Crackdown: After the War (CLOSED)

[New Hayesalia]

NOCC, REVNAMI

"Sir, security phone call for you." an Army Captain from the Military Police called to the Field Marshal. "The Zellatians have arrived at the gate.

"Roger than Captain, send them to Conference Room 2." Field Marshal Knight replied, leaving the service chiefs to refer to a new report from the Intelligence Corps. The Chief of Navy had sent the Deputy Chief to serve as his representative until now, as he had arrived only an hour earlier in the back of a New Hayesalian Air Force fighter jet.

The Field Marshal and his aide de camp existed the Command Centre, making the trip up the stairs to the well-furnished conference room, linked to the Command Centre and also equipped to command operations overseas and domestically. The two Zellatians, escorted by two Military Police officers, arrived to the sight of the Field Marshal standing over a 3D mapping table showing the mountain and the precise location of the NH forces, possible through the use of their 9-LAND Battle Management Systems.

The Field Marshal instantly recognised the Lt. General nearly instantly. As Chief of the Army, then-General Eli Knight had worked with the advice of Lt. General Johl to clear a large swathe of FSP territory, one of the most vicious fights experienced by the New Hayesalian Army. The Field Marshal returned a snappy salute from his Zellatian friend, who also congratulated him on his promotion. Knight returned the salute, and took the man into a short embrace. He also shook the hand of Colonel Brams, and welcomed them both into the Command Centre. It was strange, however, that there were only two officers-

"My aide-de-camp told me you had some issues at the gate- as you can imagine this is a reasonably hush-hush event, our gate staff weren't involved in the process of bringing you here. Before we begin, I'm gonna guess nobody will know your rank insignia. Here-" the Field Marshal took two velcro patches from his breast pocket, subdued rank insignia of a Lieutenant General and a Colonel "-I imagine if you're intending to report to Ravini you'll be needing those."

The Field Marshal went on to explain the situation- troops providing a cordon around the mountain and special forces posted to the local airport. The Field Marshal went into units with the ability to handle close quarters battles- namely the RCTRG, BASTION, and the 2nd Commando Division. He also mentioned the willingness of the NHAF to transport Zellatian soldiers into New Hayesalia.

"We aren't the experts here, General. You gents are in the position to tell us the best way to get these FSP scum out of that complex. Now we have a mobile command centre in Ravini and we have a V-30 on call to transport you and your jeep to Ravini, its only a few hours away by air. What're your thoughts?"

[Zellatia]

NOCC, REVNAMI

Lt. General Johl Saluted back to Field Marshal Knight upon entering and looked him over, seeing how the new position was giving him a good deal of a confidence booster. The two of them had been in charge of cleaning up a good deal of the forces that the FSP still had after the main part of the war was over, and despite the occasional victory for the enemy, their teamwork was what had helped things end less bloodily than they might have otherwise. Nodding to what Knight had said, Johl took the insignias and handed the respective one to Colonel Brams, turning his head back to the Field Marshal.

"I understand the precaution. I heard what happened at the military base a few islands over, it wasn't exactly the prettiest example of Zellatian handiwork, that much I am sure we'll agree with" the Lt. General said, trying to break the ice a little bit in preparation of the more dire speech that would come after this. Coughing, he motioned over to the Colonel, who, after attaching the insignia properly, turned to the nearby projector and plugged in the appropriate thumb drive after the machine scanned it as safe.

"Well, sirs" the Colonel said, straightening up confidently, the blueish speckling on his face no longer smudged, "as the Lt. General is likely already aware, you've got yourself what we in Zellatia call a 'Palace of Woe'. There were very few of them scattered in Zellatia that we had to clean up alone, mostly due to the nature of them rather than a lack of expertise on New Hayesalia's part, but none had the technology and firepower that this one seems to have. The Traditional Palace of Woe follows a set pattern" he explained, using a pointer to bring up the next slide, a diagram of an example.

"We have" started the Lt. General, "the Tunnel of Death. Of course, this is mostly to discourage people who aren't supposed to be there from leaving alive. Given that if you go through here, you are pretty much dead unless you find a way to trick the system. The system, in itself, is partially automated and partially hand-operated, by which I mean even if you were somehow to catch them unawares, the automated system would do much of the work. They expect you to attack during the day, but they are strongest by night, by which I mean they have more experience then. By the few bits of information your team was able to gather, this version of the Tunnel of Death seems to operate mostly remotely. Likely it is EMP proofed, likely in the same mode as your own technology. So this is what we'll have to do" he said, as the Colonel took back over and moved on.

"The Tunnel can be defeated in a few ways" started Colonel Brams, showing the diagram, "Most of these tunnels have the majority of the "Firepower" up front. So if you can get past that, you'll do great. One way of doing so is to force the tunnel to collapse and dig it out, but that takes a very long time. What we'd recommend is for your men to get an exact measurement of the tunnel using sonar, and then using Crystal-Hider wrought-Iron to make a slide of sorts. What is mostly not known is that the tunnels slightly tilt downwards just enough to get your off of your groove. This way, once we've gotten past, they'll fire at the wrought iron but they won't know where you are."

"From there" the Lt. General cut in, "You'll blast the end sides, purposely weakened from the inside and blast the guards to pieces. From there you are in. Now, the traditional Tunnel of Death from here tends to follow the occasional pit trap that can be easily avoided if you have a flashlight. Anyone who's wounded has to be evac'd though, as the following rooms are...purposely filthy. Another way to hurt you and harm you through your sense of smell and sight. From there, there are branching paths and you'll be able to fight relatively fairly. Think of it as an enclosed battlefield or some sort of video game forest stage. It'll have traditional bunker stuff from there. Any further questions, Field Marshal Knight?"

The Colonel coughed and looked at the Lt. General, "Sir, he asked how to get them OUT, not storm in"

Lt. General Johl nodded, "I'm aware. However, if they could be lured out, you'd have to get their mothers to cry for them to leave, but how the hell are the New Hayesalians able to ID whose inside and figure out who they are?"

