The Sleeping Throne (Late PMT-Early FT)[IC | OPEN]

[Fardhin]

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[Fardhin]

Manila

As the former capital of the Principalia Republic and Fardhin, much of its officials were cautious to secure it. Even after mass purges over 20 years, which had near completely removed Fardhinon influence from Luzon; there are few agents of Fardhin who remain in Manila, placed there in order to help execute Operation Buahpahit. The suicide attack by 50 or so senior-aged veteran terrorists had seemed to be the end; one final struggle of desperation, when in fact it was just a ruse, to hide the true numbers of the agents in Manila. They were the much younger recruits, ones with no histories; and inserted with whatever power was left of now purged and executed Legacy Council Officials.

Now, as battles spring up across the nation; and the leader's broadcast begins, they know the time has come. The time to execute Operation Bitter Fruit.

Nearly a hundred people, from ages 14 to 43; were to help execute the plan. With loose gun ownership laws, these young soldiers of Allah are able to obtain and carry weapons with ease. The plan begins, as all these people carefully and as unsuspiciously as possible, move to certain areas. Some move closer to the center of Manila, to where the palace is; and some spread out, but there are nonetheless certain areas they have avoided. These areas seem to be in the vicinity of military installations; camps, garrisons, airbases and the like; and they do not simply avoid them, but a large area around them, fitting into small spots simply to avoid being in such areas.

Many of these people, have but simply disappeared; with no explanation as to how or why. They have in fact, entered the secret tunnels of Fardhinon Manila. The Kota Tunnels they called them, secret tunnels commissioned by the Legacy Council right under the city. Tunnels too deep for radio signals, and too complex to go through without proper guidance, soundproofed and made anechoic as to avoid detection and prevent sonar detection from helping those who do not the place from finding their way around; perfect for the Bitter Fruit Operation. Those that disappeared into these tunnels, had immediately began to move; and move they did, towards the palace. Oxygen was limited, and as such; each operative had brought and worn filters and masks, as well as brought some oxygen tanks.

Dumai, Sumatra

Evading the chase by going north into deeper jungle rather than south like the other two convoys, one convoy had found itself in the woods near Dumai, one of the Pan-Malay faction's bases provided for the Fardhinon Allied Resistance. Working alongside fellow Malays, these Fardhinon soldiers would not set up several machinery; and begin a transmission. The SAGE Project would be soon reactivated.

Wherever the last sage is, he was sent into the PAS to infiltrate the PASAF almost 40 years prior. If he had made his success in the PASAF, he would be a top official or an important agent by now.

Space

Aligning with the Sword of Damocles and Fardhin, the objects would thrust themselves towards the earth with their rockets; disguised as meteors, with tungsten rods within. These "meteors" would then come to target the Sword of Damocles, which Fardhin had expected to be immune to small icy rock projectiles, and thus expect that the Pan-Asiatics would simply disregard the insignificant rocks as having little to no possible damage. However, as these "meteors" carried rods of tungsten, they were denser and could prove devastating. Several of these would go through the Sword of Damocles, unstoppable, and likely damage multiple systems, and likely cause a breach in oxygen and gravity. Other rods, would go down into the Earth; targeting specific locations, such as Manila, Luzon, Visayas, Singapore, and many more all across the Fardhinon and Pan-Asiatic territories. These rods designations had been calculated, as to avoid hitting Fardhinon assets; which is why many Manila agents avoided certain areas. One specific target, was the Aeroguard Fleet; which with their colorful coating and massive sizes, would not be hard to find. One rod with the aid of gravity is said to be as powerful, if not more, than a nuclear blast.

[Pan-Asiatic States]

Malaysia
88.1 AM - Voice of the Fatherland!

"The disposition of the Malay people is no different from that of the Americas in its conception. A continent torn by warring ruthlessness and lawlessness lacking a greater authority to segregate the right and the wrong. Let us learn from those we despise. Friends, the Americans were slaughtered by their British oppressors when they refused to engage in the dialectic of the Continental Congress. History will dictate that the backward system of Fardhinon insurgents lay waste upon the Malay nation in relation to the Congress of Soviets. That is, unless of course, a concession is made.

Do we ask you to absolve the Malay nation? Did the Federalists ask Virginia or Rhode Island to be assimilated? No to neither, for in the end, we shall all be trampled under Moro boots."

The Party Cell in Malaysia was formed anyway, despite lack of recognition by the official government. Malaysian emigrants in China and Vietnam comprised the new 200-man cabinet, an incumbent majority which would be replaced upon the declaration of a proper referendum.

