Fish Island

Fish Island
Motto		"Glub Glub"
Common Name		Fish Island
Anthem		"Somewhere Beyond the Sea"
Fish Island
Official languages		Zokesian, Aquarian
Currency		Aquarian Kerbit (2079-2115), Zokesian Thaler (2115-onwards)
Politics
Capital		Fish City
Government		Colonial Governance
Foundation		2062
Preceded by		Spearka
Demography
Ethnicities		Fish
Population		~4,500
Area		15km² km²

Fish Island is a small city-state located in the southernmost waters of Greater Baskay Bay, and the second largest of Kerbin's ice islands. Variously host to research stations, military bases, and small communities of civilian residents, it’s population fluctuates wildly, with fishing making up its only tangible industry. Though historically Spearkan territory, the island has been highly contested since the 2060s, particularly by the nations of Aquaria and Zokesia.

Aquaria initially guarenteed the independence of Fish Island in 2062, however this was judged officially void after the island melted. Nevertheless, it held a de facto policy of ensuring the iceberg did not fall outside the control of a Baskian nation. Zokesia has maintained a claim on Fish Island since 2062, and Feliskia likewise laid a claim in 2072, though the status of this is now dubious.

Etymology

It's an island full of fish, don't read too much into it.

Geography

Fish Island is located in Greater Baskay Bay off the coast of the Southern Ice Sheet. Like it’s much larger cousin Soltem, Fish Island is a topographic anomaly, it’s surface consisting entirely of an almost perfectly flat frozen sheet with no natural elevation changes, and it is believed that the entire above-water volume of the nation is solely comprised of ice. Sheer cliffs surround the island, rendering it only accessible by air and one of the most inhospitable places on Kerbin.

Despite being commonly misidentified as an iceberg, Fish Island is in fact a subaqueous butte, possibly laccolithic in origin. The island itself is the tip of an igneous rock pillar that rises steeply over 990m from the seabed, protruding just above the surface of the ocean. Ice formations form along the pycnocline of the relatively deep shores, with the rocky outcrop acting as a nucleus for ice formation. As such, a layer of ice over 10m thick and extending hundreds of meters out to sea encircles the island.

A 3D reconstruction of a LiDAR scan shows the steep pillar of rock that rises from the seabed to form Fish Island.

This rocky core means that Fish Island can not be 'melted', as it is not entirely comprised of ice. However, it can certainly be diminished, and the island was almost entirely obliterated by a NMC kinetic bombardment which melted away the entire ice mass surrounding the rocky core. By the 23rd century, ice nucleation has progressed to the extent that the island has returned to 97% of it's original state.

Climate

As effectively part of the Southern Ice Sheet, Fish Island recieves no rainfall and even during comparatively warm seasons experiences only bitingly cold temperatures. Its positioning additionally leaves it exposed to strong, cold winds year round, and blizzards frequently blanket the entire island in colder months.

Biodiversity

Fish Island itself is home to no animal life or vegetation, however the seas around it are unsurprisingly teeming with fish.

Urban Areas

Much of Fish Island is simply ice, but a small city housing approximately 4,500 kerbals has built up on the north side of the iceberg. A single runway on western edge has also existed since approximately 2066 to support larger transport aircraft landing in the microstate, which was previously largely redundant due to the island's flat nature.

Politics

Government

Fish Island has only held true independence for a handful of its years as a settlement, after the dissolution of Spearka. In the immediate aftermath of this, the small communal permanent population continued with life largely unchanged, but eventually the position of Mayor of Fish City was created to fill the directional void. Jeldrif Traskel Kerman, a long term inhabitant of the island was promptly elected, and after Zokesian overtures to claim Fish Island once again lead negotiations along with his small hand picked staff for the microstate to join the Republic of Aquaria as part of the Phaeg jurisdiction.

Demographics

Languages

Fish Island has no indigenous language, and its inhabitants most commonly speak Spearkan, Zeoulian, Zokesian, or some mix of the three.

Education

Fish Island has an almost nonexistent population of kerbals at a school age. A single primary school exists in Fish City, and further education must be pursued on the Dorvic mainland or Spearka.

Religion

Fish Island has no official state faith and its inhabitants live with complete religious freedom.

Age

Fish Island has very few inhabitants on either extreme of the age spectrum, with the vast majority of its population lying between the ages of 20 and 50.

Economy

Taxation

Fish Island has operated under Spearkan, Aquarian, and Zokesian tax schemes throughout its history.

Transport

Fish Island is unique in that its 70m high sheer ice cliffs render it completely inaccessible by sea, and as such air travel is the only way on or off the iceberg. To pilots, Fish Island is a mixed bag - on one hand, its extreme winds, not broken by any topographic feature to speak of, can be exceptionally dangerous - but on the other, effectively the island's entire frozen surface area can function as a runway in a pinch.

Energy and Infrastructure

Fish Island has no connection to a national grid, and relies on generators to keep its sparse facilities and houses running. When the Republic of Aquaria began managing the island in 2079, a 5MW micro nuclear reactor was installed.

Trade

Fish Island's only export is fish, which are usually lowered down the cliffsides onto waiting transport ships for collection after being caught.

Science

Fish Island is the site of one of the world's largest marine biology research centres constructed in 2072, and a frequent hub for those planning expeditions to the south pole.

History

Fish Island is believed to have detached from the Southern Ice Sheet 3-6 centuries ago. For the vast majority of kerbal history since this event, Fish Island has been of no relevance, until the invention of aircraft sturdy enough to land on it at which point its strategic importance slightly increased but remained minimal. The first kerbal ever to walk on its surface was Spearkan Golmajin Kerman, who landed his seaplane on the iceberg in the year 1990.