Colonel Brams sighed, "Um, Field Marshal, do you know whose in there? Might help."

[New Hayesalia]

The Field Marshal was aware of the intelligence with regard to who was inside. "We don't know." he said, simply. "We know that it is likely Gair Monzearth is using this facility. We found the location of this base using signals and imagery intelligence, as well as human intelligence from Gair Monzearth's known and suspected associates, thanks to the Internal Intelligence Directorate. One moment."

The Field Marshal picked up a red phone, marked 'NOCC-TS' and spoke immediately. "Major, we need the list of Monzearth's possible associates, Conference 2. Cheers."

"Now General, fill me in. What is the Crystal Hider you're talking about? We can't fit an Arctos medium tank in there, let alone one of your MBT beasts. Now we have precision munitions- I'm sure that we could fire a few thermobaric cruise missiles into the door of that goddamn mountain, perhaps that would be enough to set off any systems in place there without cutting us off for entrance? Furthermore, what sort of booby traps will my men be facing in there?"

As the Field Marshal finished speaking a quick knock of the door was followed by the entry of an Army Major, handing a dossier to the Field Marshal and quickly exiting again. The dossier was then handed to the General, to review the names of Monzearth's associates, known and suspected.

[Zellatia]

Nodding, the Lt. General Johl decided he needed to clarify, "You see, before we actually make the Crystal-Hider tanks, we spin Minoan Silk into the steel to strengthen it. Its kind of why at times you'll literally just see a rocket launched into them stick and not explode, or just bounce off. The "Crystal-Hide" metal can be put into all sorts of patterns and length, as long as we have enough steel to combine it with, including a lengthy metallic ramp " he said, pointing at the diagram. "As for traps, well" he said, clicking to the next slide, "We have dart traps, gas traps, puddles with wires strewn in them to turn on upon contact with anything" he said, listing them off.

Colonel Brams cut in, "Punji Traps, Shotgun Traps, Spider and Snake Pit Traps, Spikes jutting out from the wall, think of a trap and its probably in there" he said, pointing at the list, "The List is available for download after we finish speaking today. You'll have all of our schematics for the traps after our meeting today."

Once the dossier had been put into the room by the Army Major or whomever had been the messenger, the Lt. General nodded, waiting for the list to be uploaded, "It'll take almost all day for us to see who might actually be in there, as a lot of people went missing or disappeared from the country after the war, but we can get their mothers to the door of this place by tomorrow if we hurry" he said, looking to the monitory, "So that's the information we can give you for now. Any further experts are on standby, which is why only the two of us are here" he said, pointing to his second, "Hell, I'm not even supposed to be out of Zellatia Proper unless given explicit orders by the Emperor, but the Prime Minister insisted. There are plenty of people who are more experienced who were available, but I suppose this small group of the two of us and a potential translator is all we needed to give you, according to him" the Lt. General added.

[New Hayesalia]

"The Prime Minister has given us a blank cheque for this operation, General. If we need that steel, we can make it happen. We will need to get some training done on how to use the stuff, unless we can get a planeload of Zealites into Ravini. We have people in this area from the procurements office- you'll need to meet with them after me about that, I'll expect a backbrief after that. With regard to these names, we have the Internal and Foreign Intelligence Directorates. These are the people who can handle... well, visits."

"Of course, if we decide to start collecting family relatives the issue lies in their loyalties. I don't want to collect a small army of FSP supporters can give them a microphone. My question is this, General: what is there to stop me from blasting that complex with every bunker buster the Air Force can muster?"

[Zellatia]

Thinking about the nature of the question that Field Marshal Knight had brought up, Lt. General Johl nodded his head, "Right. Well, for one, they might have rigged something to go off in part of the mountain that...well, unless you want a metric ton of nerve gas to leak out of the complex, I'd say blasting it isn't the best option. Plus, the environmental issues that might be apart of things. Additionally, I'm pretty sure the regional government for the mountain will be absolutely pissed at you" he said, looking to the dossier and then back to him, "And in regards to the mothers, if you haven't noticed the FSP is decidedly masculine. There are hardly any supporters who are female."

"And as for the crystal-hide, due to the trademark secret of the recipe to make it, given that it is normally illegal to leave the country unless in use, we'll have something from one of the ships near New Hayesalia to make the ramp required. It'll take ten hours to complete it, given that we have some of the silk handy, but beyond that is there anything you need? Zellatia will provide any resource you need to deal with the FSP threat inside of your borders" the Lt. General continued, eyeing the Field Marshal for his response.

[New Hayesalia]

The Field Marshal immediately made a mental note- his troops were going to be needing MOPP gear, immediately, as well as sending a CBRN Response Unit in from Oppentin. The risk of nerve gas was nothing to be gambled with. It would be by the end of the night that each soldier on the cordon force were to be wearing MOPP level 2, with a 100-strong team of the CBRN Response Unit emplaced at a local rugby hall in Ravini.

"I'll present the options to the Prime Minister. Of course we must be ready for any decision. Last I checked, we have the NHS Northern Gate, one of our Perun-class capital ships, headed through the region with a small escort. We can charter a vessel to ship the hider back here, so let's get in contact and get the import clearance. Gentlemen, I have to inform the PM. Have a read of the dossier and continue on with those tasks. Cheers."

The Field Marshal put his tan beret, three diamonds glittering above the gold cap badge of the Army. With a swift salute from the Lt General, returned snappily, the Field Marshal reported back downstairs to report to the other Service Chiefs the conclusions he had reached.

