NationStates Jolt Archive

Operation Dynamo command HQ
General Sadat looked over his map
Everything would soon be in place, already there had been light fighting some miles from the city but a few men with AKs didn’t bother the advancing conventional government forces of North Star.
Soon the Lavenrunz ‘advisory’ forces would be set up and together they would crush the heart of treason that is Tovin city.


Blessed Sultan
I am pleased to inform you that the 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalion scimitar battalions are prepared to move against the city of Tovin
Air , ground and combined units are ready to move in when you give the word.
Victory will be ours. Your rule will be returned to this city.
~General Sadat

Aboard Carrier Mirenburg

Commander of Air Wing Baroness Hotzendorff stood in the briefing room. Pilots and navigators and operations command officers filled it; the former in jumpsuits with combat patches, the latter in their blues, neat as pins.
"Elements of the Surya Division and of the Para-Commandos have begun marking targets for us. Ground fire control officers only will give information to direct attacks with the exception of your detection of enemy air or antiaircraft. This will be determined by flight leaders only; our enemies are the rebel forces, not the indigenous population. Commander Luhrman will lead in the fighter bomber squadron and will work in conjunction with Colonel Schmidt commanding the 42nd Krieghund squadron. Simultaneously, AWACs and E-warfare planes will be in the air to provide support, along with Commander Schweinburg's Wachtmeister Squadron." She paused and said, "Any questions? Alright, you have your mapping and signals. God Save the Empress!"
The pilots and staff officers rose to attention smartly.

Aboard Amphibious Transport Vessel Lohengrin

Helicopters were warming up engines, and last minute checks of the landing hovercraft were being done. The soldiers began to feel hope that this was not another damned drill, but the real thing, that they could get off the stinking tubs at last. They could tell by the excited posture of the officers.
Major-General Pemsel was a heavy featured man, blunt fingered, a peasant by birth but a successful soldier. He was one of the rare members of the army who had a good idea of how to do an amphibious landing as well as any marine officer. Studying his orders again, he sternly forbade himself to be pessimistic. But the fact was that the best landing area for the hovercraft--close enough to the city to capture a valuable road or two but not close enough to be casually shelled by artillery--was a vast area of salt marshes. The hovercraft would move as close as they could up to drier land, but it would be the very devil to land on.
Nevertheless, he would do his duty. The whole Imperial 7th Mechanized Division would.
He glanced up, sensing a change, and saw troops at barked orders from NCOs marching up to helicopters and down to the loading areas for the landing craft. Hydraulic groans and whines were heard as the vast clamshell doors of the ship began to open.

The Fleet Command Carrier Hofburg

Prince von Seydlitz only affected languidness. He made himself casually put binoculars to his eyes beside Admiral Tachteberg, to suppress his nervous excitement. As the youngest Field Marshal in the Lavenrunzian Army, he had a lot to live up to.
Admiral Tachteberg coolly said, "Operations--you may begin to launch the assault."
They all glanced round as they heard the high pitched scream of the first jets streaking off the flight deck, and saw others leaving the decks of the other carriers. The drone of helicopter rotors began to fill the air as they in turn rose from the amphibious ships' decks like a swarm of iron hornets.

General Sadat to gathered Government and Lavenrunz officers

The fighting will be horrid, it will be brutal, and the enemy is fanatical and will give no retreat

Therefore be brutal yourselves, crush the viper traitors, do not be afraid to demolish all before you

we are fighting traitors, honorless dogs. Never forget it.

In the city of tovin
“MOVE!
I want that equipment out before dawn, I want no heavy equipment left in any of our safe houses”
Commander Anwar spoke harshly but he knew it was what his men needed
He wasn’t going to let any of his men or material be lost needlessly against the superior forces of the government and her foreign allies. Everything they needed had to be taken into the jungles.
Of course this didn’t mean they weren’t going to oppose the invader, even now local militants rallied by the local council and some of his U.M.B men were preparing defences including the infamous “foxhole stingers” , a tactic taught to them by the C.L.A. even a handful of C.L.A men were in about.
Around the city defences were going up rapidly , but Anwar knew they wouldn’t help much, but the idea was to give the attacker a bloody nose.
“how many refugees have fled the city?
Älot sir. But the bulk of the populace is staying. For better or worse this is their land.
Änwar nodded, the city was and always had been relatively defenceless and now armies bore down on it.

Submarine N.S.S Medina
"signal Lavenrunz fleet escorts of our approach"
Captain Talif Omar, the Sultans cousin tapped his cup of tea
"Ï dont want to be sunk while we're covering our surface escorts"

With a constant roar, the Krieghunds, Feuerkatzen and Seekonig helicopters moved inland.
Captain Model of the Krieghund squadron led his flight towards the outskirts of the city. An observation plane had noticed anti-tank defenses going up; he received a mission to bombard them. His adrenaline was up; he glanced at the picture of the Empress taped to his control board and then gave orders for the flight of ground attack fighters to move in.
At the same time, two squadrons of Seekonig helicopters, covered by Valkyr Attack helicopters and Fledermauss Scout helicopters swarmed towards a bridge and road junction, ready to land a battalion of Para-Commandos.

The hovercrafts moved up through the shallows and the murk of the salt marsh, spraying mud and sand and water as they rumbled easily towards the dry land. Helicopters hovered above, watching for ambush. In the cupolas of the vehicles, gunners and missile troops were wary. The soldiers inside grimly prepared themselves for what they might receive.
"Remember the drill!" barked junior officers and NCOs. "Get onto the dry land and head for the unit's objective--don't stop for anything!"
Out farther where the amphibious ships cavernous openings yawned, more hovercraft were moving out. Beyond that lay the fleet, watching the embarkation...

Lohengrin's captain received a message from a North Star submarine. A message was sent in response:
To Captain: North Star Submarine Medina
We are aware of your signature. Please advise of any noteworthy sonar contacts.
Captain Hochswender,
Commander, IKM Lohengrin

Tovon City
“there is a beauty in futility ! remember Hussein and the blood of the divine household martyrs!”
These words of Ayatollah Kizma sounded from the cities PA system

The outskirts defenses soon erupted in a explosion of color, as the Lavenrunz air attacks struck at the outlying make-shift defenses. Local militants in fox-holes and hastily made tank traps being no match for the air superiority of the Lavenrunz and government airstrikes.
Even so, shoulder launched stingers fired back at any targets.

Commander Anwar was well gone by this stage, he had handed the local militant commander all the excess ammo and equipment he had, but still Anwar knew it would only lead to a short term ‘day of glory’

Mullah Unis , now acting commander of all U.M.B and local militant forces , was desperately drawing up planes, even as the airstrikes began against the defenses outside the city.
“My Lord, I believe we should force the enemy into the city, it is the only way”
Unis looked over his aid, a far too thin Iesus Christian in his late 30’s.
“But Patrick, many thousands of civilians may die. No. will die!”
The Iesus veteran of a thousand guerrilla conflicts just shrugged his shoulders
‘we’ll kill theirs too. Besides” he threw the Mullah the latest report. “they are already demolishing those ridiculous defenses outside the town. Make a stand inside the city proper!”
The Mullah sighed, in his heart he knew he shouldn’t but his brain said something different
“order all forces to man the defense line inside the city. Blessed are those who die in the name of Islam! Destroy anything and everything to slow our enemy!”


Sunit Bridge post
at the Sunit bridge, the small section assigned their saw what was coming, hell was coming upon them
“I’ll be _____. Death to the Sultan! Freedom for our peoples!”
The section commander tarif screamed and his mean roared with him
“allahu Akbar”
The training they had wasn’t the best, but many were veterans of the Sultans army. They knew that they’d have to hold as long as possible.
Tarif could already hear sporadic firing from his men at the landing enemy , so he whispered into his communications array as his men rushed to their foxholes. “Jupiter rising. Jupiter rising”

Sunit Bridge
Lieutenant von Roggendorf of the Para-Commandos found his heart was pounding, his hands slick and needed to be brushed against his trouser legs as the Seekonig helicopter rushing earthwards bore him towards the landing zone.
"Alright," he cried, "Be ready to follow me!" He heard affirmative noises from the troops, but mostly the sound of last second checks on clips and arms. All around him, the birds carrying the rest of the company were moving in around the bridge. Sparklike tracer rounds zipped past, some hitting; he saw a volley click and then acquire the tail rotor of a transport and saw it begin to dangerously spin, and then slam down on its side, rotors breaking as they struck ground. In another he saw men and women lurching, torn up by ground fire. But then a Valkyr hovered down like the world's deadliest hummingbird and targeted the fire direction with a sweep of blazing death from its gatling guns.
Down, down...and he was away, crouching and running, waving on his platoon. He felt an awe as he saw Major Wolfmar, the company commander, waving him on, standing casually as though on a parade ground. Two of the grenadiers knelt at a sergeant's order and fired smoke grenades for cover. Seeing the Lieutenant's expression, Wolfmar grimaced. "Scheiss, Lieutenant, I'm not a kid anymore, I can't just jump up, crouch down that quick. Get a move on!"
They could see helicopters bearing another battalion off towards the railroad as the Major spoke.

Krieghund Squadron

Captain Model felt godlike as he flew over the city. His warning system display indicated incoming attack; he tilted the aircraft in time to avoid a ground to air missile. "Watch it," he warned his flight. "Stingers! We're going to turn round and get the bastards."
The six Krieghunds of his flight rogered their response, and pivoted to come in on a low attack dive, their gatling guns loaded and ready.

The Sea Landing

The big hovercraft transports opened up to let the light infantry and mechanized units move down the ramps.
The division's scouts were eight wheeled Vogelhund APCs with 25mm autocannon, and were called the 8th Uhlans. Ages ago they had been mercenary cavalry that swore allegiance to the crown. Now, mechanized, they swept forward as they had in latter days, seeking out the enemy so that heavier forces behind could crush them. They were carrying twelve infantry in each of the thirty vehicles of the squadron, who would dismount on foot at the sign of possible ambush or contact. Lieutenant-Colonel Brauer, the commander, rode tall, standing out of the hatch at first, so she could get a good lay of the land, but as they rolled away from the landing area she ducked back down and began overseeing her unit from the computer screens of her command vehicle.
Colonel Scheer, commanding the 24th Fusiliers, was proud of his troops as they marched off the ramps and began to move by platoons along with the sixty tanks of the 7th Lancers. He knew that cadets as young as seventeen and soldiers normally assigned to depots had, desperate for action, joined the unit in Lavenrunz.
Somehow, Commander von Neurath, the Landing Area Officer, managed to sort out who was to land where, where artillery should begin landing so that they would be in tandem with their ammunition vehicles and covering infantry units, where the field ambulance units should arrive, and how to keep the three mechanized regiments from becoming a snarl of apcs, trucks and hum-vees.

Field Marshal Prince von Seydlitz to General Sadat:
My dear sir,
I am delighted to inform you that with God's help we have landed the first of our divisions and are moving towards the city. God Save the our gracious sovereigns.

Sunit Bridge
“for Gods sake. Run! Cover!”

Covering his comrades with his assault rifle , Akram fired widely at where he assumed the enemy was approaching from through the smoke. He didn’t really aim as he fired, he just squeezed the trigger and let rip death at the enemy.

Past him his friends ran, falling back from the tide of better equipped and trained Lavenrunz forces.

“I’ll stay!”

Akram just shot his youngest brother a glance, and the boy withdrew with the rest of the men to the more dense swamp areas.

The wind swirled from the rotors of the Lavenrunz helis, and the air was hot with the rounds ripping from the gatling weapons of the foreign invaders, but still Akram fired, hoping to buy time for the withdrawal.

Akram glanced around, the numbers of landing lavenrunz forces was overwhelming the tiny forces at the bridge, but even so he saw tracer , rocket and rocket propelled grenade fired from ‘safer’ posistions at Lavenrunz LZ.

“____ you and your Empress!”

Akram leant against the stone bridge and took careful aim at a figure moving through the smoke screen. Squeezing the trigger of his assault rifle more carefully this time, Akram howled for joy as he saw the figure collapsed on the ground
But then Akram howled with pain and his world went black

Sunit Bridge

"Incoming!"
As mortar shells and RPG round screamed towards units of the Para-Commandos, the elite soldiers were still following their training; Here and there soldiers screamed or moaned on the ground, ripped up by the mortars and RPGs. These were causing more casualties than small arms, most of which were making a lot of noise but doing little damage.
Lieutenant von Roggendorf was hurrying along through the smoke and confusion, leading his platoon which was spread out in a staggered formation. To his left, a squad point soldier dropped, and by instinct and training he zeroed on the flash of the enemy weapon and fired a quick burst.
He rushed to a thick railing on the bridge and crouched there, motioning for his platoon sergeant.
"Have First Squad check for demolitions under the bridge." he ordered.
Overhead, a pair of Valkyr attack helicopters were engaging the thicker brush and swamp protected heavy weapon units, but Roggendorf wondered how much effect they were having, for all that the blur of gatling gun fire and rain of shell casings was impressive.
Seeing that the Forward Observer was lying down, teeth clenched in agony as two medics struggled to deal with a piece of metal stuck in his leg, Major Wolfmar motioned for his RTO. "Gold Stick, this is Able Six. Do you copy? Over."
"Go ahead Able Six."
He quickly sent in orders for an artillery attack on the marsh.

Farther back near the landing zone, Captain von Krupp, Imperial 8th Field Artillery, was relayed an order by her battalion commander. She typed the coordinates into the computer and watched, feeling a sense of gratification as the huge barrels of her battery of 155mm howtizers swiveled towards an unseen target. Each was inscribed in latin with blessings from the Monarch and the Archbishop.
"Ready?" she asked.
The Chief Bombardier nodded. "Ready, your Honour!"
"Fire!"

Coastal landings
Elements of the 'Sultans own' guards and 5 sections of the ‘heavy’ armor corps had been sent to meet up with the landing forces.
Driving from inland, these forces meet almost no resistance. áfew snipers not stopping heavy armor.
Lead by the young, and royally connected Major Masaq , these forces arrived armed with the latest the army had to offer .
With some surprise and joy Masaq drove in his open topped jeep to greet the already secure lavenrunz forces.

Army HQ
General Sadat read the message and looked at the viewer
“they move fast these new allies, tell Major Masaq he has the honor of leading the assault from the lavenrunz beach landing zones inland against Tovin city itself. I assume our allies will agree a drive in after afew days pounding will be good. combined strike into a crater should be easy enough”

To:Lavenrunz forces
From: General Sadat.
Your technical ability and skills will live in the minds of our people forever. God be praised.

prince Rassaq #6 squadren
“Lavenrunz K. they are getting some flak”

“Confirm-Attack pattern standard”

“Roger”

The 12 aero-skiff fighterbombers came in high over the city, each pilot locking onto a ‘hostile’ target. Be it a building , trench or vehicle

“fire at will”

“Roger”

Each of the sleek grey aircraft loosed its ‘deadeye’ cluster bomb at its target, within moments turning whole blocks of the city into rubble.

“confirm to lavenrunz aircrops. Goal to smash all resistance. Operation punishment to begin. Order remaining squadron in. warn our noble allies that our rebels have radar gatling AA and other ADVANCED anti air weapons.”

and as if to prove his point, the wing commanders wing man suddenly broke formation, a trail of black smoke coming from his port engine. his craft already starting to dive at a steep angle


that day began the massed airstrikes on tovin city, over 100 of his majesties own bombers and fighter bombers began to bomb the city back into prehistory.

When the North Star fighter units began to concentrate on the city, the Krieghundand Feuerkatz squadrons wheeled off to concentrate on supporting the landings and on preventing any large groupings of enemy forces in the open.
Prince von Seydlitz ordered that helicopters were to return to the ship, to pick up more troops. The Para-Commando Brigade was doing its best to move in on all the significant roads, rails and bridges around the city. General Mondorf, their commander, went in with the next wave.

Lieutenant-Colonel von Brauer, commanding the 8th Uhlans, warmly greeted Major Masaq. A field journalist caught the moment as the two commanders exchanged friendly salutes in the field.
"Long live the Sultan!" called von Brauer as his Vogelhund rolled along the road. He did not flinch as a sniper's round cracked off the hull of the vehicle.

Sunit bridge
Joshua loaded the mortar and fired at the smoke, his companion was already dead and now Joshua alone loaded the mortar and looped rounds at the LZ. He didn’t hate the Lavenrunzians personally but he hated them for helping the sultan, he hated them for the occupation of Surya, and he hated them for making him leave his already struggling family in Tovin.
Again Joshua loaded and fired at the enemy

Then the feared noise of heavy artillery cut through the sky, and the marshes became graves for many men who’s only crime was defending their homes.

Again foreign firepower held the day, just like it had 150 years before.

But still the militants fought on best they could, but soon the full retreat was occurring. Fleeing or hiding in the hopes to take the fight to the enemy another day.

A half hearted sounding explosion from a light mortar round hitting the bridge was the sole attempt to bring it down, and advancing paracommandos found not explosives but dying men.


Beach landing

Lieutenant-Colonel von Brauer was greeted equally warmly. Few if any locals were within miles of the event.

“Praise be the Empress and death to traitors and villains! Soon we must sit and discuss the glorious advance into the city of vipers! I see already over head your loyal fighters covering us!
The sultan is most keen we do this job effiently and quickly”

The major paused

“already we have began the softening up of the target and the tentacles of our advancing armor has cut off the city from the jungle. Oh and I hear your paracommandos are bringing victory in the name of God also.”

The major handed Von Braur a CD

“you may find these helpful. Known U.M.B people. Faces and names. The sultan ‘requests’ you hand them over to our authorities if you should happen to capture any?"

The Major looked over the landing craft

"and of course being you are our guests we will use our infrastructure to supply your forces.
Also we have with us advisors.
Cultural advisors for your units. Combat trained of course at our military intelligence academy"

Sunit Bridge

Major Wolfmar strode confidently onto the bridge, ignoring a stray mortar shell shrieking down nearby. He spoke into the radio.
"General, I have the honour to inform you that the umbrella is open." he grinned.
Lieutenant von Roggendorf led his platoon across the bridge in skirmish order. He was muddy, bloody and full of adrenaline,--but just as ancestors had carried bright banners, so did he lead the way.

Landing

Lieutenant-Colonel von Brauer received the CD with a polite bow of the head. "Thank you, Major. I am sure my superiors will be grateful to receive this." he listened carefully to the offers made, and said, "As far as I know, Major, the fleet can at the moment supply us with all we need, but the offer is most generous and I will pass it on to the General of course. The courtesy of North Star is beyond all tradition. It would be my honour to in some fashion return it."
"As to advisors--" he gestures to the landing area. "Commander von Neurath is the Landing Area commander, and he can put one of your aides in touch with our staff."
"Now, if you'd join me a moment..." he waves his vehicle out of the advancing unit. "Our plan is essentially to move into the city under cover from air and tank units, and capture it district by district. Once this has begun, the III Corps will begin landing and moving units to occupy the surrounding countryside. What instructions do you have from General Sadat, Major?"

North Star tactical fleet command
Admiral Vikram, brother of the noted Mulah read the recent statment from SATO about their version of history.

"Beat us twice have they. Move the screening vessels closer, I want continued 2:1 tactical odds over our guests.
and send a invite to the lavenrunz admiral to a dinner and victory parade after this is all over"

"where sir?"

"oh i believe the victory islands will do. I believe they once knew them as the channel islands. let us remind our allies not to rewrite history because Iesus is silent. my brother fairs well from our victory in that war, much of his hard currency comes from Iesus via 'ieno' trade"

the command staff laughed. Everyone here knew the trick behind the 'ieno' war . the liberation of all the reich and the endless flow of cash out of the war had made it perfection.


when the losser gets wine and land, maybe he didnt lose so much
actual North star proverb

Landing
"I hope you will find our nation to your pleasure. that of it you will see of course and our orders are simple. wait for the bombers to destroy the vipers then we roll in and crush all before us
General Sadat would be pleased if victory would come quickly and I would also"

Tovin city
The horror had started. flames and explosions dotted the city
no-one was safe from the death rained from above.

The Landings

Prince von Seydlitz strode down the ramp of a hovercraft and onto the marshy ground of North Star. Tall, fair haired and with commanding features, he was immediately recognized by the troops, who remembered him from the liberation of Ienotheisa.
The rest of the III Corps began to make their landing.

The Sunit Bridge

Major Wolfmar proudly saluted as the vanguard of the 8th Uhlans rolled over the bridge towards Tovin. Lieutenant-Colonel von Brauer returned the salute. Smoke wavered past as the armored vehicles rumbled over the bridge. Patches of burning ground and bodies being lined up for identification were in the background. The Para-Commandos had begun to do a sweep of the general area. In the distance there was a sound of small arms fire, followed by the heavier CRUMP CRUMP of 40mm grenades.

O Noble allies of heaven
I give you leave to use the facilities in the port city of Shar-El. May your fleet and men find rest within this great port city of Islam.
I assure you the people will be polite and act in accordance with the pillars of Islam.

~Sultan Omar~

o.o.c: for use for R&R and basing. Should you think it needed. It is the nearest major port to Tovin and ‘the south’ and also is a majority clan omar city.


The landings
Officers of the royal army watch the exercise. Many talked with keen interest in the new 'western' tactics and Major Masaq pointed out units of note to his men while officers of the Military police ensure the few civies who are around are kept in line

Chaplains stood by the roads that the 8th Uhlans, 24th Fusiliers and 19th Lancers were rumbling by.
"Blessed be the Lord my strength!" they prayed loudly. "Which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: my goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust: who subdueth my people under me..."
Before them, towers of smoke and fields of smouldering flame and shattered buildings lay where they had no doubt their enemies still lay in wait. The Uhlans slowed, and the 1st battalion of the 24th Fusiliers dismounted.
The Para-Commandos not holding the roads moved into the area of the city to scout for enemy activity. Helicopters droned overhead, acting as observers and as a liason to the combat air units.
Like great leashed in hounds, Grendel III main battle tanks growled and rumbled, slowing as the infantry began to spread into skirmish lines to move forward...

To his Royal Majesty the Sultan
We are most grateful for your kindness, which surpasses the expectations even of the great princes of the Earth. Surely you are like a river of bounty to your guests and your people! On behalf of all Her Majesty's forces which are acting with yours to pursue the vile rebels which plague our lands, I thank you.
Your humble and obedient servant
Frederick Gustav Prince von Seydlitz
Field Marshal, Imperial Expeditionary Force in Tovin


(Note: each squad of regular Lavenrunzian infantry has 5 riflemen, 1 gunner with a Carl Gustav rocket launcher, 1 machinegunner, 1 section leader. Regular infantry use the G-3 assault rifle. Each platoon also has a heavy weapon squad which has another Carl Gustav and two riflemen with over/under grenade launchers)

Major Masaq and the officers of the varies armored and infantry commands gathered, [hopefully along with some of their lavenrunz allies] for a briefing on the coming assault

As general Sadat put it over the ‘linkcomm’

“The city has been cut off and now simply awaits for our forces to drive into it. Already hundreds of missions have struck the rebel city from the air and will continue until we drive triumpant into the viper’s nest!
I hope Lavenrunz forces will join with us in the air assault upon the city, attacking listed targets such as enemy supply points and defences.
I am proud to announce that Major Masaq will represent not only myself but also the glorified Sultan himself! Major Masaq will spearhead North Star forces into the city proper once the time comes!”


Around Tovin City
North Star heavy armor and artillery units from the circling government armies move within striking positions of the city. While Infantry and fast moving units move along the çorridor lavenrunz paras have created.
In a clear show of force, Lavenrunz units are outnumbered atlest 2:1 on the ground, and even more regular infantry battalions flow from the north of the country to aid the ‘siege’
[think soviet forces around Grozny]

Landing
Security commander Wuvav Ismael , new 'head advisor' to lavenrunz allied forces couldnt help thinking the large amount of 'crusader prayer' wasnt going to help public views. He made a mental note to tell someone in command esp before the lavenrunz forces had any R&R in Shar-El

Present at General Sadat's meeting were Field Marshal Prince von Seydlitz and Lieutenant-General Hausmann of the III Corps with elements of their staff. Von Seydlitz vouched for the Imperial Air Force. Another Krieghund Squadron was arriving from Surya with orders to assist, as well as an entire Group of Feuerkatz Fighter Bombers.

Around the City

Major Wolfmar moved through the cover of rubble, smoke and haze of dust at the outskirts of Tovin. His company was spread into platoons who were in turn in squads, moving cautious and swift as wolves. They listened carefully for anything that might hint at an attack. The RTOs were linked to Fledermauss Scout helicopters that hovered above the city.

Outskirts of the city
Snipers and forward observers watched for any signs of movement into the city proper.
Commander of the City- Mullah Unis called these men the ‘vanguard of freedom’ but the men themselves had little illusions about the futility of their roles as they reported back on the vast armies gathering against them.
Even the occasional snap of a rifle sending a ínvader’ crashing to the earth dead wouldn’t matter in the long run , but it didn’t stop the forward snipers and observers doing just that.

Even as jets roared overhead young sniper Salaq Malli reported back the movements of government and lavenrunz recons.
As Salaq whispered into his comm set, he only wished he had carried out his Haj before this day.
With 2 grenades and a simple A-80 Automatic rifle with built in scope, Salaq prepared to defend his homeland and report enemy movements till he breathed no longer, like Joshua , Salq didn’t do this for glory, he did it for his family and his people.

Inside the city
“Move the children into the catacombs , Oh God give us peace!”

Sister Anne of the perpetual Mercy sisters helped move the littlest of the children into the relative saftey offered by the catacombs of the Church of the holy Infant. Dozens of young families had arrived over the last hours seeking refugee and safety from the falling bombs.
And even with the sometimes less than ecumenical atmosphere in the city, Sister Anne refused to turn the Muslim families away.

“let me help you, sister Carmel, please bring more blankets”

A explosion sounded. It was close by, so close Anne could hear the screams of the wounded.
She prayed to God to give her strength not to hate those who where bombing her beloved city into the Stone Age.
The screams outside eat at Anne. She had to see what she could do.

“Carmel, take over here, i'll be back shortly” and picking up her medical bag, Sister Anne left the church to aid the injured.



“ Shai-in qadeer!”

Muhammed Kufr raised his eyes to heaven as he struggled to tend to the wounds of the man before him.
The mans wounds being the result of the most recent indiscrimanant airstrike of the invaders.

“Move the wounded into theback of the basement, and give me more light”

Kufr looked around at the carnage, the wounded kept pouring into the hospital basement, he wished for the world he could use the main building but it was already rubble and flame from the impact of one of the early attacks.

