NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: Alrighty. This will be an open RP. You may either release statements from your governments or play diplomats or tourists, seeing as the city this is taking place in is one of the largest places of tourism in the Grand Imperium of Risban.
Just a little lesson- Risban has absolutely no volcanoes and few earthquakes. There are no volcanologists in Risban at all, for there has never been a need for such in the past and no one had predicted that the need would ever occur.
The setting is the City of Kroply: A city of 11 million residents that is a huge tourist area, full of hotels, resorts, and shops. The city is on the Bay of Copmol (Copmol is the second largest city in Risban with a population of 20 million), situated between the City of Copmol and the small city of Dover (Population: 100,493). The area has a tropical setting and is a very popular spot for vacationers and tourists. Apart from the magnificent beauty, the Bay of Copmol is also a major trading area within the Risban Empire.
All three cities are situated around a beautiful and lush mountain, called Pellonius Hill. Pellonius is the sixth-tallest mountain in Risban. It is full of very fertile fields and lovely gardens. Cows are often grazing around the area.
There is also a Imperial naval base in Copmol.

There. Feel free to join in. I will be posting the stages of this event by times. The volcano will actually start stirring several posts down.
I need to run off soon, so this post is mostly for interest and explanation of the setting.
Ask questions if you need to.


IC:

8:02 A.M.
The City of Kroply...
It is a normal morning in the city. The streets are bustling with traffic, even at this early time. Stores and restaurants are beginning to open up, and most of the early-morning fishermen are returning from the Bay. Business people and merchants travel between Copmol, Kroply, and Dover. Kroply is, as usual, packed with tourists.

City Palace- The Office of Magistrate Gaius Lycus
Magistrate Gaius Lycus sat behind his desk, sipping some coffee as he looked over reports. The city was going to be busy today. The Kroply City Zoo was holding a festival, there were boat races in the bay, and the Kroply City Football Team was playing the Copmol City Football Team in the Kroply Stadium, which would be packed with nearly 75,000.
Extra police and riot police, as well as part of the Imperial High Guard, had been called in from Risban City to help keep things under control.
"I'm going to need more coffee," sighed the Magistrate, dropping his papers back onto the desk.


((I will post again later! No one can go past 9 A.M. if they are posting. you can introduce characters or something if you post...))

((American football or Futball?))
8:45 AM
Haku Jukol wheeled himself off of the van. General Yillik and the rest of teh Forge Force were in some foreign country taking care of a terrorist uprising. Haku had broken his leg while on a routine scout mission. He couldn't go, so he had to stay at the base. What better way than to piss of the Navy guys and watch the Football game. He looked up at the sky and watched a Green Sun rocket sped into the air, headed for their home planet. Haku was an Earthling. He was born and raised on Earth. But most of the citizens in the nation of Green Sun were in space. He was stuck here on Earth. And that didn't bother him a bit. He looked around and watched as Green Sun sailors bargained with storekeepers and tried in vain to pick up chicks. He chuckled to himself and decided to join the fun.

OOC: Football as in American Soccer.
And, this is modern-tech for those of you who don't know. Green Sun's an exception. ;)

IC:

8:54 A.M.
Traffic was beginning to pick up as people went out for breakfast. The sixty-eight places of worship in Kroply were bustling as well.

The football game in the stadium was preceded with a mock battle, and a parade in honour of the founder of Kroply City, Joseph Marcellus Kroply, was going through one of the streets.
The beginning...
A slight tremor hit the city. However, it was just a 3.2. Nothing to worry about. Most people hardly even noticed it. After all, what was there to fear in paradise?


9:06 A.M.
The Home Of Mayor Charles McAddams
McAddams rolled his eyes as one of his workers dropped a stack of papers, all supporting the current mayor for reelection. "Be more careful with that!! They cost a fortune!"
Well, they didn't really cost a fortune, but for Charles McAddams, every plutus was a fortune...
Magistrate Gaius Lycus walked in, bowing slightly to the Mayor. "I see things are going alright for you so far. Everyone's saying you're going to win."
"Yes, yes, but we can't be too sure," said the Mayor, nodding to the Magistrate as he entered. "Peter Marcellus is catching up in the polls."
The Magistrate chuckled. "Ah, Marcellus... He won't be too much of a problem, I think. After all, he doesn't have near as much experience as y-"

It was at this moment that the Magistrate was cut off by a rather abrupt earthquake, much stronger than the last. A 5.8 on the richter scale. Several loose statues around McAddam's house fell over, and several pictures dislodged themselves from a few shelves. McAddams himself was crouched under a table, while the Magistrate had backed up into a doorjam. The quake last for one minute and twenty-three seconds.

Kroply Stadium
People shouted as the stadium shook, panic slowly beginning to engulf the crowd. However, the riot police managed to keep most people in order, responding quickly. Once the quake subsided, people were assured over the television, radio, and loudspeakers that everything was alright and they could return to normal.
It was paradise, and people decided to continue enjoying themselves.



