Invictus (PMT, Closed)

[Untaroicht]

If one good thing could be said about "the land of the burning incense", it was that they kept their word. Ever since day one of the peace treaty signed so long ago, the fascist hordes of Untaroicht turned their vast armies elsewhere, away from the United Socialist States of Crysuko. Untaroicht was historically renown for it's reclusive behavior within the diplomatic scene, but the leadership of Eztlizuma "The Lionheart" Kuropatkin brought alarming changes. In less then eight years, Untaroicht went from a isolationist island slightly smaller then Australia to a global superpower, using superior military force to annex nearly every island within the Indian Ocean, as well as establishing colonies in Tasmania and Indonesia.

The United Socialist States of Crysuko, however, remained a constant threat. Their heavily-fortified island colonies of Qaerinthia and Sehn Hularis gave them a stronghold in the Indian Ocean, and stopped The Iron Legion from spreading westward. While Eztlizuma had plans to invade South Africa and re-institute his own, religious version of the old Apartheid policy, the peace treaty resulted in the plans being scrapped.

Comrade Distel Neos kept a close eye on Untaroicht. Despite massive reforms within Eztlizuma's first few years as "Huey Tlatoani" dramatically increasing relations, horror stories from the front lines of Indonesia and Madagascar left no doubt in her mind that as soon as the treaty was over- if not before- Untaroicht would strike again.

Two days after the treaty officially ended, no word of military activity came from Crysuko's Indian territories. The only change from the norm was a small decrease in the already minuscule crysukon-untaroichii trade market, causing the price of various spices to raise a few cents- hardly similar to the chemical weapon strikes without warning during the reign of the madman Maximilien. The Crysukon Intelligence Agency searched only found one mention in Untaroichii media of the truce having ended- a small cliff note in a fascist propaganda newspaper stating that "Eztlizuma wishes peace to be maintained regardless of international law".

The last place any Crysukon would have expected Untaroichii activity to come from was true western Atlantic- but a week after the truce ended, Crysukon military stationed on the island of Camiro received a radio transmission from an incoming aircraft.

"Ave! True to Eztlizuma!

I am Centurion Marinos of the Iron Legion of The Holy Autocratic Kingdom of Untaroicht. I am currently onboard our foreign minister's private jet, headed to land in Camiro. We come alone, bring gifts, and request an audience with whomever is in charge of the autonomous region, copy?"

[Crysuko]

Deksen Point, western coast of Camiro.

Deksen point was a relay station used for naval and aircraft control for forces west of Camiro, and many channels of civilian and military radio traffic was routed through its extensive communications stations.

Atern halkn responded, having been half asleep and buzzed on the local wine. "This is Deksen point responding" he croaked "governer Urask will be contacted. Be warned, quarantine measures are in effect. You are cleared to land at Alket airport runway four"

He stopped the channel, and watched the craft draw closer on his RADAR display. With a sigh, he lamented the current state of the island. A vicious strain of Influenza had broken out, and already nearly 100 had died from it. It was being contained well by the CPDF and local science departments.

The mainland was trying to find a treatment for this pestilence, but for the time being, all that could be done is wait.

[Untaroicht]

Ambassador Milintica was eager to meet with Governor Urask. When his jet landed at Deksen point, he waited for his guards to ensure the area was safe first.

It was a cargo ship by appearances, and ten mercenaries were the first to set foot on the tarmac. You could tell right away they were from Untaroicht- Black trench coats and purple armbands gave a look reminiscent of other well-known fascists. They didn't seem to be holding any sort of weapons, but it was obvious they were heavily loaded with cybernetics. Once they greeted the Crysuon security and verified their identities, they retrieved banners and stood in a formation outside the plane- awaiting the ambassador to set foot on Camiro.

A handfull of monks carrying candles were the first to get off the plane after the guards, singing religious chants. The arrival of the ambassador himself was being postponed longer and longer, which inadvertently raised tensions.

As the monks continued to sing, a literal parade of gifts began to unload from the back of the cargo ship- concubines, wagons filled with piles of gold coins and gems, kegs of fine wine, and barrels of Untaroicht's finest spices kept coming and coming out of the plane.

When Ambassador Milintica finally got off the plane, he gave a clentched-fist salute and proclaimed "Ave, True to Eztlizuma!". He was unaware of the current plague on the island at the time, so he began to give orders to his guards as he was escorted to The Governor's Residence.

"There are over 20 tons worth of gold alone on that plane, and I expect every ounce of it to be given to the Governor on behalf of The Huey Tlatoani!"

[Crysuko]

"I'll have the workmen take an inventory" said the foreman who had just arrived "but the road to the island capital is currently controlled tightly. The pestilence has most of the road and rail network on lockdown"

As he said this, a dozen workers armed it's clipboards began the long task of sorting and shifting the large shipment of gold and other items.

"If you want to take the main road to Alket, you'll likely be stopped by militia guards. The governor has given permission for a convoy to go straight to him. It leaves shortly, so you may wish to hurry"

As he said this, two technicians clad in hazmat suits began doing a sweep of the cargo offloaded by the workers, ensuring it conformed to standards.

[Untaroicht]

As the cargo and the ambassador were escorted to the capital, Milintica conversed with some of the monks in the Nahuatl language so none of the Crysukons could understand them- unless there were spies around.

"Why didn't the Inquisition ever tell us there was a plague on this island?"

"Ever since Drogan's failed coup, they haven't been as effective because of Eztlizuma stripping them of their power- surviving an assassination attempt by a dagger to the chest will change your political views a bit, eh?" One of the monks said.

"Didn't Madagascar have a outbreak of Ebola when we first arrived?" the monk replied, staring outside the window of the car to see the somewhat bleak landscape of the island.

"It did. I don't think a little outbreak of influenza will be any harder to cure…if the governor's a good boy for us!"

"The Inquisition confirmed the governor was a man, right? If they didn't and there's a woman in power, what then? Women haven't learned their place in this topsy-turvy society yet, haven't they?"

