NationStates Jolt Archive

It hadn't been long ago that the first Kallan and Co. Inc. computers had been imported into Areik. Now they were everywhere. Airports, government facilities, prisons, banks. A large part of the country's economy was controlled by Kallan Computers.

And every single Kallan computer shipped into that unsuspecting country contained a sleeper code, hardwired into it. Nothing more was required than to flip a switch, or to send a short databurst, and every Kallak computer in Anreik was under Mr. Kallan's command.

Mr. Kallan did this now. The first thing he did was to divert huge sums of cash into various secret bank accounts. Second, he diverted other huge sums of money into the accounts of Amnesty International, and various other charities.

Then he sent all of the Kallan Computers in Anreik, except for a select few into stasis. The few that he left on? Mostly computers in prisons, controlling the opening and closing of cell doors. He opened all of them.

Now, to sit back and watch the game.

bump

Control Center - Kumla Prison - Anreik

-"Hey, what the fu.. Did you touch my computer?" The day-shift security chief of the prison looked puzzled as his monitor went black.
-"No, sir, I did nothing. Mine shut itself off, too. Maybe a power failure.."
-"But the lights are still working, that can't be it." They were interrupted by a prison guard looking absolutetly terrified.
-"The locks, sir, they are all malfunctioning."
-"Hm, peculiar. Well, just lock the cell block doors then. It doesn't really matter if the cells are locked or not as long..."
-"But sir, those locks are out too. The cells, the cell blocks, the security doors, the main gate; everything is open. We can't lock any of them"
-"What!? Are you serious?" The guard only nodded in response, still catching his breath.
-"Arm yourselves, call the prison supervisor, and the police. Make them surround the prison!" The chief's assistant lifted the phone to his ear but quickly got pale.
-"The telephone is out, sir." They all looked at each other for a few moments, paralysed and waiting for some miracle to help them. None came. Instead, a mob of prisoners stormed the control center of the maximum security prison, led by the renowned mafia boss Dejan Vuspic. He spoke:
-"Well boys, it seems we've got ourselves some hostages"

And so it was that the (due to governmental focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment) understaffed prison was seized by those it was built to keep imprisoned. The phenomenon repeated itself at every prison facility in the nation.

Cockpit - Flight 008251 - Air space above Anreik City

-"We can't reach the Control Tower, seems our voice communication is out"
-"Oh well, never mind. I've already sent a digital request to land, the answer should reach us anytime now. It's handled automatically nowadays." As the 2nd pilot spoke, their computer screen changed and he smiled.
-"See, I told you so."
-"Hm, isn't that odd. There's no planes at all on the ground. That must be really rare."
-"Yeah."

Five minutes later:
-"Shit, shit, shit!!! Abort, abort! There's an aircraft on that runway! Abort!

Runway - Anreik City International Airport - Anreik

Ground handling team echo was just taking its morning break when one of them looked up to the skies.
-"What on earth is going on? He can't land here, this runway is occupied. He isn't turning back either." The worker threw a quick glance at the control tower.
-"Man, they're looking all fired up up there." The personnel in the control tower could be seen running around like wild, pointing through the windows and glancing hopefully at something on their desks.
-"Hey, that plane really isn't turning around. We've gotta get out of here." He was just seconds to late. The team managed to get out of the blast radius but was hit by the shock wave and thrown into the nearby terminal building with lethal power. A passengar craft had just went down, killing 150 passengers, 7 crew members, and the 5 ground handling workers.

Norrmalm Bank - Anreik City - Anreik

The clerk had no idea of what had just happened. Suddenly the computer had stopped responding to him, and doing things on its own. Sums that would keep him and his entire family in the sweet spot for hundreds of years had been transfered from private accounts to some unknown foreign account and some other accounts that he knew he had seen before but could not quite identify. Then it had gone black. He could see in his boss' face that the story was not very convincing.
-"You realise we are going to call the police. I don't know exactly what you have done, but I must say, it is one of the worst cases of attempted fraud I have ever seen.
-"But..." It was only a few minutes later that the bank's executive realised that the poor clerk was not the only one. It seemed that every computer with access to the accounts had done the same thing, only on different accounts. The executive sat down, put his head in his palms, and started crying.

Presidental Office - Anreik City - Anreik

-"Mr President, it seems every computer in the building has ceased functioning. We do not know why. I tried to call our system administrator, but the telephones are down. I came to you as quickly as possible." The receptionist glanced nervously on the President. He was known to have one of the worst tempers of the nation, and she feared she might get the blame.
-"It's alright, it's not your fault." It seems my reputation as a hot-head is quite amusing, he thought to himself. He continued:
-"Would you please run down to Security and tell them to send a team to my room, another team to guard the front entrance, and commence a search of the building immediately?"
-"Yes, sir." She ran away momentarily, worried and confused by his orders. Was an attack imminent? Meanwhile, President John Johansson was thinking hard. What could cause a collapse of all computers in the building. Server crash? No, they hade more backup servers than lightbulbs at this place. Power failure? Obviously not, as everything else seemed to work. Except the telephones. Ah, he got it now, they too were dependent on computers. This could be serious...

"Sir?" said a technician who was monitoring the frequency of Kallan Computer use in Anreik.

The manager came over. "What is it?"

"Sir, all of our computers in Anreik just went off."

"What? All at the same time?"

"No, sir. A handful of them went off a few minutes later."

"Call our tech support center there."

"Sir, I tried. I can't get a connection. There were several major phone companies using our computers..."

"Than use the satellite line, idiot."

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."
***
A car pulled up in front of the Presidential Office. A man jumped out and snapped at the nearest security guard. "I need to see the president. I'm from Kallak and Co. I think he'll want to see me."

bump

bump

President John Johansson had acted rapidly. These kind of situations was where he excelled. Stress did not affect him in any noticeable manner. After realising that virtually every computer, all the new ones at least, in the country had been knocked out, he quickly mobilised the emergency programme. Now he was waiting for his first meeting with the Government after the crash to begin. Gustav Albinsson (the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces), Erik Holmgren (Minister of the Interior), Alexander Danwall (Government-employed computer technician), and Laura Kalmari (the President's secretary), were those who would play the most important roles in his coming actions, Johansson thought. Many others were present: all the ministers, several more military leaders, and a few speciel people whom the President relied on for advice in difficult situations.

Everyone was present five minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin, so Johansson decided to start early. He clared his throat:
-"Welcome, friends, to Bunker 003. Some of you have been here before, some have not. This is from where the nation will be ruled for the duration of this crisis, if nothing out of the ordinary happens." The President smiled and attempted to look as if these things happened all the time and were simply routine by now. They were not. This was the first major challenge he had had as a President.
-"My trusted secretary will provide you with a briefing over what has happened since.." He looked at his watch "..eight hours ago. Please, Laura, go ahead." The cute woman brought up a whiteboard scribbled with notes.
-"We have several working computers, but I'll do it the old-fashioned way, just in case" she said with a barely noticeable blush on her cheeks.

Gustav Albinsson (Supreme Commander) listened carefully to the secretary's speech. She spoke for almost two hours, and Mr Albinsson was sure to write down as much as possible. He would have some busy days ahead of him, he realised. The gist of what had happened so far he summed up like this:
041002: Virtually all computers in the entire nation shut off
041004: All locks in all prisons become unlocked.
041005: Computers in prisons shut off
041053: Distress call from Kumla Prison recieved: 13 staff members held hostage, prison under control of Dejan Vuspic
041103: Passenger aircraft crash into other aircraft when landing on Anreik City International Airport. More than 160 dead
041109: Computer technicians begin analising some of the computers
041115: Reports from various state departments begin to reach the Government HQ through means of couriers
041122: Banks report to be paralised and having been robbed of huge sums
041129: President orders confiscation of satellite phones and disperse these among the most important governmental functions
041157: Two trains crash into eachother between Anreik City and Ketias Meir.
041242: President orders all public transportation too cease
041351: President abandons office for Bunker 003
Here Albinsson has simply wrote: more and more and more and more incidents, telephone net down, industrial accidents, reduced capacity of hospitals, more train crashes, another airplane down... over 300 dead so far
041549: Computer technicians believe to have found malicious code, origin is still unknown
041612: Young people riot in major cities. Police efforts uncoordinated due to lacking communications: several patrols at one scene, none at another.
041645: Prison breakers of Kumla fire upon the police. Three policemen killed, another two wounded.
041708: Prison breakers pillages city of Kumla
041800: Meeting in Bunker 003

The relatively young Supreme Commander sighed. This was a complete mess.

