Sweet sorrow in Tarquinia.

[Sarrowquand]

The celebrations of Ivalica’s independence party were winding down as the population of the capital exhausted what stamina remained to it in smaller parties and minor events. A happiness of civil satisfaction, hung in the air.

The emperor’s sons had managed what few young royals could and split power between themselves without a fight or show of rivalry and so the party had been untainted by the usual posturing and manoeuvring that haunted the international scene. These two boys knew each other well enough that they didn’t need to measure their armies over the dinner table.

Lillian was ready to head home and get back to her life in the Dominion but as usual Ipson felt the need to stay and see the party out. In this case he had met up with some new, or possibly old friend and had made plans to head on up to Alyxandreta and then Reijavik, he was even talking about visiting a general he knew in The Wolf Hold whom he said he had fond memories of.

She found it annoying that he wasn’t going to travel back with her and she wasn’t mollified by his claims that he’d be able to hook an ambassador position if he could just tour enough of Tarquinia successfully.

As for herself she missed her mother and needed to get back too university, so it was a parting for the two of them.

They separated at La Orleans Treno, a tear in his eye and a kiss on her check. Not sure when they’d see each other again. Then she headed back to the airport to board the Silenkov Sl-14 alone.

[The Wolf Hold]

Somewhere over the sea

Like modern birds of prey the four F-22s glided across the clear blue sky, their electronic eyes fixed on their target a Silenkov Sl-14 belonging to the nation of Sarrowquand. The pilots were members of the infamous Blackjack squadron, a group of top pilots who were tasked with flying the eight F-22s which had received slight modifications and a new paint job to resemble Parilisan F-26As. The squadron had been created after the battle of Exengrad as The Wolf Hold faced rising tensions with Parilisa and ODECON, their mandate was to under orders from the Commander of the Federal Airforce help sow dissent and conflict with other nations by imitating aircraft of ODECON nations and now the four aircraft were burning fuel in an attempt to tip another nation into the fire of the developing Darfolk Crisis.

"Blackjack lead to flight I have the target on my RADAR, raise altitude from 20 ft to 20,000 ft and begin attack, you are weapons free" The aircraft that had been skimming the sea suddenly all shot up simultaneously, gaining height as they moved to full thrust activating their target radars, their AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles getting locks within seconds, target lock tones ringing in the cockpit of each plane. Sure in their actions full well knowing that they were attacking the plane of an ally they pressed the studs on their flight sticks calls of "Fox three, fox three" filling the radio as the four missiles streamed towards airliner.

Wolf Holdian AWACS Demon

"Blackjack should be about to make the attack, send the flash warning" Major Dartmoor of the Military Intelligence Service, a stranger addition to the AWACS crew gave the order that was the second part of the deception. The AWACS powerful communications suite began broadcasting on all allied frequencies.
"This is Federal Airforce AWACS Demon, air defence warning, Parilisan F-26A interceptors have been spotted in the area, be advised they have been confirmed as hostile, I repeat hostile Parilisan F-26s in the area" The technician repeated the message once more then went back to his previous duty, watching the RADAR display as the four symbols representing Blackjack squadron closing on the Sarrowquandian aircraft.

[Sarrowquand]

Lillian Silinky woke up as the plane lurched in the air and she was nearly thrown from her seat. She had taken a heavy sedative earlier in the flight to help her sleep and still felt groggy.

The first thing she noticed was that one of the wings seemed to be spinning of the plane and into the distance, strange. She turned her neck slightly to check on the other wing but as she did the Silenkov began to plummet and her world went red.

………………………………………………………………………………………


The Wolf Hold broadcast received immediate attention from the DAFI airbase on Overwatch Island and was treated as a high priority. Although the Wolf Hold had caused problems for many nations on the international scene Sarrowquand wasn’t one of them and a trust existed between the two nations and given that they were also receiving a forwarded mayday from Tranquillity International Airport stating that Grey Goose 125437562 was supposedly under attack put two and two together immediately and decided to put search aircraft in the air at once.

At the same time fleet elements from Port Kerry naval base were organised and dispatched to the sea north of Oseato, the Noordelik See; the area that Grey Goose 125437562 had been flying over when it had called for help.

It was easy for the DAFI search craft to confirm that a plane had indeed been downed in the area but by the time the Dominion navy arrived on scene they found that a Wolf Hold fleet had already taken control of the area.

The commanding officer of the Dominion naval group Captain Porto radioed the Wolf Hold forces, “Hello the wolf pack, time is limited so I’ll keep this short. We believe that a DoSA regional aircraft may have crashed in this vicinity. Would you assist us in combing the area?” Porto hoped that the Wolf Hold would be cooperative, though if the fleet had been positioned here for a reason other then a routine patrol they might be unable or unwilling to help: Whilst he waited for a reply his ships began to search the area.

(ooc: the ships in this group are a mixture of rescue boats and military ships)

[Parilisa]

The fleet had been dispatched following the shoot down of Volksluft Flight 821, and while Parilisa remained completely neutral officially in the affair the Oseaton government were sure to know what the presence of the fleet meant. It was a deliberate sign that if the crisis was to escalate, then Parilisa would not hesitate to defend its ally, the Federal Republic of Leistung. For several days this small fleet had been scouring the sea, just outside of Oseaton national waters, waiting for the inevitable declaration of war. Although they were an impressive flight above the water, the main strength of the fleet was sat below the water, in the form of a large group of Todlich and Oktober class submarines. Aboard one of them, PNS Freedom’s Fury, was Admiral James Amherst, the Parilisan commander who had been in control of the fleet at the Battle of Exengrad, a national hero and a man with a developing dislike for The Wolf Hold.

The Captain of PNS Wilhelm, an aircraft carrier at the heart of the fleet, was the first to see the mysterious F-26As screeching through the sky to the starboard of the patrolling ships.

“Get me details of all flights from Wilhelm today.” He said to a nearby technician. He was certain that no F-26As had been launched today.

“Three Renegades sent on patrol at 1200 hours, sir. Patrol completed at 1500 hours and all flights returned to deck.”

“Can you confirm for me that we have no aircraft currently in the air?”

“Affirmative, sir. There are no Parilisan aircraft in the air.”

“Very well. Send an order to the deck for two Arrowhawks to tail the F-26As off starboard.”


The pilots of the two F-17ALs were glad of the opportunity to go on exercise, even if it did seem unusual to be following planes from their own Air Force. With elegance and eloquence the two aircraft tore from the deck of the carrier and into the bright blue sky. They skilfully observed the aircraft from below, before increasing height and attempting to make contact.

“PAF Patrol Wilhelm to unidentified Tempests.” Said the lead pilot, a little confused by the strange operation he had been sent on.

