Antarctic Expedition

[king of cochin]

OOC: Of course you are welcome, but be warned do not go far inland!

[king of cochin]

"James, be sure to hold on tight, you could get blown away till Cochin in winds like this."

The soldier joked at the diminutive frame of his friend. The soldiers were setting things up using specialized rigging equipments. The winds in this part of the continent occasionally reached 150 kmph and thus joke was actually a very possible danger. It was one more reason why all pilots and aircrafts based at Gangotri were highly specialized and experienced.

These soldiers were setting up one of the many 60 mts tall wind turbines being installed in Gangotri. The windy conditions made it an excellent source of electricity and only as a back up would the TROPS, thorium power plant be used. A total of 5 teams were at work now. A total of 50 wind turbines are being built at Gangotri.

Since it would cause a hazard for flying this windfarm is being set up at the eastern and western extremities of the territory with the base camp at the center. The flux from these turbines would be a suitable air defense system in itself as it would confuse any radar system looking towards the territory.

[king of cochin]

xx Classified xx

POWER SYSTEMS FOR STATION GANGOTRI

MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Power would be sourced through wind turbines and Thorium fueled Nuclear Power Plants. Horizontal axis, 60 mts tall, 5 MW wind turbines manufactured by Encompass Tech Pvt Ltd would establish 50 turbines each at the eastern and western extremities of Station Gangotri. These areas would be designated as no fly zones and be marked on international maps for the region.

All weather durable power lines would be drawn from these wind farms to the Base Camp. Back up power would be assured by a TROPs power plant installed south of Base camp.

To minimize the wind effect at Gangotri Air Force Base it has been decided to establish a network of Vertical Axis turbines manufactured by ETPL. These 10 meter tall, 0.7 MW turbines would be installed south of the air base and cachement of the wind by these turbines would ease flight operations. However designted flight corridors would have to maintained through this particular wind farm for passage of helicopters to Station Bravo and other points further inland.

[king of cochin]

Station Bravo has seemingly grown buildings out of the very surface. In record time the basic structures for the facility has been built. Preprocessed cement impregnated canvas was filled with water from the snow nearby and air pumped in to resume their former shape. It is an ingenious blend of Shape Memory Retention and Civil engineering. The concrete for these buildings were specially created by L&T to weather the harsh Antarctic climate. The concrete of the inflated building set in 12 hours to form a perfectly livable structure which only needed basic furnishing and insulation to be fully habitable.

Most of the outposts and research stations in Gangotri is to be constructed in this manner.

Meanwhile back at Base Camp the convoy of ships bringing material in from Ratnagiri had made vast changes to Gangotri. The Mig29s were flying daily sorties to familiarize its crew with all aspects of duty in this far flung territory. The claim now become permanent the IV Infantry Division has started to downsize its presence. Three of its four brigades had already gone back to Cochin with one brigade remaining to train the incoming Border Guards detachment.

The Gangotri Air Force Base has been now fully set up with 2 heavy duty air strips, a HAWK radar, massive underground fuel storage for the aircrafts and a fully functional air port. The docks were being reinforced with additional structural work by the Corps of Engineers and the ice breakers were doing a frantic job keeping the passages free for shipping.

The wind mills were also coming online now delivering huge amounts of power to Gangotri. Now the situation was that nobody knew what to do with all this extra power. Kingdom is considering whether to offer the extra electricity to the fellow settlements in Antarctica. After all in this most inhospitable of all terrains Nature herself is man's greatest enemy and all politics must take a hike in this frontier.

[Maelstrom Vortex]

Dragonisian Ice Breakers were now steaming from India to join up with the Cochin Task force in the Antarctic regions.

[king of cochin]

Metac ASW planes would stand patrol over the course taken by the ice breakers from Dragonisia, laying series of sonobuoys. As they near Antarctic ice packs they would be met by a helicopter with pilots for guiding them through the channels.

[Maelstrom Vortex]

With a series of bumps, grinds, crunches, and creaks.. the ice breakers set about doing their jobs.. which if you don't know what that is then you are in deep trouble.

