Thus Saith the Lord (PT-PMT) (Semi-Open) (IC)

[Kafair]

---

The Veiser delegation flew in on a mighty airship, escorted by a pair of super-heavy Veiser aerial battleships. Astre and his guards stepped off the still-levitating ship, strutting with his elbow resting on the pommel of his signature rapier. His usual irritable gaze ran across the Royal Campus, taking in and curating the view. Whether or not he liked it, the world would never know.

"The Prince is here," he stated.

Outside the Imperial Palace

---

The Chancellor John Mercer and the Defense Minister SilverNet departed for the Kafairian Imperial Palace in the Hawiian Province of the Empire of Kafair. They used a device known as a Teleportarium, which was sensually a watch on the Chancellor’s arm to get from place to place without the necessity of conventional travel by primitive societies like the one he is visiting for some meeting about the ongoing war effort against the Terrorist Forces, when clicking and dialing the coordinates to the Imperial Palace it made a booming sound opening up a dimensional tear with them sitting through. SilverNet would be first arrival from Rapture as the humanoid stepped out scanning the area with the bright sky-ish blue glow from his eyes searching for potential histories that may attempt to sabotage the summit. Zero potential hostiles were detected at this time. SilverNet, radioed the Chancellor who exited the tear as the second and last arrival from Rapture. ”Hm, thought it would be more impressive.” Said the Chancellor, looking at the Palace. He turned looking at SilverNet. ”If anyone does something suspicious, deploy the scrapers. We must delivery a message to those who wish to ruin our journey for justice by crimes committed in Rome.” Scrapers, were self-replicating nanites who would rapidly grow into a great carnivorous swarm by devouring solid or liquid materials alongside with living creatures to increase their number and invoke greater terror to all those who have the displeasure in seeing the scrapers released firsthand, leaving a bloody carnage in their wake. Although, the Chancellor doubted that they would be necessary. As he had a gut feeling, everything will be going smoothly here. ”Understood, My Chancellor.” Responded SilverNet with an obedient short bow as they waited for an escort into the Palace.

As the Kafairian escorts saw that both Mercer and the Prince had arrived, they walked out to meet them. The delegation, comprising 10 guards and 5 servants, was lead by a member of the government. As they first approached Mercer, ther men introduced their jobs, which was an escort to the palace. Having Mercer follow them(with SilverNet by his side), approached the Prince. They were trained about this prince. What they remembered was a short fuse The delegation all kneeled before him, and arose. Explaining their job, they had both men follow them. Another group, made up of engineers, ran by, working with the Veisian crew to dock their airships. The small group passed through a huge pair of arches, and were created by the real royal campus. A massive square a mile and a half on each side. It was sunk into the earth, around 3 stories down. The walls were made of marble, and there were officials moving around quickly. There were exotic plants on all sides, and grand building housing officials at work or at rest. A pair of bathhouses competed the area, along with multiple restaurants. Everywhere was silver and gold, and the area was a blast of green, blue and white. Leading the men across the area, they stopped by a Kafirian hover transport. While very time consuming to make for the only now futurized economy, they had 3 of these in total. The delegation comfortably fit onto it, and the driver took them by more similar area, onto a grand road, past multiple great gardens, and to the entrance of the palace. now it's true splendor was revealed. Gold and jewels were everywhere, and the great doors were plated in silver. The front door was guarded by 10 men, all elite members of the 3rd regiment, and inside was another 15 of the 3rd as well. Expense was not spared. The delegation lead the men into the grand dining area, a ceiling of stained glass and etched marble enclosing them. Each was given a small group of servants, and were informed they were now awaiting the next few groups to arrive.

[Uvoan]

Kafair, Outside the Imperial Palace
Drakkin looked up as the plane touched down. Elbowing Kellaz lightly, the two stood as the P-J-C-2 came to a halt in its designated spot. Engines spooling down, as the pilot soon gave the two the green. The second canopy popping open, as Drakkin leapt out.

Drakkin and Kellaz were two opposite sides of the same coin-

Drakkin was built like a main battle tank, and his body was heavily scarred from years of warfare. His tanned skin betrayed a history of out-doorsman ship aswell... And full military uniform helped the image fully. An officers cap rigidly set, with the symbol of the artillery shining. A military trench-coat, in the grimy green of the Uvoanian Military, was his dress. Fully buttoned, and each one polished like the sun. A single shoulder-pad was laid on his left shoulder, a worn leather that had clearly seen years of service. Combat boots slammed against the ground, as he leapt free, looking about

Kellaz was close to the opposite. He was thin, lanky, and clearly inexperienced. A pale skin revealed little time spent outdoors, and the clothing was a business casual. A single red-stripe ran up the left side of his outfit, the ranking of a junior officer. He dropped more carefully, and came alongside the much older Drakkin. "What're the plans?" He asked, looked up.

"Preventing you from getting murdered, little Vekkot." Drakkin retorted. "You are in a very hostile place- And you're no combat veteran." Drakkin said, as he looked around the location, taking in all the details. He and Kellaz walked away from the idling courier jet, as the canopy re-sealed...

Drakkin looked around the scene with an appraising eye- Nodding at the security detail, as he led Kellaz onwards...

---

Adama groaned to himself, as he slowly woke up. He remembered an explosion- But little else. Just a sudden shock, and now here he was... Somewhere. He took a quick around, as he took stock of himself, and if he had any personal injuries.

[Kafair]

Kafair, Outside the Imperial Palace
Drakkin looked up as the plane touched down. Elbowing Kellaz lightly, the two stood as the P-J-C-2 came to a halt in its designated spot. Engines spooling down, as the pilot soon gave the two the green. The second canopy popping open, as Drakkin leapt out.

Drakkin and Kellaz were two opposite sides of the same coin-

Drakkin was built like a main battle tank, and his body was heavily scarred from years of warfare. His tanned skin betrayed a history of out-doorsman ship aswell... And full military uniform helped the image fully. An officers cap rigidly set, with the symbol of the artillery shining. A military trench-coat, in the grimy green of the Uvoanian Military, was his dress. Fully buttoned, and each one polished like the sun. A single shoulder-pad was laid on his left shoulder, a worn leather that had clearly seen years of service. Combat boots slammed against the ground, as he leapt free, looking about

Kellaz was close to the opposite. He was thin, lanky, and clearly inexperienced. A pale skin revealed little time spent outdoors, and the clothing was a business casual. A single red-stripe ran up the left side of his outfit, the ranking of a junior officer. He dropped more carefully, and came alongside the much older Drakkin. "What're the plans?" He asked, looked up.

"Preventing you from getting murdered, little Vekkot." Drakkin retorted. "You are in a very hostile place- And you're no combat veteran." Drakkin said, as he looked around the location, taking in all the details. He and Kellaz walked away from the idling courier jet, as the canopy re-sealed...

Drakkin looked around the scene with an appraising eye- Nodding at the security detail, as he led Kellaz onwards...

---

Adama groaned to himself, as he slowly woke up. He remembered an explosion- But little else. Just a sudden shock, and now here he was... Somewhere. He took a quick around, as he took stock of himself, and if he had any personal injuries.

As the two men approached the group of guards, the quickly saluted the two Uvoans, and lead them through the Royal Campus. Leading them through the same path as the first 2 delegations, into the dining room of the royal palace. Introducing the two to the Rapturian and Veisian members, and the guards take up locations around the room.

[Dessuar-Elsass]

---

The Veiser delegation flew in on a mighty airship, escorted by a pair of super-heavy Veiser aerial battleships. Astre and his guards stepped off the still-levitating ship, strutting with his elbow resting on the pommel of his signature rapier. His usual irritable gaze ran across the Royal Campus, taking in and curating the view. Whether or not he liked it, the world would never know.

