Exercise "JUST SHIELD" [Nordlanda Pact ONLY]

[Scocialist Provinces]

OoC: Still, plastic does reflect, and shows up on the IR camera. But what I did ask, was did you RP the detonation with my tanks over/nearby?

[Prizyetsa]

OOC Nearby. If I understood correctly, you have 3 tanks. The mines are hidden IED style on the side of the road. If I detonate while the 2nd tank is inbetween the mines, it should do substantial damage...

[Scocialist Provinces]

OoC: lol, the MBT is in the middle, and would take the least damadge. Can you RP a response to my attack?

[Prizyetsa]

"Damn they're persistent!" a major yelled over the gunfire. Most of the National Guardsmen had taken cover behind the concrete roadblocks which made up 'sister', the least defended checkpoint on the way to the research center. The Administratii soldiers which had also been assigned to the checkpoint had dissapeared. "Where the hell are the spooks?" one of the soldier yelled. All of a sudden there were two loud explosions near the tanks. The blasts were so strong that the cuncussion hit the troops through the concrete road blocks they were hiding behind. "What the hell?" the Landa Gårda captain yelled, picking himself up from the ground. All of a sudden, rocket propelled grenades streaked through the air coming from the forrest on both sides. There was a series of thumps, and the LG troops got up and opened fire on the surviving men around the tanks...

[Scocialist Provinces]

OoC: WAIT WAIT WAIT! did you just tell me my own casualties!?!

[Prizyetsa]

OOC nope. I left it vague for you

[Scocialist Provinces]

OoC: Since we are using non lethal weaponry, I'll say the explosion is a flash instaid, and that when within 'lethal' radius, your weapons are disabled, and you are forced to leave.

iC: Flame chuckled as the four men next to him stood up and walked back, hands in the air. They were 'dead', but not really. The BMD on the far left was out aswell. When he looked to see who was left, Shore laughed uncontrolably. Only the actual good men were left. The Kauvarain snipers hopefully pegged at least half the men on sister, the CDSP men hopefully took out the rest. The target looked clear, but never one to leave things to fate, Shore radio'd the UAVs. "Sky eyes! Requesting missle hit on these targets!" He asked while loading tracer clips into his XM8. Shore shot along four areas lining sister. After they hit, the remaining men moved forward up the hill.

The Helicopters encircled mother from great distance. "Gunner! EMP Brother!" The co-pilot instructed whilst pointing at the ridge. bullets arked through the air towards Brother at full speed. "We're, uh, getting a transmision from our ground forces!" The pilot from helicopter 2 pondered whilst listening in:

"Lima-Wun-Six! Come in!"

"Loud and clear, Whisky-Wun. Over." The co-pilot responded

"Objective Sister apears to be taken! We are not sure on what's left, but hopefully not much. We've lost, uh, 4 men and a BMD! Over!"

"Rodger that, Brother has currently been Miffed (EMP'd), we are ready for you. Out" The Pilot finished.

As the transmissions ended, the two Hueys hovered two meters above the ground, and the ten men inside jumped out. They moved along to a stone wall. Pulling out sharpshooter and sniper rifles, they began to supress enemy targets. So far it seemed no-one had noticed them. A few meters behind them, the helicopters took off. "We're suppost to survey the road frome here to Sister for mines and ambushes. Gunners, Lima-Too-Six, shoot any mines or hostiles.

OoC: I felt the need to add a visual refrence on what the troops have been doing (sorry for taking up space D:)

Ground forces shooting at Sister


Helicopters dropping off recon.

[Kauvara]

NEAR THE CDSP POSITIONS
RENNESOY ISLAND, PRIZYETSA
18:54 HOURS

Mid-Level Operator Sydney Dunn lay prone on her stomach. The setting sun was right behind her, leaving her invisible to anybody who looked her direction. She pulled the trigger. "Target down," she whispered. She cycled the bolt on her rifle. Her spotter whispered to her. "Target sighted. Type: AT gunner. Range: 103 meters. Direction: north-northwest. Along the ridgeline. Wind: 3 knots from the west." A dot appeared on her eyepiece indicating the position. She brought her crosshairs over it. "Firing." She squeezed the trigger. The Prizyetsi AT gunner seized up, his simulation suit knocking him down, indicating he was "dead."

Dunn draws a bead on her target.

"New target. Type: AT gunner. Range: 132 meters. Direction: north-northwest. Same ridgeline. Wind: 3.8 knots from the west," the spotter whispered. Again, Dunn's eyepiece dotted, indicating where the target was. "Firing." She squeezed the trigger again, "killing" another AT gunner. "This is too easy..." she thought to herself.

"Opportunity sighted. Type: LMG gunner. Range: 94 meters. Direction: northwest. Left checkpoint building. Wind: 4.2 knots from the northwest," the spotter whispered again. The dot on Dunn's eyepiece appeared. She tracked over it with her eyepiece, and pulled the trigger. The "round" pierced through the wall, knocking the Prizyetsi soldier off his feet, "neutralizing" him. "Why aren't they putting up more of a fight...? It's like they're trying to draw the CDSPian troops in..." Dunn thought to herself.

