NationStates Jolt Archive

James Island Research Facility
North Belka, Vuhifellian Federation
Two Weeks Before

Inmate 103971 had severe burns all over his face, and hideous boils bursting from his arms and legs. Injection marks could be seen all over his body. His hair was thinning, and was a small patch on gray on the back of his neck, now. The flourescent light of his cell showed how pitiful he was, cursing the world in a long forgotten language.

Two security guards dressed in VPA armor walked to his cell door, both with keys in their hands, and simultaneously turned the keys at opposite ends of the door. Slowly, sixteen centimeters of tempered steel began to retract into the wall, and one of the guards called inside, while the pointed a rifle towards the inmate.

"Inmate 103971, you have been pardoned by President Keiichi Morisato for your crimes against the Federation. You are to, however, never re-enter the Main Vuhifellian continent ever again. You will be exiled to the colony of Brunak. On Executive Order F-Morisato 000019."

The guard read from his PDA, and moved to handcuff the naked man, his ribs showing through his skin, his breathing heavy...

May there be mercy on the Federation for its Sins...

Luxembourg City, Van Luxemburg
Present Day

Keiichi Morisato was visiting the Grand Duke of Van Luxemburg. A personal friend of the Daniels family, and a highly respected man within Vuhifellian political circles. He ditched the usual red trimmed black robe and instead wore sneakers, loose fitting jeans, a white T-shirt, a leather jacket, and sunglasses. His wife was sitting a few meters away chatting with Megumi, the President's sister.

While the President himself drank a cup of tea, admiring the beauty of the Palace, he waited for the Grand Duke to get back from some business an aide had brought him inside for.

=====

Two men sat in a small cafe, two women by their side, before all four started laughing hysterically.

"Keith!"

"Pat!" The two men stood up and hugged each other, their wives looking on.

"Oh, man. I thought I'd never see you again, where've you been?" asked Patrick.

"I've retired to Van Luxemburg, beautiful country and, no speed limits, hey, I bet your brother would love that!"

"Yeah, where is my brother?"

Squad 49 of Foxtecha's Elite Black Guard had decided to reunite in Luxembourg City, after 25 years since the war's end, all 63 members were accounted for. Some of them had decided to wander about in the city, and had somehow managed to get lost, Patrick's brother being the most notable.

It was hard to believe the War was over, after so much had happened. They'd help put down a rebellion in Van Luxemburg before, and were good friends to several in the VanLux government, including the Grand Duke, wherever he was.

Colony of Brunak
Vuhifellian Federation
Present Day

Pictures of the Daniels family had been sloppily erected on the wall, a picture of Stevan Daniels being the largest, and several darts had pierced all the pictures.

A scarred man stood in the shadows, watching all of them, these...dark skinned Brunakians...Wheather or not they were inferior now was not the question. The question was, how do we destroy Vuhifell?

"Gentlemen...I've assembled you here today..."

2 weeks ago, Luxembourg, Van Luxemburg

A Monteluci Duca in the grey-blue-orange livery of the Van Luxemburgian Police blocked off the Boulevard 5. Mee 1945, it's blue lighting scattering everywhere, warning any drivers of it's presence. The two front doors were open, and two police officers in bulletresistant vests stood next to it, a Heckler & Koch MP5 close to their chest. The rest of the road had been blocked off by temporary roadblocks, while the officers occasionally allowed vehicles through, in posession of the right papers.

This scene could be seen all over the city. After the Vuhifellian pardon that released Fortstall, a feared enemy of the Van Luxemburgian State, Roadblocks had been put up at the most important streets in Luxembourg and people discouraged to go onto the streets. The airports of Luxembourg-Findel and Luxembourg-Beaufort had been almost locked off, the few passengers that came through were coming off domestic flights, or posessed a Van Luxemburgian passport. Here, the scene was the same all over: heavily armed troops, this time of the Grand-Ducal Marechaussee, which performed both Military Police and Customs duties, guarded the airport, with an armoured vehicle even patrolling on the airfield grounds.

But this was not all: All Governmental buildings, most notably the Grand-Ducal Palace, were guarded by Marechaussees and Police Officers, illuminating the buildings in a sea of blue and orange lights, while heavily armed troops stood by their vehicles, which functioned as mobile roadblocks when their doors were opened.

