NationStates Jolt Archive

Along the runway at Paradise International Airport, several dozen soldiers stood, waiting for the arrival of the peacekeepers and doctors from ViZion. The strain of quelling near constant rebellion, coupled with the threat of foreign invasion at anytime had sucked nearly all of the Confederate budget into the military, leaving little for the public healthcare. That which was available was almost entirely poured into the cities, leaving those in the country at the mercy of their local doctor, who may or may not have any formal medical education.

Not only this, but bands of Muslims and Communists would oftentimes launch raids on small towns and villages throughout the jungle, leaving devastation behind as they mercilessly killed men, women and children. This was made worse by the feuds that date back generations that were all so common in the jungle. Bands of armed men would exchange shots at each other for a last name or hometown, and oftentimes the Confederate military was to busy chasing rebels to intervene.

The plane soon landed, and Col. Octavius Whiteboot approached the first ViZionite as he stepped off the plane.

"Colonel Octavius Whiteboot, Highlands Mounted Infantry. I will be escorting you and your party" he said, as he reached out his hand in a gesture of friendship.

Whiteboot was wearing an impressive uniform, looking more like he should be in the 19th century than the 21st, with dozens of medals dangling from his breast and a long saber by his side. Around the airport, any onlooker would be confused as why the International Medical Foundation and peacekeepers would be called in. Paradise City was the center of commerce in the Confederacy, and marvelous skyscrapers towered over the city, gorgeous parks and boulvards were all around, statues, fountains, and victory arches were on nearly every block, and everything seemed just beautiful.

All these aesthetic pleasures, however, were deceiving. Even within Paradise City, the slums housed eight million of the most decrepit, unfortunate souls on earth. The peacekeepers and doctors, however, would not be seeing the slums. They were going to be headed out for the jungles. They would soon get a view of the Confederacy very, very few foreigners had ever seen before.

The first man to exit the lead International Medical Foundation (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=532812) aircraft was John. He looked around at the airport. He was expecting to see a somewhat backwards looking place from all he had heard, but here, at the very least, was beautiful, well kept, and certainly world-class.

As he stepped down onto the concrete, the Colonel approached and introduced himself to John. "Colonel Octavius Whiteboot, it is great to meet you. We are glad to be here. We've got more supplies and voluntees coming over the next week as I'm sure you have been notified.

I am the Operation Blackhelm lead officer, John Doe." he said, cracking a big smile, "Yes, John Doe. Don't ask. I think my parents were a little, umm... tipsy when they chose my name." he said, shaking his head a little, still smiling.

"So, I've heard all this political jabber. But what is really going on here. I'd like to hear it straight from the mouth of a Confedate before I see everything."

"Well, lets get to the trucks, than we can talk, I want to get you boys into the field as soon as possible, ya know?" the colonel said as he began walking towards one of the 5 ton trucks parked in a row along the tarmac. He then hoped into the back, and invited John and his party to do the same.

"So anyway, about the situation...well, we were an Empire for almost two thousand years, see. Than these damned Commies started popping up in the jungle and we couldn't hold them on our own. e had to call in for help. Turns out, the help brought disease with them, and the plague spread throughout the nation, killing millions. The government collapsed as provinces started losing faith in the government and the foreigners left, and the only way to rebuild the nation was to make it into a Confederacy, in which each province acts sort of like a mini-government. This really, really messes up everything, especially in the poorer ones, where we are going.

Well, anyway, that covers the plague and the Commies, so now we got feuds and Muslims. Feuds are your basic...how do you say...Hattfiled and McCoy? Just families or little towns that have a grudge against each other for reasons nobody knows anymore, but people are still dying for it. And the Muslims....well, I don't wanna talk about the Muslims"

As he spoke, they began leaving the bright lights of the city and were now moving into the jungle.

"We have awhile. We are going to Western Province....pretty bland name eh? Well this place really sucks, poorest state in the Confederacy. Anything else you might need to know?"

"Well, lets get to the trucks, than we can talk, I want to get you boys into the field as soon as possible, ya know?" the colonel said as he began walking towards one of the 5 ton trucks parked in a row along the tarmac. He then hoped into the back, and invited John and his party to do the same.

"So anyway, about the situation...well, we were an Empire for almost two thousand years, see. Than these damned Commies started popping up in the jungle and we couldn't hold them on our own. e had to call in for help. Turns out, the help brought disease with them, and the plague spread throughout the nation, killing millions. The government collapsed as provinces started losing faith in the government and the foreigners left, and the only way to rebuild the nation was to make it into a Confederacy, in which each province acts sort of like a mini-government. This really, really messes up everything, especially in the poorer ones, where we are going.

Well, anyway, that covers the plague and the Commies, so now we got feuds and Muslims. Feuds are your basic...how do you say...Hattfiled and McCoy? Just families or little towns that have a grudge against each other for reasons nobody knows anymore, but people are still dying for it. And the Muslims....well, I don't wanna talk about the Muslims"

As he spoke, they began leaving the bright lights of the city and were now moving into the jungle.

"We have awhile. We are going to Western Province....pretty bland name eh? Well this place really sucks, poorest state in the Confederacy. Anything else you might need to know?"
"The plague?" John said, a little shocked. "Interesting. So it's a fairly hostile area out there, huh?" he said, glancing back at the convoy that included ViZionarian troops.

"It's pretty tough out there but I think we should be fine, we are all armed and the Confederate flags should be enough to keep most of the bad guys away. And about the plague, it ain't the same as the European plague, it was different....it was terrible."

The colonel than shouted something in Latin towards th front of the truck, and the driver turned off onto a dirt road.

"In a minute you are gunna see the first outsiders look of the Confederate backlands."

Moments later, the convoy stopped outside if a tiny village made of thatched huts. Several armed men appeared, but quickly retreated when they noticed it was the government.

"This is one of them all black villages here...them and the white farmers around here don't get along very well. If you don't mind the detour, we can do some good here. That large hut in the back is where they keep the sick and injured" the colonel said, pointing at a thatched hut in the rear of the village.

"It's pretty tough out there but I think we should be fine, we are all armed and the Confederate flags should be enough to keep most of the bad guys away. And about the plague, it ain't the same as the European plague, it was different....it was terrible."

The colonel than shouted something in Latin towards th front of the truck, and the driver turned off onto a dirt road.

"In a minute you are gunna see the first outsiders look of the Confederate backlands."

Moments later, the convoy stopped outside if a tiny village made of thatched huts. Several armed men appeared, but quickly retreated when they noticed it was the government.

"This is one of them all black villages here...them and the white farmers around here don't get along very well. If you don't mind the detour, we can do some good here. That large hut in the back is where they keep the sick and injured" the colonel said, pointing at a thatched hut in the rear of the village.
John hopped out of the truck, waiting for everyone to get ready. The soldiers exited the trucks first, weapons drawn. John had his right hand on a holster that had been hidden under his shirt until now. He was a little on the nervous side, but did not draw his gun. He was some training as a soldier, and had served as a police officer for six years as well prior to joining the IMF.

He and a few doctors began heading towards the hut, some of the ViZionarian soldiers flanking them for protection. "Back here?" John shouted to the colonel, pointing with his left hand to the hut.

"Yes yes, come on, I'll go first....but I warn you, it isn't pretty in there" and with that the colonel was off for the hut. He reached it, and held open the curtain that served as a door.

Inside, flies buzzed all around the malnourished deteriorating figures on the ground. The stench of shit and death were almost overpowering. Fifty people lay on mats on the dirt floor of the hut, many having sustained serious slash and bullet wounds, and one man with a severe burn over half of his body.

"I can't take the smell. I'll be outside, good luck" the colonel said.

"Yes yes, come on, I'll go first....but I warn you, it isn't pretty in there" and with that the colonel was off for the hut. He reached it, and held open the curtain that served as a door.

Inside, flies buzzed all around the malnourished deteriorating figures on the ground. The stench of shit and death were almost overpowering. Fifty people lay on mats on the dirt floor of the hut, many having sustained serious slash and bullet wounds, and one man with a severe burn over half of his body.

"I can't take the smell. I'll be outside, good luck" the colonel said.
"Thank you." John said, stopping outside. Masks were handed out to everyone, including two soldiers who were coming inside with them. Then they stepped inside.

"Phew..." John said. It was his first mission with the IMF abroad. And even having trained in the military, he was never in any warzones. However, the four doctors with him were not so shocked. Two of them had been in the Decade War, one of them had been abroad with the IMF twice previously, and all four of them had at least ten years dealing with all sorts of patients.

"John, first its a bitch, I know. But you get used to this stuff - well, partially." said Doctor Johnson, one of the doctors involved in the Decade War.

They began to examine the people within the hut.

OOC: I g2g to bed now, tomorrows post will conclude the "examination"...

OOC: Is this closed?

OOC: I'm not sure lol we never discussed that part, but since he's host and his nation, its his call...
IC:
After an hour, the men exited the hut and quickly took their masks off. "Well, looks like we may not be able to save them all... but hopefully we can." Doctor Hickman said to John. "Alright, lets get to work, I'll go talk to the Colonel." John replied.

Walking over to the Colonel, he could smell some of the stench on him. "Well, we're going to do what we can for those people. We're not sure if all of them can be saved, but we're definately going to do all we can. We do have world-class doctors here. On some of the next flights, we have some transportable medical facilities. They'll take a couple days to setup though, so we'll have to do with this hut for the time being." John informed him.

