NationStates Jolt Archive

Republic of Ozymandias IV Embassy Compound, Credonia City

A RN Marine guard lay choking in the foyer of the Republic of Ozymandias IV embassy, as his respiratory system filled with acid. He was unable to activate the panic alarm inside the door and died alone in the dark.

In the basement, the hiss from the 1,000-pound tank was the only sound – the usual noise of the encryption machines, fax machines and secure communication uplinks was silent. The Republic Security Agency communications officer lying face-down at his desk was the first victim.

Slowly the greenish-yellow gas climbed the stairs of the embassy where the ambassador and his family were sleeping. They awoke coughing with burning eyes before they also succumbed to death.

The scene was repeated throughout the embassy. All the staff of the embassy’s night shift were quickly overcome by the poisonous fumes.

The gas crept under the doors and around the cracks in the embassy’s windows. Eventually it climbed the chimney of the old mansion and into the surrounding neighbourhood.

When the RN Marine at the embassy’s gate saw the low-lying fog he hit the alarm and quickly ran to the aid of his ambassador. When he threw open the door, he was overcome by the thick cloud and backed away coughing. His eyes and skin started to blister and burn as he ran back to his guard shack and grabbed his gas mask. He got halfway back to the embassy before he too collapsed.

Meanwhile, back at the Republic of Ozymanidas IV Ministry of State, the alarm was sounding.

“Ma’am, we’ve got a situation at our embassy in Credonia,” the technician reported to his immediate supervisor.

“What can you tell me?” demanded Inda II, the night watch officer.

“I’ve got an attack alarm and we’ve not been able to raise the embassy at all,” the technician said. “I’m not sure what that can mean. I’ll keep trying…”

“Do that while I call the deputy minister,” she said. “He’s not going to like being called in the middle of the night without any firm answers as to what’s going on there. Have somebody contact the RSA and see if they’re having the same problem.”

She then consulted her call list and dialed the deputy minister.

“What do you mean that the embassy in Credonia is off the air?” deputy minister Ower IX growled as he sat up fully awake. “What’s going on in Credonia City that I should know about?”

“Nothing sir. It’s the middle of the night there too,” Inda II said. “We received an attack alarm signal in our watch center and we haven’t been able to raise the embassy. And… Yes, okay, tell them to keep trying….and we’ve just heard that the RSA can’t raise its communications center in the embassy either. Sir, something is happening there but we don’t know what at this time.”

“Damn,” Ower IX swore under his breath. “Good work. Alert all staff that there’s been an attack in Credonia. We’ll operate on that assumption until we can get a better handle on things. I’ll be in the State Center in 20 minutes.”

As the alert went out to all branches of the Republic’s government Ower IX struggled to find clothes and run a comb through his graying hair at the same time. A few minutes later he was speeding down the highway toward the Ministry of State’s headquarters.

By the time he arrived, coffee was brewing in the Situation Room and satellite images of the Credonian capital were displayed on large flat-screen monitors.

“So what are we looking at here?” he demanded as he stirred extra sugar into his coffee.

“The SecState is en route to an IADF conference in Boa Vista. These images are from the last satellite pass – they’re only 15 minutes old,” Inda II said. “And as you can see, there’s no unusual activity on the streets or around the embassy. The image techs are working on them now to give us more information….”

There was an awkward pause until the phone rang.

“Yes. Okay. Upload the new images now and I’ll tell him…” Inda II hung up the phone and turned to the deputy minister.

“Sir, the image techs say there is some sort of cloud or fog surrounding the embassy and it appears to be coming from inside. There’s no evidence that it is smoke based on the IR data.”

“So what is it?” Ower IX demanded.

“Nobody knows sir,” she said shaking her head. “We’d better call Credonia.”

“I’ll be in my office,” he said over his shoulder. “Contact me if we get any new information.”

In his office, the deputy phoned the Ruling Council’s Situation Room and presented the Republic’s options.

