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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:10:47 GMT
December 31, 2014 London, United Kingdom The Against All Odds Universe
People were gathered on the streets of London to celebrate the coming of the New Year. The diverse make-up of the crowds reflected the diversity of the British Empire itself-people from the Caribbean, India, Malaya, Africa, and other places all milling about on the streets of the capital of the British Empire.
Everybody was watching Big Ben as the clock hands moved towards midnight. But when the hour and minute hands aligned at 12 o'clock, a strange thing happened. The night sky lit up a brilliant orange. The spectacle repeated itself all across the British Empire. People stopped what they were doing and looked up at the sky. The orange light lasted about one minute before fading away. When it was gone, the citizens of the British Empire would find themselves in a frightening new world.
Shicagwa, Iowai, The NUSA The Madnessverse
"Sir!"
Sam Brownback, Secretary of the Office of Racial and Religious affairs and de facto dictator of the New United States of America, turned to his aide. He had been preparing for the New Year's Eve party with the rest of ORRA headquarters when the aide burst in breathless. "What's the problem?" Brownback inquired "You look mighty shocked."
The aide breathed in slowly and said "We've lost contact with our branches and agents in Great Britain." Brownback raised an eyebrow. "All of them?" "All of them!" the aide repeated. "Also, several branches in the Caribbean, Africa, and the South Pacific have all gone dark as well. Even our North American branches north of the 49th parallel have fallen silent."
Now thoroughly alarmed, Brownback asked "Did anything unusual happen before contact was lost?" "Well", the aide responded "People close to the vanished areas reported a strange orange glow on the horizon."
Brownback nodded. "OK" he said "Get every remaining ORRA branch you can find on the line. We need to find out what the hell's going on."
London, England 10 Downing Street
Brian Ranganathan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, looked up at the night sky before turning to his Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Paul Aubrey Harris. "So" he began "what happened right after this orange light faded?" Harris took a deep breath and said "First of all, we've lost contact with everyone and everything outside the Empire itself. That includes the all of the British Commonwealth save for Canada, Australia, and New Zealand." Ranganathan nodded "What about our military?" "Well" Hammond responded "All our military assets outside our borders have somehow been transported to the nearest part of the Empire. But most worryingly, within an hour and a half of the event, Malaya, Rhodesia, and Beuchananland have reported border incursions by soldiers speaking what sounds like Dutch. There have been a few small firefights but so far, no large-scale fighting has broken out. It seems the soldiers are investigating the event too."
"OK" said Ranganathan "Let's try to get back in touch with the outside world. We have to get to the bottom of this."
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:11:45 GMT
Windsor, Ontario Two hours after the event
It was another normal night at one of the many border defense outposts between Canada and the UAPR. Or rather, it had been a normal night until the sky had light up orange for a minute. When the light receded, the UAPR installations just across the border had disappeared.
Now, Captain Herman Wallace and his troops were waiting for recon flights over the lands to the south to report back. Everybody in the station was on high alert.
Suddenly, an APC appeared on the horizon. One soldier readied a rocket launcher, but Wallace signaled him to put it down until the intentions of the vehicle's crew could be discerned. The APC pulled up in front of the building. The doors opened. A bald man dressed in a green uniform came out, followed by a group of soldiers. He turned to Wallace and began to speak. "This is Brigadier General Daniel Joseph Schroeder of the NUSA Army. We don't know who you are, but you are on sovereign territory of the New United States of America. We demand that you lay down your weapons and come with us to the nearest base."
Wallace scratched his head. The New United States of America? He though What the hell is that? A new rebel movement against the UAPR government? "Listen General" he called "I am Captain Herman Kenneth Wallace of the Canadian Army. If you're rebelling against the UAPR, we can help you." Schroeder raised an eyebrow and replied "The Canadian Army? But we stomped out the last organized rebellions in Canada in the 1960s!" Schroeder turned to his men "Looks like there were some holdouts." he bellowed "Open fire!"
Ottawa, Ontario 24 Sussex Drive
"So, what's going on at the border?" Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada was talking with General Jonathan Vance. "Just who are these 'NUSA' troops attacking our soldiers?"
Vance shrugged. "We have no idea" he replied "All we know is that within a couple of hours of the event, several outposts have come under attack by these mysterious soldiers. At first, we thought they were rebels fighting the UAPR government, but as intel comes in from recon flights-those that haven't been shot down-and satellite, we're not sure if the UAPR even exists anymore."
Trudeau blinked. "Are you saying that the mysterious orange light reported earlier has caused the UAPR to simply vanish?"
Vance nodded his head. "Either that, or it transported us to a world where it never existed in the first place. Either way, the picture painted by the intel shows an America very different from the one we're familiar with..."
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:12:37 GMT
Noumea, New Caledonia Six hours after the event
Alfons Hoek, the governor of the Province of Nieuw-Caledonië had been trying frantically to contact the Australian central government in Sydney for the past several hours.
"There's no way the entire country could have simply vanished" he said to himself as he paced back and forth in front of his desk. "It must be a simple communication problem in Sydney."
"If that's so" replied his secretary "then why haven't we been able to contact anybody on the rest of the continent?"
"Perhaps that 'orange light' was a solar flare" Hoek shrugged his shoulders. He knew it was a weak explanation, but it was the best he could think of.
Suddenly, Rear Admiral Karel Doorman II burst into the room. "Sir, you need to hear this! AMS Van Diemen has just spotted a carrier battle group headed towards Nieuw-Caledonië from the northeast. The submarine was unable to attack to due to a sudden malfunction in her torpedo tubes, but her crew was able to take a photo through the periscope." Doorman handed Hoek a photo of the aircraft carrier. What drew the interest of the two men was the ensign flown by the ship. A white flag with six blue stars. In the upper left-hand corner was the Union Jack-the flag used by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland during its brief existence in the early 19th century.
