Red Storm (Closed! ATTN: Sondria)

[Holus]

Holuse National Committee; Holuch, Holus
Two Weeks Earlier

Their footsteps echoed through the deserted halls of the massive Holuse National Committee building in the heart of the capital Holuch. They were making they way to the Central Office to meet with the Holuse National Committee to propose their plans to kick start the stagnating economy. This was Mikhail Ingolf's big chance to get out of the "scrap heap", enforcing unachievable work quotas or finding and dealing with rogue labour union leaders. If everything was to go well or if they chose one of his proposals he would have a guaranteed ticket to a comfortable desk job in the capital far away from the death and misery enforced upon the rest of the country by the Party. He had spent the last thirty years of his life working through the bureaucratic Party bullshit to get to this very moment and nothing apart from a bullet to the head would stop him from getting that promotion that he so desperately wanted.

Mikhail looked over at his young idealistic apprentice whom had yet to be worn down by the cold and brutal Party bureaucracy. Petro like most young party members believed what the Holuse propaganda machine told them, about how the Party was looking to create a bright Utopian future for Nordania and expel the "evil monarchists and capitalists" whom seek to destroy this paradise that Holus has been creating over the past 52 years. "Ahh to be young again." Mikhail nostalgically thought to be himself as the two men came to a slow yet steady stop at the steps to the Central Office where they due to meet with the Holuse National Committee members.

The two men looked at each other with a mutual admiration for each other. They had grown close after spending the past year working 16 hour days together all in preparation for this very moment and they were going to saver every last moment in the Holuse National Committee building before they were going to be brutally disappointed or overcome with joy.

"Petro I just want to say, whatever happens in the Central Office it as been an honour working along side you and I've..." - Mikhail felt his eyes glass over - "come to see you as the son I never had. I hope we remain friends along after this moment."

"The feeling is mutual." Petro said with a huge smile on his face. The two men embraced. Knowing full well that it could be the last time they might ever work or see each other again. Once they had regained their composure they entered the Central Office.

As they entered the Central Office a rush of crisp cool gently crashed into their faces. The room was deathly quiet when they closed the door behind them, it had a atmosphere similar to a funeral; something which was happening away too often for members of the "old guard". Slowly, the Party was running out of the old men who had survived McCarthy's purges, and the current crop of members, all "young" men and women in their fifties or early sixties, was finally being heard. The old guard was being changed. Too slowly for Mikhail and his generation of Party members.

"Good Afternoon Comrades." Mikhail said handing his coat to Petro, who withdrew at once, closing the door behind him. Mikhail took his seat in the centre of the room. The Chairman of the Holuse National Committee, who had brought the meeting to order, stood up. His voice was controlled and businesslike. "Comrade Ingolf, you may begin your report on how you will reverse are glorious country's recent economic misfortunes."

"Comrades, if we do not reform the economy we can...should expect the present rate of GDP growth, which currently stands at 12%, to drop to -3.5% by 2020. Productively is down and the failure of Premier Comrade Chapin's attempt's to end sanctions against the United Soviet Republics, has left are economy dangerously dependent on oil and natural gas exports for are government's revenue. If global oil prices were to drop under one hundred..."

"What are you proposing comrade?" the Internal Affairs minister said sharply.

"We come to the table, we send a delegation to Ghant for example and try and reach a agreement. Offering modest reforms in exchange for the ending of the sanctions placed upon Holus. We should also promote foreign companies to invest in Holus, building factories to create cheep consumer produces which would be exported to consumer based capitalist economies. With the Holuse Mark's low exchange rate this plan, most of my fellow economists whom assisted me with this Five Year Plan, all firmly believe that this model would work in attracting foreign investment. Due to the low cost of labour and production as well as if we float the Holuse Mark to keep the exchange rate low; I firmly believe that Holus' GDP growth will double if not triple over the next 5 years.

But the biggest key to reversing the current economic stagnation is slashing the current defense budget from 200 Billion Holuse Marks to 100 billion and reinvesting that money into infrastructural projects. This will not only allow the Holuse general population to be better educated but will allow for a much smoother transition into a more advanced ...diversified economy in the near to late future."