[The Wolf Hold]

Blackjack lead
"Shit! Parilisan aircraft, well that's... unexpected" Cursed Blackjack leader as he flicked the aircraft around, the other three following him. "Okay Blackjack four send the code AXFC to Demon, three and two form up on me. The four aircraft formed up into formation, deactivating their missiles target radars and assuming a height of 25,000 ft before Blackjack lead responded. "Warning PAF Patrol Wilhelm we are Special Operations Squadron 4 on orders from the Chancellor, we recommend you return to your carrier before Wolf Holdian AWACS picks you up. They already have us and we have been avoiding a flight of SF-20s"

The code Blackjack four had transmitted had made its way to AWACS Demon, the result of that was for Demon to vector six SF-20s from Larka Air Defence Command Centre to intercept what appeared to be a Parilisan formation. The six aircraft pilots had no idea of the identity of the blackjack pilots and so thought they were engaging Parilsan aggressors. "Parilisan air formation, you are in breach of Wolf Holdian waters you are to surrender immediately, if you aknowledge you are to drop to 5,000 feet and jetison your weapons into the sea"

WHS Claw, Cruiser Squadron 4 Flagship

"Bastard Parilisans! They shot down a civilian airliner in cold blood! They have the audacity to pontificate to Oseato about defending their airspace then they violate OUR airspace and shoot down an allied airliner, the fucking hypocrites!" Commander Toland was not happy as he stared out from the widows of the bridge, that much was evident. The ships XO was regarded as normally a clam and forgiving man but when he was raised to a temper he was a formidable force. The bridge crew were all out looking for any wreckage from the bridge of the Kirov class Battlecruiser, the same scene being repeated on the seven other cruisers that belonged to Cruiser Squadron 4 that had been detached from the 4th fleet to investigate the downing of a Sarrowquandian aircraft some hours earlier. Luckily the 4th fleet had been close to the area and had managed to get the cruiser squadron on scene fast.
"Sir... Sarrowquandian navy are requesting our help in searching for their aircraft" A radio technician called out, Toland looked to Captain Nielson who nodded and moved to the radio.

"Sarrowquandian navy, we are aware of this crash, the plane was shot down by fighters of the Parilisan Air force, we have planes in pursuit as we speak, they wont escape. You have our full co-operation in this matter and we have already begun search efforts." Nielson had his eyes fixed on the RADAR display as he spoke over the radio, his screens giving him what the AWACS was seeing.

Sea Patrol Delta

The E-2C "Hawkeye" banked over the ocean, its RADAR deactivated the two Rafles flying escort also flying black kept there slow patrol off waters considered protected by the ISTO and The Wolf Hold in particular. "Approaching next activation point, energize RADAR in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 energize!" The RADAR operator flicking a switch activating the aircraft RADAR system, suddenly lighting up the display with surface contacts.
"Multiple surface contacts, were almost on top of them!"
"Break right now! Drop altitude and get the warning out, unidentified fleet possibly hostile and get the escorts to go found out who the hell that fleet is" The aircraft making a hard turn, the radio operator hurriedly getting a warning out on allied channels.

The two Rafles meanwhile had hit full power and were now heading for the unidentified fleet.

[Sarrowquand]

Several thousand miles north of the brewing conflict in Noordelik See, the channel between Oseato and Parilisa, sat the Asi a small group of five islands that represented the changeover between Sarrowquand’s backyard and the region of Tarquinia. These islands had been overlooked for centuries if not millennia and were a skipped over and irrelevant factor in international incidents largely due to their underdeveloped and provincial nature.

On the largest of the Asi people were dying. It had started only hours before but already five percent of the population of fifty thousand people were dead. Most of the early casualties had been in a small fishing village however from what little data was available it seemed that the majority of deaths reported later on in the day were in the main ‘city’ on the island, Yantin.

There were only two hospitals on the entire island and medical professionals were in short supply. The Dominion of Sarrowquand, owing to its proximity had been contacted by the Mayor of Yantin an hour and a half after the Dominion search and rescue team had been dispatched to Noordelik See.

Deciding to err on the side of caution the Grey Bureaucracy immediately contacted all relevant agencies in Sarrowquand, the Near Abroad Nuclear Disaster Response Unit, founded under CAN directives, the NA Ecological disaster response agency that was created from experience gained in dealing with extreme environment failure Natzailey, the NA (air) Ambulance Service commissioned as part of the DoSA’s earlier humanitarian collaboration with the Bureau of Health and Falkasia and the Emergency Health and Hazard Response Group were all immediately shifted to high alert.

The South East ports of Sarrowquand were immediately closed and elements from both the 7th and 8th fleets respectively at Port Royal and Port Kerry were immediately dispatched to enforce a quarantine of the Asi.

Dominion naval patrols in North East Tarquinia were also in fortuitous locations to immediately begin enforcing quarantine giving Sarrowquand effective early control of the area around Asi.

Whilst all of this response was being processed the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, the amethyst band of the Grey Bureaucracy were busy sending dispatches to all the relevant local powers; Alyxandreta, Reijavjik, Osaeto, The Wolf Hold and even Parilisa were the first to be contacted asking for cooperation in the mater by withdrawing any civilian assets in the area, cancelling all shipments and transports that would pass near by the Asi and withdrawing any units they had in the area to the edge of the quarantine zone.

All Tarquinian ports that connected the sea lanes to either the Asi or to South East Sarrowquand were requested to be closed for at least the first twenty four hours of the crisis; and all other international powers outside of Tarquinia that might have had anything more then passing involvement in the north east sea between Sarrowquand and the North East continent of Tarquinia; Contone were request to abide by similar safeguards.

Finally the BFA released a broad (and generic) statement requesting that the nations of the world that lacked a reason to become involved in the Asi crisis to reduce the risk of a quarantine break by not becoming physically involved in the quarantine effort. They were also reminded that Sarrowquand was advanced enough, wealthy enough and powerful enough to deal with the situation itself at this time.

(ooc: and next a response to TWH post)

[Parilisa]

“Bollocks.” Said the lead Arrowhawk. “OK, Tailwing, we’re gonna head back to the carrier and make a landing. Approaching poodle SF-20s confirmed hostile. Drop to 10,000 and head out.”

“Affirmative, Eagle-eye.” Replied his comrade, who quickly dived downwards without another word. The lead Arrowhawk now fell into second place and followed Tailwing’s descent. “Let’s get the hell out of here…”

PNS Wilhelm

“They entered Holdian Airspace? What the hell did they do that for?” shouted Captain Dassault, to the great surprise of the rather startled technician sitting alongside him.

