Revelations.[P/MT-Varathron-Semi Closed]

[United World Order]

Royal Palace of Rosgaard,
Rosgaard Municipality,
Second Kingdom of Dietsland.

Politics. A headache it was for an aging Maximilian Hortmeyer residing within the Royal Palace. Parliament was heading towards it's election season and with it came the headaches he had to bear as his Prime Minister attempted to keep everything from going into chaos. The Social Democrats and the Conservatives were at each others throats to see who could be the majority party while the Socialists looked to cement their place in Parliament and grab some seats of their own, followed by the rest who merely looked to keep themselves in Parliament. Immigration and Social issues dominated there as the Conservatives were lobbying for stricter immigration laws while the Social Democrats looked to block them. The Socialists were particularly becoming a wild card in Parliament with them turning down proposed legislation from both major parties and attempting to legally disrupt voting within Parliament if they didn't get what they wanted. Being one of the last of his kind, King Hortmeyer from the House of Wietersheim he felt in the recess of his mind that if he were a true monarch that he could solve all the politics in just a few words. The Freekish were also becoming part of the headache as they were continuing protests being held in Rosgaard and Vordamm as they demonstrated for more representation in government, especially in Parliament where the major parties were all Ordenite with what Freekish parties having little to no seats at all. The Freekish First Party and other fringe groups had even been going as far to call for the riddance of the Monarchy as a whole. Most politicians simply responded to the demonstrations and protests with telling the Freekish people to co-exist and work with their fellow Dietslanders, which did not go over well with the Freeks as the media puts it. The media had been poking at the tension for weeks now as they labeled it as a upcoming showdown between Ordenites and Freeks, a tension that many in Parliament and the Monarchy wanted to down play and deescalate before things got worse.

Focusing on a flat screen monitor in his office he looked at the headlines for one of Dietsland's major news conglomerates which were showcasing Freekish demonstrations and even some counter-demonstrations by Ordenite nationalists primarily. Rosgaard Municipal Police had already been deployed in case of the worst coming to blows between the two sides. Hortmeyer shook his head as he turned the monitor off and sunk back into his chair. Just then a knock came at the door as it opened and in came in the Prime Minister himself as he had been summoned here earlier and had just arrived. The two shook hands as they sat down together separated only by a desk that was used by the King himself.

"Your Majesty, I deeply apologize for my tardiness. I was in a meeting with Cabinet and I lost track of time discussing budgets and all."

"Parliamentary elections this year are going to be the death of me." Hortmeyer said. "Will the Social Democrats be able to keep their seats? If the conservatives gain enough seats they won't be far off from becoming the party majority." The Prime Minister waved his hand around at the speculation from Hortmeyer.

"No, no, no. Your Majesty, the Social Democrats have been in good shape this whole year." He insisted. King Hortmeyer was very vocal about Parliament especially to the Prime Minister, even giving some comments that outside of the Royal Palace would be brought to question by his peers and fellow Dietslanders too.

"And the demonstrations? I hope they keep it civil and not resort to violence...although that is the nature of the Freeks." Hortmeyer said. He was speaking with past experience as the Freeks especially their young males were very violent when it came to expressing their dislike of something, most of the time resorting to rioting with the Police having to quell them. One of the deadliest of these outbursts resulted in 30 people killed with over 100 wounded and the Royal Dietslander Gendarmerie being deployed to end the rioting.

"The Police are handling things quite well and I doubt violence will erupt, if so they are prepared." The PM nodded. "It's become apparent that the Dietslander-Ordenite Party is going to hold counter demonstrations which as you know. They've said others are going to join them in solidarity but their are enough Police and more if things get rowdy." Hortmeyer sighed as he turned in his chair and looked out from his glass window view of the outside of the Royal Palace.

[Drakonian Imperium]

0821 Zulu
Sachsenburg
Promau Province, Dietsland
Rural Highway R22

As the bright sun shone down, the line of armoured vehicles made their way along the rural road. It was a warm summer day and the white painted vehicles stood out against landscape of farms and rocky yellow-green grassy hills.

