Vengence Is Absolute. [PMT/GD/Closed]

[Greater Ordena]

Somewhere in Eastern Krasnova...

For quite some time Krasnova under Ordenite rule was typically silent of any sort of radio frequencies that could be broadcasted to the outside world as was such in Ordenite controlled territories. However this would come to change as due to the prevalence of cross border smuggling from the Western Krasnovan Likutat's into Ordenite territory, technology was brought in to undermine the Reich. Due to the closed off nature of the Ordenite Reich much is not known to the outside world of the day to day situation. The Ordenites have largely subjugated what remains of the Krasnovan population within Eastern Krasnova and utilize them in manufacturing and agricultural labor outside of the closed down labor camps and instead have them work directly in the factories and fields. The most recent war fought had cost the Ordenites territory that was much better off than what they currently held on to. Although the Ordenites were able to keep Ol'khovka from falling into enemy hands the sheer aftermath of the fighting that did occur there including the relentless bombings would take time to reverse. The war's outcome had come to directly effect the lives of Krasnovans living under the boot of the Reich. A more heavy handed approach was noticed as less political crime offenses were being given more harsher sentencing and punishment.

Food was also being more restricted in quantity as rationing was prioritized with those more favorable by the Reich being given normal quantities of food. Over 20 million people had been released from the labor and concentration camps that had been so prevalent across much of Krasnova. However while these people had been released they would then have their offenses be reviewed and if their past and current offenses were deemed inexcusable then said persons were taken away and summarily executed. While it seemed that the fighting spirit of the Krasnovans was extinguished over the past several years of warring and brute occupation by the Ordenites, their was still fight left to give. A faction within the Krasnovan Military had for quite some time conspired against the Reich and wanted to liberate their fellow countrymen and women, but they also wanted revenge. They sought vengeance against the Ordenites for the atrocities and the state that Krasnova was now in because of the Reich. This faction had over time worked in the shadows convincing the majority of the Krasnovan Military and collaborator militias to renounce the Reich and fight.

A major offensive was already being put into motion with a cover story presented to the Ordenites that combat readiness exercises of the Krasnovan Military were going to take place. Several hundred thousand were mobilized for the exercises however even more were in wait for the beginning of the surprise offensive against the Ordenites. While it had not been told that any of the collaborator militias were taking part in the exercises, thousands of these militiamen were now being positioned across several key areas. The Ordenites were in a vulnerable state since the end of the most recent war as it's forces were largely concentrated near the heavily militarized border towards the West. Ordenite reinforcements had been coming in ever since the blockades were lifted and these forces mainly arrived through ports like Uslan and Kamenka, these ports would need to be isolated and or destroyed to deny use by the Ordenites. The de-facto capital of the Reichskommissariat in Susol was also a major objective for the rebellion to capture more so for a morale victory than a military oriented objective. The border with the Republic of Norgorka which was under the protection of the Commenwealth of Morrdh was also of importance to secure. The conspirators knew that with the heavy fighting to come they would need outside intervention and aid to even stand a chance.

The night was still young as suddenly a radio frequency being broadcasted through a terminal began to be sent out to the outside world. A Krasnovan spoke and likely was the first of his own to ever be able to be heard outside of Ordenite held Krasnova.

"Brothers and sisters in arms, I am Pytor Vinogradov Aleksandrov a Krasnovan patriot like you all who now speaks to you on a day that will be read and talked about for future generations to come. The Ordenites have slaughtered our people and caused great devastation to our Motherland. They have through their actions allowed foreign powers to carve our country up to their desire, and we cannot stand for this travesty any longer. Now is the time to fight, the time to free our people... to exact revenge on the fascist scum who masqueraded as our saviors after the fall of the Red Star Union. This is the time to remove this black stain from our Motherland! God Save the Tsar! Ura!"

The night would soon be interrupted as artillery fire shook the earth. Krasnovan artillery including rockets began to target Ordenite concentrations and positions across Eastern Krasnova. Krasnovan warplanes took to the skies as they sought out Ordenite targets such as troop bases and especially bases of the Luftwaffe, they looked to maximize the effectiveness of their surprise attack to hurt the Wehrmacht. Krasnovan ground forces were now on the move with several general directions of attack to follow which included the Reichskommissariat's capital in Susol, the major port of Uslan and Kamenka along with securing the border with Norgorka. Gryaznaya and New Impen would also be pressed by the Krasnovans in order to snatch away territory, the rest of the South East would soon follow. This would decide the future of the Krasnovan people and their country, but one thing was for certain and that was Revenge.

[The Macabees]

Topographic map with older (post-Second Krasnovan War) boundaries.


FEDOROGRAD

Rumors of the rebellion in Ordenite Krasnova rolled into Fedorograd before formal news did, so when official reports reached Díeg Hahk-Lorán's desk the Vikaro was already preparing a policy with regards to rapidly evolving events. There an element of surprise once rumors were verified in that it was known that the Ordenites had Krasnova under extreme lockdown. The liberation of Fedorograd and Rubino, and later of the other western cities, had given the Golden Throne a deep and detailed window on Nazi policy in the country. Chilling, oppressive, and based on the gratuitous application of violence, Ordenite policy in Krasnova was bound to cause disgruntlement, but the Krasnovan population was so controlled that significant resistance against the regime was considered impossible. Indeed, in none of the prior wars had the local population risen up against the Reich, despite the presence of large liberating armies on the island. Understandably, that a major, large-scale rebellion was underway was something of a shock. The question was whether it would also be seen as an opportunity.

A discussion to that effect took place at the Vikaro's Palace in Fedorograd, one of two official residences of the Krasnovan Vikaro on the island — the other sitting in Jonaksburg, formerly Datosk. The first official reports on the rebellion in Ordenite Krasnova had reached Díeg Hahk-Lorán's desk that morning, although he had already been getting memos throughout the night. The military commanders of the eight komsektors, corresponding to the individual likutats, had been called to the administrative capital to discuss the situation and how the empire would react. In a large study, the Vikaro met with Vicstrategos Janko Juniper (Ivanovka), Soram Helíaka (Rubino), Hernán Froleoso (Sterlya), Sakos Yorobán (Chernaya), Gerard Ba'ansolar (Sofiatsyn), and Kilíopén Marlo (Pezlevko), as well as Vicadmiránts Nelson Maalabar (Jonaksburg) and Benji Lorén (Fedorograd).

Servants had filled glasses of water before leaving the room. The Vikaro began, "Before we get started, I will brief you on the contents of my phone call with His Imperial Majesty in the morning. He is fully up to date on the situation, perhaps more so than us even, and has pronounced himself on several matters worth considering before we discuss the situation between ourselves. Any objections?"

"I hope His Imperial Majesty has issued the order to invade," said Yorobán, chief military commander of the Chernaya komsektor. Along with Ivanovka and Rubino, Chernaya was one of the most militarized likutats on the Macabéan side of the frontier as it controlled the central access point to the central Krasnovan steppe. And, inversely, it also served as the most important front of defense in case of an Ordenite invasion. As if the area needed another destabilizing element, the majority Shiekhist population in Chernaya was difficult to control and distrustful of the Golden Throne. Prior to the Fourth Krasnovan War, Kysetian war bands recruited, armed, and paid by the Golden Throne had infiltrated through Ordenite lines to plague the Chernayan steppe. The Kysetian insurgency had been squashed by the Ordenites during the war, but the memories of the terror persisted in the minds of the Chernayan people. Relations with the Likutat of Sofiatsyn, previously Fryotov, were sour, despite the Kysetian capital's name change. Low-intensity conflict between the two city-states persisted despite the heavy Macabéan occupation, and the Shiekhists were liable to raid into Ordenite territory too. Thus, Vicstrategos Yorobán sat at the head of an impressive military presence combining Regulares, limikari, and local Laerihans elements. The Ejermacht commander was known for his aggressiveness and penchant for war. He was one of the many who had advised against the armistice in the first place, wanting to continue on with the war until the Reich had been expelled entirely from both Krasnova and the Killian Republic.

Hahk-Lorán peered at the general none too kindly. "The exact opposite actually, Vicstrategos Yorobán. His Imperial Majesty made clear that we signed a two-year armistice with the Reich and that the empire intends to uphold its side of the agreement. Imperial forces in Krasnova will continue normal patterns in all senses, meaning in terms of numbers, density, maneuvers, et cetera. We shall neither be more careful nor less. Practically speaking, this means that the number of limikari forces in the likutats will continue to increase and that all of our patrolling forces will continue with the same intensity."

"So, nothing changes?" asked Lorén, the admiral in charge of military operations in Fedorograd. "What about Operation KORAL?"

"Operation KORAL will continue as normal. His Imperial Majesty seeks Operation KORAL as possibly the most important peacetime operation we can at present carry out against Ordenite forces in Krasnova, as it would allow us to listen in on the movements of their u-boats on all sides of the island," replied the Vikaro. He added, "One thing that does change is that a strict policy of disassociation with the rebel faction will be adhered to by the imperial bureaucracy and military. The rebels are neither to be aided nor abetted, and rebel guerrilla forces are not to be allowed freedom of movement between the Krasnovan Frontier. It is important that we show the utmost cooperation on matters regarding the rebellion, despite of provocative movements elsewhere."

It was Janko Juniper, the vicadmiránt overseeing military matters in Ivanovka, who asked, "And why not march into Krasnova as a liberator?"

"Simply put," responded the Vikaro, "His Imperial Majesty does not see the timing as favorable to the empire. There are still tens of millions of soldiers and equipment for more left to bring home from the Gothic theater, which will be integral for the reunification of the Killian Republic and the full conquest of Krasnova. Our position will be much more secure upon completion upon the present term of the armistice. Anyway, there is another matter which is actually specific relevant to you, Vicstrategos Juniper."

"Oh?" asked the general.

"Leonid Ilyich Kusma has styled himself the Tsar-in-Exile of Krasnova and has asked His Imperial Majesty to back his claim and use our armies to unify the island under his government. The poor fool hasn't realized yet that Krasnova is well beyond self-rule at this point." There were chuckles around the room.

Arching an eyebrow, Juniper nodded, "There has been some increased agitation by monarchists in Ivanovka, but nothing significantly more dangerous than the norm. Intelligence in Ivanovka has penetrated most of those organizations at some level and keeps tabs on them. Is there any intelligence at a higher level that suggests the monarchists intend to rebel in the likutats, as well?"

Hahk-Lorán answered, "To nip the problem in the bud, it will be our policy to arrest top political agitators known to be monarchists or monarchist-collaborationists."

"Under what legal pretense?" asked Vicstrategos Juniper.

"Operation KRASNOVA NOIR," said the Vikaro, cooly. "You still have your contacts and everything is in place to launch, yes? You were asked to maintain the option open."

Juniper nodded, and said, "I assume we are changing a few details since we're not seeking war with the Ordenites, then?" He was a bit perturbed. Operation KRASNOVA NOIR was a black flag operation to give the empire a cassus belli in Krasnova in case it saw it necessary to go on preemptive war. A terrorist attack in Ivanovka was to be blamed on the Ordenites, confirmed by the surviving terrorists themselves once captured. It was all a setup, of course. To commit those kinds of tricks against the fascists was one thing, to do it against your subjects — albeit newly acquired — was quite another. But, the vicstrategos didn't complain, and neither did anyone else in the room. His earlier question, however, had been ignored. So he added, "You never said, are they a true security threat? What I suppose I am truly asking is, why are we doing the Ordenites a favor? Why not use the monarchists to do damage while we keep our hands clean, just the same as we do with the Chernayans and Kysetians?"

The Vikaro sighed, "Because Kusma's claim to the Krasnovan throne undermines His Imperial Majesty's authority in the liberated lands. If eastern Krasnova should be free, under a local, sovereign ruler, why shouldn't the rest of it? Besides, the monarchists are a weak faction. We can rid ourselves of them now before they get any stronger and simplify the landscape by one less factor. And, as a cherry, we have ourselves an example of our willingness to cooperate against rebels in Krasnova, giving us greater plausible deniability in regards to Chernayan and Kysetian militants who raid across the frontier."

Nodding, Juniper replied, "I don't know if I like it, but it will be done as He asks."

"Good," said Hahk-Lorán. "I will arrive at Ivanovka in the aftermath of KRASNOVA NOIR. My main purpose will be to settle political affairs in the likutat, as the attack will likely unsettle the fragile parliamentarian balance in the city. Until then, Vicstrategos Juniper. Go, now and do what's needed. You are authorized to launch Operation KRASNOVA NOIR at the earliest possible date."



IVANOVKA

The city of Ivanovka was a shell of its former self. Heavy fighting in the last war, although not as hard as the battle in Sterlya, had left it depopulated. Refugees had streamed back, but hundreds of millions of Krasnovans had died in the prior years and so even the refugees seemed scarce against the size of the former metropolis. Tens of millions of demobilized Macabéan veterans would soon call the area home, but the first waves of these settlers were only just arriving. Not much time had passed since the last war, in truth, and so there was still little to show for the peace.

Nevertheless, Ivanovka, nestled as it was in a large valley that led to the coast between the mountains to the north and south, had been a monarchist stronghold in Krasnova since before communist times. When Krasnova suffered its communist revolution and Red Star Union (RSU) was founded, the city did not lose the core of its heritage. Through to the modern-day, including under the Ordenites, Kendrov, and now the Golden Throne, the strength of monarchist ideals remained. If there was one free city in Krasnova where Leonid Ilyich Kusma's claim to tsardom would be followed before the rest, it was Ivanovka. As news of the rebellion spread like wildfire, thick air of tension stifled the city. Rumors that the revolt would spread to the likutats abounded, although so far security had only been scaled up limitedly.

One feature of Ivanovka that made its post-war shape strange was most of the center and suburbs had been taken over by the government, cleared, parceled, and sold to land developers. The latter would be the ones building the housing, businesses, and industries to be occupied, employed, and led by the veteran settlers. As such, the refugees were increasingly concentrated into specific suburbs, mostly along the southern roadways to Sterlya. This had caused unhappiness among the locals, but they were relatively so few these days and so wasted by war — the majority of the military-age male population in Kranova was dead — that they could hardly muster up any resistance against the imperial reorganization of the likutat's lands. These disgruntled locals instead made new lives in the carcasses of bombed-out towns and villages, creating a Krasnovan settlement cordon between the southern suburbs of Ivanovka and the northern suburbs of Sterlya. As more and more refugees relocated to the zone established for their settlement, the population became denser and a bourgeoning economic network of exchange sputtered to life. The centerpiece of this nascent seedling of economic revival were the Budyovo markets.

