NationStates Jolt Archive

Premier MacIntyre was observing daily events from his office in the heart of LA. The day was smoggy, the streets full of people, and the temperature outside a balmy 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Inside, it was cooled to 70, and it was a respite from the heat.

He looked over the reports. Huntarians and New Dornalians engaging near New Leningrad, Mannerheim generators being deployed to provide extra security, the newst Al-Juhziz Clan Political Machine Scandal, and the recent drop in market prices. Ah, yes. Since stocks were legalized in ND, day traders were once again a common breed.

But that was not the only report issued to MacIntyre.

There was a report from the Commissariat of Science's New Wuhan Bureau. Reports from merchantmen, deep scans and probes indicated the presence of several previously undiscovered systems. They held new planets, potentially habitable, potentially full of resources. The Workers State needed these things-they would play a part in the Great Game of interstellar politics. MacIntyre approved a request for an exploratory mission then, and passed it off to the Commissariat.

As New Dornalia was busy fighting Huntaer, and several new emergency fleets were being deployed, this task was to be left to the Commissariat, not to the very busy military. Thus, the Commissariat had to raise its own funds, its own escorts...not easy, as the Commissariat was usually dependent on the military to get the tough work done.

Thus, the Commissar of Science met with his council to discuss some ideas. The army was out. They were busy. Use COS ships in house? No, they were not powerful enough to defend against situations that went bad. Pirates? No. Absolutely not.

Finally, it was decided that a force of People's Acolytes, anthropologists from the Anthro-Xenopological Section, and a force of People's Militia would be deployed to these new areas to explore them. People's Acolytes could be trusted to provide troops and help their comrades, and their Force mastery would come in handy. People's Militia was the only spare force on hand, but they were loyal and could be counted on. And anthropologists from the Anthro-Xenopological Section would be good for scientific work.

The forces began assembling at New Wuhan. A small fleet of 20 ships, half Mao Zedong IIIs and the other half Science Ships, they began moving to the new areas.

(OOC: Sooo... Is this something like my one man RP system exploration thingy?)

The expedition was led by two People's Acolytes; Sensei Harold Farrell on strategy and diplomacy and Sensei Buslai Eskayevich for military matters, with a Science Advisor, Dr. Melitta Voeker. They would try and keep the motley force together, as they moved through these unknown parts.

The objective, as it was, was to scout out the area. Merchantmen had gone into some areas, and had made limited glimpses at one planet, one they dubbed "No Man's Land." Why they called it that was unknown, but the Acolytes would finish the task they had begun. They set a course for the area known as No Man's Land. Traveling through an asteroid belt and some gravitational anomalies named "Bauman's Land" after the crewman who navigated through them safely, they finally spotted the planet.

Farrell said, "Onscreen."

The crew brought up the image of an idyillic, blue ball. It had some continents on it, and certainly an element of beauty about it. It looked like Earth, or Mars post-Terraforming.

Melitta walked up to the screen and said, "Mein Gott....it is beautiful. A definite class M world, it has life. Scan for radio signals."

Helmsman then said, "Scanning."

The result led to some popping and crackling, and what seemed to be Morse Code...and faint ragtime music.

Melitta then said, "Ragtime? Zoom in."

A zoom of the planet revealed a city, sure enough. A dirty city, filled with factories, smoke, and people.

Buslai then said, "Must be an Industrial Civilization. Probably in the throes of great things-science, industry, the rise of organized labor."

Harold then said, "Scan the rest of the planet."

Melitta then said, "I have deserts, lush terrain, lots of small landmasses. All seem to show varying signs of life, all at different levels of technological development. We have stumbled onto an Imperialist-era world, probably at 1914 era technology."

Harold then said, "Should we make contact?"

Melitta retorted, "Yes. But when we do so, we should make contact peacefully. Lower your weapons, and try not to offend anybody. Avoid any attempt at Socialist agitation until they wish for it."

Harold then said, "Deal. We will land somewhere....Try the southern continent there."

Buslai said, "Seconded. It seems to have plenty of life, and a stable spot. You up?"

Harold said, "I am."

Buslai then said, "Okay."

Turning to the crew, he said, "Everybody! Load up a Haywood Dropship, 200 men. Mr. Farrell, Dr. Voeker! Come with me."

The Dropship was then loaded up, and then proceeded to go towards the planet. As it buzzed low over the landscape, it saw savanna grasslands everywhere. Then, they landed in a flat, open area...

..in the middle of a ranch. This was evident when some local ranchers, people that looked surprisingly humanoid with bolt rifles came to greet them. Cursing in an unknown language, they raised what looked like Mauser rifles and began shouting at them.

Dr. Voeker then came out, and bowed. Her presence seemed to quiet the ranchers, who bowed in return. Then, she began making gestures with her hands, as she said, "Excuse me...I am Doctor Melitta Voeker, with the Anthro-Xenopological Section of the Commisariat of Science of the Workers State of New Dornalia. In the name of the Workers And Peasants of our nation, we bid you greetings in the name of peace."

They seemed to get the message. Running back, they motioned for the soldiers to stay.

This was getting fun.

(OOC: Sooo... Is this something like my one man RP system exploration thingy?)

OOC: Yup. I needed more land, so....

The ranchers brought with them men that looked like soldiers, or perhaps police. With khaki uniforms, revolvers, and stern faces, they seemed ill-at-ease with the newcomers. The man who seemed to be the leader of the group walked up to Harold, stood ramrod straight, and began talking to him.

Harold, recognizing he couldn't speak this man's language, then did what every People's Acolyte was trained to do in a situation like this. He waved his hand, and said, "Can you hear me?"

The policeman was taken aback, and said, in clear English: "You're damned right I can! Now, answer the question!"

Harold then said, surprised, "What question?"

The policeman then said, pointing into Harold's chest: "Tell me, who are you, what are you doing here, and how did you learn that magic? Only the Shahanai are allowed to practice magic and alchemy!"

Harold said, puzzled, "Shahanai?"

The policeman said, "Are you stupid? Do I seriously have to give you a history lesson?"

Harold nodded.

The exasperated policeman then said, "Fine. Ever since the Great Unity Wars, only Shahanai were allowed to practice Magic. Before that time, there was chaos! Disorder! Every pissant prince and democrat with his own idea could raise an army and a cabal of magicians, and kill. But the great-great-grandfather of our current King, Akreh the Third, united the land and expelled radical and seditious elements that would threaten the happiness of the Akrehian Kingdom. Happy?"

Harold then said, "Uh....sure."

The policeman then said, "Now, you must know why I should arrest you. I'd shoot you right now, but your men would kill me. Then again....."

He looked over the New Dornalians, and said, "...you are foreign invaders! I must call the Army! You will be punished!"

He tried to draw his gun, but Harold snatched it from him using the Force and then, twirling it, pointed it at his head and said, "Looking for this?"

The policeman then gulped nervously, as Harold said, "Tell your King, or whoever is nearby, that we are not invaders. We are explorers from outer space. We seek only peace and friendship. We don't want shooting. We just want to talk. Now, you going to do this if I let you go?"

The Policeman then said, "Uh....sure! Sure!"

Harold threw his gun back to him, and said, "Now, go deliver that message to your bosses."

The policeman and his compatriots then ran to their automobile, a car that oddly resembled a Ford Model A, and drove off.

Melitta then said to Harold, "What happened back there?"

Harold then said, "Just your textbook case of an uppity servant of an autocratic regime trying to enfore his will on foreigners. Evidently, they don't like 'magicians' that are not part of this special class called-"

Melitta then interrupted, saying, "Shahanai, I get it. They're obviously Force users, very powerful and defensive ones if they want to be so restrictive. We gotta stay on our toes. No more tricks, okay?"

Harold then said, "Fine."

He then spoke to the ranchers, saying, "Do you have a telephone?"

One of the ranchers said, "Sure. We do, it's a party line, it leads to Aerigorje. But I wouldn't use it now. That policeman didn't like you."

Harold said, sarcastically: "Well, I got the non-elite magic user ban five minutes ago, thank you. But how strong is the law here?"

The rancher said, "How strong? Whatever do you mean? The Shahanai's powers are far-reaching, they use magic to find any and all threats to the Great Akrehite Clan."