"The Prince is here," he stated.

Immediately behind Prince Astre was a young woman in a black dress. She scanned the room, and took her seat next to him.
She was not, as some may have guessed, his wife, but Countess Marie von Elsass, the brother of the Margrave Wilhelm von Elsass, the one who had approved the deployment of much of Elsass' White Spell regiments to KMN.

More mechanized armor arrived on the battlefield in the form of Ishmael infantry battle tanks/heavy tanks, an additional smaller complement of Provocateurs (now equipped with engineers’ bulldozing blades) and Instigator railgun-equipped tank destroyers.
Seeing the new attempt to push through with traditional armor by the Elsassians, as well as the addition of supporting railguns, the Exodians were seemingly emboldened. “They think they’ve got it;” the commander of one Provocateur, Lady Bowlegs (T/1358/09) reportedly remarked over radio, “But we’ve got it better.”
True enough, the 150mm hull smoothbore provided an easy target for conventional tank shells and kinetic penetrators, putting many of the normal-variant tanks out of commission before it could reload or respond with denial systems- but the superalloy armor and internal shape, while it did cramp up the loader’s space, saved quite a few lives, with shrapnel and light penetrators from RPGs and handheld anti-tank weapons deflecting off of reactive armor, or shot down by hard-kill defense systems, and catching in the reinforced hull of the tank.
Key word was “likely”.
At the same time, the Ishmaels and engineer-variant Provocateurs, with their protective bulldozing blades and the former with a smaller, less-protruding autocannon or flamethrower instead of a large gun mounted on the hull, again mounted a larger assault on Veisian and KMN positions. The Exodian forces took advantage of the Instigator tank destroyers and Hellhound II-Rs, (variants of the Hellhound light IFV armed with anti-tank railguns) and focused their fire on the KMN mechas and the new presence of Elsassian armor.

In the skies, Exodian Harriers and XF-45s battled back the remaining KMN Hercules fighters while taking slight losses, swinging back and forth between their amphibious assault ships to refuel and re-arm. A few pilots chanced shots at Veisian aerial soldiers with their autocannons, but mainly refrained under the threat of friendly fire.

On the ground, marksman and scout teams on the sides and away from the main fighting still attempted to shoot down the aerial troopers with their 8mm and .50 rifles, a mixture of adrenaline, pentezamin, and hope within their bloodstreams as they fired shot after shot. Likewise, Dragoons in EX-34 armor and gunners on the vehicles blazed fire into the air with handheld automatic shotguns, Gatling guns, plasmacasters and direct-energy weapons, heavy machine guns, as well as assorted small arms, sending clouds of rounds and charged matter to tear through the space between them and their targets.

This was a problem.
Obviously, the Exodians had far better technology, and although aiming for the hull was producing results, it didn't do as well as they hoped. The Elsassians slowly began pulling back, flinging shots at their pursuers and (hopefully)inflicting losses on them as they slowly gave ground to them.
It was time for something new-well, not exactly new, but it had worked in the past, and it was hoped that it would work now.

Far behind the frontline was a collection of various medium howitzers and rocket artillery-more of the former than the latter.
The crews were lounging around and smoking cigarettes, when a radio crackled.
"FIRE MISSION ON SECTORS 11A THROUGH 14B. TOT."
That sent the artillerymen into action, loading shells and checking rockets.

Then it began.
Rockets streaked through the air alongside shells. This was a 'Time on Target' barrage-meaning that each shell was staggered so that they would all arrive at the same time, give or take a few milliseconds. This, it was hoped, would blunt the Exodian armored edge, adding on to the damage done by the Air Corps.
For now, the Elsassians kept pulling back, waiting for an opportunity to shift to the attack.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Polish-Prussian Commonwealth-Warsaw
The old Royal Castle had seen and survived much. Built in the days of the Dukes of Masovia, it had survived the long centuries since then-through Poland-Lithuania, the 7-Year's War(where Warsaw ended up changing hands a few times between the Polish-Prussian coalition, and the Russian Empire), the Napoleonic Wars, the 2 Weltkriegs, and then finally the monarchist revolt in 1987.
But-save for Prussia-Poland's occupation during the 2nd World War by Nazi Germany-the ambiance had never been this miserable.
Matching the castle was Crassus, King of Prussia and Poland-and now a wreck of a man. First his youngest daughter had been killed, and although those responsible had been punished, his wife died soon after from cardiac arrest. Now he spent his days drifting through the halls of the castle and, occasionally, drinking.

His guard, Sigismund, poked his head through the door of his study. "...Your Majesty."
"Don't call me that." came the reply.
"...sir, just in case you want to get back to your job...there's a stack of papers outside...erm..."
"Thank you. Back to your post...I'm fine."
No you aren't. shot back his guard mentally, but he held his tongue.

Crassus stood up from his desk and looked half-heartedly through the stack of paperwork and newspaper clippings.

Abruptly he stopped looking through, and stared at one in particular.
EXODIANS DEPLOY AGAINST THE KNIGHTS MARE NOSTRUM

He started running through what he knew.
The KNM were a military order that served the Church, not unlike the Order of Saint Adrian. Something about a terrorist attack, they had found that Skyhooked was behind it, supposedly. Ordinarily this would be a minor dust-up, but the involvement of Exodia...
His hand shook, and his mind was abruptly clear for the first time in a year.
"First my daughter, then my wife, and now the Church, eh?" he muttered to himself.
He took his pencil and began writing.

Within the hour, Diego Rodriguez would receive a message.

TO GOVERNOR DR-DET
FROM: SKM, PPC
REQUEST CLARIFICATION ON RECENT DEPLOYMENT ON KMN STOP WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING STOP WITHDRAW ALL TROOPS OR WILL TAKE SEVERE ACTIONS STOP END

"HE DID WHAT?!" roared Hermann, Crown Prince of Prussia-Poland.
"Erm...asked Exodia to clarify their pos-" the meek comms officer replied, before being cut off.
"DEMANDED OUR ALLIES TO WITHDRAW ON THREAT OF WAR!" shot back Hermann.
He took a few deep breaths. "Send a second message to Rodriguez. Do not breathe a word of this to my father. Have it be as follows..."

TO GOVERNOR DR, DET
FROM: PPC, CP
START THIS IS CROWN PRINCE HERMANN VON HOHENZOLLERN-JAGIELLON STOP MY FATHER HAS NOT BEEN ACTING RATIONALLY STOP HASN'T BEEN SINCE MOTHER AND SISTER DIED STOP SEND HELP PLEASE STOP END

[Yegla Islands]

YIV Izumrud
Brig

Commissar Varushkin peered into Adama's cell through the slit in the door. It was a hefty door, monolithic and featureless by design. Even the small viewing slit was filled with bulletproof one-way glass, set flush with the metal. Now the Commissar pushed a small lever in the dooframe, and the whole contraption slid open with a pneumatic hiss. He stepped into the cell.

Varushkin was not dressed in a particularly militaristic fashion - but then, he wasn't exactly a soldier. A long overcoat, complimented by black leather gloves. Slacks, tucked into a pair of equally black combat boots. Wire-framed spectacles sat atop a sharply-defined nose. Piercing blue eyes gazed out from a face that looked to have been chiseled from flint, without any of the smoothing that generally goes into statuary.

The door slid shut behind him, and a guard made sure to observe through a handily-mounted videocamera. At the first sign of foul play from the Admiral, the room would be flooded with tranquilizer gas. Now, Varushkin spoke.

"Good evening, Admiral. I trust you are well-rested? I apologize for the accommodations, but seeing as how you seem to be a traitor to both your own nation and the enemy, we took some appropriate precautions. After all, it wouldn't do to have you liberated for a third time."

