the Senate, where the rules of decorum were no impediment for senators to openly and explicitly express their disagreements with any given bill or policy proposed by one of their colleagues or a government minister.

"The Privy Councilllor for the Foreign Office." Said the Speaker. Arianna Ventresca was a staple of the Senate, having served for nearly 5 terms and being one of the few senators not subject to term limits, since incumbents had been excused when the particular law went into effect.

Grazia stood and approached the podium. "Madam Speaker, I understand the reluctance of many honourable members to entertain the thought of involving ourselves in a conflict much removed from the direct concerns of their constituents, but I urge them to consider the implications of not acting. While we hold this debate, Sach'aqa has commenced an attack on Bawwaba Medina. Countless lives are being lost and a close ally of ours has seen their sovereign territory being threatened by a power unconcerned with the basic rules of diplomacy or international relations. This is yet the latest aggression by them, but surely not the last, unless we make a determination to assist our ally in this time of need. Yesterday First Councillors Valerio and El-Ghazzawy agreed through a phone call about the need for both our countries to work together to contain Sach'aqa while they remain an aggressor. With your permission, I would like to quote from the statement released last night by the Palazzo Malzo:

'First Councillor El Ghazzawy of Alssahra confirmed that the Sach'aqan invasion has the goal of ultimately invading the capital and taking control of the Nahr River. First Councillor Valerio agreed with her that it is in the best interests of both Sartoria and Alssahra to contain any aggression by Sach'aqa so that the world can be made safe for all free peoples.'

I urge the Senate to stand by the Privy Council in supporting the measure proposed, one that is limited in scope but would make an important difference in the growing military conflict."

Just as she sat, Grazia saw several senators stand, but after two seconds one one remained standing, a middle-aged man with a balding hear and glasses. He wore a grey suit with a red tie and a handkerchief of the same colour in his breat pocket, the suit comfortably hugging his wide body, though she was not sure if the shirt hugged his neck as comfortably. His name was called by the Speaker, and he learned forward to speak into the microphone on his desk.

"Madam Speaker, I have to express my concern for the eagerness of the Foreign Councillor to propose military action as our first option. Have there been any approaches with the Sach'aqan Government? Has the Councillor attempted to establish negotiations between the belligerents? Are we certain beyond doubt that a diplomatic solution is no longer an option? We have all received a brief detailing the events in Alssahra and the policy positions of the Privy Council, yet nowhere in this document is there any indication that our Government has tried to avoid military involvement. I question the commitment of the current Council to international peace, if their solution to military aggression is even more aggression on our part."

Mario Salucci sat, as several senators gently hit their desks twice, the conventional way of expressing support in the chamber. Also a staple of the Senate, Salucci was widely seen as one the main opposition leaders to the Valerio Council, certainly one of the more powerful ones from his seat in the Senate. He constantly opposed and criticised many policies put forth by the Council, but in the tradition of his constituency, made sure to compromise where compromise was possible, and was also regarded as an excellent link between goverrnment offices and his constituents, treating both corteously and making sure each felt he was on their side. He was, in short, one of the most skilled and powerful senators in the realm.

"Madam Speaker" Said Grazia as she stook again. "I thank my honourable colleague for his candor, but I must remind him that his assertion that we aim at engaging in any aggression is a misrepresentation of our position. If you turn to page twenty seven of the brief that my colleague was kind enough to mention, you will see that our position is to encourage a diplomatic solution to this crisis, but only insofar was our ally does not find itself in a position of disadvantage. That can only happen if Sach'aqa is contained within their borders, rather than allowed to continue invading and annexing foreign lands. Our presence would be limited to helping Alssahra restore their territorial integrity and ensure their borders are secure. Just like my colleague, we have no interest in engendering needless conflict."

In her mind, Grazia sighed, bracing herself for the unending questioning by her colleagues. Curious, was it not? They were not even members of the same legislative house, but protocol still dictated they should refer to each other as colleagues. She knew for a fact that Madam Speaker would have said quite a few things about her colleagues, were she not prevented by protocol. A friendly senator had just made a comment on the bill; she rose to respond.

Il Quotidiano Main Office
4:10PM

Chief Editor Ennio Toselli was for the most part calm. It was still a quiet time at the office, most important articles ready for publication, and the only activity came from journalists working on some smaller stories to fill the back and editors checking the latest articles. He was playing a quirky simulation game he had found the other day, though he felt slightly quilty for not checking on his Chief Political Correspondent, who was covering the vote at the Palazzo Cerveleri. He suddenly stopped playing for a when he felt his phone buzz. It was Claudio Paricelli, the one person whose call he was expecting, and he brought some breaking news. He rose the phone to his ear and listened with a serious expression on his face, taking all in and quickly processing the information, thinking of story angles, figures to be researched and headlines to be written. He quickly nodded and then the call was finished, almost as soon as it had begun.

He rose and walked towards the door, opening it and leaning forward, so that half his body was outside. He called out:

"Carolina! I got the call, please start working on the cover for tomorrow."