“Nurse hold him down!”

the patient struggled as Kufr jabbed the surgical knife into his flesh. So much shrapnel was through the victims body Kufr was almost sure he wouldn’t survive. Still he had to try.
Outside, men and women struggled to deal with the wounded and dying , while the local militants put up a valiant AA screen against incoming attacks.
Families had locked themselves in their houses and prayed the deadly missiles would avoid them, still others fled to the Mosques and the few churches, seeking shelter their from the payloads of death. Still many aided the tending the wounded and putting out fires. There was work for any who saught it.
The wounded man before Kufr jolted upright and screamed

“Nurse. Please. Hold him still. Shai-in Qadeer! He has supreme power!”

Ninety self propelled Garm 155mm guns were arrayed in strategic points towards the city. Two battalions totally 24 Landsknecht missile launchers likewise.
Reports had come in of the Para-Commando scout units taking casualties from snipers. In turn, the Para-Commandos had encircled danger areas and marked them, then stealthily withdrawn.
The order came to fire, and thunder and fire rained down before the advancing infantry and armor like a cataclysm. Creeping just behind the barrage, through the smoke and ruin, came the infantry, treading like men and women walking into a storm--which they were--and the rumbling KM-25 infantry fighting vehicles, Vogelhund APCs and the Grendel III main battle tanks.

"Advance"

the slow movement of Royal infantry and armor joined in with the methodical Lavenrunz advance and barrage, while in the hell caused by the shells from armor and artillery just added to the living hell the civilians were living in.
The roar of the closing guns shocked everyone’s souls. From churhes to basements, all feared the coming storm

“For God, Mullah Unis and freedom!”
Units of the Militia and the few U.M.B waited for the chance to make the enemy pay. From their positions they waited to open up.
More pride and honor keeping them at their stations as the deadly enemy approached.

None of the veterans of the advancing Lavenrunzian units really expected a cakewalk, but after walking behind an artillery barrage, small arms fire is like being buzzed by mosquitos. As flashes of rifle and mortar fire were seen by the leading troops, the 24th Fusiliers and the 8th Uhlans, squad leaders motioned for the advance! Attack, attack, always attack in response to attack, the training manual exclaimed.
In ages past, the Duke of Zwoll's Own Lancers and 8th Uhlans had thundered to the charge with lances and sabres ready. In another era, they had volleyed with carbines as they rode at a trot. Now, the 120mm barrels and 25mm barrels boomed in support of the infantry as they advanced through the smouldering rooms of the city.

doubepost madness

Whole blocks of the city were being demolished as the lavenrunz and government forces moved into the city.
Families either fled or died in the approaching firestorm.

Squads of resistance militants rushed through streets and the deep sewers to their positions in the rubble of the outer CBD.
calmly setting up in the crumbling smoked filled buildings, the men and even women prepared themselves.
Their weapons were varied, large amount of foreign rocket propelled grenades and anti tank rockets provided the ‘backbone’ of the squads. While smgs and assault rifles were the mainstay weapon of the resistance.

From their positions, they waited. Waited till they knew there AT weapons would have some effect. Few of the defenders abandoned their defenses as they waited and suffered under the barrage fire. There was no where to flee , their only option was to fight .

“fire!”

From pulverized buildings and smoke filled streets the defenders opened fire in strength.
No more lone snipers, but organized resistance faced advancing invading forces. They planned to make advantage of the rubble that the enemy was providing them.

From the relative safety of his turret, Captain Abull watched the street in-front of him burst into a firefight. In-front of him he saw a line of his men vanish in a cloud of flame as a mortar round landed amongst them. From rubble and buildings came heavy arms fire.

“target 120 degrees. Elevation 34! FIRE!”

The heavy dull sound of the tank firing echoed through the tank, and a massive explosion devastated the apartment building he had taken aim at. Debris showered the street but still fire came from the apartment and a jet of flame shot from the lower door, Engulfing the light open toped North star APC directly next to Abulls tank.

“ All units fire on my target, Fire! ”

Abull’s cannon fired and so did the guns of his two sister tanks. This time the entire building seemed to exploded, and rubble crashed down into the street almost blocking it off completely.
No more incoming fire came from that building but from another location came the ‘woosh’ and flash of a AT rocket, closely followed by another similar projectile fired from almost directly behind Abulls tank.
The tank to Abulls left burst into flames as these two rockets impacted on her, and with horror Abull watched as his comrades were mowed down by light arms fire as they leapt clear from the burning tank.

“new target, 33 degrees, elevation 37, FIRE! We need more infantry support. Clear that rubble before and aft of the enemy!”

OOC:Two things.
One: I believe I had stated that the infantry preceeded my forces.
Also, why the hell do I have an open topped APC? What do you think I am...Albania or something? Anyway...
IC:

The 24th Fusiliers came under mortar and machinegun fire as well, but responded with 85mm rockets and light mortars of their own, provided cover so that they could move up with grenades and assault weapon fire.
The other infantry units found that they got constant orders howled into their radios, advance, advance! In the Empress' Name, advance!
Helicopter flights were called in to spot attacks for the tanks and infantry.

Captain Abdul's request got a response.
First was a pair of Valkyr Attack Helicopters, that rattled down out of the sky, sending a barrage of missiles and gatling gun rounds into the area the mortar fire had come from.
From the first line of reserves, "A" Company of the 8th Uhlans was dispatched to drive up through the shattered streets. Captain Teobald Duhrer had his jaw clenched. One thing he regarded as a nightmare was street fighting. Landing on foreign shores was one thing, but with all the broken landscape, shadows, smoke and changing angles of fire, ambush haunted you every step of the way. Soldiers watched out of firing ports as they moved along the street, passing light infantry units and Para-Commandos on the way. They could see a field dressing station being set up already, Hum-Vees with red crosses on one side and red crescents on the other.
According to prearranged signals, he sent a warning to Captain Abdul that his unit was on it's way--ETA about ten minutes.

OOC:
The Vogelhund APC is eight wheeled, and is entirely sealed, though it has firing ports and several hatches, including two rear doors. It mounts a 25mm autocannon with a coaxial 7.62 machinegun and a pintel mounted 7.62 machinegun. It carries a crew of 3 + 12 infantry.
The KM-25 IFV is a tracked vehicle, with a similar autocannon and machinegun mount but instead of the coaxial gun it has a twin Berserkr Anti-Armor missile launcher.
The Grendel III Main Battle Tank has a 120mm gun, a .50 caliber machinegun, and 425mm of armor plus a layer of reactive armor.

o.o.c: well I assume things get a little less coordinated during combined operations in a city setting. Sometimes armor just naturally gets ahead/or falls behind-especially during combined operations-One of the issues with street/city fighting. i'm not doubting your nations[or mines] military skills just street fighting isnt really the friend of organisation. things tend to go at there own speed.
secondly opened topped APCs are not uncommon in north star simply due to the high temperatures. [also the difference between open-topped and covered with firing ports when it comings to a flame thrower attack is marginal anyhow] so i assumed[wrongly] you'd also have afew on this operation too.
I have changed it to a north star open-topped vehicle instead. I hope this corrects the issue
And 425mm of armor plus a layer of reactive armor.? That’s 42cms. That’s a lot of armor[compared to any tank in human history].
Weight wise your tanks would get bogged in wouldn’t they? Or was it a miss type and you meant 42.5mm? O.o


i.c:
The lavenrunz helis power overhead and coordinated fire of the ‘allied’ forces began to silence the resistance in this block but at the same time turning it to tricky to pass terrian. Still NS armor wasn’t keen to advance without strong infantry support.
Already more experienced units of the local U.M.B had fallen back fromt his section, beginning the fighting retreat.
Militia kept up their fire as the heavier armed forces withdrew, while shoulder mounted AA’s further back waited for any target of chance.

Abull watched government forces sweep forward through the rubble into one of the fallen buildings, from inside came the sounds of gunfire and the thud of heavier grenades

“tank 3 forward”

The heavy Goliath tank rumbled forward, its guns blazing in suppressing fire. Around her infantry stalked forward , hunting the enemy, firing at anything that moved.
The Goliath crashed over the makeshift barricade that had been erected in the street and powered through the rubble from the collapsed buildings. The tanks commander didn’t stop as he rolled over and past the dead cities defenders.
Suddenly one of these ‘dead men’ sprung to life and threw himself with satchel charge in hand at the tank as it rumbled past. The tanks gunners opened up on the charging man cutting him to pieces but not before he had thrown his ‘satchel charge’ at the tank.
The charge exploded directly on the right track of the tank, bringing her to a dead stop. The massive frame of the Goliath tank blocking the already difficult to navigate street.


Abull growled, this advance was going much slower than expected.

"MOTHERRRRRRR! Oh, God, it huuuuuuurts..."
Major Wolfmar crouched with his headquarters squad and one of the rifle platoons from his company. Somewhere up above them in one of the half ruined taller buildings there was a pair of snipers. A dead Fusilier and another wounded, groaning like a child for her mother, lay in a more open area of rubble.
The screams tore at everyone there, but they were all disciplined, and Wolfmar's confident orders kept them where they were, firing occasionally, making attempts to bring out the wounded.
But meanwhile, Sergeant-Major Katzenburg and Lieutenant Roggendorf were leading two squads of the best Para-Commandos at sneaking and camouflage to flank the building. Wolfmar wanted to make sure it wasn't a larger ambush for more troops, with say a controlled minefield or hidden RPG or mortar battery. He wanted to cross himself, hearing those agonized screams. He forced himself to be almost brutally calm. The junior officers and NCOs took a page from his book.

Captain Duhrer--the rank in Lavenrunzian was Rittmeister--ordered his Vogelhunds up towards the sound of the big Goliath guns booming. It sounded like gods doing battle in the smoke and dust, but he knew that the tanks, powerful as they were, could be ambushed by the more nimble enemy foot units. The apcs aimed their autocannons to cover the advance of their troops as the double doors slammed open. Expecting possible enemy fire, the squads of the company went for cover and began to make ready to advance. Duhrer looked round for his headquarters squad and motioned to the recon platoon leader. "Let's get in contact with the Sultan's armor." he ordered.

OOC: I'm sorry. I misread something in a book. Let's just say it has 'composite chobham laminate armor' or some such damn thing. It's a modern mbt.
Lavenrunzian apcs probably have air conditioning. ;)

Salaq Malli watched the wounded Lavenrunz trooper through his scope, he didn’t understand what the wounded lavenrunzian was saying but he got the gist.
Salaq Malli resisted the urge to help the wounded crying man, and instead swept the area with his scope, looking for anyone foolish enough to aid the dying trooper.
His brother sniper was also in the building, Salaq wasn’t quite sure where, but he knew he had his right was covered and that the several mines they had deployed would play havoc with the minds of even the most experienced Lavenrunz commando.

Salaqs scope came to rest on one man, a younger man like himself , who kept popping his head up behind a burnt out car, clearly the man was struggling with the idea of rushing out to aid his fallen comrade.

Taking careful aim, Salaq waited for his head to pop up again

“God grant all peace”

Salaq fired. He wasn’t sure if he had hit or not.
Whispering praise and glory to God, teenage Salaq crawled to a new firing position


Captain Abull swept his tank targeting scope over the approaching vogelhunds , instinctually he targeted them as they advance, ignoring the fact they were firing into enemy positions

“incoming targets mark 1--”

Captain Abull couldn’t help but laugh outloud at his near tragic mistake.

“cancel that. Incoming friendlies mark 180. Inform infantry commander yassar of their arrival”

The radio/vis operator sent off the message and Abull shouted off new target coordinates.

The Sunit Bridge

Joshua woke up from his haze.
He was over whelmed by the taste of blood in his mouth
Then pain shot through his body, running from the side of his hip up to his left shoulder.
He groaned and almost wept with the pain.
Then he heard it-foreign voices. Joshua struggled to turn to find his gun, but his body wouldn’t respond.
He struggled to speak, to make his last will known to God

“Lord take me home!”


o.o.c: its cool , was thinking that was abit big but its all good now o.O
and opened topped have their advantages, you may want to look into buying some. quicker unit deployment etc. they arnt so Albanian 0.0

An almost inaudible hiss stopped Lieutenant von Roggendorf in his tracks. He looked behind him. Sergeant Steiner gestured down ahead of him, near his feet, and made the sign for "mine". The young Para-Commando officer broke into a sweat and remained still. He instead focused on aiming at the field of fire in front of him, trusting his team. He knew what would be happening: Steiner would be beckoning Bauman, the demolitions expert, up to deal with it.
The others in the unit, doing their best to just seem part of the exposed and twisted metal and broken concrete around them, stayed very still, weapons ready. They heard a shot fired but did not move; it wasn't aimed at them.
Behind the wrecked car, Junior Corporal Grossbart shuddered; he thought it had been close...then he realized that he was being held by Private Meyer, and that he was getting awfully faint. Meyer struggled to keep his hand over the wound in Grossbart's neck, but the artery seemed like a malicious snake, twisting in the wound to spray as much blood as it could...the wound an awful mess. "Medic!" hissed Meyer.
One of the medics began to crawl over there, but Wolfmar snarled, "Stay where you are, Pieters."
"MOTHER!" screamed Schwartz again. Her voice shrilled in agony.
Sergeant-Major Katzenburg had put a sniper and spotter of his own behind the gutted wreck of a downed helicopter. With grim humor, he felt that it would be grand if the casualty was able to assist in killing more of the enemy. Under the cover of his own sniper, he crept forward to meet the other.

Sunit Bridge

"Did you hear that?" asked Sergeant Ehrlich.
The private with him nodded. Ehrlich motioned two others of her squad into the grass, and then she and the private leapfrogged past.
The young rebel looked a mess. Ehrlich motioned for a medic to check him.
"Carefully now...these bastards sometimes have grenades ready to go attached to their clothing and stuff."

Streetfighting, Tovin

Captain Duhrer and his troops moved at a half crouch from cover to cover under the protective fire of the autocannons. He could see friendlies up ahead, and the I&R platoon hustling up to make contact.

Unlike Salaq Malli, Vercas wasn’t the type of sniper to be ultra careful. He didn’t see the need for all this sneaking about. Repositioning was a fools game, or at least that’s what Vercas thought.
He was 19, handsome, strong and had a deep desire to earn himself a place in the history books .

“perfect”

Vercas grinned. A medic wasn’t being as careful as he should be. Vercas watched the man edge around a fallen pillar.
Taking aim, Vercas fired. The recoil of his weapon jolting him back from the window

“must of hit him! That’s 3!”

Vercas leant forward to check on his ‘kill’, his lack of experience and his pride over coming common sense and the tiny amount of training he had received.

Salaq heard the shot, and then heard a burst of weapons fire .
Now the air was filled with not only screams in German but also with Arabic.
Salaq continued to crawl along the floor directly away from where his screaming comrade was , keeping his head and body low to the ground , he had no intention of dying today, but he had every intention of continuing the fight from a much safer place.

Soon Vercas screams became gurgles and then silence .

Sunit bridge
Joshua looked at the advancing soldiers with wide eyes, for his whole world he wished he had a weapon to fight them. Instead Joshua cursed inwardly that he was defenseless and even his body had turned traitor on him and refused to obey him.
He struggled to speak, to shout defiance at these invaders, to curse them and to tell them that he wasn’t afraid of the tortures they were going to inflict upon him but instead his voice only sounded out in weak Arabic

“Momma”

Street fighting
Infantry commander Yassar scowled as he watched the Lavnerunz APCs advance.

“we don’t need them! “

His number 2 nodded

“we’ll now Abull has his darling foreign infantry support, they can lead the way for awhile. Just as we were getting reinforcements too!. Section commanders pass the word to the arriving sections that they’ll need to stay in touch constantly..”

The Goliath tanks continued to edge forward, their nerve restored by the arriving APCs and the reinforcements for their own infantry sections.

Deep in the city

Sister Anne struggled to drag a wounded women into the church while over-head the government airforces cruised along, attacking almost anything at will, AA opposition in the city was becoming a non-event.

Von Seydlitz received reports, and knew that even as he was receiving them the front was changing. He could see a lot in the command center; the screens showed that the bogged down North Star tank movements were going ahead now. There was a lot of small unit activity in the more damaged parts of the city. Anti-aircraft fire was down to a bare minimum, and the city was now completely encircled, with the circle drawing tighter.
Outside, ammunition carriers and armored recovery vehicles were on the roll, moving up with the reserves. And he knew that on the landing ships, helicopters were being loaded up with infantry again.
Von Seydlitz made his plan to Sadat known. A battalion of infantry, the 1/4th Grenadiers, would land by helicopter a few streets behind the heaviest fighting, and attack the enemy from behind.

Sunit Bridge

Sergeant Ehrlich watched as the boy was loaded onto a stretcher and taken to a field dressing station. He would be watched...and healed up. Somehow he didn't look very soldierly to her eyes. But then she knew Lavenrunzians were equally odd to the North Star troops, who tended to assume that the women among them were men...

Snipers

Katzenburg cautiously crept into the building. He signaled for the squad behind him to move in by the numbers. Movement--his G-11 swung round by reflex, but it was a rat.
Wait a minute...
He motioned for the others to stop, and stayed so still that he almost could have heard dust settle on the floor. Dust. A few motes fell to the floor from the ceiling above. Just a few. And again. And again.
The problem was that the building they were dealing with was tough material, solid beams and all, and the odds were that if they tried to fire the squad's machinegun through it the bullets would chase them around. The sniper could on the other hand hold the only reliable looking stair against them easily. If it was the sniper. He used his earpiece radio and quietly said, "Sir."
"Go ahead, Sergeant-Major." said Wolfmar quietly.
"The sniper is directly above our position. Do you see the window with the broken neon Pink Bunny Cola sign?"
"Roger that. Keep your heads down."
Katzenburg motioned: fire in the hole.
From Wolfmar's position, the grenadiers opened fire on the upper floor.

General Sadat wasn’t so certain of the strengths of the Laverunz plan, he didn’t believe it took into account the nature of street fighting or the numbers of organised armed militants floating around. They may land and take several streets but the death toll to any inserted forces would be high.
Still, General Sadat kept his own council. It wasn’t his place to tell his Lavernuzn allies how to run their affairs, and sure enough it may shorten this bloody affair somewhat-of course it was Lavenrunz men who’d die in their droves, not his. So what did it matter to Sadat?
Nothing at all.

Sunit bridge
Joshua panicked as he drifted in and out of consciousness. His mind was full of the horrid tortures about to be inflicted upon him by his captures.
His mind spinned with images of his mother and of the crucifixion he was sure to about to suffer.

Snipers

Salaq Malli crawled faster as he heard the explosion and the hail of machinegun fire. Without a doubt he assumed another of his comrades had fallen dead. He paused only for a moment to account his ammo and check his map.
He slithered down the stairs into the bombed out bottom floor of the old apartment building, never raising his body more than was needed as he went.

“Salaq. Stop”

A sharp whisper cut through the air. Salaq looked around in surprise, and saw the waving hand of another fellow sniper pointing at the loose rocks in-front of him.

“Mine. Move slowly. Towards me”

Salaq edged himself around the rocks, barely daring to breath as he moved towards the camo hooded figure hidden amongst fallen book shelves.

“gentle as you go”

Salaq hardly needed the warning as he lifted his body sideways away from the hidden explosives.
He let out a hushed sigh of relief as he cleared the debris pile and flung himself across to his hidden helper amongst the book shelves.
He spoke in a panting whisper to the sniper.

“Inshalla Allah. He was with me then and in you. Thank you”

“anytime. Now we both better get moving. God speed Salaq”

Salaq nodded

“His Mercy be with you always Yasmine”

She smiled , nodded and crouching low , slunk further into the building., moving herself to a bottom window where she’d kill her for people.

Snipers

The rocket grenadier got a slap to the back of the helmet. From between two broken slabs of concrete, he aimed and fired the rocket. With a roar, it flew into the window above the Para-Commandos. Seconds later, there was a hollow/bell sound of a grenade launcher flying in after.
Sergeant Major Katzenburg gritted his teeth during the explosions and charged up the stairs, the others after him, and they each flung a grenade up opposite directions into the room. As he came up, one of the privates behind him, each swung their rifle in a different direction, laying down an arc of fire. The rest were swiftly coming up right after.
From his position, Lieutenant von Roggendorf, free of the grenade at last, moved his unit into the building.

Command Center, Imperial Expeditionary Force

Von Seydlitz was amused by the doubt in Sadat's voice, but he was damned if he was going to let this thing turn into Stalingrad or Grozny.
From above, the satellites were showing him pretty much exactly what was going on in the streets. Naturally, there were hidden things, things he couldn't see, and he should not presume upon them.
But fortune favours the bold.
The 9th Mechanized Division had three squadrons of helicopters available. Of those, one was mainly for attack. These three squadrons formed the Iron Guard, the Imperial Guards Carbineer Regiment. The Regimental Commander, Colonel the Markgraf von Steuben, was a steel eyed, compact man who drove his troops but had their respect for being almost entirely fearless and utterly loyal to the regiment and the Empress.
Now, watching the screens, Von Seydlitz could see the helicopters sweep over the countryside towards the city. The Valkyr Attack Helicopters led the way, their rockets and gatling guns bristling. The Fledermauss transports, in V-formations, carried squads of infantry. The units had their own heavy weapons unit, even light mortars of 60mm.
The feint came first. As if to deal a blow to the areas of toughest fighting, Krieghunds came howling out of the sky, bombs hurtling down into enemy designated areas.
Artillery flung a concentration of shells; tanks and infantry surged forward.
And the regiment of aviation swooped in among the remaining shells of buildings and untouched buildings towards their landing zone.

Sunit Bridge Field Ambulance Station

Joshua could feel his clothing being cut away. He was aware of a smell of disinfectant and of soft voices around him. A femine face blurred into focus. He heard a voice say in his own language,
"Be brave soldier..."

Not far away, soldiers waiting for orders to move towards the city were outside a group of refuelling APCs. They watched silently as a couple of trucks with body bags in the back rumbled by.
In gallows humor, an older private nudged a younger. "That's what's waiting for you up ahead."
"Better than you'll get, Hans." joked another. "They'll just give you an old poncho from one of the arabs."

the southern jungles
Further south, deep inside the jungles and mountains of the ‘vipers nest’ , the council had been called, a relative ‘who’s-who’ of the U.M.B and Local resistance forces.
All had gathered at the request of one man
Sheik Muhammed Omar, a distant cousin of the sultan and spiritual head of the U.M.B.
The aging blind near-prophet was lead to his seat by Mullah Vikram. For all porpoise it was Vikram who ran the U.M.B at the spiritual directions of the Mullahs and of Shiek Omar.
Everyone was hushed, waiting for Omar to speak. When he finally did speak his words were softly spoken and heavily labored.
"The blasphemer are raping our land, and God cries out for justice. let us remember the words of Surah Nasr. The victory of God is coming soon , we must trust in God.
So while I understand the tactical and strategic reality of our struggle, at the same time we must trust in god and strike the infidel and the blasphemer
Tovin will fall, our forces there are few. But let us make the enemy bleed and cry even as she tastes victory"

A Lavenrunz advance supply point
"Allahu Akbar-Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim! Peace with be with the nation of lavenrunz. Code 980-Bluegreen shepherd. "
The opened topped APC was flying the correct ‘colors of the day’ and the ‘watch word’ and code was also the correct one of the day for operations between Lavenrunz and Government forces. The APC waited at the makeshift security barrier of the supply depot.
A suspicious lavenrunz corporal asked their business and asked for the secondary watched word.
"Daisy and we’re here from General Sadat. Official security Business. The sultans own! Check our papers again if you like"
The Lavenrunz corporal looked over the APC, everything seemed in order but yet he didn’t feel right. Giving into his duty the corporal waved the APC through and radioed to the C.O that he had official native visitors
The APC had barely got through the security barrier , when all hell broke out.
The mounted flame thrower on the front fired, sending a column off flame over the nearest supply tent, while the soldiers jumped from the APC, charging in all directions-firing wildly and throwing grenades as they attacked.
"Allahu Akbar! Avenge our people!"
Elsewhere similar attacks were carried out at the ‘soft’ targets in the Lavenrunz supply lines, all ‘kamikaze’ groups operating with perfect codes and papers.

Snipers
That was enough for Salaq Malli, it was far to hot around here.
He hurriedly scrambled through the rubble on the street, moving himself as quickly as possible while trying to remain out of sight.
He had to get away from here, back to his ‘own lines’ , back to his comrades and safety! The battle was young and there would be plenty of other times for heroics!
Yasmine watched Salaq flee from her position. She cursed him inwardly for being such a coward , their duty had been to slow down the enemies advance and him turning tail wasn’t helping that much!
She corrected herself. Maybe he was helping.
His lack of stealth on his exit would draw the searching enemy paras away from her position . Providing her with more chances and more safety.
She settled back into her Hiddy hole at the back of the toy department and waited.
Sunit bridge
Joshua was surprised by the feminine voice mostly because to him, it sounded so much like his mother. Again he whimpered
"Momma, help me"
APCs of the Royal household guard soon arrived in the area, lead by a tough looking officer in a formal dress uniform.
"my name is Captain Yamed. We’re here to access those you’ve captured and take them into our custody. These men are criminals and are the rightful property of the Sultan"

Tovin City HQ
As soon as Sadat had found out, the commanders here had known of the incoming Lavenrunz assault.
They knew everything Sadat knew and planned to use it

Mullah Unis looked over the map.

“Make them pay in blood as they land. Ambush them. Cut the helis out from under them. Move all operation AA to that sector but don’t fire till you have them well in-lay in wait for the enemy! I want the rivers to run red with the blood of the invader!”

Patrick Bateman nodded in agreement. He would also send his few C.L.A men and their shoulder mounted stingers in. It was time to make lavenrunz bleed!

Sunit Bridge

A Lavenrunzian officer approached and said quietly, "My name is Major Rohl. I work under the Ministry of Information, and you are mistaken, Captain. Without proper authority that is co-signed by a delegated authority from the Empress I can release nothing and no one."

Lavenrunzian HQ

Von Seydlitz was in a towering rage. For him this meant that his blue eyes became glacially cold, and his manner utterly precise and emotionless. This was absurd. For a moment he loathed the Reich so much that it blinded him; the whole fanatical vile lot of them. He picked up the phone and quietly asked to speak to General Sadat.
"General." he said coldly. "Certain APCs which looked like yours, carried papers like yours, and moved into our lines have attacked my supply units. Your security is breached."
Which meant, he realized, that Sadat himself was not secure. The thought made his blood run cold.
If he acted now, he could pull back the helicopter attack.
No.
Even if they were prepared, these damned unprofessional wretches would not stand long. The air cavalry were trained to assault even an entrenched position.

