NationStates Jolt Archive

(OOC: See The Prospect Massacre http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=97649&start=60&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight= thread for the background on this)

Arco, Western Navascuez. 11:36 PM
"This just in folks. James O'Hara, charismatic deputy sheriff of Navideña, has escaped unharmed from an assassination attempt outside the Ten of Hearts. No one has been apprehended as of yet, but – " Billy angrily clicked off the radio.
"What the hell is this! Hey sis, you hear this?"
"Yeah, it's awful!"
Billy reached into his bedroom closet and pulled out an M1-Thompson, placing it under his pillow right before he went ot bed. "I get the feeling I'll be called into active duty soon enough" he muttered as he drifted off to sleep."

Cape Liberty, Western Navascuez. 12:02 AM
Elder Stewart, lighthouse keeper at Cape Liberty, wearily climbed the steps. When he reached the top, he changed the orientation of the light long enough to give the alert signal, three blinks on and off, but briefly enough so as not to endanger any incoming ships.
"This was coming soon enough"

Amarillo, Western Navascuez. 12:03 AM
John Summers was the sheriff of the town of Amarillo, an old mining town inland. Upon hearing the news and seeing the lighthouse, he quickly put on his raincoat and ran out into the street until he reached a modest house, build in the Southwestern style.
"Yo, Preach! Preach!" Summers shouted.
Thomas Holliday, a young man, in his mid-twenties, ran out. "What?"
Summers barged in and shut the door behind him.
"Get ready, we're in for something big."

Navideña, Western Navascuez. 12:12 AM
O'Hara, Major Horton, Tommy and the other soldier arrived into town and quickly settled in, right before the rain came down heavily.
"Let's call it a night boys, and see what comes up in the morning"

(OOC: You might as well.)

Gen. Dante sits in his office with his bandaged foot. Gen. McZeal runs into the office and has trouble calming down.

McZeal: Sir, you better sit for this!

Dante: I am sitting, moron.

OOC: Troops will remain airborne until La Christiana gives the go-ahead for landing

Gen. Dante sits in his office with his bandaged foot. Gen. McZeal runs into the office and has trouble calming down.

McZeal: Sir, you better sit for this!

Dante: I am sitting, moron.

McZeal: Sir, more troops arrived in Western Navascuez.

Dante: Are they ours?

McZeal: No, sir. They're troops from South Dalania.

Dante: Huh, the Christianans' reinforcements have arrived.

(OOC: South Dalania, permission granted)

Harlan, obviously pissed about the escalating situation, addresses the Christianian troops in Navascuez "Alright, look dammit, I don't know who shot up that car, and frankly, I don't give a flying ****! I want you all to mobilize, any towns in Navascan territory are to be put on lockdown immediately! All businesses are to be shut down, no one leaves their houses, understood? We're also getting reinforcements from South Dalania, and I expect you to cooperate with them fully. They're here to help us, so we'll utilize that, dammit! Now get out there and do your damn jobs!"

The aircraft touched down on the concrete of the landing field as the turboprops came to a halt. With the engines still running, the metallic rear ramps of the planes dropped, disgorging three hundred fully armed marines of the South Dalanian armed forces. Forming into ranks, they marched towards a group of La Christianan military officers located at the end of the field. As the turboprops took off for South Dalania, the leading commander saluted.

"The 3rd Marine Regiment is ready for action sir," said the commander. Reaching into the breast pocket of his uniform (which had the South Dalanian flag clealry sewn on the arm) he withdrew a laminated sheet of paper, handing it to the officer in charge. "This is our rules of engagement. We cannot be used to brutalize or terrorize civillians and we are not allowed to engage Langham troops. Other than that, we are here to assist."

(OOC: For people who voted "Needs a little work" or "Don't like it" on the polls, please feel free to offer improvements)

On televisions around the nation, Thomas Harlan prepares to issue a statement about tonihgt's incident.
"The people of La Christiania, including myself, are shocked and outraged at the course of events that transpired for the past two days in this wonderful land. We hope that a resolve can be reached as soon as humanly possible. Good night all"

Later on that night, back in his hotel, he makes a call to the military base in Navascuez. "Yeah, I want a full investigation" he chuckled as he said this "on tonight's assassination attempt. I don't care how few men you put on the team, just make it look good. And keep me out of this."

(OOC: Bump)

Horton wakes up at the sound of a plane.

Horton: Hey, guys, hear that? That can't be a Langhan plane.

Outside a theater in a small town, 1:17 AM
"Mommy, thanks for taking me to the play" the little girl said as she hugged him tight"
"No problem, dear. Any time. Did you like the part when – "
"Get the hell home. Now." a soldier said from a Humvee passing down the street, pointing a rifle at him and his little girl
"What?"
"Navascuez isn't under independent control anymore, you're under martial law, and you're under curfew." He loaded his rifle slowly. "I won't ask you again…" But by that time mother and daughter were already running down the street towards home.

Navideña, Western Navascuez, 1:21 AM
O'Hara turned off the television, reclining back on the couch. He wondered to himself: "Well ain't that a bitch? Rounding up little kids at gunpoint and forcing them home. And we're not able to govern ourselves why?"
After hearing Horton's remark. "You don't think Harlan's authorized South Dalanian forces into the country, do you?"

Horton sits next to O'Hara on the couch and watches the television with a disgusted look on his face.

Horton: I believe so. The Christianian soldiers seem to be crawling all over the place. It's most likely South Dalanian troops.

"I'd like to see how Harlan deals with this on Sunday when people need to leave their houses to go to church." He pulled out another Cuban and rolled one over to Horton, and two others to the soldiers accompanying him. "He must think we're f***ing stupid, too. The only reason this lockdown is being enforced is so that we can't investigate the people behind tonight's shooting."

The Horton and the soldiers take the cigars.

Horton: Right now, my men are ready for a fight. Hell, we always are. If any civilians are harmed, they are in the deepest s***. We don't play around when it comes to civilians being harmed. As for Harlan, he's lucky he hasn't been assasinated yet. If these soldiers harm one civilian, next time he sees me, he's going to scream in total and utter pain.

"Hey now, we can't go around assassinating people we don't like. Well, I mean we can, but we shouldn't anyway. It's just wrong. Besides, I'm sure someone will kill him back in his home country anyway." Lighting up his Cuban, he passes the lighter down the line. "And if he's really stupid enough to try and harm civilians, I pity him, I really do. What we need to do is figure out how to avert the battles away from the towns. We've got a lot of open spaces out on the frontier, the thing is utilizing them as much as possible. I'll get you a map as soon as this curfew's done with"

Horton lights his cigar and passes the lighter down.

Horton: It can't be that hard to think of something to avert them away from towns. We have possibilities upon possibilities. The problem is working it out.

"Very true. But that's something for tomorrow, because I'm going to sleep now. Have a good night, everyone"

Panic struck the streets of the Navascan capital as the South Dalanian troops headed out on patrol. Initially mistaking them for La Christianan soldiers, civillians turned and fled in fear. Down the street, a crying child was scooped up by her mother and the two hustled down the street as fast as the woman could run.

"Ma'am, we're South Dalanian peacekeepers," offered the lead soldier with a smile as he extended a hand towards a young woman who was struggling with a bag of groceries. "We've been informed to tell you that you're---"

"Leave me alone! I've done nothing!" she screamed as she nearly dropped the bag of groceries on the ground. "Dont arrest me!"

"--under curfew," finished the soldier with a calm look. "All civillians must return to their homes at once." With a loud scream, the woman took off running down the street.

From a nearby second story window, someone screamed, "You foreign bastards! Get out of our country! You can't tell us what to do!!"

The commander turned towards the window. "Sir, we've been informed to tell you you're under curfew. Please close the window and retire to your quarters."

"Don't tell me what to do you facist dog!" shouted the man. "What are you going to do....shoot me!?"

The commanding soldier grimaced, but held his tongue in check. "Sir I'm going to ask you one more time and then I'm going to have to detain you on charges of breaking a military curfew." A rotten head of cabbage came flying from the window in response, striking the soldier in the chest. He looked down in disgust.

Behind him, thirteen SG-550 rifles snapped up towards the window as the South Dalanian soldiers aimed their weapons. With a gasp, the man slammed the window shut, retreating inside as he screamed, "They're killers!"

"Dammit! Hold your fire!" shouted the commander as he slapped the muzzle of the nearest assault rifle down. "We're here to keep the peace, not to shoot civillians."

It would be a long night... mused the commander unhappily.

Commander Alan Risco of the Imperial peace keeping force surveyed his men as they left their C-130 transports. As they shuffled out, tired by the journey, he recieved a message over the radio:
Comms-Commander, we have recieved word that South Delanian peace-keepers have been deployed.
Commander: Acknowleged. We'll let the troops rest before deployment, but we cannot afford to waste any more time.

Back in Prussia there had been numerous difficulties in loading the force onto the aircraft, and technical difficulties with the trnsports anti-missile defence systems hadn't helped matters. Behind schedule, Risco knew that unless he made swift progress now, his neck would be on the line-literally.
His 'Imperial majesty' did not take kindly to failure, espeially when money was involved.
Armoured jeeps now rolled out onto the tarmac, with mounted M-60 machine guns, useful but vunerable in urban warfare. Air support was promised, but that would take time, as the WAH-4 attack helipcopters would need to be shipped from Prussia via an allied port. In the meantime, his forces would have to patrol the streets without knowing what ambushes could be laid around the next street corner. This was of great concern to Risco, as his troops were there to gain experience, not get killed.

Message from Imperial Ambassador to Western Navascuez: Our WAH-4 helicopters are loaded and ready for shipment-we seek permission for the allied Carrier Prinz Volder to enter your waters. Upon dispatch, they should arrive at your location in 3-4 days.
In the meantime, our peacekeeping force is ready for deployment-please send grid referances for areas to be patrolled-Imperial Office for Foreign Affairs

Messgae to Western Navascuez: We regret to inform you that we cannot guarentee any more reinforcements bar the ones already deployed, and are on standby awaiting clearance due to a threat on our border. This hopefully will only be a short-term matter, and when the threat is resolved we are willing to commit more forces if neccesary-message ends.
Imperial Office of Foreign Affairs.

From: The Sons of Navascuez
To: Emperor Blort

We understand and thank you for the aid provided


O'Hara, waking up early the next morning. After showering and having a quick breakfast, he goes out and walks to the sheriffs office a few blocks down. Even though a curfew is still in effect, the soldiers let him pass since they'd rather avoid another incident involving the deputy sheriff. Upon walking in, he's greeted by two police officers. One rushes up to him, apparently with something very important to say.
"Jim! Your car, that bullet-riddled piece of s**t in the basement, we've had the shell casings inside analyzed, and some of them are definitely Christianian issue shells. I'm gonna do a more thorough check but all evidence points to them."
"You do that…I'm gonna have a nice long chat with Harlan about this one…"

Picking up the nearby phone, he calls Diplomat Kyong at his hotel and leaves a brief message on the answering machine. "Could you and Mr. Harlan be so kind as to meet us in the basement of Grace Baptist Church in Palmerston as soon as possible? Thank you."