"What is that ship doing flying the flag of a long-dead nation?" asked Hoek. Doorman shrugged "I don't know, but this may be connected with the event reported in North America. The 'Canadian' soldiers currently fighting the NUSA also bear a flag with the Union Jack in it, as do the mysterious soldiers engaging the Indonesian army in Malaya and Borneo." Doorman showed photographs of the flags in question. One was mostly red with the Union Jack in the upper left and a maple leaf to the right. The other consisted only of the Union Jack.
"If this mystery ship is affiliated with those two groups, then they will undoubtedly be hostile to us as well." Hoek reasoned. He turned to his secretary. "Get the local aeroforce base on the phone." His secretary disagreed with this line of thought, but dared not say it to his face, and so she obeyed.
HMAS Brisbane East of New Caledonia
Captain Miles Abercrombie was still trying to process the events of the last several hours. At the time of the event, Brisbane and her battlegroup had been conducting fleet exercises near Vanuatu. After the orange light had subsided, they had been called by Canberra to return to Australia. Now they were headed back to the ship's namesake city.
Suddenly, Operations Specialist Toby Nielsen burst in. "Captain!" he shouted "We've got multiple contacts coming in from the west!" "Friendly or hostile?" inquired Abercrombie. "We don't know, but most likely hostile" replied Nielsen.
"Alright" said Abercrombie "get some fighters in the air pronto"
Moments later, 20 Supermarine Rapier fighters rocketed down the flight deck in sequence and took off. Leading the squadron was Captain Tom McDermot.
The fighters met the enemy force 500 miles out. The strike consisted of five bombers that looked identical to the A-3 bombers utilized by the APN-except instead of having just two engines on each wing, they had four engines in twin pods-escorted by 10 fighters that bore more than a passing resemblance to the Rapier itself.
"Alright boys, pick a target and light 'em up" McDermot instructed his squadron. Half of the Rapiers engaged the escorting fighters while the others went straight for the bombers. McDermot himself went for the nearest bomber and let fly with a missile. The missile struck the bomber near the left wing root. Instantly, the wing folded up and snapped off the fuselage and the plane immediately banked dramatically to the left and entered a near-vertical spiral dive, disappearing into the clouds below.
The rest of McDermot's squadron had similar luck. Four out of five bombers and seven out of 10 fighters were shot down in exchange for four Rapiers shot down and two more damaged by cannon fire. The remaining enemy aircraft, now outnumbered and outgunned, disengaged and peeled off. McDermot could hear his squadron cheering over his headset. "Another victory for the Rapier!" exclaimed one pilot "Too bad the FAA is planning on retiring them." "Yeah" replied McDermot "It's hard to see why they'd wanna get rid of such an awesome plane, even if it is old."
McDermot radioed Brisbane to report his victory. "Good job" the air traffic controller radioed back "but stay on your toes. More might come later."
Back in Noumea
General Jan van Fries, the commander of the Australian Aeroforce base on Nieuw-Caledonië, was outraged when he learned of the outcome of the battle. Most of all, he was angry at the pilots who survived the confrontation but turned back. "They ought to be executed for cowardice!" he bellowed "no pilot should ever turn back as long as they have a chance to strike"
"They had no choice, sir" Fries's aide interjected "The odds were against them."
"It doesn't matter" snapped Fries "They still had a small chance to inflict some damage! We must show the world that a true Australian never backs down from danger, no matter how great it may be. The aircrew shall be court-martialed immediately."
"Yes sir" the aide sighed as he saluted and left the room.
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:13:37 GMT
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
"Good evening, America! I'm Dick Nixon Masters"
"And I'm Barbara Weir!"
"And this is... CHANNEL 1 NEWS' PUBLIC NEWSHOUR!"
"Broadcasting from Philadelphia around the Free World on televisors..."
"...And on Uncle Sam's Talkiebox Station!"
Barbara Weir started off the show "It's the first of January, 2015, and America is having a very unhappy New Year. At midnight Universal Standard Time, several parts of territory either directly controlled by the NUSA or under NUSA occupation suddenly disappeared and were replaced by strange new nations. Great Britain, northern Ireland, the northern third of North America, western Africa, several Caribbean islands, and several islands in both the Pacific and Atlantic were all affected by this phenomenon."
Dick Nixon Masters picked up "Currently, our troops are engaged attempting to reclaim territory from the largest of these new nations. We go to Glenn Beck live in Chersonesus where our troops are fighting against these interlopers. Glenn?"
"Thank you Dick" Beck answered as the scene cut to him standing in front of a platoon of American soldiers "Right now, the troops are fighting to establish a foothold on the opposite bank of the river that separates us and them. The enemy soldiers have displayed amazing tenacity and so far all attempts to get across the river have been repulsed with heavy casualties. But are troops have displayed much courage and determination, and it is only a matter of time before the interlopers fold."
"Thank you Glenn" said Weir "Also, heavy fighting has broken out in South America. Disturbingly, many of the troops fighting our men are either Negro or Indian. Obviously, the nation that has appeared there is run by those savages. But fear not, for we shall reconquer that territory and put the ignorant darkies in their place."
"Meanwhile" Dick cut in "attempts to reclaim our Caribbean territory have been frustrated by enemy ships and aircraft that obviously belong to the interloping nations. Interestingly, the ships fly the White Ensign used by the long-dead Royal Navy. Nonetheless, Admiral John M. Richardson has vowed to retake the islands."
"Also, the army has been heavily engaged trying to retake our oil-producing regions in West Africa." said Weir "We wish them luck."
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:14:05 GMT
Windsor, Ontario Twelve hours after the event
General Guillaume Hollande walked up to the captive soldier in the chair. Captain Wallace was standing next to him.
"We captured him after the assault on our base" Wallace said "Perhaps he can give us information on this 'New United States of America'."