[king of cochin]

The first TROPS power plant was commissioned today at Station Gangothri Base Camp and will the power the various research stations situated here. Components of the second TROPS power plant shall arrive soon for powering for Station Bravo. Power lines from the wind farms and the various outlying stations have been laid.

Components for setting up of the Gangothri Observatory have started arriving. This project by the Royal Observatory in Kashgar is to build a high power telescope for study of the solar system and the universe in various spectra of electromagnetic radiation. The unique atmospheric properties of Gangothri has made it the apt location. This observatory would be primarily used by students and researchers from the Cochin University. Researchers and students from other nations would also be permitted use its facilities.

The Varma Institute for Fundamental Research is also setting up a Cryogenic Study Center and Superconductivity Research Center here. All these would be centered around the Base Camp for easier accessibility.

Work has also started on a Biosphere Zone which would be built some distance south of Base Camp. Here in the leeward of the small mountain range, a massive underground building would be built where atmosphere would be maintained at NTP for a relief for the permanent staff staying in Station Gangothri. It would be powered by TROPs reactor in Base Camp. The setting up of this revolutionary base camp is being done by the CSRO with space age technology.

[king of cochin]

Quarter Master Command has Pre Positioned equipment for one Airborne Division and one Brigade of Armored Cavalry Regiment. The ACR equipments are the modified T150 tanks customized for Arctic Warfare. The 7 ACR is the unit best trained for Arctic Warfare and would be deployed in case of hostilities.

The 4th Infantry Division's presence in Gangothri has been downsized to one Battalion. The 66th Brigade of Border Guards have been deployed and are in active duty now. A network of outposts and command posts have been built at various border areas. Most of the area is to be electronically manned, however in those avenues where human presence is possible manned stations have been located for possible rescue and relief operations.

The snow tractors have cleared wide swaths of through way between the major stations and research centers. Most of the resupply is being done through the Tatra trucks and in remote locations via the squadron of MH53 heavy lift helicopters stationed at Gangothri.

The occupation and settling down of this territory has however been not of no cost. A total of 15 people have died so far to the Main Enemy - Nature.

Most of the deaths have been due to air crashes rather than hypothermia. One Mig29 and a Blackhawk had crashed with all hands. One Sergeant from the 4ID had also died of cardiac complications caused by the thin air and extreme cold.

Despite these deaths there has been no paucity of volunteers for this duty. All personnel coming to Station Gangothri are coming on voluntary basis. Each person shall receive 4 times their regular salary due the hazardous conditions. In all the Kingdom spends 0.5 Million Rupees per person per day in Station Gangothri. This is apart from the infrastructural developments being formed.

The HAWK radar in Gangothri is now fully operational and occasionally takes sounding readings from the constellations of old and dead satellites in the earth's polar orbit.

The convoys from Ratnagiri has decreased in frequency with the stabilization of construction effort. Tonnes of food and fuel have been brought in. The icebreakers from Dragonisia and Royal Cochin Navy maintains shipping channels through the constantly reforming ice fields of the region. Ice is crushed out of the way through sheer force and also specialized pumping equipments which shoot out super heated steam to rupture the ice.

Kingdom of Cochin is also planning to do an exploratory journey to the other colonies and research stations in Antarctica as a good will exercise.

[king of cochin]

Station Bravo is now operational and the entire region has been declared restricted by the Kingdom of Cochin. Any aircraft venturing 50 km near the Restricted Air Space would be met by a fighter escort to lead them out. Any intrusion into the air space would be dealt with lethal force without notice. The HAWK radar and supplementary Air Defense Radars provide air defense coverage for the region. Thermally blanked SAM sites are also positioned for added security.

4th Infantry Division and 66th Border Guards Brigade is launching an expedition to reach the South Pole overland. Packs of snow dogs have been trained for the mission. This expedition would be conducted on a low tech scale in commemoration of the early adventurers who ventured into this inhospitable realm.

[king of cochin]

The 20 man expedition set off with an auspicious start from the Base Camp by breaking a coconut specially brought from Cochin.

