Mad Queen's Gambit (Please Telegram for Entry, MT)

[New Edom]

The Ministry of Defense, Fineberg

"So we can still go ahead, we can have ships there in a matter of hours," said Commander Bashan.

"Could we? Bull our way through, or use one of the alternate LZs?" suggested General Vrinn.

"The element of surprise would be lost, and they could easily maneuver the Motorized Infantry Division's main body to face us, try to overrun the LZ," said General Unwerth. "But I am going to put it to the Regent and see what he says."

"Sir," pointed out the Adjutant-General of the Army, "The troops are already on the ships. It's just across the bay--I admit it's going to take several hours to get there, but the rebels iknow there is an offensive going on in the south of Teman. It could still work. We could still pull it off."

Unwerth was rarely indecisive, but now he seemed to be hesitating. He resisted the temptation to contact Romain and Hanneghan and get their views, but he did agree with Commander Peleg and General Josephus that the field and flag commanders should be informed of how the recon mission had gone. The more communication happened, the more the risk of a leak.

Finally, he did speak to Prince Elijah. Prince Elijah agreed tha the operation should go ahead, but suggested that if recon from the drones indicated any large movements towards the LZ that they should consider aborting unless they could bring sufficient force to bear by air and sea to reduce such a force before it could repel the invasion. General Unwerth agreed with this.

He put the phone down. "Operation Centurion is still a go." Orders were transmitted to Admiral Hanneghan to steam towards Hylas Cove with all despatch.

[New Edom]

The Golden Palace Club, Quality Bay

Soundtrack

Enoch struggled in, dabbing at his mouth, as he was coming to be more alert a fury coming over him. 'Thank you, yes, a little scrap with an idiot. I need to make a couple of phone calls."

He bowed his thanks and went to the side of the club and took out his cell phone. Contacted his bodyguard. "Where are you?" No answer. He felt sick. Was this an abduction? No, if it was it was pretty weird. He reviewed the evening. Drugs. Drink. Rafaella. The driver, Simon Yeo. A real vulgar show off, but a number of the women seemed to like him. kept pinching buttocks until he found a good response, was how the saying went about him. Rafaella had barely seemed to notice him. Or had she? His head was fuzzy. Heading back in, he found the bodyguard high and floating, vaguely singing a made up set of lyrics to the current song playing while one of the staff, wearing only a jeweled thong and jeweled pasties knelt and bobbed her head. He was incensed; he would have the fellow shipped to a penal battalion!

He found Lalery at the bar, heading somewhere. "Tommy, listen, I need your help," he shouted in his ear.

"Not now," said Lalery, his eyes on Caroline. "Damn, what a body, do you see that? Still juice in her from what I hear. I'll drop Izolde and take her. What a feast!"

"Damn it, this is serious, Tommy!" He explained the situation, tripping over his words.

Lalery laughed. "You're banging General Unwerth's daughterand you lost her? How about this, Delian can lend you his sidearm and you can end it all now."

"Don't joke," said Enoch coldly. He grabbed a barmaid and said, "Brandy, now!"

"Belay that," said Lalery to her, slapping her rump hard and waving her off. He ignored her squeal of outrage and said, "Alright, your best bet is coming clean to Ashdod directly to find her. We'll bumble around it, he knows what he's doing."

"Ashdod..." said Enoch, running a hand through his hair. "But..."

"Don't worry, he owes the family some serious favours," said Lalery. "Go. Now. Before we find she's in some ditch with that car of that idiot's drizzling fuel on her corpse."

Enoch shuddered. "Don't even joke about that..." he hurried off.

Lalery walked over to Caroline. 'I'm not beating about the bush," he said, "You're one of the finest women in Quality Bay, the best here among these little fillies. You inflame my blood. I could drink you like wine. But for now, dance with me."

His bold dark eyes took her in as though he really did want to drink her and had no shame about it. This was what he liked--earthy, curvy and full of verve.

"Most of the real men are with the fleet or the army or they're too old!" screamed Lavinia in Arietta's ear as she embraced her. "So let's just partaaaaaaaay!' she shrieked, jumping up and down so that her breasts nearly bounced out of her decolletage. 'I wanna be fucked up!"

Count Uzziel Sharra grabbed Ona with enthusiasm like a young hound, wanting to lead her onto the dance floor, make out with her with sudden passion as though they'd been leading up to it for an hour, yelling about how beautiful she was while he tried to maul her bosom and hips, not quite sure where he wanted his hands to be exactly.

"I'm going into action soon," shouted Malachi Unwerth to any Ghantish or Edomite or other girl was near him. "I may die in action. I've never been with a woman before. I never realized how beautiful women really were until I met you. Would you go outside and talk with me?"

[Ghant]

The Golden Palace
Quality Bay, New Edom

Enoch struggled in with Ray and Mikhail, dabbing at his mouth and letting it all come back to him. “Thank you, yes, a little scrap with an idiot. I need to make a couple of phone calls."

“Well, I got his plate number if you need it,” Mikhail said thoughtfully, concerned for Enoch. Ray nodded along and replied, “you do that…we will be over there,” pointing at the bar. Enoch bowed his thanks and went to the side of the club. Ray and Mikhail didn’t get very far, however, when Annalise Tantor ambushed Mikhail and stole him away to the floor, and then Tatiana coolly and casually did the same with Ray, if only because it was convenient.

Meanwhile, Caroline was sitting at the bar and enjoying a drink to herself, thinking about life…her children especially. That was when Lalery walked over to her, and spoke. “I'm not beating about the bush," he said, "You're one of the finest women in Quality Bay, the best here among these little fillies. You inflame my blood. I could drink you like wine. But for now, dance with me."

Caroline grinned as she drank, and thought for a moment before setting her drink down. “Well, Count, you are very kind to say so. You certainly do not lack for boldness, or for flattery,” she said, clearly amused. “Let us dance then, but be careful with yourself,” she continued with a smirk. “I doubt my son would think highly of whatever ambitions you might harbor towards his mother.” Having said that, she accompanied him to the floor, curious to see what the Count had in store.

Elsewhere, Lavinia linked up with Arietta and her friends on the floor. "Most of the real men are with the fleet or the army or they're too old!" screamed Lavinia in Arietta's ear as she embraced her. "So let's just partaaaaaaaay!” Lavy shrieked, jumping up and down so that her breasts nearly bounced out of her décolletage. “I wanna be fucked up!"

“We can certainly do that…fuck yeah,” Arietta said back. “Just get drunk and high…I got some shit that will have you tripping balls for sure, but we got to be careful this time, you know. Last time shit got really fucked up and turned out badly. Oh and hey, my cousin Ray is pretty cool. He is into that stuff too, and is really smart. You might like him.” Arietta was distracted though, thinking about what she overheard Enoch and Lavy talking about earlier…about Michael and Jocasta. I see how it is.

Princess Ona was surprised when Count Uzziel Sharra grabbed her with enthusiasm like a young hound, leading her out to the dance floor. She wanted to dance with him and enjoy his company at least, although she wondered what he wanted to do. She had to be careful in any event, as she was a maiden and very much naïve still. She blushed all the same, and kept her hands on his back, and a smile on her face.

"I'm going into action soon," shouted Malachi Unwerth to the group of nearby girls. "I may die in action. I've never been with a woman before. I never realized how beautiful women really were until I met you. Would you go outside and talk with me?"

Desmera looked at him with narrowed eyes and thought, So full of shit…he fucked Lavinia once confirmed, and my sister Margaery too…good enough to make her want to keep him all to herself. Being somewhat protective of her younger sister and eager to see what her beloved Mal would do when she wasn’t around, Desmera approached him and spoke into his ear once she was close enough. “I would love to…”

[New Edom]

The Golden Palace Club, Quality Bay, New Edom

How well a person looked on the dance floor was not a bad sign of how they might be in bed or in other circumstances--not guaranteed but for Lalery's purpose it was a suitable test. Of course calling these ridiculous gyrations and ape like manners 'dancing' was like calling a mating cat a lover. It was more a sign of endurance and sensuality than it was of genuine love of music and the display of harmony.

Nevertheless it was a game he could play; move your body, move your hips, feel the rhythm as the song said, and check out your partner. If she had fun, great. He wanted to enjoy watching her. He noticed Lavinia shrieking, Arietta talking to her. Arietta. For all her talk of being a party animal, he thought she was more of a trouble maker and voyeur. He noticed she was careful in fact with how much she drank, how much she smoked, who she was with. Little minx. He'd never forget his first introduction to her. How much was Lavinia really partying too? He had noticed her off whispering to Enoch.

Enoch was in the men's room, fixing himself up. His shirt had gotten scraped, he looked like he'd been in a fight. He fixed it up; he had a swollen face, it ached. The man punched really hard. His phone buzzed, and it was the contact Lalery had given him. He hurried outside, nodded to Ray and Mikhail, "Thanks again, fellows. I've got to be off now."

A black Lexus pulled up; Enoch got in and it sped away into the night.

Uzziel was all over Ona on the dance floor, now and then shouting at her over the music, "You're so beautiful! I love the way you dance! Like this song?" as he now and then drew her to him so he could tell her in her ear, hands moving down her back to cup her bottom, caressing her excitedly, pressing up against her, now and then when she'd broken free running his hands up her belly to her breasts and giving exploratory squeezes like a gibbon testing fruit. He was grinning with excitement, eyes wide with extras.

Malachi Unwerth said "Of course," eyeing the pretty redhead with pleasure, and guiding her outside where suddenly fresh relatively cool air kissed any exposed skin, and sighed with pleasure. "Breathe in that sea air! You know, when you anticipate combat, everything in life seems all the more real...more intense...beauty is more vibrant. The moment I saw you, I just had to speak to you and have a moment...one magic moment before I go into action."