If Fortstall would arrive in VL, he would immediately be arrested, and Anti-Terrorism teams all over the nation had been readied to intervene as quickly as possible. Maybe Van Luxemburg had overdone it, but Fortstall would not stir up the nation again.

Luxembourg, Van Luxemburg

The Grand Duke opened the door he had previously exited through, and once again entered the Havana Club, a lounge which was mostly used for informal talks with both foreign and domestic dignitaries. Most of the palace was now for official state use, and while the Grand Duke was allowed everywhere in the 100-year old Palace, he only used a small part of it as his private quarters.

As he sat down, the Grand Duke resumed the conversation again.

'Sorry about that, Something with VLT. I own that business for 51%, but luckily I got a whole board of managers under me that do the job of running the company for me. In the meantime, I collect their cars. Funny, heh? Have I ever shown you around in the underground garages, where I store my collection?' He said, sipping from a glass of tea.

"No, you haven't. I maintain a personal collection of motorcycles back home. It's a hobby of mine. May I see your collection?"

The President crossed his legs and took more sips of his tea, "Maybe VanLux television will broadcast this year's Hivezian Street Race, I enter every year, although the last time I won was long, long ago."

=====

John Paul Malone was wandering the streets of Luxembourg, staring at the various cars on the road. Taking them apart and putting them back together in his head. Of course maintaining a car wasn't the same as maintaining a fighter jet or helicopter, but those days were over now. Seeing a rather large building, and later realizing it was the Grand Ducal Palace, he headed towards it. Maybe the Grand Duke would let him take a car back to the Motherland?

=====

"If I know my brother, he'll head to the place where there's the most stuff fiddle around with. Now where would that be?"

"Hey, Patrick?"

"Yeah, Kieth?"

"Didn't the Grand Duke have a whole Palace garage filled with cars and the like?"

"You're right! Chances are, he went there. Well, Alicia, Michelle, are you two coming?"

Alicia put on an annoyed look. Michelle simply nodded her head. They were only two of three females in the reunion, and as such, wanted some time alone to catch up while their husbands were off causing property damage.

"No, we'll catch up with you guys later, just call my phone. We'll probably go find Jamie."

"If you insist...but the Grand Duke is probably even more loaded than he was a few years ago..."

"No, no. We've seen the Palace before, don't want to see it again.

A brief 'okay', and Kieth and Patrick ran towards the Palace.

Brunak

The frail man pulled down a map of an island, and pointed to various markers on it.

"This is Storage Facility A. The least defended section of the base. Naval Patrols cover the area every thirty minutes, so it's more than enough time if we have someone to cover for us..."

"But...Protector? How will we get the equipment needed to break into such a facility?" asked a voice from another shadow of the room.

"Oh...I know just the person..." The frail man picked up a satellite phone and punched in several numbers, before coming to a ring...

"Okchabursk Federal Prison Roster. Please enter the name or number of the inmate you wish to visit on your keypad...

Nei Groussherzogliches Palast, Luxembourg, Van Luxemburg

As he took the lift down to the garages, the Grand Duke made sure that Morisato followed him.

'There's a good chance RTVL will broadcast it. Van Luxemburgians love anything motorised. Good luck aswell, I might say.'

Meanwhile, the lift had gone down, and opened in a hallway which had been filled with all kinds of automotive relics, including parts of sportscars, pictures, posters and signs, amongst other things. As the Grand Duke opened the next door, the atmosphere changed, and they stepped into a garage where thousands of cars were stored under optimal conditions. Rows and rows of the most expensive, the rarest, the best cars around. On their left, a cabinet had been placed against the wall, with small compartments that each stood for a vehicle brand or marque. As the Grand Duke pulled out the compartment named 'Maserati', it rolled out of the cabinet for approximately a metre, and Koen took one of the keys, of which the ID above it's position in the compartment said it would be a Maserati Quattroporte I from 1969 (http://i19.ebayimg.com/03/m/000/81/ab/4a29_27.JPG), located in Row E, place 264.

'Maybe take this one out for a ride?'

Outside, at the gate

As usual, the Palace was guarded by the two Marechaussees that always patrolled the monumental front gate. Electronic gates and obstacles prevented vehicles from breaching the gate. No matter what time of year it was, what danger the Grand Duchy faced, the two guards were always there, their HK MP5's loosely hanging in front of their stomach, hands placed on trigger and front grip, so they could react to any situation immediately.

