NationStates Jolt Archive

//OOC: This is an open RP, but more directed at my region. All are welcome to join if they wish. If no-one does, I can finish it myself. The chronological order of the RP is muddled slightly to add tension. The correct sequence of events goes like this: Post 2, Post 1, Post 3 then carry on as normal. Please read in the way it has been posted though.//

You will die for your crimes, traitor!

Senna watched the target through the window of the apartment, observing his entrance into the apartments across the road. The magnificent view over the city of Ryik, encompassing the modern sector of the city, as well as the old harbour and the sparkling waters of Lake Centra beyond failed to distract the assassin.

You betrayed us, the people. Now the people will have their revenge.

As Senna lost sight of the man across the street, she turned, and picked up the rucksack lying on the bed. She slung it over her shoulder and strode out of the room, pushing a button attached to a package next to the door on the way out.

A present from the enemy of old.

Senna stepped out onto the busy street, glancing left and right she darted amongst the cars that were at a virtual standstill in the early morning rush hour. CCTV cameras were perched on the buildings recording the life bustling around, but they were recording a repeat.

A degree in computer engineering, so useful.

None of the citizens gave Senna a second glance, she was just another young woman on the way to work. From the look of her probably a secretary to the boss of some sprawling company. Senna arrived at the entrance to the apartments, and pushed her way inside. The security guard and the receptionist looked up, and smiled at the woman they thought had just returned from her night-shift at the local hospital. “A consultant,” she had said.

Senna opened the lift, and watched the doors slide across leaving her with a moment of privacy. The rucksack was unzipped, and Senna drew out her tool for the day, a silenced Masa-II pistol. She checked it and tucked it into her belt. The elevator pinged, and the doors opened. Senna walked out onto the empty landing and made her way to room 5C. She rapped on the door, the noise echoing down the empty corridor. A few seconds later the door was flung open.

A large black man stood in the doorway, a ‘Hail’ SMG in his arms.

“And you are?” He boomed.

“I am here to see Mr. Stallif, I am Maria”

A voice floated through from inside the apartment, a soft, refined voice: “Let her in, she has an… appointment with me. Perhaps you could wait outside the door?”

“As you wish sir.”

The man stood aside and allowed Senna to enter, before stepping outside and closing the door behind him. Senna walked forward into the sitting room area, and looked the suave looking man sitting on the sofa in the eye. The man stood, and moved toward her.

“The agency was right, you are incredibly beautiful.”

Senna let him reach for her jacket before punching him in the temple, twice for good measure. Stallif wavered, and fell to the floor. Senna wasted no time, quickly she dragged him up to the blacked out window, and tied rope from her bag to his hands, suspending him in front of the huge window, letting him face the inky blackness. She pulled a knife from her boot and ran it across the throat of Stallif. He gurgled and tried to scream, but nothing came out. Next she sliced into his skin, cutting and peeling back the area around the ribs. The man squirmed in front of her as his blood ran down onto the floor, but Senna felt nothing. She wiped the knife clean, and pulled out the pistol. She placed it to the back of his head and fired, the bullet tore through his skull, and out the other side and into the window.

The blacked window was smeared with purple brain and white fragments of bone. Cracks spanned out from the bullets impact. Senna fired again and the window shattered, sending black glass rain onto the pedestrians below.

Now all will see your corruption.

People in the street below were beginning to look up at the grotesque scene, car drivers lent out of the window to have a look at the man hanging in the window with his organs on view and his head shattered.

Senna crept to the door and opened it quickly. The startled bodyguard turned toward her. The gun in her hand clicked, and a bullet knocked the man to his feet. A second shot ended his life. Senna walked quickly down the stairs, and out of the back door into the street. Within seconds, she had disappeared into winding maze of city streets.

Three months earlier…

Jack Foley, President of the Republic of Intelligent Neighbors sat in his chair at his holiday home in the Razor Mountains, quietly reading the day’s newspaper. Mountains rose around the private estate, unconquerable, even to the might of an entire nation. Uranium had been mined elsewhere in this range, but even the money-hungry mining company owners had not been able to flatten the mountains. The sounds of the nearby jungle drifted in the light breeze, undisturbed by the large garrison of soldiers protecting the President in the shadows.

Footsteps sounded on the wooden floor, and Foley looked up. A masked man stood there, with a rifle in his hands.

“Come with us, now, and no-one will get hurt.”

Foley stood up, and spoke quietly.

“Who are you?”

“We are from the Home Security Service, we have reason to believe that you are in imminent danger of abduction, from the CFF.”

“The Cikae Freedom Fighters? Cikae is hundreds of miles away, and the CFF disbanded during the reforms.”

“They appeared to have disbanded, but recent intelligence suggests that they are still active. Please come with me now.”

Suddenly gunshots rang out in the cool mountain air, flashes of fire were clearly visible in the distance. A shout of alarm was given, and men swarmed from the shadows toward the intrusion attempt. One dashed up to the President, clearly wanting to escort him to the helicopter waiting on the roof. The masked man waved him away.
“I will take the President to the helicopter, he is safe with me.”

Foley nodded his consent, and the soldier joined his comrades. A large explosion went off, a flash of light illuminating the darkening sky. The masked man motioned for the President to follow, and set off toward the helicopter. They reached it without incident, the staff of the compound having being ushered into the safe bunker. Another masked man sat in the pilot seat of the helicopter, and greeted his comrade with a small wave of the hand. Foley was helped into the helicopter as the rotors began spinning, and the masked man followed.

“So, how did you know about the attack?” Asked the President as the helicopter became airborne.

The masked man turned to him. “Simple, we carried out the attack.”

Foley’s jaw dropped, and he stammered. “No, the HSS works for me!”

“Not any more.” The masked man raised his rifle, and struck the President around the head, silencing him for the moment. He turned to the pilot.

“Gamma, engage radar invisibility, no-one must follow us.”

Gamma nodded, and flicked a button. “Sure thing Wulfila.”

Back in the compound, the firing began to die down as the attackers where beaten off. The commander of the garrison radioed the control centre in the bunker.

“Is the President safe?”

“Uh, he left with those HSS men, but the helicopter has vanished.”

“The HSS? They were not scheduled to be here, they were not granted access! Those men must have been with these damn attackers! Send word to the nearest airbase, tell them we need to find the Presidential helicopter, fast.”

===

Marcus Brandt, head of the Home Security Service, sat in his office and smiled to himself. He had just received word from Wulfila that the President was in their control. Soon the country would follow.

Two days later…

“…swear to protect the rights and freedom of the citizens of Intelligent Neighbors.”

Simon Easdale, formerly Vice President of Intelligent Neighbors, stood and made the vow that made him ruler of a mighty nation. He was the new President, sworn in after the ‘unfortunate’ event of two days ago. He smiled warmly for the cameras. Soon he could dispense with this charade, and become what he had been destined to become, the supreme ruler of Intelligent Neighbors. Democracy, pah! For now though, he would carry on being the ‘rock against which these terrorists will break’. Later he would meet in secret with the other two people that were part of his master plan, he must remember to praise them thoroughly.

Marcus Brandt and Alan Stallif, the head of the HSS and the head of the IN Kommados, two of the most powerful people around and they were in his pay. He would get them to fake strikes on the CFF, showing the public that they were doing everything in their power to find Foley. Fat chance of that, he is imprisoned by us! The CFF did not exist any more; it was a stroke of genius to reinvent them as the enemy of today. And after today, the public would hate the CFF more than ever.

Two hours later, explosions shook the cities of Intelligent Neighbors, reducing to rubble the houses and workplaces of the members of parliament of IN. “A hideous strike at the head of democracy,” Easdale had called it publicly. But inside his head he was praising the work of his co-conspirators in eliminating their opposition.

A week later…

“Due to the recent atrocities against the members of parliament, I feel that it is necessary to dissolve the parliament temporarily to protect the members. In doing this I can speed up the process by which decisions are made, and speed up the campaign against the CFF. I foresee that as a result of this action, terrorist activity inside Intelligent Neighbors can be eliminated in a short period of time. I hope that all of you support me in this fight against evil.”

During the next few weeks, Easdale implemented his scheme to rule Intelligent Neighbors, boosting the numbers of the army and militia tenfold, ordering masses of new weapons from Venom Defense, erecting cameras on every street corner, issuing identity cards to every single person inside the country. Hundreds of people were arrested and taken to the newly founded Ministry of Pain. Easdale’s speeches focused more on “terrorism residing in other countries”, and how they should be rooted out and destroyed. The attacks subsided, but the public were kept in a frenzy of hatred by domination of the television and radio. Finally Easdale announces plans to liberate the good people of the wastelands of The Kingdom of the Midlands from rule by terrorist warlords, and authorises the full scale invasion of the wasteland.

Bloody Day

Commander Ortho sat in the back of the Tiger armoured transport as it rumbled toward the small town of Lisker, in the wastelands to the north of Intelligent Neighbors. Alongside his vehicle Pz-4 and Pz-5 tanks rolled, stirring up columns of dust behind them. Opposite Ortho sat a Minister from the Ministry of Pain. Due to new regulations, every military unit had one to ‘ensure the terrorist infidels are kept out of our armed forces’. Ortho hated these Ministers, they often ordered him to do unnecessary things, and did not consider the welfare of civilians or their own soldiers. A shout from the pilot broke the silence.

“Lisker has been spotted, but no enemy movement has been identified, shall we proceed into the town?”

Ortho opened his mouth to respond, but the Minister cut him off. “I am certain that there are infidels within this town, we must destroy them. Surround the town and destroy everything.”

Ortho could not help responding, despite the risks. “That is madness! There are no enemy forces here, you are murdering innocents!”

The Minister stared coldly at Ortho. “The Ministry is never wrong. Order the encirclement, or I will kill you here and now.” Ortho scowled, and reluctantly gave the order, requesting additional backup from the nearby airbase. Soon VA-3 Lucifer bombers would swoop down over the down, dropping napalm and high-explosive bombs. Ortho considered fighting the Minister, but it was no use. The man wore a FLIT-3 armour suit, protecting him against the majority of attacks. Besides, the numbers of the Ministry of Pain were rumoured to be limitless. There would always be a replacement with Ortho’s name written on a bullet.

Three hours later and the attack on the town had commenced. The tanks began to blast at the walls, backed up by mobile artillery and air support. The firing was non-stop, ammunition being ferried to the tanks almost continuously. Civilians began to try to escape the carnage, but the Minister ordered that they be gunned down with machine gun fire. Soon Lisker was a pile of rubble, with nearly a thousand dead innocents lying in the burning wreckage in the middle of the wastelands. The armoured unit moved on.

Stormy Situation

To the north and east of the IN homeland, this process was being repeated, with the IN military storming across the wasteland in the name of freedom. Within a month, the border with SAVX in the east was reached. Large amounts of political pressure fell on Easdale for his actions from the other regional members, but they were ignored. With the reaching of the SAVX border, the forces of IN halted, in the north as well. And instead the frenzy of the citizens of Intelligent Neighbors was turned against their allies, the nations of The Kingdom of the Midlands. Publicly Easdale accused them of harbouring terrorists, and of supplying military arms to infidels. The pressure fell most heavily on SAVX, Independent Hitmen and Euroslavia, who were to become the target of an official ultimatum shortly after the horrific murder of Alan Stallif:

Dear Sirs,
After conducting in a detailed and thorough investigation into the murder of Alan Stallif, it has been discovered that in addition to your known harbouring of terrorists, you have directly, and knowingly supplied items and men to aid in the guerrilla warfare undertaken by infidels. We are deeply disappointed and angry that our allies have betrayed our trust, and hereby demand that unless you take decisive action to end this practise, we will be left with no choice but to undertake the destruction of these agencies within your nation ourselves. Do not disappoint us again,
Simon Easdale, Supreme Leader of Intelligent Neighbors.
===

Easdale was pleased with the way things had panned out, not only was he now in complete command of the nation, but he had gained in power, restoring the Empire of Intelligent Neighbors to it’s former size. Now he turned opinion against those whom owed most to Intelligent Neighbors. Independent Hitmen, always taking the other side; Euroslavia, power-hungry egotistical bastards; SAVX, the ‘so powerful’. All would soon be made to see the error of their ways. Easdale had even turned the murder of one of his apprentices to his favour, appointing an even more zealous member of his ‘revolution’ to the position.

The People

Deep inside a remote cave in the Islands of Cikae, a small group of people meet. Senna is there, sitting quietly in a corner. The people all have weapons by their side, they may need them. One man speaks, and everyone else is quiet.

“Welcome, neighbors. I have called this meeting to announce my latest idea, an idea which I hope will bring us nearer to freeing the people of IN from the grip of oppression. As you well know, it is difficult to raise support amongst the citizens; they do not believe they are being oppressed. They are unwilling to believe it is not us who are committing the atrocities and bombings, it is their own government. We have recently been given a small amount of support from supporters of the old CFF, but it is not enough. We need more information to fight the enemy, more technology. If we could strike where they are weakest, we can topple Easdale, this was shown to be possible by Senna here.” The man motions toward Senna, who responds with a slight nod of the head. “All we need is a little help, and I have a way of getting it. The best way of restoring order would be to find someone to replace Easdale, and there is only one man who can. Foley.”

The group of people murmured gently, this was a bold plan, almost unthinkable. They had long harboured suspicions that Foley would have been kept alive, but could not hope to locate him.

“Neighbors! This plan may at first seem absurd, but hear me out. With a little luck we can enlist the aid of the nations of TKotM, they can supply us with resources to find Foley.”

A man in the group spoke up: “They will not support us, we are terrorists to their eyes.”

“Do not count on them being as brainwashed as our own citizens, they must have noticed the massacres of innocents in the wastelands. I am sure that if we could send a delegation they might agree to help us, unofficially of course. The recent letter from Easdale cannot have endeared them to him. I propose we send Senna, she is experienced and clever enough to persuade wavering minds.”

The questioner nodded, “It is our only hope, we cannot hope to defeat them in any other way.” The meeting broke up and the people dispersed, bidding farewell with: “The People remain!”.

The Streets of New Montreal

People hustle from place to place, eyes alert, tense, afraid. A war-time mentality has descended on the people. The happy days when the reestablishment of the Paladinate was celebrated seems to have taken place years ago in some kind of alternate universe.

The IN army was careering towards the borders. Frog and the Paladins had been on TV every night, warning the people to be vigiliant, and to prepare for a possible intra-region war. Fighters zoomed over the city every night, scanning for IN planes. A draft had been called, for 300 thousand young men and women to defend the Paladinate.

The freest of the nations of the Kingdom of the Midlands was about to bleed for it...

Frog's Palace, the veranda, 0600 hours

The sunrise was beautiful, even with all the pollution that accompanies a city of 30 million souls. Yellow and orange flashed across the sky, as small clouds lazily drifted across the horizon. Frog relaxed, as much as he could in these troubled times. He had risen through battle and politics to his post, and had never given up his habit of ignoring the world during breakfast. Pressure disappeared along with the blueberry muffins the servants had brought. He sipped coffee and cleared his mind for the shitstorm that would hit him once he got up and headed back inside.

Once at his desk, he reviewed the morning briefings. Nothing had gotten any worse; these days, that was as good as it got. The IN forces were still headed for a relatively empty part of the country along the Euroslavian border. There was still no ultamatum on his desk. There was fear, but no panic or riots, in the streets of the cities. None of the really bad news about IN that the White Rangers had gleaned had been leaked.

Jack Foley's body hadn't been found yet, which meant that there was still hope that he was alive, although why he would be boggled the mind. No fleet had left the Cikae Islands to attack the colonies in Bigtopia, and his navy had assured him that Bigtopia would fall to nobody short of Jesus Christ returning with legions of angels.

Gabriel Berri, his aide, came in with a sealed package bearing the stamp of the White Rangers. The unchanged holographic inks on the seal indicated that it was untampered. The aide saluted and left without a word.

Frog reached for the coffeepot he kept in his office and topped off his cup before delving into the report. He scribbled notes for the condensed version he usually wrote for himself. In the end he had reduced five pages of detailed analysis using the most sophisticated intelligence gear available to one simple sentance: "Jean Maillard (the leader of the White Rangers, the national intelligence service) thinks we should start smuggling top-notch weapons and gear into the Cikaes."

Jean Maillard had the closest thing to mind-reading Frog had ever seen. If he thought the best way to keep IN focused on internal matters until a nicer replacement for Foley could be found was to arm the Cikaeans, then those Cikeans would be getting weapons in short order. The Council wouldn't be all that happy if this hit the public, but when was the Council ever happy?

Frog picked up the phone and rung up Maillard's office.

"Allo?"

"Jean?"

"Oui, Monsieur Frog?"

"This report, it says we should give the Cikaeans whatever we can get to them, oui?"

"Oui."

"And what can we get to them?"

"Whatever we can pull off the black market. Some nice sniper rifles. Pistols. Some crazy Nanakan says he got his hands on a dozen collapsable howitzers. And it'd take a lot of digging before someone even finds one of our agent's psyeudonyms on a check."

"Do it. And, of course..."

"If the Paladins find out they'll have my balls on a platter. Same as always. No biggies. I'll get you reports on the results in a week."

"That fast?"

"The Cikaeans will be taking deliveries as soon as we can track them down."

Senna glared through the morning sun. She had just began to climb a hill in New Montreal States, shortly after smuggling herself out of IN in a plane flown by someone sypathetic to The People. Then she just crept across the border at night, easy enough for a highly skilled agent such as herself. The heat here was stifling, but a fresh breeze cooled her face nicely. She had arrived. She looked over toward the compound in the very far distance, and flicked open her mobile phone. She dialed Frog, and a secretary picked up.

"Hello, who is calling please?"

"This is Julie Harber, I am the news anchor for INBC news, I am scheduled to have an interview with the President."

"Yes that is correct, I'll notify him you're waiting when he has finished his breakfast. Please hold."

Senna covered the mouthpiece and groaned. Hopefully her colleages had silenced the real Julia before she could interrupt her plan. She settled down to wait for Frog to finish his breakfast.

General Assembly Building, Tograna City

Sirius Aschere, lay back in his chair, the leather embracing his back most delightfully. His brow was furrowed and the tell-tale lines of age were just becoming visible. At 38 he was the youngest Optimiser in history but the strains of the job were begining to show.

The report he regarded was troubling indeed, it told of political upheaval, a decent into tyranny and imperial expansion in near by IN, Tograna was a largely insula nation being spread of a large archipeligo on the edge of the continental shelf, this coupled with the fact that the Islands possessed, thanks to decades of nearly 35% of Togran GDP being devoted to scientific research, a highly sophisticated laser defensive network meant that the relativly primitive forces from IN had no hope of threatening Tograna itself. However even to such a isolationist nation reports of civilain massacres on the mainland were exceedingly troubling indeed.

Aside from the port of Gumption, which was a tiny 5km^2 Togran protectorate, no Togran had set foot on the mainland for 40 years, not since the Great War of Determination, in which scientists and academics of all kinds, appalled by the growing poltical strife flocked to the island chain known at the time as Lyria, calling it, and themselves Togran after Alfius Togra a physicist who had led the exodus. Naturally the forces on the mainland wanted to reassert their sovrenty on the islands not to mention get back all of their great minds and thinkers. A combined force had occupied the Islands starting from the south, being pacifists the Tograns offered no resistance but were either killed right off or if deemed important enough, shipped back to the mainland to continue their research under guard. Togra, seeing that his dream was coming down all around him finally broke from pacifism and employed a group of crack foriegn mercenarys and provided them with the most advanced weaponry the combined Togran war machine could provide. The Mercs though totally outnumbered had a huge technogical advantage and began to push the invaders back and eventually at the battle of Rover Vittese, drove them into the sea.

After the war Togra disbanded the Mercs and offered them all Togran citizenship, he also destoyed all the weapons in the nation but left in place the automated laser defense network which guards Tograna to this day.

Sirius Aschere faced the prospect of having to rearm the peaceful Tograna in order to deal with the situation on the mainland. Togra had, after the war taught his people that armed confict was never worth and that the war was the only only exception since not taking action would have doomed Tograna pacifism from the start. But Togra had never forseen the sort of thing that was going on now.

Sirius reviewed for the hundreth time the satalite video of IN tanks mowing down a crowd of screaming civilians.

"all right Hydi, I've seen enough"

the video cut and the screen returned to being a window with a panoramic view of Tograna City's central district.

*I've made my calculations Sirius*

came a calm although not dead pan female voice

*There is a 77% chance based on available data that IN will attempt to secure more territory on the mainland after they have fully conquered the wastelands*

"And can we expect to see the same kind of treatment of the local populace if they do"

*Almost Cirtainly*

"Almost? Hydi thats rather unspecific for a computer"

*98.76% cirtain Sirius, would you rather I present all data in numerical form in future*

"No Hydi, almost will do just fine."

*I'm sorry to change the subject but we need to discuss what must be done about the situation on the mainland*

"Yes, I suppose I'm just putting up dealing with it, I don't want to be the Optimiser remembered for starting the first war in 40 years"

*Remember Sirius that we are Optimiser together, when we come to a decision we must be in agreement, consequently, should we together decide to start a war as you put it I too shall be remember as the first AI to start a war in 40 years*

"Yes but when the papers say you're a war mongering bastard you won't feel hurt"

*True*

"I was thinking of sending a recce flight of hydras to get a good picture from the ground before we make any rash decisions"

*I concur Sirius, it would be imprudent to commit and forces to the area until we have gathered all available inteligence*



On the western coast of Tograna's largest island a hanger bay door opened and three streaks of black shot out at high speed, they were Hydras, unmanned scout hover vehicles.

They reached the mainland half an hour later and fifteen minutes after that were over the waste lands, they fanned out and began sending pictures and video feed back to Tograna.

One of them spotting what appeared to be an IN tank column, the hydra moved in, stopping in mid air 50 metres in front of the tanks, the hydras were about 5 metres long, 2 wide and 1 tall so it would be impossible for the tanks to not see it


**HINT HINT**

Frog strode in from the veranda and seated himself in his office. He pressed the "play" button on his voicemail system, and got a message from his secretary that Julie Harber had called, asking for an interview.

One the one hand, Frog hated interviews, and he really hated interviews at times of national crisis. On the other hand, Julie was friendly to most of his policies, and you couldn't buy friendship like that.

He buzzed his secretary and told her to set up an appointment, and that for security reasons the interview would have to take place in the palace's studioes instead of back at NMWS, where she worked.

He flipped through the Presse-Devoir Journal. He saw a headline announcing that newscaster Julie Harber had disappeared last night, not returning home after a date. There was the usual hysterical interview with her roomates, and the rumors of IN interference.

He sighed, and got back to work. Losing an ally was tough, but there was the short-term solace of not having to do the bloody interview.

The Palace
New Wasteland, SAVX

"What the hell are they thinking, Irving?!"

"I'm not quite sure, mein Führer. Even the Inquisition isn't completely sure what's going on here. Some of the higher-ups suspect that the new government is...lacking a few marbles, so to speak."

"What do they mean, harboring terrorists? We just killed off every major terrorist group we knew to exist within our borders, and God dammit! We helped THEM kill their own terrorists! [See: A Bug in the System]"

Der Führer Hans Müller slammed his fist on his desk in rage.

"I know, sir. It doesn't make much sense. Regardless, they are piling up at the border of the Totsandufer Wastes, and we need to prepare for the worst."

"What do you suggest?"

"Well, we already have nearly half of our desert-forces stationed in the area. We can mobilize the rest and keep them in reserve."

"Ok. But that isn't enough, Irving."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"We need to let the world know we won't take this sort of shit?"

"Are you suggesting...?"

"No, no. Not that. I don't want to throw the Death Squads at every problem we have, and even they wouldn't be able to take on an entire army. Keep them at ready status, though."

"So then, what, sir?"

"How's the standing of our Toxin Corps?"

"Uh...they can be brought into readiness within two days...mein Führer, we haven't used the Toxin Corps since the combat in the TROUSRS rebellion."

"Yeah, it's been a long time."

"Are you sure it's necessary? There'll be international outrage."

"You bet your ass. And since when do you care what the world thinks?"

"I'm just...I don't want my lord to make any decisions he might regret later. I owe everything to you, sir."

"I appreciate your concern, my friend. However, it is time for General Irving Ramel to stop being concerned with politics. The only politics you need worry yourself with is knowing how strike fear into the hearts of our enemies."

"Yes, mein Führer."

"I want the Toxin Corps mobilized with everyone else. And...have the Nuclear Corps on standby."

"The Nuclear Corps, too?"

"Yes. Don't worry, I don't plan to bring them in unless there's no other choice. I don't want my nation, even my wasteland, poisoned with even more radiation. But I know necessity when I see it."

General Ramel grinned.

"You are quite mad, sir."

"Yes, I know. I want to hit them as hard as we can as early as we have to if the time comes. I'm leaving the rest of the arrangements up to you. With luck, we won't need any of this. Now, I need to attend other matters. Good day, General."

"Mein Führer!" Ramel saluted, then turned and left the office. Once he left, Müller turned to his large windows, staring out at his magnificent capitol. Any minute now...

There was a knocking on the door.

"Come in, Inquisitor Rulak Mege."

The door quietly opened and in stepped an old but solidly-built man dressed in a flowing black robe with a lime-colored snake inked on the back. He pulled off his hood as he entered. As soon as he was through the doorway, he closed the door and kneeled.

"Mein Führer."

"Rise, Inquisitor."

Müller turned away from the window as Mege rose.

"We have privacy, Mege. What do you want to speak about?"

"We have reason to believe that...this will seem absurd with recent events...but we were contacted by an unknown source a day ago. Well, we have reason to believe that there are...groups within the Cikae Islands that we might want to assist."

"Terrorists?"

"According to IN. And their word shows little worth these days."

"So what do they want us for?"

"They need resources. To fight the regime. And we have some of the high-technology they could make strong use of."

"How do you know it's not a trick?"

"Well, we've repositioned one of our satellites to peer on IN in response to the recent events...they don't look like your run-of-the-mill extremist terrorists."

"That's all you can go off? Appearance?"

"Sir, I know that you're skeptical, but--and I mean no offense with this, my lord--we in the Inquisition have, I think, a great deal more experience than you do in this sort of intelligence work."

Müller raised an eyebrow.

"Bold words."

"Yes, my lord."

"Alright. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. You see what you can do. Syntec and Krimson will have your full cooperation. If they resist, refer them to me. Is that all?"

"Yes, mein Führer."

"Then you may leave."

Mege kneeled again, then left, putting his hood back on. Müller went back to stare out of the window again. He put his hand against the glass, disregarding any smudges he might create. He stared out at his city, his people, his nation. A pang of nostalgia from dark days hit him, causing him to flinch. He dropped his hand and clenched both into fists.

"I will not come so close to losing you again. You have my word. I don't care how many fuckers burn, choke, die. You will not be destroyed again."

St-Jean-de-La-Roche AFB, early on day 2

Technicians bustled through halls that had seen nothing but night-shift janitors and maintenance staff for decades. Gear was being unloaded from rooms that had been nigh forgotten by most citizen of the States.

The General Staff had ordered the activation of all EMP gear and staff, and its deployment to the front lines where it would be used to halt the IN forces. For all the high-level politics going on, and all the buzz about what the White Rangers were up to in IN, there was still a large, presumably unfriendly army hurtling towards NMS territory, and that army had to be stopped or turned aside without turning the land into a ruin.

In its first incarnation the States had conducted a fairly large-scale EMP research program, and applications for the technology now ranged from tactical bombs and missiles designed to shut down entire corps to individual missiles and rockets designed to disable enemy fighters and armor.

With defense research at a minimum nowadays, the EMP was going to be the backbone of States homeland defense, and St-Jean-de-La-Roche was the backbone of EMP. Launchers and ammo were being sent to the front lines and the air bases as fast as they could be prepped. Naval Command had their own EMP program, which was getting underway.

(OOC: EMP weapons are getting activated at a pace of 5% on day 2, 10% more on day 3, 15% more on day 4, and so on. By day 7 all EMP weapons will be available)

Angiers/IN highway, St-Bernard-de-Lacolle border post, early on Day 2

When the highway had first opened, it had been praised as a triumph of regional unity and engineering. Now it was rigged with mines and roadblocks. Overpasses had been ripped down, bridges blown up, and the tunnel under the Martinique river had been collapsed. NMS Special Ops had prepared hit-and-run raids on IN forces in the area, desgined to further slow them down. Closer to the border, long-range artillery was emplaced, along with AA missiles The area for 10 miles south of the border was now a no-man's land.

Tanks and infantry were being brought up and incorporated into the lines of defense as each unit appeared. Reservists were starting to pour in as well. Nearby St-Yvonne and St-Marc AFBs were undergoing emergency expansion as air force jets were being redeployed to the area.

Nobody had expected this sort of crisis to emerge, and everyone was shocked out of their minds when they heard about the armies. But the shock had passed, and the armed forces were as ready as they could be for this attack.

OOC: TAG for the preservation of Venom Defense...

New Montreal States

Senna cursed, the secretary had cut her off, something about not believing that she was Julie. Damn, that's another nation not interested. With a sigh Senna set off back to the airport, to catch a plane to SAVX. This time, her entrance would be more noticable.

Army Group East,
1st Armoured Corp

"What the fuck is that! Looks like a UAV. Ryan, does Black Steel show anything about any UAV's?"

"No sir, it is an unconfirmed."

"Then it will be destroyed. Fire Awe King 1!"

A small box pops up on top of the Pz-4, and a flash of fire streaks out. An Awe King SAM missile locks onto the drone in front of it and powers toward it.

Army Group North,
Intelligence

"Sir, we have numerous reported sightings of activity in NMS, including probable deployment of EMP weaponry."

"I see, warn the commanders, have them ready the vehicles." Hopefully we are hardcased against those EMP's, but just in case... "Radio HQ, tell them to send a squadron of Lucifers over here, for a premptive strike if needs be."

Carville Airfield,
Intelligent Neighbors

Sixteen VA-3D 'Doom Lucifer' High Speed Bombers launched into the air, and flew northwards at over mach 3 toward their possible targets. No-one would see them coming, as the OLED camoflage and low radar sig masked them.

SAVX,
Airport

Senna sat in her seat as the plane cruised to a halt, slowly taxiing along the runway. It is time. Senna opened her bag , and drew out one of her spare hiking boots. Quickly she unclips the sole and draws out a ceramic object. She stands, and shouts out:

"Nobody move! I have a gun!"

She the dashes to the cockpit, hurling a startled flight attendant out of the way.

"Pilot, I have a gun pointed at your head. Radio the control tower, tell them that I am here, and I wish to speak to the Fuhrer. Inform them that I have information regarding Intelligent Neighbors."

That should get their attention.

St-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Frontline command post, 1200 hours, Day 3

A lieutenant rushed in to the generals office, breathless. He saluted and then began:

"Sir, they've stopped!"

"Stopped!"

"Yes sir, they pulled up at some random point along the highway about 100 miles short of our foward position."

"Did they forget something?" The general gave a short laugh.

"Intel is beginning to suspect that they might have, sir."

"You're serious."

"Completely, sir."

"Well. Are the thermal sensor UAVs deployed yet?"

"St-Jean-de-La-Roche called, sir. The UAVs will be in place over us at 1400 hours, and over the ripped-up freeway anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes later. All data streams should be up and running at 1500 hours. Anything with a heat trail that flies over us, we should be good on it."

"Anything else?"

"Just the usual string of minor snafus you'd expect when an army that hasn't fought in forever remobilizes, sir. We've had accidents, especially a really nasty one where an EMP misslehead fell off a train and we had to shut down the line for hours while we tried to recover it without setting it off."

"Sh*t happens."

"Yes, sir."

IC: And blood spilled the nation…

As hundreds screamed out, some in pain and fear, others in ecstasy. Broods were suspected of being in league with terrorists were forced out and quickly silenced by the load thud thud thud of 7.62 ammunition. What’s even more disturbing is that the military wasn’t even doing this, they were assembled on (or heading to) the borders. All this slaughter was committed by the Grey soldiers and civilians with…scores to settle.

The purges were over before the dawn, or what little you can see of it in skaven blight, rose and shined upon the blood stained fog. Millions had been exterminated by their own claws, not of foreigners. Yet the council of thirteen continued releasing messages proclaiming vast amounts of documents found proving that those executed were indeed terrorists. Nobody questioned to see these documents, but the council would never lie to the people( :rolleyes: ). The normally long rousing speeches weren’t given, they probably weren’t needed. The longest speech, which was probably less than thirty seconds long, could be summarized into a sentence, “Hunt down the terrorists, aid the IN.”

And the tide swelled near the borders as new shipments of weapons from Venom Defense reached their troops. Warplock engineers already “customizing” them. And every skaven was eager to kill the “terrorist” with the most stuff…

Shivka Airport
Balsten, SAVX

As always, the SkyGuard paramilitary forces were on alert for the slightest suspicious situation. This was a little more conspicuous than normal, and the response was performed en-masse. Within minutes, the plane was surrounded by nearly a hundred soldiers, as well as a team of Neogestapo officials. One, the negotiator, had a Syntec Omniphone with her, which allowed her to override the plane's transmission system so that she could talk with the perpetrator.

"I'm Neogestapo negotiator Maxine Francos, and you're a lucky girl. Normally, policy is to shoot first, ask questions later. And we have the ability to do that with our rail guns, making the plane's hull as useful as paper. However, you've mentioned a few key words, and we're interested. However, we'll need you to get off the plane. You have our word that you won't be hurt or killed. You'll be taken to see the Führer after a thorough inspection. After that, we'll see exactly whether your information is worth this...inconvenience. Bear in mind you have little choice. The lives of your hostages are more important than you and your 'information,' and we will not hesitate to kill you. What do you say?"


The Palace
New Wasteland, SAVX

Hans Müller glanced through the day's New Wasteland Times, scanning topics and lines to keep relatively abreast of world events. The late-morning light spilled through the window, landing directly on the dining table. His wife and son, Anna and Daniel, were still eating their breakfasts.

Catching a bold headline on the second page, the Führer's eyes lit up, then scrunched.

"And now THR...what sort of frenzy is sweeping the world?"

His family simply shook their heads, looking up at him. Then another thought hit him. He glanced to the side in consideration.

"What if I really haven't done all I can to stop terrorism in this nation? What if I really am missing something?"

Anna put down her fork and leaned towards her husband.

"Honey, with the way the Inquisition and Neogestapo keep their eyes on things, nothing can get done unnoticed. Even in the wastes. You've done nothing wrong."

"Yeah, Dad. I've talked with the lead intelligence people sometimes. They always like to brag about how nothing gets through their nets. Even the more modest Inquisitors say it."

Hans nodded, sighing. He looked up into the eyes of his wife and son. He managed a tight-lipped smile.

"Yeah, you're right, I suppose."

He felt his pocket begin to buzz, and a second later began to play an old orchestral piece. He answered it quickly. It was Neogestapo Master Chief Roy Mandol.

"Yeah?"

"Mein Führer, we have a situation in Balsten that may require your immediate attention."

[QUOTE=Intelligent Neighbors]
Army Group East,
1st Armoured Corp

"What the fuck is that! Looks like a UAV. Ryan, does Black Steel show anything about any UAV's?"

"No sir, it is an unconfirmed."

"Then it will be destroyed. Fire Awe King 1!"

A small box pops up on top of the Pz-4, and a flash of fire streaks out. An Awe King SAM missile locks onto the drone in front of it and powers toward it.

[\Quote]



The Hydra detected the IR signature of the missile launch, as well as the radar lock of the projectile as it sped upwards. Its point defense lasers charged and fired but the range was short and the laser hit the missile when it was a scant 20 metres from its target, blinded by the laser the missile lost its lock momentarily and detonated just short of the Hydra, which was thrown into a steep spiral as one of its thrusters had been damaged.

The Hydra attempted to recover from the fall and for a minute it looked to be pulling up, but it was not enough, the Hydra struck the ground and skidded alone the desert floor coming to a rest in amongst the IN tank column.


General Assembly Building, Tograna City

*Sirius, I'm afraid I have bad news*

"Wha, oh ok what is it" said Sirius as he stirred from his nap

*we've lost contact with one of our drones, the other two both report an explosion near where the third was conducting its sweep*

"Great, this is just what we need, probably some trigger happy ground commander took it out, this puts us in a awkward position"


*indeed, shall I recall the other drones*

"yes lets do that, and get me IN on the hotline".........

Frog's Palace, 1000 hours, Day 4

Frog was on the phone with Lt. Gen. Marcel St-August, who commanded the front lines at St-Bernard-de-Lacolle.

"General St-August, I am a reasonable man. You cannot convince me that your men have built 14th-century seige weaponry on a modern fighting front."

"Monsieur Frog, I do not lie to you. Why would I be lying to you? Some materials engineers took a bunch of spare parts and juryrigged a trebuchet out of modern carbon-fibre tubing and loose pieces of steel. Not only that, but they have just test-fired it 15 miles."

"And it worked?"

"Why would I be calling in if it did not? They took a napalm canister and hurled it 15 miles using scrap. Now they have some sort of far-fetched idea to shut down enemy tanks using electricity. I am sending them to you because these gentlemen can get things done on a shoestring budget, which is all we have for innovation right now."

"Okay, I will meet with them. Show them in. I have a few problems I could use some engineering genius to fix."

Frog hung up and shook his head. Trebuchets, in this day and age? At the very least, it'd slow the IN troops down out of laughter if nothing else.

Shivka Airport
Balsten, SAVX

Senna allowed herself a smug smile, the plan was working. Now she had someones attention, all be it for the wrong reasons. She spoke clearly.

"Ok, I agree. Where shall I leave the gun?"

There was a pause, then the neogestapo negotiator responded. "Give it to the pilot."

Senna glanced out of the window and saw the glittering of sniper scopes. They can see me do this. She hands over her ceramic pistol to the pilot before walking to the exit ramp set up. Putting her hands on her head she calls out to the waiting officials. "Coming out now."

She steps into the bright sunlight slowly, and walks down the steps, keeping her hands on her head. When she reaches the bottom she slowly moves into a spread eagle position on the floor. Neogestapo officers rush toward her, clipping handcuffs on and pulling her to her feet. Senna grins and greets them.

"Hello, nice day isn't it?"

Army Group East,
1st Armoured Corp

An Iron Tiger IFV pulls up near to the downed drone, and the cannon swivels toward it. One move, and blast it to hell. Six men pour out of the back and surround the UAV. The level their rifles at it as one man steps forward gingerly and kicks the hydra. The hydra whirs and clicks and the soldiers pour fire into it, silencing it.

"Take a picture of it, and feed it into Black Steel. Tell me what it finds."

A soldier takes a picture of the object with a strange camera from the back of the AFV. The camera uploads the image to the RWC Black Steel database, and within seconds a response is displaying on the screen.

MATCH FOUND: 98% Probability. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle "Hydra", from Tograna, currently neutral.

"Looks like someone is pissing with us."

Statement to the world,
Simon Easdale.

"It appears that some nations have actually pledged their support for the terrorists, and have begun operating against us. Such warmongers will not be tolerated, and as such our mighty nation will take action against them as we see fit."

Near border of New Montreal States

"Begin attack formation."

The lightning fast VA-3D 'Lucifer' (http://s7.invisionfree.com/Venom_Defense/index.php?showtopic=129) planes simultaneously went into Double-Pulse Detonation mode, boosting the speed to mach 3.6. They rushed forward, making a noise like a jackhammer and neared the border. No-one would hear them coming, but they would know they had left by the sonic boom.

"Fire peregrine's."

The internal bomb bays slid open, and two missiles were fired from each plane, streaking into the distance as the planes carried on toward their secondary targets. The first 32 missiles had been pre-programmed to strike AA sites in the path of the planes. Black Steel satellites guided them into their targets at mach 4.2, the targets would be saturated with missiles, as only a small area needed to be cleared. Roughly 1/4 of the missiles struck out for radar sites, trying to ensure that the highly stealthy planes would not be spotted.

///OOC: NMS, just as a warning and to eliminate any future problems I am telling you that the planes I now use are very EMP-proofed, due to several unfortunate incidents involving EMP missiles taking out hundreds of my planes (damn you Azazia!). I am not saying they are invulnerable to EMP, but rather they are highly resistant.///

As the wave of Lucifers rolled over the NMS countryside, AA was alerted by the loss of several radar units along the front lines, and launched a wave of EMP SAMs.

All minor AA radar and SAM sites were destroyed in the attack, but both Air Force Bases in use were saved by a variety of missile defense measures, ranging from EMP to radio jamming to disabling their sensors with lasers. Several civilian airport radars were destroyed as well.

As soon as the first aircraft crossed the border, three waves of aircraft were launched at the column.

Wave 1 contained F-3 Hellcat II fighters configured for air superiority, additional Hellcats designed to shut down IN anti-air, as well as 15 Hellcats with tactical EMP bombs to shut down the main IN column. None of the hellcats were equipped with EMP devices except for the tactical bombs. http://phoenixdynamix.proboards38.com/inde...read=1099025898

Wave 2 was a string of cruise missiles aimed at the airfields used by the Lucifers.

Wave 3 contained additional air-superiority F-3s as well as attack helicopters configured for anti-armor to continue the attack on the columns.

In addition to that, several groups of special forces headed out into the destroyed bits of the freeway to conduct hit-and-run attacks on incoming IN forces as they crossed through the rubble.

IC:
INs border:
Five Fusche transports and four Revenant mk 2s were driving through, each vehicle had white flags on both front ends. Not even civilians were targeted, clearly conquest was not the aim of this band as they came upon a patrol of IN soldiers.

A skaven wearing a German tank commander hat from World War two popped out of the hatch. “Hail fellow warrior. We are an HQ detachment of the fifty-second mechanized corps, we have been sent to contact your leaders through more…secure means…”

OOC: sorry for brevity/quality, its about 4 am here and I’m tired….

Incoming missile.... identifying... identifying... match found, 68%... EMP possible... preparing to shut down systems... 3, 2, 1.

With a blip the VA-3D's suddenly become visible, their OLED and other systems locked out from the power and protected against EMP blasts. The planes are no longer transmitting or recieving information, and are flying blind on calculated probable factors. The missiles streak upwards and detonate, sending waves of electrical distortion rippling over the planes. Electricity sparked all over the plane as the OLED fried. Two of the VA-3D planes hit turbulence, and smashed into one-another, exploding with a bright flame. Pieces of shrapnel were flung out, and another plane had a portion of it's wing ripped off. The plane tumbled to the ground, striken, but the pilot ejected and opened his sky-blue chute, drifting slowly toward the ground.

The plane systems re-activated, but now they were not visually camoflaged. The planes altered course and headed over a nearby airfield.

"Drop SABB's"

13 Small Air Blast Bombs dropped from the planes onto the airfield below, and shot downwards toward their target. The VA-3D's turned back toward IN and prepared to dash to safety.

Back at the front lines, the sudden artillery fire and aerial attacks had caught the army unawares, and now they hurridly began to return fire while shells and bombs burst around them, destroying buildings and ripping men apart. In the skies VA-2 Demon air superiority fighters were dogfighting with enemy Hellcats.

Tanks and AFV's dueled with helicopters, the IN tank's unique AA ability proving a worthwhile addition as many of the AA sites had been knocked about by EMP bursts. Soldiers fired undamaged RPG's into the fray, with little effect. Chaos reigned.

IN border

The IN soldiers leveled their weapons at the big rat standing before them.

"Skaven?"

"What do you think?" Replied the rat.

The soldiers muttered to themselves before turning to the rat again. "Well, seeing as you are rats driving a tank purchased from our military suppliers, we will let you talk to the provincial leader for this province. But, you have to get out of the tanks... don't worry, we can drive them and park them safely."

...

Provincial leader Gregory Tyne addressed the rat in front of him.

"Welcome to IN, Skaven friend. Our leaders note with approval your actions relating to the purging of terrorists. We have no quarrel with you. What do you want to discuss?"

Shivka Airport
Balsten, SAVX

Every gun was trained on the woman while she stepped off the plane. Once she was on the ground and at a safe distance from the aircraft, a group of SkyGuard soldiers ran forward. One smacked her on the back, knocking her to the pavement. Obviously flustered, the woman grimaced while she was handcuffed.

Maxine Francos stepped parted the circle of soldiers and stepped towards the woman lying cuffed on the ground. Francos was a relatively beautiful half-latino woman in her mid-fourties with shoulder-length jet-black hair and thin-rimmed glasses. She smirked.

"Thank you for your cooperation. We'll do the inspection here."

Francos put on latex gloves while two SkyGuard soldiers began to tear most of the woman's clothes off. They searched the clothes and set them on fire a little ways away when done. The woman's face went red, and she was about to yell.[You tell me if they found anything. They wouldn't react yet.]

"This is standard procedure, and if you think you deserve to have us preserve your dignity, you're horribly mistaken. Seems like some perverted sexual fantasy, doesn't it? I can assure you, though, it's nothing of the sort. I prefer men. They might be enjoying it, though."

The soldiers didn't laugh, even if they thought it was funny; this was business, and they were only concerned with the job.

"This might hurt a bit."

The woman squirmed and continued to blush while Francos performed a full cavity search.


The Palace
New Wasteland, SAVX

The Führer took a sip from his liquor while Master General Irving Ramel finished going through his idea.

"And so, adhering to the principles in our alliance, it would be in our best interest to help NMS and any other threatened nations within the region. War has already unfolded out there, and this might be a good opportunity to route a large portion of IN's rogue forces."

Müller nodded.

"That idea certainly has merit, Ramel. However..."

"Yes?"

Müller looked up while he refined his thoughts, taking another sip of the liquor.

"There need to be reservations on that plan. I certainly agree with you, but we need to be more moderate. Firstly, we don't know if we'll be attacked for sure yet. I don't want to be thrown into a war that can be avoided. Therefore, we'll see how NMS holds out. If they wipe the opposition with little difficulty, then I think we can leave their battle in their hands. Other states, yes, certainly we should help them if they come under threat."

"Perhaps, then, we should put some portion of our forces on full alert?"

"Yes. Bombers. You know what to do."

"Of course, mein Führer."

Ramel bowed with a sweep of his cape.

"I will alert two B-2 squadrons and four HotSpot Stryker squadrons."

"Make it happen."


Inquisition Agency Headquarters
New Wasteland, SAVX

"I'm setting up the link, mein Führer. If he accepts, we'll be connected shortly. I'm sending the request now..."

The Inquisitor began to type various keys at his console.


Request: Transmission with Simon Easdale
Home party: Der Führer, SAVX
Regarding: Military actions, reasons

A F-3 Hellcat over the IN column

Capt. Lavoix looked around him. Below him were the results of the sudden counterstrike his nation had launched. Now that the element of surprise was gone, the weight of numbers from below was starting to make itself felt, as 'copter after 'copter plummeted down. The Hellcats and Demons were fairly evenly matched, but the Hellcats were taking ground fire as well, and the fight was starting to swing against them.

Their assignment almost done, Lavoix sent in a radio call:

"Vultures One, Two, Three, Four, launch in 5 minutes."

And to the rest of the force:

"Game's over, boys. Everyone make tracks for St-Pierre-les-Montaignes, since our original airfield has been destroyed."

The remaining 'copters fired a few parting shots and starting rising and heading back towards the north. The Hellcats started breaking off as they could. When the last of his pilots was in retreat, Lavoix called:

"Vultures One, Two, Three, Four, give 'em our best regards."

The four Vultures started dropping their tactical EMPs onto the column. After they were done, they fired their afterburners and headed back towards a different airfield than the others, this one still having a measure of AA cover.

Ministry of Blowing Sh*t Up, New Montreal

"Phone call from Frog, sir. He orders you to contact Super American VX Man to see if we could co-ordinate strikes against IN Logistics."

"Then I guess I had better do that, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir." The LT saluted, and headed off back to his office.

General Richard picked up the phone, and flipped through his Rolodex until he found the number for Der Fuhrer's office.

He began dialing. A secretary picked up the phone.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, m'am. This is General Phillipe Richard, commander of the NMS airforce, and I have been ordered by Frog to contact der Fuhrer or whichever of his commanders he has put in charge of punitive bombings against IN."

"Hold on a minute, sir."

The General sat back and started waiting for SAVX to respond.

Frog's office

Jean Maillard, commander of the White Rangers (the national spy agency), was expected momentarily with a report on weapons smuggling into the Cikae Islands. Frog flipped through damage reports from the front lines, and signed whatever requests his commanders had made for new materiel or for repair crews.

Gabriel Berri, his aide, appeared, with a disheveled hobo in tow. "This man claims to have an appointment with you, Mister Frog."

Frog looked over his guest for a while, then motioned him to a chair by the door. Berri saluted and left.

"Mister Maillard, to what do I owe this surprise?"

The hobo took off his hat and jacket, then his fake beard. "I have your report, Mr. President. And I also need a favor."

"What would that be?"

"Could you cancel a national arrest warrant for one Mr. Irving Bismarck, of SAVX? That was the psyeudonym one of my agents used for this operation, and his boat was searched and seized by the Coast Guard. The warrant should be for arms smuggling and resisting arrest."

"I'll look in to it this afternoon. But first, this report."

"Ah yes! This is some of the finest work it has ever been my pleasure to perform in your service, sir. I have spent the last days in the Cikaes, monitoring the rebels and seeing if they are what they claim to be."

"Ah! And what are your conclusions?"

"They are patriots, sir."

"IN patriots or Cikae patriots?"

"Patriots of the Cikae variety, sir. They were tracing out plans to seize several IN warships in the island and to bombard troop positions with them. There were a million schemes crossing their minds sir, all of which would hurt the INs and indirectly help us."

"Excellent. Are they now taking delivery of the arms we have sent?"

"Yes, sir. I released the first shipment to them before leaving for neutral territory. Shipments are arriving nightly or every other night, depending on the judgements of my men on the ground. It should not be too long now before we receive word that the patriots are using these weapons against the IN."

"Very good. Now go take a shower before your costume stinks up my office beyond all cleaning. If you get another brainstorm, call me."

"Yes, sir."

With that, Maillard left the office, leaving Frog to page through the specifics of the report.

Within the Palace of Arcadia, Lady Destra was in a meeting with the rest of her Cabinet. This was typical scheduled meeting, that happened every week, on this day. Each Minister spoke of specific problems within their sphere of influence, and discussed with Lady Destra, as well as the rest of the Ministers on exactly what to do. Each Minister stood up and gave their concerns to the rest of the Cabinet, and each of their issues were resolved. The final Minister to stand up was the Second in Command, Lady Marona, who was the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

"Lady Destra, I have developing news coming out of Intelligent Neighbors. It seems that their leader has deemed our nation as terrorist supporters, and has threatened to come into our nation and take them out themselves."

