Crusade of Flames. (MT/Closed/Crontor/Sondria)

[Mahdah]

University of Vienna, Vienna
Imperial Federation of Crontor

The University of Vienna which was a college campus in Vienna the capital of Crontor a near war torn nation after the New Castle War which Crontor was invaded by a coalition headed by Marquesan. Although the capital was never captured or blown to ruins like other parts of Crontor it would soon see a war they would never see comming, a crusade that would swallow them up in flames by the thousands. Today was a glorious day for the Order of the Cultists which were a underground terrorist group that would given much fame for their work. The Greater Empire had secretly funded and supplied the explosives and other means of getting into the country and completing their mission. Their mission was simple as said by Imperial informants, strike Crontorian universities to mark the holy war against the atheist devils and to hit military targets in Southern Crontor which was where forces of WESPAC had established several bases which would be targeted and humiliate them by means of footage to SNN.

The members involved in this for a operation like this required 25 cultists which atleast four of them would sacrifice themselves detonating the explosives during the WESPAC bombings. The rest which was 21 cultists who would be divided into six teams of 3 to bombard the universities with grenades and homemade satcheal bombs.

Berk İlkin Yılmaz sat inside a four door car on the edge of the recreational park which lead to the University campus grounds. Of course their was a parking lot to the university which teachers and staff parked, that would be where the car was parked. One of the men with Berk would leave the car and hang around the park and wait for a cellphone call for the signal to start tossing his 7 homemade nail bombs which were inside the mans backpack. Berk and the remainder of the team would park at the parking lot and enter the campus from the back heading to the cafeteria and one of the dormitories to begin tossing grenades and fused explosives.

Once the man left the car having a backpack over his shoulders and a pistol in his pocket he left to hang around the park untill the call was recieved. Meanwhile Berk and his partner Emir Kadir drove off in the rented car to the campus parking lot and found a spot near the back entrance. They exited the vehicle posing as students while they then split up, Berk entered the cafeteria as Emir entered one of the dormitories which they would now wait.

Berk opened his flip phone which was a throw away phone and dialed the number for Emir as he went near the door and as Emir answered he spoke quietly.

"It begins brother cultist, wait for the screams before you attack, Messiah Hakan and Mykhaylo will be proud" he said as he hung up the phone and placed it in his pocket. Emir then closed his eyes and began whispering a prayer to himself as he took a grenade from his back pack.

"Büyük mesih hibe beni ben helak eğer ateist hayvanlar aşağı getirmek ve Mykhaylo bana vermek, hayatta cennette sonsuz cennet onları yakmak olarak benim düşmanları üzerinde koruma Ah, amin"

[Translation: Oh great messiah grant me protection over my enemies as I bring down the atheist beasts and burn them alive, grant me eternal paradise in heaven with Mykhaylo if i perish, amen.]

Berk's eyes opened and he pulled a second grenade from his backpack and took the pins off both of them, priming them and then tossing them upwards towards the middle of the cafeteria where lunch was being served. Two indiviual blasts occured screams and the sound of the dying filled the cafeteria as Berk pulled out a Uzi machine pistol and fired on those who tried to escape, cutting down plenty as they tried filing out the doors. Berk cooked another grenade as he rolled it to the door across from him as people tried to file out the grenade exploded sending chunks of flesh and bone flying. Bodies laid mangled and death was in the air as berk soon left the cafeteria and walked the halls gunning down people and throwing grenades.

Emir closed his phone as Berk disconnected from the call hanging out in the hallway of a dormitory he picked out. He then heard loud booms and quickly took and primed a grenade kicking open one of the dorm doors and tossed the grenade in as it exploded, screams filled the hallway as Emir began gunning down students with his Uzi and chunking grenades. The ones that were begining to escape made it evident that they had started the slaughter. The third man pulled a jar wrapped in duck tape and tinfoil full of rusty nails and primed with the amount to send these nails ripping through people in droves.

The man then chunked the jar towards a group that were kind of together as the jar exploded and sent nails flying like bullets in all directions. Screams filled the air as nail bomb jars were being tossed at people trying to flee from the building and those outside stuck in the middle of it all. Of course this was not the only place this was happening, cooridnated attacks two to four minutes apart were being carried out in different cities striking education centers like, Crontorian Military Academy in Rock City, Echeron Naval Academy in Echeron and several other universites in other cities. Although this was not the end as a different plot was unfolding in Southern Crontor.

+ + + +

WESPAC Combined Arms Base, Near Alborduro
Imperial Federation of Crontor

Within five minutes in the capital and in other cities across Crontor education facilities have been attacked with grenades and back packs containing plastic explosives. Demyan Bohuslav and two other men stood on the 53rd floor of a abandoned in ruins skyscraper in Alborduro where they would be at the perfect height to see the fire works as the building overlooked several military facilities representing WESPAC including three Crontorian bases and one base from Erujunhuf and one that was probably home to a more diverse population of personnel. A convoy of five dark olive green painted HEMTTs drove through a long sand covered road that was almost like a highway and the bases were atleast two miles apart from eachother.