President John Johansson spoke again:
-"This is the present situation. Nothing works. Everything from government offices to traffic control systems, via banks and library registries, is down. Mr Danwall, expert computer technician, please give us your report"
-"Yes, Mr President. I have been working on one of the computers since this morning, and I have found something terrible. It seems that malicious code has been lying dormant in the computer for quite some time, and upon activation this morning someone, we don't know who yet, resumed complete control of the computer. We have not yet confirmed that this is the case on all computers, but it is very likely so. Only the best of the best could pull something like this off. My guess is that either the very elite of the international hacker community, or special tele-ops. forces of another nation is behind this." It was quiet.

-"This is very serious. I need you all to understand that." The President had a grave look on his face when saying this.
-"What to do now, then? Well, first of all, you Ms Kalmari, will contact Kallan and Co Inc. HQ, asking for a solution to the problem. After all, they have supplied more or less all of our machines. Make sure you send them a computer too. One without sensitive information. After this, we can trust no one."
-"Yes, sir"
-"You'll do that as quickly as possible, and after that, you will be on public relations duty. From now on, you are responsible for information to the public. I will appear on national television tonight and tomorrow morning, at least. Make sure to have a working TV studio ready for me."
-"Yes, sir." Laura Kalmari was surprised at her rise in importance, but mostly she was happy. She would not disappoint the President.
-"After my appearance tonight, martial law will be in effect. Curfew from midnight tonight and 21:00 following nights. People without an errand are obliged to stay home, no gatherings of four people or more are to be permitted. You know the drill, Mr Albinsson. You and your forces will ensure this is kept. From now until I proclaim otherwise, the police as well as the military are under your command. Is that clear?
-"Yes sir"
-"And then we have the prison breakers... My suggestion is a radical one. Those who lay down their weapons and agree to fall back into line will be freed of their sentences and set free. Those that do not will be shot. Comments?" Upon hearing this several of the attendants had objections.
-"Killing people, isn't that a bit.. vulgar, Mr President?"
-"Do you realise how many dangerous individuals will be set free, Mr President?"
-"Yes, you are both right. But I have a feeling this crisis will prove to be something more than we can grasp at the moment." Several still disagreed with the President, but since he was the one in charge, they accepted his decision.
-"Lastly, Erik Holmgren will work day and night until all major government institutions are operational again. Then you may rest for a night before continuing with the rest"
-"Yes sir." The Minister of the Interior sighed mentally and added "buy much coffee" to his mental to-do list, before remembering that many shops would be closed the following days.

-"Oh, I almost forgot. Mr Albinsson, put the military forces on Red Alert. If this is the work of another nation, I think we are on the brink of invasion"

Ms Lara Kalmari worked fervently on a telegram to Kallan and Co Inc. She had secured a military jet to deliver it and a malfunctioning computer to their HQ:

To: CEO of Kallan and Co Inc.
From: Temporary Public Information Minister of Anreik
Subject: URGENT! Malfuntioning computers URGENT!
Dear sir,
shortly after 10:00 this morning, our nation was struck by a great calamity: all our computers ceased working. Given your company's near-monopoly on computer manufacturing in Anreik, it is only natural that we turn to you to explain this. We need answers: who did this, why did they do it, and how do we make our computers operational again? I have included one of the computers in this delivery for you to analyse. We hope to hear from you as soon as possible.
Thank you in advance

Laura was satisfied. Concise and efficient. Now she needed to find a working TV-studio...

The President looked sharp. His loyal receptionist had saved the day with some rouge and some other womanly product in his face, the President did not know its name. It seemed to work though, as he looked much more happy with life than he really was.

-"Going live in 5..4..3..2..1..LIVE!"
-"Good evening citizens. As you have undoubtly recognised, our dear nation is in crisis. Something, or someone, has deliberately put our entire society out of play through sabotaging virtually every computer in the country. This had led to several tragedies. You have heard about them earlier today: the aircraft crashing, the trains colliding, the drill accident at the northern mines. The list is long, and it has not been a day yet.

Because of this, I ask you all to be careful. Public transportation has been disbanded temporarily as it's too reliant on computers. I ask you all to go back to the old ways, before the computer revolutionised our society. This is a daunting task, but it is how it must be done until we have resolved the issue. Work will suffer, of course, but you must all agree with me when I claim that human lives are more valuable than some productivity figures. Furthermore, I ask you all to respect the curfew that I have decided upon. Martial law is proclaimed. This is not to deny you any of your rights, but to protect you. Criminal gangs have already sacked one city and killed several people. Police and military personnel will patrol the streets to ensure your safety. I ask you all to follow their instructions. We must stand united in the face of this disaster.

That was all, for now. Remember, be careful, and respect the authority of police and military. If we stand together, we can overcome this."

The broadcast was ended with the national anthem playing while footage of patrolling military personnel was shown. "Oh well, at least the message got through", the President thought to himself.

To: Temporary Public Information of Anreik.
From: Mr. Kallan
Subject: Re: URGENT! Malfuntioning computers URGENT!
Dear sir,
We are currently analysing the computer. We have found a malicious code hardwired into the machine, but have yet to determine its source. All personell who have the wherewithal to do this are under investigation. If you desire, we can ship Mark VI computers to all vital government offices.
***
A smile played about Mr. Kallan's lips as he watched the news report. It hadn't mentioned whether they'd found the override code on their own, but then, they could hardly be expected to admit they'd been had on that level.

He wondered idly whether they would take his offer of the Mark VI computers. He somehow doubted it. After all, they hadn't shown any sign of stupidity as of yet. Well, perhaps putting the majority of their eggs in his basket, but he hadn't given them any reason to suspect him. He had been sure to make sure that was so.

-"Mr President! The reply from Kallan and Co just came in!" President John Johansson quickly eyed through the telegram. He was tired after a night of bad sleep, and hardly in his best shape.
-"Hm, nothing new... I'll deal with that later. Thank you Laura", he said tiredly. Laura was busy, handling not only the information to the public and the contacts with Kallan and Co, but also retaining her role as his secretary, but she was only happy to play an important role. She was full of energy.

Moments after she left the immediate area surrounding the simple wooden table labelled "the office", Alexander Danwall popped in:
-"News?"
-"No, Mr President, just reporting on a regular basis as you ordered. It seems whoever is responsible has put quite some energy into covering their traces. Delusive traces leading nowhere, fake planted evidence, and the sorts. I guess you wouldn't understand if I went into technicalities..
-"No, I certainly wouldn't. Thank you Alexander. Back to work" The President dismissed the computer techinician with a wave of his hand.

Next in turn was Minister of the Interior, Erik Holmgren:
-"Sir, we have managed to restore a minor part of the telephone system through upgrading a few antiquated computers and replacing the malfunctioning ones. It is very sensitive to large traffic flows, though, so nothing to count on in the long run..."
-"Still a success though. Keep up the good work"
-"Yes, sir"

Last to report directly to him was the Supreme Commander. Gustav Albinsson appeared to have had a long night.
-"Anything to report?"
-"Not much, sir. A few violations of the curfew here and there, but nothing serious. We have pinpointed the location of those prison breakers who sacked Kumla and are ready to act."
-"Good. For those particular convicts, there is no need to inform them of the possibility to lay down their weapons. But that stays between you and me." The President was tired, and not in the mood of letting the nation's most dangerous criminals run free. It was a good opportunity to rid society of some who didn't belong there.
-"Yes, sir"
-"Dismissed"

John Johansson leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He decided to look at that telegram from Kallan again, and then try to get some sleep. People could always wake him up if, he thought. And he was surrounded by competent people who could handle themselves. After all, most of them were his personal friends or similar since before he became president.