Brunei

The unresolved mob may have been dispersed, but even loyalist sentiments were targeted by the approach of ideological support from Nuevayangtze. A distinct faction of Democrats was in the process of being formed throughout Southeast Asia. The activists comprising the various fringe groups shaped a unique brand based on the ideals of New Democracy and a dialectical, united front against the West. Labor unions, tucked away for years, took this critical moment to assuage arms factories and other essential war industries under the guise of this struggle.

Fardhinon supporters could now see themselves much more aligned with the Federation-- the paradigm of a readily available arsenal against Imperialism was much more attractive in any sense than a band of rebels with a handful of promises, who would lay waste to the foundation which in it of itself could march West. The Fardhinon Revolution was reduced to an inconvenient distraction on the way to nationalist vengeance.

Space

Nuclear annihilation was something Asia had been used to. From the Soviets to the Japanese, the great states which comprise it have constantly been under siege by its enemies through weapons of mass destruction. Nevertheless, even without this sense of doctrine, a quick victory for a suspiciously overfunded insurrection would not be a tolerable defeat for the Asian Military Command. However they could propel an object beyond 11.186 km/s to escape the atmosphere was beyond everyone.

Aerial projectiles this small were not fallible to conventional SAMs. Reserve Airships were hidden underground, their locations undisclosed; so the rods could only ever truly target active ones. For this, two phases were ordered to city-garrison behemoths; the first being to shield themselves under Blaze Luminous, the second being to implode Phoenix Canon EMP rounds above calculated displacements as improvised 'flak'. As in any bomb or missile, nuclear or not, the fissile components would then malfunction. Remotely triggered projectiles, and even time-triggered ones, especially those in sync with operational time, could only ever have been electric, and the cannonade could cover a large spherical radii for relatively long amounts of time, considering the acceleration of the object. The meteor-like round would then slow down, having been wiped of its combustible triggers within the Earth's atmosphere.

The EWD was immediately summoned to investigate the crash sites. The engineering of the rods suggested backing by either a larger corporation or a snitch within the Army. This could not have been the work of a civilian. The remote transmitter would still be functional, considering the object had failed to burn-up initially. And through that, a special tagging communication would be made by the garrison Babaylan. It was time to pull the weeds by their roots.

In contrast to the situation on the ground, however, those targeting the Sword of Damocles made significant damage to its static weaponry, disabling a majority, even despite a late activation of the Blaze Luminous; yet the station had now been put into a state of 'hunkering down'. All resources were diverted into keeping it afloat, but the stationed armada kept still. Inactivity made it look like a surrender. And maybe, it was. Continual lack of communication with Earth and any other entity only made this more so.

Neo-Manila

A snitch within the resistance was now more likely than the converse; Florentino II's initiative could only barely sketch the scope of Operation Bitter Fruit. Tunnels had to be constructed, materials acquired; and agents were now almost everywhere. Every broadcast fallible to detection, every communication, verbal, visual, or even the slightest prayer-- under the eyes and ears of the MSPS.

And then, there were the disappearances. The strict ban on travel in and out of the country, coupled with heavy data recollection of travels between states made the disparity obvious. With the terror from the air and a crisis mildly averted, praise and trust from Federalists to the government were in high spirits. To further that, a clandestine contingency plan was now in place.

With Manila split North and South, so was the Igarashi System. Or rather, the presence and lack thereof. Citizens of the Northern half had to acquire their offspring from a designate laboratory, one, to be exact. State-doctors were, without context, ordered to administer a maintenance vaccine mandatorily, to all Asian citizens. The genes in the infants born from 23 years ago had been spliced to be resistant to a certain bioweapon programmed for this military situation. The rest would be resistant through their transfusion-based vaccine, also administered two decades ago. CRISPR and biohacking paved the way for an unconventional defense of the city.

When the cannonade ceased, planted agents of the MSPS sprayed particles of the virus in the air of Mosques through miniature hand-sanitizers. An unnamed, unseen infiltrator. In truth, it was not a virus in the conventional, harmful sense; merely sleeper cells that, like any virus, could create copies of itself and maintain its presence within an organism. It didn't levy the slightest of symptoms either. Efforts were made to contain it within the city, travel permits for the infected were heavily delayed. These were only a few for those crossing the city into Pan-Asiatic territory, and those exiting into Fardhinon territory were given bureaucratic excuses. The inconvenience would only, overall, be minor; especially if the expected attack were to be imminent.

