50 miles east of Azadi city, Southern Wahles, 2300 hours

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Watchtower team lay in position on a large rock outcropping overlooking the small village below. Haze took off his cap to wipe the sweat from his forehead. “This humidity is fucking killing me man, I don’t remember it being this hot last time,” he remarked. With summer steadily fading, the hot, humid nights still rarely dropped below 80-85℉.

Gryphon came over the radio, “We have vehicles moving in from the east, a truck and a couple technicals, looks like the package is here.” The small convoy pulled to a stop outside a compound on the outskirts of the village. The compound, west of the village, had a large stone wall surrounding it with a three story building and a small warehouse inside, likely an insurgent stash or IED factory. A couple armed men approached the vehicle and exchanged a few words with the driver before waving them through, after which the convoy pulled into the compound and several armed men dismounted. “I think I got eyes on the package,” Whistler said, “the one in the civvies, can’t tell for sure from here, but he definitely looks Kitari.” Haze turned in time to see the man turn around, greeting what looked like an insurgent commander. They shook hands and turned to enter the building, followed by a small entourage of bodyguards, a half dozen remaining outside to guard the compound. “Roger, I got eyes on,” he looked down at the small device on his wrist, “PID on ‘Preacher’.

Whistler, you’ll provide overwatch, Gryphon and Orient, on me, let’s get in and out quick, they’ll probably have reinforcements.” Haze got up and quickly climbed down from the rock, Gryphon and Orient close behind. As they as they crossed the field and approached the compound Gryphon stopped, “Shit, I got a contact on the roof, right side of the compound, you got a shot Whistler?” she asked. “Affirm, shots going out.” he replied. There was a slight crack as the round flew over their heads, and the contact instantly stumbled and clutched his throat, dropping to his knees and falling over. “Might have spooked ’em, you got three contacts leaving the compound now.” Ahead of them three men exited the compound through an iron gate, weapons raised, a string of thuds rang out as the three operators fired a flurry of silenced rounds, the three men dropped to the ground kicking up a small cloud of dust. “Let’s move, they probably know we’re here now.” Haze ordered. The team took off in a sprint reaching the wall in only a few seconds where they stacked up near the gate. They followed each other in, a hail of bullets dropping the remaining men inside. The team quickly moved toward the building as a group of contacts came barreling out, each greeted by a hail of bullets. The operators watched the windows for fire, but they were covered with rebar and thin tin sheets. They instead stacked by the still slightly open door. Gunfire echoed through the building as the occupants unleashed fire in their direction.. Orient pulled a flashbang from his vest, “Flashout!” he said as he tossed it through the door, followed by a loud concussive bang that rattled the windows of the building. Orient pushed through the door, firing off a string of shots, his teammates following close behind. Inside, the insurgents had pushed over two tables as makeshift cover, but the thin wood they were made of offered little protection, behind them the slumped bodies of several insurgents were strewn across each other. The team moved through the building in quick strides as they tried to ID the bodies, but ‘Preacher’ was not among the dead assailants. Gryphon looked at Haze and Orient and gestured toward the stairs. One by one each operator climbed the stairs, their rifles trained above. On the second floor they found ‘Preacher’ laying sprawled on the floor. Haze knelt down and turned him over to find ‘Preacher’ foaming at the mouth, his veins bulging from his neck and forehead, and his face purple.

Haze sighed, “Fuck! He’s dead, check the body and sweep the place for anything useful. Whistler, call for exfil, we’ll be oscar mike in 5.” A chorus of “Rogers” followed. Haze took out a small camera and snapped a few pics of the target while Orient searched his body. After a moment Orient pulled out a small flash drive and the man’s cell phone, “Should be some good intel in here.” Walking back down the stairs, Haze and Orient grabbed any loose laptops and cellphones they could find and took pictures of any documents before heading back outside. “Haze, come check this out.” Gryphon came over comms. Haze walked over to the back of open truck where Gryphon had cracked open several weapons cases and was snapping pictures of the contents. “This is some high grade shit,” she exclaimed. Haze climbed into the back of the truck and grabbed a rifle from the crate. “Yeah, this is some new shit, look at the markings on it. Definitely not from here or Wahland, somebody is smuggling these in. Just snap a few pics and let's move, they probably have backup on the way. We’ll leave a tracker and see where they go.” Gryphon nodded her head, took out a small gps tracker and dropped it in the crate. Gryphon and Haze dropped out of the truck, “Let’s get on the move, Overlord is gonna want to take a look at this.” Haze said.