"Did you capture any other enemy soldiers?" asked Hollande. "Negative, sir" Wallace replied "We found a few wounded soldiers left behind when the enemy retreated, but they killed themselves before we could take them in. The only reason we were able to get this guy is because his sidearm jammed when he attempted to shoot himself. Name on the dogtags read Sergeant Peter Madison."
Hollande sized up the handcuffed man. He looked to be in his early 20s and had auburn hair and green eyes. He was wearing camouflage trousers and a white tank top, the rest of his clothing and equipment haven been taken from him. Hollande got right to the point "Sergeant Madison" he began "What is this 'New United States of America' you fight for?"
The man looked up at Hollande with a mixture of contempt and shock. "What" he replied "Your tiny Inferior brain has never heard of the most glorious nation on Earth? The nation that united the Americas under its banner? The nation that has territory on every continent and has spread the glory of the white race to every corner of the Earth? Just what sort of rock have you been living under?"
Hollande raised an eyebrow. My God, he thought, we've really been brought into an insane universe. "Actually" he said "we've been brought over from a world where your 'New United States' does not exist."
"Really?" Madison spat "That explains why Inferiors like you have been allowed to run rampant and even get into positions of power."
Wallace interjected "Sir, if this 'New United States' really is as powerful as he says it is, then we're gonna have a hell of a fight."
Madison laughed. "That's right!" he exclaimed "The NUSA will crush all of you Inferiors and Inferior-lovers and reclaim its rightful territory from your alien nation!"
"I've had just about enough of this fool" said Hollande. "Take him to a cell."
"I'm on it" replied Wallace.
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:15:37 GMT
HMCS Warrior The Pacific Ocean Eighteen hours after the event
Vice Admiral Cedric Riel looked out at the activity on the deck. Warrior and her battle group had been conducting fleet exercises in the Pacific when the orange light had enveloped the sky. After the event, Warrior's crew had managed to keep in touch with RCN Pacific Command in Vancouver. They had heard of the struggle currently taking place on Canada's border. The thought of war with America had filled them with dread, but they resolved to carry on their duties.
Now, they were northeast of Hawaii preparing a strike at Pacific Command's orders. For the first time in her nearly four decade-long career, HMCS Warrior was at war.
One by one, the Typhoons lifted off from the flight deck and headed southwest. The New United States Navy was about to get a heavy sucker punch.
Pearl Harbor
Honolulu, HawaiiIt was another normal morning for the sailors and officers stationed on the ships in Pearl Harbor. The men of the three battlships, 12 cruisers, 25 destroyers, and numerous auxiliary ships had little to do except enjoy the tropical morning. The battleship NUSAS Heartland formed the centerpiece of this fleet. Heartland was a sight to behold. The ship was 972 feet long at the waterline, 136 feet wide, and carried 12 16-inch guns in three quadruple turrets and 16 4.5-inch guns in eight twin turrets . Anti-air defense was provided by four Longbow quad SAM launchers and four Barrier close-in weapons systems based around 25mm rotary cannons. Like all American battleships built after the World War, the ship was powered by two pressurized-water nuclear reactors connected to four steam turbines driving four propeller shafts. Heartland had a distinguished history. Launched in 1980 and commissioned in 1982, the ship had provided naval gunfire support for campaigns in Italy, the Balkans, Normandy, and the former Russian Far East. Heartland's crew thought her to be invincible. The aviators of HMCS Warrior were about to prove them wrong. As the first wave of 22 Typhoons led by Flight Commander Michael Cavanaugh closed in on the harbor, they were met by 15 Douglas-Thompson F-99 fighters from the NUSAF. A vicious furball ensued as the American fighters tried desperately to turn back the oncoming Canadians. Three Typhoons were lost in exchange for ten F-99s. Cavanaugh himself bagged three enemy fighters-two with air-to-air missiles, and one with his 20mm revolver cannon, splattering an unfortunate American pilot all over his plane's cockpit with several shots through the canopy. The remaining Typhoons pressed the attack. As soon as they got in range, six Broadsword anti-ship missiles were launched at Heartland. The missiles plunged downward at a sixty-degree angle before stabilizing at just 50 feet above the ocean surface and racing toward the behemoth in the harbor. Three missiles were shot down by the Barriers. One missile impacted the targeting drone hangar, destroying three drone helicopters. Another missile exploded short of the ship due to a faulty warhead. The third missile, fired by Lieutenant Paul McLaughlin, however, proved to be the Golden BB. The missile impacted the roof of A turret and bored through the 5 inch-thick armor. Inside the turret, the warhead continued its downward trajectory, eventually detonating right next to a magazine. The shockwave from the explosion caused superheated metal fragments to detach themselves from the magazine chamber wall and impact the batches of propellant charges. The blast from the resulting explosion quickly reached an adjacent 4.5-inch magazine, resulting in another explosion that in turn reached the magazine for the forward starboard SAM launcher. The combined explosions took a huge chunk out of Heartland's starboard hull. Immediately, the ship began to capsize to starboard, prompting the crew members who had survived the explosion to scramble to get off. Within minutes, Heartland was resting on her side in the shallow waters of the harbor. The rest of the NUSN fleet also got plenty of attention from the Canadians. Heartland's sister ship NUSAS William J. Bryan was hit by one laser-guided bomb, piercing her deck armor and destroying one of her steam turbines. The third battleship, NUSAS Bonhomme Richard, was hit by a single missile on her bridge, killing her captain and most of her senior crew. The cruiser Valorous was hit by two Broadswords. One detonated the magazine for her anti-ship missiles, causing the ship to bottom out on the seafloor. Two more cruisers and five destroyers were also heavily damaged by either missiles or bombs. Their job done, the first wave returned to Warrior. The second wave, consisting of 18 Typhoons, arrived over the harbor 30 minutes later. Bryan was hit by two guided bombs, wrecking her superstructure and destroying her range finders. The cruiser Impetuous received four missile hits while seven destroyers and two auxiliary vessels were targeted by missiles. Again, F-99s rose to meet the Typhoons. Six Typhoons were lost in exchange for six out of 12 F-99s. The remaining Typhoons turned and headed back to Warrior. After retrieving the last fighters and rescuing all the shot down pilots they could, Warrior and her battle group proceeded to Vanuatu as ordered. Three Hours LaterRear Admiral Jason Barton surveyed the scene before him. "So" he asked the aide standing next to him "how much damage did they inflict?" The aide gestured to the capsized Heartland. "First off" he began " Heartland is a total loss. The explosion took out all of her starboard bow and even if we somehow had enough money to repair it, the odds of it holding together would be extremely doubtful. Bryan and Bonhomme Richard, while still in bad shape, fared much better. It'll still be a few months before they're seaworthy again. Valorous, Impetuous, and Merciless were also damaged beyond economical repair, along with ten destroyers and one fleet tanker. The only bright side is that none of our aircraft carriers were present to be targeted." Barton sighed. "OK" he replied "We'll make sure the surviving vessels are returned to service as quickly as possible. In the mean time, let's try to find as many of the downed pilots as possible. We need to learn all that we can about this new enemy."