OOC: No, you can come in, just don't try and destroy things

IC:

"Days?" the colonel said, quite confused.

"No, no, this was supposed to be a short stop....this is just barely anything....but I guess if you want we can stay longer. Most of my men are going to continue on, however. It is your call, go with the troops, or me, you, and your men stay here to help out."

"Days?" the colonel said, quite confused.

"No, no, this was supposed to be a short stop....this is just barely anything....but I guess if you want we can stay longer. Most of my men are going to continue on, however. It is your call, go with the troops, or me, you, and your men stay here to help out."
"Well, here's the nice thing about being part of the International Medical Foundation - we are large enough so that we can have doctors spread out as we move along. So while some of our doctors stay here, we can have others join us. We most definately want to have some doctors here for the next two to four weeks in this village to help these people - as the IMF, we cannot simply leave them because of a timeline." John said with a smile. "Sound good to you?"

"Alright, leave some, and get the rest in trucks, we are going to stop off in a small town called Belltower. We have a small garrison there, maybe fifty or so people. The place is a major target for the Commies. Even right now, the running water and electricity to the town is out, and raids are happening almost daily. Alot of grief there, and we need you guys to help out" the colonel said as he climbed into the back of a truck.

"Alright, leave some, and get the rest in trucks, we are going to stop off in a small town called Belltower. We have a small garrison there, maybe fifty or so people. The place is a major target for the Commies. Even right now, the running water and electricity to the town is out, and raids are happening almost daily. Alot of grief there, and we need you guys to help out" the colonel said as he climbed into the back of a truck.
"Alright," he replied, turning and giving a nod to a couple of the doctors, "We're splitting here. I want two of you guys here, the rest will follow us. In a day or two more will be arriving to assist you guys. In about three days we should have one of our MMC's here for you guys."

"Alright, lets go." he said, "Also, is there any town thats hit noticably worse than any others?"

"Well, Belltower is one of the worst that I know of....some of these small little villages like the one you just left get wiped out completely every once in awhile" the colonel said.

As the convoy began moving, occasionally people, both black and white, would appear along the road. The Confederate soldiers on the most part ignored their pleas for food and water, and sometimes even armed people would appear. At least twice, potshots were taken at the trucks as they rolled along, and the colonel attributed it to filthy Commies.

Occasionally, dirt roads would branch off of the barely paved one they were moving along, and some of these roads were guarded by men toting assault rifles. Along some of the roads, the sound of gunfire could be heard in the distance, and smoke was bellowing into the air in some places.

The colonel looked out and shook his head. "We can't stop for them...it's really a shame, but we need to make it to Belltower before dark. Ya don't want to be on the roads at night."

Finally, just as the sun was setting, the convoy approached the Confederate checkpoint at Belltower. Two sandbagged machine gun nests flanked the barrier, and a soldier approached and spoke with the driver of the lead vehicle. They drove on, and were soon in the town.

Burned out buildings and rubble littered the area. Very few people were out on the streets, and garbage drifted along the roadways. Holes in the ground from mortar shells were everywhere, and occasionally, blood could be spotted on the sidewalk or against walls.

"This place was the real deal before the rebels started acting up. The hospital is just over there" the colonel said, pointing to a rather large, gray building.

The trucks stopped in front of the building as the head doctor came out. He was a small white man, with thinning grey hair, and wearing a lab coat too large for him. He started speaking, but it was obvious he was not very good at English and spoke with a thick accent, sort of sounding South African but not quite, as it was more difficult to understand. "I would like to..uh..thank you..for coming. We have no.....elec...power? Yes. We have no power or water. Please, help our sick."

"Well, Belltower is one of the worst that I know of....some of these small little villages like the one you just left get wiped out completely every once in awhile" the colonel said.

As the convoy began moving, occasionally people, both black and white, would appear along the road. The Confederate soldiers on the most part ignored their pleas for food and water, and sometimes even armed people would appear. At least twice, potshots were taken at the trucks as they rolled along, and the colonel attributed it to filthy Commies.

Occasionally, dirt roads would branch off of the barely paved one they were moving along, and some of these roads were guarded by men toting assault rifles. Along some of the roads, the sound of gunfire could be heard in the distance, and smoke was bellowing into the air in some places.

The colonel looked out and shook his head. "We can't stop for them...it's really a shame, but we need to make it to Belltower before dark. Ya don't want to be on the roads at night."

Finally, just as the sun was setting, the convoy approached the Confederate checkpoint at Belltower. Two sandbagged machine gun nests flanked the barrier, and a soldier approached and spoke with the driver of the lead vehicle. They drove on, and were soon in the town.

Burned out buildings and rubble littered the area. Very few people were out on the streets, and garbage drifted along the roadways. Holes in the ground from mortar shells were everywhere, and occasionally, blood could be spotted on the sidewalk or against walls.

"This place was the real deal before the rebels started acting up. The hospital is just over there" the colonel said, pointing to a rather large, gray building.

The trucks stopped in front of the building as the head doctor came out. He was a small white man, with thinning grey hair, and wearing a lab coat too large for him. He started speaking, but it was obvious he was not very good at English and spoke with a thick accent, sort of sounding South African but not quite, as it was more difficult to understand. "I would like to..uh..thank you..for coming. We have no.....elec...power? Yes. We have no power or water. Please, help our sick."
"It's pretty sad out there. I'm really starting to think our government needs put begin supporting a central government for your country - I'm not one to say very often that we should get into others affairs, either." John said.

As the head doctor finished speaking, John replied, "I'm glad we're here. Lead us in." he said.

"The people won't take it John...it would just make everything worse if we tried to change things" the colonel said. "I'll wait out here."

Meanwhile, the little old man lead the doctors through the hospital, groans of the sick and injured were heard coming out of every room, all lit by either candle, lantern, or some even garbage fire. The little old man looked dismayed by the situation and said "The Communists....they...they..cut the power to city. Then, they shot our power too. Now...no more power nowhere...people..they...uh how you say uh..die now."

As he continued to lead the doctors, a younger doctor approached. He too had an accent, but his English was much better. "I am very happy you are here. We need all the help you can get. We have almost quingenti people...I'm sorry, five hundred people here. Many are dying. You are welcome to anything here. Thank you very much" he said to John.

"Thank you. I didn't get your names though. I'm John." he said.

Sixteen doctors and 24 assistants began spreading out to check on the patience while the ViZionarian soldiers began offloading the supplies from the truck.

Another doctor walked up to the colonel. "Sir, how long are we going to be remaining here?"

"Oh how rude of me, I'm sorry we are just in such a rush to get things done here please excuse me. I am Rufus Brownleather, and the older gentlemen behind you is Lucius Tenpence" the younger doctor said.

Outside the colonel looked to the doctor. "Well, I am going to figure probably a few days. We are scheduled to leave in three, but it all depends on if anything happens between now and then. If we get attacked here we are going to have to wait around longer."

"Oh how rude of me, I'm sorry we are just in such a rush to get things done here please excuse me. I am Rufus Brownleather, and the older gentlemen behind you is Lucius Tenpence" the younger doctor said.

Outside the colonel looked to the doctor. "Well, I am going to figure probably a few days. We are scheduled to leave in three, but it all depends on if anything happens between now and then. If we get attacked here we are going to have to wait around longer."
John laughed, "No, its, its ok, I definately understand. Just wanted to get to know you two." he said, offering to shake their hands.

Outside, "Alright. Thank you. Just needed to know what kind of time frame we are looking at. Are we going to be able to get power on in this city anytime soon?" the doctor inquired.

The doctors shook his hand, and than trned around. " The building is in four floor...the sick are on the fourth floor, the burned are on the third, gunfire and shrapnel injuries, the most common, are second floor, and all the rest are here. You didn't happen to bring water with you, did you? We have not had clean water in the longest time" the doctor said.

"Ze longest time!" the older doctor repeated

"No problem, its getting dark though. I don't want any of you guys on the street when the sun is down, you better hurry inside" the colonel said. No sooner had he said this, a lone mortar shell flew from the jungle, making impact on a rubble pile a few blocks down.

The doctors shook his hand, and than trned around. " The building is in four floor...the sick are on the fourth floor, the burned are on the third, gunfire and shrapnel injuries, the most common, are second floor, and all the rest are here. You didn't happen to bring water with you, did you? We have not had clean water in the longest time" the doctor said.

"Ze longest time!" the older doctor repeated

"No problem, its getting dark though. I don't want any of you guys on the street when the sun is down, you better hurry inside" the colonel said. No sooner had he said this, a lone mortar shell flew from the jungle, making impact on a rubble pile a few blocks down.
"You'll be happy then to know we do, indeed, have some fresh water. And I can have some water ordered to be flown in and airdropped here. The same goes for food.

We do have plenty of supplies to get us started. I did not expect to be out of power in a city like this, however, so I'm going to have to also have generators airdropped tomorrow so we can get some power to this hospital." John said.

Soon after the soldiers brought the last of the supplies inside, they took up locations throughout the building, as well as key locations outside to stand post. While this was some of these mens first mission, others had weathered warzones before. Either way, they would not allow anything to happen to the people inside the hospital so long as they are able to still breath.

"This is very good news!" the younger doctor said with a smile "Let us get to work!" And with that, the doctor was off to tend to a patient who looked to have broken both arms and a leg. The older doctor soon came up and pointed to the patient. "He is a boy of fourteen....he was crushed by his home. Both arms, leg, and a lung...splat" he said making a clapping motion with his hands. "He shows hope though...lots of hope."