Lavinia was giggling near the bar, getting another round of shots for her Ghantish friends and for Claudia Zecharias who had showed up with a boyfriend who had wandered for for a moment. "Okay, bottoms up girls. Oh my gosh, everything's just lovely tonight...the tasty delicious lights are like candy! Arietta did you miss me? I missed you so much when we were not together, it's like you're my BFF...I wish you liked Jocasta though...I get the feeling you don't like her and she doesn't like you...and I sung your praises and everything because you are the best..."

[Ghant]

The Golden Palace Club
Quality Bay, New Edom

Caroline may have been a highborn lady and a mother to an Emperor, but she liked to have her fun too. She went out to the floor and danced, swaying this way and that in a manner consistent with the beat. Count Lalery was a man worthy of admiration for what he was, a handsome young highborn man of great talent, ability and skill. Alas, even if he wanted to sleep with her, which I suspect he does, she felt as though she would ultimately hesitate, if only for the sake of her son. I don’t want to give my son’s enemies any fuel that they can use against him…and I am certainly that.

Regardless, she would have her fun and see where things went…Thomas was an intelligent man, and perhaps would come to the realization that fucking the Emperor’s mother might be quite a tall order. She wasn’t about to leave him hanging though…she was quite prepared to point him in the direction of her niece Desmera, who resembled Caroline aside from being many years younger and having blue eyes instead of brown.

Elsewhere, Enoch emerged from the bathroom fairly banged up. He did take the time to nod to Ray and Mikhail and say, "Thanks again, fellows. I've got to be off now." Then he was gone, leaving the other two to themselves.

“You know…I don’t really see how people could think Enoch is a douche,” Ray told Mikhail. “I mean, he seems pretty cool.”

“He has it out for Michael,” Mikhail told him. “You just haven’t seen it yet.” There wasn’t much else either of them could say, before the girls swooped in on them. Tatiana danced lively with Ray, in a way that was indicative of fun but not necessarily in a way that conveyed sexual desire. Annalise, on the other hand, was grinding against the poor and hapless Mikhail, who despite whatever protestations he might have had, found himself unable to get away. Not that he didn’t mind though…he found himself feeling particularly excited. This didn’t go unnoticed by Annalise, who blushed and smiled wildly as she kept him pressed against her.

Her friend Ona found herself in a similar situation, albeit with the roles reversed. Uzziel was all over Ona on the dance floor, now and then shouting at her over the music, "You're so beautiful! I love the way you dance! Like this song?" as he now and then drew her to him so he could tell her in her ear, hands moving down her back to cup her bottom, caressing her excitedly, pressing up against her, now and then when she'd broken free running his hands up her belly to her breasts and giving exploratory squeezes like a gibbon testing fruit. He was grinning with excitement, eyes wide with extras.

To say that Ona was caught off guard might have been an understatement. Never before in her life had she danced like that, in a club, or even with a boy in such a manner. This was the first time a boy, or anyone for that matter, even touched her fundament or bosom. She didn’t know what to think…she found Uzziel Sharra attractive and interesting, yet at the same time she felt that things were moving way too fast, and that he was taking excessive liberties with her in a manner that she wasn’t entirely comfortable with. Yet, she went along with it, because she didn’t want him to think that she wasn’t interested in him…because she was, in a sort of sheltered, girly way. I can play along for now.

“…That is very kind of you to say, Uzziel,” she would tell him back. “I have never danced this way before! This song is very catchy!” Ona had to hope that Izolde didn’t find out, otherwise there would be a decent chance that Ona would be confined to her chambers indefinitely…

Meanwhile, Malachi Unwerth said "Of course," in response to Desmera’s acceptance to go outside with him. He was eyeing the pretty redhead with pleasure, and guided her outside where suddenly fresh relatively cool air kissed her exposed skin, fair and freckly as it was. Malachi sighed with pleasure. "Breathe in that sea air! You know, when you anticipate combat, everything in life seems all the more real...more intense...beauty is more vibrant. The moment I saw you, I just had to speak to you and have a moment...one magic moment before I go into action."

Desmera stood outside and breathed in the air, nodding along to what he was saying. “The air is nice…quite warm compared to what I am used to, but still nice,” she began. “Do you miss Ghish, and being in the service of Ambassador Prince Amenmar? Those were good times…I know what happened here before you shipped out there, and I am glad to see that you bounced back.” Looking up into the sky, she continued. “One magic moment eh? Dare I ask what you had in mind?” Desmera’s soft blue eyes studied this boy for a moment, and considered her own sister Margaery. He was certainly the type she was always chasing…fun, energetic, attractive, martial. She would have came to Fineberg too had she not gotten ill. Yet, she isn’t the type to stay away for long…

Lavinia was giggling near the bar, getting another round of shots for her Ghantish friends, including Arietta, Ella Maedros, Alys Zama and Willow Galian. Also present and accounted for was Claudia Zecharias, who had showed up with a boyfriend who had wandered for a moment. "Okay, bottoms up girls. Oh my gosh, everything's just lovely tonight...the tasty delicious lights are like candy! Arietta did you miss me? I missed you so much when we were not together, it's like you're my BFF...I wish you liked Jocasta though...I get the feeling you don't like her and she doesn't like you...and I sung your praises and everything because you are the best..."

The girls threw back their shots. Alys, Ella and Arietta had no trouble, but Willow…poor Willow, gagged and nearly chocked on hers, sending the others into laughter. “Aww, she is so cute, little Willow! Here, give me that,” Arietta said with a grin as she took Willow’s glass and finished it off. Then Arietta turned and responded to Lavinia. “Yeah, I missed you a lot. I tried to help but I couldn’t, and it made me feel really bad. Like, I couldn’t enjoy shit like I usually do, you know, like buying clothes and going out and stuff, knowing that you were where you were. When I find out that you were back, I wanted to come visit right away, but was afraid to, because I was scared to come back and get in trouble. Jocasta let me though, and I haven’t forgotten that. I mean, I don’t mind Jocasta, you know? I think she’s dumb, and I just like fucking with her and giving her shit, you know? Cuz it’s funny. Anyway, that's real talk, I don't dislike her or anything. But anyway...next round of shots on me!”

Whatever Arietta was thinking about, or wanting to say, went away when she turned and saw what she saw on the dance floor. She grabbed Lavinia and her friends and pointed. “OMG! Mom is dancing with Count Lalery! What the fuck?! Should I take a picture of that and text it to my brother or what?”

“…I wouldn’t do that,” Willow cautioned.

[New Edom]

Operation Centurion 1: The Fleet

Soundtrack

Ships

Waves swelled darkly against the bows of ships that moved over the waters. The knife's edge of a leading destroyer, the Samon, and suddenly the waves' pattern against the bow changed as the warship gathered speed, spray rising higher up towards the gunwhales of the vessel. Up above the bridge, flags snapping in the night breeze.

Sonars began to ping the deep, and radars swept the surface and sky. Junior Lieutenant Aaron Gore was among the many ears in the fleet, listening keenly for any enemy activity. Lights faded along the escort vessels, whose queen--the literally named Queen Adah, moved within sight by day of the carrier, Boa, protecting her like a beloved sister.

Four frigates and the two destroyers had moved into their flanking and forward positions, but had encountered nothing so far. However they knew that the enemy were out there. Radar sweeps and drone recon had revealed some enemy activity, patrols stepping up, and intelligence indicating reserves ready to move out.

High up in the great stacked tower of the Kaztlan Class Carrier, Reme, Rear-Admiral David Hanneghan, a stocky well built man with a handsome darkly tanned olive face going slowly to flesh in a dignified way, took a last inhale of salty air before going back in.

"Admiral on deck!" snapped a Chief Boatsain's Mate.

Admiral Hanneghan looked around, people glanced up from charts, radar and sonar stations, signals and nodded with respect. He accepted a cup of mint tea from his ADC.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, are we ready to go?" he asked crisply.

"The Benjamin is lagging a few minutes behind, engine room fire sir," said the operations staff officer. "Other than that everything's squared away and ready for the advance, semi-circle formation as you ordered, sir."

Hanneghan said, "First class. Alright, we'll wait for Benjamin. What's the status on aerial recon?"

"Drones report little change other than shifting of patrols. Confirmed that we'll need to lead with the air attack," said the operations officer. "We will advance the CAP elements to their designated zones in five minutes."

"Then as it pleases God," said Hanneghan. "Let us dispose the day."

On the flight deck, amid nets and stacked equipment, ground crews in flourescent vests and jumpsuits moved about, while fuselages began to scream like hawks anticipating a hunt. "Coming through!" bellowed an armourer moving a missile dolly forward towards a loading zone.

At another point, a line of Lancers jogged forward, packs on their backs, rifles held at port, faces grave, NCOs and officers directing them to their TH-300s, loading up for the air assault.

Pilots clambered into attack helicopters, ground crews like squires to knights handing them helmets, doing final checks of chocks, fueling and any last minute needs.

Grey light was nearly dawning on the horizon. Up in the bridge, the Admiral stepped out again and his glasses swept the horizon to the landing ship, Benjamin, coming into view. The decks also swarmed with sailors. However its duty was to land the 4 LCACs with the Marine Infantry like her sister ship, the Judah, which would be landing the first wave of the Royal Cavalry Guards.

Admiral Hanneghan went in and went on the 1MC to speak to all like the voice of one of God's seraphim calling the fleet to action.

