The Lion That Roared. [P/MT Sondria]

[Mahdah]

Recommended Listening.

Mohal, Zeikla , Outside the City Limits, Zeiklan Police Checkpoint
Southern Alkharania.

"May I see your identification please, Ma'am?" The Zeiklan Police officer asked politely to the lady that was stopped at the checkpoint outside of the city of Mohal. The lady reached into her purse bag as the officer having a MP5 slung over his shoulder waited for the ID to be handed over. Since the protests over the loss of autonomy, the Yalosii government had asked that local police set up checkpoints outside the majority of it's cities. This was to prevent anyone who could pose a security threat from being able to get into the major cities easily and would be faced with a search of their vehicle by local police. The lady handed the officer her ID which he took and walked over to his post which he made sure the ID was real and it matched the description of the lady.

He walked back over to her vehicle and handed her ID back as she put it back into her purse. The officer waved her through as the gate was raised and the vehicle drove forward towards the city. Then the next vehicle pulled into the checkpoint as the Officer took a look at the man as the window was winded down. He felt suspicious about the man as he took a step back calling it in on his shoulder patched radio before speaking to the man.

"Step out of your vehicle please" The Officer stated as the man shut off his vehicle's engine and opened the door. The officer held the door as the man stepped out and was motioned over to the curb. He was then subjected to a full pat down by the officer before taking his ID out of the wallet he found during the pat down. The man sat on the curb as the officer went to check it for authentic and then came back giving him his wallet and allowing him to stand up. The man was allowed to leave as he got in his vehicle and the gate opened allowing him to travel into the city.

The next vehicle to arrive was a truck which pulled into the checkpoint and stopped. The officer approached the window and knocked on it a few times before the driver side window winded down and the Officer looked at the driver who held up what looked like a detonator. The officer stood frozen not knowing what to do as the driver shouted.

"Allahu Akbar inshallah!"

Within the next two seconds the checkpoint suddenly was engulfed in a large fire ball as the driver had pressed down on the detonator, exploding more then ten pounds of homemade explosives packed around the fuel tank of the truck. The blast wave would kill most if not all of the officers manning the checkpoint and completely destroy the checkpoint its self.

Mohal, Zeikla, Outside the Palace of Pokuii Eyuka and the Zeiklan Expeditionary Force HQ Building
Southern Alkharania.

The Palace of Pokuii Eyuka which was the residence and where most of the government was head quartered in. The palace it's self was a decently large building that was only two stories tall and had a twelve foot wall perimeter with a large gated front entrance which lead into a sort of court yard with a driveway for a Limousine to be parked outside the Palace doors. Outside the walls traffic was moderate as it seemed like a normal day for Downtown Mohal but that was going to dramatically change over the course of several minutes. As the light for the intersection went green, a white sedan pulled into the gate way which was closed as a guard knocked on the window. When the window rolled down and the driver put his vehicle in park the vehicle suddenly exploded violently. Car alarms went off and windows shattered because of the blast wave as pedestrians either drove off as fast as they could or left their cars and ran away.

At the same time another large blast had occurred at the front gate of the Zeiklan Expeditionary Force HQ building. The Rustonian guards at the HQ scurried to find out what was going on as already three guards we're killed instantly from the blast. Two white vans suddenly had appeared outside the wreckage of the Palace front gate as they stormed inside stopping in the driveway. Out the back of both vans we're Militant fighters of the Zeiklan Mujahedeen who wore clad black clothing and masks armed with Model 30 assault rifles and PKM machine guns as they stormed into the Palace its self.

Meanwhile a group of Zeiklan Mujahedeen took positions inside a local park across the street of the HQ building. They begun peppering the guard towers facing the park and the windows of the HQ with heavy machine gun fire and even firing a assortment of RPGs. The firefight was ferocious as the guards finally knew what was going on and begun opening fire themselves as the Barracks attached to the HQ building was cleared out as Rustonian troops rushed to meet the Mujahedeen in battle. The raid of the palace was not turning out well for the guards who had to protect it as the Mujahedeen fighters had cleared out most of the first floor and moved into the second floor clearing out rooms with assault rifle fire and grenades.