[Pan-Asiatic States]

Mindanao

The truth was, agitation became profitable in both resistance and non-resistance. The people were always slaves of industry, a tactic which the Federation disgusted themselves in using, but were necessitated by conditions to do so. A majority of companies, as part of Florentino II's 'socialistic integration', especially large ones, were in the hands of affluent Chinese and Tagalog industrialists who dominated the Fardhinon job market. McCarthy-esque purges now threatened opposition. Compliance, on the other hand, was rewarded, and was not too hard to do; all that was asked for were names and locations-- no harm was promised, no harm was done. Elevations to positions of power, Mayorship or Congressional commendation became weapons to use the Fardhinon sense of hierarchy against them; for so long as model Muslim citizens turned their back on the insurgency, the rest would follow. These were the provided-for and the religious, and the religious now doubted the morality of their monarchs.

In Davao, Sampornese supporters backed the Neo-Sakdalista movement, which had no real political alignment, and showed none; other than outproducing all other media outlets in broadcasting anti-Imperialist and anti-West sentiments. The infiltration here was subversive; several articles backed by Pan-Asiatic Congressional officials would state that they would not condone a coup by Florentine restorationists, citing how much more effective they were in fending-off American matters. Nostalgia here, too, was funneled into support to strengthen Fardhin-PAS connections. And of course, in-between the lines, to refuse backing the fringe Moros.

As it stood to the Federal government, the contending classes of feudalism and industrialism remained in constant rivalry. So, all they really needed to do was turn them against each other to pressure a snitch. As skirmishes continued to ruin agriculture and factories, the natives became competent to acquire as much commodities as they could; and the blame for shortages rested on the insurgency. Nostalgia to the prosperous markets and construction projects being developed elsewhere in urban areas of the Pan-Asiatic States and Fardhin would either cause a flock of escape from the war-- which the military was prepared to carry-out, as had happened in the East Indies, or a rush behind the shield provided by the military, which could only be paid through secrets.

The hunt for the headquarters continued. Sons rebelled against their fathers. The situation across Fardhin had now officially been elevated by the media into a Civil War.

[Fardhin]

OOC: If you haven't already taken the hint, Orbital Bombardment is not something you can intercept or hide from.
Earth's Orbit

With no other forces acting upon it in space, it was near impossible to slow down an accelerating object; and as a tungsten rod was extremely dense and resistant to heat, there was nothing could stop it. Perhaps the rocky and icy exterior would be melted or blown away, but the large metal rod remained; and it would blow holes through the Sword of Damocles. Even if it did activate energy shields, which worked in such a way that they were essentially fields of plasma; the tungsten rods would still break through, being resistant to heat and all and moving at ultra-fast speeds. Nothing could stop these objects, and they would tear massive holes from one side of the Sword of Damocles to the other, and absolutely devastate the station before either expiring or crashing through the other side and hurling towards the earth. Nothing would stop the devastation.

All across Pan-Asia and Fardhin

The rods would hit their designated targets, essentially devastating any military installation in the area. Especially those underground would be most affected, as orbital bombardment has proven to have greater effect on the underground than the surface. As such, whatever ships the Pan-Asians had hidden underground, whatever bunkers they had, whatever they stored there; would be rendered devastated. There was no escape.

All across Fardhin, the broadcast would begin to play; and the resistance would come out of hiding, and join the fight. Riots would start, and raiders would begin attacks on whatever military installations had not been targeted. These installations were those in densely populated civilian areas, unless of course they were in Luzon, Visayas, or the other non-Fardhinon territories. All territories of the Fardhinon Malay-Moros would have had several military installations in civilian areas saved from the bombardment, but not from riots, raids, or the Fardhinon Resistance's full force. Armed with guns and vehicles, they began their attacks. From the pirate navy to the tank battalions, the Fardhinon resistance would begin the attack in full force.

With the recent orbital bombardment, and multiple attacks on military installations; the enemy should be absolutely confused and in panic, with their communications systems hyper active as multiple requests for aid would come.

Manila

The city was absolutely devastated, as each and ever camp came to be targeted by the projectiles. Only the area surrounding the palace remained unscathed, which should by now be filled with panicking citizens and military forces struggling to keep order, as they were unable to fire back at a "meteor shower".

Palace

The blasts broke the glass of the palace, and their impact caused people in the palace to stumble and fall; and would be left with a painful ringing in their ears. The price to pay for war, even for the royal family. Juanita, however old she was, was strong enough to bear it; but she nonetheless lay on the floor, aching and groaning. Suddenly, entering the room and running; with some bloody cuts across one side of his face and bruises on the other, did a tall man dressed in white. He had tan skin, and was younger than 60, though older than 30; he has a sharp nose and fish-shaped eyes, along with some wrinkles. His hair was perfectly black, and had been quite messy, and he sported a beard.