Meanwhile, outside, there was complete darkness, aside from the garbage fires that were now serving as streetlight and the firelight in people's homes. Then came the sound of gunfire. The distinctive CRACK-CRACK-CRACk of an AK-47 was heard, and the slowly drowning return fire of the Confederate soldiers AR22A3 as well. Soon, the men formerly on duty at the checkpoint came rushing back, dragging one of their men on a potato sack, bleeding badly. "Medic!! Medic!!" they began shouting.

Soon the rest of the Town Guard had organized, and were preparing to repel yet another attack.

Vantanian Humanitarian Society, New Vantepolis

The eight or so guilty looking Vantanians crammed themselves into the bare room, sitting at the shaky table. The topic up for discussion was actually interesting today, not some pathetic third world country, but the very Blackhelm Confederacy itself. With this news, some high end capitalists were willing to invest in the society, somewhat. Already, the VHS had been able to book the library on Saturdays, winning by a razor-thin margin against local CONQUER ALL board gamers.

Now, they had raised the issue of the degenerating situation to the Vantanian Capitalists for an Invisible Empire, where it was met with rapt attention. The message was recieved. The day after the VHS had written the proceeds of their meeting in letter-format to the VCIE, a message was sent out to the Blackhelm Confederacy, and her leader.

Official Corporate Telegram:
To: The Blackhelm Confederacy, Chancellor Lucius Blackhelm
From: The Commonwealth of the Vanteland, Lord Protector Tucker Boot
Greetings from the Free Commonwealth! Our nation has long been reliant upon yours, for its famous oil business; I should know, I personally negotiated an arms-for-oil deal between Buy & Sell and Griffincrest. Now, it has been brought to our attention the degenerating situation in Blackhelm. As such, I request that the Confederacy accepts the following Vantanian actions:

-High investment (2 Trillion USD) in Blackhelm, specifically underdeveloped provinces by the VCIE. This would bring healthcare from LSD Healthcare, affordable quality goods from TradeMart, maximized output from agriculture in Universal, industrialized economy from Buy & Sell, cheap and healthy food from White Citadel and Mountain Beverages, airline travel from Anglobal Airlines, investment and loans from First Imperial, quality news from the Vantanian Broadcasting Society and Tomorrow's News Today, Christianization from Christ Incorporated, and fishing fleets from MariTime Fishing.
-Allowance of Vantanian militias, particularily Imperial Guard and Imperial Elite, as well as mercenaries, to protect the investments made by the VCIE. These would serve at the will of the Confederacy, or alternatively at the will of the provinces

"This is very good news!" the younger doctor said with a smile "Let us get to work!" And with that, the doctor was off to tend to a patient who looked to have broken both arms and a leg. The older doctor soon came up and pointed to the patient. "He is a boy of fourteen....he was crushed by his home. Both arms, leg, and a lung...splat" he said making a clapping motion with his hands. "He shows hope though...lots of hope."

Meanwhile, outside, there was complete darkness, aside from the garbage fires that were now serving as streetlight and the firelight in people's homes. Then came the sound of gunfire. The distinctive CRACK-CRACK-CRACk of an AK-47 was heard, and the slowly drowning return fire of the Confederate soldiers AR22A3 as well. Soon, the men formerly on duty at the checkpoint came rushing back, dragging one of their men on a potato sack, bleeding badly. "Medic!! Medic!!" they began shouting.

Soon the rest of the Town Guard had organized, and were preparing to repel yet another attack.
"Let me take a look at this kid." said John, then turning to an IMF doctor walking by. "Scott!" he shouted to the doctor, "Come here!"> he said, waving him over. Scott rushed over, "Whats up?" he asked John. "Could you take a look at this boy over here? This doctor over here," he said, pointing to the older man, "Said something about his house collapsing while he was inside. Apparently he's pretty well busted up, but has high spirits." he continued.

"Ouch... ya, I'll take a look." Scott replied, nodding to the old doctor and walking over to the young teenager. "Hi there... do you speak English?" he asked.

OOC: g2g to hospital, my uncle might not live for another couple hrs... :(

OOC: We can continue now, I'm waitin to hear in 2-3 hours some (hopefully) good news when he gets out of surgery...

OOC: I hope everything went ok with your uncle, sorry for taking so long.

IC:

More mortar shells began falling down on the town, and more soldiers and militia were starting to appear. Pick up trucks full of Communists, along with a few Muslim rebels, started arriving, and were harrying the outskirts of the city, a few even daring to come into the city and fire away with their machine guns and rockets.

Inside the hospital, the groans of the wounded began to fill the air as the hospital was rocked by a mortar round, causing little actual damage to the building aside from a hole in the concrete. Aside from that, the interior was fine.

There were wounds of every sort in the hospital, an the doctors brought the newly imported help around to some of the most serious, a man shot through his chest four times and miraculously survived, a stump of a man with no arms or legs, a woman dying of an as of yet undiagnosed disease, and several others

==========================================================

From: Chancellor Lucius Blackhelm
To: Lord Protector Tucker Boot
Re: Contracts

Unfortunately, as much as I would like to help you, not all of these things can be granted. Due to censorship reasons, the media outlets nust be prohibited. The foreign soldiers must be limited to under 5,000, due to the unrest that would undoubtedly be caused by foreign forces in our lands. The fishing craft must also be limited to a number that can be negotiated upon. The things we are interested in, however, are the healthcare, food, and beverages, as well as the goods from Trademart and the airline Anglobal. Hopefully all will work out well, and Vanteland can proudly become the first overseas nation with a foothold in the Confederate market.

From: Tucker Boot, CEO of Buy & Sell, Lord Protector of the Free Commonwealth
To: Lucius Blackhelm, Chancellor
TradeMart, LSD Healthcare, Anglobal Airlines, White Citadel, Mountain Beverages, and Buy & Sell, which comes with TradeMart, are most jubilant at your response. We've several locations selected already, with most of our brands going across the Confederacy, while Anglobal Airlines remains in only key points, and in developed areas.

Meanwhile, TNT and VBS are disappointed, but understanding. MariTime Fishing is also disappointed, but understanding; MTFishing suggests one fleet for the whole of the Confederacy, at two hundred vessels.

Since my first letter, more companies have shown interest in your Confederacy. Universal Goods and Services, an agricultural company, wants permission to set up shop; so does Crown Jewels, a mining and jewellery compnay. First Imperial Bank, to maximize the standard of life in the provinces, wishes to be able to invest in local businesses, as well as to make standard banking loans to companies and households. Finally, after hearing about the Islamic issue in your nation, Christ, Inc. wishes to set up churches and missions in the Confederacy on behalf of Christianity in general.

As for soldiers, we can limit the amount of foreigners to even less, if in return Confederate mercenaries and guards may be used, and possibly citizens trained to defend. This would assuredly allevate several problems, crime, Islamic terrorism, etc., in the Confederacy, as well as defending our investments.

OOC: I'll start RP'ing the investments soon.

OOC: would you be able to RP the kid talking back?
IC:
John was starting to get a little nervous with the growing battle just outside of their location. He began looking for the Colonel and, upon finding him, asked, "Sir, will your troops be able to hold the city?"

"Cēvēre!!" the colonel shouted as the mortar shells began to come down. "Cēvēre hoc locum!"

Soldiers were rushing all about when the doctor finally arrived. "Yea...we will hold without a doubt....the problem is going to be how long this lasts...some real garbage this is..."

OOC1: Yea I can do the kid

OOC2: Vanteland, my nation is hugely Catholic to an extreme, the Muslims are rebels because we are genociding them, I'll respond when you get back to me about whether or not you still want to send over Christ Inc.

"Let me take a look at this kid." said John, then turning to an IMF doctor walking by. "Scott!" he shouted to the doctor, "Come here!"> he said, waving him over. Scott rushed over, "Whats up?" he asked John. "Could you take a look at this boy over here? This doctor over here," he said, pointing to the older man, "Said something about his house collapsing while he was inside. Apparently he's pretty well busted up, but has high spirits." he continued.

"Ouch... ya, I'll take a look." Scott replied, nodding to the old doctor and walking over to the young teenager. "Hi there... do you speak English?" he asked.

--

"Colonel, let me know if we need to radio in some of our own support. I know my government would be very displeased if a bunch of ViZionarians in the IMF are killed while trying to help civilians." John told him.

OOC2: Vanteland, my nation is hugely Catholic to an extreme, the Muslims are rebels because we are genociding them, I'll respond when you get back to me about whether or not you still want to send over Christ Inc.

OOC: Forget Christ, then.

"Let me take a look at this kid." said John, then turning to an IMF doctor walking by. "Scott!" he shouted to the doctor, "Come here!"> he said, waving him over. Scott rushed over, "Whats up?" he asked John. "Could you take a look at this boy over here? This doctor over here," he said, pointing to the older man, "Said something about his house collapsing while he was inside. Apparently he's pretty well busted up, but has high spirits." he continued.

"Ouch... ya, I'll take a look." Scott replied, nodding to the old doctor and walking over to the young teenager. "Hi there... do you speak English?" he asked.

--

"Colonel, let me know if we need to radio in some of our own support. I know my government would be very displeased if a bunch of ViZionarians in the IMF are killed while trying to help civilians." John told him.

The young boy looked at him with sad looking eyes. "Few words...very little..."

Outside, the colonel was quite sure that there would be no need for extra forces. He told the doctor to keep the peacekeepers in and around the hospital, to keep them from real trouble and to keep the doctors safe, just in case.