Harold then said, "No, really."

The rancher, slightly offended, said, "I am serious, young one. The Shahanai are nothing to laugh at."

The other rancher said, boldly, counting what seemed to be a list of abuses on his fingers: "From their positions of power in Akrehstad, they exert an iron-grip on the land to aid the Great Akrehite Clan stay in power. They have control of the Territorial Police in all provinces. They hold all the seats in the Privy Council that aren't ruled by Akrehites.

Only Shahanai can be commissioned officers in the Military! They even have their own Police, the Ustashi. They ride about on grengaback, randomly selecting people they accuse of 'illegal magic' and then kill them without complaint! They are monsters, and they now drag our nation into war with the Alvarians and the Cho-ba!"

The first rancher retorted, angrily, "Look, the Alvarians and Cho-ba deserve it. Their spies tried to aid the Combination in their attempts to kill His Majesty!"

The second said, "How do you know!? The Shahanai control the press and the telegraph lines, they control what gets told. For all we know, the Combination may be an invention of their doing! The truth is as you say this, our soldiers die in muddy trenches!"

Harold then said, "Settle down. What is the Combination?"

The Second rancher said, "The Combination, so they say, is a force of democrats. They want democracy, and an untainted Privy Council, free from corruption and the disease of Shahanai influence. They want to abolish the Shahanai altogether, and allow all to practice magic. I'd join them-if they existed."

The first said to Harold, "You should be lucky the Ustashi wiped out the Combination forces in the area. Otherwise, dummy here would have gotten himself killed, and I'd be out a worker."

The second said, "But these newcomers! They must be Combination men! Remember, they said 200 escaped the Shakgai Massacre?"

Harold then said, "Look, we are travelers from outer space. We are not rebels. We are simply travelers from an advanced civilization, who wish no-"

The second said, "What gun is that?" pointing to one of the Militiamen's railguns.

Harold said, "It is a railgun. It uses magnets to throw an object at supersonic speeds."

The second rancher said, "Hah! Supersonic speeds! That's impossible. They say anything that goes that fast'll break!"

Harold said, "Then you are the one that is decieved. Watch this."

He ordered one of the Militiamen to raise his railgun.

Melitta said, "Stop! You're contaminating their culture! We're supposed to be taking a neutral position, uninvolved, not going native!"

Harold then said, dismayed, "Dr. Voeker, I defy you to say how a simple demo can be construed as contamination. Soldier, keep going."

The militiaman complied, loaded his gun, and said, "Sir, what do I shoot at?"

Harold said to the rancher, "Well?"

The rancher then brought out an old, well, animal that seemed to be used for milking, a "canthal" they called it. The Militiaman raised his railgun, and fired a burst into it, sending the slugs through the creatures' head, downing the creature, and even injuring several animals behind it.

The first rancher said, "By the Gods! What a rifle! Of course, who will pay for the damage you caused!?"

Harold then presented a gold bar to the rancher, and said, "Here."

The first rancher took it, bit it, and said, "It's gold. You're good with me. Still, I don't think having you here will benefit me any...."

A convoy of trucks, with men in French-style helmets in them, led by a motorbike with a man who had too much clothing on him for the weather and escorted by men on what seemed like horse-lizard hybrids with rifles ready, was coming towards the ranch at high speed.

The rancher said, "S88t! Grenga cavalry! An agent of the Ustashi!You'd better hide! GO!"

Melitta then said, "Harold, do not do what that man says. We must make contact. Hopefully, we can fix this mess."

Harold said, shaking his head, "I dunno...the way these guys look, they don't wanna talk."

Harold took no chances, and ordered the men to assemble around the Haywood Dropship, and get ready for anything. The men prepped their railguns, the men assigned to lascannon duty got out their lasguns and mounted them onto tripods, and tension was in the air....

The Akrehite soldiers began surrounding the ranch, with trucks stopping and men forming up into firing lines. Cocking their bolt rifles, they raised them at the New Dornalians. Meanwhile, the men on "grengas" as the natives called them, formed into similar lines raising their rifles as well, and peering through heavy dust goggles. The man on the motorbike then drove into the ranch, and to where Harold was. Getting off, he took off his goggles and helmet, revealing a man who was pale and had an air of sophistication and pomposity about him.

He put them in the saddlebags of the bike before he sauntered arrogantly up to Harold and said, "You told quite a fairy story to Inspector Gaal. I have come to see if it is true."

Harold said, "And who might you be?" annoyed that one of these impudent authority figures had the nerve to saunter up to him and violate his personal space once more.

The man smiled evilly and said, "I can sense your tension, I can sense you have powers like I, and I can sense you need space."

He then backed up, and said bowing, "But perhaps I should introduce myself, I am Jotham Dinsten. Grand Sergeant Second Class, His Majesty's Bureau for the Preservation of the Purity of Magic."

In that bow, Harold and Buslai could sense something about this guy...this guy had bad vibes all over. It wasn't just his creepy manner either. They could feel this guy had a strong command of the Force....and not the side that was all peaches and sunshine.

Jotham then looked at the ranchers, "Or as these rubes call it, Ustashi. It is an awful contraction of words......awful."

Harold then said, "Look, stop messing around, jerkwad. What do you want?"

Jotham then grew angered. He then assembled a ball of energy in his hands, and slammed it down on the ground, causing a tremor that shook everybody up and struck fear into the ranchers. Jotham then said, "Call me that name again. I dare you! CALL ME THAT AGAIN!"

Harold then said, "Fine. What do you want?"

Jotham then said, "I know you're not Combination. You are foreigners of some sort, your mannerisms, your utter lack of respect for your betters indicate this. You are also powerful men."

Melitta then quipped, "And a powerful woman."

Ignoring her, Jotham then said, "Who are you, exactly?"

Harold then said, "I, Harold Farrell and my comrade, Buslai Eskaylevich, are members of the People's Acolytes, an order of what you would call magicians in our home nation, the Workers State of New Dornalia. We ue something called the Force, it is an energy that flows through all living things, and binds everything together in one constant soul force. Some say there are dark and-"

Jotham then interrupted him and said, "Workers State? There is no such thing in our world, even the other two empires have conquered our large swathes of Hajarra already. You are either Combination men, or aliens."

He then tried to take a gun from a Militiaman, saying, "And by the look of these guns-"

The Militiaman said, "Fark off, buddy, that's my gun! Get your girly hands off of it!" He then punched him in the face.

Bad move on the Militiaman's part, for he was then caught in a Force choke.

Harold then decided to act. He thought, "This guy's a humanoid....if he's got a body like me, then he won't like this!" raised his hand, and fired a strong bolt of Force lightning at his privates, causing Jotham to reel back in pain.

Jotham then staggered, dazed from the pain, as Harold said, "Don't touch my comrades, buddy. You can violate my personal space, you can talk down, but never, ever, lay a hand on my comrades!"

Jotham then said, slowly getting up, "You will regret this!"

He then cried to the assembled infantry, and said, "Attack!" before Harold kicked him again.

The cavalry soon sounded their horns, and began charging at them, firing. Buslai took the intiative, and ordered the men to take cover in the barns and stables of the ranch. The Militiamen did so, and then fired back from covered positions with railguns and RPG-Kraks. The impudent cavalry were silenced by these attacks, their weaponry, primitive by the standards of the New Dornalians, was just not good enough. Their mounts frightened and casualties mounting, they began to retreat, letting the ranks of infantry attack. A whistle blew, and they charged the ranch, bayonets fixed. Almost astonished at what was seen as stupid, the Militiamen had to be reminded these guys were out to kill them, and go back to work. The lascannons and the RPG-Kraks, plus the railguns of the men decimated the enemy.

Still, the Akrehite infantry entered the ranch. They began attacking the New Dornalians, trying to bayonet them. But to their horror, the superior Shield Steel of the New Dornalians deflected all but the most creative hits with a bayonet, and those that tried to shoot at point-blank found their shot New Dornalian opponents get up again to stab them with K-Bar or Fairbairn-Sykes-type Vibroknives. Or worse-fearsome vibroswords that cut men in two. Only the primitive hand grenades of the Akrehites, mere Mills Bombs, were any good, but even then, not good enough.