When Pokuii Eyuka was found hiding under a table the aging leader was dragged out from under the table and shot multiple times with a Model 30 assault rifle. The body of Pokuii Eyuka was then mutilated as a fighter had severed the leader's head with a knife and thrown it out a second story window shouting "Allahu Akbar" as he did so. As the fighters in the Palace had killed mostly everyone within it, police had shown up outside as a firefight ensued with the fighters firing out the windows on the second floor.

The assault on the HQ building continued to get ferocious as structural damage had been done to the HQ building its self by multiple RPGs to the walls and windows along with bullets shredding it's windows and interior. The fighters utilized some underslung grenade launchers which launched 20mm grenades at the Rustonian guards and troops firing at them as the battle continued for both areas. Mohal had turned into a war zone within ten minutes as it was only going to get worse as it was reported the local police station had been hit by a car bomb as well. It was only the beginning of more to come with blood shed and violence included.

[Yalos]

Jaheera, Zeikla
Southern Alkharania, Sondria

Bright and early in morning, a pair of Zeiklese farmers were busy tending to their sheep just outside the town of Jaheera. Despite making occasional small talk, the two mostly kept to themselves, not speaking, conserving their energy in the frigid Zeiklese winds. Since the annexation the week before, little had changed; aside from a sole Sa’vahannese flag fluttering softly from atop the town’s flagpole, their lives had been relatively unbothered by the new political changes. Afterall, they were mere country peasants; they didn’t know, or care, about armies and politics and government. They only knew about their cattle and Allah and peace.

The elder of the two, Aaban, idly held a small golden engraved rifle that he had inherited from his father, who had inherited it from his father, and so on so forth. Bandits were troublesome, and any good herder had to have a rifle to protect himself and his crops. It’s golden masterwork glinted in the frozen sun as Aaban breathed heavily, wrapped thickly beneath layers of hide.

The two men continued to watch their cattle in silence. Neither was all too desirous for conversation and both enjoyed the simple company of the other. They simply stood together as their cattle lazily padded around, chewing up what grass there was, sleeping and horsing around. They yawned occasionally, sat once in a while, every now and then, and tiredly stood vigil over their stirring flocks of sheep. The road below them lay entirely devoid of activity, the skies were clear of birds. Nothing moved.

“Salaam, Aaban,” one of the elderly men breathed to his friend. He leaned on an old hunting rifle for support, wincing in the cold. It was not quite snowing, yet, but it was almost there.“It’s cold out, today, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Yes, it is.” Aaban replied after several moments of silence. “Allah willing it might rain soon. That would be wonderful. I do not wish for more snow-”

Suddenly, the cows began to bay, and the men were stirred from their simple existence, lifted by God into the modern world. Their eyes suddenly jerking open in fear, they felt a vicious trembling and before them arrived a fleet of mighty...chariots. Strange men, with different skin and stranger chariots that spewed smoke and disease approached from the distance bearing flame and war. Their slanted eyes and their hearts of steel could not be reciprocated by such humble farmers. The chariots approached, eight wheeled chariots that were not driven by horse, but by some unholy force.

“Salaam...”Men in strange clothing sat atop, bearing strange sticks that came in an unnatural shape and color. Some of them began to yell in a foreign tongue, and suddenly, the rearmost chariot came to a screeching halt. It’s head turned towards the pair, and its tongue rose, as the men on top of the vehicle leapt off, throwing themselves to the ground. The monster looked Aaban in the eye for a few eternal moments as he tried to lift his arms in surrender. It spat death; Aaban knew no more as his rifle spiraled into the sky, cluttering to the hard soil of his native earth.

Svovakta, the driver of the IFV, sighed in relief.

Svovakta's Type 10 Syuoka IFV was but a drop in the massive 633,280 soldier mission to annex and stabilize Zeikla. Since the reports of the attack in Mohal started coming in a few hours ago, his unit, which had been in the middle of a live fire exercise, had been scrambled to quickly help deal with the situation. This encounter just now had been Svovakta's first taste of combat against an evil, enemy militant. The young man, a conscript from high school, smiled to himself, accepted applause and high-fives from his fellow green-soldiers; their first combat encounter had gone seemingly well enough.