The Prime Minister was contacted on a secure line, aboard the official 747-8i- New Hayesalia's version of Air Force One- as he headed to Theod'jo, Piltomana, to present a further briefings to the press. Like the Field Marshal, Bolt approved the idea of using the Crystal Hider imported from Zellatia for the job of clearing the first tunnel. With this, the Chief of Navy ordered the NHS Northern Gate and it's escort, the 47th Carrier Action Group, to report to a southern Zellatian military harbour. The New Hayesalians would send the NHS Mardio to be loaded with the steel under escort from the ship's Marine battalion, on the deck of the carrier. The ship's fighters and other fixed-wing aircraft would fly directly back to New Hayesalia, although the helicopters would be held aboard. With the NHS Bar, a Canberra-class light carrier escorting they would still have some air power.

The Prime Minister also made a further order- develop a war plan to decimate the Forward Shade Party. This was something the Military had already been developing, incidentally. The Deputy Chief of Military was tasked to further investigate it, and to have it ready sooner rather than later.

(OOC: Let's skip to whichever port works for you, loading the Mardio?)

[Zellatia]

St. Zea Military Base, Samur, Forinj, the Zellatian Continent, Zellatia

The New Hayesalians had arrived a few days ago, but the shipment to make sure that the New Hayesalians had just enough of the Crystal-Hider metal to use what they needed it for and couldn't research it (This was a local concern that some in the military had, but not one the Emperor seemed to have) had only arrived the day before. Properly bundled and shaped at a foundry in Samur called the Forj-Mino Shaperate, the metal was being loaded to the Mardio as the local commander, Right General Kajj Dellem met with the captain of the vessel.

"Sorry for the delay, we had...issues on the way to shipping it here" he cautioned, sighing as he looked out of the window of the ship, "We had FSP sympathizers, youths mostly, harassing the military convoy in a few cities. We had to detain them and let them go, given the protocol that we have to keep civilians in Zellatia safe after...what happened" he said, frowning. "Things could've been worse, though. We were half afraid that someone was feeding information to Monzearth in New Hayesalia and we'd have the convoy under attack" he added, turning back towards the captain of the Mardio. "Everything should be loaded by the end of the day. We have to load the ramp in pieces given the piece of equipment that it is" he further added, sipping on the coffee he'd brought aboard.

As they talked, a loud ruckus erupted outside. Three hundred protesters had arrived outside of the military base, waving signs about how shipping out anything made of crystal-hide was tantamount to treason. The guards in front of the base, already nervous, radioed for riot police to arrive, but there was a low chance of that happening in the next twenty minutes given traffic in Samur. After the war, Samur had increased in importance as one of the few harbors that hadn't been damaged, on top of the fact that outside of Solon, Ninport, and Impur, it was one of the largest commercial ports in Zellatia. A city of 1.5 Million before the war had expanded to almost 2 million inhabitants, while not large for Zellatia, was still impressive given that it had grown so large in only four years. As the next few minutes went by, the protest got larger, until ten minutes later, when there were over a thousand protesters outside the military base.

"This...might be a problem. I'd prep the Mardio for departure sooner, rather than later, Captain" the Right General said, obviously starting to get worried, "We haven't seen a protest as large as that act so spontaneously since before the war. I'd wager that its getting bigger still, so prepare to depart, if you would" he continued, walking to the edge of the room and staring out the window to view the protest.

[New Hayesalia]

The security situation was certainly no joke, neither here or in New Hayesalia. An entire shire council had essentially been evacuated, and people were become gradually more frustrated at the Forward Shade Party's mere existence- a number of right wing pundits had raised the idea of simply blowing the mountain or flooding it with napalm, and on the left the response had been to attempt negotiation. Of course, more information always leaks, and public suspicion that Monzearth was inside was at a peak. Of course, they were trapped- ground penetrating radars had been used by the BASTION special forces group to

The people of New Hayesalia may see the footage of covered materials being loaded onto an NH Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and this would spike the political discussion most certainly, but with thw Army and Netforce now acting to jam television and other signals to the mountain complex, the hope was the free press of Zellatia and New Hayesalia would not give warning to their foes.

The security situation was exceptionally serious. Aboard the NHS Mardio, sailors had been posted to the ship's heavy machine gun and LRAD positions, with New Hayesalian Marines sent onto shore to form two levels of protective perimeters- and they were armed, ready to kill, as well as dug in behind walls of Barracuda soft armour. Even shipyard workers and Zellatian soldiers were twice cleared before given entrance, if they'd not already been asked to go home. With New Hayesalian Marines and spare sailors heavily weaponised to protect their vessel, it had been an incredibly intense 72 hours docked in the St. Zea Port.

The arrival of the Right General with the convoy of trucks, carrying the huge and precious steel segments, was met with even more tension. Navy Clearance Divers checked the incoming people and trucks extensively- each truck passed one by one, and not until every nook and cranny had been sighted.

The metal slabs themselves were quite massive. They wouldn't all fit in the vacated hangar bay, particularly with the storage procedures that had to be followed. Three of the slabs would be held on the flight deck and hunkered, tied heavily down. The other six would be held in the hangar bay, well protected. There were still hours of work before the Mardio could steam away from this forsaken port at 1900h.

The Right General, after being searched much to his displeasure, was taken to the bridge of the Mardio, to speak with Captain Yancy Proxime.

"Sir, this steel is gonna keep us safe. I don't know how, but the brass says it will so I believe that. While it's unfortunate it took longer, I would rather have this late than not have it at all. Of course, some will need to be craned in using the port infrastructure, but we have people who will do that. This is really some heavy metal."

The protesters were beginning to draw attention- and not a good kind. They were growing riotous, even as the General spoke. His calm demanour was nothing short of loopy to the New Hayesalian Captain, whose only obsession was the protection of his multi-billion dollar vessel and the people and cargo aboard it.

"Sir, local guards are calling for riot cops." came the call from an Able Seaman, monitoring the radios.
"Sir, CIC reports approximately 300 protestors" said another, on the horn to the room below decks.