"Ma'am, several new targets! More AT gunners! Along the ridgeline! Ranges: 97-113 meters out! They just appea-!" he was cut off as they opened fire, several rockets striking the CDSPian tanks. "Dammit," Dunn thought. "I knew it. They were trying to draw the CDSPian tanks in the whole time... Well, too late now. Gotta roll with the punches."

Dunn got on her radio."Motherfox, this is FoxEye Actual. CDSP is advancing beyond our range. They just got ambushed by AT gunners. We are relocating to cover them more effectively. FoxEye 2-1, and 2-4 are shifting position. FoxEye 2-2, 2-3, and 2-5 will maintain cover. FoxEye Actual, out." The teams advanced.


UNKNOWN LOCATION
RENNESOY ISLAND, PRIZYETSA
18:55 HOURS

The sun was setting as Gavenson made his way through the trees. Orange streaks were being cast, silhouetted against the dark trunks and branches. A light rain was beginning to fall. "Gonna be a cold, wet night," Gavenson thought to himself as he made his way forward.

Gavenson moves towards the unidentified hostiles.

"Xiàng qián!"

"What in the name of the Fox...?" Gavenson muttered, advancing towards the source of the mysterious voice.

"Quèbǎo zhè fāngmiàn de ānquán!"

"That's Mandarin..." he thought. "What the hell are the Chinese doing here..?" Gavenson could not speak Mandarin, but he knew that the Chinese were not supposed to be on Rennesoy. He also knew that he could not take them alone. He was about to get up when a hand grabbed his shoulder. He spun around and was about to punch, when a pair of familiar ice-blue eyes under strawberry blonde hair looked into him. He stopped. "Welkom op het feest, Ilanii," he said in Prizyet. "Donec non ipsum," she replied in Kauvaran.

Gavenson leaned forward to embrace her. She discretely dodged left, revealing Administratii Team 5 behind her. Gavenson quickly retracted back, pretending like nothing happened. Ilanii discretely rolled her eyes at him, smiling. "Sounds like you seem to know more than I do, Ms. Illanson," Gavenson officially stated, his voice wavering slightly with embarrassment. "Indeed we do," she answered. She proceeded to fill him in.

"By the Wolf..." Gavenson muttered. "So our orders are to only bring back one alive?"
"That's right, Mat-" Illanson caught herself. "Gavenson. We will do our duty. Are you prepared to do yours?"
"Of course I am. I'd just rather we didn't have to kill them all. But I am prepared, and will help your team out.
"Alright then. Good to hear." She raised her hand and motioned it forward. The Administratii team moved towards the Chinese forces. After the troops passed, Ilanii took Gavenson's hand, pulling him into a hug. "I missed you, Matt," she whispered. She kissed him on the cheek, then quickly moved up to catch the team, winking back at Gavenson. Gavenson tripped slightly in his attempt to keep up, his mind in a million good places at once, but he was soon moving with them, just like back when they were within the ruins of Trayban in Aldard.


VOSONJE AIRBASE
VOSONJE, PRIZYETSA
19:08 HOURS

The radio in the Kauvaran bunkhouse softly played music as the sun cast orange shadows through the blinds.

All the people say
'What a lovely day
Yeah we won the war
May have lost a million men but we got a million more...'

Commander Donius "Blade" Ajax of the 8492nd Squadron, Imperial Kauvaran Air Corps, sat back in his chair with his other squadron-mates, listening to the radio. It was empty save the four pilots. They had received orders to be ready for take-off within minutes. Apparently something was going on in the waters around Rennesoy, and they had to be ready to support the Prizyetsi Navy. The KF-11s were fueled up and ready, armed with Ingar missiles provided by the Prizyetsi military. "Anti-ship missiles," Ajax thought to himself. "Haven't worked with these since the Darksnow War."

Ltcdr. Tulin "Senator" Cicero walked up to him. "Sir, do you have any idea what's going on? Last I checked, getting assigned to Prizyetsa was an easy gig. Sit back in Vosonje, maybe bring one of the famous Prizyetsi girls back. Hell, they love us flyboys. Apparently we're rare around here," he said, laughing. "I know, right? They are drop dead gorgeous. I had one the other night. Not bad..." Ltcdr. Gaia "Earthgirl" Bonia interjected. "Damn, Bonia, you always steal the girls from us boys..." Ltcdr. Julius "Havoc" Rapax lamented. "Maybe it's my feminine intuition," she responded, winking.

Ajax began to speak. "Alright, alright, enough banter, kids. Listen up. Apparently a Chinese ship was spotted near the Rennesoy operations. We don't know why they're there, but we're gonna be on standby anyway just in case. The Prizyetsi want the Angels of the Fox watching their backs, and we'll be happy to oblige. In the meantime, I want you folks on high alert. Be ready to mount up and get airborne within 120 seconds of receiving the call. Your planes are all set to go, equipped with a standard anti-ship offensive package: one Ingar LASM, two rocket pods, and two Sidewinder JDAMs. It shouldn't take anymore than a couple of LASMs to sink that ship, but I want us all to release our payloads to ensure total destruction if we are ordered to do so."

"Standard operating procedure, sir?" Bonia asked. "That's affirmative, milady. We're under strict orders from the Prizyesti military, specifically a Cpt. Daland. We do NOT fire unless given specific orders to do so my him. We're engaging over Prizyetsi waters, so we're gonna play by Prizyetsi rules. I want all of you on station at all times." Ajax began to walk out. "Where're you going, sir?" Rapax asked. "For a walk," Ajax responded, smiling.

