NationStates Jolt Archive

Tale of the Wicked:
An Empire Within...

There are two types of people in this world: those who create and those who destroy. Within every Empire, every Republic, every state, and every nation there lie elements that seek to do nothing more than to usurp the authority of the respective government. These people want only to destroy. The stronger a state is, the more these elements seek to destroy. They are nothing more than competing groups, vying for power in a system where their power is against the established doctrines, principles, and writings. They are classified as insurgents and rebels to some and freedom fighters to others. The definition lies within the interpretation. No matter how strong the state is and no matter how much the state gives to its people, these elements will always want more, seeking what they cannot have. The more they are given, the more they want, until their insatiable appetite cannot be pleased. It is at this point that their desires turn violent and turn outward.

The Empire has strict anti-drug laws that carry severe penalties for users, severer penalties for deals, and maximum penalties for creators. The Empire has waged two drug wars in the past, one major and one minor. The former was highly successful, waged in a time when foreign drug influence was at an all time high. Months and years progressed and the annihilation of seven drug cartels effectively destroyed the drug market. One survived, only to be engaged and attacked in the latter of these wars. It survived...

Lastly, before you read please do not pass any judgement that this will be a pathetic post. If you must have a reference, please go to the list below and you will see the abilities of me to tell a story. I am a writer.
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Legend
All text in red type is top secret classified. It is unknown to the normal reader and even anyone else other than those present in the text. All are loyal to the government so please none of that, "We had spies" nonsense because I'm going to ignore it.

Italic text is text that is speech. It is italic to differentiate from normal text.

Italic underlined text is thought.

Orange text is a memory.

Green text is documents, communications, etc.

Bold, green text in quote form is used to mean something that isn't in the document.

Blue text is just a minor announcement.

Bold, blue text is a service announcement meant in OOC form

Bold, gray text is a translation.

Small, bold text is OOC.
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Notes

This will be updated on an irregular basis. Pictures may be included with horrible images of death. If there is ever something that violates NS rules (and no nothing illegal will be had here) please inform me and I'll take care of it. An example is in Part II with the test subjects. I could not find any images on the internet of what it would look like to be exposed to something like Ebola and even if I did they would be horrible images so in the interest of stomachs and decency I have just put in a small comment. Swearing will be curbed and if anything you will see the first letter and asterisks at least so you know the word they are saying. If you are offended don't read! Simple as that.
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Other Role-Playing Stories

Down with the Sickness (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=432254)
Isla del Enfermo (Earth II) (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=398102)
La Guerra que no Hombre Debe Saber (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=434657)
Ride the Lightning (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=448866)
Sehnsucht für das Glück (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=386920)
Tale of the Time: Ancient Secrets Found in Yucatán... (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=409829)
The Decayed (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=474683)
The Forsaken Island (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=442286)
The Kingdom of Forgotten Warriors (Earth II) (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=380343)
The Knight of Dark Chaos (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=384906)
The Layartebian Chronicles (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=384916)
The Praetorian Project (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=450228)

Table of Contents


Chapter One: Fate (Page 1)

Information - The Cartel

Characters

Simón Bolívar: Head of the Esmeralda Cartel.
Félix Cortez: Head of Security for the Esmeralda Cartel and highly capable assassin.
Lorenzo Ruiz: Main cartel member involved in foreign transactions of drugs.
Ignacio Chávez: Main cartel member involved in domestic trade and transactions of drugs.


Groups & Organizations

Esmeralda Cartel: The oldest surviving Cartel within the Empire. It is based out of Esmeralda in the extreme south of Venezeula and is extremely powerful with a large sphere of influence.
Los Angeles: Name of main paramilitary brigade of the Esmeralda Cartel.

Information - The Empire

Characters

Jack Delaney: Leader of Force Falcon Team One. He is a Brigadier General for Force Falcon and a close confidant of the Emperor.
The Emperor: Head of government and state within the Empire of Layarteb.


