January 1st, 1946 - 6:20 AM<br/>Voldricht States, Neutral Territory, Prospera City, Grand Courthouse<br/><br/>The festivities of the New Year did little to calm the tempers of the council. Shouting and the pounding of fist resonated through the halls of the Grand Courthouse. Secretaries and servants treaded lightly through the halls, fearing the inevitable moment when the councilors would agree to adjourn, unleashing their remaining fury on the staff of the courthouse. Above the others, the voices of Councilors Ieken and Verkka boomed in the meeting hall.<br/><br/>"The Homeland is our first priority Hanz! Our nation is sick, and it is up to us to heal it. Our forebears grew weak in the twilight of their rule, leaving the resulting rot for us to clean."<br/><br/>Hanz scoffed at Adalrich's gilded nobility.<br/><br/>"True Plebeian virtue. You simply want those of us with formidable foreign holdings to withdraw so that the Plebeian local market flourishes."<br/><br/>"Your paranoia harms the entire nation Hanz. I am merely looking out for the best interests of the people."<br/><br/>"And which people would that be? Hmmm? The gutter filth you call a population hardly have the best intentions for those who work for a living."<br/><br/>"The people of the Collective form the backbone of the Homeland's workforce and the bulk of our defensive soldiers. That 'gutter filth' is the reason your loot hoarding gorgers are able to live in private villas on the north coast."<br/><br/>"Are you seriously implying that those mongrels deserve equal treatment? My father would never have-"<br/><br/>Counsilor Lexai rose slowly from her seat, sneering at the bickering men before her. Adalrich and Hanz stopped abruptly when they witnessed her authoritarian figure ascend above them. She removed her glasses, setting them on her desk with a menacing click that echoed in the high walled chamber. Her demeanor demanded respect and commanded obedience, even the defiant and fractured members of the Council respected Lexai, the undisputed leader of the Voldricht Council. Venom stained her words, Hanz and Adalrich cringed with every sentence, feeling the bite of her condescension.<br/><br/>"Children. Contrary to what you may believe, we do have a country to run, and running a country is more than insulting each other's constituents. Now, stay silent and allow me to inform you of the quickly approaching train of events that threatens to derail our nation, which you surely overlooked in your vendetta against one another!"<br/><br/>Eliessa smiled, always happy to ride on the coat tails of Antara. She nodded, listening silently to her elder's message.<br/><br/>"Karlsland. Late last night, while all of you were indulging in the celebrations of the New Year, one of our long range patrols reported ships bearing the colors of Karlsland entering the waters north of Fortuna-Anoiwan. We don't know what the fleet is doing there, but it cannot bode well for the autonomy of the Voldricht States, nor for our trade with Fortuna-Anoiwan. We poured millions into the revolution in those islands and we cannot allow those barbarians to muscle us out of the Fortuna-Anoiwan islands."<br/><br/>Hanz glanced to Adalrich, an unspoken truce forming between the two as they found a new target for their animosity. Adalrich tapped his fingers against his desk.<br/><br/>"It could take an entire day for a significant detachment of ships to arrive in the isles, there's no way we could prevent the Karlsandic ships from reaching Fortuna-Anoiwan."<br/><br/>Hanz shook his head.<br/><br/>"We don't need to prevent them from entering the isles, we just need to stop them from establishing a presence so close to the Homeland."<br/><br/>Eliessa quickly became dissatisfied with the direction of the coversation.<br/><br/>"Counselor Lexai, you can't be suggesting that we exert military pressure on Karlsland. Why attempt to influence the direction of foreign politics? Let the cards fall as they will. Should Karlsland insert themselves into the isles we will simply deal with them instead of the islanders."<br/><br/>Antara grinned.<br/><br/>"Sweet, naive girl. Trade with Karlsland would barely be profitable. Their state economy and heavy handed regulations would push our corporate interests out of the isles in favor of national interests. We've also made a fortune on playing the factions of Fortuna-Anoiwan against each other. Karlsland would simply place the People's Army in power, you know this, try not to display your ignorance."<br/><br/>Eliessa withdrew, the young queen thoroughly shamed by Antara. Councilor Lexai continued.