Lightning Strikes on Eden (Intro; MT, Closed. ATTN Sondria)

[Aquilinia]

Eden. Apparently, in some ancient language, that meant Paradise. Interesting choice of a name for a city like this one. A few hundred years ago, a group of political refugees built their homes on this rock in the sea. Soon, more followed, finally making it the most densely populated place in all of Sondria. It was a place where liberty was always the most important idea. Where the people worked together for the good of all.

That was, until the Incursion.

Fifteen years ago to the day, Eden woke to find a fleet of warships in its port, landing soldiers and swarming the entire city. Apparently, the Republic of Ronesia had decided it deserved more attention from the Sondrian powers, and invaded the peaceful Eden. But the Ronesians had been careless. Within a week, their invasion troops had been eradicated by a hastily assembled militia - and the rest of Sondria hadn't even noticed - apart from a few delegates from the Aquilinian Empire and the Eagleland, it appeared nobody had realized Eden even existed.

But the people of Eden didn't care. To protect against further Incursions, the militias were reorganized into a permanent standing military - the Tactical Intervention Corps, or TIC. To support the TIC, the Edenite police, called Enforcers, were expanded, and volunteer brigades were established in every district of the city. Liberty had had to be limited for the protection of all, but the people did not mind. The head of the TIC - a man only known as the Marshal - took command over the entire city and dissolved the district councils, but again, the people did not mind. After all, it was for their own protection.

And so, the people of Eden went on with their daily lives, and the world around them kept turning...

Bodhum District

The City of Eden, Sondria

"Right then. Let's do this." The voice of the TIC commander sounded through the headsets as the fifteen volunteers of the Bodhum Enforcement Brigade stormed into the abandoned factory. A few minutes later, it was all over. The smugglers had not even tried to resist arrest as they threw their weapons on the ground immediately. Another well-executed sting. And once again, the TIC didn't even have to dirty their hands.

A few hours later, Captain Claire Farron - second-in-command at the Bodhum Enforcement Brigade - was finally home. The fifth sting in two weeks had taken its toll on her. Sighing, she threw herself down on her couch. Normally, she'd work at the Brigade two afternoons a week, plus two nights on patrol. The rest of the week, she worked at the library. Before she could switch on her TV, someone knocked at the door. With a sigh, she got up and opened the door.

"Hey, Lightning. Had a busy day?" The girl outside had a wide grin on her face.

"God, Sarah. Stop it with that bloody nickname. Honestly." Claire shook her head as she let her sister inside.

Sarah laughed. "Sorry. I keep forgetting you don't like it." The two sat down. "Another sting, huh? The third this week?"

Claire nodded slowly. "Yes. Smugglers, according to the TIC. But I'm not buying it. There was no cargo in that warehouse. And why did they give up so easily? Whatever, I just hope it was the last one for now."

Her sister thought for a moment. "You know, Snow said he heard somewhere that there was a group of people rebelling against the TIC hiding here in Bodhum."

"What, those guys who blew up that train in Sunleth last week or what?"

"Yes."

Claire laughed. "Ridiculous. Why would they come here? And wouldn't they fight instead of just letting themselves be arrested? Nah, can't be them. Anyway, change of subject. I'm hungry."

Sarah nodded. "You remember that friend of mine who had to drop out of college because his mother died and he couldn't pay for it any more? He's opened an Eaglelander food place just down the road."

"What, Konstantinos? Good to hear. Actually, that sounds like a really good idea."

Sunleth District

The City of Eden, Sondria

Sunleth District was still a mess. Five days after the attack on the monorail, the workers clearing the rubble were still finding dead bodies. Just that morning, the count had gone up to sixty-three. Commander Sidney Baynes of the TIC was standing at the spot where the train had hit the ground after the explosion. His job was simple - he was in charge of the cleaning operation. Any bodies found were reported to him, who in turn reported them to HQ for picking up and identification. That last body had disturbed him quite a bit - it had been a girl, not older than eight years, on her way home from school.

Raynes shook his head as he looked around again. Who could have done this? Recently, the Sanctum had become a bit less popular, but the people of Eden were a peaceful bunch. No, this had to be the work of outsiders. Another Incursion? But by whom? And why?

Suddenly, something caught Raynes' eye. Caught between the remains of a train seat and the ground was a brown leather case emblazoned with the emblem of the TIC. As he bent down to pick it up, he noticed a faint beeping noise from the case. Immediately, his reflexes kicked in, and he jumped away - not a moment too early, as the case blew up.

The small explosion had thrown the debris around the case away, but it had not been strong enough to cause any major damage. Raynes was winded, but quickly found he was uninjured. Still shocked, he reached for his radio. "Raynes to HQ. Found something interesting, folks. Something really interesting."

Bodhum Harbour

The City of Eden, Sondria

Claire couldn't believe it. But, there were the orders, right in front of her. Another sting. Again, suspected smugglers. This time, the search would focus on a foreign ship in the harbour - a bulk carrier, full of wheat, registered to a company in the Eagleland. So, precisely at noon, Claire and her fifteen volunteers were boarding the Marianthi. While her subordinates were rounding up the crew, Claire and two others were heading straight for the bridge, where the ship's captain, one Mr Eustratios Papadoulopoulos, was overseeing the unloading procedures.

