A Battle Unseen

[TRA]

Dusanpur,
Malivia
5360



The streets smelled of ash, smoke and destruction. War. There was rebuilding. But you could sense war lingering in the air stubbornly. This country was torn, both physically and ideologically. Women, going about their business, buying fruit and bread from war-torn men, their smiles crooked with sadness.

He kept walking to where he would meet the Agency's primary contact in Malivia who knew Kamala. Weather was hot, curiously, the sun penetrating the clouds, creating an effect of grayscale sense to the whole urban landscape. Yishelem had a lot of information, but almost nothing at the same time. He walked absentmindedly thinking of hummus, missing Ir Melechim as he carried on this mission of surprises and unknowns, much like this conflict.

Who would he meet? What would they want? Why?

Riddles, in the smoke; in the gunpowder; in the whispers.

Yishelem would pay the price, probably, as it had done with Cildania. Ah, Cildania. Elijah would apparently be proud. Or furious. Kadiyot was pissed, evidently. How the snippets of information managed to creep up his mission dossier, seemingly unrelated, yet painting the picture of Yeudi meddling in Artania altogether.

But what would the endgame be, in this case, he did not know. There was no curiosity even; just caution. The thing reeked of trouble, of mischief, of drama. The air may have been clearing, but the complexities of the 2nd Malivian Crisis seemed to evade all, and none at the same time. The Agency, for the first time in 150 years, could not make sense of who to play, who to manipulate and what to achieve. Although the why has always been clear; to few, but guessed by many.

A foothold in Artania, finally? Or communist trouble sprinkled with Luthorian warships?

Or a never ending conflict?

What did Yishelem really want?

[Svetlana2]

behind the wall of smocks, who really leads the dance?

Dušanpur, Malivia.3560

Katherine Ridley, close friend of Kamala and primary contact to the Agency, was patiently waiting in her office, slowly growing bored before hearing the footsteps of the agent. "Well, well, well... what do we have here? A lost kid? Or perhaps a confused man sent by an institution who lost its good old upper hand position in a country they deem destroyed?" She says as she slowly turns around to meet the gaze of the agent who looks more than disoriented in a country that has been experiencing such a confusing conflict.

"Uhm... Malivia isn't really the place I expected to be sent to" he says trying to ease the mood but his voice still sounds nervous. "Where did you expect to be sent for an operation? To the golden beaches of Cildania? or perhaps the green boundless prairies of Kundrati? But most definitely not the hotpsot known as Malivia" she says in a snarky tone, rolling her eyes. "So what do you want? I know the agency isn't here just to do 'intelligence' so spit out the reason for your kind to suddenly become invested in Malivia and the MPPG"

"The Agency is worried that Malivia might become a new bastion for luthori-" He says before getting interrupted by her "shut it please, I already know the whole sugarcoating process I'm not dumb, I know the agency is here to try and influence the MPPG to prevent the inevitable rise of the communists and socialists. I know that your directors and government is shitting in their pants at the forsaken possibily of having communists as neighbors. Also, it's obvious that the Agency lost their high ground when it came to Malivia, the whole conflict is a geopolitical mess, everyone backstabbing everyone such as when Kundrati tried to influence the MPPG to turn against Dorvik, but the most they could achieve was getting drovik out of here."

"H-how do you know about all of this in such detailed terms?" He asks surprised by how much details she managed to get right. "I think, no, I am certain that your director didn't know that the person you're talking to is the head of the Committee for the Preservation of National Sovereignty, Malivia's intelligence agency. I didn't waster 30 years of my life in Trigunia and worked for the Federal Security Services for 4 years just to be Kamala's best friend, when they say Trigunians got a way with words, they meant it. Either way, I'm gonna inform Kamala about Beiteynu's 'concerns about the future of Malivia' you're lucky I'm feeling generous today and didn't immediately call security on your ass." She says before starting to type on her keyboard. "Now zoo, you better not be in my sight in the next 5 seconds or I'm sending you to jail for trespassing and threatening a government official, I got my way with the law." She says continue to type on her keyboard unbothered if he even left her office.

