Q2 2012 Results
Russian Presidential Election
With elections held back in march, early this quarter Foka Chaykovsky was officially reelected president of Russia with 55% of the votes. The conservative candidate from four party representatives and one independent candidate, he is expected to continue his party's political course during the next four years. The election was generally assessed positively by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, but found irregularities in almost one third of polling stations due to procedural irregularities. The result has resulted in protests, both in Moscow and the EU, where activists fear for the continued independence of Ukraine in face of Russia's continued occupation of the Caucasus region for safety reasons. Appeals have also been made to the UN to pressure Russia to hand the region over into UNDC custody, but aside from a few debates on the Security Council, no progress has been made on the issue.
While Secretary Sokolov is technically no longer part of the Russian government, he still is a figure of great interest to the president. He was not surprised when he was invited to Moscow for a private meeting. While he did not feel there was an attempt to influence him directly, he got the message that the president would like to see the UNDC as a tool to keep the interests of the other Security Council out of Russia.
Supernatural Investigation Division Reopens Forest Spirit Investigation
With the rapid completion and deployment of the armed response teams, after the incident in Brazil at the beginning of the quarter, the SID has reopened the cases and sent out investigative teams to Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Africa, South America and Central Asia again, this time with an ASR protective detail. The Brazilian forest spirit incident has come to a preliminary and gruesome end. When the SID camp in the region noted the pollen levels were decreasing, investigative teams escorted by ASR squads entered the quarantined region in NBC protective gear. Air recon revealed the overnight appearance of new, around 2 meter tall trees along the tree line. 50 meters away from the forest and in 100 meter intervals along it.
-The following is a copy of SID Agent Bennet's camera feed and the squad radio.
"HQ, this is Hunter 1, we have reached the treeline and have visuals on the targets."
"Copied Hunter, keep your distance from the treeline and watch out for movement. Agent Bennet, please move closer."
"Understood, HQ."
The strained breathing of Agent Bennet can be heard as he approaches the mysterious trees, he clearly has issues moving in the heavy equipment. Approaching the target, he adjusts the helmet camera and walks closer.
"HQ, are you receiving my camera feed?"
"We have a good visual. Are you feeling anything?"
"I...I think so, something is definitely wrong. I feel fear...despair"
"Anything more specific?"
"Sorry HQ...I...I don't know."
Bennet circles the tree.
"Hunter 5 and Agent Valencia, please assist in removal for later analysis."
"Copied."
Bennet looks back to the ASR squad, a soldier and a person in civilian NBC gear approach, the right one carrying a chainsaw. He steps backwards to make room, jolting when Valencia starts cutting down the tree.
"STOP! NO, Valencia, you are hurting her."
The Agent in civilian gear stops and turns to face him.
"Bennet, not now."
"Give...give me one minute."
He circles the tree again.
"I thought something was off." He murmurs to himself. "Oh my god...I feel sick. HQ, can you see this?"
The camera points upwards, as it focuses revealing a pair of horrified human eyes looking down and into the camera from two holes in the three trunk.
"Oh god, there is a person inside this tree. Please HQ, tell me you can see this."
"Copied. Agent Valencia, stop extraction and return to base camp. We will try to get an excavator on site"
"Thank you, thank you."
Bennet bows down to crace himself on his knees, breathing heavily. A few seconds later he can be heard vomiting and tries to take off the protective helmet. A moment later he is tackled to the ground.
End of recording.
Council Support: 61
Logistics: moderate deficiencies ----
Fuel: no shortage =
Ammo: moderate surplus, diversity of weapons makes distribution horrendous ----- -
Maintenance: moderate deficiencies ---- -
Medical Capacity: small shortages --- -
Infrastructure
Rail and Road Expansion (Phase 2) 444/300 144/300
Under the eyes of the CSCEC engineers the Chinese contractors continue construction, levelling ground, pouring concrete and laying down rails, using the work in progress roads and rail lines to transport the needed machines and material. The projects make good progress and before the end of the quarter both the improved logistical access to the Hong Kong double complex and the rail line connecting the fuel refineries to the nearest port have been completed.
Next on the priority list is a bit of more decentralised work. By now the UNDC is planning or has built a number of smaller factories all over North America, Europe and East Asia, mostly for ammunition, as well as employing contractor factories all over the world. Not all of these locations have ideally safe or simple transport routes, so talks have been had with local infrastructure planners and governments on how to improve the situation. A task which's planning took up the remainder of the quarter.
Logistical Port Construction (Hong Kong) 186/200
Victoria port is among the busiest freight ports in the world, as such the UNDC docks are constructed outside the main port area to enable undisturbed access for UNDC vessels. While the main concrete structures and warehouses are finished and in place, acquiring enough support and structures vehicles to run the port has been a problem. Work on the freight cranes has almost been completed, but the German supplier for container trucks has capacity shortages with freight movement in Europe taking up again in the last few months.