Svovakta once again took command of his gun as the other man began to run amidst stampeding cows. He aimed his 40mm autocannon again, aligned the sights with the assistance of the digital FCS, and squeezed the trigger, almost artistically this time as the terrorists' body flew apart in a red, blood mess.

"Well, if those were the terrorists, then we'll be able to fix this terrorist problem in no time," Svovakta boasted, eliciting laughter from his friends. "The veterans probably exaggerate the stories about the crazy militants of the past. Maybe if we kill enough, they'll discharge us sooner, guys." His friends were hooting and jeering. They had not yet to face the true swords of Islamic extremism.

[spoiler=][/spoiler]

[Mahdah]

Outside Jaheera, Zeikla, 30km from Mohal
Southern Alkharania.

The long stretch of highway leading the way to Mohal which was the capital city of Zeikla currently in peril and chaos following the current fighting within the city by the Zeiklan Mujahedeen. The highway was on both sides surrounded by thick forest brush and pine trees as further in it climbed upwards forming a hill which was heavily forested with trees and brush and the hills themselves reached a decent height which gave a nice view of the highway from above. Waiting on both sides of the highway in the thick forested brush and trees we're dozens of Zeiklan Mujahedeen who had been made aware of a convoy that was going to come through this stretch of highway heading most likely towards the capital to help relieve security forces in Mohal. Zeiklan commanders had relayed to the ambush force that the objective was either to completely stop the convoy and destroy it or instill heavy casualties and losses before tactically retreating out of the combat zone and into the forests to evade Yalosii forces.

The Mujahedeen fighters themselves had before hand camouflaged themselves to the forest environment as best they could. Utilizing face paint and forest brush and branches to blend in with the forest its self. Most of the heavy weapons being utilized in the ambush had also been camouflaged such as the dug in SPG-9s and the multiple B-11 105mm guns positioned on either sides of the highway in the tree line. Of course the main bulk of the ambush was the Mujahedeen fighters themselves scattered along both hills armed with Model 30 assault rifles, PKM light machine guns and RPG-7s and RPG-29s. They lied in wait for the Yalosii convoy to come into sight as they waited patiently before suddenly it was heard through radio chatter that the convoy had been spotted heading towards their ambush point.

The fighters readied themselves for combat as the convoy came closer and closer towards the ambush point. The convoy from what they could gather was some form of armor formation consisting of tanks, mortar carriers and various armored vehicles. Their was of course a surprise for the first vehicle of the convoy as a IED had been placed in the road covered by asphalt to make it seem like a simple pothole in the road. The IED was set to blow on command by a detonator as the IED it's self was comprised of a old 155mm artillery shell and was covered by asphalt from where a hole was dug into the road as it was later more disguised as a typical pot hole.

The first vehicle of the convoy was a tank and it's commander had opened the hatch and was taking in the fresh air as he looked around casually. The tank seconds before it went over the pothole, the man with the cellphone dialed the number as within seconds with the tank under the pot hole the IED was triggered causing a explosion from under the tank as it passed. Following the IED successfully exploding under the tank, the SPG-9 and B-11's begun firing on the convoy as it slowed to a halt because of the explosion allowing them to be easy targets as multiple side hits would be achieved on the convoy's vehicles. The Zeiklan Mujahedeen fighters then let loose with RPG-7 and RPG-29 rockets mostly utilizing the tandem warheads which we're more effective against armored vehicles such as the ones in the convoy.

All hell had broken loose on this very stretch of highway leading to the capital city. Explosions and gun fire filled the air as the ambush was in full swing.

[Yalos]

Outside Jaheera, Zeikla, 30km from Mohal
Southern Alkharania

The formation, shocked by the sudden explosion, came to an impetuous, grinding halt.