Groups & Organizations

Force Falcon: The 1st Black Operations Force, established as a general-purpose unit. They are based at Zeta Facility, Westchester County, New York, Layarteb. Force Falcon, the most elite and secretive unit on the ILM handles a variety of roles. They are trained in all possible roles ranging from counter-terrorism to facility security to reconnaissance. Force Falcon represents the main line of defense of the Empire and serves as the personal body guards to the Emperor.
Force Spectre: The 3rd Black Operation Force, established for general-purpose operations and Counter-Drug operations. They are based in Caracas, Venezuela, South Eastern Virginia. Force Spectre is a general purpose unit, not unlike Force Falcon. The main difference is that Force Spectre does not guard the Emperor. Force Spectre is responsible for pre-war planning, reconnaissance, and high value missions. Force Spectre is also involved in numerous counter-drug operations, especially in the province of South Eastern Virginia.
Force Tiger: The 13th Black Operations Force, established as a Counter-Drug group. They are based in Mont Pelée, Martinique, Caribbean and the size of a battalion. Force Tiger is a specialized counter-drug units. Its members come from both the 3rd Black Operations Forces "Force Spectre" and the 6th Special Operations Forces "Marauders." They were created by several members of the 6th SOF "Maurauders" who set out to create a unit strictly for counter-drug operations but that could operate like Black Operations Forces. Force Tiger was born out of that creation and maintains a small presence of dedicated counter-drug operatives. They are highly trained to operate both within the Empire and outside of the Empire.
Marauders: The 6th Special Operations Force, established as a Counter-Drug group. They are based in Bogotá, Colombia, South Eastern Virginia. The Marauders are a very specialized unit. They are trained with counter-drug operations and are stationed in South America with particular attention paid to Central America, where there are a considerable amount of drug farms and drug lords. They are supported by the Army and Air Force and routinely attack and destroy drug farms as well as capture members of various cartels. They are also trained to operate on foreign soil in counter-drug operations and are highly secretive.
The Cabinet: The group of ministers responsible for overseeing the various departments of the Empire. They include but are not limited to, the Defense Minister, Intelligence Minister, Interior Minister, and so on and so fourth. They work closely with the Emperor and deal with various areas throughout the Empire. They are almost always in constant communication with the Emperor and often meet with him daily, many by video phone and conferencing because they are elsewhere throughout the Empire.

Chapter I: Fate

The sun was in the process of setting and it was evident as it cast a low, eerily red glow over the Caribbean Sea. Clouds circulated throughout the skies but overall, it was quite clear. Things were quiet in the seas not 375 miles northeast of Santa Marta, Colombia except for one sound, the sound of a helicopter. The helicopter kept itself low, not more than 80 feet off the surface of the sea, moving at 100 miles per hour. The Huey (http://www.theforsakenoutlaw.com/Nation-States/Files/Sound/uh1-cruise.wav) was trotting along with two people inside, one in the pilot's seat and the other next to him. Both of them were Colombians, transporting four crates from Colombia to a secret airstrip in the interior of Guatemala. Inside each of those four crates was a total of 881 pounds of the purest cocaine the Esmeralda Cartel produced. Normally, a mere 400 kilograms of Cocaine would cost §7,766,990.29 but this was a very "special" shipment, valued at §10,257,589 or §25,643.97 per kilogram, way more than the regular maximum price. This was definitely an important shipment, meant to be a new "test product" to be used for the richest of rich, only to be taken in the smallest doses possible. The Cartel imagined many would overdose quickly because they would expect this cocaine to be just like any other. It was definitely not.

Little did the pilots of the Huey know that they were being stalked. A flight of two F-22B Raptors had been scrambled from Panama to identify and intercept the helicopter, upon confirmation of its hostile nature. The anti-stealth system had picked up the low-flying helicopter shortly after it left Santa Marta and it was definitely classified as an unknown. When it didn't show up on any flight manifests, a pair of F-22B Raptors were scrambled, armed with a non-advanced loadout. This meant that it would be carrying the AIM-9X Sidewinder, a missile barely used anymore, and the AIM-120D AMRAAM They carried two of the former and six of the latter as well as a full gun load of 480 rounds. They didn't intend to use their gun at all but the rounds were there, just in case. Radio silence wasn't an issue so as the pilots approached the aircraft, they began to contact much more with their command base, in Panama.

"Echo 1-1. Reporting lock on target. Bearing 0-7-0. Range 13 miles. Low altitude. Speed 100 knots."

"Roger that Echo 1-1. Identify."

http://www.theforsakenoutlaw.com/Graphics/Nation-States/Role-Playing/Tale%20of%20the%20Wicked/hueykill-01.jpg

"Echo 1-1. We're inbound hot. Master ARM on."