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:16:43 GMT
London, United Kingdom Thirty-six hours after the event
"Sir" Air Chief Marshal Barry North looked up from his desk at Air Commodore Matthew Hoskins as he walked into his office. "reports are coming from recon flights over Europe."
"What did you find?" North asked Hoskins as he gestured for Hoskins to take a seat.
Hoskins sat down "Well" he began "Scandinavia and the Low Countries,look normal enough, albeit somehow different. Further south however..." Hoskins handed North a photograph. The photo showed an aerial view of a ruined and deserted city. "What is this?" asked North. "It's Paris" Hoskins replied plainly "Or rather, it was Paris. Flights over France, Spain, Germany, and most of Italy show the same situation. Cities leveled and nearly devoid of life. The only settlements we could find in those areas were small villages."
North nodded. "Clearly something terrible has happened to Europe in this world. Perhaps this 'New United States' we're hearing about in the Americas has something to do with it?"
Hoskins shrugged his shoulders. "We don't have enough information to determine exactly what happened. We should gather more intel before jumping to conclusions."
"OK" replied North "Check out the civilized areas again. Perhaps we can make contact with the governments in that area and find out just what happened to Europe."
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:24:41 GMT
HMS Ambush The Barents Sea, east of Hokkaido January 2, 2015
Commander Peter Green looked at the screen displaying images from the surface. At the time of the event, Ambush had been conducting patrols. Her crew were resting from ringing in the new year when the event happened. The Admiralty had informed them hours ago about the "New United States of America" currently at war with the Empire in the Americas. Now, Ambush was on the lookout for any ships belonging to this "New United States."
"Commander" exclaimed Able Seaman Patrick Starkey "We've got a contact. Looks like a destroyer." Sure enough, the ship was visible on the screen. Green got a good look at the destroyer. She looked similar to the UAPR's Superb-class destroyers. Most notably, the ship flew a flag identical to the pre-Communist United States.
"That's definitely a NUSA ship" Green announced "Get a torpedo ready."
Ambush's crew dutifully obeyed. A Spearfish torpedo was loaded into one of her torpedo tubes. After her crew steered her into an ideal attack position, Ambush fired the fish at the destroyer. The torpedo ran straight and true, detonating beneath the destroyer's hull. The explosion created a bubble beneath the ship, exerting enough upward pressure on her hull to break it in half.
As Ambush made her getaway, N.U.S.A.S. Albany folded up like a bear trap and slipped beneath the waves, carrying a quarter of her 360-man crew with her.
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:25:58 GMT
Windsor, Ontario January 2, 2015
"We finally got that Madison fellow to tell us about this 'New United States of America' we're fighting" Captain Wallace announced as he walked into Hollande's office.
"Good" replied Hollande. "Just what did he tell you?"
Wallace took a deep breath. "Well" he started "It turns out this world's United States of America disintegrated at the dawn of the 19th century after a far more incompetent and corrupt John Adams presidency. The southern states seceded, leaving Pennsylvania, New York, and the New England states to reorganize into the Republican Union of America. Meanwhile in Europe, Napoleon's France has a lot more success against Britain and the rest of the coalition. Eventually, the Republican Union got drawn into the conflict, which lead to the British rampaging through New England, causing massive damage and civilian casualties. At the war's end after Britain had collapsed and her colonies were being divided among the victors, the Republican Union was snubbed by Napoleon, who didn't give the Americans what they considered to be their fair share-namely all of Canada."
"Hold it" Hollande interrupted "You say Britain collapsed after the war?"
Wallace gulped and nodded. "That's right" he replied "After France wrested Ireland from Britain and installed Napoleon's brother Joseph as king, Scotland and Wales both declared independence and become republics, reducing the United Kingdom to a rump Kingdom of England under George III's fourth son Edward. All of Britain's colonial holdings were picked apart by France and their allies."
"Jesus" whispered Hollande. While Canada may have been independent from the British Empire for a long time, they still had deep symbolic ties to Britain, and the thought of the mother country falling apart in such a manner filled them with great sadness.
Wallace continued on "Anyway, after the conclusion of the war, the Republican Union held a serious grudge against the former southern states for doing nothing to help them against the British and France for not giving them more of Britain's North American holdings. This revanchism grew into massive xenophobia against anyone the Union didn't consider a "True American"-i.e. anyone who wasn't Protestant and Anglo-Saxon or other Germanic. People who didn't fit this criteria were classified as "Inferiors" and formed an oppressed and exploited underclass."
