Redoubt Island Recwar II: Withdrawl

Handles national defense and recwars
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Aurangzeb Khan
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Re: Redoubt Island Recwar II: Withdrawl

Post by Aurangzeb Khan »

Salignac

Chevalier Alexandre Lebed-Cygne looked again at the son of an old cup bearer standing opposite him holding forth with all sorts of demands, inducements and dire threats. A cup bearer... yes well that might well count for something in his part of the world, perhaps - but to call himself a prince on account of it, now that was taking it a bit far. However it might be stretched to equate with equal standing to a knight. Alexandre doubted that these Antican heathens had much in the way of an organised system of peerages. It would be enough of an equivalance then for negotiations to continue.

"Viscount of Frejus, you say? I shall naturally have to write to His Grace the Duke to confirm this arrangement. But in the interim I feel that we are close to an accord. Bon then. I shall end this chevauche and place my sword and the rifles of my retainers at your disposal. You in turn will ensure that the lower orders do not attempt to disturb the accustomed rights of the nobility and, as you say, the gentry also. My associates and I shall answer for the maintenance of the King's Peace in Frejus and Carcassonne. We shall answer to you and not to that rabble which you dignify with the name of assembly up in Pierrefeu. Let them keep their liberty, you will see the mess they make of things in due course. Incidentally, do not for a moment think that you can trust these grocers turned politicians, these bourgeoisie it is in their nature to scheme against whoever divine providence or circumstance has set over them. The common people would eat out of your hand, so keen are they on you since you do not beat them, but the middling sort would cut your throat in a thrice if you come to stand in the way of their squalid dreams."

The Chevalier d'Arkan paused for a moment.

"You look positively parched my dear sir. Shall I call for wine? Something stronger perhaps? I have a fine bottle of brandy in my tent - I shall have my man bring it up."

And in truth Braden was starting to look a little unsteady on his feet, beads of sweat were forming on his forehead, a glazed look had come over his eyes, and he was starting to sway a little under the weight of the ceremonial gear he was unaccustomed to wearing.

"Not necessary" he replied. "I have a hipflask - whisky."

The Chevalier wrinkled his nose at the mention of the tipple and made a gesture to a retainer lingering at the edge of the pavilion who promptly disappeared and came back carrying an opaque green glass bottle and two glasses.

"Bah - crofters piss. Now, try this brandy, I swear to you it is so exquisite - the ambrosia of the angels and saints themselves - that you'll never want to touch anything else."

Braden looked hesitantly at the brown liquid decanted into the glass set in front of him. As if to assure him, and in truth to steady his own nerves, the Chevalier knocked his glass back in one go. He would normally consider it a mortal sin to not savour the flavour of so fine a brandy but there would be opportunities for that later. A relieved looking Braden picked up the glass, sipped the liquid tentatively and, finding it to his liking, consumed the rest with an appreciative sigh.

"So do we have an accord then?"

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Scott of Hyperborea
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Re: Redoubt Island Recwar II: Withdrawl

Post by Scott of Hyperborea »

Sorry I haven't been participating! Really busy and Internet costs here are really high! This is just something short until I have time to read all the backlog
Kalon Lusav sat in his office aboard the Queen of Night's Repentant Children and shuddered, clenching his head. He had the mother of all headaches, and it wasn't going away. He took another bite of overseasoned bread and tried to concentrate.

They had withdrawn from the island July 1st, as stipulated in the treaty. "They" did not include Tenre Spinrion, who was either a captive of the Babkhans or still on the island somewhere. This was very, very bad. He did not want to have to explain to Valena Spinrion, one of the highest-ranking of the Nine, how he had lost her sister.

They were less than an inrhon (~20 miles) from the island, well into waters where Bosworth could not accuse them of violating any treaties. They should be headed back now, but they weren't. For one thing, he had ten Gascons on the island, looking for Tenre. For another, there was...OW!

The pain in his head got worse. He grabbed another piece of bread, daring it to taste as horrible as the last few. It did.

Kapsrang.

The last food shipment had arrived completely overseasoned with kapsrang spice. The Babkhans who had been filching their stores had all gotten sick. Aphri Enseinion, the agriculturalist, had explained apologetically that kapsrang was an enjoyable seasoning for Hyperboreans, but gave Babkhans splitting headaches and even, if they had too much, delusions or hallucinations.

He had shoveled the kapsrang-seasoned into his mouth, mentally WILLING himself to stay healthy. It hadn't worked.

Thirty years ago, back when he had lived with his family in Sidhli, a Vembrian man had come to the door. His parents had tried to prevent him from talking to Kalon, but he'd brandished legal documents proving he had a right to be there. He was, he said, the lawyer for a prominent Babkhan family. One branch of their family had no legal heir, and their properties were being seized by the state. The family had hired him to search out distant relatives, in the hopes that one of them might be able to claim the ancestral lands for them.

