ANN Nuclear Crisis '49

==Nuclear Crisis '49==
===A Crisis?===
Since the dawn of time, man has saught out newer, bloodier, deadlier ways attack each other. Whether it be the bow and arrow and the catapult, the spear and the cannon, the machine gun and, most deadly of all, the atom bomb. But with that search for new ways to attack and defend has always come the risk that these new inventions, these tools of destruction of our making, fall into the hands of those whom we intend to use them against. Sadly, this has only become blatantly obvious with the developement and advancement of nuclear weapons.
Since the first nuclear tests in the early 20th century, every nation, whether they be big or small, has aimed to gain control of these deadly devices. These goals have led to a vastly more dangerous world. Whether it be a major power becoming even more of a threat or a minor power suddenly gaining the power to wipe out entire nations. But now?
We now live in a world where it is not just other nations we must be concerned with, where everyone, every person, every organization, every group could possibly be concealing a weapon or a bomb or even a weapon of mass destruction. Is it that man siting across from you on the subway? That boy riding his bike past you? That strange neighbor just down the street? We live in a world where any one is a threat, and it seems things are only getting worse.
Despite efforts by the governments of the world, nuclear weapons are still a threat and still fall into the wrong hands. But, frankly, who is the right hands?
===Further Bad News===
With the spread and further developement of weapons of mass destruction, much of which the public is completely oblivious to, it was only a matter of time until it became noticable that a threat to Asteria was poised to wipe us out... or so we would presume.
Unforunatly, it took the military, from what we can tell, eleven years to discover the Asterian Royalist Union (or ARU) had nuclear devices, all prepared to go off in any given major city at any time.
The ARU, also responsible for the Langover Virus epidemic which has spread throughout all of Asteria and several neighboring regions, killing over two-thirds of the population, apparently has been amassing even more toys to kill innocent Asterian's with. And the government, where is it in all of this? Clueless, of course. In fact, we are told that, previous to the ARU's taking the capital building hostage and taking responsibility for the Langover Virus, the military had absolutely nothing on them. In fact, the ARU was about as much on the militaries radar as an algae cell would be to a wolf: far, far away and of no concern; ignorance is bliss, after all.
===The Asterian Royalist Union===
The ARU, what was once thought to be a minor movement amongst the more socially ignorant Asterians, is now considered the largest terrorist organization in the world. The ARU is now taking credit for over sixty car bombs, two hundred homicides, fourty hate crimes, thirty-five rapes, five cases of use of biological warfare such as the developement and use of the Langover Virus (which was the first wide-spread attempt, the other four were minor tests apparently passed off as the flu), and now a nuclear missle test aimed off the coast of Chevek. They even took the capital building hostage while all branches of government were in the middle of emergency gatherings!
With all of these horrors now put together, the question emerges: HOW did the government have absolutely no knowledge of this? Hundreds of innocent civilians have been killed, injured, or severly traumatized by the ARU, even the government its self was just held hostage for two days, stuck at gun point and with the threat of the detonation of bombs throughout the building going off hovering above their heads.
In fact, we now know that some parts of the government did know about the ARU, but not in the right way. We are now discovering hundreds of connections between the ARU and law enforcement, military personel, government employee's, and even several politicians. Whether it be that they were being paid off, threatened, or were simply a sympathizer, it seems there is no part of the government that the ARU had not managed to dig it's claws in.
So, with the ARU doing all these drastic things, what's their motive? Their goal? The ARU claims that it aims to bring down the current Asterian government and replace it with a form of dictatorship (they refer to it as a "Holyship") in which their leader, Aaron Vernmark, is the sole ruler.
No matter how holy they may believe their goals are, many critics have called them barbarians, monguls, traitors, terorists, even monsters.
However, an even better question than the total ignorance of the government is why has the ARU waited so long to surface? To announce its crimes and take responsibility? While the ARU has not exactly be open about all it's plans, many critics believe they are simply seeking attention, trying to come in to the spotlight. But there are some who believe they are simply admitting to the lesser of their evils, giving us but a small glimpse into what they have planned. For obvious reasons, we can only hope it's the first option that is true.
===As State of War===
To add on to all the fun we're clearly having here, the ARU has established it's own state in South America, named "Argonia" after the god of justice in Asterian mythology, and intends to make it it's capital as it "invades the sinful lands" and "conquers Asteria". Officials say they are not too concerned, but clearly they must be pretty concerned since they're preparing to invade this small state.
We have recieved word that the military is now preparing a task force, dispatching naval vessles, organizing air recon and air strikes, and the army is even moving tanks and other equipment to docks and airfields to prepare for transport. Will we be going to war? Only time will tell as the government discusses it's options and prepares for things to come.
Hugo, Asterian Press (11/22/49)
Category:Asteria
Category:ANN