Building the Rogues

[GiseleAstra]

To His Majesty King David III of East Moreland

Since the late 1970's the Empire of Tanith have maintained a military unit named the Rogue Detachment. This unit plays a vital role within the training of our forces. It operates not as a combat unit but purely as a training one with the significant role of preparing our fighting men and women for all kinds of operations. This forces does not conform to the usual tactical or military doctrines of the rest of our forces and aims to ensure our people are ready for anything. In addition to wearing non-Tanith uniform they also operate foreign equipment not available to the forces of our Empire. We have in the past maintained a stock of former Warsaw equipment fearing their Communism may take an anti-monarchy route. This equipment however is now outdated and we lack the ability to maintain it at a level we desire. As a result we are looking for a nation we believe we can work with to acquire a range of new equipment and work with to send members of the Detachment to acquire new tactical ideas. It is therefore my belief that your nations military have shown themselves to be very capable and therefore we would like to discuss the upgrades Rogue Detachment being based on equipment from East Moreland. I also wish to assure you that while in the past this decision was made to combat what was perhaps the biggest possible threat we have picked East Moreland as the nation we most desire to partner with because of some perceived cultural similiarities, quality of equipment and the fact that much of it is battle tested.

I would therefore like to meet with you, if possible in East Moreland, in order to work out whether this concept is of interest and if so to look at how we can acquire the much needed equipment.

With Deepest Respects
On Behalf of the Emperor
The Regent -  Prince Maximus Astralix

[DaveIronside]

The letter was one that surprised King David, he was aware several nations around the world did such a thing but he had not expected his own Kingdom to be used as the model for one such "enemy" force. On one hand he was rather proud of the way the Regent had spoke of his nations own military, especially as he himself had served with pride within its ranks. Naturally at first he was a little concerned about the arrangement but after meeting with his Minister of Defence Sir Harry Samuelson a strategy that the King was happy with had been put together. Following the King's response arrangements had been made for the Tanith Empires Regent to make his way to Ostlake. The city, which shared the name of the imposing glimmery blue lake upon whose northern shore it sat. The lake was huge, and the rive Ost which flew into it was navigable by the navies large vessels for part of the year and had a skilled helmsmen. Each of the cardinal points boasted a military establishment of such and a network of underground rail tunnels connected them. It would be to Ostlake East that the guests would be guided, the base there had an airfield where Ironside One, the Kings personal transport, was maintained. As a result of this base being selected to host the meeting it would be members of the Royal East Moreland Air Force (REMAF) who would be providing an honour guard for the regent and whoever else he had deemed to bring with him. The Morelander delegation was of course headed by the King and Queen with Sir Harry Samuelson keen to also be involved, the heads of each of the three branches of services were there too along with Brigadier Jim Corey who commanded Red Legion and rather oddly for such an occasion Sir Richard Kelly who had proceeded Corey as commander of East Moreland's elite but who now ran a company providing training for security forces such as those who accompanied shipping. As the Tanith aircraft came into land the band struck up the guests national anthem, this was the part of the day that was very routine. The aircraft would be shown to a terminal style looking building that normally was used to send troops off on their way across Mundus. Once it had stopped steps were pushed into place and with the strains of the Tanith anthem in the air the guests would descend to take their first steps on Morelander soil. The King made his way forward meeting the Regent half way down the inward facing lines of Airmen providing an honour guard by presenting arms. "Prince Maximus I'd like to welcome you and your people to East Moreland." He extended his right hand towards the regent. "This is my wife Queen Stasya."

"Its wonderful to meet you." She said with a smile. "I hope you've had a pleasant trip so far." She added before David introduced everyone else.

"Please come this way." David gestured for the regent to climb onboard one of the waiting open topped vehicles that awaited them. David turned and helped Stasya before clambering onboard himself. The vehicle was more often used to ferry pilots to the hangers at the far end of the runway when needed but today would act as a royal transport taking the two delegations first off the airfield and then through to the bases more business like area where the REMAF's prestigious Officer Training College was located. The little electric buggies stopped outside and the delegation got down and made their way inside where the scene revealed a large rectangular foyer with steps at the far left and far right leading up to the 2nd floor and creating a balcony effect. The floor was polished dark wood except for a large patterned blue carpet that dominated 3/4 of the floor space of the foyer leaving a wood border between the carpet and the walls. "I would ask you to not walk on the carpet" David stopped and almost whispered to the Prince and his people. "There is a tradition that only Air Force officers may walk on it." The King walked round the edges of the carpet before climbing the far left stairs and entering into one of the rooms on the second floor which was set up with a series of chairs either side of a rectangular desk, Stasya had left them at this point being more keen to take part in some PR event with some new graduates of the College. "Now I do have to say before we begin. East Moreland has a strict rule about military equipment sales, that is that we don't sell to nations that have not signed the Uppsala Convention. You must forgive me but I'm of the understanding you have not signed that convention. Our policy is well known so perhaps we can clear up that situation first?"