"Hm, a few fresh and working computers would be nice to have..." he thought to himself. "But still, I can't say I'm inclined to trust any computer at the moment. If they managed to break into every computer in the nation before, I bet they could do it again. I could always ... however." His thoughts scurried around in his head in a manner not at all suitable for decisionmaking. "If I accept some Mark IV computers, and divert personnel to thoroughly scan them and set up powerful firewalls... No, that wont work. We need to focus on finding the source of this malicious code, and I don't believe we have the know-how to construct firewalls powerful enough. Not without crippling the function of the computer..."

-"Laura?"
-"Yes, sir?"
-"Contact Kallas and Co and tell them we are grateful for their help, but refuse their offer of new computers. And if anyone needs me, I'll be over in this corner." While Laura went about executing his orders, he walked over to a corner, laid down and rolled himself into a ball, and fell asleep immediately.

Telegram to Kallas and Co Inc:
The Democratic Republic of Anreik are grateful for your assistance and appreciate you as a valuable friend in this time of need.

Without diminishing the greatness of your actions, we reject your offer of sending new computers.

Colonel Ljungqvist surveyed the maps he had in front of him. The area was well suited for ambushes like this one. The prison breakers led by Dejan Vuspic were holding up in a two story building just outside the city of Kumla, which they had partially burned the previous day.

Colonel Ljungqvist had quite some forces to play around with: two attack helicopters, two heavy machine guns, three light machine guns, five snipers, and twenty eager soldiers from the urban warfare company. His adversaries were estimated to be between forty and fifty of the most ruthless criminals of Anreik, but they only had access to simple pistols and a few shotguns, and were probably low on ammo by now. It would be a slaughter.

The Colonel had already placed his snipers in good positions on nearby rooftops. The machine guns were spread out to cover three of the buildings four sides, and the soldiers woud storm the building from the last side. That was after the building was shot to pieces by the helicopters, though.
-"Let's do this" he said to his signalist, who immediately sent out orders.

Within minutes, the two helicopters hovered at a distance from the building. Their rockets ripped open two of the second story walls, revealing a few prison breakers. These were cut down by sniper and machine gun fire. The next batch of rockets caused parts of the second story to collapse. It seemed like the enemies were realising they were being attacked now, as scattered shots began coming out of the building. The machine guns fired relentlessly whenever a convict came within their line of sight, as did the snipers and the soldiers.

Seconds after the colonel ordering the soldiers forward, they advanced on the building. Seconds after this, molotov cocktails hit them from inside the building and several fell to the ground, clawing their burnt flesh. The firing from inside the building intensified and soon some convicts tried to escape the building. They were easily shot down within a few metres. The soldiers retreated, taking with them their wounded.

-"That's it" said the colonel "leave no stone standing, no man alive!"

The best of an hour later, the building collapsed after suffering more rocket fire, a few fragmentation grenades, and thousands of rounds from machine gun and assault rifle alike. The colonel personally executed the last surviving convicts, most of them through kicking them in the head while they lay in a pool of blood.

"Not stupid at all, are they?" Mr. Kallan had a personal computer, that everyone knew was the most secure in the nation, quite possibly the world. After all, it was common knowledge that it had the cyberspace equivilant of the Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall, and the Trojan Walls all rolled into one. Even if anything somehow got past that, there were virus scans every couple of miliseconds, with a constantly self updating database.

It was often used to play solataire. Currently, however, it showed an image of a chess board. It helped Kallan think.

Kallan sent the following message.

Telegram to The Democratic Republic of Anreik:
I understand your reluctance to rely on computers, considering the current circumstances. I also wish to make it known to you that we have made considerable progress towards finding the individual responsible for your troubles. I cannot go into any greater detail here, because I fear that the one responsible may be monitoring our transmissions.

Mr. Kallan.

There. Not so much as a fib in that statement. He knew exactly who was responsible, and he was indeed reading all of these transmissions.

-"Mr President, wake up!" If there had been something less than a beautiful woman appearing before his eyes when he was woken up, John Johansson might have become angry. He remained calm, however, as Laura Kalmari spoke:
-"I'm sorry to wake you up, but we have recieved a telegram from Mr. Kallan. I believe you want to see this." Still rubbing sleep out of his eyes, Johansson read through the document.
-"That's great news. Great, great news. Get me ... Torbjorn Lindell"
-"Right away, sir." Torbjorn Lindell normally worked in the Ministry of Education. He was, however, one of Johansson's favourites. Mr Lindell was a a good thirty years older than Johansson (i.e. nearing retirement age) and renowned in the leading circles of Anreik for his odd charm and ability to make others feel inferior simply through showing up. It was rumoured he had other, exclusive, talents as well, but no one really knew except for Johansson.

-"I came as quickly as I could. What do you need?"
-"Torbjorn... I need you to go the Kallas and Co Inc. HQ in The Aeson, and find out from Mr Kallas who is behind the attack"
-"Sounds simple enough"
-"Indeed"
-"So why am I going?"
-"... I need someone of your abilities. Not because I think it will be necessary, but just in case. Use your judgement. Have you recieved all reports as I ordered?"
-"I have. And I think you and I are onto the same thing"
-"Mm... Now, go there, I've got a jet standing by, and find out what he knows. You can judge for yourself whether you have time for sightseeing or not." Torbjorn nodded and left for the airport. Johansson rubbed his chin and thought for a while, then left to find Alexander Danwall to see how he was coming with his analysis. On his way out he told Laura to contact Kallan and Co Inc and tell them a representative was on his way. She fired up the old computer and sent the message. It took ages.

OOC: I'm out for the night, got to catch at least six hours of sleep before work...:( But I think we've gone on to a good start, very nice RP on your part

President John Johansson had just recieved great news, and was pondering on how to act on them. It seemed like the two nations of Fathor and Velkya had found traces of evidence indicating that Kallan and Co was indeed the culprit. Furthermore, both nations had granted Anreik generous and well-needed aid packages with which restoration of society would continue more rapidly than before.

The President had already issued a telegram thanking Fathor and Velkya, in which he also offered Velkya control of Bromma Airport (just outside Anreik City), currently empty and non-operational buth guarded by the military. It remained to be seen how they would respond. Johansson was still not sure he could trust them, as nothing concerning Kallan's guilt had yet been proved, but he reckoned the odds were in his favour.

-"Sir, Mr Danwall is ready to report", Laura Kalmari announced.
-"Very well, let him forward." Alexander Danwall, head computer technician sat down opposite the President at the wooden table called "The Office".
-"I believe we have made a major breakthrough", he said and looked at the President.
-"A report reached me this morning, indicating that all affected computers come from Kallan's factory in Hagalund. All known non-Kallan computers are unaffected." Mr Danwall again looked at the President, but failed to notice any change in his face.
-"A few minutes ago, I reached the conclusion that the malicious code must have been hardwired into the mainframes at the manufacturing plant... indicating that Kallan and Co is indeed to blame." The President remained still even as Danwall completed his report.
-" ... I see. Thank you very much Mr Danwall ... Now, I need you to be very quite about this. Don't tell anyone you have identified the villain. Is that clear?"
-"Yes sir"
-"Your next task is to aid Mr Holmgren with the restoration process. Some Velkyan mainframes will be shipped in shortly. However, I want you just to prepare society to resume normal status, not actually do that. Keep the computers offline until I indicate otherwise. Given Kallan's computer expertise, we do not want to risk another attack"
-"Yes sir."