[Uvoan]

Adama, after waking up for the second time in unknown hands in his recent memory, had remained mostly calm. Studying the room he woke up in, and waiting...

His attention shot to the pneumatic door as it hissed open, studying the man stepping through. Making silent observations to himself, even as he knew the other man was doing the same. He remained in this state as the door spoke, and he listened to the man speak...

"Yes- Quite well rested, all items considered... And how fast news does spread. Your dress tells me a Commissar- Yelgan? And, all in all, I am only a 'traitor' to foreign lands."

Adama replied, reaching up to his left shoulder to dust it off.

[Yegla Islands]

Varushkin's expression became one of mock surprise.

"My, was it that easy to deduce? But now I'm a little lost - is Uvoan now a foreign nation to you? Mayhaps you have swapped out your citizenship, and can now call yourself a proud denizen of Kafair. Though, given your recent run-ins with their personnel, I find that highly unlikely. Or was I simply misinformed with regards to your actions, carried out behind herr Zobvan's back? And in such an underhanded manner, too."

He reached into his jacket, and withdrew a file.

"I was hoping you would aid me in clearing up such... trivial formalities. After all, who is there to sift through the red tape and misinformation but a humble Commissar?"

[Uvoan]

Adama chuckles.

"I made it a point to study all forces involved. I had a full week to do so, afterall..."

He keeps his expression set in stone, as he considers his next words.

"The Humble Commissar- I shall have to remember that when Zkto's come for me... And, yes. It is quite simple. I have not betrayed Uvoan- Nor have I switched to being a Kafarian citizen... I am simply working to ensure the continued existence of myself, while benefiting Uvoan... It may not be obvious now, but I assure you Commissar... It shall be come obvious in but a few weeks. If not days, if not even a few short hours." Adama replied in full confidence.

[The Chuck]

The Chuck - Office of Commerce & Shipping

Nathaniel Halsey was frankly quite annoyed by recent events. With the war going down in the Caribbean, he had an increased workload with trying to make sure that all Chuckian flagged ships were operating and not being harassed. Unfortunately for him, the Exodians didn't seem to employ the most knowledged Admiralty Law attorneys. As such, a private law firm had been dispatched on behalf of the Office of Commerce & Shipping to Democratic Exodian Territories to attempt to remedy this.

Another issue on hand was the fact that the government had decided to send him as the Chuckian representative to Kafair where a summit was taking place. As such, here he was, stepping off his personal Gulfstream G650 onto the Kafairian tarmac. A ride had been arranged for him and he climbed in the car with his briefcase and was whisked off to the Kafair Royal palace. Upon arriving, he got out and walked in through the front doors and looked around.

[Knights Mare Nostrum]

Azure Beach
As the Exodians stepped up their game, the knights weren't that far off from them. Their air superiority was faltering, however, and their aircraft carriers were also at risk of being struck. To save them the trouble, they pulled out a reserve of 40 out of the 60 fighters they had left to reinforce as well as around 10 out of 20 bombers assisted by 15 of the 40 fighters to bombard the barricade with high explosive payload, caltrops and flechettes, and 5 torpedo bombers to attack their navy.
The mechas were struggling against the more heavy weapons, a number of them falling, forcing their pilots to eject, vulnerable and only armed with a pistol crossbow and a knife in a sort of 'banzai attack' against the enemy, as they were willing to die as a martyr, despite most being shot up beforehand as they were not as well-armoured as the knights. In the meantime, the Teutonic reinforcements had arrived as well, the 2,000 archers back by 15 ballistas splitting off into a different squad next to the Salvatrucha archers in which half of the remaining mechas fell back with their shields out to protect the Teutonics, despite plasmacasters and energy weapons chewing through the armour like it was nonexistent while also reinforcing the mechas who were protecting the prior 2,000 Salvatrucha archers' backs as they were down to the last few explosive arrow volleys.

The Teutonic archers, however, made some distance while the shields covered them, and unleashed a volley of explosive arrows, followed by a volley of regular, serrated edge arrows backed by the ballistas, before their commander gave them orders to fire at will, focusing on the Exodians, as the shields broke away, the mechs charging towards the enemy backed by 1,000 of the cavalry with swords in hand, a number of them firing at them with crossbow bolts and slingshots, some even throwing hand grenades onto trucks with slings.

Kafair, Hawaiian Territories
As the jet, embodied with a Cross of Christ on the tail, had landed, out stepped a man clad in black and gold armour, a devilish, moustachioed smile on his face as he walked towards the royal campus, ready to attend this meeting he was called into, two of his knights by his side as he smiled. On his way, he saw Astre and his own guard, giving them a wave as he smiled. "Evening, lad! Glad you could arrive here as well."

[Democratic Exodian Territories]

(Continuation of previous post, as well as a few responses. Like I say, stay tuned.)

Azure Beach

As Exodian armor once again took more losses under heavy artillery fire from the Elsassians, they began to pull back- as active protection systems began to run low on ammunition or fail under heavy fire, and hull walls begin to bend under the effects of the rocket attacks. With them, the main Exodian force fell back as well.
Clashes between the Knights and Exodian infantry turned to almost close-quarters, bloody fighting and around 180 casualties ensued as the groups fell back towards the remaining vehicles. While the miracle of superalloy armor protected them from the Knights' archers and weak ranged weapons, few were stupid enough to attempt to take on an enraged Knight in a suit of completely bulletproof armor. Shotguns loaded with armor-piercing slugs, plasmacasters, grenade launchers, and other specialized weapons rang out amidst the whistling of arrows and seemingly-futile drumbeat of automatic rifle fire.

Eventually, it was turned into a full-blown retreat- as Exodian units raced back to the shore, seemingly leaving the Veisian and KMN forces alone, it would become clear why.

Skyhookedian airspace, 21,180 meters in altitude

The Western Dragon strikes, the roar of his fire echoing in his rage.

The AB-76 Sirius strategic bombers had replaced the American-bought B-52s and its Exodian copies five years ago to fill the role of defensive heavy bomber- cheaper, more modern, and quite more versatile, they were one of the harder-hitting arrows in the Exodian Air Force's quiver.

Four of these made an appearance above the battlefield- with hostile air forces having too low an altitude to engage them, and Exodian and Skyhookedian aircraft and air-defense systems making SAM usage unreliable, the crews felt unstoppable; and they certainly looked so from below.

"Barker 1, opening bomb bay. Ferris, it's all yours."

"Vickers 1, preparing for drop. Switching control to bombardier."

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of explosives fluttered from their bays to pound the grounds below, a combination of thermobaric and incendiary bombs, conventional high explosive aerial munitions, and submunition-dispersing cluster bombs raining fire upon KMN and Veiser forces. The aircrafts' path took them over where fighting between the Pan-Asians and Knights had become the most intense, with explosives dropping heavily on KMN positions and seemingly indifferent to possible damage to Pan-Asiatic positions.

Their work seemingly done for now, they started on their return flight back to Exodia.

[Afrikaaners Ryk]

Ryk Ministry of War
It's been a while since the war started, and apparently the Knights and their allies had already made a landing in the Northern Caribbean on the Azure Beach. That's what Pieter van der Blekkenhorst heard from the headlines, at least. As Pieter was readying his things to give to his robotic clone, which was a precaution he liked to take as he was not the most liked man, he heard a knock on his door from General Zander Langenhoven.

"State yourself." Pieter called out.

"RRR-Ryksalgemene Langenhoven." The general replied and Pieter replied with an 'all clear'. The tall, notably handsome man then stepped in with some files in his hand.

