PROJECT ARKANE [IC | PMT+ / FanT] [CLOSED]

by **Forest State** » Tue Mar 31, 2020 8:39 am

Theme

ONCE UPON A TIME, DEMIHUMANS AND MAGIC DOMINATED HALF THE WORLD… BUT SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY THREE YEARS AGO, THAT WORLD WAS BAPTIZED IN NUCLEAR FIRE…

Welcome to Pontia, a place where humans have coexisted with other species for hundreds of years - both the elven race, known for their closeness with the magical world, and demihumans, a lesser magical race defined by their animalistic blood and physical traits - ears, horns, claws and the like, and advantages that run deeper, such as enhanced night vision and hearing. Humanity was long at a disadvantage due to these inherent advantages for the other races of Pontia, but mankind did have one advantage that it was ahead of the rest in… Technological advancement.

Seven hundred and fifty years ago, the Vesperitne Security Organization and the Kolensk Pact, the two global alliances dominating world politics at the time, went to war with each other in a conflict that would escalate into all-out destruction for both sides… In the terminal phase of the war, the Elven Empire, formerly the premier superpower in the world, was both destroyed and forsaken by its gods, who had granted an advantage over other races and contributed to the magical superiority of the elves.

Today, the situation is very different.

Where magic once ruled the battlefield and allowed great feats at the expense of humanity, technology has risen - long range missiles have become the deadliest weapon rather than spells, and through the ingenuity of gene therapy procedures, even humans are able to use magical skills of their own. The world is no longer dominated by demihumans and elves, but split in a new arrangement between multiple power blocs - the supposedly free and egalitarian International Security and Trade Agreement, or ISATA, the authoritarian leaning and conservative Second Kolensk Pact, and the rising Central Defense Organization, an alliance formed by the third world and the most prominent demihuman nations to protect their own interests against the premier powers.

Many of the spaces in between, outside of the influence of these alliances, are battlegrounds where all three sides attempt to influence the outcome in their favor, the new world not yet free from continual warfare as a cyberpunk future rises in the more developed world with megacorporations, private security forces, advanced technology, and developments towards new technologies such as AI and space travel take center stage in the headlines and behind the scenes.

As technology and magic once again compete, the world may just be on its way to a singularity…

As the title suggests, this is a closed thread. Only players involved in the project beforehand may post.

by **Forest State** » Tue Mar 31, 2020 8:40 am

S1E1
“PROMOTION”

The Vespertine-Eurosian Union is one of the major superpowers of Pontia, based on a merger between the Vespertine Union of before the war, established along the Vespertine Ocean originally, and the Naganese Islands of the Eurosian Ocean, a former independent power in their own right that was left with a strong Vespertine presence at the time of the First End War. Within this country, one of the largest powers is the conglomerate Vespercorp, an organization which has made the dreams of many and broken those of many others. The size of this corporation and the power of it has required it to maintain a wing dedicated to ‘special operations,’ and today, a promising employee is set to take up the role of a manager for the first time, with much greater ambitions than just working in the middle levels of the special operations division…

July 23rd, 753 N.E.
New Liberty, Vespertine-Eurosian Union
Collaborative post between Forest State and Lunas Legion

New Liberty… The city that considered itself the center of the world. At the very least, it was the center of the Vespertine-Eurosian Union, one of the dominant superpowers of the world in addition to one of its largest economies - it was from this city that the Vespertine economy spread outwards, the ports of New Liberty and the surrounding suburbs sending more trade in and out of the city than anywhere else in the Union. More importantly than that, companies were based here, and innovation often started here first.

If they were a prominent company in the Union and weren’t based on the west coast in the sprawl of Terrallende, one could bet that they were based somewhere around here, and the city was alight through all hours of the night with advertisements for the latest advancements, things that would’ve been impossible years ago and things that even today were considered cutting edge. The latest cybernetics, consumer goods which made life easier in ways that the buyers didn’t know they needed, and more experimental technologies… New forms of gene editing, advanced robotics, all of it could be found and bought within the confines of this city, and plenty of people did buy things here, giving the city an economy that might as well have outclassed the small countries of the world in productivity.

New Liberty was also the city that Jang Caine now had a view of, from the window of his new office - his first office. Years ago, someone like him even having an office of his own would have been a joke, a distant dream and one that others would have derided as unrealistic. The best that Jang could be, they said, was dumb muscle… The person who enforced the will of the company on the streets and dealt with things that the law couldn’t handle. Little more than a thug on the payroll of a company that the government decided not to prosecute for these actions due to their importance. They wouldn’t let someone like him into the corporate hierarchy, wouldn’t let someone that was from the neon lit streets of Palm City come this high up, and wouldn’t let a half elf into a position like this… Or so they had said.

For the first time, Jang Caine was a “task force manager” within Vespercorp, one of the largest companies in the world and one of the major conglomerates that shaped the more business oriented parts of the VEU’s society. For the company, it was a double edged sword - they were getting someone dedicated and driven, who would do anything to accomplish the task. They were also getting someone ambitious, that wouldn’t exactly be pushed around just because someone above was older or had more experience in their position, and who would perhaps act on these ideals some day and make a power play…

Vespercorp was large enough, after all, that a ‘corporate civil war’ was a legitimate threat. And just like countries had parliaments, the company had politics too. Board meetings weren’t just about finances and business operations, but about personal legacies and agendas, with big names and voting blocs and formal and informal agreements, just like the political world… Not just in the pursuit of profit, but in the pursuit of something that was occasionally more valuable - face. It wasn’t just a job, but a way of life.

The streets of New Liberty.

And it was a way of life that Jang Caine had damn near mastered.

“Well, everything should be set…” said the staffer, as Jang turned back to look at him. “Best of luck with the new position.”

“Thank you,” the half-elf replied, looking back to the desk in front of him… Also a new thing. Jang had talked to plenty of people behind their own desks, but hadn’t been in a position before which warranted having one. It did make him wonder, how he would do in this kind of role. Handling matters in the streets was a very different thing from handling them in the boardroom, and working in the streets was also very different from working in front of a desk.

Indeed, he would find out soon, once they assigned his first task… He had some idea already of what it would be - they would use his skillset, which meant it was almost certainly dirty work, but he was prepared to handle it and only wondered whether or not it would be much harder being the one in charge of the operation and not the one running it on the ground.

As the staffer left him to his new work, he looked down at the files that had been provided on the people that were on his team. He was a manager now, after all, and that meant learning the personnel. The one who was set to be his adjutant was… Interesting. Gabriella Bianchi-Costa, from right here in this city of New Liberty. Apparently, her background was somewhat prestigious, at least in family name - she wasn’t too experienced in this business, so to speak, but then again, Jang couldn’t judge her on that… For someone such as Jang who was an expert at reading people however, the picture told more than her file. It wasn’t hard to see the face of a spoiled girl who’d grown up in luxury, and was now expecting to move on to this role and likely get the same treatment and easy work…

Which was maybe a problem. The work Jang intended, officially and unofficially, wasn’t going to be easy. Still, someone like this was… Moldable perhaps. Still able to be turned into something useful. It wasn’t a waste to give her some attention and train her for the role - she was still young enough to change, at 21, and she was good looking enough… Maybe she wouldn’t be the worst person to work around here. Even if her pampered tendencies would have to be dealt with.

The next file was on a more familiar name… Electra. An associate of Jang’s since both of them had been in the company in earlier days, and someone worthy of genuine respect - she worked in a different department previously, in the technological field, but she knew her stuff in other areas too and having someone that was an expert in procurement and research and development would be… Useful for certain tasks of theirs. Furthermore, her engineering knowledge applied to the field also. Attacking a fortified location, for example, was much easier with someone with her knowledge working on the plan.

More importantly, though, she had the same wolf mentality that Jang looked for - that he saw in himself. Just because she was an engineer didn’t mean she wasn’t as ruthless as anyone in the streets… She just showed her skillset in that area differently. She was considered, to Jang, a trusted member of the inner circle. Those that had the same mentality, same drive, and had come together at the right place and right time.

Jang continued looking through the files, seeing the basics on everyone that was working in a role under his own, and then picked up his phone to send a text… It was time to meet Gabriella, the new adjutant, and get down to working. After all, working from the first day was one way to show a good work ethic…

Gabriella wasn’t about to do something as stupid as being late. Being late in this corporate culture, as aggressive as it was, was a one-way journey downwards once you had made it into the middle of the hierarchy. High enough to be noticable, low enough to be an easy scapegoat to throw under the bus if anything went bad.

She didn’t know her new boss; Jang Caine was one of those names you overheard occasionally and half-recognised, but wasn’t anyone you could actually pin down who they were or what they did. But that was the norm here, with such a large company you didn’t expect to know everyone. Even that she half-recognised the name was rare, and could mean good things, or bad.

She sincerely hoped it was the former as she made her way through the corridors of one of the upper floors of the building, silently counting room numbers and door plaques. She wasn’t going to be late, she’d given herself plenty of time to find a room she didn’t know on a floor she wasn’t familiar with, but eventually she stopped in front one of the doors.

She glanced up at the plaque next to it, double-checking before knocking politely on the door. It wouldn’t do to embarrass herself on her first day after being promoted, after all, by walking in to an empty office.

The door came open not long after she knocked on it, and she was standing face to face with her boss… Who gestured inside, taking a step back and walking towards the desk, the window in the background giving an outlooking view over the cityscape - which of course went on seemingly forever. They were in the heart of it all, meaning it still went on for miles in every direction and that was visible from the window… The lit up signs never seemed to turn off, either. “Come in… I presume you’ve already been familiarized with the job.”

“Of course.” Gabriella nodded as she stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her. “I like to think that I know what I’m doing, and accepting a job without knowing exactly what it entails is a very quick way to not last very long at all.”

“I’m aware that you have a relatively prominent background which makes you well prepared for working at a job like this…” said Jang, sitting down behind the desk. The words were, of course, a bit of flattery. Sometimes that went a long way when it came to putting someone at ease and getting them to play along with things. “But, you should also know before starting that this isn’t going to be easy work, we’re looking to do… Beyond the minimum requirement. You don’t move up in a company like this by doing the minimum. And I don’t think either of us intend to stay in a mid level position like this.”

“I wouldn’t have taken this position if I expected the work to be easy.” Gabriella said, slipping down into a seat on the opposite side of the desk. “If I wanted easy work, I’d have remained in my previous role, and you’re right in that I don’t think either of us wish to remain in our current positions any longer than is strictly necessary to go further upwards.”

“The path to getting ahead in this place is right in front of you - but you’re going to have to listen. I’m more familiar with moving up in this kind of work, you see, and I have other associates around here who will be working with us, that are experts… But most of this has to be done a specific way. At least, if it’s going to be successful. I have to ask, is your trust in your higher ups?”

Gabriella paused, hesitating for a moment, before nodding. “Yes.” She said, whatever doubts that might have come to the surface in that brief moment of hesitation gone. “It’s a poor adjutant who does not trust their superior. It’s an implicit part of the job.”

“Then I suppose it’s a good idea to get down to the actual work soon. Follow the right path, and you’ll find that getting promoted isn’t as hard as it seems to someone less experienced. Of course, one of the main things to do is get all of the work done as soon as possible, and in this case…” said Jang, looking Gabriella over after looking away from a laptop screen. “The work has to do with the arms industry in specific.”

“And what in particular about the arms industry?” Gabriella asked, settling into her chair. “It’s not my area of expertise, of course, but I shall do my best to assist regardless.”

“You’ve likely heard of the Democratic People’s Republic of Dosun… One of the most closed off countries in the world. It’s also a country dealing with problems… The Kemandirianist government of the country isn’t the closest with most of its neighbors, and with an economy that’s slow from certain policies and with dissent existing at the edges of the country… Which has caused the country to quietly turn towards us - an ally all the way across an ocean is perhaps a better one for them than a nation involved more in the affairs of a dangerous region. But… The country, for now, is still sanctioned by the government here. Until something changes back in the District of Martins, this little agreement between Vespercorp and Dosun is going to be on the down low,” Jang explained, summarizing what had been sent to him as an assignment.

