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Post by Admin on Oct 15, 2014 15:12:19 GMT
This thread is only for the official weekly submission of the Faction's actions. Only the group member assigned to do so should post in this thread.
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Post by Admin on Oct 26, 2014 19:20:24 GMT
Here is your first prompt, for planning this next week.
Last week some traders brought word of rumors that Minerva has been attacked by a mysterious enemy that destroyed several of their best military squads. Today (late summer), your scouts bring back word that troop movement and activity in Minervan territory is much much lower than normal, as well as more news from traders about Minerva's losses to this enemy. Apparently someone made a weapon, a machine that was even more powerful than Minerva's technology, and that could defeat their soldiers. Rumors are that Minerva is retreating in fear.
For the next Action, plan the next week of your activities.
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Post by deltav on Nov 1, 2014 1:02:57 GMT
We send an Envoy to the Turkmen offering an exchange of ambassadors, and send spies north and east from the Northern Caspian area, watching for Russian incursion on the one hand a.nd seeking a route to Minerva, on the other.
We also begin the mobilization of a 5,300 man strike force, and a further 1,200 cadre for home defense. We also begin arming the men who will remain behind--farmers, miners, factory workers, old men and boys 12-13 for a militia under the command of the cadre. The militia will be armed with rifles, and the cadre with locally produced Kalashnikov knock-offs. The strike force will be armed with "Kalashnikovs" with one heavy machine gun, one anti-tank rocket launcher and one mortar crew per 20-man unit. The mortar crews will be detachable for combination with other crews for massed fire at need.
The home defense forces will be under the command of trusted retainers of the Caliph, and will be divided into Northern and southern commands. The strike force will be divided into three groups, two of 1,600 men each, and a command group of 2100. the groups will be led by the Caliph's three sons, the eldest in overall command. The command group will, in addition to the regular troops, contain 50 snipers, one of whom has a Russian-made Barrett M82 replica, 150 construction personnel (who also carry "Kalashnikovs"), 100 sappers with minefield clearing gear (the last two groups can call on each other for assistance at need), and the 200 Hashashim, who are under the direct command of the Caliph's eldest son.
We have also commandeered every truck and trailer that can be pried loose without crippling our ability to feed ourselves, or harming our manufacturing and mining ability. These will be added to the 45 four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive trucks we already possessed--15 of which have been turned into "armored cars" by adding heavy machine guns and steel plate.
We are also busy gathering supplies and cold-weather gear and tents in case the advance is not as swift as we could hope.
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Post by Admin on Nov 4, 2014 1:30:22 GMT
Here are the results and prompts to plan now for the next in-game week.
Your envoy reaches the Turkmen. (Start a private message with users Lirik and Adriano to discuss. Include me on it).
Your spies to the north report rumors of a small Russian fleet just entering the Caspian sea, appearing to be heading for you.
Mobilization and preparations are well under way.
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Post by deltav on Nov 8, 2014 2:47:07 GMT
We send agents to the northern coastal fishing villages to gather information from the fishing vessels on the Russian ships. At the same time we send our three diesel powered revenue cutters (Max speed, 27 nautical miles per hour) north to intercept the fleet and determine their intentions: To guide them to the port of Sumqayit, if peaceful, or to shadow them and report their whereabouts if hostile. We prepare to move the Caliph's court and his personal guard of 50 Hashashim from Baku to Tbilisi if necessary, and place the Cadre and militia on alert, while the strike force is being armed and drilled on weaponry.
The cutters are armed with two medium machine guns mounted fore and aft, and have steel plate armor capable of turning rifle and light machine gun fire.
We begin stripping the civilian fittings from the trucks we have gathered, and constructing boxy containers for the truckbeds to conceal the contents from prying spyglasses--especially the tanks of the fuel trucks. We continue to send spies on horseback to the east to scout a path for the strike force, and northeast to watch for Russian troop movement that may be directed at us. We were only able to obtain enough trucks to transport 2,000 troops with basic supplies at a time, so unless we can reach accommodation with the Turkmen about the horses, our strike may turn into a fairly weak tap, instead.
