NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: Alright, this is my first NS post, though I'm by no means new to roleplaying. However, if you feel I'm doing anything wrong, please don't hesitate to let me know. Also, I know that I've started my first post with a rebellion rather than an introduction post, but I'm basically planning on having the revolution be the birth of a modern Palatius.

IC:

Situation Overview:
1. Democratic rebels in the Holy Empire of Palatius have defeated the Third Legion (Legio III Draconus) and liberated the province of Rhodinium.
2. The tyrant King of Palatius (otherwise called Palatium) has secretly mobilised his armies (as in, nobody knows about it IC)
3. The rebels have broadcasted a televised request for any form of aid that can be spared


Emergency Cabinet Meeting
Private Chambers of King Lepidus Ambrosius,
Royal Palace,
Ravenna, Holy Empire of Palatius
1:25 AM; Palatian Standard Time

“Gentlemen,” started King Lepidus, “Hopefully, by now you have all been briefed on the situation at hand, and should know why I summoned you here. The rebels have gained the upper hand in the province of Rhodinium. They have wiped out the entire Legio III Draconus and put the Duke to shame, forcing him to flee his own fiefdom. Now the Third Legion is one of our less valuable military institutions, so there’s not too much to worry about there. However, the rebels have now gained control of Fort Draconus and the weaponry, munitions and supplies within said fort. I am shocked and disgusted that an entire disciplined legion of mine has fallen to these ragged, disorderly, uncouth brigands, these…. What do you call ‘em? What do you call ‘em? What do you call ‘em”
“Democratic-Republicans, sir?” Volunteered Sir Badonicus, Commander of the Nova Praetorian Guard. “Yes, that’s it, Democratic-Republicans, thank you Badonicus. These Democratic-Republicans have taken Rhodinium, as you can see, I am not very pleased with this turn of events. I want a solution to this problem and I want it now!” Shouted Lepidus
“Sire,” Suggested Lord Vatrenus, Minister of Exterior, “We could always seek foreign support, God knows, the rebels are doing it.”
“NO!” raged Lepidus, “How many times must I remind you, Vatrenus, that this Kingdom, my Kingdom, is an isolationist nation. Involving ourselves with foreign nations shows signs of weakness and I am not weak!”
“Very well, Sire,” replied Paullus Theodricus, Commander of the Legions, “Then we shall have to deploy the entire army. I await only your command to give the order and have all eight of the remaining legions assembled.”
“Make it happen,” declared Lepidus as Theodricus rose from the table and began to leave the room. “Oh, and one more thing Commander, do it discreetly. We don’t want to appear weak or nervous”
Leaving the room behind, Theodricus sighed, remembering the good ole’ days, when His Majesty wasn’t quite so obsessed with appearing weak as much as he was with truly being strong. He reached for his cell phone, speed-dialing 7.
“Hello, this is the Royal Military Office, Sgt. Patronus speaking,”
“Sgt. Patronus, this is Commander Theodricus, can I please get Lord Caserii on the phone,”
“Yes sir, immediately sir, I’ll put you on hold.”
The phone clicked and the familiar annoying “Hold” music of the Royal Military Office phone lines began to play. The phone clicked once more.
“Theodricus,”
“Caserii,”
“What can I do for you at this time of night,”
“Caserii, is this line secure?”
“One sec…… Yup, it is now, Whaddya need?”
“Send word to all the legion commanders to assemble, and the King wants it done discreetly as possible,”
“Alright, I’m on it,”
Click, Theodricus hung up


******************************



Fort Draconus,
Rhodinium,
Holy Empire of Palatius,
11:30 AM

Romulus Aurelius stood behind a podium, dressed in his khaki-colored makeshift uniform, with several pins and badges, marking him as a militant leader. His lieutenant, Dominicus Caserii, and a camera crew were several meters in front of him. “Alright Dom, we ready yet?” Romulus asked.
“Just a sec Romulus, we need one little touch-up. Alright, we’re crankin’ in 3… 2…” and he raised his hand, in signal for one, then gave the thumbs-up sign.
Romulus began his speech. “People of the World, Palatium needs your help. The brutal tyrant, Lepidus Ambrosius, self-proclaimed King of Palatius, has wrought terror throughout the land. He imposes high taxes upon the people, causing most of us to live in poverty, to go hungry for days on end. He allows his soldiers to go through the Kingdom, looting, plundering, raping, and doing whatever they want by force. He puts to death all those who dare defy him, or at least those he can get a hand of. We, the people of Palatius, have had enough of it. We have organized into the Democratic Liberation Army. The DLA is great in number, though we posses few arms and supplies. We do not have the training, discipline, or skill of professional soldiers. We may have liberated Rhodinium, but truly, our victories are few and far between. I am asking you, no, I am begging you to aid us, in whatever way you can in this war against tyranny and oppression.” Romulus finished, staring directly into the camera, his piercing grey eyes seemingly begging for help.
“And, we’re off” exclaimed Dominicus, “We’ve only managed to hijack four or five channels, globally,” He said, disappointedly, “But we’ll smuggle out copies of the tape and send them to as many TV stations outside of Palatium that we can.”
“Alright Dom, let’s give that a shot,” said Romulus, flashing one of his hopeful, signature smiles.

OOC: over view please.... To tired to read all of it.

OOC: Alright... I'll post an OOC one on top of the main thing.

Although Hevena has been a stuantchly monarchist nation, it cannot stand for tyrantical and despotic rule in any form in these times. Despotic rule was for our great ancestors, for colonized the world and believed in the divine right of kings.That is no longer true. All nations - even those with monarchs must stand up to aid the oppressed!

Hevena is willing to grant the Democratic rebels finacial aid, and if truely needed, military intervention against the tyrantical king. We can also set up training camps in your nation if you wish, and some of our military leaders can train your men in tactics.

Raven corps has seen it fit to support the King. He is the ruler of his country and because of that he must take down any and all rebels... We offer the use of our Security Forces.

To be sent :

200,000 security Forces
3000 medical personnel
and numerous transports with weapons and armor.

We the Black agents offer our services to either side- The one who can pay the most. To who ever hires us we will not fail. We assasinate, Protect, & Train. But we only train the best. And even though we train the best, some may not survive training.

To who it may concern within Hevena,
We would be most grateful for any financial aid that we may possibly recieve from you. We would also definately like to take you up on your offer to train our men, who cannot currently fight as a proper unit. If you do send soldiers to train them, we have obtained a military installation, known as Fort Dracus, and that would be an ideal location, as it is already equipped. And military aid would be desirable, though you have offered so much that we would feel shamed to ask any more from you.

Sincerely,
Col. Romulus Aurelius,
Provisional Commander-In-Chief,
Democratic Liberation Army

To Col. Romulus Aurelius,
Hevena is willing to grant a 80,000 hashar(Hevena's currency) loan to the Democratic liberation army. We would like to grant more, but we are afraid of over-spending, which could lead to substanial unrest in our nation.

For military training, we will be sending two of our generals, Baron Louis Peterene, and Viscomte Alexander Caracas along with 5,000 men of our infantry forces to train you men in tactics and any other skills needed.

We are willing to grant military aid, after all this is for democracy. Although troops may not be able to be supplied in large numbers, we can definately blockade ports of the enemy with a part of our navy, and we can deploy our air force to bomb areas of interest.

"Sire," announced Lord Vatrenus, of the Exterior Ministry, "The Raven Corps. has offered a portion of their security forces to aid us."
"VATRENUS! I TOLD YOU I DID NOT WANT ANY OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE! I DID NOT AUTHORIZE YOU TO REQUEST AID! WE ARE NOT WEAK, WE ARE PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF HANDLING THE PROBLEM OURSELVES!" Screamed King Lepidus
"B-b-but Sire," stuttered Vatrenus, "I didn't req-q-quest, they volunteered their forces,"
"Ahh, well in that case... accept, and get out of my presence immediately!"

Royal Exterior Ministry Communique

Dear esteemed leader(s) of the Raven Corps,
We would gratefully recieve any way in which you help us put these upstart "democrats" back into their rightful place as serfs of the land.
Lord Vatrenus,
Royal Director,
Ministry of the Exterior

On Behalf of
Lepidus IV Ambrosius,
King of Palatius,
Royal Court,
Ravenna,
The Holy Empire of Palatius

To the Monarch of Hevenia,
I would like to sincerely thank you, on behalf of the people of Palatium. Also, I do not mean to sound in any way rude, though I should like to inquire into how much the hashar is worth, maybe in equivalence to the USD. Thanks once more for all of the aid you are sending.
Col. Romulus Aurelius,
Provisional Commander-in-Chief,
Democratic Liberation Army

To Col. Romulus Aurelius,
The hashar, at this moment is worth 2.80 to a USD.

"Sire," announced Lord Vatrenus, of the Exterior Ministry, "The Raven Corporation has offered a portion of their security forces to aid us."
"VATRENUS! I TOLD YOU I DID NOT WANT ANY OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE! I DID NOT AUTHORIZE YOU TO REQUEST AID! WE ARE NOT WEAK, WE ARE PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF HANDLING THE PROBLEM OURSELVES!" Screamed King Lepidus
"B-b-but Sire," stuttered Vatrenus, "I didn't req-q-quest, they volunteered their forces,"
"Ahh, well in that case... accept, and get out of my presence immediately!"

We will send them If you wish.

To Col. Romulus Aurelius,
The hashar, at this moment is worth 2.80 to a USD.

We would like to see the link for your results from a Calculator please.

OCC: http://nseconomy.thirdgeek.com/?nation=Hevena

Take note that I rounded up.

OOC: I added an official Exterior Communique to the above post, to accept your offer.

To:Palatius
From: Raven corps

We are glad to see that you have accepted our offer. The Forces will be there withing the next day. Going with them is Security General Gargric. He will do his job right....


Raven corps

Dear Monarch of Hevenia,
Once again, I do not mean at all to seem ungrateful or disrespectful. The men under my command are impatient and eager to be educated in the ways of war, and would like to know when your soldiers will be arriving to train these soon-to-be warriors.
Respectfully,
Col. Romulus Aurelius,
Provisional Commander-In-Chief,
Democratic Liberation Army,

Fort Draconus,
Rhodinium,
Democratic Palatium

((Alright peoples, this is my last post for the day. I'll be back tomorrow.))

To Col. Romulus Aurelius,
Our generals and men are on their way now.

Our men will arrive soon I hope you will be there to welcome them...

~~~~~~~~~~~
Secured Transmission
From: The Libertarian Concordance of Czardas
To: Palatian revolutionaries

Greetings from the Concordance of Czardas! In support of democracy, we wish to aid you by sending forces of our own, along with money and weapons. We are sending $6 billion USD to aid in your cause, along with an army force to arrive in two installments. (This will be treated as a standard loan, but if your efforts fail—which is highly unlikely with our aid—we shall not press this.) We hope this will be sufficient.

~Kari Alhoun, Czardaian Foreign Minister
~~~~~~~~~~~

Alhoun smiles as he opens the e-mail from General Ogden, commander of Czardas's military. He had written Ogden earlier in the day asking for whatever forces he could spare to defend the revolutionary army. Considering Czardas's peacetime status, very little of the army is actually mobilized immediately, but a few inflammatory speeches and referenda later the people will be clamoring for battle.

Dear Kari,

As usual we haven't got all too much to spare, but for a nation of Palatius's size and military strength, this looks fairly sufficient:

-200,000 shocktroops
-400 Daggers
-50 Peregrines
-50 Strikers

All this we can ready within a day or two. The following will be ready within a week.

-600,000 regular troops
-600 Daggers
-125 Peregrines
-75 Strikers
-40 Kestrels
-10 Hailstorms

I don't know if they have any coastline, but if they do, add our twenty subs to that list, and their normal culprits.

Hope this will do.
-Henrik Ogden

He replies,

It'll be fine in fact. We can land the initial force first at their fort to reinforce, and then the backups.

KA
Around Czardas, forces begin to mobilize, readying to defend the pro-democracy rebellion.

Secured Transmission
____________________

To Kari Alhoun,
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Czardas,

We would like, at this point, to thank you for your support in our battle against tyranny and injustice. We will be grateful for whatever aid you provide us with. I am 100 per cent confident that with your aid, and that of Hevena, we will triumph over these forces of evil and establish a free state with secured human, civil, and political rights for all. Rest assured, your loan will be paid back, as will the loan given by Hevena.
Respectfully,

Romulus Aurelius,
Provisional Commander-In-Chief,
Democratic Liberation Army

OOC1: At this point in time, Palatius does not have any coastline, but I am eventually planning on having them expand.

OOC2: I'd like to know if all nations involved plan on roleplaying their own soldiers or having me rp them as under the command of either the loyalists or the democrats.

[ooc:] I intend to RP my own troops. It tends to be easier, and more fun. Although that's just my opinion.

