Fwurg

[Alexander Giambastiani]

"We lost many of the Astrian Colonial Marines, unfortunately the Marines don't have the numbers any more to hold the West. Therefor we will have to reinforce the west with another army.
Moving around multiple armies at this point is dangerous and only delays our progress. We propose to move the 1st Sundarian Army to the west to hold that region.

The war in the South will be fought by the Omnipotari Security Forces and the Remunzian army. For this battle I am transferring local command to Ariana Danacia who is already among the Remunzian Army.

In the East the battle will have to be won by the Veolians. I would propose to transfer local command to Shebi Ajava for that battle. It is for the Veolians to decide which army is most suited for this battle, if necessary they could rotate their forces to fight the battle in the East with the Veolian Imperial Guard.

For both battles tactical orbital strikes have been approved. However we are still not willing to lower ourselves to a full scale orbital bombardment."

((OOC:

• North - Veolian Imperial Guard?
• West - (Astrian Colonial Marines First Army (damaged)) , 1st Sundarian Army
• East - Dewa Shaanti Sainikon?
• South - Omnipotari Security Forces, Remunzian Army

))

[Veolian Commonwealth]

The veolian fleet admiral Saman Machal listens to the proposal with increasing surprise.

"I think not.", comes curt his reply.

"We will not sacrifice our troops to assault the entrenched slave rebellion troops in the eastern forests just after we allowed them to entrench themselves. Our troops have asked for support in the form of orbital bombardment to support their assault, and that request was denied.

You expect us to execute this assault exactly, again without orbital bombardment, but now after the enemy was given time to entrench themselves? That is absurd."

"Furthermore, why is it that only after we have taken heavy losses, our Astrian brothers in arms especially, that you are willing to hand over command to the Jedi? They were already situated on the planet before our planetfall, and could have offered assistance—we all know from previous engagements that the Jedi are a force to be reckoned with.

As I understand it from my military liaison on Unity, the option of putting the Jedi in command was discussed with you, so you were aware of their presence on the planet."

"And finally, you estimate that moving around multiple armies is dangerous. Yet immediately thereafter you suggest specifically that the two Veolian armies might rotate their positions. What exactly is it that makes you want to hold back on deploying advantages and have you suggesting manoeuvres that are harmful to forces of specific Union members, and not others?"

The veolian admiral's expression betrays his anger over the cavalier suggestions and lack of concern for the safety of Union members' forces.

Before he takes an rash actions, he awaits the response of the other commanders.

[Lady-Fleet Admiral Lythia Nethorius]

"I agree with Fleet Admiral Machal." Lady-Fleet Admiral Nethorius backed her Veolian college. "We've already suffered significant casualties, sending the Veolians in now is just wasting lives. No offence to them."

"I suggest we have the Omnipotari Security Forces move to back up the Veolian forces in the Eastern Forests. We surround the perimeter of where the Slave Rebellion is hold up, make sure they have no where to go. Then we have the fleets take up position above the area and start Scorched Earth tactics. Force the enemy to run straight into our forces and wipe them out."

She paused a moment. What she said next was directly to Admiral Alexander Giambastiani.

"The enemy in the east is heavily entrenched and employing guerilla tactics. This is no longer a battlefield, it's an infection. It needs to be burned out or it will rot, the sooner the better. If you are unwilling to make the necessary decisions, Admiral, I suggest you give your command to someone who is. If we show weakness we'll be practically inviting the enemies of the Union to invade us, not just the Slave Rebellion. Wars aren't won by showing mercy, Admiral. Getting the enemy of Remunzia should have priority over minimizing collateral damage, regardless of what anyone thinks."

A few moments later Fleet Admiral Saman Machal received a small message which only he received.

The Astrian Colonial Navy First Fleet is ready to move into bombardment position for the Eastern Forests regardless of Admiral Giambastiani's decision should you want it. We are not willing to waste lives for his futile attempt to save his career.

Lythia Nethorius

The Astrian Lady-Fleet Admiral gave her Veolian counterpart a small nod to confirm the ACA had the Veolians back.

