Pelasgia
Established Nation
Imperial Naval Base, Telmessus, Theme of Opsicia
6/7/1956, 6:54 PM
Pelasgia's summer was right at its heart, with the entire country boiling with heat and the days so long that night seemed to have disappeared altogether. Propontis itself was experiencing record high temperatures and public services were putting their emergency drought plans into effect. Further north, in Telmessus, things weren't much different. As most people from major urban centres went to the provinces to enjoy their holidays and thousands of foreign tourists poured across the country, the busy port city was bustling with life. Telmessus (Telmēssos or Telmissos in Pelasgian) was an ancient city, built so long ago that nobody exactly knows when it was founded, being one of the earliest Pelasgian colonies. The oldest mentions of the city dated back to the 5th century B.C. but it was safe to assume the area had been inhabited long before that time, due to its natural port, easily defensible location and fertile ground. Apart from being a major centre of trade, tourism and industry, it was also home to one of the largest and most historic bases of the Imperial Navy, its port being used by Imperial vessels since the Pelasgistic and Tiburan eras, its residents being the first Karabisianoi (Imperial sailors before the establishment of the Theme System). Opsicia itself was the first and most prominent Naval Theme.
The day was winding down as Colonel Leandros Komnenikos waited for his contact from the Imperial Police to arrive. He stood beside a recently repainted sign, whose message had been changed from Katharevousa to Demotic, near the entrace to the base, right beside a guard post painted in yellow and black stripes.
«Ἔγια μόλα, ἔγια λέσα, φύσηξε βοριᾶ,
σπρῶξε κῦμα τὸ καράβι, βόηθα Παναγιᾶ.
Στὴν Ἁγιᾶ Προνοιᾶ νὰ πᾶμε, ἔγια μόλα γιά,
γιὰ νὰ πάρουμε τοῦ Φράγκου τὰ χρυσὰ κλειδιά.
Νὰ καθήσουμε τὴ σκλάβα πάλι στὸ θρονί,
νὰ τὴν προσκυνήσῃ ὁ κόσμος, ῥήγισσα τρανή!»
"Egia molla, egia lessa (rowing commands), blow o northern wind,
push, o wave, the ship, help us, o Virgin Mary.
Let us go to Haghia Pronoia, egia mola gia,
to take the Frank's golden keys.
Let us sit the slave back onto the throne,
so that the world may bow before her, the migthy queen!"
As the white mass of the sailors, in their uniforms, left the side of the Colonel's eye, he was certain that his contact was at least half an hour late. It didn't bother him, too much, though. In this line of work being panctual was extremely important, but he did understand that half an hour's delay for somebody coming from the other end of the country, during a period when the roads were clogged with travellers and tourists, was but a minor nuissance. As he was pondering the endless congestions of highways, he realised that he might have had forgotten to lock his car's door. Pelasgia was a rather safe country; people rarely locked the doors of their homes and, by extent, their cars. If anything, it was a local costume to let the door of the house open, so if neighbours needed to borrow something they could do so. Yet when one had classified documents in their car, such habits went straight out the window. As Colonel Komnenikos approached the car, he heard the voice of a man behind him.
«Κύριε Συνταγματάρχα.»
"Sir Colonel."
The Colonel turned around to see a man dressed in a grey suit, with a small violet flower in his suit's pocket: his contact from the Imperial Police.
«Φίλτατε Ἀστυνομικὲ Διευθυντά.»
"Police Colonel (Director), my good friend."
«Ἔμαθα ὄτι ὁ Συνταγματάρχης Παπαναστασίου ἀντικαταστάθηκε μετὰ τὸ κίνημα. Φαίνεται ὄτι ἡ Στρατιωτικὴ Ἀντικατασκοπεία καὶ ἡ Ἀστυνομία Ἐνόπλεων Δυνάμεων πήραν ἐπιτέλους διαζύγιο.»
"I learned that Colonel Papanastasiou was replaced after the coup. It seems that Military Intelligence and Armed Forces Police are finally divorced."
