NationStates Jolt Archive

"Before you embark upon a journey of revenge, you should first dig two graves".
~Confucius




Outside the Wulfenstein Harbor, Western Zaheran
11:25 P.M.

Private Johann Hiel yawned and looked at his watch. Damn. Two and a half more hours to go.

He swore and stomped with his feet to keep warm. Three hours out in the cold, just because of that accident with the colonel's lawnmower.

He shook his head and swore again. The worst part was the knowledge that his comrades were celebrating Easter and having fun inside, with lots of warmth, food and booze.

Even from here he could hear singing and laughing. Farther down the road, at the harbor, he could see the PPP naval base, silent and dark.

He spitted on the ground. Bastards, he thought. Bet you're sleeping in warm beds while I'm stuck out here, guarding your damned asses.

Tired and distracted as he was, he didn't see the black-clad figure slipping out of the shadows a few meters away.

Neither did he hear the quiet footsteps as the man crept up behind him. The last thing he felt was something cold and sharp at his throat.

Cardinal Erich Hochmann of the Army of the Holy Cross smiled as he looked at the body at his feet.
The lazy bastard, probably thinking of women and alcohol on this day of Christ, had been an easy target.

He shook his head in disdain. If all sentries were this blind, tonight's mission would be as easy as stealing candy from a three-year old.

Ten more men appeared at his whistle, all dressed like him. Only four of them were true soldiers of the AHC, the others being men from the National Liberation Movement.

He didn't like the thought of fighting on the side of heretics, but he had no choice.
The AHC had taken heavy losses in it's war against the governments, while the NLM was a relatively new organisaton, with hundreds of fresh members.

He shrugged. The enemy of your enemy was your friend, at least in this case. He checked his watch. 2330 hours.

It was time. "Assemble the mortar", he whispered. One of the men handed him a encrypted walkie-talkie, stolen from a military supply.

"Archangel Five is in position and ready", he reported.
"Affirmative", the voice on the other side of the line answered. "Archangel Two and Three are in position. Await signal to fire".
"Roger. Archangel Five, out". He gave back the device to the other man and took out his binoculars.

Scanning the area beneath him, he could see the men of Archangel Two and Three readying their weapons.

On the other side of the base the Freedom teams would be doing the same. Any second now. There.

He could here the roar as the Sacrifice team started the engine on their vehicle, a truck filled with high-explosives.

"Fire!", he shouted. Grenades strarted falling on the PPP base. Rattling gunfire was heard as other teams opened up on the base and the soldiers inside.
Group Sacrifice's suiced vehicle rolled into the area, aiming for what the intelligence reports said was the HQ.

It exploded with a mighty bang, nearly throwing Hochmann of his feet, even at this distance. Warning sirens began screaming as the attack continued.
Across the city, timed bombs exploded at military bases and police stations, adding to the confusion and increasing the time the attackers could work uninterrupted.

Hochmann smiled. Revenge would be taken.

Grand Marshal Gerhard Repke was in the middle of his lunch when he received the news of what was happening in Zaheran. Without a moment's hesitation he said "We'll send the Serpent Guard there. Those guys haven't killed Christians since our invasion of Shanestan."

The explosion woke up the soldiers stationed at the base, who quickly put on their gear. Outside they ran to different directions, some to the tanks and other armored vehicles, some behind sandbags and put their MGs into position. Immediately after the first grenades hit, several spotlight lit up searching the mortars and their crews.

Tanks drove out of the base, firing randomly into the dark until their own spotlights were lit after which the firing stopped as the crews looked for the attackers. A few figures behind a bush were shot at, but no one cared to see if they were the attackers.

Some 1,500 Serpent Guard soldiers (religious fanatics) were sent to Zaheran and they would arrive in a few days.

ooc: Mind if I take a prisoner?

OOC: Sure thing.

As the soldiers ran out, Archangel Four, a support team for Two and Three, opened up fire with two heavy machine guns, greeting them with a storm of fire. Archangel One, armed with Hellfire missiles, attacked the armoured vehicles from concealed positions behind buildings or vegetation.

Meanwhile, in the eastern part of the city, governor Gotthard Froedels woke up to the sound of gunfire and explosions. He rushed to the window and pulled away the curtains. Oh shit, he thought. The horizon to the east glowed red. He could hear sirens shriek all over the city, and when he looked down he saw a black van skid into his backyard, with battle-dressed IntSec troops jumping out to secure the house from would-be attackers. He sighed with relief. No need to worry about his personal safety. He was wrong.

In another house across the street, a AHC sniper aimed in on the governor's head. His mission was to create as much chaos and confusion as possible, and the easiest ways to do that was to eliminate the head of the civilian administration in this area. There. A light pull of the trigger, a quiet puff as the bullet leaved the barrel.

The bullet shattered the window and caught the governor in the forehead. He stumbled backwards, fell and hit the floor with a heavy thump. A minute later his aide, who had been summoned to give the governor a situation report, found that no one answered his knocks. He opened the door, finding the governor dead in a pool of blood. At first he thought it was a suicide, but then he saw the shattered glass and the big hole in the man's forehead. He clenched his fist in anger. Someone would pay for this. "Call General Nausser!", he yelled. "The governor is dead!"

General Hermann Nausser was in the city's Emergency Central, trying to get a grip on the situation. It was hard. The only things they knew was that the PPP base had been attacked in some way, and that the PPP soldiers were now running rampant in the harbor districts. His men were working hard to keep the panic from spreading, and MPs and IntSec troopers had established roadblocks on all roads leading to the harbor and the PPP base. Many police stations and and military bases had been attacked, so large numbers of his forces were tied down guarding important military and civilian facilities against saboteurs. That left him with 300 combat-ready soldiers, with reinforcements from bases outside the city expected to arrive within five hours. For the moment his only option was to seal of the harbor and try to ride out the storm.

The situation was finally brought to General Würstenklauer, who was sleeping in his flagship. "General, the Grand Marshal has ordered the Serpent Guard and a priestess to come here." his assistant said as he made the general coffee.
"He did what? He knows damn well it's going to end up as a massacre."

"Yes, well, he did say that we've got 12 hours to handle the situation."

"How many hostiles have we got? How many friendly casualties so far?"

"We're not sure about the enemy's numbers, but we've suffered 100 casualties so far, mostly due to the suicide truck crashing into the HQ."

"Right. Tell the men to show no mercy... But I want at least one prisoner."

The 1st MG position came under fire from two tanks, but as usual, no one stopped to see if it was a kill. How could it not be after 3 incendiary rounds?

One of the missiles' point of origin was triangulated to a building not far from the base's gates. Two dozen men rushed inside, searching the building. They found a locked door and kicked it in. As the first soldier who entered took a bullet to his throat, more came in and overpowered the enemies. Some were executed on the spot and their bodies thrown out of the window. One was left alive and taken to the flagship and it's crude cells.

After a while, a few guards entered the cell and searched the prisoner. General Würstenklauer entered and said "Tell me your name, rank and affiliation."

Things were not going well for the AHC. They had hoped to slaughter the PPP soldiers as cattle as they ran out of the barracks, but the foreigners had reacted faster then expected. "Report casualties", Hochmann demanded over the walkie-talkie.
"Four is down to fifty percent".
"Three is down to sixty".
"Two is down to forty".
Shit., Hochmann thought. "No answer from One?"
"I saw muzzle flashes from that direction a few minutes ago", Three answered after a moment of silence. "I suspect that One is as dead as any stone".
Not good. "Retreat to the safehouse, everyone. We'll cover you".
"Roger", three voices answered. "May the Lord be with you", Two added.
"You too, brother. "We'll meet in the Kingdom of Heaven". He switched off the walkie-taklie and turned to his men.

"Listen up. The infidels has fought with the power and strength of Satan himself, and our brothers, after inflicting massive casualties on the heathens, are retreating. Our task is to cover them, so that they can live to fight another day. We will probably die here, brothers, but I can ensure you that every man who dies as a martyr is guaranteed a place at God's own table. Our names will be remembered and honoured long after our deaths". He raised his voice to a roar. "Deus Vult!"
The men answered in kind. Beneath them they could see men breaking away from the fighting and running towards the waiting trucks.

The prisoner looked upon the general and spitted out blood. "Corporal Gottfried Kühne of the Army of the Holy Cross. What do you want me, heathen?" He smiled wryly. "We really catched you with your pants down, didn't we? Turned many of your pretty little soldiers into even prettier little bodies?"

The general laughed. "You sure did, I'll give you that." Then a group of slaves entered the cell carrying a table and two chairs. "Now... You'll tell me where to find your superiors and other members. Don't make me beat the information out of you, although I'd love to do so."


The base's commander while the general was busy, Colonel Schiller, shouted on the radio and his men could barely understand him. All they could hear was cursing and one command. "Don't let them escape, kill them all or take prisoners. We could use some extra slaves around here."

The faster APCs followed the enemy firing continuosly, the firing stopped only when the gunners had to reload. When the soldiers saw the trucks, one APC stopped and a hatch opened on the front. Out came a soldier with a bazooka. He aimed at one of the trucks and took the shot, after which he took a bullet to his foot and was crushed under an APC whose driver hadn't noticed him.

The smile vanished from the prisioner's face. He shook his head slowly. "I cannot do that, heathen. My organisation deals very harshly with traitors. Your torture methods are as pleasant as a summer breeze compared to what my brothers will do if I betray them. So", the smile returned, "do your worst. I'm prepared to meet my destiny".

The truck exploded with a thunderous roar. The others speeded up and drove in zic-zac, with AHC members firing from the truck beds. At the mortar site, Hochmann directed the fire behind the fleeing trucks to keep the PPP soldiers from following.

Farther away, a group of AHC soldiers waited for their comrades to arrive. Armed with Hellfire missiles and RPGs, their task was to be a welcoming comittee for pursuing enemy armoured units. Hiding in houses on both sides of the road, the PPP would be lured into a devasting ambush, caught in the cross-fire...

The general smiled back at the prisoner. "I'm sure that my methods are nothing compared to what you'll experience when the Serpent Guard and the priestess get here. At the end you'll be begging for mercy, I promise you."

Meanwhile, the Serpent Guard arrived. Men in black uniforms with a white armband bearing the symbol of Apophis came out of their transports. 10 of them escorted the priestess, a woman in her mid-30's, to the flagship's cells. When she and her guards entered the cell they saw the general beating the prisoner in the back with a rifle.

"General, long time no see. If you don't mind, I'll take it from here."
"I wouldn't mind at all. I'm too old for this." A mechanic brought in a toolbox as the general left. The priestess took out a hammer and handed it to one of the men in black uniforms. "So, infidel, where do we find your friends?"

The first APCs exploded as they entered the AHC ambush site. The ones following them, stopped to let the soldiers out, who quickly ran into buildings and put their gas masks on, while the APCs back off to a safe distance. Missiles packed with VX were launched from one of the ships in dock, aimed at the ambush site and to location where they thought the mortar fire was coming from.

The prisoner smiled thinly. "I'll give you a hint. On the planet called Earth".

The gas finally took out the mortar site. The ambushers, however, had prepared for the eventuality of gas being used and had been equiped with gas masks. Still, the gas killed some of the slower men, as it reached them before they had put on their masks. Rattling gunfire could be heard as AHC troopers opened up on their adversaries.

