The North Mesder War (IC, TWI ONLY)

[Wellsia]

Septermber 2, 2016 2:45 pm
Miss Agnes Weatherberry looked up from her desk, the clock on the wall read 2:45 pm, there standing in her door way was a very impressive woman in the dress uniform of a Keomoran admiral. Knowing that the Admiral was a woman and see it were two different things. Standing, with a smile, "Admiral Karma I presume?" she asked with just a touch of envy, in the back of her mind she wondered how she would look like in pants.
Before she could continue, a giant of a man filled the doorway behind the Kemoran. At 6 foot 7 inches tall with massive shoulders stood the pride of Wellsia's Navy, Senior Flagofficer Sir Vincent Halfhyde. Is deep voice filled the room, Good evening Agnes, is Hamish in?" and then with a deep bow, "Admiral Elizabeth Keomora, I guess I'm your counterpart in this waters, Senior Flagofficer Vincent Halfhyde at your service."
In the next room Hamish Dewar was in a tizzy, he was a quite reserved little man who disliked change and unknown situations. The reason he was Governor of Kuria Islands was they were out of the way and nothing happened here, just a small coaling station and tiny joint military/civilian airport . No excitement, no problems. Now he was about to have a formal tea with two admirals and try to explain to an ally why foreign airplanes were landing and taking off from his airport. With a sigh he pressed the intercom button. Miss Weatherbery is that Admirals Halfhyde and Karma?
If so please show them in, the chef should have everything ready."
Sitting across from the two navy people, Hamish realized that these two had more in common then he would ever understand, as they had tea and cakes the two talked about Admiral Karma's role in Athra Magnara conflict, how repairs were coming on her ships and how long would she be in harbor. Between Keomoran and Wellsian crews the repairs were coming along quickly considering there was only one dry dock and that Grand Harbor was meant to be a coaling and minor repair station.
As they finished their tea he looked into the green eyes of the Keomoran and squirmed, "Admiral, I am sure you saw the Taziri aircraft that passed over earlier today, I assure you and your government that the use of Grand Harbor Airport is strictly a limited event while the Tazri Air Force and Navy conduct war games in the North Mesder Sea. There is nothing anyone should be concerned with."
As the tea ended and the two admirals left, Hamish Dewar collapsed in his chair with fumbling hands he poured himself a double shot of brandy and drank it down with one gulp.

[Wellsia]

Ambassador Oswald Bastable stood on the roof of the Wellsian embassy to Upper Norseland. The Tazri planes still rained death and destruction over the city, but so far ground fighting hadn't entered the city, that he knew off. Overhead flew a massive crimson flag with the twin leopards on it, the regular Wellsian national flag was inside and the so called crimson banner flew overhead warning the Taziri that this was Wellsian soil. The similarities of the Norse and Wellsian flags made this a necessity. Already close to three hundred people were crowded into the compound and while there had been a few near misses, he applauded the Taziri pilots for their bombing skills.
Oswald was worried though his wife Maggie and twin sons Sam and Nate were below as well as the staff that he was responsible for. No communication with Ealdwic had been possible since the bombing started, the wireless was out, either mechanical or the airways were being blocked by electronic interference. Oh well all he could do was wait and hoped for the best, the compound was closed and the 40 soldiers of the consulate guard were doing twelve hour shifts so that 20 of them were on duty at all the time. Ah interesting times indeed.

[Wellsia]

First Lord of the Treasury, senior minister of the realm looked at the two pieces of paper on his desk and wasn't sure which angered him most. The first was the morning addition of the Ealdwic Times, across the top of the paper in large bold letters read WAR IN NORSELAND. The other was a formal request from Taziristan for Wellsia to allow Taziri forces to use one of their harbors for logistical support of their invasion force. Looking up he gave glared at the others sitting across from him.
"First I want to know who in bloody hell is Christopher Vane, secondly how in bloody hell did Lord Massendene and the Times know about these events before I did? Someone had better have some good answers!"
Sir Henry Havelock, Head of the Foreign Office moved uneasily in his chair, "Um, um, Jonathan , um I can give no explanation, it seems the Taziri did an excellent job in hiding their intentions. I mean you even approved of their use of the airbase on Perm, remember?"Yes Mr. Havelock, I do remember, don't try to hide incompetence with passing the buck."
Field Marshal Francis Fettleworth chuckled loudly, "what has happened has happened, the question is what do we do now. Except among the damn Rohili, most Wellsians are going to feel for the Norse, bloody ignorant barbarians, cutting people's head's off for TV. The Rohili may take this as a chance to raise in revolt again, we need to be ready. I recommend that we let the Viceroy know and order the Native Army to it's barracks and send another 10,000 regulars to reinforce our forces in there. Do you agree Prince Edward as Lord Commander, it is your call."
At that moment the door of the office flew opened and in stormed his Royal Majesty King Edward VI.
Jumping up the assembly bowed before their sovereign. Prince Edward exclaimed in surprise, "Dad what are you doing here?'
Edward VI looked at the gathering. "Bloody Francis, we are not going to assume that the Rohili are going to be unfaithful, or that our good friends the Taziri will cause problems, First Sea Lord how stands the fleet, I understand that a major part is at sea near the Kuria Islands. "
"Actually your Majesty, Senior Flagofficer Halfhyde's command is at Grand Harbor shadowing the remains of a Keomoran Task Force which put into repairs at their base there." responded Ezra Woolard.
Now Jonathan I understand we were not informed to the true nature of the Taziri actions and that they need a logistical base for their invasion."
Yes, your Majesty that is true."
Then First I want you to send a formal response on our disappointment on their actions in the North Mesder, secondly inform them that Perm lacks the facilities to support a logistical base and that we give them permission to use Sandy Point in north Transpondia. Take care of it.

[Ostehaar]

"Mister Uhdin!"

Mehk stopped and stood there, on the tarmac at a Merrit Island military airfield, waiting for another word or two. He recognized the voice, but couldn't remember exactly who was the man that voice belonged to. He slowly turned his head around and his body followed, a bored look on his face but his eyes as piercing as always.

The smile on the face of the man who approached Mehk quickly disappeared, and the man slowed down slightly. "Uh, I'm sorry, I'll, uh... I'm Ron, one of the intelligence officers for this operation. I have a message for you."

After a moment of silence, Mehk took a few steps forward, his gaze still fixed on the unnerved officer. He grabbed the paper Ron was holding and read it soundlessly. "Thank you, lieutenant," he then said abruptly as he pushed the paper back into the officer's hands, "that will be all." He turned around and walked away, stepped into the Atnaian C-130 Hercules and took his seat.

"What was that about?" Elena asked, already buckled up in the seat next to Mehk.

"Nothing special," he replied, "it was a letter officially authorizing me to do this jump."

"What, because of that thing in Port Gray last year? It was a long time ago! Are they still bugging you about it?"