"Roger that."

"Echo 1-1. Range to target is 5 miles. Speed 100 knots. Closure 352 knots. Slowing down for visual."

"Roger that."

"Echo 1-1. Range to target is 2 miles. Speed 93 knots. Closure 326 knots. Altitude 310 feet."

http://www.theforsakenoutlaw.com/Graphics/Nation-States/Role-Playing/Tale%20of%20the%20Wicked/hueykill-02.jpg

"Roger that. Require one fly-by visual confirmation of identity of target."

"Echo 1-1. Roger that. Passing by now."

"Roger that."

"Echo 1-1. Reporting target is a UH-1 Huey. Civilian possibility."

"Report status?"

"Echo 1-1. She's taking evasive maneuvers. Yeah. She's dumping. We've got a drug plane."

http://www.theforsakenoutlaw.com/Graphics/Nation-States/Role-Playing/Tale%20of%20the%20Wicked/hueykill-03.jpg

http://www.theforsakenoutlaw.com/Graphics/Nation-States/Role-Playing/Tale%20of%20the%20Wicked/hueykill-04.jpg


"Roger that Echo 1-1. Cleared to engage."

"Echo 1-1. Roger that. Taking flight back."

"Roger that."

"Echo 1-1. Bearing 0-0-5. 8 miles. 8 miles. Center of the dot. I've got lock."

"2. I've got you. Sidewinder tracking."

"Target is 300 feet. 6 miles. 6 miles."

"2. Roger that. Talley Ho!"

"4 miles. 4 miles. Center of the dot. Center of dot. 3 miles. 3 miles. Sidewinder select. Good lock! FOX TWO!"

http://www.theforsakenoutlaw.com/Graphics/Nation-States/Role-Playing/Tale%20of%20the%20Wicked/hueykill-05.jpg

The AIM-9X Sidewinder ejected from the right bay of the Raptor and immediately acquired its target, a slow, lumbering helicopter two miles away. The F-22s were in a spread formation, coming in at 300 feet and just over 400 knots.

http://www.theforsakenoutlaw.com/Graphics/Nation-States/Role-Playing/Tale%20of%20the%20Wicked/hueykill-06.jpg

http://www.theforsakenoutlaw.com/Graphics/Nation-States/Role-Playing/Tale%20of%20the%20Wicked/hueykill-07.jpg

http://www.theforsakenoutlaw.com/Graphics/Nation-States/Role-Playing/Tale%20of%20the%20Wicked/hueykill-08.jpg


As the missile shot out in front of the Raptor, it banked hard to the left, acquiring its target and preparing to destroy it with all of its anger and fury. Moving at three times the speed of sound and carrying a massive 25 pound warhead, the AIM-9X Sidewinder would do nothing short of obliterate the Huey and it would do it well.

http://www.theforsakenoutlaw.com/Graphics/Nation-States/Role-Playing/Tale%20of%20the%20Wicked/hueykill-09.jpg

"Echo 1-1. We've got tracking. Missile is engaging. Go! Go! Go! IMPACT! We've got a splash. Huey is down! Huey is down!"

"Roger that Echo 1-1."

"2. I've confirmed. Huey is down. What an explosion!"

http://www.theforsakenoutlaw.com/Graphics/Nation-States/Role-Playing/Tale%20of%20the%20Wicked/hueykill-10.jpg

"Roger that. Roger that. Echo 1-1. Any survivors?"

"Negative. That is a negative."

"Return to base Echo 1."

"Roger that. We're out of here!" The Raptor lead, Echo 1-1, banked hard to the left as he came off the target, which was nothing more than a falling fireball. The Raptors scored a beautiful victory against the Cartel, a victory that would be short lived. As the helicopter wreckage sunk to the bottom of the Caribbean Sea, its floating remnants still burning, the Cartel was planning something big, something major, something that not only would put them back on the map again, but something that would ruin the long-history of defeat against the Cartels by the Empire.

"Perdimos otro embarque anoche." (We lost another shipment last night.)

"¿Cuán malo?" (How bad?)

"La carga especial." (The special cargo.)

"¡Maldito!" (Goddamn!)