It was going to be a long day

From: The Sons of Navascuez
To: Emperor Blort

We understand and thank you for the aid provided


O'Hara, waking up early the next morning. After showering and having a quick breakfast, he goes out and walks to the sheriffs office a few blocks down. Even though a curfew is still in effect, the soldiers let him pass since they'd rather avoid another incident involving the deputy sheriff. Upon walking in, he's greeted by two police officers. One rushes up to him, apparently with something very important to say.
"Jim! Your car, that bullet-riddled piece of s**t in the basement, we've had the shell casings inside analyzed, and some of them are definitely Christianian issue shells. I'm gonna do a more thorough check but all evidence points to them."
"You do that…I'm gonna have a nice long chat with Harlan about this one…"

Picking up the nearby phone, he calls Diplomat Kyong at his hotel and leaves a brief message on the answering machine. "Could you and Mr. Harlan be so kind as to meet us in the basement of Grace Baptist Church in Palmerston as soon as possible? Thank you."

It was going to be a long day

From: The Sons of Navascuez
To: Emperor Blort

We understand and thank you for the aid provided


O'Hara, waking up early the next morning. After showering and having a quick breakfast, he goes out and walks to the sheriffs office a few blocks down. Even though a curfew is still in effect, the soldiers let him pass since they'd rather avoid another incident involving the deputy sheriff. Upon walking in, he's greeted by two police officers. One rushes up to him, apparently with something very important to say.
"Jim! Your car, that bullet-riddled piece of s**t in the basement, we've had the shell casings inside analyzed, and some of them are definitely Christianian issue shells. I'm gonna do a more thorough check but all evidence points to them."
"You do that…I'm gonna have a nice long chat with Harlan about this one…"

Picking up the nearby phone, he calls Diplomat Kyong at his hotel and leaves a brief message on the answering machine. "Could you and Mr. Harlan be so kind as to meet us in the basement of Grace Baptist Church in Palmerston as soon as possible? Thank you."

It was going to be a long day

Kyong arrived on schedule, only this time he was escorted by a detachment of South Dalanian marines. Motioning for them to wait outside, the young diplomat entered the basement meeting room. He wondered what was the purpose of this meeting.

(OOC: Time to introduce a new character, no?)

(OOC: Sure. Go for it.)

John Summers of Amarillo was a leisurely man, it wasn't his fault really, just what his job called for. Sure, you'd expect the Amarillo sheriff to be a busy man, but Amarillo just wasn't the kind of town where things got out of hand, just like how Navascuez was until this curfew was imposed. Plucking at his moustache, Summers leaned back in his chair and looked out the window. It was a nice clear night tonight, a good night to take a walk actually. Except Summers wasn't in a walking mood tonight. Right now, he wanted to deal with the foreign interventions threatening his beloved country. "I'll be damned if any foreign countries try 'n rape this country with their bull." Picking up the newspaper, he found it rather hard to keep up with all these new people in the headlines. "Major Horton? Min Kyong? Thomas Harlan? Who the hell are these people, anyway?" He found it best to deal with Mjr. Horton first, seeing him as a Navascan-friendly person anyway. Amarillo wasn't too far away from Navideña, anyway, so Summers started up his squad car and lazily drove on Route 51 until he was where he wanted to be. Stepping out his car, he knocked on the door of Horton's temporary residence. "Anyone in there?"

Horton opened the door with a gun in hand and saw someone.

Horton: Yes?

"Sheriff Summers, how do you do? I'm just droppin' by to make sure that yer experience here is as comfortable as possible, and to ask a couple questions. How long do y' plan on stayin in Navascuez, if y' don't mind me asking"

Horton: That depends. We might leave a few weeks after you get an organized militia, maybe 6 weeks. But if this country is attacked, us and some other Langhan military units would be here until the battle is over and the country is runnable. It varies.

He nods with approval. "I've gotta thank you right now for helpin' us put here, I'm not sure how familiar you are with illegitimate governments in your country but I'm gettin the feelin' if we don't nip this now thing's are gonna get outta hand real fast"

Horton: I have to agree with you. Things can get out of hand very quickly, plus Christianian and South Dalanian troops won't just pack up and leave. Something has to happen. They won't leave until your resistance is totally gone.

"Couldn't agree more. Anyway, I've just got one more thing to add. I'm sure you 'n' your government have been receiving numerous correspondences from the 'Sons of Navascuez', and so you know, me and O'Hara are two of the ten members, so if you've got any questions feel free to ask 'em now"

Horton: I don't have any questions. I'm working on how to lower the morale for the Christianian and Dalanian troops. Once their morale lowers, their high commands may have s***-fits and may be forced to withdrawl. A soldier can only go so far on low morale.

"You could try making them realize that they have no power. Sure there's a few Christianian loyalists in the country, but by far, people want this nation to be separated from that welfare state on the other side of the ocean. Once they realize that people want them out, they'll see this as a losing cause. Not to mention the fact that we're fighting on our soil, meaning we can cut off supplies if necessary"

Horton: If I remember what O'Hara told me correctly, there's alot of open space in this country. We need to find a way to lure them away from cities and into the open where they'll be slaughtered. Once they see platoon after platoon is getting slaughtered, they'll see it as a lost cause.

"Yeah, only about one percent of the land is actually settled, there's a lot out there we haven't even begun to look at. After you go a few miles north, south or west, there's absolutely no signs of civilization. The trick is gettin them out there in the first place, they may be assholes but they're not stupid"

"Sir, our forces are reporting no resistance so far from any militants. However the Langham forces are a concern...they appear to be setting up their troops and digging in. Our numerical advantage is only fifty marines and they have the capability and long-term advantage in manpower which will most likely neutralize our advantage here," spoke the marine commander's aide.

The general leaned back in the folding chair that had been set up for him in the command post. "We are under explicit orders not to engage Langham forces."

"Sir, the unit commanders are wondering what to do if they are fired upon. They don't like the idea of having to hold their weapons still while being shot at."

The general thought to himself. "Inform Seoul of the situation. We'll get our course of action soon enough."

Horton: Perhaps if you make them think that you're about to settle there. Do you know their stances on the people making new settlements?

"I'll put it this way; we'll expand until we reach the other end of the continent if we can."

Horton: Good. We can make them think that people are moving to settle somewhere new. Once we wipe out a platoon in one area, we have to fight in another because they'll most likely catch on that they'll die in that area. Once they see that their platoons are getting blown to bits, they'll see their attempts to take you under their fold is futile and give up.

"I damn sure hope so, because as you may or may not know, the Navascan military ain't all that good, in fact, it simply doesn't exist. The best we got are a bunch oh 20-year olds runnin' around with rifles strapped to their stomachs."

Horton: That's why we're here. When they see their men are getting slaughtered and their options are exhausted, they'll give up. We'll need to do everything from small skirmishes, ambushes, and anything else that will lower their morale. The main thing we need to do is take over their supply lines, we can commandeer the vehicles, take the ammunition, food, water, and medicine.

With the streets now empty of civillians, the Navascan capital had an eerie almost ghostlike feel to it. No lights shone in the windows and the streets were deserted, save for La Christianan or South Dalanian soldiers who were patrolling the area. There had been no sign of the two hundred or so Langham soldiers which worried the South Dalanian command.

"I don't like it sarge," muttered one of the South Dalanian soldiers as he rubbed his hands together, his SG-550 assault rifle slung over his shoulder. "This town has 'ambush' written all over it."

The sargeant saluted a group of passing La Christianan soldiers, receiving several salutes in return. Turning to the young South Dalanian soldier, he said, "Don't worry about it, you'll go nuts if you keep thinking like that. Besides you're in one piece and you haven't even been shot at yet."

"That's what I don't like," grinned one of the more enthusiastic troopers in the back of the patrol. "We come here all the way from South Dalania and the damn rebs aint even kind enough to pop open the windows and take a couple of shots at us? Shee-yit," he said with contempt, spitting a gob of phelegm into the street gutter.

"Shut up with that kind of talk marine," barked the sergeant. "When that first shot goes over your head, you green marines will wish you'd never even heard of the word 'war'."

"They'll learn in time...." thought the sergeant to himself. "Or they won't last five minutes out here."

Harlan was clearly worried. This detainment process was going far worse that he expected. The citizens were getting, to put it plainly, pissed off at Christiania. "Shit!" he exclaimed, almost as a reflex after thinking how pporly the situation was going. Not to mention that this situation presented a very real threat to both Christianian and South Dalanian troops. Reluctantly, he made an announcement to the Navascan press.

"This is President Thomas Harlan speaking. At 6:00 tonight, the curfew will be lifted and the military presence will be reduced considerably. That is all" Now all he had to do was get to Grace Baptist Church for this meeting O'Hara called. He made sure to up the security around his motorcade, fearing any attempts on his life.

Langhan soldiers were in dark alleys and in buildings, looking down in the street at the Dalanian and Christianian soldiers. The sounds of guns clicking, Langhan soldiers talking and laughing could be heard. In the alleys, soldiers could be clearly seen going about their daily business. They had specific orders, do not fire unless fired upon.

Summers drove around Amarillo, monitoring the streets to make sure that everything was going OK. People tend to get a bit crazy after forced confinements, and it was his duty to make sure that things were going alright. Noting nothing out of the ordinary, he returned back to the sheriff's station and parked his car in the driveway. Only a few seconds after he stepped out, he was surrounded by about eight Christianian soldiers. "Sheriff John Summers? You're under arrest for advocating treasonous actions against the Christianian government. Please surrender quietly." They threw him against the wall of the building and handcuffed him quickly before pushing him into the back of their Humvee."

Miles away, Jim O'Hara was walking under the train tracks to Grace Baptist Church in Palmerston. The church was a little storefront church and hard to find if one wasn't acquainted with the neighborhood. However, before he got there, he too was arrested in the exact same manner.

Was their a traitor among them?

Horton looked outside and saw a group of his soldiers in a dark alley and a Dalanian patrol passing by the same alley that the group of Langhan soldiers were in.

Horton: They must be scared to death. They have heavily armed, heavily armored, and very skilled soldiers looking down and at them.

"Hey sarge!" shouted one of the South Dalanian soldiers as he grabbed the man's shoulder. "I saw some troopers down that alley."

The sergeant didn't turn his head as he walked. "I know, I saw them too. They're Langham soldiers. Don't provoke them...just keep walking."

The patrol walked past the alley, nervous looks on their faces....but all their weapons stayed pointed forward. Not a single muzzle moved in the direction of the alley.

Christianian soldiers were still making their rounds throughout the small nation, but their numbers were diminishing quickly. Whenever they saw Langhan soldiers they would glare at them but quickly go about their business. News was spreading throughout their ranks about Summers' and O'Hara's arrest. "I wonder what for?" One remarked. "I mean sure we hate them but they haven't done anything to provoke us. Then again, O'Hara's been an asshole about this secession crap and Summers is…well he's Summers. Eh, whatever, I'm gonna go get a drink."

