NationStates Jolt Archive

MONDAY, NR. TURATH - Despite the Commonality's lack of nuclear weaponry, there is always the danger that high-tech equipment might fall into the hands of terrorists; yet nowhere was the danger seen as less likely than the top-secret Assault Citadel 42.

Assault Citadel 42 - known to the public as the Tertiary Turath Airfield - was seized in a lightning raid by terrorists believed to be former special forces operatives Saturday, and issued demands early Sunday. They are believed to be foreign in origin, but with backing by a reclusive group formerly believed to be peaceful, known as The Valiant.

Large numbers of The Valiant - a network of former special forces' operatives who served in theold Commonwealth Special Assault Force - recently went off-net, vanishing to the public eye; the Government has confirmed Monday that it too had lost track of the group.

The public is greeting the announcement with shock, with many having held the belief that installations held by the Commonality security forces were impenetrable without a major assault, and the fact that the assault went unnoticed for four hours - the time between call-ins to the ultra-secret High Command Citadel - has sparked complaints that security measures in effect were not as cleverly arranged as previously believed.

No doubt the attackers were aware that CA42 would be fallow for six hours that day, although the airbase was manned as usual, and it is unclear how the airbase security was pierced without any sign of entry. Contact has not been established with base personnel, although visual recon shows no activity at ground level.

No further information has been released to the public, and the media has been issued a D-notice for the next thirty-six hours, banning all further release of information regarding this topic. Information will be released at the end of that period. Specific, threat-related details will be released to the public from 2200 Monday evening via MESH facilities, overriding other activities until accepted as per the Citizens MESH Use Agreement.

~ Excerpt from the Nenya Today electronic broadsheet

* * *

Assault Citadel 42 - thirty six miles east of Turath, Province of Ax-turath, Iluvauromen, Lodoss

They worked swiftly, quickly, his boys. They had carried out the mission to perfection; they were the best. He had had them for two years, training them out in the moutains, where eyes, for mystical reasons he did not care for, did not pry. Some mystical claptrap about the Three Stars; something about their vengeance...

He did not remember the bullshit that was spouted by the Book of Stars very well; it was all rememberance and false prophecy, lies piled upon lies. All that mattered was the utter destruction of the enemies of the Commonality - and the Free World. He would have nothing less...

[OOC: Short post, I know, but I need participants. Foreigners, from powerful states with high-tech militaries, all with a bone to pick with Arda and with some reason for supporting the Commonality (although the latter is not a requirement if the hatred for Morgoth is strong enough). The terrorists have ceased a base which is unique: it has the capability to launch the entire 'doomsday' arsenal of the Commonality at one stroke - currently some twenty thousand Intercontinental Variable Velocity Kinetic Missiles (ICKMs), each weighing fifty tons, with yields variable up to seventy megatons on impact with the ground. The base itself is home to seven MIRV ICKMs, known as Resolutions, which are extreme-precision missiles with yields in the fifteen kilotonne range for each kill vehicle.

The MIRV ICKMs are not likely to be used (from a strategic point of view, which might not be the view of the terrorists) because they have preset targets which cannot be altered without specialist help. The terrorists do not have the required specialists. That means that those MIRVs would only be able to be fired at key targets belonging to certain 'enemies' - not all of which are entirely enemies to the Commonality any more. Some of those states have nuclear capacity. I'm sure you see the problem there - and why the media was informed.

The terrorists are not evil, however. In fact, they're nice people. That's kinda the point. They're all nice people, not interested in killing innocents or being ruthless or anything of that sort; they are merely afraid and desperate. They fear that Arda will strike first against the Commonality or their home nations (who may help the Commonality if push comes to shove), knowing that Tumnore is pushing the Commonality towards a resumption of hostilities with Melkor Unchained; so no die-hard types with dark histories - so no rapists, murderers, serial killers etc, please. These are people with excellent service records; a history of patriotism; they're people with families, loved ones - people they want to protect. They're misguided, but good. Hope I emphasized that enough!