"General, it appears that one of the PPP ships has fired missiles against targets in the city!", one of the radar operators shouted.
"Good Lord. Of what kind?"
"Could be chemical weapons or conventional. I don't know at the moment".
"Hmm". He turned to a waiting officer. "Order all coastal batteries to be ready to start sinking that PPP fleet if the situatin escalates. What naval forces do we have at our disposal?"
"Three destroyers, four submarines and 15 smaller craft. How so?"
"I want the harbour closed. No one will be able to get in our out without our permission, is that understood?"
"Yes, sir".
"Good. Now, what ground forces do we have?"
"3,000 IntSec troops, the city's usual garrison of 1,500 soldiers and soon the 19th Mechanized Division, which should arrive within two hours".
"Very well. Now go carry out your orders. Dismissed".
The man saluted and hastened away.

Lying in position behind a pile of sandbags, Captain Nicholas Hiel of the 7th Interior Security Battalion could hear gunfire and see smoke billow out of houses a few blocks away. Behind him, 200 other men in dark green uniforms prepared their weapons. Soon this part of the city would be in Zaheranian hands again.

"We have an emergancy situation in Wulfenstein Harbour, West Zaheran. It appears the AHC have reared their ugly head again."

Voices blurred around the drowsy Lieutenant-General as he paced to the head of operations sitting at the control desk. Above them, the dark night sky was shielded from sight by 80 metres of soil and concrete. Whilst the large bunker they were pacing about was very old, it still had its merits as a pre-made operational command post that had been invaluable during the last few days of the civil war. The other numerous bunkers spread across this far northern sector of the island formally known as Oraz played host to much more serious items: command hubs for RADAR defence, missile defence batteries and even, as it was rumoured, nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. For while it appeared that Zaheran and Alfegos got on very well, in the past the two factions had fought it out over land, sea and sky. While much had healed since then, the government of the colony that was now Neo'Ilos always kept a watch on its much bigger neighbour.

He paced over to one of the modern computer terminals, linked by a copper sheath to the hidden servers below. It was currently showing a countdown timer, a long number in the top corner showing that the feed from whatever this was was encrypted highly.
"The reports are of widescale violence across the Pro Patria Purina dock area"
'Any idea of how much damage they've done?"
"So far, it seems very widespread. The local governer has been assassinated, a suicide bomb has been let off, mortars have been firing... it's a mess down there."

The screen finished its countdown, before displaying a dark landscape, moving ever so slightly. The picture began to zoom in, focusing at each point. Now it was easy to see little white figures and items moving about the area, in what was indicated as 0.9 micrometre infared. A warning siren began as a large area was digitally marked by the enhanced-reality programme.
"The spectrometer just said that nerve agent VX has just been deployed against them."
"What are they doing? Have they gone mad?"
"It might appear so. But the stratellite will help us for now. Allow us to judge what is going on."

He coughed, before walking over to another operator.
"Get a team out to investigate the area. Give them a bit more help."

_________________________________________________

A loud siren cut out on the surface: men began sprinting across from dorms, hastily-donned clothing thrust upon their bodies. The light of the moon reflected from the rippling waters of the nearby sea as a company of 72 men, each in purple night-warfare camoflauge, sprinted across the freshly-painted concrete surfaces towards the bloated bodies of three vehicles, stooped low over the ground. Support crews slammed fuel pipelines into the craft from mobile tankers, while others made their way onboard loading and checking the armaments and weaponry. There was a test roar from the egnines, before they started roaring to life.

These craft coughing into life were the quickest way they could get a presence over to the danger area: three ekranoplans, two loaded with missiles in bulbous pods protruding from their sides and roofs, the other loaded with 72 men and supply crates. The ground teams backed away rapidly as the craft slipped into the water, before the engines changed tone from a dull roar to a ear-splitting scream. The craft rapidly accelerated in the water, large bow waves rolling up towards the glass cockpit windows. Suddenly, they died away, as the craft hovered just a few metres above the surface, an invisible cushion of air supporting them.

The craft banked around, disappearing into the night, leaving behind the frantic scene of the military base jumpig into action.

_______________________________________________________________

Over the capital of Neo'ilos, military airships mingled with police ones as they kept an eye out on the skies and the land below. Large spotlights lit the ground as they picked out miscreants, the police below rapidly engulfing them.

However, the military airships, totalling 5 I-class aeropatrolcraft and a Stormbringer aerodropship, weren't on the lookout for the common criminals: live feeds from their cameras watched keenly by experienced ground operators, looking out for AHC militants. They weren't taking any chances tonight: not with what had happened with the last lot of AHC members, and the now rebuilt villa.

The AHC. It always was the AHC. They were like the legendary hydra in the fairytales he had heard as a child. For every head you cut off, two more grew out. He looked up from the table, meeting Richard Hotho's cold gaze. There was worry in the man's blue eyes, as well as in his own, Conrad Sterling knew. "How is the situation?", he asked.
The other man shook his head. "Confused, to say the least. The AHC and the PPP are fighting like cats in a sack. Our reports indicates that your Interior Security troops and the city's standing military garrison have managed to block all roads out of the conflict area, but they don't have enough force to start a counter-attack, as much personnel is tied up hunting saboteurs behind the lines. The PPP recently landed heavy reinforcements, units from their Serpent Guard if the reports are correct. Much points to that the AHC have large forces hidden in the city. My men are searching for them as we speak". He took up a paper from the neat folder laying in front of him. "Also, our agents in Neo'Ilos report high activity from military and police airships over the capital. Our best guess is that they are searching for AHC members trying to repeat that little feat they tried last time. The probability for that is estimated to be very low. We think that they are throwing everything they has into Wulfenstein. Worse, they might not even be alone. One of our moles in the AHC reported, before he "disappeared", that there had been talks between the AHC and a group known as the National Liberation Front, the NLM. The NLM is a new group, consisting of neo-nazis and ultra-nationalists who want to throw all foreigners out of the country. If they have thrown in their lot with the AHC, it could mean that the combined force could amount to about 3,000 men of varying military training and motivation. In short, we have a major problem. What can we do about it?"
Sterling thought about it for moment. "Check up with Lucien if you could borrow some more of his military units. I'll transfer 2,500 IntSec from Xeverax and Nakón-Taag".
The other man nodded. "That should do. I'll transfer as many of my men as I can, so we can begin cleaning out the rear areas". He rised from the chair and stretched his arms. "I'll inform his Majesty when I'm done with Lucien. See you later, my friend".

Nicholas Lieb laid down the binoculars and turned around, inspecting his men. They all looked fit and ready for combat. Why didn't the brass give the orders? The shooting was still going on, and as far as Lieb knew his task was to stop it. Suddenly he saw something glitter in a window across the street. Out of instinct he throwed himself to the ground. A moment later a bullet whizzled past and buried itself in the sand bags. "Take cover!", he roared. "We are under attack!"
He could see men streaming out of the houses around the roadblock, firing with assault rifles at him and his men. He could hear how his machine guns began to answer, spraying the enemy with lead. He grabbed the radio. "Echo Five Six to Central Command, Echo Five Six to Central Command We are under heavy, repeat, heavy enemy fire. Requesting reinforcements, over".
The voice that answered was calm. "Request noted, Echo Five Six. Can you give an estimate of the number of attackers?"
Nicholas raised his head over the sandbags, quickly taking it down as a hail of fire whistled past overhead. "At least 200, possible more. We need help as quickly as possible".
"Acknowledged. Central Command, out".
Great, Nicholas thought. They were on their own, at least for the moment.

The three craft shot over the water, engines wailing a harsh banshee noise as they came towards the fighting zone. From here, they could see distant flashes of explosions as they prepared for battle.

Each was kitted in a night version of DPM: dark greys, blues and purples in irregular stripes across their warm smocks, trousers, helmets and body armour. Thick ceramic plates, able to stop just about any bullet in its tracks. Most were carrying night-vision equipment as they received their final orders.
Platoon 1 & 2 and the command section were to set up a beachhead once landing, with Platoon 1 equipped for fire support against enemies in the city and Platoon 2 as a reserve. Platoon 3 were going into the fray, and were not keen on that. Men sat with magazines taped together, knowing full well the advantage of a rapid reload instead of fumbling for rounds. Due to this being a city-fight, they had been issued with No. 2 Hollowpoint rounds for their AF-07 assault rifles, so that they didn't overpenetrate and cause collateral damage. Grant it wouldn't be pleasent for those on the receiving end, but that was the entire point.

"Get ready men!"
Captain Yhulso stood along with the rest of his command retinue, making the final preparations before landing. Behind him, a light began to flash, signalling immanent arrival. As the craft stopped with a jolt on the beach, digging up a long furrow in the sand, the rear door burst open. The first platoon sprinted out, hitting the deck outside as they formed a defensive semi-circle 50 metres across. The smouldering ruins of a building lay a few hundred metres along the shore, along with the dockyard buildings of the PPP navy. They truly were here.

The final men, dragging the temporary fortifications, layed out a small bastion of defence from these large wire cages about the area, before the defending group began filling them with shingle from the beach. The mortar crews of 1 Platoon were prearing for attack, a pair of ACSM2120 and 3 ASCM280 mortars being prepared for firing with large crates of munitions being laid out alongside the command section, the two head radio operators listening intently to both Alfegan and Zaheran traffic. Another man was sitting at a laptop, receiving the direct stratellite footage from the craft tens of kilometres above their heads. Soon, the attack platoon was moving out of the area, splitting into its three seperate sections. Keeping low in fireteams, they began pepper-potting towards areas of fighting. As three AF-07s and a SAW covered the path of advance, the other four men would dash about 5 metres into the next patch of cover, hitting the ground and aiming their weapons about as the next group moved forwards.

They slowly closed in, preparing to expect the worst.

The priestess nodded to the guard holding the hammer. With an evil grin on his face, he crushed the prisoner's left palm with a few blows with the sharper end of the hammer. "I'll ask you again. Where do we find your friends?"

The Serpent Guard had taken control of most of the base's available attack and transport choppers. A few attack choppers approached the place where the ambush had taken place followed by transports. The attack choppers fired their rockets into the buildings occupied by the AHC and emptied their chainguns, after which the transports lowered their occupants to rooftops. The Serpent Guard killed everyone they could not wearing an IAF uniform. They shouted "Die, infidels!" or "Glory to Apophis!" as they entered new rooms and buildings.

From: General Würstenklauer
To: General Hermann Nausser
You will get this city back under control and stop these attacks against my troops. If you can't, I'll be forced to do it for you.

The prisoner cried out in pain. "Go to Hell, heathen", he whispered. "I will not tell you anything".

A house collapsed under the massive fire. The others still stood, but as hollow, burnt-out shells, with the few AHC defenders that still were alive fighting the Serpent Guard in the narrow corridors. The AHC force fighting the roadblock garrison, still holding out against the overwhelming enemy forces, turned and threw themselves into the fight in the houses. The situation was further complicated by the sound of engines as dozens of black vans and APCs roared into the fray, with attack helicopters buzzing overhead like gigantic bumblebees. Hundreds green-clad IntSec troopers and soldiers in camouflage uniforms jumped out of the vehicles, spreading out and taking cover. "Lay down your weapons!", a voice bellowed from loudspeakers on one of the vans. "This area is now under martial law. Everyone found with weapons in their hands will be shot on sight".

To: General Würstenklauer
From: General Hermann Nausser
You are in no position to threaten me. Withdraw your soldiers from my city, or I will sink your ships and send back your men in body-bags. Beware, dear colleague. I currently have 50 Harpoon missiles pointed at your ship, and I will not hesitate to give the order to fire if I find it necessary. You live only on my benevolence.

"Hit the deck!"

Section 3 had hit hostiles. Bigtime hostiles. Moving up from behind the Zaheran troops fortified in their position, they began laying down heavy fire as they established a fire point. The two SAWs began roaring as the Section's sergeant ran over to the nearest Zaheran commander.