He smiled and tilted his head slightly backwards and to her direction, looking at her. "I was in a hospital for several months, Elena."

"Still. It's been a while."

"Yeah... It doesn't matter, though." He turned his head back to the front. "I would have boarded this plane anyway."

The engines roared like beasts as the giant machine defied gravity and left the ground beneath it. Mehk, Elena, and the other two team members of Operation Workflow - Peter and Mehnard - secured themselves to their positions, and their eyes kept following the subtle movements of the tightly secured RHIB.

---

The hard part is to make yourself take the first step. The other steps just follow that first one, and less than two seconds later you're flying outside of an aircraft, a few kilometers above ground. The first sensation you feel is not the pull down but rather the upward air draft - evidence to the immense friction and the drag your body creates as its acceleration diminishes. Within the first minute of your fall, you reach terminal velocity of around 80 meters per second.

It was Mehk's third HALO jump. First one was the training jump above the Eterna Sea, close to Lovsk. The second one was between Camtholia and New Aapelistan, when he and a small team of agents were on a mission to monitor the movement of naval vessels from up close while Oster special forces operated in the Camtholian civil war. Now he was plunging near Taziristan, on yet another mission of intelligence gathering.

It was dark and they dropped above the Mesder Sea, so they couldn't evaluate their height by simply looking around. They had to rely on their pressure gauges. When their instruments indicated that the outside pressure was 98 kPa - a bit less than 300 meters - they opened their parachutes. They hit the water a few seconds later, and so did the boat.

---

By morning, the team had successfully landed on a Taziristani shore and had managed to get to a secure location - an abandoned warehouse a few kilometers outside of a small village. They used the hot morning hours to rest and prepare for the next phase of Operation Workflow.

The mission included splitting into two teams cleverly nicknamed 'Team N' (for Network) and 'Team I' (for Individuals). Team N, made up of Peter and Mehnard, was to disguise as foreign IT technicians and try to tap into stand-alone communication networks of the Islamic Guard. Team I, made up of Mehk and Elena, was to closely follow high ranking officers of General Nadir's inner circle and try to have their personal communication devices bugged.

By nightfall Peter had rented an old car for the group. Any evidence of the four being foreign government operatives had been destroyed. Next stop: Adam Ruh.

[Upper Norseland]

September 3rd, 1627 Hours
Aelderich
KUN

"...and, Your Excellency, I would point out that..."
"Stop." Jarl Ragnar held up his hand in exasperation and ran his other over his face. "Just stop. I understand the situation." Nodding meekly, the spectacled aide backed swiftly to the wall. Shaking his head, Ragnar took a long, deep drink of the fine mead sitting beside his chair. Throwing his head back, he was pleased to note from his periphery the eyes of the aide gradually widen as he gulped down half, two-thirds, and finally the entire bottle, before throwing it against the wall, sending small shards of glass flying in all directions.
"Very well then." Rising from his seat, the Jarl grabbed his swords and strode confidently for the exit. "I'll do it myself."
"Sire?" The Deputy Commander of the Jarls personal guard stepped in front of him, blocking the door, a look of grim determination etched into his powerful features. Of course, it didn't hurt that the man stood a full head taller than the young Jarl. Staring up at him, Ragnar's face was filled with barely subdued rage.
"Your Excellency, all due respect, but don't be an idiot." Commander Lief Thyrvaldsson spoke up from the other side of the bunker. Whirling, Ragnar's eyes cast a plume of fire at his Commander. "What can you accomplish yourself, Sire?" Lief met his gaze full-on. "Don't get me wrong, Excellency, you are a truly magnificent warrior, but one man, against the entire might of the Musselman invasion force?" Lief scoffed and shook his head. "You'd have to be the damn All-Father."
Sighing, Ragnar moved back towards his seat at the center of the bunker, grabbing another bottle of the shelf on his way.
"Alright." Dropping himself heavily on his chair and uncorking the bottle, Ragnar took a deep drink. "Commander, since all we have to go on right now is the information provided by old Speckles," the Jarl gestured vaguely in the direction of the aide, who mumbled something about not wishing to be called "Speckles," as he leaned back in his chair. "I am going to send you out for some reconnaisance. Choose two men."
"Two, sire?"
"If we could spare them, I'd say take a hundred. Look around you, Commander. You'll get two." Lief bowed and headed towards the other room to choose his soldiers.

1234 Hours
Aeselrich suburbs
KUN

The dust clogged Aestrid's nose and coated her throat, and she was swift to clamp her hand over her mouth to keep from coughing. Eormund lay a few feet to her left, that determined stare which had melted her on so many occasions now fixed on the small green figures moving slowly towards them. Aestrid's eyes burned from the cement dust that swirled in thick clouds and the smoke that billowed constantly from the smoldering remains of her sister's apartment. She had only moved out two weeks ago. Aestrid had tried to dissuade her, to tell her she could just as easily get an apartment closer by, but she was adamant. That damn girl. Glancing over, her heart was struck by a sharp pang as she saw Eormund offer one of those warm, gentle smiles.
"Ready?" He whispered, his voice sweet and thick as honey. Aestrid nodded and gripped her rifle tightly. Eormund smiled wider and very gently tapped the blade of his hondox, producing a soft ring. The Taziri soldier at the head of the patrol stopped abruptly, holding up his fist to signal the others. A moment passed. As the soldiers looked around, Aestrid's pulse climbed. Finally, one of the soldiers, a young man, seemingly just out of school, dropped his rifle to a neutral position and called something to his commander. As the man turned to reprimand him, the ambush came. Leaping from the windows and bursting from the rubble of buildings on three sides of the Taziri squadron, the Norsemen descended upon their enemies like hounds upon an elk. Popping up from below the broken window, Aestrid took aim swiftly, and with thr crack of her rifle, the young man who had given up the search fell, screaming, the bullet tearing through his right shoulder and rendering his arm useless. A moment later, she fired again. And again. And again.

The whole thing was over in less than 90 seconds. The last Taziri, a grizzled man in his thirties, clearly a veteran, crawled pitifully towards the discarded sidearm of a fallen comrade, his breath coming in short, shallow gasps and his blood seeping from the myriad cuts which criscrossed his torso and arms.
"Good Gods." Thyrvald, his face covered in blood from a small laceration just below his hairline, wandered over to the Taziri and placed his boot firmly on the man's wrist, eliciting a sharp groan of pain and a small crunching. "This one seems awfully determined."
"Let him be, Thyrvald." Eormund spoke gently as he tended to the wound of several other neighbours. "He's dying, and will depart for Nilfheimr before you know it." Thyrvald snorted and spat on the Taziri soldiers head.
"Ha!" His bark of laughter was cruel and sarcastic. " Do you really think Hel has the mercy to take in these Mohammedan shitbags? I doubt even Hlin has that kind of compassion." Thyrvald emphasized this last sentence with a cruel grinding of his foot, crushing the man's wrist into the cracked asphalt.
"Thyrvald, stop it." Aestrid could feel the nausea wash over her as she watched the Muslim's face contort with agony, silent now and struggling to breathe. In his face, she saw everything she hated, the invader that came to take her land and destroy her people, her culture, to steal from her her Gods. But in his eyes, all she saw was a miserable soul, desperately trying to uphold his duty to his country, to his people. She wondered, for a moment, gazing into his eyes, if he had a family. A wife, waiting at home for news of his fate, who would smile with joy at his victory, or whose tears would *BAM* The Taziri's head exploded as the shot entered his left temple.
"Gods damn it!" Aestrid shrieked, wrenched so violently from her own mind.
"What? Did you think I was just going to let him bleed to death?" Eormund flashed her a bright, cheerful smile and holstered the Taziri pistol. "Let's grab all the weapons and anything else of value, and get out of here."