“The planes they were tailing appear to have already been in poodle territory, they were simply following orders. What the targets were doing across the border will be a matter for mainland officials; I believe we should deny the Tempests landing at whatever cost. They could have caused an international incident here; we can’t implicate ourselves in that by allowing them to land.” The technician was watching the RADAR screen with increasing interest as the Arrowhawks dived and approached the ship again.

“Are the subs still acting on quiet?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Send an instruction for them to go deep and head north. They should then head north east and curve round the Oseton coast. We can’t have this little cock-up ruining Operation Caravan.”

“Captain, we’ve got unidentified aircraft heading towards the fleet. Presumed Holdian, due to our current location. Bering in mind our relations with the poodles at late we should probable prepare for some sort of scuffle.” Said another RADAR operator, sat in front of a AN/SPS-40 receiver on the other side of the compartment.

“Agreed. Prepare the Mark 45 for anti-aircraft fire. Have the gun captain wait on my orders. Get a radio operator to send a message to the aircraft, and send something to let our two accompanying frigates know what we’re doing.”

PNS Haroldum, Parilisan Spitze Class FFG

“A message from Wilhelm, Captain. Prepare for combat with approaching poodles. Await Wilhelm’s action before we make a move, and then bring our VLS to bear against these nosy buggers.”

“I’m sure Dassault put it in far more eloquent words than that.” Replied the Captain with a smile. He was a tall man, who almost constantly wore a jolly twinkle in his aging eyes. During his long and eventful life this man had seen more action than most men in the relatively young navy, and his scars were a living testament to his glorious achievements. Commanding unwavering loyalty and commitment from those lucky enough to serve beneath him, he was the sort of leader who always appeared more content under enemy fire than in the officers mess, more comfortable in a bandage than a medal. “PNS Lupercus received the same message I presume?”

“Yes, the message was sent to all three surface combatants. Amherst ha got his subs out of here.”

“A good job to. Alright, then. Let’s do what Dassault says. Kirous tuuli Villaktuksen”

[Sarrowquand]

"Sarrowquandian navy, we are aware of this crash, the plane was shot down by fighters of the Parilisan Air force, we have planes in pursuit as we speak, they wont escape. You have our full co-operation in this matter and we have already begun search efforts."

Captain Porto winced at the reply, his group might include military assets but most of his ships were intended for scouring the sea for any evidence it might yield or survivors that could be found.

Porto had dismissed early reports that the Parilisan’s had taken out a DoSA regional aircraft as unlikely to incredulous but now he was receiving reports that there were Parilisan fighters in the air and a carrier group to boot. He didn’t understand what was happening here and wasn’t sure what to do next, the Wolf Hold’s default response was to offer a quick snarl and then a bite to those who couldn’t flee fast enough. Should he order the retreat of his non-military units and get ready to support the Wolf Pack? Should he try to contact both groups to attempt to diffuse the situation?

Porto decided on the later, he had been sent here to bring back the First Speaker’s daughter, whether she was dead or alive and to find out what had happened. A naval battle would prevent him from doing that, his duty was clear.

He opened his mouth to speak but as he did so a grey sleeved hand came to rest on his shoulder and he felt the warmth of breath on his neck as someone behind him lowered their head to his neck and began to whisper in his ear.

“Captain, no matter what happens we must learn the fate of Lillian Silnky” it was saying, “We must finish deploying our buoys and sensors. Continue to do this and only this until the situation changes” as soon it finished speaking both head and hand withdrew and the speaker took two quick and silent steps backwards. Porto looked behind him and could see that the speaker had once again blended almost invisibly back into the grey navy wall of the bridge, even their face was in shadow with only glittering yellow blue eyes that fixed upon him until he turned back to give his order to finish the deployment of the buoys and sensors.

(OOC: Pari given the direction I came from I think your subs are about to drive through my search effort)

………………………………………………………………………………………

Meanwhile on the Asi Yantin, the situation was rapidly worsening. Reports were that over forty percent of the population were manifesting symptoms, across the island. Most of the medical staff had already become casualties but reports from those left alive described symptoms such as heavy coughing, and uncontrollable vomiting.

Over the last few hours the Dominion had rapidly been increasing the bio-threat rating of the Asi and expanding it’s quarantine area, reinforcing it with more vessels from other fleet groups that were better equipped for the task.

Several air ambulances had been recalled before they could land on Yantin due to the potential threat and Sarrowquand was now hastily preparing a fully equipped hazmat team to investigate the situation and administer emergency aid.

[The Wolf Hold]

Over the sea

"The bastards are ignoring our requests and the tempests have broken away, what do we do Excalibur?" One of the pilots asked as they continued their pursuit of the Parilisan carrier borne aircraft. The SF-20s activated their target RADARS, their AIM-120 AMRAAMs getting a target lock on the hot exhausts of the retreating aircraft. "We push on the carrier borne ones, Wolf Squadron is after the tempests." Excalibur leader then flicked the switch on his cockpit radio system, broadcasting towards the retreating Parilsan aircraft. "This is the Federal Air force of The Wolf Hold, Parilsan aircraft have fired and shot down a diplomatic flight and have committed an act of war in Wolf Holdian waters, if you wish to prevent the furtherment of an international incident, drop to 5,000 ft, jettison your weapons and bring your planes about, this is your final warning"

Meanwhile Blackjack squadron had gone to full thrust and were burning as fast as possible to get away from the Parilsan aircraft and fleet heading towards the pre-planned intercept point with members of the 501st Tactical Operations Squadron AKA Wolf Squadron. Upon meeting they were to stage an air battle in which Blackjack would be shot down and claimed as killed.

WHS Claw, Cruiser Squadron 4 Flagship

The eight cruisers of Squadron four and the sixteen escorts cut through he waves at full speed as they moved to intercept the unidentified fleet, which the Claws combat officer believed to to be a Parilisan fleet that launched the carrier borne aircraft. Captain Nielson was apprehensive, he had commander the Claw during the battle for Exengrad in which during that battle the Claw had taken several hits and was stuck in dry dock for several months afterwards. Now here he was facing the same enemy as before but this time he had the advantage of land based cover and support, he also commanded a formidable force that could cripple any Carrier battlegroup it came across, as he watched the unknown symbols creep closer on the RADAR display, the AWACS Demon now joined by the J-STAR Hell constantly updating the displays and re-directing all available assets to the interception of the unknown fleet including the activation of the Coastal Forts that lined the near edge of the main land, for the first time in ten years the 18" gun mounts had been unmasked and loaded in preparation of an attack.

