A Battle Unseen

[alaskancrabpuffs21]

11:00 March 1st 4881 Aikums, Dolgava Dolgavan Department of Intelligence

A late snow was still falling on the streets of Aikums, a young lady walked down the street, a large Lodamese coat wrapped around her slender torso. The environment was unusually quiet for a March day, the temperature outside was near 0 degrees. Snow was something Veronika was not used to walking in but her strides were unchangeable. As she approached the steps to the large intelligence building, she walked in. Her heels made loud sharp "clacks" on the marble floor but she did not notice nor anyone in the facility for that matter. She had been through these halls, before. She knew who she was and what she meant and that this was probably treason but she did not care. Her country of origin had been a hell... She silently boarded the elevator and typed in the 5th floor. This time she wouldn't just have to deal with the secretary at the lobby, but she would get to talk to someone who could finally get her where she wanted to go... She wanted to take action!

The elevator plodded along,Veronika was used to this, her father had owned several large buildings in her home country. The fliers on the wall showed a local play that was coming to the theater, it was about dogs traveling through Dorvik on their way to find their humans, it was meant for children. Finally after 2 long minutes the door opened and Veronika turned to the left and walked down another hallway. A checkpoint stopped her, a male guard probably in his early 30's was keeping people from entering the door.

"ID please" the man said almost impatiently,

Veronika was silent and handed the guard her appointment slip, the guard read it, looked into the young women's eyes and back at the slip and then handed her the paper once again

"You are good to go, I hope you have a nice day"

Veronika nodded slightly and then walked into the now open door. She was standing in a lobby, several windows overlooked the snowy street below, little flakes fell past the window effortlessly. A young lady with dark hair wrapped in a bun sat at a large desk in the middle, it was not the old man with a large mustache as it had been the time before, but Veronika did not care, she walked up confidently to the desk and said in almost fluent Dolgavan with a thick accent

"I would like to see Mr. Bergmanis please, I have had this meeting scheduled for several months now and I..."

The secretary interrupted "Don't worry darling you'll be just fine, now sit over there and wait for him to come out," the arrogance in her voice paired nicely with her narrow pointed upturned chin that stuck out and her smile that looked almost like a sneer.

Veronika was not about to argue with this lady so she went to her seat, cleared off a gossip magazine and sat down. She looked around the room, it was a medium sized room with 2 paintings on its walls showing Dolgavan parades. The room was accompanied by a steady drone of several heaters, trying their hardest to keep this large building warm.

Veronika kept looking around, the large brass door knob, the rusty pipe sticking out of the ceiling, she took it all in.

Suddenly she heard her name right next to her, the man's voice was sharp and raspy, Veronika got up and walked toward the man who wore a business suit and a ID tag on his pocket. They passed through a metal detector before being let inside the door.Veronika came into a large office, a large stone fireplace dominated the room with seats and a couch surrounding it. The man who was in his 40's with gray hair gestured for Veronika to sit down next to the fireplace and she obliged.

The man spoke first "So, I read your report, you did not say much about yourself and I understand but from what you wrote I understand you want to send me a message. May I ask what that may be?"

Veronika looked at the man, his brown mustache looked almost comical but her dark sea blue eyes meant business, Veronika swallowed and then spoke her thick Endralonian accent clear as a bell "My name is Veronika Szekeres I was born and raised in the Directorial Republic of Endralon", she swallowed and paused for a moment before continuing "I was the example of a perfect Endralonian, I had a good rich family, my father ran a cobbler business, I had a loving family that cared about me, I had private education. Were were atheists, everything the Endralonian culture strives to be".

Bergmanis interrupted "Why did you do what you've done?"

Veronika looked back at the door, and saw nothing, she looked at the fire as it danced and illuminated the room in a kind of orange glow. She looked at her black stilettos and then this gave her confidence she said "In Endralon, especially the rich, rich businessmen know each other and their families well... My father was not an exception to this. He loved me he wanted me to marry a smart looking young Endralonian boy but well, it didn't turn out this way. When I was 10 a boy named Áron and I were good friends, we had grown around each other since childhood. We were good friends and so when we would turn 16 years old, we would marry each other. Now, at the age of 14, Áron took me aside and we started doing, intimate activities. This is normal in Endralon but now that I have studied this kind of thing and what it does to you, it probably scarred me and hurt my development. As a teenage girl I had to deal with a developing body, and a full time romantic relationship. He was demanding, he would expect me to do things and he treated me like a lesser during these times..."

She paused for a moment looked around once more and then had the courage to continue "So after this him and I would continue this, he would pressure me and I submitted to it. However now that I look back on it I acted stupidly but, what was I supposed to know?"

Bergmanis agreed, clearly shocked and completely out of his comfort zone, but as any good recruiter he knew to be patient and to let Veronika talk so he kept listening.

"So I graduated Endralonian school at the age of 16, I celebrated my birthday and Áron promised me that we would get married later that summer, I was not to go to college, which was my dream to do. So I did something stupid. I extracted 100 thousand from my personal bank account and searched the Endralonian internet for a plane ticket. I picked Lodamun because it is a very religious state with good college programs, I was also fascinated by their culture. One night I left on a flight to Lodamun. I would cut all communications with my family and Áron who I was not at all going to tolerate anymore".

She flipped her long wavy golden blond hair in a disgusted defiant gesture back past her ears and continued with a sense of pride "I went to a college in at the University of Providence in Lodamun and used one of he items I took from Endralon, a Shortwave radio. I started listening to frequencies and I found myself fascinated by all of the different stations until I came across, Kerisian Free News. Now I could of cared less about Dolgava when I was a child. I could care less about politics in general but I knew that Dolgava was not a good place and my father called you people pigs... Anyways I started learning the Lodamese language and listened to Luthori broadcasts. I know Endralonian, Davostani, Luthorian, Lodamese, and Dolgavan now. I started to pick Dolgavan up when I listened to Kerisian Free News daily. This radio program taught me many things and showed me a new reality. I realized Endralonian principals like materialism and unrestricted capitalism were wrong in Lodamun. And listening too your government's station have me conservative values, this reinforced the wrong that happened to me at the hands of Áron. I know now that he controlled me and I am bitter about that. I also applied for a Lodamese visa at this point too. One year ago I dropped out of college and decided to visit Dolgava, the land that I could only dream of and listen to on the radio waves. I arrived here with a Lodamese Visa and have been here ever sense..."

Bergmanis perked up as Veronika finished and asked "So what would you like me to do?"

Veronika responded frankly, "I want to get back at he government that hurt me, and did me wrong. But mostly I want to prove to whoever I can that I am loyal to Dolgava and that I want to do everything I can to bring down the oppressors and the system that scarred me...

Bergmanis pondered this, twisting his mustache and then said "I believe you, can I have proof you are who you say you are?"

Veronika reached into her coat and pulled out a card, it was an Endralonian ID card with her name written on it...

"I'll be damned", Bergmanis said looking at the card and to Veronika, "Well if you are serious about this, in what capacity would you like to help this department out"???

"I wanna become a spy, I will prove my worth I promise you that" she said in a confident but dead serious tone

Begmanis then lit a cigar and took a puff "I understand completely, I don't want to know how you feel, you are truly a fighter I have to say, and to risk your life traveling here and to me, I do not doubt you one bit".

Now Veronika, I need to put you on a submission form to join the Dolgavan intelligence agency, let us go through the form together shall we, remember this is for an application, you are not guaranteed a spot".

