The Tetrarhcan Civil War [Invite Only]MT[Message for Invite]

[Tetrarcha]

Tetrarcha: Location Unknown

Sinness pushed the folder of papers over to Mikko Adati. Mikko gave her a questioning glance. Sinness gave the folder a double take and, still confused, Adati pulled it around and opened it. The top page in the manila folder said more than the entire conversation had up till this point. In big bold print in the relative center of the page was a single word: Endgame. Mikko looked up slowly from the page and looked Sinness hard in the eyes. He may only have had one eye but he knew that one eye could convey more emotion than most people could with two.

His interest was immediately peaked as was his concern. Nya Anksite had been one of the most recent factions to spring out of the war. The fact that they even had an idea of an Endgame strategy was concerning. If it was still in the first two, maybe even three, years of the war then maybe. Mikko could still remember how in the onset of the conflict everyone, like usual, thought the issue would resolve itself quickly. A year in everyone was still optimistic and planning grand, all-encompassing master strategies to end the war in a swift action. After twenty-five years though the factions seemed more concerned with survival than victory.

The last grand strategic plan that a faction had put forth had been conducted by The Relik Party. The result of that was a large district in Holkiskstad being flattened and the Relik Party being hunted to extinction by nearly everyone. No one had been that bold since. Apparently until now. Mikko could only hope that Endgame implied something else.

“So.” Mikko stated speaking far slower than he felt necessary. “Is this what I think it is, or do you wish to attempt to prove me wrong?”

Sinness chuckled and rapped a finger on the paper. “Probably is what you think it is. But believe me, we are not as stupid as Relik was. We see this war in a different perspective than you might. In spite of the near four dozen factions at play in this conflict in reality there are only five that matter. The Tetrarchan Liberation Coalition, Project North, the People’s Free Army, Nya Anksite,” Sinness paused altering her gaze on Adati, “and the Underground.” That earned a laugh from Mikko.

He reclined awkwardly in the steel chair, “The Liberation Coalition and the Free Army I can understand; but Project North? Ha! I wouldn’t even put them in my top twenty. You’d put them over the Government Remnant and the Liberation Army?”

Sinness leaned forward resting on the table. “The Government Remnant is a joke. The only retain control over Glasnogrod. Not even all of Glasnogrod. I wouldn’t even consider them a legitimate factor anymore. Project North is by far the most stable of all the groups in this war. They’ve never had an incident of internal strife and their leadership is more unified than any group I can think of. They have the entirety of the Perkunis Mountains on lockdown. If they wanted to they could form their own nation and survive. There wouldn’t be anyone currently who could take them down even if they wanted to.” Mikko couldn’t argue with that logic.

He adjusted his posture and adopted a more authoritative position, “Then tell me madam, how does the Underground make it onto this list? I’d hardly consider us a powerful force. I’d rank the Liberation Army and Freedom’s Chance high above us.”

Sinness rolled her eyes at him. She actually rolled her eyes at him, damn. “Oh please. We all know that the Liberation Army reports to the Underground’s leaders and that Freedom’s Chance is just a façade for the TLA’s more radical efforts. You’re trying to con a seasoned intelligence veteran Adati. Best try a little harder than that.” Her gaze bore onto Adati’s single eye. “The Underground has influence among a great many of the smaller groups and factions, you have people inside many of the larger factions, and you still maintain relations and have people inside of Glasnogrod. Your Underground is a force to be reckoned with.

“Do you know why this war has yet to end Adati?” Sinness asked flipping her hair. “It’s simple actually. While the smaller factions tend to band together for the sake of survival the larger ones hold their distance from each other because they believe they’ve reached the point where they can actually win and defeat everyone else. But we all know that hasn’t happened. The way to end this war is to have two of the factions work together and seize everything.” A smile crept across her face.

This woman was indeed clever. Mikko knew that plan would undoubtedly work. The reason it hadn’t worked before was because no one could stand to talk to the other parties. But now he was being forced to. And frankly, he was likely the best candidate they could have picked. “What are you implying?” Mikko asked slowly.

[Aletheia]

Volskoshya, Aletheia: Aletheian-Tetrarchan Border

Fifth Army Commander Ilyard Golan lowered his binoculars and leaned back against the hatch of the tank turret. He looked down at his watch. The train was a whole hour late now. His troops were getting annoyed. The train between Volskoshya and Djull, Tetrarcha was frequently late but it had never been more than half an hour late. Golan rapped his hand on the tank and looked at his watch again, his frustration increasing.