Lady Destra looked at Lady Marona in shock. Coming from a supposed regional ally, this was a shock. Accusations of harbouring terrorists was a very serious matter, and it wasn't going to be dealt with lightly.

Lady Marona began to speak again. "It seems they have also accused Super American VX Man and Independent Hitmen of the same things. They have also gone as far as summarizing our nation as 'power-hungry egotistical bastards'."

Anger and insults flew around the entire meeting as each of the Ministers became riled at the accusations of the leader of Intelligent Neighbors.

"Their leaders' accusations will be the end of him." threatened Destra, as she began to think of how exactly she needed to respond to such a statement. It was an obvious taunt, but declaring war would be what they want. Their goal would be to see Lady Destra upset, and declaring war based on personal bias, which would upset the entire populace. No, this couldn't be the plan. She had other things in mind...

The Minister of Defense stood up and spoke up to Lady Destra, and the rest of the Ministers. "What shall we do defense-wise? Should I mobilize our troops in case of an attack on us? We can't afford to be caught off-guard in this situation. If an attack does come, we need to be full prepared for it. We also need to be prepared to defend our regional allies, in the case of them being attacked."

"Correct." as Destra nodded. "Prepare our defenses, in such a case. We will not be attacking anytime soon, unless provoked. Stick with defensive purposes only, Minister."

The Minister nodded, then left the meeting so that he could take care of his orders. Lady Destra looked at the rest of her Ministers, nodded and went to her private office, where she will be announcing her official stance on this crisis, as well as a rebuttal to the leader of Intelligent Neighbors.

IC: The skaven’s uniform was clean and well kept, as opposed to the main stream of their nation. His hand seemed to waver back to a name tag that was well faded, but a few letters could be made out. Hei…h H..m.l.r. The other skaven seemed sad to have left their armor, almost as if it was a part of them, either that or they are scared to death outside of it. The commander drew himself up to his full height, which was still a few inches shorter than Tyne.

“Greetings, over the past few days, or spy rings have been noting conflict. And as almost, if not all our arms come from your country, it would be disastrous if things should go sour. So, the council has decreed that any number of military units you require will be deployed. The recent terrorist attacks have resolved the will of our soldiers and are willing to fight and die upon your request. The rest of my corps is nearby, consisting of the 19th, 32nd, and 67th mechanized infantry along with the 97th and 12th armored divisions. Other soldiers are already being mobilized as we speak.”

OOC: Why wasnt I told about this :( cry cry cry.

Tagged whilst i read up, I assume it is still open to new players??

The Palace
New Wasteland, SAVX

Der Führer waited while the Inquisition attempted to get through to IN. He wanted to know just what was going on for sure while IN troops stood on the brink of invasion. He would be notified when the call went through...or was rejected.

Just as his mind began to float off, he recieved a message from his secretary. "NMS?" he thought. He allowed the call to be transfered to his phone.

"Hello? Yes, that's me. Uh huh...what?"

Müller laughed lightly.

"We actually just discussed that matter ourselves. No, I'm sorry. We can't give you direct support until we're sure that this is an unavoidable war for us. No, no, no! I didn't say we wouldn't support you; just not directly."

The Führer paused for a moment while he thought.

"I'm going to transfer you to another person: High Priest Fredrick Leon of Sainama (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=315888), one of our states. No, trust me, it's not what you think. Sainama has an extremely competent and well-armed paramilitary force. Due to their third-party status...I think they can help you without drawing too much attention. Leon has enough power in terms of drop-forces and aircraft to help you. He has limited access to higher tech strike aircraft, bombers, and such. I'll transfer you to him now. No, he'll know I sent you; otherwise you wouldn't be able to reach him. Alright. No problem. Good luck."


Müller hung the phone up and continued to wait for the response from the Insquisition.


Atomic Angels Cathedral
Michonas, SAVX

High Priest Fredrick Leon was dressed in full Power Armor with his helmet by his side, praying to his personal shrine of the Führer. The secretary saw this, and normally she would wait to tell him of the call. However, it had been redirected from the Führer's office; Leon would understand it was far more important.

She entered, bowing her head.

"High Priest, you have a call."

"I'm busy, Ms. Lain."

"I know, sir. However, I think you should take it; it was redirected from the Führer's office."

Leon's eyes widened slightly.

"Of course, Ms. Lain."

Leon got up and picked up his phone, pressing the button for the proper line. He remained standing, as he didn't want to destroy his office chair by sitting in it with his armor on.

"Hello. To whom do I owe this honor?"

Ministry of Blowing Sh*t Up, New Montreal

General Richard fumed a bit as he waited for the call to go through. He had just been politely turned down by der Fuhrer of SAVX, for some reasons that he couldn't quite figure out. Probably diplomacy again. Damn diplomacy, always making a man's job tougher than it already was.

His musings were interrupted by the voice of that priest Muller had referred him to.

"Reverend Leon? This is General Phillipe Richard of The New Montreal States. Der Fuhrer has lead me to believe that you and your men could help us in dealing with the armies of the heretic nation of Intelligent Neighbors."

He smiled. Using "heretic" was a nice touch. That minor in acting kept coming in handy in the strangest of places here in the military.

His attention returned to the matter at hand.

"You long to shed the blood of the infidel and take their souls to Hell in the name of Der Fuhrer? That's good. When can you start?"

He paused.

"In a day? Good. Our target will be their logistics and supply lines. Our satellites have given us a list of probable supply dumps along the highway and railway between us and IN. You'd attack the dumps on the ground with fighter air support from us, while our bombers target the highways and railways themselves."

He smiled as assent came over the telephone.

"Great. We'll have the planes ready by 1200 tomorrow. I'll send you a copy of the pictures of the target dumps."

The priest and the general continued ironing out minor details for the next half hour, but the deal was set. When Richard hung up and headed for lunch, he smiled the smile of a man who was about to whomp his enemy in the balls with a sledgehammer.

Army Group North

The NMS fighters left the front lines alone, after sheer numbers pushed the battle in the IN armies favour. As they left they dropped one last surprise, EMP bombs. The bombs fell amongst the army, spreading electronic hell amongst unprotected vehicles and equipment. Most of the newer armoured vehicles survived, experience gained in the Euroslavic civil war being put to good use. As the enemy left them, a cry went up from the soldiers as orders from HQ came through on the BS system.

Take fight to the enemy, launch full scale invasion.

Some more VA-3D planes flew overhead, and attack helicopters assisted the ground force as thousands of tanks along the border rolled forward, artillery blasting in front of them. As the force pushes onwards, infantry and support vehicles follow, waiting until they would be needed to set up pontoon bridges and other quick-fix items. Soldiers from The Ministry walked among them to quell any rebellion.

Behind the lines, groups of heavily armoured INKommando units stepped into Attila helicopters, and prepared to strike in unexpected places...

Shivka Airport
Balsten, SAVX

Senna continued to squirm on the floor as Francos got to work. Best to show humility, whatever my true feelings. Senna was tough, having trained for as long as she had and having had the same experience nothing could surprise her for long. This was too humiliating though, even though she had nothing to hide.

"Having fun are we? You won't find the CFF up there."

Frog's Palace, the New Montreal States

Frog sighed as he looked at the reports from the front. The tactical mission had turned from "drive back the attack", to "slow down the attack enough so we can retreat to a better line that involves the Savaron river."

Still, reports on the counterattack were, he supposed, better than reports on the attack. Concentration of artillery bombardment on parts of the IN lines had led to the advance being ragged in parts, at least until the artillery went silent. Breakthroughs had been replied to with counterattacks by tanks and helicopters. Those ridiculous trebuchets had been knocked down after splattering several tanks with napalm.

Then the Lucifers showed up.

States had AA had ideas about how to fight them, but no time to put any of them except for a very primitive thermal detection system. Hellcats and anti-air had managed to distract them, but not until they had turned the battle in favor of the IN army.

Night was falling, and the remains of the front lines were pulling back under cover of an intensive cruise missile bombardment, punctuated by dogfights between Hellcats and IN planes. The new line would be set up in the morning.

Grande Pointe AFRB, North Coast province

General Phillipe Richard walked in to the briefing room and took his seat. Here were the planners of the NMS counterpunch, discussing the tactics to be used.

General Antoine St-Vaudet, commanding the 15th division, stood up and spoke.

"Gentlemen, tonight my division as well as several others are moving foward under the cover of the retreat. If I could direct your attention to these maps..."

The room turned and looked as one.

"You will notice that IN's two main breakthroughs were here and here, too far apart to be mutually supporting in any great way. Our troops were able to destroy the roadways along the trenches as they pulled back from the area in between. This will greatly increase the time it will take for any vehicules to cross from breakthrough to breakthrough."

"We have fresh reserves that have just been re-assembled, and are bringing these foward masked by the confusion of the retreat. At 0330 hours the 15th and 33rd Divisions will hit the front of the IN salient. At 0400 hours the 223rd, 201st, and 155th will hit this flank, and if the salient is still intact the final flanking attack will be done by the 65th and 67th divisions at 0430 hours."

"The attack will be composed of mixed armor and infantry, with helicopter and air support. Bombing of IN artillery, both emplaced and in motion, will commence one hours before the attacks."

"General Richard, how are you coming on your strikes on IN logistics?"

St-Vaudet sat down. Richard strode to the front of the room.

"Fr. Leon from Sainama has promised us a string of ground attacks on the target dumps, and what our satellites show us so far is that he's been completely forthcoming with us. The attacks will take place up and down the line at 1200 today. B-2s are taking off from Bigtopia even now. They will be refueled overseas and joined by Hellcats from the carriers Valdemont and Angiers. They will then precision bomb both the dumps as well as the rail lines and highway with the Hellcats to provide air superiority or additional bombing capabilites as warranted."

"If these attacks succeed, the IN forces will be largely cut off from their primary supply centers, and a general counteroffensive can be undertaken to drive these bastards into the wastelands."

OOC: Only read up to post 13 so far, run out of time and so have compiled this post. More posts coming tomorrow morning!

The New White House, The Day of the Proclomation that the USIH has been supporting terrorism


”What?”

“That is what he has been saying to his people Sir” replied the briefer

“And they believe him….incredible. If I said such a thing I would be laughed off stage!”

“Yes Sir. However they have a slightly different mindset over there. As you know relations with them have been cordial since the Dr_Twist civil war, despite being a member of the RWC they have been relatively unobtrusive in our matters until now, and they have not been involved with any conflict we have since the incident with Euroslavia.”

“Yes. However the fact that he is saying that we support terrorism, when we blatantly have never done such a thing is strictly in breach of International Diplomatic Protocol and warrants a scathing reply from us” said the secretary of state, making his voice heard for the first time since entering the room several minutes previously.

“They are surely rational people though. This Eansdale chap cannot suppose that we will just take such comments and not act on them! The Secretary of the Interior and the head of the Federal Security assures us that there are no known terrorists in the nation, aside from those under arrest at Pensenville.”

“Very well” said the President, rising from his arm chair “Tom, I want you to release a statement denying all those allegations, and criticising them for making such obviously false claims.”

The President dismissed most of the men in the room, with the exception of the Vice-President, Simon Bull, the Secretary of Defence, Tony Chritins, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Matthew Whitney. The President took a seat on one of the couches arrayed in the room and re-started the conversation.

“Gentlemen, the IN ramblings in the wastelands, are they dangerous to the security of the nation?”

“By themselves no Sir” replied the General Whitney “However with the increased hostility towards ourselves and several other nations within the region I would say that there is a degree for concern.”

“General Whitney is correct Sir.” continued SecDef “We have reason to believe that SAVX will be the first target if they do decide for war in the region. We have overheads from our KH-11’s showing large concentrations of armour on the border. After that it’s even money between us and Euroslavia. Euro would probably be a more tempting target, they are on the same continent and therefore no amphibious assault would be required as it would with an invasion of our land.”

“Are you saying that they may seriously be considering invading three of their neighbours” interrupted the President “I find that hard to believe. We have co-existed reasonably well for a significant period of time.”

“That maybe so. But that was under the previous IN administration, this new leader appears to have a Hitler-esque streak to him. We have reports coming in of entire towns being eradicated and with them their citizens and any unfortunate people who get in their way.” This was the Vice-President, never one to mix his words he also said it how he saw it, which had gotten him into enough trouble with the press over the years.

The President turned to his Secretary of Defence “What does the cupboard look like if we have to face them?”

“Well Sir, since the period of Isolation ended we have been steadily building up our forces to bring them back into line. Our training regime is excellent, and our soldiers are remarkably well equipped in that area. Equipment wise we suffer from small deficiencies. The strength of IN armour is likely to be more than ours, they use tanks that could be considered superior to our M1A2I’s, however our level of training is excellent. One major area that we do not know anything about is the Black Steel system. It was developed by the RWC and as such we have had virtually no access to it, with the collapse of the NWO any such chance to procure it has gone and it is unlikely that we could obtain detailed specifications for it from espionage. That has been tried several times, and each time failed due to the security placed around the system. Therefore we do not know the efficiency at which it works, we are not even entirely sure of what it does.”

He continued

“In the air our aircraft are roughly equal technology wise. Our B-3 bombers are roughly equivalent to their VA-3D Strike Aircraft, however ours are not equipped with OLED camouflage units as theirs are. As expected the Navy is still the pride of the armed forces. The sheer size of the New England Class Carriers enables them to dominate the waves, and our submarine forces are pretty well spun up. If they come for us that way, they will not get through. General Whitney can give us exact numbers for the forces we have available.”

The General picked up a Manilla envelope and removed several sheets of paper from it and began reading from them.

“Currently based within the USIH borders we have 9 Field Armies, comprising of 2 Army Corps each. These are all regular units and are all at over 93% operational efficiency. Along with that we have a further seven divisions of independent units such as Combat Engineers that can be attached to Army’s as and when needed. If need be we can have 7th Army redeploy from Eastern Europe, I Corps is in Russian Forces whilst III Corps is in Dr_Twist.”

“On the Naval side we have forty one carrier battlegroups within home waters. That number can be more than doubled if we recall all of our warships from around the world.”

“Air Force wise the only aircraft not within our home borders are those of the 4th Tactical, and those are spread throughout our allies in Europe. Exact numbers of aircraft available can be increased through the opening of the Never Depots, briefing documents you have already been given Mr President.”

The Never Depots were huge underground storage warehouses, they held equipment ranging from F-16 fighters to M9 pistols to W-80 Thermonuclear Warheads. They were designed only to be ever needed if the country faced invasion, and only one depot had ever been used. Spread throughout the country were nearly 100 of these, ranging in size depending upon location and proximity to population bases. It was safe to assume that no foreign power knew of these bases, and if they did it was highly unlikely that they knew of the locations, such effort had been made to keep them secret.

The Match is Lit

Major Allan Hatchet of the Battleax Foreign Intelligence Service stood silently on a mountain overlooking the Savaron river valley, disguised as an NMS shepherd. Or at least attempting to disguise himself. He had only been infiltrated into the country last week after his predecessor had been killed in the initial IN attacks. His beard was only halfway grown and he had been telling those who questioned him that he had been infected with lice two weeks before.

Looking off into the distance, Maj. Hatchet watched the initial NMS front-line force initiate a fighting retreat towards the river, apparently hoping that the cruise missile batteries would hold off the advancing enemy column until morning.

The major had been skeptical that this would happen at all, but, "for once in their miserable careers," he thought, "those damned analysts got one right."

This was the development that the High Command had been waiting for. As best he could tell, a total of five NMS divisions were holding the line about five kilometers north of the Savaron. About five minutes earlier, Col. Devereaux, their operative in the NMSAF, had reported two more NMS divisions, two carrier battle groups, and one combined air wing moving southwest from the interior in what appeared to be the makings of a massive counterattack set for the next morning. Additionally, thanks to pre-invasion combat exercises in and around the sprawling military complexes in the northeast of the country, all military defense between the Savaron and the city of Les Merges consisted of four tiny National Guard garrisons that had not made any detectable mobilization efforts.

Meanwhile, Capt. Blades, the Battleax station chief in the IN capital, reported that their operatives within the capital police department had gained three new recruits, including the commander in charge of personnel assignments.

As long as the special ops boys were ready, this operation was good to go.

Maj. Hatchet raised his shepherd's staff and activated the satellite transceiver hidden inside.

"Station, this is Ladder One, come in."

Brigadier General Robert Slycer, at the BFIS headquarters, picked up the radio transmitter.

"Ladder One, this is Station, go ahead."

"Sir, the match has been lit."

"Acknowledged, engines en route."

Gen. Slycer picked up the phone and had himself patched through to Capt. Mace of the HRBS Creyeron, a Viking-class carrier which was in international waters, slowly sailing away from the IN-NMS border.

"Tell the squads they are go for launch."

"Roger that, sir. Creyeron out."

Three minutes later, two Learjets, one bearing NMS civilian markings, the other bearing IN civilian markings took off into the night sky, each carrying fourteen special ops sailors, as well as a variety of supplies needed for their similar missions, and headed for separate airfields maintained by BFIS front companies.

General Slycer reluctantly picked up the red phone and called President John Axman, who had just finished dinner and had returned to the Cylinder Office for no other reason than to be kept informed of the mission's progress.

"Bob, how's it going?"

"Mr. President, the match has been lit. We are underway."

"Good. Look, Bob, it's late, why don't you go home, get some sleep, and say hello the wife and kids for me. We'll be watching."

"Thank you, sir. Have a good evening."

As General Slycer put down the phone, beads of sweat ran down his forehead. He was personally responsible for this mission and its consequences. He had personally suggested it to Maj. Gen. Cuttman and had briefed the High Command claiming it as his own idea. If anything went wrong, the buck stopped with him.

Shivka Airport
Balsten, SAVX

Francos finished the job, carefully removing her latex gloves.

"Alright, nothing of interest."

She motioned, and one SkyGuard soldier helped her up, then wrapped a blanket around her. Francos then ran a quick scanner over the woman. Nothing showed positive.

"Definitely hiding nothing, except knowledge. Alright, let's go."

The Neogestapo group left the airport, bearing the captive. They placed her in the back of a van, surrounded by three armed Polizei. The lack of windows in the back kept her from knowing just how much longer the ride would take. The Neogestapo entered their respective cars, and they all drove off.

After what seemed like two hours, the van finally came to a halt and the engine turned off. The Polizei rearranged themselves so that the woman could be easily extracted.

When the doors opened, bright daylight flooded into the vehicle, causing the woman to squint. Francos was standing there with her other Neogestapo friends. New to the party were the two Palace Guard (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Super_American_VX_Man#The_Palace_Guard) soldiers. Their spotless silver armor reflected the sun like a mirror, making them hard to look at. Francos spoke while tossing the woman new clothes. One of the Polizei removed her handcuffs and feetcuffs.

"Put these clothes on. We'll take you to meet Der Führer once you're ready. Oh, and don't try anything. If you know anything about these two hulks behind me," she said, pointing with her thumb at the Palace Guard soldiers, "you know that they'll have you dead before you can blink."

The woman nodded, her face remaining stoic. Once her clothes were on, the Neogestapo helped her out of the van. The Palace Guardsmen positioned themselves on either side of the woman. Francos nodded, smiling.

"We'll take you to see him now."


The Palace
New Wasteland, SAVX

Müller was still waiting to see if he'd ever get patched through to IN's current leader. The intercom on his desk lit up, signaling to him that his secretary had something to say. He pressed a button on it.

"Yes?"

"Sorry to bother you, mein Führer. Neogestapo Officer Maxine Francos is here to see you with some others. She says it's concerning the incident from earlier."

Müller closed his eyes and rubbed them.

"Send them in."

As the door opened, Müller turned to it, placing his hands on his desk. The Neogestapo officers entered and made quick bows. Normally the Palace Guard would kneel, but they knew that keeping an eye on the prisoner was far more important. Der Führer motioned to some seats.

"So then, what is this all about?"

Francos stepped aside so that the woman was the center of attention.

"Speak now."


Atomic Angels Base 2
Outskirts of Sainama, SAVX

The western half of Sainama contained a large portion of the Totsandufer wastes. Here was where Sainama kept most of its forward-operating bases; close to potential action, ready to strike at a moment's notice. As it stood now, however, they would be striking fairly far from home.

Captain Derek Mays rapped out commands while his strike force [500 men] prepared itself for combat. Twenty Marsupial Attack/Transport Helicopters, each laden with eight men, loaded up gear and supplies. They would be playing the reinforcement role. The initial drops on each target would be made by ten C-59 Falcon II Armored Dropships--each loaded with ten men--which would be able to rapidly plummet to earth right after initial airstrikes on heavy fortifications and large vehicle and troop placements.

Support would be in the hands of twelve Copperhead Fighter/Bombers running continuous sorties. The Marsupial aircraft would be able to give close support against any armored targets.

If needed, secondary waves of soldiers would be ready, with heavier bombing from HotSpot Strykers available in the event that things went horribly wrong.

Mays had thouroughly read through the available intelligence. He had confidence this would work. This would be the first opportunity the Sainaman paramilitary had to prove themselves on an international basis. He was ready to call upon anything to make it work, including the rest of the Sainaman army.

Foes of Der Heilig Führer would be given no quarter, and no chance.

The Present Day, The New White House

The situation room was crowded, as it usually was when there was a high pressure environment. The President had once remarked if there were any Army Generals not present in this room, such was the amount of gold shoulderboards present.

However now was not the time for jokes. The predictions that SAVX would be the first targets of the IN military if they were to begin a war had been proven slightly wrong by the first IN tanks that rumbled into NMS. This had caused yet more jokes towards the Army Intelligence Section (AIS) to the end that some enterprising officer had stuck a sign underneath their title board on the main door to their part of the New White House that simply said: Ironic?.

Whilst the Hitmen's sense of humour was not understood by everybody that had certainly caused a stir within the intelligence community who were now working harder than ever to get a complete IN order of battle finished and handed to the President. They were also working on them for every other nation in the region, as this had the potential to involve all of them rather quickly and current political alliances seemed to change at the drop of the hat. Current friends could suddenly become enemies, and vice versa.

Due to this, there were now Air Force F-22A Raptor's and AWACS aircraft over the major cities and bases across the country. The Air Defence Net had been activated and all ships that could be had been put to sea whilst those currently undergoing refit were sped up. Also small specialised elements of the National Guard and Reserves had been called up to aid in the Defence of the country.

Meanwhile the news coming from NMS was not particularly encouraging. Satellites and the very limited HUMINT could see that battles were progressing, and NMS appeared to be forced back within their borders but may have been attempting a counter-strike. ELINT aircraft were even now heading North from Hitmen waters in an attempt to listen in on radio chatter from the two armies whilst saying over neutral territory. The four old ELINT satellites had used up their maneuvering fuel months before, and so only got partial passes over the area. A pair of them were sitting on boosters at Van Helsing Air Force Base, however a problem with one meant they were grounded for at least a further week.

Alltogether thought the President, sitting in his plush leather chair at the head of the table in the situation room, this was not a particularly satisfactory crisis up to this moment. The period of isolation had meant that the Defence budget was only just forging its way into higher figures than it previously had done in times gone by, and this meant that not everything worked as it was supposed to, intelligence assets being the worst affected. But the Hitmen still boasted a large Armed Forces, that would certainly cause trouble to anybody who attempted to invade them. The President just worried that trouble may not be enough to defeat such an enemy.

Somewhere along the front lines, southern NMS

It had been a long, hard, all-night slog for Christian Pantier, from St-Claude to the small village of Breadville Mines. His unit pulled up and got the blessed call to halt. He and his messmates slumped down on the grass. One pulled out a deck of cards to pass the time.

He wasn't really a soldier these days, he was too far out of shape. 5 years of civilian life had dulled his edge in ways that a week and a half of re-activation couldn't fix.

At about 0300 hours, the game ended. Those who had taken the chance to grab a catnap were woken up by the whispered commands to form up.

They must be attacking. Why else would they be marching around at this hour of the night?

The division got into a looser formation to keep from taking too many losses from whatever artillery had survived the bombings. At about 0315 by his watch the artillery opened fire along the line, and the sounds of explosions from both sides indicated that the armor had started heading foward. His lieutenant started shouting "GO! GOGOGOGOGOGOGO!" and he joined the charge towards the front.

//OOC: The attack will unfold as outlined in yesterday's post//

General Assembly Building, Tograna City

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I have been conulting with Hydi for some time now, and we are in agreement that military intervention in an external affair is not in accordance with the principles on which Tograna was founded. However when we take into consideration in amount of damaged that is being done, the human cost is immence, therefor we believe that there is no alternative to a swift and decisive resolution to this situation"

The silence could have been cut with a knife, Sirius was getting some very dirty looks indeed from around the room of 300 or so deligates, this was not going so well.

Challenger 800 Naval Transport Aircraft, 30 miles northwest of Les Merges, NMS

"LMK 34, this Les Merges, you are cleared to begin descent."

In the cockpit of his Learjet, Commander Adam Bowie of the Battleax Navy clicked his radio to acknowledge the ground transmission, cautiously reduced his speed to 200 mph, and began the gradual descent towards the private airstrip owned by the Les Merges Knife Corporation, a BFIS-front company. The commander's hands tensed as he raised the steering wheel to lower the plane's nose, leaving drops of sweat where his hands had just been.

Bowie was an old fighter pilot who had been shot down and held for three years as a POW in the Duskosan War. Although he had managed to keep morale high among his comrades, the constant, torture-filled interrogations had deprived him of his natural skill to fly fighter jets. When he returned to duty after the war, he was given the option of retraining to fly cargo or resigning his commission. With no savings and nowhere else to go, he chose the former. Even though he had been flying "heavys" for the last five years and his C-130 had played a critical role in Operation Jehani, he still got nervous when flying through a combat zone without weapons at his disposal.

At a time when all international commercial flights in and out of NMS had been grounded, due to the IN invasion, and with two mobilized air wings less than 100 miles to the south, Bowie couldn't understand why the NMSAF had not dispatched a single fighter jet to check out a plane that was in clear violation of flight restrictions, especially during a national crisis of this magnitude. After spending three years in Duskosa, however, the commander was not a man to believe in luck.

"Either they're gonna catch us on the runway or these are the stupidest SOBs alive," he nervously joked to his co-pilot, Lt. Commander Steele, as the plane came within five miles of the company airstrip.

What Commander Bowie didn't know was that his plane had not been ignored. Even with the massive dogfights occurring to the south, a Learjet could easily be picked up by any halfway functioning NMS radar dish. However, three years prior to this mission, by sheer coincidence, Les Merges Knife Corp. had been awarded a contract that made it the sole manufacturer and supplier of bayonets to the NMS army. With a full-scale domestic invasion underway and every factory with functioning machinery being converted to weapons production, the board of LMKC had no trouble gaining permission from the NMS air force to fly "materiel shipments" to their processing plant.

"LMK 34, this is KC Tower 1, you are cleared to land on Runway 2. Welcome home."

As Commander Bowie breathed a huge sigh of relief and eased the Learjet onto the runway, Lt. Tom Wesson, the commander of the special ops unit on board, was just beginning to feel his nerves. Commander Bowie's mission was nearly over. His was just beginning.

After a somewhat bumpy landing, Commander Bowie taxied the plane from the runway into the hangar and shut down the engines.

"All right, Lieutenant, this is your show."

Lt. Wesson rose to his feet. "Let's unload, boys."

Immediately, the plane doors opened and all fourteen sailors began unloading the equipment they would need for their mission into the hangar, in front of a skeletal maintenance crew made up entirely of Battleax nationals.

When they finished, they made their way to the board room for their initial briefing.

Police Hangar, Ryik Municipal Airport, IN

Two thousand miles to the southwest, Captain Roger Claiborne had not shared any of Commander Bowie's nervousness. International flights from overseas were still allowed in and out of IN and the BFIS contacts within the Ryik Police Department had provided both clearance for their flight and a hangar to store their gear and prepare for their mission.

Huddled in a corner, with a laptop on his lap, and surrounded by the thirteen men under his command, Lt. Commander James Goddard loaded the initial briefing on what was the likely to be the most dangerous special op, both militarily and politically, that the relatively young Battleax military had ever undertaken.

//Battleax: I'm not dealing with your thing right now because:

1) You are coming completely out of leftfield on this. This is not in and of itself a bad thing, although you could have made an introduction post of some kind before pitching in.

2) You are making assumptions about my nation (the ban on civilian flights, for instance) that probably should not be made.

2b) As part of these assumptions you are putting in infiltrations that any secret service would envy (especially in the ramped-up security of a wartime nation), and in some cases are entirely impossible (you think someone wouldn't notice a ground crew composed entirely of nationals of a single outside power and not do something to correct this?)

Not saying that you're a noob, or a bad RPer (you seem to either have past experience or a natural talent), just saying that some parts of your RP are implausible.

If you can fix the slight overreach, you're welcome to stay.//

Fort State, Home of the XV AirBourne Corps

Newly promoted Major Nick Jelfs strode into his Battalion CP, a small building that was filled to the brim with radios and other vital communications gear that hummed, beeped, and talked throughout the room.

Major Jelfs wore his fatigues that showed his name and rank on the pockets across his brest and as usual carried his .45 pistol in a drop down holster on his right side. He could have brought the Katana sword that sat opposite his bed in his private quarters, but it didn't go with the uniform.

The Major thought back to that day when he had been a newly promoted Captain, and subconciously his right hand touched the badge on his left shoulder showing that he had been in combat.

The sound of a HMMWV driving past outside did little to detract his thought pattern from the sounds of gunfire and the crump of mortars. That was the one and only time that IH and IN troops had clashed, well before the invention of this Black Steel computer system that the Intelligence boys were so worried about. It had been chalked up as an IH win, although a full battalion of the 142nd Airbourne had been attacking barely a company that was blocking its way. The Dr_Twist civil war had finished shortly after that, and the unit had taken no further part in combat and then Captain Jelfs had taken the gift from his dying adversary and treasured it ever since.

Since that time he had been promoted to Battalion Operations Officer, and then to command his own Battalion, this one in the 49th Airbourne Infantry Division. He had been a replacement for an officer killed in the Talaax conflict, and had overseen the replacement of the M16A2 to the XM-8 Assualt Rifles that his troops all now carried. As they were the elite light infantry they had the rifles before the rest of the army, who were all still on the M16. It made for a logistical nightmare, but also a sense of eliteness for these troopers that was only shown up by the Special Forces who they trained with as much as possible. Those men, who lived on the other side of the base, were the elite of the elite getting first pick on new equipment, recruits and cruicially missions.

Major Jelfs didnt know it, but he was on a shortlist for command of a Special Forces Regiment which was why he hadn't been promoted any further in this unit. However the promotions board, as with all non-essential other duties, had been put on hold with the increased tensions in the region. Those did however mean that the troops were out in the field doing things, rather than marching around base, which kept them happy and meant morale was exceptionally good despite the chill in the air.

Atomic Angels Base 2
Outskirts of Sainama, SAVX

"Let's ride, boys."

Upon Captain Mays's command, the ten C-59s blasted into the air, while the Copperheads zipped overhead.

Mays was in the first dropship. His was a little more cramped because he took up extra space with his Mk. I Powered Armor, but nobody complained. It was an honor to fight with an officer.

While the drop force flew over the wastes towards the conflict near NMS's border, Mays bowed his head and began a prayer, which everyone joined in on. Every line he spoke was echoed back to him both over the com-system and directly from those in his ship.

"Der Führer is our guide."

"Der Führer is our guide."

"His our protection in life and death."

"He is our protector in life and death."

"His will is the only will."

"His will is the only will."

"We owe everything to him."

"We owe everything to him."

"We are his sword."

"We are his sword."

"We are his shield."

"We are his shield."

"Our lives are his alone."

"Our lives are his alone."

"We shall not falter."

"We shall not falter."

"We shall not fail."

"We shall not fail."

Finishing the prayer, Mays looked back up, staring to the horizon. They were ready.

He knew the hour was upon them when the first two planes passed by, heading back to reload as fire blossomed in the distance.

[OOC: Hope you don't mind my "pre-emptive" damage. You can make it count for whatever you want, even if it's nothing.]

//OOC: Right, I leave the internet for two days, and all this happens. Better get writing... Oh, Battleax I concur with NMS. Your RPing is good, but you assume a bit too much.//

Army Group North,
Just inside NMS border

The army group had made progress, and their weight in numbers and the superiority of the VA-3D had helped them break two major holes. Efforts now were based on expanding and linking the breakthroughs to encircle the enemy. The delaying tactics of the enemy were frustrating, and their special commando divisions had to be frequently smashed by Ministry troops. The Ministry troops were becoming infamous for their brutality and fanatical loyalty, it was widely known that none of the Ministers had ever surrendered. The enemy had fought bravely, every step of the way, but now appeared to be retreating back to another line of defense. The IN troops did not follow closely, they knew they had time and numbers on their side.

At around 3.15am, concentrated artillery opened up, smashing the soldiers waiting in their foxholes. Enemy armour suddenly sprang out of the darkness, and bitter fights broke out along the salient. Pz-5 'Wolfbane' heavy tanks fired their 6 barrel gas guns at the enemy, six metal slugs each with the power of a 140mm KE shell slamming into one spot on the enemy armour punched holes, while the two machine guns, chain gun and mortar blased the enemy. But the numbers of these behemoths was small, and the Pz-4 MBT's formed the main line of defense, rallying around the near-impregneable Pz-5's.

Ministry troops picked up anti-tank missiles and counter charged, selling their lives dearly for the honour of Intelligent Neighbors. Their FLIT-3 armour protecting them from shards of metal but not the fury of the NMS tank cannons. The NMS pushed on, while more and more IN troops flooded into the area, attempting to use numbers to slow the enemy. NMS planes roared through the air, and helicopters launched slavoes of missiles into the fray. IN VA-2 'Demon' and VA-4 'Avenger' fighters showed up, battling with the enemy planes and ground forces. The VA-4 planes dropped 'Storm' top attack munitions, covering the armed forces below in bomblets.

Army Group North,
Rear area, supply dumps

The enemy attack was not completely unexpected, as Black Steel //OOC: will post info at bottom of post.// displayed some traces of incoming aircraft from the east and north. That said, the airforce could not protect all the supply dumps, especially with the surge of attacks by NMS at the frontlines. Much trust was being placed on ground forces called in, especially INKommandos that were being used to guard the Tokel Air Base housing 'Divine Fire'.

The B2's from NMS struck first, dropping precision missiles onto railway junctions and stations (hard to hit individual lines), as well as munition and supply dumps. The IN airforce had prioritised the fuel supply dumps, and VA-2 planes battled with the Hellcats and B2's while the ground based missiles roared upwards to strike back in anger. The attacks on the railways and highways were very sucessfull, as the army could not protect the entire stretch of lines and road. Many gaping craters left stations and junctions in ruins. The attacks on the supply depots were partially repulsed, the additional security blunting the attack somewhat. Two major dumps were completely destroyed, the munitions and fuel catching fire and blowing the buildings apart. Three other dumps were badly hit, but no large explosions from the contents occured. At these places, the enemy must have been hit hard by the defending fighters.

A short while later the first planes from Sainma roared overhead, leaving fire in their wake. The IN planes were nearly exhausted but fought on, duelling with the enemy Copperheads. Quickly the planes where identified as being from SAVX, and the word spread to the commanders in their bunkers. SAVX would pay for their treachery. The bombs damaged yet more dumps, but as the larger planes continued onwards the true target began to emerge. The Tokel Air Base. The base was alerted and began countermeasures, the 150 Kommandos and 400 standard troops setting up position in the area, watching the skies. The C-59 dropships passed overhead, and the AA missiles struck up to greet them with firey retribution. Inside the building Wulfila and three other HSS men stood in their HT-11 battle armour, organising the defense.

//OOC: The Tokel Air Base is a really good target, I hope this will be a really good charcacter RP.//

The Palace,
New Wasteland, SAVX

Senna looked at Der Führer at started to talk. Explaining to him about The People, how they were not terrorists and wanted to restore IN to the peaceful state that had existed before the kidnapping of Jack Foley. She outlined the state of affairs within The People and how they needed better technology to help them fight against the regime. Finally Senna outlined the evidence they had collected suggesting the Foley was still alive, and hidden within the Razor Mountains.

"So, Führer, I have come here to humbly ask for your help."

//OOC: Black Steel Info, all of course completely OOC, and highly highly secret IC.

The computer is believed to be far more power full then any other on this planet once it has finally been completed. Final processing power for 1 computer is expected to be 128 exaflops (or about 1.6million times the power of the fastest computer in the rl world).

Black Steel will not just consist of huge rows of cabinets but smaller units that will sit inside the ships and aircraft of the allaince. Leaps in technology have allowed us to crap huge processing power into a tiny space, the CPU used operates at speeds of about 50 gigaflops. 4 chips are put onto a PCI card and 20 of these are placed into a module, giving each module a speed of 4 teraflops. Each module is 20cm x 20cm x 100cm and each cabinet house 32 modules giving it a speed of 128 teraflops. It is this ability to put huge processing power in such a small package at a cost many many times smaller then was possible then before the invention of the CPU used that will allow Black Steel to be incorporate in thousands of system.

Black Steel's enormous processing power will allow RWC nations to have a technological advantage over all others. The system will be linked to every member and gather all the data from RADAR, CELLDAR, satellites and intercepted data. Black Steel will allow the intelligent services of the RWC to crack and process all manner of intercepted coomunications herelding a new era of awareness. RWC members will have access to some of the most complete intelligence dossiers on other nations, the eventual goal to have 0 unreadable enemy traffic. Black Steel will be linked up to existing super-computers of allaince members, Gou Fu and ANGEL for additional power.

A bit of SIC and a bit of OOC:The center piece of Black Steel will be the computer centers, each of these will have 128 exaflops at there disposal. The computer centers will 1,000,000 cabinets and the first one is already nearing completion underground. The scale of these centers is massive, the cabinets will be housed in groups of 1000. Each room will be 60m x 60m with 100 of these room son each floor, the building will be 10 stories high (or rather low as for security reasons most of the centers will be underground). Each of centers will cost 5.12trillion, a massive sum but when compared with the benefits it is tiny. The cost/performance is surprisingly tiny, compare Black Steel to other super computers:

Computer:_____ $/gigaflop
Black Stee l 40
Blue Gene | 1800
Earth simulator | 7800 [/SIC]

Black Steel has the eventual goal of a Zetta flop along the network along with super computer power inside fighters and ships. The power the system can give will allow the RWC to dominate those who seek to destroy us.

===========

Total cost for the main unit will be: $5.12 trillion

that gives us performance of 168 exaflops or 1.6million times the power of the fastest computer in existance today

The computer itself will need to be housed in a building consisting of ten floors divided into 100 room each housing 1000 cabinets. Each floor will be 600 x 600 meters and we will probably want to put this under ground.

Additional terminals can be built at about $40 billion each and these will give a performance of 1 exaflop.

ATTENTION ALL YOU WEAPON DESIGNERS: each cabinet is about twice as powerfull as the worlds fastest computer. you might want to put add them into you products. The cabiintes operate at 128 terabytes and are 1x1x2 meters, if you dont want something that big an individual modules is 20x20x100 cm and operates at about 4 teraflops. we can go smaller but ask me, these would be very usefull in bombers and planes.

Grande Pointe AFRB, command room

The attitude was more somber than it was two days ago, as the news from the front was not good.

"Stalemate," said General St-Vaudet. "Nobody's going anywhere anytime soon. We made some initial gains, but right now we seem to be stuck. We're losing men and armor at the same rate IN is right now. Damn Lucifers always seem to stop us on the ground, right now they've bombed us right to oblivion anytime we think we've made progress. General Richard, have you pulled any rabbits out of your hat lately?"

Richard stood up. "Yes, sir, I have. The SAVXian priest was as good as his word. Munitions and food dumps have gone up all along the lines. The fuel dumps were tougher, and most of them are still intact. We're sending another wave of B-2s and Hellcats, equipped with conventional and EMP weaponry to try and crack the dumps. A smaller force of B-2s will be bombing the IN rear to disrupt movements and assist your forces in their counterattack. We are trying to co-ordinate these strikes with the Saiaman forces to maximize damage."

St-Vaudet turned to the map of the front lines. "This is good news. If we can press the attack now, they should be forced to fall back. General Michaud!" He turned to the commander of the air National Guard. "Are those old A-10s activated yet?"

Michaud stood and saluted. "Yes, sir, and I have two brigades of armor ready for an attack. With the A-10s flying point, we could smash our way into the IN column, and rescue our troops stuck between the breakthroughs."

St-Vaudet turned to him: "Go ahead, General, there's a promotion waiting for you if you can get through."

Michaud saluted, and picked up a phone to give the necessary orders.

The Palace
New Wasteland, SAVX

Der Führer nodded.

"I'm familiar. And yes, we are willing to give you virtually whatever you need. Except nukes, of course."

Most of the people in the room, including Müller, chuckled.

"Right, so, tell me what you need."


The Palace
New Wasteland, SAVX

Master General Irving Ramel watched as the large screen filled with reports. His officers began to sort through it all and address the situation. Ramel looked at one in particular.

"Sainama..."

He pressed a few buttons on the touch-screen. The high-tech glass screen changed, removing some of the reports. Basic shapes and colors showed the battle unfolding. Ramel rubbed his chin, then, without moving away from the screen, rapped out orders.

"FMAS [Full Military Alert Status, similar to DEFCON] level 2, now. We can be expecting major strike any time now. I want three standard corps to play the first shield on the border closest to IN. Have the Toxin Corps remain in reserve a while back with one other standard corps. They'll do a counter-punch when the time comes. Have the Shock Division form a protective barrier for Primus, with support from another standard corps. Nobody will get through there. Put the Tactical Nuclear Network on alert. Tell them to connect to the long-range scanners in Primus and hit anything that gets within twenty miles of the border."

"And the Sainaman paramilitary, sir?"

"They can run free for now. Something tells me they're going to be busy. Oh, and have the Toxin Corps's strategic missiles target IN's capital in case things go horribly awry."

"How likely is that, sir? I doubt Der Führer will want to hear that we've gassed an entire city."

"Not very. And he'll live. It's been done before."

"Anything else, sir?"

"You should know. Put the Strategic Defense Network on full alert. I want every anti-air and -missile system we've got covering the skies. And I mean everything: the missiles, the railguns, even the laser cannons."

"We only have two laser cannons in that system, sir, and they haven't been fully tested and tweaked yet."

"I'm well aware. But we need the best of the best to cover Primus. Der Führer will come to no harm."


Army Group North,
Rear area, supply dumps

Mays braced himself while the C-59 did its best to evade the enemy fire. The ships relied more on speed than maneuverability, so the Gs were low. Still, it was hard to stay upright.

Just as they were nearing the supply dumps, Mays caught sight of the air base. "A glorious target, if ever I saw one," he thought. There would be a change of plans. He patched his com-system through to High Priest Leon, trying to make the report quick before the aircraft landed. One of the dropships near his ship exploded as a missile collided with it, rocking his own ship and pinging it with shrapnel.

"High Priest, I have urgent news. We are about to drop, but I have sighted an air base a short way off. We could win much of Der Führer's favor if he capture this entire zone and put it to our own use."

It took a few seconds for Leon to get the message and reply, but he was upbeat upon the news.

"Excellent, Captain. I will deploy our full forces to the area and try to get assistance from the other High Priests. I'm sure they will be in full support."

"Thank you, sir. We will continue with our objective and secure these dumps."

"Good."

The link broke, and Mays switched to his full-tactical link to contact all of his soldiers.

"Attention! First wave will continue with its primary objective. Second wave will break off. Repeat, the Marsupials will break off."

Another dropship further down the wave exploded.

"I want them to set up fortified positions near an air base further on. You will defend your positions until reinforcements arrive!"

Finishing with the command, Mays switched back to his attack group's frequency.

"Prepare to land!"

Just before the landing sequence started, another dropship exploded. "Already so many lost? Those swine will pay," Mays thought, gritting his teeth.

One more dropship was damaged by a glancing hit, and Mays watched as it careened to the side and plowed into a bunker, still intact.

"Pilot! Drop us there!"

While his dropship altered course for a moment, the other five dropships began normal landing sequence. Ground-facing autocannons pumped explosive rounds into the landing zone to clear out obstacles and other dangers, then the engines all but shut off, firing again barely two meters above the ground to slow the descent. Once the dropships landed, the rear hatches fell out as soldiers poured out, opening fire at enemy targets and taking cover wherever possible, including around their dropships and in the craters from the autocannon rounds.

Mays watched as the damaged dropship's rear door popped out. There was some smoke that came out, but there was movement inside. "Good," he thought. Then his own ship took the dive, slamming into the ground by the bunker.

Fort Reflex, IH Satellite Communications Station.
Northern Redge.

This was one of the few IH installations that wasn't actually within the country, and it was one of the most important. With Redge's position nearer the equator the decision had been made to use this sight as the primary satellite relay station and so it took all of the results from every satellite that was in orbit. The price for this was that there were officers from the Redge Royal Intelligence Corps assigned to the station, however that was no big deal as the two countries had been allies since their establishment, and the mutual aid they had supplied in the actions against the Dictator Ben and his attempt to take over the First Region.

Now the majority of the Intelligence Staff here were pouring over feeds from the real time birds that showed the on going battles. That it was night time didn't matter to them, all that changed was that the video screens had a slight green tint.


In one room a large screen had been set up, and several groups of technicians were working on identifying units based upon patches and tank designs. So far they had identified three IN formations, and these were now being shown on a map as "Engaged". There was a general concensus that this was the IN Northern Army Group, however nobody would stake their reputation on it until further units had been identified.

The group identifying the NMS units engaged were also having a hard time identifying large formations. This may have been due to the nature of the counter-attack, and units were being more properly picked up during their approach marches to the battlefields.

Aircraft from both sides were being evaluated in another room, the IN VA-3's were gaining a fearsome reputation and already tactics to deal with them were being formulated back in the IH. They were slightly better than the B-3's currently serving in the USIH Air Force, and so these were being used to test fighter tactics as well as having the AWAC's aircraft trying new ways of picking them up. The NMS bombers effectiveness were also being evaluated as they were roughly similar to IH bombers, especially the B-2's several of which had been snapped by a HARS (High Altitude Recon Sat) the day before taking off from a remote airbase. Initial results were promising.


IHS New England, Flagship of the Fleet.
Approximately 90 Miles NorthEast of PortHaven Naval Base

Fleet Admiral Jock Pout strode into the CIC of the massive warship.The commander of the 5th Fleet he took a quick glance at the board to his right that showed the position of every ship in the Fleet at the moment, including New England and her sister ship New Hampshire currently two miles to the port side.

On the left was a board showing the readiness of the aircraft on the ship. There were 400 lights on that board, although only 250 were lit at the moment in varying stages. Most were green which meant on the flight deck, several were blue which told the operators they were currently airbourne, whilst those down for maintenance were red. The only aircraft in that state were a pair of F-14's that were having regular engine replacement performmed on them, much to the anguish of the flight crews who were resigned to pacing the massive flight deck watching their fellow aviators taking to the skies.

Those same flight crews felt the shudder of increased speed as the carriers four nuclear reactors brought her up to flank speed of 42knots to conduct flight operations, this time to relieve the current CAP (Carrier Air Patrol) that was orbiting above them. A pair of F-22S Sea Raptors lept off the forward catapults one after the other, followed by an EA-6B equipped with buddy stores that would refuel the AWAC's aircraft already orbiting. Another pair of F-22S brought up the rear of the formation.

Looking across the sea towards New Hampshire the same could be seen, although their launch included a pair of S-12 Sub Hunters that moved at lower altitude towards the outer sonar pickets to aid those destroyers and frigates along with the land based P-3 Orions flying out of PortHaven Naval Air Station.

Admiral Pout's StrikeGroup was heading NorthEast to the line of carriers currently guarding the approaches to the country. The next day they would take on the remaining aircraft to bring her up to a full war complement, the first time she had done so since her commissioning trials.

//Battleax: I'm not dealing with your thing right now because:

1) You are coming completely out of leftfield on this. This is not in and of itself a bad thing, although you could have made an introduction post of some kind before pitching in.

2) You are making assumptions about my nation (the ban on civilian flights, for instance) that probably should not be made.

2b) As part of these assumptions you are putting in infiltrations that any secret service would envy (especially in the ramped-up security of a wartime nation), and in some cases are entirely impossible (you think someone wouldn't notice a ground crew composed entirely of nationals of a single outside power and not do something to correct this?)

Not saying that you're a noob, or a bad RPer (you seem to either have past experience or a natural talent), just saying that some parts of your RP are implausible.

If you can fix the slight overreach, you're welcome to stay.//
Actually, I guess you could call me a "noob." This was my first try at RPing. I only found out about this site ten days ago. Thank you for highlighting some of the implausibilities of my RP, although I feel that some of the areas you mentioned are valid. Also, I hadn't intended for y'all to deal with me just yet, given that this was a covert mission that wouldn't have affected either you or IN until a few posts down the road.

1. Yeah, I probably should have made an introduction post for myself and probably my region.

2. The ban on civilian flights was only for international flights, which isn't entirely implausible for a nation that's being invaded, although you're probably right that I shouldn't have assumed this.

2b. I figured that in a nation of over 1 billion people, paying off a single officer in the NMSAF to provide info to a small, distant country wouldn't be that hard, as well as paying off a few people in a country with a large "pervasive" police force, such as IN. As for the ground crew, I figured that a skeleton ground crew of foreigners from a relatively small, neutral overseas nation would not attract much attention. However, you are right that I probably should have introduced it better and built things up to where you wouldn't think that my contacts were coming completely out of nowhere.

Now that the semester has started, I probably won't be able to finish my part of this RP. President Axman pulled the funding and called everybody home. I'd like to thank you for your advice, though, and I'll look forward to seeing y'all finish what's shaping up to be a pretty good story.