Veronika nodded and Bergmanis continued "So, how old are you currently?"

"19" Veronika replied, Bergmanis repeated this the cigar still lodged between his teeth.

"Your gender, well that is obvious, I think you do not have to convince me about that, now your height is??"

Veronika replied "165 centimeters"

"165 centimeters" Bergmanis repeated jotting down this on to his recruitment sheet "Now your eye color is green," he wrote that down as well, "and your hair color is a beautiful color of blond. He then unexpectedly asked "Is that natural???"

Veronika replied "Yes I have never had to color it"

Bergmanis nodded and then said "In my opinion, don't do it, you look lovely the way you are, don't let anyone tell you otherwise".

Veronika felt a wave of warmth overtake her she thought in her head "Is he trying to flatter me or is he just a nice person", before she could make up her mind the man continued

"Well it looks like you are all set. I will give you fair warning, unlike myself who's job is to be a negotiator and someone who cares about you and others, the men at training camp will not be the same, they will put you to your limit, I hope you are ready for that, you will be learning many things and you will well be on your way to getting back at those that you do not like, however you must work hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta persevere".

Veronika looked at Bergmanis and gave him a knowing look before saying "Oh don't you worry, you'll be seeing me again I bet my life on it".

Bergmanis gave Veronika the directions to the army base and such and when she was going to be picked up he said "Remember show up here and a truck will take you to the camp, Also I will get your Dolgavan citizenship papers filed soon, you'll be able to skip most of the process that way. Again I thank you for coming here and I thank you for trusting me enough to tell your story, you are a braze girl and you will do great things".

Veronika stood up off of her chair, stared Bergmanis in the eyes and said "What is in the past is in the past, now it is time to look to the future, and to kick the future in the ass". She almost pranced out of the room taking extra care to walk out of the Intelligence Building in the most dignified manner possible, as she walked back through the snow down the sidewalk she looked at the directions and thought to herself "Those trainers won't even know what hit them, they will have no clue what to do with me, its time to show them!"

To Be continued....

[robmark0000]

2:03 AM, 18 December, 4880 - Red-light district, IX. District, Régiházikó, Canton of Efína, Directorial Republic of Endralon

She fully prepared to host her new guest. She wore a sexy and exciting blue underwear, she made her lips to burn like red, stretched her long, brown hair, and tried to force her brain to focus on only one thing: sex. It was really hard tho, especially because this profession was still strange for her. To make some vibe, she turned on some good Szőke Kinga music, just for her own personal desire. It was the Is It Cool?

She started to dance alone in the room, and this helped a lot on her vibe. However she was interrupted, somebody knocked on the door. "It must be him" - she thought. She opened the door, and what she saw was definitely not normal; a 27 years old, blonde, long-hair boy with a face that definitely looked like somebody gay, he plus wore a long, black coat and gloves, with an elegant TFC shoe.

KATKA: Hey, szépfiú!
THE BOY: Hey to you too.
KATKA: Just come inside.
THE BOY: Shouldn't I pay a plus price for that?
KATKA: I mean come inside to the room, you pervert.
THE BOY: Haha, cool.
KATKA: You has a terrible piece of humor.
THE BOY: Would you want me to tell your bosses how do you treat your clients? (Joking and approaching the girl's sphere.)
KATKA: I guess they should pay more for honesty, so yeah, definitely. (Approaching the boy's sphere.)
THE BOY: Then tell me, what about this, honestly...
(The boy kisses her, however she firstly pulls him.)
KATKA: First the invoice, perv.
THE BOY: Oh, yeah, sure.
(The boy shows her his invoice from the Futua Solutions, based on the paper, bought exactly at 1:59 AM.)
KATKA: 300€ for one night? Impressive.
THE BOY: Money doesn't matter right now.
(They're starting to kiss each other and undress.)
KATKA: Hugamest?
THE BOY: Ye.
KATKA: Sárközy?
THE BOY: Yap.
KATKA: They doin well these days.
THE BOY: Shut up about money.
KATKA: Aight.

She never had an experience like this before since she is in the profession. His performance was amazing and confused Katka whether she is at a prostitute or the boy. Because it was so good. Of course she tried her best, but she had to admit it was more than work, because she literally enjoyed it. The guy was a cold blooded professional, she wondered why is a guy like this needs the services of a prostitute.

After an intensive endgame at the missionary position, they just lay on the bed, Katka at the left and the boy at the right. They just tried to regain their consciousness for 10 minutes, constantly staring the roof. After they did, the boy just started to staring the girl, without any specific reason and it was a little creepy for her.

KATKA: Yes?
THE BOY: It was fantastic.
KATKA: We hope you choose the Futua Solutions next time as well. (Stand up and starts to dress.)
THE BOY: C'mon girl, why are you running?
KATKA: Why should I stay? My working hours are over.
THE BOY: Are they? (The boy stand up as well and grab her hands.)
KATKA: Let me go, there is security cameras and personnel here.
THE BOY: And what if I disarmed them?
KATKA: Well, then...
THE BOY: Are you afraid, kicsi lány?
KATKA: I am.

Katka kicks the boy on his knees, and he fell onto them. Then she suddenly starts to grab the man's neck like a vise, and because of this, he starts to drowning.

KATKA: Yes. I am afraid.
THE BOY: Please... plea...
KATKA: Excuse me? I can't hear you. Usually I don't hear misogynistic assholes.
THE BOY: Let me...
KATKA: Let you what? Do you think we would do anything together after this?
THE BOY: Let me... Let me show...
KATKA: Let you show what, asshole?
THE BOY: The...
KATKA: The? The what?
THE BOY: The... the... badge...
(The girl release his neck.)
KATKA: What?
THE BOY: The... the... badge. It is on my coat. Pocket on the left.
KATKA: If this is a trick, I will kill you.
THE BOY: It is not.
(The girl found the mentioned badge.)
KATKA: DRIO?!
THE BOY: Directorial Republic Investigation Office, Foreign Department.
KATKA: Are you okay?
THE BOY: Yes, I am.
(The boy stands.)
KATKA: Why are you here, Agent...?
THE BOY: Directorial Republic Agent Krisztof Márk.
KATKA: Agent Márk. Why are you here?
THE BOY: Because of you.
KATKA: What do you mean? My time here is far from over...
THE BOY: Your time here is over.
KATKA: What?
THE BOY: You are in compliance with every criteria of the Office. For the bigger job.
KATKA: I wasn't here for protect prostitutes, was I?
THE BOY: Partly. We are analyze you since a lot of time. Here you learned sexual seduction and defense against sexual predators.
KATKA: Wait... are you tested me during this night, aren't you?
THE BOY: Well it will sounds unusual... but yes.
KATKA: Faszom...
THE BOY: The Directorial Republic is not famous about being moral or ethical. We are just the ones using everything for our own purposes. Surrender yourself to your own blood, and be happy, cos you just got promoted.
KATKA: Understood, Agent Márk.
THE BOY: Excellent. I can't tell you more about the nature of your job; tomorrow at 4 PM, go to the headquarters of the Office and ask for Grand Admiral Jónás Krisztina on the reception. She will come for you.
KATKA: Noted.
THE BOY: Then I guess we have nothing to do anymore.
KATKA: Wait, Agent... do you think I am fully prepared for that what I will do?
THE BOY: On the area of expertise, I had to test? Definitely. You were quiet satisfying at bed and I really felt I will die for one moment when you grabbed me.
KATKA: Its very... relaxing. Thank you.
(The boy dress up quickly.)
KATKA: If this is not confidential. Do you test others too?
THE BOY: You think I am just used my badge and information to fuck a simple low-ranked girl in the Office? If yes, then you are really mistaken. This is an existing job since prostitution legally existing in the DRE. Today I will have two "subjects", you and a gay boy, who will be send to Lodamun.
KATKA: To Lodamun?
THE BOY: We have to secure our allies.
KATKA: And... it is your full-time job?
THE BOY: Don't judge me. I to be honest deserve this, after hunting for those AEFNS animals for three years with Trón.
KATKA: Without doubts.
THE BOY: Tomorrow, 4 PM, Office HQ.
KATKA: I will be there.
THE BOY: I wish you the best, Agent Katalin.
KATKA: Same, Agent Márk.
(The boy left the room.)