"You needed re-enforcements, now here they are! Can you give me an idea of what the hell is going on?"
He flicked out his radio unit, and passed it to the officer to allow for command to know what was going on.

Next to him, the scout of the section was busy counting off the co-ordinates from his binocular display, a rangefind mounted atop them, and calling them into the radio.
"Thankyou 33 Papa Sierra Pinhead: fire will commence soon."
In the distance, the mortars began firing, followed by a burst of light: a marker flare had ignited on a parachute, illuminated the entire area. Around it, the high-explosive rounds began falling, a loud whistle alerting all of their inboundness. There was a distant difference between the shells falling: it mainly was relatively small explosions intersperesed by the much heavier blasts of the 120mm mortars, firing much bigger rounds into the area. Asphalt and masonry began to rain down.
"See if they like that!"

The captain shook his head, hiding his surprise over the sudden appearance of the Alfegans. "I have no idea. Those AHC bastards just appeared out of nowhere". He looked around, seeing AHC soldiers running to cover under the artillery bombardment. "But I must thank you for turning up. We were in a quite serious situation". He took the offered radio. "Echo Five Six to Central Command. The bandits has been driven off. We were assisted by friendly forces of Alfegans origin. No further assistance needed. Echo Five Sixe, out". He handed the radio back to the Alfegans. "Thanks. Remind me to buy you a beer when this little war is over". He smiled. "In the last war I fought in, you were our enemies. Times change fast, don't they?"

The AHC soldiers were confused. Just a minute ago, it had looked like they were going to overrun the little outpost. Now they were fleeing as fast as their legs could carry them from the falling mortar sheels, hiding behind whatever they could find. There were no doubt that the attackers were Alfegans. It required only one gaze to distinguish them from the pale Zaheranians they had previously been fighting. But where had they come from?

The guard put the hammer down and found a blow torch. First he lit a cigarette with it and then began burning the prisoners face with it. "Where do we find your friends, infidel?"

The few remaining AHC members were taken prisoner, but they weren't taken to the ships. Instead, they were crusified and set on fire by laughing soldiers. As much as the Serpent Guard soldiers would have loved to stay and see the infidels burn, everyone including them received orders to focus on the other hostile group (ooc: can't remember the name. :S).

The soldiers laughed at the loudspeaker van. One of them found a loudspeaker of his own and climbed to a rooftop, not too far from one of the roadblocks. "Then come and get us", he said.

From: General Würstenklauer
To: General Hermann Nausser
I'll withdraw my troops. After this little nuisance has been dealt with, that is. In the meantime we might just as well co-operate because as far as I can remember, they're your enemies, too.

"Ceasefire, but make ready for further bombardment!"

Another section had moved in behind the one now picking off those running to cover, one of the men carrying a flamethrower. A jet of flame lept 50 foot from the hose in his hands, incinerating those in its path. After a couple of seconds, the fire stopped, leaving a few puddles of burning petrol about the area. The original squad had split into two, with the other four men not giving supporting fire moving to 60 degrees from the fire support. In the darkness, their shadows were moving in, another 4 men from the recently-arrived section moving in with the flamethrower.

A second jet of flame lit up the battlefield, followed by two loud hisses: two flareguns had been fired, letting two orange flares move into the area. The signal to attack. Another section were moving in from the other side of the city, characterised by more shouts and gun shots. A few grenades arched from a distant grenade-launcher, blasting out small areas of resistance. A vice was slowly being put on them, consisting of only 24 men, but easily enough to take out these untrained soldiers.

_______________________________


Back at the central command base, the soldiers were starting to be moved out: two regular regiments were stationed in Neo'Ilos, one a mechanised infantry division and the other an armour division. Alongside the coastguard, airfleet, navy and airforce, they often seemed pointless, not playing much of a role. But here, they would be.

The threat they had picked up had led to them deploying two mechnised batallions. The coastguard ekranoplans patrolled the island as the navy craft left towards Wulfenstein, 14 in total each with a company on board. Alongside their vehicles. Either side of the formation, 4 fully-armed ekranoplans loaded with missile pods patrolled each flank, preparing for an attack: the PPP ships had been firing off chemical rounds, and they did not want to risk them being fired upon.

"I don't know!", he prisoner screamed. "They don't reveal that to people like me! It's the truth, I promise!"

The answer to the PPP soldier's arrogant words was a heavy barrage from artillery positions outside the city. The ground shook as scores of rounds hit the houses, demolishing them totally. "Stahl! Stahl! Stahl!", the loudspeakers began to roar as hundreds of soldiers and IntSec troopers charged forward, heavy machine guns on the APCs covering them as they stormed against the ruined buildings to finish off whatever resistance that was left.

All organised resistance in the Alfegan section was gone. The AHC soldiers retreated in disorder, their morale crushed by their humiliating defeat at the hands of a small Alfegan unit. Small groups of especially dedicated men still fought fanatically, but the majority were just throwed their weapons and ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

To: General Würstenklauer
From: General Hermann Nausser
I wouldn't normally define cooperation as your soldiers fighting against mine in mine city. Order your Serpent Guard to retreat. Now.

"Keep moving, keep moving!"
The other 12 men of the platoon had moved into the defensive circle 100m away from the original front line, guarding each corner of the junction in buildings and roads as they received orders from control. The platoon commander, Lieutenant Hyu, was sitting in the corner by two parked cars with a palmtop, receiving information from the foward command post of the enemy troop movements. A google-map of the city had superimposed onto it their positions, Zaheran positions, and those of the fleeing hostiles. He flicked to the infared transmission, checking the area for bodies.
"Move all the bodies into a line over by that building. And don't shoot any survivors. We need them alive to get information, and to bargain."

8 men sprinted out into the open, each in pairs. One stood aiming a weapon at the target's head, while the other slowly moved around to knock the weapons away, into a heap in the centre of the street. One then lept onto the body, twisting it upwards to check for an IED. As the call of clear echoed across the area, they began searching through pockets. Ammunition, grenades and other explosives rolled into a pile by the guns, while any pieces of other interest were moved away. They left on religious symbols. There was a call as one man found a notebook, bringing it over.
"It's in code, so scan it to command and see what they make of it."
"Right you are sergeant."
All were dead: 37 bodies had been located within the 50 metre vicinity, most dead from artillery, gunfire or merciful killings at the hands of soldiers who knew when someone had no hope. One of the Alfegans was laid on the opposite side of the street, his smock liying over his face: he was unconcscious from a round to the head, which while it hadn't penetrated had been enough to knock him out. His armour lay across him, showing rips in its fabric lining where rounds had been deflected. Another man was besdie him, the medic tying a large bandage about his arm: he had been hit, but had almost hit the medic when he suggested calling in an ambulance to take him back to base. The bone had been snapped, but he still held a machine-pistol from one of the dead bodies in his operable hand, his assault rifle hanging over his back: what he lost or broke through neglect, he paid for. This system made sure that some of the kit they used occasionally harked right back to the 1920's, such as some of the combat knives they were issued with. Mostly however it lay in surplus depots, waiting to be sold off to the highest bidder, or was used actively by the Whiteshields regiments of the Alfegan army.

After ten minutes at this position, they began to reform back into their squads. The Lieutenant, at the head of one of the sections, raised a flaregun.
"Moving out in fireteams, in your standard order... now!"
4 men dashed across the road, hitting the ground hard behind cars on the opposite side. The next four men came sprinting across, forming a defence on the right-hand side. As the next section started moving, the whole formation began advancing, preparing for an attack at any moment. They were moving towards the core of this fighting: the docklands area. Coming in a loop, they were slowly moving in from behind the AHC aggressors, scopes on their rifles aimed ahead towards the fire area. A yellow flare moved down across the battlefield, marking an area dead ahead. The mortars rumbled in the distance again, more marker flares drifitng over the area, bright white ones illuminating the entire area.

____________________________________

The 2 batallions of men and women aboard the inbound ekranoplan group sat, awaiting their arrival in silence. All was quiet, for now. They still had a while till they arrived, and until then would have to make themselves content in sitting still. They were taking a longer route as well: instead of going direct, they were looping away from the coast, to avoid possible coastal artillery and a stormy patch. While they hovered above the waves, they would still be knocked out of the air by monster waves. All knew about them.

______________________________________

From Neo'Ilos, a direct patrol group was being sent out to attempt to cotnrol any violence that spread across Zaheran. 3 I-class aeropatrolcraft were riding the strong winds towards Wulfenstein, accompanying a weapon of last resort between them: a Consul-class aerocrusier was moving behind the arrowhead formation of tiny airships, about 10 times longer than the others. It was also armed much more heavily: the total of 320 missile cell points were filled at 20% with 41 armed anti-surface cells (12 containing 4x Crossbow missiles and the rest 4x Longbow missiles), alongside 14 antishipping cells (each containing a single "sinker" AShM) and 9 anti-air cells (8 containing 2x Skysinger MRSAMs and one containing a single Rainbow LRSAM). Add to that an autocannon and cutting-edge countermeasures systems, and you had one craft you would not want to meet on a dark night... make that any night. Especially since these normally were deployed in fleets of up to 12 at a time.

Though they were expected to arrive in about 6 hours, when they did they would do what they excelled in: destruction. Even if the city had been taken by the "freedom fighters": they would flatten the entire city in their search for a target.

"I don't know!", he prisoner screamed. "They don't reveal that to people like me! It's the truth, I promise!"

The answer to the PPP soldier's arrogant words was a heavy barrage from artillery positions outside the city. The ground shook as scores of rounds hit the houses, demolishing them totally. "Stahl! Stahl! Stahl!", the loudspeakers began to roar as hundreds of soldiers and IntSec troopers charged forward, heavy machine guns on the APCs covering them as they stormed against the ruined buildings to finish off whatever resistance that was left.

All organised resistance in the Alfegan section was gone. The AHC soldiers retreated in disorder, their morale crushed by their humiliating defeat at the hands of a small Alfegan unit. Small groups of especially dedicated men still fought fanatically, but the majority were just throwed their weapons and ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

To: General Würstenklauer
From: General Hermann Nausser
I wouldn't normally define cooperation as your soldiers fighting against mine in mine city. Order your Serpent Guard to retreat. Now.

Everyone in the cell laughed, except the prisoner of course. "He's lying." the priestess said. "What radio frequency do you use? Where are your safe houses?" The guard with the blow torch proceeded to burn an upside-down cross on the man's chest. The guard whispered to the prisoner "Where is your god now?"

ooc: I'll edit more into this post as soon as I can.

The prisoner managed to laughter despite the consuming pain. "You will not see him in this life, I'm afraid", he told the guard. "Not in the afterlife either. You're going downstairs, to the hot place". He looked up at the priestess. "You too, heathen whore. Enjoy this life. There will be an eternity of pain when it ends".

A giant, red-bearded priest stopped the fleeing AHC soldiers. "Where are you going!", he bellowed. "The fighting's back there!" Ashamed of their cowardice, they stopped running. The priest continued. "Have you lost your faith in God, young man?", he asked a young, puffing soldier. The man's face became as red as a tomato. "No", he muttered, not meeting the priest's steady gaze. "Then why are you running?", the priest thundered. "If it's God's will that you shall die here today, then you will die here today, no matter how much you run. If He wants you to survive, then you will survive everything the heathens throw at you". He looked at them sternly. "I don't want to see God's true soldier running from a handful of heathens, is that understood? I swear on the Lord that I will shoot the next man I see running". The men nodded. "Good. Now get backthere and slaughter the bastards". He fired a short salvo from his submachine-gun in the air. "God is on our side!", he roared. "Deus Vult!" The shout was taken up by other men, and soon 78 AHC soldiers followed the red priest in a counter-assault against the Alfegans, shouting prayers and waving bibles, crosses and automatic weapons.