"Good afternoon, Captain Papadoulopoulos." Claire saluted the man on the bridge as she entered. "My name is Captain Claire Farron, of the Bodhum Enforcer Brigade. I am afraid I am under orders to confiscate your cargo and take you and your crew to base for questioning."

Before the captain could complain, the two Enforcers with Claire had stepped forward, cuffed him, and taken him from board, along with his twenty crewmen. Still, Claire thought as she herself left the ship, things were getting stranger and stranger. Smuggling bioweapons on a wheat carrier? That just made no sense whatsoever. Something really weird was going on.

Two days later - and two days behind on schedule - the Mariathi was leaving Bodhum harbour. As expected, the thorough search had found exactly nothing. The crew and their captain had had nothing to hide, and the cargo was pure A-grade wheat. At least there had been no further stings, Claire mused, as she finished off her pita from Konstantinos' takeaway and entered the library. Finally, she was back in her usual job. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any more calls to duty for a few days...

[The Eagleland]

EXCLUSIVE: Eagleland Bulk Carrier searched in Eden for "bioweapons".
Euthimiades S.A. facing massive claims over delays, Federal Government say Edenian Government "in breach of contract".
^{17 April 2014 | By Konstantinos Marinakis (@kostasmarinakis) (ENT)}

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Euthimiades S.A., one of Sondria's largest maritime corporations, are facing millions in claims from various parties from ship delays in Eden.

Limani Themistokleous, New South Attica — After a 48-hour delay, Marianthi, a Capesize (156,267 DWT) Bulk Carrier carrying wheat from Limani Themistokleous to the harbour of Bodhum, Eden, is facing an uncertain future over it's future trade routes. But that is the least of it's company's, Euthimiades S.A., problems, as the company is facing millions of drachmas in claims by Zea-Zea Agricultural LLC and the Themistoclean Port Authority, among a total of 10 parties. Although Euthimiades S.A. refused to disclose the height of the imposed claims, it is estimated that they currently stand at δρχ 45,000,000 ($83,250,000). The cause of this costly delay, being a search for "bioweapons", was characterised as "ludicrous, insane and beyond the confines of logic", according to the Federal Government, which expressed it's dissatisfaction over this event.

The state of Eden, an island city-state 500 nautical miles from the New South Attica coast, has been a trade partner of minor significance of the Orthodox Federation of the Eagleland, signatory to one trade deal since 2007. The deal reduced the level of tariffs between the two countries by over 50% and set the basis for limited trade between the two nations, whilst opening the border to Eaglelander entrepreneurs who, operating on a partly deregulated market, set up businesses in the city-state. However, one of the deal's provisions, article 76, section beta, subsection III of the deal agreement, stated that "searches must be justified rationally". Given that the search for bioweapons took place in a bulk carrier, the Federal Government report, the trade deal has been jeopardised, and the future of Eaglelander business activity is now in serious doubt by most economic analysts.

"If the trade agreement is cancelled, you will see scores of Eaglelanders close their businesses in the state of Eden, as the trade agreement provides them with the regulatory framework needed for their successful operation.", says Marios Varoufas, a senior economic analyst at the Eagleland-Erjunhuf Trading Board (EETB). "As their future framework is in serious doubt, entrepreneurs and Eaglelander expats will begin fleeing, which will have serious implications for the island nation's economic activity. The Government of Eden must pay it's reparations demaded for it to save some reliability in the Sondrian market, if any remains."

"The search was based on unreasonable grounds.", said a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Merchant Marine, adding: "The presence of biological, chemical or radiological weapons inside bulk carriers is totally unrational and unreasonable, as bulk cargo is unstable and can expose the weapons, therefore carrying them inside bulkers is totally irrational. The Federal Government will demand that the State of Eden either pay a total of fifty-five million dollars reparation to Euthimiades S.A. within the time frame of one week, or this trade agreement will be ceased and further action will be taken."

The spokeswoman refused to answer any questions.

Konstantinos Marinakis reported from Limani Themistokleous, New South Attica. Konstantinos Irakeides contributed to the article from Kokkinia, KCT.

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Comments [ 950844567 ] | E-mail this article
© ENT 2014

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SENDER: Eagleland Ministry of Mercant Marine

RECIPIENT: Government of Eden

SUBJECT: Trading Agreement of 2007-Consideration

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To whom it may concern,

The Orthodox Federation of the Eagleland, a nation founded on trade, has a specific value which has made us a very attractive trade partner over the years of our existence; honesty in transactions. As we are honest in our transactions, we expect a similar integrity with the nations we are trading with. Although we expect such behaviour from some select trading "partners", we could not have possibly expected a lack of trust in our part not to harm your general population, searching one of our ships that acts as your lifeline of food for "bioweapons".

As one might expect, this is behaviour that does not display, nor honours, a nation that wants to be respected internationally. Stocking biological, chemical or radiological/nuclear weapons inside bulk carriers is extremely illogical and no serious person in the world would even consider such an act of idiocy, yet this is an excuse to delay the ship "Marianthi" for forty-eight hours, causing congestion issues in the harbour of Limani Themistokleous. Hence, your reason for detaining the ship cannot be rationally justified and, therefore, you are in breach of contract. Moreover, considering that one of our corporations, Euthimiades S.A., has been nearly crippled by your reckless decision, we do not feel confident of your ability as a nation to respect international treaties.