[alaskancrabpuffs21]

23:00 Unspecified Section of Ocean, SMS Āmrija Depth 230 meters

Raimonds was listening, ship traffic had been slow all day, the major port that was supposed to be one of the largest in Terra turned a slow performance for the ship's hydrophone. Only 4 large tankers had been heard coming in and out all day long. In front of Raimonds his dinner plate was empty, it had been sausage with kraut and apples fried along with it. The pitcher of Kvass was half empty and Raimond only had an hour before he would be off of his shift and in his bed.

Suddenly the captain shouted over the intercom, "action station, all mans get to your battle stations.

This confused Raimond, the hydrophone was showing nothing as it had most of the day. Raimonds spoke into his intercom, "What is the meaning of this, the phone is showing nothing but the ocean?"

The captain spoke with bark, back into the intercom "Do not question" then he heard down the hall him shout to the helmsman "Give me power" and "Set a course to 234 please". The ship started to move, starting softly but then the turbines and the screws started to move quicker. The ship turned almost 180 degrees going back the way it was going, this time, south...

The ship moved south and Raimonds plotted her course, he could tell one thing, they were going into someone's territorial waters...

After around half an hour of some time of listening and still hearing nothing Raimond concluded that they were changing things up... but he still wondered what was so special to the south???

Raimond thought "What the hell is to the south of us?" however this through was interrupted by the captain shouting to the diving commander, "Bring us to Periscope Depth Mr. Markov the ship started to go upward, the ship tilting as it did this. Raimonds drank a large swig of his Kvass before setting it down. His replacement appeared in the hall, "Raimonds, if you would like to take your break 15 minutes early that is fine".

Raimond was shocked by this and then said "well thank you Armīns, I will go into the galley and get you a beer, I still have one saved up from last week". He downed the rest of his Kvass, grabbed his plate and handed the headphones to his replacement and walked down the hall, he passed the captain a large burly man with lots of muscles, Raimond acknowledged him before walked down the stairs to the galley. He went up to the kitchen and asked "May I please get a beer?" The wood colored cabinets reflected the TV that was on one of the walls, it was playing satellite TV on a local Dolgavan station, currently a shoe advertisement was on. Raimonds, shoes smelled not the best, most sailors down here had that problem. He went over to the drink fountain and filled a pitcher full of water, he downed this in one swig. He also put his plates and such into the dirty dishes pile.

The cook came back with a tall glass of bubbly beer. Raimond handed his ticket and carefully carried the glass up the stairs, passed the con room and into where the sonar hydrophone post was located. He took a sip of beer and then handed it to his replacement. He asked "Heard anything"

The sonar operator looked at him took the beer and said "No I haven't its as dead as a post, Also Thank You very much".

Raimond smiled "Of course, you know I don't drink too much, well now I gotta head off to bed, breakfast will be early tomorrow morning, see you then", he patted Armīns on the back and yawned. He then walked through the periscope room, past he captain who wished him a good night's rest. Raimond slunked down the stairs and this time turned down the hall past the galley and kitchen to his crew quarters. He could hear the footsteps of those that were going off watch along with him, so he quickened his pace. Grabbing his toothbrush and toothpaste he made his way to the washroom, brushed his teeth and then made his way to his corner bed. He changed clothing and men waited in line for the bathroom. He sat in bed, said some prayers and laid down. He wouldn't even hear his fellow crewmates getting to bed, the Kvass and Beer and good food had put Raimonds into a deep slumber...

[colonelvesica]

Apartment Complex, Fort Reinhardt, Union of Davostan and Kivonia

A man by the name of Mattias Ekdal sat in his chair watching TV when a knock came to his door. Mattias cocked his eyebrow, curious as to who would be calling on him on his day off. Mattias was an Korpral of the Facklig Militärpolis, the union's de-facto national police service that weren't beholden to either the SSB or the elite Leitz Skvadron. He had been a member for over 7 years, and enjoyed being a Korpral, or Corporal in other nations, if for no other reason he gave him seniority over lesser members, but also meant he didn't have a lot of responsibility to deal with. Do his job, listen to his Sergeants, order around newly enlisted troopers, go home. He looked through the peep hole but didn't see anything. Frowning, in a moment of lapsed judgement, he opened the door to find out if anyone was in the hall. The door had been open for but a moment, before Mattias found himself looking at F-50 Lightning Hawk handguns on both side so of his head, held by non descript men in civilian clothes. They wore large black and bulky clothing that would have allowed them to conceal their weapons without difficulty despite their sheer size. Mattias was pushed back into his apartment with sharp gestures from the handguns as the two gentlemen entered with him, keeping their firearms pointed directly at his chest.

Mattias knew about the F-50 Lightning Hawk; it was without a doubt the most powerful handgun in the world. Chambered in the massive .50 AE pistol cartridge. There was not a silencer in the world that could possibly have quieted that handcannon so the musclemen hadn't bothered, but the fact they were aiming the handcannons as professionally as they were told him the gentlemen in question did not care if they were heard; if one of those pistol rounds impacted his chest there would be a fist sized hole when it exited and he would be dead barely after he heard the gun go off.

Trying desperately to figure out why the men were in his apartment the question answered itself when the two musclemen were joined by a third person, who made his eyes go wide and knees go weak. Like most members of the FMP Mattias was not a small man. He was a dominating 6"3, and 235 pounds of solid muscle. By comparison the person in front of him, a woman, was barely 5"5, though she looked taller because of the heeled boots she wore, and she didn't appear overly large, more lean and athletic then muscular. What struck fear into him was that she knew this woman. She wore a short red peacoat, that was only a shade brighter then her long red hair and almost the same shade as the red lipstick she wore. As she took off a pair of her designer sunglasses the woman looked at him through sharp green eyes, not unlike a cat. When she spoke, she spoke softly but the voice could have cut through ice, despite how friendly she sounded. She spoke in fluent and clear Kivonian that lacked any accent. "Dear Corporal, you look as though you've seen a ghost. Are you not happy to see me?"

Mattias struggled for a moment before he spoke. "Djavul, I wasn't expecting to see you, is all."

The head of the Medivh Syndicate gave him a surprisingly warm smile, as she sat down in a chair, having closed the door to his apartment behind her when she walked in. "Mattias we've worked together for almost four years, you must know you've earned the right to call me Lisbeth. Please make yourself comfortable, it is after all, your home."