After sitting in his corner thinking hard about what to do next, Johansson asked his secretary:
-"Can you reach Torbjorn Lindell for me? He is on his way to Kallan and Co HQ to meet Mr Kallan."
-"Of course, Mr President." It took her almost twenty minutes to get Mr Lindell on the phone.
-"John? What do you want?"
-"It seems you and I were right. Take some time sightseeing while you are there, will you, Torbjorn?"
-"Of course"

The President walked back into his corner. He was not sure he was playing his cards right at the moment, but it seemed better to keep the knowledge of his adversary's identity secret, especially if that adversary was indeed Mr Kallan. The other solution would have been to officially ask to have Mr Kallan arrested and put to trial, either in the Aeson or in Anreik, but given the ease with which Mr Kallan had sabotaged an entire nation, Johansson thought he would be able to avoid Aesonic authorities without much effort. No, that was not the way to play this hand.

-"You are sure no one is able to listen in on us here, Gustav?" The President was sincerely worried as he adressed his Supreme Commander.
-"Yes, sir, absolutely sure. What is so important it has to be said ... here?"
-"... I've got orders for you. One, prepare a force to seize the Kallan and Co manufacturing plant in Hagalund. They should be ready to act on half an hour's notice, but Kallan must not suspect anything. Is that clear?"
-"Yes sir"
-"Good... Two, prepare a small team of the best of the best to infiltrate The Aeson and capture Mr Kallan himself. More information, maps of his estate, HQ etc are on the way. A timeframe for the operation will come later. Is that clear?"
-"Yes sir"
-"Good. We are going after Kallan you see. It must be him who's behind this. We are 99% sure."
-"Why not just go to the Aesonic government?"
-"We must keep Mr Kallan unaware of our knowledge of his guilt. Otherwise he'll just disappear. He is a sly fox, I have realised.."
-"I see.. Very well, your orders will be carried out with absolute discretion"

To: The Aesonic Government
From: President John Johansson of The Democratic Republic of Anreik
Subject: Kallan and Co Inc

The people of the Democratic Republic of Anreik are anxious to see that the information provided by Velkyan authorities in their "Official Statement from the Allied Union Grand Senate (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11090126&postcount=8)" is acted upon properly by your nation. The harm done to our nation is immense and beyond measure, and we firmly believe that a complete and objective investigation of the company delivering the attacked computers is in order, and that your nation is the best authority to carry out such an investigation.

Signed
President John Johansson

-------------------------------------------------
Johansson hoped the telegram was neither too blatantly accusing Kallan and Co or too lenient on them to arouse suspiscion.

Torbjorn Lindell, on his way to meet Mr Kallan after the latter claimed to have found traces of the guilty part in the Anreikian disaster, stood outside the airport, looking a bit lost. He had just spoken to the President, who had urged him to go sightseeing. Torbjorn knew exactly what that meant. It would have to wait, though.

He catched a cab, telling the driver to head for Kallan and Co headquarters, and got going, afraid of arriving late to the meeting he has scheduled with Mr Kallan.

The cab pulled up in front of the Kallan and Co building, one of the largest skyscrapers in Aeson City. The doorman, dressed in a uniform that would have bankrupted some third world countries, stepped forward and opened the cab door.

"Sir, Mr. Kallan is waiting to see you," he announced, bowing to Lindell.
***
The following letter was sent over a telegraph line to avoid any chance of it's being intercepted by Kallan.

To: President John Johansson of The Democratic Republic of Anreik
From: Empress Chandra
Subject: Kallan and Co Inc

Two of Aeson City's finest are currently working the case. We expect a progress report shortly, and will be sure to keep you informed.
***
Kallan smiled as he viewed the security footage of the man who had come to meet him. If this was not the endgame, if this man had not been sent to kill or capture him, he would at least provide the impetus for Anreik to do so.

Till now, Kallak had held all the cards. He was interested to see how the game would progress once his adversary had a chance to take the initiative.

Torbjorn Lindell walked into the huge building a bit awed, as he was not used to the kind of superstructures found in this city. A young boy showed him into the elevator and before long he stood outside an office obviously belonging to someone important. He stepped in, and was welcomed by Mr Kallan.
-"Greetings Mr Kallan. I am Torbjorn Lindell, sent by President John Johansson to recieve the information you possess on the guilty party to the crisis in Anreik." He was trying to be as formal as he could, that made him less nervous. If Mr Kallan thought something was the matter, it would be too late.

The man smiled at Lindell.

"Certainly, Mr. Lindell. I have the information here." He patted a briefcase But first..." He walked over to the security camera nestled unobtrusively in a corner of the office and removed one of the wires, "I'm not sure as to the extent that the individual responsible has compromised the system. But we can talk privately now."

He set the briefcase on the table, and opened it up. It contained sheets of documents, binary code printouts, and digital images of the interior of a computer.

"I don't know how well versed you are technologically, so I'll summarize this for you. Someone, who's name I won't mention here, altered the designs between when I approved them and when the machines were actually manufactured. The result was a command hardwired into the computers. This allowed the perpetrator to gain complete control of the computers. We're currently running diagnostics on all of our computers, but as far as we know, the main target was your nation."

-"Oh, I believe I can understand the gist of it" Mr Lindell replied, and started eyeing through the papers. He was painfully aware that Mr Kallan had probably figured out he knew nothing of computers, but kept the show up. While skimming through the documents he, discreetly and without Mr Kallan noticing, placed a tiny black plastic thingie in his hand and waited patiently for Kallan to look another way. The opportunity came while the latter looked out through the window momentarily, and Lindell quickly fastened the plastic box on the downside of the table. Mr Kallan did not seem to have noticed.

-"Hm.. I guess you are right, I am not very skilled at computer technics.. So, I still need to find out who is behind this. You have hinted that you know of the perpetrator's identity"

OOC: If the black thing is not a listening device, let me know and I'll edit this post.

The man pressed his hand to the side of his head for a moment, and then smiled and glanced around. "One moment." He produced an interesting looking device from a desk drawer, and set in on the desk. After a moment it began beeping. He moved it around the desk, and it began beeping more or less loudly depending on where he moved it. It beeped loudest when directly over the black thing.

He sighed and removed it. "I was afraid of that. Even in my own office I'm not secure." He touched the device in his hand to the black device, and a spark leapt. He tossed it to Linden. "Think of it as a souvenier. Just a lump of scrap metal and wires now. Now, as to the identity of the perpatrator.

Kallan and Co Inc. was founded by myself and two partners. Bartimeaus is dead now, heart attack, tragic thing. I believe that the final partner, Faust, is responsible for this outrage. He's the only one in a high enough position to interrupt the design in that way."

Mr Lindell was puzzled at first. He blushed inside, but quickly turned his attention elsewhere. The mission was suddenly thrown into disarray. "Do your research next time", he thought to himself. How many times had he not stressed the importance of ... Oh well, things were as they were. He'd have to improvise.

-"But.. why? It can't be as simple as money, can it? You guys are making some major dough here, why would he steal from us?" Lindell dropped his formality temporarily.
-"And how come no one at the factory noticed?"

"I confess, I'm not aware of Faust's motives. He always was an avid chess player. Perhaps this is simply the next level of the game for him. Or perhaps he felt the need to make a more personal profit. Am I correct that there were also large donations made to various charity groups? Perhaps it was even a crime of philanthropy."

Considering the ease with which Mr Kallan had discovered the small cell phone bomb, Lindell felt it would be futile to try to place a tracking device on his person as he had originally planned. He had to change tactics completely.

-"Very well. It seems the only one able to answer my questions is this Faust character himself. Do you know where I can find him?" Lindell tried to seem innocent. After all, he was not sent to kill anyone like back in the day, he was merely preparing the ground for having someone abducted.