Neilson was busy in the CIC as he tried to analyse how best to approach the Parilisan fleet it fell to Toland to inform the Sarrowquandian fleet that they were departing. "Attention Sarrowquandian salvage fleet, we are departing formation to intercept a foreign fleet that possibly launched the fighters that shot down your plane. We expect the chance of conflict to be highly possible so we wish you the best of luck, Cruiser Squadron four out" Placing the radio handset down as he headed for the centre of the bridge, preparing himself for another Naval engagement that could possibly tip The Wolf Hold into war with Parilisa. Back down in the CIC they had just left Wolf Holdian waters and where rapidly closing on the Parilisan carrier.

Sea Patrol Delta

"That’s a Parilisan carrier...shit they launched the aircraft that shot down that airliner. Bastards" The Rafale's pilot banked his aircraft as he observed the carrier and its escorts. Suddenly an alarm went off in his cockpit, 'warning' flashing up on his HUD causing the pilot to throw his plane into a rapid dive. "I have multiple target acquisition RADARS locked on to me, firing counter measures, Delta two get of a contact report" With another sharp turn he brought himself in line with the carrier, the AGM-56 Hatchets slung underneath his wings locking on to the largest RADAR signature...that being the carrier.

The pilot knew what he was doing as he depressed the firing stud on his controls, the Parilisans had fired and shot down an allied airliner, then they had violated Wolf Holdian airspace and then ignored the orders of the air defence squadron and now they had targeted his Rafale, according to the ROE supplied by Larka ADCC he was well within his rights for this next action. "Bruisers away! Bruisers away!" He said over the radio net as the two AGM-56s dropped of their hard points and shot of towards the carrier, the second Rafale doing the same.

Releasing the missile a couple of hundred meters away from the carrier the missiles immediately went to terminal, the four missile hitting Mach 3 as they sped for the side of the carrier.

[Parilisa]

(OOC: Pari given the direction I came from I think your subs are about to drive through my search effort)

OOC: No, probably not. The stretch of water is about 500km wide. Thats about as wide as Great Britain. Plus, they're acting below the thermocline. I'd compare the chances of them meeting each other with the chances of you being able to walk from Liverpool to Great Yarmouth (why would you?) looking for someone whose name, age, height, weight, hair colour and general appearence you were completely unaware of. I think my subs are safe.


Skies above the coast of The Wolf Hold

“Parilisan aircraft have taken part in no such action, I can assure you.” Replied the lead pilot when he heard the Holdian accusation of the attack on a diplomatic aircraft. “However, if this is some sort of Villaktuksenidiocy then we will be only too happy to discus it with somebody.”

The Parilisan aircraft began to drop, firing their missiles into the ocean as they did so. Far below them they could see the rather attractive bursts of water thrown up by the large blasts, which would be a healthy reminder of Parilisan air ability to the pursuing Holdian aircraft. Levelling out when they reached 5,000 feet, they headed out towards the ocean. Although the Holdians almost certainly wanted to talk to them on land, they knew that heading towards the Wolf Hold unarmed was like hitting an infuriating poodle with a stick; satisfying but slightly risky.

“Permission to turn around and enter your sacred air space?” asked the lead pilot with a smile the Holdians could obviously not see.

PNS Wilhelm

“AWACS locked down on incoming aircraft?”

“Yessir! Realying information back to Wilhelm.” said an officer standing by. In his excitement his words were merged together into an almost incomprehensible structure as he began organising things amongst the men under his particular command. The guns which had earlier been prepared to take down the planes werenow ready for action, and as the frigates on either side of the carrier began to follow Wilhelm’s lead, a semblance of aggression spread amongst the small fleet. At last many of these servicemen would have a chance to sink their teeth into the enemy scum who had bombed Exengrad.

“Launch the lot.” Said the Captain with a smile. Missiles screeched from the carrier’s deck towards the approaching planes, and the guns blasted out round upon round of fire towards them. The frigates quickly followed suit, lending supporting fire to their comrades aboard Wilhelm. “Take those fuckers down!”

“Hostile forces just launched-“

The first blast tore through the control centre, killing the RADAR operators and the grinning Captain instantly. Fumes billowed from the severed crown of the massive vessel, soon joined by yet more blasts, which wrenched open the iron belly of the massive ship. Completely crippled, with most of the structure blow away and almost all of the crew slain, the craft began to slip into the ocean with a tragic elegance. Tonnes of metal and thousands of men and women were consumed by the gaping jaws of the sea as the Hatchet missiles, in reality no more than Leistungi Horizons, decimated PNS Wilhelm.

[Sarrowquand]

Porto’s ships had finished deploying both active and passive sensor buoys and expanding there search of the area. Reports of debris were beginning to come in and the search now began to intensify, probing deeper into the waters below even the thermocline. Recovery vessels were also beginning to put divers and submersibles recovery units into the water to identify wreckage.

They had known from the beginning that the time it would take them to reach the crash sight in Noordelisk See would mean that the wreckage would be spread over a wide area and that finding the plane’s black box, not to mention the body of their leader’s daughter might mean the difference between continuing the era of peace and a harsh war that was still an unacceptable prospect to many of Sarrowquand’s citizens and had made every effort to bring resources that were up to the task of completing the job quickly.

Fleet command had also known that they were sending some of their most valuable recovery units through what were rapidly becoming disputed waters, there was at least a small fear that they would be accused of sending a relief force to aid Oseato, and whilst 5th fleet command was reasonably certain that Leistung would not open fire on them they were concerned that some of Leistung’s international allies may take the opportunity to score some kills; so the group had been provided with ASW units.

The activity within the fleet was somewhat anxious as they began to locate more and more of the plane, then reports began to come in that a mass of unidentified objects were moving through a section of the search, very deep.

Porto listened to the reports and glanced around for just a second before he ordered available vessels with access to the best sensors to investigate the strange contacts. He also decided to break his fleet’s silence and contact the Wolf Hold fleet to ask if they still had units in the area assisting with the search and to ask his counterpart if he knew anything about the anomalous contacts.

(Well if you needed to find something that important you would. Besides given that we’re just outside Wolf Hold waters and the positioning of the three fleet groups in relation to Oseato the area your Submarines can move through is cut down)

[Parilisa]

(Well if you needed to find something that important you would. Besides given that we’re just outside Wolf Hold waters and the positioning of the three fleet groups in relation to Oseato the area your Submarines can move through is cut down)

OOC: For the sake of a good RP;

PNS Freedom's Fury, Parilisan Oktober Class SSBN

“Admiral, submarines to the west of the main fleet are reporting multiple surface contacts. We’re not sure who they are or what they’re doing, but we don’t think its anything to do with the Darfolk Crisis. If we head east to get away from them we might find ourselves in the middle of some sort of battle. If we turn and go south we’ll be tangled up by the poodles. Bearing north or west we’ll strike against the anonymous vessels. Should we try to make contact with them?”