The New Hayesalian Captain had plenty of time to account for this. With support from the NHS Bar just out toward sea, the taskforce had a number of ways to show force. Stood to at Readiness Condition 2, the New Hayesalians were mounting dug-in positions and sentry posts- the normal stand-to positions on the Mardio's heavy machine guns and non-lethal long range acoustic devices were consistently manned by sailors, with Marines manning six key points on the shipyard proper, established with the help of spare sailors.

"XO, REDCON 1.5, riot condition. Get the QRF on instant NTM."

"Aye aye, sir." came the Commander's response, before making a similar call into the ship's command system, plus a call made to the Bar's captain.

"General, we now have 300 soldiers, in the lower decks of this vessel; as well as 120 out on that dock now, donning their riot response and other combat gear and grabbing riot shields and fire extinguishers, courtesy the Mardio and Bar Battalions of the NH Marines. Once I call for it, I can have six helicopters lift off the deck of our escort and drop 120 more combat-loaded- not riot control loaded- Marines anywhere on the coast, and if I should so choose, perform a fly by of a large number of advanced fighter jets. I can have 28 loaded armoured personnel carriers and four main battle tanks delivered to defend this base in the space of less than a minute for the initial wave. I think safety is with us."

"Looks like more and more sir, estimate is 1000 protestors!" the AB said again, worriedly.

"Roger than AB. X, let's bolster our key points." the Captain responded, confidently. "Send out six platoons, plus a Javelin, to each key point."

"Aye aye sir!"

Below deck, New Hayesalian Marines, crammed in like sardines in surge conditions, were ready to deploy- itching for it. When six platoons got the go from the Bar Battalion, they relished it. Armoured in the full CBAS load, covering most of the body in fire resistant armour, and with face masks to also prevent burning, they reported and began to move in files down the ramp to the dock. Of a 25 man platoon, 10 would wield riot shields in addition to the 10 Marines who already had them at the key point, and 10 would be there as safety second-liners. The additional five men in the platoon would man lethal and non lethal weapons. Each team was to be escorted by a Javelin IFV, now rolling down the ramp alongside the Marines, with 30mm cannons a terrifying sight to anyone unlucky enough to be on the wrong end.

"Link me through to LRADs." the Captain said, bringing himself back to his chair, towards a mic. One of his sailors hit some buttons, the Marine battalion commander giving the order to all ground units to switch their LRADs to a channel, as did the ships. The LRADis a form of directed- and very very loud- speaker. With six on the ground, and three useful on the Mardio, the protestors would not be unable to hear the New Hayesalians.

With the LRADs on, the instructions were read by a sailor, repeated multiple times.

"Attention protesters, attention protesters, you are threatening the safety of this military operation, you have been ordered to disperse under Zellatian law and you are ordered to disperse immediately."

The crowds reaction to the extremely loud orders, and the approach of NH military riot squads, was yet to be seen.

[Zellatia]

Aboard the Mardio, St. Zea Military Base, Samur, Forinj, the Zellatian Continent, Zellatia

The Right General had been made more nervous when the riot police had been called, sure, but he looked absolutely alarmed when the New Hayesalian Captain, Yancy Proxime, had given the order. The nervousness, part of the reason he normally had his second in command nearby during battle, meant that he was temporarily stunned, his mind reeling, until it was too late to belay the order and stop Proxime from agitating the crowd. "What..." he managed to get out after a minute, gulping loudly, "Why would you order NEW HAYESALIANS to show up to an anti-New Hayesalian rally?! Are you trying to start an incident? Let my people deal with this. I'd rather not have your men get into danger" he said, his face bright red, to the point that the blue pigment on his skin seemed to slough off.

Despite the worry of the Right General, the protesters did not get hostile. It seemed that this wasn't a FSP-friendly created rally, at least not one that was actively going forth with the Forward Shade Party's normal violence approach. As the crowds grew bigger, the crowd gave way as a well dressed Zellatian with religious tattooing on his face, on top of pigmentation, entered the protest, arriving at the front carrying a placard with both the anti-New Hayesalian message, as well as advertisement for a political party.

"Oh...FUCK no" R. General Kajj Dellem cursed, clutching the railing of the ship with one hand as the binoculars he was holding were pressed in front of his eyes. "You have got to be kidding me. THEY organized this rally?" he said, turning to the captain. "I apologize for the confusion here, the issue seems to be more complex than I realized. What we are seeing is a Thelakisto-Socialists Party rally. While the party has been shrinking in most recent years due to many defections to the Loyalist Democratic Party, the current leaders in our Parliament, and the Zellatian Moderation Party, their partners, this is the third largest left-wing party in Zellatia. They've been known to be...eccentric, but their leader over there" he said, pointing to the obvious politician in their midst, "is here for publicity. His name is Hortens Wotnawt, his family is descended from Thelakist Religious Authority, which explains his last name by the way, and he's really been wanting something to help him in the Fall 2015 elections. This might give him the bounce he needs and- damn it" he said, pacing now.

Turning to the captain, Kajj gritted his teeth, "The sooner the shipment goes out the better. I'll see what I can do personally to calm down the crowd. As much as I detest the nationalist tendencies of the T-SP, they're literally relatives of mine due to marriage, at least Wotnawt is, so maybe I can talk them down. Just speed up the movement as much as you can" he said, exiting the ship swiftly as he went to see what he could do as the crowds outside swelled now to 5,000 people, filling the street leading to the military port base, more people coming from a good distance away as the crowds kept getting bigger and bigger. This was not going to be a good day.

[New Hayesalia]

The Captain was growing more worried now, as even more protestors arrived. 5000 protestors vs 400 Marines would be a massacre, without a doubt. The reality that it was a political rally changed nothing- this was an incredibly important mission. The warning was still being given down the multiple LRADs, and the noise at the ground level would've been intense.

"With all due respect General, this is getting out of control. Our sailors are already moving at a maximum speed, and we've got half of these slabs aboard. Matters of Zellatian politics aren't my concern, my mission is. I'm breaking them up."