[TRA]

Dusanpur,
Malivia
5360

Annoyed? Nervous? Mad?

He toyed with his feelings. Everybody thinks intelligence agents are these stone cold people. Nope. That is far from the case. People forget, or don't really know basically, that being an agent is mostly crap, risk and a roller-coaster of unknowns, most of the time. When you're not sitting on a desk drafting a report that will most likely be redacted or at the worst case shredded and burnt in a sandy hill in the Desert Bank.

Bewilderment. That's it.

At least he had struck a cord. Ridley wouldn't have deigned to open a channel otherwise.

He left the building and headed to his dusty old motel.

A satellite far above, kept watching.

[hyraemous]

A house in Valruzia
Some time in early 5360

There were five people on the list, those being Patryk Janowski, Seweryn Kalka, Polikarp Matkowski, Karol Para and Ziemowit Cyrankiewicz. These five held some influence in the ruling Ordosocialist party in Valruzia, being of medium rank with Janowski being the higher rank of these being involved in the day to day operations of the party. If you were to try and form some Ordosocialist resistance, one would bet that having some of these people around would help.

They all lived around Valruzia, especially in the southern part of the country. Tukarali, a old ally of the Kundrati Union, had housed a few Kundrati agents before though they were inactive and working their usual lives and earning wages for their families. Tonight, their families would come home...

...but their agents wouldn't.

Agents Stanislav Donovor and Jan Panlik, with a small group of 10 others from the Foreign Intelligence Service, would go to a small airfield and, with a small turboprop plane, take off to Valruzia. The 10 others would don anti-bullet gear before eventually landing, in the middle of night, at another unnamed airfield in Valruzia near the five Valruzians. The group took shelter at a dilapidated barn for the night being disturbed by the horses and pigs and using the hay as their beds.

In the morning, Jan Panlik would trek towards a small village and, from there, acquired a medium sized house with a lot of Valruzian zloty. That night the group, bar three, all moved in to the medium sized house and began to set up. The three who didn't go flew the plane back to Tukarali on a round trip to set up communications and intelligence equipment - and to stage a few photos and recordings.

That would take a few days or so. Once the entire group and equipment were reunited, the real work began. Over the next few weeks information was gathered into a dosier about the personal lives of each of the five being monitored alongside some documents that the five had access to - various party related documents and even a letter from the President's office of Valruzia and of the head of the Ordosocialist party in Valruzia. The five would continue to be monitored - and while there was some suspicion about the house being used and the strange-looking but plausibly local-looking agents there was a cover story to be had: they were working on sensitive real-estate works nearby.

[Autokrator15]

The Foreign Office in Fort William
July 5361

It is late in the eveing, the head of the diplomatic mission to Malivia, Henry Boiling, has called various diplomatic agents trained in undercover work and ‘’grey-tactic’’ negotiations to his office. Alice Stokeworth, Lilian Thrust and Matthew Sanders. The three have all stayed and not gone home, taking diner somewhere in a local restaurant discussing their usual matters after going back to the Foreign Office.

When they re-enter the building the silence that they have held for the most of their trip back to the office ends:

‘’Working this late at night’’ says Alice

‘’Well for the greater good of the Empire and all that’’ responds Matthew smiling

Matthew often makes extreme nationalist jokes whilst being a loyal Humperdinck supporting moderate.

‘’Both of you, must we do this now? We have to get to the boss, our diner was already late and far too long’’ says Lilian.

The other two smile and Matthew respond: ‘’yes, yes, can’t we have a bit of fun? Remember that its quite normal for officials like us to stay late and eat, not talking and making fun when entering might look suspicious you know’’

‘’Oh are we spies now? You watch way too much movies’’ says Lilian jokingly, normally she doesn’t do this but Matthew does have a sense of the dramatic which she finds funny.

They knock on the door after which they are bit to enter. Behind the desk sits the old grey diplomatic head of the Mission to Malivia, Henry Boiling, smoking his late-hour cigar, totally ignoring that smoking inside has been forbidden, not that this has ever stopped him. In the room there are other figures, an agent from Imperial Intelligence and the Imperial Navy.

