Post
Region: The Democratic Republic
Whatever festivities the Brazilians prepared for the arrival of El Haluf quickly was quickly halted, as two days passed by, the reinforcements that are being sent from the Rio de la Platan Protectorate have been ambushed by a group of marauding pirates, led by a flag ship of a size of that of a heavy cruiser. Fortunately, the transport ships of El Haluf are more than capable of defending themselves when grouped together, but losses have still been recorded. Out of the 15 Transport ships, two were sunk, loosing around 2,759 out of the 15000 supposed to be reinforcements and and a significant amount of supplies, material, food, and other precious cargo.
Commander Dante was furious (he did not share the same temperament that his calm father had), partly because he learned that the transport ships were not escorted by any capable warships and High Command allowed this mishap to occur, but mostly because of the existence of this pirate group raiding unknown locations everywhere. Surely, they would strike soon, and God knows where. Sure enough, shortly after that thought, a new telegram arrived: a distress signal was beamed from another cargo ship before it was cut off. The captain let out one final word before his radio too was cut.
cannons from thre--- Flooded and listing to--- tell them I---
And then there was silence.
Dante has no other option; he is forced to use his warships to conduct patrols and escort cargo ships. Several measures have been used in order to maximize safety for his shipping lanes: cargo ships can carry mines, are informed to lie and hoist a fake flag of another nation, is tasked to meet with a patrol group in a specified coordinates where they will be escorted, and be retrofitted with more life boats and life vests should the situation demand that they are to be used. The crew hope that it doesn't. Dante also sent coded messages in Samarkand, relaying for the Oficina Intelegencia, now rebranded as the Special Action Agency, or ASA. He requested that spies and saboteurs be sent all over Brazil in order to gain insight on what these pirate group might be.
Five days later
While the plans above meant that losses from pirates have been reduced, skirmishes still occur, and thousands of tons of cargo are left damaged and ships sunk. The attacks are relentless, but are by no means a threat to the logistics of El Haluf's Army; after all, they are being supported by Brazil, now established as the Brazilian Protectorate. ASA is still yet to determine or get any leads, but a clue has been gathered. Observers from Halufian sailors and information from tortured Spanish troops identified that 13 Spanish warships managed to escape during the Battle of Fortaleza. While this information is startling it is by no means definitive. Spain is under orders to return to their homeland. Regardless, whether this is a Spanish fleet acting out of or under orders, or a Brazilian seperatist, Dante is adamant in putting a stop of these whole operations once and for all.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