Ajax's plane sits between Rapax's and Cicero's on the tarmac.

Ajax stepped out of the bunker. Before him lay the Vosonje tarmac. The sun was setting. The long airstrips were coated in an orange glow. The air was warm. A rarity in the Prizyetsi winter. The vast plains of asphalt and paint were empty, save for a lone fuel truck driving in the distance. Another rarity. If Ajax didn't know any better, he'd say the base wasn't even on full alert. "No," he reminded himself. "Those Prizyetsi aircrew are just damned good at their jobs. Our planes are already prepared."

On that thought, he walked over to where his KF-11 was parked. It had been removed
from its hangar so it could be airborne faster. All he had to do was climb in, do a few preflight checks, and step on it. He walked alongside it, putting his hand to the fuselage.
It was warm to the touch, the twilight sun bathing it in its balmy light. He moved to the
front. There was a woman painted on the nose, with the name "Karen" under it. "Don't worry, little one. I'll be home soon," he whispered.

He reached up to the wing, jumping up and climbing atop it. He sat, his legs danging down. He reached into the chest pocket of his flightsuit, pulling out a photo. On it was himself, wearing his blue IKAC dress uniform. In his arms was a woman. The name
"Karen" was signed on to it. Between them was a little girl, with "Cindy" and "I luv you daddy!" poorly written in broken Kauvaran. "Dammit," Ajax thought. "This is what I hate about war. I have a family that I sure as hell won't be separated from. But so do those boys
and girls on that Chinese boat..." He sighed, pocketing the photograph. He looked to the sunset. It had dipped halfway below the horizon, soon to disappear completely.


OOC: I know, I know, the Mandarin and Dutch is probably wrong XD I just thought I'd up the realism by including it

[Scocialist Provinces]

TOM CLANCY: FUTURE SOLIDER!!!

I F**KING LOVE THAT GAME

[Kauvara]

OOC: Haha yep, for now, anyway. Like I said, my military may be small, but we're top-of-the line, basically as advanced as possible without going past the MT rules established for our region. A lot of experimental, advanced tech that is currently in use around the globe. For example, the eyepiece is basically an upgraded, militarized version of the civilian Liteye-750A HMD monocular. We stay small, but very advanced. It also ensures only the best of the best get into our military (hell, we only have two naval fleets and no coast guard because our standards for being a sailor are so high, and each major ship requires at least a thousand people to crew). We don't increase the size of our military unless it can still have all of the advanced tech it requires in order to remain in its position of being the most technologically-advanced in the Darklands. We need to do this while still maintaining a force large enough to defend ourselves. See, kids? There are perks to having a small amount of land that doesn't require a huge navy to defend ;P

[Prizyetsa]

Jazjeny Air Guard Station, 19:01
Major Inson sat in his office watching one of the football matches in the Prizyetsa Cup. Having been raised in Mormosk, he naturally supported their team. The score was 2:3 in favour of FK Predanja, the rival team. Right as Mormosk broke through the defenses and was about to shoot, the phone rang. "Fæn..." he cursed under his breath. "Major Inson, 216th Air Guard Squadron... Yes sir. Okay, I-... Yes... Yessir!" he hung up the phone, grabbed his jacket and ran out into the massive hangar which normally housed his squad's own aircraft, but instead of the dark blue MiG 29Ks, there were 4 KF-11s belonging to the Kauvaran air force. "Jashan! Get 8 "Svelge" missiles and 8 "Injä"s out here, along with fuel trucks. These aircraft are taking off." The young conscript looked at Inson for a moment. "Sir, you mean live ammunition?" The major understood his concern. "Yes son, live ammunition, now get to it! I want these missiles and fuel loaded before the sun goes down!"

Rennesøy Proving Grounds, 20:29
It was Ilanii's turn to take watch. She sat in her spiderwhole with a small parascope with night vision, so she could see in the pitch black night. She had also set up pressure sensors around her position, so even if she couldn't see anything, she'd know they were there. She faught to hold back a yawn, but it overpowered her and she let it out, silently. All of a sudden, a preasure sensor went off, and she slowly turned to fact that direction. She could barely see a figure walking towards her, alone. She sent the message to all the other spiderwholes scatered around the small area, and they all sent ther 'green light' signals, they knew what they had to do. The excersise had been temporarily suspended due to the intrusions on the island, and all men were to stay put, except for the Administratii teams. Ilanii slowly pulled out her blade, and held it in her left hand. When the figure had stepped next to her hole, she shot up, knife in hand, smacking the figures coms device off his head, and throwing him to the ground. As soon as the figure hit the ground, she got behind him, put her arms around his neck and pulled the tip of the blade towards her. She felt him resist, but she just faught harder, not making a sound. Finally, she felt the blade touch the skin of his neck, and she made it go in with a strong tug. Imediatly after, the man tried to scream for help, so Ilanii twisted the knife with an agressive tug, which silenced him. She had killed the soldier. She gently layed him down on the ground, and started removing all of his electronic devices, which she knew had the potential to be tracked. She grabbed his weapon, slung it over her shoulder, and the n dragged the body to a larger hole, where the Kauvarans were sleeping. She silently carried him down the ladder, and put him on a table. She woke Gavenson, and told him she needed help with something. They went over to the table and looked at the body. "I found him creeping around outside. His electronics are all out there, but we are goign to leave them there. My other men are watching for more." Gavenson couldn't believe his eyes. He knew Ilani was elite special forces, but that she could do this to a man and act normally afterwards astonished him. Ilanii cought Gavenson staring at the soldiers neck, which had been torn apart by her blade, and she snapped her fingers. "Yes, I had to slit his throat. We were assigned non-lethal weapons, remember?" Gavenson nodded. "This is an asian male, not wearing one of our uniforms, is he one of yours?" "No, he's not ours." he replied. Ilanii went strait for the shoulder, and saw the flag patch. "China... I'll have to call this in..."