This caused a great shock to the Akrehites-they had faced their Alvarian and Cho-ba enemies in the trenches, and had faced war before. But they were killable. To the Akrehites, these newcomers were demons....

They then retreated, or tried to, before the Shahanai officers began directly Force-controlling their men, and sending them back in Force-inspired frenzies. This led Harold and Buslai to unsheathe their weapons-Harold a lightsabe, Buslai a Shaolin Spade. Then, they began cutting down the charging infantry, using the Force to throw them back when there were too many and getting the Militiamen to fire at them. Finally, somebody got the idea to snipe the officers out. This led to the charges breaking up, real fast....

Finally, the enemy fled to their trucks, and left. Jotham then went to his motorbike, and drove off, saying, "I'll deal with you later!"

The ND forces counted one casualty- a man who got a sprained ankle. The rest had bruises and minor cuts and damages, but nothing serious. The enemy though, had paid with 56 men, maybe more. This was something fierce.

Voeker then said, "Well, so much for peaceful contact. What are we going to do now?"

Harold then retorted, "Nah. We're going to stay here. We have tests to run, anyway. Call a science team from the ship, tell them to bring containers big enough to handle these"--he then pointed to the grengas--"things."

The radioman then said, "Yes sir."

As he tried to establish communications, Buslai said, "These people are combatitive. It is not wise to stay here. You can bet they'll be sending more soldiers and even air cover by nightfall."

Melitta then said, "Seconded. No scientific study is worth war with an autocracy that now has it in for us. And it seems they're in the middle of their own version of WWI-which makes things here and across this world dangerous. We're talking about nationalism gone amok, revolution, total war, hatred unrestrained. So why stay?"

Harold then said, "These jerks messed with us, okay? We have a right to defend ourselves. We also have a peaceful mission to perform."

Melitta then cried, "Argh! This goes against everything I learned as an anthropology major. They say-"

Harold then said, "Fark the anthropology. This is serious. That touchy-feely holism crap is dead. Now, its time to let the guns talk."

Melitta then said, "You forget something. I can have the Commissariat of Science recall you at will. This is an exploration mission, not a conquest mission. So, calm thyself."

Harold then said, "If you recall me, then I will tell how the natives threatened us, and we did nothing but run from them. Los Angeles will want retaliation, and you will be denounced as a counter-revolutionary coward."

Melitta was then silenced, she tried to respond, but nothing logical came out. She also knew that was definetly the case. No New Dornalian expedition had wigged out of a chance to claim a new land for the Workers State, and the Workers and Peasants would be damned if People's Acolytes, of all people, were defeated by locals with Mauser rifles.

(OOC: I know I commented here before, but seriously man, great writing. Keep it up!)

Of course, events in the Akrehite capital, Akrehstad, were conspiring to keep Harold and the Expedition in country. Something of this magnitude, territorial forces being trashed on their home soil by men in strange suits, with funny languages and weapons of terrible power, was nothing to be confined to the provinces, Jotham reasoned. So, as he went back to HQ, he had wired a full report to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense--one Shahanai, one Akrehite--, who in turned convened an emergency meeting of the King and his advisors. The air was tense...

King Akreh III stood up, and everyone bowed their heads as he cried out in well-deserved fury, "What has happened? How have foreign invaders entered out homeland!? Answer me!"

After he sat, the Defense Minister, Jorya Ku-Akreh, got up to speak, keeping his head bowed per protocol.

"My Lord, not but five hours ago, it seemed that unknown invaders had established themselves at a ranch near Jorman's Hold. The ranchers had signaled for Territorial Police intervention, an Inspector Gaal made contact at 0120. Inspector Gaal proceeded to report the leader of the men 'roughed him up' to use common language after committing illegal use of magic and forcing him to explain the history of Our Glorious Kingdom and then told him to tell his superiors that they were--get this, men from another world."

The advisors were shocked, and a few chuckled. Aliens? Were it not for the decimation of the Territorials sent to shoot them, it would have been really funny. As it was, this was embarassing.

Jorya continued, coughing, "The 1243th Territorial Guard Regiment was dispatched with Grand Sergeant Second Class, His Majesty's Bureau for the Preservation of the Purity of Magic Jotham Dinsten commanding, to respond to the report. Dinsten reported that he had a conversation with the men, and then he tried examining one of their rifles. That is when the battle broke out. It seemed they had advanced technology, machine guns that shot lights, repeating rifles that shot many fast-moving projectiles at once, and miniature cannons that were man portable. And, their leaders were practicioners of magic. They repulsed the forces with high casualties to our side."

He then coughed and said, "That is all."

King Akreh III then said, "What of the Officers with them?"

The Minister replied, "Sir, the Officers marshaled their men into place, but were unable to stop the foe."

King Akreh III then said, "You may sit."

After the Defense Minister sat, King Akreh III said, "Gentlemen, ladies, we are clearly dealing with a crisis. But one that is not unsolvable. Not when we, the Akrehite Dynasty and the Shahanai, have power left in us. These aliens are clearly from space. They are Alvarians."

The Prime Minister said, "If I may?"

King Akreh III sighed and said, "Yes."

The Prime Minister stood and said, "Alvaria, by recent intelligence collected by Shahanai living in that country, is experimenting with Paratroopers. Using aeroplanes to drop men from the sky behind our trenches, or perhaps gliders, they intend to cause panic. Clearly, perhaps these are paratroopers. And they might also have mortars."

Jorya winced, though he hid it as well as he could. The Prime Minister and the King were not known for being military experts. Nor were they known for admitting mistakes. The recent Chaugerine Offensive, with well over 120,000 Akrehites dead for 500 foras (about 600 yards) of land, was a shining example of that.

The Prime Minister then said, noticing Jorya becoming emotional, "Young man, is there something wrong!? Say it now!"

Jorya thought to himself, "Damn, I forgot he was a Shahanai himself." Standing up, he said, "Sir, I think the report from Jorman's Hold is correct. Grand Sergeant 2nd Class Dinsten would have noticed mortars. The hospital the men were treated at reported no bullet wounds from many of the men, but intense burns. And, they indicated that the ship that was in the ranch matched no known Alvarian design! How can you assume this was a paratrooper attack? Besides, you did indicate they were still-"

The Prime Minister slammed his fist down, and said, "Enough! This talk of aliens is nonsense, and I defy you to present further evidence to the contrary! Do you want to cause a panic, and encourage the Combination? As it is, we suppressed strikes led by them in Gornsi, Doria, and Eriksa already. News of alien invaders would encourage them."

With the King giving him nasty looks, the PM lowered his tone. But, he went on, saying, "Look, suppose the evidence you have suggests aliens, and you are right. I still say, let's keep it under wraps. All in favor?"

The other advisors spontaneously said, "AYE!"

The King then said, "You've been outvoted, Mr. Ku-Akreh. Evidently, my good cousin, you could use some of my tact."

Jorya then said, makign eye contact: "And you could use some of my brains."

The King then grew cold, saying, "If that was from anybody else, I'd kill them. As it is, cousin, I'll let that go."

Jorya and the PM then sat down. The Minister of Intelligence, Roshia Ja'een, stood up and said, "Permission to talk?"

The King said, "Well, go ahead."

Straightening her hair out, Roshia then said, "My Lord, I have a suggestion. My best Scryers could perform a psychic scan for them."

The King said, his mood brightening: "Sounds intriguing. That's how we got the Horban Brothers, yes?"

Roshia nodded, and said with a bit too much relish, "Oh yes indeed. We scried them out, and bled them like stuck forgas. Give me the time and the money, and their last coordinates, and I'll smoke these aliens out."

The King then said, "How do you propose to do so? We don't know how they think."

Roshia then did a Charlie's Angels hair swoop, as she said, "Simple, my Lord. Because we don't know that, their thoughts will stick out like a sore thumb, or more appropriately, a big void in the consciousness of the nation. We'll catch them in no time, if they try to leave, we'll make them hurt."

The King soon had an evil smile growing on his face, as she was talking his language. The language of solving problems with unnecessary violence.

"I like it," he said. "You will have the money, and the last coordinates-"

He turned to Jorya, "From Mr. Ku-Akreh."