The Captain turned to his XO again, laying down more orders.

"REDCON 1, X." the Captain said. "Full readiness to respond. Change the LRAD to disperse tones on my order."

"Aye sir!" the XO said, himself now wearing body armour with the rest of the bridge crew armouring up. Around the ship, the Marines beneath had finished loading. Now, a small army of infantry fighting vehicles and combat ready soldiers streamed out, reporting to reinforce the key points being defended on the base. On the deck and port side of the ship, sailors not performing loading and necessary tasks were armoured and holding weapons, ready to fire upon the protestors if they got the order. Sharpshooters and designated marksmen also took their positions. And on the fore of the vessel and mast, with a clear view on the huge protest, sailors with underbarrel grenade launchers waited for orders, with large munition crates near to them. From the NHS Bar, the EC-725 helicopters began warming up- all it would take was an order and they'd lift off to assist.

Soldiers streamed from the ship, taking ready positions, forming an imposing barrier between the ship and the protesters.

As the team was set, the New Hayesalian Captain changed his order. With his own troops out the effect area of the Long Range Acoustic Devices, with a total of seven devices trained on the forward areas of the crowd, the Captain gave the order to play the 'Dispersal Tone', which meant a focused stream of sound of 165 decibels was just about to rock the protesters worlds. That wasn't even comparable to a rock concert, which generally only reached a volume of 115 dB.

Of course, if the protest did not disperse or made further advances, the New Hayesalians would use a variety of 40mm grenades- CS gas, normal smoke and hormonal modifier/aphrodisiac grenades had all been readied. Obviously as gas was to be used, the New Hayesalians were all equipped with gas masks and the ship itself began CBN procedures- if the wind changed, the Mardio didn't want to be hit by tear gas.

As the dispersal tones began, a gas mask was handed to the Right General if he had to go off-ship.

[Zellatia]

Aboard the Mardio, St. Zea Military Base, Samur, Forinj, the Zellatian Continent, Zellatia

Blanching as he saw what was going to happen, Right General Dellem nonetheless took the offer of the mask from Captain Proxime, looking to him for a moment before shaking his head. This was going to be a political nightmare. At least when Zellatia was dealing with New Hayesalian territory, they generally asked permission for some of this sort of thing, but it seemed that the rules were different here. Grumbling to himself as he left the ship, he looked to the protesters who were beginning to disperse.

Many of the protesters began to leave as the noise erupted around them, but a good portion of them remained behind, including the member of the T-SP leadership that was leading the protest, leaving all but a thousand of the protesters, the ones who didn't want to leave despite the changes, at the base. The protesters that remained made no effort to move forward, still chanting and raising their placards as they seemed to not want to leave. Representative Wotnawt, still leading his group, stood at the front of the barricade carrying his sign despite the obvious risk he faced.

Right General Kajj Dellem found a good spot to watch this happen, paralyzed again by his apparent inability to make a decision, the gas mask still on his face as the crowd remained at the front of the base. "Ancestors help us. If they use these grenades, this is really going to stir up the domestic sphere of things" he said, not wanting to have any part of what was going to happen. It wouldn't be appropriate to blame him for the reaction either, given the horrors of the last two civil wars and the insurrection that he'd been a part of. He'd been a private during the first civil war, a Sgt. during the second civil war, and a Left General during the Insurrection. He'd seen combat numerous numbers of times, lead troops to victory, through adversity, but the fear of civilian injury and death was enough for him to scare him into doing nothing. Whatever was going to happen, he was likely to be demoted after this incident.

Rep. Wotnawt, remaining with his placard waving troupe, gave them all orders in Zellatian Sign Language, and they all reached into their pockets and unwrapped their ear plugs. Turning to face the base again, the crowd continued to chant Anti-New Hayesalian messages as the situation only continued to heat up. The protesters, dressed mostly in simple garbs, continued their protest, marching in a circle in front of the base as they started to ignore the LRADs.

[New Hayesalia]

The LRADs had been particularly effective, hugely cutting the number of protesters. The remainder had brought ear plugs- while they cut the noise a good few decibels, the infrasound of the LRADs would still cause considerable hearing issues. If anything their resolve was admirable. "General, think of it this way. Any other country would've had three options- sit and hope they didn't get overrun, send our tear gas canisters en masse, or open fire. If anyone's gonna do it right, it's us. And I wouldn't worry about wearing that here- we're CBN secured, and I'll be giving plenty of warning before I order the gas is used." The Captain put a hand on the young General's shoulder. Both men, in their dress uniforms, wore Active Service Medals of New Hayesalia, with a Zellatia II clasp.

"X, what's the situation in your eyes?"

"They're maintaining. The LRADs are still trained on them, and they're not causing any harm. We'll keep readiness, but we shouldn't escalate."

"Well aren't we just two brains in a pod, X. Cheers. Let's keep the LRADs at 165 d b, if they escalate the situation, we'll up the noise level more."

The New Hayesalians, it seemed, had found a happy medium, using non-lethal, non-damaging technology to ensure their safety. For now.

[Zellatia]

The situation, despite the worries of the New Hayesalian crew of the Mardio did not further escalate. By the time that the slabs had been successfully put on the transport vessel, the amount of protesters had slimmed somewhat further, but the more hardcore protesters remained behind, including the Thelako-Socialist Party leader, still marching in circles around the front of the base. While a major incident had been avoided, the next few days would focus on the injuries to hearing that the protesters received, with many newspapers demanding the Government of Zellatia ask for an apology. This was not going to happen, however.

Despite this, the after effect for the situation was immediate. The T-SP, long a weakening left-wing party, strengthened, gaining quite a few voters from the ruling ZMP and LDP parties, making it quite obvious that there was a high chance of their victory in the coming election would remain impossible, but force the coalition partners to likely be weak enough to need the T-SP in their ruling coalition. For that, given that the elections were coming up, meant that things were heating up in Zellatian politics.