She gestured to the seat next to her. Mattias walked carefully to the chair next to the woman he knew both as Lisbeth, but also as Djavul the head of the Medivh Syndicate. Korpral Mattias Edkal did his job as well as he could, but he had a weakness for gambling and pretty women. As he was unmarried, and had nothing to do but spend his money on his own pursuits, that was entirely his business and as prostitution was perfectly legal in the Union that wasn't his issue. His issue was his love for gambling had gotten him into trouble with a few unsavoury people to get his affairs in order. That had included taking out a loan from a loan shark that evidently actually worked for Djavul. His loan to the shark, was in reality his loan to the pretty woman across from him, and after she had her hooks in him, she kept them in, both holding the massive debt he owed, but also the fact he had passed on information to her regularly to keep the FMP off her, and her network's back. "Surely you understand Lisbeth, I meant to reach out, I got your message."

In reality Mattias had hoped that once the Medivh Syndicate had gone quiet after the destruction of the AEFNS at Storholt that he was free to go back to his daily life, his debt and indiscretions gone. When he had recieved the encrypted email from Lisbeth, he had quietly ignored it, hoping that he would simply be another forgotten gog in the massive crime syndicate that Lisbeth lead. Evidently Lisbeth never forgot.

"I have no doubt that you did Mattias, just as I'm sure you were about to reach out. I'm sure that your response to me was simply forgotten in the business of your job. Don't worry Korpral, you know I'm a forgiving woman. I never forget my friends, you know that." She said, her voice still warm and welcoming. What wasn't said was the unspoken threat that Mattias knew without having to ask. Yes, the woman known as Djuval never forgot her friends and those who helped her; he had an unlimited line of credit at her high stakes casinos he knew she owned, and whenever he wanted female companionship one appeared at his door with no questions asked. He also knew, by fact, that she never forgot her enemies. He remembered the murder of a low level bureaucrat at the State Security Bureau, that in a meeting with one of her subordinates a year ago, had been mentioned off hand as a member of the Syndicate who had gone quiet on her. Djuval hadn't wasted any time making an example of that bureaucrat, killing him in broad daylight as he had been going to the office, making it appear as a mugging gone wrong. The mugger in question had been gunned down by SSB Agents who had appeared and it was quietly otherwise forgotten.. except in Mattia's eyes.

"So as you can probably guess." Lisbeth said, continuing. "My business took a momentary stop while we were readdressing some... long term business ventures and clients. Having settled that I'm happy to say we are back open for business. You of course will continue to be compensated for all the hard work you've already been doing. I hope that's quite alright Mattias."

Mattias took a glance at the two men, still aiming their handcannons at him before turning back to Lisbeth. He knew if he denied her, he would not walk out of this apartment alive, the gunmen would squeeze the triggers with little deferrence to the noise, Lisbeth would have the mess cleaned up, and it would look like a home robbery gone wrong. Mattias nodded. "Of course Lisbeth, it was never in doubt."

Her smile went wider and she got up, putting her sunglasses back in. "Excellent, exactly what I like to hear. You'll receive instructions in the next few days, beyond that, continue living your life as if nothing ever happened. Mattias, you know I like to stay out of your personal business. She walked to the door looking back for a moment, a slight hint of malice entering into her voice for the first time. "If you ignore another of my message's Mattias, my friends will be back to check in on you, to make sure nothing happened to you. I would certainly hate for me to have to worry. When I worry, I tend to overreact."

With that she stepped out of the apartment, her gunmen following her without a second glance back.

Mattias took the first breath he had since the Djuval had come in. He was relieved he had simply not pissed himself.

[alaskancrabpuffs21]

August 14th 4881 Aikums, Dolgava Dolgavan Department of Intelligence

Grigorijs Bergmanis the head of the DDI's recruitment board sat in his alder wood desk, smoking a pipe as usual. His desk was neat and orderly like most things in Bergmanis's life. His wife Mira's birthday had been on the tenth, on his desk sat a photo of him a clean shaven young man with a large smile next to his bride, she had thick red hair this came from Beluzian lineage. He smiled at the picture and then of the picture of his two boys, both twins and their college graduation photos. They had become an accountant and the pharmacist and worked very well at that. Suddenly a lady walked into the door, is was Inna Bergmanis's assistant, she had a narrow face, dark brown hair and a chin that pointed out. Her eyes were small, cunning and pierced into you.

"He is here to see you", Inna said he voice sounding entitled and to some people, it sounded rude.

Bergmanis replied "Ah good, see that he makes it in". As he said this he looked out his window, the summer air saw tourists strolling down the streets admiring the Government sector of Aikums.

The door opened once more and this time a man walked into the room. He was a mountain of a man, easily above 190 centimeters tall. His face was gruff and unkempt. He had a muscular frame, but was surprisingly thin. His face was round and he had a wide chin. His hair was brown. He wore a suit that was slightly unkempt but still looked professional. His shoes, pants and undershirt were top Dolgavan brands, making his outfit worth easily 10 thousand DOLS. On his arm he carried a badge, this badge gave away his identity, it said "Apolinaras" on it with the house crest, two eagles squaring off. This man was a member of one of the most famous and most feared mafia cells in Dolgava.

The man sat down and Bergmanis offered him a cigar, the man took it and had it lit. Then he sat back in his chair and exclaimed "It feels good to be a free man once again".

Bergmanis nodded looking over Kristopher Apolinaras's criminal record. He then spoke reading the charges outlined "You have been accused of 3 accounts of murder, 12 accounts of assault, multiple accounts of illegal smuggling, and they could only find evidence for the latter?"

Kristupas replied "I will say to this day that I never committed those crimes, life in the mafia can get people confused sometimes, I hope you understand that".

Bergmanis replied "Oh yes, but I think spending 4 years on prison was long enough, Lets get down to business you are telling me that your Father is done and disbanded your families mafia, how is this possible?"

"My old man has found, let me say, better ways of acquiring money, only these methods are legal. There is not reason to go through all of this and do illegal actions when we could be running a clean operation, does that make sense?"

"Yes, however I don't know what legal business does better than organized arms dealing, but that is another conversation entirely". he paused flipped the page and said "So now you are telling me that you want to fight crime after being a crime lord you entire life?"

"Yes of course", came the reply "I have been on the wrong side of the law too much", he exhaled smoke from his cigar enveloping his face. "My family did it right, we never killed, we always stuck to the mafia code, but others were cutthroat, they murdered people. These are bad people and I want to see them behind bars. Too much crime around Terra goes unchecked, I wanna be a force for good to fix that, understand?"

Begmanis nodded his head slowly and said "Well, the government has your information down given to us from the prison system. We know you history and I still question you motives".

Kristopher then pleaded with Bergmanis "Please sir I want to be trained, I am loyal to Dolgava, this country that I grew up in and loved, I swear on my family's honor, I will be the best agent you have ever scene, I have a chip on my shoulder, let me prove myself to you that I am not a thug or criminal anymore I want to be good". The large man got down on his knees and said "Please let me prove myself! Please!"

Bergmanis was shocked by this, a full grown man kneeling on the ground before him his muscles bulging, asking to be apart of the Dolgavian intelligence. The recruiter's mind raced and he came to his decision soon thereafter. "You may go" is all he said

"Thank You, Thank You" said the ex mobster his face now in a determined smile, "This will be the greatest decision you have made".