“Many other countries have sanctions on Dosun too, of course. But, a corporate and national partnership can sometimes produce good things… Brokering such an agreement with the Kemandirianist National Worker’s Party is a responsibility that falls on a small group within the company… Due to my own experience in doing things off the radar, that group is us,” Jang concluded. “It will require, soon enough, a visit out to the far east to talk things over and agree on the specifics.”

“A risky venture, but it isn’t my role to analyse the risk of ventures for this company.” Gabriella said, tapping her fingers on the armrest of her chair. “If the higher-ups have said this is happening and handed it down to us, then it’s our job to make it happen. Do you have a rough date for the visit?”

“It would impress some within the company if this visit could happen in a matter of days rather than a matter of weeks. I intend to handle it this week. Prepare yourself, and make sure you know what you’re walking into. Dosun is a very different place from anywhere that most people in this country have been - rougher in a number of ways, and in other ways… Simply alien,” Jang stated. “The customs in this country are, unlike here, a matter of life and death in many cases.”

“I shall do my research accordingly.” Gabriella promised, nodding. “And I shall make do with the week or so that I have to prepare myself. Dosun is not a country that I’m familiar with, as isolated and closed off as it is, so I haven’t had to deal with it before.”

“The company won’t be able to do much to help if you end up getting put in a prison camp. Which by the numbers, isn’t an unlikely fate. Think everything over carefully…” her boss warned. “And don’t just treat it like any other small dictatorial nation.”

“That it is so closed off is testament to that it shouldn’t be treated like some tinpot dictatorship.” Gabriella nodded again. “Unless there is anything else you need urgently from me right now, may I start my preparations? Time is of the essence with how soon we leave.”

“Likely for the best,” Jang stated with a nod. “I’ll get back to you if there’s anything else that I need. For now… This task is the top priority.”

“Very well.” Gabriella said, standing up. “And do. It is my job, after all.” Gabriella finished, turning and walking out. She had research to do and preparations to make, and not much time at all to do so. She didn’t want to end up in a prison camp, after all.

After a fair amount of time had passed, it was later in the day at the office in downtown New Liberty, and it was almost around the time when work would wrap up… For most people. The VEU had picked up the Naganese business culture from the merger with the Nagano Islands, and many people would still be found around the office even when official working hours were over. One of the ones that was sticking around was Jang himself, because he still had a few things left to do… And a couple people left to talk to.

Resting back in the seat behind the desk, Jang once again reached for his phone - but the number being dialed didn’t belong to anyone that was tied up too heavily in the corporate world. Rather, someone who had helped often enough in the past with the business’ dealings in the streets. The same kind of thing that Jang had been involved in.

There was a good reason now to get back in contact…

“‘Sup, Jang.” Maya answered almost immediately, the distant roar of traffic in the background audible over her cheerful voice. “Been a while, but it’s you so this isn’t a social call, not that you ever do those, like, ever. What’s it going to be today, hm?” Even despite her cheerful-sounding nature, she was straight down to business.

“I thought maybe I should change from my usual habits and call you over to talk… Mainly because I have an office to do it from, now. As unbelievable as that is,” Jang said with a chuckle. “And, there’s a drink cabinet in this office, by the way.”

“You mean you want to flex your fancy new office and expensive bottles of whatever the hell you’ve stuffed into your drinks cabinet at short notice.” Maya laughed, voice briefly being lost to the sound of traffic. “I’ll drop by when I can to catch up, but work’s work and work currently is stakeouts so I can’t go anywhere for a bit, but I can talk. Fuck knows I need the conversation to keep me awake.”

“I’m sure this new work pays better than looking for jobs as an independent,” Jang mentioned. “Turns out Vespercorp has their hands in more black projects than they want to admit, they’ve got a lot of things they’re handling and some of it’s falling in my lap now… Latest thing is stuff in Dosun but I know that’s not going to be the only job. I’m a ‘task force manager’ now, if you’d believe it.”

Jang paused, before continuing with a slight chuckle. “Should I assume that my smiling assassin would be interested in joining said task force?”

“I mean, your pay’s always nice and you don’t saddle me with completely unreasonable contracts…” Maya mused, smirking behind her phone. “I’d be down. I’ll have to clear the contract list, but I can always sub-contract those out to others or offer reduced prices for longer windows to fulfil them or whatever. Anything in particular you’re calling for, or is this just getting me on-board and you’ll get me something to do once you’ve gotten something?”

“Suppose I’m asking you to put on the corporate uniform for once and come back even though things are a bit more formal… Albeit, not the same as… If we were in a different branch. Still keeping things on the low, relatively,” shrugged Jang. “This is a bit higher up than the department responsible for handing out money under the table in cash. There’s an actual budget, actual protocol, and all that… I have a secretary to manage it.”

“Boo, formality.” Maya said jokingly. “Fuck knows I’ve never been about that whole corporate life, too much of a free spirit to sell my soul like that. How long do you want me for, and how much am I being paid? If you need something for the budget I’m technically a qualified bodyguard, so given your fancy new office and that you somehow have a secretary, you can probably justify the expense. Especially since it’s Dosun.”

“Surprisingly, Dosun has opposition… Not a legal one, but you get the idea. I have the feeling that we might need to put in some work stabilizing our new partner, assuming everything goes as planned on the negotiating table. We either handle things quietly or ship in the guns and I don’t think HR wants to deal with the possible media backlash when word reaches the rest of the world that we’ve drone struck someone there from ten thousand feet. In other words, I’m saying there’s more than a couple jobs there just in the next couple of weeks for you. And yes, the budget has room to spare, and I’m sure Dosun has their own rewards in place for taking the rabble rousers out,” said Jang.

“Foreigner walking around with guns also sounds like a quick ticket to a Dosun death camp, so before I start hunting rebels like they’re ducks or something you’ll probably want to okay me being there doing my thing with their government.” Maya warned. “I’ll play the part of bodyguard until you’ve got that okayed with them, and if it isn’t then I’ll stick to bodyguarding. Knowing you someone will try and take a shot at some point.”

“The government’s the main one after this… We’re just the foreign backer that they desperately need at the moment,” Jang shrugged. “And, if child’s play like that isn’t enough for you, I suppose there’s something else that I wanted to revisit now that I have more resources on hand to work with… May intersect with other tasks in the future, may not.”

“I’m just an assassin, I do what I’m paid to, doesn’t matter how easy or hard it is.” Maya said. “You want me to shoot rebels in the islands of nowhere, I’ll shoot rebels in the islands of nowhere. The thing you want to revisit, well, you can talk to me about that once you’re done with prison camp archipelago and its government. One thing at a time.”

“I just want to know if you have any interest in looking further into the Grey Cloaks…” Jang stated plainly. Referring, of course, to an organization that existed - or supposedly existed - at the margins… An old magic society which traced its original history back to the days before the world had been bathed in fire seven hundred and fifty three years in the past. Supposedly, if the rumors online were correct, it espoused western chauvinist ideals and had worked against the Elven Empire from the inside, becoming one of the reasons for its decline - and it would have been forgotten following the destruction of that Empire in the First End War if it wasn’t for the hidden signs that such an organization still existed today, aligned with the VEU. Allegedly.

“My interest in anything is directly tied into how much I’m being paid to be interested.” Maya said dryly. “I can start digging, but that sounds like a very, very long term project to be looking into an Internet conspiracy that might not even churn up everything, but if you’re paying for it, well, I’m not saying no.”

“If I give you a kiss, it’s not enough?” Jang mused. “I’ll look into exactly what needs to be done… If you want to be greedy about it then, well, I’ll make sure it’s money spent smartly. But I’d argue there’s more to gain if the findings are correct than there is from taking money before the job.”

“If you were paying me before the job then I wouldn’t do any work.” Maya laughed. “It’s easy enough though, so, well, just pay me a bit upfront and the rest once I find enough for you. If I don’t find anything, well, I haven’t completed my contract so fair’s fair and no pay for poor Maya.”

“Right. Consider it a deal… I’ll work out some details while the Dosun thing is still going on. I have my reasons to believe this thing exists… And that learning the truth behind it would be an advantage for the both of us. Still, I can understand why everyone else might not have the same faith,” Jang said. “I suppose that’s turning down the kiss, too.”

“Professionals don’t do things like that when we’re on contract. Maybe once I’m finished?” Maya laughed. “Or celebrating you not getting put into a death camp in Dosun once you’re back. I’m not giving you a time for the Grey Cloaks, because, well, I don’t know how long that’ll take. Or if there’s anything at all. Oh, uh, if I do end up dead while on this, it’s probably them.”

“We’ve never been professionals… We’re just posing as them, living in their world, taking their jobs to keep ourselves alive, and flying under the radar from them. In a way, you could say our little circle is like the Grey Cloaks before the new world,” Jang mused. “But fair enough. If you want to pretend to be one… It’s your own life.”

“Sometimes you wear the mask so long you forget it’s a mask in the first place.” Maya commented. “Besides, I do actually want to see your fancy office at some point, and we really do need to meet up again in person, but we’ll do that when you’re back from Dosun. In one piece, preferably.”

“If you insist,” shrugged Jang. “Someone has to bring some fun around this corporate office… But, at the end of the day, whatever you want to do.”

“You sound bored enough up there anyways, reminds me why I stayed in my metaphorical lane.” Maya said. “More fun. Anyways, you got anything else for me? I don’t mind just talking if not, you’re intelligent conversation.”

“Unfortunately not for now… I suppose since you can’t come by, different entertainment is needed. So, I’m headed out as soon as the work day is done. I’ll get in touch with you when I have updates on Dosun and where to go when it’s time to head over… Sometime this week. Can’t impress the right people without going above and beyond.”

“Such is life in corporate. I’ll see you around, Jang.” Maya said, ending the call.

After that, Jang set the phone down and took a look at the clock - late enough that it was possible to get out of here, which Jang fully intended to do. Electra hadn’t been by yet - she was apparently working on finishing some kind of project of her own, in the engineering sector, but she would link up with the rest of them eventually.

And for the first time, the little team with Jang at the helm was unified under the banner of a faction that actually had enough resources to allow them to set lofty expectations. Even if it was a bit too stiff for Jang’s comfort, it was a fairly good tradeoff. Jang wasn’t going to complain about it. They had a big task ahead of them, after all. One that for now, took precedence over enjoying the perks of the promotion, unfortunately…

by **Lunas Legion** » Tue Mar 31, 2020 8:42 am

S1E2
“INTERVENTION”

The leader of the Central Defense Organization is the demihuman dominated Empery of Qulse, located, as the name of the alliance may suggest, in the south-central part of the world between the Vespertine and Eurosian oceans - to the north of this power, however, the situation is deteriorating in the former Evanian colony of Cote de Jade, which has been engaged in a civil war in recent months between a corrupt central government and a chaotic rebel ‘provisional government.’ The situation has escalated, and a criminal presence has grown in the country thanks to the conflict, which has led to talks of an intervention… Something that the Empery has called an alliance meeting in its capital city to discuss.

July 26th, 753 N.E.
Imperial Palace, Tame, Qulse
Collaborative post between Forest State and Lunas Legion

“Be seated.” They were simple words that Anatu said as she strode in through the double doors that led into the large conference room in the Imperial Palace in Qulse, but they were words with power. Admirals, generals and marshals bowed their heads respectfully as she passed, sitting down as she had commanded while she made her way to the small raised dais at the far end of the room.

She strode up the steps, settling into the large throne atop the dais and looking down at the table, surrounded by military officers and their aides and adjutants.

She was the Empress of Qulse; each of them owed their position to her, and her alone.

The Queen-Regnant of Qulse, Anatu Nisaba Siduri.

“This meeting of the Combined General Staff of the Central Defence Organisation may now commence.” She said, eyes looking up and down the table over her generals. “I believe the primary matter on the agenda is the situation on our northeastern frontier in the Cote de Jade. General, you may deliver your report.”

The one who stood up was General Siraj Hadrahm of the Imperial Guards, one of the larger names within the military… Part of the country’s elite forces rather than the mainline army which was questionable in quality compared to her own forces. A demihuman with a wolflike appearance, Siraj herself also stood up to the expectations that came with the position quite well, carrying an imposing presence due to her large size, wolf ears and fangs, and the general way that she carried herself - like someone with the desperation of a person from the streets, because she was from there originally… These days, she was known more for being close to the royalty personally, a large change from her origins.