As the group of men approached the main gate, the guards held onto their MP5's more firmly, their fingers closely held around the trigger. When they were absolutely sure the two would be heading for the Palace, one of the two guards began speaking to the men.

'Could I see your ID's and the reason you're here, or your invitation, please?'

The Guard's presence blocked the way for the men, while his colleague held his radio ready to call on support if they would need it. It appeared to be hostile, but regular visitors to the Palace would know that this was the protocol prescribed by the Marechaussee.

Outside the Palace Gate

Kieth looked stunned, maybe it was age, weren't they here enough times for the guards to memorize their faces? Then again, it had been years since Squad 49 was even heard of on the planet...

"Uhh...we're old friends of the Grand Duke, is he in?" asked Patrick.

"Shut up, Pat! Hey guys, relax, he knows us, we'll just head along in," said John Paul briskly as he tried to move past the guards. Kieth slapped his hand against his head, and Patrick simply hung his head and sighed. So much for a mature brother, huh?

Okchabursk Federal Prison

An old man with a small patch of grey hair on the top of his head and in a large, olive drab trenchcoat sat in the miserable prison visiting room.

"Inmate 7811983-M, you have ten minutes. Your conversation can be recorded as permitted by Federal Law." a voice spoke over the loudspeaker in the room. Bulletproof glass seperated the inmate from his visitor. Unknown to all but a few, the guard on the loudspeaker had been bribed several billion credits to delete the visitation records...

"You're the last person I thought I would ever see again..." spoke a young, handsome looking man. Dressed in lavish, overly comfortable blue and white clothes...were they silk?

"David...don't be so pessemistic, we have history, don't we?" asked the old man.

"Yes. Our history got one of my children executed and my wife and other children thrown in federal prison! What do you want..." David's voice steadily rose, then sank back down.

"Money. Lots of it."

"Foxtecha doesn't exist anymore..."

"Then how did you afford the silk?"

David began to chuckle, then full out laugh, "You knew?"

"Oh, I never doubted you, David. Who besides me knew? You didn't think just because I was freezing my ass off in the North I wasn't plugged into this nation? No..." his voice drifted off, his eyes slanted a little, and the old man dazed out, before coming back into concentration, "I knew all along, David. Will you help us or not?"

David's head trailed down to the floor, his jet black hair fell onto his shoulders. It was longer now than it had ever been, "Just one thing," David said.

"Yes?"

"I want my company back..."

The two men started to laugh, and not too far away, behind a barrier of tinted, bulletproof glass, and prison guard logged onto his computer, with a 10 billion credit currency card in his hands...

Channel 04 - OBC
That Evening

"More global news, after the break..."

Foxtecha...Once the continent's leading conglomerate, now the world's! Invest in Foxtecha today, and...

You're kids will go to Dinsmark!
Relax at Farbanti!
See the ancient city of Luxembourg!

FOXTECHA! A COMPANY FROM THE PAST! A COMPANY IN THE PRESENT! A COMPANY FOR THE FUTURE!

This advertisement was authorized by the Council of Internal Affairs

Outside, at the Gate

The two guards were greatly confused by the unknown visitors saying they were old friends of the Grand Duke. They relaxed their grip on the weapons, and pointed the MP5's away from the visitors. Meanwhile, one of the two guards took out his radio and established contact with the reception of the Palace.

'Reception, this is Gate. We've got three visitors here at the gate, saying they're old friends of the Grand Duke. From Vuhifell.'

'Gate, this is Reception. Send them on. We'll sort out what to do with them.'

As the Radio disconnected, the guard waved the three on, and pointed them out they should follow the signs towards the reception of the Palace.

VLT Building, Esch-sur-Alzette, Van Luxemburg (http://www.clasohm.com/photodb/img/7333-md.jpg)

On the 48th Floor of the VLT Building, one had a fabulous view over Esch-sur-Alzette, and, due to the placement of the building near the waterfront, one could overlook the deep blue sea aswell. On this floor, the main Conference Room had been placed, with a view of both the city and the sea. In the room, the top of VLT had gathered, and discussed the topics of last week. An attractive woman of around 35 years old was seated in the most right of three seats on the head of the table, while the center seat was empty. While mostly symbolic, it was a seat for Grand Duke Koen van Luxemburg, owner of VLT. Left of the center seat was an older man. He was Hans Schmidt, Director of Sales. The woman who headed the presentation was the 35-year old Miss Kristin Becker, head of the Board of Managers, who had gathered in this room.