[Pedro Condottiero]

"The Omnipotari Security Forces are willing to join the Veolians in the East. However this would mean the Remunzians are the only army left in the South. We believe that two armies are required there to recapture the strategic points. How would you divide our forces to deal with the South as well?"

[Chriz]

((OOC: When is Gerben back from vacation?

I believe we are getting some interesting roleplay in here now and I would like everybody to get a chance to voice their opinion.

The Remunzian army also has a say in this :P))

[Remunzian Army Representative (mask of Mercury)]

Remunzian Army RepresentativeThe Remunzian army representative listened to the various sides. It was clear he wasn't an experienced military commander, but he did know his people very well.

"We will do what is necessary to protect Remunzia and defer to the Unions leadership as to what that is." he decided "Though we would strongly support having the Jedi involved - both in this debate and in the battle itself."

[Alexander Giambastiani]

"First of all the only reason that at first I did not want to move to many armies it was to minimize travel time and give the enemy less time to react to our continued push. This was not a definitive order, just a suggestion to continue the battle swiftly.

However I have considered all your arguments and suggestions and would like to bring forth a revised proposal for the East and the South.

As proposed and confirmed by the Praetorian forces, we move the Omnipotari Security Forces to the East to fight off the entrenched Remunzians together with the Veolian army.

I am still not willing to take responsibility for a full scale orbital bombartment, we have not come here to wipe out the Remunzian population, we are here to save them.

Finally the Remunzian Army should be able to take out the remaining forces in the South with the help of Shebi Ajava and Ariana Danacia. Their covert ops time on Remunzia is finished, they can lead the Remunzian army now to the best of their ability, with all means available.

I would like to give all the commanders present in this fight, including the Jedi, the chance ((OOC: (one more week ooc))) to confirm they support the plan or propose a concrete alternative."

((OOC:

• North - Veolian Imperial Guard
• West - (Astrian Colonial Marines First Army (damaged)) , 1st Sundarian Army
• East - Dewa Shaanti Sainikon + Omnipotari Security Forces
• South - Remunzian Army + Shebi Ajava and Ariana Danacia

Note: I was under the impression that first of all the Jedi were intentionally left out of this combat,
secondly that Shebi Ajava and Ariana Danacia were undercover and unreachable until the moment that the Remunzian Army surfaced,
finally that we estabished contact again when the remunzian army came out of hiding.

If you guys were handling this differently this was not clear to me and we were playing under different assumptions.))

[Veolian Commonwealth]

((OOC: Since I did not receive any updates in the Jedi mission thread about the invasion, I was a bit unsure of whether I could get my Jedi involved on her own volition (even though we have quantum-time, I was not sure whether it was my place to "join" the timelines.). Because of this, I was kinda waiting for the Union to contact them, which seems like something that is easily possible given that Ariana has a comms headset with her, and the Union is landing full armies on the planet...

Even though no posts have come in on the Jedi side of this event, I am going to assume that they are present in this discussion, otherwise this is going to take forever.))

Admiral Saman Machal does not appear impressed by Giambastiani's lack of answers and his attempt to explain his actions.

"I propose an alternative."

"I suggest that Jedi Master Shebi Ajava is put in command of the entire eastern theatre, and that Jedi Knight Ariana Danacia is placed in command of the entire southern theatre."

He looks at Giambastiani for a split second.

"That way we can be sure that there will be no further ambiguity of purpose."

[Shebi Ajava]

The veolian Jedi Master does not feel that it is her place to decide on Union military matters. She does not wish to step in until command is handed over officially.

She fears that it might be too late to prevent the large scale casualties she was hoping to avoid as she first set foot on Remunzia. Even so, she is sure that stepping in without being asked to will create a tense situation within the Union forces. She will step in to prevent disparate efforts or a breakdown in the continuity of command; as wasting lives purely to prevent a tense situation is madness.

Knight Danacia, what is your take on the situation?, she enquiries telepathically, and without giving away that she does so to any onlookers.