Notable Events

First Fish Island Crisis and Fish War

Zokesian-backed fishermen armed fishing trawlers to combat the Aquarian sea life during the Fish War.

Fish Island first rose to geopolitical prominence in 2062 when the Zokesian Federation began a campaign to overthrow the island’s local government which culminated in a full military occupation. In response to the crisis, Aquaria partnered with Elysian Army troops deployed within the nation on an overseas training exercise to liberate the island. The Combined States’ involvement was entirely handled by its secret service C140, which made the baffling and to this day poorly understood decision to weaponise and exclusively employ specimens of marine life in the opening attack. After a short naval engagement and shore bombardment, the aquatic servicemen overwhelmed and destroyed all Zokesian surface combatants and anti-aircraft emplacements present in the theater. A conventional landing was swiftly judged impossible, but within hours Elysian armour was aerially inserted via imported Pelican transports and defeated the remaining occupiers.

Aftermath

Their victory over the invaders was short lived. As both sides geared up for another round of hostilities the ‘Fish War’ would be cut short by the NMC, which employed over 2000 orbital kinetic weapons to completely melt the island ostensibly to prevent further conflict. The intervention marked the first ever significant strategic use of orbital weapons against the surface of Kerbin, a haunting preview of the wanton destruction to be unleashed upon Doren and the rest of the world in the Shattering and later the Second Continental War.

While ultimately rendered null, the wildly successful cooperation between the Combined States of Aquaria and the Theocracy of Elysium laid the groundwork for the formation of the MNA and its joint military force the MCRN, and was perhaps the finest hour of the two nation’s friendship. Zokesia’s defeat would be its only military failure for over a century, and helped establish a nascent Aquaria as a premier regional power and peacekeeping force within Baskay.

Following decades and joining the Republic of Aquaria

A flying fish armed with Hellfire missiles flies a routine patrol over Fish Island, the newly established Fish City teeming in the background, 2084

Fish Island would soon refreeze and be resettled by the Spearkan Federation, and enjoyed nearly 20 years of uninterrupted peace before the dissolution of its parent government. After brief fears of further Zokesian expansionist advances, the city-state opted to fully join the newly rechristened Republic of Aquaria.

Second Fish Island Crisis

The Lambchop T. Kerman is impacted by the first hijacked ICERV, in the opening shot of a war that would bring Fish Island's owners to ruin. The crippled ship would sink approximately 2 hours later.

Tensions surrounding the island resurfaced in the winter of 2114, when Zokesia publicly announced that its claim to the iceberg had never been officially rescinded. What followed was months of military build-up and posturing between Federation forces and the Aquarian Navy, though any climax was cut short by the sudden and unexpected bombardment and invasion of the Republic by North Sarconia on the 22nd of January 2115. The attacks, which began with the sinking of Aquaria's flagship the ANV-84 Lambchop T. Kerman leading the AQN's task force off the shores of Fish Island before any other more strategic targets, was most likely a deliberate attempt to false flag Aquaria into a two front war with Zokesia. This failed, but Aquaria was nevertheless paralysed into inaction by the fear of such an outcome developing over the following days, and would offer no further resistance when Zokesia seized the opportunity presented to it.

Operation Cobalt

Zokesian craft stationed at fish island, date unknown.

Zokesian transports unload on Fish Island, 2115.

10 hours after North Sarconia's declaration of war on Aquaria, The sound of high-pitched jet engines shattered over 50 years of peace on Fish Island. The island's only official runway became home to nearly two hundred Zokeisan aircraft, their bunkers and runouts littering the island from end to end. For days the air controllers of the Zokesian Air Force were straining themselves, coordinating aircraft patterns entering and leaving the tiny island, where pilots had been sweeping the seas, searching for the Aquarian navy in the hopes it may be wiped out before landing at Fish Island. But the Aquarians, suddenly wrestling with invasion from the north, did not set sail for the iceberg. Large sections of the AQN 2nd Fleet would later be detected moving east for the Fortesal straits. The decision was made then to launch Cobalt II once again, with an umbrella of fighters sweeping out the defenders as Galliant II transports delivered troops to the island. Now, the fight was being taken to Fish Island directly, and soon the sky would be blacked out by Zokesian aircraft. Zokesian Galliants landed under minimal small arms fire, which was later discovered to be a single citizen firing his old service rifle into the air. the Fish island airstrip was taken and the troops of 6th SS. Braviserstgeboren swept through the city, removing any suspected pro-Aquarian citizens and ex-military personnel.

Aftermath

With Aquaria and later Zeoul falling to a resurgent Sarconia, Fish Island currently remains under Zokesian control.

About The Flag

The Free Fish Island Flag of 2062-2115

The Zokesian Fish Island Colony flag, instituted 2115

Somewhere beyond the sea

Somewhere waiting for me

My lover stands on golden sands

And watches the ships that go sailin'

Somewhere beyond the sea

She's there watching for me

If I could fly like birds on high

Then straight to her arms

I'd go sailing

It's far beyond the stars

It's near beyond the moon

I know beyond a doubt

My heart will lead me there soon

We'll meet beyond the shore

We'll kiss just as before

Happy we'll be beyond the sea

And never again I'll go sailing

I know beyond a doubt, ah

My heart will lead me there soon

We'll meet (I know we'll meet) beyond the shore

We'll kiss just as before

Happy we'll be beyond the sea

And never again I'll go sailing

No more sailing

So long sailing

Bye bye sailing