The first tank in the formation was hurled several inches off the ground and tossed aside like a ragdoll, skidding to a grinding halt against the soil as its smoking carcass lay dormant on its side. Then, suddenly, without warning, the turret flew apart, hurling vicious fragments of shrapnel and armored vehicular parts hell-pell in a cloud of flying debris and iron as the clouds began to disperse. The operators in the tanks immediately behind began to wince at the heat of the explosion, instinctively bringing their hands to the brakes as gunners, suddenly alerted, took their positions, scanning the surroundings for potential positions of enemy cover, selecting both canister and HESH rounds. Another tank was burnt out from a devilishly well-aimed shot between its tracks as the rest of the tanks moved into their well-rehearsed formations. The crew gasped as the internal fire control system went into effect, saving them from a certain inferno of death,

The older, foreign-trained tank operators, and the natural leaders of the group, skidded their tanks at angled slants slightly off the road as the tracks took hold of the gravel path, presenting more of the frontal armor to the enemy and putting their gunners in a more optimal immediate firing position. The younger operators followed suit. Enemy anti-tank rifle fire began to recoil off outer layers of Relikt Explosive Reactive Armor. The heavier rocket propelled grenades were able to penetrate this outer layer, but were unable to penetrate further layers of dense uranium mesh--Chobham armor. A few of the new recruits began to panic and momentarily lose control of their tanks as the explosions rocked their tanks with great intensity, but few personnel were harmed and they quickly got in the hang of the fight. They were operating well in such heat.

The Armored personnel carriers traversed a double line of tanks that had been formed, offloading their soldiers quickly and efficiently in the cover of the outer layer of armor. The soldiers immediately took position behind the tanks on both sides, providing suppressive fire with their rifles as a small group of young soldiers with 308-1 Napalm grenades began to hurl their charges into the two aligning rows of trees. Meanwhile, the gunners and commanders of the respective vehicles sowed the treelines and adjoining bushes, simply washed over and spread their fire through the groves and thickets with 40mm autocannon fire, 12.7mm machine gun fire and specialized canister-shot rounds that hurled thousands of beads into the thickets without discrimination.

Over forty autocannons and several dozen tank cannons poured iron and firepower into the two rows of trees as the tanks from behind began to move up, bearing reinforcements and additional firepower as they arrived. Sa’vahannese Infantry forces were able to set up some heavy machine guns and infantry mortars, to add to this volume as splinters, sharpnel, and now, burning wood began to fill the air with noisome smells of depleted metals. After a few minutes, two tanks lay smoking with a half dozen or so wounded or seriously injured Sa’vahannese combattants--the first casualties. The enemy’s fire was threatening, but Sa’vahannese armor held up well to the challenge.

“We need some air support, now!”

Svovakta’s trembling hands grasped the controls as he spread heavy fire into the trees, believing that he spotted movement--it could have just been the impact of his comrades’ fire. Svovakta could almost feel the barrel melting, despite the fact that he was inside of the vehicle and virtually safe from harm. His commander, a grizzled former Serkonese Paratrooper, continued to shout into his radio as air force were scrambled from the local administrative base. His commander grunted in pleasure, and informed those inside the vehicle that three helicopters were on their way.

“We’re going to wipe up these darkies, boys. Begin celebrating!”

Almost on cue, another tank along the formation suffered a severe mobility kill as its armored skirt crumpled, leaving its gears exposed. The enemy hesitated none; the wheels were almost instantly shot off. Fortunately, however the aforementioned helicopters in question were now sitting on the ground at Kokkua airbase as pilots and crew men began to run, clambering inside as their aviation unit prepared to move out. They clambered into their Marquesan-made Hellcat Gunships, and were given permission to take off. The helicopters took to the skies, careening chaotically towards their targets.

[Mahdah]

Outside Jaheera, Zeikla, The Ambush.

The ambush within the first three minutes had made some progress as the IED had done it's job completely destroying the lead tank in the convoy forcing the rest of the vehicles to a halt. Other vehicles we're also able to be damaged and personnel injured but as the ambush continued the return fire from Yalosii armored vehicles and infantry soon became too much to bear as the tree line down the slope of the hill started to catch fire and slowly spread. Casualties we're of course had for the several dozen or so Zeiklan Mujahedeen in both tree lines on either side of the high way. They would die instantly or die slowly as martyrs not being afraid of death creeping upon them but accepting it with some of the dead dying with near smiles on their faces. This is what most of them wanted, to be made a martyr and allowed into paradise for their bravery and courage in the path of jihad. The insurgents that remained took what heavy equipment they could such as the SPG-9s and B-11s along with fallen comrade's weapons and retreated deeper into the hill as ironically the enemy had called air support.