[ic:]

~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: The Libertarian Concordance of Czardas
To: The Democratic Liberation Army

Greetings from the Concordance of Czardas! We are glad to hear that you accept our aid. We will land an initial force of 200,000 troops and 500 planes at Fort Draconus within several days, and the remainder of our army within a week. Our troops will bring their own supplies.

~Kari Alhoun, Czardaian Foreign Minister
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ardaja Military Base, Southern Czardas

Engineers and noncombatant personnel are busy here. Refueling planes. Restocking weapons. Giving out ammunition to the shocktroops, who are preparing for battle. Groups of the noncombatants bustle about the complex now. Czardas is preparing for war once more.

Col. Alvare Sandier, commander of the shocktroop division, turns to his aide, a Major Jourdain.

"So, we're going off to war again."

"So it appears, sir."

"At least it's just us, and not the rest of the Czardaian army. Is the field army ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. We'll be prepared to leave in less than six hours. Broadcast the order that we're leaving, and most of them ought to show up here."

Discipline in the army is notoriously lax, due to Czardas's anarchic law code, or lack thereof.

From the different parts of the military base, the shocktroops pack up their few personal belongings and help the personnel load the munitions and supplies into the transport planes—there seems to be a permanent shortage of logistics personnel.

The line of planes sets off first, and the soldiers file into transports and helicopters, following after. A veritable army of planes sets off into the twilight sky, headed for Palatius. They would arrive by nightfall.

------------------------

After thinking slightly, General Ogden writes another email to Kari Alhoun.

We've also got about 500 Abrams ready for combat, so we'd better send those as well. Wars should be fought on all fronts.

-Henrik Ogden

After Sandier and his shocktroops have left—the best of Czardas's troops—a long line of tanks rolls into Ardaja as more troops and planes mobilize.

Royal Military Briefing
Private Chambers of King Lepidus Ambrosius,
Royal Palace,
Ravenna, Holy Empire of Palatius

- We’re entering the briefing near its end-
“And so you see sire,” Said Theodrics, finishing his speech, “We have mobilized the entire army and, apart from a few small garrisons and patrols, they have assembled at this point.” Theodricus pointed his finger to a certain Fort Ferrata , on the map placed atop King Lepidus’ desk. “Theodricus,” started the King, slyly, “How would I go about staging a terrorist attack, “by the DLA,” if you catch my drift?”
“I’m sorry, sire?”
“You heard me,” responded Lepidus, “I want to perform a devastating, destructive covert action in some major city within our borders, and then pin the blame on the rebels, to incite the wrath of the people upon them.”
“Sire, are you suggesting that we target our own countrymen, in virtually, a murder of thousands?”
“Theodricus, come off it. Stop trying to seem so high and righteous, I know you’re not on a higher moral ground. You’ve done this sort of thing before.”
“I-I Know sire,” Theodricus stuttered, “But, it’s never been on such a massive scale as you’re suggesting. Besides, it’s only been done against traitors and criminals. We’re talking genocide here, sire. Sick mass murder and mutilation of thousands of innocents.”
“Well, they’re hardly innocent. Just about everybody who’s not rich or powerful these days sides with the rebels, even if they don’t do so openly. Besides, no one’s truly innocent.”
“As you wish, Majesty,” sighed Theodricus, with a heavy heart, “I serve at the pleasure of the King.”

In downtown Ravenna, the capital city of the Holy Empire, two nondescript young men, looking like every other late-night party-goer in this district of Ravenna, walked confidently through the mall, going mostly unnoticed. In truth however, they were two special agents, working for two separate black ops organizations within the Palatian intelligence community, who had never seen each other before and would probably never meet one another ever again. They did not even know one another’s true names, only their code ones. “Okay Phillipus, just over there,” said the one who wasn’t carrying a large, bulky shopping bag, pointing at a rather large department store in the near center of the mall. Once they reached the store, they started looking around in the men’s clothing section. A couple minutes later, the one with the bag declared “Carolus, I’m gonna take a wiz.”
“Too much info, Phil,”
“yeah okay, whatever,”
The one coded as Phillipus walked across the store, into the men’s bathroom, signified by the little blue man symbol by the door. He shut and locked the door behind him and checked all the bathroom stalls, empty. He opened a stall, removed the contents of the shopping bag, and assembled it. He then proceeded to stand on top of the toilet seat, setting the strange object’s red alarm clock-like font to exactly 12:30AM, the approximate time of the most activity at the mall. Opening the ventilation shaft above him, he shoved the foreign object in and shut the shaft. Walking swiftly out of the mall, he was soon joined by ‘Carolus’
“So, did you plant the bomb?” Carolus questioned, lowly
“Shut up!” ‘Phillipus’ angrily whispered, as they both disappeared into the shadows.

Fort Draconus,
Rhodinium,
Holy Empire of Palatius,

Romulus Aurelius stepped out, onto the balcony of the central tower of Fort Draconus. As he looked out, he could see the sun, rising in the distance, and under it, tents of tents pitched in every direction. Draconus had, unsurprisingly, been too small to house the entire DLA. Therefore, Romulus had only the chief officers and the administratives camp out inside the fort. As Romulus peered out into the horizon, he managed a quick wafting of the delicious aroma of something being baked. Behind him appeared Dominicus Caserii, greeting him, “Morning Colonel.”
“And to you to Major, it’s a fine one indeed,”
“So, I heard that the whole broadcasting thing worked out well,”
“That's right Dom, we’ve been given cash, military aid, and Hevenia is even sending men, under two of their renowned generals, to train this rabble that we call an army.”
“Romulus, don't underestimate the power of tens of thousands of men who have lost everything, who have nothing but this revolution, their hatred towards the King’s regime, and the determination to see it fall to pieces. Anyways, when exactly are these troops arriving?”
“Well Dom,” replied Romulus Aurelius, “Should be some by the end of today, and then over the next couple of days. In the meantime, try to teach our soldiers which side NOT point towards your eye when you pull the trigger.”
“Colonel, it was an isolated incident. The man who did it thought it wasn't loaded and has since been hospitalized. Have more faith in your men.”
“Dom, they aren’t MY men. They are men of the Republic of Palatium, they are free men.”
“That they are, Colonel, that they are…”
“Anyhow, I’m gonna go and see if I can get that ragged bunch to form a few columns.”
“Very well then, I’ll be down momentarily.”

Fort Draconus, Rhodinium

It is twilight. The convoy of planes and helicopters wheels high over the Palatian countryside, towards Fort Draconus and the DLA-occupied area. The larger, mass-produced transport planes, mostly Skyhawks, bear the legions of shocktroops—the pick of the army, ready for anything, willing to go to hell and back for Czardas, or whoever it was aiding.

The planes, but a tiny portion of Czardas's vast airforce, accompany them, ready to fire down to deflect any incoming missile or anti-aircraft fire. But surprisingly, the land appears fairly calm. The planes streak through the sky, heading for the fort.

Capt. Petroi Horan radios his comrades. "Fort sighted ahead, we await orders."

Sandier returns, "Delta-all to slacken speed, land. Establish tempbase."

The planes circle and descend to land in a prepared airfield outside Fort Draconus. Soldiers spill out of the transports as the mili fleet comes to a stop. Greeted by cheering DLA members, Czardaians mingle with their new comrades, recognizable by their blue and gold uniforms. Sandier himself turns to the nearest DLA soldier as he steps out of his plane.

"Which way is it to your leader?"

"In there," says the soldier, pointing towards the fort.

The Czardaian commander makes his way through the crowds towards the fort.

Corporal Josh Kalvin looked out the winsheild of the Thompson class Battle Chopper he was in. The dark land sped by underneath him as he watched.

"Why are we flying over a country thats experiencing a rebellion again?" Kalvin asked his squadmate.

Sergeant Jacob Baker sighed. "I told you, this is the shortest way from the Lab to the Base, and we need to get this info back to the lab as soon as possible. Besides, intellegance reports say there aren't any rebel forces here."

"What about the National troops?"

"We'll only be over the country for a half hour. by the time they respond, we'll be gone."

"Well, I still dont like it..." Kalvin mumbled, and leaned back in his seat. Almost immediatley he sat up as an alarm rang out in the cockpit.
"Wha...?" That was all he got out as a Shoulder Mounted Rocket hit the Chopper.

"Brace for impact!" Yelled the pilot as the chopper spun twords the ground.

OoC: There are 10 people on the chopper, I figure about 7 will survive. The info that needs to be delivered is a new ChmicaL Weapon developed by the NM military. By the way. Im an FT nation, but dont worry, there wont be any evidence of that here. Ill play like im MT.

OOC1: North Mack, are you intending in the rebels or loyalists having shot down your chopper?

OOC2: Apologies for not posting in a while, been a little bit busy with an overload in homework and whatnot.

IC:

Fort Draconus,
Rhodinium

As Romulus Aurelius spotted the Czardaian troops spilling out of their air-transports, he stood there for a moment; staring at the disciplined, clean-cut, uniformed Czardaian soldiers. He had never seen anything like it in his life. Even when he had been a commander in the Palatian legions, before being won over by the Cause, his men had worn very basic, bland uniforms. Turning to Dominicus at his side, he said “Dom, screw the drills, allied troops are here. Czardaian, by the looks of it. I’ll go down and meet their leader. You relay this to the PDLC.” The PDLC being the Provisional Democratic Leaders Council, the interim government body of liberated Palatius.
“Yes, Colonel!” shouted Dominicus, grinning and giving a sharp salute. Walking swiftly towards the main entrance of the fort, Romulus viewed the man who appeared to be in charge of the Czardaian soldiers. He approached the seeming commander and, once within speaking distance, gave a military salute, exclaiming “Hail. I am Colonel Romulus Aurelius, Provisional Commander-In-Chief of the DLA. I assume you are the commanding officer of the Czardaian troops?”

Colonel Sandier glances over the revolutionaries as he walks toward the fort. They appear to be little more than rabble, ill-trained and ill-equipped, a stark contrast to the Czardaian troops. But then, the Czardaians are shock troops—the best of the best, and they know it. Only the Special Operatives are more feared among the international community.

Another man is making his way towards Sandier; one who bears an air of authority and walks with a military step. He throws a salute and says, “Hail. I am Colonel Romulus Aurelius, Provisional Commander-In-Chief of the DLA. I assume you are the commanding officer of the Czardaian troops?”

Sandier responds. "Yes. My name is Colonel Alvare Sandier, 3rd Shocktroop Corps. I'm the leader of the Czardaian vanguard. The rest of our army will be arriving sometime this week."

He glances around at the soldiers before turning back to Aurelius. "So this is Fort Draconus, is it? I'll have my men set up camp outside here. Meanwhile, let's hold a council of war, so to speak. We need to learn of troop positions, strategy, logistics... there are many things to discuss." He smiles slightly.

Encrypted Transmission to Palatian Revolutionaries

From: The Office of the Director of Central Intelligence, the Halberdgardian Central Intelligence Agency
Re: Aid

Greetings. We have received intelligence on your revolution, and we have decided to assist your efforts. The Imperium is a friend of democracy, and we seek to help it spread wherever it can. While we cannot provide any overt military assistance (e.g. troops), we can supply weapons and monetary aid, as well as covert operatives for the use of spying, assassination of Loyalist figures, etc. We will provide you with details of a preliminary aid package after receiving an affirmative response.

End Encrypted Transmission

[OOC: If you choose to accept my offer, there will be two parts: I'll buy a large weapons package for your troops, smuggled in by a third party, and, if you consent, I can deploy one of my Spectral Operatives (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=444680) to perform covert attacks against the Loyalists. Please let me know if/how we can work the Spectral Operatives into the plot, or if you just want the weapons.]

OOC:

Okay, just for anyone who’s wondering and to sorta add to the backstory, I’m gonna write up backgrounds for the main DLA leaders here…

Romulus Aurelius: Col. Aurelius was born into a line of famous war heroes and legion commanders. From a very young age, he was educated in the ways of war and the traditions of Rome and its descendant, Palatium. He began his military career at 15, lying about his young age so he could serve the glory of Palatius. He joined up with the Legio IX Ferrata, as a simple grunt-soldier. Proving his skill and valor in battle, he soon traveled up the ranking system, becoming a centurion of the Legio V Victrix. Aurelius’ century became near-legendary, defending the borders of Palatium, never retreating, never surrendering, never losing a fight. Eventually, he rose to the rank of Commander of the Legions, meaning that he became the commander-in-chief of the entire army of Palatius. In fact, the current Commander of the Legions, Theodricus, served as his Vice-Commander. He was granted the title of Grand Duke as a reward for his services. One day, finally returning from the field of battle, for the first time in 11 years, Aurelius observed so much sickening government-caused poverty and injustice within the Kingdom. Eventually, he was granted the honor of meeting with the vile King Lepidus. This was the last straw for Aurelius, he became disgusted with what he had been fighting for his entire life. Renouncing his title and devoting himself to justice and freedom, Romulus Aurelius joined up with the DLA, soon becoming its Commander-In-Chief.