The Snipers
"Nothing. Not one." Katzenburg cursed under his breath. Roggendorf too had come up short.
"They're practically supernatural." the Lieutenant mused.
Major Wolfmar ordered them to pull back.
"Fuck it," he said irritably. "Level the area. I'm calling in an artillery strike."

From an artillery battery, three guns hurled their shells into the area of the department stores for a full minute.

Count Mirbach paced about after receiving von Seydlitz's report from General von Baden and Baroness Hentzau. They sat in the Chancellor's office. Von Baden looked grim.

The Lavenrunzian High Command Center

One thing von Seydlitz did do...he postponed the attack of the air cavalry, withdrew them for another step.
He also ordered supply and rear area security increased. Any unit not previously getting permission to move into an area would be warned away, fired upon if it did not follow instructions to the letter. Passwords were to be changed. The North Star units would not be allowed to come near without the direct permission of General Sadat or the Sultan. Provost Marshal's units were quickly moved up to start controlling the roads.

Surya Province, Lavenrunz

Forty Vidar heavy long range bombers had been on standby. Now they were warmed up, given flight orders, and bid bon voyage. The pilots and crews were blessed by a chaplain, and sang in the heartfelt hope of doing the work of God:
O Thou within whose sure control
The surging planets onward roll
Encompass thou their valiant wings
In all their bold adventurings
O hear O Lord our humble prayer
For these thy pilgrims in the air.
Amen.
The base commander saluted formally. They returned the salute, and moved into their planes.
The great batlike planes began to roll down the runways, and one by one soared off and began to form a formation high in the air.
In spite of the formal Catholicism of Lavenrunz, Empress Joanna had named these planes for an ancient god. Vidar was a Norse war god, who wore a great iron boot to stomp on the enemy with.

Behind the lines

Sadat tried to think happy thoughts as he talked with the Lavenrunz commander.

"Von Seydlitz, trust me our security is secure. These rogue elements are nothing to concern yourself over. I apologize for this days events. Please excuse me, I have urgent matters to carry out"

The change of orders/codes and ‘colors of the day’ caused massed confusion and suspisus between the allied forces.

The fear of being fired on by allied forces was enough to make the speed of the advance slow, and at

General Sadats HQ the ____ was hitting the fan. Security was completely compromised and General Sadat wanted answers.

"a dozen attacks and the number still rising. And that was on our supply lines only! The Lavenrunz forces are out raged! How can our forces work together if this type of thing happens!"

The staffers sat quietly. No one dared to speak

"this is a outrage! A insult on MY honor! And the honor of the sultan! I want these legs plugged! I want the attack into the city renewed! Captain ! Pen a letter of apology to our Sultan! And to that blue eyed Seydlitz!"

Sunit Bridge

Captain Yamed looked over the major with a look of disgust.

"maybe I didn’t make myself clear. Prisoners are the property of the sultan. Any prisoners are to be handed over to us, for interrogation and a summary court martial.

It is the will of the Sultan, praise his name"

Snipers

Salaq Malli panicked. It was just too much for him. In his mind he could swear the paracommandos were just inches from him.

He leapt to his feet and ran. Sprinting down the street jumping rubble and obstacles as he went

"Allahu Akbar!"

Malli screamed in fear as the first round flew past his head.

The second round found its mark, Falling to the ground clutching his stomach, Salaq screamed to heaven in terror and agony only to have his plea for help cut short by the burst of machine fire that thudded into his body.

At cafes throughout the nation, people gathered to watch the news.
Images of Tovin city being turned into a blazing heap were meet with horror and fear. Even the government networks flashed with images of the 'victory over terror'
The lack of food and poverty in the provinces seemed small news in comparison

The formation of Vidars moved serenely at 36,000 feet, high above Tovin. But satellite images and observation planes enabled them to drop their payloads on targets the size of a dime. And they did.
"For what you are about to receive," one of the bombardiers said facetiously but grimly--he had a mutilated niece from the Hofburg bombing--"May the Lord make you truly thankful."

OOC: North Star, did you notice an aritllery strike going down in the area of the snipers?
IC:

Major Rohl looked coldly at the Captain. "Captain, this is a military operation. Do you have a direct authorization from the Sultan or General Sadat?"

o.o.c: yes I did but the third post got eaten. will post shortly .
sorry for the delay

The precision artillery of the Lavenrunz armed forces began to fall on the block, turning the remains of once towering buildings into heaps of piled rubble.
Dozens of retreating militants and snipers were caught in the fiery explosions, their bodies torn and incinerated by the explosions. Row after row of buildings was targeted and crushed under the weight of the shells.
In their hiding, the hapless civilians of Tovin who hadn’t fled this block were caught up in the horror of it all. In the cellars and the hidy holes they died in the hundreds. Blown to pieces even as they hid.

Yasmine couldn’t help herself. She sobbed. It was the most terrible thing she had ever experienced
She lay in her hole, clutching her rifle against her like it was her favourite childhood doll and prayed as she had never prayed before.

“God save me. Sweet Jesus save me, Mary Queen of heaven, save meeeeee!”

The roof of the building came down with a mighty crash and a deafening explosion rocked her entire world.
She kicked her legs widely like a child as rubble fall upon her, desperately terrified at the thought she maybe buried alive. A part of her wanted to get up and run but she knew better than to leave the relative safety she had.
All around her the world seemed to be ending, she half expected to see the horsemen of the apocalypse ride over her hole.

“Jesus help me”

Pressing her face into the ground she wept and prayed in turns, certain that her death was only seconds away.

Tovin rebel HQ
“the air attacks and renewed artillery strikes are causing massive death. We cant stop either the Sultans or lavenrunz airstrikes
Our men are all but depleted, our local militia was never imagined to have to stand up to something like this
and with no real U.M.B units here.
Well sir.
The dam is about to burst”

The Mullah Unis lifted his hands to heaven

"both Lavenrunz and the sultan will pay in blood for what is happening here"

Von Seydlitz had been under severe artillery fire himself, during the bitter fighting for Ienotheisa, but he knew it must be terrible.
At the same time, an exhileration swept through him. Even as the time counted down till the end of the airstrikes, he ordered the Imperial Guards Carabineer Regiment in. The helicopters were ordered to deploy ECM and electronic warfare planes supported them in the area of the landing.
On all points in the surrounding area, Lavenrunzian troops were ordered to attack with all possible strength, immediately.

"Advance! Advance!"

Abull screamed into his comm system.
all along the line government armor poured forward along side their infantry and their Lavenrunz allies.

Commander Yassar order his infantry forward, using the artillery and airstrikes as 'cover' for the infantry.
Over head the respective airforces flew, now almost totally unopposed.
Only a stray rocket causing the pilots to be careful.

"Units 7-11. Forward. Bring assualt gear!"

Yassar grinned as the flamethrowers came forward and sent jets of liquid flame into buildings.

"death to all who oppose the Sultan!"

All now fled before the advance, and none were spared.
Men like Yassar didnt bother making a difference between civilians and soldiers. Already the massarce was starting.
Yassar screamed his men on, urging them to frenzy

"kill them, kill them all!"

Sunit Bridge

Captain Yamed was lossing his cool.

"Criminals are the dominion of the Sultan, not your forces
Our security personal will deal with them"

Sunit Bridge
Major Rohl was losing patience as well, but became more cold and distant. "Captain, do you understand the words 'proper authority'? Recently some people bearing your insignias, in your vehicles with the right codes attacked our supply lines. Now: until you show me some proper authority you get nothing. If you continue to try to persuade me to commit an action which could cause me to be derelict from my duty, I will have you apprehended. Do you understand?" he snapped his fingers, and several of the MPs nearby adjusted their submachineguns.

In the hospital, the young militiaman saw a girl with a kerchief over her hair holding oxygen to him, her face soft with pity. She was dressed in white. There was a red crescent on the kerchief.

Tovin

Rotors made a maelstrom of dust and debris as the helicopters began to land. The Valkyrs flew in formations of three above, ready to target any source of weaponry.
Hearts pounded, excitement and fear warred in the Carabineers and Grenadiers who bounded out by squads to move on the designated enemy positions.
The sounds of fighting were only a block or two away, but two companies were to each occupy the nearest buildings with a view anyway just in case. These companies had heavy weapons platoons attached with light mortars and anti-armor weapons.
Private Tribich, an eighteen year old girl from Carlsbad, was shocked to see bodies lying around. Bodies of old people, children, women...all wearing nothing but shreds of cloth, bruised and a bit battered and dusty...she looked at the pitiful contorted forms and felt her gorge rise.
An older corporal slapped her on the shoulder. "Shockwaves and oxygen loss. Together quite deadly. That did them in. Move it, Private, let's occupy that building!"
"Yes, Corporal!" she said, coming back to herself. The images would haunt her later...if there was a later. She hefted her G-3 rifle and advanced behind the soldier on point.

Captain Duhrer squatted down with his command team. Some of them were not really from his unit; one even included a North Star officer called Khalil who was explaining a street map. Duhrer and his headquarters--such as they were,squatting in a ruined hair salon flinching from mortar fire and trying to figure out the best way to capture some ground that would let the tanks through.
Outside, his soldiers hurled grenades, darted round pillars and shells of buildings they were using for cover to fire rockets and spray covering fire for their advance. Now and then they were supported by a burst of autocannon fire from one of the APCs.

The Surya Division, which had pushed into some of the narrower streeted areas, were taking out their fury on the city like their North Star counterparts.
Senior Corporal Jafar grinned mirthlessly as he saw shell shocked and trembling militia come out of a building, hands up. Or were they militia? He didn't care--they were so dust and filth caked they could be anyone. All he could think about was his brother the marine, who was a grotesque in hospital without a lower jaw. This rage pulled the trigger, punched bullet holes into their bodies, watched them bleed with a grim satisfaction that seemed to just feed his hate.

Major Wolfmar ordered his company to move cautiously through the dust and smoke choked ruins. They had their goggles on and moved as silently as they could.

Sunit Bridge
"This is ridiculous! Totally outrageous! I understand your concerns but these men belong to the Sultan, we are to carry out his majesties will. Check with your command, I am who I say I am!
If I have to return for these men with force, I can assure you, the rebels wont be the only ones swimming from ropes!"

In the field hospital, Joshua was confused. He could only assume he was dreaming or about to undergo some form of torture and this girl was simply part of the ruse to confuse him.
Even with those thoughts in his mind, he still took comfort in her presence, be she a dream or a part of a sinister plan

Tovin
"no I’m sure. Its that way!"
Khalil waved ahead, he was only really 70% sure of where he was but he wasn’t about to tell his allies this.
"no. totally sure! Trust me! I’m a doctor you know!"
Of course Khalil left out the fact he was only a doctor of Arabic literature.
Khalil smiled at his heavly armed Lavenrunz ‘comrades’ and was glad for their protection and company, but still inside he somehow didn’t feel this was all right-
True-The rebels were in resistance to God and the Sultan but did that really justify what was happening around here? The still growing piles of civilians bodies was sickening even to him, after his years of training and indoctrination.
“Yes, really , I’m a doctor! Its that way!”

Sister Anne had to stop herself from being sick as she came across the scene, the room was caked with blood and human remains, the work of a HE shell no doubt.
She looked amongst the dead, hoping to find someone still alive.
Outside the city was turning into a inferno, the firefighting work had all but died . Everywhere the screams of the dying could be heard, the noise echoed in Anne’s head. Thousands of civilians where being butchered-neither attacking army was sparing life today.

Yasser carried his job out with pride.
"fire!"
The line of men and boys standing against the wall crashed to the ground, their bodies filled with holes, some still twitched so yassar yelled more orders. Soon bayonets drove into the twitching bodies, silencing them forever.
"Kill All the rebels! Kill all whom have opposed the Sultan! Death to the lower order!
His men, the sultans own, carried out the order with pride. Already his men where looting, and from the sounds from the building behind him, the rape had began too.
He slapped one of his troopers on the pack as he pinned down a young girl with the help of two other soldiers.
"make sure you use a condom, you don’t know where that whores been!"
this seemed right to Yassar, they had opposed God and the Sultan, his men had done their duty, now was the time for their reward!

"So where you boys get held up?"
The tank commander drawls in a thickly Arabic lavenrunz accent
"Edge of a park" Private Zidlitz of the Lavenrunz forces replies, clinging to the hatch as the Z1 Goliath heavy tank sways its way down the street
"Bunch of rebels dug in behind a hedgerise"
The North Star tank commander just grunts an chewed on his stogey
The street opens out into the wide open park, to the right, a thick thorn hedge separates the Road from the park.
Zidlitz points ahead and to the left
"Över there buddy"
Beyond the rows of hedges and trees , dark figures trade shots with advancing Lavenrunz GIs
"You should of gone around them my little friend "the commander grumbles rolling his stogey to the other side of his mouth.
"should learn to leave the tough nuts for the big hammers, and boy are we the big hammers!"
He grinned as the tank turret tracks left "this’ll flush ém out!"
Sensing movement to his right, Zidlitz himself from the deck of the tank, rolling for cover "look out!"His cry of warning drowned by the rattle of the tanks machine guns.
With a sharp crack, a muzzle flash erupts from the hedge row. Simultaneously , the tank shudders and erupts in flame
Rising from his cover, Zidlitz empties his clip into the hedge line and runs back to his outfit, waiting for another ‘big hammer’ to come along.

And under a pile of light rubble, Yasmine didn’t dare , She was alive and hidden.
“God be praised”

Sunit Bridge
Major Rohl finally lost his temper. "Look, herr Captain, I don't care who you claim to be--without authorization you don't take so much as a lock of hair from anything under my command! And if you threaten me again, you'll regret it!"

Sister Miriam bathed the boy's forehead. She felt a sympathy she knew she shouldn't feel...she remembered learning that her older brother had been bayoneted in a field hospital by vengeful Reich troops as they withdrew from Lavenrunz in the face of advancing reinforcements. But he seemed so young, and merely a hurt human being when it came right down to it.
The causes of humans were like the careful works of ants in the eyes of God...not so important as they might seem to the ants.

Tovin

"Advance! Advance!" the cry came up, and the Duke of Zwoll's Lancers and other Lavenrunzian armored units growled forward, rumbling up behind the advancing infantry. Firing in tandem volleys, they shattered remaining defenses, rolled through minor buildings, big metal monsters eating up the ground before them.

Captain Duhrer was frowning at Khalil. "What does your being a doctor have to do with where we're going?" he demanded. He turned to his RTO "Tell the APCs to catch up with us, give us some closer cover."
He peered through his binoculars at the smoke.
His forward observer muttered, "This fellow might for all we know be leading us to a field hospital or a supply depot rather than a headquarters. I have a funny feeling he doesn't know this city..."
"Since those North Star friends of ours went off we've been forgotten, just about." said Duhrer confidingly to the other officer. "So no helicopter support and no nice directions from up top. Let's see if we can accomplish something anyway."
He received reports from his three platoon commanders and the vehicle commanders. Firing was dying down. Snipers still, a few scattered units popping out of the ruin to fire RPGs or machineguns. No more mortars, as far as he could tell.
Using three streets to advance on, they continued on. Orders finally came--they were to link up with two other units and try to coordinate with them to capture the enemy headquarters. One was a company of Carabineers. Duhrer was a bit amused. So he would be working along with the glorious guardsmen? The other was a Surya unit, a recon platoon.

Sergeant Ehrlich was tense and wary, in the midst of her exhaustion. Somehow she couldn't get the grit out of her eye, and she knew she had some minor would somewhere. Her leg hurt when she walked. But she still stood with her squad, acting as security for an intelligence unit that was watching a group of Tovin civilians strip. They looked sullen but afraid. After one group had turned out to be suicide bombers, they weren't taking any chances. Some medics who were assisting were putting on rubber gloves and putting petroleum jelly on them.

Field Marshal Prince von Seydlitz stood with his generals outside his mobile command unit. "I want all outlying areas occupied." he ordered. "It is still early yet to congratulate ourselves."

Sunit Bridge
Glaring at Major Rohl, Yamed hissed “I’ll be back with all the authorisation you need, and the men to assure the will of the Sultan is carried out. Good day to you Sir, Heil victory!”
He Saluted and returned to his vehicle, barking orders as he speed off back to HQ

Joshua slipped out of his dream world only to find himself again staring up at the young ‘sister’, he laughed to himself, assuming he must be dreaming still.
In soft Arabic he quoted the Koran
“Angel of God, I fear you not for you bare Allahs sign , and I am his faithful”

Tovin

Khalil. grinned at Captain Duhrer
"I am a doctor, you can trust me!" he insisted.
He waved his hands around excitedly "I am the Tenssing to your Hilary! Your guide in this land, your stead! Now it’s that way! I’m sure!"
He peered through his own binoculars.
“Yes without a doubt! That way to the HQ!”
Khalil rechecked his maps when the Lavenrunz men started to move out.
He was pretty sure. Well mostly sure.
A squadron of jets roared low over head, and shortly after a massive explosion echoed from several blocks away.
“Yes, now I’m certain! Its that’s way for sure!”

Holding the white flag aloft, sister Anne waved at the advancing units from the doorway of the house.
“Stay calm. Everything will be ok!”
The population of Tovin had been well over 250,000 before this horror and now Anne could only guess at the numbers while inside this house dozens of injured civilians groaned and moaned. Children screamed and the mortally wounded begged for death.
The advancing NS government Tank didn’t seem to be slowing, behind it a tide of infantry was spreading out.
With horror Anne watched the turret of the tank swirl around and aimed straight at her position.
“Oh My God, get down!”
Anne threw herself to the ground as the tank cannon roared into life.
The tank shell tore open the building, seeing smoke and rock high into the air.
Anne lay stunned and dazed under a pile of rubble and body parts, the advancing government troops stepped over her as they advanced.
One paused and prodded her blood covered body with his rifle
“she’s gone, but best make sure” The soldier placed the barrel of his gun against her head
“hey Sami! We got a live one!”
From a neighbouring building a shouting government soldier came stumbling out, dragging with him a screaming teenage girl.
“woohoo!” The soldier holstered his gun and ran over to his comrade and the struggling girl, his interest in shooting the ‘dead’ totally surpassed by his desire for ‘flesh’

A north star M.P watched with some amusement the attitudes of the lavenrunz soldiers to the rebel civilians
“what, are they planning on strip searching all of them?”
He giggled at the thought and half hoped they would.


HQ
General Sadat clapped his hands as he read the report.
“I want a 1:1 occupation!”
His 2ic replied with curiosity
“A 1:1 with the civilians populace sir?”
“Don’t be daft man ! a 1:1 with the Lavenrunz forces! Oh and release that general order. Should clear up internal matters”

By order of the Sulatan
All militants captured in active rebellion are to be considered in a criminal state of rebellion, and as such are the property of his majesty.
Therefore all criminals [being those in open rebellion or giving them aid] must be handed over to the correct national authorities for trial .
Further more, by the orders of the majestic sultan, all who are suspected of alliance with the U.M.B or the C.L.A will be now tried under field court rulings.
Signed. General Sadat

The 5 U.M.B men were happy about their days 'work'
They had stopped the a lavenrunz and government supply truck at a 'MP roadblock' and after getting the men out the the trucks, the U.M.B soldiers had shown their true colors.

"No talking !"
The U.M.B man tapped the hooded lavenrunz officer on the shoulder
"talk and you die"

They had burnt the 2 trucks ,executed the 3 government soldiers and now they were leading the captured supply column troopers into the south, to jungles to their long term confinement

o.o.c: just a post to say, when possible with the rear U.M.B attacks[they are still hitting soft targets when they can], they'll try and take prisoners and frog march them down south[when possible]
they'll take any lavenrunz 'er's prisoner but only NS officers get taken, other ranks in the government forces would be neck shot

Von Seydlitz was annoyed. "Damn it, does the man think we're errand boys? How are we to gather intelligence withou prisoners?"
"Perhaps," his aide said with wry amusement, "They expect us to rely on their intelligence."
"We all know how good that is." said the Field Marshal. "Still...only persons with proper authority will be acknowledged. What a gottverdammt nightmare this is." he said with distaste.

The soldiers near the former hospital suddenly heard a loud parade ground shout. "You bloody idiots! What d'you think you're doing?" as an enraged Lieutenant von Roggendorf marched up, his platoon moving up the road behind him. "Get off that girl at once!"

Duhrer ordered the platoons to advance in skirmish order down the parallel streets. He ordered two squads to occupy the higher buildings to cover their advance. He was now grimly determined.

Lieutenant Anna Letz was terrified. She had been nearly clawing her eyes out from a gas grenade, and now was hooded and imprisoned. She was a striking woman, but this was blurred by her short crewcut and baggy tropical camos. She fought off her fear by hoping that the rest of the vehicle crews were alright...

Tovin
The exhausted corporal rolled off the still sobbing girl, and in a sleazy boastful voice yelled
"Next!"
Seeing and hearing the shouting advancing lavenrunz officer, the corporal hastily pulled up his pants and picked up his rifle, around him other soldiers jumped to ‘attention’, while in the surrounding buildings still came the sounds of looting, rape and murder.
The corporal pulled the sobbing girl to her knees by her hair and kicked her legs "Pull your dress back on, look respectable you whore"
Straightening his uniform, the corporal trotted over to the Lavenrunz lieutenant
"Hail victory! Honor and glory be with the allies of the Sultan! It would be my pleasure to offer you the Sultans hospitality!" The corporal waved over at the sobbing girl who was struggling to pull her clothes back on
"What is the Sultans, has been given to us, and we’d gladly share"

Duhrers platoons advanced past a tide of horror, the bombing and artillery attacks had caused massive injury and death, the streets were littered with all forms of human horror and mutilation.
As they advanced, behind them moved the tide of government forces, unleashing a wave of majesty ordered ethnic/cultural cleansing.
Khalil tried to submerse his inner thoughts as he advanced past another burnt child’s body.
Somewhere close by a woman screamed – Khalil thought back to the history class at university-to the stories of the Japanese rape of Nanking
"Commander Duhrer, I believe the last vestige of resistance will be at the enemy HQ, all other organised resistance has ceased-it would seem. Perhaps I could advise caution in our exercise-we could wait for armor to arrive you know, as a doctor I think this is wise perhaps?"


General Sadat was more and more cheerful as the reports were coming in
*All Organised resistance ceased
*City basically in our hands
*U.M.B command about to be assault

"Excellent! Commend our men! Their duty is to be honored! Let them unleash the rage of the Sultan upon the rebels of tovin!"

South of Tovin
"Prisoners halt!" the accent was thick but the recognisable lavenrunz.
They had been marching for hours and now, in this small densely vegetated valley it was time to rest.
A soldier ripped the hoods of the prisoners but left there hands tied
"You may talk and rest until we meet up with other comrades" a rather pogy rough looking soldier grunted at the prisoners
He swrawled at Lieutenant Anna
"Any questions, ask now or hold your peace forever"

rebel HQ

"Well Sir, its be grand but time for us to make our way out. Maybe you should come now too"
Mullah Unis nodded
"No, I wont leave my people . I will here and fight with any who want to You’re helped us a lot, make your way out through the 8th sector -government forces there maybe helpful. May Allah go with you."
The CLA commander gave a iesus christi style fascist salute
"Christ Guard you and your people. This fight won’t end here!"
Mullah Unis aaluted the exiting CLA men, then picked up his AK and joined his men upstairs at the gunslits of the HQ[a former army HQ]

Justice is the one thing you should always find!
You gotta saddle up your boys,
You got to draw a hard line!
When the gunsmoke settles, we'll sing a victory tune
And we'll all meet back at the local saloon.
We'll raise up our glasses against evil forces, singing:
Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses!
the music blared from the loudspeaker of a tank as one of the second line units rumbled into the city. An Imperial Lavenrunzian tank corps officer posed for a picture by a public information officer, shaking hands and smiling along with a Royal North Star armor officer. Disciplined movements began to pour into the city, occupying roads, bridges and high points; engineers moved in with armored vehicles, metal detectors and other anti-mining equipment.

Lieutenant von Roggendorf was so angry he could barely speak. He nearly shot the corporal on the spot.
"You...filthy...bastard!" he said, his teeth clenched. Spots almost danced before his eyes. "Get away from that girl at once!" he roared. "Corporal...get this damned outfit on the move! There may still be enemy activity around, and you're doing this?!" he took a furious step forward. "Now get a move on, we all have to look for the UMB headquarters!"
He snapped an order for the girl to be taken to a rear area infirmiry.
His sergeant sighed. Who was there to take her? Sometimes though you just had to let ugly reality rear its head quietly. He nodded politely, relayed the order.
Roggendorf was furious...and yet was still stunned at himself that his main rage had come from the lack of discipline. But, damn it, it was hypocritical to lose one's mind over one girl when a whole city was being destroyed. The best way to end the horror was to end it, period.
That's what he told himself.

The Forward Observer whispered, "If he says 'as a doctor' one more time about something not even vaguely related to medical matters, I'll shoot him myself."
Duhrer considered. "Possibly, Doctor, and if you wish you can remain behind. For myself--we will advance. Sergeant Major, have the heavy weapons squad prepare mortars to cover our advance."
The squad moved the mortars to tripod and plate positions, readying their ammunition.
"Alright." said Duhrer. "Let's get point units in there; let's do it by the numbers." he crossed himself. "In the Empress' Name, forward!"

State owned television stations [yes, there is more than one] trumpeted the
‘heroic overthrowing of theocratic revolutionary socialists forces in Tovin’ and the ‘fair and righteous hand of the Sultans forces’
Already medals were being printed for the up coming victory parade that was to take place before the Sultans own family palace in the capital and the Sultans own Son, heir to the throne Hussian, was preparing to visit the victorious troops in the field.
No station pointed out there hadnt been much of a battle, or that the few defenders had been generally local militia or that major U.M.B forces hadnt even been there.
Government stations didnt let facts get in the way of victory

The corporal was genuinely confused by the outburst from Lieutenant von Roggendorf
“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear. You can share her ! “
For the Corporal and the men like him in the Sultans 3rd infantry, they considered their job over and now it was time to reap the rewards of a victorious occupation army.
In nearby streets government armor rambled forward, and in the corporal’s mind, that was evidence enough that his job was over.
“Can’t you hear? It’s over. See. Claim what the sultans gives you friend”.