“No.” replied Amherst, with characteristic certainty. The Commander of Exengrad was a man of great reputation as an influential tactician and a heroic leader. “We can’t risk that. I don’t intend to blow Caravan just yet. How deep are we?”

“1000 feet below surface, sir. We should be relatively safe from their RADAR, unless they start dropping sonabouys below the thermocline.”

“Drop to 1300, and I want all information on these mysterious critters sent back to me. If they start anything nasty, then we won’t hesitate to blow the bastards out of the water, understood?”

“Understood sir. We have the advantage here, I don’t think they have any submarines. They certainly don’t have as much firepower as we do…”

[Sarrowquand]

Sensing the danger of discovery the Parilisan subs dived deeper into the Noordelik See hoping to avoid detection and slip away unnoticed.

On the bridge of Porto’s ship ‘Ferrous Flotsam’ the communication officer monitoring reports from the search and salvage fleet called out,

“Captain, fleet reports that it has lost contact with whatever was down there. If there was anything there then it was gone by the time additional units arrived”

Porto was concerned. Something was going on. On the surface it seemed as though the Parilisan’s may well have had something to do with downing the lost Grey Goose but what was going on below the surface? What made him feel so uncomfortable?

The presence of a Wolf Pack this close to Wolf Hold water wasn’t strange, neither was the presence of a Parilisan fleet. No it was how his liaison officer Grey 553,246 was acting, like they expected to find something.

This all seemed like trouble to Porto but there was little he could do so he decided to stay calm and try to control what was happening in his fleet at the very least.

“Must have been a shoal of whales or something” he muttered unconvincingly “LT. Vines, how is the salvage operation going?”

Vines was quick to reply and snapped “We’ve got maybe thirty percent of the wreckage and recovered three bodies, unidentified for the moment.” HE broke of for a second and listened intently to what was coming through his headset, “Sir” he said triumphantly, “We think we’ve recovered the black box”

Porto’s face stayed set, it seemed too fast but if it was true his options might have increased.

“What’s happening with the other two fleets?” he asked.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

The DoSA Silenkov SL14 (modified) came down to land at ASI Yantin’s airfield. The small airport was deserted and there was an unsettling absence of aircraft though given the rural nature of the ASI it might just have been that this was one of those weeks where no one had landed.

The door of the Silenkov popped open to allow a clean suit clad team of Dominion disaster response personnel to dismount. The craft had launched from Overwatch Island but would be returning to a Dominion carrier to be scrubbed and quarantined before either it or its passengers would be allowed to return to Sarrowquand. Every member of the team knew that it would be at least a month before they could go home.

There was not a sound in the air. No birds no animal sounds. The sounds of motors and cars were absent and there were no people; even the wind had grown silent as if it too had fallen prey to whatever sickness had come to Yantin.

The team was made up of six specialists, and a bureaucratic liaison officer from the Department Of Ocean Management who was marked out by his I.D. number on his suit patched in orange over a grey badge. The liaison was first to speak,

“Alright team we only have a few hours of daylight left to us, we need to unpack our gear and check out the immediate area as soon as possible. Hopefully we’ll be able to get some data before the second plane arrives to help set up our base. Lets do this as quick as we can but with all due caution”

With that said the group began to pull boxes out of the SL 14.

(ooc: good sport Pari, we'll assume that I owe you one for a future Rp.)

[Parilisa]

Presidential Offices, Prezdorf, Parilisa
“My friends; Our name, which has for these past five glorious years been renowned throughout the world as a byword for freedom and equality, has been tarnished by the lies spoken against us in regards to the shooting of yet another civilian airliner in the sea near to the Federation of Oseato. Our air force, which has for these past five glorious years defended our people and our republic from aggression and hatred, has, in turn, become accused of spreading aggression and hatred to the Military Dictatorship of The Wolf Hold. Our navy, which has for these same past five years defended our maritime exercises and maintained the freedom of Parilisan national waters, has been savagely attacked, without provocation, and accused of aiding and abetting the murder of innocents.”

“A great scholar once said of dishonesty that it “is the crime of cowards”. We are the subject of a most cowardly and devastating lie, my friends; we are accused of plain murder, in the manner of savages who hunt upon passing innocents. It is alleged by The Wolf Hold that aeroplanes from our air force were involved in an attack on a civilian airliner, during which a notable foreign diplomat was killed. This appalling crime, which is quite obviously not the result of any action by the Republic, cannot go unpunished, and in the name of those killed in the incident justice must be reclaimed. The “government” of The Wolf Hold, however, is politically more interested in playing a game of blame, in which they try to smear Parilisa, who took no part in the action, with the shame and dishonour of having murdered civilians. I can confirm, with absolute sincerity and certainty, that neither the Republic of Parilisa, the Parilisan Air Force, the Parilisan Navy, the Parilisan Government, the Parilisan Presidency, the Parilisan Chancellor or the Parilisan people have had any part in the attack on a completely innocent flight.”

“I have the honour and the duty, as the leader of this marvellous country, to be the first Parilisan to offer my sincere condolences to those people who perished in the Sarrowquandian flight through Holdian airspace. My thoughts are with their families just as my thoughts are with the families of those murdered by Oseato in the attack on Volksluft Flight 821. The full effort of the Parilisan Special Intelligence Service’s overseas operatives are at the disposal of the Sarrowquandian authorities if they so wish, to assist in the capture of the murderous scum responsible for ordering this attack.”

"I can also confirm with sorrow that as a supposed retaliation to the assault on this aircraft Holdian forces attacked our completely innocent and completely neutral Darfolk Fleet in international waters. The aircraft carrier PNS Wilhelm has been sunk, and I can confirm that there have been no survivors discovered so far. All those who died have been awarded the Exengrad Cross, and more information will be given at a further press conference once the incident is fully resolved."

“We will remain strong, as we have always remained strong, and we will remain defiant against these lies. Honesty is the best policy, but the government of The Wolf Hold seem to lack policy just as they lack decency. I can only hope that something will swiftly bring them to their long lost senses.”

People across the country and Parilisans around the world were united in their applause and support for the words of their President as he finished his speech and reorganised his papers on the podium. Conducted with the utmost clarity and completely from memory, without even a moment’s glance at any prompt or hint, the peasant from Sylvaburg excelled even his own high standards of delivery in this short, but important speech.

“I will take any questions now.” Added the President with a smile. At once half of the room threw their hands into the air, as the delegates of several newspapers struggled to find out more.