[Taziristan]

Adam Ruh, Taziristan
War Room, The Palace

General Nadir sat at his desk with his head in his hands as he calculated the amount of sleep he had gotten since Friday night. Was it 4? Maybe 6? Either way, he was tired. He picked his head back up and went over the files from the last situation report he had been given. Finally, the troops in around Olferich had surrounded the city and would make a push from the East of it in the morning. In Aeselrich, the troops had moved cleanly through the suburbs and were now poised to enter the actual city. But now that those headaches were lessened, Aelderich was becoming a larger one.

Throughout the day, troops had been being ambushed when in groups of 30 or fewer, most of the time resulting in 20 or so casualties. If the group was smaller than 15, they weren't heard from again. It was making progress in the west increasingly difficult, however, those troops, too, were poised to enter Aelderich proper in minutes.

Nadir closed his eyes. His phone would wake him soon enough, but it would probably take a good half hour before the reports really started coming in.

Aelderich, KUN
Dog Company, 2cnd Regiment, 1st Reserve Brigade, 1st Reserve Division

Sergeant Amir walked next to the Boragh as moved slowly down the road with Lieutenant Enis Halil leading the 1st platoon of D Company. They were now through the suburbs and had entered a warehouse district which had mostly been destroyed. However, there were a couple left standing a little further down the road. If anyone happened to be looking through the shattered windows of the warehouses, they would have seen columns of infantry spreading out as they began to enter the district. 500 men of D Company had moved up the tiny roads with some Boraghs that were now providing lead elements of D company with some cover for the first time since the Battle of Aelderich began.

Sergeant Amir wiped the sweat off his head and kept moving, keeping his rifle ready, but low. Tashir came up beside him and began to walk at his pace. Amir looked him over.

"You should really get that blood cleaned off when you can, Private."

The soldier looked down at the blood on his shirt, then nodded. "I know, sergeant, just haven't found any good place to do it."

Amir kept walking forward, keeping his eyes ahead, straining to see any movement in the warehouse directly ahead. He couldn't see any movement and it bothered him. "Tashir, get the word back slowly that there's an ambush ahead. Don't move very quickly. We're close enough that they could still get it." Tashir walked backward tapping the shoulder of each of his squadmates as he did. Amir pressed his radio. "Sergeant Amir to Lieutenant Halil."

"Yes sergeant?"

"Sir, there's gonna be an ambush ahead, I think."

"I don't think so, Sergeant. We've already got a squad on the road up there.

"Understood, sir." Amir swore as he let go of the button and moved a bit away from the Boragh so he could see around it to the squad in the street.

The squad was moving up pretty quickly, staying close to the walls, checking alleys as they passed them. The Boraghs were pretty close to the squad now, with the one near Amir at the end of the line. Despite his reservations, the squad moved into what Amir would have thought the kill zone to be and weren't raked with gunfire. Suddenly, the sergeant held up his fist and stopped the squad. They all started pointing their rifles at the offices on either side of the street from them. They moved up a bit more as a Boragh stopped near them, aiming its autocannon up at the warehouse. As soon as it stopped, a lone figure came out onto the ware house roof. The scream of 'RPG' blasted into the radio as the man fired a rocket into the boragh. As he did, more figures appeared on the roof of the warehouse and offices and quickly set up machine guns. Amir watched as tracers filled the road and hit the squad from every direction, the blood spraying from some of their bodies as they were hit.

"Flank those bastards," the Lieutenant yelled into his mic.

"First Squad," He yelled, "Head right into the alley!" As his squad shuffled into the alley to the right, Sergeant Alim's squad moved quickly to the left. Amir followed his squad as they hopped over piles of rubble to move through the alley. When they'd passed a couple buildings, they veered left and moved down the wall towards the sound of the gunfire. As they reached the back side of the office, Amir looked across the street and saw Alim's squad moving to breach the back door. Amir turned back to his squad as the machine gun fire kept going, hitting Lieutanant Halil's positon hard. Boraghs attempted to engage the men in the warehouse, their autocannons firing with series of dull thuds, launching small, explosive projectiles into the warehouse.

"Tashir, Shaklim! Grenades through those windows!" He pointed to his machine gun team. "Corporal Valmud, get that gun up on the wall on the office building adjacent to this one. Corporal Ridvan, take you men and circle to the other side behind that wall. Stay low and put frags through those windows." He pointed to the remaining two corporals. "Berat! Take your men and Cover Ridvan and his men! Keep a field of fire on the warehouse! Corporal Enis! You and your men follow me!"

With that, the squad darted to their positions. As Ridvan's men circled around, Enis's element and Amir stacked up on the back door. As soon as the grenades went off, they breached. Amir was the first in, swinging his rifle around as he moved into the building. Despite the grenades, there was still movement. He squeezed his trigger as he saw a man dart across the room. A bullet caught his leg and he hit the ground, then looked up at a corner that Amir couldn't see with an outstretched hand. Amir pulled a frag from his belt and tossed it into the room. "Frag out!"

The man in the corner screamed when the grenade hit and the wounded man jumped on top of it. The force of the grenade threw the now lifeless man up a few feet. "Shit," Amir mumbled. He lifted his rifle and fired into the wall where he thought the man was. The thin plaster provided no cover and he heard a groan as the man dropped. With that, the element moved up to the next floor, tossing grenades as they went up. This time, no one lived. As they prepared to move up onto the roof, they heard another scream of RPG into the radio and heard the explosion as another boragh was hit. It stopped firing and the machine gun it had been suppressing opened up again. "Shit! Everyone stop! We cant go up there!"

Enis swallowed. "The MG on the roof is tearing em up, though!"

"I know," Amir growled. Where was Valmud with that MG? He reached down to his belt to get a frag, but didn't feel any. "Any body have a grenade?"

Enis pulled one up. "I'll take care of it, sergeant," he said as he darted up the steps to the roof. Amir watched as he opened the door wide, tossed the grenade at the emplacement and waited for it to explode. As it did, the gun in the warehouse turned on him. He closed the door, but the rounds went through and he tumbled down the stairs.