9:18 A.M.-- Imperial Palace, Risban City: The Emperor's Office
Emperor Robinson Antares Scorpius sat at his desk, going over some legislation, when Countess Nora Courtney, Lady Chancellor of Parliament, walked in. "Sir, there's been a small earthquake in Kroply. Our people say that it originated somewhere around Mount Pellonius.... But there isn't any fault."
The Emperor frowned, leaning back in his chair. "Hmm... How odd. Perhaps the earth itself is exited at the events taking place in Kroply," grinned Scorpius. "I wish I had the time to take a vacation there myself."
The Countess chuckled slightly. "Don't we all..."



OOC: Okay. Leaving for a second. No going after 9:35. You can take any time between 8 and 9:35 A.m.

((I do MT and FT. The most FT I'll do is maybe evacuate the people via spacecraft, but nothing too much. Hell, tehy might not even go into space.))
9:05 AM
Haku arrived at the Stadium. It was packed already.
"The Risbanian people must REALLY love Football!" he said to himself. He approached the stadium when the 5.8 tremor happened. He held fast onto his 'chair. He heard screams and panic in the stadium. He looked at the mountain and swore he saw smoke. He cast the thought asaide and figured there must be a fault or something nearby. Probably happens all the time. He went inside and took his seat by 9:25.

Bump

9:06
Roethe McGuvvins had come to Kroply to see the football game. Risban had only been an in-between place at first, where he hoped to find cheap, or preferably, free transport elsewhere. He had every Faradooner's innate distrust of pure capitalism, magnified by the experience of having to work to fill his pockets after being stranded in a few similar countries. It had been a quest in itself to get through Kroply's streets, and he had been looking forward to finally getting into the stadium, and sitting down, only...
"No tickets!" barked the middle-aged woman at the window, a phrase which was especially harsh in the native tongue, especially to a person used to free sporting events, where the only determining factor in admission was how close they were to crushing people from the pressure of the crowd.
"Huja!"
The expletive drew the attention of most of those around him, none who seemed willing to sell him a ticket. Not that he would want to pay.
Did I come all the way just to list-WOAH!
Memories of Tertaka flashed into his mind, but the quake was far smaller than that. He smirked at the cowering people, and then, saw his chance. With the guards and ticketakers hiding under the turnstiles, he swung over a far corner of the fence, and trotted off, stumbling a little, down the still shaking concourse. It took him awhile to find an empty seat that didn't get taken within five minutes, but he finally settled down beside some soldierly type in a a cast and wheelchair.

I cannot give you a more exact description of its figure, than by resembling it to that of a pine tree; for it shot up to a great height in the form of a tall trunk, which spread out at the top into a sort of branches. It appeared sometimes bright, and sometimes dark and spotted, as it was either more or less impregnated with earth and cinders....
-Pliny the Younger




9:51
The football game was under way, and it was already shaping up to be quite a good game indeed. The earthquake was quickly forgotten among the crowd as a small fight broke out between a couple of players.
Once the fight had stopped, the game had gotten back on schedule, with the Copmol team scoring the first goal after a well-played manuever against the Kroply team.


Mayor McAddam's Home
The Mayor, out from under the table, sighed as he picked up a fallen picture. "Bloody quakes," muttered the mayor to the Magistrate. "They make so many problems."
"You're telling me," said Magistrate Lycus. "We're already getting calls... Eleven million people in Kroply alone. I wonder what Copmol is like."
"Yes, I'm sure they're having fun," said the Mayor sarcastically.


Kroply Stadium
Timothy Tarda was the brother of Grand Admiral Eric Tarda, senior naval advisor to the Emperor himself. He also happened to be the owner of the Kroply City Football Team. Despite them losing by a couple points, he was in high spirits. His guys would catch up soon enough.
Tarda sat in his own personal box, towards the very top of the stadium. Not only did it give him a great view of the field, but he had a magnificent view of Pellonius Hill towering over the cities of Copmol, Dover, and Kroply as well.
Thus, it was amazing he didn't notice a column of black smoke rising from the giant mountain.... Perhaps the game enticed him too much. Perhaps not. The world will never know, for at that moment, all Hell broke lose.


The earth began to rumble, but this was not a normal earthquake. The shaking began to get stronger... It reached a 7.1 on the richter scale. People around the city began to scream, ducking for cover.
The explosion...
It was now that people looked to Mount Pellonius. Now they began to see the thick column of black stone rising from the giant mountain.
A loud explosion rocked all towns around the bay, particularly loud in Kroply. It was proceeded by the top of the mountain, that peaceful, beautiful mountain, blowing off. A gigantic column of ash flung into the sky; the earthquakes stopped. All of Kroply's attention rested on the sky now...


Kroply Stadium
Timothy Tarda crawled out from under his desk, staring wide-eyed at the enourmous column of ash erupting from Pellonius Hill. The column must have been at least 15 miles high...
He didn't know what to do. All he could do was stare at the awesome site before him.