"Then we take the concubines back and offer her some fair young men instead! The other complications can be solved thanks to the flawless autocratic bureaucracy!" The Ambassador remained quiet for the rest of the trip, after having a good laugh at their sexist remarks.

[Crysuko]

As they went on, and were inspected by numerous guard posts, the normally bustling city of Alket was a ghost town, with only the occasional squad of hazmat techs and the gas masked militia escorts to be seen roaming the streets.

Eventually, the convoy reached the centre and we're let into the large government building, and we're escorted in to eventually reach a large conference room.

Governor Ariakka Urask:

"I was told you'd be coming" he said calmly, sitting in a large chair at the head of the table "so tell me, what brings agents of our age old nemesis to this beleaguered island?" A tired, ragged edge to his voice. Showing he hadn't slept or eaten properly in days.

[Untaroicht]

"You look rough. Hopefully your new personal gold, women, and luxuries courtesy of Eztlizuma will please you- there will be plenty more in the future should all go well. Before I explain the specifics reasons Huey Tlatoani Eztlizuma has sent me here, I have one more gift to give to you…"

A large cloth flag was handed to the governor, that had to be unfolded numerous times. It was clearly a re-designed version of Camiro's current flag- just with the standard purple, gold, and black gook the Fascists seemed to like, with a few religious symbols thrown into the mix. After seeing the full picture, it was clear what Untaroicht's intentions were- though a reason would be needed before anything else could happen.

"Granted, it's still in the early design phase, but I figure it would suit Camiro's future much better then that gawky green tarp you currently have outside. Tell me before I explain the future, what do you think of it?" The ambassador said with an almost sadistic grin.

[Crysuko]

Urask looked to the flag, to the ambassador and then back again several times. Before giving him a look of solid consternation. "You're either trying to purchase my loyalty and this entire island, or this is a very expensive joke."

He sighed "why? Why bother trying to purchase one of the most loyal states to Crysuko? the CRMA was founded here and I severely doubt that the capital would just let a place like this just go. Besides, my father and uncle were both generals in the original CRMA and I will not disgrace their work by giving into the very thing they fought against. Greed, corruption and oppression." He leaned across the table "I'm sorry, but Camiro isn't for sale. We are in some dire straits right now but our loyalty to Crysuko remains absolute"

He paused, sighing "and lastly, the amount of people who that gawky green tarp gives hope to is far more than this that you've given me ever could"

[Untaroicht]

"You think Untaroicht is buying Camiro? He's simply promoting you!" The Ambassador was handed a Brass crown by one of his bodyguards, which he sat in the middle of the table. He then handed the Governor several papers- some old, some new- all with recognizable WA stamps.

"As you can see in this document, it clearly states that in 1963 the newly-established CLP backed government of Crysuko engaged in a series of violent conflicts with forces of The Holy Confederal Provinces of Untaroicht- whom were supporters of the former fascist regime. In 1963 this document states that a peace was attained between the CLP and the former Council of 13, stating that the island of Camiro would be sold to the Confederacy in exchange for 2.7 billion Alms- which were paid in full on the 6th of October, 1972."

"When The Vulture Insurgency succeeded and successfully abolished corrupt democracy in Untaroicht, the world assembly voted 166-74 in favor of formally recognizing The Holy Autocratic Kingdom of Untaroicht as the De Facto successor state of The Holy Confederal Provinces, therefore grandfathering all former treaties to the newly established government"

"The peace treaty stated Camiro would not be fully handed over to Untaroichii control until December 20th, 2364 despite payment- last friday, to be exact. So you see, all these laws combined effectively make Camiro a de-jure and de facto province of The Holy Autocratic Kingdom of Untaroicht, fully enforced by international law!"

"Now, here's where you come in. Eztlizuma is a very kind ruler who is simply taking what is rightfully his and ensuring the best for Camiro. You will no longer be considered a governor- your official title will be 'Tlatoani Ariakka Urask'- King. As such, you will become the de facto and de jury absolute monarch of the autonomous, untaroichii vassal of Camiro. The only person you will have to answer to is Eztlizuma- The "King of Kings"."

"So here are your options- you can either go outside your office and raise that new flag, convert to Christianity, claim the newly established throne, rule with infinite power and live in unimaginable luxury for the rest of your life…or, you can be stupid and fuck over not just Camiro, but crysuko as a whole- because refusing to comply will be considered breaking this treaty- and will be punished courtesy of The Iron Legion."

"And if you think you don't feel well now, just wait until The Inquisition gets their hands on you! In a few hours, Eztlizuma will contact Comrade Distel to seal the deal, so I'd think very carefully!" The Ambassador said, while handing the Governor several copies of the aforementioned documents- all with signatures from WA members and early Crysukon Literation Front leaders.

[Crysuko]

Urask was in shock. How could this be!? But it all looked solid, the documents, the signatures and everything. His heart sank painfully low.

He remembered this concealed pistol in his jacket he had decided to pack along to the meeting in case things got nasty. But who the plasma round would be fired at wouldn't be the ambassador...

"I will not oppress my people, not willingly. The CRMA was founded in this very room, and I won't go quietly into ruin" he drew the gun, and pressed it against his temple, a tear in his eye "forgive me, liberators. I have failed you"

Before they could consider stopping him, Urask was no more. Reduced to a bloodstain on the wall and a sad corpse.

Black station 6, beneath Alket.

An operator reported to director Kalian sel-Ionna, brother of the Crysukon secretary for education. "Sir, the governor...he's dead. We just lost vital signs on him"

Kalian turned to him "did the visiting unts kill him?" He asked, expecting to know the answer.
"No sir, it was a suicide"
This perturbed him. "Suicide?" He asked, his calm demeanour receding "why?"

"Listen to this recording in his office, and notice the documents". After watching the disturbing scene several times, Kalian's own heart sank. "Then there's only one thing to do. I shall have to order all remaining government staff to the white station, and shift the militia headquarters to this very station." He stated plainly, a worried edge to his voice.

