<span style="font-weight: bold">December 25th  1945 - High in the sky above the Ceres Sea near Ilta</span><br/><br/>Captain Ian Walker looked out of the cockpit window of his B-1 medium bomber. Earlier today he and his crew had left Ilta Airbase on a regular maritime patrol mission. It was a regular practice to monitor all the ships that would enter the Ceres Sea from the Karsland Strait. The mission was to scout the entrance area for any irregular activity and report any presence and maneuvers of foreign navies. Most of the Ceres Sea is made up of international waters but none the less The Kingdom of Illarya considers the sea as her sphere of influence. Any Foreign military vessel that would enter the Ceres Sea could count on a lot of attention from both the Illaryan navy and airforce.<br/><br/>It was not long before the onboard radar picked up an unusual large convoy of ships. It was not uncommon to see multiple dots on the radar but the close formation indicated a military convoy. Private Mike Mikkelson shouted towards the captain "Unusual convoy formation spotted! Coordinates 6-0-5. Possibly 12 ships or more!" For a moment the captain was a bit surprised. Such a convoy was highly irregular. He steered his plane towards the coordinates and soon made visual contact with the Karlslandic taskforce. "This is Captain Walker of B-1 785. Naval detachment entering Ceres Sea spotted over" He flew his plane over the taskforce to make a number of photographs before returning to home base.<br/><br/>As the news reached Ilta high command the naval control protocol was initiated and the military high command of was notified of the presence of the Karlslandic taskforce. Immediately a submarine was ordered to intercept and stalk the taskforce. Reporting all the moves of the fleet from Karlsland back to high command. The following morning the minister of defense briefed the government on the presence of the taskforce from Karlsland in the Ceres Sea. For the rest of their journey, the taskforce would have company of a Illaryan Sea Lion class submarine tailing them in the distance.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">January 2nd - Illarya City - Government Hall.</span><br/><br/>Prime Minister Mycroft Stone and minister of Foreign Affairs Sylvester Ludington left the Lords hall as last persons after the gruesome 18 hour debate regarding the situation in New Illarya. The course of action for one problem had been planned but before both government officials could enjoy their well deserved rest a civil servant of the ministry of the army came rushing to both men. "I've news regarding the Karlsland naval taskforce sailing at the Ceres Sea your Excellency. The taskforce has entered the territorial waters of Fortuna-Aiowan." For a moment the Prime Minister looked surprised but soon realized the danger. The Karlsland Empire might want to use the Archipelago as a base of naval and air force operations. A stronghold well within striking distance the the vital Illaryan oil route. A permanent military presence could pose a serious thread towards the kingdoms interests. The civil servant continued to speak. "That is not all sir. Our naval patrol has spotted a small Valdricht States naval detachment changing their course to the archipelago"<br/><br/>The Prime Minister sighed. 10 years ago the Illaryan military suffered their greatest disgrace in recent history at the hand of farmers and planters. Now international tensions will draw the kingdoms attention once again towards that cursed place. The prime minister signaled his secretary. "Schedule meetings for today with the ambassador of Karlsland and a meeting between Sylvester Ludington and the ambassador of the Valdricht States. I want to know what is going on and demand from both countries an explanation of this show of force. Do not take no for an answer!" With the orders set the secretary rushed off. Also the second day of the new year would be a long one.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">January 2nd 1946 - On the highway between Illarya City and Lorin</span><br/><br/>Minister of Economy Sir Ben Lexinton was enjoying the scenery that unfolded on the side of the large highway connecting the capital with the largest city of the country. The highway had 5 lanes in either direction. Last year the road was widened with another lane for each side.  But even with the increased capacity the highway was still rather crowded. This was mosty due to the many trucks that where using the road for transporting goods from and towards the harbor of Lorin. Sir Lexinton was on his way to the harbor to meet up with a merchant party of the distand Sultanate of Bhuj'eruba. The kingdom of Illarya did not held any formal diplomatic relationships with the sultanate and considered the country as a conservative, closed and backward society. Just like many others the minister of economy did not hold the sultanate in high regards. He considered it an overgrown third world country. Nowhere near the might of the highly industrialized Kingdom of Illarya. None the less the government had accepted their request for an audience. Even with the most backward and closed nations could be traded. Illarya had grown powerful to set sail and trade over the fast seas with distant civilizations who offered products that simply could not be produced on the home continent. No matter how lacking a country would be in terms of technological development, there could always be a profit made with the right deal.<br/><br/>After a long trip the ministers driver parked the car near Dock 16-A. The dock where the Bhuj ship would arrive.