Budyovo was once an insignificant village 37 kilometers south of Ivanovka. It was home to a rural, agricultural population of perhaps 600 people at most. Now, though, Budyovo was strategically located near the middle of a growing population center and itself was seeing rapid growth. More than 60,000 people lived there permanently, whether in the village itself or — much more likely — in one of the overflowing refugee camps around it. Tens of thousands of more refugees were arriving every day, straining every resource and filling every space.

If any disgruntlement was evolving into something more militant, then it would be within that corridor. So important had this part of Krasnova suddenly become that it was dubbed the Kologiyev Corridor, after a large town that had once served as the administrative center of a small agricultural region of former RSU. And if these seditious, militant ideas were developing in the Kologiyev Corridor, then they were being spread at Budyovo.

Just like any day these days, the Budyovo markets were packed with tens of thousands of souls as they bought and sold fish, poultry, meat, clothes, and other supplies now growing more plentiful as peace allowed for greater productivity and the importation of goods from elsewhere. There was so much noise that no one conversation could be heard in particular, even when you were standing across from the person trying to talk to you! The throng moved shoulder-to-shoulder and if you looked at it from the air, you would see swirls of people moving between and among each other, going stall-to-stall. Massive and sprawling, the Bodyovo markets were teeming with so my life that it seemed to strangle it all the same. It was a face of a renewing, self-sustaining Krasnova.

However beautiful the sociology of the Budyovo markets was, the serenity was shattered by a sudden explosion that ripped right through the middle of the crowd. Then another explosion was heard further down the road, also in the middle of a large group of buyers and sellers. Then another, and another, until the sound of the bombs was subsumed beneath the shrill screams of the wounded and the stampede of the still-intact. The markets of Budyovo were always chaotic, but whereas there some control beforehand now there was no control at all. The throngs dispersed in fear, heading to their homes or the camps outside of the town. Behind them, smoke curled as it rose into the air like thin tornadoes scalding the land. Fires were ablaze throughout the town, spreading from one wooden shanty to another. Thousands lay dead. Hundreds had been killed by the bomb, thousands had been crushed to death as they fell beneath the feet of countless peoples whose minds were on their own escape. Hundreds more were still to die, whether from their wounds, burned to death, or asphyxiated by the thick, black smoke that was blanketing Budyovo like a fog.

Once the army arrived, the local population was put under a strict temporary lockdown. Civilians were holed up in the town itself or bottled up in one of the camps. Detentions and arrests were made throughout the night. By the next day, they had ceased and an eerie silence fell over the Kologiyev Corridor.

Who had attacked the markets? Who were the terrorists? Most minds had one thought: the monarchists.



FEDALA, CORE PROVINCES

"It is best if you stay here," said the soldier.

"Says who?" sneered Leonid Ilyich Kusma, the man seeking to put himself on the Krasnovan throne. "I am a guest of His Imperial Majesty and a sovereign, and I have the right to move as I please and where I please."

The soldier shook his head. "You do not, by orders of His Imperial Majesty."

"His Imperial Majesty?" asked Kusma, taken aback.

Nodding, the soldier answered, "As I said, my orders come from His Imperial Majesty. If you have a problem with that, you can contact my superior."

"And how do I get in contact with the emperor?" asked the Krasnovan, exasperated. "Surely, there must be some mistake here."

To that, the soldier said nothing but stood outside the palace's gates, rifle in hand. There were other soldiers nearby, and a host of them had deployed all around the palatial grounds' perimeter to make sure no one entered or exited the villa. And like that, the surviving descendants of the Krasnovan royal family were put under house arrest just outside of the imperial capital of Fedala.

[Greater Ordena]

Battle of the Eastern Steppes.

The sudden outbreak of combat initiated by the Krasnovans had taken the Ordenites by surprise and in a state of shock as the Krasnovan military launched attacks on the Ordenite Wehrmacht. The previous war on the island had only recently ended and the Ordenites were still in the midst of recuperating from the losses it had taken during the course of the war. Of course the Krasnovans had suffered as well and perhaps even worse than their now Ordenite enemy. Logistics for both sides were now a headache due to the Triumvirate's strategic bombing campaign that went on for the majority of the conflict in Krasnova. A multitude of military bases, depots, ports and airfields had been in some way effected by the bombings. The time it would take to rebuild was unknown and projected to take up to several months to truly restore pre-war level efficiency regarding logistics. The initial response to the sudden engagements from the Krasnovans was with the Luftwaffe who while it's anti-air defense had taken a considerable beating during the war, were still capable of adequate defense as it kept the Krasnovan Air Force from delivering considerable damage. Typhoon multi role fighters and Geist stealth fighters were scrambled into the fray in order to keep a hold on air superiority. The Eastern steppes were what lied beyond the current demilitarized zone that split the island in half now between the Golden Throne and the Greater Ordenite Reich.

A small city by the name of Lugovskoye which was nearly 300km from the DMZ would be the site of a major battle as the 27th, 30th and 41st Front's of the Krasnovan Army looked to establish a frontline facing towards the border and to the backs of many of the Ordenite's competent and well equipped Heer and Waffen-SS forces. Some of the first Ordenite forces to deploy in response was the 15th and 21st Volksgrenadier Army Groups which had been formed during the later stages of the war from reserves to serve as reinforcements. The Volksgrenadier's were armed and supplied just as any Ordenite Army unit however many had not seen real combat besides the occasional snap live exercise drills conducted in the past. The Krasnovans while largely considered in capable of going head to head with a military force like the Ordenite Heer, most of it's combat personnel were no strangers to war and many had taken part in the war and previous ones. A slew of towns and villages sprawled around the city but did not contain the same population levels as before the war, however what civilians remained would now have to weather out the fighting within their homes.

The battle its self would break out in the early hours of the next morning as the Krasnovan 27th Front's forward reconnaissance troops encountered forward elements of the 15th Volksgrenadier Army Group outside of a town called Annovka which lied on the same main highway which lead towards Lugovskoye. A Motorized Rifle Division from the 27th Front entered Annovka presumably first but would soon enough encounter heavy resistance from the Volksgrenadiers whose most forward detachments found and began engaging the Krasnovans. Both sides soon began trading artillery and rocket fire with smaller units trading mortar fire and grenades. However it was becoming clear that the Krasnovans were poised to take the town as they had already secured it's flanks threatening to cut off the Volksgrenadiers still within it and thus they began to withdraw. Due to the element of surprise and the ferocity of the opening assaults done by the Krasnovan Armed Forces much of the Volksgrenadier forces across Krasnova were still mobilizing as were the Krasnovans of course. Much of the airspace was fiercely contested as the Luftwaffe and the Krasnovan air force battled for supremacy over the skies. Both sides also regularly targeted the others air bases using ground attack munitions in order to disrupt the others operations.

The Krasnovans also looked to deny the Ordenites use of major highways and roads near their own primary objectives and thus fierce fighting over these highways and roads would begin taking place. Krasnovan medium range and strategic bombers made frequent combat sorties across Eastern Krasnova in support of the ground forces actively engaging the enemy. Tactical bombers also frequently made sorties on Ordenite targets especially towards Gryaznaya and New Impen often times directly engaging Volksgrenadier formations and positions on the battlefield. However Ordenite anti-air capabilities were still quite ahead of the Krasnovans and so many of these sorties resulted in casualties and aircraft losses, but when sorties did hit their mark it was with devastating effectiveness. The Ordenites of course responded in kind with similar and sometimes even more ferocious attacks with Ordenite medium and strategic bombers conducted dozens of retaliatory strikes on Krasnovan positions, troop and armor concentrations, anti air radar and missile batteries, and even their logistical infrastructure and bases.

Casualties for both sides rose sharply in the first week of fighting which resulted in numerous high pitched battles to take place due to the relative short distances between both armies as they had formerly collaborated. A short engagement between a Krasnovan coastal missile defense battery and Ordenite warships proved that even the Kriegsmarine were not safe and that such engagements would now happen more often. The Krasnovans now a 3 weeks into the rebellion had made advances towards New Impen and Gryaznaya with minor advances towards Kokshlovo and Dubrovnoye with plans to advance on Kamenka eventually. The more major advances were directed towards Susol and the major port city of Uslan along with the border of the Morridane controlled Norgorka which before the end of the 2nd Krasnovan War was called Tuktar and had been the scene of immense fighting between the Reich and a Mokan assembled coalition. The overall plan was for the Krasnovan Army to cut the Reich's holdings in Krasnova into two pieces, one of these pieces was Yukar and Ol'khovka which would be where they would trap Ordenite armies within. The second piece they looked to make was the entirety of the Zvezda penninsula and thus the priority to capture the Reichskommissariat capital of Utenbruck or otherwise known to most Krasnovans as Susol.

The necessity to secure and hold the entirety of the border with Republic of Norgorka was to eventually enter talks with the Republic and the Morridane Commonwealth to allow shipments of weapons and munitions into rebel controlled territory so that they could re-supply their forces and if miracles were possible a Morridane entry into the conflict backing the rebellion. Their was a sense of urgency as the Krasnovans knew it would eventually have to deal with the actual combat capable and experienced Ordenite forces who held positions along the DMZ with the Golden Throne's Likutats. It also knew that if it did not control the major ports and harbors and deny them from the Kriegsmarine, that eventually Ordenite reinforcements would become a serious threat that could end the whole rebellion.

[The Macabees]

IVANOVKA

On the day of the terrorist attack on Budyovo, the Ivanovka komsektor was put under military lockdown. This was extended to Sterlya by its own commanding officer on the following day. Since their liberation and the return of refugees to their homes it was policy to register Krasnovans to their localities, whether those be the cities, towns, or villages that dotted the charred, war-torn landscape. Now, this policy of population control was utilized to enforce a strict curfew that kept the streets and countryside mostly empty at night. All one could see were the lights on the drones that flew overhead and from the flashlights that the soldiers, or their vehicles, carried on them while on patrol. Anything else was legally an enemy or subversive element.

Construction crews in Ivanovka were allowed to work overnight, as they were in most of the Krasnovan free cities. There was a lot of reconstruction to be done and His Imperial Majesty was anxious to remold the "Free Krasnovan" landscape in the imperial Macabéan image. That meant that marble arches of triumph had to be erected, along with fancily decorated public buildings like the governor's palace, the Temple to Willed Victory, and the Museum of Free Ivanovka. Much akin to the emperor's building policies throughout the Golden Throne, rebuilding western Krasnova and rehabilitating it was deemed as crucial in the medium- and long-term for solidifying imperial administration and consolidating its military defense. The grinding noise of machinery and labor crews at work was thus a feature of the night as much as the increased security, especially in the central area around the six-hundred-meter-tall bronze-clad statue of His Imperial Majesty Fedor I. It looked down upon Ivanovka as the Ejermacht's limikari units in the komsektor embarked on a broad anti-terrorism campaign on the streets below.

Black, armored cars traveled up streets in the city and down highways in the countryside, turning into neighborhoods in the dead at night. Three-headed convoys spilled out the soldier within them. These quickly and quietly made their way to front and back doors alike, and other ways too. Sometimes they knocked. Other times they didn't. But, they always got inside of their target's location and they almost always pulled out someone with their arms behind their backs...or dead.

Across the northern mountains and eastern forests, bombs were falling on Ordenite Krasnova and gunfights were being had on the eastern steppes. Some of these noises traveled to Ivanovka, although only faintly. They were a backdrop to the crackdown happening on the Macabéan side of the Krasnovan Frontier. But, they were related. And, when the sun finally rose that very morning, the royalists fighting the Ordenites would find that their safehaven in Ivanovka was no longer that.

Thousands of individuals were arrested. Politicians, including high-profile local elites, were brought in for questioning and most given corruption charges. These included white-collar corruption unrelated to extremist monarchist groups, but it was always ultimately tied back to the alleged terrorists. Aside from politicians many people of the more mundane kind were arrested and sometimes killed "for resisting." These were the foot soldiers and low-level militant leadership, or at least those accused of being so. Usually, they were young men of military age that had some kind of data on their dossier that suggested monarchist-sympathies. By federal imperial law they would be tried in Ivanovka, most inevitably be made guilty by a panel of specially-appointed judges as demanded by the special circumstances of terrorism charges, and then sent to prisons far, far away from their Krasnovan homeland. By the time they were out, Krasnova would be changed and they'd probably be making a new life as a civilian in some other corner of the empire. All the while, the soul of organized monarchism in western Krasnova was expunged and its core mercilessly dismantled.

The security campaign was matched by a political one, led by Vicstrategos Janko Juniper. The commanding general in Ivanovka arrived from Fedorograd that morning, "fresh" from long, grueling meetings with Vikaro Díeg Hahk-Lorán. Tired, but persistent as always, he called the Ivanovkan sovjet to his office in the functional wing of the governor's palace. Most everyone on the premises were construction workers and the noise was sometimes unbearable, but that day it wasn't too loud per the general's request.

In the post-liberation world, the Ivanovkan troika was reorganized to be formed by three representatives of the Ivanovkan Rada. It was meant to represent the city's democratically-elected legislature to the military governor and the Krasnovan Vikaro. It was itself elected from the Rada and its membership changed per rules determined by the city's legislative body. It was the democratic counterweight to the imperial federation's executive authority.

Arriving to his office at the appointed hour, the three Ivanovkan leaders shuffled in and took seats across from him. The table between them was small, and in fact Juniper walked around it to take a seat in an open chair beside his guests. The troika was at the moment composed by Kuzmin Petrovich, Melnikov Jaromir, and Arshavina Yanka. Petrovich was a career politician and had been part of the city's urban administration for every regime that had swept over Ivanovka since the Soviet days. He was a talented bureaucrat and was liked by Hahk-Lorán, but his incorruptibility could get in the way of a good deal. Jaromir was a local union leader who was elected into the Rada after the liberation and who used his union ties to get himself on to the troika. He held a lot of power with Ivanovkan labor, although Ivanovkan labor did not have much power vis-a-vis the imperial administration due to large-scale population loss. Finally, the beautiful, mature Yanka was one of the city's most successful business people, having inherited a controlling stake in Toxx Telekom, the leading cellular service provider in western Krasnova.

"Thank you for attending at such short notice, although the circumstances definitely call for it," said the vicstrategos.

"General Juniper, thank you for your willingness to meet with us this morning," replied Petrovich.

Jaromir was less diplomatic. "These circumstances you allude to, care to explain what the hell is going on? A lot of my people are being affected. Arrested husbands, cousins, friends... People living in fear, wondering if they're next. I understand that you have security concerns given the attacks yesterday, but don't you think it's a little premature to start arresting people in mass?"

"Hardly," answered the Macabéan commander. "It is important that we act quickly."

"On what evidence?" demanded Jaromir.

Petrovich raised his hand. "Hold on there, Melnikov," he said, "let the general explain."

