Parting Clouds Conflict

The Partition of Isla de las Nubes Partidas

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Dissolution of the Solquiran Empire (1946-1950s)

After the close of the Second Intercontinental Conflict, the royal family was stripped of all political power and its vassal states forcibly liberated. While Espani expended significant effort to retain its colonial holdings as 'sovereign territory', within ten years it found itself lacking the political willpower and economic capacity to maintain control of its far-flung colonies. As domestic unrest grew on the Isla, the Espani State elected to negotiate decolonization of the island. Each day they retained control was a massive loss to the nation's already-dwindling treasury, leaving the procedure rushed and abandoning tens of thousands of Espani nationals on the island. This failed to solve the Espani State's economic collapse, and the nation underwent a popular socialist revolution. From it grew the People's Bastion of Espani, who went on to form ALBAZUR with Ruschev and with their aid were able to regain many of the vassals they lost postwar through revolutionary means.
Now fully autonomous and with no political allies, the Isla became a geopolitical vacuum as international technologies began to make transoceanic shipping increasingly viable.

Proxy Sponsorship and Political Upheaval (1960s-1970s)

Many officials within Espani's ALBAZUR offices were well aware of the Isla's economic potential, and those in Ruscheva could easily open a textbook and see how vital it was during the Age of Sail. The problem was that it was its own sovereign nation now, however unstable and "third world" it had become. The formation of O.C.I.S. in the postwar period prohibited aggressive annexation due to international oversight, but a loophole remained. ALBAZUR began funding and supplying a socialist revolutionary movement among the island's dissatisfied populace, attempting to take full advantage of alienated Espani nationals who now considered the island their home. Based out of Ciudad Viento del Oeste, the extremely well-supplied group was able to rapidly gain popular and political influence on the western side of the island.
However, they were not the only coalition who were exploiting such a loophole. SOLARI, who endeavored to cement their influence as a titanic global trading power, was pouring money into "economic development" and "industrial modernization" of the Isla. Pro-capitalist militias were paid to secure territory for corporate interests, new industrial ventures, and planned development zones. The increase in jobs and relative economic and social stability naturally led to a soft adoption of SOLARI influence among the populaces who began working and living in such areas.
The revolutionary movement and paid militias met in the middle: Cordillera del Huatapu, a natural geological division in the island whose rough terrain and inclement climates made it difficult for either side to gain ground. The borders shifted by miles daily, and as the years ticked by the proxy conflict grew exponentially in sophistication and violence as both sides began employing professional mercenaries, paramilitary companies, and influential syndicates from across the globe.

Spirula Bay Accord (1981)

A particularly gruesome series of escalations from both sides, with significant civilian casualties and war crimes committed by unmarked units in disputed territory, were documented by a global media power and quickly became headline news worldwide. The Isla, even as the conflict escalated over the past twenty years, was not well known to most common people until the news broke. Graphic footage titillated viewers of all levels of power, and political and investor interest erupted overnight. The conflagration on the Isla colloquially came to be known as the "Parting Clouds Conflict". Within a month, O.C.I.S. passed a referendum and called officials from both SOLARI and ALBAZUR to meet in a neutral marine zone near Isla de la Nubes Partidas aboard the CRV Spirula Bay, a dedicated O.C.I.S. diplomatic vessel. Four days of stalling, demanding, and eventually compromising on behalf of the O.C.I.S. brokers led to the signing of the Spirula Bay Accord on August 19th, 1981.
The Accord essentially sets the following conditions:

1. Both blocs agree to suspend all formal military operations on Isla de las Nubes Partidas.
2. A map of contested zones is agreed upon—SOLARI and ALBAZUR will not advance past agreed lines with uniformed forces, with a 240km-wide 'autonomous buffer zone' separating their territories. Three such zones are created along Cordillera del Huatapu: Los Barrizales, La Frontera Calada, and Las Tierras Secas. A fourth O.C.I.S.-controlled demilitarized zone is also created, which will serve as enforced neutral territory for both sides to negotiate or defect and for neutral civilian parties to receive aid or seek asylum.
3. Certain routes and ports are designated for neutral O.C.I.S. and NGO activity, including refugee aid and medical delivery.
4. O.C.I.S. will maintain an office to monitor and audit infrastructure projects launched by either side in order to intervene in violations of military restriction.

However, the Spirula Bay Accord fails to prohibit the use of deniable assets, creating a loophole for proxy forces, PMCs, and militias. The Accord's brokers believed that conflict would naturally come to a close its neither side could claim full sovereignty over the disputed territory; both sides would be free to exploit resources and create infrastructure, and while tense the peace would be kept by hired security staff. In practice, neither side had any intent to share; both invested heavily into rebel factions, mercenary presence, and criminal activity within the grey zones in an attempt to drive out the other's proxies and establish de facto control over the disputed land. O.C.I.S. quickly realized this when the violence resumed with renewed fervor mere days after the Accord was signed, but neither side was willing to return to the table and sign an amendment.

Instead, both sides turned to the media to put a spin on the Accord and work to justify or even encourage continued proxy conflict on the Isla. SOLARI's state and private media outlets align to paint the accord as a diplomatic masterstroke, showcasing SOLARI’s restraint and moral authority. Newsreels feature footage of OCIS delegates shaking hands with western officials, emphasizing de-escalation and mutual prosperity. SOLARI corporations use the agreement to push for increased investment in “developing economies” on the Isla. Meanwhile, eastern bloc broadcasts depict the accord as a victory for anti-imperialist stability, emphasizing that no ALBAZUR territory was lost. Footage of stoic Espani officials shows them framing the ceasefire as “the Revolutionary Bastion's warning to any future attempts at capitalist exploitation” while state-influenced editorials reinforce ALBAZUR's image as a global equalizer and peacekeeper.

The Grey Zone Stalemate (1980s-1992)

With formal war off the table due to mutual deterrence and economic dependency, both blocs double down on deniable tactics and produce the horrific meatgrinder of attrition they feared open conflict would spark in the west. Difficult terrain, inhospitable climes, and regular strikes against both interests in the conflict make permanent residence difficult. O.C.I.S. promises to monitor activity within the zones quickly proves practically impossible, the vast and lawless tracts becoming infested with criminal syndicates and other black market interests beyond the point of mitigation. Registered companies that are found to be involved in smuggling or war crimes are blacklisted and their assets seized - but the culprits, safe from law in the grey zones, simply go on to join others. The sheer inhumane violence of the regions is a money printer for TV ratings in the western bloc, with many bright-eyed journalists hoping to make it big with shock footage while movies and video games based on the Parting Clouds Conflict fill the shelves; the grey moralist doctrine of SOLARI makes such 'colorful' media scintillating and popular due to a cultural idea of it being 'taboo'. In ALBAZUR, it makes for great propaganda material for the sinful nature of their capitalist adversaries.

This is where you come in. Being a mercenary, even a pilot, is a high-turnover job. Many young souls fresh home from their compulsory military term feel like hot shots and gamble it all on becoming rich (or a legend) in the grey zones; as do those with their own demons to run from in other walks of life. You are among their rank, traveling to Isla de la Nubes Partida for the first time to try your hand as a warfighter. The grey zone forgives all sins: ex-convict stands on equal footing with privileged investor. Some, who have managed to survive in those wilds for decades, say it is the only real place on earth. The programming granted to us by tradition, law, and society is stripped away leaving only the bare naked ego, truly free from the world's chains as it streaks across the sky in an aluminum body and tearing beyond the speed of sound.