Mayor McAddam's Home
McAddams, looking extremely angry, game out from under that same table he had hid under earler. His house was ruined. "Bloody hell!" he screamed, continuing with a long string of curses and orders. He became even more perturbed when nobody was listening to him. Not even the Magistrate.
"What are you all staring at?" he asked angrily, watching them all stare out the windows, jaws gaping. He waltzed over to his door and stuck his head out. He stumbled back, eyes wide.
"My God.... C-C-Call... My.... Oh no..."
He wanted to give the order to place a call into Imperial Palace, but he was too shocked to give the order.

9:52 AM
"What the FUCK?" Haku shouted as he gazed on the erupting volcano. He spun his wheelchair's wheel as fast as he could, but the crowd was too large and he fell out sideways.
"Oh, shit!" he shouted as he was flung to the ground. Two people tripped on him.
"WATCH IT, ASSHOLE!" one man shouted when he tripped. Haku drew back his fist and punched him in the face for his absurd comment. People stepped on his broken leg, causing him agonizing pain. It was so great, he passed out...
((I need someone to come an rescue Haku now.))

9:52
Roethe had always known that aftershocks were smaller than the quake before it. It was why he had not found it odd that there was no mention of the possibility in the government announcements. But...
Ohuja, its bigger than Tertaka!
The flashbacks rose up again, and the screaming, panicking crowd around him simply blended in with crash and roar of falling masonry and brick. It was a miracle that he was not trampled, stumbling around slack-jawed and empty eyed in the midst of the stampede.
"AGGGGH!"
As it was, someone's forehead merely cracked him hard across the chin. His teeth smashed together, with his lower lip in between them. That snapped him out of his funk.
For a moment, he thought that the ash cloud was his own blood, a salty spray from his mouth. But then, perspective snapped back to him, and he stood and stared, as crowd still tried to flee around him
iam so humped
He wanted to panic, but he could not. Panic was death, either in the stampede or in the streets below the stadium. He had to think, do something
Asess the situation
The rapidly spreading ash cloud, structural damage to the building he was in, and around him, a stadium strewn with trampled and bleeding bodies, and the animal roar of the stampede still forcing its way through its guts.
Rectify the situation
He had some medical training, but he had no real supplies, and while could hear sirens, were no responders in sight.
Rectify the situation
He couldn't. There was too much, and he was all alone
I DON'T CARE IF ALL YOU CAN DO IS PISS IN THE FIRE, RECRUIT! YOU RECTIFY THE UTH-SHIT SITUATION!
Across five years, his sergeant major was screaming at him. Reflexivly, his shoulders twitched, and he snapped his head around.
Find someone I can help
There, the soldier, still on the concrete, his cast shattered. His wheelchair beside him. Arms around his chest. Too heavy to carry. Put him in the chair, hold him in, backwards across the concrete, spitting blood, trying not to step on any bodies, down the ramp, let him down by the wall. Rescue postion.
Is he breathing.Yes
Look around at the strewn bodies. Check them. One woman has a broken neck. Dead. Along with all the others.
One old man is coughing, but the spit spraying across his dented chest is deep red, and his bowels have let go. He dies, too.
There, in the corner, some young girl, about twelve. She looks unhurt, but she is silently crying, and has a thousand yard stare.
He picks her up like a sack of meat, and carries her across and sets her down by the soldier. She doesn't react.
Roethe looks at the soldier. Leg broken again.
Set it
He snaps the wooden pole from a vendor's pavilion in two, and begins to tear his sweatshirt into strips for bindings. The pop and crackle of the cast as he sets the bone is loud enough to drown out the sound of screams and sirens echoing down the concourse from outside.

Bump

The Empire of Xeraph's CommCenter was receiving disturbing readings from the northwest region of the nation of Risban. " Sir, check this out."
"What is it, private?"
" Sir, a Richter-Scale reading of 7.89 with concurrent temp increases of 100 to 150 degrees per second."
" Hmmm......there's no records of volcanic activity in that part of the world, but we can't take any chances. Contact the MedTeams, get clearance from Strickland, and proceed with plans to deploy MASH Units 4, 8, an 17 to the area. If it's a volcanic eruption, then those people are gonna need all the help they can get!"

" Yessir, right on it sir!"

Darkness consumed the sun, and day became night...

9:59
Risban City- Imperial Palace
The doors to the Emperor's Office burst open. Countess Nora Courtney, Press Secretary Julia Ormiv, Naval Advisor Grand Admiral Eric Tarda, Minister of Defence Brenn McBone, and Scientific Research Minister Professor Timothy Dimmesdale all walked in. Emperor Scorpius was speaking with Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Perkins and Grand General Charles Lucas at the time.
"What's going on?" asked the Emperor, frowning at the intruders.
"Sir, look at this," Ormiv flipped on the Emperor's TV, which was showing something no one in Risban had ever seen before, and something that the entire world rarely ever sees. A black column of smoke and ash was raising high into the sky from Pellonius Hill.
"We estimate the column to be over twenty miles high," explained Professor Dimmesdale. "Also, the area around the Bay of Copmol was just hit with a magnitude 7.1 one at start and ending at magnitude 7.89."
The Emperor's eyes widened as he watched the screen. "My God.... We need to get them out of there. That looks like a-"
"-A volcano," concluded Admiral Tarda.