Hence, we demand that the following amount payable, being one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) be payed to the National Bank of the Eagleland in reparation for this unjustified delay, and that a delegation be sent to our Ministry's headquarters, in Limani Perikleous, Eagleland, for re-negotiation talks over this trade agreement to take place. We trust you are in agreement with those demands, otherwise we will proceed with the termination of this trade agreement and further action will be taken.

Regards,
Maria Vasilopoulou
Minister
Ministry of Merchant Marine
Orthodox Federation of the Eagleland

[Aquilinia]

Bodhum District

The City of Eden

Claire woke with a start. Next to her bed, her phone was ringing. After a glance at the number, she picked it up. Moments later, she was dressed in her usual beige boots, brown skirt, and her brown top and white waistcoat. Then, she the shoulderpiece that carried her rank insignia as volunteer captain. Quickly, she fastened the metal plate to her left shoulder and clipped the thin red cape on. Then, she slipped on her belt and long black gloves. Finally, she pushed her pinkish blonde hair back before reaching for the weapons she always kept next to her bed - a custom-made sword, which she slipped into the scabbard on the back of her belt, and the standard-issue 9mm Glock that all Enforcers carried in a holster on their left hip. Hopefully, she wouldn't need them.

Half an hour later, Claire parked her old Volkswagen Beetle convertible outside an uncanny building on the other side of Bodhum District. The other Enforcers had already arrived. The orders were simple. Go in, take out the smugglers, confiscate their goods. This time, however, the TIC had been clear - resistance was to be expected. Quickly, Claire assembled the fourteen other members of her brigade and gave them the information she had received on the phone. The warehouse they were standing in front of was the headquarters of a smuggling ring. If they took this place out, the smugglers would have nowhere left to hide.

Moments later, the Enforcers burst through the door of the warehouse - to find it deserted. "Strange," Claire mused as she and the others searched the room. "The Commander was clear - they had undeniable intel that this was the place." She looked at her men, who were just as confused. But before she could say anything, shots rang out from somewhere in the room. Claire and the others ran for cover, but for some it was already too late as they dropped to the floor.

Cowering behind a pillar, Claire drew her pistol and tried to pick out the targets. There were seven, maybe eight people attacking them with various handguns, spread across the warehouse. As the gunfight dragged on, although some of their foes were taken out, more and more Enforcers fell to the enemy's bullets. "Claire!" As she heard her name, Claire looked around to find one of her colleagues behind her, with a wound to the chest and another to the stomach, pointing at something in her direction. "Behind....you...."

As the Enforcer died, Claire spun around to see a man standing next to the pillar she had been using as cover, wielding a standard-issue TIC shock baton. Claire grimaced and drew her sword as the smuggler came for her. Quickly, she parried his strikes and went on the attack herself. As the pair duelled, the gunfight subsided - finally, the Enforcers had taken out the attackers. Soon, Claire found an opening in her opponent's defences and disarmed him. Pointing her blade at his chest, she looked him in the face - and recognized him as one of the instructors at the TIC training facility nearby. Angrily, she knocked him out with a blow with the flat side of her sword, before walking over to one of the few members of her brigade still standing.

"Okay, Ivan. What's the butcher's bill?"

"Bad, boss, really bad. We lost nine. Olaf and Jeff are badly injured, don't know if they'll pull through. Juan caught a bullet to the knee, probably won't ever walk again properly."

Claire shook her head. "Shit. What about the bastards here?"

Ivan looked around. "Eight dead, one severely injured, you knocked that one out, plus three that got away during the fight."

Still shaking her head, Claire sheathed her sword and holstered her gun. "That guy I knocked out. That was Evans, from the TIC training facility."

Her colleague just nodded. "I recognized some of the others, too. All TIC. Something bad is going on here, boss. Something really bad."

The Sanctum

The City of Eden

The Marshal laughed as he threw the message from the Eagleland into his wastepaper basket. "Amusing. So, Mr Maxwell. You say your perfect plan backfired and we now have those claims against us? I don't care. Ignore them, pay them, do whatever you want. We just need to keep those Enforcers occupied a bit longer so we can find what we were looking for."

Maxwell shook his head. "My lord, you don't understand. This has gained us international attention - the last thing you'd want for your plans. Plus, I don't think your distractions work too well. You can't think those Bodhum Enforcers are that stupid?"

Nobody outside the Marshal's office even looked up when they heard the shot ring out. Neither did they look when Maxwell's body was carried away, to be dumped in an unmarked grave somewhere in the slums. That was the price for defying the Marshal.

Meanwhile, the message from the Eagleland went unnoticed, while more ships from various nations were being delayed to be searched for all sorts of illicit goods across the three harbours of the city - Bodhum, Visio, and Telif - providing the Enforcers with a lot to do, and only once, on a small Aquilinian freighter, actually resulting in the discovery of smuggled cargo.