[GiseleAstra]

Maximus had half expected the very formal welcome. He had tried to relax on the flight over but had found it difficult as this was his first major attempt at achieving some diplomatic aim. He was just pleased that the majority of the talks would be military related as there at least he was on solid ground. The Regent exited the aircraft and recognised the King form the various media outlets and quickly strode towards him leaving General Arthuras Levitica in his wake. Administrator General Marcianus Ascanius, the head of the nations civil service had paused at the top of the steps to survey the scenary before hurrying to join his leader. "King David it is nice to meet you" The Regent accepted the Kings handshake before bowing briskly to Stasya. "Your Majesty" he said as he raised his head and turned back to the King. "We're pleased to have this oppurtunity"

As they reached the College building Maximum listened to the tradition about the carpet and seeing that even the monarch respected the tradition in place he too followed. He understood the military enjoyed such little nuances in their operation and could think of similar such ones back home. As he sat opposite the King and he began the Regent had a concern and before responding to the King whispered with the others. "I have a small issue. We as a nation are dedicated to the Divinatus faith. It recognises no higher authority than the God Emperor.   The Convention Court therefore holding higher power than the God Emperor may mean we are unable to sign the document. We did not see this as a potential issue. You can rest assured that we would not knowingly or willingly go against such a document. We believe war must be an honourable necessity. May I suggest that we follow one of two paths. The first is that I will sign a treaty between the two of us giving assurances that we will follow the rules laid out in Articles 1-9 of the Uppsala Convention. Alternatively we flesh out an arrangement for the acquisition we discussed however shipments not begin until such a time when I have approval from the God Emperor via discussions with the High Lords, the Adeptus Ministorium and the Inquisition to sign the Uppsala Convention. Is this a possibility?"

[DaveIronside]

David was a little disappointed to hear what Maximus had to say, "I'm going to have to be honest. I'm more than happy to work with you to come up with a plan to fulfil your needs in regards to this unit that you wish to put together. All arms sales from East Moreland based companies must have government approval. Last thing I want to see is an East Moreland Legionnaire coming up against the very weapons we sold someone. As a result Sir Harry here is under very strict instructions that approval will not be given to anyone who has failed to sign the Uppsala Convention. My approach to the document is that it won't ever have to be used against a Morelander as I would never give an order to contradict the principles of the convention and therefore any breach by a Legionnaire would be their doing and not the nations and as the document holds the perpetrator personally responsible then I would have zero concern, meanwhile my own nations military I would believe would handle his court case rendering intervention by any Uppsala mechanism irrelevant. Now on the proviso that this deal will not be completed until such a time as I see an Imperial signature on the document then we can continue. What exactly are you hoping to build in terms of this training unit?" 

[GiseleAstra]

Maximus had to admit that he thought the words of King David could perhaps be utilised to get a signature on the document, "This is not going to be needed for us as we shall deal with matters ourselves but it shall hold our enemies to task" he said the words to himself confident that perhaps they would be sufficient to reassure the people back home. "I'm grateful you're willing to give us an opportunity to sort this out when I return home." He took out a list from his pocket, it had been made with the various military consultations. "The aim of this unit, that we call the Rogues, is to mimic the way another nation fights in reasonably small scale situations. What we would like is to put together an inventory for around 500 men and an air element to operate. What we will need will be around around 50 armoured vehicles of various types ranging from IFV's, APC's to Tanks. We'd need around 10 Self propelled howitzers and anti air capabilities. For the air arm we'd like four or five helicopters and maybe an assortment of 10 or 12 combat aircraft. Now we're not looking for shiny and new, so for example if you've anything on the slate to be retired we'd consider giving it a home. Of course we'd also need small arms. While it may also be a push we'd like to look at some members of our forces coming and doing some hand over training with your equipment too."

[DaveIronside]

David was hopeful that even though he had expected this meeting to yield primarily economic boosts to East Moreland he now could see a glimpse of perhaps some kind of diplomatic success as well. "I had anticipated that you would perhaps also need help with your unit learning about some of the ways we use that equipment. While I'd be happy to consider some form of officer exchange or something along those lines. I have for you a proposal of sorts." The King was always keen to help out East Moreland businesses and while there were some very obvious ones that would likely benefit from what the King was going to discuss here today there was one that he would like to see get a little boost. "Sir Richard here retired from military service last year after several decades in our military, a great deal of them in our elite Red Legion. Today he runs a company providing training to people aboard ships travelling through some of Mundus most dangerous water ways, I suspect we could persuade him to do some of the work training this new unit if we can find a mutually agreeable arrangement. As for now I think it best Sir Harry begins a sales pitch."