“The situation in Cote de Jade isn’t favorable to anyone right now, let alone us. Our forces are in control of a sole city, Augier, in the northeastern section of the territory. However, this isn’t connected by land to our border, and the rest of the country is hostile to our interests. The central government based in Toreville is weak, and the original civil war between the Toreville government and the Provisional Government based in Avonay is still going on. However, due to neither side being able to hold the south of the country, the gang known as the Besnard Boys now controls the southernmost parts of the country and their home city, Port Besnard, the most prominent port in the country. In the north of the country, the primarily human population in the country is attempting to break off and form the Duquesne Free State, which is at war with Jadeian National Defense, a militia force backed by the Toreville government and based in Abeltown,” Siraj explained calmly - though she wasn’t much of an intellectual. She prefered acting to talking.

“Furthermore… The nearby nation of Sinra, which as you know is on our border, supports the Toreville government and therefore Jadeian National Defense. Action against these factions will likely result in some form of indirect conflict with Sinra, which isn’t a regional power but does have an asymmetrical presence involving proxy forces,” Siraj continued. “Further away, the influence of Evania is worth considering also - or rather, Evania’s parent nation, the Lucetian Federation. The Evanians still have business interests in this area, as the past colonizer of Cote de Jade and the ethnic homeland of the human population in the Duquesne Free State.”

“A rather chaotic situation.” Anatu observed. “Regardless, the present situation cannot be allowed to continue. At best, we have to deal with refugee spillover from the conflict zone which will be financially costly, and that is simply from the war continuing. The Lucetian Federation cannot be allowed to gain influence in what is, effectively, Qulse’s backyard with this so-called ‘Duquesne Free State’-” Her voice turned to derision as she spoke. “And any other nations or groups who might seek to use the conflict against us. The criminal group of the Besnard Boys is, especially, of some concern, as they hold the nation’s largest port which will no doubt become a hive of smuggling and piracy if allowed to remain under their control.”

“Proposals on how to rectify the situation would be appreciated, as our current intervention in the north has so far failed to stabilise the situation, despite establishing a safe zone under our control in the north. A change of strategy in the region is needed.” Anatu finished.

“The Besnard Boys have already attracted international attention for their operations in Port Besnard since taking over - I believe it was a headline that their gang members set a man on fire before feeding the body to the dogs,” Siraj pointed out. “This brutality may however, make them a tougher opponent for our own forces to fight. I have been informed that almost all women and children have vacated the area under their control and that most of the remaining population is either in hiding or actively working with the Besnard Boys. Anti-tank weaponry as well as small arms caches have been recovered by the gang from military stores, and the environment in Port Besnard is heavily urbanized. In other words, not a great place to operate.”

“So attempting to deal with them will be a long, drawn out and bloody affair.” Anatu said. “Is besieging and blockading the city an option rather than clearing it in a cityfighting action plausible?”

“Maybe, but a complete blockade is hard to do with tunnels existing and leading in and out of the city, and the other sides in the conflict may not cooperate with our wishes in a scenario like this,” Siraj stated. “Containing the entire perimeter is perhaps possible using UAV and satellite imagery… But the perimeter is not the only way in and out of the city, just like most cities around here, which have developed a tunnel network of sorts since the beginning of the civil war.”

“So an option, but one that may not work in and of itself. A bombing campaign against the city in addition to the blockade would likely assist in its effectiveness, yes?” Anatu asked. A bombing campaign against an inhabited city with its civilian populace wasn’t something she wanted to order, but war did not allow for luxuries of morality.

“I believe unrestricted aerial warfare would allow ground forces to take the city without incurring significant damages, yes,” said Siraj, nodding. “Drones working in tandem with heavier bombers would allow for the elimination of most of the major threats to our armor, and to our better protected infantry forces for that matter.”

“And the timescale for this campaign, assuming an unrestricted bombing campaign?” Anatu asked again. “Once the south has been pacified a campaign northwards should be far more feasible, especially with Port Besnard to act as a forward base of operations in the south.”

“By my predictions the Imperial Guards could handle such a campaign within three weeks. Moving further north may pose a problem however due to the presence of the central government and the city of Toreville, the largest in the country in addition to being the capital, and the seat of the military… Which despite its troubles, is still more armed than any irregular rebel group, and has a defender’s advantage in the urban jungle of Toreville.”

“In your view, does the situation between the Provisional Government in Avonay and the Toreville government seem likely to change during the three week campaign in Besnard, plus however long such a campaign’s preparations would take?” Anatu asked, placing her hands on her lap.

“The situation is likely to remain a stalemate with both sides staying at roughly the same points unless something else changes. An outside factor, so to speak,” mused Siraj. “Neither side quite has an advantage on the other one.”

“And if, hypothetically, we were to conduct an air campaign against the Toreville government simultaneous to the operations further south, then after a period to repair and refit the northwards campaign should be an easier undertaking, with the Avonay government having weakened itself in offensives against them while the Toreville government is, likewise, weakened from both our air campaign and an Avonay offensive?” Anatu said, still thinking over her options.

“I believe so,” Siraj said tentatively. “Regardless of what we end up doing… An operation would require all parts of the military working as one, a lightning war so to speak. Shock and awe will be quite the important factor according to my predictions of what we’re facing.”

“Which means a single unified command over all forces in the theater to ensure proper coordination among all assets deployed to the region.” Anatu nodded in agreement. “I could command such a campaign myself, but my skill in military matters mostly extends to the theoretical rather than the practical. As such, I suggest that a CDO taskforce for the Cote de Jade be formed, under the command of which all forces contributed by members of the alliance to the campaign would be placed. As Qulse will likely be providing the vast majority of such forces, I would like to nominate Siraj Hadrahm for the command, should she be willing to accept it.”

The Central Defense Organization, of course, was the bloc that Qulse could consider itself the leader of - even if they didn’t lead it in defense production, with that title falling to the other power in the room at the moment, the Sultanate of Hatemite Kiyala, on the northern end of the continent… Some distance away from Qulse, but aligned to a certain extent in interests.

The highest ranking Emira of the Sultanate of Kiyala.

The relationship between the two wasn’t always smooth, however. As they said, brothers fought.

“I believe that Qulse shouldn’t ignore the largest Air Force and Navy in the CDO,” said Emira Nayla Hatem Al-Naziri, the one in line for the position of Sultan - or in her case, Sultana. In addition, she was somewhat involved with the foreign policy of the country in certain areas and she was the one that had been sent to represent the country in these talks. “Additionally, such moves would destroy the business interests of Kiyalan companies such as the Kiyalan National Oil Company that are operating in the area…”

“Your input will, of course, be appreciated, Emira.” Anatu said, turning to look at the Emira. “I was operating from a purely military perspective, with little regard for other matters. What interests, in the broadest sense, do Kiyalan companies have in the region? I’m sure that a military campaign can account and do its best to preserve such interests, but the civil war in the Cote de Jade is bad for business there, is it not?”

“In addition to the national oil company being involved in offshore drilling, the nation also has interests in the very thing that the country is named for… Raw resources and luxury materials,” said Nayla. “And, action in the Duquesne Free State may bring the CDO into conflict with the Evanians due to the strong Evanian ethnic presence in this breakaway republic…”

“Which are both valid concerns.” Anatu said, nodding. “In the case of the former, a military campaign should have only brief disruption to the supply chain, while allowing the current circumstances to continue in the country will likely eventually lead to one government or another seizing assets owned by your businesses. At a minimum, the re-opening of Port Besnard will likely benefit future business operations in the area rather than whatever arrangements are currently made to transport materials and resources out of the country, while a naval taskforce can be formed to protect offshore oil interests.”

Anatu paused, thinking for a moment, before continuing. “The matter of the Free State is more complex. Having a nation that is likely to be little more than a puppet effectively on Qulse’s doorstep is concerning, to say the least. Regardless, the matter of the Free State is something that can be dealt with once the rest of the Cote de Jade has been pacified, as it will likely be among the last stages of the campaign. By then a fuller picture of any influence in the Free State will have emerged, and we can make a united decision on what to do then. Is that satisfactory, Emira?”

“Frankly, I believe that this planned operation is simply a regional power grab that was poorly thought out, and so I think the Sultanate will abstain from further decisions on the matter…” said Nayla in reply, shaking her head and glancing between the other members of her staff that were in attendance.

“In which case this will remain a unilateral operation by Qulse and will not involve the CDO in any shape or form. We will, of course, do our best to preserve Kiyalan interests in the region.” Anatu said calmly.

“Then I also assume that Qulse can handle this on its own without the need of further Kiyalan arms assistance or satellite network support,” Nayla stated, preparing to stand up. “If that’s the case, then I do believe that’s everything…”

“Qulse should be able to handle this matter unilaterally.” Anatu nodded. “And there is nothing else. If at any point the Sultanate wishes to change its stance, or enquire into the operation’s current status, it is most welcome to do so.”

“Fair enough…” the Emira said simply enough, saying nothing more - but standing up along with the rest of her delegation.

“In that case, this meeting is adjourned.” Anatu said, leaning back in her chair. “You may all leave. If anyone has any business they wish to bring to me personally, they may do so after everyone has departed.”

by **Durmatagno** » Tue Mar 31, 2020 8:43 am

S1E3
“ALLIANCE”

Four hundred and sixty years ago, the islands of Iocoya were thrown into chaos. With no Emperor or Empress to keep things under control, the hundreds, thousands of islands descended into infighting. Each trying to take a thrown, now empty for centuries. Now Artemis Utami Gunardi, leader of the Ograna Salvation Government, leaves the islands for the Empery of Qulse to secure an alliance after the only threat stopping her from seizing the vacant throne joined the Second Kolensk Pact. With that one move the Western Alliance has sealed the fate of the islands to descend into a war of Empires and Alliances, no longer a succession war. The ambitions of Artemis, the Huntress of Ograna, will not be squashed with such a simple trick, the fires of hatred still burning in her soul, aching for the chance to teach the leader of the Western Alliance what true pain feels like.

July 28th, 753 N.E.
Imperial Palace, Tame, Qulse
Collaborative post between Durmatagno and Lunas Legion

Artemis sat quietly in her seat, watching out the window as the city beneath them grew larger and larger. Her jet would be landing soon, what guards she was allowed to bring were already buckled into their seats, waiting by the door. Her own daughter practically had her face pressed against the glass, Rose had always been a curious soul. Artemis had left the Iocoya islands a few times when she was younger, back when she had been a mercenary. Now she was here as the leader of the Ograna Salvation Government, one of the pretenders to the long vacant imperial throne of Iocoya. Still, she’d never been to Qulse, let alone Tame before. She couldn’t deny that even she was somewhat excited to see the city, but first she had duties. Formalities had to be addressed with the Qulse government, and in the future there’d be more formalities, but for the first time in four hundred years a Iocoyan pretender was being acknowledged by an outside power. Well, it was the second time this year. Her own hated rival in the Western Alliance had been acknowledged by the SKP, and forced her own hand. The war back home was going to be ramping up soon with both of them having access to better arms. She cast these thoughts aside as the jets wheels touched the tarmac. She stood and allowed her PR specialist to straighten her dress, and make sure that none of her scars from years of fighting were visible. Back home it might bring respect and reverence, but here it was likely to turn stomachs. Rose stood, and allowed her own attendant to make sure the business suit she was wearing was presentable. There would be a little time before they could unload, more formalities, and so forth, but soon enough Rose and Artemis would step onto foreign soil.

The runway was clear as they touched down, separated from the rest of Tame International Airport by a wire fence with its own separate runway and other facilities, but still officially part of the larger complex. As the plane slowly came to a stop, engines whining down, the receiving delegation began to emerge from the terminal building.

A huddle of tall bodyguards, a few smartly-dressed members of the imperial court, carefully chosen to accompany the Empress in receiving foreign dignitaries to balance their perception of their own importance and standing with the Empress versus their actual importance and standing.

Still, everyone retained a clear distance from Empress Anatu, dressed in the full ceremonial dress of an empress of Qulse as she walked out onto the tarmac, watching the plane as it stopped, waiting for its passengers to disembark.