Bergmanis nodded and handed a set of instructions to the man "Follow these and remember, the folks at the base aren't kind, they aren't like me, treat them with respect, they can put you through hell but its all apart of the training". Then he extended his hand and the man shook it "Now good luck and I hope to see you back here all trained up".

Kristopher nodded before walked out the door, a spring in his step. He closed the door behind him and Bergmanis thought "What have I done?, An ex mafia man really?" then he remember the base and the training program and he chuckled to himself, "If I ever see him back here again I will know he is loyal".... He extinguished his cigar and threw it in the water basket next to his desk. He looked at the sun its orange-yellow light starting the slow process of setting. He looked out and thought it the new batch of agents, and to where they would be going next......

To be Continued......

[colonelvesica]

Penthouse Apartment, Financial District, Downtown Kasema, Sovereign Republic of Kundrati

Mogensen looked around at awe at the luxirous penthouse apartment he found himself in. After the glorious attack on the Stock Exchange had gone off without a hitch, Faam had called him in for a special purpose. He hadn't expected to find himself in the city where he had just orchestrated such a massive attack, in fact had been a little nervous to find himself in downtown Kasema, in a suit that likely cost more then a minimum wage worker made in a full year, but Faam had insisted. He walked into the living room behind which was a glass wall that gave a stunning view of the downtown. Sitting on a couch watching, of all things the Business Channel was Mia, wearing an expensive cocktail dress on her cell phone speaking to someone. She flashed him a quick smile and dismissed the phone call. "Did I not promise you violence?" She asked with a clear smile.

Mogensen, who was still in a daze from how well it had gone off, nodded, flashing her a returned grin. He looked back to the balcony and saw overlooking at the city, in a suit that looked worth even more then his own was Faam. The Aldegarian looked back and waved. "Ah Bruder. Come see the fruits of your labour!"

Mogensen went out on the balcony and saw, with a start, that the penthouse apartment had a direct line of site on the ruins of the Stock Exchange. Mogensen looked on in slight admiration. Faam had found a spot that not only gave him a line of sight on the very attack when it likely took place, but also had chosen to hide in plain sight; who look for a terrorist in a downtown Penthouse apartment. Mogensen looked at the Aldegarian who was grinning widely at him. "You have truly struck the first blows for freedom, and did so in such a way that makes NACTO look truly incompetent. No hostages needed to be taken, no cities occupied. Instead you cut to the heart of what fuels the Endralonian Corporate Imperialists. And you have hurt them brother, make no mistake. They hurt hard from this! Further... you have made a statement that even the politicians here in Kundrati can not ignore look."

Faam gestured back inside, tearing Mogensen away from the sight of the Stock Exchange, and in they went, where Mia pulled up a clip on the flatscreen TV, showing several Kundrati Senators and politcal commentators demanding NACTO's blood, and another Senator demending the resignation of the Prime Minister over the attack.

Faam spoke, with great confidence. "You and your Cause are no longer fringe terrorists my friend. Now, you are in the mainstream, now even the Kundrati politicians, those that gave souls to Endralon can not ignore you and your just demands. And you do have demands my friend."

Mia walked over and handed him a script. Mogensen read through it and nodded. "This is the next step?" He asked.

Faam nodded and brought Mogensen into one of the bedrooms. The bedroom was already set up as a de-facto video studio. A desk was sat up, with a large green screen set up behind it. Mogensen saw that whatever would be seen on the video would not be able to tell anything about the location or time. Faam handed him a plain black jacket, a pair of pure black gloves, and bavaclava, that covered not only his entire face, but his eyes and mouth. He put them all on and knew that his features were completely distorted and gone; there would be no identifying him on the video.

Mogensen sat at the desk while Mia coached him on how to sit and present himself. "Clasp your hands, look straight at the camera. You are garnering their attention. Don't worry about your voice, all of it will be taken care of by us so that none would be able to identify you. Just speak from the heart and make your just demands known!"

Faam stood behind the extremely expensive looking video camera, raised three fingers and then counted them down, pointing at him as he counted from one.

Mogensen spoke, with conviction and confidence he did not think he would feel.

"Greetings citizens of the Sovereign Republic of Kundrati. I am the Commander of the Anti-Endralon Front of National Sovereignty. I am sorry for the damage that was gone to our great and Sovereign Republic but since we attached ourselves to the viper known as the Directorial or should I say, Dictatorial Republic of Endralon, and their puppet organization, the Northeast Artanian Covenant Treaty. It is a Covenant alright, a Covenant that sells our collective souls to Endralon and their Corporate Masters. We have truly given up the Sovereignty of our Sovereign Republic and this must change. The AEFNS makes the following requests and demands of the Kundrati Government, and should they be carried out, the AEFNS will step down and cease all violence. First, the Sovereign Republic of Kundrati must expell all NACTO Military, Law Enforcement and Intellgence forces that are infecting our great nation. These are parasites that are oppressing us in the name of maintaining our national sovereignty, and yet we allow these vipers to move about our nation, harassing our citizens without question. Second, the Sovereign Republic of Kundrati will end any and all business relationships, ties and interests with any Endralon Corporate Entity. Endralon has used their corporate influence to dominate our nation, and even as we stepped foot from the oppression of socialism, we stepped into the binding and oppressing ties of Endralon corporatism. The Sovereign Republic must be allowed to strike it's own path, but can not do so while Endralon is allowed to steppe their claws into us. Endralon is to leave Kundrati once and for all in any economic capacity. Third and final, the Sovereign Republic of Kundrati will withdraw from NACTO. We will strike our own path in the world, not being dictated to by the Dictatorial Republic. Thanks you my fellow Citizens and make sure you tell your Senators and Politicians to follow through on these just demands and the violence will end! Thank you!"

Faam turned off the camera and nodded. "Good my friend, good. We will make sure this gets into the proper hands once it's been edited and we will see if the politicians are smart enough to follow through. In the meantime, go, celebrate, enjoy. You have earned it my friend!"

Mogensen grinned and left, eager to celebrate with his comrades, in their own quiet way.

**************

Once the AEFNS insurrgent was gone, Mia went to work on the video on an encrypted laptop, editing Mogensen's voice to make it entirely unidentifiable. While she work, Faam spoke, his voice soft but firm. "Have we found out about the Old Town Cell?"

Mia didn't look away from her work, but answered. "The entire cell was wiped out, butchered it more like it. Last time we saw that level of butchery well..."

Faam nodded, though Mia couldn't see the gesture. "No one ever said the State Security Bureau were stupid, though they certainly are sloppy. Butchering them after they got whatever they wanted out of them. Quite wasteful. Are we sure we are secure?"

Mia nodded absentmindedly. "That cell was mostly kids, and inexperienced ones at that. They simply wanted to try and make a difference. They knew nothing mission critical, we hadn't truly given them an assignment outside of watching internet sites. One of them likely blabbed, and none will lead them back to us. I'm sure they know you're name, but that name means nothing. We are secure for the time being."

Faam gave another nod before leaving the bedroom, letting Mia get back to their work. Faam had expected NACTO to strike sooner then this, but finally they were taking this cell seriously, though they might have waited too long. Grand Admiral Tron had let the Davostan Branch of the AEFNS get massive before he struck. NACTO appeared to be trying to take the same tactic that had worked in Davostan, but had clearly assumed that the AEFNS would follow the same path as becoming bolder and bolder and more careless. While the AEFNS had become bolder, the attack on the stock exchange proving that, almost to a T, he had not allowed the organization to become sloppy. He pulled out a pack of Baltusian cigarettes, some of the best in Terra, and took a longer drag, thinking to himself. 'Game on, NACTO, game on.'