FLIGHT QUARTERS, FLIGHT QUARTERS, ALL HANDS, MAN YOUR BATTLE STATIONS. BEAT TO QUARTERS THROUGHOUT THE FLEET.

The Marine Infantry

Captain Shadrach Shobal joined Lieutenant Kiron on the LCAC, a gigantic hovercraft that would bring their mechanized company ashore, flanking the Royal Cavalry Guards immediately to their left.

"Everything alright?" Kiron asked him.

"Yeah, just had the best shit I've had in weeks, felt like," said Shobal. "Hardly had to use the paper."

"You did though, yeah?" said Kiron gravely.

Shobal blinked, then laughed. "Yes Mother, I did."

"Speaking of Mother, I didn't get to tell you last night, but Mother is fine, apparently court life suits her. When we get to Fineberg again you're going to have to start kissing my ass." Kiron said.

"As long as you wipe, son, I'll get my lipstick ready. I want to be invited to the Palace and eat caviar. Hey I got some face time with my brother this morning, I couldn't tell him anything. The lucky little bastard is slaving at a University in Novitera." Shobal said. "I hope he doesn't come back with a disease, those Noviteran women are whores."

"That's just in the movies," said Kiron.

They mounted their APC at the command from Battalion, and the Hamster, as they called it, rolled into the LCAC, shuddered to a halt. Then waiting, crammed in all together on their seats.

"I don't like your hotel Your Honour," said one of the Marine Infantrymen. "It's kinda cramped and it stinks."

The Marines chortled, Shobal laughed.

The LCAC moved forward, fans blazing on, and they were rushing out into the gray light, the short a dark shadow before them, unseen by the men inside the APC. Shobal rechecked his headset for progress, and they simmered down and waited, not long now.

The Royal Cavalry Guards

Lieutenant Count Alexander Domris was in a similar position with his tank and crew. The First Squadron under Major Zadek would land shortly after the Marines and Lancers did. Lookinghaven was good tank country; they would blast the hell out of anything in their way up to Nass.

He had sent a letter by email to Alazne Dain beforehand. He was not great at writing letters, but he did tell her that he had enjoyed meeting her, had talked to his family about having her and some friends over, and apologized but his return to Fineberg would be somewhat delayed.

The Guardsmen were finishing systems checks in the tank; defense systems online, signals online, targeting online. She was running well, the motor pool crews had given her a good going over. One of the best things about being in the Guards--best equipment, best mechanics, best armourers.

He was keen, they were all keen, to get stuck in, to face the enemy and finish off this war.

And then what? He supposed after that--back to palace duty. Back to occasional riot control. It fled like cobwebs in a strong wind, these thoughts, as the orders came to move his tank into the hovercraft...

The Air

Captain Mark Perna's RH-90 Incursor flew forward in the predawn, his helmet and cockpit a prophet's vision of clarity. Drone designated targets of bunkers and foxholes were before him; they might be decoys but at the moment not his issue.

"I have our targets on visual," said his gunner/copilot in the rear.

"Understood. Fire when ready," said Perna.

They were not the only ones; they opened fire but even as they did, they were getting warnings of anti-aircraft fire. Countermeasures and maneuvers deployed. Along the coast, attacks by helicopters and fighters began, ships' guns thundered from destroyers and frigates, and flashes of light and fire illuminated smoke exploded along the rocky coastline of Lookinghaven.

The Battle for Hylas Cove had begun.

[Taelete]

New Edom, Fineberg.

The Taeletean plane landed on the airport of Fineberg. Aristarkh Zolkrovin turned around to see Meliton Dakrelios appear on his left hand as the man sat down in the seat in front of him. Meliton was Metropolitan bishop of Trazentioch and with that a more than appropiate delegate for the patriarchal church of Krionarlassion. Just like all delegates in the plane were on high positions. Aristarkh for example was μέγας κονόσταυλος(grand constable) of the Taeletean League. Meliton was very young for his rank with his 27 years and mostly got his rank by family name although he had shown to be a capable man. Meliton could be easily recognized as a Trazentine nobleman by his high cheeks, green eyes and golden hair that made him a quite handsome man. Aristarkh was wondering what the man would want to tell him as every delegate talked with another delegate for a reason. Aristarkh heard Meliton's calming voice starting to talk and had to imagine Meliton as an enemy as he started to trust the man like all others who met Meliton. "Greetings lord Aristarkh, I heard that the royalists are securing Harbourtown. I hope we're not too late to exploit the chaotic situation in this nation." Aristarkh answered with a slightly worried face:"I didn't know you received of what happens in New Edom, but this sounds worrying." Meliton laughed and answered:"I normally receive court gossip that is produced here even more than in Trazentioch. And we still have to see what's true of the message as normally only hear gossip from my spies here so I don't know much we can trust the news." "Well, we'll soon meet the Head Spymaster of the league here so let's see what he has to bring us." answered Aristarkh and suddenly like on a command turned both men around when they heard someone approaching them.

It was a stewardess that came to inform them of the fact that the plane was landing. As they walked to the other side of the -plane were man could leave the plane did the other delegates appear, Xanthe Kallerzanis, Thales sklocheratos and Kallias Elstaenos. Every delegate represented a different part of the league so mistrust had reigned the plane during the journey. Aristarkh took the word as highest of all delegates:"Greetings, my collegues. We'll get down to Edomite soil within minutes. Every delegate is allowed to take three guards with him/her. We'll first meet with Loukas Terenios, the Taeletean spymaster in New Edom who will inform us about the situation in the nation before we'll go to the Betharan palace to seek contact with the Crown Princess Jocasta Obed. Any Questions?" Everybody indicated they had none and guards were called, soon stood the five delegates, their fifteen guards and twenty horses on Edomite soil.

As they rode down the airport approached a middle-aged one-eyed man with brown hair and a simple, long jacket the group and personated himself as Loukas Terenios, Taeletean spymaster in New Edom. Loukas had left his family when he was fifteen in order to follow his dream to become spymaster instead of aristocrate. While the group slowly started to ride towards the palace quarter informed Loukas the delegates of the last happenings in New Edom and mainly the battle of Harbourtown. The news about the government successes worried the delegates as they'd come to make use of the current situation in New Edom to create profitable treaties and a better position of the monarchy would decrease the position of the Taeletean delegates in diplomatic talks. The only one who had no worries was Meliton as he had more cards in his sleeves to convince the Monarchy of his proposal. Loukas continued to talk, now about the Edomite culture, religion and people but also about their military and the current public opinions. In the meanwhile rose the Betharan palace up before them.

As soon as they reached the palace gates shook Loukas everyone's hands and he gave his adress before disappearing in the shadow with his horse. When the delegation rode towards with Aristarkh and Meliton at the head as the only delegates with a truly important title while a guard dismounted and started to talk to the palace guards."Greetings, I present you hereby Lord Aristarkh Zolkrovin, μέγας κονόσταυλος(grand constable) of the Taeletean League and Holy Father Meliton Dakrelios, Metropolitan Bishop of Trazentioch. They've come as delegates of the Taeletean League and request an audience with the Grand Princess and/or the King Consort to talk about possible support for your monarchy."

[New Edom]

The Golden Palace, Quality Bay

"I'm so glad you don't hate her, because she's one of my oldest friends as well as the Heir, so you know, I have to stand by her but it would just wreck me having to choose between you," cried Lavinia. She widened her eyes then even more than they currently were, and exclaimed, "Shit, is that your Mother? What's she doing here? And she's dancing with...Lalery?!"

In fact this was what was happening. Lalery had been really having a good time; after all his hard work in making sure of the government's financial support in a number of nations, companies and financial communities he needed to do some dancing, some fun stuff that didn't require any thought, and he would rather do it with a real woman who knew what she wanted, not some giggling schoolgirl who barely knew what went where.

Thomas Lalery leaned over to her at one point and whispered to her loudly, "Hey, do your children know where you are? I can't believe you're someone's mother, you blow all the women at your court away. You've got the moves, lady."

Out in the parking lot, Malachi Unwerth nodded nonchalantly in the direction of his T-Series Forza Coupe (which was red). "Well, we could go for a spin, drive down near the beach, get some fresh air. I have a little cooler in there with some champagne. You know when you realize your possible death is imminent...the ordinary things in life that get your pulse racing are makes you remember life is worth living."

"Never danced like this before? I'm glad I'm your first..." sighed Uzziel Sharra as he pulled Ona to him to kiss her on the dance floor--by which he intended to prise her lips open with his own, explore her mouth with his tongue, feel the firmness of her backside with his eagerly exploring fingers and rut a bit between their clothed bodies, groin to groin as they moved together on the dance floor. It simply seemed the logical, reasonable thing to do.

[New Edom]

Betharan Palace, Fineberg, New Edom

The streets leading up to Betharan Palace had little traffic that was not vetted--delivery companies that were carefully watched and dealt with through security at previous levels, military traffic, VIPs and services that were also carefully monitored.

Visitors to the country who arrived unexpectedly were dealt with courteously by customs and excise at the airport, but as there had been no warning, on arrival the group of VIPs from Taelete found themselves unable to reach the actual palace gates or any entrance but instead had arrived at a barricade. This barricade, which had an armoured car as well as soldiers in parade dress uniforms (jacket, tie, trousers, polished boots, billed cap) with assault rifles there. They were very polite and the officer of the watch, a young lieutenant, said, "I regret to inform your Excellencies that you will have to wait. I have received no information about any party passing through."

This was passed on to the Officer of the Day of the Palace Guard, who in turn checked with the Appointments Secretary at the Chamberlain's Office to find out if they'd missed something or there had been any last minute changes. The Ministry of Police was also informed and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"It is literally impossible for the Heir to meet with these people at this time," said the Grand Chamberlain upon being consulted by the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs for Transregional Relations. "Her Royal Highness is at the Military District blessing soldiers of the 18th Mounted Light Infantry. She will not be back for at least another two hours."