A few miles from where O'Hara had been been patrolling, a group of South Dalanian soldiers moved along on the street. They'd gotten separated from the main body of peacekeepers and were now wandering lost somewhere in the capital. Their GPS device was still working, but without knowledge of the neighborhood, it was worth nothing to them.

"Hey captain...I think we passed this before," spoke up a nervous-looking PFC in the back of the squad. "I'm sure--"

"Lim, shut up for a second," snapped the captain as he went back to consulting the GPS unit. "I'm sure we were here at our last position point....Lee! Try and get them on the radio again."

The radioman nodded and placed the handset to his ear. "Green River this is Alpha Charlie...come in." He waited for a response. "Green River, this is Alpha Charlie....are you receiving?" He slammed the handset back into the cradle. "I got nothing captain."

Looking around, the captain noticed that they were receiving hard glares from the Navascans on the sidewalks. Obviously this was not a Loyalist section of town...the sooner he got out of here, the better.

"Now where the hell are we?"

One of the Navascans who had been especially angry-looking in the presence of the soldiers slowly approached them, staring them down all the while. "You boys look like yer in the wrong part o' town. What're ya doin' here anyway?" He said this with a long, Southern-style drawl, typical of most Navascans. Leaning against a wall, he crossed his arms and measured them up all the while.

"You got a problem yokel?" snapped one of the soldiers from the back of the patrol. "You inbred little---"

"Shut up!" snapped the captain as he glared at the out-of-line soldier. Turning to the young man, he said, "We're on patrol and we're just looking to get out here. We're not here to make trouble...all we want to know is the way out of this neighborhood. It'll be better for all of us once we're clear of here...agreed?"

"Watch yourself, you imperialistic li'l shit!" He yelled out to the soldier at the back. Turning his attention back to the captain: "Yeah, I think it'd be better for both of us, really. Follow me." He took a long, winding route down broadways and boulevards, taking a swig of alcohol from his bottle from time to time. "How'd you get involved in this crap anyway, cap'n?" he asked, slurring his words slightly as he took another swig.

"Blame politics, man," grinned the captain as he walked down the street. "I figure command just wants us to get our experience in...they're itching for the shooting to start."

His voice took on a quieter tone. "I didn't agree with what those Christianan troops did to your people....it sickened me when I saw it on the news back home. I thought to myself, 'What if I had to watch my own family be brutalized....my children terrified....my brothers and fathers detained on suspicion of being militants.' And my conclusion was clear."

His hands clenched into fists. "I'd fight too."

"None of us belong here. Not the Langham forces, not us. All we'll do is provoke bloodshed. It's sad how command doesn't see things from our point of view."

He offered the young man a grin. "Mind if I take a couple swigs of that?"

"I'll give you better than'at cap'n" he slurred as he pulled out a bottle from a pouch around his waist. Handing it to him, he exclaimed (in barely audible speech from all the alcohol he's been consuming) "This is jerez roja, the finest al-key-hol this side of the tracks." Taking a few more steps, he and the people behind him were soon in an open field, with the main road on the other side. "That Harlan needs to step off, I don't care if he's president of the whole damn world, he's infringin' on our rights and we're not the sort of people to take that lightly. We may not be the best people in the world but at least we're honest and have our values. Well, most of us anyway." They were approaching the main road just as the starts were coming out into plain view.

The captain took a long pull at the flask, grimacing as the homemade alcohol burned down his throat. Capping it, he gave a small cough and grinned as he passed it back to the young guide. "No wonder you boys are so fired up....the damn liquor practically does your protesting for you."

"Uh....captain?" butted in the radio officer. "Are you sure we're going the right way?"

With a concerned look, the captain looked around. He didn't recognize this either...but he figured this guy knew his stuff. But he had a job to do...regardless of the fact that one of the locals had aided him and his men by offering to take them to safety.

Using hand signals, the captain ordered his men to keep their weapons ready in case of ambush, but to stay cool and level-headed.

He just hoped they weren't walking into an ambush.

(OOC: See The Prospect Massacre http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=97649&start=60&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight= thread for the background on this)

Arco, Western Navascuez. 11:36 PM
"This just in folks. James O'Hara, charismatic deputy sheriff of Navideña, has escaped unharmed from an assassination attempt outside the Ten of Hearts. No one has been apprehended as of yet, but – " Billy angrily clicked off the radio.
"What the hell is this! Hey sis, you hear this?"
"Yeah, it's awful!"
Billy reached into his bedroom closet and pulled out an M1-Thompson, placing it under his pillow right before he went ot bed. "I get the feeling I'll be called into active duty soon enough" he muttered as he drifted off to sleep."

Cape Liberty, Western Navascuez. 12:02 AM
Elder Stewart, lighthouse keeper at Cape Liberty, wearily climbed the steps. When he reached the top, he changed the orientation of the light long enough to give the alert signal, three blinks on and off, but briefly enough so as not to endanger any incoming ships.
"This was coming soon enough"

Amarillo, Western Navascuez. 12:03 AM
John Summers was the sheriff of the town of Amarillo, an old mining town inland. Upon hearing the news and seeing the lighthouse, he quickly put on his raincoat and ran out into the street until he reached a modest house, build in the Southwestern style.
"Yo, Preach! Preach!" Summers shouted.
Thomas Holliday, a young man, in his mid-twenties, ran out. "What?"
Summers barged in and shut the door behind him.
"Get ready, we're in for something big."

Navideña, Western Navascuez. 12:12 AM
O'Hara, Major Horton, Tommy and the other soldier arrived into town and quickly settled in, right before the rain came down heavily.
"Let's call it a night boys, and see what comes up in the morning"

(OOC: You might as well.)

Gen. Dante sits in his office with his bandaged foot. Gen. McZeal runs into the office and has trouble calming down.

McZeal: Sir, you better sit for this!

Dante: I am sitting, moron.


:D

(OOC: See The Prospect Massacre http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=97649&start=60&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight= thread for the background on this)

Arco, Western Navascuez. 11:36 PM
"This just in folks. James O'Hara, charismatic deputy sheriff of Navideña, has escaped unharmed from an assassination attempt outside the Ten of Hearts. No one has been apprehended as of yet, but – " Billy angrily clicked off the radio.
"What the hell is this! Hey sis, you hear this?"
"Yeah, it's awful!"
Billy reached into his bedroom closet and pulled out an M1-Thompson, placing it under his pillow right before he went ot bed. "I get the feeling I'll be called into active duty soon enough" he muttered as he drifted off to sleep."

Cape Liberty, Western Navascuez. 12:02 AM
Elder Stewart, lighthouse keeper at Cape Liberty, wearily climbed the steps. When he reached the top, he changed the orientation of the light long enough to give the alert signal, three blinks on and off, but briefly enough so as not to endanger any incoming ships.
"This was coming soon enough"

Amarillo, Western Navascuez. 12:03 AM
John Summers was the sheriff of the town of Amarillo, an old mining town inland. Upon hearing the news and seeing the lighthouse, he quickly put on his raincoat and ran out into the street until he reached a modest house, build in the Southwestern style.
"Yo, Preach! Preach!" Summers shouted.
Thomas Holliday, a young man, in his mid-twenties, ran out. "What?"
Summers barged in and shut the door behind him.
"Get ready, we're in for something big."

Navideña, Western Navascuez. 12:12 AM
O'Hara, Major Horton, Tommy and the other soldier arrived into town and quickly settled in, right before the rain came down heavily.
"Let's call it a night boys, and see what comes up in the morning"

(OOC: You might as well.)

Gen. Dante sits in his office with his bandaged foot. Gen. McZeal runs into the office and has trouble calming down.

McZeal: Sir, you better sit for this!

Dante: I am sitting, moron.


:D

"Ah notice you boys look a li'l nervous. I've taken a likin' to ya, so I'll yet you in on somethin'. Tell you an' your men to get out of that town as soon as possible, cuz frankly we've got a bunch of drunk guys drinkin' hard liquor and armed with guns." Walking through the empty field, they eventually reached the main road, which was brightly lit so that the road ahead was clearly seen. "My advice to you is get into that town and camp out in the nearest church you find, no decent Navascan is gonna open fire on people takin' refuge in a church"

"Advice taken...thank you very much," said the young captain as he shook the young Navascan's hand. "It's a pity we didn't meet under better circumstances, I'm sure there's a lot we could have discuseed."

The radio crackled to life. "Alpha Charlie, this is Iron Man."

With one motion, the radio officer snatched the handset from the cradle. "This is Alpha Charlie, go ahead."

"Alpha Charlie, transmit GPS position for pickup," spoke the voice from the radio. The captain smiled as he transmitted the GPS position from their mapping device back to headquarters.

"Humvees are inbound to your position now, Alpha Charlie. Just sit tight...they'll be there momentarily."

"Understood command. Alpha Charlie out."

Respectfully nodding, he gave a wave with his hand as he walked off down the road. "Maybe one of these days when this is all over we'll meet again – God willin'. You keep safe 'n don't go get yourself killed." He said this wearily, as if he could have fallen asleep while standing, but sadly that wasn't something he could do, so he walked on down the road in the direction of the small town.

OOC: Do we plan to have any shooting start? I'm down for it as long as it doesn't escalate into a total scale war...don't really feel like having my nation itself wiped out :P

OOC: LOL Yeah I wouldn't exactly want my nation getting destroyed either. We could try a Black Hawk Down style shooting once your inside the town?

OOC: Sounds good :D

(OOC: Here we go :) )

It's the dead of night and some militiamen are stationed outside the town a few feet off the main road. One observant young man spots some troops walking down the road into the town."

"Um, sir?"
"Yuh."
"Were any South Dalanian troops scheduled to walk on the main road near here?"
"Nope. Why?"
"Because they are."
"Well…that can't be right."
"But it's happening. They're armed."
"OK, I don't wanna kill 'em anymore 'an you do, so here's the plan. We fire off a couple warning shots with the shotgun, hopefully they'll get the message and back off."
"But what if they don't?"
"Then may God help us all, kid."

In a matter of minutes, all twelve men assemble their weapons, an assortment of shotguns, pistols and sniper rifles. Each man fires a couple shots into the air, hoping to scare off the troops heading in their direction.

[b]BANG![b/]

"Hit the dirt!" shouted the captain as he dived into a crouch near the side of the road. "Spread out! I want interlocking fields of fire!"

South Dalanian soldiers dropped into prone positions, aiming their rifles out into the fields. Tension is evident on the faces of all the soldiers. Sweat drips down more than a few foreheads and fingers tighten on triggers. One wrong move could mean war.

Another shotgun blast sounds in the distance. Heads perk up.

"Command this is Alpha Charlie, fire reported at location nine. Requesting unit support."

"Shhh!" shouted the captain with a wave of his hand. Silently, he pointed to a group of dark figures emerging onto the main road. "We offer a warning, then we fire if necessary."