Kroply City
RINN Report Francis Opjak stared at the massive column of black ash and smoke rising from the once-peaceful mountain. He had ordered the camera to stay trained on that picture. He would make a fortune off of this.
Situated on Main Street, all traffic around them had stopped. Everyone stopped. All eyes were on Mount Pellonius. The same reactions were happening in Copmol and Dover. It was Kroply, however, where things would take a turn for the worst.
A gust of wind came from the bay, and the gigantic black column blew over Kroply, shutting out the sun completely. It became night. Only the lights from cars and building brightness. That is, until the power went out.
The earthquake had damaged the power facility in Kroply and forced it to implode. After a large explosion, power went out all over the city, engulfing it in pitch black. Only back-up generators in the hospitals and government buildings, as well as individual flashlights and car headlights, remained.

It worsens...

As the black ash shut out the sun, it began to rain. It was not water that fell from the sky though. It was raining pyroclastic rock, otherwise known as tephra. The majority of the falling rocks were pebble-size, though some were large enough to be classified as Volcanic Bombs, killing anything they landed on.
Chaos engulfed the entire city. People tried to put out fires, crawl out of rubble, and avoid the falling tephra. Many still stood still, amazed at the awesome site before them.

RINN Report Francis Opjak turned his camera towards himself. His report was on the Risban Imperial News Network, broadcasted world-wide.
"As you can see behind me, the once-peaceful mountain called Pellonius Hill, near the Bay of Copmol in the Risban Empire, has just began spurting a 20-mile-high column of black ash and smoke. This was preceded by several earthquakes, the most recent a magnitude 7.89.
A gust of wind has blown the large column over Kroply City..."
-Images are shown of the sky, which is completely black. Lightning crackles through the smoke. People stand, amazed. Others panick-
"..And now, little pebbles are beginnning to fall from the sky. They do not appear to be doing any damage just yet. However, we are receiving word from Imperial Command to notify everyone to-... My God.. Duc-!!!".......
A large volcanic block had fallen on RINN Report Francis Opjak, crushing and killing him immediately.


10:06 A.M.
Kroply City Football Stadium
Timothy Tarda jumped off of his balcony just before the roof collapsed, killing one person who had remained inside. He looked around; chaos had engulfed the stadium just as much as darkness had engulfed the sun.
Struggling to get away from the mob that was rushing for the exists, the billionaire limped over to some seats, only to stumble over a passed-out man beside a wheelchair. He appeared to be from Green Sun.... Tarda checked his breathing; he was alive. However, one of Tim's arms had been broken and he couldn't lift the man back into his wheelchair.
He looked around helplessly, eyes falling on a man help some other people. A Faradooner, by the looks of him. The Grand Admiral's brother limped over to him, yelling above the chaotic noise. "You there! Can you help me with this chap here? He's unconscious and has fallen out of his wheelchair!"
Timothy Tarda, upon making the request, ducked under some seats and pulled the unconscious Green Sun soldier under as well, avoiding the falling rock.


The Mayor's Home
Mayor McAddams turned to Magistrate Lycus as the power went out. "Damn it... Call Imperial Command. We need help... We need something! Use your cellphone."
The Magistrate sighed, dropping his phone. "We can't. That column of smoke has interrupted all signals."
The Mayor's face paled. "W-w-we need to stay calm... Have everyone return to their houses and hotels. I don't want anyone out in the rock storm."
"Are you sure, sir? Perhaps we should evacuate the city..." thought Lycus.
"Evacuate 20 million people when it is pitch black outside and raining rocks?"
"Sorry, sir... I'll get the police out to force everyone into their shelters."



10:11 A.M.
Kroply City Streets
Imperial High Guards, the Kroply City Militia, the Imperial Police, and Riot Police were all out in full force, wearing full riot armor and helmets. Several of the police and militia were forced to wear bicycle helmets.
Using their shields to help block people from the massive falling rocks, they began forcing people into the nearest shelters. Locked, empty homes and buildings had their doors broken down by the Imperials to allow people access into them.
By this time, some had decided to make a mad rush to the edge of Kroply, making their way out of the city. Due to the amount of chaos, though, the exits from down were jam-packed.
Many, however, could not bring themselves to leave their precious valuables behind. They began packing.
Others still just hid, hoping to wait this out.

10:12 AM
Haku woke up, his head hurting like hell, his leg feeling like it was broken in two and torn apart, and his fist feeling like it was smashed on a rock. He coughed and looked around. His head still hurt. Seeing a fallen crutch nearby, he crawled over to it and picked it up. He looked at the sky to an awesome sight. The sky was black with ash and smoke. He looked at the sun. It was abrely visible. It reminded him of Green Sun's most hated enemy, Black Sun. He laughed at the irony. He saw two men helping out another wounded man and he limped over.
"Anything I can do to help?" he asked weakly. H elistened into the air to nothing but rumbling. He swore he thought he heard teh faint sound of the Forge Force's theme song, "The Mighty Fist comes," the first orchestra piece composed on Green Sun soil. He shrugged and figured his brain was playing tricks on him.