OOC: Forget Christ, then.


From: Chancellor Lucius Blackhelm
To: Lord Protector Tucker Boot
Re: Contracts

The fishing fleet will be allowed access to the waters off of the province of Egypttianstan, and the people there should benefit greatly from the addition of the new industry. The farming company will be denied, for now, as is crown jewels, due to heavy pressure from rural provinces. Unfortuantely, these places are highly xenophobic, and brinigng in a large number of foreign business would bring about undue problems. The bank will be welcomed into the Confederacy, and a spot has been set up within the Vetalian dominated banking sector of Paradise City.

The Griffincrest Corporation is willing to lend several guards, as are several militia groups. Should these men fail, the Confederate Armed Forces can be contacted for additional protection.

(OOC: Hope you dont mind, but if its ok with you, Id like to send a small team of "health experts" to study your plague in an effort to assist in finding a cure. However they will just be there to kidnap a plague victim to bring back to Nascent to study. If youd rather not, Ill delete this post)

OOC: Go for it, just contact the government, or you will probably get shot down.

From: Chancellor Lucius Blackhelm
To: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Charles Richter
Re: Doctors

You are several years late on coming here to help us with the plague. It has left the cities, and is now only seen in the most backwards of areas. You may land at the Paradise City International Airport, but be advised, you will only be given a light guard force for your expedition. You will most likely be going through some of the poorest areas in the country to find the plague, and we do hope that you will help those afflicted by other diseases as well. Thank you, and please make haste.

The young boy looked at him with sad looking eyes. "Few words...very little..."

Outside, the colonel was quite sure that there would be no need for extra forces. He told the doctor to keep the peacekeepers in and around the hospital, to keep them from real trouble and to keep the doctors safe, just in case.

"OK. I am Doctor Yorney. You can call my Yorn. I came from ViZion and want to help you. What is your name?" the doctor asked the young boy to try and get to know him.

Outside, John nodded to the Colonel and informed the ViZionarian troops to stay inside the building, and notified six of them to go to the roof and keep an eye out for any trouble and keep the troops inside the building informed should there be any group of militia making a push to breach the building.

Things could have been worse.

In many parts the Confederacy, things were happening. Strange things; things that changed the world for many in rural Confederacy, and cemented the changes in the rest of the Confederacy.

In all of the villages and towns, there was a White Citadel restaurant. With neon signs and various billboards, they drafted in the teenage populace of the localities, and began making food. Addicting soda-pops like Dyspepsi and Cloaca-Cola were sold alongside the greasy burgers, fries, and more. Basically, they were the standard fast food companies. Still, they were cheap, they gave energy, and they gave enough nourishment for a standard diet. More importantly, however, they helped to destroy substinence farming.

In addition, artisans were crushed by the Industrial Revoltion, part two. Suddenly, Buy & Sell factories were popping up all over the place. They were like fortresses, walled off and with defenses in place. Smoke and smog poured out heavily from these factories, as everything from dolls to DVD's to arms were made. And, to fully crush artisans, these goods were sold in the villages and towns at TradeMart; they were cheap as dirt, they were en masse, and they were of high quality.

On the positive side, meanwhile, the Vantanians were doing some serious good. A fishing fleet of fifty vessels now set off from the harbors of Egypttianstan. These fleets not only decreased unemployment, but also brought *healthy* food into the hands of more Confederates. Furthermore, Anglobal Airlines began financing the construction of airports in major cities and provincial capitals. Finally, LSD Healthcare created facilities everywhere. Every sub-provincial administration zone (Counties? Shires? District?) had at least one hospital, as did capitals and major cities. These hospitals included such professionals as psychiatrists from Psyche-Delic Psyciatrics, orthodontists and dentists from TranscenDental Orthodontics, and many more specialists. Already, disease rates were going down, and profits were going up.

Capitalising on these sudden changes, the First Imperial Bank invested. Heavily. As Universal Goods and Services was not allowed to operate in the Confederacy, instead the Bank invested heavily in the corporate farms, even heavier in corporate cash farms. As Crown Jewels was not allowed to operate in the Confederacy, instead the Bank invested heavily in mining ventures, for oil and coal in particular, but also for gemstones and ores. As new, Confederate industries, spurred by Vantanian investments, like shipping, industrial factories, construction workers, and white-collar jobs, were formed, the Bank invested in them. As education was lacking severely in areas, the Bank invested in private, quality schools.

Unlike in many places the Invisible Empire had reached, it was not intending to stay here at full force forever. What succeeded stayed, and what failed left, except Buy & Sell, if that was to be the case. While there was immense profit to be made reinvigorating and conquering the Confederate economy, there was more to be made with a strong, free, educated Confederacy. After all, a strong Confederacy led to a stronger Griffincrest, and Vantanas depended upon Griffincrest for oil, more than anything.

However, in the meantime, the workers tended to get revolutionary during the transitionary period. As the Corporations could not defend themselves with Vantanians, they hired mercenaries, security guards, and Confederate forces to defend their investments. Each of their buildings was like a fortress, obvious or not, strong or not.

Official Diplomatic Telegram:
To: Lucius Blackhelm, the Blackhelm Confederacy
From: Tucker Boot, the Vantanian Commonwealth
Greetings from the Free Commonwealth! By now, I'm sure you've been able to detect changes in the economy, as both domestic held and foreign held companies flourish. The former is of particular interest to us, as your primary corporation, Griffincrest Oil, is vital to our economy. As such, we've specifically devoted funds in the First Imperial Bank to bulstering your domestic industries. As the Confederacy begins producing its own goods, we would like to keep the industries going from afar. As such, I request, leader to leader, a Free Trade Agreement between our two nations. Secondly, we would like to create the Blackhelm Trading Company, which would ship goods to and fro from the Vanteland to the Confederacy. I hope you agree.
Economically Yours,
Tucker Boot, Lord Protector of the Free Commonwealth, CEO of Buy & Sell Incorporated

OOC: Most of these things are going to be in the towns in civilized provinces. The villages in some of the provinces are on par with sub-saharan Africa, and setting up a legitimate business just would go nowhere fast, same for schools. I had planned for them to go in cities and upper class towns, where investments like them would work. If you want to put them out in the backlands you can, but it would be undoubtedly a failed investment. The people in my nation are notoriously xenophobic, and blame foreigners for the collapse of the Empire and the plague, and this problem gets worse away from cities.

To: Tucker Boot
From: Lucius Blackhelm

We do appreciate the good you have done for our nation, and we would like to inquire more about just what this company entails.

==========================================================

"My name is Hector" the young boy said "I don't think I ever heard of ViZion...is it nice?"

Meanwhile, outside, the battle was growing, and the Confederates and their militia partners were beginning to pull off some serious violations of the Geneva Convention. A pick up truck belonging to the town guard sped past the hospital. Attached by rope to the bumper was a pair of Muslim insurgents. Two more rebels were having there corpses hung from poles that were once street lights, and this was only the start if the attack.

OOC: Most of these things are going to be in the towns in civilized provinces. The villages in some of the provinces are on par with sub-saharan Africa, and setting up a legitimate business just would go nowhere fast, same for schools. I had planned for them to go in cities and upper class towns, where investments like them would work. If you want to put them out in the backlands you can, but it would be undoubtedly a failed investment. The people in my nation are notoriously xenophobic, and blame foreigners for the collapse of the Empire and the plague, and this problem gets worse away from cities.

OOC: I'm aware that they're xenophobic. However, I suppose I could limit the majority of the investments to the cities and upper class towns, as I was more or less intending to. But still, I'd like the education and healthcare stuff to try and be more universal. Surely every province has at least one real city, but if they don't I can just use the spare money to invest in the heartlands, I suppose.


To: Tucker Boot
From: Lucius Blackhelm

We do appreciate the good you have done for our nation, and we would like to inquire more about just what this company entails.

Official Diplomatic Telegram:
To: Lucius Blackhelm, the Blackhelm Confederacy
From: Tucker Boot, the Vantanian Commonwealth
Greetings from the Free Commonwealth! You inquired to know of what the Blackhelm Co. has in mind for you. First, you must become educated on the Vantanian World Trading Company.

I started the VWTC at the birth of the Free Commonwealth, but I have since sold it off, for immense profits. Our Trading Company, like so many trading companies before, raises mighty fleets of maritime vessels to export Vantanian goods, be they produced in foreign nations, the Commonwealth, or, perhaps even some day, her colonies. As these vessels, and cargo planes in these modern days, reach the great, free nations that we've selected as trading partners, such as Vetalia, Questers, Peccavia, and more, they deliver the goods to their foreign counterparts. Then, they fulfill the orders of Vantanians back at home, and pick up supplies to sail back to the Vanteland and sell.

However, certain barriers, tariffs and embargoes, limit trade. As such, along with only doing it with fine, free nations such as your own, we must also have a

The Blackhelm Trading Company would not deviate from this plan. Though sometimes the VTWC is the forefront of colonialism into uncivilized lands, we seek not to subjugate free peoples such as those in the Confederacy. The maximum extent of Vantanian imperialism by the VTWC you could expect is a handful of warehouses scattered about. All we need for trade to begin is a free trade agreement. We hope you accept.
Economically Yours,
Tucker Boot, Lord Protector of the Free Commonwealth, CEO of Buy & Sell Incorporated

"My name is Hector" the young boy said "I don't think I ever heard of ViZion...is it nice?"