"Cutting the defence budget in half, going to the imperialist power and offering a compromise. Are you trying to make the United Soviet Republics weak and desperate!" snorted the Chairman of Defence, Andrus Ansip.

Mikhail smirked slightly. He had spend working hours practicing and perfecting a retort for that very question. "Comrade Ansip, Holus spends more money on defence that any other nation in Nordania despite the fact we have the smallest GDP in the entire continent. Are mighty military is triple the size of the imperialistic NEDO states combined. If the party wants to survive to see the end of the century or at the very least end of the decade, cuts must be made to ensure the success of this Five Year Plan. Unless somehow Holus suddenly gains a political stable ally that we can trust and/or control, this is are best chance to avoid certain economic collapse."

"What do you mean by 'a political stable ally that we can trust and/or control'?" inquired the Foreign Minister.

"Well, say if Ghant or Crontor was to be overthrown by a communist government which was Pro-Holuse and willing to trade with us as well as being economically and politically stable, in theory it could kick start the economy or at the very least stabilise are economy."

"Interesting, thank you Comrade for all the work you have put in to saving are mighty country. Marcos Chapin, from the heavens, is smiling down upon you." the Chairman of the Holuse National Committee said with a malevolent smile on his face. "Due to the seriousness of the situation presented before us, the Holuse National Committee will discuss and come to a decision within the hour.

"Thank you Comrade for your kind works. I eagerly await your decision." Mikhail said with a uneasiness in his voice, before leaving the room. The fact Holuse National Committee was making a decision so quickly left Mikhail with a apprehensive feeling in his stomach. The Holuse National Committee never made a decision this quickly, it often took days, weeks, months, sometimes years to settle on a decision. Petro looked inquiringly over at his mentor, anxiously waiting for Mikhail tell him what happen. After Mikhail finished telling his young friend on what happened, one of the foreign minister's aid opened the door to the Central Office and walked over to Mikhail.

"The Holuse National Committee has made it's decision, Mikhail. They have summoned you to inform you of there decision."

"Thank you Comrade." Mikhail replied.

The aid nodded in response before withdrawing back into the Central Office. Mikhail looked over at Petro and said, "Well this is it, the moment we have been working for. Wish me luck."

Petro shot him a smile, too nervous to say anything. As Mikhail entered the Central Office there was a more serious demeanor in the room. The Holuse National Committee had clearly made a majour, probably controversial decision that would have dire consequences for Holus and the international community. Once Mikhail had taken his seat the Chairman of Defence stood up, signally the beginning of the meeting.

"Holus." began the Chairman of Defence "will never submit to imperialist puppet rule. If we compromise with the imperialists, we will quickly be at the whim of Ghish and the greedy worker oppressing corporations. As Comrade Mikhail has just said in the previous meeting, that all Holus needs is a political stable ally that we can control. Such a nation exists only a few thousand kilometers way in a nation called Crontor. A imperialistic nation which invades and annexes smaller nation and has in the past threaten Holus' very right to exist! We have the ability to take it, of course." --- by take it he meant invade Crontor and establish a puppet government. Mikhail thought to himself. --- "Inside of two weeks, we could assemble enough aircraft and airborne troops to swoop down and capture the capital Vienna, crippling Crontorian attempts to resist. Unfortunately, there could not fail to be a violent Imperialist response. The Imperialist countries would see are invasion as a blatant act of aggression that would warrant a military intervention, a intervention that would surely result in a Holuse defeat or possibly a nuclear war.

Therefore, before we can seize the Vienna and install a Holuse puppet regime, we must make it appear that Crontor is the aggressor." Mikhail sat upright in his chair. What was he getting to, was he really saying what he was saying? He struggled to keep his face impassive as the Defense Minister continued.

"If Crontor appears to be the aggressor, NEDO and other imperialists nations that might have come to Crontor's defence wouldn't, Crontor is the aggressor, why would they help a aggressive nation who is very unpopular domestically, it would be political suicide for any head of state. Without any foreign support, several high ranking commanders have assured me, that Crontor will not stand a chance against are mighty military. Mikhail Engolf, you will be responsible for the post invasion recovery effort and drawing up a Five Year Plan for Crontor. So does anyone have any questions?"