//OOC: Battleax, you are a very talented storywriter, and I wish you luck in your future roleplays. As a bit of advice, many roleplaying nations do not roleplay their nations in accordance with what is says on the main NS page. For example my page says about In having a "well funded safety net". For the purposes of this RP, taking place in after an effective coup (no-one knows this IC), IN does not have any social welfare plans. The daily issues can not change the nation fast enough, so many people just write down what their nation is like elsewhere, for example on NSWiki. In short, do not rely on the nations page to give a comprehensive illustration of that nation. I hope that helped, IN.//

Tokel Air Base,
Wastelands north of IN

The earth shook from the mighty impact of the dropships, and fire rained down upon the defenders from the autocannon. A damaged dropship ploughed into a bunker, cracking a hole in the side of it. Inside, four Kommando's were knocked off their feet, but the FLIT-3 armour saved them. The suits filtered the smoky air as the X-Soldat stood up, keeping low to avoid the bullets pinging off the outer bunker wall. One noticed that the hatch to the dropship was facing them, and motioned to his fellow warriors. With a nod one of the group flipped a small block from his backpack. Opening it he pulled the thick chord out and stuck it to the wall with the built-in adhesive. Seconds later the chord flared up, cutting through the door with a thermite-like compound. A kick from another Kommando opened it, while the final two crouched, one flinging a BoF (Balls of Fire) grenade into the opening while the other fired rounds inside with deadly accuracy. The grenade detonated as the soldiers pulled away from the door, and a blast of fire with deadly ball bearings roared out of the door. The Kommandos then quickly moved out of the rear of the bunker and into the firefight, punching in a 7-digit code on the door as the left, sealing any possible survivors inside without hope of rescue.

Inside the building, at the heavily fortified centre of operations, Wulfila, Gamma, Beta and Sigma watched the events inside unfolding within their helmets. Wulfila was pleased so far, the men outside the building proving more than the intended distraction. Perhaps they value their lives? The real resistance would be inside, where almost all of the Kommando's, and two thirds of the regular soldiers had pre-prepared positions where they could resist attack from. But things still needed to be stepped up a bit.

"Sig, take that bomb and use it."

"As you wish."

Sigma turned and picked up an armed SABB, a dumb bomb designed for mass casualties and damage in a relatively small package. Even the sythesised muscles of the HT-11 suit strained under the weight of the bomb. Wordlessly Sigma left the room, and turned right up a staircase. He passed through a windy corridor, and many blast-proof doors before arriving at the roof. Clambering up he had a magnificent view of the compound, the hangers control tower and high-security station all in one enormous block of concrete and iron.

He strode over the roof toward the flashes of fire as SAVX troops engaged the enemy. Arriving near the edge he crouched and rolled the bomb along the ground gently, well out of view of the enemy troops. He stopped the bomb short of the edge and watched the view of the fighting below through his visor linked to Kommando units down on the ground.

Back inside, Wulfila watched the same transmission. As soon as the time was right, those feckless hlaf-wits that call themselves fighters will perish. Sigma thought back to the recent incident where he had been part of a team that co-operated with SAVX special forces in an anti-terror strike. Those were real warriors, worthy adversaries. Such a pity that Axos died... I would like to have fought him.

The Palace
New Wasteland, SAVX

Senna fought back the desire to tell Der Führer what she thought of his joke. We could use nukes, you asshole. Instead she contented herself by asking something that would surprise even Der Führer.

"We need Death Troopers."

Army Group North,
Just inside NMS border

The Montrealians //?// had courage, anyone could see that. Against overwhelming numbers and with losses mounting on both sides they kept fighting to preserve their nation. It also appeared that they were co-ordinating their attacks with the rear-area strike by SAVX, pushing through with exhausted men and out-of-date //lol// aircraft to relieve their men that were encircled. They succeeded due to sheer determination and resolve, breaking the ring and allowing their embattled comrades to escape. The gap was kept open long enough to get 80% of the men out alive, but how much equipment had been left behind was not counted. The small line was finally battered into submission by VA-3 planes dropping napalm+ on the area, covering it in flames. Already the area looked like hell on earth, and the war showed no signs of abating. For every mile taken, the IN army would pay heavily in blood.

//OOC: NMS, can we do a city-fight, like stalingrad? Perhaps the war could start to turn more in your favour if certain... story twists happen? *hint*.//

Imperial Fleet 1,
Off the coast of SW IN

The huge Imperial Fleet 1 had undergone a massive revamp after it's humiliation at the hands of a tiny opposing navy run by Azazia in the Euroslavian civil war. Admittedly the IH navy had aided as well, helping to eliminate the fleets vast supply of VA-1 Merlin fighters. This time, however, the VA-1C was present, a much improved plane with the same EMP-defeating system as onboard the VA-3D. The Imperial Fleet 1 consisted of three separate fleets, all self-sustaining. The ships had been updated by Layarteb, and now were ready to take back the oceans. The first IN Expeditionary Force had been loaded onto the fleets, and was now awaiting to be set down at it's location, in South TKotM.

The location had been chosen as a point to drop off the force due to it's neutral location. It was a smallish province to the east of Witzgall, and the INEF could be set down their without war breaking out between them and IH. The fleet could then go on to protect the strait across to IN (Cornixpes doesn't exist for this RP, he got the land after it started.) while transport boats moved more men and supplies across, ready for the push on IH. All this was in the future though, and as the fleet neared the Cikae Isles, the future was uncertain.

Conference with Skaven

"We thank you for your kind offer, and wish to take you up on it."

Tyne smiled at the large rat in the SS uniform in front of him. Still living in the past, what can you do. Tyne liked the Skaven-kind immensely. They were simple but loyal folk, and always treated the nation of IN with respect and kind words. Now they seemed willing to give the ultimate gift.

"So who would you have us attack?" Enquired the Skaven commander.

Tyne smiled again, and dismissed the guard at the door. He stood up as the door closed and poured himself a whiskey.

"What I am about to tell you does not leave this room, Ok?" The rat nodded assent.

"I am deeply troubled by the course Easdale is taking with this country, I think that it may end in our destruction and occupation. The mighty Intelligent Neighbors cannot be crushed! We have too much history, too much pride. I fear it already may be too late, we are on the brink of war with many nations, and we cannot win all the fights. I therefore am resigned to our defeat, but expect it to be long, drawn out and bloody. After the war, the victors will carve up our empire amongst themselves, and nothing shall be left of us."

The rat looked concerned, but Tyne continued.

"I am asking you not to attack a nation, but rather to take land. Way down in the south of The Kingdom of the Midlands (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v636/sp00ked/tkotmmap5.gif), there is land bordering on an ocean. It is the perfect spot for a final retreat, a place of hiding and safety for our greatest leaders and scientists, as well as a place from which to raise an uprising in our conquered lands. I ask that your mighty army takes this place for us, and holds it against all comers. I doubt that they will attack you openly, as you have caused no direct harm to them, but when the time comes you must harbour us within your mighty walls."

The rat looked wide-eyed at the man in front of him speaking passionately about his country's future.

"Well, what do you say?" Tyne asked.

//OOC: I am very, very sorry Rat, I accidentally overlooked your last post, forgive me. In reality Tyne is a member of The People, a group trying to resist Easdale's takeover and free IN. You can choose to accept what he says, or ignore it and seek anothers counsel (who will ask you to attack SAVX probably). It is completely up to you, I do not mind either way. Sorry again.//

OOC: Oh man, IN, you've gotten me all giddy. Anyway, I don't have time right now to address the other bits. I should be able to later tonight.

IC:

The Palace
New Wasteland, SAVX

Müller was just taking a sip of his liquor. It ended up all over the party that had just entered his office.

"The Death Troopers? What makes you think I'll have them help you? That's...that's...insane!"

"I know. But I also know that you would want this conflict to end as soon as possible. And I know how they can help us."

Der Führer paused, thinking. He started shaking his head.

"I'm going to regret this. Tell me how they can help."

The Palace
New Wasteland, SAVX

"Simple, they assist me in a couple of raids against some rather interesting targets."

"Such as?"

"The first is a possible location of Jack Foley, we believe he is actually within the capital, the last place anyone would look."

"How possible."

"Enough to have risked myself in a stunt to talk to you."

"And the second?"

Senna smiled, this target if hit would seriously cripple the government. "A strike on Venom Defense, the arms contractor. The blueprints they have their could turn the tide of war if they are in our hands." Of course, it wouldn't hurt to steal a few other things for The People while she was there.


//OOC: Good to know my RP skills are still good, thanks to you for restarting my RPing after a long break.//

Grande Pointe AFB

General St-Vaudet looked around the room. The men who faced him were exhausted, as was he. The counterattack had served it's purpose, although losses were catastrophic amongst the Reservists who had managed to open a way out for the encircled troops.

General Richard had kept hammering the IN supply network, but when that was going to kick in was beyond him. And the cost in B-2s was getting to be atrocious. He sighed, barely noticing the colonel who was giving the briefing:

"...and the pullback seems to be complete. Maillard down at the White Rangers has assured me that we have enough people in occupied territory to put up a decent guerilla war. We've lost all fixed equipment, but most of it was either bombed out of exsistance by the Lucifers, or incapacited by us during our retreat. The entire 30th division "scattered" after a rearguard action, but it's estimated that about three-quarters of them survived and have gone underground to train the guerillas and plan our first strikes.

Our defenses along the Savaron and Sorel rivers stand as follows. All bridges across the rivers have been destroyed, and all our known fords have been mined and covered with rubble. Our primary defense will be to lure the IN troops into starting a crossing, which will be lightly resisted. We have set up explosives along the dams on the Savaron and the Sorel that will flood the IN crossings and sweep away part of their armor. A counterattack will then drive whatever part of the IN forces are on our side of the river into the drink.

This is not, of course, a permanent solution, but it will give us time to set up a better one - a city fight in Sorel. We have figured that our infantry is fairly evenly matched with theirs, and we have the better maps and knowledge of Sorel. The riverside will be a complete swamp, and we've prepared armored small craft for this purpose.

Our lines will be redrawn to encircle Sorel, and we will be able to reinforce our troops if the need should arise. Basically, this will wear them down, in combination with guerilla warfare south of the river.

Lennoxville, along the IN-NMS highway south of the Savaron

The IN tide had swept through this town, swept through it so throughly that hardly any fighting had a chance to take place. IN troops now garrisoned the town of 250,000 and their officers had claimed the best hotels in town.

Outside the hotel, a pair of innocent-looking citizens engaged in polite conversation.

"Rejean, do you have the packages?"

"They are gone, Marc. I delivered them as you said to this morning."

"Good. Do the maids know anything?"

"No, they appear to merely be pillows, although heavier than the normal pillow. Not by much, and it could easily be explained away by wartime shortage."

"Good. We must but wait now for the Royale, if what you say is true. And the grand Lebeau?"

"Ah, Rejean, that is much more difficult than we thought. The cars are not getting in like we thought, the areas around the elevators are cordoned off. Can we do without that spot?"

"Marc, what you ask is nigh impossible at the moment. We now need to do it on foot, and that will be more difficult, not to mention the odds against such a one of surviving the blast."

"Rejean, we have guard uniforms to use, and silencer pistols in the car. If you care to join me we could do this ourselves."

"Very good, your preparations are impeccable as always. I will come directly. We can even trigger the first strike in preparation."

They got into Marc's car and drove off for points unknown.

The same hotel at 4 A.M. the next day

Two IN guards walked down the street, watching the night for any signs of danger. They stopped in front of the grand Lebeau hotel. One looked around him, scanning for danger. The other pulled out his cell phone.

The scanner said "Rejean, it looks clear." The man with the phone nodded and made his call. When the call connected, a small explosion burst in certain rooms of the Royale hotel, known to be occupied by IN officers, as bombs hidden as pillows went off while they slept.

Screams and pandemonium erupted. The two disguised troops hurried into the parking garage of the grand Lebeau and made their way to the elevators.

"Here," said Rejean as he looked at a map. "Here...and here. Good, we are ready. Come on, Marc, we must go, and set these off before they think to look."

As they re-emerged onto the street, IN troops were swarming the area, searching for the cause of the bombs. Rejean smiled to notice that the grand Lebeau was turning into some kind of impromptu base for rescue and investigative operations.

As the two White Ranger got into their car, a panicked-looking sentry came up to them and said, "Where are you soldiers going?"

Rejean replied: "To fetch doctors as we were ordered." He saluted and put the car into gear.

As they drove off into the dark countryside, Rejean pulled out his phone and dialed another number. The sound of the grand Lebeau collapsing into the ground was audible, even 10 miles from the city. The men smiled as they faded into the night.

(It really isn't important what damage you take from this attack, you can just ignore it, or say nobody worth mentioning died, or whatever you feel like.)

//OOC: IN, these guerilla fighters will not be going away anytime soon, since they have nothing to gain by assimilating into your lands. Their GDP is about 3 times bigger than yours, they have many more rights and freedoms as Montrealais than as Neighbors, and they just got huge scars ripped in their homes/farms/businesses by your troops. Not to say that there won't be betrayals, faintheartedness, and submission, just not as much as could be normally expected.//

OOC: The "?" Area right? If not, the soldiers were going elsewhere(as in the place that they’re told to go too) It’d be funny if someone recognizes the name, “Is that...Is that Himmler’s uniform?” “um...uh....no...” <<, >>

IC: If the victorious barbarians came...victory was minimal...but for the continued prospering of the skaven race and IN, it had to be done...

“We shall hold it to the last breath if necessary, not expense shall be held for your continued survival. I wish I could stay, but I must deliver this news and marching orders. May victory grace your armies over those who seek to defile this place.”

With that, the skaven walked out and boarded one of the recently purchased attack helicopters, wondering what the future will bring. The rest of his division made its way to a new rally point, eager for battle, but not knowing that it might not come, or would come all to harshley...

This is a defining moment in their history. This could lead to one of sole arms providing foreign companies being destroyed, Ins rise to vast power, or even the landing of troops on THR soil. But millions would die on both sides for defeat to come...

THR Western border:
The number of campfires was in the millions, its light could be seen for miles. It was a massive camp set up for the soldiers to wait and prepare...

MK 2 Revenants idled nearby beside fusche transports, MK 7 CM battle tanks and Stingray light tanks. Clanrats milled about shining their AKs and various specialist weapons. Stormvermin did as they pleased, taking from the weaker and tagging along the Horde Oversqueeker. Slaves were abused by all, some with just words, others with bullets. While the rag commandos stole from those stupid enough to leave their items unguarded. The deathvermin tuned their own vehicles and weapons, participating in prayers to their dark god. The roar of aircraft and helicopters were heard overhead as regular sweeps were preformed. Plague monks attended to the soldiers faith, while grey prophets brought inspiration of the glory and wealth they will bring to the Under-Empire. This is the skaven calling, this is their life. War...

OOC: Need magical teleporting armies :). Hopefully several army groups will be able to hold it...

The Palace
New Wasteland, SAVX

Müller sighed. He knew that Senna was right. The Death Squads were the only available force that would be able to pull off such daring operations and live to tell the tale. He slapped the table, then stood up, holding out his hand.

"You will have your assistance. But I will retain full control. Do not betray them. You will fail, and they will kill you all. Keep to your side of the agreement, and I think that we will both be happy to see what results."

Senna shook his hand.

"Thank you."


Black Dunes Secret Military Facility
Northern Totsandufer Wastes, SAVX

It had been decades since all of the Death Squads were called upon at once. In such a situation, Demon Squad assumed command.

Demon's commander, simply known as Kharne, stood before the assembled Squads. Every single one was already armed and suited. Each stood in well-defined rows, stiff as statues, larger than any man, menacing as gargoyles, and with thoughts more gruesome than any imaginable by even the insane.

Kharne turned suddenly to face the crowd. The solid metal stage groaned under his massive weight. He raised his right arm, weilding a specialized Mega Axe, and waved his left arm, which bore an autocannon. Even few Death Troopers were able to weild such mass in combat.

His deep, metallic, rage-filled cry made the entire room shake, filling the other Death Troopers with a surge of energy and blood-lust.

"DEATH!"


Vxicist Cathedral
Michonas, SAVX

Addressing the many matters of running the semi-autonomous Sainama was just a small part of Master Priest Slew Hapmann's extremely busy life. The fact that his phone rang now was just one of at least fifty times that would occur today.

"Master Priest Slew Hapmann. May I ask who's calling?"

"Fredrick Leon, Father."

"Ah, Fredrick, my son. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"You are aware of the military action the Atomic Angels is partaking in. I must humbly request that you allow the entirety of Der Heilig Führer's Holy Soldiers. Brother Mays has found a target of utmost importance, and we will need the full support of all. Is this acceptable, Father?"

"Yes, my son. I have already had your most prominent brothers and sisters mobilize their forces. I will send the message that the time has come. May Der Führer guide you and protect you."

"Thank you, Father. Der Führer protects!"

The line went dead. Hapmann knew that Leon was off to send out his three remaining Strike Forces. To fight the full forces of the traitorous scum of IN would take every man and woman capable of fighting within the Sainaman Holy Forces. That Der Führer even allowed this to happen was a blessing. Every Holy Soldier was willing to die in service to Der Führer. The more that died, the harder they would fight. So is the paradox of the soldier versus the martyr.

Hapmann pressed speed dial.

"This is High Priest Charles Gorish."

"My son."

"Father! An honor. What news do you bear?"

"You are free to move now. You must make haste. I have doubts that Leon will be able to hold his position himself for long."

"I understand. Even the most valiant of men cannot hold against certain odds."

"Yes. Give him the support that only you can. Your other siblings will be called to action shortly, but they will take much longer to reach the battlefield. You know where to go."

"Yes, Father. I do. My men are ready to vanquish the unholy fools of IN! Those in generations to come will think twice before betraying Unser (our) Heilig Führer again."

"Good. Go, my son. You are your brother's only hope for now."


Tokel Air Base,
Wastelands north of IN

When Mays looked into the smoking opening of the C-59, he was filled with rage. His men were writhing, horribly burnt and in agony. Both he and they knew that death was inevitable. Doctrine stated to be humane.

"You will be avenged, brothers."

Mays threw two fragmentation grenades into the doorway, backing away. The explosions sounded seconds later, ripping the doomed men to shreds. He turned to his men.

"We must rally the troops before the second wave comes in."

Mays and his men charged out of the bunker, engaging any foes they could find.

Death was abounding. The Atomic Angels knew that their job was the most risky, and they accepted it. Regardless of how many died, they just needed to make way for the forces that would follow. Death was merely a side-track before they the paradise of the afterlife. With Der Führer as their guide, there was always hope.

Mays's squad managed to consolidate most of his men before the fighting's intensity grew too much to quickly travel. He switched to the entire team's frequency.

"Dig in! We need to hold this position until the next waves arrive! Do not let the IN bastards gain one inch on you until every one of us has died! Der Führer protects!"

//OOC: Rat, do you see the two coastal sections (dark grey) right above the words 'Southern Ocean'? The eastern coastal section is what I was referring to. Thanks a bunch for this!

NMS: Yeah, I was waiting a bit to talk about the effects of the rear-area attack, as they would take a short time to become noticable and also I wanted to find out the result of the SAVX strike on the airbase. So you all know, the airbase houses 'Divine Fire', something you really out to stop being used... hehehe. Whether the weapon gets used depends on the RP with SAVX. As for the guerilla fighter, I was aware of their presense but did not know exactly what they would be doing. I will RP about my Ministers trying to hunt down the assassins.//

Lennoxville

The murder of some of the military's top brass in the area caused much speculation, with many troops secretly beleiving that The Ministry of Pain had killed them, for reasons best known to them. The further attacks in the town and surrounding area were becoming a real pain to deal with, as the attackers could not be found. To compound the problem, less fuel and munitions had been reaching the area due to the strikes by NMS and SAVX forces. The situation needed to be defused, so Minister Glart issued a short press statement wearing full HT-11 battle armour.

"After the recent attacks, The Ministry of Pain has increased it's efforts in catching these infidels. The might of the Black Steel program has been turned to the matter, and as we speak it is analysing mutiple sources of data in a hunt for these cowards. Soon we will have some locations, and they will pay in blood."

Army Group North,
Just a little further inside NMS border

The mighty IN war machine had been ordered to halt the advance, and now dug in to protect themselves from any counter attacks. The rivers ahead would require resolve to cross, and that resolve could not be gained without first resupplying the troops with fuel and ammunition aplenty again. For now they contented themselves securing the area, preserving their fuel for any counter attack.

Tokel Air Base,
Wastelands north of IN

As Sigma watched the video footage of the fighting below, he noticed the SAVX force had begun to dig in. Deciding that now was the time to strike, he stood and hauled the armed bomb up. With a swing of the arms and a gutteral cry of rage the flung the bomb out and over the SAVX force. Sigma dived to the roof as it plummeted down, waiting for the fireball to scorch the earth, leaving it clean from the vile mess below.

The Palace,
New Wasteland, SAVX

Senna felt elated inside at the deal being shaken on, but kept her face serious.

"I need to meet with the squads, give them locations and orders. Can you take me to them please?"

IHS New England, Flagship of the Fleet
450 Miles NorthWest of PortHaven Naval Base

The young Commander took the still warm piece of paper from the top of the printer as he turned and sprinted out of the door. Dodging several other seamen on the small run to the CIC he literally jumped through the bulkhead to a rather surprised Admiral Pout.

”Yes Commander?”

“Admiral Sir. Urgent communications from Fleet Headquarters for your immediate attention Sir.”

The Admiral looked rather bemused at the over-excited and eager to please commander.

“Thank you Commander. That will be all.”

The overexcited commander backed off, the smile slowly fading from his face as the Admiral gave a sceptical look to the ships commanding officer, Captain Bud Hancock, before looking down at the page.

To: CMDR HOME FLEET

From: FLEET HQ

Subject: IN FLEET LEFT PORT FOUR HOURS PREVIOUSLY. HEAVY AUXILLARY ASSETS AND TRANSPORTS. CURRENT POSITION, CIKAE ISLANDS. PROCEDE TO STATION AND AWAIT FURTHER ORDERS. END.


The Admiral passed it over to the ships Captain, who read it quicker than Jack had.

“ Some Intel Weenies missed a whole fleet leaving port? Surprised those guys can find the crapper sometimes Admiral”

“True Bud. But I think we need to look at this positively. We got word that the conventional powered ships had lit up there boilers just before we went to see. Our thermal imaging birds picked that up where the Recon’s couldn’t. We know that there was a lot of army activity around the area, but they probably haven’t got enough onboard for an invasion, at least not on us. They could wheel North and head for NMS, a small surprise invasion to the rear of those guys would probably topple them, or at least that’s what the weenies seem to think. Alternatively they could head South, and try and get through us, unlikely. While they have a formidable fleet they will be unwilling to throw it away against our line when they could as easy land somewhere closer to Snowglobia and attempt to drive on us across land. However if they do that the entire army will descend on them, Hugh Bean’s 3rd Fleet is escorting I and III Corps back from Northern Europe by the way. Meanwhile as they chew up on the army we would cut their supply lines from the ocean, so altogether that isn’t a particularly good looking plan for them.”


“Alternatively they could try bombing us into submission Admiral.”

“Yeah they could. And good luck to them if they tried. That sounds like a sure fire way to loose a lot of bombers for very little tangible reward, remember what the Blitz did to London? Squashed a lot of pretty buildings but those guys still kicked old Adolf’s butt.” Like most men in uniform, Admiral Pout was a keen historian, and had written several books on past naval battles including Jutland and The Battle of the Atlantic.

“And what if we are to undertake offensive operations? We face the same problem.”

“Yes. Highlighted by the fact that Witzgall has still decide what they are doing. If they go with this nutter leading IN, then we have to fight through them to even get anywhere near the IN coast. It will be the same for Bomber Command. Alternatively if they come with us, then we have a good forward base. Best case scenario there, they are more likely to stay neutral, or so we think.”

The conversation was interrupted by several loud roar’s that came in through the open door, negating the compartments soundproofing, from a flight of F-22S’s taking off from the forward catapults.

“There fighter aircraft are formidable. Whilst our carrier strike group did not engage them during the Euroslavian affair we can be sure that they were upgraded since then after the tricks the Azazian’s pulled on them. They are quite possibly superior to ours, especially the Tom’s”

The carrier groups of the USIH used a mixture of F-14E Super Tomcats as well as the newer F-22S Sea Raptors for their dedicated fighter aircraft. These were ably supported by F/A-18E Super Hornets that filled the fighter-bomber role and were the main offensive arm of the carriers. The carrier’s escorts relied on their Tomahawk Cruise Missiles to keep them out of harms way, although these were of limited use against enemy ships that were moving. For those the shorter range Harpoon, or the newer version installed on some ships codenamed Gillen, missiles had to do the job.

The correlation of forces however was a much brighter picture for the Hitmen. They had a large and powerful navy that consisted of nearly ninety carriers currently in operation, although many of these were returning from around the world where they had been. There was no way that IN could match them on that, or so they assumed.

OOC: Im not sure of the composition of your naval forces, so im just speculating wildly as I think my commanders may .


Fort Reflex IH Satellite Communications Station.
Northern Redge

One of the more executive suites in the main building had been turned into a discussion room for senior analysts who were going over some of the “take” from the birds currently watching IN and the surrounding area.

Two of the men were sitting slightly away from another group studying some pictures of the IN border with the Horned Rat, a country that little was known about.

One of them blinked hard and them looked at the picture very closely.

“ Is that a giant rat driving a tank?”

“Hand it over………… Christ. Is this some kind of joke?”

They were overheard by one of the few experts that there were on the Horned Rat, a small man who had devoted much of his career in government life to studying their social system as well as physical attributes. He had filed numerous reports, all of which had been duly ignored by higher authorities who refused to acknowledge the existence of giant rats. Now they may have to think differently.

“Yes that is a giant rat, or Skaven as they call themselves. They have a newly developed fascination with wearing old German uniforms, or so these pictures would seem to say.”

He paused speaking to push his glasses back up his nose and wipe his brow with a handkerchief .

“ We believe that this is the lead elements of their 52nd Corps, tasking is unsure. However the way they drove past the roadblocks would appear that they are IN friendlies. On the other images you should note the timestamps that they had a brief meeting with some IN bigwig and then disappeared back over the border in a flight of attack choppers. Thermal imaging satellites picked up campfires shortly afterwards, and we have a recon bird taking a look at the area on its next pass. Its highly likely that they are pledging their allegiance to IN as I predicted in my report filed August 4th last year. They see it as the only way to maintain the arms that they love so much.”

Once again as he stopped he pushed the glasses back up his nose before turning to the others in the room and letting out a slow sigh.

“Not to worry, I’m the crazy old rat man. Probably going doolally and this is a ploy on their part to make us doubt our sanity.”

The other two analysts just sat politely and listened to the man rumble on about security clearances and the amount of dust on his toilet seat before he moved off to the other side of the room. The two then quietly left the room to report to their supervisor that IN may have a particularly loyal ally, careful to keep their predictions so that the blame would not fall on them if they were proved wrong.



Naval Headquarters
Gillen Naval Base

The tall building stood in the very centre of the old complex, many times now expanded with the increasing size of the fleets based here. Now it was home to the operations staff of the Fleet, usually based in J City but moved here due to the possible upcoming war. Armed marines stood outside the entrances to the building, just incase. However the above ground portion of it was mainly administrative parts such as the procurement section, with all the main work being done in a bunker some hundred feet under ground.

Those same operations staff that had recently arrived had also suggested to CMDR/HME/SUB that it would be wise to push out his attack boats into the channel between the North and South Midlands, a detail which was just being sent to the attack subs currently forming a picket line in front of the IH carriers moving into position. If anything there were too many subs for such a line as they kept getting in each others way, and so the movement should ease congestion in those vital shipping areas. It would also allow them to get a more accurate picture of the forces that could possibly coming south.



IHS Raider, Seawolf Class Attack Submarine
Currently 500 Miles South West of the Cikae Islands, heading North East.

Raider’s task was not an easy one. They had received orders four hours ago to proceed to the Cikae Islands and attempt to acquire the fringe elements of the IN fleet and trail it, reporting regularly its position and composition to SUBCMD via a naval communications satellite and their burst direction transmitter.

Currently Raider had four Mk.48 ADCAP torpedoes loaded in her forward tubes, plus twelve Tomahawks with anti-structural warheads in her vertical launch tubes. The ships missile room technicians found it weird that they had been tasked to observe a naval formation with anti-building missiles loaded. But who said the navy had to make sense.

La Prarie, about 40 miles east of Lennoxville

There they were gathered, 18 men and 7 women dressed in sober blue and gray suits, sitting around a table. Papers, coffee and pastry were scattered across the table. A PowerPoint slide was projected on the wall, showing something called "nullification of losses". For all intents and purposes, this was an ordinary business meeting, and the papers were for a company called "Talon Light Industries, Inc."

The talk, though, was much different.

The man at the head of the table stood, and the room fell silent.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my friends and allies, it is time that we strike a dire blow at the IN invader. We have located a temporary POW camp that will be broken up in 36 hours. There is much confusion around the area now, since they are not only breaking up a camp, but also trying to implement new security procedures sent in by the Ministry of Pain. There are 5000 men sympathetic to our aims in there, and it would be a shame to waste them."

The man continued.

"A train of munitions is being diverted to pick up the first bunch of prisoners, and deliver some needed weapons for new guards at the camp. I now know where and when it will stop for fuel. We will load some of our men on in crates, who will then break out once arrived in camp and..."

The man was interrupted as the door blew up and a pair of ministry troops busted into the room, accompanied by a platoon of regular IN infantry.

"Freeze, Rejean le Guiscard. You are under arrest for acts of terrorism committed against the republic of Intelligent Nations." More troops entered the room.

"Do you know the meaning of 'Guiscard'?" Rejean asked the guard. "No, I wouldn't expect you to, it's pretty archaic. 'Le Guiscard' is a variant of the word 'crafty'. Do you think you would catch me if I had not meant you to?" Still more troops entered the room as he talked.

"This is all besides the point, terrorist. You and your followers are all under arrest, and your reign of terror will end shortly."

"Ah, no, there I must disagree. The only thing ending here will be your life." The last troops had entered the room, and one shut the door. Rejean smiled and said "Now!"

Half the troops turned their guns and shot the other half where they stood. Fifteen of the people at the table leapt us, pistols at the ready to assist their friends. The Ministry soldiers fired at Rejean but missed before they were brought down by a dozen bullets apiece.

"Ah, Marc, you have done well. Very well. Line up the traitors and dispose of them."

10 of the men and women at the table were lined up against the wall and shot in the back of the head by their betrayed fellows.

"The rest, come with me, I presume the crates are downstairs?" Rejean asked.

"Yes, they are ready," said Marc. "All they want for is men to fit in them."

They headed downstairs, and the agents were loaded into the crates. Rejean assembled one fairly intact suit of armor from the dead Ministry troops, and leapt into the driver's seat of the truck that would take them to the station.

Upon arrival, they were loaded into the train and camoflaged amongst the other crates. Rejean and Marc seated themselves in the car with their hidden comrades and made themselves comfortable. When the train pulled into the camp, they unloaded their camarades and stored them in the weapons warehouse.

IN prison camp, 0330 hours the next day

Rejean ascended the sentry tower quietly, pulling out his silenced .45 while climbing. He took the out the guard with a shot to the head, and redirected the spotlight to a spot where his friends would not be. He then gave the signal - three screech-owl calls, a bird that was not native to this part of the States.

He was rewarded five minutes later when guerillas stormed out of the woods and launched a rocket that left a hole in the stockade. As the guards scrambled to fight off the intruders, Marc began releasing the encased freedom fighters, who grabbed their arms and readied themselves. When they were all free, they headed to the prison tents, taking the guards by surprise and releasing the POWs. With each tent freed their numbers grew, as the POW took rifles and munitions from their former captors. Once the IN troops had realised that the main threat was internal rather than external, it was too late. Rejean le Guiscard had added 5000 men to his band of patriots, entered into NMS legend, and flipped the bird to the Ministry of Pain's efforts to bring them to heel.

The Palace
New Wasteland, SAVx

"Of course. I'll have you taken there immediately. Don't worry, you'll be treated a little nicer this time."


Black Dunes Secret Military Facility
Northern Totsandufer Wastes, SAVX

After Kharne got the Death Troopers riled up, he turned. Senna, flanked by two Shock Troopers, had entered through the rear of the room. Even though this was her goal, she was taken aback by the tremendously fearsome sight of all the Death Troopers. The dim light in the industrial-style architecture of the room only added to the appearance. Up to now, the only non-SAVXians who had seen all the Death Troopers collected in one location were those who were brutally slaughtered at the vengeful whim of Der Führer.

The eery, deep, robotic-sounding sound of Kharne's electronically-modified voice sent a tiny chill running down Senna's spine. Even as allies, the Death Troopers were terrifying.

"I understand we will be running operations for you. Der Führer--"

The entire room shook with the chorus of "Hail!" from the Death Squads.

"--has already told me why you are here now. You have ten minutes. Then we leave. State your plans."


Tokel Air Base,
Wastelands north of IN

Mays wasn't sure what happened, but once the blast subsided, his entire body ached. Retching, he pushed himself off the ground.

He was saved by his armor. His men weren't so lucky. Anger welled up in him. Such capabilities of the IN forces were not known...not until now, anyway.

Hearing the approach of searching soldiers through the smoke, he was about to get up and attack; however, he hesitated, thinking twice. Perhaps, for once, it would be better to be crafty than brave. He dropped back to the ground, quietly enough so that he wouldn't be noticed. Certainly at a glance he looked mortally wounded enough; his armor had been punctured in numerous locations, though there was little serious damage to his body.

Switching frequencies to the entire Strike Force, he whispered out the next commands. Even though the local-broadcast system wasn't on, he didn't want to risk easily avoidable sound-waves traveling through his helmet.

"This is Captain Mays. Brothers, there has been a setback. The IN demons have more sinister tricks up their sleeves than we thought. All waves are to redirect to a more remote location. We need to consolidate before we launch another attack. I will remain in the battlefield, pretending to be dead. If I am killed, please do not remember me as a coward. Der Heilig Führer is forgiving, and so should we be. I will rejoin you when I can, brothers."

Finishing his commands, Mays began to breathe softly. While his breathing couldn't be seen through the metal plates of his armor, he would need to conserve energy as much as possible. Closing his eyes, he began to recite various prayers in his mind.

"Brother Mays, this is Leon. Come in, Brother."

Mays opened his eyes for a second. He saw silouettes of enemy soldiers through the smoke. Closing them again, he whispered a reply.

"Yes, my lord?"

"His Holiness Slew Hapmann has authorized the offensive of the entire Sainaman military. Brother Gorish is on his way with his Doomhammers, and I am taking control of the rest of the Atomic Angels. We are coming. What is your status?"

"We have been obliterated, my lord. I have failed you and Der Heilig Führer. I am a discrace to the Atomic Angels, indeed all of Sainama."

Mays closed his eyes tightly, fighting back tears of disgust with his own percieved incompetence and dishonor.

"Nonsense, Brother Mays. I know I've taught you well in the doctrines of Der Führer. Whatever you decide, whatever you do, you know the what you are meant to do. We are coming."

"Yes, my lord."

"Do you have any remaining forces?"

"Yes. I've redirected the following waves to a further-back position. I wish to transfer control to you."

"Brother Mays, cease such idiocy, else I'll have to shoot you myself. Der Heilig Führer always has hope; so must you."

"Yes, my lord."

"We are coming."

The link died just as Mays could detect the vibration of nearing footsteps. He began to pray once more.

OOC: You can capture him if you want, but don't kill him.

IN prison camp,
0340 hours

The sudden assault had taken the camp guards by surprise, and now POW's where slipping out of the gates and fighting with the remaining guards. In the control room Sgnt. Grey was crouched under the desk, trying to get through to a nearby airbase and radio for assistance. At the door two Ministers where holding the door shut, blocking the POW's from entering through the reinforced steel. It would be a matter of time time though, as loud bangs could be heard. Obviously they would be bringing up explosives. The two Ministers were standing with FLIT-3 armour suits, and held fully loaded M-36 'Scarface' rifles from Witzgall, with BoF grenades around their belt. Finally Grey got through.

"This is Sergeant Grey, commander of POW camp 223, we are under heavy attack and the prisoners have been released and armed. Requesting artillery and aerial support."

"This is Airbase Wratt, please give the co-ordinates of the strike please."

"Negative, commence fire on my position and everything within 500m."

"Are you sure?"

"Just do it! There is no time!"

Grey turns off the radio and pulls out his pistol. As he does so the metal door explodes inwards, throwing the Ministers to the ground. An angry group of POW's rush into the room, firing randomly with their rifles. Grey fires his pistol and kills two before his torso was perforated by a hail of bullets. The two Ministers rose to a crouch and began to fire into the men, who dropped back in fear of the retribution. The Ministers stood and flicked their wrist blades out before charging after the prisoners, slashing their backs and pumping more bullets into them. They pause at the stairwell, and take up defensive positions. Through a broken window they see the first shell of the artillery barrage landing, throwing several POW's into the air. More shells struck, a mixture of napalm and high explosive. The building rocked around them, chunks of plaster and concrete falling around them. The two Ministers stood up, and saluted as the building completely caved in.

At the airbase, amidst the still firing artillery cannons, three VAR-4 'Equites' light helicopters rose into the air and headed toward the base, the pilots checking that the chaingun and rockets were active.

Black Dunes Secret Military Facility
Northern Totsandufer Wastes, SAVX

Senna decided that messing with these guys was a bad idea, and got right to the point.

"First target is the Venom Defense headquarters, North-West IN. We get there, and attack. Breaking into the compound we head for the North wing, where all the prototype weapons and blueprints are kept. There, we steal some of the blueprints and plant explosives. We leave, and let IN's largest military supplier burn. From there, we head in IN military transport stolen from VD, undercover into Krakk, the capital city. We pull up outside the Ministry of Pain, and stage a large diversionary assault while a small team grapnels into the building from the roof via a copter. We proceed down through the building, rescue Jack Foley, and extract back to the safety of the Cikae Islands. From there, you can be picked up by your compatriots when you wish."

Tokel Air Base,
Wastelands north of IN

Sigma jumped down from the roof, landing on a broken bunker. He stepped down and made his way toward a prone figure in a crater. The internal visor of the HT-11 suit was showing him that the suit was broadcasting a message of sorts. As Sigma approached the broadcasting stopped. Sigma pulled a large metal pole from the wreakage of a dropship, and held it like a spear. Nearing the figure he raised it high and slammed it down with all his might on the figures torso, driving through the armour and into the ground below. Sigma spoke to the writhing figure below him.

"You will not die, infidel, as long as you do not remove that pole. I could kill you now, but I have a better idea."

Sigma reached down and ripped the soldiers helmet off. Crushing it with his power claw, he threw it away. With a jab of his claw again he ripped out the top of the soldiers breast-plate, ensuring no transmission devices where in there either. Then he left the pinned man, walking back through the building toward Wulfila, Gamma and Beta, who were reorganising the defense for a certain SAVX second wave. As Wulfila said, "They do not leave things unfinished."

Wulfila greeted him, and Sigma spoke.

"The man is stuck there, order the men to take up hidden positions nearby, wait for the enemy to rescue their soldier and then strike."

Imperial Fleet 1,
South of North Witzgall

The fleet was proceeding as planned, making their way to drop the INEF off on South TKotM. Word was that the huge IH navy had began to shuffle around a bit, obviously worried by the manoeuvre. The fleet just continued on it's way, keeping up the flights of planes and scanning for enemy forces.

E2-CI Hawkeye Eagle Four
Advance scout from 5th Fleet


Eagle Four had been in the air for approaching three hours now and was well in advance of the fleet. Her systems were all in their passive settings at the moment, relying on them to gather information from other aircraft and surface transmitters.

Onboard the twenty four men were looking at a variety of screens. A pair of them were watching the feed from other E2-CI’s that were behind them nearer to the main fleet, these were using their large rotodome radars to search the skies for anything hostile to the fleet they guarded.

Meanwhile Eagle Four sucked up all electronic signals that came their way, which would eventually include some from the IN fleet. Their course was based on satellite pictures of where they had been and a calculation of their fleet speed based upon their rate of movement in between satellite passes. They were thereby heading to a position from where they should be able to eavesdrop on IN electronic traffic without being detected as their own systems were shut down and they should be at the limit of the IN radars, if anything a small fuzz on the edge that could or could not be a positive contact.

They gave regular reports via a directed burst encryption radio that bounced off a satellite and then back to the carriers CIC’s. In one of these Admiral Pout was looking over the information.



IHS New England, Flagship of the Fleet
Some 100 nautical miles South of the Independent Islands near Witzgall

The feed was coming back well from the satellite and Admiral Pout was happy with the progress of his first scout. Another E2-CI was about to launch from catapult number eight and he decided to take a stroll up to one of the massive bridge wings to watch the launch.

Several enlisted men moved out of his way as he climbed the ladder-like stairs to the bridge. Two Marines with pistols holsters stood at the doorway and saluted him as he entered, a midshipman informing the bridge crew who had just arrived.

“Admiral on deck”

All talking immediately stopped but the Admiral waved them to continue as he walked straight past the XO and onto one of the bridge wings, already occupied by a man looking through an Eagle Eye Telescope. The wind whipped at Jack’s hair as he removed his cap and put his hands onto the guard rail, leaning slightly forward as he did so.

From this vantage point he could see the length of the huge flight deck and at the very front on Catapult Number 8 the roar of twin turbofan engines at full throttle could be heard followed by a deck crewman ducking down and giving the thumbs up, shooting the aircraft off the front of the carrier at 120knots. The plane angled upwards and continued onwards as the pilot brought the power back down to maintain a proper cruising speed to get to his assigned altitude of 36,000 feet.

When the plane started becoming a dot fading into the darkening sky the Admiral moved his gaze down to Elevator Number Five where a load of Air-to-Air Missiles were just coming up from the armaments deck. Little white flyers protruded and flapped in the wind from these missiles, they were warshots carrying live warheads and were being affixed to the aircraft preparing to go up onto patrol.

As they got further from home the number of aircraft on patrol was gradually increased, each of the carriers putting up ten fighters on standard patrol now, whilst the rest were on varying degrees of readiness from 5 through to 20, or on the large carriers 25. Each carrier also had its radar aircraft and AEW ready to be launched with the fighters to provide command and control and jamming protection respectively.






Rear-Admiral Chris Daley’s 5th Carrier Strike Force
100km West of the SouthWestern most Witzgall Island

The ships of the 5th Carrier Strike Force glided quickly through the waters west of Witzgall heading north. Theirs was a particularly dangerous mission, as if Witzgall came suddenly into a state of war against the USIH they would be isolated from the rest of the carriers and the protection they offered. With luck however that wouldn’t happen, and the escorts had plenty of Block VII SAM’s to fire off if they did, not to mention the fighter aircraft onboard the five carriers of the Strike Force.

The mission was to proceed north until they were roughing level with Ohia Island, but over 600 miles west. From there they would proceed with their part of the plan if war came.


OOC: 5th Carrier Strike Force consists of the Periocles Class Carrier Fearsome (210 aircraft), Isomer Class Carriers Independence and Peacekeeper (120 aircraft each), the Nimitz Class Carriers Courtney and Lamboda(85 aircraft each) along with the two Aasimar Class Battleships Hawk and Sabre and escorts numbering over fifty.

IN prison camp, 0350 hours

Rejean put his radio back in his belt and called to Marc, "Party's over! Marcel says planes are taking off at Wratt, and guess where they're probably headed? The men can take to the countryside, we will meet up at St-Antoine-Les-Haut-Parages at 10 tonight. Bring a dozen of the best fighters."

Marc nodded, and dashed off the spread the word. After a pause, Rejean started off. He headed for the AA command room, just heading off a bunch of ex-POWs bent on looting. He spoke to their leader: "IN planes will be bombing us in minutes. Are there AA techies here?"

The soldier nodded and headed off to find those he knew. Five minutes later he returned with ten men. "These are the men you asked for, monsieur."

Rejean turned to them: "Can you handle these foreign equipments to defend us from the airstrikes incoming?"

One of the spoke up: "Yes, we could, they don't look that different from our sets. Two or three of us speak the language, and the rest, well, you do not have to speak any language to read a radar or aim missiles."

Rejean: "Good, you may end up recaptured or shot, I warn you now. But if you stay your sacrifice will lead to freedom for many of our men, and you will be known as heros." He pulled out a notebook. "I will take down your names now so that those of the future will remember you as true patriots, should you stay."

The men stepped up one by one, told him their names, and stepped into the room. Fifteen minutes later, planes streaking overhead were greeted by their own missiles, and Rejean was heading for the countryside along with thousands of newly freed and armed guerillas.

//OOC: Probably by the time the planes got there, 3000-3500 of the original POWs have faded away. So have the named protagonists.

Also, I realize that I haven't described the terrain, since that usually factors in to guerilla fighting. Lush maple forests (for syrup farming) alternate with regular farm patches and smaller cities and towns. Creeks and streams run down towards the Savaron river, but none of them are big enough to stop land movements, as long as the people involved don't mind a little bath. The topography is hills that roll down from the border to the current front lines. Nothing over 500 or so feet tall. The largest cities that aren't currently on the front lines are Lennoxville, Estang Savaron (200000 people) and St-Jean-Sauveur (185000)//

OOC: Okay, I assume its uninhabited, well, at least from a country point of view?

IC: It began with the roaring of the heavens. The newly aquired fighter-bombers streaked across the sky, heralding the sound of thunder as the vehicles began driving foreward. Tracks squeling, engines grumbling, and the skaven running along side angry that there weren’t foes to slay. But it was whispered that soon they would find towns, much looting ahead, yes-yes...

Earlier that day, statements were released about this mass troop movement...

...and so, the 17th, 34th, 70th, 52nd and 129th army groups have been dispatched to hold this land. Along also will be the 115th and 117th armor groups. This has been done in order to guarantee a foothold so our nation can secure our interests...

This was followed by another statement today

...The council of thirteen has condemned the course of action taken by radical members of IN’s government, action is being deliberated upon...

Of course on the frontline, soldiers were instructed not to harm IN civilians or soldiers...

Black Dunes Secret Military Facility
Northern Totsandufer Wastes, SAVX

Kharne nodded ever-so-slightly, then stepped up aside Senna. His massive boots, carrying the immense weight of both his body and his armor, thundered against the solid metal stage. His voice--this time softer, but colder--gave Senna a chill. She barely noticed it, however, so shocked was she at the sight of the Death Squads.

"Affirmative. I will decide what to do on the field."

He turned to the assembled forces.

"Move."

OOC: Continue it assuming they've already left.


Tokel Air Base,
Wastelands north of IN

Mays kept praying. It was all he had left; Der Führer's spirit. Ignoring the pain of the pole skewering him to the ground, he recited litanies and psalms to himself. He needed a mind clear of all but faith in order to truly know what to do next.

Staring off in the distance, he saw the approaching secondary waves of the Atomic Angels. Doubtlessly, Doomhammer would be close behind. Perhaps Feuerfaust as well. Thunder Force would take longer to arrive.

Mays did not want to be saved. It would be better that he die and his brethren not be ambushed. However, Brother Leon had said to wait. As much as Mays wanted to go down fighting, his common sense and Leon's words kept him in place. He would need to warn his brethren, though.

Mays watched as his Strike Force set down a ways off as he had ordered. He hoped they would do the right thing. Turning his head towards the approximate positions of the enemies, he yelled as loud as he could, letting anger rush over him in a hot wave.

"Prepare your wretched souls for annihilation, you demonic scum! Der Heilig Führer will cleanse your lands, and you will stand no chance against His might!"

Ignoring whatever the IN soldiers replied with, Mays went back to praying while watching his forces deploy.


Captain Gregory Talloth, with command of two Atomic Angels Strike forces, thought hard about the next course of action. As far as they knew, Mays was either dead or captured by now. SAVX military doctrine stated that the worst was to be assumed in order to preserve the lives of would-be-rescuers and not put forces in any vulnerable positions. Past experiences had ingrained this throughout the entire military, especially in Sainama. However, Talloth had other ideas. He needed to tread a delicate line for the moment. While his men entrenched themselves and set up defensive positions against both ground and air retaliation, Talloth contacted the remaining Copperheads running their sorties.

"Serpent squadron! This is Captain Talloth. I have new coordinates for you. Use light weapons on this one; just clear cover and hard points."

"Affirmative, Brother Talloth! Ready to recieve coordinates."

Talloth signaled to his sighting squad, then patched the communication to them so they could read the proper coordinates.

Talloth nodded, staring at the position. It would be difficult, to say the least. "Perhaps the supply dumps should just be destroyed," he thought. "I must consult Brother Leon."

Fort Mondo, Northern Independent Hitmen
Home of VII Corps


Lt. Colonel Pedro Rossi commanded the 2nd Armoured Cavalry Regiment, effectively the reconnaissance section of VII Corps. Although by all but name a reinforced brigade the 2nd had experienced combat in Talaax, Lindni, and more recently the quick fought Russian Forces-Guffingford war and acquitted itself very well. The three combat patches now sown on the Regimental Standard which was in pride of place at the Regiments base in block H of the sprawling military base.

For now though the troops would not be seeing that banner. They were fully out in the field conducting an exercise some fifty miles north of the main base on the rolling empty terrain that was so common to the north of the country.

Colonel Rossi was in the lead M3 Bradley Cavalry Scout vehicle, peering down from the commander’s hatch at the IVIS screen in the body of the vehicle. This screen showed him the positions of everyone of his vehicles and also showed the locations of any enemy units that had been sited by them. So far all the icons were blue, but that was bound to change. The exercise had them leading the 3rd Brigade of the 21st (Heavy) Mechanized Infantry Division against their 1st and 2nd Brigade’s.

Rossi’s blue force, effectively under command of Colonel Dan Boyd the 3rd Brigade CO, was advancing to meet an advancing enemy mechanized force. Rossi’s job was to penetrate and eliminate the enemy reconnaissance screen thus allowing blue force to know what was going on and where the enemy were, whilst simultaneously not allowing red force this knowledge.

Contrary to doctrine the Blue Force was deployed slightly to the left of its cavalry screen provided by the 2nd, IH commanders have a habit of not performing every action as stated doctrine says. Most commanders who have been in combat are usually allowed to get away with this, whilst those who have not yet experienced it are watched very closely when they deviate from doctrine, if a good idea is used then it will quickly spread through the army, but if a bad call is made the officer is likely to be transferred to a experienced combat officer for further guidance.


Both forces also had Darkstar intelligence drones supporting them, as well as assets from the Division and Corps air brigades. For blue force this meant OH-58 Kiowa Warriors scouting out the terrain in advance of the Cavalry Screen, with AH-64D Apache Gunship’s awaiting strike orders.

Red Force had the fewer, but supposedly more powerful, RAH-66 Commanche’s of the Corps Air Brigade. With their stealthy appearance they would be hard work for the Blue Force SAM’s to detect in time and then successfully engage.

Rossi looked at his watch, another five hours of the exercise remained before they would head back to the base, the big Main Battle Tanks and Infantry Fighting Vehicles to their laagers whilst the troops went to their barracks for some much-earned rest after five days of intensive training.