[king of cochin]

Work on the Biosphere is 40% completed. With the operation of Station Bravo this is now the single largest construction effort in Station Gangothri. The Greenhouse has been built first and is now serving as a temporary biosphere for the army of construction crew from Corps of Engineers. The plants for the massive greenhouse would be bought in specially sealed containers from Cochin via Halobs and then airlifted to the site by MH53s.

As the remaining sections of Biosphere is completed more and more personnel would move in here. A 50 room hostel, steam baths, a fully functional hospital and a restaurant would be the main components of Biosphere. Biosphere would be a center of unwinding for the scientists and soldiers manning this hazardous duty section.

[king of cochin]

The roar of the construction equipment is competing with the roar of wind to be the King of Cacophony. Work is done by designated teams each doing their work in tandem so that time would be saved. The team at the periphery of operations has the simplest tasks of all. They compact the surface snow with their specialized tractors by simply driving over them repeatedly. These Tatra tractors run on sets of tracks which when in operation work as one without leaving grooves like a tank does. While turning the tracks one side moves forward while the other moves backward. After a couple of rounds from these behemoths the soft snow surface has acquired the texture of compacted earth.

Following them are drillers. These teams drill a number of deep piles into the compacted surface. The piles are a minimum of 40 meters deep and shallower only if they have struck the bed rock. If it is too shallow bits are changed and the bed rock itself is drilled for good measure.

The drillers are followed by concrete teams which pour concrete into the piles which when set would form a network of roots to hold the superstructure in place despite the threat from constant shifting of snow.

Following them come the melters. These teams manually melt the top layer of snow to form a layer of ice that would act as an excellent insulator of heat. They go about doing so with a number of Flamethrowers.

The next team is surface insulators. They lay a layer of heavy duty insulating foam on the compacted and now plain surface. This is to prevent any excess heat from the building itself to affect the snow outside. The foam is designed to be sandwiched between the Concrete foundation of the building and the layer of ice.

The next team is the Foundation team. They link up the exposed stumps of concrete piles above the insulation to form a flat concrete foundation upon which the building would rest. Upon this thermally insulated foundation the other teams would work for building, insulating and readying the superstructure.

The work is staggered so that any time parts of the building are in various stages of completion. Currently the foundation for the 50 room hostel is being built, while the actual building of the hospital is being carried on further away.

[king of cochin]

Scientists at Station Bravo are literally glued to their monitoring screens. As they saw on the cameras the Remotely Operated Vehicle started moving from its pad. The octopod has eight limbs and is designed to operate much like the musculature of a spider. A tetropod was considered but for reasons of safety and stability octopods were chosen. After all their main design criteria was not speed, but stability and load ratio.

The feet of tetropods were fitted with suction caps and spikes selection of which is an AI procedure decided by its on board computer. It was designed so that its human operator only had to give it a coordinate and the route shall be selected and analyzed by it. For ease of navigation around structures larger than itself the ROV has a extending antenna which would use miniature terrain scan radar to plot out its surrounding environment and a terrain mapping system would plot the possible courses.

The ROV moved slowly into the deep crevasse. Earlier soundings taken had determined it to have a considerable depth of almost 38 meters, quite sufficient for this test. The ROV grabbed on to the walls of the crevasse by hooking with the spikes on its feet and slowly started descending. The independent viewing system aboard the ROV permitted the scientists to have an all around view of the crevasse, a view which would not be provided by the ROV's guidance system which was preparing the course.

The electric light from the IVS cast a bluish glow due to the snow all around it.

The scientists had a near heart attack at a point when the retraction of the ROV's topmost limb released a rock from the crevasse wall to create a mini avalanche. With bated breath they watched the flurry of snow go past the ROV and it decreased its profile for maximum durability. Finally the ROV started descending again.