Mikhail was in shock, did they really believe what the Chairman of Defence was saying, Mikhail wondered, did they actually believe that Crontor's allies would sit on their hands and watch the Holuse conquer Crontor? What the hell went was discussed just 20 minutes ago?

Finally a younger member of the Holuse National Committee, who clearly wasn't privy to the meeting spoke up about his concerns. "So, all we have to do is conquer Crontor? The same nation whose conventional forces you warn us about every year? Every year you tell us of the threat the massed NEDO and Crontorian armies present to us, and now you say casually that we must conquer them? Won't one of it's allies at least intervene or am I mistaken?"

"No nation or nations" began the Foreign Minister to Mikhail surprise. "would risk the political fallout of backing a aggressor, in this case Crontor. Especially after what Crontor will "do" against the Holuse Soviet Republics." Foreign Minister Solberg ventured a rare smile at the thought of it. "As you know, the HIA has been working on such a plan for the past several years and is now in its final form and I will outline it for you." He did so, it took nearly a hour and half and he didn't leave a single detail out. Mikhail applauded its audacity with a new understanding of the power balance in this room. The hardliners were in charge and nothing was going to peel them away from power.

Holuch, Holus; Present Day

In was a warm late summers night, just after midnight when the lorry drove north across the Janis Bridge to Chaiskaya Square and turned right, toward the United Soviet Republics Capitol building. The driver stopped at the first check point for the first group of Guards. With their papers in order, they were waved through. The lorry pulled up to the second checkpoint, which was directly in front of Holuch Palace of the Chapin. From there it was eight hundred meters to the service entrance of the United Soviet Republics Capitol building.

"What are you delivering today, Comrades?" asked the Holuse Revolutionary Army captain as he looked through their papers.

"A fresh supply of cleaning supplies, I don't mind showing them to you?" inquired the driver.

"Sure." the Holuse Revolutionary Army captain replied with a slight smile on his face.

The driver climbed out his lorry and walked around the back of the lorry. The driver then opened the back of the lorry to reveal ten cans of industrial-strength solvent and a crate of hardware parts. "Crontorian supplies?" The captain asked in slight shock, he had been on guard duty for a month and had never seen Crontorian supplies being delivered.

"Well the Crontorians do make very effective cleaning machinery and solvent. You do know that the Party elite want to live as luxuriously as the Baltkalns!" joked the driver, the two men laughed briefly.

"Open one of the crates." ordered the captain.

"The crate ah, I will open it." The lid slid off easily since the most of the nails were missing or had already been loosened. "As you see, Comrade, parts for some of the machines that the cleaning crew use to." He smirked. "Even the toughest machines break."

The captain turned his attention to the cans. The captain climbed into the back of the lorry and methodically looked at the outside of the cans, searching for anything suspicious. There was something obnoxious about the cans but the captain couldn't but his finger on it. After looking at the can for a minute he lazily wrote it off as being paranoid.

"Well everything appears to be in order, you can take in."

"Thank you Comrade." the driver said.

The captain waved to a private and walked off. The soldier according unlocked the door. The driver and his assistant went inside to get a two-wheeled hand truck and began unloading the crates and cans. They loaded the cans onto the hand truck and wheeled it into the building's service elevator. They took the elevator to the seventh floor, shut the power off, and moved their loads to a large storage room directly below the massive eighth floor conference room. The cans had false tops which the driver removed and set aside. Within the cans were the materials necessary to build a small dirty bomb. The two men spend the next five hours constructing the dirty bomb. Upon it's completion, the two men carefully placed the bomb next to the wall before placing the empty cans in front of the dirty bomb, hiding it from any prying eyes. The driver took out his electronic triggering device from his pocket, he checked his watch, and waited for two minutes before pressing the button to activate the timer. The dirty bombs would explode in exactly five hours time.

With everything ready the two men left the building and climbed into their lorry and drove off. They easily passed through the same security checkpoints, which were manned by lazy and disgruntled who didn't want to be working the night shift. Five hours later the dirty bomb when off, killing all the members of the Holuse National Executive Committee, signalling the beginning of their plan.