6th Army Headquarters, Rosgrave Manor

Lieutenant General Greer surveyed his army deployments. The commanders of his two Corps were running map table exercises against each other. VII commander, Major General Hastings was manoeuvring the 112th Armoured Division into a position flanking both the 19th and 26th Infantry (Mechanized) Divisions belonging to V Corps. Those two Division commanders were about to command a whole lot of theoretically dead troops if the V Corps commander didn’t spot the movement on his own map table in the identical room next door.

Luckily Major General King did see the movement informed by a Darkstar drone, or so the scenario said, and ordered the two Infantry Divisions to stand to and orientate themselves towards the armoured threats.


General Greer moved out of the map room and back to his command post. The exercise was scheduled to end within an hour and he hoped that he would still have two confident Corps commanders. He would be needing them, as 6th Army was the northern most formation and would have to deal with any invasion from the North, the likelihood of which grew day by day with the movements of the IN fleet directly south, rather than to confront its larger IH equivilant.


6th Army would be going to an increased War Alert within a day, so as to be ready to move into the wastelands to the North of the country to confront any potential invasion force. 9th Army had been mobilised from its bases in the Central IH and was preparing for the move North, along with 2nd Army from the Western parts of IH. The navy meanwhile was drawing up plans to cut the supply to those forces if they did land.

//OOC: Wait, Horned Rat, are you invading ME? Because the terrain description was for the part of my land occupied by IN and used for the guerilla warfare part of the RP. Whereas I was given to understand that you were attacking an abandoned part of TKoTM to set up a refuge for IN fugitives if needed//

Somewhere along the Angiers/IN railroad, 1000 hours

Rejean swung his pickaxe and smashed a crosstie, dropped the pick and picked up a crowbar to pry off the rail. He and his newly reunited men were methodically destroying a section of rail necessary for the supply of the IN front lines. He had heard more news about B-2 raids on IN dumps all along the lines, and figured that he should spent the next little while playing hell with the roads and rails used by IN.

The countryside was throughly hostile to IN. The curfews and patrols were not winning any friends amongst people already ticked at the unprovoked invasion. Those who were young enough to fight and hadn't already left were, for the most part, taking up the family rifle and heading for the hills. Messengers and commanders had taken up traveling in APCs, as doing otherwise was bad for your life expectancy.

Marcel St-Antoine and his best friend Marc were scouting for incoming IN forces. So far, none had decided to show up. All the better for him, he thought, as he dug a hole where a railroad used to be, and then, with the help of several of his compatriots, pushed the rail into the hole. He then pulled out a rubber glove and slapped on a small gadget guarenteed to electrocute the first person who tried to move the rail.

It wasn't just here that the railroad was being damaged. All along the line, from the border to 10 miles short of the front, small groups of guerillas were doing much the same thing he and his friends were. Other groups were blasting holes in the highway and the various connecting provincial and federal roads. Nothing would be moving on wheels in the this sector once they were done.

Rejean's radio crackled with Marc's voice. "Lights out." IN troops were moving down the rail line, and it was time to scatter. "Turn that shit up," came Rejean's reply, and he waved to the two dozen men digging alongside him, indicating that it was time to take shelter.

As his men took to the forests, or to their homes, or the homes of a friendly local, Rejean pulled out his cell phone. He dialed three numbers in short succession, and was rewarded with the sound of three overpasses blowing up. He then followed his men back into the underbrush, radioing to Marc and Marcel to meet him back in Lennoxville for the next stage of the supply cutting.

//OOC: He is assaulting a piece of wasteland, yes. Not you. But there are obviously independant towns and such there. Also, I sent helicopters, not planes, but never mind :). Also, I am still RPing the results of that first night of the bombing raid, and so the effects of your latest railway demolitions and overpass attacks will be dealt with the next post. I have a cunning plan to respond to your attacks, you'll like it... not *snigger* *evil cackle*.//

IN prison camp,
0355 hours

The VAR-4's skimmed over the trees and arrived at their destination, the striken IN prison camp, fanning out around the perimeter, they watched the preceedings with interest. Most of the POW's had gone, but there were some hiding still, the heat sensors displaying them clearly to the pilots. The VAR-4's stayed just out of range, watching and waiting to strike. Their radar jamming net covering the area and shrouding it from prying eyes and enemy commmunications. Their silent running rotor and lack of tail rotor made them almost invisible in the jet-black sky. Silently the first jet-black helicopter moved forward and dropped to the ground. Three INK soldiers dropped out, and took up postions in the ruins of the perimeter fence.

"K1 in position."

One of the team lifted a silenced scoped rifle and took aim down the sight.

"Ready."

The helicopter lifed off, and began to head back to the trees. A flash of fire struck from the artillery-charred buildings and up toward the 'copter. The on-board RWC Black Steel system fired one of the chaff grenades from the it's pocket, detonated in the path of the oncoming missile. The missile breezed through the chaff and slammed into the VAR-4. The helicopter is pushed to the side, spinning wildly. There was no explosion, and the missile fell harmlessly to the floor, made useless by the chaff. The VAR-4 could not right itself, and fell into the trees, the blades span off wildly and the body ploughed into a tree, ending it's life in a burst of flame.

"I got him."

The sniper fires once, the bolt thudding back slowly, silently. With a click he chambered another bullet and fired again. The first bullet slammed into the head of the POW, spilling flesh, blood and brains onto the floor.

"Ughh..."

The POW's friend had barely time to say "shit" before the other bullet tore into his throat, drowning his cries in crimson blood. The man gurgled to death on the floor by his dead comrade.

The remaining helicopters moved in, firing everything they had at the illuminated targets. Chainguns and missiles roared, with more INK soldiers hanging out of the special viewing window and firing whilst the helicopters moved. Sniper bullets thumped into chests, spraying blood over the walls. Meanwhile team K1 began the ground assault. Weilding the 'Kraven' (type of sabre used by IN military special forces) they charged the buildings. POW's quailed at their mighty onslaught, many being killed as they threw their hands in the air. In-between firing, the remaining helicopters dropped, and dispersed more soldiers onto the ground. Some pockets of POW's attempted to fight back or escape, but were soon crushed by BoF grenades and chaingun fire. Another helicopter was struck by a rocket, and span wildly to the ground, landing safely, although damaged. None where left alive in the camp, such was the fury of the counter-strike.

Ohia Island

Ohia Island was one gigantic military base, consisting of miles of rolling moorland and quiet valleys. There was just one town on the island, even though it was bigger than the Cikae islands combined (Ohia is actually the size of the UK). The rest had been turned into huge training villages a long time before. The island had been a base ever since the first Cikae Island rebellion, providing a base camp easily defendable from insurgents. Now, in the height of war the base was still active, training new recruits as well as providing a watch for enemy movements. A radar station in the west spotted the IH task force, and notified the area commander. Immediately AWACS aircraft began to fly a bit nearer the fleet, keeping well out of range but observing, just in case. On the coast, several submarine pens opened, and a hidden picket went up around the island. VA-4 'Avenger' home defense fighters started to patrol the skies, their first use in the war signifying the threat posed by IH troops so near the homeland.

//The VA-4 is only for protecting the homeland airspace, it is not much better than the VA-2 'Demon' (offensive and foreign conquest defense).//

Tokel Air Base,
Wastelands north of IN

"They have come."

Wulfila watched the feeds from his men out front on his helmet. With the exception of the INK soldiers setting up the ambush outside, the rest of his men had taken up positions just inside the main doors. Now they would await the next wave with trepidation on the part of the regular troops, and glee on the part of the Kommando's. Wulfila would not allow the most secret thing in this airbase to be compromised. Two 'Divine Fire' weapons, some of the first being produced where stored here, ready to use on NMS formations should the war continue further. The bombs were of a new type in the IN military, and perhaps the world. 'Advanced Neutron Bombs' they were titled, and apparantly the most deadly form of bomb available without severely irradiating a large area. Wulfila pulled up the information on the bomb he had been sent, and had it read to him as he monitored his men.

Neutron bombs, also called enhanced radiation bombs (ER weapons), are small nuclear weapons in which the burst of neutrons generated by the fusion reaction is intentionally not absorbed inside the weapon, but allowed to escape. This bomb utilises x-ray mirrors and a shell made out of chromium so that neutrons escape. Due to the differences in nature from neutrons and gamma rays, standard anti-radiation protection (such as in armoured vehicles) does not work against neutron bursts. Typically a dose of 6Gy will kill 50% of people after several hours, but a dose of 80Gy produces immediate and permanent incapacitation.

'Divine Fire' is an advanced neutron bomb, as it comprises several features that are unique. The first is that it is primarily detonated by Red Mercury, which triggers the fusion reaction. Conventional fusion bombs rely on nuclear fission to compress them and trigger fusion. This means they are quite bulky. Red mercury is so explosive only small amounts of it are needed and as such a 2 megaton (equivalent to 2 million tonnes of TNT) bomb could be made smaller than a football (soccer ball). 'Divine Fire' is shaped as a cylinder, about 1m long and weighing 600kg. It has the same amount of tritium as a 2kt bomb, but the blast from the explosion is tiny in comparison, as the neutrons that usually are reflected back into the tritium undergoing fusion are allowed to escape, preventing a build up.

The second feature is that 'Divine Fire' is designed not to detonate on the ground, but at 10km above the target. This gives the bomb the ability to give a dose of 1,000Gy for 800m at ground level, dissapating to 80Gy after 3km and 6Gy at 5km to soldiers protected by armour. The range is roughly doubled for unprotected soldiers.

The third feature is that due to the small explosion and short lived nature of the radioactive isotopes produced by neutron bombardment, buildings in the area bombed remain unaffected, and can be inhabited after a period of two weeks by civilians. Workers wearing chemical suits with respirators may enter the area after four days with minimal risk.

Tokel Air Base,
Wastelands north of IN

"Lord Leon, this is Brother Talloth. I must know something."

"Yes, Brother? What is it?"

"Are the supply dumps truly crucial to our mission?"

"What do you mean, Brother Talloth?"

"If possible, I do not want to waste my men's lives on holding the resources that feed this filthy enemy."

"You wish cleansing fires upon the targets, Brother?"

"Yes, lord."

"Then so be it. Our holier mission lies in the capture of the air base now."

"How close are you and the other Atomic Angels, lord?"

"Naught but twenty minutes. Take out the supply dumps and we will strike the airfield with you. We can expect Brother Gorish's holy armor in an hour. We have the righteous cause, Brother Talloth! Let nothing stand in your way."

"Yes, my lord."

Killing the connection, Talloth pointed to one of the depots. He rapped out commands to his spotting crew.

"I want mortars on that position and others like it. Retarget the Copperheads for the larger depots. Cleansing fires will destroy their tools, and then we can purge these unclean demons!"


Watching and praying, Mays wondered just what was going on. Then he heard the thwumps. They were barely audible, but standard-sized mortars made no sound this far away. His brothers were going to burn his position with Blazing Heat mortar rounds.

There was whistling only for a second when the first salvo crashed into and around the supply depot structure barely a quarter of a mile from Mays's position. Searing napalm splattered all over the vicinity while dark-red fireballs expanded into the air, creating deep explosion sounds in their wake. It took barely a minute before the raging fires heated the flammable supplies inside the structure to the breaking point. With a loud boom, the small structure went up. It almost covered the sound of the second salvo of mortars, but Mays was still able to hear them.

His brothers were using cleansing fire. Doubtlessly, his time was coming soon.

OOC: Sorry its been a bank holiday weekend here in England so I've been doing lots with the family. I have a load of friends here atm, so a small post only im afraid. I will get a bigger one up ASAP.

IC:

Rear-Admiral Chris Daley’s 5th Carrier Strike Force
520km West of the Ohia Island

The appearence of AWAC's aircraft closer to the force led them to suspect that they had been spotted by IN aircraft, and so they increased their distance from the island slightly, hoping to show that they had no hostile intent unless provoked.

Even so the standard patrol was increased to ten fighters and a pair of radar birds, whilst the escort ships powered their radars but left them in standby mode. No point allowing the "enemy" to classify the ships that were with the group, although satellite recon could not be completely avioded so the "enemy" probably knew what was out there.

However now the Strike Force's SSN's were all heading in closer to the Islands, none closer than 250km, to establish a preliminary anti-sub and anti-surface ship bounday line.

OOC: Roughly how many aircraft are garrisoned on the Island? Just so I know if an attack would be suicide or not :D, IH commanders don't like those that much hehe.

Supply Depot,
Wastelands north of IN, near Tokel Airbase

The napalm ripped through the few men guarding the depot, burning them severely. Many were killed, almost all the rest left screaming on the floor as they died. Only a handful survived, and they slunk off into the trees to the safety of the shadows.

30km from Venom Defense HQ,
North-west IN

Senna and the Death Squads sat huddled in their Marsupial transport helicopters, disguised using secret identification codes given to the pilots by Senna. The codes tricked the IN authorities into believing that the helicopters where theres, after all some Marsupials still served in the military. The disguise was working, and they neared the VD HQ. Around 30km away, two VA-4 'Avenger' Fighters pulled alongside them, and ordered them to state their business at VD. Obviously radar had picked up their flight path. Senna stayed cool and told the pilot to give a codeword reply. Ragnarok.

The fighter pilots considered this, and turned away, leaving the strike force to go undetected. Kharne looked over at Senna suspiciously. Senna saw the glance and spoke: "Remember the murder of Alan Stallif, leader of the INK? Something I saw on his computer before I left him. I don't know what it means, it was just the title of an encrypted email that I couldn't read. It means something though..." Kharne grunted his acceptance.

//OOC: Same here IH, so a short post. There are roughly 800 aircraft on the island, plus heavy AA defense and artillery cannons. SAVX, do you want to RP the assault on VD? It will be easy going, they don't expect an attack.

Al-Imdivah eastern border, 1000 hours

A pair of soldiers in IN Ministry of Pain armor sat around in a large hole they had just done. The only shade in sight was from the IN Ministry SUV hiding in the hole with them. They were watching a cloud of dust billow down the road from the north.

"That our man?" asked one of them to his friend, who held a pair of binoculars to his eyes.

"Looks like it. And if not, why, accidents can always happen in the desert," replied the man with binoculars. "Signal the others, would you?"

The other man stood on a slightly raised part of the foxhole and waved a red flag over his head until he saw two other flags waving in the distance. He reached into the back of the SUV and pulled out a sniper rifle.

The man with binoculars stepped back. As the car crept closer, he waved a yellow flag. His comrade aimed the rifle at the incoming car. He waved a green flag. Five rifles fired from hiding in the desert, and the car careened to a stop in flames. The man with binoculars lept out of the hole, waving the red flag wildly as he sprinted to the wreck. He fished around the interior for a bit, until he found a capsule that contained the message he was looking for. He rushed back to his hole, waving the green flag. Five seconds later, a pair of thermobaric grenades blew the car to smithereens.

While this burst of energy was taking place, the man's friend had calmly driven the SUV out of the hole it was in and to the side of the road. The first man put the capsule in his pocket, climbed onto the roof of the SUV and waved both the red and the green flags, climbed back down and slid into the passenger seat.

"Ah, calisse," said his friend from the driver's seat. "Rejean, why did you have to fucking get your dirty feet all over the roof of this nice, clean SUV?"

"But Marc, surely you would not fault me my youthful spirits?" Rejean le Guiscard was now fishing through a cooler behind his seat He pulled out a soda and opened it with one hand while he put in a Led Zepplin CD with the other.

The other shooters, all in Ministry armor, made their way towards the car and climbed in. They pulled out drinks from the cooler and leaned back. One asked "Rejean, did you find what we came for?"

"But of course," said Rejean. "I always get what I want, and now the Ministry will get what is coming to it." He smiled as the car sped south. "Marc, you know the schedules of the bombings, yes?"

"All of them," said Marc, pointing at his head, "safely in here. We will not have any problems I can foresee from here to the border."

"But if you can foresee them," Rejean said, "they would not be problems, then." He smiled and closed his eyes. The trip to the IN capital would feel much shorter if he got some sleep.

//OOC: If the Ministry of Pain HQ is not in the capital, please indicate this.//

OOC: Yeah, I'll cover the strike in the next post. I expect you to toss in the bit with Senna...well, you know.

25km from Venom Defense HQ,
North-west IN

There was a hint of suspicion in his mind, but Kharne shrugged it away. The mission was too much on his mind, as it was for all the other Death Troopers. Together as one, for the first time in decades, the Death Squads would feed on the blood of their enemies as one. Kharne was especially looking forward to it, as Demon Squad hadn't seen action this big in quite some time. Kharne already had countless on-site plans prepared. First, though, there would be the initial strategy. Switching his com-system to local suit receptors only, he laid out his plan. The other Death Troopers never replied; there was no question that they were listening and would follow the plan to its fullest.

"Wraith Squad, you will perform a covert insertion through the roof. You know what to do: take out the commanders in complete stealth. You will not be seen.

"Blood, Banshee, and Scythe Squads, you will drop in the South end and lay waste to the weak defenses there. Then you will breach the compound and slay everything, bringing as much attention to yourselves as possible. There will be nothing but blood.

"Scorch and Dragon Squads, you will insert through the West end. Again, lay waste to the defenses, which will be stronger, and provide an impenetrable wall of flame. There will be no escape.

"Defiler Squad, you will do the same at the East end. The entire area must be coated in your contamination so that one breath brings instant death. Again, there will be no escape.

"Omega Squad, you will attack with us through the North end. We will be extracting the necessary items. We will be fast, like the approach of death in nightmares."

Switching back to local and suit-com transmission, Kharne slowly, methodically, evilly spoke the last bit of his speech so that Senna would hear. It was good to invest some fear into those who might betray you; even the closest of friends and allies.

"When we are done...then you may feast."


Tokel Air Base,
Wastelands north of IN

The second small depot had already gone up in flames when the Copperheads roared overhead. Enemy aircraft weren't in the immediate vicinity, but they were probably on their way. The squadron would have to be fast. Of course, the Sainaman forces, build on mobility, always were. Incendiary heavy bombs, guided to the depots by spotters with Talloth's forces, pulverized the structures. Within moments, they were merely blazing craters.

"Where is Lord Gorish?"

"On his way, sir! The rear spotters caught them about half a mile off, behind those hills."

"Then why aren't his howitzers firing?"

"We haven't given them target coordinates, sir."

"Ah, of course. I want fire all over that forest. Clear it so we have a fairly direct view of the air base. I'm sure we can expect heavy resistance from inside...purge it."

Another salvo of mortars went off, targeting one of the few remaining small supply depots.

"Yes, sir."

Moments after the request was sent, audible poundings were heard from just behind the hills. Shortly thereafter, the forest ahead erupted with explosions. Trees splintered and broke, opening up small pockets in the canopy. Turning, Talloth saw the first tanks of Gorish's Doomhammer forces come over the hills, speeding towards the Atomic Angels. Meanwhile, helicopters and dropships, bearing Leon and the rest of the Atomic Angels forces, had begun to land and deploy. Already, the Sainaman forces were increasing exponentially.

Finding Talloth, Leon--suited in his fearsome Mk.III Powered Combat Armor--walked over to take control. Talloth bowed as best as his Mk.I PCA would allow.

"Lord Leon, I am honored."

"I as well. Tell me, what of Brother Mays?"

"We do not know, my lord. He has not reported in, and we assume the worst...as you can see."

Leon nodded in his helmet.

"Very well. We shall see when we get there."

"When shall we attack, my lord?"

"As soon as Gorish brings half of his forces to bear, which will be shortly, we will storm this forsaken fortress."

"And when will Gasis be arriving?"

"Within two hours. It'll be a all we need if this crusade comes to a standstill, but I doubt that shall be the case."

"Then we will be ready, lord."

"Yes, Brother. And we will cleanse this land."

//OOC: SAVX: I will... when we get inside VD. NMS: It is in the capital (Krakk), but read my roleplay.//

IN HSS Head Offices,
Krakk, IN

Marcus Brandt sat in his plush office with a man called Djin Mist. ‘Born’ in 2021 in an Venom Defense Laboratory as part of the X-Soldat scheme, Djin Mist was raised from birth to be a highly trained killing machine. He had been altered genetically before birth to be almost super-human, possessing no physical weaknesses and a natural desire to kill. In short, he was the perfect soldier. The other X-Soldats had been good, but Djin Mist had always been the best. His name had been erased from memory now, and only Marcus Brandt and a couple of others knew his true identity. Now he is only known as Delta Seven. Delta Seven had experience as a squad commander for the INK before quitting the military amidst the uproar of the reformations carried out by Jack Foley, and joined a company on Guelar Island where he worked as a hired gun. On one mission he was nearly killed by a deadly venom, and multiple bullet wounds. He was dragged to safety and healed, with metal plates being used to patch up shattered bones. Now he was back to normal, and still a ruthless killer.

"Delta, do you know why you are here?"

"Cobra"

Cobra was the codename for a organisation that was so secret that only the members knew it existed. It was a very exclusive and small group that dealt with the upkeep of the Empire of Intelligent Neighbors by any means necessary, even assassinations of foriegn leaders and the massacre of innocents.

"You are correct. Currently you are the only member available for this mission. We have a problem up north with some people who call themselves White Rangers. They have taken some of our FLIT-3 suits from the Ministry, and Minister Olaf is demanding that the dead Ministers are avenged. I said I would take care of it."

"You want me to kill them?"

"Yes, but first you must identify them. They are wearing Ministry suits, so no normal soldier would challenge them. Luckily those suits also have a tracking device, so squad members can communicate with each other. Now that these scumbags are moving towards us, our radar stations are picking that signal up. We know where they are."

"Excellent."

"Indeed, I have procured a special suit for you, the HT-12. Unlike the bulky HT-11, this is light and flexible, but with far far greater protection than the FLIT-3 those scumbags are wearing. It comes with OLED camoflage, so spotting you at a distance will be tricky. You will find the suit in the boot of the unmarked SUV in the carpark, along with many weapons and provisions. The HT-12 is pre-programmed to track the movements of the stolen FLIT-3 suits."

"Thanks."

"Good luck Delta."

Delta Seven left the room and headed to the carpark. Soon he was heading toward the flashing lights in his visor, waiting to kill. Studying the route the suits were taking, he stopped the car and walked toward his waiting point, roughly 1km away. Climbing up into a tree with a view of the border-control gate, his suit blended with the leaves. His silenced sniper rested over his knee. Now all he had to do was wait for the NMS scum to cross the border, they would have to cross here, it was the only way through from their current location. The river Styk was completely swolen with floodwater from the mountains, and the high concrete wall with many guard stations was impenetrable to bombs, and any climber would be met with anti-vandal paint and sharp spikes on barbed wire.

//OOC: Please go through the border crossing, just blow up the building there and let Delta fight you.//

Venom Defense HQ
Northwest IN

Nearing the VD complex, the helicopters separated and went to their different DZs. First Blood, Scythe, and Banshee dropped. As soon as they hit the ground, the South end erupted into chaos. Even within the first few seconds, vapor blood erupted into the air, with body parts following suit. Blood Squad neutralized the unprepared defenses with such ferocity that only one enemy round had been fired, which harmlessly ricocheted off of a Death Trooper's armor.

With their signature hellish howling, Banshee Squad tore into the building, closely followed by the ominous Grim Reapers of Scythe Squad. Inside the building, terror ensued. With their Shrieker Guns and Razor Whips, Banshee Squad crushed what little opposition awaited inside. Splitting up, the three Squads proceeded to coat the halls with showers of crimson blood from every man and woman inside. The screams of the dying echoed through the halls while the maniacal laughter and joyous cries of the Death Troopers--mechanical and cold through their armors' local transmission systems--overlapped with a nightmarish quality.


Meanwhile, Wraith Squad had performed its drop onto the roof. With a full map of the interior transmitted to their armors' tactical systems, the Wraiths knew exactly where to go for the people in charge. Even in their massive, bulky armor, Wraith Squad moved through the halls without a sound, silently severing the heads of those they encountered, leaving nothing but bodies and puddles of sanguine in their wake. No warning, no chance.

Even as security measures began to activate thanks to the activities of the three "distraction" Squads, the Wraiths moved through like a swarm of ghosts: silent, invisible, and unstoppable.


Scorch and Dragon Squads, the pyromaniacs of the Death Troopers, found themselves having dropped in the middle of a military vehicle center. The parking lot and the garages in the complex were full of fighting vehicles. Of course, this meant nothing. Few vehicles, with the exception of many SAVX oddities, can stand up to walls of searing napalm and thermite flames.

In no time, Scorch and Dragon were coated in the burnt blood, ashes, and sooty grime that came from their activities. With complete ease, the near-invulnerable Death Troopers had created an impenetrable barrier of fire and death. Anyone trying to escape from the activities of the other Squads was met with a fate of searing heat and raging fires.


Defiler Squad, even before fully dropped, had turned most of their target zone into a pool of biohazardous chemicals and a cloud of noxious, toxic fumes. Nobody was prepared for such a cocktail of poisons, and as a result it was barely a minute before every single soldier and employee alike within the area had been reduced to a bloated, scarred corpse. With the amount and potency of the toxins in the area, it would be weeks before their bodies began to decompose.

Like their pyrotechnic comrades, the Defilers had left no exit from the VD complex. Even those in any sort of protective gear stood no chance; Defliers with autocannons peppered the exits with explosive rounds every time anything moved. If the autocannons didn't kill them outright, then the toxins seeping through the holes in their protective wear did.


Once the other Squads were well underway, Kharne decided it was safe for his group to deploy. They had already landed and cleared out the defenses at their end; now they would begin the assault on the inside. With Senna following at the rear, since Kharne wanted to be sure she had a first-hand view of their work, Demon and Omega Squads moved forward.

Once inside the complex, they began the process of hunting down the target materials: blueprints, weapons, and anything else of notable value. Leaving soldiers and employees splattered against the walls, ceilings, and floors, the most elite of Der Führer's Death Troopers gathered what materials they needed.

//OOC: None was going to blow anything up, they were going to use the message capsule to get themselves into the building. Ah well.

Also, the White Rangers are the NMS equivalent of your Kommandos, and they existed before the war. Some White Rangers are guerillas, but the majority of guerillas aren't White Rangers. Rejean and Marc are White Rangers, the others aren't//

IN Northern Border, 20 long, tedious hours of driving later

"What the hell is that guy doing standing alone in the middle of the road?"

Marc opened the sunroof and one of the men stuck his head out with a pair of binoculars. He was rewarded with a bullet right past his shoulder.

"Damn, the locals are testy. Okay, let's do this!"

Marc slammed on the accelerator and barreled towards the lone hostile, who leapt onto the hood with perfect timing.

"Shit! Gaagl..."

The man with his head out the top had been decapitated by a long blade that was part of the suit of armor. This was followed by a boot through the windshield that Rejean, in the passenger seat, barely dodged.

"Aaah shitshitshitshitshi-"

Marc had taken some broken glass in the face and had veered into a ditch at 80 MPH. Airbags deployed, and the soldier was flung off. Rejean leapt out and ran around towards the soldier."

"Ah, calisse! This damn thing is burning. Marc, everyone, get the f-"

Rejean was interrupted by the sound of several dozen thermobaric grenades touching off. Everyone in the car was gone, along with the car.

"Fucking PINS! Damn! And this guy...looks burnt, but...ah, hell. Nothing I can do will stop this. My armor's blown, my friends are dead, and I'm thousands of miles from home."

He scanned the road. Nobody was coming in either direction.

"Fuck this."

He ripped off his clothes and burnt them in places. He smeared some blood and ashes along parts of his skin. He slumped down by the road at an angle he figured would look like someone who had just been thrown from a speeding car that had crashed.

And he waited for the guy to go away so he could head back north.

NMS latest post.

OOC: Rectified

Venom Defense HQ
Northwest IN

Senna followed Kharne through the wreakage of the front of the complex, marvelling at the awesome destructive power of the Death Squads. Reaching a junction she called out to Kharne.

"There is something you might like to see, down this way. Get your men to hold this area until we get back, we won't be long."

Senna then set off down the corridor, not waiting to see if Kharne followed. This was the most vital part of the plan, and she would have to incapacitate Kharne if it was to suceed. Reaching a secured door she punched in a key-code. With a whoosh the door opened and Senna stepped into the darkened room, making her way quickly to a side wall where a large rocket propelled grenade was propped, unlike anything seen outside VD. She turned and fired at the silhouetted figure in the doorway. With a whoosh a rocket streaked toward the surprised Kharne, who managed to dive backwards and avoid the missile. The missile struck the wall and exploded, throwing Kharne down the corridor further. Senna did not wait to see him get up, and quickly shut the doors with another tap of her fingers.

Making her way to the center of the room, she reached a large cylindrical object sitting in a cradle. There were two black buttons on it, and no words. Senna pushed the right button twice, then the left one once. The object began to beep menacingly. Moving with lightning speed fueled by adrenaline Senna dashed further into the gloomy room. She came to a towering metal object, a colossus of steel. She reached for a ladder and climbed up. Looking into the scanner she spoke two words.

"Ragnarok... Senna."

A clicking sound started and a hatch sprung open. Senna leapt into a high-tech cockpit as the hatch closed behind her. She was now sitting in the pride of VD, the Ragnarok Mech (http://s7.invisionfree.com/Venom_Defense/index.php?showtopic=110). Senna just had enough time to speak two words before the huge EMP device went off in front of the mech.

"Die Fuc..."

The electromagnetic wave shot out from the cylinder, rippling through the whole VD complex as it went, destroying computers and electronics throughout the structure, including the electronics on the Death Squads powered armour. Only the hard-cased mech stood untouched. As the EMP went off, hidden doorways in walls and ceilings opened, and fresh IN troops poured out, eager to fight the Death Squads on nearly equal terms. Senna kicked the mech into life, and blasted a hole in the wall to the outside. Retribution would be fun.

//Fixed//

//OOC: Thanks NMS.//

IN Northern Border

Delta Seven had been surprised at the tactics taken by his prey, but pleased. They had given him the oppertunity to take them all out in one go, without a long shoot-out. Never-the-less he had been flung from the vehicle when it had slammed into the ditch. He had cracked his head on a rock, but the armour suit had protected him from any lasting damage. He came to, and sat up with a start. Checking his visor he confirmed that all the FLIT-3 suits had been destroyed. Looking over at the mutilated car he understood why. Destroyed in a flash of fire. Delta Seven thought back, he vaguely remembered one of the men staggering out of the car toward him before it blew. Perhaps he was still alive? If so, Delta would have to make sure he was dead.

Delta Seven looked around him, and spotted a prone figure on the ground. The last one. Delta stood over the figure, and brought back his arm with the blade. The man looked dead, with burnt clothes and blood all over him. I have to make sure. Before he could swing the blade Delta heard sirens blaring. The Miliz-Polizei. Delta withdrew the blade and leapt over a fence, leaving the man to the Miliz-Polizei. Within seconds Delta Seven had dissappeared in the fields.

Fort Pepper, Satellite Relay Station
Southern Independent Hitmen

"Woah, EM spike in Northern IN"

At the technicians exclamation his watch supervisor stood from his own console and moved over the the technicians instrument bank.

"What's there that could have caused it Jonesy?"

"Not much Sir. Possible sight for a Defence Contractor, the guys and gals over at ID havn't quite figured it out yet."

"Ok. Lets take a look at it with a camera."

The supervisor briskly walked back to his terminal and typed a few commands in, gaining control of a camera on a KH-11 High Altitude Recon Satellite that was over the area.

The picture appeared on the large screen on the front wall of the room, gradually zooming in on the complex taking up most of the centre. Fires were evident, and it became clear on closer inspection that there was combat going on down below. There were several human remains evident, as well as muzzle flashes and the odd explosion from a grenade of some sort.

"Not just an EM either, plenty of ground action. How far is this from the NMS front?

"If its them, its not regular forces. We got a flash message that several other IN installations are also under assualt, could be the same guys. Preliminary reports say that they are too well armed to be domestic rebels, and SAVX are unusually quiet apparently. Could be them. We should know for sure my morning. One side or the other is bound to make an announcement of some sort."

"Agreed. But we keep an eye on this one here" he gestured to the screen.



IHS Fearsome, Flagship of Rear-Admiral Chris Daley’s 5th Carrier Strike Force
480km West of Ohia Island


The Strike Force had some six hundred and twenty aircraft at its disposal, but this was still fewer than was estimated to be on Ohia Island. Mission plans had been drawn up for many eventualities, including the one that was just about to take place.

On orders from the mission control bird, Sentry One, a pair of F-22S Sea Raptors that had just tanked after there ascent from the carrier below turned east and accelerated to their supercruise of Mach 1.5 heading directly for the Island. The two aircraft were reasonably stealthy, but for this mission that had been decreased by having two external fuel tanks hanging under the wings. This was augmented by a further fuel tank in the centre weapons, leaving only the side weapon bays to hold a pair of AAM-3 missiles, which would hopefully not be needed.


The aircraft continued to approach the Island, and then banked so that they flew parallel with the territorial waters line that IN had (not sure of distance I’m afraid) only they were a mile closer to the carriers than the line.

At the same time back on the carriers every other fighter was being launched with full Air-to-Air missile loadouts. They assembled in squadron formations over the eastern most escorts of the force, and begun to fly in lazy, fuel efficient, figures of eight. Meanwhile radar birds lit across the length of the group and began to give orders to their fighter squadrons, all commanded from the CIC on Fearsome.

The first IH test of IN air defences on Ohia Island had begun.

Rejean's body didn't betray it, but his mind was full of relief as the weird-looking soldier sprinted off into the fields as sirens started blaring. Once the soldier was gone and before the police came, he pulled out a knife and cut himself up a bit, just to make the bleeding a little more obvious.

The Police showed up, radioed for an ambulance from a civilian hospital in some nameless IN border town. and searched the area for any signs of evidence. They decided Rejean was probably either a hitchiker with bad luck, or some faceless bureaucrat or official returning from the front lines. The explosions seemed a little abnormal to them, until someone pointed out that there were probably soldiers with grenades and other such explosives on them in the car. A pair of the soldiers followed a set of footsteps that led into a field, but lost track of them after 10 paces into the wheat (or whatever).

The ambulance arrived, and loaded Rejean on with a maximum of care. They tended to his cuts, cleaned up the soot somewhat, and, most importantly for Rejean, got him in to IN more efficiently than he possibly could.

Ohia Island

The fighter movements by the IH fleet had not gone unnoticed. AA batteries were being readied, and the VA-4 'Avenger' planes patrolled in greater numbers. The airfields began to jam the radar signals with static, attempting to hide themselves from the eyes of the IH pilots. The fighters were loaded with AA missiles, and only a select few had anything else, this would be a battle for the skies, and a chance to show those bastards in IH military command that they were equals. For too long IH had been allowed to think that they were the best, now things would change. As soon as the IH planes crossed the invisible border they would be set upon by the might of the Republic of IN.

Umpha Hospital,
Umpha, North IN

The two Miliz-Polizei had guarded the unidentified man on the way to the hospital, and watched him constantly as he lay in bed recovering. It was the height of war-time, and this incident was highly suspiscious. For one thing, there were traces of a thermite compound inside the car, and shrapnel from an explosive. A short way down the road, a couple of bullet cases had been found. To make matters even more intriguing, one of the corpses had been decapitated. The man in their custody would have to be asked some very serious questions when he was ready to talk, but for now the pictures of him were circulating around the Black Steel system.

Rejean woke up in hospital to find two police officers staring at him.

"To what do I owe this honor, gentlemen?" he asked as he leant back on his pillows.

"You are called for at the police station, to answer some questions about the trip down, and take a lie-detector test."

"Ah yes? Well, then, gentlemen, be kind, please, as I am still sore." Hell, it was true, that car crash had been far from gentle, and once the adrenaline was gone he had been in a world of pain. No painkillers, though: he didn't ant to be drugged up when answering questions. He concentrated his mind and managed to ignore the pain as he was led down the halls.

He got into a van, and after a brief trip across town he arrived at the police station. He was led into a small room in the back, where a young lieutenant waited. He was seated, and asked some basic questions. Name and job: Andreas Kozskio, freelance reporter from Euroslavia. Indentification: Passport was in glove compartment, here's a driver's license (completely legit, and the photo was close enough to be real), and a pair of credit cards in same name. Business: Off to Krakk to do a piece on new goverment - would same government be good enough to help get good word out, with, say, another car?

Then the tougher ones, but Rejean hoped that they could pass muster:

Reason in car with explosives? Got ride with some soldiers on way down, figured could get some quotes from them for story. Violation of IN military policy? Didn't know that, they seemed to think they could get off easy. Reason car went off? Brakes broke down, driver panics, slams into side. I was riding shotgun, managed to bail before car went blooie. Side doors were badly bent out of shape, men in back couldn't get out before grenades and gas tank did work.

The officer thanked him, and said the doctors said that Rejean was good to go. If they needed further questioning, he would be called in to nearest police station from where he was. Where was he going?

"To Krakk," Rejean replied. He left the room and went off to find a decent lunch joint where he could browse the papers to find someone selling a decent used car for his trip to Krakk.

Umpha,
North IN

Delta Seven followed the man who called himself Andreas Kozskio at a distance. He was now dressed in a suit, but a bullet-proof vest was concealed beneath it and a silenced machine-pistol was in his jacket pocket. He had been surprised that the man had survived earlier, and the call from Brandt had nearly lost him his job. No matter, he would get this man now.

Kozskio walked into a cheap cafe, and picked up a paper and some sandwiches. Delta entered the cafe also, and ordered a coffee. He sat between Kozskio and the door, and studied the man carefully. Delta didn't want to have to kill the man in such a public place, so he decided to enjoy his coffee, avoiding looking at the target directly.

Soon Kozskio stood up to leave, and paid his bill. Delta stood up also, and made to leave before Kozskio, to dampen any suspicion. A waitress barred his way, and asked him politely if he had paid his bill.

"No, I..." He muttered, watching as Kozskio smiled at him as he walked through the doorway.

"I'll get you the bill now then Sir."

"NO!" Delta shouted, before throwing the waitress out of the way and rushing out the door. Kozskio had gone.

"Shit!"

Delta Seven walked back into the restaurant, and over to the targets vacated table. The newspaper was still open, and a small garage advertisement had been circled with a pen. Delta ripped the page out and walked out the door, ignoring the protests of the waitress. Outside, he turned and ran toward the garage, hoping he would arrive in town.

Kozskio must have been running too, for as Delta dashed into the garage, he was starting to drive the car away. Delta Seven pulled out his machine pistol and fired into the car. It rattled in his sound, but surprisingly little sound came out from the supressed barrel. The back window shattered, and several bullets struck the fuel compartment. The car span off, leaving drips of petrol in the dirt...

Rejean swore loudly as he heard bullets rip through his newly bought car. He then swore even louder as he notice the fuel gauge drop steadily. "Either that thug has damaged my tank, or that shopkeeper has taken me for a ride," he muttered, "and either way I want to shoot someone." On the bright side, he would have time for repairs, as that gentleman had some explaining to do after firing at a car in broad daylight and (if that enraged waitress sprinting down the sidewalk was anything to judge by) not paying his bill at the cafe.

Sure enough, it was a simple patch job for a handful of bullet holes on the tank, the matter of a couple hours and fifty dollars Rejean watched a football match on television in the office while the grease monkey fixed his car. The window would be a problem, but they didn't have a window of the correct size, and waiting for the parts was out of the question. He paid the man 50 dollars cash, and an extra five dollars for juryrigging a clear tarp and tape for the giant hole in his back window.

He sped off towards Krakk. With a little luck he figured he could make it to the suburbs by the next morning. He'd need a weapon, and maybe some support, once he got there.

He searched his mind for some old contacts back from when he was on weapons-smuggling duties. The name of L. Roger Kilman, native of the Cikaes, stuck in his mind. He resolved to look him up once he got to Krakk and a phone book. He also resolved to not circle things anymore, as this tended to lead to bullet holes in his car, and maybe his head.

//Fixed again//

OOC: IN before I RP my fighters, I need to know roughly what your doctrine is, I.E are you relying on ground radar? If so there is no way they could see the fighters over the carriers, as they are over the visual horizon and a radar cannot penetrate the horizon! If there are AWAC's aircraft up, roughly how many fighters will be protecting each one? Or will they be up alone?

Also are there any surface vessels around or is it only submarines? With this fleet being the closest to your lands quite a lot of satellite recon tasked to it, and so it is reasonable that we would have spotted a few surface ships if you have them there :).

//OOC: NMS, how did Reejan get his gun? lol.
IH: There are mainly submarines in the area, but also a few (4) 'Seasnake' class (http://s7.invisionfree.com/Venom_Defense/index.php?showtopic=112) destroyers, who will probably not show up on your radar, but you may spot one visually I guess. As for the spotting of your ships, when I say radar I mean that there is many types, ground and AWAC's, and this IS the IN military, so the AWAC's won't be guarded heavily, just 4 fighters each (3 AWACS) :D. Also, the Black Steel satellites would pick you up.//

Venom Defense HQ
Northwest IN

Kharne was wholly uninjured and his armor undamaged by the RPG blast. Only a direct hit would have stood a chance of piercing his armor. The betrayal didn't anger him. The Death Troopers knew not anger at this point in their lives; only the joy of battle and bathing in a blood bath. The EMP wave did surprise him, however. It caught all of the Death Squads off guard.

It took little time for Kharne to realize what was going on. Doubtlessly, the other Death Troopers soon would as well. Weighted down by nonfunctioning armor, the Death Troopers would lose much of their speed and finesse. Were it not for their immensely modified superhuman bodies, they would be virtually helpless.

As it was, however, they weren't.

The first order of business was to deal with the problem at hand. The first soldiers to drop out of hiding to confront the Omegas and Demons underestimated their foes and were met with bloody ends. Heads, torsos, and limbs were pulverized against the walls, leaving deep pools and smears of sanguine.

Kharne needed to give orders to his soldiers. All the other Squads were on their own with the com-links lost, but his voice could still command the two Squads with him.

He ripped off his helmet. His face was bald, covered with scars and bulging veins. His eyes were almost completely red. Unmodified by his armor's electronics, his deep, roaring voice rippled through the halls, carrying a tone straight out of hell.

"Rally! We need to get more mobile. Take out your fusion packs and burst the hydraulics."

The microfusion packs were one of the heaviest components of the Mk.III Powered Armor, and the resistance of the nonfunctioning hydraulics had the ability to hinder the Death Troopers enough to make them vulnerable to even IN's grunts. Without those slowing them down, the Death Troopers were still like hellspawn in their killing abilities.

Hearing the pounding steps of the mech that Senna employed, Kharne sneered. Sliding a round into the chamber of his autocannon, he lifted it and pointed towards the door that blocked them.

"Let's go hunt a real prize."

A Demon soldier, one of the larger ones, strode forward. Throwing his entire weight into it, he tore the metal door out of the way. Kharne had a chance to fire two shots at the right leg of the mech before it left the room through its new hole. The rounds pounded into the heavy armor, the detonations resounding in the relatively tight area. Kharne didn't wait to see what happened before he charged through, his soldiers following hot on his heels.


Tokel Air Base,
Wastelands north of IN

It was time. Leon and Gorish, standing together, yelled in unison.

"ATTAAAAACK!"

While salvo after salvo of howitzer rounds continued to decimate the forest and any reinforced positions, the Atomic Angels ran forward while Doomhammer rode like bats out of hell toward the enemy positions, firing at anything that moved.

Venom Defense HQ

Senna steered the mech into the open and turned it around. That son of a bitch Kharne had fired at the leg of Ragnarok, but the advanced armour had easily resisted the attack. Now those morons were pouring through the hole after her. She pulled the trigger in her hand, and strafed the area with bullets from the twin-linked cannon. The Death Troopers dived out of the way, only a couple where hit at all, and their armour saved one. Senna switched to the rockets, and fired at the container they were hiding behind.

---

The attack on the Death Troopers in the compound was not going so well, the first wave had been cut down easily. Now the second wave brought the fight to the SAVX monsters, the more experienced Kommando's and spatterings of Ministry soldiers in HT-12 armour suits fighting almost toe-for-toe. Finally the Death Squads were being matched in what they did best, but at a great price to the IN soldiers.

Tokel Air Base,
Wastelands north of IN

Sigma watched the onslaught from a shadowy hollow in the wall. The Sainaman forces had begun their assault, smashing into the complex with a force he had not thought possible for such barbarians. He gripped his rifle harder, and kept his eye on the dying man skewered before him, the enemy would notice them soon enough, and when they did he would spring his trap, cutting as many down as possible before succumbing. The howitzers tore the forest and parts of the outer complex to pieces, but did not penetrate the walls of the fortified main building. The hiding Kommando's scrambled for cover outside, hiding under the wreakage of dropships. They knew that their death awaited them, but prepared to take out as much of the attackers as possible with thier surprise strike. Their comrades inside would need as much help as they could get, even with Wulfila and Gamma leading them.

Umpha,
North IN

Delta Seven swore loudly as his prey eluded him again. To make matters worse the garage owner and the waitress were shouting at him. He simply turned and pointed his gun at them and they shut up. He led them inside and tied them to the chairs. He dialled the local Miliz-Polizei number and told them an address, nothing else. He replaced the phone and strode out, making his way to his SUV, and driving it to the local military base. He showed his pass, marking him as an IN Kommando and booked a pilot to fly him to Krakk. As he hauled his equipment into the plane he looked out across the Great Desert to the east and smiled at it's empty beauty.

//OOC: SAVX, feel free to kill Sigma and Beta, but Wulfila and Gamma will make their escape. Would it be possible that the capture one of the Death Troopers alive? Disable him somehow (thinking broken back etc.)?

Neito Air Force Base, Home of the 281st Bomber Wing
Central Independent Hitmen


The pilots and mechanics of the 281st were mostly on stand-down today after four days of continuous training missions. Live ordinance had been used on the Lake Chint testing facility, the large warheads on some of the weapons carried had created craters since filled with water from one of the storms that had been lashing the central highlands of the country in recent days.

However the weathermen predicted that they would clear soon, and the preliminary signs had been good. It was potentially damaging to the multi-million dollar planes stored in the underground hangar’s that comprised the Wing.

The most precious of these were 18 B-6 Bombers of the 94th “Black Nights” Bomber Squadron, that were kept in the deepest and most well protected hangars. Whilst there were another twelve squadrons equipped with these aircraft around the country, the “Black Nights” were the only pilots to have flown them in combat, earning themselves a reputation within the community that knew of the existence of them. The B-6 was still one of the closest guarded IH military secrets, although that meant that only about two dozen nations knew of their existence or so feared the pessimists who daily toiled to attempt to figure out how high the penetration of enemy agents was in the country. The fact that there had been no spy cases for several months led many to believe that there was highish level penetration.


The “Black Nights” knew that their aircraft would be called upon for strikes on IN forces, should they attempt an invasion of the Southern Midlands. Their secondary bases were all prepared, and the skeleton crew that kept them maintained had been supplemented by reserves drafted in following the upgrading of the threat posed by IN. The bomber crews general briefings said that the skies above any IN beachhead would be neutral at worst, as navy fighter aircraft and land bases interceptors from bases closest to the landings would be running interference against IN naval fighters. With their fleets so far from home, the replacements of fighters would be more difficult for them than their Hitmen adversaries.

The B-6’s had the range to just about reach the Cikae Islands without tanking, although what good that would do would be minimal and so they would mostly be confinded to striking beachheads for the immediate stages of any possible invasion whilst lighter tactical aircraft struck at advancing columns.

This would mean that the IH doctrine of deep strike would be carried out, and even now Special Forces teams were crossing the borders to the north and attempting to infiltrate villages and towns, as well as setting up listening and observation posts between the coasts and the IH borders. They didn’t know where the IN invasion would come, even if it did come, and so they were spread relatively thin, the fleet keeping together South of the Witzgall Islands to deter them from coming directly to the Hitmen.



James Corp. Research and Production Facility.
The Central Highlands

James Corp. was fast becoming one of the primary defence contractors to the IH military. This had partly come about because of the demise of IH Arms&Ammo during the period of Isolation, and they know focused their efforts mainly weapons and equipment for infantry men, whilst their automobile section provided many of the trucks used. Now the new arms manufacturers, led by James Corp. were expanding into the gap left. The HomeTown Shipping Yards had become the principle naval contractor whilst James Corp. and Durham Engineering competed for other lucrative contracts.

Talk on the J City markets put James Corp. ahead of Durham Engineering for those contracts, a fact that seemed solidified by the latest prototype’s that had been manufactured. The newly named AGM-42 “Hystrike” had been built from inspiration from the US navy, and named in that projects honour. Only twenty five of these missiles were now in existence after the “Black Nights” had launched 18 from their aircraft over the previous days. The missiles had performed well, destroying hardened bunkers buried at a depth of 36feet with reinforced concrete after travelling at speeds approaching Mach 6. These weapons would be used to eliminate any Black Steel C&C facilities if intelligence could identify them.

These missiles had followed the first production run of the as yet undesignated “Stealth Bomb”, based on a standard Paveway III Laser Guided Bomb it had been improved with stealth material that would hopefully allow the bomb to go unobserved to its targets allowing enemy SAM’s no chance to shoot the bomb itself down. These were being primarily developed again for the B-6 as that aircraft could carry bombs stealthily on its wings and then release them without having to open bomb-bays giving away its position. This would mean that extra fuel tanks could be taken in the internal bomb bays to increase the aircraft’s range, or time on afterburner. Such weapons would be of little use to tactical aircraft, although some had been sent to the 181st Ground Attack Squadron for use on its F-15E Strike Eagles and further evaluation.


James Corp. was also working on new SAM missiles for the navy using the Block VII SM-2’s currently in use as a start point, as well as new longer range anti-ship missiles. They had acquired the designs to the venerable old Hex I missiles through back water contacts and large amounts of money and were looking on making improvements to those. This action had been carried out without the knowledge of the Government, as if they did know about it there could be national security implications. Currently little progress had been made on this missile, although it was still in the early stages of development.


Rear-Admiral Chris Daley’s 5th Carrier Strike Force
480km West of Ohia Island

The two F-22S that had been involved in this mornings little exploration of IN air defences had returned to the carriers, and were now being refuelled ready for their next mission whilst the pilots headed to the ready room for a brief meal.

In the CIC the mission was already being evaluated. The commanders were watching replayed footage from their own AWAC’s aircraft that had observed the event. They saw a multitude of IN fighters coming up from bases to meet any possible attack, but also noted the presence of enemy AWAC’s with a small fighter escort.

The Carrier Air Group Commander made a brief telephone call and soon a pair of Squadron Commanders appeared at the door to the CIC. When waved over they approached and gave crisp salutes before standing at ease and awaiting the reason behind their summoning. The CAGC spoke first.