'Ladies and gentlemen, after the risk assessment of Wunderburgen Chevis Automotive, we will be moving on with Foxtecha. The Vuhifellian company that partly collapsed and disintegrated after the war, is now back. They are currently of little threat to our mainstream products line, but might become a problem for the Grand Ducal Fuels Monopoly. They have recently stepped up their advertisements in Vuhifell, and while this is not a market for the GDFM, we are afraid that Foxtecha might want to try and break into the VL Market.'

She was interrupted by the manager of the GDFM, asking a question.

'What about the judicial possibilities?'

'None, I'm afraid. We're a free market economy, and the government cannot prohibit Foxtecha from entering. However, we know that Foxtecha is a very corrupt company, that might start handing out money all over. If we can successfully prove this, Van Luxemburgian Laws can prosecute them. This can stretch as far as it being placed on a blacklist or pay a fine tenfold of the bribe money. It could effectively grind their actions in VL to a halt.'

'Very well. I think we can conclude this assessment by saying that their risk is low to medium?' Schmidt said, while other managers nodded.

'Yes indeed. That ends this meeting. All good luck, and see you next week, I guess.' Becker spoke, while the screen behind her shut down.

Outside the Main Gate

"Wonderful, thank you. I told you guys they'd let us in!" John Paul said in a slightly cocky tone.

"I'm actually surprised they didn't arrest you."

The three men began to walk through the gate to the main Palace, not much different from their last visit...only...was it bigger?

Murska Federal Prison

Another man, dressed in all black clothing, wore a black leather jacket over a black sweater. On the back of the jacket, the letters "EBG" were emblazoned in gold. He was on the other side of the bullet-proof glass in Murska's visiting room.

"What is it?" asked the inmate, he too, was dressed in lively, blue and white silk.

"Do the words 'Council of Ten' interest you?" the man asked.

The inmate's eyes widened. Interested.

"Yes. Yes they do. More importantly, how do you know of my existence?"

"Oh, it's not a secret. Everyone related to the real War knows about you. Fortstall is out. Macker is back onboard. All we need now is you."

"I'm flattered, you never said these things to me back when we were together you know," the inmate said, a large grin on his face.

"That's because things are different now. Steven Daniels is dead."

"So I've heard. And his daughter?"

"She's been out of the loop for a decade now."

"I see...And what are the benefits I get by joining your coalition of sick and twisted minds?"

"Master Maester of the Kazach Order..." the man with the leather jacket said in a simple, monotone voice, but it was enough to make the inmate drop the phone on the other end and grin even wider.

"Well...I sure...I sure would like that."

"Are you in?"

"What of Jorge Kevala? Or Stalzin? Malone? Garcia? Johnson? What of these people!"

"They're all either dead, retired, or too weak to hinder our plans..."

"I'm in."

Golden Skies Stock Exchange
Late Night Update

FXTA - 400.09^ - 416.12
GRIN - 2000.23\/ - 1898.19
FGI - 341.22\/ - 321.12
GSEC - 2212.84\/ - 2201.32
...

Quadrant II, Sector F-11, Golden Skies City

A solitary skyscraper, surrounded by slums. The lone reminder of the Old Financial District...

The hum of bulldozers.
The shouts of construction workers.
The tears of the poor.

Foxtecha is coming back to town.

Luxembourg

As the Maserati slowly rose out of the underground garage, the engine slowly revved, and the car rolled forward. Shifting into the next gear, the vehicle creaked somewhat, since the recent revisions meant it was practically new and had been standing for a month or so. As the Grand Duke looked around, he saw three men walking down the driveway, towards the main entrance of the Palace. He immediately thought he had seen them before, but was unsure where. When the car came closer, he could see their faces, and it struck him who they were. As he wound down the window, the car rolled alongside, and he spoke to the three men.

'Well, well! Squad 49 on a personal visit I see!'

Nei Hivez Extra Security Facility, Van Luxemburg

'Morning, Hauptmeister. You have took your guards with you, I see?'