[Crontor]

Sondria;
Hellas;
Imperial Federation of Crontor;
Crontor Administrative District;
Columbia Province;
Vienna:

Amid the hustle and bustle of the government district of Vienna stood a building unique among its neighbors. Lining the Federal Plaza were glass and steel skyscrapers, each the headquarters of a federal ministry or agency within those ministries. Covering 3.41 square kilometers, the Plaza was covered in sporting fields, playgrounds, open spaces, wooded areas, and even several ponds which could be skated on during the winter. It attracted tens of millions of locals and tourists and was constantly teeming with life at all hours of the day. Some of the nation’s most famous monuments were contained in the Federal Plaza a constant reminder to the citizens who visited about the greatness of the Imperial Federation.

With the ministries lining the long ends of the Plaza, the two opposing short ends were occupied by the two most important buildings in Vienna. The Federal Building was a columned and domed architectural masterpiece and the seat of the Crontorian government. With both the Executive Office of the President and the Imperial Congress housed within the Federal Building it was center of formal Crontorian authority in the Imperial Federation and in Sondria. Decisions were made here that dynamically altered the state of regional affairs. But the hand that molded policy always needed a delivery vehicle and the further one traveled from the center, the harder and harder it became to assert that authority. In many cases, the hand was useless without the hammer.

Sitting across the length of the plaza was the headquarters of that hammer. The Crontorian Military Pyramid, a monstrosity of black glass and steel construction stood as an ominous reminder to the lethal power of the Crontorian Armed Forces. Opposite the solid white construction of the Federal Building, the contrast was both literal and figurative between the aims and functions of both building. White stood for the dove of peace. Black for the crows of war.

As the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense and by extension the Crontorian Armed Forces, the CMP was a constant hive of activity. Ringed by vehicle barricades and a ten foot concrete wall it was a place where security was not taken lightly. Security had been constantly increased around the facility following years of attacks or attempted attacks. As could be imagined, there were plenty of people, groups, and nations across Sondria who would be more than happy to see the CMP crumble under the force of a car bomb or equally devastating attack. Many groups had tried and a few had come close to succeeding. The combat equipped soldiers of the Crontorian Federal Military Police formed a barrier of armed deterrence against any and all threats, treating even a tourist venturing too close as an immediate threat. Many travel agencies internationally warned their nationals planning trips to Vienna to be extremely careful and to never venture near the Pyramid.

Despite its obvious importance and strategic location the Pyramid was home to a smaller staff than was to be expected of most military headquarters. Crontorian High Command (CROHCOM) headed by Supreme Commander Crogden, the aging but competent military leader of the CAF, was headquartered at the CMP alongside Federal Military Police Command (FEDMILCOM) and the Combat Coordination Agency (CCA). The latter two organizations had narrow areas of responsibility leaving CROHCOM as the main driver of activity at the Pyramid.

Commanding Joint Civilian Operation Commands and Operation Combat Commands across Sondria and the Imperial Federation they were constantly fed ever increasing volumes of information from operations and developing situations across the region. As it stood, things were quiet. Or at least they were, until reports of a dirty bomb detonating in some random hellhole had caught the attention of JOMINOC. To put it frankly, the Imperial Federation did not care that random nations had allowed themselves to be bombed with nuclear materials. Unless some terrorist group such as Al Hafa or the BDLF got their hands on nuclear material, it did not concern anyone in the JOMINOC. What had caught everyone off guard was the fact that the Imperial Federation was being blamed for this act of terror.

Deep in the belly of the Crontorian Military Pyramid, Supreme Commander Crogden sat before the Imperial Consuls and pertinent military personnel as they prepared to offer a report to President Carter. Already, the President had released a statement strongly condemning the attack and denying any and all Crontorian involvement. Orders had then been passed along to mobilize naval resources in the vicinity to potential deploy to the crippled country. But there had been disturbing revelations brought about by the analysts at the National Satellite Reconnaissance Agency (NSRA). The armed forces of Holus seemed to be displaying unusual military activity that did not seem connected to terrorist attack.

