A Battle Unseen

[Reddy]

07:34 Qadimi Palace, Aldegaria, Aldegar

The room reeked of illness and perhaps fear, hushed voices could be heard inside. Ashraf knocked lightly on the door. The door was opened by a tired looking woman, with the same Mu Tze 'eastern' eyes that distinguished the Old One. “Father is currently indisposed, Ambassador..he has..he has the...flu,” she said testily. He certainly is indisposed. The old One was lying propped up on pillows in his presidential bed. He saw the same shrivelled red left arm tucked under his left breast. This was obviously more than the flu. It looked like a fairly mild stroke like his gramma had a year or two ago. She obviously had just found him in that state and was in some kind of shock.

“ I need to get his approval on presenting these points to the Saridanese opposition parties. I’ve established some contact with them” Stateira Karroubi took the documents, almost snatching them and answered, “I’ll sh-show them t-t-to him when he wakes up and will have the courier deliver them back to you.” Frumpy, nervous and not particularly bright, Stateira was hardly the most attractive woman but her name was everything especially for a man ready to rise. She was in her mid-forties, obviously desperate, six or seven years older than him and an old maid as far as could be seen. With her father’s presidency at an end, she was a far more valuable chip than she realised, her father’s creatures and appointees would naturally cleave to her leadership or that of her spouse. They would play a big role in the presidential succession struggle that would intensify very soon.

Ashraf as if by impulse, took her hand and went into the Old One’s room, sitting her down on a chair by the bed. He spoke softly, his face dull with affected pity. She responded unsure as ever, more like a teenager than a woman her middle age. He would be sure to return daily, tomorrow with a bouquet, the next day with a marriage proposal. First he had to scare her. “You can’t let any of them in here, they don’t have the President’s interest at heart ... like us. They would probably impeach him and cast the two of you out of Qadimi. I’ll send a doctor to look after him in the next half an hour a discreet and intelligent one.” He left the room with a spring in his step like a man with Terra in his pocket.

[Maxington]

13:11, Situation Room, Bashnya, Petrovgrad, Trigunia.

A distress call was sent from a sleeper cell in Al'Badara, which immediately obtained the attention of the Ministry of Defence and the Federal Defence Council. President Vetochkin was immediately brought to the Bashnya's Situation room 174 feet underground. "Attention!" Shouting a soldier as President Vetochkin walked into the Situation Room. As he entered several officials who sat around the round table stood, and awaited for President Vetochkin to allow them to sit. "At Ease," President Vetochkin said. President Vetochkin looked around the table and saw some new faces and some old faces. People from the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces to the Director-General of the State Security Agency. "I want to know what the hell is going on in Majatra". Communication's Director for the Government, Vladislav Ledovskoy stood up and began to speak,"CBC has reported that Cildania has invaded Al'Badara under the constraint of "restoring order to the nation." President Vetochkin had his face in his hands, slowing in-haling and exhaling. "How quickly can we deploy troops?" Questioned Vetochkin."We can have the Airborne on the ground in less than 18 hours." Said Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, Marshal of the Army, Miron Nikiforov. "Summon the Cildanian Ambassador, I am not going to put this country at risk of an all out war with 4 countries." Vetochkin said. "I want to know why is this so before I am release a statement on this." he continued.

[Kubrick]

OOC: This is an historical post about the virus outbreak in Hutori.

5:51, Water Treatment Plant, city of Kincardine, state of Roccato, Federal Republic of Hutori.

He swiped his entry card into the slot and the door clicked open, nodding to his "colleague" as he walked through the dimly lit hallway. He was the local water quality inspector and had been doing that job for the last four years and even though he only arrived in Hutori five years ago the local authorities thought he had lived there his whole life. The truth was that he was born in Papel, in the Principality of Vanuku and his identity was that of a Hutorian boy that had gone missing over 25 years ago. But in a safe and prospering state of Hutori nobody was paranoid enough to check those things, especially not for a simple water treatment plant worker. For all those years he had never known his true assignment, all he had to do was get the job and do it well while reporting on Hutorian developments. He even joined a local political movement and sometimes did some side jobs for the Vanukean embassy but his true assignment had always remained a secret. Until yesterday, when his SSA contact finally delivered him a small tube and instructions. At the end of the hallway he did not turn right as he usually did, instead he turned left. He felt in his pocket to check if the small tube as still there and then casually held his clipboard while walking, pretending to read it while strolling through the facility.