With the amount of camouflage on the insurgents as they moved deeper and deeper into the hills they'd be less and less recognizable from the air or from the highway as the thick brush and trees covered their escape. Once getting to the very top of the hill and descending down the hill on the other side away from the highway, the insurgents would take what they could carry and what wounded they could save and continue their trek back to their respective small camps made deep in the large forests of Zeikla which many had never completely traveled before which helped in the case of the insurgents needing a hide away after a battle.

Sitting inside a small tent deep inside the expansive forest was a middle aged man wearing mostly olive green BDU's and had a large beard growing from under his chin. Zeiklan Mujahedeen commander Raheel Kassab pressed the 'talk' button on his hand-held radio as he spoke into it getting ahold of one of the insurgents who was given a radio to keep in contact with.

"How far are you from camp, brother?" Raheel spoke into the hand held radio as he waited for a response from the other. Then within moments a reply came from the other side.

"Almost there inshallah, we've salvaged some of the heavy weapons and the wounded we could save" The voice said as Raheel pressed the 'talk' button once again as he looked over a map of Zeikla that he had laid out on the ground.

"I'l see you when you return, the Yalosii should be gone within a few hours and headed into Mohal, then we will re-group and move at night." Raheel explained as he set the radio down and took his marker and circled the city of Mohal as he stared at the marking as a reply came through from the radio.

"Allahu Akbar."

[The Nuclear Fist]

Revolutionary People's Front - Zeikla Expeditionary Force Headquarters
Mohal, Zeikla

Zeikla was always considered to be a sleepy place. Even during the worst of the protests when Yalosii annexation was announced, things had remained relatively calm. Security was generally relaxed, with Rustonian troops freely mingling with the local populace. So when the truck bomb rushed the front gates and exploded, the last seconds of the guards' lives were spent in startled surprise. The explosion had obliterated them before the horror would have dawned, and almost certainly before terror could have seized them up. Alarms were raised across headquarters and the platoon of troops were scrambled out of their barracks.

A hailstorm of machine gun fire, grenades, and RPGs fell upon the HQ building itself, blowing open windows and knocking down walls. One of the twin guard towers that flanked the now nonexistent gate was struck by multiple rockets and collapsed. In the other tower, the T10 was spooled and began to fire down on the mujahedeen in the park across the street. Its merciless stream of anti-personnel rounds fired so fast that the individual shots could not be made out, creating an endless whine like a torturous banshee. The platoon began to pour out of their barracks, weapons in hand. The initial shock of the unprovoked attack had worn off, and had been replaced with a cold anger in the bellies of the soldiers and a merciless, powerful hunger for revenge.

In total, there were forty-nine men in the platoon. Three squads of twelve men each, armed with battle rifles, LMGs, marksmen rifles, underslung 32mm grenade launchers, and RPG-32s. They took up cover amidst the rubble and in the street and began firing on the enemy insurgents. The three machine gunners spread out wide and put down a wave of suppressive fire from three separate angles, adding onto the storm of fire coming down from the T10. The marksmen attempted to get beads on the insurgents, with priority being given to the ones armed with RPGs. If and when they could, the marksmen would fire off as many shots as possible. The RPG-32s were being leveled against the insurgents grouped together or behind heavy cover.

The goal was to kill the insurgents, obviously. But barring that, the platoon was ordered to keep them where they are. In the HQ's garage a Shiva had been stationed to receive repairs the week previously. Its crew, on loan from another unit, was desperately trying to get the thing up and running. It was scheduled to return to its unit a few kilometers outside of town today, so it was already loaded up with fuel and munitions. They hoped to get it up and running in five minutes, at which point they would join in the firefight.

So for right now, it was a matter of time.