“Gent’s, we want you to listen to a plan of ours for taking out these IN radar birds that they have up between us and the coast. Firstly we keep up our little practice of having a pair of -22’s heading in towards the coast and then veering off at the last minute, except on the day of the strike there are three more -22’s for each radar bird up, coming in at low altitude that come in at the same time. Whilst the two main birds distract their attention the flights of three’s get as near under vertical the radar birds as possible and then go to burner for a near vertical climb. They then loft a pair of AAM-3’s at the radar bird, and another four from the other two at any escort fighters in the area before scampering back towards the carrier where the rest of the birds are up ready to hit any IN counter attack.”

“Sounds like a job for the Jolly Rogers Sir” replied Squadron Commander Nicks, CO of the 43rd Naval Fighter Squadron or as they were known in the navy the “Jolly Rogers”.

“Typical that you guys will want the glory mission” retorted the Commander of 29th Naval Fighter Squadron, “The Death Angels”. “ But I have an improvement to your plan. Put in some tomahawks that hit the coastal radars, or else those -22’s will be vulnerable during their vertical climb”.

The CAGC pondered on that for a moment and moved his head towards the Admiral.

“ We could do that, but it would mean Tomahawk inventories get very low after the first strike if we are to hit the other targets. ”

The Admiral replied.

“Print me up a target list, along with stocks of Tomahawks in tubes at the moment. We will decide with that.”

//OOC: IH, you theiving heyrab! Oh well, the Hex-1 is old tech now, I use the fourth generation Hex-X. Also, I designed a missile based on the Hystrike project as well (Peregrine) but I, after talking to Praetonia and The Space Union, decided on a longer range and larger payload instead of the higher speed. Darn you! I am looking forward to roleplaying the destruction of my aircraft (again).//

OOC: I kniow its old tech, thats why I thought it would be Ok to copy it :D. After looking at your venom defence store front i realised that you are way in front of me in weapons development. I should stress that the weapons mentioned there are still only prototypes, and therefore will only be used in very small quantities if at all. :) Im trying to use this oppurtunity to bring through James Corp. as the primary defence supplyer so that I have a big corporation to prance around with :D

OOC: I'll take care of it when the time's right, IN.

Tokel Air Base
Wastelands north of IN

Mays knew the time had come. He would not let his brothers fall into this trap. As a squad of Atomic Angels neared his position, Mays collected his strength. Pouring every ounce of will he had into his next move, Mays grabbed the metal pole and yanked it out of his torso. Moving as fast as possible before his guts began to exit the wound, he lunged to a standing position and spun. Screaming, he heaved the pole like a javelin at the nearest IN soldier.

"Die, unholy scum!"

The IN soldiers began to fire at him, but he was already falling. He was grazed by a few rounds, but it was his sliding intestines that caused the most damage. While the approaching Sainamans began to rush forward to their captain's aid, Mays yelled to the contrary, determined to warn them in time.

"Stop! It's a trap!"

Another round hit him in the shoulder, adding to the already extensive damage. Content now that his brothers were warned, Mays allowed unconsciousness to rapidly overtake him.

As it was, though, it was already too late for the squad in question as the IN soldiers began to fire upon them.


Venom Defense HQ
Northwest IN

Kharne growled to himself. Were it not for the EMP blast, they would have already taken down the mech. Evidently with the advanced armor on the war-machine, their heavy weapons alone weren't enough to take it down without a really lucky shot, even considering the accuracy of the Death Troopers.

Another plan was needed. Kharne ran through different ideas in his mind. A group of Demons was scattered when their cover was blown to pieces by a rocket. One was killed when a high-velocity shard of metal got lucky and pierced the weak part of his armor between the chest plates and helmet.

As they ran to avoid continued fire, one was killed as the mech's high-powered machinegun used concentrated fire to jack-hammer through his suit's back-plating. As the mech shifted to fire on an Omega, it stepped awkwardly onto a piece of debris. It just barely wobbled for a split second. Just barely.

And Kharne saw it.

Signaling, he split the squads up into their respective groups. He sent Omega around to the rear of the mech. Dodging fire was tricky, but as long as they manuevered properly, Senna had a hard time getting dead hits on any of the Death Troopers. Some Death Troopers were injured by rocket blasts and lucky hits by the machinegun, but they were quickly adapting to the firing mechanisms and methods of their enemy.

The next step would require a great deal of precision and timing. Of course, Kharne was completely confident his soldiers would pull it off. He directed half of the remaining Demons to the hallway to pound the hell out of approaching soldiers. Then he turned to the business at hand.

"Omega! Demon! We must work in tandem to take down this piece of shit!"

Lifting up the largest piece of solid debris he could, a large chunk of concrete and steel poles, Kharne rapped out commands.

"Demon! Follow my suit! Omega! Charge and throw yourselves at the mech's legs with every ounce of force you have!"

Another Demon was cut down by a jack-hammer method with the machinegun, but as Omega began to charge as a whole, the mech turned its attention to that threat. Just before Omega hit the back of the mech's legs, Kharne gave the command.

"Now!"

With a short run forward, he threw the debris with every ounce of force that he could muster. His Demons not involved with hallway defense followed suit. The chunks of concrete and metal slammed into the mech's body just as the massive forms of Omega soldiers dashed and jumped into the mech's legs.

Kharne watched as, in slow-motion, the pivotal force of his plan began to unfold. He was confident, but it seemed like eternity before he saw whether the idea worked.

Rejean checked out of the dingy motel on the outskirts of Krakk. The room had been throughly dirty and uncomfortable, but the proprietor hadn't bothered checking ID, which made the use of a completely forged third name for the registry very easy. A cash payment was accepted with a greedy smile, and Rejean headed out into the parking lot.

He stepped into his car (saved from theft, he presumed, by the fact that he had thoughtfully parked it between two much nicer cars, one of which seemed to have vanished and left behind some shards of glass that looked just like a smashed-in window might.

He had phoned his contact on his private cell (the one the IN police did not have the number for) and set up a meeting for brunch at a small Cikaean restaurant in a working-class district of Krakk, where, he was assured, the military police were not welcome after the recent disappearance of Foley.

His other cell buzzed. As Rejean had feared, it was the police.

"Where will you be in 24 hours?"

"Somewhere in Krakk, I presume. I do not yet know where I plan to stay," he replied in an even tone of voice.

"Very well, you will be called in for further questioning in relation to the accident at some point after this time tomorrow. Please do not leave Krakk or the suburbs."

"I understand. I will speak to you gentlemen tomorrow, then."

The police hung up, and Rejean focused on the road ahead, scanning the horizon for another mysterious person with a gun. People with guns take potshots at tourists fairly often in this country, Rejean thought. What kind of warped local tradition could that be?

//OOC: I'm tired. I'll do the brunch some time tomorrow. IN, you want to do anything to him (except kill or incapacitate), go ahead. He's in the vaguely defined gray area between the suburbs and the boonies right now//

//OOC: No problem IH. As a note to all, I revised the map of my nation, better and easier to follow now.

http://photobucket.com/albums/v636/sp00ked/inmap2regions.gif//


Krakk,
IN

Delta Seven was flying in circles over the city in a VAR-4 light attack helicopter desguised as a traffic 'copter. He was watching Black Steel scan through CCTV images of Krakk, trying to match the face of Kozskio to a location. Images flashed across his suit's visor rapidly, and Delta's fingers moved through the air, using the suit's pressure and movement sensors to control it. Suddenly the face of Kozskio flashed up and Delta clicked his fingers together. He zoomed in on the footage. Sighting number 1. Using the picture to refine the search area he quickly found more pictures, showing the general street that Kozskio had visited before going into the Cikaen district. Delta pulled up a web browser and searched the street name. Ah, a motel. Delta Seven grinned, and called the Miliz-Polizei, giving them "the address of a terrorist infidel." They would respond with such speed and agression it would blow away the motel owner, perhaps literally. Delta ordered the pilot to head over to the Cikaen district. Delta Seven would have no problems there, he had been posted to Cikae numerous times and had picked up an accent that he could use at will. The Cikaens would only see his accent, his identity was secret.

===

Within five minutes the first Miliz-Polizei had pulled up in front of the motel. They were plain-clothes, with only pistols for armament. They quickly circled the area and locked it down. Within another five minutes armoured jeeps loaded with assault troops had pulled up, and men wearing FLIT-2 body armour and carrying sub-machine guns swarmed out. Snipers took up position nearby. If the terrorist was still in there he would not be getting out. The first team charged the door, kicking it down. More soldiers tossed flash-bangs through the windows, incapacitating anyone inside. As the shouts of soldiers filled the motel, it quickly became evident that the man they were looking for had left. They grabbed the owner and asked him to tell them all he could about the man staying there overnight. To make sure, they pumped him full of truth serum and pointed several guns at him.

//OOC: NMS, what does he know? Not much I presume but anything would be useful.//


Tokel Air Base
Wastelands north of IN

Sigma watched the SAVX soldier get up and yank the metal pole out of him. Astonished at his bravery Sigma frooze for a split second, before leaping out at the soldiers that had just fell into the trap. He slammed into the scumbag that had tried to warn them, tackling him to the ground. The man was weak, and had been shot by the IN Kommandos's now battling the squad of Atomic Angels. Sigma grabbed the mans head in his powerclaw and flung him at the SAVX squad, scattering them as his heavy body slammed into the ground. With a roar Sigma charged, rounds rattling against his armour as he returned fire with his rifle. The nearest Angel took Sigma's power claw in the head, tearing it and the helmet clean off his head. Sigma's two meter body was mighty, and as more rounds hit him, some finding soft spots and sinking into his knee and ankle joints he roared, screaming defiance at those around him who were destroying the goodness of the Empire.

"YOU BASTARDS!"

Dropping his rifle and arming two of his BoF grenades Sigma made one last suicide charge, running full pelt at the Squad of Atomic Angels and the dying battlesuited officer lying next to them. He ran so fast that the SAVX troops had barely any time to move before he was upon them, releasing the grenades from his hands and bathing in the cleansing fire that would take him to Valhalla.


Venom Defense HQ
Northwest IN

Senna felt the mech wobble under her, it had been a mistake to fight them without any infantry support. She cursed herself at not remembering this, but it had been so long since she had fought a war, she was an assassin. The chunks of concrete slammed into the mech's body, and the added weight on the feet prevented her from balancing the mech. Slowly Ragnarok toppled over, and Senna tried to crush the Death Troopers under it, but even their impaired agility was enough. As the 'mech hit the floor, two missiles rocketed up into the sky, turned and powered back down onto where the SAVX troops stood. The group of Kommando's rushing around the corner watched as the missiles sped downwards...

The Ministry of Pain,
Krakk, IN

Amidst the array of new security measures designed to confirm the identity of everyone who wanted to visit there was a small black box. In it a high resolution camera confirmed the identity of someone via an retina scan. It would be almost impossible to cheat the system, as it confirmed whether the person looking into it was alive or not. Marcus Brandt was currently having his eyes scanned as the last phase of his entrance procedure. Even though he was one of the few people who had access to the building he was still checked every single time. Now he made his way to the lift and took it up to floor 99. He stepped out and immediately a large group of Minister guards pointed various guns at him. They each checked him against 3D images inside their helmets before letting him enter the door down the corridor. Three guards were just inside the door, and they nodded to Brandt before electronically opening the door in front of them. Brandt waited before another door as the one behind him was closed. Then at last the final door was opened and he stepped into the most secure prison cell in IN.

It was a bare and grey cell, with no windows. The light emanated from lights embedded into the walls. There was only one occupant, and he sat hunched in the corner. The man was ragged, he had a long matted beard, stained with blood. His hands were warped and his fingers looked as though they had been broken many times. His top half was bare, and deep lashes were cut into his back. The man's face was gaunt and his eyes hollow.

"Hello Jack."

The man looked up at Brandt and spoke in a whisper.

"Hello Marcus."

"Do you know why I am here?"

"I have no idea, I know nothing anymore, I am nothing."

"That's right, you have been educated well. Perhaps soon we can release you?" Brandt mocked. Foley stayed quiet.

"I am here to ask your opinion."

"I know nothing."

"But you know this... Tell me, what do you think of Independent Hitmen?"

"I.. I think they are honerable allies, always willing to defend us against foes."

"Really? They have fought us twice, and now are gearing up to fight us again."

"They believe in democracy."

"That is true, but democracy is weak, you are weak. What should our approach be with them?"

"Be democratic..."

Brandt laughed heartily, Foley had lost his mind. Easdale would never be a democratic leader. But Foley had a point, if they did not stop this war soon, it could mean the end of Intelligent Neighbors. But the war could not be stopped, Easdale could not be stopped. Yet.

"Thanks Jack, you've been a great help. But I am afraid you are becoming too much of a liberty, remaining alive. Soon you will have to be cut free."

Brandt turned and left the cell, wondering whether to have Foley executed.

//OOC: IN, I can't think of much he'd be able to give...he might remember a car with a busted back window next to that car that got stolen, but that would be the only really distinuguishing characteristic to someone's who not paying attention. And the car's going to vanish from the picture shortly//

Rejean drove towards the Cikaean district. He spotted a nasty snarl up ahead, and decided to duck off the road into a parking garage. He got a ticket and drove in, throwing the ticket on the passenger seat in the process.

"11:15," he thought. "Plenty of time left. I can just foot it." He swung out of the car, leaving the phone that the IN knew the number for in the car on the seat, so as to be able to claim an accident, and headed towards the Cikaean Jewel, where he was going to meet his contact.

He stepped into the restaurant and told the waitress: "I'm here to speak to Tomas Mekrar."

"Mr. Mekrar is over here, sir, may I tell him who wishes to meet him?"

"I am Phillip Gouzny, of Euroslavia."

The code words delivered, he perused the menu while he waited. Two minutes later the waitress came back.

"Mr. Mekrar will see you, sir, if you follow me..."

She led him to a back room, past the kitchens. A small man with an impressive moustache waited for him at the lone table in the room.

"Mr. Gouzny, I presume? Come in, come in. Myra, fetch us some coffee, and breakfast for Mr. Gouzny."

The waitress disappeared and returned five minutes later with the coffee and food.

"Myra, if anyone calls for us, we are not here."

She nodded and vanished.

"My dear Mr. Gouzny, it is good to see you. My organization is much indebted to yours for the services you have rendered us since the disappearance of Mr. Foley."

Rejean spread some jelly on his toast and bit in to it. Mekrar was a long-winded man, and the best way to get what he wanted would be to let the man talk.

"But it never ceases to amaze me, how fanatical war has gotten in the Midlands. The IN Ministry troops throw themselves into battle sure that Vahalla awaits them if they fall. The SAVXians perish singing the praises of der Fuhrer. And NMS has found something somewhere that lets them meet the fanaticism of their foes with equal fury."

Rejean continued to eat, face perfectly attentive, smiling and nodding at all the right times.

"The States are rich and free. They should, then, according to our propaganda, have become decadent, indecisive and divided. Yet they fight on, although they are outmanned and outgunned. Perhaps they fight for money and freedom..."

Rejean sipped coffee, never betraying a sign of impatience. And there usually was some kind of moral to Mekrar's long-winded philosophising.

"...as a greater motivation than love of country would be the love of peace and prosperity. But I ramble, and you must have much to say in turn, although you are a man of fewer words than a rock."

Rejean refilled his coffee. "My friend, I come here on assignment by my organization. We are not happy, to say the least, with Easdale sitting in charge. There are rumors to the extent that they are keeping Foley alive somewhere. I have been sent to see how much truth can be found."

"My friend, what you ask of me is only the greatest source of speculation in this city since the coup. I have no better knowledge than any panhandler or street person in this nation."

"If Foley were to have survived, where would he be?"

"Ah, now you ask me the easy questions. That great hunk of concrete, the Ministry of Pain. Floors and halls innumerable. I don't think any five people combined in the IN government know the full extent of the building."

"How does one get in?"

"In? In is easy. Commit a crime."

"Very funny. In, with hands uncuffed and an armor-piercing device."

"Still fairly easy, at least on the ground floor, even for one in civilian dress. And with what I will give you, still fairly easy around the ground."

"And what will I owe you?"

"Just keep the guns flowing, and we'll give you this one on the house."

"Thank you."

It was as a low-level Ministry worker that he left the restaurant, with several changes of clothes and fake IDs in his briefcase, hidden in a fake compartment under several unimportant memos. A nice new silenced .45 loaded with armor-piercing bullets was in his offical holster, and more ammo for it in his pouches. Seeing another ministry worker get on a bus, Rejean took careful note of that bus's route number and boarded the next bus just like it. He grabbed a bus map on the way in and plotted out his way to the Ministry while he rode.

Venom Defense HQ
Northwest IN

The first missile slammed into the ground near Omega Squad. About half of the squad was scattered by the heavy missile, and four were killed outright as their nonfunctioning armor was unable to absorb any of the shock.

What happened to the second missile would be later looked at as a complete mystery. How Kharne reacted as fast as he did is unknown even to him. Most attribute it to the fact that the arching missile wasn't nearly fast enough, having such a short distance to accelerate. This was probably the case. At any rate, Kharne, watching the missile in the one and a half seconds he had, managed to grab the missile by its sides and, nearly breaking his superhuman arms and spine with the force, angled the missile away from the ground.

The Demons guarding the hallway dove to the side as the the missile streaked into the wall inside. The ensuing explosion was enough to completely block the hallway with rubble, halting the tide of IN soldiers coming through that way.

Directing all of the remaining Demons and Omegas towards the hole in the wall where the Kommandos were pouring through, Kharne strode towards the mech. He jumped up onto it, staring into through the armored viewpoint at Senna. His freakish face broke into an evil grin, exposing surprisingly white, straight teeth.

Bending down, he gripped the edges and began to pull. Every sinew in his body tightened and strained, while his face swelled with blood and turned red. At first, it seemed like nothing was happening. Then, with a groan, the cover came off, exposing the relatively fragile Senna inside.

Growling, Kharne reached in and grabbed Senna by the face, lifting her out without breaking her neck. She squirmed, but rather futily. Kharne's arm barely twitched.

"You've made the worst mistake of your life, my dear lady. For now, we must deal with the trouble you've given us. But don't fret. You'll have your own troubles soon enough."

With his other hand, Kharne snapped the bones in Senna's limbs like twigs. She screamed in pain, and Kharne enjoyed it with every ounce of his being. Dragging Senna along, he regrouped with his Death Troopers who were busy cutting down the Kommandos with amazing firing. Kharne had one goal in mind right now: he needed to see what was left of the other Death Squads.

With the occasional injury from the seemingly endless enemy fire, Demon Squad and Omega Squad began to search. Looping around the complex, then heading back inside, Kharne found what was left of this betrayal.


Kharne didn't have to check to see what the state of Defiler Squad was. Without their armors' power systems, their oxygen supply would only last a few minutes, and no Defiler would care to leave the zone of toxicity that they had produced. To die in their own soup was a welcome way to go, especially while watching the suffering and pain of their victims.


Scorch had been completely annihilated. Though it was evident what losses they had produced from the enemy ranks, they were far too suicidal in their attacks, and every one of them ended up burnt to death without their armors' advanced cooling systems working. Dragon was stripped down to half of their original force. Using their veteran experience, they had been able to avoid most of the damage their own weapons had caused. Covered in soot and crispy gore, they rejoined Kharne.


Once their task was accomplished, Wraith Squad had made its way back outside. Even against the tide of soldiers and the EMP blast, few were able to see a Wraith before their life came to an end. Only four had been killed in the initial wave. After that, nobody could exactly find where the Wraiths had gone, and the Wraiths knew it. Using it to their advantage, they were able to kill countless enemies without incurring the total wrath of the beast. When Kharne found them outside battling the occasional enemy soldier, their armor was completely covered in organs and blood. Intestines, especially, were draped across their torsos, giving them an absolutely terrifying visage.


Blood, Banshee, and Scythe were not so lucky. They had suffered the brunt of the attack, and even with their abilities, they were unable to kill every enemy in the given circumstances. As Kharne and his remaining Troopers searched the halls of Venom, all they were able to find were dead Death Troopers surrounded by mounds of dead IN soldiers. Not one spot of floor, wall, or ceiling was untouched by the stain of blood. The entire place reeked of fresh death and hemoglobin. Truly a testament to the ability of the Death Squads as it was, it was still a depressing sight for Kharne. They had been led right into a trap, and there would be hell to pay. Literally.

One thing bugged Kharne, however. He was unable to account for one of the Blood Troopers. Only ninteen bodies were found, and there was no evidence that another Trooper remained alive. It didn't matter at this point, however.

They needed a way out. No communications system was working within the complex. For now, they would have to wait. Going back outside in the light of the setting sun, Kharne turned his attention back to the broken woman he had been dragging along.

"I'm afraid that we can't expose you to the hell that we want to. Not at this time. However...a taster, if you will."

Before Senna had time to react, Kharne ripped a chunk of meat out of her cheek. He stuffed it into his mouth and chewed. Senna was filled with a mix of horror and agony, and her face showed it while she let out a wail. Kharne swallowed. His teeth were now bloody, and there was a small spot of blood that had leaked out the corner of his mouth.

"Lean. I like that."

He turned away.

"Wraith!"

The sixteen remaining Wraiths came forward in the blink of an eye at Kharne's command. Kharne gestured towards Senna's body.

"The right arm is yours. Keep it on for now, though."

Senna heard insane giggles come from behind the helmets the Wraiths wore. They tore them off, revealing their demonic faces. Their teeth were sharper than a normal human's, and their faces were even more scarred than Kharne's.

Taking turns, they began to bite away Senna's arm while she screamed in agony, and they savored the blood and the music.


Tokel Air Base
Wastelands North of IN

The squad was decimated by Sigma's suicide attack. But now that the trap was prematurely sprung, the other Sainaman forces were able to react.

Gorish's tanks immediately turned their attention to the soldiers firing from behind the light cover of rubble and the dropships. The powerful SABOT rounds employed by all of SAVX's tanks were more than sufficient to rip apart the armor of the dropships and blast apart the large debris. If IN soldiers weren't killed outright by the blasts, then they were left more open for the soldiers of Leon to take aim at.

While the bulk of the Sainaman forces engaged the hostiles that had made themselves apparent around the former supply depots and nearby air base, a squad of Atomic Angels, supported by two VXTTPs and a Cobra tank, made their way towards Mays. If he was alive then, he might still be alive now.

//OOC: Never mind NMS, I thought as much. Shit SAVX, I said rough her up a bit! Crikey! lol.//

Venom Defense HQ
Northwest IN

With Senna and the mech taken out, and the SAVX forces regrouping outside, the remaining Kommando's decided to call in the heavy guns. Out of a group of nearby hangers several VAR-1 'Zephyr' attack helicopters rose, turning and heading toward their target. As they neared it they fanned out, attacking from various angles. Their cannon fired rounds into the soldiers below, trying to miss Senna and Kharne. Missiles streaked out, detonating above the soldiers and bathing them in fire.

Before they could really press the attack, three small black spots appeared on the horizon. They quickly came into clearer view, they were CK-1 fighter jets, and each proudly displayed the Cikaen flag on their sides. Missiles roared out from them toward the defenseless IN 'copters, who tried to evade in vain. Most of the helicopters were forced to crash, but a couple limped away. The fighters began to wheel across the sky.

Another speck appeared on the horizon, a varient of the Chinook, racing toward the group of SAVX soldiers stranded far from home. It landed in front of them and a cautious co-pilot walked out. He spoke to the SAVX monsters, addressing them with downcast eyes.

"We are part of The People. We found out Senna was a traitor a short while ago, and we knew you where here. We are sorry for involving you in all this, but you have to trust me if you want to live. I can take you to Cikae, you will be safe there."

Tokel Air Base
Wastelands North of IN

Sigma's pain ended and there was nothing. Out of this nothing a white light appeared, growing until it was everything. A figure appeared in front of Sigma. They stood tall, and where dressed in ancient armour. Out of the blackness of the helmet words poured like liquid gold, infinately angry and mighty.

"You have died a glorious death in battle, come with me..."

Sigma felt his body rise and follow the God in front of him as he left the whiteness for the unending embrace of Valhalla.

OOC: Haha. Well, when I say the Death Troopers are brutal...

Venom Defense HQ
Northwest IN

Kharne stepped forward. He was dragging Senna in one arm, carrying both of his weapons with his other. Little of Senna's arm was left; just a portion below the shoulder. Both of her wounds had been cauterized using Dragon Squad's weapons, and now the stink of burnt flesh hung lightly in the air.

"We'll take you on your word. But if this is another trick, just remember what it is we can do."

In one motion, he held up Senna's broken form and gestured at the ruins of Venom Defense.

"This woman..."

Kharne shook Senna, making the pain in her broken limbs come back instantly.

"...did not pay heed to my warnings. And she will pay in far worse than what you see here. You know of the Inquisition. At least, you think you do. You don't really know half of it. Neither does she, but she will."

The co-pilot nodded rapidly, eyes wide.

"Yes--yes, of course."

Satisfied, Kharne nodded, then motioned for the Death Troopers to begin boarding.

"I am optimistic we will be able to exact our own revenge...yes?"

"I am sure we can find something for you."

"Good. Please do. I do believe it is time for a feast very soon."

Kharne licked his lips, staring at the blood-colored sky around the setting sun. There was an evil glint in his eye.

"Very soon."

He followed the Death Troopers onto the transport 'copter, dragging Senna with him. The co-pilot took a moment to register what the Death Squad Commander had meant, but the meaning came quick enough.

There would be a bloodbath of tremendous levels if Kharne had anything to do with it. Nobody double-crossed SAVX, nobody double-crossed Der Führer, and nobody double-crossed him.


The Palace
New Wasteland, SAVX

Müller was raging. He had been tricked by that scum of a woman! How could he have let it happen? Now he had no idea what the status of his Death Squads was. When the representative from The People had contacted him, they had just learned the woman, Senna, was a traitor, and that the Death Squads, as well as Der Führer, had fallen right into a trap. That had been hours ago.

Müller paced the room. He couldn't concentrate on anything right now. He just had to hope that the representative would call him back and tell him what happened.

There would be hell to pay. He flipped out his phone and hit speed-dial.

"Ramel, have Toxin Corps ready its tactical silos. No, just ready them. No questions right now, please. I'll call back if things change, and I'll explain it later."


Tokel Air Base
Wastelands North of IN

"Sir! Are you ok?"

"W-what?"

Mays was being lightly shaken awake by someone. Opening his eyes, he saw the world was moving. There was an IV in his arm, and it was easy to see the mound of Biofoam sticking out of the hole in his gut. It only took a moment for him to come back to reality.

Mays was being driven towards the rear of the battle on a VXTTP. There was an Atomic Angels medic attending to him.

"How is the battle going, Brother?"

"Well, sir. It's going well. Leon and Gorish have brought on their full mights, and I hear that Gasis is almost here."

"Good. That is good."

Closing his eyes, Mays let unconsciousness take him once more. His body needed to heal, and it wasn't going to let him be awake for quite some time now.


Leon and Gorish pressed the attack. They were suffering a fair deal of losses, but their full-force offensive was drawing closer and closer to the air base. Master Priest Slew Hapmann was intent on knowing what was inside that the IN solders were so protective of.

Once Gasis arrived with his Shock Troopers, nothing would stop them. The battle would be over long before Sister Malsway showed up. If it wasn't, then it would be shortly thereafter. It was just a matter of time now.

Leon roared across the battlefield in concert with Gorish. Even in the midst of battle, every living soldier responded appropriately.

"Who do you serve?"

"Der Heilige Führer!"

"What do you do for him?"

"Slay the unholy enemies of His people!"

"When will you do it?"

"Now and forever in His name!"

"What will we do today?"

"Crush, purge, and kill!"

///OOC:Rejean stood in the lobby of the Ministry of Pain. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but this wasn't it.
...
Rejean and the guard started loading heavy boxes full of unholy amounts of paperwork onto the freight elevators.

Well, I quote this from a couple of posts ago:

Amidst the array of new security measures designed to confirm the identity of everyone who wanted to visit there was a small black box. In it a high resolution camera confirmed the identity of someone via an retina scan. It would be almost impossible to cheat the system, as it confirmed whether the person looking into it was alive or not. Marcus Brandt was currently having his eyes scanned as the last phase of his entrance procedure. Even though he was one of the few people who had access to the building he was still checked every single time. Now he made his way to the lift and took it up to floor 99. He stepped out and immediately a large group of Minister guards pointed various guns at him. They each checked him against 3D images inside their helmets before letting him enter the door down the corridor. Three guards were just inside the door, and they nodded to Brandt before electronically opening the door in front of them. Brandt waited before another door as the one behind him was closed. Then at last the final door was opened and he stepped into the most secure prison cell in IN.

Government message to all USIH citizens currently in the nations of SAVX, IN and NMS.


The State Department has no issued a warning to all citizens resident in any of the following countries to leave those countries by the quickest and securest means available to them due to the outbreak of war in and around the North Kingdom of the Midlands area. The nations that citizens are warned to leave for their own safety are Intelligent Neighbours, Super American VX Man and New Montreal States.

The open war now declared between these nations means that USIH citizens will remain in those at their own risk. With those nations permission IH Airforce transport aircraft will begin removing those that cannot get their own transport out of said nations.


-IH State Department.




Communiqué to the Government of Intelligent Neighbours.

To: President Eansdale
From: Secretary of State Tom Adler

President Anderson has asked for me to convey his concerns about the movements of the large IN battle fleet so close to the Northern borders of the Independent Hitmen. Due to the recent instability of the whole region we feel that the presence of this fleet is detrimental to the ongoing relations between the nations of The Kingdom of the Midlands and we would ask you to withdraw it nearer to your own territory.

We hope that you will receive this request in the spirit which it is given to you, and hope that you are able to honour it.



The New White House Situation Room, Underground Nuclear Bunker beneath the New White House,
Central Independent Hitmen


The Secretary of State returned to the room after sending his secure message to the IH embassy in IN for delivery to President Eansdale. President Anderson waited until he was seated at the table before he began to speak again.

“Tom, do you think the note will do any good?”

“It will look good for the history books, aside from that I wouldn’t think that they will avert from a course of action if it has already been decided. From what we understand their isn’t a cabinet per se over there, this man is in effect a dictator and therefore using the usual sterotypes we can assume that he is a power crazed maniac.”

This generated a small chuckle from most of those around the table, but the truth it may well have been. The fact of the matter was they didn’t know. For all the psych evaluations that had been done they really couldn’t tell for sure, not that it really mattered because if the IN armies were going to land and come crashing over the border it would have already been decided and they would be just getting their final briefings now. The President again spoke, choosing to ignore his SecState’s last comment.

“Matt, what are the updates for me?”

This question went to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Matthew Whitney

“ Mr President, 6th Army is fully into the field now, the leading elements of 9th Army have begun arriving and we expect them off the trains and planes by 0700 tomorrow morning. 2nd Army is also mostly on the way, and they should begin unloading from their various transports at about the same time that 9th clears the yards. Also 3rd Army is fully off loaded from its ships at PortHaven and is forming up there awaiting further instructions.”

“That means that 3rd Fleet is released from escorting those transports. The escorts are topping up their bunkers in port before they head off North, we are still finalising their deployment. It is possible that they will go further North and pose a second group capable of attacking Ohia Island in support to 5th Carrier Strike Force. The rest of the fleet is holding position, but if a landing does occur they will attempt to interdict supplies to the invasion force and then smash the beachhead with our battleships and missiles whilst the army comes North.”

“Air Force assets are patrolling the Northern Borders, and we have aircraft over all major cities and towns throughout the country with extra over those to the North. XV Airbourne Corps is preparing to move Northwards as well if needs be.”

“Very well General, keep me informed”

The President stood and headed back up to the surface via the elevator that ascended the 28 floors in just over half a minute.


OOC: Just a summary of where I am atm. IN is a little outnumbered I fear at the moment, so that’s why I’m hanging back from going to war to prevent a dog pile style affect. Also this was my 3,000 post on NS!

//Who's piling on who? Right now all the fighting is going on in my lands. I have one soldier in IN, and he can't do jack shit except dodge cops//

Naval Logistics Center
New Wasteland, SAVX

Admiral Peter Benning of SAVX Naval Legion Beta didn't like what he saw in the reports. IN ships were drawing dangerously close to IH, and given the performance of IN's government thus far, it was obvious that a conflict there might break out soon. Der Führer had ordered that, once Sainama was engaged in conflict and SAVX's position shown, SAVX's actual military was to watch carefully other IN movements and move to counterstrike if anything happened. SAVX had an obligation to its allies, and it wouldn't falter. However, it would not instigate a conflict in any non-combat area either.

Benning decided that, perhaps, a support group needed to be deployed. A specific anti-naval force that, in the event of warfare on in the southwestern seas of the Midlands, would be ready to rush in and engage the IN ships. Overkill is a big theme in SAVX, and while IH could put up a victorious battle, it would be long and costly.

Benning turned to the man standing by him, who was going through the intelligence about IN's naval capabilities for the third time.

"General Ming, I want you to deploy a portion of your forces."

"What exactly is the purpose of this, Admiral?"

"To aid in support of IH if...no, when the IN naval forces attack."

"Ah. Just support, sir?"

"Yes. I want them kept a bit out of maximum combat range until the times call."

"So we're looking for a force comprised of battleships with anti-ship railguns and missile destroyers with Hookworm missiles?"

"Yes. Also hydroplanes. Their speed and hit-and-run capabilities would be very useful."

"And submarines, of course."

"Always, General. Always. I want two tactical IRBM submarines with you. No nukes, just Satan Missiles."

"Satan Missiles?"

"With the proper accuracy, you'd be surprised how effective a coating of napalm can be against a ship. Cooks the crew and keeps them from being able to do a bunch of their necessary tasks. Your comrade officer, General Yun, actually came up with that one."

Ming became slightly flustered. He and Yun had a long-standing barely-friendly rivalry.

"Yes, Admiral. I will make good use of them."

"Excellent."

Government message to all USIH citizens currently in the nation of IH

Following the recent announcement addressed to you from your own government, we feel it is necessary to extend their warning, and advise you strongly to vacate all centres of population within Independent Hitmen. To remain there would be foolish and ultimately lead to more suffering than necessary when the first glorious IN troops march into the cities and pillage everything before them.

-IN Ministry of Pain.

//OOC: Consider that an IC 'F-off' to your request IH, as well as a broadcasted message to your people. Sorry everyone for the short delay, I had commitments at the weekend which were vastly more important than this RP. I will now be available to continue roleplaying.//

Venom Defense HQ
Northwest IN

The co-pilot was shaking as he climbed into the cockpit. The state of that woman had shocked him, and no thought of defection dared cross his mind. It was a good job the pilot hadn't heard what the Death Squads in the back had said. As the helicopter lifted up and began to flit away out to sea the fighter escorts spun slowly overhead.

Tokel Air Base
Wastelands North of IN

The battle was not going well. The garrison at the airbase had not been expecting such a heavy and ferocious attack, especially the vehicles that had been dropped in. Wulfila, Beta and Gamma where holding the main hanger with a group of Kommando's while the battle raged outside. Wulfila had recieved news of the mighty act of bravery carried out by Senna, and had been asked to return immediately to the HSS headquarters. Brandt it seemed had a job for him and it was necessary that he get out of the mess here alive. Gamma would have to come to, but Beta had been asked, and wanted, to stay and hold of the horde of SAVX infidels for as long as possible.

As Wulfila began the preparation of their transport out of the hellish surroundings, the fighting grew more and more intense, with Beta rushing forward to smash back the SAVX advance. Their transport would be in the form of a missile ride, streaking out of the area on the back of a small ballistic missile set to a low trajectory. As the missile was readied, and the armoured firing system opened to the sky, Wulfila spoke to Beta.

"You know your duty. There are two 'Divine Fire' warheads here, use one to end your pain and take as many of those scum as you can with you."

"I will see you in Valhalla then!"

"Goodbye, my friend."

Wulfila turned away and joined Gamma the impromptu seat welded to the missile. As it roared Wulfila broadcast one final message to his brave troops.

"Death awaits us all, don't fear it."

The missile blasted into the night sky and streaked away from the scene, turning and traveling low beneath the trees. When it had reached a safe distance, Wulfila and Gamma pushed themselves off of it, tumbling through the trees into the ground below. Their suits saved them from major harm, and after shedding the damaged suits they began to run toward a road that could take them back to civilisation.

In the airbase Beta made his last stand. Pulling the warhead to the centre of the room, he waited until the first soldiers from the scum filled lands of SAVX entered, pushing aside the bodies of his dead comrades. Beta raised a fist, and thumped the detonator down. The warhead rippled as the explosion threw Beta to the side. White light spilled out, and huge amounts of neutron radiation spilled out and onto the SAVX troops. The sheilding in the room absorbed the neutrons, but many escaped down the hallway, penetrating walls too thin to stop them. The bomb was meant to take out a city, and now the small initial explosion combined with the massive neutron radiation shook the airbase to it's core. Amidst the storm the remaining warhead sat, covered by the dead body of Beta, who was already in Valhalla...

//Who's piling on who? Right now all the fighting is going on in my lands. I have one soldier in IN, and he can't do jack shit except dodge cops//

No, I'd like your guy to be in the Ministry lobby, check your TG's.

//So you can lock him up and take him out of the war? I'll meet you halfway on this thing, but I want him to retain his freedom, if not his prescence in IN//

Rejean arrived in the lobby. It was deserted, with only a small, utilitarian desk featuring a phone and directory. The desk was unoccupied, but looked like it might be occupied normally. He sat down, and under cover of paging through the directory, checked the security systems in place.

He didn't like what he saw. A scanner of some sort, either for fingerprints or more likely retinas, defended access to the lifts. Authorized personnel could presumably pass this without consequences. He was, however, anything but authorized, and it was fairly obvious that the lifts weren't going to lift anything without access.

He left to mull this thing over.

He headed to an office tower run by someone Tomas had assured him was sympathetic to the People. He changed into civilian garb in a deserted office, and after making sure nobody was watching him, he headed to a small diner in the basement of the tower.

He sipped coffee and mulled over how to pass the scans. The only was past them would be to join the Ministry - and by the time he got to a point where he could get to Foley, Foley would be dead.

He got a refill and a danish and mused some more. Could Foley regain power at this point, weakened as would surely be after his stay in the ministry? Unlikely. Easdale had seemingly settled into power like someone settling into a nice, overstuffed armchair at the end of a long, hard day of work. Any tension or power struggles were under enough control to not be causing any problems. They existed, or they would spring up soon; Rejean knew well enough that absolute dictatorships like this one had a million such struggles.

Unless he could dig up some long-standing hatred between Easdale and some other IN force, this mission was bound to fail.

Force. Huh.

Sure enough, a man wearing a suit entered the diner. He was eerily similar to the man he had run into in the border town. He'd give even money that he would also be eerily similar to the man who did in his friends back at the border.

He left some money on the table and headed for the door. He started walking down the street, deliberately making it easy for any people who might want to follow him to do so. Sure enough, once he was a couple blocks down, he thought he spotted the man from the cafe. He did a couple quick dodges into a thicket of passerbys, and stepped onto a bus heading in the opposite direction. Sure enough, there was his man. The bus stopped at a light, giving Rejean enough time to figure out that the man was looking for something, although in a manner designed to suggest that the man wasn't looking for something.

He yielded his seat to a young lady who got onto the bus, and mused as he stood holding onto a handle. A force didn't have to be political to gain power. This soldier, if he could be persuaded that he was the strongest and most worthy to wield power, could annihilate at a stroke a large enough section of IN's command to force a withdrawal from NMS, and possibly a peace treaty for the status quo ante bellum, which would be as welcome back home as an out-and-out restoration of IN's original government.

//Right now, I'm just trying to end my participation in this RP, and any possibility that I'll be hauled into future war RPs. Everyone a better understanding of the way these things work than I do, and by any fair measure I should now be completely occupied//

Skies of IN

Night had fallen. Most of the Death Troopers were asleep, recuperating after the ferocious beating their bodies had undergone. Battle as a Death Trooper caused enough strain to kill two normal men combined, and it was especially hard without the mechanical aid of their suits. Minor wounds from weaponfire were the least of their concerns.

Kharne was awake, staring out a small window into the night sky. The pilot knew what he was doing; there was never any light for miles, so they were never too close to an enemy position. The stars were out in full force, and there was also the barely-visible puff and streak of cosmic dust in various locations. The loud humming of the rotors was calming. Kharne did have a mild desire to sleep even though he could go for days without it. However, there was business to be done.

Breaking his concentration from the window, Kharne strode into the cockpit. With his armor on, it was a wonder that he managed to fit inside. The pilot looked up questioningly.

"Do you need something?"

"Yes. Your radio. Only for a moment."

The pilot wondered what use the Death Commander had for the radio, but he figured it wasn't anything to worry about. He handed the mouthpiece to Kharne, who in turn selected the proper frequency with utmost precision. Holding down the transmit button, he made a sound from his throat, as though he were gargling moutwash. Then there was a harsh electronic tone that lasted only for a second.

Inside each Death Trooper's throat is a small encryption-key device. It grants access to a particular frequency that a only specialized receptor at The Palace picks up. This allows Death Troopers far from home the ability to communicate with Der Führer.

Kharne waited a few minutes before there was a response.

"Kharne?"

The voice was surprisingly clear, and evidently shocked but relieved. Even the engineers and scientists who designed The Palace's secret radio didn't fully understand what they had done. It was mostly a series of accidents, but it worked like a charm.

"Yes, mein Führer. It is your most willing servant."

"I was informed of what happened at Venom Defense. I am relieved to hear that you are still alive."

"I know, mein Führer. You shouldn't be so surprised, though. You know what we can do."

Müller let out a small laugh.

"You're right. I should. What are the results?"

"Most of Demon, Omega and Wraith are left, as well as part of Dragon."

"That's all?" The dread returned to Müller's voice.

"Yes. Senna used some sort of EMP device to shut down our suits. That's why I contacted you. We need replacements."

"That dirty little bitch...alright. We'll get you resuited as soon as you return. Do you need transportation?"

"Perhaps, mein Führer, I should add that I request for us to remain in IN for the time-being. I want to use The People's assistance to exact some...revenge."

Müller was silent for a moment. "Permission granted."

"Thank you, mein Führer. I shall personally see to it that hundreds, if not thousands, of IN scum die by our hands."

"I know you will, Kharne. So shall I ship fresh equipment to Cikae?"

"That would be appreciated, mein Führer."

"Then it will be done."

"I also have one last request, mein Führer."

"Yes?"

"Venom Defense is still home to our dead bretheren. It holds our technology."

"It shall be destroyed, Kharne. Do not bother yourself with it."

"Your revenge will be carried out swiftly, mein Führer."

"I know."

Kharne put the mouthpiece back even before the connection died. The pilot, curious now, worked up the courage to ask Kharne what was going to happen to VD.

"What will your Führer do?"

"A word of advice: it is wise not to pry into our matters without invitation. But I will indulge you this time; do you know what a nuclear detonation looks like? Do you know what it does?"

"I see."

Kharne exited the cockpit, his heavy metal feet clanging against the floor as he receded into the back.


Tokel Air Base
Wastelands North of IN

The devastation was immense in path that was unblocked by the room where the detonation occured. Leon and Gorish were only still alive because they weren't within the open blast zone. Less could be said of nearly 40% of the Sainaman force in the region. The Atomic Angels took an especially heavy hit as they were the ones in the heat of the battle. Doomhammer lost a fair few of its crews, though.

Bursting into the room where Beta had made his last stand, Leon was searing with rage. "What sort of scum are these?" he thought to himself. Next to him, Gorish had severed the head off of Beta's body.

"A fine gift trophy this will make. I hope Lord Hapmann will appreciate it."

"He will."

Under Beta's body they found the second warhead. Leon grinned.

"This must be the type of device they used."

"It looks like a neutron warhead, but more advanced than the ones we have access to."

"Perhaps Der Heilig Führer will have an interest in it. Alright, help me drag it out, Brother."

With the mild strength modifiers from their Mk.I Powered Armor, the two Sainaman High Priests lugged the warhead into the open air. Within half an hour, soldiers who had scoured the facility reported nothing else of interest. Gorish nodded, turning to one of his officers.

"Then we shall burn it to the ground. Tell the men to leave. Have our Firestorm howitzers raze it in five minutes."


The night sky was lit up as the air base that so many had died for was burned to the ground. The glaring red napalm inferno, pouring barely-visible black smoke into the air, consumed the structure and everything inside.

//OOC: NMS, I have a plan...//

Krakk, IN

Delta Seven had been following his mark for a long period of time now, and finally he had a chance to get him. Unfortunately his earlier attempts had failed, and now Brandt wanted to meet the man who had eluded Delta. As the man stood for an elderly lady, Delta rose out of his seat and made to exit the bus. As he made his way to the front he seruptitiously slipped his pistol out of his jacket pocket and pressed it against the targets ribs.

"Get off now." Delta whispered in his ear. The man obeyed, and left the bus with Delta. He did not seem bothered about being caught, like he had almost expected it. Delta clacked his fingers together, sending a message that he had his man. Pushing the target against a wall he searched him for weapons, and finding only a silenced .45, which Delta placed in his own pocket. After a minute of stoney silence, with no-one saying a word, a sleek armoured car pulled up. The back door opened, and Delta pushed his target in, following after and shutting the door.

Inside the lights picked out another man sitting there, Marcus Brandt. Brandt looked at his hostage and spoke softly.

"Hello, friend. What is your name and who do you work for?"

He already knew the answers, but wanted to test Reejan.

//OOC: NMS, perhaps if you started to talk to Brandt about overthrowing Easdale? He is very powerful in IN, and in charge of Delta, Senna, Wulfila, Gamma... etc. Perhaps later Reejan might be signed up to Cobra?//

Northern Cikae Isle

The helicopter sank low into the mountains, and was expertly halted outside a hanger in the middle of a forested mountainside. The area was burnt and bore the scars of battle, craters littered the landscape still. Shards of metal could be seen half-buried amongst the snow. As the Death Squads stepped out into the cold they were greeted by a small group of armed people, dressed head to toe in warm clothing.

"Welcome to our home, I think that some of you may have been here before?"

//OOC: You do know where they are SAVX?
IH: Thanks, I'd like to see you attack Ohia Island though, before this RP ends (as it will in the not too distant future).//

White Base Delta
Grünhimmel Rainforest, SAVX

Der Führer's orders had been passed. The smallest, fastest tactical nuke they had was to be launched at coordinates in the middle of nowhere. The reason what unknown, but it didn't matter. Der Führer's orders were to be folowed; besides, tactical launches were relatively commonplace in SAVX, a nation known for its WMD-happy military.

A patch of Earth with only a few small trees growing on it slide to the side as the silo door opened. In a few seconds, a small Hummingbird tactical missile rocketed out. Faster than any IRBM known within the Midlands, the IN defense agency, occupied with the other ongoing matters as it was, barely had time to even register it before it impacted with its target.

The former location of Venom Defense was turned into a radioactive sheet, every usable piece of Death Trooper technology vaporized or damaged beyond recognition. In an instant, the physical record of the struggle there was erased for eternity.

The IN defense agency would be extremely lucky to even have enough data to prove the destruction was caused by a missile, any less that it came from SAVX. Even then, Der Führer didn't care. Nukes were childsplay in his mind.


Former IFLA Terrorist Base OOC: <-- Yes
Northern Cikae Isle, IN

Kharne didn't personally recognized it, but he knew what the soldier meant. Three of the Wraiths nodded; they remembered the battle. Their two comrades from the time were among those killed at VD, so only they could savor the nostalgia. One Wraith spoke, his voice a scratchy whisper.

"Are there any...bodies left?"

A soldier pointed off to the side.

"Preserved by the winter weather up here. We haven't been able to burn them all yet."

The three Wraiths stalked off towards the signified destination, intent on recovering some for personal enjoyment. Even among the Death Squads, the Wraiths were considered insane; their actions always proved this statement correct.

Kharne brought back the soldiers' attention.

"Have our supplies arrived yet?"

"No. However, we have recieved word that they should be here shortly."

Kharne only grunted a response.

"Where should we go in the meantime?"


Somewhere North of Former Tokel Airbase
Wastelands North of IN

Leon was inspecting the neutron warhead while Gorish prepared Beta's to withstand biodegradation while they were still away from home. In the meantime, both Gasis and Malsway had joined them. Now then entire Sainaman paramilitary was ready for battle. With Malsway had come supplies that were much-needed, especially to replenish the Atomic Angels' air power. Now they had fresh helicopters and dropships. Gasis spoke up first.

"It is clear to me that we must continue to fight IN's military power here. While we performed our first duty, which was to destroy the supply depots, as well as this second duty, I feel that we must aid NMS in destroying the IN presence still there. We owe it to them for this invitation to battle, as well as to our glorious Führer for giving us permission to fight. We must carry on the battle and see to it that all of our foes are annihilated!"

He slammed his fist against the wall of the command APC they were in for emphasis. The other three nodded. Leon responded.

"Yes, I agree. With you, Brother Gasis, and Sister Malsway's forces here, we have everything we need to start such a campaign."

Malsway stood up.

"To battle, then! Let us purge these heretics from our friends' lands!"

The order was sent out, and the Holy Sainaman Forces began their travel to the borders of NMS.


OOC: Man, I'm just getting involved everywhere. Next thing you know, I'll have agents infiltrating the Ministry of Pain. Well, I'll try not to. :D

OOC: Post coming here tomorrow morning. Im afraid school work tonight means I cant get one up atm.

Krakk, IN

Easdale was furious at the fate of Venom Defense, without it's HQ, the mighty arms manufacturer would be unable to keep up supplies to the IN war machine pushing deeper into NMS every day. And to make matters worse 'Divine Fire' had been compromised. He had had his reservations about Brandt, and the decisions he had taken to 'annihilate the SAVX elite military forces', perhaps he should call Brandt in to discuss the events now unfolding.

But for now the BlackSteel satellite feeds displayed on his screen indicated a flash of fire from the direction of SAVX before the tactical nuke struck. Another screen to his side pointed out a small task force setting off from the Tokel Airbase. They would have to be eliminated quickly, before they could cause any more hassle. Easdale turned to his aides and asked them a few pointed questions.

"How much WMD have we available?"

"A lot Sir, but after the stockpiling of arms agains Gesellshaft ended many where stored away."

"I see... how many nukes can we fire within the hour at SAVX?"

"Well, none of our naval based tactical nukes can reach at present, but we have 12 100kT land based MRBM's that are within range immediately, and roughly 50 5kT cruise missiles that can be fired almost as quickly."