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Post by Admin on Nov 10, 2014 14:36:41 GMT
Your cutters meet up with the Russian boats, you see that they are a diplomacy/trade mission and escort them back to your main port. I've asked them to open up a trade/diplomacy message thread with you and include me on it.
You see no Russian troop movement. You do discover several good paths you can take.
The Turkmen send a diplomatic/trade envoy that meets up with yours and wants to take gifts to the Caliph. You begin coming back with them. You are slightly suspicious because their envoy is decently well armed.
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Post by deltav on Nov 15, 2014 1:01:33 GMT
The spies to the north are instructed to hold position, and maintain a watch. Those searching to the east are instructed to map each path, and note areas where the strike force can camp overnight. If we need to go back and forth for any reason it would be well never to use the same path or the same camping spot twice if that is possible.
The Russians are to be met at the Sumqayit, and brought overland by automobile to Baku with an honor guard of Hashashim. The populace along the route will be heavily, and obviously restrained by police and military so that the appearance of their natural animosity toward their former conquerors will be exaggerated. All of the Caliph's retainers and guards will treat them respectfully, even affably, showing that the Caliph does not share his people's antipathy to all things Russian.
The Turkmen will be met with a high official of the Caliph and an honor guard of Hashashim, and will be conducted to the palace where they will be offered the chance to bathe and refresh themselves from their long journey. The bath attendants will, of course be the only females they will see in their entire stay with us. As they bathe, their clothing will be taken to be cleaned, and they will be proffered elegant robes (which they may keep) for their meeting with the Caliph. The Russians will be given the same offer of garments and refreshment.
As either delegation (they will be kept quite separate from each other should their visits chance to overlap) enters the Throne Room , they will see the Caliph, a very fat man, sitting upon his throne as thirty of the Hashashim stand by the walls with their scimitars (their favored weapon) held in salute to the visitors. The Caliph will greet them as their gifts are given, and gifts of gold, copper, and delicacies are offered to them in return. They will them be conducted to a side room where the actual negotiations will take place with high government officials, As they leave, the Caliph will be assisted in standing by two strong men. An astute observer might notice that the Caliph's hands seem frail compared to his bulk, and that his face--save for his pudgy cheeks--seems drawn and tired. The reason for this is the almost two hundred pounds of bulletproof armor he's wearing under all that padding. By the same token the delegations will not be able to see the rest of his palace guard concealed in the walls and ceiling with automatic weapons. Oh, and those cheeks? More padding.
The strike force will continue to train, and the preparations on the trucks, and their loading will begin to wrap up.
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Post by Admin on Nov 18, 2014 1:58:06 GMT
Both the Russian and Turkmen delegations come. You are already doing your trading with them.
Training and preparations are all well underway and completing.
Your spies and scouts find good routes and places to camp.
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Post by deltav on Nov 21, 2014 22:04:15 GMT
Our spies to the north are rotated home as a new group take their place. The spies that were formerly in the north are set to watch the new Russian Embassy. The people of Sumqayit are quietly requested to stare at the Embassy and the Russians, so that the spies are less noticeable. The spies to the southeast are sent further toward Minerva, and given the additional task of reporting on the local people, pinpointing Bandit activity, local terrain, and possibilities for trade, especially for horses.
The steel oil drum factory is given an extra allocation of steel, a contingent of men unfit for battle but with some strength left, and is set to producing oil drums for exporting oil. The oilfields are tasked to produce more crude, and several unused wells are reactivated. The refineries are instructed to produce more diesel oil and to establish a method of filling barrels with crude oil. Synthetic rubber output is increased, as is the output of tires. The mines are told to increase production, and are given a levy of those warriors that can't (or won't) learn to fight as an army.
Facilities for drying beef and vegetables are established, and the production of dried fish is increased.
Gold is disbursed from the treasury to pay the new workers, and a pair of Hashashim are detailed to each location to discourage embezzlement and profiteering.
More trucks are requisitioned from those farms where the crops have been harvested.
