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by The Federation of Aerlanica. . 183 reads.

Harold Vence Diary Entries On the Aerlanican State.

Harold Vence is a renowned chronicler, explorer, adventurer and writer who travels across all the known lands. These are his entries in regards to Aerlanica.

Harold Vence - 2020

Aerlanican Anti-Fascist Poster


(13/2/2020)

In my travels to the war-torn Federation of Aerlanica, I have come across several posters scattered around various cities and towns. Although I have been thoroughly scolded by law enforcement upon my attempt to take one as a souvenir, I have also been encouraged to transcribe the message one held (To ensure that I can "nip fascism in the bud" I believe was what the policeman told me). Here is one such message:

We may have DEFEATED the FASCIST THREAT. But because we IGNORED THE PROBLEM our nation was SCARRED FOREVER!

To AVOID a repeat of the CIVIL WAR that nearly destroyed us and RUINED OUR BEAUTIFUL NATION, LEARN THE WARNING SIGNS OF FASCISM!

- HATRED for human rights!

- Identification of "enemies" as a unifying cause!

- Rampant SEXISM and BIGOTRY!

- Control of the media and DIVISION of the masses!

- Corporate Power PROTECTED!

- Labor power SUPPRESSED!

- Disdain for intellectuals and the arts!

- OBSESSION with punishment!

- Overwhelming NEPOTISM, CRONYISM and CORRUPTION!

- FRAUDULENT! Elections

DON'T LET US BURN AGAIN, REPORT FASCIST BEHAVIOUR TODAY!

This message was "authorised by the Aerlanican Government, Aerlanica City" of course. It appears the shock of the civil war still runs deep, and the hatred of fascism is just as prevalent as it was in the height of the conflict. Not to point any fingers, however, but the second bulletin point seems a bit hypocritical does it not?

- H. Vence

The Aerlanican People


(9/3/2020)

It is a shame, how the Aerlanican people have changed. No longer is there the happy smiling faces and cheerful greetings, then again there is not much to be happy about; the economy still remains in shambles and the environment is still destroyed from the disastrous war that embroiled their nation.

However, it would be wrong of me to say they are crude, shrewd and uncaring. In almost every place I required lodging throughout my travels, the staff were nice and the service was impeccable. Despite there being a noticeable shortage of meat (and unexpected amounts of bananas), the food was not what you would expect from a nation as irrevocably scarred as Aerlanica. Furthermore, despite finding a fully loaded assault rifle under one of the beds and one of the windows being boarded up, the room was somewhat pleasant and clean with (as I would find out later that night) a functioning carbon monoxide detector.

The Aerlanican people are, surprisingly, resilient and tolerant of both one another and whatever horrors and troubles are sent their way. The grocery store clerks in the half empty grocers still smile and scan the food you need (although there is a noticeable sadness and guilt to their eyes when meat products are seen). Policemen are also de facto tour guides of cities while the soldiers are more than happy to take a few quick pictures. Individuals who climb on top of one of the many burnt out husks of cars and insult the government are only scolded for awaking a baby and those who rummage through the scattered piles of trash are given more than a helping hand.

On the topic of the youth, the children are a peculiar bunch, and occasionally can be seen tearing through ruined buildings on the weekend with ease, removing scrap and salvage; copper pipes, old wires and even the occasional weapon of war are collected before being carried off to either the closest police officer or a garrison in exchange for bucks. Upon approaching them, they hold their “trade” as they call it in high regard, as if they are businessmen. Through my travel in the city of Bastion, one group of children approached me and requested my services to help them in carrying several heavy items to a nearby garrison with a going rate of 6 bucks an hour. Naturally I humoured the child and came out 18 bucks richer (despite my protests against my payment).

Despite being friendly and forgiving, when they do get angry it feels as though a terrible storm descends upon you, with no way to escape. Today I made the unfortunate mistake of attempting to tip the waitress at a restaurant that was relatively intact, only to be berated and howled at by the waitress and a few other patrons with an endless slew of colourful language and words I never knew existed. I apologised of course, vehemently, and managed to calm the situation down, however I can only imagine what would happen if it became more violent.

It is getting late as I write this in my hotel room and my eyelids grow heavy. I make for Crows Rest tomorrow to see how well it is managing the long, arduous clean up and reconstruction of the nation.