"Mother!" he shouted, as he ran to Juanita, ignoring the aching he felt across his body.

As he knelt by her side, the old woman looked at him. "Se- Seman? What happened?"

"Meteor shower all across Fardhin, caused a lot of damage. We're lucky we weren't in any of the direct blast radi, but there were some nearby; and the shockwaves swept across Manila."

The old woman groaned. "Help me up."

"Yes mother." He said, lifting her up on his shoulder. "Not to worry, nobody came out with any injuries too fatal; but Fajar thinks she has a broken bone, and so do a few others."

"Carry me to the balcony, I want to see for myself..."

"But mother-

"Now."

He took her to the balcony, and she gazed upon what was once Manila. All around the palace, were buildings with broken glass; a panicking populace, turned-over vehicles, and military forces and police trying to maintain order. She looked beyond the center, and gazed upon the devastated; craters of dust and rubble, with skyscrapers toppled and broken. She looked for patterns among the craters, and saw immediately.

"Gather, everyone."

[Fardhin]

The two younger sons of Florentino, each had four wives and at least sixteen children. Juanita and Faatrik had two sons, each having their own four wives and at least 12 children. The men of age within the generations following the grandchildren of Florentino would also come to have their own wives and children. With Juanita did they gather, who only gave them such instructions that they were headed to the lower levels of the palace. First and foremost, it was likely they would have to request Pan-Asiatic guards to escort them, who would rather than protect them, be more likely there to keep an eye on them. That was fine.

[Fardhin]

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[Pan-Asiatic States]

Southeast Asia

The rods may have been dispersed in central locations, but were impactful still to the Southern areas-- particularly, where elements of the Moro resistance were able to anticipate the exact locations of preventive measures the PAS would utilize. Disloyal cadremen sold the on-hand intelligence of the Federal authorities, deluding and corrupting enough agents to lay the foundation for a more coordinated attack on the non-core territories of the puppet-nation.

As the wrathful judgement of fire fell like a hammer on the iron cities which stood above the Moro skyline, massive devastation wreaked social and intensive havoc-- hell on Earth had been unleashed, and its hounds, the Moro resistance, delivered it mercilessly. As military facilities put-up a desperate defense, riots and guerilla came out of the shadows of the city-centres themselves. Havoc caused electrical blackouts and disorganization, crossfire was rife. Asian Military Command carried-on, operating almost literally under the rubble of debris.

The occupied territories struggled to keep the coastal frontline supplied as coordinated raids began to cripple the Federation's mobilizing capabilities. Stores of weapons were set-ablaze as a scorched-earth tactic commenced for provincial localities, with Southern divisions evacuating the countryside. Under the guidance of a militant MSPS, Gendarmerie would still attempt to completely purge key cities-- the compartmentalized factories, bases, and civilian communities under the cradle of loyalty, of Fardhinon resistance. The worst protocols had already been set into motion. The South may fall, but the Federation musn't.

Emergency command facilities, defended to the teeth, were set-up in Neo-Singapore and Davao. Despite this, relentless attacks remained rampant. Interregional blackouts caused by fringe elements made themselves plausible, but telecommunications would take a little more work to operate against, as fortifications and clandestine agents carried-out the duty of maintaining stable servers and routers, keeping the government online.

As the Meteor Shower met shrieks; Father Asia's consolation ran thin.

"This is Garrison 3, medical su-- *static* THEY'RE EVERYWHERE! DAMN THEM, SHATTER BAR-- *gunshots* *static* Garrison 8 has wounded, eva-- *static* --civillians and children, I repeat, where the hell is support!" 

[Pan-Asiatic States]

Selurong

The Director had already been alerted of the attack since the first rod hit the A.V Garcia-Ong. Immediately, a jet escort took-off from Nueva Ecija to meet the Royal Family. The escort, the most loyal and veteran men of the MSPS, Vientiane's Finest, was to grant them safe passage towards Nuevayangtze.

[Pan-Asiatic States]

The 31st "Crucible" Shock Division
Special Operations Irregular

Sage, as his callsign was, bid his time in the mess hall; secure, hopefully, under Neo-Manila. His hazy eyes were the product of watching over the thousands of civilians entering the bunker-network, which hadn't even been in use since the Fourth Pacific War-- nuke-free bunkers constructed to make sure Neo-Manila didn't become Neo-Neo-Manila. As he stared into the distance, watching mothers hold their children tightly, gripped with fear, he was struck with reminiscence, and cause for reflection made him a little less sleepier.