[thefalloutfan101]

Southside Parking Lot, Grand Prosperity Hotel and Casino, Gangzhou, Dalibor

9:15 P.M.

Andrew Livingston was far away from home. The open, rolling prairies of Ralston were but a distant memory, and the soft blue skies that hung above the ice-capped Seleyan Mountain Range were but pictures in postcards at those dinky tourist shops scattered just about every-damn-where. His eyes flicked up towards the sky for a moment, bemused at the amount of stars out. That was no surprise - despite what the government had said, Gangzhou was still mostly an electricity-free shithole at the present. But the casinos always had generators to spare. Oh how they did.

He mused himself out of his passing contemplation and heaved himself off the hood of his military truck, which he'd been leaning up on for the past few undetermined minutes. Glancing at his watch - a nifty little military-style one he bought during a tour in Dovani somewhere - the time read, through the small cracks and scratches, as 9:15. Walking over to the passenger side, he opened up the door and then the glovebox, pulling out two cigars from an ornate humidor. They were made in Gaduridos, and were some of the finest smoke he'd ever had.

With that, he latched it shut, slid them into his breastpocket, and walked up the sidewalk and bustled into the doors of the lobby. The foyer seemed to light up at his arrival - with drinks raised in his name, cheers thrown his way, and jokes cast around.

Andrew Livingston was, by all intents and purposes, a mercenary. Born to roam and chase the nearest whiff of cash, he carved out quite a career for himself. Majatra, southern Dovani, the rolling hills and mountains of Trigunia - he'd been everywhere. At just 44 years old, sometimes he felt that maybe he had already reached his peak; Before burying that naive part of his mind under the next contract or stiff swig of liquor. This recent stint was particularly good - Broadshore Security and Defense Consulting Group. What a perfect little word soup - the one corporate-y enough to shoo off the tax auditors in Baltusia and professional enough to make jackasses like the Daliborian government think it was legit.

Oh, what a silly bunch of bastards. He almost smirked at how easy the arrangement was. Granted there was some truth to it - there wasn't no shame in honestly working to get a developing nation's military and cops back up to snuff, in fact he liked doing it, but there were far greater opportunities to snatch up.

Ambling through the foyer's dizzying sets of couches and sitting areas, taking a drink after just about the fourth time he was offered one, Livingston made his way to where the action was. The casino floor was packed as usual, with guys of just about every stripe pissing their paychecks away for the night. When he eyed the craps table, his eyes briefly lit up - before he steeled himself to not act the fool. His attitude was jovial nonetheless.

Nearly striding towards the table, he extended his hand before greeting the other man with a firmly clasped handshake. "You son of a bitch, Mike! Been a minute, hasn't it?" The other man from the craps table was Mike Hanlon, another Baltusian born ex-grunt who'd made his way into wetwork. He was from Santiago - the two had met over a joint contract in Ntoto a few years back, and their friendship had only grown more close knit ever since. Mike flashed Andrew a smile, greeting him just the same. "I'd damn well say it has! Haven't heard from you in some time, you aren't going soft, are you?"

Andrew let out a warm laugh, unbuttoning his breast pocket and sliding out one of the cigars. He motioned an offer to Mike, which he accepted. Andrew cupped the flame in his hands, casting his expression in a temporary orange-yellow glow, before offering to light his friend's stogie. "No, can't say I ain't getting tired of this just yet," he said, eyeing the craps table briefly. "Too much excitement out there - what with the shit in Ntoto, and lord knows what might pop up for us in the meantime."

Mike nodded in agreement. "I hear that," he remarked, taking a drag of the cigar. "I just flew in not too long ago - couple days prior, in fact. Damn sure didn't know you were here. New contract, I take it?" the mercenary blew smoke from his nostrils, meeting his friend's question. "Yeah. Got offered work with Broadshore, help train this shitcan's police and army. 'Something something revitalization', the government said. As if I believe it one bit."

Andrew laughed once again, leaning in slightly to his friend. "Let me tell you something, actually - this whole contract has been the easiest shit ever. They tried to get rid of corruption a bit ago, you see, but true to this place's own reputation, it only goes away when others seek to benefit. So the backstabbing continues, just under another splash of paint. I've laid so many connections and backdoors that it ain't even funny."

"Oh yeah?" Mike answered, taking another drag. "How lengthy are we talking?" Andrew could only help but give a wily smirk. "There's guys with some deep pockets in some of the highest levels of government, and ones who'll do just about anything if you offer them something in return. Could be anything - money, power, women, they'll snatch it right up. I think I've shook so many crooked hands that my damn knuckles are getting sore." Mike gave a wheezy laugh at that.

Andrew flagged down one of the waiters briefly, before getting some ice cold lager from one of the buckets on their trays. His friend was curious at his intentions - meeting such thoughts with another question. "You know, what with all these connections and agreements and whatnot - it's a good grift, and keeps the cash flowing, but you don't have any other plans up your sleeves, do you?" He jokingly poked at him with his elbow.

In the mercenary's eyes was determination - Mike saw it clear as day. He took the cigar out of his mouth, letting the smoke ebb out in rings. His smile this time was almost devilish. "Oh I've got plans, Mike. There's always some bigger aspirations out there...

And I'll make sure they're mine."

[alaskancrabpuffs21]

February 12th 4882 Aikums, Dolgava Dolgavan Staff Car, Near Kristandorf Airforce Base, Unspecified Area

The staff car bumped down the muddy snowy road. Like most of rural Dolgava pot holes filled most of the streets. General Heino Lepp was a skilled driver, he had spent most of his life driving Dolgavan Tanks in a Dolgavan Armoured Division. He expertly weaved around potholes. A small farm house was on the left, a small brown haired girl and her mother were shoveling snow out of their driveway. Their chimney belched smoke. The general rolled down his window and greeted the two by saying "Good Morning", their faces looked up and saw the man with lots of medals on him and they looked frightened, however the General then said "Do not worry, I am just passing through, it is a glorious morning and I thought I would brighten your day up".

The mother looked at him her brown eyes showing some signs of gratitude before she said "Thank You sir".

The general placed his foot on the accelerator, as he left "There is not reason to call me sir, You are not under me, we are equal, Good Day Madame" and he drove off down the bumpy icy, snowy road. This was the General's personality, in uniform and on a base he was strict and a master at keeping order and discipline but in the streets he was a kind man who greeted everyone who he encountered. Today was a big day, even the General knew this, top military officials were going to attend the graduation of Dolgava's top intelligence officers. He had been briefed the week prior telling him that the 8 agents were to be sent to a secret location in Hutori for continued training. The Dolgavan Military knows the quality of the men and women that come out of that facility and they are looking for a slice of the pie. Head of the DIS Foreign Office who's code name (all anyone knew him by) was called Mr. Biscuit would visit the facility during the progress of the training and he would do what he could to help the activities of this first class of spies.

However today was looking at the present, Over 50 Dolgavan Intelligence Officers passed, 8 by 90% or more. These 8 will be given a special ceremony, attended by the Top Brass in the Dolgavan Military and Foreign Affairs office. Some have been working at this for almost a year, hard training that produces the best of the best in Dolgava. However Mr. Biscuit (Biskvitas) has suggested that these 8 be sent to the Hutorian Campus to train with the best of Hutori's troops.