- H. Vence

"Welcome to Aerlanica"



(16/4/2020)

My guide who I picked up in Crow's Rest, a one Darcy Rose, has informed me of his talent in songwriting and sang me a song which he jokingly suggested, and I quote, could "open up a tourism sector to the economy and get a lot of hot girls and guys into the country." Quite literally the definition of dark humour in my opinion, I must say the song is not half bad (however the structure and word choice could use a little work) and has had a surprisingly positive impact in the general populace when he offered to sing it for people, almost always adding a disclaimer at the beginning (for personal health and safety reasons, a common term used in Aerlanica apparently).

After much persuading (and a few shots of an alcoholic beverage called "shroom-shine") I managed to get him to write down the lyrics to the song onto several napkins, after I was unable to get its catchy, up-beat tune out of my head. I have then since transcribed it into this here journal:

-

So you want to come to Aerlanica?
Thats right! We’re not all dead!
Although the war had rattled us,
We’re not shooting each other’s heads.
Our new flag is quite fancy; yes!
Lots of blue with some red and white.
So come enjoy our long, boring, grey days,
And all our Carbon Monoxide!

(Two! Three! Four!)

Welcome to Aerlanica where the land is green and white,
Don’t worry thats just the chlorine gas and also the cyanide.
You can thank the fascist jerks for turning our home into a hell,
But with everything considered we are doing rather swell.

So come over to Aerlanica,
And meet us lovely folks.
Meet Mary and Joe with one leg each
and Steve from down the road.
And Jane she’s living out of a tent,
made from her tattered clothes,
And Felix well he’s just paranoid,
and talks to his pet toad.

Oh!

Welcome to Aerlanica its a wonder we’re okay,
So come on over, meet the folks and please enjoy your stay.
You can thank the fascist jerks for turning our home into a hell,
But with everything considered we are doing rather swell.

Come see our famous sights to see
Or what’s left of them at least
Hey, you can take some of the rubble
As a souvenir you can keep
But don’t ever take the posters
Or the police will all get mad
But by all means write it in your book!
You know we’ll all be glad!

Oh!

Welcome to Aerlanica Its a miracle there’s cities at all,
Because most of them were destroyed in that blasted civil war.
You can thank the fascist jerks for turning our home into a hell,
But with everything considered we are doing rather swell.

Come along and see the wildlife
There’s nothing like ‘em anywhere else.
You can see a mutated black bear,
Or maybe even a purple elk!
But don’t ask to see our famous wolves,
Why? Well here, to you I’ll tell;
Because those blasted half-wit fascists,
Sent almost all of them to hell.

Oh!

Welcome to Aerlanica where the environment is dead,
And the wildlife collectively hates us and is out to take our heads.
You can thank the fascist jerks for turning our home into a hell,
But with everything considered we are doing rather swell.

Oh!

Welcome to Aerlanica its a hell hole in itself,
But we’re making the most of the hand that we've been collectively dealt.
You can thank the fascist jerks for turning our home into a hell,
But with everything considered we are doing rather swell!

But with everything considered we are doing rather swell!

-

A bit on the wordy side (especially the fourth verse), it seems to me that the Aerlanicans are more than happy to poke fun at their rather unfortunate situation. I was especially surprised when there was an obvious apparent lack of vulgar language, however he informed me that this was to ensure that all people, including children, could sing the song "without being scolded."

- H. Vence

The Eight Days of Mourning



(7/5/2020)

I almost forgot to write this down and thank goodness for Mr Rose for reminding me.

Eleven days ago on the 17th, Darcy woke me up and informed me to wear a black coat and a hat he had bought the day before, dearly apologising for “forgetting to tell [me] about the eight days of mourning.” After further questions, he informed me that on April the 17, 2019 (approximately eight days before the end of the civil war in Aerlanica) the government of the Aerlanican Democratic Preservation Front wore black clothing (with some females wearing the traditional Aerlanican funeral veil, which is much more opaque than a conventional veil) stating that they would wear that garb, every day, until the war ended, which happened eight days later.

I was honestly perplexed as to why I needed to wear it (and why they even decided on wearing such attire), but to avoid another unfortunate encounter with the Aerlanicans I opted to oblige and rescinded my comfortable red coat for the black one which did not have the same feel to it.

Upon leaving the motel (which was in surprisingly good shape) I understood why. Almost everyone was wearing black attire as though they were attending a funeral, with many females wearing their veils. Construction workers wore black cloths over their hardware hats and lower face and wore their high visibility vests over black shirts and pants. Even some soldiers I spied inside a garrison wore a black band around their right upper arm.