"Shit, medic, take care of him," Amir said as he moved down and out the door he had come in. Across the street, Alim's squad had cleared the building, allowing another squad to move up and hit the emplacement in the warehouse with a SMAW. Finally, all the firing stopped. He heard two more squads moving into the warehouse to clear it out as the short firefight came to an end. Corporal Ridvan walked up to him from around the building. "Corporal, your men ok?"

"Yes, sergeant."

"Good. Grab Shaklim and lets go check on Valmud. I didn't hear him firing."

Together, the three men went in the building Valmud had gone in. As they came to the stairs leading up to the roof, they heard a grunting noise coming from the roof. They rounded the corner and saw Valmud laying at the top of the stairs with Halit doubled over on him, spitting blood up. The gun they had meant to set up, as well as the three other soldiers, lay across the roof, never having made it to the wall to set up their gun before the second Boragh had been destroyed. "Shaklim! Help me!" the sergeant yelled as he started to lay Halit down. Shaklim knelt beside him and started pulling out a bandage.

"Put pressure there, sarg!" he said, pointing to Halits leg. "Looks like it severed an artery." Shaklim looked over the rest of Halit, and then stopped. Silently, he put down his scissors and pulled a needle filled with morphine out of his bag and stuck it in his arm. As it circulated through his system, Halit calmed and opened his eyes. He tried to say something, but he just coughed blood up instead. Blood spread slowly from his body as the boy's face grew more and more pale as the life left his eyes. Amir and Shaklim sat there for a moment, looking down at his body. Finally, Amir stood. "Ridvan, get your guys and get that gun. You're my heavy weapons team now. Shaklim, call this in and make sure they get taken back home."

"Yes, sergeant."

Amir moved back down the steps and hid the tear falling from his eye. It had been his call that put Valmud and those men on the roof. Now they were dead. He wiped the tear away from before stepping outside. It had been his first bad call of the day. He knew there'd be more.

[Wellsia]

Agnes Weatherberry looked up from the piles of papers on her desk, she would love to have a computer here, but they were to expensive for such a small office. She heard that other countries had computers in their phones, but that was a little hard for her to believe. She watched as the two admirals walked through by her desk. Senior Flagofficer Halfhyde, smiled down at her "Keep Hamish out of trouble Agnes, he is an old friend and all of this is above his normal range of action. Have a wonderful day. Admiral Karma, you need anything let me know." With that his long stride took him across the office and out the door.
Agnes looked at the shorter woman and smiled. "Admiral Karma, may I ask you a question. What is it like being a woman doing a man's job?"

[Moukere]

INS Kurtuluş
Off the coast of UN

Sakimbi nodded slowly, glad that he had studied Taziristani Turkish during his time there at university.

"We accept the mission. I am sure you will find out men adept at this task. I must tell you though, we fight very well in the bush. If you need any trees to be scoured of infidels, we are here to accept that task with joy. That would be best for us, but any mission that helps to fight these heathens will be accepted graciously by my men."

Sakimbi paused for a second, thinking what to say.

"I must ask though. How will we get there? We have no transports save our aircraft, which would do well but may be impractical without airfields to land at."

[Taziristan]

"We can transport you there commander. However, if you say that you are best in the woods, then I may suggest that we send you to Olferich instead. We have supply line to defend and it is becoming increasingly hard to do so. On top of this, most of the roads around Olferich are hardly paved. We would indeed benefit from a force like yours in the are."

[Moukere]

Sakimbi smiled. "That sounds perfect for us."

This kind of fighting was the sort he had been doing ever since he was thirteen in the Mogo Defence Militia. He lifted up his assault rifle and walked back to the rest of his troops.

"Mah Frés! We are going to go to Olferich, where dey need some troops to fight in da forests and stop ambushes. No roads, it'll be just like back at home."

His soldiers greeted this with a hearty cheer, before picking up their kit and running towards the transports. They stood at attention, attempting to show some sort of training. Sakimbi knew it didn't matter. What they lacked in formal training they more than made up for in experience. These soldiers had been fighting their whole lives, in the jungles of Civil War Moukere. He knew of some who had hot got their first kill before they turned ten. They stood together, and began singing a nasheed out of tune.

"We will venture to battle with them

And we will march in congregations toward their bases

And we shall return the stolen rights

And with full strength shall topple them

With the relentless weapon of truth

We shall liberate the land of the free

We shall return purity to Al-Quds once again

After humiliation and disgrace

Thunderously we shall infiltrate their hiding shelters

With boisterous stance that distresses them

We shall erase dishonor with our hands

And with full strength shall penalize them

We will not yield to accept an occupied fraction (of land)

We will not leave a hand-span to oppression

For the land will revolt to scorch them

As within the land are raging volcanoes"

[Wellsia]

Governor-General Edwyn Burnnaby looked in dismay at the communicate he had just received from Ealdwic, he was to alow the Taziri to use the small harbor at Sandy Point as a logistical base for their invasion of Upper Norseland. He knew of the happenings in the Kuria Islands, but a foreign base in the middle of the Mesder Sea was one thing, a base here on the mainland, something else entirely. He thought about sending a letter of protest, when he realized that the second page was not a continuation of the first. The second was a request form Field Marshal Francis Fettleworth to allow the First Mobile Brigade to conduct war games against the 3rd Division in Northern Transpondia.
Smiling with a sigh of relief, well it might not be so bad after all. He now set down to write what he would tell the Dominions Legislature and the reporters.

[Nation of Warfare]

DELETED

[Skaitsya]

Daníjas and Äpel pulled open the rusty door that lead into the old bunker, a cold war building that now served as a secret meeting place for Cöjcjí. They were escorted by 6 special operatives. The metal supporters of the bunker were rusty and the walls dusty. The bunker was far away from any large population centre, meaning that there was no graffiti. Daníjas and Äpel were the only Cöjcjí

Daníjas shuddered, wondering if he had done the right thing. For hours he had gotten nothing but cold stares and angry glares from Äpel. He hadn't known the man prior to taking office, but 6 1/2 years of working together meant they had become good friends. He could see in Äpel's eyes that friendship was being tested now. He was about to bring Skaitsya into yet another war with Upper Norseland. He was, in all probability sending hundreds to their deaths. Äpel had originally protested, but upon hearing the men, if all went as planned wouldn't be wearing Skaitsyan uniforms. This had silenced Äpel, although Daníjas could tell that he was reluctant to remain so.

Äpel gave Daníjas a final, more resigned look, before Daníjas sent the message. It read:

To: General Nadir of the Islamic Theocracy of Taziristan
From: Cöjcjí of the Democratic Federal Republic of Skaitsya

We, Cöjcjí of Skaitsya, Daníjas Atelävić and Äpel Jeonävić propose an agreement. We have our own interests in Upper Norseland, as you also do, it seems. Do not worry about how we procured this information, only that we have. We hold no ill will towards your great nation.