Jorya then said, "Very well. I will help out."

The King said, "Well, that sums it up. Meeting is adjourned."

He then banged his fist on the chair, and as he winced from the pain, everybody left.

Roshia then grabbed Jorya, and they then walked down the streets of Akrehstad. The streets, with their wide boulevards, electric lamps, people in Edwardian dress and rickety automobiles and old trucks, resembled a throwback to olden times, perhaps a scene of WWI Paris or WWI Berlin. All the misery certainly was there. Propaganda was hung on massive billboards and painted on the sides of buildings, and soldiers were seen on streetsides.

As Roshia walked at utmost speed, Jorya then said, "Ms. Ja'een, why are you doing this!? At least let me get some papers-"

Roshia then interrupted him, saying, "No. I need you now. You have the report on you, that is good enough, I need you to meet my Scryers. If we are to stop this threat, I will need your cooperation."

Jorya said, slightly infuriated: "Yes, but I wonder if that requires snatching me from a meeting with the head of National Arms which I was supposed to be at, say, 10 minutes from now!?"

Roshia then stopped at a street corner, and waved her hand, mumbling some words. This Force incantation summoned her personal driver and automobile, who appeared screeching to a halt in front of them.

Roshia then opened the door and motioned for Jorya to get in. Sighing, he did so, sliding over as she got in too.

Roshia then said, "Driver, Intellegence Ministry, stat!"

She then said, curtly, "Frankly Mr. Ku-Akreh, national security supercedes any responsibilities you may have." With a hint of sarcasm, she then said, "You want me to write you an excused abscence pass?"

Jorya then shook his head, going, "This isn't bloody high school! This is business."

Roshia then grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and said, "Shut it. I don't care if you're the king's cousin, I will crush your throat and feed you to the karrak hounds! Now no more whining!"

Jorya quieted down, he knew that since she was a Shahanai too, she could very well make good on that threat.

Roshia then snapped, "And no thinking unclean thoughts about me either!"

Jorya then sighed, as the auto drove through the streets of Akrehgrad....
------------------
The vehicle stopped at the Intelligence Ministry. It looked like an ordinary mansion, only it had 8-foot tall iron fences, and armed men, Ustashi and regulars, guarding it. The vehicle stopped at the car park nearby, and the Intelligence Minister and her new guest stepped inside.

After a pat-down search and a psychic scan, Roshia then led Jorya to a backdoor. She then pulled out a special key, and opened the lock, saying, "This will lead you to the people I want you to see." This opened the door, which led to a staircase that went down almost an entire football field under the earth.

The stairs led to a door with a combination lock on it. She then said, "Turn away."

As Jorya turned the other way, she entered the combination for the door and opened it, revealing a room with people sitting around radios and ticker machines, tables with crystal balls, and typewriters, all in various cubicles. Here was the Akrehite intelligence machine at work: codes were being deciphered, the Force was manipulated for various ends to see across many miles and to drive people mad, and coded dispatches and orders were being sent to and from various agents in the field.

Jorya was amazed at this, the Cabinet had not often attained the privilege to see this inner sanctum. Roshia led him quickly through several more rooms filled with similar contents, saying, "Quickly now...."

Jorya saw then a small meeting room, and he then sat down in it per Roshia's instructions. Roshia then said, "Wait here."

Five minutes later, several women and men appeared with Roshia, and sat down at the table. Roshia then said, "These are my Scryers. My best. We will find your aliens with them."

The other Scryers then mumbled among themselves, and Roshia then slammed her fist on the table, saying, "Silence!"

They shut up, and paid attention to Jorya. He explained the situation to the Scryers, saying that there was an invasion of some sort near Jorman's Hold. The men were not from the world, they had high technology, high magic....clearly, people of power. And, the Government wanted them dead.

The Scryers then soaked up this data. Then, one of them, a frail, pale looking woman, got up. She then said, "If I may?"

Jorya nodded.

The woman said, "I am Seria Marson, Scryer 1st Class. Minister Ku-Akreh, I am the head of this cadre. I personally think this plan will work, the location is good. But what am I searching for exactly?"

Roshia said, "You're looking for thought patterns neither Alvarian, Cho-Ba, United Prinicpalities, or Akrehite. They call themselves-what was that?"

Jorya said, "People's Acolytes, and New Dornalians. That's what Dinsten said they were."

Roshia then said, "People's Acolytes. Right. So, anyway, that is who you are looking for."

Seria then said, "Ma'am, I will do as you ask. So will the others."

Roshia then nodded, and insisted, "And what happens if you fail?"

Seria then said, "There will be no failure."

Roshia then smiled, saying, "Good girl. Go."

Back at the ranch-

The science team was down on the planet, and Harold was in the middle of filing his report.

"Mission report, 5 February, 2150.

I, Sensei Harold Farrell and my comrades in arms, have found a new planet. The locals call it Hajarra. It seems to be at a level of development circa 1914-1915. The local military forces, who are hostile to us, are armed with bolt action rifles, comparable to Mauser types. They drive trucks, and still use cavalry. They know of machine guns, these ranchers and the soldiers evidence of that. But, their tactics are as outdated as those of the powers that fought our WWI.

The government here is powered by an autocratic king. He relies on an elite of Force users called Shahanai to stay in control. These Shahanaiare arrogant, and jealous of their power-a bunch of spoiled brats if I saw any. There is a resistance, the Combination here. But it seems to be a low-level movement, with little capacity to organize the countryside. I want to stay here, and settle my score with these people. I know I am here as a scientist only, but my heart tells me to teach this king and his Sha-na-aw, fark it, whatevers a lesson. End log."

After finishing, the old rancher then said, "Boy, how long you gonna stay?"

Harold then produced another gold bar, and said, "Will this buy me more time?"

The old rancher then said, "You get one more day."

Then, Harold looked up and felt like he was being watched. He got up, put away his PDA, and whispered to Buslai, "Hey Buslai."

Buslai, who was doing inventory on the arms they had, said "Yes?"


Harold said, "I think we're being watched. You feel something?"

Buslai then said, "A little, but that might be just natural paranoia. I wouldn't worry."

Harold then shrugged, and then picked up his bag. The sensation came back. He saw somebody running away. He gave chase, but by the time he caught up to her behind the barn, there was nothing.

He walked back, and said, "Jesus, I have to stop eating pixy stix."

Buslai then said, concerned: "You okay, man? You look like you seen a ghost."

Harold said, "I saw something, I felt a ripple in the Force...somebody's watching us. And I don't like it."

Buslai then said, "Well, these guys are powerful...but we scared them off, right?"

Harold said, shaking his head: "I dunno....I still feel like somebody's spying on me. You don't become a Sensei without learning not to let your guard down."

The night then passed without incident.....and in the dawn, the New Dornalians woke to find a new day. One with none of those damned local policemen, or those power-drunk fools who had interesting views on how to handle first contact.

Harold stretched out, and began doing his morning exercises. Tai chi was good for the mind and body, and it kept him fit and ready to face the challenges that an Acolyte had to endure. The Acolytes always emphasized spirituality as part of their way of life. Being on a foreign world never changed that.

Buslai joined him, and they were a sight to see in the ranch. The animals looked at them, and grunted nonchalantly. Meanwhile, the militiamen woke up, and began brewing coffee, filling the breeze with loose talk...it seemed like they were camping more than on an exploration mission.

The good Doctor, Melitta Voeker, was enjoying a cup of black coffee in front of her tent. She looked into the Hajarran sunrise, and then grew wistful. It reminded her of the days she spent in California, on vacation in a dude ranch. It was full of roping, ranching, and Western-style fun.

She then told one of the Militiamen, "I'm going on a walk." And did so, taking her railpistol and a guard and going on a light jog of the property, having finished her coffee. She then jogged out into the pastures, and admitted that in all her years as an anthropologist, it was good to actually get out in the field once more. Her time until now was mostly spent teaching bored secondary schoolers in New Leningrad, in one of the rainier areas of the planet.

But her nature walk was about to be ended.

For in the distance, some men in trenchcoats--faces concealed by dust goggles and headwraps, on grengaback with old rifles--looked down on Melitta and her guard from a remote mountain aerie with a pair of dusty binoculars, stolen from some government forces after a night raid.