‘’don’t just stand there, come in and take a seat. We have no time to waste.’’ Says Henry Boiling.’’

‘’You three are late as it is’’ says Admiral Jack Dalton, cousin-once-removed from Foreign Secretary Claire Dalton-Jones but very much the nationalist conservative at heart and not the national liberal like his cousin.

‘’Sorry’’ all three say as they enter the room and take a seat.

‘’Well lets get on with it, they are not that late Admiral, especially not after the work they had to do and which they will be doing’’ say Agent Hank Barnicle. Weird name for sure, but an effective secret agent.

Henry Boiling scrapes his throat to get the attention in the room: ‘’ladies and gentlemen, lets begin.’’ Mr. Boiling introduces everyone to each other while also moving to the table where tea is served. After taking a seat and some tea Mr. Boiling continues:
‘’The Imperial Government has put quite the amount of resources in gaining a port and aiding Malivia in their fight against those filthy slavers. Now we have heard that they might want to retake the port after this conference. That must not happen. These Malivians are obviously to small for their briefs, they cant hardly believe to keep their security themselves?!’’

‘’More over sir, that port is a strategic gateway for Luthori and its regional and global partners. We can from it exert power in the South Ocean, aid in anti-piracy acts in the Migrants Pass, which will aid the navy’s experience and prestige’’ interrupts Admiral Dalton.

‘’Yes’’ Lilian responds, ‘’I also imagine it might come in handy with the renewal of Mordusian relations?’’

‘’Quite’’ responds Henry Boiling. ‘’This is where you three come in. Your mission is simple, you will travel to Malivia with the Diplomatic Staff send to aid the Malivian government in their talks, they will be available for the government to consult should they want to, you three however will reach out to various party members of the liberals, social democrats and this PUU faction.’’

‘’Yes, thank you Mr. Boiling, if you mind I take over from here?’’ responds Agent Barnicle, with Mr. Boiling responding with a nod.

Mr. Barnicle continues: ‘’As you three will see we have listed key figures from various parties, these names were obtained from our diplomatic department and various of our international friends lets say’’

‘’Dorvik? Beiteynu? Kundrati?’’ responds Alice.

‘’Its better you not know, love’’ Agent Barnicle responds. ‘’The only thing you need to know is that these figures must be convinced or bribed or both. We are prepared to give them investments, materials, political support, money for campaigns etc. In return they will support us keeping this port’’

‘’I see, and how should we go about this?’’ Alice responds

‘’I would suggest that you first establish good talks, contact them and speak of how Luthori wishes to aid. Remember our country has parties that share ideological lines with most of these parties. We will tell them Luthori is interested in helping, not intervening and that we feel our port would lend a hand in their safety, then we offer them stuff, surely if you play it carefull this might work’’ Mr. Boiling responds to Alice’s question.

Afterwards they discuss the names and the people and parties operating in Malivia with all parties explaining the political, economic and military situation of the country. Next they talked about the persons they would target and try to convince.

‘’blimey, this will not be easy’’ responds Matthew.

‘’Where is your optimism gone? We can do this!’’ Responds Lilian.

‘’Right, gather your things, you are leaving tomorrow for Malivia. You have less than a few months to get this right! Lets get to it, you three go there, wait for my orders. It is my job to see Kathrine, you will come with me Agent Barnicle ’’ Mr. Boiling says.

[Svetlana2]

When will the gear move again? Or are they locked forever?

Dušanpur, Malivia. Within the building of the Malivian People's Free Congress

Aurelia Winter and Jamar Fleming are two journalists for the Malivian National Broadcasting Service, Malivia's government owned national television service, more specifically they work for Channel 7 of NBS aka the Congress Channel which covers everything that happens within the MPFC and recently they were tasked on prioritzing the electoral gridlock concerning the position of speaker.