We are willing to send 2000 of our finest men, 100 of them special operations personnel. We ask of you but two things, to allow us to wear the uniforms of Taziri soldiers and to get our forces to the battlefield. We have no interest in officially being a part of this war, we do not wish to be involved in it's aftermath. I trust that you will understand this. Our forces will attack the infrastructure and economy of Upper Norseland and support your soldiers. Our forces will not interfere with yours so long as yours do not interfere with ours. We have a old grudge to settle.

For the first time since entering the bunker, Daníjas felt fear rising inside of him. Äpel shook his head then stood up and walked away. Daníjas assumed that he had gone to meditate.

[Covonant]

Coventry, Covonant- Ministry of Defense (MAXMUM)

General Machelli arrived at the Maxmum with a briefcase in his hand which contained sensitive materials that if were to end up in the wrong hands could see mass hysteria unfold throughout the country.

The Minister's secretary directs him inside the Minister's office.

"Sir. The Chief of Defense Staff to see you sir"

After explaining in great details what he was told by Mr. Frith of the IDC, there was a great silence in the room. The Minister face seemed shocked.

"I will see this to the Prime Minister at once. He won't be pleased." Expressed Minister Sula.

A few hours later
Palatine Manor, residence of the Prime Minister

The Prime Minister and his wife were on the Lawn of the Union on the Palatine Manor grounds enjoying lunch. The Minister of Defense walked up to where they were alongside the butler to be introduced.

"The Honourable Batiatus Sula, Minister of Defense, Prime Minister" announced the butler

"Batiatus, how do you fair, draw up a seat. My wife and I here were just discussing the preparation for the banquet in honour of President Morris." stated Prime Minister Marl

A seat was sent for the Minister when it arrived the Minister requested a private audience with the Prime Minister.

"Batiatus what is it that my wife can't hear, surely it is not that serious. Go on tell me, my wife will remain". insisted Prime Minister Marl

"Sir, I have been informed that the Islamic Theocracy of Taziristan has launched a military invasion on the Kingdom of Upper Norseland" Minister Sula informed almost nervously

"WHAT!!!, are you sure, where did you hear that."

The Minister handed the Prime Minister the report from the IDC that showed aerial pictures of areas striked in KUN and also military equipments being mobilised from Wellsia.

There was a great silence. The Prime Minister's eyes fixed on the report. He could feel his heart pacing rapidly. He felt betrayed. He had supported the Taziristanis by sanctioning the KUN. He felt betrayed. He fear mostly the reaction he would receive not only by the opposition members in the Consul but also by his own supporters.

"When did this occur" asked the PM

"About 2 days ago Sir." responded the minister

"TWO DAYS AGO, AND I AM JUST BEING TOLD THIS NOW. Do you have any idea what this could mean for my re-election. I supported the Tazirs and you tell me the little shits went ahead and did this." the Pm responded angrily

"What will we do Sir" asked the minister

"You are asking me, you are the damn Minister of Defense, I should be asking you. We obviously can't let this be reported on Covonantian news networks, not until we come up with a response. Sanctions, removing investments, push back on governments agreements. I feel so betrayed" the pm expressed

"I will do my best Sir. I will leave you to your thoughts"

With that Minister Sula left. The Prime Minister's wife decided it was best to be an escort to the Minister. The Pm was in deep thinking, he knew darker days was yet to come, and Covonant would have to play its role. He more feared that this incident may cost him his seat and his years of political fight and turmoil he hoped would not be destroyed by the acts of Covonant's rash neighbour.

[Keomora]

Elizabeth raised her right eyebrow as she was caught off guard. What? Her gaze softened when she saw her sincerity and when she remembered the packet that she read enroute to Wellsia.
"Being an Admiral, well a Keomoran Admiral is not really a man's job in my country. My older sister used to be a Colonel and now serves in our Parliament while my younger sister is a lieutenant in the Airforce. In Keomora we don't care what gender, sexuality, and sex you are. Only one thing matters: If you can do your duty better than anybody else."

[Taziristan]

Adam Ruh, Taziristan
War Room, The Palace

It was about 5 in the morning when General Nadir, having only slept two hours that night, stumbled into the war room as a loud cheer erupted from the operators at their posts and the commanders staring over the map. Nadir scowled at them all as he walked straight to the coffee maker, grabbed the pot, and poured himself a cup of coffee. There were mumbles about Aeselrich, but he didn't care. He just wanted his coffee. He lifted the coffee mug to his lips and before he could take a sip, he noticed he could see the bottom of the cup. He looked strangely at it as the men began to work furiously at their work as if they knew what he was going to discover as he lowered his finger into the cup. It was cold.

"Commander, why is my coffee cold?"

Commander Osman shifted, faltering under his icy glare. "It's broken, sir."

"Broken, eh?" He went over to the machine and fumbled at the back for a minute as Osman watched.

"We have good news though, we-"

"Shut up, Osman." He kept fumbling it until he found a switch marked 'heater switch'. He smiled slightly and flipped it on."You know why it was broken, Commander?"

"Uh, no, sir," he said slowly.

Nadir turned to him. "Because the finest military minds in Taziristan couldn't figure out how to flip a switch on a simple piece of machinery." He walked around the long table and sat at his seat, the cold coffee still in his hand. "Now, what was the good news, Commander? Did we reach the center of Aeselrich with little resistance? Does it feel like the day has been won, Commander?"

"Yes, sir. Downtown Aeselrich is secure."

"How secure, Commander?" Nadir asked calmly.

"As secure as it can get. We've finally rolled armor and APCs into the area and they've set up a command post at city hall."

"And what about patrols, Osman? Have we been able to send out a patrol without it coming under fire yet?"

"Umm..."

"Come on, Commander, just one itty bitty patrol?"

Osman's face contorted into what Nadir was sure was the straightest face he could muster. "No, sir."

"Then we have not won Aeselrich, Commander. Just because you raise a flag over some random building that happens to be at the center of the city does not mean we have even come close to winning." He looked over the maps and reports, most of which he had memorized by now. "Tell troops in Aeselrich that I want a secure supply route established with a five block hard perimeter. And when I say secure, I mean we can send a patrol out in 10 blocks of either direction of the route and not be shot at for once." He looked over other reports of ambushes. Women, even children, were sometimes involved. "They are to consider everything not in a Taziristani uniform as a combatant. Everyone within 10 blocks of our supply route needs to be moved out of their homes and into this tower." he said, pointing at the only one left standing after the intense bombing. "In fact, I want this to be done in each of the three cities once we secure the town center. From either direction, our supply trucks should never even be scratched."

"Sir, the amount of people that could be might not fit into one building or even a camp. They'd be over crowded and would die off pretty quickly if we don't supply them with food or water."

"I don't care, Commander. Right now I just want our boys to stop dying in droves of 20 or 30, Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

Nadir thought for a moment. "Only put the men in that tower. Women and children will be transported back to Taziristan as Prisoners of War."