"Counter attack! Hit the deck!"

A grenade acrhed from one of the launchers as the platoon immediately moved into a fully defensive line: the fire-support fireteams began pleting rounds into the enemy, loud long bursts from the machineguns whistling down the street.

One fireteam was moving up onto a rooftop, along with the lieutenant. From here, he could launch an orange flare: he was calling in support. He was responded to by an almost immediate whistle as the mortar rounds began landing again. More fire, and more deaths.

"Keep firing, keep firing!"

The Alfegan fire inflicted heavy casualties on the AHC men. But this time, the reaction was not panic; it was rage. AHC soldiers who had been the first to run the first time now charged through the storm of fire, not caring as bullets whistled past or buried themselves in their flesh. They knew only that the Alfegans were their enemies and that they wanted to rip them to shreds with their bare hands. More sensible men further back mounted stolen grenade launchers on their rifles and began to fire against the hiding enemy soldiers. The priest laughted, standing on a burnt-out car. "That is good, my children!", he roared over the gunfire. "Give them a foretaste of what Hell will be like!"

"Fall back to the ERV. Double time!"

One fireteam fell back rapidly, sprinting from pieces of cover to pieces of cover, to where their re-enforcements were placed: next to the piles of bodies collected in the first fight.

Atop the building, the fireteam continued shooting, one of them fixing their sights on a figue prominently exposing himself to their fire. He flciked to single-shot due to the distance, and aimed down the rifle scope. He fired off 3 shots in rapid succession, before wriggling back with the now-retreating forces.

_____________________________________

"When are re-enforcements arriving?"
"Too long for us."
"Keep fortifying this area: I have feeling this could get nasty at any moment."

Only one platoon was left manning the mortars and the now-filled walls about the area, with the command section furiously discussing problems in quiet whispers, images flashing on the laptop of the battle across the city.

"We've lost 3 men from Platoon 1. KIA I'm afraid."
"Not acceptable. If they continue to have losses, we pull them right back here and get a missile strike in from the ekranoplans, wherever they are."

The red priest fell with three bullets in his chest, but it was too late. The AHC soldiers, seeing their hated enemies turn and flee, were now completely absorbed by their blood-thirst. They chased the fleeing enemy, firing wildly against everything that moved and shouting prayers and battle-cries with hoarse voices.

In another part of the city, a AHC commander gave a situation report to the leaders of the operation, one in red priest robes and with a mask over his head, the other one in jeans and a leather jacket. The AHC and the NLM was an odd couple, united only in their hatred against everything foreign, and in the AHC's case, nearly everything. Still, the cooperation effort had gone better than expected.

"Speak", the man in the red robes demanded.
"The situation is good in the southeast, father. The Alfegan heathens are retreating. Seems like they can't withstand our righteous forces".
The NLM man snorted. "They are a lesser race, that's why. Our Germanian warrior blood makes us superior".
The priest didn't show his irritation. "Continue", he just said.
"Well, the battles against the PPP are not going as well. Our forces have been driven back, but now it appears that the government puppets and the foreigners are fighting each other, which gives us the chance to regain our breath and move in reinforcements. Well, that's all basically. If you excuse me I must head back to my unit".
The priest waved him away´and turned to his NLM counterpart. "The battles are going well".
The man nodded. "Yes. This cooperation has been more productive than I initially thought". He looked at his watch. "Time to change position, isn't it?"
"Yes. We cannot afford that the government or the Alfegans find out where we are. Then we would have a couple of missiles thrown in through the windows".

"Hold the line!"

The lieutenat roared at the men who were holding this street and rooftop: they had stopped their retreat, and were now re-enforced with fury. As a flamethrower immolated all those who trod the path too close, machineguns coughed out rounds at those who continued charging without care. Assault rifles rattled, the men now resorting to even heavier armour-piercing rounds, punchingholes in the still-charging men. A couple of grenades arced over to blast craters in the road and buildings, while one mn even fired off a missile launcher towards a group of the men, turning away when the explosion sprayed the area with horrible fleshy lumps.

"Just keep going men!" One man beside him collapsed with a bullet wound to the neck: one of the few unarmoured areas, blood spurting up into the air from a burst artery before slowly dying down.
"Command, when do these re-enforcements intend to show themselves?"
"Any minute now!"

________________________________________

The ekranoplans roared up onto the beach further down. The men sprinted out into defensive positions as armoured vehicles rolled out alongside their men: a sizeable number to be honest. The mechanised infantry however were leaving their vehicles on the beach for now, while they set up along the shoreline. Long walls re-enforced with steel and kevlar had been rolled out along the shoreline, sprayed with quick-setting concrete from a support truck to rapidly produce sizeable fortifications. Enough for the two batallions.

As they consolidated their positions, the ekranoplans roared off again into the distance, leaving the 4 missile ekranoplans to patrol menacingly offshore.

Even through the AHC soldiers had given in to their bloodthirst, they were not complete fools. With the most hot-headed men lying dead or dying on the streets, the other took up defensive positions inside houses or behind cars, taking the chance to rest for a moment and regain their breath.

They were too recieving reinforcements, and small patrols were navigating the narrow streets, looking for a way the Alfegans were not guarding. They were in no hurry. Most of the local military and paramilitary forces were tied up fighting in the suburbs or against the PPP, so the Alfegans could not count on help from them. Sooner or later the AHC would find a gap in the Alfegan defences, making a sudden sneak attack possible. The math was easy: the Alfegans advantage laid in their better training and superior equipment, but in a sudden attack from behind, that would mean little. The result could be only one, the AHC men thought: slaughter. They smiled at each other while sitting in the house ruins and eating their food. The foreigners would not know what had hit them. But for now everything was silent, just sometimes the distant rumble from artillery fire somewhere in the suburbs.

"You're going to Seker's domain after you die, where you'll burn in lakes of fire and be eternally tormented by his wicked minions." the priestess said. "But I'm sure you'll prefer it over mining uranium as a slave. But before all that, tell us your radio frequency."

When the Zaheranian artillery started its barrage, soldiers ran for cover and began plotting their revenge. What the Zaherians hadn't understood (or maybe they had) that the soldiers' actions wouldn't have been approved by the commanding officers.

Meanwhile, the Serpent Guard was rounding up any AHC soldiers they could find from the ambush site and its vicinity. Some were set on fire at random, while the few remaining ones would be sent to slavery.

From: General Würstenklauer
To: General Herman Nausser
The Serpent Guard is here to do what you can't: get rid of the AHC. This means that they won't retreat. Also, firing your missiles in the direction of my ships will surely be considered an act of war on your goverment's behalf by the Grand Marshal. If I know the man at all, he'll most likely bring the full might of the Imperial Armed Forces down on you.

The prisoner laughted again. "I don't know, heathen. And even if I knew, it wouldn't matter, because I have no intention of telling you".

Helicopters roared overhead the Zaheranian assault, unleashing a storm of fire on everething that moved. Soldiers with flamethrowers rushed forward to chase out the PPP soldiers of their hiding places. The PPP would have to either surrender or die.

The artillery was now aiming in on the positions of the Serpent Guard. Hundreds of shells hit the area with a defeaning roar, buildings collapsing like houses of cards. Bombers from a nearby airforce base dropped napalm bombs. Now the Serpent Guard would be the ones who would burn.

To: General Würstenklauer
From: General Hermann Nausser
Maybe I did not express myself clear enough, dear colleague. You have twenty minutes to withdraw the Serpent Guard. Otherwise we will sink your ships, and you with them. The only result you would get from "bringing down the full might of the Imperial Armed Forces on us" would be to get rid of your Imperial Armed Forces. Do not threaten me. I have full authorization to crush you like the fly you are.

"Tell me, infidel... Do you think you'll need your 'privates' in slavery? Tell us your radio frequency and you won't have to find out."

When the Zaheranians rushed forward, they were greeted by MGs firing from concealed positions, as well as regular and flamethrower tanks. The Serpent Guard also rushed forward, enraged about the unprovoked attack. "Death to the infidels!" they shouted as they charged forward.

The general and his staff was moved to a submarine, which submerged and left the harbor for the open sea, but stayed in range for a possible retaliation if the Zaheranians decided to fire their missiles.

From: General Würstenklauer
To: General Hermann Nausser
You will stop attacking my troops and disarm the missiles that are pointed at us. If I go down, your city will burn. My patience is running out.

The prisoner just grinned. "Do your worst. The sufferings you can bring me in this world will just give me a greater reward in heaven".

The casualties were grievous, but the Zaheranian assault would not stop. Attack helicopters fired at tanks, concentrated artillery fire shook suspected MG positions, men with flamethrowers cleared houses. The AHC resistance in the suburbs had been broken and nearly a thousand soldiers were now fighting against the PPP, more and more soldiers and security troops throwing themselves into the fray as AHC strongholds were defeated.

Outside the harbor, the Imperial Navy was cutting of the PPP's escape route. ASW aircraft were searching for submarines trying to escape. Warship crews readied their weapons, waiting for the signal to attack. Coast batteries were doing the same, everyone hoping that the PPP would come to their senses.

From: General Hermann Nausser
To: General Würstenklauer
So is mine. This is your last chance to comply with our demands. Surrender or die. By orders of his Imperial Majesty, your permission to remain on Zaheranian soil is hereby withdrawn. Believe me, dear colleague. I have my hand on the button, and I will not hesitate to push it if necessary.

"Then we better make sure your reward will be great." The guard began pulling the prisoner's teeth out one by one. "Your radio frequency, now."

Meanwhile, the general was in the middle of a conversation with Grand Marshal Gerhard Repke. "These people have attacked us, unprovoked. I suggest that we put them in their place." the general said.

"I agree. The second they launch their missiles, use every bit of chemicals you have on that pathetic excuse of a city."

"It will be done. Though I'm sure that these people aren't willing to risk war, I need more men and equipment.

"I can get you 50,000 men and 500 tanks along with the 6th Naval Group for tomorrow. If they launch those missiles they'll all be slaves or burn."

The artillery fire took out some MG positions, but it wasn't the reason why many of them became silent. The order was to attack the road blocks. Several tanks exploded and those that were near them were engulfed in flames.

For the first time since the civil war in Zaheran, the fighters took off from their carriers and headed for the coastal batteries.

From: General Würstenklauer
To: General Hermann Nausser
Your imperial majesty is obviously forgetting that we did our part in that civil war of yours, and it was agreed that we'll have this base here. You have attacked us unprovoked, and your punishment will be dire. I dare you to launch those missiles and go to all out war.

"Forget it, heathen. I'm not going to tell you anything".

The PPP positions were attacked ruthlessy. Bombplanes dropped napalm over the enemy, attack helicopters fired at anything that moved, soldiers and tanks fought on the streets. But the foreigners were fighting for a hopeless case. More and more soldiers poured into the city with every passing moment.

Air raid alerts shrieked as radar sites detected the incoming aircraft. At nearby airfields, fighter pilots ran to their airplanes, while crews at SAM sites readied their weapons. Everyone waited.

In his bunker, General Nausser looked at the battle reports. Excellent. The coastal batteries were ready to sink the pathetic enemy fleet. He would show that arrogant foreigner what happened to them who challenged him. He raised his voice. "Fire the missi..."
"Stop!", he heard a voice shout. He turned around, annoyed that someone dared to interrupt him in this moment. His jaw dropped and he felt his heart turn to ice. Soldiers in black uniforms with hard faces and even harder eyes pointed assault rifles at him and his staff. Storm Legionnaries, the Emperor's personal army, loyal only to him. But how?, he thought. How did they find out so fast?
A man with the insignia of a colonel walked forth to him. "General Hermann Nausser?"
Nausser could do little but nod. The man smiled. "Very well. You are under arrest for treason. Your command is hereby suspended". He turned to his men. "Take him away!"