"Gosh! When will they agree on electing a speaker? At this rate, the gridlock will last more than one year if they keep on voting against every candidate" Aurelia says as she stretches her arm that were getting numb from watching the endless debates between the diffrent representatives of each faction. "What did you expect it to be? It's always the same bullshit with them. They are the living example of if we let the nerds run the country" Jamar says before getting abruptly interrupted by the loud sound of wooden hammer signaling the start of the voting session

"Order! Order! Ladies and Gentlemen, the 13th voting session for the election of the Speaker of Congress is about to start. So please, prepare your votes" the Speaker says loudly as all the 650 representatives get in place "The voting starts now!" the Speaker says before loudly slaming his hammer as every representative start voting

"To be honest with you, I predict that princess Aaliya ends up as speaker, I mean she is the most impartial of them all" Aurelia says to Jamar as the Congress quietly votes the candidature of Aaliya "I wouldn't be so confident if I were you, the head of MLM, Tanish Stobo really and I mean really hates the royal family, she was already the one behind the failed voted to elect Princess Sundaram as speaker. To be honest, she was a vocal and loud opposition to allowing royals join the MPA and MPPG as a whole, diplomatically she is a follower of the neo-liberalism and extremely suspicious of any monarchy as she deems them as a waste of tax payer money. She did shoot down the candidacy of anyone who rometly supports allowing Luthori to keep the navy base."

Tanish Stobo leader of the Malivian Liberal Movement

"What about Chrystyna Inolt?" Aurelia asks Jamar "Oh her? She is the leader of the Social Democrat Front, studied her master in economics in Luthori so she is the most pro luthori person and favorable on allowing the monarchy to keep the base but nonetheless, she only agrees on temporarily letting them operate and not own the base, she like the other leaders of each faction in being skeptical of Luthori, tbh all of them are anti militarization and pro disarmed and peaceful isolation."

Chrystyna Inolt leader of SDF

"I heard Shona McGlaskie is a rising stars in politics, can you tell me more about her?"Aurelia asks Jamar again for more details"She is the youngest leader and maneuvered her way to the top by being among the first ones who lead the insurrection at the Dušanpur University of Arts, daughter of prominent union leaders who opposed the Ordosocialists before fleeing to Dušanpur. She follows the teaching of Frolova and the ideology known as Utopianism tho more specifically she follows Social-Utopianism a subideology of utopianism that prefers a worker led semi-planned economy over a free-marker laissé faire one, tho she is neutral concerning the luthorian base due to her seeing her as both a blessing and cure but nonetheless is open to negotiations concerning said base.

Shona McGlaskie leader of PUU

"Now, I want you to describe me Princess Aaliya Limbu" Jamar asks Aurelia to test her knowledge in politics "Wel... Aaliya Limbu, born in Malakina and current leader of the All-Malivian Socialist Front, is the Sister of Queen Nagini and famous supporter of republicanism due to her actively aiding opponents of the old regime seek refuge at her mansion and helped free more than 23000 political prisonners, this lead to hee gaining the nickname of 'Princess of Justice and Fairness'. Politically she's a hard-line follower of liberal/reformist socialism with her also believing in Social-Utopianism, in term of diplomacy she is internationalist and in favor of a Malivian diplomatic neutrality secured through a section of the Constitution, tho she is against allowing Luthori to keep the base as she deems it too much of a threat to Malivia's future due to Luthori track record of opposing Socialist governments. But nonetheless she is extremely pro Beiteynu due to her being the representatives of freed yeudi slaves alongside Lavanya. "

Princess Aaliya Limbu leader of AMSF

"Eh! Now tell me about me more about Lavanya Holkar" Jamar says to Aurelia obviously trying to annoy her "Lavanya Holkar, leader of CMM, studied in Beiteynu political science before migrating back to Malivia in which she later on met Kamala and Django and was informed of their plans to unify Malivia. She serves as the representative of labor unions and freed slaves and is extremely popular with the working class and freed yeudi and luthorian slaves. Nonetheless, she follows the ideas of council communism, Social-Utopianism, and liberal communism by supporting the idea of a semi-planned economy with minor foreign capital and a worker council led economy with most powers being devolved to local councils instead of centralizing them. Diplomatically she is a fervent supporter of internationalism alongside Malivian neutrality and calls for Malivian self-determination without any foreign troops permanently staying within its lands. Meaning that she opposes allowing Luthori the right to permanently stay in Malivia and even calls to immediately seize the base once the NRC is finished."