Logistical Port Construction (Ad Dammam) 158/200
Ad Dammam has experienced similar issues to the Hong Kong port, with the difference being an almost complete lack of local contractors with the right skill set. Luckily the Saudi Government was able to provide the service of a british engineering firm, one of many forms overseeing general reconstruction and infrastructure efforts in the region, to assist with the construction of freight cranes and the right equipment to fill up fuel tankers docking on the port.
Before the outbreak of renewed hostilities to the far north Kuwait City was proposed as a location for a transshipment port for fuel and other cargo. These plans have been scrapped and not taken up again, especially as construction in the city is not safe due to the continued threat of missile and artillery attacks.
Industry
Utility Vehicle Production Complexes (Kure) 164/300
The first part of the Kure complex is ready for installation of assembly machinery. Meant to be modular in nature, UNDC staff begins with the assembly of the first assembly lines, bolting down overhead cranes, lifting arms and other equipment. At the same time, while less exciting, begins the process of contacting potential part suppliers, with the Kure facility only relegated to final assembly into cars, trucks, planes and helicopters.
Fuel Extraction and Refining Expansion (Phase 2) 383/300 83/300
With the UNDCs fuel situation being the one thing that limits all other operations, work on an expansion of the refinery complex, pipelines and pumps. Operations and maintenance of the new facilities has so far been provided by the Japanese industry advisors, while the staff office scrambles to hire personnel with the right technical expertise. The new fuel production capacity has enabled the first UNDC counter offensive in Iran, where tanks and APCs drove away GLA forces from the important roads, assisted by extensive air strike cover.
Service
Establish Technical Schools 126/300
Occasionally a project promises something that is clearly unachievable by those tasked to achieve it. Increasing technical expertise among the troops is probably archieveable, but only putting emphasis on it during the training program. The UNDC technical schools will serve a different purpose, namely the training and education of additional specialists in cooperation with military universities and technical school programs around the world, who will provide the necessary teaching expertise and training programs.
At the moment, the program is limited, with the individual schooling programs only accepting servicemen with the specific countries citizenship plus maybe a few exceptions. Another problem is English proficiency. The UNDC being an international organisation, having a standard language for communication is key, but english proficiency varies wildly depending on the country and the service member in question, putting another issue on the long list of issues to be solved with the whispered about UNDC basic and advanced training program project, that is rumored to come at some point during the next budget cycle.
Lycain Protein Experiments 100/200
Lycain is perhaps the most intriguing substance and one of the greatest scientific mysteries of the current decade, with properties that are unexplainable and supernatural. As such, three groups will be formed to investigate a different aspect each. Group 1, made up of doctors, chemists and biologists, will research Lycains properties as an agent within biology, how it reacts and behaves in relation to organic chemistry, the immune system and bodily environments. Group 2 is made up physicists of various fields, and is tasked with figuring out the physics breaking properties of Lycain, most notably the mass conservation violation. The third group is more an afterthought than anything else: the supernatural investigation group. While the supernatural experts have so far produced very little of value, they have not been no help, occasionally providing bits of insight or expertise that helped a case or a particular problem.
Supernatural and Mythological History Research 198+5/200
The perhaps largest academic review of texts, both fictional, historical and mythological from the present back to ancient times, has been completed. Thousands of works have been catalogued, analysed and cross-referenced. In many cases re-translations have been made or at least attempted.
Results have been mixed. While a databank of historical documents concerning the supernatural will undoubtedly be useful the exact benefit is as of yet not clear to everyone, especially as the validity of information varies wildly.
A first meta analysis however has produced the first real piece of information of interest to the Security Council. Comparing historical depictions and reports of the supernatural reveals a pattern. Mentions increase and decrease with a regular pattern roughly every 700 years, but this theory is on shaky ground at best, with only texts from 1300 and 600 avilable in any real quantity to draw data from.
The second piece of information concerns werewolves and mythological creatures in general. Analysing and retranslating some of the oldest texts mentioning men and women that could transform into beasts revealed the myth that silver makes for better weapons against them is likely a mistranslation made by a Byzantine historian. The original text mentions "shining", "polished" or "silvery iron", which turned into "silver". Taking into account other sources talking about fey and spirits suggests a weakness to iron is common or universal among supernatural creatures, though the reason for this remains unclear.
Military
Patria APC Deployment (Stage 1 Fighting Forces) 572/600
By now the Patria is on track to replace all other APCs used by UNDC forces in the Middle Eastern theater by the end of the year. The improvements made by the new hardware clearly showed themselves during Operation Roadblock, when the UNDC attempted to drive the GLA away from important Iranian logistical lines. The Patria gave the mechanized elements far superior initiative and mobility and in the few cases where a vehicle was rendered useless the improved crew protection meant minimal loss of personnel. With over ten thousand produced units so far, Patria and their supporting ASDEU contractors have reported record earnings and the European arms industry is expected to grow in value by 500 billion dollars over the next few years.