After a few minutes of walking he reached the large water bassin. The room was humming from the large spool that was turning the water round and round. The sound always relaxed him, but the effect didn't work as well this time. He stared into the bassin, made a few notes and then checked the control panel. Everything to look busy and working. Then he walked away and dropped his clipboard, while leaning down to pick up the pen and clipboard he slipped the tube out of his pocket and pretended to be fiddling with his pen while slipping the contents of the tube into the water bassin. After that he took his clipboard and returned to his office and continued working like it was a normal day. At the end of the afternoon he went home and the next day, when he came into work again, all his colleagues were talking about the tragic virus that infected so many people.

[Doc]

03:45 Flag Destroyer "Red Flag", Off the coast of Andalay, Federal Republic of Lodamum

The Kalistan Auxiliary Navy cruised east, headed for the Great Anantanese Ocean and home waters. Captain Carrangus had read the news from Kalistan, how the President of the Republic had assigned credit to the Kalistan Auxiliary Navy for the reduction in tensions in Aldegar. The crew were assembled in the Mess as it was read, and had a good laugh at that story as it was reported over the news wire. They had the Comm Officer read it back, and Carrangus ordered each ship to fire one shot in acknowledgement of the "victory" in the war which never happened, as a salute to the President. For a short time, the entire Kalistani Auxiliary Navy let loose a volley of gun fire and lit up the sky, the only shots the KAN fired during the entire crisis. For a moment, the Aldegarian Gulf sounded like a war zone. And then, the fleet got underway.

Carrangus' orders to return came from Fredrickssen, the icy head of the the Kalistani Republican Security Bureau. As she recalled the Navy, Frieda explained to Carrangus: "We are calling you back because we are sending you on a special mission. While the KAN hangs around Ananto, and plays with the Regulars, you and Juarez are going to take the Swordfish to a special base in Suldanor. There you will standby, while the ship is fitted with technology which will greatly enhance our surveillance abilities. And then you and Juarez will take that submarine north for a field test."

Carrangus asked, "How far north?" Frieda answered, "All the way north. We are going to keep an eye out for movement between Dorvik and Trigunia. We're going to put you right on Hutori's coast, in a listening post under the ice. And you will wait for things to go past. You will have a week of leave in Suldanor, so don't miss your boat."

And now, Carrangus was almost in Kalistani waters. As she felt the salty sea air move past her, she considered how her live had changed in the last couple years. She had grown accustomed, both to sea life and to command. As the Captain of the Fleet, she was a monarch at sea. She had managed logistics issues. She has dealt with communications issues. She had managed a fire aboard her hospital ship. The fleet had been posted at sea for years and had not fallen apart under her leadership. The sailors in the ship maintained discipline and morale. She had also instituted an interfleet academics and athletic league, to encourage a healthy rivalry among the crew and had instituted limited liberty trips to the mainland to take advantage of the local customs. None of the crew were involved in any altercations, and were all instead quite well behaved. She was pretty proud of herself, and had fully embraced her role as a fleet commander. She couldn't help feeling that Fredrickssen's mission for her was a demotion.

And yet, she didn't voice her feelings to anyone else aboard the Flag Destroyer, and certainly not to her XO, Commander Juarez. She would take the opportunity, once she returned to Suldanor, to confront "The Old Lady" about this situation, but now, more pressing matters confronted her. A Nationwide celebration for the success of the Fleet is planned in Ananto when the fleet docks in the afternoon, and Carrangus was to give a speech before an assembled crowd. She had figured out how to be a Naval Captain, and now she had to take a crash course in being a national hero.