[Scocialist Provinces]

Shore realized that the exersise was being put on hold when he got a message telling him to stop all actions. F**k. He thought to himself. He also noticed that everyone was huddling around the tanks, smoking and talking, Shore seized the oppertunity to see what's wrong. As he ran down the road he saw the other group of men and the two Hueys sitting idle. Shore ran down the road, not sure where he had to go. Shore's face was sweaty, and he swore to the north star his face paint was coming off.

Hueys with Brother in the background

As Shore ran further, he heard Mandarin. Under training for the SPSO, he learned many foreign languages. "What in hell--" Shore thought outloud. He slowly walked off the road, into the ditch. Shore looked around, nothing. He then heard a talking again, a loud grunt, and a flash of light. He rushed up to a pine tree and peered through the branches.
"What the hell are they doing here?!?" He whispered.

[Kauvara]

OOC: Sorry, I've just been getting a crazy urge to write, so I gotta do this. Don't worry, it has nothing to do with the conflict. Just a little character RPing.

IC:


UNKNOWN LOCATION
RENNESOY TRAINING GROUNDS
22:12 HOURS

Gavenson was sitting in his foxhole. A light rain was falling. The night was dark, the clouds obscuring the moonlight. A few shafts managed to pierce the rain and trees, creating a few streaks of white in the woods. Ilanii was next to him, sleeping. She was restless, shifting about. "Alek..." she whispered. Gavenson put his hand on her shoulder. She bolted awake, grabbing his arm, ready to break it before Gavenson caught her. "Ilanii!" he whispered. "It's me. It's Matt." Ilanii relaxed.

"Aldard again?" Gavenson asked, concern in his voice. Ilanii nodded. She was tough. Hell, she was probably even tougher than Gavenson. But she was human. A tear formed in her eye. The stress of everything was adding up. Ever since Aldard, neither of them had gotten the chance to relax. They were called to war constantly. The only time they ever felt peaceful was when they were in each others arms. Gavenson put his arm around her, and she leaned into him. "Dammit, Matt..." she whispered through tears. "I know, Lani... I know..." he whispered back. Ilanii buried her head in his chest.

Gavenson looked to his hip holster. In it was Marcus Kazden's revolver. A tear formed in his eye, as well. He had lost friends in Aldard, too. Good ones. "Why...? What is it all for...? What purpose does it serve...?" he thought to himself. "Dammit, Marcus..." he whispered. He gripped Ilanii closer. She had finally stopped crying, her body restfully falling to sleep in Gavenson's arms. He laid her down softly, then stepped out of the foxhole for his shift at watch.

War had taken a lot from both Gavenson and Ilanii. Faces flashed through his mind. General Marcus T. Kazden, the former commander of IV Legion "Contego." Gavenson could smell the damp woods. Private Astudilus and Sergeant Ka'barr, soldiers of the ill-fated 13th Light Infantry. His eyepiece observed a few creatures scuttling for cover. Corporal Temlonsen, under Kazden's personal guard, and Private Fyrst, the kid who lied about his age only to be killed by a booby-trapped civilian body. He turned up the sensitivity of the eyepiece in order to detect things in the growing darkness. Lt. Rygen, and the widow Kathryn he left behind. He stifled back tears. Ltcdr. Yohansen, the Prizyetsi immigrant in the IKAC who was shot down by Soviet AA in support of his beloved homeland's navy. One of the Administratii soldiers tapped Gavenson's shoulder, taking his watch.

Gavenson walked back to the foxhole. He looked at Ilanii. She was the closest thing he had to... anything. His father was a pilot who died during the War of Unification. His mother soon followed, overcome by grief. He had nobody. "No," he thought. He gently pulled Ilanii deeper into the hole, sheltering her from the cold world outside. He looked to her again, watching as she slept peacefully, a weapon not clutched in her hand for the first time since before Gavenson could remember. He slid up next to her, his shift over. "Not anymore."

The rain continued to fall, the clouds finally obscuring the shafts of light, drenching Rennesoy in pitch darkness.

