Arabian nights

[P3D]

January 1906
Arabian Sea

The old Orange armored cruiser Ajax was anchored in the bay of the uninhabited island on the Omani shore. A Dutch-built sloop of the Omani Navy was providing company. The sloop apparnently underwent some refit recently, which included raising a new superstructure on the ship, to provide realtively spacious cabin for the commanding officer, who was visiting the the larger ship. The Arabian naval officer, Captain Thuwaini bin Faisal, was having dinner with his hosts - the Orange Commodore, a Frigate-captain, and a man in civilian suit, and a captain-major of the Orange Marine Corps. A bodyguard of the Arab was standing behind.

"My father and my eldest brother will be visiting the tribes to the North." said the Arabian captain in a fluent but accented French, reclining in the hair after sipping some coffee." I repeatedly cautioned tem to be wary of the designs of this Emir of Abu Dhabi, that he was acting suspicious recently, he  might be stirred up by ferengis." He shook his head. "Apparently, my brother decided to spite me, they would take only a hundred or so as bodyguards, due to the misunderstandings between us."
The latter was somewhat an understatement. There was no love lost between the heir apparent, at his half-brother, the commander of the Omani Navy. A navy consisting of two sloops, six elderly torpedo and gunboats and a trawler that was converted to minelaying - and used with speactacular success,
"Was not that a rash decision? The emir could have hired tribes of the interior, if he wanted to get the Sultan Sayyid Faisal bin Turki al-Busaid, and his heir, Taimur bin Faisal together."
"That is a possibility, but still, his bodyguard is large enough to stand up to any attacks that the restless tribes, like the Ghafiri, incited by the Imam, could launch. Unless some ferengi decides to give those beduins some modern weapons, like machine guns."
The mother of the Captain was the second wife to the sultan, and belonged to the named tribe.
"Were such an infortunate thing happen, you would became second-in line to the throne." Interjected the civilian.
"My brother Said is a sickly person, but should Allah grant him long life."
"Should anything happen to him, you would be second in line." added the frigate captain, unnecessarily. The civilian shot him a glance, then turned to their guest.
"Knowing that the open involvement of any foreign power would be the most unfortunate - how could Orange help you?

[Borys]

Aden, January 1907

Hans-Peter Baumundziege looked at the skies, looking for a rain bearing cloud. It seemed that it was going to be one of those rainless winters. But maybe it was a blessing in disguise? The little water they had in the rebuilt or recostructed cisterns was still producing a spectecular amount of leaks. The hardiest archelogists were still hard at work - and he WAS named in the "Brief Outline of Aden Cistern Systems - joint work - in 5 Tomes".

The city had more or less covered the runs of the Arab settlement, with few traces of it visible. By now it had a more Levantine than Latin Mediterranean feel, with Syrians and Abbissynians accounting for half of the population. Interestingly, almost all Syrians had joined the local Heimwehr Regiment.

The drydock allowed the naval fellows to keep their "bottoms scrubbed". And he had the SMS Kronstadt on permanent station. The old ship was big and made a suitable impression on the darkies, who did not know enough to see that it was not fully operational. Well, neither could 99% of whites- he mused - he himself was in those 99% and had the situation explained by the ships's officers during a tour of the vessel.  And it was most likely the ship's Final Station. He looked out the window, with his minds eye transporting the turrets to choice - 360 degree fire - emplacements in Little Aden.

His sources in Wien reported that expansion of the Naval port was "high"on the list of MarineAmt projects- next half year, or the one immediately after it.

Borys

[P3D]

Taimur bin Faisal was uneasy. The hills were too silent, the tribesmen maybe a bit too much welcoming. Not if he could not take on any ragtag rabbles these tribes could assemble. Besides the servants of his Father, those of himself and some trusted and not so trusted advisors, they were escorted by hundred and twenty of their personal guard - all distant family relation. All equipped with the latest shipment of rifles from Oranje. To awe the sheiks, they even brought along an Austrian mountain howitzer the sultan got as present from the Adeni governor. Not to mention the two machine guns, also from the Oranje kaffirs. They hold demonstrations to every sheik they visited - going through their originally generous ammunition allotment they brought with an unbelievable speed. They were almost actually low on ammo, even if the rifles and the machineguns had common cartridge.
He should have listened to his half-brother advice about danger in the hills. To spite him he bought half the escort he intended to. He suspected that was intentional from that bastard, but he could not have increased the size of the guard without losing face. And there was no trouble at all during the trip. That bastard Thuwaini had much more support from the tribes, his mother coming from them. How he hated that bitch.