They mumbled to themselves in their tounge, and noted she was probably one of two things. Either a government lady, or one of the reported "Neudornalens" that had come and beaten the government with no casualties whatsoever. These men had heard from their sources in Jorman's Hold the tale of the embarassing fight, called by survivors the "K-J Corral Massacre." And, they were eager to establish contact with them. For as Combination men, they had been oppressed long enough by the Akrehite Dynasty and its cronies. Chased by Shahanai, shot at by soldiers, they were now wrested from the high savannas they could once call their own.

The men then put the spurs to their grengas and rode down like Arabs in a desert epic, or Indians in a Western. Melitta was surprised, and though she tried to draw her gun, the men surrounded her and began barking at her in that language of theirs. Harold wasn't around, and she relied on them for translation....

Not cool. Not cool at all.

She then began to plead with them, using gestures as universal as possible and saying, "I am a friend, I do not want to hurt you....please...don't hurt me!"

The Combination men nodded among themselves, this woman was foreign. But, they understood some of her gestures, they knew she was trying to say she was friendly. They then began signing back to her. They told her as best as they could that they were not interested in hurting her either, and they wanted to talk to her. Melitta then said, signing and speaking, "Can I bring you to my leader? Or bring him to you?"

They then said it was not safe here; the Government would come back anytime. Melitta then, after several minutes, got them to agree to let Harold come to the Combination stronghold....

Then, she called Harold, saying, "Sensei, you have to see this."

Harold then met the Combination leaders in their lair. A cave in a hillside, it revealed a complex of tunnels and entrances, where raiders could attack at anytime. The leader himself came out of hiding, and walked up to Harold. Looking him over, he said, "We have prayed for your people to come. Now, there is a Goddess."

He bowed and said, "I am Kriell Gohfar. I am one of the leaders of the Combination for Equality and Brotherhood, or the Combination as we are known. Please, sit."

They sat down at a rickety table and chair setup and got to business.

"Our people have been agitating for liberty for ten years now. For that, first, they drove us from the cities, then from the countryside into these caves. We have since assembled an army from the local tribes and those who no longer enjoy the government's rule. Not that it was enjoyable in the first place," said Kriell. He then took a pot, and then poured a pot of what seemed to be tea. He offered some to Harold, he accepted.

Kriell then said, "Now, we still fight against the government. We only now have rebuilt our urban infrastructure, and our organization. And it has now been threatened again. Strikers have been suppressed, and they are chasing them with Ustashi agents."

Harold then sipped the tea and said, "So, how did you hear of us?"

Kriell said, with a hint of glee: "We have spies across the countryside, informers everywhere who are easily turned. The Ustashi have the power to peer into the minds of the people, but there are those like us who slip from their grasp."

He then sipped his tea again, and said, "But in particular, some of the nurses at the Jorman's Hold Hospital told us the details. Or rather, one of our agents. A fantastic arrangement, this battle. What sort of men are you, exactly?"

Harold said, "We're explorers from another land, New Dornalians."

Kriell said, curious, "Evidently, explorers with powerful technology that makes our artillery look like popguns by comparison. And, explorers whom the government has a bounty on."

Harold said, "Really?"

Kriell said, "Well, not exactly. But, government movements indicated this. Scouts indicated more men being transferred into Jorman's Hold and other cities in the area via train-clear signs they want you dead."

Harold then mused, "I am popular."

Kriell then said, "True. Since you are so popular, you would do well to join with those who know the area best, yes?"

Harold sensed the meaning of this immediately.

"You want us to join you in your war?"

Kriell then laughed, and said, "Nothing so bold, if you wish not. Merely shipments of arms, or perhaps something like that."

Harold said, "Maybe I should join with you. We are the only ones who know how to operate our tech. Plus, we have resources you might like, and we hate the same guys."

Kriell then said, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend indeed! What exactly are we talking about?"

Harold said, "Since we have soldiers after us, and your nation is at war, we should use this to our advantage. We can wage the same war as before, but with weapons from my people. It will have infintely more powerful results, and it will hasten the regime's demise."

Kriell then said, "Quite a plan. Will it involve any of your men?"

Harold said, "Sure."

Kriell then said, "Then it is agreed. We are allies."

He then sipped his tea and said, "You know, we move tonight. Meet me here at midnight, with some arms and men. We will brief you there."

Harold then said, "Thanks."

----

Heading back, Harold explained the situation to the New Dornalians. Melitta was reluctant to back it, and Buslai had some reservations. But, Harold won them over, and he was able to secure some supplies to be delivered to the HQ by Haywood dropship at midnight.

The dropship landed at the HQ at midnight, and then began offloading its equipment. The Combination men had to be almost shooed away from the ship, they were amazed that such a thing was possible. They were also amazed at the advisory team that came out of it. Women with cat ears, men with elf ears, tall and short men and women-it was a fascinating sight for the guerillas. They thought these New Dornalians had brought a freak show with them, not a training team.

Harold and the New Dornalians then gave brief instructions to the Combination men on the use of their new toys, and then all got their assignments.

It seemed that the Ustashi and the Regular forces were stopping at a vital rail junction near Jorman's Hold called Hroak, to be transferred to forts outside the city. Horak itself was no cakewalk either, it was fortified and laced with mines on it to prevent insurgents from coming too close.

The plan called for insurgents to quietly sneak up to 50m outside Hroak, and begin to disarm the minefields outside, before reaching the earthworks and barbed wire, which would be attacked with grenade assault. After they were breached, the trains would be attacked, and the supplies and men destroyed. The new weapons changed this plan. RPG-Krak and Taishonium grenades would be used to blow the earthworks, and the mines and railroad tracks were to be taken out by orbital support fire.

Harold and the others nodded, and then led parties of men to the junction. A total of 500 men snuck up to Hroak, and stopped within 50m.

Then, Harold communicated with one of the Mao Zedong III's in orbit, and ordered the New Dornalian ship to fire precise lines of fire, so as to blow holes in the minefield and enable the insurgents to pass. They were also to take out one of the rail lines leading out from Hroak, to ensure the enemy could not escape, as well as the line leading in.

At Hroak-

One of the sentries looked out into the night. He had been on duty since 2000 that night, and he was bored as all hell. The other night sentries stared out into the night from their earthworks, and they too looked into what seemed to be a neverending wall of blackness, broken only by a faint moon and the light from the electric lights that were lying along the side of the trench.

The man held his rifle out, cocked the bolt back and forth, and pointed it out into the night, going "pow! pow!" to himself. He then sighed, and stared.

Then, he saw a mass moving in the distance. He wasn't sure what exactly it was, but he knew it was bad. He looked out, squinted, and made out the shapes of calvary.

Insurgents.

He reached for his whistle, to alert the others of an attack. Then, he saw thigns get a lot brighter.

What seemed to be columns of light from Heaven tore through the elaborate minefield placed around the earthworks in precise lines and shapes, as if guided by somebody up there that really, really didn't like them. The mines began to explode and dust was kicked up as the lines moved in closer from the outside of the minefield in.

Soldiers began to awake, and whistling and hooting to arms was heard. Men piled up along the front of the trench on the firing lines, and readied their rifles and machine guns for anything. The columns came closer, the men shielded their eyes from the intense light.

Then, the columns were gone.

A loud horn blew, and hooting and shouting emerged, as the insurgents began riding into the field. To the horror of the soldiers in the trench, the columns had cut a path of no resistance, allowing the insurgents to rush forth at them.

The soldiers then began shooting. Some insurgents fell, but more came, and then responded with....firecrackers? The men didn't know what it was, but it resembled large bottle rockets they would play with on solstice festivals. But these were no toys. They slammed into the earthworks, blowing deep gouges into it and sending dirt and shrapnel everywhere. Men were knocked down from the force of the blast; many were wounded or died outright as they had laid flush on the trench wall when the explosion hit. Many were taken by surprise, and knew that this was not good...

..especially as the insurgents were really close now, and mostly intact. They then began throwing grenades into the trench, and then backed up.