[colonelvesica]

23:30, The Tzar's Sword, Petrovgrad, Trigunian Empire

In Trigunia's capital on a little known street off Central Square there is a restaurant. The restaurant at first glance barely looks like anything, a small standard classical restaurant with stained glass windows in the front, a single windowless door. Above the door hung a sign of Tzar Nikolai I holding a blade and beside the door was a simple sign that said "Только для членов" (Tol'ko dlya chlenov) or for those who could speak the local dialect "Members Only" while the door itself had no handle to further discourage any passer bys from accidentally wandering in. Over the years no one that lived on this street could recall anyone entering or exiting the building except deadly late at night.... this was one such night.

While on the outside the building hadn't appeared to be anything on the outside, on the inside the restaurant was a meeting place for some of Trigunia's most powerful men... and tonight was a night for one such meeting. The outer restaurant was the location of the security for these men, while the Back Parlor sitting around a table were the members of the Bratstvo, Trigunia's most powerful secret society. Heads of numerous corporations, the final remaining heads of Trigunia's Crime Familes, several high ranking members of the Armed Forces and the GBD.. and at the head of the table sat Nikolai Tarkovsky, founder and Chairman of the National Alliance, raising a toast of vodka to the table.

"To the future so we can avenge the past!". The fifteen men all took their drinks, turning their tumblers upside down and looking to Tarkovsky. "For too long have we been oppressed and targeted by the fascists within United Trigunia; no more my Brothers! As of this moment we begin our campaign to return us to power, and I promise you; by March 3976 we will have presence in the State Duma, and we WILL take this nation back from those kleptocrats who think Trigunia is their's and their's alone. We WILL change that and we WILL take our nation back!"

[Reddy]

09:30 Qadimi Palace, Aldegaria, Aldegar

It was as good as being as the President himself. Ashraf read through the dispatches, bills and policy proposals sent in by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs and Defence. He would sort them carefully and take only those he deemed to be the most important to his father-in law's bedside.Today they were three, the landslide re-election of the Saridanese Royalist led coalition, the prevailing of the Dundorfian Socialists although an election was to be held soon. And the latest report from Cildanian Badara based agents and moles. "Idiots", he muttered as he read the Saridanese election dispatch. "Izaak will lead them to the very gates hell." He wrote comments, orders and proposed amendments on the documents as the President would have done himself.

As Secretary General of the Presidency, Ashraf organised the President's schedule and found it easier to protect the secret of his true frailty and to control the agenda. The Old One had suffered perhaps a dozen more strokes of varying severity in the past year. He had great doctors though and even while he was very weak, he could be woken up with a dose of opium to sign the official papers. There laid his advantage - the Old One's fiery independence was all gone, his faculties seemed ravaged by senility as well - on one amusing occasion he had attempted to salute Ashraf, thinking him to be his old master, the Shah Anushirivan returned. and he would just sign whatever was presented to him by his daughter, Ashraf's wife. Sometimes they would use a stamp with his signature on. The Ministers were not all idiots, some guessed what was happening and went along it with Ashraf dispensing special favours on appointments and other forms of patronage.

Yet it was clear that the jig would end soon. Good fortune never lasts long. As a realist, Ashraf had taken to prepare for his political future. He had met with various political leaders and was building a faction for himself. He didn't dare hope he could win the Presidency...yet, but hoped to put together a faction powerful enough to act as the balance of power between the stronger leftwing one led by the Premier and the rightwing one led by the Foreign Minister.

[Maxington]

16:23, Lukyan Kondurov Promenade, Downtown Petrovgrad, Trigunia.