"We shall work from the dark to serve the light"

[Untaroicht]

6 Months Later...

Life had completely turned upside-down for anyone on Camiro. Untaroicht finally had a stronghold in the Atlantic and a counter to the Crysukon colonies of Sehn Hularis and Qaerinthia- they weren't going to give it up anytime soon. A ridiculous amount of soldiers bearing the banners of the Legion arrived on the island, imprisoning many who spoke out against their plans.

The schools on Camiro were the first to experience rapid changes- Fascist Salutes, mandatory school prayer, and the re-instatement of corporal punishment was installed to ensure the next generation had loyalty to their new government, and the burning of books was a daily occurrence. The works of Marx and Engels were replaced with Mussolini and Hobbes, and former crysukon teachers seemed to "disappear" only to have their jobs taken by monks and nuns.

The Influenza virus was of the highest concern to the new government- thankfully, with all the research Untaroicht poured into biological warfare in the past a treatment plan wasn't too hard to come up with, and vaccines were being given out as free "gifts" to the people of Camiro. Once the plague had been completely eradicated, capitalist healthcare would return to the island.

The most controversial decision was the "amnesty" offered to prisoners in Camiro- Untaroicht actually released violent criminals from detention centers and often gave them positions of power within the military and new administration. A Fascist Sympathizer of the old Crysukon Regime was given all the treasures and authority meant for Urask, granted he submit to the will of the cross.

The people of Camiro were frightened for now, but the further actions of Untaroicht would push them from divergence into insurgency...

[Crysuko]

Black station Six
Kalian sat in his war room, SK-A1 had since filtered in.

A meeting of the minds, resistence cell leaers, MRS4 and CUCOD staff plan their moves carefully.

Kalian spoke up. "We must now begin open resistence operations, and I think this church near the centre of the city would be an ideal location." He lit up a diagram on a hologram projector. "the plan is twofold, demolition charges will be places by CSFC stealth agents on the following locations, which will surely bring it to the ground. The second part, is the first deployment of the Deraskavi Nanopathogen. The explosion will rupture canisters of it places with the demo charges, sending it far and wide. at the time of night the explosion will happen, only enemy soldiers and police will be about. They will be frozen statues by morning"

SK-A1 chimed in "I will be heading the operation, leading the placement team. in order to distract the bulk of guards around it, several drones will be activated to distract them" He gave a sweeping look "we move tonight, so ready your equipment"

Kalian spoke once more "if there are no further questions, dismissed!"

That night, above ground
SK and his team waited in the shadow of a large building a stone's throw from the church, knowing the distraction would come any moment now. overhead, he saw a wing of Iasden drones, bearing towards the south end of the city, where another temple was located.

There was a flash as their Laser weaponary rained destruction upon the smaller establishment, fire raising an eerie glow into the night sky. And as predicted, many of the guards and patrolmen began to break away, the demo team took their chance and sprinted towards a side entrance. The lock was quickly picked and they made their way inside.

With high quality night vision equipment, they could see around clear as day despite it being pitch black. "I must admit" said one of them "this place certainly is fancy. Hey boss, you mind if we pocket some gold while we're here?" SK considered this "fine, but not so much that it'll slow you down"

it took several painstaking hours, but the demo charges and pathogen canisters had been places. it was also short some gold and other precious items. SK looked out a window "they're coming back, we have to hurry out! have all the charges and canisters been placed?" a series of affirmatives came. "then let's get the hell out of here!"

Quick as could be, they were out the door and down the street. SK took the remote detonator out and primed it, with a smile.

"From Crysuko, with love" he pressed the trigger.

[Untaroicht]

Immediently, the cathedral erupted into a sea of flames, as hundreds of precious icons and other religious artwork inside was consumed by the fire. The church bells rung from the shockwave of the blasts- alerting the city guard. Gathering their rifles, they loaded themselves onto convoys and were dispatched to the sight of the completely wrecked cathedral

The first security to arrive at the scene as a nearby Iron Lion- on of the greatest weapons in Untaroicht's arsenal. Using it's thermo-vision and superior sense of smell, the Iron Lion let out a deafening growl and ran towards SK's team. All 14 feet of it's titanium body smashed through windows and brick walls, nothing stopping it as it's jaws chased the team through the streets.

Thankfully, this was an outdated model of the GI Iron Lion- so it did not have any tracking devices or communication abilities to alert other forces of the Legion. They were having a hard time outrunning it, and if SK and his team didn't have any major weapons to defend themselves with, they would be literally torn to shreds by six rows of razor-sharp steel teeth.

Tlatoani Konstantinos was awoken from sleep in his island-palace to the disturbing news. Whether it was intended or not, he learned that four children were dead and ten others were injured in the church fire because of a sunday school class in the basement, something the saboteurs probably didn't notice due to the dark illuminated only with candles.

Konstantinos was a thug by all accounts- born and raised in Crysuko with an extensive criminal history since he was 12 years old. When he was a teenager, he attached himself to the ideals of Crysuko's old Fascist regime as a form of counter-culture, but this landed him a life sentence in prison. When Camiro was annexed by Untaroicht, he was released and made the de facto "King" of the island-province- his history and brutality made him an ideal candidate for a leadership position in Untaroicht.

Konstantinos was more then happy to take the power and all the wealth and excess that came with it- he really didn't care about the people of Camiro as much as his own personal gain. He knew to suck up to Eztlizuma, however, and went along with his new orders. The next morning, he would give a public speech to the people of Camiro about this tragic event- written by Eztlizuma beforehand.

[Crysuko]

SK and his team heard the beast thundering after them, knowing they couldn't defend against it with the current weapons. But they had one trick they could try.

He took a flashbang grenade off his belt and threw it semi randomly behind him. As expected, there was a loud bang and a blinding flash of light. To their relief, it gave them precious seconds to dive into a nearby sewer and elude the metal monster before it would mean their end.