Meanwhile, outside, the battle was growing, and the Confederates and their militia partners were beginning to pull off some serious violations of the Geneva Convention. A pick up truck belonging to the town guard sped past the hospital. Attached by rope to the bumper was a pair of Muslim insurgents. Two more rebels were having there corpses hung from poles that were once street lights, and this was only the start if the attack.
Doctor Yorney smiled at the kid, "Well, it's nice to meet you Hector. How about this - you pull through, and I'll pay for you to go on a trip to ViZion. It is a very nice country." he said.

Pearing through the windows to look outside, the young soldiers were partly astonished at what they were seeing. However, they knew this was not uncommon across the world. They knew these very actions were taken against their own people many, many years before their time by hostile aggressors who had taken Italia from their homeland.

One of the doctors stepped over to take a quick breath and looked through the window. The old doctor then spoke after seeing what they were looking at, "God, I haven't seen that sort of action since the Decade War. I wish they'd all just fall over and die so the civilians like these can live in peace..." he murmered before going back to work.

From: Chancellor Lucius Blackhelm
To: Lord Protector Tucker Boot

The Blackhelm Trading Company will be welcomed into the Confederacy with open arms. Passes for access to the seagate shall be mailed to your nation, and, the Redemption Seagate will be accepting your vessels. We eagerly await your goods.

==========================================================

"Really? You would do that for me?" the boy said, as a smile began to form on his face, despite the fact that he was in great pain from all of his injuries.

Two more casualties were brought in and left in the lobby for the doctors to pick up. One was a soldier hit twice, once in the right hand, another time in the left leg, and was bleeding badly. The other was an older man, hit by shrapnel in the back of his head.

"Really? You would do that for me?" the boy said, as a smile began to form on his face, despite the fact that he was in great pain from all of his injuries.

Two more casualties were brought in and left in the lobby for the doctors to pick up. One was a soldier hit twice, once in the right hand, another time in the left leg, and was bleeding badly. The other was an older man, hit by shrapnel in the back of his head.
"Absolutely! Just make sure you work with me to pull through, alright? Now, lets get to fixing you up and get you safe." the doctor said, offering up a comforting smile to the boy, as he began to examine him.

In the lobby, one of the IMF doctors rushed over to begin taking a look at the new comers. The man hit in the head was in bad shape. "BANDAGES!" he yelled towards a couple of the staff members who worked at the hospital.

OOC: Care to RP reactions to the investments? Economically, amongst the poor, the middle class, the rich, etc?

OOC: No, he doesn't care to. :-p j/k

People in the Confederacy were somewhat taken back by all of the new companies. Amongst the rich, the new White Citadels and other companies were looked down upon, but the poor fell in love. The low prices of the goods available meant that the poor no longer had to dress in rags, and eat whatever they could scrum together all the time. Now, for only a few credits, they could feed and clothe themselves.
==========================================================

The colonel walked back into the hospital. "So John...how are the things here? There are a few people out in the city stuck and such, if you wish, we could use your help...bring some of your soldiers too."

"Things are going about as well as one could hope for in this shithole of a situation. None the less, I'll grab a doctor and a few soldiers to join us." John said, leaving for two or three moments before returning with a small group of soldiers and a doctor.

"Alright, we're ready."

"Alright, let's head out!" the colonel said, before darting out the door.

Outside, fires came from the rubble, and groans and crying could be heard all around. Several rebel bodies dangled from street lamps, and Confederate soldiers assisted the militia as they tried to pull men and women from their former homes.

The group finallyy aarrived at an intersection, now cordoned off and containing a few dozen cots, each filled with screaming men.

"This is what will be passing for a field hospital. Whenever you want, you can start work here, or else, we could always head out into another village."

"Damn..." John said, mumbling. The doctor quickly began to get to work while soldiers began to setup at the corners of this makeshift 'hospital'.

"This is what we should be treated at in a war zone... not civilians." one of the soldiers mentioned to his 'brother' on his left. "This aint ViZion, though." the other soldier replied.

"Colonel, in the morning we should we getting another twenty to thirty doctors arriving here. Then we can head out to another village." John said.

The 19 year old Todd, a private who was joining them at the makeshift field hospital was witnessing a horrifying event unfield just twenty five or so feet in front of him. A couple of the soldiers that were fighting to defend the city were stringing up one of the rebels in an attempt to hang him from a light pole that still, remarkably, stood.

Except that the hanging was not a success. He was moving around, his hands bound so as not to be able to free himself. But he squirmed, moving around as the two soldiers ran off. He squirmed, but it appeared it had failed. No broken neck. He would die of suffication though soon if he was not shot before.

"Aaron!" he yelled, elbowing the soldier next to him. "We need to do something!" he said, pointing to the man hanging there. "What? We..." Aaron was cut off, "Cover me!" Todd yelled, jumping up and making a mad dash for it. "COVER!" screamed Aaron as he propped up to begin cover fire. Three other soldiers immediately joined in. "Cover me!" Aaron yelled, jumping up and running after Todd. Todd got on his knee, aiming at the rope, "Get under him, catch him!" he yelled as Aaron came up behind him.

Todd them looked directly into the eyes of the man. Or, not a man. A girl, no older than himself. She must have thought he was going to shoot her. He fired. Ahhhhh! he screamed as she dropped onto Aaron.

"GO! GO! GO!" Todd yelled, "I'll cover!" as be began to offer cover fire while Todd ran back towards the field hospital with the teenage girl slung over his shoulder.

"What the hell?" one of the soldiers said before he jumpped behind cover and began to return fire.

"I told ya you just can't trust them damn foreigners!" another yelled as he too began to return fire.

Meanwhile, around the city, the attack began to die down.

The colonel, as of yet unaware that his men and the peacekeepers were in a firefight, strolled about the makeshift hospital, and then walked over to John. "I'm real sorry about this whole mess...I'd like to think that I live in a first rate nation, but once you leave the cities, it's real hell...I really appreciate you guys coming by."

As Aaron entered the field hospital, "MEDIC! MEDIC!" he yelled out as Todd began to make a mad dash for his life and dove behind cover as he reached the field hospital.

Aaron sat the teenager down on a cott and promptly grabbed Todd by his collar and slammed him to the ground. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" he screamed, lifting up Todd a few inches and slamming him back down agains the pavement before returning to his post.

Meanwhile, John was speaking to the colonel. "Colonel, no problem. We're glad to be here and help you guys." he said before he heard the screaming, and we promptly rushed over to see what happened. Todd laid there on the ground, stunned at what just happened. "Kid, you ok?" John asked. "Yu...yes sir. I'm fine." he responded. "What happened?" John inquired. Todd responded, "Well..." he told John what happened.

"Damnit. This isn't your country, Todd. Those aren't our people, nor are they even civilians. We're here to help civilians. I can't have you running around out there putting yourself and everyone else at risk." he said sternly but without yelling. "Bu..." he began, before stopping himself and, with a big sign, finished, "Yes, sir."

Todd nodded, "Alright, man your post again. And don't go running out there again. You might not be so damn lucky next time."

"We really do need to enforce more strict discipline on the men out there..it's all savages out there on both sides" the colonel said, and then walked over to the young girl.

She was not in good shape. "John, John come take a look at her!"

OOC: I think you may have mistaken my post... lol I was refering to cover fire towards the 'rebels', not your main soldiers... ;) lol

OOC: haha no prob :)

Soory, edited post :)

"We really do need to enforce more strict discipline on the men out there..it's all savages out there on both sides" the colonel said, and then walked over to the young girl.

She was not in good shape. "John, John come take a look at her!"
"Yes, I agree. Tomorrow during the day, I'm going to have a to rip into the superiors over this. And shit rolls down hill." he said, almost amused if not for the situation they were in.

A minute later, John hurried over to the Colonel, who had called him over. "Let's see..." he said as he approached. "Yikes. She's definately not looking to go." he said, waving the IMF doctor over. "They attempted to hang this girl. Apparently it was a failure, not breaking her neck. What can you do for her?" he asked.

"I'm going to have to look at her. She's breathing." he said, then speaking to her, "Do you speak English?"

She nodded, but just barely, struggling because of all of the pain in her neck.

"Most of these people can, its something they just started in the last twenty years, you get subsidies for speaking English...not mych, but its incentive for parents to have their children learn" the colonel explained.

The girl than mumbled "My name is Cordelia"

"That would do it, especially for poverty-struck families." John said.

"Ok, Cordelia. I am Doctor Hoibroey - but you can call me 'H'." he said as he began checking her pulse. "It's fairly weak, but that's not a suprise." he said to the two guys. He then began to inspect the kneck. She had a severe rop burn that he would have to treat soon, but that wasn't as much of a concern as was the neck, throat, and arteries. But upon first look, she didn't seem to sustain to much damage.

"So, Cordelia, tell me a bit about you." he asked to try and keep her mind off the injuries.

"I don't like the government...they killed my family...please, don't leave me here. I have to fight to survive...I can't let them do what they did to me to others.." the girl was not in good shape, but still she spoke passionately.

The colonel was quick to intervene. "Shut up girl! Don't talk such lies!" he shouted at her.

"Colonel, Colonel, please..." the doctor said. John took him aside, "Rather or not it's true, don't get worked up over it. Let's just get her fixed up and we'll move on. And remember, we aren't here to fight your battle, we're simply here to help the civilians." John said, patting him on the back.

"Alright Cordelia, besides that. Tell me about you. What sort of things do you like? Have a favorite food or music?" the doctor asked her as he continued to examine her.