The Volskoshya border station had been set up mere days after the Tetrarchan government declared a state of emergency and the rail line between the two countries had been closed only weeks later. For the past eighteen years three trains were permitted to come across the border in Aletheia every twenty-four hours from Tetrarcha. They had been put on fixed schedules to cross every eight hours. While normally that section of the border maintained only an above average level of security than the rest whenever the trains were due to come through the security was almost tripled. The number of armored vehicles: tripled. The number of tanks: doubled. The number of troops: tripled. Helicopters went up and an additional jet was put into the sky above the region. The border station was the only decent access point into Aletheia from Tetrarcha for nearly a hundred miles with the only other decent point being the seaside access point between Sorro, Aletheia and Surro, Tetrarcha.

Volskoshya was a fairly small city nestled in a pass in the Southern Mounds which divided Tetrarcha from Aletheia for nearly two hundred miles. It also was the main rail line hub between Tetrarcha and Aletheia on Tetrarcha’s northern border. On top of that the main causeway north into Aletheia went through Volskoshya. So with little doubt it was a critical juncture between the two nations.

Up until four years ago, Djull had remained under control of the Tetrarchan government. However after an extensive siege that lasted several months, the government forces were forced to abandon the city to its attackers: The Tetrarchan Liberation Front. Officially, on that day Golan had complete permission from both his government and the Tetrarchan to attack the city and defeat the rebels, separatists, -whatever they wanted to be called. However, he had elected against doing so out of curiosity to see what would happen.

Since then the city had changed hands seven times. First, two months later the Liberation Front split into the Liberation Front and the Nya Anksite the immediate result of which was the TLF being driven out and Nya Anksite taking control. Not even a full month passed before Nya Anksite abandoned the city and disappeared off the radar and the TLF returned. They held onto the city for a whole year before the Free People’s Army rolled north, sieged the city and killed the entire TLF garrison. During the next fourteen months the city nearly continuously swapped control between the TLF and FPA until Project North rolled in. Golan had never been informed on where they got their tech from but Project North kicked both the Liberation Front and People’s Army’s troops into the dirt and then rolled in with fairly new tanks and tech and had maintained complete control of the city since. There had been a few attempts by both the TLF and FPA to retake the city, all ending in miserable failure.

Nya Anksite had shown up two months ago now with high grade artillery and armor and begun shelling the city. In the weeks since the battle had shifted in favor of both sides, Project North had been able to maintain a firm grip on the city throughout the entire ordeal however. For the last year or so since Project North had seized the city they had made and maintained limited diplomatic and trade relations with Aletheia and few of the southern provincial governments. While Djull didn’t produce much they did have a degree of goods they could trade north in exchange for food, luxuries, and other stuffs. While the Aletheian government had issued orders to forbade the trading and shipping of weapons to Project North. In spite of that order weapons had somehow managed to still get to Project North.

Since that discovery was made Golan’s men now did extensive sweeps of the trains when they were going both directions. Golan’s new concern was that Nya Anksite might hijack one of the trains and attempt to use it against the Aletheian forces. It wouldn’t be the first time that Nya Anksite and Aletheia had exchanged fire over the border.

Golan went to raise his binoculars again when he heard the distinctive sound of a train horn. He shook his head in frustration.

“One hour and seven minutes late.” Golan muttered out loud. “If they do this again, I am going to stab somebody with a bayonet.” A few seconds later the diesel engine came into view. The train was about the normal length. About twelve cars; one passenger car for the Project soldiers guarding the train, four box cars likely filled with goods for trade, and seven flat beads four of which had reams of steel and machinery bits and one that had a suspicious tarp over the contents. The tarp made him very concerned.

His troops were moving into standard position to sweep the train and assume control of it from Project North. As planned the diesel came to a halt a hundred yards from the border on the Tetrarchan side. Golan’s troops moved forward with the tanks and armor covering them from behind. The officer on the ground called out to the driver to bring out his crossing forms. A minute passed with no reply. It was obvious something was up. Golan sent out the chirp pattern over the comms that ordered all weapon safeties off. A few moments later the officer and a trio of soldiers clambered up onto the diesel and made their way towards the cab. They had barely reached the cab when shots rang out and the officer and one of the soldiers were falling, dead, backwards over the railing. Not even a few moments passed when the tarp went flying off what was revealed to be an anti-aircraft auto-cannon which was now leveled with the infantry surrounding the train. Gun barrels began appearing from the windows on the coach.