Quietly making their way back to the black station, one of them spoke up "it's damn near personal now" he growled.

"Why?" Asked another. The first took a deep breath, the foul air filtered by his cybernetic lungs. "It has just dawned on me that in all six months, my son has never seen natural light. He's in stasis right now suffering from a genetic condition my bloodline carries. Were we able to get proper treatment it wouldn't be a problem, but the black station...ain't all about healing, you know? I was an ordinary garrison volunteer. Yet here I am, snooping around a sewer hoping to nudge the very enemy I thought would always be on the other side of the world"

He sniffed "the ultimate proof that life ain't fair"

[Untaroicht]

The Iron Lion had one design flaw that the members of SK's team would soon find out- when a grenade or similar handheld explosive device was thrown at them, the Iron Lion would try to eat it. Since this one was just a flash bang, it only disoriented the Iron Lion for a moment- but if a powerful enough explosive device was made, it might kill it very well.

The Iron Legion served as both the military and the standard police force in Untaroichii territory, but they were unable to find much evidence or leads- whoever did this were professionals. Konstantinos swore to avenge the killed children on the news the next day, and the Inquisition was quickly assigned to the job. Meanwhile, a 20,000 Alm reparation was given to the grieving families, more then three month's pay for a capitalist in Untaroicht.

Plans to rebuild at the site of the destroyed cathedral were rapidly put into place and widely supported by the population of Camiro, mostly because the church would be replaced by a state-of-the-art hospital. With this new building, treatment of Influenza could be more widespread and a second attack wouldn't be expected- since blowing up a hospital would be bad PR for any rebel groups. As a passive aggressive way of showing their confidence, a large marble statue of Eztlizuma was placed in the children's pediatric wing, to "guard over the downtrodden."

The higher-ups back in Tlaxtiqueruk were constantly over-ruling Tlatoani Konstantinos, because Eztlizuma was determined to get rid of the hard times that hit camiro under Distel's administration and gain the people's loyalty. There wasn't any sort of college on the island beforehand- residents had to go to the mainland to get a higher education, so Eztlizuma ordered a massive university to be built within the capital. There were even rumors of elections being re-instated, allowing the people of Camiro to elect their own dictator-for-life. Nothing close to the old democracy, but a potential step forward.

As the rebels planned their next move, Untaroicht worked very quietly and in the shadows to counter their efforts. Patience was a heavenly virtue, after all!

[Crysuko]

As this happened, the black station started their own attempt to foment rebellion. The youth of the island were susceptible to be turned into extremeists, as dozens of regimes knew. As such, SK and others made contacts with many gangs and small time resistence cells. Existing primarily in downtowns and other shadowy areas.

A group of malcontents in a rundown underpass.

They could pull the strings of these gangs and use them as a front for the various schemes, and they wasted no time in doing so

A semi-organised group of militia attack an occupier patrol

this happened all over the place, with them recruiting from places of higher education where the disenfranchised who attended could be easily persuaded to join. some as young as 15 and 16 took up arms. in rebel controlled houses and rows, spray paint tags of gang logos could be abundantly found.

But the professionals were at work as well, keeping the occupiers on their toes with sniper and night attacks on patrols, listening posts and road checkpoints. but a new grand plan was developing...

"This, comrades is the police headquarters they have designated for the whole island" SK said to his team in the briefing room. "and we're going to blow it up, are we?" interjected one of them. "yes, but in a very creative and damaging way. one of our spies reports many high ranking officers and personnel will be attending a meeting there in two days. the structure is a sturdy one, so demolition from the inside isn't viable"

He lit a holographic diagram "you see, there is the metro tunnel which runs beneath it. and beneath that is a pocket of radon the size of a large house. the plan is once the meeting is underway, metro service will have ceased for the day, we get in and collapse both the tunnel and the building above into it, killing all inside. It will require some serious punch to get that to happen, though"

"A question" one of them said "say we pull this off, how will we get away cleanly, we only just managed to get away last time and I doubt we will be so lucky twice". SK smiled "i'm glad you asked. it's simple, we'll be underground the whole time and from the point where we make the attack there's a well disguised elevator which goes down to a maintainence tunnel. once we're there, if you know the way it's a straight shot back here". The operative nodded, feeling a little safer.

The holo projector flickered to show the following image:

"This, my friends" he explained "is a nuclear resonance inducer. NERI for short. fresh off the production line and smuggled in from the mainland. we lost more agents than I can count on both hands for this hulk to get here safely, so we'd better make it worth it. as for what it does, any radioactive particles in any state of matter detonates instantly, causing essentially a nuclear blast. we have scouted this radon pocket and large though it is, it is almost empty. the blast will be large enough to punch the tunnel apart and cause a collapse of nearby buildings. I predict it to be comparable to at least several tonnes of C4, more than enough to break through the tunnel and foundations of the buildings above"

They all nodded in acknowledgement of the plan "the device is in the store room down the hall, feel free to look and handle it, as it isn't active right now and it weighs about ten to fifteen kilograms from what I know. until the mission, get familar with it. dismissed!"

and with that, they filtered out. a buzz of excitement in them all. the first non-symbolic real damage they were going to do, and it would be glorious, and in the coming days, it showed.

finally, the day came. One of them, jerien Taier was almost beside himself with glee. "we're going to do it! we're actually going to do it!" he squeed with the excitement of a small child. They set off from the station, to the hidden "maintainence" tunnel to the elevator. it was a long ride up and the heavy bomb added to the tension. Meanwhile above, the session had started with hundreds of high ranking and skilled police officers and specialists

The meeting begins...

after a long elevator ride, they finally reached the subway tunnel. After a quick check of their surroundings and ensuring there would be no more trains, they began the walk towards the siding where the pocket of radioative gas was. they eventually got there, but to their surprise two guards had been posted. likely to prevent the very attack they were about to launch.

"hey!" called one of them "who are you, you're not supposed to--" he and his friend were cut off by several well placed rounds. after locating the densest spot with a geiger counter, SK set it down and began the arming procedure. "this will take a little while, cover me" he requested. The team crouched, at arms.