After about 75 minutes of climbing down the ROV reached the bottom of the crevasse which had exposed sections of the bed rock. The ROV now settled down for its principal job. First a suction pump sucked in the loose material strewn on the ground. Then a scoop scooped in further masses of the debris. Then finding a solid surface the power drill in the ROV started drilling into the bed rock. The drilling operations created a dangerous situation inside the crevasse. If the reverberations ever attained natural frequency the ice would collapse destroying the ROV. A sensor calculated the effect of the drilling on the surface conditions around it and adjusted speed accordingly. Finally after about 30 minutes of drilling a hole 1 meter deep was formed on the bed rock. The suction pump sucked out more of the debris excavated from the drilling and finally a 1 meter deep 5 cm wide hole was revealed. A low frequency emitting sensor was dropped into it and finally the ROV started its return hike back to its pad.

The climb up would be no less treacherous than the climb down. The 30 kg ROV was now a full 15 kgs heavier, the extra weight now in its under carriage. Slowly and painstakingly the ROV clambered up the crevasse walls.

All this time scientists at the base were monitoring the ambient conditions. The ROV had performed well at -150 dC. It was almost what the final mission parameters required. The ROV designers who had come to Station Bravo for this test smiled quiet smiles of triumph amongst themselves. But the final jubilation would have to wait until they fully recovered the ROV and its payload.

Another 2 hours later the ROV finally returned to its pad. Scientists waiting there lifted the cubical pad on to the Tatra snow truck and returned to Station Bravo.

Already the members of the team were breaking out bottles of vodka for the celebration. The cousin of this ROV was already on a mission 350000 km away and the project was finally a success. Now they only had to build a much bigger ROV. Even a manned ROV is being thought about.

[king of cochin]

The Biosphere is now 75% complete. The hostel is now complete with 50 rooms and 10 large dormitories. A Canteen has now been set up at the Greenhouse and first of many plants are being brought in from Cochin. Several varieties of plants are planned to be grown hydroponically at the Biosphere. Almost 50 KW worth of liquid cooled lamps have been strung on the ceilings to provide light for growing during the Antarctic Winter. Carbon Dioxide for the Greenhouse would be provided through the Air Handling Units being readied for the Biosphere which would transfer the air from human quarters to the Greenhouse. A completely self sufficient system is being prepared here.

Even as work on the rest of the Biosphere is proceeding Halobs are flying in an aerial convoy to bring the hydroponic plants in sealed containers.

[king of cochin]

The Gangothri Observatory has been now set up at the Southern most part of the territory. It is staffed by astronomers and astrophysicists from the Royal Observatory in Kashgar.

The Cryogenic Study Center is also operational now. The Superconductivity Research Center is almost completed.

Work on the Biosphere is almost completed. All the structural work has been completed and the remaining insulation and life support works are going on. An extra runway has been constructed near the Biosphere to accomodate its larger complement of inhabitants.

[king of cochin]

xx Classified xx

Things had settled down quite nicely in Gangothri when a FLASH message arrived at the Regimental Headquarters of the 7th Armored Cavalry Regiment, the Zamorin Horse in Lhasa.

TO:

GENERAL OFFICER COMMANDING,

7 ACR.

FROM:

CHIEF OF ARMY OPERATIONS,

ROYAL COCHIN ARMY.

INITIATE OPERATION DHRUV PRAYAAN. THIRD BRIGADE TO BE DEPLOYED IMMEDIATELY TO GANGOTHRI. FURTHER ORDERS TO BRIGADE AND BATTALION COMMANDERS SHALL BE FORTHCOMING AS FOLLOWS.

SD,

LT. GEN. SHANKAR IYER,

CAO

The Brigadier General commanding the Zamorin Horse read the FLASH message and immediately summoned the Colonel commanding 3rd Brigade. He also alerted the assigned Transport Regiment assigned to his regiment. At an Air Force Base 30 kilometers the Brigadier General commanding the HB51 Halob regiment received the deployment orders and immediately summoned the flight crew. His regiment also contained 10 Aerial Tankers which would provide refueling for the aerial convoys which would soon start flying. The HB01 regiment was one of the transport regiment assigned to the 7th ACR. It was a fully integrated augmented support regiment. Apart from the 50 heavy transport planes were 10 aerial tanker Halobs, 1 AWACS Halob, 3 AWACS Merats, 3 ELINT Merats and a squadron of 16 AAP Metacs.