<br/><br/>"Now, back to business. I've diverted several of our patrol groups in the area to the island of Ahta-Matoi. Our forces will be outnumbered by Severfer Macht ships, but hopefully they can deter any hostile activity long enough for our primary fleet to arrive and grant us superior leverage."<br/><br/>Adalrich leered at Antara.<br/><br/>"You're assuming the rest of us agree with such an application of force."<br/><br/>"Do you not?"<br/><br/>He paused.<br/><br/>"Under the circumstances, i believe that we must take the necessary measures to prevent the Empire of Karlsland from influencing our neighbors."<br/><br/>"Just as i thought. Counselor Verkka, do you agree?"<br/><br/>He nodded.<br/><br/>"I will give the order for VSF ships to be attached to the task force."<br/><br/>Antara looked to Eliessa, the queen spoke her grudging assent.<br/><br/>"Syvin ships will be present, I concede."<br/><br/>Adalrich leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk.<br/><br/>"You said you already dispatched a small detachment of ships. What exactly is our vanguard composed of?"<br/><br/>Antara leaned back.<br/><br/>"Patrol groups Kaist and Ambergard were within reaction range. They linked early this morning and are heading for Ahta-Matoi. The combined force rests at two Messer class submarines, three Targe class destroyers, one Arbalest long range carrier, and a Fehmer light cruiser."<br/><br/>"And the opposition?"<br/><br/>"Intelligence was hazy. One Karlsland class was noted, the rest was a combination of Stadt and Farstander class. Our scouts were unsure of the exact numbers, but place the total force around twenty ships."<br/><br/>Adalrich coughed.<br/><br/>"Twenty ships? From Karlsland? And you're matching seven light ships from two patrol groups against them?"<br/><br/>Hanz scratched his chin.<br/><br/>"We aren't looking to have them engage Adalrich, they're a deterrent, a wolf before the bear, drawing its attention from the pack."<br/><br/>"It doesn't sit well with me, we should have them hold back until the fleet arrives."<br/><br/>Antara exhaled sharply.<br/><br/>"Councilor Ieken, if we allow the Karlslandic ships to proceed into Fortuna-Anoiwan unmolested then they may finish their work before the main fleet can arrive. It is best to press Karlsland before they realize they have the advantage. If our luck holds then they will be too consumed with relaying the potential threat to their leaders. All the patrol group needs to do is delay Karlsland until we gain the upper hand."<br/><br/>Adalrich withdrew.<br/><br/>"So be it. Issue the order to intercept the Karlslandic ships, Plebeian naval units will accompany the battle group."<br/><br/>Antara smiled.<br/><br/>"Excellent. Now, on to the matter of the threatened embargo on Voldricht-made goods in the USSS....."<br/><br/>*****************<br/><br/>January 1st, 1946 - 9:10 AM<br/>Ceres Sea, Fortuna-Anoiwan Island Chain, Northwest of Ahta-Matoi<br/><br/>The cool air chilled Captain Daina's nostrils. She took a deep breath of the refreshing air, salt mist blowing up over the bow of her cruiser, the VSF Antioch. Her command had been hard earned, with no major military conflicts chances to prove oneself were few and far between. That ended today, as the highest ranking officer among the ship commanders that composed the Broken Tower task force she was placed in command of the interception mission in the Fortuna-Anoiwan islands. Her mission was interference and harassment, she was to avoid physical force as long as possible, but do everything in her power to throw a wrench in whatever the Karlslandic forces were planning. She had already set her plan in motion. The Dentha, the carrier under her command, would deploy its fighters in waves, making regular runs on the outer edge of the Karlslandic vanguard, creating an illusion more air power than the Voldricht forces possessed while gaining more accurate intelligence on the Karlslandic force. This would make the presence of Voldricht forces known without revealing their inferior numbers and weight class. The bulk of the Voldricht ships remained anchored out of sight off the northwestern coast of Ahta-Matoi, poised to intervene should Karlsland make an aggressive move towards the island. Voldricht agents embedded in the populace of Ahta-Matoi would then make covert contact with the local government, informing them of a somewhat inflated Voldricht presence and their willingness to intervene should Anoiwanian independence be threatened. Daina hoped that this could be used by the locals to strengthen their position and resist any political pressure applied by Karlsland. Patience and deception would be required in order to hold out long enough for the main fleet to arrive. Daina just hoped that the locals would support the Voldricht over Karlsland.