Juniper's lips curled. After a pause, he continued, "As I was saying, it is of the utmost and vehement importance that we move rapidly and eliminate the revolutionaries before they are able to do more damage. Given the war going on in the east and the evidence connecting them to the attacks on Budyovo, it seems rather foolish to give the monarchist terrorist cells time to organize a string of major operations in the free cities. The most logical move on their part is to grow the revolution to the west, to restore King Leonid to the throne of a unified Krasnova."

"The monarchy is popular in Krasnova, you know," said Melnikov. "I'm sure the Vikaro, and His Imperial Majesty, know what they are doing, but the Krasnovan people won't take the anti-monarchist crackdown well. The Rada may lose legitimacy."

"Be that as it may, the old monarchy has no place in modern Krasnova," replied Juniper, acidly. "The only monarch the Krasnovans will have is His Imperial Majesty Fedor I and his successors. All other contenders are not relevant and their claims will be severed. This includes Leonid Ilyich Kusma, who is currently under house arrest in his palace in Fedala. The organized monarchist elements in the free cities, and especially where they are strongest which is here, in Ivanovka, will be eliminated and you three will help me do that."

"Help you?" asked Jaromir, angrily. "You are arresting good people!"

Juniper waved him down. "Give me a list of your people, in order of importance to you. I'll see what I can do. But, you'll have to play ball with me. Is it a deal?"

The Krasnovan ex-union leader didn't seem impressed by the offer. "Play ball with you? What does that mean exactly?"

"It means that you three will be tasked with doing what you need to do to expulse the monarchists' political parties from the Rada and criminalize them. Monarchism should be made to be one and the same with its extremist form, symbolized by the innocent lives lost in the Budyovo markets. The message from the government, at all levels, must be unified and consistent. It must be made clear that extremist politics and militantism will not be accepted in the Krasnovan Likutats, and that the government stands together on that policy both within the legislative and executive branches. Is that doable?"

"That would be political suicide in Ivanovka, general," spat Jaromir. "We would be seen as traitors to our people. And you, you will be seen as no better than the Ordenites before you."

"He's right," said Yanka, suddenly, These were the first words she had spoken since entering the room. The Krasnovan businesswoman went on, "There is a lot of support for Leonid Ilyich Kusma here, especially in Ivanovka, as you yourself pointed out, general. Although I'm sure the people would be more pliable if there truly is evidence implicating the monarchist factions behind the bombing. Surely, there is evidence you can share with us and allow us to publicize in our propaganda efforts? You speak as if the connection is a sure thing, so I can only imagine that your people have proof. Do they not?"

"Confessions are being had as we speak," replied Juniper. "We also have CCTV footage and drone surveillance recordings that we have analyzed to ID our perps. We have some of these IDs confirmed and they have been placed under arrest. Two, unfortunately, were killed in the process of. Nothing we can do about that, it happens. But, there is evidence, I assure you, and I will make sure it's made available to you, the Rada, and the Ivanovkan people. It will leave without a shadow of a doubt that the terrorist attack on Bodyovo was perpetrated by individuals belonging to known Ivanovkan monarchist militia factions. Furthermore, we will provide thorough financial data showing ties between these factions and several political parties now serving in the Rada. I don't care how pro-monarchist the Ivanovkan people are. At the end of the day, organizations that support terrorism and criminal behavior cannot be allowed to thrive in a democratic environment like the one in Ivanovka. They need to be expelled from the legislature, their party infrastructure criminalized, and their constituents placed under control. That is the only acceptable outcome."

Yanka nodded her head. "Thorough, indeed, general. It would be easier to do this if I had a little help of yours, though," she said.

"Oh?" inquired Juniper.

"Indeed," he answered. "As you know, Toxx Telekom as it exists today is a shell of its former self. After the nationalization of most of our company's assets by the Red Star government, we were only able to recover bits and pieces of our infrastructure under the Ordenites. Much of it was kept in their control or was given to another entity, and a very significant part of this infrastructure is now owned by the Imperial Bureaucracy. I understand that the intention is to sell these assets in competitive market auctions to raise imperial revenues. I am sure there is a price between what I would prefer to pay and what the competitive auction will earn you, sans the costs of running those auctions and all of the subsequent legal processes that need to happen for the property rights titles to be formally transferred. I would like to find out what that price is and I'd like to offer it right here, right now. And to sweeten the deal, I will work with a partner company to develop an emergency push notification program controlled by the office of the Vikaro in Fedorograd. If you give me the infrastructure, Toxx Telekom will be the leading cellular service provider in the free cities and our network will be at your government's disposal."

"An intriguing offer," responded the vicstrategos. "I cannot agree to that here, but I will take it to the vikaro and obtain his approval. That is not how we typically operate, but perhaps some kind of mutually beneficial arrangement can be attained. Your offer certainly sounds mutually beneficial, but the rule of law is paramount. At least, as it regards property law. Or, so the Imperial Bureaucracy thinks. We shall see what I can do. In the meantime, in any case, you will cooperate as we ask."

Yanka was displeased. "Surely, the Imperial administration is willing to work with cooperative local leaders, no?"

"At times. Look, that's not how it works with us. I promise to help you rebuild Toxx Telekom and I promise to work to get you a deal, but we cannot prosecute corruption and be corrupt at the same time, can we?" he asked, in response.

She laughed haughtily. "You can say that with a straight face?"

Juniper gave her a flat stare and put the breaks on the direction of the conversation. "That's enough about that. I already told you, I'll see what I can do. While the Vikaro mulls the offer and discusses it with His Imperial Majesty, and while you introduce legislation to ban the monarchists politically, I will also arrange a meeting between you and a high-ranking representative of DíenBank. Perhaps an arrangement on prior Toxx infrastructure assets in Krasnova will be easier to reach if your side of things are financed by Macabéan banking."

"Of course it would," was all that Yanka said back. She left it at that.

"You, Petrovich? What do you want for your cooperation?" asked the general.

The Krasnovan shook his head. "I want nothing but the promise that at the end of this road we will have established a legally free, stable, and democratic system of self-rule in Ivanovka and its hinterland. I don't know if His Imperial Majesty will deliver. Many men have claimed to come to help deliver us better days and none so far have succeeded. Things have only gotten worse. But, I have faith in you for some reason. Perhaps it's that we, as a people, have reached the bottom of our depths. Our options are running out and, maybe, I feel that you are the last hope, the last try. We shall see. In any case, for now, you have my support in this initiative and I will do my best to do what you ask."

"Excellent," said Juniper.

The four of them continued to speak on matters concerning Ivanovka, Krasnova, the monarchists, and the Ordenites. The vicstrategos shared some intelligence on what was happening in the east, and on rising tensions between Sofiatsyn and Chernaya. The two likutats had been raiding into each other's hinterlands despite being told not to by the Vikaro. There were growing rumors of a major military conflict between the two city-states unless the Ejermacht suppressed both sides. It was certainly a situation looking more and more likely to explode, and it was natural that the leadership of a neighboring likutat wanted to know more about the situation to prepare for any potential contagion. A conflict in the south would create more refugees and would cause more destruction, all things likely to affect Ivanovka. Ultimately, by the end of the hour, they finished their meeting and parted ways.

That was how the monarchists were suppressed in Ivanovka, with similar actions undertaken in Sterlya to the same end.

[Greater Ordena]

YUKAR

Three months had passed by following the start of the general uprising of the Krasnovan Armed Forces against what was perceived to be a defeated and weakened Ordenite Reich. Several Krasnovan offensives which were directed in multiple directions had been on-going and led to the Krasnovans gaining a considerable amount of ground towards the Eastern portion of the island. New Impen and Gryazanaya had been captured from the Ordenites after two high pitched battles against relatively weak Volksgrenadier forces that had been raised during the Fourth War. Susol had been partially encircled by Krasnovan forces but were unable to complete the encirclement due to Kriegsmarine fire support and stubborn resistance by Ordenite forces in the city and those to the North, deeper within the Zvezda peninsula. Krasnovan forces also committed to a blocking action towards major Port city of Uslan to prevent amassing Ordenite reinforcements from coming to their comrades aid. Kokshlovo was also in the process of coming under siege by elements of two Krasnovan Fronts as a push was being made towards the South East to evidently capture Kamenka which had also become a major hub for arriving Ordenite reinforcements and logistics coming from Ordena.

The Border frontier with Norgorka had been nearly swept away of Ordenite forces stationed there which were considerably outnumbered by their Krasnovan attackers. However they would face more tougher resistance as they had begun to move towards Yukar a city that was considered the main hub for the Ordenite Wehrmacht and was where much of Theater Command Krasnova resided in. Due to the array of weaker Volksgrenadier formations the Krasnovans had faced they had been able to create a gap in the Eastern plains which allowed them to advance into the rear areas of the more elite and battle hardened Ordenite and Krasnovan SS forces stationed along the DMZ with the Macabean Liktutats. This had forced the overall Ordenite commander who oversaw the Ordenite side of the DMZ to pull forces off to deal with the Krasnovan incursions into their rear areas. Feldmarschall Wilhelm Schuster found the current situation within Krasnova unacceptable and knew that if this wasn't rectified immediately that the Ordenites could be percieved as weak enough to allow for foreign intervention.

Feldmarschall Schuster was the overall commander of the entirety of Ordenite forces that made up Theater Command Krasnova and had acquired his position following the Third Krasnovan War when the Ordenite Wehrmacht returned to Krasnova to ultimately defeat the Unified Eastern Star Soviets. The former Commander of Theater Command Krasnova had been relieved of command following the end of the Second Krasnovan War. He and his staff devised a thorough and detailed plan to organize a series of counter offensives to throw back the Krasnovans and ultimately completely annihilate their forces. What was referred to as Operation Lightning, Operation Thor, Operation Bear and Operation Kick Back were the series of planned counter offensives to crush the rebelling Krasnovan Military. Operation Lightning would be the first counter offensive to take place and would see the formation of Kampfgruppe Köhler which comprised of two entire Army Groups made up primarily of Panzer armies with adequate accompanying Panzergrenadier forces. Operation Lightning would see the assembled Kampfgruppe commit to a counter offensive which saw to push the Krasnovans away from Yukar and roll them up along the Frontier border with Norgorka.

The most forward of the Krasnovan advance in the direction of Yukar was 150km away from the city. Several Krasnovan Front's were known to be operating in the area which included along the Frontier with Norgorka. While the Kampfgruppe would without a doubt be outnumbered they could count on immense firepower from the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe, with the former having recently moved several Flotilles into the waters around Krasnova. The counter offensive would begin in the dead of night with several salvos of 3M14T Kaliber Land Attack Cruise Missiles launched by several Ordenite Kriegsmarine Cruisers and Destroyers. These cruise missile salvos would mostly be targeting enemy forces arrayed the closest to the city of Yukar from which the counter offensive would advance from. He 211 Griffin Bombers having taken off from airfields and air bases more towards Ol'khovka they were able to launch their payloads of Kaliber-M cruise missiles a considerable distance from the front lines. All of this was of course then followed by a coordinated massed artillery barrage consisting of self propelled guns and high explosive rockets in which the immense firepower that had suddenly been unleashed on the Krasnovan forces at the most forward of the frontlines had thrown them into disarray.

Air supremacy was swiftly achieved by the Luftwaffe over the area in which continuous strikes on enemy positions and forces by the Ordenite's drone fleet would soon follow. Kampfgruppe Köhler soon went on the offensive utilizing it's strong Panzer armies to completely smash through the most forward of the Krasnovan line facing Yukar. The Krasnovans were sent into a full on rout as the Ordenite Panzers advanced forward and were looking to send the enemy back as far as they could push them.

[Greater Ordena]

USLAN

SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer Erik Strasburg stood in what was the Headquarters for the Waffen-SS Krasnova contingent that had since the end of the Fourth Krasnovan War been arriving in masse from major ports such as Uslan and Kamenka and even ports along the Northern Zvezda peninsula. Many of these Waffen-SS formations had once served in Krasnova at one point in time over the 6 years of bloody warfare that has occurred on the island since the initial invasion that defeated the Red Star Union. Other formations that had recently arrived to Krasnova had even participated in the victorious Hailandkill campaign which saw the former provinces of North Tenet and South Lomec be swept away of Valo'Kap mercenary armies and brought under the banner of the Greater Ordenite Reich.

Now over 3,000,000 Waffen-SS soldiers along with 200,000 soldiers of the Fusteran Army, 200,000 soldiers of the Scythian National Army along with additional Scythian Waffen-SS formations had now been assembled in Uslan and in Zvezda respectively. Strasburg had been in contact with Feldmarschall Schuster and was informed of the course of action that was to be taken to crush the Krasnovan rebellion. He being a loyal Ordean and a fierce National Socialist wondered why the Krasnovan untermenschen had not been put down sooner. Operation Bear would see to a breakout and subsequent counter offensive from the Uslan area which would see the Ordenites smash away the Krasnovan armies and Fronts amassing around New Impen and Gryazanaya. The Operation's main goal and priority was to see that the Krasnovans sieging Kokshlovo were smashed to pieces.

Operation Bear would coincide with Operation Thor which would see a counteroffensive North of Susol which had been partially encircled and would see to the siege broken and the Krasnovans routed. The Luftwaffe having reestablished overall air supremacy in Krasnovan skies launched dozens upon dozens of sorties against the Krasnovans in anticipation of the offensives in which their sorties would only increase once they commenced. The Kriegsmarine also launched long range cruise missiles that targeted Krasnovan positions and looked to completely disrupt their logistics. The Ordenite drone fleet was also hard at work with air supremacy achieved, the drones launched precision strikes on the enemy deep behind their lines.

Operation Bear would commence with a ferocious artillery bombardment of Krasnovan forces committing to a blocking action North of Uslan and under the cover of this bombardment a Waffen-SS Army Group advanced forward and subsequently smashed into the disoriented Krasnovans swiftly routing them as additional Waffen-SS forces followed to exploit the breakthrough. The Krasnovans attempted to reform and arrange a new defensive line from which they would attempt to keep the Ordenites at bay. However the Waffen-SS's panzer forces would apply tremendous pressure that the Krasnovans arrayed before them either routed or were destroyed completely. The momentum of the fighting had effectively been swiped away and was now held by the Ordenites fresh counter offensives.

The Fusteran and Scythian forces accompanying the main Ordenite advance would simply mop up any remnants of the Krasnovan armies in the wake of the Ordenite Waffen-SS. It was reported that tens of thousands of Krasnovans were captured in the wake of the advance in which these now prisoners of war would be left to the mercy of their captors. The Scythians were particularly brutal in their treatment of the surrendering Krasnovans as they typically slaughtered them in mass shootings or even going as far as carrying out beheadings. Towns and villages encountered by the advancing Scythian forces were subsequently looted and burned to the ground along with their sparse inhabitants. The Fusteran Army faired well as they mopped up remnants of Krasnovan forces with limited casualties suffered. The Ordenites intended for the Fusteran Army to be deployed to Krasnova in order alleviate the need for significant Ordenite forces and in the case of the rebelling Krasnovans, expose them to more conventional combat operations.