From: Colonel Erich Neuman
To: General Würstenklauer
I must apologize for general Nausser's behaviour. His actions were not authorized by the Zaheranian government. He will be punished for that. Now, what about ending this conflict? The missiles pointed towards your ships have been disarmed, and we request that you withdraw the aircraft heading towards them. We suggest that a ceasefire is declared immediately. If you agree to this, we offer you 500 AHC prisoners taken in the cleansing of this city, as well as a return to status quo.

The fighting in the western part of the city died out as the Zaheranians withdrew to defensive positions, nervously waiting for the PPP's reaction.

"Oh shit..."

The stratellite picture had just showed something they didn't need: the Pro Patrians had just done what they really hadn't wanted. Flamethrower attacks and missile attacks against the Zaherans. And to add to that, the platoons in the city was slowly being surrounded. And the squad-based infantry radios had just been blocked as part of the knee-jerk countermeasure system activated when high command saw the attacks. At least the Ekranoplan radios were working.

"Albatrosses, do you copy?"
Static.
"Albatrosses, do you copy."
"Affirmative". The voices were deadened by the static.
"Look, this shit just got real. And I mean it. Get ready to take out all Pro Patria Puritan communications, alongside their ships. We've got a map of the area from about a month ago, which won't be that reliable. But if we need to hit them. And hit them hard."

_____________________________________________

Silence reigned in this district of the city. The radios were dead, meaning hand signals were the only way of communicating. They knew there was enemy ahead of them, the occasional grenade causing a ringing echo about the streets. The bodies had been covered over, and the rest slowly dragged into buildings either side of the road, a fireteam on each floor. One was on the roof along with the commanding men, a tiny tritium light illuminating the battleplans. It had all gone completely askew with that banzai attack. At least the fire had deadened, giving them time to take much more cover in the buildings.

A soldier shivered on the rooftop, trying to get the radio working. Each channel was either static or a constant whine at the moment, the tell-tale sign of a jammer.

_____________________________________

On the beach-head, the armour had started to move. Towards the PPP lines along the shore. A batallion was a small force, but should be enough of a speed bump once the heavies started arriving. The airships they knew were at least 2 hours from arriving, even at full pelt on favourable winds. Once they arrived, the fight would pretty much be one within minutes. Until then, they were still in trouble.

The Batallion Major was busy guiding all from an M1A4 Warhound tank, converted to command version with lighter armament and heavier comms. The jamming generator was back at the other batallion's headquarters: a large lorry devoted entirely to that, based on a heavily modified communications trailer that resided nearby. He knew this would be a deadly mission if he had to attack, with results being a pyhrric victory at best. He was busy issuing commands on the unaffected vehiclular radios, shielded from jamming unlike the infantry radios, which would be online once the communications trailer came properly online. They were still activating equipment in there, instant buildings from crates being sprayed with excess concrete to form rapid-setting tents, each housing a platoon, priority to the commanders and then to the reserves. Safe havens from gunfire, until they could bring in the proper fortifications.

Just to hope that worst would not come to worst.

OOC: Mind if I join in, my colony is close by and no doubt would of been watching the events unfold

OOC: Well, you were involved in my civil war and all that too, so you can join in.

IC:

While the Alfegans waited, the AHC had already begun their next move. A group of fifteen men moved quietly in the sewers under the city, trying to get behind the Alfegan positions. Time was running out for the AHC. The area they controlled was shrinking as more and more strongholds were taken by government troops. Soon, they all know, they would soon be dead. In fact, sentinels in the outskirts of their section were already fighting against lead elements of the government offensive. This far the enemy had been fought off, but soon the AHC would be overrun. The opportunity to strike the Alfegans would soon be gone. With teams emerging from behind the enemy they hoped to catch them off guard, giving their comrades a chance to exploit the confusion. The result, they hoped, would be slaughter.

The foreward command base for the Alfegans was located mostly along the beach: with their backs to the sea, all they needed for that flank was a single missile battery for dealing with ships. Around the sides, built from shingle gabions, the soldiers patrolled if not being detailed with orders.

The first response company had been 'absorbed' into the infantry batallion base, now holding a small orbital structure that contained their artillery and the main command station. From here inside the command trailer, next to the comms, EW, Scanner and air defence trailers, the batallion commander was busy detailing instructions to the seperate company commanders, now 6 in total. A screen on one wall showed the current city view, a section zoomed in showing the Alfegans in the city itself. Red bodies were moving in on it, unaware as the signals platoon outside attempted to breath life back into the infantry radio network. From here, they could see hot bodies circling about the city force, slowly closing in or collapsing from sharp shots. Another box held a view of the PPP line, markers indicating their current unit allocation as plotted by computer and high command. Finally, the thrid and fourth boxes showed the two batallions.
"Until we get the radios to work, there is no hope for them unless we send in an attack from behind. Hell, we've got enough men here."
"My company will volunteer. Is that alright?"
A young Captain had spoken up, wearing the flashes that marked him as part of C company. He had a laptop on the table, details of resources next to the battle screen.
"Go ahead. You will follow the discussed plan of a concentric encircling attack, with 3 rings being used to surround the area and mop up resistance, before you meet at the final rendez-vous back here. Dismissed."
The man saluted and left.

He then turned to the man of S1 company, the special company comprised of, well, specialists. S2 company Captain sat next to him.
"When will the radios work?"
"Not sure to say: I did tell them not to jump at that tiny irritation."
"Well, we'll have to live with it now. Keep your men working with the toys, and we'll hopefully get something soon.

The other matter is that of the Pro Patria Puritans, who just attacked Zaheran forces, initating this chain of events. We shall broadcast a message of our intent, and then if they do what they'll likely do, then we can start the surgical strikes. Any objections?"
"Sir, wouldn't missile strikes just aggrevate them more, and bring in extra forces from their homeland?"
"Not to worry: we'll be targeting communications to remove their capacity to call in re-enforcements, and then we will start with destruction. As a second line of attack, we'll hopefully in a few hours have some slightly heavier support: then we'll see what their reaction is."

______________________________________

The temporary safe-zone gates were dragged apart as the men began sprinting out into the cover of buildings: 3 platoons and a command section, moving towards the enemy. When they were out in the city, in the first rows of buildings, they began to move, The command section commandered the top floor of an apartment, while each platoon moved out to their alloted points in turn: each at 120 degrees in a circle 800 metres across. When all finally were in place, taking slow yet guarenteed hostile-free routes, they moved: one section moved to form a tightening circle, slowly passing from building to building in search of the enemy. They too were deaf, radios cut off. Which explained why they moved towards the centre so slowly, each section follwed by another at an interval of 250 metres. The vice was tightening in this district.

(NB: The positions are mostly on the shoreline itself, so you'll have a lot of difficulty attemptng to get into the positions, unless you have your sewers going out under the beach... I assume though that you are talking about the two platoons located in the city proper.)

The guard finished pulling the prisoner's teeth out and threw them into a trash can. "Don't worry, you won't need those. Tell us your radio frequency and you won't have to find out what else you don't need in slavery."

The general gave the order to cancel the attack on the coastal batteries only seconds before the fighters were in range. "This is Air Carrier Bach, all units, return to base." "Copy that, returning to base."

From: General Würstenklauer
To: Colonel Erich Neuman
Apology accepted. However, I request that General Nausser and his staff be among the AHC members.

"Wait". The quiet command came from a former city engineer, now an AHC member, who was leading the infiltration party under the positions of the two trapped Alfegan platoons. "Do you hear anything?" The others shook their heads.
"Good". He looked upwards, where a manhole was placed. "Start working on that thing. But be quiet, for God's sake. If they hear us, everything will be ruined". He took out a radio while one of his men took out a welding torch and started to cut through the metal lid. "We are in position".

__________________________

The prisoner spitted on the soldier, but didn't say anything.

From: Colonel Erich Neuman
To: General Würstenklauer
You can get Nausser and his senior officers. The rest was just following orders.

The force trapped in the city centre kept looking outwards, towards the new counter-attack coming in: they could see the occasional gunflash as the company slowly encircling the area ground all AHC resistance into the ground.

Down in the empty street, a section of men spread in 4 buildings looked outwards to either end of the street, keeping silent. Suddenly, one heard a quiet hissing, though he was not sure where from. He looked into the centre of the street and saw nothing. He turned back, hearing a crackle from the radio.

"Radio network back on air. All sections call in. I repeat all sections call in."
The Corperal in charge of their section replied.
"This is Sierra 2 Papa 1 Central, we read you."
He turned back to the street: they were the only section looking into the street, the rest facing outwards either end of the street or to the sides from the building rooftops and windows.
"Central force, be advised, we are detecting a concentrated heat source in your area, at a maximum of 2200 degrees kelvin. Location is near to a parked van."
"Sierra 2 Papa 1 Central to Command, please assist us in telling us which van."
On the other end of the radio there was a sigh.
"There's only one van in the street."
They saw the small white van advertising some plumber parked near the curb. On the other side, the radio operator noticed something glowing orange.
"I read you. Investigating."
The corperal signalled, and a pair of men dashed out from the cover of a shop front, rolling as they hit the pavement on the other side of the vehicle row, before moving in on the glowing thing. It turned out to be a manhole cover, a large firey-orange circle glowing about its circumference. Before they could signal to the others to move in, it dropped into the sewer. One man moved forward to look down into the darkness.

The soldier took a bottle with clear liquid inside out of a brief case. On the label it read "HNO3", nitric acid. He poured some on the prisoner's chest. "Your radio frequency, now."

Meanwhile, the Serpent Guard was patrolling the streets of the harbour district, with loudspeaker on their jeeps. "Members of the AHC! You have fought well today, but your god has forsaken you. Surrender now and you will be treated well. If you don't surrender by noon, anyone found will be burned in righteous fire."

When the 500 AHC members along with general Nausser and his staff arrived, the air was filled with the noise of whips and cries of agony. The slaves-to-be were taken into a cargo ship, but not general Nausser. He was taken to general Würstenklauer who now was back in his flagship. Nausser was taken to Würstenklauer's office and forced to kneel before him. "We meet at last, dear colleague."

AHC soldiers began to climb up from the hole. The first man panicked as he saw Alfegan soldiers moving against them, but another shoved him out of the way and opened fire, the weapon jumping in his hands as he sprayed the enemy with rounds. Others joined in, shooting against anything that moved. The attack had begun.

______________________________

The prisoner screamed in agony. "I don't know them, you heathen bastard", he hissed. "How many times do I have to tell you that?"

The former general was sweating, but he raised his head and smiled a constrained smile. "We do indeed, heathen. You are just as ugly as I imagined you to be".

"Contact! We have enemy contact!"
The man yelled out to the rest listening as the curious private was hit 19 times in the chest by a hail of gunfire, falling backwards with multiple rib fractures underneath his armour.
"We have a unknown number of hostiles in the sewers, central street. Get us support ASAP!"
The three men sprinted backwads firing off their rifles, dragging between them the wounded soldier. They sprinted down the street, smashing a door down as thye dived into cover.
"Anyone got a grenade?"
The Lance-corperal heading the fireteam swore as he realised none of them had any grenades. He then began yelling out again.
"We have hostiles in the street. Get some fire support in here now!"