“So. We had nothing to do with this…correct?” began Crogden, turning to face Director Ike Thornton, head of the Central Intelligence Service. The elite and feared intelligence and covert action branch of the CAF, the CIS was notorious for dirtying its hand in everyone’s trashcans. If it was not searching for something to blackmail you in your trash than it was definitely lighting both your trash and your house on fire. As could be expected, they were the first to be consulted about strange and volatile situations.

“Listen, Supreme Commander, I can assure you just as I did President Carter, the CIS had nothing to do with the orchestration of this attack. Our current information on both the situation and the nation in question is very limited although we are working with the rest of JOMINOC to get a handle of this…event. All we know for sure is that we weren’t behind it. That’s for sure,” Thornton calmly explained, passing a folder stuffed with papers towards Crogden, “these are the maps from NSRA. Something, somewhere is going down.”

“Well then get on that, and you,” Crogden turned to the Imperial Consuls, representing the Army, Navy, and Air Assault Force, “get me military solutions, but I doubt we are going to need it.”

[Holus]

Holuse State Television

Reporters and their camera crews hovered around the rubble, which littered the ground surrounding the ruins of the United Soviet Republics Capitol building. The TV news crew were having a great time. It had been years since they'd been allowed to film in Holus, and the video they were getting of dozens of heavily armed men in hazmat suits searching through the rubble was surely going to result in record breaking rating for their various news networks, especially in Nordanian countries. While the world awaited on a Holuse response to the attack, speculating reigned supreme. Rumours that Al Hafa or the BDLF were behind the attack took hold in many peoples mind. A frenzy of fear mongering swiftly ensued as the theory of Al Hafa facilitated the attack and it was part of a much greater bombing campaign to destroy the infidels caught on, only to be completely overshadowed by what was about to happen next.

At exactly 19:00 hours a live feed was broadcasted to all of the majour Nordanian and international new networks. At the receiving end was a man in his early thirties. He was wearing a grubby business suit, he had straight short jet black hair, and thin face which was largely covered by his unnaturally large moustache which was far too big for his thin face and a comically large pair of glasses. It was abundantly clear at the very moment you looked or glanced at him that he had been badly tortured, yet the Holuse had done one hell of a job hiding most of the signs of torture. Following several moments of silents the man began to speak.

"I am Connor Fogh," the man said. "A week ago I entered the United Soviet Republics of Holus through the port city of Tralin. At age 24, I was recruited into joining the Central Intelligence Service, the intelligence and covert action branch of the Crontorian government. My assignment was to kill the Holuse National Executive Committee members during its Friday-morning session via the means of a dirty bomb placed in a storage room directly beneath the eighth-floor conference room in which they routinely meet. This was part of a much larger plan to cripple the Holuse government and economy in order to artificially induce a civil or armed uprising against the communist government, so that the Crontorian government would have a legitimate excuse to invade Holus and topple it's current government in order to establish a Pro-Crontorian puppet regime."

"Fogh" spoke in perfect Hornish, with the precise syntax and diction that schoolteachers in the Holus constantly try and to achieve in their students. To any native speaker of Hornish, Fogh's Hornish was perfect, too perfect, almost to the point as artificial. As if a Artificial Intelligence was talking.

"With extensive support and funding from the Crontorian government I have been able to run and grow a import-export business in Vienna for many years, which specialises in the production of industrial-strength solvents and spare parts for cleaning machinery. As part of my assignment I have learned specialise in trading with countries that are unfriendly or hostile to the Crontorian government or interests such as Holus. I have over the years traveled into the Holus on many occasions, and on many of these instances, I have used my business identity to assist in subversive operations against The United Soviet Republics to weaken and spy upon the National Revolutionary Worker's Party and Holuse military infrastructures." The camera zoomed in on "Fogh's" face while he was reading. The tone had been using during the entire "confession" was that of a monotone one would use while reading aloud a script. Behind the glasses on the right side of his face was a large bruise that was partly covered by some women's blush. His hands shook slightly at the bottom of the television screen as he changed pages of the script.

"I wish to make it clear to Holus and the world," Fogh changed his tone to a much more serious, firmer tone of voice, "that I had no intention of injuring or killing the 20 school children whom were on a school field trip to the United Soviet Republics Capitol building. The Holuse National Executive Committee was my legitimate political and military target, Crontor doesn't go to war against small children no matter their country of origin."