The doors opened, and once the stairs were in place, Artemis stepped out first. She may have made some concessions to her dress and mannerisms to appeal to the foreign standards, but she would not show cowardice by hiding behind her bodyguards. Instead they came down after here, followed by Rose and her own bodyguards, then the rest of the delegation. The guards moved to the side, backs turned to Artemis and Rose, and knelt. It was traditional, showing trust in their leaders, while keeping their eyes on possible assalents. They carried no heavy weapons, pistols holstered, and hands kept clear. Upon request they would turn the weapons over without hesitation, turning responsibility of protecting their own Queen and Princess to the local forces. Artemis kept her head high, and her stride even. When she got to within ten feet of Anatu, she bowed. Not in submission, but as any Iocoyan noble would do to another. As the first to bow, she acknowledged the Qulse Empress as the host, and thus above her in stature. In Iocoya the host would then bow, but this was not Iocoya, and she did not expect a foreign Empress, let alone one with a clear gulf in power, to bow to her. Instead she straightened, and awaited acknowledgement to approach. Rose stayed bowed behind her, as she was not a ruler she could only rise once they started moving again or permission was given by the host. While neither of them enjoyed ceremony, they knew it was important, both for the eyes back home, and for the eyes here.

“Rise, if you would.” Anatu said, offering a slight bow. Acknowledgement, but not subservience or equality. “Formality has it’s place, and that place has been seen to. We have a car waiting, if you would care to follow.” She turned, clothes shuffling as she did so before turning to head back into the terminal at a slow, dignified walk, expecting her guests to follow.

Artemis and Rose both followed, their attendants would no doubt be seen to, Qulse as a state was far more experienced with these things than anyone in the Iocoyan islands. Artemis maintained a respectful distance, though she was quite a sight to behold. Six foot eight with plenty of muscle, and despite being forty two, she looked like she was still in her early thirties. Rose was still fresh faced, and this would be her first real exposure to anything diplomatic, experience she would need when it was time for Artemis to sit down. Artemis and Rose both knew to keep their mouths shut till they were safe from prying eyes, and ears. Words had a way of being twisted, and corrupted. They would not risk harm to their or the Empress’ reputation just to engage in pleasantries. They could wait till they were seated.

The terminal building was empty as they made their way through it, having been swept through earlier by Imperial Guards for security reasons so that the only sound was their own echoing footfalls against the tiled floor. Passing through the terminal only took a few minutes until they exited, a bulky limousine idling on the road just outside the door, the rear doors open and a guard standing silently by the doors, rifle held at rest.

Anatu didn’t stop, just looking straight ahead as she strode up to the vehicle, the guard turning to help her climb inside without dirtying her bulky ceremonial clothes before resuming his position.

Artemis and Rose would both take the seats they were directed to take. Artemis’ own dress wasn’t near as bulky, more modern but with a traditional lean to them. Rose had chosen to avoid the ceremonial dress entirely, she had no authority outside the small unit she was set to lead, and as she hadn’t yet taken command, could wear any traditional military uniform. Once they were seated, Rose turned her eyes to study the interior while Artemis kept her gaze on the Empress, who by all rights should speak first.

Anatu was silent as the doors were shut, the only sign they were even moving now being the airport buildings passing by the window, the engine inaudible and the ride noticeably smooth.

“I must apologise, I am afraid that I am… Quite bad at small talk.” Anatu eventually said, hands resting on her lap. “I’m sure you both know how busy the life of a leader can be, and it leaves precious little time for such things the vast majority of the time.”

“Court life in Iocoya is generally much more relaxed than here, but then no one has sat on the imperial throne in almost five hundred years, not since Tirta the Wolf died and left no clear heir. Still, we are kept quite busy, everyone sees themselves as the bastion of legitimacy among rebels and pretenders. I haven’t even left the islands in two decades, not since I seized a title by the Law of Might.”

Artemis said, her voice was surprisingly soft coming from her frame, though that was intentional. She couldn’t use her booming, military voice while talking to the Empress, and didn’t want to create an incident.

“Not having a single unified court will do that to formality.” Anatu said. “Qulse has had those five centuries to build up traditions, precedents, functions… Things that may have had importance once upon a time have lost them, but they are retained simply because to get rid of them has never occured as a thought. Part of my delegation is a fine example of that. Regardless, it should be a twenty minute journey from here to the Imperial Palace itself. Creating a blocked-off path for security purposes while also not frustrating too many of Tame’s population was likely a nightmare for my security detail.”

“I know the pain, Zia is no easier, perhaps harder as many of the buildings were rebuilt just as close and cramped as they were three hundred years ago when they only had to deal with foot traffic. Thankfully I don’t have to arrange it very often, just major festivals and a parade when another pretender gets crushed. Tame is a beautiful city, maybe someday I can welcome you to the imperial city of Akasea, once I wrestle it away from the Western Alliance.”

“Then I shall wait for you to do so.” Anatu said, smiling. “Overseas visits are one of the very few perks I have found to being Empress, even if they do tend to leave precious little time for what most normal people would do on such trips. I do hope you enjoy your time here, even if the vast majority of it will be dealing with various discussions on the… Practicalities of your membership of the CDO.”

“Honestly I’d rather be planning the operation to crush another pretender, but practicality and circumstances forced my hand. Originally I had planned to approach with my desire to joining after the Winter Solstice ceremony, when all the pretenders call a ceasefire for two weeks to adhere to the traditional time of peace. Discussions of the practicalities are later, first it’s the ceremonies and formalities.”

Rose kept her eyes on the city, she’d have her turn to speak when the time was right, and being the youngest in the car she’d have to wait her time anyway. Artemis shifted in her seat slightly, moving away from the centuries of troubles at home.

“My military leaders want me to focus on arms deals, but I told them such negotiations would wait till after the formalities, and the full state visit was over. Such things are the realm of diplomats, I am here to represent my state as a whole.”

“Such deals would be with private companies regardless, rather than with myself and the government of Qulse.” Anatu said, relaxing slightly in her seat. “I can offer the sale of surplus equipment, but again, there are a great many particulars to such deals. They are not something that can be done solely over the course of a single state visit.”

“Of course not, I had no intention of doing it myself, my staff just have their duty to push their immediate concerns. I have no intention of keeping such burdens and formalities on you, I plan to enjoy this state visit, and then return home ready to crush my opposition. I’ve brought Rose along as she will be taking my titles when it is time for me to step down, or a rival takes my head. Once the formalities are out of the way, I plan on enjoying what Qulse has to offer, not spend this whole time badgering diplomats, and nobles for things they can’t promise.”

“You have more freedom in that than I do, it seems.” Anatu said. “This is the most exciting thing I have on my itinerary for the next month or so, bar anything that occurs as a result of the minor situation on Qulse’s northeastern border.” Anatu gave a small, dismissive wave. “But I’m sure nothing will come of that, and if there is a crisis, it will be resolved in a civilised manner. Regardless, I shall enjoy this as best as I can. I do enjoy hosting events, as rare as they tend to be.”

“I can’t say if I will or not, this is the first time I’ve engaged in such formalities with leaders not of my own people. Still, I will savor this time as a break from the blood and blade.”

“I can’t imagine leading a state that is all but constantly at war.” Anatu admitted. “But I suppose the opposite must be true for you and for most states in the world, given the comparative lack of war.”

“I doubt most states can claim to be in the middle of a centuries-long war of succession. Still, only two remain that have the strength to seize the crown, I merely need to crush the WA before they can crush me. Enough talk of war though, it dominates my life, has since I was sixteen. Tell me, what did you think when my diplomats first arrived in your court? Myself and the WA are the first in centuries to look beyond the islands.”

“Somewhat confused, I must admit.” Anatu said. “Your islands are… To say something of a backwater would be an understatement. The constant conflict means that few have much, if any, interest in your islands, so it almost completely blindsided every single one of my advisors. We weren’t entirely sure what to make of it.”

“In many ways yes, but years of constant warfare gives us experienced soldiers, and leaders. While we are behind in many industries, we do not lack for electricity or water. We have factories, and computers, and our weapons may be older, but they are not so far behind as to be laughed at. There are lands even more backwater than our own, and as I continue to assert control, the gap between my islands and the developed world shrinks. Much as I hate the man that leads the WA, he is also doing his best to take the developing lands and make them developed. We are not some agrarian backwater where planes are arcane. Some two hundred years ago the pretenders thought it best to keep an eye on the way the rest of the world was advancing and try to keep up. We failed, but not in totality.”

“I was speaking more in the international sense, rather than the technological sense.” Anatu said. “You are, after all, among the first leaders from your islands to visit the world at large in a rather long time, and so they have become a blindspot, so to speak, among the community of scholars, think tanks and advisors that deal with policy between nations. It has been refreshing and indeed amusing to watch them try to figure you out.”

“That much is true, we found it easier to learn the languages from outside our lands then get everyone else up to date on how our language, culture, and religion has drifted over the years of isolation. Soon enough those that study such things will be invited back in, but for the moment our borders remain closed to civilians that are not trying to become residents, for their safety as much as our own. Years of isolation has also left us vulnerable to a new plague spread from your lands, we have already started importing and spreading vaccines, even the other rebels have agreed to allow such things into their lands, barring a few of the most insular ones. It’ll take time for everyone to adjust, but this here is one of the first big strides. Soon enough we’ll be opening our ports to allow the flow of goods, and once I return, the next pretender I will be putting down controls the largest active aluminium and titanium mines on the island, plus our gas and oil fields are ready to up production for our new allies.”

“Another source of raw resources is always greatly appreciated, especially ones previously untapped by the wider world. Infrastructure will, of course, have to be built and improved, transport links constructed, the extraction facilities improved… But that is a matter for experts in the matter, and I can arrange to have our corporations send those over after satisfactory arrangements have been made.” Asharu said. “Also, I do believe we should be arriving in short order, although I must admit I am not familiar with the route, so I may be incorrect.”

“You would know better than me, this city is as foreign to me as one can get. Soon we will have to delve back into the realm of ceremony. After that, I am curious to see where you wish this visit to go.”

Artemis leaned back in her seat, arms crossed showing both her muscle and the bronzed skin she’d earned from years in the field. Her arms bore signs of battle, scars from shrapnel and blade and bullet alike, but still she sat here, and before she left the car, her marks of battle would be hidden from the world once more.

“I wouldn’t say I know this city at all, as I’m barely able to leave the palace.” Anatu said, watching the city pass by outside. “Such is the life of an Empress, when what others consider ceremony is second nature to you, and the normal for them is as confusing as the most formal and elaborate ceremony. I do believe that you should have had the full itinerary of that, and the vast majority of it will be formal meetings with various figures of influence within Qulse, and two dinners with the Imperial court, one of which is tonight I believe.”

“To have something on paper and to see it for myself are two different things. It may be the unfamiliar tongue, but the truth of my words is that I wish to see how my expectations differ from the reality of the events.”

“I’m not sure what you expect, so I don’t think I shall say anything else.” Anatu said. “I know exactly how this will go, so it is just another duty of rulership, even if one that has its enjoyable moments. Anything unexpected would mean something has gone wrong, and something going wrong is unacceptable to my staff.” Anatu fell silent.

“We shall see.”

Rose looked up at her adoptive mother, she’d never seen her speak so formally for such a long time. Artemis preferred to focus on the fighting, and getting things done, not on talks or dinners. She’d never even seen a formal dinner, while her mother had had them a few times during religious festivals.

“Well mother, I am curious to taste their cuisine at least.”

“You’ll get a good selection of cuisine. I would call it the best, but there are no doubt some chefs with their own restaurants who could provide better. The kitchens do love a reason to show off, and state dinners are one of the few occasions that allows them to do so to guests unused to what they can produce.” Anatu smiled slightly.

“It’s probably the first time they’ve ever had guests that have never tasted foreign cuisine before, they’ll be raving to give the best impression possible.”

“They’ve had a few, not every world leader is able to travel before assuming office, but as I’ve said they love a reason to show off their skills in full to those who have not had their food before.” Anatu said. “No doubt they’ll be busy coming up with something new for myself as well, given I’m used to most of what they make regularly.”

“Anything to satisfy their Empress and her guests.”

“Very much so.” Anatu said, falling silent once again and turning to look out the window. “Ah, I do recognise where we are now. That’s the wall of the palace complex, so we shall be arriving all but imminently. Do you mind if I leave you to be shown to your rooms? Your entourage will be arriving soon along with your baggage, and I do have some final matters to arrange within the palace to ensure everything is in order.”