"I wonder" mused one of them "how many explosions and covert attacks it will take before they get the message that they should leave?". "as many as we can muster, comrade" answered Jerien "we must make shotgun surgery attacks like this. big, messy and damaging so we can dislodge them and make it unignorable that the damage will continue until they leave willingly, or we have to give them the boot ourselves" he answered knowingly.

"bomb's set and armed" SK spoke up "let's get out of here!" and with that, they strode away. further down the tunnel, the reached the elevator. "Jerien, seeing as how you seemed so eager, i'll let you do the honours" he handed the trigger device over. A sadistic grin adorned his face "i'll be honest, I didn't think i'd ever enjoy killing so many people" He stabbed the button, starting a sixty second countdown as they entered the eleavator, taking it back down. "what strange times we live in, eh?"

By the time they reached the second tunnel, there was a rumbling and then suddenly a large tremour which nearly knocked them off their feet. "see you in hell, unts!" Jerien cried victoriously, as they continuued edging their way back to base.

It went all to plan. The bomb activated, the Radon detonated, the tunnel collapsed into the large pocket, leaving a large void for the foundations above to fall into. Several buildings were demolished in the chain reaction, hundreds killed, and jerien's grin couldn't be bigger.

[Untaroicht]

If there was ever a good use of the word "overkill", now would be a good time. Entire swarms of Legionaries poured out from the streets towards the burning police building, as emergency sirens rang across the city. Police Helicopters with heat-seeking missiles swarmed the air like flocks of geese, and smoke blocked out the sun.

However, as the specialists fled the scene and attempted to make their way back to base, they were ambushed in an alleyway. A plasma bolt was the first warning sign- dashing out of the dark straight into Jerien's chest, wounding him badly. The thunderous sound of marching boots could be heard, as the rebel squad was suddenly surrounded on all sides by 100 fire warriors each, in rank-and-file positions with Matter Manglers aimed at them.

"Another bomb? we want something more original!" A voice cried out from the dark in very poor Passan.

"You no think we learn to buy video-camera after first bombing?" A very old man in what appeared to be some kind of power-armor wrapped in human skin emerged from the shadows, with a needle full of green ooze. "Me Inquisitor Colonel Commodus, communists! I want all alive! They more fun that way"

________________

Later, at an undisclosed location

SK and his team were captured and taken some kind of prison- where exactly it was remained unknown to them. Before being thrown into their cells, any cybernetic implants each team-member had was forcefully removed. Furthermore, a television was placed in each cell for the prisoners to view SK-A1's "interrogation". It was hoped that seeing the fate of their leader would destroy their morale.

Despite it's knowledge of advanced technology for weaponry and mass surveillance, The Inquisition still preferred to use medieval tools of torture. SK-A1 was bolted to a spiky chair, and had his jaw broken by a choke pear. His body was pumped full of strange chemicals meant to increase his sensitivity to pain.

SK stood strong despite the great amount of pain, even regarding that "for a christian military, Untaroicht sure seems to hire some sick fucks". After a good slap, Inquisitor Colonel Commodus held a picture over the bonded SK's head, his eyes held open by force to see it- it was a recent family photo of his family. The Inquisitor pointed to his wife and children, while grabbing a circular bonesaw with the other hand.

"This your loved ones? Yes…I can feel the bravado leaving you. Since failed coup, Inquisition no can hurt them- they in crysukon soil. But I have you…" The saw made a deafening screeching sound, as he cut SK out of the picture.

"I will mail you to them in bloody pieces for seven days, and your team can cheer me on!"

As SK-A1 was torn piece by piece, the Inquisitor continued to talk to the prisoners over his screams. "Following Roman Tradition, every tenth man of your terrorist cell will be impaled in public for treason. Because Eztlizuma is kind and loving, the rest of you can go free. Please try harder next time."

The rest of SK's team were removed from their cells and uncured- the prison they were in turned out to be part of a battleship off the coast of Camiro. Without weapons and cybernetics, they were thrown off the deck and told to "swim back to shore".

"One more thing- how we follow and capture you so well? Someone on your team carries his own cross…I will leave the fun of finding out who to you! Goodbye!" The cackling voice of Commodus yelled through a loudspeaker, as the cold brine water began to soak the team members.

Thanks to their physical endurance and large training, the surviving rebels were able to swim back to sure quickly and re-group. This man who wore human skin- Commodus he called himself- didn't even bother to ask questions regarding the location of their base…he was simply a pure sadist who enjoyed the torture process. The Crysukon Military had heard of twisted Inquisitors before, but Commodus would need further investigation. Besides, killing SK and several others had made things personal, and there was a small sense of fear that the Inquisition would find the rest of the team's loved ones as well.

A traitor had infiltrated the rebel group, and paranoia began to grow.

[Crysuko]

The few remaining members of the team dragged themselves into the black station. It was obvious to the waiting staff what a bad state they were in, Jerien was only kept alive by adrenaline and luck.

They were put into the infirmary in short order, and once they were stabilised, the director came in. "What the hell happened!? Where's SK!?"

"Dead" croaked a weak Jerien, still hurting from his wounds "he didn't give anything up. Defiant to the end". He coughed heavily several times "but for what it's worth, the row was demolished"

"Stay tainted, unts!" He cried. This was no mere curse. "Stay tainted" is considered THE most offensive insult in the Passan language, and to say this to someone's face would offend even the hardiest.

The director sat aside, considering his next move. "Well, you and your team will be out of action for at least a week while you're rebuilt. Though getting more commandos in to replace the lost will be difficult" he mused "there's nothing for it, we have to take a prisoner and mind probe him. See what he knows". "But sir" interjected a doctor "the Neo cortex conscious process analysis and manipulation device, or NECCOPAMD is new technology, there's no guarantee at all that we'll get anything useful out of a viable subject"

The director stood "we have to try!"