"Throughout the 19th century, the Republican Union seethed while France consolidated its hold over Europe. In 1891, the 'Manifest Destiny Party' took power in the Union and started the country on the path of imperialism. They spent the next few decades conquering the rest of the Americas piecemeal. In 1957, the Republican Union changed its name to the New United States of America. By 1974, they controlled all of North and South America save for Russian Alaska, which they only completely conquered a few months ago. That same year, the European nations destroyed each other in a full-fledged nuclear exchange, leaving the 'NUSA' the undisputed master of the world. Nowadays, they've gone from simply oppressing 'Inferiors' to full-fledged extermination. Even worse, they've taken their crusade to other continents. Together with like-minded allies in South Africa, Indonesia, and-until the event-Australia, they've been working to preserve the dominance of the 'White Race'."
"Great" muttered Hollande "we're facing an America that makes our UAPR look like paragons of sanity and practically runs the entire planet. We've certainly got a massive struggle ahead of us."
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:29:04 GMT
HMS Lion The Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar January 3, 2015 10:20 AM local time
Rear Admiral DC Martin surveyed the ocean from the bridge of his flagship. At the time of the event, Lion and her battle group had been conducting exercises off Mauritius. Now, they were headed to port in Dar es Salaam.
Suddenly, a sailor ran into the battlebridge. "Sir!" he shouted "RDF from one of our escorting destroyers has picked up multiple unknown contacts heading our way from the east!"
"Everybody get to battle stations" Martin ordered.
100 miles southwest
Admiral Erik Heyns studied the radar screen intently. They had picked up the mystery force twenty miles out. The submarine O-225 had taken pictures through her periscope and transmitted them to Heynss's flagship van Aller. One battleship, three cruisers, nine destroyers, and five frigates to his one battleship, one cruiser, and eleven destroyers. What was most striking was the ensign flown by the flagship-the White Ensign of the long-dead Royal Navy. Heyn's did not know how they got there, only that they were trespassing in South African waters and the South African Navy was responding the way they did to any trespassing ships that did not belong to South Africa's allies. "Tell the other ships to ready their missiles" Heyns ordered. One by one, sixteen missiles were launched by the South Africans.
Four of the missiles malfunctioned in flight and plunged into the ocean before reaching their targets. Eight were shot down by CIWS guns. One hit the cruiser HMS Clyde, causing heavy damage to her bow. Two hit Lion herself, but one failed to detonate and the other was stopped by her deck armor. One hit the frigate HMS Portland, taking out her bridge. The damaged ships were detached from the battle group and sent back to Mauritius. The British retaliated with their own missiles, sinking the cruiser Pretoria and three destroyers.
As the two fleets closed in on each other, van Aller was the first to fire, opening up with her eight 16-inch guns in twin turrets. Lion answered with her own 16-inchers. The escorts followed suite, and the first Royal Navy naval gun battle since the Falklands was underway...
Martin and his crew felt the ship shudder as the first 16-inch shell slammed into Lion's bow just forward of the barbette for her A turret. In return, Lion managed to plant three hits on the South African battleship. Meanwhile, the escorting destroyers and cruisers traded vicious blows with their guns.
Slowly, but surely, the British began to gain the upper hand. Finally, nearly all of the South African ships were either sunk or in sinking condition by noon. van Aller went under at 12:03 after being scuttled by her own crew. On the British side, the destroyers HMS Jellicoe and HMS Moore were sunk and the other ships had sustained varying degrees of damage.
Finally, Willem Naude, the captain of the destroyer Waaksaam-the last renaming seaworthy South African ship-made a difficult decision, but one he felt was necessary to save his ship and its crew. "Raise the white flag" he told his executive officer. Waaksaam was surrendering. Naude's decision raised gasps from his crew. Some talked of mutiny, but everyone was simply too fatigued to rise up, and the ship was in bad shape anyway, making a continued fight unwise.
"Sir, that one destroyer is raising a white flag!" shouted an incredulous sailor on Lion. "Very well" replied Martin "We'll escort them back to Dar es Salaam. Maybe they can tell us what's going on." And thus the Royal Navy made its first capture of an enemy vessel at sea since the Second World War.
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:30:45 GMT
Dar es Salaam, Tanganyika January 4, 2015
Willem Naude was busy reading the history books given to him given to him by his Royal Navy captors. Naude and the rest of Waaksaam's crew had been interned in Dar es Salaam. Currently, the British were trying to figure out what to do with his ship.
Just then, Rear Admiral Martin walked into the room. "Good evening, Mr. Naude." he greeted him "I take it you've learned a lot about our empire."
Naude nodded. "Indeed. Right now I'm up to the 1950s. Your world's Britain truly reached great heights. Our Britain, on the other hand, has had a rather traumatic history, to say the least."
"Really?" asked Martin "just how bad was it?"
"Well to start with" began Naude "Britain had worse luck in the war against Napoleonic France. King George III cracked under the stress and died in 1804. Unfortunately, his son George IV turned out to be rather mad, making him useless as a king. When Georgie boy's brothers tried to remove him from power, he killed one and wounded the other before killing himself. The whole affair, combined with continuing losses in the war against France, demoralized the people of Britain. When Ireland successfully gained independence from London with French help, Scotland and Wales both broke away. With the United Kingdom in pieces, all of her colonies were taken by France and her allies, leaving only the Kingdom of England."
Martin's eyes went wide. "Just England?" he gasped. Naude nodded. "The people weren't too happy about it, though." he said. "The government actually relied on French troops to keep them in power."
Naude continued "In 1840, the heir to the English throne, Princess Victoria, married the heir to the Russian throne, Crown Prince Alexander. Their marriage was a happy one, with each ruling their respective realms separately when they ascended to their thrones in 1857 and 1865 respectively. Unfortunately, their union produced a mad little asshole named Viktor, who was crowned Czar of Russia upon his father's death in 1890. When Victoria died two years later, the people of England declared a republic to avoid his tyrannical rule."
"The Commonwealth of England started out fairly democratic, but it didn't last. In 1930, a fascist government came to power under Winston Churchill. Churchill managed to reunite England and Wales while establishing a ruthless police state."