Dominicus Caserii: Major Caserii was born into the lap of luxury, in Palatian aristocracy. Being a fifth cousin of the King himself, Caserii was guaranteed a position at the royal court. He became a medium-ranked military officer, one of Romulus Aurelius’ most trusted aides. Dominicus and his twin brother, Tiberias, once feuded over a woman, the love of both their lives. Because of this, Dominicus, the lesser ranked son, was disowned and cut off from all family. Around this time, Dominicus left the military to join up again with Aurelius, becoming a firm believer in the cause. To this date, Tiberias Caserii remains a major military commander and aristocrat.

Cassius Orestes: Major Orestes is the third in command and one of the top strategists of the DLA, believing unshakingly in freedom and democracy. He was born into the poorest of the poor. Never learning to read or write, Orestes grew up in the alleys and slums of Ravenna, surrounded by gangsters, drug-dealers, murderers, and petty-criminals. Becoming a gangster and Robin Hood-like icon among the people, he is a survivor of countless stabbings, shoot-outs, and jumpings problems. In his late 20s, Orestes got up on his feet, stealing from the King’s own coffers and spreading the wealth among the common people. Becoming a member of the DLA, he soon joined the senior leaders of the organization.

Fort Draconus, Rhodinium

Romulus listened avidly, as Col. Sandier spoke, "So this is Fort Draconus, is it? I'll have my men set up camp outside here. Meanwhile, let's hold a council of war, so to speak. We need to learn of troop positions, strategy, logistics... there are many things to discuss.”
“Yes, immediately,” Romulus replied, “Before we start however, I should warn you that most of my men have no real military experience. Though you can probably already tell that from their appearance. Even my third-in-command has never truly fought a battle, though he’s had his share of shoot-outs and stabbings.”
Romulus turned to his side, as one of his more trusted aides came running up. “Ah, here’s the man himself, allow me to introduce to you Major Cassius Orestes. Cassius, this is Col. Avarre Sandier of the Czardaian 3rd Shocktroops Corps.”
“A pleasure, sir,” smiled Orestes
“Orestes, if you would be so kind as to prep a room for a war council. Also, alert Majors Caserii and Batiatus,”
“Already done, Colonel,” the Major replied, “We’ve set up the former Draconus Legion Commander’s office. Caserii and Batiatus are waiting there now.”
“Excellent,” Aurelius said, as he turned to the Czardaian commander, “Right this way Col. Sandier. That is, unless you need to grab any of your men first.”
“I’ll join Batiatus and Caserii up there, sir,”
“You do that Cassius,” responded Col. Aurelius

Offical Message from The State of Amestria to the Empire of Palatius

The State of Amestria will be sending a Special Observer, Makoto Isshiki and his staff, to observe the conflict and ensure that there are no human rights abuses or war crimes commited by either side. Failure to allow the Special Observer full access will result in grave consequences.

(This message is also sent to the rebels.)

Official Royal Communique

We apologize to the government of the State of Amestria, however we will not allow Makoto Isshiki, or any foreigners for that matter, into the Holy Empire of Palatius. All flights out of and into Ravenna Central Airport, not originating from Halberdgardia, have been grounded after today's terrorist attacks. Additionally, the borders of royally-controlled Palatium have been sealed. Any forceful attempts by foreigners to gain entry into Palatium will be constituted as a breach in the sovereignty of the Holy Empire, and an act of war.

Adrianicus Carolus,
Intern to the Junior Assistant to the Deputy to the Junior Undersecretary of the Undersecretary to the Junior Secretary, to the Secretary of the Assistant to the Deputy Director,
Foreign Office,
Royal Govt. Center,

On Behalf of HIM King Lepidus VI Ambrosius of the Holy Empire of Palatius

Televised Speech
Public Throne Room of King Lepidus Ambrosius,
Royal Palace,
Ravenna, Holy Empire of Palatius

Snickering at his own ingeniousness, Lepidus prepared himself for his speech. He pressed down the visible wrinkles in his royal regalia, polishing the buttons and the medals with which he awarded himself. The King donned his ceremonial crown and scepter; taking as well, the royal sword, a symbol passed down through the ages. Taking a seat on his cushioned, marble throne, he spotted Lord Theodricus among his ceremonially dressed courtiers, standing in organized rows. “Theodricus,” He shouted, as the Commander of the Legions ran up to serve his master.
“Yes, m’lord?” enquired Theodricus
“How do I look?”
“Regal, majesty,” replied Theodricus, though it was evident that his mind was somewhere else. Noting his Theodricus’ pensive look and bloodshot eyes, Lepidus declared, quietly “Theodricus, you must get over it. It was the sacrifice of few, for the best interests of many,” referring to the recently staged bombing. “Yes majesty,” responded Lord Theodricus, obviously unconvinced, “I’ll leave you to present your speech now, sire.”
“Yes, Theodricus, prepare the cameras,” said King Lepidus
“As good as done, majesty,” Theodricus said, as he ran off to the camera crew. Checking around and conversing shortly with the directing cameraman, he nodded, signifying that the King should start his speech.
“Citizens and subjects; beloved peoples of the Palatiate. This morning, on the 174th day of the 23rd year of the rule of myself, King Lepidus IV Ambrosius, we awake to a new and horrific threat. That of terrorism. This is a day that will live in infamy. Cells within the traitorous organization calling itself the ‘Democratic Liberation Army’ have perpetrated disgusting acts of terrorism. At approximately 12:00, this morning, a bomb was ignited within the Crown City Mall, in downtown Ravenna. The bomb destroyed buildings and seriously injured or killed all persons within the mall and an approximate two-block radius of the residential area around it. The terrorists of the DLA have tried to shake the foundations of our people, of my people. They have tried to scare us into giving into their sacreligious and heretical ways. We must show them that we are not shattered, we are not broken, we still stand strong. We must take up the sword of righteous vengeance and punish these infidel terrorists. We must show them that the people will not be so easily persuaded away from their king!” Lepidus finished, raising his scepter and bringing it down with a loud ‘THUD,’ as thundering roars of applause filled the sovereign’s throne-room.

OOC: The above post has not yet reached Fort Draconus.

Romulus listened avidly, as Col. Sandier spoke, "So this is Fort Draconus, is it? I'll have my men set up camp outside here. Meanwhile, let's hold a council of war, so to speak. We need to learn of troop positions, strategy, logistics... there are many things to discuss.”
“Yes, immediately,” Romulus replied, “Before we start however, I should warn you that most of my men have no real military experience. Though you can probably already tell that from their appearance. Even my third-in-command has never truly fought a battle, though he’s had his share of shoot-outs and stabbings.”
Romulus turned to his side, as one of his more trusted aides came running up. “Ah, here’s the man himself, allow me to introduce to you Major Cassius Orestes. Cassius, this is Col. Avarre Sandier of the Czardaian 3rd Shocktroops Corps.”
“A pleasure, sir,” smiled Orestes
“Orestes, if you would be so kind as to prep a room for a war council. Also, alert Majors Caserii and Batiatus,”
“Already done, Colonel,” the Major replied, “We’ve set up the former Draconus Legion Commander’s office. Caserii and Batiatus are waiting there now.”
“Excellent,” Aurelius said, as he turned to the Czardaian commander, “Right this way Col. Sandier. That is, unless you need to grab any of your men first.”
“I’ll join Batiatus and Caserii up there, sir,”
“You do that Cassius,” responded Col. Aurelius
Sandier smiles and follows Aurelius towards the room, remarking, "I'll just radio in my own second-in-command, Lt.-Col. Jourdain." He puts through the communication and watches as, below, the man begins to move through the ranks towards his commander.

Jourdain arrives, and Sandier introduces him to Aurelius. "Colonel Marcus Aurelius, provisional commander of the DLA—Lt. Col. Pieter Jourdain, 3rd Czardaian Shocktroop Corps. We've fought in many battles around the world, from our first mission during the Amyntos incident to the Scellian war. Not that I know you've heard much about them, but still."

He motions after Cassius, who is climbing up towards the briefing room. "Shall we go that way?"

[OOC: BUMP for my offer of assistance (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=9818847&postcount=31), so I can get an answer back on what I'm doing here.]

Foreign Minister Kari Alhoun reads through the speech and smiles. "It seems they don't yet know of our mass landing near Fort Draconus," he says aloud. "But we'll have some trouble with the second wave. Lorin, are they out yet?"

Lorin Dax, his assistant, says, "Not yet. The remainder of our troops and planes are still preparing. There will be of course a way to get them in—our backup AF forces can take out whatever they throw at us—but getting them to a proper location won't be easy."

"How likely is it that they'll find out we have troops already inside Palatius?"

"Almost certain. But whether they'll find out in time is debatable. We've got seven wings inside Palatius, and I highly doubt that their air force is good enough to compete with ours, let alone large enough. We're sending ten more wings over with the next wave, remember that," says Dax.

"So you think seventeen wings can do the job against their air force—whatever it is?"

"We'll have to ask Airya, but I'm fairly sure we'll be fine. We've done better jobs with fewer planes in the past."

"Right." A little bit skeptically, Alhoun turns back to the computer screen. He opens a new secured messenging system window and types in General Ogden's name.

<Henrik.Ogden> Hi, Kari—what is it?
<Kari.Alhoun> Just informing you, Palatius doesn't know we're in yet.
<Henrik.Ogden> Ah?
<Kari.Alhoun> Yeah. So I'm counting on you to get the troops in as quietly as you can.
<Henrik.Ogden> Don't worry, I've got Arachinov commanding.
<Henrik.Ogden> That guy from our surprise move against the Scellian forces. The one who thought up the double blockade system.
<Kari.Alhoun> I see.
<Kari.Alhoun> Just keep it quiet, alright?
<Henrik.Ogden> Gotcha.

------------------------------------

Called in from the reserves, Czardaians journey south towards Ardaja, where they are outfitted with their weapons and armor and prepared for battle. Planes are loaded with supplies and munitions, and magnetic radar shields are attached to the Daggers, which will make up the lowest level of the planes—blocking out radar detection from below. Czardas is preparing.

Responding to Col. Sandier’s motioning, Romulus declared “Yes, let’s,” as he turned around, guiding Col. Sandier and Lt. Col. Jourdain through the crowds and masses of DLA and newly-arrived Czardaian forces. Once reaching the fort’s entrance, Romulus Aurelius was immediately recognized and admitted into Draconus. Leading the two Czardaian officers through a network of halls, corridors, and stairwells, he finally reached the office of the commander of the late Draconus Legion. Opening the door and stepping aside, he acknowledged the three majors already present in the room and held the door open, gesturing for the two Czardaian soldiers to take a seat. “Colonel,” Batiatus said, “We have an aid offer from Halberdgardia.”
Taking the sheet of paper off the table, and reading it thoroughly, Romulus passed it to Col. Sandier, enquiring as he did so, “What do you think Colonel?”

OOC: In all honesty, Palatius never had a need to form a real airforce under Lepidus. All battles were fought against relatively technologically unadvanced barbarian invaders; who, on occasion, even fought with just sword and bows. Due to this, Palatius never had reason to innovate its military air command. To this day, it consists of no more than a fleet of battle choppers, a couple transports, and an assortment of dusty, mothballing, old fighters and bombers. Similar, in many ways, to the RL Canadian one.

Sandier takes a seat and glances over the offer of aid. He then hands it back.

"I think you should accept any help you can get by now," he says. "Besides, they state that they are a friend of democracy, like Czardas. Also, we happen to know that any kinds of special operations forces are helpful. You probably don't remember hearing our name in any past conflicts, but without the Czardaian Special Operative Divisions, we would have almost certainly lost the war with Imperial Galactica."

Lt. Col. Jourdain agrees, stating, "Any aid you can get is good. We'll just let intel back at Central Command know."

"You do that," says Sandier, as Jourdain flips open his cell phone and retires to the other room to make the call.

"Alright, makes sense," nodded Aurelius, "Batiatus, you get on writing up a grateful acceptance of their monetary offer. I've heard rumrs that their covert units can work miracles. Let them know that we believe that this kind of help could be very useful to us in the near future, though we do not have a perfectly clear objective for an SF unit at this point in time."
Batiatus nodded, "Immediately, Colonel," taking up a position in front of one of the room's three computers and beginning to type up a message.
"So, Colonel Sandier, let's get down to business, shall we?" advised the DLA's commander-in-chief.

OOC: In all honesty, Palatius never had a need to form a real airforce under Lepidus. All battles were fought against relatively technologically unadvanced barbarian invaders; who, on occasion, even fought with just sword and bows. Due to this, Palatius never had reason to innovate its military air command. To this day, it consists of no more than a fleet of battle choppers, a couple transports, and an assortment of dusty, mothballing, old fighters and bombers. Similar, in many ways, to the RL Canadian one.
[ooc:] Ah. Well, my nation has always followed the idea that it's easier to drop a bomb on someone from above than to throw one up at them from below, so most of my army is air cover. The Air Force actually replaces the navy, and sometimes the army as well. I don't know of too many RL countries like that, but then, I was never based on any one RL country, or any combination.