The HEMTTs would have no trouble getting in as many of the vehicles in use here were the same model of vehicles. The four drivers had volenteered to do this part of the mission, usualy the most radical take these jobs and would when they entered the bases, pick up speed and simply ram into the barracks buildings of the base complexes which would trigger the 16 tonns of explosives in the 20 foot long HEMTT trailers that they were hauling. It was said that the materials were construction tools for reconstruction purposes as Demyan from his fixed position looking through a parascope set up infront of him watched the HEMTT's split up to enter the bases.

"Bu kâfirler Araf yansın" he said in Makric as the trucks entered the indiviual bases and one by one picked up speed. At that moment camera men were capturing the action from different vantage points as the trucks seconds apart from eachother rammed into the barracks walls of the four different bases and exploded.

"Cehennemde kâfirler yanarsın, tarikat sırasını dolu!" he praised as the others celebrated as the clouds of smoke from the indiviual blasts rose into the sky. The operation had been successfull, the teams striking the universities had successfully escaped getting footage as Demyan and the others involved soon made their escapes with the footage required and all 21 would then flee into Eurphran where all the footage would be posted on SNN and take full responsibility as a Eurphrani terrorist group. The Crusade of Flames had begun.

[Crontor]

Sondria;
Luso-Cron Union;
Imperial Federation of Crontor;
Columbia Province;
Vienna:

President Cranico sat in silent grief as the carnage flashed across the plethora of display screens in front of him. Deep within the Crontorian Military Pyramid, Crontor’s top security and intelligence were concentrated in the Emergency Situation Room. The ESR was streaming live footage from news and government cameras across the Imperial Federation, displaying the horrific series of terrorist attacks that had taken place across the nation.

Not since the car bombs that dominated the years following the invasion of Beblis in 1984 had the Imperial Federation seen this level of terrorism. The invasion of Crontor during the Newcastle War had seen violence on an unimaginable scale, but said violence was done at the behest of a conventional army. And the CAF had been able to counter that enemy in the field. They same was not true of terrorism.

Terrorism could not necessarily be countered by the CAF or the numerous security forces that pledged to protect Crontor. It was a creeping and silent threat, living and breeding in the shadows. Rather than face Crontorian tanks on an open field they would strike as they did, targets of importance, schools of learning. Their motives were political and their ideologies radical. They usually detested everything Crontor stood for, which would explain why Crontor was being targeted.

The death toll from the coordinated assaults stood at 7,290 civilians and military personnel dead and well over 23,000 wounded. The response to the bombings had been immediate, an unfortunate by product of a long history of terrorist attacks within the Imperial Federation. Crontorian National Police units had been the first on the scene, establishing perimeters and attempting to make sense of the chaos. Footage from security cameras, literally hundreds of cameras, was being scoured by the Crontorian Bureau of Intelligence, hoping to find evidence of the perpetrators and when they did, footage good enough to run facial recognition software.

Following the CNP deployment, Crontorian Bureau of Intelligence Rapid Response Teams, or CBIRRTs, were deployed, and they went about securing the buildings within the CNP perimeter at each of the locations. All the CBIRRTs, however, after forcing their way into target buildings, found nothing but dead or dying students. Then, amidst the sirens and medical responders, came the CAF deployment. From bases around the targeted cities, CAF detachments began establishing checkpoints and patrolling the chaotic streets. In the midst of all the chaos, the image of overwhelming Crontorian Armed Forces response was a reassuring image to the billions of Crontorians watching the live coverage at home.

Lesser reported was the attack on the WESPAC compounds near Alobordo. Nothing was more embarrassing to the Imperial Federation than not being able to protect foreign forces or its own military when both were in bases at home. Even two years after the Newcastle War, Crontorian security was nothing compared to what it had been before the war. Weapons were available on the streets; crime had skyrocketed, and had only recently been reduced thanks to the full deployment of CAF Field Armies to crime infested areas. With that availability of weapons, came an availability of vehicles, some of the same vehicles that had been assumed to have been legitimate Crontorian Armed Forces logistical vehicles delivering a scheduled shipment of munitions.

Said shipment had arrived fifteen minutes later.