It’ll be a huge embarrassment if we admit that we’ve lost contact with our embassy in the capital of one of our allies, he thought. But what else can we do? Damn, I wish Merek III was here to deal with this…

“Councilors, it is the Ministry of State’s recommendation that we contact Credonia and tell them that we have a situation at our embassy,” he said, knowing that his career was on the line. “I am prepared to make the necessary call at once if you approve.”

“Make it so,” said the mechanical voice through the speaker phone.

“Thank you. I’ll update you the moment we hear anything substantial,” he reported as the line clicked off.

~~OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUE TO EMPIRE OF CREDONIA~~

TO: Credonia Department of State
FROM: Ower IX, Deputy SecState, Republic of Ozymandias IV

MESSAGE:
The Republic of Ozymandias IV is unable to contact its embassy in Credonia City. We received an attack alarm at 0230 local time and have not been able to re-establish contact since.

We formally request Credonia’s assistance in contacting our embassy personnel.

~~MESSAGE ENDS~~

While the bureaucracy within the Republic of Ozymandias IV moved to come to terms with the situation, the deadly cloud of chlorine gas continued to grow and escape into the surrounding neighbourhood.

Luckily, it was late at night so the usually busy streets were relatively empty.

-----


OOC – Our embassy has a 1,000-pound tank of chlorine gas which is used in the water treatment system for the compound. We are slowly moving away from the use of chlorine and replacing it in favor of sodium hypochlorite, sadly we have not made the transition yet within Credonia. A one-ton release of chlorine could spread a cloud of harmful concentrations 6.7 miles.

Elias Embassy Compound, Credonia City

"Gas, Gas, Gas!"

The Republian Guard sentries rushed for their gasmasks, as the air sensor alarm sounded througout the building. Inside, the Ambssador was sitting in his grandiose study, doing some late night reading when one of the RGs entered, "Sir, we got gas alarms going off everywhere, we gotta get you downstairs!."

"What the hell?"

"Sir, lets go, questions later!"

The soldier, in his dark blue dress uniform escorted the ambassador to a sealed room in the basement whwre soem of the embassy's night staff were already waiting.

"Better not be a flase alarm."

"Either way, we've alerted Credonian Hazmat."

tag,
OOC: i'll respond shortly, im in school right now

Austian Embassy in Credonia
A cloud of poisainus gas rose out of the basement in the mebassy, it rolled up the stairs chocking an Aust Trooper and slowly made it's way through the embassy killing people. Sargent Robert Kahn, was the only survivor, he had seen the gas coming and worn his gas mask, but as he reached for the alarm their came the sound of pounding feet...

Austian Embassy in Credonia
A cloud of poisainus gas rose out of the basement in the mebassy, it rolled up the stairs chocking an Aust Trooper and slowly made it's way through the embassy killing people. Sargent Robert Kahn, was the only survivor, he had seen the gas coming and worn his gas mask, but as he reached for the alarm their came the sound of pounding feet...

Austian Embassy in Credonia
A cloud of poisainus gas rose out of the basement in the mebassy, it rolled up the stairs chocking an Aust Trooper and slowly made it's way through the embassy killing people. Sargent Robert Kahn, was the only survivor, he had seen the gas coming and worn his gas mask, but as he reached for the alarm their came the sound of pounding feet...

In Republican City, capital of the Republic of Ozymandias IV

Detective Sergeant Llege VI was just about to bite into his pizza slice when his portable radio sounded.

"Baker-5 here, go ahead," he mumbled around the huge bite of pizza.

"Report to 6717 Liberty Avenue in Old Townne for a report of a 10-7 male," the voice in the radio said in clipped precise tones.

"Roger, Baker-5 enroute."

Damn. he thought as he attempted to eat the whole slice in as few a bites as possible. Every time you stop to eat a stiff shows up someplace. It never fails...

He tossed a gold Rand to the cashier and stalked off to his motorcycle finishing off the pizza.

Five minutes later he arrived at the crime scene and walked up to the uniform on the perimeter security.