Presidential Palace, Stanford, Wahland

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Danielle Luftberg strolled through the tall, dark wooden doors into the conference room with an expressionless face. Trailing her were only two of her top advisors, Admiral Karl Petreus, and her chief economic advisor Otto Jamesson. As they came in two security agents closed the doors behind them. The large room felt rather empty, usually a large posse of media reporters would surround them but Luftberg requested the meeting to be behind closed doors away from the public eye. Sitting opposite of the doors at the conference table were the Auroran delegates; The Crown Prince of Aurora, William Volukunov, and the (former) ambassador to Wahland, Alina Bazenhov. Several folders were laid in front of the pair, who ceased their discussion as the President and her advisors entered the conference room.

“Good morning everyone,” Danielle said with a forced smile. “Nice to see you again Ms. Bazenhov, it’s been a long time.”, she said, shaking the ambassadors hand. She continued down the line, “Pleasure to meet you William,” "Likewise Ma'am" William said, shaking her hand with a confident smirk. "My apologies that her majesty couldn't come to Wahland herself for this meeting”. Luftberg smirked back, “Not a problem at all, a ruler must see to her own people first, besides, I’m excited to work with the future ruler of Aurora, which according to history may be sooner than later.” Luftberg placed her black leather binder on the table, and pulled her chair out, “Now, onto business.” As she sat her smile faded to a flat expression. She unfolded her glasses, using the earpiece to brush the hair out of her face and put them on, looking over the documents in front of her. “As you are aware, the Wahlsh economy has suffered greatly in the past few years, more precisely our extraction sector. I have sought domestic reforms to remedy the issue, but so far that has been the furthest thing from successful, as many in the council are less than cooperative. Our two countries have been at odds for the past almost twenty years, but I feel it is in both our interests we come together and finally figure out a solution”. “Your assessment is correct Madame President, the tensions between our countries are unnecessary, much like our competition in the Extraction Industry. The simplest solution to this would be to remove the cause of nearly two decades of tensions, by abolishing the Tariffs and Tolls of the Straits”. Luftberg scoffed, “It may seem simple to you, your highness, but Wahland has controlled those straights for over two centuries. Those tariffs and tolls are an important source of revenue for our country. The small tax we charge is a fair deal for the security and ports we provide, wouldn’t you say?”.

William adjusted himself slightly in his chair, seemingly maintaining his laid-back posture despite the tension in the room. “You say you provide necessary security in the straits, and while Wahland has always had a well respected Navy, a believe it’s age of unparalleled advantage has come to an end. Aurora’s navy is more than capable of protecting it’s own ships both within the Radiant Sea and beyond, with this ‘protection money’ being an unnecessary and archaic remnant of an older age. As for the revenue, i would say that rather than tax neutral foreign countries, a better solution would be to tax imports heading directly to Wahland or perhaps impositions on your vast oil Industry”?

Luftberg nodded her head slightly, chuckling, “Trust me young William, I’m well aware of your Navy’s capabilities, and if it is as formidable as you say, your ships would be sailing through the strait unabated.” Luftberg leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “Oil runs through Wahland’s veins, it’s in our blood, and a transfusion isn’t a quick process. The strait’s security isn’t just a naval matter. Those of us with experience here were in office during the Wahli insurrection, that is still ongoing mind you, and saw the destruction it caused. We still face the threat of Wahli terrorism, and it is us that provide the security in those ports. Perhaps we should open the straits and let those terrorists walk up to your merchant ships and blow them out of the water, perhaps then you’d understand the cost. I mean no offense William, but someone as young as you, who has barely travelled outside the safety of your own nation, has no grasp of how important the security we provide is to the well being of everyone in the gulf. Your country might bully others in the gulf but Wahland isn’t a nation that can be pushed aside”.

