OOC:
This is an MT to PMT scenario.
Basically, if you're interested in this, a protest has gathered in Grainne, capital of the Freehold, to protest the fact that the extremely small, very limited government is unelected.
Most locals don't mind, but they have some support from foreign backers.
I'll allow news crews, protest groups, and such like. If you wish to enact outright military actions, check with me first, please.
IC:
Grainne, the Freehold of Gabhra
"Incoming call for Private Gwendolen Sydnie Courtney, from Fifth MAR Command. Incoming call for Private-"
Gwendolen's hand reached out and slapped the com unit's button even before her eyes creaked open. This had been her one day of the month off, and she had not been expecting any calls from work.
"Courtney," she growled, eyes still closed. The voice that answered was not one of the base operators, but an automated message, and the young Soldier's eyes were now wide open as she heard the message.
"Urgent message. All personnel will report to Regimental Operations immediately. Lemon Juice. Repeat, urgent message. All personnel-"
Immediately the young woman's eyes snapped open. To a casual listener, the words "lemon juice" at the end of the message probably sounded like gibberish, but she knew better, having been forced to memorize several emergency communications codes which might accompany a sudden calling out.
"End message!" she barked "Confirm transmission. I'm on my way."
Running served no purpose, but she did move quickly, dragging on underclothes and a field uniform before grabbing the pre-packed weapon from her closet, weapons included, and stopping in the kitchen just long enough to grab a donut and a bottled drink from her children before heading outside. Heading for her car, she stopped in mid-stride as an Army 5-ton truck, probably from the Regimental Motor Pool, turned on to her block and came down the street, stopping at her house. Inside was a large group of men and women, all of them dressed as she was and carrying their packs. A woman with an officer's insignia reached out a hand.
"Captain Iallis, Regimental Logistics. Get on!"
Reaching out to grab the officer's hand, Courtney's arm was grabbed by at least three people as she was hoisted aboard the truck bed. Finding a place to sit upon the hard benches, she adjusted her pack between her boots and stared down at the truck bed as the vehicle lumbered onwards. She still didn't knoe what was happening now, and asked Captain Iallis.
"Protests in the city," was the officer's response. "I have friends in the RBS." That was the Regimental Battle Staff, the ones who controlled field operations. "They've been watching and told me something of what's happening. City Security in Grainne called for assistance from the Military Forces about ninety minutes ago now."
"Foreigners?" Courtney asked. Iallis shook her head.
"We don't know, but probably some of them, at least."
"Does it matter?" asked a sergeant at the tail end of the bench. "They're fucking up everybody else's day, and if they've called us it's because they think it might start up a riot. We have a job to do, let's do it."
That brought nods and affirmations all around. Ten minutes later, the truck was stopped on-base and the camouflaged personnel were all rushing to their proper units in a sort of controlled, practiced chaos. Private Courtney and her squadmates were all done up in helmets, clamshell armor, and weaponry. Swords were secured, and new orders had been issued. Somebody had been sent to grab some cuffs for detaining rioters, just in case.
The entirety of A Company would be moved out as the advance force aboard the MAR's fleet of VTOL transports. The rest of the initial reaction force would be moved in aboard armored transport vehicles.
The Jefferson City Park
The protesters were lined up in the middle of the park. The huge expanse of green grass, flowers, copses of trees and so on which was normally filled with passers-by, mothers with their children and people enjoying themselves before or after work was now filled with a mass of shouting people. They had been moving through to the Market District of Grainne, but had found the way blocked by the officers of the City Safety Office.
Now, as the IFVs carrying the reaction forces from the 5th Mobile Assault Regiment arrived behin the lines of CSO workers, the protesters had stopped and were lined up in a mass in the park, holding hands and shouting what sounded like "No votes, no justice!" They were also blocking the routes which passed through the park lands.
From his ad hoc Command Post set up in a storefront opposite the park from the mass of bodies, Captain Harris Seth Abels watched the stand-offi, sighed deeply into the warm morning air, and then turned to face his staff officers. They were gathered in the small shop working feverishly. Some labored at the radio sets used to keep A Company working and in touch with Regimental Battle Staff, others typed furiously at portable terminals, and still others were simply awaiting his instructions.
"Right," he said. "Here's what we've got. There's a bunch of idiots in the park. From what we can tell, it's a mix of the local garden variety idiots, and there are several imports mixed in as well."
There were several subdued chuckles at that one. It was true, though. Well-meaning, poorly informed foreigners were always coming to the Freehold to protest the lack of the bureaucracy found in most nations. That the local ways worked just fine and without nearly as much corruption was almost invariably lost on such people. It baffled them that the locals did not rise up and demand the living they were allegedly owed by the state.
"In any case," he went on. "There's no difference between them for us here. When they start getting too pushy, we'll move in, hopefully with the rest of the Regiment, in order to quiet things down. We'll arrest the lot, using only as much force as necessary. Is that understood?"
He was answered by a chorus of confirmations.
"Alright," he said, turning to examine the protest once more. "Colonel Pearce will be here with more troops shortly, and will want us to have a grasp on things before he starts deploying the Regiment for action."