There was a clearing of throats and a sip of water from Sir Harry Samuelson. "Thank you. If I may Your Highness" He slid a large screen tablet over to Maximus. "East Moreland prides itself at being very innovative when it comes to military technology, as a result however some of the vehicles and platforms its attached to tend to maybe be a little older than many nations but we have proved time and again that its what you do with the kit that matters. We have a choice of three tanks, our first two are heavy platforms, the MBT-1 is the older of the two and has had significant amounts of upgrades and additions. There are a fair few older ones out there in mothballs that we can find if need be. The MBT-2 is our 2nd tank and despite them being of a similar age the MBT2 has had slightly less upgrades. As a result we've a few less technologically upgraded 2's knocking around or of course you can have Henley build you them from scratch. I'd say for training purposes you're likely to get more bang for your buck from the MBT2, its use of an autoloader means less training for your military and as your limiting the size of these Rogues by number of men it'll mean you can field more. We also utilise a lighter tank called the Chameleon. " HE allowed the Regent and his delegation to look at the various specs and images.

"Now in terms of other armour we field just one types of IFV and a lighter recon vehicle. Our troops move around in our shiny new Bison mobility vehicle and supported by our SPH-8, the advantage there would be the SPH-8 ad the MBT1 have the same chassis so that may help your maintainence bill. With those you should be able to field a 500 man unit relatively easily." Sir Harry took the tablet back and pressed a few other icons before returning it the Maximus.

"In terms of an air arm we'd suggest you're more likely to want close air support so we've the old Dragonbane which is being phased out eventually so we've already a few mothballed. There is a newer version but I think for cost reasons you'd likely go retro. Much of its close air support duty has been passed onto the Firestorm which is simply a converted Puffin so perhaps a combination of the two would help save money. Helicopter wise we use the Super Lifter and as an attack helicopter the Raccoon. Hopefully that has wetted the appetite." Sir Harry sat back down rather proud of the military he helped oversee.

"We'd also make an introduction to the companies involved to help you sort out supply of spare parts, maintainence and the like but you should also consider contacting SmartWar as they do some great work on our upgrades and while some of their work for us is of course classified they can do some work to make the military as close to what we have as possible." David explained.

"We can arrange for you to go see any of this stuff in action." Brigadier Correy of Red Legion added knowing he'd got some boys keen to play with some of the toys.

[GiseleAstra]

The Regent was a man with a military background and so he had a decent idea what Sir Harry was saying.  General Arthuras Levitica busily jotted down names and numbers scribbling away as Sir Harry spoke. Administrator General Marcianus Ascanius though was busy trying to do maths in his head. Once everything had finished the three of them excused themselves and went for a little wander to discuss what their next steps would be. After about half an hour, and mindful about the carpet, the trio returned. They'd already a brief idea about the equipment of the Morelander military and knew a few must have items. As they retook their seats Maximus reached into his suit pocket and removed a piece of paper which he placed on the table.

"King David" He leaned forward in his seat, "This is our wish-list, this is the equipment that we would like

20 MBT-2
20 IFV
15 Recon Vehicles
20 Bison
5 SPH's
550 soldiers worth of individual kit E.g rifles, body armour etc.
4 Super Lifter
4 Raccoon

"Now while you didn't mention it we would like to acquire six Dragonskins. This little package will obviously see a significant outlay, we believe that it would be in the region of around $1billion with extra for the fighters. We would like to acquire the vehicles as soon as possible however pay for them over the next five years. We believe that for you this would be a good arrangement as beside the initial purchase we would then be tied into arrangements to get maintainence and support from businesses in your nation for the significant future. In addition we would like to put in place an officer exchange arrangement to better learn about how to use the equipment and we would be foolish not to take advantage of Sir Richard's business. I would suggest Sir Richard may like to provide us with a months free trial of his company and if we like what we see then we can look at a regular arrangement for lets say, three years?"

[DaveIronside]

It was clear to David and Sir Harry that the Emperor and his team had done their homework and that was something they could respect. "In regards to the free trial I believe that is something only Sir Richard can comment on, I however think it would be fair on condition that he is compensated in terms of travel, accommodation and equipment. Now in terms of your wish-list we can once the Uppsala situation is sorted make that happen. We'll make the arrangements with all the companies involved as that will streamline the process for you. Now should the price be as you say in the region of $1billion then I would be able to ensure that the spread over five years happens so long as for the next ten years we get an agreement that all maintainence, support, replacement parts etc that would be required to operate them are provided by East Moreland based companies." If need be the King would pay the East Moreland companies directly and then take the instalments back into the crowns treasury.  Again the officer exchange will rely on the situation of Uppsala. If you're able to bring yourselves to sign it then we can begin by saying ten officers who are expecting to reach the equivalent ranks of Captain and two who will reach Lt-Col will be exchanged for 12 months, if it works we can adjust the numbers accordingly. I would however insist that under no circumstances no the individuals see combat."

[GiseleAstra]

Maximus laughed, "It would be my hope that no member of the Astra Militarum see combat but sadly they are a tool we need and must keep sharp but I hope we never actually need to utilise them. I therefore think we can safely ensure that those visiting our nation are not subject to such a problem. Where as on our side I have no issue our men or women seeing combat so long as we have not got a treaty of friendship with the person your fighting. I hear in the past you've had issues north of you with the Borlanders and Mersch, if our people on secondment are needed there then let them go. If possible could we perhaps go see some of the pieces of equipment we've discussed in action?"