The commander of the Extra Security Facility looked at the police officers walking in, while the Hauptmeister of the guard looked at his employees passing by, each having took their daily drive to work. The first of the night shift had already left, and were now relieved by these officers.

'Okay, Hauptmeister. Good luck with your job, I'll also head for home. Bye!'

'Bye, Kommissar.' The Hauptmeister greeted casually, while he followed his officers inside. Meanwhile, the Kommissar started his VLT L6, and drove away. Only minutes later, his car had already returned, braking hard and struggling to stop before the main gate of the prison.

During the few minutes he had been away, one of the officers had discovered that cell number 156A was empty. This was the cell of Viktor Ananko, a war criminal from Vuhifell. He had been detained in Van Luxemburg after the Vuhifellian High Court had refused to take care of his case.

Immediately after his escape had been discovered, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Internal Affairs had been warned, aswell as the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Which also warned the Vuhifellians). Police units around VL had been told to look for Ananko, and step up patrols around the nation. The Marechaussee had been ordered to also look for Ananko, and all alw enforcement agencies had been told they were allowed to use full force against him, in case of a life-threatening situation. Meanwhile, Ananko could be anywhere, having escaped roughly an hour ago...

Grand Ducal Palace

"Oh, hello Your Highness, we were just going to see y- Mr. President!" the three of them immediately saluted as they saw the President through the rolled-down window.

"Hello, boys. I assume you are all acquainted?" asked the President.

"Well, yeah. It's a long story...well Your Highness? Mr. President? Are you two busy at the moment?" asked John Paul. Never the tactful one, while the President opened his PDA to check an alert coming from the Vuhifellian Embassy in Luxembourg.

A few kilometers from Nei Hivez Prison

His time in prison hadn't made his legs any weaker, and he continued to run. Run fast away from that place, his inmate's clothes still on him. Of course he would need new clothes, but more importantly, he would need to contact the Order, if he was ever to get back to Vuhifell.

A few houses beyond the treeline, he would seek shelter there until contact could be established. That was even easier the second time around...

Vuhifellian Embassy
Luxembourg

An emergency meeting of all embassy staff had been convened. They were all fully aware of Fortstall's release, and of the President's stay in Luxembourg, and they couldn't help but feel anxious.

A rather tall, Indian man with a black beret stood up, his name was Sujith Sudano, and he saw the diplomatic staff seated at the conference table. He began to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, VanLux authorities have just informed us that Viktor Ananko, great-grandson of Villa Ananko, has escaped from one of their high-security prisons," this garnered laughter from several secretaries and even the Chief Scientific Advisor.

"Nevertheless, the President, Vice President, and Supreme Delegate are all in Luxembourg as of this moment. And our VPA liason has made the obvious deduction that Ananko and Fortstall are working together. For what, we do not know. However, the security of our exo-legislative officials takes top priority over catching Ananko as of this moment."

Short, compared to Sudano, a white, blond haired, blue eyed woman in a white lab coat and glasses stood up, lighting a cigarette.

"This isn't good Sudano, Fortstall's current location, as verified by the VIC is currently unknown. If he is working with Ananko, it's most likely either to assassinate our top government officials in one blow, or to serve as a distraction while he pulls something off in Vuhifell. I recommend we send an alert to the President recommending raising alert status to DEFCON 4."

"Awknowledged. All opposed?"

None raised their hand. The woman sat back down, pulled a small PDA from her pocket, and began furiously pounding away at the keys.

In the car with the Grand Duke, and with the high-ranking officers of Squad 49 looking on, the message appeared:

Alert ONE: To President Keiichi Morisato
From the Embassy of the Vuhifellian Federation in Van Luxemburg

VIC has confirmed Fortstall's location as "unknown", Viktor Ananko escaped from prison in Van Luxemburg.

Priority Alpha: Safety of all Vuhifellian officials in Van Luxemburg
Priority Beta: Catch Viktor Ananko
Priority Gamma: Raise alert status to DEFCON 4

Hostile objectives unknown.
Hostile numbers unknown.
Hostile locations unknown.

We have taken the liberty of dispatching the Presidential Guard to the Hivezian Airport. Recommend you and your family return to Vuhifell immediately. Speculate Fortstall is either trying to assassinate you via Ananko or Ananko is a diversion from a greater scheme in Vuhifell.

If you do not respond to this message within 24 hours, the Supreme Council will be notified and you will be removed from your office as President.