The Commander nodded. "What will we tell the council?"

Nadir smiled back at him. "Tell those bleeding hearts that they're refugees from an evil culture that oppressed them and made sacrifices or something like that. They'll eat it right up." He sat back, then saw the green light on the coffee maker. "Now someone make some god damn coffee."

[Ostehaar]

It's been several days since the team of Operation Workflow had arrived to Adam Ruh and rented an apartment downtown.

During their short time in the city, they managed to scout for basic information on Islamic Guard network infrastructure and routine by following and questioning local technicians for a quick buck; learn a bit about people like Commander Osman by putting a small device in a civilian communication box and listening to his conversations with his wife; and perform several tests on a device they had been given back home called Barcode.

Barcode was meant to be installed on telecommunication networks in order to extract contents from it and transmit it to small local transmission stations. The device would accumulate information, wait for a time of low network activity and then send the information on several small packages to the outside local station, which would then re-route the information through several other such stations to Ostehaar. A device of this kind was installed on a military network in New Aapelistan for several months, but still tests had to be made on the ground in Taziristan, to make sure the local transmission station - in this case, the apartment - was getting the information and passing it forward.

The tests were successful. "It's time to get it installed on the real thing," Mehk said, a smirk spreading on his face.

Later that day, Peter and Mehnard dressed themselves as businessmen and sat in a local hotel coffee shop, waiting for one of the technicians they have been talking to, to show up. When he did, both got up and shook his hand with a genuine smile. They both spoke the man's language, albeit with a noticeable foreign accent - hoping their foreign appearance and style would make him think of them as rich and trustworthy. They showed great interest in what he had to say, listened carefully to every word, laughed at his jokes, and complimented him with both nice words and cups of coffee.

Peter thanked the technician for all that he did for them during those few days they have been in contact, and implied cautiously that his skills and experience make him qualify for a job overseas, with high salary and respect. He then asked for one more, last favor before the two return home.

Mehnard handed over the Barcode device to the technician.

"This is a very important part of any possible future job we can offer you," Peter said in a serious tone, looking the man directly in the eyes. "We want to make sure that you can handle such equipment under field conditions. We've tested it ourselves, but the networks you've been handling are far more complex, and we need to know that you can install this in them without a glitch."

"It doesn't do anything special," Mehnard explained, "but only used to measure network activity and monitor anomalies. The Commander has accepted our request to test it with you in their network. They want to use it to detect information leakage and such."

Peter presented the technician with an envelope, laid it on the table, and pushed it slightly towards him. "This contains ten thousand dollars, as first payment for this task. We will meet with you again in a few days to give you a second payment of twenty thousand dollars. I'm confident that you will get this done successfully."

After their conversation, Peter and Mehnard stood up to shake the man's hand, and took a slight bow. "We are looking forward to hearing from you," Peter said, "I think we can make great things together with you."

[Taziristan]

Adam Ruh, Taziristan
The Palace

Commander Osman sat across from his General in the Early morning of Thursday. The report had come to Osman late at night and, with the signatures of every agent involved with Upper Norseland. Upon receiving it, Osman had been wary of giving it to Nadir. He didn't like be told by other agencies how to do his job. Especially not the Intelligence Committee. However, it was all needed to be said and Osman had, though reluctantly, finally approached the General with it. Now, he sat across from him as the General read over it calmly. Finally, he took a sip of the coffee (which was only slightly darker than the bags under his eyes), then put the report down.

"So," He said slowly, "what did you think of it?"

Osman swallowed. "I think it's right in some ways, wrong in others, and entirely unprofessional in its language." Osman shifted, the heat in the room becoming more noticeable to him now. "I strongly agree with its review of General Bombing, sir. We need to stop now, return half those planes to Taziristan, and focus on precise strikes like we did before. If we don't do that, then the clock is counting down on our munitions."

Nadir nodded slowly as Osman spoke. Tiredly, he closed the report and gave it back to Osman. "Make it so, Commander."

"I will, sir," Osman said as he breathed a silent sigh of relief and reached out to take the file. Before he could touch it, though, Nadir pulled it back.

"Commander, if you ever have reservations about this type of thing again, you will either voice them immediately or be relieved of duties." He let Osman take the file. "I have never done any reprisal against you, Osman. You don't need to worry about it."

"Yes sir, I know. It's just.."

"You're worried about my plans?"

"Yes sir. This operation is not sustainable." He stood slowly. "I'm just worried about our future in Upper Norseland if we keep fighting like we have."

"I understand Commander," Nadir said as he stood. "But don't worry. The attacks on Olferich and Aelderich will be successful and, even if we don't have their leadership, we will rule Norseland." He took his coat off the coat rack from behind the desk and folded it over his arm. "Shall we walk to war room?"

---

Olferich, Upper Norseland
6 Blocks from City Center
Alpha Company, 1st Regiment, 2cnd Brigade, 1st Division

Since the evening of the invasion on Friday, no two cities had been in the same position. No two streets were ever in the same state of repair. No two civilians had acted the same. Throughout the intense on and off fighting in Aelderich, the boys in Olferich had been slashing through jungle and trying to find highways. While the boys in Olferich had been trying to find highways, the boys in Aeselrich had been rounding up men, women, and children and securing their supply lines. While the boys on the ground tried to survive a brutal, house by house advance into each city, the boys in the air had been making it their mission to ensure that there were no houses to search; just rubble to block the way of armored support. No matter what a soldier's experience on the battlefield was, it was always completely different from the soldier not 10 miles from him. Through all of this, though, there was one constant: The roar of the planes dropping bombs to an Earth-shattering effect. But at 0600, Thursday morning, Captain Selman was woken not by the sound of a nearby bomb, but by the utter silence that seemed to suddenly engulf the nation. General Bombing, as it was known in the H.Q., or 'Hell's rain', as it was known on the ground, had come to a complete stop. In just under a week of bombing, the Taziristani Air Force had dropped nearly 12,000 Ordinance on Upper Norseland. It had completely destroyed the enemy's capacity to wage war and secured the soldiers in harms way a secure landing, peace of mind, and a sense of awe.

Now, as Captain Selman stepped out of the empty house he had used for a night's sleep, he saw other men taking off their helmets as they watched the sky for even a single plane to come across. None came.

As Selman stared at the sky, his C.O. walked out from the house behind him. "Captian."

"Major," Selman returned.

"Look's like they finally got some common sense and stopped bombing the poor bastards," Major Emin said.

"Yes sir, they sure did."

"Welp," Major Emin said as he put on his helmet. "We have work to do."

Selman nodded. "Yes, sir."

They both walked back into the house, where the other Major attached to the regiment, as well as Lt. Col. Cemal, were sitting around a table with a map of Olferich open. At the Center of town, they had drawn a four block square around it. "Gentlemen," Cemal began, "It looks like we have ourselves a situation. As of 0600 this morning, all bombing was stopped except as a last resort. At the same time, I just received word from Lieutenant General Mecit that the defensive wall we ran into among the rubble and buildings last night is a solid defense prepared by the remnants of the Royal Guard still wanting to put up a fight." Cemal looked down sadly. "Charlie company lost a whole squad in about 2 minutes when they encountered them."