A pair of machineguns opened up on the upper floor of a building across the street, ripping holes in the building walls.
"Divert fire! We're friendlies!"
The tracer lines arched sharply to the right, where they began shredding the vehicles down the road. Above them in the building block, a platoon were busy firing outwards on the enemy. Now they were confused: an enemy in the centre?
Fire rang out from above them, followed by the roar of a flamethrower. Its light illuminated sihlouetted figures running for cover in the buildings, before turning one into a glowing beacon. Shots rang out, and it collapsed.
"They're in the buildings!"

The AHC soldiers took cover under the heavy fire. They only had the weapons the carried, so every man understood that it was only a matter of time now that they had lost surprise. Still, that was expected. Their purpose was to divert the Alfegans attention, buying time for the main assault. For now, they answered the enemy fire, trying to stay alive as long as possible.

The engineer, on the other hand, had a more special task. When the others sprinted into cover in the houses, he stayed behind, playing dead. Hearing gunfire erupt, he rised to his feet and run to a nearby car, dragging behind him all the explosives they had been able to carry with them. The vehicle wasn't locked and the car keys were still in place. The driver had probably decided that the car wasn't worth his life. The engineer chuckled at the thought while he began loading the explosives into the trunk. He hoped that the civilian had an insurance, for this car would not be easy to repair when he was finished with it...

"Concentrate fire on that position."
On the roof, the two Lieutenants were busy yelling commands down the radio channels as weapons fired. The front of a building exploded as a HESH grenade blew the facade to pieces, removing what little cover a foolish AHC soldier had taken. Seconds later, a volley of rounds found themselves in the ruin.

Meanwhile on street level, it had become even more of a bloodbath: the 16 men at street level were busy trying to dodge both friendly and AHC bullets, while taking pot shots at anyone who came their ways. Such was the confusion that only one man noticed the AHC man loading a vehicle with explosives. Being a grenadier, he took out one of the grenades he carried: in the dark, instead of choosing a fragmention grenade to take out the engineer he picked a similar shaped one, the thick gloves he was wearing not alerting him to the smooth grenade shape: he had picked one fo the two 'special' grenades he carried in addition to the 2 normal ones, him lacking a grenade launcher for a rifle. As he lobbed it towards the engineer, he realised his mistake: he had gone for an anti-vehicle grenade loaded with plastic explosive. As it landed in the trunk of the vehicle, he yelled out.
"Hit the deck!"

The engineer never realized what happened as the car exploded with a thunderous roar, obliteriting him and everything within a ten meter radius, as well as throwing red-hot metal fragments in every direction. A AHC soldier died immediatly as he was beheaded by a fragment, and another took a hit in the stomach. His cries of pain could be heard far way. Many others suffered minor injuries.

Further away, the explosion marked the start of the main assault. With the enemy distracted by the sewer team, the others would sneak up on them, hopefully defeating them through surprise ans sheer numbers. Seventy men moved quietly through the streets and houses, mortars and grenadiers ready to give fire support if they were detected. Today the enemy would suffer.

"Fall back to the central apartment, and fortify ASAP."
There was the quiet rasp of mousehole charges going off, followed by detonation charges, as sections crossed into the indicated building, a small flare burning on its roof. Within seconds, the two sections across the street had started moving across, collapsing on the other side as their body armour protected them from the hail of gunfire.

The flamethrower roared again, before a stray gunshot took out the fuel tank. Another explosion took out the ground floor of the building, an entire section engulfed in flames. There was only 31 men left, alongside 7 wounded soldiers who lay with a medic attendin to them on the top floor. On the other 5 floors, the rest of the men were busy firing onto the streets either side, the occasional flare arching across the battlefield.

On the rooftop, a radio crackled.
"Central, can you here me?"
"Yes we can." The lieutenant grabed the radio before taking a shot at a sihlouette.
"Good. You noticed that explosion?"
"Of course. What about it?"
"It seems that was a signal of some sort: we've got enemies moving in across the entire battlefront. And not just from within the area of couter-attack: we've got them coming in from the entire city: someone wants you outta the game."
"You got an ETA of the first wave?"
"You'll get contact in about 30 seconds, and I will warn you that they outnumber you at least 4 to 1. We've got the counter-attack to pull out to their ERV, so you're on your own until we can move them in at the oppertune moment. Until then, take cover!"

A few seconds later, there came the whistling as mortar rounds started coming down from the beach-head forces. Not as relieving as the sound of even a single thud gun or an airship going on the rampage, but still something reassuring.
"Make ready! All arms."
There was the similtaneous sound of the men on this side of the building unloading, followed by the reloading of whatever rounds they decided would be necessary, from just standard rounds to even incendiaries. Then came the sound of grenade launchers and grenades being prepared. The men on the 2nd floor were the first to spot enemies.
"Contact, 2 o'clock, single targets!"
"Ripple fire!"
There was a volley of rounds starting on one end of the building and ending at the other, before starting again, each man firing a shot every 3 seconds. While a relatively long time, it allowed them to make each shot count.

Men started falling on the AHC side, but that was expected. The rest took cover temporarily, while their officers calling in support. Soon grenades started falling over the Alfegan positions. The AHC troopers waited for a moment for the artillery to take effect, then resumed the attack, running from house to house, hiding behind whatever they could find. Teams moved around the building, encircling the enemy.

Not far away, the AHC leader laughted, hearing a officer's report.
"Excellent. The enemy is encircled, correct?"
"Yes". The man smiled. "They have no chance of escaping and we are outnumbering them greatly".
"Bah!". It was the NLM man. "Unnecessary precautions. We would have won anyway. The lesser races can't withstand our warrior blood. One of us is worth four of them. You know that".
"Sure, sure. Calm down. The heathens will soon be eredicated, and then we can turn our righteous wrath to the government puppets".
"I know. But we don't need so many men to take them down. It ties up forces that could have been used elsewhere".
The AHC leader and his officers exchanged resigned looks. The man clearly living in his own world. There was no elsewhere. All of the two groups remaining forces were in this sector, fighting against the Alfegans. The few sentinels they had left behind could delay the government forces, but they could not stop them. Sooner or later they would come here, and then the AHC command would die.

"We've done all we can to help you Lieutenants. Here's a prayer from us."
The radios cut out as the amount of fire in the area began to intensify. The men on the roof were busy letting off rounds, while the occasional grenade launcher coughed and the other weapons roared out. They had switched back to rapid fire, trying to keep the enemy down long enough to stop them firing back. Hopefully, that would buy them time fore re-enforcements. A grenade arched into the building, blowing out an entire floor of the weakened building, sending another section yelling into the floor below.

_________________________________

The 'Prayer' being sent came in two arms. The first arm was the massing numbers of infantry now diverted to aid this battle: from observations, they had most of the AHC units in a single area. They could not miss this oppertunity.
As well as the company that was now moving in towards the shore from behind the AHC, another two were coming about to completely envelop the AHC. While the central sections may not survive this, the AHC would definately be taken down. As the mortars opened up again for another volley in the area, the vice began to tighten: the occasional flamethrower being fired off showed from above the movement of them towards the centre of the mass.

The second was flying along at high speed towards the area between the apartment block and the inbound soldiers: a missile had just been launched from an Ekranoplan in the bay, carrying a large cluster warhead. It shot over the enemy area, followed by the roar of the scatter charge. From the warhead, 400 hand grenade-sized projectiles shot out, completely elminating an area about 100mx50m in front of the apartment block. Anything out in the open would have felt that.

The effects of the cluster bomb was devastating. Eleven AHC soldiers were killed immediately, and seven more were wounded seriously. It was clear that they die on this day, but the AHC men did not care. They had been completely absorbed by hatred and faith, screaming out their hate as they fought and died in the ruins of the city that had been their home. Approximately 2,500 of their brothers had fallen in the battles for the city and 700 had been taken prisoner. Now the remaining 56 readied themselves for a final charge against the apartment block. Four grenadiers and the one remaining mortar provided fire support as they rushed forward from four different directions, firing wildly against every Alfegan who appeared in the windows.

_______________________________

In the AHC headquarters in the city, the AHC leadership prepared themselves for their deaths. It would be a betrayal to let anyone take them alive, but suicide was a sin, so they paired up two and two, each man putting a gun against his partners forehead. It was a mysteriuos scene the NLM leader saw when he entered the room, 10 red-clad priest pointing guns against each others.
"What is this?", he yelled. "I thought that we would try to escape!"
"We lied to you". The calm voice was the AHC leader's, standing behind the NLM man. "We know that you wouldn't have enough fate to do the final sacrifice, so we decided to help you along the way". He took out a pistol and pointed it against the man's head. "Goodbye, mr Krautz. See you in heaven".
He pulled the trigger, then looked at the body at his feet. "It is done. Liedermann, could you...?"
"Certainly". A young man turned around and fired three times, seeing his leader collapse on the floor. He turned back to his companion and began to count high. "One!" He looked into his brother's eyes, seeing the same eagerness that he felt himself. "Two!" He hesitated for a moment, then screamed as high as he could. "Three!"
Ten gunshots were heard.

As the remaining men inside the apartment saw the suicide charge from all around, they decided to carry out a last resort plan. Alfegans were dropping all over, and soon all would be lost. If they could hold out long enough...

Two men were busy setting traps on the building stairwell, while another let a grenade roll down the fire escape, blasting the stairs to pieces. Now the only way for the AHC to get in would be via the booby-trapped staircase. A few grenades lay in an empty ammunition case, pins removed but hammers held in place by the box. With 2 second fuses, the only visible danger to anyone moving up would be the pieces of tatty string crossing the staircase. And it was in position to blast one of the few remaining support pillars, bringing down most of the building on them.
The rest of the men began moving out: using the last of their mousehole charges, they started blowing their way through into the next buildings, before taking up positions in the other two buildings. They left a few decoys in the way of the windows: those dead AHC men had been useful to the last. A single machinegun was left shooting out at the street below, set to a very low fire rate and with a belt of blanks. The AHC would take some time to realise that it was all a trap, which would be when they got caught in the crossfire.
For now, the Alfegans just lay in the deepest cover in the buildings that they could find, waiting for the AHC to find the booby trap.

The AHC soldiers stormed into the building, feeling that victory was near. No one noticed hat there was no Alfegans left in the building, believing that they were hiding on the upper floors. Finding that the fire escape had been destroyed, the AHC force amassed at the staircase. There was a moment of hesitation, everyone waiting for an Alfegan ambush, but nothing happened. Then a young soldier gathered his courage and began to run up the stairs, followed by his comrades. No one noticed the trap.

"They've fallen right into the trap lads! Just keep down for now."

The mortars had silenced in the distance, waiting for their signal. It came quickly. As the foolish soldier climbed up the staircase, he hooked his foot against the strings strategically placed on the stairwell. There were three clunks as the grenades fell from their holder, followed by a very loud explosion. The top of the support beam, already damaged by the flamethrower tank exploding, was compeltely destroyed. Stress was focused onto a single point in the floor, where a beam originally was. Without anything holding it, the floor above crashed downwards onto the ground floor, followed by the remaining stories. The centre of the building crashed down, leaving exposed the small holes the Alfegans had crossed over into. The gunfire started.

The AHC soldiers were massacred. Twenty-seven men were crushed by the falling debris, others trapped beneath the ruins, envying those that had died a quick death. Those lucky enough to evade such a fate was mostly cut down by the gunfire, unable to see anything in the smoke and stone dust. Their morale now completely broken, the few survivors dropped their weapons and ran, alternatively putting their arms in the air and hoping for the best. Black smoke billowed up from apartment block, signaling the end of the AHC uprising.

The first of the encircling force arrived, as flares illuminated the battlefield. From above, a view from the Stratellite allowed the men on the ground on the orders of the forward command to round up the remainder of the men.