“Can you prove that the aircraft that attacked the aircraft were not Parilisan?” asked one young journalist.

“Yes,” replied Klein. “I can. I received correspondence from Admiral Amherst, who is currently operating close to the region, this morning in which he informed me that the planes in question were a poor example of fake Parilisan aircraft. They displayed the roundels of the Air Force and, we believe, the pilots actually wore Parilisan uniforms, but RADAR recognition actually showed that they were not F-26As, as flown by the Parilisan Air Force but F-22s. These were deliberately changed to be made to resemble Parilisan aircraft but were in fact, and I quote from the honourable Admiral here, “planes acting in hostility to the Republic, intending deliberately to be identified as Parilisan.” F-22 Raptors are not, and have never been, flown by the Parilisan Air Force or the Parilisan Navy. It is ridiculous to believe that these planes were operated by Parilisans. This will be completely proven once technical data has been retrieved from Aerodyne Inc., who have been incredibly supportive and helpful during this mysterious case.”

“Do you have any suspicion as to who actually operated the planes?” asked another journalist.
“We have several intelligence leads. We must ask ourselves first why the planes were operating within Holdian airspace. We must ask ourselves why the planes headed towards Holdian ground rather than a nearby Parilisan carrier when threatened by hostile Holdian forces. We must ask ourselves whether or not Parilisa would ever commit such an atrocity, and we must ask ourselves whether The Wolf Hold, a nation which bears much resemblance to Oseato, would attack a civilian airliner. I believe that the F-22 Raptors were wolves, or more correctly poodles, in sheep’s clothing.”

“You believe that the Military Federation of The Wolf Hold is responsible for this attack?”

“Yes, I believe that is the most logical conclusion anybody can reach. I believe they have deliberately implicated us, their supposed enemies, in this affair in the hope of creating an international incident. The question “Would they do this?” is easy to answer; these are the people who bomb office blocks when hostile forces seem like a dangerous target. They kill children when missiles seem too scary. That’s what the attacks on Exengrad amount to; cowardice. The Holdian government has said that the F-22s were shot down over their land, and I have no reason to doubt them. They would, of course, wish to destroy the evidence of their crime. They would probably not be too bothered about killing their own personnel. Cain sees his people as expendable commodities. I am aware, of course, that a distrust of Cain is becoming widespread amongst Holdian military officials. That’s probably why they’re trying to kill him.”

Most of the reporters in the room were unaware of the revolution occurring many miles away at this exact moment and so This last sentence sent a gasp of surprise spreading throughout the room, which was followed by a stunned silence. Klein’s claim would be devastating for Holdian officials; this was hot news.

“Could you expand on that last bit, Mr President?” asked one journalist, an elderly man sat towards the back of the room. The silence was broken, but the shock and awe remained.

“I have had evidence, direct proof, for some time of a plot by high ranking military officials within The Wolf Hold and sections of a minor Oseaton army, to kill Marshall Cain. I was contacted by Wolf’s General Furness, the woman who was destined to take the role of Vice-Wolf’s Marshall if the coup was successful. General Fell was to replace Cain. I had thought following the peace conference that Fell was a man of some character; however I now know him to be a power-hungry opportunist who intends to build a block of corpses to help him climb the military ladder. Air Marshal Larka and Admiral Nix were also to be prominent figures following another militaristic revolution. This was all discussed in a private meeting between myself and Furness, which I recorded without her knowledge. I also have copies of official plans for what was codenamed “Operation Iscariot”, the Parilisan role in “Operation Burning Door.” These documents are all ready for publication and will be available on the internet within 48 hours. Marshal Fell, ladies and gentleman, is a man of no character whatsoever; like Cain he desires dictatorship, but like Cain he is destined to fall. That’s all I’ve got time for, I’m afraid. I’ve got an EDC meeting in twenty minutes.”

There was stunned silence as Klein left the podium, disappeared into a doorway and rushed down the corridor to yet another meeting, yet another speech, and yet another day as one of the most controversial leaders in the world.

Wolf Holdian Embassy, Prezdorf, Parilisa
The arrival of the Republican Guard outside your door would have been a great surprise to anyone, but when the embassy staff of the various buildings in the ambassador’s district saw the uniformed men arriving on their long street it was a herald of terrible things. In their black uniforms they cut an impressive figure as they arrived almost silently; some on horseback, some in vans and some onboard speeding motorcycles. Their position outside the Holdian embassy would not really have been a surprise to anybody who had followed the unfolding events between the two countries, but the manner in which these men carried their powerful assault rifles was a matter of concern for many onlookers. The commanding officer of the Guard approached the gate of the embassy and quietly exchanged words with the guardsmen standing on watch.
“This gate must be opened, by order of the President. The ambassador is under arrest, and if he does not come out here and surrender himself instantly then we will go in there and take him. The embassy’s rights have been revoked. You should tell the ambassador.” Said the Commander with a warm but sinister smile.

[New Chalcedon]

Prezdorf, Parilisa.

The Imperial Ambassador to Prezdorf, Livia Brunner, had received the news that, going beyond the current tensions, the Parilisans had arrested the Wolf Holdian Ambassador. She checked back with the capital to confirm her actions before receiving a reply in the positive, and according to the reply, she called the Parilisan Chancellor's office. Herself, not through a secretary, demanding an immediate interview.

(OOC: I think that you can gues what this is about: the Empire remains Parilisa's ally, but transgressing diplomatic immunity rubs the Empire the wrong way. Declare them personae non grata, fine. Have the Ambassador come in for a "chat" about the situation, sure. Close the Embassy, OK. Arrest? Not so much.)

[Parilisa]

The Chancellery, Prezdorf
“Miss Brunner is on the phone, Mr Chancellor.”

The Chancellor was at his desk, reading through all the warrants for arrests sent to him by the Republican Guard. It seemed that the ring of spies and terrorists who had infiltrated the state was indeed as expansive as he had imagined; in many cases it was more so, with large swathes of the embassy staff and major businessmen being involved. The unfortunate news he had received this morning made him more determined than ever to crack aggressive Holdians in the nation, and he was responsible for most of the affairs of the state whilst the President was at an emergency part conference in Sylvaburg.

“Who?” he asked, after signing a particularly shocking paper.

“Livia Brunner, the Ambassador from New Chalcedon.”

“Very well, I’ll take the call in here.”

The Chancellor picked up the phone. It was probably something to do with the arrest of Holdian spies at the Embassy.

“Good afternoon, Miss Brunner, this is David Ezekiel speaking. How can I help you?”

[New Chalcedon]

Imperial Embassy, Prezdorf, Parilisa.