Flight crews were immediately summoned and issued flight charts. This was an operation they had planned for but now with the order finally been issued there was a slight tenseness. Some were in doubt. Was this a drill or were they in for some action? They did not hear anything in the news.

Back at the Army Base, the soldiers all started assembling with their duffel bags which were all prepacked for the Brigade which had duty rotation. Then they all climbed aboard the fleet of Tatra trucks which then drove them to the Air Force Base. From the truck to the transport planes and once the last soldier was strapped in the aircraft took off. There was no time to lose. Rising high to avoid the turbulence over the Himalayas they crossed over the Gangetic Plains. The aircraft soon crossed to the Bay of Bengal somewhere over Paradip. Soon they were beyond Dragon Empire airspace.

Hours later the Halob started descending amidst terse instructions from the Gangothri ATC. The soldiers peered out through whatever windows tehy could to catch the first glimpse of the continent for where they had trained for years. The Halob landed to the gentle ministrations from the ATC. Even before the wheels were locked in parking trucks came near the Halob. The passengers in this first flight were the Headquarters Troup for the Brigade. As the soldiers were alighting from the Halob 2 tankers came by to fuel the aircraft. 5 minutes after the last soldier was driven off the Halob was taking its take off run. The second Halob was landing at that time.

The transports are leaving for Ratnagiri where they shall stay until called back from Gangothri.

The trucks took the soldiers to a series of warehouses east of Gangothri Base Camp. The warehouses were massive and built partially underground. It had a roof of solid concrete fully 5 meters thick with metal armor plating to top it off. These warehouses contained the Pre-positioned equipment maintained by the Quarter Master Command.

Dhruv Prayaan would soon be over and Operation Dhruv Yudh would commence.

xx End xx

[king of cochin]

xx Classified xx

The 3rd Brigade of 7th ACR is now fully formed and mates with its equipment. The 3rd Brigade has 3 Battalions. The first Battalion to mate up with its equipment was the third and as soon as it sent readiness orders to the RCA General Staff in Gangothri the Colonel commanding the Battalion received his first order.

TO: CO,

3/3/7 ACR.

FROM: RCA GENERAL STAFF,

GANGOTHRI.

SUB: OPERATION DHRUV YUDH

PROCEED TO 68°12'14.90"S , 115°25'48.94"E. THIRD BATTALION TO RED FORCE A.

On receipt of the orders the T150s of the 3rd Battalion rolled out of their assembly points and made their way to their designated coordinates. The helicopters of the battalion are already flying ahead to scout out the route. For this mission all warheads are painted blue aka dummy. This deployment is in full assault mode because antarctica is considered conflict zone by RCDF and hence no peacetime deployment models like using trucks. Moreover it just might not work.

TO: CO,

2/3/7 ACR.

FROM: RCA GENERAL STAFF,

GANGOTHRI.

SUB: OPERATION DHRUV YUDH

PROCEED TO 67°38'55.17"S , 117°12'59.97"E. SECOND BATTALION TO RED FORCE B.

Thus the second Battalion also started to drive to its target locations. Meantime the 1st Battalion , as ensured, was only getting readied. It was the last to arrive at Gangothri.

By the time the 1st Battalion sent out readiness alert it received orders from RCA General Staff.

TO: CO,

1/3/7 ACR.

FROM: RCA GENERAL STAFF,

GANGOTHRI.

SUB: OPERATION DHRUV YUDH

OPERATION DHRUV YUDH INITIATED. UNKNOWN ENEMY FORCES IN TERRITORY. INTERCEPT AND DESTROY ENEMY FORMATIONS. RECONNAISSANCE INFORMATION NOT FORTHCOMING. YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN.

PRIORITY MISSION: PROTECT GANGOTHRI BASE CAMP.

SECONDARY MISSION: INTERDICT AND NEUTRALIZE ENEMY THREAT.

TERTIARY MISSION: DETERMINE AXIS OF ADVANCE OF ENEMY AND PROCEED FOR TERMINAL SHOWDOWN.