«Πράγματι. Ὅμως ἡ Στρατιωτικὴ Ἀντικατασκοπεία καὶ ἡ Αὐτοκρατορικὴ Ἀστυνομία συνεχίζουν τὴν συνεργασία τους μέσῳ ἡμῶν.»
"Indeed. Yet Military Intelligence and Imperial Police continue their cooperation through us."
«Τῶρα ποὺ ξεφορτωθήκαμε τοὺς μεσάζοντες, νομίζω ὄτι ἡ συνεργασία αὐτὴ θὰ εἶναι πολὺ πιὸ ὁμαλή. Γιὰ νὰ τὸ γιορτάσουμε, σᾶς ἔφερα ἕνα δῶρο.»
"Now that we've gotten rid of intermidiaries, I think that this cooperation will be much smoother. To celebrate I got you a gift."
«Καταφέρατε νὰ κάνετε αὐτὸν τὸν ἀλήτη νὰ μιλήσῃ;»
"You got that punk to talk?"
«Ναί. Κελαήδησε σὰν ἀηδόνι.»
"Yes. He sang like a bird."
«Καί;»
"And?"
«Δὲν μᾶς εἶπε πολλά. Μᾶς εἶπε μόνο ποιὸς τὸν ἔβαλε στὴν ὀργάνωση, ποιὸς ἦταν τὸ ἀφεντικό του, ποὺ τὸν στρατολόγησαν καὶ τὰ λοιπά. Ὠς ἀντάλλαγμα θὰ πάρῃ χάρη καὶ θὰ ἐπιστρέψῃ πανεπιστήμιο.»
"He didn't tell us much. He just told us who got him into the organisation, who his boss was, where he got recruited and so on. In return he'll be pardoned and he'll return to university."
«Ἡ Βασιλεία ἔγινε ξαφνικὰ πολὺ γενναιόδωρη...»
"The Empire has suddenly become rather generous."
«Πρέπει νὰ φτιάξουμε τὴ φήμη ποὺ ἔδωσε στὰ σώματα ἀσφαλείας ἡ Στρατονομία. Στὸ κάτω κάτω, δὲν εἴμαστε καὶ ἡ ΑΣΑ, ἡ νέα διοίκηση εἶναι πολὺ αὐστηρὴ σε θέματα πρωτοκόλλου.»
"He have to fix the reputation the Army Police gave to the security forces. After all, we're not ASA, the new administration is much stricter when it comes to protocol."
«Ποὺ εἶναι καὶ ὁ λόγος ποὺ ἦλθες σ' ἐμένα.»
"Which is the reason you came to me."
«Ἀκριβῶς. Γιὰ νὰ ἀξιοποιήσουμε τὶς πληροφορίες ποὺ πήραμε πρέπει νὰ παίξουμε ἐκτὸς τῶν κανόνων. Ἡ Στρατιωτικὴ Ἀντικατασκοπεία μπορεῖ νὰ τὸ κάνῃ αὐτό. Ἀφοῦ βρεῖτε κάτι χρήσιμο, μᾶς τὸ λέτε καὶ κάνουμε μία ψεύτικη, νόμιμη ἔρευνα με τὰ ἴδια ἀποτελέσματα.»
"Exactly. In order to make use of the information we got, we must play outside the rules. Military Intelligence can do that. After you find something useful, you tell us and we conduct a fake, legal investigation, with the same fingings."
«Καὶ ποιὸ ἀκριβῶς εἶναι τὸ δῶρο ποὺ μοῦ ἔφερες;»
"And what exactly is the gift you got me?"
The man pulled a folded piece of paper from within his jacket.
«Μάντεψε ποιὸς εἶναι αὐτὸς ποὺ τὸν στρατολόγησε...»
"Guess who recruited him..."
