Author Topic: When Protests Go Wrong -Open to All  (Read 1785 times)

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Online DaveIronside

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When Protests Go Wrong -Open to All
« on: November 13, 2020, 11:45:44 PM »
Northfort's King Robert International Airprot (KRI)

"Wings Seven Ten turn to heading 1-8-0 and climb to Flight Level 4-5." It was a busy day in Air Traffic Control as the weekend was coming and so tourist flights were coming and going. Richard Franklyn checked his screen and looked out the window. "Echo Hotel Five Three you have permission to depart runway 2-9." He watched as the aircraft heading from Northfort to Heyra entered the runway and sat doing its final checks. He checked around the board and mentally made a note of the next few aircraft he'd be guiding out of the airspace, most heading South no doubt for sunnier climbs.

"King Robert Tower this is Gatehouse 1 stop all traffic" The message came from one of the six external gatehouses that provided access for commercial vehicles into the airport complex. It was usually secured by teams from a private security contractor many of whom were ex-Legionnaires and as such took very few chances. It wasn't normal for them to halt aircraft operations and in Richard's six years on the job it had never happened but he knew enough to understand if they said to stop they stopped and so he relayed the details to all the aircraft under his control.

"Roger that Gatehouse 1 all traffic stopped." Richard picked up his binoculars and scanned the area around Gatehouse 1. It looked normal enough to him and he wondered what was going on. He fielded several questions from aircraft worried about being delayed and likely getting problems from passengers onboard waiting to either depart or unboard. Richard however at this point didn't know what was happening and so just told them to standby. It was only after ten minutes or so that he spotted the problem. As he trained his glasses at the perimeter he could see a large crowd of people, about fifty or so with what looked like banners. "Hippies are out" Richard announced to those in the tower before handing his glasses over to a friend nearby who now as the aircraft had stopped moving had nothing to do. Protests like this tended to happen once a month but they never had stopped the movement of aircraft before.

"They've got themselves an Air Force" Richard's friend handed the glasses back and helped guide Richard to what he'd just seen. Two large camera carrying drones were flying up and down the length of the runway.

"Bloody hell" Richard said as he began relaying details to the aircrews who shared many of his sentiments. While he was watching the two drones he missed an airport worker helping restock the galley of an out going flight to Lodja clamber up onto the top of the aircraft fuselage and effectively glue himself to the top. By now airport security had spotted him and all hell was beginning to break loose as a combination of the gatehouse security, police and now streaming in from the city itself a military rapid reaction team for in case what now seemed to be a protest became a terrorist incident.


The Palm, Ipsus

As early evening fell on the city the area around the Palm began to buzz with life and not just because the Mundus Games was in town. The exclusive resort had become a centre of the cities wealthy nightlife. It was the fashionable place to be seen and so luxury yachts lined its harbours and helicopters buzzed too and from the landing pads. The bus waiting to take some of the athletes back to the Games Village was sat outside the arena as crowds began filing past it with some taking a jump to peer through the windows hoping to catch a glimpse of some star athlete. Currently the bus was empty and the driver was enjoying a last cigarette as a large group of fans with a banner approached. It had happened most evenings as one of the teams fans came to wish them a final goodbye. The driver didn't notice them form a large ring around the bus each handcuffing themselves to the person next to them while several others glued themselves to the buses side while holding a banner proclaiming the fact the planet was dying between them. On the opposite side of the bus others held a banner calling for Royal Seleucid to end oil production. A trio then stormed onto the bus and taking the driver by surprise handcuffed themselves to the seats before smearing them with superglue and sitting down. This all placed the police in an awkward situation as normally they would have just dragged the people away but the problem was on this night in this setting the worlds media was present and so such rough handling was perhaps not a way to go ahead.

It was only once the bus was effectively held hostage that the helicopters began to get grounded as around ten large drones were piloted back and forth across the Palms helicopter pads endangering the flights and thus shutting down the operations.