I had to ask around, my curiosity always gets the best of me and it is a flaw I am neither proud of nor upset to have. After Darcy introduced me as a foreigner to a wide slew of strangers, I asked them why they wore such things. What I gathered I have put briefly into dot points from memory:

- Most of the Aerlanicans wear the garments out of personal want; They say they are not obliged to wear it per se, only it is out of respect for the forefathers (and foremothers, as one particularly vocal female reminded me).

- People can wear as much or as little black as they like. For example, the young woman who acted as the clerk during the night shift at the Early Riser Motel, the hotel me and Darcy stayed at, was nearly entirely obscured by black cloth while wearing the most largest of gowns! While another woman simply wore a shawl and a sunhat (not that there is much sun with the woeful weather recently), possibly since it was the only black garments she owned.

- No one is obliged to wear black; that being said, I was yet to see a single Aerlanican without at least a skerrick of black cloth on them.

The event is still in its infancy, however, and there is yet to be any more elaboration on the events other than it being a week that everyone dresses up as if they are going to a funeral. However I respect the event and will advise anyone visiting Aerlanica during such a time to bring black attire and show reverence throughout the eight days.

- H. Vence

P.S. I did manage to pay Darcy back eventually, and the black coat is growing on me, still, my red one is still the original and the best.

Waste-Rangers


(5/6/2020)

While residing in a particularly remote town, Darcy and I saw a man who was curiously well armed and well equipped while also being dressed like someone out of a b-grade post-apocalyptic movie. Darcy informed me that this man is one of the many Waste-Rangers.

A subsection of the Aerlanican Army (The Azure Armed Forces) and officially the Hazardous Environment Light Infantry (H.E.L.I.), the “Waste-Rangers” (from what I have been told by Darcy) are a volunteer-only force responsible for “Keeping humans on the top of the food chain.” Their main task is to patrol roads, the surroundings of the various cities, remote sites and installations and the wilderness of Aerlanica itself from NAP terrorists and more aggressive wildlife. Specifically trained to be a lethal force by themselves and in the newly developing environment of Aerlanica, they are, apparently, people of few words with most of them being introverts and enjoy keeping to themselves.

Despite their main role being to patrol and protect, I can see Waste-Rangers, their “lone wolf” training along with their emphasis on avoiding direct combat and working in hostile environments, making exemplary scouts, while also being effective forces to both disrupt and demoralise enemy operations and combatants.

The general expression towards these specialised soldiers when they happen to return to town and resupply is one of cautiousness and wariness; an air of dark mystery surrounds them as they walk through the towns, which is not helped by their gruff, uncaring demeanour, speaking frankly and ignoring attempts at small talk. One such rumour circulating around them was that all Waste-Rangers possessed psionic abilities. Not only is that most unlikely, it is also understandable; by simply being able to attack an opponent's mind and control or debilitate them would explain their ability to sneak past the various mutants, as well as their superior tracking abilities and situational awareness.

Like all soldiers, they swear allegiance to the constitution of the federation and Aerlanica itself, however I believe that the general public believes that they would abandon society if they could. Simply put, Waste-Rangers are people that, despite not being fun at parties, would be a godsend for anyone who had the unfortunate pleasure of wandering to far away from civilisation.

-H. Vence

Nomads


(23/7/2020)

A interesting, however unsurprising side effect of the Aerlanican Civil War is the Nomad. Seeing the destroyed nature of many houses, communities and the general environment, it is no surprise that many people have been disenfranchised with the basic structure of life and return to a nomadic existence.

These Aerlanicans come from all walks of life, and are more hardy than the other citizens that remain in the cities as the nomads wander alone across all environments, occasionally trading pelts, goods and other items for supplies and ammunition. They are natural explorers and are well versed in many environments. Their affinity with the land is probably the only thing common amongst them, as the “caravans” of nomads vary in hierarchy, composition, ethnicity, morals and number.

They also do not bear the same allegiance, with some caravans having good relations and others being hostile; especially those who are remnants of fanatical NAP troops, who’s caravans are known as “war bands”.

Besides this, the Aerlanican nomads travel the world just as I have, and some are actually quite friendly. Darcy and myself briefly traveled with a group who were quite helpful in navigating the more hostile regions of Aerlanica, as far as they told me they were bound west towards the sea after a brief rest in Alderburg, quite a few of them were excited to not only see the ocean, but be able to swim without the threat of their skin being burned off.