"And how many of the 'Divine Fire' weapons have we stockpiled?"

"Eight, Sir, but half would be unable to be used due to the range of the VA-3."

"Chemical and Biological?"

"I do not know an exact figure, but enough to turn SAVX Primus into a disease ridden wasteland."

"Excellent. Have the nuclear missiles readied, but hidden and protected. The chemical and biological weapons will wait for now. The four 'Divine Fire' weapons however, use them to strike at SAVX, show them the might of Intelligent Neighbors!"

"As you wish, leader."

Within an hour of the meeting, many hundreds of VA-3D planes lumbered into the air from various airstations, joining together in a huge attack formation spread across a wide front. They sped toward SAVX, intent on avenging their loss. Their targets were Vexia and Galahan (in Maximaia), and centres of population within. SAVX would pay for their use of WMD in this war with the blood of their civilians. Hopefully it would discourage them from attacking with such weapons again.

The VA-3D's attacked the border with vigour, swooping down at Mach 3 to pepper the AA stations with bomb after bomb. Enemy fighters swarmed the area, but the VA-3D's were nimble and in numbers so many escaped the fighters. As the VA-3D's moved toward the cities ahead, four of the pilots were more nervous than the others. Their planes carried the 'Divine Fire' bombs, and all the other planes were merely an elaborate diversion, although causing major damage still. AA fire and fighter attacks continued, whittling down the aircraft that plunged in flames to the ground. One of the 'Divine Fire' planes was shot down over a small town, and it crashed down in an adjacent field. Five minutes later the bomb auto-detonated, leaving the residents of the town with a hundred times the lethal dose of neutrons.

As the planes flew further inland, their reduced numbers caused them to fly to higher altitudes, and discontinue their small bombing raids. The SAVX fighters pursued, and some long range missiles struck upwards at them. Another 'Divine Fire' bomb was destroyed, ripped apart by cannonfire from fighters who could barely keep up with the VA-3D's. Eventually the Galahan strike force reached it's target, although the Vexia force was forced to dissapate after the loss of both it's 'Divine Fire' weapons. The Galahan force still had two neutron bombs, and it finally began the assault on the city, taking horrendous casualties as the heavy AA fire and fighter cover depleted their ranks. One of the bombs was destroyed but the other was released from it's hold correctly. As it span down past the intended 10km detonation point it failed to detonate. A small piece of flak had embedded in the altimeter, breaking it. The bomb crashed down on the western side of the city, way off target. It detonated with the impact, neutrons flying out for the third time that day. The civilians of SAVX had no time to hide, the fire swept them all up.

//OOC: As the bomb did not detonate at 10km, the casualties would be reduced, probably only 1/2 - 2/3 of the city. If you think that I RPed a bit too much in my favour, tell me.//

Address to Hans Müller of SAVX,
from Simon Easdale

Perhaps the recent retribution wreaked upon your city of Galahan will remind you that you are not dealing with a small, weak nation, but a world superpower unafraid of your tactics. Indeed, we will give as good as we get in such a fight. I would like to inform you that unless you cease to use weapons of mass destruction against us, you, and others in TKotM will experience the same horror as those within Vexia. Take heed of our warning 'Der Führer'.

OOC: No, you did a good job. Oh, and FYI the Sainaman forces look something like this after the previous battle:
Thunder Force: 10,000 soldiers
Feuer Faust: 500 Rocket Shock Troopers
Atomic Angels: 1,100 soldiers, 20 helicopters, 10 fighter/bombers (based in Sainama, on-call)
Doomhammer: 225 LAVs, 175 tanks, 50 howitzers/missile tanks


The Palace
New Waseland, SAVX

Müller was furious. Furious beyond any normal sense of the word. He wanted, right there and then, to order the first Exterminatus* ever in the history of SAVX, but he knew that he couldn't do that. Stupid as the citizens of IN might be for supporting such a leader, he wouldn't allow himself to kill them all over this. First, he would play the political game: a quick, official slap to the face of IN's leadership with words and nothing more. Not yet, at least. Even the chemical strike would be held at bay. For now, he had set efforts in motion to take care of the surivors.

Stepping up to a podium, Müller addressed an audience of news reporters. He had to make a few quick soundbites and a very short statement; something that would rest in the hearts of the world quickly and easily without much thought. He had the perfect statement in mind, and he knew it would be immensely more effective with a smattering of strong adjectives.

"Today, as you all know, our nation was struck with advanced neutron warheads from the evil dictatorship of IN. This was in response to a very small tactical nuclear device we had fired at a particular military location. Words cannot express what I feel now, but I think we can all agree on one thing. It must take a level of cowardice beyond any semblence of reason to attack multiple innocent civilian centers in reponse to a justified action against a purely military target."

"That should do the trick," he thought.

"We will not respond in kind, however. We feel that we are above such blatant disregard for civilian life. The IN leaders should take note, though: if they thought they had any chance of making it through this struggle before, I can assure them they have no hope of it now."


Former IFLA Terrorist Base
Northern Cikae Isle, IN

The stealth transport choppers came in rather quickly. Being this deep in enemy territory was a dangerous thing for unarmed light aircraft, even with stealth capabilities. The drop-off was quick. In ten minutes, the helicopters were already lifting off again as Kharne sorted through the crates they had left. New armor...heavier weapons...ammunition...specialized nutrition packs...some medical supplies...more weapons...more ammunition...

Kharne now felt confident enough to take on all of IN. But no, they would need to be a little more logical about it than that. They needed an unsuspecting target that, if lost, would be just as painful to IN as losing their false government. He removed his broken armor and put on a fresh piece. When he activated it, he felt whole again, as if he had lost a part of himself when Senna detonated that EMP device.

After he instructed the Death Troopers to sort through the supplies and take what they wanted, he looked for a People soldier that looked as if he had some officer status. There was one looking over the supply fest, and Kharne immediately strode towards him.

"I need to speak to your leader."

//Okay, I'll do the bit about Brandt. And Rejean will end up either running the White Rangers or commanding the newly genetically engineered soldiers that will come online after the RP in the big shifting around that'll take place at the end of the war.

Also, if you want to "push deeper daily into NMS", no problems there, but an RP of an attack across the river line or some other point would be nice. My impression (before you made that post) was that there was a stalemate preserved by attacks on your supply line//

A car, presumably in Krakk

Rejean looked at his captors.

"I said, who are you? Do not pretend you cannot hear me."

"I am Andrei Gounzny, a reporter from Euroslavia, and if you will check my wallet you will see that it is so."

"Bullshit."

At a gesture from Brandt, Delta 7 hit Rejean. The only sign of the violence was a large red mark on Rejean's face.

"If you know who I am, why should I introduce myself?"

"Well, do you grant that I know who you are, where you're from, and what your mission is, or, rather, was?"

"The fact that you have chosen me out of a crowd for search and imprisonment would indicate that you have an idea of those things."

"True." Brandt leaned back and smiled. "You are Rejean, called "le Guiscard," or "the Crafty. You are an agent of NMS, an enemy nation, on a mission to cause as much trouble as possible in Krakk, possibly by assasinating me, Easdale or some other such figure, or perhaps by releasing dangerous men confined in the Ministry. Your life is, of course, forfeit."

"We are in a car with almost total privacy. Why, then, do you not shoot me and be done with it?"

"Thirty minutes ago, when I left the ministry, that was most assuredly my intention. But since then, Easdale has attacked SAVX, and lost access to Venom Defense's offices. We are now fighting a war on three fronts - two fronts against nations as might as we are, and one front thousands of miles away with a supply line that is shot somewhere beyond Hell. Easdale is a weak fool whose military adventurism will ruin us all. When IH and SAVX begin attacking us, we will probably be forced to ignore NMS. And though NMS is small and militarily backwards, they will not stay backwards for long, and they will not forget what we have done here either."

He paused. Rejean did not interrupt, staying as silent as the odd trooper next to him.

"In short, Easdale brings us to destruction and ruin. SAVX may be ravaged, but they are not down. IH is still strong and mighty as ever. Easdale must go, and I am the only man in position to take him."

"And where do I come in to all this?"

"You are the key that will get me into Easdale's office. He wanted to speak to a captured guerilla leader to see what made you tick. I will be one of the guards accompanying you, and this gentleman here," he said, indicating Delta 7, still silent next to him, "will be the other. Once we are in his office, you and Delta will eliminate him. You will," he added as an afterthought, "have a weapon, of course."

Rejean saw what would happen afterwards. He would be shot right afterwards, for knowing too much. Delta would probably disposed of, one way or another, and only Easdale and God would have a record of that day's events.

The car slowed. The driver's voice sounded over a speaker. "Sir, we're approaching the Executive Building now."

Brandt pushed a button. "Right, thank you." He turned to the Delta. "Hand this man his weapon back."

Rejean took the gun and tucked it into his pocket. With a weapon of his own, escape was always possible. The question was, when? Easdale's incompetence would probably serve NMS much better than Brandt's obvious talents. IH and SAVX would probably end up downed by Brandt instead of victorious over Easdale. And Brandt would push harder on NMS, finishing off his homeland.

The car pulled to a stop, Rejean's mind spinning.

//OOC: He can shoot or not shoot, your call. Just keep him alive//

Former IFLA Terrorist Base
Northern Cikae Isle, IN

"Our leader is not here at this base, but I can raise him on a secure line if you wish?"

The officer pulled a mobile phone from his pocket and dialled a number. Within seconds it connected, and another dial tone sounded. Finally he reached his leader and passed the phone to Kharne.

"Speak, Kharne," a distorted voice crackled.

Executive Building,
Krakk, IN

Delta Seven stepped out of the car, followed by Rejean and Brandt. They walked up into the building, with Delta following every move of Rejean's. For authenticity, Rejean was flanked by Delta and Brandt as they passed the extensive security and took the lift up to Easdale's floor.

"Don't fuck this up Rejean, or New Montreal States will experience the same pain that SAVX experienced."

The lift opened and the group stepped out. They knocked and entered the office of Easdale, who was ready for them.

"Welcome Marcus, I presume this is Rejean?"

"That is correct my Lord."

"So, Rejean, what do you have to say for yourself before you experience some of the worst torture known to man?"

//OOC: You can shoot him now, and if you do Delta will tie you up and pretend to take you away for questioning before freeing you in NMS. You will be dearmed and unhurt. I have a few more twists...//

Former IFLA Terrorist Base
Northern Cikae Isle, IN

Kharne let out a barely-audible growl. He did not like those he worked with to be cloaked in such secrecy. However, he would let it go this time.

"I need a target. Something chewy, but not too sharp. I want to see the fear in their eyes at having no idea what's going on before it's too late. And I want the false government to hurt."

The emphasis was strong, and he put a rumble into his voice when he said it.

"Well, I came here to save my country by ending your pathetic life," said Rejean as Eadale leered. "So I think I'd better do that now." He pulled out the silenced .45 and shot Easdale in the head. He shuddered and slumped from his chair to the ground.

Delta jumped on Rejean, pinning him to the ground. "Aach!" Rejean shouted. "Bastard's still...OW...alive, damn it!" Brandt pulled out a .45 of his own and shot Easdale again.

"Take him away!" said Brandt. "I'll take over here until the medics arrived." Rejean noticed that Brandt was hastily rigging the scene to look like the same man had fired both shots.

Delta had hauled Rejean down to the garage, shoved him into a nearby armored sedan from the Ministry, and turned it on. "Where are we going?" asked Rejean, still trying to gather his sense together.

"Airport," was the one-word reply.

When they got to Krakk airport, Delta handed him three plane tickets: to Witzgall, then to Midlonia, then to New Montreal. Rejean got out of the car, thanked Delta, and headed for the gate.

OOC: Your wish is my command IN :P. I will leave that main fleet thingy alone then, allow it to continue to your little bit of safe land or something. Also sorry for the delay and poor spelling of this post, I have so much bloomin work atm for some reason!

IC:

The New White House Residential Level, J City
Central Independent Hitmen

President Anderson read the de facto reply from the Intelligent Neighbours that had just been handed to him by a Secret Service Agent who was on duty. Attached to it were a few scribbled notes from SecState that had obviously been done on the fly. They said that this was a diplomatic sod off from the IN government and that they were in effect expecting a war.

He couldn’t quite comprehend it really. They were already involved in two wars, plus the Cikae situation, and having a third would defy logical thought, and not to mention put IH lives on the line.

With a heavy heart he lifted the phone next to his lazyboy chair and hit speed dial number 2. After two rings it was picked up.

“ Yes Sir?” it was General Whitney.

“General, execute Plan Fortune Three within the next twenty four hours. Alert domestic forces to begin Operation Domestic Cleanup as well. However Option Four is not, repeat not, authorized at the current time.”

“Yes Sir Mr President”.

In his office at the Defence Department, General Whitney put his phone back on the hook once he heard the click of the President doing likewise. Plan Fortune Three was a limited attack on IN assets, principally the Island of Ohia and any IN submarines that were suspected near any IH naval forces. Not authorizing Option Four meant that the conflict would stay conventional, at least from the IH side.

Operation Domestic Cleanup was a different kettle of fish. It involved National Guard units across the country, and would be the systematic round up of all known IN citizens that were currently in the country. These would then be taken to the nearest airport and then put on neutral air carriers to neutral locations from where they could make their own way back to their country. Assets would be seized and held by the government for such a time as IN civilians were again allowed into the country.

General Whitney already had the Joint Chiefs in his office, and so it was a simple nod to them that sent them to make the final arrangements. Home defences would not go to maximum alert until the actual attack began so as to try and not allow the enemy advanced warning, although the effectiveness of the black steel satellite system was not known.

Within a minute of the President’s order communications were flowing out of the Defence Department via secure underground cables to military commands across the country. From there they were either delivered to senior officers or if it was a communications relay command forwarded to IH troops throughout the world.

The giant Hercules Point Dish sent out the commands that went via a low orbit naval communications satellite to the 5th Carrier Strike Force, which would be the principle unit operating against IN forces in this campaign.




IHS Fearsome, Flagship of the 5th Carrier Strike Force
450km West of Ohia Island


For the fifth time today Rear-Admiral Chris Daley was handed another message from the Department of Defence. However this one was measurably more serious than the four war warnings he had received earlier.

He read it twice to confirm it and then looked up at the assembled officers. This had been his routine weekly conference with the Captains of the carriers plus the ASW, AEW and AA Captains who were each responsible for part of the Strike Force’s defences. All had flown in on helicopters from their various commands and had been handed copies of the message as the Admiral began reading his for the second time.

“Ok Gentlemen, these are our marching orders. The operation will commence at 0300 tomorrow morning as originally planned. Any questions?”

Head shook around the room. They had rehearsed this plan several times, and the pilots had established the routine of two F-22S’s going to just this side of the border earlier in the morning everyday. Hopefully the IN radar aircraft and their escorts would die unaware, leaving the way partially open to a missile bombardment. IH missiles were not as technologically advanced as anything IN and SAVX used, but when they hit something they were just as deadly.




0240 the next morning


The carrier Independence turned her bow slightly so that she was heading directly into the four knot wind. Her deck was blacked out, as was the other four flat tops that were with her.

No sooner had she turned than the flare of afterburners could be seen streaking horizontal for a brief second, and then climbing into the still pitch black sky. More followed and there came other noises and flames from other parts of the sea as more aircraft rocketed up into the air.

Admiral Daley was taking a risk, all of his fighters and attack aircraft were in the air, fully loaded for AA combat, with not a spare bird left on the carriers. The ships had shut down their radars, and were now using the take from Hawkeyes which observed with the fighters.


The two standard fighters took the same course as they had done every other morning previously, whilst below them barely above the waves came three groups of three more F-22S’s. Each group was targeted on an IN radar bird, and would take a near vertical climb for five seconds once they were underneath them before releasing their missiles at the lumbering birds plus their escorts. They were on course for a simultaneous missile launch at 0301hrs.

At 0302hrs, the escort ships from the carriers would begin launching four waves of Tomahawk Cruise Missiles. The first wave would target coastal radar and AA sites, the second would be attacking Command and Control assets with appropriate warheads, the third would be cluster munitions against inland airfields, and the fourth would be standard warhead attacks on the naval yards and two military barracks




Cape Conquest National Guard Base, Outskirts of J City

The guardsmen of the 391st National Guard Infantry Regiment (Mechanized) had been charged with rounding up IN citizens in the capital city. They were working alongside police forces, but it was felt that a military presence was needed.

The troops were loaded in HMMWV’s and 5 tonne trucks and wore full body armour and carried standard battle gear. At 0245hrs the convoys began rolling out of the base, heading for various districts of the expansive capital.

An entire battalion of Infantry were directed towards the district that held the most IN citizens, and the trucks rumbled down the streets towards them.

Meanwhile a platoon from Charlie Company 3rd Battalion was sent to each of the major hotels that had registered IN guests staying at them, whilst Bravo Company moved into the area around the IN embassy. Their mission was two fold, to stop IN diplomats from exiting the embassy without their knowledge, and to hold back the expected hate crowds that would probably assemble at day break.

At 0300, armed guardsmen would begin walking into hotel lobbies, kicking in doors, and generally securing the capital. In other major population bases there were similar actions taking place. All those seized would be held at bases or jails, whilst places were found on aircraft to remove them from the country.

Mistakes would be made, but IH citizens would be informed that it was for their own good, and any who were mistakenly arrested would be properly compensated.


For the fifth time in recent memory, the USIH was going to war.

Former IFLA Terrorist Base
Northern Cikae Isle, IN

"The port at Smar? It is close to your location, and provides a home for many IN naval vessels. The navy is mainly out to sea at the moment, but I suspect that soon they may need to be recalled to deal with the threat of Independent Hitmen."


Krakk Airport,
IN

Delta followed Rejean into the airport, making sure he got on the plane. Before he boarded, he slipped a piece of paper into Rejean's pocket, without him noticing. It read:

Hello Rejean, consider this note an invitation to a meeting we will be holding in Drakkensburg soon //OOC: see large map, right hand side//. It may be officially IN territory, but the people there are excused from fighting in any war as part of the peace treaty. Please book yourself in at the Neuvo Rica hotel for the 18th September. Bring this note.

AWAC's Aircraft,
West of Ohia Island

As the IH planes suddenly deviated from their usual course, it became clear that the anticipated attack had begun. It was too late for the lumbering aircraft though, and they could not dodge the missile fire from below. The three AWAC aircraft were destroyed, with one exploding in mid-air and the other two crashing into the sae in flames. Only three people managed to parachute out and land in the water. The fighters had not faired brilliantly either; only 4 out of the 12 tasked with guarding the AWAC's survived. Now they raced into action however, with a group of two VA-4's attacking a group of three F-22S's. They fire 'Shocker' missiles at the IH fighters, leaving the advanced warhead track them while the pilots concentrated on avoiding return fire. The lone VA-4 pilot kicks hi turbo engine into gear, and begins to retreat from the fighters tailing him, hoping to make it back to inform the authorities on Ohia Island.

On Ohia Island, the sudden silence of the AWAC's aircraft had started a feverish preparation. The orders had gone out that an immediate attack was to be expected, and aircraft were scrambled into the air. Radar stations frantically began to shut down, relying on the Black Steel system to give enough information as would be needed. Many of the pilots would be relying on it with their lives as well, but once the initial bombardment the radar sites could re-activate and aid the identification of targets. All non-essential radar stations began to turn invisible, no longer spraying out beacons of radio waves.

As an offensive measure, many Hex-X missiles started to be loaded into firing racks, both on aircraft and ground sites. They would be protected by AA fire and waited to sting the IH fleet. The Hex missile had been tried and tested many times, always giving a good account of itself. The latest varient featured three warheads, one of which was an EMP device. Some IH ships would be sinking beneath the waves...

Smar Port
Samarkand, IN

Morning would be arriving within a few hours. The strike would be fast, merciless, and total. The Death Squads were using small boats provided by The People. They agreed that, if such a blow could really be struck by the Death Troopers (for most were still in disbelief that they could really cause as much damage as they did), then the loss of valuable equipment like that would be worth it. Each boat was loaded up with explosives for when the fun began.

First any early-warning systems had to be silenced. Steadying themselves, a few of the Omega Troopers took aim with their railgun rifles. Using these relatively silent weapons, they began to take out IN soldiers at guard towers and other monitoring positions. With headshot after headshot, enemies fell like flies; silent, en masse, and without warning. The task was easy and quickly done, leaving the Death Squads to continue rather freely without premature resistance.

Then, against the docked ships, Omega Squad had prepared a slew of home-built stikkibombs, a personal favorite of the Death Squads for use against heavily armored targets. Crude but brilliant, stikkibombs were just a bundle of modified thermite grenades strapped with ducttape around a remotely-detonated C4 explosive. The thermite grenades had been taken apart and chopped up magnesium bits were thrown into the mix so that the explosion of the C4 would light the magnesium, thereby lighting the thermite. While the thermite wasn't guaranteed to burn very far through the extremely tough hulls of naval ships, it would be enough in combination with the C4 to cause severe damage.

This bundle of explosive power was then coated in tar, making it perfect for adhering to almost any substance. Holding the stikkibombs with wax-paper, various Death Troopers prepared to use their amazing strength and hand-eye coordination to throw the bombs far enough to avoid getting to close to the IN vessels. With enough tar on the bombs, they wouldn't fall off with the ricocet force.

First a Wraith took aim and lobbed his bomb at a small destroyer. Another Wraith followed suit at the same ship, in order to ensure that it would be going down. This process continued for the other few ships in the area. However, the main event was yet to come.

Landing his boat at an moderately accessable, low-security point point in the port, Kharne and four other Demons disembarked from their small boat. Then, arming the bomb in the boat, he shoved it next to a small walkway. Over the next few minutes, the other Death Troopers followed suit at various locations, and Kharne, making sure the local broadcast system in his helmet was switched off, began to give out orders.

"Wraith, take down the AA positions and silence any security systems you find. Make sure it's messy."

This was no problem for Wraith. The "messy" part meant, after silently killing their victims, they would drape and hang their internal organs around like holiday decorations and cut up their bodies, placing each piece in different areas and positions to achieve the most horrific images possible.

"Dragon, this is your chance for revenge. You both got the maps; get to the barracks and officers bunks, then wait for my signal."

The few Dragons remaining after the attack on VD laughed to themselves. Some unsuspecting Kommandos and officers, among others, would soon find themselves enguled in the visage and pain of a fiery hell.

"Omega and Demon, our tasks are simple. We'll be wreaking absolute havoc and death against every target we can find, and then some. These fools have hell to pay, and the time has come to collect."


Somewhere

Blood Trooper Atel Kromos slowly came to. The last thing he remembered was a sharp pain in the back of his neck while killing enemy after enemy from those IN bastards. His bloodlust had been in full effect, driving him to kill far beyond physical limits known to any normal mortal. The fact that he was still alive now, and not in any place that appeared to be home, was unsettling.

He tried to move, but to no avail. His entire body felt numb. Trying to move his head only resulted in severe pain from his lower neck, and his head was kept in place by some sort of brace he couldn't see. Still as a statue, he glanced around. IVs, tubes, medical equipment...then he realized that he wasn't even breathing. This sent a small rush of adrenaline through him before he realized that he was hooked up to a respirator, which did the breathing for him.

It didn't take long for him to realize what had happened. He was paralyzed from his neck down. A bullet or piece of shrapnel must have severed his spine at a height just enough to render his body useless, but not kill him outright. He wasn't being treated for paralysis; SAVX had easy access to stemcell technology, and Der Führer would make sure that Kromos was in surgery to get his spinal cord regrown. Where was he? What was going on?

Then he heard a voice.

"So, our little Death Trooper has woken up."

OOC: There ya go, IN.

Somewhere

Kromos tried to speak, to turn and see who had captured him. He could not however, not even struggle.

"As you may have guessed, you are not in SAVX. Oh no. Of course, we could heal your severed spine, but that would be risky. Instead we are going to perform some... experiments on you. We also have your armour, and we are trialing that too. Don't expect your Führer to rescue you now, no-one knows you're here."

Dr. Drake, formerly of Venom Defense, pioneer of the X-soldat research program, and developer of the HT-11 battlesuit, stood behind Kromos, and reached forward, cutting the still death trooper's finger and allowing a drop of blood to drip out. He wound a plaster around the cut and moved back to his array of scientific instruments, analysing the blood. A machine beeped in the corner, monitoring every part of the Death Trooper's body, even registering that nerve impulses were being fired around his brain.

"Mandel, would you put our friend here back to sleep?"

Mandel the assistant lowered a mask over Kromos' face, and the sound of hissing gas filled Kromos' ears. He fell into sleep.

//OOC: Thanks SAVX, I have a secret location for him... As for the Smar attack, I can't RP a response yet as I have been caught unawares.//

OOC: Bearing in mind, of course, that it takes at least about ten times as long as a normal human thanks to his modified liver and a few technological filtration implants.

And I know you can't respond yet. I just didn't want to stuff it all into one massive post.


Smar Port
Samarkand, IN

Wraith gave the word; the AA systems were down, both electronics and personnel chopped to pieces. Nobody had any idea anything was going on yet, but that probably wouldn't last for long. Someone outside of the Death Squads' fields of vision might catch sight of the bodies and raise the alarm. Of course, now it was too late regardless. Kharne gave the command, switching his local broadcast and amplifiers on so that almost everyone within the port would hear him. Of course, by the time their devastation was complete, nobody outside would have a chance to find them before they were long-gone. All part of the ever-so-deadly and ever-so-quick game.

"SLAUGHTER!!!!!"

Immediately thereafter, the stikkibombs and bomb-laden boats exploded with ferocious might, wreaking havoc across the port. Kharne chucked the detonator away as he and his Troopers charged at the enemy positions, laying waste to everything in sight with heavy weapons fire.

Where the Dragon Troopers were, the various barracks and quarters erupted into flames. Incendiary explosives went off at the click of the sergeant's detonator button, engulfing almost everything in raging heat. The Troopers themselves charged into the infernoes, slaying everyone who wasn't killed outright and wasn't on fire. The sight of the agile, blindingly-fast behemoths among fires like those in hell was a terrifying sight, especially for the mind just roused from slumber.

Some enemies were shot with heavy machineguns and autocannons, tearing them to shreds. Others were given full blasts from flame guns, coating them in globs of napalm. The officers, for the most part, were skewered by the sergeant and a few of the Troopers with him by flame swords, then thrown into the fires around them.

The screams of the dying were enough to drive any sane mortal to uncontrollable tears, so full of pain as they were. The Dragons, however, relished the carnage and the cries. As if they didn't enjoy it enough with their twisted minds, now they were gaining the feeling of fulfillment from revenge. And it was a sweet feeling.

Heading back to the docking areas, the Dragon Troopers laid waste to everything that stood, living and non-living. With their augmented vision, aided further by their helmets' systems, they could already see the transport helicopters from The People arriving to pick them up. With Wraith having destoyed all of the AA systems and Demon and Omega annihilating every other semblence of combat technology and those who could use them, the helicopters would arrive uncontested, whereupon they would pick up the Death Squads.

Not as visible were the few escort fighters higher up in the air. Kharne had already delt with enough of IN's surprises, and now he was ready to deal with anything else unexpected. With the rest of the port having suffered tremendous damage thanks to a few of Wraith's surprises and the efforts of Demon and Omega, the Death Squads collected by the docking area. A few Troopers continued to pop off random shots at things that moved or at structures that hadn't quite suffered enough integral damage to collapse.

The few ships in the dock were obviously taking on water. Kharne gave out a pleased sigh, watching as the helicopters positioned themselves for a landing.

Near NMS

Leon, with his Atomic Angels in the front of the advancing Sainaman forces, spotted way in the distance a river. Clearly, there was fresh combat there. Whether either army had met defeat, or if it was just a lull in fighting, Leon knew that these were more of IN's treacherous forces. He called a halt.

Gorish, taking the next move as the plan called for, gave the command for his howitzers to begin firing. As a mixture of standard HE and napalm shells detonated in and around the target zone, the other three High Priests readied their armies for battle.

Savaron River front, NMS

A stalemate had held for weeks along the river. Every day brought continuous bombardment from both sides, further airstrikes along IN's supply lines and NMS airfields, and a miasma of death and destruction on both sides of the river.

The approaching Sainaman column gave NMS soldiers reason to cheer as word was passed up and down the line. The SAVXian command was radioed as to what was about to happen, and Operation Noah began.

About 15 miles upriver, the dams that powered the Savaron valley were broken, and a massive surge of water flooded down the valley towards the rival armies.

A number of NMS positions were swamped, but these were planned for ahead of time, and all troops got out okay. The IN side (presumably) didn't fare so well, and matters were not improved by a barrage of cruise missiles and helicopter attacks up and down the line, breaking down any barriers to the floodwaters on the other side and picking off stranded IN soldiers.

The newly assembled 1st and 2nd River Divisions prepared for a crossing to support the oncoming Sainamans. Underwater Demolition Teams began clearing out debris in the crossing paths.

//OOC: The battlefield will be suburbs of the city of Sorel. A 1.5/2 mile stretch of land along the river has been flooded on IN's side, minus whatever areas he decides to barricade off. Roughly the same amount of land on the NMS side is underwater, but downtown Sorel and the vicinity aren't much more than ankle deep. The NMS position has lost sizeable amounts of foward positions, but the defense is only a little weaker, since this was part of the plan all along.//

Frog's Palace, New Montreal

Rejean stood in front of Frog. This was the first time they had ever met - indeed, the first time Rejean had ever been to New Montreal - and he was more than a little intimidated.

"Well, Mr. le Guiscard, you are to be congratulated. Although, if it were not for a combination of treason and dumb luck, you would not be standing before me alive and whole. I might have gotten one of your arms in the mail, however."

Rejean winced.

"But that is beside the point. You have been invited to Drakensburg. To Drakensburg you will go, and this time you will have friends. Mr. Maillard, who seems to be very keen on taking you to lunch after this, has prepared a list of members of the People, arms dealers, and White Rangers in the area that will be watching you. You will, of course, not know more than one or two of them by location, and none of them by physical description."

Rejean nodded, silent.

"You will book at this hotel. We will have people there to keep an eye out for you. In the event of trouble, go to the house of one Alexandre Petitbois, in the suburbs of Drakensburg."

Rejean nodded again.

"You will leave here on the afternoon of the 17th. Mr. Maillard is waiting downstairs for you."

Rejean saluted and left.

OOC: Er...and the other Sainaman forces too, yes? Namely Doomhammer and Thunder Force (Feuer Faust can just rocket across the river).

//OOC: Sorry, my mistake. The others are included in the support//

Smar Port,
IN

The soldiers still living after the hellish assault of the Death troopers could do little to save the docks, fires raged and buildings continued to collapse. The huge amount of heat around prevented the IN soldiers from firing heat seeking missiles at the helicopters. It was all the soldiers could do to try and rescue others nearby. Several ships were slowly sinking, but the real damage could not be seen. A major port of Intelligent Neighbors was out of service, and no supplies for any of the islands or fleets would get through.

Savaron River front,
NMS

The flooding and unexpected entrance of SAVX had surprised the IN forces, many were washed away. Those that remained were keeping out of the water and preparing themselves for urban combat. Several of the groups of IN soldiers were veterans, and they began setting up traps to slow any enemy advance. Use of vehicles would be tough, and they could only hope for some inflatable boats to be sent forward.

//OOC: The river fight will be cool, will post info about the killing of Easdale tomorrow.//

Savaron River front, NMS

The two River Divisions prepared to cross over when the Sainamans began their attack. Four additional divisions prepared to cross over to secure and expand any beachheads established.

A brigade of paratroopers began a landing to disrupt the IN preparations. They were assisted by a handful of helicopters which stayed behind to spot IN troops, although troops in houses were impossible to pick out.

In addition to the paratroopers, three dozen civilian speedboats equipped with light machine guns and small artillery pieces crossed over to conduct hit-and-runs on IN troops both in the open and in rapdily made shelters.

The helicopters (minus the exceptions mentioned above) returned to base to reload. Their assault would restart when the joint Sainaman-NMS attack began.

//OOC: I've had a couple weeks to think out the defense. This will be fun//

Krakk,
IN

Brandt was standing atop a podium in the central square, addressing the nation. His face was a mask of grim determination, but he spoke clearly and fluently to the huge crowd.

"Today has been tragic. Earlier our mighty leader was murdered callously by those NMS scumbags. One of their number got into our leader's office, and shot him dead. He had inside help with this, but we have apprehended those responsible and they are now spilling their guts in the Ministry of Pain. The assassin himself was injured as he fled the scene like a coward, and we are hunting him as we speak. One minute's silence for Easdale."

The crowd fell silent as they all adhered to Brandt's order. Brandt just used the time to think about what to say next. Delta Seven stood off to one side scanning the crowd. Once the minute was up Brandt continued.

"I think that you will all agree that in these troubled times we will need a replacement leader quickly, someone who can run the country, someone who can make the right descisions. I believe that the person most suited is a certain military genius, I give you Alexi Kersebleptos!"

The crowd was stunned, they knew nothing about this man proclaimed as their leader. That would change in a few days after the press was fed stories of his acheivements, but now they had no clue. Slowly they began to clap, welcoming Kersebleptos as their new leader. Brandt smiled, now he had ultimate power over IN, Alexi was nothing more than a puppet, designed to attract attention away from where the real power lay.

Savaron River front,
NMS

The IN soldiers were hard-pushed by the NMS attacks, it seemed as if NMS had numerical superiority in almost every aspect. The sudden intervention of SAVX forces did not help either, but gradualy as strategy began to emerge. The IN soldiers would hole up in buildings, firing from the windows with SMG's and rifles. Grenades attached to tripwires and placed in glass bottles blocked up doors and windows. Sandbags were stacked up to support walls, and to protect occupants from fragments of metal. Lack of AA fire was a problem, but the reinforcements trickling through brought many supplies with them. The enemy speedboats were a pain, but hastily contructed molotov cocktails drove the wooden contructions away. The NMS paratroopers were a threat, but because of the nature of the terrain they were retricted to landing in certain areas and hence could be contained to a degree.

//OOC: I like urban fights, and the twist with the water makes it much better.//

OOC: Good luck with dealing with my nation's urban warfare strategy (the one that doesn't involve chemicals). ;) I'm sure you'll find a way.

IC:

Savaron River front,
NMS

Now it was Lindsey Malsway's turn to run things. The Atomic Angels served their main purpose back at the air base. This battle was already underway, and their fast-hitting tactics wouldn't be as useful in an underway urban battle. For now, they would play the support role when called for.

While the NMS soldiers dealt with the downtown portion of the city on the other side of the river, Malsway directed her forces to clear the suburbs on this side. Attacking the first and foremost positions was strike force commander Captain Earl Mallus. Leading his five hundred soldiers, he met the suburban sprawl head-on. There was some mild flooding, but as history has proven, that means nothing to fire; and Mallus was in a mood for some cleansing fire.

OOC: That's all for now...totally brain-dead. Today's been exhausting.

Drakkensburg City, Drakkensburg
18th September

-Rejean-

Brandt was sitting at the head of a large, ornate wooden table in the meeting room. He was wearing a suit, as was everyone in the room. Delta Seven sat on his right hand side and his suit bulged in several places suspiciously. Wulfila sat on Brandt's left, with two empty seats marked 'S' and 'T' next to him. At the end of the table Gamma and Rejean sat. Rejean looked frightened to be here, and still be living, but there was no agression on the part of anyone else. Brandt stood and spoke to the assembled people.

"My friends, let us welcome Mr. Rejean, who is acting as ambassador for NMS. Do not worry Mr. le Guiscard, no-one here wants to hurt you."

Rejean smiled nervously, and glanced at Delta. Brandt continued.

"The people here are member's of Cobra, a secret covert operations unit that works under my supervision to ensure the safety of IN. They are above the law, they are the best. We have a proposal for NMS, as it has become clear that this war is no longer protecting IN. I brought Easdale to power, protected him when Stallif was plotting to kill him, I engineered the destruction of the only foreign force that could hurt him... but Easdale did not listen to reason, he demanded more, he demanded war. And now I have put a stop to his crazy ambitions. Kersebleptos is in charge, but only in name. I have the real power. The war must end, but I see no immediate way to do this. The SAVX hounds are baying for blood, and they will not stop until they have appeased their hunger. Therefore I propose the following deal with NMS..."

"Why do you think we would say yes to a deal?" Rejean interrupted. Brandt looked at him and replied:

"Because, if you don't..." Brandt paused suddenly, and held his finger to his ear, pressing the earpiece in tighter.

"Rejean, this meeting is over for now, we will meet again tomorrow, I'll have someone let you know the time and venue. Leave via the back door."

Rejean stood and left quickly, he could sense something was about to happen. As he trotted down the back stairs he heard shouts from inside the building. He sped up.

-Minister Vuri-

"Go team!"

The two squads of heavily armed Ministers charged the front doors of the hotel. They were dressed in heavy black armour, with covered faces. They kicked down the doors and fanned out, shouting orders as they did so.

"Which floor?" Queried Minister Vuri.

"Six, top floor!"

The squads split, one dashing up the front stairway and lift, the other taking the back entrance. They missed Rejean sprinting down. As team Alpha ascended the front stairwell Vuri shouted encouragement. Suddenly the window in the wall burst, and one of the Ministers was thrown backwards over the rail, slamming into the cold steps two floors below.

"SNIPER!"

-Tiger-

Tiger had been absent from the meeting, but had listened in via headphones. He was watching the hotel from a building across the road, and had warned Brandt about the Ministry troops. Now he pointed his rifle at the window in the stairwell and waited. As soon as he saw a flash of black he pulled the trigger. The bullet struck it's mark and Tiger quickly pulled back behind the cover of a wall. One down, nineteen to go.

He waited a couple of seconds before leaning across and scanning the hotel again. He threw down the rifle and picked up a small RPG launcher. He pointed it at the next window and fired. The rocket roared out and impacted against the side of the hotel. Tiger smiled, and dropped the smoking weapon. He heard a metallic click behind him and a cold voice.

"That's right, drop the weapon."

-Minister Vuri-

The rocket attack was a surprise, and had left another three of his team dead, with two more wounded. Over his headset he heard that team Beta was having less problems. Their commander was just readying his squad to perform a tactical assault on the door when he heard a shout over the mic, followed by an explosion. The building shook, more than it had after the rocket attack.

"Shit! Everyone, get to the top pronto!" Vuri hoped that his man would find that sniper.

-Wulfila-

Wulfila had been asked to protect Brandt, and he and Gamma had done their bit. Hiding by the door from the stairs they wired up a tripwire. As soon as those Ministry troops came through the door they were met with the full force of the explosion. Wulfila and Gamma lept into the settling smoke and started to dispatch survivors with their armour piercing revolvers.

-Tiger-

Tiger stood stock still, and thought to himself. Not again. This time he did not have the services of a backup squad to protect him.

"Turn around slowly, keeping your hands in the air."

Tiger turned slowly. He saw a Minister pointing a rifle at him out of the corner of his eye. He also saw a pistol poke around the corner of the door. The pistol coughed quietly, and the Minister slumped. Tiger continued to stand still until his saviour revealed himself. It was Rejean.

"Rejean? Thanks."

"Huh, how do you know my name?"

"I am a Cobra. I was guarding the meeting. How did you know I was here?"

"Oh, right, I saw a muzzleflash from the window and though someone was shooting at Brandt. I wanted to see if I could stop you."

Tiger laughed. "You are the second person to have saved me when I have been snuck up on by an enemy. My deepest thanks, consider myself ingratiated to you."

-Delta Seven-

Delta had been tasked with finishing off the Ministry troops while Brandt hid in his office. Brandt was the head, and nothing could be allowed to hurt the head. So Delta had waited in ambush, cradling an old S-80 'Kov' II. The Kov was cheap, but up close it hit hard. Delta waited until the ministers rushed past his hiding place then stepped out and fired in full auto. In under three seconds the thirty round clip had been expended, and there now lay several Ministers on the floor, bleeding badly. Their armour hadn't helped at all. One was still groaning. Delta reloaded and turned him over. It was Minister Vuri.

"You have no authority here." Delta spat.

-Minister Vuri-

Vuri looked up at the demon above him, and coughed blood.

"You killed Easdale."

The demon looked down at him with a cold unremorseful stare.

"And you didn't."

The demon pulled the trigger, ending Minister Vuri's life in a hail of bullets.

OOC: Ooh! Very nice.

Outside of a Small Town
Eastern Border, IN

The Toxin Corps had a simple directive: the town was said to be home to a garrison of IN soldiers. They were part of the forces that the Inquisition had said would probably attack SAVX if such open war ever broke out at its borders. Der Führer also had a bone to pick, and this was the perfect way to do it.

While the Toxin Corps' personal preference of attack would have been to simply bombard the town with chemical munitions and then attack in the midst of the deadly mist, Master General Irving Ramel's orders had been clear: covert operation. That was why there were only three squads deployed to the region. Under cover of a moonless night, they made their way to the creek that fed the town its water. This night would be used as another test run for the still-experimental necrothermus fungae, or Shadow Carpet fungus.

Moving slowly along the creek at their designated areas of contamination, the three squads placed down remote-controlled incendiary fungal-spread explosives. The canisters were twice the size of a gallon of milk each and were loaded with phosphorous and Shadow Carpet spores. Once the fungus began to grow along the creek, it would secrete the necrotizing agent Aurix-221. The agent was less of just a chemical and more of a mixture of chemical toxin and a specialized enzyme that could break down almost any biological molecule. How exactly the fungus produced this without harming itself was still being studied, but the results proved themselves: few substances were deadlier.

Once the placement was complete, the squads left. Traveling for a few miles, they met back up with their APCs and drove back to a gray zone between IN and SAVX. Once at this safe location, the detonator was triggered.

All along the creek banks, the canisters exploded. White phosphorous flames spewed into the air along with the microscopic spores, triggering the deadly mechanisms.

The surrounded flora burned for the next few hours as IN firefighters attempted to put it out. They finally managed to after much gruelling effort, but, unbeknownst to them, the damage was already done. They didn't notice the short, fuzzy, black mat of Shadow Carpet beginning to form all around the creek. Nobody would until about a week an a half later when the death of nearly everybody in the town was being investigated.

OOC: And off to class I go. I'll post the NMS stuff later.

//OOC: Thanks, I was just experimenting with RP really. And you go to class at 7:14 PM! lol. SAVX, you have so much cool tech I'm gonna have to steal (buy) after this RP.//

OOC: Comp is back online. Post coming shortly!

Rejean stood with Tiger for a moment, neither of them quite sure where to go next.

"Aren't these supposed to be Brandt's personal bastards?" asked Rejean. "Who's pulling their strings this time?"

Tiger thought for a bit before replying. "Kerlebleptos might be feeling his oats. Easdale might have some buddies high up in the chain of command. Someone wants Brandt's job. Any combinations of these."

The sound of gunfire from upstairs interrupted their debate. Rejean followed Tiger from the room towards the stairs. They climbed up in total silence. When they got to the landing Rejean stuck a mirror out through the door to see what was around the corner. It was shattered by a bullet. "You IDIOT!" a voice shouted from down the hall.

Tiger signaled to Rejean to follow him.

OOC: Where do you live, IN? The UK?

Savaron River front,
NMS

Mallus had a simple plan: flame guns. Using a fairly common SAVX tactic, his men would set garrisoned buildings and cover on fire, killing and rooting out enemy soldiers to be more easily dealt with by conventional means. While this left considerable collateral damage, that was of little concern to an SAVX commander, especially a fanatical Sainaman one. Mallus would also make good use of C4 grenades. Why more nations didn't use them, SAVX commanders weren't sure. In such settings, the sheer explosive power offered by the relatively bulky grenades was enough to level a small house if placed right. In more realistic situations, it still did tremendous damage, and it was what the Sainamans would use.

SAVX tactics and technologies were oftentimes made more for the purpose of denying an enemy effective cover than anything else. In a setting of suburban combat, where the potential cover was weak and easily destroyed, these tactics were easily performed by the average soldier without much support from vehicles with large weapons. With tripod-based autocannons, walls could be chewed through in no time, whereupon shrapnel from the small explosive rounds was often sufficient to cause the personnel damage needed.

This situation was no different, and Mallus intended to fight it as such.

The IN soldiers put up a better fight, however, than most enemies. With their booby-traps, the going was treacherous, and more lives were lost than usual. However, Mallus was confident that he and his fellow Brother Commanders would pull of this battle and add another notch of victory to Malsway's armor.

OOC: Yeah, I know you are a Yank. You can tell I'm a Brit because I can spell Armour, Aluminium and Sulpher correctly (but not Neighbours, doh!).

Drakkensburg City, Drakkensburg
18th September

-Tiger-

Tiger quickly stepped back from the shooting, and Rejean followed. They crept down the corridor, watching to see if they were being followed. When they were further away Tiger called Delta Seven over the radio.

"Hey, we are in the building and are being fired upon."

"I'll help you out, which floor?"

"Five."

"I'll be there in a moment, distract them."

Tiger sighed and put the radio away. Distract them, how typical. He pulled out his revolver and looked at Rejean, before quickly disarming him and dragging him back toward the gunfire.

"Don't worry," he whispered. As they rounded the corner Tiger shouted out at the Ministry troops firing up the stairs. Several Ministry troops lay dead, but Tiger could not see anyone dead up the stairs. Must be Wulfila and Gamma.

"Hey, I caught this little fucker trying to escape."

"Good work, but who are you?" The Ministers looked over at him suspiciously, and a couple raised their rifles.

"Uh..."

The lift pinged, and the doors slid open. Delta Seven stood there, blood spattered over his suit. In his hands was the Kov-II, it was reloaded and pointed at the Ministers from the hips. The Ministers turned, but too late. Delta was already firing the rifle, bullets spraying out as he roared in anger.

"DIE FUCKERS!"

A couple of Ministers fired back, and bullets thudded into Delta. He kept firing until he ran out of ammunition. Tiger and Rejean were left unhurt lying face down on the floor, and now Tiger jumped up and started shooting groaning and spluttering Ministers. Rejean stood up and shook Delta's hand.

"Thanks..."

Delta looked at him, "No problem." Delta opened his shirt exposing a flak vest. He pulled that off to show several bullet marks in his skin. One was bleeding so he tore a section of his shirt off and bandaged it. He then replaced the armoured vest.

Savaron River front,
NMS

The fight against SAVX forces was hard, with substantial losses. But the IN troops still had the advantage of numbers and a recovering supply situation. Furthermore, the number of aircaft in the region increased every day, with VA-3D bombers dropping napalm+ almost hourly on the SAVX positions. Fire would hinder the Sainaman troops as well. The city was still waterlogged, so no heavy armour could be brought in save for relatively light amphibious vehicles.

The Ocean West of Ohia Island

The return missiles fired from the IN fighters that survived the first wave completely destroyed one F-22, the pilot not having time to use his ejection seat before he and his plane were destroyed. Another fared better, managing to loose its persuing missiles by diving and spraying out clouds of chaff which, surprisingly, drew them off. The third fared little better than the first, a missile causing severe damage to its left wing as the pilot struggled to maintain control and bring his craft back towards the carrier. He would attempt to make it as near as possible before bailing out, hopefully to be picked up by the escorts that surrounded their protectee's.


Meanwhile the remaining aircraft moved slightly further. They were hoping to tempt the IN fighters out of their Island base into a hail storm of long range AAM-3 missiles. Essentially a development of the AIM-54C Pheonix, the James Corp. missile had a range of 150miles and would climb to nearly 90,000 feet before tipping over in a ballistic arc and heading towards its prey at Mach 5.2, their launchers used up so no tell-tale smoke trail was left. Against drones they had a 78% kill ratio, but drones didnt maneuver as much as fighters would. Nor did drones shoot missiles back.


For the while the ships that the fighters were protecting left their SAM radars in standby mode, but the outer ASW pickets began hammering the water around them with their active sonars and sonar bouys dropped from carrier-bourne S-3's. They were looking for any submarines that may have leaked through, or around, the advance SSN line that was infront of the carriers. So far they had detected nothing, but that didnt mean nothing was out there. With a base such as Ohia it was unlikely that IN would leave no naval assets to guard it, even with the Imperial Fleets busy steaming along in TKOTM sea.


As the long range radar on the Hawkeye's peered towards the coastline waiting for enemy fighters to appear, the whole lined moved slightly towards it so they were nearly 100km clear of the carriers. Hopefully far enough out to intercept any fighters, and then let ship-bourne SAM's pluck any leakers out of the sky without endangering IH aircraft. The collection of F-22's and F/A-18s would begin firing their AAM-3's at aircraft when the reached 150miles, the missiles would be guided in by the Hawkeye's radar signals so the enemy shouldn't know that death was coming.

Savaron River front,
NMS

The airstrikes were getting to be too much. Without sufficient air defenses, the Sainaman forces were at the mercy of the IN air force. They needed help, and as great as their pride was, they knew that they would have to call for the SAVX military. Malsway took it upon herself to do so, knowing that this battle was primarily her responsibility. Her fellow High Priests were busy running their own battles: Gorish was shelling the hell out of everything that he could, limited in his vehicle tactics with the water; Gasis was preparing for an assault that would allow the NMS and Sainaman forces to link up; and Leon was tasked with taking his forces across the river to aid the NMS soldiers.

Anti-air weaponry was far too limited, especially in terms of technologies capable of bringing down the bombers that IN was employing. The Sainamans needed the more powerful, longer-range weapons that the SAVX military used. Setting up a medium-range communications link in her command tent, Malsway attempted to obtain a transmission with Master General Irving Ramel.

It took a few minutes for security clearances and for Ramel to actually answer, but Malsway was patient. Somewhere in the distance outside of her tent, he heard the shriek of a bomb, followed by the crump of a napalm warhead going off.

"High Priestess Lindsey Malsway?"

"Yes, Lord General. Hail!"

"Uh, yeah. What do you want?"

"Our forces, in Der Heilige Führer's glorious name, have assaulted the border of NMS."

"We're aware."

"The IN devils have air power that we cannot match. We need your help against them, Lord."

There was a sigh on the line, and a pause. Malsway could hear rustling in the background and some beeps and clicks.

"Alright, we can help you. We'll deploy a strike force from the 2nd Armored Battalion. They'll have Buzzer VXTTPs and Gattling Tanks. They'll know how to address the enemy properly."

"We are forever in your debt, my Lord."

"We'll see. That all?"

"We could use fresh supplies. Our Sainaman lines are working as well as they can, but our depots are limited."

"Easily done."

The transmission closed, and Malsway left her tent with a fresh enthusiasm. "Those scum are in for a surprise," she thought.