The last sight the man saw was a massive explosion......the work of Taishonium grenades that made their Mills-type grenades look like m-80's by comparison. More explosions rocked the trench, more men were rendered into particulate matter. To erase any doubts about their inevitable doom, mortar shells landed in the trench and on the lip of the trench, turning the area into a group of craters and mounds of dirt and dead.

The insurgents cheered, and then rushed into the works. Those who had survived (not many) were taken out by gunshot, and the rebels and the Advisory Team moved in. They then proceeded to surround the station itself, dismounted, and then moved in, shooting the guards inside with lasguns and taking minor casualties. In the end, many guards surrendered, and when the insurgents reached the trainyard itself, many of the men there found themselves forced to do likewise.

A cable was sent out to Akrehgrad.

"Station at Hroak surrounded. Surprised by enemy. Garrison torn asunder by columns of light, explosives of powerful magnitude. Insurgents send message: We're Back."

The defense minister was not pleased. But, the Combination was.

Word of the guerilla's success stirred the Combination across Akrehilia. Whether in mountain strongholds like Kriell's men, or undercover in the small towns and the big cities few and far between like Jorman's Hold or Dzrelia, the Combination's sleeper cells buzzed with life. Unlike the government news, which played down the disaster, the Combination's underground paper and rumor machines played up the attacks for all they were worth.

The tribesmen in the high savanna and the oppressed farmers rejoiced that the oppressive regime of the Akrehite Dynasty had been dealt one of the strongest blows in years. The citydwellers who had been paitently putting up with the war and the deprivations it required soon became divided, loyalist uncertain of the future, those who were quietly opposed to the government boldened in their belief that they might one day actually be able to speak without a gunshot aimed at them. Rumors spread of more strikes, rumors spread for every little thing. And, more troops could be seen in Akrehgrad and the major cities, keeping order.

The defense ministry, meanwhile, was freaking out. They had lost two whole battalions of men, to what? 500 swarthy cavalrymen, with some fancy new popguns! It was embarassing, to say the least. They could only send more men into the provinces to try and keep order. The railroads came to life, the airplanes flew over the savanna, and Ustashi patrols soon were doubled. But the Combination was staying evasive, the Ustashi tracking them and the New Dornalians via the psychic Scyring at Akrehgrad. And those columns of light? Well, rumors were spreading that the Goddess herself had chosen to support the Combination, her hand guiding the beams of light that tore the minefield at Horek asunder. That wasn't sitting well with the church. They began issuing proclamations that the lights were "the products of a delusionary soldier." But, to lay preachers and devout, it was a sign that the Akrehite Dynasty was going to lose. The Combination was able to get many of them to join on the fact alone....

However, one night, Harold discovered the Scrying as he was shaving. Noticing the woman from before, he tried to restrain her, only to find himself catching air. He felt a presence in the Force, and this time, Buslai did too. Kriell explained everything, and soon, some men who were Force sensitive were assigned to keep the Scryers away....combined with Harold's own Force meditations, that kept them away for a bit.


Harold was surprised at this. The New Dornalians by now had moved to Kriell's caves as their HQ, and they soon were at the nerve center of something extraordinary. Morale was high. Arms were flowing in. And, for the first time, war reports from the wireless indicated Cho-Ban forces had made gains on the Eastern Front, forcing Akrehites off of Hill 347, and the Alvarians were reportedly praising the event as a sign from their God that they were destiend to win.

And now, with all of 10,000 prisoners of war captured, most of which were willing to join them, they agreed to mount a series of attacks on the Forts surrounding Jorman's Hold, Dzrelia and some more major Rail Junctions. The "Hand of the Lady," as the Demolisher Guns were being called, was to play a part in these operations.....and would make its presence felt again.

More attacks surged forth from the desert as planned.

First, the rail junctions were to be hit. Harold, Kriell, and Buslai were given three stations each to hit, all within a tense 48-hour period. It was a tight schedule, but one that had to be followed....

The attacks began in earnest, much like at Hroak before. More casualties were taken by the insurgents, as the Officers put up more of a fight and the Government men (well, some of them) learned how to evade the new weapons and to use the tactics of the Combination against them. But, the "Hand of the Lady" and the determination of the insurgents led to the siezure of the complexes anyway. Many ND soldiers and Insurgents developed Sgt. York Syndrome, as they tried to take as many men as possible alive, often at risk to themselves.

The results were devastating, as the Government was overwhelmed on all fronts. Cut off from rail transport, it had to use trucks and the light aircraft available to them-which were just as vulnerable to the ND weapons. Also, morale was severely damaged on the homefront, with uncertainty cast upon the Akrehite capacity to go on.

----

The Defense minister highlighted this well. He spoke haltingly and with concern at the latest meeting of advisers.

"Morale is down by at least half. We are experiencing severe problems supplying our men in the frontier provinces. Air and truck supply is expected to replace the rails for now, but we will need to divert resources to protect our shipping. Supplies at Jorman's Hold and Dzrelia are good for six months, but commanders there urge reinforcements and more Purity Police (OOC: Ustashi) to keep the situation in the area under control."

The Prime Minister sighed and said, "Any good news?"

The Defense Minister said, "None. The only thing keeping the men fighting is the presence of a dedicated officer staff. Even then, more officers are reporting that men are reluctant to carry out orders. They especially fear the man with the Lightsword and the Hand of the Lady, as they call the new weapons these Combination men seem to have. Civilians are becoming skeptical as well.

Our scientists believe these are both some kind of sword, and some kind of heat ray, respectively. We are trying to disseminate this information as fast as possible, but I am not sure how it will improve the morale, especially with lay preachers and the devout joining the Combination by the droves."

The King said, "So, what will we need to keep the area under control?"

The Defense Minister gulped and said, "Well, at this point, at least several new corps of infantry, at least six divisions of engineers to restore the rails in time, and at a dozen supply corps to keep the men going. We would need significant amounts of Purity Police and officers to keep the men fighting, and we would have to have significant reserves and forces to guard the supply methods to provide insurance versus insurgent strikes. But, as we are engaging the Alvarians and the Cho-Ba now, such resources are not available, unless you want to begin drafting teenagers and women and you want to leave us vulnerable."

The Prime Minister said, "Such gloomy news."

The King said, "Well, pishposh. Send the men in."

The Defense Minister grew sickened at this response. He had just labeled a situation that was pretty bad already....this was going to make it worse.

"Your Highness! As it is, we have significant forces committed to fighting the Alvarians and Cho-Ba already. To divert forces from the West and East Fronts into an area where they will be become big targets is inviting disaster! As it is, the railroads were significant targets, large scale columns are going to be just as vulnerable! We need another solution!"

The King then said, "Okay. Good cousin, what solution?"

The Defense Minister was shocked, unprepared....

But the Intelligence Minster was prepared. She said, "The Purity Police can defeat them alone. We are of sterner stuff than the Army. Give us 15,000, and we can break them."

The Defense Minister then snapped, saying, "You can't be serious. You are usurping military authority!"

The Intelligence Minister smiled, saying, "If I listened correctly, the Army has failed. And you said the troops wuld be better used on the West Front. Let my men do the job yours cannot!"

The King said, "Yeah! What's your problem!?"

The Defense Minister said, "Wait....you wanted to send men in....now you follow her solution like a bug to sweets? This is the most fickle, stupid decision-making strategy I have seen yet!"

The King screamed at the Defense Minister, saying, "Mr. Ku-Akreh! I will not be insulted in my own court!"

The Defense Minister then said, "Fark this. I need to cool off."

He then stormed out.

Inside a bar, the Defense Minister (henceforth once again called Jorya) got a drink, and then fumed....stupid Roshia. She had that damned stupid fool cousin of his in her hands.....she knew he liked the ladies a lot, she played to his odd sensibilities. Not to mention, he swore she used a magic trick on him...

A man then sidled up next to him and said, "Well, Guv'nor. Sounds like you've had a bad day."

Jorya said, "Who asked you?"

The man said, "Your mom. Anyway, what is it?"

Jorya said, leaning back, "You ever feel like you're talking to a brick wall? You ever get angry at the absurdity of life? I did today, and I saw it in all its ugly splendor."

The man said, sadly, "Powerful words, guv'nor."