Two weeks later...
"I didn't want a promotion, not this way" Jerien lamented to his team. In A1's death, he had been promoted to squad leader. "Nonetheless. We have a job to do, and this is how we are to do it" he turned the holoprojector on, causing it to display a map of the known patrol routes taken by occupier police and soldiers

"Here's what we do, we intercept this soldier patrol and incapacitate them, then haul their bodies back here. We have but a minuit's window to do this so we must be swift so not to have a repeat of last time" he pointed to an alley "they pass through this alleyway on their route, making it an idea, place to jump them. We will use neural dampeners to do so, which instantly kills all electrical activity in the front brain, terminating consciousness instantly"

"Understood sir" said one of the team "but they all have tracking devices in them, if we take their bodies then they'll be led right back here". "Good point, glad you raised it" replied Jerien. "To prevent them from tracking us, we attach a small ECM device to them, scattering the tracking signal and rendering it useless" he have a sweeping look of the room, seeing the looks of comprehension enter the eyes of his comrades. "There is one camera in that alley, but a round or two will knock it clean out"

He took a deep breath. This was his first mission he would be leading, and it was an important one. "If there are no further questions, we move out tonight. Dismissed!" And they all filtered out.

That night, above ground...
They had taken extreme caution to prevent themselves from being tracked as they waited in the shadows of the back if the alley, out of sight if the camera. They had even taken a different route out, just to be extra certain.

At long last, the group of five noticed three soldiers coming towards them, talking amongst themselves. Had they been paying attention, they may have seen such an attack coming. As it happened, they didn't. As they drew into striking distance, the team readied the dampener weapons.

"Now!" Hissed Jerien, and the three enemies went down cold, the ECM devices quickly attached and activated, the camera above disabled by a shot of its own. "It won't take long for their handlers to notice they've dropped off the RADAR, we have to shift this lot quickly" they scraped the incapacitated enemies off the ground, and quickly but quietly made their way back to base, disabling several other cameras while they were at it.

The black station laboratories resembled any other...mostly. The first captive awoke slowly and groggily, in only basic clothing, strapped to a slightly reclined chair with various wires and probes attached to his head. "What...where am I! what is this!" He demanded "black station six, my tainted friend" said a scientist from behind a terminal. "In short, i going to extract your memories, killing you in the process and examine them". The captive struggled "I'll never tell you anything!" He spat. The scientist chuckled "who said anything about you talking? I will go straight to the source and read your brain like a book"

Suddenly, the captive found himself with a crushing migraine. "It's working!" Exclaimed the scientist "the extractor is now rooting through his brain patterns, looking for his memories..." After a short while, the migraine was accompanied by a feeling of there being multiple presences in his head, stealing his mind. "Stop this madness!" Cried the captive, but the scientist and the other onlookers weren't listening. "Ah! The mapping is complete, and the memories are being translated and copied over to this computer now!" He explained happily.

The pain only worsened for the captive, with darkness slowly creeping into his vision and every memory flashing before his eyes, he began to panic, rattling and crying out in his restraints. After a while of this, he slowly calmed...and then stopped altogether. "We have everything. Now go and cut up the body for spare parts or something, I don't care" he ordered to a few other lab rats.

"Awaken the next captive!"

[Crysuko]

OOC: if any of the audience has any questions or comments feel free the TG them to me

[Untaroicht]

Jerien learned a great amount of information from the examined memories- for one, Untaroicht a plan that was soon to be implemented to loot every piece of fine art from Camiro's museums and ship them back to Tlaxtiqueruk to put in Eztlizuma's "Royal Archive". It was also revealed that Legatus Hunapo was planning to make a visit to Camiro in six months time.

Legatus Hunapo was as tainted as they come. He was Untaroicht's number one military commander since Maximilien was still a rebel in the Vulture Insurgency, and was the mastermind behind Untaroicht's victories in The Descent, The Primal Crusade, The Vulture Insurgency, and their various crusades against smaller nations in The Indian Ocean. He was 75 years old now- a frail old man with a mind still intact. If there was ever a good opportunity to assassinate someone of great value- this was it.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, Tlatoani Konstantinos received a video call from Eztlizuma that showed a rare side of wrath from him.

"You mountain-folk have tested my patience to it's breaking point. What price must I continue to pay to bring civilization and god to these ungrateful savages? If another major disturbance continues like it has in the past, I will take what every king has the right to do. I will forcefully draft all male citizens of the island as young as 12 years old and deport them to Untaroicht for military training, and I WILL crush any rebellion. Do I make myself absolutely, crystal clear?"

Konstantinos nodded. If there was one thing that might be willing to start a massive riot, it would be telling the already unruly crysukons that their children would be taken from them to fight for Untaroicht on the other side of the world. The thought of 12 year old crysukons fighting and dying in a place like war-torn Indonesia or Tasmania under the purple and gold banner was amusing, but dangerous.

[Crysuko]

Jerien assembled his team and several others in the war room.

"Alright comrades, I know precisely what we are to do for our next act of infamy". He lit the holoprojector, to show a picture of the Camiro state art museum. "We have learned from the extracted memories of those people that were captured that the unts are planning on clearing the place out and shipping it back to their mainland. Suffice to say, we aren't going to let that happen"

He set up a second picture, showing the layout of a simple, but well hidden base "this base was built before the occupation to be used as a gold station, but this island changed hands before it could ever be used, it even has it's own geothermal generator, a resistance cell composed of ex-militia with formal training is currently operating out of there. We will be working together with them to move the treasures in that museum to their headquarters"

"The plan is this, they have acquired civilian worker uniforms and have worked their way into night shift positions, with help from the CSFC team, internal security will be pacified with fake OK reports and camera feeds put on a loop by our tech team. We also have several operatives well practiced in the enemy language, accent and mannerisms so if they call in, we can turn them away. That is stage one"

The picture changed to show a convoy of cargo vehicles. "We will then load the various artefacts quickly but carefully into this convoy, sprayed with enemy colours and using hacked IFFs to fool checkpoints, as well as IDs and other paperwork"

The image changed again to a road route out of the city, towards the Dexen heights, a formidable set of hills and mesas

"Once we have loaded the art, the CSFC teams will perform a hit and run attack on manned checkpoints on the other side of the city so to distract the guard force so the convoy can get out unmolested via the shown route. They will then deactivate their GPS signals so they can't be tracked. It is then a straight shot into the hills and to their base. There are also ECM generators hidden around the road leading there painstakingly planted by us and them to help cover their retreat, we have little time and the operation commenced tonight. Dismissed!"