Lavanya Holkar leader of CMM

As Jamar tries to ask another question to Aurelia just to annoy her, the loud sound of the wooden hammer is heard as the speaker stands up again, both Aurelia and Jamar didn't notice that they keto bickering instead of actually paying attention to the voting session "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am sorry to inform you that the 13th voting session for the position of speaker has failed due to the representatives of SDF voting against the candidacy of Aasmi Limbu for the position of Speaker, citing the reason that she doesn't offer any alternative to not allowing the luthorian Navy to temporarily stay in Malivia." He says before leaving the assembly before being followed by frustrated representatives leaving the assembly, meaning that the gridlock will continue until all parties agree on a speaker.

[hyraemous]

A house in Valruzia
Some time in early 5362

The team led by Jan Panlik and Stanislav Dovonor and the 10 others continued to live in the house for a while - two years in fact. Not much intelligence was retrieved from their network of spies which was slowly growing to about 10 others - making the entire network at least 22 people. Unfortunately, it seems like things were about to get in high gear...

Reports suddenly flooded in that Valruzian authorities were beginning efforts to discriminate and segregate minorities from the majority Valruzian population. Panlik feared that not only would they have to push things in high gear on their own, that Kasaema would force their hand. After all, these budget cuts were starting to creep into the international intelligence network Kasaema had foraged - the Malivian team had already left save for a few "diplomats".

Those photos and recordings that they also made were also starting to become more useful - after all, nobody likes to be segregated and discriminated against...

Those 22-people network we mentioned earlier? At least 5 were connected to various local and medium-sized Valruzian news agencies, though they were mostly based in the south and east of the country. A further 2 were also minorities themselves - their family members had to submit to forced racial identification. The two minority members had resisted though they couldn't resist forever - not to mention the fact chances at getting jobs were slowly lessening for them.

So what if photos of the two minority members of the group appeared with them being bloodied and abused in various ways in a few Valruzian newspapers?

What if those recordings started to leak out internationally via burner accounts?

The plan to leak these was approved by Stanislav Donovor and Jan Panlik by mid April 5362. Further work was placed towards monopolizing the narrative, gathering more intel and slowly amping up the pressure upon the government in Valruzia.

[myungggg]

the streets of Rio de Abril
May 31, 5364
Mariana Borges Shinoda, the distinguished Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tukarali, had always been known for her strong dedication to diplomacy and her commitment to open dialogue. It was a warm evening in Rio de Abril, and she had just concluded a long day at her office, attending numerous meetings and working tirelessly to strengthen her country's international ties.

Rather than taking her official vehicle and security detail, Mariana decided to blend in with the ordinary citizens of her beloved city by taking the trams to a college reunion. She always choose to travel around the city she served from the perspective of its people. She says it makes her more "grounded".

As the tram smoothly glided through the bustling streets of the Ilhalva district, the downtown and government centre of Rio de Abril, Mariana couldn't help but smile at the sights and sounds around her. The chatter of fellow passengers, the familiar streets she had walked as a student, and the nostalgia that accompanied her on this journey filled her heart with warmth. Aha, she's nearing her stop, will she hear again from her close friends Julia and Georgina?

However, as she disembarked from the tram station, a disconcerting feeling settled in her stomach. She had noticed a man on the tram who seemed to be following her. His piercing eyes, filled with fervour and determination, sent shivers down her spine. Wait, she thought, she made a mistake entering an empty, dark alley!

Walking briskly through the crowded streets, Mariana tried to shake off the feeling of unease. But the man persisted, closing the distance between them. As she turned a corner, he suddenly confronted her, brandishing a kitchen knife menacingly.

"Down with the liberal democratic orders that oppress the ordinary people!" he shouted vehemently. "Viva o novo regime valruziano! Vida longa ao ordosocialismo!"

Mariana's heart raced as she found herself facing this unexpected threat. She knew that her life was in danger, but how should she get away with the assassin this near at her.