Eventide, Seaforth

There had been a large crowd outside the cities international airport for the last 24 hours despite the heavy winds. They had been complaining the chaotic Seaforthian government, once a shining light to the international community, was now largely dormant. "The time has come for us to say to the dead ducks in the Palaces and government houses that we are on borrowed time. Yes people talk a good game. The Treaty of Wellow being a start but that was all it was a start. Nothing else has been done and now the Treaty has hardly been seen by nations beyond those there when it was created. Our own nation has yet to embrace the most important treaty of the last 100 years and in 10 years we will have done irrepaerable damage to the world meaning our grand-children will be a doomed generation. We have at most ten years to right these wrongs and for that to happen we make three demands. First the nation must sign the Treaty of Wellow and commit to bringing it into force within three years. Second we must commit to end any practice using fossil fuels within the next two years and finally the monarch must commit to calling a people's assembly within six months to allow the people to have a say on the ways we will cut the nations emissions." A man stood yelling from the back of a flatbed truck surrounded by people superglued together. Just like in East Moreland and Royal Seleucid the target was air-travel and so in an effort to ground the aircraft drones were being flown. A young man in his early 20's had been tasked with flying one of the trio that would be used here and from his position in the back of a van on the industrial estate and now guided the drone from the van to the edge of the field. He kept the drone low to ensure it wasn't spotted until close to the airport itself meaning it would take them much longer to track the operator. Everything was going well until the pilots fingers slipped on the control causing the drone to raise quickly and long before the warnings were spotted by the airport staff. Now as he was helpless to watch the drone rose into the path of an oncoming aircraft heading to land at Eventide having come in from Safraen. The drone was unable to avoid being sucked into one of the engines and having been low to the ground was on low power and with the winds causing an inconvenience for the aircrew the sudden change proved a disaster. In an effort to correct the problem the pilot allowed the left wing to dip too low and it struck the runway causing the aircraft to spin and cartwheel as it skidded down the runway and caught fire. Fire crews and other emergency vehicles made their way towards the runway but it would be largely too late and from the 330 people onboard only 36 were saved.






PROTESTS TURN TO DISASTER

In a day of protests that have gripped Mundus one such protest turned disastourous. A group known as Climate Crusaders carried out a series of co-ordinated protests across the globe to bring attention to the environmental damage being done to Mundus. It is believed that the actions of the group accidently lead to the downing of a passenger plane about to land at Eventide Airport in Seaforth. The group flew drones close to busy airports to ensure aircraft were grounded however in the case of Eventide it is believed a mistake was made that saw a drone sucked into a low flying aircrafts engine causing it to crash. A total of 330 people were onboard with 36 surviving. Other major protests took place at Northfort in East Moreland and Ipsus in Royal Seleucid although it is understood that protests also took place in other nations. A spokesman for the group which demand all nations signed the Treaty of Wellow, end their reliance on fossil fuels and convene citizens assemblies to put in place measures to end climate change, spoke on the matter via a youtube link.

"What happened today is a tragic accident. It should not have happened. We are making the point that our planet is dying and that air travel is a major contributor to that death. It is tragic that in making that point lives have been lost. Their deaths though should illustrate the fact that whenever each of us takes to the skies we kill some of the planet beneath. Today we tried to simply ensure three of the nations on Mundus with a need for reform saw that need clearly. East Moreland and their much vaunted EMAC are suppliers of aircraft to all over the world that destroy our climate. They value high speed, fuel guzzling machines that spew out filth that clogs the planets lungs. Over in Royal Seleucid they rip up mother earth in order to draw black death from the ground in the form of oil that the rest of us then burn to destroy the lungs of the world. And then Seaforth, a nation that once held itself to the highest ideals of the world that have since hidden away and done nothing. A nation that has taken no action to reduce its carbon footprint. While we will never be able to do anything to make up the loss of today we have a bigger battle to fight and that is to protect the planet. It is my hope all nations will take action today and that tomorrow we have no need to carry out further protests."