Krasnovan forces having now been pushed back in the West and now subsequently were being pushed back in the East would consolidate their forces in and around the twin cities of New Impen and Gryazanaya. The Siege of Susol was still on-going as Operation Thor had not yet fully commenced and a significant amount of Krasnovan forces who were better equipped with what remained of the Nakil 1A1 Main Battle Tanks and even left over Lyran tanks and armored vehicles that following the 3rd Krasnovan War had been pressed into service with the Krasnovan Army at the time. Ordenite forces were also making advances from the direction of Kamenka and intended on breaking the attempted siege of Kokshlovo. The overall state of the rebellion was waning and crumbling in the face of fierce and coordinated Ordenite counter offensives, however the Krasnovans intended to make their possibly final stand at New Impen and Gryazanaya. Only time would tell how much more blood would need to be spilled.

[Mokastana]

Somewhere south of Tuktar, over five years ago

The orders had been given. A retaliatory nuclear strike after Stravopol had been hit, killing an unknown number of PUF and Union soldiers, but certainly in the tens of thousands. For a few tense hours at the close of the war, nuclear missiles flew across Krasnova as the Ordenites and communists tried to burn the country in a nuclear hellfire. Perhaps, given the future wars and genocides facing the country, a nuclear end at this point in history could have been seen as merciful, but that would not come to pass. Instead hundreds of missile defense batteries opened fire, shooting down every incoming cruise missile, sparing no rocket. If any missile could have been nuclear, no missile could be allowed to hit. Of the hundreds of cruise missiles launched, only a few dozen had nuclear warheads, and most of those ended up shot down over the great steppes of Krasnova.

One Kh-55 missile had taken off from a secure launch site in Zvezda, flying nearly all the way to an Ordenite controlled city before it was finally shot down. The interceptor, a high speed short range missile, exploded within only a few dozen meters of the Kh-55, tearing up everything from the warhead to the engine, destroying all forward momentum and ripping into its body. Fuel leaked from the side and ignited, turning the lumbering weapon into a fireball descending back down to earth. The missile’s frame held long enough for it to hit the ground, before shattering in hundred pieces. Once the dust settled, the bulk of the debris would be, at least, recognizable. One could see the various fins, sides of the body, engine components, and even the warhead laying about. The latter which had been spiked by shrapnel and now sat alone ahead of the rest of the debris. It would remain that way for a week, before some locals stumbled upon the crash site. All they knew was that foreign arms dealers would pay for warheads and missile parts, and some of these bits looked like it might have some value.

When they took the parts to the foreign arms dealer, he recognized the warhead, and more importantly recognized the hole in the side for the danger it was. He quickly bought it for a few thousand in an international currency valuable to the post war black market, and took no time in placing it in a sealed container and dumping it into a water truck for transport. At the very least, the money could buy them something to make the pain of their exposure more tolerable in the coming days.

It was unknown how many of the nuclear weapons scattered across Krasnova that day were actually recovered by governments vs black market dealers, but one thing was for certain, nuclear devices were far too dangerous to even advertise, much less sell. Sure the foreign arms dealer could just tip it over the side of a boat in the ocean, and let the seas claim the radioactive device, but at that point might as well as turn it into a government for pitiful reward. Instead he took a risk, and chose to see if he could make it a functioning weapon again. Sure, advertising the weapon would be out of the question, but he only needed to find one serious buyer with the desire and capital. As long as he could stabilize the weapon, could sit on it for years, waiting for someone he could propose a deal of a lifetime too.

---

Molin forest
Somewhere in the Prokletje Mountains,
Northwest of Kovin, Monavia

Sasha Tchernova lived in a beautifully built homestead on the side of the Prokletje Mountains that looked more like a summer palace for the Tsars of old with its pastel colors and gold trims. She had commissioned it many years ago while still living in Nicaro and Firmador, as a backup plan for her and her husband at the time. A place they could retire to when the weight of running a drug cartel and playing politics with the Golden Throne got to be too much. In the end, it was the Ordenites that sent assassins after her and everyone she cared about that drove her from Nicaro. Her husband had given his life, quite foolishly, to save hers, and now this is where she lived. Money was of no concern, hundreds of billions of Thalers to her name had been invested in numerous Monavian and international industries. In theory, it was enough money to keep her and her descendants wealthy for generations to come, but the idea of descendants was something that Sasha had long given up on.

Instead, she had dedicated these past years, exiled in Monavia, to finding a way to hurt the Ordenites. It had been their puppets who had overthrown the Red Star Union, destroying her first life and family, it had been their military that destroyed her homes and forced her to flee to Nicaro, it had been their assassins that killed her cartel’s leadership and forced her to flee once more to Monavia. Even now, her homeland of Krasnova was a desolate wasteland, destroyed by civil war after civil war as the Ordenites continued to squeeze every drop of blood they could from it.

Soon, they would pay in a way they had never paid before.

Before that, Sasha needed to handle her affairs in Monavia. She called into her main office the one person she could trust completely, the one last partner who had stayed by her side since she first invaded the Gente slave state and took control of the city of Liberia, Laura Kruger. It was ironic, here she was about to go spend billions of dollars to do harm to an untold amount of Ordenites, but before doing that, she was going to gift her estate to a woman of Ordenite descent.

“Laura, my dear friend, thank you for coming to see me.”

“Sasha, I live here with you, we have tea every afternoon together.” Laura joked, but she knew Sasha well enough to see the obvious signs something was different, two lawyers were standing off to the side, and neither looked particularly happy to be here.

“Which is why I can trust you with this. I will not add milk to this, I want you to run my estate and foundations. Most of them already run themselves, but I am giving you my shares of control.”

Laura stared blankly ahead, not sure she was hearing everything correctly even as the lawyers laid out the forms in front of her. “What do you mean?”

“The Palace estate here will be gifted to you, making it yours. You already handle most of the leadership of my children’s foundations. I am just appointing you Chairwoman and giving you direct control of them.”

“But why?”

“I am tired.” Sasha’s eyes betrayed more thoughts, words she wanted to say, but they were kept inside. Laura could probably coax them out of her someday, but she was still loyal to the Tsarina, and if the Tsarina was doing this, she was doing this for a reason. Laura nodded and started signing where the lawyers told her too.

“There is a lot here, but I am not seeing the mercenary organizations or the arms company we started.”

“Ah yes, I felt it was time to separate the hostile side of our ventures from our humanitarian sides. I will maintain control of the mercenary groups and weapons.”

Laura began to think about this more clearly, why would Sasha be getting rid of her control of humanitarian assets, she loved her children’s foundations. Sure, she never came out of the car to see the kids because her scars occasionally scared the smaller ones, but she still believed in the work. The only reason she would be giving up control was…
“You are going to leave Monavia, aren’t you?”

“You know me so well dear, yes. The many sleepless nights we have spent trying to find a weakness in the Ordenite armor, and now the Krasnovans are rising up. It’s not much, but I have the ability to give them weapons and supplies to fight. The more Ordenites we kill, the better the world will be.”

“You don’t have to go there to support them, we can fight from here. Where it is safe.”

“No, I have already seen what happens when Ordenite assassins come for us. This palace is our last refuge. It must be protected and safe. I have set up an office and homestead in the Timocractic Republic, from there I will coordinate the efforts to supply my countrymen in their fight. Let the Ordenites deal with Timocratic Mercenaries if they want to come for me.

“Then I will come with you.”

“No, I need you to keep our summer palace safe. Keep up the good work we have been doing. I cannot risk them coming for you again.”

“How long will you be gone, fighting the Ordenites this time?”

“However long it takes, I have a good feeling about this one, the soldiers are putting up a good fight, and with enough support from our mercs, they could possibly rebuild a free nation once more. Then I will be back.”

“What if it goes wrong?” Laura was seriously worried now, although she had know the Tsarina had been planning for years how to get back at the Ordenites, the fact that they day was just around the corner had caught her by surprise, even more so that Sasha didn’t want her to join this time.

“Then I will return here, and we will start over in finding ways to hurt them.” Sasha said, lying to the one person she trusted more than anyone.

[Greater Ordena]

SUSOL

The city of Susol had once the rebellion started had soon found its self under siege with Krasnovan forces having partially encircled the city from three sides. However all their efforts to penetrate the city's defenses have been unsuccessful and thus recently the Krasnovans had begun digging in around the city and would carry out a proper siege. The northern route into Susol had been prevented by Ordenite forces from being captured by the Krasnovans and therefore was it's lifeline even as the route was routinely shelled by artillery. Susol had already been partially evacuated as civilians fled northwards from the fighting that was taking place, local officials had also been evacuated including the Reichskommissar who carried on his duties in Vostok the old former capital of the Red Star Union now long ridden of communism. The defenders of Susol otherwise known in it's Ordenite name, Utenbruck were comprised of several Volksgrenadier formations along with a sizable contingent of Krasnovan Waffen-SS. Altogether the defenders of Utenbruck numbered at least 600,000 men under arms while what they faced had been estimated to be over 2 million Krasnovan soldiers. Such a mass concentration of forces were already being harrassed and targeted by elements of the Luftwaffe and the Kriegsmarine which had assisted in preventing the complete encirclement of the city.

Operation Thor would see to the lifting of the encirclement and the smashing of the Krasnovan armies sending them away from the Zvezda peninsula entirely. The arrival of fresh and battle hardened Waffen-SS formations would be utilized in the operation along with other formations already present in the peninsula. 1.5 million men would make up Operation Thor and would include the defenders of Susol in it's plans as well. The Krasnovan Waffen-SS formations defending Susol would once the greater operation had commenced, commit to a breakout from the encirclement. Another operation happening further south near Uslan would coincide with Operation Thor with the overall battlefield picture would see that the Ordenites intended to create a large pocket of Krasnovans within the area of New Impen and Gryazanaya before destroying them completely.

The operation its self would begin coinciding with Operation Bear to the South as the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine began ramping up bombardment and strikes against the massed Krasnovan formations. Cluster munitions were used heavily by Luftwaffe bombers carrying out sorties on identified entrenched Krasnovan positions outside of Susol. The Kriegsmarine launched salvos of it's land attack cruise missiles targeting more stationary targets such as munitions depots, troop concentrations, command and control and even RADAR and anti air defenses fielded by the enemy. The ground portion of the operation would begin with a swift and organized breakout attempt by the 6th Krasnovan Waffen-SS Panzer Army who with ample battlefield reconnaissance done, located a relative weak point in the Krasnovan lines and would concentrate it's armored forces on that point. They would make short work of the initial forward lines and positions of the Krasnovan Army with little to no prisoners taken in their wake.

Operation Thor's main bulk of forces were positioned North of Susol and in the Yerkina area. The critical M-1 Highway which linked Yerkina to neighboring Susol was largely in Ordenite control and most efforts to seize the stretch of highway have garnered no real success by the Krasnovans. The nearby mountain range offered little better of success as Ordenite mountain troops put up fierce resistance to enemy attempts to traverse the mountains. The bulk of the counter offensive would soon commence with a night time barrage of concentrated artillery and rocket fire on Krasnovan lines and forces. The Panzer and Panzergrenadiers of the Waffen-SS soon descended on the panicked and bombarded enemy like a dagger. The forward positions and lines were shattered and those that could flee did and others unfortunate enough to be "captured" by SS troops were consequently executed in masse. Additional reinforcements and reserves were moved into the fray in order to grind the counter offensive to a halt and as a result two major battles occurred. A town known as Panovka would become the site of a large scale battle between Ordenite Waffen-SS and Krasnovan forces. Over 2500 to 3000 tanks and countless thousands more assorted armored vehicles faced off against each other on the battlefield.

Following a six hour battle the burning wrecks and armored husks of Krasnovan Nakil 1A1s and left over and aging Lyran Main Battle Tanks littered the outskirts of Panovka for miles. Krasnovan corpses littered the battlefield as Kommando 4x4 Staff Cars roamed searching for survivors to finish off in which the occasional rifle or machine gun burst would ring out. Krasnyy Ugol was the site of the second major battle that would occur during the offensive which would pit thousands upon thousands of armored vehicles and tanks against each other. The Battle of Krasnyy Ugol ultimately would lead to the breaking of the Krasnovan encirclement of Susol and mortally wound the Krasnovan rebellion. Retreat was what the Krasnovans on all fronts were doing with the Ordenites in hot pursuit. New Impen and Gryazanaya already occupied by the Krasnovan rebels were bracing for the imminent Ordenite assault and soon more battered and defeated Krasnovan forces would join their ranks to commit to what would likely be a last stand.

VOSTOK

Vostok had been completely transformed as a city and former capital of the Red Star Union and it's successor The Unified Eastern Star Soviets. Due to the relative calm in the Zvezda peninsula following the Third Krasnovan War and even during and after the 2nd Ordenite - Macabean War, the Ordenites had greatly changed and rebuilt large swathes of Vostok. Much of the construction effort was done by thousands of forced laborers supervised by Ordenite foremen. One of the main attractions was the Karl Blumenthal Platz situated where formerly had been Vostok's Victory Red Square which had now been rebuilt in the Reich's image. The entirety of the government quarter had been rebuilt and made for accommodations of the Reichskommssariat's leadership and government. Much of the city that had at one time been in ruins following the Third Krasnovan War and the capitulation of the UESS, was rebuilt and Ordenite settlers were already beginning to populate it. Street signs, street names and more were already converted to Ordenite equivalent names.

The building containing the Reichskommissariat's government had been constructed with inspiration being taken from the modern Reich Chancellery building in Berlina. It was a formidable and oppressive looking building and was fitting for officials working under the Greater Ordenite Reich. Burkjard Bayerlein sat inside a well furnished conference room as members of the Reichskommissariat's administration filtered into their seats at the table. In attendance were the Reichskommissariat's Defense minister, the Interior minister, the overall commander of the Ordenite Wehrmacht in Krasnova along with members of the Schutzstaffel. The Higher SS and Police Leader and the respective SD leaders that were responsible for Ordenite Krasnova were also present. The overall commander for the Wehrmacht in Krasnova stood up and presented his report to the Reichskommissar.

"Herr Reichskommissar Bayerlein. At 1400 hours it has been reported that the encirclement of Susol has been broken and Krasnovan forces are hastily retreating towards Gryazanaya and New Impen." He sat down as the Reichskommissariat's Defense minister stood up next presenting his report as well.

"I can report Reichskommissar Bayerlein that additional transportation of troops to Krasnova is on schedule and another wave of reinforcements will arrive in the coming weeks." The Interior Minister stood up next presenting his own report.