I, having nearly finished my time in Aerlanica, opted to join their travels for a time being. Darcy, being a lonesome wanderer himself, decided to join me permanently in my travels.

We make for Alderville tomorrow. Overall, my time in Aerlanica has been quite eventful and I hope to see the isolationist nation once again when the land is no longer scarred.

But for now, I’ll leave Aerlanica and return in time.

- H.Vence

Harold Vence - 2022

The Aerlanican Infantry




(13/4/2022)

Ah, the Aerlanican Infantry; never will you see such a terrifying looking series of troops, trained for the sole purpose of defending their nation. The professional troops, who are battle hardened by past conflicts, have constantly been faced with threats to their national security and have constantly prevailed again and again and again.

If they had not, I would not be writing this entry into my journal.

Of course we cannot just talk about their looks. “Facts, Harold!” My mother used to say, “You must only speak in facts!” So speak facts I shall.

The training for each soldier is arduous; beginning with the compulsory conscription for eighteen months after secondary school. These citizens are dubbed “militia”; auxiliaries capable of being called upon to quickly replace losses. Some continue their training for another two years, pushed harshly to the peak of physical and intellectual capacity, these become the mainstay troops. They are trained intensively to act as a whole, and to operate with near perfect coordination, while being trained to be masters in attritional warfare, rapid movements and the concept of "Lightning War", the thought-child of General Alice Poole (who has a rather fiery temper from what I am told.)

A fair portion of the soldiers in the current military (Numbering around four million troops, an impressive standing army, with around half of that number being frontline troops) are veterans of the Civil War, the guerrilla war against the Fascist remnants, the Raynesville Demonic incursions and the Primaeri War; from my knowledge

Upon asking one for his justification, he said to me something very interesting; “[his] best friend died in the civil war with [his] father to preserve Democracy, [his] other friend went insane because of the shelling from the fascists. [his] family and friends gave their lives to protect Aerlanica. If [the military] surrenders then the dead died for nothing…[he doesn’t] think anyone could live with that.”

It is a peculiar case; the Aerlanican (at least this soldier in particular) primarily fights not for the living, but for the dead. These fanatical throughs combined with high quality tacticians, rigorous training while also being adequately equipped and experienced with warfare make the Aerlanican infantry nothing to be scoffed at. One thing for sure, I can understand why people find it hard to defeat the Aerlancians.

Another important thing to note is the infantry's secondary, almost auxiliary role; tech acquisition. Time and time again Aerlanica has faced off against foes, or operated within environments, with technology much more advanced than theirs. This is seemingly a normal day at the metaphorical office for these troops, who are also tasked with acquiring the technology.

During the Demonic Incursions, a Roxium vessel crash landed in a field, and I saw with my own eyes no less than a battalion of soldiers swarm the burning wreck throwing caution to the wind, and leaving with large columns of mechanical and electronic equipment as well as a few weapons, before a larger force systematically dismantled the entire vessel in under a month. Conveniently, the first vessels of the Aerlanican Stellar Navy were produced by the end of the year.

- H.Vence

Harold Vence - 2023

The Generals


(9-15/11/2023)

After jumping through a slew of legal hoops, as well as several security checks (which where quite thorough, both administratively and, though I’d be more tentative to admit it, physically), I managed to secure a meeting with the highest calibre of the Aerlanican Military structure. Unfortunately, I had to spread it all out over a fair few days, but here is what my encounters with the Military High Command over a nice game of chess.

Upon sitting down with one General Gregory Rosevale, I was greeted with a kind (albeit one-eyed) Hartian face with a light brown stubble in what was an honest attempt at a beard. He greeted me cordially, with an equally as welcoming handshake, and began to move his pieces around the board in tandem to mine, all the while discussing politely, if reserved. After several questions about the declassified (or sanctioned) military complex, including the rather substandard state of the Armed Forces in the wake of the Primaeri War, I eventually found myself caught in a bind; his pieces were set up in a messy and odd tangle of pieces that I found no way to take a piece, without coming out with a loss; for Pete’s sake! There was a pawn protected by at least three pieces! Luckily, he was in the same boat as me, or rather, the same storm.

Alice Poole, the proud bearer of the title of “First Aerlanican Female General”, and “First Palaric-Aerlanican General”, had a strong fire in her eyes and a glass of stronger whiskey in her hand, which I politely declined. She was much more upfront than Rosevale, and was dressed much more casually. She was a bit more brusque to say the least when we began playing; often times when I would touch close to a sensitive subject she wouldn’t hold any punches when telling me rather viciously that “such information is classified, and for a damn good reason.” She was aggressive and incessant, constantly moving her knights, bishops and her queen around the board and never giving me a chance to breathe; at every threat solved or avoided, another would immediately appear. Thankfully, she did occasionally make some blunders, however minor they may have been.