A woman to the right of his office looked up and nodded, trying to keep a straight face, though it was obvious she had been hoping for a different kind of news. She opened a file on her computer and started writing the headline for tomorrow's paper:

WAR IN THE NAHR
Senate backs proposal to deploy the Navy to support Alssahra

Prince Claudio II Naval Base
5:25PM

Captain Giorgio Falco was walking along a hallway, though he barely paid attention to his surroundings or the direction in which he was walking. It was mostly unnecessary in any case, given how many times he had been there and how well he knew the layout of the building. He was headed towards the security office, to notify that his wife would be visiting. Usually such notices were not necessary for the spouses of senior officers, but security had been tightened since the mobilisation orders had arrived. It was lunchtime, so technically he had little to do for at least three more hours, until the Commodore arrived to inspect the latest preparations for departure. Usually a mobilisation this size would take weeks, but they were working overtime, some willingly to the point of exhaustion, given that they all knew what was at stake.

Having distinguished himself as an excellent college student and afterwards as an accomplished mathematician, Captain Falco eventually decided that his calling was in the Sartorian Navy, requesting a leave at his research position to pursue a career as a naval office. He had quickly risen through the ranks, and no more than eight months ago had been given command of his own ship. the SNS Treves, a small but newly commissioned vessel. He had served with distinctions -at least that is what his superiors told him- but had then been reassigned to his current post: Chief of Staff to Admiral Gatti, the Commanding Officer at Principe Claudio II Naval Base. Sure, some might see that as a promotion, considering he was now handling sensitive materials and would often be invited to naval policy meetings, but he saw it differently. He wanted to sail, to led his own ship, to execute policy, rather than set it from the distance of a meeting room.

He was immersed in these thoughts, still on his way to the security office, when someone called out to him. It was a familiar voice. In fact, it was so familiar that he instantly knew to stand in attention and salute.

"At ease Giorgio." said Admiral Franceso Gatti. They shook hands, and the Admiral signaled for them to keep walking. "I know this is your free time, but I have some orders from above that I wanted to share in person.

Falco nodded, unsure of how to respond. The Admiral continued. "It's no secret that you were not pleased when you were reassigned from the Treves to be my Chief of Staff. I have been immensely pleased to have you, but I also realise that your place is in the ocean, not in a desk. I called some favours, and these are your new orders."

Still insure, Falco received a folder. He opened it and read what turned out to be unexpected but pleasant news. "Mobilisation is almost ready, so you will be leaving in command of the SNS Giacomo Costa tomorrow afternoon. Obviously the carrier will be leading the fleet, but the Costa is an important ship, so you will have a relevant position in whatever mission you have in the coming days.

"Thank you Admiral" responded Falco "I appreciate this gesture, and rest assured that I will discharge my duties as captain with distinction."

The Admiral nodded and smiled; not like a friend, rather like an elder approving of a decision made by his protégé. "I know you will."

Still walking towards the security office, Falco took some time to read the brief, which detailed that preparations for mobilisation had actually begun days before the Senate authorised the deployment, so many ships were already ready to depart. Most would begin their journey towards the Nahr tomorrow afternoon, with some other ships and equipment having already departed or being set to leave hours after the main group. He whistled when he saw the amount of ships that would head for Alssahra, wondering how the Sach'aqans would cope with that large a force and the ground forces of Alssahra and Fornoire.

It would be quite a battle.

Nahr River

Retreating from Bawwaba Medina to save the fleet, the Admiral faced a disastrous defeat. Despite knowing the size of the Sach'aqan Navy, and that they couldn't afford a heavy defeat, she was still pessimistic, and in a strategic panic. Her next task would be to help defend the Alssahran capital. And, while on a video call with an Army General...

"This.....this....." mumbled the Admiral

"...Hmph...Naval power cannot win this war alone...or, at least, succumb the Sach'aqans. I have a proposal, General"

Army General Iginikore Aurum listened. He was an influential force in the military, and a stern one as well

"Well, we must hear it, no?"

"Send an army to reinforce the capital. ~40,000 troops should be enough make the damn junglies to be forced out of the capital. After all, we must resist with all our might"

Iginikore authorized it, but with a condition

"I see. There is only one condition for me to send them"

"And that is?"

"Contact the air force. My men cannot be the only boots on the ground"

Akua accepted. It was a wise idea, after all

And now, it all came together to her. She would need to strike as hard as she could in Alghana Al'ard. If her fleet failed to do so, she risked the Sach'aqan Navy's wrath. She was sure to use the bombings to the best of their ability to knock out the ships

"Agreed. The threat of the valley is no more. It would be unwise to not do so"

An army of ~40,000 was to be deployed into the capital, making the total number of Fornirian soldiers in Alssahra ~50,000. The Fornirian Air Force would collaborate on bombing the Sach'aqan Navy. The Fornirian Navy would also send 20 ships as a reinforcement for the devastated East Fleet. All that was left was for Alssahra to agree

Fornoire was gambling high. All it needed was to pay off, or crash hard