He then whispered into Jorya's ear: "Lemme guess....a certain minister?"

Jorya said, "How' you know that?"

The man said, "This beer's bad. Come with me, and I'll tell you."

The man paid for both of them, and then they wandered into a back alley.

There, the man explained, "Right-o. First off, you were mumbling to yourself like a man with shell shock. Two, I could sense much confusion in you."

Jorya grew concerned at this.

"Are you a magic user?"

The man said, "Aye. I am. I work with a certain group that cares not about what you do or if you use magic.."

Jorya said, "The Combi-"

The man put his hand over Jorya's mouth and said, "Not so loud!"

Jorya then said, after the man let his hand go, "Well, what would you want with me?"

The man said, "First, call me Kor."

Jorya said, "Uh, Kor, what would you want with me?"

Kor said, "I sensed you were mbody important, someboy who had a falling out with his fellow authority figures. Is this true?"

Jorya said, "Yes. In fact, you're talking to the Defense Minister who may be fired."

Kor said, "Well, that's big. You are....Jorya Ku-Akreh?"

Jorya said, "Yeah."

Kor said, "That's good. Listen, do you really want to keep working for them anymore?"

Jorya said, "Well, I am not sure. The King, he's my cousin, but the man's pigheaded and a slob. The Prime Minister is just as stupid. None of them listen to me. I had good ideas on how to win, but they were shot down...."

Kor interrupted him, saying, "You know, we could use a man like you right now. The cause is looking for a way to bring peace to Akrehlia. You might be our man."

Jorya said, "I don't know....I'm surrounded by magicians."

Kor said, "Here!"

Jorya then found himself being surrounded by light, as Kor cast a spell on him./..

"This should obscure your thoughts for a while yet. Now go in, and arrange for an inspection tour in the countryside. Link up with our men there."

Jorya then nodded, and then left. His cousin approved the tour to get him out of his hair (though he wondered why he needed to do fact finding now), and then Jorya boarded a plane for the provinces....

OOC: Speeding things up...

IC:

Jorya's visit to the country was obviously a ruse-it was a cover for meeting the Combination. He did so, going by truck to Jorman's Hold, and then meeting up with a spy who took him to the countryside. He met Harold and the New Dornalians, who explained everything. Jorya and the NDers were on the same page, surprisingly-they wanted democracy, and they had no love of the current regime. Jorya agreed to issue a proclamation to the troops, encouraging them to revolt.

This he did, going back to Akrehgrad and issuing a proclamation in the King's name ordering the troops to surrender. He even swiped the King's seal, and affixed it to the form in an elaborate, Keystone Kops type operation, which made the form mostly official.

The result was chaos. Despite the best wishes of their officers and a counter-order, large groups of men surrendered, and began fraternizing with the enemy. Officers were often shot or hung in the process of trying to stop their men. Those that didn't do either to their officers began fighting their own, and Jorman's Hold and the rest of the strongholds in the provinces were hit once more by guerillas and the Lady's Hand, and Jorman's Hold fell in a spectacular battle.

Meanwhile, strikes broke out once more, and Ustashi moved out in force, seeing as how much of the army was busy engaging in self-mutilation, and used a fearsome weapon on the strikers, who joined with rebel soldiers to fight for the cities. The litham, as it was called, was a weapon like a lengthened kukri machete that focused Force energy on a crystal in it, making a Force-capable user capable of powerful energy blasts or powerful hits. The Ustashi used this often as their sole weapon, besides a Pistol, and they often engaged strikers and soldiers with it in roving street battles. Akrehgrad indeed seemed to be the only city without riots and strikes. But, they were often only led by local leaders, and uncoordinated. Unless the Combination men and the New Dornalians could get to the thick of the action, then, the Combination would be set back....so, they hitched a ride on Haywood Dropships, and began flying to the cities. There, they would lead.

The Haywood Dropship carrying Harold and the others landed in the thick of the Gornsi riots. Landing in a park with rebel soldiers and civilians exchanging fire with loyalists and Ustashi, the New Dornalians and Kriell came out of the transport to the tune of cheers. Kriell almost had to tell the rebels to go back to their duties, as another wave of government men were coming. But, as it was, it was the first time many had met a New Dornalian in reality. Untile now, they were but rumor and people in the provinces. Now, they were a presence, armed and approving of the revolution unfolding.

The People's Militia forces in the Dropship unloaded and helped the rebels break the siege with their railguns and superior Taishonium grenades. The rebels, meanwhile, invirgorated, began shooting at the Ustashi, going for the head. Many Ustashi, blindsided by the new weapons, scattered, and began swinging their lithams at the NDers and the rebels. The lithams crackled with blue energy, and unleashed lightning bolts that struck at a few rebels, killing them in the Process as they were swung. Harold knew that these were no ordinary swords, he had to watch out.

He activated his lightsaber, screamed "URAHH!" and charged at them, with rebels following. He began engaging an Ustashi in battle, the enemy's litham proving surprisingly resilient to the lightsaber as the Force energies in the Akrehite sword kept it whole, along with its construction. Finally, Harold jabbed the man in the gut, and he fell. Meanwhile, Buslai was pulling off his own miracle iwth the Shaolin Spade, watching Harold's back as he swung it around like a madman, slashing at the enemy Force users with all his might. Meanwhile, the People's Militiamen fought in bloody hand-hand combat, using chainswords and vibroknives, along with their new Combination bretheren (who still used bayonets, kitchen knives and captured lithams).

Finally, the Combination/ND forces broke the will of the Ustashi, and forced them out of the street.

Many People's Militia took lithams as souvenirs, and Harold himself picked one up. But, there was little if any time for souvineir hunting. Kriell marshaled the rebels, and marched them onto the city hall, where People's Militia fire teams fired grenades and RPG-Krak shots into the Ustashi and Government barricades, tearing them up and sending their defenders to kingdom come. Then, they charged, and the rebels, who quickly disintegrated into an angry mob, broke into the City Hall, ransacking it and knocking down anyone that resisted. the Combination flag rose over it, and a horn blew. Gornsi was in the process of capture, whether the Government wanted it or not.

Harold then called for air support as People's Militia worked with Rebels to fortify the City Hall. Mothra Strike Fighters dropped Heavy Bombs on the Government positions, and rocked the city with explosions, enabling the Combination to sieze previously impregenable positions and move out of siege lines. Within hours, the city was taken, and the Combination began to organize into the Republic of Aghalia (Akrehlia's old name), and proclaimed itself the only legit government in the area. Local governments friendly to the Combination declared themselves loyal to the Republic, and Combination units in battle already raised the new Republican banner.

Another nail had been struck in the coffin.

And history accelerated.

Almost immediately, people began voting with their feet, fleeing Akrehite lands for those commanded byt the Republicans. Alvarian and Cho-Ba forces pushed the loyal remnants of the Akrehites out of the trenches and pushed into the interior. The King found himself alone, and bothered, as rioters called for his dethronement, voluntary or not. And Royalists began to flee in exile, realizing the game was up. Only the Ustashi were loyal-the Army virtually disintegrated over the next few weeks.

The Republic soon found itself on the war path, snapping up lands with a combination of Superior Tech and Human Wave attacks. And so were the Alvarians and Cho-Ba. Though the Hajarran Great War was not of the duration of the Terran WWI, it stil produced bad feelings on both sides, intense nationalism "gone amok" as Voeker had said, leading to Alvarians and Cho-Ba manuevering to take large parts of the Aghalian territories as war booty.

However, the Republic then made peace with the two sides, and began negotiations supervised by Voeker to save Aghalia from the fate of being reduced by annexation. A peace was reached in Veszvestio (formerly Akrehgrad), where the Aghalians would allow basing for the Alvarians and Cho-Ba, but the two other nations would respect its lands. This the New Dornalians secured by threat of Warp Cannonade-a threat tested on several ex-Akrehite Battleships for the Alvarians and Cho-Ba to witness. In addition, the three states formed the Cooperative Union, a coalition of the three states and New Dornalia to settle disputes peacefully. The result was the planet was united under the hegemony of the three rulers in a loose UN-style organization, dominated by the New Dornalians and the Aghelians.