However, that was not the only side-effect. For his role in the issue and his inability to take charge, Right General Kajj Dellem was demoted to Left General, although he was still in charge of the base. He didn't seem offended by the demotion, considering the situation, but nonetheless knew that he was going to need to shape up or potentially lose his position as head of St. Zea Military Base in Samur.

Things could've gone worse, but, as the ship left Samur's harbor, it headed to the island where the FSP were still under siege...

[New Hayesalia]

NHNB VINCENT, THEOD'JO, PILTOMANA

Base security at Theod'jo's naval base, Vincent, was at a new height. With the New Hayesalian National Police deploying armed and riot police and sailors manning weapons posts to keep the base safe, the New Hayesalian carrier arrived with a small army supporting it. Barracuda missile boats and Army attack helicopters escorted the ship through New Hayesalian waters after making the speedy two day transit.

At the base, a convoy of nine Army Kenworth Brute trucks, the biggest in Army service, awaited their loads. Each had a soldier standing through the passenger's hatch with .308 medium machine gun and full CBAS armour load ready for the drive ahead- but that was the last line of defence. Police OH-38 Vanguards maintained levels of surveillance overhead, with SERT sharpshooters sitting either side. The nine trucks would be taken from here to a staging point in Ravini in a convoy of over 80 vehicles, led by red New Hayesalian police interceptors giving way to fully loaded Javelin IFVs, infantry troops from the 2nd Commando Division on edge for a fight. Military Police Pseudonajas also followed the Kenworths- including a number of backup trucks- as well as Combat Engineering Bushmaster PMVs, who would be responsible for loading the steel onto a new truck if one was disabled for whatever reason.

Of course, the NHAF and the Army had set up additional air support as well as forward deploying troops to set roadblocks in key areas. The steel was unloaded at the dock with much scrutiny and intensity- there was a serious need to get this steel out there.

Field Marshal Knight had sent the Vice-Chief of Military, Air Chief Marshal Gordon Hite to oversee the mission at the C2 centre near Ravini. It had grown to a full field base, with soft armour surrounding and tanks in fighting positions. The infantry forces surrounding the base had been dug in for six days now - the crisis having gone on as long. The Zellatian colonel was with Hite, and the General back in the NOCC at Revnami.

RCTRG and BASTION special forces would likely take on this mission, and they had been practicing in a mock-up facility, awaiting the steel. The Colonel would give the company of special forces the brief on how to use the steel when it arrived, with his instructions to be taken extremely seriously.

"Ten minutes out!"

[Zellatia]

The arrival to the base took longer than ten minutes. Partially due to a temporary mishap involving a sharp turn hitting a ditch and flattening one of the tires of the truck carrying it, the truck's entire wheel set had to be changed and replaced, which made the ten minutes extend to twenty, due to the professionalism at hand. Nonetheless, as the group arrived at R2, there was an aura of discomfort and anxiety, the ultimatum of this mission dawning on all involved.

Given that it had taken perhaps a little too long to assembled the pieces of the "Ramp", Lt. General Johl had been worried about how prepared the New Hayesalian special forces would be for what they were going to have to do. It was large, heavy, but at the same time, it was made to be as maneuverable as possible. While normally it wouldn't be a straight line of metal if this base had been built in Zellatia, due to the fact that underground bases in foreign countries tended to be in more rocky and less porous climates, this would be the Weak Spot that the FSP terrorists would be unable to deal with appropriately. That was part of the reason that at this point, now that the metal had been properly set up, it would time for his colonel, Avrov Brams, to explain how the hell the thing was going to be wedged in. Making sure that the last few modifications necessary to properly use the ramp, being the perforations at one of the ends, were prepared, the Lt. General nodded to his second, letting the Colonel do the explanation now that the two of them had arrived with the equipment.

Standing in front of the forces, the Colonel coughed and straightened up, his pigment smudged a bit due to running out of fresh stuff while on the trek over here, what remained of it dry and stuck to his skin like dirt. "Alright, men, here's the deal. This here" he said, smacking against the metal ramp, "Is pure Crystal-Hider Metal that has been modified for our current use. This means that if you break it before we arrive, it'll take a while to replace and I'll be damned if you snap it. For ease of transport, we've also installed protected seating positions so that we have men riding inside of it who are not at risk, as so much, from being shot in the face during transport by snipers. I do not want to see any of you dead before we even arrive, are we clear? Those of you stationed in here will be staying in your spot unless some f*cker manages to throw a grenade inside, in which case you'll get behind the seats. They can take the blast, you can not. No bravery and jumping on the damned thing, okay? If you are sure you have time, sure, toss it, but don't make me count your corpse at the end of today."

While nervous, the Colonel had earned his position as the Johl's second. Breathing out softly as he pointed his baton to the mountain, he continued, "Yes, I will be joining you. While the plan originally was for us to start tomorrow, your commander's commander wants this over today, so we won't be getting help from Zealites. Despite that, however, I know you will be more than up to the task. I will not be your commanding officer in the field unless by horrible chance two of your top men die. However, moving on to the actual business at hand, here's the deal. There will be a truck. It will ram the ramp straight into mountain, as the ramp is currently being mounted on a special platform specific for the task. You will stay in your damned seats until you hear the loud shunk of earth not letting you budge further and the feeling that momentum has made you its butt pony. You will shortly afterward be under fire at the two section in the front. When they stop to reload, that is when you kick down the doors to this thing and give em hell. Those two in front are going to use the doors as shields as you move forward. They have special perforations so that it dissolves slowly under fire, but it won't be a problem unless you stand in the fire for more than a minute. Now, do I make myself clear? Your commanding officers have already been briefed about the likely lay out of this place and I expect you to follow their orders. Any of you die and I will have the immense displeasure of letting your loved ones know myself, so no dying out there. Understood?" he finished, his talking points at an end.