[The Eagleland]

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Millennium Tower
Etro District, City of Eden
2100 local

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Ioanna Konstantinidou sat and smoked her cuban cigar, as she watched the city of Eden from her office on the top floor of the 790-metre-tall skyscraper that dominated the city. Known to the Eaglelanders as the "Millennium Tower", it was the pinnacle of Eaglelander engineering. Although constructed at the request of the Edenian Government, the Millennium Tower was filled by Eaglelander entrepreneurs that opened up shop in Eden. Ioanna Konstantinidou was one of them. As the founding member of the Eaglelander Committee (ELCO), she was the most influential of all the Eaglelander entrepreneurs in Eden, running the Edenian branch of the infamous Constantinidean Consolidated Maritime Services, one of the Eagleland's Fortune 500 corporations, which she, alongside her 4 brothers, inherited from Shipowner Konstantinos Konstantinides, the man who set up the business in 1978. The Konstantinides family raised itself from poverty through it's love and knowledge for the seas.

Ioanna is the brightest example of Eaglelander maritime tradition. Her knowledge of the Sondrian market, combined with the relatively lower labour costs and beneficial position of the city of Eden allowed her to become a billionaire. Net worth? 2.5 billion dollars. Her contacts in the Eagleland Government can come in handy at any time, and her enormous wealth, closely guarded in the safe coffers of New London, New South Attica, can be used to bribe certain individuals of the Edenian Government should the latter turn on entrepreneurs. Her operating in Eden has a great advantage; she can avoid the fierce competition of Eaglelander shipping companies in Eaglelander harbours and, therefore, make more money by controlling trade in Eden, which is dependent on trade.

However, the last two days have proven that her little empire can collapse at any minute. The Eagleland Federal Government are "reassessing" the trade deal between the two countries, without which businesses here will suffocate, because of the incident regarding the delay of the Marianthi in Bodhum Harbour over bioweapons. That has caused serious problems, as she is losing customers over fears of repeated checks on trade ships in the city over that issue. The problem is getting so serious that everything she has created in 12 years are in risk of their demise. She smokes her cigar nervously and intensely, as she is watching the city from her window, the sun set a while ago.

She had already planned for this, however. She had already designated replacements just in case she was murdered and she was already beginning to move her operations to Piraeus, Eagleland, which was the closest major harbour in the Eagleland to the city of Eden. Already, she had informed her Eaglelander staff to either pack her bags, or get laid off and be abandoned in the middle of nowhere. And she was not alone, either. Her competitors and fellow members of the Committee had already begun that process. All other locals would be fired, as time was too short to lodge immigration visa applications and get them approved, as that takes a year to complete, due to the Eagleland's very strict immigration policy.

As she decided to stand up, get closer to the window and see the city at night from her office, something uneasy lies in the horizon...

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Undisclosed Location
Orthodox Federation of the Eagleland
0200 local

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The return of the President and the Field Marshal of the National Defence General Staff was critical. The wedding complete, the Eagleland faced new challenges; a shifting geopolitical move towards the islands just off the coast of the country and the looming Edenian crisis meant that the Eagleland had opportunities and threats.

"So you are telling me that Mouflouzeli wants to take over Ronesia? Who the fuck thinks she is?", asked the President angrily.

"Mr.President, it was a strategic necessity. The Senate has convened in secret yesterday and has approved the invasion, and the first fleet are out already with a Marine contingent of ten thousand forces...", said General Skepernakos before he was interrupted by the Field Marshal himself. "General, you should know better that without me you can't organise troop deployments. Same for you, Admiral, since you are the piece of shit that proposed this..."

"Field Marshal, please let me handle this. General Skepernakos and Admiral Karamilakis, I hope your gamble is correct, because if foreigners are not convering on the islands of Farro and Linn and Ronesia, I will have your head on a platter!!! UNDERSTOOD, "GENERAL" and "ADMIRAL"?!!!"

"Mr.President," tried the Admiral to answer, interrupted by the entrance of the ENIS Director, Admiral Konstantinos Eleftheriades. "Gentlemen, I understand your uneasiness regarding the involvement in Ronesia, but I suppose this has another positive aspect. I am afraid Ronesia is not your only issue here, gentlemen.", added the director of the ENIS, aware that a series of events are already in motion.

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Meanwhile,
Bodhum District, Eden
0230 local

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Four tourists with backpacks were wandering around the district of Bodhum, searching a warehouse on Archer Road, Number 226, where they would meet a person. As the CCTV cameras and the patrolmen and the occasional pedestrian passed by or took a glance at them, one could see a group of four Greeks, presumably Eaglelanders, going about their business, fascinated by the architecture of the city. But as they entered the deserted Archer Road, the word "facade" takes it's full and complete meaning. These four tourists, in spite of the fact that they were holding Rephite passports, were indeed Eaglelander but certainly not tourists, as they entered the deserted compound. No CCTV, no guardsman, nothing. The perfect ground to reveal oneself. And sure enough, as they entered warehouse 225, they were able to move less naturally and more tactically.