6/7/1956, 6:54 PM
Pelasgia's summer was right at its heart, with the entire country boiling with heat and the days so long that night seemed to have disappeared altogether. Propontis itself was experiencing record high temperatures and public services were putting their emergency drought plans into effect. Further north, in Telmessus, things weren't much different. As most people from major urban centres went to the provinces to enjoy their holidays and thousands of foreign tourists poured across the country, the busy port city was bustling with life. Telmessus (Telmēssos or Telmissos in Pelasgian) was an ancient city, built so long ago that nobody exactly knows when it was founded, being one of the earliest Pelasgian colonies. The oldest mentions of the city dated back to the 5th century B.C. but it was safe to assume the area had been inhabited long before that time, due to its natural port, easily defensible location and fertile ground. Apart from being a major centre of trade, tourism and industry, it was also home to one of the largest and most historic bases of the Imperial Navy, its port being used by Imperial vessels since the Pelasgistic and Tiburan eras, its residents being the first Karabisianoi (Imperial sailors before the establishment of the Theme System). Opsicia itself was the first and most prominent Naval Theme.
The day was winding down as Colonel Leandros Komnenikos waited for his contact from the Imperial Police to arrive. He stood beside a recently repainted sign, whose message had been changed from Katharevousa to Demotic, near the entrace to the base, right beside a guard post painted in yellow and black stripes.
ΝΑΥΣΤΑΘΜΟΣ ΤΕΛΜΗΣΣΟΥ
ΑΠΑΓΟΡΕΥΟΝΤΑΙ ΟΙ ΦΩΤΟΓΡΑΦΙΕΣ
NAVAL BASE OF TELMESSUS
PHOTOGRAPHS ARE PROHIBITED
In front of him a group of sailors, returning from a nearby café, sang an old song of the Imperial Navy, refering to the Nymphine sailors who took back Propontis from the Crusaders.ΑΠΑΓΟΡΕΥΟΝΤΑΙ ΟΙ ΦΩΤΟΓΡΑΦΙΕΣ
NAVAL BASE OF TELMESSUS
PHOTOGRAPHS ARE PROHIBITED
«Ἔγια μόλα, ἔγια λέσα, φύσηξε βοριᾶ,
σπρῶξε κῦμα τὸ καράβι, βόηθα Παναγιᾶ.
Στὴν Ἁγιᾶ Προνοιᾶ νὰ πᾶμε, ἔγια μόλα γιά,
γιὰ νὰ πάρουμε τοῦ Φράγκου τὰ χρυσὰ κλειδιά.
Νὰ καθήσουμε τὴ σκλάβα πάλι στὸ θρονί,
νὰ τὴν προσκυνήσῃ ὁ κόσμος, ῥήγισσα τρανή!»
"Egia molla, egia lessa (rowing commands), blow o northern wind,
push, o wave, the ship, help us, o Virgin Mary.
Let us go to Haghia Pronoia, egia mola gia,
to take the Frank's golden keys.
Let us sit the slave back onto the throne,
so that the world may bow before her, the migthy queen!"
As the white mass of the sailors, in their uniforms, left the side of the Colonel's eye, he was certain that his contact was at least half an hour late. It didn't bother him, too much, though. In this line of work being panctual was extremely important, but he did understand that half an hour's delay for somebody coming from the other end of the country, during a period when the roads were clogged with travellers and tourists, was but a minor nuissance. As he was pondering the endless congestions of highways, he realised that he might have had forgotten to lock his car's door. Pelasgia was a rather safe country; people rarely locked the doors of their homes and, by extent, their cars. If anything, it was a local costume to let the door of the house open, so if neighbours needed to borrow something they could do so. Yet when one had classified documents in their car, such habits went straight out the window. As Colonel Komnenikos approached the car, he heard the voice of a man behind him.
«Κύριε Συνταγματάρχα.»
"Sir Colonel."
The Colonel turned around to see a man dressed in a grey suit, with a small violet flower in his suit's pocket: his contact from the Imperial Police.
«Φίλτατε Ἀστυνομικὲ Διευθυντά.»
"Police Colonel (Director), my good friend."
«Ἔμαθα ὄτι ὁ Συνταγματάρχης Παπαναστασίου ἀντικαταστάθηκε μετὰ τὸ κίνημα. Φαίνεται ὄτι ἡ Στρατιωτικὴ Ἀντικατασκοπεία καὶ ἡ Ἀστυνομία Ἐνόπλεων Δυνάμεων πήραν ἐπιτέλους διαζύγιο.»