OOC:Technically, it was supposed to be Haku who Roethe had er, saved, but that's okay. It'll just be hard look after three people at once. Then I guess Haku got up after Tarda walked over to Roethe ( I must complement Tarda on his perceptive skills, and his geo-cultural knowledge, if he is able to identify a Faradooner on sight.) Anyhoo...
IC:Roethe started at the sudden appearance of a rich businessman, followed by another soldier with a crutch, at the top of the ramp.
"W-where? Where is he? And uh, you can get under cover, and help them." He pointed at the man lying at the bottom of the ramp, next to the girl.
Roethe picked himself up, and trying to stop his shaking hands, he ran up the ramp towards the rich man, sneezing and coughing in the ash, arms over his head.

Jeruselem Seisomology station

10:30 AM (Risban time)

Jan: There's an 7 type going on earthquake in Risban
John: SEVEN? You're joking
Jan: Our sources say it's linked to some volcano
John: Risban had been quiet for a while
Jan: I guess the sleeping giant is waking up
John: It is full on yet?
Jan: Not yet, the area is shaking but getting worse
John: Not good, not good
Jan: Just got email from one of our citizens down there, the volcano is smoking.
John: God help the people out there. It's hasn't gone off yet I assume.
Jan: Not that we know of. Now who do we call for more information?
John: No idea, we'd better get moving or Risbanians will be swimming in a sea of fire
Jan: I'd tell the foreign ministry about the situation. The last thing we want is our citizens having a good bath in fires of hell.
John: Not looking good then
Jan: Damn, another email
John: What does it say?
Jan: The sky is falling ... God's judgement is upon us.

OOC: Ah, well, sorry about that. I should have read more carefully.
As for Tarda being able to identify people, he's got a degree in anthropology and enjoys studying various modern cultures world wide. And, being the Grand Admiral's brother and a wealthy businessman, he travels to places a lot. So, he knows a lot of things about other cultures. Heh.

IC:

10:17 A.M.
Kroply City Stadium
Tim Tarda looked over his shoulder; it appeared that the Green Sun man had awoken and found a crutch. He nodded to Haku, then turned towards McGuvvins as he approached. "That's him there," said the billionaire, pointing to Haku. "Look, we can't get out through the normal exits; they're packed with people. I know a few secret passages that we can take. If we can get some of these injured people to walk I could take us all to the passages. We'll exit right next to the Magistrate's Office, where we should be able to find cover and surprise."
He wasn't about to give the passage's location away to everyone, for then it would become as packed as the exits.




10:18 A.M.- Command Centre, Imperial Palace
Emperor Scorpius stared at the screen as the RINN reporter was killed. Several other reporters had been forced into shelters by the Imperial Police and were catching glimpses of the horror outside through windows.
"God's wrath is upon us," whispered Cardinal James Kliptnock, one of the few clergymen in Parliament and an advisor to the emperor.
"Sir, look outside!" said Grand General Charles Lucas, pointing towards the balcony.
The young emperor stepped forth, look across Risban City and then towards the distance, over the mountains. Even here in Risban, over 125 miles away from the disaster, could they see the black ash engulfing the distant sky.
"Sire, we've just lost contact with Kroply and Dover," said Myles Abrahms, Minister of Information. "Copmol's generators are still up and running. They have told us that the column of ash has situated itself over Kroply and it has not yet begun to rain terror on Copmol and Dover. The quake through out Dover's power though...."
"It's time to make a statement to the public, sir," said Julia Ormiv, the press secretary.


10:20 A.M.-- The Office of the Kroply City Magistrate
Mayor Charles McAddams and Magistrate Gaius Lycus had taken refuge in the government centre of Kroply, much to the Mayor's dismay, who did not want to leave his precious house alone. Both the Magistrate's and the Mayor's staffs had entered the government centre as well.
"Any word on the zoo?" asked Charles, staring out a window at Pellonius Hill.
"They've evacuated. They are trying to save the animals, but are having a very difficult time. It is estimated that over 1/3 of all the animals in the zoo have died, and we have 32 reported human casualties thus far," said one of the Mayor's aides.
"What about the stadium?" asked Lycus, staring at the massive stadium down the road. Even from here you could hear the screams.
The aide gulped slightly. "W-... We don't know, sir. Power has gone out. The exits are crammed with hundreds of thousands of people trying to get free. All they are doing is blocking the exit. We believe that the bodies of trampled individuals have littered the halls to the exits, forming walls. Also... One RINN reporter, before having a wall collapse on him, caught Timothy Tarda's box being demolished by some large rocks. We believe he is dead."

RINN International News (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=8361932)

10:17 AM
Haku replied,
"Not a good idea. We don't know what's on the other side of that. Get me on top of teh stadium and I can get Green Sun to help. Hell," he laughed," they're probably already here."