Summoning all the courage she could muster, Mariana looked the man in the eyes and spoke calmly but firmly, "I understand that you have strong convictions, young man, but violence is not the answer. Let's talk, let's find a peaceful solution to whatever concerns you. Killing me won't change anything."

The man hesitated for a moment, seemingly torn between his beliefs and the unexpected empathy he found in the Minister's words. It was a tense standoff on that dimly lit street, with the fate of Mariana hanging in the balance.

Eventually, a passerby noticed the commotion and quickly alerted the nearby police officers. As they arrived on the scene, the man was apprehended, and Mariana was safely rescued from harm's way.

[hyraemous]

A house in Valruzia
24-25 March 5366 - Various areas in Valruzia

President Lukasz Konicki of Valruzia was seeing his Ordosocialist state dream crumble, being forced to bring in soldiers to try and quell the protesters - yet even the soldiers are starting to turn against him. His iron fist, crumbling, yet stubbornly refusing to consider even pretending to negotiate with the protesters - as day turned into evening there was a general sense of tension setting around the halls of the National Parliament.

An aide entered the room, sweating and exhausted, to inform him that some people were attempting to breach the gates of the National Parliament. Loyal soldiers had attempted to fire at them however pro-democracy soldiers fired back. Everyone inside the building was trapped - and the rage of Konicki kept rising.

"Shoot those bastards!" he screamed from the top of his lungs to the aide in the room. "Or else I'll have to do it myself!"
"But sir..." said the aide.
"No buts! Ordosocialism rests on my laps and nobody is doing anything!"

The aide ran out the room. A few seconds later, gunfire was heard. A few people fell, some blood roamed, and more rage streamed through.

Meanwhile in the south of Valruzia...

"Gentlemen..." said Stanislav Dovonor, part of an intelligence team of about 22, to a group of 50 special forces soldiers.
"We have only one target and only one building. The President of Valruzia, that Konicki fella, in the National Parliament building. They're already surrounded by pro-democratic forces and a huge amount of people. Even if he is not there, the sight of seeing the people taking the Parliament will do the country justice, and we will then let the cards fall as they may."

The 50 soldiers were each given a card that contained portraits of their targets, with one portrait being larger - that being the President Konicki himself - and, after all, these soldiers were sent from Kundrati and were hand-picked by the Ministry of Defence to deal with this one mission. The time was right after all, seemingly everyone turning against the President of Valruzia, so to take him out would send cheers to the world...

...and who'd care for some weird looking fellas with guns? Another thing to get used to, right?

They trained in urban warfare before in preparation for a potential mission either in Endralon or Malivia. All of these 50 have had combat experience, after all, in the Malivian Civil War - though that was mostly defendig and scouting out locations. They were training for a couple of months knowing that eventually they would have to go to Valruzia - either by themselves or with a major army behind them... so when President Dr. Jitka Kočová gave the command order to attack Konicki and his goons it wasn't unexpected... it was time to fight.

However success wasn't guaranteed; though they have maps of the capital city Nowograd they would be dropped in towards the roof of the building - what if there were snipers? Anti-aircraft? How strong were loyalist forces inside the building? Would they have to walk and fight every room, or run to the biggest-looking one and pray the President was there?

Thank God for the Kundrati Air Force... fighter jets and a intelligence-gathering plane would absolutely help if they flew around the capital city. They weren't shot down - after all most of the military is against the President now - so they were able to just roam freely. Absolutely helpful to move some helicopters along...

Five combat helicopters were dispatched towards the north of Tukarali. They would carry the force. When the time was right, Jan Panlik ordered the helicopters to cross the northern border and to arrive at a dedicated area.

The thought of fear was overwhelmed by the sense of pride - that they'd be able to kill off the leader of the first OrdoSoc state leader - and finally bring this crisis to an end. Morale was high as the troops boarded the helicopters from that dedicated area. Jan Panlik would go with them as well to command - he was wearing his own armor and carrying a pistol - while Stanislav Dovonor would stay behind. The spy network of 22 would begin to split apart - 5 were sent with the spec op force with some armor and pistols for protection, a further 12 were spread across Valruzia to monitor the situation, and the rest were to monitor the spec op force.