"My leier, I raise you some concerns about our involvement in the war." The General asked as Pieter put in a few wine glasses in a box marked "BREEKBAR", meaning "FRAGILE".

"Yes, I know, we're not being as involved as we want to be, but trust me, I don't want those bloody Yelgans or whatnot moving through to our territories, nor the Pan-Asiatics blowing into us through the Indian Ocean." Pieter replied.

"Well, the thing is, right now, PAS is currently focusing its attention to Rapture's little attacks on its' eastern border, as well as the whole bout on Azure Beach." Langehoven stated, laying down some files. "At least, that's what the reports on their numbers in Azure as well as the reports from our naval detachment in the Indian Ocean." Langehoven said.

"So? They could send something out of they wanted to! They might be communists AND fanatical slit-eyed monkeys at that, but we must secure the Indian Ocean to make sure they don't have a straightaway footing in the Suez or Madagascar. This is exactly why I have those naval bases in Mauritius, Seychelles and Reunion, you know." Pieter said.

"Well, okay, you have that, but there's not need to just sit around in the South Pacific, waiting for the Yelgans to arrive, is there? Chances are they're more likely to go after the Knights, considering they have more of an advantage taking them on then they do us." Langehoven said, as Pieter thought for a moment.

"Tempting, tempting... Actually, you know what? I'll discuss this further with you after my 'trip'. Get my BodyFinder ready and deploy a clone to fly to Kafair to discuss plans." Pieter said as he went to walk over too the facility.

"Surely you don't need the BodyFinder now? I mean, it's a secretive meeting between leaders, and I'm sure Pan-Asia is off doing elsewhat." Langehoven said.

"Langehoven, that bally Astre boy is going to have my head skewered on his cheap fencing epee the moment he sees me. I'd rather not take risks, thank you very much." He said as he then finally made it to the facility, Voormeulen priming the machine and bodysuit, Pieter removing his clothing and stepping into it, before applying the headgear as he went in total control fo a robotic clone.

Moments later, Kafair...
Moments after Baldassar had made his landing, Pieter stepped off onto the royal campus as his guards gave a Hitler salute to him, the dictator giving them back as he waltzed off towards the campus, smiling as he looked around this. "My god, this place is well-endowed, isn't it?" He said, smiling as he walked by, giving a wave to Baldassar as well.

"If it isn't my old friend from the Tripartide Pact during the old Mekishima days!" He said, shaking the grandmaster's hand as he looked at Astre briefly. "...and the boy. Glad to see you here as well."

[The Rapture Republic]

Kaifaric Summit

John Mercer took notice of Pieter and the Grandmaster, he’d walked over to them paying little attention the guards escorting them and the same with the architecture and design that was too glorifying of a monarch that does nothing interesting except administering or being a complete degenerate as typical nobles are, in his eyes. But that monarch was unfortunately his ally in winning against the terrorist coalition so at the moment deteriorating relations with the Monarch’s country wasn’t the best idea. He must endure his existence to see victory at the end of the tunnel. ”Greetings, my dearest friends. I hope your campaigns are going smoothly, and do apologize for Rapture’s laxness in the war on terrorism. We are busy plotting the eradication of the Red Orientals as they are the largest threat in securing utmost dominance in this troublesome war, which haven’t have lead to me abandoning my humanity to defeat a deplorable and decadent foe for the likes, we’ve never seen.” Said John Mercer with SilverNet creeping up next to him, SilverNet wouldn’t speak. As he was focused on the safety of the Chancellor in a foreign country, an allegedly friendly country that is.

[Afrikaaners Ryk]

"Yes, well, fortunately, we here in the Ryk have been doing nothing but waiting around in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific. We're playing things defensively at the moment, but not to worry, soon we'll be pushing harder than a bulldozer." He said, walking up to Mercer. "And I see you're dealing with the red threat as well... Once those buggers are gone, we'll be basking in the glory, it seems. After all, we all win here. The Knights can send their sects back into Asia, we can bring the glorious Empire of Japan back to life, and you get to try out your new toys. Speaking of that, how are you going to take care of the bastards?"

[Veise]

As the Kafairian escorts saw that both Mercer and the Prince had arrived, they walked out to meet them. The delegation, comprising 10 guards and 5 servants, was lead by a member of the government. As they first approached Mercer, ther men introduced their jobs, which was an escort to the palace. Having Mercer follow them(with SilverNet by his side), approached the Prince. They were trained about this prince. What they remembered was a short fuse The delegation all kneeled before him, and arose. Explaining their job, they had both men follow them.

Kafair, Hawaiian Territories
As the jet, embodied with a Cross of Christ on the tail, had landed, out stepped a man clad in black and gold armour, a devilish, moustachioed smile on his face as he walked towards the royal campus, ready to attend this meeting he was called into, two of his knights by his side as he smiled. On his way, he saw Astre and his own guard, giving them a wave as he smiled. "Evening, lad! Glad you could arrive here as well."

Astre gave a celebrity-like wave, before drawing the hand back down to his hip. "Greetings," He said with a detached politeness. It was notable that much of his small entourage was female. There was a woman who was sort of struggling to stand still, one that was staring into everyone's souls, and the Countess of Elsass, an important military woman in her own right.

Moments later, Kafair...
Moments after Baldassar had made his landing, Pieter stepped off onto the royal campus as his guards gave a Hitler salute to him, the dictator giving them back as he waltzed off towards the campus, smiling as he looked around this. "My god, this place is well-endowed, isn't it?" He said, smiling as he walked by, giving a wave to Baldassar as well.

"If it isn't my old friend from the Tripartide Pact during the old Mekishima days!" He said, shaking the grandmaster's hand as he looked at Astre briefly. "...and the boy. Glad to see you here as well."

"That's a nice machine you've got there, Pieter," Astre deadpanned. He pointed. "Exude such energy during this meeting and I'll break it. 'It' referring to your face."

[Afrikaaners Ryk]

As the Kafairian escorts saw that both Mercer and the Prince had arrived, they walked out to meet them. The delegation, comprising 10 guards and 5 servants, was lead by a member of the government. As they first approached Mercer, ther men introduced their jobs, which was an escort to the palace. Having Mercer follow them(with SilverNet by his side), approached the Prince. They were trained about this prince. What they remembered was a short fuse The delegation all kneeled before him, and arose. Explaining their job, they had both men follow them.

Kafair, Hawaiian Territories
As the jet, embodied with a Cross of Christ on the tail, had landed, out stepped a man clad in black and gold armour, a devilish, moustachioed smile on his face as he walked towards the royal campus, ready to attend this meeting he was called into, two of his knights by his side as he smiled. On his way, he saw Astre and his own guard, giving them a wave as he smiled. "Evening, lad! Glad you could arrive here as well."

Astre gave a celebrity-like wave, before drawing the hand back down to his hip. "Greetings," He said with a detached politeness. While he seemed serious, one of his retainers seemed to have problems standing still, and a female member of his entourage seemed to be staring into everyone's souls with a sly smile.

Moments later, Kafair...
Moments after Baldassar had made his landing, Pieter stepped off onto the royal campus as his guards gave a Hitler salute to him, the dictator giving them back as he waltzed off towards the campus, smiling as he looked around this. "My god, this place is well-endowed, isn't it?" He said, smiling as he walked by, giving a wave to Baldassar as well.

"If it isn't my old friend from the Tripartide Pact during the old Mekishima days!" He said, shaking the grandmaster's hand as he looked at Astre briefly. "...and the boy. Glad to see you here as well."

"That's a nice machine you've got there, Pieter," Astre deadpanned. He pointed. "Exude such energy during this meeting and I'll break it. 'It' referring to your face."