The man sighed and shook his head. "I'm afraid Mr. Faust completely dropped off the radar shortly after the initial crash. That's actually what initially made me suspicious." He glanced at his watch. "Oh. It's time for lunch. I took the liberty of making reservations at the Diplomat's Cafe. I hope you don't mind."

This last remark made Mr Lindell light up inwardly. Maybe his plan could be carried out as planned, with a few well-chosen amendmends.

-"Not at all, not at all. In fact I am quite hungry. I didn't have time for breakfast before boarding the plane, and I really hate air plane food.. You know how it is."

Mr Lindell now acted out one of his amendments:

-"By the way, I hope you don't mind, but it would really make me much calmer if you would carry this on your person at all times." He handed over a tiny tracking device.
-"As a sign of your trustworthiness. You really don't have to worry, it's just a short-range tracking device. It means I'll be able know in which direction you can be found, when within 50m of you." That was a lie. Sure, it was considered short-range, but the device provided coordinates to a reciever device located up to 1km away (under perfect conditions, although they never said that in the adverts..).

The man smiled broadly. "Of course not. Although I doubt I'll get further away than the restroom." He placed the tracking device in his pocket. Mr. Kallan watched quizically. That was an interesting development. The man was definitely planning something. He did hope that his puppet would come out of this alive. Ah, well. Faust still took his orders after all. He could continue the game, even if he was publicly dead.
***
The Diplomat Cafe
***
"One of my favorite restaraunts," confided the man as he grinned flirtatiously at one of the pretty waitresses. "And the food's not bad either." He chuckled and said to the waitress, "I'll have the usual. I'm not sure whether my friend here is ready to order yet."

OOC: what exactly is the usual? It would be good to know for a future post...

-"I'll have whatever he is having" Mr Lindell retorted, while he too smiled at the waitress. For completely different reasons, though. Now, if he could only place that darn-expensive tiny little sucker of a tracking device in his "friend"'s food, or drink, it would slip down easily. Sure, it would come out the other way within 12 hours or so, but that would give him enough time to compare the readings from the two tracking devices. If they corresponded, the man would not have thrown away the device Lindell gave him and he could most likely be trusted, and if not, Lindell would call in the cavalry.

OOC: The puppet's usual? He usually gets an extra large slice of mushroom and anchovie pizza, and a small glass of wine. But it won't really matter, shortly. <.<

IC: "You know," said the man conversationally, "This really is a fascinating place. They serve all sorts of diplomats and foreign envoys. I also come here quite often. In fact, I'm one of the most frequent costumers. That's why when I asked if I could rent the building for the day, they said yes."

He paused a moment to let this sink in. "Mr. Lindell, you placed some sort of explosive device in my office. I'm sure that the Aesonic police will want to talk to you about that."

There was a brief flurry of motion, which resulted in every one in the restaraunt, from the cute waitress the man had smiled at, to the little old lady sitting in the corner, pointing a gun at Mr. Lindell.

"Now, where's that pizza?"

"Here we go" thought Mr Lindell and smiled. This presented an intriguing dilemma. Should he sacrifice himself to kill Mr Kallan, or allow himself to be taken alive? The most important thing right now was to make the President aware of how things had developed.

-"Just one question, if you don't mind." Lindell kept smiling
-"Will you kill me, torture me, lock me up, or do a combination?"

"I myself am not going to do anything to you," replied the man calmly. "The Aesonic Police, I would imagine, are going to detain you while a deal is worked out with your government. And since I have a feeling your president is not going to admit to sending you to kill me..." he paused, "I did mention that all transmissions from here, except the phone line that was used to call the police are being jammed, didn't I?"

Sirens could now be heard not too far in the distance.

-"You leave me no choice." Mr Lindell managed to sigh while still smiling, a quite remarkable feat by most standards. He was thinking more about weighting the problems for his President versus the information he would be able to glean from this incident, than that he was actually about to end his own life.

He suddenly hugged the man he thought to be Mr Kallan, and pushed a button on his belt. The first bullets from the guns all around him hit his body microseconds before the explosive charges on his stomach and chest went off, sending him (OOC: and here I quote several not so good movies) "all over the place". The blast extended only a meter and a half in every direction, but that, according to his pre-made plans, ought to be sufficient.

A most disappointing, though not unforseen development. Mr. Kallak manipulated the screen so that the black king's bishop disappeared from the board.
***
Encryption: Moderate
To: President Johansson
From: Empress Chandra
A man claiming to be in your employ has just killed a prominent figure in
Aesonic business. I believe that an explanation is in order.

The President was puzzled. Why had Torbjorn Lindell killed Kallan? Johansson simply assumed it was Kallan who'd been murdered, as killing someone else would have been plain stupid. Not at all like Torbjorn. Even worse, the fact that they seemed sure of his guilt indicated that he had either been arrested or killed himself.

-"Laura?"
-"Yes, Mr President?"
-"Get Mr Albinsson here immediately"
-"Yes Sir"

Encryption: Strong
To: Empress Chandra
From: President Johansson
It is correct that I have sent a representative to the headquarters of Kallan and Co Inc. At the time of his last report, he had just left the airport, and was headed for their HQ. After that I have not heard of him. Anreik, or I personally, have not in any way ordered this man to take belligerent action. My Foreign Minister is currently on a plane headed to your position, in order to clear things up. He will give you the best explanation we can give, although I am afraid it will provide little more information than this telegram.

"What a mess," said Detective Frey, looking over the remains of Linden and the man she believed to be Mr. Kallan. "Any clue why he did it?"

"Odds are something to do with the computer collapse. I think most of those computers were Kallans," replied her partner, "But you never know."

"Come on, we're supposed to be there when the Empress meets this diplomat of their's at the airport.

i like muffins.................:headbang:

OOC: Please don't spam my thread.

-"The Aesonic Times, this is Clara, what can I do for you?"
-"...Is your newspaper reaching nationwide in the Aeson?"
-"Yes, we are, we are the second largest..." She was interrupted:
-"Ok, listen carefully. I am a representative of a group calling itself 'Kill those Kapitalists', with a K in capitalists. We are a reactionary group working against the spread of capitalism and increased power of large corporations, and now the actions of Kallan and Co Inc. in Anreik have come to our knowledge, and we have decided to crush that corporation. A man belonging to our group recently killed himself and Mr Kallan, becoming our first martyr. More are to come. We were responsible for the killing of Mr Kallan, is that clear? (pause) Did you get everything I just said?"
-"Yes, yes, I did."
-"Good. Now spread this message to the rest of the Aeson. I'm sure the government would want to know before you publish it too."
(click)

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

Mårten Zetterberg left the governmental jet and headed for the exit. The Empress herself would meet him somewhere at the airport. Ah, that must be them. A large group of civilians had gathered around some security personnel who tried to hold them off. Mårten quickly glanced at the commercial aircraft that just landed, and hoped none of his fellow Anreikians on that plane had been compromised.

Several people clustered around Mårten. "Sir, what's your government's stance on the group calling themselves 'Kill those Kapitalists?'"

"Why hasn't anyone heard of this group before?"

"Does the group actually exist?"

"Did President Johansen condone this murder?"

Mårten looked uncomfortable, although he was quite happy on the inside:
-"I will give no answers now, people, but there will be a press conference later this afternoon where I will do my best to quench your thirst for knowledge. No further comments." He moved closer to the Empress and her security team, bowed before Chandra, and said:
-"I suggest we go somewhere private. We can talk on the way." He glanced symbolically on the crowd behind him, and the Empress consented. They quickly walked the short distance to the vehicles that would take them ... somewhere. Mårten didn't quite know where, but guessed it would be to some kind of governmental office.