These four men were no tourist. They were commandos of the Special Warfare Unit, known colloquially in the Eaglelander SOF community as the "Eagleland SAS". They are a very secretive unit, which is not known at all by the general public and, if they heard about the term, it's fiction. But reality is more compelling than fiction, as only the agency they answer to, the Eagleland National Intelligence Service, are the only ones that know what really goes on in the SWU, something that even the President does not know. Inevitably, the men that make up the SWU are the finest of the Eagleland's SOF community, selected to attend a selection process so as to serve in what the unit. And the unit carries out deniable, "black" operations the records of which are destroyed as soon as the operation is accomplished, cancelled or failed.

And the men who were assigned to this shithole they call "city" were no pushover, either. The four men came straight from the Pudite Empire to this mess, with little respite. And to make matters worse for the locals, the team are the ones that have assassinated the Emperor of the Pudite Empire, Pudu Jilang, in his own premises. A close shave, indeed, considering that initial survival rates were below 5%. Led by Kassidiaris, a no-nonsense individual, Michaloliakos, Nikolaou and Papadopoulos were headed to the location of the contact, who would provide them with critical information. The men transitioned from a civilian stance to a tactical stance, moving silently and quietly, having produced small knives they managed to find at their first RV point in the sewers. These were no kitchen knives chefs use to cut onions; these were small, tactical knives that were more durable and compact and light as well. Alongside the knives they also received their satellite telephones and their next (now current) instructions.

As they were ready to exit the Warehouse, Michaloliakos, the sniper responsible for killing Emperor Pudu, spotted two things. One, Warehouse 226 was right in front of them. Two, a team of armed men and women were closing in on another warehouse, and the path leading to 226 was exposed. He immediately gave the hand signal to hit the deck and take cover. As stress mounted, the local warriors did not perceive a thing. They were obviously focused on one specific thing. As they left, he hand signaled again to rise up. He peered at the warehouse door. The locals stacked up to enter a warehouse; they were obviously looking for someone, supposedly the contact.

"Boss," whispered Michaloliakos, "they are looking for the contact. We need to move now."
"Roger that.", replied Kassidiaris. "What are they doing?"
"They have breached the doors at warehouse 237. Now is the time to move before they continue their sweep."
"OK, let's go.", replied the boss and he gave the hand signal to move again, this time quickly, before they were spotted. 237 was 450 metres away, anyway, and the guys inside would be late to notice the movement. After a dash, they entered 226 and, lo and behold, a man, with a suppressed MTAR-21 smoking a cigarette was at the office room right above the warehouse area. But the contact turned out again to be a familiar person.

"You're late." came a familiar voice from within.

It was the Merchant. The same man who gave the men guns and extracted them from the Pudite Imperial Palace also turned out to be the same man who will give them guns. And he knew that the four men were in need of tactical weapons, so after a brief smile, he immediately went down to business.

"What brings you here?", asked Nikolaou. "You love us so much, eh?"
"Eh, I love you. You guys were lucky bastards, after all. I have some gifts for you.", replied the Merchant as he pulled out four MTAR-21s with a Red Dot Sight in 5.56x45m NATO, four M1911A1s, all with ten magazines and suppressors.

"You know those guns gentlemen. Feel free to pick them up." No sooner had the Merchant said that, than a firefight broke out at another warehouse.

"Shit!", said Papadopoulos.
"Take cover and shut up!", said Kassidiaris as the men took cover.

After the firefight subsided, the gunmen exited the warehouse. At this point and time, one thing became clear to the operators; they need to leave the compound and hide their guns inside their backpacks. But as the gunmen fled, the men saw their chance; they packed their weapons and made their way to their safehouse, in the sewers...

[Aquilinia]

Bodhum District

The City of Eden

Claire was exhausted when she finally got home. The few survivors from her Brigade now had medical attention, the dead had been formally identified and their families informed. But the day wasn't over for her yet. Just as she had all but fallen onto her couch, still in full equipment, someone rang at the door. Annoyed, Claire got up again and opened the door to find her sister's bulky boyfriend, Victor Snow, standing outside.

"What do you want, Snow? I had a crap day, this better be important." Claire's tone made it clear how annoyed she was.

"Actually," Snow began apologetically, "I think your day is about to get even worse. While you were out on your mission, TIC showed up at that Eaglelander food place."

Claire shook her head. "What, Konstantinos' joint? They keep targetting Eaglelanders. First the ship, now a small restaurant, what's next?"

Snow raised his hand to stop her. "Well, whatever they are up to, they smashed the place and carted everyone there off to be questioned. They've released everyone now - except for two. Konstantinos himself, and your sister."

"WHAT?" Claire almost collapsed back onto her couch in shock. "Why would they take Sarah in? What would she have to do with all this?"

Snow sat down next to her and took her hand. "Light, I have to tell you something. Those stings you've been doing..."

Claire shook her head angrily. "Don't call me that. And what about them?" She paused for a moment. "Hang on...the people at that warehouse were TIC!"

Snow nodded. "So you realized that yourself. It seems that the TIC are doing stuff like that all over Eden. Tying up Enforcers so they can raid, well, anything related to the Eagleland. Apparently they are afraid of a secret Eaglelander invasion. Or rather, a bunch of Eaglelanders plotting a coup." He scratched his chin. "And they are not that far off. There is that one guy who calls himself the "Merchant" - I've only heard rumours, but he seems to be an Eaglelander smuggling weapons into the country. I've tried to find out more, but there is absolutely nothing on him."