A sudden cacophony booing of disgust came from off-camera, which swiftly filled the room. As if on cue, the camera zoomed out to reveal a pair of heavily uniformed HIA (Holuse Intelligence Agency) officers flanking the speaker, their inscrutable faces staring into camera and out through the viewer's television screen straight into the soul of the viewer watching. "Why does your imperialist country wish to kill the leaders of our benevolent National Revolutionary Worker's Party!" growled someone who was out of the camera's lens.

"I am a spy for Crontorian," Fogh replied claimly. "I just carried out my assignment which I told you about earlier. I don't ask why, I only follow orders."

Then all of a sudden the broadcast came to a abrupt end, as if someone had accidentally turned off the camera. After five seconds a second live feed was broadcasted to all of the majour Nordanian and international new networks. At the receiving end was a conference room filled with just over two dozens reporters, most of them foreigners. The Foreign Minister entered from the room and moved to the lectern. He looked uncharacteristically frazzled, his suit rumpled and his shirt collar dingy, he had a disconcerting look on his face. Once he reached the lectern and had gotten himself settled, he looked up at the camera, his eyes squinted through his reading glasses as he began.

"Ladies and gentlemen. The most recent act of barbarism against innocent children of our nation is a disgusting act of terror Holus has not seen in a long time...," the Foreign Minister began, speaking with slow, quiet diction "Not since the Mad Czar slaughtered the Holuse people in the tens of thousands! These innocent kids were killed by the raging inferno of State terrorism. Killed by a nation that has continues to pursue unholy dreams of conquest and murder of the Holuse Motherland. 30 dedicated, humble servants of our Party who asked nothing more than to serve the Motherland were brutally murdered because of the aggression of fascist and imperialist world order!

"Comrades, to the families of the innocent children, and to the families of the fine men and women who were killed, I say that a reckoning will come. I say that their deaths will not be forgotten. I say that there will be justice for this vicious crime! The United Soviet Republics of Holus has received irrefutable evidence that the government of the Imperial Federation of Crontor is between the recent act of terrorism in Holus as part of a bigger plot to bring about the destabilisation of the United Soviet Republics of Holus in preparation for the invasion of toppling of the legitimate communist regime and the establishment of a Crontorian puppet government. The Holuse Intelligence Agency have in their possession classified Crontorian documents which prove what I have told you all is true.

"In the past few decades Crontor has expressed it's desire to turn it's self into a hyperpower via both political and military force. The first step in it's plan for world domination is to destroy those whom act as a counterbalance Crontorian against imperialism, nations such as Holus.

"Holus has no wish to cast away any hope for improving in foreign relations with the Imperialist world." The Foreign Minister paused before going on. "But the Holus cannot ignore the deliberate act of aggression has been made against the Holus, on Holuse soil which has crippled are government's ability to run the country!

"The government of the United Soviet Republics will today deliver a note to the President Carter administration. As a price of our forbearance, as a price of keeping the peace, we demand that the Crontor immediately demobilise its military to a level consistent with maintenance of the civil peace. We further call upon the President Carter to admit its aggressive action, to dissolve his government and to hold new elections, so that the Crontorian people themselves may judge how well they have been served.

Finally, we demand and expect that full reparations be paid to the government of the Holus, and to the families of those so callously murdered by the Central Intelligence Service. Failure to meet with these demands will have the gravest possible consequences.

"As I have already said, we have no reason whatever to believe that any other nation allied with Crontor had the slightest complicity in this shocking act of state terrorism. This crisis is between the government of the Holus and Crontor. It is our hope that this crisis can be resolved through diplomatic means. I urge the Carter government to carefully consider the consequences of its actions with the greatest care over the next few days and to act in a way that will preserve the peace and prevent yet another conflict in this war torn world. That is all I have to say." The Foreign Minister gathered his papers and left. The gathered reporters did not even attempt to shout questions at the receding form. Seconds afterwards the live feed was discontinued and normal broadcasting schedule programs were restored.