[New Hayesalia]

RAVINI

The BASTION men, from the 6th Division specialising in close-quarters battle like the one upcoming. Donned in heavy, slimline armor and equipment and gas masks with grey urban fatigues, they served a uniform and fearsome fighting force. Their armaments were heavy carbine rifle with reflex sights and some grenade launchers. Some carried shotguns as secondaries weapons, and all of them wore serious faces. Under command by five Lieutenants and a Captain, the fifty BASTION troops were armed to the teeth but unsure if even that was enough.

Numbers didn't tell the full story of the chaos within but they were still grim. While all 202 FSP terrorists had been prosecuted, with 116 killed and 88 taken into captivity in various states of injury in Army ambulances and helicopters, BASTION had taken a heavy beating. Despite overwhelming force against them, they had completed the mission, ending a week long siege. Their losses were 21 killed in action, and 29 wounded. It was a big chunk of the BASTION roster now combat ineffective - the whole of BASTION had only just over 1200 soldiers.

The BASTION troops broke, the officers meeting with senior NCOs before breaking into the 10-man teams for smaller briefs. They had no way of knowing what would come, but they all knew they had to be alert and report what they saw within. Loading into the hider, teams fist bumped and donned helmets, doing final gear checked. One began playing on a cheap music player the team's unofficial song. As the Hider, mounted on a truck driven by an RCTRG trooper, made the short trip to the mountain under security, the cordon force stood to attention. Troops manned battle stations and tank crews buttoned up, gas masks all laid down and ready.

Their vessel, moving at 60kmh to the objective would be dismounted and make the final entry under it's own speed, penetrating the defensive entry and requiring the troops to debus with maximal speed. The nation now trusted them. As the truck arrived, the Hider detatched on the move, truck turning off and Hider taking off.

"Fuck the bottom I belong at the top!" every soldier screamed as the Hider smashed through the rocks, the interior of the vessel rocking and shaking violently as explosions and the sheer force of penetrating the mountain took over. After the slight shock, the troops clicked immediately into gear. The music player was smashed and the troops would have bruises all over their body for days on end.

The FSP troops within the cavern were taken by surprise. Two sharing a cigarette were shocked by the arrival and just out of the way to avoid the shockwave and debris. FSP troops immediately before the entry had been splattered by the Hider, and shocked rear elechon troops stood to as BASTION disembarked. A .50 caliber machine gun of the enemy rang out - killing two BASTION troops instantly before being silenced by a 40mm grenade. No time for sadness or to carry the dead in this operation, so the BASTION men carried on.

The first two teams proceeded to the left and right, where huts containing soldiers and equipment laid out. In the centre, more permanent structures that were obviously C2 centres and important equipment. Three teams now advanced. FSP troops rushed, with machine guns and Kalashnikovs drawn. Most were gunned down by the New Hayesalians accurately, but many were able to fill their place with some landing shots- some fatal- on the BASTION assailants. Fighting was quick, rapidly advancing through the buildings and the 'streets' with fire coming in 360 degrees. Explosions, from the FSP and BASTION, interspersed heavy gunfire bursts.

More and more injuries and fatalities on each side made the ground run with blood. BASTION troops dragged their friends into safer areas, but leaving the dead where they lay. Injured FSP troops were put down, largely, as there was no way of knowing if they had extra armaments. More gunfire, more chaos, more rooms cleared.

With the fighting- intense CQB, with some BASTION troops expending so much ammo they were picking up the weapons of their fallen comrades. The gunfire was stopping but BASTION kept goning, even though every trooper now had bullet holes or cuts along their uniforms and load bearing gear, some leaking blood and some shots stopped by the heavy plates covering their bodies. Coming to some of the final rooms in the rear echelons, an alarm started to sound. FSP troops began throwing down their rifles and pistols and lying down in surrender. BASTION continued, plasticuffing- very forcefully - everyone they saw. The final room was the command room where a single man stood with his hands on his head and a Desert Eagle on the floor. While he had likely wanted to give a speech, a BASTION soldier with blood dribbling down his plate carrier gave him a swift punch in the face, flooring and stunning him. Plasticuffing Monzearth, the BASTION troops now began the final clearances.

AROUND THE NATION
Videos of New Hayesalian flag draped coffins landing in the back of New Hayesalian Air Force cargo aircraft would cover the news for weeks to come, the political outcomes dire also. It was a breaking point. At Parliament, war plans were being developed for operations in 'New Zellatia.' The media was, both fortunately and unfortunately, looking at the tragic loss of 21 incredibly brave New Hayesalians. Conservatives bayed for blood and liberals were stunted for other alternatives.

The result was good, however. 116 FSP lay dead out of 202 with the remainder injured in some way, many critical at a military hospital and many others needing serious treatment. Security was being beefed up at the bases, New Hayesalians enraged by the presence of the FSP protesting outside. They would later be moved to military prisons for intense interrogation. Only one FSP had not been injured requiring hospitalisation - Gair Monzearth, who was now on a highly guarded helicopter flight with a bag over his head and noise cancelling headphones raging, RCTRG troops marking him as the OH-58 Vanguard made the short flight to a maximum security prison south of Theod'jo.

At Ravini, people were coming back into their homes and businesses slowly coming back into gear. Intelligence experts rifled through the mountain with EOD troops ahead of them. There was a lot to garner and sift through, between headcam footage to documents to computers and the technologies used. It would be secured as a military zone until something could be done with it later. Military Police began establishing small cordon positions.

But, at this moment, the people of New Hayesalia could sleep safely knowing rough men had stood ready to do violence on their behalf. They'd signed a check of any amount, up to and including their lives. Tragically, they had paid it. The Zellatian ambassador was summoned to the Prime Minister's office in Revnami at 10 pm. He was to be privy to important news.