The trees on the promenade swayed according the breeze. The wind was the cold, a storm could be coming in. Denis sat on one of the evenly laid out benches, waiting to meet someone, someone whom he had never seen before. He was skeptic, he had never seen the person before, how was he going to know who was it? His supervisor said, “She would know you.” He found that description as useless and unnecessary. He slouched back into the bench, his arms were evenly spread across the back of the bench, his legs crosses on top of each other. He watched the passers-by walk by him, some looked at him, and some didn’t. Those who looked at him got a nod and those who didn’t have a shack by the head since most of them had their heads in their smartphones. He remembered then he was about their age, there was never something called smartphones, there were these big buttoned photo coded telephones.
The world was advancing and he was being left behind in the old age, he didn’t want a smartphone for he saw it as a way for foreign countries to spy on you. An hour passed and he was still sitting on the bench in the windy promenade. He then was approached by a blonde haired woman, tall in a white winter coat approached him and sit beside him. “Are you Crimson Storm?" she asked. His skeptic nature came into play here, not knowing where she was the person whom he was waiting for or, it was someone send to "take him away". "Who is asking?" he said with a skeptic tone. In order to gain his trust she explaining who sent her."Your boss...uhm...what was him name? Colonel Kopsov, Yes him, he sent me to speak to give you something." Seeing that she knew the name of his theater commander, he opened up to her a little. "Yes I am CS, what is this thing you have for me." he asked. From her blouse she removed a brown envelope, placing it on his lap. He grabbed the envelope, opening it to see the contents of the envelope. Inside was a sheet of paper, curious of what the letter may say, he immediately opened it out and began to the read the text. After spending 2 minutes with his eyes glued to the sheet of paper, she too wanted to know what the letter entailed,"Why does it say?" she asked. He made a slow-burn before looking at her with a smirk on his face."You know you are very nosy." he said.
"I know, I know I know, i just want to know." she said. Although she had just met him, she seemed to think that she was already friends with him, she thinking that she was a friend to him did not bother him at all, because what he was about to say, would entail her being a close friend. "Have you ever gone to Hutori?" he asked. "No, why ask?" she replied. "Good, you're my partner now, we are going to Hutori to investigate the possibility of an SSA presence in the nation." he said. And with that he eyes lite up, although it may have seemed as though she has been in the field for a while, it wasn't so. She was actually an analyst, working in the cold offices of the GBD, this assignment to bring the envelope to him was a test of her ability to find a target with little information. "Get your bags packed we leave tomorrow, meet me here around this time tomorrow, we will head over to the airport together." he said. She got up and walked away, trying to keep her cool when anyone could the excited smirk which covered her face. It was her chance to prove herself that she was ready for anything. Whilst watching her walk away, he smiled and nodded, before walking in the opposite direction.

[Doc]

10:30 Onboard the submarine "Swordfish", north of the Hutori Coast

Carrangus and Juarez watched the scanner. There was no noise at sea today, no radio traffic being broadcast above. Just like yesterday, just like the day before. It was so much like the previous days that Carrangus was beginning to lose track of which day it was.

"Well- this is just great!" Juarez said. "They stick us under the ice like a seal, and just have us sit here."

"Stow it, Commander," Carrangus said. "Your change of attitude over the last few days is noticed. We are on an important mission for the security of Kalistan."

"Ma'am, you will forgive me if I point out that all of this seems rather pointless. We have been up here for three months. Each day we listen to this wire. We are listening for something, but all we end up with is news reports from the mainland that we can't understand, weather reports from a frozen wasteland above, and the occasional whale sound. This place is beginning to feel more and more like a prison each day."

"Commander, "Carrangus began in a low voice so as to not attract attention of the nearby crew. "I said lock it up, now that's an order." She took Juarez aside. "If you lower the morale of these men and women, you will have hell to pay. Now- I understand that you have had to make some adjustments to your life in the last few years. It isn't what you thought it would be. But get your goddamned head screwed back on straight. Whether you are or not, these people think of you as the XO of this ship, and so for all practical purposes, they are watching the second highest ranking officer aboard this vessel throwing a temper tantrum. You need to get yourself together."

"Excuse me, Ma'am... If I had a better understanding what we are doing here..." Juarez started. " ... I feel like I have been left in the dark. And I feel like I have the right to know. Just what are we doing here?"

"We're... we're listening, right now, Juarez, that's all. We are waiting for a signal." Carrangus clearly held back the complete truth.

"Signal for what, Ma'am? Is that what those live fish are about? Are we..." Juarez looked around, to make sure nobody was listening, "... are we armed for war?"

The word caught Carrangus short, and she skipped a breath in a very visible way. "I don't... know, Commander. But if there was any ship for the job, I think this would be it. The modifications they made to this boat and to our surveillance and weapons capacity... The propulsion system? Designed to make us absolutely invisible in the water... The torpedoes? Refitted to not be detected except with active sonar, and then they just supposedly look like sharks? I honestly don't know what else they are doing with us." Carrangus could see a bead of sweat forming on Juarez' forehead as she said this. "But right now... We're just listening for the signal. And when we get it, I have my instructions. If I can, I'll let you know what I find out, but for right now, I need you to change your attitude and not get these sailors all riled up. If it does go down, we will need a calm, level headed crew, not one that has been whipped up into full panic mode."