The Guards officer at the barricade received information on his radio headset, and walked out to where the waiting foreign aristocracy were. "i beg your Excellencies' pardon, but as your visit was unexpected and not arranged, Her Royal Highness was unable to be here. However arrangements will be made for a meeting. In the meantime, officials from the Palace and from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have begun making arrangements for a preliminary meeting at the Majestic Hotel. There are nearby grounds where stabling is available for parade purposes if that would be satisfactory."

If they were in agreement with this, a mounted escort of the Royal Cavalry Guards in full dress (they were white jacketed lancers with black helmets and scarlet plumes) would lead them to the hotel in question. Suites often held in reserve for VIPs were fortunately vacant.

When the foreign party had been settled by the excellent hotel staff with whatever they needed (if they agreed to go) they would be able to meet with Count Evol Merodach, the Grand Chamberlain, a man in his late twenties with dark wavy hair wearing for the purposes of the meeting a tropical three piece suit, and Mr. Basil Jerome, Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs for Transregional Relations ,a stout balding man with round glasses and a sharp little nose in a similar suit tailored for his plump body, who would meet them in a sitting room where refreshments would be offered, and with pleasant courtesy try to find out what they wanted.

[Arbites]

Harbourtown Waters
Off the coast of New Edom

Admiral Rothbard's forces had continued to assist in mopping up ETC stragglers. Romain had done very well to box in Harbourtown from multiple directions, and Rothbard's aviators had helped do the same from the air. Eventually, the ETC trapped in the city realized the futility of their position, and Rothbard was informed that Captain Ephraim had surrendered the city. Determined to pursue his original objective of denying the rebel forces the opportunity to regroup to the north, Rothbard kept the MiGs and Hinds flying over Bara, searching for remnants moving overland. He coordinated with Romain, and depending on circumstances either conducted airstrikes or directed allied Edomite forces to intercept them.

A few more rebel fighters had attempted to flee out to sea, likely before swinging north. Imperial aircraft were in pursuit of several of them, and they would have come up against Rothbard's destroyer escorts scanning the skies constantly. There was also the rest of the fleet's CAP waiting in the wings to ambush anything that got through all that.

As the days wore on there were fewer fighters in the CAP. The fleet was in the process of refueling after extended operations, with oilers and fast resupply vessels having arrived from East Klamath. To Rothbard's supreme irritation, they were behind schedule. As soon as operations were completed here in Harbourtown, he had to leave for Hylas Cove immediately.

Listening to a rather mellow classical piece in his cabin, he was denied even a few moments of luxury when his Operations chief intruded. Saluting, he reported "Admiral, CAP has detected a group of new naval signals coming from the north."

"Rebels?" Rothbard asked wearily.

"They don't appear to be Edomite, sir. Based on the SIGINT, Intelligence is fairly certain they're Jedorian," he replied.

"Hail them. There's some sort of posturing going on at the border. Find out what they're doing here, then report back," Rothbard ordered. The officer left with another salute.

Feeling a bit brushed off, the officer went back to the bridge and passed on Rothbard's brusque manner to the radio officer. He in tern sent a terse message to the Jedorians. "Unidentified fleet, this is HHV Harbinger of the Imperial Fifth Fleet. Be advised that combat operations are ongoing in Harbourtown waters and airspace. Please identify and state your purpose in this sector so that we may advise friendly units of your approach and intent. If your current orders do not require your presence in Harbourtown, we would recommend a change in course. Over."

[Cacerta]

Harbourtown Airport
Harbourtown, Bara Province, New Edom

“I apologize for not approaching you immediately, Your Highness,” Micaela responded to the Edomite Queen, “As part of my mandated mission, I was required to keep a decently low profile here in the Allied States. However, at this point in time, considering the successful Monarchist takeover and ensuing civil violence against Edenists, I decided to forego my cover. It is unfortunate that you feel your sister and her staff feel you are an acceptable loss.” The agent made a small bow. “To my Queen, you are not. Under the direct orders of Her Highness, Anelyn, and SISMI Chief Milena Torano, I am under direct orders to ensure your safety. On a personal note from the Queen, she would like to see you again as soon as you feel you can.”

[Hittanryan]

Glasstower

At Glasstower's airfield, a number of C-130's had arrived packed full of pallets. If they couldn't tap into Harbourtown's municipal water system due to battle damage or other contamination issues, the FOB in Harbourtown had a reverse osmosis water purifier which would serve until the Foundation could bring in its own. The city was a major port, which meant assuming the battle wound down, they could bring emergency shipments in if there were shortages amongst local distributors. Otherwise the Foundation could just buy the food locally.

There was a key difference with Glasstower. When the Foundation had arrived in east Bara, the camp was already largely constructed. It had no real infrastructure, but people were living in a large number of improvised structures. In Harbourtown they were going to be building a tent city from the ground up. The military was already providing labor towards that end, but by the time they got there it might not be ready.

Chelsea spent her last few hours walking around the camp. She had already said her goodbyes, none of them particularly tearful. A lot of the people who had arrived in Glasstower with her 2 years ago had already left, their work finished. She lost sleep wondering where her former students were right now. Even Catalina was gone, some new job. Instead as she walked she looked at the people who had a new lease on life. Some newcomers had arrived from the fighting to the west and the community just seemed to accept them, scared as they were. Here was where Chelsea had finally entered the real world.

Before she could complete her circuit, however, the phone in her pocket buzzed. A text message indicating the plane was ready, and they should all assemble on the tarmac in anticipation of taking off quickly. A few minutes later she was back at the airfield with her bag, waiting for the plane's cargo door to open. Most of the people would travel on one of the cargo planes, with part of the hold having been converted into a makeshift airline compartment.

Harbourtown International Airport

In a tent on the tarmac, a number of peacekeeping staff, an Isidium Foundation analyst, the ANBC news crew, and Queen Mara were meeting with Hodgson. He had just greeted everyone and offered some cold water that not too long ago had ice in it. "All right, first I've got a few pieces of good news. The Foundation is apparently ready to move, and we tentatively might have a short window where their flight can come in. The Jedorian contingent is also coming in by sea, with a whole bunch of shovels and people who know how to use 'em. Apparently the drainage and leveling of the camp site is on schedule, courtesy of our engineers."

"So, without further ado I'll get down to the main point of this meeting: public outreach. I've been told by both General Deaton and Mission Coordinator Moreau that three main points should be emphasized. One, we're offering protection from reprisals here in Harbourtown. That means we'll be protecting the camp and offer escorts to groups of refugees moving through the city. Two, we'll provide for displaced persons as best we can at the camp. They'll have food, doctors, and a roof over everyone's heads there. Finally, we're looking to the future as well. Our objectives of facilitating elections and combating electoral violence has not changed, and we are arranging transport for refugees with somewhere to go."

"Seems simple enough, but we need to figure out the best way of getting our message across. Our main issues are credibility and distribution. On the first point, we simply need people to believe us. During the riot, we became increasingly aware that the ETC simply didn't trust the peacekeepers, believing that in conducting riot control measures that we were in fact aligned with their enemies. They disbelieved our neutrality." At this point he turned and faced Mara, who was seated right up front. "Your Majesty, this is part of where you'll come in. You're immediately recognizable as the Queen, people here trust you, and you know how best to reach out to them."

"Then we come to distribution. Somehow we need to get word out to the city as a whole that this camp is being established and what it's for. We're not entirely sure of literacy rates here in Harbourtown, so written fliers and newspapers aren't going to get the job done by themselves. We're probably going to get some canvassers on the street to make public announcements, even go door to door if we have to, and provide security for them. Fortunately, we have a news team here from ANBC with all the equipment we need to make television and, more importantly, radio broadcasts as well." Holly frowned a bit, not knowing who she would need to contact locally, but Travis just nodded in agreement.

To: General Felicity Romain
From: General Louis Deaton
Subject: Aid Flight
Encryption: Moderate

As you are aware by now, Harbourtown has seen a considerable influx of refugees, with at least 100,000 displaced persons currently crowding the streets outside of the Harbourtown International Airport. Many seek protection or passage to other parts of New Edom for fear of reprisal. In an effort to address this issue, the CPO and the Isidium Foundation are constructing a refugee camp outside the airport, using some supplies and equipment from the Adiran peacekeeping contingent along an outline designed by the Foundation.

Some supplies and most of the camp personnel, however, will need to be flown in. We are therefore hoping to open a corridor to the airport through Regency and allied air cover, with all relevant aviation and air defense elements alerted of these flights' approach. Though we would prefer to organize this air corridor within the next 24 hours, the exact time I would leave up to your staff to determine. If the choice must be made, I would prioritize safety over expedience to these flights.

If you require additional information, do not hesitate to contact my office.

Sincerely,
Gen. Deaton

[Ghant]

The Golden Palace Club
Quality Bay, New Edom

Lavinia responded to Arietta’s explanation of her…policy…on Jocasta. "I'm so glad you don't hate her, because she's one of my oldest friends as well as the Heir, so you know, I have to stand by her but it would just wreck me having to choose between you," cried Lavinia.

“Yeah, don’t worry about that,” Arietta said as she watched her mother.

Lavinia widened her eyes then even more than they currently were, and exclaimed, "Shit, is that your Mother? What's she doing here? And she's dancing with...Lalery?!"

