Canamo forest party

[Ateenia]

The National Courier

ᚱÍᚲᛁᛊᛒᛟᚦᛁ

 

24.10.2021 AD

50.04.1949 AJB

________________________________________________

 

BREAKING NEWS

Varnar ammunition depot near Skógheim has exploded.

 

 

This morning, around 11am, the Varnar ammunition depot near Skógheim has exploded which set fire to the whole complex and destroyed multiple buildings in the base. The fire itself has not gone out yet and the depot is still burning and occasionally detonating any remaining munitions that launch off to multiple directions. The base was ordered to be evacuated shortly after the detection of fire and explosions alongside any settlement or town within 10km radius of the base. Currently the local towns are still being evacuated and the evacuation is expected to last the whole day. Once the area is evacuated, the jarl of Konallandi has ordered a restricted zone alongside a no fly zone to be established in the 10km radius area of the base to prevent any further casualties. While the civilians are to be evacuated, the emergency responders were also deployed to go into the base with armored vehicles and evacuate any survivors in the base, due to the high risk, only volunteers have been tasked with the operation. Once the rescuers arrived on the scene, they reported most of the warehouses to be completly destroyed except a few warehouses, that have only recently caught fire, alongside with many of the fences being damaged, the barrackses were reported to be burning and on the verge of collapse, with only the outer barrackses still being mostly intact, protected by the inner buildings. The courtyard is reported to be full of craters covered in body parts and building parts and just barely drivable. It is estimated that very few garrisoned in the depot, survived the initial explosion and any survivors are expected to be injured and in quick need of medical assistance.

The evacuation itself is being carried out by busses, helicopters were also requsted from the Valkyrjur but due to the now fly zone, that was added because of the risk of any munition hitting the helicopter, the request was denied. Residents themselves are requested to use a personal vehicle to leave the area if possible and only use the bus if they do not have access to a personal vehicle so that they would not slow down the evacuation. Varnar advises haste for the evacuation and caution for any missiles or bullets that may still launch from the depot from all the heat. It is believed that the warehouses, that have not exploded yet, are mostly filled with small arms munition and anti tank missiles alongside with tank shells.

The cause of this explosion is unknown, however some report seeing a line of smoke going to that area and it has been confirmed that the Prymontian military was doing a military exercise near the border around the same time, as such there is rumors going around that this explosion was caused by the Prymontian military. The government has neither confirmed nor denied this claim, however it is assumed that they believe this claim to be true, because the queen called for a meeting with the prime minister of Prymont Felix Frey at the border in the classified location in the middle of the forest west of Skógheim. It is unknown what the motive for such an attack could be nor why they would only shoot 1 missile or shell at the depot. The locals lean to believe the claim that it was caused by prymont however the minister of foreign affairs asks the people not to make any assumptions on something that has not been confirmed and that it might aswell have been carelessness of the garrison, the minister of defence does not believe it to be carelessness of what he claims to be one of the best trained soldiers in the wurld and leans to believe it to be the western neighbor with many of the jarls and the locals.

The Queen has been reported to have already left Atha and is assumed to be driving to the secret location in the forest for the meeting.

Edited October 24, 2021 by Ateenia (see edit history)

[Prymont]

Prime Minister's Office | 1500hrs
24th October 2021
Rettenmyr House
Rettenmyr
United States of Prymont

 

"So nothing has been launched at all, you can promise me that?"

"On my son's life, Prime Minister. The United States has no reason to attack @Ateenia, and such measures wouldn't be taken without your prior consultation."

Prime Minister Felix Frey was deep in thought as he consulted Harald Akre, Air Chief Marshal of the USP Air Force. The Prime Minister's office had been rife with activity after reports emerged from Ateenian news agencies that there'd been an explosion at the border. Mystery and intrigue soon turned to stress and confusion as the blame was placed solely at Prymont's feet. A conference call had quickly been organised by the PM between military leaders, as he interrogated them regarding recent actions and pondered why his nation had been blamed. Frey had been enveloped within the meeting for the past two hours, having exhausted every last line of enquiry and still being none the wiser as to the root cause of the incident. Also accompanying him was the Minister of Defence, Fabian Thorvaldsen, who was equally as flabbergasted, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Julian Nordeng - Frey wasn't entirely sure how that man had wormed his way into this meeting, but he had so far refused to leave, much to the frustration of his fellow attendees.

While the senior cabinet members discussed the event with military chiefs, Deputy Prime Minister Finn Rehman had been tasked with calming the public and wrangling the hoardes of journalists that had launched their own invasion on Rettenmyr House. Until Frey was out of the meeting Rehman couldn't say much, and telling the media that the state was maintaining its "no comment" stance was becoming quite the tiresome ordeal. He envisioned himself by the PM's side, taking a leading role in resolving the matter and saving the day, but perhaps it was best he was out here. Keeping Julian Nordeng holed up and away from a live microphone in such a sensitive time almost took priority over dealing with the Ateenians.