And, he said, Kalon was that distant relative. He was one quarter Babkhan.

There had been, said the lawyer, an accident. A Hyperborean and his half-Babkhan wife had fallen into the strait near Valsi. They had been survived by their infant son, who had been adopted by the Hyperborean's cousins in Sidli. Cousins who hated foreigners and particularly Babkhans. Cousins who had promised themselves to treat him like one of their own, and never to make him aware of his tainted blood, so that he could be tamed by education and assimilation, and turned into a productive member of Hyperborean society.

No, said his parents, those were lies. We are your real parents, and we love you. Babkhans are horrible and you are a wonderful child and nothing like them. Tell this man to leave and we will forget any of this ever happened.

And that was exactly what he had done. But ever after that, he detected a...a reticence in his parents. One that had always been there, under the surface, if he had been looking. As if they loved him, but only to keep themselves from hating him. As if he was tainted.

Oh, he'd gone off, joined the Paladins, proven himself in battle. He told himself, a thousand times, it was just the one lawyer's myth, a lie crafted in order to help some Babkhans he had never met keep their property. But in his heart, he felt the taint. He doubted.

And now, he had a splitting headache, and he could no longer doubt.

"May Truth and Beauty warm your spirit, Kalon," said Rhoti Inkenion, who was standing right in front of him. Except it was the young Rhoti Inkenion, how he'd looked when they were both in their Paladin training. In people of Euran descent, kapsrang causes headaches, delusions, and hallucinations.

"Rhoti!" shouted Kalon. "You've got to help me!"

"You've been very bad," said Rhoti. "You've aided the Babkhans in their attempt to corrupt St. Jean. You've betrayed your own Paladins. You've failed to lead the Hyperborean forces with the valor they deserve. Just as I would expect from someone who, deep down, was always just a Babkhan." His hands became ice crystals, holding one of the icicle-swords of the vurakal demons.

"No!" said Kalon. "That's false!"

"Really?" said the Rhoti-demon. "I don't trust your words. Show me with your actions."

"I will!" said Kalon. "I promise!" Just tell me what to do!"

The demon dissolved into a string of Kalasperelin runes, giving Kalon just enough time to read the message. Yes. It was good.

He picked up the icicle sword on the ground. It was warm to his touch, and he noticed, as if waking from a dream, that he was holding his own ceremonial sword.

He picked up a telephone and called the Ministry of Military Affairs.

"This is Kalon Lusav. I'm requesting a personal meeting with the Khan. I need to talk to him about the Tenre issue, about the Antican crisis, and about the future of the Hyperborean forces here. I have some important information I don't trust to the usual communication channels. I'll be in Shirekeep tomorrow at noon." He hung up before the other side had a chance to answer.

He popped another kapsrang pastry into his mouth, but noticed as he did so that his headache was mysteriously gone.
Summary: Kalon is half-Babkhan, something his parents deny and which he never really accepted until he found himself affected by the Babkhan-specific poison the agriculturalists stuck in the food. He is now delusional and seeing visions of an evil version of Rhoti Inkenion, who has given him a task to carry out. He has requested a personal meeting with the Khan.

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Aurangzeb Khan
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Re: Redoubt Island Recwar II: Withdrawl

Post by Aurangzeb Khan »

From: Deputy Director: MoMA Defence Communications Office
To: Probity Officer: MoMA Internal Security Unit

Call Logged Morsday 28

A person identifying himself as Kalon Lusav, Officer Commanding, Hyperborean Forces (St. Jean), contacted the Main Switchboard, MoMA Main Building, via wireless telephony requesting an audience with the Minister. The Duty Officer attempted to transfer the call to the MoMA Diary Secretary however before he was able to do so the caller hung up.

The Duty Officer logged the call with DCO for follow up.

Your most recent Security Briefing Circular contained a piece requesting that ISU be notified if whenever there was mention of certain buzzwords in regular communications channels. Tenre was on that list although we do not know what it pertains to it was mentioned in the Duty Officer´s call.

I consider it to be everyone´s duty to remain alert for any signs of irregularity in these difficult times.

I have the honour to remain an obedient servant of the Kaiser
CLASSIFIED: ISU/MoMA EYES ONLY
From: Probity Officer: MoMA Internal Security Unit
To: Divisional Director: MoMA Internal Security Unit

Sir,

1. Please see attached memo from DD DCO. A trace placed on the call reported by Duty Officer, Main Switchboard, MoMA Main Building, has led back to `Queen of Night's Repentant Children´, a Hyperborean `Habbakuk´, a type of converted iceberg only positively identified since the start of the Gascon Campaign and the increase in MoMA-Hyperborean Interface.