Tank commander Abull cringed in his tank as he advanced.
It wasn’t the fighting that made him cringe, for there was little of that too worry about now, instead Abull cringed at the horrors of war being fought inside dense civilian areas.
Around his tank, his own infantry support remained steadfast to their orders, but around them a tide of soldiery was rampaging in accordance with the will of the Sultan-
killing-looting-raping- was the only order those soldiers now cared about.
“Tanks continue to advance, order infantry support to keep the way clear”
Inwardly Abull wished he could order the rape of Tovin to stop, but that was out of his hands. A Mere captain cant stop the gracious gift the sultan had given his brave men.

Khalil looked over Duhrer and then shrugged
“best I come with you. You will need a doctor”
Khalil stared in a moronic fashion at Duhrer.
“I’m a doctor, you know that right?”
Khalils eyes sparkled and he stared Duhrer eye to eye, behind him he heard the groan and cursing of a Lavenrunz soldier.
“After you than Captain!”
Khalil checked his flak vest was secure and that he weapon was loaded –He hoped neither would be needed anytime soon but he planed to do his job and keep a close and dutiful eye on Duhrer.
He was a doctor after all.

Lieutenant von Roggendorf couldn't believe his ears for a moment. What kind of ill-disciplined rabble was he dealing with? Then, as if by instinct, he was raising his submachinegun with an easy movment, pointing it right at the corporal's face.
"Get moving or by God I'll shoot you." he said coldly.

Captain Duhrer grimaced at his senior nco, who grinned. Doctor doctor doctor...
"Listen up carefully." he said to his command post. "We're going to advance up the parallel streets, and the heavy weapons platoon is going to lay down a blanket of smoke to cover our initial approach. Alright--let's go!"
...the doctor heard the word 'vecht' and saw the Lavenrunzians in a businesslike way get to work. The mortar unit laid down the plates and swung out the tripods of the 60mm mortars, and as the platoons began to advance, dropped in three rounds. With a clunk/ring sound, they went up and exploded softly, coloured smoke flowing where the rounds had burst.

“ok Ok we’re outta here.”
The Corporal straightened his pants and nodded to his men, who with not so much speed, gathered their equipment and headed deeper into the city.
To the Corporal and the government forces, the reaction of Lieutenant von Roggendorf was slightly unexpected, to them the taking ‘prizes’ was simply part of war once the fighting was over-it wasn’t a matter of lack of discipline , in fact it was a deeply rooted clan cultural ideal that the forces of the Sultan take back was is his and share in the bounty.
To the retreating confused government Corporal, rape and looting of rebels after the Sultan had offered the ‘gift’ was as normal as rifle range practice and carried out with just as much discipline.

Khalil nodded, military tactics weren’t his strong suit but it seemed the foreigners knew what they were doing.
“ok. Lay on Macduff!”

The Rebel H.Q was in a mess, men rushed to loopholes in a hasty attempt to repel any attack and from regular gunslits heavy weapons prepared for the invaders attack.
Mullah Unis looked around the former army HQ now rebel last-stand, part of him wished he could flee the city but he knew that wasn’t the way to go. Better to die as God intended

“His will can not be escaped! Those who die for God win paradise”

“Allahu Akbar!”

“smoke!”

"fire at will!"

Captain Duhrer's grenadiers sent a volley of 40mm grenades into the bunker area with loud bangs; one of the platoon commanders ordered cover fire for the advance squad, as did another; assault weapons and support weapons blazed into the smoke.
Another platoon commander got an unexpected blow to the chest and sat down heavily. He found himself stunned, unable to speak, as he was dragged behind the corner of a ruined shop.
"Lieutenant's hit!"
"Where is it, Sir?" asked a medic, kneeling.
When he recovered breath he snapped, "Don't be damned stupid, hit the kevlar and knocked the wind out of me, that's all. Get back to it!"
Meanwhile, though, he found that his idea was working...so far. One squad was crawling as fast as they could, almost face to the ground, over the rubble to get as close as they could to the bunker.


To General Sadat

Congratulations to all your brave forces here! Together we have nearly accomplished bringing down the rebels who have defied His Majesty the Sultan and who have struck with vile cowardice against the sovereign realm of Lavenrunz.
I must bring to your attention the need for greater security. Apparently an officer approached one of mine demanding prisoners in custody, without offering any but verbal authorization. Under the circumstances, I think you would agree that this is not advantageous to either of us. We should perhaps meet when it is convenient to discuss some form of military etiquette to the mutual benefits of our commands.

yours most amiably
Field Marshal Prince von Seydlitz

Lavenrunz fire pounded the bunker, sending round flying dangerously into the concrete structure.
Mullah Unis looked wiped the brains and skull from his face, the man infront of him -well his head anyhow- had exploded like a ripe water melon as a round had entered him.
Trying to not be sick, Unis shouted on for his men [and several women] to fight on.
"Make them pay in blood!"
Unis picked up another belt of Military grade ammo and handed it to the loader of the nearest MG.

Khalil reloaded his weapon with some difficulties, the air was full of 'wizzing' sounds that didnt at all make his task more easy.
He muttered to himself while he struggled with his rifle
"This is insane. I shouldnt be here. I'ma doctor"

In other streets, the carnage continued and under the direct command of Major Yasser genocide was being planned-His field promotion a sign of the Sultans approval of his already bloody deeds.
Yasser looked over the 'hospital', the dank cellar was bood soaked and full of the dead, wounded and dying of all ages.

"Take all the men aged 13-70, leave the others for now"

"you cant take these men, they are hurt. For Gods Sake leave us be!"

Yassar Glared at the blood soaked exhausted doctor

"take the Doctor too!"




Field Marshal Prince von Seydlitz
Peace and blessing be upon you , and upon the last phophet of God.

Holy to our forces, honor and victory are ours today.
it would appear to me, we are indeed do need to sort out this technical matters-lest they darken the skies of victory.

I consider this a urgent matter, being the arrival of Prince Hussian is soon to be upon us.

Sergeant Mittelstaedt crouched in a heap of rubble, broken glass and shards of stone near the bunker. The machinegun fire from the enemy area was deafening; smoke and dust swirled around. She and her squad crouched like animals, had crawled practically on their bellies, excruciatingly, to get there. Her only thought had been to reach her goal with her troops; it slowed everything to the minute. She checked with a little periscope to see if any fire was concentrating on them...but no, the bunker was still busy trying to hold off the main force of the company.
Corporal Muller crept up, his face almost unrecognizeable, streaked with dust and blood. He signaled that the satchel charges had been checked and were ready.
Mittelstaedt gave a thumbs up, then signaled that they were to go ahead.
The squad crawled along the ground, gritting their teeth, and then managed to reach the bunker itself. placing the charges, they set them and scrambled away, going for cover.
With a thunderous roar, concrete, stone and mortar went up, filling the air with dirt and swirling fire as the plastic explosive went off.

The wall erupted in a violent explosion and crashed down around the desperate defenders.
Mullah Unis was blown clear across the room, impacting hard into the wall behind him with a crunch as bones snapped and broke, his vision went dark and he tasted blood in his mouth.
"fall back! "
The stunned rebels fell back further into the complex, leaving the wide hole for the attackers to swarm through.

Khalil watched through his scope, resistance was now a mere formality.
With the walls cracked open, the best those inside could hope for was to sells themselves dearly as the attackers cleared room by room.

Knowing this, Khalil dashed forward with the advancing infantry.
It wasnt his natural inclination to expose himself to any sort of real danger but in this situation he knew the importance of getting in there quickly and finding whatever information was left to salvage.

"Go, now, Brunner, get in there!" roared Duhrer, waving his hand.
The first platoon rushed in, yelling like iroquois, pausing to hurl timed grenades down before charging into the bunker, tense and eager as a pack of hunting leopards. Duhrer himself was champing at the bit, eyes bright; but he ordered the second platoon to secure the area while the third remained in reserve.
Sergeant Mittelstaedt moved in with first platoon, second squad in, her submachinegun ready, breathing through her nose so she wouldn't choke on the smoke and dust.

"Go, now, Brunner, get in there!" roared Duhrer, waving his hand.
The first platoon rushed in, yelling like iroquois, pausing to hurl timed grenades down before charging into the bunker, tense and eager as a pack of hunting leopards. Duhrer himself was champing at the bit, eyes bright; but he ordered the second platoon to secure the area while the third remained in reserve.
Sergeant Mittelstaedt moved in with first platoon, second squad in, her submachinegun ready, breathing through her nose so she wouldn't choke on the smoke and dust.

The Lavenrunz hordes swarmed through the gap, pouring into the shattered bunker.

The resistance they faced was now a informal matter, men fighting on their own or desperately trying to fall back to better positions. Terror filled hand to hand combat was breaking out as the order of battle broke down to wild survival mode.

Seeing his Mullah fall against the wall, Waldie screamed and threw himself forward at the enemy with his assault rifle blasting away. He sprayed the oncoming enemy with deadly fire as he screamed and cursed them, and howled with delight when one fall back-blood flowing like a river from his chest.

"Allahu Akbar!"

Waldie shouted to God and knew he’d survive. God the great and compassionate wouldn’t let his most noble son die to the sword of the infidel.

He swung the butt of his Assault rifle down onto the face of the foreigner in front of him and felt the presence of God as the butt smashed the infantry troopers face open.

Raising his weapon over the stricken trooper, Waldie prepared to deliver the death blow when a new sensation rocked his body - white hot pain shot up through his side and back, he turned around only to see the face of a female Sergeant , her submachine gun still rammed into his side.

Waldies face was a mixture of shock and surprise

"But I wasn’t suppose to die"

With a thud , Waldie then collapsed in a heap - stone cold dead.

Sergeant Mittelstaedt paused; smoke wreathed the air, and the stench of blood and death was everywhere. She heard the panting breaths of the squad, bursts of rifle fire and the crump of two grenades elsewhere in the bunker.
"Alles, hande hoche!" she snarled at the remaining rebels. Then, furious at her lapse, she yelled, "Hands up, you bastards!"

Captain Duhrer moved in, his carbine at the ready, his headquarters unit around him. He felt a wild exhultation he could just barely keep in check. Grabbing the radio headset, he said, "Castle, this is Mace. We have the headquarters. Over."

This was relayed up the chain of command; the Carbineers were hustled back onto their helicopters and rushed to the site; Field Marshal von Seydlitz decided to wait before telling General Sadat, just making sure the area was secure first.

Khalil ran his hands over his body as he leant against the wall of the former rebel HQ and with some surprise found-
He wasn’t shot/dead or dying.
"Inshalla Allah!"
Once the shock of not being dead had passed, Khalil quickly set about investigating the war torn HQ.
Stepping over torn and shredded bodies he made his way to where once had been the rebel nerve centre, in the vain hope of finding anything of ‘strategic’ importance.
"This isnt right"
Khalil looked over the charred and twisted bodies of his countrymen, afew still groaned and cried out in voices that became more silent by the minute.
Kneeling down, Khalil withdrew his waterbottle and softly placed it to the mans hanging off colored lips.
"Shhh it will be fine. I’m a doctor"

Abulls tank came to a stop not far from the former rebel HQ, he climbed hastily from the steel confines of his vehicle and stretched himself as he looked over the burning city.
Around him, regular army units were either beginning the ‘round ups’ or taking part in the ‘grace of the Sultan’
Abull shuddered and reached inside his flakjacket for his flask of a very unislamic drink.

Across the Town, Captain Yassar was getting into his role as "Judge , Jury and executor"
Dragging the wounded from what was left of the hospital, he made snap judgements about their fates
"Shoot that one, take that one to the detention centre and have her handed over to the me!"
Yassar grinned as his orders unfolded but his eye for detail noted that the task wasn’t exactly going at the speed he[or his superiors] would approve of.
"Where are those Tankists? Commander Abull? I want him online now!"
Yassar Smirked, it would do that elite tankist the world of good to get down and dirty like the real men of the sultans own infantry.
"Kill those two and give those three to the men"

Prince Hussian, first son and star of God sat watching the 6 oclock news.
He was giddy was excitement at seeing order FINIALLY being returned to his land.
Well, it would be his land soon anyhow.
Unless
He threw the remote control at the television screen and sulked momentarily
Hatusu , his step-mother was a concern , a great concern. She sat a moderation force between the Mullahs and the royals.
He pushed her from his mind and focused on his coming visit to Tovin, a great opportunity to seal his royal right.

In the deep south, after what seemed a age, the captured lavenrunz soldiers finally came to rest in a U.M.B camp. It was more of a series of dank caves under dense jungle cover than a real camp but this seemed to suit the U.M.B
Lieutenant Anna Letz was handed a piece of paper only moments after she sat down.
The big militant glared down at her and ordered her in staggered Lavenrunz.
"Prepare to read this. We will tape you shortly. Obey or you will be punished"

The note ran
Hail The free Islamic Movement. My name is [enter here] I am being treated well and fairly by the U.M.B - Honor and Praise be them and the Prophet of God…etc

Anna drew herself up proudly, and said in a quiet voice. "My name is Lieutenant Anna Letz, Imperial Transport Corps. That is all I have to say." she felt fear, but it was more remote now...she hoped it would see her through.

With banners, (and plenty of guards) his staff smiling and shaking hands, Field Marshal von Seydlitz prepared to meet the Crown Prince...he wore a pleasant expression....beneath it he felt like crowing like a conqueror of old...

The most royal and high prince of the noble Omar line lumbered out of his armored limousine
“There your most noble grace is the city of Tovin, Praise God –the compassionate and merciful. It is now under your fathers majestic control again, praise and blessings be upon him!”
“Indeed” Prince Hussian snorted and looked over the city from the hill of Golgitha
The aid got flustered “Yes Indeed my Lord, but of course you’re father couldn’t have regained this city without your noble advice and the inspiration you gave the soldiers at the front!”
“Yeah. That’s right. I am the eagle of the south after all. General Sadat took his direction from me after all. This is a proud moment for me really.” Hussian straightened his formal dress uniform, sucked in his stomach and regained his usual arrogant air.
“Shall we set the camp up?”
“Of course man! We prepare to feast and celebrate! * ”

* It may seem ‘backwards’ but it is the norm for North Star clan leaders to ‘live’ traditionally when it comes to formal events and celebrations. So while a heir to the throne living and greeting people in a tent may seem rather 13th Century, it is what is expected culturally.

The Guard looked down at Anna and sighed deeply.
“We will do this, its just a matter of time until we make you see reason”
He tapped his holster lightly

A Message to All Cells of the United Muslim Brotherhood

As you have clearly seen, Lavenrunzian military might will be able to crush any forces you assemble. By now, you are no doubt thinking of some means to use insurgency.
I urge you not to do this, but to consider that we struck with overwhelming force because you struck at us. I am now prepared to offer mercy to you.
We will gladly receive any negotiating parties you want to send to us, regarding the rights of Muslims in Surya or Lavenrunz itself. We will also negotiate your treatment in North Star using whatever influence we have within the Sultanate. However, you must understand that we will never tolerate terrorist acts. Consider this a negotiate to stop a war, for the sake of those who suffer now and would suffer in years to come. Surely, though divisions may seem harsh, we are all ultimately children of God, humble before His perfection.

Empress Aurora von Sachshausen


Field Marshal Prince von Seydlitz stood in a dusty street that stank of death. The burning wreckage of vehicles stood not far off, and there were corpses piled for identification in a row near a shattered building. His staff were clustered not far off; MPs stood protectively nearby, cradling submachineguns. His blue eyes scanned the streets and a nearby unit of soldiers. Behind them all, the armored command vehicle and escort of KM25s stood rumbling idly, their autocannon like the resting lances of giants.
He stepped forward, walking with easy confidence to the unit before him, that stood in front of the smouldering ruined bunker.
The soldiers drew themselves up proudly.
"Captain Duhrer," said the Field Marshal, "You are a fine example of your regiment, and of the service. It is my pleasure to raise you to the grade of Major."
The Captain flushed like a schoolboy under the smoke and grime of the field. "Highness, permit me to introduce Sergeant Mittelstaedt, commanding my squad of combat engineers, who got us in and was first into the breach of the bunker."
The Field Marshal felt the weight of years. She was younger than his youngest child, yet she was commanding a squad in a regular army unit, this blue eyed blonde girl, filthy, smeared with blood and dirt, stinking of battlesmoke, but standing proudly, with authority. He put a hand on her shoulder. Then he took off his own Alexander Cross, and pinned it on her himself. She looked happy...and he felt a sense of fulfillment beyond that of conquering a city of terrorists.
"Well done." he said softly. And walked back to his command vehicle.

The city burned as the sultans soldiers continued their macabre dance of death through the city
It was in the words of one company commander “Like the fall of Rome”

The crown since slugged back his whisky and grinned at General Sadat, the tent was a haze of smoke and decadence.
“You’ve done well, my general , medals for all who served me well! Including those lavenrunz dogs!”
General Sadat bowed slightly
“you’re generosity is legend my Lord”
“it is isn’t it?” The prince purred as he stroked the milky white thigh of the naked girl draped over the couch next to him.
“Oh I’m a very moral man” The Prince went on, now stroking the bare hip of a buxom black haired girl who had stretched herself out seductively over his lap.
The prince grinned smugly snug between the two naked girls “Now where is that general. Ummm whats his name? You know who I mean. Have him and some of his ‘noted’ soldiers brought here to me so I may reward them for their service to myself and God”
“As you wish Noble leader”

The church of the holy Cross was in flames, burning down to its foundations but the flames had only been set after the soldiers had poured through.
The tabernacle had been smashed, the cowering congregation butchered and the defenceless sisters had been ‘taken’ upon the altar before the fire had been set.
Major Yassar had been pleased with his work, he never really trusted Christians - honorless people who worshipped the nailed one , still it surprised him that those nuns had been screamers.

Khalil didnt like the message when it come to him over the com.
-Sultan to honor lavenrunz heroes-find some!-
Khalil stopped and thought
"Captain Duhrer, where is captain Duhrer?"

Islam will never surrender
Not while our Muslim brothers are under the lash
Not while the corrupt Sultan perverts our nation
Not while Islam is defiled

Your actions in Tovin only go to prove the need for continued struggle against you.
We will avenge the innocent city of Tovin, the entire Islamic world will avenge the crime!
From the cities, villages and to deep inside the wild mountainous jungles we will resist you and the satanic government-Now is the hour of our supreme sacrifice - you will never feel safe until Allahs justice is done.
Anywhere you are, we will strike.

Islam is life.
Praise and glory to God and peace and blessings to the Prophet.

Colonel Wintzingerode stopped appalled, staring in horror at the burning Church. Clearly, the area had not been overly shelled or bombarded...it was obvious to him, a long campaigner, that it was quite deliberate. He ordered his staff vehicle and escort to halt. The look of a self satisfied group of Sultanate Officers and troops, a faint sound of sobbing women had the covering troops sliding off the KM-25s, bristling and muttering angrily.
The Colonel decided to take control of things, and walked up to Major Yasser, his blue eyes cold with fury. Before he could think, he had smashed the officer across the jaw with the full force of his 6.1 frame, knocking him to the ground. His troops, grim, immediately lifted their arms to cover him.
The Colonel took a deep breath, realizing that he was within an ace of murdering these heathen scum. He whirled on the others, saying, in their own tongue (which he spoke fluently after several years in a Surya Garrison) "You have violated a Church, a Church of our faith. Your Koran says that you should treat other people of the Book with respect--and yet you act like brigands! You will immediately repair the damage you have done or by the Living God I will have your bodies dragged through the streets behind my vehicles."

Meanwhile, Khalil found Captain Duhrer outside, still talking excitedly, and saw the Field Marshal about to leave. Duhrer ran up to the commander-in-chief and spoke to him quietly. The Field Marshal turned round and walked up to Khalil. He had a presence of calm command, a gravity and sterness in his demeanor. Stopping before Khalil, he said quietly, "I am grateful to you for guiding my troops to the headquarters. You are a good soldier--and, I understand, a good doctor." he presented him with a medal depicting a silver star with words in Lavenrunzian. "The Star of the Order of Valour." he announced as he draped it over Khalil's neck.

Following that, the group made their way to the headquarters of Sadat. Von Seydlitz was careful to make sure that backup could immediately be brought to bear, and that his escort was of impressive size and excellent discipline.
Meanwhile, as the North Star troops weren't bothering to, Lieutenant-General Hausmann was instructed to restore order to the city as soon as possible. All Lavenrunzians--and, ideally, with the cooperation of Sadat--all North Star troops found looting or engaged in any act of harm against a building or property without direct instructions from a divisional commander at the least would be shot on the spot.
The Field Marshal, with a few members of his staff, rode into the camp.

The rumble of nearby government tanks made the earth shudder - while outside the burning church the last ‘prizes' were being thrown into half tracks - the gold cross crucifix was handled more carefully than the screaming girl by the looting soldiers of the ‘sultans own' as they busily loaded the half-track.
Yassars own small frame of only 5'6 was dwarfed by the foreigner, he ran a hand through his hair as he looked up at the Colonel.
"You are mistaken. We are simply in the process of destroying foreign terrorists nests." Yassar waved over to the burning church "militants from elsewhere in the Reich use these places to store weapons-we're simply carrying out the Sultans orders"
Major Yassar barked coded orders into his com and smiled up at the Colonel, around the area the government troops watched the scene with growing amusement.
"maybe I should introduce myself, Major Yassar of the ‘sultans own' guard division. My blood cousin is the Sultan himself-Peace and blessings be upon him!"

Khalil found himself grinning as he looked down at his medal
"thank you! I'm honored for sure! Wow"
He lost his train of thought as he inspected his medal. Somehow this medal felt earned and worth something-unlike his sultanate awards.
Khalil snapped to attention and gave a formal fascist salute without thinking
"Hail victory! hail" He paused in embarrassment
"I mean. Well, you know what I mean. Anyhow I have news for you also, Our crown prince wishes to reward the courage of the Lavenrunz troops in the field, it is therefore my honor to invite you to the princes camp to be rewarded for your exploits"

The camp that greeted the Lavenrunz officers could have been from the 13th century
Scarlet and white tents flew the Omar crest and the only thing that ruined the image of the past was the swarming amount of royal household troops in their flakarmor.
General Sadat rushed to greet the field marshall[being Sadat has moved his HQ to be with the crown prince]
"greetings noble friends, the crown prince himself does you honor by calling you friends. Come rejoice in his presence"
Sadat lead them personally through the city of tents to the royal presence. He pulled back the flap of the massive royal tent and waved the men through
"enter and rejoice with he whom heaven loves"
The scene inside the tent was much the same as before, but now the center of the tent was full of swirling semi naked dancing women, their bodies oiled and fit bodies made all more alluring by the rhythmic Tantric dancing.
The crown prince lay sprawled on his red couch-his chubby form intermingled with two lusty young ladies , and rather than standing he simply waved the field Marshall over through the smokey haze
"GREETINGS HERO! Praise be you friend of North Star!" The prince shouted louder still "sit with me and rejoice for heaven has been kind" The prince waved his hands gesturing to the pillows around his couch "sit and abide with me wont you"


While in the city- few government soldiers fall ill of the Lavenrunz ‘law and order' campaign being the sultans men work in packs and under direct orders from above [o.o.c: unless you want firefights to breakout?]
"This was how war is when one fights the sultan" was how a advisor tried to explain "law and order come latter-now is the time for his honor to be restored"

Colonel Wintzingerode said quietly, "I see. Yes, I see." and left. What was the point? These people lived in another century. They had no compassion for their enemies. It was no wonder that things were so bad.

General Hausmann, receiving the Colonel's report, decided to strictly enforce discipline only in Lavenrunzian occupied areas--and that strictly--and did his best to ignore activity in the North Star area of operations. An air of cold formality came over most of the Lavenrunzian officers and personnel--they felt disliked and alien, and wanted only to be done their job and to return home.

Field Marshal von Seydlitz inwardly sighed at the scene of decadence before him. He had all sympathy with a nation that preserved its traditions--but he found the display vulgar and unpleasant. Nevertheless, he smiled in a friendly manner, and quietly gave a warning remark to his staff to act politely. One or two of the female officers had stiffened at the sight of the naked girls being fondled by the Prince, but they said nothing, simply sat with the others as Von Seydlitz joined his host.
"It is a pleasure to make your Highness' acquaintance." he said politely. Actually he hoped to have a chance to speak with General Sadat for a while--and then to rest--but he was also very much aware that he represented the throne in North Star.

Throughout the country, civil unrest reached new heights in response to the Lavenrunz/government destruction of Tovin. In a dozen cities protests ran unchecked by local police units as the protesters howled for Lavenrunz and government blood. U.M.B militiamen openly joined in the protests.
“from the deserts and jungles of north Star to the very capital of lavenrunz-revenge will be ours! Tovin is a beacon for Islam, Tovin will be avenged”

Yassar couldn’t help but laugh at the Colonel. They had no idea how things worked here. The lavenrunz people had never really understood North Star, nor would they ever. But it pleased Yassar they were here, helping fight this war. Better Lavenrunz bodies fulled with holes than those of the Omar clan.

Abull smiled and waved down from his tank to the Lavenrunz M.P. He knew they didn’t like him or any of the North Star forces really. But Abull couldn’t blame them really. Abull knew men in his own command were helping militants escape the city and Abull couldn’t blame them either. This hadn’t been war-it was genocide.

The crown prince smirked as he talked “Field Marshal von Seydlitz you area brave man and worthy of praise and honor. Soon you can go discuss business with general Sadat but for now it pleases me to have your heroic company. Drink? Food? Girls? “
The crown prince pushed the girl off his knee and waved his hands over the contorting mass of oiled female flesh in front of him
“want one? Two? more? Your officers present as well can have what they desire. In fact “
The crown prince turned and shouted at his aid in quick Arabic and then turned back to Field Marshal von Seydlitz ”I will make a gift of those you’d desire. To you and your men. The finest breeding and rutting girls for you . A gift from me to you! Reward for your bravery! Inshalla Allah!”
The prince paused for a moment and a look of slight confusion crossed his face “and for your female officers here. I’m not sure do they prefer men or women?” There was no sarcasm in the crown princes voice, only honest confusion.