The event had certainly captured the interest of the nation. National media had been covering the story since midday, leading to a gossip explosion on social media that had almost instantly become impossible to contain. Conspiracy theories were flying about left right and centre - Prymont had declared war on Ateenia was quickly followed by Ateenia sacrificing their own soldiers to justify war against Prymont, and god knows they're weird enough to try it. The media couldn't keep up at first, but soon the proverbial hammer had chipped away at the theory block, leaving just the truth behind. The USP Army had confirmed that a training exercise was being carried out in Aelmount near the Ateenian border at the time of the explosion, but the statement had been void of any other details, thus further fuelling the uncertainty fire. 

"So this exercise, Rudolf," Frey turned his attention to General Stokke of the USP Army, "you say our men were unarmed. There was absolutely nothing within the exercise that could've feasibly gone wrong and caused this explosion?"

"No, Prime Minister. It was barely a training exercise. A local battalion were out on a twelve mile ruck. We're testing the new recruits from the summer's intake, that's all. Not one of them were lethally armed."

"And there were no vessels in the area, Admiral?" Frey moved on to the Navy, his head in his hands as he desperately sought to get to the bottom of this mess. Nobody was taking the blame for the accident and it didn't make sense.

"With all due respect Felix, we're getting nowhere. You've asked everyone here if they were responsible and they've said no. There's no proof whatsoever that we caused this. All you're doing now is wasting time by asking the same questions." Defence Minister Thorvaldsen finally piped up, having remained silent for the majority of the meeting. A man with a cool, steely exterior, Thorvaldsen had handled tense situations throughout his career in the Air Force, and prided himself on his ability to see the facts and subdue his emotions. An act of war wasn't something that the Prime Minister would deal with during his typical day-to-day, but it was something the armed forces would discuss often enough for Thorvaldsen to have a strong understanding of the gravity of the situation.

"No, you're right. We're only going in circles. But I tell you one thing, I'm not meeting anyone in that forest."

"Certainly not. It's not been vetted and it's within Ateenian borders. It's not safe. Julian, have you been in touch with Ahrana or Mokhavia to see if they'd host a meeting?"

"No, I-"

"Of course you haven't. Felix, may I suggest something different? A bit unique? This wasn't us, we know that, but if Ateenia are blaming us then they must be preparing for conflict. We should remind them of our arsenal, show them our worth, you know? We're not going to stand for this, and if they're serious about engaging, then we need to show them who they're engaging with. A meeting in one nation or another would only be interpreted as biased or controversial, so where don't you get that? International waters. We turn up in a boat with half the navy behind us. Then they'll think twice."

"Fabian, that's..." The Prime Minister trailed off, slouching back in his chair as he rubbed his temple and gritted his teeth. "That's one of the daftest things I've heard today. Who's done that before? Who does that in this day and age?"

"It's a suggestion. What other options do we have?"

"Do it. I'm going to get a drink, and then I'll talk to the media. I'll leave you to sort this out."

"Of course. Admiral, what vessels do we have ready?"

[Ateenia]

50th Dauðamánður 1949 | 12:48
The Kingdom of Ateenia
Atha
Athahöll Palace

 

In the Athahöll Palace, the courtroom was filled with endless bickering as the news of explosion at the Skógheim ammo depot reached every corner of Ateenia. From one side of the court you could hear talks of how it is was clearly caused by Ateenia's western neighbor, Prymont, on some side you could hear Mokhavia being blamed, on another it was Anglia and some pointed at Magnus. The thought of it being an accident, crossed the minds of only a small but still vocal minority. Eventually the court was momentarily silenced as the Queen stepped into the courtroom and took a seat on her great stone throne with Trélíff carved into it from pure gold and a comfy pillow on the seat and bear fur softening the back, reconstructed to resemble the original throne that was completely made of gold. The momentary silence was short and ended the moment the queen sat down, with the courtiers pushing up to the front to convince the queen on why their theory is true and others are not.

"Milady, I'm sure you have already heard the news, these Mokhavians attacked us, who else would attack one of Varnar's bases in Grundvik but the Mokhavians, who still think Grundvik should be theirs." began Jarl Calder of Grundvik, being the first to share his a theory.

"And why would they blow up only our ammo depot there?" asked the queen.

"Well I'm not sure, but it's got to be them, trying to starve us from munition before launching an invasion at our border. They are the only ones that would have a motive to attack us, making us weak while we trade with them, giving them money only so they can hurt us even more."