So if you want in, then post some little introduction; the soldier can be on guard duty at the elevator entrance to the Citadel, or in the mess off-duty, or any number of options. Steer clear from describing locales just yet; I'll do that for you. Just choose a likely spot inside a small 'Citadel' (an underground bunker with people who live there all the time), and bear in mind that there are also going to be hostages. And international governmental response is also welcome; some suspicion as to whether or not this is a ploy of some sort to explain a coming war would probably be cool. ;)]

Tur Dethra was not a man lightly interrupted.

Despite the anti-mechanical weapon ban, certain weapons were still allowed. Then there were certain weapons which could not be scanned for - but these were few and far between. Tur carried one such weapon, and was one of very few who even knew of the shortcomings of the Public Safety Network - run by the Commission for Public Safety, the PSN scanned people constantly. Those breaching the mechanical arms laws were nullified instantly, then taken into custody by the police. Trial followed, then the almost-inevitable guilty verdict (the PSN never made a mistake towards innocence, but there were sometimes mitigating circumstances - although it was rumoured it had missed lethal projectile weapons that were designed especially for that purpose); Tur was not particuarly afraid of that.

His weapon was far worse than lethal; it was not lethal at all. Rather, it affected the nervous system, producing exquisite pain at various levels; the lowest settings would simply numb a limb with pain - the highest would render the victim paralysed. For life, sometimes, the manual said.

Tur had yet to fire it at the highest setting; he was not by any means a man who would maime for enjoyment, but he did, to some degree, enjoy the way the body twitched when the neuronic whip was turned upon the victim. It was not really called a neuronic whip in his native language; the Humans referred to it as that, in honour of some fictional tale from some other land. He knew nothing about that tale, but he knew that the description was apt. It was not shaped like a whip, but the original purpose - driving Human slaves to work or ending mass demonstrations - was essentially the same.

As stated, then, Tur, with his rather morbid amused enjoyment of watching persons twitch under the influence of his 'legal' armament, was not lightly interrupted.

And so when the hand clamped down on his shoulder, he was half-tempted to introduce his right fist to the individuals kidneys. But fortunately for the newcomer, she happened to be female. He could tell by the lightness of touch - and by the empathic sense that washed over him. Military woman, he guessed; fairly young, under a hundred at least; he waited a moment before turning in his seat to examine her.

Curiousity struck him at once; she wore a dull grey-red uniform, the kind worn by the airforce's special forces group when on parade. But this wasn't exactly a dress uniform - it was clearly scaled down. She did not wear medals, for starters. Which was a relief. Some bemedalled young hotshot would have been harder to handle; this was clearly a commander, an officer of integrity.

Which was almost as bad.

"Sir," she added, eventually.

He just stared at her. Not because she was stunning or gorgeous, which she was, in a hardass sense. If she had been wearing nothing at all, as was the custom in this part of town, he would have flirted with her mercilessly - plying her with old war stories, no doubt, until she fell into bed with him out of pure lust.

So he usually hoped.

But she wore her hair so severely it looked as if it could kill him on its own. Her eyes were hard; she had seen action, for all that she was soft spoken and polite. After quite a long pause, he eventually answered evenly, "Yes?"

He knew what she was here for. He had heard it on the news, and his sense of danger was itching. His neck itched. Something was up. He'd be redrafted, he knew it. The bastards. I should never have signed that release form. Even personality reprogramming would have been preferable.

"Sir, the Commonality requires your service. You've been reactivated and are to come with me immediately. If you do not, I am under orders to incapacitate you and carry you to your post - if required. Sir."

She was a hardass. He was almost - almost - tempted to call her on it, but he saw the weapon in her holster - and had no doubt she could draw faster than him. She was a professional; and the women always drew faster than the men. That was fact. He knew it, she knew it, and he knew she knew he knew it.

Tur felt slightly dizzy.

"Okay," he mumbled. "I'm coming."

For a moment, he thought he heard her speak, then realised it was a thoughtcast - or rather, a very strong surface thought. The moment passed, and then he wasn't so sure; perhaps he had invented it...

Now how many times have I heard that one before...