"Well?" he said, flipping his badge to the outside of his leather jacket.

"They say it's a weird one. You'll need to go around back to get in. The front is closed for the CSI guys..."

"Thanks." LLege VI said over his shoulder as he made his way around to the rear of the townhouse.

We offer out sincere hope in getting this conflict solved.

We have medical aids ready to shop out if needed. We also have a great bunch of detectives.

In Republican City, capital of the Republic of Ozymandias IV
6717 Liberty Avenue, Old Townne

"So what've we got here?" the police detective asked to the assembled crime scene investigators.

"Well, we've got a white male roughly 45 shot once in the chest and then dragged down the hall to a comfy chair where he took another to the head. The mail is all addressed to Tion III. We've run the name and he works for WaterPure, a water filtration company. No wife or kids. No criminal record."

"So play it out for me..."

"As near as we can figure, there's a knock at the door and he gets popped right in the heart as he opens the door. Really close range judging by the flash burns on his shirt. Then the shooter and maybe somebody else drag the body into the sitting room and put another round into his temple, again at close range - I guess for insurance or something."

"Nice," the detective said making a few notes. "So we've got blood on the floor in the hallway where he was drug. Any usable footprints?"

"Nope. And they locked the front door behind them. Mail came through the slot and the blood was still wet enough that it soaked the first day's letters so we've got a rough time of death of yesterday in late morning or early afternoon."

"Witnesses?" Llege VI asked hopefully.

"None. Everyone was away at work. Though the lady next door did say that he'd just gotten back from a trip overseas. Doing some work for the government or something..."

"Does this street have police camera coverage?"

"Actually, we're checking that now. And we've done a quick scan for fingerprints, but they had to have been wearing gloves - we've got finger marks, but no prints..."

"Great, nothing like a nice mysterious one," the detective muttered. "Let me know when you pull the street videos. And check his financial records, maybe he was into something he shouldn't have been...."

Police HQ, Republican City, Republic of Ozymanidas IV

"Well detective, our victim was surely dirty," the CSI technician said. "Take a look at these financial records."

Llege VI whistled. "Ten different bank accounts each with 50,000 Rand deposits a week before he took his trip abroad - to Credonia was it?"

"Yeah, and another 10 deposits of 50K each when he got back..."

"So what did our water filtration tech do for a million Rand?" the detective asked aloud. "And whatever it was, it got him killed yesterday sure as hell..."

~~OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUE TO EMPIRE OF CREDONIA~~

TO: Credonia Department of State
FROM: Ower IX, Deputy SecState, Republic of Ozymandias IV

MESSAGE:
The Republic of Ozymandias IV is unable to contact its embassy in Credonia City. We received an attack alarm at 0230 local time and have not been able to re-establish contact since.

We formally request Credonia’s assistance in contacting our embassy personnel.

~~MESSAGE ENDS~~

Upon recieving the telegram, Secretary of Defense Mitchell Ferguson and Secretary of State Lauren Smith (yes she got her old job back) rushed to the Emperor's quarters to awaken him. They burst through the doors, but the sound alone wakes him up.

"What the hell is going on?" he scouls at the secretaries.

"SIR!! We have a situation at the Ozymandias IV embassy. There seems to have been an attack of some sort. Sources report that there is some sort of gas being released into the atmosphere, perhaps chlorine gas, but we are not sure of the make-up. We need to send in our military guys to investigate. CCPD have been called to the scene, but this is something the military needs ot handle."

"DEAR GOD. Ok, General Ferguson, get on it. Send over hazmat, send over the military, secure the preremisis and close off the city. Now no one comes in or goes out, Credonian born or not. I'll get in contact with Ozymandias IV and give a statement to the empire shortly. In the meantime, i'll be in the war room monitoring the situation and speaking with my staff. GO!! says Emperor Sutton authoritativly.

Police HQ, Republican City, Republic of Ozymanidas IV

Detective Llege VI phoned the Ministry of State as a matter of routine to get copies of the deceased's travel documents to the Empire of Credonia.