Cupping his hands, the captain shouted, "South Dalanian military! Who goes there!?"

The dark figures became lighter and it turns out to be Langhan soldiers. The soldiers have their rifles drawn and aiming for the Dalanian soldiers.

Leader: Langhan military!

The leader turns to his men.

Leader: Men, if they make one wrong move, open fire.

"Aww shit," muttered the captain as he heard the shouted response. Turning to his men, he shouted, "They're fellow peacekeepers....put those weapons up. Last thing we want is bloodshed."

The South Dalanian soldiers grimaced as they rose from their positions. Rakishly surveying their Langham counterparts, their eyes roved over the gear and weapons of their opponents. One South Dalanian marine popped his chewing gum loudly as he looked over an equally young Langham trooper. Giving the soldier a grin, he tossed the young soldier a stick, talking between chews, "You guys seen any action?"

"Shut up back there," barked the captain. "We continue as planned. Down the road and towards town. We'll make it back to camp, come hell or high water."

He hoped it wasn't hell...

The leader of the Langham soldiers gave the leader of the Dalanian troops a smirk, then turned to his men.

Leader: It's okay, troops. They're peacekeepers. Let's get back to our jobs.

The leader then turns to the South Dalanian troops.

Leader: Adios.

Message to Western Navascuez: Our border situation, whilst still unresolved shows no sign of resulting in hostilities. His Imperial majesty is willing to send more troops, and would like to remind you that the shipment of WAH-4 helicopters is due to arrive tommorow morning.-From Imperial Office of Foreign Affairs

Moving a narrow road in the capital at about one in the morning, a squad of Imperial peace-keepers is patrolling, their armoured shoulder-peices gleaming in the moonlight, emblazoned with the red Eagle of the Empire.
Suddenly, a crack slices through the still air, followed quickly by sevaral more.
Captain Dasheid motioned to his men to stop moving.
" Did you hear that?"
"yes sir, sounded like gunfire to me, about a click from here".
"Right, Smith and Rubas move up the road and take up position"
" Johnson and I will cover you- Willham , watch our backs".
Dasheid radioed comms-
"Control, we've heard gunshots not far from our pos-
There was a bright flash, intense heat, and sound that became the whole world....then blackness.

To Emperor Blort: We'll send men to escort you safely into the country when you arrive, and send thanks for the aid received thus far.

"What the hell do you mean they opened fire?!"
"Well let's analyze this sentence, shall we? They; as in a group of people numbering more than one. Opened; normally this should be taken in a literal sense, such as in 'opening a door'. However, when used in conjunction with the word 'fire', it means that they started shooting. So you see –"
"I'm aware of what the words mean, you smartass. How the hell did that happen?"
"It appears that some South Dalanian troops strayed too far off their main route and a couple Navascans, aided by some Langhan soldiers, mistook them to be initiating an attack."
"I don't believe this! You mean to tell me that our men couldn't even handle a simple misunderstanding properly? Call that Major Horton in here, we need to get our men some good training. And do it fast, dammit!"

Dasheid regained conciousness. His head was pounding, he was in agony, and was lying on his back. He painfully raised himself up, and realised with horror that the lower half of his body was missing, his torso ending in a bloody mess of entrails and gristle. He gave a chocking cough and blacked out. There was smoke and debris everywhere. To his right, Rubas and Smith lay dead, their corpses blackened and bloodied, whilst the other men lay scattered andgroaning trying to comprehend what had happened.
Dasheids radio had been flung dive feet away by the impact of the blast, and whilst damaged, frenzied chatter crackled out, but it met no response.
Johnson managed to stagger to his feet, having avoided the worst of the blast, but still his flack jacket was punctured with several shards of shrapnel.
He surveyed the scene with his torch, his heart thumping widly, as blood limbs and scorched earth greeted the beam of light.
"shit." he muttered "SHIT."

In the distance, the sounds of sirens were coming full speed near the disaster area. It was early morning and the sun hadn't risen yet, so visibility was at a minimum. When the ambulances finally arrived, a squad of paramedics rushed out, but stopped in horror at the scene before them. Limbs were scattered about and entrails were just lying on the ground.

"What the hell happened here?" one paramedic asked. The question was directed to the only soldier who appeared unscathed. The other 'medics carefully made sure to load the living or barely living soldiers onto stretchers to minimize damage.

The South Dalanian patrol hadn't been far from the Blortian forces when the attack had occurred and the sound had been sufficient enough to warrant another halt to the patrol.

"Rifles ready!" shouted the captain. His nerves were frayed..."All this cloak and dagger firing..." he thought to himself.

The moans of a wounded soldier could be heard up the road as the sounds of footsteps rustled in the reeds nearby. Footsteps which moved closer and closer to the main road.

Each soldier tensed up as they felt cold fear run down their spines. Their boyish bravery nearly forgotten, they trained their weapons on the road ahead.

A dark figure, carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and speaking in a slow drawn out drawl stepped onto the road, followed by a few more shapes. All of them carried firearms.

"Who goes there!?" shouted the captain as he leveled his SG-552 assault rifle. "We're South Dalanian peacekeepers."

There was a muffled curse and one of the dark figures swung a shotgun-mounted flashlight in the direction of the soldiers. One of the young troopers, nearly frightened out of wits, saw the flashlight wash over him. His vision narrowed...al he knew was that there was a shotgun pointed at him. His finger tightened on the trigger and involuntarily squeezed.

The rifle's report echoed across the fields as the shadowy figure with the shotgun gurgled once and fell to the ground, clutching as its throat. As if on cue, the entire patrol opened fire. Automatic rounds cycled through rifles as the heavy weapons spat out shot after shot, expended 5.56mm brass striking the dirt as the actions cycled through. Muffled booms from the other side of the road were also audible, indicating return fire.

The shooting finally fell silent...

"They're firing at us!"
"No shit, sherlock!"
"What do we do?
"Fire back!"

Though the shooting had stopped momentarily, the men were frightened out of their minds, and the ceasefire did not register. They nervously gripped their firearms and fired back. Muzzle flashes and flashlights provided the only light available, which made the shooting even more dangerous because of the increased risk of friendly fire. The shots rang out for less than a minute, but to men on both sides, it seemed like an eternity. The shooting finally ended, and the unnerving, metallic scent of blood lingered in the air, but no one could tell whose blood had been spilled.

A Langhan soldier was caught in the cross fire. His weapon drops and he falls to the ground with his hand over his abdomen. Even with his hand over his abdomen, he still loses bloody rapidly.

Soldier: F***! I'm hit!

Three Navascans are killed by return fire on the spot, and two others are critically wounded, one shot in his right thigh and the other receiving two bullets to the abdomen.

"F---! We're gettin' slaughtered!"
"Man it up, bitch!"

And still shots rang out in the early morning as people were dying on the Navascan side.

(OOC: Bump…and I hope no one noticed that I accidentally posted 10 of the same thing :roll: )

Horton was in his office during the combat. A Langhan soldier comes running in with news of the fighting.

Soldier: Major Horton, Navascans are engaged in combat. They're taking heavy casualties.

Horton: Damn, I feared this would happen. Are any of our troops hit?

Soldier: There was one soldier on platoon, we fear that he's been caught in the crossfire.

Horton: Okay. We're going out there.

Horton gathers a group of 5 men and they run to the direction of the combat.

The firing had finally stopped, and the number of casualties was undetermined since they were all too weakened to take count. One soldier sat and propped himself against a telephone pole, holding a rifle in his lap and praying that help would arrive soon. Not one of them was physically or mentally fit to do anything at the moment

"Oh shit," muttered one of the young marines as he released the trigger. Clouds of smoke still hung over the area and the bodies of several Navascan troopers could be seen sprawled at the end of the road, lying in puddles of crimson fluid. Around the young marine, other South Dalanian troops got up from their prone positions, rifles raised in the direction of the fallen enemy troopers.

"Captain! We need to--" shouted the radio officer as he looked around. His breath caught in his throat as he beheld the captain, laying on the ground, his abdomen blown open from a close-range shotgun blast. Blood lay drying on the dirt path as the fallen soldier stared lifelessly into the now-lightening sky.

Two other marines lay facedown in the dirt, one having caught a shotgun blast to the face and the other having been struck above the body armor in the throat by a well-aimed rifle round. Several other soldiers lay moaning, wounded by stray shotgun pellets and rifle rounds.

Picking up the handset, the radio officer began to rattle off the coordinates, hoping help would arrive soon.

Chief medical officer O'neil burst out of the ambulance with six other medical personnel. Two armoured jeeps were also on the scene, the ambulances carrying the wounded having already driven them to hospital, and Imerial troops had set up a perimeter around the area.Quickly, they picked up the dead and stretchered them off. Glancing down at Dasheid, he said "looks like we're too late for him-what exactly happened here? our initial reports were sketchy"
The soldier in charge replied " We believe the squad were on patrol, when they reported hearing weapons fire nearby. Then we lost contact-from the blast radius it would look like they were hit with an RPG at short to medium range".
"Do you know who's responsible?"
"Not as yet, sir no. Not long after we lost contact there was a fracas involving Navascan and Delanian forces. A langham soldier was caught in the crossfire...."
"What the hell was a lone Langham soldier doing in the area at night?"
"We don't know-our commander is demmanding a meeting with the leaders of the other nations immediately..."

O'Hara and Summers, recently released from jail since no charges of treason could be pursued (no evidence), heard the news of the fiasco on Caravan Road in the papers, on the news and on every major television station. Both were thoroughly pissed at the way things were turning out, frankly. Upon hearing Emperor Blort's commander's wish for an emergency meeting, they were eager to oblige and get the situation settled out. Langhan, South Dalanian, Christianian and Navascan leaders were called for this meeting with the commander in a makeshift building that was constructed solely for this purpose.

Ambassador Laing entered the hall escorted on either side by ten Imperial shock troopers, dressed in black imposing body armour, with the redEagle crest emblazoned on their shoulder guards. This was a move to intimidate the other parties, and give a claer impression at the Emperor's immense displeasure at recent events.
"So" said the Ambassador as he sat down, facing the other representatives, "Who has claimed responsibility for the attck on the soverign Imperial forces of his majestic Emperor?"
The room was silent, and as the the troopers stared around the hall, their faces hidden behind their bullet-proof helmets, one man rose from his chair and preparedto speak........

Summers rose up slowly yet surely from his seat, looking around at the others, not nervous but definitely not relaxed either. "Gentlemen, I'm not sure who the blame lies on exactly, because I wasn't there. Nor are the accounts clear about who fired first, Navascans claimed the South Dalanians fired first, and vice versa. What I think this shows, however, is that we Navascans need extensive military training before we do anything…revolutionary"

(OOC: Bump)

Horton, staying in his seat, looks around at everyone.

"I don't know who fired first either. There's different reports on who fired first, from the Langhan soldier who got seperated from his patrol and got killed to the Navascans to the South Dalanian troops. Being that the case, this will possibly make it much harder to resolve this matter without bloodshed."