Anyway, as it is the 600,000 troops I'm sending to help the rebels are more than one-fifth of my whole army, considering that it's never been very large. Partly because ground combat has never been Czardas's point of excellence, although the shocktroops and mountain divisions have been trained to fight best in forests and hills.

"Alright, makes sense," nodded Aurelius, "Batiatus, you get on writing up a grateful acceptance of their monetary offer. I've read reports about their Spectral Operatives programme. Let them know that we believe it could be very useful to us in the near future and would very much like for them to deploy one of these Operatives, though we do not have a perfectly clear objective for a Spectral Operative at this point in time."
Batiatus nodded, "Immediately, Colonel," taking up a position in front of one of the room's three computers and beginning to type up a message.
"So, Colonel Sandier, let's get down to business, shall we?" advised the DLA's commander-in-chief.

[OOC: Not to be a jerk about it, but you'll notice in my IC message that we never actually mentioned the Spectral Operatives by name. Project Ethereal, the research project behind the Operatives, and Collateral, the collective code-name for the six Operatives, are both highly classified. No one outside of a few in the Halberdgardian Intelligence Community knows about them. So we plan on asking you what you want our "Special Forces men" to do, and they do it. Keep in mind that the Operatives are capable of doing such things as assassinating King Ambrosius and leaving no trace of foreign involvement. As soon as we receive your IC response, I'll get to work on an aid package for the rebels.]

In response to the Empire of Palatius refusal to allow the Special Observer, the State of Amestria declares sanctions against the regime.

(secret) Amestria's long range bombers begin to prepare for action. Agents of the Amestria Secret Service begin to infilterate Pallatius to find out exactly what is going on.

OOC: That message concerning the Special Observer was also sent to the rebels, what is their response?

OOC: Halberdgardia, oh shite... sorry 'bout that, I'll go back and modify the post

"Colonel!" interrupted Major Batiatus, looking up from his computer screen, "We've got a message here. It seems as if the State of Amestria intends to send a 'Special Observer' to ensure there are no human rights breaches. Of course, the King refuses to allow this..."
"Of course," replied Aurelius, "After all, there are enough of those breaches during peacetime, imagine how many there are during war. Well let's let them know that we don't have anything to hide. Alright?"
"Yessir," snapped Batiatus as he brought his head back down, staring at the computer screen, he typed up the following messages...

BEGIN ENCRYPTED TRANSMISSION
To: The Halberdgardian Gov't.
Fr: Major Julius Batiatus
{Intel Commandant Officer}
Sub: Re: Aid

Here at the Democratic Liberation Army, we would like to thank you sincerely for your offer of aid to our cause. We would like to take you up on your offers for aid. Once we attain democracy and our economy stabilizes, you will be completely reimbursed for any costs to your nation. Additionally, we would like to take you up on your offer for covert assistance. Possibly in the assasination of Lepidus Ambrosius, the usurper. Once again: thank you.

SENDER: MJR IVLIVS BATIATVS
AUTHORITY OF: COL ROMVLVS AVRELIVS
BEGIN ENCRYPTED TRANSMISSION

LETTER TO AMESTRIA
To Whom It May Concern,

The DLA would, first and foremost, like to commend the State of Amestria on its devotion to human rights, taking it upon itself the responsibility to ensure that no breaches in said human rights occur. We would welcome your special observer, Makoto Isshiki, to DLA-controlled Palatium, as we have nothing to hide. Offense is unintended, however, we believe that you would do good to focus your efforts on loyalist-controlled Palatius, as the King is much less likely to value his citizens and subjects than we are.

Sincerely,
Major Julius Batiatus,
On Authority of:
Col. Romulus Aurelius,
Commander-In-Chief,
Democratic Liberation Army

Makoto Isshiki steps from his helicopter into the sunlight. He is an albino dressed entirely in white, minus the blue Ministry of Peace arm band of his uniform; his eyes are hidden behind thick red spectacles. He addresses himself to Sub-Major Tiberius Magnus with a soft sly tone.

"I am Makoto Isshiki, Special Observer for the Amestrian Ministry of Peace sent to monitor human rights, and I report directly to the President. My staff will be arriving shortly and are in need of quarters. I expect you to give them full and free access to the civilian population in the areas you control. Furthermore the government of Palatius has made several damaging claims as to your conduct, and I suggest you present evidence to refute them. Any evidence you currently have on government abuses I suggest you turn over to us as well."

Makoto takes Major Magnus aside.

"The State of Amestria privately feels that the Empire of Palatius is currently led by a sadistic lunatic. However our current government in Parliament is unwilling to jump in directly. We currently have 25 A-52 Strato Fortresses, long range strategic bombers, ready to begin a bombing campaign as soon as I am presented with concrete evidence proving government atrocities. A detailed list of military targets from you would also be of help."

OOC: Amestria, I'm not meaning to sound like an ass or anything, but Col. Aurelius is technically still in a council of war, with the Czardaian commander and top members of the Czardaian vanguard and the DLA. So would you mind if i sorta just finished up the meeting before replying to your post, then pretended that your post occured after the meeting?

OOC: Ok, rap up the meeting. Or I could change the DLA commander who is meeting with him (the rebels can have two meetings at once); so whose the big chesse while the chiefs gone?

OOC: Well, I've got Majors Batiatus, Orestes, and Caserii in the meeting as well, so while they're tasked with that.... I suppose Sub-Major Tiberius Magnus would be in charge.

OOC: Done and Done, Makoto meets with the Sub-Major.

"The State of Amestria privately feels that the Empire of Palatius is currently led by a sadistic lunatic. However our current government in Parliament is unwilling to jump in directly. We currently have 25 A-52 Strato Fortresses, long range strategic bombers, ready to begin a bombing campaign as soon as I am presented with concrete evidence proving government atrocities. A detailed list of military targets from you would also be of help."

Upon hearing this, the Sub-Major could not help but laugh, in a grim sort of sick manner of course, "Sadistic lunatic, Lepidus Ambrosius? That, sir, is possibly the biggest understatement I've heard in my entire life. As for evidence of the governments atrocities, ask around, there's probably not a single soul out here who's not had their life wrecked in some way by the King or his minions, even most of the civillians..." sidetracked Magnus, staring around, his eyes cloudy, as if he were somehow lost. "Anyway," he said, snapping back to the moment, "Yup, we will not interfere in your search at all. You may interview all civillian and military personnel. If you plan on venturing into royal Palatium, I suggest requesting the Colonel for an escort. As for the military targets list, I'll call in Major Caserii, buildings, not people, right? I'll ask him to include an overview on some of the main terrors the royal regime has committed."

Makoto nods. "Thank you for your cooperation. I would also like to have a meeting with the Czardas military delegations commander as soon as possible."

The staff arrives shortly after and begins interviews/evidence collection the next day. OOC: You can describe what they find.

IC:

(Mean while)

The State of Amestria sends a message to the Palatius Government demanding it allow it's few citizens in Palatius to fly out of the country.

Secretly: a man in the employ of the Amestria secret service offers Theodricus political assylum in exchange for giving evidence as to government abuses.

Residence of Lord Theodricus,
Ravenna,
Holy Empire of Palatius

After hearing this man's offer, Theodricus nervously pondered it for several seconds. Finally, he uttered a half-hearted, "No... There have been no abuses, what the hell are you talking about? Besides, you are asking me to betray the confidence of my sovereign, even if he is a genocidal tyrant. GODS!" He shouted, "did I just say that aloud? FUCKIT! Alright, I'll help you... I'll nip some of our more classified files from the archive and bring 'em to you sometime soon.... Gods... what have I just done? Now I'm a traitor and a fucking spy..." he whimpered, praying that Romulus Aurelius would forgive him for all those years of treachery.

Agent Blue Bell (code name) shows compassion. "You have done the right thing, one only owes ones leader so much. You are not a traitor, the purpose of any government is to protect its people, and that is what you are doing now. If anything you are being a true patriot. Give me a list of names, those who you would like smuggaled out of the country or otherwise protected, and we will see to their safety. You can use your position to make sure sections of the border are left open for use by our operatives... Do not fear this will all be over soon and you will be a hero."

(OOC: Amestria does not share a border with Palatius, but I assume surrounding countries will cooperate or at least not hinder such efforts).

If it hasn't been made clear for you, Lord Theodricus is currently in a somewhat fragile mental state.

If it hasn't been made clear for you, Lord Theodricus is currently in a somewhat fragile mental state.

OOC: I know, Blue Bell is trying to calm and reassure him.

"Well, I want my wife, Julia, out of here, and my two daughters, Paulia and Dominica. I also want my son safe, he's just been trained and is on his way to join up with the Legions, so that could prove difficult. And definately get my youngest sister out of here, Carolina, she doesn't even talk to me anymore because I'm the King's chief military staffer..." finished Theodricus, staring around in an extremely paranoid manner, as if looking for some sort of spy.

OOC: Sorry, didn't mean it as a rebuke, just a statement to the general public...

Blue Bell notes them all down. "We will see to them all. They will be given assylum and be provided for by the State (Blue Bell shows him pictures of very nice houses where they will be staying in Amestria). Your son will prove difficult, where is he stationed? Is there anyone else, family, friends? And don't worry, there is no one here but us."

OFFICIAL ROYAL STATEMENT

The Holy Empire of Palatius, as earlier stated, will NOT allow any foreigners within the borders at this time. This includes the State of Amestria. Until further notice, NO exceptions will be made to this policy. HOWEVER, the Royal Emergency Management Agency has seized control of several large, four-and-five star hotels within the city of Ravenna. All foreign personnel are forceably invited to stay at these hotels for the duration of this petty revolt. They will be allowed full access to all of said hotels' facilities and priveliges.
Regards,
King Lepidus IV of the Noble House of Ambrosius, By the Grace of the Gods King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Emperor of the Four Corners of the Earth, Defender of Palatian Catholicism, High Shaman of Telak-Palatia, High King of Palatius

OOC: Just to note, the majority of the Amestrian Secret Service Agents are Palatius nationals, so their opperations will continue with only minor disruption. I would say there are about 120 Amestrian non-government employed citizens in Palatius currently.

IC: Dozens of Amestrian citizens take shelter in the Amestrian Embassy. The Embassy offical enquire if Palatius planes could fly them out instead.

"Nope. No one else. My son's heading down, two or three days march, dead south of the city, to join up with his legion. He's actually on his own right now though" responded Theodricus, nervously.

OOC: Alright then, fair enough

"We can have someone pick him up and leave a ransom note, saying he has been take hostage by the rebels... Or he can have some sort or acciedent/medical problem and have to delay his trip. Perhaps you can transfer him to a border unit and he can then slip accross. What do you think is the best option?"

The soldier stationed as the commander of the hotel complex guard replied to the embassy official, stating "Sorry, royal orders. Coming from the King himself. ALL flights are grounded."

OOC:
In reality, the King is never planning on actually allowing the foreigners to leave. He fears that they may witness some of his acts of genocide during this war and report this to their governments. He plans to stage an attack on the hotel complex, seeming as if the rebels were up to something evil, once more...
Of course... ahem... this won't happen, as the rebels will occupy the city before Lepidus gets the chance, and save these foreigners... hopefully... if the DLA gets its act together sometime soon

Theodricus shook his head, "My main concern is that he won't go willingly. I suppose the whole ransom charade would be the best option... This sounds pretty sick coming from his own father, but you'll probably have to tranquilize him or something."

Theodricus shook his head, "My main concern is that he won't go willingly. I suppose the whole ransom charade would be the best option..."

"Done, two days from now your son will recieve a visit from three of our operatives. Your family will be smuggaled out over the next two weeks. If there are no further matters of discussion, I bid you good night."

"Off with you then," waved off Theodricus, in a hurried and distracted sort of manner.

"Alright, makes sense," nodded Aurelius, "Batiatus, you get on writing up a grateful acceptance of their monetary offer. I've heard rumrs that their covert units can work miracles. Let them know that we believe that this kind of help could be very useful to us in the near future, though we do not have a perfectly clear objective for an SF unit at this point in time."
Batiatus nodded, "Immediately, Colonel," taking up a position in front of one of the room's three computers and beginning to type up a message.
"So, Colonel Sandier, let's get down to business, shall we?" advised the DLA's commander-in-chief.

OOC: Just a recap for Czardas, or whoever else, for where we are so far in the Council of War...

OoC: Sorry it took me so long to reply, im usually on more often. It really doesnt matter who shot the chopper down. you decide.

((OOC: I'm signing off for the night, but I hope that there are some developments when I get back to the thread tomorrow.))

OOC: Alright, NM, I'll type up a post about it tomorrow...

[ooc:] Sorry it took me so long to reply. I was sort of...busy...in another RP.