Juarez nodded, and understood. "Ma'am, I am going to secure for the day if that is alright. I'll come back on watch at 1900."

Carrangus answered, "Carry on, Commander. We'll see you then." For her part, Carrangus envied him- she had a long day of Hutori television, which she didn't understand, to contend with. That was the only thing coming over the listening post at this time of day. She poured herself a cup of strong coffee, sat back in her command chair and zoned out, waiting for a signal which might never come.

[RIS]

13:15 Water Treatment Plant, Kincardine, Roccato, Hutori

He had been over this facility multiple times and interviewed every single employee at least twice. He knew this was the epicenter of the most recent outbreak and they had all ready arrested someone who the evidence seemed to indicate was guilty. However, something didn't sit right with him, something about this whole investigation seemed too neat. He approached the front security desk and fished out his badge. "Agent Charles Latimer and this is my partner Agent Rebecca Wynn and we're with HSEC." He said as he flashed his badge. This definitely wasn't the first time he had entered the facility but, each time they insisted on him showing his badge and stating his name. He moved passed the security desk and signed in before moving down the corridor of the Plant. He guessed that he couldn't blame them the increase in security was definitely justified after these recent attacks. "So what do you think about our suspect?" He asked of his partner as the two walked down the hall. "I don't buy it. I mean it's just too neat. The guy has a degree in microbiology, spent three months in Vanuku and he keeps all of his correspondence? I don't know it just seems like a guy with that type of education would be smart enough to burn letters and delete emails." She replied with a shrug. "You're probably right. Which is probably why they want us to ask some follow up questions." He said with a nod and a slight laugh. As the two approached the end of the hallway Latimer nodded towards the left. "You take the people on the left, I take right?" He offered. "Sounds good to me." She replied. As Agent Latimer went right around the corner he noticed several people most rather unassuming but, one man caught his eye. "Can I ask you a few questions?" Latimer asked of the man. In the initial interview everything had checked out. This man had passed the background check, he seemed honest and he had been a model citizen with no priors. However, now something seemed off, not quite right about the man and Latimer was intent on finding out what that was.


03:23 Hutorian Global Strike Command, Location Classified

"For the love of god Sergeant you better have a damn good reason for waking me up at this godforsaken hour." He said as he walked into the dimly lit room full of monitors and computers. The Sergeant snapped a hasty salute. "Colonel Clarke, I do believe it is worth notifying you about." The Sergeant said rather sheepishly. "Well...get on with it." Colonel Clarke said trying to prod the Sergeant along. "Right." The Sergeant replied as he sat in his operations chair swiveling it back around to his desk. "We've been picking up some strange EM readings, somewhere around here." As the Sergeant finished a image of an area off the Hutorian coast popped up on a near by screen. "Alright and how did you find this?" The Colonel asked. "Well sir, we were observing the ice-shelf for potential ICBM launches and when we switched from visible spectrum to EM and we noticed this." As the Sergeant finished talking the Colonel nodded. "So have we sent a ship to investigate?" The Colonel asked some what derisively. "The navy sent the H.N.S. Liberty to do an active sonar scan and it revealed nothing. Furthermore we lost the EM readings moments after we acquired them." The Sergeant replied. The Colonel nodded as he contemplated on what his next move was. "Sergeant re-task a satellite to watch that general location twenty four seven." The Sergeant nodded as he began to type at his keyboard. The Colonel watched for a moment before leaving. He walked slowly but with a heavy gait to his office and as he entered he flicked on the light before picking up the telephone and dialing. He raised the phone to his ear and heard it ring for a few moments before someone answered. "Admiral Banfield's office how can I help you?" The voice on the other end asked. "This is Colonel Peter Clarke with Global Strike Command and I need to speak to the Admiral." The Colonel said trying not to sound urgent. "One moment please." The disembodied voice replied. The call transferred ringing a few more times before someone groggily answered. "This better be good." Another voice said, the Colonel immediately recognizing the Admiral's voice. "Admiral it's Colonel Clarke and we need to initiate Sierra Hotel Kilo Niner Protocol to sector Alpha Six." The Colonel said with the utmost seriousness. "Are you sure?" The Admiral asked. "Well no but, with current events can we take the chance?" The Colonel replied. "You're right I'll scramble some Destroyers and Submarines ASAP. And hopefully I'll be able to scrounge up something else by morning." The Admiral said before hanging up the phone. Colonel Clarke leaned back in his chair wondering if he should get some shuteye because the current development might escalate into something else.