"You've questioned my youth, but you fail to think about why I'm here, negotiating. I grew up during the Wahles Intervention and the Heimarn Flashpoint, and I know the massive amounts of death and destruction those conflicts caused. If you talk of understanding the cost in human lives that wars cause, then maybe you would understand why I don’t wish to see the High Seas Fleet try to break your hold over the strait. Over 30,000 men died during the Wahles Intervention, can you imagine the cost a full scale war would have?” By now his smile had disappeared, replaced by a passive, if even cold, glare. “You call us bullies, but you know as well as I do that Aurora doesn’t face widespread resistance in it’s liberated territories, unlike Wahland in Wahles. Auroran troops weren’t greeted by looks of contempt and hate, but by cheers of joy. Nay, I say Wahland is the bully here, pushing it’s tariffs and tolls upon its neighbors, challenging them to wars that would leave irreparable scars upon the peace of Arayne”. Collecting his papers, he stood up, with something alike to disappointment in his tone. “It’s clear to me though, that if you cannot negotiate with me as an equal, then these negotiations are doomed to fail no matter what we do. When you’d like to actually get something done we’ll talk.” The Auroran diplomats gathered their documents and exited the room hastily.

As soon as the wooden doors closed behind them, Luftberg slammed her fist on the table. She wasn’t exactly angered at William himself, in fact she admired the way he held his own, not many could do the same with her. She was frustrated that the only chance she had of getting something done may have slipped through her fingers. “Fucking kid has some balls.” she scoffed. “Get Ms. Bazenhov on the phone as soon as you can. I’ll clean this mess up even if i have to drag his ass back in here.”

Economic Struggles Continue in Wahland
by: Elias Dahlman, Economic Analyst

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Stanford, Wahland - The High Council remains gridlocked today as President Luftberg is attempting to push a bill through that will provide much needed bailout packages for Wahland's largest oil companies. The bill would grant ten of Wahland's largest companies subsidies and grants to research and develop alternative energy technologies and resources. The grants will total nearly $3 billion, and it is hoped that the package will spur reinvestment and create thousands of new jobs. The package is still being stalled as conservatives continue their hesitance to divert funds to the companies, who they say have become "too big to fail", fearing it will only reinforce the heavy reliance on the extraction industry.

In order to fund the package the Council Finance Committee de-funded the LOKI project, ending production of the satellites indefinitely. The plan would still keep the five currently operational satellites but would decrease their maintenance budget, which conservatives claim will harm the countries national security situation. The opposition claims that the LOKI project has already had too many delays and set backs, which would only cause more economic harm. The LOKI program began in 2012, and was estimated to cost over $100 billion, and would produce twelve satellites by 2019. The program has had several setbacks with each new satellite, including budget issues and production delays resulting from a multitude of technical and engineering issues, nearly doubling the original planned budget.

President Wahl has also announced she plans to have several meetings with Auroran officials to work out an agreement with Aurora to place export limits on Auroran crude oil and other extractives. She has not released the details of her proposed agreement but many speculate it may involve extraction technologies and a draw-down of Wahlsh navy patrols near the Auroran coast, which have continued since early 2016. This would be the first open diplomatic communication between Wahland and Aurora since the naval stand off in the Nevthronian Gulf in late 2015.

PLACEHOLDER

Nation Name: Heimar

Nation Link:https://www.nationstates.net/nation=heimar

Provinces you wish to claim:
1:P94
2:P95
3:P85
4:P86
5:P87
6:P82

Proposed colour of your nation on the map: Dark Blue like my flag

I, Heimar, have read the rules set down above, and agree to follow them.