Claire held up her hand and looked at him. "Look, Snow, I know you've been involved in all sorts of dark stuff, but what does this have to do with my sister?"

"They are trying to lure me out." Snow's voice was now one of despair. "They think I know where to find the Merchant. I think they've been watching me for weeks now."

Claire looked at him. "Do you?"

Snow just shook his head and buried his face in his hands.

The Sanctum

The City of Eden

"My lord. Still no news on this 'Merchant'. We've taken Victor Snow's girlfriend in for questioning, but so far, we have learnt nothing new. Snow has been spotted entering her sister's flat. Said sister, Claire Farron, is head of the Bodhum Enforcers. Those same Enforcers were the ones who killed all those TIC officers at warehouse 237."

"How many of the Enforcers survived that firefight?"

"Nine dead. Two badly injured, one crippled, two unharmed, one of them Farron."

"Eliminate the injured and the cripple. Have Farron and her comrade debriefed. Find out what they know."

"Understood."

"One more thing. The Hellenes are becoming more and more of a nuisance. Send a message to Ioanna Konstantinidou, head of the ELCO. I wish to speak to her."

[The Eagleland]

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20 years ago
Limani Themistokleous, New South Attica
Nea Patissia District

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"Run, Nikos, run!" shouted his friend as Nikos was running from the Police past the slums of Nea Patissia, Limani Themistokleous. Nikos and his best friend, Giorgos, were making a run for it after they tried-but failed-to snatch a purse from a female passer by. Two undercover cops shouted "Police!" as the boys were entering their own turf, where they knew pretty much every route. Passages, alleyways, ladders, pipes, no limits. These young kids had every possible route mapped out in their minds. As the policemen went after them, however, it was clear it wasn't your average coffee-drinking copper; these undercover policemen, both in their mid-twenties, went after two seventeen year old that have quit high school owing to family problems.

Nikolaos Argiros and Giannis Voreades were two delinquent youths that were kicked out of their homes at the age of 12 and 8, respectively, owing to their failure to perform in school. But that is the least of their problems. Since they left for the streets both turned to crime just to survive, fighting gang after gang over food, territory and many goods. But their notoriety made them a target by the police, that set up a little ambush for them by making one female undercover agent wear expensive clothing in the poorest district in Limani Themistokleous, which was basically asking for trouble. The fact that Giannis stabbed the woman and stole her purse, unknown to Nikos, made the police a bit angrier.

After climbing ladders, stairs and pipes, after crossing many roads and pushing 56 pedestrians, the robbers, with the police hot on their tail, the robbers ended up in a dead end. This dead end was supposedly a place where a pipe was located, but the locals decided to fence the roof with razor wire. The two robbers were in a standstill, only that then did Nikos smell blood, as Giannis pulled out his Glock 17 and shot in the direction of the police.

"What the fuck are you doing?", asked Nikos.

Giannis shot Nikos in the stomach. "What must be done." He then took out the knife he held with his gloved hands and "passed it" to Nikos' ungloved hand, as a manner by which evidence could be destroyed. Giannis then escaped, while Nikos was groaning in pain. Five minutes later, he saw two police officers point guns at him.

"Don't move, asshole. You are under arrest."

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Bodhum District, Eden
0350 local

---

The men exited the warehouse in a tactical formation, guns weld and locked and loaded. The men waited until the surviving enforcers exited the warehouse and then followed the same path as before, only to see that there were more enemies inside the complex, their eyes however pointed towards the entrance of the docks. Unaware of the presence of five Eaglelander commandos and secret agents, the seven enemies were armed with heavy weapons, which included one guy with an AT4-CS Missile Launcher, three guys with MG-4 Machine Guns and two riflemen armed with a Heckler and Koch G36C Assault Rifle with an AG-36 Grenade Launcher each.

There were, however, two odd things about the whole set. One, the soldiers there were armed with high-end weapons that the wounded soldiers spotted earlier did not possess; they were rather armed with AKs, Glocks and one female had a katana-she was obviously the chief of the whole lot. Two, their uniforms were in no way the same as those who exited the warehouse beforehand, leaving the Eaglelanders puzzled until the guy with the AT4-CS pointed and cocked his weapon. Why an AT4-CS and why were they aiming at the main gate, the men could not grasp until they noticed the cars outside.

"Boss," whispered Papadopoulos to Kassidiaris, "these militiamen that exited the warehouse; I believe they are the target.".
"The men you saw earlier are probably Enforcers-reservist militiamen.", replied the Merchant. "But the men inside are professionals. I suppose they are the real military of Eden, the TIC."
"Then why are they targeting their own men? One of them has an AT4, probably a CS because they are indoors. What are they afraid of?", asked Kassidiaris.
"You guess is as good as mine," replied the Merchant. "but my sources report that the Enforcers and the TIC have been behaving in a peculiar manner after the Monorail Bombing. I guess these Enforcers know more stuff than they should."

The discussion was interrupted by a "make ready" command heard from the inside. Kassidiaris gave the command to eliminate all TIC soldiers inside the warehouse. "Clear room. I am taking the rifleman and the AT4 operator. Nikolaou, take the machinegunner on his left. Michaloliakos, take the other MG gunner on his right. Papadopoulos, take the MG gunner at the right hand corner of the warehouse window. Merchant, get the other rifleman on the radio. Clear room."