Nei Hivez Extra Security Facility

A pair of Kommunalpolizei VLT L9's stood lined up on the parking lot, it's doors opened. Around it, police officers walked around, checking maps. Several other VLT's, Monteluci's and Courtemanches stood parked on the opposite side of the parking lot, each undercover police vehicles. Their lightbars and flashers still emitted blue lights, and the occupants of the vehicles were talking to eachother, and discussing with the police officers from the Kommunalpolizei. Next to this scene, several Fiat Scudo's of the Recherche had been parked in various positions on the asphalt, while the drivers were taking search dogs out of their transport cages. The same thing could be seen in Nei Hivez. Groups of Police vehicles standing together, coordinating a search action. Cars parked everywhere, sometimes blocking the road in an attempt to check traffic. Undercover VLTs and Monteluci's patrolling the country roads, assisted by marked cars of various makes.

At the same time, military transport vehicles such as the Monteluci M6 and VLT M5 moved in large convoys over the same roads, escorted by specialized vehicles of the Grand-Ducal Marechaussee. At specified points, the troops unloaded and, accompanied by search dogs, joined the search for Ananko. They had been given the order to allow physical violence, meaning they carried their full combat gear during the search. Overhead, helicopters of both Police and Military circled over the various woods, using their infrared systems to cover the dense forests. On the lake, Police boats patrolled around and searched every single ship that came past. The Van Luxemburgians would certainly not give up the search for Ananko...

Grand-Ducal Palace

'Well, not necessarily.'

The Grand Duke also looked onto Morisato's PDA, also seeing the alert.

'It isn't the first time they haven't told me...' He sighed, as he started the car again and quickly turned the car.

'You three can take the rear seat. Let's get back inside then.'

"What's going on?" asked John Paul.

"Just get in," said the President, in a tone he rarely ever used. The two older men got in the car without question, but John Paul was still young, and hesistated.

"Seriously, Pat! What's going on?" he asked again.

Patrick hesistated before entering the car, answering, "Everything and everyone we fought against in the last War is about to return. Keiichi...why...why did you pardon him?"

"For the good of all, we can't expect to live up to ourselves if we tortured him..."

"That man killed millions. He personally turned the key for the nuclear launch station. He personally executed his generals. He almost killed me, my wife, my friends, even you...Hopefully I'll get to return the favor this time. John, get in," Patrick got in the back, while John Paul willfully followed.

Okchabursk Federal Prison

It looked more like a throne room than a prison cell. A lone guard came to David Macker's cell, carrying a seude cushion, a cell phone on top of it.

"It's for you, Sir."

The guard kneeled, David smiled and picked up the phone, sitting in a lavish chair, stolen last year from the Farbanti Museum of Kazach History. His cell had been re-fitted for a perfect view of the Atlantic Ocean, a lighthouse began to light up in the distance.

"Thank you," David said to the guard, before speaking into the phone,

"Yes?"

"David, how are you?"

"I'm perfectly fine, excuse me for a moment," He put the phone away from his mouth and asked the guard for a glass of cognac, "sorry, I'm fine. So, Fortstall, is my Palace ready?"

"The construction crews are tearing down what's left of the slums as we speak, but the Main Tower itself has been maintained well over the years."

"I still don't want to see that trash when I head back there. Make sure you tear down all the slums. Replace them with something nice, like luxury apartments, or parking lots."

"As you wish, David. But will Foxtecha be able to finance this?"

"Take it out of my personal account for the time being, I can live without a few trillion credits for a few months."

The guard returned with a bottle of cognac, the finest distilled and aged liquor that could be made within the Federation, the bottle alone cost several hundred thousand credits.

"Here you are, Sir."

"Thank you, once again. Number..."

"47! Sir, I'm Number 47!"

"Ah, yes, Number 47, thank you, now, as we were, Fortstall..."

New Hivez

A single man sat outside the Capitol Building. Eating a sandwich, he slightly bit one of his teeth...

Several explosions were heard around the city, one near Bright Hill, others near the Council Offices, another near the High Court Building and the National Museum. He stood up, turned around, saw the pillars of fire and smoke, and began to run, just like everyone else around him.

Grand-Ducal Palace

The Maserati turned, and returned to the garage once again, wher ethe Grand Duke allowed the men to get out, before parking the vehicle and taking the men upstairs, to his office.