That night, in the museum...

The guard force left in the building was minimal, all one of the specialists had to do was plant and activate the loop virus which would befuddle the security. The loading teams were ready and the convoy was waiting outside silently. A tech commando found an open computer terminal and plugged the virus into it, waiting for it to activate. After a minute, he could see all the security feeds were frozen. It was his job to keep it this way for as long as possible.

The tired and distracted loyal guards didn't put up much of a fight when jumped and knocked out, the back doors were opened and the loading teams began moving the art quickly but gently to the waiting convoy, the tech commandos having disabled all security. They scanned and checked all the artefacts taken out for tracking devices, some did and some didn't but the loaders couldn't afford to be sloppy. They were pretty much professional thieves.

About half way through the job, a call came in to one of the obfuscation commandos. "It looks like your feeds are a little shaky, are your technicians looking into it?" Asked a gruff voice. The commando took a breath and answered, knowing his training was about to be put to the test.

"We have a few people looking at it, they appear to be jumping a little but it doesn't look like a big problem, we will have it fixed soon" he replied, in immaculate untaroichtii form. "Very well" came the reply "we will keep watch from this end" the line ended, and the tech com changed the loop to fool the external watchers, remembering to periodically do so.

After several hours of this business it was past midnight and the loaders had finally finished their job and scattered into the city to eventually filter back to their cells. After one final inventory, the convoy started their engined and waited for the go signal, all the drivers knowing not to stay all together as this would look suspicious, but to take their own route back and rendezvous at the outskirts before moving into the hills.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city...

The CSFC team were in position, ready to fire snipers, rockets and other such weapons at a random target then drop and run back to base. To cover their retreat, the gangs and small time cells would riot, giving the professionals the cover they needed to get back to base unseen.

The code to start the attacks came, several destroyed patrol vehicles and a dozen dead enemy soldiers later, the gangs began to riot. Attacking patrols, checkpoints and other installations to cause chaos, they all knew they would did but they they quite happy to do so if they took a few enemies with them. The agents slipped back to the station amidst the chaos.

The guard force on the east side rushed over to support the surprised defenders, leaving many checkpoints and streets unguarded. The convoy split up and made a break for it as Jerien and his teams performed the scatter and filter manoeuvre to lessen the chance of any of them being captured. They would stay with civilian sympathisers or just hide until the opportunity to get back to base presented itself.

Eventually, the night watch noticed the museum had been emptied but before they could begin to put the pieces together, the convoy had merged on the outskirts and were speeding into the hills under cover of the scrambling signals.

Jerien and a few others had made it back and were waiting impatiently for a report from the hill cell. After a painful hour of baiting, they received a short code. "AVR CAUD". Translated, this read "all vehicles returned, cargo acquired undamaged"

A dozen gangsters and resistance members had died and over half their agents hadn't reported in, but the mission was a success. The priceless art was in a hidden vault, not to be touched by thieving hands.

[Untaroicht]

The seizure of the looted spoils was the final straw- Untaroicht was through with it's attempts to please the populace into submission, and would now use unremitting and brutal force to maintain their grip on power. The next two weeks were marked by a series of decent victories against the youth gangs of the island- if they wanted to commit crime, they would be punished like the filth they were. By utilizing the veterans and experienced members of the military to fight the gangs, crime began to plummet at a disheartening rate. Violent criminals were freed from prisons and told to shoot any young-looking and suspicious-looking troublemakers they saw on sight. Public Schools were shut down en masse, as a new policy requiring payment for even the most basic education was enforced.

While life was originally bitter-sweet during the first several months of Untaroichii occupation, strict martial law was implemented and life became a never-ending cycle of death and fear. Impalements, beheadings, crucifixions, firing squads, and even boiling the guilty alive were used to strike fear into the hearts of the populace. When gang leaders were found, they were blinded, castrated, branded like cattle, and had their tongues removed as a warning to the others- then sent free to spread the news. The same punishments would automatically be applied to any identified kinsman, even if they were completely innocent.

Revolutionary missions in Camiro became harder and harder to plan, as millions were spent on mass surveillance and defense mechanisms. The island of Camiro was starting to become more and more like a prison, and the security was cranked up so much, potentially mind-altering and toxic sedatives were put into the citizen's drinking water to erode their anger and will to fight.

The last blow to any sense of freedom came from the mouth of Konstantinos himself, as his voice echoed on the state radio and news stations.

"We have, up to now, been very choosy as to who should serve under our banner. We only took the strongest and most zealous of Untaroichii blood. Now that the sun never seems to set on Eztlizuma's kingdom, all under his reign are eligible to fight and die for the good and spread of fascism.

The ungrateful natives of Tasmania have risen up and begun to assault our peaceful settlements- killing, enslaving, and raping all in their path! By decree of Legatus Hunapo, a draft will be established within Camiro. All who are conscripted shall be deported to Untaroicht for three weeks of training, then deployed to Tasmania!

As a result of this, Foreign Auxiliaries from Madagascar will be sent here to Camiro to combat the waves of terrorism, while troops from Sri Lanka will be sent there to replace them. There is one other detail of note, however...

I ask you...how old does a boy have to be before he is a man? How old must he be before he can die for his country? Some parents may be squeamish about marching the flower of youth off to war, but The Iron Legion is an equal-opportunity employer. Therefore, all young and able-bodied men aged 12 and up of Camiro will be conscripted for this military campaign. Their families will be compensated in the event of death, and they will automatically receive a skipped year of grade school."