Anyway...

[ic:]

Col. Sandier glances over the maps littering the command room. "H'm... do you think the DLA is ready for some action now? It appears that the best course of action would be a show of force: launch an airstrike on the capital, march in and occupy it, get Lepidus to step down. Does that sound like a good idea?"

Before Aurelius can object with what Sandier knows he will say, Sandier continues, "Oh, and we'll target primarily government buildings to prevent unnecessary civilian casualties. You can broadcast a message to the civilians urging those who are loyal to the DLA to evacuate."

BEGIN ENCRYPTED TRANSMISSION
To: The Halberdgardian Gov't.
Fr: Major Julius Batiatus
{Intel Commandant Officer}
Sub: Re: Aid

Here at the Democratic Liberation Army, we would like to thank you sincerely for your offer of aid to our cause. We would like to take you up on your offers for aid. Once we attain democracy and our economy stabilizes, you will be completely reimbursed for any costs to your nation. Additionally, we would like to take you up on your offer for covert assistance. Possibly in the assasination of Lepidus Ambrosius, the usurper. Once again: thank you.

SENDER: MJR IVLIVS BATIATVS
AUTHORITY OF: COL ROMVLVS AVRELIVS
BEGIN ENCRYPTED TRANSMISSION

Somewhere in Halberdgardia lay one of the Kanos administration's closest-held secrets. Buried deep underground in a nuclear- and EMP-hardened facility, a terrible weapon laid in wait. And for the first time since its creation, that weapon would awaken.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ethan Rourke sat at his desk, settling in for another dismal day in the underground hell he ruled over. For almost a year now, he had watched as his domain had gone to waste from disuse. Sighing a sigh indicative of a man with a barely-controlled, deeply-held anger inside, he turned on his computer monitor, checking to see if any e-mails had arrived for him during the night. He flipped through multiple messages regarding more red-tape bullshit, until his heart froze.

One of the messages was from Whitling.

Donovan Whitling was by far one of the most powerful men in Halberdgardia. As Director of Central Intelligence, he not only personally directed the operations of the Halberdgardian Central Intelligence Agency, he also oversaw the entire Halberdgardian Intelligence community, and all the organizations included in it. That give him some of the most powerful, widest-ranging influence in the entire country. The bottom line was: when Donovan Whitling told you to do something, by God, you did it. And you did it as fast and as pefectly as humanly possible.

Ethan Rourke opened the e-mail. Inside was a simple message.

COLLATERAL CLEARED FOR DEPLOYMENT TO NATION OF PALATIUS IN SUPPORT OF DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTIONARY GROUP. SIGMA ONE TO BE TASKED WITH WHATEVER OPERATIONS ARE REQUESTED OF HIM. TO PROTECT THE SECRET OF COLLATERAL, SIGMA ONE WILL BE DEPLOYED IN A CORPOREAL FORM OF HIS CHOOSING. POSSESSION IS TO BE UTILIZED ONLY WHEN NECESSARY.

Rourke could not contain his fierce, vengeful joy. For almost a year, Collateral had sat in the Ethereal facility, languishing in disuse. Now, Whitling and the rest of the Intelligence Community would finally see to it that they got their money's worth.

Leaning back in his chair, Rourke smiled, and said to no one in particular, "With pleasure, Director. With pleasure."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
John Raimi awoke. He was still trapped in his damn pod, of course, but if he was being awoken, that could only be good. Outside the pod, Raimi could see a pair of soldiers, and Project Supervisor Ethan Rourke himself, staring in at him. They were obviously waiting. As soon as the containment field opened, Raimi glided out, floated over to a nearby computer screen, and entered it. He brought up a new window, and made the computer beep, so as to get the attention of the three.

[John.Raimi] What is it?

Rourke walked over to the computer and began typing a response.

[Ethan.Rourke] I have an assignment for you, John.
[John.Raimi] Don't give me that bullshit, Rourke. If you're going to dump me in the simulators again for another goddamn test run, just say so.
[Ethan.Rourke] No, Raimi, it's not another simulation. You're being deployed to the real world.

Raimi was dumbfounded. He'd waited for so long to be deployed to the real world, to test his abilities outside of a simulation.

[John.Raimi] Give me the stats.
[Ethan.Rourke] You're going to be deployed in corporeal form to a country called Palatius in support of a democratic revolutonary group attempting to overthrow the corrupt monarchy currently in power. We've told them we'd send aid and Special Forces. But we didn't tell them what Special Forces. They'll be in for a bit of a surprise when they find out it's just one man, lightly armed. But there's more to you than meets the eye...
[John.Raimi] All I can say is...it's about damn time.
[Ethan.Rourke] Amen to that, Raimi. Amen to that. Now, get yourself out of this computer and get down to Cyro to pick up a body for deployment.

But there was no response. Raimi was gone.

[OOC: I'll RP the aid package and additional parts of the deployment later.]

The Minister of Peace John Rawlings sat at his desk filling out the usual assorted paper work, which plagues any government occupation. There was always tedium in trying to keep track of very little out of the way conflict in some unimportant but self-absorbed part of the world.

Rawlings sighed, another request for information. He scrawled across the margins for his secretary; “Yes, it has been confirmed that the North Bigtopian Revolutionary Front, which remains confined to Bosra province and contains at present seven members is still active.” Then there was another Parliamentary budgetary meeting to attend next week. He would once again have to defend his budget while pointing out that the government spent more on public transportation then on defense related project activities if one were to exclude administrative costs. Hell, the previous government had built most of the toys they were currently using. If anything, more Gold Hobbes needed to be spent on the Minipax due to its constant role of coordination with the Foreign and Defense Ministries.

“Minister, I need to have a word with you. It’s urgent.”

Rawlings looked up to see Deputy Sub-Minister of Peace Gregory Tipton enter his office, shutting the door behind him.

“What is it? If it concerns Special Operation 34 then that is the Secret Services direct responsibility and we only took part in the planning.”

“Sir, according to recent energy readings from one of our satellites, someone has successfully activated and sent out a SPECTRAL Device.”

“WHAT! WHERE?”

“Somewhere in Halberdgardia sir, we have no other readings so the facility in which it was activated must be underground.”

“And they said the Space Program had been a waste. Who else knows?”

“Just you, me, the officers involved in communications and of course the President.”

“Let’s keep it that way.”

“Minister, should we not contact the Ministry of Defense and the Secret Service?”

“Those incompetents at Defense are to busy counting their divisions. In addition, the Secret Service has too many resources currently involved in Special Operation 34. Peace shall handle this. Where is Officer Makoto Isshiki?”

“He is currently directing the ground operations taking place in Rhodinium and we would not be able to contact him by secure line.”

“Damn it, when he is needed he is not here! Oh well, we will just have to make due without him. Have our satellites keep 24-hour surveillance on Halberdgardia and try to locate the underground facility were the SPECTRAL Device was activated. Ready the B-3 stealth bomber for deployment… Do not give me that look, I know it is experimental, but this is what it was made for.”

“Minister, the B-3 bomber is under the command of the Ministry of Defense and they will not wish to part with it.”

“Declare it necessary for a peace-keeping operation and file a motion for temporary change of allocation. All that will take is a Presidential signature. Have it loaded up with several N2 bunker busters and one EMP bomb… Make sure the 324 self-destruct unit is on board and the crew are distributed their lethal pills, just in case. Have it ready to go at a moments notice. Any idea where the individual SPECTRAL unit is headed?”

“No sir.”

“Then we will treat it as if it’s heading for this country for now.”

“Sir, the legal requirements of Parliamentary notification?”

“Right, give the operation the highest level of classification, so we will only have to notify the heads of the relevant Parliamentary committees… Can’t risk leaks, not at this stage of the game.”

Probably a good idea,” stated Romulus Aurelius, “Though, I’m gonna have to stay away from specifics, seeing as we can only broadcast it on public television or radio, meaning that the loyalists would find out what we’re doing. How about if I simply give notification that the border is open to all dissenters of Lepidus? I know it could allow spies into Rhodinium, though I’m sure there already are at least a few. Besides, it’d be better to save as many people as we can, wouldn’t it?”
As Aurelius finished up his statement, a phone began to ring. Major Batiatus picked up his mobile and flipped it open. Holding it to his ear, he said monotonously “Batiatus here,”
“Major Batiatus, sir! This is SM Magnus, the Special Observer from the Amestria Ministry of Peace has arrived. His government appears to be leaning to our side. I gave him full access to all military and civilian personnel for interviews.”
“Good man, Tiberias,”
“And one other thing sir, he wants a list of some of the more atrocious acts of the King and then a list of targets to bomb.”
“Hehe, funny that… Everyone seems intent on bombing Lepidus into oblivion. But that’s a good sign too.”
“Oh, and I just remembered sir, also he says that the King’s put some accusations on us,”
“What?” came Batiatus’ exclamation,
“Yeah, I checked it out, and they say we’ve bombed a mall in Ravenna. The broadcast’s been goin’ on for a couple hours now on Radio Royale, 96.3FM.”
“Alright, I’ll check it out, thanks for alerting me of the situation, good job,”
And with a click, Batiatus hung up. Reporting to Aurelius and Sandier, he announced “Amestria’s SO’s arrived. He’s got clearance to interview all our civs and troops. He wants a list of government atrocities ‘n’ then bombing targets. Also, he says that the government’s said we bombed a mall, sir,”
Looking alarmed, Aurelius ordered “Batiatus, you find out about this whole ‘bomb’ thing, Orestes, work with him; then I want you both to work on the two lists; Dom, you stay here, I need you at my side. If anything else comes up, let me know immediately. Clear?” questioned Aurelius
“Crystal, sir!” Major Orestes and Major Batiatus shouted in unison, as they stood at attention. As soon as Col. Aurelius dismissed them with a simple wave, they scurried out of the room, to complete their tasks.

OOC: They'll find out about the North Mackian(sp?) chopper in my next post.

Edit: Okay, next NEXT post

Sandier speaks up after Batiatus and Orestes have left.

"You do realize that it seems likely Lepidus himself orchestrated this ... bomb attack in order to gain more public support?"

He shifts uncomfortably in his chair.

“Dammit!” Aurelius roared, pounding his right fist on the table, “You’re right. I mean, we know it wasn’t one of ours, even the more rogue factions of the DLA would never commit genocide, and its not like the King’s at war with anyone right now… Hell, this is just the sort of thing that demented bastard would do… I should’ve seen it coming! I’ll wait for the two Majors to procure some more info on this though, before we do anything. Caserii,” He turned around, staring at Dominicus Caserii, “I want you to prep a room and a team for another broadcast. In the meantime, Colonel, your probably more experienced than me, what would you do?” asked Romulus, as his second-in-command ran off to prepare a room and camera crew.

OOC: I typed up the above post in MS Word then accidentally didn't post the top paragraph, so yup, just added it now.

"First of all, as soon as you have the info you need you should broadcast a message to the people of Palatius telling them about the King's duplicity and that he did this bomb attack," Sandier suggests. "Popular support alone may be enough to turn the tide, but just for added effect, we'll then launch an airstrike and drop some troops into the city. DLA, Czardaians, both. We can make our way into the King's palace and force him to abdicate—the DLA had better do that while we hold off the guards. Then, you're basically free to do whatever you want: hold elections, send Lepidus into exile somewhere... This is just a long-range plan.

"The first thing you should do now is what you've just done: get someone to find out more about the bomb attack. While it seems unlikely that any of us did it, impossible in fact, without proof the people won't support us as much. Basically, we need to know that the King did this, and not a rogue DLA faction not under your command or the Czardaians. When you have evidence, then we go on to Phase 2—your speech. Phase 3 is invasion. Got it?"

He leans back in his chair.

-snip-

[OOC: I hate to sound rude, but your post shows me that you did not read the Project Ethereal thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=444680). If you had, you would have known that Collateral is no device. That notwithstanding, I haven't even deployed it yet. IC post continuing Sigma One's deployment coming soon.]

Secret Communication to Palatius Revolution Dudes
From: McKagan Special Warfare Center
Subject: CODEX

Greetings,

Upon realizing the war in your nation may be, or already has been, influenced by multiple foreign powers.

We see your cause as justified, and believe that you will be able to accomplish your goals should you be allowed to fight without being undermined by Special Forces units from other nations.

We are offering you not 1, but 3 CODEX squads. A CODEX team consists of 6 highly trained soldiers with superior weapons and support. These units are specialy put together to play a part in eliminating Special Forces from other nations. If you accept these forces will be inserted via undisclosed transportation methods to a point of your choosing inside your nation. We suggest you pick a large, open area.

Halberdgardia][OOC: I hate to sound rude, but your post shows me that you did not read the Project Ethereal thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=444680). If you had, you would have known that Collateral is no device. That notwithstanding, I haven't even deployed it yet. IC post continuing Sigma One's deployment coming soon.]

They were refering to the entire project, as in all the equipement needed to make a Spectral Operative.