"I'm sorry John, my apologies" the colonel said, straightening himself out.

"Hmm...well...I like stuffed dormice, my mom used to make the best dormice. Music, I don't reallly know, we dont really get much of the new stuff out here" Cordelia said. She was happy somebody was treating her like she mattered, and was smiling, despite the fact that she was just nearly hung.

"Yes..dormice...they are one of my favorites too" the colonel said. "I believe I may have some. Please do forgive me for my outburst earlier, allow me to search my truck."

And with that the colonel went off, leaving the two together.

"It's alright. The situation here has everyone - myself included - uptight. Don't worry about it." John said with a smile and offering a handshake.

"Dormice? I don't believe I've had that before." the doctor said. "I'll have to try it some time." A moment later, he finished his exam. "Well, good news. You're a bit beat up, but it's nothing serious. You'll be sore for several days though, and I'm going to have to put some medicine on your neck. Beyond that, you're a very lucky girl. I think God is looking out for you." the doctor said, grabbing some medicine. He almost warned her it's going to sting pretty badly, but felt it would be best to put it on quickly so it would be over before she could react much. "Alright, here we go." he said, quickly applying it around her neck.

The colonel shook his hand, and then was off for the food.

Meanwhile, Cordelia winced from the sting of the medicine, and then looked back at the doctor, looking a bit shocked. "You never had dormice?? They don't eat them in your homeland? They are great. Thank you for all of this. Are you people going to be here for long? I feel like you can really help out, this town especially" she said.

The doctor grabbed some bandages to put around her neck for a couple of days. "I don't know how long we'll be here. We're got people coming over the next several days to help so we can spread out across your country. From what I understand, this isn't the only town hit hard." he said.

With that, John came over, "How's she doing?" he asked. "She's doing alright, she'll be just fine. One lucky girl, I can tell you that." the doctor replied.

"Now, you're safe here. I've got to help some other people out here, so you can just relax and get some sleep. Morning is coming up soon, and hopefully the fighting will subside enough to get you to a better location." he doctor told her.

John, meanwhile, called over to the young soldier, "Todd. Come over here." he said. Todd turned around and came over. "Cordelia, this is the soldier that rescued you." John said. "Todd, she's going to be fine."

"Thank you, sir." Todd said. "Cordelia, is it?" he asked.

"Yes. I can't thank you enough for saving me" the girl said.

The colonel had come back with a small tin of dormice. "Doctor, I urge you to try one. These are stuffed with pork, but they have all different types. Is the girl ok to have one too?" he asked, holding out the tin.

"I'm just glad your ok." Todd said. "You can't be any older than me, can you? How old are you? I'm 19." he asked her.

"The girl can have some, yes. And what the heck, I might as well try it." the doctor said, accepting it. "Thank you. I hope I'm not eating your last one, am I?" he asked before eatting it.

"No no I have plenty more, have as many as you wish!" the colonel said, happily handing out the pork stuffed little rodents.

"I'm 18" the girl said as she popped a dormouse into her mouth. "Nobody has ever been this nice to me before in my life, it's almost like I am dreaming"

"Thank you." the doctor said, then eating one. He thought about it for a second as he let the taste sink it. "These are quite good." he said.

Todd smiled. "Well I need to go back to guarding. You get some sleep, and when you're feeling better tomorrow, we can talk more when we get the chance." he said, looking at her in the eyes and starting to lean down towards he before backing off and heading back to guard.

Back at the hospital, Doctor Scott "Yorn" Yorney was treating the young boy, Hector. "So, Hector... you live in this town or somewhere else?" he asked.

"Can you come back tomorrow?" Cordelia asked as Todd was walking away.

Meanwhile, in the hospital, Hector was answering the doctor's question.

"Yea, my house was just down the street. I don't know where they are going to move me though, my parents and brother are all gone."

"Can you come back tomorrow?" Cordelia asked as Todd was walking away.

Meanwhile, in the hospital, Hector was answering the doctor's question.

"Yea, my house was just down the street. I don't know where they are going to move me though, my parents and brother are all gone."
"I sure will..." Todd said as he was walking away.

At the hosptial, Yorn replied, "I promised you, if you pull thru, I would be willing to take you to ViZion, remember? Well, I will uphold my promise. Remember that, ok?" he said.

Cordelia smiled as Todd left.

"O yeah! Sorry about that...have you been anyplace else to help people?" Hector asked the doctor.

"We went through another small town before coming here. But we're going to be all over this country from what I understand." Yorn said. "But dont worry. We're going to get you fixed up and then you'll be able to visit ViZion." he said.

Yorn had a soft spot for kids. He, himself, was an orphan when he was a child and was never adopted, spending his entire childhood - from the time he was two when his mother and father abandonded him on the side of a road next to a garbage can - in the orphanage.

The boy smiled, he couldn't wait to go to another place, and just get the hell out of the Confederacy.

Meanwhile, the colonel strolled around the mini hospital, making small talk with doctors and soldiers. The fighting was almost all over now, and things were really calming down.

"So..." John started, "What's next, Colonel? Are we staying here? Moving along?" he asked.

Doctor Yorn began putting casts around the legs of the boy to keep things from getting any worse while he worked with different patients. "This isn't going to be the most comfortable thing Hector... but it's going to help you get better, ok?"

"Whenever you are prepared, we can head out" the colonel said to John.

Hector nodded his head. "How long do I need to have these?" he asked.

Meanwhile, in another part of the hospital was a young boy, probably around ten or eleven, suffering from a bullet wound. His name was Augustus. As soon as one of the doctors approached his bed, little Augustus clinched his fists. He was a communist, and has been a child soldier since age seven.

"Alright, well, today we should be seeing a few vehicles filled with more IMF staff. At that point, I'd say we'd be ready to head out." John said.
-----
"Well, the casts will remain on for a few weeks. At that point, we'll have to reevaluate to see how far along the healing in." Yorn told Hector.
------
Doctor Freips walked over to the young boy. Seeing his fists clinched, he knew he had to get the boy to relax - the bullet wound needed to be addressed, and the more upset this boy becomes, the more problems could arrise.

"Alright, son. I'm Doctor Freips. What's your name? We need to get your bullet wound looked at." he said.

"I don't talk to the government, go to hell!" the young boy yelled to the doctor.

Hector sighed. He didn't like these casts already, and having another week with them on was going to suck. After that though, he would be getting out of this place, and that was somethign he looked forward to more than anything else.

The colonel began gathering up a number of his troops, preparing them to leave within a few hours.

Seeing the people starting to pack up, Cordelia called out "Please don't leave, dont' leave me here!"

"I'm not from the government," Doctor Freips said to the boy, "I'm a civilian from ViZion. Now, we need to get you patched up so you can get better. We need to get the bullet out of you, put some medicine on it, and patch you up." He then went to grab a couple tools off the table next to them. "So what's your name?" he then asked again.
----
Seeing a rather unenthusiastic look on Hectors face, Yorn began to talk to the boy again. "I know these aren't the most comfortable thing. They suck, actually. I know because I was always getting hurt doing stuff when I was your age... so I'd have those on almost as much as I had my pants on." he said with a small laugh.
----
Todd heard Cordelia call out and went back over to her, "Hey, hey. Don't worry." he said, giving her a hug and then going to talk to John. "Can she come with us?" he asked. "You know we're not suppose to bring them along unless there is no chance of them being able to survive where they're at." John replied. "Sir, please... you've got pull... can you make a request? Get them to... ya know... let her come?" Todd asked.

A couple moments later, John walked over to the Colonel. "Colonel, we were wondering if there would be any objections to Cordelia being brought along with us?"

"My name is Augustus and I'm a soldier. What are you here for? Are you invading?" Augustus said.

The colonel looked back at Cordelia, then to John. "Yea, take her. She is your responsibility though"

"Invade? Oh, no, not at all. I am here from the International Medical Foundation. We're here to try and help everyone. No guns on me." Doctor Freips said. "Now I'm going to numb up your wound so I can get this bullet out of you, but you may still feel some pain. OK?" he warned the boy.
---
"Fair enough." John said. Walking over to Todd, "She can come. But you know what happens if she becomes any sort of liability - she's out. I'm not willing to put anyone in danger here for her. Understand?" John said sternly to Todd, "Yes, sir." Todd said, then going over to Cordelia. "You're coming with us." he said quietly but enthusiastically.

ooc: Viz has allowed me to take on the placement of a doctor, fyi. i'm resurrecting a lotta Viz-threads.

ic:

Dr. Nadia Volinova was getting ready to move out. She set up several med kits to one side, packing them with the supplies she felt would be most needed. On 'loan' to the IMF from the Brooks Defense Medical Center at Ft. Zukov, Nadia was actually a civilian, but her knowledge of military medicine had made her a prime candidate for an overseas post such as this. She felt excited and apprehensive about the situation, however. She was glad to help people in such need, but was unsure about what sort of experiences she would have.

OOC:as an FYI griffencrest/blackhelm is essentially gone

ooc: noticed that...blackhelm is semi-active in another thread...should i message him?

OOC: he asked me if I wanted to continue our RP a couple days ago, so we'll assume it's in the past I guess...

EDIT: Yes, thank you Great Reviver! :-p

ooc: ok, but...i gotta do it tomorrow morn.' nodding off here...see y'all later

OOC: night man

ooc: well, i haven't recieved word from blackhelm yet, and we may not (his country is currently being invaded by several countries, including my own...). i'll wait a few more days and then we can decide what to do. i may just end up making a new thread, using a nation i use for rp purposes...