Arietta shrugged. “Mom’s been having some issues with dad…well he isn’t really my dad but I call him that, since he was always there. But he is gone now…and mom…sort of a midlife crisis or something. I think becoming a grandmother sort of made the reality settle in, that she is getting old. Doesn’t look it though, does she?” she asked as she threw back another shot.

---

---

Caroline was having a good time, seemed like Lalery was too. She remembered the good old days, the 70s and the 80s, and fell back on the moves that made her a legend in her prime…enough to make the Crown Prince of Ghant cheat on his betrothed with her, anyway. The flame never extinguished, it merely subsided some. She didn’t get out enough, clearly…she often felt so cooped up, and trapped by life. By motherhood, by her fear of exposure and publicity. Of getting old.

Thomas Lalery leaned over to her at one point and whispered to her loudly, "Hey, do your children know where you are? I can't believe you're someone's mother, you blow all the women at your court away. You've got the moves, lady."

That made Caroline smile widely. “You are so very kind, Count. Seems like I still have it. Can you imagine, me thirty year’s younger? I am someone’s grandmother too, if you can believe it,” she told him before laughing vivaciously. “Arietta probably knows, since she is here. But hey, she is a girl grown, she can handle herself, right?”

---

---

Out in the parking lot, Desmera was with Malachi Unwerth, who nodded nonchalantly in the direction of his red T-Series Forza Coupe. "Well, we could go for a spin, drive down near the beach, get some fresh air. I have a little cooler in there with some champagne. You know when you realize your possible death is imminent...the ordinary things in life that get your pulse racing are makes you remember life is worth living."

“You are not going to die, Mal,” Desmera told him with a firmness in her voice. She had a difficult decision to make, in the here and now. The other girls were gossipy, no doubt. Des wondered how they would react and what they might think if she went off with Mal in his sportscar, down to the beach with some champagne. It might be something benign, but look like something else. Not to mention when Marg found out, she would lose her shit. I don’t want to deal with that.

“On the other hand, she didn’t want to alienate him or let him off to do something stupid or even hookup with another girl. But that’s not my problem… the more she thought about it, the more obvious the choice seemed to appear. And yet, what if he is right? What if he dies? Then I will have to feel guilty about rejecting his offer, which seems reasonable.

Torn as she was, she looked at Mal and said, “if you would excuse me, I ought to go to the restroom first.” With that, she excused herself back inside to take a pee…which she really did need to do.

As she did so, Ella emerged in her place. When she saw Mal, she smiled from ear to ear and leaned up against the wall. “Hey Mal…what’s going on out here?” The smaller framed, yet curvaceous brunette’s eyes twinkled as she looked over the car…

---

---

If Princess Ona didn’t feel overwhelmed before…she did now. "Never danced like this before? I'm glad I'm your first..." sighed Uzziel Sharra as he pulled Ona to him.

“…First time for everything,” Ona responded as she let him pull her in. She understood the double entendre, and wasn’t quite sure what to make of it…everything was moving so fast…

Then he kissed her right there on the dance floor. She had never kissed a boy before, and that was the first. Yet, it didn’t stop there…and it wasn’t like it was in the stories and fairy tales. He tried to part her lips open with his own, and tried to stick his tongue in her mouth. She didn’t fight back, but she didn’t return it either, keeping her own tongue frozen in place. He continued to push her boundaries, by feeling the contours of her backside with his eagerly exploring fingers and even began to rut a bit between their clothed bodies, groin to groin as they moved together on the dance floor.

It all made Ona tingle, and shake, feeling things she had never felt before. It was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time…it was all just so overwhelming, and happening so fast. Yet, she couldn’t help but feel violated, and disrespected. She was a Princess of Izotza, not some tavern slut. So when the first chance presented itself, she told him, “I need to use the ladies room.” She did actually have to go, and conveniently so, if only to gather her thoughts and make sense of what was happening.

It simply seemed the logical, reasonable thing to do.

[Jedoria]

Harbourtown Waters
Off the coast of New Edom

The Jedorian 'fleet' was composed of twelve vessels, nine of them large transport craft, Jedorian made Rusulka class ships designed to ferry large amounts of men and equipment. They were pretty unimpressive, large and bulky, but also ugly and industrious. Two of them were Thraxmois class vessels, not un-similar to the Rusulka class, but each of them had a single helipad capable of supporting several types of helicopters, but in this case each carried a single IAR-330 Puma, a utility chopper typically used to ferry troops and supplies quickly.

Their escort was the twelfth ship of the force, a Maestrale class frigate, known as the Dawn Seeker. Her presence here was largely symbolic but unnecessary, the transports had only small armaments for defending against pirates and the like. The Dawn Seeker was sailing ahead of the rest of the ships, offering a token of defense against outside threats. It was a fairly versatile little craft, capable of carrying a pay load for ASW, anti-air and sea operations, but in this case half of it's weapons were offline. After all, who would attack them? In addition, the Dawn Seeker carried two AB-212 helicopters, both of which were still on the craft and were to be used to help ferry personnel and supplies to the mainland once the order to land had been given.

Commander by Captain Epureanu, a stout but short man from the outskirts of Tharkad, he had planned to retire to his quarters after receiving his orders to catch up on the novel he had been reading, but was denied the opportunity when his communications officer suddenly reported an incoming message.

"Sir, message from a vessel identified as the HHV Harbringer. It's an Arbiter ship, 5th fleet. They want to know why we're here."

Epurneanu frowned, he probably should of thought about encountering some of Edom's allies, but he hadn't been told to expect anything. Nevertheless, it seemed a simple enough request, given the fighting here, so he saw no reason to refuse to answer.

Shortly after receiving it, a reply was sent back to the Harbinger.

"This is CNS Dawn Seeker, escorting eleven transport ships carrying peacekeepers to assist in CPO operations in and around Harbourtown. Following the development of a refugee crisis in the city, General Deaton, commander of the CPO forces in New Edom, ordered us redeployed to assist current CPO assets already in the city with establishing relief and support centers. Over."

The Jedorian ships didn't slow down, not that it mattered much. They were already crawling at a snails pace in knots out of fear of running into any potentially dangerous debris that might be floating around in the water. Any aerial observation of the fleet could see the Dawn Seeker was operating under normal conditions, it wasn't actively trying to search for any submarines or aircraft, and the half of it's weapons that were online remained idle.

[New Edom]

Harbourtown

The Purging

Peter Misabel was saluted and arms were presented as he got out of a Naval V-22 Osprey that had brought him to Harbourtown. The tall, thin, balding Attorney-General was grim faced but chin proudly lifted. He wore a black court uniform (made of light cotton) and walked with brisk steps accompanied by staff. Along with him had arrived senior civil servants, magistrates and other officials who were to reform Harbourtown.

"We are going to conduct as many of the trials as possible quickly," said Misabel to assembled officials later on. "The Vice-Ethnarch, his senior officials, militia leaders that were captured have priority, even if they managed to get to the CPO they can be tried in absentia or have a say as they wish."

"What about the CPO?" asked a Foreign Ministry LIaison.

"They can have observers present and help escort the prisoners. Ultimately we make it clear that it is up to the prisoners whether they want to stand trial and face justice or not," said Misabel. "But we will schedule all the trials publicly and make it clear that they have ample time to appear, prepare a defense and so on."

"What about attacks on Edenists going on?" an official from the Ministry of Culture, a myopic old man with a very mechanical looking hearing aid shouted.

"We have to stop them!' Misabel said loudly. "I want to change this tactic of having all our officials wear clothes all the time! It's the perfect right of every citizen to be naked in public if they want to--they just don't have to anymore!"

"What, you don't want us to..." said a prosecutor from the office of the Judge-Advocate-General of the Army.

"No, no, those who are entitled to uniforms displaying their rank or to clothing that accomplishes the same are simply encouraged to be seen doing normal recreational activity or occasionally filmed at home relaxing on a lawn or something," said Peter Misabel reassuringly. "Nothing that diminishes anyone's well earned status. We're not trying to establish a heretical sense that nakedness is sinful, merely establish that clothing is not sinful and that treated it as such will not be tolerated. The Queen is always naked. Let's remind people of that."

"The Queen is a saint," said the prosecutor from the Judge-Advocate-General's office. There were murmurs of agreement.

Mean Streets

The city was far from fully pacified. Graffiti appeared as if by magic on some walls.

DOWN WITH THE MONARCHY!

THE HEIR IS A WHORE FOR PRINCE MICHAEL! (with crude but vivid illustrations)

There were occasional attacks on Monarchist and Ghantish patrols in and around Harbourtown--seemingly random, an IED here, a rocket or sniper attack there. Helicopters of the Imperium and the National Navy and National Air Force continued to hover over the city to provide recon and cover for troops responding to these 'unwarranted and cowardly attacks' as the National New Edomite News Network reported them.

Suspected ETC prisoners, herded from their homes, naked, unpainted or partly painted or bare entirely, shielding their eyes from police lights, were zip tied, while hundreds of jeering citizens threw garbage at them and screamed at them.

"I'm not ETC, I'm HCC!" cried a man in protest before being slammed against a land rover's roof silenced him with the wind knocked out.

Prisoners hauled down stairs and out of doors were sometimes met by a gauntlet of angry Lecks and NWP activists or were even arrested by them as citizens' arrests and brought before local courts, prisoners having been kicked, slapped, pinched.

Some citizens protested this treatment. They didn't love the ETC, but Edenism was a popular movement that was now being wrongly identified with treason and sedition. Years of frustration with the excesses of the ETC were being voiced.

"We've forgotten," one man interviewed by Tim Stanton said, "That they used to fight for our freedom. I think they just lost their way. Who would have thought things could be worse under the ETC and the Free Congress than they were under King Mark, that we'd long for those days and be glad to have the Heir ruling over us?"