In a nuclear- and EMP-hardened underground installation, Project Ethereal was getting underway. The $10 billion allocated to Ethereal was being quickly eaten up by the specialized equipment required, as well as more mundane expenses such as security personnel, technicians, and service personnel. Power came from a pair of nuclear reactors buried deeper below the facility, and an extensive water-recycling system eliminated the need for bringing in water.... Construction had begun on the Spirit Separation Chamber, where the first step in creating Spectral Operatives would begin.

This is what they meant by device.

You will notice that they refer to the individual unit (meaning Sigma One) later.

The University of Amestria Physics department theorized that such technology was theoretically possible, but due to current technological limits it was too expensive and ultimately impossible. The military and security services took notice to their research but nothing came of it (top government officials would be at least vaguely aware of what a spectral operative would entail). Since the procedure involves the shifting of "space time", in the movement of an individual’s consensus somewhat outside of this dimension while retaining its connection to it's origional body, there is no reason that the energy readings such would entail cannot be detected. In this case, upon leaving the confines of the shielded base it was detected by a Scientific Satellite (left over from the space program, now under military control, measures complex energy). By detection, I mean they know it exists and it is in the general area of Halberdgardia (they do not have the tech. to determine anything else at present). At present government, countermeasures against such a device include the scattering of essential personnel and the destruction of the Spectral facility (device) and the individual unit’s original body.

Remember at present Amestira has no idea that Halberdgardia is involved in Palatius. Therefore, upon the realization of the rather startling fact that a Spectral Operative is possible they are now panicking.

I thought by how your post ended that it had left the facility (assume the events that I post happen after it does so). I also forgot that collateral was a codename and not the scientific term, that will be changed (they will refer to a spectrial device).

After Sub-Major Tierius Magnus hangs up the phone he is startled to hear Makoto's voice directly dehind him.

"I assume that if any other explosions just seem to happen in the capital that the DLA denies all responsibility or knowledge. Tell me, what are your post-war plans once the king is dead and Palatius yours? Does Aurelius plan to crown himself or does he have something more democratic in mind? What is to be done with the losers? Hmmmm..."

“Well, Mr. Isshki,” replied SM Magnus, “There is a certain logical reasoning behind naming our organization the Democratic Liberation Army. Our main purpose is to form a democratic government. The enemies of a democratic Palatium will be tried by the first court to be one of the people, as opposed to one of the King. As for attacks on the capital, I hope you’re not implying that we did anything, and I can assure you that the DLA will never target civilians!” Finished Tiberias, stonily, as he stared fiercely into the eyes of Makoto Isshki.

OOC: McKagan... yup. It's a landlocked nation

Upon hearing these words, Romulus smiled grimly, “Loud ‘n’ clear, Colonel. I still wanna give our supporters a few weeks to evacuate the city though. We need as few civilians in there as possible.” He stood up and walked casually over to the computer screen, bending down slightly to check on it, he almost shouted, “GODDAMMIT!” He yelled, “Just when we need it, more bad news!” Romulus gave a little sarcastic chuckle. “One of our perimeter units a couple of miles to the north of Draconus has shot down a copter flying over the no-man’s land, which is the border between our territory and Royal Palatius. They don’t know where it’s from, but a we’re sending out a small camouflaged team to check it out. Seeing that it wasn’t a direct hit on the chopper, they estimate that around 60 per cent of the persons onboard still remain.”

Captain Steve Jacobs looked at the wreckage.
"Baker!"
The Sergeant ran up. "Yes sir?"
"How many survived?"
"Um, we lost three of the ten. Both pilots and a Private."
"How far are we from the Base?"
"Um, well, we only have the shortwave radio now and we cant reach them, so at least 50 miles away."
"Dammit." Jacobs looked around. It was starting to get dark.
"ok, set up a barricade of some kind around the wreckage. If the floodlights still work, get them set up but not on. Well sit here till dawn then head twords base."
Baker saluted. "Yes sir!" and ran off to get everything done. hopefully nothing would find them before they were ready...

OOC: McKagan... yup. It's a landlocked nation

Edit: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=9835590&postcount=88

[OOC: I hate to ruin this thread with too much OOC chatter, I'm not about to abandon my pet project. Let me explain a few things about Collateral.]

Since the procedure involves the shifting of "space time", in the movement of an individual’s consensus somewhat outside of this dimension while retaining its connection to its original body, there is no reason that the energy readings such would entail cannot be detected.

[OOC: Two things. One, the altering of local space-time were singular events that occurred during the actual separations for a matter of seconds. Given the estimated size of a theoretical "NSEarth" (approximately the size of Jupiter by the most conservative estimates, and probably much larger than that) I find it highly unlikely that your satellite was over my country for the matter of seconds during the occurence of the process and detected these readings from a facility about one-hundred feet underground. And two, the Spectral Operative retains no connection to its original body. When the spirit is separated from the body, it is separated completely. The Operatives' soulless bodies are kept cryogenically frozen in a secure area below the base, sustained on a trickle nutrient feed, and are available for the Operatives to re-possess should the need arise. They are essentially living corpses. The only connection the Operatives would have to their original bodies would be if they re-possessed them, and that is not the case here. So there would be no energy reading for you to detect.]

At present, government countermeasures against such a device include the scattering of essential personnel and the destruction of the Spectral facility (device) and the individual unit’s original body.

[OOC: Which you plan to carry out by way of your B-3 stealth bomber? I would advise against that, as it would probably be shot down by my anti-air defenses (which are multi-layered and rather effective, even against stealthy aircraft), and then you'd be at war with me and probably a handful of my allies. But hey, it's your (government's) choice. Anyways, I'll post something IC so this isn't just a waste of space.]

"It's good to be flesh-and-bones again," John Raimi said aloud to himself as he stretched the arms and legs of his new host. A secure repository of the bodies of those whose separations had failed during the original experiments, as well as a variety of civilian bodies whose identities were taken for use by the Spectral Operatives, was maintained for exactly this purpose.

Raimi was assuming the identity of a Nevil Clavain, a Vice President of Sales for an international arms corporation called Consolidated Arms, Inc. The corporation was in fact a real one, albeit one controlled almost entirely by HCIA agents, such that any investigation into the company's background would yield a completely legitimate report. He dressed in an expensive suit and donned other paraphenalia appropriate to a well-paid executive, and then loaded up. For self-defense, he would take with him a Model 100 SMG (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=9835717&postcount=78), SmartLinked to the CPU in his watch (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=9835779&postcount=80), as well as a silenced 9mm pistol. Infiltration and exfiltration would be via company-owned Gulfstream V jet, though other modes of exfiltration had been devised for contingency purposes. If necessary, a specially-modified Leafanistani Dietz-class attack hydrofoil equipped with a cryogenic freezer and spare body could rush to Palatius at speeds of more than 50 knots to retrieve Raimi.

The details of the operation playing out in Raimi's head was interrupted by the sound of an authoritative voice speaking.

"You look nondescript," Ethan Rourke said with just a hint of a grin.

"That was the idea, right?"

"Indeed. Now, let's get you the hell out of here."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Two Hours Later

Nevil Clavain boarded the Gulfstream V at a local airport not far from the corporate headquarters of Consolidated Arms, Inc., his Model 100 tucked securely away under his jacket in a shoulder holster, and his 9mm in an inside pocket of his jacket. Within minutes, the Gulfstream had lifted off into the skies, bound for the capitol of Palatius.

“Well, Mr. Isshki,” replied SM Magnus, “There is a certain logical reasoning behind naming our organization the Democratic Liberation Army. Our main purpose is to form a democratic government. The enemies of a democratic Palatium will be tried by the first court to be one of the people, as opposed to one of the King. As for attacks on the capital, I hope you’re not implying that we did anything, and I can assure you that the DLA will never target civilians!” Finished Tiberias, stonily, as he stared fiercely into the eyes of Makoto Isshki.

Makoto returns SM Magnus's fierce stare with a soft smile. "I was implying no such thing and I am glad that your organization would never target civilians. There is no need to be so defensive, it is my job to ask questions after all, no need to take it personally. As for the name Democratic Liberation Army, that is meaningless. One can name anything anything. There was a rebel group in North Gabble, which called itself the Revolutionary Peoples Democratic Liberation Army. Upon taking power, they established a more oppressive dictatorship then existed previously… The State of Amestria is prepared to aid your Nation's transition to a democratic means of goverence if you are willing to accept such help. And Major, for the future it is Officer Isshiki, not Mr. Isshiki, Officer Isshiki."

(After a brief pause.)

"In the mean-time can a secure communications link between this military instillation and my government be established?"

“At least,” said Romulus, shaking his head, “The is some good news. The nation, McKagan has offered us three of their SpecOps teams… unless you have any objections to working with troops from McKagan, I’ll accept immediately,” said Aurelius, as he sat down on the chair and began to type up an acceptance of the offer for aid. Suddenly, Major Orestes came bursting into the room, holding a two small tapes in his left hand.

“Sir,” Orestes gasped, nearly out of breath, “Batiatus is still looking into the bombing…” catching his breath, he continued “… but we thought you should have these,” he said pointing to the two tapes in his hand.

“What are they, Major?” enquired Colonel Romulus

“This one, sir, this one here’s an audio feed of the King’s speech. ‘N’ then this ‘n is video footage from the security cameras in Ravenna Central Mall, I think we’ve got ourselves a couple of prime suspects sir,” Smiled Orestes, handing the two tapes over to Colonel Romulus Aurelius.

“Okay,” Romulus said, “Let’s listen to the audio one first,” popping the tape with a quickly handwritten label: King’s Speech, into the nearby radio/CD-player/tape-player, conveniently located on the desk of the office.

The tape began to play:

“Citizens and subjects; beloved peoples of the Palatiate. This morning, on the 174th day of the 23rd year of the rule of myself, King Lepidus IV Ambrosius, we awake to a new and horrific threat. That of terrorism. This is a day that will live in infamy. Cells within the traitorous organization calling itself the ‘Democratic Liberation Army’ have perpetrated disgusting acts of terrorism. At approximately 12:00, this morning, a bomb was ignited within the Crown City Mall, in downtown Ravenna. The bomb destroyed buildings and seriously injured or killed all persons within the mall and an approximate two-block radius of the residential area around it. The terrorists of the DLA have tried to shake the foundations of our people, of my people. They have tried to scare us into giving into their sacreligious and heretical ways. We must show them that we are not shattered, we are not broken, we still stand strong. We must take up the sword of righteous vengeance and punish these infidel terrorists. We must show them that the people will not be so easily persuaded away from their king!”

The tape finished with a resounding THUD! and cheers of approval for the King.

“Well,” muttered Romulus weakly, “That was a pretty powerful speech there. It could do us some heavy damage.”

"Exactly," says Sandier. "That's why we have to make a more powerful one -- more logical and eloquent, appealing to both reason and the emotions, not just emotion like the King. Broadcast it nationally. Get the people to rebel. List Lepidus's atrocities and ask if they will remain loyal to a king who has done all that. Try to get them to rebel before we attack Ravenna. Then when the troops arrive, they will hail us as saviors, not attack us."

He glances over the numbers of the DLA. "Besides, I think we've got enough to defend ourselves against the legions, not counting our airforce. Remember, every one of our troops believes in what they are fighting for. The King's armies, on the other hand, may be fighting solely because they are paid, and can be swayed to switch sides when faced with the sheer reason of our arguments. We have democracy and freedom on our side, and that's all that counts.

"So I'd advise you to broadcast a speech. Spend time writing it up if you like. Meanwhile, I've relegated my officers to help train the DLA members, so you can have a really well-trained army ready for battle. You probably know little about the Czardaian Shock Troops. We're basically the best soldiers out of the whole Czardaian army. A maximum of 350,000 are picked out of our reserves; the other 150,000 are currently on a mission in Nerotika. I'm sure with our help, you'll be fine."

He begins looking over the maps once more, and then back up at Aurelius.

[OOC: Palatius, just in the interest of getting my guy on the ground, I'm going to assume a few things have happened in this post. Please let me know if you have any objections or corrections, and I'll edit as necessary.]

Palatius International Airport, Palatius, 1315 Local Time

The Gulfstream glided down for a smooth landing at Palatius International, having had an uneventful flight the whole way. Inside, Nevil Clavain, a.k.a Sigma One, a.k.a. John Raimi, checked his Model 100 SMG and silenced 9mm pistol, then straightened his jacket and got up, preparing to deplane.

Finally, the door opened and Clavain exited, looking for a greeting party or customs officials. As there were none, he immediately contacted a limousine company, and arranged for them to pick him up just outside of the nearest terminal. He began to make his way off the tarmac, looking for a way through the employee area to bypass the terminal itself and get directly to the streets, in order to avoid overzealous customs or security officials who could discover his weapons.

He would soon be on the front lines of the Palatian Revolution.