All of these information flooded through the General's mind as he finally saw that the road was paved and the snow plowed away. He drove down the road at a steady clip, the heater in his car blasting. The gate to the Facility appeared on the Left and the General turned his turn signal on. He grabbed his ID card and held it in his right hand. A checkpoint stopped him from going further he handed the guard his ID and the guard instantly handed the card back and he stood stiff. The gate also opened promptly, the General put his hand up to acknowledge and continued straight ahead. Inside the base he traveled past large radio antennas and past several buildings. Officially this base was supposed to be a decommissioned and demolished armory but it was Dolgava's school for training special forces. The woods in the back provided lots of land to use all Military Owned. A group of cars parked along side a dilapidated hanger. The General parked his car and got our, making sure all of his medals were straight and walked in the building, folding chairs and warmish air met him. A small informal gathering of officials and generals all looked at him. Foreign affairs minister Kasper Braun had flown from the World Congress to be here, as well as many others. Unmarked troops guarded the facility and there was a small informal stage set up.

The General sat down and waited, he observed the large hanger he was in, spiders covered the windows. The walls were rundown. No press in sight and that is how the General liked it. Peaceful and quiet. A short man walked on the stage and welcomed the members there "Today we are doing a small ceremony to recognize the top of the class for recruits. These men and women have excelled in the training they have conducted". Then 8 men and women 3 Women and 5 men walked out onto the podium and sat down on chairs...

The General looked at the wall, at the 8 recruits, all wearing nice clothing and back to the falling snow outside the blurry windows, the droning of the short man kept going on and on and suddenly, the General's eyes began to get heavier and heavier...

The next thing the General knew everyone around him was applauding, the General woke up suddenly stood up and started clapping too. As officials went to shake the hands of these recruits the General wiped the sleepiness out of his eyes... He sat down again and watched the room all the smiling faces. All the congratulations, it was all very good. Then as soon as they came people started to leave, first Kasper Braun and then others filed out of the room, the General waited his turn to greet them as some people were taking a long long time to quit talking with the Mr. Bergmanis and others.

Finally the worst of the talkers left and the General walked up the the recruits, some looked like they were not even in their 20's yet. He shook all of their hands and said "Congratulations" to each of them. He also said "You men and women have done a fine job and I trust you will do an even better job, you make my job as a general look amateur". They all laughed before a tall man in a suit walked in through a side door... The General never met this man and had never seen him before. The man wore a leather overcoat and a Fedora. He walked up to Bergmanis and they started whispering, Bergmanis was the chief recruiter and he seemed to be listening to this man attentively... The General had no idea who this man was... Then the man walked to the small group and the group went silent.

"Good Day" the man said, smoking a cigarette. "I would like to congratulate MY recruits for doing a very well done job..." the man's voice was soft but authoritative. This was a man you would never want to cross. He continued "So my recruits, you have passed phase 1 of your training, this is the warm up so to speak". Bergmanis whispered something to the man and pointed at the General, but the man waved it off and said "He is fine, he is a general for God sakes". He paused blew a perfect smoke ring and continued "You 8 have been selected to attend a special camp in Hutori, one of our closest and more dearest allies". His voice somehow went up another level of seriousness in this sentence, something that the General would have never believed only seconds prior. "This past training will feel like a cake walk compared to the hell you will face there". He blew smoke once more, the dim light reflected off of his sunglasses, he continued "Now this is 100% optional but, if you succeed you will be in the company of the most top trained agents in all of Terra. I don't think any of you would want to not pass this opportunity up". All of them shook their heads in agreement the man spoke again "Good, now you will have 4 days to fly to Hutori", he handed them a piece of paper and plane tickets to each of them out of his overcoat. Then walked back to where he was standing "You are to fly to Hutori in separate planes at separate times and make your way to the Goldenrod Motel in Glentingham Hutori. You will receive further instructions there". He looked at all 8 recruits and shook each of their hand. "Well Done all of you, you have done well for Dolgava and well for yourselves. Even if you fail you will be damn good agents for Dolgava, Try your hardest and work and fight like hell, that is all I ask of you. If anyone asks who gave these to you and they are from the Campus, tell them Mr. Biscuit gave them to you". Then he took 5 paces, threw his cigarette on the ground and crushed it, and then said "Good Day", before leaving as silently as he came...

All of the members of the class were silent, Bergmanis, and the 4 other officials around them were silent, they all were silent. They had just met Mr. Biscuit, the mysterious man, had just spoken...

The General walked silently through the snow to his car got in and went out the gate back to his division, he couldn't imagine what those 8 were about to face but in his heart he wished them the best of luck...

[colonelvesica]

HSIS Training Facility "The Campus", near the city of Glentingham, Kingdom of Hutori

The Hutorian Campus, the chief training facility for operators of the Hutorian Security and Intelligence Service's Alternative Options Branch, had in fact once upon a time being a real university campus. While most of the facility had been converted for other means, most of the facade of an old university campus remained, included numerous of the rooms, including a few of the lecture halls. Thirty Recruits sat in one of those lecture halls, they noting that clearly it had been designed for a much larger crowd at one point. Most of the recruits hadn't slept yet. The thirty of them had been stowed away at the Goldenrod Motel, just outside of Glentingham. The Goldenrod was another front for HSIS, that they owned and used as a point where Campus staff stayed when they weren't on the campus grounds, and for mild training purposes, that the recruits would find out later. While it was a fully functioning motel, and they did receive many actual guests, the motel kept a giant chunk of their rooms constantly booked out and used for recruits, staff and the trainers.

After all thirty recruits had arrived, an unmarked bus had arrived at 3:30 in the morning and the sleepy recruits had been driven the hour and a half down the highway the Campus. Now they sat in the lecture hall and had been left there for a half hour, none of them daring speak to each other, out of fear this was in fact a test. Without warning the far door opened and in walked seven people. Six of them seemed relatively young, all extremely fit, and wearing black fatigues and t-shirts that almost could have been pulled from anywhere in the world. They had impassive stoney looks on their faces, but most importantly they were all different races, and evenly split between men and women. The seventh by comparison actually looked like he belonged on a university campus. The man was in is mid to late fifties and dressed as if he were a Professor complete with a grey tweed jacket. His formally brown hair was streaked with grey, and he had a surprisingly kind but resolute face. He stepped up to the podium and looked around nodding to the recruits.

"Greetings Recruits, to the Campus. I am the Superintendent of this school. You can see me as the Adminstrator, as the Dean, whatever you wish. For lack of a better term, I run this place, and ultimately the one in charge of your training."

He gave them all a smile.

"Now all thirty of you come from all walks of life, whether it was Law Enforcement, the Military, Private Investigations, or regular Intelligence work. What is something you all have in common is that someone saw something in you that said you were something out of the ordinary. Well the Campus is a place where we shape the uncommon into the extraordinary. I want you all to realize the training here is amongst the most brutal in the world, there is a reason why Hutorian Special Operations Command comes to us for training and consulting. Many of you will flunk out of this school. Understand that this is not an admission of failure on your point or your skills, this is simply a result of how difficult this training can be and is. This is also entirely and utterly voluntary. You are not held here against your will, and you may at anytime request dismissal from training. This will not be held against you, you will be free to return to your prior employment and job secure in the knowledge you tried your best here."