10:30 AM, ouside the stadium.
Four Green Sun Chinooks helicopters, their guns still hot from the Anti-Terrorist battle it was returning from, were covered in black ash. Its bomb storage container was removed and a floor was quickly put in. General Duke Yillik Kort stepped out and approached the screaming crowd. He held up a microphone.
"ATTENTION EVERYONE! THE GREEN SUN ANTI-TERRORIST GROUP THE FORGE FORCE IS HERE TO HELP. WE CAN SQUEEZE IN TWENTY-FIVE PASSENGERS AT A LOW ALTITUDE. WE WILL BE AIRLIFTING PEOPLE OUT OF THE CITY. PLEASE COME IN A CALM MANNER, ORGANIZATION IS OPTIONAL."

In the depths of the Palace of the Espiarch in Medo, capital of Faradoon, there is a most extrodinary room. It could be any other governmental office in any other country, if not for the omnipresent television sets, each tuned to a different major news service, and watched around the clock by shifts of young, perceptive military conscripts, serving their term in this media dungeon. For a world as large as this one, it was the only way to have effective intelligence coverage.
The bored conscript at the Shadow desk had at last found something interesting to report. A volcano, and an earthquake, in a major city, were there had been none before. He hit the "log" button, and sent the feed over to the central station. It might even end up in the Prime Minister's daily brief. The Espiarch might even hear of it.
"Killins, this is from Risban?"
The supervisor's voice made him jump.
"Yesser!"
"Mainscreen!" That shocked him. Frankly he could'nt see how a volcano erupting in a far off foriegn country that Faradoon didn't even have relations with could interest her so, but one thing they taught you in the military was not to question. The supervisor watched it for a while, frowning. When Kroply city stadium came on, and the mention of the football game was made, the supervisor jerked visibly, and dashed for her desk.

Prime Minister's Apartments, Medo, Faradoon
Prime Minister Augryn McGuvvins could not quite believe what he was hearing.
"You think Roethe is where?"
"In the City Stadium in Kroply, in the Empire of Risban, uncle. Which is currently experiencing a large volcanic eruption. We do know Risban to be his last known location-"
"in the capital"
"-but you know how much he loves football. Frankly, uncle, with a country that large, the football ought to be pretty darn good, even for capitalistizi. I just have a strong hunch uncle, very strong."
Augryn said goodbye and hung up. His son...under an erupting volcano...frankly, he wanted to dismiss the whole idea as silly, but it nagged at him. He stood staring into space a few minutes, and then, there was the sound of a chime. Someone had asked for admittance. He walked slowly to the door, only to find it open. The police guard threw him a helpless look. There was only one person who could walk into his apartments at will...
"Augi, do you mind if I have some of your icewater? Its a bloody hot day for Uth-damned outdoor ceremonies."
Vladimir Kotc, Espiarch of Faradoon, ruler of the nation, stuck his head out of the kitchenette entrance.
"Please?"
Augryn smiled, distracted from Roethe for a moment.
"Knock yourself out, Vlad. Just came by to say hello?"
Vlad chugged the entire glass, and set it on the counter as Augryn walked in.
"Well, yes, and to insure that I didn't die of dehydration."
"Heh."
"It was a strong possiblility. The children's chorus got to the coolers first, and that was all she wrote."
"Nothing left but saspirilla?"
"More or less. That and the wine, but that certainly doesn't help your hydration."
There was a pause as Vlad poured himself another glass, and drank it. Augryn simply stared past him, into space.
"So, Augryn, what's this I hear about Roethe in Kroply?"
Augryn started."How do you know that?'
"Your neice told me. It is my business to know what is happening to the Prime Minister's family, is it not?"
Augryn shrugged stiffly. "No-brainer."
"Frankly, I can follow her logic, and I can see why he would in fact be there. You certainly seem convinced."
"I guess...I guess I am. I mean...it would be like him, to be caught up in all of that."
"Thinking of mounting a rescue mission?."
"Oh, hell, Vlad, you know how Parliement would react to that. No real idea that he is even there? Abuse of privileges?"
"It would be a matter of political expiediency. It would calm your nerves, and, give us good relations with a strong power. That, and it would give us a nice fuzzy feeling. We might even get some of our neighbors in on the deal. It won't be much compared to what they undoubtly face, but it will be something."
Augryn sighed, softly. "Okay, who has to call Foriegn Affairs on her honeymoon?"

10:20 A.M.- Kroply City Football Stadium
Timothy looked at Haku, shaking his head. "If you're talking about support by the air, that isn't a good idea. With all the lightning, ash, and rock flowing through the sky, helicopters and airplanes could be forced to go down easily. The airport is probably shut down... And if an aerial vehicle managed to approach the ground, they'd be swarmed by the masses."
There was a loud explosion echoing from across town, startling the billionaire for a moment. A gas line had gone up, destroying an entire city block.
Tarda sighed, rubbing his head. "Look, we don't have much time. The Imperial Government Centre is the safest building in the entire city. We need to go there."