As he sat down, the visitors got a chance to look around. In the middle of the room, which was quite large, was a dark oak desk, a very heavy piece of woodworking that could have took a lot of trees to make. On it, a 22 inch monitor pointed towards the Grand Duke, with an exact copy of the monitor pointing the other way, to where the visitors stood. On the rest of the desk various artifacts, such as a Van Luxemburgian flag, and lots of papers decorated with the coat of arms or VLT logos lay around, waiting to be finished. On the right, a huge map of Van Luxemburg hung from the wall. In fact, it was a digital screen, that could be used to show any information required about Van Luxemburg, from local maps to pictures. On the otehr side of the room, a second digital screen displayed a world map with the same features as the first map. On the wall opposite to the Grand Duke and behind the visitors a large TV screen allowed for communication with others, or simply TV watching, while the windows behind the Grand Duke offered a fabulous vie wof the gardens, the swimming pools and the forests beyond, with some of the suburbs of Luxembourg laying somewhere in the distance.

'Welcome to my office, gentlemen. Have a seat.'

He pointed at a set of four chairs, which probably were part of the inventory of the Palace since it was built.Then, he rose from his own chair, and walked to the Van Luxemburgian map on his right. he moved his finger towards Nei Hivez, and the map immediately changed to a large map of the region around the city. After having pushed a few more buttons, he started his story.

'This here -' he pointed at an image of a prison, showing up next to the map, 'Is the Nei Hivez Extra Security Facility. This is where we detained Ananko. I have already ordered the military to set up a search action aswell, and they should be searching by now. Search dogs, helicopters, boats, everything. All other police units in the nation have been warned of Ananko's escape, and so are the Marechaussee and the Customs. I also ordered a detachment of the Groussherzogliche Wuecht, who are my personal protection troops, to assist the search party in Nei Hivez. They should be leaving by car soon enough, and it should take them around 5 hours to reach Nei Hivez. Help is -ofcourse- always welcome.'

The alert was relayed to Keiichi's wife and sister waiting outside, and they too, as second and third in command of government, walked into the Duke's office and joined in the meeting.

Megumi, the President's sister, whispered in his ear, before he walked outside pulled out his PDA. Belldandy, his wife, took his stead in addressing the Grand Duke.

"Megumi has alerted both the VIC and the VPA in the Federation. Just a few minutes ago there was a large car bombing in New Hivez, the explosives were cyanide coated C4, a tactic the Kazach Order used to use back in the War,"

she paused, looking for the right words, "Mr. van Luxemburg, our High Court has authorized an immediate arrest warrant for both Fortstall and Ananko, VIC agents within Van Luxemburg are being re-routed from security and transport duties to the search and capture of Ananko. I request, as the Vice President, that he be returned alive to Vuhifellian hands."

Megumi bagan to push aside her sister-in-law so she could get a word in, after her PDA began flashing wildly, "Mr. van Luxemburg, I regret to inform you that the Van Luxemburg embassy in New Hivez was also considerably damaged from the blast of the car bombs. It seems that it was not the main target, but the embassy's proximity to other Council Headquarters..."

EBG Academy
Sector II, Ward 11
Golden Skies City

Under a marble archway decorated in solid gold, topped with a massive stone falcon, wings spread, a new class was being inducted. Hundreds of recruits lined up in aisles, their right arms raised forward, touching the shoulder of the recruit in front of them.

"We swear loyalty to Foxtecha. We swear loyalty to the Macker family. We swear loyalty to our squadmates. We are elite. We are proud. We are the Elite Black Guard."

Hundreds of voices repeated the mantra, as large men, heavily muscular, shouted numbers at them, small men, in lab coats and goggles, walked up and down the neat aisles of men and women and began bar-coding their right forearms.

EBG 116... REPLACE: JULIUS RODRIGUEZ// AMANDA KYETH
EBG 117... REPLACE: PATRICK MALONE// CLYDE BARKER
EBG 118... REPLACE: KIETH ARMSTRONG// JONATHAN MAYS


EBG 167... REPLACE: ALICIA DANIELS// VERNON McDOUGAL
...

(OOC: Really short one, this time. Sorry about that)

'If someone asks you, you've never heard me saying this, but Goddamnit, how could all this happen? Ananko escaped, Fortstall received a pardon, and now this. Any dead or wounded?'