OOC: Alright, fair enough.

OOC: Sorry, went away for the weekend. I'll have a post tonight

The boy closed his eyes and winced as the doctor tried to get the bullet out. "Why you wanna help us? Why all of a sudden people care? Really, what do you people want?"

Meanwhile, Cordelia lit up when she heard the news. "Really? Where? I can finally get out of this place! Oh thank you, thank you so much!!"

"I want you," began the doctor as he finished extracting the bullet and started to dab the wound with some rubbing alcohol, "to get better. We were unaware of everything happening here until just recently. And that is why we are here." Doctor Freips said, giving the boy a pat on the head. "You're safe now, alright?"

---

He embraced Cordelia with a big hug, "I'm not sure where. Eventually, out of this country though." Todd said to her comfortingly.

John walked back over to the Colonel, "Where will we be heading to now?"

"I'm not safe, not with all of these pigs around! I don't understand why we can't share everything like my officer says! They are going to kill me because they won't share. It's not fair that Claudius Griffincrest lives on his own island outside of the capital, and my family can't even eat! I hate these people!" the boy raged. His entire life he grew up a communist, and was bent on making things "right" in his mind.

Cordelia had never been happier in her life. What a stroke of luck for her, not long ago she was being lynched, and now she was getting a chance to start over in a new land, a place she had never heard of before but a place that she was sure was much better than where she was now. Tears began to swell up in her eyes as she hugged Todd. "Thank you" she mumbled "thank you so much".

The colonel looked down at his map. "Well, that is really your call. We can move out to this plague treatment center, don't know what good you will do there though, what with no cure and all, or we can move on to the next village down the road."

"I'm not safe, not with all of these pigs around! I don't understand why we can't share everything like my officer says! They are going to kill me because they won't share. It's not fair that Claudius Griffincrest lives on his own island outside of the capital, and my family can't even eat! I hate these people!" the boy raged. His entire life he grew up a communist, and was bent on making things "right" in his mind.

Cordelia had never been happier in her life. What a stroke of luck for her, not long ago she was being lynched, and now she was getting a chance to start over in a new land, a place she had never heard of before but a place that she was sure was much better than where she was now. Tears began to swell up in her eyes as she hugged Todd. "Thank you" she mumbled "thank you so much".

The colonel looked down at his map. "Well, that is really your call. We can move out to this plague treatment center, don't know what good you will do there though, what with no cure and all, or we can move on to the next village down the road."
"Hey, hey, hey, calm down, it's alright." Dr. Freips said, bringing the boy into the fold of his arms. "Look, what's happened is not right. But I promise you, we will be doing all in our power to help you, your family, and everyone. Will you give me your trust?" he said, releasing the boy from his arms and saying in a calm voice, looking him straight into the eyes.
---
"You're welcome." he said, giving her a kiss and then putting his forehead to hers.
---
"We can move on into the next village. When were you thinking would be best to do so?" John asked.

"How can you do that?" the boy asked before his face lit up. He then whispered "Are you a communist too? Is it true what they say and you are the foreigners here to lead us? You are a little late"*

Cordelia returned Todd's kiss. She never wanted to let him go. This man had saved her life and was going to take her far, far from this hell hole. She owed him everything.

"Well, we can get to the trucks now if you want, the fighting is stopped and the next village isn't too far" the colonel said.

*He is referring to TWSP's promise to fund a Communist rebellion, and their advisors sent, but captured a few years back.

"Don't worry about how we can do it. I just want you to relax, do not worry. Alright?" he asked the boy. When he then asked if they were communist, Freips chuckled, "No, I'm not a communist. Me, my people, we're from a Republic. One that treats its people very well. One where if you work hard, you get what you deserve. One where you can become anything you want, and where you don't have to worry about if you're eat tonight, or be part of a battle tomorrow." he said, starting to reminisce about his wife and three children back home.

---

"Alright, give us about an hour to get everything together and everyone setup." he said, turning around to start getting everyone ready.

bump

OOC: Sorry, invasion and all

IC:

"A place like that can not truly exist...people say that is what it is supposed to be like on the coast here. I'll believe it when I see it" the little boy said.

"You got it, I'll round up the troops" the colonel said before shouting out in Latin and waving his hand in the air at the nearby Confederate soldiers.

Alittle further down the road, bandits were preparing a trap. They had heard of the foreigners and their miraculous medicines, and wanted to see if they could get a hand on some of it. It would be worth a fortune on the black market.

"If it doesn't exist, then I don't either. Want to pinch me to see if I exist?" the doctor said with a laugh as he finished bandaging the boy up. "It exists. It is real. I can promise you that." Doctor Yorn said, patting the boy on the back. "Now, are you hungry?"

---

John began to tell people to finish up before making his way to the hospital. Walking in, began to get people ready here as well. Walking upto Doctor Yorn, "Scott, it's time to get ready and go. Finish up with the boy and any other patients; we need to move into the next area." he said. "Alright, I'm just getting some food for Hector." he said.

John nodded before heading around to the others to get ready.

The boy was starting to warm up to the doctor by now. "Yes, what do you have?"

"Well, nothing real exciting. We've got some fruits, vegetables, salt-free chips, sandwiches..." Freips said. "And then I'm going to have to go, we're moving on to another city. I'm sure the doctors here will be able to make sure you're fine, they've got the equipment they need now." he said.

OOC: I got the two people mixed in the previous post... not Dr. Yorn, but Dr. Freips, and not Hector but Augustus... but what did happen to Hector? He dropped out of the RP randomly... lol

The boys eyes lit up "I want a sandwich please! I remember once my commander gave me a sandwich, it was great!" And than he heard that the doctor was going to leave. He sighed "I shoulda known..."

Meanwhile, Cordelia wandered around, looking at all of the foreigners and their guns and food and medicine. She had never seen a convoy like this one, and was completely fascnated by it.

OOC: lol, you're right, poor kid got hit by a house

"I'll grab you a sandwich, just a second." Freips said, walking out of view for a minute before returning with two sandwiches in hand, "Alright, I got a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a bacon-lettice-tomato. You can have one or both. And..." he said, handing the boy the two before grabbing something from his back pocket of his doctors jacket, "Do you like Coke?" he asked, bringing out a plastic-bottled Coke.

After the boys reaction to hearing him leave, "Hey, hey. Keep your chin up. I'm not abandoning you, alright? But I do need to help some other kids in other cities as well. I won't leave the country without coming back to check on you. Alright?" he said to the boy.

---

"We're leaving in a few minutes," Todd said, walking up to Cordelia. "You're going to be safe with me, I promise to you. I wont let anyone hurt you." he said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back in a few minutes, I gotta help everyone get stuff backed up."

OOC: haha I'll assume he was released back out, or moved to another area in the hospital.

The boy took both sandwiches and looked at them as if they were gold, and then the coke to top it off was like winning the lotto. "Ok, just promise you'll come back"

"Ok" Cordelia chirped happily as she went around the crates of food and medicine. She was excited to leave, and couldn't wait to be in a truck and getting out of this place.

"Know what? I'll be right back." Dr. Freips said to the boy as he spotted Dr. Yorn. He stood up and ran over to Yorn. "Hey... you know that Hector kid you were working on earlier?" he asked. "Yeah, what about him?" Yorn asked. "Do you know where he is right now?" Freips replied, glancing back at Augustus for a second, "No, I think he might have moved to another section of the building? Why? What's going on? You look slightly uneasy." Yorn asked.

"Well, I'm not sure I can leave Augustus here in this damned country. Hell, by tomorrow this hospital could be blown to pieces. I told him I'd return to see him before we leave, but he might not even live to see that, or I might not get the chance..." Freips began, "And he and Hector probably would make good playmates. I want think..." he said before stopping and looking around, then whispering to Yorn as he put his mouth up to Yorn's ear, "I was thinking we could, you know... sneak the two kids out of this place." he finished.

Yorn jerked back in surprised. "You know we're not..." he began before being cut off by an eager Freips, "We're doctors, but we're also humanitarians. How could we leave two kids who have done nothing wrong, but have been punished by living in this hellhole and being forced into such a life!" he exclaimed, but keeping his voice down. "Get Hector, and we're going to sneak them into a truck. Get them into one of the large crates of medical supplies to sneak them out." Freips said. "You know, it's both of our heads if we're caught. Hell, this could put every ViZionarian and IMF worker here in jeapordy if we're caught. So we better make sure we do this well. I'll go look for Hector." Yorn said, turning and heading off to see if he could possibly find Hector.

Freips returned to the boy. "Alright, I'm going to make you a promise, but you must make me one, too." he said with a smile. He hoped Augustus would like the idea, but was nervous about being caught.

OOC: If you don't mine my 'smuggling' a kid or two out without the knowledge of your Colonel or anyone else... lol

Augustus was confused "Uh...yea sure...what is it?"

"You need to promise me that you will do as I say. If you promise me that, I promise to get you out of here... today. With us. I don't think it is safe for you to remain here." Freips said quietly.

"Do you want to go with me back to my country? If so, I'll let you out of here, and I promise you'll be safe."

The boy could not believe his ears

"I promise! I promise!!"

"Alright. We're going to have to sneak you out of here. I'm going to get some bottles of water and a little food; and you're going to need to hide in one of the crates we use for medical supplies. It's not going to be comfortable, but I'm not sure there's any way else of getting you out of here." Dr. Freips said, pointing to an empty crate marked for medical supplies.