DEUS VULT! was the last thing heard from these transmissions- in the time of Camiro's occupation, "Deus Vult" became a standard form of greeting and saluting in Untaroicht, much like Germany's "Sieg Heil". Originally latin for "god wills it"- it was two simple words that became synonymous with religious hatred and death on an industrial scale.

[Crysuko]

That did it. With this news coming, people, resistance cells and other armed groups started an open rebellion, with Jerien and his people leading the charge, announcing their presence by incinerating a police station

A single Iasden drone looped above the city, striking targets with disturbing precision.

But as MRS4 extended their roots, the rebels became less liek a rabble, and more organised as agents took command positions, doling out more advanced weaponary. The shocked defenders were pushed into several pockets, light patrol vehicles, checkpoints, listening posts and other hardware were torn down and turned into improvised weaponary.

Example of an improvised strike vehicle constructed by the rebels, little more than two rocket pods welded to a modified motorcycle, but weaponary like this played merry hell with enemy attempts to move their troops around by air, as well as use as hit and run attacks

Losses were ehavy on both sides, and soon the towns and cities began to fill with bodies, but some coastal towns flew the old flag, supporting defense and offense in the regional capital. the now abandoned Dexen point was re-occupied by tech commandos and used to great effect in electronic warfare against the enemy.

Meanwhile, in the crysukon capital...

A reporter came to Itanor Lensche's office. "chancellor, sir! camiro is in open rebellion!" he reported. "so i've heard" replied the chancellor. "Get Sangh in here, we need a plan and we need it now. we must strike while the iron is hot!"

later, Distel, Sangh and Lensch were gathered. "I can have reinforcements in Sehn Hularis and Qaerinthia by the end of the week, and have their current garrisons on alert. as for Camiro, there is one small port under rebel control. I believe we can send in commandos and supplies." Both leaders nodded "do it, we need that island back!"

In the rebellion, someone got their hands on a copy of the documents used to sign the island over. At closer examination, it proved to be a fake. This only fanned the flames as more and more people took to the streets in anger

Camiro as of current, with the rebels having taken a lot of the south western sector of the island, with some other smaller pockets fighting hard.

[Untaroicht]

"You have failed The Autocracy, disappointed Christ, and made a mockery of Eztlizuma's iron will! By order of the Huey Tlatoani, you are stripped dog your titles of Nobility and relieved of your command." A representative of Tlaxtiqueruk was speaking to Konstantinos on the phone, as his guards and servants made a mad dash to carry everything of value onto his private yacht. TVs, Marble Statues, bars of gold, pretty much anything not nailed down was being rushed into the cargo hold of his luxury yacht.

"You'll never get your hands on me! When I raised the taxes, I bought a penthouse in SIngapore- an escape plan! Neither you unts or the crysukons will be able to arrest me, and best of all I'm taking the treasury of the province with me since three quarters of it are in my swiss bank account!"

"You think you can instigate a revolt, then bail out of your duty with the wealth of our nation? There will not be a corner of the planet you will know safety in..." Konstantinos hung up abruptly, practically begging for an assassination.

"If those rebels get their hands on me they'll butcher me! EVERYONE! Let's get the fuck out of here!" Konstantinos then began to sail away from Camiro with a few hundred slaves and most of the island's wealth.

The higher-ups at The Iron Legion made a tough decision: forfeit. They knew they couldn't keep hold of the island, not when the Crysukon army was arriving. While plans were made to fortify Camiro, the rebels ensured that Untaroicht couldn't invest in the proper defenses needed for a full-frontal invasion. Since Untaroicht did originally spend a lot of money in new roads, hospitals, schools, and farms- they were going to punish the people for their disloyalty.

A portion of the legions were told to hold their ground against any approaching rebels and to form a blockade at the south of the island to ensure enemies didn't spread north. The rest were told to unleash a scorched earth campaign- salt fields, burn down libraries and schools, bomb hospitals, poison their water supplies and food, flood the sewers, and massacre anyone who wasn't with the Untaroichii military. Camiro may fall back into Crysukon hands, but The Legion was going to cripple and devastate it to the point of worthlessness.

Aside from the Iron Lions used for this scorched-earth campaign, Genuine Intelligence Siege Robots standing over 10 meters tall were used to destroy rebel-controlled buildings, while smaller robots literally crushed resistance in the streets.

While Camiro was swept by complete chaos and anarchy, two delegates were going to be sent to the enemy forces- an ambassador to meet with Jerien, and one for Distel- in order to negotiate the terms of surrender. That wouldn't be for a while though, as Camiro still had blood that needed to be spilled.

[Crysuko]

After word reached Crysuko that the claim on Camiro was illegitimate, the former 1st Camiro rifles (15K men) was sent to re-occupy it, and clear out occupier forces. Commando teams and supplies had already arrived before them, and the rebels were gaining ground quickly with some pockets merging.

Meanwhile, the untarochtii ambassador met with Jerien in the depths of the black station.
"I have been told that you have been sent here to negotiate peace terms, is this true?" asked Jerien sharply, wanting this meeting to end quickly.
The emissary laid a document on the table silently, looking away shamefully. Jerien read it in full. "so you want to turn the island back to us? about time our message got through" he said, laying a neat signiture on it. "and I know you would consider this a disgrace, but don't worry. justice is indeed being done"

Meanwhile, above...

A group of militants advance on an enemy position, bearing the popular scorpian tail flag used by camiron rebels groups to identify each other.
as the supplies from the mainland permeated through, the militants found themselves better equipped wielding much better weaponary and advisors to tell them how best to use it, the playing field was levelled a little, as supply lines opened up, recruitment became easier and the rebels became increasingly organised.

The camiro situation as of current:

the capital is almost entirely under their control, with the west being a rebel stronghold. The advances and fighting supported by crysukon and black station commandos, while the defenders found themselves outmanned and outgunned on all sides with dwindling supplies.