"The Reichskommissariat's Interior Ministry can report that bandit activity in the Zvezda peninsula Area is at a all time low with bandit attacks on security forces at a record low of 10 attacks a month."

Bayerlein seemed relatively pleased as he had his glass poured with water by a female Scythian servant, the others in the room would also have water poured for them too. He was most eager to return to Utenbruck and continue his duties as Reichskommissar in what was considered the de-facto capital of the Reichskommissariat. "Very good. Perhaps we will all be back in our offices in Utenbruck before winter." he chuckled before a knock was heard at the door of the conference room. The double doors would open as a low level Schutzstaffel adjutant entered the conference room.

"Herr Reichskommissar Bayerlein. the Reichsfuhrer-SS Hannibal Reichold." he said as he stepped out of the way clicking his heels together and saluting as a tall broad shouldered man entered the room. Everyone in the room had gone silent as everyone stood from their seats and also saluted with a crisp "Hail Victory!" said as he entered the room. Reichsfuhrer-SS Reichold had originally been put on house arrest following the untimely death of Fuhrer Grossmann. However due to several high profile and secretive meetings between Reich government officials, NSPO officials and leadership and the Ordenite Schutzstaffel all was essentially for better terms forgiven. It had been paramount to ensure that all organs of the National Socialist government and state co-existed with each other harmoniously and thus amends were made with the Ordenite Schutztaffel. Their was big news of which Reichsfuhrer-SS Reichold knew and would effect the Reichskommissariat immensely as he took a seat of his own as the room remained silent.

"I have returned from my unforeseen leave of absence and there is much to discuss that will change the course of history here in Krasnova forever, let us get started."

[Mokastana]

Tuktar
Republic of Norgorka
Central GD

The problem that Sasha Tchernova had, was that being a cold lying machine was as natural as breathing. She never planned on turning out like this, but one can only suffer enough before the mind takes steps to defend itself from more pain. Lying to Laura had been easy, not only about her plan to return, but about the location she was setting up in. The Timocratic Republic would have been the safer choice, but it was too far from the action. She needed to be closer.

She wore a scarf around her head, hiding her hair and some of her face, with a long jacket to hide her figure. Not that anyone would likely recognize her, but it was better to be safe. Coming back to Tuktar felt like a final cruel slap by an uncaring God, but it was the only free state in Krasnova. No, that wasn't entirely true, the Golden Throne had plenty of free cities in the south, but she had dealt enough with Macabeans to not trust them anymore. Besides, something about returning felt poetic. The city had recovered, grown and changed in the last decade, but the old bones were still there, holding it together. Commonwealth soldiers and police patrolled the city streets, and more than a few Mokan shops had moved in, but it was still Tuktar.

She turned the corner to an old market square, once a shelled out ruin, now alive with stalls and shops and people window shopping. A spot that once held a cafe was now an import shop selling stereos. Sasha remembered the fist fights defending that hovel, and the clients she serviced inside, the vitriol smell of smoke and death never far away. It was a mistake to come back here. The anger bubbled up inside her, the hatred for everything done to her. Those days of starvation and hiding as bombers flew overhead indiscriminately dropping death. Weeks spent on the run sleeping in the woods, not knowing who wasn't going to wake up the next day as children froze to death in the snow.

Life had been cruel even before the fascists showed up, but they were the pinnacle of pain. Before they came, she had felt loss, losing her husband had felt like her world had ended, but she still had her daughter and family in those days. The tears for a husband could be pushed aside for a daughter's smile, but then the Fascists came and took her away. Then they took her job, her home, her brother. In those days on the run she made and lost even more friends, one taken by the Blood Fever, others killed by fascist assassins in Nicaro and Firmador, and the one time she tried to love again, was punished by hearing the final screams of her lover dying to protect her.

She wanted the fascists to know the pain they had caused her, the tears, the hopelessness. She wanted fascists children to wake up screaming in the night, afraid the Tsarina would take their parents away. And they would. She had never believed in a God before, but something had spared her every time she had looked death in the eyes, and even now, a dark and vengeful power had given her the tools to make her dreams of revenge a reality. Who was she to not honor the wishes of such a God?

---

Somewhere outside Weston, Phibeta
Two months ago

The Tsarina poured some tea for her guest while admiring the outside view. This beautiful country was almost as mild as Monavia, just without the mountains. Still, it would make a fine place to have a vacation home. The taxes were obscene, of course, but when your visa is basically "I have a lot of money to spend" you spend a lot of money.

"This is a beautiful manor, Tsarina."

Her guest took the tea and enjoyed the first sip. He was a Mokan man, one she had not met in person before, but a friend of a friend. Well, a business associate of a business associate. He looked out of place with his bright colored shirt with images of waves and beaches, cargo shorts and boots, but Hector told her this gentleman was the one she wanted to meet, so she flew him out here for this meeting. At least he could speak half decent Krasnovan, so she didn't need to hire a translator.

"Thank you, it will make a good vacation home."

"You would invite Carrion into your vacation home for a business deal?" He raised an eyebrow in disbelief, intentionally ignored the deep gravelly sound of her voice and scars along her face. He had met other survivors of the Red Star Union, and nearly all of them carried the evidence of their past.

The Tsarina responded to the comment by smiling with her good half of her face, before ignoring it completely. "Hector told me you can provide me what I'm looking for."

"Yes, Hector told me you were interested in the kinds of explosives that he couldn't get ahold of. Which is odd, I've known Hector ever since El Frontera, with this much money on the table he'd find a way to supply you. So what exactly do you need?"

"It's not a question of quality, but quantity. I have mercenaries to arm and projects to perform."

"Yes, Hector told me you need large explosives for some of the 'projects' you plan. Planes and artillery are good for conventional war, but the items you're asking for… are more for…asymmetric warfare."

"Yes, a lot of my projects are more covert than conventional, which is why I'm shopping for appropriate tools. Can you help me, or was this flight a waste of our time?"

The Mokan man faked offense at her comment, but he cut to the business with s smile. "I can certainly help you. We have literal tons of explosives, from TNT to semtex, we can sell to you…but when you're asking for something to level city blocks, it makes me think you might be interested in something more."

The Tsarina looked over to the Mokan, her curiosity intrigued. "I am looking for the most powerful 'asymmetric' explosives you can provide. Cost is unimportant, I want destruction capability."

"Based on what I've been told about the Tsarina, you are determined woman with desire to harm those who harmed you. If that is the situation, I may have the item you want."

"And what would that be?"

"Are you willing to spend a billion Ríokmarks on one bomb?" The Mokan's face turned serious, but the Tsarina chuckled at the question.

"You must have mispoke, a billion for one bomb? For that price it better be a nuclear weapon."

"200 kiloton" The Mokan stated flatly, any humor previously in his voice was gone. It was the Tsarina's turn to look in disbelief.

"You're serious? You have a nuclear weapon for sale?"

"Yes, I would never mention it, but you are the rare customer who has the money, and the motivation to want it. I'd expect you'd want to verify the item first, and find your own specialists to do that, but, we can make that happen, after we talk money. "

"A billion Ríokmarks? You do know you cannot simply wash that much money. I'd expect you'll spend a quarter of it on financial magic."

"Possibly, but that is the price. I'll need a down payment of 100 million, of course. Even telling you about it is a risk, letting you verify it means showing you where I hid such a weapon and how I got it. I need to know you're serious."

"If this is a scam, I'll hunt you down and send one appendage of yours to every Cartel, Carrion, and mercenary group I can find. And you'll be alive when I do."

"I have heard what you did to the Cartels back home, and the slavers in Nicaro. I would expect nothing less from you. So, do we have a deal?"

The Tsarina looked back out the window, taking a moment to respond. "I am going to go see 'The Butcheress of Sauville' tonight in town. I've heard it's something the locals enjoy. I don't speak common, so I'll have it translated into Krasnovan, but I'll see if it's any good.
Leave an account number next to the tea. If you see 100 million Ríokmarks in the account tomorrow. Then we have a deal, but your head will be my collateral. You'll stay here until my team is ready. After all, if what you say is true, you're about to become a Billionaire. You can afford a short vacation."

"I look forward to it."

[The Macabees]

FEDALA, CORE PROVINCES

"Mr. Kusma, the inconvenience caused shouldn't be taken personally. We had to take precautions given the terrorist actions undertaken by the monarchist faction in liberated Krasnova," said the Macabéan. His eyes gazed at the Krasnovan cooly, his voice was steady, and every so often he took another sip of whisky from the lowball glass in his hand. His lips were curled in a half-smile.

The Krasnovan didn't seem to be completely sold. "I was told that I was His Imperial Majesty's guest in this city and that I was free to come and go."

"Of course," replied the Macabéan. "But these past few weeks have been exceptional circumstances. You agree?"

"I don't, Mr. Novelle—" started the so-called king-in-exile.

Daryl Novelle put up his hand to stop him from finishing his thought, and said, "You may refer to me as Kríerlord or Your Excellency."

"Your excellency?" sneered Leonid Ilyich Kusma. "Your excellency? Then you must call be Your Highness, as I am a king."

"King of what, exactly?" asked the kríerlord, curiously.

The Krasnovan did not answer right away. He took a sip from his own glass and made the Macabéan stew. He hated these people more every passing day. Every new hour he realized more and more, until it became so apparent that it was making him boil over, that the Golden Throne had no intention of supporting his bid of kingship over the Krasnovan people. The Macabéan did not seem to mind how long it took Leonid to answer, though. Finally, he replied, "Of Krasnova, of course."

Daryl laughed. "Of Krasnova? What part of Krasnova? Certainly not the liberated cities. Those have elected their legislative governments and are otherwise ruled by His Imperial Majesty. If you'd like, we could hand you over to the Ordenites and see what they think of your claim to kingship. Is that what you want? I can certainly make it happen." He swirled the contents of the glass around.

"Laugh all you want, but my people are fighting for me in Krasnova," spat Leonid. "They are sacrificing their lives against Ordenite tyranny, while you people not only just watch, but suppress them in the west!"

The Kríerlord shrugged. "Don't be foolish. There is no suppression taking place. We are simply prosecuting those who aid and abet those terrorists who killed not us Macabéans, but their own people in Budyovo. The Golden Throne always errs on the side of the justice."

"Justice? Hah!" Leonid slammed his glass down on the table and then let out a sigh. He added, "So, what now? Am I to be a prisoner here for the remainder of my days?"

"Not at all, Mr. Kusma," replied Kríerlord Novelle. "Not at all. Like I said, these were extraordinary circumstances. We had to be sure that we had identified all of those responsible for the Budyovo attacks, including financiers, facilitators, and all of those who aided the terrorists and their ideology through political means. Now that the cleansing of Krasnovan politics, especially in Ivanovka, is well underway, and now that we are sure you had nothing to do with the attacks, you are free to move again."

Leonid looked at the kríerlord. "You are telling me I can leave? I can return to Krasnova?"

"Indeed, you can leave whenever you'd like," answered Daryl.

The Krasnovan sat silently for some time, apparently mulling over his thoughts. That his house arrest was but a temporary measure was a surprise to him. Surely, the Macabéan emperor saw him as a threat. Otherwise, why put him under house arrest at all? Why suppress the monarchist faction in Ivanovka and the other liberated cities? Did they think their job had been done so well that Leonid Ilych Kusma was no longer a threat? Nothing made any sense anymore. But, maybe the answers to those questions didn't matter. He knew that there were still monarchist sympathizers in Krasnova, on both sides of the border, and if he could get strong enough backing then the Krasnovan people were likely to amass beneath his standard. After all, the Krasnovan people must have been tired of foreigners after so many wars. What had the foreigners brought to Krasnova other than oppression and death? He said, finally, "Then I opt to leave. Tomorrow."

"Very well!" exclaimed the Kríerlord. "His Imperial Majesty will be sad to see you go, but He understands that you feel compelled to return to your homeland. In anticipation of this, He has prepared a small palace for you outside Sofiatsyn."

"Sofiatsyn?" asked Leonid. "Why would I want to stay in Sofiatsyn?"

"Where else would you want to stay?" asked the Kríerlord.

Leonid shook his head. "Wherever I damn please."

"Of course," said Daryl, smiling. "I will let His Imperial Majesty know that you are not interested in His gift. He will be disappointed but will understand, I am sure."

"Good," replied the Krasnovan, waving the kríerlord away. "I must start getting ready for my trip. Please leave."

Daryl Novelle seemed unperturbed by the so-called king's haughtiness. All he said was, "Very well, may we see each other again in the proximate future."

"May we not," muttered the Krasnovan.


The next day...

Leonid Ilyich Kusma was driven to Weikau International, a smaller airport outside the eastern edge of the city, in the early morning. He did so without much fanfare and via his own means, including the vehicle, which was hired that same morning from a local luxury town car transportation service. With him were some of his staff members, as well as his wife Sonina Dominika Kusmana. The children were to remain in Fedala for the time being until the king- and queen-in-exile settled in outside of Ivanovka. The Golden Throne's Imperial Bureaucracy had seized all the old monarchist properties of western Krasnova and so Leonid would have to find somewhere new to live. He hoped it wouldn't take more than a few weeks, as he still had friends and clients in the old country. Then, the kids could fly over. As they arrived at the airport, his thoughts were elsewhere, though.

The purge of the monarchist party and its children organization by the various governments of the Krasnovan likutats was a setback. He wondered how the Imperial Bureaucracy had managed to persuade the Krasnovan legislatures to allow such a thing. Regardless, it meant that most of his supporters were now dead, in prison, or driven underground. He hoped that his return could serve to rally them back to his side. Although, he wasn't quite sure what his next move would be after that.

Surely, the Imperial Bureaucracy would move quickly to suppress him if he made himself a threat. Perhaps he could also rally monarchists across the frontier, on the Ordenite side, and induce them to fight harder and longer. Maybe they could even win at snapping the Ordenite yolk and carving a path for the return of a Krasnovan state, this time under the leadership of a Krasnovan monarch. A man could dream, and dream Leonid did as his car stopped on the tarmac at the foot of the ladder leading up and into the passenger aircraft waiting for him.

He and Sonina made their way up quickly. Leonid was quite anxious to get out of Fedala. He had begun to hate it.

Sonina had come to enjoy the city. Fedor had granted them a stipend that was by no means small and Sonina had taken to it, going out on frequent shopping trips to all of the poshest boutiques the great imperial capital had to offer. She would miss her cars, her jewelry, and all the other 'things' the queen-in-exile had accumulated over recent years, but it was just temporary Leonid had assured her. Once they had a proper place to live in, a proper king's palace, they would have all of her things brought over to Krasnova. The queen could enjoy all the same shopping in Ivanovka, Leonid promised her.

