The Joker

“Keep us steady on this heading” the captain instructed the helm. “Aye, Ma’am.” It was quiet on the bridge as the submarine kept running quietly in the Hamar Sea just beside the Long Sea. The instructions were clear. Find a warship, and when it makes contact with another foreign war vessel harass the newly appeared war vessel should it be small enough. The goal was to pin the newly increased militarism of the Long Sea against itself. It would be too easy with how gung ho everyone was now.

The mission was open ended. Secrecy was paramount. A mission result of nothing occurring was acceptable as well. The submarine would continue on its mission for two weeks.

“We’re approaching Occitania.”

“Good, find a freighter from East Occitania and faint ramming it.”

The ship sailed around the port city of Marsilia. It had gone around the island several times already. “Put up the East Occitanian flag and get ready to abandon ship. We have no business here. Set a course directly for the Aurarian coast. Preferably a city. In about 20 minutes we’ll abandon ship and this thing is rigged to blow.”

It was ultimately a suicide boat with a fabricated East Occitanian flag on the top. The crew got off the ship and watched it sail off towards its destination, Tauritania.

“We’re halfway through our mission and nothing yet.”

“Continue our heading. We’ll be headed north towards the Retalian Sea.”

Following the episode of the Hyacinthe, the threat profile of the Long Sea had increased drastically. The Serenien Air Force had dispatched a number of patrol to monitor the entire length and breadth of the coastline of West Occitania. While the Central Secretariat had assumed control of the government, the Protectorate was in no way capable of maintaining a decent maritime presence.

The maritime patrol planes did spot East Occitanian vessels close to the West Occitanian city of Espidiz. They made radio contact with the vessel for being in violation of the Treaty of Camp Hill. They waited for a response. None seemed to come.

They radioed it in to base command in Occitania. But the ship seemed to be altering its course. They duly reported that change as well.

“Stand by for further instructions,” said the operator. The pilots waited.

“Put up the Jolly Roger!” —“Aye, sir!” The small ship was in the middle of the Long Sea and ready for whatever would happen. The black flag with the skull and crossbones fluttered over the ship beneath a flag with red and yellow stripes and a lion. She was an old ship, but she was still serviceable for now. She’d sail northbound looking for both friend and foe.

An Aurarian had taken off from Gran Armilla Air Force base outside of Tauritania. It was responding to reports of an East Occitanian vessel that was heading due southwest from Marsilia in what appearing to be a course for Tauritania. The ship was not registered on any logs. This was especially concerning given the Serenien’s tip that ship was not responding. It didn’t take long for the F-7 to get a visual on the ship and it began to descend as it did an infrared scan of the vessel.

“Scans show a heat signature, but it doesn’t indicate a crew or any individual on board,” the F-7 radioed back to Gran Armilla, they acknowledged. The F-7 banked, turning around for a second scan – no indication of a crew on board. The plane attempted to radio the vessel again, no response.

“This is Aurarian Republican Air Force flight leader, identify yourself immediately,” no response.

“This is Aurarian Republican Air Force flight leader, identify yourself now or be fired upon,” no response.

The F-7 banked again and flew low in front of the freighter, firing his machine guns into the water as it flew past the front of the ship.

“This is Aurarian Republican Air Force flight leader, this is your last warning, you will be fired upon,” again, no response. The fighter relayed the information back to Gran Armilla.

“Stand by,” the base ordered. The freighter, at this point, was minutes from Aurarian territorial waters. The pilot understood the delay. As soon as radar detected that it had crossed into territorial waters, the order was given “unidentified vessel to be considered hostile, open fire.”

The F-7 immediately engaged, locking onto the vessel and firing a missile. The pilot watched as the missile collided with the freighter, resulting in a massive explosion – entirely disproportionate to what should have happened. A plume of smoke rose fast into the sky as shockwaves caused turbulence even to the F-7.

“Flight leader to Gran Armilla, the freighter was loaded with explosives – target terminated,” Gran Armilla acknowledged. A frigate was rerouted immediately.

----
Captain Antón Carperon was on the bridge of the

You must be registered for see links

. The Aurarian Frigate was gliding through the waters of the Long Sea on patrol. In truth, the Captain was anxious – reports of vessels had been popping up around the Long Sea and the situation was becoming tense, quickly.

“Sir, radar is picking up a surface vessel in the distance,” one of the specialists reported.

“Set a course,” he replied.

The Aurarian Frigate turned direction and started heading for the unidentified vessel that did not match shipping lanes.

“Captain! We’ve made visual contact with a Aurarian Frigate!” The Captain knew they’d run into this problem from a nearby navy eventually. “Change our heading towards East Occitania! We’ll show them our tails! Full speed!”