-"Ok, there is not much to be said that you don't already know: Mr Lindell was sent her to speak with Mr Kallan on behalf of some evidence of the guilty party that he claimed to have found. Mr Kallan claimed it would be too risky to relay the information any other way. Lindell reported to us, or rather we called him and he gave a report, just after he had left the airport. At that time he was on his way to the Kallan and Co Headquarters for a scheduled meeting with Mr Kallan. After this, we have no idea of what happened, and we are as eager as you are to find out the truth." Before anyone seized the opportunity to interrupt, he added:
-"Mr Lindell has not been in active diplomatic duty for the last ten-fifteen years. He was called in simply because we felt we had no one else to spare in the face of our predicament. Actually, he has been working in the Ministry of Education for the last few years, without incidents.

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

Meanwhile, in his Bunker, President Johansson plotted his next move:
-"Mr Albinsson, initialise the next phase. It's time to hit them at home."

Rather than retreating from his exposed position after the death of Mr Lindell and Mr Kallan, he had chosen to move forward into unknown and dangerous territory, raising the stakes considerably while doing so.

"Yes," said the Empress calmly, "Before which he executed a specific type of diplomacy, no? In any case, Kallan and Co Inc. was more than happy to provide us with the video tapes," as she sat in a limosuine, she pressed a button which activated a screen. Gesturing for Mårten to join her, she pressed another button, and the footage began playing.

The cameras tracked Lindell as he entered the building, and a scanner in the elevator revealed the device. "Intelligence estimates that it was some sort of explosive, although exactly what type probably died with Mr. Lindell. I'm informed that at this point Mr. Kallan confirmed the ambush at the Diplomat Cafe. He'd set things up there before, just in case. Kallan was a very careful man."

The camera then showed the conversation between Kallan and Lindell, and then them leaving. "That's the last we have footage of. For whatever reason, Kallan had the cameras at the Cafe shut off ahead of time.

But this tape points out some disturbing things. Whatever the explosives concealed about Lindell's body, they were designed to be undetectable. Quite well, in fact. That indicates considerable funding.

And furthermore, I find it odd that Lindell made no mention of this Kill the Kapitalists group during his demise. At least, none of Kallan's people whom we interviewed reported anything.

In fact, that press call was the first we ever heard of this group. Convenient, isn't it, for them to spring from nowhere to clear you of any guilt?"

Mårten disregarded the remark about Mr Lindell's shady past. He didn't really know much about it anyway, except that he had changed identities a few times. It was surprising that the Aesonic governement knew anything about it, though. A growing suspiscion entered Mårten's mind: what if The Aeson was behind all this, not Kallan?
-"Intriguing... There is no audio to those pictures, I presume? No nosy secretary listening in near the door? Very well.. Regarding your suspiscion of Anreikian involvement, I must again stress our innocence. After all, what would we gain by killing him? All we needed from Mr Kallan was information, and that information died with Mr Lindell. Now, I suggest we focus on facts and try to get to the bottom of this." The vehicles came to a stop and Mårten prepared to disembark.

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

Meanwhile, outside the Kallan and Co Manufacturing plant in Hagalund, Anreik, Anreikian military were surrounding the complex. Several teams not part of the surrounding manouvre seemed to prepare for action, and a few trailers recently arrived from Kumla were parked in the background.

OOC: Less that they were behind it, more checking up on the man who blew away one of their most prominent business people. That and his familiarity with


It came out of the door like some demon fresh from hell. It tore us apart like nothing I've ever seen. With the helicopter down, none of our weapons could stop it. Out of all fifty of the men, only I survived.
***
A security guard poked his head out of the doorway. "Can I help you?" He asked.
***
"There is audio, as it so happens," replied the Empress. "You can view it at your pleasure, but to provide a brief synopsis, Kallan indicated his partner, a man named Faust. Faust, unfortunately, has completely vanished. We're preparing a raid of a mansion of his, but we have no idea what we'll find there."
***
The mansion was nestled in the mountains in the far north of The Aeson. Millitary police had been dispatched to the scene. A helicopter hovered overhead.

It was midnight, so no one noticed one shadow on the roof, not until the muzzle flash, the ear splitting bang and the fireball that engulfed the helicopter. Then the nightmare began. The French window, marked by the MPs as the primary point of entry shattered, revealing an eight foot tall powered exoskeleton, of the type that had recently been revealed to the public. As the MPs began firing, their bullets ricocheting off, it opened fire.

The devestating machine guns cut bloody swathes through the MPs ranks, until they broke and ran. Even then, the relentless fire continued, only one man escaping it by throwing himself down the mountain, and breaking an arm. It would be days before he would stagger, mumbling incoherantly and near death into the nearest town.

Mårten's cell phone began vibrating, he looked at it for a moment, and then jumped to life:
-"I am terribly sorry, but I must answer this. It's the President." After a few minutes conversation, where Mårten mostly listened, he put the phone down and spoke:
-"Son of a ... There has been a terrorist attack in Anreik. Members of the 'Kill those Kapitalists' group seized the Kallan and Co manufacturing plant, killing some and holding the rest of the staff hostage. When our military started surrounding the plant, the terrorists to escape but were all shot down. Just as our people began closing on the facility itself, several bombs went off, destroying most of the plant. All Kallan staff dead."

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

At the same time, somewhere in The Aeson, a very normal man, wearing gloves despite the warm weather, approached a letter box, made sure the street was deserted, and dropped a carefully sealed letter into the box. The next day, it would reach the Kallan and Co CEO, wreaking havoc. It contained only two things: a note saying 'A little present from Kill those Kapitalists' written in letters cut out from various newspapers, and a strange white powder. The most strange thing about the powder, was that it caused anthrax.

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

"This damn Lindell-affair is emptying our experimental weapons supplies", thought the President. "But what the heck, they were never going to be used anyway."

"Again, a little convienently timed, eh?" Asked the head of LOKI of General Blak.

"We've got satellite recon all over Anreik," replied Blak, "Damn bastards are lying through their teeth."

"We need to get the Empress out of there now! Fake a crisis or something, just get her away from that damned Anreikan!"
***
The page whispered something in the Empress's ear. Chandra nodded and turned to Mårten. "I'm sorry. I'm going to have to leave you to view the audio. Pressing matters of state," she smiled and left.

Mårten listened to the audio, then turned to the official standing next to him.
-"I'd like copies of both the footage and the audio, please." He recieved his copies, and left. Empress Chandra's sudden disappearance made him uncomfortable.
-"Tell the Empress I had to leave to attend the rapidly worsening situation at home", he told the receptionist as he leaved. Somehow, he didn't feel safe.

"He pulled out. Do you think he knows?"

"How could he? We were monitoring all transmissions in that area. Probably just a hunch."

"Keep him under surveillance until he's back in Anreik."
***
The telegram sent to the president of Anreik consisted of only four words and a name. But those four words would be quite sufficent.

The game goes on.

Kallan.

OOC: Exoskeleton?! Whoa, be careful not to get things out of hand..

President Johansson was worried. Either Mr Kallan was an ever more sly fox than he originally thought, or he had made a gargantuan mistake in identifying the one responsible for the attack on his nation. Johansson had just started preparing to back down from his aggressive and somewhat foolish attempts to avoid a diplomatic crisis, and fully focusing on the rebeuilding of his nation, when the fateful telegram reached him.

-"Laura, could you come over here for a second?" The President's secretary approached him.
-"I've got some things for you to fix. Firstly, I need you to notify Erik Holmgren I want a report on the status of our recovery, as soon as possible. Secondly, send someone trustworthy to The Aeson and make them anonymously tip the Aesonic police that the dead man wasn't in fact Mr Kallan. We'll see if they do anything about that, otherwise we'll have to take stronger action. Thirdly, instruct Mr Albinsson to disregard my last order and retain the military fully prepared. Fourthly, despite this, I believe we can lift the curfew. Make it happen, I know I can trust you." Laura smiled at him and moved over to the now fully operational telephone.

The President sat down and started thinking: "What could Mr Kallan possibly do to them, as long as they did not use and of the Kallan and Co computers?" He guessed they would soon find out.

OOC: Meh. Not planning to use them against you. Not unless this really escalates anyways.