"Oh, now be civil, boy. I wouldn't be causing trouble now, or otherwise we're all vulnerable, now aren't we?" Pieter said in a calm manner. "You're a prince. Act like one." He then walked off, looking back at Mercer. "If you would follow, my good man."

[Uvoan]

Drakkin chuckled to himself as he looked around the room, Zakkin looking up at a comment from Drakkin, the two exchanging back and forth in Uvoanian. Drakkin gestured to Zakkin to stay back, as he walked to the group...

Kaifaric Summit

John Mercer took notice of Pieter and the Grandmaster, he’d walked over to them paying little attention the guards escorting them and the same with the architecture and design that was too glorifying of a monarch that does nothing interesting except administering or being a complete degenerate as typical nobles are, in his eyes. But that monarch was unfortunately his ally in winning against the terrorist coalition so at the moment deteriorating relations with the Monarch’s country wasn’t the best idea. He must endure his existence to see victory at the end of the tunnel. ”Greetings, my dearest friends. I hope your campaigns are going smoothly, and do apologize for Rapture’s laxness in the war on terrorism. We are busy plotting the eradication of the Red Orientals as they are the largest threat in securing utmost dominance in this troublesome war, which haven’t have lead to me abandoning my humanity to defeat a deplorable and decadent foe for the likes, we’ve never seen.” Said John Mercer with SilverNet creeping up next to him, SilverNet wouldn’t speak. As he was focused on the safety of the Chancellor in a foreign country, an allegedly friendly country that is.

"Ah, Avarro Chancellor! Zkto' has said many things about you- And I am glad to get a chance to talk to you in person. The Minister expressed the desire for me to pass a letter along, when we get a chance- Afterwards, tennao?"

Avarro = Formal 'Hello'
Tennao = Verbal pun, Playing off the uvoanian word for 'letter' and 'latter'.

[Veise]

"Oh, now be civil, boy. I wouldn't be causing trouble now, or otherwise we're all vulnerable, now aren't we?" Pieter said in a calm manner. "You're a prince. Act like one." He then walked off, looking back at Mercer. "If you would follow, my good man."

Astre was silent, staring and glaring. His hand clutched his rapier hilt and shook as he restrained his wrath.

"We can deal with him later, my lord," Franziska, the soul-staring beauty of his entourage, reminded. "I think he will come to be surprised by our splendor."

"Indeed," Astre replied, knowing the Leblanc was cooking something wily up.

"See that man, Marie? He runs the Afrikaaner Ryk. He, Pieter, has thieved Princess Septette's blood and has committed numerous crimes against God and arguably basic humanity," Franziska said, seemingly forgetting her indoor voice...

[Pan-Asiatic States]

Western China
June 8, 2019

---

War has evolved much since the end of the Pacific Wars. Whence even war, a universal language between rival nations, the most barbaric of engagements, had customs, traditions, and codes of ethics; it was fought on drawn battle-lines by chosen men. But today, the war found itself above the schools, the homes, the factories, the workers, the mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, the very common people of Asia.

On the morning of the 8th, a 100-unit contingent of hunter-killer drones appeared on the horizons of Western China, bearing the honors of the Rapture Republic. Radars were cleaned to check for errors or sunlight interference, ground operators blinked twice. But alas it was neither a glitch nor a hallucination. The Pan-Asiatic States, long intervening in the affairs of other nations in the name of collective political ambition, long being the side hurling the missiles and gunning-down superpowers, was being asked to pay its due; at the price of a hundred-thousand innocent civilian lives.

The hubris of the Asian military cost ten precious minutes for the Air Force to realize the magnitude of a threat that the alien object entering their operative peripheral posed. On that seemingly quiet morning, as the Rapture's payload neared Asian landmasses, heavy fighters began to scramble from a military airbase in Kashgar.

"Six-Yellow-Two to Six-Leader, I have the target in sight."

"Copy Six-Yellow-Two, do not engage. Under any circumstances, I repeat, do not engage--"

"It's right there, Six-Leader, I'll fire a single heatseeker--"

"I said don't fucking engage, Six-Yellow-Tw--"

The azure was alight, Six-Yellow-Two's round exploded midair, as an aerial army of autonomous fighters, emerging from the white mist-like shrouding clouds expected at these heights, began to swarm like a plague of locusts.

The No. 6 Squadron of "Maya" JZ-5s maneuvered around the swarm. On-the-spot respondents from the Kashgar Airbase, the No. 6 were young recruits. But the youngest were almost always the most daring, the most committed, and the most stupid; willing to throw their lives away at the sound of a trumpet.

Two more squadrons were expected to intercept the payload, but the No. 6 had to damage the convoy as much as possible before they arrived. The more the drones were in the air, the more the danger they posed to their comrades. And the longer the payload itself stayed in the air, the more likely it was to hit Urumqi.

The airmen would either come out of this encounter as heroes, or they would not come out of it at all; and they would have to explain their failure in front of 100,000 dead, innocent civilians at Heaven's Temple.

June 8 2019
Western China

---

As the swarm came, storming way ahead of the doomsday device deployed by the technological devil of the deep. The enemy would be meant with a buzzing sound and a kiss by a barrage of lasers in a massive autogun volley joined by the drones taking impossible maneuvers when entering into combat against the human pilots, whom could not perform them without fainting and crashing to the ground below. Predator missiles by the drones were unloaded, these missiles were similar to cluster bombs that they would break up into smaller and smaller projectiles to deliver a slaughterhouse upon the target, while potentially making the pilot at the controls panic as his jet is chased by mini missiles coming at them from different directions making it terribly hard to dodge or flare them with significant success. In addition to this machine-driven nightmare in the skies, if a enemy jet was struck, forcing the pilot to eject to avoid slamming the ground with blazing explosion then awakening to the gates of Heaven. These missiles would target the heat signature from the organic as he flows down to the ground via parachute or whatever as Aquarians were not believers in allowing the enemy to fight another day, they must be eliminated then and there to take a number off the enemy’s military manpower. Mercy was unthinkable and this wasn’t going to be a war were you’ll receive from either side, victory was the priority and to hell with the globalist rules of war.

Five drones would be destroyed on the first hour of the engagement, while the majority of drones pressed the attack further minus 30 of them maintaining status as close defenders of the payload during the dogfight over the Chinese landscape.

June 8 2019
Urumqi Outskirts

---

The buzzing of the AWACS echoed with the gunfire of the swarm, creating a symphony of death. The drums of war were stricken by the relentless firing of the Pan-Asiatic fighters, who struggled to outmaneuver the plethora of missiles deployed to outgun them. The No. 6 continued their pursuit of the hostile projectile, reinforced by a dozen more respondents deployed from Kashgar.

The combined force flew in sync, but had a hard time fighting their way through the phalanx of drones deploying flares and striking back.

"Eight-Green-One to Six-Leader, gather your squadron and flank them from the right!"

"Six-Leader to Eight-Green-One, copy!"

Three green-finned aircraft began to fly in a small V-like formation at quick throttle, separating from the main group to match the payload's velocity on the right side. Five yellow-finned aircraft followed on the opposite side, maneuvering their congregation to the payload's Northeast, adjusting their throttle velocity to meet the payload's. Eight-Green-One signaled an attack from both sides simultaneously. Rockets were unleashed from all sides, while the main force continued to direct suppressing-fire from the payload's rear.

Eight-Green-Three, on Eight-Green One's side leaning towards the swarm took a turn too close; a miscalculated maneuver which cost the loss of her aircraft's left wing to heavy gunfire. Aeroguardian Aria Xia prepared to eject. But just as she began her free-fall into the deserts of China, a determined detachment of enemy drones swiftly made their way to steal-away her life. Five bullets slipped-through Aeroguardian Xia's chest, and a sixth hit her in the throat through her headwear. She was no more. Her lifeless body hit the dirt of a Chinese farm. From dust she came from, and to dust she returned.