"El disparo de la Fuerza aérea abajo nuestro Huey." (Air Force shot down our Huey.) Simón Bolívar was nothing near a mild man. He was a ruthless and cunning businessman who had survived two drug wars and countless crackdowns by the Layartebians. He didn't get to be the head of the Esmeralda Cartel by being a slouch. He was lavish though, an unfortunate side effect for netting over §5,000,000,000 each year in drug money. His house, which was more or less a village in itself, was situated sixteen and a half miles south, southeast of Esmeralda and, at any given point in time, one hundred sixty people were inside of it, most of them bodyguards. He had horses outside, courtyards, and four children whom he loved and adored. It was unfortunate though that they were being raised in such an environment. Now he was meeting with Ignacio Chávez, his deputy in charge to domestic trades. Ignacio Chávez, like Bolívar, was cunning and ruthless. He knew the Empire so well that he could fly helicopters in and out of radar coverage as low as ten feet off the ground and at maximum speed. He had planned each and every route for his helicopters and his planes. He knew it all like the back of his hand. Unfortunately though, the Air Force or the Navy or the Defense Force or even the Army nabbed one out of every eight shipments. It just happened to be dumb luck that they got this one.

Bolívar's house was warm and ornate. He spared no expense and the §150,000,000 price tag that came with the house was definitely one that he financed all himself. He washed his drug money through many legitimate businesses: coffee, rubber, transportation, stocks, and so on and so fourth. That was how it was done and he was a master at it. He could hide his money as well as he wanted and when it came for taxes, he always paid out his fair share, just to keep the Empire off his back. Thus far, it worked. Usually drug dealers and cartel leaders tried to skim off their taxes, which brought attention. He didn't, he had records of every single shingrot that he claimed. This was the money that he washed through the businesses. The money that wasn't was put into bank accounts without names, helping him to hide a large fortune.

He and Chávez were sitting comfortably on one of the many porches on the house, this one overlooking the riding area. His two sons and one of his daughters were riding with his wife and several trainers. He liked to enjoy coffee every afternoon outside, looking at the vast Venezuelan countryside that surrounded his mansion. Chávez sat next to him, slightly uptight, far more than Bolívar, despite his anger. "Tenemos que hacer algo acerca de esto." (We have to do something about this.)

"¿Qué sugiere usted?" (What do you suggest?)

"Aguante un minuto." (Hold on a minute.) He took his cell phone from his pocket and dialed a few numbers. It rang three times before the other person picked up. "Venga al área que cabalga." (Come to the riding area.)

"¿Felix?" (Felix?)

"Sí." (Yes.) Félix Cortez was his right hand man. He was brutal and ruthless, in charge of security for the entire cartel. He was a Cuban assassin during its days of the Ninjan Empire and he was well trained and highly capable. Whenever dirty work had to be done, he was right there. Cortez also had something else going for him, something that nobody else had, and that was patience. When shipments were intercepted, dealers arrested, and labs blown up, Bolívar grew furious. His deputies grew furious. Cortez never lost his temper and worked to analyze each and every situation. He was a brilliant tactician and it showed. He had, single handedly, planned the downfall of two cartel leaders, both of whom were moving against Bolívar. Cortez was no slouch and Bolívar was always cautious to see if he was making moves against him. Terribly paranoid, Bolívar never trusted anyone, albeit he trusted Cortez the most, perhaps because he feared him the most.

"Perdimos otro uno." (We lost another one.)

"Sí. ¿Qué haremos nosotros acerca de esto? Era la carga especial. Los comerciantes esperaban que uno. Esto no puede ir impune. De algún modo ellos supieron. De algún modo la Fuerza aérea supo." (Yes. What are we going to do about this? It was the special cargo. Dealers were expecting that one. This cannot go unpunished. Somehow they knew. Somehow the Air Force knew.)

"¿Sospecha usted a un espía ahora?" (Do you suspect a spy now?) Cortez's tone changed drastically. He dismissed the thought before he responded. If there was a spy he would know about it and he knew of none. All of the dealers, hitmen, assassins, bodyguards, and people under him were loyal. He knew that because he had friendlies in the police and the drug agency. They reported every month that their bosses were frustrated that they could not pin the Esmeralda Cartel. He smiled at the thought.

"Digo usted hay un espía. ¡Es su trabajo de encontrarlos!" (I am telling you there is a spy. It's your job to find them!)

"No hay espía. Sabría si había uno y no hay. Yo le aseguro." (There is no spy. I would know if there was one and there isn't. I assure you.)