Harlan leans forward, getting ready to stand up although he's not quite ready. "Look now, this is really trying my patience. Navascuez is only hurting itself and others by trying to secede from the great nation of Navascuez, we've let this go on too long. I'm gonna put this in simple terms, we will do whatever necessary to keep Christianian intact"

"Well then, Mr. Harlan, I hope you're ready to lose a few troops because right now, a peaceful way out of this seems to be nowhere in sight."

The Imperial Ambassador's face was ashen. He looked around at everyone before speaking.
"Very well, if no-one is going to admit responsiblity, His Imperial Majesty will be forced to send more troops in, occupying troops-not peace-keepers".
There was an uncomfortable silence in the room as the realisation sunk in that the situation was rapidly deterioating, at that nobody seemed willing to halt it.
"Our troops were fired on by a hostile force without warning-and according to our defenitions that constitutes a declaration of war. I must leave you now to discuss this matter urgently with the Emperor, bust rest assured, our forces will not be leaving any time soon" He left the room surrounded on all sides by his bodyguards...

An irate Summers shot up from his seat and looked around at everyone, glaring. "What the hell is this, dammit! Harlan, you obviously don't give a flying f--- about any of these so-called "citizens" of Christiania, do you not get it? An all-out war is going to risk the lives of all militaries and our citizens! I can't believe you're so dense that you could even form you mouth to say that! And Horton, let's not stoop to the asshole's level by playing into his mindgame, as much as we'd all like to. And Imperial Ambassador? Hold off on those occupying troops and give us a couple days to organize a commission to figure out what the hell happened out there. I understand you're upset, we all are. But we have to keep cool and not do things that'll cost us later on. South Dalania…" He paused. "Well, when you're ready to talk, we're all ears."

The ambassador stopped at the door, and without turning around said, with a smile no-one else in the room could see " As I said , I will talk with his majesty on the subject of war." And he left.
Summers stood speechless. Whatever the Emperors intentions were, it appeared,he seemed to have a completely different agenda to that of the Navascans....

O'Hara glared at Harlan for a very long time before looking up at Summers. "The shit's really hit the fan now. I don't think we're gonna be able to avoid a war much longer." Those words lingered in the air for a long time before O'Hara got up to stretch. "I'm gonna go get some water, if anyone's got suggestions, make 'em quick"

After what seemed like forever, O'Hara sauntered back in, unusually calm, and plopped down in his chair. "We screwed up Summers, we really did. I don't think we're gettin' outta this one. I suppose we could try one more effort to put a stop to this, but we gotta make it good or we're gonna have to fight."

The South Dalanian diplomat stood, pushing his hair back from his distressed face. "Gentlemen, the incident is entirely regrettable, but the fact that there are so many armed troops running around means that this is bound to happen."

He took a deep breath. "My superiors at the Foreign Ministry just informed me that the military has decided to take a tougher approach towards the militants. General Shin has ordered the South Dalanians to disarm any suspected militants. He's also expected to ask the La Christianan command for search and seizure permission."

"This could get ugly very fast."

Summers, in shock, responded from his seat, not able to bring himself to his feet. "With all due respect sir, we can't allow that to happen! Some of the basic rights we've promised are a writ of habeas corpus and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. If you want to put our militia under such codes, that's negotiable, but we can't have people going around searching people because they're suspected militants! Our doctrine is "innocent until proven guilty," and unless you find reasonable evidence for individual searches, this can't be done. Furthermore, Mr. Harlan is no longer in control here, as far as we're concerned"

Above the Western Navascan capital, the silence of the night was split by the whirring of rotors as three Black Hawk helicopters roared through the night, supported by two Pave Hawk gunships. The helicopter group moved in tandem with a convoy of headlights on the ground.

The Black Hawk helicopters contained thirty members of the elite South Dalanian rangers, part of an elite special forces unit that had been dispatched to Western Navascuez. Clad in jungle BDU's and carrying M4A1 assault carbines fitted with night-vision scopes and flashlights, the rangers were fully outfitted for the CQB combat they expected.

The convoy on the ground was composed of ten APC's filled with 150 South Dalanian marines, escorted by three Humvees. The CP hadn't held back, South Dalanian commanders had thrown in nearly everything they could round up, especially now that they had been promised reinforcements from South Dalania.

Inside the helos, the rangers prepared for extraction. "All right! Listen up!" shouted the chalk leader. "Our objective is to seize all suspected rebel leaders and any documents we can find! Ground forces will form a perimeter and will remove all prisoners from the area! You will only fire, if you are fired upon!"

The helos descended onto a nearby street, disgorging armed commandos who rushed into a nearby building. A few well-placed kicks booted in the first door and the rangers rushed into the building, weapons held at the ready for any action....

Humvees rolled down the dark street by the dozens, each packed to full capacity with Navascan "soldiers", who had recently obtained green, Vietnam-era BDUs to distinguish themselves from common civilians and avoid any catastrophes. Over the crackling of the radio, a voice could be heard instructing the troops "Alright look, South Dalanian troops are violating our 'search and seizure laws,' if you see any breaking into buildings, arrest them on charges of 'breaking and entering,' the bas'll take care of the rest. Do not use lethal force unless fired upon, clear? Over and out."

One humvee, spotting a squad of troops rappelling down from the helicopter and breaking down the door. "Look's like we got our perps, let's roll." In a matter of minutes, there were soldiers crowding the area rushing into the building. When they had spotted the troops, they quickly raised their rifles and got their trigger-fingers ready. "You're all under arrest for breaking and entering. Please surrender peacefully" were the only words uttered

Ever since the escalation in tension, the Empire had been sending in high-tech surveillance equipment hidden amongst standard supplies to give to operatives monitering the various troops around the area.
However, no firbre-optic cameras were needed to spot the activities of the Dalanians or Navascans, due to the complete lack of subtlety involved.
Upon picking up the choppers on radar, two WAH-4 attack helipcopter were sent to moniter the situation. The pilots had orders to attack if even a single bullet was sent their way. Offshore, the small Prussian fleet were busy,the small F-22 squadron stationed on the light carrier Ferrante was put on alert, and one of their their own Black Hawks was preparing to take off, carying its cargo of elite Imperial shock troops, ready to insert to attempt to recover any information if the Delanians found anything. Chances were, a firefight was about to kick off, and the troopers could get in , get what they need and extract during the confusion. That was the plan...

(OOC: Emperor Blort, are you on any side or are you just screwing everyone over in this?)

The soldiers, dressed up in their green BDUs, black boots and rifles, constantly trailed the Dalanian troops, along with Emperor Blort's. Things were getting ugly fast, and it was hard to trust anyone in this anymore. Nearly every building in Navascuez, except a few loyalist hotspots, had taken down the Christianian flags and replaced it with the Navascan banner, which waved proudly in the air as sunset approached. People all over sensed that this incident was about to blow over fast, and everyone was preparing themselves for when it did.

As the Humvees circled the perimeter, the leading ranger officers dropped to their knees. Raising their M4AI's into firing position, they leveled their rifles off at the Humvees approaching. "No one fires unless fired on!" barked the captain as the rangers steadily held their fingers on the triggers.

Slinging his weapon at his side, the captain stepped out into the street. "I'm Captain Park with the South Dalanian army rangers. We have reason to suspect that some of the militants involved with the shootings last night have set up a headquarters in this building. We are under orders to round up these militants and hand them over to local authorities."

Behind the Navascan humvees, the South Dalanian APC's arrived. Doors flew open as armed soldiers poured out, pointing their 5.56mm SG-551 rifles at the uniformed Navascans. Atop the APC's, soldiers sitting behind Browning 50. caliber machine guns rotated the weapons to point down at the Navascan troopers. Hovering above them, the three Pave Hawks took up firing positions, aiming miniguns and 2.75 mm rocket launchers down at the vehicles. The open doors of the Black Hawks revealed several soldiers armed with 7.62 mm miniguns who aimed the weapons down at the Navascan soldiers. A light came on and the voice of a pilot issued from the loudspeaker.

"This is the South Dalanian military! You are interfering with a search operation sanctioned by peacekeeping command. Disperse immediately! Any captured militants will be turned over to your authorities once captured."

O'Hara and Summers were getting verbal reports over the phone about the "searching" situation, and over the phone O'Hara told a soldier to tell one of them this message: "As much as we recognize that the South Dalanians have good intentions, we cannot allow these searches to continue until solid, reasonable evidence's produced. If they're turned over to the local authorities on suspicion alone, they'll have no choice but to release the suspects until better evidence than hearsay is produced"

The standoff continued on the streets, with neither side backing down. Lights from the helicopters and from the vehicles lit up the area, causing people to look out their windows at the spectacle on the street outside.

The captain decided that it wasn't worth the wait. "Squad, pack up and reboard the APC's...we're going home."

As the rangers and soldiers climbed into the armored vehicles, the captain turned to the Navascan soldiers. "I hope you guys end up detaining those guys who killed our boys...cause the next time a friend of mine gets killed out here, I sure as hell won't stop for some diplomatic bulls*it."

With emotion in his eyes, the captain slung his M4 and climbed into the passenger side of one of the APC's. "Let's go!" he shouted, whacking the heavy steel door with one hand.

The South Dalanian convoy moved out....under the watchful eyes of the Navascans. A crisis had barely been abated.

The standoff continued on the streets, with neither side backing down. Lights from the helicopters and from the vehicles lit up the area, causing people to look out their windows at the spectacle on the street outside.

The captain decided that it wasn't worth the wait. "Squad, pack up and reboard the APC's...we're going home."

As the rangers and soldiers climbed into the armored vehicles, the captain turned to the Navascan soldiers. "I hope you guys end up detaining those guys who killed our boys...cause the next time a friend of mine gets killed out here, I sure as hell won't stop for some diplomatic bulls*it."

With emotion in his eyes, the captain slung his M4 and climbed into the passenger side of one of the APC's. "Let's go!" he shouted, whacking the heavy steel door with one hand.

The South Dalanian convoy moved out....under the watchful eyes of the Navascans. A crisis had barely been abated.

(OOC: Anyone want to try something to bring us on the warpath?)

"Jim, you're gonna pull us into a war any day now."
"I know."
"Why're you doing it?"
"Because the rights of the people take precedence over a lot of other things"
"I hope you know what you're doing, Jim"
"Me too, Summers."

A crisis had narrowly been averted, but for some reason this hadn't calmed anyone down. Everyone ahd grown accustomed to the chaos and uncertainty that unfolded over the past couple weeks, and although it disturbed people, they had begun to accept the military presence as a fact of life.

"O'Hara, I want you to pull together a speech and tell the people we may be going to war very soon."

"Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt tonight's scheduled broadcast briefly to let deputy sheriff of Navidena, James O'Hara, make and announcement about recent events in our beloved country."