The State of Amestria,
Amestria City,
Office of the President

President Boon was tired. He had spent the previous week settling another public sector union strike and had just spent the last four hours listening to fearful family members about how their loved ones were trapped in Palatius. Recent spending cuts had not had as great an economic effect as had been supposed. Moreover, to top it all off, the government was now on security level three. It had been a long day. Boon took a long inhale upon his joint, which helped to keep the edge off. The day promised to get even longer.

King Lepidus had closed the countries borders and was refusing to allow anyone to leave Palatius. Thousands of foreign residents, among them 140 Amestrian citizens, were being held by royalist forces. They were de-facto hostages. The Minister of Defense had made it clear that military action most likely would be taken, as there was little doubt to the monarchies abuses, and it was imperative that their citizens be freed before the bombing campaign began. The 280 concerned relatives, 23 of whom he had just met with, reinforced the need for direct action.

“George!” (His chief of staff)

“Yes Mr. President?”

“I want to speak directly to King Lepidus on the phone… now.”

“Yes sir!”

(A direct phone call is made from President Daniel Fitzgerald Boon of the State of Amestria to King Lepidus IV of the Empire of Palatius.)

Royal Affairs Office,
Royal Palace,
Ravenna,
Holy Empire of Palatius

At the desk of Marcus Darius, a minor secretary in the Royal Affairs Office, a phone began to ring. Using his caller-ID machine, he determined that it was a foreign number. perplexed by who would call Palatius from abroad in the middle of this civil crisis, he picked up the phone. “Hello. Royal Affairs Office, Marcus Darius speaking. How may I help you?...... President of the State of Amestria you say? Alright then, I’ll see what I can do. One second please,” as he pressed down the hold button, hanging up the phone. He ran up through the offices and cubicles of the Royal Affairs Office, until he got to an office which bore the sign: Cornelius Maximus. Royal Affairs Office. Director. Knocking on the door, while stepping into the office, he spotted Director Maximus.

“You know, Marcus, you are supposed to wait until I say ‘come in,’” Said Maximus, snidely

“I thought it important enough to alert you immediately,” replied Marcus Darius

“Well, we are in the middle of a national crisis. What is it, Darius?”

“The President of Amestria wants to talk directly to King Lepidus.”

“We may have a little problem on our hands now. Did you check the number?”

“Definitely foreign, during the call, I confirmed it was Amestrian.”

“Voice scan?”

“Yessir. Matches our sound database records perfectly,”

“Alright, patch him up to me, I’ll get him on with the King,” finished Cornelius Maximus, as Darius scurried back to the phone on his desk. Taking it off hold and pressing the phone up to his ear, he spoke “One second please…” then he forwarded the call to the Director’s office. Having already alerted the King of President Boon’s phone call, in that short period of time, Director Maximus picked up the phone and droned in the common monotone voice of thousands of secretaries and operators across the globe, “Please hold for the King.” Aprroximately five seconds later, King Lepidus picked up the telephone and exclaimed, “Ahh! President Boon, this is King Lepidus. How may I help you?”

President Boon’s voice is firm but cordial. “You can help me by releasing all Amestrian citizens currently in government custody and allow them to leave the country.”

Fort Draconus, Rhodinium

“Alright, good call,” smiled Romulus “It’s nice to know that we have the elite of Czardas’ army with us,” as he stood up, “I’m going to retire to my tent and try to write up a speech,” looking at Sandier he said, “Major Caserii’ll stay here with you for whatever needs to be done.” As he nodded to both Caserii and Sandier. Romulus opened the doors to the office, stepping out of it. He navigated his way through a series of corridors and hallways, before descending several staircases, until he got to the ground floor of the tent. He walked up, into the courtyard of the fortress, then spotted his tent, unzipped it and stepped in. He sat there for a couple seconds, just pondering the days events, before he began to reach for a pen.

Restricted Employee Area, Palatius International Airport, 1325 Local Time

Nevil Clavain walked rather calmly through the restricted employee area just inside the terminal building, navigating through the maze of corridors that snaked through the floors below the main terminal area. Already he'd had to "silence" two employees who'd come across him. He had been fortunate that neither had gotten a good look at him, and he'd been able to hit both of them with powerful enough blows to put them out for more than enough time than he needed to get out. He just hoped he didn't come across any security. Then he'd have to resort to the 9mm. He continued to creep through the area, getting the sense that he was nearing the exit to the street.

“Mr. President,” said King Lepidus, acting hurt, “You must understand. We are not holding them in any sort of “custody,” we are protecting your citizens. I mean surely, you must have realized that as soon as they leave our capital, they could be massacred by that bloodthirsty band of rebels.” He continued, “I urge you to consider the situation further before you make any irreparable moves that could be considered detrimental to Amestria-Palatium relations. Besides," Lepidus added on, "I'm sure your citizens are enjoying their free stay at the most luxurious and upper-scale hotels in all of Palatius."

[OOC: Palatius, are you going to have Clavain held up at all, or do you just want him to get to the rebels? If it's the latter, you could just have a rebel pick him up outside the airport or something.]

“Your Majesty”, replied President Boon, sounding annoyed, “Our citizens can be flown out from the capitals airport. Our ambassador offered to have Amestrian airliners pick them up at our expense, but your government rejected the idea. There is no reason for holding our citizens and these ridiculous travel restrictions are having a detrimental effect on Amestrian-Palatium relations. Public perception of your government’s actions can be summed up by a recent headline from the Amestria Times, ‘140 Amestrian Citizens Held Hostage by Palatium Royalists'.”

[OOC: I'd say, let's just have him get picked up, so he can join the main scene as soon as possible]

[OOC: Roger that; will edit this post in the morning to replace this OOC with an IC post of Clavain escaping the airport.]

“That, Mr. President,” exclaimed Lepidus, acting shocked, “is an outrageous accusation! Hostages? Sir, why on Earth would the Holy Empire of Palatius take citizens of the State of Amestria as hostages? And I do apologize for the inconvenience. However, you must recognize that it is in the best interests of your citizens’ safety to stay in the capital, where they can be guaranteed protection. I regretfully must inform you that we cannot guarantee safety in any area of Palatian airspace.”

"I don't care if you can't guarantee the safety of the airspace, it’s not as if they will be flying over rebel held territory. As far as the State of Amestria is concerned it is in the best interest of its citizens to leave Palatius!"

"Sir, at this point," continued Lepidus, "We cannot be certain of the rebels' weapons capabilities. For all we know, they could by now posess long-range missiles. You must understand that they will be flying over what may not be officially rebel territory, but is as good as just that"

"I have already told you that I don't care if you can not guarantee the safety of the airspace. It will be our citizens, are planes, our responsibility!... And are you suggesting that your government has lost complete control of the countryside?"

"No President Boon, that is not what I am suggesting... Ahh," He sighed wearily, "And I am sorry, but this is the sovereign territory of a recognized nation and a recognized government. As the ruler of my kingdom, I have decided that it is in the best interests of all residents, denizens, and visitors within the capital city to remain there and I will enforce my decision if need be. I pray, however, that it will never come to that."

"JUST STOP IT! I can see through your transparent attempts to deceive me. You are using our people as human shields, to stave off rebel attacks or prevent international intervention. You had better hope that not a single one of our citizens is harmed, because if such unfortunate events occur Amestria will hold your government directly responsible. You sir, are a consummate liar!”

"I am sorry you feel that way Mr. President, but I suppose it cannot be helped. Now if you would please excuse me, I have pressing matters of state to attend to, one of which is a civil war, so goodbye and thank you for calling," smirked Lepidus

Fort Draconus, Rhodinium

As Romulus stepped through the door to the office of the late-Commander of the Draconus Legion, seeing everyone still there, he sat down in his former place and declared “I’m back, and with my speech. Check this out,” as he slid a blotchy sheet of paper with inkspots and crossed-out words all over it. Barely legible, it read: Fellow oppressed peoples of Palatium. Most of you will recognize my face by now. I am Romulus Aurelius, the Commander-In-Chief of the Democratic Liberation Army. I have heard of the bombing in Ravenna and all I can offer are my condolences for this huge loss. I know that King Lepidus has pinned the blame on the DLA. But just think for a second; can you possibly see this organization, that stands for justice, equality, democracy, and human rights, ever committing such horrible acts of genocide? I, for one, cannot. I assure you that there is no way whatsoever that the Democratic Liberation Army would do something like this. Can you seriously trust this man you call your king? Do you not remember how he killed off the Royal House of Augustus, in all it’s righteousness, and usurped the throne for himself? Have you forgotten the Ravenna Bloodbath, where he brutally murdered over 400 citizens of Palatius, for peacefully demonstrating against his dissolution of the Parliament? What about the Hellespia incident, when he massacred an entire village for trying to secede peacefully? What about the rights he has taken away from you? We can no longer speak what we want to without fear of being persecuted. We can no longer gather in groups larger that five persons. Homosexual relationships are illegal and all homosexuals discovered are stoned to death. What kind of a person is this who you believe? How can he establish such credibility with you, while he sends his own men to go bully, pillage, steal, and rape throughout his own kingdom? What kind of person is this who calls himself a man? How can you trust him? Quite frankly, I’m surprised that he’s still in power. My brethren, my people, I call upon you to take up arms, in this time of chaos, against that son of a bitch who strides around our land like he owns us. Show him the true will of the people, I beg of you…

President Boon quietly hung up the phone and sat enduring the silent rage that comes from the feeling of being powerless. Talking with that two-bit-tin-potted tyrant had caused him to uncharacteristically lose his temper. He felt sick. If the King had hoped to blackmail Amestria into neutrality then he had failed.

“George”, he said softly, “inform the Ministry of Defense to continue with preparations for aerial intervention.”

“Sir, what about the hostages?”

“We are a large country, and large countries have casualties. Tell Makoto to hurry up and get back with the evidence and target list.”

George quietly left the room. The President returned to smoking his joint. Tomorrow he would once again have to face the families and attend what promised to be a fruitless economic reform meeting. Boon could not wait for his term to end and retirement.

Fort Draconus, Rhodinium

As Romulus stepped through the door to the office of the late-Commander of the Draconus Legion, seeing everyone still there, he sat down in his former place and declared “I’m back, and with my speech. Check this out,” as he slid a blotchy sheet of paper with inkspots and crossed-out words all over it. Barely legible, it read:
Sandier reads it and turns quietly back to Aurelius.

"I think it's good and well thought out. But don't appeal so much to emotion when asking how you think the people should view the DLA after the bombing. You will say, 'Can you ever picture this organization...' and so on. You see, that argument appeals mostly to the emotions, and to really work you need to hit the reason. For example, state that not only is the DLA confined to an isolated area of the country far from Ravenna, but that the ideals of human equality proposed by this organization are far from the sentiments expressed by the bombers..."

Sandier looks around the rest of the table. "Any other suggestions?"

Outer Courtyard, Fort Draconus, Rhodinium

After a couple seconds of contemplation, Sub-Major Tiberias Magnus’ stare turned into a smirk, “Yes, we can easily do that, Officer Isski, we can establish a secure link with your government. Meanwhile,” He finished, “Those two lists should be here sometime soon.

Former Legion Commander’s Office, Fort Draconus, Rhodinium

Speaking up, Dominicus Caserii said, “Yeah, I think it’s a great speech, though I have to agree with the Colonel over there. And here’s another idea sir. Let’s broadcast the video surveillance tape with our two suspected bombers. Also let’s see if we can make a positive ID on them and then have that added somehow into your speech.”

Former Legion Commander’s Office, Fort Draconus, Rhodinium

Speaking up, Dominicus Caserii said, “Yeah, I think it’s a great speech, though I have to agree with the Colonel over there. And here’s another idea sir. Let’s broadcast the video surveillance tape with our two suspected bombers. Also let’s see if we can make a positive ID on them and then have that added somehow into your speech.”

Former Legion Commander’s Office, Fort Draconus, Rhodinium
Seconds later, Major Julius Batiatus opened the door, while knocking, then slid into the room, dropping a sheet of paper on top of the desk, he said “I’m still working up the atrocities list Colonel, it’ll be a long one.” Major Batiatus stood there, while the group of men gathered in the office examined the list and the corresponding map.

Bombing Target List

- Fort Nova Invicta, Visigaud, Palatium: Headquarters of the Nova Invicta Legion.

- Fort Rapax, Visigaud, Palatium: Headquarters of the Rapax Legion.

- Fort Leo, Helatia, Palatium: Headquarters of the Leo Legion.

- Fort Victrix, Teutonicia, Palatium: Headquarters of the Victrix
Legion.

- Fort Felicis, Helatia, Palatium: Headquarters of the Felicis Legion.

- Fort Liberatrix, Velesia, Palatium: Headquarters of the Liberatrix Legion.

- Fort Equestris, Helatia, Palatium: Headquarters of the Equestris Legion.

- Fort Ferrata, Teutonicia, Palatium: Headquarters of the Ferrata Legion.