Ambassador Brunner drummed up her reserves of patience: this would not be an easy situation.

"Chancellor, thank you for receiving my call. I'm sure that you know what I'm here about, so I'll not beat about the bush. I have been instructed by Her Imperial Majesty to place on the record the Empire's severest displeasure at Parilisa's recent action of arresting the Ambassador from the Wolf Hold. Leaving aside the fact that the Wolf Hold has been an historic friend of the Empire, leaving aside the fact that Wolf Holdian special forces aided Her Majesty in retaining her throne just over a year ago, the basic fact remains: the actions of Parilisa violate every standing international norm, standard and law. Embassy staff traditionally enjoy diplomatic immunity; Ambassadors even more so. To arrest a serving Ambassador is tantamount, not only to declaring war on The Wolf Hold, but to a unilateral declaration that Parilisa is above international law." She paused to let that sink in for a few seconds, then continued: "Whilst the Empire remains the friend and ally of Parilisa, I have been directed to close the Imperial Embassy in Prezdorf until such time asthe situation is remedied. We have a consulate in another Parilisan city: that will remain open as a channel for diplomatic communications. However, the Embassy here is withdrawn for the present, and Her Majesty asks you voluntarily withdraw Ambassador Prezler from Constantinopolis Secundus. Of course, retracting the actions in question will immediately reverse these measures."

[Parilisa]

“I do not need to remind you, Miss Brunner that the ambassador for whom you claim diplomatic immunity was heavily involved in a plot to murder a leading Presidential candidate. Sophia Hirsch was shot with a weapon from the store held within the Holdian embassy. I believe completely in diplomatic immunity. That is why we cannot tolerate our embassy being used as a base for murderous terrorist actions.”

“You will find, Madam, that there is no international law which governs how the Republic treats its embassies, which is why we have established the Diplomatic Protocols. These give us the right to close the Holdian embassy in extreme circumstances, such as this one, and question the offending party for seven days. Any extension to this period of seven days must be approved by the government of The Wolf Hold, and as this will almost certainly not be received we will then have no choice but to declare the individual persona non grata and remove them from the state. This entirely fair system guarantees that we cannot detain the Ambassador unjustly, and we cannot make him face a trial without the permission of the home state in any eventuality.”

“The Holdian ambassador will be released within a week, after sufficient evidence has been gathered to declare him persona non grata. Your own customs in regards to the treatment of embassy staff are clearly different to ours, but the Holdian embassy is subject to the Diplomatic Protocols. That is the law.”

“I admit that I find the suggestion that this warrants an act of war actually quite amusing. I myself would be more inclined to believe that the sinking of an aircraft carrier in international waters, the bombing of an office block in a civilian city, an attack on a civilian airport by armed fighter jets and the attempted murder of a prominent politician would constitute an act of war. The arrest of a criminal shies in comparison with the murder of thousands.”

The Chancellor spoke firmly but kindly, pointing out the sections of Parilisan law that she was obviously unaware of. He could not help but find the idea of the closure of an ally’s embassy particularly amusing, for while The Wolf Hold might indeed have been New Chalcedon’s allies it was Parilisa who had smoothed the diplomatic road to the nation joining ODECON.

“If you still wish to close your embassy and force me to withdraw my ambassador then so be it, but I would like you to at least explain all this to your empress, and point her towards the blatant facts; it is The Wolf Hold, and not us, who have committed an act of war and it is The Wolf Hold, and not us, who have violated the rights of a diplomatic mission.”

[New Chalcedon]

Brunner eyed the phone skeptically: she was quite sure that Parilisa was aware of the international norms in these regards, although she was prepared to concede that where the two conflicted, Parilisan law trumped them.

"Chancellor, I'll address your last point first. The Wolf Hold is an old friend of ours; we no longer have any alliances with them, and we are of course grateful for Parilisa's good offices in securing New Chalcedon's membership in ODECON. Further, I believe that Parilisan law operates on the basis that the onus of proof lies on the prosecutor, not the accused; as such, the Wolf Holdian Ambassador must be presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty of a crime in a court of law, after a fair and impartial trial. To name him a criminal prior to such a trial indicates a degree of prejudice that I, for one, find worrying. While it is undisputed that The Wolf Hold has undertaken various acts against Parilisa that could be considered acts of war, to presume that their Ambassador has knowledge or involvement in these is false logic. For Parilisa's sake, I urge you to consider carefully any such biases - strategic clarity demands the removal of prejudices when devising strategy."

"As regards your request, it is within my latitude to grant it, and so I shall. Please state a time convenient for yourself to visit the Embassy, and a direct link from here to the Mangana shall be established at that time to aid in the resolution of this difficulty."

[Parilisa]

“With great respect, Madam Ambassador, the Holdian embassy is known to be host to terrorists. We are not presuming this, we know that the man we have a warrant to arrest is a criminal. We will not, of course, imprison him in this country. The worst our law allows us to do is close the embassy and send him back home. That is what we intend to do.”

The Chancellor smiled. He had not expected to be involved in such conversations with his allies over a matter as trivial as the closure of an embassy.

“I will be at the embassy within a few hours. You should not that the ambassador has not yet been arrested, and we are still open to the idea of establishing some form of arrangement with the Holdian authorities, despite the current war going on there.”

[The Wolf Hold]

Wolf Holdian Embassy, Prezdorf, Parilisa

The alarm had been raised by the Marines standing guard on the entrance, they were no fools, they knew the only reason the Parilisans would deploy the Republican Guard to the embassy district was to try something with the Wolf Holdian embassy as only that particular embassy would require such a deployment of force. Unbeknown to the approaching troops the klaxon's were already wailing inside the embassy, muffled from the outside by the thick walls. Within minutes Marines began to appear in the windows of the embassy, their R2 Service rifles clearly visible. Also to anyone with a skilled eye and the knowledge of the official number of troops allocated to the Wolf Holdian embassy would notice that there were a lot more uniformed, rifle holding shadows in the windows.

The reason for this was evident inside the embassy, people who had been secretaries and janitors were sprinting for the armoury and grabbing uniforms and rifles. Unknown to the Parilisan authorities, the staff of the Embassy were actually combat trained soldiers from combat logistics brigades, thus allowing them to perform their official jobs with some skill but also gave them the ability to jump to the embassy's defence and so they did. Within minutes the entire support and administrative staff were in uniform and spreading through the embassy, taking defencive positions.