[Crontor]

Sondria;
Hellas;
Imperial Federation of Crontor;
Crontor Administrative District;
Rockurfel Province;
Fort Cronmore:

Deep in the heartland of the Imperial Federation, Rockurfel Province was mountainous and isolated country. It was the historic heartland of the Central Kingdom which was one of the historic predecessors to the modern Crontorian nation and the primary adversary of the Cranicoan Empire based in Vienna. Since the beginning of Crontorian history, power had shifted between the two entities. The Cranicoans had successfully united the country, moving the formal capital of the Imperial Federation to the coastal city of Vienna. Even so, the remnants of the Central Kingdom lived on in Rockurfel Province, most notably Rock City, the headquarters of Crontorian Central Command and the wartime capital of the Imperial Federation. Vienna was responsible for directing force, Rock City was responsible for applying it.

Sitting at the northern tip of Lake Crald, the city of Cronmore stretched across an expansive river valley situated in the Calderi Mountains. The white capped peaks gave way to lush pine forests as hikers made their way down the mountain paths. Far from the hustle and bustle of the coast, Cronmore was still a sizable city with tens of millions of residents spread through the river valleys. A sizable portion of the population actually lived underground, a common practice in the more mountainous regions of the Imperial Federation where Crontori people had lived in cave networks for thousands of years. This practice had inadvertently created one of the few distinguishing features among the Crontori, as the inhabitants of the mountains and the heartland were far paler than their kin living on the coasts.

Among the ski slopes and mountain streams was Fort Cronmore, occupying its own isolated valley. Cutting an imposing figure amongst the mountain peaks, the concrete walled facility was an unconventional military base. Most CAF bases were laden with bunkers, aviation facilities, barracks, supply depots, other hallmarks of housing large quantities of troops and their equipment. By comparison, Fort Cronmore looked like an office park. Blocks of black glass office buildings separated by wide walking paths and streets were complimented by parks and small ponds. Fort Cronmore was a contained city, sitting atop a National Rail Administration station through which hundreds of thousands of personnel passed into the facility each and every day. These travelers were not uniformed service members of the CAF, rather, the men and women of the Central Intelligence Service.

Headquartered at Fort Cronmore, the CIS operated under the Joint Military Intelligence Operations Command (JOMINOC) of the CAF. The location mirrored the operational role of the CIS, isolated and largely independent. If the CIS was in the news or focused onto as the center of attention, something must have gone horribly wrong. This was true in the case of Holus as the CIS stood accused of undertaking a mission they had never sanctioned, funded, or assisted. It was a setup, but the burden of proof stood on the CIS to disprove the claim.

With a supposed CIS agent now standing before the nation of Holus and claiming allegiance to the agency, Director Ike Thornton sat in silence as the live feed of the staged confession was broadcast across international news channels. Deep in the bowels of the CIS command building, the Tactical Intelligence Center or TAC, was the central operating room of the CIS. A state of the art facility lined with display screens, interactive touch tables, and rows of analysts organizing and reviewing information sent from the many branches of the agency, it was from here that the Imperial Federation could monitor and act upon emerging and developing situations across the region. Presently, all focus was on Connor Fogh, allegedly an agent of the agency now publicly condemning its actions.

“Have we any information on this guy? He can’t possibly be one of ours,” asked Thornton, turning to the small group of analysts standing behind him, each clutching folders of pertinent information. As soon as the CIS Media Analysis Wing had gotten wind of this broadcast it was immediately forwarded to TAC and the Director made aware. Inquiries were then sent to the Ministry of State Security about the identity of Connor Fogh as CIS databases contained absolutely no mention or record of any Connor Fogh. The sweep of the National Citizenship Administration Census Database, containing every citizen of the Imperial Federation, showed a similar result. While there were hundreds of thousands of Connor Fogh’s within the Imperial Federation, a quick analysis of their Citizen Identification Cards (CIDs) showed that all were accounted for and any that were not had been flagged and passed along to the National Police Administration (NPA) for questioning.

“No information I’m afraid,” came the quick response, “Ministry of State has passed along their information as well as the FTIA (Federal Tourism and Immigration Administration), they know nothing of this person and both demanded to know if he was indeed ours. We told them that we were looking into it and nothing more than that.”

“As expected. According to MOS, we have no existing relations or trade ties with the nation of Holus correct?”