"I learned that Colonel Papanastasiou was replaced after the coup. It seems that Military Intelligence and Armed Forces Police are finally divorced."
«Πράγματι. Ὅμως ἡ Στρατιωτικὴ Ἀντικατασκοπεία καὶ ἡ Αὐτοκρατορικὴ Ἀστυνομία συνεχίζουν τὴν συνεργασία τους μέσῳ ἡμῶν.»
"Indeed. Yet Military Intelligence and Imperial Police continue their cooperation through us."
«Τῶρα ποὺ ξεφορτωθήκαμε τοὺς μεσάζοντες, νομίζω ὄτι ἡ συνεργασία αὐτὴ θὰ εἶναι πολὺ πιὸ ὁμαλή. Γιὰ νὰ τὸ γιορτάσουμε, σᾶς ἔφερα ἕνα δῶρο.»
"Now that we've gotten rid of intermidiaries, I think that this cooperation will be much smoother. To celebrate I got you a gift."
«Καταφέρατε νὰ κάνετε αὐτὸν τὸν ἀλήτη νὰ μιλήσῃ;»
"You got that punk to talk?"
«Ναί. Κελαήδησε σὰν ἀηδόνι.»
"Yes. He sang like a bird."
«Καί;»
"And?"
«Δὲν μᾶς εἶπε πολλά. Μᾶς εἶπε μόνο ποιὸς τὸν ἔβαλε στὴν ὀργάνωση, ποιὸς ἦταν τὸ ἀφεντικό του, ποὺ τὸν στρατολόγησαν καὶ τὰ λοιπά. Ὠς ἀντάλλαγμα θὰ πάρῃ χάρη καὶ θὰ ἐπιστρέψῃ πανεπιστήμιο.»
"He didn't tell us much. He just told us who got him into the organisation, who his boss was, where he got recruited and so on. In return he'll be pardoned and he'll return to university."
«Ἡ Βασιλεία ἔγινε ξαφνικὰ πολὺ γενναιόδωρη...»
"The Empire has suddenly become rather generous."
«Πρέπει νὰ φτιάξουμε τὴ φήμη ποὺ ἔδωσε στὰ σώματα ἀσφαλείας ἡ Στρατονομία. Στὸ κάτω κάτω, δὲν εἴμαστε καὶ ἡ ΑΣΑ, ἡ νέα διοίκηση εἶναι πολὺ αὐστηρὴ σε θέματα πρωτοκόλλου.»
"He have to fix the reputation the Army Police gave to the security forces. After all, we're not ASA, the new administration is much stricter when it comes to protocol."
«Ποὺ εἶναι καὶ ὁ λόγος ποὺ ἦλθες σ' ἐμένα.»
"Which is the reason you came to me."
«Ἀκριβῶς. Γιὰ νὰ ἀξιοποιήσουμε τὶς πληροφορίες ποὺ πήραμε πρέπει νὰ παίξουμε ἐκτὸς τῶν κανόνων. Ἡ Στρατιωτικὴ Ἀντικατασκοπεία μπορεῖ νὰ τὸ κάνῃ αὐτό. Ἀφοῦ βρεῖτε κάτι χρήσιμο, μᾶς τὸ λέτε καὶ κάνουμε μία ψεύτικη, νόμιμη ἔρευνα με τὰ ἴδια ἀποτελέσματα.»
"Exactly. In order to make use of the information we got, we must play outside the rules. Military Intelligence can do that. After you find something useful, you tell us and we conduct a fake, legal investigation, with the same fingings."
«Καὶ ποιὸ ἀκριβῶς εἶναι τὸ δῶρο ποὺ μοῦ ἔφερες;»
"And what exactly is the gift you got me?"
The man pulled a folded piece of paper from within his jacket.
«Μάντεψε ποιὸς εἶναι αὐτὸς ποὺ τὸν στρατολόγησε...»
"Guess who recruited him..."