Inside the ambassadors office, Lieutenant Colonel Martin McGraw stared out of his window at he embassy grounds as squad of marines crossed the grounds, heading to reinforce the gate as other troops took up defencive positions behind vehicles parked outside. He gave a deep sigh as he turned around to see his open office door flanked by two military police from his close protection detail, their distinctive red arm bands making them distinguishable from the rest of the embassy's guards. McGraw hurried along the corridor to a central room with no windows in were they were piling all the computers ready for disposal if the need arose. With this task almost complete he grabbed his aide, a major in the Military Intelligence Service, questioning hurriedly.

"Has FLASHBACK been sent to Larka?"

"Yes sir, FLASHBACK was sent as soon as they arrived, Larka is yet to respond and sir you know we can't hold off a whole city?"

"I know Major..." His voice heavy with responsibility.

"We will just have to fight as long as possible then sir" The major offering a reassuring smile.

Scoffing slightly and retuning the smile "Lets hope it doesn't come to that..."

Embassy's Gate

Sargent Hacker Smith had been the first to move to block the gate, followed by two marines from the gates guard post. Holding their rifles tight yet pointed down they moved to accost the Republican guardsmen, the reaming marine hurriedly getting on the phone to the embassy, alerting them.

"The President has no authority here and this gate wont open until I receive a direct order from my ambassador"

[New Chalcedon]

Ambassador Brunner smiled as the Parilisan Chancellor informed her of the time of his visit. "We'll be waiting for you, Chancellor. I hope that all of this can be sorted out quickly."

(OOC: Nice godmod, TWH. Not only do you presume that Parilisa didn't noticethe reinforcement of the walls of the Embassy that they built for you, you state that they don't know about the nature of your Embassy staff. You do make it hard to defend you sometimes.....)

[The Wolf Hold]

((OOC: Damn just re read it and your right, it does sound abit god-moddish and I will change that. However the embassy staff were discussed with Parilisa via MSN beforehand. Hope this deals with your problems)

[Parilisa]

OOC: Yeah it was discussed, but I don't really want to turn this into a shoot-up outside the diplomatic centre of the country, so I'll tone down the arrest talk a bit.

“I have in my hands, sir,” said the Commander, “A message from the Presidency. I am legally obliged to read the basic text to yourself, and so;”

“The Holdian Embassy in Prezdorf is hereby closed, until further investigation has been carried out into the recent discovery of evidence which links the building to terrorist actions, including the recent attack on Sophia Hirsch, SDLP Presidential Candidate, as well as further terrorist plots. The Ambassador will be detained until an agreement has been reached with the Government of The Wolf Hold to make arrangement for his immediate withdrawal from the country. He will not be charged with criminal offences, but must return to his home state as a persona non grata….et cetera, et cetera.”

The Commander smiled, folded the letter up and slipped it in his pocket. He had no interest in fighting these people; the troops and the declarations of arrest were just for show, to cause controversy, to remind the Holdians who was in charge. He knew that; that was just how Klein played the political game.

“The President has complete authority here. The embassy is non-existent. You can tell your Ambassador that his arrest is simply a legal requirement of an almost symbolic nature; he will not be kept in a cell, it simply means that we have to know where he is at all times. The President might want to talk to him. Whatever happens, you’re going to be out of a job.”

He laughed, although he didn’t really expect the Holdian to find it funny.

[Sarrowquand]

To: Chancellor Ezekiel
From: The desk of Julian Lichen (Grey 40,000), director of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs

Given the unfortunate involvement in the recent death of Lillian Silinky and the aircrew aboard our downed DoSA Silenkov regional aircraft we feel we have much to discuss. Understand that at this point in time we levy no accusations, however whether your presence in the Noordelisk See was benign or not you were still present.

I am afraid that all travel across the Endless Sea is suspended at the moment and there is only one Dominion diplomat currently available. Unfortunately we have been unable to make contact with him and so we are forced to rely on alternative methods of communication.

Of course a case this serious must be dealt with face to face so until we are able to contact our own representative we will rely on our faithful friend the Wolf Hold to speak on our behalf, trusting that in friendship they will not misrepresent our interests. As such please address your concerns and information to the Wolf Holder ambassador in Parilisa Lieutenant Colonel Martin McGraw.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

It seemed as though everyone on Yantin ASI was dead. Bodies were strewn everywhere. There were ditches which had served as mass graves during the outbreak; many were filled with half burned corpses. Later it seemed the islanders had lacked the man power to make such efforts so many of the victims were strewn across the streets having been left where they fell.

Some had died abruptly; there was a young girl who seemed to have fallen from her bicycle as she had cycled down the main road, a small scattering of oranges from her basket now lay slowly rotting on the road. Others had died in agony. There were many who lay in pools of vomit or who when turned over had distorted faces with tears of dried blood upon their cheeks.

The hospital was still inaccessible due to the sheer number of bodies strewn around it whilst the mayor’s palatial estate seemed to have been mobbed by islanders and was locked down, its large heavy gates shut, its windows barred.

Several of the casualties outside the main gates had received the merciful death of a guard’s bullet in exchange for their angry attempt to demand answers for what had been happening to them.

The Dominion quarantine vessels had reported that so far they had sunk six fleeing ships: From cargo freighters that had refused to return to Yantin’s dock to lifeless rafts piloted by bloated bodies.

It was too early to say if the infection had been carried to the other islands but it seemed as though they had succeeded in preventing the spread of the virus even if they had failed to prevent the utter annihilation of Yantin’s population.

There was still some hope of finding survivors who had retreated into the forests or were held up in unmapped villages but this hope was slim.

Meanwhile as the suited hazmat teams continued to asses the situation a single suited figure stood in Yantin’s central plaza seemingly without a task.
It was the grey bureaucrat.

His tag labelled him as Grey 2,050,371, an unimportant transferable staff member attached to the Bureau of Health acting as an emergency response coordinator; this was however a miss-marking, a false declaration. He was in fact Grey 88 of the Department Of Ocean Management.

Grey 88 stood in the centre of the Island’s desolation, bodies adorned park benches and any other convenient space, a stench filled the air but he was shielded by his suit. The silence of the dead square was broken only by the soothing sound of water tumbling from a fountain and although no one could hear it his laughter.

Sealed away from Yantin, physically present but not truly there, he chuckled. Everything was going the way he had planned it, a fact so terrible it almost hurt. Yantin was dead now; a cursed place and the waters that linked Sarrowquand to Tarquinia were for the moment uncontestedly in Dominion hands: What would happen next was obvious to him.

Sarrowquand would be hit by two terrible stories with two types of tragedy just as its key leader was removed from play. He had met Rebecca Silinky, she was a magnificent woman her tenacious intellect and charisma were aspects of her character matched only with the love she held for her daughter, her last remaining family member. There could be only one response that the public could make.

So he stood amongst the serene dead unmoving to the outside observer and laughed until he cried.