In the U.M.B jungle camp Lieutenant Anna Letz hadn’t been mistreated-yet. After her refusal the big guard had simply let her be, but something in his manner left Anna and her comrades sure he’d return with dire methods.
Yasmine had finally made it out of the city, she knew in her heart her family was dead or worse-captured by the Sultans forces, as she had fled the city through government lines Yasmine had seen the worst the Sultans government had to offer. She hadn’t been in the U.M.B nor had much time for their politics , and even when the government attacked Tovin she had only joined the militia not the U.M.B but now with her city in ruins, her family dead and her people in crisis she saw little other option but to take up arms with the U.M.B
With several other former militia , she arrived in this southern camp after much travelling. She didn’t know what the future had in store but it had to be better than the past.

Hofburg, Lavenrunz

The sweet melodies of Strauss were playing in the ballroom as Erich Klement, the Minister of Police, walked across it, smiling and bowing to those he knew or recognized. More than four hundred officials, courtiers, princes of the Church and others were present. It was a pre Rites of Spring ball, held by Archduke Carl, and of course it was attended eagerly by those privileged enough to be invited. Klement, in his dark formal dress uniform, gold braid and decorations gleaming, was a striking figure. He was known to be a rather quiet man, whose contributions in the Volksraad tended to be facts and figures and a disdain for opposition. Arriving at a place near a pillar where Count Mirbach was, he saw that Baroness Hentzau was already there. The lovely Minister of War was a poem of beauty in her formal blue hussar's jacket and red trousers that sleekly encased her glorious legs. The Count was tonight just in formal bureaucrat's black, as if to imply some kind of modesty.
"Chancellor." said Klement.
"Do you know what Effner just sent to me?" Mirbach said, irritation barely held in check. "A message from the UMB, rejecting the Empress' peace offering. He was just in audience with Her Majesty at Schonburg. Filthy untermenschen.."
"And then there's the fact that the North Star troops are almost entirely unprofessional. It was their General's instructions to destroy the city. We just decided that if we were going to it had better be damned thorough." said Hentzau drily.
"So...we need to decide what to do." Mirbach mused. Klement knew this was fiction.
"About what?" he asked, as if genuinely curious.
"About the fact that they have promised more terrorist acts. I think we need to through niceties to the winds and start getting all the damned muslims out of the country and lock Surya down. In preparation to washing our hands of it." Mirbach replied grimly. "We need to get all the muslims--or anyone who looks like one--out. Is that understood?"
"What about the bill and the Empress' speech?" Klement asked. This was an honest question--things had changed recently after all.
"When Her Majesty understands that the choice is between having suicide bombers in the Autumn Palace or making a bunch of subhuman thugs suffer a bit--I think that She will follow my advice." Mirbach said coldly, staring Klement down.
Klement was not entirely sure of that. But he had to respect Mirbach's leadership--saying it in front of Hentzau meant that he, Klement, could not just be fingered with the blame if the Empress decided She didn't like the idea.
"I understand." Klement said quietly.

The Prince's Tent, outside Tovin

Prince von Seydlitz was nonplussed...it was only remembering at the last moment a line from an old story that saved him.
"I am grateful to your Highness for your generosity. It is in service that I and my officers found pleasure, but surely the rewards and pleasures you offer are like those to be found in paradise. But I regret to say that we took an oath in God's Name before leaving Lavenrunz--that we would neither drink to excess nor indulge in the pleasures of the Flesh--before we had in surety conquered the enemies of Her Majesty the Empress and his Majesty the Sultan."

--

Even with Tovin in flames, rebel attacks on government and lavenrunz forces seemed to show no sign of tapering off. Around tovin and in any way possible the 'terrorism' continued- while in the cities the low rumble of dissent grew louder.

From the crown princes own camp-the distant flash of mortar and small arms fire cut through the darkness of night.
not that this worried the prince-he was assured of his saftey
He stared over von Seydlitz
"I didnt know. your honor is great and for this you will be rewarded on earth AND in heaven when the time comes, perhaps I should let you continue with your business then?"
The crown prince lifted a oiled young vixen back onto his knee "general Sadat and you have much talk to hammar out I assume" The prince nuzzled into the girls neck " you can use my quarters. I expect to be kept informed" The prince then turned his entire attention to the girl before him


Yasmine had her first assignment. She hoped she could carry it out , not only for her own sake but for the sake of the group of Lavenrunz prisoners. Her new C.O had made it clear if she failed, he'd have to try himself-and that wouldnt be honorable or pleasant
Yasmine smiled as she entered the cave of the prisoners, she wasnt armed except with the speech that she handed over to Anna.
"read it over. You'll all be expected to read it before the cameras"

Muslims in the occupied Surya territory and throughout lavenrunz are being oppressed!
The indignities being suffered by the muslim populace can no longer be ignored
Mobs aided by soldiers break into muslims houses, rape the women and children while the men folk are forced to watch and then are taken to unknown locations
Already rumor say that these locations are nothing more than concentration camps
And in the gulf of Zabar warships move to strike against north star itself while the sultan does nothing!
Lavenrunz has begain her genocidal war on islam, and the sultan smiles upon it!
The U.M.B vows to avenge herself on Lavenrunz and her people-Unless Lavenrunz withdrews from her crusade of hate.

o.o.c: when will your governments actions become public ?

I was praying at a mosque, thanking Allah for a great
gift, when the kufic script around me erupted into new
meaning. To most people, script is word art, passages
from the Koran written in broad flourishes, angular
lines and even maze-like designs. To the uneducated it
is an explosion of pattern. To Muslims, it is the
Koran in beautiful bloom. To me, it is Allah’s word
and a means of communicating with others of our kind.

That is how I first came to know I was a "Fighter"
Words within the intricate script emerged, shifted and
danced within the patterns. I simply understood, and
then I realized: To my left, a Iesusnese fellow did
not pray. He sought guidance in fighting the
jackal-beast-lavenrunz. On my right, an Iraqistan
announced his intent to die for victory over the
Lavenrunz jinn leadership. Before me, the script
announced:

Know that your world is a House of Abominations. Turn
NOW and fight the enemy.

I did as instructed, no longer in command of my
actions. My world shattered like glass.I knew what had to be done.

And now, what seems like an eternity later, I stand in
this squalid shack with Yusif, my "older brother," and
I wonder what he thinks, and I wonder if lavenrunz knows this war has only just begain

~Extract of a soldiers Journel

Empress Aurora stood silently looking at rows of body bags being unloaded from a C-5 Galaxy transport. A band was playing Dvorak's "New World Symphony" with solemnity. Weeping family members stood nearby, some wearing black armbands, others entirely in mourning.
She looked up at Count Mirbach, Baroness Hentzau and Karl von Effner, who stood with hands over hearts. Not far off were gold braided heavily decorated senior officers. She felt rage suddenly in her, and her eyes coldly swept over them for a moment.

In North Star, the Lavenrunzian forces were ordered to establish 'zones of control' like firebases, where no natives were permitted at all.

Burslau Air Force Base, Surya Province

A forklift was assisting ground crewmen in orange jumpsuits in loading bombs and missiles onto a squadron of Vigfuss long range attack aircraft. The pilots and weapons officers were undergoing a briefing by Brigadier-General Badhausen, a leathery skinned man who was showing them targets in North Star, near Tovin. The mission had not been announced till just now.

Simultaneously, units in and around Tovin were sectioning off the Lavenrunzian areas of operation. There were a few that were not quite on the stick; 4-73rd Fusiliers, for instance, were light infantry and damned if in the hellish heat they were going to chase local guerillas wearing MOPP suits. A few smaller units here and there had bad radio reception for the coded orders.
The orders generally read as follows: that they were not to exclude the strong possibility of a chemical warfare attack from the rebels.
These orders were not conveyed to North Star personnel--it was hoped that they would simply follow requests not to operate in the areas Lavenrunzian forces were.

Muslims in the occupied Surya territory and throughout lavenrunz and North Star are being oppressed!
The indignities being suffered by the shia muslim populace can no longer be ignored
Mobs aided by soldiers break into muslims houses and rape the women and children while the men folk are forced to watch and then are taken to unknown locations
Already rumur say that these locations are nothing more than concentration camps
and now the terror has come to North star
Lavenrunz has begain her genocidal war on islam, and the honorless sultan smiles upon it!

Muslims
strike the enemy!
destroy the invader!

~ Isha Islmaia
Islamic paper

o.o.c: a more artist view of whats happening at
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=145229&highlight=

The squadron flew high over the clouds that hung over Tovin. At the command of General Babhausen, they dipped down below and swooped towards the general area of the city. They were only heard as a faint drone overhead. They could make out far below patterns of light--largely from areas outlying the city, fires and generators, for the city itself still had lost its power.
"Target below." relayed Babhausen to the squadron. "Release."
The bombers unloaded their payloads in a pattern round the city as they flew above it--750 pound bombs carrying the blister agent known as KMA6. This poisonous gas acted only as an irritant gas to those wearing gas masks or able to don them--admittedly causing panic and damage to tear ducts and nasal passages, and probably ultimately killing them through suffocation if they were not able to escape. The airburst attack left roiling poisonous clouds around the city for hours. Anyone not wearing a gas mask or better still a full protection suit died in minutes.

The sultanate government meeting broke down into a shouting match , and order was only restored when the sultan himself threatened the next man to speak with death.
Once loyal generals glared at him. This new ‘stunt’ by lavenrunz had driven a wedge between government ministers. Sure the government forces had been using chemical and biological weapons against the rebellion but this- a foriegn force using chemical agents against a already neutralized target
This was something else
Hatusu stroked her husbands shoulders once the meeting was cleared
“my Strong Lord” she purred in his ear “ you handled that well but do you think you can really let this go without a word?”
The aged sultan struggled against his wife’s roaming hands and growled “My Word is law. Not theirs and not yours!”
“yes my darling, your word. Not mine, not your ministers and certainly not the foreigners you having doing your work for you. Honor and praise belongs to you and God alone ”
The sultan smiled “yes, my word. No one else’s. Send a letter for me”


Elsewhere in the nation the news was spread quickly, and the already horrid situation became nightmarish. Only direct use of the governments forces keep order in the major cities.
In the tovin district , the loyal military commanders did wonder about the air attack- random air attacks on already crushed areas seemed a bit of a over kill-plus gas was so much more expensive and harder to use than say- napalm, and what good was this actually achieve to the lavenrunzians in their military camp hamlets.


Deep in the southern jungle, Yasmine listened to the news reports with horror. Now even the white invaders were doing like the sultan.
Already she knew the U..M.B would be making plans to strike back-throughout the nation and world if possible.
Yasmine so far had been kind in her treatment of the lavenrunz captives in this camp, and she had worked hard not to let her male colleagues take advantage of the situation but now she was starting to feel differently.
Yasmine stormed into the area used to hold the captives, she spat a long list of curses at them in Arabic and for a very few real moments considered using her sidearm on the first prisoner in front of her.
Instead she grabbed Lieutenant Anna Letz “you’re no better than the government. You’re fools, you gas us, you kill us but you have no idea! Let me enlighten you something about your great crusade here.
I am a Christian, and by the honor of Christ I tell you I have seen things you would never want to see. My oldest brother was taken by the security forces when he was only 13, my oldest sister just disappeared one night after the soldiers came through our neighborhood, I can remember watching my own mother starve so we her children could eat. I nursed my father as he died from a gas used by the government forces, I have watched my country starve and fall into poverty as our national riches were pumped over-seas and now I witness you coming to the aid of those who have committed these crimes!
Tell me, in your nation what would you do to avenge this?”

Anna Letz spat back, terrified but also furious, "Your people want nothing but their own way entirely, like spoiled children! My government has tried to negotiate, only to be arrogantly demanded to surrender Surya without any word! And how do you know it was my people? You have sophisticated enough radar to tell, do you? You ignorant savage! All of you, you're nothing but filthy ignorant savages!"

"Now they're complaining, Highness." murmured Admiral Tacheteburg when he and the Field Marshal met on the flagship. "They are saying that the measure was too harsh."
"These people are ignorant savages. And fools. With their own forces so disloyal that constant attacks were taking place, casualties from people in their own uniform, what the hell did they expect? This is a damned madhouse. Frankly, they should be wiped off the face of the Earth." von Seydlitz said coldly. "They should thank heaven we didn't just nuke the entire nation. But as to the rest of it...the Empress is apparently reviewing the entire matter. We may get called home anyway. This exercise has been a useless farce. Damn the Sultan and his people to hell for being stubborn useless raghead bastards."

“we are ignorant savages? What are you? What did you expect here? To be some movie hero? You don’t even know how things are here when you came storming in!
You join the oppressor and act like him and now complain when we resist! Why should we negotiate with you, you treat us like animals and talk to us like you are still colonial masters, you have given us nothing but misery and expect us to be grateful.
We have treated you with as much dignity as this situation can enjoy and you repay the honor with spewing colonial and sultanite filth”


By the order of the sultan, government missile bases and WMD stockpiles were placed on alert and given extra security from the sultans own household.
Only the most loyal government generals who had hands dripping with blood already didn’t see the issue with this current event.
“so the foreigners have learnt to fight-about time”
naturally others didn’t see this so naturally as part of war. Clerics called on images of the days of colonialism and the brutality suffered then to fuel their cause of revolution-death to the foreigner-death to the sultan.

Surya Province, Lavenrunz

Mehmet Ali Tamuz, the Aga Khan of the Ismaili community in the capital of the province, was a dapper man in a suit of handsome cut, with a short neat beard. He was the leader of a large minority in the island, and he noticed as he arrived at the palace of the Prefect that he had arrived along with the Ayatollah of the Shiite community, a portly but dignified cleric with a black turban and a more full beard, rising from his car as a servant held the door open. Along with them, bowing respectfully, were several pillars of the business community.
"The peace and blessings of God be with you." he said pleasantly to the Ayatollah, who replied likewise genially. Both were worried though, and briefly the Ayatollah said, "The Prefect has been visited by the Minister of the Interior and the Imperial Chamberlain. I'm a bit concerned--I hope this will be fruitful."
Both had had to try to pacify communities outraged by acts of violence against those of their shared faith in other provinces and in Surya--and also those muslims who simply hated the separatists and the ones who loved the separatists. What a nightmare!
In an airy room white and with delicate moorish arches, plants in pleasant contrast, the Prefect, in a white tropical uniform, along with the local leaders of the provincial legislature, met with them.
"Gentlemen, please sit down. May I offer coffee or tea?"
As they began the civilized ritual of pleasantries, the Prefect, who had served for years in the province, as a soldier, an administrator and now as the representative of the Throne, put everyone at ease a little, just enough to keep things civil.
"Excellency, we are very concerned about the harsh policey towards muslims. Here we understand that martial law is to protect people from terrorists. And we are doing our best to make sure that things don't get out of hand. Fortunately this is a prosperous part of the Empire--it is not like North Star with gangs of idle youth. But you must understand, the people are afraid." the Aga Khan said grimly.
"Furthermore, we can guarantee nothing in this political climate!" exclaimed the Ayatollah, setting down his coffee cup and shaking a finger warningly. "Excellency, it is not merely fear, it is outrage! And with the recent legislations the Chancellor has tried to introduce--"
One of the businessmen exclaimed, "Who will be next? Mirenburg has actually forced muslims from their homes--where next? Carlsbad? Hofburg? Zwoll? Here?"
The Prefect, a tanned, dark haired man with grey eyes, listened to all this carefully, but now raised a hand. "Gentlemen, I wanted to hear your concerns, but now you must hear what the representatives of the Imperial Government have to say. In a Special Commission, the Chancellor, at the Empress' request, has agreed to permit non-Catholics to hold office in the Empire. The legislature of Surya as well as its seats in the Volksraad will be up for election in the coming months."
The Aga Khan broke into a smile. They all did.
But the Aga Khan immediately knew what it would mean.

Tovin, North Star

With heads like giant insects, made grotesque by their masks, rough figures, made indistinct of sex or even humanity by MOPP suits, moved through a landscape of poisonous mist, with metal detectors. Rumbling along with them were APCs and tanks. There was a relay system set up so that no one would be in for more than an hour--at which point a mechanized company would hurdle into replace another.
With the engineers accompanying the infantry and heavy units, they were searching for hidden bunkers, for unseen connecting wires. Listening devices were put into place.

Transfer Platform 7 is a simple enough space station in low Titanian Orbit, patterned on a scaled-up version of the old Mediterranean Scolopendran Mobile Infantry drop platforms. It is a largish disc, spinning to create centripetal acceleration in lieu of gravity, and while it is mostly made up of simple yet moderately sleek plating there are large sections of segmented windows.

The disc has coaxial central spires that extend from both sides of the disc, remaining stationary as the disc turns. These spires have various docking collars up and down their length, acting as the primary point for docking. Merchantmen from across the Solar System dock at platforms like these to trade with Titan.

A small group of five soldati step out from a Loki class ship bearing Dominion colors. One in particular looks around with interest at the new environment, her blue eyes scanning around for a familiar face. All this just to escape a little notice. And gods am I tired of the thrice-bedamned guard detail.

The debarkation lock is a relatively simple and largish room resembling a pie wedge with ship-side being on the curved wall and the inside of the station towards the tip. It keeps up with the sleek geometric design aesthetic, as pleasing environs promote good trade.

Julius M. Razak leans against a simple cylindrical column that houses scanning equipment in front of a low customs counter, currently unmanned. "Hi." He waves with his traditional wry half-smirk. "Welcome to Scolopendran territory. I can get you into customs easily, but you'll have to register your weapons." He has a rather large and immaculately kept gyrojet pistol in a shoulder holster over unassuming jeans and a grey issued fatigue T-shirt. "You can keep 'em, of course; we just like to know what arsenals people are packing."

Despite quiet argument to the contrary, Nathicana pushes her way to the front, shooting Razak a wry smile of her own. "I think these gentlemen will do just fine keeping here with the ship," she says, then turns her head to glare menacingly at the others. Brief words are exchanged in their native language, brimming with forced restraint on both sides. An uneasy resolution reached, she turns back to Razak, her smile tight.

"I'm quite certain they can keep themselves entertained while we take care of business." Indicating the holstered handgun at her side, she nods. "This and my knives," she murmurs. "Please, lead on."

Razak smiles at the guards as he gently pats the barrel of his gyrojet pistol safely ensconced in its shining plastic holster, essentially the same type seen on light exo-armor. "Don't worry, kids, she's with M.I.. Couldn't be safer in the command room of a battleship." He nods to Nathi, quickly gauging the weapon with a sort of thoughtfully-appraising half-smile. "Of course."

"This is your first time in Scolopendran territory, right?" he asks as he cycles the internal lock for Nathi, motioning inside with a half-smile which just doesn't plan on leaving.

The other four have the presence of mind to cut the muttering as the two walk off, though Nathi knows she's going to hear it later. "You know, I believe so," she says, relaxing a bit as she proceeds as directed. "Thanks for that - I'm just tired of all this damn fuss anymore."

"Well, you do have a knack for getting into things." The outer door shuts then the inner opens, revealing an elegantly simple concourse consisting of more airlocks around the perimeter and a large bank of personnel and cargo elevators in the center, ringed by benches for waiting passengers and schedules arrayed on boards hanging from the ceiling. "Hey, it's a compliment of sorts. You're too tricksy to be left on your lonesome." Closed-lip half-grin.

Nathicana shoots him a decidedly flat look, though it's ruined a bit by the slight turn of her lips. "Not nearly tricksy enough it seems, or I'd have arrived in a different manner. I'm slipping," she says, looking around appreciatively. "Time to settle down, perhaps." Her expression is enough to convey what she thinks of that particular notion.

"Kicking and screaming, I know how that goes." Razak calls an elevator, steps in, and presses a button on the truly impressive console. There is a gentle but persistent sense of acceleration as the elevator shoots 'upwards.' "So, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"No doubt you do," Nathi replies with a soft laugh. She arches a brow at the console, her eyes quickly taking in the details even as she continues. "I'll cut to the chase. I've a little ... project that I can't help but think is right up your alley. I'd have just leaked to the press, but I prefer a more delicate touch."

"Ah, information in the form of announcement. I know the perfect place." The elevator feels like it tilts a little, then the doors open into another concourse, this one rectangular with curved floors that become the walls and then the ceiling far overhead; escalators and stairs leading downwards.

At the bottom of those is another ring, the two descending into something that resembles a mix of the merchant's row of an everyday airport and a street bazaar, complete with curiously different forms of performance and music, each dominant within its sphere of influence and competing not painfully discordantly along the edges.

"There's a decent Cypran diner down along the way here. Perfect place for such talk. Ever much for Greek, Turkish food?"

Nathicana looks around, her smile broadening as she takes in the atmosphere of the place. "I've had a touch of Greek, aye, can't say the same for Turkish. Regardless, I enjoy new things, so ... wither thou will," she says, looking back to him with a grin. "Damn, I think I could get to like these places."

Razak nods. "Right then. Guy who runs it was a buddy in the service... I used to be his CO. Good cook." The diner's front looks, appropriately enough, like a streamlined 30's Art-Deco diner complete with chrome trim; the neon over the door is curled into flowing Arabic script but similar signs in the window advertise souvlaki and baklava. The inside is comfortably close and done in artificial but tasteful wood tones, and a mildly portly man behind the counter who looks to be in his mid fourties grins. "Hey, Colonel! Long time, neh? Bring a friend?"

"Yeah, Stav, I did." Razak turns to Nathi. "Anything in particular you'd like?"

She blinks, looking around quickly, instinctively picking out the exits, position of patrons, potential places to sit ... and any obvious menus. "I ah ... hmm. I'll have whatever you're having," she finally says with a nod. "I've yet to see you show poor taste after all."

"Eh, there will always be other times to be adventurous." Razak motions gentlemanly towards a booth for two. "Make it two gyro specials, Stav. How's the wife and kids?"

Stav chuckles, taking up a knife. "Heh, not bad, Colonel. Still wishing I'd get my ass off these platforms."

"Yeah, I know how that goes. Too well."

"Don't I know it, boss. Now, you want me to cook or to talk to you? We'll catch up later." The man grins broadly and jovially, a fashion going out of style in the Segments.

"Thanks, Stav." Razak sits down at the booth and leans in conspiratorially. "What's this about leaks?"

Nathicana sits in across from him, and after a quick glance around, leans in as well, her demeanor shifting to 'all business'. "Familiar with Lavenrunz and Mirbach?" she asks quietly.

Razak frowns a bit. His face seems just as fit for that as it does for wry grins. "Too well. What's the bastard up to now?"

Nathi nods firmly. "I can't tell you the time I've had sitting down with the man, as pleasant and gentlemanly as he can be, while wanting to reach across and wring his filthy neck," she says, jaw clenching. "Aurora's been doing what she can where she can, giving him enough rope. She's set to string him up now. What I've got is info we need to get public, but in such a way that does not make the Empress look bad. We need it directed at him."

Taking out some chips she palms them over to Razak. "Information. Atrocities. Chemical weapons used on civilians. What's worse, it's not fabricated."

Razak turns far more serious than Nathi has ever seen him before, face a solid grim mask as he palms the chips, eyes not dropping from Nathi's. Oddly fitting for a professional warrior. "Direct evidence to connect him?"

"Hell, man, these are internal documents and reports straight from Lavenrunz. It's ... I don't have words for it. He's not alone, certainly, but he is the one pushing the crusade in North Star." She shakes her head, recalling Aurora's words. "The Empress is horrified. I'm certain she's had nothing to do with it. That bastard has had entirely too much power since the shakeup at the Winter Ball when everything went haywire. If I could have just gotten my hands on him then ... "

"Right. I'll get them out immediately. On the bounce, I suppose?"

She nods, confirming. "I'll be doing what I can on my end as well. It's just a delicate balance, what with Lavenrunz being an ally. I have to maintain some distance. Sirithil is supposed to be gearing up the Menelmacari press as well, but with the current relations already strained there ... a neutral, respected source seemed like a better bet. That and I know damn well how you folks feel about the treatment of people, human or not, that's been going on there."

Nathicana frowns, rubbing her temples lightly. "I've had my hands tied for a number of reasons. And that son of a bitch bloody well knows how to protect himself. Aurora has some things up her sleeve as well. I think we've got him."

"I'll have people organizing marches in the street calling for Mirbach's blood before Maghrib." His tone and his expression show that it may not be much of an exaggeration. "I'm sure there's more we can shovel onto it, to make it a long string of idiocy that leads into rampancy. That'll make him extremely popular around here."

"If that isn't enough, Siri's got direct transmissions of him ordering the murder of the guests that night at the ball. I'm not sure if you know what all went on there, but it was a helluva tight thing. Add to that Aurora says she has evidence that Mirbach was behind her mother and brother's murders ... he's a monster, Razak. Coming from me that must really say something." she says with a humorless smile. "Mind, those tidbits aren't yours to leak. Simply want you to know what I do." Nathicana shakes her head. "Looks like I'll owe you boys yet another one. Starting to run up quite a tab."

Razak softens just a little, one side of his mouth turning up maybe a hair. "We're pinko socialists, Nath. We don't work that way."

"Doesn't change the fact that I feel indebted. I'm starting to learn that isn't always necessarily a bad thing," she replies, smiling a little in return.

"Good. We'll take care of it on this end. Exposure of atrocities with a face to attach to the crime ... ya, S.I.N. will eat it up. As we will eat up our food, as it's done." Razak automatically snaps back to his usual easy-going if eternally wry self as Stav walks up with two plates stacked high to the edges with pita bread, strips of meat, appropriate vegetables, and cucumber dressing.

"Ooooh, grazie," Nathicana says, flashing Slav one of her winning smiles. "Gods man, you certainly do pile it on." She gives Razak a slight nod as she glances back for a moment.

"For the Colonel and his friends, doubly so, ma'am," Stav replies as he puts the plates on the tables, finishing with a playful little half-bow. "If you need anything, just call, 'kay?"

"Mmmhmm - will do," she murmurs, sneaking a taste, her smile broadening. "Gotta remember this place - if of course they let me out again, at least."

Stav grins broadly with a nod and trundles back around to behind the counter, quite pleased with his work.

"S' good, this," Nathi says between bites. "Been ages." Turning a bit more serious, she continues. "Thank you, again."

"Hey, no problem." Razak definitely eats like a trooper--efficiently and with relish. "Anything to stick it to another genocidal bastard. 'S what I live for."

"I figured you wouldn't take it amiss." Nathicana for her part eats delicately enough, though she seems to have no problem putting it away. "I just hope that girl's got herself protected as well as she claims she does. She was nervous enough going back the first time, knowing what she had ahead of her."

"More reason to do it quickly. Sooner we make Mirbach a political pariah, there's no way he can spin the death of a popular Empress. No accident, too convenient. Political suicide."