[Kubrick]

13:15, Water Treatment Plant, city of Kincardine, state of Roccato, Federal Republic of Hutori.

He could hear their voices down the hall, the two investigators were back. He tapped his fingers on his desk and thought carefully on the situation, if they were back again it meant they were not convinced the suspect was the right one. He had carefully followed the news and had not been surprised that the Hutorians had blamed Vanuku. It was a shame that they did not buy the bait he had put down, he just hoped they wouldn't figure out that he was the one who had put the idea in Haroldson's head to go to that microbiology convention in Wiel and afterwards take that trip across the coast a few years ago. After all, it had been him that had given the enthusiastic microbiologist the magazine with the article about the microbiology convention in Wiel. But of course, he had known it wouldn't hold up. The man was a perfectionist and had probably a lot of evidence to show that he was innocent. All he had hoped for was more time. More time to wait for Wiel for his extraction. His training had taught him to never panic, to trust on his skills, his knowledge and his gut. But he felt panic down his spine, if they didn't suspect their prime suspect then they might be watching him. How could he contact Wiel if they were watching him? He took a sip of coffee and saw the Hutorian agent approach him. "Can I ask you a few questions?" he asked. He smiled at him like the jolly fellow he was. "You sure can, sir! Agent..?" he asked, probing for the man's name, which he pretended he had forgotten. "Agent Latimer, HSEC. I was just wondering about some things, we're just keeping all our cards open in this investigation. Because you never know if people work alone, right?" the agent said, smiling at him. He nodded fiercely. "Absolutely, sir, I wouldn't put it beyond some people to betray their nation for some western rogue state." he said. The interview continued for a bit more and he tried to be as willingly and meek as possible, and a bit overly patriotic at times. In the evening he went to his apartment and did everything as he always did, TV on, a call to a friend to confirm he would come watch that football match, a beer and later some music while cooking dinner. He made sure to sing a long, if anyone was listening he wouldn't appear worried. At midnight he went to bed and at exactly 4:00 he stood up, his military instincts waking him up. It was a Saturday so he had no reason to get up early and prepare for work. Instead he put on some dark baggy clothes together with a rather worn hoodie with paint drops and lots of wear and tear. He made sure he wore the hood over his head and carefully checked the hallway before leaving, making as little sound as he could. Once downstairs he took the back exit and wandered through the streets with a limp and a cough. If anyone was watching him he was just some drunk drug addict. About forty minutes later he reached the safehouse the SSA had prepared for him, inside the safehouse he took a satellite phone and he called in the code. After that he returned home, slept until 9 am and continued life as usual. All he had to do now was lay low and wait for Wiel.

4:51, intelligence room of Directorate 7, State Security Agency headquarters, city of Wiel, Principality of Vanuku.

It had been a long night shift, she had carefully monitored every movement her colleagues had reported to her in Hutori. Her sole task was to watch and listen to #17, the Directorate 7 agent deployed in Kincardine, Hutori. The recent developments there had made her job slightly more stressful and she had been on edge all throughout her nightshift. The data suggested the Hutorians were getting closer, so it had been top priority to get #17 out of there. Yet he had not requested extraction yet. Just as she had that thought a red light on her desk started to blink and she pressed the button. She heard a rather deep voice. "Six, eight, six, nine, nine, one, zero, four, nine, two. Echo, echo, alpha, tango." the voice said. Then it went silent. She double checked the sheet and pressed her own microphone button. "Confirmed. Await further contact. Good luck out there." she said to the stranger she knew so well.