The helicopters took off towards the capital Nowogrod at an hour to midnight on 24 March. They'd be in the capital in around... an hours' time? An hour and a half? Crikey, it's a bit dark out so who'd know?

Meanwhile in Nowogrod...

Paranoia continued to settle in as evening turned to night. A man tried to climb on top of the gates to wave a Valruzian banner with the coat of arms cut out - he was shot dead and he and the flag fell. The crowd continued to chant the now-famous slogan "Smierc Faszystom" ("Death to the Fascists!") and sing songs in favor of democracy - alongside the pre-OrdoSoc government national anthem.

Gunfights ceased and restarted intermittently between pro and anti Konicki forces - usually when a protester was shot - though the situation continued to remain tense. President Konicki was spotted, at one point, from the window of his office staring down on the protesters again before he was rushed to another part of the room. Snipers were dispatched to the roof to fire at any protester that tried to breach the gates of the compound.

The days turned - now it was 25 March 5366 - and the conflict between the duo remained tense though nobody dared to try and breach the gates. Most of that energy was now being placed onto constructing street barricades and gathering any weapon they could find - a kitchen knife, maybe a old war pistol - and preparing to try again later in the morning.

The somewhat silent crowd was finally broken by a group of helicopters appearing. There was some confusion both inside and outside the compound - rumor had been going around both inside and out that helicopters were going to pick up the President of Valruzia and take him to somewhere safer... Four helicopters landed on the roof and the Kundrati soldiers lept out and began to enter the Parliament.

They met resistance from the start - a few snipers tried to fire at them. The doors were closed and the pilots were missed. Some of the snipers were shot dead by special forces.

The soldiers made their way from the roof to the top floor of the building. The building's interior was like a maze with many offices and conference rooms and other rooms which would have to be declared and anyone inside would have to be captured or shot...

The firefight inside the building began immediately as most of the team met gunfire from inside these rooms. It was immediately decided that these rooms would be presumed to have enemy combatants and that the people inside would be shot dead. Controversial, sure, but now wasn't the time to argue.

The team was split in two and ordered to take each side of the building as well. It'd make things easier after all - 25 for each side.

By 12:10am in the morning a small corner of the building had been secured - the scene inside was gruesome as special forces met loyalist foes which shot at each other. It'd take them a while before they'd reach the President - and one of their lads had to retreat to get treated - though most of their foes were injured or dead themselves. The team continued to search each room before suddenly, entering another conference room, they were met by 5 loyalist foes and an OPR member. The 6 foes tried to fight back against the spec ops forces however they weren't a match - each one of them were shot dead within a minute.

By 12:15 most of the northeast of the top floor was secured. A few of the forces on the northeast were ordered to secure the lower floors - there they'd meet less resistance (even some of the Valruzian loyalists had surrendered in the lower floors) - though a total of 10 troops were sent down to secure the lower floors of the building just in case. The same order was sent to the forces trying to secure the northwest of the building. We'd get to them later.

The east of the building was secured by 12:30 as similar scenes were playing out - some of the force would enter a room, see that it was empty or see that it was full of a few loyalists and fire back and leave them for dead, and move on. Two OPR officials were also shot dead during this time. Now the focus was to secure the south part of the building - though a few of their number had to retreat due to problems with their armor as a result of the fighting - they'd be back though were dispatched to helping secure the rest of the east of the building and doing a more thorough search just in case they'd miss a few foes. The team halted at the last corner offices and prepared for a tougher fight... though their lads in the northwest and west of the building wouldn't be so luxurious.

More foes had been met in the northwest of the building to the point where all 25 of that team were ordered to take down as many loyalists as they could. More loyalist forces were in that corner as well and it seemed that the President was somewhere in that area too. The fighting was so fierce that some of the "East" team was sent to the northwest to help - 5 of their number were forced to retreat due to injuries, compared to 2 for the East team.

President Konicki had been told to head to a tunnel network inside the building when the first helicopters had landed. There was some time before the Kundrati forces would be in their part of the building, aides said, and that they should get a move on immediately. Konicki had, however, refused and stated that he would don some armor and fight himself if he had to. He was left with two guards and a rifle.