[king of cochin]

After hours of battlefield exercises the three Battalions returned to the laagers in Gangothri where they returned the equipments to the caretakers from QMC. The soldiers then proceeded to the Air Force Base where the Halobs from HB51 were arriving to take them back to Lhasa. The successful completion of the grueling exercise caused several crates of vodka to be dispensed with in the return flights.

The events of the tests have been classified so that operational parameters of Operation Dhruv Yudh may not be leaked out. Meteorologists had confirmed the dates for exercises on days when there would be solid cloud cover the exercise area. The Mig29s of the RF27 regiment based at AFB Gangothri had maintained Combat Air Patrols over the borders of Gangothri to prevent any aerial surveillance of the exercise region.

The special thermal suppressors on the T150s would ensure that any thermal signature would be very difficult to spot from space. The standard combat issue polymer thermal blankets for the vehicles were issued only for the Red team Battalions 2 and 3 to make the job harder for 1 Battalion.

The defensive and offensive parameters of Antarctic armored warfare were fully tested and found to be satisfactory.

[king of cochin]

Gosree Times

September 12.

The Biosphere at Gangothri was commissioned and dedicated to the nation today by His Highness Rama Varma, the King of Cochin.

The King arrived at Gangothri from Cochin City and was taken on a tour of the various facilities and installations in Base Camp. The King had breakfast at the Barracks of the Fourth Infantry Division and was joined there by soldiers from Quarter Master Command and the RCAF units at AFB Gangothri.

From here the King and his entourage left for a research facility to the South of base camp to which access was restricted.

At noon the King arrived at the newly completed Biosphere and entered the building through a special Golden Access Card given to him by the General Manager of Biosphere. Almost 400 people had come from across the territory to attend the inauguration of this much anticipated facility.

Shortly after inauguration the King invited everyone gathered to a massive feast which was prepared at Biosphere. The raw materials had all been grown in the now flourishing green house of Biosphere.

After the inauguration and feast the King left for Cochin from the now inaugurated Runway of Biosphere.

[king of cochin]

The 14 man expedition sent to South Pole is successful. The team have returned back with numerous scientific data. The soldiers of 4ID raised the flag of the Kingdom of Cochin at the Geographic South Pole and took several photographs to commemorate the occasion. After the grueling journey the team returned to the Gangothri borders where they were picked up by a Blackhawk from AFB Gangothri and taken to Biosphere for 2 weeks of rest and recuperation. First thing the soldiers and scientists did was to jump into the steam baths now operating in Biosphere.

[king of cochin]

The Superconductivity Research Center and the Strategic Command is setting up a massive antenna farm in Eastern Gangothri. The antenna farm is to be part of the Low Power Signal Analysis Center being set up here. The LPSAC is a joint project of NIA and Strategic Command and would be used to study the various communication spectra.

The Gangothri Observatory has commenced on a study of Solar System and the Milky Way.

The Cochin University has started a study on the terrain features of the landmass under the perennial Antarctic Snow. This shall be done using ultra sound terrain scanning systems and core drills.

[king of cochin]

Gangothri has now been declared open for civilians of the Kingdom. A regular flight schedule has been started from Cochin City to AFB Gangothri. Civilians will have access to the Biosphere, Gangothri Observatory and select nature spots now maintained by Royal Geographical Society.

[king of cochin]

The Gangothri Administration announced today that the Biosphere shall be henceforth powered from the TESLA system. The roof of the Biosphere was constructed to be a rectenna for downlinking of power from the Tesla satellite TSD12 stationed over Gangothri Province.

[king of cochin]

The secretive Station Bravo is being expanded to house an annex research wing. This area shall be the site of the Advanced Computing Laboratory, a joint project of Tratum Infosystems and Varma Institute of Fundamental Research. The goal of ACL will be to develop multi Petaflop super computers for advanced research. The most powerful super computer currently operating in the Kingdom at this time is the BDH110 1 PFLOP Supercomputer at Rajendra Varma Advanced Research Laboratory in Bishkek.

The establishment of the Advanced Computing Laboratory is expected to take 2 months.