[Veolian Commonwealth]

((OOC: I'm done waiting. Time to rock the boat.))

Admiral Saman Machal looks around at the assembled commanders with a scowl.

"If none of you are willing to actually do something, I am afraid that the situation leaves me no other alternative."

He looks at the military commanders and speaks in a clear voice.

"Every week we remain inactive is another week our troops grow weary. But more importantly, it is another week the Slave Rebellion gets to dig in, to build fortifications, and to make our liberation effort so much more difficult.

It is clear now that Union command is not up to the task of effectively and decisively commanding an army of this scale. I will not stand by while the bureaucrats in command of the Union defence force let the Remunzians—and our own soldiers—down while they contemplate the effect an offensive might have on their career.

Commander Alexander Giambastiani, I am hereby relieving you of your duty. You are confined to your quarters."

He looks at the nearest two veolian soldiers, and orders them to escort the relieved commander to his quarters.

((OOC: I feel obliged to leave a moment here for others to react.

I will be poking the Storyteller about this (as it is their job to resolve conflicting actions). However, since I really am done waiting, I will be continuing my post on 2017-10-05 (Thursday coming week) regardless of ST activity, unless someone objects and intervenes.))

[Lady-Fleet Admiral Lythia Nethorius]

"Sergeant, Corporal. Go with them." The Astrian Fleet Admiral told two nearby Astrian Marines.

Bringing a hand to her ear she spoke out loud into her comm unit.

"Kruga, tell the Fleet to get back up to combat alert alfa and be on standby for new orders."

Turning back to the group she looked at Admiral Saman expectantly.

"Shall we get this show on the road, Admiral?"

[Veolian Commonwealth]

((OOC: A note on autonomy and roleplay etiquette: My earlier post has placed the ST of this mission in a bind. If they allow my action to continue on without a post by Alexander Giambastiani's player, this player can call out "Hey, I did not reply!". If they do nothing, this thread is still not going anywhere—which leaves us in the stagnant situation we were in before my action.

As such, I have taken it upon myself to continue on under the assumption that Giambastiani is apprehended and command is ceded to the Veolians. Since Giambastiani is an NPC, I feel that the benefits of moving this thread forward outweigh the autonomy of said NPC. As it appears, another player feels the same and has backed the Veolian's action. That being said: Any angry feelings stemming from this situation, or annoyance with my presumption, should be directed solely at me for creating this situation.

I understand that it is not fun to have to make a decision where somebody is going to get hurt, and Giambastiani was placed in exactly that situation from the start. So I get the drive to not make decision that places one of the Union allies in significant danger—unfortunately, such is the reality of war. Since I am the one who has forced this situation, I am strongly suggesting that the Veolians are the ones that get whacked over the head. This is also what the orders will come down to.))

"Yes. We shall.", was the reply from the veolian admiral. Though he would never admit it, his expression betrayed some of the reluctance he felt before ordering his soldiers to apprehend the Union official.

He looks at the battle map before him.

"It is clear that we must keep a hold on the North and the West. If we let go of the advantage we have gained there, the losses on the civilian population will be immense. We are still contesting the East and the South. In the East, the enemy has been given the opportunity to dig in, and in the South we have removed their strategic launc capabilities, but large urban areas are still contested."

"My suggestion would be for the Omnipotari Security Forces and the Remunzian armies to liberate the South. The combined natural advantages of both armies will work greatly in our favour: natural flight allows the praetorians troops to traverse the cities quickly, whereas the Remunzian affinity with their own environment gains them an advantage.

The North can be held by the Veolian Imperial Army, whom have already gained the upper hand in that theatre, and hopefully can now benefit from their knowledge of the local terrain.

The West will have to be held by the First Sundarian Army together with what forces the Astrian Colonial Marines can muster. Even though they do not possess the ability to breath underwater, the Sundarians have already established a presence in the West.

The dug-in Slave Rebellion forces in East remain a problem—"

[Shebi Ajava]

"It won't."