"Quite. That and the fact she's hitting him with the veto on denying non-humans citizenship, and her accusations in two days is the reason for the rush. It's why she's played it quiet. She's had to wait for the right time." Nathicana suppresses an involuntary shudder. "It was hard enough doing that for a day. That girl's been doing it for months now."

Razak nods. "I doubt I'd have the stomach for something like that. Not my nature. Then again, I was never trained to be subtle." The old trooper smiles wryly.

"Time and a place for everything. Takes all sorts, and me, I like your approach, boy," she says, looking over and smiling. "I can't help but think her mother would be proud. I know I am. Would hope that my ... that is, any children I might have in the future, would show half the resolve she has. So young to have so much thrust on her."

Razak almost--much closer than he's come in years--cracks a grin. His half-smile is certainly less crooked than usual. "I think most people do wish that for their kids. I'm sure yours will turn out fine."

"When the time comes, I'm afraid I'll need all the help I can get," she says, her smile a bit strained. "If they do, it won't be on my account I'm sure. I don't think I'm cut out for the job." Shaking her head, she trails a last bit of pita along her plate, catching up just a bit of sauce then quickly pops it in her mouth.

"Grazie - I think that was the best gyro I've had." Flashing Razak a warm smile, she pushes her plate away, settling back a bit in the booth.

"No one ever is, or at least that's the story I've heard. I'm sure you'll do fine, and help's yours for the asking... and 's nothing. I just have a friend who can cook."

"You cook rather well yourself if I recall. Which reminds me, looking forward to this visit coming up. Damned if I'm not tired of all business all the time. Pleasant, relaxed times seem all too rare. That old cliche of 'got to stop meeting like this' or what not, eh?" Nathi sighs, looking back down at the table, one fingertip tracing an idle pattern. "Which of course means I should probably get my ass back to the grind."

Razak nods. "The same... on all counts. Data doesn't transmit itself."

Nathicana nods as she stands up and fishes enough workreps out of her pocket to cover the meal, and leave a generous tip. "Come prepared," she says. "And no arguments, please. At least let me thank you in this small way, and if you insist, you can treat when I come around next month."

"No worries... I plan on it."

"I think I can make my way back," she says, peering out the windows. "Besides, it will give Lorenzo fits if I show back up sans escort, and I suppose we've both got some work to do."

"Is giving Lorenzo fits a mission objective? Else it's no problem with me to at least show you back to your ship."

Nathicana grins slyly. "I'm going to hear it from Pellegrino regardless. I can't say as I'd mind the company - just don't wish to be any more bother than I already am."

Razak sighs with a wry smile, shaking his head. "No bother. None at all. Shall we go now?"

Nathicana nods and smiles, slipping an arm around his shoulder and giving him a firm but gentle squeeze, then gesturing to the door. "Sounds good."


ooc: Posted as a lead in to subsequent media attacks, as per Jo's request.

Tovin had become nothing more than a waste, government and lavenrunz forces had turned it into a ruin-A turning pile that stands as a testament to the savagery of the sultan and his foreign allies.

~NS Times

The heroic battle is over-the vipers nest of Tovin has been cleaned. My congratulations to my men and the forces of Lavenrunz

~ The Crown prince

Tovin was a little city, no armies defended her and she wasn’t a U.M.B fortress.
But in her destruction she has become a mighty city, the rallying point for the massive armies of resistance and has turned the entire nation into a UMB citadel

~ Reporter and journalist John Herr

Evidence shows Tovin had little or no U.M.B forces stationed. This exercise while a military success-mainly due to lavenrunz effiency, is a success over the rebellious Tovin not the UMB.

~ Major Hammed. Commander 3rd Military Logistics

I witness the recent events in North star with horror and disgust...
Lavenrunz and the sultans government are carrying out a war of genocide.....nothing less...
I without reserve spit on those who would butcher my brothers under God...
my brothers.... know Iesus is with you....
and your day WILL come...

HEIL THE PEOPLE!
Death to occupation!
Matthew Iesus ...a rare public speech ...

In northern Iesus..along the jungles and moutains that mark the border with North Star....

The new aircraft vertical take off aircraft were being inspected by their new pilots....they knew they'd have missions soon to fly from these hidden bases soon enough....

"Major Hammad, unfortunately, is right." von Hentzau said. The beautiful Minister of War stirred her tea and then put it aside, her large blue eyes somewhat distracted. "I am aware of your frustrations, Field Marshal, but you will either have to put them aside or request another assignment. Tovin was however a rallying point. Right now it is nothing, in spite of UMB propaganda."
They were both on the command carrier, in the main briefing room, with several other senior officers present. Von Seydlitz was listening carefully, his fingers steepled.
"This is not merely academic, Field Marshal. Destruction of Tovin is just the beginning. We need to crush the UMB here in North Star and in Surya. First of all: the Sultan's troops are riddled with traitors. That problem needs addressing. Secondly: we need to have a more clear working relationship with them. That means that we have generally separate operational areas but where they converge seniority prevails. It is the simplest and best way of things. Clear lines of authority. Third: we need to work on the jungles. Clear out the rabble of guerillas in there. Fourth: we are not leaving. That means you will need more forces. You will get them."
"In order to clear out the rabble, as you put it, Minister, I will need at least to be able to encircle certain regions completely, advance fortified areas of control and destroy enemy supply lines." said von Seydlitz. He suddenly felt energized at the promise of further reinforcements. Rising, he went to the map. "I'll need to have full fleet support, the advance air bases in Surya and that used as a supply line as well. I'll need a complete field army to complete the task, and in addition to the Para-Commandos at least one Jaeger Battalion and a Special Operations Helicopter Regiment, and two Airmobile Divisions."
Von Hentzau's aides were making notes. "You shall have all this." promised the Minister of War.

Ruins of Tovin

Lieutenant Roggendorf and his platoon kept their gas masks handy as they began to lead the way for the first units moving towards the mountainous jungle of the interior. There was still poisonous gas in hollows and depressions of the ground. The land resembled a strange alien vista--craters of artillery shells and bombardments, shattered vehicles and buildings haunted the area.
In staggered lines, Brigadier-General Mondorf's Para-Commandos made their way along a two mile front towards the jungle and then began to prepare ambushes ahead while to the rear engineers joined them to make fortified camps and firebases.
Colonel Wintzingerode established stern discipline on the roads. Civilians or North Star troops were not permitted on them without authorization from either the Field Marshal or General Sadat. Bodies of ignorant peasants, dragged from roadways, were testimony to the seriousness of this.

Overhead, Feuerkatz fighter-bombers streaked past, on recon missions, searching for any suspicious movements. They dropped airbursts that released thousands of listening devices, not all of which survived. Those that did resembled rocks or twigs except on close scrutiny, and litter game trails, clearings, riverbanks and meadows.

Lavenrunz

To Category II Reservist _______________________

You are hereby required in Her Majesty's Name to embark in 7 days' time to the nearest military station to report for active duty. You are required to bring your rifle, combat webbing, helmet, standard issue boots, bayonet, pack and bedroll. As of that moment you will be issued regular pay and will be in service for the duration of conflict in the Sultanate of North Star.

Colonel-General Count von Gerhardt,
Inspector-General, Imperial Reserve Army


To His Majesty Sultan Omar of North Star

It is of the highest imperative that our senior commands meet to discuss the next phase of the grand strategy against the UMB. I would like this meeting to take place as soon as possible, and for representatives who can speak for both of us to be present.
Regarding the use of chemical weapons. The action taken was unauthorized, and you may rest assured that an inquiry is being conducted, which will result in severe punishment to those who carried it out. I deplore it as much as you do.

warmest regards
Empress Aurora von Sachshausen of Lavenrunz



To Matthew Iesus, Lord Protector of Iesus Christi

My dear fanatical friend, if you think you will get away with tweaking me as you did my mother, you are much mistaken. I have no compunction about having my people turn the border of North Star and Iesus Christi into a wasteland. If you dare attempt to foil my actions, I will do unto you as God did unto the Sodomites. Please consider this a friendly warning.

yours affectionately
Empress Aurora von Sachshausen of Lavenrunz.

The Executive Apartments
Topside
Stonozka, Scolopendra

Janus looks up from the latest VIXEN network reports, leaning over to peek through his cubicle door as Razak returns from his little jaunt from orbit. The Cubicle Farm, pinnacle of the Executive Unit of the Scolopendran government, is normally made entirely of low modular walls to ease communication between the Advisors (who get first call on the window cubicles) and their staffs (generally relegated to the center of the very large room). Only the Intelligence Section advisor--Garbo--gets a cubicle 'office' with walls that go the height of the room; only the Supreme Emperor gets an office in an opposite room. The concept behind this is simple--if the other advisors need to speak with someone in private, they can use one of the breakout or conference rooms on a lower level. Intelligence, however, requires a bit more caution and a lot more priority.

"Hey, Julie," the Asian-looking man calls out, "how was the trip?"

"Productive." Razak stalks across the room as he once used to stalk across drop bays, frowning mightily as he closes Janus's door quickly and quietly. "Hit it."

Garbo nods, afro bobbing just a little with the motion, as he taps a simple hemispherical object on the desk. Quiet white noise fills the room, but it is deathly silent outside. "What's the sitch?"

"Mirbach." Razak dips into his pocket and tosses out the crystals; Janus sweeps them out of the air with an easy, dextrous swipe of his arm. "Need me to start planning something out for SMISO?"

"Plan for contingencies later. Right now," the silver-haired man says, "we need that leaked to someone in the Segments as far away as possible from our government while still credible."

"The media. Ewww." Garbo pulls a face. "I guess that means S.I.N., then?" Scolopendran Indepedent News was notorious for using freedom of the press to the utmost, calling everything the federal government did into question. Sure, it was always in a respectful manner and if they liked the answer they backed off, but they were never easy and they reveled in being just a smidgen submersive... as is appropriate.

"Right. Transmit as much as needed of that to someone and make sure Mirbach is the one responsible. The Sultan is a f---er too but make him look like a puppet... which may be surprisingly accurate, given the relationship."

"Got it, boss." Garbo nods. "I know just the person."

* - * - *

Crazy Akhmed's Crazy Couscous
Dome Alpha, Street Level, Corner of 15th and Kilo
Stonozka

Harriet shakes her head with a slight smile as Garbo walks up with practiced ease, one hand waving and the other stuck firmly into the pocket of a loosely-tied beige trenchcoat.

"My, you even look the part of gub'mint spook, Janus." She chuckles, smiling broadly and closed-lipped. "It's been a while."

"Given our choices in vocation after we left university makes that not altogether surprising, Miss Estes... among other things," Janus says with a nonchalant smile and just the slightest short bow.

"Any reason for the old haunt?" The woman tilts her auburn-haired head slightly at the storefront, which proudly proclaims all-Halal meat in three different languages on a simple cardboard sign hanging from a clean but slightly faded tinted window. Crazy Akhmed is, after all, an old Kenyan and Swahili is his native tongue.

"I figured you'd remember where it is," Janus says with a slight shrug. "Shall we?" He returns the gesture at the storefront, and they enter with a respectful distance between them. The tint in the windows throws a bright swath of ruddy purple, close to a burgundy shade, across the ceiling of the simple restaurant in the noonday 'sun.' Akhmed's daughter, Kalititi, seats the two, dark-brown hands flipping out a battered old notepad. Akhmed always was a cheapskate.

"Haven't seen you two in years," the young woman smiles so broadly her lips can't help but part a little. "What's the occasion?"

"Business," Harriet says quickly with a gentle firmness.

Garbo lets that pass for an answer. "How's ol' Akhmed doing? I'm rather surprised the old mullah isn't either behind the counter or studying in the corner."

The smile fades a bit. "Pop's been sick for a while. He's getting old, you know."

The Asian man nods slowly. "A shame. Always was a treat to talk to... though I figured he was always a bit more eccentric than crazy."

Corners of lips turn up again. "What'll it be?"

* - * - *

"You want me to what?" At least the bastard waited until after dinner.

"I need a favor," Garbo repeats casually.

"Oh no. No way you're going to pull me into a Ghostwriting stunt. It's bad enough you had to go for your damned federal enfranchisement and play into the indoctrination, but Intel?" The word comes out with a vehemence usually reserved for rapists and child molestors. "And now you want me to manipulate the masses for you? Nothing doing."

Garbo nods slowly. "It has to do with the situation in Lavenrunz."

"Nothing doing."

"And the genocide going on in the Sultanate of North Star."

"Nothing--what?" A brow raises, then is forced back down. "No. I'm not going to be your puppet."

He leans back and sighs. "Even the evil, oppressive government steps in when people are dying for no reason. There is no doubt in my mind that Razak is talking to the CINCTYCS right now making a case for preparations for an operation... and yet the scions of Scolopendran political morality simply let it want to go on... silently. That is how ten percent--only ten very vocal and angry and mad percent--of the population can control a modern country... or do you remember what Professor Yedidyah had to say about that?"

If mere looks could kill, Garbo would be atomized. "Bastard. Why me?"

"It has to be aggrivating, your line of profession. No real way up unless you get a camera gig... and you always were a bit too plain and shy for that." He leans back. "Only other way to do it is get the scoop of the year. I thought I could give you a hand up that way. A favor for an old... friend?"

"Old being the key word," Harriet seethes.

The intelligence advisor pulls a plain manilla folder and places it in the middle of the table. "Lavenrunzian forces have been running a counterinsurgency operation in the Sultanate of the North Star for the past three months. This Sultanate runs in the grand tradition of oppressive dictatorships, using biological and chemical agents on civilian opposition. A while back, they took the city of Tovin, which was an opposition stronghold until said opposition moved out. Of course, the fighting carries with it the usual stories of rape and murder and looting, tacitly permitted by Lavenrunz."

He pulls out a clipping from a newspaper--not any Scolopendran one--clipped to another thinner folder bearing the Triumvirate insignia. "North Star is becoming a political liability to the now Reich-oriented Lavenrunz. It is expected that Empress Aurora may step in to stop the fighting. Therefore, they're matching and raising the bet to finally solve the problem. TYCS VH-14 Voyeur spy satellites confirm that, a few days ago, Lavenrunz dropped a very, very lethal chemical blister agent on what remained of 'pacified' Tovin. Civilian casualties are near one hundred percent."

Harriet frowns mightily, swallowing a little as her eyes blink a little too much, are a little too bright.

Garbo takes out another manilla folder and sets it just so on top of the rest, the sword-and-shield of SIS embossed on one corner and pointing like a dagger to the woman's heart. "And, in Grade Alpha intelligence--official internal Lavenrunzian documents--recently received and even more recently leaked via a high-level unnamed intelligence official, Count Mirbach, proponent of revoking the citizenship of nonhumanity, leader of the Lavenrunzian national socialist movement, mastermind of Lavenrunz's sudden switch from Menelmacar to the Reich... is responsible for this simple, easy cleansing of the untermenschen."

He slips out of the booth and reties his trenchcoat, looking idly over his shoulder at the woman staring at the folders, all arrayed in a neat little row. "Innocent people are dying, 'Ret." He shrugs nonchalantly. "What you want to do about it is up to you."

Idly tossing a few workreps on the table to cover his portion, he sticks his hands in the pockets of his trenchcoat and steps back out into the early afternoon light.

* - * - *

The Holy Peace Mosque
Dome Alpha, Street Level, 9th-10th and Mike Street
Stonozka

"Forgive me, Mother," he says with bowed head in the fluent Arabic standard for Scolopendra, the accent a neutral blend of the entire Middle East and Mediterranean seaboard, "for I have sinned."

"Wrong religion, child," replies the Dervish Mullah Kadira ibnat Neelam Alzeshi Tunisiyyatun, a short woman in her mid-sixties with olive-shaded skin, happy yet piercing brown eyes, black hair turned wiry with age, and a face wrinkled from sun and a custom of smiling who wears the simple rough white and light blue cotton robes common to the Sufi subset of the faith, traditional hijab made of slightly softer stuff in a contrasting darker-blue shade wrapped loosely but carefully around her head and draped lightly on her shoulder. "It is a rare treat for anyone, in either my own or my sibling faiths, in the profession of Allah to see the unapologetically atheist Advisor Janus Garbo." She speaks with a gently chiding yet humorous tone, teasing slightly.

"Yes, well, in my line of work one finds it difficult to find the actions of a higher power working anywhere," he says easily, bowing shortly to the unofficial but generally recognized 'head' of Scolopendran Islam, or at least as much of a 'head' that a religion that lacks an orthodoxical hierarchy can have. "Damned dirty world we live in. Err..." he does blush a little at cursing in front of the mullah.

Kadira simply laughs gently. "It is, a damned damned dirty world... unless you know where to look." She motions to a very low table set in front of an even lower cushion on top of a simple woolen rug gone fuzzy with thousands of footsteps. "Still, as it is so rare, I shan't let the opportunity pass to be properly hospitable."

"Thank you." Garbo bows shortly again and sits, followed by the slower movements of the dervish. She moves slowly not with age, it seems, but more with a sort of constant concentration more often found in the saffron-robed believers of other faiths. "I'm afraid I've got some bad news."

"Of course you do, dear." Kadira smiles and starts pouring some fragrant steaming green tea from a simple brass samovar-like pot into two small china cups without handles. "Bad news is what you live in." She hands one to Garbo, holding it gingerly by the rim.

"True enough." The man accepts with a thankful nod. "What's your opinion of the Reich?"

The mullah chuckles. "As a person or as an interpreter of the faith?"

"Either or, or both."

"Well... as a person I see them as misguided, using religion for temporal power in ways repeated all throughout time. This is sad because it does nothing but sully those who truly believe and generate more people who think the way you do." She smiles, no judgement passed... simply neutral disagreement. "As a mullah, I believe it is for people like them that there will be an Hour of Doom. Yet, I am still hopeful that perhaps it will not take them that long to make amends."

"Well, the Crusaders are out in force again." He draws out a newspaper in a flowing Arabic script he obtained via courier in the North Star area. "Lavenrunz has, under the auspices of our good friend Count Mirbach, been fighting a popular uprising in the Sultanate of the North Star. It looks like one of their motivations is taking it to the heathen as per the usual Christian national socialist tendancy."

Kadira sighs, eyes taking in the news quickly. "Misguided, indeed. I don't think you need my help to stir the faithful up to a properly zealous furor, though."

"You misunderstand," Garbo says with a smile. "S.I.N. will pick this up pretty soon and it's best you be prepared. I will be going to talk to Primate Castelbranco next with exactly the same information and pitch."

"No 'angle?'" The dervish smiles.

"Don't need one. I fully expect that you're going to go out there and say that this is a travesty of religion and that true believers should be faithful to the greater ji'had and simply conquer the evil in themselves, not use the Qu'ran as an excuse to throw lives away in petty warfare. Secular freedom is good but do not mask it in the light of Allah as it were to make it seem preternaturally pure."

Kadira nods gently with a smile and a wry chuckle, shaking her head. "And you don't believe a word of it."

"Oh, I believe you do," Garbo says quietly, sipping his tea, "just isn't in my realm of experience, as it were."

"I'll be ready." She chuckles. "At least you do not have to pay us off anymore, neh? We have regained our uncorruptability via corruption and manipulation, oddly enough... have you ever been thanked?"

Garbo smiles knowingly, raising his glass a little in salute. "Can't be thanked for anything that can't be proven to have ever happened. Still, if that's the way you want to look at it, you're welcome."

* - * - *

SCOLOPENDRAN INDEPENDENT NEWS
'Cause It Sucks to be S.I.N.-less

The anchor, trained to be cold and calm when telling the news, cannot help but frown mightily as she looks over her notes, and then at the camera. "This is Scolopendran Independent News, bringing you the sixteen-hundred edition of world events. Our top story concerns the conflict in the Surya province of the Sultanate of the North Star, where Reich-aligned Lavenrunzian forces completely destroyed the city of Tovin with chemical weapons after the city had already been secured with three months of fighting. TYCS satellite reports that there are no survivors and the casualties could easily be in the hundreds of thousands. According to Lavenrunzian documents intercepted by Scolopendran intelligence and reported to S.I.N. via a high-level source, this is the first act in a policy of ethnic cleansing instigated by their current political head, Count Mirbach. These documents show that after three months and an estimated one hundred thousand casualties of conventional Lavenrunzian involvement in the internal conflict that he plans to remove the primarily Islamic secessionist leadership by removing all Muslims in the area, quite possibly with additional gas attacks. You may recall that Count Mirbach, leader of the Lavenrunzian Christian nationalist movement, is currently pushing an effort to remove citizenship from all nonhumans in Lavenrunz, a traditionally enlightened nation in that regard. We are currently attempting to contact Lavenrunzian officials for comment.

"Reports of panic, rape, and pillage continue to flow in from the remains of Tovin and Surya. Most news services in the area report that Tovin was purely a civilian city with no more insurgent presence, although state-owned media"--the word comes out with a hiss despite her best efforts... she is Scolopendran, after all--"fervently denies these claims. We are attempting to contact Sultanate officials and resistance leaders for comment.

"We have with us today Doctor Atef al Mowaled of the University of Stonozka, who specializes in international politics and intelligence. Thank you for agreeing to appear with us, Doctor." The camera pulls back and pans to show a man in his early fifties, quite bald, with thin pince-nez glasses and a mildly corpulent physique.

"No, thank you," Doctor al Mowaled replies, "it's not often I get to look at intelligence data this good."

"Doctor, if you could explain this to the public..."

He smiles broadly, lips closed--no grinning, especially not on public transmissions--and a surprisingly hungry gleam to his eyes. "Certainly."

Victory to God. The most compassionate and master of the day of Doom.
All these recent crimes and sins committed by the Sultan and his Lavenrunz lap dogs are a clear declaration of war on God, his messenger, and Muslims.
We therefore claim the loyalty of all Muslims in North Star in the name of the honorable one God and call on the allies of the sultan to abandon his cause and join with the people of God.
Inshalla Allah-our day of victory is here
~ U.M.B leadership statement


My friend. Empress of Lavenrunz-clearly since U.M.B and resistance operations are continuing AND at the greatest level they have been at for 5 years-further action will need to be taken.
As you say, a united plan is needed - as well are ground rules and understandings.
I pay honor to your cause and your bravery and at the same time I know you will respect the realm of the Sultan.
North Star is a old and proud nation, extreme in terrains and wide in distance. The enemy we fight does not so just from isolated villages or jungles bases but does so from our very central cities. I have mentioned this to my husband also- so while I applaud loudest at the extreme measures taken by yourselves and my noble husbands government-clearly such actions cannot be the norm due to functional issues of populace control and infrastructure.
Our commands must meet soon to formalize our tactics.
My husbands wishes you his best and blessings.
~ Consort of the Sultan- Hatusu


The small village lay outside the so called ‘vipers nest’’ of the U.M.B but that hadn’t stop government soldiers on their way through from ‘Inspection’ and ‘interrogation’ of suspects.
Fatima cried to herself in her families bathroom as the trucks and armored cars drove off, she frantically tried to wash clean the blood as it flowed from between her legs. She cried more and more and prayed to God the almighty that none of the soldiers had planted his seed with success.

Later
Ahead an engine roars into life and an armored car lurches. Its commander begins to track the turret looking for targets. Yasim drops flat and sights along the missile launcher-and fires. The bomb hangs in the air - drops and explodes, shaking the camp as the armored car bursts into flames. Uisef , the loader , pops another bomb into the missile launcher. Yasim wriggles around for a second shot. He fires again and another armored car explodes.
The air quickly fills with acrid smoke.
Frantic orders are shouted in arabic and are answered by screams of “Allahu Akbar!”
Men dash forward into the enemy camp, in the pre-dawn darkness figures hurl grenades and fire wildly-a fusillade of fire sounds out. The surprised government forces struggle not to flee into the darkness.
Then a whistle sounds ‘withdraw’ , leaving the government patrol demoralized, and many of its transports ruined, while the attackers slip back to their villages or into the nearby hills, and Yasim-Fatimas brother - praises God for allowing him to avenge his sisters honor.


The border with Iesus Christi
Yasmine lead the U.M.B patrol over the massive jungle border into Iesus. With her were the lavenrunz prisoners from her camp and several others. She didn’t know what was going to happen to them and she didn’t know if she cared any more. She had tried to talk to them-especially the officer woman but to no success.
Now they were part of the hand over.
Less than 500 metres onto the Iesus side they meet their ‘contacts’- uniformed soldiers of Iesus Christi.
The exchange was quick. A.G lifting gear would make the transportation of the crates of arms easier – from portable radar systems to the top of the line shoulder mounted missiles they were getting it all and heavier equipment had also been streaming into the country – some said for years.
In exchange Yasmine nodded to the Lavenrunz prisoners “they are all yours”


The 4 SNS Supply craft flew in perfect formation , their mission was to supply one of the forward government bases on the edge of the dense southern jungle.
It tended to be a easy flight-U.M.B forces were kept well back from these bases and only the occasional missile disturb the flight.
The nav operator on the lead plane watch his monitor with little interest-that was until it suddenly came alight. “captain. three unidentified aircraft approaching. They’ve just appeared – must have been flying low ? Sir I cant raise them. What should I do?”
The answer the captain gave was lost as the operator screamed “HOT BETTY! We’ve got incoming fire!”

“Light the fire…God is great!!!”
The lead supply plane burst into flame and fall from the sky.
“kill them….KILL THEM ALL!!!!”
The three Iesus jets painted with sharks teeth and the U.M.B insignia tore into the supply planes..making short work of the unprepared enemy..
“Scratch one supply flight! home boys! Home!”
Hitting full throttle the aircraft flew fast and low back over the border into Iesus…only once over the Iesus border and within its vast network of border defences did the pilots lay off the throttle and came into land in one of the many hidden airbases along the border-line.


Mular Yosef was greeted warmly by Matthew Iesus. As one of the three leaders of the U.M.B the Mular had taken a risk coming openly to Iesus but ….he knew it could be worthwhile.
Matthew smiled warmly at the U.M.B leader “I’ve read your request and I agree….God is great comrade!”
Bridgette Iesus stood behind Matthew and frowned. Other ministry of social order ministers and generals took her stance but Matthew had..for one..made his view clear….
To the side General Robard made mental notes as he watched the meeting…this had all been a unforseen result of the Lord Protectors ‘treatment’…..something about the passion he held on certain topics made him hard to ‘manoeuvre’ ….Robard made another note to go see the doctors again….Just like Patrick still living…this support of the UMB just wouldn’t do…


In answer to the horror of your current actions...Iesus has no choice to to remove its diplomatic presence from North Star....and cut all aid to your military...be it equipment or technology....