In East Moreland the military swept the area near the airport and discovered two individuals operating drones near the airport at Northfort. These two individuals were taken into custody and are awaiting decisions on their charges. Meanwhile in Royal Seleucid individuals surrounded the bus of various teams leaving the Palm Arena at the Mundus Games and forced helicopters to be grounded. After a four hour stand off police managed to remove the protesters having made alternative arrangements for the teams transfer to the Mundus Games Village. In Seaforth the protestors at the airports gate were arrested however as of yet the group have refused to name the individual who was responsible for flying the drone which took down the passenger plane and therefore the exact charges, if any, to be brought against this group have yet to be confirmed.

It is understood that the identities of those onboard the aircraft have been made known to their home governments. While the exact identities have yet to be released to the press it is understood that around 80 of those on board were Seaforthians while around 30 were ex-Moreland military returning home from visiting Safraen to commemorate the end of the war there several years ago. The nationalities of the others have yet to be released by their home governments.

Offline Cass

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Re: When Protests Go Wrong -Open to All
« Reply #1 on: November 15, 2020, 08:57:02 PM »

STATEMENT FROM QUEEN ATALANTA II

Following the sad news from Seaforth the Realm of Cassiopeia sends it sympathies to those who have lost loved ones in the recent air crash at Eventide Airport. As of yet we are still working to confirm whether any of our own citizens were onboard however that will not change our response.

With immediate effect the group known as Climate Crusaders shall be forbidden from carrying out any protest within 15km of any airport. Failure to comply with this shall see immediate arrest and imprisonment of up to five years. Additionally any organisation causing disruption to public right of movement around the realm shall face immediate arrest. We are currently considering naming Climate Crusaders as a terrorist organisation. While we appreciate their concerns over the environment and the damage being caused to Mundus we believe that any organisation that uses tactics such as those we have seen in Royal Seleucid, East Moreland and Seaforth are nothing short of holding a nation and its people hostage to suit a political agenda, the very definition of a terrorist action. We shall be consulting with those nations and our own intelligence services in the next 48 hours.

Signed

Her Celestial Majesty Queen Atalanta II
Phylarch of Golgagra
Oracle of the Martyr Cassiopeia

Offline Dijel

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Re: When Protests Go Wrong -Open to All
« Reply #2 on: November 22, 2020, 10:38:14 PM »
Edna Wishart MP; Iwafreea Regional Airport, Yarra District, Kaedwen

A small crowd had gathered outside the chain-link fence around the regional airport of the little town in rural Kaedwen. The atmosphere was excitable, but not unduly hostile, as the assorted group of hippies, self-declared eco-warriors and bored geography students shouted slogans and waved their little home-made banners. It hadn't been much of a productive day for them, truth be told. The target of their ire was a man named Markus Sacco, head of the KHP Global mining company and, therefore, de-jure owner of the last remaining large coal mine in the area, Mhunera Colliery. While the mine was by far and away the biggest employer in the town, it enjoyed much less the monopoly it had a few decades before, and concerns over the environmental ethics of the large, open-cast mine had simmered alongside gripes over pay and conditions for the workers for years. It was a strike which had brought the boss flying in early that morning to meet with the hard-nosed union men, and neither side had payed much regard to the gaggle of environmental protesters who'd turned out to make their feelings known.

Having been frustrated in her efforts to speak with the visiting executive, Edna had instead come down to feel the pulse of the protests at the airport. With the elections so close, it made sense for the young Green Party MP to be seen taking an interest in her constituents' concerns.

She was speaking with a group of students when, with a high-pitched jet whine, a small aircraft in KHP Global livery began taxiing out towards the little airport's single runway. This prompted a muted response from some of the crowd closer to the fence, drawing bemused chuckles from the two security guards standing the other side of the wire, though few took much notice. Fewer still noticed a distant glint across the other side of the airfield. Then another. Then another, the last trailing an improvised bed-sheet banner with a "Climate Crusaders" logo poorly stenciled on in green spray paint. 