One the men gave the all clear the "Go" order was hand signaled and the men entered the warehouse and killed all TIC soldiers, just in time that the battered Enforcers were leaving. On closer examination, it was revealed that the bodies had no dog tags, which made the men suspicious.

"Who the fuck are these guys?", asked Michaloliakos. "You said they were regulars, but they all lack dog tags and insignia."
"The TIC are so mysterious that even we don't have any idea as to how these guys operate.", the Merchant replied. "That is why I am here."
"But they are not just here to kill some rag tag militiamen.", replied Papadopoulos. "They were also after you, innit?"
"They did that on purpose. We made it apparent that I, as an arms dealer, would come to Eden with some guns. But my sources say that these attacks were all staged."
"Excuse me," asked Kassidiaris, "who exactly are your sources?"
With sirens screaming in the background, the Merchant was not hesitant to reply. "This is not the time, gents. Pack your guns and follow me. Act like normal people and I shall lead you to a much safer place. Let's go."

The men placed their rifles inside their bags and exited the compound as calm tourists. The Merchant then led the men to an alley about two blocks from the docks, as military and law enforcement were converging on the docks. Then, after turning into a dead end, the Merchant showed the men a sewer hatch which was not recorded by CCTV.

"This is it. Let's get in."

Once all commandos entered the sewers, the Merchant followed suit and closed the hatch.

---

1 hour, 30 minutes later...

---

As the men were climbing down a ladder, the Merchant led them into a maze of messed up sewage ways and into an abandoned supervision room within the sewers. So abandoned, in fact, that it had no windows, just a door which didn't exist. The men entered and gathered round for a briefing by the Merchant. As the Merchant took a look at his encrypted smartphone, he noticed that he had a message from his handler, who has been alarmed as to the frequency of these attacks on Eaglelanders.

"OK gentlemen, welcome to Eden. As you noticed, you may be Rephites but they have sniffed me out so the whole city is going to be on us in an instant. I just got a message from HQ; the shit is hitting the fan. TIC are targeting Eaglelanders."

"The fuck?", asked Papadopoulos.

"You hear me right; Eaglelanders are getting captured and held hostage city-wide. As you figured out yourselves, the TIC are now raiding souvlatzidika and other Eaglelander strongholds. Businessmen are leaving for the Eagleland and the shit is hitting the fan. Hence, We need to hit the safehouse to.. ". He was interrupted by a message on his cell. As the Merchant took a look at his encrypted smartphone again, he noticed that he had a message from his safehouse's sensors.

"Fuck."

"What's going on?", asked Kassidiaris.

"My safehouse's sensors have been triggered. They have breached my flat."

"What?", asked Nikolaou.

"Two persons have kicked the door of my flat and are searching the room." As he pulled out a map of the city, he pointed this out. "So here is the plan. You guys check my safehouse in the Necropolis, which is on 81, Hobart Street, to your right when you come out the hatch at the end of the sewer tunnel to your right hand side. When you get in, it's on the fifth floor, room 208. Expect resistance and some residents. Try not to kill anyone because they know they are looking for someone and if that someone is identified then we have a mess on our hands."

"What about you?", asked Nikolaou.

"I am going to reconnoiter the area around the Spire with your boss. He will contact you when I get what I want. My contact is obviously going somewhere and I need information and the most obvious place to reconnoiter is this."

---

Millennium Tower
Etro District, City of Eden
2100 local

---

Ioanna Konstantinopoulou was just preparing her final transfers when the phone rang. The receptionist outside went on the horn with the most influential Eaglelander in Eden, outside the Eagleland Federal Government.

"Madam, a representative from the Edenian Government wants to see you.", said the receptionist. I am finished, she thought. A couple of agonizing heartbeats later, she replied positively. "Let him in."

A uniformed man entered the room. Standing at a rather imposing 182 centimetres tall, the bald representative had no name tapes on his uniform, no insignia, nothing; just a black uniform and a Glock 22 holstered on a hip holster on his right foot. In a rather unusual manner, he also had a Japanese Katana on his back. It seems like the Edenites love martial arts.

"Who are you?", she asked.

"You really love resisting.", replied the man with his heavy voice.

"I don't like your rudeness, young man."

That young man now pulled his Katana and pointed it at her face. "My lady, what if I told you the Marshal wants to talk to you? You have been really naughty lately..."

"Then let me talk to him, shall we?", said Ioanna as she pushed the man's katana from her face. As they exited the office, she told the man: "I need to drink some water. Can I take water from the water bottle to my left before continuing?"

After a few seconds, came the reply. "I will be waiting.", said the man.

At that time the man went to the elevator shaft a mere 25 metres from the reception. She then adjusted her receptionist: "If I do not return within 48 hours," whispered Ioanna to her receptionist's ear, "assume the very worst." She knew that civilians could not carry firearms in Eden, so she went in unarmed. She then exited her office, followed the man to the lobby of the Millennium Tower and entered a limousine, unaware of what is coming up...