Posters of the Prophet, of Sarah Carmel were defaced, burned; their writings and books went into oil drum fires.

Military Police and citizens' militias of the NWP and Intellectual Parties, newly formed, were reluctant to interfere.

However for many ordinary citizens, they found that they could go to work, school and to the markets without having to regularly strip to pray. They found that they were not on suspect lists for what they read, they found that they were allowed to seek medical attention before they were desperately sick, they found that they were at last allowed to register to vote. A line up of citizens waiting to do this, waving at cameras and smiling was called on NENN news "A victory for democracy."

The Meeting

Mara was exhausted. She was trying not to yawn, but months of tension were catching up to her, and in a way all she wanted to do was sleep. But she had work to do.

Listening to Hodgson talk, she had little to dispute, much to praise. "Colonel, your people have come a long way to help ours, and it is a debt that will never be forgotten." She kept her legs crossed and thighs together; she was very conscious increasingly of being the only naked person around, and at times would catch people glancing at her body, would feel very aware as she reached for a glass of water of her breasts moving freely. For Mara, as for most Edomites of her social rank, it was less a matter of being embarrassed at the idea of nakedness itself so much as it made her feel humiliated socially in this particular context. In a way though she relished it; she accepted it like prayer. They could throw her in a hole in a ground and drown her if it would save her country.

"I will help with the public announcements," she said. "I will meet with officials. But I must go to Hillel, and I must do so publicly. I think though that we will be united in cause in this. If it is clearly stated that I am a champion of all my people that all I want is peace then...if the End Times Church does turn on me, that will ruin them. I will gladly martyr myself to save my country."

She considered his other words. "People in Harbourtown are more literate than people in places like Glasstower, Dundabend, Dunrigain and so on...it is an industrial city, people need to be able to read shipping labels and warning signs. But people still listen to radio a lot and the middle classes and up will watch television more often, at least in public places. Posters will help too, simple ones. Speak to Church leaders, speak to local community leaders."

To Micaela, she said, "You may come with me to Hillel, if you wish, and remain with me here. I warn you--Cacerta is not likely to be very popular up there now, for a number of reasons, and if they harm me in some way they definitely will harm you. I will not stop you, but i must warn you. They may want revenge, they may want to coerce me or use me in some way."

Of her message from Anelyn, she said with a smile, "Tell her that I still care for her deeply and am grateful for all she has done to help, and I do miss her. I have my wor to do here--duty must come first, but my love goes to her. Will you please tell her that, and that I think of her only with fondness?"

[Taelete]

Fineberg, Majestic Hotel

As soon as the delegation was on its way to the Majestic Hotel expressed Aristarkh silently his discontent about the fact that Meliton, who had had the responsebility of contacting the New Edomite ministery of foreign affairs, hadn't written any letter or telegram to New Edom. The Edomite welcome, with Royal Cavalry Guards and an appointment at the Majestic Hotel, had, however, softened the 18 year old Aristarkh on his first real foreign diplomatic mission. The trip to the hotel was a silent one as none of the delegates could talk about diplomatic things without the Edomite guards hearing it. Meliton guessed it could well be an Edomite trick to bring the elegation out of balance.

When the group arrived at the Hotel moved the delegates all to their given suites to take refreshments before they moved to the sitting room to meet the Edomite Count Evol Merodach, the Grand Chamberlain, and Mr. Basil Jerome. Just when Meliton opened the door of his suite was Meliton stopped by Aristarkh who walked inside and asked:"Why hadn't you informed the Edomites of our arrival, bishop. What did you hope to archieve?" Meliton closed his door and ordered a guard to block the door so nobody could enter to hear what the men discussed. With a soft voice answered Meliton:"That's simple, Aristarkh. You and the High Council wanted this mission to happen without too much attention and if our visit would be officially prepared would half the Ghantish and Edomite courts know that we're here." Aristarkh looked at him and frowned, but he knew that the bishop was right and he said:"Discuss it next time with me before we act. Now come with me, we'll go meet the Grand Chamberlain and the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs for Transregional Relations. The other delegates are already waiting for us." After these words walked Aristarkh to the door. Meliton ordened his richly decorated robes before following Aristarkh.

The delegation followed an employee of the hotel and arrived in the sitting room where they met Count Evol Merodach and Mr. Basil Jerome. The delegates sat down before the two Edomians and Aristarkh opened the talks:"Greetings, gentlemen, Lord Merodach, MR. Jerome, I'm Aristarkh Zolkrovin. Thank you for the great welcome here in New Edom. We had decided not to publicly announce our visit in order to keep these meetings in a closer circle and for such an unexpected visit have we been treated very well. Is their anything we can already do for you in return before we start our diplomatic talking?"

[New Edom]

The Majestic Hotel, Fineberg, New Edom

"High Constable, it is a great honour to make your acquaintance," said Mr. Jerome politely, bowing his head.

"Indeed, a great honour," said Count Merodach. "I hope you all have everything you need. We hope you will continue to accept our hospitality here as long as you require."

When Aristarkh finished speaking, the two men smiled, glanced at one another, then Count Merodach said, "I do understand your requirement of secrecy, though naturally communicating discreetly in future would make things a lot easier." He had said earlier, "What were they thinking? Riding a horse parade of foreign outfits in the city? Was it supposed to be a grand parade?"

"They were lucky we didn't impound the horses for hoof and mouth," said Jerome. "Maybe we should."

However none of this exchange was revealed to the foreign dignitaries now, they were all smiles instead. The stable used would discreetly take samples from the animals to make sure they had no infectious diseases of course.

"Please do go ahead and tell us what brings you to Fineberg, Your Excellency," said Count Merodach, "And how we can best arrange a meeting with the Heir and pertinent officials according to your mission here."

[Taelete]

New Edom, Fineberg, Majestic Hotel

Aristarkh answered:"We have come here with two proposals that both can be accepted or declined without affecting the other proposal. The first offer is made by the nations of the Taeletean League and handles of the potential offer of troops and supplies to the Monarchy in order to keep your royal house in power. In return will we ask for an official alliance that would create social, economical and military cooperation between the Taeletean League and New Edom. The second offer is made by the Patriarchal Church of Krionarlassion and will be brought forward by Metropolitan bishop Meliton Dakrelios." As Aristarkh slightly nodded rose Meliton. His white with gold robes showed his importance in Taelete.

Meliton started to speak with a calm voice:"The most holy church of Krionarlassion proposes the fusion of the Edomite churches and the patriarchal church of Krionarlassion. This union will save New Edom from any faith uprisings as the church of Krionarlassion is a loyal supporter of your monarchy. The small difference in rites our churches have will be removed in a great council, here in Fineberg where all our churches will melt together and unite into one, strong church that will support your monarchy instead of rebelling against it. I understand that there will be much resistance against such a fusion but if your government and our church act together in the right way, and if we treaten all churches as equals will it create a better future for New Edom. Free of any religious conflicts."

Aristarkh took the word now again:"Now with knowledge of our proposal can we do no more then asking you what you think to be the best way of arranging a meeting with the Heir and pertinent officials."

[New Edom]

The Majestic Hotel, Fineberg, New Edom

Basil Jerome cleared his throat and said, "Sir, the offers you are making are very thoughtful...and unexpected as we have had little in the way of anything beyond the most formal relations before.

"First of all: the Monarchy is winning the war against the rebels. I don't know how much you are aware of it, but they have been defeated entirely in Bara Province, leaving only Teman and Lookinghaven Provinces held by them. There they are surrounded; we control the seas. We have frozen nearly all their assets. The industrial hub between the cities of Lookinghaven and Nass are going to be the next targets. It is vital that we do not appear to require anything more than the smallest military aid from other countries. What we have already is considered almost excessive--the support of the Imperium of Arbites, the Kingdom of Cacerta, the Republic of Hutanjia and the Late Roman Empire. When you consider, it's quite a lot. Adding another nation would make it look like we could not win without a vast foreign coalition."

He cleared his throat again and leaned forward with a smile. "Now of course, there are other ways one nation can help another, and we can certainly discuss that, and building relations. Perhaps there is something your nation needs our help with that you might want to talk about...."

"As touching the matter of the churches," said Count Merodach, "The Royal Family is Apostolic, which is very similar to Orthodox in a number of respects, concerning the liturgy, the sacraments, the views on salvation...we certainly could approach things from an ecumenical perspective, though we'd need the Archbishop or someone in similar authority to speak regarding that. The End Times Church is one of the Council of Five Churches which are part of official Christianity in our country."

[New Edom]

Hylas Cove, Lookinghaven

Lieutenant-General Felicity Romain did not personally read or review General Deaton's message. She stood on the observation deck of the LHD watching the landings through field glasses with some members of her staff. General Samson, Colonel Androcles, Lieutenant-Colonels Havoth-Jair and wendt, Captain Weber stood there also either looking through field glasses or using communications equipment as the LCACs roared towards the shore in the predawn light, helicopters thundering ahead of them. Flashes and explosions rippled along the shoreline and the cliffs on either side. The howling of ships' guns and missile launchers, the stench of drifting battle smoke surrounded them.

Captain Weber glanced at her commanding officer, with her open Battle Dress tunic, got a clear view of how exquisitely tone her arms and shoulders were. Her blouse clung tightly around her tone, slender torso and her breasts could now showed just how immaculately big, firm and gorgeous they were; protruding boldly out just beneath the pale green cotton.

The pulse of her throat, the flexing of her jaw as she chewed her favourite spearmint gum that made her breath smell so nice and mingled with the scent of her perfume which was like lilacs.