Southern Seas
SAVX

The command had come. Fighting had broken out between IH and IN, and the deployed long-range combat group would, in a limited fashion, engage portions of the IN fleet. With Hookworm Missiles* and massive railguns, as well as numerous anti-air and anti-missile defense systems, the SAVX ships would have the complete advantage at first. However, when the fighting got close, if it ever did, then reinforcements would arrive to aid the SAVX long-range combat group.

At the group's captain's command, the ships opened fire. The IN ships were barely visible, so far away they were. Now the second front had opened.


Former IFLA Terrorist Base
Northern Cikae Isle, IN

Finding another officer, Kharne once more obtained contact with his elusive benefactor. The shadiness still bugged him, but he let it go as much as he could.

"The task is done. What else is there?"


*OOC: I figure the Hookworm missile should get some explanation...alright...now, I'm really bad with naval stuff, so if something seems a little wrong, tell me so I can change how it works.

The Hookworm missile is a combination of missile and torpedo. It has five basic parts. The first is the missile propulsion system. The distance to the target is electronically calculated and transmitted to the missile before it fires. The missile travels about 2-3m above the water, keeping it below lines of most anti-missile systems, as well to an extent as some radar systems.

Once it gets fairly close to the ship, the missle part breaks off and the weapon drops into the water. Here, a torpedo projectile system drives it in a parabolic fashion to the ship (as in, it goes down, then up).

Once it hits the ship's hull (pressure-based trigger), there is a three-part detonation. First, a powerful shaped charge on the front goes off to tear a hole through the hull. Then, less than a millisecond afterwards, a rear-based charge goes off, further adding to destructive damage a bit. However, the primary purpose is to propel a DU slug into the damaged section (it provides MUCH more propelling force for the slug than the shaped charge does against it). It's able to tear through some extent of unpierced armor or anything else that's blocking its path. Then, a charge embedded within that goes off based on a split-second timer. It's usually within ship, or at least somewhere embedded within the hull, so this final explosion is sufficient to cause massive damage to the affected area.

NMS High Command, Ile-Blizard AFB, New Montreal

"Sir?"

"...IN's still doing well on supplies."

"And our bombings?"

"Zilch, apparently."

"Didn't work?"

"Nope."

"What now?"

"Missile strikes on depots and supply routes like. Precision bombings on ditto. Capture of depots and destruction of routes and vehicules increased in priority."

"And the casualties?"

"What would you expect in house-to-house fighting against an enemy with superior numbers and technology?"

"Right. What are we going to do about it?"

"Augment our support with helecopters, White Ranger Teams and gunboats. Other than that, not much we can do."

"Roger. And the air?"

"Not much we can do there either, except to keep IN off our own butts. SAVX probably has something really nice up their sleeves anyway."

Drakkensburg City

"So where do we go from here?" asked Rejean. "And what do we do when we get there?"

"Well," said Tiger, "are the bastards all dead?"

"As far as I can tell," said Delta. "We need to go find Brandt, take him to safety, maybe resume our meeting if he feels like it."

They tracked down Brandt. He was, as far as they could tell, uninjured.

"I have a lot to do today," said Brandt. "Delta, I want you with me, just in case there's a second wave somewhere. Tiger, you're going to play errand boy, pretty much every order I'm going to be sending today needs to be hand delivered by someone with enough clearance. Rejean, what's about to happen is something that I'd rather not have members of an enemy power around to see. Do you have a place to stay that's not your hotel?"

Rejean nodded.

"Good, go there. Be here at this time tomorrow."

He turned and left.

///OOC: Good, I see that I will have a lot of RP to do later. As for your Hookworm missiles, the only bad points that I can think of is that the missile will be really heavy and huge. This will be because it will have to have two propulsion systems, two guidance systems, two fuel tanks, two warheads (three counting the slug). Also, the slug will have to be large because it needs a lot of KE to punch far into the ship's hull through water and to have an sufficient explosive core to do damage. These factors will mean that the missiles would be very slow and show up easily on radar. I'll hold off replying to the missile strike until I know if my analysis is Ok.

IH, how far are your ships from my coast?//

OOC: That's what I was worried about...the radar bit, I mean. I saw the weight issue. Alright...hmm...back to the drawing board. Perhaps...ok, tell me what you think of this.

About the same size (except now we call it a cruise missile and treat it as such), but no torpedo section and no slug. Just missile propulsion (with some more power to it), but a bigger warhead. The warhead works in the same fashion: the shaped charge goes off to punch a hole, but it's a bit more powerful to pierce further. It also targets further up on the ship's hull at thinner areas, instead of the bottom. Then, instead of the slug and the torpedo system, there's a crapload of thermite/magnesium packed in. The rear charge works in the same fashion, except now it sprays this material everywhere. Bearing in mind that the point of the first charge is to punch through the hull, most of the thermite should be spewed inside of the ship, where it can cause much more damage (depending on where the missile hits).

Also bear in mind the railguns in your response. They're pretty damaging themselves, what with punching holes in things. :)

OOC: IN at last count they were 450km. With a standing Air Patrol at 300km out that has a missile envelope to 150km out. SAM equipped ships have an envelope of about 30-45km from the ships.

Ohia Island

The IH plan was working to some extent, with a few of the IN fighter's being lured out into a fight. They had been ordered to conduct an attack on the enemy fleet, a first strike. As such, they were not expected to survive, but to inflict as much damage as possible. Several previous experiences fighting against IH and other fleets had improved IN military doctrine, no longer would they mount a suicide charge. Instead they would use cunning, and tactics.

Two groups of aircraft set out, twelve in each group. One dived and skimmed along just above the waves at over mach 1. The other group flew high into the air and advanced, hoping to distract the IH fleet's radar. The planes carried two Hex-X missiles each, as well as several AAM's.

Southern Seas
SAVX

The SAVX attack was a small surprise, as the huge IN fleet had not expected to be engaged from that direction. It shifted it's position, and began to send waves of aircraft streaking towards the SAVX fleet. As SAVX railguns and Hookworm missiles ripped holes in ships, the exemplary Hex-X missile was fired back. The IN fleet's attack ships started to move closer, trying to bring their many massed ranks of WaveSkua missiles in range. All the while the SAVX ships continued their long range pounding of the IN fleet, the deadly hookworm missiles stretching the sailors to their limits as they tried to put out the furious fires.

Former IFLA Terrorist Base
Northern Cikae Isle, IN

"Do you know about Wavebreaker Isle? It is a small island to the north of your position, it has long been an IN naval base. It's destruction would weaken the naval prowess of IN further, as well as leave a hole in the defensive ring of Cikae."

Goldan
Eastern Border, IN

The extermination of the townsfolk had been complete, the town was now a ghostly relic of it's former glory. Men in Haz-Mat suits were carefully investigating the area, and moving dead bodies to the central square where they would be burnt. The authorities had reacted in a very strict manner, shooting dead anyone who tried to escape the town. The infection would be contained, with only a couple of thousand deaths.

//OOC: NMS, supply is a problem, hence why my huge army is being brought to a standstill by you and a small(ish) contingent of SAVX troops.

The Sea West of Ohia


On the E-2CI Hawk Four one of the controllers noticed the blips appearing on the radar with satisfaction. He traced his finger across his screen as he counted them.

Only twelve?Perhaps they lacked the stomach for the fight? More likely it was a scouting force sent to ensure the position of the task force.

The thought flashed through the operators mind for a split second and then he returned to his job, vectoring fighters in on the new contacts. The contacts were at a range of 180miles from the nearest IH fighters, and these were the ones that he keyed his microphone frequency to.

" Pirate Lead, Hawk Four,You have Multiple Bandits bearing 0-9-0 do you copy over?"

"Hawk Four, Pirate Lead, We copy over. We have them on our screens and are moving to engage now."


The pilot in that F-22S, Commander Peterson of the 329th "Skull and Crossbones" Naval Fighter Squadron advanced his throttle controls along with the other eleven aircraft and they closed the range to the targets to within their missile envelope as he glanced at the display between his legs that showed the same screen as the AWAC's operator had, the data being crosslinked from that same aircraft.

On command the F-22S's each launched a pair of AAM-3's at a distance of 148miles towards the incoming IN aircraft. The missiles rocket boosters wrecked the pilots nighvision as they powered off into the nights sky, now taking their information from the Hawkeye as the fighters had not yet turned on their own targetting radars.

They were fire-and-forget missiles, and so the IH fighters banked quickly and returned to their place in the fighter screen put up between the Island and the Carriers awaiting the results of their missiles which would come soon enough.


Those missiles had now travelled up to their terminal altitude and tipped over, the seeker heads in each comparing their position on the GPS with that of the target being broadcast to them from the Hawkeye. Soon after tip over the rocket engines went dead, and the missile bore in towards the hopefullly oblivious enemy fighters.


IHS Fearsome

Admiral Daley felt the carrier take a hard turn to port and the slight shudder as the engines worked her towards flank speed. The action came because the ASW commander on the destroyer IHS Martin had caught a sniff of a possible submerged contact within the IH outer sonar picket, and so all capital ships had taken to large evasive maneuvers in the hope of messing up and firing solutions that the possible contact may have.

Whilst they did that several SH-60's from the escort ships prosecuted the possible with the help of a carrier-bourne S-3.


Meanwhile the SAM commander on the Battleship Hawk had requested permission to light up the air-search radars on the two outer picket ships closest to the island's to supplement the E-2CI's. The request was granted by the Admiral as soon as the first AA missiles were fired by the fighters.


OOC: IN, ive read about the VA-4, and I dont recall it having any stealthing technology? Please correct me if Im wrong on that count and I will modify this post.

Former IFLA Terrorist Base
Northern Cikae Isle, IN

Kharne nodded to himself.

"I'll see what can be done."

Returning the phone to the officer he got it from, Kharne proceeded to round up his Death Troopers again. This time, they needed to think out a new plan. With their previous attack in mind, Kharne knew that they needed a new plan. This time, they couldn't charge in and expect to be able to get away with it. Numerous ideas ran through Kharne's mind while he waited for his Troopers to arrive at the designated meeting spot, but most of them were impractible.

The small patch of open ground in the forest surrounding the resistance base was barely enough for all of the Troopers to fit into. However, they did manage to squeeze together to get a clear view of their commander.

"We're going to attack another naval position. I'm thinking of a way to do it."

The Troopers waited without comment. Patience was such a strong suit of the Death Troopers that they didn't even have a notion of it: it was just part of their being.

Kharne flipped through a few more ideas, then narrowed down the few that appealed to him. One in particular stood out, and he decided they would go with it.

"We're going to hijack a ship. Wraith Squad, you'll be using rocket packs to get onboard. Then you'll lower down ladders. All of you will start constructing the ladders; you know how they need to be made."

With the 450 or more pound weight that the armored Death Troopers had, specially-designed ladders were required to be able to hold them without breaking.

While the Death Squads broke off to begin preparing the necessary materials, Kharne hunted down a group of People officers. He needed to find out where and when a basic IN ship could be found: perhaps one on patrol somewhere in the surrounding seas.

Facing the group of officers he rounded up, his helmet covering his disfigured face, he spoke in the cold, harsh, deep, metallic voice that all of the Death Troopers shared through the helmet local-address communications filter.

"I want to find a ship. Something alone. Something small. Tell me where one is."


Southern Seas
SAVX

The IN retaliatory strikes did damage, at least in terms of what got through the advanced anti-missile systems. SAVX prided itself on its anti-missile systems, which it relied on to make up for a general lack of heavy armor. Numerous Wormnest Destroyers suffered tremendous damage, but managed to keep going while the crews worked to fix the damage to the best of their abilities.

The captain followed General Ming's orders to the word: the moment that the IN ships began to pursue, the SAVX attack group turned full throttle, heading back towards the Phala Islands. They knew that they wouldn't be able to outrun the faster IN ships forever, but that was part of the plan: in theory, they wouldn't need to. Once the portion of the IN fleet pursuing them broke off far enough, the infamous Liquid Defense Net would be activated, and nothing short of a full fleet stood a chance against such power. The SAVX ideology was to pour so much air power and shore-based firepower into enemy fleets that almost nothing could survive before getting a chance to do real damage.

For now, however, the engagement would be fought on the attack group's own abilities. AEDS[Air Engagement Defense System]-II Cruisers used advanced computers to begin targeting and tracking the IN retaliatory air strikes. With a multitude of Buzzer and Buzzer-B missile launchers and Gattling Cannons at the ready, the AEDS-IIs were ready to tackle any enemy in the sky.

Meanwhile, relatively fast and small Skyfire-Class Missile Frigates would hang back in the rear of the retreat. When the fastest IN ships got into range, they would launch salvor upon salvo of Satan Missiles at the ships, turning them into napalm-based ovens.

Once under the LDN, anti-ship Water Moccasin bombers would strike from the shore-based airfields, dropping varieties of munitions including Thermite bombs, Puncher bombs, and torpedoes. Enemy aircraft would be engaged by Rattlesnake squadrons and shored-based long-range AA systems. Shore-based railgun systems would also engage the enemy ships, and if the IN splinter fleet somehow got close enough, the Hookworm batteries would open fire.

Failing all else, General Ming had his medium-sized submarine fleet at the ready. With a combination of powerful conventional IRBMs and torpedoes, they could make short work of any trouble in conjunction with the LSD. However, just to be safe, Ming had the IRBM missile submarines launch their heavy conventional missiles at the general location of the splinter fleet. While the direct blasts would be limited to seriously damaging one ship per missile, the shockwaves would be enough to get the waves moving and cause most of the medium-light-weight ships to rock. Any holes already in the hulls would be filled with fresh sea water, only helping the anguish this attack was performing.

Fishing, Ming called it.


OOC: And I'll add more on the NMS stuff later tonight.

Savaron River front,
NMS

Ramel had kept true to his word. The battle-weary Sainamans greeted the arrival of the fresh, professional SAVX soldiers with great fervor and praise. The SAVX took the praise in full, but they didn't bask in it for too long; there was still a job to be done.

The Marines set up rapidly, deploying their AA vehicles in a manner spread out to defend key areas against the IN air raids. Small groups were deployed to areas further into the suburbs where the fighting was still active. The Gattling Tanks were also extremely effective in battling the infantry holed up in the buildings. With their 25mm cannon rounds firing at insane rates, cover could easily be chewed apart or at least jack-hammered through. With a nearly-continuous stream of fire, suppression and mowing were easy tasks, giving the Sainaman soldiers a little more leeway.

The water was little trouble for the light tanks; they were built to be semi-amphibious, so a low level of water was nothing to them. Under cover of roaming squads of Sainamans, they were well-protected from light anti-tank weaponry.

Ramel had sent a surprise with the reinforcements: a Hotspot Stryker attack. Nobody was prepared for it, making it all the more devastating and, for the Sainamans, welcome. Half an hour after the reinforcements had deployed, the squadron zipped out of nowhere, flying low over the city and the river. Just before the river, they unleashed their payloads. A carpet of time-detonated medium napalm bombs coated portions of the suburbs and the city in raging flames. Some of the bombs detonated over the river, where the floating puddles of burning napalm were able to carry the fire to otherwise untouched portions of the city. In classic SAVX fashion, a great portion of the battlefield had been turned into a firestorm.

As another wave of IN aircraft came to continue the pulverization of the Sainaman forces, the VXTTPs unleashed their Buzzer missiles, giving the enemies a big surprise.

OOC: I suppose, with all this mention of Buzzer missiles, I should quickly explain them. The Buzzer (standard) and its "sibling" missiles are all vehicle or emplacement-fired missiles (except Shock Troopers and Death Troopers who have specialized shoulder-launchers). It is comparable to the Stinger, with the exceptions that, 1: it is slightly more accurate (about 70%+ as opposed to 60%+), and 2: it's a bit larger to accommodate greater fuel capacity, giving it enough range to combat most fighters and bombers at moderate distance. The Buzzer-B is a long-range version which has the range to effectively combat almost any aircraft, though it's a bit slower. Unmentioned is the Buzzer-C, the super-long-range version, which can cover enough distance to tackle most high-altitude aircraft. The Buzzer-2 series of these (standard and C only) are anti-missile missiles as opposed to anti-aircraft.

Savaron River front, NMS

Teams of White Rangers had shown up on the scenes and were using lasers to guide artillery and air strikes on key IN strongpoints. Casualties had been heavy, but were starting to taper down as the Rangers methodically blew up every house a bullet was fired from, while other troops took out stragglers or fugitives.

The 1st and 2nd River Divisions having effectively been reduced to smaller fragments, a second crossing was begun with four additional divisions to support the renewed SAVX attack.

Guerillas, having gathered over the previous days of battle, were now conducting hit-and-runs all along the IN rear, with supply lines and depots again the main targets. NMS command was aiming for a complete logistical shutdown of IN forces within the next 72 hours.

//OOC: IH, you are right, no stealth systems other than the shape of the plane (not really effective).

Ohia Island

The twelve distraction fighters continued to power forward, hoping to get within 200km of the fleet so they could fire their Hex-X missiles. They were oblivious to the missiles dropping down to greet them, as the AWAC's were destroyed and the Ohia island stations under attack by waves of tomahawk missiles. The island's radar stations had mainly survived, but quite a number of AA sites had been hit, and only now were the radar stations slowly switching back on. The airfields, command centres and military bases had all been hit, but the sheer size of the island meant that there were no gaping weaknesses... yet.

The other twelve fighters continued to keep low. Their only chance of success was to get into range and suddenly pull up into the air, gaining enough altitude before enemy AA missiles reached them to fire th Hex-X.

Former IFLA Terrorist Base
Northern Cikae Isle, IN

"Hm, boats usually don't travel alone, but I could lure one out. I will have some of my people make a distraction."

"How do you mean?"

"A staged raid on a local port, followed by a naval getaway. Those government fools will try to give chase in one of their faster ships. I will have my people lead them close to shore, and then you can strike with your troops. Have your men hide in the trees by the beach, I will send the co-ordinates when I have them. The boat will come too close and hopefully get stuck on a sandbank. You can then rush out across the bank and hijack the boat. I am sure you can find a way to free the boat..."

Southern Seas
SAVX

The cowardly SAVX fleet was fleeing from the superior IN force, retreating at full throttle back to it's bases. The splinter of the IN force continued chasing it away from the more important main fleet, enduring the burning napalm fires that cooked alive anyone on deck. They had a final secret weapon to unleash against the SAVX horde, one of the remaining 'Divine Fire' bombs. When all was ready it would be dropped, hopefully killing a large portion of the SAVX fleet or wiping inhabitants off the Phala islands of SAVX. The fleet continued to pursue, sending small waves of IN fighters to unleash more Hex-X missiles at the enemy. If the fleet could get to within 200km of the enemy, they would be really able to hurt them.

The IRBM attack took the IN splinter fleet by surprise, no-one expected such an innacurate and seemingly last ditch attack. The waves generated splashed up and dispersed some of the searing napalm for a short while, but at the price of flooding more of the compartments. One IRBM directly struck one of the frigates, blowing huge hole that nearly split the ship in half. The ship floundered, water gushing into it, sailors clambering to safety as the ship began to snap and sink.

Savaron River front, NMS

The fight was not going well for the IN soldiers, they were suffering from a lack of heavy support and had to rely on makeshift anti-armour techniques to fight the strengthening SAVX forces. Grenades had become sacred items, and the bodies of comrades and enemy alike were stripped for ammunition and items worth keeping. Sniping grew in importance, with several soldiers becoming experts at reducing enemy morale by taking pot-shots at commanders that strayed into the open. The hellish fires were a problem, but as the city was large, and the flow of water in some parts almost non-existant many soldiers escaped by making a dash into the more suburban area's away from the river proper.

Recently, a large detachment of IN Kommando's had shown up, they said they were part of the first and only INK division in existance, sent to bolster the lines and to attempt to halt the advance of the SAVX and NMS forces. The force was not a full division however, as many soldiers had been called for other duties, but the soldiers that remained stood at around two meters tall and were loaded with advanced equipment. FLIT-3 suits were common, and they weilded SMG's and hard-hitting Kov-II rifles to punch through walls. They began to take the fight to the enemy, striking out of the darkness in black suits and fading away before heavy retaliation.

IN air power had been drastically reduced, with VA-3D pilots now having to be much more careful in their attacks to avoid the deadly hail of Buzzer missiles that roared up to great them whenever they strayed too far. The continued dogged resistance of NMS and their tactics of pounding the supply lines was beginning to pay off, as reinforcements and supplies destined for the area that had been diverted from other fronts could not get through.

Sea's West of Ohia

The operators on Hawk Four could track the missiles in as well as watching the incoming IN fighters, and watched as the latter increased their speed towards their death.

Why were they coming in dumb and blind. Surely they wouldn't just send twelve aircraft up to look for the task force. Black Steel would surely have shown how many carriers there were, and therefore they would know roughly how many aircraft would be up.

The controller found this suspicious and so he pressed the button on his console to speak with the aircraft commander, sitting behind and between the pilots.

"They are coming in dumb Sir. Permission to start a low altitude missile sweep. They have to be covering for something"

"Permission granted. I'll call in your predication to Fear Six

Whilst the operator began flicking switches and changing dials to get the massive air-search radar looking at low altitudes specifically, the aircraft commander informed the Admiral Daley in the CIC on Fearsome of his crews suspicions.
The Admiral ran a loose order routine, and the aircraft commander being his son-in-law also allowed him some lieniency in his duty. In most other commands in the IH navy the crew would have had to ask for permission before conducting such a search, and the jury was still out over which was the most efficient option.


For the time being however the large rotodome on top of the aircraft began turning and sending millions of watts of energy out towards the lower altitudes around the fighter picket line. The first three sweeps picked up nothing, however a single blip appeared then disappeared on the fourth. Could those IN planes have launched anti-shipping missiles early and then be coming in level with them? They thought it unlikely as they would need a fix on the ships first, and no anti-shipping missile had a range that long. Or did it?

A squadron of F/A-18s were sent low to be prepared to engage inbound vampires. This could even be the infamous Lucifers coming after the IH force, and the commanders were taking no chances.

Former IFLA Terrorist Base
Northern Cikae Isle, IN

Kharne nodded to himself. He grinned in anticipation of the next move of violence.

"That will do just fine. Bring it in as soon as you can."

Hanging up the phone, Kharne made a fist and tightened as hard as he could, cracking his joints. If it weren't for governmental cover-ups, this would be one for the textbooks.


Savaron River front, NMS

Captain Mallus ripped the head off of the IN soldier that was foolish enough to try to get close to him. His Mega Claw dripped with blood while he scanned for more enemies. His command squad was dealing with the combat well enough, but his other soldiers were having for difficulty against the Kommandos, being ill-equipped for fighting heavy soldiers.

This wasn't going to work.

Switching his com-link to full strike force broadcast, he gave the word to do something rather uncharacteristic. His gruff voice carried the disgust of a man forced to eat soiled underwear. However, there was also the slight undertone of a plan.

"Fall back! We'll regroup with the main force."

It was barely seconds before Malsway's voice ripped into his earphone.

"Fall back? What sort of cowardice is this, Mallus?"

"My Lady, the enemy has been reinforced with soldiers too strong for us to handle."

"Then fight to the death as is the code!"

"My Lady, I have an idea that would save our lives from being needlessly and uselessly cast away."

"Oh? And what is it?"

"I'll speak to you in person. I do not trust the security of our communications. These devils have far too many tricks up their sleeves."

"Aye, they do. You seem no different."

"Except I fight for good, my Lady."

"Indeed. We'll see about that."

The link died, and Mallus led his command squad out of the mired suburbs. The SAVX Marines followed suit with their Gattling Tanks, having also received the command. It wasn't on anyone's mind to stay and fight alone.


"You'd better have a good reason for this, Mallus. I ought to shoot you right now for such spinelessness."

"I would agree, my Lady, except that I think you will like what I have to suggest."

"And that is...?"

"Pound the edges of the city with artillery. That will hole them up for a while. During this time, we can set up defenses and mine the border. We'll siege the bastards and pound them until they have nothing left but dust and ashes. If they try to attack, our concentrated fire and minefields, will cut them down."

Malsway raised an eyebrow. Perhaps this captain was a little more than he seemed.

"Alright. You have permission to gather forces and do as you request. I'll send word to the other commanders. We'll have this side of the river ringed and impenetrable."

"Thank you, my Lady."

"Der Führer smiles upon you today; you should already be dead."

"I am aware."

The plan was carried out in utmost detail. While Malsway's forces set up a heavy perimeter around the suburbs, Gorish direct his artillery to begin suppressing fire around the battlefield. His other vehicles acted as rear guards and powerful aides in the Thunder Force defenses.

Gasis, meanwhile, had his Shock Troopers remain on standby, ready to rush into the fray at a moment's notice or render a counterstrike against any enemy reinforcements. However, as it seemed, those were unlikely.

Leon had his soldiers aid in the defenses set up by Malsway, further increasing the strength of the siege shield by a great degree.

In no time, barriers of temporary bunkers and reinforced foxholes were set up, minefields were laid, and razorwire was strewn about to add even more difficulty to the setting. With the defenses laid, Gorish turned his eyes inward, and his artillery followed.

"If we can't have it, no one can. Raze!"


Shores of Maximaia
SAVX

It wasn't part of Ming's plan. Ramel didn't trust Ming to produce the overkill needed: he was too reliant on glory, not on destruction. Atomic Corps Alpha was setting up shop, and it was going to produce the bang that Ming was anticipating before IN's splinter fleet had a chance to do even more damage. Ramel didn't like the idea of the enemy fleet getting so close to the Phala Islands, especially without having to traverse the mine shield.

Twenty M-243A2VX Nuclear Howitzers were lined up and ready to pummel the splinter fleet into oblivion. Ramel knew it was a mistake to let his naval officers take on the immense IN fleet themselves; his officers overestimated the naval capabilities of SAVX, which were sadly lacking compared to nations like IN and IH. SAVX's only real domination lay in its land military and, to an extent, its air capabilities.

With neutron shells armed and loaded, the ACA General stood in the forefront with the massive howitzers. The day was clear and breezy, and the clear seawater lapped at the shore with moderate waves. The sand was bright pale yellow, almost white, and the overhang he stood on was covered in prairie grasses. His dark black suit was quite a contrast to the surroundings, as were the grey and red uniforms of his soldiers. The howitzers looked most of out place: such giant hunks of painted metal, with weapons that were the epitome of human warfare and destruction certainly didn't belong in the midst of such a beautiful place.

And yet...

"Fire."

Savaron River front, NMS

"Let me get this straight. You want use to use localized EMP bursts on the battlefield, with OUR BLOODY TROOPS out there? Do you have ANY idea what this will do to our communications, armor, gear...not to mention what SAVX might turn around and start doing to US if we piss them off?"

"So call SAVX and ask nicely, dang it. Do you have any idea what's happening to our communications, armor and gear right now with that detatchment of IN Kommandos running around? I just debriefed a White Ranger with a big honking hole in his shoulder. Not a wound, a hole. He said he was with 14 other men and they ran into 5 Kommandos. He got away by faking his own death. He thinks one of the IN troops might had taken a couple dents in his armor. We need to shut them down somehow."

The sound of SAVXian artillery pounding the opposite side of the river flat interrupted them.

"All right, all right, I've heard those stories too. I'll have the artillery launch them. Should be done in 3 minutes after I give the order. What do we have for cleanup?"

"The destroyer Lennoxville was in for repairs and got sent downstream out of the fighting. We've kept her back so far, but we can sic her on them in a couple hours."

"Great. Nobody's setting foot in there until SAVX gets done. After that, we're sticking to White Rangers, speedboats and the destroyer until we're sure the Kommandos are down. Oh yeah, someone grab a copter and fly over there to act as liason with SAVX. Get someone who know the language and who doesn't get creeped out by religious fanactism."

The junior officer was already on the phone to one Marcel Vaubre, a former military attache to the NMS embassy in SAVX who was now serving his nation in battle.

Savaron River front
NMS

Malsway was busy basking in the glory of a successful siege. Nothing could survive more than a few days at best against such a hellish storm, and she was fully confident that Mellus's idea would work. Taking a moment to celebrate in a vxicist fashion, she took a swig of Vodka. The powerful drink felt good and warm as it ran down her throat.

Lindsey Malsway was a rather attractive woman. Her extremely fit, well-proportioned figure was matched by the customized form of her Power Armor. Neck-length, slick, black hair gave a stark contrast of a backdrop to her olive-colored face, complete with voluptuous lips and brilliant green eyes. As the stress of a hotly-contested battle left her features, with a little bit of help from the Vodka, they became smooth and soft.

Her armor was mostly black like her hair, with gold trim and various ribbons and medals she earned in her service to Sainama. Despite her relatively frail-looking body, she had enough hidden strength and agility to easily take out one of Gasis's best Shock Troopers in hand-to-hand combat. Her shooting skills were even more amazing, and it was said that every shot she fired from her heavy SMG found a head to remove.

Sitting on the ground in her command tent, she took another swig of the fire water. Zoning out to the soft feeling from the alcohol and the heavy beat of artillery barrages outside, Malsway began to drift into slumber. She hadn't slept more than a total of six hours in three days, and though you couldn't see it, the fatigue was taking its toll.

Then her communications box buzzed. She snapped awake, having conditioned her body to be able to fully react at a moment's notice to anything that required attention, regardless of how tired she was. Reaching out, she grabbed the phone piece from it.

"Yes?"

"Hello, Sister Malsway."

"Lord Hapmann! To what do I owe this honor?"

"To NMS, actually. I've been contacted by their embassy...it seems that they're planning to fire EMP charges at the armored demons from IN."

"That is excellent news, my Lord!"

"Yes, it is. However, they cared enough to try to give you and your Brothers enough time to clear the area. They don't want to risk hitting your own systems."

"Of course, Lord. I appreciate such notice."

"I already told them so. I know my Children well enough."

"We will begin to remove ourselves immediately. Please relay the confirmation, my Lord."

"Of course, Sister. Der Heilig Führer be with you!"

"With you as well, Lord! Hail His spirit!"

With that, the transmission was cut. Since Malsway was typically acting commander on the field, it was assumed that she was the only one Slew Hapmann needed to contact to relay orders. The word would be spread appropriately.

Putting on her helmet, she activated the battlefield-wide com-link and gave out her orders.

"Attention, glorious soldiers of His will! We will be pulling back from the battlefield so that NMS may launch a devastating strike on the bastards holed up inside the city. Move out!"

With years of training under their belts, the soldiers of Sainama, followed by the SAVX Marines, pulled away from the city in a relatively swift motion. The howitzers continued to pound the hell out of the suburbs while everything moved away. Malsway was preparing plans to wipe the city clean in one fell swoop as soon as the NMS strike was complete.

"NMS Central Command...you're out? Good to hear. We'll launch as soon as we tell Artillery."

He hung up one phone and picked up another.

"Artillery? Yes, we're ready. How many? Not enough, they've got shielding, although how waterproof I don't...Oh. Okay. That should be enough, if you've got the missiles as well. Right, everyone's waiting for you guys right now."

Five minutes later, artilley began firing small EMP bursts at concentrated points along the IN lines. The idea was that the combination of saturation and waterlogging might have had a negative effect on IN shielding abilities, and might weaken or topple the Kommandos.

General St-Vaudet picked up a special phone that connected him to SAVXian command. When the dial tone was restored, he phoned and said that everyone was getting back into the pool.

Sea's West of Ohia

"Fighters inbound, begin evasive action."

The planes started to separate, spreading out to try and evade the incoming enemy. They needed to reach tthe range limit quickly, before they were intercepted. Way above the other group continued their distracting role.

//OOC: IH, you can RP the destruction of those fighters up high, you know what the missiles are capable of.//

IN Splinter Fleet,
Southern Seas

The howitzer shells screamed toward the IN ships, and began to detonate, tearing the ships to pieces with the small firestorms, and the neutron bombardment started to kill the sailors as they rushed around.

On the deck of the only carrier, aircraft were scrambled into the air. One of the VA-1 Merlin fighters lumbered into the air, with the 'Divine Fire' bomb slung underneath. The pilot was coughing blood as he strove to power out of the firestorm and join his colleagues above. They would carry out deadly retribution against the SAVX scum.

Northern Cikae Isle,
IN

Strath crouched low in his small boat, and pushed a red button. Behind him the deafening explosions of a fuel tank blown apart by a packet of C4 could be heard. Sirens began to blare, and Strath gunned the boat out into the bay. He turned and fired randomly behind him, spraying the harbour with bullets. Sure enough, soon a fast boat pulled out and began to chase him, firing it's cannon as he swerved around.

Strath avoided the boat long enough to lure it toward the sandbar. His low-hulled boat glided over it, but the angry skipper of the IN boat followed. With a grinding noise the boat came to a halt.

Savaron River front,
NMS

The bombardment of the Kommando's and the EMP bursts was taking it's toll as the Kommando's armour suit's electronics shorted out, leaving them with just the armour protection. Most of their limited number of vehicles were made useless, but the fighting spirit of the elite units was not broken. They still had armour and guns, and would continue fighting to the death, even under the heavy bombardment of the SAVX and NMS artilllery.

Krakk,
IN

Wulfila and Gamma were at the head of a large group of soldiers, mainly from the INHSS, but with some Drakken Warriors (see my NSWiki). They were heavily armed, and moved with intent through the streets, causing civilians to scatter as they marched toward the Ministry of Pain. As they neared it a rival crowd poured from the grey building, a bunch of heavily armed Minister's and their soldiers. One called out to Wulfila.

"What do you want?"

"Revenge, for Drakkensburg."

"You will not get it, we are conducting talks with the INK, Brandt will not be allowed to gain power."

Gamma issued an order to his men, and instantly they fanned out and took cover behind abandoned cars and other objects. They raised their guns with clicking noises. Wulfila placed his helmet over his new HT-12 suit, and his booming voice was amplified.

"Prepare to die, traitors!"

The battle for control of IN had begun.

Drakkenberg, IN

Rejean and two of his agents were cloistered in a hotel room on the outskirts of town. His agents were seated while Rejean paced the room.

"No heroics," he said. "What we will need the most over the next while is information. You cannot provide information if you are dead. None of you are to engage in any of the fighting unless forced to."

The agents nodded.

"I will be going to Krakk," said Rejean. "The Ministry will be at the center of all this, and I must get to the center. If Foley is gone already, I may be throwing away my life, but he is the only chance to save IN. We must take it, however slim it may be."

The agents nodded again.

"As to whether I go alone or not," he continued, "I do not know. My first impulse was that being alone was what got me caught, but in a city riven by two factions, my chances might be much better now. I will either call or not call one or both of you at some point, and I hope for your prompt response."

The agents saluted.

"Go and spread the word," he finished. "I will be gone soon."

The agents saluted and left. Rejean started tossing things into a suitcase for the trip to Krakk.

Sea West of Ohia


The commander of the Hornet Squadron knew that it was a mistake to turn on his own targetting radar the second he did it. Twelve aircraft showed up, all just out of strike distance. As he pushed the throttles to maximum power he looked at the HUD and watched those twelve seperate into many others. The speed of the new dots detoned that they had launched a missile attack, and with the range to the ships it was probably going to be against them.

However the commander of the FA/18's flicked on his jamming pod and ordered the rest of the squadron to do the same, whilst continuing to charge towards the enemy fighters that had launched.



Above them the AAM-3's bore in towards the still oblivious IN pilots. Five died before they knew what was going, whilst the commander ordered his surviving pilots to begin evasive maneuvers. The remaining missiles still bore in and they hit three more planes, killing two and damaging the other, before the remaining IN aircraft could launch their missiles just as they got within range of the fleet.

The commander of the F-22's originally tasked with the destruction of the enemy fighters was annoyed at his missiles fairly poor performance, and loosed another volley at the remaining IN fighters and radioed a warning to the Hawkeye's about approaching anti-ship missiles.


Some of the orbiting fighters dove after the missiles, but the angle of attack meant that only two missiles were launched, and only one of these actually hit the Hex in a fluke shot as their paths crossed.


IHS Hawk, Aasimar Class Battleship
SAM Command Ship of the 5th Carrier Strike Force

The crosslinked radar picture from the orbiting E-2CI's showed the inbound missiles as they were launched from the fighters. The AEGIS system was in fully automatic mode, and once launch had been confirmed every SAM system in the force was lit up.

The SAM commander got a clear picture of the incoming threat, no doubt aimed at the carriers. As the tracks got closer they seemed to speed up even more, and within a few minutes the SAM equipped ships on the outer picket line began launching against them as they came in range. Within minutes there were numerous plots heading towards and away from the group...


OOC: I need to read up on the Hex-X so i can RP that properly, something I will do ASAP. However school work calls atm so i will RP the attack a bit later on.

Northern Cikae Isle,
IN

The Death Squads were ready. Still full of the smoldering ambition of vengeance from Senna's treachery, they were as enthusiastic to mercilessly slaughter as a horny teenager is to lose his virginity. Standing in broad daylight on the shore of the island, the Death Troopers watched as the IN ship ground to a halt. With a loud fwoosh, the Wraiths engaged their jetpacks and rocketed into the air. With skill obtained only through a lifetime of practice, they guided themselves through the air, landing with deep thuds against the ship's metal deck. And so began the slaughter.

While two Wraiths took the time to secure the ladders to the boat's side and drop them down, the others began to brutally murder every single person onboard. Armed to the teeth with melee weapons and power short-range projectile weapons, the Wraiths swept across the deck. Blood sprayed from inhumanly-inflicted wounds across the entire surface section of the ship. Once the crew on top was dead and the ladders were dropped, the squad moved to the lower levels.

Kharne had already given the signal to advance. The other Death Squads were well on their way to the ship, wading through the waist-high water along the sandbar. Their armor, luckily, was waterproof. All SAVX armor after the first few untimely failures many, many years back was made waterproof. One never knew when it would come in handy, and it only made engineering a bit trickier--far worth the difficulty.

It was barely a minute before they had already reached the ship. Demon and Wraith began to ascend the ladders one-by-one while Dragon went about the process of placing remotely-detonated explosive charges around the area that the ship was stuck on. In theory, with the ship's engine running full throttle, the charges would be enough to displace the sand and allow the ship to escape its trapped state. Once all were placed, Dragon made their way up the ladders as well.

As soon as everyone was onboard, the first Wraith exited the doorway that opened into the ship's interior. He had to duck down under the low overhang to make it through. Covered in the signature signs of battle--streams of blood dripping from everywhere and organs worn like medals, skewered onto spiky bits of the armor--the Wraith let out a maniacal laugh. Kharne knew what that meant: his bloodlust was nowhere near being finished. That was fine; there were many more bodies to go.

Once his men had control of the ship and had set the engine to full reverse thrust, he detonated the charges. The ship rumbled, but was wholly undamaged thanks to the expert placing done by Dragon Squad. With a jolt, the ship dislodged itself from the sandbar and, turning around, began to head towards the harbor.


Savaron River front,
NMS

Returning to their original positions, the Sainamans and SAVXians found that everything originally placed had been left untouched, the IN soldiers more concerned with the artillery and then NMS's EMP assault. It took barely an hour for the Sainamans to continue their original strategy. There was no rush to kill, after all.


IN Splinter Fleet,
Southern Seas

The AEDS-II Cruisers registered the aircraft taking off. It was their goal to not allow the squadron the slightest chance of nearing the small SAVX battle group. Had they known the payload one of the planes was carrying, they would have poured every ounce of fire they had into that aircraft, and it would have never gotten close enough. As it was, however, they had to spread out their fire, giving certain doom an opportunity to come alive.

OOC: Whether it hits, of course, will be up to you.

OOC: Sorry over delay, bloody school work and rugby training/matches!

IC:

IHS Fearsome

The large plasma screen in the CIC showed the inbound plots as small triangles, each heading in towards the Task Force. They were very low and as such they were being picked up by the E-2CI's and not the ships onboard SAM radars. That would change when they came over the visual horizon, however by that time there would barely be fifty seconds in which to kill them.

More triangles appeared from the position of the outer picket line, these had rapidly increasing vector's on them and headed towards the carriers last known positions.

They knew that the enemy fighters had not illuminated the formation with their radar systems and so the missiles would be flying blind to an estimated position of the carriers, or so it was assumed. Little was known about the capabilities of the Hex-X aside from its three warhead configuration, although it would be assumed that it had an intertial navigation system similar to that on the Hex-III of which James Corp had two for experimental purposes.


There were twenty three missiles heading in from the lower group of fighters and another four from the higher group. They were in two waves, the first group being those from the lower fighters and these were being engaged by SAM's now.

The smoke trails burst from VLS tubes and began arching over heading towards the east. The seeker heads on the SM-5 Block V SAM's were designed to target enemy aircraft, and as such they had to be individually guided to the smaller radar contacts by the computer systems aboard the ships using the aircrafts radar signals.

The SAM's tipped over and began diving on the contacts. The lead missile had four SAM's targetted on it and was obliterated as one damaged its control surfaces and the others exploded within two seconds of each other.


Back in the CIC the Admiral watched some of the inbound plots disappear from the screen. A small wave of follow up AAM-3's launched by some enterprising fighter pilots killed another two missiles from the rearward group as the rest bore on towards co-ordinates that were an hour old.

Since launching her aircraft the carrier's had moved North, and so hopefully away from any preplanned missile targets. Black Steel satellites above them were an annoyance but there were as yet no known ways of fooling them and so the carriers had continued deceptively.

However it was likely that Black Steel would communicate the positions of the ships to the missiles but the move was worth a try.

As it was Black Steel control of the missiles meant that they were still heading for the formation, a single missile that had damaged control surfaces tried to make the turn but continued straight on to eventually plow into the sea when its fuel ran out.

The remaining sixteen missiles were met with a second barrage of SAM's as they came over the visual horizon which killed five more. There were now eleven inbound for the ships to deal with.


In the missiles the high speed digital computers turned on their radar seekers and were rewarded with many large return blips. Each selected a blip and communicated its choice to the others ensuring that only one missile was targetted at each. The picture began obscured as the formation began firing off clouds of chaff to confuse the radar sensors.


Fearsome came to full power as the missiles cleared the outer picket, only twenty kilometres out. The missiles were approaching from the right hand side, and the ship was turning rapidly in that direction so as to present as smaller target as possible. Across the formation most of the other capital ships were doing that as well. The Guided Missile Cruiser Haven managed to fire off another couple of SAM's which damaged one of the incoming missiles as it began its terminal dive sending it into a cloud of chaff which it promptly blew up.


On the battleship Sabre the Captain, seeing that the turn was not hard enough to present the smallest target possible reversed the turn thereby artificially raising the waterline on the safe left side of the ship as the CIWS systems on the right hand side tracked the targets.

The first Hex was targetted at Sabre and the CIWS began firing when it was 2,000metres away. The sound of somebody undoing their zipper quickly denoted that the gattling cannons were firing off hundreds of rounds towards the dodging incoming missile. A second later the first warhead went off just below Number 3 turret at the rear of the ship, just above the artificially sunken waterline.

The first warhead created a small hole in the ship as the second and third went off. The explosion rocked the entire length of the ship as it shuddered and began slowing down.

Below damage control parties began rushing towards the area that was now englufed in flame. The engine room crew, half of which were dead from the explosion and the others suffering somekind of injury began appearing at the top escape hatch, running out onto the deck away from the billowing black smoke. Their last act was to shut down the two nuclear reactors that powered the ship, flooding their surrounds with sea water to prevent a reactor overload.

The ship righted itself to reveal a thirty foot hole that sat just above the top of the waterline. The helmsman's maneuver had saved the ship from immediate flooding in the light waves, however whether it would surcum to fite remained to be seem. The 20inch shell room below number three turret had been electronically flooded as the CIWS started to fire, but now the EMP putting those systems out of action it was beginning to empty. Fire-fighter crews that had been knocked off their feet by the impact were struggling to contain the fires around that armoury whilst other missile technicians began checking on the VLS cells at the rear of the ship.

Sabre had been lucky, the third warheads explosion had been absorbed by the thick armour that protected the magazines for the ships 20inch shells, and as such the damage would probably not be life threatening for the ship. However a fireball to their left announced that another ship had not been so lucky.



IHS Fearsome

Another damage report was handed to the Admiral. Ten missiles had gotten through the SAM network and had registered eight hits. That there had only been one missile assigned to each ship was a saving grace for several.

He was now on the bridge, and watched as a pair of SH-60's conducted search and rescue missions for the survirors of the Fleet Oiler Volume that had exploded when hit by the third Hex-X. Nearly a hundred men had been on that ship, and currently all the SeaHawks had found were charred pieces of steel. Even the fuel that the ship had been carrying for the conventionally powered escorts was not to be seen.

The Admiral turned his gaze away from this though. A fleet oiler could easily be replaced. A carrier however was a different story. Beyond the burning area of ocean that marked the death of Volume there was an upside down ship. IHS Courtney had been hit by a missile in her bows, the initial explosion destroying a stockpile of AAM-3's causing an explosion that ripped through several decks creating a gaping hole on her right side. That hole had rapidly filled with water and dragged the whole side of the carrier down causing her to capsize in the water. The four huge props now stuck out of the water, they had stopped turning a minute before, as the front of the ship began to sink beneath the waves. Scarecly one hundred men had escaped from her before she rolled over. Two dozen more had appeared since then having escaped from the superstructure, whilst another half dozen had managed to clamber out of one of the bilges onto the top of the dark grey hull, to be rescued by an SH-60 scant seconds before that part disappeared below the waves.

With all of the aircraft and helicopters being off the ship it meant that there was now a crisis of space on the surviving flat-tops. Independence had been badly damaged, as had Lamboda, both only being saved by their thick double hulls. Independence could still conduct flight operations, but Lamboda was limping off SouthWest wards at fifteen knots along with her escorts.

The advanced CIWS system on Fearless had saved her from almost certain destruction. The gattling cannon had shredded the missile targetted at her exploding it a scant two hundred feet from the ship. Twelve deckcrewmen had been killed by that, and a further forty wounded, but the ship was safe for now.

The fifth carrier, Peacekeeper had been hit on the superstructure completely blowing everything from the flight deck upwards into the sea. She still had control and hull integrity as well as the capabilites to operate aircraft, the steering was now being done from the engine room upon orders from the ships XO at the front of the boat.

The last damage report handed to the Admiral came from Hawk. The SAM commanders ship had been targetted by the second waves of Hex missiles and had managed to shoot one of the first wave down before being hit by the missile from the second. She had sustained serious damage to her forward turrets and radar and was taking on water at a sustainable rate thanks to her advanced seawater pumps and the failure of the EMP warhead to detonate.

In addition to the loss of Volume and Courtney the missile cruiser HomeLand had had her back broken by the Hex. Luckily most of her crew had escaped and were now aboard the Destroyer Martin which was conducting a rescue around the area that Homeland had sunk in.


Not a good day. the admiral thought. Better make it worse for them


A scant fifteen minutes after the last missile hit the formation began firing all of its remaining Tomahawk cruise missiles at Ohia Island. They were taking a deceptive course south as if they were going towards the IN mainland, only to turn when they were due south of the military Island. They were predominantly targetted at airfields. Cluster munitions, hard target penetrators, and several airburst options were fired as the fleet turned its back on the Island and proceeded west wards.


The FA/18's came into missile range just as the missiles began hitting the fleet, and the pilots pickled off nearly forty missiles at the retreating fighters.


The First Battle for Ohia was virtually over. There had been winners and losers, and both sides knew which was which. For the cost of two dozen fighters there was one Carrier sunk, one badly damaged and a third struggling to contain fires. For all their vaunted superiority, the IH navy had taken a bloody blow on the nose.

Sea West of Ohia

The VA-4 fighters raced back toward the safety of the island, but their fuel was running low having traveled so fast before, and now they had to cruise back. The IH fighters caught them easily, and fired many missiles at them. The airwaves were full of cries for help as the pilots were ripped to shreds, their countermeasures systems overwhelmed by the number of incoming vampires. Their mission had been a success, but now they were paying back what they owed. None of the pilots managed to fly their fighters back, and only four survived to land in the sea.

Ohia Island

The wave of tomahawks ploughed into the airfields, the switched on radar providing a warning that the AA missiles and guns on the ground could do little about. The cruise missiles evaded most of the fire, as the defenders had been caught unawares. With the saturation of airfields, many missiles got through, blasting command buildings and setting alight any planes out in the open or in weak hangers. The cluster munitions detonated on the runways, cratering them and putting them out of use for several hours as IN engineers worked to fill them in as fast as they could.

IN Splinter Fleet,
Southern Seas

The VA-1 Merlin fighter carrying the 'Divine Fire' bomb was being sheilded by the other planes most of the time, but the fearsome fire put up by the SAVX ships was impenetrable. The planes decided on a different target, and veered north, up toward another island in the chain. They quickly oupaced the slow ships, and began to rise high above the ocean. They were burning a lot of fuel, and they knew they had not enough to make it back to safety. They would die, but die with honour in the glory of battle. Sighting the lights of Marlburg in the distance they switch off their camoflage systems and begin their assault.

AA fire arcs into the sky, with several streaks of fire as SAM's home in on their targets. The small IN force is blasted away, with most of the planes falling down to earth. The specially equiped VA-1 Merlin takes a missile hit to the left wing, and spirals down. Walther Rogers, a neighboring pilot sees this, and targets the spinning wreak with his missiles. Firing one off, he watches as it ploughs into the target, detonating the 'Divine Fire' bomb above the port area of Marlburg. Neutrons streamed into him, and the equipment around him sparked. He coughed once before unconsciousness overwhelms him.

//OOC: SAVX, you could capture Rogers if you want.//

Krakk, about 5 miles from the Ministry

Everything looked calm on the surface. But for a man who looks beneath the surface for a living like Rejean Le Guiscard, the signs were easy to spot.

Right now, it looked like the factions were probing each other's strength, with spot raids and kidnappings being the only tactics used. He didn't know how long that would last, but he needed something a little more serious if he wanted to check the Ministry.

He looked out the hotel window. A pair of guards patrolled the streets. Locals went about their business at a faster pace than normal. Rejean headed down to the lobby, looking for some sign that things were about to pick up.

Naval Logistics Center
New Wasteland, SAVX

Ming could see what had just happened to the IN splinter fleet. Satellite feeds and radar readings showed up clear as day: the entire force had been wiped out. He was seething with rage. This was supposed to be his day to shine! While he was busy yelling to himself, his phone rang. He yanked the receiver up and yelled into it.

"What is it?!"

"General Mark Sturn of Atomic Corps Alpha. Just wanted to let you know that we took care of the problem."

"You! How dare you?! That was supposed to be my victory!"

"I was personally directed to carry out the attack by Master General Ramel."

