International

[maddox]

March 7,  Caliphate of Cairo, Port Sudan
The 4 modern freighters, leased from Agrival Shipping line by the governement of the Caliphate left the port in the early morning.

snippets from the newpapers.

" At last, after the 4 years of dissent, our Caliphs and the new rulers of Firenj have agreed on the reunion of 300 families.
It is not right for the worldly rulers to keep married men and women from each other just because the situation was not adressed in the sharia, nor in the holiest of Books, the Koran.
The patriarchs of those families, officers of the caliphate army, now officers in the Firenj army have petitioned time on time to be reunited with their families. And only a few have opted for a return to the Caliphate. As Emperor Thrawn inspires loyalty ,what the former caliph couldn't"

"The preparing of the chests ,chisseled and ornamented was a sight to behold. Every pallet secured by the best ropes.  The army elite guards on allert. We couldn't take pictures. What is in those chest that fill the hold of the SS Dali. If the rumors are right, wealth.
The wealth being robbed from the Caliphate by the leaving traitors. Why take worldly possesions to hell?"

[Desertfox]

March 10th, 'Tortugas Island'

"Captain! This just came in. Four Caliphate freighters loaded with gold are coming our way!"

Captain Sparrow turned from the quarterdeck as the messenger came running in.

"Most interesting, set sail men we have a convoy to catch!"

A nfew minutes later a sleek black sailing ship silently glided from the harbor, at its mast was a French flag, the Black Pearl was on the prowl...

[maddox]

Paris march 9th

Premier, it's confirmed. The Caliphate has opened the conclusion of the talks.

Thank you agent orange. What are the results?

The Caliphate wants Firenj back as an ally, now they have seen that the genius of Thrawn can't be taken with force.
The feeble tries from the outside to recrute the Caliphate have failed. That surprises me.

Any problems you anticipate?

Not directly. But what is the wish of France?

France wishes a Caliphate that doesn't claim the Suez Canal, and a Firenj that is strong enough to occupy a part of the NS fleet.

Then I advice the sending of an escort.  The waters were the convoy will be are heavely contested. And  the NS has powerfull groups there.

[Desertfox]

March 11th, War Operations Room

"I don't like this. It looks too suspicious."

"What do you mean?"

"It smells fishy. The Caliph doesn't send such a high value target so openly, and they certainly don't broadcast it. Here you can't send a cat without the whole world knowing but there secrecy reigns. It just looks to...weak."

"Hmm what can we do? Captain Sparrow has already sailed."

"Good question, what units do we have in the area?"

"The Special Cruiser Manta is scheduled to arrive in Tortugas later this week. Alliance and Constitution where to deploy there but not untill the fall."

"How about the New Amsterdam squadron?"

"They are all at port, can probably sail by tommorow."

"That's Sydney a Tuna and three Cods right? Ok this is what we are going to do..."

[maddox]

March 9th Tricomalee Fleet base

Orders from Paris, Admiral.

Yes ensign?

Dispatch 2nd scout group. Shadowing valuable cargoships from the Caliphate to Firenj. Coordinates xxxx xxxx, eta xx xx xxxx xx xx

[Earl822]

The fun begins, ah it is nice to read things and know that I don't hae to think of an In game response.

[The Rock Doctor]

I don't need an in-game response either, but that's a function of geography in my case.

It'll be interesting to see how this shapes out.  Are New Switzerland and Firanj being in a formal state of war?

[maddox]

The two mothers watched the playing children with some concern. They could swim, inchAllah, but this ocean was vast. It wouldn't do to loose a little one to its watery embrace and one of them admonished her oldest son to keep his brothers and sisters away from the sideboard. They sat in the companiable silence that 10 years of marriage had developed, each wrapped up in her cloak and her own thoughts but they were both thinking the same thing. Close to 5 years had they not seen their husband and what house had he prepared them they didn't know. But know they did that their lives would never be the same again and that maybe -maybe ! inchAllah !!- riches would await them who had toiled so hard in the land where they were born and who dreamt of a better life for their children.