Within thirty minutes, the aircraft had taken off. It was a large plane with the fuel load to make it to Krasnova in one trip, but it was empty after Leonid insisted that he buy out all of the seats. He hadn't a private plane of his own...yet...so this was the next best thing. The aircraft headed north, northeast, following an arch that took it out to sea before flying over land again as it traversed Monzark. As the engines hummed along at a low drone, Leonid stepped away from his wife to join his advisors. Some were flipping through thick packets of documents on their laps while others were reviewing digital documents on their computers. The king-in-exile sat down beside them and took one of the manila folders and started to read through it.

"What do we have ready upon arrival?" he asked.

One of the men sitting next to him grimaced, "We didn't have much time, Your Highness. But, we have secured a property some ten kilometers outside of Ivanovka. It is a small house for now, perhaps not what you want, but there is enough property to build larger I promise you. We are finalizing the purchase now digitally and as long as there are no last-minute blockages, we'll be able to go there directly from the airport."

"It is only temporary," said Leonid. "What do we know about the seller?"

The same man shrugged. "Not much, to be honest, Your Majesty. Although he was recommended to several of our monarchist friends in the city, so I am sure he is good people."

"Surely," agreed the king-in-exile. "He should be rewarded once we are able to."

"Of course, Your Majesty," replied the advisor.

The king looked out the aircraft's window for a long moment as if thinking about something. Then he turned back, and asked, "Has anyone put us in contact with the rebels across the international border?"

"No, Your Majesty, not yet," replied the same man.

Another one looked up from the packet he was reading, and added, "That may prove somewhat difficult. What the Macabéans call the Krasnovan Frontier has become one of the most militarized borders in the world, with millions of imperial and fascist troops facing off against each other as if in anticipation of the next war. Crossing the border, let alone setting up a permanent line of communication through it, will be a challenge, Your Majesty. But, I have contacts in Rubino that say they have filtered through to join the insurgency and come back. Perhaps we can tap into them as a resource to put us in contact with the leaders of the rebellion in Ordenite Krasnova. I think it would be worthwhile to travel to Rubino regardless and make a presence there. It would be good for the returned king to tour the country and build support."

Leonid nodded. "Good, good. We shall discuss that when we get home. For now, I sleep. Keep up the good work." He stood and headed back to his seat, next to his wife.

She stirred awake as he sat down and, eyes half closed, asked, "Leonid, will it all be okay?"

"Of course, my darling," he answered, petting her hand. "Of course."

But, as he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, he could not but feel deep anxiety about his future. How was going to regain his proper place as king of Krasnova? Could the rebels defeat the Ordenite garrison in the east? Surely, if they could, then he would have a proper base from which to pressure the Golden Throne to leave, whether through political or military means. What if he failed? Would he be killed? What about Sonina and the children? Perhaps it was better for them to stay in Fedala for some time. He could not keep these thoughts of his head as he tried to fall asleep and it was only after a long while that he finally dozed away, his neck bending as his head suddenly tilted to the left and onto the sleeping queen's shoulder...


...he awoke to the plane violently shaking. Around him, his staff was in panic although he was still too groggy to understand what was going on. Sonina was next to him gripping him tightly, although she too looked as if she had just woken up. Her face, though, was one of pure terror. She could not put words together, all she could do was hold his hand as if she would fall to her death if she let go.

That's when he noticed that the oxygen masks had been released above their heads. "What's going on?" he demanded.

One of his advisors leaned down on his right shoulder and pointed straight out the window. Two of the aircraft's three left-wing engines were shrouded in a cloud of thick, black smoke with red and orange flames licking out from behind. In places, the wing had been shredded by something, possibly shrapnel from the engines. He could see something leaking, although perhaps it was condensation, perhaps it was something else, and perhaps it was something serious. The king was not an aircraft mechanic, he did not understand what was going on, he could only look on in horror like the rest of those with him. The plane was no longer flying straight, he realized, it was losing altitude and precipitously quickly. Suddenly, his vision of the terror was gone as they rushed through a patch of white and gray clouds, the aircraft's body spasming as if caught by some illness, throwing anybody on their feet to the ground. "The good lord above," whispered Leonid.

On their right, another explosion. One of the stewardesses cried out, "Another engine is gone!"

There was yelling, sobbing, and praying. The aircraft's nose tipped forward some more and it felt as if they were now in a free fall. Leonid turned to Sonina, and said, "I love you. Thank you for being by my side all of these years."

Tears were streaming down her eyes and she could not bring herself to say anything in reply.

And they struck the surface of the ocean below like a body on concrete, the aircraft's body compressing before breaking through. It buoyed back up for a second before once again being eaten by the waves. Such was the fate of the Krasnovan King-in-Exile Leonid Ilyich Kusma, who would never have the chance to rally his people around his person and their old flag. In the years and decades to come, many a conspiracy theory would circulate on what had caused the freak aircraft accident. Officially, and to all of those who believed in the mainstream media, the aircraft was old and had not been properly checked before the flight due to the king's insistence on leaving Fedala as quickly as possible, and that more than likely that some of the engines' fan blades had snapped mid-flight, sending shrapnel that damaged the plane's hydraulic systems and possibly the other engines. Unfortunately, the remains of the aircraft would never been found, let alone recovered.

With Echo Air Flight 987 died the last hopes of a monarchist revival in Krasnova.

[Greater Ordena]

NEW IMPEN

"Leonid ilyich Kusman and his wife have reportedly died in an airplane crash." The men in the room were dismayed with the unexpected death of one of the only heirs to the former Krasnovan throne. The proclaimed King in exile had spent most if not all of his life growing up in Fedala and had aspired since his coming to adulthood many years ago to be able to return to Krasnova and restore the Tsardom that had been overthrown during the 1917 revolution. It had been hoped that Kusman would at some point return to Krasnova and reestablish the Tsardom and unite the Krasnovan people against the Ordenites. This hope was now just empty words as it seemed that the Krasnovans last hopes of independence and self rule was gone. However the men present in the dimly lit room were intent on restoring hope to those fighting against the Ordenite oppressor.

New Impen had and likely would never recover from the successive wars that raged over the island in the past six years since the invasion of the Red Star Union by the Ordenite Reich. It had once been the capital of the Red Star Union since the mid 1960s after the government moved from the more historic capital of Vostok to the newly built city of New Impen. During the last stages of the First Krasnovan War it had been the site of brutal fighting between Ordenite forces and PUF backed mercenaries and modernized Union Army forces. A vast majority of the city was nothing but ruins and in the short amount of time it spent under Ordenite occupation initially, efforts were made to clear the devastated sections of New Impen of rubble and debris. Reconstruction was partially completed before the outbreak of the Second Krasnovan War in which the People's Unified Federation initiated a major offensive from the Zvezdan-Krasnovan Demilitarized Zone.

In the aftermath of the peace terms both the Ordenite Reich and The People's Unified Federation had to withdraw all military forces from the island in which following it's completion two weeks later, the Unified Eastern Star Soviets launched a surprise strategic offensive to capture as much territory as they could. The offensive would see the recapture of over 50 percent of Krasnova before the UESS and the Krasnovan Republic under Viktor Kendrov came to the negotiation table and made peace. In the lull of war additional efforts were made by the UESS and it's major ally the People's Unified Federation to continue reconstruction of New Impen. The Third Krasnovan War would see the complete capitulation of the UESS and in the aftermath of the Battle of New Impen a nuclear device was detonated within the city. The city had just some months prior had been taken without much destruction caused in the early stages of the rebellion. Now the rebellion was beginning to be pushed out from the gains it made as the Ordenites had regrouped and with additional reinforcements began to go back on the offensive.

The Krasnovans had been beaten back from the outskirts of Yukar and Kokshlovo and their partial encirclement of Susol had also been broken. The Stavka had issued orders to regroup and consolidate around the cities of Gryaznaya and New Impen which would lead to the stabilization of the front lines. The pursuing Ordenite and allied forces had come to a temporary operational pause as they sought to consolidate the gains that had been made. Defenses were beginning to be hastily made on all fronts which consisted of several rings of trench networks and minefields interwoven with anti air and anti tank defenses along with staging areas for reserve forces should the need arrive. Military deception would become priority to avoid massive losses of materials and manpower and as such concealment of artillery, anti-air and troop concentrations were carried out. Dummy positions were also constructed which were to take the brunt of the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine's bombardments in the coming battles to come.

"We cannot let this unfortunate circumstance break our morale comrades. We do have an alternative that can give our people hope in these desperate times." Aleksandrov said as cigarette smoke lingered in the air and glasses were poured of local Krasnovan vodka. That alternative was sitting among the men at the table and was someone that in previous years had been considered a traitor however times had changed and desperation had set in. Viktor Kendrov the former President of the First Krasnovan Republic stood to his feet clutching his glass as he looked around at the others.

"We must create a sense of independence among our people. While it is unfortunate that a return of the Tsardom is likely impossible due to the death of Kusman. The Republic that those bastards took away from us can be that independence. Together we can usher in a new Krasnovan nation that does not answer to neither Fedor or the fucking Ordenites." Kendrov raised his glass and looked at his fellow peers that sat around him as they one by one began to stand up and raise their glasses. There was a moment of silence before one of the men began to sing what had at one point been the unofficial national anthem of the First Krasnovan Republic and soon enough everyone in the room was singing.

"Krasnova is not yet lost,
neither it's glory nor freedom,
To us, Krasnovan brothers,
fate will smile,
our enemies will vanish,
like dew in the sun,
and we shall rule too brothers,
in it's shade,
Souls and bodies we will lay down,
for our freedom,
And we'll show that we, brothers,
are of the Krasnovan nation!"

[Mokastana]

OOC:

Post co-written with Holy Marsh and Timocratic Republic

Somewhere in Tuktar
...Nine Days before the event...

Walking the streets of Tuktar, Sasha continued to learn how much had changed in the years under commonwealth control. In the years of the Red Star Union, religious institutions were frowned upon, with only some cathedrals kept for historical purposes. State mandated atheism was common, even if a few strange minorities kept their peculiar habits. Yet today, standing tall before her, was a freshly built new religious institution, added under Commonwealth leadership. They claimed religious freedom was one thing they offered, and the foreign religions seemed to have taken them up on the offer.

It was a Marshite church…. Temple? Shrine? Mosque? The term didn't really matter right now. What mattered was Sasha deciding if she was going to walk in or not. This was foolish, she thought to herself, there is no God above, everything that has happened was the work of people. Why waste time on such a ridiculous notion? All these thoughts raced through her head, as she stepped into the building.

It was not a time of service, whatever that looked like to Marshites. Surely they had some sort of holy day and service? Don't all religions?

"Hello?" She called out in native Krasnovan, "I wanted to talk with someone about the Holy Marsh?"

Rebekkah Gardine answered the call. A tall, dark woman with blazing purple eyes, she cut an impressive figure. A Priestess of the Warrior Shrine, she bore the scars of decades of service. A knife wound from her youth as part of a rebel cell in her homeland, shrapnel wounds from grenades during the Marshite Intervention in Krasnova, half an arm lost in Ralkovia. Torture at the hands of those same men, leaving her with one good eye. Replaced with cybernetics, she nonetheless considered her service pleasant. Just as she considered her role here as Praetor Secundara of the Tuktar Warrior Shrine pleasant, if significantly more dull.

“Welcome to the Shrine of War in Her Name, Sasha. Tsarina,” Rebekkah said as she approached, swathed in the purple and red cloak of her order.

Sasha was taken aback by the recognition, she knew that her face wasn't hidden, and that there would probably be people who recognized her, but she didn't recognize this woman. Was she a threat?

"Hello, how do you know who I am? Do I know you from somewhere?" She asked, her hand lowering to the hidden gun on her person.

“You do not know me. I know you by reputation. It is strange to find you here. Strange, but not unwelcome, nor shocking. What do you seek tonight?”

"I…I…" now that she was here, actually talking to a religious person, she felt foolish, and yet, this priestess was comforting. Not due to her personality or presence, but her scars and cybernetics showed that she too had been through hell and back. If anyone would be able to help her understand, it might be this lady. "... could we speak in private, somewhere?"

some time later...

"I once lived in this city, when this land was the Red Star Union. I was younger then, naive. I witnessed countless acts of horror, everyone I cared about either died or killed by the war. Eventually I clawed my way to the top of the criminal underworld by stealing drugs from the Cartels and reselling them. They tried to kill me numerous times, even got close with a bomb once." She made a small gesture to her facial scars. "I survived and made millions, forcing them to deal with me if they wanted to sell in Krasnova. When I made a move on Nicaro, we massacred the slavers and took the city, and made billions. Then once more nearly everyone I cared about was murdered, my drug crops destroyed. I made it out alive, and some Montana Inc child bought everything I worked for. Now I'm here, back where it all began. Ready to bring vengeance down upon the Ordenites who made me into this monster.

I never thought myself religious, I never cared for those who prayed to an indifferent miracle worker in the sky, it was all a delusion….but I know what I'm doing next, I won't have much time in this world, and I find myself wondering, what if there was a God? A God of vengeance that wanted me here? What if everything that happened to me was divine guidance? It's so impossible, my life, that even I look at the odds and wonder. Am I supposed to be here? Or am I just a vengeful woman who got impossibly lucky?"


Rebekkah listened to the fierce and dangerous Tsarina speak as if she were a child. Still, Rebekkah knew the emotions that flowed within her were as lava, and destruction would be her consequence.
“There is no Goddess of Vengeance, Tsarina. Something so petty is never the realm of the divine, but our own mind,” Rebekkah began before she poured a hot cup of water. “But the Holy Marsh, She desires us as warriors, to strike at her enemies and keep safe the righteous. This takes many forms and works in many ways,” she said as she took several deep drinks of the liquid, turning back to the Tsarina and sitting down.

“You are a woman of passion, resolve, and fury. The Holy Marsh always has a use for such people. Your purpose is to punish the wickedness of her enemies, in this case the Ordernites. The cruelties visited upon you have all been calls to serve, causes for which you should have acted.

Instead, you sought out wealth. Power. Prestige. The gifts you possess would have made you a fine guerrilla warfighter, a bloody-handed valkyrie of violence and horror that visited the charnel houses of the Ordernite holdings to cut a bloody swathe through their misbegotten garrisons. You chose drugs and money. You strayed and have suffered for it. Now you have nothing but the imperative of vengeance, when before you could have, and should have, had more. Evil succeeds only when Marshites fail to answer the call to serve, and you have become a victim of this truth,” she paused, shaking her head.

“It is not too late, of course. Your heart knows what it must do, and your soul itself- whether you care to acknowledge it or not- screams for release. You will make them suffer, and you will make them suffer a wound that they shall not soon forget. You were always destined to leave them wounded. The manner of it, however, has always been up to you.”


The Tsarina felt her anger boiling inside as this pious priestess judged her. She didn't hide it, letting this warrior woman know exactly what she felt about such comments. "I know what I must do, and I will do it in such a way that it will be known for generations to come.