“It’s fine, you have many duties besides entertaining me and my daughter. I will see you again soon enough.”

Artemis said with a dismissive wave of her hand. She knew the hassle of ruling, even if the specific kinds were different. At home she had to worry most about military affairs, while the Empress here had to focus on keeping her own court in line. An important and difficult job all the same as Artemis’, but it required a different touch.

“It’s appreciated.” Anatu said, nodding gratefully as the limousine glided to a halt, the doors being opened, a servant stepping back and away as Anatu stood up. “I shall leave you here, then.” She said, climbing out and departing to head into the palace itself.

Artemis exited the limo and waited for Rose, before they both bowed once more to let Anatu leave. They would wait their turn to be shown away, and to their rooms.

“This way, if you would.” A smartly-dressed servant said, gesturing for Artemis and Rose to follow after him.

by **Lunas Legion** » Thu Apr 02, 2020 8:59 am

S1E4
“LICK”

Outside of the corporate and political world of New Liberty, a criminal underworld exists, full of people with little other option and some who aim to rise above the average life through illicit means… For a pair of those people, life will change due to one specific job gone wrong.

August 1st, 753 N.E.
New Liberty, Vespertine-Eurosian Union
Collaborative post between Forest State and Lunas Legion

“Please say you actually know where you’re going this time?” Delphina asked, rolling over in the passenger seat of the car she was sat in. “We don’t have enough on us for gas if you get lost, again...”

“Maybe if you hadn’t been a bundle of nervous energy you’d have read the map properly…” The driver, Olympia, grumbled backwards, her attention focused on the tight city road ahead of her and the torn-off piece of paper map she’d taped to the steering wheel of their car as something, somewhere, made a noise that sounded like it was worryingly close to breaking.

None of the error lights were on, but those were probably broken anyways.

“I said I was sorry, didn’t I?” Delphina said, rolling back over to look out the window. New Liberty had its nicer parts, but this was most certainly not one of its nicer parts. The buildings were dirty brick, some boarded up as they passed. Everywhere had its less well off areas, and this was one of New Liberty’s.

And where they lived, for now.

“Sorry doesn’t give back all the money I spent on gas and leaving us broke to the point where I’m taking shady anonymous Internet tips on where the fuck is a good idea to break into next…” Olympia said. “Least we should have someone willing to buy given the tip…”

The car fell silent as they drove onwards, turning at an intersection, Olympia’s eyes looking between the piece of map and the streets around them while Delphina dozed off in the passenger seat, her bag of tools clunking as it fell into the footwell.

Olympia just rolled her eyes and kept driving. She’d wake her up when they got to where they were going, not that she knew how long that would take. New Liberty traffic could be hell at the best of times as it was.

The clock, like a great many other things in their car, was also broken, so Olympia didn’t have any idea how long the drive to get back would take them, although they probably wouldn’t be driving back in this car if everything went as planned. Or one of them wouldn’t be.

“Hey, we’re here.” She said, Delphina stirring as she pulled up at the side of a street.

“Huh.” Delphina said, rubbing her eyes as she sat up, looking around. “Doesn’t look like where you said we’d be going.”

“We’re going the rest of the way on foot.” Olympia rolled her eyes as she climbed out, slamming the door behind her and opening up the back, pulling out a duffel bag that clinked as she pulled it over her shoulder.

“Oh.” Delphina said, grabbing her own, much smaller bag as she stepped out. “Not too much of a walk?”

“Enough to give us time to see if this is a set-up or something, close enough if it it we can fuckin’ bolt.” Olympia nodded. “C’mon. Cars aren’t going to drive themselves yet.”

They headed off at a brisk walk, the streets far different to those they’d passed through earlier; the sidewalks were clean, as were the buildings; houses, rather than the blocks of flats and shops that they’d driven past earlier, and spaced far apart. Some even had actual gardens out front, the splash of natural green unusual in the artificial environment.

Olympia’s eyes roamed along the houses, checking numbers, names, looking for the one they’d been tipped off about until she eventually stopped.

“And here we are.” She said, giving a small gesture across the street.

It wasn’t busy, it was the middle of the day when everyone here was likely at work in some high-flying corporate job… Just the place for some thieves with an entrepreneurial streak to make enough money to keep on living for a bit.

They had multiple options in front of them when it came to what to go for - an exotic sports car in a reflective blue paint with neon green highlights, and in front of it just outside of the garage, there was also a more luxury option that was more subdued than the sports car in its color scheme but obviously worth just as much or more… A small truck, or rather, a luxury SUV in a beige finish with a reflective grille and rims, the kind of aspirational vehicle that many people out here in New Liberty were trying to get… Or believed they were within reach of, anyway. It was harder than it looked to get to the level of driving something like that around and stay there.

“Sports or seats?” Olympia asked, crossing the road, unzipping her duffel bag. Delphina followed her after her, looking between the cars.

“Oooh, but we have to go for the sports car. We can’t not, it’s right there even if we’ll have to get someone to respray it.” Delphina said eagerly. “That’s a custom colour scheme if I ever saw one.”

“Sports car it is then.” Olympia shrugged, reaching in to her bag and pulling out a crowbar. “Hate to smash it a bit, but work’s work.”

They broke into a run up the drive, not wanting to waste any time. Every second counted with stealing a car. She skidded to a stop by the driver’s window, crowbar rising and falling, smashing into the window and sending fracture lines spiralling out across the window, the sound far too loud in the otherwise silent neighbourhood while Delphina stood by the front as a lookout, watching.

Except, nothing happened just yet… One could maybe even think that the house in front of them right now was empty considering there wasn’t a response, not an immediate one anyway to the breaking of the window and the trigger of the car alarm. If there was such thing as an invisible timer, however, the setting off of the car alarm had started it, as someone would surely hear at this rate…

“Hurry up…” Delphina said as the window shattered on the second swing of the crowbar, Olympia reaching inside through the hole and opening the driver’s door, climbing inside and shoving open the passenger door as she crouched down into the footwell to get at the car’s electrics.

“I’m going as fast as I can, having to improv here.” Olympia shot back, fiddling with unfamiliar wires. She didn’t know this model of car, didn’t know exactly what did what so she’d have to make her best guess off of previous experience as she hunted for the car’s immobiliser to disconnect it. Then she could hotwire it and they’d be golden.

Except, she wouldn’t have the time to finish that before there was a disruption, because it turned out the house indeed wasn’t empty. They found that out the hard way when the front door swung open, multiple figures stepping outside… Armed, and not just with pistols but with submachine guns and full sized rifles, the kind of weapons that were hard to find in a locked down and controlled area like New Liberty. In the countryside it was maybe easier to find such weapons, but out here… Not a ton of people had access to them, and those who did were indisputably dangerous because of having them - and right now, a lot of those weapons were pointed at Olympia and Delphina as about ten or so of the people affiliated with the owner of the car began to pour out of the house, having seen what was up.

“I thought you said this wasn’t a set up?” Delphina said, slowly raising her hands up to her head, looking back towards Olympia who’d shifted up so she was sitting in the driver’s seat.

“It didn’t look like one.” Olympia said, sighing as she raised her hands in surrender. “Fuckin’ Internet…”

They had more guns pointed at them in the meantime - and a couple of laser pointers for that matter, just to get the point across that they were, well, caught in the act with little option to run unless they wanted to end up shot to death. Exactly who these people were wasn’t certain yet, but they sure as hell weren’t friendly, and one of the last people out of the building, a young woman with blonde-ish hair that almost looked bleached, was the one to actually approach them… She had a pistol in her hand too, of course, with a laser attached, the gun itself looking as expensive as the cars.

“And what would you two be doing here right now?” she asked, raising the pistol as she approached, her voice clearly irate as she gestured to the broken glass from the car window. “And which one of you would like to explain the broken glass right there? That’s going to cost to repair, yeah?”

Olympia and Delphina said nothing, simply looking at each other in silence, weighing up their options. Running wasn’t one, given they’d make it maybe a meter or two before being put full of bullets and that amount of firepower was probably illegal, so something like murder couldn’t be ignored.

“We were gonna steal this rather nice car, but you interrupted us before we could go from the whole ‘breaking and entering’ part to the actual whole ‘hotwire and drive off into metaphorical sunset’ part.” Delphina said eventually, tapping the back of her foot against the car, deciding that being honest was the best way to not die.

“And the window was me.” Olympia said. “Crowbar by my foot in here. Anything else we can do to, well, not die right now?”

“I don’t know, maybe you should start thinking and answer that,” said the woman, further approaching and grabbing Olympia by the collar, shoving the pistol underneath her chin and forcing it upwards. “Before I get impatient and decide to take out my frustration for you costing me a repair…”

“I mean I’d offer to pay for it, but that window’s probably, like, more than we have between the two of us so, uh, we’d need time to pull cash together for it.” Olympia said.

Delphina nodded frantically. “Yeah, uh, we’re… Basically broke. Wouldn’t be taking dodgy tips on where to steal cars from if we weren’t.”

“Look, if you can’t find the money…” the woman said, pushing the barrel of the gun further against Olympia’s neck. “You’re going to have to steal it from someone else. You broke it, you’re paying for it. If you want to get out from this little encounter with your life, that is. Should have thought about who you were messing with before you tried, if you didn’t have a backup plan.”

“I mean, stealing it from someone else was probably what we were gonna do anyways for it?” Olympia said, squirming slightly with the cold metal of the gun up against her neck. “We’re kinda good at it when we don’t try and rob houses filled with people with guns…”

“Hmmm… Really, I wouldn’t have much patience most of the time for someone trying to take my car. I worked to get to this spot… Didn’t just take it off someone who already got there, you know. But, I’m a little entertained that a couple of fools have landed in my lap, apparently,” the woman said, not moving the gun in the slightest. “Because of that, and only because of that, you have a week… I want to see if you can even manage to find the money or not. Or if at the end of it, I’ll have to have my boys teach you a permanent lesson about stealing…”

“Give us a number and how much time we’ve got.” Delphina said, sounding far more confident than she felt inside.

“You’re not getting shit… When you finish the job, you come back here, and you have until I say you have. Nominally, one week from now, the clock starting at this very minute.”

“So as much as we can get it is then.” Olympia said, face impassive as she shuffled out of the car. “Gotcha. Well given we’re now on the chopping block, we’ll… Be off to get as much money as we can. See you in a week.”

“Remember the name this time since you didn’t know it before… Noelle Ethier, leader of the Palm Cartel. Take it as a lesson in knowing who you’re fucking with,” the woman said, withdrawing her pistol finally as she kept her eyes on Olympia and Delphina. “Run, and you’ll just end up dead.”

“Don’t have the cash to run anyways.” Delphina said. “There’s a reason we were desperate enough for this shit…”

“Which is your fault in the first place.” Olympia snarked, glaring at Delphina’s back. “If you hadn’t gotten us lost then we wouldn’t have had to go broke basically to buy more fuckin’ petrol, before you bring up this being my idea…”

“Fair.” Delphina conceded. “But, yeah, we’ll be enthusiastically getting as much cash and other valuable shit as we can find to put in front of you next week.”

“See to it that you do,” Noelle said simply as she tucked the pistol away, arms folded as she watched them leave, before turning back to her own affiliates… Not entirely happy with the situation and the fact that her car window had been broken, or that people had tried to steal her car at all, but giving them a chance at least.

After all… It couldn’t hurt to get an entertaining game out of a bad situation.

by **Forest State** » Thu Apr 02, 2020 9:17 am

S1E5
“DISASTER”

Life in the Vespertine-Eurosian Union has gone on as usual for long enough - a terror attack is what will pull the country out of its cycle of normalcy, one in the heart of the country, New Liberty. Not only will this attack inflame world tensions between humans and demihumans, after being committed by demihuman nationalist group El Jasher, but for several Union Intelligence Agency operatives and military contractors, the attack serves as a prelude to being thrown into a rising storm… All because things changed on one fateful afternoon in early August.