IC:

"What the hell? Kallan's not dead? What?" Detective Frey shook her head. "Damn crank callers."

"What was that?"

"Said that Kallan's not dead."

"You sure it was just a crank call?"

"Yep. Lab report just got back. There were two sets of blood there. One was Kallan all right. The other one was presumably Linden."
***
"Have you found that bunker of their's yet?"

"No, sir." Answered the technician, "But we've identified major infrastrucure targets. Power plants and the like. We're ready to strike as soon as you give the order."

-"And that, Mr President, concludes my report."
-"Thank you Erik. You have done an amazing job." President John Johansson had just recieved the report from his Minister of the Interior on the nation's recovery. It seemed, thanks to foreign monetary aid exceeding $500 billion, (more importantly) foreign technial assistance and brand new mainframes, and the intense work of the Minister and his staff; like the nation was getting back on its feet. Sure, much still remained, but the entire state bureacracy had resumed a "normalised" level and the focus had recently been moved to reinstate industries labelled as important to society.

Next on the Presidental agenda was a meeting with all of his ministers. During this meeting, he planned to announce the schedule for the coming weeks, check so that no one had any problems within their areas of responsibility, and announce the lifting of martial law. Much like a normal weekly meeting, but still not quite. Much had happened lately: the nation had been inoperational for a few days, huge sums had disappeared from Anreikians' accounts, fatal disasters, riots, prison breaks, terrorism, near-diplomatic crisis, an unwanted assassination, and this was just part of it. John was tired. Very tired. Unless anyone expressed need for his assistance during the meeting, he would take a few days off. At least a few half-days. He would get drunk too. Yes, but not too drunk. He still remembered that embarrassing incident... And of course, he would meet new women. Of course... that's why he had lacked that vitalising spirit of his lately...

"Played for fools," muttered Frey as she stood outside the door.

"Not your fault, Frey," replied Mannius, knocking on the door. "You're not the one that bought the computers. Police! Open up!"

There was no response. Frey swore and kicked the door open. There was nobody inside the office. Frey and Mannius started going through various papers.

"Frey," said Mannius suddenly, his face going white. He held up a paper that had been partially shredded. "Listen. All I can make out is, 'the man who is publicly and legally believed to be Mr. Kallan..."

"Gods damn that bastard," said Frey, following it with a string of colourful metaphors. "We need to report this, now."
***
Encryption: Maximum
To: President John Johansson
From: Empress Chandra
We have recently recieved news that indicates that Mr. Kallan is still alive. Police are preparing to raid his private office, which has remained sealed since his apparent death.

Encryption: Maximum
To: Empress Chandra
From: President Johansson

Thank you for this information. Actions will be taken to prepare the nation for yet another attack. If there is anything we can do to help in the hunt for Mr Kallan, please let me know.

And ... I would appreciate if any breakthroughs in the Torbjorn Lindell case are shared with us. I am personally intruiged by his fall from grace.

The car had been sitting across from the elementary school all day. Shortly after the last of the teachers left, the children having been long gone, it exploded, taking the school with it. Fortunately, the only casuality was a janitor, who had been sweeping up the classrooms.

Although there was one other casualty. The Aesonic feeling of security. After all, that bomb could have easily gone off while the children were still in school. Suspicion fell on two groups. The Ehznoists, who were soon dismissed by the papers, since all of the school children, and the janitor, had been firm Aesonics, and the mysterious Mr. Kallan.

In any case, whoever it was had shown that they could strike anywhere, anytime, with apparent impunity.

-"Sir, terrorist attack in The Aeson today"
-"What? By whom? Not our people I hope, they should all be back by now?"
-"Mr Kallan is the main suspect. He seems to be on the slipperly slope leading to insanity, at least according to Aesonic newspapers. Our sources are trying to squeeze as much information as they can out of the police, but to no avail. They are very quiet about this. It is rumoured that some MPs were attacked when trying to search one of Mr Kallan's estates, but I doubt it. Whatever the case, mystery surrounds that man."
-"Yes, it does indeed ... and for some reason that mysterious man recently knocked our nation off its feet. We still don't know why."
-"All we can do is to wait for the Aesonic government to find something out. After this, they'll be as eager as us to get to him"

"Sir! We just got word from some village. One the men from the missing unit wandered in delerious. Keeps muttering something about a powered exoskeleton of all things." Said a paige.

"What the? This is serious. If Faust, or Kallan or whoever we're supposed to assume is responsible has powered exoskeletons... Empress, I'm afraid the time has come to clamp down on Kallan and Co."

"Yes," replied Chandra, "Freeze all assets, both company and personal for Kallan and Faust. I want them found, and I want them here."
***
Encryption: Maximum
To: John Johanson
From: A fellow player
There's been a lot of power going to Mr. Kallan's private offices ever since
they were built, and the doors have been sealed since his apparent death.
You may wish to investigate, discreetly of course.

-"We don't know who sent that telegram, sir. It seems it was redirected from an Aesonian server to which it was redirected from another Aesonian server, to which it was redirected from the first server. We don't have the resources to trace it, not without arousing suspiscion in The Aeson."
-"And that is something we don't want to do now."
-"Right. The natural assumption of course would be to identify Mr Kallan as the sender, but we don't know for sure."
-"Mm.. why would Mr Kallan want to lure us to his office? A trap? Killing another of our agents? Worsening relations between us and The Aeson?
-"Who knows?"
-"If that is his plan, he has been very clumsy so far. Not at all like him. No, I don't think that's the reason he wants us there." President Johansson paused for a few moments.
-"Or, he wants us to believe that is not his plan, through deliberately being clumsy so as to fool us." Johansson smiled.
-"It could just be someone else too, but that is unlikely... I want a team sent there. Recruit someone from the outside, make sure there are no connections back to us. And make sure the team reports everything the moment it happens, we don't want to find out AFTER the Aesonians this time."
-"Yes, sir"

Johansson fervently hoped the telegram was not a trap from Empress Chandra. After all, he had been quite a menace to her lately, and an excuse to remove such menace would probably be welcomed in The Aeson. Oh well, as long as the team could not be traced back to Anreik, he didn't really care. After all, it was not Anreikian necks he risked this time.

Mr. Kallan raised an eyebrow. A new player to the game? That was... unexpected. But not unwelcome. In the blink of an eye the chessboard graphic on his screen changed to a more complicated version of chess, this with three players.

Now, to see how the Anreikans took this mystery man's message.

Why the President had contacts with foreign mercenaries was not known to many. Anyway, these contacts had quickly realised his wish for a foreign team to deploy in The Aeson. They had already set up a command center to which they had live audio communication at all times. The technology used to conceal the signal from the center to the team was quite expensive, but the billions of aid to Anreik had made it possible. Now, they were doing some recon work. Sergei, the team leader, had just returned from the building company who once built the huge Kallan and Co HQ in which Mr Kallan's personal office (OOC: I assume it is to be found here, otherwise tell me..), with complete blueprints of the building. From a quick glance, it seemed easy to gain entry to the building, but then again, security cameras, sensors, and the like, were not on these blueprints. For those things, the team relied on Igor to retrieve information. Currently, he was having coffee with the wife of the chief of security of the building. Hopefully, he would either be able to woe her into allowing him near the husband's computer, or he would be able to use coercion. Whatever the case, he had done these things before. For a soldier, he was incredibly good looking. And ruthless.

OOC: That's all for today. More coming tomorrow.

Mr. Kallan shook his head. Clumsy. As if the cheif of security and his family weren't being constantly watched. Opening a phone line through his computer, Mr. Kallan issued a set of instructions. Following the plans the wife would give whoever this man was, the team would make it to Mr. Kallan's private elevator, which, as far as they would know would be unmonitored.

They would be met at the top by a full security team.