[div]style="width: 250px; padding: 5px; float:right"| [/div]The Serenien Air Force had dispatched heavier K-29 fighters, armed to the teeth with anti-ship and anti-air weapons. Captain Laurent commanded the mission. He radioed the Aurarian frigate which was on the chase of the mysterious vessel that had been spotted. Captain Laurent informed the frigate that the two jets were in the air to provide whatever backup that was required. As the jets zoomed above, the mysterious ship seemed to be altering its course and speeding up. The two jets gave chase.

"Are the vessels illegal? Or flying banners?" the air controller radioed.

"We have yet to determine that."

"You have orders to shoot any pirate vessel."

"The Aurarian frigate is also on course."

"Noted. You have your orders. Use your judgement."

"Oui."

The two jets split up. The second jet sent the afterburner into force and performed an intimidating pass over the ship. Captain Laurent in his own jet, primed his missiles and radioed the mysterious ship. "Identify yourself. This is not a warning. The Serenien Air Force demands identification."

The second jet pulled up and returned to the formation. "Capitaine, its flying a black banner."

Captain Laurent radioed again: "This is not a warning. Identify yourself."

Solis’s parameters for the mission and rules of engagement were altered after the attack on Tauritania. Tauritania is one of the largest port cities on the Long Sea and by far the largest in Auraria. As the center of commerce and industry in the country, as well as such an iconic cultural capital, attacking Tauritania sent a strong message to the Aurarians. It wasn’t clear to anyone on board the Amusco who was behind the attack on Tauritania or how many other potential threats existed.

Now, an Aurarian Frigate was pursuing a frigate that flew no country’s flag and was not responding to attempts to make contact. The movements of the vessel confirmed for the Aurarians that the ship was manned, unlike the one that attacked Tauritania. The presence of two Serenien Fighter jets made the situation even more tense. The Captain radioed the fighters.

“Serenien Fighter Aircraft, this is Captain Antón Carperon of the Republican Armada Ship Amusco,” he called “We have been unable to make contact with the vessel ahead but have confirmed its flying colors aligned to no particular nation. We will begin firing warning shots at the vessels, we recommend maintaining a safe distance to avoid danger.”

With that, the Amusco’s forward 100mm naval gun turned directly ahead and began firing. Black smoke filled the air as the gun fired four times. Within seconds of the firing, plumes of water sprang into the air next to the unidentified frigate.

“Unidentified Vessel,” Captain Carperon made one more attempt to contact the vessel “This is the Republican Armada Ship Amusco. You are being ordered under the authority of the Aurarine Republic to identify yourself immediately. You will not be asked again, I repeat: identify yourself.”

“This is a state less vessel. Our business is our own.” The ship continued its course at full speed but moved its guns in the direction of the frigate in pursuit.

Carefully hidden the Free Navy submarine noticed the commotion above. “Captain, the radio contact suggests there is a great deal of stress between what appears to be jets, Aurarians, and an unknown vessel.” The Communications Officer was busy trying to maintain abreast of the stituation. “Captain, the vessel has called itself state less.” The captain paced a bit before she responded, “Get us ready to fire upon the state less vessel so long as we remain undetected. Only fire upon that vessel if they are hit by another actor. We’ll simply make sure that this vessel goes to the bottom of the sea.”

The XO walked up behind the Captain. “But Ma’am, what do we hope to gain by doing so?” The Captain remained silent for quite some time. “It’s not what we hope to gain, but what Post-Delegationism hopes to gain. We can advance a great deal of narratives be taking this action.”

Captain Laurent listened to the Aurarian frigate commander and the two jets veered slightly off course, getting out of the way. The two jets pushed back but remained well within range of shooting down the ship. Their anti-ship missiles were still primed to attack. The scene was problematic indeed. As the Aurarian ship fired its warning shots, Captain Laurent also noted that the stateless vessel was moving its guns as well.

He radioed in the Aurarian commander, "Our missiles are also locked onto the vessel. Be advised, the ship seems to be setting up for an attack on your vessel."

Captain Laurent switched off the open channel and spoke to his wingman. They agreed if the Aurarian attacks failed to down the vessel. They would unleash their anti-ship missiles.

“Captain,” an officer called out “the ship has identified itself as Stateless.”

Captain Carperon crossed his arm and lifted his left hand to his chin, staring out the CIC as the forward gun discontinued its warning shots.

“Orders?” the officer called again.

“If the ship was from the Anti-State or Pohjanmaa it would have identified itself as such,” Captain Carperon finally concluded “It is unacceptable for such a vessel to be permitted to sail in the Long Sea. Disable it. Aim the forward gun at the propellers. Bring it to a hault and prepare to board.”

The Officers confirmed the order and the forward gun began repositioning and fired again. Smoke filled the air as Captain Carperon’s heart rate began rising. The gun missed and officers barked out coordinates as the gun repositioned and fired. This time the gun missed, but the shell hit so close to the hull of the stateless ship that it could not be misconstrued as a warning – this was an attack.

The gun fired again, this time it hit the stern of the vessel and water mixed with smoke.