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Post by Admin on Nov 25, 2014 0:36:51 GMT
K, all of your things go thru as you say. ...for now Let me know if there was something specific you needed in response. Keep up the trading with people.
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Post by deltav on Nov 28, 2014 19:07:56 GMT
We send spies to the southeast to watch for infiltrators, especially those who might threaten our oilfields. We also begin construction of walled compounds along the trade routes between us and the Turkmen, spacing them two days travel apart, ostensibly to protect the caravans passing through, but actually to keep an eye on the movements of the Turkmen. Each compound will be furnished with a mosque with VERY tall minarets for lookouts to use, and barracks for the caravan drovers (and our spies and troops). There will also be trading posts that are actually supply depots and hidden ammo dumps for defenders.
New drilling rigs are erected at the south and southeast edges of the oilfields with extra space near the top of each for lookouts to hide.
We begin filling the oil drums with diesel oil.
Augmented by the newly requisitioned trucks, the 2100 man command group moves out, preparing the way for the rest. Estimated travel time to forward base of operations, two weeks.
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Post by Admin on Dec 2, 2014 0:04:08 GMT
Spies are in position, constructions teams are on the way to inspect and make plans for compounds. Basicall construction begins, will take at least 2 more weeks (if not longer).
Same thing with drilling rigs.
Filling drums going well.
Moving out where? Any chance you can draw me on a map where you're heading and where your forward base is? So I can determine if Minerva sees you and etc.
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Post by deltav on Dec 2, 2014 2:07:38 GMT
Sorry. From Astrokhan around the north end of the Caspian Sea across southern Kazakhstan (possibly dipping into northern Uzbekistan depending on what the spies determine to be the best route). The not-yet-established forward base will be as close to Minerva as our trucks can get without having to completely build a road. If that turns out to be Minerva's front gate, then ten to fifteen miles short of that. Most likely somewhere in Kyrgyzstan--hopefully at least as far as Lake Issyk-Kul.
We try to complete the compounds closest to the Turkmen first, so the supply lines get shorter with time, not longer.
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Post by Admin on Dec 2, 2014 2:12:27 GMT
Ok, for now, you've just rounded the northern tip of the Caspian Sea. Draw out a route if you can. I tell you this because there will be things in between here and there, Minerva's not going to just let you come all the way to the front door unchallenged. So make sure you tell me your plans in case you run in to opposition.
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Post by deltav on Dec 6, 2014 2:08:34 GMT
We switch production from #1 diesel to the colder-weather tolerant #2 diesel, and begin filling oil drums with it.
I had originally planned to follow the E40 highway until it got too close to the Turkmen, and then swing east on one of the old Silk Road paths, but Amberlight offered us a more northern passage. He hasn't shared the actual route yet, however. I'm pretty sure he has tanks, because the same factories that produced Russia's tanks also produced their tractors, and I've established that they are producing tractors. I don't know if he's setting up an ambush for later or if he just wants a better road. Just figure us going straight east from the top of the Caspian Sea for now.
We begin producing some nasties. We fill some of the 55 gallon oil drums we've been producing with ammonium nitrate fertilizer. In turn, we pair some of them with drums containing fuel oil, stacking the fuel oil drum on top, and connecting them with a gate valve which, if opened, will allow the oil to mix with the ammonium nitrate granules. A blasting cap completes the package. These will be hidden in the walls of the compounds being built between us and the Turkmen, and hidden in the pedestals of statues of the Caliph and his three sons which will be placed in the villages between us and the Russians. the drums will have concealed triggers for releasing the valves and either set by a timer or detonated remotely so that the invaders will be in mid-loot when the world ends. Our people in the compounds and the villages will be told to arm the devices and flee. Those compounds whose walls are already completed will be furnished with extra drums of fuel oil to conceal the bombs.
The remaining drums of ammonium nitrate will be taken to Minerva to cause mischief there.
We also have the soldiers not yet on their way to our forward base area dig and conceal"Tiger Pit" anti-tank traps in the fields so that the tanks will be forced to use the roads.
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