The crate, made of white plastic, was of fair size - it was large enough that the boy would be able to curl up inside and still have room for some food and water, but not much else.

Augustus was excited. He didn't know how long he was going to be in the box for, but he had problems doing it.

The convoy was preparing to leave.

Freips knew they were getting ready to go and quickly put some bottles of water and some food in the crate. He also grabbed a couple small blankets to help make the boy for comfortable.

After a couple of moments, he walked over to Augustus, and after looking around to ensure no one was watching, "Alright, hurry into the crate, we're getting ready to leave. Try to be as quiet as possible." he said.

After the boy was in, Freips called over to a couple of the ViZionarian peace keepers to ask for help in loading up the crate in one of the vehicles with some peace keepers in it.

---

Todd finished helping get things loaded up in his area of town and walked over to Cordelia. "Alright, it's time. You can get into the truck I'm in." he told her, grabbing her hand to leave her to the vehicle.

Meanwhile, John had made his way to the Colonel, having returned from the hospital. "We're about ready." he said.

Augustus hopped into the box with his panut butter and jelly, and had a huge smile on as he was carried away, silent as can be.

Cordelia went quickly with Todd to his truck.

Meanwhile, the colonel hopped up into his truck with John, and gave the order to roll out.

"So John, we got a real war on the coast, you here about it?

OOC: Are we assuming this is before the war taking place between you and Allanea or during?

OOC: During I was thinkin'. Is that ok, if not it could just be another insurgency

OOC: I was thinking it would be before the war given when we started the RP, but doesn't matter

OOC: Ok, than I'll give you a commie post, it is where they focus most anyway

OOC: sooo... that means pre-war?
IC:
"I've heard there's been some intense fighting out there, I'm just not fully aware of how bad it is." John replied as they made their way down the road.

OOC: Yep

IC:

The convoy bumbled along passing more of the same scenery, thick jungle and horrid poverty.

"Yea, well since the government passed the Sacrament Laws, Islam was banned, and that just fed a whole other group of people to the rebels. It used to be just warlods and commies, but now we got -"

He was cut off by an explosion as the first truck in the convoy was slammed by an RPG.

"Fuck, fucking shit!" he yelled as he grabbed his handgun, and oversized Kraven made .50 piece with a pearl handle. "Fucking bandits!"

All along the road, men popped in and out spraying the convoy with AK and RPK fire. Confederate soldiers were scrambling to lay down cover fire as the relatively few APC's in the group unloaded into the dense forestry.

Within the box, Augustus was getting nervous. He heard all of the chaos inside, but had no idea what was really happening.

Cordelia squeezed Todd's arm and held him tight. She just wanted to get away from everything, and now here she was, right back in the middle of everything.

Todd quickly pushed Cordelia flat onto the floor, "Shhhh... don't move!" he said, then quickly jumping out of the trunk and under it in an attempt to take cover behind the wheels as he began to return fire towards whoever was fired at the vehicles. "Fucking bastards!" he exclaimed, "What the fuck are they doing?" he wondered aloud.

---

The peace keepers on the truck hauling some of the crates - including the one with Augustus inside - pushed the crates out of the vehicle and onto the ground in an attempt to put a little bit of a defense between them and the attackers as some of them exited to vehicle to begin returning fire.

Being only lightly armed, they had no heavy weaponry to deal with the militia laying down fire upon them. They instead mostly had to trust their pistols and light machine guns to keep them safe as they began to exchange fire with the men.

---

John quickly exited the vehicle and crawled under the truck as he tried to determine his ability to make it towards where his medical crew were located a few trucks back.

Several Confederate soldiers were hit, but for the most part their armor was keeping them safe. Augustus had been through firefights before, and so he was not terribly afraid, although being stuck in a box did do a bit on his nerves.

Cordelia, on the other hand, was terrified. She nodded to Todd as he ran off, and covered up her head as she lay on the floor.

Meanwhile, in the rear of the convoy, several bandits had made it into the trucks and were offloading supplies, throwing boxes to each other, some cracking them open, and taking their loot of into the thick jungle.

Several Confederate soldiers were hit, but for the most part their armor was keeping them safe. Augustus had been through firefights before, and so he was not terribly afraid, although being stuck in a box did do a bit on his nerves.

Cordelia, on the other hand, was terrified. She nodded to Todd as he ran off, and covered up her head as she lay on the floor.

Meanwhile, in the rear of the convoy, several bandits had made it into the trucks and were offloading supplies, throwing boxes to each other, some cracking them open, and taking their loot of into the thick jungle.
Some ViZionarian peace keepers made their way towards the rear of the convoy after being alerted to the raids. A couple were killed as they made their way further back, however another 21 made it, taking aim and firing at the raiders.

OOC: Sorry for crappy post, just tryin to get it up

As soon as the peacekeepers made it to the looters, they quickly scattered, taking whatever they could with them. After about fifteen more minutes, the gunfire began to die down. Four soldiers were killed, and several more were wounded.

The colonel looked on in amazement at the scene around him.

"FUCKING COMMUNISTS!" he screamed, firing several rounds into one of the bandits attempting to crawl away.

OOC: ok, back in town now...
IC:
The peacekeepers began to fire at the looters who were attempting to carry off supplies in hopes of saving as much of the equipment and supplies as possible.
-------
John made it to his medical staff to check on them. They were hunkered down where ever they could get cover at, a couple receive gunshots, however not life threatening.
-------
Doctor Freips finally managed to get to the box the boy was in and opened it up, thanking God it had not been directly hit by gunfire or carried away by the militia. "You alright?" he said quietly as he peaked into the crate.
-------
After the firefight, Todd quickly ran to the vehicle and opened the door, "Are you ok, Cordelia?" he said, almost yelling.

"Yea, I'm fine, what the heck was that?" asked the nervous little boy in the box.

Cordelia hugged Todd "Yea, I'm alright, is anybody hurt?"

Meanwhile, the colonel walked up and down the convoy, pumping rounds into dead or dying bandits wherever they lay and cursing. "John...how are your men holding up? I'm sorry about all of this...these fucking people."

"Some rebels attacked and took some of our medical supplies." Dr. Freips said. Looking around make sure no one was looking, he opened the container all the way, "Come on out if you want, it may be a little safer in case they come back for more supplies so they don't carry you off..."
------
"Ya, there's some people who were hit. But you're fine, and that's important." he said, giving a quick kiss and a hug. "I gotta help get things setup so we can get going. I'll be back in a few minutes..."
------
"Do you mind not shooting them now?" John said, cringing as the Colonel continued to fire rounds into the dead and dying. "They can't hurt us anymore..." he said as he made his way around to check on the IMF workers. "And don't apologize, I know you didn't ask them to attack."

Augustus climbed out of the box and rubbed his eyes as he started to mill around the conovy.

"Well, once everyone is accounted for, we can head out" the colonel said.

OOC: Sorry for going MIA again lol continue? Just a forwarning... building my business, not sure how much time I'll be spending on here...
IC:
Dr. Freips told Augustus, "Stay close... we'll be leaving shortly and we want to make sure you're safe if the attack happens again.
------
It took about five minutes to make sure everyone was accounted for, and a few more moments before those who were injured were put in good locations as the doctors began to attend to them in the vehicles.

"Everyone's accounted for," John said to the Colonel.

OOC: Quite alright. Good luck with the business, what kind?

IC:

Augustus nodded, and stayed quiet in his box.

After hearing everybody was together, the group moved on. A short while later, they stopped in another small village not dissimilar to the first one.

"This place was hit really hard with malaria recently, and the government doesn't want to provide medicine out here. They are afraid the trucks might get attacked, like they just were, and the medicine would end up on the black market, funding rebels. Are your boys equipped for this?" the colonel said.

OOC: Thanks :) Heard of Amazon.com I'm sure? I'm working with some guys on an internet project similar to that.

IC:
"We are equipped. We will be needing to have some more supplies airdropped to us though having lost some stuff in that raid." John mentioned before stepping out of the vehicle and beginning to assess the village.

OOC: Nice!

IC:

The village was a decrepit little place, much like the rest. Malaria ridden people stumbled about everywhere, flies buzzing all around them.

Cordelia gasped as one of these people popped his head into the truck and mumbled for water. The place was in desperate need of help.

OOC: I'm a bit sick today, so my posts wont be to great right now... sorry...
IC:
John and his medical crew made their way around. It was clear there would be a lot of work involved here. Within half an hour of arriving, the soldiers and the IMF workers had begun to setup the supplies so that they could begin treating these people.

-----

"Hey, hey, back away!" yelled Todd and he ran up and pulled the man away from the vehicle. "She doesn't have any water for you. Now go, you'll get help when we can get to you." he said sternly. He then turned to Cordelia, "How are you doing, hunny?" he asked softly.

The man stumbled away from the truck as Todd came. "I'm good, thanks. This place stinks" Cordelia said. "Can I get out and look around?"

Indeed, the sent of death and excrement filled the air of the small village. Confederate soldiers set about organizing water lines, while village leaders began escorting the dctors to some of the worse off huts.

"Ya, just be careful." Todd said, opening the door for her then embracing her in a big hug.

-----

"Damn these places are a mess..." John said to one of the IMF doctors. "You're telling me..." he responded as a makeshift medical center was being setup so they could begin tending to the people.

John made his way back to the Colonel, "Is this the worse there is?"