The team moved out. Sergei had finalised the plans and double-checked everything. Through cutting just a few wires they'd be able to slip into the building without anyone noticing or any sensors going off. The team were carrying body armour, earpieces and mics, silenced pistols, silenced submachine guns, flashbang- and fragmentation grenades, nylon ropes, knives, and some other bits and pieces. One member of the team also carried a digital camera, one carried a heartbeat sensor, one a few kilos of TNT, and one an electronics kit and a lockpicking kit. The last man, Sergei himself, carried nothing extra except for the burden of responsibility for his team members' lives.

Someone on their frequency was blowing air into the mic. That was their cue. They would try to keep radio communication to a minimum before reaching the office. The signal meant that their other team had successfully cut the power to the security system in sector C2, where they would make their entry. Minimal interference with the security system would be carried out, to avoid suspiscion. They picked the look to a back door, sneaked in and moved forward for about ten metres, before entering the ventilation shaft. Crawling on line with five metres between them they moved through the building. Every once in a while they had to exit the ventilation shaft and move within corridors or rooms for a short while, as different security measures guarded the shaft. Before doing this, they scanned the immediate area around them with the heartbeat sensor, and while "in the open" they were extremely careful. Office hours wasn't over yet (meaning security was not air-tight in the corridors), so they had to spend considerable time at each such obstacle as every member of the team had to wait for a window of opportunity.

After three hours of crawling, but mostly waiting, they dropped into the corridor ending with the door to Mr Kallan's private elevator. They secured it and made sure no one was near, before Sergei ordered three men back into the ventilation shaft. They began to loosen the screws to the metal plate separating the horizontal ventilation shaft from the vertical elevator shaft. Meanwhile, the fourth member used his electronics kit to get access to the elevator control. The cable from the elevator control to his device was carefully placed along the wall and up into the shaft, where he would stay while the rest of the team moved on. The team moved into the elevator shaft, through their newly created passageway. They placed themselves on top of the elevator, changed mode of fire from 'saftey' to 'auto' on their submachine guns, and the man with the heartbeat sensor began monitoring it intensely. Sergei nodded to the man staying behind, and he started moving the elevator up.

When almost at the top, the heartbeat sensor suddenly showed nine hearbeat signals from above and just outside the elevator door. Sergei made a hand motion, opened the hatch to the elevator itself, and the team readied themselves for combat. The elevator stopped, the doors slid open, and Sergei dropped a flashbang into the elevator. Exactly half a second later, he dropped down himself, identiefied the heartbeats as security personnel (still a bit dazed from the grenade), and started firing at them. The rest of the team followed and were all in the elevator, crouching and firing, after three seconds.

The nine men standing directly in front of the elevator were, of course, cut down. All part of the plan. The rest of the security team, (a full twenty-one) by this time recovering from the flashbang started opening fire, with the exception of one, who tossed a fragmentation grenade into the elevator.

"Checkmate," smiled Kallan, watching the security footage.

Igor attempted to kick the frag grenade out again, but was too late. It exploded moments before he could reach it, his legs were history, and he died quite quickly. The rest of the team fared better, their body armour protecting the most vital parts. Sergei yelled in the headset to the man left behind to close the doors, and this was done. Only Sergei and one other team member remained alive in the elevator. Both were seriously wounded, mainly from shrapnel in their legs and arms. The bullets had been stopped by the body armour. The team leader quickly gave a short report the their command center, before ordering the elevator down.
-"I and Tomasz will stay here, apply first aid, and then try to leave the building. You will carry out plan C", Sergei told the still unharmed team member.
-"Before that, though, make sure that elevator can't move anywhere. We don't want the enemy down here too fast." This was quickly carried out, and the last man then left his two wounded comrades. Sergei knew that neither of the three was likely to survive this operation, but that was the life of a mercenary.

"How many levels between the ground floor and the bottom of the shaft?" asked the security chief as he pried the elevator doors open.

"Five, sir." Replied Clav, his second in command.

"Should be a nice nasty surprise. Blow the cable. Tell teams B and C to head down the main elevators. Team B to the ground floor, Team C to the basement. Team's D on standby."

Among the many devices employed to insure Mr. Kallan's safety was a small satchel charge on every elevator cable in the building. Clav sorted through the detonators he carried, picking up the one for Kallan's personal elevator. He pressed it, and the charge went off. It was shaped so that it only destroyed the winch and a section of the cable. The elevator crashed to the basement.

Oscar, on his way to carry out plan C, heard a noice from behind him. He guessed that was the end of Sergei and Tomasz. He was surprised by an office clerk as he quickly paced through the corridor. Oscar shot him in the eye with the silenced pistol, and looked around for a hiding spot. He found a small room almost entirely occupied by a copy machine. Knowing that he had been watched by security cameras, and still was, he quickly undressed the man and put the clothes on himself. At least it would distract his enemies somewhat. He had to leave the submachine gun, as it wouldn't fit under the shirt. Oh, well, he would have little use for it until later.

After a short while, Oscar left the building and moved towards an apartment building across the street. He moved up to the sixth floor, and unlocked the apartment they had rented for plan C. Inside was a few mattresses to sleep on, dry food, water in plastic barrels, a rocket launcher, and a sniper rifle.

"What have we got?" Asked Mr. Kallan.

The cheif of security responded promptly. "Four men confirmed dead. But there were five men on camera. We also found Smit, he's a costumer relations officer, dead and naked. Camera's picked up someone in office clothing resembling the final man leaving the building shortly afterwards. By the time security got down there, he'd gone into the building across the street."

"An apartment building," mused Kallan, "Do we know which apartment?"

"No, sir. Logic dictates that it will be an apartment with a window facing this building. I've got the blueprints and there's two hundred apartments on that side of the building. Thirty were occupied two months ago. Three weren't and are now. You want us to raid them?"

"No. Keep them under suveillance for now. We can always raid them later if need be."

This was a gamble. A big gamble. Oscar would rather get out of town and lay low for a while rather than attempt this. The chances of success were slim, and the risks grave.

In choosing a life as a mercenary, he knew there would be risks. Anything was better than what he came from, though. He felt a shiver down his spine on the thought of his father. But now... Now he had someplace to go, somewhere where he felt safe. Wouldn't it just be better to abandon the mission and head for safety? No, he couldn't do that. His only friends in life had died for this mission, and if he failed now he would have nothing. He would be ousted from the community and back where he started. That was not something he wanted.

He opened up the window, carefully counted rows and columns of windows in the building opposite, and found his target. He put the rocket launcher in position, turned the posterior safety switch off with his right hand, and the other with his left. Still keeping his right index finger outside the trigger guard, he looked throught the electronic sighting scope. The night-vision option was rather useless now, in the late afternoon. There, his target was within the crosshairs. Now, the finger moved to the trigger. Again, he checked his aim. Perfect. And so, he pressed the trigger slowly. The rocket went off, hitting the wall to Mr. Kallan's office.

Mr. Kallan calmly viewed the wreckage of what had been his office. The cameras and sensor devices in the room itself had been destroyed, but the camera in the next room offered a perfect view through the gaping hole in the wall.

He activated his intercom. "Martha, call the contractors. Write them a blank cheque. Max? Did you see which window that shot came from?"

"Yes, sir."

"Raid the room. Take him alive if at all possible, but don't worry overly about it. I imagine I already know who sent him."

"Yes, sir."
***
Minutes later, the hallway outside of Oscar's room was filled with sixty heavily armed security personell. Maximillian kicked in the door and tossed in a flashbang grenade.

Moments after the collapse of the wall, Oscar put the digital camera on the window ledge, aimed at the hole, and pressed "REC". The direct uplink to the command center would ensure that his employer would recieve the output, sooner or later. Seeing no one through the hole, he abandoned the sniper rifle and prepared to leave the scene. Suddenly, the door was kicked in, and a loud noise coupled with a moment of blinding light hit him. He threw himself to the ground.

OOC: leaving for Berlin for a couple of days. Little activity on my part until Sunday.

Edit: OOC: it would be interesting to know what the camera on the ledge records..