[Prizyetsa]

'Salama' Squad, Rennesøy tunnel exit, 02:09

Two black Naval Infantry Iveco LMVs pulled to the side of the road just outside the tunnel, which connected the island of Rennesøy to the mainland. The engine stayed on idle, but the headlights of both vehicules went out, and the doors opened. In total, eight men stepped out of the vehicles, all but one armed with PAR-21 assault rifles. The last was armed with a MR-3, and a PSMG-20. The biggest difference was that these men's weapons were all without the blank fire adapters that the other soldiers on the island were using, and all weapons were supressed. The iron sights had been collapsed and heat sensing sights were installed instead. The men gathered around their leader, a tall young man with a dark grey uniform, covered with the body armor of the special forces units of the Prizyetsi military. The yhad been briefed on the way to the island, so like shaddows, they dissapeared into the night. The drivers of the 2 vehicles closed the doors, and drove back into the tnnel, off the island.

[Scocialist Provinces]

"I knew this would come in handy..." Shore muttered as he loaded his XM8 with a lethal clip. He aimed at the group, while drawing two 12 inch blades from his holisters. He watched and followed as they moved. He wasn't clear on whether or not he should have killed them, but he followed until he was sure he could.

Shore began to remember moments of the Greater Kanthan war, flashes of walking over piles of dead bodies, half of them his own kin. It was a massacre on both sides. He felt the cold mashy ground as he walked, barely a few meters behind the chinese soldiers, his mind drifted off into thought...

"Shore! Duck!"
WHAM! A tank shell hit the building beside him. Rubble came crashing down above Shore, who dove away at the last second.
"Ah, sh**. Scraped my legs..." Shore complained.
"Hey! Trooper! Shut up and shoot!" His seargent, Bucanen, shouted at him.
"Alright, alright." Shore muttered in frustration.
Shooting two GK soldiers before running to different cover. As he did this, the DSPian next to Shore's head came right off as a sniper shot rang through the air.



Suddenly, Shore faded back into reality as he stumbled on a root, making quite a ruckus. "Oh shi--!"

[Prizyetsa]

Ilanii held Alek's hand as tight as her little hands could. "Alek, I'm cold..." she complained. All around them, the snow slowly danced down from the heavens, and covered the earth around them in a thin blanket. The path they took home was illuminated only by the street lights that lined the roads, and Ilanii and Alek left two trails of foot prints as they walked. "We're almost home Ili." he replied. "Just around the bend." he said, picking her up and carrying her.

Alek sat in the fourth row, almost in the middle of the crowd. It was her graduation from the academy. Ilanii was only 18, but she had finished her 3 year officer's training, and was graduating as a lieutenant in the Naval Infantry. Alek was proud of her. Just 3 years before, she had sat in the very seat he sat in now. Afterwards, he hugged her and whispered, "I'm proud of you Ili, my little sister!"

Alek had come back to the dorm with a somber look on his face. Ilanii walked over to him and asked what was wrong. He sat down at the table and looked at Ilanii. "I'm being deployed as a commanding officer." Ilanii couldn't believe it, Alek was all she had apart from her own squad. "Wh... What?" she looked at him, terrified. He stood up and hugged her for what seemed like an eternity. "I am going to be the commanding officer on a humanitarian mission..." he repeated. Ilanii had cried for two days after that.

Ilanii signed up as soon as she got over the fact that her brother was being deployed. Waiting for her was a man in a dark-grey uniform with a single blue stripe around his cuffs. He was an Administratii officer, a Captain. Are you ms. Ilanii Ilanson?" he asked, holding a black folder. Ilanii nodded. "Are you interested in a... higher position?" Ilanii was interested.

They was some of the hardest months of her life. The training the Administratii had put her through was intense. By the end, she was the kind of person that Alek would be proud of....

Aldard was a mess. Armies fighting over money and the local civilians caught in the middle. She felt she had a purpose, something she had to do there. To her, it seemed like a just war...

Ilanii woke up on a ship. In the bed next to hers was a squad member of hers, Låni. Ilanii gathered the strength to get out of the bed, but every step she took shot pains through her hole body. She reache Låni's bed and held her hand. Låni's reaction was weak, at best. She turned to Ilanii and whispered, "Me'ija skal ser du i drømen m'n...". "I'll see you in my dreams..." and her hand went limp. Nurses rushed into the ward, and ushered Ilanii back to her bed. That was the last time Ilanii heard Låni's voice...

Ilanii sat in her room, crying the whole trip back to Prizyetsa. She couldn't believe she had lost the thing she held most dearly in life, Alek. She kept seeing the vision of Alek the last time in the battle space command center. "It'll be alright! I'll see you at the docks when we are finished here!" Ilanii had hugged her brother and started to walk towards the exit. "Ilanii!" he yelled. "I just want you to know that whatever happens, I'm proud of you. I'm sure mama would have been proud of you too..." Ilanii stared at him. "Good bye Ilanii." Those were the last words he told her. Only later did she understand what he had meant...

Ilanii shot awake. "Where-..." She realized that she was in a foxhole, with Gavenson. He was asleep...

OOC Three cheers for character info while waiting for China!