“Yes sir, as a communist nation, Holus falls under the Embargo Act of 1925. MOS was very clear that we do not trade with radical or communist nations and Holus is on the list of nations against whom we have targeted sanctions and banned travel. The FTIA maintains that they have not allowed any Crontorian nationals to travel to Holus from Crontor and have certainly not allowed the entry of anyone from Holus. In addition, a report from MOSS states that the border with Holus has not been breached.”

“Tell me something I don’t know already,” snarled Thornton, his eyes glued to the wall of screens.

“You’re hair looks fantastic today Director,” added another analyst, blushing sheepishly as they drew glares from their coworkers. Thornton cracked a smile and turned back to face them, “Sounds good for now. President Carter is going to issue a statement shortly. For now, we just need to make sure we don’t have any more Connor Fogh’s running around. He is not one of us and never was. Question is, why do they want everyone to think so?”

Sondria;
Hellas;
Imperial Federation of Crontor;
Crontor Administrative District;
Columbia Province;
Crontorian Federal Building:

“…They want us to do what exactly?”

For the past few days, the administration of President Norman Carter had been forced to grapple with the ramifications of a dirty bomb that had killed the Executive Committee of a communist nation. Such a situation would have confounded policymakers across the world, but this issue was further complicated by geographic proximity and who was being blamed. Not only was the Imperial Federation a neighbor to the nation in question but was being singled out as the aggressor. Considering past history and the general distaste shown towards communist nations by the Imperial Federation, there was some basis to the accusation.

Worst of all, a man claiming to work for the CIS had openly accused the Imperial Federation of carrying out the dastardly plot and the government of Holus was backing the accusation with supposed classified papers they had obtained detailing the mission. Adding to the media firestorm was a report that a number of children had died in the blast, casting even more fiery rhetoric towards the Imperial Federation. For a President who had campaigned on a platform of peace and unity across Sondria and to cut back on the interventionist tendencies of the Imperial Federation, the news was damaging.

Carter sat with Supreme Commander Crogden, Minister of State Alan Suderity, and Carter’s Chief of Staff, Scott Langdon, in the Executive Office of the President. The broadcast featuring Connor Fogh had been broadcast several hours earlier and the four men were reviewing the CIS accounts of the broadcast and pertinent information to the story. Supreme Commander Crogden had brought satellite imagery showing increased military activity in Holus in addition to several contingency plans sent along by the Strategic Threat Analysis Agency to propose to the president.

“Well Mr. President, the government of Holus has laid out some very specific demands,” explained Langdon, pacing behind the couch where Crogden and Suderity sat as he read to Carter, “we are being asked to demobilize our military, admit responsibility for the attack, and dissolve the government to make way for new elections.”

“What if we were to do that, would it accomplish anything?”

“Well Mr. President, if you want my honest opinion, nothing would be accomplished because it’s a farce,” began Crogden handing Carter the satellite photos he had brought with him and allowing Carter to peruse them, “our military is not mobilized along the southwestern border and we were not behind the attack. As such, we should give them nothing but condemnation by trying to spin a tragedy towards their own political aims. Their military activity is suspicious and unwarranted, considering there is no measurable activity from our own. Then again, I believe it may be wise to mobilize elements of Central Command in the case that they are needed.”

“Trying to start a war Supreme Commander? It is really wise to mobilize our largest concentration of combat assets?” came the challenge from Langdon, now moving to sit next to the president facing the two bureaucrats.

Crogden raised his eyebrow in disdain and turned to Suderity who addressed the issue, “It is my understanding, Mr. President, that this behavior is indicative of a nation intending to pursue hostile action. While I believe it is wise to open diplomatic backchannels, every option needs to be considered. If it’s a war they want, it’s a war they will get.”

Carter sank back into the couch as he pondered the thought, glancing at the satellite photos once again. Comparatively, CAF activity in the southwest was incredibly low, as only a handful of CENTCOM forces were allocated to bases in the area. It certainly did look suspicious. While he had always stressed diplomacy, this was a situation unlike most others. The homeland was threatened and Carter could not look weak trying to defend it.

“Supreme Commander Crogden, I want you to mobilize CENTCOM. All of it.”