10:43 A.M.- Laughlin Villa, Opposite Kroply on the Bay of Copmol
Laughlin Villa was on the other side of the bay, opposite Kroply City. Beside it was the naval base.
Laughlin Villa was home of 71-year-old Grand Admiral Icarus Laughlin, a former senior naval advisor to the Emperor, and his family. He oversaw the naval base and the small fleet positioned in the Bay of Copmol. He had been watching the actions across the bay for quite some time now. Even through the black cloud surrounding the City of Kroply and through the cracks of lightning you could hear some screams and explosions.
It was at 10:43 A.M. that Admiral Laughlin received a message from Imperial Command to move in and save as many people as possible via the sea. He was to take in any ships he could with minimal crews and load as many people as possible onto them.
The Grand Admiral followed orders, manning eight small ships and beginning to slowly sail towards the darkness.


Risban City-Imperial Command Centre, Imperial Palace
Emperor Scorpius nodded to Grand Admiral Eric Tarda as he entered the elaborate control room. The entire nation could be controlled from this single room.... And yet, they were unable to immediately reach and save Kroply.
"So?"
"Admiral Laughlin is responding. He's moving over right now. Colonel Biggs is going to oversee the evacuation of Dover," said the Grand Admiral.
"Yes... What about Timothy?"
The Grand Admiral sighed, bowing his head. "His box in the stadium was completely destroyed. There's no word on him himself though yet."



10:31- Green Sun Rescue
As people saw the helicopters, they immediately swarmed them, grabbing onto whatever they could. Hundreds of them, all reaching, pulling on the helicopter. It was too much weight.

Roethe shook his head.
"You can go, and take this guy with you, but the structure of the stadium is probably okay, and there's still plenty of more wounded right here. What we really ought to do is get more help here, and set up some sort of aid station. That, and find some way to travel elsewhere and get to more wounded without having to worry about the sky falling on our heads."
With that, set off down the stadium concourse, headed for the invietable wounded at the exits.

Kroply City Stadium
"He's nutters," said the billionaire to himself as Roethe walked off. He quickly jumped out of the way as a volcanic rock the size of a sofa nearly fell on him. He sighed, grabbing one guy and dragging him towards the remains of his box and down a secret passage, heading through a tunnel to the Magistrate's Office.
Imperial Police began moving in, trying to force people to unclog the exits. It was a very complicated task.

The Helicopter lift
General Yillik saw all teh hundreds of people swarm to the helicopter. Pissed at the fact they hadn't listened to him, he raised his XM8 rifle in the air and fired.
"EVERONE SHUT UP. I can't garuntee your safety on the Chinooks. Your best bet is to evacuate the city. We can take only a hundred, and we'll have to fly very low. Now everybody step away from the chopper and load wounded onboard, and do it now. Medics, stay on the copter and do the best you can. Pilots, get them to the nearest city. The rest of the soldeirs, come with me, we're finding Haku."
In the bay
"Captain, the Chinooks are almost ready. Theyjust have to load up and they'll be here momentarily."
"Good. Make sure that they fly low enough taht the ash won't get in their engines."
"Aye-Aye, Sir."
The Stadium
"I realize that there's a large risk in it, but these pilots are the best I've seen. If they fly low enough the ash won't be very thick. And the fact that these Chinooks are designed to keep crap out of their engines, that helps. But, no, I'm not suggesting an airlift. Think higher."

Kroply City- The Green Sun Helicopter
The frightened people did not listen. More and more swarmed the helicopter, their combined weight finally forcing it to the ground. People scrambled to get on, pushing others aside. They even, in their plight, beganning pushing the Green Sun soldiers and pilots out of the way. They were frantic.



The Kroply City Gates
Torches, flashlights, candles, and headlights were seen through the black cloud covering the city, all frantically heading towards the city gates. People went on foot, on horse, on bike, in a car, and whatever other way they could to escape the city. More than two million people attempted to get out, clogging the gates. Only a few could get out every minute. And, once they were out, they ran for the light... Away from Pellonius Hill.

A branch of the Imperial Military, under the command of Colonel Marc Biggs, approached Kroply City. Though they could not see the city through the blackness covering it, they could hear the screams of the people. They marched on, into the dark.


The Office of Kroply Magistrate Gaius Lycus
Lycus and Mayor McAddams sat in the office in the government centre, going over some possible plans to stay safe. Suddenly, a bookcase flung open and in stepped an ash-covered Timothy Tarda, one of the wealthiest men in the Risban Empire, carrying an unconscious man. It appeared that Tarda's arm was broken.
Following the billionaire were several other injured people, all covered in soot and ash.
"Water," gasped Tarda, stepping towards the desk. An aide ran out and returned moments later with water for everyone. Once able to speak, Tarda informed the leaders of Kroply City about the stadium. They immediately began to devise a plan to get people slowly out of the stadium via the secret tunnel.


Dover City
Cars with loudspeakers went through the streets, shouting the same message that was playing over the television and radio.
"ALL CITIZENS OF DOVER CITY ARE ORDERED TO EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY."
The people of Dover started packing and vacating the city.


Copmol City
Out of the millions of people in Copmol, only about 600,000 had decided to go along with the voluntary evacuation. Most stated to watch the magnificent view they had of the mountain.


The Bay of Copmol- Imperial Navy Rescue Fleet
Admiral Laughlin stood on deck, closing his eyes as they entered the thick cloud of smoke and ash. They were going to have to rely on machines to guide them from here....