Infantry Gear Deployment (Stage 1 Fighting Forces) 244/500
Requipping of all service members in the UNDC current fighting forces continues, making good progress. Around half of the needed equipment for the over 200 thousand soldiers has been produced, a share that is likely to rise as suppliers figure out ideal scheduling for their supply lines. The biggest problem by now is actually delivering the equipment, no small task with enough support weapons, body armor, boots, shirts, jackets and many items more for what equates to a small army.
Rifle Factory (Tel Aviv) 103/100 1
The first of many planned rifle factories has been completed. Relatively unspectacular both in construction, presence and the machinery required, it has all the equipment to mass produce the metal and polymer components. With most of the process automated, the only on site employees are machinists and overseers and on site security personnel, in a ratio 1:2.
APC Factory (Manchester) 26/100
Near Manchester, ground for the first UNDC APC factory has been broken. In total, the site will have three complexes. The first and largest one is dedicated to Manufacturing the hull, by far the most work intensive complicated process. The second one is dedicated to assembling the engine and other systems with outsourced parts. The third one functions as an assembly hall to turn all parts into a complete armored personnel carrier. The finished units are then tested, painted and made ready for transport via train or truck to the nearest UNDC storage base.
Aircraft Gun Ammunition Production Factories 70/150
With the USAA being out of the picture during the air forces weapon refit megaproject, the UNDC administration was forced to rely on easy to acquire, ASDEU- and Rosoboronexport-manufactured 25mm rotary autocannons. With the vast majority of aircraft and attack helicopters now using that calibre, the still-in-construction factory in Oosterwolde in the northern Netherlands will be dedicated to manufacturing thousands of these rounds in all its variations: High explosive, Semi-high explosive and armour piercing.
Munitions Compatibility Refit = 247+5/250
After many delays, problems with suppliers and technical components. The UNDC navy weapons refit is completed, taking more time, money and work than ever expected. With hundreds of vessels having received standardized models of main guns, close defense, CIWS and vertical launch systems this massively simplifies ammunition logistics, but does not remain without issues. Not all ships have internal storage optimized for the size of the new munitions. Which is both a fire and security hazard.
In better news, completion of the project means that all UNDC ships have enjoyed generous yard time, enough to fix most minor and major issues. The old ships of the fleet are in the best state in years and have continued their patrols around the Arabian peninsula and the northern and eastern African coast under the Admiral Torres command.
Armed Supernatural Response Teams (Military) 436/400
After the Brazilian forest spirit incident, the creation of the ASR shot up on the priority list, leading to a completion of the project in record time. In specific terms, the ASR consists of around a hundred smaller units, of 20-50 personnel. Equipped by default with Galil Ace assault rifles chambered for the more powerful 7.62mm NATO-rounds with underbarrel grenade launchers, two LMGs per squad and one service member carrying a lightweight rocket launcher with heat seeking missiles.
In terms of mobility the teams come in two varieties, airborne and mechanised. The airborne units were equipped with some of the few transport helicopters, which were upgraded with door mounted heavy machine guns and four heat seeking missiles for air support, and are stationed at key areas around the world for fast response times.
The mechanised units are less in number and tasked with escorting the SID to their more risque missions. The Patria should be invincible against all creatures discovered so far, which should make up for the lack of speed and height advantage the helicopters add.
The ASR represents the largest new force acquisition of the UNDC and is made up of Special Forces members sponsored by the various member nations. They have so spent their time performing training drills, with most of the lower level creatures handled by local police. However in secret two teams of ASR were used in eastern Syria during the last full moon. Responding to two werewolf attacks, they proved both times the UNDC approach worked, even though both teams caused considerable collateral damage, preferring to overwhelm the werewolves with a barrage of explosives before finishing them off with concentrated fire. Behind the scenes, RnD is working together with the SID on methods to capture and restrain a transformed werewolf, but the project is still in a highly theoretical stage.
Form Military Police Units 258/200
In another bit of good news, the training of the UNDC military police has been completed and has been deployed all over the world. Mostly assisting with security in areas where the UNDC military has to interact with civilians, their secondary task is handling felonies and crimes inside the UNDC itself, including collecting evidence and questioning witnesses. As an anti corruption measure, the military police units are subordinate to the Defense Command Security Bureau, who are subordinate to the Administration and not the General Staff.
Security Review (Services), 291 (DC60)
This quarter perhaps one of the most thorough reviews of the service department has been completed. Focused on the Research and Development Department in particular, DCSec failed to find any subversive behaviour on site of the staff. Reviewing the surveillance footage however managed to stop an almost tragedy, as one of the scientists did not follow all the security procedures and got in contact with werewolf blood contaminated material. Her and her immediate social circle got put in quarantine over the full moon, but a blood test failed to reveal the presence of Lycain in any of their bodies.
Administration
Medical University Cooperation 81/200
Work on the planned cooperation continues, but with most administrators focused on other projects, not much progress is made.
If you see grammar or spelling errors, feel free to point them out.
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