Fellow Navascans, I address you tonight to alert you of the crisis unfolding before us. As we speak, our liberties are continually being jeopardized by Christiania, and with no end in sight. Navascuez is a nation conceived in liberty, nourished in justice and founded on the proposition that all men are created equal. Sometimes, in order to preserve our God-given freedoms, one must reject the things he has held onto so closely in the past an embrace a future. An uncertain and uncharted future, but still a future ripe with possibility. I’m afraid it’s time for us to remove ourselves from the bonds of our mother country and come forth onto the planet as a new nation, one dedicated to the people and their rights. In order to do so, it may become necessary to take up arms against the government we grew up with and form a better one, one that will not abuse the rights that the people will endow to them. It is time for us to follow in the footsteps of our fathers before us, the British and the Americans, and maintain the tenets of liberty, justice and individual rights. Not only must we follow, it is our duty to do so and preserve the gifts of liberty and free-will that God has endowed with us. Think about this tonight as the situation around your homes becomes clear. Good night and God bless you all.

Horton gives a speech to his troops on the matter at hand.

"Men, we are on the verge of armed conflict. The freedom of the Navascans are being threatened. As you may know, one of our brothers in arms was killed recently in the crossfire of combat. Men, armed conflict now seems inevitable. Moments ago, James O'Hara, the deputy sheriff of Navidena, just addressed the Navascans to alert them about this crisis. Christiania is threatening the liberties of Navascuez. The Christianian government claims they respect the liberties of the Navascans, but they tarnish those liberties that they "respect." We are helping people gain their freedom from tyranny. You soldiers, all 149 of you, are helping the Navascans. We came here to help, and help we will, men."

The soldiers who had been deployed to Western Navascuez stood at attention as General Shin-Kyong-Ju walked up and down the ranks, delivering an address to his soldiers.

"South Dalanians! You are here to prevent the separation of Western Navascuez from La Christiana. As South Dalanians, you all too well know the pain of separation from another country. We believe secession to be a moral evil! It is time that we banish this blight from La Christiana!"

He took a deep breath. "Some of you may wonder why we are here....why we are fighting and yes, even dying in place of the Christianans. We are here because we will save this country from destroying itself. These rebels, these insurrectionists, who seek to destabilize a nation that has pledged itself in friendship to South Dalania must be brought to heel! And it is you who will accomplish this!"

He saluted his troops. "Victory or death!"

A chorus of cheers filled the air.

(OOC: You are about to find out)
On board the carrier Ferrante, A large projector had been set up on deck, and the Imperial marines were assembled to hear the Emperor speak. He was currently being entertained in the neighboring Queendom of Morrigan the Raven and was unable to meet his men in person (not that he'd want to anyway). His image flickered on screen, ans he began his speech:
"servants of the Empire, as you know war is now inevitable. The odds are stacked against the break-away state, yet you must support them. Why? You may ask, they are a democracy, and by definition weak. The answer is simple, by retaining Western Navascuez as an independant state we weaken La Christiania, and can develop our own interests. They may be weak, but we are strong, we have the full support of our Prussian allies. To strengthen you we are beginning to fully mobilise our forces, and soon more aircraft should arrive to support you. Remember, failure is NOT an option. You are the best of our soldiers and keep in mind that the Eagle does not tolerate weaker birds, they are its prey and are consumed. Like the Eagle, we shall rule the skies and rid them of the enemy.
Now go and take flight!"
After the standard five minutes ovation, the screen flickered off and the Imperial war machine began to move with earnest.

Harlan, very tired from all that's been going on, makes a personal address to his troops early in the morning. It's obvious that this was an unscripted event, but no one really cared anyway since they all needed some uplifting.

"Alright men, you know why we're here and why we can't afford to lose. It's of the utmost importance that we subdue our errant brothers and bring them back into the fold. Western Navascuez will not survive as a nation (if I have any say in this, he thought to himself) should they succeed in this act of secession. If they do separate from Christiania, the Union will be torn asunder and I don't think any of us can say what the future will hold in store for us. Now let's get out there and win!"

(OOC: Couple guidelines for the war: no nukes, no civilian massacres, battles should take place in large open areas rather than urban settings to avoid civilian casualties)

Summers, who never went to sleep from the night before, called up O'Hara. "This is it, time to fight for our rights. Wake up and get those troops mobilized."

(OOC: street fighting may be needed if WN is to survive against superior forces)
Message to Western Navascuez: We will support you in any way we can. In order to ensure your survival close co-operation must be maintained between our forces-also any intel you can provide on La Christiana (after all you were once the same country) will be essential. We will need control of at least one major port and airbase to bring in re-inforcements, and provide Close Air Support to the troops. We have a relatively small amount of cutting-edge hardware, present in our F-22s, and missile systems, but if this war is going to be costly, we will have to supply you with more standard equipment.-message from Imperial War Office

-Forward airfield controlled by La Christiana-

"Yes sir general, I can see the aircraft coming in now," spoke the soldier as he held the radio to his mouth. "The reinforcements we've been promised have arrived."

Supported by one of the two carriers in the South Dalanian navy, the helicopters that were coming in now were filled with several elite elements of the South Dalanian military. The large turboprops coming in behind them contained regular South Dalanian army units as well as additional armored vehicles for use on the ground. Behind these units, a group of Army Chinook helicopters carried the armored shapes of several Bradley Fighting Vehicles.

The aircraft descended onto the tarmac where a number of South Dalanian marines waited. These soldiers snapped to attention as the other soldiers began climbing out of the aircraft. Ramps dropped to the ground as soldiers began rolling the armored vehicles out of the holds of the aircraft. Off to the side, several Cobra gunships took up stationary positions, watching for any sign of insurgents. However since the base was still in Christianan hands, any violence would likely be unnecessary.

Within hours, the South Dalanian task force had expanded from three hundred and fifty to fifteen hundred.

Now packed into Humvees, APC's and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, the South Dalanians moved out under the eyes of the Christianan forces.

(OOC: I'm not much of a military man, so forgive me if my writing seems strange or just damn impossible)

"Alright," said Col. Thomas Holt, "What we gotta do is cut off supplies to the troops, such as bases, airfields, etc. Remember, they're fighting on our soil and if we can starve them into submission, well that's what we gotta do. It's not much of a strategy at the moment, I'll admit, but it's the best we can do. Mjr. Horton, care to add anything?"

"Expect supply lines to be heavily defended. Don't get into head-on engagements with the convoys. Those convoys will almost definately have armed vehicles. When attacking supply lines, be sure to watch the road you're on. The convoy could call for reinforcements, and the only best option for enemy reinforcements to reach the convoy is the road you're on. It's my understanding that the South Dalania troops are using Christianian bases. If we can take out their supply lines, their overall force could be affected."

Since they had been sent to Western Navascuez as peacekeepers, the troops were still under orders to behave themselves. The "no firing unless fired upon" rule was still in effect as well, forcing the soldiers atop the vehicles to tighten their fingers on the triggers of their heavy machine guns and TOW antitank rockets.

Aside from a few rocks thrown by some insolent kids, the South Dalanians had yet to encounter any resistance. The locals were all hiding indoors and if there were any uniformed soldiers about, they had yet to see any.

Horatio Blort was in good humour-his allied state of Shadostan had fully committed its miltary. Their flagship the Prinz Eissen was headed with the carrier Gorky loaded with Imperial aircraft and allied troops and equipment.
Meanwhile the small Imperial fleet was readying airstrikes against La Christianian supply lines, with F-22 Raptors and Tornado bombers being readied with their payload. The troops on the mainland where under the watchful eye of WAH-4 chopper pilot, and had orders to defend only, at least until more reinforcements arrived. An additional 1,000 troops were on board the troop carriers offshore, but until a port was secured they had to sit tight...

(OOC: I'm tired and can't think, if anyone wants to start something, feel free)

A group of soldiers, still decked out in standard Vietnam-green BDUs and yellow work boots, marched down to Timothy's Harbor to secure a port for Emperor Blort's troops.

"What the hell? This is our country, I don't want any foreign nations raping us before we can make a mark on the world!"
"Well deal with it for now, it's not like we can fight at the moment."

OOC:Mind if I say something on the behalf of my nation?

South Dalanian forces had been effectively ordered to deny landing spots for those who would assist the Navascans. As soon as the jeep convoy of soldiers had been spotted by a helicopter patrol, a number of APC's quickly began moving towards the harbor supported by two Cobra gunships.

"Jeeps on our right!" shouted the .50 gunner atop the lead APC as he swiveled his weapon to cover them. "Course of action sir?"

Below him in the driver's seat, the sergeant bellowed, "Put a shot or two in front of the lead jeep...tracer rounds!"

"Yes sir," grinned the soldier as he pulled back the slide on the heavy machine gun. Squeezing the handles, the heavy machine gun barked three times, sending a trio of brilliantly lit tracer bullets in front of the lead jeep....

(OOC: Not at all Shado-please feel free)
The Imperial command knew that taking the port would not be easy-their allies were not best equipped to support them, and the enemy could soon be bringing significant forces in to stop them getting a foothold. It was for this reason that they were reluctant to dispatch small vulnerable landing craft unescorted. However, they were equipped with two Russian-built Zubr-22 hovercraft.
Armed with autocannons, Iglas and twin MSS-27 missile launchers, and also carrying 500 personnel, these massive landing craft would form the spearhead of the first assault, whislt the F-22s and WAH-4S provided air cover. Meanwhile a fleet of small Landing craft would ferry re-inforcements and armour to the shore.
Admiral Bossardir watched his radar screen disspassionately as the enemy helicopters flashed up. Within a instant, he ordered 2 fighters to intercept and deployment of all troops to their landing craft. The enemy had pre-empteed him, but he wasn't going yo let them ruin their invasion...

(OOC: Go right ahead, Shadostan. Also, to everyone else participating, I've got a bad cold/flu so give me some time to come up with stuff)

(OOC:Why thank you all. Your gracious replies to my request will not go unnoticed.)

As he turned away from the viewing screen, Shado knew he would regret doing this. After the civil wars not 50 years ago, the Nation was split asunder, and he was left in control of no more than 5 million civilians with an army of only 8 hundred men. It was taking a considerable time to regain Shadostan's former glory, and with his military's weapons nearly all destroyed in the cease-fire, he knew he was taking a big gamble. Blort's call to arms had stirred something inside him, something feudal and honour-bound, and had swayed him completely. He knew he would feel severe repercussions from the public for making this decision himself.

He also knew it may be the only way to prove himself to the larger countries, to prove himself to his people, and to regain his lost confidence in affairs of state. Shado knew that by proving himself on the field of battle and emerging intact would be the country's greatest achievement since the fall of the Shadostanian Empire, and that he would be remembered by all forever.

He turned to his aide, and sent her to ready the press room. His people had to know, and they had to find out sooner rather than later.

"We interrupt your regualr viewing to bring you this special announcement."

The old man flicked through the channels, searching for anything else, but all he could find were these damned government messages. He resigned himself to watching one, and cracked open another beer. The face of Shado, ruler of Shadostan, blinked onto the screen, in front of the customary Shadostanian flag.