He had a constant frown on his face, as they were closing to the campsite and watering hole they were to spend the night.

[P3D]

Muscat

Said bin Faisal, unaware that he will be the sultan for a brief time, decided to indulge his Quran-prohibited fancy - collecting fine spirits from the Old and New Worlds. From the "secret" cabinet he get out one bottle of fine Becherovka his servants purchased from an allegedly Austrian sailor. After the servant drank from it, and did not collapse, he started sampling the spirit with great elan.
In the morning the palace awoke for the anguished cry of Said, who discovered he became blind during the nigh - from the wood alcohol that was mixed into the brandy somewhere in South Africa. Cripples and blind men cannot hold the trone, Middle Eastern customs are pretty straightforward in this manner.


In the hills to the Northwest

The lookout cried alarm as he noticed figures moving in the light of the full moon. Despite the sentries no one expected that anything such could happen. Suddenly the night was filled with warcries as the attackers swarmed over the campsite, to be stopped by the two machinegun set in the opening of the wall that was set as windbreak around the watering hole. The losses reminded some of the attackers that beside their clear numerical superiority they had similar weapons - the exact same model - but the sultan and his bodyguards did not know this until they tried to break out- and failed.

The looted camp, and the corpes of the defenders was found by a goatherd who arrived at the camp later in the day.

[P3D]

Musqat, August 1906

The liner, chartered to transport the Third Brigade of the X. "Adamant" Infantry Corps to Oman, was anchoring at the pier of the Orange enclave. The troops arrived during the last two months, along with their equipment already conforming to the new corps TOE. The enclave, located Southeast of Musqat in a bay, was leased by Orange for an indefinite period. The pier was already built so that condtruction materials arriving on ships from Orange, won't have to go through the port in the capital.

The enclave was granted by the new Sultan, as

...the Republic Orange helped to break down the unrest among the tribes that arranged for the cowardly attack on the Sultan and his heir. The coup attempt was apparently organized by the fourth son of the Sultan, who also tried to kill the next two in the succession order. Said was poisoned, which although had not killed him cost the throne and his eyesight. An assasination attempt was also aimed at against Thuwaini bin Faisal, but his bodyguards were up to the task, and managed to thwart the attempt. Investigations by the new Sultan aided by criminal investigators from the Orange Embassy concluded that the coup was apparently financed by foreign powers, the details of the investigation, however, were not disclosed to the public.

The sultan also accepted some Orange financial advisors, and agreed to mining concessions for the whole area of the Sultantate. A preliminary ground survey, conducted three years before, found some moderate but exploitable copper and chrome ore deposits, and also some silver and gold, but mining did not start, as the previous Sultan was reluctant to allow any mining by foreign firms.

[Borys]

Aden, Summer 1906

The Governor, Hans Peter Baumundziege pondered the events to the North. The Omani Palace coup brought about a much more pronounced Orange presence then before, a full Infantry Brigade included. What did this imply for Habsurg interests? ATM - nothing. The Turks should be worried, however. And anything worrisome to the Turks was by definition benefitial to the Habsburgs.

[swamphen]

late summer 1906
Reich Foreign Ministry

"So, Fritz, what are we to do about the Orangemen taking over Oman?"

"I'm afraid there's not much we can do, Hans. Our "friendly agreements" were all with the old Sultan."

"They're only getting a concession in one bay."

"Freidrich, I know you're an optimist, but do you really think the Orangemen will stop at 'just one bay'?"

"Well..."

"I suggest we send this along to General Nicolai, it's more his department anyway..."