"Calder, you do not sound very convincing, these are but baseless accusation with no proof or evidence to even remotely back up your claims. I understand that you view Mokhavia as a threat to your holds but Ateenia and Mokhavia have been in peace and in good standing for centuries now, I am not gonna change that just because you consider them a threat to your realms, at the end of the day, you are still a vassal to me, this means that you, your family and Jarldom of Grundvik is under my protection. Besides, the ammunition depot wasn't even located in your lands."

"But..."

Jarl Calder's baseless claims were cut short as jarl Erik Eriksson Gun of jarldom of Konallandi took up the spotlight next, pushing himself to the front and asking Calder to sit and listen. He took a moment to clear his throat and then proceeded to ask his servant to bring the evidence he was to present. 

"Calder, I must agree with Ena on that one, there is no reason to believe that Mokhavians did it and unlike you, I have evidence to support that it was infact these pesky Prymontians, that attacked us and may I suggest we do not waste time to secure our western borders from further attacks?"

His servant finally came back with pictures of the event as well as intelligence reports from the RSA that report the spies reports on a military exercise at the time of the incident.

"I will begin with the pictures." He started showing the pictures to the whole courtroom, one by one. "As you can see, the explosion was pretty strong and happened midday, around the same time as the Prymontians were doing an "exercise", what you may not notice immidietly, is this big line in the west of the compound, going from the clouds, all the way to the ammo depot. Clearly some sort of a missile or artillery or something."

He was interrupted by Herr Stjórnandi Ragnar Steinsson of the Herr, that corrected him and backed up his claims.

"Missile, Erik. I can tell from my experience, I have never seen artillery shell leave behind a trail of smoke, I have however seen my fair share of missiles and can confirm that missiles do leave a trail of smoke behind, but only when it was still burning its fuel. This means that the missile would have been launched close enough that it would have still been burning while it was reaching its target, our Skógheim ammo storage. I believe Erik's claim, there is a clear line of smoke running from the direction of Prymont to the storage and if the RSA report is indeed something to go by, then it is safe to say this was an attack, disguised as a military exercise by the Prymontian military."

"Thank you Herr Stjórnandi..."

The queen interrupted both of them with yet another question.

"These claims aside, what motivation could Prymontians possibly have to attack us? We have not had any real conflict with them so why would they start now?

"I am not sure but answer me this, if they did not consider us as enemies or atleast potential enemies, why would they do a military exercise so close to our border? The RSA confirms that they were running an exercise, well "exercise", exactly at the same time as our military installation exploded. And if not them, then what caused the trail of smoke from their direction, ending in the storage? Evidence is clear, the blood of 52 brave men and women, stationed there, is on their hands."

"I agree with jarl Erik, it had to be Prymontians, you will forgive me Ena for not waiting for your approval but I have already sent a message to mobilize the Herr at the Prymontian border, where they will hold and prepare to defend against another, bigger attack from our neighbor."

Ena showed clear anger at Ragnar for taking matters into his own hands but felt like she could do nothing but accept the claim. A few dozen more minutes was wasted on debating until almost half the court agreed that the event was indeed an attack against Ateenia. The Queen then closed the debate with a decision.

"Silence now please, I have made my decision, From the evidence that has been presented, I am unfortunately forced to act and while I do not believe the claim, it seems the court has decided for me and most of you seem to agree that it was infact an attack. As such I will approve Ragnar's decision on mobilizing the Herr (Army) at the border to prepare for further actions, aswell as I must call for the Valkyrjur (Air Force) to mobilize its planes and begin aerial patrols and Sjornher (Navy) to mobilize its fleets and begin preparing our coasts for a possible attack."

Most of the court was satisfied with the queens decision and began getting back to work, overshadowing the minority that were dissatisfied with the decision and feared that the claims against Prymont was not enough and that this action will leave a painful mark on the Ateenian-Prymontian relations for decades to come. The Queen herself asked to have a meeting arranged with the prime minister of Prymont, Felix Frey at the forest, covering most of the Ateenian-Prymontian border's southern part.

The Queen was already half way to the destination when she recieved a phone call that Felix had arranged for a different place for the meeting, the Argic Ocean, more specificly, the international waters in the Argic Ocean. Ena, while annoyed that she now had to travel all the way back to Atha, called Sjókonungur Gudmund Jerkersson.

"Gudmund, I need you to prepare the fleet and my longship. I'll arrive in about 8 hours, I want atleast 2 patrol ships and a few corvettes ready by then. The Prymontians want to meet at sea, I'll show up with the pride of my kingdom, our Sjornher."

"But 8 hours is not nearly enough time my queen. We have to refuel them, rearm them, run checks and so on."

"I don't want excuses, I want the ships to be ready when I arrive, make it happen."

"We'll try our best"