You Marshites know nothing of the world outside your communes and religion. You think I pursued wealth like some cocaine princess of Mokastana? I don't have a massive empire supporting my crusades. Every shell and every bullet I ever used, needed to be paid for somehow. When I took the City of Liberia from the Gente Slave State, my opening move cost 13 million Riokmarks in missiles alone. Not to mention the costs of ships, launch platforms, men who knew how to use them. The cost of soldiers to take the city, the guns, armor, clothes, and vehicles to keep those soldiers safe. I had to build an army of liberators from nothing. If drug money fueled my army, so be it.

When I found purpose, and the means, to liberate those less fortunate, I put down the drugs and focused. My only mistake was thinking I could stop doing things violently." The Tsarina's anger shifted from being offended, to one of frustration, "I built orphanages and food banks, jobs and roads. Was I punished for putting down the sword?" She took a second to breathe, feeling the indignant tears forming in her eyes, before pushing her self pity back to the depths. "If I'm to carry a sword and leave them wounded, then I'll hurt them in ways they've never felt before."


“There are those who exist to bring succor to the suffering, Tsarina. To bring mercy to the damaged. You are not, and never were, built for that. You were built for blood and pain. You were built for conflict. To kill your oppressors, that is your calling. Take the knife and cut the throat. Take his weapon and kill his comrades. Take their weapons and destroy their camp. Take their camp to take their garrisons. Bloody-handed and terrifying. That was your calling, Tsarina. To suffer only the physical wounds of conflict as your soul took solace in the righteous destruction of your enemies.

Your involvement in the drug trade may have enabled you to finance your war, but it debased you and devalued your efforts. Not because the money itself became dirty or some other moralistic nonsense, but because it took your time and attention away. Then when you had achieved something resembling a false victory, you further moved away from your purpose by putting down the sword. You have denied yourself your true nature for so long that you come to this Shrine to war and conflict to find reason and cause as you know not yourself- and then you have the audacity to say I know nothing of the world? Tsarina, you know what you must do to redeem your life.”

---

Somewhere along the Krasnovan/Norgorka border
...Three Days before the event...

Sasha Tchernova stood on the hill overlooking the another batch of mercenaries she was smuggling to Krasnova. The cold winds of The Red Star Union blew around her as she pulled her woolen coat tighter. It felt as if the Motherland herself was both embracing and scolding her long lost child, welcoming her home and making her regret the tropical and temperate places Sasha had called home over years.

She had hired mercenaries from all over, many from Tarn, many from smaller bands across the region, and then there was this group, even some troublemakers from the Hurtful Thoughts. However, this group was from the Timocratic Republic, a nation she didn't really know, but they claimed to be alright fighters, and showed her methods of war she felt appropriate for a fascist.

The columns of trucks and armored vehicles coming from the northern docks had bypassed nearly every security checkpoint, as she had basically bribed the entire local government to turn around as she got her fighters into position. Supplies would be an issue, which is why she paid for the Timocratic mercs to launch an assault on Saint Paul as well, opening the mouth of the Norgorka Bay. Occupation was only really needed to destroy whatever anti-ship systems the Ordenites had there.

"Do you think these men are ready for a long campaign?" She asked the Merican mercenary officer next to her. It was too late to back out now, but with a Krasnovan winter around the corner, foreigners needed to be extra careful.

“Yes. I am not sure about the rest. They look…shady.” The officer chuckled at what he said. It was not lost on him for he was somewhat self aware. His uniform indicated he was a senior Lt. with the Third Infantry Division. A gas mask in the middle of a hazard symbol surmouted by a three. It was clear what the unit he was with specailised in.

“As a fellow mercenary, they have not been vetted by the same people as my men. I am not sure they even subscribe the Mercanery’s Honor.-” You take the coin you take on the fight, and don’t stab your employer in the back. At least not until the contract has expired. “-but maybe they are not all bad. Just keep them away from my men when it all starts. I guarantee they dont have suit and gas does not distugiush friend from foe.”

The Tarsina continued to stare at the columns crossing the border, "If they don't follow orders, they will learn, but I thought your leaders said it disappears quickly?"

“It does but it settles on surfaces and lingers for a few hours. No use marching troops to their death when it can be avioded. We per to aviod friendly fire when possible. Even if it is with groups of ill repute.” As long as they don’t start anything the officer thought to himself.

“Avioding civilians will be the hardest… unless they become combatants”

The Tsarina turned her head slightly to look at the Lieutenant, "What do you define as combatants in the TR?"

“If they take up arms against us they all are the same. Frankly they are considered worse under our regulations. They become guerillias and/or spies. And lose even the right so surrender unless we grant it. No uniform is inherently a sign of a dishonest foe. But war is war. And they will learn quickly or die. Such is the world.”

"This is Krasnova, the only people with uniforms are the invaders, but if some wish to die with their foreign masters. So be it."

“So be it. When the time comes the enemy will receive a nasty shock from us. It will take them time to adjust, time we will use. The longer it takes the more damage we can do and the more we can kill. Estimates on the low side are 1 month and 6 months on the hi side before the Ordenites can fully adjust and compensate. Their.. Hanger ons will be in far worse shape. Acquiring the right gear is hard. Then you must distribute it train on it then you use it effectively. Chances are they wil skimp on the training and merely rush it out. Which lead to improper usage. What do you think ma’am?”

The Tsarina gave a faint smile on the unscarred side of her face. "I think you promised me the sight of Ordenites choking to death on their own vomit. I think I would very much like to see that. If we only get a few weeks, I trust you'll capture a few prisoners to show me."

---

Ordenite Cargo Vessel The Rhine
Somewhere in the Sea of Ordena
...Two days before the event....

The oceans of Greater Dienstad were vast and unforgiving, with millions of square kilometers untouched by humanity for years at a time. It was why shipping lanes were so important, and were often patrolled by an international collection of combat and rescue ships. Out here, thousands of miles from shore, nationalities and politics didn't matter when the sea wanted to take you. You would reach out for any hand coming to your aid, just as you would offer yours without question. It was the unspoken rule of the vast unforgiving oceans. Out here, it was not man vs man, but man vs nature. Despite this not every one on the high seas was friendly, be they pirates, or something worse. The submarine had been following its prey for just over two days now. It had to be absolutely sure no other surface or aerial contacts could be in range for this operation to work.

With only starlight to see by, and confirmation that there were no ambient radio waves or electronic signals between The Rhine and the horizon, the submarine made its move. Getting ahead of the cargo vessel, the submarine released a smaller submersible that had been attached to the external part of the sub. As it did so powerful jammers from the main submarine activated, blocking all radio and electronic signals in the area. The smaller submersible surfaced right next to The Rhine, and hooks were launched towards the vessel, catching on railing or cargo containers, pulled tight to ensure a safe connection.

Men dressed in black combat gear climbed up the ropes quickly. With the jamming going on, the crew of The Rhine would have at least a couple minutes before they realized what was happening, and by that point the attackers hoped to be in charge of the ship. Anyone who managed to put up a fight was put down by silenced weapons, while those who were captured were brought to the bridge. The survivors were ordered to strip down to undergarments before being escorted towards the back of the ship, all the way towards the railings over the ship’s rudders. The executions were quick and the bodies quickly disposed of, over the rear of the ship.

In the bridge, another group, this time of four people, had arrived. Unlike the executioners, this group only wore light layers unfit for a ship on the high seas. They went through the crew’s clothes piled in the center of the bridge and quickly put what fit on. It wasn't long before they almost looked like an Ordenite crew, at least at a quick glance. Some of the faux crew practiced saying things in the Ordenite language, with no doubt atrocious accents. One of the men, dressed now as a deckhand, was particularly good and was correcting his compatriots with their pronunciations.

The man who dressed as the Captain, turned to the three people with him and spoke in Krasnovan:
"The mercenaries will bring up the package any moment, but once they return to their submarine, we are on our own.... I do not know your stories, I do not know your real names, or what brought you here to make the ultimate sacrifice. I imagine some of you are like me, you lost something that made life worth living, and in response, you are here to take vengeance. The Tsarina will take credit for this attack, and we will go down in history without names. That is fine with me. It protects those I left behind. Whatever the Tsarina promised you or those back home, she will deliver on. Now, we must do the same."

The 'Captain' pulled out a flask, and stealing cups from a cabinet nearby, proposed a toast: "In the name of the Union of Eastern Star Soviets, I fulfill one last mission for the Motherland."
The others spoke up in response:
"For the Union, and a free Krasnova."

"For New Impen."

"For seeing them in hell."

The gunmen would return to their submarine, their package delivered and their mission successful. The fake crew on the other hand, each knowing their fate, continued to sail towards the Greater Ordena. Somewhere on the ship, was a large box, with a Geiger counter exposed on the outside, showing only a few acceptable Rads coming from it's contents. They would see the Ordenite Fatherland in only a couple days, and give them a gift from the people of Krasnova.

[Greater Ordena]

Karkīt, Port of Karkīt,
Ordenite Protectorate of Scythia.

Karkīt was a city of around 40,000,000 inhabitants in which the majority of the population were native Scythians. However the presence of the Ordenites was obvious as their were at least half a million living in the city its self largely in and around the Port. All of them had been settled here several decades ago after the capitulation of the former Scythian regime during the reign of Fuhrer Karl Blumenthal. Overall the Ordenite Reich had in the last several decades had settled over 400 million Ordenites within Scythia with many largely living along the coastline which contain numerous major Kriegsmarine naval bases, harbors and ports used for trade. Karkīt was one of these coastal cities which contained an Ordenite population albeit they were purposely segregated with high walls, watch towers, armed checkpoints and metal gates which ensured security of the Ordenite enclave population. Within the enclave its self was a Ordenite community which lived and breathed Ordenite National Socialism as much of the Ordenite population within Scythia were the product of settled Waffen-SS and Schutzstaffel veterans and their families.

The sun had just begun to shine through the curtains into the bedroom of the SS-Brigadeführer who resided there. He sat up in his bed as laying on either side of him still fast asleep were two Scythian women who he had invited to spend the night with him. He would soon get out of bed putting on his trousers which had been on the floor, he felt some slight throbbing in his head likely from the alcohol he had consumed last night. Pulling the curtains open the sunlight flooded into the bedroom as he squinted with his eyes having to adjust to the brightness. From his bedroom he could see almost the entirety of the Port below and beyond that the sea. A cargo ship could be seen arriving into the port its self and on the dock its self a group of men were moving towards the ship. The men in question were security personnel as the cargo ship in question the Rhine had failed to communicate with the Port authority when asked and thus as the ship began to dock into port, security personnel had been dispatched.

A sort of stand off had begun as the ships crew were for the most part unresponsive to the Port's security attempts to contact them. Twenty minutes would pass before one of the so called crewmen emerged and answered the radio. Their pronunciation and accent overall was rather terrible and began to raise alarms as to just who exactly was onboard.

"This is the cargo vessel Rhine with a special present for your leader and all of you bastard Nazi's. For six years you tormented and bled Krasnova dry. My family, you murdered and now I speak to you in my- well all of our final moments. I hope all of you rot in hell with us you fucking pieces of shit." The security detachment and well everyone in the Port its self did not get a chance to react as the "present" onboard the cargo ship detonated immediately evaporating everyone. The SS-Brigadefuhrer's last moments on earth were spent watching a bright flash that completely blinded him before he was killed in the blast. The subsequent blast was later recorded at over 270 kilotons which was the equivalent of a nuclear warhead. Hundreds of thousands would lose their lives and countless more would suffer various injuries associated with surviving a nuclear blast. Both Ordenite and Scythian lives were lost in this act of nuclear terrorism or maybe was this the beginning of a preemptive nuclear strike by a rival nation? The Golden Throne? Holy Marsh? Maybe even the People's Unified Federation?

That question was yet to be answered as within an hour of the explosion occurring the news was already making its way towards Berlina and to the Ordenite Reich Chancellery and would soon find its way to the Fuhrer himself.

[Mokastana]

This story was also posted in the Greater Dienstad news thread: viewtopic.php?p=39940706#p39940706

F R E E • D Ì E N S T A D I • P R E S S

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BREAKING NEWS!


PUBLIC SATELLITE FEEDS SHOW POSSIBLE NUCLEAR DETONATION IN GREATER ORDENA



Note: This is a currently active story, and may be updated as more information becomes available.


At around 7:12 SFT(Standard Fedala Time) CCA pubic satellite feeds over Earth showed a flash of light close to the coast of Greater Ordena. The satellite cameras were not focused on the area, nor able to zoom in, so details were not clear. The public CCA satellite feed changed cameras shortly after the event. Despite this,
many space enthusiasts noticed the flash of light and rumors began to circulate almost immediately on social media.

Public Information from the International Nuclear Watch(VNI)* shows a spike on a Infrasound station located in the Sea of Ordena off of the Golden Throne's coast, as well as a spike in X-Rays from at least one of their satellites in orbit over the region.

No information from any major government, including the Ordenite Riech, has been released at this time.

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*Vigilancia Nuclear Internacional, a Mokan based international private organization dedicated to providing public information about nuclear detonations

[The Macabees]

FIRST HOURS AFTER THE ATTACK ON KARKĪT

The situation along the Killian Frontier had remained tense after the signing of the armistice. Little trust existed between the Ordenites and Macabéans, and it showed in the sheer amount of men that the Ejermacht had deployed on their side of the demilitarized zone. Still, with the Ordenite distracted in Fustera, a revolt on their side of Krasnova, and the Icean sideshow, one may have noticed an ever so slight and gradual relaxation of alertness on either side of the Killian DMZ. Unfortunately, these foundations for a more peaceful future Killia were severely shaken by suddenly issued orders returning imperial and Killian military forces throughout the country to red alert.

Passes were canceled and soldiers were ordered to immediately join their units, as positions behind the DMZ were prepared for an immediate attack. Grunts woke up that morning hazy-eyed and jolted to an emergency on which they had little information. But, from the frontier with the Reich to the frontier in the north, there was not a single exception to the red alert order. The message was clear: an immediate Ordenite offensive against imperial and allied positions in Free Killia was expected. And as individuals reached their rendezvous points, the news quickly spread that a nuclear explosion had gone off at the Ordenite port city of Karkīt on the Scythian coast. Had the empire attacked the Reich? Had an ally? The last two wars had been provoked by allies. Whatever had happened, the situation was scary.

Jets screamed overhead as the number of patrolling aircraft increased immediately. Several squadrons were scrambled in southern, central, and northern Killia, including a number of Laerihans units in New Hemett. These last ones intensified their patrolling off the eastern Ordenite coastline proper, having been some of the first Macabéans to see and feel the explosion. Additional advanced warning and electronic intelligence drones were put up in the air as quickly as possible to extend imperial reconnaissance capabilities in the area.