"Last time that was used was when ol' Shado's dad declared the cease fire nearly 50 years ago, m'boy!" He commented to his son. The boy was nearly 25 years old now, and looking at him brought a lump to the old man's throat. Muscular, tall and well-built, the younger man, Kyth Darkson, was a model citizen, working for the local police force, and doing environmental volunteering during his free time. Their lemming, a present from Shado himself for 'commendable work for the Shadostanian environment', squeaked behind him. "Shut up, ye daft animal!" the old man cried, "can't ye see Shado's speakin'?"

"...I have called on you, the people of Shadostan, for your aid." Shado spoke, his voice commanding, his face solemn and stern. "We will soon be going to war." Shado paused, and The elder of the two men swore he could have heard the entire country gasp. The television spoke once more. "I have been involved in talks with the Emperor Blort, and the La Christiania crisis, as it has come to be known, was introduced to me in earnest. It seems, people of Shadostan, that we will be called on to defend the smaller nation of Western Navascuez from the oppression of La Christiania, it's brother nation from which it has split. This story I'm sure is held dearly in the hearts of many, as we before the Navascuans split from our oppressors, the Shadow Nation. I feel, therefore, that our aid is necessary to save Western Navascuez from a fate such as our own." Shado stopped, as applause erupted from every corner of Shadostan. "We will fight for Western Navascuez! We will fight the Christianians! We will fight, and we will triumph!" Shado stopped again, and once more every sound in the country was drowned out by the thunderous applause of the Shadostanians. Shado smiled, and left the podium.

"Y'hear that, m'boy?" the gnarled old man could barely contain his excitement. "Y'hear that? Yer gonna fight, m'boy! Yer gonna win the war for us an' them Navascooies!"

Kyth said nothing, but grimaced and left the house. It was his watch, and he knew it would be a rough one.

Uriron Silentdive, Commander of the Shadostanian forces sent to aid the Western Navascuans, was anxious. His "elite" team of snipers, 1,000 strong, had never been in a pitched battle before; they were green, inexperienced, and young. The eldest man on the 'planes other than him and the crew was barely 30 years old. Soon they would be spread all over both La Christiania and Western Navascuez, ready to take out any important figures or small troop units at a moment's notice. They would be there for a long time, he knew, and he wasn't sure how far he trusted these men, amateurs all. The Shadostanian elite, trained only in garrisons, never on the field of battle. Uriron grimaced and slung his MSG-90A1 over his shoulder, picked up his pack, and gave his men the final briefing. Before the night was out, most of them would be behind enemy lines, and all of them in mortal danger.

(OOC:Sorry my posts are so long, I just get carried away! :) )

Uriron took one last look around at the men, before giving a thumbs up and jumping. His black-clad figure hurtled through 9,500 feet of air before he deemed it necessary to pull his ripcord and open the 'chute. He floated down to the ground seconds before tracer fire ripped through the air above him. He instantly hit the deck, and the four men who jumped with him did likewise. The sixth man was not so lucky, as Uriron saw when he rolled onto his back to arm his MSG-90A1. The young man, no more than 24, was ripped apart as heavy machine gun fire tore through the air. His lifeless body was cut from the parachute, which drifted down to cover the corpse. The faces of his squad were lit up by the moon, but all he could see in them was fear.

(OOC: Sorry for the absence, I've been sick. I think we'll just start getting to some battles now and get this war done with)

id like to send 200,000 Izlabiakan troops. We are very good peace keepers and our soldeirs make Execellent Police officers. Now if you agree my Men are Out at sea and can all be dropped in by helicopter in 4 hours. My Airforce invested heavily in buying troop helicotpers. This means we will be able to land any where asked. And we are willing to take orders from South Daliana Officers.

Please think of our offer

General Misha Filitov, Head of the United Socilaist States of Izlabk.

(OOC not acutally socialist in real life)

The F-22s locked onto their targets and fired, sending Stinger missiles streaking across the sky towards the helicopters. Meanwhile, the massive Zubr hovercraft were making there way to shore, escorting the smaller landing craft. The Prinz Eissen meanwhile prepared to bombard suspecteed enemy positions, but only lightly, so as not to damage infastructure too heavily. The troops were confident, in this initial landing they did not expect to encounter heavy resistnace, and would be able to set up an HQ at the port, and ferry additional arms and supplies for the belegeured Navascans.....

"Incoming! Hostile incoming!" shouted the first helo pilot as the oblong shapes of missiles streaked towards his cockpit. "We have been fired on!"

The helicopters juked in a series of evasive manuevers. In the front of the canopies, a pair of forward mounted rocket launchers shot out a spray of flares, designed to lure the missiles off course.

Two missiles took the bait, exploding harmlessly in midair. The third helicopter pilot didn't make it. His scream was brutally wrenched off as his cockpit exploded outward, spraying fragments of twisted steel and glass in all directions.

On the ground, the South Dalanians dived from their vehicles into fixed positions behind barricades and sandbags erected by the Navascans. The few troops that had been stationed at the port were still under guard by South Dalanian soldiers.

As the landing craft approached, the lead riflemen opened fire. The barking of small arms could be heard up and down the port, supplemented by the high-powered "brrrrps" of the M249 SAW guns firing in support. Atop the APC's and Humvees, .50 caliber machine guns plowed slugs into the air while portable TOW anti-tank missiles and rocket-propelled grenades flew quickly through the air.

Above the ground, the helicopters exacted vengeance. 7.62 mm miniguns opened up, spewing thousands of cyclic rounds into the transports as STG missiles and 2.76 mm rockets also chewed into the ships.

Aboard the lead landing craft, the squad ducked as bullets sprayed acroos their prow, the sound of the bullets hitting metal and water chorused by the screams of pain from those who were hit. Blood mixed with salt water as the small craft was rocked from a nearby rocket as it ploughed into the surf. Nearby another craft took a direct hit, and swiftly dissapeared beneath the waves, dragging its crew under with it.
The massive Zubr hovercraft were untroubled by the fire coming frim shore, and used the enemy fire-points as targets and returned fire, locking onto the helicopters with Iglas, and sending penetrating autocannon fir and two salvos of rockets at the enemy positions. Meanwhile the Prinz Eissen prepared to bombard the shore with missile fire. Two more fighters were launched into the air, with orders to destroy the enemy vehicles and collapse the buildings where fire was heaviest on top of their attackers.
Meanwhile the F-22s continued to chase their prey, sweeping around for another lock-on...

(OOC: Sorry about the absence, I'll have something worthwile posted by tomorrow. In the meantime, here's my nation's factbook in case anyone's interested: http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=106628)

Horton heard of the events unfolding between the troops of Emperor Blort and South Dalania from one of his officers, Lt. Jacob Keyes.

"Sir, troops from South Dalania and Emperor Blort are engaging in combat with one-another."

"I figured this would happen now. If they're fighting one-another now, we may be set in the crossfire, or maybe even the crosshairs. Tell the troops to dig in. They're in danger right now."

Close to two million Navascan men decked out in woodland BDUs, vests, helmets and pads have been gathered up from their hometowns and voluntarily joined the Navascan military to fight for their independence, and it only took three weeks to do so. Although by their own right they were a weak army, teamed up with all their allies they were a formidable fighting force. At the moment, they were building makeshift military bases all throughout the nation to make sure they could keep watch over all areas. These men were clearly ready for a fight, even if it cost them their lives.

Uriron Silendive was in trouble. Thirty of his 70 men had been cut down by heavy fire before they had had a chance to level their rifles. As he cautiously looked down the hill, he saw twenty South Dalanian troops backed up by a Humvee, carrying more troops and a .50 calibre machine gun racing up the hill towards him. He called a retreat, and ran for his life. As they came down the other side of the hill, he saw explosions and gunfire by the waterside, and Uriron recognised two of the landing craft, the Prinz Eissen and a Zubr hovercraft belonging to Emperor Blort. He gave a cry of relief, and, shouting to his men, pulled out an armour-penetrating grenade. He would have to make this shot worth it.

Unnoticed at first, with the more pressing demands of escalating bloodshed, superstition in West. Nav. began to rise dramatically. Rumour of lynchings spread through the cities, while in rural communities there were hushed whispers of the supernatural:- shortly followed by a charred corpse found in nearby woods, attached to an iron cross.

And among the wild, confused stories, one grew faster than any other, a rumour of fear and hope; the Witch-hunters had arrived.

however, other groups in the region bagan to fight back. torches and light guns blazed after dark, and in the morning bodies were found. Among them 3 berobed men with shaven heads, medallions of cross and flame wrought in iron.

They were identified as Daviestanian Citizans, and almost before word reached their homeland, and armed envoy entered West. Nas. airspace. Accompanying the ambassador's armoured jet were 3 transports full of the 4th Simpeltonian Paras Division, ready for combat should the government not co-operate.

Amid smoke and flame, with scattered bursts of automatic gunfire and dull thuds of missile weaponary detonating, the survivors of the first wave of landing craft hit the beach. The lead Zubr also came in to shore, to unload its armour and personnel. Three Tornado bobmbers had been launched and were bombarding the enemy positions, in order to bury the enemy within their own buildings.....
Meanwhile, back in Prussia, more and more forces were being commited to the war. Once the port area was secured, a full-scale army would be marching across Western Navascuez, attempting to push back the enemy into La Christiania.
A message reached the bridge of the Prinz Eissen from the Navascans-telling of civil unrest outside of the cities. Upon realising that those involved where Daviestan citizens, the Emperor was immediately informed that his erstwhile neighbour was interfering in his campaign:
" We believe Daviestan fanatics are taking advantage of the hysteria the war is causing to spread fear among the population, your majesty"
"What?! The last thing we need is a bunch of peasants stirring up trouble when we are trying to secure the nation! Dispatch spec-ops stormtroopers to those area that have been affected so far immediately, I will not allow the situation to get out of control!!"

His speical operations stormtroopers did not bear any insignia or identification yo link them with the Empire. They were equipped with the most advanced gear available and were trained in covert operations and stealth-they would infiltrate the villages and root out the fanatics and silence them. However, until the main allied forces controlled most opf the coast, it would be difficult to prevent the insurgents from entering the country...

Amid smoke and flame, with scattered bursts of automatic gunfire and dull thuds of missile weaponary detonating, the survivors of the first wave of landing craft hit the beach. The lead Zubr also came in to shore, to unload its armour and personnel. Three Tornado bobmbers had been launched and were bombarding the enemy positions, in order to bury the enemy within their own buildings.....
Meanwhile, back in Prussia, more and more forces were being commited to the war. Once the port area was secured, a full-scale army would be marching across Western Navascuez, attempting to push back the enemy into La Christiania.
A message reached the bridge of the Prinz Eissen from the Navascans-telling of civil unrest outside of the cities. Upon realising that those involved where Daviestan citizens, the Emperor was immediately informed that his erstwhile neighbour was interfering in his campaign:
" We believe Daviestan fanatics are taking advantage of the hysteria the war is causing to spread fear among the population, your majesty"
"What?! The last thing we need is a bunch of peasants stirring up trouble when we are trying to secure the nation! Dispatch spec-ops stormtroopers to those area that have been affected so far immediately, I will not allow the situation to get out of control!!"