Unlike Wendt (who was pretty, girlish, curvy hipped but delicate in her build) or Weber herself (who was scrawny, lean with boyish strength) Romain was an amazon, but a beautiful one.

"Captain, are you deaf?" snapped Wendt, eying her.

"Um, no, Colonel..."

"Get the General's transport ready," said Wendt, glaring at her coldly.

Bitch. "Yes Ma'am," said Weber. She heard Wendt say out loud, "Send her back to the cavalry, she should be landing on that beach, not on the staff." There was a chuckle, generally, and her face burned; then she faintly heard as she was heading down the companionway from their position, "Enough of that, we were all young once."

God her voice was beautiful. Weber went out to check with the helicopter crew, she didn't have to go in person but it was better out here. Maybe Wendt was right; she belonged among the screaming turbines, the bustle of supply units; she asked what the ETD was, the crew chief said irritably, "Five minutes, Captain. Why don't you supervise us real quiet like up there?" he jerked a thumb up. Weber glared at him. At least she could take things out on him; he recognized he'd gone too far in his impatience to get his work done and shouted, "Sorry Captain, we're just in a big rush," his grin now servile.

"Just watch your damned tongue," she said coldly and headed back up. She paused at one of the heads and ran her face under cold water. Then hurried up, tired of feeling like an unwanted stepchild on the staff.

The staff were then bustling out onto the landing deck, moving to their designated birds.

"They've taken the cliffs, they did it," reported Wendt with glee, looking up from her headset.

"We have reports of enemy movements on the roads out of Nass. Air Force should be hitting them about now," reported Havoth-Jair coolly.

Weber felt the familiar lurch as the helicopter lifted up, and they were soaring out over the water, escorts lean and deadly nearby, and they could see the LCACs pulling back, their deadly cargos moving up the beacchead. Sprawled figures here and there. In the grey light, Marine Infantry moving like little toys beside the boxes of their APCs rumbling dust along the road and in the bluff grasses. Lancers swarmed over the nearby villages. Spread out over six klicks long and six deep, the two thousand troops of the first wave had landed and overrun the meager defenses.

'Well done, Excellency," said Weber, turning towards Romain, who was smiling. God, that smile, she felt the blood rushing to various parts of her body, her heart racing, ready to melt for those cool blue eyes.

"Thank you," said Romain with her lips curling sweetly, looking down. "What's going on down there?" she asked, nodding her chin.

"One of the LCACs hit something, engineers are clearing the area before that part of the LZ is used further," said Wendt crisply.

"Very well. We can report to General Unwerth; first wave successful, second wave commencing. Set us down on the bluffs, I want a better look," said Romain. "Well done so far everyone."

[Hittanryan]

Harbourtown Streets

As the peacekeepers received more refugees, reports of mob violence started filtering in. Impromptu militias and occasionally even mobs were making "arrests" of suspected ETC. With the Monarchists tied down in mopping up actions, it was apparent that the CPO would have to act in its remit to protect civilians. Patrols were sent out to trouble spots, while the CPO tried to negotiate resuming UAV surveillance of the city. In cases where Monarchist regulars were the ones making the arrests, peacekeepers tried to make sure they happened according to proper procedure and with a minimum of violence. The MP's kept notes on the treatment of prisoners by Regency forces, unable to intervene directly but making sure to report any abuses to the CPO.

In instances where vengeful Leck and NWP supporters congregated to try to harass the ETC, things got hairier. General Deaton's office tried to contact Marcus Campion and the Leck's new HQ to see if he could urge restraint amongst their respective parties. MP's moving through the streets tried to establish cordons and safe corridors for refugees and prisoners, but found themselves running into the militias' turf. Some contested the peacekeepers' authority and asserted they had the right to assemble and drive out the ETC.

As a gauntlet of Lecks and NWP formed outside an apartment where an arrest was being made, Sergeant Shi and her squad pulled up in Humvees. The squad disembarked and cautiously approached the crowd alongside the Monarchist troops. Over a loudspeaker, Shi announced to the crowd "Attention, this is the CPO. In accordance with our mission, all civilians in Harbourtown fall under our protection, including the ETC. For your safety we must ask that this crowd move back twenty meters, and I must speak with whoever is in charge of carrying out this arrest."

A woman then angrily shouted something about the riot, about the murders and destruction that took place, garnering an approving, angry response from the people around them. Getting off the loudspeaker, Shi approached the woman and said "We remember the riot. We were the ones trying to stop it, trying to protect all of you from them. My position even came under fire by militia. We know what they did. That's why this has to be done properly." The crowd at least seemed to hesitate, and moved back a few meters with a bit of urging. Not really far enough, but Shi supposed she'd have to take it for now.

Then someone in the crowd yelled something else, at which point they resumed shouting at Shi's patrol and now started throwing trash as well. Shi blocked some kind of beverage container, which splashed what might have been tea all over her arm in doing so. 'Nothing's ever simple...' she thought.

The Airport

To some who had spent extended periods of time in New Edom Mara's state of undress hadn't raised much of a fuss, especially the Isidium people who had lived in Glasstower for two years now. She did, however, still draw the occasional glance. Even devoid of any kind of sexual context and aware of the religious connotations of nudity in their surroundings, she was still an attractive woman on full display.

When Mara spoke of martyrdom, a few people looked at her with a concerned expression. However, Hodgson held his gaze. "You've already sacrificed much for your country, Your Majesty. If I can offer a suggestion though, just bear in mind that New Edom will still need someone like you after peace is achieved as well," he said, before being interrupted by somebody who spoke to him quietly. "Apologies, apparently I missed a detail. The Isidium flights will be coming in today. Presumably that means it's possible for us to open an air corridor, though I'd have to see what kind of schedule we're looking at. We will get you to Hillel, Your Majesty, and quickly, I promise."

Holly then raised her hand as though she was in a lecture, drawing a few questioning looks from around the tent. "Colonel? What are you wanting us to film exactly?"

"They'll be public service announcements, Ms. Lemay, emphasizing the points I raised earlier. Since we have you here, we were hoping that you might volunteer your skills as a director in setting them up," he said simply.

"My..." she stammered at first. That same nagging voice came back in her head: 'You're not a real director.' Now she was working on something where lives might be at stake. If she backed down now though, nothing would get done. She felt Hodgson looking at her expectantly. "Of course. Yes, I'll help." She looked over at Mara.

"Good. Can you start right away?" Hodgson asked. "Time is of the essence here."

"I...yes," Holly replied. She looked up at Chris, who nodded in approval.

After the meeting, Holly found Mara. "Your Majesty, oh wow, you look tired. Do you want a coffee? Do you need some rest? I know I could use a shower," she said sympathetically. "I have a few ideas, but it's just...I've never worked on anything this important before. I was wondering if I could talk to you about this so I can get a script ready and talk to Travis about footage and stuff."

[Hittanryan]

To: Peter Misabel, Attorney-General, Regency of New Edom
CC: Harbourtown Municipal Officials
From: General Louis Deaton
Subject: Jurisdiction
Encryption: Moderate

In your press statement, you spoke out against violence directed against Edenists in Harbourtown and called for moderation. In this you are entirely aligned with the CPO's own goals. As you are aware, preventing politically-motivated violence and protecting civilians in general are major components of our mission. As combat operations wind down, we have resumed street patrols and reestablished security at polling stations and other positions key to the election.

These patrols have come into contact with vigilante militia apprehending Edenists from their homes as well as anti-Edenist mobs in the streets. When peacekeepers have attempted to intercede, they have been met with resistance in many cases. Part of the issue is jurisdiction, in that the militias do not recognize the CPO's mission while considering themselves Harbourtown's new authorities. Obviously the issue is further complicated by emotions still running high from the widespread riots last week. We are also attempting to contact party leaders in the hopes of mitigating violence, but given the spontaneous nature of these attacks we cannot count on this to prevent attacks entirely.

Faced with these challenges, I was hoping to work with you in the interest of carrying out our mission to the best of our ability. If confronted by militia, it may help peacekeepers legitimize their mission if they can claim to be acting on authority from the Attorney General. We are starting a public outreach campaign as well, though this may take some time to organize and disseminate.

I hope you will share your thoughts on this matter and look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,
Gen. Deaton

[Hutanjia]

TEMAN BORDER AREA

Emerald Group, the battalion sized element from the First RCT of the Hutanjian Republican Army, reached their marks (and potential jump off points). They got the hand off from the forward elements of the Edomite special operations teams, known as the Rovers, as well as various other outposts of Monarchist forces monitoring the enemy.

Immediately, resistance was felt as the ETC militia and Theocratic forces began to fire upon the incoming Hutanjians. The Rangers, the first to arrive in advance of the mechanized sub groups, took heavy fire as they advanced a few kilometers from their LZs. They promptly went for cover and returned fire, calling in any artillery in range as well as possible air strikes on larger concentrations of the rebels. Light casualties were taken, mostly light wounds that could be tended to by medics to return the Rangers to functionality until in depth medical treatment could be rendered.

In one instance, one LZ was in sight of mortars, snipers and marksmen of the ETC militia. Three UH-100 transport helicopters touched down in quick succession and received a large hail of fire. Two of them were able to disgorge their occupants without too much hassle, but for some holes in their fuselages. The third one suffered a near hit from a mortar round, along with a RPG, which overcame the armor. With luck, the crew and Ranger squad within were able to evacuate before the smoldering wounds turned to full blaze and engulfed the crippled bird. One crew member and one Ranger were dragged away by their comrades, having been too near the hits to the chopper and suffered shrapnel wounds. Within seconds, the UH-100 went up in a fireball.
The surviving transported Rangers, with renewed vigor, sought out their attackers to even the score, but for one who stayed with the crew to escort them onto one of the lingering mildly pinged helicopters.