[Mahdah]

Outskirts of Lurst, Route 15 Checkpoint
The Imperial Federation of Crontor

A week had passed after the successfull attacks on the universities and WESPAC bases in Crontor, Harun who was the mastermind was at the wheel of a cheap rented four door car driving through the city of Lurst which had taken them most of the week to travel by car to. Harun was accompanied by Berk İlkin Yılmaz and Emir Kadir, two of three unidentified attackers of the University of Vienna and Demyan Bohuslav who had met up with them three days after the attack and had personnaly watched the four truck bombs driven to explode in the WESPAC bases. The four men who still in Crontor were the most wanted men in the Imperial Federation and were on their way across the border to Euphran.

Their plan for the aftermath was to meet up with their cell in Euphran to stay low for sometime, although as Harun was entering the outskirts of the city that plan might be in danger. A checkpoint was ahead as they saw a sign posted that read "ROUTE 15 CHECKPOINT" and other signs after that one. They were fourtantly several cars back of the checkpoint. Harun needed to settle on a plan B with the others in the car and if all went well the other three would be detained for not having I.Ds and he would get away because he had one. Hopefully it would go that way as he looked at his companions in the car.


"Cehenneme Lanet olsun.." Harun said as Emir looked to Harun with worried eyes after seeing the sign they passed. The other two had noticed and were equaly concerned.

"Brother, a checkpoint is ahead. If we are stopped here we will get detained for sure!" Emir spoke as Harun gave him a assuring pat on the shoulder.

"Do not worry brothers, the messiah is with us and Mykhaylo is looking over us " Harun spoke to calm the others down but he knew he'd have to break it to them with the ultimate truth.

"Unfournatly I am the only one that holds a civilian I.D identical to me and I will not be detained" he said as the others looked to him as if he was mad. "Do not worry, I have faith in you all that you will not faulter when they detain you" he finished.

"But brother! you cant-" Berk said but was cut off by Haruns hand coming up which Berk stopped talking and Harun interjected.

"If you have faith in the Messiah and Mykhaylo, whatever they do will not harm you" he said as they begun to accept their fate and Harun noticed the last car infront of them had passed through the checkpoint. Harun brought the car up to the checkpoint and stopped the car and rolled the window down waiting for the Crontorian to speak to them. Their fate was sealed.

[Crontor]

Sondria;
Luso-Cron Union;
Imperial Federation of Crontor;
Callion Province;
Lurst:

To most countries, the presence of regular police checkpoints was a burden, an unnecessary prying of a government security service into the regular lives and travels of ordinary and innocent civilians. Then again, Crontor was not most countries. Although one would normally expect checkpoints in times of war or in areas plagued by conflict, police checkpoints were quite common across the Imperial Federation. These massive establishments were found periodically on every highway in the country. Drivers were stopped and by law, required to show the Crontorian National Identification Card they possessed, also mandated by law. The card would be swiped, and instantaneously checked by the Crontorian National Census Database electronically. If the occupants of the car were all determined to be legal citizens and had no outstanding warrants against them, they would be given a smile and nod, and allowed on their way.

When this particular car pulled up to the teller window, the uniformed Crontorian National Police officer’s expression immediately changed from that of a friendly smile to a concerned frown as he noticed that three of the occupants in the car did not appear to be white Crontori, thereby complicating the situation. Racism was alive and well in Crontor.

When only one identification card was presently, the officer called over more officers, these ones toting Echeron A4 Assault Rifles, and the car was lead into the CNP compound connected to the highway. There, the car was surrounded by CNP officers who began yelling at the occupants of the car to get out and lay on the ground. The police then swarmed the three that had not shown identification and promptly handcuffed them before leading them into the CNP headquarters where they were brought to different interrogation cells.

Meanwhile, officers explained the situation to the only identifiable traveler, “As you should know, traveling without identification and/or not possessing a government issued card is illegal in the Imperial Federation. You should know better to not transport foreigners without identification, they pose a security risk. We are still looking for the attackers in the most recent terrorist attacks, and we will interrogate these foreigners.”

“Mr. Badem, you are free to go,” the commanding officer explained, “but this incident has been added to your record, and if you are found to have been carting around anymore foreigners without proper identification, you will be arrested.”

While Badem was allowed to go, for his companions, they were beginning a long a difficult road. Detectives were called in from the Lurst CNP headquarters to begin interrogating the foreigners about what exactly they were up to traveling west. After three hours of persistent questioning, they detectives came together and discussed what they had learned. The foreigners had given relatively similar story, but each differed on key details. This and subtle physical reactions which the detectives were trained to spot, made them suspicious enough to conclude that all were lying.

This was relayed to the head of the CNP in Lurst, which was in turn relayed to the Ministry of Internal Security and the Ministry of Intelligence. News of three foreigners in detention lying to Crontorian security officials quickly made its way to the top of the Crontorian bureaucracy. Very soon, every aspect of Crontor’s security infrastructure knew about the detainees in Lurst, including its most secretive elements.