There was a leaden sensation that suddenly formed in Ming's throat.

"What?"

"I do not know his reasoning; I had orders to barrage the enemy fleet, and I carried out those orders. If you feel the need to yell about it, the buck stops with him."

Ming simply groaned. Beads of sweat had begun to form on his forehead, and he wiped them away with his free hand.

"I understand."

Sturn killed the call without bothering to reply. Ming put down the phone and went back to his satellite feeds and radar screens. He came just in time to see IN's lone aircraft pull off an almost impossible stunt that ended up wiping out half of the population of Marlburg.

His blood ran cold when the information began to come in.


Northern Cikae Isle,
IN

The harbor wasn't particularly impressive in the eyes of Kharne. He was able to easily glide the ship in without much difficulty and no resistance. Apparently, nobody expected such an underhanded maneuver. That was why, of course, it was so perfect.

Kharne decided that the battle needed to start off with a bang. The ship they had taken over was a relatively weak one with only a couple of small cannons. However, in such a setting, it would be more than enough to get things going. Setting the ship on course to collide with the docks, Kharne had Death Troopers man the guns. Carefully choosing targets that would result in the highest quality explosions, as well as the most costly of losses, the Death Troopers opened fire on ammunition bunkers, fuel depots, and officer quarters.

As the ship was about to collide with the docks, the Death Squads all got on deck to prepare for their beach-head, so to speak. With a loud cacophony of crunching and grinding, the bow plowed right into the heart of the harbor's military complex. There was no better place for the Death Squads. Using the momentum of the ship, they launched themselves onto the concrete ground. Already, the IN soldiers stationed at the port had begun their response. Small arms fire and small explosions peppered the vicinity of the Death Squads as they began their assault.

However, without the capabilities of the Kommandos or on-hand heavy weapons, the soldiers were just meat for the SAVX grinder. Kharne's intent was to set Dragon, supported by Omega, loose on the targets that hadn't already been shelled to hell while the other squads soaked up the majority of the combat. Leading the charge into battle, Kharne joined his comrades in the insane laughter that only the darkest, cruelest minds could offer at such a time of slaughter.

Lopping off the head of a soldier with his Power Sword, Kharne spun, and in one swift motion, he caught the head with his Mega Claw-bearing hand, launching it at another soldier. The head flew with such force that it snapped the neck of the target soldier upon contact. In a fury of blood and gore, the Death Troopers sliced, diced, shot, detonated, and burned their way through their enemies.

It didn't take Dragon Squad long to perform its task. With a multitude of incendiary weapons at their disposal, Dragon turned what wasn't already burning into a solid, roaring flame. While the dying screamed in agony, the Dragons sang one of their favorite battle songs.

"I've got a bottle of gin
And a burning desire
To light up the town
In a funeral pyre

So with lighter in hand
And a glint in my eye
I know I'll be cremated
Wherever I lie"

Kharne, meanwhile, was leading Demon and Wraith Squads to another objective: one of the few medium-sized in the port. It would offer the Death Squads a reasonable way out, and it could act as a sort of gift of gratitude to The People. While the Death Squads certainly weren't known for showing thanks, Kharne felt that anyone who showed them the way to so much carnage was deserving of some sort of reward--especially when it also happened to convenience him.


Southern Seas
SAVX Waters

The little SAVX Navy speedboat zipped through the water outside of Marlburg while the military took over the city to assess the damage and start the process of rebuilding. One of the two Navy Marines noticed something in the water...something that didn't look quite like junk. The boat zipped towards it, and upon further inspection, they saw that it was indeed a human.

They began to pull the unconscious person inside into the boat when they saw his clothing: the uniform of an IN Navy Pilot. They were about to drop him back into the water and leave him to his own fate when one of the Marines got an idea: what if they turned him in? They could get medals for the successful capture of someone probably involved with the destruction of Marlburg.

Dragging the near-dead man onboard, they raced back towards the shore, eager to contact their CO about their catch.


Inquisition Complex
Deitrino, SAVX

Rogers awoke in a small, dark room. A crimson light affixed to the ceiling offered the only illumination, giving the clean, sterile cinderblock walls lined with various tools of torture a particularly grim appearance. Still fuzzy, he turned his head to get a better look around. His entire body ached and he felt horribly sick.

"Ah, well, you're awake."

Rogers turned his head fully the other way. His eyes locked with the robed form of an Inquisitor. Immediately they filled with fear. Everyone knew the stories about the SAVX Inquisition. Little in the world could compare to their tales of horror, pain, and suffering.

The black-robed form laughed a small, sinister laugh. The upper half of his face was hidden by the hood of the robe; all that remained was a grinning mouth with smooth, white teeth. Even in the crimson light, one could see that they were very white. Obviously, this man was of an impeccable nature. Then again, so was every Inquisitor: impeccable, intelligent, sinister, and, in many ways, utterly insane.

"Haha! No, no, my friend. You're a lucky one, you know. SAVX is one of the few nations that exist that can show its enemy's soldiers a hint of compassion. You won't be harmed; there's no need."

"W-what do you mean?" Rogers stuttered.

"Your government is about to crumble. We have intelligence officers around; they know what's going on. Internal struggles and strife."

"You lie, SAVX scum!"

"Oh? And why would I do that? What use do I have to lie to you? I have no reason to trick you; you're simply here for the duration of this conflict. And once there's enough internal conflict to keep you fools from having any real capability to do, well, anything, we'll retaliate for your idiotic move on our city. Not with a kindly neutron strike, either. Oh, no. Der Führer has plans to make an example of you people.

So, since we're going to be spending quite some time together, perhaps you'd like to tell me a little bit about yourself."

"I won't tell you anything, you asshole!"

"You will. And I won't torture it out of you, either. There's no need for that. I come from the Psychworm School of the Inquisition University. I'll work it out one way or another. I'd prefer if you cooperate, though. Maybe then, I can ensure that your home, wherever it is, doesn't happen to be the target of our retribution."

Rogers said nothing in response, the look of defiance etched across his face. However, the Inquisitor could easily see the doubts that weakened that resolution, and he would make short work of such cracks in the foundation.

"Now, let's start with your name."

Krakk, IN

The flares of violence that had left many Ministers and IN HSS officers dead had settled into an underground show of power, kidnapping was rife, and deals between various factions had escalated the situation. Rumour had it that the impartial INK would soon be announcing support for the Ministry, if this happened Brandt and the HSS would be finished. This could not be allowed to happen, Brandt would not allow it to happen.

Delta Seven crouched in the passenger compartment of a Ministry marked VAR-3 'Attila' helicopter, watching the city of Krakk move beneath him. Next to him were Wulfila and Gamma, as well as two Drakken warriors, Jarvil and Karto. All were dressed in the new HTT-12 battle armour, and carried multiple weapons. They were going to strike the Ministry itself, interrupting a conference between them and the INK. The strike force was small, but consisted of the best warriors in all of the country.

"Approaching target now, sending identification code."

The pilot transmitted falsified data about the helicopter, identifying it as being from the Ministry and needing an emergency landing. The control agreed, and they were allowed to gently touch down on the roof of the building. As they did so, a dozen Ministry soldiers in full FLIT-2 armour dashed out and surrounded the helicopter, they were taking no chances. Delta looked out at this through the one-way glass and spoke quietly to the pilot.

"Fire the countermeasure grenades, one round all over."

The pilot pushed a large red button, and flicked two switches. Eight tubes were unveiled by a sliding door on the outside of the helicopter, forcing the soldiers to look up cautiously. One banged on the hatch of the Attila as eight grenades were launched simulaneously.

The grenades detonated in the faces of the soldiers, spraying flak out at them. They screamed as hot shards of metal sliced into their body. The attack squad did not waste any time, and opened the hatch so fast is bounced off the hard roof surface. Delta dived out first, rolling over as the dark cloak of the HT-12 began to match the surrounding colours and textures. The twin automatic pistols in his hands sparked, raining shell cases onto the tarmac. The armour piercing munitions sent a couple of soldiers reeling backwards, blood leaking onto their armour.

Wulfila and Gamma came next, charging the confused soldiers who fired instinctively at them. The shots mainly missed, with the couple that hit glancing off the armour. Wulfila slammed bodily into the nearest soldier, knocking him to the ground. With a deft move he grabbed another by the neck and threw him with a mighty roar off the roof. Turning to the soldier on the floor he pulls out a minituarised shotgun, and fires a single shot at the head, reducing it to a smear of blood and skull fragments.

Gamma jumps above the soldiers he is assigned to, and deftly uses his long dagger to slice across the spinal chord of the one to the right. He lands, and turns to knock the other soldier's gun out of the way before driving the knife up under the chin, so hard the head is snapped back with a cracking sound.

Jarvil and Karto step last from the helicopter, each carrying a heavy-duty machinegun. Firing from the hip the Drakken warriors pour lead into the remaining soldiers, rounds being fed by a belt of ammunition emanating from the enlarged backpack they are carrying. The other warriors turn and start to gun down the surviving soldiers, ending their lives in a hail of blood.

Wordlessly the party dash to the hatch into the building, and blast it open...

Inquisition Complex
Deitrino, SAVX

Rogers stared hazily at the man before him. He knew the stories alright, no-one could stand up to the inquisition, whoever they were. But he would try, those SAVX bastards had killed an entire town in IN, and had ruthlessly used atomic weapons. He tried to look defiant, and spoke in a hoarse whisper.

"Fuck you, you piece of SAVX shit!"

The inquisitor smiled, a look that caused more horror than a menacing stare could ever acheive. "Fine, your home town will be obliterated, wiped from the face of the planet."

Rogers let his eyes sadden for a moment, then retaliated. "You don't know where I live, so how can you destroy it?"

The inquisitor smiled again, and tapped his darkened nose.

Inquisition Complex
Deitrino, SAVX

Holding his finger above his nose for a couple seconds, the Inquisitor walked around Rogers, facing him dead on. Leaning in close, he whispered the his next words in a tone so menacing that it could make a Death Trooper's voice sound like an angel's.

"We know...far more than you could possibly imagine. The big things and the little things all count. Even after spending so much time at war and floating in the sea...you still carry the odor of you home with you. I've been around the region and to countless places in the world. Every place has its own smell, and I remember...them...all."

Before Rogers had a chance to respond, the Inquisitor pulled away and began to slowly circle the bound man. He quickly changed the topic, pulling out a more specific threat.

"Do you know what it feels like to be...poisoned, my friend? To be intoxicated with the amazing little chemical called Sarin? No, I wouldn't think so. Very few do and live to tell about it.

Well, let me tell you what it's like. Yes, I know what it's like. It's part of our fear training. A few always die from it; an over-reactive biological system is usually the cause. The body reacts too poorly and the antidote can't be administered before it's too late. I, obviously, am still here today because I was born with a lucky set of genes.

But let me tell you, my friend..."

At this, the Inquisitor removed his hood. His hair was disheveled and short; obviously it had not been taken care of in a long time. However, what caught Rogers' attention the most was the Inquisitor's eyes. The pupils were tiny, even in the dim light, and they were bloodshot beyond belief--a horribly combination of cold, brilliant, and insane.

"There is almost nothing more terrifying than watching your body stop working, than feeling yourself lose complete control of everything, than experiencing the violent spasms of muscles unsure of what to do, than feeling your lungs shut down and the oxygen levels drop while your heart loses its power to push life through you. Even for an insane freak such as myself--fully aware of what is to come, no less--even for myself, there is little more terrifying than that.

So how do you think your family you hold so dear...would feel in those last few minutes of life? How would your friends, your best friends whom you love and care about, how do you think they would feel? How would they feel as their life was sapped away from them by something unseen, something unfelt? How would they feel as their body was practically torn apart by wild convulsions, and they suddenly lost all the power to breath? And as they fell away from the pain and suffering, they each wondered, ‘What have I done to deserve this?’"

Rogers was simply shaking his head, mouth and lips moving without sound, his eyes wide in fear and hate. A single tear ran down his face while he stuttered to say something. The Inquisitor had one last thing to say, however.

"Tell me...your name."

C-141 Starlifter, South of the Cikae Islands


Major Jelfs stood on the ladder and stuck his head into the cockpit of the giant transport aircraft. The pilot had his nightvision goggles over his eyes whilst the co-pilot scanned the skies for other aircraft flying close to them, behind them the third crewman reviewed some stats on his instrument board before turning to the Major.

"Ten minutes Sir. Hope they know we're coming"

"Your not the only one airmen. Thank the Captain for the flight."

With a quick salute the Major turned on the ladder and slid back down to the main cargo bay where the rest of the Headquarters company waited, already in their parachutes. Beyond them near the large cargo doors at the rear of the plane were several pallets of heavier equipment that were being dropped with them.

Major Jelfs picked up his parachute harness and began putting it on, strapping up buckles with the help of his Master Sergeant BodyGuard Patterson. When the parachute was on he waddled over to where his personal gear was stored and checked it, placing his XM-8 across his chest with a full magazine slotted into the casing.

A minutes later the red light near the doorway began flashing signalling two minutes to the drop zone. It appeared that the diplomats had gotten through, or else a Cikean missile would currently be occupying the aircraft rather than nearly one hundred IH paratroopers that one by one began jumping out into the night's sky.


OOC: Hope you dont mind IN, just a couple of Companies under Major Jelfs so I can get in on this action in the closing stages :)

Krakk

Two people who Rejean had identified as low-level Ministry plainclothesmen were sipping coffee in the lobby. Over the past few days, he had befriended them, impressing them with his "exploits as a war-zone reporter" for a major Midlonian paper. He sat next to them for the millionth time. As they exchanged pleasantries, one of them pulled out a cell phone. He immediately assumed a worried expression. Hanging up, he turned to the other and gestured to leave. He took two steps, then turned to Rejean. "Hey, you want to help us out? If you're half as good as you say you are, you could help save IN and make a few high-level friends while you're at it."

Rejean accepted and followed them to a black car. One of them put a set of blue lights on top of the dashboard and turned on a siren. As they careered off towards the Ministry, Rejean smiled. The heat was being turned up a notch, it seemed.

They pulled up at the Ministry. The three men got out of the car and bolted towards the entry. Another guard ran up to them.

"Who's the third guy?" he asked. Then he smiled. "You two gentlemen get up to the roof. You, come with me."

Rejean followed the man. Once they were out of the crowd, he said: "Tiger."

"Yes," said the other. "Let's go, they need us on the roof." They sprinted for the elevators, past the security that had been turned off to let people get in and out quickly during the battle. They grabbed one with only six people in it. When the last of the others got off, Tiger said: "Rejean, I need you to get off at the 93rd floor, and try and turn off as many of the alarms that you can in the command post there." He went on to detail the best means of doing so without drawing excess attention.

Rejean nodded. If the post was as important as Tiger made it sound, he might find a way of getting at Foley there.

The bell rang. Rejean pulled out a silenced .45 and stepped off the elevator.

Ah, crap, wrong nation. Sorry 'bout that.

Inquisition Complex
Deitrino, SAVX

Rogers couldn't hold it back any longer, he needed to save his family, anything to save them from the fiendish SAVX hordes.

"My nname is... Walther, Walther Rogers. Please don't hurt my family, I'll tell you anything!"

Southern Cikae Island

Below the descending IH soldiers the masked troops of The People fanned out, watching from the darkness of the trees for IN soldiers that may happen to stumble across the drop zone. In the landing field several People soldiers lie covered in ditches, waiting for the arrival of the men from the south. As the IH soldiers begin to hit the ground, the People swarm up and out of the darkness, piling onto the soldiers and muffling their shouts. No shots were fired, as knives pressed to the throat of a man entangled in his parachute are very persuasive.

A few large lorries ground to a halt on the small road, and the IH soldiers were thrown in, with the doors being shut on them. Major Jelfs was pushed into the front of one of the trucks, and a strong man got in after him. The trucks started up again, and started their journey. The masked man in the cab looked at Jelf's, and lifted his balaclava.

"Welcome to The Cikae Islands. Sorry for the inhospitible welcome, but we have to be safe. I am Vern, leader of The People on the south island. Who are you?"

The Ministry of Pain,
Krakk, IN

Jarvil and Karto were busy holding off the advances of the Ministry Troops on the stairs, dropping grenades down and following with bursts of fire. Wulfila and Gamma were working to disable the elevator as Delta Seven made his way alone on a path to find another control room that would allow him to search for Foley.

Tiger had just reported in, and apparantly was trying to set up a trap for the Ministry soldiers on the lower levels. He said Rejean had turned up, and he had sent him to the control room. Delta had decided that the best course of action was to monitor Rejean's progress from a camera in the control room he was heading, and see what Rejean would do. Perhaps he could send a message through the computer to get him to help look for Foley.

//OOC: No worries NMS/IH.//

Southern Cikae Island

"Major Nick Jelfs, 3rd Battalion of the 193rd Parachute Infantry Regiment. I would appreciate it if my men were treated well as we have come here to help you against your mainland friends"

He pulled himself free of the clutches of Vern and sat up slightly straighter in the truck, pulling off the remains of his parachute harness as he did so. His hand figetted with his .45 on his right thigh, whilst he also eyed the 9mm in his shoulder holster. If these weren't members of the People then him and his men were in trouble, although the fact that they had been allowed to keep their weapons seemed to imply some degree of friendlyness.

All they could do now was wait until they got to their destination, then they would begin to explain their mission.

The Ministry of Pain, Krakk

Rejean snuck down the hall towards the center. At a corner he pulled out a small mirror and stuck it around the corner to see what was down the hall. He saw a command post occupied by one nervous guard.

"Must be new," he thought. He pulled out his weapon.

"Don't worry, soldier, I'll take over here," he said, walking down the hall.

"Sir! Yes sir!" stammered the guard. He sprinted towards the elevators, and Rejean sat down at the post.

He flipped through the controls, found the alerts, and shut them off, sending out a pre-programmed code indicating that everything was fine again. He then started flipping through the cell cameras, looking for anyone who looked like Foley.

After a while, he stopped. The man on camera was battered, bearded and about 20 pounds lighter - but he looked enough like Foley to take a look at. He quickly flipped through the other feeds, but this man was the closest to the truth.

"Floor 99, block B. Maximum security - no surprise." He got up and headed for the elevators. Five ministry troops in full armor were sitting there. He got in, acting like everything was normal, and headed for the 99th floor. Once the elevator stopped, he got off and never looked back. When he heard the sound of the doors closing behind him, he breathed a quick sigh of relief, and headed towards where the map indicated cellblock B would be.

Former IFLA Terrorist Base
Northern Cikae Isle, IN

The hijacked ship ground into the shore of the island just outside of the disguised People base. Dropping their makeshift ladders down, the Death Squads disembarked from their stolen prize. Covered in blood, pieces of former humans, ashes, and cracks and dents in their armor, the Death Troopers walked into the base with an air of contentness. Once more, Kharne strode off on his own while his Troopers did their own things. Once more, he needed to speak to the leader behind all this. Once more, he had to deal with blasted secrecy. It wasn't long before he was able to find a phone.

It rang once.

"Finished already, Kharne."

The fact that it was a statement and not a question made Kharne wonder just how this man knew what was going on. However, he hesitantly shoved it back from his consciousness. He probably wouldn't ever find out.

"Yes. We have brought back a present for your forces if you want it."

"I know. Thanks."

"Is there anything else you want us to take care of? If not, then we'll arrange to return to our homeland."


Inquisition Complex
Deitrino, SAVX

The Inquisitor nodded.

"Good. You can call me Drau."

Inquisitor Drau turned away and slowly walked into a small room attached to the torture chamber. There, out of the auditory range of Rogers, he pressed a few buttons on a communications console, then typed in his prisoner's name. Within half an hour, Inquisition database miners and hackers would find every bit of information on Rogers, including his home.

The "smell" trick was one of the older ones used, but it worked on people without any intelligence training, and few outside of the Inquisition knew of it. The ploy was very effective in getting people to spill the right beans, as long as the Inquisitor using it was convincing enough; and they always were.

Drau intended to keep his promise. It was the SAVX way--none of that double-crossing bullshit that the rest of the world pulled.

Once the name was sent, the Inquisitor slowly walked back into the torture chamber.

"Your family and friends will be spared as long as you continue to cooperate, Mr. Rogers. And if you cooperate enough, you just might be able to save even more lives in the next few days. How does that sound? You might even save an entire city...from being wiped out. This is a rare opportunity to take advantage of SAVX compassion, forgiveness, and morality." Then Drau added, with an extra helping of bitterness and sneer, "I could say less of your own peoples' moral standings."

Rogers was simply silent. The implications of what he had just been told were still working their way through his beleaguered mind.

"Tell me about your weapon. The one your...people...roasted two of our cities with. Tell me everything you know...and then tell me a little more."


Savaron River front,
NMS

High Priestess Lindsey Malsway was getting fed up with the stalemate at hand. Her forces had a continuous supply of artillery shells, but this was taking too long. She didn't want to send her soldiers on a suicide run; maybe SAVX Marines could handle IN's battle-hardened soldiers, but her forces were simply too under-equipped and inexperienced for such a task. Pure zealousness wouldn't carry them through here.

Then she thought of something. With a few rapid transmissions, she gathered her fellow High Priests. When the three men had arrived, she began with a question.

"We still have that unholy bomb we found in the clutches of the IN heretics, right?"

Former IFLA Terrorist Base,
Northern Cikae Island

"Go to the mess hall with your men. Someone will get back to you."

The phone clicked dead, leaving Kharne very pissed off.

Southern Cikae Island

Vern looked at the IH Major next to him and smiled, revealing a mouth with only half of it's teeth remaining.

"Hah, you'd appreciate it? Well, I don't think, Major, that you are in any position to argue. Had it not been for us, you and your men would be lying in shallow graves dug by Imperial soldiers by now. Besides, force was our only option at that time, you will be allowed to do as you wish once we are back at base."

Jelfs looked stung by the comment, and continued playing with his gun.

"I wouldn't keep playing with that, we don't want any accidents, do we?" Vern gestured to the man on the other side of Jelfs, who smiled and produced a Uzi from his jacket.

Soon the tense journey ended, and the doors of the lorries were thrown open, allowing angry IH paratroopers to rush out. The paratroopers gathered around Jelfs, who asked them to be quiet. Vern led them into a mess hall where a projector was linked to a computer. A web-cam looked out across the assembled soldiers.

The screen flickered, and the helmeted face of a disgruntled SAVX Death Trooper appeared. Vern watched the awe in the faces of the IH troops and spoke up.

"Kharne, I am Vern, the leader of The People on the South Island. My leader has informed me that you are willing to further the decimation of the Imperial forces?" Without waiting for a reply Vern carried on. "The men with me are from Independent Hitmen, and are here to carry out a strike against Imperial Forces. With them, you and our own meagre forces we have a sizeable strike force, enough to strike a very large target. To maximise the damage we can cause, I suggest we work together. I think Major Jelfs here had a plan in mind?"

//OOC: IH, state your plan, then SAVX and I could help you. SAVX, what is the present?//

Inquisition Complex,
Deitrino, SAVX

Rogers groaned, he knew nothing of worth about the bomb, he was only a pilot.

"I don't know much, just that is a neutron bomb of some description... the specifics were left to the scientists, not me. Please, don't kill anyone, I don't know, really I don't... It was developed at Venom Defense HQ, but you... wiped that... sorry, please believe me!"

Ministry of Pain,
Krakk, IN

Delta Seven took one last look at Rejean's location on the camera monitor and dashed out of the room, following the 3D model on his HUD that was guiding him toward Floor 99. An elevator pinged open before him, revealing five Ministers. They cursed and fired at Delta, who ducked behind a wall, crouching as heavy calibre bullets pounded into the wall. Pulling a piece of C4 from a container on the HT-12 suit, Delta stuck it to the wall, leaving two wires trailing from it. He stepped a short distance away, then clicked the wires to the capacitor on his suit. The wall section was blown out, sending lumps of brick and steel showering over the Ministers on the other side. Delta dashed through the opening, firing his pistols at the enemy clearly visible through the smoke on his IR screen. Leaving the Ministers dying on the floor Delta stepped into the still open lift, and selects floor 99. As the doors close a single BoF grenade is thrown out, a leaving gift for the ministers. As the lift ascends, Delta reloads his pistols, and slots them back into their holsters. Flipping a heavy Drakken machinegun over his shoulder he checks it is functioning normally by blasting a large hole through the elevator and the wall.

Ministry of Pain, 99th floor, Cellblock B

Rejean snuck down the deserted halls of the 99th floor. He presumed that most of the guards were dealing with the fighting, fighting he could hear from where he was. He came to a large metal door at the end of a hall marked "B" and froze as the sounds of an explosion came from upstairs.

Two guards burst from the door, not shutting it behind them, and sprinted off towards the lifts. Rejean barely had time to dive into the hall before the getting run over by the guards.

He headed through the door and came to a solitary cell, with only a small hole in to door to permit entrance of any light. He shot off the three locks and came in to find a man lying on a bunk in the corner...

(IN, what condition Foley is in is your call)

OOC: Oh, it was just a stolen ship from the port. Whatever was the most powerful thing there.

IC:

Inquisition Complex
Deitrino, SAVX

Drau nodded slowly. His permanently bloodshot eyes stared into Rogers' fearful pair with the pierce of a sharpened knife.

"I suspected as much. So you flew a bomb of great magnitude right into a civilian center. Did it feel good after watching your ships get annihilated? After watching them become washed clean of life under similar weapons of lesser power but greater number? Did that feeling of revenge create a wave over you like an emotional orgasm? Did you feel powerful?

Tell me, Mr. Rogers, tell me what you felt right then. And be honest. The results of your answer only reflect on certain future military actions based not upon what the answer is, but whether you lie to me. So, what did you feel?"


Former IFLA Terrorist Base
Northern Cikae Island

More and more surprises. For the past week, it had been nothing but surprises. Kharne was getting sick of them. Were it not for the offer of such violence and the potential to further Der Führer's goals much more than they could do themselves, Kharne would have smashed his own screen with his gauntleted fist and called for a ride off of the island back home.

Wondering whether he would regret the decision, he confirmed interest with the infamous sound of the electronically-filtered Death Trooper voice.

"Speak."

Inquisition Complex
Deitrino, SAVX

"Nothing, except righteousness."

"How do you mean, 'righteousness'?"

"You SAVX scumbags, using brute force to damage our nation, when you harbour terrorist scumbags. Terrorists who attack the freedom and rights of the innocent. We protect the innocent, you aid the evil."

Rogers was feeling a little less frightened, and continued.

"No, I did not feel good, I did not feel powerful, but I felt right."

Ministry of Pain,
Krakk, IN

Delta's lift slowed to a halt on floor 99, the lift doors opened, and Delta greeted the two soldiers standing surprised in front of him with a burst of fire that caught them in the face. Stepping over their dead bodies a siren on the wall began to flash red and wail loudly. Someone had opened a door they shouldn't have.

Delta looked back at the three elavators, simultaneously they all were called down. The stairwell away to his left began to echo with the shouts of many soldiers. The cavalry had arrived. Speaking into the suit's mic, Delta ordered the forces upstairs to begin immediate manouevres to evacuate the building. The Ministry was bringing in reinforcements, and they had better get out quickly, leaving their special present behind. Delta finished the broadcast and dashed off down the corridor toward cell block B.

//OOC: Foley is emaciated, malnourished and very weak. He is alive, and with all his limbs attached, although walking unaided would be impossible.//

Inquisition Complex
Deitrino, SAVX

Drau's smile never left his face. The leering grin didn't flinch in the slightest at the comments. He lightly laughed after Rogers finished, then bent over close to Rogers' face, their noses barely a centimeter apart.

"Terrorists? You should be one to talk."

Drau's eyes squinted just a bit, that malicious smile never leaving his face. His breath smelled like something rotten, and washed continuously over Rogers' face.

"I wasn't aware of state-sponsored terrorists. The last interaction we had with terrorists ended with their pulverized bodies being burned by the only people in your nation who truly favor...'freedom and rights of the innocent.' But if you know something we don't, then it would help us quite a bit. Who are these terrorists?"


Savaron River front
NMS

Malsway had everything set up. Now the plan just needed to be implemented. This drawn-out stalemate couldn't be allowed to last any longer.

Setting up a short-range transmission with their comrade commander on the NMS side of the battle, she waited for his voice, then immediately set about her plan.

"Uh...High Priestess?"

"Yes, Friend. I need you to pull out your troops. We have a devastating piece of technology we obtained from the IN heretics, and we intend to use it against them."

OOC: Sorry about delay. I don't really have a plan as such, however one last raid before the RP finishes??


IC:

Former IFLA Terrorist Base
Northern Cikae Island


Jelfs was indeed taken aback by the thing that stood in the mess hall. Behind he could see several more of them and wondered exactly what they were, his mind frantically searching for any information that he may have overheard or been told about such creatures.

The few weapons that they had looked extremely high tech and Jelfs took as much in as he could, hoping that the squad of men that had accompanied him into the building were doing the same. The Intel boys would certainly find this interesting.

Just by looking at them he could see that it would be doubtful he would survive if they turned against him and so he slung his XM-8 over his shoulder, easing the tension in the room slightly. Along with Master Sergeant Patterson Jelfs moved towards one of the tables, clearing it of everything he spread out a map that Patterson handed to him. Looking around to see all the major players were present he began.

" Now..........Gentlemen... as you can see this is an airbase in the SouthWest of the mainland IN. From these satellite pictures we can see several of their Lucifer aircraft taking off and landing after what we can only assume is basic maintenance. Now this technology appears to be in advance of that currently possessed by at least my nation, and we are therefore very keen to get our hands on at least some of it. I have with me a squad of specialist aerospace engineers and my task is to get them into this airbase to have a look at one of those Lucifers with the aim of being able to obtain information that will lead to us being able to utlise the technology present in them."

He paused for a few moments, looking up at the creature infront of him and the figure of Vern who seemed to be permenantly masked in shadow. As an elite in the Hitmen he was partly appalled by the two and partly fascinated by them. The creature obviously possessed superb fighting skills, possibly being bred for it, whilst Vern displayed some notable characteristic for a pure human although his personal hygiene left a lot to be desired.


"Now then. If you Gentlemen would be kind enough to lend us a boat of some variety we will be on our way over there. Any information we gain will of course be shared with both nations in return for your co-operation. We plan to land here on this area of coastland that appears mostly deserted, rapelling up these cliffs here and then marching overland to the airbase. It should take no more than two days if we march efficiently as I have no doubt we will."

"Our primary exfiltration route from these Islands was to be via Helicopter from the Independence Carrier Group, however the situation has changed somewhat since the mission was put together and we will therefore be your guests for a period until we can get another plan put together once we return from our proposed mission."

"Are there any quieries?"

The Ministry of Pain

The man groaned. Rejean stepped forward.

"Don't worry, sir. I'm here to help you."

"Ha!" The man let forth a weak burst of emotion. "They said that, sometimes. Then...always more torture...pain...mental as well as physical. No hope...no, nothing at all."

Foley, if that who it was, was in some kind of delusional state. Rejean walked over, picked him up gently and stepped out of the cell, only to get almost knocked over by Delta 7.

"Damn," he said. "Busted. Do I get locked back up with this guy, or do I get my own cell?"

Former IFLA Terrorist Base
Northern Cikae Island

Kharne snorted, but nobody could hear it except the other Death Troopers because the local broadcast was turned off and his helmet sealed in most noise. "Rappel?" he thought. "Two days' march?" Then, making sure only the local com-link was turned on, he muttered to his Death Troopers.

"We'll have to slow down."

He was met with giggles and mirthful barks. Thanks to the years of agonizing training and biomodification, and with help from their suits, their bodies could fairly easily climb cliffs without assistance and run the distance in less than a day. However, SAVX doctrine ensured that the Death Troopers wouldn't even think of it; a team is nothing without cooperation.

Once Jelfs had finished describing his plan, Kharne switched on the local broadcast. He leaned ever-so-slightly over the table, clenching his right fist which was currently wearing a Mega Claw. The giant metal digits clamped together with loud clang that echoed through the room. His foice was a growl, which when filtered through the helmet's communication system, sounded like something out of a high-tech hell.

"We are ready to kill now and forever!"


Savaron River front
NMS

Malsway waited for the NMS commander to decide what to say.

Savaron River front

"They're going to WHAT?" asked General St. Vaudet. He was shouting into a telephone in the command post.

"Any way around this?"

"...okay, we'll swarm across. They've gotta run out of bullets sometime."

He picked up a second phone and started laying out a plan for an all-out attack. Gunboats would be brought in, and ten full-strength divisions would cross over to methodically eliminate the IN presence.

He did NOT want to go down in history as the man who leveled Sorel.

//OOC: I have no idea as to the effects, both short- and long-term of this weapons, could someone fill me in please? The attack would be carried out no matter what//

Former IFLA Terrorist Base
Northern Cikae Island

Vern looked appaled by the Death Trooper's bloodlust, but managed to speak up.

"Fine by me."

Inquisition Complex
Deitrino, SAVX

Rogers started to look worried again, he did not know who the terrorists were, he had just been told.

"Um, I... I... uh..."

The Ministry of Pain

"Neither. I have to get Foley out of here alive, you will help me. There are Ministry troops on their way, we have only a minute or two. Take this C4 and blow out the external wall, I'll hold these bastards off. Protect Foley."

Rejean looked surprised, but Delta had already turned away and started to move back down the corridor to engage the oncoming Soldiers. He crouched down near to the lifts as the tramping of feet from the stairs got louder.

The first two soldiers were met with a blast of bullets in the face, sending them tumbling down the stairs. Delta gripped the shaking machinegun tightly, and continued to fire, standing and attacking the soldiers. The more experienced troops fired back, two bullets grazing Delta Seven's left shoulder. The lift doors drew open, and three groups of soldiers emerged, guns blazing. Bullets crackled over Delta, two pentrating the armour. Delta Seven felt sharp pains in his right arm and thigh, and dropped the MG, switching to his duel pistols as he stumbled backwards. He carried on dropping the Ministers, but more took their place, firing rounds into his weakening armour. Another bullet penetrated, embedding itself in his left shoulder. He stumbled further backwards, the suit's safety systems controlling the blood loss, for now.

A large explosion behind him signaled that Rejean had blown a hole. Gasping into his suit's microphone, Delta checked that his ride was in position. He fired the last of his bullets before turning and running as fast as he could, every pump of his leg muscles sending waves of pain through his body and pumping blood out of the wound. Bullets crashed into his back, and head destroying the suit's systems under the repeated pressure. Delta Seven skidded around the corner into the thick smoke. He ripped his malfunctioning helmet off and dashed onwards toward where the hole in the wall should be. Delta leapt out, flying through the air as bullets whizzed past his ear. He crashes down onto a cold metal floor, that begins to vibrate as it moves beneath him. His vision blurs, and diminishes as he looks up into the faces of Rejean and Wulfila.

"Hang on Delta, we're on the way to a hospital."

//OOC: NMS, the long-term effects are non-existant. Neutron radiation lasts up to a week before completely dissapating, so no radiation soaked land. All structures will be Ok, but plants and other wildlife will be killed, along with my soldiers.

Thanks to everyone who has participated in this RP, it has been really good fun. It has been going on a long time and is finally nearing the end. IH, I know you want to fight in the Guff. thing, so you can if you want. SAVX, NMS; your nations deserve some repayment for the atrocities mine commited, so we should really think up a formal surrender notice thing. Foley will be put back in charge eventually, after his mind has been muddled with. Brandt, D7 and the crew will all be taking refuge in The Horned Rat's conquered territory during your probable occupation. I don't know what you'd all like from my nation, but you can have it. SAVX, you have the tech you want probably, but I have shedloads of Uranium and gold in the southern mountains. NMS, pick what you'd like.//

//OOC: What I need the most is tech, I'll go into further details later once I have time. Right now, I know that I want rights for the Lucifer fighter, as well as some kind of imporved ground armor and helicopter//

OOC: It's been a blast, IN. I'm trying to think of something sufficiently good follow up with. It's hard to beat this! And yeah, IN basically has it down. Neutron bombs are, relatively speaking, very clean.

IC:

Inquisition Complex
Deitrino, SAVX

Drau let out a laugh again. This time it was a slow cackle, and he threw his full form into it, leaning back and raising his face towards the ceiling, eyes clentched shut in mirth. Rogers, with his renewed confidence despite his inability to answer, became indignant.

"What's so funny?"

In a rapid motion, the Inquisitor came back to his original position, this time close enough for his nose to touch Rogers'.

"Don't you see? You've been duped. You and your entire nation have been tricked into a lie that only the least rational of people could possibly fall for. You fools are driven by your emotions, not intelligence. And look where it's gotten your nation: thousands dead...tens or hundreds of thousands wounded...and increasing levels of destruction. And for what? For some stupid little power whores to play their stupid little power games.

We aren't the terrorists, Mr. Rogers. You are."

Formal Notice of the Surrender of the Military Junta of Intelligent Neighbors to the nations of Super American VX Man, New Montreal States and Independent Hitmen.

As of 12.00pm today, all soldiers belonging to the Military Junta of Intelligent Neighbors shall be ordered to cease hostilities with the opposing nations. Any military action after this order is to be considered as rebel action, not under the influence of any governement.

I, Marcus Brandt, head of the IN Home Security Service have taken it upon myself to end this bloodshed as soon as possible and as such I have aquired authorisation from President Alexi Kersebleptos to reside over the hand-over of power to your nations.

The President of Intelligent Neighbors has decided on a set of conditions that must be agreed upon by all nations in order for the hand-over to proceed. They are set out below:

1- A guarantee that there will be no genocide on the part of any nation.
2- A guarantee that under no circumstances shall any low rank personnel from the armed forces be detained or made subject to interrogation by any nation.
3- A guarantee that all prisoners of war are returned to the nation of their choice.
4- A guarantee that the Military Junta of Intelligent Neighbors will repay the opposing nations for the cost of war. A figure will need to be decided upon.
5- A guarantee that no nation should be occupied by another for a period longer than 2 years.
6- A guarantee that each nation be allowed to try it's own war criminals, according to the laws with which it abides.
7- A guarantee that the Military Junta of Intelligent Neighbors will not pursue any new developments or production of weapons of mass destruction for a period of 5 years.
8- A guarantee that no nation shall take another's territory from them //Don't want to screw the map up.//

I am awaiting your replies,
Marcus Brandt, Head of the INHSS

The Palace
New Wasteland, SAVX

Der Führer breathed a sigh of relief. With it went all the of the stresses associated with a large-scale war. Reading through the list of terms, he thought that it was a little much for a nation that had just waged unjust war to be asking for...especially the one about trying war criminals. Müller had special plans lined up for that Senna woman, but now that wouldn't be allowed for. However, given the change in governments, he figured that this would be...acceptable.

He would call off his forces, as well as the Sainamans. Then they would see just how much of the IN military really was still under the Presidential command. "I'll need some chemical strikes lined up," he thought.

--Transmission Begin--
To: Marcus Brandt, Head of the INHSS
From: Der Führer von SAVX, Hans Müller
Re: Cease-fire

We will abide by the terms. Don't try anything.

--Transmission End--


Savaron River front
NMS

It was barely an hour before the plan was going to be implemented when the order came from SAVX Military Command: cease fire. In her head, High Priestess Lindsey Malsway regretted that they were unable to carry out the mass-cleansing that was shortly to occur. Assuming, of course, their enemies followed their own cease-fire command.

The defenses maintained their positions and were ready to deal with a continuation of fighting, but the shelling stopped. Nearly continuous since the beginning of the conflict in this city, it had ravaged every ounce of civilization. No building was left untouched, and most weren't left standing whatsoever. The shallow floodwaters were now disease-ridden cesspools of decay. Decomposing, bloated bodies and mold-ridden building materials floated or sat in the still liquid. The odor was horrendous, but everyone was used to it now.

How the mess would be taken care of...well, that was another issue.


Former IFLA Terrorist Base
Northern Cikae Island

Kharne had recieved the cease-fire order, but he wasn't sure if it applied to them quite yet. That, he supposed, was up to the others preparing for this final strike. However, it did mean one thing.

Making his way across the base while the IH soldiers and People worked out the details of the attack, he spotted a small shed. It stood on the edge of the base. There was a simple lock on it: a chain wrapped in a knot. Kharne broke it apart with a sharp tug, and then opened the door.

Inside it stank with the odors of uncivilized, tortured humanity. The shed's inside area was a mere 2x3 meters; just enough for a small, battered woman to be left in. Putrid feces and urine was smeared across the ground.

Senna was in the worst condition of her life. Malnourished and in constant agony from her now-infected wounds, it was obvious by her eyes that even this little situation was threatening to damage her sanity. Her face was sunken, and any bit of fat that her body had before was almost totally gone. Her hands and mouth were stained with her wastes; obviously, she had tried to use them for nourishment.

When Kharne opened the door, she screamed as well as she could. Her voice was hoarse from screaming the past few days for someone to let her out; for mercy. Kharne had made it clear, however, that there would be no mercy. Not by anyone's hand here, anyway.

He ignored the woman's plight. He didn't care what this wretch suffered by his hands. He rather desired that she ventured to the Halls of Hell, but that wouldn't be happening.

Removing his helmet, he crouched down. His voice was just above a whisper. In it was a definite hint of evil.

"You're saved. Your cowardly government demands that we release our prisoners. You should be my rightful property, but we believe in honoring agreements."

Kharne grabbed Senna by the hair and dragged her out of the shed. When The People soldiers saw her, they were revolted by her appearance and smell, and horrified at what the Death Trooper Commander had made so. Once he was in the middle of the base, he threw Senna onto the ground, then raised his voice so that everyone close enough could hear.

"You can give this scum food and water if you must. She's rightful property of IN now, so she can make her way back home as she pleases."

Putting his helmet back on, he strode back towards the meeting place to see what developments had been made, disregarding the woman that had betrayed him; his desire for revenge was satisfied.


Inquisition Complex
Deitrino, SAVX

Drau heard a beeping on the communications system in the other room before Rogers could make a reply. He quickly turned to check and see what it was. It only took a minute before he was back in the room with Rogers. The grin on Drau's face was still there, but now it had an air of politeness.

"Your government has finally decided to stop this nonsense."

Walking over to a counter, the Inquisitor picked up a small cloth and took a bottle out of a cabinet on the wall. He applied liquid to the cloth, then walked over to Rogers.

"You're free to go."

Stuffing the cloth into Rogers' face, Drau waiting as the chloroform did its work.


The IN pilot awoke on a sidewalk. People walked by Rogers, glancing down only for a second. There were numerous soldiers stationed around, but they ignored him. It was obvious by the climate and by signs on stores and streets that he was still in Deitrino. However, any hint of the SAVX Inquisition was gone.

Former IFLA Terrorist Base
Northern Cikae Island

Jelfs and some of his men saw the display by the SAVX creature and it nearly turned some of their stomachs. Two medics ran towards what had been a woman and began attempting to treat her wounds.

Jelfs heard mutterings about shooting her as it appeared her life was no longer worth living, a thought that he entertained but quickly passed off. War crimes were not something he wished to dabble into, and he was sure that neither did his men.

In an attempt to keep them occupied he decided to send the majority of them out to the ranges for a live fire exercise.

This would probably be their last day in the Cikae Islands. Two hours previously twelve C-130 Transport aircraft had lifted off from Thomas Gear Air Force Base and were heading to the nearest area that appeared to be capable of accepting the rough landing Hercules Transports. Another war was brewing in the world, and the elite paratroops would be needed there too.

While the people celebrated a victorious end to the war, Frog brooded over the state of things in his palace. He had an army to modernize (although newly seized tech from IN would help) and a province to rebuild. He picked up the phone, confirmed that everything was fine with IH and SAVX, and headed south to survey the damage. On his way there, he called Rejean about getting the plans for body armor and the VA-4 from the IN forces.

Transmission to Hans Müller

My thanks, regarding the issue of war compensation, have you decided on a figure? I'd like you to bear in mind your own attacks against civilians.

On a more personal note, I'd like to assure you that I will never allow this to happen again as long as I am head of the INHSS. A crazed lunatic like Easdale should never have been instated as Prime Minister, and I apologise for my assistance in this matter. I soon discovered my error, and finally I have corrected it. Alexi Kersebleptos will not make any harsh moves without my backing, he knows his place. I wish to meet the head of the new regional defense ministry, who I beleive is a SAVX national? I have been elected as regional intelligence minister and as such I feel it necessary that we discuss certain issues regarding regional security, both from inside and out.

Regards,
Marcus Brandt.

Transmission to Rejean le Guiscar

Hello Rejean, I have heard about your nation's hankering for some of our nation's more advanced technology, especially the FLIT-3 suits and VA-3 'Lucifer' planes. I will be able to send the plans to you shortly, although with some details regarding the RWC Black Steel system ommited. You will have to use your existing computer system or the one currently being designed for the region.

Again I would like to offer you a place in Cobra, you seem well fitted for such a placement. And now we are all 'friends' again, you would be a useful ally. If you decide you'd like to join, I will send you your own HTT-12 suit, as well as other assorted gadgets from the Venom Defense workshop.

Thanks for your assistance in Krakk,
Marcus Brandt.

Former IFLA Terrorist Base
Northern Cikae Island

Vern had recieved word from his commander, that Imperial bitch whining on the floor would be allowed to go free. With the end of the war, all those thousands of IN soldiers would have nothing to do, and could be used to extinquish the presence of The People on the Cikae Islands for good. This could not be allowed to happen, and all personnel were being ordered to go into hiding until the tension had died down. Vern ordered his soldiers to take Senna to the Cikae city hospital, as soon as the IH medics had done what they could. At least the bitch is crippled.

Krakk,
IN

Delta Seven pushed open the door of The Rock bar and stepped into the gloomy room. Several people were already there, and with the loud music of a live band playing on the relatively large 'stage' no-one noticed him. Delta was still in slight pain after the wounds he had experienced recently, and his right arm was held stiffly as it healed. Still, he had a concealed pistol in his left pocket of his jacket, and a knife strapped to his leg. Delta saw his target, leaning against a wall and made his way over.

The band had started a new song, and were blasting out heavy german lyrics over the pounding of guitars and drums. The song was strangely appropriate, Punish me being part of the chorus. Delta grinned, the irony did not excape him, now he was the force of justice. He reached the man, and placed his left arm on his shoulder, spinning and slamming him into a wall.

"Minister Frant, I am arresting you with regards to war crimes commited against the nation of Super American VX Man. I work for the Home Security Service and as such I am..."

The Minister struck out, punching Delta in his right arm, still held by his stomach. Delta Seven cried out and tried to pull out his pistol but Frant knocked it away and grasped Delta's injured arm, pushing Delta to the floor mercilessly.

A shadow of another man blocked out the light flashing from the stage, and Frant looked up. The man's features were not discernable, but he could make out the cut of an expensive suit. The man spoke.

"...authorised to carry out punishment as I see fit, and I deem that you are to be executed."

Brandt smiled, and raised his gun, firing a single shot into the Minister's head. The Minister smacked back into the wall and collapsed onto the floor, leaving a red smear on the wall. Around them the crowd did not hear the shot above the sound of the band.

The lord does take, the lord does give.

How true.

The Palace
New Wasteland, SAVX

Der Führer read the message twice over just to make sure he didn't miss anything. First things first: get the Regional Defense Minister informed of his meeting. Müller picked up his cellular phone and hit one of the many speed-dial combinations. It rang twice.

"Mein Führer! What may I do for you today?"

"Scott Ramel, son of my greatest friend, how are you enjoying your new position?"

"It's great, sir! I can't thank you enough for this opportunity."

"It's fine. Just make sure you do at least as well as your old man would. Anyway, the reason I called is that Marcus Brandt of the INHSS wants to meet with you in regards to running regional security. We're going to have to assume that he's not one of the nut bastards who played a role in starting the whole conflict. Be on your guard, but remember that this is important business, so don't be stupid about it."

"Understood, sir. I'll contact him immediately."

"Good."

Müller killed the connection and switched over to his computer. He needed to make a quick response to Brandt himself.

--Transmission Begin--
To: Marcus Brandt, Head of the INHSS
From: Der Führer von SAVX, Hans Müller
Re: Compensation, Regional Security

I've assigned General Scott Ramel, regional Defense Minister, to discuss security matters with you. By the time you receive this, he should have already contacted you.

As for war compensation, 50 billion USD. We'll also set up some other agreements on the side, if you know what I mean.

--Transmission End--


Former IFLA Terrorist Base
Northern Cikae Island

Kharne stood in one of The Peoples' barracks. There was nobody inside currently, which is exactly what he wanted. He quickly searched around for a piece of paper and a pen. Upon finding them, he scratched out a note on a small wooden desk, then picked up a combat knife that was laying on one of the soldiers' footlockers. As he left the barracks, he pinned the note to the outside of the door. He had business to do now.

Switching his com-link to the squad setting, Kharne ordered his men to convene on a small clearing on the edge of the base. It took less than a minute for all of the Death Troopers to arrive and form up, and so he was able to address them quickly.

Death Troopers didn't care for long-winded speeches or closing thoughts. All that mattered were the missions and death. What were words against the very epitome of physical action?

"Helicopters will arrive from HQ to return us home. Make sure you're ready to go in ten minutes. They'll be here in twelve."

Kharne nodded, and with that, the Death Troopers, the ones who had survived Senna's betrayal and had shed gallons of enemy blood in return, made their way to leave the conflict without a second thought.


As the helicopters rose into the air, Kharne leaned out the open side of his to stare at the setting sun. There was always something about the sky at this time that demanded a sort of deep thought. Therefore, Kharne began to meditate, after giving a last glancing thought to the note he left on the barracks door.


A People officer happened to walk by the door when the note fluttered in the breeze. The officer gave the knife a tug to dislodge it and then proceeded to read the scrawled writing on the paper. It soon became clear who it was directed to.

I hate secrecy, especially when that secret is expecting me to do something for it. However, you have my respect. Your selection of targets was most delectable.

Tread lightly. We are now no more allies than we were before this conflict. If my government finds your further actions to be a hindrance or threat and goes so far as to order us to eliminate you, we will not hesitate to do so. You are warned.

Thanks for the blood, and thanks again if it's ever yours.

//OOC: This last part went completely over my head, sorry about the delay//

Frog had accepted the IN offer, as the army was in desperate need of improvements. Computing power could be provided by the regional system, once it got underway.

As for Rejean, he had, with Frog's permission, opted to join COBRA. He had no idea what was going to happen to him now, but he was fairly sure that it couldn't get any more dangerous than it had already been...

//http://forums.jolt.co.uk/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=9847427 is the follow-up, if anyone out there was reading this and feels the need for more//