There was silence.

"Still," Cemal said as he straightened up. "We have to take this center." He leaned down and drew a couple arrows and labelled them. "Selman, your company needs to swing north and Reinforce Charlie as they attempt to probe for weakness. If you find one, take it. Dog Company got hurt pretty bad on the way in, so Bravo company is gonna take the lead on taking these buildings here." He circled them on the map. "Fighting will be brutal. Give the shot guns to men on point and stay sharp. That will be room by room combat. But we need that building taken in tact to see the rest of the center. That means going all the way up to the roof. Everything not Taziristani should be dead." He then drew a 3 block square within the original box. "Once that building is taken, we will be pummeling this entire area with howitzers brought in from the shore overnight." Finally, Cemal put the marker down and looked up at his men. "Any questions?"

"No sir."

"Good. Let's go."

[Sardaristan]

EMBASSY OF THE ISLAMIC EMIRATE OF SARDARISTAN
ALASH-QALA
CONSULAR DEPARTMENT


To the Taziristani government

Dear glorious leader of Taziristan,

We would like to support our Taziri brothers in combatting the Norse scum who have been killing and mass murdering our fellow Muslim brethren without mercy. We would like to send a battalion of volunteers, the Islamic Leigon, a 600-man strong military unit made up of religious ethnic Arabs who have volunteered in good faith to fight the Norsemen.

We would like to request permission to send our eager volunteers into battle.

Death to the Norsemen, Allahu Akbar!

Encryption: Diplomatic

Signed,

Emir Omar Taleb


Leader of the Faithful in Sardaristan

[/quote]

[Wellsia]

Agnes Weatherberry stood looking up at the huge carrier, no wait assault ship, oh well the Retribution. Just as her conversation with Admiral Elizabeth Karma was getting interested, Governor Dewar had called her into the office. She now stood with a written apology concerning the misinformation given to the Keomoran's about the Taziri aircraft. More importantly she wanted to learn more about the Keomoran's and how women commanded men in combat and weren't limited by society in strict roles. Agnes had never wanted to travel or go to foreign lands till now. Perhaps she would see about switching from Home Office to the Foreign Office. Approaching the Keomoran Marines standing at the bottom of the boarding plank, she smiled, "Sr, I am Agnes Weatherberry the personal secretary to Governor Dewar and I have an official communicate from the Wellsian government for Admiral Elizabeth Karma."


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wellsian Embassy; Aeselrich, Upper Norseland

Oswald Bastable sttod on the roof of the embassy and watched as the armored vehicles moved along the street, turning to his commander of the Embassy Guard, "Captain Archdale, those vehicles moving along the street, those are Taziri aren't they?"
Yes, Mr Ambassador, that they are, if the Taziri have control of the downtown, then this war should soon be over."
"That will be good Captain, we will need to send a message to the Taziri commander and hopefully we can get our people home."
"Hopefully, Ambassador, hopefully."

[Upper Norseland]

1645 Hours
Norse Royal Guard Headquarters
Royal Holding of Olferich
KUN

"Commander?" The voice was strong and confident, despite the meager age of the recruit who stood silhoutted in the doorframe. A short time after speaking, he could hear the Commander's characterisitc gravelly voice issue a low groan from inside the dark room.
"Ugh," sitting up, Ragnar Horaldsson, Vice-Commander of the Royal Guard, rubbed his left eye and gazed around blearily. "What time is it, boy?"
"1645 hours, sir." A short, rueful chuckle emerged from the dark, and a lamp flicked on, casting a weak orange glow over the room.
"And here I though something important was happening." Ragnar's voice dripped with sarcasm as he wearily pulled on his jacket. Despite his poor attitude, the young Guardsman new that the Commander was more than capable of the tasks ahead. After all, he had personally written the new watch schedule, and had purposely included himself on it. Every 16 hours, he took a 6 hour watch, just like the rank-and-file.
After a moment, Commander Ragnar appeared at the door, fully clad in his uniform, and the two strode purposefully down the hall. As they walked, the young recruit rattled off the current Reports.
"Quartermaster... Arms Master... Scouting Reports... Officer's Logs..." until finally, when they reached the unassuming black door to the east balcony, the young soldier cleared his throat and pulled the large, red bound report from his briefcase. "And, uh..."
"No need, boy." Ragnar snatched the paper from him and scanned it briefly. 8 dead, 15 wounded. 12 expected to recover. A good day, all things considered. On average, he lost twice that. But it was still far too many. Every man who fell was one more blow to the Kingdom. They couldn't keep falling like this. Slashing his signature across the bottom of the page, Ragnar handed the soldier back the sheet and the two saluted one another. The younger soldier scampered off to his other tasks, and Ragnar took a deep breath before stepping out onto the balcony.

The air was cooling as the sun moved gently closer to the horizon. The sky burned a bright orange-red, and the smoke that billowed up from the once-glorious city of Olferich, the newest city in the Norselands, took a purple hue as they curled up towards the sky. Ragnar took a moment to gaze at the sunset before he was interrupted by a loud sneeze to his left. The soldier responsible for the noise sat, sniffling slightly, beside one of the larger machine guns. While most of the emplacements on the building hosted anti-infantry suppresion weapons, this was one of the few that could be loaded for anti-armor. Ragnar cringed slightly as he watched the other soldier wipe his nose on a dark blue handkerchief and shove it roughly into the breast pocket of his combat vest. Clearing his throat loudly, he was pleased to note that the young man leapt to his feet, stood at attention, and offered a salute in textbook manner. He may have been a bit unsanitary, but his discipline was just as expected from a Royal Guardsman.
"Good evening, Commander." The Guardsman bowed slightly. "It is an..."
"Honor to have the opportunity to serve with you on this nights' watch?" Ragnar pulled the stool from behind one of the pillars and sat, gazing down the three streets running perpendicular to the balcony. "What, do you guys have some kind of script?" The Guardsman sniffled again and sat hesitantly.
"I'd highly recommend you stop being so nervous. Nervous men make mistakes. If it helps, imagine me as just another Guardsman. If it doesn't, just ignore me completely. Understood?" The soldier nodded, a look of slight bewilderment playing across his features. "Glad to hear it. Now keep your eyes open."

[Taziristan]

Olferich, Upper Norseland

Captain Selman Mirac sat quietly behind a concrete slab that rested against a pile of rubble created in the last days fighting. For almost a week now, the might of the Second Brigade had fallen against Olferich certain in its victory. They had used artillery barrages and precision strikes to bring buildings crumbling to the ground, seemingly destroying all inside. But, like roaches, the Norsemen would crawl out of the rubble and, within the billows of gray ash, slice through the ranks with ferocity only monsters summoned by the devil could possess. Since the Battle of Olferich had started, there had been no comparison to the brutality of the fighting.