[Kauvara]

RENNESOY TRAINING GROUNDS
RENNESOY ISLAND, PRIZYETSA
03:01 HOURS

Ilanii awoke with a start. "Where-...?" she gasped. She looked over to her left. Gavenson was sleeping next to her. She sighed, then laid back down, carefully taking Gavenson's arm and putting it around herself as she nestled into him. As her eyes began to close, she heard a faint noise. A twig broke. She shot awake, as did Gavenson. "They're here," she whispered.
"I know," Gavenson whispered back. "Do you have a weapon I could use?"
"Yeah," she replied. "I pinched this pistol off of one of those Chinese soldiers." She handed Gavenson a Chinese pistol, as she checked the clip on the rifle she collected from the same soldier.
Gavenson checked the poor ironsights of the pistol. "By the Fox, if they give these to their special forces, what do the regulars get...? Rocks?"
Ilanii laughed silently, shouldering the rifle. "Want to call this one in, Matt?"
"Sure," Gavenson replied. He raised his arm, activating his wrist-mounted computer. It blipped on, shining with a light blue light. He used the foxhole to shield the light, and tapped a few buttons, alerting the Nordlanda Pact nations of what was happening, then shut it off. "Done. Now, shall we dance, milady?" he asked, extending his hand.
"It would be my pleasure," Ilanii answered, smiling, as she took his hand. They stepped out of the foxhole.


VOSONJE AIRBASE
VOSONJE, PRIZYETSA
03:02 HOURS

Commander Donius "Blade" Ajax sat on the wing of his KF-11, watching the stars. His brother was up there, part of some new, top-secret KOSO project. Ajax wondered if he was watching this all unfold right now. He also wondered if Karen and Cindy were watching the same stars from the hill behind their house in Bonsa. "I'll be home soon, little ones..." he whispered to nobody in particular. The hum of an alarm suddenly broke him from his revery. Prizyetsi engineers and support crew ran out of the buildings, filling the previously-empty tarmac with activity. Bonia, Scipio, and Rapax were running towards him and their planes. "What the hell is going on?" Ajax yelled.
"We got the call! Chinese spec ops were spotted on the island!" Scipio yelled back. "We're to go to full-alert and be ready to sink that battleship! The island doesn't have any heavy defenses that can take it down, so we need to be ready in case it tries something!"
"Ah, Wolf," Bonia yelled, climbing into the cockpit of her KF-11. "I was just about to finish smooth-talking this fine little filly when those Chinese boys decided they wanted to play! Let's just get this over with!"

The canopies sealed shut over the four pilots, and they began taxiing into position. Ajax got on his radio. "This is Sabre Flight, 8492nd Squadron, requesting permission for take-off."
"This is Vosonje ATC, you are cleared. Lykke til, Sabres."
"Aliquam, V-ATC," Ajax replied.

The engines of the KF-11s primed, bursting to life with a deafening roar. They lurched forward, accelerating to lift-off speed. Soon they were airborne, their sleek forms disappearing into the night as they headed north towards Rennesoy Island.


RENNESOY TRAINING GROUNDS
RENNESOY ISLAND, PRIZYETSA
03:03 HOURS

Gavenson and Ilanii slowly stepped out of the foxhole. "Let the waltz begin," Gavenson whispered, winking. Ilanii smiled, and the two split up, moving to flank the Chinese group. Ilanii made her way through the pitch black trees, her eyes adjusted to the darkness, as Gavenson crawled through some high grass.

"Qiánjìn! Tāmen zài zhèlǐ!" a voice called out. "Shāle tāmen! Dànshì lǐngdǎo rén hái huózhe!"
"Shì de, xiānshēng! Lìjí shēng-!" Gavenson grabbed the feet of one of the soldiers, quickly pulling him down into the grass, silently slicing his neck.
"Guǎng? Nǐ zài ma? Nǐ zài-? another voice was cut off as Ilanii grabbed the head of another operative, pulled him into the trees, and severed his spinal chord.
"Nà biān! Yùndòng!" the original voice called out. The Chinese soldiers began moving towards Ilanii's position. "Faen...!" she cursed under her breath.

Gavenson looked, seeing the soldiers moving towards Ilanii. Images flashed through his mind. Fighting through Trayban together during Aldardan Freedom. Sneaking into the Prizyetsi embassy to see her. Meeting her in Dover during the Darksnow War. Watching over her during the night just a few minutes before.

Her telling him duty comes first.

And a little glass bottle with a note inside.

Gavenson drew his pistol, and fired an unsilenced shot into one of the Chinese soldiers, his temple exploding outward as the bullet found its mark. The soldiers all turned towards Gavenson and dove for cover. As Gavenson slid into cover of his own, he yelled out one word before the shooting started: "Lopen!"

As the Chinese soldiers began to close in on Gavenson, he pulled Kazden's Revolver from its holster. "Well, Marcus... Looks like I'm about to join you..." He was about to begin firing, when suddenly two of the Chinese soldiers fell to the ground, blood pouring from their chests. "Boo-yah!" came a loud cry. A soldier in a DSPSO uniform, carrying an XM8, dove behind the cover with Gavenson. "Who the hell are you?!?" Gavenson yelled.
"Private Max Shore, DSPian Special Operations! I overheard some Mandarin! Looks like I arrived just in time!" the soldier called out, handing Gavenson a DSPian pistol. "You might want to use that one! A little more advanced than that Chinese crap!"
Gavenson was taken aback. This Shore seemed right at home in war. It was almost contagious. Gavenson felt... hopeful. "Thanks, Shore! One sec! I'm calling for back-up! Cover me!" Gavenson yelled, opening up his WMC again. He typed in a few keys. "This is Matthias Gavenson of the IKSF! We need support! I am pinned down alongside Operator Shore of the DSPSO by Chinese special forces! Any unit, we need assistance, over!"
"Roger that, Gavenson, this is Salama Squad. We are moving to assist, over."
"Confirmed, Salama! Thanks for the assist! Out!" Gavenson turned off his WMC. "Help is on the way, Shore! We just gotta hold out a little longer!"
"Sounds good!" Shore yelled back. "I've been spoiling for a real fight ever since this playdate began!"
Gavenson smiled, and the two began returning some of the Chinese fire.