"No! God-fucking-dammit!"

Six-Yellow-Two took full advantage of the opportunity, scoring four drone kills with one fell swoop of his right wing-turret. He ascended to the swarm's belly, puncturing a whole in the defensive formation's ranks. He fired a heatseeker, but flares got the best of it. Bullets grazed him as he pulled-back into the main group. A light on his command panel indicated major damages to his engine and ejection systems. He also realizes that his fuel tank has been leaking for a good amount of time now since he was first hit. But he had enough fuel for one final attack. He pushed forward, dismayed yet determined.

The payload began to near the city of Urumqi. Down below, civilians pointed and screamed in terror. Others up ahead were completely oblivious. Gleeful children playing in a park by the bust of Lenin were mesmerized. The fight was leaving the sparsely-populated areas.

The payload neared close enough for the No. 6's squads to abhor the golden of gleam of the Urumqi skyscraper-horizon, which seeped through their cockpits and blinded some Aeroguardians. As the respondents themselves passed government windows, the very window of opportunity to save lives itself, was too, passing.

Lives were at stake: hundreds of thousands of them.

Lance Corporal Xu Luoyang, in the cockpit of Six-Yellow-Two, knew exactly what to do. His hesitations dissipated in the fear of dishonor.

The plating of the Pan-Asiatic JZ-5s were intended to receive a fairly good amount of both impact and blast damage, the alloys were of fine quality, its mechanical interior could function under the extremely-damaged conditions of its exterior.

The throttle of the Six-Yellow-Two was maximized. Its boosters prepared to make one last punch, utilizing the last few drops of fuel left in the reserves of this almost 2-hour long pursuit.

Six-Leader led his group to direct all fire at the payload's rear, finishing-off a good number of the assailants. Remnants of No. 6 blazed their engines through the high metropolitan, as the curvature of the projectile pointed downwards at an increasingly steeper and steeper rate. Five more drones were smashed by the autocanons of the Pan-Asiatic Air Force. Then, for a brief moment, the guns in the burning azure all suddenly fell silent.

The Six-Yellow-Two rammed into the projectile's rear, using the last of its fuel to take it upwards. Xu did not expect to survive. All his aircraft's systems began to fail. His fuel dropped to empty.

As he and the payload emerged from the heavens, as all fighting was deafened by the bends in his ears; Lance Corporal Xu closed his eyes and imagined his mother's face: a second of tranquility amidst the anarchy of war.

Then, all of a sudden, an earth-shattering explosion consumed the city's market quarter. The missile did more than graze Urumqi. Thousands lay dead. The burnt bodies of children littered the land. Ash-black faces rested without expression. Blood on the streets and melted bones appeared by the corners of lamp-posts. Ancient buildings and monuments crumbled to dust.

A sleeping tiger had been awakened from its slumber.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

(Continuation of previous post, as well as a few responses. Like I say, stay tuned.)

Azure Beach

As Exodian armor once again took more losses under heavy artillery fire from the Elsassians, they began to pull back- as active protection systems began to run low on ammunition or fail under heavy fire, and hull walls begin to bend under the effects of the rocket attacks. With them, the main Exodian force fell back as well.
Clashes between the Knights and Exodian infantry turned to almost close-quarters, bloody fighting and around 180 casualties ensued as the groups fell back towards the remaining vehicles. While the miracle of superalloy armor protected them from the Knights' archers and weak ranged weapons, few were stupid enough to attempt to take on an enraged Knight in a suit of completely bulletproof armor. Shotguns loaded with armor-piercing slugs, plasmacasters, grenade launchers, and other specialized weapons rang out amidst the whistling of arrows and seemingly-futile drumbeat of automatic rifle fire.

Eventually, it was turned into a full-blown retreat- as Exodian units raced back to the shore, seemingly leaving the Veisian and KMN forces alone, it would become clear why.

Skyhookedian airspace, 21,180 meters in altitude

The Western Dragon strikes, the roar of his fire echoing in his rage.

The AB-76 Sirius strategic bombers had replaced the American-bought B-52s and its Exodian copies five years ago to fill the role of defensive heavy bomber- cheaper, more modern, and quite more versatile, they were one of the harder-hitting arrows in the Exodian Air Force's quiver.

Four of these made an appearance above the battlefield- with hostile air forces having too low an altitude to engage them, and Exodian and Skyhookedian aircraft and air-defense systems making SAM usage unreliable, the crews felt unstoppable; and they certainly looked so from below.

"Barker 1, opening bomb bay. Ferris, it's all yours."

"Vickers 1, preparing for drop. Switching control to bombardier."

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of explosives fluttered from their bays to pound the grounds below, a combination of thermobaric and incendiary bombs, conventional high explosive aerial munitions, and submunition-dispersing cluster bombs raining fire upon KMN and Veisian forces. The aircrafts' path took them over where fighting between the Pan-Asians and Knights had become the most intense, with explosives dropping heavily on KMN positions and seemingly indifferent to possible damage to Pan-Asiatic positions.

Their work seemingly done for now, they started on their return flight back to Exodia.

Atlantic-Gulf of Mexico
The Twin Eagles of Europe, Borussia and Polonia, cry, and their sons answer.

A lone Konigsberg-class destroyer cut through the choppy seas, returning from port-of-call in Alabama. It was still a long way from home, though, even though it was in the seas of an ally. As such, it carried a full complement of missiles and ammunition. However, they were not at battle stations...yet.

A beep jolted the comms officer from his lethargy, and he watched as the communication printed itself out.

BEGIN
KMH TO SMS ALBRECHT
FLIGHT OF EXODIAN SIRUS BOMBERS DETECTED-MADE ATTACK ON KMH/CHURCH POSITIONS AND THOSE OF THE WHITE KINGDOM OF VEISE-CURRENTLY RETURNING TO BASE.
ELIMINATE ASAP. RETURN AT ONCE TO KIEL FOR RESUPPLY, THEN DEPART AT ONCE TO CONDUCT OPERATIONS AGAINST THE EXODIAN NAVY.
GODSPEED.
END

"...shit." he muttered.

---

BATTLE STATIONS, ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS.
Sailors scurried back and forth, getting to their positions. Some rushed to the CIC, others to the engine rooms, still others to the damage control center. The VLS cells of the destroyer were readied, and the SPY-1E SBAR radar began to track the Exodian AB-76s.

The "trapdoors" of the VLS cells opened, and RIM-67 Standard missiles started to be shot out, every few seconds, 30 in total. The X-band radiation poured out by the ship's radar systems reflected off of the bombers, and was picked up by the missiles.
If the Exodians were lucky and punched chaff now, they had a chance to make a run for it.

[Dessuar-Elsass]

"Oh, now be civil, boy. I wouldn't be causing trouble now, or otherwise we're all vulnerable, now aren't we?" Pieter said in a calm manner. "You're a prince. Act like one." He then walked off, looking back at Mercer. "If you would follow, my good man."

Astre was silent, staring and glaring. His hand clutched his rapier hilt and shook as he restrained his wrath.

"We can deal with him later, my lord," Franziska, the soul-staring beauty of his entourage, reminded. "I think he will come to be surprised by our splendor."

"Indeed," Astre replied, knowing the Leblanc was cooking something wily up.

"See that man, Marie? He runs the Afrikaaner Ryk. He, Pieter, has thieved Princess Septette's blood and has committed numerous crimes against God and arguably basic humanity," Franziska said, seemingly forgetting her indoor voice...