“Hit!” The officers called out “Target is continuing to move.”

“Continue fire,” the Captain called out.

“Return fire!!! Aim for their guns! We need to prevent them from stopping us!” The Aurarians came at them guns blazing.

Boom! Boom! Boom! As the gun fired its couple of first shots too high its last shot smashed through a guard rail to help prevent Aurarian seamen from falling off the ship. “Fire again!” The gun reloaded and fired a second grouping of three. It was at this moment the captain was now watching the sky. He could not tell if those birds were Aurarian or not. He worried they’d now also come after him. The next round of Aurarian shots smashed into the back of the vessel. The screech of metal and the smoke that flew up from the stern. The Aurarians registered a fine hit, perhaps more impactful than their efforts to hit the rear propeller would’ve hoped for.

Water rushed into the rear of the vessel as men scrambled to shut the doors connected to prevent flooding. At this moment a second explosion occurred to the aft of the vessel as well. “What was that!?” Yelled the captain. A returning yell screamed, “I don’t know! It wasn’t an Aurarian shot!” Was it the aircraft? Did something in the ship explode? The ship began to list to the stern, with at least 25% of the ship now underwater. The captain couldn’t tell what the damage was, but this news was bad. Would the entire ship sink? He had no way of knowing. “Lower the rafts! Issue the call to abandon ship! We’ll stay on the bridge as long as possible!”

Captain Carperon was grinding his teeth and clenching his fist as the forward gun continued firing at the rogue frigate. The gun stopped after it registered a clear hit and smoke poured form the stern of the vessel.

“Captain the ship is sinking,” an officer called.

“Cease fire – move forward with caution. We need to capture these people, not kill them,” the Captain ordered.

The angle of the forward gun lowered as the ship continued to move forward. While the vessel managed to scrape the ARA Amusco, only minor damages were sustained and there was a report of a sailor going to infirmary after the blast made him hit his head hard against the wall. Captain Carperon was preparing for the fame he’d receive at home for being the first Captain to successfully capture a pirate ship in the Long Sea. Then, a massive plume of water erupted along the vessel, which rocked it and smoke followed.

“What the fuck was that?” Captain Carperon called out.

“It’s unclear, Captain,” the CIC scrambled to figure out what happened.

“Was it the Serenien?” The Captain yelled.

“I didn’t see any missile hit,” one sailor yelled, peering at the bridge.

“Son of a bitch,” the Captain thought to himself “There’s a fucking submarine here.”

“Captain,” a man’s whose eyes were glued to screens called “Sonar detected something moments before the explosion. I believe it was a torpedo, there’s a submarine in these waters.”

“Deploy the vipers immediately,” the Captain called out. No pirate could operate a submarine – this was from a country, or perhaps a post-delegationist entity. It would be top priority to find this vessel and raise it. The Vipers would detect this sub.

Sailors were running to the stern of the Aurarine Frigate to prep the vipers. The pilots rushed to their seats and began preflight checks as the crew attached airborne low frequency sonars to each helicopter. Additionally, each chopper was fitted with a depth charge. Within five minutes, the choppers slowly lifted off the ARA Amusco and began searching for the submarine from the last sonar ping that the Frigate detected.

“Serenien Fighters,” the Captain radioed “We have detected a submarine in the vicinity. Aurarine Naval assets are beginning the pursuit.”

The Captain turned to his crew "We continue to intercept those rafts. We bring them back to Auraria."

Captain Laurent responded: "Noted. We are providing aerial cover to you. We are following your trajectory." The two fighters flew on. The situation seemed to have taken on a new dimension of intensity. Now, according to the explosion profile, there had been two missiles which targeted the pirate ship. The two Serenien pilots knew they hadn't fired their salvo. And the Aurarians seemed to be considerably spooked themselves. There seemed to be a third presence in the waters of the Long Sea.

Captain Laurent notified his command at the base. The chase continued on.

The ship was listing heavily towards the aft, and the captain was ok with that. It was better the ship went down than it going into the enemies hands. It was clear the Aurarians would take them prisoner, and shooting back would only get them all killed. However the ship going to the bottom would help keep their mission a secret. As all men bundled into the life rafts, the captain stepped foot on the last one and watched the ship slowly go down as the rafts hurried away to avoid being dragged down with it. “No one says a word on our mission! Give them nothing!” The Captain cried out. Only the senior officers on the ship had any idea what was going on anyhow.

HDD FNS ESPOO MISSION LOGS CORRUPTED

#/€(€==(/“”= Use Pirate ploy and deception to (/=)(€)/“()&%%#==€
(/#=€(=)#?=“/(/(=&/&%/)&#=R=#(?(?
()/=)(#=()&/“(=#U/I”HJLI()?€/#(& If possible attempt to draw either Aurarian or Serenien vessels into conflict with Occitania)(/=(=#)(&#/=!&”#E€#€#%