The NDers also proposed a Treaty similar to those signed with the Kroot, Kol'Tssien and Non-ND Earth Nations when they joined the Workers State-respect for local culture, self-government, and trade- to be signed as well. The CU and the Treaty went up for vote in Alvaria, one of the more democratic states. Disputes raged, but those who recognized these newcomers could benefit them won out in the end and signed both, along with the Cho-Ba and the Aghelians. Thus, the War was ended, and peace restored.

In the meantime, trade began, as Voeker traded communications between ND companies and local Hajarran concerns in all countries to begin introducing high technology to Hajarra. Slowly but surely, the Hajarrans would be taken from the era of top hats and Mausers to the age of computers and railguns.

And with that, their job was done. A reliable representative and a force of People's Militia was left in Veszvestio to handle affairs, and the exploration mission went on its merry way. Work crews from New Wuhan came to build a warp gate, to help link the area with the New Wuhan sector....

As the building of the Warp Gate was going on (ND advisors worked with local engineers and scientists, teaching them how to build these things), traders began delivering tech to the planet. Replicators, Singularity reactors, everything the New Dornalians took for granted, was catching on with the locals, whose demand for modern things was insatiable. Cities seemed to chnge overnight-Edwardian exteriors often began to house HoloNet cafes, factories that were once taking several days to make enough steel with open hearth process to satisfy an order now took hours and even minutes hosted industrial-size replicators, with girders replicated and fed with scrap iron to speed the already quick process along. Overnight, the rich found themselves purchasing private shuttles, just to go on joyrides. And the automobile jumped 500 years of technological prowess in a week.

Meanwhile, scientists from New Dornalia were busy analyzing the native life...and People's Acolytes were analyzing the litham sword. Plus, Junko Tadanobu's orders said something about beginning recruitment of local Force users in the People's Acolytes. This was begun, and while recruitment was successful, a scary trend emerged. Ex-Ustashi were beginning to join the Acolytes, prized for the Force prowess. Junko thought for a moment, and then ordered all of the Ex-Ustashi to be all sent to a secret base in Siberia. There, she had plans for them.

--------

Harold and the others, meanwhile, were at work. Five-six systems were scanned, and several habitable planets were found. Thankfully, only a few hosted any sign of life, and these were primitive tribes. Marked and designated, they moved on, scanning and finding mineral rich planets and gas giants worth tapping.

SIC: Near Norilsk, Siberia, Russian Federation, Earth SSR-

The cold winds whipped over the old Soviet-era air base. It had been barely maintained since time immemorial, and even with the addition of facilities to handle modern shuttles, it looked like it had seen better days.

The Haywood Dropships landed on the freshly repaved tarmac, and then opened its doors. From each stepped about 400 men in uniforms stripped of buttons and barely clothed in fur hats and heavy canvas gloves. They were escorted by Marines, and they were marched to the base's cafeteria.

Inside, the men sat down at the metal benches, cold as ice, and then were told to wait for a visitor, chained to the benches in the meanwhile.

Then, they were greeted by Junko Tadanobu herself. Accompanied by a Hajarran translator, she ordered them to stand up.

They did so, and then she said, the translator translating her words into Aghelian Hajarran: "Well well....."

She then began pacing about, examining the officers like prizewinning horses, and poking them in the middle of the forehead, gangsta-style to intimidate them.

"War criminals. Baby killers. Scum. I should rightfully have you all killed for trying to escape justice. You think your powers can hide you? Joining our ranks to escape was a bad move on your part."

She then said, thinking, "But, as it is, you may yet absolve yourselves of the sins you have committed. You may yet wash the blood from your hands.

I propose to you now a chance to escape the noose. Our forces are fighting the Huntarians and the Cassiopean Galaxy in the quest to liberate those nations from oppressive elements. We have men, but we need more. We always need more. Especially in the field of Black Ops and Psyops. This is where you come in.

I am forming a regiment of your ilk called the "Dare Death Squads." These are special shock units that will harness your powers to launch special missions behind enemy lines. These missions are dangerous, and require the kind of misantrhropic and amoral individuals you are. If you succeed in these missions, you may yet earn your freedom, your evil natures reformed in the process or otherwise subordinated to the greater Socialist good."

She then motioned to the Marines, and had them raise their rifles at the men's heads.

"The other option is to be shot, serving out the proper sentence for war criminals. Which is it to be? Who will join?"

All of the men raised their hands. There were some nervous persons, but the sight of the Marines powering up their railguns made them raise their hands ramrod straight.

THe litham analysis revealed an unusual weapon.

Generally, it looked like an elongated kukri knife, halfway between a kukri and a cutlass. It had a hilt like a Katana, and a special crystal identified as being bone from a local creature that had Force-channeling properties, called kosan. It was generally good for slashing, not thrusting.

The designs differed. There were those with one crystal in them, and a steel blade, forged in a manner similar to that of European swords. They often had writing etched into them, and only a few seemed to be heirlooms. This indicated that they had lesser performance than other models, but were more common and less expensive. And, they still worked well as a slashing weapon. Many were captured from lower-level Ustashi.

Then there were those that were made with a kosan crystal and two inlays of kosan running throughout the blade. These were more efficent at conducting Force energy and the blades made from more durable materials to shield the kosan inlays. They were not as good at slashing, due to the shape and the extra kosan inlays on it.

The last kind was a litham with kosan shards forged into the blade and three to seven smaller crystals studded in the hilt and blade. This offered the best all around performance, but it seemed to be the most expensive, rarely seen on all but officers and the rich due to the expensive processes needed to make it....

As the building of the Warp Gate was going on (ND advisors worked with local engineers and scientists, teaching them how to build these things), traders began delivering tech to the planet. Replicators, Singularity reactors, everything the New Dornalians took for granted, was catching on with the locals, whose demand for modern things was insatiable. Cities seemed to chnge overnight-Edwardian exteriors often began to house HoloNet cafes, factories that were once taking several days to make enough steel with open hearth process to satisfy an order now took hours and even minutes hosted industrial-size replicators, with girders replicated and fed with scrap iron to speed the already quick process along. Overnight, the rich found themselves purchasing private shuttles, just to go on joyrides. And the automobile jumped 500 years of technological prowess in a week.

Meanwhile, scientists from New Dornalia were busy analyzing the native life...and People's Acolytes were analyzing the litham sword. Plus, Junko Tadanobu's orders said something about beginning recruitment of local Force users in the People's Acolytes. This was begun, and while recruitment was successful, a scary trend emerged. Ex-Ustashi were beginning to join the Acolytes, prized for the Force prowess. Junko thought for a moment, and then ordered all of the Ex-Ustashi to be all sent to a secret base in Siberia. There, she had plans for them.

--------

Harold and the others, meanwhile, were at work. Five-six systems were scanned, and several habitable planets were found. Thankfully, only a few hosted any sign of life, and these were primitive tribes. Marked and designated, they moved on, scanning and finding mineral rich planets and gas giants worth tapping.

The Warp Gate was finished, and traffic began between New Dornalia and Hajarra, with the flow of technology, outside investors, and others coming into Hajarra to invest in this new market (and escape some very interesting local tax and incorporation laws in New Dornalia). The flow of technology began to change Hajarra, and now, though the cities and the buildings still looked Edwardian, the clothing and the means of conducting daily business were not. A few daring local women broke traditional dress codes and began wearing the jeans and t-shirts of the outsiders, and the first Hajarran TV station began broadcast....plus, the local CU Forces began to resemble New Dornalian Army, day by day. The Commissariat of Science, meanwhile, had a field day studying the wildlife and the flora.

The Explorers, meanwhile, had finished mapping out a large part of the area they now dubbed "New Monterrey." They sent word out to the Government that the territories were open for business. Since Hajarra was obsensibly semi-independent, a New Dornalian HQ was established on one of the habitable planets, now dubbed Farrellsville in honor of the expedition's leader. With warp gates and Hyperspace express routes planned for this area, the government, already at a wartime footing, took charge of the area, deploying a full fleet to ensure that nobody would touch New Monterrey and sending engineers to begin building Warp Gates and Mannerheim FTLi-equipped Narn-type Defense Platforms to be spread on the borders of the new annexation. And, slowly but surely, settlers were allowed in...