And lastly, the rather…enigmatic Erwin Mackenstine. Hailing from the Grendel ethnicity, he had crisp air around him; his attire was very meticulously groomed, more so than his blonde hair. He sat down and got to business, occasionally pausing either to find an adequate word to use, or to see through me with cold, calculating blue eyes. I wouldn’t say he was reserved, and I felt as though I was not driving the interview, despite him being the interviewee.

This careful consideration translated onto the game board. For some time I thought I was winning, being ahead in material, however from seemingly no where I found myself checkmated by a cleverly disguised feint where I thought only chaos and a lack of plan resided. We had time for another game, where I tried to counter said trickery, only for him to change tactics halfway through and completely annihilate several of my pieces. The best way I could describe it is…well…orderly, controlled, chaos.

Over all, I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to gain an insight, however censored, into the command structure of the Federation’s armed forces, at least on the ground.

I will soon enjoy discussing further with the naval officers, and wonder what events will take.

Harold Vence - 2024

The Aerlanican Military


2/7/2024

Aerlanicans seem to be under the impression that the only way to reach peace is to end war quickly, and that may explain it’s massive Military; I found an entire shelf of an archive filled to the brim with the history of hundreds of divisions and thousands of battalions, and that was just for the infantry; no doubt the sizeable armoured and mechanised corps also have similar mountains of documentation. The only really “small” shelf would be the Aerlanican Stellar Navy (or simply the Aerlanican Navy).

However, I should now describe the Aerlanican Military, even if it is a very brief and insufficient overview.



To call the Aerlanican Military a Sword and Shield would be describing the Aerlanican Military as some sort of heroic swashbuckling force of brave heroes and daring heroines. However the Aerlanican Military is more of a Hammer and a Shield; those heroes and heroines are part of a vast, coordinated beast who’s sole purpose is to crush and, if possible, cripple the enemy.

This covers all the branches; the Aerlanican Army, the Aerlanican Navy, and the Aerlanican Air Force. The Army is quite adaptable, making liberal use of attritional and manoeuvre warfare while also having a perhaps unhealthy obsession with artillery and an almost supernatural mastery of guerilla warfare; this is, from what I have been told, a product of the Civil War. The army consists of the best of the best that Aerlanica can offer, but this is no proud badge of honour to bear; one is either the best of the best or they are dead, considering the enemies faced from aberrant hordes of beasts to astoundingly advanced civilisations.

The mentality of guerilla warfare seeps into the hit-and-run tactics of the Navy, which often lays ambushes for enemy flotillas or rapidly attacks enemy fleet formations or bases before rapidly fleeing to avoid casualties. While the Navy could possibly clash with near-peer allies, the value of the crew members aboard such complicated vessels restricts any widespread or brutal deployment; while new ships can be made in a year, a stellar sailor is a much more expensive investment.

The airforce is no different; pilots are expensive to train and are put through exhaustive training to allow them to withstand the immense conditions of piloting small, fast moving craft through space and within atmosphere. Such pilots cannot have their bravery understated; considering some of the foes they face, and the missions they are deployed onto, a calm nerve, precise movements and an intrinsic understanding of the machine you are within is vital unless you wish to join the large number of pilots who are but mangled wrecks, fused forever more with their craft.



In summary, the Aerlanican Military may seem beaten, battered and bruised half the time but to believe it is without teeth would be claiming the sun is without light. The patriotism, bordering Nationalism, of the Aerlanican and the pre-existing skill of those who have survived the terrors of all the foes they faced, compounded by tech stolen and invented, make the armed force of Aerlanica a terrifying foe to face. Stalwart, aggressive and near-impossible to outright destroy without liberal usage of WMD's and protracted warfare, the Federation of Aerlanica can rest easy knowing such fine troops, pilots and sailors keep their vicious foes at bay.



I will engender the thought of going into detail on what exactly each branch is, but for now I have a particularly pleasant date arranged with a member of an Aerlanican Militia tomorrow and should get some rest before making the long trek. I would like to make the trip with Darcy, but then again having exhaustive surgery and medical procedures conducted upon you at a hospital certainly is a good excuse for being indisposed.

- H.Vence

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- H. Vence

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