SKIES OVER THE NAVAL STAND-OFF
WATERS OFF RENNESOY ISLAND, PRIZYETSA
03:05 HOURS

Ajax and the rest of Sabre Flight streaked over the water. They were approaching a ship, its lights like jewels in the dark, murky sea. "There's Cpt. Daland's ship," Ajax said into his radio. "We're to maintain CAP over it until given other orders, understood? Do NOT engage unless given strict orders by Cpt. Daland himself!"

Ajax switched channels. "Attention Cpt. Daland, this is Cdr. Donius Ajax of Sabre Flight, 8492nd Squadron. We stand ready to support you in any capacity necessary, and are on-station, under your strict command. Also, as an advisement in case you had not already heard: Chinese special forces have been spotted on the island, and are currently engaging Kauvaran, Prizyetsi, and CDSPian soldiers with lethal force."

[Prizyetsa]

Rennesøy Island

Stefan ran through the forrest, towards the yelling and shouting ahead. "Safeties off" he told his squad. Up ahead, he heard someone yell in lower-Prizyetsi, "Run!" Stefan himself stitched the safety off his PAR-21 and prepared for the fire-fight ahead...

[Scocialist Provinces]

"EAT SHIT!" Shore blurted as he shot a chinese solider in the side of his head. The blood spraying everywhere caused one trooper to throw up, then run. Shooting two more, he threw his XM8 to the ground, and lunged a solider, stabbing him in the chest. "Dog tag!" Shore chuckled as he ripped the solider's metal dog tag from the body. There were two more, and the effects of ambush had worn off. The first treid to shoot, but a quick punch to the chest winded an temporarily incapacitated the chinese solider. Turning to the second, stronger, solider, shore rushed. The tough one swung a dirty, rusty blade at shore, cutting his shoulder. "Dirty mother f**ker!" Shore mumbled as he tackled and slit the soldier's throaght. One problem, the one that Shore had winded earlier was back up and angry.

"YEEEARGH!!!" the chinese spec op screamed as he sprinted at shore, who was kneeling.

"Oh SHI-"

BANG!

[Prizyetsa]

Captain Daland read over the report a second time and paused. "Hail the ship." he told his communications officer. The coms officer replied "yessir" with a crisp salute and went to his station.

"This is the Prizyetsi Military ship Lilanda, hailing the Everlasting Fire, come in. You have 5 minutes to respond to this broadcast, otherwise we will be forced to engage you. If your generators are out, as you have said, your weapons will be useless. Your 5 minutes start now."

Captain Daland ordered another message to be sent to the submarine Sura, 12 km to the north, which had also bee watching the cruiser all week. "Tell them to attack in 5 minutes if no reply is given. I want 4 710mm homing torpedoes fired, 1 near her bow, 2 amidships and 1 at her stern. If any weapons systems are used, tell them to fire earlier." The officer sent the message over a highly encripted naval network to the sub.

"Now we wait. Prepare to fire 4 "Injä" missiles, amidships and low to the water. Alert the Kauvaran flyboys as well."

[Kauvara]

RENNESOY TRAINING GROUNDS
RENNESOY ISLAND, PRIZYETSA
03:03 HOURS

Sydney Dunn cycled the bolt on her sniper rifle. "Target down," she whispered to herself as one of the larger Chinese soldiers fell to the ground. She got on her radio. "Shore, you said your name was? I've been tracking you for some time. You seemed like the leader. In fact, I was about to tag you when those Chinese folks showed up," she said, laughing. She fired again, taking out another. "I can provide fire support, but I can't hold them off forever. I overheard a Prizyetsi squad is on the way." Another shot, dropping a soldier that was about to stab Shore in the back of the head. "We just need to hold out for a little while longer. Watch your back, Max," she said, he voice tinged with... something. Shore wasn't sure what it was. But he was sure he liked it.

Gavenson, meanwhile fired off a few shots at the Chinese before going back down. "Ili... Get out of here... Please..."


SKIES OVER THE NAVAL STAND-OFF
WATERS OFF RENNESOY ISLAND, PRIZYETSA
03:07 HOURS

Ajax got on the inter-squadron radio. "Listen up, Sabres. I just received word from Daland. If we don't hear otherwise from him, we're starting our attack run in 180 seconds. We're going to target the engines of the Chinese ship to prevent it from escaping."
"Escape from what, sir?" Bonia asked.
"Apparently those Prizyetsi have a surprise for the Chinese in the form of torpedoes and missiles, Earthgirl. Our orders are merely to cripple the ship so it cannot escape their barrage," Ajax responded.