[Mahdah]

Village of Irahim, 15km near Euphrani-Crontor Border
The Democratic Republic of Euphran

Harun Hüseyin Badem had three hours prior to arriving in the village of Irahim in Euphran had been released by the Crontorians at the Lurst checkpoint where his fellow brothers had been kept most likely he'd never see them again and he would pray for them. Upon arrival at the village he met with the Euphrani clergy men who were involved with the cultist cell to inform them of the good news, he was at their door step and knocked on the door.

The door opened and a elderly bearded man opened the door his eyes were small and tired looking. Harun bowed to him and the elderly clergy man bowed in return lettin Harun into the residence, there wasn't much inside just a bed as a matress and sofa, there was a collection of cushined pillows arranged in a circle which under it was a decorative rug.

"welcome back brother Harun, you have returned successfull yes?" the elderly man asked as Harun was directed to a cushined pillow which he sat and across from him were two oher clergy men.

"Yes brother, the attacks were successful but our fellow brothers did not escape" Harun explained as the clergy men shook their heads and chattered amongst themselves.

"Acceptable losses, brother Harun. They will be granted a spot in heaven" one of the clergy men said as they all agreed. Harun was brought a bottle of water as did the other clergy men as they sipped and drank the refreshing cold water.

"The Crontori devils have been put in their place, they'e always wanted to invade Euphran and impose their satanist policies and ways" Another clergy man had added and the others including Harun agreed completely and in past meetings it had been planned on how the cultists would fight against the Crontorians if they invaded.

Harun was tired and the clergy men had allowed him to take rest in their house, he got into bed and drifted off to sleep while the other clergy men talked and prepared food. A rest was what Harun needed most.

[Crontor]

Sondria;
Luso-Cron Union;
Imperial Federation of Crontor;
Rokurfel Province;
Undisclosed Location:

In most nations, especially those that operated as democracies, accused persons were brought through a fair and unbiased legal system. Said legal system would provide an attorney to represent the accused, a jury to hear the evidence, and a verdict given based on what occurred during the trial. In most nations, a secret police that extra judiciously arrested persons and tortured them in secret prisons was unheard of. Arrested persons, whether they were petty criminals or international terrorists, would be afforded equal treatment under the law.

This was simply not the case in Crontor, where the Crontorian Police Special Operations Unit operated with impunity. Not connected to any government ministry and answering directly to the President and Supreme Commander, the CPSOU acted outside of the normal rules of law enforcement. While normal police and security forces had to observe human rights and the Crontorian constitution, the CPSOU was not constrained by any of these rules. Any dissidents, political activists, or suspected traitors would disappear, and they would end up in any number of CPSOU facilities. Said facilities were top secret, and rumored to exist in several foreign countries.

This particular facility was deep in the Rockri Mountains outside of Rock City, dug deep into a mountain. The area was heavily guarded, and there was only one entrance for vehicles, which was guarded by several checkpoints. A week prior, the vehicle barriers at these checkpoints had been lowered to allow a convoy of armored and unmarked, black Strykers and Humvees to enter the facility. This convoy was carrying the three prisoners picked up in Lurst, and over the course of the week, the CPSOU had tortured an assortment of information out of the prisoners.

What they had learned had been quickly passed on to the highest chains of command. While the prisoners sat in isolated cells, broken, sobbing shells of their former selves, the Crontorian Bureau of Intelligence was processing all of the information they had gathered. The terrorists were being sponsored by an ultra religious movement, which had also helped to sponsor the BDLF in Beblis. Crontor had experience with this breed of extremists, and knew that they were a scourge. They had managed to infiltrate the high command of the BDLF and other associated insurgent groups, and started an underground religious movement in the largely ungoverned colony.

Religious extremists usually targeted the Imperial Federation. Unlike their closest allies, Crontorians as a people were not religious. While most Crontorians identified as Cronists, practice was largely secular and the majority considered themselves atheists. As such, Crontorian universities would be prime targets, as they preached science, logic, and reason; all considered dangers to cults and similar groups. This group was apparently operating out of the Democratic Republic of Euphran, an authoritarian socialist regime that did not have friendly ties with the Imperial Federation or the Union as a whole.

Directly to the west of the Luso-Cron Union sat the allied nations of Euphran and Alteria. Both were communist leaning, authoritarian states, that did not get along with the Union. During the Newcastle War, Euphran had even hosted enemy elements that had gone on to attack Crontor. Now it appeared they were doing it again.

As such, a joint directive was handed down by President Cranico and Supreme Commander Rockepeller. Titled Operation Phoenix, a series of orders was given to CAF units across the nation in preparation for a movement of military power not seen in Crontor in the post-bellum era. Operation Phoenix would see the battered Union war machine rise from the ashes and systematically assert its dominance in the region in a coordinated military invasion of both Alteria and Euphran.

For now, the coals were starting to burn.