Golan didn't even have to give the order. Guns went live the instant the officer began falling. His men dove for cover and returned fire. Two of the BTRs began firing their cannons at the cab of the diesel instantly killing whoever was inside. One of tanks fired a HE round at the main coach instantly blowing it apart. Golan suspected they weren't through and one cue the doors to the box cars slid open and dozens of masked troops began pouring out in less than glorious fashion. The result was an almost immediate massacre. Whoever the soldiers belong to didn't have a clue how strategy or the element of surprise worked. The soldiers that didn't die nearly instantly began scrambling madly towards the rear of the train and making a break for Djull. Golan wasn't interested in prisoners. He gave the ‘leave no survivors’ chirp and nearly all the vehicles and armor began firing at the fleeing soldiers. The anti-air hadn't even gotten online before it was shredded by a dozen tank rounds.

The entire ordeal was over in under forty seconds. The result was maybe a dozen casualties on Golan’s side and a totaled train and an obliterated militia on the other. He sighed, it was going to be a paperwork evening. He reached into his tank and pulled out the secure phone and hit the 9 to speed dial to South Command.

[Mythalonia]

Mythalon, Mythalonia: Imperial Palace

The Emperor sat at his desk in disbelief, his hand gripping the telegram in his hand, scrunching the paper slightly. He looked up to his minister of defence Gregg Lain, “I know that the war against the Fourth Reich just ended but the minister of Education and the second minister of foreign affairs have been killed. Their airship that was meant to be returning home after a political visit to Alethia had stopped for a refueling in Glasnogrod under the protection of the Government remnant. When they came under small arms fire from an unknown group and were killed, The airship was similarly destroyed by the same group of people as reported by the government Remnant.”

Gregg stood there and hung his head, “Sir, shall I have the Lords of war assemble?” The Emperor nodded and said, “Yes, and bring them back to me. You will then head out to meet with the leader of the so called Loyalist faction that is helping us fight the MRN, we need to know that they will stand down after the fighting is finished. I also want the rest of the Droids that are under our control sent out to retake the positions currently held by the MRN, we cannot allow them to keep taking over important facilities just because of international incidents.”With this Gregg saluted and left the room. The Emperor stood and looked out of the window behind his chair, looking over the courtyard of the Imperial Palace as his minister of defence marched quickly out of the palace, over the pathways to the military holdings in the Government sector. Watching idly and waiting for the Lords of war to be seen walking back down the courtyard and inside.

As the three lords walked into his hall the Emperor was sat down again and looked to each of the three. Before gesturing for them to sit, “Come this may well take some time.”.........

About half an hour, and one explanation later,

“So I need you three to help us get retribution upon whoever it was that killed our ministers, we are well aware that the government remnant have been nothing but good to us since the beginning. But we also only know that the officials were killed due to their word, we have no proof that they didn’t do it themselves. So we cannot trust them any longer. Lady Helen, I wish for you to start loading up your airships, but do not launch. We cannot have a full scale invasion into Tetracha without causing region wide panic. We will send in ground forces and show that we mean business whilst starting to move in our naval forces to patrol the waters of the Tetchlan gulf. They cannot be allowed to strike at our borders if that is what they are trying to attempt.” Helen nodded “Yes Lord Emperor.”, The Emperor turned and looked to his naval admiral and then to his field marshall “Desmond, get your ships and subs ready to launch. Vaan, arm the lads they are moving out.” With this he stood up and saluted the lord of war. “Dismissed, and may mother nature protect you.” As the lords left his turned to the window and lit up a cigarette. "I will not let this empire be disgraced, nor shall I let my land be overrun by revolutionaries. I will end both conflicts swiftly."

[Tetrarcha]

Glasnogrod, Tetrarcha: Tetrarchan Capital

Head of State Gaius Odin-Bon rapped the pen on his desk against his head. Up until recently the Dominion had largely been able to keep large scale foreign influences out of the civil war. Some states had tried intervening before, but after limited or no success had given up and gone home. Most of those factions had been private entities interested in testing new weapons or parties looking to gain favor with the precised new power. However, in a matter of mere hours Tetrarcha had managed to gain increased attention from its two massive neighbors: Aletheia to its north and northeast and Mythalonia to the southwest.