- Royal Military Institute, Velesia, Palatium: Military’s main research and development facility.

- Centrus Aequestrus Fortress, Velesia, Palatium: Central command of the military's cavalry divisions.

Sandier says, "All right. Do you think we should start with our planes immediately, or wait until after the speech? We've equipped them all with top-end ASMs and they're ready for action immediately."

Looking up from his attempt at a re-written speech, Romulus inspected the hit-list that Batiatus had written up. "Well, I think that we should wait until we've broadcasted the speech," he said, continuing, "but I've heard Amestria wants a target list as well. So, d'you think we should half the list or what?"

Ravenna Central Airport, Holy Empire of Palatius
A relatively non-descript, large, khaki-grey cargo truck pulled up to a security checkpoint outside the back entrance to Ravenna Central Airport. The driver smiled at the guard on duty, handing him both an ID and several papers that stated he was here to pick up supplies for the Palatian military stationed in Ravenna. Everything, of course, was forged, though they were done so in an extremely skillful manner. The presiding guard sent one of his subordinates around the back of the truck to check it. Finding nothing, he returned. The first guard handed the papers back to the driver and smiled “Have a nice day.”
Responding, the driver said “thanks, you too,” and drove through the checkpoint over into the sheltered parking area for employee-owned vehicles. Stepping out of his truck, he glanced around to make sure nobody else was there. In reality, this driver was a member of the DLA, technically stationed much farther south, in Helatia, however he was on a special mission today. He was to pick up the Halberdgardian special forces teams from Ravenna Central Airport.

[OOC: I'm assuming you're accepting the help?]

IC:

High above the nation of Palatius, one of the Imperial McKagan Air Force's "Stealth Blimp" Special Operations insertation units was flying at a rather high rate of speed to make it's drop point on time.

"Ok, we're in range! Everyone, weapons up, let's go!"

Only one of the teams were dropping in now, a total of 6 men. Usually CODEX teams used the Macabee built Hali series of rifles, but today they were equiped with the McKagan built MiH-3 series. The rifle was like the American M8, only redesigned for more types of use, and other general improvements.

The unit had 2 Carbine's, 2 Shortened Carbine's, 1 Sniper Variant, 1 Light Machine Gun.

They walked to the rear of the blimp, to the lockout chamber. In the pre-flight chamber each person made sure their gun was secured to their BDU-64 Combat Suits. Entering the chamber, the team leader, 1st Lieutenant Bradley, was set to jump first.

Falling, the men were headed towards their target, an opening near a city. It was unclear who controlled the particular city, but it didn't really matter.

The units had a backup plan, of course.

A Redhawk VTOC was roaming the area too, the stealthy replacement for Blackhawk helicopters could extract the team if the LZ suddenly became hot, or if someone was injured on the landing, which was unlikely.

The team fell, constantly falling, until the BDU's alerted them it was time to blow the chutes. Of course, they did, not wishing to become registered as a space based weapon.

The dark grey things shot from the packs.

A CODEX team had OFFICIALLY been deployed for the first time.

DLA Territory Perimeter, Rhodinium-Visigaud Border

A small six-man team, all wearing wearing black kevlar torso suits and pads, equppied with night vision goggles, snipers, and handguns, crawled through the darkness of night. They were a small unit of DLA rebels, who had been patrolling the Rhodinium-Visigaud border when they saw a chopper blown out of the sky. They had radioed in to Border Command and ordered to inspect the wreckage caused on the plane by a DLA anti-air unit.
“Gamma team, sound off,” whispered the team’s leader, otherwise known as Gamma Leader. Each member of the team whispered out their code-names, one after the other, assuring Gamma Leader that they were all still there.

“Gamma Five,”

“Gamma Four,”

“Gamma Three,”

“Gamma Two,”

“Gamma One,”

And finally, the team-leader finished off “Gamma Leader. Alright we’re all here. Gammas One and Two you scout up ahead. See how close the wreckage is, what damage’s been done, who it was, you know the drill,”

“Yessir,” replied Gamma One and Gamma Two in unison. A the rest of the team halted at their current point, Gammas One and Two crept cautiously in a north-western direction.

About fifteen minutes later, the two men returned, crawling bach through the Visigaudian brush. Crouching up, Gamma Leader whispered “Gamma One, Gamma Two. Report!”

“Gamma Leader,” acknowledged One “We’ve found the crash site. Estimates slightly incorrect our total count was seven men, three corpses. 70 per cent survival rate,”

Two reported “We’ve not been able to identify them, though we suspect Raven Corps. They’re building some sort of barricade.”

“Alright,” nodded Gamma Leader, “Gamma One Gamma Two: fall in; you two lead. Gamma Three, Gamma Four: cover the back. Gamma Five, you cover the left, I’ll do right. Gamma Team advance,” and just like that, the team was up on its legs again, marching towards the crash site.

ooc: Yeah, sorry McKagan, I should've gotten back to you... but yes, that would be great

ooc: Yeah, sorry McKagan, I should've gotten back to you... but yes, that would be great

OOC: I don't know where my CODEX team is right now, you can have something happen to them and we'll go from there. :p

OOC: Alright then, cool.

[Outskirts- Dominica, Teutonicia, Holy Empire of Palatius]

Commander Remus Stephanus and his ten troops, from the royal military’s Legio IX Ferrata, had been doing their platoon’s usual round, patrolling the city of Dominica. Of course, he had no real reason to be on the lookout, as he knew, the civil war was, in reality, raging miles away from Teutonicia. Somewhere in Rhodinium and Helatia, he supposed. He and his men just patrolled the city because the order came directly from their centurion. Strolling through the marshland in a rather relaxed manner, Stephanus glanced up a the sky. Seeing three objects flying through the sky, he stared in wonder. Contemplating, for several seconds, whether he was losing his mind or not, the Commander gave an enormous sigh of relief once he saw parachutes open and spread out. Suddenly, he counted another three. In all, that made six men parachuting into Dominica City, he thought, heaving a sigh. Wait a second! Six MEN parachuting into Dominica? That isn’t supposed to happen! He thought. Remus Stephanus began to scream out orders, “Platoon! Battle preparations! Staggered formation! There are unidentified troops deploying themselves outside Dominica, by air! Lieutenant, radio Fort Ferrata! We need back-up! Platoon! Forward March!”

Jacobs was surveying the barricade. It was constructed of crates from the chopper, plus a few trees that had been taked down when the chopper crashed.

hm... I think the barricade turned out to be pretty good considering the supplies...

"Sir!" One of the troops yelled.

"What is it?"

"There's something out there!"

"Probably just an animal."

"No sir. Im positive its men. at least three!"

Jacobs thought. If the bast tracker in the team says its men, then it probably is.

"Troops to defences!" Jacobs yelled. 2 troops joined the 2 already watching. Jacobs lined up next to the 4. the last 2 troops ran around to the back of the chopper to guard against a rear attack. "Hit the Lights!" Jacobs bellowed.
The blinding lights used by the chopper to illuminate the ground from 100 feet lit up the area, shurley blinding anyone not ready.
Jacobs yelled into the forest. "You out there! Drop your Weapons and walk into the clearing with your hands in the air!

[Outskirts- Dominica, Teutonicia, Holy Empire of Palatius]

Commander Remus Stephanus and his ten troops, from the royal military’s Legio IX Ferrata, had been doing their platoon’s usual round, patrolling the city of Dominica. Of course, he had no real reason to be on the lookout, as he knew, the civil war was, in reality, raging miles away from Teutonicia. Somewhere in Rhodinium and Helatia, he supposed. He and his men just patrolled the city because the order came directly from their centurion. Strolling through the marshland in a rather relaxed manner, Stephanus glanced up a the sky. Seeing three objects flying through the sky, he stared in wonder. Contemplating, for several seconds, whether he was losing his mind or not, the Commander gave an enormous sigh of relief once he saw parachutes open and spread out. Suddenly, he counted another three. In all, that made six men parachuting into Dominica City, he thought, heaving a sigh. Wait a second! Six MEN parachuting into Dominica? That isn’t supposed to happen! He thought. Remus Stephanus began to scream out orders, “Platoon! Battle preparations! Staggered formation! There are unidentified troops deploying themselves outside Dominica, by air! Lieutenant, radio Fort Ferrata! We need back-up! Platoon! Forward March!”

As soon as the CODEX team hit the ground, they were ready to move out. After scouting just ahead (into the city), the Sniper realized that their position had been given away, probably because most of the time people don't parachute into city's on training missions.

"Ok, gear on, lock and load, we're moving out!" Lieutenant Colonel Bradley, the team commander, yelled out into the team radio. Inserting a magazine into his MiH-3 Carbine he walked past the other rifleman in the squad and away from the LZ. Their objective at this moment wasn't very precise. They were suppose to evade capture and find the rebels in order to assist them... too bad noone told them where the rebels were.

---
From Walker AFB in McKagan, 12 Ku-25 Cobalts lifted off. The flight to Palatius would be a long one, involving refueling in the air multiple times. None the less, in a few hours they would be available to drop their fuel-air smartbombs on anything that threatened the CODEX team.

DLA Territory Perimeter, Rhodinium-Visigaud Border

Huddled together already, the six members of Gamma Team quickly conversed about what they should do.

“Aw, fuck,” whispered Gamma Three, “They’ve got us,”

“Don’t shit it man, we can take ‘em,” Gamma Five said quietly,

“Nah, Gamma Three’s right. They’ve got one man on us, besides, they’re professional trained troops. We’re not,” Gamma Leader advised,

“Anyway, they ain’t Royals, they got a diff’ent uniform, we’ve got a good chance here. Plus, if worst comes to worst ‘n’ we don't have our weapons with us, we’re covered in kevlar, I think we’ll be alright.” Finished Gamma Four

“Alright,” shouted Gamma Leader, leading by example, laying down his sniper rifle and taking his handgun out of its holster. Grappling around in his pocket, he felt for his switchblade knife. While it wouldn't do much to protect him, it gave the Leader a sense of security. “I’m comin’ out,” he announced, then almost silently, ordered Gamma 1, 4, and 5 to hold their positions. He stood up and stepped out into the open, as his remaining team-members started to follow the same procedure, all carrying a similar, small, not-very-protective, knife-like weapons.

"Ok, gear on, lock and load, we're moving out!" Lieutenant Colonel Bradley, the team commander, yelled out into the team radio. Inserting a magazine into his MiH-3 Carbine he walked past the other rifleman in the squad and away from the LZ. Their objective at this moment wasn't very precise. They were suppose to evade capture and find the rebels in order to assist them... too bad noone told them where the rebels were.
The Czardaian F/A-59E Dagger, one of the light and highly maneuverable planes that had been sent into Palatius, is doing its usual patrol rounds at about Mach 1.6, stealth masked, covering territory from about 40,000 feet. A bit low, but it helps with the masking, after all.

Daggers are generally so small they can only fit two members. As it swerves high over the city below, the co-pilot says, "Hello, that's curious."

"What is?" The pilot asks.

"Well, according to groundscan reports, it looks like some royalist troops are heading in a very definite direction away from the city. That's a highly uncharacteristic patrol route."

"Let's see what they're tailing." The pilot noses the plane around, and high over the patrol they follow, overtaking it swiftly.

"Hello, those groundscans are showing parachutes?" The pilot, now curious, descends. "Release a flare and let them know we're there. Then we'll head back towards Fort Draconus."

"All right." The flare goes up more than twenty thousand feet in the air, and then the plane noses back around swiftly and returns towards Fort Draconus, hoping whoever is below saw their signal.

Three men walked into the clearing. Three, like the soldier had predicted. Jacobs walked twords the front of the barricade, assesing the soldiers as he walked. Covered in Kevlar, no visible weapons, they might have some smaller weapons but it wouldnt do them any good. The kevlar wouldn't have been a problem it they had had Plas-Lites with them, but of course the higher-ups insisted that they carried weapons like the natives here.
Jacobs reached the edge of the barricade.

"I am Captain Steve Jacobs of the North Mack Infantry! Who are you and what do you want?"

OoC: a Captain in the NM army is more like a 2nd leiutenant in the US army. Captain is the lowest rank you can be and still be an officer.

DLA Territory Perimeter, Rhodinium-Visigaud Border
The DLA soldier code-named 'Gamma Leader' surveyed the North Mack(ian?) troops, then spoke "I'm the commander of this unit, Gamma Leader, my actual name isn't important, Captain Steve Jacobs. What is important though, is what military forces from North Mack are doing within the democratic sector of Palatius." finished 'Gamma Leader,' staring hard and questioningly at the captain from North Mack.

Jacobs thought for a second. these soldiers are from the local army he though. they can help us get out of their country.

"Our chopper was shot down while we were flying over your country. We only intended to be over for a breif period of time, only the time it took to return to out military base in an adjacent nation's land. When we crashed we planned to move twords our basin in the morning. In fact, you caught us about an hour before we were going to start packing up."