Marie narrowed her eyes. "Is that so, Franziska?" she replied quietly. "A son of a Stassburg whore and a merchant, hm?"
She tightened her grip on her sabre. "I heard a few things about him...would be fine to wet the floor with his blood, but alas, we are at a diplomatic summit, and it would be a waste of my time and good soap in any case. Not to mention the space we would need to waste by burying him."

Skyhookedian airspace, 21,180 meters in altitude

The Western Dragon strikes, the roar of his fire echoing in his rage.

The AB-76 Sirius strategic bombers had replaced the American-bought B-52s and its Exodian copies five years ago to fill the role of defensive heavy bomber- cheaper, more modern, and quite more versatile, they were one of the harder-hitting arrows in the Exodian Air Force's quiver.

Four of these made an appearance above the battlefield- with hostile air forces having too low an altitude to engage them, and Exodian and Skyhookedian aircraft and air-defense systems making SAM usage unreliable, the crews felt unstoppable; and they certainly looked so from below.

"Barker 1, opening bomb bay. Ferris, it's all yours."

"Vickers 1, preparing for drop. Switching control to bombardier."

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of explosives fluttered from their bays to pound the grounds below, a combination of thermobaric and incendiary bombs, conventional high explosive aerial munitions, and submunition-dispersing cluster bombs raining fire upon KMN and Veiser forces. The aircrafts' path took them over where fighting between the Pan-Asians and Knights had become the most intense, with explosives dropping heavily on KMN positions and seemingly indifferent to possible damage to Pan-Asiatic positions.

Their work seemingly done for now, they started on their return flight back to Exodia.

This was new and bad-not terrible, but still annoying. While most of the bombs hit the KMN, a few landed on the Elsassians, knocking out several tanks and quite a few men. Call it half a regiment, including wounded and killed.
The survivors flung themselves upon the retreating Exodians with an even greater frenzy. While the Elsassians were brutal, yes, they were no barbarians, and certain things they were above. Bombs that turned their squadmates into flaming torches...This was something of a shock to them, and now all stops were out, and the Hague be damned, they would shoot every damned Exodian, whether or not he had his arms above his head.

[Veise]

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of explosives fluttered from their bays to pound the grounds below, a combination of thermobaric and incendiary bombs, conventional high explosive aerial munitions, and submunition-dispersing cluster bombs raining fire upon KMN and Veiser forces. The aircrafts' path took them over where fighting between the Pan-Asians and Knights had become the most intense, with explosives dropping heavily on KMN positions and seemingly indifferent to possible damage to Pan-Asiatic positions.

Their work seemingly done for now, they started on their return flight back to Exodia.

Screams rang out as three hundred men of the Yageurs had perished. Afterwards, they shared a similar anger to their Heavy Infantry counterparts. Itching for revenge, 4 healthy regiments of the ultra-mobile Yageur division were sent to accompany the Heavy Infantry charge by splitting up into twos and performing enraged pincers from the flanks. Two more healthy regiments were sent to bolster the Heavy Infantry's center. 20 Royal Engineers had perished, negligible statistically but tragic regardless, and the Air Corps suffered no casualties as they were sitting comfortably outside of the front line. However, as stated per the last page, an Air Corps chunk has been preparing. A single battalion (not Pascal's), specifically, set off to lay waste to the Exodian center, and two more battalions set off to assist in the Heavy Infantry's charge.

In the meanwhile, the Royal Engineers returned fire at the bombers with their own little AA weapon: a 'flak' gun of sorts, which shot balls of direct energy which burst into an omnidirectional laser barrage once they roughly achieved the bomber's altitude. Hitting something at that altitude was a little difficult, but the laser bursts could sometimes make up for poor accuracy quite well. Next time the Exodians tried a bombing run, they'd be more prepared and start shooting before the bombing, and any hostile air support from this point on would receive similar treatments. Some officers began to point out that Exodian usage of drones seriously endangered Air Corps troops, and advocated to redirect some of the anti-air up to the front.

[Democratic Exodian Territories]

Polish-Prussian Commonwealth-Warsaw
The old Royal Castle had seen and survived much. Built in the days of the Dukes of Masovia, it had survived the long centuries since then-through Poland-Lithuania, the 7-Year's War(where Warsaw ended up changing hands a few times between the Polish-Prussian coalition, and the Russian Empire), the Napoleonic Wars, the 2 Weltkriegs, and then finally the monarchist revolt in 1987.
But-save for Prussia-Poland's occupation during the 2nd World War by Nazi Germany-the ambiance had never been this miserable.
Matching the castle was Crassus, King of Prussia and Poland-and now a wreck of a man. First his youngest daughter had been killed, and although those responsible had been punished, his wife died soon after from cardiac arrest. Now he spent his days drifting through the halls of the castle and, occasionally, drinking.

His guard, Sigismund, poked his head through the door of his study. "...Your Majesty."
"Don't call me that." came the reply.
"...sir, just in case you want to get back to your job...there's a stack of papers outside...erm..."
"Thank you. Back to your post...I'm fine."
No you aren't. shot back his guard mentally, but he held his tongue.

Crassus stood up from his desk and looked half-heartedly through the stack of paperwork and newspaper clippings.

Abruptly he stopped looking through, and stared at one in particular.
EXODIANS DEPLOY AGAINST THE KNIGHTS MARE NOSTRUM

He started running through what he knew.
The KNM were a military order that served the Church, not unlike the Order of Saint Adrian. Something about a terrorist attack, they had found that Skyhooked was behind it, supposedly. Ordinarily this would be a minor dust-up, but the involvement of Exodia...
His hand shook, and his mind was abruptly clear for the first time in a year.
"First my daughter, then my wife, and now the Church, eh?" he muttered to himself.
He took his pencil and began writing.

Within the hour, Diego Rodriguez would receive a message.

TO GOVERNOR DR-DET
FROM: SKM, PPC
REQUEST CLARIFICATION ON RECENT DEPLOYMENT ON KMN STOP WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING STOP WITHDRAW ALL TROOPS OR WILL TAKE SEVERE ACTIONS STOP END

"HE DID WHAT?!" roared Hermann, Crown Prince of Prussia-Poland.
"Erm...asked Exodia to clarify their pos-" the meek comms officer replied, before being cut off.
"DEMANDED OUR ALLIES TO WITHDRAW ON THREAT OF WAR!" shot back Hermann.
He took a few deep breaths. "Send a second message to Rodriguez. Do not breathe a word of this to my father. Have it be as follows..."

TO GOVERNOR DR, DET
FROM: PPC, CP
START THIS IS CROWN PRINCE HERMANN VON HOHENZOLLERN-JAGIELLON STOP MY FATHER HAS NOT BEEN ACTING RATIONALLY STOP HASN'T BEEN SINCE MOTHER AND SISTER DIED STOP SEND HELP PLEASE STOP END

Federal Chateau

Rodriguez breathed in deeply, exhaling with a ragged sigh as he buried his face in his hands.

"Sir-"

"Tom, I'm not pulling out. This is utter bullshit and I will not tolerate any of it."

"The Prussian-Poles have been our allies for years, decades, just as much as Skyhooked. We're not fighting them."

"Yes, I'm sure of it, Admiral, but why the hell should they involve themselves in a war across the ocean that-"

"He'd say the same thing about us, I'm afraid."

For a time, the Governor's study was as still and silent as a windless tundra.

Rodriguez looked up.
"I don't know what else to fucking do. Tell Diaz to get bloody prepare himself mentally- and get me the other man- now."