That's when the case started to come together....

*whistles subtley*

:twisted:

Soloman ran for the entire night, three of his freinds lay dead someway back and the dogs were never far behind. If he could just get to that border, he had to tell the world about the traitor in their midst and of the crimes they had commited in their own nation!. The border was only a few metres away. He had made it, "please, i need to talk to someone from Ozymandias IV, please" and at that he collapsed

[tagged]OOC: keep it going guys tis real good!!!

Soloman ran for the entire night, three of his freinds lay dead someway back and the dogs were never far behind. If he could just get to that border, he had to tell the world about the traitor in their midst and of the crimes they had commited in their own nation!. The border was only a few metres away. He had made it, "please, i need to talk to someone from Ozymandias IV, please" and at that he collapsed

uhh...which border are you talking about? (surely cant be the credonian border, no one is allowed in or out of Credonia city, its been like that for months) The only way you could have gotten in is if you were a government official or credonian born (which you arent), and furthermore, we dont recognize your government so you dont have an embassy established with us, and never did.

Soloman ran for the entire night, three of his freinds lay dead someway back and the dogs were never far behind. If he could just get to that border, he had to tell the world about the traitor in their midst and of the crimes they had commited in their own nation!. The border was only a few metres away. He had made it, "please, i need to talk to someone from Ozymandias IV, please" and at that he collapsed

uhh...which border are you talking about? (surely cant be the credonian border, no one is allowed in or out of Credonia city, its been like that for months) The only way you could have gotten in is if you were a government official or credonian born (which you arent), and furthermore, we dont recognize your government so you dont have an embassy established with us, and never did.

ooc: calm down dear. i mean the spheren border in the fallen system. i take this as your going to ruina good rp, again. *sigh*

Police HQ, Republican City, Republic of Ozymanidas IV

Detective Llege VI phoned the Ministry of State as a matter of routine to get copies of the deceased's travel documents to the Empire of Credonia.

That's when the case started to come together....

State Center, Republican City, Republic of Ozymandias IV

The PIO office in the Ministry of State quickly transferred the detective's call to the basement situation room.

"Sir, we've got a policeman on the line who is investigating the murder of a water filtration technician who has just returned from Credonia," the comm tech informed the undersecretary. "They've also discovered a 1million Rand payment into the victim's bank account before and after his trip to Credonia..."

"Put him on the speaker!" Ower IX commanded.

"Hello?" came the voice from the speakers mounted overhead.

"Hello detective. This is Ower IX, the Deputy SecState. Can you please give us the details of the case you're investigating?"

"Yes sir. We've got a deceased male, 44, who was shot through the heart at close range with a small caliber weapon. He was then shot again in the head I guess to make sure... The victim, Tion III, is a technician with WaterPure a water filtration company. In talking with his company, he was supposed to service the embassy water filtration system in Credonia a few weeks ago. And we've got payments into his bank account of half a million Rand before and after his trip.... So do you want to tell me what the hell is going on that you are interested in a murder investigation?"

"It'll probably be on the news soon, so there's no harm in telling you," Ower IX said. "Our embassy is off the air and we suspect that your case might have something to do with it. We're going to transfer you to the RSA and I rather suspect that they'll be sending an agent or twelve to help with your investigation. Thank you detective... You've been a great help."

Llege VI looked at the phone after the line disconnected.

Damn, he thought, this is huge....

OOC The HLF- no, im not ruining anything, thats how its been for months and all the proof is there to prove it

Credonian military forces begin evacuating the area of all non essential personnel as well as nearby neighborhoods where the people were sleeping. Winds were blowing north East towards the mountain area so the civilians would be evacuated south of the embassy to avoid the ever expanding cloud of gas rising in the air.

Emperor Sutton phones the Ozy. IV government

"This is Emperor Sutton, could you please explain to me what is going on? Im getting reports but im perplexed as to how in the world this could have happened."