Now, nearly a week in, Captain Selman commanded only 276 men of his original 500. When he had asked for replacements, he had received word that no more would come for sometime. Though disturbing, Selman had breathed a sigh of relief. The platoons that had survived the war so far had not survived by numbers, but by the grueling trial of Hand to hand combat that Taziristani soldiers had not been trained for. What few replacements came would almost always die within the first two hours of reporting for duty. Whether that was just bad luck or them regularly being used as bait to lure the Norsemen into traps, it was impossible to prove. However, Selman's company had fared better than the rest of the Regiment. In the first days since the assault began, D Company had been wiped out and merged with B company and C company was nearly reaching that point.

Selman shook his head and took a drink out of his canteen. Despite the losses they had occured, he could see the Norsemen weakening not in spirit, but in strength. They were slowly being bled dry. They were hungry, thirsty, and tired. That even one of them was standing without adequate water was astounding to believe. Between the ash of collapsed buildings, the smoke from the fires, and the intense on and off assaults that kept them awake at night, the Norsemen should have keeled over and died. But they didn't. They were still here and they still had ammo- a miracle all by itself.

"Captain Selman, this is Major Emin," Said a voice over the radio.

"Yes, sir?"

"We have a green light. Ensure your men have taken the necessary measures."

Selman looked down at the gas mask. "Yes sir."

Selman stood up and walked towards his officers. "Gentlemen, prepare your men for gas."

They looked at him confused. "The Norsemen have gas?"

"No, but we do. You have 1 hour before the assault begins. Ensure all troops have their gas masks on."

"Yes, sir," they said.

[Athara Magarat]

Somewhere in the continent of Argus

The man who went by the codename of Majipa picked up his phone and spoke in Kham.

"Yes, Majipa here."

"It's your Hang here."

"Greetings, Purna Sura Paija the Apologizer."

"Cut the formalities. I want to know what you guys in AMI are plotting."

"Not at all. I am plotting nothing."

Tch! At least say goodbye. Majipa thought as the line was cut. I wonder what the Vita Vargar are up to now. Have to make it top secret that even the Hang does not notice. I hope those Norse wolves have arrived in Upper Norseland.

[Upper Norseland]

Royal Holding of Olferich
KUN

The lone lightbulb swung wildly around the room as another shell detonated a few blocks down. Gunnar Sigmundsson drew his knife swiftly through the apple in his hand, shaving off another slice, as he observed the other members of his cell at their various tasks. Suddenly, a thud was heard above, the characteristic sound of the front door swinging open, and a quick series of footfalls played a drumroll over their heads before the cellar door burst open. Dashing down the rickety wooden steps, Ander, the youngest of the group, gasped for air as he knelt before Gunnar. Motioning for him to rise, the leader felt the brush of his new fox fur on his skin.
"Alpha, sir. Gas." Ander's breath was short, and he collapsed into coughs moments after speaking.
"Speak clearly, pup." The boy fought his coughs and, after a moment, drew a deep, raggedy breath.
"The Mohammedans. They're using gas." The whole of the room stopped to gaze at Gunnar as his smile crept across his face. Leaning back, he chuckled slightly.
"Perfect." The man's voice was practically a purr before he took a juice bite of his apple.

Norse Royal Academy of the Sciences, Southern Branch
City of Aelderich
KUN

His Excellency Ragnar Sigmund Ragnarsson, Jarl of Aelderich (or what was left of it, he thought angrily), looked down from the bombed out staircase on his "troops." Sighing heavily, he grabbed the arm of one of the soldiers selected for scouting.
"Is this seriously the best you could come up with?" He hissed in the man's ear. Nodding apologetically, the Guardsman shrugged and stepped away. Ragnar groaned and ran his hand over his face, pausing briefly to massage his left temple. He'd certainly expected a less-than-professional state, but this was ridiculous. These people were dehydrated, exhausted, and barely-trained. He would be astounded if a single one of them could hit a solitary target at twenty paces. Growling, Ragnar knocked his fist against the bannister. His ranks had swollen, just like he wanted. And with the Taziri pushing in on all sides, this was as good as it was going to get.
"Sir?" Lief spoke from a few steps above, leaning out of the small huddle of officers gathered around the radio unit.
"Take the ones that can march and arm them. We're leaving."
"Sir?"
"Can you march these men or not, Commander?" The Jarls voice was pure steel. Lief nodded.
"Excellent. Then do so."

[Taziristan]

Adam Ruh, Taziristan

Commander Osman looked over the reports, then passed it down to General Nadir.

"The Gas attack on Olferich ended the battle rather quickly." Osman shifted in his chair. "They're still sorting through the bodies. Burned most of them. Officers have been ordered not to actually count civilian casualties at this point. They are just trying to get the bodies burnt before the decomposition becomes so unsanitary that we are forced out of the area for the safety of our men."

Nadir nodded as he looked over pictures and videos of the attack. "Why can't we knock out these people's communications? Why is it every time we think we have succeeded in doing so, another video pops up on the front page of international news stations?"

An officer sighed silently down the line. "Sir, this is 2016. Nearly everyone and their mother has a cell phone and connection to one satellite or another. We don't have the ballistic missiles to take them out and we wouldn't want to if we did. We've made it very difficult to get news out, but it's never going to be impossible."

Nadir nodded. "Either way, we still have combatants all around the cities." He picked up a map showing the camps that had been set up by both remnants of local militias and civilians themselves. "Commander, what's the situation on these camps?"

Osman pulled a map up and sent it to the large screen at the far end of the table for everyone to see. "We have about 3 or 4 camps of varying size outside of each of the cities. Most have about 2-4 thousand. But two of them have had a large influx of refugees." Osman zoomed in on Olferich. "This one is particularly bad. No food or water since we surrounded Olferich. Unlike the other cities, people had no where to go once the encirclement was completed. So they just went to the closest camp or made their own. Olferich 3, this one is called, has about 10,000 people in it on last count."

"And these camps are segregated?"

"As much as possible, sir."

Nadir nodded. "How long will it take for them to die of starvation and dehydration?"

"We are already having issues of sanitation. People are dying rather quickly in Olferich."

Nadir leaned back and was silent for a moment. "Have our troops pull the bodies out of the camps and burn them."

"Yes sir," Osman said. "Now what about the camps not under our control?"

Nadir sat up quickly. "We have camps not under our control?"

"Yes, sir. Royal guard members have set up defenses around them. They have also been hitting our supply lines pretty hard, though the soldiers from Moukere are doing well against them when the Royal Guard attacks their positions."

"Bomb them, then!" Nadir said angrily.

"Our stock piles are too low for that."

Nadir sighed. "Then Gas them. Every camp not under our control needs to be encircled and hit with artillery and gas until they either give up or are dead."

"Yes, sir."