While the ground army came alive and the air force thickened its defenses, Kríergrup 'Fedorotón' was issued orders to deploy into the Sea of Crows as soon as possible. Across the sea, Kríergrup 'Berliston' was issued similar orders. 'Gus'Líam,' based in Monzark, was issued similar orders. These three fleet groups were a rapid reaction force in the case of hostilities, with the intention of attacking Ordenite naval forces in the Sea of Crowns from three directions and quickly imposing naval dominance. Further to the west, the fleet groups already deployed in response to the Icean situation were responsible for containing and destroying the Kriegsmarine in the Sea of Ordena.

But if the Killian Frontier and the surrounding seas had seen a very immediate intensification, they paled in comparison to the rapid reaction north of the Weigari, Díenstadi, and Sarcanzan coastlines. If there was going to be a nuclear war, this zone would perhaps feel the brunt of it at first. Here, population densities were ridiculously high and some of the most important cities of the Golden Throne stood. Hundreds of additional aircraft were scrambled over the first 60 minutes to bolster defensive patrols to shoot down any inbound bombers or missiles.

In Fedala, government hallways abounded with the prevailing rumor: the Ordenites had conducted a false-flag operation to frame the Golden Throne for initiating a nuclear war. Why the Ordenites had resorted to this was unknown. Perhaps their government was facing imminent collapse. Maybe the Ordenites felt they could arise from the war as the eventual winner. The theory felt somewhat farfetched, but it was known that the Golden Throne was not the attacker and there was no evidence that any other foreign state was hostile enough against the Ordenites to attack the homeland with a nuclear device. Maybe it was a terrorist attack, but for some reason that was the more frightening option — parts of the empire were exposed to terrorist attacks on a constant basis, so the idea that terrorists could get their hands on nuclear warheads was dispelled and even more unlikely than the Ordenite false-flag theory.

Cool heads in the capital prevailed sufficiently enough to open an immediate line of communication with several Ordenite governmental entities. In Fedala, the Palace of Nipotas — the headquarters of the imperial diplomatic corps — opened a line with the Ordenite embassy. His Imperial Majesty's advisor Daryl Novelle, a member of the Krierlord Kunsil, was authorized to manage the direct line with the Ordenite government in Berlina. Finally, the imperial embassy in Ordena immediately requested that a line of its own be opened with the Ordenite government.

In case three separate levels of communication were insufficient to clarify that this was not a false-flag operation and confirmed that war with the Ordenites had renewed once again, imperial nuclear forces were put at the highest stage of alertness. If nuclear war was coming, the bulk of it would probably be over by the same time tomorrow. The thought of dead wives and children, a world lost, and the apocalypse that they were unlikely to see must have filled the minds of the soldiers responsible for preparing long-range nuclear-tipped missiles from Nicaro to New Empire and from Killia to Theohuanacu.

If there was any sense of hope at all it came, ironically, from the fact that nuclear bombings were not exactly a rarity in these parts of Greater Díenstad. Almost anyone living in the northern provinces remembered the firework-like popping of distant nuclear warheads during the last war, when the Ordenite bombardment had been met by nuclear-tipped SAMs. And most people in Macabea still remembered the nuclear attacks perpetrated by the Stevidians during the War of Golden Succession. A nuclear explosion had wiped the Panooly city of Guamlumpeiron off the map five years ago, and nuclear missiles had also devastated Datosk and New Impen. Nuclear war in central Greater Díenstad was par for the course and nothing truly, truly apocalyptic had happened yet.

That meant everything was going to be alright, right?

While civilians could only hope, the government and military weren't putting their money on peace. Betting on peace never paid in Greater Díenstad.

[Greater Ordena]

FIRST HOUR FOLLOWING NUCLEAR EXPLOSION IN KARKĪT

Minutes after the detonation of the nuclear device present on the Rhine the Ordenite's NDDS or nuclear detonation detection system began to detect the occurring detonation. A seismic monitoring station in the Scythian Desert were the first to pick up the explosion as it's detectors picked up the spike in seismic activity caused by the device. Satellites utilizing detectors which could pick up gamma and x rays along with neutrons that were in Ordenite service as part of the NDDS also picked up the explosion. The information gathered by the system was then immediately forwarded to the Supreme Command of the Wehrmacht who were the first to be notified of the likely nuclear detonation that had occurred. This in turn would be disseminated and further information then being forwarded to various government ministries and agencies from which the news would soon reach the Reich Chancellery. Panic had begun to set in as it was believed so far that additional missiles could be in bound and would likely be minutes before additional strikes occurred. The continuity of government procedures would be put into play as the countless dozens of fallout bunkers scattered across the nation would need to be put to use.

Fuhrer Richtofen would within minutes be alerted of the incident and would be evacuated in which he had been visiting an Ordean Youth school facility and was addressing the children and teenagers that attended there. Various other government ministers and those of importance within the National Socialist regime would soon also be evacuated to underground shelters from which they would still be able to run the day to day affairs of the nation. The entirety of the active duty personnel within the Wehrmacht were put on the highest alert status that could be given which usually signaled that war would soon be upon them. The Killian frontier would be the first to witness what was to come as the already stationed 13 million personnel would be brought to complete combat readiness in the coming days. Luftwaffe bases across the country begun to spike in activity as aircraft were put into the air en masse. The Ordenite side of the Killian frontier would see a spike in Luftwaffe patrols throughout it's airspace which included strategic bombers as well.

The Kriegsmarine had been ordered to begin putting what fleets they had in ports out to sea to avoid destruction from possible incoming nuclear missiles. The Sea of Ordena would soon see a drastic increase in Kriegsmarine vessels and activity as would the Sea of Crowns and the strait separating the Ordenite mainland from the Golden Throne. Even the Protectorate of Fustera would see it's Kriegsmarine contingent being put out to sea as to not take unnecessary risks with the possibility that Ordenite overseas territories could likely be targets for nuclear warheads as well. It wasn't long before the Ministerial Council for the Defense of the Reich would be convened and tasked with leading the overall defense of the Greater Ordenite Reich during what was looking like a nuclear war, they would do so of course from the safety of a bunker. Mobilization of the Volkssturm had been approved swiftly and over the next few days hundreds to thousands of Volkssturm civil defense units would enter active duty.

The Reich's nuclear triad would within minutes of the detonation of a nuclear device being confirmed were put on the highest alert as thousands of nuclear warheads would need to be ready for possible deployment. What nuclear warheads were already in use among the ballistic missile submarines, strategic bombers, missile silos and even down to the tactical ballistic missile fielded by the Ground forces would only need final authorization to be used against whoever the Reich deemed the culprit. Authorization would also be given for the establishment of a Maritime exclusion zone that would start from the coast line and extend outwards up to 200 nautical miles. A forewarning to neighboring countries such as the Golden Throne that any vessel or aircraft considered to pose a threat towards the Reich would be attacked was issued. The Golden Throne would be a topic of heated debate among both the Wehrmacht and the government between those who believed that they were launching a preemptive nuclear strike to open the way to a counter offensive in Hailandkill and those that dismissed such theories.

Several lines of communication from The Golden Throne were noted being opened with various Ordenite ministries including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a more direct line between His Imperial Majesty's advisor Daryl Novelle and the Reich Chancellery, and a line with the Imperial embassy in Berlina. These lines of communication were not immediately opened as debate between the Wehrmacht and the government over if their were additional missiles inbound or not slowed a overall response. Whether or not their were more missiles coming or not plans had now been put into motion for the possibility that the continuation of the National Socialist government would need to take place outside mainland Ordena. Such a plan for a possible exodus from mainland Ordena to continue the National Socialist regime would occur in Reichskommissariat Dietsland which was located in Varathron and neighbored the distant region of Gholgoth. This all assumed that full blown nuclear war had been initiated against the Reich and the likelihood of Ordena surviving such a war was looking very much slim.

[Mokastana]

ONE DAY AFTER THE NUCLEAR DETONATION IN KARKĪT

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The first video was uploaded to a sketchy video sharing website that had little care for what was uploaded to it. The admins did the bare minimum to keep it mostly legal, if only to avoid international pressure to shut it down.

The video itself was nothing more than a middle aged woman sitting by herself at a wooden table. A light blue fabric, perhaps a bed sheet or blanket, hung on the wall behind her, covering any defining features of her location.

The woman herself was the focus of the image, and no doubt her most obvious feature were the scars. Sharp pale white discolorations decorated the left side of her face, tracing down from her hairline to the collar of a loose fitted army jacket like lightning, criss crossing in every direction. Her auburn grey hair was pulled back into a bun, showing just how high the scars reached on her head. Her healthy skin seemed a shade of pink, but that could have been the lighting, and both grey eyes looked forward into the camera with fire and hatred. She spoke with a rough gravelly voice, as if she had been a smoker her entire life:

“My Name is Sasha Tchernova, but many of you know me as ‘The Tsarina’. The once powerful drug lord who controlled the narcotic trade of Kransova. I am releasing this message to take credit for the nuclear detonation that occured yesterday in the Ordenite city of Karkit. The nuclear weapon, much like myself, was a product of a Union that no longer exists. The product of people who have lost loved ones and livelihoods under the fascist boots of Ordenites.

I once had a child, a beautiful little girl,"

For a second her eyes dart away from the camera, but a blink and her focus and anger returns.

"but she was taken from me by a facist terrorist who targeted a convience market with a car bomb. I watched her die right in front of me. My story is only one of countless atrocities committed against the Krasnovan people by the Ordenties, and their pet collaborators. Up until yesterday the Ordenites lived, complacent and safe, in their castles while their soldiers pillaged our motherland.

It was my duty to erase that complacency, to ensure thousands of Ordenite mothers felt what I felt, what our motherland has felt. I hope today Ordenite families have been torn apart because a loving husband and father was visiting the wrong city on the wrong day. I hope that an Ordernite youth, young and in love, is at home, waiting on a call that will never come. I hope I have made the war as real to them, as it is to us.

I started from nothing, and now I have nuclear weapons at my command. They do not come from missiles in the air you can shoot down, they do not come from submarines you can destroy. They cross mountains, carried on foot. They hide in trucks and houses. If the Ordenites dare to retaliate against Krasnova for what happened yesterday, they will find out how many more cities I can burn down.

To my fellow Kransovans, today. I am returning home, with an army of mercenaries to help liberate our motherland. We do not need a crown, we do not need a committee. We need a motherland safe from the fascists. When this war is won, I will allow whatever government we form to decide my fate. I too have committed sins against the Motherland, and for that I will gladly pay, but first, we must be free, so that we can make those decisions.

For the Motherland, for a Free Star Union!"

The video cuts to a scene inside a building of some kind, with a wooden box. Inside the box is a silver cylinder, wires and electronics. Various things are labeled in what is likely Krasnovan cyrillic. While a measuring device clicks rapidly away, its needle is still in the black area of its display.

Then the video ends.

[Holy Marsh]

In the Hours After the Attack

The nuclear detonation was detected quickly by the Theocratic Matriarchy, and within minutes the Nuclear Operations Undercouncil was in session discussing the event as more information started to filter in. They could verify a few things quickly: It wasn't a Marshite weapon, it very likely wasn't the weapon of an ally, and there was no immediate follow-up. If this was the start of a war, it was a poor one. Holy Marsh had seen its fair share of nuclear conflict and usually it came in bursts, devastating blows aimed at crippling and destroying followed by an attempt at exploitation (in theory- usually the counterpunch just disabled both sides). There was nothing here: no incoming missiles, no significant attack to follow up. As the NOU verified that there was little to no threat of an additional attack, it ceased the meeting and allowed the situation to be handled by others.

The Arch-Bishop would release a statement in quick order, and it was paired with similar messages being filtered through channels with the Golden Throne and People's United Federation, since the Matriarchy did not have an official liaison with the Reich. After it was sent and delivered, the Matriarchy would try its best to minimize itself. It did not know who launched the attack or why. It was likely a terror attack of some kind and with the Reich's long list of enemies trying to parse out who it was at this time was near impossible. If by strange alchemy they were asked to be involved they would answer the call, but for now, they would simply study the response- their government's response to the attack, their military movements, and anything that could be gleamed.

In Tuktar, Warrior Shrine

In Tuktar, sympathy was hard to find for the fascists who now saw themselves immolated in nuclear fire among the Marshites of the Warrior Shrine, not to mention many others. Memories were almost as long as the scars in Krasnova, and the Ordernites wielded the knife for most of them. Normally, such an attack would engender little love from the Warrior Shrine membership, however. No great battle, no test of worthy, and very few worthy enemies. But when it came to Ordernites, it was different. Let them feel even the tiniest bite of the sorrow and horror they had come to live with and see how they screamed. There were no street dances and no great celebrations, but the prevailing mood could best be described as: Good, fuck them.

Rebekkah watched with a smirk in her office, sipping a nice, cool glass of water while she rewatched the scenes of mass horror and carnage. When the war was against a people there were no such things as innocents. This is the way the Ordernites had fought their wars against the so-called Untermensch, the so-called lesser peoples; let them now eat the consequences. She raised a silent toast to the Mad Tzarina and prayed that this was just the start. Vengeance was best when vengeance was absolute.

[Morrdh]

Mordent

"Flash! Flash! Flash!"

It was the cry that the tannoy in the Air Defence Operations Sector (Mordent) bunker mere minutes after the detonation in Karkit, stunning those present into silence as the news sunk in. The nuclear attack warning had been given, a detonation had occurred, but where?

Orders were barked and very quickly the bunker turned into a scene of frenzy activity as confirmation of the nuclear detonation was sought as well as the ramifications of the action. As information flowed in and the intelligence picture was built up, Alert State BLACK SPECIAL was declared bringing Commonwealth military units in Mordent to standby in case of attacks against the island itself mirroring other activity taking place elsewhere in Central GD. Intel from both the Royal Space Force and the Mokans confirmed a nuclear detonation occurring within the Ordenite port city of Karkit, a troubling development as the Reich could've used it as justification at striking against any of it's long list of enemies if nobody claimed responsibility.

Whilst the prospect of a possible Ordenite strike against Mordent was a very real concern, even more impressing was the need to calculate the yield of the detonation and then predict the path of the resulting fallout. Meteorological forecasts were pulled and data from various sources were compiled to at least estimate the blast yield to have been less than three hundred kilotons, coupled with predicted fallout and prevailing it was deemed to be a negligible threat to Mordent with most of the fallout expected to disperse over the Sea of Crowns far to the south of the island. As a precaution, radiation monitoring was stepped up and aircraft fitted with specialist equipment were sent up on wide ranging patrols to collect air samples whilst a caution was issued to maritime traffic.

Over the next few days, the data would be constantly updated and compiled to try and keep an accurate track on the project fallout with the information relaid onto regional partners.