His speical operations stormtroopers did not bear any insignia or identification yo link them with the Empire. They were equipped with the most advanced gear available and were trained in covert operations and stealth-they would infiltrate the villages and root out the fanatics and silence them. However, until the main allied forces controlled most opf the coast, it would be difficult to prevent the insurgents from entering the country...

A series of huge explosions stopped troops on both sides dead in their tracks, as ten open-topped hovercrafts landed amid the gunfire and confusion. From each craft came four 227mm MLRS vehicles, launching thousands upon thousands of small explosive bomblets. Left and right, men were cut down by explosions and shrapnel. Shadostanian troops began running from cover, sprinting towards the hovercraft. Mounting up, the men ducked behind the armoured hovercraft sides for cover. The MLRS vehicles drove back onto the hovercrafts, and they began speeding away, losing three to fire from South Dalanian troops. The Shadostanians had evacuated.

On the hilltop, however, Uriron Silentdive and his remaining 30 men fought for their lives, forgotten by the evacuation force, but not by the guns of the enemy...

Uriron hurled the armour-piercing grenade at the APC. It detonated by the rear-left wheel, causing the vehicle to slew into two men, running them down. Uriron broke cover, firing as he ran, and twenty men broke through the South Dalanian lines alive, with another five being shot in their backs as they scrambled for cover. The remainder of the unit ran for their lives, towards the only light they could see, towards a huge fire, and away from the battle.

He had barely had time to reach Western Navascuez, before Edric reported in. It was bad...worse than hoped...but not entirely unexpected.

"Inquisitor Cynwulf, it is as anticipated. Over 15 new recruits across the country, important men in regional campaigns, have been assassinated by unidentified military strike teams. Epistolaries Jareth and Simeon have been forced to retreat to their fallback points, but are now secure. It appears someone would oppose God's work..."

Adjusting his heavy robe, Cynwulf allowed himself a brief smile. Truly his God knew all...There was no doubt, of course. The enemy wasnt a local; neither the La Christianians nor the Western Navascuezian would simply kill clergy; they would at least bother with a trial. With the pacts currently active with Shadostan, that narrowed it down to South Dalania, Langham or an old friend, Blort. Turning to the microphone he delivered the scheduled message to his superiors

"Your Reverence, it is as you had said. Retaliation is more brutal and widespread than expected, but oppression breads rebellion. Our enemy now has upon his hands the blood of his ally's citizens. Shall I proceed?"

"Do, my son. And pray for the fallen this day."

Uriron signalled for a halt. Looking around, he noticed one of his men was down.

"Raidet? Dammit, where'd he go?!"

A soldier stepped forward. "He fell behind, sir. Don't know where. The guys seem to think they heard him cry out, but that could've been more than three pods South."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Hawk." Uriron sighed wearily. He was tired, hungry, and now they had lost yet another man. That left them with only 14 men, 15 including himself. "Ok, we all know where we're going, right?"

The men shook their heads, all except Kyth Hawk, Uriron's second-in-command. A police officer from Shadostania, Hawk was well-built and dark haired, a mark of power and nobility in Shadostan.

"Alright, Hawk, you lead these guys on. You four," He pointed to a group of men on his left, "You're coming with me. We're gonna look for Raidet."

The men nodded, and picked up their guns and backpacks.

Kyth Hawk took a deep breath, and led his men away from his superior, down into a valley, towards a huge fire, surrounded by old-looking men in robes, who were chanting.

Kyth stepped into the light, and several of the men turned to look at him. He didn't raise his rifle, he hardly dared to breathe. Gathering his courage, he spoke.

"Greetings, men of Daviestan. I am Kyth Hawk, Lieutenant in the service of Shadostan. I seek your help."

The purge was going better than expected. Fyrdsonn had been the region only a few days, and already he had established a reasonable following. True, they were mostly embittered old men rather than the young zealous groups he was used to, but social opposition from older generations, which was normally a problem, didn;t feature. They had gone through all the homes and the pagan images they had found, the idolaterous images of imaginary deities were burning with vigour. True, he had had to supplement their numbers and add some hidden fuel to increase the spectacle but...well, if it required a small amount of illusion to show people the truth, what of it?

Then, at the edge of the blaze, a group of men staggered from the darkness. Their leader stepped forward and asked the nearest of his recruits something tiredly. Then Fyrdsonn recognised the insignia on their uniforms; these were Shadostanian soldiers! He walked over.

"Inquisitor Cynwulf sends his regards. Where are the rest of you? We were told about 70...no matter, I will inform the Inquisitor of your arrival. What is it that you require?

"Shelter, for now...and safety." Kyth replied. "We were attacked on the hilltop, whilst pushing toward Blort's forces on the beaches South of here. Five of our men are out searching for one of our grunts who was lost in action. Can you help us?"

Firelight flickered on the faces of the weary troopers as they waited for an answer.

"these people are local; they'll help search for your men. Come with us, the town hall is nearby. We can shelter there until re-enforced. We have a problem you may be able to help us with, too. Several of our missionaries across the country have been taken out by kill-teams, most likely an old imperialist friend of ours. You may be of use in this situation."

"Missionaries taken out? Imperialist friend? Are you suggesting what I think you are?" Kyth looked appalled.
The man nodded in reply, and Kyth shook his head in disbelief.
Several men ran off into the darkness to look for the missing marine, and Kyth began to walk alongside Fyrdsonn, still in shock. How could this have happened? This was like a bad dream to the inexperienced Lieutenant. If only Uriron was here, he thought, he'd know what to do...

In the darkness punctuated by huge flashes of light from explosions on the beach, Uriron and his four men were advancing slowly through the foliage. Suddenly he heard a noise, a groan coming from under a nearby bush. He stooped down and found Raidet lying there, his leg blown off by a high-calibre weapon. vHe bent down to administer some first aid, and heard Raidet mumble something.
"Cap'n...it's a...tra-"
"Hold it right there! Don't move!" Several figures stepped through the bushes. It was too dark to see who they were, but they carried guns, all of which were pointed at the small party. "Step away slowly, hands in the air. No sudden movements."
Uriron knew he was done for, and with a look at his men, drew a secret concealed fragmentation grenade with no fuse, a Shadostanian trooper's last stand device, and pulled the pin.

three bullets went through Uroron's chest and heart as the pin became seperated from the grenade. There was a carcophany of alarmed and confused cries as the grenade went off. Shrapnel tore into the flesh of those within a 3-metre radius. a small heap of dead , dying and wounded lay scattered on the ground. More figures emerged from the darkness, talking in earnest and hurried voices, flashlights revealing the carnage.
A tall armoured helmeted figure with a MSG-3 strode onto scene. A computer-altered voice spoke: "take what's left back to the ship. "

Kyth turned sharply as he heard what he thought to be gunfire. Seeing nothing, he turned back to his host, Fyrdsonn.

"So," He asked, "What brings Daviestanians to these troubled regions?"

Fyrdsonn frowned briefly at the noise. "You, go and see what that was. Take this with you" he said, handing him a small cubic metal device. The minion scuttled off obediantly. Fyrdsonn turned back to Kyth. "We were sent here to ensure the splitting country remained true to the Faith. There is more than that, though, i think. I wasnt briefed but i believe Blort has interests tio the contrary here, too, and we are to defend against harm being done by his forces."

A crackling noise suddenly emanated from the backpack of one of the marines accompanying Kyth, making everyone in the room look up. The marine slung his pack onto the ground, and rustled around inside of it. He looked at Kyth, who nodded, and the marine stepped outside.

"Radio," Kyth explained. "We were under orders from Blort, so we're still tuned in to his frequency."

The marine ran back in, a horrified look on his face. "Lieutenant Hawk, sir," He cried out, "It's the General! He's been...He's...KIA, sir."

"What?!" Kyth rose to his feet, knocking over the bowl of soup on his lap, letting it spill over the floor.

"Blort's men have taken his body, along with the bodies of the other guys, back to one of their ships! General Silentdive is dead, sir!"

The man was becoming hysterical, so Kyth sent two other men to calm him down while he spoke with Fyrdsonn.

"So, this doesn't look good...Blort seems to have turned his back on us...Seems his forces wish us harm...How can we help you guys?"

A grim look on his face, Lieutenant Kyth Hawk was willingly disobeying a direct instruction from a now dead superior officer, and was now awaiting his new orders.

"Your general, was he nearby when you lost him"

"Yes, we went on only a short distance before finding you"

"Then Blort's men are nearby. The man i sent will tell us how near soon enough. In the meantime, we retreat to a defensive position. You are proffesional military men while i am just a trained fighter, so you must be the judge of where to hole up, but the locals can give you detailed info about the lie of the land. I will send for evacuation and re-enforcments, so we can react as appropriate when we find out what we're up against. Word has also come through of other operations back in Prussia, too.

"Ok, you three, take these" he continued, handing 3 men similar small black cubes "and go and scout for the enemy. If you find them, delay them or simply do as much damage as you can. I know you aren't trained in proper combat, but all you have to do is point and shoot; go! do God's work. Two of you set up decoys here, along with a little surprise for our friends. You may be required to remain here too; if this prove so, I will have the Primus inter Pares give both of you full posthumous indulgences. The rest of you, follow me. Lead on, Kyth. You decisiveness in this hour ofcrisis does you great credit"

A faint smile crossed Kyth's lips. "My thanks, Fyrdsonn. It is with great pleasure that I do this. Blort will not go unnoticed by Shadostan." He signalled to the man with the radio. "Go, call for the strike teams."

The man ran outside, already pulling the radio from his pack.

"From reconaissance we know of a suitable fallback position nearby, no more than 2 pods... I mean to say, about 3 miles West of here. If someone could guide us, we may be able to make it there before Blort's troops get here. Let's go." He signalled to his men. "Move out, marines!"

He turned back to Fyrdsonn. "What do you have in the way of weaponry and manpower here, venerable sir?"

"Almost all of these people are local inhabitants. That is the way of the Daviestan Ecclesiarchy - send an Epistolary and convert locals onsite. They are therefore rather fickle; my guess is that as soon as we signal our intetion to leave, only 10 or so will come with us. As for weapons, only AK47s are issued for standard civilian mission- we got 15 or so, plus I carry my shotgun and a few grenades as standard. The locals have received limited training in use of their guns and can now at least shoot straight, if not particulary skilfully. We will evac. as soon as possible, to your fallback position. Those who will not follow us will remain here; they will either survive to ensure the Church's influence here or delay any following troops. With any luck we can make it out of here without getting caught. Lead on"

Through the darkness which was rapidly fading into day, Kyth led Fyrdsonn, his men, and a handful of locals West, towards an abandoned village. Upon their arrival, he sent his men to rest, then sought out Fyrdsonn.

"Blort's men cannot be held by the remaining local population alone. What would you have us do? We have called for strike teams, but they are all in action back in Prussia, for reasons that were not disclosed."