The reports flooded in as Colonel Hudagku’s team of vehicles found a bit of woods to park in and take account of the accelerating operation. He continued to monitor the scattered engagements while holding off on micromanaging his junior officers. They had things under relative control. While his troops were largely unaware of the imminent Edomite amphibious operation on Lookinghaven, tantamount to this era and region’s Inchon landing, he was informed and able to put it in the bigger picture of how the Hutanjian contribution would aid the overtaking of the last of the Theocratic resisters. Even he, however, was unaware of the exact Zero Hour of the landings scheduled to hit the Lookinghaven beaches. It wouldn’t matter as their operations to secure their area continued unabated.

The CAS aircraft, Super Etendards, gunships and LIRCAS Sergeants swooped in to put paid to the rebels who stubbornly held out against Monarchist subjugation. The irony was not lost on some who saw the fall of the Hutanjian Monarcy firsthand, and the introduction of the Republic, albeit under far different circumstances.

Meanwhile, the Shrikes and KaF-37s of the 6th Squadron swooped in on any AA efforts from the rebels. SAMs, MANPADs, AA guns and any protective guard around them were blasted. Some reports from radar, some from attacked ground and CAS units, some fed by allied AWACs and Howler One. The brave pilots of the 6th took them in rapid order, as soon as they could deal with them. A KaF-37 was hit by ground AA fire and forced to turn around as its systems began to fail. It made it to base before fully losing control.

Meanwhile, the ground crews furiously worked to exhaustion to return aircraft to fighting shape that had suffered similar devastation during the previous Battles of Salcah and Jabbok, with parts sent in from resupply transports, borrowed from the Edomites, or scavenged from redlined aircraft that would never take to the skies again.

The first batches of the rabble rousers, the troops that had been central to the incidents in question by the regional press and the Fineberg Times, began to arrive at the battlefront, to have their seats taken by soldiers and Rangers wounded, or found unfit for battle for some reason, personal, medical or otherwise.

Hudagku was ready, and had a message sent out, not just to the Emerald Group net, but throughout the 1 RCT net and then beyond, to the 2 RCT and Task Force sent to Dengali.

It has become paramount that we fight with the most honor we can for the ideals of the Hutanjian Republic. Overall, I am most impressed with our progress during this campaign and the feats accomplished in support of our allies. That being said, the horrible accounts of actions to befall Edomite civilians, prisoners and enemy combatants at the hands of us...The Hutanjians, is nothing short of reprehensible. The compassion we show to those to fall to our might says a lot about our national character. Right now, that character is in jeopardy and it is thanks to some of you. It does not matter how we view the enemy, their support, whether they were shooting at us, or whether they cowered in fear. What matters is how we treat them at the moment of contact, and in those moments post victory. That is how we will be judged. Let not those post-victory moments far eclipse the decisive effect of that moment of contact and overpowering of our foe...Let me put it in simpler terms for yeh. Ye bring dishonor ta da HRA, ya bring it on ya famileh and all de peepul! Ye will hang from de rope, if ya survive de lead storm. For the glory, his and ours...Dis be de Colonel. Fight on!

FINEBERG

Major Bosamto and the Ambassador, along with their aides, prepared for their appointment at Dr. Aphek’s offices. There was not much more to discuss or go over. Both men knew their place, their stance and that of the Republic on the matters that had taken place in Western Bara. There was little that could be done to undo the events, other than punish the guilty, or make them disappear, as the Colonel had commenced to make happen. For now, their duty was to answer questions to the best of their ability, while still upholding the honor of Hutanjia. It would be a hard line to follow, but they were determined to do what they could. They hoped that the Colonel's speech would have the desired effect of stopping any further incidents from occurring.

DENGALI

The Task Force unloaded more supplies as the last of the 2nd RCT made their way onto Dengali territory. Combat Air Patrols continued to circle and traverse the frontier that bordered Deadora, while FOBs were fabricated, dug out, and put up in a few days. By airlift convoy with refuelers, members of the 1st Bn/ 23rd Engineer Regiment arrived at airfields in Dengali in order to help with the construction. Only the smallest of gear was sent along, while Hutanjian government clerks and agents had worked tirelessly over the phone and through computer in order to secure larger construction gear and vehicles from Cornellian civilian companies that could be picked up and ferried to Dengali sooner than the unit’s stuff at home in Hutanjia.

Vice Admiral Dofemka continued to review reports, while meeting with Colonel Tawanga both onboard the ship and on shore. While Dofemka had some oversight, the Colonel was running land operations. Whenever possible, he would be calling on the Admiral’s Task Force, the carriers air support and the missile batteries and long range guns of some of the capital ships for coastal counter ops. For now, it was all theoretical as the Deadorans had skirmished with Edomite air and border patrols, but not made all out moves for war...yet.

[Taelete]

New Edom, Fineberg, Majestic Hotel

Aristarkh was worried although he did not show it in any detail. Meliton and Loukas had indeed told him that the war was being won by the monarchists but that the victory was this close had Aristarkh not realized. He did, however, understand the Edomite refusal of help and he tought that was maybe even better. The possible alliance with New Edom, however, had to remain an option and Aristarkh searched a reason to continue the talks with New Edom. "I fully understand your reasoning, gentlemen. I would have done the same in your position but we hadn't realized that the conflict was already so far in your favour. I do also fully agree to your second point that we can help eachother ways. It is for that reason that I keep the offer of any humanitarian or financial aid to your nation open and we're still very interested in establishing relations, but before I stat any talks about it, is your nation actually interested in economical and diplomatic cooporation with the Taeletean League?"

Meliton added to this:"About the possible approach between our churches do I want to say that I'm happy with your answer. I'll certainly take up contact with the churches but I wanted to make certain that there were no objections from your government. I hope that we can in the end get to an agreement as an union between our churches would certainly be good for both sides in several ways."

[New Edom]

The Invasion of Teman

Hylas Cove

Elements of the logistics and transport units started to disembark from one of the John Shepherd Class vessels. A Chief Boatswain's Mate was barking orders on the mouth piece of his satellite communication system, dictating instructions on what task force to be loaded on which LCACs. Signals, ammunition and engineers had been disembarked already. Twenty "Mule" cargo combat vehicles, fifty Pseudonja (land rover) multi-purpose, four wheeled combat vehicles, including specialist vehicles that operated as ambulances and other purposes. The naval personnel were coordinating with the senior logistics officer and staff to organize these movements.

Lieutenant Count Alexander Domris of the Royal Cavalry Guards stood tall in the cupola of his tank, leading his platoon forward, the gravelly beach crunching under the tank's treads as it rumbled down the ramp from the hovercraft, leading two other tanks, two APCs and an armoured recon vehicle, an M28 Vigilo.

They moved past a collection of command and signals vehicles, directed by a beachmaster from the Navy, who stood with a Lesser Griffon, a mascot for the fleet, standing alertly, calmer probably than some of the younger soldiers, now and then fluffing its crest heartily and cocking its yellow and black eyes venemously around while the burly naval officer directed transport.

Lowering himself in and closing the hatch once he had seen the last of his platoon off the landing craft, he received communication from his squadron commander, Major Zadek, who informed him that enemy movements had been detected by the UAV assigned to their unit. Orders were to move up to support the advance of the 9th Marine Infantry along the Sea Highway. They would bound past 21st Lancers had had already combed through the position around the road area and were moving escorted by helicopters. The advance had begun.

The enemy movements showed vehicles that intelligence had not known that they had, including infantry fighting vehicles that had clearly been produced in secret in factories that had been built for Wolf Armaments and were done illegally, clearly. (not that that was the personnel of Operation Centurion's first thought) Almost certainly the first sightings had been happy accidents; the others were clearly concealed within the countryside. It would be only a matter of time before they were found, but it would hopefully be on terms good for the expeditionary force.

Lieutenant-Colonel Wendt reported that Roman forces had encountered ETC stragglers along the coast of Bara near the Teman border. The Hutanjian Emerald Group had encountered larger forces and their LZs had encountered heavy weapons and sniper fire. Romain, upon being informed that Colonel Hudagku was continuing to press the enemy, nodded to her. An M8 Li Toneur main battle tank leading an armoured platoon began to move off a hovercraft nearby. Wendt checked her watch.

The Teman-Bara Border

Naked militia, hiding in the partly concealing marsh grasses and low lying trees, dropped 82mm mortar shells into tubes at the commands of the battery NCOs, and with loud thumps they went flying up into the air. Helicopters buzzed overhead; a loud explosion as one was hit in the distance.

Not far off, two crouching MANPADs teams took aim and fired rockets at enemy aviation, like others seeking targets of opportunity as the enemy air raids struck at any exposed units.

ETC fighters collapsed or were blown apart by air strikes and strafing as they scrambled for cover, fleeing approaching enemy attacks. They ran mindlessly, only training enforcing the need for cover. The greener ran around stupidly like frightened mice and were killed on the spot.

Shuddering ETC infantry cowered as artillery blasts slammed into the marshy ground and ripped tree limbs off, blasted foliage into the sky. Here and there the militia were hit, blown to pieces. Fighting by platoon strength units, they fought back where they could, with machineguns, grenades and rifles.

Snipers sought targets of opportunity too. They wanted to hit radio operators, officers, senior NCOs, whatever they could to disrupt the lines of communication and command. The snipers, wearing camouflage to cover their backs from aerial view, moved in pairs of spotter and shooter, separating from the main units, cautiously seeking concealment to strike at the enemy ability to lead the offensive.