He paused, but went on a second later.

'Also, if you feel you are in any danger, I will step up security here aswell. The Grand-Ducal Guard will also be leaving for Nei Hivez, but the Marechaussee will be taking over their tasks, and I've also called on some troops of the Reebouwuecht, so we're safe here. The Luxembourg Police will be setting up a checkpoint on the Boulevard here, so let's hope they can filter out all the assassination attempts.'

Garages of the Palace

The boot of the BMW-Alpina B7 slammed close, having been loaded with assault rifles and all other sorts of equipment the Grand-Ducal Guard would need in Nei Hivez. The same happened to several other cars, all loaded with what would equal a complete armoury. As the passengers got in, the heavy engines started, producing a roar that could be heard throughout the garage. As the vehicles accelerated out of the garage, LED flashers were activated and sirens blared. 5 hours were planned for around 750 kilometres: The vehicles would need to average 150 km/h+ if they wanted to make it, but knowing the Van Luxemburgian approach to driving, it would cost far less than 5 hours..

(OOC: It's fine)

Megumi looked down on her PDA, a large frown instantly appeared across her face, "Reports are still stretchy, but there's a large cloud of cyanide hanging over the area, as well as fires and thick smoke in the surrounding buildings...It is possible that no one made it out alive..."

"Your Highness, there is no doubt in my mind that we were the targets of todays car bombings, however, we cannot simply sit here in this building and watch our nation destroy itself! Please, let us return to Vuhifell on a government flight, the VIC will help you in Van Luxemburg."

Grand-Ducal Palace

He was silent for a moment, before answering.

'Ofcourse, I understand your dilemma. Can we do anything to guarantee your security any further? You will ofcourse be escorted to the airport, I've got vehicles to spare. You can take the Grand-Ducal VLT L8 for this case, it's the most heavily armoured in my inventory, besides the military vehicles, ofcourse. I'll send a fighter escort with your airplane aswell. They'll escort you until the VAF can take over their tasks.'

Meanwhile, he picked up the phone and made a short internal call, in order to ready the security forces that would escort the Vuhifellians to Luxembourg-Findel. Some moments later, the heavily armoured L8 the Grand Duke spoke about rolled out of the garages beneath the Palace, escorted by a complete range of other escort vehicles manufactured in Van Luxemburg. They drove up to the main entry of the palace in a calm manner, the L8 stately braking befor ethe main entrance, leaving only a slight space for the passengers to walk in the open air, minimalising possible attacks. The limousine was surrounded by escort vehicles, while other cars belonging to the column already headed towards the gate in order to block the Boulevard. Motorbike escorts from the Luxembourg Police were called up to block roads ahead, in order to secure the route the column would travel. They were followed by several military vehicles that would set up on strategical locations along the route, in order to provide more heavily-armed security for the vehicle column.

While the security was in the process of being set up, the Grand Duke took the Vuhifellians downstairs again, to wait in the lobby before they received the go-ahead to leave. During the wait, he shook hands and said goodbye to every single one of them, since he wouldn't travel with them towards the airport. It was only minutes before the often rehearsed escort plan would leap into action, and the L8 could leave the Palace.

Nei Hivez

Just as the small group of vehicles parked in front of the Extra Security Facility, a Eurocopter EC145 of the Kommunalpolizei passed over, it's Infrared cameras aimed towards the ground in order to look for the escaped prisoner.

The vehicles' passengers, meanwhile, got out and walked towards the coordination office that had been set up on the parking office. From there, police officers, soldiers and even armoured vehicles headed towards the wooded areas around the lake, armed with pistols, rifles and shotguns, while some of the soldiers held search dogs.

As the men stepped into the tent, they immediately identified themselves.

'Grand-Ducal Guard. We've also been called up for the search. Is there any task we can perform right now?'

The police officer that coordinated the search action looked up, assessing the persons he had in front of him. They were all wearing normal, civilian clothing, and their function could only be seen by closely examining them: handcuffs on their belts, the antenna of a walkie-talkie sticking out of their pockets and a bulletproof vest with a holstered pistol hidden beneath their clothes.

'Yes, we would like you to assist our people on the A65. We're currently taking all traffic over a parking where we check their papers. Raststätte Paart Hivez is the name of the parking. If you could rush down there, it's very welcome.'