Ajava felt that she had remained silent long enough. The train of thought of the veolian admiral would undoubtably lead to "full-scale orbital bombardment" or "accept some casualties in the north". She knows how the Veolian military mind works.

"I will personally command the Dewa Shaanti Sainikon. There will be no full-scale orbital bombardment. And the Veolian Imperial Guard will not be recalled to reinforce."

For a moment it appears as if the veolian admiral, who is after all the commander of the Veolian Imperial Guard, and the de facto highest-ranking member of the veolian military present, is going to argue the matter.

"This planet and the Remunzians have suffered enough losses, admiral. My decision is final.", came short but politely intoned reply from the Jedi Master.

[Veolian Commonwealth]

"As you wish, Jedi Master," the veolian admiral conceded.

The veolian admiral cast a glance at the map again, before opening a comm-link to all Union officers.

"This is admiral Saman Machal of the Veolian Commonwealth. Standby for new orders."

He then ordered the local communications-officers of the different Union members to relay the new troop dispositions.

((OOC:

• North: Veolian Imperial Army
• West: First Sundarian Army
• East: Dewa Shaanti Sainikon + Jedi Master Shebi Ajava
• South: Omnipotari + Remunzian + Jedi Knight Ariana Danacia

I have omitted a listing of all advantages and disadvantages. At the ST's pleasure, I can produce said listing for convenience or entertainment.))

[Joyce Andrasto]

A reply from the Sundarian Communications Officer followed swiftly:

"Acknowledged Admiral, I've relayed your requests to our commanders in the field. They applaud the initiative on the part of the Commonwealth as well as personal efforts of Master Shebi. Let's get this over with."

[Mercury]

With the new command in place, the final attacks on Remunzia took place.

The Veolian Imperial Army remained in the North, holding the liberated area and weeding out the last pockets of resistance without major incidents.

The First Sundarian Army in the West relieved the Austrian Colonian Authority Forces, holding the Western Oceans safe, and working with the Remunzian Engineers to rebuild the area.

In the south, Omnipotari forces, aided by the Remunzians and Jedi Knight Ariana Danacia took control of the strategic points. With her battle meditation, and additional troops, she was able to secure victory.

The Dewa Shaanti Sainikon, led by Jedi Master Shebi Ajava, fought in the Eastern Forests against the heavily entrenched Slave Rebellion forces. Fighting without an orbital bombardment was hard, and the Veolian armies suffered many casualties, but eventually with the aid of the Jedi Master, the Union forces were able to quell the enemy and subdue them!

The fight in the Eastern Forests took the longest, but eventually here too the fighting came to a halt. As the commanders of the armies reported, old Remunzian leaders came out of hiding, and many new ones emerged as well, gathering with Union commanders to establish the outcome of the battle.

There had been many casualties, on both sides. Millions lay dead and the destruction was immense. But Remunzia was free of the Slave Rebellion threat!

[Mercury]

((OOC: The following armies qualify as having "Heavy casualties":

• Omnipotari Forces
• Dewa Shaanti Sainikon
• Remunzian Forces
• Astrian Colonial Marines First Army

The heroes of these armies ensured the victory on Remunzia. Restoring these armies will cost 1000 - until then, they are not usable. Restoring an army can only happen if they are located on the homeworld.

This also concludes the Invasion of Remunzia. Thank you all for your participation!))

[Veolian Commonwealth]

((OOC: I have written up the story page for this story: Remunzian Liberation.

The forum event reward is already on there. I would also like to nominate the PC worlds involved in this ground battle for under the "Participate in Special Events" action listed on Influence Points. It is up to the ST to determine how many is fitting.


Furthermore, I have the following request for clarification: the previous ST post states "This also concludes the Invasion of Remunzia", should that be read as "The war is over!" or "The planet is liberated..."?))

[Mercury]

((OOC: This is intended to be read as "the war is over, Remunzia has been liberated"

I have awarded 5 to all member states who participated in the battle, considering that there was a direct economic cost to them, and this was clearly more involved than a regular forum event which is usually rated at 2.))