At the sound of Sutton's voice on the 'Hot Line' to Credonia, the Ruling Council responded:

"Emperor Sutton, we were hoping that you might be able to give us information," the metallic voice from the speaker phone replied. "We are conducting an investigation within the Republic and an additional 50 agents of the RSA have recently been tasked to the case. We are unsure if the two events are linked, but it seems possible at this time..."

There was a pause on the line and then more speaking:

"What we know so far is that a water filtration technician was found murdered in his home after visiting Credonia. His bank accounts show several large deposits before and after the trip."

After another pause the speaking resumed:

"Have you had any success in reaching our ambassador or embassy staff? Do you know the nature of the cloud visible in our sattelite images that is surrounding our embassy? What can you tell us about the state of affairs in your capital?"

Republican City, Republic of Ozymandias IV

Meanwhile, the investigation went into high gear as dozens of experts from the Republican Security Agency went over the detective's notes.

A team of computer experts went to work on the victim's home and work computers while another visited his ISP to reconstruct every keystroke the victim made in the months before his trip to Credonia.

While they discovered that he was addicted to internet pornography, there was little evidence of wrongdoing.

While they poured over every inch of the victim's house and workplace, Llege VI had very little to do, in fact an RSA geek ordered him to stay out of their way just that very morning.

Standing in the townhome's rear garden, the police detective actually was looking at the flowers in a neat border along the walkway. Wish my garden looked this bloody nice, he thought to himself.

Walking along he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. There among the flowers was a large greyish piece of limestone - even though the rest of the rocks in the garden were the brown sandstone native to the area.

He picked up the rock and found a small lapel pin in a militaristic design:
http://www.cnc-extreme.net/img/gla.gif

"Hey, I've got something out here!" he called in to the experts...

The RSA team members came outside and the group's counter-terrorism agent's eyes grew wide when he saw the cuff link.

"The damn GLA Terrorists!" he shouted. "Talk about a bad penny - everytime something bad happens they seem to be involved in some way..."

He pulled out his cellular phone and talked with his superior.

"Yessir," he said into the phone. "We're fairly certain that the GLA are involved in some way. Yessir, I agree that getting agents to the airports and seaports with our photo books is the best we can hope for. Yessir, we'll keep you informed."

The lead RSA agent was also on his cellular phone, ordering a team with ground-penetrating radar and metal detectors to search the entire back garden of the victim's house.

====

Meanwhile, teams of RSA agents scrambled to the airports and seaports to set up watcher groups with their face-recognition software to scan passsengers as they went to board ferries and passenger aircraft leaving the Republic.

"Don't know why we're even bothering," one of the watcher team members muttered.

His team member nodded, "Yeah, they're sure to be long gone by now, but you never know - we might be lucky..."

"Josef" sat in his room, outside was panic as the chlorine attack had spread chaos throughout the city.

The room was a mess, empty tins lay everywhere while cockroaches scurried to and fro.

"Josef" had lived in Credonia city for about 16 years having been born here. He had been recruited while living here through the internet, and eventually met up with a GLA agent three years ago. It was his job to report on the current situation in Credonia city. Information was then passed around the world, back and forth so no one could trace it back to Heavens Rim and the main GLA HQ situated in *************.

However "Josef" was scared and was worried about the increasing threat of Credonian Counter Terrorists teams smashing his door down. The technician was dead although it wasnt his fault, it was the GLA's fault.

"josef" turned over, he couldn't sleep, he kept imagining a knock on the door.

OOC:edited, is that more acceptable now? :shock:

DELETED

as i stated GLA, all NON CREDONIAN BORN citizens were taken out of the city, what dont you get about that

OOC: HLF, I don't know what your planning, but please tell me you are not going to be the one responsible!

IC: Mr. President! Something's amiss in Credonia City!"
"Fantas- er, what happened?"
"All of the foreign embassies in the city have been gas attacked."
"Contact the leader of the HLF. I have a feeling he may know something, what with his infiltrators."
"Yes, sir."
"Oh, and try to keep the media out of this. The last thing that we want is to panic the nation that a country we have an embassy in may be next."
"Of course, sir."