August 2nd, 753 N.E.
New Liberty, Vespertine-Eurosian Union

“I think it’s a perfectly good career path… Sure, I have to be out here in New Liberty away from everyone… Or on some foreign deployment. And yeah I might push myself to work a lot instead of doing other things… But at least I enjoy the work and it’s something important. I’d rather jump off the office roof before taking a desk job…”

Irene Euler stood by the harbor in New Liberty, watching as cargo ships moved thousands of tonnes of goods off in the distance, heading for their destination further down the way into the city… New Liberty wasn’t just the largest city population wise, it also had the largest port, and one could watch the cargo activity for themselves simply by heading down to the water and the area that was opened up as a civilian area. Sometimes, warships even came through here, headed for the military facilities which were also located in the same general area as the cargo port… In her hand, was her phone, where she spoke with one of her best friends from back home in Irvine, Mae Renzel.

Irvine was, of course, many hours away from New Liberty… In the south rather than the northeast, not far from the borderlands with Palmera. Wasn’t as close to the tensions that sometimes happened down there as some of the other southern cities such as Fultonville or Palm City, but the regional identity stuck to it regardless. And it was a very different life from living in the megacity that was New Liberty, with its commercial presence and tight living spaces, a lifestyle that could be both a blessing or a curse depending on which aspects of it one cared about. It was a good place to live it up… A good place to settle down with a large family, not as much - at least if the family in question didn’t have the resources to live away from the cramped and hyper urbanized areas.

But Irene didn’t mind. It wasn’t something that was in her plans. Even if she seemed to differ from most of the people around from her suburban part of town where she had grown up, where most people seemed concerned mainly with finding someone and settling down and having a nice family while working a nine to five job…

You’re a twenty four year old loser until you can convince them otherwise…

To her own family, she was sure that she was. Because in her couple of years since making it into the Union Intelligence Agency and moving here to New Liberty to work for the government at the organization’s headquarters, she hadn’t actually done much notable. She had been abroad a couple of times, but couldn’t say that she had busted terrorists, stopped criminal cartels, or otherwise done too much in the spotlight. And supporting the larger effort in a quiet way wasn’t something to write home about. If she had one complaint about the job, it was that she hadn’t yet been able to prove the value of it to those people back home.

Even to her best friends that wondered why the hell she would head up north and leave behind the one big family that everyone back there was, to work for a soulless organization such as the UIA… The government work, it was perhaps even more faceless than working for one of the conglomerates around here. At least over there, she would be able to be public with most of what she was doing…

Irene hadn’t even managed to convince Mae entirely that it was a good job.

“You can keep telling yourself that. But when you call me when you’re not working over at the office, you sound more bored than you ever sounded back home,” the voice on the other end of the line pointed out. “And you ain’t gotta work at the office if it doesn’t suit you…”

“I’m not working on a farm, either,” Irene pointed out, resting against the railing and looking out over at the water, and the cargo ships that were continuing to head into the inner harbor.

“Don’t have to make it sound like a shitty job, there’s more machines than ever in it these days… I’m sure you’d end up working with automated stuff just as much as you do at your UIA job.”

“Just not my thing. Doesn’t let me travel, either. Not on the government’s dime, anyway. What kind of farming job is going to send me to Vistia without making me pay a cent?”

Mae scoffed on the other end of the line. “You’re going to be in some place like that when the next End War kicks off, and you’re going to end up on some super secret behind enemy lines mission because of it.”

“Sure, but at least I can say I’m doing something for the country if that happens. Something real,” Irene pointed out. “I did have that in mind when I joined, makes me feel a bit better than if I was running a farm somewhere…”

“Fair enough, Irene. Guess you’ve always been an overachiever. But don’t forget about the rest of us…”

“I won’t.”

She spoke as something caught her attention off in the distance - actually, it caught the attention of everyone in the area. Was impossible to miss, and coming from the other side of the harbor - a rumbling sound from near the banks of the water, followed by rising smoke filtering through the streets and buildings to reach the river, headed slowly towards the other side… It seemed like the kind of effects that would come after an explosion, but what kind of explosion would happen in the middle of one of the most expensive parts of New Liberty, the financial district that was right there on the water? Especially on a day like this when everything was seemingly normal with nothing out of the ordinary…

“Holy shit, need to go,” Irene added, lowering the phone and ending the call there on that note. She was pretty sure she was going to get a call of her own soon enough about this, even if she felt bad for hanging up on her friend who likely had no idea what was going on and wouldn’t have heard the explosion in the background. If that was even what it was… But she had heard explosions from a distance before, although she usually wasn’t directly involved in them, and she knew what they sounded like. This sounded like one, like just the right combination between a low sound and a boom that shook her even on the inside.

Something very big had happened.

Something very bad had happened, and she could sense that also as she moved to make her way through the city and towards the site of what was happening - not that she could get there quickly, because of New Liberty traffic and the congestion around the bridges. She knew, however, that her phone would buzz with a new call soon enough, and they would send her down there regardless of whether she was already on the way or not. So there was no reason to not get a head start on the inevitable.

Maybe, this would finally be a chance to do something relevant. Even if it would take what seemed like a disaster to deliver such a task.

Irvine… Much calmer than New Liberty, even in the most urbanized parts of one of the largest cities in the south. In the outskirts of the city, however, where people lived in suburbs and oftentimes owned the land rather than living in the tight apartments of New Liberty or some of the other megacities of the VEU, it was practically serene in comparison. Nothing too big was going on, usually. Days passed by without too much interruption, and when something did happen, it tended to draw the attention of the community. Because there wasn’t always something going on. But when there was something going on… It was out of the usual almost.

Today, there was indeed something going on, but it wasn’t in Irvine itself.

The news out in the northeast was big enough to affect the entire nation… And for them to hear about it almost instantly.

“Hey, turn the news on…”

The voice came from behind the couch, and Kodiak Marsden turned around to see her colleague - who also lived in the same house when they weren’t working together - Tali Couture… Holding her phone in her hand and apparently reading some kind of news as she told Kodiak to check out for herself just what was on. “Something happening?” Kodiak questioned, pressing pause on the show that she had been streaming at the moment, and switching to watch the news.

Tali didn’t have to answer her question. The newscaster on the screen did a good enough job of answering it for her.

“...major attack in the New Liberty financial district, targeting the General Biotics Building… Recent updates now say that the attack is being claimed by demihuman nationalist group El Jasher, which advocates for the greater autonomy of the demihuman population in the human world. The group, whose name is written in the primarily demihuman spoken Qulsian language, styles itself as a worldwide network and claims that the attack on the Genera Biotics Building is just the start…”

“So, something big is going on,” Kodiak said, turning down the TV slightly. “Started by… Demihuman nationalists?”

She raised an eyebrow. She was familiar with a number of threats, but this one wasn’t usually at the forefront of things. No, this was a step up in their activity, perhaps the result of tensions boiling over, and she knew that it would end up affecting them personally soon enough.

Tali just nodded in response. “Demihumans fed up with being the number two compared to the rest of us, in countries like this where we make up the majority… Some of them take it out by pushing for law changes and heading to rallies… Others take it out like this.”

“And there’s been more tension over that kind of thing recently…”

“Correct. We’re just seeing the results of it,” Tali made the conclusion calmly, simply staring into the screen and the scenes they were showing from New Liberty - the flaming wreck of a building, with firefighters still working on putting the blaze out entirely while other responders dug through the rubble, likely looking for anyone that was lucky enough to survive. This building going down would… Certainly be attached to a large loss of life. It had seemingly happened by surprise, without warning, after all.

“Where the hell does General Biotics fit into this?” Kodiak asked, blinking at the screen in almost disbelief. “That’s… Where Sage is from.”

Referring to one of their other allies in the work that they did - fact of the matter was, they ended up tied to the government often enough working as contractors in the very lucrative field of defense. And Sage was another person who was… Affiliated somewhat with them. Worked some of the same jobs that Kodiak, Tali, and their associates did down here in Irvine when they weren’t working further away, handling actions near the border with Palmera and around the mines and oil fields across that border when the situation called for it. It was how they had met Sage, and while they didn’t know everything about her they knew that she… Wasn’t human.

The truth of the matter was that some people were products of technology themselves, created by the largest companies as sort of an experimental kind of advanced android. A living being? Perhaps, depending on which definition of ‘living’ one went with. At the very least, created beings, meant to serve one purpose or another… As laborers or servants or some other fate, with less rights attached than a worker that received the same pay that would be required of a human or demihuman or even elven worker.

It just so happened that the only experience with the recent phenomenon that the Marsdens and Coutures had was with someone that had been created, mainly, to fight - their fellow contractor, Sage.

“Yeah, they produce biotechnology. Things like organic android parts, artificial organs, and all that… Cutting edge stuff,” Tali mused. “Suppose they ended up in the crosshairs of El Jasher because of their work with the military. They’re the main biotechnology partner of the government, so if someone wants to hit at the government…”

“Big change from the usual demihuman drama…” Kodiak muttered, a hand on her chin as she continued watching the news.

“This just in, reports indicate a recent explosion on board the VUSS Port Xavier, one of the aircraft carriers stationed in the port of New Liberty… Multiple dead, and damages reported at the hull of the ship… According to preliminary accounts, the source of the explosion is alleged to be divers…” the newscaster continued.

It all just caused Kodiak to raise an eyebrow. “El Jasher can use military divers now? And they’re going after carriers?”

“El Jasher can’t use divers on their own, but… Whoever’s backing them, on the other hand…”

“Qulse.”

“Money’s more on Soleir. Right across the border from Qulse, part of the CDO, under their sphere of influence firmly. I’ve done some reading on the subject already and it looks like the leaders of El Jasher are based in Soleir, where the government doesn’t do anything about them despite the… Inherently extreme nature of the group,” Tali informed Kodiak. “And because of that… It looks like Soleir is going to end up the next place on the list of global hot spots if my predictions are right.”

“Yeah, better get Minerva…” Kodiak said, standing up. “Because, if something like this is kicking off, you already know we’re going to be the ones that have to head out to some desert because of it. We’ve done UIA shit before, I’m sure the contracts are going to be offered again…”

She paused, staring at the screen even after she stood up, which was showing the sights of smoke rising in downtown New Liberty, in the financial district where the General Biotics Building had been collapsed.

“Also got the feeling with a CDO nation being the one behind this, ‘least from the looks of it, the world’s going to be on fire for a little bit… And this demihuman issue is going to get blown the fuck up by it,” she added. It was always impactful whenever something happened that could very well kill thousands of people in one day. They couldn’t know the death toll yet, but surely, it wasn’t a good number.

The government would, of course, want blood as retaliation.

As contractors who had done work for that government in the past and would likely accept if they were called, they could only hope the coming storm was something they could handle…

by **Forest State** » Thu Apr 02, 2020 5:51 pm

S1E6
“BIG DOGS”

The Democratic People’s Republic of Dosun, located in between the Nagano Islands and the Iocoya Islands, is one of the most closed off and repressive countries in Pontia - but even a country as closed off as this one needs help from the outside world some of the time. The government had paid handsomely for the services of the Vespecorp conglomerate, one of the largest corporations in the Vespertine-Eurosian Union… And one of the most powerful outside of the realm of business. As a team in the secretive grey operations division of Vespercorp is sent out to solve the problems of the dictatorship, it becomes apparent that more than a casual challenge lies here… But that there’s also plenty to gain from the effort.

August 4th, 753 N.E.
New Liberty, Vespertine-Eurosian Union
Collaborative post between Forest State and Lunas Legion

The long flight, which had laid over in the Enmirian Republic, was nearing its end… And the city of Maydang was visible outside of the windows of the small passenger jet, unnotable compared to the larger steel beasts that were often seen at the point of departure, the largest airport in New Liberty. No, this plane was only as large as it needed to be. That was to say, large enough to hold the essential staff that were headed to Dosun, coming from Vespercorp and the Vespertine-Eurosian Union.

They weren’t making a big deal of their presence for obvious reasons.

It wasn’t the greatest PR to work with a dictatorship known for suppressing its own people, defending its independence from surrounding nations by maintaining one of the largest militaries per capita in the world, and cutting itself off generally from the global market and the diplomatic community - but the government in Dosun provided enough value for the private firm out in the VEU to lend them a hand, and the ones that were assigned to actually handle the dirty jobs down here so to speak were all on this plane right now… At least for now. There was a good chance there’d be more help flown in, later. A good chance that the factories in Dosun which ran on questionable sources of labor would be a place to produce certain products of the corporation that were to be kept out the spotlight.