The sailors circumvented the children, many a one smiling benignly as he watched the tykes at play, and went about their work. The next-to-eldest boy Al-Habib had developed an interest in their doings, and a grizzled sailor had taken to teach the 9-year-old the odd bit of sea-lore whenever he could. Now he was pointing at the companions of the ship: "Ye see lad, there is 4 of us. We like to travel in group for numbers mean safety. See how we keep our distance though, as to give all of us enough leeway to manouver when needed."
"What would make it needed Abu Chalid ?"
"Bad weather. Or the presence of bad people."
"Why bad people ?"
"People as would like to steal what is in our ships my boy."
The youngster blanced, "Not my mothers !"
But the old man shook his head: "Your mothers would be the least on their list. Oh, I wouldn't say they wouldn't fetch a nice price on a slave-market, and you and yer siblings as well, but it is the cargo we carry that is valuable to them. Cargo won't speak me-boy, cargo can't tell they've been taken."
He smiled at the boy's anxious face. "But that won't likely happen. This be a big ocean, and there be four of us. Our Silver Cloud is the fastest and can outrun many a pirate, who would prefer to take the slower ones. That is why you and your families are on this vessel and not on the others. Naaah, you be safe young Ali. This be a biiig ocean and we but small tiny vessels in it. Hard pressed any pirate would be to find us if he was looking at all." He leaned closer to the boy and whispered: "There might be others coming soon, to make our numbers bigger, strangers though but we can trust them. In the next port we call we may be approached by them. And they may have guns to protect us too. You and yours will be safe enough 'till you reach Firenj."
"But how can you trust those others ? They are kafr are they not ?"
"Money buys a kafr's loyalty where the True Faith would guarantee that of a Muslem, " the old sailor grinned, "and I'm not altogether sure that the god they worship wouldn't be the face stamped on a coin."

with thanks to Phoenix

[Korpen]

No real in-game response from the Netherlands either, but when the commander of the Nederlands-Indië naval squadrons learns about these event, he will increase the amounts of patrols into the Indian ocean, as well as increased vigilance after suspected pirates in the Indonesian straits (as well as the straits between Indonesia and Firenj).

[Desertfox]

Somewhere of Java

The Prince of Wales silently surveyed his fleet. His own flagship Sydney, the cruisers Tarpon, Hake, Balao, and Perch, the light cruiser Scycilia, and five Fritz class destroyers, all in all a nice powerful fleet. However intelligence had picked up the possibility of French intervention, and the French had some powerful ships available, among them some of their newer cruisers. If he was going to be able to pull of his mission he was going to need a good plan. Something unconventional could do the trick. A smile spread across his face as a plan came to mind.

"Luitenant how are the destroyers fixed for coal?"

"Sir they can reach Keeling Isl without a problem and two colliers are supposed to be waiting for us there."

"Very well, get me the Captain."

"Aye aye, Sir."

A few minutes later the fleet turned a few points south, a course that would take them out of regular shipping lanes, allow them to mantain optimum cruising speed...

[Ithekro]

Meanwhile - In the Chimara Palace.

"My lord, intelligence reports a large Swiss naval force has left their local holding and has headed off to the northwest."

"How large of a force?"

"Four protected cruisers, one light cruiser, one large protected cruiser, and reportedly five destroyers".

"Something has their interest no doubt."

"Shall we send a force to locate and destroy them?"

"No.  They are many days out by now.  Place the fleets on alert.  Ready to dispatch Justice and Resolve for extended operations."

"Yes, my Lord."

[maddox]

March 12. Noon, slight overcast ,4 beaufort west wind.

On the French large cruiser Terrible.
Capitaine, we have visual contact, the 4 merchants are on scedule. 15° to port, distance 14000 yards.

Helm, change course bearing 330°, get us behind those merchants, keep distance steady according visibility.

[P3D]

The destroyers can rteach Keeling island without problem, but the coaliers won't arrive until a few days later - they have to leave from NS harbors due to the short notice, load up with coal, and coaler are not really known anout their high speed.

[Korpen]

The destroyers can rteach Keeling island without problem, but the coaliers won't arrive until a few days later - they have to leave from NS harbors due to the short notice, load up with coal, and coaler are not really known anout their high speed.

Well it is possible that the New Swiss would charter civilian ships from Batavia (Java), Bengkulu (Sumatra) or Cilacap (java), then the ships would have on 1/3 of the way to travell. Time equals money, but money equals time, so if they pay a civilian enogh, i think it will go very fast to get the coal to keeling. unloading it in a place without a real harbour is of course something else... ;)

[maddox]

Chartering a merchant on very short notice- in hours- will take 2 routes. Tramps without a job, or ships with a job. The tramps without a job won't be the best ships around, and the ships that have work won't be cheap. They have to make up for the lost client, potential fines, lost image, and lost time  unloading/reloading.

And, the ports you give ,Korpen, are not in the middle of coal rich enviroments.