Alexander responds to the ruling council.

"At this time the state of affairs in Credonia have been nothing out of the normal and whaty we have been going through for the past few weeks. Our military forces have been keeping a lookout throuout the entire city as it is practically isolated from the entire world. Also, we have not been able to contact the embassy staff, however, with your permission, we would like to send in our specially equipted military forces to investigate and look around the embassy. If needed, your men can escort us to ensure we dont go poking around, but thats not what we intend to do. As for the cloud, it seems as if it is chloric acid in the gas form. We have begun the evacuation of the neighborhoods to the north of the embassy to ensure that no one dies because of this stuff."

He looks at the staff in the room, then continues

"Right now, we are simply stunned at how this could have happened. It MUST have been someone on the inside because NO one is allowed into he city. It is monitored day and night by satellites and military forces that are stationed on just about every street corner. Our military forces are exemplary and are some of the best in the world. It is highly unlikely that anyone could have committed such an attrocity if they werent on the inside and somehow linked to your or someone elses government"

The speaker on the hotline crackled to life again:
"Thank you for your offer of support Emperor Sutton. If those clouds are truly chlorine gas, there is a very good reason why we cannot contact our staff.

"The Ruling Council does not grant your forces permission to enter our embassy grounds and we shall be dispatching our own NBC team as well as agents with the RSA to conduct a thorough investigation. While it is possible that this might have been a terrible accident, it is also possible that this was a deliberate act of war upon the Republic and we want to ensure that the scene is uncorrupted until our team arrives.

"We have given orders for them to scramble and a C-141 transport with a fighter escort should be en route to Credonia wheels-up within 30 minutes. We estimate their arrival in Credonia City by nightfall."

"Very well. Credonian military forces will maintain a perimeter around the vincinity. You have full permission to use Sutton Air Force Base to land your forces and personnel in Credonia. You also have full use of its facilities and staff. If you need anything, contact me, I shall remain here in the Presidential Palace for the next 24 hours. I am also thinking of making a public appearance, but we shall see."

as i stated GLA, all NON CREDONIAN BORN citizens were taken out of the city, what dont you get about that

OOC: give a little slack here, we are only RPing, jeez you take things way to seriously.

OOC: im givin slack, but ive been stating for the past 2 months that ALL non-credonian born citizens have been removed from the city and the streets are patrolled by military forces 24/7. Im tired of havin to tell everyone that over and over

"Right now, we are simply stunned at how this could have happened. It MUST have been someone on the inside because NO one is allowed into he city. It is monitored day and night by satellites and military forces that are stationed on just about every street corner. Our military forces are exemplary and are some of the best in the world. It is highly unlikely that anyone could have committed such an attrocity if they werent on the inside and somehow linked to your or someone elses government"


OOC: what a great place to live :( thx for the slack

Sutton Air Force Base, Empire of Credonia

The secret military flight from the Republic arrived in Credonia without incident, touching down at Sutton Air Force Base 20 minutes early.

The loadmaster lowered the rear ramp and the LAV-NBC R vehicle slowly pulled out of the aircraft. Once the NBC Recon Vehicle was clear, the GAR squad mounted up and started rolling toward the site of the Republic of Ozymandias IV embassy.

While the LAV was capable of driving 55-plus mph on the highway into the city, the vehicle commander kept the speed below 35 mph to conduct constant readings of the atmosphere for signs of gas. The first chemical alarm sounded 4 miles from the embassy

"We're getting trace amounts of chlorine gas sir," a technician said through his gas mask. "And it looks like its building up as we continue forward. My best guess that we'll be at toxic levels when we're within a mile of the site..."

"Roger," the team commander said. "We'll continue our approach keeping the speed down and monitoring conditions. It looks like Credonia did a good job of getting civillians out of here, but god only knows how many casualties they had...."

From a building along the road, a dedicated 5CN JadeOps operative looked out of the window, speaking into a comlink.