"Whether you succeed or not is entirely within your spirit. You have one year to graduate, if you are not ready within one year, you will have not succeeded in this school. Again, this is not a personal failure on your part, merely an aspect of this difficulty of this training. Some of you may graduate within six months, some in nine months, and some make take the full year. This will be decided by your Senior Instructors, of which they are here. You will learn their designations, and you will learn to trust them, and despise them. They will be your best friends and your worst enemies. They will equally attempt to ensure you fail while hoping and trying to make you succeed. Their job to produce the best operators the Campus is known for, and I hope to see as many of you when you graduate as I can.

I will not sugarcoat it otherwise, five out of every six of you statistically will leave this program, whether voluntarily or flunking out. Know that if you succeed here, you will be the best of the best, and none will stand above you. The Campus believes in the concept that Amateurs try until they succeed. Professional try until they don't get it wrong. Our motto is "The Difficult We Do Immediately, The Impossible Takes a Little Longer." If you graduate you will have done things you thought were utterly impossible, but you will find nothing is impossible. Good luck Recruits, I look forward to seeing you again."

[imperialpearl]

Near the Arcola Motel, Monte Primo, Keymon.

The vans had been in transit for more than 30 minutes. They had been "on-mission" after the SIGC had finally got a location on spy ring it had been conducting months of surveillance and reconnaissance work on. As Omer de Costa sat between the members of his section, he secured his plate carrier, checked his 416Dn and adjusted his balaclava, occasionally glancing out the back of the van as he ran through the steps of the operation in his head. Although he was a career agent of the Civil Guard Intelligence Service, he had been mainly tasked with gathering intelligence and conducting raids on criminal organisations, however, this operation presented an entirely new challenge. The SIGC had been conducted deep surveillance on a Trigunian cell operating out of a cheap motel, some miles from the capital city, Monte Primo. Their pre-operation briefing warned that the elusive targets codenamed: "Pravda", "Enigma" and "Diamond", were headhunters, elite operatives charged with assassinations on behalf of their superiors. To Omer, this new environment was not one to take pride in. It wasn't a real war being waged against an enemy he could respect, but rather, a game of hide and seek against faceless killers. He managed to refocus on the task at hand when the vans neared the motel and Captain Sanzo, de Costa's longtime friend and Senior Agent started counting down the distance to the motel: "Three hundred... two hundred... one hundred...ten metres...Greva! Greva! Greva!".

The vans screeched to a halt as the rear door swung open, and men in olive green tactical gear leapt out, one behind the other, weapons trained hammers in tow. They raced across the motel carpark towards the staircase leading to the 3rd floor, men relaying on the radio their objectives: "Alpha-One, Door One. Alpha-Two Door Two. Alpha-Three Door Three." Omer in a hurried voice relayed, "Alpha-Four Door Four." Up steps, boots rattled on the floorboard, then Sanzo was at the door in front of de Costa, aiming with a pump shotgun. The noise was knobbing as the wood on the doorknob splintered and the door swung open. Omer rushed into the room, bawling: "Guardia Civile" while lobbing a stun grenade deeper into the room. The grenade exploded, sending off a deafening ring, but when the flash had receded it revealed the empty room. Cursing Omer reached for his radio. "Alpha-Four, Room is empty." Soon after the other sections followed with the same replies: "Alpha-One Room Clear. Alpha-Two Room Clear. Alpha Three Room Clear." "Fuck!" Omer muffled under his mask. "This is Control. It seems that the targets were tipped off. CCTV imagery shows that they fled an hour before we arrived. Gather intel and return to the Headquarters for debriefing."

As Omer readied to leave the room, his eye flicked to the desktop computer and the three monitors in a small side room, just off the kitchen. The hard drive could be a gold mine for intel, Omer thought to himself. Stepping in, Omer stood quietly for a few second, scanning the four corners of the cramped closet for cameras and potential recording devices. No cameras, no recording devices. He felt confident that no one had been watching or listening in. He thought; maybe he could find out what the targets were working on. Surveillance had only picked up bits of intel, enough to scrape the surface of their operation and to track down their location to this motel. He figured that there could be enough intelligence to provide a larger picture and to figure out what the scope and scale of their operation. Omer quickly dropped his burdensome tactical gear on the floor, pulled the keyboard out and grabbed the mouse. He pulled up a list of files from the hard drive and dragged it over to the monitor nearest to him. Most of the files were either encrypted or corrupted. Knowing to himself that he couldn't decrypt them, he called Manuel on the tacnet," Lock get in here. The room off the kitchen. Need your help decrypting something." Lance Corporal Manuel "Lock" Astier, was one of the new faces in the SIGC. A transfer from the Gruppu Speziale d'Intervenzione (GSI), the counter-terrorism branch of the Civil Guard, he had spent much of his time at the desk as an analyst, sifting through the emails and phone calls of would-be terrorists. A rather mundane task in the eyes of many, he enjoyed every bit of it. Often joking that persons seldom knew he was listening into their most intimate conversations. Nonetheless, he'd occasionally be invited by Omer and Captain Sanzo to participate in their operations to mainly observe in the hopes that one day he'd finally drop his aversion to the trigger and dispatch of someone.

"I know that the corrupted files can't be opened but there are some encrypted files here," he explained as Lock walked in. "Let me take a look." Lock said as Omer shifted onto a stool at the side of the desk. Lock began typing numerous commands into the computer, bringing up numerous windows and programmes. At each entry, the computer displayed the message: "Invalid Key." After a few more attempts he paused," I don't know how to break the encryption. It isn't anything I've seen before, and I don't have the equipment I need to run a deep scan." Frustrated Omer began pulling the draws from the desk and found a small bag with more than a dozen USD drives. He pulled out one and slid it into the USB port on the system unit. Immediately, a window opened revealing one of the target's email. He began pulling up e-mails. Most were in Rodshyan and a few were adverts from some of the programmes the target had subscribed onto. One after the other he opened the e-mails, searching potential clues. As he was about to give up hope, a new programme opened up from one of the email attachments. Instinctively he clicked on the programme which brought up a series of photos in a grid. "We could use this," he said to Lock. He continued scrolling through the images and then stopped. "Fuck," Lock said under his breath. "That's us."

The images on the screen seemed to have been taken from security cameras. Although the images varied in quality, there were good enough for Omer to identify numerous members of the SIGC Counterintelligence team. Some of them even displayed their names. As Omer rose from the chair, his legs weak from the near panic of knowing that much of the counterintelligence team including Captain Sanzo, Lock and himself were being watched, he started to reach for the USB drive in the system unit, but it had occurred to him that the machine would retain the pictures of the counterintelligence team. In a flurry of movement, Omer and Lock dropped to the floor, unplugging the computer and frantically pulled cables and cords from the computer. He lifted the entire device and carried it with him out to the van, leaving his tactical gear behind. Commandeering the van from its beat cop driver he drove away with Lock. As he drove he called Sanzo, who had already left the scene. "This is Sanzo." "It's Omer. We've been compromised." "What?" Sanzo questioned. "We've been under surveillance. We have our faces and our names." "Who?" "I don't know," Omer answered. "Shit...get back to Headquarters," Sanzo commanded before leaving the tacnet channel. "What now?" Lock inquired. "I don't know," Omer mumbled. Omer drove through intersections, siren blaring, and he had the sick feeling that much of the team was in danger.