"Hold it" Martin interrupted "Winston Churchill?" Naude nodded again "Let's just say our Churchill took a different path than yours. Anyway, England was riding high at first, but the good times didn't last forever. In 1956, Wales rose up in revolt. To make matters worse, a strain of influenza called the Scottish Flu broke out in Great Britain. The disease claimed the life of Churchill and many other government officials in both England and Scotland, plunging both nations into anarchy. Finally, the Americans invaded Great Britain in 1962 and made it into an American territory. They've spent the past five decades 'Americanizing' Britain."
"Wow" said Martin "Britain really has had it rough in this world."
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:31:08 GMT
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania January 4, 2015
"Good evening, America! I'm Dick Nixon Masters"
"And I'm Barbara Weir!"
"And this is... CHANNEL 1 NEWS' PUBLIC NEWSHOUR!"
"Broadcasting from Philadelphia around the Free World on televisors..."
"...And on Uncle Sam's Talkiebox Station!"
Masters: "We've just received word that a naval battle has taken place between a South African Navy fleet and a fleet belonging to the mystery nation. Apparently, the entire South African force was annihilated save for one destroyer, which subsequently surrendered to the enemy. The South African government has labeled the crew of said destroyer traitors and swore to capture them by any means necessary and bring them to justice."
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:32:43 GMT
HMIS Vikramaditya The Indian Ocean, west of Sumatra January 7, 2015
The deck of the massive carrier was alive with activity as Typhoons were brought up from the hangar deck, placed on the catapults, and launched.
Ever since the event, Malaya had been under attack by soldiers claiming to be from the Republic of Indonesia. Except these soldiers were white and spoke Dutch, while the Indonesia they knew had seen its Dutch population leave after independence.
Interrogation of captured soldiers revealed that this world's Indonesia had been ruled from the start by Dutch colonists, and that the area occupied by Malaya was their territory before the event.
Now, Indonesia was launching bombing attacks against Malaya. Vikramaditya was here to launch air strikes of her own, to take the pressure off Malaya.
One by one, the Typhoons took to the skies carrying bombs for ground strikes. A few were provided with air-to-air missiles to defend the others.
Two Hours Later, Banda Aceh
Lieutenant Ahmed Joshi let loose a burst from his cannon into the enemy fighter and was rewarded with the sight of the aircraft.
So far, the mission had been a success. Joshi's group of 25 Typhoons had shot down 18 enemy aircraft for five of their own. They had succeeded in destroying several aircraft on the ground and wrecking the airfield's facilities.
"That'll give these idiots something to think about about!" Joshi cheered as he and the rest of his squadron turned back towards Vikramaditya.
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:33:26 GMT
London, United Kingdom January 9, 2015
Prime Minister Ranganathan was holding a meeting with his cabinet "So" began Ranganathan "Intelligence reports are coming in from Canada, Africa, and Southeast Asia. A picture is emerging of the world we've been brought to."
"Apparently, this world is dominated by the New United States of America. If you thought our world's UAPR was bad, you'll be shocked by the NUSA. From what we've heard, the NUSA is a totalitarian right-wing dictatorship with a vicious hatred of people it deems 'Inferiors'. At first glance, this sounds like generic white supremacism. However, according to captured NUSA soldiers in Canada and Africa, the NUSA's definition of 'Inferiors' extends to all whites that follow non-Protestant Christianity. The NUSA has been engaged in a decades-long campaign to purge all 'Inferiors' from their territory."
"Prior to the event, the NUSA controlled all of the Americas. They also have occupied territory in Western Europe, parts of Africa, the Middle East, and East Asia."
"The NUSA has allies in South Africa and Indonesia. Both are vicious white supremacist dictatorships."
"In short, we are facing our nightmare scenario-a war with America-except this America is far more powerful and far more insane than the one we're accustomed to. Victory is far from certain, but we will continue the fight. We will prevail over this 'New United States'."
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:41:33 GMT
HMS Formidable The North Sea January 14, 2015
It was just past midnight, but the crew of HMS Formidable were wide awake and hard at work. The carrier and her battle group had departed Scapa Flow 12 hours earlier and were now preparing a strike on Oslo. Recon flights had revealed what looked like a NUSA warship fleet in the harbor. One aircraft carrier, two battleships, eight cruisers, 12 destroyers, 15 frigates, and 30 auxiliary ships. The Royal Navy was about to pay this fleet a not-so-friendly visit.
The first wave of 20 Typhoons began launching at 00:05. Cruising at Mach 1.5, the flight to Oslo took about 75 minutes. 20 minutes out from their destination, the strike was met by 12 F-99 fighters. The Americans pilots had only just been roused from sleep to intercept the British, and their fighting prowess suffered as a result. Nine out of 12 F-99s were shot down for only one Typhoon shot down and another forced to turn back due to battle damage. The remainder continued on.
The carrier NUSAS Biffle was the center of the strike's attention. 1,050 feet long, 135 feet wide and powered by two nuclear reactors, Biffle was a proud old ship with a long and illustrious career. Commissioned on New Year's Day 1970, Biffle's first taste of action was the invasion of the Caribbean in 1972, where her air group helped neutralize the aeroforces of the Southron governments-in-exile. Since then, Biffle had provided air support for American landings in Normandy, Italy, and North Africa. The carrier had served her country loyally over her four and a half decades of service. Biffle was accompanied by the two Saratoga-class battleships NUSAS Saratoga and NUSAS Aaron Burr II. The two sister ships were both 940 feet long, 125 feet wide, carried nine 16-inch guns in three triple turrets with 14 4.5 inch secondary guns in seven twin-turrets, and were powered by two nuclear reactors. Like Biffle, they were veterans of several wars, having provided naval gunfire support for amphibious landings in Cuba, Iberia, the Balkans, and Japan since their commissioning in 1971. Now, their careers were about to come to a violent end, along with those of several of their companions.