"Secure the perimeter, and get some vehicles here to give us a pickup."

The survivors in the area, caught both by the surviving Central group and the advancing Encirclement group, were rounded up into the middle of the street, next to the piles of bodies and the wounded. Up the road, the first of a convoy of lorries was arriving, to carry the bodies, captives and survivors back to the forward command area for debreifing and other matters.

The priestess sighed. "You're lying and I know that. Tell me your radio frequency and I'll get you something for the pain and make sure that you won't end up digging mine shafts."

Würstenklauer smiled. "Well, age does have it down sides, I admit. For your family's sake though, tell me where to find your friends, infidel. The other prisoner down in the cell block is proving to be rather tight lipped and I'll gladly find out if you're the same if you don't give me the information I want freely."

"Stopped threatening already?" The prisoner smiled a toothless smile. "Are you giving up?"

"Well, to bad that you won't find out, then". Nausser smiled. "For your information, my family has been dead since you were last time. Hinka's men killed the inhabitants of a certain village, as you may have been told. Guess whose family lived there?" He laughted. "I have got my revenge, at least. And now, goodbye". He crushed a hidden cyanide capsule with his teeth.

"Line up! Single file!"
The prisoners had been arranged in a straight line, all covered by a machinegun in the back of one of the trucks. Just in case any tried some funny business.
"Search them!"
2 sections of men ran out in biochem warfare suits, taking blood samples from them all while patting them down in a search for their weapons. Knowing about former experiences with this group, one walked down the row with a pair of pliers and some complicated equipment: they were searching for false teeth containing any poison. Just in case any tried any funny business. There was a screech as one had a tooth pulled out, the surprisingly bloodless mass showing that it was a fake tooth. They rushed back to the vehicles where they began analysing the blood samples.
"No agents detected on their skin or in their blood stream. They're safe men."

A lieutenant walked out in front of the line of shivering men.
"You are now under military custody. Until the end of all military operations in this area and all useful information has been gleaned from you, your rights as citizens have been suspended. You will be held indefinately without trial. You will conform to our rules, or you will be punished. Take them away."
Men closed in, nudging them with rifle barrels towards one of the concrete tents, now fully dry. They were signalled into the bare interior of the strucutre, the only things inside being a small screen in the corner concealing a portable chemical toilet and blankets laid on the sandy floor. The last man was taken to the side by the lieutenant.
"Unlucky mate: you've been selected as the first interrogation subject. If you would come this way."

He led him over to another structure. Inisde, there was an unfolded desk and a few chairs around the room. The door was closed behind them.
"I'm going to first ask you what you are required to tell me by the Geneva convention: that being your name, rank, serial number and date of birth. Then we can move onto the information that you know, that we want. Now, comlying with us means that you will be exempt from the death penalty, which is likely with all the others. In addition, other 'penalties' can be avaoided. Like you being sent over to the Pro Patria Puritans. But, unpleasantries aside, do you take your tea with or without milk?"
A man had appeared at the back of the structure from behind a large screen, holding two cups, a teapot and dehydrated milk tablets.

The man sighed. "With milk, thank you. Well, to start with, my name is Carl Schaeffer. I am a sergeant in the Army of the Holy Cross. My serial number is 820308-738. I was born on the 8th of March 1982. What else do you want to know?"

"Alright."
He scribbled down the details on the clipboard in front of him as the other man laid the two mugs of drink on the table. Noticeably not very hot but just at the right temperature, to preserve flavour yet reduce the risk of its use as a weapon.
"So, Sergeant Schaeffer. That information is compulsory, but what other information can you offer us? Information that will benefit you and your family in the long run."
He passed the clipboard to the man who had served the tea, who then left the room.
"We'll just check whether your name is not an alias, then you're free to go. In the meantime, is there anything you wish to tell us? To ask us?"

________________________________

Unbenownst to the captured soldier in that room, an alias check was not the only thing being performed. As they checked his name on the Zaheran government database, they also searched out any family and known friends of the man in question. They dragged up photographs of his family, details... within 5 minutes they knew much about him. A tool they could use. Especially the addresses provided.

The sergeant took a sip of the tea. "Benefit me? If you hand me over to the government, the best thing I can expect is a bullet in the head. My family...well, let's just say that my childs will be placed in an orphanage or military school, while my wife will face a pretty long jail sentence for not informing the authorities of my affiliation with the AHC. That's not what I wish. If you can manage to get them out of that, maybe give them asylum in Alfegos or something, then I will give you the names of every AHC member I know of, as well as everything else i know". He smiled weakly. "I handled the enrollment lists in the AHC. A large part of the information, including the identities of some senior members, are in a laptop hidden on a location I will reveal if you manage to get my family and myself free".

"In that case, Sergeant, I think we may have ourselves a deal. Of course, we will need you to provide us with a location of the items promised to us before we begin the process, but this should be acceptable."

He whispered into the ear of the man who had just walked back in again with an electronic piece of paper bearing all the information needed for this case, before he was rewarded with a nod.

"You and your family will be granted asylum, but not in Alfegos itself. You will be provided with new identities and housing in the Alfegan colony of New Alfegos, a place with many oppertunities, and undergo a probation period of 6 months observation before we grant you full Alfegan citizenship and the ability to move to wherever you please in the Alfegan Territories. I grant that will be alright?
Now we'll need to know the location of this laptop, obviously. Can you inform us of its location?"

The man took another sip of the tea. His smile was now one of relief. "Deal. The laptop is hidden in a safe in an apartment in in central Zahran. The adress is Imperial Avenue 435. The apartment number is 43B. The key I have here". He handed the Alfegan a key in steel. "I was supposed to swallow that, but i figured that I might need it for negotiatons". He sighed again. "I should never had joined that damned group".

"Excellent. You just come with me please..."
He led the Zaheran man to another structure. He opened the door, revealing a platoon of soldiers lying down in there. Some wore bandages around limbs: they had been in the battle.
"I'll just leave this lot to look afte you while we make the arrangements and collect the laptop."

He left, leaving a silent strucutre. The tinny sound of an MP3 player was suddenly cut off as all turned to stare at the arrival.

______________________________________________

"Move it!"
The lorry came to a halt as the men lept out form the back, taking cover around the building's front area as they moved in. A team sprinted itno the building, followed by more men taking up defensive positions at the doors and windows. Soon, they reached the apartment door. A mahogany front held only the brass numerals of the apartment. Just what they were looking for. One man moved in with an automatic shotun, loading a single round into the chamber before moving the magazine into place. They waited in silence, before shooting the lock. It exploded in a shower of metal, leaving a large hole in the door. A kick later, and they sprinted into the room, yelling.

The prisoner sat down in a corner, carefully watching the Alfegans for any sign of hostility, trying to be as invisible as possible.

______________________________

The two AHC men sitting in the sofa and watching tv were taken completely by surprise by the sudden attack. One automatically put his hand in the air. The other, more aware of his duties, threw himself in cover behind the sofa, fumbling with his submachine gun.

"Hit the deck!"
The first two men in the room dived to the floor and rolled behind the cover of a table and shelving unit, as two men leant in to fire into the room at the sofa. Lumps of foam blew out the front and back of the sofa as they let rip at it for two second, before rushing in towards the sofa, ducking into cover as the others kept them covered. One of them lept up and rugby tackled the surrendering man, who they'd managed to hit with splinters from the shattered coffee table. He was dragged back to the cover of a heavy unit, before a pair of men stood up and cautiously started moving over towards the sofa. Many holes were scattered across its decorated cover, the yellow foam or wood inside surrounding pinpricks of dawn light from the window outside: the sun was rising on the battered city.

_______________________________________________________

The silence in the structure was soon broken as whispered comments in Fegosian shot across the structure from those both near and far from the man who had been left in here. The nearest man to the Zaheran soldier had a splint tied to his leg, bandages soaking the blood up from a wound to his femur. He turned back and made a few comments in an angry voice, before turning back to the man and talking in disjointed english:
"You AHC?"

The man behind the sofa answered the fire with a burst from hias own weapon. He was bleeding from numerous wounds in arms and legs, but nothing vital seemed to be hit. Well, it didn't matter. They would get him anyway, some way or another. Taking a quick decision, he stood up and ran towards the bedroom, firing frantically at the enemy.

_______________________

"Not anymore", the man answered with sigh. "And i wish I had never joined that group from the beginning".

"Get down!"
The two advancing men dived to the floor as the rest began returning fire towards the man charging into the cover of the bedroom area. One yelled out as he was hit in the arm, diving to cover and crawling over to a heavy table. The other man was already down on the floor outside the apartment, a gun pointed at his head.
"Three questions. Guess what we do if you answer wrong?"
There was the click of guns being loaded.
"First question: where's the safe?"

_______________________________________

The man turned around and yelled over his shoulder, to the chorus of laughter, followed by louder comments in Fegosian. The atmosphere had come back.
"Not AHC now? Attack us you?"
There was a sudden hush.

The man cried out in pain as another bullet found it's way into his shoulder. He dived into the cover of the bedroom and took a deep breath. Laying down on the floor, he rolled out of the room, fired a short burst and rolled back again. Not much time left. He had to destroy that safe. He crawled under the bed and found the box of explosives hidden there. If the Alfegans only could stay out for a minute, he would blow this place straight to hell.

The other man shook with fear. "It's in the bedroom", he said with a trembling voice.

________________________

The man shook his head. "No, I'm not AHC anymore. I have no ill intention towards any of you. I just want to get out of this hellhole of a city".

"Go go go!"
Two men dived into the bedroom as the man rolled back in, guns blazing, hitting the deck and rolling behind a bed. They popped up their weapons and began firing again, until their magazines were empty. There was silence as they reloaded, broken by the footsteps of more men pouring into the apartment, preparing to burst into the bedroom. A pair had set up bullet-proof riot shields, and were slowly edging their way towards the bedroom, the rest behind them.

Back outside, the prisoner was kept on the floor as the commander yelled out where the safe was. A key changed hands, before being thrown to the two men in cover behidn the bed.
"Second question: what is that man doing in the room? Answer quickly."

__________________________________________

"You not attack? OK."
A few comments flickered around, before talking resumed as normal, the men not talking to him directly, but passing on comments to the man next to the Zaheran.
"My english...not good. Others, worse! Anyway, why you join AHC?"

The man, ignoring his many wounds, threw himself into cover, still holding the explosives. Rolling around, he fired his submachine gun with one hand, spraying the room with fire. Emptying the weapon, he threw it in the Alfegans direction and dived down, trying to get the bomb working.

"Preparing to blow up this place, I think. That's what he's paid for".

______________________________

"My father and three of my brothers were members during the civil war. They were slaughtered by the nuclear warhead you used to crush the AHC's main base". He shrugged. "At that moment, I hated your people over everything else. I wanted to kill everyone of you. But now, seeing what the AHC has done to this place, I wonder if you weren't right in exterminating them".

As the submachinegun landed next to the two men in the bedroom, they lept up towards the man, leaving the key by the bed. One sprinted across the room to dive onto the man on the floor, rolling him away from the device he was working on and pinning him to the ground. The other man to the side aimed at the AHC man's head with his AF-07 assault rifle, finger on the trigger. The rest rushed in, pinning the man down or carefully examining the bomb, checking if it was active. The Lieutenant grabbed the key, before moving over to the safe unit in the wall.

Outside, a section had formed a defensive cordon as the two men were dragged without care to stairs and sharp objects to the back of the lorry parked outside, where they were tied up. The man upstairs turned the key in the safe lock, and opened the door...