"This is Hawkeyes Oh-Niner to Hawkeyes Central, Ozymandias IV forces moving through now..."

Roger that, Hawkeyes Oh-Niner

Embassy Row, Credonia City

When the recon vehicle reached the site of the Republic's embassy, the vehicle passed through the Credonian security cordon and entered the embassy grounds.

Thick clouds of greenish gas still lingered in low-lying areas and the team leader signaled that the entire squad of six specialists would be entering the environment.

Two-by-two the soldiers entered the air lock and left the relative safety of the eight-wheeled armoured car for the inhospitable grounds of the embassy. When the entire team was assembled, the men moved into the building and found their first corpse - a RN Marine in the main lobby who must have been trying to reach the alarm panel beside the door.

"Poor bastard," one of the soldiers muttered as the team gathered around the body.

"Okay people, let's spread out and do the job we came here to do," the team leader said breaking the spell of horror. "Group Alpha head upstairs and conduct a full sweep. Bravo Group, head to the basement and sweep up. We'll meet in the office level. No mistakes and watch your buddies - I don't want any of you to end up like this guy. Move out!"

Republic of Ozymandias IV Embassy, Credonia City

Bravo Group reported in as soon as they reached the basement.
"We've got the source of the gas attack. There's been some kind of damage to the embassy's chlorine tank and it's still some residual leaking..."

"Roger Bravo-1, is there any way of shutting it down?"

"Wait one, we're checking that now..."

A technician under the tank discovered that a control valve is cracked and flecks of paint are under the tank.

"It looks like somebody beat this with a hammer to crack it enough that the constant pressure would eventually rupture the tank. But I think we can shut it off above the leak," the specialist said. "There, that ought to do it..."

"Team leader this is Bravo-1, leak is secure. We're going to go back to the LAV and get a blower to vent the area and we'll continue our investigation."

Republic of Ozymandias IV Embassy, Credonia City

The team in the basement vented the poison gas into the outdoors while the Brave Group searched around the tank.

"Sir, there's no doubt that this was sabatoge - it was subtle and carefully done but sabatoge just the same," one technician said.

"And I've got something over here tucked up behind the pipes..." said another. "It looks like some sort of cufflink."

He pulled it out and handed it to the group leader:

http://www.cnc-extreme.net/img/gla.gif

"The damn GLA," the team leader said. "We had a good idea that they might be behind this - we are in Credonia after all. I guess since Credonia is under 24-hour lockdown the GLA have taken to attacking their enemy through other venues. Not that I can blame them given what we've seen on the streets of the capital..."

Republic of Ozymandias IV Embassy, Credonia City

An hour after the discovery of the suspected GLA involvement, the teams left the embassy with large duffle bags filled with critical files. The bodies of the deceased were loaded into bodybags and strapped to the roof of the vehicle.

Their work done they loaded back into the LAV and started to move back toward the embassy gates.

"Ozymandias team to Credonia, our investigation is complete and we are prepared to depart," the team commander said on the secure frequency supplied by Credonia. "Expect a full report on our findings when we touchdown back in the Republic. Thank you for your cooperation."

Then switching off the radio and keying the internal vehicle com-system he said, "Back to the airport driver."

And finally, he turned to the encrypted channel and sent a brief message to the airport, "NBC team is rolling. All missions accomplished..."

Sutton Air Force Base, Empire of Credonia

The loadmaster in the C-141 quickly secured the LAV in the hold of the airplane and signaled to the pilot that all was ready for take-off.

Moments later the flight radioed permission from the tower to taxi.

En route to Republic of Ozymandias IV

As the cargo plan reached international air space, a flight of fighter escorts took up position around the aircraft and escorted it back toward the Republic of Ozymandias IV.

The pilot of the C-141 breathed a sigh of relief once the formation of friendly fighters surrounded his aircraft. He gave control of the plane to the copilot and leaned back in his seat.

"Pilot to cargo, please report to flight deck."