11:01 A.M.
The Fury of Fire- The Beginning

The black column erupting from Pellonius Hill was now 26 Miles high into the sky. But, the mountain was now ready to release more than pebbles, smoke, and ash...
The mountain rumbled again, causing another earthquake, this time a 6.5 on the richter scale. A small stream of lava began to ooze down the side of the mountain, heading towards Kroply City. However, before reaching the city, most of it solidified....
It was only a sample of things yet to come.

General Yillik was pissed. We was very tempted to shoot someone, but held back. He opened a radio channel to the ship.
"This is General Yillik. It's not working, Captain. Send boats over. Those can hold more and they're more safe."
"Aye-Aye, sir. Be warned, however: The volcanoe is becoming more violent."
The 6.1 uake happened, destroying one of teh helicopters, but fortuneately the pilots were able to bail out before, however, the unwanted passengers weren't so lucky.
"We lost Birdo 104. The pilots are OK."

((Bump.

I've got to go right now. I'll post an update later tonight))

Risban City- Imperial Palace: The Command Centre
The Emperor had gathered his top 20 closest advisors and several geologists in the Command Centre. He had sent letters to all other nations asking for geologists, seismologists, and volcanologists to come as well.

So far in attendance:
1. Emperor R.A. Scorpius
2. Countess Nora Courtney- Lady Chancellor of the Imperial Parliament
3. Alexander Perkins- Minister for Foreign Affairs
4. Cardinal James Kliptnock
5. Grand General Charles Lucas- Military Advisor
6. Grand Admiral Eric Tarda- Naval Advisor
7. Lord William Plutus- Minister of Finance
8. Myles Abrahms- Minister of Intelligence
9. Julia Ormiv- Press Secretary to the Emperor
10. Dr. Steven Jerik- Minister of Scientific Research
11. Professor Timothy Dimmesdale- Minister of Education
12. Brenn McBone- Minister of Defence
13. Duke Magnus Scorpius- Minister of Business
14. Duke Lowell Stone- Minister of Transportation
15. Lady Elizabeth Graffias- Minister of Agriculture
16. Lucius Thrantir- Minister of Trade
17. Lord Richard Gaius Zorag- Minister of Industry
18. Dr. Kenneth Lock- Geologist
19. Senator Paul Gomez- Parliamentary Voice of the People
20. Professor Antonia Finjuk- Geologist

There were gathered to discuss the effect this would have on Risban's economy, how to save people, and how bad it was going to get. Things looked well; most people thought that the mountain was merely burping...

Pellonius Hill- Noontide
12:01 P.M.

While the Imperial Leadership met in far away Risban City to discuss a plan of action, things were taking a turn for the worse in the Copmol Bay area.
Pellonius Hill, having engulfedd the sky above Kroply in darkly for hours, was now reading to unleash its fury on the city of Dover, where 43,000 people still remained, in the process of evacuating.

There was a loud rumble, heard miles and miles away. There followed an explosion; fire engulfed the skies. Lightning crackled down from the ash clouds covering the area. Then, what in Risban is often refered to as liquid fire began to pour from the mountain. Molten lava raced towards the city of Dover, reading to consume it.
The blast had sent a wall of dust and rock hurtling towards Kroply City, killing at least eighty-seven people near the foot of the mountain.

The lava raced on, destroying the barriers that the Imperial Marines had put up. People fled; chaos rose. They ran, attempting to avoid the liquid fire.
In less than fifteen minutes, all of Dover had been destroyed. There were an estimated 21,000 casualties, and many more missing.


Kroply City- Shortly After Explosion
People screamed in fear as they watched the monstrous mountain spout fire. They ran and hid within their crumbling and collapsing homes as a gigantic wavof dust rushed towards their city.
Though many had died, they were spared from sharing Dover's fate.
For now.


The Bay of Copmol- Imperial Navy Rescue Mission
Admiral Laughlin's eyes widened as he saw the volcano (for surely it was one now) spurt fire into the sky. However, the fire went the opposite direction. It was a wall of dust heading through Kroply and towards the sea that frightened the old admiral.
"BRACE FOR IMPACT!" one of his men yelled as the wall went straight for the fleet.
It mad contact, causing the ships to veer off course. Several patrol boats capsized. The rest of the fleet was spared.



Imperial Palace, Risban City-- Command Centre
"Dover's been destroyed," announced Press Secretary Julia Ormiv solemnly. "An estimated 80 people also died in Kroply."
Dr. Kenneth Lock studied a television screen closely, watching the eruption. It had been caught on tape by a RINN reporter in Copmol. He studied the wave of dust following the eruption. After studying his computer, he concluded that the mountain and moved slightly, lowering... As if getting ready to unleash something larger.
My God...
He frantically went over some files, eyes wide. "It can't be... Not here... Not now..."
Finally, the doctor of geology stood and faced the Emperor and the Imperial Leadership. Moments earlier, Professor Finjuk had stated that this may turn into a possible Pompeii. Lock was about to say much more.
"Your Highness, Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe that we are facing a super-eruption...."