Captain Felix Arcus drank in the pleasant day. The armoured vehicles were on a boring peacekeeping patrol. There had been issues since the Varathron War, when the Freeks of Belphegoria, under the leadership of Azrael Dreadfire, had attempted to establish a new Freekish Empire in the region. Tension had remained high after the war and had only been further inflamed by the deaths caused by the Varathron Blood Fever outbreak a scant few months later. Furthermore, the post war period had seen wide scale settlement and colonization in the more sparsely populated north of Dietsland. And when, one segment of Dietsland had declared independence as Neufrekesland, it had only caused to further sparked tensions between the Freeks and Dietslanders and along the new border. Drakonia and the Pantokratocracy had offered troops to stabilize the region. Their offer had been welcomed and had met with some success on reducing violence. But, with the new election season, tempers were flaring again.

None of this much mattered to the Captain Arcus and his patrol. There sector had not seen any violence recently; the patrols were no doubt a part of that. And so, the line of vehicles made their way lazily along the road. Each painted Peacekeeper White, and with a Gholgothic Red stripe running along its sides. Black letters boldly declaring "GFOR" on their sides, while the red flags of Gholgoth and their Mission flew from their radio aerials.

Arcus himself had taken a commission in the Volunteer Drakonian Army after completing college in 2015. His Degree in History was hardly useful for much else, and his test scores were too low to get him into the Imperial Army. After his initial officer training, he had been sent to the city of Profugium, in the Drakonian Colony in Varathron, Disia. There had taken command of 2nd Platoon, 3rd Battalion in the 1st Varathron Volunteer Regiment as they shipped out to Milograd to participate in the Peacekeeping Mission there. Shortly after his return to Profuga City, Arcus was promoted to Captain in command of the Century. Now, a year later, the 1st Varathron had been deployed to Dietsland as part of Operation Causatum.

The 1st Varathron had deployed several months back. Most of the Peacekeeping side of the Mission was boring patrols, where you would roll around showing your presence, occasional talk to locals, Gendarmes, law enforcement, or military, then roll back to base. There had been little in the way of actual violence.

"Cap?" Arcus looked up. "Looks like we got a checkpoint."

As the patrol had come around the edge of a wide low sloping hill, covered in grass with rocks scattered, far ahead they could see a barricade on the road. Some vehicles barred progress; a few uniformed men standing around.

Arcus frowned. He not been briefed on a checkpoint here. "Slow it up," he ordered, picking up the radio handset. "Gazelle to Base, over."

A moment later the radio crackled back. "Sitting Rock to Gazelle, go."

"We've got a roadblock on highway R22, a mile off of the S4 intersection. Any idea what’s going on?"

The patrol convoy slowed, as they approached the barricade, before finally the radio crackled again. "Gazelle, we've not been informed of a roadblock at that location."

The Captain sighed, putting the handset away. "Great. The Landers didn't bother to pass the word. We'll just have to see what going on ourselves."

The GFOR vehicles rolled to a halt a few scant meters from the barricade. Arcus opened his door and hopped to the ground.

He had been out of the vehicle no more than a second when there was a crack and something glanced off the vehicle behind him. The young Captain stood confused, turning to look back at the vehicle trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Sniper!" It was Arcus' Sergeant in the driver's seat.

The second bullet glanced off of the open door and Arcus felt warmth on his cheek. His brain finally kicked into gear and he scramble up and back into vehicle slamming the door shut as the final round impact the window, it crackle in a spiderweb pattern, but the reinforced glass held against the onslaught and Arcus had to pry his eyes from the glass. If the door had not been closed that round would have gone straight through his head.

The Captain tried to breath, his eyes falling back to the Police at the barricade. In front of the vehicle the uniformed men had barely reacted. A few lifted their guns and looked around, but most seemed to still be focused on the GFOR patrol as though nothing had happened. In fact, Arcus realized. The men were not in cover from the sniper at all, but rather seemed to be covering from vehicles.

"It's an ambush," the Captain commented grabbing the handset again and dialing the radio to the patrol’s frequency. He could see out of the corner of his eye, the Sergeant nodding his agreement. "All vehicles reverse," he ordered.

There was a flurry of acknowledgements and the convoy started to slowly back up. Arcus' eyes stayed fixed on the barricade. At any moment a rocket-propelled grenade or any other anti-tank weapon could appear and ruin the Drakonians’ day, but no weapon did. Apparently, the insurgents had neglected to bring any, as they failed to properly spring their trap.

He called in the ambush on the way back to base. The Dietslanders' Royal Gendarmes or Royal Army would end up sweeping the area later that day.

They were almost back to base by the time Captain Arcus discovered the blood covering his cheek and shoulder from the graze.