[Aquilinia]

Bodhum District

The City of Eden

A few hours had passed since Claire had learned of her sister's capture by TIC. She had been trying to gather the few Enforcers that had survived the trap at the warehouse, but with no success. As she returned to her flat, she was completely devastated.

Only moments after she had gotten home, Snow returned. He had gone to try and find out more about this "Merchant". And he, at least, appeared to have some good news. Despite the grim circumstances, he was smiling as he put a notepad in front of Claire.

"Here, Lightning. Take a look. Just after you left that warehouse, it seems that it was raided again. And the people that did it looked like real professionals. They slaughtered the Ticks. But when a patrol arrived to check it out, they were gone. Disappeared. Not visible on CCTV."

Claire shook her head. "But who were they?"

Snow's grin grew wider. "I went into the warehouse again. There's an access to the sewers that isn't visible on any of the cameras. I bet you my balls that they went through there. Wanna check it out?"

Claire simply nodded.

Three hours later...

They had gotten into the warehouse and then the sewers without any problems, but after over two hours down there, they had to admit that they were completely lost. Exasperated, Claire hit Snow on the shoulder with her flashlight. "You moron! Did you really think this would be so easy?"

Snow shook his head. "No. And I told you several times that I know nothing about these sewers."

Claire sighed. "Well, whatever. Let's just find a way out of here, shall we?"

The Sanctum

The City of Eden

"Ioanna Konstantinides to see you, my lord."

"Show her in."

As Ioanna was led into the Marshal's office, the first thing she would have noticed were the dimmed lights, as usual. The Merchant never let anyone apart from his closest staff see his face. So, as she quietly sat down on the chair placed there for her, a voice spoke from the shadows in the corner.

"My dear Ioanna. Let's not waste our time with pleasantries and get right to the point. What do you know about they man they call the Ferenx, or the "Merchant" as you probably know him?"

[The Eagleland]

---

Sewers of Eden
0420 local

---

As the men saddled up, something came over to their left from the door. "You moron! Did you really think this would be so easy?" As the men were in a "what the fuck" mode, a light from a torch alerted the men as to the presence of enemies. Kassidiaris issued his orders immediately. "Michaloliakos, Papadopoulos, take the left corner; Nikolaou, follow me, we're flanking them. Merchant, cover our six. Move."

Michaloliakos and Papadopoulos took their positions in the tunnel. As they were at a blind spot, as soon as the enemy entered they would be able to eliminate them with extreme prejudice. Meanwhile Nikolaou and Kassidiaris moved quickly on purpose; the noise they would make would scare and disorient the enemy patrol. Better yet, they might redirect, forcing their rear guard to be moderately exposed to the two commandos waiting for them.

As the enemies approached the flank, the two commandos who were moving stopped at a corner. Nikolaou grabbed a flashbang, pulled the pin and threw it at the other tunnel, hoping it would affect the enemies. It worked. Little did the man and the woman know when they were incapacitated by the commandos from their rear. Their senses temporarily dormant, they were taken back to the room, where the commandos would initiate an interrogation process.

But plans would change.

"Gents," he said, "I am going to interrogate them myself."
"What the fuck are you talking about?", asked Kassidiaris. "You are alone in the middle of..."
"..nowhere, sir?" interrupted the Merchant. "They are small fish and in fact they are two of the Enforcers that escaped the mess. They have no reinforcements."
"Oh, the TIC are coming for them."
"As if the TIC will be looking on the damn sewers. They need to have CCTV footage before they do anything in this police state. Just give me one of your men and I will sort this mess out."
After a few minutes, the reply came. "Fine. But if you're on the run we're not coming for you. Better yet, Michaloliakos, who's staying with you, shall fuck you up. You hear?"
"Deal.", replied the merchant.

As most of the men left, he took a while to think while they were sleeping for a few minutes. You guys have no idea what can one lone man do..., said he to himself.

---

A while later

---

No sooner had Claire regained consciousness when the Merchant pointed her own flashlight at her eyes to wake her up. "Guten Morgen," he said, "wie geht es dir?" He was smiley, but was surprisingly alone, exposed in the middle of nowhere, or that was what Claire could only see. Michaloliakos was covering his six. After a mini-argument between the Merchant and Kassidiaris, he was placed as his rearguard and temporarily under the Merchant's command until the team regrouped. He decided to begin his own interrogation, his goal being to identify the name, rank, organisation and intentions, as well as the overall situation, of the two captives. "Let's start, shall we? Who are you?"

---

The Sanctum, City of Eden
2230 local

---

Ioanna Konstantinides' reaction was quick but calm. "So you are the man who they call the Marshal, eh? Why don't you just show your face?"

Before she knew it, she was bitch-slapped by her 'escort'. The Marshal replied. "That's pathetic. You can't even answer my question."

"I don't talk with people I don't see.", she replied as she was put back up to her chair. She has, however, resisted and pushed the man some five metres forward, when the metallic parts of a pistol were heard on her back. The Marshal pulled out his gun.

"You are one naughty individual. Now, for one more time, what do you know about the "Merchant"? Who is he?"

Ioanna knew this was the end, but she had no other option. She had been escorted through a maze of very tight security, and the only other alternative was a leap 890 metres high. She was low on options. She faced the gun.

"Who the hell you you think you are, you imbecile?"