The crowd outside had begun to wonder what was going on as the gunfire had been noticed throughout the hour - crowds were increasingly impatient and anti-loyalist soldiers from Valruzia had begun to prepare to take the building itself. Fighter jet formations were also becoming more frequent.

Jan Panlik ordered a fighter jet to fire towards the windows of the largest office in the building located on the top floor in order to intimidate the President of Valruzia. A fighter jet had broken off the formation and began to fire it's guns towards the largest office's windows. Most of the windows there didn't break however they were definitely battered - two of the windows had broken off - and the President and his guards had been forced to hide in a walk-in closet. They were trapped.

The fighting continued until around 1am when the south and the east of the building itself were secured - most of the north had also been secured. All of the forces were ordered to focus their strength on the west of the building. More special forces had to retreat gradually though they were able to slice through the loyalist Valruzians - one more OPR official died off in the gunfire - before one small area was left. Most of the loyalist forces were forced into the large office - the President and his guards were also outside of their closet preparing to fight as well.

When Kundrati forces gradually made their way in gunfire rang everywhere - no surface would be safe from gunfire whether Kundrati or Valruzian. Chaos ensued - at least 10 special forces were rendered too injured to continue. They were evacuated up to the roof to be treated and towards one of the helicopters. That helicopter had begun to take off for a hospital with their armor being stripped off with a cover story being provided that they were protesters and had been shot.

Every loyalist inside that office was dealt with by 1:25am. In the process, however, fell the President's two guards. Then Konicki himself...

...and the building fell silent as poses were held and pictures taken. The interior of the building, mostly the top floor, was dotted with bulletholes as many things in many offices were shot and had damage, including papers and computers, in the course of the gunfire. All of the remaining special forces were sent to the helicopters and all of the remaining helicopters had left by 1:35.

...and the city fell silent.

[Kubrick]

Wiel, office of the Director of Foreign Operations, State Security Agency (Ryk Sekrts Bro, RSB), 18 July 5366, 12:51 PM.

"Sir?" He looked up from the file he was reading at the junior agent in front and raised his eyebrows. "Latest update on the Makon mission, the Cildanian has been caught. He will be ready for questioning in sixteen hours." He smiled at the agent, "Thank you, Jeztri, greenlight them for a full interrogation but keep him presentable." The agent nodded and left his office. Ever since Beiteynu had sent those ships to Jelbe the Wrntuhiko had wanted revenge, a stab to answer the poke. Ending the trade deal had been too risky, they needed something to discredit the Yeudi schemers. Now they finally found something, something tangible. Cildanian intelligence had not been able to grab him, the King Pin refused to work with them to give the knowledge they sought. But now they had the guy behind it all, the one who worked with Beiteynu to attack Cildania.

One day later.

The blacked out SUV drove him through the suburbs of Wiel outside of the city bounds, past farmlands where wheat was at its peak, right through an industrial complex where the factories were once again bellowing out smoke. This was the Wrnuke his great-grandfather had spoken to him about, alive, always building, always fighting. Usually he would never go to black sites himself but for this case he made an exception, this case had to be personally presented to the Wrntuhiko, the Leader of Wrnuke. Shadowed by several agents he entered the remote location, being escorted down the hall to the holding and interrogation chamber. There he was, Ilarju Rizzo. Now 77 years old. They had found the rest of his family too, his wife on a funeral plot in Bekenial, Hutori, she had passed away four years ago. His daughter a successful human rights lawyer in Gaduridos. In two years they had done what the Cildanians had not been able to do for almost thirty years. Apart from a bruise near his left cheekbone the old man looked immaculate, he was pleased to see his orders being followed. An agent apologized for the bruise. "He resisted quite heavily during transportation, Director, we-" He cut him off. "No worries, Vrn, you kept him sharp." He entered the room, leaving the agents behind. "Good morning, Ilarju. I heard you wish to talk to me about the origins of the Qart Qildar synagogue bombing of August 30, 5331?" The old Cildanian looked defeated and nodded. He smiled and sat down. "Excellent, please, continue."