__________________________________________

"Got caught in up that? Now I'd've would liked to seeing that. Did see that you?"
The man smiled, before catching a canteen thrown to him.
"Want try?"
Unlike the other man, he knew the canteen contained bootleg Ku'sola hkl'as. The men often were found with some strong alcoholic syrup amongst the platoon, of at least 70 percent strength. Normally a sort of initiation ceremony to the recruit who didn't know the strength of the stuff and took an entire mouthful without swallowing it immediately.

The laptop looked innocent and modest, covered with a thin layer of dust. But it's content was far from innocent. The names and codenames of more than four hundred AHC agents, many of whom held high positions in the government or in big corporation. The information could, in the wrong hands, cripple the organisation for years. Now it was in Alfegan hands, just because an enrollment officer hadn't destroyed the key as he was instructed to do.

______________________________-

The man shook his head. "No, I didn't see it. I found out after three days that most of my family had died in a nuclear explosion. Quite a shock, one might say". He took the offered canteen and took a mouthful of the liquid.

"We've got it!"
The lorry had pulled back into the main base, allowing for Zaheran special police units to start a forensics search of the apartment for anything they might find useful. But first, the Alfegans were to begin their strikes.

In the command centre, the laptop was opened up and checked for viruses by one of the communications men for the batallion, before he inserted a lead into the unit. Inside the command trailer, and back at HQ, the files were downloaded, passing through a virus filter as they were integrated into the computer systems. The list of names flickered up, followed by cross-referencing with the Zaheran government database. And what a goldmine this laptop had turned out to be. As the technicians started searching the extracted memory units for every single piece of information they had ever had on them, past and present, the major listened to a briefing from high command.
"We must not let them know that we have the laptop. Make it look like we're still trying to break into the safe, before you rig an explosion. That way, they won't be suspicious. We've got in contact with Zaheran authorities, and with High Command. The debate has just finished, and I think you will know the results."
"So we have a green light on special deployments?"
"Yes. Keep patrolling the city, and when the airship arrive keep an eye on the area. Just so we know if anyone tries anything. Remember to aid them in whatever way necessary. and to stop any heroics on your part. We don't need any more casualties"

On the other end, a woman had appeared, wearing barrack uniform and fitted with a communications relay headset. Images flickered before the glass screen in front of her eyes as she adressed the men.
"We're decided to cripple the organisation by starting from the top and working downwards. That way, we can prevent any high-level economic or political terrorism. Now, we've already started taps on priority targets phone lines, and on their computer systems. As you can guess though, we need information. That is why we're going for the graduated lethality approacha s well: the top targets are no-kill targets, while the lesser members on that list will be lucky not to get a bullet to the head.
We've sent in to arrive very soon ASF platoon Alpha 1. They will be performing the espionage and capture operations planned. In addition, we've had word from high up that we have some real 'specialists' in the area. Gaea springs to mind, but then I was not told at all. Until they arrive at your position, best of luck!"

The signal cut out as the men stood up.
"Let's get moving then."

________________________________________________

The specialist unit were in fact a part of the unit referred to as Phantom. A seperate branch to the silent hunters of Project Gaea of the Alfegan special forces, they were tasked with most of the highest-priority missions. Unlike the ASF Batallion, who were more extremely specialised regulars, the Phantoms practised an art form of stealth, unlike the more gung-ho approach of the ASF. And they were soon to arrive at their targets, spread across Zaheran. Most arrived under the cover of the remaining night by air, gliding in on black parachutes from high-altitude transports to land in the cities they had been promised. The total of 6 men and women, controlled by a hidden supply unit based on an offshore submarine, then began making their way to their targets, though the quiet conurbations.

____________________________________________________

"Enjoying that are you? Won't be for long."
The men watching started counting. At 5, they knew they'd get one of three reactions: vomiting, absolute agony or hideous groans as they felt the impact of the drink like a sledgehammer to the head. 3, 4, 5...

The pacificiation of the giant city was now complete, and it was time to count the dead. 59,000 people, most of them civilians, had died in the fighting. More than 200,000 had been wounded. Large parts of the city had been destroyed by artillery fire and house-to-house fighting. Still, the AHC had been defeated, their offensive strength broken for a long time ahead. Now, the leadership of the organisation was also in danger. Low-level members on the list had already been questioned by DSS agents, and a few, considered especially dangerous, had died in mysterious "traffic accidents". Higher ranked members were supervised, their phones tapped and their friends and families surveyed.

_________________________________

Suddenly the man felt ill. His head had begun to hurt badly, and he felt the urge to vomit. He fell forward, coughing and groaning. Had the Alfegans poisoned him? It certainly felt so.

Daybreak. Lorries and IFVs from the recently-arrived ekranoplan had started to move out across the city, clearing up debris, bodies and buildings, while patrolling the area. A lot of work needed to be done, namely in bringing the city back to full recovery level. Whilst the airships patrolled overhead menacingly, helping direct troop movements to areas of trouble, the main field camp was opened up to civilian wounded as army medics finished treating injured soldiers began to deal with the assortion of wounds, prioritising the heavily wounded in operations inside a mobile medical facility contained inside a large gyrocopter that had landed inside the base.

Meanwhile, the men clad in heavy body armour and armed with AF-07P assault rifles or other exotic firearms moved out into the city in IFVs. Each bore the insignia of a Fego'rai bird taking off, in front of a riging sun surrounded by a ring of stars: the ASF had arrived. And were starting their searches.

____________________________________________

"Some one can take their drink can't they? Don't be worried mate, it is not of poison. Might rot the gut litte, but removes of plaque and any infections along your throat."
He caught a bottle of water thrown to him, along with a packet of tablets.
"Have one of the tablets. Chew not them: swallow whole. That reduce the pain and aftershocks."
There were a couple of cheers from the men as they saw him stand back up, instead of emptying his stomach contents.
"They say welcome to group!"

The city was still under martial law, but the curfew had been lifted and people were moving on the streets again. A large crowd had gathered on the square in front of the old castle to witness the executions of captured AHC members. Nearly ten thousand people screamed out their hatred and contempt as the first row of prisoners were led out to the waiting gallows. Most held their heads high, proud of what they were, but a few were crying and screaming, trying to fight the soldiers guarding them. After a few minutes of struggling, the prisoners were standing with the rope nooses around their necks. At the commander's order, the trapdoors opened and fourteen AHC men joined their brothers in death. The crowd's cheers rised to the skies. As the bodies were taken away, fourteen more men were led out. The scenes was broadcasted live by all the major television channels, serving as a warning to others wishing to disturb the peace. The long arm of the law was long indeed, and when justice hit, it hit hard.

_________________________

The man swallowed one of the tablets and took a sip of the water. "You drink that often?", he asked. "Not strange that you are such fearsome warriors!"

The soldiers had been told to steer clear of the public hangings in their patrols about the city: Alfegos did not agree with public executions. Instead, they continued in rounding up any assorted theives that had decided to take advantage of the situation, as well as helping in the cleaning up of the area.

_____________________________________

"Fearsome? Only when we have some of drink."
He laughed, before taking a swig from the returned flask and tossing it back. It disappeared very suddenly when the Lieutenant for the platoon entered the barracks unit, followed by the similtaneous sound of the 25 men standing and saluting.
"At ease men. Now, I hope you have been treating our guest well. I'm looking at you Jha'klan, so you may as well give me the canteen. No, the one with the Ku'sola Hklana'jla in it."
He caught the canten thrown to him, which he quickly sniffed before closing the lid.
"Don't mind them" he said, switching from Fegosian to fluent english. "They don't mean to harm you. Just on a bit of a high after last night. Anyhow, you'll be here another half hour, before you're off on the next ekranoplan in here, to Neo'los central airport. Your family will be waiting there."

He was saluted again, before he left the building. The talking resumed, as the man referred to as Jha'klan pulled out another canteen to a chorus of laughter. He stood up from where he had dropped off his sleeping roll, burgan and combat vest, and came over to the corner with a small tin. Another man had come over as well.
"He's Jha'klan, and the other guy's Lo'han. If you haven't caught my name, that's Gjlaka'soi. I don't mind if you pronounce it wrong. Anyway, want to play a card game of some sort?"

With the executions finished and peace reinstated, the martial law was slowly being lifted. The new civilian governor had arrived and the soldiers had disappeared from the streets. Was it not for the many battle-scarred houses and the nervous looks of the people on the streets, one could hardly imagine what had happened. The hospitals had more work than usual, but the majority of the patients had already gone back to their homes, or in some cases, the tempoarily shelters outside the city. City life was going back to normal, cars honking in the heavy afternoon traffic, street vendors flocking around unsuspecting tourists, drunks fighting in the gutter outside bars. The police officers were a bit more heavily armed than usual and Alfegan soldiers were still patrolling the city, but most people did not notice or care. Some Christian churches had been vandalized, but the bishop of the city had been executed for heresy by the AHC, so the Christians were generally spared the wrath of the masses. Life was going back to normal.

___________________________________

"Jaklan, Lohan and Glakasoj". The man nodded. "I should remember that. I'm Carl. I think you will be able to pronounce that". He smiled. "Card game? Sure. How does it work?"

"OK Kair'lhe." There was a chuckle from one of the men, followed by a punch to the offender's ribs.
"Kair'lhe, we play Hearts. You know?"
He started dealing cards, till each player had 13 cards each.
"The idea of game is not to win tricks with hearts in. Each heart worth 1 point. You win queen of spades, you win 13 points. You win too many point, you lose. You have to play suit that player starts with, and then play card you want if you have no card that suit. But..."
He placed down the starting card: the 2 of clubs. The player to his left placed a queen of clubs, followed by a 7 from the person to his left.
"If you win every point in game, you shoot moon. You get no point, we all get 26. Very difficult, you need ace, king, queen, jack in hearts, and to get queen. Understand?"

"I think so". The man placed out a 6 of clubs. "Bah. I'm better at chess".

"Don't worry. Hearts easy learn."

The man who had won the trick moved the cards to the side: they were all worthless. He laid down the Jack of Spades. The man next to him swore as he laid down the Queen of spades, the next player laying the 9.

"You lay something lower than Queen, peron playing Queen wins her. And 13 points."

"Seems like he does, then". The former AHC member laid a five of spades.

"He ain't shooting the moon with that hand."
Lo'han showed all the Ace and King of hearts.
"But come on, let's see what he's going to lay now."
The ace of diamonds was laid.
"Looks like he's got a problem. 'cos I don't have a single diamond."
Lo'han laid the 7 of hearts.

After a few rounds of Hearts, the Lieutenant arrived again, forcing the sudden leaping of all back to their feet in salute. Behind him were two higher-ranking officers, what looked like some species of Buerocrat, and 8 armed guards.
"The information you gave us was, to say the least, satisfactory. As a result, we will honour our word. You will be escorted to the awaiting ekranoplan, which is just about to depart, and taken to Neo'Los. If you would like to come this way."
The men yelled out general farewells in Fegosian, English, and for the platoon nutcase Sudanese, before being silenced by a look from the Lieutenant.

Outside the shelter, a brief walk across the duckboards to theshoreline would reveal the giant, bloated craft that were Ekranoplans, beached to unload supplies with portable blast shields erected behind the battery of engines. One of them was starting up, engines roaring as they were started, tested and engaged. Men ran up to the side, loading rubbish, empty casings and wreckage into the modular cargo bay, before retreating as the engines started powering up.
"See you later then, firnd of the Alfegans."

The man waved as he entered the plane. "Thank you, Lieutenant!", he shouted over the engine noise. "Thank you for giving me another chance!"

The ekranoplan sped off into the distance, as men rushed about completing the tasks they had been assigned to do. The city still needed to be fully restored. And the AHC may strike again.