Just the other day, the Daimyō-Heneral himself had approached his unit, a man by the name of Xiaoping Alexovich, grandson of Yoritoki Alexovich, who had fought the Fardhinon resistance when its leadership was still under Florentino I. What Sage expected to be a mere chat between the youthful overall commander of the Irregular Army Corps and the Captain of the infamous "Crucible" division, ended in a heated argument of ancestral heritage. Xiaoping condemned Sage's eerie, nearly undeterminable racial features, and everyone had always looked at Sage funnily. Some say he was Cantonese, others Han; both 'disgusting' races to the regime.

Then it occured to Sage, as it had before, but more intensely now, that he remembered few from the days of his youth. Sometimes, reality felt like a dream, and dream, reality. Days passed since the initial attack, and a whirring sensation caught him from time to time-- as if he was being shut-down, or even, being physically manipulated from a remote source. It was a feeling, for sure.

He remembers his unit, the band of mischief, barbarians and sackers turned glorified heroes. He remembers his friends, his subordinates; he remembers the University of the Philippines and the Military Academy.

But anything precursor, blurred-- or censored.

[Fardhin]

Sage would remember dreams, nightmares rather, of nothing but himself naked and drowning in a confined space. He would see all around him, Fardhinon men and women; sometimes laughing, and sometimes cheering. What they wore, were all white long robes; almost like labcoats. Every now and then, he would catch a glimpse of Florentino Fardo y Samporna I, just staring at him with a smile. These were engraved into his soul, and the frequent nightmares he would just interpret as a result of trauma from the Fardhinon invasion of his Chinese homeland. But were they truly nightmares? Or something, much, much worse?

[Fardhin]

Deep underground the Palace, Manila

Crouched over a panel in the wall, Perang bin Seman quietly worked his fingers with some gadgets. He tinkered with the palace’s systems on his laptop connected to the panel, typing with the speed of lightning. Since it was so deep underground, wireless communication with those above ground was near impossible. Everything had to be wired, and were all part of one big system. To access the system from above ground was difficult, as security was much higher up there. In much lower levels, even the lesser-known ones; the security was accessible to anyone with clearance codes. Codes, like the ones in the possession of Grand Admiral Faatrik Velez.

“C’mon Perang, we haven’t got all day! What’s taking you so long?” Says a young woman in tactical uniform, armed with a standard rifle and equipped with an oxygen tank and mask as well as night-vision goggles.

“Hold on, I’ve already inputted the codes; I’m just looking over all the system’s settings to see what I can do. If you rush me, then I’ll be able to do very little with very little effect.” Replied Perang, as he typed, before finally finishing.

Suddenly, all the communications in the palace shut down. Wireless communications above ground were still possible; but all wired systems were down, meaning those below ground had no way of communicating other than verbally. Lights also shut down, so it would have been pitch black throughout every room and hall. In some areas, the ventilation had also been deactivated; causing a lack of oxygen which would suffocate all unequipped, especially when they were below ground. Automated security and surveillance should also be down.

“Now, see; that didn’t take too long did it?” Said Perang as he finished up. “You don’t have to be part of some legendary legacy to be able to defeat our enemies, Miss Hafiz.”

“Shut up Perang. I already told you I wasn’t a Yuhannist, even if I am a descendant of General Yuhanna Hafiz.” she replied, before turning to the others. “You heard the man, you’re clear to go; now go!”

“Yes Captain Azura!”

A single patrol of about 12 stayed with Azura binti Hafiz to guard Perang bin Seman, while 3 different platoons moved up the levels in order to reach the surface.

Another patrol of around 15 made their way through the lower levels with maps and blueprints of the palace; in order to reach what was codenamed as “Florentino’s Tomb” or the “Bitter Fruit Chamber”. This was done with ease, as all automated security was at this point deactivated; and there were secret paths to the said chamber, each one never being revealed by Florentino to more than one Legacy Council member at a time. They would enter the chamber, to see a laboratory with confused men in hazmat suits; complicated machinery, and a tank filled with a glowing blue liquid and a man floating inside: Florentino Fardo y Samporna, on life support. Taking aim, the snipers on the team would fire upon the men; whom were likely able to survive the suffocation through their suits.Following so, the team would rearrange and recalibrate some of the chamber’s systems; rewiring and computing. Their plan? Reawaken the sleeping throne, by waking up Florentino from hibernation; and having him reactivate and control the palace’s automated security, to turn on the Pan-Asiatics.