The mission commander put down his sports drink and ran a towel over his head one more time. These damn chem suits make me lose 10 pounds every time we run an opp he thought grimly.

"I'll be on the flight deck if you need me," he told his second in command. "Make sure the boys keep drinking. I don't want to hear about anyone being dehydrated when we get home."

When he reached the flight deck, he handed the pilot a triangular-shaped package with a nod of his head and a small smile.

The pilot opened a corner and looked inside.
http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/ozymandias_iv.jpg

"They didn't notice that you took it?" he asked.

"No sir, they sure didn't," the mission commander said with a sly grin.

"Excellent work and tell your men I said so," the pilot said. "I'll radio it in on the uplink."

"Thank you sir." said the mission commander as he turned and went back down to his team.

En route to Republic of Ozymandias IV

The pilot turned to his communications officer and said "Send the 'All Success' signal to HQ."

Within seconds an encrypted signal was sent via satellite to the Republic of Ozymandias IV. It was then transmitted by secure fiber line to the various government ministries.

The message was short "Easter is early."

Across the capital and at a few secure military bases, civillian personnel and military commanders relaxed a bit. They knew the flight still had a way to travel, but the hardest part was behind it...

Freeport Air Force Base, Republic of Ozymandias IV

The flight returned to the Republic of Ozymandias IV in the dead of night, yet the air base was full of life.

Lights blazed and a military band played a military funeral dirge as the bodies of the embassy staff were reverently carried from the cargo plane. Crisp, fresh-looking flags were draped over the coffins. The final coffin contained the body of the ambassador - the flag over his coffin was weathered and worn from flying over his post in Credonia.

The events were televisied live throughout the Republic and viewership ratings surprised the network overnight executives.

At the air base, SecDef Ayn IX gave a few remarks at a small ceremony for the families before following the military convoy into the night...

"These brave men and women were killed because they represent peace and freedom," she said. "They were killed because some cowardly criminals wanted to harm the government of Credonia by attacking innocent civillians.

"The Republic does not support the policies of the so-called Emperor Sutton and his regime. Our failure to close our embassy in protest of his draconian policies toward his own people and his shocking behaviour on the world stage has resulted in the loss of life for our fellow citizens.

"The Ruling Council has decided to close its embassy in Credonia until such time as its legitimate government is restored. As an ally, we stood beside Credonia and went to war on its behalf on many occasions.

"Sutton's withdrawal of Credonia from our Alliance has severed this long-standing tie between our two nations. We will not stand by and allow our citizens to suffer because of this broken relationship.

"We pledge our continued support to the people of Credonia and vow to find and punish the party or parties responsible for the cowardly attack on our embassy.

"Further, the Ruling Council has declared that all flags in the Republic shall fly at half-staff tomorrow and that all citizens are urged to spend a minute of quiet reflection at noon."

Republican City, Republic of Ozymandias IV

At 12:01pm local time, the Ruling Council authorized 'Operation Erasure' and retired for the day.

Within a command bunker a command was uploaded to a satellite which then was forwarded to a dish. The message was simply 'INITIATE'.

A countdown began within the bunker. When it reached 120, a message was sent via hotline to the Empire of Credonia:

[code:1:6ac2295267]
TO Empire of Credonia
FROM Republic of Ozymandias IV

A controlled explosion will take place in exactly 2 minutes at our former embassy in Credonia City. We urge your emergency personnel to withdraw to a safe distance while the destruction of this building takes place.

That is all.
[/code:1:6ac2295267]

Republic of Ozymandias IV Embassy Compound, Credonia City

The explosion was controlled and aside from the initial blast and a thick coating of dust, the neighbours of the embassy were unaffected.

A video feed from the guard booth showed the rubble of the embassy and transmitted back to the Republic of Ozymandias IV Ministry of State.

http://img13.photobucket.com/albums/v37/OzymandiasIV/boom.gif

"Beautiful!" said the watch officer. "That was a perfect takedown! We'd better notify the Ruling Council..."