[Zellatia]

Revnami, the Prime Minister's Office

Ambassador Falxen had been the man of choice for the New Hayesalian delegation for a long period of time. Replacing the dead Ambassador who had been killed during the apparently "distractionary" attack on the capital a few years back now, he knew the when he was being summoned by the Prime Minister, it was either bad news or very bad news. Unlike much of his brethren, unless it came to the matters of the heart of course, he was much calmer. Despite that, though, he was famous for his relative disdain of when people lied or purposely inconvenienced him, but that was more due to past issues he'd had in other countries rather than any particular slight towards New Hayesalia as a whole. He did not see New Hayesalia as a threat, as many of the Zellatian leadership did. They were allies in the war against terror, slavery, and of ridiculous amounts of imperialism. He had heard of troubling movements overseas, but it didn't matter. What happened in Greater Prussia was not his prerogative, nor did he care to bring it up. chances were that it was a tough sell anyways.

Sitting outside the office of the Prime Minister, he leaned back and waited patiently, knowing that as the Representative of both the Prime Minister of Zellatia and the Emperor himself, he had to be kind and courteous at all times. Sipping tea as he took out his woad dottings repair kit with his other hand, he put down the tea and began to focus on fixing it, as it wouldn't do if he didn't look like the Ambassador that he was supposed to be. Finishing that up, he eyed the door. It was already 10:05 PM, the Prime Minister should be out to meet him soon...

((Sorry for the short post, didn't have much time to work on this))

[New Hayesalia]

PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE

The door to the Prime Minister's office had been deliberately designed to be imposing and attention-grabbing. The deep brown, red bloodwood door sat taller than most men and contrasted with the white and light brown colours of the Office Waiting Room. The Ambassador was waiting outside as Prime Minister Bolt and his senior Ministers discussed the response to the Ravini Incident. The "Chief's Cabinet" consisted a small, core group of the Cabinet- the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs and Defence (Meinke, Wildt and Kunst); Attorney-General Adrian Paula; Treasurer Cleveland Marse; Deputy PM Nelson Stabler and of course the PM, Bolt. These were the group of people convened to discuss major policy changes, serving as the core think tank of the Conservative party's government.

The group had been discussing the issue of the incident for the last few hours, broken only for the Prime Minister and Minister of Defence to attend a short press conference. The first coffins were headed to funeral homes in northern Piltomana. The bodies of slain soldiers would be brought together to Hewwise Army Barracks, home of the BASTION special forces unit, before making their solemn ways to hometowns across the nation. The flag over Building 1, the Parliament Complex, flew at half mast. The lights that usually illuminated Revnami at night in it's fantastic rainbow colours were dimmed. Only the yellow-white lights of the city and the red beacons atop structures kept the city awake.

As the Ambassador saw to his tribal face paint, the meeting inside had ended. The six members of the Cabinet departed, and the Prime Minister's secretary informed the Ambassador that he may enter.

Inside, the Prime Minister's office awaited the Ambassador's arrival. A single chair sat in front of the Prime Minister's desk, the lamp behind effectively spotlighting any who sat in it.

The Prime Minister was tired, obviously so. He wore only the white business shirt of the day, having done away with the tie and jacket hours before. He merely gestured to the Ambassador to take a seat, pushing out his wheeled chair and pulling a part of the wall to the side, opening a small fridge. Within, he took two Hayesalian brews, a local pale ale. Twisting the caps off each, he handed one silently to the Ambassador.

"The Zellatian officers will be receiving medals." he began, after taking a sip. "National emergency and distinguished leadership. They did a good job. Particularly with the chaos in that damn port."

The Prime Minister turned, looking out to the city of Revnami across Lake Neike. It was plain, with only the logos of building owners providing colour to the large city scape, reflecting on the calm waters of Neike.

"Looks dead at nights like this. There's a reason we don't put the flags to half mast often. Even less so, do we ask the cities to dim the lights. You can imagine what the Ravini Incident means, then. We've had to dim the lights too many times this year."

He turned back to address the Ambassador.

"I wanted to run New Hayesalia with a frame of peace. It appears the chaos of the civil war has hit us again. And you know what, Mel, I am beyond sick of it. We've tried policies. Dozens of them, all directed to calming New Hayesalians in this nation and delivering aid to Zellatia. But still, we are attacked in these crazy ways. It's helped that we've calmed the tensions around New Hayesalia, very much so in fact. But Fruria is the source, not Zellatia and not in New Hayesalia."

"The fact is, we never wanted Fruria. We only had it because we feared that if we didn't, particular parties would use it in a chaotic way. Unfortunately in our attempts to turn the FSP into a more moderate group, and have elements of control over them, we only gave them a staging base. Melrose, we want that land to be the sovereign territory of Zellatia. As you can imagine, we both benefit from that regard."

"I know you've heard rumblings of something, your intelligence capabilities aren't too bad. I want Zellatian forces on the ground, leading the charge in Fruria."

The Prime Minister handed over a document, marked for the Zellatian ambassador.

"If Zellatia leads this, you can be assured that the NH Military will meet your logistical needs and provide a massive amount of combat support. We want to end the terror attacks in New Hayesalia and Zellatia."

The two sat in the room, wrapping up the discussions about the future operations in Fruria and sharing conversation, in a way of reprieve after the nightmare day, looking out over the saddened city of Revnami.

New Hayesalia would rise.

---

The End

---

It has been an absolute pleasure to have been involved in this massive RP. It is a way of tracking the development of the canon of two nations, and has been an amazing exercise. Three years, almost, this has been in the making and each of our lives have changed in massive ways during it all. So, it is quite impressive that we still have been committed. Let us begin the next chapter of this amazing story, Zell.

The Next Chapter

CRACKDOWN: After the War
November 19, 2012 - September 12, 2015

The Zellatian-New Hayesalian Series
Chap 1: The 1st Civil War
Chap 2: The Garrisson Agreement
Chap 3: Paradise Found
Chap 4: Paradise Extended
Chap 5: Insurrection
Chap 6: The Great Emigration
Chap 7: Crackdown: After the War
Chap 8: Vacancy