"Eso no es suficiente bueno. ¿Cómo supieron ellos? ¿Era esto una coincidencia? Yo lo dudo." (That's not good enough. How did they know? Was this a coincidence? I doubt it.)

"Yo no sé los detalles todavía. Puse específicamente el sendero para ese helicóptero. Quizás ellos se desviaron. Quizás la Fuerza aérea obtuvo afortunado. Yo no le puedo dar una respuesta Simón." (That's not good enough. How did they know? Was this a coincidence? I doubt it.)

"¡Entonces lo que hace yo le pago para!" (Then what do I pay you for!)

"Miraré en lo." (I will look into it.)

"Bueno." (Okay.) Cortez turned and left. He never enjoyed being chided like that from Bolívar and it ate him away for hours afterwards. How was he supposed to know what happened? The helicopter probably deviated from its flight plan, that much he could assume. As for the truth, he knew not. He would simply use that as his explanation. The helicopter had flown too high, was picked up on radar, and shot down. The cargo was lost and §10,257,589 was lost. The street value of the cocaine was even more. Bolívar met with more and more of his deputies that day, visited a factory, and overlooked a plan to put 100 metric tonnes of his "special" cocaine on the streets by September. If he did, the amount of revenue he could bring in would be no less than §2.6 billion. That was a lot of money and he needed to move it and move it fast. The higher a profile he had, the more the Layartebians would sniff around. He knew that much and he knew just how things were panning out. As he met so did the Emperor and two separate meetings, thousands of miles away from each other, decided the fate of both without either's knowledge of the other.

"Sir. It is definitely important that the matter of last night be opened to this floor." The Minister of the Interior stated as he opened the folder to the shoot down. "It is of grave importance."

"Understood Minister. Last night, an F-22 Raptor shot down a Huey flying out of Venezuela. The crash was into the Caribbean Sea but we can say that it was carrying drugs. We can only surmise that it was cocaine but this also shows that the Cartels are moving up again. We've, thus far, eliminated all of the cartels and we know of one that is rising in power, the Esmeralda Cartel. We are at a stand still though. Their base of operations has yet to be identified and resources have been, lately, scarce to combat them."

"Yes sir Emperor. My department has allocated significant amounts of money and resources to combating drugs in the past but as we've had such great success in the past, we've cut funding and placed it into more pertinent projects. This shoot down goes to show that the Esmeralda Cartel is heating itself up for something big. We can gather that they are operating either inside Venezuela or Colombia, we are unsure where exactly. They are, most likely, hidden deep within the countryside and whilst we have swept the city of Esmeralda, we have turned up little except a few low-level drug dealers who were no use to us."

"What are you proposing that we do?"

"Minister. I think that I am the remainder of my department believe that we must raise funding to combat drugs again."

"Emperor. You are going to let a single helicopter change this?" The man arguing with the Minister of the Interior was none other than the Minister of Justice, who wanted the money and funding to come to his department rather than the Interior. The Interior had a significant level of anti-drug forces, particularly the 6th SOF "Marauders," based out of Bogotá, Colombia. The regiment sized unit was fairly capable and very aggressive. They had, in the past, done serious work on the other cartels and turned them into swiss cheese on more than one occassion. Unfortunately, they had gained too high a profile since then, especially amongst the locals.

"Ministers. We are arguing like children here. The best approach is this. We have a problem, a rise in the drug traffic. Whether or not one helicopter is enough for you Minister, it is a signal of what is to come. The more and more we shoot them down, the more and more they will try to fly out. Eventually they will run out and we will continue to shoot them down. The Ministry of the Interior will ensure me of that I imagine?"

"Yes sir."

"Very well. No. We have the Marauders at our disposal and we will need to use them effectively and efficiently. How many teams do we currently have out?"

"None sir." The Ministry of Defense mumbled.

"None! Well there is the problem right there. What are we using them for?"

"Sir. At the moment, they are unfortunately idle."

"This cannot be! No. Get them up and active and into Venezuela and Colombia. I want them on missions."

"Understood sir." The meeting was uneventful otherwise. The Marauders got the call only hours after the meeting ended and they were happy to finally have some work. For too long they had been idle, training when training was no longer effective. They were precise, accurate, and deadly. They were sneaky, deceptive, and they were ruthless. Now that the drug trade had livened up again, they had a use, a major use.