A extract...Letter to the sultan...

Rete Di Notizie Del Dominion
The Official Dominion News Network

“Our highlight tonight is on North Star and Lavenrunz, two nations embroiled in a conflict that has recently taken a turn for the worse.”

“Months ago, a terrorist attack on Hoffburg that resulted in the deaths and injuries of dozens, sparked a conflict between Lavenrunz and rebel forces in North Star. Attempts at negotiations by the Empress, in spite of the severity of the attack, soon broke down and under the guidance of Chancellor Joachim von Mirbach, the Empire’s forces have since been waging a bloody war against the Muslim extremists.”

“However, recent reports indicate that what started as an attempt to quell a threat from outside their borders has become a push towards genocide. The occupied territory of Surya, and the once beautiful city of Tovin in particular have been the sites of untold horrors unleashed by both Sultanate and Lavenrunz forces. Tales of rape, murder, torture and looting filter in from what refugees have been able to flee the areas, most of which are reported to have been carried out against civilians caught between the feuding groups.”

“Tovin in particular has been pounded day and night by artillery and bombing raids. A city that was said to have been quelled, this was the target of a recent chemical attack by Lavenrunz air support. Using a blister agent, it is alleged that they inundated the area, resulting in the horrific deaths of countless thousands of innocent civilians.”

“Rumors abound of concentration camps where supposed dissidents from the war-torn areas have been sent away in scenes that in many minds call up the far distant times of the Holocaust. Even in Lavenrunz itself, the push for eliminating potential threats has taken an ugly twist. In Mirenburg, Muslims are reported to have been forced from their homes, and there is fear within the Muslim communities that these actions will spread.”

“Following closely on the heels of the controversial push by Mirbach to deny citizenship to non-humans in Lavenrunz, it is speculated that these latest atrocities are the next step towards what appears to be his efforts at ‘ethnic cleansing’. Mirbach himself has been quite vocal in his stands on non-humans, and since he was voted into office, has seemed to be the most public face that is presented on behalf of the Lavenrunz government. However it appears that there is a difference of opinion between himself and the Empress, who in an unprecedented move last winter, supposedly seized control of the government after a brief struggle that seemed to center around the Winter Ball, and the attendance of the Royal Family, and many high-ranking diplomats and world leaders. As you may recall, our own Dread Lady was a guest, and reported at the time that Mirbach had been behind the attack, and the murder of Countess von Katori – accusations that were denied at the time, and subsequently dismissed, the later never having been fully addressed. This was also the time where the Elentari of Menelmacar, Sirithil nos Feanor, was stripped of her post as Regent – the beginning of Mirbach’s efforts.”

“In a speech made in Hofburg at the Imperial Park, at a rally for non-human rights, Empress Aurora von Sachshausen challenged Mirbach and his agenda openly.”



"I'm young, I know, but I won't let anyone get away with hurting any of you. We don't have a state religion because we like to have Easter parades. We have one because we believe that our laws are based on the truth of God. I swore an oath, in God's name, to be your ruler. Not of any particular sex, or age, or race...not because of what your name is or what you do for a living, but because we all live here, and we all love this country. And to those who want to threaten you, I have this to say." Aurora looked directly into one of the state security cameras.

"What you do to the least of them, you do to me."



“Soon after, in a meeting of the Volksraad where the vote passed with 445 in favour; 281 against, Mirbach railed against the non-humans, Menelmacar and the elves in particular, with claims of infiltration of businesses, technological works, and the government.”

“Mirbach’s office has been forwarded a copy of this report and a request for any possible rebuttal or clarification on his part. We will keep abreast of the situation as it develops.”

“In other news …”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Government Offices, Devras

Nathicana watched the broadcast tape and nodded. “It will have to do. I’m certain to be hearing about this soon from several points, however …”

Tapping her fingertips along the smooth glass containing her typical ice water, she pondered for a while, working out arguments in her mind, preparing for what could possibly be fallout from this venture.

“Any official statements for now?” asked Talia Amadore, Minister of Communications, and the one responsible for monitoring the various news agencies within the Dominion.

“None for now. Lets see first what questions get asked, and how people read our relationship with our ally and the fact that this story is being released here at all before going out on any limbs.”

In answer to the horror of your current actions...Iesus has no choice to to remove its diplomatic presence from North Star....and cut all aid to your military...be it equipment or technology....

A extract...Letter to the sultan...

In kind we are preparing to withdraw our own diplomatic staff.
this is a dark blot on the honor of my people.
~Sultan Omar

Carrier Mirenburg, North Star Coast

A letter had been sent, via an encrypted code to the Sultan.


To His Majesty Sultan Omar
Your Majesty's Heir was kind enough to host our folk following our shared victory in Tovin. We would like in turn to host the military conference aboard one of our fleet ships. For the sake of security, we will keep which one a secret till the last possible moment.
Most affectionately
Empress Aurora


Field Marshal von Seydlitz, General Hausmann, Admiral Tachteburg, General Babhausen and their staff and aides met on the ship and presented themselves to Count Chemnitz, the Imperial Chamberlain. He was carefully briefed on the situation as final preparations were made for the conference.

It appeared first in the Osservatore Romano, of course—that much was automatic. But since the Osservatore’s circulation was, well, call it ‘parochial,’ it was also prepared for general release by the Office of Papal Communications.


LEO XIV, To the World’s People of Faith and Especially to the Catholic Faithful of the World and of the Empire of Lavenrunz:

We are deeply disturbed by the news reports of atrocities on civilians in North Star by the troops of Lavenrunz; presumably acting under orders from Lavenrunzian authorities. Our sorrowful prayers are offered for the victims of these conscienceless acts, and Our pleas go out to all involved to cease hostilities and resolve differences through negotiation and mediation.

Throughout recent decades, it has been the policy of the Church, and it will continue to be Our policy, to regard Ourselves as bound by special ties of faith tradition to those who share the Word of God through the lineage of Abraham. We have in the past participated in efforts to reconcile differences between peoples of the Faiths of the Book, both spiritual and political. With the help of God, it is possible, as are all things in His Infinite Power and Mercy, and it is our heartfelt prayer that He will grant His Grace to the leaders of nations, that they may join and continue in this work of reconciliation.

We urge all Catholics to afford respect to Our Muslim brothers and sisters, and to proffer the benefits of full social and political parity to all within their nations to all. We at all times deplore the political or social repression of citizens on the basis of religion. It is with great unhappiness that We have observed Our sons and daughters in Lavenrunz moving down the path of intolerance, suspicion, and repression. We urge the Faithful of Lavenrunz to add their prayers to Our own, in imploring God’s Grace of wisdom to prevail among their leaders, that they may halt and reverse their steps, returning to the path of tolerance and brotherhood.

We have much love in Our heart for Our daughter in Christ, Empress Aurora, and the people of Lavenrunz. Their Faith has been a great beacon of light in many of the world’s trials, and We pray that they will not depart from the ways of Faith, and be tempted into worldly rationalizations and calculations to allow the end to justify such atrocities. It is a sin of spiritual arrogance, when worldly leaders believe that they can move events at their will, and assure outcomes as they would ordain them, even to achieve the ends of justice. They forget that the responsibility of all Christians is to do that which is morally right, and leave the outcomes to the Divine Plan of God, Who sees beyond the temporal world, in infinite mercy.

Given in Rome on the _____ day of ______, in the first year of Our Pontificate.



Despatched through diplomatic channels to Archbishop Viktor Kronstein, the Vatican’s special Emissary, currently visiting in Lavenrunz. Late on the day before the first release appeared in the Osservatore, he hand-delivered to Count Chemnitz a seal-encrusted formal communication from the Pope.


Her Imperial, Faithful and Teutonic Majesty, Aurora von Sachshausen, Empress of Lavenrunz

Greetings in Christ

I take this opportunity of communicating directly with your Majesty, at a time when the state of Lavenrunz faces a grave spiritual crisis. I have heard the most encouraging reports of your devotion to the Faith and your deep concern for the well-being of your people, and have been moved to offer a Mass for your intentions in abating the evils resulting from the military actions of Lavenrunz in North Star.

Dear daughter in Christ, I wish to assure you that at all times the welfare of your soul is of concern to me, and you have my prayers and support in the difficult tasks that face a temporal ruler in our troubled world. I cannot approve of the recent actions that your government has taken in regards to the treatment of Muslims and non-humans in Lavenrunz, nor yet in the conduct of the military forces Lavenrunz has deployed in North Star. But I also know the delicate tightrope you walk in your role as Empress in a country that has committed itself to political self-determination for its citizens, a commitment that also has my heartfelt approval.

Please believe that the spiritual resources of the Church are always available to you in any struggle to advance the cause of human rights and enlightenment, undertaken in faithful humility, with attention to the moral justification of your methods. And also believe that the spiritual resources of the Church, and my own prayers and support, are always available to you in the continuing growth of your own personal Faith in Christ.

Warmest regards in Christ
+LEO, the Fourteenth of that Name, Gloriously Reigning in The Apostolic See, on This ____ day of _____.

The formal subscription was overwritten by a signature in the famous blue ink, with a quote from Proverbs: “For the Lord gives wisdom, from His mouth come knowledge and understanding”

<Encryption Active, NDA-Secure.>
To: Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Colonel General Artur von Baden

Greetings, Colonel General. We have been monitoring the progress of the war in North Star, and certainly sympathize with your plight. As such valued allies, we'd hate to leave you to fight a bloody guerrilla on your own, and as such we'd like to lend some assistance. Naturally we can't offer much without declaring ourselves combatants, but we are prepared to offer an entire field hospital divison, along with a brigade of DEC-Kasrkin in a "security and advisory" role. Assuming you would like our help, that is. Keep up the good fight,

~Lord-General Eern Kahmel, CIU-UI
<End Encryption.>

+glorified tag of d00m!

It would honor us greatly to meet upon one of your fine majestic warships.
Sadly I will have to attend in my husbands place due to his current situation, but I shall attend with our top planners and military minds, and rest assured I will speak for the sultan.
~Hatusu. Consort of the Sultan


The crown Prince Hussian led his two younger brothers in the prayers around their fathers sick bed.
“may heaven let you stay longer o father divine”
The youngest son Azzam sobbed openly even after the crown prince had shot him a disgusted look and a nasty comment “are you 22 or 2? Stop acting like a woman!”
The crown prince fumed and sulked-father is as stubborn as a ox. Why wouldn’t he just die?! This was the third time in recent months he had taken a ‘bad turn’ but still the old man always somehow rose from his death bed-again and again!

To His Holiness the Pope

Please know that I have arrested those in my Government responsible for the atrocities from the Lavenrunzian end of things in North Star. However, if your Holiness doesn't mind me saying so, you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs, and you can't win a war without breaking heads. I know war is a sin, but it is sometimes a necessary one.
Also, Holy Father, what does Canon Law say about marrying a Protestant? I'd really like to know.
Affectionately
Empress Aurora von Sachshausen


There was a certain degree of tension aboard the command carrier. It was not just that the North Star folk were suspected (rightly) of being riddled with terrorist sympathizers. It was also what Empress Aurora had pointed out: “They don’t know much about us and we don’t know much about them.” Field Marshal von Seydlitz was still smarting from a tongue lashing from the Monarch about calling the locals a nasty nickname for ‘Worthy Oriental Gentlemen’ while War Minister von Hentzau was still stunned by the recent arrest of the Chancellor, Count Mirbach.
Lieutenant-Commander Metternich, who was in charge of the officer’s mess and hospitality, went to great lengths. First of all, the Ayatollah from Surya had been brought to make the foods and the kitchen halal. It was made very clear that any meals offered during the conference would never have come near either the meats of unclean animals, nor any animals unblessed. It was not known how devout the guests would be, but the important thing, the young commander had been told, was to make them feel welcome and allow them to focus on matters of importance.
When the Sultana arrived, rows of sailors in white tropical dress, marines in blue full dress, a band playing the anthem of North Star with magnificent fluorish, and the senior officers saluting greeted her.

The sleek black serpantis skim ships darted through the water in formation towards the Lavenrunz vessel - the flags of the crossed swords of the Omar clan and the green of Islam blew in the wind as they approached.
The North Star military officials all wore standard formal military dress-in the cut of the regional fascist style while the royal consort wore simple traditional Arabic robes-but not the full Burka[as some outside the nation may expect].
Before they stepped across to the Lavenrunz vessel, a short passage was read from the Koran by the ship captain, according to many there had been ill portents in recent days and now to the exasperation of Hatusu old superstition was surfacing
“Men” She sighed she the reading finally came to a conclusion and she stepped out to meet the Lavnerunians

“Present—Arms!” shouted a voice, as pipes shrilled. The Sultana was greeted by a brisk disciplined crash of booted feet and a glittering series of rows of upraised bayonets and flashing swords. With a drumroll and fanfare, the anthem of the Sultanate of North Star was played by an Imperial Marine band. The cluster of senior admirals and generals saluted formally while this was played. At the end of it, Prince von Seydlitz stepped forward, towering over most of the guests, and bowed, clicking his heels. “Welcome aboard, your Majesty. This is a great honour. Please permit me to introduce my senior command—Admiral Tachteburg, General Hausmann, General Kleburg, General von Mesmer, Admiral Keyserling, General Babhausen. The Sultana was able to note that two of these officers, von Mesmer and Keyserling, were women.
"Also, Majesty," he added, indicating a ravishingly lovely woman with golden hair in tropical formal dress, "This is Baroness Ulrica von Hentzau, Her Majesty's Minister of War." the Baroness bowed with a click of her heels.
“Unless your Majesty objects, I had thought to go inside where we might enjoy some refreshments together and where you and your entourage might relax somewhat, as this discussion may take some time.” He added.

The consort whispered to the leading general who nodded and took one step forward from the visiting party.
“honor and blessings upon the people of lavenrunz and your brave fighting soldiers. I am General Whaba of the sultans own personal guard-the burly bodyguards are hand picked by myself, and you will know General Sadat from the tovin operations and this is our new head of strategic operations-Admiral Kariff “ both men saluted as their names were mentioned.
“Our royal consort – she whom the anointed of God has chosen- wishes to bid your peace and blessings also, may God be with you till the day of Doom. It would please her greatly if we were to take refreshments before we engage in matters of state security”
General Whaba looked over his shoulder and Hatusu nodded signifying he hadn’t missed anything.

The meal was a blend of Lavenrunzian and Suryan cuisine: on the one hand there was a venison pie of delicate pastry crust made with vegetables and herbs, that had been tenderized with papaya. On the other there was chicken horisht. There were plenty of choices to serve many palates. Excellent coffees, tea and water from the mountain springs of Lavenrunz were offered.
The Lavenrunzians didn't 'talk shop' during the meal, but asked pleasant questions of the other officers, about their tastes in music, about, if they were willing to discuss them, their families. General Kleburg commented that he heard there were some excellent horse breeders in North Star, and that he might be interested in meeting some sometime. During this meal, Baroness Hentzau made witty or pleasant remarks at which others listened attentively or laughed as appropriate.
However, at a certain point the Field Marshal recommended going to the briefing room. This was well set up with a large video screen, maps, comfortable chairs and reference folders.
"First of all, Majesty, gentlemen, I should like to know your views on the general situation we face." Baroness Hentzau said, opening the conference.

The North Star officers were light on talk and unlike a certain other meeting the behavior was exemplary – no one even asked if the food was halal. Horse breeding raised the admirals attention thou and he was only silenced mid raving by a look from the Royal consort.
During the meal whenever the consort spoke she kept her answers short and often spoke in traditional phrase – quoting the Koran or the Omar clan histories.
But upon entering the briefing room, this all changed.
“The current situation is a nightmare, a nightmare compounded by corruption and fueled by over zealous behavior that is driving people into the arms of a well armed and organized U.M.B. The ‘vipers nest’ massive jungle border region with Iesus Christi is totally out of our control while many cities are near chaos with constant terror attacks. All clan and city leaders are crying for support while doing nothing themselves besides causing the U.M.B to look like honorable heroes. The situation is only moments away from turning into total chaos
That’s my general view of the current situation”

The Lavenrunzians listened gravely to the words spoken, and some of them nodded. Baroness Hentzau sighed and said, “Our sympathies, Majesty, and worthy gentlemen, are with you. But I do not believe this situation his hopeless. The Field Marshal has a plan.” She nodded to Prince von Seydlitz, who inclined his head in response and rose.
“It is true that your Majesty’s nation is plagued with rebellion. We advise the following things. First of all, I strongly recommend ceasing reprisals against the civilians who simply happen to be in an area where uprisings or rebellions have broken out. This is the surest way to make the UMB win friends. For those who disobey orders not to rape, murder or rob civilians, the sentence must be fierce. For us, it would be death for mutiny.
Second: aid for refugees and the suffering must be given. We have some plans for this but we recommend that they be implemented as soon as possible.
As for the actual rebels and UMB followers: these must be entirely surrounded. We recommend a bombing campaign to destroy the main routes of supply into Iesus Christi, and roadblocks on all roads, bridges and rails leading into the jungle area. Following this, search and destroy missions would be carried out, largely by our Para-Commandos and allied troops we would bring in under our own command who have expertise in jungle warfare.
May I ask what is thought of these general recommendations so far?”

The United Muslim brotherhood was almost destroyed years ago by the cowardly betrayal of the sultan and his attack on the religious leaders of North Star. Now, inspired by the strength and leadership of our commanders like Mullah Yosef , Bin-Layis and our spiritual leader Mullah Omar, the workers and peasants have built a new army to drive the invaders from the soil of the Islamic workers’ paradise. Through our heroic efforts, and despite heavy losses early on from the Sultans attacks, the army is growing rapidly in size and has only the latest equipment.
The new Islamic army demonstrates the superiority of our Islamic system, as workers volunteer to form army units after army unit to halt the Godless ones. War factories, operating secretly along with supplies form foreign allies produce large numbers of advanced weapons 24 hours per day.
The traditional stoicism of the Arab peoples, combined with dedication to socialist Islamic ideals , allows them to overcome the Sultan and his foreign dogs despite overwhelming odds.

Captain Muhammad Kufr. United Muslim Brotherhood. Televised speech from Islamic base border region.


The Al-Ax Mosque was cramped full for evening prayer, the cleric [Aaron Walal] had mandate over of the largest Mosque in the capital was so far detached from the brewing insurgency around him
“my friends there is no But God. I praise and honor his name.
Sura II
and fight in the way of God with those who fight you, but aggress not:God loves not the aggressors.
And slay them wherever you come upon them, and expel them from where they expelled you; persecution is more grievous than slaying.
But fight them not by the holy Mosque until they should fight you there; then, if they fight you, slay them- such is the recompense of unbelievers- but if they give over and surrender, surely God is All forgiving, All compassionate
think on this today, followers of islam"


The meeting
“There is no reason for your apologizes, the conduct of the lavenrunz forces has been generally superb.
And you are of course right. Things need to change within our actions to cut off U.M.B support but” hatusu paused and glared at her two senior officers.
“things here are not like they are in other nations. If we are not seen to be in control then the warlords who support the majestic sultan may waver- here strength is feared and the sultan must be strength incarnate. Our clan lords are not used to subtle leadership nor are our clan troops likely to take kindly to the lack of ‘bounty’ that is due to them as custum but I agree something must be done.
As for the ‘vipers nest’, direct action I agree on. Cutting the border may be hard, it is a sprawling border of jungles and swamps and cutting bridges etc would only be a start. The U.M.B - no matter what my officers have told is WELL armed and secured in the south.
Weapons have followed into there for years-not just recent months, those who have planned against the sultan have taken their time.
we must understand what we start here will not end in weeks or months but years
I will understand if lavenrunz see's this as unacceptable”

o.o.c: i'm trying to post a national map for reference[if that will help]

Along the border

“fall back Zed commando! Long live the Sultan!”
With explosions all around them, the ‘sultans own’ commando fall back into the jungle leaving the Iesus fuel trucks in smoke and ruins.

They had crossed the dense jungle border line to recce the situation , now Abull knew enough to feel his trip hadn’t been in vain – the attack on the supply trucks had just been a colorful chance, the real prize was the information.

Prince von Seydlitz paused in reply. "Well, Excellency, with respect...you have perhaps not read Sun Tzu."When the terrain is disadvantageous, draw the enemy out". In order to supply and feed an army, you need produce, you need the goods of factories, even if they are small and localized. This jungle terrain--I understand it is large, but a force effective forever will suffer in a jungle. It may take months, but it will not take years. The enemy will be defeated, because they must attack us successfully in order to win. Their actions are narrow--for us, there are many possibilities."

Bordering the Jungles of North Star

Lieutenant Roggendorf had never been so damned hot. He, like many of the other Para-Commandos, had given up wearing underwear for fear of crotch rot, and had begun to love foot powder like his best friend. Weapons maintenance was undertaken with discipline that bordered on madness.
The only fun part was getting to blow up bridges and tear up railroads and help mine roads.
He glanced at his commandos, who were variously standing sentry, laying charges on a rail bridge, and maintaining the platoon command post. Then over to the trail leading back to Firebase Lohengrin. A pair of Fledermauss Helicopters, distantly wriggling insects in the blazing sky, went towards it.

Sergeant-Major Sternmeyer spat on the ground. Some five miles off, on a road leading through an area of rice growing villages, he had stopped a truck. This was always work requiring courage, since these lunatics were not above blowing up the truck with themselves in it just to kill some Lavenrunzians. Now they had a routine worked out. Essentially, the people in the truck got out and walked a short distance away, hands in the air. Then they lay down, limbs spreadeagled. After that it was inspected by combat engineers. This took time; it was causing traffic jams.
"Blame your filthy fanatical friends, jerks." thought the Sergeant-Major.

Colonel Wintzingerode sat in his command center receiving reports. He cursed the flies, the heat and the whole region. What Lavenrunzians called der vogel was starting to flap around in everyone's heads. It was just plain unnatural, the whole climate. He estimated that most of his casualties thus far had been from dysentary, heat prostration and malaria.

Far above them all, AWACs planes, and still higher above them, GUDA satellites were moving, their finely tuned electronic senses sifting through to pick up interesting radio, fiberoptic or laser guided messages.

The Jeep drove along past the men of legio mariain varying states of jungle combat readiness...
General Bull , direct from the Ministry, looked with horror over the ‘legio' men as the jeep drove by...
"My God colonel, the men arnt saluting!"
The Colonel, a lifetime veteran of the ‘legio' replied in a dry monotone "well Sir, I expect if you wave....they'll wave back..."

Later after a long winded briefing by Bull, Colonel Barry summed it up for his officers after the fat man was out of ear shot....
"we're here For God and Iesus....not him and his lot...forget everything he said...for us it will be..
For GOD! For Iesus! For Matty and Revenge !"

Hatusu smiled sweetly "well oddly enough i'm not familiar with the works of Sun Tzu - he isn't required reading for life as consort of the sultan - honor and peace to him - I leave matters of tactics to my officers but political matters are my concern, and even with my little understanding of war this path of action will require vast logistics, use of port and infrastructure within the realm -i agree with this but the U.M.B will answer our plan with increasing the terror attacks on said infrastructures - and personally I don't know if our security forces can withstand a increase in the internal pressure within our cities - so while your troops may turn the jungles into a grave for the U.M.B, the government and clan forces may lose control totally elsewhere.
So while i bless and honor your plan - i see even with the talents you and our officers have it could still be a long road."

Baroness Hentzau said quietly, "I will take this to mean that Your Majesty will support our plan, but that there is not much faith in it. In that case, Her Majesty wishes this to be done. That a Supreme Commander-in-Chief be appointed, responsible only to your Crown directly and to our own Sovereign."

At sea, dozens of refuelling, supply and ammunition ships, escorted by one of the carrier groups, made their way to the waters off the coast of North Star to replenish the fleet and the army.

Aboard Communications Command Vessel Mecklenberg

Signals Operator First Class Boerstler was listening to a relay of information from an AWACs plane. He was one of a number of people, quietly sitting at stations receiving reports. Duly noting them down, he recorded that Iesus Christian troops were gathering at the borders of North Star.

The Fleet, North Star coastal region

Mechanics, technicians and support crews had been going over planes and helicopters on the carriers with fine toothed combs. Pilots, navigators and bombardiers were being briefed on target areas and were doing last minute intelligence reviews on the latest information about Iesus Christi's air force and anti-air capabilities.
Sabotage had not been ruled out, and small craft were in the waters, ready to intercept possible attacks by maniacs in speedboats loaded with explosives.
The ships themselves, in any case, did not remain at particular anchors for more than two days at a time.

Rapid communications shot between Iesus and the vipers nest....as well as deeper into north star...

"The ministry does not support this course of action!"
"To hell with the ministry then! " the men mumbled agreement as colonel Barry started to debate with the General "you sir are a general of the ministry....we dont obey you in the field..we are officers of the government and God..no one else!"
"But ..but..." the fat man stumbled on his words....
"No ‘buts' sir! We have our orders from command HQ.the supplies are going over the border and the whole front is on red alert. End of the discussion"
General Herr nodded agreement...he was loving seeing a ministry brown shirt being talked at...."Colonel Barry is correct...the ministry has no standing in the field once war alert is declared...and my friend...it has been..."
The gathered officers cheered in delight
"..and...it is my greatest honour to declare that colonel Barry has been elevated to the rank of general"
With that news the gathered officers from the varying ‘arms' jumped to their feet and shouted in joy, before long the nation anthem was being song with gusto by the excited men.
Herr slapped Tom Barry on the back and whispered "good show lad...ignore the fat sour faced git....enjoy the moment...cos you know what's coming soon..."


To the Imperial Sultan and his government....
To prevent the unnecessary shedding of blood between us on our border....we are declaring a non fly zone extending from the border line itself some 100km over the jungle region on the north star side of the border.
Peace be with you
President Matthew Iesus
Warlord , First General , Lord Protector and Defender of the faith.

To Lord Protector Matthew

The Empire of Lavenrunz does not recognize your right to send troops or materiel into North Star against that government's wishes. Accordingly, we insist that you withdraw any such forces and material to at least 20km beyond your side of the border. Furthermore, I propose to engage any such forces remaining after one weeks' time.