For now, however, they had to work on making the connections in the first place. And that meant coming to Maydang, the heart of the country, and the seat of power for the leader that was known around these parts by one name… Rahaja. As they made the final approach to the Maydang People’s International Airport, Jang Caine drew the attention of his assistant, gesturing out the window at one of the sights. “That statue there, I’m sure you know already that the man depicted is the leader in this country… Someone that we might be dealing with. If you wanted a live example of the cult of personality here… Take one look out the window.”

“Only real question is how much of it he buys into and how much is a simple means of control.” Gabriella said, leaning over to look out the window. “But it does put it into focus. It’s one thing to read about a cult of personality, it’s… Quite another to see it in person.”

“I would think the ideology has been successful enough to warrant some serious consideration rather than simply pragmatism… At least on behalf of the leaders of the country,” Jang pointed out. “One of the largest militaries per capita in the world, and the party has retained power… I would argue that the Kemandirianists believe what they’re preaching at this point.”

“Well, it’s a clue into the type of people we’ll be dealing with at least. More ideologically motivated than practical.” Gabriella said, leaning back into her seat. “We’ll have to be careful, but we were going to have to be careful anyways given we don’t exactly know much about the leaders themselves in terms of personalities.”

The plane was on the final approach now and it wasn’t long before it touched down and they were coming to a stop and taxiing towards the gate… Not that the airport here was large. Not many people came to Dosun, but there were still political flights like these as well as freight flights which warranted having an airport like this somewhere in the country. Even if the main terminal was just a singular building that stood on its own, separate from the freight one further down… The plane came to a stop, and the doors opened.

“Our stop,” Jang said, standing up… And taking Gabriella’s hand, a confident gesture perhaps, as the ground crew prepared to handle the plane and their ride pulled up on the tarmac outside, waiting for them. This wasn’t the greatest country, but the silver lining was that they were practically VIPs for coming here. In the same way that some people were considered big fish in small ponds.

Gabriella stood up, brushing herself down with her free hand and letting Jang hold hers, not really sure quite how to react to the gesture and simply letting it be for now. “Lead on.” She said simply, motioning for Jang to lead her off the plane.

Jang led the way out of the plane… And the others would make way soon, of course. There were a couple of cars waiting for them and their party, Jang moved towards the one that was in the front, a local copy of a more well known foreign model, painted in a very dark blue that was almost black. After Gabriella climbed in behind, the doors would be closed and the car started off into the city. “You know, I believe we’ll also have some time to ourselves in this city… Not all of the work that has to be done here is quick. There’s waiting on responses from back home and getting certain things here, and all that.”

Pausing, Jang chuckled, looking out the window as they made their way to the airport exit. “All of it means that visiting one of the most closed off countries in the world may be an enjoyable experience yet…”

“Perhaps, although I don’t think we’ll be able to go out that much. Foreigners will stick out like a sore thumb here, and I doubt they have much here to cater to foreign tourists anyways given how closed off the country is.” Gabriella said. “But we can always go and have a look. It’ll help us get a handle on the country itself, if nothing else. Who knows how unreliable all our research was…”

“We’re in with the top dogs of the country… At least, that’s the reason we’re here. To make that thing work out. We may as well take advantage of it while we’re here - none of us put in the work to get to this spot in this company to not take advantage of anything and just do the job… No, it’s the perks that make the job, I’d say,” Jang pointed out. “And being allied with the dictator of a small country is a perk, I believe. A chance to see the country in a way that few other foreigners would… If any foreigners, for that matter. It’s not often that Dosun makes allies.”

“We’re not allies just yet, Jang, even if we may as well be given the fact that we’re here in the first place.” Gabriella said. “But as you say, we might as well take advantage of the perks where we can get them. Not entirely sure what they’ll be, but I suppose taking whatever we can get is the name of the game here.”

“The person who doesn’t plan for things as if they’re going to come out ahead is the person who… Well, doesn’t come out in that position,” Jang pointed out. “You lack confidence. There’s an entire country under the grasp of the people - and the man - that we’re going to talk to. Objectively, our value here is higher than in the VEU.”

“I’d call it caution rather than lacking confidence.” Gabriella said. “Acting like something is assured is a way to have it suddenly not be, but your point about our value here is true. It’s just two different views on the matter, I suppose, but maybe there’s a reason why you’re the one in charge here while I’m the adjutant.”

“Your philosophy is good enough for ending up in the position but it isn’t beating anyone that’s going to think about this differently and come into it with a better mentality,” Jang mused. “I suppose it depends on what you want… Because real success is hard to gain without risk. I didn’t take you for the type to settle for being a… Middle manager at best.”

That remark, of course, was less because it was true and more to aid the point. Because the fact of the matter was, Jang had hardly come into working with Gabriella with big expectations based on her background and his initial observations.

“I’m not. I want to be in this position for as short a time as possible until I can move upwards further.” Gabriella said. “I think it’s more about knowing when to take a risk and when not to. Maybe I am overly cautious and defensive in mentality, but mentality’s something that can be changed, unlearned. It’ll take a while, of course, but focus and self-awareness helps with it, and, well, we’ll have plenty of time here with little else to do.”

“We’ll see…” said Jang, as the car continued. They were getting well on their way into the downtown of the city, although it might as well have been a ghost town considering only a limited amount of people could live here and this wasn’t a time of day when most of them were out. There were skyscrapers and high rises… But only a select number of them were actually carrying out a significant purpose. A lot of the residential buildings were empty, a lot of the commercial ones hardly operational.

The car continued down this route until they were headed towards the palace itself, and through a pair of gates which let them go through without trouble, recognizing the vehicle and the plates on it apparently and opening up the gates. From there, they just had to head further into the complex, concrete pillars rising in the slight distance next to them while they headed down a central road, the main building in front of them.

Once they arrived, the doors were opened up and there were more people speaking in the local Dosunese language and telling them where to go… Straight ahead, up the steps of the building. The people weren’t soldiers - but the ones in front of the building were, wearing the usual tans of the Dosunese military and wearing slightly more formal uniforms, their caps adorned with golden stars in the middle and their uniforms designed more for appearances than function. Though, the bayonets on their black rifles were very much real, and the rifles were fully modern rather than ceremonial, as would be the place in some nations that set up slightly differently when it came to guards at places like these.

“I believe they want us to head this way,” said Jang, leading the way - and waiting for the rest of the group to get out from the second car which was parking behind the first one. “So the rest of you… Should come before they get impatient.”

“We’re coming, we’re coming, jeez…” Maya said, waving enthusiastically as she stumbled out of the second car, barely avoiding tripping over herself as she stood back up, a short, rather confused looking blonde following her out afterwards, moving to stand with Gabriella and Jang.

“Who even is she, anyways?” The blonde, Zara asked, looking at Maya with concern. “She’s… Not someone I would bring along on something like this, with all respect.”

“I wouldn’t bring her either, but she’s here,” Jang pointed out, moving with the rest of the group towards the double doors at the top of the stairway. “Someone that I knew from the past… Didn’t have enough time on my hands to look over too many candidates, with all the other things that needed doing.”

“Hey, if you don’t want me here, I’d fuck off, but… I don’t think there’s many flights back home around here somehow, so I guess you’re stuck with me.” Maya said, seemingly unoffended by the remark.

“What is she even here for, anyways?” Zara asked, eyeing Maya up with an almost nervous look. “She isn’t with the company, as far as I know…”

“If she was she’d have been fired.” Gabriella commented. “She’s too happy.”

“According to her, she’s a professional. Let’s give her some respect,” Jang fired back… Clearly sarcastically in terms of tone.

“I am a professional.” Maya insisted. “Doesn’t mean I can’t be happy at the same time, because I enjoy and take pride in what I do. And I don’t really need your respect. Two of you are corporate suits, after all.” Maya snorted. “Jang’s the only one of you three with anything other than ink in their veins.”

“That… Doesn’t exactly explain what you’re here for…” Zara said.

Maya shrugged. “I’m here because I’m being paid, now be a good corporate underling and don’t ask about stuff you don’t need to know.”

Zara said nothing, falling silent, while Gabriella flicked a glance behind her at Maya warily. Maya just winked back.

“Don’t make me change my mind about the next job…” Jang said, bristling at Maya before moving on, heading through the large doors and entering the first of the inner areas, most of the area they were entering made up of cold concrete and stone, though it had its own appeal in an industrial and gritty kind of way. Not the kind of aesthetic one usually expected from a palace like this, but the government in Dosun wasn’t known to be the richest. It made sense that the palace here reflected the status of the country.

“Fine, fine, shutting up.” Maya said, waving her hands. “Honestly the next job’s either going to be really, really easy or really, really hard from what I trawled up in the previous week. Like, hardest job I’ve ever done type hard, but it’s the challenging fun type so I kinda want to do it.”

“Bit grim for my tastes.” Gabriella commented, looking over their surroundings. “But it fits the country well enough, I suppose. Not like they’re going to have stolen some Jiang palace or something.”

“The place might not look like some of the greater palaces of the world, but many laborers toiled to build it… Without the same technology, to an extent,” Jang pointed out as they continued on, following behind their guides who were leading them through the main room and into a separate one which was further down the way, as they passed paintings representing the struggle of the local ideology and the local leader. And statues, for that matter, both of political figures and of the military, the latter seemingly having its own role in the country’s politics too. Or at least, in the collective consciousness of this society.

Though, as they walked on, Jang’s mind wasn’t on the immediate in front of them, but rather on the personnel that he was moving with… Gabriella was alright enough, not exceptionally competent now but not too much of a detriment either. She had room to improve if she put the effort in like they had talked about before, and opened her mind up to some other kinds of thinking. Zara was somewhat like Gabriella but she was lower in terms of potential according to the first impression Jang had picked up from her. She was more naive, less cut out for the business world which could be just as cutthroat as actual war at times. And then there was Maya, the one that Jang actually knew out of the group, but someone that had… Managed to rub the wrong way ever since they had gotten back in contact for this new job.

Since you want to act like we’re different, that you're too good to stand by the rest of us… Destroy yourself.

Fact of the matter was, Jang had put serious effort into magic as a skill - something that not all half elves did, and not something that they were all good at. Jang had the right combination of natural talent and ability brought about by training, and reached out silently, not doing anything too overt or anything that could be seen… But going to something that was reliable most of the time, and both useful and versatile. Memetic magic.

And since you want to act like we’re different… I suppose you should learn who the true top dog is. Take that poster in the hallway… Only a few steps within your reach. And suffer the consequences…

Maya stopped, peering up at the poster on the wall, tapping her fingers along it. It would make a nice memento, and she did have that one rather empty wall she’d been meaning to put something on…

She reached up, gently starting to peel the bottom corners of it away. It wouldn’t do to damage the art, and posters were quite delicate.

They would continue on into the palace after she had removed the poster… And down the same central hallway, until the point where their guides came to a stop. A couple of figures were coming up behind them, more of the guards with the tan drab uniforms and bayoneted rifles, with quite the stoic looks on their faces as they approached. “Miss Thornhill…” the lead guard said, breaking the trend of the Dosunese only speaking their own language. “You need to come with us immediately.”

“Aw, no souvenirs?” Maya said, pouting. “Fiiine.” She said, waving as she turned away to follow the guards. “I’ll see you all later, I guess.”

“Well, there goes… Whoever she was.” Gabriella said. “I hope you didn’t need her for anything extremely important here, because I doubt we’ll be seeing her again.”

“We may be… We may not be,” said Jang, looking at Maya as she walked off under escort from the pair of guards, the plan having worked as intended. He had seen Maya’s earlier actions and words in their first conversation since linking back up again to be a slight of sorts, or at least, showing a noncommittal nature… But, slight or not, she had been proven unreliable and this would take her out of the picture. Maybe for now, maybe permanently.