First, two Green Eagle missiles punched through her flight deck and exploded in her hangar. While the hangar was devoid of aircraft, the missiles still caused a major fire that her crew struggled to put out. Next, one Typhoon "painted" Biffle with an infrared laser, allowing another to drop a 907-kg laser-guided bomb onto her flight deck. The bomb pierced the flight deck, traveled through her hangar deck, and punched through two more decks before exploding on the last deck protecting the engine room. The explosion sent white-hot debris downward, causing severe damage to the turbines. A final, unguided bomb, impacted her island, devastating the top two levels and killing the ship's captain along with most of the senior officers.
The two battleships also got plenty of "love" from the British pilots. NUSAS Saratoga was struck by a single 907-kg bomb. The bomb punched straight through her 6-inch deck armor and exploded in her forward magazine. The resulting explosion blew out the sides and bottom of her hull near the magazine. The cold waters of the North Sea rushed in, and Saratoga quickly settled on the bottom of the harbor.
"Hot damn!" exclaimed Lt. Charles Pulley, the pilot who dropped the bomb "these American ships may look impressive, but they go 'boom' quite easily."
Burr was hit by no less than three Green Eagles. While they didn't get any lucky hits like Warrior's pilots did on NUSAS Heartland at Pearl Harbor, they still made a hash of her upper works.
The cruisers Tempestuous, Exuberant, and Virtuous were also struck by Green Eagles. Tempestuous and Virtuous both had large holes blown in their hulls near the waterline, causing them to take on water and capsize at their moorings. Finally, eight destroyers were struck and grievously damaged by missiles or bombs. At least three ended sinking in the shallow waters of the harbor. Their work done, the first wave turned back and returned to Formidable.
The second wave, consisting of 25 Typhoons, arrived 30 minutes after the first. The blazing Biffle was hit by two more guided bombs. One bomb actually struck in the same place as the first bomb and managed to punch through the weakened fourth deck, where it practically obliterated the already-damaged turbines. The cruisers Prudent and Selfless were also sunk by guided bombs, along with four destroyers, five frigates, and eight auxiliary ships.
The third and final wave, consisting of 15 Typhoons, struck at 02:20. Three cruisers and one destroyer fell to this wave. As the last Typhoons departed, they were confronted by nine F-99 hoping to avenge the losses in the harbor. Six F-99s were lost for three Typhoons. The remainder headed back towards Formidable. Had the Americans been tuned in to the Brits' frequency, they would have heard the Typhoon pilots singing a familiar refrain, one long forgotten in this world:
Rule Britannia! Rule the waves Britons never will be slaves
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:43:58 GMT
Oslo, Scandinavia Territory January 14, 2015
"So how bad is it?" asked Vice-Admiral Matthew Houseman as he surveyed the harbor.
Commodore Jonathan L. Craig took a deep breath. "Biffle is a total loss" he began "Her turbines were blown to pieces and her catapult machinery is ruined. Saratoga is also a write-off-in her current state, she'd break in half if we tried to move her from the harbor. Aaron Burr II is a different case-her damage was relatively light, and she should be back in action after two months. In addition, we've lost eight cruisers, nine destroyers, five frigates, three fleet oilers, two munitions ships, and three repair ships."
"Damn" muttered Houseman "they really worked us over good." He turned to Craig. "I just hope the Muscovites don't try to take advantage of this."
"Don't worry" replied Craig "We still have another, smaller fleet in Malmö to keep an eye on the Russkies."
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:44:29 GMT
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania January 15, 2015
Secretary of The Navy Robert Martinage stared at the report with a mixture of shock and anger. Within the space of two weeks, the New United States Navy had been the target of two devastating raids. Whoever these people where, they definitely had a top-notch navy, something none of the NUSA's current enemies had.
"This is ridiculous" said Martinage "How could we let ourselves get smacked down so easily?"
"Well, it's not like our navy's faced a serious challenge in the last four decades" said Undersecretary Michael D. Stevens "The Muscovites are the only one of our adversaries to have a substantial navy, and all of their ships are upwards of 40 years old, relics of the old Russian Navy from before the Pan-European War. Perhaps not having a strong enemy to fight has left us a little rusty."
Martinage glared at Stevens. "Are you suggesting that our navy is not good enough?" he snapped.
"O-of course not" stammered Stevens "Our navy is second-to-none! We were just caught off-guard."
Martinage nodded. "Yes" he replied "Once we've got up to steam, we'll give these freaks a good ass-kicking. They'll be crushed under our heel, just like everybody else who has challenged us in the past."
Stevens saluted "You bet we'll teach them a lesson. All hail!"
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:46:17 GMT
HMS Ark Royal The South Atlantic January 18, 2015 07:00
Captain Nicholas Ball sat back in his captain's chair and contemplated the situation.
At the time of the event, Ark Royal had been in the midst of her final deployment before her scheduled decommissioning in February 2015. Now, they had been instructed by the Admiralty to remain in the vicinity of the Falkland Islands to make sure nobody tried to invade.
"Oh and by the way" the First Sea Lord had added "We've decided to delay your ship's retirement until this crisis is over."
Suddenly, a sailor entered the bridge. "Sir! One of our escorts has detected a submarine in the vicinity."
"Alright" said Ball "Get the Atlantises and Merlins in the air."
NUSAS Lungfish
Commander George Howard looked through the periscope. He spied one aircraft carrier, one battleship, two cruisers, four destroyers, and one frigate. "Tell command in Bryan City* that we have enemy contacts." Howard instructed his radio officer. He then turned to the torpedo officer. "Load the tubes, we're going on the attack."