2. Habbakuk is the Imperial Babkhan Armed Forces reporting name for a series of incidents dating back to pre-Commonwealth days when captains venturing into northern waters reported being shadowed by `sentient´ icebergs. The last being as recently as 3078 ASC by the naval Ice Breaker `SS Albatros´ [sic]. The meaning of Habbakuk itself remains unclear but it is believed to be the cry of dismay recorded by the captain of the first vessel, the SS Toyserkan, to encounter a shadowing iceberg. This may be a false etymology - there are other suggestions including obscure references to a prophet of the Iehova worshipping barbarians. The Toyserkan is also incidentally one of the oldest recorded `ghost ships´ with neither its wreck nor its crew ever being discovered.

3. After that the VDS instituted a "Habbakuk" Board to investigate these sightings. They discounted the possibility of actual icebergs being retrofitted as sightings had historically been received from southerly latitudes where icebergs typically are not encountered. This raised two further possibilities, of there being either a conventional warship camouflaged as an iceberg or else a unique vessel made of an ice based composite material. However the board considered this impractical because of the enormous production resources required and technical difficulties involved.

4. The records of previous MoMA administrations are notoriouslyppear that the VDS attempted to contract an Elwynnbrigaden Aviation Squadron to mount a landing on the Habbakuk reported after the Albatros sighting. From what we now know from incidental sources about the present fighting capability of these Habbakuk it is to be considered fortunate for all concerned that the negotiations fell apart when it became apparent that the Babkhans lacked the means to pay up.

5. Assuming that this is the Kalon Lusav last reported to be the commander of the Hyperborean Forces on the Isle St. Jean, then we would be fortunate indeed to be presented with this opportunity to interview someone who is intimately familiar with the inner workings of a Habbakuk.

6. The 'Tenre Issue' refers to Tenre Spinrion, Hyperborean, Female; Age, unknown; Rank, unknown. Believed to be associated with former Hyperborean Civilian Administration. Aside from Lieutenant March believed to be last remaining Shirerithian subject unaccounted for after the evacuation - if Hyperborean manning returns are in any way accurate and there is no independent verification of this. Importance incidental.

7. Recommend immediate summons of Kalon Lusav to MoMA Main Building. Would MoMA be available to sit in on interview process to add credence?
CLASSIFIED: MoMA ISU/MoMA EYES ONLY
From: Divisional Director: MoMA Internal Security Unit
To: Probity Officer: MoMA Internal Security Unit

1. MoMA Diary Secretary Confirms that MoMA will be in Ardashirshahr today for meeting with Kaiser.

2. MoMA has been appraised of situation. Wishes to be present at interview of Kalon Lusav.

3. You are instructed to detain Kalon upon his arrival at MoMA Main Building and transfer him directly to County Security Department Main Office in Ardashirshahr and from there to organise inter-departmental debrief.

4. Destroy all logs and records of Kalon Lusav´s call to MoMA Main Building Main Switchboard on Morsday 28.

5. Notify HR Department. DD DCO & Duty Officer Main Swihboard to be transferred to Norfolk Isles with immediate effect.

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Scott of Hyperborea
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Re: Redoubt Island Recwar II: Withdrawl

Post by Scott of Hyperborea »

OOC cause I don't have enough time for a story post:

It's long been public knowledge that the Hyperboreans have iceberg ships; you can't keep something like that secret. The only secret is the ships' positions at any given time, since they're meant to blend in with everything else.

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Aurangzeb Khan
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Re: Redoubt Island Recwar II: Withdrawl

Post by Aurangzeb Khan »

OOC @ Scott:
There was another reason the Nine hoped that no one would object to the iceship's presence, that being that they had no intention of telling anyone about it. To anyone who spotted it sailing by, it would seem like just another rogue iceberg, drifting on strange currents no one else could feel...
Yes Scott we are aware of the 'ice ships' but hitherto, owing to the lack of direct contact they tended to be either misidentified as real icebergs or else it was assumed that the outward appearance represented some sort of exotic camouflage or native cultural quirk, and after so many years of isolation all sorts of fanciful rumours had sprung up. It is rather like NATO back in the day saying "we know that the Soviet's have MiG-29 fighters so there is no need to interview the pilot who has flown in one or the engineer who has made it." Instead the CIA and MI6 were forever trying to coax Communist Afghan pilots to defect over the border into Pakistan with their planes so that we could debrief them and have a snout around. And yes the MoMA could just call up the Kyyrhasi and ask for an inspection tour but wouldn't he also like some sort of corroboration?

Besides I thought it would be consistent with a paranoid militarist bureaucracy to begin with a series of irrelevant questions before allowing Kalon to get on with what he actually wanted to do.

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