[Scocialist Provinces]

"T-thanks." Shore muttered into his radio, a little shell-shocked. "I didn't get your name?" he asked whilst felling a little happier. Shore picked back up his gun, and looked around. "Hey, I think I hear more... Scope out the north, I can't see to far ahead. It's really dark, so I could barely see these guys from two feet in front of me." Shore said as he looted the bodies of dog tags and other militairy "proof of kill"s "As for the leader thing, I'm not officially, but I was the only one there with leadership skills." Walking ahead, Shore scanned the horizon. "You see anything?"

[Prizyetsa]

Stefan ordered his men to stop, and they all spread out and knelt down. A Chinese soldier came running, and stopped, by chance, in the middle of the group. One of Stefan's men, a lieutenant, whistled, and the Chinese soldier turned, aiming his rifle into the woods. Stefan's hand shot out behind the soldier, and he sunk his long black blade into the soldier's ankle, ripping it apart as he twisted the knife. The soldier let out an agonizing cry of pain and dropped his weapon, kneeling down to hold his wound. His hands were quickly covered in blood as he tried his best to stop the bleeding. Stefan's men stood up, rifles raised, setting up a defensive parimeter around the soldier, and Stefan booted him in the face. The gathered his things, zip-tied his hands and feet and slung him over his shoulder. Together with his men, he then melted into the forest. They would take him to the C&C center for interrogation.

All of a sudden, there was a ruffling in the forrest again, and Stefan's men stopped and dropped to the forrest floor. Ilanii stepped out with her hands raised and rifle to her side. "J'ar administratii!" she called out. "I'm administratii!" Stefan looked at one of his men, and he shrugged. "Konfirmatzon!" he called out. "Confirmation!" Ilanii got on her knees, and told them her serial number. Two of Stefan's men got up and walked towards her, pointing their rifles at her head. One of the men stopped, rifle still pointed at her, while the other walked up to her and checked her tags. "Ms Ilanson?!" he said, shooting up and saluting. "At ease soldier, I need a rifle, I've got friends back there." the administati soldier nodded, trading his live fire weapon for her blank training weapon, and all their magezines were swapped. "Thanks. Carry on." she told them, and they parted ways.

[Kauvara]

RENNESOY TRAINING GROUNDS
RENNESOY ISLAND, PRIZYETSA
03:04 HOURS

"Dunn. Sydney Dunn. But my friends call me 'Syd.' I was drawn from the Imperial Kauvaran Air Corps for my ability with mobile operations. In any case, it looks like you have more company coming your way... Ready to dance, Max?" Dunn said into her radio.
"Negative, Dunn! Hold your fire!" Gavenson interjected. "I'm going to draw some of them off! Shore, you take the rest! Dunn, cover him! Find Salama Squad, then get off the island!"
"Sir, what about you?!?" Dunn yelled back.
"Don't worry about me, Lieutenant! Just find Salama!"
"But sir-!"
"This is NOT a discussion, Dunn! Get! Moving! NOW!"
"Roger that, sir! Max, you listening? We're gonna move towards Salama Squad, try to draw some of the Chinese forces in! I've got you covered!"

Gavenson dove from his cover and began sprinting towards the treeline, away from the other two. The grass around him whistled as bullets sliced through, tossing up the dirt below him as he ran. "Gēnzhe tā! Tā shì lǐngdǎo zhě!"


RENNESOY TRAINING GROUNDS
RENNESOY ISLAND, PRIZYETSA
03:05 HOURS

Gavenson kept sprinting, dodging between trees as the bark ripped with bullets. He couldn't even hear the firefight he had just left. It was just him and the Chinese soldiers giving chase. "That's right, you sons of the Wolf, try to keep up..." He jumped over a log. He looked back. Eight of the twelve soldiers were following him. He slid around a rock. Something stung him in the back. Hard. Gavenson already knew what it was. Another sting, this time in his leg. He collapsed behind the rock, unable to stand. "F...fuck..." he breathed, wincing in pain as his back leaned into the rock.

"Tā bèi jí zhòng le! Guānbì zài!" a commanding voice called out. The Chinese soldiers began closing in on Gavenson. He reached his arm over, peeking past, firing a couple shots. One of the Chinese soldiers went down, clutching his chest as the shots hit home. The pistol clicked. Empty. One of the Chinese soldiers rounded the rock. "Lǎowài! Bùyào yídò-!" He was cut off as Gavenson threw his knife right between his eyes. "Fuck you..." he growled. He smiled, remember Marcus Kazden. "I'm coming, Mark..." he weakly whispered. Another Chinese soldier came around the rock. The soldier laughed, raising his rifle to Gavenson's face. "Say gudnit, gwailo..." he said in broken English.

[Prizyetsa]

The Chinese soldier dropped the rifle, his eyes crossed, and dropped to his knees, dead. Blood seeped out of his neck, and puddled on the ground. A shaddow in the trees moved, and two more of the Chinese troops dropped tot he ground. Gavenson heard the unsheathing of a knife somewhere behind him. "What the hell..." as the shadow moved around the rocks and trees of the forrest, killing soldier after soldier with it's knife and silenced weapon. Finally the shadow spoke in a soft, female voice. "Don't just stand there, come help me..." Gavenson knew that voice. He'd heard it before. "Ilanii?" he asked. The figure took off the make-shift ghillie suit's hood, revealing her shoulder-length blonde hair. "Whos saving who's ass now?" she joked...