While the radio officer relayed information to Bryan City using the dreadfully slow ELF antenna, Lungfish got in the ideal attack position. Three torpedoes were launched. One hit the destroyer HMS Robertson. The old destroyer immediately began listing to port as the waters of the Atlantic rushed in to her hull. Another headed towards the cruiser HMS Sentinel, only to pass harmlessly under her hull. The final torpedo targeted Ark Royal herself-but it too failed to detonate, leaving the giant carrier unscathed.
Having expended her fish, Lungfish quickly turned around and attempted her escape. The British were onto her, however, and soon multiple air-dropped torpedoes were heading her way. The fish slammed into Lungfish's hull one after another. The submarine quickly slipped into the depths, carrying Commander Howard and 104 others to a watery grave. On the surface, debris confirmed the kill to the British pilots.
Bryan City
Admiral Joseph McCain looked at the message sent by Lungfish. The submarine had reported sighting a carrier battle group, but communications were abruptly cut off while Lungfish was describing the composition of the group. All they knew was that an enemy carrier was in the vicinity.
"Are there any NUSN carriers in the vicinity we can scramble?" McCain had asked his aide. "Just one" he replied "NUSAS Ailes".
"Well then send them after this enemy carrier" ordered McCain.
* OTL Montevideo
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:48:28 GMT
NUSAS Ailes The South Atlantic January 18, 2015 15:00
Rear Admiral George W. Ballance sipped some coffee and looked out at the activity on the flight deck. Ground crew were loading missiles and bombs onto aircraft.
"I don't know who these jackasses are" he said to his executive officer "but we're about to teach them why nobody messes with America."
One by one, the aircraft taxied onto the catapults and were hurled into the sky. The first wave consisted of 16 Fairthorpe A-82 Vulture attack aircraft escorted by 10 Martin F-72 Hellhound fighters.
HMS Ark Royal 16:30
Captain Ball had suspected that the submarine had alerted any friendly ships in the vicinity to their presence and had prepared accordingly. The crippled Robertson had been sent back to Stanley with the frigate HMS Strongbow. The remainder of the battle group remained with Ark Royal.
Suddenly, multiple contacts showed up on the air-search RDF. "We've got multiple bogeys en route." announced Ball "Somebody go out and stop them."
24 Typhoons rushed to meet the enemy. As visual contact was made, half the Typhoons went after the strike aircraft while the other half distracted the fighters. The ensuing furball claimed eight Typhoons in exchange for seven F-72s and eleven A-82s. The remaining five A-82s pressed on.
As the remnants of the American strike homed in on the battle group, the British launched anti-air missiles. Three A-82s were destroyed without launching their payload, the remaining two managed to launch before turning away.
One missile hit the cruiser HMS Dover, destroying her helicopter deck. Another hit the destroyer HMS Druid but failed to detonate.
As the Typhoons had engaged the American strike, Ark Royal had prepared and launched another wave of 27 Typhoons. They found Ailes and her battle group of six destroyers sixty minutes out from Ark Royal. The American carrier had suffered a malfunction in her catapult system, and her second strike was still awaiting launch when the British found her. Seven Typhoons were lost to either defending American fighters or missiles. The remainder managed to launch their Green Eagles.
Two of these hit Ailes, causing massive fires among the fully-fueled and armed aircraft in her hangar. Three struck the destroyer NUSAS Newark-one of which detonated her missile magazine, causing a spectacular explosion. The destroyers Springfield and Pittsburg recived two missiles each, causing massive damage to their superstructures.
Their job done, the British turned back, leaving the crew of Ailes to fight the inferno engulfing their ship. Finally, it became obvious that the carrier was doomed, and she was scuttled by her crew at 19:00.
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Post by silentrunner on Jul 29, 2017 20:49:45 GMT
Cavan, Ireland January 18, 2015
Major Richard Toole looked through his binoculars at the town.
Not long after the event, the border between Northern and Southern Ireland had come under attack by NUSA forces. Now, Toole and the rest of his company were pushing back against one of those forces. The chase had taken them to this curious town.
As the company got closer to the town, a small group of people came out. One of the group shouted out "Well, if it isn't the folks givin' the NUSA devils so much trouble."
Toole leveled his assault rifle at the group. "Halt" he called out. The group obeyed, coming to a stop several feet from the battalion.
"Oh don't worry about us" said a woman "NUSA forbids us from ownin' an' carryin' weapons, so we couldn't fight ya even if we wanted to. And believe me, we certainly don't!" To make their point, the group opened their shirts and turned their pockets inside out. What struck Toole was how antiquated the clothes looked, as if the people had walked straight out of the 1800s.
Toole kept his rifle at the ready. "Just who are you people anyway?"
The apparent leader of the group laughed. "Oh, just a bunch of regular Irish folk doin' our best to survive under the NUSA boot".
By now Toole and most of his men had lowered their rifles. The people hardly seemed to be threatening.
"By the way, just who are you?" said another one of the group.
"My name is Major Richard Toole. We're with the British Army."
"Ah, so you're the folks NUSA is talkin' about. The folks who appeared out'a thin air and locked horns with the 'Mericans." said a woman.
"That's right" said Toole "just what is this place?"
A tall blonde-haired man stepped out from the group "This is the Cavan reservation" he said "and I am Mayor Seamus Kearny."
Toole raised his eyebrow. "Reservation?" he said.
Kearney nodded "After NUSA killed off most of us" he explained "They decided to put the rest of us in little 'human petting zoos' so that the 'betters of society' could come and laugh at the 'degenerate Irishmen'. Every day tour buses drive through our streets so the passengers can look on while we live in poverty. Anyone who tries to leave the reservations is shot. Occasionally, they'll cart someone off to slave away on a plantation or factory somewhere."
"Jesus" Toole said under his breath. "Why do they do that?"
Kearney shook his head "God only knows. They seem to think they're better just on account of not being born Irish. To them, anyone who isn't Anglo-Saxon and Protestant is not human, so they treat us worse than trash."
All the more reason to kick their asses thought Toole.
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