Aletheia had been maintaining a watchful gaze over all of its border with Tetrarcha ever since the onset of the civil war and ever since the government had lost control over said border that watch had been doubled. While the occasional cross border shelling or prolonged but uneventful shootout was by no means considered a serious transgression the latest incident near the Volskoskyan border crossing was cause for concern. Shelling typically occurred if a mortar was miss fired during a siege and the otherwise boring shootouts occurred if someone misfired or got bold but even that was hardly considered a threat. No, what had occurred earlier was something else entirely: it was a deliberate attack. Glancing over at the massive map table Gaius could make out the markers that indicated Project North and Nya Anksite in the vicinity. However, the list of suspects was massive so narrowing it down to those two alone was a bold step. Irregardless, someone inside Tetrarcha had attempted to attack the Aletheian border teams deliberately and gained the ire of Sjostad. With that transgression Gaius could only guess how much longer he could convince the Aletheians to remain neutral in the fighting.

Then there was the attack on their own doorstep. The Mythalonian airship that had been en-route from Aletheia back to their capital had been fire upon by forces while it was refueling. The ensuing explosion when the fuel tanks and airship had been hit had taken hours to put out. The bodies had yet to be able to be discerned and his requests for a passenger manifest from the Mythalonian government had fallen on deaf and uninterested ears. However, knowing the Emperor's reputation he was likely pissed off as hell. Up until today Mythalonia had had no reason to be bothered with the civil war in Tetrarcha, now they had a iron gaze fixated upon them.

Gaius leaned back and turned his head to look at his foreign affairs officer, Yula Yasani. She looked even more tired than he was. "Yula, any word back from Mythalon yet?"

The lady shook her head without looking up from hear tablet, "No they're still refusing to respond to our calls."

Gaius groaned, "Maybe if they weren't so pompous and stuck up all the time they'd get a better response when trouble arises. Instead they just turn their cannons wherever they see fit." fumming, he stood from his chair and stretched his back. "You think they'll get involved now that they have an excuse?"

Yula made a growling frustrated sound. "I don't know! Maybe if they replied to my damn calls we would know!"

[The Shuswap]

It was already past 11 in the evening and just as the President was leaving his office he heard his secretary yell through the door"President Hangover Sir the Minister of Defense Frank Dodge, General John Williams and High Admiral Franklin Star are here to see you". Hank sighed and leaned back in his chair, he had a feeling that this would be a long meeting. No sooner had the president Sat down did the Minister Dodge and General Williams burst into the room,The Admiral holding a telegram which he laid on your desk, it read."Mr.President, one of our nations unarmed merchant vessels was sunk just off the coast of Tetrarcha, Its name was the SRS Provo, she was Coming back from a trade run to Vir and flying her Colours in full display when she was sunk, this was a deliberate attack on one of our vessels. I request you consider full military action and put boots on the ground in Tetracha in order to protect out nation on the Sea.
~Signed High Admiral Gregory Hernandez."

The President Looked at the Minister " I assume that since you brought General Williams with you, you have already asked the Council of Ministers of there opinion of action?" "I have Sir and they are in full favour of a boots on the ground action in Tetracha" Replied Minister Dodge. "Very well, Admiral ,Wire The Navel Commanders, Tell them to Patroll the Ocean Around Tetracha and Prepare for a long Blockade. General Williams Muster The Army Of Richmond and make sure they are ready for a long Campaign. Finally Minister Dodge, Contact our ally Mythalonia and , see where they stand on this matter, Let them know that The Shuswap is off to war and is asking for assistance" Ordered President Hangover.

[Aletheia]

Sjostad, Aletheia: White Heights Military Command

High Commander Mateo Tretrosky rolled his revolver around in his hand. He wasn't sure what to make of the recent information. Across the room Ragnar looked up and down the massive holographic map of Tetrarcha and swiped it around to continually change the view. Chadwick slouched in the corner of the room occasionally voicing an opinion. "The cannons are becoming even looser lately. I think we might need to reconsider our level of control over the situation."

Ragnar shook his head without looking away from the maps. "Yeah, and then minute we do that we risk the conflict spilling over here more than it already has."

"Have you seen the images coming in from the Shuswap coast?" Chadwick commented. This got Ragnar and Mateo's attention. "There are some impressive satellite images from the ports, have you seen the mobilization?" Mateo got up from his seat and leaned over the holo-table. In a matter of seconds he had live feed from the satellites over Shuswap. Chadwick wasn't wrong. "Now call me a genius or not but under recent circumstances I can only see one reason why they'd be mobilizing such a large force."

Ragnar turned from the wall maps and groaned. "Mateo?" Mateo clapped his hands down on the table and stood up to his full height and clapped his hands together before he pulled out his cellphone.

"Sven? It's Mateo. Ready the Council. I'll be over in ten minutes."