Aurora von Sachshausen
Empress of Lavenrunz

Iesus has no troops within the borders of North Star nor are we sending any material/supplies into that trouble nation...
In regards to your request...clearly being you are not a regional or bordering power... ergo we do not see what concern it is of yours what Iesus does within her borders regarding troop movements and trade affiars....
Yours in Christ
Minister for Economics and trade
Max Greal


"all Iesus units along the border are on alert..rovering air patrols are on attack orders...and the supplies are flowing....and we're crossing tonight with our equipment..and the third and fourth armoured companies are moving up along theborder too I hear..."
General Barry talked to his superior as he removed his offical army insignia
General Herr slapped tom on the back and then gave a formal salute "happy hunting Tom...God save his people!"

Admiral Tachteberg listened to a recording of the transmission.
"What arrogance...trick, do you think?" he asked Admiral Keyserling. They were both in the command center on the Mirenburg.
"If it's a trick it's a damned good one. Hit them hard and fast. Empress' orders. If it's a fight they want, let's start it, by God."
They both felt a quivering sense of destiny. The younger Admiral drew herself to attention. "Your orders, Excellency."
"The fleet will support land forces in an attack. Turn the border into flames."
"Aye, aye, Admiral." Admiral Keyserling took up the communications handset. "Now hear this: the fleet will go to general quarters and will engage all enemies in southern North Star."
The carriers' catapults began to work; hangers were moving planes with rapid efficiency to the decks.

The curren recon squadrons already in the air began to move to cover the AWACs planes; refuellers took to the skies, heading above the clouds with their Feuerkatzen escorts.
Heimdall squadrons geared up their engines on the runways in Surya; bombers were loaded and ready to go, though they would doubtless be among the last in the general fray.

Admiral Tachteberg held his disquiet back. If only...if only the damned Sultan's folk had not delayed them with their foolish internal struggles! Now it was going to be a very near thing, who would seize initiative.

Among the ground forces, anti-aircraft batteries and units were preparing their targetting systems.

From the decks of the carriers flight after flight of Wachtmeisters, Vidars and Feuerkatzen roared into the air; the first wave of one hundred aircraft moving into action...

<tag>

Lord Protector Matthew Iesus
We simply cannot allow such a no-fly restriction over so much territory at this time. Perhaps we could re-visit the question after my officials access the situation - myself i deeply wish to avoid blood between us flowing, so perhaps a no fly zone could extend 100km both ways?
Tahlil!
~Sultan Omar

The command meeting
"Inshalla Allah your plan will succeed, and our forces will win honor and glory. I have only political doubts in mind currently - I am -despite my sex -a realist.
As for a supreme command , for you and I this will work well. We cannot have the sultans emirs and clanlords interfering with our strategic plans. How would you see this working?
What do you need from me in this enterprise?"

a U.M.B Jungle base

the horror of Tovin was painfully fresh in all their minds, and at the thought of a protracted war - with its hardships, its starvation, and quite likely its massacres at the cruel hands of the sultan and the foreigners - the gathered commanders felt down.
For years they had planned an now the price was becoming clear.
Sheikh Mohammed 'Mular' Omar -the much aged spiritual leader of the U.M.B sat crossed legged while behind him sat Mular Vikram -the head of operations. The two were 2 of the top three of the U.M.B commanders - with only Yosef being absent for he currently was in Iesus.
The Sheikh directly ordered battle
"Peace and blessings from God be upon us -praise and honor the name of God.
The clans are in decay and crisis. The the color is fading from the sultan and his son - prince Hussein - is a villain. And now the final event has come -the foreigners have returned at the request of the sultan.
Action is ahead of us. War in fact. We saw what happened at Tovin -we see the starvation and cruelty of the sultan, so go from here -go and wage war in the name of God and the people
inshalla allah - his reign will be restored! "

Foward government airbase #09 -edge of the ‘vipers nest'
It wasnt the first attack of the war, or even on the base. Throughout the nation terror attacks were becoming common place but this attack was different
"takbir!"
The first explosion came from inside the air-base, planted before dusk by insiders
next came the colorful explosions from the landing mortar rounds, then the assault.
The government troops behind the sand-bags hadn't expected that - a headlong assault covered by mortar fire and heavier weapons - rockets and bombs flew over head hurled from rebel repulsar platforms.
The government was for the first time confronted by trained displacement assault rather than just ‘terrorism'. The men [and women] who ran from the jungle line were well armed and trained, and verging on homicidally fanatical against the sultans forces.
More internal explosions destroyed aircraft as they rushed to take off , even as the U.M.B swarmed over the defenses.
In horror the base commander threw up his hands as a young militant thrust her rifle in his face as she stormed into his office - but his gesture had no effect -
"death tothe sultan!" the woman screamed as she fired into the officers chest.
Only foreigners were to be taken prisoner - sultanate traitors were to be send straight to God for his judgement.
Unlike other U.M.B actions these militants were armored with the best there is to offer
*Standard issue army body armor.
*Class A firearms - Mhi assault rifles with caseless AP rounds
*Top of the range portable assault weapons.
*and training- these were no fanatics with rifles -these were trained solders.



a Roadblock
Melek el fradi watched his checkpoint with keen eye -his duty was to help secure logistics supply routes - or as he called it "watch the roads for lunatics before they go kill lavenrunzians"
Melek mostly liked his job as a M.P. it was work that feed his family and gave him some freedom, and as a Gjinn[non-human /metahuman] he was thankful for whatever freedom he could get inside the reich.
Meleks stance on the U.M.B was one of generally dislike. They certainly didn't love Gjinn but neither did the sultan -but at least the sultan wasn't trying to take north star back to the 14thcentury.
A lavenrunz truck drove along -no doubt bringing supplies to one of their new inland bases.
Melek waved it down and prayed to God it would stop - he didn't blame the driver for not wanting too being the number of terrorist attacks that started like this, but melek had a job to do.
"Peace and blessings upon you . Papers please"
A ‘thud' and a snake like high pitch hisss cut sounded from behind mulek in the darkness.
Without thinking Melek grabbed the driver and pulled the driver from the cab of the truck, both crashed hard onto the ground as the missile fired from the darkness smashed into the truck- sending it up in flame..

At the meeting

Admiral Tachteberg and Admiral Keyserling had abruptlly left after a whispered word from an aide...Baroness Hentzau began to finish.
"Well, it would be acknowledgement of Field Marshal Prince von Seydlitz as supreme commander..." she was saying when an aide walked in.
"Pardon, Majesty...Iesus Christian forces are going to move over the border. It's war." he said flatly.

The border region forces sat. waiting.....no one quite sure what command was thinking....


General Barry lead his men, some 50 of them through the jungles...this was no mass movement of armies but one of several smaller groups sneaking through the jungle line...moving to join the U.M.B in whatever happened next...
"O God come to our aid...."

The first wave of the assault was really electronic countermeasures. From the battle satellites up in near orbit to Electronic Warfare planes, they sent in streams of dissonant signals to mess up that of the enemy.
Three Wachtmeisters flew near the EW planes to protect them.

Lieutenant-Commander Dittersdorf smiled behind his oxygen mask. His flight of six Feuerkatz fighter-bombers was levelling out at 10,000 feet; below the jungle and mountains were green masses that made him think of the landscape of a train set he had had when a boy. Scattered among them here and there were rice paddies. Now he signalled to his flight to go in still lower; even though EW was supposed to be active, he had no idea if Iesus Christi's anti-aircraft had spotted them or not--them or the rebels. It didn't matter which.
As they came in over what had been noted as a staging area, the flight split off and began to let 250lb bombs hurtle down onto the border road. They went off with terrifying roars, sucking oxygen out of the area and then exploding flames all around their area of effect. IR flares were dropped as the planes swept by, hopefully to decoy any anti-aircraft fire.

His sister flight, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Waldgren, was beginning its own dive from the clouds to strafe the road area as an immediate follow up.
"Break away," he instructed, ordering the flight to scatter their pattern to avoid bunching together. The road and the sloping jungle country seemed to rush up towards them.

Similar flights were diving down to destroy roads and bridges. Several of those flights were to destroy anything that looked like it had a radio antenna, barracks or arrays of military vehicles.

At 30,000 feet, the flights of Wachtmeisters swarmed ominously, ready to move against enemy planes...

It was at 1655hrs that the Op's room telephone rang at Mavva.
"Scramble!!!" came a voice out of the loudspeaker and a body of pilots ran towards their waiting aircraft including flight captain Dalla Bader..... The aircraft thundered across the short runways and as they pulled their sticks back the noses of the 'Komets' started to point skywards .
Mavva station commander Wing Commander A. Woodhall called over the radio "Hello Dalla. There's some trade coming in over 'the zone...data being uplinked now..... Orbit North Weald. Angels 30, and even if they dont come your way, go for them...ATTACK ATTACK" . Bader confirmed the order with a "Heil Victory!" as she lead her flight of U.M.B coloured aircraft over the border....

The meeting

Hatusu whispered to her own officers -then spoke to the Lavenrunzians "war creeps closer. What is your imperial majesties plans in this? Should we follow your lead now?"


The jungles
Electric countermeasures and disturbance played up the U.M.B defenses as much as they would any other governments forces- many systems failed to lock and were forced to ‘ad hoc' measures but equally other tracking systems [both jungle and externally based] continued to function.
Initial distraction was high - but so was the air defense.
For the first time from beneath the jungle canopy came the full extent of U.M.B resistance -
Shoulder mounted missile systems weren't all the U.M.B had, as a high flying government awac found out as it burst into flames- vehicle towed and mounted S.A.Ms made their first appearances , as well as chain-quad cannons and other advanced forms of AA.

[I'm not really that o.o.c sure about electronic countermeasures and am about to base stuff on 90's NATO assessments I'm struggling to read through -i hope this will be ok]

A flight of Feuerkatz fighter-bombers led by Lieutenant-Commander Ostermann was suddenly attacked by anti-aircraft fire as they swept over the jungle on a deadly course for one of the camouflaged air bases. It seemed like the air was alive with tracer fire and streaks of SAMs; the flight hardly needed the commander's warning to "break away--evac and ecm!"
Chaff flew in silver puffs around the planes, and several of the SAMs went wild, but two of the fighters were suddenly ripped up by autocannon rounds as streams of them flowed through them when they went over a second battery. Flames erupted in cockpits as fluids were ignited, sparks flying and blood spraying before the two planes went down in smoking ruin to crash in the jungle.
The Lieutenant-Commander grimly continued on, but it would be such a near thing...clearly the counter-measures of these batteries had worked, or something...he made a split second decision: they were there, the enemy was there. a commander can do no great wrong if he lays his vessel alongside that of the enemy. was an old maxim of the senior service of the Empire.
The remaining four planes swooped in to drop their targets; one of them was caught by a SAM on the wing and went spiralling out of control. Three. Ostermann could hear the remaining pilots humming a hymn. He joined it.
Salve Regina, mater misericordiae..
"RELEASE!" he ordered. The bombs fell; they cheered, but one cheer was choked off; fire erupted around a plane out of the corner of his eye. His own cockpit was filling with thin blue smoke, sparks were sputtering. He felt strange...his legs felt very light, and it was getting hard to see.
He managed to flex his hand, and did a falling leaf dive at the site, autocannons roaring a last time...

Mavva

At the briefing a day ago, Commander Fritsch had laughingly remarked to Commander Hohenloe that this was going to be just like Star Wars.
"You go in and engage the anti-air elements and the TIE fighters, and I go in and try to destroy the Death Star." he laughed.
"Bad analogy." she remarked. "Didn't the bombers get destroyed by Darth Vader?"
"I'm wagering Matty won't be there himself." he replied.
But it almost was like that. The Feuerkatz squadron of sixteen came roaring in low, trees bending as if under a storm. From above, the Wachtmeisters spread out and fanned in a flanking shield towards the air base.

From carrier Mirenburg a signal was flashed to the air commands: fighters from enemy sectors were lifting off the ground.
Immediately, Wachtmeisters began to stoop like falcons, flashing down through the clouds to meet the enemy.


The meeting.

von Hentzau said gravely, "the Empress, I believe, has the power to save this situation. Forgive me if I am blunt. Your Majesty is therefore formally advised to place your entire trust in the Empire. We will win."

The Meeting
Hatusu looked at the Lavenrunzians in anew light - her officers and these foreigners were so alike - inwardly she felt a desire to scream at these bloody men
"Perhaps with matters being at this stage, i could make my leave-let you military minded men make things right
the wisdom of the prophet- Peace and blessings be upon him - upon you all"

The Jungle
Emir Mashtub was the most distinguished of the pilots flying in the attacks He was a high-minded Kurd known for his generosity and his lofty spirit. His name meant ‘scared'. For he had a great scar across his face. For years his relationship to the Sultan had been close,so close that when a son was born to his friend, the Sultan wrote to the Emir "we rejoiced by the star which hath risen from behind its veil. Honor to you and all my blessings"
Mashtub was unique being the only Emir flying in direct air attacks. there were many air strikes but only one Emir flying.
The incoming fire was thick, losses were bound to occur, and even with satellite intelligence the targets locations weren't always exact - but Mashtub assumed with the AA fire being so thick - they must be on target.
"Lock One. Fire. Laissez-aller!"

The rockets crashed into the jungle and with a devilish ‘woooosh' clouds of colorful fiery explosions appeared .

Yasmine had thrown herself into cover and had listen to the ‘cracks' ‘pops' and ‘thuds' of AA fire.
then she had felt the ground rock as a explosion ripped through the camp around her
she didn't know if it was a Lavenrunz or government explosion and she cursed both equally as she lay flat - being a sniper is not much use at a time like this.

another meeting[re:telegram]
"they are sick!" Rahman whispered to his friend "look at their eyes. The color isn't right. It is a sign of the a blood illness for sure - their minds have gone. Demanding the foreigners prisoners is madness."
Both men looked over at the iesus general and his troops.
"Vala! They are strange ones for sure. But inshalla allah - they help us and are loyal. Now help me unpack they equipment."

The Conference

An aide entered the room and passed a message to Baroness Hentzau. She frowned, then sighed. Glancing up at the Sultan's consort, she said softly, "It seems the situation is changed." her mouth quirked ironically. "Count Mirbach has been arrested. Among other things, his conduct of this war is being called into question. And I must, with respect, report to the Empress."

Carrier Mirenburg

Tachteberg too had a message, and read it carefully. He cursed and flung it away. "Cease all operations? What the hell is this?"
Keyserling picked it up and read it herself, then smiled quietly. "It appears to be an executive order from the Empress."
Tachteberg growled. "Very well. Recall all planes!"

To Sultana Hatusu

I have to tell you that Count Mirbach was arrested for what I feel was his wrongful prosecution of this war. He used poison gas, which is against any common humanity, and allowed your husband's troops to commit acts of rape and murder and looting in the city, which has increased the hatred of the people there. I know that the UMB are lunatics and want blood, but I think I am just making the situation worse by having my troops there. I want to do something that will make things better so I am withdrawing everyone.
I also want to warn you. Matthew Iesus and the so called Benevolent Jaar are not to be trusted. They want to overthrow your country. Your best hope is to call on the UN for help. We will be able to help you then further, but if we do it like this we are no better than the people we are fighting.

in hopeful friendship
Aurora von Sachshausen
Empress of Lavenrunz

Her Majesty, the Empress of Lavenrunz.
Peace , honor and blessings be upon you.
And also with your brave men and women who have bleed in North Star these past months, their courage - skill and conviction can never be doubted. In their bravery they reflected your own persona.
War is a cruel and heartless event , and when managed in such a war by men who lack character -even when they lead the best of humanity - events occur that shame us all.
If i could reveal my shame publically for my husbands personal and clan forces I would, yet I pray you think not poorly of us all - many fight without the dishonorable actions carried out my the ‘sultans elites' - if only all of my officers could fight as such and not like tribal warriors of the 11th century.
For all your people have done - I thank you and I hold no personal malice over any actions that have occurred, I have only praise. I shall remember the valor of your forces and not the extremes of rogue elements and I shall be forever in your debt.
What you must do, you must do. Inshalla allah let it be our Gods will
I pray to out mutual God that he will remember you, and I hope you to will remember my troubled land in your own prayers.
The peace of the prophet be with you until the day of doom
~Hatusu. Consort of the Sultan




Hatusu upon arriving on shore went straight to her husbands side. Around him were gathered the emirs and clanlords. Men in traditional dress glanced with scorn at the woman behind the throne.
They all boasted about how many ‘kills' they would gain for the sultan and the old man grinned from his wheelchair at the boasts. while he grinned and leered Hatusu counted the men whom she could trust - either secularists or devout Muslims - the other traditionalists [the clan lords/emirs] were the problem as Hatusu saw it -for while the U.M.B embraced many different factions the traditionalists only held to their own ancient ideals.
Perhaps -it dawned on her - it was nearly ironic. Her husbands strongest friends an allies were the cause of her countries greatest shames -from starvation to pack-rape -and thus cause the sultanate to fall.
"Hadnt we best organize relief to the Punla Provence. Famine is abut to become epidemic"
Emir Moharn laughed "time for that latter! Men are talking important matters now! There is glory to be won"
Hatusu nodded politely and swore to herself " things are going to change"

Electronic warfare scrambled flying radar to some extent and the air team was forced to check back with command several times...Dalla urged her pilots on..
"Cheer up...if theirs does this to us....the same will be true for them...hang on.. Bandits...bearing 7....fire fire fire"

The militant painted Iesus attack aircraft screamed in and engaged as per their orders.....
Dallas first missile flew widely away from her intended target....some countermeasure having sent it haywire and flying into the jungle below but her second and third missiles ran straight and true after their victim.

The air combat wouldn't last long....both sides would take losses....then much to Dallas surprise...the enemy appeared to break off...

"Cowards....."

An army corps cannot just pick up and leave, particularly if it's spread out and organized in firebases, depots and fortified encampments. Furthermore, von Seydlitz was determined to make this orderly; he insisted that no gear be left behind save that which was being donated to North Star directly. That meant sergeants inspecting units to make sure latrines had been covered properly, that all tents were gathered up, that no ration boxes or ammunition or even bootlaces went unaccounted for.

It was a huge headache, and more than one man or woman cursed the Field Marshal--often as not through their own officer commanding or nco but inevitably it got round to the Field Marshal.

As Sergeant Mittelstaedt's combat engineers were painstakingly gathering up claymore mines from a field encampment they saw a group of command vehicles pass by. One held a tall, fair haired familiar figure. One of the soldiers spat on the ground; others only held their peace because of Mittelstaedt's warning glance.

On board the carriers, the pilots were grim, glum and irritated. They felt they had been kicking ass, only to be yanked back.

The rumor of the withdrawal spread through the nation quickly and the news didn't cease government attacks on U.M.B locations.
The news was greeted with surprise and confusion by many of the average citizens - they wondered what this would mean for their government , still many citizens were glad to see the Lavenrunzians leave after what they had been involved in, many chanted "take the sultan with you" in the streets when the news arrived But the vast majority of people just felt nervous over what this would mean for the future.
U.M.B supporters and followers we exuberant. Jubilation was flowing through the U.M.B even as the bombs from the sultans planes kept falling. Soon radio and television stations were broadcasting a statement from the U.M.B leadership.


In the name of God, his prophet and the people of Islam
Today, the corrupt government of North Star has been inflected a body-blow. Their desire to oppress the righteous has taken a mighty defeat.
In the style of blood sacrifice of Hussein and his followers, we have driven the foreigner mercenaries from our shores - just as we did 200 years ago! ALLAHU AKBAR! Now we will also drive the sultans corruption into the sea.
Today Lavenrunz flees, tomorrow the sultan and after that even Surya shall fall to the armies of the just.
Inshalla allah
~Mular Vikram
~ Sheikh Mir Hamzah, secretary of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-lavenrunz;
~Sheikh Mohammed Omarr

Elsewhere more than words were directed at the parting Lavenrunz forces as U.M.B guerillas increased their attacks on them.

a Lavenrunz airbase
It had taken hours to get clearance into the Lavenrunz base and even his declaring that he was ‘a doctor' hadn't helped.
Finally Khalil he had been allowed through and then had made his way to find Captain Duhrer[after many searches] to say goodbye to the men he had fought with.
when he talked he seemed sad or nervous -his mind locked on the future - men like him had U.M.B deathmarks against their and their families names but still he grinned as he spoke
"I thought i would say goodbye in person. Inshalla allah we will meet again but one can never be sure. It was a true blessing to meet you and serve with you all, if only we had meet under better circumstances"

Aurora actually screamed with rage at hearing of further terrorist attacks.
"This is going to make it very hard..." she breathed furiously, "To declare that I want to have a referendum in Surya now, regarding its independance. Now it will just look like cowardice all along. Oh, thanks very much you stupid fanatics."
"What then, Majesty?" asked Claudia der Waal.
Aurora turned to look at her. Several members of the political parties of Lavenrunz were in council along with members of the court, military and the Church.
"First of all: we're going to do what's right even if it's hard. But it's damn hard to take this. I can really understand why Mirbach gassed the filthy bastards."
Pluskat was still gaping, hearing such language from the Monarch, especially from one who was still really a girl.
He managed to gather himself and said, "I agree; giving Surya a chance at self government responsibly is an excellent idea."
"We're going to look weak." grumbled von Effner. "Majesty, we mustn't let the UMB have a chance to gloat over this."
Aurora gave him a nasty look. "You want war as much as our enemies, eh, von Effner? Is that why you insulted Vegana's ambassador?"
Von Effner glared away, and reached for a cigar that wasn't there. The Empress hated for people to smoke near her.
"Morale is going to suffer among the troops." predicted Field Marshal von Baden gloomily.
Aurora wanted to scream again. They were all so despondent. She sighed. "You'll all just have to put up with this. Those people all hate us anyway. Let's do what's right and get our forces out of there."



Imperial Proclamation

Let it be known that on this day by My hand to I announce that the province of Surya is to hold a general referendum regarding its independance from the Empire of Lavenrunz. All parties without restriction may canvass, hold public meetings and addresses. No violence will be tolerated; no rioting will go unchecked. Peaceful gatherings however, regardless of their opinions, are encouraged.
I am so deeply sorry for the atrocities in Tovin that I cannot express it save by asking the forgiveness of God for making innocent people suffer. I do not speak of the courage of our troops, our sailors and aviators in fighting military opponents who had advocated terrorism in Lavenrunz, for which they are entirely praised and given all My gratitude. I speak of the use of poison gas against a civilian population, and of tolerance of rape, murder and looting of the homes of ordinary people. I ask that hostilities cease in North Star to observe that we are all children of God and that the important thing is to recognize that and try to do the right thing. I encourage that those neutral countries who wish it and all envoys should send observers to see that the referendum in Surya is conducted openly and fairly.
Finally: I wish it known that Count Mirbach, formerly My Chancellor, is being put to public trial for among other things his conduct of the war in North Star.

Aurora von Sachshausen
Empress of Lavenrunz

Glory to God in the highest....peace to his people!
Today is a triumph for the people of the world..today the imperialist west has be sent fleeing from the forces of truth! Like dogs they flee!
Heil to you the brave men and women who have shed blood to drive the western imperialist from the shores of the Reich!
HEIL VICTORY!
HEIL GOD!
and HEIL the mighty battle yet to come to overthrow the fiendish pro western government in North Star!

To all the people of the reich...
Let us all work hard my brethren in the coming days...this is no time for sleep..... On our work depends the coming of the Reich of the future.
She is there ready waiting..... She is only sleeping.
Arise and awake, and see her seated here, on her eternal throne.....rejuvenated, more glorious than she ever was ... this motherland of ours....free from all western and metahuman cancers!

None will be able to resist truth and love and sincerity..... Are you sincere? Unselfish even unto death? Then fear not, not even death. Onward, my lads! The whole world requires Light. The reich through God alone has that Light....That is why the Lord has preserved the human race through all its troubles unto the present day. Now the time has come. Have faith that you are all, my brave lads, born to do great things! Let not the barks of western puppies frighten you ... not even the bombs that drop from heaven ..stand up and fight!!
HEIL VICTORY!
DEATH TO THE ENEMIES OF HEAVEN!
Matthew Iesus. speech to the reich and world

General Barry watched the Lavenrunz troopers 'pack up shop' down at the airbase through his powerful field glasses....
He couldnt help feeling sad and he didnt know why...he was happy to see them leave....he was happy to be here for his country fighting the Sultan but yet a nagging feeling of sadness stuck with Tom....
It was a feeling he had when the was fighting in 'blood reign' had turned from a valiant crusade into a sad coldwar...and the same feeling he had when he heard the news that men from his own command who had been crossing..fleeing...into the SATO zone had been cutdown those they had tried to flee to....
"Mary Queen of peace....pray for us.."

Official Bulletin

God is Great! In his grace the most benevolent Jaar has started the operation "Bread 4 Brethren" for the suffering people of North Star. Enormous amounts of food and medical supplies has been gathered by the people of Vegana together with clothing and toys for the children. A group has been detached to deliver the goods safely to the people of North Star.

Near the border

Field Marshall Hubert Hübinette looked out over the North Star border, it seemed so... peaceful. Behind him he had two inquisitorial legions, together with an immense number of vehicles carrying supplies and medical equipment. He spoke into the com unit and they were off.

U.M.B leadership to meet with Matthew Iesus
News at 7
~Government Channel zero news

o.o.c: when he answers tgrams.

The crown prince sat brooding.
The lavenrrunz withdrawal hadn’t been followed by his armies quickly triumphing over the U.M.B, instead his honorless armed forces seemed to be incapable of the task before them-or unwilling to carry out their orders.
The latter was often true sadly. It was unthinkable for the crown prince – but the reports recently appeared to be true – several divisions had refused to ‘take action’.
“MUTINY” Hussian had screamed at his advisers and they had shrunk away and cowered while attempting to explain that many personal felt no need to fight the U.M.B.
“But they are terrorists!” the crown prince had spat at his high consol who replied with only silence.

Now the prince would see to traitors and cowards, where lavenrunz had been so sparing with the rod of destruction he would be the disciplinarian. He summed his generals again and planned his apocalyptic vision before his 'allies' made their move.

A strange silence had fallen over the country since the murder of the crown prince.
the U.M.B raids and terror attacks had fallen suddenly, and local militia attacks had all but stopped.

hatusu read these reports, she paid close attention to the reports of a Iesus military build up on the border most of all.
she called in the sultans advisors and they all came to the same conclusion.

they were about to be invaded - by their 'best' ally.

"....they starve the people...they allowed SATO dogs onto reich soil...they gas and murder the children of God....
THEY ALLOW METAHUMANS TO RUN FREE!!!
The corrupt godless regime of North Star must change!
I demand it...
the People demand it....
GOD DEMANDS IT!!!

HEIL VICTORY!"

President Matthew Iesus...speech on the eve of 'black september'