Either way, it was one problem down, even if it was a problem that hadn’t been known by anyone other than Jang. Next, they just had to handle the things they had been sent here for…

by **Durmatagno** » Sat Apr 04, 2020 12:32 pm

S1E7
“SILENCE BEFORE THE STORM”

Following the 8/2 Attacks on the Vespertine-Eurosian Union, the Union Intelligence Agency is hard at work preparing to aid in the retaliatory effort against demihuman nationalist group El Jasher - which is set to lead with war against the group’s direct and indirect sponsors and allies, the Emirate of Soleir and the Empery of Qulse… As preparations continue, the UIA’s Task Force 253 lands in Vizon, a staunchly pro-human nation in a sea of surrounding demihuman foes - including Soleir, the target of Operation Dark Hunt…

August 6th, 753 N.E.
General Corneille Martial International Airport, Brazny, Republic of Vizon
Collaborative post between Forest State, Durmatagno and Lunas Legion

For the first time since the last real global conflict, the VEU could claim to be a nation under attack… A nation under attack from an enemy which didn’t have a national allegiance in the same way that a more symmetrical threat would. El Jasher, the group behind the attack, based out of the sand dunes, mountains, and rainforests of the Anori continent and out of the country of Soleir in specific, had its allegiances, yes… But they were allegiances to a species, or rather a group of them. The VEU was under attack from the demihuman nationalist movement, an enemy that could blend into the regular population before taking actions such as this, having a species in common with each other rather than simply a political affiliation or a common national cause.

In other words, it was a very dangerous enemy, and the presence of that enemy was in every country in some number… Even the ones like the VEU that were still majority human by a large margin and ruled themselves accordingly, keeping humans in mind first and foremost in their policies and decisions. Still, the presence could be tracked back to a specific location. The attackers that had went after General Biotics, that had went after the VUSS Port Xavier… They may have taken thousands of lives but they hadn’t been careful doing it. The trail happened to lead back to one country, Soleir, and one alliance, the Central Defense Organization - the one that was led by the largest demihuman power in the world, the Empery of Qulse, the largest and most powerful state in Anori and a military power that the VEU had butted heads with before.

This time, though, things were unlikely to end with just carriers coming a bit too close to each other, harsh words in the media between both nations, and tense encounters on the borders in areas where the spheres of influence of both countries touched. This time, the conflict was likely to begin in Soleir… And end in the enemy power, once their link with El Jasher was solidified.

Of course, someone had to do the legwork on the ground to discover that information. And someone had to move ahead of the full military force as they began to make their way towards Soleir in the days after the 8/2 Attacks as they were being called in the VEU, detailing targets and working against the enemy to make a path for the military to remove the threats and eventually the opposing government… In this case, the job fell on Task Force 253, the secretive unit which had just been formed by the Union Special Forces Command, or USFC, and the Union Intelligence Agency. Taking personnel from the UIA as well as contractors, the goal of the Task Force was to further the war goals of the VEU during this crisis - by any means necessary, even if those means included black operations and grey operations.

And their entry into Soleir would, at best, be a grey operation.

As an unmarked C-32 transport descended on the airfield, belonging to the UIA’s task force, the coastal city of Brazny came within to view - one of the top ports within the Republic of Vizon, an ally on the western coast of Anori that was more valuable than it had ever been in the past. Much of the relationship between the VEU’s primary alliance, ISATA, and Vizon, revolved around ISATA protecting Vizon in the event of an invasion. In this case, it was Vizon that was helping ISATA, and they were doing it as ISATA and the VEU in specific prepared for an invasion of the hostile nations of the area…

The situation in Vizon was, of course, unique - unlike the majority of countries that had a significant demihuman population, the minority did not live equally here. The nation was human in nature and mentality, firmly so, and even as it was surrounded by various demihumans to the south in Soleir, ranging from the catfolk more common in Cote de Jade to the wolffolk that could be found easily in both Qulse and Soleir, as well as being surrounded by others on their eastern flank, Vizon was determined to remain human and not to fall to these influences.

Landing in Brazny, Republic of Vizon.

Which made it an ideal place to operate from in a war where the lines weren’t only drawn by political ideologies and borders on a map. In a war of peoples, Vizon very much had their type of people.

The transport touched down and slowed down, and as it taxied to the apron at the international airport in Brazny, which was named after one of the generals that had helped construct the highly mobile and highly dangerous tactics of the Vizon Defense Force, it would soon be revealed that the transport was carrying the latest batch of personnel that were headed to join Task Force 253 in their operations across the border in Soleir. One of the reasons Vizon was important, in this case, was that it was right next to the country that was soon to be the invasion target of the retaliatory force, a declaration of war in the works in the District of Martins as plans were made to avenge the 8/2 Attacks.

By now, the transport had come to a halt next to the military terminal - of the notable members on board, there were UIA operatives Irene Euler and Aurelia Gray, assigned to the Task Force from more co nventional parts of the force, and Sage Shields… The only nonhuman on the plane and one of the few that was associated with the Task Force at all. And yet, the latter wasn’t quite a demihuman, but something else entirely, the creation of General Biotics playing with life and creating their own beings that were fully formed from scratch with no need for magic - a testament to how far technology had come to catch up with the magic that had formerly been dominant. The government, it seemed, was willing to trial just how effective these beings were… That were somewhere between natural and android, fully embracing neither the natural nor artificial part of the spectrum.

The doors of the transport opened, soldiers of the Vizon Defense Force waiting on the ground for those on board - not that they knew everything about who they were, just that they were foreigners who had mutual goals with them… They gestured in the right direction; towards the military terminal, that was. Not far from the apron the medium sized transport was parked on.

Sage stepped off the transport, her ivory skin, black eyes, and alabaster hair quickly showing just how nonhuman she was. Her eyes panned over the VDF in front of her before she quietly stepped down to allow Aureila and Irene off the transport. Sage’s height was massive, but she still stood taller than most, and despite how skinny her frame was, she was physically capable. Buried under the surface however was a cold heart, and hidden power that few would ever attribute to someone like her. She was used to stares and fear at her sight, and ignored any reactions of the vein to her arrival. She couldn’t deny she was glad to be out of her cell, but she did little to show it, what excitement she felt was instead for working with the very people that had given her the name she still bears, instead of just going by her company assigned code name.

The VDF carries a reputation as one of the most drilled and experienced militaries in Anori.

Those people were already inside the terminal that the UIA agents and their affiliates had been ushered into, already having arrived there on one of the earlier flights. There had been a number of flights after all - there was a lot of equipment and a lot of people to move for a massive operation like the coming war. And on board one of the earlier flights had been a group of contractors from Irvine that found themselves with government work again, but this time more important than ever… Kodiak Marsden, Minerva Marsden, Aqua Schone, and Tali Couture. They had taken jobs with Sage in Irvine, and south of the border with Palmera… Today, they were united again even though the operation at hand was across the Vespertine ocean.

“We meet again…” said Minerva. The largest of the group of humans, and the one who was the nominal leader between them. Even if their operations had never quite been formal.

“Yes, it is good to be working with you again.”

Sage spoke, her voice was low, but soft, as if she was used to staying quiet. She looked over the group, noting the minor difference since she last saw the. Muscle changes, hair changes, and other things most people would just accept and move past. Sage had a vested interest in being careful with her observations of people. That and she wanted to see how tough things had been on them, and there were signs of stress and hardship that could be subtle. For now, she was doing it mostly to help pass the time.

As the group fell into line, it seemed that everyone was waiting for further instruction - which they were going to receive soon, at least according to one of the soldiers speaking in native Evanian, before moving off to find something or somebody that was related to all of this. “Is this… The furthest you’ve been?” questioned Kodiak, speaking in a lower tone. She herself hadn’t done work in this theater after all - in an operation that was soon going to send them into enemy territory nonetheless.

“Yes.”

Sage was no stranger to combat, but she had, to her best recollection, never been deployed out here. This looked to be her longest deployment, and furthest from quote-unquote home she’d ever been. Not much of a home, she enjoyed being let out like this because of it. Even if her only purpose was military, at least she did something out here. Her home, she called it a cell, was minimalist, boring, gray, and had little to do. These respites let her get a touch of...life, even as she was taking it from others or making it easier for others to take it.

Soon enough, the person that they were waiting for showed up - a dark haired woman that was apparently from the UIA as indicated by her style of dress, not entirely wearing a formal uniform despite her clearly military status. Instead, it was made up of various parts from the VEU and a couple from the local area - her jacket, at least, seemed to be from Vizon, bearing the marks of their military… But she clearly wasn’t from Vizon herself, or at least, she didn’t seem that way at first appearance.

“Ah, I see that everyone is gathered,” the woman said, looking them over. “I suppose I won’t take too long with this. My name is Damia Law, and I’m with the Union Intelligence Agency - specifically, I’m with Task Force 253 as the acting commander, among multiple other roles. Based on my experience handling previous crisis situations, I have been placed at the front of the UIA’s response to this latest one… And you have been placed under my command. You’ve already been familiarized, but to state this officially, our primary goal is to support the combat operations in Soleir, and eventually, in Qulse… That means conducting intelligence operations, going after high value targets, disrupting communications and electronics, and generally going after the leadership in El Jasher as well as the opposition leadership in Soleir in general. Our entry into the country will take place from this airbase, using a pair of helicopters to head silently across the border and land northeast of Sani, where a firebase will be established for the initial operations. Further information will come later, when it’s time to move…”

She paused, looking over the group one more time. “Which will be after sundown. For now, dismissed.”

Sage nodded, and turned her eyes back to the people she was familiar with. She knew not where she was staying, nor where anything was at this base. They had been here before her, so she hoped they knew it well enough to show her. Of importance was where she could eat, obtain clothing, and sleep. She lived a very bare bones lifestyle, and didn’t actually own anything, as she was considered property herself. As such her clothing, equipment, and meals had to be provided for her, she did not and could not obtain them for herself. She was used to surviving on gruel and rations, though she had some exceptions that had to be included due to dietary needs.

Aurelia just shrugged, turning to leave in silence, figuring she’d find out wherever she was sleeping here first rather than sticking around for conversation. It’d be rude, given some of them apparently knew each other, and she wasn’t about to just insert herself or something.

She was quick to be identified, however, as another member of the UIA - by the one in the group who was also a UIA agent, Irene Euler… Coincidentally, from Irvine, the same place that the other contractors were from. “You’re also UIA, I recognize…” Irene said, most likely based on the equipment on hand for Aurelia. “I am, too. Before this, mostly doing things in the North Vespertine.”

“Eurosian for me, mostly.” Aurelia said, stopping where she was and letting Irene catch up to her. “But, yeah, I’m UIA, pretty sure I’m the only other UIA person here bar yourself and our boss. Aurelia, you?” She wasn’t entirely sure what to make of being left with such a small squad of actual professionals, contractors tended to end up as contractors rather than in actual militaries for good reason.

“Irene… And I think we’ll see some others from the agency when we’re headed to the helos, everyone’s not here yet I think. But when a lot of the stuff we’re working on isn’t that public, there’s usually a lot of people that are… Less official,” Irene shrugged. “And I expect to end up working with Vizon’s commandos, too.”

“Not sure how I feel about that either, but I guess I just don’t want someone who isn’t quite as competent watching my ass.” Aurelia said. “Never quite know what you’re going to get when it comes to foreign forces or hired contractors, but I’ll be happily be proven wrong on it.”

While on the other hand, the group of contractors was looking for where they had to go. “I think most of the places around here are human only,” Minerva pointed out curiously… She wondered how much that applied to the military housing. The military tended to be human dominated too, after all. “Err, I guess we’re supposed to use the military facilities for anything until sundown.”

“A common problem for me, I’m sure they’ve made sure I’m allowed where I need to be.”

Sage said after a moment, sticking closer to the people she knew, a degree of familiarity in an alien land. Just as she was used to anger and fear, she was used to being kept isolated and away from others when not working with them. The area being human-only for the most part did not surprise her, she wasn’t welcome pretty much anywhere.

“We’ll see,” said Minerva, moving for the exit of the terminal as she was followed by Kodiak and the others. “Might as well check out what gear’s around the armory to pick from, I’m sure the time will pass until it’s time to get moving decently enough…”

Sage moved quietly behind the others, curious as to how things were going to go for her with an extended mission like this. She might even have to wear a human face for more than just infiltration purposes to avoid causing problems. She kept this thought at the front of her mind as she walked, always unsure of her place in the human world, and wider world when she wasn’t acting as the weapon she was built to be.

PROJECT ARKANE [IC | PMT+ / FanT] [CLOSED]

PROJECT ARKANE [IC | PMT+ / FanT] [CLOSED]

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