Screams rang out as three hundred men of the Yageurs had perished. Afterwards, they shared a similar anger to their Heavy Infantry counterparts. Itching for revenge, 4 healthy regiments of the ultra-mobile Yageur division were sent to accompany the Heavy Infantry charge by splitting up into twos and performing enraged pincers from the flanks. Two more healthy regiments were sent to bolster the Heavy Infantry's center. 20 Royal Engineers had perished, negligible statistically but tragic regardless, and the Air Corps suffered no casualties as they were sitting comfortably outside of the front line. However, as stated per the last page, an Air Corps chunk has been preparing. A single battalion (not Pascal's), specifically, set off to lay waste to the Exodian center, and two more battalions set off to assist in the Heavy Infantry's charge.

In the meanwhile, the Royal Engineers returned fire at the bombers with their own little AA weapon: a 'flak' gun of sorts, which shot balls of direct energy which burst into an omnidirectional laser barrage once they roughly achieved the bomber's altitude. Hitting something at that altitude was a little difficult, but the laser bursts could sometimes make up for poor accuracy quite well. Next time the Exodians tried a bombing run, they'd be more prepared and start shooting before the bombing, and any hostile air support from this point on would receive similar treatments. Some officers began to point out that Exodian usage of drones seriously endangered Air Corps troops, and advocated to redirect some of the anti-air up to the front.

Atlantic-Gulf of Mexico
The Twin Eagles of Europe, Borussia and Polonia, cry, and their sons answer.

A lone Konigsberg-class destroyer cut through the choppy seas, returning from port-of-call in Alabama. It was still a long way from home, though, even though it was in the seas of an ally. As such, it carried a full complement of missiles and ammunition. However, they were not at battle stations...yet.

A beep jolted the comms officer from his lethargy, and he watched as the communication printed itself out.

BEGIN
KMH TO SMS ALBRECHT
FLIGHT OF EXODIAN SIRUS BOMBERS DETECTED-MADE ATTACK ON KMH/CHURCH POSITIONS AND THOSE OF THE WHITE KINGDOM OF VEISE-CURRENTLY RETURNING TO BASE.
ELIMINATE ASAP. RETURN AT ONCE TO KIEL FOR RESUPPLY, THEN DEPART AT ONCE TO CONDUCT OPERATIONS AGAINST THE EXODIAN NAVY.
GODSPEED.
END

"...shit." he muttered.

---

BATTLE STATIONS, ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS.
Sailors scurried back and forth, getting to their positions. Some rushed to the CIC, others to the engine rooms, still others to the damage control center. The VLS cells of the destroyer were readied, and the SPY-1E SBAR radar began to track the Exodian AB-76s.

The "trapdoors" of the VLS cells opened, and RIM-67 Standard missiles started to be shot out, every few seconds, 30 in total. The X-band radiation poured out by the ship's radar systems reflected off of the bombers, and was picked up by the missiles.
If the Exodians were lucky and punched chaff now, they had a chance to make a run for it.

"Son of a bitch! Countermeasures, now! Break formation and get as far away from that fucking ship as possible! Defensive maneuvers and countermeasures!"

"Vickers, that vessel's carrying Prussian-Polish markings..."
"This is not the time for mucking around, Pell! You're lying to me!"

They'd taken some turbulence and a few (repaired) malfunctions from the attempted AA bombardment by the Veiser royal engineers, (which was too far and too low to have too much of an effect) but this was another measure entirely.
As SAMs highlighted themselves on radar one by one, two by two, the Exodian bombers gunned the throttles and poured as much thrust as they could into the engines, two banking hard left and right and the other pair reaching for more altitude before doing so.
Almost instinctively, a storm of chaff and flares poured out of ports on the aircraft, while laser- and gun-based active protection systems readied themselves, waiting to be clear of their own countermeasures as the crews prayed dearly that's all they would need.

This was new and bad-not terrible, but still annoying. While most of the bombs hit the KMN, a few landed on the Elsassians, knocking out several tanks and quite a few men. Call it half a regiment, including wounded and killed.
The survivors flung themselves upon the retreating Exodians with an even greater frenzy. While the Elsassians were brutal, yes, they were no barbarians, and certain things they were above. Bombs that turned their squadmates into flaming torches...This was something of a shock to them, and now all stops were out, and the Hague be damned, they would shoot every damned Exodian, whether or not he had his arms above his head.

Empty your magazine at the coming crowd. Kill as many as you can before you could run.
Your aim's off.
Just run.
If you can't shoot, don't look back.
Don't look back.
Run fast, run far, and you just might make it with only a few nightmares.

Returning fire from the Exodians only intensified as groups madly drove off the field as they got closer and closer to emplaced defenses near their ships. Missiles and light artillery from the troopships began to shower the rushing Elsassians and Veisians, with the swarms of drones and unmanned weapons intensifying to provide cover for the returning personnel.

Call it pride, call it spite, call it glory-seeking, call it cowardice, call it courage- of around the 120 more men that they lost to the scramble of Elsassians, a good 45% of them simply preferred suicide over death by firing squad or any kind of execution, once the knowledge that their surrender would not be accepted civilly was spread. Grenades were readied, sidearms checked, and knives and machetes drawn as the opposition drew ever closer- officers emptying their magazines at the riot of enemy troops and saving the last bullet for themselves, blades pressed against chests or gashing wrists, explosives detonating in a ring around surrounded men and catching those inside in a blaze of fire.

Ashes instead of dust...
Scattered over the harsh, bleeding soil...

Bellcrier Airfield, Drarta Island
Democratic Exodian Territories

"I always hoped I'd never have to see the inside of this damned plane again..."

William Shang muttered under his breath and pressed himself into the cushioned executive seating of Astra One, his eyes closed in meditative prayer. The comfort of the seat only served as a cruel reminder of the true reason he was on board.

"Crassus... what have they done to you, my friend? What has the world done?"

The rest of the diplomatic officials there silently pitied him- here was the man many had served under for four years or more, on the verge of a mental breakdown.
None dared to ask him how his wife, his unborn child, was doing.

As the pilot made last-minute checks, with the former Governor and current Minister of State, Fernando Diaz, on board, the engines fired and the jet prepared to take off.

In a small gray-leather messenger bag that lied on a seat next to him, alongside a bottle of water, some other books, and a laptop and its charging and electronic equipment, rested a Bible with a bookmark tucked into it.

Job 1:1
1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.

[The Rapture Republic]

Sleeping with Death

---

The message has been sent, what comes now is up to those who heed by its warning. If not, they shall die in vain for their own stupidity and assuringly will not be remembered in the history books as Rapture will not allow fools to be glorified. Nevertheless, all Crusader Alliance Forces from Knights Mare Nostrum to Kaifir and Veise engaging the Terrorist Sympathizers saw by their own human eyes saw the buzzing noise of death, the Panther Bombing Squadron from the Rapture Republic flying above them. As they weren’t notice at all on their radar systems alongside the aforementioned enemy’s radars as Rapture will always stand number one in the scientific arms race with the small city state beneath the waves having enough firepower to destroy the universe an infinite amount of times, if it so desired it. However, that firepower spawned from mere science fiction into reality was only going to used in such a case that all sentient lifeforms were incapable of peace and must be eradicated or converted into servitors to known true tranquility without foolish brawls based on political or religious differences, which was total inferiority of a species in the eyes of the magnificent and serene race of the Aquarians.


Regardless, the terror of the night has officially begun with the crack of cluster bombs contained with enough Sarin to decimate entire towns or cities and enough knock out to force those cities and towns to be sleeping for years like sleepy beauty as the sleeping gas in each bomb was enough to incapacitate an elephant within mere seconds. All that is left after the aerial bombardment was the empty Panther bombers to kamikaze into the panicked enemy forces as this was an effective surprise attack and doing so, would allow more hostiles to perish in agony.