The turbine-howl rose to a crescendo as the little jet turned onto the runway, accelerating quickly into the wind. Seconds later, with a grinding crunch, the engine noise suddenly died away, and the crowd turned to see the aircraft pitch down sharply towards the runway. At the last moment, the pilot attempted to regain control of the aircraft, but succeeded only in striking the ground with the port wingtip, shearing it away and sending the fuselage careening off towards the perimeter fence. Aghast, Edna watched as the wreckage tore through the fence on the far side of the airfield, before disappearing with deceptive grace down the embankment on the other side. Moments later, a thick, black smoke could be seen rising in the distance.

Amidst the sudden hush, somewhere a siren started to wail.

Online Achkaerin

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Re: When Protests Go Wrong -Open to All
« Reply #3 on: November 23, 2020, 06:54:01 PM »
Valtheim International Airport

It was perhaps one of the more unusual duties that Fiona Atherton had ever found herself doing. She was effectively 'in the crows nest' as she piloted her Wasp around the airspace of the airport, keeping as high an altitude as she could while keeping her head on a swivel and watching for drones, it was something they trained for though that was for military drones these were more over the counter recreational ones. Fiona glanced at her weapons controller Pilot Officer Paul Nielsen as like her he kept visually scanning the skies around them, it wasn't that they didn't trust that their onboard equipment worked it was more that they weren't sure that something as small as some of these drones would register.

"Got anything?" Fiona asked
"Nothing." Paul said then there was a sudden breath "Hold on picking something up bearing to our right and behind."
"Ok then." Fiona said banking the helicopter around so that they could see what they were looking at "That's a microlight."
"What's one of them doing in restricted airspace?" Paul asked "Did it just drift off course?"
"No idea, think it has a radio?" Fiona asked
"I'm not sure." Paul said, Fiona flipped the radio button and broadcast on an open channel.
"This is call sign Shooting Star of the Achkaerin Air Force calling the microlight with the yellow wings." Fiona said "You have entered restricted airspace, adjust course to the west and leave the area at once."
"No response." Paul said
"I say again leave the area at once." Fiona said
"Still nothing." Paul said
"Oh come on." Fiona sad as she dropped in behind the microlight "Don't make me have to do this."

Now things got even more complicated as a passenger airliner entered the equation, Fiona tightened her grip on the joystick flipped the radio again this time to the secured channel "Control this is Shooting Star, have unresponsive civilian recreational aircraft in restricted airspace, unsure if intention is to interfere with incoming passenger aircraft. Please advise." she said over the radio then she sighed "Paul go weapons hot."
"Ok but I hope we don't have to." Paul said
"This guy had better notice there's a plane on its way in." Fiona said
"Unless he's about to do something stupid." Paul said

"Shooting Star this is control." the response came over the radio "If aircraft does pose a risk, neutralize."
"Copy." Fiona said, she trained her sights on the microlight and was about to open fire when the microlight banked away, with a huge sigh of relief Fiona banked well clear of the incoming jet. "That was too close."
"Yeah let's not have to do that again." Paul said
"Safety the weapons." Fiona said "I'm returning to patrol path."

Offline Cass

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Re: When Protests Go Wrong -Open to All
« Reply #4 on: November 24, 2020, 10:58:30 AM »

STATEMENT FROM QUEEN ATALANTA II

Following further incidents involving Climate Crusade and aircraft we wish to send our condolences to those who have lost life in the various incidents. I can now confirm that four of our citizens died in the crash at Eventide. With the deliberate and unrestrained targeting of aviation it is clear that this group intends to cause damage and destruction with no thought for human life and as such today I have issued orders that Climate Crusade are to be made a banned organisation. Any individual found to be supporting the group in any form, be it displaying their logo to conducting activities, shall be arrested and face charges of belonging to a terrorist organisation which carries with it penalties up to and including life imprisonment and a fine of up to $1,000,000. This organisation have no respect for legitimate avenues of debate and thus shall not be engaged with.

Signed
Her Celestial Majesty Queen Atalanta II
Phylarch of Golgagra
Oracle of the Martyr Cassiopeia